Star Cat: War Mage

by Andrew Mackay

  Tripp shook the man’s hand a little harder than expected, “Tripp Healy. Captain. We’re relieved you managed to make it here to rescue us.”

  Alex and Nutrene walked into the control deck. They were surprised to see Oxade. He threw them a snarky smile as if to say ‘shut up and let me speak.’

  They nodded and lowered their guns.

  “Your two crew members, here, very helpfully assisted us with tracking down a tango on board our ship.”

  Oxade nodded at the splattered chair and lifted up his goo-smeared glove, “So I see.”

  “Don’t get any of that stuff on your person, by the way. It’s contagious.”

  Oxade’s breath fogged up the inside of his mask, “Contagious?”

  “You wouldn’t believe the journey we’ve been on,” Jaycee said. “We’ve been to the center of the multiverse. We saw the nucleus of evolution with our own eyes.”

  “And we rescued her,” Tripp added.

  Oxade took a step away and looked around the control deck, “Am I right in thinking you’ve made one of the most important discoveries of our lifetime?”

  “No,” Tripp said. “We’ve made the most important discovery of all time.”

  Oxade grabbed his gun with both hands. He readied himself for action. To the others, it looked as if he was getting comfortable.

  Both conclusions were true.

  “We have to get back to Earth,” Tripp said. “We need to get Jelly home so she can cure us all.”

  “Cure you?”

  “She’s pregnant,” Tripp said. “We think her litter is the key to life, when it arrives.”

  Oxade laughed with a degree of venom, “You’re not serious, are you?”

  “Deadly serious, yes.”

  “Do you realize how stupid that sounds?”

  “Actually, yes. But it’s the truth.”

  “Lessense,” Oxade lifted his gun at Jaycee and Tripp. They knew something like this was coming. Alex and Nutrene circled around them and pointed their guns at both men’s faces.

  “Okay, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Oxade said. “You’re going to call Anderson and get her to board Charlie. Once she’s on, we’ll join her and leave you here. Where are Wool ar-Ban, Haloo Ess, Bonnie Whitaker, Tor Klyce, and Baldron Landaker?”

  “They’re all dead,” Tripp held his hands in the air along with Jaycee, “Only Jaycee and me left.”

  Oxade shouted at Manuel, “Is that true? Are they all dead?”

  “No, they’re all alive. Tripp is lying to you,” Manuel sped up his speech, “They’re on their way to come and kill you.

  Tripp and Jaycee turned to each other - initially confused, but very quickly tuned in with what Manuel was up to.

  “No, Manuel,” Tripp yelled, adding to Oxade’s confusion. “They can’t know they’re all alive.”

  “I knew it, they’re not dead,” Oxade palmed the lever on the side of his K-SPARK and pointed it at the communications console. He turned to Nutrene and Alex, “Kill them!”

  “Tripp, Jaycee - now,” Manuel screamed and whizzed into the air.

  BLAAMMMM!

  Oxade fired a shot at the communications desk. Its panels and wiry guts burst out from the wall in a haze of electric sparks. Manuel’s holographic book form began to fizzle away as a result of the explosion, “I’m hit.”

  Nutrene fired a shot at Tripp.

  “Get down,” Jaycee jumped on his back and pushed him to the ground. The bullet flew out of her Rez-9 and whizzed past Tripp’s head, slicing several strands of his hair away from his head.

  Jaycee hit the deck with Tripp. He lifted his gun at Oxade and fired a shot.

  KER-SPLATCH!

  The bullet penetrated the side of Oxade’s left shin, pushing him to the ground.

  Nutrene buried her gun in Jaycee’s face and winked at him, “Nighty-night, big boy.”

  “Arrrgghhhh.”

  THRA-AA-TT-A-TT!

  Jaycee closed his eyes and felt a splatter of liquid hit his face. No pain followed, much to his amazement.

  He opened his eyes to see Alex had shot her in the shoulder.

  “Huh?”

  He kicked Nutrene onto the floor and offered Jaycee his hand, “Get up.”

  “Huh?”

  Jaycee grabbed his hand and climbed to his feet. Alex turned his gun to Poz and Neg, “You two battery bunnies stay right where you are.”

  Oxade and Nutrene rolled around on the floor. They clutched at their injuries and screamed blue murder.

  “You bastard,” Oxade climbed to his feet and went for his D-REZ a few feet away from him.

  “Ahh, da-da-da,” Alex moved with him and rammed the barrel of his firearm into his head, “Hey, scumbag. Make a move and I’ll re-carpet this place with your brain matter.”

  Oxade thumped the floor in anger, “Alex? What do you think you’re doing?”

