The deep space prospectors take the risks. The mighty Pendra Consortium reaps the profits. That's the way it is on the Hub, a crossroads to distant planets and limitless opportunity for mankind.
Pendra agent Laryn Ash is assigned to keep an eye on the crew of the prospector ship Nefer - not exactly the sort of career move she had in mind when she escaped the hardships of Earth's Restoration for a job on the Hub.
When two alien visitors hire the Nefer to find a long-lost migrant vessel, the crew discovers a distant world far more enigmatic and dangerous than the patrons who brought them there.
Their exploration uncovers secrets buried deep in Pendra's history that now threaten to destroy the humans who have made new homes on distant planets. As motives, stakes and alliances become clearer, Agent Ash wonders on whose side she is fighting.
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Review snippets
"I love the science, she makes believable and interesting extrapolations and explanations without letting it get in the way of the plot."
"From chapter 1 on I couldn't put it down. Just like the main character it made me long for a space adventure."
"Chris Reher has become one of my favorite science fiction authors. She handles aliens, and other non-human characters in a sensitive way, nuanced, and full of surprises. Her science is crack on for some suspenseful story telling, with adventure high on the spectrum of "what if."
About Metamorph
The idea for Metamorph came about while I was writing a short story, The Kasant Objective. Of course, by the time this story was done, it no longer bore any resemblance to that tale, which is okay. What stayed was the idea of a crew of prospectors braving the intergalactic elements in a sort of deep space gold rush. 
The stakes to be claimed are new planets ready for exploitation, for better or worse. All sorts of adventure, adversaries, and ethical conundrums to be had with this theme. And so, depending on what my readers think, this will hopefully morph into a new series, called The Outbounder Chronicles.
This book took me away from the familiar universe of Trans Targon, with a new set of characters, and without military to back up the heros (or get in their way). I wanted more alien aliens and less reliance on big weapons to save the day. I mean, do you see laser weapons on the International Space Station? Are they worried about aliens dropping by there? Not so much. Of course, the odds of that happening are a little higher in the Outbounder Chronicles, but let it not be said that Humans learn from their own history.
I've set up a Pintrest page with images that inspired me for this story.
Links
Here are some links that discuss, in a non-fiction sort of way, some of the concepts appearing in MetamorphDark matter filaments concentrating around gravity wells.
Elon Musk: To Survive The Age of Artificial Intelligence, Humanity Must "Achieve Symbiosis With Machines"
Photonic railway
NASA: Going Interstellar: photonic propulsion laser drive Manned Mars Mission
Caterpillars "melt" almost completely in their chrysalis
Using viruses for gene therapy