Nearly a decade has passed since the Border Worlds conflict. CHRISTOPHER BLAIR is now the chief architect of Confed's newest and most advanced attack carrier, THE MIDWAY. This one ship can provide all the offensive capabilities of an entire task force; sparking Confed the cost of a fleet of support vessels. Blair is determined to see this ship, his final contribution for the cause of peace, succeed. Because when the Midway is finished, so is Blair's career -- he'll be headed into a long-overdue and much deserved retirement.

As the Midway completes her final space trials, a corps of mostly rookie pilots are assigned to train with her. Most have never seen action; and none are prepared for what's in store for them when a giant wormhole appears near the shattered remains of Kilrah.

A huge alien fleet of unknown origin uses his swirling gateway to invade Confed space. And, despite Blair's misgivings, the Midway's "nugget" pilots are ordered to confront this seemingly invincible armada -- and to stop it before it reaches Earth.

Our story centers on LIEUTENANT LANCE CASEY. The best of the new pilots, this brave young man will engage in a series of critical missions against a variety of opponents; enemy aces, capital ships, and ultimately, a Dreadnought-class vessel.

Casey must fly recon, escort Space Marines to designated drop points, and battle alien fighters. With each mission, he helps Confed move closer to its primary goal of stopping the invasion. But the cost will be high -- blasted ships, dead civilians, and lost wingmen.

Casey will also confront a variety of personal obstacles. Friends are killed -- a beautiful young pilot is constantly (and aggressively) competing with him -- and he will blame himself when Blair is captured and tortured by the enemy.

Our hero perseveres through every challenge -- right up to the moment when he leads his wingmen against their final and most important objective: the alien-built Command Center which generates and maintains the wormhole portal.

During the battle to destroy that Command Center, Blair will be lost. But, thankfully, as the wormhole collapses, the invasion armada poised on the other side of it, is denied access to Confed space. Our hero managed to buy Earth some desperately needed time... at a tremendous cost.