Huge vehicles watch the approaching transport truck and prepare to launch an attack. But they are unprepared for a skilled AT pilot in a Scopedog, who swiftly disables one of their vehicles. The struggle is interrupted by a voice from above; a ship passes overhead and calls out to the AT pilot. An astonished Chirico realizes it is Bouleuse Gotho! In orbit around Sunsa, the Teltain has escaped its battle with the Balarant, and Futtor makes plans to continue the pursuit of Chirico and Proto-One. Meanwhile, Ypsilon examines data from Battleship X. To his disbelief, Chirico seems to have recovered from his earlier injuries three times faster than any normal human... Gotho's vessel drifts over Sunsa. Inside, Chirico and Fyana are introduced to their attackers: Zophie and her gang, who salvage weapons from the desert for Gotho to sell off world. They travel to Zophie's fortress, within the airtight ruins of a damaged building. Vanilla and Coconna are there, and react to their arrival with mixed emotions. Vanilla is ecstatic, but Coconna is furious when she sees Fyana for the first time. Chirico says nothing. Later, Zophie approaches a weeping Coconna, who reveals that as a Red Shoulder, Chirico has always been cold and unemotional. Meanwhile, Gotho berates Chirico for acting this way toward Coconna. Fyana argues for Chirico's sake, but stops herself before she can say too much. The scene is broken by the arrival of Ypsilon and a platoon of Tortoises from the Teltain. Setting up a perimeter around the fortress, they demand that Chirico be surrendered. Gotho prepares to answer with gunfire, but Zophie stops him - Chirico, after all, is one of the Red Shoulder devils who destroyed their planet, and she is more than willing to throw him to the wolves. Chirico prepares to face Ypsilon alone, refusing even Fyana's help. She begins to wonder if he really is as cold and unfeeling as Gotho said. "I know best how I should fight. Gotho had called me a war machine. A murder machine. And now so had my beloved Fyana. If I really was a machine, I doubt their words would hurt me as much as they did. But I'm just a man, and my battle is this hell continues...as does my crushed existence."
