Drew's Trouble with Cats and Roaches

To all,

Due to the interest in this series, here is part 10. This chapter continues to discuss the choices we make, loss and love that intertwine.

Any aliens, real or imagined in this story are purely a construct of my twisted and warped mind. My attempts to enter a realm (writing), that has always eluded me, has been exciting. I hope you enjoy my continued tale of Drew Jr.

Part 10

"We met Others of the Cat lineage. We offered our home and sustenance to our distant cousins. Because of my mistaken trust, we have lost the best of the pride. That will always be my burden, our queen has been taken from us by several of no honor. They were warned what the penalty would be for such an offence against the pride."

Drew paused to keep himself from crying, "They will face the death of no honor. Their names will not be remembered, their spirt will not be carried aloft by the flames. They are to be killed by the hand of human. Their bodies will be dragged from this spot across the forest and dumped to be carrion for scavengers. Their honor is forfeit."

Drew placed his sword across his shoulder and walked to stand above the older warrior. Drew reached with one hand to his trousers and unzipped, he reached in and fished out his cock. As he started to urinate into the face of the still live warrior he looked into his eyes.

"They are nothing," Drew finished. The hate coming from the eyes of the dying warrior was frightening.

He tucked himself back in. He turned without ceremony and buried the blade in the dirt through the old warrior's neck.

He walked to next in line, the one that had killed his security warrior and hurt Nella. Tiffany held out her hand for the sword. The warrior had lost his false bravery and was weeping with his head in the grass, Tiffany lifted her kilt and moved forward so she was over his head and let loose her own stream. He just wept louder.

She stepped to the side and in one blazing arch took his head.

The process was followed for all the 7 that were left of the mutinous Others. Each one was dispatched by a senior member of the pride, except for the last. Alexander had demanded to dispatch him.

It seems that this warrior had befriended the young Pride warrior. Alexander felt personally betrayed by this 'friend' and wanted to avenge his biological mother, Meme. There were words spoken later, about how vengeance could become a disease. But Drew felt confident that Alexander was just doing his duty.

The Pyre for Meme was done with love and again the wolves added their words of farewell.

***

Several days later, Drew returned from taking the bodies of the disgraced into the woods. He returned to a request to meet with Eddie.

"Good afternoon my Lord. I hope your expedition to the mountains was fruitful." Eddie commented.

"What needed to get done, got done," was all Drew would comment, "you called this meeting Eddie. I assume it was not about the disposal of trash."

"No lord, it's about your last night of mating. We have four females that are pregnant with cub." Eddie ended but was waiting on Drew to catch up. Drew was sitting at his earth standard desk looking at financial reports.

Finally, Drew's face screwed up and he was trying to remember that night. "No Eddie that should be three?"

"No lord its 4 females. Elsa is pregnant with three hybrid human-cat cubs, one male two female." Edie said with a bit of excitement. "It's the first case that we are aware of, of cross species pregnancy."

Drew just let the air run out of his lungs, rolled back in his executive chair, and stated, "How could I be this stupid?"

***

Drew sat on the foundation of the tower on top of the hill. He stared down the valley at his home in the far distance. From where he sat, he could not really see the home proper, but he knew it was there. The low clouds flited between the treetops. The quiet was beautiful and seemed to calm his anger, at least for that moment.

'Home,' he thought, it was an interesting word. It felt hollow now. He had lost part of his life and he was not sure how he was going to go on without Meme. She was his rock from the beginning of his life with the cats. She was the calming thread through all the troubles they had endured.

Meme was the trust he had in life. He knew she would do what was right. She was his right hand. She was the floor in which he had stood to try and lead the Pride. he went off to die, with Tiffany beside him, knowing that Meme would do what was right and protect the Pride.

Now she was gone, and he was just hollow.

He felt the presence behind him. He had 'seen' the pack working their way up the mountain since they saw the sled skim over the treetops and land in the clearing before him. He could reach out with his mind and see how they were now placed in a defensive perimeter around the tower site.

