The fifth novel in Cherryh's Foreigner space opera series, a groundbreaking tale of first contact and its consequences... Nearly ten years after the unexpected return of the starship
Phoenix, the alien
atevi have three functioning space shuttles, and teams of
atevi engineers labor in orbit to renovate the space station. But these monumental advances not only add a dangerously powerful third party to an already precarious diplomatic situation, but rouse pro- and anti-space factions in
atevi society to incendiary levels. To help negotiate these treacherous diplomatic waters, Tabini-aiji, the powerful head of the
atevi's Western Association, has sent the only human he fully trusts into space: his own
paidhi, Bren Cameron.
However, the threat of possible invasion by hostile aliens who attacked
Phoenix's station in a far-off sector of space hangs over them all. And when one of the senior captains of the
Phoenix confesses that this station was not completely destroyed, as had been previously thought, the crew mutinies. How can Bren hope to mediate on a station overcome by a rebellious crew intent on taking the
Phoenix on a rescue mission back into hostile alien territory?
The long-running
Foreigner series can also be enjoyed by more casual genre readers in sub-trilogy installments.
Defender is the fifth
Foreigner book and the the second book of the second sub-trilogy.