Yoland simply stared at the interior as the door slid shut behind her.

“What lovely statues,” she said walking towards them.

“They are more than just decoration you know,” he said padding over to the north one.

She watched him pulling something and was astonished to see a holographic representation of the galaxy appearing over the silver dome. She could see two small dots flashing.

“Oh this is neat,” she said. “One light is departure and the second is destination.”

He was rather surprised.

“Nothing gets past you I see.”

Yoland smiled as he padded over to the east statue and pulled the lever. She had expected something of course. Roar of engines perhaps or at the very least a jolt.

She felt nothing. No obvious sign of movement at all. Jerrix returned the lever to the middle position and padded toward the sliding door.

Poking his head out, he suddenly withdrew it.

“This can’t be right.”

“Something wrong? She asked taking a look.

Yoland saw a fractured shell of a wood. Her ears picked up the distant booming of heavy guns.

Instinctively, she drew her weapon from its holster.

“Where have you brought us too?

“My home,” he said stepping outside. “This wood used to look green and pleasant. Now look at it.”

Yoland joined him listening.

“That’s shellfire.”

“It certainly seems to be my dear.”

He gazed at the charred and broken trees and the awful silence of animals, long since gone.

“We had peace for a millennia,” he complained bitterly. “Now this.”

“Such a long time,” she replied.

“Perhaps too long,” he muttered walking away.

The distant booms seemed to be getting a little closer as they advanced through the war-damaged ghost of the wood.

“I take it you know where to go?” she asked.

“My home should be just beyond the forest,” he replied.

A whizzing sound broke the air and Yoland threw him violently to the ground. As they landed, a huge explosion tore the earth apart.

“Artillery,” she muttered. “We should leave here Jerrix.”

“Not until I find out what’s going on,” he replied. “I did warn you my dear.”

Shells began to rain down now and they hugged the ground hoping to survive it. Then it paused.

“I don’t understand this,” Yoland said. “You have such high tech travel and still use shells?”

“After our last conflict we banned modern weapons. We feared self extinction.”

“Sounds good enough to me,” she said crawling forward.

Jerrix picked himself up and scrambled forward as the pause continued. Yoland followed and they reached the edge of the wood.

Just beyond lay the shattered remains of what had been a lovely single dwelling.

“They flattened it,” he muttered.

She gazed at the terrible view as the booming came again.

“We can’t stay here much longer,” she said. “This bombardment will kill us for sure.”

“We can reach the ruins of my home easily enough,” he said running forward.

Shells broke from the rear as they dashed the short distance to the shattered masonry. Yoland hid behind a broken wall as the cat joined her.

They watched the forest erupt as a major bombardment commenced.
Thanking their stars that they had escaped.

“I think your ship’s had it,” Yoland commented.

“It’ll survive. Always does.”

They crawled through the rubble and saw a trench line near their position. It seemed to stretch for miles. A rattle of machine gun fire sent them scouring for cover again as bullets whizzed around.

“Seems no safer than the last place,” she muttered.

“I think we are in No Man’s land,” he told her.

“So which side do we surrender too?”

Jerrix shook his head.

“I have no idea my dear.”

A sudden yelling drew their attention and they saw a line of cats, each dressed in brown khaki leaving their trench and bounding toward them. Each of these soldiers was armed with a weapon.

“Now we are finished,” Jerrix muttered. “They will probably shoot first and ask questions later.”

The infantry were nearly upon them when shells began to break once more. The infantry stopped and fell back which gave Jerrix an idea.

“Come on, this is our chance.”

He dashed from the ruins and sprinted straight for the trench line.
Despite thinking it was madness, Yoland followed.

Before the startled troops could react, they jumped in and landed safely. Weapon tips turned toward them and the companions raised their arms hopefully.

For a few seconds it looked as if they would be shot out of hand when the cat muttered, “Jerrix Tau?”

“Put your weapons down,” a voice barked. “He is with us.”

The cat recognised the voice, and was even more surprised to see the shoulder flash that indicated officer rank.

“Trixie. Am I glad to see you.”

The officer shook his paw as the men returned to their positions.

“You chose a damn awkward time to return.”

“Whatever happened?” Jerrix asked.

“Do you remember Vice Premier Tom Cat?”

