Whilst he is exploring an asteroid Koenig is taken over by an alien race known as the Kalthon, who replace him with an exact double. In consequence every action ordered by the fake Koenig is solely for the benefit of the Kalthon and to the detriment of the welfare of the Alphans. Helena realizes that something is wrong when 'Koenig' is cold to the touch and needs to convince the other crew members.—don @ minifie-1
Koenig and Verdeschi are sucked into a space warp. A feverish Maya is stricken with a fever that causes her to transform into a repulsive space monster.
Several crew members explore the planet Sunin, including botanist Shermeen Williams, who appears to have visionary gifts. She links up with an alien, called Vindrus, who wants her help in transferring his body and that of his race into solid matter, giving them proper human form so that they can join the universe as real matter. However, for every one of his race made... Read all
A strange cloud drifts over the base and causes most of the crew to be stricken with illness. A monster, the 'cloud creature' appears out of the cloud and runs amok on the base. A voice from the cloud explains its purpose. The base must give up its life support in order to prevent the cloud from dying. With most of the crew indisposed through illness, it is down to Maya to employ her shape-shifting skills to beat the creature.—don @ minifie-1
The moon is discovered to be on a collision course with a huge "dust cloud" within a solar system, possibly containing a planet. The leader of one of Alpha's lunar surface exploration teams (who Helena believes is suffering psychological issues), Sanderson, becomes a mutineer, posing a threat to the entire base by attempting to undermine the Alphan's anti-collision plans.
The Dorcons - the most powerful race in the galaxy - have detected a Psychon on Alpha, who the Dorcons have been hunting for centuries. Due to the unusual body chemistry of the Dorcon anatomy, when infused with the brain stem of a Psychon the result is immortality for the Dorcon subject. The elderly leader of their race is awaiting Maya's brain stem, so she is abducted. Koenig becomes a stowaway on their ship to try and stop them.