Star Cat: The First Trilogy (Infinity Claws, Pink Symphony, War Mage)

by Andrew Mackay

  "Hey, you. Landaker."

  Baldron tensed his shoulders and flinched, "Don’t hit me."

  "I’m not gonna hit you," Jaycee sniggered. "Just wanted to know how you were feeling right now?"

  "I’m scared."

  "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

  Jaycee intimidated him by slammed the K-SPARK barrel in his open palm. Baldron jumped in his shoes, the weight of his Decapidisc reminding him of his situation. “Jeez. I think I’m going to have a coronary.”

  “We can only hope,’ Jaycee grinned. "Hey, can I tell you a secret?"

  "Wh-what?"

  "I’m scared too, you know," Jaycee whispered in his ear, "I know I don’t look it, but I am. Do you know what happens when I get scared?"

  "N-No, what?" Baldron bit his lip as his oppressor got a little too close for comfort.

  "I get fidgety, you know. Dunno what to do with myself. I start hitting things. Me and my temper."

  "Oh, G-God," Baldron whimpered and scrunched his face. "Please d-don’t—"

  "—you ever seen what a K-SPARK shell does to the human body?"

  "N-No."

  "Total and utter evisceration."

  Biddip-beep. Manuel snapped out of his scan. “Aha. Report complete.”

  Baldron breathed a sigh of relief as Jaycee turned to the holographic book, "Is he on?"

  "Seems to be," Tor said. "Manuel?"

  "Yes, Tor?"

  "Report, please?"

  "Certainly."

  Manuel darted over to the middle of the room and bent its pages out wide. A vector image of Space Opera Beta projected from its spine and into the middle of the deck.

  "Thruster damage in Engine and Payload, Level Ten. Two of twenty modules at more than seventy-five percent damage."

  Tor walked around the map of Beta and placed his fingertip on the thruster area at the fat end of the ship, "Ports Y118, and Z409?"

  "Indeed."

  "Perfect, that’s precisely what I wanted you to say," Tor looked at Baldron. "That’s one for you, my friend."

  “Wanted him to say?” Jaycee asked, quizzically.

  Tor held out his hand and corrected himself at speed, “I mean, it’s what I was expecting. Two ports down. In other words, Manuel is spot on.”

  "What’s the damage, Manuel?" Baldron felt entitled to join in with the analysis - and away from Jaycee for a moment or two.

  The twenty cylinders enlarged into view and spun around slowly, outlining the affected area.

  "The affected cylinders disengaged, either during the explosion or the trip through Enceladus. I don’t know which, but both need re-connecting."

  "Understood," Baldron turned to Tor, who winked at him in secrecy.

  "Is that something you can fix?" Jaycee asked. "I hope so, otherwise you’re of no use to man nor beast."

  Baldron didn’t know where to look, "Yes, yes. I can fix it, provided—"

  "—With an emphasis on the word beast," Jaycee joked.

  "Provided the location is unaffected by whatever that stuff is out there, it’s a two-man job with Tor guiding us."

  "How long will it take, chump?"

  "Thirty minutes, maybe less."

  "Okay, amaziant," Jaycee booted Baldron in the back. He stumbled forward and crashing against the control deck.

  "Jaycee? Seriously?" Tor took pity on his friend, "That was uncalled for."

  "No, it wasn’t," Jaycee applauded Baldron as he struggled to his feet in serious anguish, "Look at you, withstanding all this pain."

  "Stop hitting me."

  "No."

  "Hey, less of it," Tor held the warring men apart, "Jaycee, please. The last thing you need is an injured man carrying a nuclear device. We’re trying to work on getting back home. Baldron is our engineer and he’s no use to us if he can’t do his job."

  Jaycee grabbed Tor’s wrist and threw his arm away, "Don’t talk to me like you’re one of the good guys, you egotistical little turd. Don’t come on like you’re a hero in all this."

  Tor puffed his chest out, ready to take the inevitable beating his next sentence would initiate. "Oh yeah?"

  "Yeah."

  "We’re doing precisely what you’re telling us to do. Baldron and I aren’t heroes, but we’re working with you, aren’t we?"

  "Only because my captain insists on it."

  "Okay, fine," Tor screamed in Jaycee’s face, "Kick and punch us both to death, then. Let’s see how far you get.”

