The issue begins at SD 197-11-07 (November 7th) with a news program in Tadak City in Ish-tako, when the female reporter gives a resume of the regional events in the solar system, including the news of the defeat of the Taitako Revolutionary Army (one of the rebel forces of the Ish-tako Civil War previously mentioned before issues ago) with the arrest of their leaders, reducing them to nothing more than glorified criminals after they lost the control of the solar system, and how local militias, along with the respective homeguards, managed to deal the final blows. The reporter also adds how the Ish-tako authorities seized the assets of the Whurra Industrial Group, who was behind of the attack of the civilian spaceship when Erma was on it, the Patok Allozi, despite their executives denied any kind of participation on the attack, blaming it to the rebels who used their equipment illegally, but the local authorities have solid proof against them. She also points out the current cooperation between militias and homeguards will mark the end of the use of force for political change, even if there's still some terrorists around there, and the local governments of many of the planets of the Ish-tako solar system are in talks about the idea of impose a system-wide security monitoring system to prevent another more terrorist attacks or another war to happen ever again. Meanwhile, in a more local news, there a current terrorist attack in Tadak City in a neighborhood from the aforementioned city being carried out by unknown elements.
Regarding that incident, we see members of the local homeguard, along with Erma's couple Alfon Voga as their instructor, being ready to deal with them. They ask Alfon what to do, but he cannot do much, as this is a real situation and not a simulation, not to mention as a member of the EDF he cannot meddle in the issues of the local homeguards, but he decides to give a little help anyways. But, while Alfon is trying to explain what to do in that moment in the roof of some building, the terrorists unleashed an attack against them unwarned, injuring two people, including Alfon, and killing another extra person, not to mention Alfon's presence violated EDF rules and local treaties.
The next scene happens in a hospital, when Alfon is still recovering from the previous events, while Erma and Toki are along him. Alfon ask Erma if she still loves him, probably because he is neither as good like her, but Erma doesn't seem to mind at all and she even jokes he is trying to win her sympathy, something that Alfon replies as at least he is trying, and he also adds, along Toki while still talking in a joking tone, that he could be a bad influence for their baby and Erma could need a "well-rounded" parent. Erma, keeping with her unusual sense of humor points out she is already "well-rounded" enough thanks to him. In more serious matters, Erma explains that she needs to keep her job as a leader and as a pilot as well, and she is also the only one, ironically enough, with a calm mind regarding the whole pregnancy thing, and for that, she explained to Alfon and Toki she joined a "care center" for that job in mind, and besides the help of them, she also needs the help of civilians not involved with the EDF in the case she would be busy, not to mention they have more experience dealing with babies than Erma via her dysfuntional family thanks of her conflictive relationship with her younger brother Tasak and Toki. Toki herself mentions in an annoyed way she has five younger slibings, something that Erma thinks that Toki's family are nothing more than a "convention of anarchists" and she isn't exactly a good example for her new son. Returning to more serious matters regarding Alfon, Erma begs Alfon for his forgiveness, since she doesn't know what to do with him, and while she wants him to be the father of her new baby, she isn't still sure if she wants to live with him. Alfon already anticipated that beforehand and he requested to live in the same bunk with Erma, something that Erma jokes about, since she knew Alfon could do that, taking into account she wouldn't never left an injured fellow soldier behind.
In another scene involving Erma, she is already having another nightmare, this time dreaming many unrelated bits she's unable to relate with her, including a group of Lepine soldiers, Kanoc and a crab. After that, Erma went straight to the Net to request an explanation about the meaning of those dreams, but it turns out she's not the only one dreaming the same thing, as Alliusiz himself is also dreaming the same thing and he deduces that dream could be a part of his friend Kanoc's subconscious memory he absorbed previously. At the next morning, we see him going to a college to study or, in his own words, "doing something productive", as doing nothing is starting to griding his gears, not to mention he is unable to find a job. Alliusiz wonders if he can find a way to help Erma from the shadows.
