These wars start for no reason and end with nothing. Who is behind the grandiose provocations? Who benefits from pitting strangers against people and watching as the ground inevitably disappears from under the feet of the legitimate government? What did Imperial Intelligence forget on an officially uninhabited planet, and why does no one know about an entire military squadron controlled by an enraged computer? In addition to his own desire, the captain of the navy, Shorl Liyer, gets involved in political games and state intrigues.