“More like a wolf,” Wool added.
“A wolf?” Emily blurted, failing to comprehend the event, “Are you serious?
The silhouette shifted and grunted, scratching its paws across the metal ground. The sound of the impact was at once deafening and wince-inducing.
“Meow.”
Jelly froze on the spot and widened her eyes.
Wool held her breath and prayed for a positive outcome, “This is it. Moment of truth.”
The creature moved along the walkway and out of the shadows. Its long, sharp fangs were the first thing Jelly saw. She yelped and took a step back.
Her tail bushed out as she sunk to the ground.
A light from the side of the corridor folded over the creatures face, revealing its true nature.
A weird amalgam of a dog and a wolf, hungry for blood, dressed in a similar exo-suit to Jelly. It ground its paws along the surface of the walkway and licked its lips.
The beast was at least five times the size of Jelly.
“Come on, Jelly,” Jamie said, focusing more on the tone of his delivery, “It’s not real. You can take him.”
“Meow.”
Emily turned away and covered her face, “Oh, God. I can’t watch.”
“Woohoo,” Daryl clapped his hands and saluted the live feed of Jelly facing off with Classified Risk, “Go get ‘em, Anderson. Mess him up real good.”
The creature licked its lips as it made its way toward Jelly. It held its paw out at her and fanned out its claws.
Jelly tilted her head and decided that the bigger beast might want to make friends. She returned the favor and extended her right paw, ignoring the danger warning flashing inside her visor.
“Jelly?” Wool’s voice came through her helmet. “Not friend. Bad cat.”
“Meow.”
The creature’s paw met with Jelly’s. Electric sparks zipped between the cuticles.
ROAR!
The creature screamed into Jelly’s face and patted her paw to the side. Her infinity gloves clutched at the railings.
“Meow.”
She jumped back and took a swipe at the creature’s face, just in time for it to blast toward her.
SNARL-SNASH!
The creature swiped at her face and sent her onto her ass. She tumbled across the ground and ended up on her hind legs. She threw her claws and opposable thumb around the flight deck’s door handle and growled at the beast.
“Meow.”
She flew forward and extended her claws out.
SWISH-SWIPE!
Her claws daggered into the side of the creature’s face. It threw its head around, swinging the dangling Jelly. Each swish from left to right forced her claws to tear further down the skin of its face.
RIIPP-RII-II-IIPP.
It howled in pain and swung its head around, forcing Jelly to fly around with it like a bizarre carnival ride.
“Meow,” Jelly tore her claws out of its face, taking with it a few ropes of liquid and pieces of flesh, which splatted to the floor.
Jelly darted ten feet up the walkway, rolled onto her hind legs and prepared herself to attack once again.
The creature flung its bloodied facial remains away from its head and slammed the deck with its paws, ready to kill.
A deadly stand-off occurred between both beasts.
Wool flicked another switch on the control panel, “Commencing zero gravity.”
“Wait. What are you doing?” Emily said. “Hasn’t she proved herself enough without you taking the gravity away?”
“We need to know she can handle herself if the crew are incapacitated.”
Emily ran over to Wool at the control center, “Are you out of your mind?”
She held Emily back, “For God’s sake, Tripp. This woman is a liability. Can we have her removed, please?”
Tripp stood in Emily’s path and held out his arms, “Emily?”
“What?”
“The creature in there. Classified Risk. It’s not real. It’s a simulation. Jelly can’t come to any harm—”
“—It’s not the damn simulation I care about. You’re deliberately antagonizing her.”
“No, we’re not. We’re toughening her up.”
Emily grabbed Tripp’s wrist and pushed his hand away, “Toughening her up? She’ll have a goddamn heart attack before she gets anywhere near your stupid spaceship.”
Wool stepped aside and avoided Emily altogether, “Can someone get this woman off my back, please?”
Emily calmed herself down, “Look. Just get her out of—”
GROOWWWLLLL…
She stopped her sentence as she, and the others, turned back to the live feed in dumbstruck awe.
