(Speed-written by request, inspired by a video of cats in zero gravity conditions.)
"Sir," said Rajya, "the shuttlecraft's off-course. I can't get a response from the crew."
Wessel glanced at her monitor. "Life signs?"
"Still present, but subdued. Almost as if they're unconscious."
He rubbed his chin. "Odd. They couldn't have been hijacked. That shuttle's only ferrying animals to the research station."
"Sir, they're not drifting. Someone inside is actively changing course."
Wessel checked the readings on a few other monitors, then sat down at his own control station. He quickly tapped out a command. "I've remotely deactivated the artificial gravity. That ought to throw them for a minute..."
Rajya switched on the monitor to see what was going on in the craft. Two very startled cats, one tri-coloured and the other tabby, clung to each other in midair. "The animals have gotten loose in the cabin," she said to her supervisor. "Kitty-kitty-kitty!" she cooed, "It's all right kitty. We're gonna get you back safe. Kitty-kitty-" A third, somewhat scruffy-looking one, peered over the edge of the control panel. He reached out and switched the monitor off.
She gaped at the screen. "They hung up on me!"
"That's better," said the scruffy black and white cat. He dug his claws into the fabric of the pilot's seat to keep from rising up. "Now then, we ought to be able-"
"Doctor, what's happened?" asked Victoria, who had never found herself floating in midair before.
"They've turned off the gravity."
"Oh, aye, that," said Jamie.
"Could we turn it back on, please?"
The Doctor batted at a few buttons. "We could, although it seems the ground crew has locked us out of some of the controls. I've got to try to land us close to the TARDIS before they regain controle of the shuttle." Clinging to the seat with his back claws, he started changing settings and resetting coordinates. He looked around at the control panel, which was rather large for him. "I need one of you to get in the co-pilot's seat."
His friends looked at each other, then back at him. They were stuck in the middle of the space, rotating slowly. "Ah, yes...just push off from each other gently and...gently!"
Jamie pushed off as hard as he could, sending the two of them ricocheting off the walls of the shuttle, flailing for something to grab onto. Somehow, Victoria ended up clinging to the back of the pilot's seat while Jamie caught a hold of one of the nylon straps on the ceiling.
"Do be careful! Victoria, can you hop on over to the other seat?" Carefully, she picked her way into the pilot's seat, then stepped over to the co-pilot's. The Doctor gave her a little push, only to end up nearly floating away himself. Victoria was able to quickly grab his paw.
"Hey, Doctor?" called Jamie from the ceiling.
"Not now, Jamie," he said, trying to get back into position.
"It's those two blokes who brought us here-"
"Just a moment..."
"But Doctor, they're waking up!"
"I said...they what?!" Back in the pilot's seat, the Doctor looked back. Indeed, the two crewmen were stirring. "Oh, crumbs! Jamie, try and hold them off while I take us back to the planet."
"Do what?!"
"You'll think of something!"
With that, the Doctor turned back to the controls, instructing Victoria on which buttons on her side she needed to press. Jamie looked around and spotted a phaser. Pulling himself along by the ceiling straps, he made his way over and grabbed it. He held it awkwardly in both paws and pointed it at the crewmen. "Back off, the both of ye!"
The men froze and held up their hands in surrender, floating in midair. Jamie was upside-down. Then, one of the men recognized the absurdity of being held at gunpoint by a cat and began moving forward. "I warned ye," said Jamie. He pressed what he hoped was the trigger.
Nothing.
"Come on, ye silly thing! Work!"
Just then the Doctor shouted, "Gravity!" Jamie fell and landed on his feet. The phaser clattered to the floor next to him and went off right in the direction of the two men.
"What's going on back there?"
"Ah...I took care of yon men, Doctor."
"Good. Come on up, Jamie. We're about to re-enter the atmosphere." The Scotskitty climbed into the co-pilot's seat with Victoria, and at the Doctor's instruction the two of them fastened the safety belt. "Now, we don't have access to the auxiliary thrusters, the inertial dampeners, left engine three, and the navigation system is offline-"
"But you can fly this thing, can't you?" asked Victoria.
"Of course I can! Easy as falling off a horse. You'd better hold on to something. This may be just a bit bumpier that we're used to."
Victoria and Jamie quickly tightened the safety belt.
"Here we go!" said the Doctor, paws on the controls.
The shuttlecraft tore through the upper atmosphere, the outer hull starting to glow red-hot. As it descended, it blew two engines and spun crazily. The emergency parachute deployed and caught fire. Halfway down, a piece of the hull popped off. Soon, it leveled off into an uneasy glide and ploughed into the earth at an angle, bounced, flipped twice, then skidded for a good six hundred metres before finally coming to a halt. In its wake, it left a deep gouge through the middle of a forest.
A small, scruffy cat peered over the top of the controls. "There we are, nice and safe. Jamie? Victoria?"
His friends were huddled tightly together, eyes wide, fur on end, and claws embedded so deeply into the seat they'd hit stuffing.
A few deep breaths later and they were ready to leave. The Doctor was concerned to see the two crewmen in a heap beside the door, but after checking their vitals he relaxed. "They'll be all right," he said as he hopped on top of them to reach the door switch. Jamie and Victoria bolted the instant the outer door slid open. "Where are you going?"
"Back to the TARDIS!" Jamie called back. "Before ye get any more daft ideas!"
"Daft ideas?!" The Doctor huffed and scampered after them. "At least my daft ideas kept us out of a laboratory!"
Meanwhile, at the moonbase's research station, a scientist was showing a new colleague around.
"...and this is the break room. You can grab a bite to eat, get a drink, and if you go over in that room, you can play with puppies. It helps take your mind off of work."
"Oh, nice. Do they have cats as well?"
"We were supposed to get some, but something happened to the shuttle delivering them."
"Pity. I love cats..."