The mining colony Beltlogger 9 — deep in space, far from Earth — goes dark after sending a single distress signal. The Integrated Space Forces dispatch an elite response team, only to be met with overwhelming armed resistance from a facility that should have had nothing military about it. Alpha team is decimated at fifty percent losses, and Beta team fares even worse, with Sergeant Patrick as the sole survivor. The investigation into Beltlogger 9 is just beginning.