Drew's Trouble with Cats and Roaches Pt. 21

"And your little tail? Is the scout ship maned?" Asked Thing Two, finally speaking.

'Aye' came another voice out the void and then the screen split. There was a gasp from Thing Two, groaning as she slid forward in the chair.

"Biani what are you doing out here?" Thing Two whispered.

"Hello, my beautiful sister. It has been a few years. May I please dock? I need a drink, a shower and then I can tell you what this little shit niece of yours has put me through."

"Coordinates on the way," navigation stated as Thing Two had signaled.

"This is that one?" Thing One mentally sent to her sister. Two just nodded her head.

"This is not over Aya, I am still going to turn you over my knee and tan that backside of yours." Biani commented to Aya over very public ship comm.

Thing One punched in the comm and replied, "You DO know you are threatening the daughter of Lord Drew and our Niece."

"Yes, I am. And she knows I mean it too!" Biani commented as Aya smiled and swung her legs in her captain's chair.

From Osiris came the comment. "Aunties, Ill race you home!"

The Cat Destroyer Osiris then blinked out of known space.

***

Drew knew he had to swing by the caldera lake at the top. The view was breathtaking, before heading to his cabin. They circled the lake and then skimmed the rocky cliffs surrounding it. He was sad that the transplanting of earth fish had taken such a negative turn. The Bio teams lost one of their members when an unknown species that looked like an overgrown Pike or barracuda showed up to eat the stocked fish and one of the biologists along with them. So much for summer camp outings and throwing a line in the water. The damn thing looked like a small submarine in the pictures he was shown.

His cabin they were headed to, was now somewhat renowned for the discovery of another sentient species, the spiders. For him personally, that fateful trip gained him an adopted daughter that was an empath and an eight-legged daughter that loved music and to play with children. So much had taken place and been gained in one short week. It took weeks to get all the scientists off his property.

The shuttle hopped over the ridge and slid down into his valley. He could see that the trees Cara and he had planted that first weekend, had new shoots and buds for this spring. Drew slowed and came over the compound and then spun the craft around looking for anything out of place. He did not expect anything bad, but there was no reason not to look...just in case.

The AI voice came alive as they hovered above the pad and then slowly settled down. They were on vacation and had no reason to hurry anything.

"Lord Drew, you have 22 messages outstanding with three tagged as Priority." The AI stated in its monochrome voice.

"I'll take them inside. Please verify external and internal temperatures of the cabin."

"7 centigrade exterior, 18 centigrade interior." The AI intoned in its Drew-preferred non-human response.

Drew and Sr. slung bags on their backs and trundled over to the 'his' cabin in the new compound. The smaller of the cabins, had been Drew's from the beginning. It became a bit too small when the last drama of the Spider introductions started. He had to concede and had a larger modular structure flown in that could hold a larger Cat sleeping and breeding pit. The third building was designated as 'administration.' It was just a building with a series of rooms that could be offices or small sleeping quarters. These were for species or individuals that were not used to sleeping, being naked or having sex with others in the room.

Water supplies, hydronic heating and power were all up graded. Drew tried to ignore the changes and just look at how the earth trees were adapting to this new local. He could see evidence of how the snow rabbits had started to flourish. He got constant reports on the owls, hawks and bald eagles that had been transplanted and released. He was hoping that the lynx and snow leopards had survived the winter.

It was interesting how the spiders became entranced with the feathered birds. He was dubious at first, but their reports, when translated, were magnificent documents on understanding a new species, that soared above their heads.

Finally, the baggage had been hauled and stored in the little cabin. The cabin had taken back its original appearance It was comfy again and made for relaxation and personal enjoyment.

'Let the other new buildings become the drama and focal point of species understanding.' Drew thought as he stripped out of his flight tacticals'.

Drew was fastening up after coming out of the restroom when he heard is dad call.

"Drew! Drew damn it, get to your pad and find out what is going on. My lovelies are sending me comm faster than I can answer!" Sr. demanded.

Drew scowled, he had been on 'the road' for barely four hours and the world was ending again. As he lit up his pad, flipped it to broadcast a holo-screen, he was stopped dead in his tracks.