  “Stay there,” Alex stepped back and grabbed Tripp’s hand, “Don’t move, so help me God I’ll split your skull open with a bullet.”

  “Alex?” Oxade gasped and lifted himself up by the communications panel, “You traitor.”

  “You shut up,” he yelled back, much to the amazement of Tripp and Jaycee, “You wanna talk about being a traitor?”

  Oxade spluttered and removed his glove. He felt the bleeding wound on his shin and pressed the sole of his foot to the floor, “USARIC will find you. They’ll execute you.”

  “I’m counting on it. Now stay there.”

  “Who are you?” Tripp asked, not quite sure where to point his Rez-9.

  “Alex Hughes. I’ll explain later. Let’s get off this ship.”

  “Good luck, traitor,” Poz rolled toward Alex and threatened to make contact, “You’ll never escape the blast. Come here for a killing.”

  Alex pushed Tripp and Jaycee toward the door, “Get back. Don’t let it touch you.”

  “It?” Poz barreled forward, “That’s a bit rude, isn’t it? I’m quite clearly a he.”

  THRAAAAATTT!

  Alex fired into the middle of Poz’s body, pushing him back. The bullets absorbed into his body, leaving behind an array of minuscule dents.

  Poz spun around and rolled into Neg. His body began to absorb into her.

  “Hey, you can’t do that,” Neg complained.

  “How long till detonation?” Alex asked. “How long?”

  “Ten Earth minutes,” Poz beeped with joy, “We’re all going to die. We’re all going to die.”

  Alex turned to Tripp and Jaycee, “Where’s Anderson?”

  Tripp shook his head, “She’s, uh… I d-don’t know?”

  “Does she have Viddy Media?”

  “Viddy-what?” Jaycee asked.

  Alex rolled up his outer-suit sleeve and showed them his black ink, “Viddy Media.”

  “Is that what they’re calling it now?” Tripp blurted. “No, she never had it installed.”

  “Damn,” Alex thought on his feet and swung his D-REZ at Oxade and Nutrene, threatening to blow them to pieces, “Listen, get on Charlie.”

  “We have no outer-suits left,” Jaycee said.

  “Doesn’t matter. Use the bridge. Don’t look at anything, just run. I’ll take care of these scumbags.”

  “Ten minutes? We’ll never make it out alive.”

  “Well, it’s either that or we definitely die,” Alex huffed in haste, “Wanna give it a go?”

  “Okay, we’ll go,” Jaycee said. “And, thanks.”

  “Yeah, we’ll open up a tea shop together later,” Alex quipped, “Now, go.”

  Tripp and Jaycee ran out of the control deck and made their way to the primary airlock.

  Alex leaned against the door frame and lowered his gun. He surveyed the battered room and smiled at his Captain, “Hey, Oxade.”

  “Leave me alone, you treacherous little runt,” he slumped into the splattered swivel chair. Resigned to an early death, he leaned back and hung his arms down by his side, “If you’re going to kill us, just do it already.”<
br />
  Nutrene rolled around on the floor and clutched her arm. Her cries of anguish didn’t stop the conversation between the two men.

  “Oh, I will.”

  “Just tell me one thing, Hughes,” Oxade said. “How did—Hey, Nutrene, can you stop your screaming, woman?”

  “He shot me in the d-damn shoulder.”

  A smart bomb grenade tumbled across the ground and knocked the side her hand.

  “I don’t care. Just quit your whining, I can’t hear myself hear myself,” Oxade yelped.

  “You were saying?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah. H-How did you get in? To USARIC?”

  “It’s a long story, my friend,” Alex stepped over to Nutrene and snatched the smart bomb from her clutches, “Give me that.”

  “Ugghhh, and to think I had the hots for you.”

  “In your dreams, grandma,” Alex snorted and returned to the door. He set the grenade down by the wall in the corridor.

  “PAAC?” Oxade asked. “You’re part of that stupid animal cruelty pack of inbred imbeciles?”

  “Nah, they’re long gone, now. We’re a new breed, I guess you could say.”

  “Like a revolution?”

  “More like an evolution,” Alex snorted through his mask, “A plan five years in the making. If you thought USARIC were ruthless killers, you should check us out.”

  Oxade shook his head. “Why, Alex? Why all this?”

  Alex stepped out through the door and gripped the frame in his hand, “Because USARIC is a hell-sucking, mega-conglomerate behemoth that needs taking down. We can’t have whatever Opera Beta and Anderson discovered falling into their hands, now. Can we?”

  “You’re so dead.”

  Alex gripped the door and pulled it across it slider, “You first.”

  SCHLAMMM!

  He took several steps back and aimed his D-REZ at the panel.

