When he reached the dining room some ten minutes later, he didn't see Tanlir so he went to fill his plate and took a table near the windows again.
Tanlir wandered in followed by his guards. He looked around and found Ulysses. Smiling, he went to fill a plate.
"Well good morning, handsome. You look like you had some luck after all last night." Came the sultry voice of Shenar.
He turned his head and saw that she was just behind him and more conference attendees were lining up behind her.
"Good morning Shenar. Yes I did as a matter of fact . . . you?" He asked warmly as he moved down the table.
"I did indeed." She said brightly. "I hope Ulysses is able to win over the last few hold outs today."
"So do I." Tanlir agreed fervently. "Care to join me with Ulysses?" He asked politely as he moved away.
"Sure, be right there." She said as she continued down the table.
He paused to pick up a glass of milk then wended his way through the tables to where Ulysses was sitting. His guards took a table a short distance away.
The Commander looked up and smiled when Tanlir put his tray down, pulled a chair out next to him and plopped down.
"I'm famished." The cheetah said digging in immediately.
Feral chuckled softly and murmured, "Gee, I wonder why?"
Tanlir leered at him briefly before returning his attention to his food.
"Hello all," Shenar sang out as she put her tray down and pulled out a chair across from Tanlir.
"Good morning Shenar." Feral said warmly.
"I was just telling Tanlir that I hope you win over the last of the hold outs today but even if you don't, I think you've got nearly all parts of the planet covered. The hold outs are from very small or remote areas so it might not hurt the coalition that much for them to abstain." She said seriously as she dug into her food.
"I think you're right Shenar. We'll know for certain when the vote is taken this afternoon." Feral said, agreeing with her assessment.
Before long others that had been in their discussion group last night began to join them at their table and at nearby ones. Soon the air was filled with lively conversation.
Very shortly after, everyone drifted to the meeting room. Feral took the small stage again and opened the meeting. After covering yesterdays salient points, he opened it to discussion.
For the next few hours everyone, who needed or wanted to, stated their position. At one point, a hot debate took place between two vociferous opponents. To his surprise, one of them was Shenar and the other was Admiral Tyku. They battled it out for more than forty-five minutes with Shenar winning it.
Grinning in triumph, she joined them for a light lunch. Everyone was pleased with the outcome of the debate and felt the vote later would be nearly ninety percent for the coalition.
The meeting was to start again by two that afternoon giving attendees time to see a little of the city and shop before the final vote and their departure the next day. All would take away a packet with the proposed contract for each government to review.
With plenty of time before returning to the conference, Tanlir pulled Ulysses aside before he could leave the building. Feral had intended checking out and going to his office for a little before returning but Tanlir had other ideas.
"Go ahead and check out Ulysses then come to my suite. I'd like a little more time with you if you're willing." He said softly pressing close so no one would overhear him.
Feral felt his body heat up in anticipation but was torn on his decision. He really should check in with his office but the enticement of spending more time with Tanlir before he left the next day was almost overwhelming.
"I really should check in at the office, Tanlir." He said hesitantly. "Too many things happen here in the blink of an eye and I have to stay on top of it."
"I heard that about this city. So it's true? The weird tales I've heard?" The cheetah asked in concern.
"I'm afraid so. It keeps me constantly on alert." Feral admitted heavily.
"Then I would like to see your headquarters." Tanlir said then whispered in Uly's ear, "Especially if it allows me to be close to you for a little longer."
Feral blushed at that obvious flirtation. "Well, if you really want to." He agreed reluctantly.
"Perfect! Then let's get you checked out!" Tanlir said grinning as he followed Feral back to the tom's room so he could gather the few things he'd brought, then to the front desk for checkout.
Very quickly they were on their way in Feral's hummer. Tanlir's guards weren't happy about this side trip and were tense the whole time except when they were in Enforcer Headquarters. They felt Tanlir was safe here so spent the time studying the way this military facility was run compared to theirs while keeping an eye on their charge.
Tanlir was fascinated with the large operation and the view from Ulysses office. Before he could comment on it though an alert was sounded.
The Sergeant burst into his office. "Commander, the Metallikats have broken into the Agracite Processing Plant. No one seems to know what they want there but they are holding off the security force." He reported quickly.
