On the Run

         “HOLEY CRAP! What is THAT!? ! Gotta get out of here! What happened?” Jase’s hamburger paused halfway to his mouth. He sat in front of a somewhat less-than-healthy looking lunch joint, staring off in the direction of the ground-shaking impact of mere moments before. The distressed shouts of random strangers were heard all around him, and running figures were seen off in the distance, heading his way.
         “Damn, not again…” Jase muttered under his breath. “Time to move. Computer, book me a ticket off-world.”
         “Where, Jase?”
         “Anywhere. I don’t care. Somewhere close.”
         “Yes, sir.”
         
         “Status!”
         “Sir, we have an orbital incursion of unknown origin!”
         “The readings are off the chart!”
         “What is it?”
         “I can’t identify it sir, but it’s big, very big! It has impacted three kilometers west of Kithguard. We’ll know more once the dust settles.”
         “How did it get through our sensor network?”
         “Unknown at this time, sir.”
         “Well, dammit, find out!”
         
         Chapter 1
         
         I’ll have to go into hiding again. Why does this keep happening to me? Why can’t I just be left alone? Jase, lost in his morose thoughts, made his way to the inter-planetary transit center.
         “Computer, when does the ship depart?”
         “13:15, standard time.”
         It’s only 10:23. That’s almost three hours away.
         “Was there nothing sooner?”
         “No, sir.”
         “Damn.”
         “Sir?”
         “Nothing.”
         “Yes, sir.”
         I’ll take a seat over here. Wait. Wait for it, I will.
         I thought I had ended this cycle once and for all – was all that sacrifice of no consequence? What can I do now? Wait, I must wait. 10:40. Time, no time… Or too much time? Which is it? I don’t know… Wait, those fellows over there, they look suspicious – what are they doing? Wait, they’re looking over here! Don’t panic! Just get up normally, walk away. Surely they can’t have found me this fast. Surely…
         Just walk away, like that, there we go. Get away from here, I must get away. Don’t glance over you’re shoulder – act natural. They are following! No!
         Stop panicking, stop!
         I don’t want them to catch me again, not again!
         You’re jumping to conclusions, stop!
         Run, running, they see me, chasing! Get away!
         Hide, I must hide… over here, a good spot, maybe they won’t see… They’re leaving me behind!
         Pounding footsteps and shouts moved past Jase’s hiding place, as the non-uniformed personnel moved along the side street.
         
         Jase had moved now to an even more remote alleyway, and sat, arms around knees, under a roof’s overhang in one of Bethune’s frequent rainstorms, lost in his thoughts. Needless to say, his thoughts were gray, bordering on dark gray, just as was his miserable expression. Jerking slightly, he turned his head to his left.
         Is that a cat over there? Man, those are rare. Never seen one before, except in the zoos. They originated on old Terra, I think? It looks damp. Why doesn’t it move? Its just sitting there, getting wet.
         Time passed. Jase looked at the cat, and the cat at Jase. Neither one moved nor made a sound.
         Is it staring at me? Why doesn’t it find some shelter? Jase squinted at the cat, wondering.
         Is it afraid of me? Maybe it’s hurt…
         “Here, kitty, kitty… Come here… what are you doing out in the rain?” The cat, if anything, looked sardonic. It got up and moved over, under the overhang. The “meow” produced by the cat subsequently, if possible, sounded sarcastic.
         Jase frowned. What is up with this thing? I swear, I’ve got the impression that this cat thinks I’m stupid.
         Jase grinned suddenly, and then laughed quietly.
         “That’s a good fellow.” The cat seemed almost to nod, and moved over the sit next to Jase, it’s back to the wall.
         “You female?” The cat looked at Jase sharply.
         “Ah… I guess not. Let’s see what your name is.” Jase reached for the cat’s neck, to check if it had a collar, but the cat jumped up suddenly, and ran off, into the rain.
         “Huh. What was that about?”
         
         Jase checked himself into a motel, using one of his several false identities, hoping that this one wasn’t yet compromised. He was about 17 years old (he didn’t know for sure) but that was never a problem. Out here in the colony worlds, many restrictions were loose, including age restrictions (an understatement). He’d encountered few problems based on his youth – merchants were as ready to accept his money as they were anyone else’s.
         He showered and prepared to sleep. He had never had many belongings – he couldn’t while traveling as frequently as he did, and changed into his other set of clothes. It was another jumpsuit. He slept.
         
         What, what is that scratching sound? Go away! Let me sleep! Stop, stop it. Leave me alone!
         Jase started awake, the image of the cat from earlier still firm in his mind. It was dark and raining again. He quietly slipped out of bed and stood silently, his back to the wall near the door. He heard nothing. He peered out of the window, careful not to move the curtain. Several new, matching ground vehicles were parked out front of the lobby, and he saw a pair of well-dressed fellows in matching black talking to the man behind the counter through the large windows.
         Damn. They must have this identity cracked. I’ve got to move.
         
         Jase plodded along yet another back alley, the rain dripping off of his slickertic, the staple of most people’s clothing who lived in this damp place.
         I’ve got to get off of this planet, but I can’t do it from here. I’ll head south, towards Fweller. They have a starport. But first I’ve got to find some transport. Ah, yes, that looks pretty good.
         Jase extracted from an inner pocket a small, multi-pronged computerized lock pick. He inserted one of the prongs into a mudder (force-cushioned land vehicle). After a few experimental twists, he removed it and inserted a different prong. The lock released, and the vehicle’s indoor lights came on. Jase made a quick scan for alarms, but his computer gave the all-clear. He un-slung his backpack and tossed it into the back seat. Was it heavier than normal?
         He dropped into the seat and the door slid into place and locked. He initiated the engines and manually drove it out of town, heading south.
         After a few hours of night driving through one of the many towering forests of this world, Jase parked and shut down the mudder. He crawled into the back seat and laid down in an attempt at a few hours sleep.
         
