Lieutenant Commander Shawn 'Calvin' Hobbs and the crew of the Vella Gulf went back in time to find the technology they needed to beat their Enemy in the present, but it doesn't exist. They only have one option. Fight the Enemy in the past and destroy them there. Unfortunately, the Enemy has overwhelming numbers, and—while the Enemy doesn't have the technology the Terrans have—quantity has a quality all its own. And then there is the Enemy's 25-mile-wide command ship. If the Enemy should finish it, they will have an overwhelming force with which to sweep the Terrans from the galaxy. The Terrans must build—must establish the Warrior Cartel Admiral Sheppard has been placed in charge of—if they are to defend the people of the past and destroy the Enemy for all times. The Emperor hasn't funded the Cartel, though, and Sheppard will have to figure out how to do it on his own. Although the Terrans are initially able to hold back the Enemy forces, when the Enemy steals a jumping missile, all bets are off. The ability to run to the Jinn Universe is the only advantage the Terrans have. If the Enemy unlocks the secrets of the Jinn Universe, there will be nowhere else for the Terrans to hide, and no way that they can win the Progenitors' War.