The Man With the Calico Cat

A Mysterious Wreck

Theodore Emelior Beem’s life was that of the solitary male, so much so that a young woman once said of him, “Coming in third with Theodore might have been palatable, if it were not for the fact that I would have been third behind his reference books and his junk.”

When Corbin saw the wrecked airship in the West Side Yards on the outskirts of Gearford, he immediately thought of “that librarian.” Theodore Beem wasn’t exactly a friend, but more of a peculiar acquaintance and more importantly someone who was willing to pay for the odd piece of information. A librarian at the Gearford Science and Technology Library, Theodore had many strange interests and was a talented amateur inventor, but had a particular fascination with flying machines. The last time they bumped into one another at a junk shop in Mayberry, Theodore told him that he would pay for any leads on unusual airship parts.

Tired after a difficult repair job in a local textile mill, Corbin returned home walking past the West Side Yards, when he saw it. Several carriages had pulled into the Yards. Each of the carriages was covered with a tarp, but two of them carried oversized objects that could have only been the broken shell of an airship and yet they looked different, or at least peculiar to his layman’s eye.

“It wasn’t someth’n from Antiford or even a Prush, I know that much,” recounted Corbin.

“And you say the metal on the ship seemed different?” asked Theodore.

“It seemed fragile and was light, but it was stronger than all that. Even though it was ridiculous thin and fragile looking, they used it for the support struts,” replied Corbin, “The wood work was also finer than any that I’d ever seen on an Antifordian ship.”

“How about the engines?” asked Theodore.

“I wasn’t cataloguing the damned thing,” snapped Corbin, “Anyways, that’s the thing. There were men guarding the wreck. At least two nasty looking fellows and thems armed. No ways, could I have gotten any closer. I’d expect the ship will be likely getting crushed, so you’d best hurry.”

One of the interesting features of the Yards and something of a landmark in its own right was “the Gear.” The operator of the Yards, one Redbeard McLeod, had fashioned an enormous metal gear out of hardened steel. “The Gear” was steam operated and was part of a larger contraption that crushed and compressed large metal objects, some over twenty feet long, into five-foot compressed cubes.  When famously asked about the point of this exercise, McLeod said with a toothy grin, “I suppose I just like crush’n things.”

Listening to Corbin’s account of what he had seen, Theodore paused in thought. It was an open secret that important people often used the West Side Yards to rid themselves of large inconvenient things. It helped that the Yards were actually located on unincorporated land on the western outskirts of Gearford. Sometimes, it was a carriage, occasionally a landship, and it was even rumored that someone had once brought part of a building for disposal. Occasionally, the people contracting this work were technocrats and perhaps more frequently they were criminals. The one thing they all had in common was a desire to remain anonymous and the need to make something disappear. It was said that Gearford’s darker elements appreciated McLeod’s discretion and his singular lack of curiosity. McLeod’s only condition was that any dead bodies be taken out beforehand, because of the mess it created. Then again, if the customer paid enough, McLeod could be convinced to turn a blind eye to even that. In any case, eventually the question became moot, because after they were crushed, the metal hulks from the Yards were taken to the furnace where they were melted down,

After Corbin finished, he looked at Theodore who appeared deep in thought. All of the facts, seemed to show that someone was looking to make an airship disappear. If Theodore wanted to get a look at the thing, he needed to hurry and needed help.

“Well Corbin,” smiled Theodore, “What would you say about maybe earning an extra few Ciam?”

Corbin pulled up to the Western Yards in a paddocks carriage towing a large load of junk. Using a piece of metal scrap, he banged loudly on the gate.

“Hey there! Anyone home? I got a job!”

After a few minutes of yelling, two men, armed with shotguns, opened the door.

“What the hell do you want?” asked the larger of two men, a brute with a massive beard. “The Yards are closed!”

“Uh well, that’s the thing,” answered Corbin, “My boss asked that I bring this load of garbage to the Yards.”

  “I don’t care what your fucking boss asked. Take your paddock and clear out.”

“Uh man, you know brother. . .Can I call you brother?” whispered Corbin conspiratorially, “My boss won’t like it if I come back with a full cart. Can I just drop this off for McLeod?”

“What the hell!? Are you stupid?!” yelled the smaller of the men who wore a bowler hat, “Are you asking for a beating?!”

For what seemed like forever, but what was probably no more than five minutes, Corbin talked to the two men. He stuttered and acted confused, all the while, the guards began to lose what little patience they had. It was a dangerous game, but one Corbin played well. He just hoped that Theodore was making haste to get a look at his precious airship.

