Star Cat The Complete Series

by Andrew Mackay

  “Just do it. Full throttle.”

  Jelly huffed and puffed. Her belly glowed a hot pink through her exo-suit top. She strained her stomach muscles and kicked her heels against the ground, “Oh, God. It’s coming, it’s coming.”

  Tripp, Jaycee, and Alex looked at the holograph footage of Saturn as per the view from the back of the ship.

  “If you believe in God, now’s the time to pray,” Tripp said, quietly.

  Jelly’s firstborn shuffled around in Tripp’s arms and meowed for the first time in her young life.

  “Wow, she’s started to speak—”

  BLAAAAAAAAM!

  The hyper-thrusters blew at full pelt.

  “I would advise anyone not currently screwed to the ground to take hold of something,” Manny said with all the casual grace of a grocery store announcement.

  “Muh, muh,” Jelly kicked her legs around and stomped her feet against the ground, “Oh, it hurts. It hurts so bad—”

  SPRRRIIIIISSSSHHH.

  Thick, clear liquid blasted down Jelly’s thighs and splashed against the floor.

  Tripp crouched to his knees and held her waist, keeping his eyes fixed on her groin.

  “Jelly. Crouch down.”

  “What the hell do you think I’m doing?” Jelly snapped and bent to her knees, “Oh, Jesus.”

  Perplexed, Alex sat into the flight deck chair with Jelly’s kitten cradle along his left arm, “I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”

  “No kidding,” Jaycee stomped back to Alex, allowing as much space as possible for Jelly’s impending delivery, “She’s already had one.”

  “Ngggggg,” Jelly yelped as her stomach bulged in and out. She squeezed her abdomen muscles tight and tried to fight the pain, “Uggghh.”

  Tripp lowered his head and raised his eyebrows, “Uh, Jelly?”

  Angry, she ridiculed the very man who was trying to help her, “Ugghhh,” she seethed, “What is it, dickhead?”

  “I can see a sort of sack trying to push out,” Tripp shuffled closer and placed his hands under her groin. “All you have to do is push—”

  “—All I have to do,” Jelly huffed in extreme agony, “Is kick you between the legs and bite your head off. Leave m-me alone.”

  Jaycee couldn’t not look at the proceedings. He could barely get any words out, “I th-think I’m gonna be sick.”

  “Sick? Big man like you?” Alex asked. “The simple act of giving birth brings you to your knees, does it?”

  Alex looked at the kitten’s dark brown face once again. This time he noticed a distinctive ‘F’ mark on her forehead.

  “Miew,” the kitten whelped for the second time in her life.

  She lifted her shuddering paws in front of her face and stretched her forearms in front of her face.

  Alex smiled at her, their eyes meeting for the first time, “Feeling better, huh? Stretchy-stretchy?”

  “Miew,” it whined once again and relaxed in Alex’s arm. He knew it was only a matter of time before the treat of releasing fatigue would manifest in a desire to jump and run around the ship.

  “Not yet, sweetie,” Alex nodded at Jelly as she produced the kitten’s baby sister at the far end of the deck, “Look. Mommy’s giving birth.”

  Jelly splayed her knees out as far as she could and pushed once again.

  Tripp turned his palms up, ready to catch whatever was about to drop, “Do it, Jelly.”

  “Arrgghh, shut up,” Jelly clenched the control deck and pushed once again, “Miew.”

  Manny flapped her pages together in an attempt to catch everyone’s attention, “I hate to interrupt your valuable time, gentlemen, but I seriously advise you to hang tight.”

  “Not yet, Manny,” Tripp shouted over his shoulder, keeping a stern eye on the sack squeezing out from between Jelly’s legs, “Can’t it wait—”

  “—Sure,” Manny huffed in her sarcastic tone, “I’ll tell Saturn to slow down a bit, shall I?”

  “Since when did USARIC issue their autopilots with a sense of humor?”

  “When the manned crews on their expeditions lost theirs,” Manny quipped.

  “You’re not funny, Manny.”

  “I beg to differ, Tripp Healy.”

  Jelly scraped the tips of her infinity claws along the surface of the communications deck, “Ugghh, someone shut that freaking book up. I’m trying to have a baby, here.”

