"We looked to the stars, and the stars looked back." Tension grips the star system of Arela, picking up the pieces after the Jagged Edge conflict. But the still has been shattered by the rise of an ancient foe. Caught between new allies that force the faltering Fireseeds to the fringes of science, and revelations echoing from humanity's past, the galaxy stands between extinction and revolution. The Scourge saga begins: the Fireseeds and their allies leap into interstellar action against an enemy far beyond reckoning.