Chapter 09

Chapter 9

            The shuttle’s windows closed on the way down  to the landing ramp.  “Security precaution,” Captain Morgana said.  Buster wondered just how the Cats were trying to protect with that.

            There was nothing he could do then but lean back in his seat and wait for the shuttle to come to a stop.  It did so just a minute later, settling onto the ramp with only a mild bump.  Captain Morgana sprang from her seat, racing to the door even before the stewardess.  Jake got to his feet, but Buster held up a paw.  “Don’t.  We don’t want to provoke them.”

            Jake grumbled something but sat back down.  He turned in his seat to mutter something to the Saint Bernards with him.  Buster just hoped they would do anything stupid to jeopardize the mission.  This was far too important for the Bloc’s future to throw away on paranoia.

            After Captain Morgana had bounded down from the shuttle, the stewardess came down the aisle, thanking them all for their patience.  “Please be careful descending the stairs,” she warned.

            “I suppose you should go first, Mr. Ambassador,” Buster said.

            “Thank you, Captain,” Dodger replied, though he didn’t sound happy about it.

            Buster followed the secret agent over Jake’s objection.  “We’ll be fine,” Buster said.  “They wouldn’t kill us on the landing platform.”

            Buster hoped this would be the case.  He summoned his courage, walking as straight as possible as he went to the doorway.  He didn’t hear any shouting or weapons fire to indicate a trap.  Reaching the doorway, he shielded his eyes with one paw; despite the jungle canopy there was a surprising amount of light on the landing platform.

            He recognized the gray cat as the one Captain Morgana had talked to on the ship.  They were standing oddly close to each other, Captain Morgana smiling in a way she hadn’t on the Batpooh.  Behind them were a half-dozen guards carrying what appeared to be spears taller than them.  Buster came down the steps to stand beside Dodger.

            “What’s going on?”

            “The queen’s envoy isn’t here yet.  We’re early.”

            “Or she’s just fashionably late.”

            Jake and the Saint Bernards came down the stairs, lining up behind Buster and Dodger.  All three of them looked ready for trouble if the Cats decided to try using their spears.  Again Buster hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

            A horn sounded, the notes so deep and loud that the landing ramp trembled beneath Buster’s paws.  He braced himself and then looked back at Jake to tell him not to worry.  It was just a royal fanfare no doubt to welcome them.

            The guards parted to either side and Buster saw that he was right.  A cat, her fur entirely white, glided through the hole the guards had formed.  A gold headdress adorned with jewels like the carvings on the pyramid, sat on top of her head with holes cut into it so that her pointed ears could stick up from it.  She wore purple robes made of a shiny fabric that reflected the light as she walked.  Her pink nose twitched as she saw Buster and the other dogs.

            Her mouth curved into a smile.  “Greetings,” she said.  “I am Princess Whiskers of Cattatonia.  I welcome you on behalf of my mother, Queen Smokey II.”

            “We are honored, Princess Whiskers,” Dodger said.  “I am Ambassador Terrier of the Bloc of Planetary States.  I bring greetings from President Batpooh Bear and his wish that this might be the first step towards forging a lasting relationship between our races.”

            Buster smiled slightly at this; for a secret agent, Dodger made a very good diplomat.  When Whiskers turned to him, he bowed his head.  “Greetings, Princess.  I am Captain Buster Bulldog of the starship Batpooh.  This is my security officer Lieutenant Jake Bulldog and our escorts, Ensigns St. Bernard and Bernard.”

            “It is a pleasure to meet all of you.  If you will follow me, I will take you to my mother’s throne room.”

            The princess swept around, the hem of her robe sweeping over Buster’s boots.  She walked with a deliberate gait, her back straight as she glided along.  Buster couldn’t help being impressed by how elegant she appeared, more elegant than any of the rich dogs at the soirees Buster Sr. had hosted when Buster was growing up.

            The interior of the palace was as magnificent as the exterior.  The walls had the same crystalline appearance; touching one with his paw, the wall turned transparent.  In the next room he saw large velvet cushions arranged in a circle.  “That is a parlor,” Princess Whiskers said.

            “What are these walls made of?” Buster couldn’t help asking.

            “You will learn, in time.  Provided our negotiations are successful.”

            “You want to protect your secrets,” Buster said.  “I understand.”

            “You are the first outsiders to ever set paw inside the royal palace.”

            “We are deeply honored,” Dodger said.

            The tour continued through winding corridors made of the same crystal.  Buster saw more figures of cats carved into it, some portraits and others historical scenes.  These scenes depicted armies of Cat warriors fighting swarms of birds and strange creatures with long tails and hairless faces.  “What are those?” Buster asked.

            “We called them Monkeys,” Princess Whiskers said.  “They exist now only in the deepest jungles.”

            “Fascinating,” Buster said.  He would have liked to study them further, but Princess Whiskers kept them moving.  They stopped at a set of double doors so tall and wide that the shuttle could have flown through it without difficulty.

            A guard like those back on the landing pad tapped a button.  The doors yawned open slowly, giving Buster and company a gradual view of the even larger room ahead of them.  Like the others it was made of crystal, only on the walls were statues of Cats like those outside.  Perhaps even stranger were the trees inside the room that were like those outside, though not quite as big.

