Once Apep was thoroughly fused, however, the snake was recondensed to the size it had been in the tunnels—not sun-spanning or even obscuring—and the big ships were able to tractor beam it and haul it away to the farthest, unterraformed planet from the sun, where it was buried in the frozen underground of ancient lava tubes.
There, Pshaw-Ra assured everyone through Balthazar, it would be dormant in perpetuity.
“I have heard him say that before,” Renpet told me somewhat bitterly. She still mourned Chione but had a new task. The Mauans of Mau-Maat had been displaced by the disastrous effects of Apep on their sun and needed a haven. Balthazar, speaking on behalf of the new queen and her vizier, offered them shelter once more on Mau. I think Pshaw-Ra felt that they could use a refresher course in their native culture.
Buttercup and Ishmael would remain with Jubal’s mother and Lieutenant Green, but they came to see their mother off.
“Isn’t it funny how the snakes arrived at the star here on the far side of the galaxy at the same time we did?” Buttercup asked.
“Yes, that is funny. Good thing we were ready for them,” Ishmael said.
“I hate to think what would have happened if we hadn’t been.”
But I suspected that I knew what would have happened if we hadn’t been ready to carry out Pshaw-Ra’s master plan. The snakes wouldn’t have been there either. Once our reputation as defenders of the star system spread throughout the galaxy, there were not enough kittens to go around to all of the humans with high psychic ability that were willing to pay all of the credits they had to be paired with one.
Jubal, weary and a little jumpy, but better, came down to the docking bay to say good-bye to Balthazar and give Renpet a stroke too. She nuzzled his hand hungrily and licked it. She missed a human touch. Pshaw-Ra put a paw on Jubal’s knee in farewell, though of course petting was not something he ever solicited.
Before they boarded, however, the lift descended from the upper decks, and Beulah, carrying a pack, joined us. Renpet spurted a purr and stretched up with her front paws for Beulah to lift her. The communications officer told Jubal, “I always wondered what it would be like to be a lady-in-waiting. I guess I’ll find out.”
“But the Ranzo …?” Jubal said.
“You are ready to take over my job. And we’ll be in touch. Count on it,” she said.
We watched silently as the pointy nose of the pyramid ship drilled its way into space, Jubal stroking my hindquarters and tail.
Funny how in spite of everything, Renpet has put on weight again, he said.
I licked his earlobe. Now that we’re all heroes, there’s a kitten shortage again. I decided to help Renpet out. As queen, it was her duty to set an example, you know.
Don’t you want to go back to Mau too?
No, not really. I washed my paw. I’m sure Pshaw-Ra will have plans for the new litter, so I expect we’ll be seeing them when he’s ready.
Jubal sighed. Not that I don’t want to see your kittens, Chester, but I hope the universe can survive that old cat’s next scheme to dominate it.
I hoped so too, but we’d had psychic bugs, sentient rats, solar snakes, and warrior kittens already. What could he do next? It made me tired just thinking about it. Time for a nap.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ANNE MCCAFFREY, the Hugo Award–winning author of the bestselling Dragonriders of Pern novels, is one of science fiction’s most popular authors. She lives in a house of her own design, Dragonhold-Underhill, in County Wicklow, Ireland.
www.annemccaffrey.net
ELIZABETH ANN SCARBOROUGH, winner of the Nebula Award for her novel The Healer’s War, is the author of twenty-one solo fantasy novels. She has co-authored eleven other novels with Anne McCaffrey. She lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
www.eascarborough.com
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