The Grove of Tau Ceti

Once the pride of humanity’s interstellar fleet, the ESS Demeter nears the end of an eight-month voyage to Tau Ceti, where the promise of a new interstellar alliance awaits

But something stirs in the shadows of her circuits and rootwork; ancient and hidden, with designs far beyond the ship’s final mission. When strange, psychic interference from a nearby alien moon plunges Demeter into silence, an unsettling truth emerges: the ship’s organic systems may no longer be under their control.

A mysterious forest teeming with life—or something like it—offers both hope and dread, blurring the line between the living and the mechanical. In its shadow, a telepathic technician must confront her latent abilities and a painful past. With the help of a fellow Druid, a disgraced communications engineer, and a sapling named Merion, they fight to reclaim control of their ship. Together, the remaining crew must face an impossible choice: defend their home or risk losing the galaxy.