The Death Fangs

By pokermind

Chapter 1

Aboard the Death Fang Class LAC Death Fang's Bane Lieutenant JG Sings Brightly thought, 'Always a Kitten inform Admiral Dances on Clouds we have located nine cloaked enemy ships. Have her activate the People's (treecat) plot.'

Ensign Tommy Always a Kitten the only two leg in the crew spoke into his mike, "Admiral Alexander-Harrington the memory singers have located nine cloaked ships, they're on the treecat plot now."

Honor punched the stud for the Death Fang's Bane, and said, "Ensign Always a Kitten have the memory singers locate the command ship, and label it with a gold dot." Honor knew the cats would taste the commander. She turned to the tactical officer, "Slave the new information into tactical." Nine red enemy dots appeared on her tactical repeater, all well in Manticorian missile range, and as she watched one turned gold. "Pass a well done to the memory singers, Tommy."

Honor hit the fleet wide toggle, "Cloaked enemy spotted by the cats, slave missile control to the cat targeting information target red dots only we want to capture the enemy command ship. Lock in Alpha Targeting, and launch pods." She turned to her Flag Captain Andy Jackson, "Launch marine boarding party we will not target the enemies command ship. I want it captured intact if possible." Again punching the stud for the Death Fang's Bane, "Death Fang attack squadron escort the Silver Claw's assault shuttle."

Admiral Michelle Henke RMN and Countess Gold Peak (Mike) said, "Hope you're luckier with the bastards than I was girl." Mike's battle in Mesa four months before had been a disaster for the Manticorian Navy losing five battle cruisers and eight destroyers. Mike had tagged along to watch Mesa receive the 'salamander's' regards. God knows I wouldn't be here if Hipper had not warned us about the cloaked enemy. If those memory singers are detecting those bastards good enough for missile tracking they're toast. If not we can still we got time to run.

Honor pushed the fleet stud again, and ordered, "FIRE!" she turned to Nimitz "Your furry cohorts are doing well so far. I hope their targeting is accurate, stinker." A thousand Manticorian missiles tracked eight very unlucky sharks.

Nimitz signed, "With the hidden enemy gone it will be time for vengeance. We will rend the enemy of the People, and avenge the Black Rock Clan."

After missile launch the marine assault shuttle and the cats globe formation changed course for the 'lucky' command shark following the missiles. equidistant on the surface of the Globe formation in a three-sided pyramid the four memory singers constantly updated the Peoples' plot was fed into the missiles' targeting systems with unbelievable accuracy. The sharks maneuvered wildly, antimissiles and point defense took out some of the missile swarm, but it was in vain each lightly armored shark took the full force of at least twenty laser heads. The memory singers tasted the bitter taste of death as eight sharks were destroyed, one near miss grazed the command shark causing its reactor to go into emergency shut down as its containment field became unstable. Mesan reactors had very reliable safe guards, and while none of the destroyed sharks died of containment failure the emergency shut down left the remaining command shark highly visible, adrift, and almost helpless.

The ten Death Fang class LACs in englobement formation soon centered on the command shark accelerating and decelerating at a thousand gravities. Tommy asked for their surrender at Lieutenant Explores Everything's orders, none of the cats could speak, and Tommy worried his voice, that of a six-year-old, might not be rough enough to demand a surrender, "Mesan ship surrender or be destroyed you are centered in our globe." The silver claws' assault shuttle at an acceleration and deceleration of five hundred gravities would take a while to catch up.

Admiral Tupolev of the Mesan Alignment Navy sat on the bridge of the powerless damaged Mako, and even with power his cloaked ship was slower than the LACs surrounding him. Worse the enemy proved they could see through the cloak, and all his antimissile missiles were gone in the futile attempt to stop the Mantie missile swarm. His mouth opened in stunned disbelief as the surrender demand, from a kid no less, came in on the clear com. He thought The Manties must be robbing the cradle! None the less we must surrender, but how could this happen we nearly destroyed the first Mantie fleet sent against us?

- - September two t-years earlier - -

Bushy Tail named Alice by the Two Legs was waiting on the shuttle to take her on her snotty cruse, she was an engineering midshipman. She was also anxious and she would be joining the CLAC with the LAC maintenance cats, some twenty hunters had joined the Two Legs' (Human) Navy as space cats, and, she would be the ranking member of the People (treecats) on the ship. During her time on Saganami Island she had learned a lot on about the Two Leg's machines and before she had graduated from one of the Two Leg's universities in Physics, but even with sign language and her skill in rapid keyboarding she had not socialized much with the Two Legs. Now she was not a fully trained officer, she had not gotten much of the training in social interactions that most students got at Saganami Island. But now she would be the senior officer of the People aboard the LAC carrier HMS Defiant selected by the RMN as the test-bed integrating the People with the Two Legs. Being the senior officer of the cats gnawed at her as any problems between the People and the Two Legs' would fall on her plate. Genetics had given her tail fur more length than most cats, and when angry her tail bristled to a size twice that of a normal cat. Bushy Tail had a temper that often caused her tail to bristle, hence her treecat name, but a quick temper might not be the best thing in the senior cat officer. She worried about her ability to handle that responsibility, and she had the added responsibility to help teach Two Legs to sign. Alice was not a patient person either, and did not suffer fools gladly. She thought, Well you picked this life for yourself; you will do your job, and not let the People down!

- - January a t-year and a quarter earlier - -

Golden Mind, whose human name was Cassandra, was a kitten of Nimitz and Samantha, she had just graduated from college the day of the disastrous sneak attack on Grayson that occurred on Christmas. Now two weeks later she nuzzled White Stone Biter, whose human name was Togo, in his depression. White Stone Biter's bonded human a LAC designer had died in space during the sneak attack on Grayson his shuttle not scheduled to return him until after Christmas. That White Stone Biter had returned to the planet for the graduation of Golden Mind and the rest of Nimitz and Samantha's kittens had saved him physically, but the loss of his adopted human and the intense pain was killing him mentally. It was not uncommon for either the human or treecat of a bonded pair to suicide on the death of their partner. In two weeks since the disaster he had not eaten, and White Stone Biter was a wretched sight his ribs beginning to show from starvation and his fur matted and dirty.

