Search Worlds Without End

Novelette set in the Sholan Alliance Universe. First published in - Science Fiction: DAW 30th Anniversary.

Cut off from Earth by alien conquerors, the human colony on Keiss was slowly building an underground resistance movement to stand against the Valtegan invaders. But for many of the colonists, it was already too late.

Her twin sister Elise captured by Valtegan soldiers, Carrie telepathically and empathically linked with Elise, experiencing all the pain and terror that her sister was suffering. Only Elise's death freed Carrie from torment, though it also left her completely alone in her own mind for the first time in her life.

But this mental void was unexpectedly filled when Kusac, a felinoid crewman of a crashed starship, touched her thoughts. Drawn to him by their shared Talent, Carrie hid the injured Kusac from the Valtegans and in so doing found a friend and an invaluable ally.

Yet though trust and understanding between Carrie and Kusac was soon unshakable, it would prove far more difficult to convince each of their races that their only hope of overthrowing the Valtegans was to band together against the common foe.

And even such an alliance offered no guarantee of success, for no one on any of the settled worlds had yet found a way to defeat this warrior race ready to lay waste to any civilization they could not conquer.

They had been brought together by mutual need when both their peoples were faced with the threat of the warlike Valtegans, an enemy bent on conquering any other race it encountered.

She was Carrie, the daughter of the human governor of the Terran colony planet Keiss. He was Kusac, the son and heir of the Sholan Clan Lord. Both were telepaths of the highest order, and the bond they formed was compounded equally of love and mind power. But even as they sought to refine their suddenly enhanced and intermingled powers and to define their relationship, the two were thrust into the heart of an interstellar conflict.

For while Terran and Sholan representatives worked together in good faith to negotiate a mutual defense treaty, opposing factions on both their worlds sought to use Carrie and Kusac for their own ends--or failing that to destroy them... and all hope for a Terran-Sholan alliance.

Carrie and Kusac--she a human telepath, he a Sholan one--have together found a love stronger than all the differences between their two races.

But now they have become the center of a power struggle between their peoples, as well as of one between the various guilds and clans on the Sholan homeworld. And they have discovered, too, that their situation is not unique. Other humans and Sholans are bonding as well.

With the Sholan homeworld about to bear witness to the birth of a new hybridized race with powers beyond any of the Guilds, the current unstable political climate may soon explode into something far more violent. Approached by the Telepaths, the Warriors, and the secret organization known as the Brotherhood, Kusac realizes that he and Carrie have no choice but to strike out on their own, forming a new group outside of all the Clans and Guilds, and owing loyalty only to the most ancient of their gods.

For only through exploring the Sholans' long-buried and purposefully forgotten past, can they hope to find the answers they seek--and the path to survival not only for their own new people, but for the Sholans and humans as well....

Carrie and Kusac--she a human telepath, he a Sholan one--have together formed a bond stronger than all the differences between their two races. They have survived the political manipulations of both their peoples, as well as successfully walking the Fire Margins, journeying into the past with Kaid, the third member of their Triad, and returning with shocking revelations about the Valtegan enemy and the ancient Cataclysm that transformed Sholan society.

But the price of breaking with tradition comes high, as does the ongoing protection offered by the military. And now Carrie, Kusac, Kaid, and T'Chebbi must undertake a rescue mission to the distant world of Jalna to save present-day Sholans and humans who have been trapped there, as well as a Sholan pair from the age of the Cataclysm.

What they can't foresee is that the Valtegans planted the seeds of destruction on Jalna long ago, transforming the locals into a dangerously unstable race and threatening the telepathic powers of Sholans and humans alike.

The world of Jalna had revealed many secrets to the Sholan-Human teams sent there on a rescue mission. They had discovered one of the methods Valtegans used to control other races, had learned how deceitful one of their own allies had been, and were about to begin negotiations for an alliance with several newly met races.

Yet the planetary conflicts had led to the injured Carrie and Kusac being placed in cryo on a non-Sholan vessel, with Kaid desperately trying to rush them back to Sholan medical facilities. But before they could reach their rendezvous point, the ship they were on was caught in a Valtegan trap, leaving Kaid barely enough time to send Carrie's and Kusac's life-pods into space, in the hope that they'd be found by friendly forces.