  Jaycee’s patience was about to end. He lifted his glove and threatened to active their Decapidiscs.

  "Jesus, you and your big mouth, Viktor," Baldron backed away in an attempt to disassociate himself with his comrade. He pointed his finger at Jaycee, "He’s in control, not us. Don’t give him any more excuses to hit that damn button."

  "Well said, Landaker,’ Jaycee grinned. “I’ve been instructed to remove both your heads if either of you so much as fart in a clear air zone."

  Tor backed down. He couldn’t argue with that statement.

  "So, here’s what we’re gonna do. Tor, you’re gonna stay here and complete Manuel’s scan, or whatever the hell he does. Baldron, you and I are gonna go to the engine and fix whatever it is needs fixing so we can get the hell out of this pink paradise.”

  Tor snorted and fought to keep his dignity intact. He didn’t acknowledge Jaycee’s instruction.

  “Do you understand what I’ve just said, comrade?"

  "Yes,” Tor spat, deeply unhappy and full of sarcasm, “I read you loud and clear."

  "Good."

  Chapter 13

  Botanix

  Space Opera Beta - Level Three

  Bonnie pulled her body across the desecrated row of plants. Inch by inch, she got closer to Jelly, who lay on her side cleaning herself with her tongue.

  She coughed and spluttered occasionally, spitting out tufts of fur to the ground. Every time she looked over at Bonnie from between the charcoaled vegetation she froze solid and kept her eyes on her.

  "Meow," Jelly licked her titanium infinity claws with her tongue. She’d gotten used to the zinc-like taste over time.

  "Hey, girl," Bonnie removed her Rez-9 from her mouth and set it to the ground, "Stay where you are. Help is coming."

  Jelly didn’t seem the slightest bit concerned. She flicked her ears and shot Bonnie in a vicious look, "Maaoow."

  "Stay there, I’m coming for you."

  Jelly began to whelp as if overcome by illness. Her throat constricted due to her coughs and splutters.

  "Are you feeling okay—"

  "Meaooowww," came the creepy response. A deadened, throaty howl of turmoil. Jelly fell back and rolled around, croaking up a storm.

  "Jeez, what’s wrong with you?"

  Jelly hopped onto all fours and shook her entire body. Strands of fur flicked out in all directions. She pushed her right hind leg back, intending to move away into the glorious pink-hued beach front.

  "No, no, don’t—" Bonnie thumped the grip of her Rez-9 to the ground and took aim at the cat, "Don’t go, Anderson."

  Jelly took another step back, this time with her left hind leg. Now was the time to test her synthetic human.

  "Meow," Jelly spat out a rope of pink drool.

  "I mean it, sweetie," Bonnie flicked the safety catch down with her thumb, arming her Rez-9. She blinked hard. A drop of pink liquid fell from her right eye, "Don’t move."

  Jelly tested the standoff once again, seconds away from an attempt to run off into Pink Symphony.

  "What’s happened to you, girl?" Bonnie whispered and tightened her grip on the gun, "Tell me what’s going on."

  Jelly relaxed on the spot and tilted her head.

  Swish!

  The door to Botanix slid open behind Bonnie’s heel. Startled, Jelly launched into the air and flipped around, headed for Pink Symphony.

  "Anderson," Tripp screamed after her as she bolted across the metal grille and onto the sand leading to nowhere.

  Wool darted aft
er her with her arms outstretched, "Jelly, come back."

  Jelly bolted through the opening in the wall.

  BOMP!

  Her nose and forehead scrunched together, the result of a vicious impact against a transparent barrier preventing her from escape. "Miaow."

  Wool’s feet splashed through stream of fresh water and ground to a halt. Aghast, she witnessed her feline friend tumbled over in pain.

  "Jelly, stop," Wool reached the cat and scooped her up in her arms, "Hey, sweetie. What’s wrong?"

  Jelly blinked a few times and swiped the air with her claws in a fit of rage, "Miaow!"

  "Hey, calm down," Wool lifted her up under her arms and looked into her eyes, "Something’s wrong with you, girl," Wool turned to Tripp, "I need to get her to Medix."

  "Okay, is she all right?"

  "I don’t know," Wool ran across the puddle and turned to Bonnie, "What did you do to her?"

  "Me? I didn’t do anything to her."

  "Her heart is racing, look," Wool rocked Jelly in her arms in an attempt to calm her down, "Something’s hassling her."