He could feel her, Aya, suddenly remarkably close. He reached out and 'touched' her and got 'acknowledgement!' and a 'giggle?' He was not sure how long she had been in-system, it was not like he was looking for her close by.

"Open pad and screen for priority messages" Drew ordered.

"You have 16 priority messages," commented the AI. '16!' he thought 'what the hell is going on?"

Display in Chron order with sender identified. 'DB, Target, Thing One, Eddie and Alexander! what the hell?' Drew wondered.

"Open Comm to Target" he demanded and saw the connection made.

"Hello beautiful what is going on?" as he looked at her visage in the monitor floating above his pad. Her look was of deep dark storm clouds and he was waiting for lightning to shoot from her eyes.

"Don't you 'beautiful' me," She huffed, 'Nalia went into labor when that overstuffed Cockroach sacred her half to death. And before you ask, she and the babies are fine. No help from you! Bringing that thing into our house!"

"Yes dear, we can talk about the Ambassador later." Drew had called up an attachment from DB and a warning from him that Target was on the warpath. He started to chuckle when he saw the ambassador leaning over Nalia, and the newborn babes.

"What is so damn funny?" Target stormed.

"I am looking at an odd picture of Nalia, the babies, a she-wolf, and large predator cat, surrounded by nurses and framed by the Ambassador. I assume you have seen this picture my love."

"DB must have sent that. He had the same reaction you did. I do not find it as amusing. I should have been there to help with the birth, not a large cockroach." Fumed Target.

"There will be more births and more babies my love. And I assume you will be there for those. Cara, our daughter, will be going through the same experience in a few months." Drew paused.

He knew he should not, but he had to.

"Or I could invite the ambassador, since he now seems have experience?" Drew finished with what he hoped was an honest smile.

All he got back was a Growl "Go handle YOUR daughter Aya. Her adventure has brought the Marauders to our door. I assume you have gotten other messages?" She ended with a smile he knew too well. He would pay for being a smartass later.

"Goodbye my love. I assume my vacation is now at an end and I will see you soon. Please remember I called you first?" he said with hope in his voice. He saw her look at him like he was a complete idiot, and their link was broken...from her end.

Open hailing to Thing One," he demanded of the AI. "The ship Harmonia is in transition and cannot receive typical Comm." the AI responded.

"Open comm to Alexander," he directed.

"Lord Drew, I am glad you have responded. There are a few mysteries that in need of unraveling. Aya, my precocious niece, is in the center of most of them. If you have not heard, she and a mystery ship literally popped into space in orbit, scaring the living hell out of Control. She says she is the captain of a Cat destroyer named Osiris and that she has made peace with the Marauders." Alexander looked into Drews eyes and gave that small Cat smile. "She is in a shuttle with the Marauder emissaries and some freed slaves and said she is heading to 'see her poppa.' We assume she is heading to the capital and castle, so I hope you can return. She IS your daughter, Lord Drew...after all."

Drew could feel her and smiled, he knew she was coming to him, now, here at the cabin.

"Get Eddie and contact DB. Tell them to get to the cabin," he paused and looked up, he could hear a shuttle close by. "She is here, I need you here too. Oh, and let Target know. She is a bit miffed with me, but she will take your call." Before Comm was broken he had turned to inform his dad.

"Dad, clean up, we have company," demanded Lord Drew, Protector of the Pride.

***

Drew had walked up and stood on an outcropping that looked down on the open space in front of the three structures. He was a bit confused. He swore he had heard the shuttle, but the sky was clear and just beginning to show the colors of the pending sunset.

His dad had come outside and then questioned his sanity. Sr. had then taken up a bucket, dumped in beer bottles and ice and took a seat. Drew could still hear his Dad's mumbling, "quiet boring weekend my boy says. Come with me, drink beer and tell war stories. Last time he ended up with talking spiders..."

After a while of scanning the sky, he felt and heard the rushing of wind and the sound of thrusters. A shuttle, of unknown origin rocketed over the very same ridge he and his father came over before noon. It was hugging the landscape and acting like it was being chased by a demon of legend. It screamed over the camp and then went vertical, flipping over several thousand feet in the air and then began to spiral down to land. The spiral is what he would have expected. No pilot wants to come into land, not knowing the terrain and not knowing what was there to greet him.

