The Neko's Tail - 25. Saving Captain Artemis

Reinard gripped his necklace in his hand as he approached the ship. The Science Fleet. He didn’t know if the designation was good or bad. Both Artemis and Elias were in the Exploration fleet. Maybe they wouldn’t need him on the ship.

Pressing his hand against the ship’s lock, Reinard walked up the ramp, lost in thought.

But not too lost to see Artemis laying in the hall.

“Artemis?! Are you okay?!”

The Faro fell next to the tiger, checking for a pulse. Artemis was alive, barely.

“Elias!”

A door opened and the neko yelped, kneeling beside the two.

“Help me lift him,” Reinard said, sliding his hands under the tiger’s head.

Making sure Elias’ hands were placed correctly, the fox counted to three before lifting. The tiger was heavy in his arms, and both he and Elias struggled as they made their way toward the med bay.

“Put him down,” Reinard panted as they entered the room.

He hurried over to the pod, taking in the strange symbols that ran across the controls. He couldn’t read Common…

“Computer, set up health bay for an Egaro.”

The room sprang to life, displays lighting up, and buttons beeping.

Reinard looked over and found Elias removing Artemis’ clothes.

“What are you doing?”

“Se saelnela cen erl eln tel anag.”

Elias yanked Artemis’ pants off, tossing them aside. He stared pointedly at Reinard, and the fox gulped, the air heating around him.

Reinard knelt beside Elias, sliding his hands under Artemis’ thighs.

“Ready?” he breathed. “One… two… three.”

They lifted together, raising Artemis back into the air. Stumbling over to the pod, the two raised him as high as they could, almost dumping the tiger into the pod.

The glass closed with a quiet hiss and Reinard sighed.

“How long is he going to be in there?” he asked.

Elias shrugged, trying to peer into the container.

“What happened?”

The fox didn’t expect Elias to answer. He was glad he had gotten to the ship in time. Suddenly the tiger’s desire to leave the system made sense. What if someone was targeting them?

Reinard left the bay, making his way to Artemis’ room. He had saved the tiger, but maybe he could help in another way as well. Artemis had written down what he needed to buy. Reinard had five thousand credits on his card, a gift from his Mara. He hoped it would be enough for what they needed.

Finding the list on Artemis’ tablet, Reinard returned to the med bay.

“Elias, come with me. We’re going to finish Artemis’ list, okay?”

The neko nodded slowly and followed Reinard out of the ship.

They were shopping. Artemis had almost died, but they were shopping.

Elias scowled as he stood under another measuring device. He should be back on the ship waiting for Artemis to wake up. But Reinard had dragged him out to the port instead.

“Hey, I know you’re upset. But we’re helping him right now. This is less he will have to do when he wakes,” Reinard said.

The neko’s tail flicked angrily, and Reinard sighed.

“Do you want a colour?” the Faro measuring them asked.

“Red for me. Elias, what colour do you want?”

Elias shrugged, glaring at the fox.

“I guess black,” Reinard said.

The shop owner cleared his throat uncertainly.

“Um, we can’t make the suit in black. The purpose is to be visible, as much as possible.”

“Okay, white then.”

The Faro vanished into a side room and Reinard turned to Elias.

“Look, we’ll just get the blankets and then we’ll go back to the ship, okay? You can help me pick out a good blanket for him and when he wakes up he’ll be happy with both of us.”

“Ek he going du kriaske?”

“He’s going to be okay. He has to be.”

As soon as they entered the ship, Reinard said, “Computer, what is Artemis’ status?”

“Unconcious, in health bay.”

“Computer, notify us when healing is finished.”

There was a beep as the ship’s AI acknowledged the command, and Reinard let out a sigh, heading to the cabins.

He tucked their emergency suits in the dressers and made the beds as best as he could, using the softest blanket for Elias’ bed. The neko had already vanished, into the health bay Reinard assumed. He hoped Elias knew better than to touch any of the buttons.

“Computer, can you fly us out of the atmosphere?”

“Negative.”

Reinard sighed. He passed into the cockpit and looked at the various buttons and computers, all with labels written in Common. The fox was completely lost. They would be grounded until Artemis awoke.

Unless…

The Faro hurried to the health bay, finding Elias standing on a chair watching Artemis.

“Elias, did Artemis ever show you how to fly the ship?”

The neko shrugged and Reinard growled in frustration. He knew the radio and the engines, but other than that, the cockpit was a mystery to him. They were grounded until Artemis woke up.

“I’ll be back. Don’t let anyone into the ship,” the fox said, reaching up to ruffle Elias’ hair.