He did not turn his head but sat still waiting on the alpha to acknowledge him. The big male came and sat next to him looking down the valley with Drew. It always fascinated Drew, that in a very odd way, that it felt normal. Just sitting with a friend, no need to talk but watch the buzzards spin high above the valley, or the hawks' dart after prey closer to the treetops.

The alpha turned his head and nuzzled him. Drew wondered, when they first paired, was there a bond that went both ways? The alpha somehow knew of his loss. Drew raised his hand under the large jowl and there was true connection.

He knew now that there was some continued connection between the two. He saw in flashes how the wolves had creeped down to the tee line and were willing to help with the Other cats if things had turned bad. He saw in the alphas eyes when Meme was killed. He felt the anger of the alpha at one of his distant packmates being killed. He also saw the satisfaction when Drew slew the evil one.

There was also a flash of dead bodies dumped in the forest. Drew saw the wolves urinating on the dead flesh so no other carrion eaters would feast. The pack had made sure the evil ones rotted.

Drew was crying when he ended the connection. He wiped his eyes, but the alpha did something odd. He pawed Drews hand. Drew turned to look the alpha in his eyes and saw a softness for a moment. He placed his hand back under the large jaw and reconnected. He saw a gift to be offered, a pup. This pup was the runt of a litter and would not survive the winter.

A female trotted out of the tree line carrying a pup by the scruff of its neck. It was squealing quietly. She placed the pup in his lap and he immediately began to pet and comfort the small female. Drew knew that this was a favor. Too many lost pups and the Alpha wanted this one to live, even if it was with his new other packmates, the Cats.

Drew smiled, they were not trying to fill his void, but do each other a favor. Save the pup and provide life where all Drew now felt was death and loss.

He provided affirmation and the alpha shoved him with his muzzle. It was the alpha's attempt to get him to quit feeling sorry for himself and keep living life.

The alpha and the pack began to fade and vanish into the trees.

Drew picked up the squealing female from his lap and asked, "What shall we call you golden eyes?" He was promptly peed on.

"Ok Goldie it is. Golden eyes and golden showers"

Drew quietly held her tight as they headed for home.

***

Drew carried on with the day to day. Months went by and he tried to settle into a routine. But no matter what, he kept waiting on Meme to walk through the door, handle things, or be there for advice. He found himself going off to the woods more often to be alone. Three issues continue to haunt him and there seemed to be no final resolution. He had to deal with the remainder of the Others. He had to face where he was going with his own pride, and there was Elsa and the pending, cross species birth of their children.

So, he did the only thing he could think of, he ignored all three and trekked into the forest. He busied himself with mundane tasks and let things percolate. The alone time was good for him, others including Elsa automatically took up the void left by Meme. Elsa had already informed the UN that she was stepping down and asked for a replacement for her position as liaison with the Cats. Her replacement was selected from two Elsa had recommended. Drew approved of her replacement without even looking at the woman's resume and proforma.

Without formal approval, Elsa took Meme's duties and worked side by side with Tiffany on the day to day operations of the pride.

While he could not read her mind, he knew she had already shifted and became a full member of the Pride. It did start to fill the hole in his chest, but then he would feel guilty of letting another feed the void left by Meme.

Off he would go on one of his treks with Goldie bounding beside him.

Goldie was there at his knees at every turn. And she was growing fast. He had her DNA checked when he found out the golden eyes were an anomaly. She checked out fine. She was small when he brought her, but she had tripled in size in a short time. The more she played with the cubs, the more she went for runs, her growth index seemed to spike.

Tiffany was not sure what to do with her for a while. Other that the occasional slave human or other species, Cats did not keep 'pets.' Here she was sharing a bed, at least part of the time, with another furred creature, that wanted to cuddle...all the time.

Drew burst out laughing during the first rain, when Goldie came in, shook, then bounded on the couch to throw her wet smelly self on Tiffany. Cats did not smell when they got wet, at least not like a large dog did. Drew did not need a translator, to understand the inappropriate langue Tiffany used when the wet puppy got launched from her now soaked lap.

The nights that Else spent in his bed, seemed to be much calmer. Goldie quickly learned to behave. Else had grown up with big dogs and knew how to handle them. He did not know if Tiffany and Elsa planned out days, but even when the three were having dinner, one would find something she needed to do, and Drew would be left with a bedmate.

