Third Moon Rising — Ezra E. Manes

The billions of people on Earth will never leave its ecosystem, sharing its terminal fate, except for bold emigrants sent to establish colonies on Earth-like worlds. Conflict arises when Earth's leaders plan to colonize a world inhabited by a declining alien civilization. Commander Carlos Sepeda and his small team face life-threatening challenges as intermediaries between aggressor Earth and the peaceful hominid aliens. Carlos is a visionary, whose leadership is tested at every turn, and whose actions jeopardize commitments to his bonded true love. The evolutionary fate of the opposing hominidae civilizations ultimately rests in Carlos's hands, as a powerful, mysterious entity exerts influence behind the scene. And then Earth decides to make martyrs of Carlos and his team . . .