Drew's Trouble with Cats and Roaches

To all,

This is just your basic space story with some sex thrown in to make it real for me. My attempts to enter a realm (writing) that has always eluded me, has been exciting. I hope you enjoy my little tale. Part two is in the works and will be published depending on the interest of this first chapter.

*****

Drew tried to make himself smaller in the bomb crater. He could see the green streaks of the bug lights passing over his hidden position and the responding Cat white beams. "How the fuck did I end up in no-man's land" he thought. It was an idle thought, because he knew he had 'volunteered,' unarmored and unarmed, to get the cub's medications that had been left behind when they were forced to pull back. Cats did not armor nor arm prisoners and while he had been a prisoner for over two terrain years, he had resigned to the realization that he was a slave.

After he snatched the meds for the cubs, he had dived in the crater with Roach shots streaking over his head. Of course, he caused his own dilemma, since he snatched the meds right underneath a Roach. Then acting like something out of an old terrain movie, he then had to boogaloo out before he was torn to shreds. Of course, the crater was filled with mud, and the entrails of a large male Cat that had not been so lucky when it came to dodging.

"Not that the stupid fuck would dodge" he thought.

He turned to what was left of the Cat and yelled at him, "No of course you wouldn't dodge, you stupid huge brawny fuck. It's NOT in your GOD DAMN code! Fucking furry space samurai...Fuck," kicking at whatever parts of the Cat carcass were near his feet.

In the glare of the rocket and beam blasts, a shadow stood over Drew. Drew looked up and saw two meters of armored roach, armed with duel bug lights, scanning the last line of Cat defense. Drew squished himself deeper in the mud hoping that his stupid outburst was lost in sounds of battle. The roach skittered on its four walking legs around the crater. It continued to face towards the Cat defense line.

Drew kept trying to get lower in the mud to hide his heat signature and become as small as possible. As he made the last push to get lower in the mud, he felt the stinking soup he was buried in, shift due to weight of the roach on the crater edge. The shift caused the stiff clawed hand of the dead Cat warrior to be lifted out the mud right between Drews legs. His whole focus had been watching the Roach, until he saw the movement out of peripheral vision.

Drew could not help himself, all he saw was bloody, razor sharp claws coming for his face.

Drew screamed.

The Roach rotated its top carapace and leveled the bug lights at Drew in the mud.

"How the fuck did I get so stupid?" Drew whispered waiting for the green light to lick out and end him.

***

"WHAT!" Tiffany screamed at Drew. They were still connected, his cock still deep in her very wet pussy. She was still sitting on him after 25 minutes of very vigorous riding.

"I...I signed up for the merchant space program to get the bonus that they were offering before Christmas," saying it softer due to her shocking angry reaction.

"You stupid fucking idiot, what about me? what do you expect me to do?" she screamed as she flew off the bed and slid on her shorts.

By the time Drew could get out of bed she had buttoned a few buttons of her blouse and thrown her clothes in her large purse, she grabbed her cute little tennis shoes and out the door of his bedroom she went, barefoot.

He caught up to her in the driveway pleading with her to stop. "Please baby, let's talk" she spun on him, cocked her hip and placed her hand on it in the common pose of a pissed off woman.

Drew saw her looking past him back, on the porch, he turned his head and noticed his dad sitting in his chair under the overhang.

Embarrassed he said, "Hi Dad, I thought you were going to be gone until dinner."

His Dad slowly said, "I sort of figured, considering how much noise, miss rich tits, was making in your room." Drew's Dad said with a smile. Dad did not think much of the rich spoiled brat his son was dating. And surprisingly the more he humiliated her, the more she seemed to flirt with good old dad.

"So why are we having drama on the front lawn?" asked his Dad.

Tiffany responded as Drew stayed silent "This idiot signed up for the space marines!"

Drew quickly responded, "Merchant marines, no guns, just space, and, and a nice bonus before Christmas."

"Why are you so fucking stupid?" Drew's father asked him.

'Yea, Baby why did you do something so stupid?" asked his beautiful blond girlfriend with just a bit more sarcasm than was necessary.

Drews Dad spun on her and said "You, you stupid little slut! That's why my boy signed up to go to space."

