Cirrus@Austlit

'First contact was a surprise when it came. A silly, childish message of peace and friendship from a place so far away only Earth's newest prototype spaceship, the Canta Libre, could reach it - or so people thought.

'The UN-led team that went out to represent humanity was mostly scientists and soldiers, led by General Ramirez, and carrying Ambassador Hartmann to the most momentous meeting in human history. But they were not alone. Other teams went too; one led by Petrov, a gang boss with dreams of technological riches and power beyond measure, the other crewing an ancient ark ship the rest of the world had long since forgotten, its mission changed by an unscrupulous government, its half-human captain, Ken Lee, bitter and heartbroken.

'Some, like young Kitty Hamilton and drug designer Mike McBain, were dragged into the race for first contact against their will. Others, like Geoffrey Cejka and physicist Susan Iverson were eager participants. But none of them – not even the military robot – would complete the mission unscathed or unchanged. Some wouldn't complete it at all.

'Yet, though the struggle to answer the call of the enigmatic aliens would challenge the hapless travellers to the limits of their endurance, and the struggle to be the first to represent humanity would be vicious and deadly, for the survivors, the real struggle was still to come.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'First contact with an intelligent alien species had not just been a disaster, it had been a bloodbath.

'Now, what is left of the crew of the Canta Libre, Earth's emissaries, must travel on, deeper into the galaxy, to plead for help from another, more powerful race, the Iffot Onni. But their would-be saviours are in the throes of a violent civil war when the humans arrive and Iffot leaders are in no mood to deal with backward aliens from the Milky Way's rimward wasteland.

'Struggling to bring their message to the Iffot kings despite factional wars and interspecies treachery, the humans hear that a war has broken out at home. Now their own people have cancelled the mission and are demanding the crew of the Canta Libre return to Earth to face trial for treason. But Captain Robert Ashton and his unlikely collection of civilians, scientists and engineers are determined to save humanity, whatever the cost.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'First contact with alien species had been a disaster, opening a Pandora's box of trouble for humanity.

'Hunted by alien warships, the survivors of the crew of the Canta Libre travel back to Earth, only to discover a ferocious global war has broken out in their absence. Earth's governments have branded them traitors and they too are hunting Captain Ashton and his crew for the alien technology they are supposed to have brought back.

'Fighting for their lives against old allies and new enemies, only the Canta Libre, with its rag-tag crew of scientists and civilians, can bring the world the weapon it needs to defeat the alien warships hot on their tail. But the strange reality-bending force they have on board is a two-edged sword and, in the end, the Canta Libre may be the biggest threat to human survival of them all.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.