Chapter Text
“How many stars are in our system?”
Shut up and let me sleep. He thought to himself. He turned over, his orange fur brushing cold metal. He felt oddly damp and cold, his fur feeling as if it had been underwater and frozen at the same time, despite the relative warmth in the air.
“Blrrggg.” He mouthed.
“Incorrect.” The robotic voice said. “How many stars are in our system?”
He was only just now aware of a faint zipping noise, which seemed to suddenly disappear. He tried to rise to his paws, his pelt brushing what felt like a plastic bag.
“Shut up.” He spoke with a slurred voice.
“Incorrect.”
He grew angry. Why wouldn’t this thing just leave him alone? He tried to remember the answer to the question, and surprisingly, it came back to him rather quickly. ”One.” He said.
“Correct, the required answer is ‘one’.”
He gave a sigh of relief, only for the computer to ask him another question.
“What is the spectral type of our system's central star?”
He let out an angry groan, “Aaaa-!”
“Correct, Answer is ‘A’.” The Computer said. “What is the name of our systems star?”
I hate this thing so much already. He tried to think back to…whenever he could have learned that. He felt a vague answer form in his head.
“...Altair?” He said, unsure.
“Correct.” The computer meowed, “Basic Cognition assessment complete, moving on to level two.”
“Level two?” He asked as he began dragging himself out of the plastic bag. He ended up falling to the floor after that struggle. The floor was a cold metal, just like the spot he was on. He looked up to see that he had just fallen off some kind of table with a large plastic bag he had been enclosed in, several tubes connected to it, and he followed them with his eyes to see they led to tanks attached to the wall.
“What is Two plus Two.” The computer asked.
“Pftt!” He nearly laughed.
“Incorrect.” The computer rang coldly, then repeated the question.
“Four.” He sighed, laying down and draping his paw across the floor.
“Correct.” The computer said, “What is the approximate speed of light?”
“300,000 Kilometers per second.” He said, not even wondering how he knew that.
“Correct, please state your name.”
He only just realized he couldn’t remember his name.
“Ughhhh….?” He said.
“Incorrect.”
“I don’t know!” He yowled, “I’m feeling a bit Rusty!”
“Analyzing response…” The computer said, “Correct.”
What?
His name was…rusty?
Who names someone Rusty?
“Baseline Cognition assessment complete.” The Computer said, “Welcome aboard, Rusty.”
“Aboard?” He asked as he padded through the room, looking at metal decorations, screens, and computers. “Where are we?”
“We are in the target solar system.” The Computer spoke, “Time Elapsed: Approximately 10 years.”
“10 Years!” He let out a yowl. Target Solar System?
He began to climb a ladder, his claws catching onto the ladder as he hauled himself up into the next room. The room itself seemed to be cylindrical in shape, with a large amount of screens and a window-
A Window!
He looked out of it, but to his horror all he could see was an endless expanse of stars. Not nighttime, just the faint bands of the galaxy stretched out before them, and an unusually orange-yellow sun they were approaching.
He let out a silent scream.