Chapter 24

Chapter 24

            They stopped at Barkington National Forest.  Buster hadn’t planned to stop there, but Whiskers had leaned out the window of the hovercar when she saw the ancient redwoods.  “Are those trees?” she asked.

            “Yes.”

            “They’re not like any trees on Cattatonia.”

            “They’re redwoods,” Buster said.  He pointed to the trunk of one tree.  “Because of the trunks.  See?”

            “I see.  They’re beautiful.  Can I climb one?”

            Buster looked back at Spot and Lieutenant Ruff, who both shrugged.  “I don’t see any reason why not,” Buster said.  “Though I’m not sure if your claws will work as well here.”

            “They’ll work just fine,” Whiskers said.  As soon as Buster brought the car down low enough, she leapt from the vehicle.  He didn’t have time to even call her name before she was throwing herself onto one of the trees.

            Her claws worked just fine on the redwoods.  She hung against one of the trees for a moment.  He thought maybe she had knocked herself out against the trunk, but then she leaned her head back.  “They smell funny,” she said.  “Not like our trees at all.”

            Before he could say anything else, she had scrambled up into the tree’s canopy.  “What do we do now?” Lieutenant Ruff asked.

            “I’ll go after her,” Buster said.  He reached into a storage compartment for two pairs of climbing spikes, the kind climbers used on mountains.  They should work well enough on a tree.  “You two stay here and watch the car.”

            “I hope she’s not getting into any trouble,” Spot said.  “We have to make sure nothing happens to her.”

            “She knows what she’s doing.”  At least Buster hoped that with her experience in climbing trees, Whiskers wouldn’t run into any trouble.  There was still the chance she might fall or a branch might snap or an animal might attack her.  The raccoons didn’t have any villages here, but there was always the chance a rogue one could be hiding here.  With that in mind, he sunk the climbing claws on his front paws into the tree.

            It was an arduous process to climb the tree, even more difficult than back on Cattatonia.  There he’d had Whiskers to help guide him.  This time he was climbing alone, holding in a breath every time he sunk the claws into the bark, waiting for it to snap.

            She waited for him at the top of the tree.  By the time he reached the summit, he was panting so fiercely he couldn’t say anything when she teased, “Your climbing skills aren’t any better here, are they?”

            She pulled him up to sit on the branch with her.  It wasn’t as wide as those in Cattatonia and it creaked dangerously when he sat on it.  If the branch snapped, it would dump them three hundred meters to the ground.  There was no chance they could survive a fall like that.

            Still, he had to admit the view up here was breathtaking.  They had the forest spread out before them and on the horizon, the mountains where the bears lived.  President Bear’s tribe was probably up there somewhere, hibernating for the fall and winter. 

            “It is a beautiful planet,” Whiskers said.  She put a paw around Buster’s shoulders.

            “As beautiful as yours?” he asked, still breathing hard from the climb.

            “No.  Nowhere is as beautiful as Cattatonia—to me.”

            “That’s probably how it is for everyone.”

            “Do you think I’ve made a mistake coming here?”

            “Of course not.”

            “Your president did not seem very happy to have me here.”

            “He’s worried about how your mother might react.”

            “She would not dare harm me.”

            “Let’s hope not.”  Buster pressed close to her.  He licked her face and she giggled.  “I love you so much.”

            “I love you too.”

            They were kissing when Buster’s communicator beeped.  He didn’t want to answer it, but its shrill insistence forced him to finally back away from Whiskers and answer it.  “We’ve got trouble,” Spot said.

            “What kind of trouble?”

            “They didn’t say but they want us back at base right away.”

            “It might take us a while—”

            “Don’t worry.  We’ll come get you.”

            “Spot—”

            “It won’t be a problem.  Marshy is a very good pilot.”

            They waited on the branch for the hovercar.  Whiskers shook her head.  “It’s my mother.  She’s sending her fleet to get me.”

            “It’s probably just an exercise.  Or a false alarm.”

            “I hope you’re right.”

            They heard the whine of the hovercar’s engines.  Spot was right; Marshy was a very good pilot.  She guided the hovercar through the maze of branches with the agility of a raccoon—or a Cat.  The car came to a stop in front of them, Spot opening the door for them.  As they climbed in, Buster noticed that his friend’s face was damp and there was a red mark on his cheek the same color as Lieutenant Ruff’s lipstick.

