When you don't know which side to trust, go rogue. Matt Lowell is the hottest new recruit in the Universal Union's select group of pilots. Their job--control the supremely powerful biochemical robotic avatars known as Mecha. Now, the Prime of Universal Union herself has offered him an unprecedented opportunity: return to Earth to train a new elite force for a covert mission that's imperative to the future of the Union. When he and his team embark on their mission--on a border world that may be a target for the anarchical Corsairs--Matt finds that everything is not as it seems. The world is home to a dark secret that underlies the very foundation of the Union itself, and suddenly Matt doesn't know which side he and his mighty Mecha should be fighting for--or against.