Star Kitten (21 page)

Snout had been a Commander on a Porkonji
freighter, which had occasionally dabbled in smuggling over the
years before Snout found himself on the wrong side in an organized
crime war between two rival Mobsters. He became the fall guy, when
officials apprehended him and offered him a deal to rat out the
rest of the gang leaders whom he’d been smuggling for. Snout, being
a rather powerful and arrogant Porko to begin with… accustomed to
giving orders and not being bossed around by anyone… basically told
the investigators to go fuck themselves. Oh how he regretted it
later, when the courts sentenced him to ten years at NAPP; but he
also knew in the grand scheme of things, he was far safer in prison
than he was back on planet Porkonji if those mobsters got hold of
him!

Now after three years on Rijel 12—slimmed
way down and very lean—Snout was a very intimidating physical
specimen. Best of all, he knew all too well how to whip a crew into
shape, give commands that sailors would follow without question,
and maneuver a space craft skillfully.

Solomon told his staff in
the Command Center, “I knew right from the first day Snout accepted
command that I’d picked the right Captain.” Snout’s barking
commands and immense knowledge of the ship’s controls, maneuvering
capabilities, and hull/speed limitations were stunningly
impressive. It was like Snout had never even left the bridge of his
old freighter. After a few days altering the furniture to fit the
big Porko comfortably, the new Captain looked like he felt right at
home. Solomon said he just chuckled to himself and looked down at
Kcsheeech, who smiled a toothy grin right back up at him. “Yep…
good choice,
Keech
,” was all that Solomon said (pronouncing Zorg names was next
to impossible for Solomon so he just said "Keech" to save
time).

Then he just left the ship and let Kcsheeech
and Snout do their thing. Solomon’s rule when it came to delegating
was when you find the right people you can trust with a job, you
stay the hell out of their way and just let them get right to
it.

And that’s how he explained it all to his
staff of now-acquiescent Slarts and thoroughly pleased humans a few
days before launch. The humans all smiled and the Slarts fluttered
their facial tentacles. It all made sense to them now.

All this time they’d been
working on coordinating the rehabbing of the terminal, preparing
the ship to go trading with planet Porkonji. Now they were amazed
to find Solomon had been going around recruiting scalawags and
cutthroats to man the
Anarchy
and instead go on a pirate raid the whole time.
But with Solomon’s great skill at explaining things and being
respectful of his staff members’ cultural practices and instincts;
he now had their unanimous approval.

Indeed, soon the whole
planet would know, and everyone else would gradually start finding
out throughout the galaxy (even if they didn’t yet know the true
origin of the threat): New Australia was to be launching its first
pirate ship… and Solomon’s humble command center would soon become
the secret headquarters of the galaxy’s most fearsome new
space pirates
.

"Good evening Pumalar, I'm Tabby Calico and
this... is IPN News," said the disembodied voice of a news
anchorperson on a TV screen in the lounge area next to Rex's
restaurant on Star Pussy.

Anxious, fast-paced news show music blared
from the speakers as the female Pumalar pivoted her chair to face a
different camera, and a small window onscreen popped up this time
showing a pirate flag—attached to a sword—superimposed over the
picture of some unknown planet in deep space. A small crowd of
people sat disinterested, awaiting their names to be called
announcing their table was ready. Few of them were really listening
to the news initially as it blared from a giant video screen on the
wall, next to the even more gigantic fish tank where Rex kept his
exotic assortment of ocean creatures for customers to select their
meal.

However within a few minutes many would have
their eyes riveted to the broadcast….

"At the top of the news
today, the galaxy is again rocked by the news of yet another pirate
raid on a remote space colony," continued Tabby as the frenetic
music faded out. Her smiling face had now faded to a look of deep
concern. Tabby paused and then went on reading the teleprompter,
"Interplanetary Authorities on Porkonji report that their deep
space colony Frabrak 3 has been raided and sacked by the crew of an
unknown ship, believed by some to be the former Earth
freighter
Unity
,
which was captured by rioting prisoners during the revolt on Rijel
12 two years ago. As our viewers may recall, this riot led to the
complete overthrow of prison authority and also the presumed
massacre of its entire garrison and mining staff."

