Are We On Mars?

Chapter One

A reporter is in the center of a TV screen, which has the @CatsofScience profile picture in the corner.

"Hello, cats, and thank you for joining us here on Cats of Science! Today, the brave crew of the Catmint 9 ship are going to embark on their mission! Here is the crew, if you've missed them!" she mewed.

A picture of Lionshine appears on the screen, looking confident and brave.

"This is Lionshine, the brave and valiant captain and head pilot of the crew!" narrated the reporter.

A brown cat appears on the screen, looking slightly confused.

"And this is Alderwood, the..." The reporter trailed off. "Psst, what's his job?" she hissed to the camera-cat.

"He's Lionshine's brother," came the reply.

"Right, Lionshine's brother! Next, we have Pebblepounce, the ship's translator!"

A picture of Pebblepounce flashes on the screen. He is smiling wildly, but the cats in the background look completely confused.

"And as the engineer, we have Greenface!"

Greenface's picture flashes on the screen, his jaws open in a miserable wail.

"That's all-- wait."

A picture of Shadepelt suddenly appears. She is staring angrily at the camera, teeth bared.

"And we have Shadepelt, who-- wait. Sorry for the error, Clans! Shadepelt isn't on the crew." There was a pause. "And the countdown is initiating!"

60...59...58...57.... The numbers flash on the top corner of the screen. Cats are jumping up and down excitedly.

"And it looks like Lionshine is waving good-bye to the crowd! And-- what was that?"

A dark shape suddenly seems to dart into the ship. The camera zooms in on it in replay.

The reporter laughed nervously. "Don't worry, cats. It appears to be a glitch."

"5...4...3...2...1..." the cats chanted. "Takeoff!" The cats cheered as the crew of Catmint 9 are launched into outer space.

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"Check systems," mewed Lionshine into the voice control box.

"Checking systems..." replied the computer.

After a moment, a three dimensional model of the Catmint 9 is projected onto the windshield.

"It looks good," muttered Lionshine, ruffling her golden fur. "But there's nothing for me to do..."

Alderwood charges into the compartment, knocking Lionshine out of her chair. Lionshine falls on the ground with an oomph.

"Sorry," mewed Alderwood. He took a deep breath before mewing, "Greenface is feeling sick!"

Lionshine jumped up. "We must help him!"

"We?" asked Alderwood.

Lionshine shrugged. "Well, I must help him." She turned to the voice control box. "Computer, locate Greenface and tell him to come up here."

"Initiating..." the computer replied. "Complete."

Greenface stumbles into the area, looking queasy. "What is it?" he asked miserably.

Lionshine opens her mouth to respond, but at that moment, Pebblepounce comes in, looking at Greenface quizzically.

"Vad är det för fel med Greenface?"

All the cats look at Pebblepounce, confused.

"Whoops!" he mewed. "I meant 'what's wrong with Greenface?'"

Greenface sighed. "It's the stupid gravity..."

"Oh," mewed Lionshine. "So we can't help you?"

Greenface rolled his eyes. "No," He suddenly paused, his face turning green. "Got to go." He hurtled downstairs towards the bathroom.

Pebblepounce ran him. "Nu face- I mean don't throw up!"

Lionshine flicked her tail. "Well, I suppose there's nothing we can do to help him." She plopped back down in her chair. "I'm bored. There's nothing for me to do."

"Well, I'm hungry," said Alderwood, turning towards the exit and lashing his tail, accidentally knocking over a cup. "Sorry!"

Lionshine rolled her eyes. "It's fine." She sighed, looking at the ceiling, then start grooming her gorgeous fur. "This is going to be a long trip," she muttered.

Brought to you by Ember🎶