Cirrus@Austlit

'For Shanna, joining the Scout Corps had been a dream come true. The Scouts were charged with expanding their knowledge of Frontier, a hostile planet their ancestors had crashlanded on 300 years before. As the youngest in her class, Shanna struggles to find acceptance and respect amongst her older peers - a task made more difficult by the fact that she has not just one, but two of the colonists' huge feline companions, their starcats.

'On a routine patrol, she and the other cadets are swept up in the greatest challenge yet to be faced by the settlers of Frontier. Now they find themselves on the very frontline of a war they knew nothing about, and possibly the Federation of Race's last chance against the hostile Garsal. Suddenly their world has changed, and in ways never dreamed of by Shanna and her fellow scouts.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'For Shanna, joining the Scout Corps had been a dream come true. The Scouts were charged with expanding their knowledge of Frontier, a hostile planet their ancestors had crash-landed on 300 years before. As the youngest in her class, Shanna struggled to find acceptance and respect amongst her older peers - a task made more difficult by the fact that she has not just one, but two of the colonists' huge feline companions, their starcats.

'On a routine patrol, she and the other cadets found themselves on the frontline of a war they knew nothing about against the hostile Garsal. Now Shanna and her friends must master their new gifts that will enable them to seek out the alien invaders before they enslave her world.

'But it’s hard. Shanna and her friends have gifts that might save the world, and perhaps one day the galaxy - if they can master them. But the training is difficult, and they still don’t know where the Garsal are.

'On the plateau, the Council has allied with the Starlyne race, but Tamazine, the Senior Councillor’s distrust of their new allies creates a final weakness. Below, the Garsal Overlord needs a new pool of human slaves to expand his empire, but first, he must locate and subdue Frontier’s human settlements.

'Time is running out, for both invader and settler, and the outcome hangs in the balance.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'The new-found alliance of Starlyne and human has fought back, but the Garsal invaders are relentless in their desire to conquer Frontier. Once again, Shanna, her fellow cadets, and their starcats find themselves on the front-line. But even as she and the other cadets begin to master their new skills tragedy strikes, and all of Shanna’s resolve is tested as she discovers there is even more at stake than she’d ever believed possible. As Garsal attacks on Watchtower and the other human settlements intensify, the cadets and Patrol Ten are sent on a mission to infiltrate the Garsal ship. But even as Garsal attacks increase, factions start to appear within the seemingly implacable foe. Now, as Patrol Ten and the cadets begin their mission to free those slaves with the knowledge that may enable the alliance to strike back, Frontier’s future seems increasingly uncertain.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.