We are introduced with Lt. Ipcha Tankannahai, who was barely promoted just a few days later, being transferred to a new spacecraft named Gaewahn and he realizes that the spacecraft is so new that he could even smell the paint that had not finished drying. He met the captain of the ship, whose name is Barlahan and he quickly realized that Barlahan is about the same age as him and he also realized that he was more kind than many of the ILR officers he had met so far. Barlahan also read some notices that the crew of the ship where Tankannahai was previously had left about him, much for his displeasure because of the problems he had prior there.
With regard to him, Barlahan decided to have Tankannahai speak to him and he commented that he was surprised at his qualifications (taking into account the amount of problems he had had within the previous ship with both his superiors and his classmates). As his first order as captain of the ship, Barlahan ordered him to inspect the ship to see if it was ready for combat. Once already working, Tankannahai realized how odd the captain was, considering that Barlahan was a recent graduate of a private academy, compared to him. But his concerns about the captain came to the fore as he became aware of many worrisome details about the ship, such as the fact that many of the ship's panels were not locked yet, and that many of the materials with which the ship was made seemed to be recycled.
He also realized that the ship's survival systems, while new, were not sufficient for all crew members, which would be a problem in the event of a severe emergency. The spacecraft's defensive systems also had several troubling details, including the fact that there were no missiles installed, nor any rotary launchers. Tankannahai asked the Net if there was any offensive system installed beforehand, something that the computer denies. He also asks if the rotary launcher would be installed later, and the only thing the Net can tell him is that that information is not available.
After seeing too many inconsistencies with the ship's defensive systems, among other troubling details, Tankannahai has no choice but to speak with Captain Barlahan privately in his room. Tankannahai was surprised at how kind the captain was, as he did not demand that he be dressed in formal clothing to his room and that he only had to come with him in his work uniform. Tankannahai explained to the captain the problems he had seen so far inside the ship, such as the lack of survival systems. On the other hand, the defense systems are loaded, but not tested, so he asks the captain to test them beforehand. Barlanhan commented that probably what had already been installed in his ship was probably the final configuration that would be used in the mission and also remarked that he was not going to perform any tests, as it would be a waste of ammunition that could be useful in any contingency.
Tankannahai, on the other hand, asked in a somewhat explosive way why there are no weapons installed and he asked if the weapons would be installed later, something that the captain explained, already quite annoyed by the attitude of his subordinate, that his orders were to fulfill the assigned objectives, without giving further explanations. Tankannahai can't believe that his captain was going to risk going on a mission, with everyone and his crew including Tankannahai, who all seemed to indicate that they would all go to a certain death. Barlahan, who had enough of listen him, severely warned Ipcha Tankannahai that his duty was to follow the orders of his superiors, and that for his part he was beginning to doubt Tankannahai's loyalty to him, the mission and the ILR itself, but he was willing to forgive his outburst by considering it an error of youth, and he warns him not to give Barlahan any more reasons to doubt him. The young Deuteragonist can't believe what kind of mess he just got into.
Meanwhile, in Itzak Arrat's new ship, we see Frieda Rangoon with Dru Clark, who looks pretty upset to see the Siberian Husky girl in his personal space, while she takes Dru's belongings without permission, making the Terrier furious and Dru asks her to use her own stuff. Frieda agrees to his request, but asks him if he can't give her any other similar ones. Later, Dru asks Lees Koschusko, a Pomeranian, if she can give Frieda new tools, something she questions Frieda's need for new ones, and Dru replicates that it is simply so that Frieda doesn't use his own. Lees gives Frieda the new tools she needs, but she warns her next time, she should not use other people's stuff.
