I was sixteen when I joined the federation fleet marines. Of course the records said I was older and there was no one to say otherwise. The basic course was very hard and we lost a third of the company. I was not going to give up and by the time I finished the advanced course I was at the top of the class.

My company was a first strike company and we went in after a mixed rogue world regiment. From the time we rushed off the assault shuttle to when our regiment arrived it was a constant battle and a nightmare. We were hit hard but made a stand and killed the bastards. At first I followed the orders of my sergeant but after he was hit, I was alone and on my own.

Even with the heavily protected armored combat suit, rounds still managed to kill us. An hour after we landed the regiment reached us. I was the only one still alive and I was firing into the bastards. I had been wounded many times and could only use one leg and my right arm. I was bleeding internally and was partially blind in one eye.

The bodies in front of my position covered the ground and in some places they were piled up. I was still willing to stay a marine but after I woke in the med bay, I found out the mind doctors and a med review had already decided to medically retire me. They said my actions were those of a hero but it did not feel like it to me.

I wanted somewhere remote and quiet and beside the medal for heroism they gave me colony credit for any colony. I picked Addison World, with its plague outbreak half the people were dead and the other half struggling to recover so it needed new people. I was not the only one going there, there were others from the federation and even further.

I stayed on the liner when we reached the heliopause station while a lot of people took the skip shuttles in. At low station I walked off with my duffle bags and looked around. I had several hours before the shuttle down and decided to look around. I found the merchant walk and looked in each store.

I bought a long knife in one and a skinning knife in another. I bought a bag of cleaning and tanning bots and finally I bought a net wand and a Richards twelve millimeter pistol. I looked at eggs for companions and other animals but they were very expensive. I went to wait at the shuttle lounge for the next one down to the north colony after turning in my duffles.

A small petite young woman sat down and she was very pretty and smiled, “I have seen you before.”

I sighed because this had happened a few times, “a news vid.”

She blinked and then nodded, “yeah.”

She looked around at the people filling the lounge, “I am Katelynn Hawk. My mother married a man and moved and I am just returning home now.”

I looked at her carefully, “you are from Addison?”

She nodded, “from the north colony. Well ... next to the new colony barrier.”

I smiled, “how old were you when you left?”

She smiled and wiggled and rubbed against the seat, “eight.”

I looked at her seat and she blushed, “sorry but you are making me very horny.”

I grinned, “that is a first.”

She grinned and leaned closer, “I have a large farm and grow local fruit and earth type vegetables. Right now most is going to waste since our manager died. I claimed our land and told dad off before I left.”

She caressed my leg, “we have an hour if you want to use a sleep cubical.”

We made it back barely in time and sat together on the way down. I had been thinking of looking for work after I got down. Cat, as she wanting me to call her talked me into coming home with her. Once we were down and had collected our things I called for a public flyer. When we reached her home I could only stare.

There were a few dozen huge fire and spice trees reaching into the sky and her home was fifty meters up and very large. There were fields with long vines on rows of rails. There were also a few dozen long greenhouses, stasis silos, a large barn and large water storage tanks. There were stairs but Cat led me to a lift.

Her eyes were very bright as she looked around, “first thing we have to do is look for squirrel rats. The manager brought in a dozen tame mini leopards and mini tigers but I do not know if they stayed.”

I nodded to a secondary branch, “there are two.”

She looked and grinned, “those are mini leopards.”

The lift stopped at a larger covered porch and we got off and walked towards a door. I saw the flap to let the cats in and thought of snakes or serpents but remembered they did not have any here. I set my bags down and she parked her float. The common room was huge with large windows and plenty of cushioned chairs or couches.

Along some of the windows were large ledges or what they called nests, some big enough for a dragon. I grinned as I looked around and then followed Cat towards the kitchen. We checked the stasis cooler and the stasis pantry. Both were full and the kitchen was clean. I heard a soft chirp and turned to see one of the small cats.

I grinned as I got out a blood fruit and knife and sliced it up. I put it on a plate and then set it on the floor, “call your friends.”

Cat giggled as the small tiger moved closer while watching us. It smelled and then took a slice and began to purr as it ate. We began to search the house and I was right, it was huge. Of course above, in and on other branches and trees were three more large homes we would have to look at later.