After a month in the hospital, Erma and Alfon leave the hospital with their baby son Rojigo in their hands. Erma's doctor says while they will check out the baby via the Net in the case of any other problem, he doesn't think he will have any other further issues to deal from now on. Later on, In a very heartwarming scene, we see the three members of the Felna family taking a train back home, albeit Erma was only thinking on returning to work once she settles with everything. Once in home, Erma wants to begin work there, but Alfon complains she should take care of the baby first, something that Erma replies Alfon should take care of the baby as well, as his father and as part of his resposabilities. Alfon jokes he doesn't plan to evade those responsabilities anyways, but meanwhile Erma breastfeeds Rojigo while Alfon unpacks their stuff. Once Erma and Rojigo are sleep in the bed, Alfon is happy of having both Erma and a son and how he's liking this new experience for him.
Two months before in Arras Chanka, we see Shato on his way to leave the planet to the rim systems, and we also see his chronicles about the travel, including having to deal with a fellow passenger with a weak stomach and waiting in a space station while dealing with a quarantine. He also points out what he is going to do now in his new home, as he cannot face out a Net completely corrupted by the EDF, not the "other" Net cannot do anything about it. He also reflects on his life up to that moment, and the life he had in Ekosiak before being forced to kill Aito Kho, and he somewhat regrets not being an accountant like the rest of his family, but he was too smart and ambitious for his own good. He also missed his life as a politician and all the adulation he received as a part of his job and how he also become a killer, and maybe his hands are permanently tainted with blood.
Meanwhile, Itzak Arrat passed through the quarantine from an unknown place and he proceeds to board a ship towards an unknown destination. Arrat finds weird being a passenger this time. Once he reachs his quarters, The Net salutes him as "Captain Arrat", despite he doesn't hold that rank anymore, as he already defected the EDF, but the Net still does anyways out of respect for him and it also tells him that Capt. Chanda, the main officer of the ship he's on board, invited him to dinner with him, while the ship itself abandons EDF space in that moment. Later, Arrat went towars the ship's dining room, when Capt. Buzi Chanda, a Erinaceomorph (hedgehognote ) was waiting him along with his crew. Arrat points out he hasn't having fun talking since his academy days. Chanda describes himself as a cautious businessman and he already checked the backgrounds of each person, Arrat included, previously and he can be sure anything they could say will be kept secret. Chanda also comments the whole thing about the Net and how the information on it was corrupted and how many of the information doesn't match with the current events and how those events in the Net were rewritten by probably by the EDF, and how many of the people inside the ship are also in the same dilemma like Arrat: Trying to escape from the EDF, fearing the worst for them and leaving behind their jobs and their previous lives, and how Chanda is helping them in the job of escaping from there, while offering a new job for those new talents.
Returning to the present time to Erma, she returns to work with Rojigo along her and everyone in her office was surprised to see her with her new baby. She points out that bringing the baby to her office could cause distractions, but once the noveltty wears off, no one will figure out Rojigo's presence... as long he doesn't cry, that's it. Later on, Erma finds out having to work with a baby in her hands is a royal pain in the ass for her, and that without going into the point how painful is breastfeeding, as he's always nabbing from her, and changing the diapers can be annoying when someone enters her office without knocking the door.
At the next day, Erma brings Rojigo to Keena's care group to present him to her and the rest of the parents and sons there. Erma cannot avoid complaining how difficult parenting could be, something that Keena explains it's relatively normally for first-timers like Erma. The rest of the parents of the care group ask for the whereabouts of Alfon, and Erma explains he's also working, just like her, who also wants to have more free time to deal with him. Meanwhile, the kids in the care group were also surprised of Rojigo, and they cannot avoid throwing some jokes about how smelly he is.
Nine months earlier, we see Dr. Elaki Kalahahaii again taking a hike in the mountains from her homeworld of Endly, trying to find some answers alone about what she found inside the human spaceship months ago. After lighting a campfire, she takes her clothes out and she start to think about what kind of death that human woman had inside that ship and how she likely died alone and she probably wouldn't be able to do something like that. She also thinks how that event changed her life for good and how she would prefer to return to her former life, without otherwordly things to worry about...
