The Clash of the Machines

For Captain Montgomery Montauk things are going all right. He has a great crew and a great ship, they're getting steady shipping work that takes them all over the galaxy, and nobody is after them for the first time in a while.

So it figures that now is when they would find evidence of planets going dark. Entire, populated planets just shutting off like someone threw a giant switch.

Because this is something that Savannah can't just pretend not to know about, and that means Monte can't pretend not to know about it either, they decide to swing by one of the doomed planets on their way to the next job—well, on the way if you squint your left eye and turn your head just so—and they find signs of an old acquaintance.

Worried that someone is trying to throw the galaxy into all-out war, they enlist the help of some friends and make a play to head off this planet-ending force. It may not be their job, but the lives of billions may rest on their ability to figure this out and that isn't something they can walk away from.