A deadly pandemic. A vanished expedition. A secret buried for five years.
When a devastating virus begins sweeping through the Motek system, Captain Etienne Girard and the crew of the starship Intrepid race to deliver desperately needed medical aid. Among those answering the call is renowned xeno-biologist Krys Ward, whose experience defeating alien pandemics may be the only hope of saving millions.
But the virus refuses to behave like any natural disease.
As Krys and her colleagues search for a cure, disturbing evidence begins to emerge. A respected scientist is exposed as something he was never meant to be. Ancient enemies may have infiltrated far deeper than anyone imagined. And scattered clues point toward a forgotten world named Foresta.
Five years earlier, twenty-four scientists disappeared there without a trace.
Now a second expedition has arrived, led in part by Krys's twin brother, Tymos Ward, whose own search for the missing team uncovers something far stranger than abandoned camps or hostile wildlife. Foresta's remarkable plants are unlike anything ever catalogued?beautiful, intelligent, and dangerously misunderstood. Hidden among them are clues that could explain not only the fate of the lost expedition, but also the origin of the deadly pandemic threatening entire worlds.
When long-missing bodies are discovered aboard an abandoned space station under renovation, what first appeared to be unrelated mysteries begin to merge into a single, chilling conspiracy stretching across planets and years. Someone engineered the pandemic. Someone silenced those who came too close to the truth. And the answers may lie in the extraordinary plants of Foresta?if anyone survives long enough to unlock their secrets.
As time runs out, scientists become detectives, explorers become targets, and old enemies reveal themselves from behind carefully crafted disguises. To save countless lives, Krys and Tymos must uncover a deception whose roots reach far deeper than anyone ever imagined.
The Roots of Deception is an epic science fiction adventure combining first-contact mystery, medical suspense, planetary exploration, and galaxy-spanning intrigue. Filled with memorable characters, intelligent science, and surprising twists, it is a story of courage, family, sacrifice, and the search for truth in a universe where appearances can be fatally deceptive.
