Aluna and Hoku, Kampii from the City of Shifting Tides, and their friends, Equian Dash and winged Aviar Calli, are determined to stop a war. The maniacal ex-scientist Karl Strand is planning to conquer the world with his enormous army of tech-enhanced soldiers-- unless the four friends can get to Strand first. Aluna's plan is dangerous: pose as Upgraders and infiltrate the army. But the enemy isn't what they expected and the strategy begins to crumble....

"2142: An unnamed police detective receives a message from Akira Kimura, the preeminent scientist and living legend who vanquished a world-ending meteor forty years ago. As Akira's former head of security-and perhaps her only friend-he is one of the few who knows of the sacrifices that were necessary for her to complete Ascalon, the cosmic ray that neutralized the global threat. Ascalon's Scar remains emblazoned in the sky, a permanent reminder of...