The Mockingbird is again drawn to the Kuiper Belt, when a mysterious object is triggered by human discovery. Believing it may be related to the disappearance of the Astraeus Fifteen Hundred NATO deploys a Flipspace-capable strike group and calls on Colonel Rama and her crew to aid the International Space Organization's study. Finding the location of a star system with possible signs of life, the strike group is sent to investigate what phenomenon may threaten the future of exo-solar exploration.