Star Cat Forever: A Science Fiction & Fantasy Adventure (The Star Cat Series - Book 6)

by Andrew Mackay

  Sierra squinted at the end of the corridor, “Oh, who’s this?”

  “That’s my dog, Hanny,” the old man said.

  “Oh.”

  He released the brown kitten to his feet. She whipped her tail around and stared at the dog.

  Hanny’s eyes squinted, perturbed by the kitten’s presence.

  BARK — BARK.

  The kitten dug her claws in the carpet and bushed her tail out.

  “HISSSSSSS.”

  Hanny fell to his chest and whined, surrendering entirely.

  “Yeah, that’s right,” the kitten chirped. “You got a new friend, now.”

  Sierra giggled, “Aww. I think they’re going to get along just fine.”

  Six Years Later

  The International Center for Exploration

  Cape Anderson (formerly Cape Claudius)

  — South Texas, USA —

  An eighteen-year-old Jamie Anderson continued to speak at the podium as the huge, orange suns set in the horizon.

  “Speaking of evolution, I guess it’s fair to say that without USARIC we would never have evolved. We don’t know the truth behind the Opera mission. Alpha, Beta, or Charlie. But it’s fair to say that we’d never have the future we now have without them. And without one special crew member who won the right to join them back in 2117. It seems so long ago, now.”

  The crowd smiled back at him.

  To his mind, their silence meant that they largely agreed with what he was saying.

  “Now, space exploration has been renationalized. And not before time. We all have a stake in our future.”

  Jamie held his hand out to the brand new ICE complex that surrounding the concourse.

  Two new buildings, and several aircraft hangers.

  He pressed his fingers against his chest and ran them over his name badge.

  J. Anderson - SpaceWalk Division

  Jamie’s colleagues at ICE looked from the side of the stage with pride. Jamie gave them the thumbs up and returned to the audience.

  “It is has been a privilege to assist with ICE’s new center for excellence. A task several years in the making.”

  Jamie looked into the crowd and waved at a twelve-year-old girl in the front row.

  Her name was Jojo.

  Her mother, Emily, and stepfather, Tony, sat with her and beamed proudly at the young man behind the podium.

  “Hey, Jojo,” Jamie’s voice boomed across the seats, to the amusement of the audience.

  The girl smiled coquettishly and buried her head in her mother’s arms.

  “Ugh, everyone’s watching,” Jojo said.

  “It’s okay, poppet,” Emily whispered. “Don’t be shy.”

  She faced her son behind the podium and beamed with pride as he spoke.

  Jojo squinted at the covered thirty-foot high structure next to the stage.

  “Mommy, what do you think it is?”

  “I don’t know, poppet,” Tony hushed at her. “Let your brother speak.”

  “Okay.”

  Several drones whirled around above the heads in the crowd and captured everything Jamie was saying.

  “We’ve gone to great pains to build over our past. In this case, literally. We will never, ever forget the events that took place here six years ago—” Jamie said, before stopping himself to think.

  He felt the ground vibrate, but he knew it was all in his head.

  “I, uh—” he stopped and swallowed. “Even now I can still feel her. In my mind and my heart she’s never left.”

  “Say her name,” roared a member of the crowd.

  “Yeah, do it, Jamie,” yelled another.

  Jamie sniffed and swallowed. He couldn’t bear to speak the name they wanted to hear.

  Not just yet, anyway.

  “Ugh, this sucks,” he muttered as he lifted his head up to a pregnant woman sitting in the front row.

  The sight of her face made him smile.

  “Hey,” he whispered, softly.

  The girl ran her right hand over her baby bump and waved at him with her left.

  “Hey.”

  The woman’s name was Leesa Anderson. She and her husband hadn’t decided on a name for the child yet.

  As Jamie chuckled through his tears, he felt a pulling sensation at the hem of his pants leg.

  “Huh?”

  He looked down to see a cute Burmese tug at the material.

  “What’s up, girl?”

  “It’s time, Jamie,” the Burmese said as she nodded at the horizon.