            Buster heard a hiss from one of the trees.  He looked up to see Captain Morgana clinging to a branch, her tongue sticking out at them as she glared down from the tree.  “Do not fear her,” Princess Whiskers said.  “My mother has guaranteed your safety.”

            “Thank you, Princess,” Dodger said.

            The queen herself sat on a dais of crystal steps half as tall as the statues and trees around her.  She lay curled up on a velvet cushion atop a golden bench.  Like Whiskers she had purple robes, though no headdress, only a thin gold fillet on top of her head.  The queen looked more like Captain Morgana, with the same brown fur and black stripes on the top of her head, though it was clear she was larger.  Her long brown-and-black-striped tail coiled like a snake, its white tip pointing at them as if it were welcoming them.

            The queen roused herself from off the bench with a growling sound that didn’t seem like a friendly welcome.  The gray cat from earlier rushed to the queen’s side to help her into a sitting position.  The queen’s green eyes narrowed as she studied the newcomers.  “You are the dogs.  At last we meet,” she said.

            Dodger bowed to her.  “It is good to finally meet you, Your Majesty.  We come on behalf of President Batpooh Bear—”

            “I am aware of that,” Queen Smokey said.  “Why did your ruler have you blunder so clumsily into our territory?”

            “We meant no disrespect, Your Majesty.  If we had known what appeared to be a simple asteroid belonged to you—”

            “Captain Morgana wished to destroy you, but I have decided to spare you—for now.”

            “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

            Buster waited for the queen to order them imprisoned in a crystal dungeon.  Jake and the Saint Bernards would fight valiantly, but it would be nearly impossible for them to make it safely back to the ship, then to the Batpooh, and then to Bloc space.  Not in one piece at least.

            “We will allow you to stay.  You will see the wonders of our civilization.  You will then take word of these back to your president so that he may see our superiority.  We will not tolerate any more incursions into our territory.”

            The queen waved a paw at them in dismissal.  Then she settled back onto the bench with the gray cat’s help.  With a satisfied purr she fell asleep, even her tail falling silent.  Not exactly the greeting Buster had hoped for, but at least they weren’t being taken to a dungeon.

            The gray cat stepped forward.  “Her Majesty has commanded that her daughter, Princess Whiskers, escort you around Cattatonia in her stead.  You will leave tomorrow morning.  In the meantime, we will provide accommodations for you.  Follow me.”

#

            The gray cat took them to an elevator made of the same crystal as the walls.  The elevator was even faster than those on the Batpooh, taking them up to what Buster thought must be the top of the pyramid.  When the doors opened, two guards waited for them.  Buster put a paw on Jake’s arm to keep him from lashing out at them.

            “Your rooms are this way,” the gray cat said.  She led them along a hallway decorated with more scenes, only these were of Cats raising a city similar to the one they had seen from the shuttle.

            Another guard was present to open a gold door.  The suite beyond these doors was larger than Buster Sr.’s in Washingdog.  The gray cat motioned to a metal box on a pedestal beside a half-dozen oversized cushions.  “If you require anything, you may press the button on the intercom.  I am Lady Isis, the queen’s handmaiden.  I will provide whatever you need for as long as you are here.”

            “Thank you, Lady Isis,” Dodger said.  “I’m sure we’ll be most comfortable.”

            “Food will be brought up to you.  We have none of the filth Captain Morgana says you eat, but we will find something appropriate.”

            “Perhaps we could contact our ship—”

            “You will have no communication of any kind with them, not until it is time for you to leave,” Isis said.  “Goodnight.”

            “Not exactly rolling out the welcome mat,” Dodger said after Isis had gone.

            “At least we aren’t dead,” Buster said.  He took a look around the suite.  There were a half-dozen other rooms, three with more cushions like in the main room.  Another room contained a large box of gray flakes.  Buster sniffed at these and then shot back with a yelp.  “That smells worse than a raccoon trash dump.”

            Dodger stared at the box and then glanced over at the sink.  “I think that’s the bathroom.”

            “I’d rather go outside.”  That would be impossible, though, since the doors to the patio and the one they had come in through were locked.

            “Looks like they’ve got us trapped,” Jake said.

            “It’s only for the night.  You heard what the queen said.”

            “I’d like to teach that old—”

            “At ease, Lieutenant.”

            “Yes, sir.”

            Buster took off his uniform jacket and then curled up on one of the cushions as the queen had.  He had to admit they were pretty comfortable.  Maybe that was because he was so tired.  “Let’s try and get some rest.  We’ll each take a shift on guard.”

            He was asleep before he could give any more orders.  He woke up what seemed like seconds later.  The door was open and two guards entering the room.  Buster struggled to get to his feet, until he saw the cart one of the guards pushed.  Isis came in behind them.  “It is time for you to eat,” she said.  “Her Majesty regrets she is unable to entertain you this evening.  We will arrange a royal feast for you upon your return.”

            “That is very gracious,” Dodger said.

            Isis pulled back the lids on the trays on the cart to reveal what appeared to be tiny birds plucked of their feathers.  “These are a delicacy on Cattatonia,” Isis said.  “Stuffed toucan.”

            “Thank you, Lady Isis.  And please thank Her Majesty for us.”

            “You may leave the cart in here.  It will be collected later.”

            After Lady Isis and the guards left, Buster picked up a fork.  He tore a hunk of meat from off the bird.  “Tastes like chicken,” he said.  Jake and the Saint Bernards snorted with laughter.