The Mask of Eternity — Jack Mackenzie

A forgotten world, a powerful artifact and a galaxy on the brink of war…

Solis DeLacey, captain of the Alpha Centauri Sol Collective vessel Boston, has been sent to a newly discovered world rich in natural resources. But one ship, the Empress Jade and her crew has already gone missing while surveying the planet, dubbed Bounty, and the finger of suspicion is pointing directly to the heart of the Orion Hegemony, the ACSC`s sworn enemy.

DeLacey, her crew and a ship full of scientists find a world teeming with life including the enigmatic natives of Bounty, the Shum. The planet seems like a paradise where life does more than thrive, it excels.

But when they find the wreckage of the the Empress Jade, they also find definitive evidence that the Hegemony was involved in her destruction.
With the arrival of a Hegemony vessel crewed by Da'baa'kh, ruthless, animal-like soldiers, the game changes. The Da'baa'kh are hell bent on finding an ancient treasure â€" an artifact powerful enough to bring an entire Collective to its knees.

Now DeLacey must discover its secret and defeat her enemies before the galaxy is plunged into total war…