Are We On Mars?

Chapter Twenty

As the drama unfolds outside the ship, Lionshine has noticed the lack of connection.

"What do I do?" she muttered quietly, pacing back and forth in front of the ship's dashboard. "I can't tell them what to do... or get them to come back... or anything!" Her voice hiked on a high note, lit with fear.

Pebblepounce looked up from his game of Sorry! "Just put on a suit, 'cause the radios there are connected on a system separate from the ship-to-suit one," he meowed as if it was obvious. The gray tom drew a card and tossed it on the table. "SORRY, PEBBLEPOUNCE!" he shouted triumphantly, moving one of the green pieces and slamming it onto a square.

Lionshine barely glanced at him. "Great idea. Thanks." 

As Lionshine starts changing into her suit, Alderwood stumbles into the room, his eyes blearily lit with a catmint high.

"Can I come too?" he squeaked brightly, bouncing past Lionshine and diving into the closet. A bang sounded from within the enclosed space, and his littermate quickly moved out of the way as Alderwood rolled out of the closet.

From inside, a robot's voice sounded: "Foreign body detected. Foreign body detected." 

Alderwood stuck out his tongue at the closet, claws unsheathing and scraping against the metal floor. "Wanna fight, robot closet lady?" he growled. "You racist! I'm only from ThunderClan - that's not too foreign from your stupid ShadowClan accent, huh?"

Pebblepounce laughed loudly from his corner of the room. "Sorry, Pebblepounce!" he shouted again.

Alderwood started sprinting toward the closet with his head tucked down.

And Lionshine stared at all of this through the orange glass of her helmet before turning toward the airlock. "I'm leaving," she called loudly, her mew muffled by the glass.

Pebblepounce looked up from his game again. "To do what?"

"To get a better signal. I can hardly hear anything but static from the radio," Lionshine explained briefly.

Pebblepounce nodded slightly, a quizzical expression lighting his green eyes. "Huh. I would think you would be going to save Greenface and Shadepelt since they're flying out into space and screaming to each other."

Lionshine's head jolts toward the screen of the ship's dashboard, which is currently broadcasting Shadepelt's muzzle stretched into a scream as she tumbles away from the ship.

The golden-furred she-cat let out a yelp. "Quick! Suit up! We have to go save them."

After everyone had gotten into suits, Lionshine rushes into the airlock, her heart pounding in her ears. 

"Alright!" she shouted into the microphone, making the toms wince from the burst of static. "Are you kids ready to save them? Oh, and stabilize the pressure, please." 

Pebblepounce started longing at the locked set of doors that led back into the cabin. "Pressure stabilizing," the computer said brightly as fans turned on and the sound of air hissing filled  the small room. 

Alderwood's expression dropped. "It's back!" he hissed. "The closet robot lady."

Lionshine rolled her eyes as the computer announced its competition. "Let's just go," she meowed. "We're tethered together. Over." As the gravity dissipated, the captain gripped the edge of the doorway, slowly inching her way outwards. She clipped a tether's hook into a small metal loop.

Meanwhile, only a few tree-lengths away..."Help us!" Shadepelt screamed, violently twirling up and down. "Help!" Greenface elbowed her. "Over."

Lionshine rolled her eyes as she watched them. "You're hardly moving!" she spoke in the microphone. "Over."

"Well I—I—I can't stop spinning!" protested Shadepelt with a hiss. "We can't! Over."

Lionshine started moving out toward them, her paws gripping the edge of the ship's wings. "I'm coming," she meowed, sounding exasperated. "I'm coming to save you."

"Over."

Written by Rio. ⛈