On the other hand, Itzak Arrat, Chinnah, his second-in-command and Tad were finishing preparations before going into space, but before they could carry on with their talk, Dru suddenly appeared while he screamed for help from Arrat and company, demanding that they do something about Frieda, as she kept using Dru's things without his permission. The three characters were perplexed by this and Tad couldn't help but console Dru due to his situation. Also, Captain Arrat assured Dru that he would talk to Frieda so she wouldn't bother him anymore, making Dru return to his job quite happy. Tad, on the other hand, comments on Dru and how he is usually quite territorial and insecure, but despite that, he is a good part of the crew.
While this is happening, we see Frieda again, this time next to Illnya Ludadpik, a Vulpine (artic fox) and how both girls introduce each other, while Illnya allows Frieda to stay in her office. Frieda, on the other hand, was fascinated by Illnya's place of work and how big it is, not to mention how cold it is, something that Frieda likes because she likes cool places. Quickly, Illnya became the Canine's roommate and co-worker, to her displeasure and surprise.
Returning back to Ekosiak, we see Col. Onni Hitzok again, this time with all the members of his family, the Henruha clan. They asked Hitzok, as the most prominent member of the clan, to take office as governor of the planet, now that Genyanaka was forced out of office and that both the governorship and the mansion are his now. There was only one small problem on Hitzok's behalf: His own family, and especially his own mother, who was using him as a stepping-stone to seize power on the planet for their own sake. He reaffirmed that whatever he does from now on will be for the welfare of the inhabitants of Ekosiak, and not just for the Henruha clan to which he and his family belong.
Obviously, none of the clan members agreed with him, seeing that their plans were falling apart because of Hitzok, their own relative. This is even lampshaded by Hitzok himself, in a very sarcastic and mockingly way, about how the first thing he would have thought of is asking his family for help to be part of the new government, since he could trust them for obvious reasons. nstead, he had already ordered other officers to help him stabilize the situation, while Hitzok was in charge of organizing new elections and also electing a new interim governor for the time being, and once the new governor takes office, he will step down from his interim position and return to his post as commander of the Home Guard. He also made it clear that he would not ask his family for help, nor would he recommend them for any position in the new government.
Hitzok's mother criticizes her own son for excluding them from the government, something he himself comments that she and the rest of the clan are only interested in the money they can get from being in power, something even other members of the Home Guard know about beforehand. Hitzok also commented that if he dared to give preference to his family, the other clans of the planet Ekosiak might go against them and try to overthrow them, and that he would rather keep the peace than have him and his clan have any ambition at the expense of the rest of the planet's residents. Hitzok's mother, who had already lost patience after seeing her plans to rule the planet shattered by her own son, did not hesitate to attack Dea Htuhok-Kho, his now concubine, whom she holds responsible for Hitzok's actions, calling her a whore in heat in few words, and that she was clouding his mind, and how she will send Ekosiak being "slaved" again by the ConFed.
Hitzok, who could not tolerate his own mother calling Dea a horny hooker in his face, did not hesitate to throw his mother to the ground and claim his right to be the alpha male (basically in the context of the comic book, to be the supreme leader of the clan, and not the term used in zoology) of the Henruha clan. Likewise, he verbally attacked the other members of the clan, calling them insensitive fools who only desire personal gain regardless of whether the rest of the planet goes to hell with its inhabitants, to the extent that Hitzok himself did not hesitate to threaten his own family with being considered as his own enemies if they were determined to hinder him, but on the other hand, he also asked them to help him solve the political and social crisis of Ekosiak if they decide to help him, and being the Henruha clan an example to follow to boot. Seeing that all the members of the clan looked at him with hatred, he decided to cool things off by telling them that he loved them all too, but that there were more important things to do. Hitzok also saved the best words for his mother, whom he had attacked a few moments ago, and told her that even if he has a engagement with Dea, he is willing to give her mother the grandchildren she wants.
