Squeak flicked his tail in irritation and chittered at the recalcitrant computer. “Did you change our course again?”
“After the last time you yelled at me?” Black and white fur stretched from a blob to form slowly extending spotted paws. A yawn, and ivory fangs flashed with a curled pink tongue half-hidden behind. “Wouldn’t have dared. I programmed the course based on what you asked.”
“Linky, we’re headed straight for that asteroid.” He curled his fluffy tail around the chair back for balance and pressed his paws against the computer screen with rapid motions, adjusting their course.
She yawned again, her voice still low with sleep. “You wanted to visit the asteroid. You told me to program the computer for the asteroid.”
“You programmed it to go through the asteroid,” Squeak snapped at the cat. He flattened his ears backward. Why couldn’t his partner have been a squirrel, like usual? She slept all the time and took up four times the room. He could have had a whole crew. But Linky came cheap, because she did things her way, and he was a sucker for a bargain.
The cat stretched, her head low and her tail spiking straight upward. “Fastest way to get those core samples you wanted. Then we swing back around the other side and orbit while we analyze the results.”
“Though, Linky. You want to go through the asteroid. I wanted to land on it. On its surface.”
She blinked pale green eyes at him. “The initial scan shows ice. I programmed us to slow down to drilling speed. Safer than a spacewalk. You change our speed, you change our trajectory.”
“We’re almost there.” Squeak cut her off and blew out his cheeks. Why hadn’t he gotten married like his mother wanted? He could raise a whole brood of space squirrels. “Suit up.”
She twitched her whiskers and turned away. “Aye aye, cap’n. If that’s what you want.”
They both knew they had several hours before they’d reach the asteroid, especially after the course change. Squeak was just getting rid of her, and they both knew it.
He’d just turned back to the computer when the spaceship jolted. Then jolted again. “Hailstorm?”
“Asteroid field,” Linky said. She flowed toward the controls and took over, steering through the pebbles. “Just little ones. I had us programmed to go around it.”
Squirrels didn’t blush like those weird talking apes he’d found a few planets back, but Squeak wanted to all of a sudden. The Nutter Butter didn’t deserve the kind of reckless disregard and endangerment he’d just caused. He puffed out his cheeks again and took a deep breath, then tilted his chin up. “I’m – I’m sorry.”
She lifted a paw in the feline equivalent of a shrug. “You should get some sleep. You spent all night checking our inventory.”
He hung his head, ears drooping. “Double checking. I knew you did it yesterday afternoon.”
“I’m aware of that.” Linky’s tone was dry. “You trust me at all?”
“Getting there.” He hesitated. “I’m going to crash out. Get some rest. You should, too.”
She stretched again, arching her back, and padded her way over to the sleeping room. Linky curled up but kept her eyes open, watching him with those enormous eyes. “Won’t argue.”
He hesitated again, and a mental ghost whispered into his brain. Trust your crew, or stay out of space. Squeak gave a half-smile at the memory. Uncle Fletch had been just as ornery as Linky. Why, he’d even flown one of the asteroid belt races just to annoy his mother.
He curled up next to Linky, and for the first time used her tail as a pillow. Like crew should. For the first time, he realized she probably hadn’t been sleeping well either. Maybe that was why she seemed tired so often.
“Long day,” he said with a sigh. He stared at the ceiling, the lights auto-dimmed now that movement had stopped. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her eyes close. Her body relaxed, with a faint rumble he felt vibrate through her longer fur into his shorter coat.
“Yes,” Linky said. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ve got a big day ahead.”
***
Becky Jones and I traded prompts this week. A cat and a squirrel curling up together (and talking) was given life by a conversation about humanity’s future regrets in taking cats into space.
In return, she used “I have a lot of work travel coming up and wanted shells in place” for inspiration.
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