On the Day, the virus infected all artificial intelligences. Humanity, spread far beyond Earth, lost contact with most of its colonies. The European Union, the Empire, and the USA are desperately fighting for the remaining known territory. A chance discovery offers an advantage in the war, but the Special Squad operation promises to be bloody. The opening of a chess match—where a piece or pawn is sacrificed for an active position—is called a gambit. But this time, instead of pieces, living people, and on the scales are honor, conscience, love, and extreme necessity.