The next night, we see Hitzok in bed with Dea, and he talks to him about what happened with his mother and clan. Dea asks him if what happened to them can't affect his position in government and with the Home Guard, something that Hitzok commented that as a member of the Henruha clan, he has to exploit any opportunity to improve the status of his clan, and now that he is now the leader, he will now have freedom of action, although that won't prevent him from not being watched over by them, but at least that will be in a distance. Dea commented that this whole affair would not affect his relationship with her, considering that Hitzok's mother hates Vulpines like her, but at least he believes that Dea and his mother could get along, as long as he can fulfill his procreative obligations to the clan, something that Dea happily agrees with him.
As this happens, we see Erma Felna and Alfon Voga are her son Rojigo again, who were still on their way to Dornthant. And again we see Erma suffering the effects of the jumps, this time more visually in her hair and fur, which became more bristling and in the case of her hair, giving it an Afro shape. Obviously the situation was beginning to worry Alfon, while Rojigo, who could sense his mother's fear and worry, was also scared. Erma, on the other hand, tried to overlook the situation, saying that he was already beginning to improve, something that Alfon didn't buy while he was trying to calm Rojigo down.
In the meantime, Alfon asked Erma if she was going to talk to her mother, which she responds that she would prefer to wait until she recovers before she does, since her mother Eda has always disagreed that her daughter would join the EDF, and more since Erma became a Living Legend within the EDF, something her mother dislikes even more and for the same reasons she wanted to be careful about she was going to say to her, but, on the other hand, she wants her mother and the rest of her family to meet Rojigo.
Having said that, Erma sends a video message to her political uncles, the Arrats, who she introduces to her son Rojigo and her mate Alfon. She mentioned that they were already close to home, but they were temporarily quarantined. She also wanted to know what was currently happening, especially with Itzak Arrat, but she would prefer to know the details in person. The Arrats were very concerned, and not exactly happy that Erma returned to Dornthant, since the reasons she returned to her home planet were of a political nature, something that the family patriarch Joseph Arrat, for some reason decided not to tell Erma, the same about his son Itzak, who defected from EDF to join Enchawah Corp recently. At that point, Joseph told his wife that Erma is too important and valuable as a commander to be in Dornthant, and her presence in her own home world is a waste, or even worse, so he deduced that there is something wrong with the whole thing, and considering what happened to his son, he fears for Erma's safety.
Moments later, Joseph went to one of Dornthant's Home Guard offices, and spoke to his now superior officer, a Feline (lion) who was in charge of the place. The OC warns Joseph beforehand that, because of his position as a reservist, he cannot give him that information about the reasons why Erma was transferred back to his own home against his will. Obviously, the fact that he was denied information about the reasons why his political niece was transferred without any apparent reason to Dornthant smelled like an excuse to avoid giving him conclusive answers, so he demanded, unless there were top secret reasons why she was at home, the reasons for her transfer. The CO, furiously, replied that he had no reason to give him this information, as he basically implied to him that times had changed and that Joseph was already irrelevant within the EDF, but to stop Joseph from pestering them, he decided to give him a little clue. The clue was that Erma was transferred to a heavy EDF transport unit on the planet. Joseph enquired who was the person who authorized Erma to be transferred to Dornthant with her family.
And that person turned out to be Tavas Ikalik.
Once Joseph learned of Tavas' whereabouts, he went directly to speak with him. Tavas graciously received him in his office and was supposedly surprised to receive Joseph Arrat, a veteran of the First Lepine War, personally. He quickly figured out that the reason Joseph wanted to talk to him had something to do with Erma, and he replied that he would take care of her. Joseph replied that he knew who Tavas really was and the reasons why he wanted to ruin her life and Joseph was surprised to what extent Tavas was willing to do everything he could to achieve his goal. Tavas, for his part and cynically, did not hesitate to admit that he had personal problems with Erma, his ex-girlfriend, and the reasons why she was sent back to her home world were that she usually preferred to work alone and that it would be better for the EDF if she were close, so she could have better control over her.