Else started to change too. She became mush more amorous, and aggressive, at least in bed. Drew had checked with Eddie and he had confided that the mixed hormones were changing her slightly. She was always an athlete, but the cubs were adding some changes to her muscle mass and bone structure. It was as if they were making her body more structured to handle their size and weight.

***

The one issue that Drew did not want to deal with was the remaining Others. The Others were either warned or knew better... to stay away from Drew.

When he looked at them, he saw the traitors from his own pride and the Other traitors. Some of his own pride members, the ones that started this mess, had died in the exchange of fire. Beta had previously asked to back out after her first meeting the Others. She did not like their antiquated views on females, so she was not involved in any of it.

The combined bodies of exiled Pride and Traitor Others were to be dumped in the woods. They made a choice and Drew was happy to let it end with their choice.

Tiffany was even worse. She was the emotional, passionate one of their original love triangle. Tiffany would have preferred to be allowed to kill them all. Drew had talked with her about the same concern he had for Alexander, vengeance becoming a disease. She, in her own loving way, told her lover to politely fuck off.

Tiffany took the loss of Meme much harder than Drew thought she would. She took to playing shuttle pilot for any trip, anywhere, night or day. She went without a copilot, to be by herself, sealed in the pilot's cabin. She also took responsibility for the retrofit to the Other's shuttles and cruisers. It was her excuse to take long flights out to the Others' crafts or Homogeny space station.

Somehow Elsa would know and shift over to cover day to day operations.

And so, it went on, day after day, week after week until Drew received a visit. His dad hovered in one day in the gizmo that Kay built for him. It left him somewhat vertical but acted like an all-terrain wheelchair. While he had survived his crazy attack on the roach hive, his crushed spine never did heal the way it should have. Of course, getting fucked senseless everyday can delay the healing process. Drews Dad never complained about Kay's amorous ways.

"Hi dad, what can I do for you this fine day?" Drew asked.

"Well I just wanted to come by and see how you are doing," Drew Sr responded and then paused, "oh and to ask one more question."

Drew knowing his dad and the folksy way he had about him and was ready for the question. "Yes Dad, ask away."

"So, my son, when are you going to pull your head out of your ass and make decisions again?" Drew Sr. paused again, "Hum? Any decision will do. Too many folk count on you around here. You can't be sittin' with your thumb up your ass." Sr. paused again, "You know Meme would kick your ass to get things moving again. And to be honest there are lots of folks worried about the future."

His dad's 'chair' hovered over and settled down, across the desk. Sr. reached over into his attached satchel and pulled out two 805 beers. There was a built-in bottle opener on his craft, god bless Kay, and he handed an opened one to Drew and kept one for himself. Drew settled in for a long chat.

"Son, there is a lot of open space out there in the cold and dark. I think it's time they headed back out from whence they came. You know damned well, they can't stay here. It's time for them to leave." Sr cautioned.

"That is the problem Dad. There aren't enough of them to survive back in their old territory. They would be slaughtered. Hell, there aren't enough of them to fly the three cruisers, even with the modern enhancements we are paying for." Drew responded.

"Drew, you're over thinking the problem. Get them some friends to go with them. The partnership you discussed. There are lots of humans and other species that would partner for a stake on new worlds. I cheated and had one of the Kettle get me copies of their star charts and planet designations. There are multiple M class planets that they don't even have any habitats on." Sr. finished his beer tossed it in the recycle bin and raised off the floor.

"I love you my son. Pull your head out. Fix the problem. Your good at that. You suck at feeling sorry for yourself." And with that Drew Sr. motored out the office door and out into the glen to the squeal of cubs and human children.

***

Drew could not even argue with the logic. His dad was right about all of it. Drew called Bob and Else for a meeting, but Else asked for an extension until her replacement arrived on Friday. A two-day delay was not the end of the world, at least Drew hoped not.

Friday came, and the new envoy, Astrid flew in by shuttle, flown by her, owned by her. Drew realized he was going to have to go back and re-read the resume.