He walked out of the ship without much of a plan. There were a few more things he wanted to get before they left. He wanted a couple of weapons, but guns wouldn’t help much. Who knew if the rest of the galaxy shared their ammo? And Reinard had no idea how to use a blade. He would be more of a danger to himself than to any attacker.

He wasn’t worried about himself. He was still an Artego, and that name still held meaning. But Elias and Artemis worried him. Something had happened to the tiger, and from what Reinard had seen, the Egaro was not one to just let himself get sick. Foul play had to be assumed, which meant the ship and its occupants were in danger.

Someone had tried to kill Artemis. And if they knew they had failed, they would most likely try again. Reinard had to keep this quiet.

“Healing complete.”

Healing complete… who was being healed? Why was he so thirsty…?

The glass hissed open and Artemis opened his eyes, seeing the white ceiling of the med bay. Elias’ head peeked into his vision, the neko wearing an adorable mask of concern.

“Hey there kitten,” the tiger rasped, reaching to touch the neko’s face. “What am I doing in the health pod?”

He sat up, swinging his feet over the edge of the pod. Standing slowly, the tiger searched for his clothes. He pulled them on, still puzzling things out in his mind.

Artemis padded silently to the kitchen, Elias following on his tail. The tiger poured a glass of water and drained it, grabbing a second one to follow.

“Where’s Reinard?” he asked, pausing to catch his breath.

Elias shrugged.

Slowly Artemis remembered what had happened.

“I was sick. Really sick. I think I was poisoned.”

Elias growled, startling the tiger.

“I’m okay,” he reassured the neko. “I’m all better. But we need to get Reinard back here. I’m sorry I couldn’t get your things, but we need to get out of the system. The sooner the better.”

“Reinard bought things,” Elias said.

“He did?”

Elias nodded as a chime sounded through the ship. The neko stepped between Artemis and the door, a glare on his face. They heard a door open, and a few seconds later, Reinard’s voice called out.

“Elias?”

The neko stepped into the hall, scowling at the fox, and Artemis had to laugh.

“I have a guard cat…” he chuckled, walking behind Elias.

“Artemis! You’re awake!”

Reinard’s arms were suddenly wrapped around the tiger’s legs, and Artemis took a stumbling step back, trying to catch his balance. He touched the Faro’s head, buried in his stomach.

“Yeah. I heard you bought stuff?”

“I did. I… um, I kind of took your tablet and found your list of supplies.”

“Thank you,” Artemis smiled down at the fox. “I think it’s time I taught the two of you how to fly a starship…”

Elias sat in the pilot seat, staring blankly at the controls of the ship. He felt small, insignificant in the chair that belonged to Artemis.

“You can do this,” Artemis whispered, rubbing the neko’s head.

“Artemis, are you sure this is necessary?” Reinard asked, a quiver in his voice.

The tiger nodded.

“It needs to be obvious the pilot has never done this before. It’s known I travel with an alien and that you are joining me. If I’m supposed to be dead, either you or Elias would be flying. And we don’t want to let on I’m still alive.”

He motioned to Reinard.

“Can you get us started?”

Reinard stepped next to Elias and pressed the ship’s ignition.

“Golaski preserve us…” he whispered, and Elias scowled at him.

“Good, Go ahead and let the station know we’re leaving.”

The fox dialed in the radio.

“Um, this is… Cadet Reinard Artego, requesting permission to take off…?”

There was a moment of silence, everyone in the ship holding their breath.

“Permission granted. Have a safe flight.”

Artemis waited a moment.

“Okay Elias. Go ahead and increase engines.”

The neko stared at the controls, his hand hovering over the throttle.

“It’s okay kitten. Just push it up nice and slow.”

His hand touched the throttle, nudging it gently. The engines increased in volume, and the neko squeaked in fright.

“A little more,” Artemis said patiently.

Elias tapped the throttle again, pushing it up another inch.

“That will work. Now, use the vertical thrusters to lift us off the landing pad.”

The neko reached out, pushing another lever, and the ship shuddered. Reinard let out a yelp, gripping the arms of his chair.

“You’re doing great,” Artemis soothed. “You can retract the landing gear now.”

Elias scanned the buttons in front of him. Landing gears… which one was the landing gears?

“Third button to the right of the engines,” Artemis reminded him.

Pressing the button, Elias winced as another shudder shook the ship.

“Put your hands on the yoke. You need to keep at least one hand on it at all times.”

The what?

“The stick between your legs. Not your dick either,” Artemis chuckled.

Elias grabbed the stick in a death grip and the shuddering of the ship lessened. He and Reinard breathed twin sighs of relief.

“Increase our altitude to a kilometre. Reinard, start searching for a nearby system with a station.”

Increasing his grip on the yoke, the neko reached for the thrusters again, pushing the lever up once more. The shaking of the ship increased slightly, but it still wasn’t as bad as it had been. But how would he know when he reached a kilometre?

