Free Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge by David Guenther

tried to cover his nose and mouth.
    “Sorry about that sir, we take it for granted by now,” Paulsen explained.
    “Why the hell hasn’t anyone change the kitty litter here?” Black asked as the tears started to leak out.
    “Sir, this is the way they prefer things. They actually mark their territory; especially those with family,” the Major continued.
    “How did we end up with their families here?" Black queried.
    “Well sir it appears about a quarter of the residents we have here are camp followers, some wives and family, servants, independent sales people that sold to the mercenaries, and…”
    “Prostitutes,” Black finished for her. Looking out into the huge bay it had been setup so all the occupants would have a small space to themselves. Instead, things were moved into clusters, dividers had been made from blankets and any material they could find.
    “Have there been any problems with discipline or the care and feeding of our guests Major?” Black asked as the alien Colonel and his aide approached.
    “None yet, sir,” the Major replied and then turned to the Colonel and saluted him. “Col. Blade, this is General Black, the leader of the Gray Panthers.”
    Saluting the General, the alien said, “General it is a pleasure to meet you. I would have preferred to meet in other circumstances.”
    “Perhaps like on the battle field?” the General replied with a slight smile, since he had been warned a full smile was seen as a challenge among the Jacka.
    The Colonel replied with a loud laugh that was accompanied with a purring sound. “General, perhaps it is true that warriors are a species of their own regardless of the body their spirits are trapped in.”
    “Perhaps Colonel, is there a place we can sit and talk without being disturbed?” While waiting for a reply Black used the moment to size up the Colonel. The Colonel was dressed in a full uniform of a Union Infantry officer missing only his side arm. The affect was slightly lost though as the sandy haired alien had a huge mane of hair protruding from the neckline of the uniform and a second set or arms below the top pair. Both sets of arms were highly muscled, but the end of the arms had paws with a huge thumb contrasting the other three fingers on each hand, surprisingly there were no claws. Each leg was huge and the black boots were slightly splayed out for a wide foot. Looking back at the Colonels face it was as wide as it was huge. Where he expected to see ears there was just a small black hole on both sides of his head. His eyes were like a pair of fiery orange orbs with a slight pinprick of black in their center separated by the bony nose ending in fat black nostrils. The hair under his mouth was shaped into a gray goatee. Surprisingly the only thing missing was the whiskers sticking out from around his nose. The Colonel let out a slight yawn that showed an intimidating set of teeth complete with fangs at least seven inches in length. Along the gum line the fangs were yellowed and the gums turning black.
    “Is there anything else you would like to see, General?” the Colonel asked after noticing he was being studied.
    “My apologies, Colonel. You are the first of your species I have met, the resemblances to our lions are amazing, but I’m sure you’ve heard that already.”
    “I have not General, what is a lion?”
    The General pressed his comm badge and requested a full size avatar of a lion be projected next to him. The reaction from the aliens was immediate as they charged at the avatar and continued to go through the projection until they stopped, puzzlement showing on their faces before they realized it was only a projection.
    “My apologies General, the lion you are projecting there is part of our ancient history when our species battled for domination of our planet. The lion was our mortal enemy that we wiped out ten thousand years ago. They are still part of our religion, like your devil.”
    “Remove avatar please,” Black