  On the other side of the junkyard, Theodore had already entered through a broken part of the wall surrounding the Yards. McLeod was nowhere to be seen. He could be stoking the fires to get a good head of steam for the Gear. Nevertheless, Theodore’s eye’s widened. The airship was conspicuously positioned in a clearing on a runway leading up to the Gear.

Pulling off the tarp, Theodore gasped. The ship which was nothing more than a hulk, was still beautiful. Corbin was also right. The metal frame was a super light, but exceptionally strong alloy. Raising his eyebrows, he saw that the airship had been caught in a hail of gunfire. None of the bullets seemed to penetrate the hull, but in a few places, there was evidence that larger caliber weapons were used. Poking his head under the tarp Theodore saw a bloody mess. It was enough blood and gore to convince him the crew was likely long dead.

Looking at the ornate wooden trim, it occurred to him this must have been a Titanian vessel. The Titanians were nothing if not craftsmen and this would also explain the light alloy used on the vessel.

Something suddenly caught his attention. Almost simultaneously, Theodore heard the voices of the men at the gate rise to a crescendo. He also heard Redbeard McLeod’s voice booming over the others. Clearly, they were losing patience with Corbin. Theodore had to hurry.

Pulling back another tarp, Theodore looked further into the shell of the hull and almost immediately his mouth fell open.

“Well what do we have here?” whispered Theodore.

When McLeod started walking to the gate, Corbin knew that the game was over.

“Get the hell out of here and away from my gate!” yelled McLeod.

As the men began closing the door and McLeod turned around, Corbin took this as his cue. If Theodore wasn’t already leaving, there would be hell to pay. The last place Corbin wanted to be was anywhere within 500 yards of the Yards, especially if those men or McLeod realized that they had been played.

Suddenly, he heard yelling and the blast of a shotgun.

“Damn it Theodore. You’re getting slow,” muttered Corbin as he depressed the accelerator. He quickly sped away from the Yards and made the first left.

Almost thirty minutes later an out of breath Theodore met Corbin at their rendezvous. Theodore held a large basket covered with canvas. Corbin wondered if it was his imagination, but the canvas was rustling and small noises could be heard.  

“Please tell me, whatever you got there was worth it,” said Corbin.

“Almost definitely worth it,” answered Theodore distractedly. He carefully lowered the basket to the ground and lifted away the canvas.

“How are we doing my darlings?”asked Theodore.

Corbin’s mouth dropped. Sitting in the basket was a black cat and what appeared to be her five kittens, who were only a few weeks old. There were a few tuxedo ones, a white one, a black one and a small little calico with a fox tail. Each of the kittens wore a leather collar with a small round silver charm.

“You got to be shitting me. What the hell is this?” whispered Corbin.

“They’re cats Corbin,” replied Theodore playing with the kittens who were stumbling over one another.

“I can see they’re fucking cats. I thought you went into the yards for an airship. I risked my life talking to two brutes, one of them didn’t have a neck. They could have shot my fucking head off, and you’re telling me, that during all that time, you were rescuing cats?”

“Well, a mother and five kittens, Corbin, and they probably would have died had I not acted. Also truth be told, they aren’t just any cats. Do you know what kind of cats these are?”

“Well, they look a bit furry,” said Corbin uncertainly.

“Yes indeed. These are Lesser Titanian Forest cats, a much sought after breed of medium to long hair cat.”

“And how the hell did they end up here?”

“Quite right. You were absolutely correct before, this was a unique airship. Not at all from Antiford. It was a Titanian vessel and no doubt a beauty, before she was shot to hell.”

As the kittens played around their mother, Theodore recounted his search of the airship. Theodore told Corbin how he found the mother cat with a litter of kittens in a basket, wrapped up in a blanket. Thankfully the kittens were sleeping, otherwise, they might have complicated things. Along with the cats, Theodore found a bloody signet ring with the Titanian seal. Energized with the exultation of having just had a near death experience, Theodore excitedly offered background on the Lesser Titanian Forest cats. They were often bred and raised by the wealthy of Titania. In fact, and this explains their presence on the airship, Titanian Forest Cats are also thought to be good luck and because of this many Titanian ships carried them part of their ship’s complement.

“Well, clearly they didn’t bring enough luck to the crew. Poor bastards.”

Only partly paying attention to Corbin, Theodore was playing with the kittens. The smallest one, a calico with a white tipped tail batted at him and tried to wrestle while playfully biting his hand.

“Aren’t you a fierce little fox,” smiled Theodore.

“So, Theodore, are you going to sell the lot? These must be valuable right? Probably could get a good price for’m?” asked Corbin eagerly.

Theodore, looked at Corbin for a briefest moment and then back at the kittens who were like little puff balls stumbling over one another. “No, I don’t think so,” thought Theodore.

