The Pearl - Synopsis

The PearlThe Shutaka are feared throughout the Outer Rim. This ancient race of warriors owe allegiance to no planet and hire out as mercenaries to whoever can pay.

Guided by master Strategist-tacticians, the Shutaka have gained almost mystical status among the wild Outer Rim colonies and are more than a match for the Federation-backed OREF forces.

But suddenly, the hunters have become the hunted. Betrayed from within, the Shutaka are brought to the brink of extinction and the handful of survivors must go into hiding.

It is then that the true nature of the Shutaka is revealed - they are the guardians of the Pearl, within which the fate of the universe is inextricably entwined.

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(This novel was started in the early 1980s and was/is intended to be no more than a "Space Opera" in the grand tradition. While it is my own original work, readers of Science Fiction and Fantasy will recognise many familiar themes and concepts. Some of this is intentional homage; some is happenstance. The genre is home to many fertile minds, often exposed to the same early influences, and common themes can develop ideas in parrallel, but independently. Over the years I have seen more than one of my "original" ideas pop up in a movie or book, much to my bemusement. Such is life; I congratulate that author who got their idea to market before I!)