Sympathy had not worked, and so Golden Mind tried a different tack, 'You must eat and regain your strength to help rend our and the two legs enemies. You have told me that before you came here you helped bring down three death fangs endangering the People of Bright Water Clan. Tell me how can such a brave male shirk his duty to the People?'

'The two legs use complicated tools to rend their enemies not claw and tooth as the People do, Golden Mind. Thanks to your singing the knowledge of the two legs and my own experience as a stone biter I understand the machines of the two legs better than most of the other People perhaps, but not as well as the two legs. He sighed, Now that Star Flyer is dead I shall learn no more, nor do I want to know more. Now I wish only to die.' He lowered his head on his true hands signaling he wished neither company, nor further conversation.

Golden Mind tasted his bitter despondency, but rudely continued, 'And with your death the People are deprived of the only teacher our people have of the two legs' flying silver eggs. How can you be so selfish, White Stone biter? We must help our two legs defeat this enemy. I need you to help design a LAC that the People can use, and only you have the knowledge and experience to do this. She flattened her ears and hissed as White Stone Biter tasted the full-bore contempt of a memory singer. She unsheathed her claws and raked his flank. I could rend your worthless pelt myself. Now get up and eat have you heard that the Black Rock Clan was destroyed by our two leg's enemies. Our two legs' enemies are now the People's enemies. It is time to rend not grieve White Stone Biter and the People need you. We must go to Dances on Clouds' mate and see how the People can help rend the enemy.' The power of the mind glow of the young untrained memory singer, and the taste her hate for the enemy made White Stone Biter rise from his melancholy. As he ate he heard more news of the destruction of the Black Rock Clan the deaths of many of Death Fang's Bane's Clan on Sphinx, and millions of the two legs who shared the home system and Grayson. This fed his own growing hate of the enemy, as hate replaced depression he wished to live and rend the enemy, the joy of life returned, and he ate with gusto. He now had a goal in life, to help the People Rend the enemy with LACs of their own.

On the voyage to the Manticore system Golden Mind asked, Did you taste the malevolent mind glow of the enemy before the attack, White Stone Biter?

'I did three whiskers to the left of the sun. You also tasted the presence of the enemy?'

Golden Mind's ears noted the affirmative as her fingers worked the keys of the computer, two planes intercepted to form a line on the screen. 'With just two planes we can only generate a line of intersection. Explores Everything visited the farm in orbit two days before graduation, and he also tasted the malevolent mind glow. His plane and my plane made a line. If we put in the two lines we should know where the enemy was.' The two lines intersected on the screen to form a yellow dot. Now the data of the enemy missiles. She typed some more several lines appeared their intersection was a blue dot on the screen. Now we shall compare. A single green dot appeared on the screen rather than two separate blue and yellow dots. 'Our ability to localize the enemies mind glow allows us to find the enemy where the two legs cannot. Detecting the enemy is important in war, and so now we have something to offer the two legs beyond just our courage. We can detect the enemy beyond the range of their weapons.'

Togo, Jason, and Cassandra or White Stone Biter, Explores Everything, and Golden Mind were usurped into the office of the First Lord of the Admiralty a T-month after the disastrous Mesan sneak attack. First Lord of Admiralty Hamish Alexander, Admiral RMN (ret.), the Earl White Haven, sat behind his desk and, on a platform behind his chair Samantha (Golden Voice) stood as two of her kittens and one of the adults from Grayson entered.

Golden Mind spoke 'Mother the People can help the two legs rend the enemy who murdered the Black Rock Clan.' She began to sign to First Lord Alexander, "We three tasted the mind glow of the enemy who attacked Grayson, and could locate their position. Let me demonstrate." She produced a notebook computer, explained where the observation of each cat was made, then using the computer to form the planes that made the lines at intersection, and then the two lines intersecting to form a yellow dot. Hamish nodded his understanding, and then Golden Mind continued, "These are the missile tracks and back worked point of origin." The blue lines intersected to form a blue dot. "If we superimpose …" the single green dot appeared on the screen, "we see that our ability to locate the mind glow of the enemy can be used to locate those your machines cannot yet see. I propose the formation of LAC squadrons manned by treecats to en-globe our fleets to detect our common enemy. This will allow us to rend them. White Stone Biter began the design for the new Death Fang LAC based on the Grayson Katana class for the treecats' use. We will recruit crews to begin training, and we need you two legs to recruit the smallest two legs for communications on them as we cannot make your mouth noises and typing messages is too slow."

"Why not just have a single treecat on the existing Grayson Katanas?"

Jason signed with anger flattened ears, "The People wish to rend the enemy ourselves in vengeance for the Black Rock Clan."

Golden Mind used logic, "With too many two legs aboard a ship isolating the enemy's mind glow is difficult especially in the stress of combat. We treecats can dampen our mind glow to allow an unhindered search, but two legs lack the mind discipline so overwhelm our ability to locate the enemy. Your ability to control your mind glow is that of a new born kitten. We will be more effective with just the treecats and one two leg as crew we can perhaps train a few two legs to control their mind glows. You two legs cannot taste the mind glow of others, but we can, and can probably help a few two legs to control theirs who will act as our two leg voice."

Togo signed "Besides the People are hunters by nature and will not volunteer to be mere scouts like half grown kittens and those just out of kitten-hood. We are also warriors, and we have been attacked too. The People have became more and more confident with your tools and machines since Too Curious (Dr. Adelina Arif) taught us to speak with our hands."

