Эндрю Маккей: Star Cat: War Mage

White sparks zipped away from the book as it took its final curtain call, “I managed it, though, d-didn’t I? I l-lied for you.”

Tripp half-smiled and held his thumb up to the transparent book, “You did. You bought us time.”

“Goodbye, T-Tripp. Jaycee,” Manuel’s last words screeched to a halt. His image flapped away like a dove toward the ceiling and burst into several thousand digital atoms, never to be seen again.

Jaycee thumped the wall in anger, “Bastards.”

“No time to mourn, now. We gotta get off Beta. Open the airlock.”

“With pleasure,” Jaycee yanked on the lever. The inner airlock door slid up into the ceiling.

“Wait, what about Jelly?” Tripp asked. “Where is she?”

“I dunno—”

SCHTOMP-SCHTOMP-SCHTOMP…

The two men turned to a colossal thumping noise coming from the other end of the walkway.

Jelly Anderson stormed toward them. They flinched with each step she took.

“There you are,” Tripp said.

“Where’s my mommy?” Jelly looked around, expecting to find Wool with them.

“No time for questions, pet,” Tripp stood aside and allowed her in the airlock.

“I’m not going anywhere without my mommy.”

Tripp looked over her shoulder, “Jelly, listen. Your mommy didn’t make—”

He cut his sentence short when he clamped eyes on the wet patch between her legs. A dusty Kevlar panel hung by her knee. The fabric of the leggings were torn apart, “Jelly, did you embarrass yourself again?”

She looked down at her thighs and whined, “Miew.”

“Where did that liquid come from?”

“Uh, guys?” Jaycee waved Jelly and Tripp in from the airlock compression chamber.

Jelly reached into the chest compartment at the front of her exo-suit, “Let’s get out of here—”

“Oh my God,” Tripp gasped.

A tiny, goo-drenched kitten lay shivering on her palm. It meowed with its eyes shut, clinging to Jelly’s infinity claws.

Stunned, Tripp and Jaycee looked at Jelly for a reaction.

“My baby,” Jelly held the kitten for both men to see, “We have to protect her.”

“But-but,” Tripp swallowed and went to touch the newborn kitten. His sleeves rolled up the length of his arm, revealing the holes on his wrist.

“This is Alex. Do you read me?”

Tripp moved his wrist to his mouth, “Yes, Alex. We’re at the Primary Airlock, now. We, uh, found something .”

“What?” Alex’s voice came from Tripp’s IndividiMedia ink.

“Get down here, quick. We’re going to need your help.”

“I’m on my way.”

Jelly cradled the kitten in her arms. The light from the fireball rocketing towards Saturn illuminated its gorgeous, fluffy face.

“It’s a she?”

Jelly nodded and purred, “Yes.”

Jaycee joined Tripp and tried not to let his emotions override the severity of their situation.

“Jelly, listen. We don’t have any outer-suits. We need to cross the bridge to Charlie as quick as we can.”

“But we can’t breathe in space?” Jelly asked.

“No,” Jaycee pointed to the bridge through the window, “You have to exhale. Push all the air out of your lungs and hold until we get there.”

Tripp took Jelly’s newborn in his hands. The gunk slopped between his fingers, “What are you going to call her?”

“—Tripp, man,” Jaycee screamed, “Not now. We need to leave.”

He stormed into the airlock compression chamber and waved the pair in with him, “Let’s go.”

Jelly took the kitten from Tripp as they made their way into the airlock.

He double-took and looked at the door. A pang of déjà vu throttled through his body, “There’s something very familiar about all this.”

Jaycee grunted, “You don’t say.”

“Guys, wait for me,” Alex reached the door and immediately spotted Jelly carrying her kitten. “My God, what happened?”

“She gave birth,” Tripp said. “You know how to operate Charlie when we get in, right?”

“Yes,” Alex hopped into the airlock and pressed his fingers around his mask, “Where are your outer-suits?”

“We don’t have time.”

Jelly ran the side of her face against her kitten, “Hey, honey. Don’t be scared.”

“What about that thing ?” Alex pointed to the kitten, only for Jelly to take offense.

“She’s not a thing .”

SCHWUMP.

The inner-door slammed down, instigating the start of the decompressions process. A blast of white gas filled the chamber.

“Right,” Jaycee grabbed the lever next to the outer-door, “Let’s get out of here and go home.”

“Wait, let me go first,” Alex pushed his way to the front, “Jaycee, when we get there, Manny might not open the door for you. She will for me, though.”

“Okay,” Jaycee turned over his shoulder, “Everyone ready?”

Tripp nodded, “Jelly, cover the kitten’s mouth.”

“Okay,” she exhaled and stood poised to blast through the door.

“ETA sixty seconds, here we go,” Jaycee yanked the lever down.

SWISH!

The door slid up, allowing them onto the bridge. They had expected it to be a silent journey. The white bridge seemed whiter than usual.

GRRROOOOOAAARRRRRR!

Jaycee gripped the shuddering railings and pulled himself forward, “What the hell?”

He squinted at the blinding light coming from Saturn, above. The fiery Enceladus sunk into it, throwing the planet’s surface out like an exploded balloon sticking to the stars.

He held his hand over his eyes and ignored it, pulling himself forward.

Alex followed, clocking some of the celestial event as he moved forward, “Jesus Christ. Look at that .”

His feet drifted across the bridge floor. Saturn’s rings began to gyrate as if wading through a magnificent lump of treacle. The stars pushed aside as the planet’s body pounded away like an aggressive boom box.

“What the hell is happening up there?” Alex muttered, wide-eyed at the spectacular light show. He held out his hand for Tripp, “Come on.”

Tripp covered his eyes with his left palm. He grabbed Alex’s hand with his right.

“Come on, let’s go. Quick.”

Jelly cradled her daughter in her elbow and protected her with her claws. She used her free hand for balance as she traversed the bridge.

GWAAAARRRR… WVHOOSH…

A shower of light bleached out their surroundings. Saturn seemed to be growing. Jaycee and Alex saw a giant black hole form like a crazy, liquid cartwheel over its surface.

“Go, go, go—” Alex pushed Jaycee along the bridge and gripped the rails, propelling himself after him, “Tripp, come on.”

Alex’s voice may have fallen on deaf ears in the vacuum of space, but his haste in ushering Jelly and her newborn couldn’t be ignored.

“Jelly, please .”

She opened her eyes and clutched her baby tighter than ever, “I’m coming.”

SWISH!

Oxade ran into the airlock with his K-SPARK and thumped the outer door, “Look at them. They think they can abscond on our ship?”

Nutrene held her arm as she stepped inside the chamber with her Rez-9.

Poz and Neg rolled in with them, “Commencing decompression. Standby.”

SPRIISHHH!

Jelly turned to face him with her daughter’s scruff in her mouth. The kitten hung in against of her chin and thrashed its spindly legs around.

“Hey,” Oxade thumped the outer airlock door in an attempt to catch Jelly’s attention, “Get back here and die like a good little pussy.”

The decompression stopped as soon as the outer airlock hatch flung open. Oxade kicked himself away from the frame of the door and arrowed behind Jelly.