After what had transpired in the recent battle, Dio strikes Aoba due to his careless behavior that almost killed Lieutenant Lee Conrad. Aoba responds by telling him that the girl he was trying to save, Hina Yumihara, was not his enemy but a girl who had saved his life. Seeing Lieutenant Conrad on a stretcher, Aoba goes over to thank him for what his sacrifice, to which the latter only responds with gratitude to Aoba. He mentioned that because Aoba was there, everyone lived through the battle. Having taken heavy casualties, the Cygnus then continues to its destination.

Meanwhile in the Zogilia’s Trident, Alfred Gallant begs Margaret O’Keefe to not detain Hina, to whom he refers to as Riazan. However, Margaret mentions that by the enemy knowing her real name, she has become very suspicious of her, and that alone was her crime.

After reaching the Narashino base, Aoba returns to his birth place to see what it is like 70-years into the future. Knowing that he was sent to be watched over, he is accompanied by Mayuka Nasu, who shows him around. She explains that Narashino was occupied shortly after the war started and that the land on his home was taken to, but never expanded upon. Realizing that his family and friends are gone, he and Mayuka go to explore more familiar sites. Upon returning to the Cygnus, Aoba tells Mayuka that he did not want to pilot a valiancer anymore because someone else might get hurt because of him. She responds by telling him that they all need him and that he is quite possibly their savior, as shown by his actions saving them all twice form Zogilia’s assaults. With a new found resolve, Aoba decides to continue piloting the Luxon and fighting with the people who need him the most. Much to Dio’s surprise, the captain accepts Aoba as a Ensign, or Second Lieutenant.

Despite everything going well with the Cygnus’ crew, they recevie an S.O.S. signal from a private ship that is being surrounded by Zogilian forces, lead by Lieutenant Bonelle. With an immediate response, the Cygnus’ valiancer unit head out to meet the threat head on. But, once they enter the fray, both Dio and Aoba attempt to couple together. It fails, however, due to the fact that Dio does not trust Aoba. In addition to this, The private ship turns out to be one owned by his family. Empathizing with Dio’s need to save his family, Dio begins to trust Aoba and successfully couples once again and saving the ship. After escorting the ship to the Chitose Base, Dio is immediatly greeted by his younger sister, Fiona and their father.