Preparing planets for colonists is dangerous work-especially when the planet may have sentient inhabitants who object. Geier Troutman has been tasked with preparing a planet that may be inhabited, and according to the evidence, may have been involved in an interplanetary war hundreds, or even thousands of years ago. For Geier, the task is even more daunting as he's been asked to step in as leader of the preparation team because the former leader died in an accident. Will the team accept his leadership, and will they find that the planet is inhabited and that its inhabitants aren't in a mood to give it up without a fight?