  “Oh.”

  He turned to the crowd, “Everyone, it’s time.”

  The Burmese hopped onto the podium and stood on her hind legs and slapped her front paws together.

  “Everyone, get your masks on. Come on, come on.”

  Each crowd member, including Leesa, Emily, and Jojo, smeared a wet substance across their nose and mouths.

  The substance hardened across the lower half of their faces as they took out their oxygen pips and bolted them to their lips.

  Jamie released his mask and took several breaths.

  “Thanks, Brownie.”

  “Hey, you’re welcome,” she quipped. “Must be a real pain in the ass when the sun stops protecting you from that pink stuff, huh?”

  “Nah,” Jamie said. “We’re used to it.”

  Brownie nodded and planted her front paws onto the podium, “Good, because you’ve got no choice.”

  Brownie purred up a treat as she ran the side of her face on Jamie’s Individimedia Ink.

  Purrrrrrr.

  “Maybe later you’ll give me a cuddle?”

  “Of course,” Jamie giggled.

  “You’d better,” Brownie half-threatened, “Or I’ll pull that stupid thing off your face while you’re sleeping.”

  A hundred cats darted out from around the podium and approached the giant, covered structure.

  “Meow, meow, meow.”

  “Okay, okay,” Jamie said.

  “Hey,” Brownie roared into Jamie’s arm. Her voice blasted out from the drones and surrounding stage speakers, “You guys. Behave yourselves.”

  Brownie clanged her claws together and threatened.

  “No, sit down and shut up.”

  The cats all sat down and shut up.

  Brownie poked Jamie’s wrist with her claw and nodded at the statue.

  “Huh?”

  “Look, I’m not being funny, Jamie. But can we unveil this stupid thing so we can go home and get some dinner? I’m starving, by the way.”

  “Yes, good idea.”

  “Good. Hurry up.”

  Brownie hopped off the podium and raced over to Leesa in the front row.

  “Hey, girl,” Leesa’s voice muffled through her mask.

  “Yeah, whatever. Pick me up.”

  “Okay.”

  She lifted Brownie under the arms and plonked her on her lap.

  “Do my head.”

  “You are a demanding little one, aren’t you?”

  “Whatever. Just do it.”

  Somewhat put-out, Leesa stroked the back of Brownie’s head a bit too hard.

  Purrrrr.

  Brownie loved every second of it.

  Jamie slipped his fingers around the plastic handle on the cover that shrouded whatever lay beneath.

  “One of the last things she said to me before she gave her life for the sake of mankind has always stuck with me. A credo, that, as it happens, was shared by the late, great scientist of our time, Pascal D’Souza.”

  Jamie closed his eyes and took a deep breath, hoping he wouldn’t burst into tears.

  His lips quivered. His hands shook.

  He opened his eyes and gave it his best.

  “Love is the answer.”

  The crowd erupted into a frenzied state of excitement and inspiration.

  “Woohoooo!” they screamed. “Love is the answer.”

  “Citizens of the United States,” Jamie said, happy he’d held back his emotion, “Our Russian
allies. The moment we are all here for.”

  The crowd held their breath in unison.

  The drones shuffled forward and fired off a rifle of lights, taking pictures and video of the covered structure.

  “In out gratitude, may I present to you ICE’s tribute to the one, uh, cat, who changed the universe as we know it.”

  “Say it, Jamie,” Jojo squealed and clapped her hands together.

  The crowd erupted in a frenzy.

  “Say her name. Say her name. Say her name.”

  Jamie glanced at Leesa, who joined in with the chants. “Say her name. Say her name. Say her name.”

  “—Say her name,” a Russian voice blasted from the second row. Jamie’s eyes almost popped out of their sockets as he laid eyes on the boy.

  One Remy Gagarin, who grinned at Jamie and held up his fist in solidarity. The Russian boy’s astonishingly gorgeous mother, Vera, winked at Jamie and licked her lips.

