Star Pets Deep Space Preview (Patreon)

I really wanted to wait until I had a full chapter, but I mean, you are my patrons and you deserve to get exclusively exclusive exclusivities. ;)

This is by no mean a final version, but I decided on the concept and will stick with it. I hope you'll appreciate where this is going. In those 1600 words, there is already plenty of mysteries and cool things. You'll recognize that the characters have roughly the same personality as the one you know and adore. (you'll see what I mean)

Anyway. Enjoy this!

TS

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"KYAAA!"

"Oh! Sorry, Misti! I didn't see your tail."

[ Misti ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Short blonde

Eyes: Blue

Species: Cat - Black tail, black ears

Suit: Black

Profession: Engineer

"Right! Look before you drop boxes everywhere, Asha!"

[ Asha ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Long, black

Eyes: Dark Brown

Species: Snow Leopard - White with black spots tail, Black and white ears

Suit: White with black spots

Profession: Navigator

It was an exciting morning at the spaceport. A small crew of animal girls loaded up a large number of refrigerated crates in the cargo bay of their rented space bus. Ears flicking and tails wagging, everybody hurried to complete their assigned tasks so they could get on their way. It was not every day that they could go to Europa, the prettiest moon of Jupiter.

"Awww, Vix! What did you do to your suit? If captain Lucy sees you like this, she will be mad at you."

[ Vix ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Short brown

Eyes: Brown

Species: Red fox - Fluffy red tail with white tip, fox ears

Suit: Red/white

Profession: None, just a cuddly friend.

"I don't know… It's not my fault, Trixie. That stain wasn't there before."

[ Trixie ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Short blonde

Eyes: Blue

Species: Rabbit - Bunny tail, long white ears

Suit: White

Profession: Tactical

"Alright, come with me, foxy. It looks like it's just grease. I'll help you clean it up."

Those high-tech suits were expensive. Under what looked like shiny latex, there was more than meets the eyes, so damaging them would be shameful. The snow-white rabbit girl grabbed her fiery red fox friend's hand and led her inside the bus to find the proper cleaning supply.

As they entered, Meeka was going through her preflight checklist. The raccoon girl was a skilled pilot, but this flying bus was a rental, and there was nothing more unpleasant to fly.

"Trixie! I told you not to board just yet. I need my peace and quiet when I prepare a flight."

[ Meeka ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Short Brown

Eyes: Brown

Species: Raccoon - Ringed tail, black and white ears

Suit: Gray/Brown

Profession: Pilot

"Chill out, Meeka. Vix sat on some grease. We just need to clean it real quick."

"No wonder… This spaceship is a piece of junk. It's pissing oil from every orifice."

"Graphic… You know, we don't want to die. Make sure the ship is safe to fly."

"That's Misti's job. She is the engineer. I'm just a pilot. You should tell her about that grease you found."

"Yeah, yeah… I will. Come Vix. Let's get away from the grumpy raccoon."

The rabbit girl and the fox girl shuffled between the empty passenger seats toward the back of the cabin to fetch what they needed.

Meanwhile, at the spaceport, two friends were arguing over some necessary paperwork.

"Oreo! Stop touching my form. I know what I'm doing!"

[ Oreo ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: Short Black

Eyes: Black

Species: Cat - Black tail, black/white ears

Suit: Black/white

Profession: Biologist

"You do it wrong, Accalia! If you don't declare those seeds, they will destroy our merchandise when we arrive, and I'll get blamed too. They are very strict about what we can bring to Europa."

[ Accalia ]

Height: 5'2"

Hair: short, Black

Eyes: Almond-shaped, dark brown

Species: Grey wolf - grey tail with white tip, Grey ears with white fluff

Suit: Grey with a white belly

Profession: Scientist

"They are NOT seeds, Oreo. I'm the scientist, and I tell you, they are nuts."

"I'm the biologist, and I tell you. Pecans are seeds."

"Hey, catface! We brought pecans last time, and nobody said anything."

"We were lucky. That's all."

"Noooo! Don't touch my form, I said!"

"But it's wrooong!"

As they were fighting over what ingredients needed to be declared, a firm voice interrupted them.

"HEY! How come you are not done with the paperwork yet? Can't you work together for once? We have to go right now! We are already late."

[ Lucy ]

Height: 5'7"

Hair: Long brown

Eyes: Brown

Species: Human - Caucasian

Suit: Standard issue, Black

Profession: Captain

"Accalia does it all wrong!"

