Contents
Chrome Valley Books
CHAPTER ONE Bang the Drum Slowly
CHAPTER TWO Jitsaku
CHAPTER THREE As One Door Closes...
CHAPTER FOUR Of A Lifetime
CHAPTER FIVE Star Cat
Acknowledgements
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CHAPTER ONE
Bang the Drum Slowly
Chrome Valley
Northwest London, United Kingdom
Date: Wednesday, March 10th, 2117
The toy drum kit lay across the carpet in pieces. Utterly devastated. The skin covering the drum had a puncture right through the middle. The metal legs lay abandoned on the carpet.
Five-year-old Jamie Anderson was a very curious kid. Sitting in the middle of the drum, he inspected the cylindrical plastic that used to hold it together.
He had burst it on purpose, and used one of his chewed-up drumsticks to poke around the metal housing. The second stick rested between his teeth as he tried to unscrew the nut in the frame.
The chewed end was a scarce replacement for a flathead screwdriver.
He threw it to the ground in a huff. "Ugh. Why won’t it come off—"
"Poppet?" Emily, his mother, called from the bedroom door. "Are you awake already?"
Jamie looked at his forearm. The tattooed ink slid around and displayed the time - 5 am.
He could see his mother’s slippers move one in front of the other, poking around the room. As far as she was concerned, he wasn’t in his room. Perhaps he was in the bathroom? Or under the duvet on his bed?
"C’mon, where are you?" Emily called again, this time with an air of haste.
Jamie peered from behind the burst drum and caught sight of her clutching the end of the duvet. She whipped it away, intending to scream “boo” at him, in that friendly way mothers sometimes do.
Of course, he wasn’t there.
"Hey, mom," Jamie said from within the drum, scaring the life out of her. His little head peering from the cylinder.
That cute, brown-haired face and blue eyes. Like a defective cherub, though not nearly as chubby.
"Whew," Emily said, holding her chest in a dramatic reenactment of a heart attack. "You scared me. What are you doing under the—"
She paused to take in the sight of the mess. An expensive, early birthday present. It had hadn’t survived the weekend.
"Jamie Anderson," Emily yelled, "What on Earth have you done to your birthday present?"
"Sorry, mom. It broke."
"How did it break?" Emily jumped over and looked at the gaping slit in the canvas. "How can you break a stupid drum kit?"
"Umm," he said, knowing that he didn’t have an answer. "I dropped it?"
Emily picked up the discarded pieces of plastic and collected them in her arms. "Don’t be silly. How can you drop a drum kit? You did this on purpose, didn’t you?"
Jamie lowered his hand and tapped the stick against the carpet. "I didn’t mean to."
Emily tilted her head and huffed. She dropped the broken pieces of drum kit onto the dresser, right next to the ten-inch-high Star Jelly action figure. A yellow star-shaped cartoon character with two spindly legs, a pair of bulbous blue eyes and a goofy grin.
Jamie crawled out from the drum and brushed himself down.
"Why are you in there?"
"I was looking for something."
"What were you looking for?"
"I had to take my drum kit apart, mom," Jamie blinked with the utmost sincerity. "I wanted to see what made it bang."
Emily just about held the desire to burst out laughing in her stomach. She shook her head and, at once, realized just how young her rapidly-growing boy really was.
"Poppet, I’m afraid you won’t find the answer in there."
"Why not?"
"That’s not how the banging works."
"Oh."
Jamie looked down at the drumstick with some disappointment. An atonement, of sorts, for having discovered just how futile his efforts had been.
"Hey, poppet."
He looked up at his mother and smiled. It was something about the way she’d called him. Soft, and without vengeance.
"Yes, mom?"
She held out her hands and chuckled. "Happy birthday. Come and give your mommy a hug."
He wasted no time and ran right into her arms, pressing the side of his face against her belt. "Thanks, mom."
She held him for a second longer than they were used to. The top of Jamie’s head provided an unusual foreground to the shattered drum kit looming a few feet away.