Drews girlfriend Tiffany said nothing to the father but spun on Drew and stated with hands on hips "So? You just expect me to be the good little girlfriend and wait for you? While you go to space with a bunch of aliens? Is that why you did this?"

Drew just stood with his head down looking for cracks in the pavement.

"Go ahead boy, go ahead and tell the little airhead why you did something so stupid" his Dad said with more softness, "go ahead boy, I already know," There was a pause, and then Drew's Dad stated more forcefully "Go ahead, now!"

Drew looked up at his Dad and then at Tiffany "I did it for you, for us. All you ever talk about how you want this, and to go there. You are always disappointed in what we can't do or have. With this money, if we save, we could have a house in two years, get married, start a family...all the stuff we talked about."

"You are a fucking idiot! You think I want to have your little rug rats and play mommy? I am only 22 you fucking dweeb, you want these TITS my Dad bought me last year, to hanging down to my waist? You fucking short half-assed dweeb!" She shouted.

"But, baby, we are in love" Drew whined.

"Love? Love? God you are stupid" she yelled in his face, then stormed off to her Daddy-bought Mercedes and sped off as Drew and his Dad watched.

"Drew, have to admit she is dumb as shit, but that ass in those daisy-dukes... Humm" Dad said and then looked at Drew, "Let's go have a drink and talk."

They both walked into the house and went to fridge, the Dad pulled a cider and passed it back to his son without a backwards glance, and then grabbed himself a beer. They settled onto the high barstools at the kitchen island. Both were silent for a moment.

"Ever hear about how we all marry our parents?" Drews dad started.

"Yea, you have mentioned that, one time or another" Drew responded.

"Well I've never told you the whole story about your Momma. I have left a bit out over the years, and I'll owe you a bunch of apologies when I am done." he said in a soft quiet voice.

Drew was about to speak but his Dad held up a hand and said, "Just let me get this out and then we can polish off the edges of what I may miss."

Drew stopped, grabbed his hard cider and took a pull.

His Dad continued, "I fell into the same trap when I found out your mom was pregnant with you. She was the local rich hottie girl from across the tracks, 18 and just out high school. I was the 'old man' at 28. I did what was right and married her the next weekend at the courthouse. She did not want to be pregnant and did not want to be married. But her parents could not live with the shame, so they forced her. There is one thing she sure wanted to do, and that was party with her friends. To her, it was all my fault. Things got nasty at home. I started to work extra shifts to bank some money for your arrival." He stopped looked at the ceiling and did a long pull on his beer.

"She was supposed to be staying with her parents when I was gone for work. She played the same games with her parents and me, that she did when she wanted to see me. Play one off against the other." He paused again and took a longer pull.

"I was gone out of state for week and came home early to find her having sex in our marital bed, 7 months pregnant. After the screaming was done, she threw stuff in an overnight bag and stomped off, got in our truck and sped off. Sort of like your little friend there, Tiffany." He paused again "With the exception that it was MY favorite truck." He continued and Drew could tell he was tearing up. "God, I miss that truck."

"That's the last time I saw her or the truck alive." He took a deep breath, "She disappeared for about a month and then I got the call from her parents saying she had crashed the truck and was taken to the emergency room. By the time I got there she was gone, but they were able to save you. You were in intensive care for 6 months as a pre-mi, but you, my strong-willed son, also pulled through from alcohol and meth addition."

He was crying by this time, "So my son you started life addicted and born in the wreckage of my truck. Borne in the hands of two EMT's you have never met. I have their contact info if ever want to get in contact with them. Those are the two Christmas cards I send to 'distant cousins' each for the past 24 Christmases" He paused to blow his nose and get another beer.

"So, my son...Fuck." Pause, "any questions you may have?" he said with a sad ironic chuckle.

Drew sat back and finished his drink, "So what's with my grandparents, you said they were dead, died with my mother?"

Dad noticed the change from Mom to Mother, "They wanted nothing to do with you or me. I was to blame for everything for the loss of their princess. Her rich daddy offered me $20,000 to go away. I told him to shove it up his ass. I said I had you and did not need anything from them."