  "She’s feeling hassled?" Bonnie grabbed Tripp’s hand and stood on her one, good leg, "Aw, poor thing. She’s all hassled, is she?"

  "Yes, she is," Wool walked off with Jelly in her arms, "Come on, girl. Let’s get you checked out."

  "That cat is nothing but a liability," Bonnie screamed after Wool as she exited the area.

  Tripp stared at Pink Symphony. Tiny silhouetted figures crept over the sandy dune’s horizon and scuttled toward the ship’s opening.

  "Look, look," he tugged at Bonnie’s arm, "Look at them."

  "I know. I met one when I was out there."

  "Really?" Tripp gasped, "What happened?"

  "Came to a pretty messy end, to be honest," Bonnie slung her arm over Tripp’s shoulder and nodded at the door, "Seen the state of my suit? It sucks."

  "It went down that easy?"

  "Right in the middle of its nasty face," Bonnie raised the stump on her right leg. "Take me to the fit room. If I need to fight those things, you need me upright, don’t you?"

  “No Fit Room for you, Bonnie. We’re going to N-Vigorate to get you re-limbed first.”

  Hundreds of fleshy, twelve-limbed creatures reached the invisible barrier between the broken section of Botanix’s back wall and Pink Symphony.

  BAM. THUD-BANG-THUD.

  The creatures squealed and slammed their thick talons against the barrier, wanting to get in and murder anything breathing.

  "What do you know about these things?" Bonnie asked as she hopped to the door using Tripp for balance.

  "Not as much as you."

  "Huh?"

  "Well, you’ve disposed of one of them already. I haven’t. And I’d rather not if I don’t have to."

  "Nothing from Manuel?" Bonnie asked.

  "No, he’s busy trying to get us out of here."

  They reached the door and took a final look at what might happen to them if they weren’t able to escape. Death by at least one hundred fleshy spider things.

  "SCREEEEEE!"

  The largest of the creatures wailed from its knuckled mid-section. Its front four talons daggered at the see-through barrier.

  "I dunno what those things are," Tripp muttered as he helped Bonnie through the door, "But someone had better give us some answers pretty damn fast."

  Medix

  Jelly struggled for freedom as Wool released her onto her bed. She fought back with an intensity previously unseen by Wool. The claws came out. Swipes were thrown.

  "For heaven’s sake, Jelly," Wool felt her heart sink as she pinned her forearms against Jelly’s. At least she couldn’t hit back. "Calm down. You’ll work yourself into a frenzy."

  "Shaaaantaaa…"

  "Shanta? What are you saying? You’re delirious—"

  Jelly screeched up at the ceiling and threw her hind legs forward. One of her infinity claws pierced through Wool’s inner-suit by her abdomen, tearing the skin.

  Wool pressed her elbow on Jelly’s upturned stomach and reached for a syringe on the medician’s bedside unit. She pushed the radio out of the way and avoided looking at the picture of Jamie Anderson on the wall next to the window.

  She lifted the device in her fingers and caught a glimpse of the horizon stretching over Pink Symphony. "Wow." A large planet hung in the whitened sky. Its three rings moved, slowly, in all directions, like a fairground ride.

  Jelly attempted to wriggle free from Wool’s pin down.

  "Stop it, Jelly. You want the syringe, do you?"

  Jelly calmed down the moment her eyes clapped on the needle. Her legs kicked against Wool’s thighs. She dropped the syringe and fanned her palm on the crazy cat’s head.

  “Mwaaah,” Jelly sunk her fangs in the webbing between Wool’s fingers. Under any other circumstances her actions might have been considered playful. Wool quickly dismissed that notion as she looked into Jelly’s eyes.

  Both were blood-red with orange clouds formed around each pupil.

  "Jesus, what’s happened to you?"

  "ROOWAARR," Jelly shrieked at the top of her lungs.

  Wool pushed herself away in fright and looked down at the tear in her inner-suit. He elbow caught the power cable attached to the radio, knocking the device to the floor.

  A glob of blood peeled through Wool’s inner-suit. She slid the side of her index finger under the cut and lifted it to her face for inspection.

  "Oh, you made me bleed—"

  BWUCK!

  Jelly spat out a pink fur ball. She rolled onto her front and settled into the prone position, poised to attack. Her tail slapped left and right as she sized up her new opponent.

