Mission Beyond The Stars: Book #1 of "Saga Of The Lost Worlds" by Neely and Dobbs (ePub)

Far above the Milky Way, the inhabitants of a densely populated stellar cluster struggle with the terrifying mystery of two complete solar systems vanishing without a trace, leaving no clue to who the perpetrators might be. A desperate plan was first rejected and then reluctantly accepted when a third solar system vanished. Since only populated systems have attracted this destroyer of worlds, the Kepren Cluster Alliance's entire population is evacuated, then hidden in forced-hibernation chambers carved deep underground in remote, previously uninhabited planets.

Then a lone planet vanishes, leaving its moon behind. The orphaned moon is catapulted on a trajectory toward a mutually destructive collision with Kepren's automated control center, threatening to doom the sleeping billions forever.

The original plan had recognized the need for a non-hibernated emergency team. However -- fearing the destroyer's detection -- a small group was evacuated to an isolated part of the galaxy after undergoing radical memory blockages. So ADIZ, a machine intelligence, must travel to the team's far-distant location, convince them of their true identities, and secure their return to avert the impending devastation.

Their desperate journey exposes them to a mysterious higher intelligence, time paradoxes, and locations outside the known space-time continuum as they strive to solve a cosmic intrigue, confront a conflict of universes, and prevent total disaster...
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An intricately crafted story, Mission Beyond The Stars blends richly developed characters with faster-than-light travel, inter-dimensional transport, multiple universes, and unplanned time-travel. Those characters are tested and bonded in compelling adventures woven together with themes of cosmic confrontation and quiet courage, maddening mystery and clashing intrigue, mystical encounters and quests for higher consciousness.