Pioneer 2 orbits above Ragol, unable to begin colonization due to factional strife and government exploitation of a mysterious substance called the germ. C.A.R.D. technology — compressed alternate reality data derived from the germ — now stores weapons as cards for combat efficiency. Two factions clash over its use: the government-sanctioned Heroside and the rebel Arkz founded by a figure known only as Red. Playing either side reveals different truths, both converging on a discovery about the germ's origins and what the government has been doing with genetic material from Red's twin daughters.