Hamish thanks to Samantha could read the body language of the three determined treecats, they would help fight the Mesans, but only on their own terms. He also knew some of the treecats were already integrating into human society. Obviously if the cats could detect a cloaked enemy it was time to integrate the Royal Manticoreian Navy, but the final decision would rest with Queen Elizabeth III.

Golden Mind did the same demonstration for Dances on Clouds and Soul of Steel, and faced the same thought of using the People as mere scouts. Leaf Catcher (Ariel) presented their arguments for the People's own squadrons to the queen. A project was started using a standard Grayson Katana class LAC as a starting point for the new Death Fang class LAC designed for a crew of treecats with White Stone Biter as chief engineer. Crews were recruited for training, but finding humans small enough to serve as communications petty officers would came up short.

While a Death Fang LAC will have the same outside dimensions as a standard Grayson Katana the space between decks will be only half of that of ships normally used. Using simple scaling half the liner dimensions is a quarter of the area, and an eighth the volume, and thus freeing up seven eights the volume once occupied by living space for more reaction mass, missile, and consumable storage. However not all dimensions could be shortened i.e. a hall running the length of the ship was as long as in a normal Katana so they actually only had only half the living space for extra storage in reality. Still the extra missiles, reaction mass, and consumables extended their range and endurance to one hundred and fifty percent that of a standard Katana. Some of the saved space went into bigger compensators allowing a phenomenal acceleration of a thousand gravities. Like the cats themselves the Death Fang Class LACs would be small, fast, and deadly.

Cluster Stalk Grower was the only surviving member of the Black Rock Clan the trader had lost mate and kittens surviving only because he was trading his celery to the Bright Water Clan. He lay close to death in a borrowed nest when a strange young memory singer came in with a male whose mind glow showed signs of recently starving himself. Go and let a male in peace join his mate and kittens in death. You cannot convince me to live when all I have loved is dead.

Golden Mind swiped her claws on his flank, Coward the People have an enemy, and I offer you a chance to rend those who killed those you loved. This is a chance to make your death in battle against those who killed your Clan, family, and friends rather than pining away in a nest like an abandoned kitten. Get up, eat, clean your fur of filth, and join the ranks of the People's warriors. All the other Clans have joined to rend the enemy will Black Rock Clan be the only clan not represented?

There is no Black Rock Clan our nests are ash and bones now leave a male to share his clan's and family's fate in peace.

There is a Black Rock Clan as long as you live. Would you have the People remember the last of Black Rock Clan was too cowardly to fight the enemy? Have you no hate for those who killed your clan, family, and friends? Arise from your depression and drive it out with hate for those who destroyed those you loved, eat and clean yourself for their vengeance, and thus let the memory singers of the People sing that Black Rock Clan went down fighting your fangs in the throat of the enemy. Cluster Stock Grower tasted the hate Golden Mind had for the enemy, it was sweet, and his depression fled before his own growing hate. That same hate was spreading among the People. Mesa, to quote Admiral Yamamoto after who Honor would name Cluster Stock Grower had, "Awoken a sleeping giant and filled him with a terrible resolve."

Aboard the Mesan Luxury Liner Joyous Voyage Tommy padded along the carpeted hall of his owner's suite of to his own tiny room. He walked naked, but it was usual for PBT (Pedophile's Boy Toy) being naked even in 'public' spaces. He was twenty T-years old, but had the hairless body and proportions of a six-year-old. He would stay a 'child' for the rest of his short life. He was a genetic slave specifically grown for the highly profitable pedophile ultra black-market, and his development permanently arrested at age six. PBTs and PGTs (Pedophile's Girl Toys) in any age of development created for the tastes of pedophile customers, some as young as two, and some as old as fourteen. The pedophile toys were schooled and trained until eighteen years of age, and then sold at auction naked on the block. Pedophiles faced harsh penalties for using real children sexually, but the PBTs and PGTs were all certified over eighteen, and thus 'legal' adult sex slaves. Tommy was slim with cream-colored skin with freckles and red hair, he was of the Tom Sawyer class of PBTs and like all the others named Tom or Tommy by their owners, as such did not even own his own name, and he was thus just an interchangeable boy toy.

Tommy did not like being a boy toy, but it was the only life he knew. No one at any time asked his opinion on what he wanted to be when he grew up, and medically and genetically made certain he never would grow up. He sighed as he stretched his naked body on his small bunk to sleep, but at least his well reamed anus no longer hurt as it had his first weeks as Mr. Dubois' boy toy.

Tommy worried about their imminent arrival at the planet Pleasure, Mr. Dubois was dropping hints that he was thinking of trading him in on a new boy toy with a tighter anus, and Pleasure contained the largest market where PBTs and PGTs are sold. The fate of trade-ins was known to the PBTs, and often used as a threat for obtaining more compliant behavior from them. Sold cheap to sadists who disposed of them by killing them eventually, and so few PBTs ever saw their thirtieth birthday. His owner was high in the Mesan government, and Tommy had overheard too much to be allowed to live. He might luck out by being executed quickly and not be tortured to death, and perhaps betraying something the Mesan government preferred to keep quiet. It took him a while to fall into a fitful sleep.

Tommy still dreamed that some day he might escape the horror of his current wretched existence, and ultimate fate. It whispers that some slaves escaped, or freed during space voyages, and so there's a slight hope. That hope of freedom was about the only thing a hopeless PBT could ever do about his wretched existence, and ultimate fate.

Tommy had not been asleep long when the liner came out of hyper, but was soon awoken by shouting and thumps in the hall that caused him to get up and open his door. A large man wearing strange hard clothing whirled round leveling a pulse rifle on him, and Tommy gulped thinking his end was nigh. The rifle's muzzle was then pointed at the upper deck.