“How could I forget him? No one took that buffoon seriously.”

“Around three years ago he quit and called for the army to join him.
That’s when the war began.”

“He wants power then,” Yoland said.

The officer looked at her.

“She’s safe enough Trixie,” Jerrix assured him.

“Power and wealth,” the officer told her.

Moments later, enemy troops who had penetrated the shattered trees, broke cover and charged their position. As weapons rattled, the two friends huddled against the dank, dark earth.

The first line was cut down but the second and third surged on.

“Get out of here,” the officer barked.

The friends needed no further urging.

They dashed along the trench line as battle raged beyond the sandbagged parapet. They were looking for a communication trench when infantry jumped in just ahead of them.

“Get down! Jerrix screamed as bullets whizzed toward them.

A sudden yell from Yoland indicated that she had been hit.

---
As the cat raised his furry head, he saw an armed trooper picking up
Yoland’s laser pistol.

“Get up, both of you,” the soldier growled.

Jerrix crawled up and saw the woman had a shoulder wound. She was conscious and groaning badly.

“Come on my dear. We have to go now.”

He helped her onto the parapet as they were escorted under guard across the torn battlefield. As they trudged on, Jerrix said, “I need an extractor.”

He was ignored of course.

They moved through the torn wounds, beyond which the enemy lines were located. After half an hour, they were ushered into a grimy command tent. Behind a simple wooden bench, a tall ginger cat, in grey uniform and gold epaulettes stood up.

The soldier saluted.

“We found these two civvies sir. The woman had this,” he reported handing the weapon over.

As he examined it in his paws he muttered, “Very nice. Very nice indeed.”

“My friend needs medical attention Tom Cat,” Jerrix spat.

The leader looked up rather surprised by his insolence.

“Have we met?” Tom Cat asked coldly.

“Thankfully no. As civilians, you have no right to hold us.”

The leader placed the pistol on the bench before padding forward.

“There are no civilians in war.”

“There are now. She needs medical attention.”

The leader glanced up.

“Get her the medic.”

The trooper saluted and departed.

Jerrix looked at her pain-filled face and lowered her to the ground gently. He saw a map behind the leader standing upon an easel.

“It won’t be long before I win this war,” Tom Cat boasted.

“More carnage and bloodshed?” Jerrix asked.

“I was forced into this,” the leader said. “The premier wanted to disband the armed forces. I had to stop it.”

“By starting a bloody war? You just wanted power.”

“How dare you!”

“This is my world too,” Jerrix said coldly. “You are nothing but a power crazed brute.”

The leader lost his head, striking Jerrix down. At this moment, the medic arrived.

“Yes,” the leader demanded.

“I was called sir.”

“Oh yes. Deal with the woman,” the leader said as the trooper returned.

Jerrix watched as the medic removed the top of the uniform and bared
a small, bloody hole. Yoland moaned loudly as he removed a pen like device from his satchel.

He climbed painfully to his feet.

“You’ll be okay in a moment,” the medic assured her as he placed the extractor over the bullet.

Within moments it was out, and the medic produced a spray which accelerated the healing process.

He returned his tools to the satchel and said, “It will heal in about an hour.”

He then stood, saluted and marched out.

“Remarkable,” Yoland commented as she stood up, painfully putting her top back on.

“What am I going to do with you two?” Tom Cat asked.

“You could let us go,” Yoland suggested.

“Have you report back?” the leader said. “No chance.”

He paced for a moment before making his decision.

Addressing the waiting trooper, he said quietly.

“Take them to the guardhouse. I will decide their fate later.”

“You two out,” the soldier demanded levelling his weapon.

They left the tent and were marched across a large open space. To the left, Jerrix noticed a small metal domed building. No more than seven foot high. He prodded Yoland.

“What do you think that is?”

She glanced over and shook her head.

“Weapons store perhaps?”

“Hmm,” he muttered as they reached the small guardhouse.

They were shoved into a small, smelly cell as the guard marched off.

“What do you think will happen?” Yoland asked.

“He will probably have us shot my dear,” he replied gloomily.

“I’m not having that,” she cursed.

Before he knew what was happening, she slugged him in the stomach and he went down hard. Running to the bars she screamed, “Guard. Guard, my friend has collapsed.”

