The Rats, the Bats, and the Ugly

ALIEN INVASION? PLEASE COMPLETE
FORM J23-B, IN QUINTUPLICATE.

Victory! The triumphal return of the cyber-uplifted rats and bats is greeted with the reward the HAR Army traditionally gives its best:

Arrest, detention without trial, and a firing squad at dawn.

Chip Connolly, vat-bred other-ranker hero, comes home from conquest of several million alien Magh', to find that was the easy bit. The real enemy, the enemy within, has not yet even begun to fight.

Now, the rats and bats have to raise the revolution. Or, at least make sure that someone with opposable thumbs survives to open screw-caps. The alien menace lurks in their midst, since the aliens have harnessed that most dangerous foe against them: human bureaucracy. They have to take on the secret police and an alien starship armed with missiles and lasers. All they have is superglue, an armored golf-cart and a delight in mayhem. Surely, they are doomed.

But wait: who is this hero leaping through the darkness? He's a macho hidalgo without peer. His voice is like thunder. . . . His lemur-like body would fit in a soup-cup. However, his waistcoat is immaculate.

Only Fluff can save them now, with a bit of help from Elvis. And some burnin' love.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dave Freer, author of The Forlorn (Baen) and of many articles in scientific journals, is an expert on sharks, an accomplished rock-climber, a wine-taster, a chef and was an unwilling conscript in the "undeclared" South African-Angolan war. With Eric Flint, he has co-authored Rats, Bats & Vats, prequel to The Rats, the Bats & the Ugly, and Pyramid Scheme. He has also collaborated with Mercedes Lackey and Eric Flint in a sweeping alternate history-fantasy set in the Renaissance. The first two books in the series, The Shadow of the Lion and This Rough Magic have been enthusiastically received by the critics and readers. He lives in KwaZulu, South Africa with his wife Barbara, two sons and far too many dogs and cats.

Eric Flint is a popular new star of military and alternate history SF. His first novel for Baen, Mother of Demons, was chosen by Science Fiction Chronicle as a best novel of the year. His next novel, 1632, a major novel of time-travel adventure and alternate history, was a strong commercial and critical success, and has begun a popular series. With David Drake he has collaborated on five novels in the acclaimed "Belisarius" series, the latest being The Tide of Victory. A longtime labor union activist with a degree in history, he currently resides in northwest Indiana with his wife Lucille.

Cover Art by Bob Eggleton

Hardcover
Paperback
This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

First printing, September 2004

Distributed by Simon & Schuster
1230 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10020

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Flint, Eric.
  The rats, the bats & the ugly / Eric Flint, Dave Freer.
  p. cm.
  "A Baen Books original"—T.p. verso.
  ISBN 0-7434-8846-6
  1. Human-animal relationships—Fiction. 2. Space colonies—Fiction. I.   Title: Rats, the bats, and the ugly. II. Freer, Dave. III. Title.
PS3556.L548R38 2004
813'.54—dc22
                          2004014347

Production by Windhaven Press, Auburn, NH
(www.windhaven.com)
Printed in the United States of America

ISBN-13: 978-0-7434-8846-4
ISBN-10: 0-7434-8846-6

A Baen Books Original
Baen publishing Enterprises
P.O. Box 1403
Riverdale, NY 10471
http://www.baen.com

Electronic version by WebWrights
http://www.webscription.net

BAEN BOOKS by Eric Flint & Dave Freer

Rats, Bats, and Vats
The Rats, the Vats, & the Ugly
Pyramid Scheme
The Shadow of the Lion (with Mercedes Lackey)
This Rough Magic (with Mercedes Lackey)
The Wizard of Karres (with Mercedes Lackey)

Baen Books by Eric Flint

Ring of Fire series:

1632 by Eric Flint
1633 by Eric Flint & David Weber
Ring of Fire edited by Eric Flint
1634: The Galileo Affair by Eric Flint & Andrew Dennis

Joe's World series:

The Philosophical Strangler
Forward the Mage (with Richard Roach)

Mother of Demons
Crown of Slaves (with David Weber)
The Course of Empire (with K.D. Wentworth)
The Warmasters (with David Weber & David Drake)

The Bellisarius series, with David Drake:

An Oblique Approach
In the Heart of Darkness
Destiny's Shield
Fortune's Stroke
The Tide of Victory

The General series, with David Drake:

The Tyrant

BAEN BOOKS by DAVE FREER

The Forlorn