The colony managed to avoid destruction, but contact with the Federation was lost, and competing factions of the ruling elites of the only metropolis on the planet pursue exclusively their own interests. The swarm has retreated from the Brigana system, but Rich is confident that this will not last long. The enemy will not leave alone the planet on which he suffered a humiliating defeat. But Rich still does not have enough political weight, and those who do have it are completely focused on the struggle for power over the destroyed city, believing that since the Swarm enclave on the planet is practically destroyed, then the worst is over, and now is the time to recklessly divide the fruits of someone else's victory.