The combined races have been watching a planetary world for Millenia. Just when they assess the time for first contact is right, the world they have been watching is plunged into a global conflict of epic proportions. Much later when the dust settles, a military patrol is sent to the surface, the commander of this patrol decides to intervene on behalf of a native of that world who is being attacked. Saving his life plunges the commander and everyone she knows into acts of conflict, causing internal strife and disagreement that almost destroys them all. To save the world she has grown to love she must commit everyone to a life in the unknown and a future that goes against everything they know. But not all are willing to take this path.