Cover Texts of The Kif Strike Back

Chanur's Revenge. Kif Power. Hani Pride... When the kif seized Hilfy and Tully, hani and human crew of "The Pride of Chanur", they issued a challenge Pyanfar, captain of "Pride", couldn't ignore, a challenge that was to take Pyanfar and her shipmates to Mkks station and into a deadly confrontation between kif, hani, mahendo'sat, and humans. And what began as a simple rescue attempt soon blossomed into a dangerous game of interstellar politics, where today's ally could become tomorrow's executioner, and where methane breathers became volatile wild cards playing for stakes no oxy breather could even begin to understand...

In Compact Space, where some seven species have staked out their often-disputed interstellar frontiers, events move with speed, surprise and a tendency to escalate into shattering violence. Confrontation is routine and treachery, to some, is a way of life.
So when the kif seized a hani and a human, the gauntlet was down. Pyanfar Chanur was not one to ignore such a challenge. But what she saw as a simple rescue attempt soon became the deadliest game that even she, controversial captain, no stranger to battle and desperate risk, had ever been engaged in.