Free Catacombs by Anne McCaffrey

let us alert the others.”
    ———
    The eating part of the feast didn’t take very long. We nibbled or gobbled, each according to his appetite or custom, and then looked around to see what would come next. Would mice or birds be loosed for us to chase for entertainment, or would some of the humans be called upon to dangle strings for us? Or maybe we were supposed to have a communal nap?
    Instead, it turned out that we were each literally supposed to kiss the queen’s—tail. That was the reception portion of the evening.
    I stayed near Jubal and the crew, who were eating with the locals, but most of the other Barque Cats seemed perfectly happy to mingle with their hosts. Except for Romina and Ninina, my shipmates looked relatively sleek and contented. When the queen passed them and presented her tail, each of the cats good-naturedly gave it a lick when it was understood that was what she wanted. My sire, Space Jockey, gave the entire tail a long swipe with his tongue, and the queen’s guards had to crowd him into backing off.
    She was sashaying my way, Pshaw-Ra mentally instructing me to greet her. Her eyes were fixed on me and all I could do was wonder how long it had taken for her to get her fur painted with that crown and necklace, when she lurched sideways.
    A great thump had rocked the entire hall, and I found myself sitting on my rump, my ears ringing.
    “What the …?” the captain said, but before he could finish his question or I could pose one to Pshaw-Ra—like, maybe they were shooting off fireworks somewhere to cap off the evening?—the queen’s supple body flipped so that she was facing the great golden statue. In two bounds she had disappeared into the open jaws of the cat idol. Right behind her was Pshaw-Ra, followed by two of her guards.
    Then me, because although I had no idea what was going on, I intended to find out.
    The statue’s tongue and throat were the gateway to a long andwinding ramp that descended into a level underground passage. Its ceiling was supported by lines of pillars carved with designs like the ones on Pshaw-Ra’s ship. Connecting the tops of these pillars were catwalks running lengthways down the passage and widthwise from one side of the cavernous space to the other. Pshaw-Ra and Nefure, followed by the guards, leaped onto one of these and sprinted down the passage, totally sure of their footing. I like tall places as much as the next cat, but the floor looked like a better bet for my paws.
    Running deeper into the passage, I soon saw that this was not just a big cave, it was some kind of workplace or factory. There were long tables or benches, and machinery and things that smelled like hot metal and oil, chemical smells that made my nostrils itch.
    In other places there were beakers and tubes, and big metal structures that looked like the engines of spaceships. I couldn’t put a name to any of it but I thought I might come back and investigate later. The tables were the right height for humans—so maybe this was where they made and repaired things? Why down here? To escape the heat?
    I didn’t have time to examine anything closely because the patter of crazy kitty paws overhead lured me onward.
    Another floor-bouncing thump made the catwalks rattle above me and I heard a sharp, “Rowl!”
    Then something flitted between the pillars. From the scent, I could tell it was a female cat, a particular fish-stealing female cat. I saw a flash of white behind her as the wretched handmaiden girl tried to keep up with Renpet. With a mighty leap I was among the shadows, face-to-face with the fish thief. With another leap I was upon her. I wasn’t sure what she’d done to bounce the floor so noisily or why Pshaw-Ra and Nefure were in hot pursuit, but I wasn’t going to let her get away with it.
    “Gotcha!” I said. I hadn’t forgotten what happened before, thepart where her girl walloped me. I turned, snarled, and snared her with a paw full of claws. “Back off, you,” I