 Arriving in New Mexico via a MAT-TRANS jump, Ryan Cawdor, Krysty Wroth, J.B. Dix, Dr. Theophilus Tanner, and Mildred Wyeth are met by Jak Lauren, who informs them that Ryan's son Dean was ambushed and kidnapped by slavers while he was left in Jak's care.Jak's wife, Christina, was able to capture a mortally wounded slaver and under torture extract information about the group he belongs to.