Tabby Calico maintained her stone faced
seriousness as she seemed to be trying to hide her own morbid
fascination with the story. She continued, "Reports of pirate
activity have increased dramatically over the past several months
as space freighters and even a few passenger ships have been hit by
pirate vessels while traveling in deep space between planets. Crews
and passengers have been brutalized, captured, and murdered. Ships
have been plundered, and in many cases actually disappeared
completely from Inter-planetary space never to be heard from again.
Presumptions about the fate of these vessels have ranged from
pirates scuttling the crafts, to some believing the ships have been
pressed into pirate service; and even a few government officials
have confided, on condition of anonymity, that the pirates may have
been building up a fleet of raiders to eventually challenge
galactic Star Fleets. Officially, the Interplanetary Authority
denies these theories as mere exaggerations and irresponsible
rumors."

Tabby then pivoted her seat again to look at
a different camera, and with a forced-smile, introduced a second
creature sitting next to her... another much younger and
spectacularly gorgeous female Pumalar named Patty Persian. Tabby
eyed her younger more voluptuous and striking colleague with just a
bare hint of jealousy, then said with a slightly insincere smile,
"With us now is Patty Persian with an investigative report on this
ever-expanding story. What can you tell us, Patty?"

Patty Persian purred with respectful
acknowledgment, but only for a brief moment (much like the way
human women will give that all too familiar faked kindly smile
toward another female human whom they deem to be their rival). Then
she looked right at the camera. It was her moment to shine, after
all, and she didn't need the venerated older she-cat's interaction
or endorsement just to lend legitimacy to Patty’s hard-earned
story. Young Patty knew she'd gained the chance of a lifetime to do
this powder keg of a report, and it had taken her months to bed
down with enough Pumalar Network executives to get her shot at it,
that was for sure. She eyed the camera with a delighted fire in her
eyes for a moment.

"Thanks... Tabby," said Patty not even
looking at her, merely blinking sideways in her general direction.
Hell, in a few years, if she played her cards right, she'd likely
be sitting in THAT chair anyway. Tabby Calico was nearing thirty...
middle age for most any Pumalar female. Someday the network would
be making a change.

Thus Patty began her
report saying, "Some time ago, it's now been discovered,
Interplanetary Officials detected an interstellar distress call
from a freighter identifying itself as the doomed Earth
Cruiser
Unity
.
The transponder identity was clearly that of the now infamous ship,
and the senders of the message claimed they were its surviving crew
now desperately in need of assistance. Patrol ships responded to
the area, but found no trace of the ship or any evidence of debris
indicating the ship might have destructed. At first the assumption
was that other pirates might have gotten there first to feast on
the supposedly disabled craft, then towed it away to some secret
base for repairs. Then several weeks after that, planet officials
on Earth reported yet another missing food freighter heading back
to Earth from a distant space station farm facility in the
Zorgolong star system. This ship and all its crew, cargo, and
passengers were never seen nor heard from again."

Patty now stood up from her chair, which was
something Tabby Calico NEVER did of course (no doubt wanting to
hide her expanding tummy from the cameras and keep ratings sky high
with her big furry breasts and kindly, maternal-looking face). Not
so with Patty, she had the body that male Pumalars craved; and she
wanted everyone in the galaxy watching this broadcast to see it.
She was a beauty. Adorable curves and fluffy snow white fur, teased
out like a lion's mane. She worked it well too, slowly rising and
gesturing toward a gigantic GREEN SCREEN behind her which now had
imposed on itself a map of the galaxy with names written in curving
letters over the planets Pumalar, Zorgolong, and Porkonji. It also
had markings on it indicating the locations of various sites where
events had occurred.