As Jerrix stared at her through the pain he moaned, “Remind me never to annoy you.”

As the guard arrived, he remained on the ground.

“What’s all the hollering?”

“Can’t you see,” Yoland said. “He looks serious.”

As the guard came closer to check, the woman suddenly grabbed his head and smashed it against the bars.

“Grab the keys,” she hissed as Jerrix scurried forward.

He did so as the body slumped to the floor. She helped the cat drag it inside the cell before grabbing his machine gun.

“Now we have to get out of here,” she whispered leading the way to the exit.

When they reached it, Jerrix pointed to the domed building.

“I want to look inside there.”

“Then come on,” she hissed, sprinting across the open space.

When they reached it, they entered through an open side and saw stacks of black painted shells. Jerrix noted the red skull and crossbones.

“Crikey, retro-toxin. Some of them are leaking too.”

She stared in silent horror.

“We have to report this Yoland. There is enough here to kill everyone.”

“I agree with you. We had better skirt across to the far side first.”

The cat had other ideas.

“I know exactly how to get out. Come on.”

She followed him out and noticed he was staring toward the command tent.

“I don’t think that is a good idea Jerrix.”

He glanced back and said, “We have got to.”

They waited a few moments before dashing across to the tent’s rear.
The cat indicated she should raise the fabric as he took the weapon.

“One, two, three.”

As the fabric was pulled high, they dashed through which sent the easel flying. The cat levelled his weapon at the leader, hissing.

As Yoland collected her pistol from the bench, Jerrix padded up to his prisoner.

“How many guards outside?”

“Two. You will be cut down. I regret not killing you both at once.
How did you escape?”

“Never mind that Tom Cat,” the cat replied. “You will escort us to a vehicle and drive us to the wood.”

“Go ahead and shoot,” the leader told him.

“This is getting us nowhere,” Yoland pointed out.

Jerrix agreed with her and smashed him to the ground. He crept forward and glanced out. Soldiers were patrolling and there was far more than two. He quickly spotted the vehicle and revealed his intentions.

“We should march over there quietly, hotwire it and drive out.”

“Normally I would suggest something else but not now Jerrix. It’s daft enough to work.”

As Jerrix quickly marched out, she followed him to the waiting vehicle.

Climbing inside, he reached under the dashboard and twisted two wires together. As the jeep sprang to life, he swung the wheel and drove leisurely away. Neither one of them could believe their luck.
It did not take long to reach the front line, guarded by barbed wire blocks. Shaking his head, Jerrix brought the jeep to a halt and climbed out.

“It’s on foot from here I’m afraid.”

“We can’t cross their lines mate,” she pointed out. “Look, follow me.”

She darted ahead toward open fields, which they reached safely. From there, the trench line was clearly defined.

“I thought so,” she muttered.

He looked carefully and saw a single trench cutting though the earth.

“The central sector is always more heavily defended than the flanks,” she explained. “Now we have a chance.”

“Why don’t our lot make a push here then?” Jerrix asked.

“Who knows? Perhaps they are simply frontal minded. There is never logic in war you know.”

“Well I’m ready my dear. We should creep as close as possible before making the assault.”

“Good plan,” she replied. “Remember, all guns blazing.”

He nodded and the advance got underway. Once they were as close as they dared, they broke cover spraying the trench with lead. Those caught in the murderous storm fell rapidly as the companions leaped across into the deadly divide.

As they sprinted, the cat noticed troops levelling their weapons in their direction.

“Get down,” he yelled as bullets flew.

As they hit the deck, Yoland yelled, “We surrender.”

Moments later, a deep gruff voice answered, “Make a dash for it then and no funny business.”

Leaving the machine gun behind, they ran the short distance and leaped in.

“Are we glad to see you lot,” Jerrix said.

“Oh yes mate,” a trooper growled.

“We need to see Trixie right now,” Jerrix said quietly.

“Know him then?” the trooper asked.

“Of course I do.”

The trooper nodded to his comrades.

“Take him along then.”

They were marched slowly towards the central trench line, beyond which the broken woods lay. To the right, various trenches led off towards the rear area.

Turning a bend, Jerrix saw the officer he was looking for.

“Trixie, nice to see that you made it.”