LIEUTENANT MING XIONG: The young, idealistic scientist assigned to Starbase 47 and given the enviable task of learning the truth behind the Taurus Meta-Genome and the Shedai civilization that created it. His passion for learning and exploration are at first challenged and eventually dampened as he comes to understand the true power of the Shedai and the potential it represents not only to the Federation but also its enemies. Still, he retains hope that unearthing and even sharing the mysteries of the Taurus Reach might help to forge new ties between the interstellar powers.
TIM PENNINGTON: An investigative journalist working for the Federation News Service and assigned to cover the Federation’s activities in the Taurus Reach. Pennington’s investigations have already brought him afoul of Lieutenant Commander T’Prynn, who sacrifices the reporter’s professional reputation as a means of covering up what really happened to the U.S.S. Bombay. Ostracized by his employers as well as the majority of the station’s crew, Pennington soon finds himself befriended by the unlikeliest of allies, the shady trader/merchant Cervantes Quinn. Pennington and Quinn find themselves partaking of several unusual adventures before fate brings the reporter face-to-face with the truth of the Taurus Reach and the supreme race of beings that once called it home. Armed with these startling revelations, the journalist unleashes an exposé that shatters the veils of secrecy surrounding Operation Vanguard and the very real threat the Federation now faces.
AMBASSADOR JETANIEN: A Rigelian Chel and the Federation’s diplomatic attaché assigned to Starbase 47. A wise and learned statesman with a firm belief in the Federation’s bedrock principles and ideals, Jetanien also is driven by an intense need to forge some form of enduring legacy to mark his life and career. Necessity requires the ambassador to foster several bold diplomatic overtures with the Klingons and the Tholians, but it’s ambition and ego that compel him to do everything possible to salvage such proceedings even as the political climate between the Federation and the Klingon Empire continues to deteriorate.
THE SHEDAI: The enigmatic architects of an ancient hegemony that once spanned the Taurus Reach. At first believed to be extinct, the Shedai in fact were once all but destroyed as a result of civil war. Some survivors of the once-mighty civilization have lain dormant in stasis for thousands of years, waiting for an opportunity to rule again. A few of those survivors have awakened in response to the arrival in their space of Federation and other curiosity seekers, viewing the interlopers as a threat to be annihilated. A lone agent, the Wanderer, has begun systematically pursuing and destroying outposts on worlds once ruled by the Shedai. However, another agent, the Apostate, has split from his peers, disagreeing on this course of violent action. Though the Apostate succeeds in crippling the remaining Shedai, it remains to be seen if they can rally their forces for one more attempt to return to power. Meanwhile, the Wanderer, the one Shedai capable of interstellar travel without assistance from the astonishing technology her people once commanded, continues her mission to rid the Taurus Reach of all who would seek to exploit the power of the Shedai.
Contents
The Taurus Reach 2267
PROLOGUE
One Year Earlier
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60 INTERLUDE
The Taurus Reach 2267
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
The Taurus Reach 2267
PROLOGUE
“Red alert. The station is now on red alert. All hands to battle stations. This is not a drill. Repeat. This is not a drill.”
The lifeless feminine voice of the computer droned over the sound of alarm Klaxons blaring through Starbase 47’s command center. Jon Cooper emerged from his office, a quick glance all he needed to size up the scene around him. Each of the duty stations was manned, and a check of the center’s primary situational displays told him that all defensive systems had been activated and currently were functioning at full capacity. It was only the second time since the station had been declared operational that its deflector shields and weapons had been brought online for anything other than a readiness exercise.
As Cooper crossed the deck, the alarm sirens faded, though the harsh crimson alert indicators continued to flash. After ascending the steps two at a time to the supervisor’s deck, he noted that the station’s commanding officer had yet to arrive. “Status report.”