"You startled me, son! You better put your clothes on, boy."

"Yes, master." Tommy turned, and put on his only garment a long tunic that came to his knees that he wore when serving guests.

"Don't master me you're free now, boy. I'm private Randy Travis Royal Montacorian Marines, who are you?"

"I'm Tommy, Mr. Dubois' PBT. Sir, am I really free now?"

The marine's eyes narrowed, "You sure are. How old are you, son?"

"Twenty T-years, sir. I know I look like a little kid, but we PBTs are kept as children for our master's sexual pleasure. I'm medically and genetically incapable of growing up, sir."

In the public room of the suite Mr. Dubois was cursing, he wore shorts and a robe with his wrists bound behind his back by the plastic ties that had replaced metal handcuffs long before mankind ventured into deep space. "Sarge, this is Tommy. He's this child molester's boy toy slave." The temperature in the room dropped. A slave owner caught in open space with a slave considered a slaver, thus subject to the death penalty, but a good lawyer could usually get them off with a prison term. But the penalty for pedophilic sex toy slave owners was death by slow torture period no messy trials, it was the same fate that awaited their cast off victims, and thus not considered cruel or unusual punishment. Dubois blanched as his status changed from civilian prisoner with rights to a pedophile caught with a PBT with no rights at all, and only a horrible fate to look forward to. Tommy smiled, he had rarely smiled before as there was little in his life to this point to smile about, at least until now, but now his tormentor and he had switched fates. Perhaps there was justice in this cruel cold uncaring universe after all. Mesa could not have predicted the Manticoreians' would split their remaining strength to go on offensive hit and run raids. HMS Honor, had been sent to get upper level Mesan prisoners to discover what the Mesans' true game was, and capturing a luxury liner near Pleasure was a simple way to get those prisoners. Not to mention the prize money.

Tommy after two months was wearing underwear, jeans, a horizontally red striped white shirt, white socks, and tennis shoes as he followed his friend Randy now in uniform not battle armor down a hall in the huge flagship. Most of Tommy's new wardrobe had been the work of the navy tailor and shoe repairman aboard cruiser HMS Honor that had captured the Mesan Luxury Liner. Tommy had so many interviews digging out what he knew about Mesa's plans that he felt like a wrung-out wash cloth. His information coupled with what they had tortured out of Mr. Dubois and others had tied much of what the Manticoreians already knew together. Mesa was the main enemy, and they were using the Manticoreian Empire, the Republic of Haven, and the Solarian League to destroy each other. Admiral Alexander-Harrington wanted to meet him, shuttled to the flagship from the cruiser and now, Randy and he stood before her door at the end of the hall.

Admiral Alexander-Harrington invited Tommy to sit down. "Your information has allowed us to tie the strings together to see Mesa's plan, a Star Empire even more evil than anything yet seen in the universe. We're through squeezing your head, so now its time to ask you what you wish to do with the rest of your life."

"I wish to join your fight against the Mesans."

"I'm afraid that is impossible. You know that you will never grow large enough to use adult sized controls, tools, or weapons."

Tommy was crestfallen, but then Nimitz stood his true hands flying, "Always a Kitten is just the two leg the Death Fangs need he is almost as small as a cat. Ask if Always a Kitten would serve with treecats as a communications PO."

Honor laughed, and said, "OK Stinker. Tommy there is a new squadron forming, one of treecats like Stinker here," she pointed at Nimitz, "but they need humans, small humans as their communication POs since they cannot speak. Are you interested in joining them?" At Tommy's nod she continued. "It will be a lot of work to learn to use and repair communications equipment, how to talk to the cats in sign language, and the cats will train you to dampen what they call a mind glow to allow them to detect cloaked Mesan ships better. Private take him to Saganami Island if cadet Jason accepts him get him in uniform, his paperwork finished, and started on his training. What is your last name?"

"We PBTs don't have last names. Ugh, Sir?"

"You are no longer a PBT. Stinker here gave you a treecat name, 'Always a Kitten' that's what the treecats will call you, but you need a last name for the paperwork, as you will soon discover the Navy floats on a sea of paper. Speaking of which you can read and write?"

"Yes we had school so we would be able to perform duties other than sex. How about my treecat name for a last name, 'Always a Kitten' has a nice ring to it, and is very descriptive of my fate." Honor was amazed not to taste bitterness in the last statement, but then Tommy had twenty years to adjust to his fate, and that he made the best of it spoke well of his character. Neither Honor nor Nimitz noticed they were not tasting any emotion from Tommy. Tommy continued, "I'll be serving with the treecats and just because we are small doesn't me we are not dangerous, right Stinker?"

Nimitz signed, "See Always a Kitten has the heart of a warrior to go with his hate of the enemy. Even without fang and claw he will help us rend the enemy by being our voice."

Explores Everything (Jason) Honorary member of the Bright Water Clan and ranking cadet, Mind Stalk Grower (Yamamoto) of the Black Rock Clan, Death Fang Render (Perry) of the High Crag Clan, Always Successful (Dewey) of the Sun Leaf Clan, Branch Strider (Dahlgren) of the Blue Mountain Dancing Clan, Leaf Picker (Fletcher) of the Laughing River Clan, Black Stone Biter (Spruance) of the High Crag Clan, Full Belly (Nagumo) of the Walks in Moonlight Clan, Always Joking (Kondō) of the Bright Heart Clan, and Quick Claw (Halsey) of the Bright Water Clan the ten treecats training as captains of the First Squadron of the Death Fangs anxiously with their tails waving wildly awaited Tommy's arrival. Honor had named the cats, all but Jason for admirals. The squadron named the Black Rock Clan's Vengeance Squadron by the new Council of Clans. Sphinxian Forest Service Ranger Dan McCoy was present to do the translating and he was grumpy from loosing his time off.

