Crest of the Stars

Jinto and Lafiel float through space in an emergency escape pod, waiting for rescue. The main fleet continues the battle, with Spoor's brutal advance having confused and disrupted the enemy forces. After the battle ends, Jinto and Lafiel are together aboard the naval base. As they make their way to see the new Basroil, they discuss the fate of Diaho, Jinto's cat. The new Basroil turns out to be exactly the same as the previous one. Unfortunately, since they have a new ship, they won't be going back into battle right away. With the crew on board and ready to go, the new Basroil launches.

Lafiel is upset that they've been ordered to withdraw from the battle. She isn't used to losing or giving up. Her unit commander chastises her for questioning the chain of command. Fleet Commander Dusanyu arrives in the Aptic Region. He wonders if Lafiel and Jinto are OK. Meanwhile, on the Basroil, they're going into battle against enemy assault vessels. They seem to be doing well at first, as they manage to destroy a couple of enemy vessels. But then the Basroil is targeted. The enemy fires....

As they wait for the enemy fleet to arrive, Jinto and Lafiel discuss their lives and how they got to that point. Jinto confesses to being scared. To his surprise, Lafiel admits that she is as well. They talk about their plans for the future. Will Jinto ever go back to his home planet, Martine? Will Lafiel become an admiral? And what's next after that? Lafiel says she has plans to go through all of life's three stages: officer, merchant, and parent. Jinto is surprised she has thought so far ahead. Their conversation is interrupted by the arrival of the enemy fleet and the beginning of the battle.

While on patrol, the Basroil and another assault ship, the Seigroil, are hit by enemy mines. They wind up adrift, stranded in Plane Space, with no sensors and systems failing throughout both ships. They come up with a plan to transfer all the crew and usable materials from the Seigroil to the Basroil, but once they do, the Basroil crew learns that the Seigroil bridge crew is trapped and cannot escape. Now, alone in the dark, the Basroil can see some unidentified ships coming toward them. But are they friend or foe?

The Basroil is in spacedock being repaired, and the crew are stocking up on supplies. Dusanyu, with the new information he has received, decides that the main battle will be held in the area surrounding the Aptic Gate. He appoints Admiral Bebaus' fleet in charge of defending the region. But the Bebaus brothers come from a family known for ""Spectacular Insanity,"" and everyone wonders if this will spell their doom. Meanwhile, as Jinto and Ekuryua are having a rather personal discussion, Lafiel comes into the room at precisely the wrong time and sees something that makes her very angry. Will Jinto be able to save face? And what are the Bebaus brothers planning?

Assigned to Battleship Squadron Latouche, Lafiel's assault ship Basroil patrols the conquered Aptic System. The forward push by Abh forces has gone so well that the Abh leaders worry that something's not right. Could a trap be set for them? Jinto and Lafiel discuss the odd situation of Hecto-Commander Atosuryua being the commander of their battalion. Three years ago, as chronicled in Crest of the Stars, Lafiel killed Atosuryua's older brother, the treacherous and insane Baron Febdash. Lafiel insists that Atosuryua is beyond making that an issue, but Jinto isn't so sure. Later, on the bridge, Ekuryua makes a case for letting Jinto's cat, Diaho, stay on the ship. Meanwhile the president of Aptic tries to work out a compromise in which the Ahb will demand his surrender, as he wants to put on a show of fake defiance for his voters. Atosuryua meets Jinto to talk about her father and brother. The conversation seems strained, but she tells Jinto to relay the message to Lafiel that she, Atosur

Captain Lafiel commands her crew of four (including secretary Jinto Lin) as her battleship fiercely dogfights against an enemy in space. Despite her best efforts, a devastating blast cripples her ship. Systems fail one by one. With nowhere to run, the ship is destroyed. The scene goes black and the screen reveals that the battle simulation is over. Lafiel, visibly disappointed by her performance, leaves her other crew members. The other crew members urge Jinto to cheer her up. Jinto argues that treating her like a child might make her angry, and that an angry Abh is no better than a depressed Abh. He says they're reading too much into her reaction, but he agrees to talk to her. It has been three years since the events of Crest of the Stars. When they talk, we see that both have grown up some. Lafiel is taking on important responsibilities as an actual ship captain. Jinto is more self-assured and frank (though Lafiel calls this ""being full of himself""). The bond between them will be a p

