Shepherd Moon, 2nd Edition

Think of a future Earth, where the long-dreaded nuclear war has come and gone, and the global population was knocked down to the level of the nineteen hundreds, but fully recovered and again prosperous, with the human race starting to explore the galaxy. But when the humans get the inevitable proof that there was indeed other intelligent life, what if these aliens weren't terribly different from the humans, and what if these people were on the brink of war themselves... - with a nod to the masters of space opera: J. Michael Straczynski, Larry Niven, David Brinn, E.E. (Doc) Smith, Iain M. Banks, and, of course, George Lucas. My thanks. And my apologies.   Note: The graphics here are collages of publicly-accessible material. No I.P. infringements are intended.