The cats were anxious because with modern medicine there were very few dwarves and midgets, and none had volunteered to serve with the treecats. The cats had despaired of finding even a single human small enough to serve as their communication PO. Within their own squadron their mind voices allowed them to communicate with each other out to ten million miles in space, but to communicate with two legs they needed a small two leg to make the mouth noises to sound a warning. If they could not find one then they would be relegated to typing conversations with their three finger one thumb hands that were clumsy on the keyboards designed for the two legs four finger one thumb hands making them very slow hunt and peck keyboarders. Not to mention that comprehensible spelling was not among of most cats' accomplishments.

As Tommy entered the room he grabbed his head and both said and thought "I hope you are all not going to talk at once to me like this. It hurts."

Jason (Explores Everything) was the ranking cadet and raised his hand palm out signaling a call for mind silence. You hear my mind voice, Always a Kitten?

Again using both voice and mind Tommy said, "Of course." Ranger McCoy looked at Tommy in alarm, concern, and envy mind glows that the cats tasted. From Always a Kitten they tasted nothing, but Jason from living with the two legs on Grayson recognized the two leg's body language denoting wonder, not tasting Tommy's mind glow a small shadow of doubt in the happiness at finding a non mind blind two leg, and then he heard Always a Kitten's mind voice 'I wonder if since I'm telepathic like the treecats if they can hear my thoughts?'

'Yes Always a Kitten we share a mind voice. Can you hear the thoughts of the other two legs? Answer only with your mind voice.'

A few of us PBTs were telepathic with each other, about one in ten, but only we could share thoughts with each other. With other people we could neither read their thoughts, nor could they read ours.

'You are the first two leg the People have met who was not mind blind can you taste our happiness?'

'What?' Although Tommy was telepathic he was not empathic.

'We say taste to mean we feel the feelings of others, you cannot feel the feelings of others then?'

'No. That must be terrible when you are near anyone in pain.'

'Of course it is, and death has a terrible taste. We cannot taste your feelings, and you cannot taste ours. All the other two legs we have met are just the opposite, we easily taste their feelings, but they are mind blind to our thoughts.' Jason then turned to ranger McCoy and signed, "Always Serious, this two leg is not mind blind we will not need you to translate. Sorry for wasting your time off, but father is mind blind too, and could not know what a treasure he sent us. Always a Kitten is now a brother of the Death Fangs we all adopt him." Tommy heard every word in his mind, and smiled for at last he had a home.

Although Tommy could communicate with the cats better than any human his blindness to the feelings of others limited full communication, and this also meant he could not detect the Enemy who were mind blind. Always a Kitten was glow blind (non-empathic). The treecats adopted him as a friend and their human, but without the two-way empathic connection usually shared in a bond. Perhaps not having a full bond was a blessing for they discovered that Tommy's genetic conditioning had made prolong treatments impossible. While it was sad so valuable a two leg would be short lived, but now that the true enemy was known the cats thought the war would be short.

Luckily for Tommy with all he had to learn, he could learn almost as quickly as any kitten from the memory singers. Because he was glow blind Always a Kitten had to practice to bring up his tactile skills to acceptable levels that the People would have quickly learned listening to both the telepathic and empathic components of the memory singers songs that included tactile memory.

Tommy learned sign language because some cats he would interact with were mind blind like Nimitz. While he studied communications equipment and methods under Petty Officer Burke his treecat buddies attended their officer courses. In the evenings the cats taught him mind control, sign language, and treecat games. Tommy never laughed so much, or smiled as much in his life. For the first time in his life he had a family, his squadron mates. He had friends in the PBT crèche, but not a family. Various memory singers visited teaching him treecat manners, history, and culture. Doctors tested him to discover why he could communicate directly with treecats. Their conclusion something unknown was changed in his brain when his pituitary gland was surgically modified to stop his maturation. That it happened in only one in ten of his fellows showed it was probably some serendipitous accident.

Physically Tommy was 1.165 meters (45.9 inches) tall, and weighed 21.0 kilograms (46.3 pounds.) Male treecats were about two meters long nose tip to tail tip usually standing on four legs with their backs arched back like a feline centaur standing about 1.2 meters (47.3 inches,) but could standing on just their rear legs stand 1.53 meters (60.28 inches) tall weighing 15 kilograms (33 pounds.) Female treecats are about one and a half meters long nose to tail tip usually standing on four legs with their backs arched back like a feline centaur standing about 0.9 meters (35.5 inches,) but could standing on just their rear legs stand 1.15 meters (45.2 inches) tall weighing 7 kilograms (15.5 pounds.) Tommy was slightly taller than the cats usual feline centaur like stance, but his build was stockier and he weighed 6 kilograms (13.2 pounds) more than the very gracile treecats.

The very rapid training program for both Tommy and the cats precluded much of the social interactions usually associated as part of the training at Saganami Island. But one ugly incident did occur between the sion of North Hollow a senior cadet and Tommy a lowly enlisted recruit. Ryan Young was as much an oversexed bully as his Uncle had been to Honor Harrington, he caught Tommy where he thought he was alone in the shower, and demanded he as a former sex slave perform oral sex. Help! I no longer wish to be used as a bully's boy toy!

We come little brother!

"Go on suck it, I know you've had the practice, and if you do a good …" Young stopped at the sound of angry growls and snarls from ten treecat throats. Young turned to see the enraged cats snarling their backs arched with fur bristling, ears flatened for battle, and claws extended to rend. As Young tasted the blind white hot furry from ten treecat minds protecting their adopted human kitten he shat himself. The cats tasted his fear, a single cat could easily kill an unarmed man, ten would leave a dismembered pile of not so clean bones.

Tommy recognized Jason's mind voice, Always a Kitten translate into mouth sounds for me. Tommy translated Jason's mind voice, "Jason says, "You are under arrest for sexual assault, resist and we will rend you as we would a death fang (hexapuma) threatening a kitten."

