Tarrant decides to raid a Federation freighter carrying valuable Kairopan crystal, but he heads right into Jarvik's trap and the Liberator is captured.

The crew of the Liberator are left marooned on Kairos, a planet where nobody survives after the short crystal harvest season.

Tarrant is teleported into a spaceship bound for the invisible planet Sardos, which the crew of Liberator discover after nearly crashing into it. Servalan is interested in the matter replication technology developed by the inhabitants of the planet.