"I have a surprise for you."
Jamie took a step back and looked up at his mother in wonder. On the wall, just beside her head, was a poster. The planets of the solar system with the sun burning brightly in the center.
"What is it?" Jamie asked.
***
The sound of little footsteps thundered down the hallway, followed by a long shadow of a child growing against the wall.
Jamie turned right and into the front room.
A box covered with a pink sheet sat in the middle of the coffee table.
Jamie grasped the frame of the door and spotted the bizarre object almost instantly. "Wow, what is it?"
Emily approached Jamie from behind and rubbed his shoulder. "Why don’t you go and see?"
Jamie’s face lit up. Surely his mother hadn’t procured the one thing he’d always wanted.
A quick check at the family portrait that hung on the wall was inevitable. Emily, her husband, Alex, and a three-year-old Jamie smiling for the camera.
How very antiquated.
"Really, mom?" Jamie turned to whatever that pink-sheeted thing was.
"Yes, poppet."
Jamie took a cautious step forward. His eyes widened as the box shuffled around a few inches.
"Whoa."
"Meow," came a tiny voice from behind the sheet.
Jamie glanced over at his mother, and then back at the box. He held out his hands in preparation to take the sheet away.
"Grrrr…" whined whatever lay beneath.
"Umm," Jamie muttered, his fingers twitching on both hands. The box grew larger and larger as he stepped closer and closer.
The thing on the table was a third his size. It groaned with displeasure and shuffled once again.
Jamie pinched the corner of the sheet between his thumb and forefinger and closed his eyes.
"Please be what I think it is…"
He took a deep breath and held it in.
"Meow," the contents of the box whined once again.
Then, woosh.
Off came the sheet.
Jamie stood, frozen on the spot, staring at his birthday gift. "Oh, wow!"
Emily folded her arms and chuckled to herself. "Happy birthday, poppet."
A pair of light orange eyeballs stared back at the young boy. Furry eyelids blinked - down, then up - revealing a soft line of orange-brown fur.
She wiggled her wet nose.
Her sandpaper-coated tongue licked around its mouth.
She raised her paw and grabbed the metal cage, hooking two of her claws around the bar.
"You did it," Jamie jumped on the spot and clapped with sheer delight. "You got me a cat."
"Why don’t you take her out and say hello?"
"Yes, yes," Jamie darted over to the cage and unfastened the lock. The door bolted out, allowing the cat to stroll onto the tabletop.
"Come out, cat," Jamie said.
The cat wouldn’t come out at first. Emily a
nd Jamie half-expected her to run to freedom. But the feline needed to know that the young boy wouldn’t hurt her. She remained in the cage and meowed at him.
"Where did you find her, mom?"
"The nice people at PAAC brought her. She needed a place to live."
"Is it a boy or a girl?"
"It’s a girl," Emily said, clocking the animal’s decision to stay within the cage. "I think you’re going to have to entice her out, poppet."
Jamie looked around the front room.
The coffee table itself was bare.
The dresser in the far corner of the room had ornaments and pictures of their family. Certainly nothing that would entice a cat to come out of its enclosure.
Then, Jamie remembered his prized possession. It was sticking out of his back pocket.
"I know," Jamie bit his lip and reached behind his waist, keeping eye contact with the cat. "So, you’re a girl cat, huh?"
"Meow," Jelly began to purr, indicating that her new environs were to her taste.
"Hmm. I think I’ll call her Jelly."
"That’s nice, poppet."
Jamie retrieved the device he had ensconced in his back pocket. A medium-sized, plastic telescope.
"Jelly?"
The cat bent her head to the side to align her field of vision with the telescope. "Meow."
"Do you know what this is?" Jamie hung the contraption in both hands at the cage door. "Look."
Jelly’s curiosity finally kicked in. She rose to her feet and pushed her head forward, ready to investigate.