Days later we see Dr. Kalahahaii again in a Enchawah Corp.'s sponsored party with other members of the company. One of the organizers of the party, another Feline (bobcat) like her, comments she's a very valuable asset for the company. Meanwhile, while drinking a tea, she meets yet another bobcat named Tetsuwah, a xenoscientist like her from a planet named Orly. Elaki never heared about him, but Tetsuwah tells her he doesn't belong to any other academic team and he grabs Elaki's attention by telling her he found out an ancient uranium deposit who was confused with an ancient nuclear reactor, something that Elaki can relate as well. Tetsuwah asks for which organization she works for, and she explains she works for the ConFed right now, without giving him any further details.
Meanwhile in Ekosiak, Col. Onni Hitzok went to his office to work and he receives the news that the governor of the planet, a Cervine (deer) named Enko Genyanaka wants to talk with him about Banchen, the Feline guy he arrested few months ago, something that creeps him out, because she found out about the arrest somehow. Later on, both Hitzok and the governor chats and she asks about Banchen, and why neither her agents nor her intelligence agencies can access either Banchen or Hitzok's files from his office. He answers that he didn't incommunicate Banchen for criminal reasons and he did anything as ordered by the laws, and regardless how she managed to get that information, Banchen is in custody by his personal request. He also adds there's some people abusing their legal powers for criminal or even treacherous, reasons, and without his help, Banchen would likely being killed, and make his supposely death as an escape attempt.
He also tries to add about Aito Kho and his organization, but he is rudely interrupted by the governor, pointing out that the organization which Aito leaded died with him and she doubts any involvement of the ConFed in his death. Despite this, Hitzok continues with the chat and he remarks that the organization Aito created still exist, and there still many members inside the Ekosiaki goverment and its security apparatus. The last part really enrages Genyanaka, as Hitzok was implying she was involved with Aito in his plans, something that she denies. Hitzok explains if Genyanaka was involved in the late Aito, he would already ordered her arrest and impeachment, along with a emergency national assembly as well. Genyanaka doesn't think he would dare to do that, something that Hitzok he wouldn't do, because there isn't any proof against her. Genyanaka finished the conversation adding that she would work with Hitzok on "cleaning the house" and she would cooperate with him. After finishing the conversation with the governor, Hitzok order the Net to archive the whole deal and send the files to the ConFed's regional office as a top secret file, under the name "stinkyteat". But, without his knowledge, Genyanaka established a conversation with another person via videophone named "Dana" (very likely one of the members of the Ekosiak's security forces mentioned two issues ago) and with the help of him, they are both trying to get any information about Hitzok, including his relationship with Dea, so she can smear his name.
Two months later at in the ILR, in the planet Baliannian, Col. Tom is talking with Hassakenal, the creator of the cluster weapon of the same name, offering a better job than the one he already had. He originally refuses, but the Colonel told him his idea was of the liking of the higher-ups in the ILR army and Tom will lead the project, while Hassakenal will lead the technical department. He replies he will need extra staff, something that is not a concern for Tom, as long Hassakenal can give him a budget. After that, he leaves the office and in the street, he is intercepted by another Lepine, an unnamed General, who wants to talk with him about his project. The General told him he's aware Tom is working in some kind of project and he needs Tom's help for his own plans. Tom explains him he's working on the cluster weapon and the General congratulates him for grasping his plans, as he has even bigger plans for both men. Later on Tom went to the General's office and he shows Tom a holographic projection displaying his plans. Tom ask him what kind of plans he had in mind, and the General went straight to the point: To wage war against the ConFed and conquer it entirely.
