Ten years later, Earthforce is a recovering organization. An EF Admiral suddenly decides to investegate the loss of the Ulysses, so an EF team and several independant investegators are sent to the Drazi colony of Emanazdeen where the Ulysses was lost. There, the team wins over suspicious Drazi officials by throwing a party before flying halfway around the planet to examine the wreckage of the Ulysses that crashed on the surface there. An analysys of orbital dynamics leads the team to suspect that the Ulysses's hull spent some time in orbit before crashing.

Their examination of the wreck is rudely interrupted by a strafing attack! The attacking aircraft scatter the team and destroy their aircraft. Then the attackers land and attack man to man. The investegating team is outnumbered and undergunned. Thanks to superior strategy and teamwork, they survive and even counterattack. They overrun the enemy's camp, but the leader of the thugs, Scrivener Levsky, takes to the air in one of the planes but is pursued and shot down by one of the EF pilots. The team radios for help, and the Drazi medivac out the wounded and provide help in searching the debris field of the Ulysses.

During this investegation, the EF team deduces the Ulysses' Dark Secret. Furthermore, they find that this large, secret item is missing from the debris. They hypothesize the item was taken when the wreck was in orbit, and examining ship schegules leads them to suspect that a certain freighter may have carried the item away. Also, on Scriver's body they find clues that may lead them to Scrivener's boss, to find out who wanted to prevent the team from examining the Ulysses.

The team is comissioned as a Special Investegative Team by their patron, with broad based juristiction and authority to track down the Secret Item of the Ulysses.

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