The two USARIC mercenaries ran back into the helicopter, “Get this bird back in the air. They’re killing him,” shouted one of them to the pilot.
The helicopter blades fired back up.
WHUM-WHUUUM-WHUUUUM…
The Egyptian Mau ran the top of her head against the mercenaries visor, lifted it over his head. His face was a bloodied mess.
She looked into his pupils and licked her lips.
“N-No, p-please,” he screamed as she dove into his face claws-first.
The helicopter’s gear lifted from the ground - taking ten cats with it. Half of them invaded the passenger seat area and tore the two mercenaries apart.
The other half - all ten of them - hopped into the pilot seat and ripped up the pilot’s legs and arms.
Grace ran into the road with her flashlight and watched the helicopter auto-rotate twenty feet in the air.
Large numbers of patrons from the liquor store and surrounding restaurants gathered at the window. Some of them ran out of the building and into the parking lot.
“Get back, get back!” Grace screamed at them, “The chopper’s gonna come down!”
A thrashing of meows and human screams came from the spinning USARIC helicopter.
“Get back!” Grace shouted at the others as Siyam ran up behind her.
WHUDDA-WHUDDA-SLIP-CRASH-CRASH-CRASH!
The blades of the back rotors sliced against the Rollneck Kojak sign. Segments of it blasted in all directions, causing an electrical storm. The neon rendition of the bald man burst into flames and crashed against the ground.
The chopper hit the cement. The first rotor’s blades stabbed into the side of the vehicle itself, pushing it onto its side.
WHIINNNEEE… KERRR-RASSSHHHH!
A dozen cats hopped out from the helicopter and landed on the road. They dispersed in all directions, howling and squealing at the night sky.
The patrons from the building ran in all directions, screaming. Some of them held their forearms and Viddy Media ink at the scene in an attempt to record what was happening.
“Are you crazy?” Grace shouted at those brave enough to film what was happening, “Get back.”
The once-tiny white dot overseeing the event from the night sky fanned out like bubble by another inch.
The helicopter tumbled over and around, slamming the remainder of its blades against the floor. One of them caught the mercenary’s legs and severed it from his thigh, “Gaaahh!”
The rest of the cats propelled from the sides of the helicopter and darted across the road, away from danger.
“Get out of there, now,” Grace yelled at them.
SLAP-SLAP-SLAP-BAMMM.
The second rotor slowed to a halt. Its blades crunched against the ground.
The mercenaries inside crashed to the ground, unconscious.
Grace and Siyam dared not move any closer for fear of the vehicle going up in flames.
“Quick, we gotta gather up all the cats and get them out of here.”
Grace peered forward and noticed something shuffling in the tilted cockpit, “Wait, what’s that?”
A paw.
Then a furry arm.
Two flapping ears of an Egyptian Mau.
She clambered over the lip of the door and bolted toward Grace and Siyam, “Meow.”
“Hey, girl,” Grace crouched down and held out her arms, “We’re here to rescue you. How did you do that?”
The Mau lifted her paw and licked her claw. A shiny, white cuticle - made of titanium.
Grace gasped and tied to process what she’d seen. She turned to the other cats to find that they had the same contraption fitted to their paws.
“Oh, wow. They’re all—”
“—Meeooww,” The Mau ran her claws against the ground,
The helicopter’s final blade hit the cement.
KA-BLAAAA-AAA-AAAMMM!
It exploded with such force that its charcoaled body launched thirty feet into the air and exploded a second time.
A slab of fiery helicopter slammed down on both cars, bursting their windows.
Grace and Siyam didn’t know how to respond. She looked at the Mau in shock.
“Miew.”
“Umm,” Grace cleared her throat, “Let’s get you and your friends out of here. Right now…”
Chrome Valley
United Kingdom
Jamie Anderson pulled his rucksack over his shoulders. He crossed the main road that separated Chrome Valley’s east and west side.
A swarm of chuckling school children ran past and ignored him.
“Ugh, there’s Lame-y Anderson,” one of the chubby kids cackled at his excited friends, “His cat lost the competition.”
“Yeah,” squealed an excited girl, “A giant loser, just like her ugly owner.”
“Lame-y Anderson, Lame-y Anderson,” all the kids chanted in unison as they ran off around the corner.
“Shut up,” he muttered
He knew in his heart of hearts that it was only a matter of time before he’d become famous. Everyone would know Jelly won. Maybe then they’d like him.
Until then he’d continue to be the loner. On one hand, it suited him. He enjoyed the privacy. On the other, having no friends was a lonely prospect.
No one to talk to.
It wasn’t long before he turned the same corner near the Waddling Gate cemetery. He and his mother buried his late father there nearly six years ago.
He couldn’t bear to look at the black gates, nor the church standing behind it. The very sight alone upset him. Worse, he had to walk past it twice a day to and from school.