"No! You do it wrong!"

"Alright, you two. Give me those forms. I'll show you how it's done."

Lucy spun the two electronic forms around, grabbed a digital pen, and scribbled many things that Oreo and Accalia couldn't manage to decipher. For a couple of minutes, she darkened the two plastic sheets and saved them.

"There! See? Not that hard! Now, let's go!"

The two girls picked up their forms and couldn't make sense of anything Lucy had written on them.

"But, Captain… Nobody will be able to read that!"

"That's the point. If they can't read them, they won't find anything wrong. Come on. It's time to go. Follow me."

Oreo and Accalia looked at each other, puzzled, but at least they could no longer be responsible for what would happen once they landed on Europa…

***

When Lucy arrived at the rental bus, she summoned her pet crew.

"Alright, girls! Form a line! Let's go over this one last time."

One by one, the pet girls lined up in front of Lucy as the rear cargo door slowly closed. All the crates had been loaded up already, Meeka had completed preflight work, so all there was left to do was listen to the mission, and then they would be good to depart.

"So, this is a milk run. It is the 100th anniversary of the colonization of Europa. We have a shipment of cakes to deliver to the party, and we will stick around for a bit to entertain the guests. It will be a bunch of politicians, artists, and leaders of all kinds. Not our usual target audience if you ask me. But this is also the 300th anniversary of the Cakes & Pets café. When my many-great grandmother, a fine woman, created this small business, I'm pretty sure she didn't think her restaurant would still be active today. And this is why I wanted all of us to travel together for this special occasion. It will honor her creativity and hard work along with our determination to perpetuate her legacy."

Misti raised her hand.

"What is it, Misti?"

"We also honor her by looking like her original pets, right?"

"That's correct. When you joined the Café and accepted to undergo those cosmetic enhancements to look like the original pets, it was to honor them. Back then, they didn't understand genetics as we do now, so the girls had to wear cute costumes. But I'm sure they would be very proud of the new direction we took. We made sure you were all as adorable as they were, just a bit more real."

"Well, our space suits do look like their costumes, so it's almost the same. It's just much more fun to have real ears and tail, at least, when Asha doesn't drop a big box on it!"

"Well, Misti, stop looking at her like this. How many times did I tell you to watch your tail? Apparently, the original Misti had the same issue. She wouldn't listen."

"Awww."

Trixie raised her hand.

"Captain… Is that why you gave us their names too?"

"Yes. You know that already, Trix. I showed you the picture of the original pets. The original Trixie was an amazing person. You are lucky. Wear her name with pride."

Vix raised her hand.

"Am I as adorable as the original Vix?"

"I don't know, Vix… The original Vix was a legend of cuteness. But you are very adorable too. I'm very glad you joined the team."

"Awww…"

Oreo raised her hand.

"Are you all going to ask questions? We will never be able to leave… What, Oreo? What is it?"

"If we are going to Europa to celebrate the Cakes & Pets café, why can't Clara come with us?"

"Why am I not surprised that you are asking about her? ... Oreo… You didn't bring her along, did you?"

"N… no… You told me not to… But, it's not fair!"

"Don't you remember how much trouble she caused last time? I know she is your friend, and I said I wouldn't report you. But don't you ever bring her on my ship again! Is that clear?"

"I… I swear… she is not here. I'm just saying… it… it would be nice if she were..."

"Stop insisting, Oreo! Not going to happen! Alright! Enough talking. Everybody go sit inside the ship. We have a three hours trip ahead of us."

As all the petgirls trotted happily to the ship, only Oreo dragged her feet behind the pack, a bit depressed. Vix rubbed her back gently and whispered her concerns.

"Oreo… I'm sure you brought Clara with you… That's wrong."

"Nooo… I swear… I didn't!"

"If Lucy finds her on the ship, she is going to be so mad."

"I didn'! I swear!"

"Okay… but don't say we didn't warn you…"

"I knooow, Vix… Stop talking about it already!"

As the two last animal girls entered the cabin, Meeka started the engines, causing a dust cloud to envelop the ship. On her right in the co-pilot seat was Lucy, and right behind them were the six other pets sitting two by two. Misti pulled Trixie's ear for no reason, Oreo looked down as Vix tried to cuddle with her, and Asha kept putting her finger in Accalia's fluffy ear to annoy her. Everything was normal, and the small crew was ready for their road trip.

As the old rental space bus took off from the spaceport, everybody knew this trip would be a bit special. It would be an homage to the legendary animal café.