            Spot must have noticed Buster’s look as he wiped at his face.  “Let’s go,” he said to Lieutenant Ruff.  The car streaked away from the trees.  Buster looked over his shoulder, at the forest, wondering if he and Whiskers would ever get a chance to sit up there again.

#

            The guard at the gate told them that Whiskers was to report to her barracks immediately.  “I’m not leaving her alone,” Buster said.

            “Sorry, sir, Admiral Barker’s orders.”

            Admiral Barker?  Buster looked over at Whiskers.  She put a paw on his arm.  “It’ll be all right.  No one will hurt me here.”

            He growled under his breath.  “All right,” he said.  “We’ll drop her off.”

            He wanted to kiss Whiskers goodbye, but he couldn’t do that in public.  He settled for squeezing her paw with his.  “I’ll see you later,” he said.

            “Good luck, my love.”

            “Thanks.”  Then he climbed back into the car to head for the briefing room.

            The admiral waited for them there, sitting in a hoverchair.  Other than the chair, he looked none the worse for wear.  “Hello, Buster.  Spot.  Lieutenant.”

            “So they gave you a promotion?”

            “I’m afraid so,” Admiral Barker said.  He tapped the chair with one paw.  “It came with this.”

            “I’m sorry, sir—”

            “There’s nothing for you to be sorry about, Buster.  You did everything you could for me.  I wouldn’t be at all if you and Spot hadn’t gotten me to sickbay.”  He sighed and then motioned for them to sit down.  “I’m afraid this isn’t good news.”

            A viewscreen over the admiral’s shoulder came to life.  Buster recognized the system it depicted as the colony of Sirius Five.  A cluster of tiny objects at the outer rim of the system became magnified into numerous asteroids.  “We detected a gravity spike in the vicinity of this asteroid field,” Admiral Barker said.

            “One like before Bone Seven came under attack?”

            “The very same.  We’ve consulted with the colony and their instruments tell us the asteroids are heading their way.  We estimate sixteen hours before the first impacts.”

            “That’s impossible.  No asteroids can move that fast,” Lieutenant Ruff said.

            “It seems that whatever destabilized the asteroids has also harnessed the gravity of the area to accelerate them.”  Admiral Barker shrugged.  “Think of it as a giant slingshot and these asteroids are the rocks.”

            “And the Cats are the ones holding it,” Buster said.

            “That is our conclusion as well.”

            “So you want us to go out there and save the colonists?” Buster asked.

            “Not exactly.”  Admiral Barker looked down at the floor.  “They’ve asked me to resume command of the Batpooh.  I will take her out there along with a battle group to rescue the colonists and ward off any Cat invasion.”

            “Bob, I don’t understand.  Why would they—?”  Buster stopped as he thought of Whiskers in her barracks.  “You think I’m in league with the Cats?”

            “Not at all.  Command thinks you’d be better used to stay here with the princess.  She trusts you.”

            Spot got to his feet.  “With all due respect, sir, if Captain Bulldog isn’t going then I won’t either.  The Batpooh is his ship.”

            “I won’t go either,” Lieutenant Ruff said.

            Admiral Barker nodded.  “I told them you’d feel that way.  They instructed me to say that you’ll both be put into the stockade for refusing to obey a direct order.”  He shook his head.  “I don’t like this anymore than you do.  This situation smells worse than a raccoon garbage pile.  I’m only doing what I’m told.”

            “I understand,” Buster said.  He put a paw on Spot’s shoulder.  “I won’t have anyone getting court-martialed for me.  Both of you go with the admiral.”

            “But—”

            “Saving those colonists is the most important thing.  They have a much better chance with the fleet’s top pilot and best first officer on board.”

            Spot looked as if he wanted to protest, but he nodded.  “All right.  But after we get back, I’m going to file a complaint with Command.”

            “And I’ll second it,” Admiral Barker said.  “But for now, we have a colony to save.”

            Buster hugged Spot before he left.  “Take good care of my ship, will you?  I want her back in one piece.”

            “I will.”  Then they were gone, leaving Buster alone to contemplate the future.