Meanwhile in the Arras Chanka solar system, we see Itzak Arrat again in a relay station on his way to the planet to report about the events of Chishata and the attempts of some corrupt EDF members on trying to hide the truth, but in his way, he is intercepted by a Canine officer named Lt. Taho and he is warned beforehand he must not do anything, something that pisses Arrat like never before and he request answers from him, but he only replies Arrat doesn't have anything to report to the EDF. Taho also adds that Arrat's observations are none of the EDF HQ's business. And when he ask about the whereabouts of the psychological report sent by the Aeletah Space Station he was before and his reports from him and his crew. Taho replies aside from Arrat's PTSD, officially he did nothing else, other than wasting his time coming to Arras Chanka just to make a fool of himself in front of his superiors. He also adds Taho and Arrat's current conversation is also off-the-record and officially they have never met. This not only infuriate him like never before been in his life, but it also confirms his fears that the EDF can alter the data from The Net and painting him like a raving lunatic. After that, Itzak Arrat, not allowing that the deaths of his men were in vain, decides to give Lt. Taho a nice, lifetime, gift to him: A Sucker Punch in his Face.
Unfortunately for Arrat, someone else is recording the fight somewhere else...
In the planet Arras Chanka itself, Shato is taking a bath in a pool, while the Net warns him about the news regarding corrupt members of the EDF managed to hack the Net itself. Shato cannot believe it, since technically it's supposed to be an impossible feat, but the Net (or who or whatever is controlling the Net right now from behind the shadows) explains him they can also do it as well (even if they haven't done so) and it also adds the people behind the hack altered the sequence of events after the Chishata massacre so they can cover the incident somehow and how Itzak Arrat went to the solar system for naught, besides to receiving a new command post (who has likely lost after his fight against Lt. Taho). Shato points out, by covering the events from Chishata, whatever further interrogations never happened and they also are trying to do the same with the events from the Ekosiaki Uprising, since the Net its taking too much time to retrieve information from that planet, as many data blocks are locked out. The only thing Shato can do right now is escaping from Arras Chanka, since thr EDF can do whatever thing with him or worse, if they can rewrite the truth at their will. The Net complains if he is trying to running away from his responsabilities, in this case from his role in the death of Aito Kho and Shato replies while he doesn't mind facing the law for his crime, in this moment the law itself has become a tool for the ambitions of some crooked EDF members. He also request the Net to help him to escape, so he can go to somewhere outside the ConFed space, since he cannot do anything worthwhile right now and at least he could help anyone outside the rim to prevent the same thing to happen to them as well. The Net doesn't have other choice than help him in his plan.
While this was happening, Erma and Toki were talking within the Ish-tako airbase since Toki was going into a flying mission alone, since Erma was busy doing paperwork, something that pisses Toki off, not to mention that the pilot's outfits do not fit her in the least because her breasts are big, giving Erma a good reason to laugh at her expense. Later on, we see Erma talking with other EDF members in a briefing room, and she ask for questions before the briefing. All the questions addressed to her were about her pregnancy, including the name of the baby, how much time she will remain inactive, etc. While Erma appreciates the concern of her men for her well-being, she requests to return to the current topic, without success. Later on we see Erma again taking a bath inside the care center with Keena and her (and other people's) kids, while Keena herself is giving Erma a massage. Keena is glad to see Erma again and she tells her while her career as a soldier is important, having a family is also important as well, and Erma cannot avoid hugging the kids, since she loves kids too, but she points out her career is very important for her, as she's a bona-fide soldier, and she will need Keena's help when she couldn't take of the baby due of her duties. She also states she is a complete newbee regarding parenting, and while she have parental instincts like everyone else, her personality hasn't changed, according with her.
