The recon by fire mission seemed like a good idea, but things immediately went sideways when the Terran fleet attacked the picket cruiser waiting for them in the first system. The advance then stalled completely when their returning fighters were captured by the Cowlees. Forced to focus on the Shirgan system rather than continuing on toward the Cowlee homeworld of Gsstow, the Terran fleet—barely—survived a string of pyrrhic victories as it sought to enforce its will. But when a force they couldn't handle arrived in the system, the Terrans were forced to run, leaving Holly Sutton and her pilot rescue team on the planet. Only some daring action by her brother, Steven Sutton, saved the day and recovered them. The Terran fleet's retreat didn't go unnoticed, though, and the Cowlee fleet—traveling at an extremely high rate of speed—has turned to follow the Terrans as they try to escape, and it is quickly gaining on them. Will they be able to escape the Cowlees, or will their final battle, like everything else on the mission, end up in ruin?