Dropping out of the warp with a series of jerks and lurches, the crews of the Imperial ships find themselves blinded by the intense light from the near critical mass star in the solar system. For only a brief instant the sickening green color of Zerithon Prime can be seen below. Suddenly, the ship claxons sound and massive metal shutters snap closed around the windows of the bridge, blocking out the painful light and solar radiation. Preliminary scans began to pour out across the picters in the control room, and streams of annoited reed paper pour from cogitators mounted throughout the bridge. The confusing clicking and hissing of servitors reveal that this ship is not alone in the system.
Imperial forces trained to work in rad heavy zones locate and board a drifting freighter vessel bearing the isignia of the 'Precipice Rose'. The ship is found stranded in an irregularl elilpitical orbit around Zerithon prime. As the crews board and begin to explore the derilict, they find the vessel to be void of any life sustaining functions, the fuel source completely depleted, and not a single sign of life on board. The vessel seems as cold and lonely as a tomb, and even the holds and foot lockers have all been emptied. No sign of the mysterious crystals are located, nor can any record be found of what has occurred. The screeches from rad detectors continually remind the Imperials just how long this craft has sat in orbit in the high radiation zone and that their searching should not last long.
The search of the 'Precipice Rose' is conducted as quickly as possible, and turns out to be a waste of time. As the commander of the Imperial forces sends astropathic word back to the inquisitorial command, he also makes ready to descend on the surface of Zerithon Prime.