Captain Dylan Hunt takes the ship to Almagest . Upon arrival, sensors show no debris or signs of battle .

Dylan is kidnapped and subjected to high-tech, computer-generated hallucinations . He is forced to live out artificial, chaotic scenarios—such as the illusionary death of his crew members—purely for the amusement and financial gambling of wealthy weapon dealers .

The episode begins when a courier brings visual records to the Andromeda Ascendant showing the brutal destruction of a High Guard ship by Nietzscheans in the Almagest system .

While Dylan is in transit to the planet to meet with local Nietzscheans Shig and Lipp-Sett, a massive solar flare hits .