“Echo!” Damn I was gd to see that freaky cute bat in one piece. I still felt bad about what I said to him, but whatever, he was alive, and here, and ready to kick ass. I couldn’t contain my joy anymore. I hopped up and let out a little shriek. “Get over here!” I ran up to him and wrapped my arms around him with glee. He couldn’t move as I squeezed tight around his arms, trapping him in my grasp.

  The whole warehouse full of Meowtw Stars stopped to look at what was happening. My eyes darted around to all their faces, and my own face turned bright red. I was a little embarrassed, but my friend was back, alive and well.

  “You’re crushing me…ugh.” He let out a little gasp as I gave him one st squeeze. I let out a sigh of relief as I stepped back and gave him the once over. Everything was where it needed to be, at least everything I could see. I wasn’t a veterinarian.

  I punched him in the arm, “You scared the shit out of me when you disappeared from the cryptovault. Then the Gellys started to invade, and you were nowhere to be found. What the hell happened?”

  Mama moved up to my side and tilted her head down awaiting a response from the Anthro-Bat as well. Her hands moved up to her hips in her signature move of disappointment. Her eyebrow tilted upward, “Well?”

  Echo chuckled nervously and rubbed his arm awkwardly, “I was a bit pissed at Vixie, so I decided to take a walk when I heard the sirens coming towards the cryptovault. I figured I should get the captain, in case you two got caught up in the w.” He scratched the back of his head as he looked at the floor, “Dealing with the po-po isn’t my forte. Especially in corrupt colonies.” He paused for a second, “Sorry.”

  “Well, I’m just gd you’re okay.” I pat him on the shoulder, “Have you met Azura? She’s in charge here.” I pointed over the space cat with my white gauntleted hand.

  “Ain’t no way I met dis here bat boy.” Azura stepped up and examined the Bat. “How you get in heer?” Her golden eyes burned into Echo as she awaited response.

  “Your rooftop access leaves much to be desired. Easy in, without any of you noticing, you’re just lucky I’m not a rival gang or some Gelly Inquisitors. You’d all be dead before you knew what happened.” Echo grinned at Azura as she pursed her lips and thought to herself for a second.

  “You and me need a heart te heart.” She nodded at him, “But enough standin’ ‘round heer, let’s get down ta business. Where do de Captains be at, yeah?”

  “Yeah about that…” Echo got a bit nervous in his speech, “When I came back to find Uwu, I tailed him and some greyish Cat to a pce called, The Scratching Post? Looked a little seedy.”

  “Oh, no, no, no.” Azura pressed her paw up against her forehead. “This ain’t no good.”

  My mind raced a little in a sea of emotions. First, Echo came back, and now Azura was throwing a fit over where the captains had gone. She seemed like a no-nonsense Cat and if she was wrought over a pce like the Scratching Post, it must be a no-good pce. I swear to God if Uwu was out there fondling some Cat pussy, I’d wring his balls out to dry. Or smash them in an airlock door. Or just bst them into atoms. I knew Uwu wouldn’t cheat on me like I wouldn’t on him, but the thoughts still welcomed themselves into my brain. Now, I needed to find that Fox as fast as I could.

  “What’s up with the Scratching Post?” I tried to sound nonchant about the question, but I was eager to get my ass to the bar ASAP. I shouldn’t have let the thoughts cloud my brain in a time like this, but I’m just a human.

  “I’m sure I don’ hav’ ta tell ya ‘bout how men can be barbarians.” Azura grabbed a pistol from a nearby table and holstered it, “The Scratching Post ain’t no pce for good men. Dey serve strong drinks, and stronger women. You get de picture.” She pulled a jacket up around herself, sliding her robotic arm in first. “Jus’ don’ be surprised when ya captain be dick deep in some anthro’s p.”

  “Ugh,” Mama sighed, “The st thing we need when the Gellical Collective invades.” She began to reload her slug rifle, “We should be ready for when we head back out there. No telling what’s going to be waiting for us.”

  “You’re right.” I smashed my fists together, initiating the hum of my gauntlets. “Let’s find these captains.”

  “We’ll take ma ride, since yours is a bit whack.” Azura pulled up her robotic arm and a small panel opened on the side, she typed away on the screen when a loud beep, followed by the high-pitched hum of a pulse-vehicle.

  The air around us started to whip around in a fury. People around the warehouse grabbed anything that wasn’t bolted down and took cover behind some crates to try and find safety as a rge red ship began flying towards us. We covered our faces as the transport ship extended its nding gears and touched down. There was a rge yellow star painted on the side, with a ‘To the Stars’ written beneath it.

  “This mah ride, mah baby.” Azura stepped up to the ship and the side door opened upwards, revealing the inside to us all. “Nabbed it off a corpo on Mars, de bastard didn’t see it coming.” Azura began to board the ship, “Noodle, keep an eye out here. Everyone else, keep prepping for the revolution. Dis pnet will be ours! To de stars!”

  The shout resonated throughout all the Meowtw Stars in the warehouse. The Anthros and human allies joked with each other and ughed with glee. They were ready to take their fate into their own hands, but I’ve seen a few revolutions myself, either on the holo and one in person. None of them ended well. I just hoped the Meowtw Stars had the firepower and passion to pull through with what they were going to do. It would be bloody and long with a lot of heartache. That was the reality of war, and the Corpos wouldn’t lose the pnet so lightly. I was rooting for the Meowtws. May luck be with them.

  Mama was able to squeeze into the transport without much trouble, Echo and I followed her in. the interior was quite comfortable, definitely a vish corpo civilian transport modded from some military model and pushed on the market, and I could see why. The seats felt like a cushion of plush cotton that formed to your ass, instantly pampering you with cushion and fabric that made a millionaire blush. Echo and I took a seat across from the bench seat Mama pretty much occupied the entirety of. Our seats were singles that sat up against the cockpit.

  Azura poked her head out into the cabin, “Hold onta ya butts. We be flying low and fast through the streets to avoid the Gellys. We can take a few hits, but nothin’ mo. We be there in de blink of ‘n eye.”

  “Never been in something this stylish.” Echo’s raspy voice was easily heard over the roar of the engines. The ship must have had some noise dampeners put in for the civilian model to max out the comfort for whoever was rich enough to afford such a sweet ride.

  We slowly lifted upwards, and the nding gear whined as it set into the bottom of the ship. My excitement was unbearable. I shared the same sentiment with the Bat. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity. Something this ritzy hardly fell into someone’s p. Azura could have only killed someone for this ride, there was no way a corpo would let something this sweet slip from their greedy hands. I made a note to ask Azura about it ter when we had some time to grab a beer. It had to be an exceptional story.

  “And we off.” Azura’s voice chimed over the intercom. “Take some time to rex. I’ll let ya know if any Gellys cause us trouble. Sensors say we clear fo’ now.”

  I sat back and let my body sink into the chair, but I wasn’t able to rex. My mind raced about, thinking of what Uwu was getting into, who this Captain Yeti was, and what else we would get roped into with the Meowtw Stars. My eyes darted around the cabin. Both Mama and Echo were doing the same, guaranteed.

  The ship glid through the streets with the grace of a swan. The ride was smoother than Uwu’s belly rubbing against mine in fine cotton sheets. I was watching the building race by through our one-way window, a projection imposed by high tech cameras. I needed to ‘acquire’ one of these for myself.

  The Scratching Post was ahead of us, lit up by overzealous amounts of neon signs, one of which was a scandalous cat dancing on a pole. I kind of knew what to expect at the Scratching Post, but I was about to find out exactly what went on there.

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