Sarge is on an undercover mission at a mutant bar, pretending to be a stripper while she gets close to the grotesquely obese Sluggo. Inside the chest of the fat mutant is a pod containing the only known map of the entire underground system. Sarge charms her way near enough to attack Sluggo's bodyguards, then reaches into his chest and retrieves the pod. She runs, but a collar around her neck will detonate within ten minutes. In the levels above, Voice tells Hel to send Cleo down below to rescue Sarge, against Cleo's wishes. Mauser helps prepare Cleo by linking the computer to her brain and her weapons gauntlets. Cleo runs through various scenarios in her mind, each of which ends with Sarge's death. Finally, she must leave on the rescue mission, but now she is prepared for each obstacle. Hel follows and although Cleo rescues Sarge, they both need a hand from Hel to finish the mission. And once again, teamwork has won the day.

Hel and Cleo follow Sarge on a mission to assist Jake Lawson, a famous Protector of the upper levels. They find him and a man named Jerbo under heavy fire from underworld mercenaries, and they're shocked to find that the cocky Lawson is protecting dozens of barrels of plutonium. As Jerbo struggles to erect a force field to protect the plutonium, Sarge tells Lawson he was her role model... despite the fact that he once shot her. When a relay switch gets fried in a firefight, one of the groups will have to stay behind to activate the force field, but that person will be trapped if they do. Lawson draws the short straw and Sarge kisses him before they mask their escape, leaving him behind. Back in their headquarters, Voice finds an ancient tunnel leading to a crypt with the plutonium. Acting on a hunch Sarge goes back alone, confronting Jake; he planned to sell the plutonium to buy his own underground level. They fight and Sarge shoots Lawson, walking away as he dies.

Voice sends Hel, Sarge and Cleopatra to a bar to retrieve Jensen Manning, an important Bailey researcher. When they arrive, the team finds Manning standing on the bar, shouting like a madman. Voice soon sends a Confessor, a futuristic shrink, to talk Manning down. Manning suddenly goes into convulsions and dies. An electronic parasite slithers from his mouth and forces its way down the Confessor's throat. The team fends off a group of Betrayers trying to get a hold of the Confessor and return to the lab. Mauser puts the Confessor in a healing tube and runs a full medical diagnostic. They learn that the parasite is a Bailey-engineered data retrieval unit that is downloading everything in the Confessor's brain, which explains why the Betrayers wanted him so badly. The Confessor convulses and dies and the parasite exits his mouth to look for new host. The bug breaks out of the healing tube and invades Hel... The Betrayers from the bar find the lab, but Sarge secures the area before they c

Hel, Sarge and Cleopatra go to the surface to attempt a peace mission with the Bailies. Three Bailies approach them, but the team does not activate its shields. Hel produces a holographic image of the Bailey energy pod they recovered and the Bailies strongly react. Cleopatra begins to hear a strange buzz that is undetectable to Hel and Sarge. She then hears a synthesized voice that urges them to return the pod. Suddenly, the Bailies arm themselves and attack the team. They activate their shields and Sarge and Cleopatra make it back to the underground entrance. Hel becomes trapped and takes a hit. She urges her team members to go on. Voice remains in contact with Hel and tells her that another shaft entrance is two kilometers away and that she only has ten minutes until total shield failure. Sarge and Cleopatra return to the lab and they begin to track Hel's movements. They realize Hel doesn't have much time and Mauser opens a secret door in the lab, revealing a high-tech flying machine

Hel, Sarge and Cleopatra are in Mauser's lab when a distortion grenade suddenly rolls through the holographic door. After a moment of chaos, the grenade explodes and a wave of visual distortion ripples through the area. The team stumble around completely disoriented as two men, Marcus and Strayton , enter the lab. They wear high-tech goggles that negate the effects of the distortion and easily fend off Hel and Sarge. Marcus introduces himself as the new team leader and Strayton as his second in command. Hel and Sarge exchange a look because they recognize Marcus' name. He was the first team leader that Voice recruited when the Resistance began. Marcus tells them that Voice has put him in charge because she feels they have endangered critical Resistance missions that have nearly exposed Voice herself. Hel, Sarge and Cleopatra aren't thrilled with the new arrangements, but feel they don't have a choice in the matter. Later, Strayton removes Sarge's Voice implant and Marcus calls a meetin