“Let go of the throttle now,” Artemis said a minute later.

Elias looked at the tiger dubiously.

“Look at your altimeter. It’s the numbers on the screen to your left. It says we’re now a kilometre over the planet’s surface.”

The neko released the throttle, replacing his hands on the yoke.

“Okay, now look at the screen above your head to the right. Do you see the little ship icon?”

There was a picture of the ship with little lines next to it. Elias nodded.

“We want to angle the ship at forty-five degrees up. That’s nine lines up. To do that, you need to pull the yoke toward yourself gently. The gravity of the planet will try to pull it back to centre, but you need to hold it at the angle, okay?”

Elias nodded again, pulling at the stick.

“Watch the picture of the ship,” Artemis reminded him, and Elias glued his eyes to the screen, mouthing the numbers of the lines.

Five lines... seven lines… ten lines.

As the number went up, he was pushed further back into his seat, his head feeling heavy. He struggled to turn his head toward Artemis.

“Ease up on the yoke just a bit,” the tiger said. “Try to keep it right at that ninth line.”

The neko let the yoke fall forward again, watching the ship’s picture. When it hit the line, he fought the pull of the yoke, holding it steady.

“Good. Get a feel for the pressure on the yoke, and when you’re ready, increase our back thrusters. You'll need to watch our speed and our angle.”

“I found a system Artemis,” Reinard said.

“Good. Go ahead and program it into the navigational computer.”

The Faro turned in his seat, his fingers tapping slowly over a keyboard. The sound grated on Elias’ nerves, and he tried to tune it out.

Taking his left hand off the yoke, Elias gasped as the ship pitched down again. He slapped his hand back on the stick, yanking back. The ship rolled and Elias released the yoke in a panic.

“Hands back on the yoke!” Artemis yelped as the vessel fell sharply.

Elias grabbed the yoke again, holding on for dear life, and the ship’s descent slowed.

“Okay, now straighten the ship out. Try to get the picture level.”

He took a gasping breath, shuddering. The belt over his shoulders was cutting into him, and his head had that feeling he got from alcohol.

“Elias, you need to roll the ship over again,” Artemis said urgently.

The neko pushed the yoke to the left, and the ship fell again. A moan left his mouth as the pressure in his head lessened. Blinking away the sudden stars in his eyes, Elias looked at the picture again. They were right side up now at least…

“Good. Try again. And make sure you can hold the yoke with one hand before you let go.”

The radio crackled to life suddenly.

“Planet base to Cadet Reinard. Are you okay up there?”

Reinard pressed the comms button, taking a shaky breath.

“Uh… yeah…” he said.

Elias pulled the yoke back again, watching the lines once more. Holding the yoke tightly, he reached over again, pushing the throttle up before slamming his hand back onto the yoke again.

The ship’s engines increased their whine as the vessel lunged forward, pushing Elias even further into the seat.

“Increase the engines again,” Artemis said.

Pushing the throttle up all the way, Elias listened to the whine of the engines decrease in pitch until they were purring instead. He felt the shaking of the engines in the yoke, a strangely soothing feeling.

“Perfect,” Artemis breathed. “Now you just need to keep it like this for the next twenty minutes.”

Elias spun to face the tiger, the ship wobbling with his motions.

“Careful,” Artemis chided as the neko straightened them out again. “When we reach fifteen kilometres over the planet, you need to hit the blue button. That will engage the ship’s gravity so we aren’t floating around.”

Elias nodded, focusing on the picture of the ship so they didn’t spin again. He couldn’t say he ever wanted to do this again.

As soon as Elias turned on the ship’s gravity, Artemis took over at the controls, increasing speed.

“Did you get the system set Reinard?”

Reinard nodded.

“Awesome. How far is it?”

“Fifteen lightyears.”

Artemis let out a sigh.

“Fifteen hours. I hope we can get there in time to stop a civil war in the system…”

Reinard shivered.

“They wouldn’t restart the war, would they? The Dalmar were almost wiped out last time.”

“I really couldn’t say. But someone wants to break the treaty between the planets.”

The tiger started up the portal, the ship warming as it prepared to jump into the alternate universe.

“We’ll see if the Alliance can send someone out to poke around. If nothing else, we can come back in about a year.”

Reinard frowned.

“But… my clan…”

“Look, Reinard, I’m sorry, but nothing in this universe is guaranteed. If you want to go back home, I’ll take you back when this all blows over. But right now I’m a wanted cat, and I don’t know why. This is all just speculation anyway.”

A hand fell upon Reinard’s back, Elias trying to comfort the Faro. The fox shrugged the hand off.

“I’m going to my room,” he muttered, leaving the cockpit.