Captain of the Star Fleet Erik Malström and his first officer, Olga Krasnova, have finally received reinforcements: three young graduates from the Star School have arrived aboard the starship “Cardiff.” Their first mission is just beginning when the “Cardiff” discovers a drifting “Ark” in space—one of the two legendary starships launched some four centuries ago with the first colonists aboard, and then disappeared without a trace shortly after liftoff. The passengers are still alive, though in anabiosis. Perhaps they will also be able to find and rescue the second ship, which was heading toward the mysterious system of the 519th Archer?..