"I packed us up and moved here to be away from the big city and start over. But life seems to repeat itself," he paused again and started again. "so now that you know more facts. I am asking you think for a bit. Take some time and come back to me with any questions you will have. But time is short, and you just signed up for two years, with option for two after that"

Drews eyes snapped up to his Dad's, he had not told him the details of what he signed up for.

His Dad just smiled and stated "Small town, remember? Look my son, go out play in the stars, send the money to Jim Rodgers or to me so we can invest it for you. Live small, keep your eyes open and mouth shut. Be honest with whomever you're dealing with, human or alien. Be honest with yourself at all times and come back to me, my son."

Drew's Dad walked by him, paused to kiss the top of Drew's head and went to drop the dead glass soldier in the recycle bin.

***

And that is just what Drew did. He signed up to be a maintenance mechanic on merchant ships moving war supplies. They made him cross train as a medic since all the ships seemed to be short staffed. The AI ships were all detailed to standard port-a-calls, so the Human manned ships were detailed to the outskirts. Nowhere and nothing in the first year of service was normal for Drew. He handled the loading and off-loading of everything from food stuffs to dead bodies, and there were a lot of dead bodies.

As for all sailors in history, Spacers were a gossipy bunch. Since the military controlled all the communication lines, gossip and rumor traveled fast at each port. The World government stated that the Elders and Hegemony were winning the war against the Roaches, that it would soon be over. But Drew knew that in the discussions he had with the odd space marines and based on the number of full body bags, something was off.

Rumor started to spread that another hostile race had joined the war. According to rumor, they seemed a to be feline and were ferocious warriors, the Cats. They immediately went to war with both the Hegemony and Roaches. More rumors circulated that the world government was trying to negotiate a truce or peace with the Cats. Drew hoped that he would never meet either one of the other combatant races. He had just gotten used to the semi-friendly aliens of the Hegemony and did not need to play with aliens that had a bad attitude.

And luck failed Drew, horribly.

***

The ship had put down on Nebula AOC - 3345. Just another dust ball, made into a supply depot for some ungodly reason. All the merchant Spacers hated being this close to the front lines. The lines tended to shift and move without notice and many of the merchant ships had gone missing.

If the pilot had followed protocol, he would have circled the world before landing. He would have seen a Cat troop transport and troop movement just outside the base. But landing here a dozen times before, he chose to shoot straight in and get this delivery over. Familiarity breeds laziness.

All was going well with the unloading until the alarm klaxon sounded through every speaker and every helmet Comm device.

All the crew knew was they couldn't take off. They were fueling, and the ship was fully tethered and grounded. They did the next best thing, they grabbed what weapons they could. Drew grabbed his medical bags and headed into the port only to be surrounded by wounded. The Cats had surprised everyone. The crew, non-marine types, made the wrong decision, to go around the fight. It looked like a good idea at the time. They seemed clear of the firefight until they stumbled onto the Cat troop ship.

Some of the Cats had seen what they thought was a flanking move and came in between the Humans and the Port. The small band was now trapped between the war band coming from the port and whatever troops were left in the lander. They headed to the lander at full speed to try and surprise whatever was in that ship.

As they came around the rear of the lander, they faced two female Cats holding their young. One of the crew opened fire. One of the females went down.

Drew screamed "No! they are unarmed, quit fucking shooting you assholes," and dove for the wounded female. Several of the crew made comments that, "They are Cats for god's sake," and "The only good Cat is a dead Cat."

Drew mumbled for them all to "fuck off" and started doing triage on the wounded female and kitten. The other female tried to pry him off her fallen friend. Drew heard, more than felt her claws scraping on his battle helmet. Drew started to wrestle with her and then backed off to give her a little space. She was hissing and making her Cat noises and showing some very impressive claws and canine fangs, so he pulled out his translator.

"Get away from %$#*&% you worthless worm," Cat number two said to him.

Drew slowly said "Medic, I want to help her, she is bleeding out," and waited for the stupid little machine to translate to Cat. "Medic, doctor, I help her," he said opening his bag and pulling out bandages and the seal foam.

"Help Her! And baby," he said louder and point to Cat number one on the ground with her young still in her arms. Drew listed to the translation to Cat while looking in her eyes.