Kaid was certain he and his people were doomed, until a massive vessel suddenly materialized, scooping up both Kaid's ship and the Valtegan foe. Now all of them were prisoners of a completely unknown people. And only time would tell whether they'd fallen into the clutches of an even more deadly enemy than the Valtegans....

The Primes are the upper class of the original Valtegan home world, pacifistic intellectuals who are unable to defend themselves from either their own warrior class--the Valtegans who have been making war on the entire galaxy--or any other species. To protect themselves, the Primes have made secret alliances with other races while concealing their own true identities and the location of their home world.

Now, after an ill-advised, accidental kidnapping of the vessel carrying Kusac, Carrie, and Kaid, the Primes have been forced to reveal themselves to the members of the Sholan Alliance. But in the midst of delicate diplomatic negotiations to create a new pact between the Sholan Alliance and the Primes, power struggles on both Shola and the Prime world threaten to jeopardize the treaty.

Still recovering from being tortured by a rogue Prime group, Kusac is about to set out on a secret mission of his own, a mission which could see him branded as a traitor to his own kind. And what he discovers could well lead to the overthrow of the Prime leadership and to the destruction of the delicate balance that is the only thing staving off interstellar war....

In the midst of unrest on his home world of Shola, Kusac has chosen to undertake a secret mission of which only those in the highest echelons of the Brotherhood are aware. And even they are not privy to all the information Kusac has uncovered, nor all the plans he has made.

Carrie and Kaid have not been told the truth. So when Kusac flees Shola, seemingly abandoning his responsibilities, his Triad, and his Clan, Carrie is devastated and Kaid is furious. Yet Carrie will not give up on Kusac, certain he will one day return to explain his actions.

But whether Kusac and his elite team can actually accomplish their mission and escape with their lives remains to be seen. For to achieve their goal they must rendezvous with the Valtegan general who is Kusac's archenemy in the hopes of rescuing Kusac's young son. But even if he succeeds--branded rebel by his own people, struggling to deal with new powers he scarcely understands, and caught between the machinations of his own god and those of a secret and ancient alien organizations--can Kusca hope to regain all that he has lost on Shola?

The battle for an empire has now reached a critical turning point. With the seat of power of the Valtegan Empire stolen by an usurper and Prince Zsurtul's entire family executed, the only hope to avoid a galaxy-wide war of conquest is to retake the Palace and the City of Light, and place Prince Zsurtul on the throne. But whether Kusac, his fellow Sholans, and their allies can accomplish this seemingly impossible task remains to be seen.

And with the other two members of his Triad--Carrie and Kaid--on their way to a rendezvous point, Kusac will not be able to avoid a long overdue confrontation with those he cares about most.

To make the situation even worse, both the gods and the agents of the Camarilla--the elder races' secret ruling organization--have targeted Kusac as a pawn in their plans to control the destinies of the Sholans, Humans, and Valtegans. Hailed by all as the long-awaited Avatar, can Kusac break free of manipulation, and chart a new future for all three races?

It's been a long journey, taking Kusac Aldatan, his family, and allies over countless light-years and to numerous planets and space stations.

Finally it is the time for Kusac and his allies to deal with the threat of the warrior Valtegans on their world of M'zull. Will he work to rehabilitate them using tools given him by the Touiban scientists, or will his calling as the Avatar of Justice take over and destroy all of his foes?

Isolated on M'zull, Kusac--with his clan of Sholans and Humans--works to destabilize the Valtegan society, posing as the avenging spirit of the long-dead, legendary hero Zsadhi. Is it a ruse to fool the M'zullians, or is Kusac becoming more and more like the first Valtegan king with every passing day? If so, can he escape that destiny and chart his own course?

His mission will take Kusac and his clan into mortal danger. Even his young son Shaidan, supposedly safe on a far-distant world, has, unbeknownst to his father, become bound up in the whole plan to destroy the martial spirit of the M'zullians. Can Kusac navigate these dangerous waters and bring all of his family safely home while at the same time ending the M'zullian threat forever? Or will the price of victory prove too great even for the Avatar of Justice?