Commander Noa Sato plans a peaceful leave on her home planet, Luddeccea, but winds up interrogated and imprisoned for her involvement in the Archangel Project. A project she knows nothing about. Professor James Sinclair wakes in the snow, not remembering the past 24 hours or knowing why he is being pursued. The only thing he knows is that he has to find Commander Sato, a woman he's never met.

Time Gate 8, one of humanity's portals between the stars, has been overrun by a mysterious alien intelligence, and the planet Luddeccea is now cut off. Haunted by those she left behind, Commander Noa Sato is on a desperate mission to save her homeworld. Navigating the ancient Ark, she seeks a hidden gate that will transport her ship to Earth and the Galactic Fleet. But the Luddeccean system harbors dangers, and so does her crew.

Commander Noa Sato has almost reached the Kannukah Cloud. Within hours her crew may be able to reach Sol System through a hidden time gate. If they make it, she and her crew won't just save their own lives—they'll save millions from genocide at the hands of Luddeccean fanatics. But the Luddeccean "fanatics" may not be as mad as Noa believes.

Throughout the galaxy, the reclusive alien race known as The One are incapacitated by terror. On the planet Luddeccea, wolf-human hybrid Volka harbors a terrible secret...a secret that must explain her nightmares. Trapped on a luxurious asteroid, pleasure ‘bot 6T9 struggles to find purpose—until he receives a message from an Unidentified Caller. The worlds of The One, Volka, and 6T9 are about to collide. The galaxy will be shaken to its core. The starship is waking.

Volka, 6T9, and Carl Sagan are called to help in the rescue mission....a mission that triggers telepathic nightmares in their starship so terrifying battle hardened Galactic Marines breakdown and weep. They’re about to discover some nightmares are real. The darkness is rising.

The Darkness is coming. When it strikes, Volka, Carl, 6T9, and Sundancer will have to join forces with an unlikely ally to learn the key to defeating it. An ally who is cold, cunning, and despises all of them - Alexis, Captain Darmadi's wife. If Volka and Carl can manage not to kill her, 6T9 can refrain from sleeping with her, and Sundancer can keep them all from being blown up, humanity may have some hope. Strap in! It's bound to be a bumpy ride.

The last time Carl, Volka, and 6T9 fought the Dark, 6T9 failed Volka. If he wants her and all the carbon-based life forms that he loves to survive, he needs to change. Change is as easy as flipping a switch for an android, but dealing with the consequences is not so simple. In order to save Volka, he’ll have to give up a part of himself that Volka adores. He’ll need to become something an innocent, peace-loving sex ‘bot was never designed to be...something he despises. To save Volka and the galaxy he’ll need to become Android General 1.

To protect the human race, 6T9 evolved with the flip of a switch and a few lines of code. But he's made himself a killer as well as a protector. The programming that may save humanity has driven him from Volka, the woman he loves. In the heart of the Dark's first strike against the Republic, 6T9 must discover what he has become, who he wants to be, and who he wants to be with. Slowly and almost unnoticed, Volka has been evolving, too. Heartbroken by 6T9's departure, she is torn between love and duty.

Beyond the borders of known space a Dark Fleet is gathering. Volka, 6T9, Carl Sagan, and their band of sentient faster-than-light ships are charged with finding the Dark's forces. But the enemy is closer than they realize, and the Dark's next strike will be sooner than they think. When the attack comes our heroes will be forced to evolve once more. Volka has become a true telepath. To fight the Dark, she must become a true leader as well.