Operation Doomsday

Summacum Homan, a scientist working for the Kaiser Corporation, conducts a dangerous experiment to transport the asteroid Oxyd through Space II using Kaiser Force. The experiment goes awry when one of the six Gray Guard spacecraft, the TERRA I commanded by Queen Quendolain, is inadvertently pulled into Space II along with the asteroid.

Aboard the TERRA I, Queen Quendolain and her crew experience spatial distortions and encounter strange shadows, leading her to believe they have entered a kind of afterlife. She orders the ship's energies shut down, but the ship remains trapped. She also discovers that the ship's Driver Lodge, including Mater Helia, has vanished. The crew begins to exhibit unusual behavior, questioning orders and displaying emotions, suggesting their conditioning is breaking down. Queen Quendolain realizes that they have all become Drivers due to the Kaiser Force exposure.

Meanwhile, on an observation ship, Summacum Homan witnesses the events and is briefly contacted by Queen Quendolain through Space II. He experiences a terrifying encounter with a "black rag" from Space II that creates a doppelganger of himself. He learns that the TERRA I is trapped in Space II. He orders the remaining ships to close the gate, seemingly succeeding, but the TERRA I remains lost.

Elsewhere, Red Hedger and Cantos, along with other Drivers, are aboard a captured Gray Guard ship, fleeing from Syrta. Cantos reveals that the Kaiser Force experiments are destabilizing the universe. Red Hedger advocates for contacting the Terranauts and using force against Max von Valdec, but Cantos initially resists violence. Cantos collapses, revealing he was in contact with his ship and learned of the catastrophe caused by the Kaiser Force experiments. He agrees to contact the Terranauts.

The TERRA I crew, now all Drivers, attempts to use their newfound powers and the Kaiser Projector to escape Space II. They succeed in returning to normal space near Earth, but are immediately confronted by a Gray Guard fleet. They manage to break through the fleet, but are heavily damaged. Summacum Homan intercepts the TERRA I and uses the Kaiser Projectors to send it back into Space II. The TERRA I reappears near Earth, where it is boarded by Gray Guards. The crew is found unconscious, and the Gray Drivers are found insane.

Max von Valdec blames the disaster on Cantos and the Genessaner in a propaganda broadcast. Cantos and Red Hedger decide to seek refuge with the Terranauts on Io, a moon of Jupiter. Summacum Homan is left to deal with the fallout of the experiment, including the threat of the asteroid Oxyd returning to the solar system.