“I don’t believe it,” Tripp said. “Look.”
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG.
Jelly slammed her front paws across the ground, one in front of the other, and made her way to the creature.
She appeared to have the upper hand in the situation.
The creature sat on its back and ducked its head in reverence for the cat.
Jelly looked up and snarled in the creature’s face. She was tiny compared to her oppressor but it didn’t matter to her.
“Meow.”
“Grrr,” the creature responded.
A truce appeared to be on the cards.
Jelly extended her paw once again, this time trying to touch the creature’s face. The reflection of her assailant bled across her visor as her paw reached its cheek.
It looked down and slammed its tail against the floor. It extended its right paw to hers and made contact.
FIZZ. SPARK.
Thousands of tiny, orange electric sparks blew out from the connection.
“What’s she doing?” Daryl asked.
“She’s trying to make friends with it,” Jamie said. “Look, she’s playing nice.”
Tripp shook his head, “Well, then. She better be prepared to be disappointed.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look.”
The creature hid its left paw behind its tail. Its claws splayed out, ready for a surreptitious attack.
Jamie raised his eyebrows and stepped forward, “Oh, no. Jelly—”
SWISH-SWIPE.
The creature socked Jelly in the side of her face, throwing her entire body down the length of the corridor. She tumbled over and over along the floor towards the flight deck.
“Meoowww.”
“Grrrr,” the creature kicked itself away from the floor and flew after her. It threw its arms in front of its face and extended its claws.
GROWL.
“No, Jelly,” Jamie screamed at the live feed. “Get up and hit him back. Kill it.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Emily placed her hands on her hips and snorted. “Just kill it already.”
Jelly twisted around and planted her feet on the flight deck wall. She shrieked and kicked herself away, making straight for the creature.
They flew towards each other like two speeding bullets.
Jelly wrenched her right arm back, preparing to strike.
The creature did the same.
Jelly forced her elbow down and barrel-rolled one-hundred-and-eighty-degrees, shooting across the air on her back. She pushed her right claw forward and delivered the equivalent of a violent uppercut to the creature’s stomach.
SLAMMM!
The creature lifted up and smashed against the ceiling with its back. The inertia caused it to rocket towards the ground and mashed against the walkway.
Jelly landed on her feet and delivered another vicious blow to its face. Her hind legs lifted into the air as she beat the hell out of its helmet.
“Go, Jelly. Kill it,” Jamie cheered after her.
“Yeah, go on, girl,” Emily joined in the fun and punched the air, “Mess that sonofabitch up.”
SMASH!
Jelly’s right paw stabbed through the creature’s face. Her left claw daggered into its stomach.
The creature let out a f
inal growl and died in Jelly’s arms.
“Jesus Christ,” Emily’s jaw dropped to the floor. She could scarcely believe her eyes. “I don’t believe what I’m seeing.”
“That’s one helluva star cat you got there, Emily,” Tripp snorted. “Look at her.”
“I c-can’t believe—”
Daryl, Tripp, and Wool blinked in wonder as they watched Jelly lift the creature up above her head. Victory was hers.
“Wow, girl,” Jamie stammered, somewhat afraid of his own pet, “You really kick ass.”
“Meow.”
Jelly held the trophy above her head in a blaze of victory. She didn’t know who was watching, but the message was clear.
The creature roared its last as it fizzed and sparked, as if its battery had come to an end. The contours of its body vibrated and turned into a fantastic light display, leaving Jelly standing in the middle of the corridor with her arms up in victory.
“Classified Risk complete,” Tripp turned to Wool. “How did she do?”
Wool looked at her screen, “Let’s see. Minor damaged to the CR suit. 92% operation. Heart-rate at a constant one-fifty-five. As long as the final reports check out, I guess she’s done well. Very well.”
“Jelly really is one in a million,” Tripp said to Jamie. “You should be very proud, kid.”
