Earthclan

It is held throughout the Five Galaxies that the first sapient species—the Progenitors—arose billions of years ago. They bestowed the gift of intelligence upon countless other races, and then mysteriously disappeared into time and space.

In their name, Uplift has become a sacred tradition. Over the course of history, innumerable patron species have helped worthy pre-sentients take their place among the starfaring races. In return, the clients are indentured to their patrons for 100,000 years—modest payment for a priceless boon

Unless the patron race is careless, or cruel.

There have been incidents of clans that ruthlessly exploited or destroyed helpless clients. . . cases of patrons abandoning clients for no apparent reason. But Uplift has long been the way of galactic society; a clan's honor and status are based on the number and quality of its clients.

Until homo sapiens upset the apple cart. Human beings had apparently not only uplifted themselves without a patron, but also two other species, chimpanzees and dolphins. The very idea amazed—and in some cases outraged—senior clans. And now, adding injury to insult, the upstart humans have inadvertently led the rest of the galaxy into war!

The terran ship Streaker, crewed by 150 neo-dolphins, seven humans and one neo-chimpanzee, had been poking through a small gravitational tidepool when she found a derelict fleet: 50,000 ancient ships, each the size of a moon—vessels possibly dating from the time of the Progenitors.

Thrilled by the discovery, unaware of its implications, the dolphin captain, Creideiki, had psicast to Earth for instructions—with the whole galaxy listening in. The Terragens Council had answered in code: "Go into hiding. Await orders. Do not reply." But how long can they survive on the hostile water world called Kithrup, with fanatical Galactics battling furiously for the privilege of "debriefing" them?

Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy, the avian Gubru have laid seige to a terran colony, the planet Garth. The Galactics' intent: to hold the world's humans hostage in exchange for information about the Streaker—and to gain whatever profit they can. Only the neo-chimps, one human soldier and a pair of friendly aliens can fight the Gubru. . . and try to insure a future for Earthclan.