"It’s a telescope," Jamie said, pinching both ends.
Click.
One, quick motion extended the device to three times its regular size. The action startled Jelly. Her ears pricked up as she stood back and hissed.
"No, no," Jamie said, placing the thin end to his eye. "It’s okay."
Jelly’s silly - but cute - face appeared larger than life in Jamie’s viewfinder.
Conversely, the thick end of the glass provided an inordinately large representation of Jamie’s eyeball.
"C’mon, Jelly. Come and say hello."
It was all she needed to hear. She threw her right paw forward and clawed at the blanket on the ground of the cage. It scrunched up as she threw her left paw forward.
She approached the fat end of the telescope and batted it away from Jamie’s face.
"Meow."
"Hey, girl," Jamie held the top of his hand an inch away from her face. "My name is Jamie."
Jelly looked at the four fingers in front of her. She caved in and ran the side of her face along each one.
The first, second, third, fourth… and repeat.
Her fine fur felt comforted his fingers. There’d be a lot more of this to come, if Jamie had his way.
As for Jelly, she soaked up Jamie’s natural scent with each rub.
Jamie held out his other hand. The next thing either of the knew, she was rested in his arms.
He stood to his feet and presented his new friend to his mother.
"Jelly, huh?" Emily said, looking at Jelly. She held out her claws and stretched her legs, inadvertently kicking the crook of Jamie’s elbow.
"Yes," Jamie said. "I think it’s perfect."
"Bit of a silly name for a cat, isn’t it? Naming her after a toy?"
"It’s not silly. I don’t think there’s another cat called Jelly in the whole universe."
"Hmm, you could be right," Emily took a chance and tickled Jelly’s stomach. Resisting the urge to speak funny to the animal was impossible. "Who’s a goooood girl, then? Who’s a cute, tiny thing? You are. Yes, you are."
Jelly’s eyes turned yellow. Her mouth opened, revealing her sharp fangs, as she tried to claw at Emily’s hand.
"Ooh, you vicious thing," Emily joked, much to Jamie’s amusement. She meant “vicious” in the same way children call the fat kid “skinny” at school. "Yes, you’re a little, vicious—"
Swipe.
Jelly’s claw tore some of the skin on Emily’s hand. "Oww."
"Bad girl," Jamie accidentally frightened the animal in his arms. "Now, that wasn’t very nice. Was it?"
"Meow." Jelly put on an innocent face for her new master and dug her claws into his shirt.
"She’s just playing, right?" Emily said, dabbing her inconsequential wound with the tip of her tongue. "Cats do that. They’re just playing?"
"Yes, mom," he said, stroking Jelly’s face. "I’m sure she didn’t mean it."
"I need to clean myself up and get a plaster." Emily made for the kitchen.
"Okay, mom."
Jamie bumped Jelly in his arms and rubbed his nose against hers. "That wasn’t very nice, Jelly."
"Meow."
"Do you like your new name, girl?"
Jelly lifted her head and started to lick Jamie’s fringe.
CHAPTER TWO
Jitsaku
Cape Claudius
USARIC HQ Base
South Texas: Southeastern Peninsula
(One hundred km north of Corpus Christi)
A gloved hand hit the circular panel on a white wall, enabling the single glass screen next to it to slide open.
“United States and Russian Intergalactic Confederation, insignia twelve-five-five," said the man to the door. "Agent Jaycee Nayall reporting for training.”
"Welcome back, Jaycee,” the wall rumbled, emitting its greeting from no visible vent or speaker. "Dr. Whitaker is waiting for you in the co-ed."
"Thanks, Manuel," Jaycee said at the ceiling and moved into the enclosure. "Wherever you are, right now."
Jaycee Nayall, USARIC’s chief weapons technician. A man in his late twenties with slicked-back yellow hair and bright blue eyes. He moved confidently along the gantry and approached the co-ed.
The area contained a bank of benches and lockers. Jaycee clapped eyes on a lone woman in her underwear, busily inspecting her right thigh.