"Blast those metallic menaces. Have my chopper prepared!" Feral barked. The Sergeant nodded and left to follow orders. Feral made for the door, stopping to put on his coat. He turned to Tanlir. "Stay here. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Let me come with you . . . " Tanlir started to demand.
"No! This isn't your city and you're not familiar with what we have to do. Besides, I haven't missed that you are somehow important enough to warrant guards and I don't want whoever set them on you to be angry at me for endangering your life." Feral said flatly then hurried out the door before Tanlir could argue with him.
Tanlir was taut with anger and fear. His mate was not some helpless she-kat and had been fighting the problems of his city for some years but that knowledge didn't help him overcome his need to protect his mate. Hissing irritably he began to pace and stare out the windows at the choppers that lifted into the air and headed west.
The fight at the Agracite Plant turned into a melee. The Metallikats had trashed half the plant looking for something. They had some pretty potent new weapons attached to their robot arms and were systematically wiping out his enforcers and choppers. His own chopper was shot down just as the SWAT Kats arrived to knock the metal pair on their collective asses.
Feral ached everywhere and discovered he was bleeding from a small scalp wound on his forehead. He was just lucky he hadn't broken anything. His chopper had managed to land pancake style through the roof of the damaged plant and ended up tilted at a crazy angle on top of an ore processing machine. He and the pilot couldn't move or the chopper would crash nastily to the floor below.
The SWAT Kats had seen his predicament. They quickly dispatched the Metallikats using some new tech of their own which managed to short circuit the pair leaving their now mindless bodies to crash to the ground. They then moved the Turbokat to hover over Feral's damaged chopper. Moments later, Razor rappeled down to them.
"Ready to get out of this dead bird, Commander?" Razor asked with a smirk, hanging just above the broken chopper canopy.
"Very funny. Take the pilot first, SWAT Kat." Feral growled unhappily.
"I will but you are both putting a harness on before I start pulling anybody out of there." Razor said firmly then passed harnesses down to each Kat and carefully got them cinched on.
"Okay T-Bone, number one coming up. Slowly buddy!" The cinnamon tom ordered his partner overhead.
"Roger, steady as she goes." His partner responded.
The pilot was slowly winched upward from the cockpit. A few minutes later the winch returned and Razor hooked up Feral.
"Because you're heavier, Commander, I expect the chopper to tip. Pull your legs up to your chest quickly once you clear the canopy." Razor warned. "Alright T-Bone, next one up."
Feral felt himself gradually rise from his seat and at that same moment the chopper shifted once his weight lifted off.
Razor noted the shift. "T-Bone speed up the winch, the chopper is going!" He shouted.
Feral felt himself moving faster into the air and immediately pulled his legs up just in time as the chopper slipped the rest of the way and fell to hit the floor with a loud crash. Smoke and dust plumed into the air but Feral was already nearly inside the Turbokat with Razor right beside him.
Feral swallowed hard and his heart stuttered. That had been really close. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as he waited to be lowered after his pilot to the ground outside the plant.
'Well, I survived another near miss. Man I'm surprised I haven't had a heart attack by now.' Feral sighed to himself.
The SWAT Kats took off after performing their rescue mission and Feral was left with the mess to clean up. This time he didn't grumble too much since he was alive to be disgruntled in the first place. It took another hour before he could return to headquarters. He checked the time and groaned. He barely had time to clean up before going back to the conference.
Sighing tiredly, he went to his office and was set upon by Tanlir who looked him over worriedly.
"Are you alright?" He demanded searching his mate's body with his paws.
Blinking in surprise, Feral was a bit taken aback and wasn't able to answer right away. When Tanlir stared at him still waiting for an answer, he shook himself.
"I'm beat up and bruised but otherwise fine. Let me get cleaned up. We have to be back at the conference in twenty minutes." He said and made for his bathroom before Tanlir could say anything more.
As he quickly washed up, his mind processed the puzzling behavior of Tanlir. 'Why was he so upset? He doesn't know me that well and though we spent a wonderful night together that doesn't make him anything more than a fling.' He thought in confusion. Tanlir acted as if they were lovers or mates.