  “Hey,” Manny complained, “Be careful with the paintwork.”

  “Shut up,” Jelly strained herself and scowled at Manny through her huffing and puffing.

  “Nearly there,” Tripp said.

  “I d-don’t n-need you to help me—”

  WHUMP-SCHPLATT.

  A goo-covered sack dropped into Tripp’s palms.

  “Got it,” he said as he balanced it over his fingers , “What do I do now?”

  “Nggg,” Jelly squeezed her eyes shut once again, still in pain, “I d-don’t care, just go away.”

  The dark sack wobbled around in Tripp’s hands. He turned to Jaycee and Alex to find them staring at him in disbelief.

  “Don’t look at us,” Jaycee said. “You’re the, uh, midwife?”

  “Huh?”

  Tripp turned to the sack just in time to see a tiny, white paw puncture through the skin from within.

  The little claws opened the filmy material out like a busted, soft egg shell. A shivering, white-colored kitten with its eyes shut lay inside.

  “My G-God,” Tripp whispered, “Jelly, it’s—”

  “—Gaarrggghhh,” she growled in pain and crouched down once again, “They keep coming.”

  The more Jelly growled, the more the ship shifted from side to side. At least, that’s how it felt to the crew. The thrusters ran at maximum capacity, trying in earnest to push away from Saturn’s orbit.

  “Jaycee, man,” Tripp shouted. “Come here and take the little one. I think she’s gonna unload again.”

  “She won’t be the only one,” Manny said with a degree of flippancy. She floated up to the windshield and tilted her covers to the super-massive swirl of God-like pink-and-purple light forming over Saturn’s surface, “Whatever that thing is out there, it’s trying to pull us through.”

  BRAAAAAM-BRAAAAAAM.

  Opera Charlie progressively lost the battle for escape. The last of the thrusters burst to life in a mostly-futile attempt to get away from the giant hole in space.

  BURRR-BUURRR.

  The nuclear thrusters blasted at full-throttle. The pull from the giant proved to be greater than the capacity to escape.

  “That’s us at maximum levels, now,” Manny said. “I’m not joking around, anymore. Hang on to something—”

  “—Wait, wait,” Tripp passed the white kitten to Jaycee and turned back to Jelly, “How you holding up, there, girl?”

  Jelly heaved and threw Tripp a dirty, evil glance, “Ask me that one m-more time and you’ll get my knee in your nose. Just make sure my babies are safe.”

  “Okay, okay.”

  Tripp stood up straight and immediately lost his balance. He tumbled sideways and crashed against the communications console, “Jesus Christ, what was that?”

  Manny shuffled next to him with an ‘I told you so’ look to her pages, “Yeah, you know that attempt to outrun Saturn I told you about?”

  “Yes?”

  “Yeah, that,” Manny said. “Now, will you at least attempt to protect yourself while we try to escape?”

  Tripp scanned the white kitten in Jaycee’s arms, “What are you gonna do?”

  “Uh, what?”

  Tripp pointed at the kitten in his arms, “I said what are you gonna do?”

  “Well, I was gonna ride it out with you guys?”

  “No. Not you, you idiot. I mean what are you gonna do about that kitten? The other one is safe with Alex.”

  Jaycee looked at it the white ball of damp fluff in his arms, “Oh. Uh, I have an idea.”

  He thumped the side of his thigh and opened the compartme
nt. Two dumb bombs from their escape from Beta were nestled safely inside.

  Jaycee brushed away the filmy remnants and lowered her into the compartment, “You’ll be safe in here, pet.”

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Tripp screamed. “You can’t put her in there with the bombs.”

  “Why not? It’s perfectly safe.”

  “What if she claws at the pins?”

  “Don’t be stupid,” Jaycee huffed. “Do you really think I’d put a kitten in there if I thought it was strong enough to pull the pin from a grenade?”

  “Don’t ask me questions like that,” Tripp spat. “It’s unfair.”

  “What’s that meant to mean—?”

  “—Ugghhh,” Jelly fell to her knees in pain and hung her head in front of her chest, “Who cares? J-Just let him do it, Tripp.”

  Jaycee placed his boot on the deck, ensuring his thigh was horizontal. He lowered Jelly’s second-born into the compartment. A nice, comfortable fit.