  "Jelly, what are y-you d-doing—"

  BWUCK-BWUCK-BWUCK!

  Jelly’s chest distended, violently. She dug her infinity claws into the foam mattress, puncturing its surface.

  "Waaaaaaah!" Jelly’s behind lifted into the air like a possessed demon - the start of an event Wool wouldn’t forget in a hurry.

  "Oh, God…"

  Jelly’s titanium infinity claws sprung out from her paws. Each digital pad blew open, squeezing out a pink substance across her shedding fur.

  "Grrraaaooowww," Jelly’s broken screeches bounced off the walls and slammed into Wool’s ears.

  WHUMP.

  Her stomach distended and blew outward, coughing lumps of fur to the bed.

  "J-Jelly?" Wool took a step forward, careful not to get too near what was surely some sort of infectious disease.

  The cat whined and shook her head, trying to make the pain subside. The more she fought, the worse it became.

  Her skin on her arms turned a yellowy white and forced the flesh underneath to blow across to her body.

  The stench was overwhelming.

  Wool knew she should have sedated Jelly when she had the chance. There was no going back, now.

  Jelly’s behind ballooned out, pushing most of her fur away. The bone in her hind legs cracked forward, causing her a considerable amount of pain. A sickening sound of contorting flesh breaking into new positions thundered within her limbs. Jelly’s intense squeals warbled the acrylic windows back and forth.

  "Holy Mary, mother of God," Wool crossed her body with her index finger as she watched Jelly convulse and change before her eyes. "God have mercy."

  Jelly’s spine arched onto itself, exposing her shoulder bone through the skin. Strands of fur pushed away from her body.

  A final wail of death thundered through the room as her entire body shuddered like a furious cocktail mixer. Her mouth opened out and forward. Jelly’s skull pulled back and up, forcing the back of her head to raise thee inches.

  The zygomatic bone above her top row of teeth crunched into an oblong and out under her nose. Her teeth fell out one by one. A new set of ivories pushed through her gums, including a pair of sharp incisors.

  "Shaaaa," Jelly snorted, fixed to the bed by her infinity claws. Her chin broke away under her bottom row of
teeth. A new skeletal structure pushed through in its place.

  Her whiskers fizzed away like a perverse light show.

  Jelly’s entire body thundered on the spot. Her abdomen shunted whatever was left of her former self across the bed in gory segments. Bones transformed and cracked out into new formations.

  Fine, dark hair - much like her whiskers - sprouted from the top of her head and fell down her back.

  Wool covered her eyes and turned away. Close to a nervous breakdown, she knew what was coming next. Having seen the twelve-legged creatures at a distance - coupled with what she knew of the battle in Pink Symphony - the next stage would prove to be a body apocalypse.

  Wool fanned her fingers out over one eye, catching only the briefest glimpses of the horror.

  A fur-less cat, dying and effectively melting in a demonic puddle of its own effluence.

  "I’m s-so sorry, Jelly," Wool burst out crying and made for the door, "Let’s finish this."

  "Mwaaoorgh," Jelly blasted her turmoil around the room from the splattered bed.

  Wool pulled the door shut and dropped to her knees in a state of helpless delirium.

  "No, please, God. No," she spluttered in floods of tears, "Please."

  She knocked the back of her head against the wall in an attempt to block out Jelly’s deathly howls from within Medix. Something had to be done.

  Her hand slipped around her belt and gripped her Rez-9. A mercy killing was necessary - the second time, now, she’d be attempting to put Jelly out of her misery. Images of having placed a cyanide capsule in Jelly’s mouth slammed into her brain.

  Wool rolled up the sleeve on her left forearm. She thumbed the ink out into three dots. "This is… Wool," she tried to clear the upset from her voice, "Tripp, are you there?"

  No response.

  "Tripp, please," Wool sniffed and tilted the side of her gun to ensure it was loaded. The strip light indicated a full magazine. "Tripp?"

  "Yes, Wool. I read you."

  "She’s sick, Tripp. Really sick…"

  "Where are you?"

  "Outside Medix," Wool blurted and wiped the tears from her eyes. "It’s over for her. I need you to come here."

  "Dying?"

  Wool couldn’t help herself. She cried into her forearm like a madwoman. "She’s all over the p-place, Tripp. I…"