Plague Ship - Andre Norton

After an unusual mission trading catnip to the catlike Salariki of planet Sargol, Dane Thorson and other low-ranking crew members of the Solar Queen watch in horror as the rest of their crew falls mysteriously ill. Only the four men left standing-and maybe the Captain's bizarre pet Hoobat-can save their ship from drifting through space for all time, condemned as a plague ship.Originally published by Gnome Press in 1956 under the name Andrew North, Plague Ship is the second installment in the Solar Queen series of science fiction novels by Andre Norton, the male pseudonym of Alice Mary Norton. Plague Ship is a science fiction novel by Andre Norton under the pseudonym Andrew North. It was published in 1956 by Gnome Press in an edition of 5,000 copies. The book is the second volume of the author's Solar Queens series.

The main protagonist of the novel is Dane Thorson, Cargo-master-apprentice on the Free Trader rocket ship the Solar Queen. Free Traders take on trading contracts on remote and recently discovered planets, which can be dangerous and unpredictable.

The Solar Queen has recently obtained a valuable trading contract on the planet Sargol and are building a relationship with one of the races on the planet, the cat-like Salariki. The process goes slowly till the Salariki discover that the Solar Queen is carrying catnip and other plants from Terra that are unknown on Sargol. The traders exchange what little of the plants they have for the rare and valuable Koros stones and collect a native red-colored wood to exchange at home. At the last minute the storm priests of the Salariki demand that the Solar Queen take a pre-paid contract to return within 6 months with more plants...