The State Business Federation has discovered an asteroid dubbed Alpha Prime with rich deposits of hubbardium, which is used as fuel in interstellar ships. During the mining operations, the miners began to go mad due to exposure to hubbardium. The State Business Federation decides that mining the hubbardium is too dangerous, and seal off the asteroid. The protagonist, Arnold Weiss, is recruited by an old friend, Livia, to rescue their mutual friend, Warren Reynolds, who was trapped on the asteroid when it was sealed off. Arnold grudgingly accepts, and they head off in a ship called the Artemis. The ship is disabled by a mine before they reach the asteroid, however, and only Arnold and Livia survive. Arnold gets into an escape pod and lands on Alpha Prime alone.