Star Trek Voyager: The Mylar Cat - (2nd Edition).
Chapter 3
Janeway remained looking both deeply shocked and very confused. Her mind raced as she tried to reconcile the boy before her with the little cat she had grown so fond of.
Her heart ached with a mix of confusion, yet also a strange sense of protectiveness. She reached out tentatively, her hand trembling slightly as she touched the boy's cheek. The soft warmth of his skin was familiar somehow, the same comforting presence she had felt in those quiet moments before sleep.
"Aki?" she gasped in disbelief.
The cat-eared boy nodded.
"But... but you were a little cat, and now you're clearly a humanoid boy. How is this even possible? Are you a shape-shifter?"
The cat-boy continued to smile nervously, "I am Neko. -I thought you knew."
Janeway calmed down again and perched softly on the side of the bed. "Neko, it's what the Mylarians called the small cat-like creatures," she spoke softly to Tuvok, "but they didn't say anything about Neko transforming into humanoids."
She perched on the edge of the bed, her face now etched with a deep curiosity, "Please, Aki, tell me more about you, about Neko," said Janeway, now using her gentle, curiosity-driven voice.
Aki continued peering out nervously from under the blanket as he explained. "I am humanoid like you, but also I am feline, what you've been calling, cat. I can take both forms, but I can only take this humanoid form when I feel completely safe and in no danger."
Janeway listened, nodding compassionately.
"I'm sorry if I scared you by changing my form," he apologised. "It's only because I feel so safe and loved here. I just assumed you knew this is what my species did."
She smiled, shaking her head. "We've never encountered your species before; we didn't know. You certainly gave us quite the surprise," she smiled, "but there's no need to apologize, Aki. You didn't scare me, I just didn't know what was happening, that's all.
We are explorers, and our greatest drive is to seek out other life forms, just like you, Aki, so we can become friends and learn things from each other. But I'm sorry about the security officers; I can see they frightened you. I'm so sorry, Aki."
Aki's expression grew worried again. "Are you going to send me back to Mylar now that you know I am Neko?"
"Do you want to go back?"
"No, please, no! Don't make me go back!" he pleaded, his voice rising in panic again. His eyes shimmered with tears, and he clung to the blanket as if it were the only thing that could keep him safe.
The captain thought carefully about her next words. "You seem very certain about that, but I'm worried I may have inadvertently taken you away from loved ones, family? friends?"
The cat-boy shook his head sadly. "They are all gone. There's no one left," he replied, his shoulders drooping with sorrow." All of my clan were killed in the big culls three years ago. As far as I know, I was the only one left. I have been alone ever since."
Aki's voice grew muted and sadder. His big blue eyes started welling up, sparkling in the dim light of the room as he was suddenly reminded of the tragic memories he carried with him. "You are the first contact I have had since then, and the first humanoids I have ever met who did not try to shout at me and chase me away, or kill me. On Mylar, you see, Neko are not tolerated. All the people living there have bad reactions to us, and they say it's caused by our fur. Because of this, Neko, my kind, have always been hunted and killed."
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Star Trek Voyager: The Mylar Cat. (Complete) (+Audiobook Option) (PG-Rated)
Fiksi IlmiahA cute little stray cat facing a grim future, and a starship captain in need of companionship. It felt like destiny had brought them together, but not all was as it seemed. Written as a heartwarming little tale to lift your spirits and bring comfort...