  Invigorated, Jamie gripped the plastic and yanked his arm back.

  “Citizens,” he screamed with pride through his oxygen mask and, “I give you, Jelly Anderson.”

  WHUP.

  The covers flapped away, catching the awe and inspiration of everyone who saw what was underneath.

  “Oh, wow,” Emily burst into tears and covered her mouth, “I d-don’t believe it.”

  Jamie hopped off the stage to a rapturous round of applause and unadulterated adulation.

  A thirty-foot-high gold statue of a tiger with Jelly’s face towered over them.

  Confident, determined, and steely-eyed.

  Streaks of light folded over the statues perfectly formed detail.

  The rendition was near-perfect.

  Jamie tilted his head to the stars that began to form in the black sky.

  A constellation of stars formed the face of a cat, and glimmered down at him.

  “Watch over us, girl,” he whispered.

  The stars in the constellation twinkled subtly, as Jamie ran his eyes to the base of the statue and read the etched text on the granite surface

  Jelly Anderson

  Earth’s First Star Cat

  2113 - 2124

  “Love is the answer.”

  The End.

  From the author - Andrew Mackay

  Author notes from Star Cat Forever (exclusive to the e-book version of this title)

  Dear reader,

  Well, this is it. The end. As I promised. The sixth and final book. I even put it on the cover lol

  It’s virtually impossible for me to know if Star Cat Forever (SCF) wrapped it all up and satisfied you. I guess the only way I’ll ever know is if you email me, or leave a review. Or both. And I encourage both - more than you could possibly know.

  I’ve always known how the series was going to end.

  I’ve known since halfway through writing book two. It was clear to me that when Jelly was transforming that there could only be one way to end it. She keeps evolving, and learning, and so on till she simply has nowhere else to go. I don’t know how many of you thought she’d actually live to tell the tale. Knowing the very, very end (I.e. SCF) helped pave the way and set the mood for books 3, 4 and 5, though, so that’s something. I also knew that each book had to leave the audience wanting more.

  I knew with SCF I sort of wanted to leave the reader wanting a little bit less. That’s why it’s so bombastic and action-packed. If there’s another book out there like SCF< get in touch with me and let me know. I’d love to read it.

  Of course, I didn’t know absolutely everything when writing book 2. There are a few additions that naturally worked their way into the story, the main one being the whole IRI angle. Here, in the UK, we’re going through Brexit and it’s causing a lot of problems for reasons far too intricate and irrelevant to go into here. The fallout from it is fascinating, though. I know a lot of readers may be wondering what on Earth (or elsewhere) this has to do with cats and space. Well, one of the main themes of Star Cat has always been about “fitting in” and “learning” - which extends to society.

  Even though it’s not explicit, I think we know - or at least I do in my mind - that Pink Symphony is the driving force behind what eventually happens at the end. It’s a natural substance that has chosen cats to be the leveler back on Earth. Why? It’s probably better left to your imagination. It could so easily apply to a series called Star Dog (believe me, I considered it lol) or Star Chimp or Star Octopus. I quite like that last one. No, no, don’t tempt me.

  You may know that I usually ask my advance readers (i.e. those who get the book, and for free, before release - if you want in, just email me) what they think is going to happen in the next book. Overwhelmingly, at the end of Exodus (Book 5) the two things they wanted to see were:

  1: Jamie and Jelly reunited, and

  2: Maar Sheck meeting an especially nasty demise

  Almost no one wanted an explanation of Pink Symphony lol - and that’s just as well because, frankly, I don’t have one. Or, rather, I do - and the focus is on the effect. Look at all the talking cats making demands and stuff. I didn’t want to overplay it, but surely you can think of a few scenarios you’d like to see. The Colosseum at Roma turned into a giant play pen. Or maybe the Leaning Tower of Pisa covered in horse hair and used as a scratch post. Or something.

