Former brigade general Din—and now Captain Igor Lavrov— is still far from completing his main mission, though the most acute problems, it seemed, have already been solved. An attack by an external enemy has been repelled, all accusations have been cleared, and a new high post opens up excellent prospects. But as they say, if you think everything is fine, then you just don’t know everything. The opponent is preparing a new blow—one whose strength threatens the Federation fleet with an inevitable crushing defeat. The internal enemy has not yet been defeated. And from somewhere deep in outer space, a third force steps onto the scene—its role in the coming clash is still completely unclear.