The shuttle had the basic functional design as his, but it was different in a more tactical weaponized fabrication. Small stubby wings jutted from the sides on two levels. These held pods that he had no doubt, held destructive weapons.

There were several antennae on the front nose that he was sure were either comm or targeting. They reminded him of historical old, fixed wing airplanes he studied and fell in love with as a youngster. As it neared the ground, the spiraling stopped, and the foreign shuttle settled with weapons facing away from the structures.

'Good' he thought, 'the pilot is at least polite. He knows not to point weapons at me.' Drew noted in his exasperation. The rear of the shuttle was one large hatch and he heard it crack as he slowly walked down the dirt path from the outcropping. His dad had not moved an inch from lounging on the porch.

Drew walked up to his dad as the hatch turned out to the be a ramp. A curtain type of arrangement slid to the side as soon as the ramp was down and extended.

There stood his daughter, HIS DAUGHTER, draped in clothing that would make great visuals for an old pirate movie. A shimmering strap ran from shoulder to hip. At her hip was a sword, its pommel glittered in the waning light. She had golden plate armor over her chest. Her kilt looked to be made of some exotic metal weave. She had knee boots of some fur fabrication. And on her head was a Tricorn hat, with a rosette cockade with jeweled button.

Behind her, in the belly of the ship, dwarfing her early teenage frame, were creatures from varying species. Directly behind her were a group of Cats.

But Felines like he had never seen before.

The elders and those that came before, seemed to favor feline genetics when populating the worlds. The Kettle had seemed to be bred from a Lynx or its off-world kin. In his own Pride, there were multiple subspecies but none with the height and coloring of these females. His own Pride had the coloring of lions with some differing markings around the muzzle and down the manes.

His immediate reaction was to compare them to the snow leopards that had been released last year. Tall, lean, with a greyish base color and the spots of a leopard that sometimes became stripes. Their facial structures were more rounded with large round eyes and long lashes.

Those behind Aya were definitely female. They had round, lightly furred breasts, with elongated nipples. Their bodies were sleek, but more highly furred than 'his' Cats. The fur seemed different too, more dense, maybe multi-layered.

Aya, after a seemingly long pause, stepped down the ramp and marched towards her father and grandfather. Drew seemed to feel there was a need for more formality, so he waited for his costumed daughter to find her way to him.

Aya knelt, pulled her sword, and shoved it towards him in both hands, all while looking at the ground. Drew stood stoically on the porch looming over his daughter. He sent her a personal message.

'So, did we have an adventure?' his mental message reached her and started her to giggle but she held it in. He got back a personal message, 'YES!' but she stayed kneeling, head bowed.

'Were you the piloting the shuttle on the way in?' he sent, and she could feel his tone. 'Yyyeess' she replied. 'Do NOT show off like that again in my presence. This is not a sim and things can go wrong.' Drew paused and then sent 'Please my daughter, I don't want to lose you over a simple mechanical failure.'

'Yes papa' was her demure reply.

"Up" Drew verbally commanded. She sprung up with a leap and a smile.

"Captain Aya Scott, reporting back. My mission accomplished." Aya stated for those around her. She sent a mental message to the Marauder cat emissaries now walking down the ramp. She raised her head and then stood and sheathed her sword. She spun and stood in front of her father and waiting on the Marauder delegation. When they stood a couple of meters in front of Aya, they all went down to one knee, unsheathed their swords, and performed the same ritual. He could see the tails twitching. He was not sure out of nervousness or... something else.

"Please stand, formality in such a county setting ruins the ambiance." Lord Drew commented the assembled Cats rose as one and with amazing fluidity.

"Lord Drew may I introduce, Emissary Queen Ama and her co-hort Bella, Camila, and Dahlia."

"It is my pleasure to welcome you to my casual abode. I was not expecting guests, especially ones such as yourselves. May I please introduce my father, Drew Senior," Drew paused as they bowed to his dad and he clumsily returned it, causing a few in the back to giggle.

You seem to know my daughter..." he faltered when he heard Aya send him a message 'PRINCESS AYA'

"My daughter Princess Aya. Again, this visit and its significance are important to me, but I do want to spend a few minutes with the Princess." He looked down at Aya and her smile, but she lost it when she saw how he looked.

