"Lusac, I have news," Yrqw's voice buzzed in his ear where the portable comm relay sat.
He pressed the button and responded. "I'm here. Who does this cat belong to?"
"No one," Yrqw replied. "We did a general announcement, and confirmed with Personnel Resources. Not a single member of the Argo lists any kind of pet like what you described, and there was no response to the announcement. It must have come from our resupply."
"Well what are we going to do with it?" Lusac asked.
"Dre said to kill it."
Lus glanced down at the purring ball curled up against his foot. "No. We can't do that. It's friendly, and it did nothing wrong."
"Well I'm not in the market for a mutant cat. If you want it to live, find it a home. Yrqw out."
Lus sighed as he crouched back down to run his fingers through the soft, black fur. Who was ever going to let him house this creature once they saw the destruction it could cause? He looked around Beta Bay. There weren't any cameras. If he could come up with a plausible reason the crates broke that didn't involve the cat morphing, they would probably let him keep it alive.
"I can't leave you alone. I guess you'll just have to come with me the rest of the day," Lusac said, scooping the ball into his arms.
It meowed in protest before snuggling deeper into the hold, purring loudly.
He smiled. "Maybe I'll keep you myself. Wouldn't you like that? My bed's not huge, but I suppose you'll fit okay in this form."
The cat continued to purr, but a ding sounded in his ears and a new notification appeared in the corner of his vision.
[Companion Acquired: Avil]
"Avil's your name, huh?" Lusac scratched right between its ears. "Well I guess that means you're officially mine, regardless of what the crew might say."
He abandoned the sack of traps for the time being and instead went into the corridor. As sweet as Avil was, he didn't think Dre or even Yrqw would understand him bringing a pet along inside the fsylan tubes.
There weren't many people about–just a few intent on their own tasks so no one questioned Lus as he carried his load away from the bay and towards the housing section. He was about halfway there when he realized that he didn't have any food or water for the cat.
"Let's stop by the kitchen and get you something to eat. I'll also borrow a couple of bowls to keep you fed and watered while I'm at my shift," he explained to his companion. Normally he wasn't big into talking to pets like this, but clearly the creature understood words, so it made sense to give it a heads up to what he was doing and why.
It was still early enough in the day that Dasy-Jonil, the lunch "cook" hadn't come in to start prepping things for the usual midday meal: sandwiches. She was the only one of the three chefs that held the position before Wlnp's untimely death, but she didn't do much actual cooking aside from getting the bread and fixings out. The cafeteria was empty of Becky or any others who had the day off as well, to Lus's relief.
Inside, the kitchen was a bit of a mess just as it always was after Librvr finished. While technically breakfast was supposed to do their own cleanup, what she called "clean" wasn't even up to Lus's standards. Luckily Avil didn't mind, and it happily began licking at the various spills once it was set down.
Dodging around food bits and splatters, Lus approached the cabinetry with all the spare dishes. He was selectings his bowls when Leviathan's booming voice filled the space.
"You found my essence!"
Lusac spun around. "Huh? What are you talking about?"
The red face on the holoscreen grinned broadly, but Lus couldn't tell what exactly he was staring at.
"My essence. You've returned it to me."
"Essence," Lusac said slowly. "Oh. The mutant cat?"
"It is not a mutant, you dullard. It is a piece of me that escaped the drive when you plugged it in, becoming free to take a physical form. That being showcases only a fraction of my power," the Demon growled.
"Power to nibble on legs. Yes, very impressive," Lusac admitted.
"Fool. It is no matter. I require the essence so I may return to full strength."
"Oh. Okay," Lus said glumly. He stopped sorting the bowls, more than a little disappointed he wasn't getting a pet after all.
"You must bring it to me," Leviathan demanded.
Lus rolled his eyes and then scooped up Avil in his arms. He walked to the interbox and held the cat out. "Here you go."
"Yes. Yes, my essence," Leviathan cooed.
Yet nothing happened. The cyclops cat stared at the red eyes and squawked at the uncomfortable hold, but it remained.
"I'm not going to hold the cat like this all day. Do your thing," Lusac stated flatly.
"I am. Give me a few moments."
Seconds ticked by as they all three waited for something that didn't appear any closer to happening than before. Avil squirmed in Lusac's hands, and he pulled it in close to his chest. Immediately, it began purring and nestled into his arms.
"This can't be," Leviathan hissed. "It is my essence. It must return to me."
Lus shrugged as he scratched Avil's chin. "Sorry, Leviathan. Looks like Avil chose me."
"Impossible. It is part of me. Hold it out again. It will return to me this time." The red eyes glared at him.
Shaking his head as he smiled at the ball in his arms, Lus took a step back. "No. I don't think it will. Avil made its choice. Besides, the system even recognized it as a companion."
"I gave you that system, boy. Do not tempt me to take it away," Leviathan threatened.
Lus met the Demon's cartoon face with a grin. "Do it, and you lose too. I'll pull the drive and launch it into space where you'll never be picked up."
"You dare try to intimidate a Demon? You know not the power you mess with!"
"A Demon who's stuck in my interbox. Relax, Leviathan. I'll take good care of Avil until you figure out a way to free yourself." Lusac turned away with his new companion, even more sure of his decision to keep Avil. He selected two very nice bowls, dug out some meat scraps, and then carried his haul back to his room where he got Avil settled in. Part of him was worried the cat might damage something in his absence, but in truth nothing in there was that nice anyway.
Lus returned to the Beta Bay to regather the pack of traps and then made his way to Systems Control to get his next assignment. When he got there however, Yrqw turned to him with a serious face.
"About time, Lus. Though you should probably clean up before you head up," the Kremel said as he accepted the bag.
"Head up to what?"
"Command just called down. You're meeting with the Captain in ten minutes in the briefing room."