         Jase awoke as the morning light filtered through the dense overhead leaves. On this planet, the day/night cycles are quite longer than on old terra, but the locals are adapted well to it. Each cycle took about 33 hours to complete, making the days and nights about sixteen hours long. Jase hadn’t yet acclimated to it, and often woke up early in the morning. Not today, though.
         Okay, let’s get back on the trail. I think I’ll make it to Fweller by about 16:30 local time. Jase stretched and moved back into the driver’s seat, assigned more from custom than any physical necessity. He set out southwards, and set himself up for a long, tedious drive.
         Tall trees here. Very pretty. The leaves way up high block almost all the light; that must be why there is so little in the way of plant life down here. Jase swung his head back and fourth, admiring the scenery. WHOA! Jase jerked as he saw in the front passenger’s seat a cat. The same cat from before. Jase braked quickly.
         Kitty looked as comfortable as if he belonged in that seat. He took no notice of Jase’s maneuvers.
         “How the hell ddid you get in here!?” Kitty stretched and started licking his front left paw. “ ‘Bout gave me a heart attack…” Jase grumbled. Under his breath, “must have been attracted to the car’s warmpth… jumped in out of the rain… now what am I going to do with it?” Jase eyed the cat.
         I’ll just leave it alone, it’s not bothering anything. Humph.
         Jase got the mudder started again and headed out into the gloom under the trees, correcting his course to avoid large roots and the trunks. After a few more minutes of driving, Jase looked over at the cat again.
         “Computer, tell me about cats, that small mammal species from old terra.”
         “Yes, sir. The common old terran cats are classified as Felis domesticus, or the house cat. They are not native to this planet. On terra, house cats lived mostly as domesticated animals; as pets for humans. They were rarely found in the wild. Because of their domestication, they lacked the survival training of wild cats and other wild animals. Often, they were traded back and forth between humans, bred by humans, and sold by humans to other humans, and therefore their natural habitat consisted mostly of various types of cages and pens constructed by humans to contain them. As the humans spread out across space, the love for domesticated animals decreased as the humans met alien races and formed new inter-species alliances. During that same time of expansion, cats were more often found in the cargo holds of ships, kept there to keep the vermin populations down. The species soon adapted to the spacegoing life. Most often as pets, their diets consisted of pet food, a contrived human concoction that attempted to mimic the cat’s natural diet. Later, they ate mostly ship-infesting vermin and scraps left for them by crewmen. The vermin they ate included rats, mice, bugs such as roaches and beetles, and then later many types alien vermin…”
         “Thank you computer, that’s enough.”
         “Yes, sir.”
         “Well, my friend, what am I to call you if you are going to follow me around?” The cat continued to lick itself. “You going to let me get a look at your collar this time? Huh?” Jase reached slowly for the cat’s collar, and looked at the tag hanging from it. The cat ignored him.
         “Franizletangerodd! What kind of name is that? Yikes. How about Tann? That’s a lot easier to remember.” Tann continued to lick himself contentedly, as if he had no troubles in the world. The overly-dark shadows passed overhead as the mudder slid quietly around trees.
         Chapter 2
         
         “There! Over there!” Un-uniformed personnel jumped parked cars and sprinted towards a startled teenager who had just walked out of an alley, followed by a dark cat.
         What did this kid do, anyway? I don’t understand why HQ is so worried about him. They’ve pulled all available personnel into this operation! What’s the deal?
         There he goes, along there! “He ducked into another alleyway, to the left! Jenkins, Fred, follow him! Watson, come with me! We’ll try to cut him off at the next intersection. The two men hurdled rapidly through yet another connecting alley in the industrial district, avoiding crates, boxes, and the trash that littered the area.
         “There he is!” Man that kid is fast! Is he carrying that cat? This is insane, what could HQ want this kid for? This is a job for the cops, not us… Watson dived for the kid’s legs, but the kid jumped nimbly over the outstretched hands. Watson went down. Fred and Jenkins appeared seconds later and hurdled the prone Watson. Dammit! That kid is fast!
         Ah yes, he just made a wrong turn! That alley is a dead end. We’ve got him now! There, he’s reached it. What? He’s not stopping…
         What the hell! He just jumped over a 10 foot wall! I don’t believe this kid! God dammit! “Flying tiger, this is falcon, flying tiger do you copy...”
         “Roger falcon, this is flying tiger, over.”
         “Sir, the suspect got away, repeat the suspect got away. Requesting air support to track him”
         “Negative falcon, we cannot risk it…”
         
         “Whew, that was close. I don’t see how we made it.” Jase, bent over and breathing heavily, set Tann down. Tann promptly walked a few paces and sat, facing Jase. “These guys are really good. I haven’t had a call that close for several months… the pressure must be mounting. How did we make it over that barrier? I remember thinking that we could make it, so I just made a leap for it, and somehow we made if over…”
         Jase sat on the ground, his back to another building. He looked over at Tann and frowned. Sometimes I get the feeling that this is not an ordinary cat. Tann looked at Jase out of the corner of his eye.
         Why thank you Jase. I’m not.