The peace-loving planet of Akir, threatened by the greed and overpowering evil of the war-mongering Malmori and their leader, Sador the Conqueror, send a young Akira named Shad to gather together those whom he feels would be brave enough to defend his people and their way of life.

From his journey he finds Nanelia, a brilliant technical advisor; Space Cowboy, a gun-runner with a batle sense spliced together from old cowboy movies; the Nestor, a race of clones searching for a little excitement in their collective life; Gelt, a mercenary who thirsts for one more battle; Caymen, a lizard-like alien with a personal grudge against Sador; and St. Exmin, a female warrior whose passion for adventure runs as high as her desire to fight. Together, they band with the Akira to strike back against the Malmori.

Red blood mixes with green blood, the Malmori finding their massive forces matched by the tenacity and ingenuity of the Akira and mercenaries. Soon, the mercenaries all having been dispatched by their oppressors, the Malmori ready for the final attack, when Shad and Nanelia program their own ship to self-destruct as it is pulled into the Malmori ship's tractor beam. The Malmori are finally destroyed with the Akira standing victorious and Shad and Nanelia swearing that the mercenaries shall be remembered as heroes for their sacrifice.