Pet Noir by Pati Nagle

Leon.”
    â€œLeon, huh? Good name I guess. If you’ve ever got kibble to spare I’d appreciate a bite or two. I don’t get much support from the bipeds.”
    â€œI’ll see what I can do.”
    â€œThanks, kiddo. Seeya around.”
    He ambled off toward the top of the airlock door. Beyond him I could see a little into the airlock, where more doors were set into three other surfaces. A fifth wall consisted entirely of the big docking bay that ships used to access the airlock. All four warehouse doors had to be sealed before a ship could dock and deposit cargo in the lock.
    I watched Spats slink through the door, the crooked white tip of his tail disappearing as he climbed up the opposite side of the same wall. A minute later I saw him go through another door into a neighboring warehouse.
    The light band around the docking door began flashing yellow and the airlock started to beep again, really loud that close. I flinched and headed for the stacks of cargo, hoping to get some mass between me and the noise. I could hear Devin saying goodbye, then the door into the airlock closed with a massive “chunk” and the beeping was muffled.
    â€œHey, Leon,” Devin called.
    I poked my head out. “Mew?”
    He nodded toward the control console at the far end of the warehouse. “Want to hitch a ride?”
    He didn’t have to ask me twice. I came over and grabbed onto his one-all and he pushed off, taking us across the warehouse in seconds. It would have taken me at least five minutes to walk the same distance.
    I hoped we wouldn’t be on this job too long. If I was going to spend a lot of time in low gee I really should learn how to bounce around the place, and I really didn’t want to.
    Devin sat down and got busy at the console. I couldn’t tell Dev about the chewed container until we were in private, so I crawled underneath the console, had a drink from my water bulb, and curled up for a nap.
    I’d had a busy day, meeting Spats and Butch, learning my way around both the rotunda and the warehouse a little more. For the rest of the shift I mostly slept and thought about what I’d seen.
    I did go out a couple of times to make the rounds in the warehouse, visiting the places Spats had pointed out. Didn’t see any mice or rats on the first round. I wondered where they hung out when they weren’t chewing their way into the cargo. Had trouble believing the mice lived in the ventilation system, but maybe it led to places they could hide.
    As for the rat, too big for that hole in the vent screen. It must be living in the warehouse, or in one of the neighboring ones and coming through when the airlock doors were open. I had trouble believing that, though. Usually when the doors were open it was because the humans were doing something in the airlock, and it would be hard for a rat to slip past them. Not to mention dangerous.
    Toward the end of the shift I was on my second round when I heard noises coming from the Food-O cargo bay. I approached stealthily, and when I got near I recognized the distinctive gnawing sound I’d heard the day before. I climbed silently up the side of the Food-O stack, clinging to the cargo net, moving slowly and carefully around the side until I could see the corner that had been broken into.
    The rat was sitting in front of it, eating corn. He was sitting on the surface directly above my head. He looked humongous—even huger than I remembered—but maybe it was just the angle. I took a deep breath and started climbing toward him.
    I was almost on him when one of my claws made a small scraping sound against a crate. The rat looked up and saw me, a kernel of corn in one paw and his mouth hanging open to show those long, yellow front teeth. I launched myself at him.
    He was fast, but not fast enough. I caught him around the middle as he was diving for the hole in the crate. His tail was in my face so I bit it and he squealed,