A Visit to the Titanian Embassy

 Walking through Gearford, Theodore made his way towards the Horn District and the Titanian Embassy. He pushed a large cart in front of him, which contained a basket with the kittens. Although he had covered them to attract less attention, occasionally, their plaintive meows would catch the ears of passersby who looked at Theodore with incredulity. The calico kitten was particularly active and often poked her head from under the covers and chirped at him. She was convinced that there were a lot of interesting things happening in the big wide world and she wanted to be a part of it. Theodore did his best not to draw any attention to the little kitten. Instead he stopped the cart, repositioned the blanket and kept moving.

Although it may not have been the smart thing to do, Theodore knew that returning the cats to the TItanians was the right thing to do. These cats likely belonged to some poor dead Titanian, whose relatives were no doubt fearing the worst by now.  He expected that these cats would likely hold a lot of sentimental value for the family members of the deceased owner.

Looking at the basket as he travelled through the streets, Theodore reluctantly acknowledged that it was likely best that the cats were returned before he grew overly attached to them. The calico kitten was especially starting to grow on him. She followed him around the house and liked to sit next to him while he worked at his desk. Perhaps unwisely, he had even given her a name. He called her Captain Fox, a name that seemed appropriate given her prominent fox tail and the way she seemed to command his attention.

The Titanian Embassy, like many of the others, was a grand structure. It filled all the requirements of form and function. A castle-like structure, it was meant to impress the visitor, even while offering protection and privacy to its inhabitants. Theodore found himself suitably impressed as he walked up to the gate with his cart.

Two large Yeti guarded the gate. When Theodore mentioned that he had important business with the ambassador, the Yeti looked him over skeptically. At their request, Theodore pulled back the blanket. When they saw the cats, they exclaimed loudly and started speaking to each other rapidly in their native tongue. One of them ran into the embassy and a few minutes later, one of them returned to escort Theodore into a reception room. A male secretary sat at a desk, gave Theodore a suspicious sideways glance and looked into the basket. Almost immediately, he taken with the cats and picked up one of the tuxedo kittens. All the while Theodore did his best to explain how he found the kittens in the junkyard.

“Awww Freya, you’ve had your kittens! They’re beautiful!” exclaimed the secretary, who seemed to clearly recognize the mother cat.

Freya chirped as if to say, “Of course they’re beautiful,” and then licked her forepaw.

“Mr. Beem, you will wait here. I will bring Freya and her kittens in to see the ambassador.”

While Theodore was somewhat bothered that they were barely acknowledging him and were taking away the kittens, he realized that this was the way of things. To the Titanians, Theodore looked like a shabby suspicious local, while in contrast the cats were precious and held in great esteem.

Almost five minutes later the secretary brought Theodore into the office of the Titanian ambassador. Both the office and the ambassador were striking in appearance, but what gave the otherwise serious moment a level of absurdity, was that the ambassador was kneeling on the floor playing with the kittens. As Theodore walked into room, the ambassador rose to her feet. An impressively tall woman, with green eyes, long blond hair and a blue dress, she reached out to shake his hand.

“My pardons Mr. Beem, I am Ingrid Illstedt, the ambassador of Titania to your country. Sorry for making you wait. I must thank you for bringing Freya home to us, along with her kittens. We owe you a debt. Liam please bring us some tea please.”

Theodore sat awkwardly on the cushioned seat as Liam, the secretary, brought him a cup of tea. As soon as he left them, the ambassador looked at Theodore more seriously.

“Alright Mr. Beem. Tell us how Freya come into your possession. My secretary mentioned that you had rescued them from a junkyard?”

Recounting the events from two days ago, Theodore shared all that had happened. How he had found the Titanian ship in the West Side Yards, how the ship had likely been attacked and its crew killed and how he had found the kittens. During several points in the story, the ambassador stopped Theodore to ask pointed questions. Although the ambassador was incredibly polite, Theodore received the distinct impression that he was being gently interrogated and his story was being checked for inconsistencies. Finally, at the end of his story, he handed the signet ring that he had found to the ambassador. When she took it, she paused and then became visibly moved. The ambassador’s hands trembled and then she calmed herself.

“Sorry, Mr. Beem. You see this signet belonged to a very close and good friend, who was a highly placed member of our government. She had come to Antiford on a highly sensitive mission. These were also her cats you see. Maybe you know how important Lesser Titanian Forest Cats are to us. I had heard some time ago that Freya was going to have kittens so when my friend Elin came here, she brought her along. Nothing but death would have ever separated her from Freya. What a silly fool, my old dear friend.”

Even as they spoke, the mother cat primly sat up and watched as her brood stumbled around the ambassador and Theodore. The small calico looked up at Theodore and chirped, raising her front forepaw.

“It seems you have made a friend, Mr. Beem,” remarked the Ambassador.

