[Placeholder] (Complete) NaNoWriMo 2016

Rage in a High Tech Cage

Simon looked up from his tablet as the Writer attempted to sneak in from the story mists.

"Right, so... didn't you say weekends were when you got a lot of word count?" He asked, putting away his research of Science Fiction TV Tropes. "I haven't seen you all day."

"I was working!" The Writer objected. "Just... not on this." She sat down at the desk and gave the pile of story notes a frustrated glare. "And now that I have time, I'm a little burnt out."

"Excuses." Simon snapped and shrugged off the Writer's glare. "Look, either you want to win this thing or you don't. I've seen what you can do in a five minute sprint before. If you have fifteen minutes you have the time to make a daily word count."

"I have to have some idea what I'm going to write!" The Writer objected.

"Swap POV then," Cat said as he wandered into the proto-living room. "If you don't know what to do with Simon give the rest of us a shot."

"Hmm," the Writer looked down at the story. "Couldn't hurt I suppose."

"Then we're off." Simon set the word sprint timer.

~*~*~*~*~

There was something wrong. Waiting-by-the-water prowled the corridors of the ship trying to pin down what his sense were telling him. His fur was fading from its calm black to an enraged white, dancing in static patterns across his body. Finally he realized that the door to the sixth crew quarters had vanished. He glared at the blank expanse of wall for a few minutes before slashing at the metal. The gouges healed a few seconds after he left them, but the screeching sound satisfied his frustration.

"There's no need for that." The voice of the computer still lacked the smells and body postures that rounded out the language, but the cat-like alien had learned to understand its pitiful attempts at communication.

"Who is it? What is it?" He snarled, tensing to strike again, night-black claws vivid against his pure white hand-paws. It was pointless, but it was all he could do. The computer had made it quite clear over the years that nothing he could do would cause permanent damage.

"It's harmless."

Waiting-by-the-water swung again, landing punches on the wall instead of claws, rejoicing in the fact that the occupant of the room had to be hearing the drum-like thuds. "The last one was harmless and you saw what it did!"

"And you killed it." The computer snapped. "This one has no claws, no fangs, no poisons, no protective hide or scales. It is harmless and you will leave it alone."

"Or you will hide it from me for all its life?" The cat sniffed, ears twitching as he waited for a response from the room. "Can it outlive me? Can it survive alone and trapped knowing that I wait outside its door?" He roared, a deep bellowing echo of pent up rage and frustration. "Let it out! Let me see what demons you have brought me this time!"

~*~*~*~*~

There was something on the other side of the wall.

Something that sounded angry and large.

Simon listened to the muted roar echo from behind the wall and looked down at the tablet that he had been given. It had minimal information about the other crew member, most of which boiled down to 'don't offend it.' The alien looked something like a large panther with black and white fur that rippled like static in the short video clip.

"It can't get through the wall." The ceiling said. The unexpected noise made Simon start a little, but he quickly calmed.

"Did you have broadcasts from their world like you did from Earth?" Simon asked, frustrated with the lack of information.