“She’s my cat.”
Jelly looked up through her helmet to see the creature had disappeared.
“Meow.”
Wool turned to the holographic image with haste, “Tripp? Something’s wrong with the simulator.”
“What’s up?”
She typed frantically on the keyboard, trying to stop the process, “I don’t get it. The simulcast should be over.”
“What?”
Emily and Jamie looked concerned, “What do you mean?”
The ship rumbled with an intensity not seen before. Jelly staggered across the width of the walkway as the red bulbs roared to life and spun around.
“Danger, Danger,” announced the ship’s monotone voice, “Hyper-thrusters disengaged. Recommend immediate action.”
Tripp waved his hand across the live feed and pushed the camera to the flight deck. He splayed his fingers out and zoomed in on the yellow lever at the center of the panel.
“The hyper-thruster lever needs to be engaged,” he said, indicating the windshield. The moon rocketed toward the screen at an alarming rate.
“Can’t we get her out of there?”
“No,” Wool said. “We need her to engage the thrusters. The ship is going to collide with the IMS. Headed straight for it. Too late to slow down.”
Emily clutched her chest and muttered, “Come on, Jelly. You’ve got this.”
“—Mom,” Jamie tugged her arm and nodded at Jelly, “Look.”
All eyes turned to the cat as she clomped her way toward the flight deck. Somehow, she knew that she was in trouble. The flashing red lights and accompanying alert systems contributed to her anxiety, but her attention was drawn to a floating book shape hanging in the air by the flight deck door.
“Miss Anderson?”
“Meow.”
“Follow me, please,” the book flapped its pages like a bird and shifted into the flight deck.
“Manuel?” Jamie asked. “That’s cheating, isn’t it?”
Tripp smiled, “Hardly. I guess we’re lucky enough that she follows orders from a transparent, inanimate object.”
“Manuel’s hardly inanimate,” Wool sniggered. “If anything he’s almost animated.”
“We’ll talk semantics later.”
“Fair enough,” Wool moved her hands away from the control panel, “Sixty seconds ‘til impact with IMS.”
Emily closed her eyes and mouthed to herself, “Please, Jelly. Prove you got this.”
A thought flew into Jamie’s head. All of this was a simulation. Unreal. Couldn’t they just shut the whole thing done and walk away?
“Umm,” he muttered, before stopping himself.
Suddenly, the right answer came to him. The simulation was fantasy. A series of dangers designed to strengthen Jelly’s constitution. Shutting the simulcast down and taking Jelly out of danger would prove nothing. After all, she was really in danger, so why not see how she responds.
“If she thinks it’s real, then that’s all that matters,” Jamie whispered before roaring at the screen. “Go get ‘em, girl!”
Jelly bolted into the flight deck and approached the pilot’s seat. She paused for a moment to inspect her claws and shiny, new suit.
The mechanics whirred around as she extended her claws and attempted to grab Manuel.
The book floated above the flight deck panel and curved its book end at the yellow lever, “Here, Miss Anderson. Use this.”
“Meow.”
Jamie, Emily, Tripp, and Wool watched on as Jelly dug her claws into the fabric on the pilot’s seat. She hoisted herself up between the arm rests and rolled her neck around.
“Miss Anderson?” Manuel asked. “It is imperative you change our course of direction.”
“Meow.”
Jelly placed her paw on the control deck with great care. She tightened her grip on the handle and yanked herself forward.
First, her left hind leg. Then the right.
“My God,” Emily’s jaw dropped. “She’s doing what she’s told.”
The moon grumbled and growled, enlarging at a terrific pace within the view of the windshield. The International Moon Station expanded with it - the simulation would end with a direct hit at this rate.
“Thirty seconds,” Wool pressed her finger to her ear and spoke into her mouthpiece, “Manuel?”
“Yes?”
“On no account must you assist her. She has to do this of her own volition.”
