Chapter 1

 

Aridcrest stood outside the huge doors that marked the entryway to the Boarding Center. It was a bright sunny afternoon, reflecting brightly on the tall buildings of the city. He saw loads of other cats in the building, busily hustling around. 

“Why can’t I come with you? I want to go into space too!” His sister protested from beside him. She had insisted on coming with him, to say goodbye.

“You just got made an apprentice. You have to stay and help your clan.” he replied. He looked to the left side of the station, where the rocket that would carry them to the Skeld was positioned. The ship had been all over the news when it first launched, only a few moons ago. 

He remembered his clan back home, Floodclan. He had never known his father, and his sadistic mother refused to talk about him, saying “He wasn’t worth knowing anyway,”. Aridcrest had never had that great of a relationship with her. So when the ambassador of Cometclan Explorations came (He thought her name was Fallingleaf) and asked for anyone willing to be part of the Skelds crew, he’d leaped at the chance.

He couldn’t tell Flowerpaw that part.

“But Floodclan needs you too! You're the best warrior in the clan!” she pressed on.

“You're just saying that because I’m your brother,” he teased. She grinned with amusement.

“Okay, fiiiinnnnnnnnnneeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.” she moaned. She pressed her muzzle into his chest. “I'll miss you.”

Aridcrest smiled warmly as she dashed back to the train that got them here. “Make sure to work on that hunting crouch of your’s!” he yowled.

He heard her mreow of laughter behind him as he stepped into the Boarding Center.

The room was quite large, the walls painted a greyish-greenish color. He walked up to a large desk in the center of the room, where an orange tabby  she-cat sat with a bored expression.

The she-cat glanced up at him as he approached the desk and stood up on her hind legs, her front paws resting on the desk. “Name?” she asked, bored.

“Aridcrest.” Aridcrest responded. He took a moment to examine a small potted plant beside the desk. It had long stems with clusters of tiny round leaves at the ends and pink-striped leaves at its base.

“Mmhm, one moment please.” she replied. She directed her attention to a computer, her paws clicking against the keys.

Aridcrest spotted a packet of papers on the edge of the desk and, out of curiosity, picked them up,  fumbling slightly with his paws, and looked at the first page.

 

Subject: ORANGEMASK

Color: ORANGE

ID: 25727496CM

ANALYSIS: UNIQUE MUTATION OF CELLS. MAY ACT OUT IN CERTAIN SITUATIONS. KEEP AN EYE ON THIS ONE.

 

Aridcrest furrowed his brow. What was the last part about?

“KEEP YOUR PAWS OFF THAT!” the orange tabby yowled, yanking the pamphlet out of his paws before he had a chance to think. Her face was contorted in rage.

“I-I’m sorry, m’am. I didn’t realize.” he apologized, shuffling back. Was he going to get in trouble?

The she-cat seemed surprised, before changing to a friendlier look. “Heh. You're kinder than the others.”

“Am I?” Aridcrest asked, relieved they weren’t banning him or something for looking at classified information.

“You’d be surprised. Anyway, here’s your ID and tablet.” she said, handing him a small card and a lime colored screen thingy. It looked like a computer, but without the keyboard, with a string thingy attached to it. He fumbled with the tablet, almost dropping it.

The she-cat meowed with amusement. “Here, let me help you.” she padded around the desk and helped him clip the string around his waist, fastening the tablet to his body. A cool invention, he thought.

“There.” she finished, stepping back to admire her work. “I’m Beetleleap, by the way.”

Aridcrest smiled. “Nice to meet you.”

“You too.” Beetleleap replied. She pointed to a door behind her. “Crewmates head in there.”

“Good luck on the ship!” she exclaimed behind Aridcrest as he padded onward, toward the room.

A small white cat stood beside the door, jumping up when Aridcrest approached them. “Hi!”

“Hey there!” Aridcrest greeted. Looking closer, he could see ravaged looking burn scars on the cat's left side, with the fur missing  in some places, and one of his paws was missing. He wondered what had happened.

The tom smiled with pride. “I’m Carppaw! ID, please?”

Aridcrest handed the tiny apprentice the card he had gotten earlier. It had a picture of him he had taken when he first applied for the job, smiling brightly at the camera, his name, the color of his tablet, and a string of numbers with the letters CM at the end.

“Thank you!” Carppaw said gratefully. He examined the card closely, then returned it to Aridcrest. “Everything checks out!  The rest of your crewmates are down the hall.”

“Thanks.” Aridcrest replied. He padded around the tom and down the hall. He stopped to look at a photo hanging on the wall. It showed the Skeld after it had been built, with the CEO of Cometclan Explorations, the world-famous Coppergaze, sitting proudly in front of it.

He heard that Coppergaze had retired, just after the Skelds launch. According to the officials, hed refused to give any explanation to his actions, simply fading into the void. Nobody has heard of him since; Some said that he disappeared into the stars along with his life's work.

Why, I wonder?

Aridcrest glanced down the hall, where he could see other cats mingling. His crewmates. He smiled and continued walking.

He couldn’t wait to get this mission underway.