The Mylar Cat: Star Trek Voyager (Complete)

Star Trek Voyager: The Mylar Cat (Chapter 3)

Janeway remained looking both deeply shocked and very confused.
"Aki?" She gasped in disbelief.
The cat-eared boy nodded.
"But... but you were a little cat, now you're clearly a human boy. How is this even possible? Are you some kind of shape-shifter?"

The cat-boy continued to smile nervously, "I am a Neko. I thought you knew."

Janeway calmed down again and perched softly on the side of the bed. "Neko? I don't know what that is, or what it means," she replied calmly. She looked at Tuvok to see if he knew.
"Perhaps he means, Neko, is his species"

They both looked at Aki and he nodded nervously.

"Please, tell me," said Janeway, now using her gentle, curiosity voice, "what does it mean to be Neko?

Aki continued peering out nervously from under the blanket as he explained. "I am human like you, but also I am cat. I can take both forms, but I can only take this human form when I feel completely safe and in no danger."

Janeway listened, nodding compassionately.

"I'm sorry if I scared you by changing my form," he apologised, "it's only because I feel so safe and loved here. I just assumed you knew my species did that."

Janeway smiled shaking her head, "We've never encountered your species before, we didn't know. You certainly gave us quite the surprise," She smiled, "but there's no need to apologise, Aki, you didn't scare me, I just didn't know what was happening. We are explorers and our greatest drive is to seek out other life forms, just like you, so we can become friends and learn from each other. I'm sorry about the security officers, I can see they have frightened you, I'm so sorry, Aki."

Aki's expression grew worried again. "Are you going to send me back to Mylar, now you know I am Neko?"
"Do you want to go back?"
"No, definitely no! Please do not make me go back!" he pleaded almost in a panic.

The captain thought carefully about her next words, "you seem very certain about that, but I'm worried I may have inadvertently taken you away from loved ones, family and friends."

The cat-boy shook his head negatively, "they are all gone, there is no one left," he replied sorrowfully, his shoulders drooping, "all of my clan are gone, killed in the big culls three years ago. As far as I know, I am the only one left. I have been living alone ever since then."

Aki's voice grew muted and sadder. His big blue eyes started welling up, sparkling in the dim light of the room, "you are the first contact I have had since then, and the first humans I have ever met who did not try to kill me, or shout at me and chase me away. On Mylar, you see, Neko are not tolerated. All the people living there have bad reactions to our fur. Because of this, my kind have always been hunted and killed."

Janeway could feel herself well-up slightly as the young cat-boy told his tragic story.
She looked compassionately into his big blue tearing-up eyes, feeling nothing but love for this pure and innocent creature, "How could they have been so cruel," she silently thought.

"Did they know you existed in human form as well?" Kathryn asked in a whisper, the sadness clear in her voice.
Aki nodded, "Yes, but even the fur from just our ears and tails would be enough to cause them to react. I was told stories about how the Mylar humans tried to use Neko as slaves. They would cut off our ears and tails to get rid of our fur, but the constant fear caused most Neko to transform back into cat form. Those who managed to retain their human form were treated very badly. Many died from the harsh treatment."

Until that moment, Kathryn had believed the Mylarians to be an agreeable and compassionate people, she had no idea they were capable of such immense cruelty.
She thought back to her time with them, admitting to herself she was a little disturbed on first learning about the cat population culls, but bearing in mind the apparent health risks they posed to the population, she could understand why the Mylarians had resorted to culls, it was not dissimilar to how humans treated rats back on Earth.
But the sheer barbarity Aki had just described, the slavery and the mutilations, in her eyes, that was simply was unforgivable.

Janeway's eyes welled-up more as she continued listening to Aki's tragic story. Unable to help herself, she reached out and cupped her right hand tenderly on the side of Aki's face in a compassionate comforting gesture.
She looked appalled, "I'm so sorry, Aki," she gasped in a whisper, "I can't begin to imagine what that must have been like, and these past few years, without your family, it must've been so lonely for you."

Aki nodded, immensely grateful for her heartfelt gesture of kindness. He seemed to take great comfort from her touch and pressed his face more firmly into her hand, placing his hand on top of hers, soaking up the love she was openly showing, encouraging her to continue.

"I have not taken human form in a very long time," he sniffed in a whisper, "this is the first time I have felt safe enough to do so, for almost as long as I can remember. That is why I do not ever want to return there.  Please, do not make me go back! Please! For the first time ever, I feel like I am not in constant fear for my life. I am in a place where everyone seems to love and accept me, and I am free to love them back. I never knew what that truly felt like, until now. I really want to stay here with you and Tuvok and everyone, that is, if you will let me?"

The captain's mouth curved up into a compassionate smile, "you are welcome to stay here with us for as long as you want, Aki, in fact, nothing would make us happier than for you to become a part of our family."

On hearing her words, Tears began to fall freely from Aki's eyes, "Thank you! Thank you!" he sobbed in a gasped whisper, sniffing, his croaky voice unable to hide his immensely grateful emotions.

Janeway's hand moved up towards Aki's big silky cat ear. With great compassion, she started very tenderly caressing the exquisitely soft fur between her thumb and forefinger in a comforting, reassuring gesture.
Aki immediately closed his eyes, drawing great comfort from the deeply soothing act, pressing his hand onto hers to encourage her to continue as he sobbed.

"You're one of us now, Aki," Janeway spoke softly, "let Voyager be your new home."

A beaming tearful and toothy smile spread across the cat boy's face. He no longer had the words to express his gratitude or excitement, but he reached out his arms to her, clearly hoping for them to embrace.
Janeway had no hesitation in reciprocating, leaning forward and hugging him tightly.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He whispered again, desperately grateful for being allowed to stay.

They hugged tightly for a short while until Kathryn suddenly felt something brush up against her hand and then very gently half-wrap itself around the back of her neck.

"Uh! What's that?!" She gasped, suddenly pulling away.
A long slender length of curvy black fur, cream-coloured at the tip, stood upright beside them both, gently curling, swaying and flicking around at random. For a moment they both looked at each other, confused, until Janeway saw that it was sticking out from under the blanket near to Aki's lower back.

A grin suddenly spread over the captain's face, "Is that a tail?" She beamed, watching it continue curling and flicking around.
Aki nodded, suddenly looking a little embarrassed, "I am sorry, it has a bit of a mind of its own."
She reached up her hand as if to make first contact with it and the upper part of the tail came to rest gently across her palm. She smiled as she felt the warm silky fur brush delicately against her fingers.
"I am sorry, is it alright? Is it a problem?" asked the cat boy nervously, unsure if there was an issue.
Janeway's smile intensified until she was gently chuckling, "it's adorable! I love it."

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