Descent Maximum

After clearing the Solar System's mines in the original Descent, the Material Defender docks to collect his reward — only for PTMC executive Dravis to exploit a contract loophole and conscript him into another mission. Fitted with a prototype warp core, he is sent on what Dravis frames as a reconnaissance run into deep space. The reality is six star systems of hostile PTMC-owned mines to eliminate, culminating at Zeta Aquilae and five fictional systems beyond it. The final mine tunnels through an entire planetoid — which reveals itself to be a massive alien ship. After tearing it apart, the Material Defender signals Dravis for extraction, but the warp drive fails. The ship reappears somewhere unknown, heavily damaged and crackling with radiation. The words "to be continued" mark the end of the line.