He stormed into the airlock compression chamber and waved the pair in with him, “Let’s go.”
Jelly took the kitten from Tripp as they made their way into the airlock.
He double-took and looked at the door. A pang of déjà vu throttled through his body, “There’s something very familiar about all this.”
Jaycee grunted, “You don’t say.”
“Guys, wait for me,” Alex reached the door and immediately spotted Jelly carrying her kitten. “My God, what happened?”
“She gave birth,” Tripp said. “You know how to operate Charlie when we get in, right?”
“Yes,” Alex hopped into the airlock and pressed his fingers around his mask, “Where are your outer-suits?”
“We don’t have time.”
Jelly ran the side of her face against her kitten, “Hey, honey. Don’t be scared.”
“What about that thing?” Alex pointed to the kitten, only for Jelly to take offense.
“She’s not a thing.”
SCHWUMP.
The inner-door slammed down, instigating the start of the decompressions process. A blast of white gas filled the chamber.
“Right,” Jaycee grabbed the lever next to the outer-door, “Let’s get out of here and go home.”
“Wait, let me go first,” Alex pushed his way to the front, “Jaycee, when we get there, Manny might not open the door for you. She will for me, though.”
“Okay,” Jaycee turned over his shoulder, “Everyone ready?”
Tripp nodded, “Jelly, cover the kitten’s mouth.”
“Okay,” she exhaled and stood poised to blast through the door.
“ETA sixty seconds, here we go,” Jaycee yanked the lever down.
SWISH!
The door slid up, allowing them onto the bridge. They had expected it to be a silent journey. The white bridge seemed whiter than usual.
GRRROOOOOAAARRRRRR!
Jaycee gripped the shuddering railings and pulled himself forward, “What the hell?”
He squinted at the blinding light coming from Saturn, above. The fiery Enceladus sunk into it, throwing the planet’s surface out like an exploded balloon sticking to the stars.
He held his hand over his eyes and ignored it, pulling himself forward.
Alex followed, clocking some of the celestial event as he moved forward, “Jesus Christ. Look at that.”
His feet drifted across the bridge floor. Saturn’s rings began to gyrate as if wading through a magnificent lump of treacle. The stars pushed aside as the planet’s body pounded away like an aggressive boom box.
“What the hell is happening up there?” Alex muttered, wide-eyed at the spectacular light show. He held out his hand for Tripp, “Come on.”
Tripp covered his eyes with his left palm. He grabbed Alex’s hand with his right.
“Come on, let’s go. Quick.”
Jelly cradled her daughter in her elbow and protected her with her claws. She used her free hand for balance as she traversed the bridge.
GWAAAARRRR… WVHOOSH…
A shower of light bleached out their surroundings. Saturn seemed to be growing. Jaycee and Alex saw a giant black hole form like a crazy, liquid cartwheel over its surface.
“Go, go, go—” Alex pushed Jaycee along the bridge and gripped the rails, propelling himself after him, “Tripp, come on.”
Alex’s voice may have fallen on deaf ears in the vacuum of space, but his haste in ushering Jelly and her newborn couldn’t be ignored.
“Jelly, please.”
She opened her eyes and clutched her baby tighter than ever, “I’m coming.”
SWISH!
Oxade ran into the airlock with his K-SPARK and thumped the outer door, “Look at them. They think they can abscond on our ship?”
Nutrene held her arm as she stepped inside the chamber with her Rez-9.
Poz and Neg rolled in with them, “Commencing decompression. Standby.”
SPRIISHHH!
Jelly turned to face him with her daughter’s scruff in her mouth. The kitten hung in against of her chin and thrashed its spindly legs around.
“Hey,” Oxade thumped the outer airlock door in an attempt to catch Jelly’s attention, “Get back here and die like a good little pussy.”
The decompression stopped as soon as the outer airlock hatch flung open. Oxade kicked himself away from the frame of the door and arrowed behind Jelly.
Alex caught his action just in time and pointed behind her, “Jelly. Behind you.”
“What?”
FWUMP!
Oxade bolted across the bridge and socked Jelly in the face. Her jaw opened, releasing her newborn into space, and away from the bridge.
“There’s a good girl,” Oxade shouted under his mask, “Let daddy pass.”
“Jeez,” Alex placed the sole of his boot on the railing. He pushed himself after the flying kitten as it headed away from the bridge. He just about caught her in his hands.
Jelly massaged her jaw, taken aback by the attack. She flung her claws out at Oxade. Her eyes felt fit to burst in the airless void.
Tripp and Jaycee reached Opera Charlie’s outer airlock door. They hadn’t seen the commotion – their attention was on Charlie’s outer airlock hatch.
“Open up,” Tripp said with his last breath, “Now.”
A miracle.
Opera Charlie’s outer hatch opened up and allowed him and Jaycee inside. They pulled themselves in and immediately felt the pressure inside, as if their bodies were about to burst.
“Get in,” Tripp pushed himself against the chamber and turned to Alex. A few blobs of pink liquid streaked across the air from Tripp’s tear ducts. He tried to grab a few of them, but missed.
Jaycee moved forward and hit the lever on the wall.
SCHWUNT-SWISSSH!
The outer hatch closed, forcing the chamber to decompress.
Tripp staggered to his knees and took a lungful of oxygen, “Gaaaah.”
Jaycee did the same, coughing the infinite void of space from his lungs, “Ugh, I thought my chest was going to explode.”
“Jelly,” Tripp pushed himself to the window. Alex blocked the view as he carried the kitten in his arms, “They’re going to die.”
Alex waved his hands, forcing them to open the door. The events on the bridge – Alex barreled toward them, and Jelly preparing to attack Oxade – seemed to play-out in ultra-slow motion.
WHUMP-WHUMP-WHUMP.
Alex thumped the door, “Let us in.”
Jaycee stormed over to the inner-door and grabbed the lever.
The door slid up, “Tripp, get in.”
“Yeah,” he turned around and launched himself into Opera Charlie proper, “Is there anyone else on board?”
“How should I know?” Jaycee stepped after him and yanked the lever down on the inner door wall, “You got your firearm on you?”
Tripp unhooked the Rez-9 from his belt and armed it, “Oh, yeah. We made it, Jaycee.”
“We haven’t made it, yet. We don’t know who – or what – is on board Charlie.”
“I’ll head for the control deck. Try to get us out of here.”
“Good idea. I’ll make sure Charlie team doesn’t get in,” Jaycee turned watched Alex thumping the wall yet again, presenting the kitten at the window, “Go, go, go…”
“Okay,” Tripp looked around and ran off in the direction he thought would take him to the control deck.
Jaycee hit the second lever, opening the outer airlock door.
Alex pushed the newborn kitten into the airlock and followed her in, giving Jaycee the ‘thumbs up’ through the window.