  It’s a bit Planet of the Apes, in that respect. DD-12 is a bit Star Wars and RoboCop. The Shanta is a bit like The Thing. Jelly pretty much becomes a Transformer in the last third of the book, and like Godzilla towards the end. Pretty cool, huh? I was on a podcast recently (called “Sci-Fi Shenanigans” if you want to search for it) and mentioned that Star Cat was a sort of “greatest hits” of all the sci-fi I love. And it genuinely has turned out that way.

  There’s one particular sequence in SCF that I really love. It’s the bit where Jelly is sucked into The Processor and kitted out in her new armor. It feels as if she’s been turned into a God. It wasn’t until I went through the first draft before sending it to Ashley, my editor, that I realized in fact that it’s at that moment she dies. The machine beats her up, but the armor keeps her alive. When she falls out of it after meeting Jamie, she’s dying - and she knows it. The very fact that she knows she’ll die gives her the venom and anger to smash USARIC up and help kill. (Proper cat, really.)

  I’m not too proud that I can’t admit I was in tears writing the second-to-last chapter. A part of me was dreading it. Literally, I was in tears as I was writing Jamie and jelly’s reunion. I visualized that image - of her in the giant armor suit, kneeling before her ex owner. She’s all unrecognizable. Jamie is stunned, and of course he’s older, so she just about recognizes him. I didn’t know what they’d say to each other and simply trusted my instinct (my KILLER INSTINCT, if you will lol)

  It was by far the best approach. I know both characters so well, so I knew how they’d respond to each other. I think it’s the mark of someone who, at the very least, knows what they’re doing. Have a bit of faith in yourself as an artist and roll with it - and change it during the first edit if you must.

  Little of it changed, actually.

  Then of course Jelly becomes a martyr. I am very happy I managed to make that work. The mini-drone acting as a flea to annoy her. But, later, she crawls into a corner and just fades away. She picks Maar up in her mouth like a trophy. I think back to the cats I’ve had in the past who used to come in with (hopefully a dead) mouse or rat in their mouths and offer them to me as a trophy (as we called them.) It always happened when it rained, too. Rarely when the weather was good.

  Did you dig Maar’s death? Were you screaming “YES!” when she impaled him on her last infinity claw? I dunno about you, but that satisfies the hell out of me. Sliding him back and forth, playing with him like a cat does with a mouse. I saw many of my cats do that - playing with their prey. Sooty, a cat I had when I was a teenager, did that with a mouse. Then he flung it into the air and caught it in his mouth. He’d pick up whatever was left and trundle around with it in his mo
uth, making this silly “mwaaaarrrr” noise.

  Bless him.

  My nerves were shred to hell when I finished, and I needed a couple of days away. Star Cat has been an emotional roller coaster for me. I wrote to satisfy myself - believing it to be the best way forward. If I can satisfy myself, then the reader will be satisfied.

  What’s next? I’m glad you asked.

  I’m planning to stay in the same universe, as it happens. A continuing series called THE USARIC METHOD - set ten years before Star Cat, and before USARIC has turned bad. Tripp, Jaycee, Wool, Bonnie, Haloo, et al will return doing their thing. It’ll be an ongoing thing like Star Trek. One book, one adventure. Make sure you claim your free book (Star Cat: Origins) if you haven’t already. It’ll get you on the mailing list. And follow me at Amazon so you’ll never miss a new book.

  Anyway, that’s Star Cat put to bed. I hope you enjoyed Star Cat Forever. It’s 105k words, if you can believe that. It took fourteen days to write the first draft, if you can believe that lol — I’m hopeful that if you got this far you’ll be compelled to tell others about the series. By far the most helpful way to do that is for you to leave a review on all the books. There will be two trilogies shortly, as well as the complete series.

  Please do leave a review - and also, please email me. I’d love to hear from you.

  Happy reading - and, of course, STAR CAT FOREVER!!!

  Andrew Mackay,

  Hampshire, UK

  (December 15, 2018)

  ***

  If you enjoyed this book I’d really appreciate a review on Amazon.

  As you know, reviews are very important to an author and their potential buyers.

  Just a few kind words would be great. Thanks!