The corporation control of space is held in check by the Alliance who maintain neutrality for the rest of the Empire. An AWA agent getting caught up in a sabotage plot is the signal for the corporations to take control of the neutral zone, but their plot is foiled by AWA agents Grady and Shrilla forcing the corporations to 'up the ante'. Meanwhile, on a newly discovered mutant planet Grady discovers the reason for the corporation's attack. He now needs to stay alive long enough to get the news out.