The whole revelation shocks Tom like never before and he starts to doubt about the sanity of his senior, something that angers the General. Tom explains that going into a full war against the ConFed (and by default, the EDF) will doom them like the First Lepine War and the only thing they were doing all these years is trying to justify their control on the means of production of their country. He also adds one thing is saving face in the name of the Republic and another thing is being steamroalled to extinction by the ConFed, and the best thing they can do right now is manipulating the things from far away so the ConFed and the EDF will tear themselves apart with some external help from the ILR. Then, the General shows him a Data Pad with classified information he managed to get recently: The information about the derelict human spaceship in Ish-tako and the plans of the EDF of building a galaxy-destroying Wave-Motion Gun from the technology taken out from that ship, so it could destroy them in a single shot.
Tom simply cannot believe what he is hearing and, in a snarky tone, he ask if the information is true or the General is being framed by the EDF or even by the General's own men, something that offends him seriously, and he assures him that information is true and correct, as far their intelligence service can get. He also adds there's war preparatives within the EDF while peacefully purging the moderate elements from inside the organization. The General also points out the strange movements within the EDF regarding their best officers, since these officers were dispersed, while their positions are filled by second-rate ones and how those new officers, who normally wouldn't be accepted in the EDF even as a joke, are now inside the EDF without problems, but the real reason of their acceptance is just to padding out these positions, while their leaders are organizing secret strike units for a possible war. And since the EDF mantain their own means of military production outside the public economy, there's nothing that can indicate a military build-up.
Tom asks if there is any information about the human ship, or if the ship actually belonged to humans in the first place, something that the General replies as far he knows and what his intelligence sources managed to get, the ship doesn't belong to anyone in the known space and the layers of security with regards of the ship's sole existance, along with the deployment of important personnel on it. makes the whole thing too obvious for him, albeit he admits it could be a elaborate trick as well to deceit them. Obviously enough, the ILR cannot simply take any chances to wait to see if the EDF plans to strike first, so the General orders Tom to plan a elbaorated political and strategic operation to counter the EDF and the ConFed, while Tom will receive any important data to carry out that mission, as long he and his team can deploy the Hassakenal. Tom returns to his home, completely perplexed about what just heard from his senior officer and the fact he is going to face against the EDF, who had numerical superiority and probably armed with a very powerful weapon that can destroy the entire ILR in a single shot, even if they had to commit mass genocide to pull it off.
Tropes:
- Anachronic Order: The story of this issue is basically a flashback from the events that happened many months prior to Rojigo's birth in Ish-tako at SD 198-02-28 (February 28th, SD 198). The first event is Shato's escape from Arras Chanka, which happened at 197-12-02 (December 2nd, SD 197, two months ago), Erma bringing out Rojigo to work, probably at March SD 198) Dr. Elaki Kalahahaii's return to her home at Endly at SD 197-06-08 (June 8th, SD 197), the events from Ekosiak at 06-15 of the same year (June 15th, thirteen days ago from Elaki's POV but ten months ago from Erma's ones) and finally the ILR events, which happened at 08-02 (August 8th).
- Babies Make Everything Better: The birth of Rojigo brings lots of changes on both Erma and Alfon's personalities, something that Alfon himself lampshades.
- Final Solution: The ILR managed to find information that the EDF and the ConFed plans to destroy the ILR with their Wave-Motion Gun they managed to get from reverse engineering the technology from the derelict human spaceship, regardless of any other moral consideration or even against their own values.
- Fanservice: Governor Enko Genyanaka, who had one of the most suggestives designs of all the characters from the story (excluding Toki, that's it), and in less degree, Dr. Elaki Kalahahaii, who walks naked inside a forest, but we don't see too much and we only see her behind her back. On the other hand, we have to see Shato's fat, ugly naked body as well.
- Going Commando: When talking with Dana, Governor Genyanaka rests in her bed wearing nothing below her waist, albeit the angle of the image and the rest of her clothes cover the rest.
- Potty Emergency: Bringing Rojigo to her work means Erma has to change his diapers in her office, much for the disgust of her coworkers.
- Take That!: Col. Hitzok implies that Governor Genyanaka was involved in the whole Aito deal, something that she angrily denies. After finishing the conversation, it turns out he recorded the conversation under a very unflattering file name about her: stinkyteat.
