Cat and Mouse

By William Mangieri

Major Tom has plans for his leave time: this cat is finally going to get some much needed R&R with his mates. But recent additions to the household (including his Admiral father-in-law and an uppity mouse chef), as well as an unexpected visit from yet another enemy puts his whiskers in a twist. Ready for a comical adventure with some unlikely characters? Read “Cat and Mouse.”
"Cat and Mouse" is a speculative fiction short story, and is the third of his "Major Tom, Champion of the Empire" stories, following “Purr Mission” and “Nipped in the Butt.” All three stories are available in “Cats of War I.”

• Language: English
• Publisher: William Mangieri
• Release date: Mar 13, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311674289

William Mangieri

William Mangieri is a karaoke junkie, former theater student, and recovered wargamer who spends as much time wondering "what if?" as "why not?". He writes from Texas, where he and his family live at the mercy of the ghost of a nine-pound westie.William writes mostly speculative fiction (that’s science fiction, fantasy and horror), although he also has a detective series with a soft sci-fi element (Detective Jimmy Delaney.) He completed writing his first novel (Swordsmaster) in 2019; prior to this, he has honed his skills on short fiction. He has been published in Daily Science Fiction and The Anarchist, and six of his stories have earned Honorable Mentions in the Writers of the Future contest.

Book preview

Cat and Mouse

by William Mangieri

Copyright 2014 by William Mangieri

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Cat and Mouse

My whiskers twitched as the heavenly aroma of poached salmon curled its way into my dreams, which until that moment had been a replay of last night's private welcome home celebration with Kat. Returning from leave unannounced had given us as much privacy as I could have hoped for. I opened one eye to the bright yellow sunlight streaming through the window and stretched; the sterile white light of the sun in space never quite feels this good.

Kat had already gotten up and left me to sleep in, hidden away from the rest of the pride. I could have used some more time to decompress from my three-month tour, but that salmon was calling me. It was my favorite; Kat must have asked our cook Randall to prepare it especially for my homecoming. Last night was the cat's meow, after all - it wouldn't do to keep her waiting.

I followed the scent trail down to the kitchen, where I found the pan of glorious salmon simmering on the stove. Simmering - that is something else I missed during my time off-world. It's impossible to keep odors out of the air scrubbers shipboard, so regulations dictate that all food preparation is done by microwave bombardment of sealed containers; without any of the olfactory benefits of cooking, many crews return to the barbarity of eating uncooked rather than deal with the disappointment. I confess, I've been tempted to go the raw route myself.

My nose hovered over the pan as I