The fate of the Astraeus crew is at last known. Serious questions remain as to why they disappeared. During the study of multiple life-sustaining worlds in peculiar orbits, ground support forces brought by the Mockingbird are attacked. Amid working out the nature and intent of the alien, a diplomatic dispute erupts over access to the discoveries. Colonel Ramachandra and her crew fall back on everything they've learned over the past year to understand what has brought together life from across the galaxy.