On the planet Trinia, human slaves live underground for millennia mining
crystals for their "
god" Zygon and his
robots. Young miner Orin finds a jeweled
sword embedded in the rocks. Hopps, grandfather of Orin's girlfriend Elan, recognizes it and dies saving Orin and keeping the sword a secret. Orin eventually grabs the sword, which levitates and buries itself in the cavern's floor. The blade projects the image of an old man, saying that above the caverns is a "magnificent
universe". The blade then disappears, leaving only the hilt. Orin and Elan decide to see this universe and find the blade. Chased by robots, they emerge in an industrial complex, where Zygon kills Elan. Orin escapes, digs a tunnel to Trinia's surface, where a mysterious "Starfly" bonds with him, and is captured by Man-Droids, decaying organic-robotic hybrids who intend to kill him and use his body parts to replace their own. The sword's hilt then produces an invisible blade, killing two Man-Droids and helping Orin escape. Orin subsequently runs into the human smuggler Dagg Dibrimi, who refuses to believe that there are slaves in the mines. Dagg steals crystals from a hovering freighter before encountering Zygon and his robots. Dagg seizes Fembot Silica, uses her as a shield from laser blasts and escapes with Orin. Subsequently, re-programmed by Dagg, Silica becomes attached to him. Dagg flies his spaceship to the planet Bordogon, abandons Orin and gives Silica to a slave auctioneer. Orin wanders through Bordogon, investigating the blade's location. A fortune-teller eventually mentions a place called Novaluna. Orin later sees Silica offered for sale and offers high prices to buy her. After finding that Orin has no knowledge of local currency, the auctioneer takes the former's freedom in addition to Silica's; but Dagg, feeling guilty, frees them. Later, Dagg and Orin visit two merchants, to whom Dagg sells the crystals. Because Zygon has placed a price on Orin's head, the merchants offer to buy Orin as well, but Dagg refuses. In response, the merchants place a bomb in Dagg's payment, but Orin is forewarned by the Starfly, and Dagg throws the bomb into their enemies' camp. Thereafter, Dagg agrees to take Orin to Novaluna, but Zygon's robots shoot them down. Dagg is captured; Orin is thrown out of the ship, but Aviana, the daughter of Bordogon's Governor, rescues him. Aviana's computer reveals that the hilt has historically been used by legendary guardians known as the Kha-Khan to vanquish threats to humanity. Among these threats was the tyrant Nexus, after whose defeat the hilt vanished until Orin found it. Aviana takes Orin to Trinia, where Zygon appears, and in the ensuing fight Orin exposes Zygon as a robot. Zygon reveals that he is Nexus, seeking again to control humanity with his robots. Zygon takes the hilt, while Orin and Aviana are imprisoned in the cell block wherein Dagg is also captive. Aviana is eventually taken aboard Zygon's flagship as a hostage. The Starfly brings Orin the hilt, which Orin uses to free himself and Dagg. They then take over Zygon's flagship and destroy the enemy fleet with the Starfly's help. Having restored Dagg's spaceship, Silica rejoins them. Orin's party penetrates Zygon's base, but is attacked by more robots. While Dagg and Silica stay behind to fight off their pursuers, Orin enters his original cavern home and begins to denounce Zygon, who attacks and overwhelms him. Three Starflies appear and merge into one, stating that Orin has no need of the hilt, as "there never was a blade"; the power to create a cutting
force came from Orin himself. Orin uses this force to kill Zygon, and his people revolt and win their
freedom. Above, Silica mistakenly attacks the accumulated crystals, which explode, triggering a chain reaction which threatens to collapse the mines. Aided by Orin, his people escape to Trinia's surface, where he uses his new-found power to heal his brother Calli of his blindness. Several Starflies appear and reveal themselves as the spirits of the previous Kha-Khan, including the man from the hilt's projection, and offer Orin a place among them. Orin refuses to join them for the time being to live with his friends and family, and the Kha-Khan depart. ==Cast==