We see Erma again with Alfon Voga who was recently discharged from the hospital and he is recovering in Erma's bunk. Both characters are discussing about their personal lives as a couple, while Erma complains about Alfon's sleeping habits and how she feels being pregnant. Alfon ask Erma if she has had another nightmare recently, something she denies, since she has not had them for a week. Erma points out living together is nice, as long they don't sleep together, because Erma is not used to sleep with someone else outside her immediate family. Erma asks Alfon if his still in pain, and she also adds her dream will stop once the baby is born, according with The Net. Meanwhile Alfon complains having to sleep in the floor, and Erma explains it's not so unusual for her, because her father was in the same situation when dating her mother. On other similar topics, Alfon thinks Erma likes to sleep in harder surfaces, but in reality she likes a good mattress to sleep on it. Alfon adds any conjugal visits should be in his bed, but Erma teasingly explains it doesn't need to be in a bed. And while the next dialogues implies they were in the bed doing something erotic, even if we don't see a thing, Alfon says they could "sleep" in the front lawn, something that Erma replies that only would happen if the neighbors don't complain about it.
Meanwhile in Arras Chanka, we see Arrat again talking about his, and his soon-to-be-former crewmen, situation, and how nothing is safe anymore now that the Net was hacked and how his career inside the EDF is finished after he punched Lt. Taho in the face. Arrat's crewmen are also worried, since they will be also the victims of any retaliation against them or their families, by the EDF. Arrat gives his solution for that: They should go to outside EDF space, to the outer rim, when the EDF version of The Net doesn't work there, and there's the extra benefit there's lots of opportunities there. The only thing Arrat can do right now is wishing luck to their former men.
Back to Ish-tako again, Erma is having yet another Flashback Nightmare, this time from a distant past involving her mother Eda, who was pregnant of Erma at the time, waiting for Kanoc in the Annahport's spaceport, when suddenly, a terrorist attack breaks out inside the place. Meanwhile, Erma was moaning violently in her bed, while in her dreams Erma screams in a attempt to warning them. Even in a middle of a nightmare, Erma cannot avoid making some observations about how to respond in a terrorist attack, since Kanoc, her father, repelled the attack in a very quick and efficient way, hitting all the enemy targets with only a revolver, while avoiding to hit civilians along the way. She is incredibly surprised how his father was an incredible gunfighter in his primetime, but, while all this happened, her mother Eda began to have labor near Kanoc, and to make matters worse, Erma's dream ended abruptly in utter pain. The Net ask if she had a bad dream and Erma explains she dreamed the events from the terrorist attack in Annahport, when she was born prematurely there due to the shock of the incident on her mother and she also explained she dreamed from the POV of both of her parents this time. At that moment, she discovers with horror that she has just broken water and she started to begin labor due to the stress of that nightmare. Luckily. Alfon and the Net requested help to take Erma to the hospital, while explaining that her nightmare has a explanation...
...and that explanation can be tracked down to Alliusiz.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Marsupial also wake up after having the same dream Erma had, while having a intense headache. He receives a urgent call from the Net, and the Net, in an uncharacteristic aggressive tone, warned Alliusiz he must stay away from Erma, despite his intentions of trying to help her by going to Ish-tako, but his presence only caused Erma's Talent powers to go haywire since his own's almost killed her and her new baby, and the Net already scheduled a ship for him, so he could leave the planet, otherwise it will warn the EDF about his powers, so they could arrest him. Obviously Alliusiz is really angry by the Net's attitude and the Net warns him it already know about his Talent powers, and while The Net cannot explain its motives to him about helping Erma, at least he could explain Alliusiz his powers are damaging her because he is too close to her, as his dreams are contaminating Erma's mind, causing her to initiate labor. Alliusiz is deeply shocked after receiving suck revelation, and the Net further advices him as long he is in Ish-tako, Erma will not be safe.
At SD 198-01-21 (January 21th), Erma is resting in a hospital bed with her newborn baby, a male kitten boy, along with Alfon and Toki. The doctor comments both the baby and Erma are OK, despite being born prematurely, but there's a small but very important detail that was missed in previous check-ups Erma was subject in tha past, and that would affect Erma's life from now on: Her injuries she sustained in the gut during the Battle of Derzon were also a partial cause of her miscarriage and she will never will be able to bring another child to full term ever again. But Erma is happy of having her baby son safe with her, and Toki asks which name she planned for the baby. Erma named him Rojigo Felna, after her maternal grandfather, and Toki's cannot avoid to snark about the name and her face is directed towards the readers because Rojigo's name stands for a very, very different thing for her.
