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 lies in the Zegema Beach Hospital, hovering in a coma between life and death as a monsoon knocks out the power. In his delirium, Rico flashes back to high school with Dizzy, Carl, Carmen and Razak, and basic training with Drill Sergeant Zim.