While Maurice made hir way back to Fee City, Brent found hirself walking quietly Elise and Kathy. They had actually wandered beyond the town and into some of the hills that surrounded Janace. The area was beautiful and gave them all a good view of Janace, and the mountains further beyond them.
"It's beautiful, isn't it," Brent commented.
"Not as beautiful as some other things I could think of," Kathy quipped.
Kathy then nuzzled hir muzzle to Brent's and pulled the other Hybrikat into a hug. Shi then rotated hir body to pull Elise into the hug as well. The triplicate hug ended up with their bodies in a sort of three pointed star formation, and Brent actually relished in the feelings of the hug as hir breasts were pushed against Elise's and Kathy's. It felt soft and nice as the material Brent's own maternal material was just as soft as what shi had now. And in that since, being a Hybrikat was an improvement over being a Scorpkat. As a Scorpkat shi had great advantage in terms of protection and the ability to climb up various surfaces, but there was very little sensation. Hir exoskeleton had protected hir, but outside of a few sensory hairs, Brent couldn't really touch anything. And since Brent never saw hirself, even when shi was male as a warrior, the sensation of Kathy and Elise's breasts pushing against hir own made hir feel glad at the idea to become a Hybrikat. If hir soughters wished to remain Scorpkats, that would be their decision, but given that they were all newborns, it would be years before they would make that decision.
"So... you'll be okay with being in a three way mate-ship?" Elise asked. "Being trimates?"
"I'm okay with it if it is the two of you," Brent answered with a sincere smile, "as I've said... I love that you two were so willing to sacrifice so much... just to try and make me happy..."
"Your longing to be loved the way the others are loved was obvious," Elise smiled, "and I've grown to love you and I couldn't stand to see you unhappy... and Kathy had the same feeling."
"So naturally we worked together and then fell in love with each other as well," Kathy added.
The three then nuzzled their muzzles together.
"So, how will we make this work then?" Brent wondered...
"Simple," Elise giggled, "We take turns. And we've been here for a while now, Brent... we should both know that Kats have an incredibly high level of sexual endurance..."
Kathy only giggled. Brent found hirself chuckling as well, but soon turned back to more serious matters.
"More with where we will live," Brent answered, "I don't think anyone will mind us being trimates... especially after you said that Alexis made the joke to you after you first became a Dinokat... but we will need to live somewhere... Luna and Lia gave me their home when they left to become Justin and Francine's heirs... at least while Justin and Francine's children are so young... so we could move there... but I'm open to other options if you don't wish to live in a home connected to an orphanage."
"It's fine with me," Elise commented, "I've been staying with Alexis and Flake while waiting for a possible home for myself to be built... but if you have a home already, it'd be perfectly fine... and we can begin to have fun at night."
The three then smiled.
"I'm fine with it too," Kathy commented, "Since you gave birth, Elise and I are already fathers to twenty one little Scorpkats and our hands will already be full with them... feeding them, caring for them, assisting them when they molt..."
"How often will they do that?" Brent wondered.
"Mundane scorpions will molt about five or seven times before they reach their full size, though given that mundane scorpions are not known for super lengthy lifespans or long "childhoods," it could be very possible that your children will molt more over the length of their childhood," Kathy commented.
"And how long might that be?" Brent asked nervously, "I expected that I'd be carrying them within me for close to nine months... but I gave birth after around two months..."
"The gestation period you had as a Scorpkat might have had to been the need to allow you to give birth, since your exoskeleton wouldn't allow you to deliver them if they stayed within you to fully develop," Kathy answered, "so with that... we should be able to expect them to live for eighteen years before they fully mature..."
"And so the number of molts will depend on how fast they grow," Elise surmised.
"Yes," Kathy nodded, "but that will all take time and we'll only figure out the rate of their growth as we raise them."
"Then let us introduce them to their daddies," Brent commented.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The aircraft carrier was making easy headway and the three Kats soon found themselves in a large office area with an American Admiral seated at a desk.
"You have our thanks for your cooperation in all of this," the admiral spoke politely, "it may do well to have Kats on our side. We might be able to scare them..."
"How would they be a threat to your sssssssssssssssssssssship?" Timothy asked, looking
"Unless they have a cruise missile loaded with the virus, they aren't a threat to us," the admiral said confidently, "we can defend ourselves against any attack... though if they manage to somehow get a missile through our anti-air missiles and Vulcan cannons, it might be good to have vaccinated Kats on board."
There was a brief silence for a moment.
"You are vaccinated, right?"
"Yes," Sammy answered, "We all were... but we're not going to go into when we were vaccinated."
The admiral nodded, "All said, that isn't likely, as once we get there, we'll be at the max range of our aircraft... and if things do go south, that will be AFTER our cruisers and destroyers take out their radar and major sensor stations with cruise missiles."
Sammy, Timothy, and Casey Jones all nodded.
"From what I got from the Secretary of Defense was that you three, and any additional Kat Kops the UN decides to send, will be ferried in to support units on the ground," the admiral spoke, "in that sense, all I am is a ferry master for you. Once there... you and whichever army you're with will go in with them..."
"To find the main labs in North Korea?" Casey Jones asked.
"That I don't know," the admiral answered, "our intelligence doesn't know where the main labs are where Li Sang's last followers are... partially because the Koreans have either disguised them well... or have made multiple ones."