Halsey, Quick Claw, was of the Bright Water Clan. He was also the younger sibling of Nimitz, and uncle of Jason. He was the oldest and quickest tempered of the captains in training, and the closest thing Tommy had to an adopted father. I say never allow a danger to kittens to live, rend him, eat him, and be done with him.

That is not the two legs way, Uncle Quick Claw.

But is the People's way to rend a threat to our kittens, Explores Everything. Let me taste his meat.

Yes let us all taste his meat, Perry, Death Fang Render thought.

Yes let's taste his meat. I'm hungry, too, let me at least have his male part for a light snack, Nagumo, Full Belly, the fattest of the cats thought. Bleeking a laugh.

Ryan Young seeing the cats looking at each other, but not at him tried to escape the shower, and it was the last mistake he would ever make. Halsey was on him in a bound, taking out his throat with his first claw swipe. The others released their pent-up rage and furry rending and eating. They began their feast while Ryan was sill alive, but his torn throat could only produce a gurgle not scream as Nagumo bit off his still erect penis. Ryan did not writhe in agony long as ten living buzz saws rapidly tore him to pieces.

Tommy stared in wide-eyed fascination as his brothers tore his enemy to pieces and devoured him leaving some not so clean bones. He had laughed when Nagumo gave him the oral sex he had dreamed of giving is tormentors as a boy toy. While treecats were intelligent they were far from what humans would call civilized. An enemy had attacked one of their kittens, and their instinct was to rend and feed.

Jason cleaning the blood from his fur thought 'Always a Kitten, finish your shower, put on your uniform. Then call the Commandant, and tell him to come with the military police because you have found a body in the shower. Then break com before he asks questions. When they arrive we will tell what happened to this attacker of kittens. Then Jason used a loud mind voice to call his mother, Samantha, and Queen Elizabeth III's treecat companion, Ariel to ask they come with their Humans, We have rendered and eaten a two leg who attacked Always a Kitten in the shower. Mother, have your human ask Dances on Clouds to bring father, and have Too Curious come, too.'

When the Shore Patrol arrived one of the officers had to go pray to one of the porcelain alters losing his dinner in the rest room section of the cadet bathroom. When the Commandant arrived, Tommy gave a quick and dirty synopsis of the evening's events, and the Commandant said, "What a political disaster! You're telling me that pile of bones was the son of North Hollow, son?"

Tommy used to most people talking to him like a kid, so he simplify answered, "Yes, sir."

"Why did the cats do it, son?"

"As I said I was assaulted in the shower by Ryan Young, he wanted to use me as a boy toy, and I no longer want to be a boy toy so I called to my treecat brothers with my mind voice. The cats came quickly. Jason put Young under arrest, he tried to escape, and so the cats attacked, killed, and ate a known danger to kittens."

"God! What a mess the news faxes will be all over this." He turned to Jason, "Well what do you have to say, cadet?"

Tommy translated Jason's mind voice, "We will say our say when the others arrive, sir."

"Others?" an angry, worried, and concerned commandant asked.

"Four humans and three treecats, sir."

"Exactly who are they?"

"Queen Elizabeth, First Lord Alexander, Admiral Alexander-Harrington, and Commissioner of Treecat Affairs Dr. Adelina Arif are the humans, and the three treecats are their companions Ariel, Samantha, and Nimitz, sir."

"Why?"

"They come to resolve the conflict between Human and Treecat cultures, sir. Killing and eating a danger kittens is normal in treecat culture." Jason folded his fore arms over his chest in a very human gesture, and Tommy continued, "Jason says they will say nothing more so they will not have to repeat the tale of the death of the evil one it is a tale with a bad tasting mind glow. All the cats are very stubborn about telling the story only once, sir." All ten treecats now stood with their forearms folded on their chests. The commandant looked between the pile of not so clean bones, and ten very stubborn and deadly treecats and decided that discretion was the better part of valor here. Besides he could dump this hot potato in lap of someone else, and he smiled at the thought. Jason bleeked a laugh tasting the Commandant's cascading emotions. Always a Kitten the Commandant will let the others handle this.

Later the shore patrol man again visited the porcelain alter when Full Belly described his appetizer, Ryan's erect penis. More than one male winced at that part of the story, and Elizabeth Winton remarked, "Served the child molester right."

Dr. Arif said, "It is treecat instinct to kill and eat any animal that is a danger to the Clan's kittens, and the cats consider Tommy a kitten of their clan, their younger brother. Mister Young was unfortunate in choosing his victim, not only an adopted treecat, but one with a mind voice loud enough to call for help. I'm surprised Jason tried to arrest Young first rather than just leading the fatal attack. May I ask you Jason why?"

Jason signed, "Just trying to be polite to the two legs, and as Naval Officer is my duty to uphold the Star Empire's Law, but the idiot tried to escape arrest, and so he died by our claws and fangs." The treecat shrugged shoulder and the human shrugged shoulder were identical in meaning in body language. In the end cadet Ryan Young's death was ruled, justifiable homicide of a prisoner killed while trying to escape felony arrest, and deadly force was appropriately applied.

Lord North Hollow attempted to cause more trouble over the incident, quoted as saying "blood thirsty wild animas have eaten my son, and they want to make them citizens," but when other victims of his pedophile younger son came forward the news faxes had a field day, and he retreated from the glare of very negative public attention. He had bought off several young victims who now came forward. Lord North Hollow preyed that the Queen's Prosecutor did not press criminal interference with justice charges against him.

