Hey everyone! Here's an awesome new pic I got from  DiDihell

It's of my feline mama, Boudica, decked out in her brand new bounty hunting attire - and as you can see, she's more than ready to take on the toughest marks her galaxy has to offer.

Now as mentioned in a previous post, virtually all the bounty hunters the Pumari government has under its employment are former soldiers from their military. Having had their fill of the regimented military lifestyle, these veterans instead choose to continue their service in a more lax manner by bringing order to the various systems under the Pumari control, along with reining in those that would defy them. But Boudica's tale of becoming a bounty hunter isn't as quite simple as all the others. You see, her story all began when she made the decision that she wanted to be a mother.

Having served eight long years in the Pumari military, Boudica decided she had enough with armed conflict and wanted instead to live the simple life as a childrearer. Submitting her application to the Ministry of Procreation, Boudica was approved to bear children thanks to her years of dedicated service. Once she chose a male donor from the extensive catalog of Pumari male specimens, Boudica was artificially inseminated and after ten months of pregnancy, she gave birth to her daughter, Ragna.

Now despite all the Pumari's advanced fertilization and gene therapy technology, the unexpected can still occur, and for Boudica, it was her daughter being born "male-dominant". You see, typical Pumari females are born "female-dominant", meaning their physical and mental traits are more reminiscent of their mother's, but "male-dominant" children like Ragna take more after their father. As Ragna grew up, she became taller, stronger, and most notably, more aggressive than the other kids around her. Now in other societies, this probably wouldn't be much of a problem, but to the Pumari government, this is unacceptable in their eyes - so much so that under normal circumstances, they would immediately "address" the issue as soon as it was discovered. But because of Boudica's stellar record, the upper echelon decided to instead place Ragna under probationary watch to see if she could indeed assimilate to the Pumari's strict way of life.

Now despite both Boudica and Ragna doing their best to prove that she could become a part of Pumari society, it unfortunately proved fruitless. Every misstep they encountered, no matter how small, drew the ire of their watchers, till eventually, it was deemed that Ragna was a lost cause and was sentenced to "Pacification" - meaning she would be essentially lobotomized to insure her docility. Now it goes without question that Boudica was 100% against the government's decision, but knowing that there was nothing more she could do to change their minds, she had to watch helplessly as the officials sedated her daughter for transportation to the near Pacification facility, completely unaware of what would transpire next.

Apparently, part way into the voyage, the sedatives Ragna were given suddenly wore off, resulting in her waking up. Frightened and confused, Ragna immediately broke free of her restraints and fled from her captors, eventually finding salvation at a nearby spaceport where she would sneak on board a band of smugglers' freighter that would unknowingly usher her off-world. Now when news got out that Ragna had escaped, the Pumari government was absolutely FURIOUS - not only at the ineptitude of their own forces in their attempts to recapture her, but also at the fact that someone had escaped their judgment. Looking to save face, the officials overseeing this incident needed someone to take the blame, and with no other "rational" options, they decided to pin it all on Boudica. As a result, Boudica was immediately arrested and charged with 'aiding the escape of a wanted felon'. Now normally such a charge is met with the death penalty, since it's viewed as a treasonous act towards the state, but once again due to Boudica's years of service and accolades, she was instead given life in prison.

Incarcerated, Boudica would spend the next decade behind bars in one of the Pumari's top prisons. With no means of escape or ways to prove her innocence, Boudica had essentially resigned herself to her fate - that is until she was approached one day with a rather interesting proposition. In the time Boudica had been locked up, her daughter Ragna had gone on to become a rather notorious space pirate - so much so that the Pumari government could no longer ignore her. She had become a blemish on their perfect record - a constant reminder of the one that got away. Now they had made numerous attempts to bring her in themselves, such as putting a bounty on her head and sending some of their own operatives after her, but every outcome had been the same: nothing but body bags. Fend up, the Pumari elite decided to go with one last idea - sending Ragna's own mother after her - before enacting their final plan.

Now of course they knew Boudica wouldn't do such a thing out of the goodness of her heart, especially after what she had been through over the past decade, so they opted to make her a deal. In exchange for hunting down her own flesh and blood, not only would Boudica be granted her own freedom, but should she succeed in bringing Ragna in alive, they would not only spare her Pacification, but also execution as well. She would instead spend the rest of her days locked up in prison, serving the sentence that was placed on Boudica so long ago. She would become a living trophy for the Pumari government, to serve as a reminder to all its citizens that NONE can escape their judgment. But on the off chance that Boudica refused to assist them, the Pumari elite also shared with her what would happen if she decided not to comply.

Should Boudica turn down their offer, the Pumari government would instead send the bulk of the Pumari Armada to track Ragna down and annihilate her at any cost. Now they would prefer not to go down this route as it would be immensely costly for them, as well as damaging to some of their relations as such an act would rub their galactic neighbors the wrong way. But as mentioned before, the Pumari will stop at nothing to ensure their will is carried out, even if they have to scour the entire galaxy to do so. Of course, Boudica herself would also be given no quarter. If she decides not to cooperate, not only will she have to spend the rest of her existence in prison, but she would also have to do so in solitary confinement. No interactions with other prisoners, as well as no interactions with any of the guards. For the rest of her days, she would be monitored by cameras and tended to by soulless automatons - with the only thing keeping her company being the question of whether she'll die of old age or insanity?

And so, faced with no other viable options, Boudica accepted their plea deal to hunt Ragna down, in exchange for her own freedom and her daughter's guaranteed safety. Needless to say, whoever crosses her path better watch out - because she's a mama on a mission, and she's taking no prisoners. X3

---

Artwork by  DiDihell

*If you want to see more of DiDihell's amazing work, check out her Fur Affinity account at https://www.furaffinity.net/user/didihell/