In Catalyst award-winning authors Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Ann Scarborough introduced readers to the beguiling Barque Cats spacefaring felines who serve aboard starships as full-fledged members of the crew Highly evolved the cats share an almost telepathic bond with their minders or Cat Personsmdashuntil suddenly there is no ldquoalmostrdquo about it and a particular Barque Cat Chester learns to exchange thoughts with his human friend Jubal Other cats soon gain the same ability Behind the seeming miracle is a mysterious cat named Pshaw-Ra who possesses knowledge and technology far beyond anything the Barque Catsmdashor their humansmdashhave ever seen When fear of a virulent plague leads the government first to quarantine and then to kill all animals suspected of infection Pshaw-Ramdashwith the help of Chester Jubal and the crew of the starship Ranzomdashactivates a ldquomouseholerdquo in space that carries the refugees to a place of safety Pshaw-Rarsquos home planet of Mau where godlike cats are worshiped by human slaves But Pshaw-Rarsquos actions are less noble than they appear The scheming cat plans to mate the Barque Cats with his own feline stock creating a hybrid race of superior catsmdasha race destined to conquer the universe Yet right from the start his plans go awryFor one thing therersquos a new queen on Mau Pshaw-Rarsquos daughter Nefure a spoiled bratmdasher catmdashwith a temper as short as her attention span Pshaw-Rarsquos other daughter the rightful queen Renpet is exiled running for her life in the only direction available to hermdashdown into the vast catacombs beneath the Mauan desert Far from receiving the herorsquos welcome he expected Pshaw-Ra must use every bit of his considerable cleverness just to survive Meanwhile as usual Chester and Jubal stumble right into the middle of things in the process uncovering the lost secrets of the Mauan civilization But thatrsquos not all they uncover In the forgotten catacombs deep below the Mauan capital something has awakened Something as old as the universe Something that hungers to devour all light and lifemdashand that bears an undying hatred for cats.
