It is the year 2319, and Commander Virgil Artus of the Earth Federal Navy is about to be promoted to captain, the youngest in the fleet's history to do so. His new command is the navy's latest ship, the battle cruiser Bismarck. With the best technology available and the brightest crew, Captain Artus takes the Bismarck for its maiden voyage to the colony of Alpha Centauri, never knowing what awaits.

The Bismarck carries a motley crew, including an army engineer corps, attractive Wing Commander Carmen, and two mysterious individuals--a navy psychologist with a questionable background and a shadowy man known only as Astaroth. Their mission is to resupply a colony located at the outer limits of humanity's exploration, as well as to survey and construct a colony base on one of the four worlds found in the system.

But the mission begins to go wrong after the colony reports an emergency. When they arrive at Alpha Centauri, the crew finds that humanity is not alone in the universe. A fleet from the Iksus Armada, a reptilian race bred for war, is approaching, and they seek vengeance for an atrocity committed by humanity years ago.

As captain, Artus is about to face his first--and possibly his final--confrontation.