Jamie looked at his Viddy Media ink. 8:10 am.
Plenty of time to make the start of school and his first period.
He looked up to see the chubby kid pant and wheeze further up the road, trying to keep up with his friends.
“One day, Raymond,” Jamie stopped walking. He muttered and scowled, quietly, “I’ll kick your fat arse into the moon.”
A screeching of tires came a few feet behind him. He turned around and saw a black van spin onto the road at speed.
“Pfft. Whatever.”
He kept his head down and watched each foot pace in front of the other. It was hard for him to not notice the engine and wheels slowing down behind him. as he walked along the sidewalk.
The van crawled to a steady three miles per hour.
Jamie looked over his shoulder and squinted at the windshield. Its darkened, limousine effect prevented him from seeing the driver. The reflection of the trees from the cemetery were the only thing visible on the surface of the windshield.
He resumed his journey to school.
The van did the same.
Jamie knew the van was following him.
“Ugh, no,” Jamie looked at the cemetery gates and grew anxious. He could jump the railings and run across the grounds to safety.
The van slammed on its brakes, startling the boy.
He stopped dead in his tracks.
The side door slid open and revealed a person in a black balaclava. She grabbed the lip of the door and held her head out, “Jamie Anderson?”
He kept his mouth shut and chose not to interact with the stranger.
“Ugh, don’t mess me around, you little turd,” the person said. A feminine voice, to be sure. Judging by her voice and svelte frame she couldn’t have been very old, “Are you Jamie Anderson?”
“Who’s asking?”
“It’s him,” yelled a masked man from behind the door. Jamie scrunched his face at the woman.
She produced a gun and lay it across her lap, “Jamie?”
“P-Please leave me alone.”
“Jamie Anderson?”
“My mom told me never to speak to strangers.”
The woman wasn’t interested in his excuses. She lifted the gun and traced her finger along the barrel, “I know it’s you, but I need to be sure. What’s your date of birth?”
He hoped she wouldn’t point the g
un at him, “March tenth, twenty-one-twelve.”
“Yes, it’s you all right,” she said.
Jamie blinked, frozen on the spot. He didn’t dare move a muscle, “What do you want?”
The woman shifted her behind across the seat the van and patted the vacant space next to her, “Get in.”
From the author - Andrew Mackay
Author notes from Star Cat 3: War Mage (exclusive to the e-book version of this title)
Hey, gang!
I’ll admit, I struggled a bit with Star Cat 3. It wasn’t because I didn’t have any ideas, but because I know how expansive the story is getting - and is going to be. Keeping a tally of the sheer numbers of characters involved and places and events, and when they happened requires its own encyclopedia (if you’re under the age of thirty, an encyclopedia was like a big book with the history of everything in it. They took all the info and put it where you go to do your last-minute homework; Wikipedia.) I’m sure reading the series is exhausting. Try carrying it around in your head! And we’re only half way there lol
I mentioned in the author notes for Pink Symphony that the series is inspired by the sci fi movies I saw in the 80s when I was growing up. Some of the more seasoned film fanatics among you may well have clocked the Alien, Aliens, Robocop, The Thing, 2001: A Space Odyssey references. These are all deliberate. It’s clear to me now that we’re up to book 3 that Star Cat is playing out like a greatest hits mix tape of all the sci-fi I love. Especially the titles that affected me when growing up. The real test of the series will be whether or not I can juggle everything that is happening in space and back on Earth.
I think there will be six books in this series unless it’s a super sell-out mega blockbuster. In which case, I’ll explore the idea even further. Time will tell, but I have three more books in mind after War Mage.
War Mage is somewhat beyond sci-fi in my eyes. I mentioned last time that, in my view, good sci-fi raises more questions than it answers. In addition to this I’ve decided sci-fi needs to be way, way more than just fiction regarding science. Sure, all the Poz and Neg Bass / Death Drone / Individimedia / Decapidisc technology is fun, but it’s the characters where we find ourselves really hooked.
This time, for War Mage, the theme was really about identity and conformity. Jelly is the equivalent of a full-grown woman by the end of War Mage. It was an area of drama I really wanted to explore; specifically, the aspect of an animal trying its utmost to conform to the expectations of her crew, and failing in most cases. I refer exclusively to the part where Wool trains Jelly to not do something - knock the cups off the desk. It’s a part that foreshadows Bonnie’s death. Jelly technically murdered Bonnie Whitaker - but, if you think about it, did she really? She was only playing to her instincts. At that point, being little more than a jumped-up adolescent, it’s hardly fair to say Jelly murdered her. Therein lies the quandary.