“I understand,” Manuel shifted up to the windshield and paused in mid-air.
Jelly sat next to the yellow lever. She ignored the pretty, flashing buttons on the flight deck stared at the approaching moon.
The violent rumbling of the flight deck didn’t dissuade her from staring at it as it threatened to expand to a point where it might burst through the shield and kill her.
“No, no, Jelly. Don’t just sit there,” Jamie whispered. “Come on, girl. Push the lever.”
He tightened his grip on his mom’s arm. She did the same to him, “Come on, Jelly. Do it.”
“Twenty seconds till point of no return,” Wool advised.
A glorious light show of white and gray streaks streaked across the windshield. The spaceship entered what little atmosphere the moon contained.
The lightning streaks swept away to reveal the craters on the surface in crystal clear definition, all of which expanded in size.
Manuel turned his front cover to the view of the approaching moon, “I guess this is where it ends, then.”
Jelly had a front row seat to the end of the world. She climbed to her feet and approached Manuel at the front of the flight deck. As she moved, her front, left paw knocked the side of the lever.
The impact made her jump, “Meow.” She thought she was further away from the lever than she actually was.
“Miss Anderson?” Manuel asked as he watched moon’s surface rocket inexorably closer, “It’s a beautiful sight, isn’t it?”
Jelly ignored him and focused on the bright, yellow lever. A good sniff around it was on the menu.
“Come on, girl,” Jamie screamed at the live feed. “Push the stupid thing.”
“Fifteen seconds,” Wool advised.
Sniff-sniff…
Jelly pawed at the lever and found that it moved ever-so-slightly from the down position.
She hit it again.
“Meow.”
Manuel turned away from the shield and faced down at her, “Miss Anderson?”
She looked up at the book for a brief moment, and then back to the lever.
“What are you doing?”
“Ten, nine, eight,” Wool counted down.
“Meow,”
Jelly fanned out her infinity claws and gripped the thick end of the lever.
Manuel hung in the air with a surprised demeanor. He didn’t have a face, but even he was capable of displaying shock from time to time.
“Miss Anderson?”
“Meow,” Jelly pressed the pad on her infinity claw against the lever and tried to push it forward. She wasn’t strong enough to apply the pressure needed to move it.
A look of concern waved across Wool’s face, despite knowing it was all just a simulation. The entire event somehow felt more genuine than the real thing.
“Five, four…”
WHUMP.
Both claws hit the lever. Jelly threw her hind legs against the groove on the flight deck and leaned forward, applying her entire body weight to the device.
“Meooww,” she shrieked as she exerted her strength on the yellow plastic.
The ship’s intense rumbling pushed her paw away from the yellow, joystick-like lever.
“Two, one…”
“Do it Jelly,” Jamie screamed at the screen, “We can do this.”
She extended her paws in front of her face as her body tumbled forward. The orange necklace flew out from behind her neck and latched over the lever.
“Mwah,” Jelly hit the flight deck paws-first. The necklace lassoed around the lever and pulled it with her quite by accident.
TCHLOCK!
The lever slammed forward.
“Hyper-thrusters initiated,” the voice advised.
The rockets fired up at the end of the ship and rocked the flight deck around like an angry cocktail mixer.
BLAST!
The moon sunk into the bottom end of the windshield as the spacecraft blasted along its surface.
“Meeeoooowww.”
Manuel fluttered back and bent his front cover, “Oh, my.”
Everyone in the control center jumped for joy and applauded the effort. The 3D live feed showed Jelly resting comfortably on the flight deck as the spacecraft sped over the moon’s surface.
Jelly celebrated by pushing her hind legs at the yellow lever and unhooking the necklace from her head, “Mwaah.”
“Excellent,” Tripp said. “Preparing disembarkation now.”
He turned from the screen to see a thoroughly relieved Wool catching her breath, “Can you report back on the score, please.”
Star Cat: Training Day: A Space Opera Fantasy Page 7