After clearing a mountain pass of a row of Blaster Bugs, the Roughnecks are able to capture Colonel T'Phai, the leader of the Skinnies. But what Carl finds out in interrogating him is a huge surprise.

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.