She came in, did not circle the field as was normal procedure for human pilots. She spun the ship at the last moment to seat the craft with the most efficiency Drew had ever seen.

From Tiffany, Thing One and Two, he got the same interesting mental note "hum." Drew just smiled, looked like the women in his life had competition, at least in the flying realm.

The hatch popped and then opened. Out stepped a mirror image of Else at a younger age. Tall, athletic, blond hair, and sky-blue eyes. Else stepped forward and there was a very warm greetings between the two women. Else dragged her to the receiving line and Drew bent and kissed her hand.

"We welcome you Astrid as the new envoy for the UN. As soon as you are settled in, I would like to have a meeting regarding the disposition of the Other Cat clan and the potential for much more." Drew ended.

"I am aware of the meeting Lord, and I just need to drop my bags. Can we have it during the lunch hour? I am famished." She paused flashing and amazingly white smile, "Else has brought me up to speed on so many topics. I think we can dive right into it. Is that acceptable?" Astrid offered.

Else followed through with the introductions and at noon they all met in the large conference room. "How is it that everyone knows the topic of my meeting without me discussing it with anyone?" Drew questioned.

Else and Tiffany looked at each other, then at Bob, who rolled his fake eyes, then to Astrid. Tiffany shrugged, differing to Else, just like she used to do with Meme.

"Your father came to me and said he had talked with you. His exact words were 'kicked you in the ass' and let us know what you two had discussed. Based on your reaction, you found it as good idea as we did," Else paused, "Are we incorrect? We are here to discuss your original idea, a partnership with the Others to explore and colonize their parcel of space?"

He felt somewhat irked that.

"Yes," he stated with a huff. "We are here to ask the representatives of the UN and Homogeny if they wish to take part in a partnership with the Others. To band together in the common purpose of exploration and colonization of their parcel of space," Drew ended the discussion in a quiet fashion.

He then could not help himself. "So yes, to all the things you already know," and crossed his arms like a petulant child.

They all laughed. But they all knew that the idea was sound, they all just had to convince the Others that this would be a good idea.

***

Drew took his morning walk with Goldie bounding ahead and then back to him. He enjoyed watching her chase after every squirrel or rabbit she could see. He had sent a mental request and he paused as he could see the young lord coming down the other trail to greet him. Goldie saw or smelled him first and raced to greet him and nose his hand. He was not sure what to do. Like Tiffany, he no experience with pets.

"Interesting creature you have there. I understand that humankind and the Canine species have evolved through time together." The young lord commented.

"Yes, humans have taken the pure wolf you see in Goldie, and bred them into many different shapes, sizes and personalities. Her kind, pure timber wolf, are not true pets but packmates. Tiffany is not quite sure what to do with her at times. Its one of the few times its fun to watch a clash of cultures." Drew responded chuckling.

"I am grateful for your invitation to walk my Lord. The tension between our two clans has become palatable. I need your guidance and council on what to do next?" The young lord questioned.

"And that is why we are now meeting and talking," Drew paused and looked up into the sky above the mountain before them, "I owe you an apology." The young lord stated to speak, but Drew put up his open palm, another seemingly universal symbol for quiet or patience.

"I have been dealing badly with my loss and did not reach out with a hand of friendship with your loss of your brother and so many of your kin. For that I apologize." Drew sat on a rock and let Goldie romp about in the small glen they were in.

"I am here to talk about the future and what I see as your best chance for survival of your Pride...um clan. You no longer have the numbers to keep the space you control. I am offering what I offered your father and brother, a partnership. A partnership of species, a partnership of ideals and a chance to survive." Drew finished and waited.

"Your Queens have already come and presented your ideas." Drew was shocked and a bit uneasy to have Elsa immediately elevated to 'Queen", but it did make sense from a clan point of view. And then it struck Drew, 'hey wait a minute.' He sent a mental blast to Tiffany. He got a curt 'later' back.

"As you know, I was the progressive of our clan. I have already explained this to what is left of my warriors and they concede that things must change or our Clan with fade into nothingness." The young lord paused and watched Goldie try and corner a squirrel that scampered up and tree and was chattering at her.