Not wanting to unnecessarily drag anyone into her dispute with United Mankind, Lafiel insists that her anti-empire captors-turned-allies split from Jinto and herself in the underground tunnels in which they've sought refuge. There are too many men in pursuit and not enough pathways, however, and Jinto and Lafiel eventually run into a dead end. Though the bombs lobbed in their direction succeed in causing slight injury, they also open the way for the duo to flee into the amusement park on the other side of the wall that had previously blocked their escape. They haven't reached safety just yet, however, because the city police force -- also involved in the chase but familiar with Jinto and Lafiel's secret route -- has anticipated the pair's arrival. Doing their best to avoid capture, they make the mistake of backtracking through the park and again encounter United Mankind's military. Now hunted by two irate and heavily armed groups, Jinto and Lafiel's options seem limited, even when the

Despite their disguises, Jinto and Lafiel encounter danger even before making it to the city, crossing paths not with the United Mankind but rather with three teenagers up to no good. Though they didn't start the fight, Jinto and Lafiel quickly finish it, acquiring an escape vehicle for their troubles. Unfortunately, the incident leads to a police investigation, one spearheaded by a United Mankind official looking for the occupants of the Abh pod that escaped to Sufugnoff. Upon the suggestion of the lead detective -- someone clearly annoyed by the prospect of collaborating with the invading army -- they concentrate their efforts upon searching the city's hotels, since new customers would be scarce in this time of military chaos. Of course, a hotel is precisely where the two fugitives are hiding, and it isn't long before four policemen bust down the door, weapons drawn. Jinto tries to prevent them from searching the bedroom where Lafiel now sleeps, and he ends up on the floor with a gun

Despite odds stacked heavily against her, Lafiel -- relatively inexperienced as both pilot and soldier -- emerges victorious in her battle with the baron. That doesn't mean that Jinto and the princess haven't also suffered a loss, however. The delay caused by their imprisonment has allowed the United Mankind to beat them to the planet of Sufugnoff, and the invasion they could have possibly prevented is already under way by the time they arrive. The enemy has also detected their presence and launches an attack, but Lafiel again displays some deft maneuvering and they are able to elude death once more. Though they've managed to survive the initial confrontation, Jinto and Lafiel's options are limited because the orbiting tower where they would have docked has been destroyed. With nowhere else to go, they turn their attention toward Sufugnoff's surface, but the ship in which they are traveling may not be equipped for the landing. Worse still, Lafiel -- despite all of her training -- has n

Less-than-stimulating dinner conversation with Baron Febdash -- particularly the part where he expresses his hatred for land people -- results in Lafiel losing her appetite, and she leaves her rude host to eat in solitude. For Lafiel, it's too much of a coincidence that Jinto -- a land person -- was absent from dinner, and she tries to contact him after retreating to her room. His communicator is suspiciously unavailable, however, and subsequent efforts to reach him using Febdash's onboard computers are also futile. However, she does learn a valuable piece of information: The baron's vassals are the key to finding her companion. Baron Febdash wasn't being untruthful when he told Lafiel over dinner that his father was entertaining Jinto, but he failed to mention that he kept his father confined, and that Jinto was his prisoner now as well. Why would he risk the wrath of the Abh Empire by interfering with a vital mission undertaken by one of its princesses? Lafiel isn't quite sure, but s

While on their way to the Abh capital to bring Jinto Lin to his military training, the captain and crew of the patrol ship Gosroth detect the presence of warships that they suspect belong to the United Mankind, an enemy opposed to Abh control of the universe. Jinto and Lafiel, as noncombatants, are ordered off the Gosroth by Captain Lexshue, but not before the Abh princess is severely reprimanded for questioning those instructions. Lafiel would rather stay and fight, but Lexshue -- realizing the future importance of her stubborn protegee -- will hear nothing of it. The mood aboard Jinto and Lafiel's escape vessel is a somber one, as she laments her uselessness to the mission. Jinto does his best to cheer her up, but his efforts are futile. Still, Lafiel is better off exactly where she is, as the Gosroth, after attempting to escape, is finally caught by the United Mankind forces. Will they manage to escape? Lafiel certainly hopes so, because she has a unique relationship with the ship's

Jinto Lin has finally met his first Abh, and perhaps the only thing more noticeable than Lafiel's beauty is her piloting skills. Jinto, on the other hand, is in for a rocky military career if this first flight is any indication. Even less uncomfortable than the trip to the vessel that will transport him to the Abh capital is the reception that awaits him once on board. Jinto is obviously unaccustomed to the fanfare that greets him, and is thrown for a loop when he learns Lafiel's true identity. He's not quite sure how to handle himself around a princess, which temporarily complicates the budding friendship. Friendship, however, may not be the only thing on Jinto's mind, as they quickly settle their differences and end up in his room discussing where Abh babies come from! Any possibility for a future romance will be put on hold indefinitely, though, by the long war that's about to begin.

Jinto recalls that day when the alien race, the Abh, invaded his home planet. Now a teen, he must go to Military School where he will finally meet an Abh.