Эндрю Маккей: Star Cat: War Mage

“Huh?”

“Miew,” Jelly clung to Wool’s inner-suit sleeve and kicked her legs out. The orb bubbled out into three, smaller oblong-shapes and nestled side by side.

“Tummy. Hurts.”

“Jesus Christ,” Tor yelped.

Jelly jumped from Wool’s arms and bolted under the bed frame for safety.

Tor pointed at Jelly’s ass disappearing under the bed, “Wh-what’s she d-doing? And why is the sun growing?”

“How should I know?”

Wool jumped to the ground and crouched to her knees. The bed’s shadow rolled over Jelly’s body as she cowered on all fours. Her orange-black eyes gave her position away. She didn’t want anyone to touch her – not least Tor.

“Hey, honey. It’s okay,” Wool offered her Jelly a friendly hand in the hope she wouldn’t lash out, “It’s me. Mommy .”

Jelly scrunched her nose and forced her whiskers up and down, “They come.”

“Who… come ?”

“They come,” Jelly said with a childlike innocence, “War.”

“What’s she talking about it?” Tor asked. He knew full well that no one had the correct answer, “War?”

“Protect gift,” Jelly flexed her infinity claws and scraped them across the ground, “War. It comes .”

Wool kept her false smile up for fear of angering the cat, “What do we do, honey?”

“Fight.”

“We fight?” Tor snapped. “Fight who?”

“Did someone say fight?” Jaycee’s voice boomed from the door, “I’m up for a fight. I think I’ll start with knocking your block off, Rabinovich .”

“Hey-hey,” Tor took one step back and held his hands out at Jaycee, “Don’t you touch me, you dumb mound of metal.”

Jaycee clenched his one good hand and threatened to punch the man, “Where’s Anderson?”

“Under the bed. Look.”

“Right,” Jaycee thumped the bedside desk and used it for balance. His right knee slammed against the ground, putting a dent in the tile.

“Be careful,” Wool said. “You and your heavy frame.”

“Shhh,” Jaycee peered under the bed and waved at Jelly with his severed wrist, “Hey, girl.”

“J-Jaycee…” Jelly squinted and refused to move.

“Yes, it’s me. Why don’t you come out?”

“Scared.”

“We’re all scared.”

He unclasped the side of the desk and pushed his good hand under the bed, “Com here, girl. It’s okay.”

Jelly didn’t want to go anywhere near him. She shook her head and covered her body with her furry, human-like arms, “No. Safe here.”

Jaycee climbed to his feet, “She won’t come out.”

An idea came to him. He opened the compartment on his leg and took out a black smart bomb, “Wait, I got it.”

Wool raised her eyebrows, “You’re not going to blow her up, are you?”

“Don’t be stupid.”

He grabbed the bulk of the grenade in his hand swung it upside down. The metal hook and pin at the top of the device jangled back and forth.

“Here, kitty-kitty-kitty,” he smiled, dangling the pin in front of her, “Look at the shiny-shiny.”

“Miew…” Jelly’s cat-like desires got the better of her. She took a swipe at the jangling metal only for Jaycee to pull it away from under the bed.

“Haha, look at her going for it,” Jaycee pulled the smart bomb back . He knew Jelly couldn’t resist attacking it.

“Be careful, man,” Tor said. “What if she yanks the pin—”

SCHWAPP!

Jelly’s right infinity claw sliced through the air and hooked through the metal loop. Jaycee yanked it back, but was too late.

CLICK!

“Oh dear.”

“Smart bomb armed,” came a tinny voice from the hook, along with three flashing lights, “Warning, smart bomb armed.”

“Christ almighty,” Tor and Wool hopped to the other side of the room in a bid to take cover, “Make it stop.”

“Miew,” Jelly bolted from under the bed and hopped onto the desk. She attacked the rumbling grenade in Jaycee’s palm.

“Ah, get back,” Jaycee thumped the pin back into place. The lights flashed off one by one.

“Smart bomb deactivated,” advised the grenade.

Tor and Wool exhaled in utter relief.

“Jelly… play. Toy,” she held out her paw and demanded he give her the grenade.

“You want this ?”

“Jelly wanting.”

“No, Anderson. This isn’t a toy,” Jaycee slid the bomb in his thigh compartment and clamped it shut, “This is for the big boys.”

She thumped her chest with pride, “Me. Big cat.”

“No,” Wool moved to the desk, “You, silly cat.”

“You. Silly ,” Jelly smirked.

Wool looked at Jelly with suspicion, “Honey, you’re not a big cat. You’re very unwell.”

Jelly threw her adopted maternal crew member a vacant stare.

“Wh-what are you looking at?” Wool asked with a side order of dumbstruck awe.

“Beta moves,” Jelly flicked her ears and clutched the side of the desk. She looked over Wool’s shoulder and saw the pink horizon shudder back and forth, “We fly.”

Jaycee, Tor, and Wool looked at the window in surprise.

“I don’t get it,” Jaycee held his breath and saw the ravenous Shanta horde scurrying across the sand from the ocean, “The thrusters aren’t on. How are we moving?”

Tor walked through the holographic E-MRI of Jelly’s body and pressed his palms against the window. His breath fogged up the plastic as he muttered, “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense.”

A sprawling root filled the lower half of the window.

“We’re definitely lifting, though—

SCHLAMMMM!

A black branch smacked against the window. Tor jumped out of his shoes with fright, “H-Holy shi—”

SQQQUUEEEAAKKK!

The black substance smeared out into five, thick digits and tensed against the exterior of the ship.

Jaycee reached for his Rez-9 and pointed it at the window.

“That tree thing. It’s taken a hold of us,” he waved the others back to the door, “Get away from the window.”

Wool grabbed Jelly and set her in her arms, “Don’t shoot the window, you’ll get us killed.”

The room shuddered once again. The force of gravity shifted from the floor and up the back wall.

Tor, Jaycee, and Wool staggered onto the surface of the wall in an attempt to keep upright.

“Mommy?” Jelly tensed her muscles and clung to the woman’s inner-suit, “What goes on?”

“I don’t know, honey. Just hold on to me.”

Tor lost his mind and snapped his fingers, “Manuel?”

No response.

“Damn it,” Tor turned to the door. Tripp and Bonnie clung to it as the ship revolved on the spot.

“What’s going on?” Tripp screamed from the door frame. He placed his foot on the wall in an attempt to keep up with the gravity subsidence.

Bonnie placed her boot on the door frame and threw her hands in front of her face, “Wool. Is everything locked to the floor?”

“Everything except the utilities,” Wool tumbled next to her and slid up the length of the wall. She watched the beds climb away and released Jelly onto the picture of Jamie.

“Friend,” Jelly said.

She pawed her way over the picture as the gravitational pull rolled across the ceiling.

The E-MRI holograph continued to revolve in the center of the room.

“Guys, listen up,” Tripp barked across the room, “The thrusters aren’t on, but we’re being moved. We need to get to the control deck—”

CLANG-SCHPLANG-SCHTANG!

Various medicinal items – including scalpels and syringes tipped out from the trays and crashed against the ceiling. Each sheet lifted from its bed and drew into the air like an angry ghost.

“Tripp, I don’t know what you have planned,” Wool screamed, “But make it quick.”