Apart from that, her being in a faraway region (as he and the EDF had originally planned) led to her having her own independent ideas and purportedly abusing her authority, in Tavas' own words. Joseph, in a sarcastic way, replied that they shouldn't allow that in theory, which makes Tavas ask him if his Equine counterpart didn't agree with him. Not only did Joseph disagree with him, but he furiously accused him of abusing his authority, which Tavas surmised dishonestly and still had the nerve to brag about in his face. Tavas, who had been patient with Joseph until then, decided to threaten him that, if he continued like this, Joseph would end up like his son Itzak. Joseph, for his part, taunts Tavas by telling him what kind of crime he could charge him with, not to mention that he and his followers could ruin his family's life apart from his own. And while he fears for his life, Joseph will never recognize the authority of Tavas, since for him, Tavas and company are nothing more than ursupers.
After that fierce quarrel and leaving Tavas' office, Joseph meets Tasak Felna, Erma's younger brother, who was just about to meet his senior officer. Joseph asks his political nephew what he was doing there, to which Tasak replies that he was Tavas' liaison in the Home Guard. Joseph, incredulous, furiously retorts if Tasak had the most far-fetched idea of what Tavas was doing and the damage he was doing on his older sister and the EDF. But Tasak, in a defiant tone towards his political uncle, replies that they were now in charge of Dornthant, in a nutshell, causing Joseph to left the place without a word for him. Seeing that Tasak was worried about upsetting his political uncle, Tavas decided to cheer him up, saying that he did everything very well and that Joseph was angry that his older sister Erma was suddenly transferred to Dornthant, something that Tasak himself was not aware of, and the only thing he could manage to say is that surely his sister must be very angry at the time, much for Tavas' delight.
And regarding Erma, she, before arriving in Dornthant, formally introduced herself as the commander of the heavy transport unit. She added that she only had a faint idea of the group's organization and its mission and that she would like to get to know its members as soon as possible, not to mention that she also sent her personal data and other notes regarding her new position. then, she is answered by another officer, a Rodent (Capybara) named Chhptht (pronounced "Chip-that") who explained to Erma what her job was going to be. He also told her that he was not interested in knowing her personal history or her goals, but in having her follow his orders without further ado.
Once Erma was off-line, Chhptht ranted against Erma behind her back, saying she had the gall to brag about her credentials and her experience to him, due of her sex. When Chhptht's assistant asked her who she was, he told her that she was Kanoc Felna's daughter and after checking her data on the Data Pad, he confirmed her identity. He also explained that she participated in the Battle of Derzon years ago, even though her personal file barely mentioned her participation in the battle and that she was only mentioned as part of a task force. Both men realized that they had a very important element in their hands, but Chhptht wondered why someone like Erma was there, since with her credentials, she would easily have his job and that job could be done by any rookie pilot.
Returning again with Erma, we see her with Alfon and Rojigo as they were about to land in Annaport, the capital of Dornthant and her hometown, while she had her eyes distracted elsewhere. Alfon asked her what her problem was and she replied that normally someone like Erma would have arrived in her native world triumphantly as the heroine who fought in Derzon and the exploits she performed for her in Ekosiak, and with all that she would have made her family proud, and everyone would have wanted to see Rojigo in person, but now, no one is interested in her career or her job back home, not to mention that she thought her family must be thinking she wasted her life pursuing a career in the military, not to mention what they'd probably be thinking about her skills as a mother.
Alfon asked if that would be such a bad thing, to which Erma replied that normally her family are very rational people who see her daughter's military career as a foolish thing. He also asked why her father didn't suffer the same consequences as she did when he was younger, to which Erma responded that, at that time, very few people knew what an army was, and now they can only feel sorry for him because of how her father ended up after the First Lepine War. After finishing the conversation, Erma's ship arrived at its destination.
Once they got off the aerodyne, they were greeted by Erma's mother, Eda Felna, who was on the runway waiting for her daughter and her new family. After the proper introductions, Eda tells her daughter that her father was home with the rest of the family waiting for her, while Tasak, her younger brother, was out of town at an EDF headquarters. Erma introduced her to her first-born son Rojigo, who was fascinated to meet her grandmother. After all that, Erma asks her mother how everything was at home, to which she responded negatively, and that her father has been busy as well.