Four months later in Dornthant, we see Erma's parents Eda and Kanoc receiving a videomail from Erma showing her new baby son Rojigo to them, while at the same time she announces her engagement with Alfon Voga, and some additional details about how she is dealing with the whole situation, including the fact she is still indecisive about if she is going to marry with him or not. Both parents are happy to see Erma having a baby, taking into account Erma rarely talks with them.
And they aren't the only ones to be happy about the news, as the notice about Erma's newborn baby also reached the local Home Guard, when Tasak Felna, Erma's younger brother, received the news via another EDF member, congratulating the new "uncle" for the baby of his famous sister, while also asking when he will join the EDF, something that replies with a no. After that, Tasak is cursing his luck, as he's still living under the shadow of his famous older sister, a Living Legend on the EDF. While walking furiously, he catchs the attention of a very ambitious EDF commander and that commander throws a giant speech about how Tasak's talent is wasted thanks to the EDF bureaucracy and he should work for him, so Tasak could reach a better position within the EDF. The name of that commander is Tavas Ikalik.
Tropes:
- Born in an Elevator: It turns out Erma's life began in a very tragic way, as she was born in the middle of a terrorist attack. The History Repeats again with Rojigo, albeit neither as traumatic compared with his grandmother.
- Chekhov's Gun: A very tragic one with lifetime consequences for Erma: Remember the injuries Erma received four years ago in the gut during the Battle of Derzon? It turns out those injuries, along with Alliusiz's Mind Rape, were partly the cause of almost aborting the baby and it will also prevents Erma to have another baby at full term for the rest of her life. Oddly enough, Erma doesn't seem to mind about that yet.
- Deliberate Values Dissonance: Erma forces Alfon to sleep in the floor, because she is not used to sleep with someone else outside her immediate family, something that also happened with Kanoc in the past with Eda.
- Explosive Breeder: Discussed between Erma and Toki, when the latter says she has five siblings after Erma complains she and Alfon don't have experience with babies. She also throws an additional punchline towards Toki's family, calling it a "convention of anarchists", something she doesn't want as example for her future offspring.
- Flashback Nightmare: Erma has many nightmares about past events involving her parents, including the one when Erma was born in the middle of a terrorist attack on Annahport's spaceport when Kanoc was returning home and Eda was waiting for him there. It turns out many of those dreams came out from Alliusiz's head after he read Kanoc's mind previously on, causing her to start labor, just like her mother did in the past during the terrorist attack with her.
- Leaning on the Fourth Wall: After Erma tells Toki about when Rojigo was named after her maternal grandfather, Toki cannot avoid to face her the readers as a way to show how Rojigo's name is very odd, even for in-universe standards:Toki: Well, I guess it could have been worse.
- Maternity Crisis: Basically, this is what happens with both Erma in this issue, and her mother Eda in the past. Luckily in both cases, everything went well.
- Mind Rape: Alliusiz accidentally contaminates Erma's mind with memories of her father Kanoc's past in her dreams, and he is one of the reasons his powers almost kills her and Rojigo as well, causing the Net to take action and forcing him to leave Ish-tako by force under the threat of surrender him to the EDF authorities and revealing his powers.
- Near-Death Experience: Alfon almost dies in Ish-tako when a rogue rebel group suddenly attacks him and his men, members of the local homeguard who asked him for advice, injuring him and killing another random soldier. Luckily for him, he only sustained moderate injuries.
- Punched Across the Room: Itzak Arrat punches Lt. Taho, the crooked EDF officer, in the face as a way of not letting the death of his crewmen in Chishata have been in vain.
- Significant Anagram: Rojigo's name is a bad anagram of Gojira, aka Godzilla outside Japan.
- Walls of Text: Tavas really knows about doing a good speech to convince people to work for him, to the grade the whole speech is compressed in a single panel in the last page of the issue.