  THRAATATATT-SCH-PACKKK!

  He fired a semi-automatic burst of bullets at the panel, shutting the door down and sealing the bad guys in.

  Alex’s parting shot - a swift flip of the bird through the window - provided the icing on the cake.

  Alex sprinted along the gantry and looked for the staircase. He lifted his left forearm to his face and pressed the ink on his skin to his wrist, “Tripp? This is Alex, do you read me?”

  Tripp’s voice came from his wrist, “Yes, I read you. We’re at the Primary Airlock, now. We, uh, found something.”

  “What?”

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

  “I’m on my way…” he cut the connection off and ran into the depths of the walkway.

  The smart bomb outside the control deck remained perfectly still - for a few seconds.

  Then, it came to life and shifted around.

  CLICK-CLANG.

  It fell onto its side and rolled toward the door. The outer shell warbled and expanded.

  “Nggg…” it’s feminine voice squealed. The shell casing liquefied and streaked across the floor, “Ugh, I hate this so much…”

  The liquid twisted a few inches into the air and formed a cylindrical shape about the size of a beach ball.

  A secondary ‘head’ inflated into a silvery metal. It shook its head and blinked its eyebulbs.

  “Ah,” Neg bounced against the door, fully-formed, “That’s better.”

  “Neg,” Oxade’s damp screams came from within the control deck, “Get us out of here.”

  “I’m way ahead of you,” she said and pressed her curved ‘chest’ against the door.

  SCHWIZZ-SCHPAANG!

  A metal sphere formed around her frame and spun at speed, twisting the image of the door in front of her, “Poz, get ready.”

  Poz hopped up and down from the other side of the door and looked through the window, “What? How did you get out there?”

  “Just shut up and connect.”

  Neg’s magnetic strength slipped through the door and pulled Poz toward it.

  “Hey, what are you—”

  “—Saving everyone’s life, you numb skull. Get over here, now.”

  Oxade scooped his D-REZ from the floor and unclipped the magazine. He reached into his pocket and retrieved a fresh one as he watched Poz’s body lasso toward the door. His lower frame swept the detritus and mess out of his path.

  “This is most embarrassing.”

  “Just shut up and open the door, nitwit,” Oxade palmed the magazine into his gun and turned to Nutrene, “Hey, you.”

  “What?”

  “How’s the arm?”

  Nutrene picked up her Rez-9 in her bad arm. She focused her monocle on the bleeding wound, “I’ll live.”

  SCHWUNT!

  Poz and Neg slammed together on opposite sides of the door. They blinked their eyebulbs at each other.

  “Nice to see you again, sweetie,” Neg beamed.

  “Yeah, whatever. Just help me open this stupid door.”

  They slid down to the floor together and rolled across the door railings, pulling it open.

  CREEEAAAAAKKK!

  “Oxade,” Neg beeped, “The door is open, as per your request.

  “Thanks, guys,” Oxade and Nutrene looked at each other through their masks.

  “New plan,” he gesticulated with his D-REZ, barely able to contain his anger, “I’m going to put a bullet in Alex’s brain. And then Jaycee’s.”

  “Good plan.”

  “And then I’m going to make Anderson watch me remove Tripp’s head, turn it upside down and thump it down the neck hole.”

  “Upside down? I like that,” Nutrene snarled, wanting revenge, but kept up the professional pretense, “Oh. As Opera Charlie’s medician, do you mind if I perform a live vivisection on that bitch of a cat?”

  “Be my guest, but on one condition.”

  “What’s that?” Nutrene licked her lips and walked toward the door.

  “Make it as slow and painful as possible. I want to watch the life fade away from her eyes.”

  “Get in line, sweetie.”

  “Kill ‘em,” Oxade yelled and kicked the chair into the damaged communications console on his way out, “Kill ‘em all.”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Primary Airlock

  Space Opera Beta

  “Manuel?” Tripp snapped his fingers as he reached the inner airlock door.

  “Y-y-yessss,” The book flickered and spasmed in the air, never fully coming to life, “I c-can’t—”

  “—Manuel, what’s wrong?”

  “Oxade shot my m-mainframe. I’m d-dying—” Manuel buzzed in and out of the air.

  Tripp realized there and then that Manuel was dying in front of his and Jaycee’s eyes.

  “You’re l-leaving Op-p-p-pera B-Beta—”

  “—No, no, damn it,” Tripp went to grab Manuel. He forgot that the book couldn’t be touched, “We can take you with us. Install you on their comms panels.”

  “N-No. I’m obsolete. It’ll never work,” Manuel’s voiced ground to super-slow motion, “It’s over, Tripp.”

  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.”