The invasion of the Milky Way has begun, and the Empire is winning easily, but when it becomes clear that the war with the Asferja will be nowhere near ending before the next invasion arrives and forces them to split their focus, Paul is tapped to lead a small team to the nearby galaxy of Andromeda where the Asferja intergalactic "threads" are tethered, with more being created as the war goes on.

But the Empire can't send a warfleet with him. The Essence cost of intergalactic travel would be far too high, but thanks to their alliance with the Neofan, they have another option. Paul and a few others from the Empire are going to take Vikarathe to Andromeda and use his status with the Vargemma there to quickly assemble a warfleet and strike the Asferja from the rear, cutting the "threads" and taking some pressure off the Milky Way as they prep for round two to arrive, all the while still fighting the Hadarak in the center of the galaxy.

The number of enemy races is going to build fast and attempt to overwhelm the Empire, and drawing some of the fight to Andromeda will be a key strategic move this early in the Gauntlet Wars, but it will also imperil the native races in Andromeda, some of which belong to the Bond of Resistance and are already fighting the Asferja and losing territory to them as the insectoid race is not just passing through, but setting up breeding grounds to grow more troops locally before sending them into the Milky Way to hammer the Empire indefinitely.

The only way to stop this unending stream of "bugs" is to not just strike at them in Andromeda, but to move in permanently. Only by conquering the galaxy and expanding the Empire can they blunt this attack. To do so, they'll need the Empire's best naval commander and an army of civilians, troops, scientists, techs, and everything else necessary to annex Andromeda.

It is said that the true power of the lightside takes time to build, and does so off past actions. The Empire now has a chance to colonize Andromeda in a short period of time due to one such past action. An act of mercy. Paul may be the one to lead the Vargemma against the threads, but the future of Andromeda comes down to another part of the Empire that wouldn't exist if not for the actions of a single enemy commander who tried to take his own life and was stopped by Paul long before recruiting him to fight for the good guys.

He didn't even have a name back then, an anonymous individual in a massive swarm race. But Paul did give him a name, one revered by the Empire from its ancient mythology, for it matches with his mastermind skills. While the Vargemma and Paul fight to protect the Milky Way, the fate of Andromeda will come down to the civilization building powers of the Paladin under the leadership of the individual simply known as...Thrawn.