The enchanted ship Catavenger sailed up to the shore then rose a few dozen yards over the ground then flew over it.
"I sure am looking forward to those fish and chips," the ship silly human said."
"Aye, they better be as good as the advertisement said." was the response from Vancouver cat, an officer of the Catavenger.
Another officer, Saskatoon up in the crow's nest, called that the copse (really a loose scattering) of trees was up ahead. "I see the trees. It's there just as the map shows."
CHAPTER TWO
As they neared it, Admiral Toronto of the Catavenger and it's small fleet ordered that the ship land in the trees .
"We will walk the rest of the way" Toronto said.
"I sure am looking forward to those fish and Chips," Shel said once more.
"Aye we heard you the first time," The orange cat Commander Calgary responded.
"You better be Shel," laughing Sass called down from the 'nest, "because you will be the one pushing the food cart!"
Winnipeg Jumps Down
As she said that some of the crew, with lieutenant commander Vancouver directing, were already unloading the cart.
"Cut the chatter," Toronto ordered "and get going. So Shel and Calgary left the ship joining Vancouver.
After Toronto told Commander Victoria that she was in charge, he joined them.
CHAPTER THREE
"Don't worry Shel" Toronto said, "the hill is only a few hundred yards away and it's not much more than a low rise."
And so they started forward. It didn't take long for Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver, with Shel pushing the cart lagging slightly behind, to reach the rise. They were just a few steps beyond it when not far ahead there were some bushes. Out of the bushes rats - a veritable wall of them- appeared! It was an ambush "Where is Shel?" Toronto said while Calgary and Vancouver readied their weapons. Despite all the Admiral's first concern was for his crew member. Just as he finished saying that Shel had reached the top of the rise.
The rats opened fire wounding Vancouver. She wanted to keep fighting. Instead the Admiral ordered her to take the cat's human back to the ship just as she began to argue.
Toronto said, "that's an order, DO IT!" Calgary was already firing at the rats.
Vancouver went back the very short distance to Shel, who was still huffing and puffing at the top of the rise.
Terrified Shel had looked forward and seen the rats himself and let the cart go before Vancouver told him
Terrified Shel was frozen in place as Vancouver joined him.
"Let's go Shel! Vancouver yelled at Shel to snap him out of his state.
As they begin to go, backing towards them, giving them cover Toronto and Calgary had began a fighting retreat.
Shel and Vancouver went back down the hill past the cart, it had rolled until it hit a bump and flipped to it's side.
Vancouver
CHAPTER FOUR
Sass in the crow's nest had a view of the rats before the others did. Hearing what was going on over there, through the open com-link, Winnipeg had directed the ship to rise out of the the trees. It hadn't flown very far forward though before rats on either side began to appear. Being in the crow's nest of the floating ship Sass had a view of the rats before the others did.
Sass In Crow's Nest
"You are being flanked."
Sass told them. Indeed they were. rats to one side and rats to the other flew towards the ship.
"Aye, I see them now me self." Victoria responded.
Commander Victoria
The crew of the Catavenger had run out the guns and commenced firing just as Victoria finished her speech.
As Vancouver tried to get Shel going again. At his view of the rats Shel had frozen once more. Rats had appeared behind the ship and started firing some type of missile at it.
Finally Vancouver had gotten Shel to move and get to the ship.
Being rocked by missiles Victoria was unable to move the ship forward to rendezvous with the human and Vancouver cat, as quickly as she wanted to.
A missile had hit the mast of the crow's nest that Sass was on.
Still Sass was able to make it down to the ground, as the ship flew forward to land and get Vancouver aboard.
The two had reached the deck and heard a garbled transmission from Toronto. "Get going, fly out of there." Toronto ordered since he had heard - through the com-link - that Van and Shel were aboard the ship.
With the two aboard Victoria ordered the Catavenger to rise higher.
They could see Toronto and Calgary being surrounded by the rats
Having made a fighting retreat as far as the overturned cart they were making a last stand at it.
Still being rocked by missiles the ship had no choice but to follow Admiral Toronto's orders and fly even higher out of the range of the missiles.
Even if they could have helped by now it was to late, Commander Calgary and Toronto had fought their last stand . . .
They had died to save their human Shel.
CHAPTER FIVE
VENGEANCE!
According to Admiral Toronto's wishes, after his death he wished Winnipeg to be Captain but since Toronto had left Commander Victoria in charge of the ship for the time, until things were settled that was the way things would be.
Since the Rats had been their hated enemies even before this the crew decided that they would give the Rats no quarter.
THEY WOULD USE POISON!
Since the ship was being repaired the crew made a re-con with their zeppelin. They determined that the Rat's were now the only life forms left there they were repairing their own rafts to depart.
What they needed was a "good" poison. They got one from Phat Tommy the ship's alchemist brother. He made them so which would create a gas With that they made some landmines.
A few weeks later (as the much battered ship was still being repaired) in the dead of night the fleet's newly renovated submarine pulled alongside the shore of the scene of the recent battle.
Rafts launched from the sub. The rafts went alongside the shore and the cats planted rat mines.
It now was only a matter of time before they slowly but surely transformed the rats.
Three weeks later they returned the island was no longer inhabited by rats instead all that was there were harmless toy rubber mice . . .
