The Casulls learn more about their world on board the vangaurd as they head toward Leinwan.  They discover that Mauser and Browning where, in fact, two of humanities ancestors.  They were important people in an ancient battle.  They created weapons for combat, eventually had to merge these weapons with psychics in order to predict enemy movements and combat them.  This is what Zepheris and Natalie are, dragoons.  Mankind was eventually defeated and sealed away into the world they now live.  To keep them there, they were stuck in a "middle ages" environment and they are overseen by the peacemakers.

Meanwhile, Natalie and Zepheris decide that they vanguard should not be travelling into the trap at Leinwan but they have a disagreement as to how to prevent it.  Natalie shuts down the engines but the humans know a little about the machine and set out to put the engines back online.  When Shannon, Raquel, Pacifica and Seness set out to do so, they become mysteriously separated.