  “It’s not for very long, little one,” he said.

  The dirty, white kitten opened her eyes just as the compartment slammed shut, catching a brief glimmer of Jaycee’s big, scary face.

  “Miew.”

  Jaycee took a seat next to Alex and fastened the belt over his shoulders, “Better strap in, Hughes.”

  Alex pushed himself back in the chair and handed the brown kitten to Jaycee, “Yeah. Hold her for a second.”

  “You got it,” Jaycee took the kitten and, much like Alex had done, immediately noticed the white “F” on her forehead, “Huh. Cute.”

  Alex strapped himself into the chair and clapped his hands together, “Ready to die? Jeez, look at that thing.”

  WHHAAAAARRRRMMM.

  Even though the mysterious circle of light blowing out in front of Saturn couldn’t be heard, it could certainly be felt through the ship’s interior.

  It wouldn’t stop growing… and growing.

  “I estimate approximately sixty seconds to impact,” Manny advised.

  “Update on the thrusters, please,” Tripp said, keeping his hands close to Jelly’s legs.

  “Fuel depletion is imminent. We gave it everything we have, I’m afraid.”

  “That’s it, then?” Tripp asked without much surprise, “We’re all dead?”

  “Eighty percent chance of imminent, death. Yes. Please remain seated.”

  “I’m not seated,” Tripp yelled at her and pointed at Jelly, who was in danger of dropping a third baby at any moment, “Can’t you see we’re busy?”

  Jaycee hollered at the communications console, “Tripp, seriously. Jelly can look after herself. You need to get strapped in. We can’t have you injured.”

  Tripp shook his head in a way that suggested he was selfishly lamenting his luck, “Ugh—”

  “—Ugh,” Jelly squealed out loud and gripped the flight deck. She turned herself around, pressed her belly against the edge and bent over the console, “It’s c-coming.”

  Tripp sprang into action. He dropped to his knees and arrived between Jelly’s thighs, “Okay, I’m ready.”

  “Initiating power-down,” Manny advised nonchalantly. “Thrusters disengaged. See you on the other side, if there is one. Good luck, everyone.”

  Alex placed his arms on the console and covered the brown kitten with his chest, “Shhh. It’ll be okay.”

  Jaycee gripped the arms on the side of the chair and watched the hole spread out across the windshield. “Goddamn USARIC. They have a lot of explaining to do when we get back home. Good luck, guys.”

  WHUMP-SCHPLATT.

  Jelly dropped her next sack into Tripp’s arms.

  “Got it.”

  “Oh, God,” Jelly screamed at the top of her lungs, “I feel like I’ve just taken a dump the size of Neptune.”

  “Guys, get down,” Alex roared from the flight deck as a flood of light lit up the interior.

  The glass panels, shiny surfaces of each deck, the floor and walls all roared with light.

  SCRREEAAAAAAAMMMM.

  The hole enveloped the entire windshield and swirled around like froth in a freshly-stirred cup of foaming coffee.

  “Whoa,” Tripp’s feet lifted a few inches from the ground before he rocketed back-first against the windshield.

  He released the sack in mid-air.

  CRRASSSSHHH.

  Tripp hit the wall shoulder’s first, followed by the back of his head.

  CRACK.

  His eyes shut, forcing him into unconsciousness. The side of his jaw slung down his neck, exacerbating the wound he’d sustained from his suicide attempt back on Pink Symphony.

  WHUMP-WHACK.

  Tripp hit the deck along with the sack. Jelly kicked herself away from the communications panel and threw her arms out in front of her face with the intent of catching her third child.

  “Nooooo,” she squealed, as the light from the swirling circle of light spun around faster and faster.

  The falling sack rocketed toward the ground in ultra-slow motion.

  Her elbows hit the ground as she twisted her body upright.

  The sack enlarged in her eyes, falling closer and closer to her face. Her claws appeared on either side of her eyes as she attempted to catch it.

  But before she did, she became entirely blinded by the wonderful white light…

  The back-end of Opera Charlie pulled away from its mid-section. The whole ship elongated like a stretched piece of chewing gum toward the swirling hole in front of Saturn.