As Patty spoke, and
gestured or pointed to locations, they would highlight on the
map... or new ones would appear as she described things like, "here
was the last known location of the ship claiming to be the
Unity
." And in her
"investigative report" Patty told the "known" version of what had
been transpiring ever since The
Anarchy
(
Unity
) had departed from New
Australia. The report was filled with “eyewitness accounts” and
interviews with government officials who spoke “on condition of
anonymity”, appearing onscreen with their faces obscured. Theories
abounded: wild ones as well as plausible ones. And they ranged from
beliefs that a Pirate Alliance had been formed and this had led to
their increased aggressiveness… to more bizarre theories that
perhaps a brand new race of beings or invading forces from a
distant planet had been scouting the galaxy. Yet she kept on
circling back to speculation over and over again that the planet
Rijel 12 was somehow the origin of this activity.

People in the restaurant waiting area began
to pay attention to her report now….

And what of this supposed
reappearance of the
Unity
? Oh that story had been going
around for months. The ship had been reported by witnesses as
showing up all over the galaxy (some witnesses were credible, and
some not in the least). But could it really be them—the former
rebels of the Naustie Rebellion? Patty seemed to think so. Could
the former prisoners of New Australia Planetary Prison really have
survived and turned their planet into a pirate base? Patty didn’t
just simply imply it. She bluntly smacked the green screen behind
her in close proximity to the little ball with lighted letters
above it saying,
R-12
. She said, with chest thrust out and a lifting of her chin
to make her figure look even sexier, “All evidence seems to
indicate THIS planet as the origin of all the recent violent
raids….”

Felina Toyger sat in the restaurant
devouring her seafood dinner, a special one prepared by Rex
Middlefield, who was the head chef and now her personal friend… her
best friend on Star Pussy really. Rex had actually coordinated his
own schedule over time so that he could spend the evenings chatting
it up with his favorite gal pal. She was also his star customer; a
celebrity that drew lots of attention from the Star Pussy
clientele. And for Felina’s part, the attention was no bother. She
liked her job, loved her customers, and never seemed to be
overwhelmed by the trappings of stardom. Beings from all species
often recognized her, and would come up to talk to her at the
restaurant. She never shooed them away nor brushed them off. It
just wasn’t her style.

Rex was certainly an
indirect beneficiary of her generosity too. Drawing customers to
his restaurant, and reserving a private table each night for just
Felina to occupy meant good business for Rex and he well knew it.
After all, it improved his Employee Grade, and lent him full access
to most any attraction, Planetary Environ, or venue on Star Pussy.
And Rex loved—just
loved
—the hunky gorgeous boys
working over in the Earth Environ in the Roman Gladiator attraction
(handsome bodybuilders, most of them)! Each night both he and
Felina would finish their shifts and spend the evening detailing
all their exploits from the day, then Rex would tell Felina his
tawdry plans for the night, thrilling her and humoring her as she’d
purr and giggle all the way through dinner.

Theirs was a spectacular
friendship. It truly was. Being that she was an Empath and a very
good one at that—yet with a streak of independence a mile
wide—Felina was fascinated with a being such as Rex. He was a gay
human male who had such vastly different desires when it came to
sex; and despite being in his mid-thirties, was still quite active
in his homosexual lifestyle. Maybe it was more because he had
absolutely no physical desire for her in any way shape or form, yet
loved her deeply and sincerely. He wanted nothing from her; just
enjoyed her company: always terribly interested in every aspect
of
her
life,
her
feelings, and
her
desires. No one else ever expressed an interest
in things like that before. Felina totally embraced being what she
was, of course, but most anyone and everyone seeking contact or
attention from Felina was interested in her body. Not Rex. He loved
her completely like some childhood friend who’d known her all her
life; or an older brother in whom she could confide anything and
everything. That’s what really fascinated her about him.