Alex pawed at her cats hiding in her bag as David brought his squadron around for an attack on the mothership. Now that the shield was down the fighters were able to penetrate the defenses. Alec caught a glimpse of an opening as they flew by. "There," She said, pointing at the hanger on the side of the ship.

"Flying Hogs on me!" David cried diving towards the hanger. The fighter flew through the opening, passing through a bubble of some kind. Inside, a small squadron of soldiers turned their weapons towards the flying car. David responded in kind, lasers firing in a line down the runways. The soldiers dove behind cover, some holding up glowing shields.

The rest of David's troupe followed after, providing covering fire as David landed. Alex and June hopped out and David took off once again, allowing for another fighter to land and drop off more soldiers. Soon, Alex and June had another ten or so scouts around them. All of them ready for the mission assigned.

"You know what to do," June said. "We've been tasked with stealing as much info as possible from the Varnoss. Since we don't know the layout of the ship, everyone has been paired with someone able to make a map of some sort. Once you find the info we need radio everyone for a rendezvous and we'll get the hell out."

The scouts nodded. Alex gripped her satchel and took a look at her newly purchased ability.

Total Re-paw

Cats always know where they're going and where they've been. Meow you do too!

It had been the only ability she could purchase with her mental trick. Everything else was asking for something physical, like a saucer of milk or a mouse toy. The skill let her hold a map in her head of everywhere she'd ever been.

The scouts started their delve into the heart of the mothership. "Come on," June said. "We should get going too."

Alex let Kit out of her satchel. "Go ahead and scout for us, sweetie."

"'Kay Alpha."

The cheshire popped out of existence and reappeared next to one of the doors leading out of the hanger. When Kit didn't react, Alex motioned for June to move up with her.

The two moved in silence past the door and into a long hallway. At the end, Alex could see the path open up to multiple directions. She immediately discounted the two paths that led straight ahead. One was the continuation of the hallway while the other a walkway connecting to the wall. The connection would lead towards the edges of the ship, an unlikely place to store important information.

No, it was more likely that anything important was stored as close to the middle of the ship as possible. Therefore Alex was looking at the paths leading into the heart of the structure. One was another walkway, winding down farther than Alex could see. The other a door connected to the hallway.

"Door or stairs?" Alex whispered.

"Stairs, easier to escape if we get in trouble," June replied.

Nodding, Alex sent Kit ahead to scout while she snuck along the hallway and down the stairs. She looked down at flight after flight of stairs, amazed at how far down it went. Kit came back to her as she stared down. "Alpha, there's doors at the end of the stairs. I saw someone go into one."

Alex scratched Kit under the chin in appreciation and relayed the news to June. She was the better planner after all. Nodding, June motioned for Alex to follow as both went down the flight of stairs to the first door.

June crept forwards and checked the door, pushing it first and then pulling it when it refused to budge. "Lucky," She whispered. Alex peeked past the crack in the door to see what was on the other side. Another hallway stretched down with doors sitting a few feet apart on the walls. She saw one of the Varnoss walk out of a door at the end of the hall. It stretched its arms upward and yawned as it made its way to what looked to be a communal sink. Alex guessed this was one of the sleeping quarters.

While Alex kept lookout, June reached into her pack and pulled out one of the grenades she kept. With a bit of string stored in a pocket, she tied the firing pin and loosely wrapped the grenade around some stair railing. From there she pulled the string taught and tied it to the railing opposite. Now if someone came through the door and followed June they'd be greeted with an explosion.

A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Alex felt June tap her on the back and turned to see June creeping down the next flight of stairs. She followed suit, senses at the ready and sending Kit out periodically. Every flight of stairs Alex would check the doors to look for a command deck, or data hub, or any place that might hold information. A few more floors down June rigged another tripwire frag grenade.

They continued down the stairs until Alex finally saw something that might be of use. At the end of the hallway sat a screen with what looked to be a map of the pyramid. She tapped June on the shoulder and pointed it out. She raised an eyebrow in question. June nodded after looking through the door. She teased it open and stalked through with Alex behind.

They reached the terminal without any trouble but came across an issue as they arrived. "Shit," Alex said. The whole thing was written with strange symbols she'd never seen before. June nodded in agreement, "Why'd we assume we could use this?" She berated.

"Because they were speaking English," Alex whispered back.

"Yeah, but they could have universal translators for all we know. Damn it, guess we're stuck with looking around at random still."

Kit appeared next to Alex. "Alpha, someone's coming. From over there."

The cheshire waved a paw towards the hallway to the left. Faintly, Alex heard the march of footsteps. More than one pair. "A group's coming," Alex whispered.

"Shit," June cursed. She made back towards the hallway.

"Wait," Alex whispered. An idea forming in her mind. "What if we get one of these to show us where to go?"

"Because it's a stealth mission," June argued. "C'mon we don't have time."

