Can success be achieved when one has no skills except an incredible talent for chess? Can all battles be fought solely on the basis of intelligence and strategy? Perhaps... As long as you keep one move ahead of your opponent.

At least, that’s what Laura hopes for in the year 2336. After losing her brother, who left to fight a massive and belligerent armada headed for Earth, she too wants to join the Centurions, an elite corps of pilots.

But she must contend with her father, the authoritarian Senator Carroyan, who is in charge of space affairs and cannot stand the idea of his daughter following in the footsteps of his favored son.

Still a minor, she cannot enroll in the Centurion preparatory school against her father’s wishes. However, her best friend Keryan introduces her to his grandfather Paddy, who was once an instructor for the Centurions. He agrees to secretly train her for a year, teaching her everything he knows about strategy and piloting.

Despite the challenges, she clings to her dream of the day when she will be assigned a Vervel. These little monkeys, a new mutant species, appeared after the Fourth World War. The extraordinary powers of the Vervels allow their owners to acquire telekinetic and telepathic abilities. They are used by the Centurions to enhance their piloting skills and make them nearly invincible.

Just as she is close to reaching her goal, she learns that her brother’s ship was sabotaged. She conducts her own investigation to discover who killed him and why. To help her, she turns to Keryan, who has developed formidable hacking skills.

She is then swept up in a whirlwind of events that will lead her to the heart of the most formidable extraterrestrial war fleet. With Keryan’s help, risking their lives, they will uncover the true purpose of the Armada and the most terrifying scheme humanity has ever faced—a scheme that is the very reason behind this war fleet.