I shouldn't have been walking around alone at night. I shouldn't have stopped and watch the obviously crazy man set the building on fire. And I sure of hell shouldn't have accidentally caught his attention. Then maybe, just maybe I wouldn't have been kidnapped by the world's most evil super villain. And then hopefully right now I wouldn't be wishing that he wasn't completely crazy, and wanted to kill every super hero in the world, and that he would, I don't know, take me to the movies, hold my hand as we walked together, or maybe take me to dinner one night. You know normal, cute couple stuff. Instead he likes to kick puppies when no ones watching, dropping me from high buildings, and throwing people into traffic, annoyingly. Maybe if I had just minded my own business and kept walking, maybe I wouldn't have been taken by someone who's whole mission in life is to watch every super die, and cackle evilly while he thinks of it. Maybe if I had just minded my own business and kept walking, maybe I wouldn't start feeling bad for this super villain. Maybe I wouldn't be questioning everything I've ever learned about him. And God forbid, I wouldn't be loving a villain.

Less than five months ago, lights appeared in the sky. Days later the ships started to arrive. They call themselves the Consortium. They are human, or at least Simian, descending from the same genetic line as humans. They terraformed this planet centuries ago, sent settlers a mere forty thousand years ago. Now they are back, ready to begin the exploration of this galaxy. For Cheyenne Walker, Chief Petty Officer aboard the Cambridge, a USS destroyer, the arrival of the Consortium is just one more obstacle to finishing her final tour of duty and getting home to her kids. The political upheaval forces the US into an uneasy alliance with the Consortium against China, and puts the Cambridge on the edge of a nuclear blast. Cheyenne wakes to find herself aboard the Corelean, a Consortium Medical Evacuation ship. Floating in a medi-tank, she wonders if they really can't repair the wreck of her body, whether these newcomers are friends or foes and most importantly, will she ever make it back to children?