There was too much important work to be done waste time on a dead criminal, and so the world moved on. One side benefit for Tommy was that none of the other larger cadets dared bully him now not with ten proven lethal big brothers at his call. Nine months after starting at the academy eleven months after the sneak attack they graduated on the accelerated LAC program. At the treecats insistence Tommy Always a Kitten did not become a Chief Petty Officer, but a full Ensign in the Royal Manticoreian Navy. The ten momory singers had taken two each each of the year's course work, and sang it to the others. One had taken advanced tactics, and another a Snotty cruse as an engineering midshipman. Four would be the XOs of four of the Death Fang Class LACs, one would join the engineering department of their CLAC as an engineering ensign, the remaining five would train more treecat LAC officers.

Much of what happened in the outside would had passed the overworked students who crammed in four years of courses in a single year by. Several successful hit and run raids like the one that freed Tommy occurred, but also a desterous battle in the Masan system losing five battle crusers and eight destroyers. With the news the deadly cloaked ships protected that system. On the bright side Hipper, Branch Leaper the treecat companion of Ensign Rachel Mayhew, whose timely warning saved the rest of Admiral Michelle Henke fleet. The treecat cadets basked in the reflected glory, and being cats they took full advantage of it.

As the simulators were not ready the newly graduated officers and their crewcats had also graduated from enlisted school they were all granted two weeks of leave on Spinx. Always a Kitten since you have no family and you are assigned to me come home with me. Jason would be spending home leave at the Harrison steading as he could not make a round trip to Grayson.

Are you sure I'll be welcome?

You are my little brother, and my sister will want to meet you. We will also go to the Bright Water Clan the People will love a non mind blind two leg. Our crewcats are all from the Bright Water Clan, and we can meet them early. My sister, Golden Mind, E-mailed a letter saying that Always Bleeking (Faith Harington) gave our crew their two leg names from ancient two leg video jokers. Quite a joke is it not?

The shuttle landed on Sphinx Always a Kitten in the full uniform of an ensign of the RMN. Jason wore a white cloth collar with his twin silver bars of rank on each side. It was white as he was a LAC captain. The other cats on his LAC wore black collars with their ranks. The crewcats gave Tommy a warm welcome on the shuttle delighted to meet a two leg they could talk to normaly without the bothersome sign language. The crewcats and their memory singer XO soon departed the Harrison steading for the home trees of Bright Water Clan soon after landing. All had invited Always a Kitten to visit their nests when he visited the home trees. As the Bright Water Clan supplied two crews their shuttle had the most cats aboard.

Faith Harrington kissed Tommy's forehead, and said, "So you are the famous Tommy Always a Kitten. Since Jason signed you his little brother I'll think of you as my little brother too."

"Big Brother!" Raoul Alexander-Harrington said with a two and a half-year-old's authority as he tugged at Tommy's trousers for attention. Honor's son was visiting his grandparents.

Greetings little Brother welcome to our family. thought Golden Mind. Then turning to Jason Brother the latest new is that I have been made Duchess of the Trees our People's representative in the House of Lords, and we have two representatives in the commons. We have chosen to all become Manticoreian citizens, and as such represented in the Manticoreian Government. The Queen wanted mother but she insisted I be chosen.

Doctor Alfred Harrington deeded the Harrington Steading except the house and grounds, and the Queen added some unoccupied lands and forest contiguous to it for the Duchy of the Trees. A LAC factory and missile factory that was on the lands to provide the Duchy revenue were deeded by Honor Alexander-Harrington. Hundreds of treecat workers toiled to make and arm the squadrons to avenge Black Rock Clan. Huge greenhouse farms were being built to provide winter food for the workers. A new city Honor's Tree provided housing for the workers and their families. The workers from many other clans formed a new treecat clan named the Trees Clan. Over a hundred human workers also lived in the Duchy of Trees.

The City of Honor's Tree had apartments for both treecats and humans heated by the waste heat of the power plant supplying energy for the factories and town. The apartments surrounded a central park of natural Sphinxian forest with some cleared grassy areas favored by humans and a small lake. Some more traditional treecats built nests in the forest, but in the long Sphinxian winter to come they would discover the benefits of heated apartments. Human and treecat farmers grew great amounts food, some distributed to the 'wild clans' since so many hunters and younger farmers either migrated to the jobs in the rapidly rebuilding space industries and expanding terrestrial businesses, and those joining the Navy. The treecat population was exploding as modern medicine, secure food supplies, and modern heated housing saw more kittens born.

The ground floors of the apartments contained stores, churches, schools, theaters, government and private offices, a hospital, and meeting hall. Golden Mind taught memory singers two leg knowledge and they opened kitten care and teaching services to workers. Half grown kittens took the equivalency tests and entered the workforce as many factory jobs did not require size and strength. Several other factories located in tree as Golden Mind kept taxes and treecat wages low leasing land near Honor's Tree cheap.

In the nine months since the Mesan sleek attack treecat society in the new cities was changing radically. The Bright Heart, Fire Runs Fast, Laughing River, Sun Leaf, and Walks in Moonlight Clans allowed towns, farms, and factories to be built in their home range often using the home trees as the central park forest and clearing land surrounding them for farms and factories following the Honor's Tree model. Their hunters and scouts became factory workers and farmers, a few becoming professionals following human teaching, and some joining the Navy or Marines. Females went to the human schools becoming Doctors, lawyers, government workers, accountants, kitten care specialists, shop and bistro workers etc. becoming most of the professional and business class. Treecat culture in these clans was rapidly changing, becoming civilized rather than the traditional hunter-gathers.

But some of the clans Blue Mountain Dancing, Bright Water, and High Crag preferred to remain as they always had been hunters and subsistence farmers. The Bright Waters were unique in that their home trees remained traditional, but Honor's Tree city was in their range for those who desired modern life. Some cats even commuted to work in the city. Many families changed clans depending on their taste. Older cats often stayed with the majority of their kittens whatever the majority choice, those going to the new cities often bewildered by the modern world. Treecat politics split into two main parties, Modernists and Traditionalists rapidly taking on capitalist and socialist characters as traditional treecat society was highly group conscious, and modernists more of an individualistic approach. Although even Modernists were more socialist group oriented than the Manticoreian Liberal Party ever dreamed of being.

