The fleet's food supply has been contaminated, forcing everyone to subsist on rapidly dwindling food rations. Athena, who has been doing reconnaissance, discovers a planet where abundant algae is found that can be used as a nutritious, if unappetizing, food source. Unfortunately, the planet is located on the other side of a vast, highly radioactive star cluster. Not only is the cluster dangerous, but also the intense light and radiation is blinding to both the naked eye and conventional navigational systems. It is unfortunately too big to go around. The fleet must cross the cluster or risk starvation. Because of the size of the cluster, each ship must jump to a point within it before jumping again to the planet.