Drew's Trouble with Cats and Roaches Pt. 09

There was a verbal and mental grumbling throughout the hall. "This will be your fate if you disrespect any of the Pride members. This includes any of the younglings, females, scholars, or aliens. Am I understood?"

Drew stood quietly with the sword in front of him. He heard the mental emanations from the warriors but knew half of them would turn on him in a second, if given the chance.

***

Over the next month there was an uneasy peace. The Other pride split into two distinct camps, progressive and old school. Regretfully the progressive side of their pride had only a few members. The five females had begun to integrate into the Other pride. There were problems, but Drew had promised himself, he would stay out of their internal strife. He did meet with Meme and the security teams and put them on alert. They were to keep to the background, but something was going to happen, and they needed to be ready.

Drew could feel the tension building, but the Others had learned to 'go for walks' away from Drew and the main compound. They did this so Drew could not overhear what they were discussing. Drew, while not catching all of what said, had a good idea what some of the Other warriors planned. He was not sure if the new Lord was part of the plan, but he planned to find out. Drew had finally had enough of the tension and requested a meeting with the elder son and de facto lord.

Drew met him in front of the main lodge and asked him to take a walk. They wandered in between soccer games and past a group of younglings.

"When are you going to leave?" Drew questioned.

The new Lord stopped and looked at Drew, "It is being debated now, while I want to stay and join this new alliance, most of the warriors are set in their old ways. They do not want to ask to share, they want to take. This has been our way until the death of my father. "

The new lord paused, "I am not sure what to do. I have tried to convince them, but they are warriors, meant for action."

They had only gone a mile or so from the main house when Drew received the message that the Other pride had finally acted. The security staff and most of the other warriors were in a standoff at the Other's shuttles.

"We must get back. The worst has happened. We have a serious issue to deal with and some of my people are injured or worse," Drew informed the young lord, and both turned to race back to the glen.

***

Drew entered the glen angry, as angry as when he found his own pride member had betrayed the Pride. With their backs to shuttles, at least half of the Other's warriors were squared off with weapons pointing at the pride's security personnel. They were armed and looking for a fight.

Another group of Other warriors were around the corner of one of the outbuildings on their knees with hands on their heads. This group had refused to join the Other warriors at the shuttles. Security staff had guns trained on all of them.

One of Pride lay dead because of the Others by the shuttles.

In the center of the larger group stood the old warrior. Drew walked past the hunkered down security staff and Pride warriors to face off across from the old warrior. Beside him was the warrior from the cafeteria with Nella unconscious at his feet. Drew turned to face the older warrior and seethed, the older warrior held Meme in his paws, with open claws at her neck.

"Is this how you repay kindness and hospitality. What happened to your quoting the old texts?" Drew paused and then his tone changed, "Answer me old man, I have no patience for one of no honor."

"Honor! Honor? You are an abomination. You do not know honor. You should not be allowed to live. You are the corruptor. Wickedness is all you offer. We are warriors, we take what we need as in the old ways. We will not be perverted." He stopped barley able to speak.

"We will leave now and leave you to your corrupt life. We will take additional females because we are in need and you have plenty." The old warrior stated and then tightened his grip on Meme.

"My pride members are not to be taken and bartered like a piece of food or drink. You have killed one of my family already and have injured others. Hand over the warrior that killed my security officer and you can leave as soon as you release the family that you are holding."

The new lord was standing behind Drew speechless.

"Stop this immediately. Drop your weapons. I order this as your lord." The young lord demanded. A blue bolt of energy erupted from the handheld weapon of the old warrior. It sizzled past Drew scorching Drews right arm, striking the young lord full in the chest. Drew saw Meme twist out of the grasp of the old warrior while he was focused on killing the young lord.

The young lord was dead before his body collapsed in the dust.

All hell broke loose.

Most of the armed security officers had already been close to, or behind cover. Drew and the young lord were the only ones left in the open. Drew rolled behind the dead body of the young lord and rolled it on its side to provide just a bit more cover.

Blue streaks sizzled, green streaks buzzed, and projectile weapons barked.

He felt something, like a hole being ripped from his chest. He was not hit, but it felt like his heart was missing.

The Other's warriors paid the price for being in the open and having the reflective armor of their craft at their back. When he felt and finally heard the command to cease fire. The battle ground had gone only one way, most of the Others were dead or wounded.

Security warriors flooded the area disarming and cuffing those still alive.

Drew found Meme sprawled looking at the sky. Half of her chest was gone, by the same weapon that killed the young lord. Her killer was still alive but gasping through a partially open neck.

Meme had made him pay a price for his dishonor.

Drew knelt by her body and wept. Openly started to bawl. The loss of her was beyond anything he could imagine. He picked up her head and placed it in his lap and stroked the fur and mane, trying to wipe the blood away from her majestic face.

He heard a gurgling chuckle coming from the old warrior. He was looking at them both from his prone position.

"I knew you were weak. Crying over a female. She was nothing, just another ruined animal getting in the way of a true warrior," he coughed and spit blood, "At least I will die as a warrior, free of your corruption."

Drew went into that dark place he avoided. He broadcast a scream "Sword!" He could feel several of his pride move to answer his cry.

The medical team arrived and started to move Meme's body. He knelt again and uncovered her face. He softly kissed her lips that were beginning to grow cold.

He felt a warm presence behind him. A wall of support. Tiffany helped him to a standing position. He turned and looked her in the eyes. He could tell she had been crying but now she was stone cold and vibrating with hate.

She looked down at the still breathing body of the old warrior. He still cackled with venom.

She looked past him to another prone other warrior. The one that had fought Nella. He was the one that had killed the security officer to get their weapons back.

Drew thought that he had at least two to deal with. He scanned the Other's survivors, 8 to deal with. He found the same hate that consumed the old warrior.

Except for one.

He walked over to the younger warrior and looked deep into his mind. He was the youngest son of the old warrior and wanted something much different than the rest.

"Your father is going to die. Do you want to die with him?" Drew paused, " I see something else in you. Do want a different fate?"

The young warrior did not answer but others did for him.

Out of the gurgling mouth of the aged warrior came a scream of "No! Die like a warrior!"

From behind Drew, another voice responded, "Please let him live. All he has ever wanted to be is a scholar. My father would not allow it, and his father said he would kill him before allowing the disgrace."

The younger son had been wheeled out to join the rest of the living Others. They had been brought up and were kneeling in a group so they could watch Drew dispense justice. The younger queen ran to the younger son's side and hugged and kissed him in happiness to see him alive.

Drew just sent a message to security to pull the young man and put him with the others for now. He was not sure what to do with the ones that did not partake in the carnage and betrayal.

Tiffany walked up with his two-handed broad sword cradled in her arms. Drew's and Tiffany's eyes met, and she nodded. She handed him the sword and stepped back. He had sent a message to bring out everyone except the children.

Drew waited and turned to the assembled Pride and what was left of the Others.

"We met Others of the Cat lineage and offered our home and sustenance to 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 commented and then leaned down to make a more private comment to the old warrior "You 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, after 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, its about your last night of breeding. We have four females that are pregnant with cub." Eddie ended but was waiting on Drew to catch up. Drew was sitting at his very 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 interest. "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?"

End of Chapter 9