This idea of cats acting on instinct came about from a conversation I had with my mum about twenty years ago when I still lived at home. We had a number of cats over the years. Usually two at a time, swearing blind that once they’d passed away, that would be the end of it. The heartbreak when the inevitable rolled round was too much to bear. Anyway, I asked my mum what would happen if Sooty (our black cat at the time) were to outgrow us. Could he be trusted? My mum said she didn’t think so. I am sure we all like to think our pets wouldn’t turn on us if they were to outgrow us in size. But in our heart of hearts, I think we all know they would. Hell, even if they were being friendly and slapping us around for the lolz, they could do irreparable - even fatal - damage.
I wasn’t especially conscious of the conversation while I wrote War Mage. By the time I got to the part where Jelly awakens from hyper-sleep at a whopping seven feet in height, and tells Jaycee to bow down, it all came flooding back. I don’t know about you, but I find that stuff fascinating. I find people and their behaviour in certain situations fascinating. I guess that’s part and parcel of having been a screenwriter and a teacher for most of my adult life - before turning to writing novels. I hope, further, that you as a reader have found the areas I’m exploring just as fascinating.
Incidentally, I’d like to say sorry to all of you who loved Bonnie, Tor, Baldron, Manuel, and Wool. War Mage was a bit of a bloodbath. But, when my characters die, they stay dead, I’m afraid. There’s no point hiding the fact that people, and animals, die. I think it’s a part of the reason why we get pets in the first place. They’re cute and cuddly and great, but the very end does set in stone a principal - especially for children - that all things come to an end. Some of the best works of fiction deal with loss in an appropriate way. We all need to be reminded to not take what we have for granted once in a while.
At the very crux of it all, War Mage has taken us on a journey a billion miles from the starting point. Remember when Jelly Anderson was just a little kitty with her friend, Jamie? Whoa, look at her now… also, before you ask, I am well aware of the things that have not been explained. Perhaps I should tell you now that everything you’ve read in all three books so far has been important. But I would never, ever presume to spell things out for you - and certainly not in this genre. If you’re still wondering how Jelly got pregnant then I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong question. Think along the lines of why and you’ll reach the answer a lot quicker. For those of you who “get it” - then I am glad. I’ve received a lot of communication since Pink Symphony’s release thanking me for not treating them like idiots. It’s been my pleasure.
Now, we move on to Star Cat 4: Killer Instinct. If you thought War Mage was rough… prepare yourselves. It’ll still be Harry Potter / PG-13 levels of violence. But by now you know I’m ruthless. So adjust your expectations accordingly, boys and girls. Don’t worry, there’ll be many OMG and fist pumping moments. Every book needs to up the ante. Killer Instinct will blow your cotton socks off.
Just as the next move as been unpredictable (in most cases, anyway) from one book to the next - so, too, will Killer Instinct. It’ll be a completely different departure. I can only write - and you can only read - a bridge connection exploding between two spaceships so many times, and people unmasking themselves as villains and/or good guys before I start to belabor the point. The title may give the direction away, but I can assure you that the themes will be fresher than a recently-picked dandelion. Also, the events on Earth (if you haven’t figure it out yet with War Mage’s ending lol) is really starting to ramp up. I’m sure the more astute reader may see where all that stuff is heading. I cannot resist satire. If you’ve read any of my other works, then you’ll know this. But, you know what they say - it’s not the being there, but the getting there that’s the most fun.
My family can eat and wear shoes because readers such as yourself are good enough to buy my books and provide me with a living. I must entertain you, and provide you with compelling stories. I will continue to not let you down. If anything, the opposite. Because Star Cat is enjoying considerable success, it’s forcing me to write faster and better. As you’ve seen up until this point I’m trying to cover a number of bases and give you something you haven’t seen before. Sure, it’s silly sci fi nonsense - but is it, really? If you Google “Saturn Moon as All the Ingredients for Life” you’ll find a new story dated June 28th that suggests NASA has found evidence that Enceladus could contain life. I wrote Star Cat: Infinity Claws two months before this story broke. How strange is that?
Sometimes our crazy and daft predictions can come true. If we think back to the technology of 1918, just after WWI, what did we have then? The telephone? And even then it was a plastic piece of crap that had dials and so on. Look what we have today. Televisions, cars, planes, video games, smart phones… where will we be in 2118? Or even 2122, as it is now in the Star Cat series? It’s a fascinating question - and a damn shame we’ll never live to see the answer. Maybe one day cats will compete - for something. Maybe not to go into space. Or maybe? I dunno.
My hope is that one day a hundred year
s from now, someone digs up the Star Cat series and reads it (because I am really famous and clever, like Shakespeare’s novels and Dickens’s plays and stuff) and says “Oh, you know that Mackay guy? He got some stuff right. And there are still no flying cars.”
See you at the end of book 4!
Andrew Mackay,
Hampshire, UK
(June 28, 2018)
***
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‘Star Cat: War Mage (Book Three)’
Copyright © 2018 Chrome Valley Books
Written by Andrew Mackay
Edited by Ashley Rose Miller
Cover design by Kveather
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead (or somewhere in between), events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Star Cat: War Mage Page 24