Accompanied by a Stiletto class assault scout ship, the UPF Frigate Z'Gata cruised toward the orbiting station Doliin Bay. The ship's commander, Beril Gamache, was nervous. Doliin Bay, and its mining colony on the planet Kenzah' Kit, were on the very edge of the Frontier. Reports of unfamiliar ships had been trickling in from this area for the last few months. Gamache hated to carry a valuable cargo into a border system without more information about possible dangers.

Suddenly, the frigate's sensors lit up: long range detectors reported two ships emerging from the Void inside the system. Immediately, the commander ordered all hands to their stations. There was no good reason to be suspicious, but he had an odd feeling . . .

As the intruders closed in. Gamache studied the computer's report:

The UPF ships swung into an intercept course. With weapon crews on alert, Z'Gata's automatic beacons began radioing friendly messages in all known languages toward the unidentified ships. The intruder's reply vaporized the Stiletto's starboard thrusters in a blinding laser flash - The Second Sathar War had begun!