 Firebird is the third daughter of the Queen of Naetai and a military pilot.Because she is a wastling, an unwanted heir to the throne, she is considered expendable.Leading her tagwing fighter group of wastlings on a suicide mission as part of a venture to capture a Federate world outpost, she is captured by Federate colonel Brennen Caldwell, a telepathic intelligence officer seeking to capture an enemy fighter for interrogation.