“Aww yes, she is a friendly one to be sure,” answered Theodore, as he absentmindedly scratched the calico behind the ears. The kitten rolled to her side and stretched in pleasure.

“Well, Mr. Beem,” said Ambassador Illstedt, “We are in your debt. What you have shared with us is quite disturbing and frankly more than that. We were already afraid that Elin had met with treachery and this confirms it. You have exposed something which may have far reaching effects for Titania and Antiford. Someone clearly was looking to dispose of the evidence. They would have succeeded, were it not for you. I wouldn’t have thought that such a thing as the brazen murder of a Titanian representative was possible. Perhaps these were criminals, or perhaps this was something more. Who can say?”

Although the ambassador said she didn’t know who killed their representative, Theodore thought the tone in her voice said otherwise. She knew, or at least had a good idea about the perpetrators.

“I’m very sorry to bring you this news, Madame Ambassador.” Said Theodore. Not knowing what to do, he bowed slightly, “I will take my leave from you now.”

As he stood and made for the door, the voice of the ambassador stopped him.

“Wait, Mr. Beem. We cannot let you leave without offering something for your service.”

“No, that’s totally unnecessary, Madame Ambassador,” said Theodore shaking his head, “This was the right thing to do.”

Raising her eyebrow, Ambassador Illstedt stopped and looked at Theodore appraisingly.

“You are a most unusual man, Mr. Beem. Should we ever be in `the position to help you in the future, don’t hesitate to contact me. These are dangerous times and it’s always good to have friends.”

Shaking the hand of the ambassador, Theodore took his leave, returning home. Although he never had any affinity for animals, he had become genuinely taken with the little calico, Captain Fox. He shook his head as if to waken himself out of a stupor. Best forget this foolishness. He had returned the cats and it was done. Although his adventure into the junkyard had mostly proved fruitless, he had managed to take a large piece of scrap metal from the airship back with him. Once in his workshop, he hoped to conduct some experiments on this strange ultra-light metal. Who knows what he might find out? It might even help him with future projects, including his plans to build an airship.

  Almost two weeks later, on a quiet Demiday, Theodore heard a loud knock on his door. For a brief moment, he wondered if it was his neighbor Mrs. Winslett. She was always nosing about his business. After a second loud knock, Theodore resigned himself to an awkward exchange with his neighbor and conversation about the importance of yard maintenance. Opening his door, Theodore was surprised to find a serious and dour looking Yeti standing in front of him. He carried a basket and offered it to Theodore.

“On the orders of the Honorable Ambassador Ingrid Illstedt and in recognition for your service.”

Theodore took the basket from the Yeti, who almost immediately departed. Looking at the basket, he wondered what it could possibly be. Perhaps it was a selection of meats and cheeses? The Titanians were renowned for their smoked meats and cheeses and Theodore was hungry. Suddenly he heard an ever so faint sound.

“Meow”

Lifting up the cloth, Theodore saw that it was Captain Fox, the little calico kitten. She licked his finger and looked at him expectantly.

Placing Captain Fox on the floor, the kitten raised her right forepaw. She then offered a rich deep throated purr as she wandered back and forth between his legs. Although, the kitten was doing her best to command all his attention, he looked into the basket and discovered a wax sealed envelope with a letter address to him. It was written in the most beautiful cursive script.

Dear Mr. Beem:

While I understand that you were not expecting a reward, I hope that you will accept this smallest of companions. As you may know her breed is much treasured by my people. 

While the family of my friend were much distressed and grieved by her loss, they were nonetheless thankful to you for bringing back word to us. If you know much of our people, you will know that we pay our debts, so we hope that you will receive this kitten as a small gift. If I noticed correctly, it had appeared to me that you were already taken with one another.

Also, please know that I also meant what I told you. Please feel free to call on me should the need arise.

Your Friend,

Ingred Illstedt

“Alright, Captain Fox,” said Theodore raising the kitten up to his face, “No getting around it. We’re a team now. Shall we see what trouble we can get into?”

As if to offer her agreement, the kitten batted his nose.

And so began the Adventures of Theodore Beem and Captain Fox. From this time forward, they became almost constant companions. They took walks together through the streets of Gearford and together they showed an affinity for getting in and out of all sorts of trouble. Theodore also swore to all those who would care to listen, that Captain Fox was no mere cat. She had extraordinary talents and abilities. Usually when Theodore spoke in this manner, the person would politely nod and smile. After all, Captain Fox was just a cat…

*******

If you are interested in adopting a cat, you don't need to go to the junkyards of Gearford. Go to your local neighborhood shelter or animal rescue and there will likely be cats of all ages and temperaments waiting to be your forever companion and go on adventures with you.