As the squad goes on Recon in the Tesca Nemerosan jungle, a giant Spider Bug starts abducting them one by one. Eventually, Rico and T'Phai are left alone and forced to work together, even as T'Phai's malfunctioning powersuit has turned him into a true liability.

Rico, still in the base hospital, reports hearing strange noises, convinced that Bugs are about to attack, leading his doctor to contemplate giving Rico a Section 8 discharge for PTSD. Meanwhile, the Roughnecks seem to be constantly at each other's throats as they map the strange tunnels out in the jungles of Tesca Nemerosa, and  It soon becomes clear that Rico was the "glue" that held the squad together.