Now dressed in a clean uniform and the cut on his forehead cleaned and bandaged, he stepped out of the bathroom and headed for the coatrack and another, more clean, coat.
Tanlir was tight lipped as they made their way out of Headquarters and got into his hummer. As he drove, he glanced out of the corner of his eye at the cheetah. Tanlir was stiff and angry but said nothing. Feral had a feeling he was going to hear it later.
Sighing inwardly, he parked at the hotel. They piled out and headed inside. They were the last to arrive as he made for the stage.
"Your pardon for my lateness. An emergency drew me away. Now, we are gathered to vote on the proposal to create a coalition for the protection of the planet from possible future alien invasions. When I call your name, please say yea or nay to the proposal." Feral said.
More than an hour later the conference was over. Many joined together for a final meal and exchange of information and phone numbers.
"Congratulations, Ulysses on the successful outcome of your proposal." Shenar said with a huge smile at dinner.
"Thank you, Shenar. I think we all won and it's because of you, Tanlir and others firm support that the measure went through at all. Thank you all." Feral said, offering a toast to everyone. They toasted back.
After everyone said their farewells, Tanlir tugged at Feral and insisted, silently, he come to his room.
Feral sighed and didn't resist. The walk to the elevators then to the penthouse room was made in uncomfortable silence.
As soon as the door closed behind them in the bedroom suite, his guards were in the living area, Tanlir turned to his mate. He wanted to shout at the Kat but knew that was wrong. Feral hadn't done anything wrong, only doing his job. What Feral didn't know was Tanlir had made one of his guards tag along and find out what was happening. When Tanlir received his report, he was white faced with shock and fear at how close he nearly lost his new mate. Since that moment, he'd been trying to find a way to explain his consternation and worry without losing his temper.
Finally, he took in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Ulysses, I had one of my guards follow you so I know what nearly happened. My heart nearly failed when I heard how close you came to death. Don't get me wrong! I know our jobs are dangerous but yours is infinitely more so. I was terrified for you and nothing I do will change how I feel about that." Tanlir said tightly.
"But, why do you feel so strongly about me? We've only just met and I can understand being concerned but you're literally beside yourself." Feral said voicing his confusion.
Tanlir sighed. "I'm sorry, love. I really should have told you from the beginning but the strength of our attraction to each other and then our mating was so intense I simply couldn't refuse the desire . . . no the desperate need . . . to bond with you. A lifemate is a precious thing in our land and I never dreamed of finding such a one until I met you. You set off a firestorm in me and my bonding instinct recognized you as the other half of my soul and joined you with me." Tanlir tried to explain.
Feral frowned. 'What was he saying? Bonded? Lifemated?' He thought in utter confusion.
Seeing Feral's face looking bewildered and confused didn't help Tanlir's state of mind. He tried again.
"Ulysses what did you feel when we mated that first time?" He asked.
"Uh . . . besides it feeling wonderful?...Um . . . well, I thought I felt as if a warm blanket had wrapped itself around me with love and a strong feeling of security then it was gone. I wasn't certain if it had really happened." Feral said slowly remembering that incredible moment.
"That was the bond. My soul reached for yours and bound us together. We are lifemated." Tanlir said.
Feral's mouth dropped as he finally began to grasp what the cheetah was saying. "We're mated for life?" He repeated, not really sure he was hearing this right.
"Yes!"
"Shit!"
"My love?" Tanlir asked, his turn to be surprised at his mate's reaction.
"I had never planned to mate or marry! My job is far too dangerous! Besides I can't leave Megakat City. What have you done?" Feral said gradually overcoming shock and getting angry.
"Ulysses! I know this is a shock and there are problems we need to solve but that is no cause to get angry and upset. I have no intention of asking you to leave the city you protect so well. I will have to find a way to come to you." Tanlir insisted.
Feral stood there not knowing whether he should still be angry or let it go and accept it.
Tanlir moved close, slowly caressed his mate's arms and leaned his face against the other's cheek and nuzzled.
Feral closed his eyes and sighed. This close to him, Feral could now feel a comforting warmth and sense of well being. This must be the bond. What a strange feeling to know he wasn't alone anymore.
They stood there close, saying nothing, just breathing in each other's essence.