The Seeds of Earth

Cobley, Michael. The Seeds of Earth. Book 1 of the Humanity's Fire series. 2009. 400p. ISBN 9781841496320.

When Earth was attacked, three colony ships managed to escape. One of them crashed on a world the humans called Darien. Populated by Uvovo, a race of small furry scholarly humanoids who live in a symbiotic relationship with what remains of the large forest which once covered the entire planet and its moon. The humans crash landed on the planet after their ship AI took over controls of the colony ship. Over the last 150 years, this ragtag band of humans established cities on one of the continent, and developed a vibrant culture, incorporating Uvovo influence. The two races have been learning from each other, and the humans have been helping the Uvovo conduct archeological research on significant sites, including on Giant's Shoulder, in what appears to be an ancient temple.

Greg Cameron is one of these archeologists, and he works closely with Chel, one of the Uvovo scholars. They discover that Giant's Shoulder shelters a warpwell, an ancient device built by the Forerunners in their battle against the Legion of Avatars. This revelation coincides with the arrival in orbit of an Earth ship. Earth survived the insectoid assault and has allied itself with the Sendrukan Hegemony, a large star empire. The Earth ship transports a Sendrukan ambassador, who lands on Darien and soon assumes control. The Sendrukans call on their allies, the Brolturans, to provision troops and warships for the new planet. The Sendrukans are hoping to access the warpwell so they can dominate the galaxy.

As the situation degenerates on Darien, humanity's two other lost colonies are also brought into the galatic battle. A large cast of characters creates a proper space opera spanning the galaxy as ancient enemies seek to escape the bonds that keep them subdued in the lowest tiers of hyperspace to once again wreck destruction and impose their will on a suffering galaxy!

The story continues in Orphaned Worlds.