An iron arm picked up Bake and pinned him to the wall. The next instant he was face to face with a head of tarnished silver and staring into eyes that glowed like fiery rubies. Adding to Bake's discomfort was the head's menacing absence of ears. Though its body shape was humanoid, it could never be mistaken for a human. The young man tried to twist away, but the iron creature was immovable. A faint scorch mark streaked the left side of the robot's head; it only confirmed that it was armored and built to take battle damage. His face now pale, Bake realized that he had never had a chance. They had known he was here since he first crossed the wall. They were merely waiting, laying a trap. As Earth seeks to recover from the Second Dark Age and return to the stars, Bake receives a strange delivery-one that leads him and a few others into being coerced into an interstellar voyage. Unaware that he and his friends are considered expendable, the group soon realizes that the galaxy is a harsh place. As they meet the other space-faring species and the strange creatures that inhabit the enigmatic place called the S domain, they must simultaneously develop the skills required for survival in the bleak and thankless environment of that exists between the stars.