Sammy shuddered on hir four feet.
"From what I was told, you will be to support and deal with any Kat the North Koreans have created to use as a weapon," the admiral answered, "along with a secret weapon your team has come across, though as far as I know, our State Department is trying to delay any attack until all of your Wise Vaccine can be delivered to all the units decent numbers as well as getting this new secret weapon."
In this, the admiral was referring to the new Retrovirus Vaccine, but Sammy and the others didn't know that. However, neither were they weren't going to ask him to clarify it. It is doubtful that Maurice and Snowy would create a weapon.
"We'll do anything we can do to help," Sammy answered when there was a knock at the door and a young Ensign came into the doorway of the Admiral's office.
All eyes turned to the young Ensign.
"Sir, your Australian liason has just arrived, sir," the Ensign reported, "He said he wished to speak with his daughter before getting down to business."
"I'm not sure we have any direct business besides the obvious cooperation in dealing with the present crisis," the Admiral answered, "and why would an Australian general have a daughter serving in the US navy?"
"My daughter isn't in your navy, mate," came an answer making Sammy gasp.
Shi immediately began to trot towards the door way and opened hir arms wide. The Ensign stepped aside as the man who had spoke came into the doorway.
"Daddy!" Sammy cheered and hugged hir father, "Why didn't you tell me you'd be coming with us?"
"Wasn't originally part of the orders I had," hir father gave a shrug, "we'd only just gotten the report that something was going on and that the South Koreans were requesting support..."
"It'ssssssssssssssssss looking like there will be war," Timothy commented from where shi sat.
"Yes, but hopefully we can make it quick," Sammy's father responded, "anyway... after you left, our government received word that America would be responding with what it could and thus I got some new orders to coordinate radio signals and call signs with the American fleet to allow us to call for help should we need it."
"But you wish to talk with your daughter first?" the admiral asked.
"Yes... there were some things that we didn't get talk about while in Sydney," Sammy's father spoke.
"Take your time, general," the admiral commented, "I got a daughter back home in Phoenix, myself... she's got a couple of ten year old kids of her own as well."
Sammy caught a slight chuckle escape the admiral's throat, nodded and escorted hir father out, hearing Casey Jones asking Tim if shi wanted something to eat. Sammy was actually glad shi could get a chance to talk with hir father some more.
"I'm glad you came," Sammy spoke as they walked along, "There were some things I forgot to tell you..."
"Would this be about your sister?" hir father asked, "because I think I saw some of hir after the Paris Outbreak when shi was held up as one of the new "Kat Kops" as it was called..."
"You know Mikkie is a Kat?" Sammy asked, as hir father didn't immediately recognize hir and to hir knowledge, Mikkie had run into the same games of "phone tag" that shi had with regard to calling hir parents.
"Shi was on the news with regard to the Kat Kops and has been in a couple of the fashion magazines your mother reads with a Skunkat, though you'll forgive me if I never understand fashion," hir father answered.
Sammy sighed. Of course Mikkie's work with Danna gained some publicity, while hir time caring for the now smaller herd of animals that were part of what had originally been Jess's ranch didn't gain as much notoriety.
"The Skunkat is hir mate, Danna," Sammy told him, "They both got caught in the Paris outbreak."
They walked along, with only the sound of hir fathers shoes clanking on the metal floor and Sammy's feet softly touching the same surface with hir claws clinking on the metal.
"So... how have you two been?" hir father asked, "You and Mikkie?"
"Well... Mikkie and Danna are doing well, and do you remember Gloria?" Sammy asked.
"Wasn't she a friend of yours from College?" hir father looked to hir and noticed Sammy's smile.
"Shi is more than that now," Sammy gave a weak smile, "I... I transformed hir during the Hong Kong outbreak... shi's a Dracokat like me... but shi actually felt happy I had and said shi'd always loved me..."
"She's a lesbian?" hir father wondered.
"Was," Sammy answered, and deciding to keep the fact that Gloria had been a "shi" even before the Hong Kong outbreak, "once shi became a Kat... human sexuality goes out the window as we have both sets of equipment. Any coupling in either way will be heterosexual among Kats."
Hir father only nodded.
"Anyway, shi became my mate and we've also been very happy," Sammy smiled and soon felt hir father pat hir back.
"I wish I could have seen you too more," hir father commented, "seems that every time your mother and I try to call you or Mikkie we get an answering machine or no answer... and then we come home to find a message from you or Mikkie trying to get us to call you."
"Yeah... they could write books on our games of phone tag," Sammy almost laughed, "but I do have some more good news for you..."
Hir father raised an eyebrow.
"You and mom are not mom and dad anymore," Sammy said with a smile, "you are GRANDMA and GRANDPA."
"..." hir father only opened his mouth.
"I laid two eggs that Gloria sired in me, and I sired two eggs in hir," Sammy smiled, "They recently hatched and we named them Emerald, Opal, An-Bai, and Dao-Ming... and Mikkie and Danna also have kids. Mikkie gave birth to Tris and Danna gave birth to Sert."
"I'm a grandfather," hir father said slowly.
"To the cutest Kats ever, in my humble opinion," Sammy smiled.
"Can I talk to Mikkie?" hir father asked.
"Yes," Sammy smiled, let me get my phone...