From the team of Anne McCaffrey (author of Dragonriders of Pern series) and Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Ann Scarborough comes a thrilling new science fiction tale featuring telepathic cats which are invaluable to the spacefarers who own them. Thomas's Duchess - or Chessie, to those who love and depend on her services - is no ordinary cat. She's a purebred Barque Cat, trained to patrol the ship on which she serves, sniffing out oxygen leaks and spotting other problems. But when a corrupt government announces it has found an epidemic that requires the impounding and possible destruction of animals cross the galaxy - Barque Cats included - two young people, a kitten, and a mysterious, powerful cat with a hidden agenda are all that stand between the galaxy's animals and total destruction.