But the happy family reunion was sadly interrupted by an audible warning to EDF members, which asked all EDF members to report to active duty immediately, while they were subsequently given orders. After some confusion, Alfon checked in his Data Pad that unidentified enemy spacecraft jumped into Dornthant's space, but then Alfon received an update that, at least in Erma and Alfon's case, it was not necessary for them to report for active duty until the weekend.
Eda asked if that meant they were being attacked, to which Erma responded rudely that it couldn't be so damn bad and at that moment Erma asked to leave the place as quickly as they could. Eda asked what was going on with her daughter due of her rude attitude, and Alfon updated her on the details of Erma's new job and that the fact that she is now basically working as a glorified heavy cargo transporter was something that enraged her as she missed all the action. Eda replied what her son-in-law Alfon was referring to exactly in this regard, to which Alfon himself replied that she did not seem to understand the position her daughter Erma is currently in. To begin with, Erma isn't someone who's looking for thrills just because she's a fighter pilot. He also summed up in a nutshell all the exploits and deeds Erma has been involved in over the past few years in Derzon, Ekosiak and Ish-tako (and if we include the previous events when she was at the academy in Danet, many years before that), and while luck has played an important role in all those events, she can be considered a real heroine for being in the right place at the right time. Alfon concludes that, even though Erma hates having to admit it, she is destined to do something great, since many things happen when she is there, but on this occasion Erma was turned away from her duty, and now he fears what may happen now without her being there to do something.
Later on, we see Erma and the rest of her family at a party with the rest of the Felna family, who were reunited to congratulate and welcome her. One of the guests is Erma's aunt and Kanoc's older sister, Chunti, who is a member of Dornthant's government and she wanted to know how her niece was doing, which Erma refuses to talk about, telling her aunt that she didn't need to worry about her career, but Chunti replies that her career was everyone's main concern in her family. Chunti also outlines what the current political situation was between the EDF and its planet's government and how the Confederation of Planets is trying to intervene in Dornthant's internal affairs and how the local government has no way for the Home Guard to comply with local orders or even enforce the law. Fortunately for everyone on the planet and for her family, she advised within the government that Erma should take control of the military authorities on the planet, so that she could take control of the military in the case of a major emergency, because several unscrupulous and ambitious individuals (such as Tavas, for example) could take that control for themselves, not to mention that even Chunti's own life could be at risk. For obvious reasons, Erma was surprised to receive such an assignment from her planet's government and her aunt concludes that she has to do whatever it takes while Erma has that power, when she can.
- Beware the Nice Ones: ILR's Captain Barlahan is a very nice guy, but be careful to make him angry, especially if someone like Tankannahai doubts his orders or his mission.
- One-Scene Wonder: Chunti Felna, Erma's aunt and the only Felna outside Erma's nuclear family, appears exclusively in this issue, but she play a vital role on giving Erma the power to control the military forces of Dornthant at her will.
- Smug Snake: Tavas Ikalik, big time: Not only did he have the pleasure of ruining the life of Joseph's son Itzak, but he also recognized that he had problems with Erma, especially in the past, and his main intention was to prevent her from having individuality by sending her back to her home planet of Dornthant so that he could better control her. Even Joseph himself calls him a smug authority abuser in his face.
- Stay in the Kitchen: Some Dornthantii EDF officers aren't happy to see someone like Erma in their ranks due of her sex.
- This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: Col. Hitzok's mother basically calls Dea, who became Hitzok's concubine, a whore in heat in few words. Obviously enough, he didn't take those words kindly and he throwed his mother to the floor.
- The Unpronounceable: Try to pronounce Chhptht without Word of God's help. His name is supposed to be pronounced as "Chip-that".