Jaycee was confident enough to approach her and risk announcing his arrival, despite her relative indecency.
"Good after-morning, Bonnie."
Bonnie brushed her jet black hair away from her shoulder. "Is it?"
Jaycee looked at her crotch and then at her right leg. He adjusted his visor and focused his retinas on her metal stump of a right leg.
"Which one are you going with, today?"
"Titanium, same as you," Bonnie said, looking at Jaycee’s exo-suit.
She took the metal leg, along with its wires and a titanium-based foot, from the wall. The thigh panel magnetized into place below her hip. She wiggled her metal toes around and tested the connection.
Jaycee grinned as he watched Bonnie stand up and pace around, acclimatizing herself to her new limb. As she walked forward the whirring of the mechanics were hard to ignore.
"After a few seconds you won’t even notice, Bonnie."
"I know." She lifted her right knee up and felt around the protruding bolt. "They’re saying thirty minutes lead time for this one. I hope they’re right."
"I’m sure it’s as intuitive as it gets."
“Thirty seconds, more like.”
Bonnie placed her right metal foot onto the ground with an almighty thump. The water drops on the towels shifted around.
"Wow," Jaycee stepped back in faux defiance, "That’s some serious tech, there."
Bonnie looked at Jaycee with a degree of satisfaction. Jaycee wasn’t quite looking at her face, however. He focused on her revealing bra strap and exposed midriff.
Bonnie pointed to her face and chewed back the urge to smirk.
"I think you’ll find my eyes are up here, Jaycee,"
"I’m sorry."
Jaycee immediately shifted his chin up and looked her dead in the face.
Bonnie shook her head and lifted her combat inner-skin from the opened locker door. "Don’t apologize. You’re only human."
She slipped her arms through the arm holes.
The sleeves shrunk around her upper arms. Both buckles over the crook o
f the elbow and wrist squeezed shut.
Jaycee couldn’t tear his gaze away from Bonnie as she stepped into her pants skin. Much like the arms of the jacket, each leg fastened around her thighs and shins, completing the look.
Jaycee blinked and pinched his visor. "You look great."
"Thanks," Bonnie ran her hands up the back of her head and shook her hair down her shoulders. "Ready?"
Jaycee nodded. "If you feel you’re ready?"
"Sure, I’m ready," Bonnie grabbed the locked door and threatened to slam it shut. She blew a kiss at a photo of a man twice her age pinned to the inside of the locker door. "Whoever you are."
The door slammed shut, forcing the locking mechanism to bolt into place.
“Let’s fight.”
***
The combat arena lit up to reveal a fifty square foot glossy floor. The lights provided an unearthly glimmer on the surface the shadows of Jaycee and Bonnie crept along.
Bonnie threw her hands in front of her face. "If I’m going to train you, I need you to listen carefully to me and do everything I say."
"Okay," Jaycee slammed his gloved fists together. "Do I stand over here?"
"Yes."
Jaycee made his way to a red wall with fifty-two stars perfectly aligned in four rows. He rolled his shoulders and awaited instructions from Bonnie.
She made her way to the west wall, painted blue with a graffiti-esque mural of a white hammer.
"What do you know about Jitsaku?" Bonnie asked, inspecting the buckle on her wrist.
"Only that you’re League One," Jaycee smiled. "Unlike me."
"Here’s the pitch, big guy," Bonnie snapped her fingers and tugged on the buckle on her left wrist. "It’s all very well that you’re armed to the teeth with weapons. But up in the big bad multiverse, the only weapons you can rely on are these."
The room began to rumble intensely. "Commencing anti-gravity," advised an electronic female voice from behind walls.
She held up her hands and clenched them into fists. "Firepower will only get you so far."
"Hey, what?" Jaycee looked around, and then down to his shoes. The ground moved away inch by inch, the walls began to move down. "We’re zero gravity?"
Star Cat: Origins Page 1