Pilot, navigator, engineer, doctor, scientist--ship's cat? All are essential to a well-staffed space vessel. Barque Cats have become highly prized crew members who travel the galaxy, responsible for keeping spacecraft free of vermin and for acting as morale officers. But the announcement of a widespread epidemic affecting livestock on numerous planets throws their future into doubt. Suddenly the galactic government announces a plan to impound and possibly destroy all exposed animals. Not even the Barque Cats will be spared.