"If you will join me in warmer accommodations, I am sure others will be joining us shortly," he pointed to the larger of the buildings and led the way. At the doorway and after the emissaries entered there was a slight commotion. The others did not want to go in.

Drew turned to his father and gave him a questioning look. "Dad, can you please go in and keep the emissaries entertained? I want a few minutes with the PRINCESS to find out what is going on."

"Sure son. Go deal with the PRINCESS and I'll keep them busy. I'll get some grub started for our guests. It looks like they have not eaten in a while. If you need help spanking the Princess, I'll help after diner!" he said with less jest than Aya was hoping for.

"Why does everyone want to spank me?" she said out loud.

Drew ignored Aya's comment but stopped and looked at the freed slaves, "Any who wish to be by yourselves or together please follow me to the third building. There is a large dining area in the back, individual rooms on both floors and a view deck over the kitchen on the second floor. I warn you it gets cold when the sun sets. Food is in the freezer. It's a bit old school, but I am sure we all can make do." Drew finished. Drew was bit surprised as he was hugged, touched, and kissed on the hand in honor and thanked by many.

Drew took Aya's adorned elbow and pulled her into the first room that could be locked.

"So, PRINCESS, I need the real short version of what you have been up to for the past couple of weeks. You can leave out all of computer hacking and subterfuge, that has been uncovered, just start when you got to their home planet."

And he started to listen, and he realized that this was the short version, and it would be a while. After the first terror of a short transition hop through a gravity well, he needed to sit down to listen to the rest.

He was essentially Lord Drew Protector of the Pride and now, most probably the Marauders. Well after he performed his Lordly duties with the emissaries. He would need to mate with each of them to make it official. Cat culture was Cat culture after all.

Drew huffed and then reached for his daughter and pulled her close. She burrowed into him and they were quiet for a few short moments.

Drew pulled back a bit an looked down at Aya, "No more Princess stuff, OK?" He smiled and ran his hand over her mane and the fur that had grown back.

"I told you, the whole 'princess thing'...it was only to fit into their way of thinking. They are very patriarchal, and like you had to deal with in the original Pride, they did not take well to the human or mixed species part of me." She paused remembering all his old stories about becoming Lord Drew.

"There will be some of the females and what is left of the warriors that will not bend a knee. The switch to you, is going to be exceedingly difficult for some. That is why you need to set the tone with your mating duties and then meet the old Lord on their current home planet before he dies." Aya paused again

"Sorry papa, I know it's weird talking to me about this, but...It's just an idea, but you may want to have Alexander and the rogue clans shift to that planet. It is a nice Class M planet with oceans where you can actually walk to the water. Not everything in the ocean wants to eat you." she commented casually, "and there are large islands or small continents covering the surface, so the clans can split up...it's just an idea."

And Drew could see she was thinking much deeper that many three times her age.

Drew heard and felt arrival of more shuttles and then the communication of the Cats. Eddie, his Bond mate, Alexander, and several Cats he was not familiar with. He scanned and found the Raven El and several more of Alexander's 'secret' group.

He stepped out of the Admin building and faced the new cluster of familiar faces and some not so familiar. Aya was hiding behind him and just peeking around knowing that she was in trouble with a few of them. He directed Eddie and Alexanders security team to meet with the emissaries in the short term.

"Aw, Intelligence officer Osiris, I have yet to see your report of your mission. I assume you hurried home in a confiscated ship to give it verbally?" Alexander was standing just off Aya's side and El had suddenly appeared behind her.

"Oh, look Alexander, she has dressed up for the occasion, something demure and incognito. I am sure it's so no one would know she is an agent that should not be seen?" Stated El as she put her hand on Aya's shoulder, making sure she did not slither away.

"Play nice you two," Drew commented to Alexander and El. He tried not to laugh at how small and young Aya looked at that moment. Or how deep a hole she had dug for herself by her adventure.

"She gave me a short version of her adventure, and I am astounded. So, are you going to arrest her now or wait until this is all over?"

"Papa! You wouldn't let them arrest me?" Aya spun with shock and faced her father.