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.

Colonel T'Phai, the Skinnie who was partially responsible for Carl's fried brain, is not particularly welcome when he joins the unit just as they're assigned the task of taking Zegema Beach as part of the Tesca Nemerosa campaign.

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.