Ely Nguyen is a cadet fresh out of the Academy and wide-eyed with enthusiasm. But he’s also alone. Sure, his work as a trainee engineer takes up most of his time, but what about when he’s on R & R? He hasn’t had a boyfriend since he left Mars some three months back. No one to even buy a drink for in one of the many clubs and pubs scattered about the starship Mandrake he’s been assigned to. Sure, he’s got friends, but a man needs more than friends, especially after a long rotation of work. Then, a chance encounter on a lower deck corridor sees to it that cadet scientist Emerson Sonfield catches Ely’s attention and he asks the man out for a drink. Will this be the start of something wonderful? Will duty get in the way of their fledgling relationship? Or will Ely ruin the chance of being with Emerson of his own accord, putting his foot firmly into his mouth before they even get to know one another?

Love is easy to find. Keeping it is more of a challenge. First contact is always dangerous, but this time there’s more at stake than saving the Mandrake from an alien threat. This time, the crystalline metalloid ship Ely and the rest of his away team encountered in an earlier mission is on the move toward its nest to call for reinforcements. Reinforcements which will come to destroy humanity. Once again, Ely, Emerson, Braden and Kale are called to duty. Yet, as they enter the ship for the second time, something isn’t right. Something dark and disturbing lurks within the crystalline walls and it doesn’t have the away team’s best interests at heart. Can Ely, his boyfriend Emerson, and their friends escape the entity, or will all hope rest on the shoulders of another strange alien race they must convince to help them? First contact has been made. The trouble is, what happens next?