Cat 2 stopped her growling and moved out of her defensive posture. She nodded her head and he dove to the prostrate body. He carefully pried the body of the mewing kitten from the arms of the wounded Cat. He slowly and methodically checked out the little black and white striped male fur ball. The kitten seemed to be ok, so he slowly handed him to Cat number two.

She snatched it from his hands and checked him out by herself. The blood on the kitten was of the mother.

Drew continued to work on the wounded Cat, using the analgesic foam but did not know if the two species were compatable. He felt it was a lost cause, but he did not give up. He kept working the wounds and trying to staunch the blood.

It was during this time, that he realized that the sounds of fighting had ceased. When he looked up all he saw were Cat warriors surrounding him. He uttered one phrase "oh Fuck!" before a blue glow enveloped him.

***

He remembered his first day after being taken.

Drew awoke with the biggest hangover he had even known. He looked around and all he saw was stacked and tied down supplies. He looked behind him and saw a door to the supply room he seemed to have been locked in. and he was naked, of course he was naked.

He stretched and noticed that his legs and hands were free. "Not like he could out-power the large furry fuckers," he thought. Here he was naked, stuck in a storage room, thirsty and no idea why he was still alive. He noticed the smell. It wasn't an unpleasant smell. More of a pinch of nutmeg mixed with a wet dog. It seemed something he was going to get used to, unless they were going to eat him.

He looked through the small porthole and then out of either stupidity or hutzpah he banged on the door and yelled "hey anybody there?". Immediately a Warrior's face covered the little window and growled, He growled enough to feel the vibration through the door.

Drew sat back down and waited. It was not his style, he was a doer, but he needed all his wits to keep from doing something stupid when the time came.

After what seemed days, but assuredly hours. Suddenly, the door opened, and a large cat warrior came in. The warrior came in with manacles and another stood at the doorway. He manacled himself with his hands in front and then the Cat verified they were tight. The security procedures seemed a bit lax to Drew, but then he remembered it was not like he could blend in.

He was led down a ship's corridor, narrow but a bit larger than a human ship. Many Cats of different colors, patterns and ages all came to watch him walk by. He was hoping it was not a walk to a stock pot somewhere in preparation for dinner.

After a short ride in a personal lift, they entered a larger room filled with many, many more Cats. On a raised dais were what he called Cat number two and a very large, statuesque male.

Drew was pulled to a stop a bit away from the dais and was forced to kneel. The male stood and made very loud cat noises. He stopped and looked at Drew like he should respond. Drew did not know what to do, so he shrugged and lifted his hands to point to his ear.

There was some consternation between the Cats. A lot of pointing and confusion. Someone rummaged through a bag and he could see part of his uniform. Finally, one of the Cats pulled out his translator and handed it to the Cat holding him. The Cat had no idea, so Drew just held out his hand flatly and his translator was placed there.

Drew fit it in and then turned to the Cat on the dais and bowed. "My apologies, I do not know your customs and what or how to address you."

The cats were a bit shocked that their language sprang from the device. But the Cat on the dais stated "You can refer to me as Warlord, worm"

"My apologies again Warlord, why am I alive?" Drew asked

"Good and fair question worm. The warlord responded. "Why did you save the life of my Queen and son?"

Drews eyes shot up to match his and he was immediately slammed down by the Cat beside him. It was very sudden, and Drew was literally pounded to his knees.

The head Cat shouted "Stop!" and the Cat next to Drew bowed. The Warlord stepped off the dais and stood in front of Drew. He put one claw under Drew's chin and lifted. When their eyes met again, he stated "you did not know?"

"No" stated Drew. "I am a medic, a doctor of sorts, and we take an oath to same all life. I may take that more seriously than others," his eyes had drifted down. But they suddenly shot up and looked into the golden eyes of the Warlord "Is she alive?" he asked with some enthusiasm.

"Yes, and that is why you are." He paused, his golden eyes looking into Drews and all over Drews face. "I want to know why some worm would forsake his fellow warriors to save a life of another being."

Drew paused "First, I have taken an oath to save lives. Second, we are not warriors, only space jockeys here to load material."