It had been ten years since the Disaster and life on Mars wasn't just hard, it was a question of survival. The Human Race had been reduced from ten billion to ten million and most of them were on the First, Second and Third Wave Colonies. The two thousand survivors in the Solar System couldn't escape to the Colonies because there weren't any PING capable ships.

When Colony Supply Ship Katie finally returned, it was a joyous day. For everybody except Sidney Rogers. President Brent sent him and Katie on a repair mission to Colony Fane, and that was only the beginning. If he had any idea of what the future held in store, he would have never volunteered for Station Duty . . . or, maybe he would have. Only the Universe knew for sure.