Broken Branch Grabber (Moe) was the Second Pilot & Navigator PO cross trained as a keyboard communications PO of Tommy's LAC and as keyboard communications PO under his direct command. He invited Tommy to spend time in his nest with his mate and kittens to taste the Peoples life in their natural environment, and Tommy spent a week of his leave with him. Moe a former hunter of the clan had his pay sent to his mate to buy food to the bank in Honor's Tree where Basket Maker his mate now owned a shop. But they preferred to live in the home trees so she commuted to her shop daily, luckily his daughter Scared of Lightning was a good cook. She also introduced Always a Kitten to the other kittens of the clan, and the game of Kitten Frisbee. Always a Kitten's only impediment in treecat society was he lacked a mind glow they could taste.

Quick Claw took Tommy hunting, but it was a disaster Tommy could not travel fast in trees. Tommy spent some time with all the crewcats with better success and pitched in to do some needed work about the nests.

The crew of the Death Fang's Bane:

Officers:

Jason, Explores Everything –Captain of the Death Fang's Bane Lieutenant, and commander of the First Squadron or Black Rock Clan Vengance Squadron.

Minnie, Sings Brightly –Squadron memory singer Lieutenant JG XO of Death Fang's Bane, OD Starboard Watch, and also Squadron XO.

Tommy, Always a Kitten –Human Communications Ensign the only two leg, OD Port Watch.

Enlisted Starboard Watch:

Groucho, Chases Leaves –Chief Petty Officer Pilot & Navigator Chief of the Enlisted Starboard Watch continued:

Gummo, Root Biter –Missile PO

Zeppo, Far Hunter -Tactical Chief Petty Officer

Frenchy, Big Belly -Cook and Environmental PO

Curly, Bristle Tail –Ordinary Spacecat

Shemp, Golden Leaf –Ordinary Spacecat

Enlisted Port Watch:

Moe, Broken Branch Grabber Chief Petty Officer Second Pilot & Navigator cross trained as a keyboard communications PO. Chief of the Port Watch

Harpo, Black Paws -Missile tech first

Chico, Full of Jokes -Electronics Spacecat first

Phyllis Diller, Bright Eyes –Spacecat medic and second cook

Laurel, Torn Ear Ordinary Spacecat

Hardy, Always Hungry Ordinary Spacecat

Tommy found that being an adopted treecat was as much work as Saganami Island, and kitten Frisbee a blood sport. One of the younger memory singers probed the clan's newest member's history. Always a Kitten's life story was full of bad tastes provided by the young female's repugnance. His story further inflamed the People's hatred of the Mesan enemy. But all their vacations were cut short when the Sollies attacked.

All the navy cats and Tommy went to the Harrington's house to watch the news. Between the RMN and their new RHN allies the huge Sollie fleet was badly mauled with few managing to escape back into hyper, four thousand and fifty wallers destroyed, and over two thousand wallers surrendered. The day after the attack their leaves were canceled. The simulators were ready, and the cats would train together as crews. Because of the Death Fang Class LACs extended endurance two crews rotated watch on watch Port and Starboard Watches except in battle.

Broken Branch Grabber thought, Now we practice to use the two leg silver eggs to rend the enemy of the People.

Black Paws thought, My fire tails (missiles) will be our claws and fangs, but rend them we will.

Always Hungry thought, As long as Big Belly keeps the chops and celery coming I'll be happy.

Torn Ear huffed in a very human way, All you think about is your gut are you sure you don't have worms?

Full of Jokes lived up to his name, That reminds me of the old joke how does a hunter eat a whole death fang?

One bite at a time, the other cats answered. Tommy chuckled.

Quick Claw huffed, That joke is older than the dirt, and twice as dusty, Full of Jokes.

Explores Everything ordered, Keep it down a person can't think with all your clutter.

Sings Brightly through her bleeps, And what great thoughts are you thinking O Grand Squadron Commander?

Our new accelerated training schedule for one thing, Dances on Clouds whishes to rend the enemy in three T-months, and we have to be ready. Two weeks in the simulators, then two weeks in our death fangs is all the time we have.

By the ancestors! Can we possibly be ready? the startled cats thought.

Explores Everything continued Ready or not we board the LAC carrier in a month. Some of the two leg LAC squadrons will simulate attacks on us with our sensors turned off to test our memory singers' ability to target them. Dances on Clouds thinks a globe formation with our memory singer's LACs as points of a three sided pyramid is our best formation. Other LAC squadrons usually fly in wall formation, but the globe will allow our memory singers to point claw at the enemy approaching from any direction.

Dances on Clouds is a cunning hunter as she has proven many times once even cheating death its self. It will be good practicing against targets actually trying to stalk us, but I would have preferred longer practice, Sings Brightly thought.

As do we all, Quick Claw grumped.

May the ancestors go with us, all the cats prayed.

I pray the People's plotter interfaces with the main targeting computer. The prototype has been tested well, and the memory singers are able to point claws at moving targets. But it has not been battle tested as the two legs say. This is no joke our lives are at stake, Full of Jokes thought seriously.

We will not let the People down we will adapt and overcome all obstacles, my brothers, Explores Everything thought.

I will not fail my brothers even though I am a two leg, Tommy thought.

We trust you brother, all the cats thought. His week with the Bright Water Clan's cats had instilled their confidence in Always a Kitten, and although they could not taste his sincerity they had grown to know, like, and trust him. He might not be of the people but they saw him as a good person. Tommy and the cats were all anxious, a quick month of training, and the Death Fangs would go to war.