Alex shook her head. "What we don't have time for is searching every nook and cranny here to get info. The longer the fight outside goes the worse off things will get."

June set her face in a grim line. Alex was right, the longer they took the worse it was. "If we can't get them all we retreat," She conceded. "I'm not fighting through an entire space station."

Alex nodded. She crouched low, readying herself for the coming fight. Butterwhiskers and Sir Purrsalot were released from the satchel for help while June prepared to use her power. A group of soldiers turned the corner, dressed out in metallic armor and holding a large shield. At the back stood the leader barking orders.

June pounced as the squad turned the corner, activating her power. Laziness overcame the soldiers, slowing their movements. But before the squad stopped completely the leader of the group barked a command and a golden light covered the group. The soldiers, who had been shuffling forwards, once again hopped to attention and started marching down the hallway.

"Shit," June cursed. She grabbed the vibrosword off her pack and readied it. Alex reached into her satchel and pulled out Rocket. With her skill, she launched the cat straight into the soldiers. The leader barked more orders and the soldiers braced their shields. A tan glow enveloped the group.

Rocket collided into the shield wall, scattering some soldiers but also rebounding off the stiff defense. With Rocket still in the air, the leader heaved his spear at the mishipeshu. In reaction, June focused on the spear with her power. The weapon froze in the air with an aura of, "I'll get where I'm going a bit later." Rocket landed safely on four paws and crouched low to pounce at the soldiers again.

June released her power and the spear connected with the wall, burying deep into the metal. After it hit, it popped out of existence and back into the hands of the leader. The soldiers pushed forwards as well, poking spears through their shield wall. Alex commanded Rocket to attack with June and prepared herself for a strike against the leader with a use of catapult.

Rocket leaped forward, swiping his dagger-like claws at the front line of soldiers. Spears retaliated, some pricking the cat's side but doing superficial damage. June took the opportunity to swipe down at the spears and chop off their heads. The vibrosword bit into the metal but could not completely sever the spearhead. Clicking her tongue in annoyance, June readied for another strike.

Her plan was cut short by the leader's spear. She was forced to divert her focus and use her power on the weapon as it tried to pierce through her head. The weapon stopped just short of her face and June moved out of the way. A soldier tried to stab her with his spear but was blocked by the claws from Rocket. The large cat's swipes preventing any counterattacks.

The spear resumed its journey as June released her power. It connected with the wall again. As it started to reform, Alex grabbed Chonkers and threw him at the leader. The cat shot through the air, forcing the leader to duck out of the way as the spear reformed. With no one to grab it, the weapon clattered to the ground while Chonkers sailed past and landed gracefully on the floor.

The leader of the troops tried to grab his spear but Alex had already sent Butterwhiskers over. The cat sidhe appeared near the enemy and a black mist surrounded the leader. In response a golden light shone from the leader, breaking through the dark tendrils of bad luck. Butterwhiskers meowed in surprise as the leader moved to grab his spear.

But Chonkers had made his way back into the fight. The soldier was so preoccupied he never noticed the nanocat had stationed himself right in the path. The leader's boot collided with the cat and he stumbled. Butterwhiskers took the opportunity, scratching at the enemy's face. The soldier cried out in pain as claw met eyes. Unable to see, the leader couldn't counter what came next.

Alex grabbed Jim-Jam out of her satchel and tossed him over the soldiers with catapult. She didn't aim for the leader as that would make the Palug hit the soldiers in front. If that happened June and Rocket wouldn't have any maneuverability. So the large cat soared over the soldiers and landed away from the battle behind them. With a roar, the Cath Palug charged at the leader.

The might of Jim-Jam smashed into the leader and sent him flying upwards. Tan light glowed as it absorbed the impact. But Jim-Jam wasn't done. With the leader still in the air, the cat batted him across the room with a large paw, straight into the barrier of Sir Purrsalot. Dazed, the leader couldn’t respond as Alex grabbed him.

It was the first time she truly realized how much strength the system gave her. Before her cats did all the heavy lifting, she'd never tried to test her strength. She had been hoping to turn him over for a quick strike to the temple but found she could lift him with no trouble. With ease, she hurled the leader into the line of soldiers. "Duck!" She yelled to June as the enemy flew forth. June dove out of the way as the leader collided with the front line. A few spears struck the leader, causing the tan glow to burn even brighter. Rocket followed up with a swipe of claws.

The tan shield of the leader finally broke and armor crumpled as Rocket gouged a hole into the man. The golden light surrounding the soldiers faded and June gave a feral smile. With quick use of her power, the enemy decided that now was a good time to take a nap and relax. With nothing to stop them, Alex and June made quick work of the soldiers, leaving only one left.

Alex had Jim-Jam and Rocket hold down each arm with their paws while June released her power. Instantly, the soldier's face turned to fear as he looked up at his captors. "You're going to help us," June stated.

"Or else," Alex purred.