Chapter 07

Chapter 7

            Buster allowed Captain Morgana to move around the ship, but only with a security detail following and only to non-secure locations.  That meant she couldn’t go to the bridge or engine room or other sensitive locations of the ship.  The galley wasn’t one of those locations, though.

            The first-ever Cat aboard a Bloc ship was presently curled up on a table in the galley, staring out one of the windows.  There wasn’t anything for her to see except blank space as the Batpooh cruised through two star systems en route to Cattatonia.  When Spot had tried to tell the Cat captain this, she only hissed at him to be silent.

            He sat at a table in the galley with two of Jake’s security team.  Since Captain Morgana was such a high priority, Spot had been assigned to keep tabs on her at all times and to provide whatever she needed.  So far that had consisted of the table to sit on and a can of fish.  She tasted one mouthful of dry kibble before spitting it back at Spot and saying, “How can you eat such filth?”

            Spot said nothing to this or to any of the Cat’s insults and threats of the Batpooh being destroyed once they reached Cattatonia.  He tried to smile indulgently, the way you would at a puppy, and keep his cool.  If they wanted to get out of this alive, they would have to meet with this queen of the Cats and convince her that the Bloc had no ill intentions.

            “Excuse me, sir, can I sit down?” Marshy asked.

            “Go ahead, Lieutenant,” Spot said.  Marshy sat down on the chair to his left with a bowl of wet kibble.  “I thought you would still be on the bridge.”

            “The captain said I should get some rest before we arrive.”

            “That’s a good idea,” Spot said.  He wished he could get some rest, but he wouldn’t for the immediate future, not until they knew more about what the Cats intended to do.

            Marshy chewed a mouthful of kibble while staring at the Cat staring out the window.  “That’s what a Cat looks like?”

            “More or less,” Spot said.  “They come in other sizes and colors.”

            “Why is she staring out the window?”

            “I don’t know.  Homesick maybe.”

            “What did their space station look like?”

            “Not too different from ours.”

            “Oh.”  Marshy took another bite of her food and then turned to look at Spot.  “Were they going to kill you?”

            “They might have, if not for Ambassador Terrier talking them out of it.”

            “Who is he?  I don’t remember hearing about an ambassador on board.”

            “It was a secret.  I didn’t even know until we were on the transport.”

            Before Marshy could say anything, Dash came over to their table with his own tray of wet kibble.  “Mind if I join you guys?”

            “Of course not.  Have a seat.”

            Like Marshy, Dash stared at the Cat as he ate.  “It’s really weird,” he said.

            “It is a she,” Spot said.

            “Oh, sorry.  She is really weird.”

            “That’s not exactly diplomatic, Dash,” Spot said.

            “Sorry again.  I can’t help it.  I mean they talked about aliens at the Academy but I thought it was just made-up stuff.  I never thought we’d really run into any.”

            “She doesn’t seem that alien,” Marshy said.  “The raccoons are probably more different.”

            “You think they’ll be as mean as the raccoons?”

            “Let’s hope not,” Spot said.  The Cats were far better armed than the raccoons, which meant if things didn’t work out, the war would be far more destructive than a few bombings here and there.  It could very well mean an end to the Bloc.

#

            With the ship on course and no signs of aggression from the Cat warships following them, Buster decided the time was right to meet with “Ambassador Terrier” in his office.  Since the mission had been put together so quickly, Buster hadn’t time to redecorate, so that most of Captain Barker’s artifacts—bits of a meteor, petrified wood from the Great Forest, and a copperfish from Woof Three still swimming in its tank—still adorned the walls.  Buster had added a picture to the wall, a painting of Washingdog made by his mother before the city was built.

            He settled into his chair and then motioned for Dodger to take a seat.  “What exactly happened in that asteroid?”

            “It turned out the asteroid was an outpost of theirs.  We inadvertently broke into it,” Dodger said.  He leaned back in his chair far more casually than proper for a military officer.  “They took us to Captain Morgana and I persuaded her to let us meet with the queen.”

            “Persuade them how?”

            “I disabled her guards and then forced her to cut a deal.”

            Buster snorted at this.  “And when we get to their queen, what do you expect to happen?”

            “I could have let the guards kill us and their ships destroy yours if that would make you happy.”

            “You’ve put us in a very awkward diplomatic position.”

            “Me?  You and Dr. Ruff were the ones who opened up that asteroid.”  Dodger’s muzzle curled with a sneer.  “If I hadn’t been on that transport, Commander Mutt would be dead and probably so would the rest of us.”

            “I can recommend you for a medal if that’s what you want.”

            “No thanks.  I have enough of those already.”

            Buster could only shake his head at this.  There was no rattling the spy, that was for certain.  “So, Ambassador, what have you learned about the Cats so far?”

            “Their technology seems similar to ours.  Their basic physiology seems largely the same, but you’d have to ask Dr. Ruff about that.”

            “But they’ve figured out how to cloak their ships.”

            “Yes.  I’m sure you’ll agree finding out how is our highest priority right now.”

            “My highest priority is making sure this ship doesn’t get destroyed.  I trust you’ll keep that in mind as well.”

            “Don’t worry, Captain.  If your ship is destroyed, how would I get any secrets back to Batpooh State?”

            “That’s not funny.”

            “I assure you I’m deadly serious, Captain.”

            Buster snorted again.  “I suppose you’ll want to take the lead on negotiations, Ambassador.”

            “Not at all, Captain.  I’m sure you’re more than capable of handling it.  I’ll follow your lead.”

            “Thank you.”

            “If you don’t mind, I need to see Dr. Ruff about his analysis of the Cat rifle.”

            “Go ahead,” Buster said, doubting there was anything he could do to keep Dodger from leaving anyway.  After Dodger had left, Buster turned in his chair to stare out the window.  There wasn’t anything to see, but that didn’t matter at the moment.  Out there was Cattatonia—and the fate of all of the Bloc of Planetary States.