  The fireball that was once Enceladus blasted toward the giant planet’s surface from several hundreds of thousands of miles away.

  The middle of the ship pulled away from the front, streaking like toothpaste across the twinkling stars, seemingly absorbing some of them as it bled out towards the hole.

  SCHWIPP.

  Like a camera flash, the entire event was over as quickly as it started.

  Opera Charlie disappeared, leaving behind a relatively calm and serene vacuum of space.

  It was almost as if they had never been there.

  Chapter 4

  The black van joined the main freeway on its route to west London.

  Jamie clutched the sides of his seat and watched the scenery and other cars whizz past his window.

  Sierra tapped the back of the driver’s seat, “How long till we get there?”

  “Dunno. With this traffic, maybe thirty minutes,” Rana said.

  “Good,” Sierra held her gaze on her young captive, “Anderson?”

  Jamie didn’t want to look at her. His weak reflection stared back at him through the passenger window. Several cars rolled away as the van sped up.

  He caught sight of a young woman driving a red car. Behind her, a little girl looked through the window and momentarily clapped eyes on Jamie.

  He pressed his palm to the glass and considered begging the girl for help.

  “It’s not worth it, Anderson,” Sierra grinned at the boy’s temperament. “They can’t help you, now.”

  Frightened and upset, Jamie turned to her. His arms and legs wouldn’t stop shaking.

  She offered him her hand to shake, “I’m Sierra,” she pointed to her male colleague, “That’s Noyin, and this is Rana who’s doing the driving. Nice to meet you.”

  Jamie stared at her hand, deathly afraid to touch it.

  “What? Not going to shake my hand?”

  Jamie squinted at her face. He noticed a bizarre lotion on her skin which, under the light of the van, rendered it shiny and reflective.

  Noyin smiled, revealing a row of gold teeth, “Hey, Anderson.”

  Jamie mustered up the courage to say something to Sierra, “What’s that stuff on your face?”

  Sierra scratched the goop on her chin, “Oh, this? Nothing for you to worry about.”

  Jamie calmed down and settled on the fact that if they wanted him dead, they’d have shot him already.

  “Who are you?”

  “I told you, my name is Sierra—”


  “—I don’t mean your name,” Jamie spat and wiped the tears from his eyes. “Why have you kidnapped me?”

  Sierra turned to Noyin for an answer she knew he wouldn’t offer. She tried for a smile and folded her arms.

  “Well, you’re not going to shake my hand.”

  “No.”

  “We haven’t kidnapped you, Jamie. I know it looks like we have, but we haven’t.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “We can’t tell you,” Sierra said. “It’s for your own safety—”

  “—Damn it, you shouldn’t have let him wake up,” Rana bleated from the driver’s seat, “He’s a liability.”

  “Be quiet,” Sierra kept her eyes on Jamie’s, “Anderson?”

  “What?”

  “You’re perfectly safe with us. In fact, you’re much safer with us than you are at school, or at home.”

  Jamie pretended to look at his lap and feign an air of self-pity. Little did his captors know that he was checking out the door handle. He moved his fingers across his lap and grabbed the handle, ostensibly for balance as the van rocked back and forth.

  “When we get to where we’re going, we’ll tell you everything.”

  Jamie shifted across the seat and sidled up to the passenger door.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want to go home,” Jamie said. “I’m scared.”

  Noyin chuckled, “Aww, bless his little cotton socks. The boy is scared.”

  “Stop playing with him,” Rana shouted from the driver’s seat. “Just tell him what’s going on. He’s gonna find out soon enough.”

  Jamie’s nostrils twitched. He was on the verge of crying. The scenery whizzed past at great speed. The cars in the other lanes blasted past the window.

  Outside the slow lane, the MagStrip housed a number of hovering MagCycles speeding even faster than the van.

  “I want to go home. Please take me home.”

  “No, Jamie. I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

  “I want to go home,” Jamie gripped the door handle with his right hand, but averted Sierra’s attention with his left.

  “No, Jamie. Listen—”

  CLICK-SCHUNT.

  Jamie pushed the door open and jumped out of the car.

  “Jesus Christ—” Sierra bolted forward and threw her hands in front of her face, “Jamie.”