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well for future relations. So: Renpet’s sister, the self-appointed queen, had joined us.
    “You call those cats?” the queen demanded of Pshaw-Ra, her voice expressed in a low hiss. “They look like bears. Those hairy ears and huge hot coats with fur sticking out everywhere. And the size of their paws!” She gave a little shudder. “You have exceeded your authority bringing such inferior beasts among us.”
    “Majesty, they grow on you,” he answered in a calming purr. More loudly he said, “They are refugees from the corrupt system that stripped our planet of many of our ancestors and the servant class.” Lowering his tone again. “And remember what I told you about my plan.”
    “Oh, very well.”
    And she turned away from us, her tail high over her sleek-furred rump, and permitted her bearer to return her to her pallet.
    “That’s some female,” Bat said. “Who is she?”
    “That is my queen, Nefure,” Pshaw-Ra said.
    “Your mate?” I asked.
    “My daughter,” he replied, giving his shoulder a self-satisfied lick.
    “So by queen you mean she’s the boss of you?” Bat asked.
    “Just climb onto the nice pallet, kittycat, and don’t ask impertinent questions,” Pshaw-Ra told him. “Chester, you too. Quickly. It is too hot for you here. Refreshments await us in the city.”
    The people carrying the pallets looked hot and uncomfortable, but smiled and waved to the crew to join them.
    Captain Loloma walked up to the most important looking man and inclined his head in greeting. “We’re very glad to see you. We seem to be stranded. One of your—well, one of your cats led us here but we are about out of fuel and hope you can help us. We don’t actually have enough for the life-support systems to function for long, but if we can work out a deal, we will refuel and be on our way as soon as possible.” Jubal noted that the captain said nothing about them being on the lam.
    The man smiled broadly, and a woman stepped forward and inclined her head as the captain had. “We welcome you and the wondrous creatures you bring in such quantity. Never had we dared hope for so many. We have arranged accommodations for each of them and each of you, where your every need will be provided. You must not stay aboard your ship. It would be unbearable during the day, whereas our dwellings are well equipped for Mau’s climate. Please, be our guests.”
    The captain looked around as if for transport. “Uh, you walked?”
    “Yes, it is warm but it is only a short distance. The sacred ones of course must ride, but it is tradition that we walk.”
    “We should help you load the cats,” he suggested, though to Jubal he sounded extremely unsure how that was going to happen.
    “It is not necessary. They arrange themselves,” she replied. Andindeed, with a little prodding from Pshaw-Ra and Chester, the Barque Cats each found a pallet. To Jubal’s surprise, there was no squabbling, hissing, spitting, or fluffed fur, mostly because the native cats were almost uncatly in their gracious welcomes, offering grooming and nose kisses, and showing their guests to the dishes of water and food set into the pallets for their use. Women, sweating themselves, wielded feathered fans to keep the cats cool.
    The young mother cat, Flekica, and her seven-week-old kittens rode on a pallet with several other females who seemed to admire the kittens. The humans carrying that pallet spoke soothingly to the mother cat.
    The captain signaled to the rest of the crew to fall in behind him, then assigned them each a position and told them to make friends. “We need their help,” he said. “You’ve got your marching orders. Go!”
    Sosi and Hadley stayed with him and the first man he had addressed, who accompanied a pallet of six cats, two spotted like leopards, two tawny like Pshaw-Ra, and two black. Space Jockey rode with the queen, Jubal noted, and Chessie, Bat, and Sol rode with Pshaw-Ra and a group of four or five native cats. A boy about