It's May, and Virginia Shepard, a 15-year-old second-generation Wedge Defender who grew up aboard the Force's legendary space fortress Wayward Son, is killing time waiting for the WDF Academy's fall semester to begin. On a lark, she agrees to chauffeur her best friend Mikoto Misaka to Thea—the ultramodern crown jewel of Earth's space colonies—to have her developing paranormal powers evaluated by the scientists who first discovered them when she was a child. For Mikoto, it's a chance to reconnect with some old friends and explore her expanding potential. For Shepard, it's basically a vacation.

What could possibly go wrong?