Kesler reports to Reinhard that the palace has been breached during the night. The sun has yet to rise when Reinhard urgently summons his senior admirals and orders them to keep all fleets ready to go into action at any time. Hilde is now beginning to see the byzantine game of power that is being played in cold-blooded cynicism, but in the midst of this, she overhears communication concerning Neue Sanssouci Chief of Security Molt.

Kircheis suppresses the Castrop Rebellion in only two days of combat, earning a promotion to vice admiral. Meanwhile, Captain Oberstein, having abandoned the commanders at Iserlohn to flee on his own, seeks an audience with Reinhard. Despite Kircheis's misgivings, Reinhard recognizes Obersteins talent as a tactician and takes him on as a subordinate.

Count Landsberg's family had loyally served the Goldenbaum dynasty for five generations. His ancestors were even involved in the construction of a labyrinthic system of tunnels beneath the Neue Sanssouci Palace, devised to provide a safe escape for the Emperor in case of an emergency. Now this underground maze will prove instrumental in rescuing the Emperor from the usurper.

A meeting is underway at the Free Planets Alliance Navy Integrated Tactical Operations Center to plan the Alliance's large-scale invasion into Imperial territory. Commodore Falk, an operations staff officer, proposes a plan, but Vice Admirals Bewcock and Yang raise concerns about the dangers of invading with widely separated forces and an excessively long supply line. Meanwhile, Reinhard is concocting a plan to draw the Alliance Navy deep into Imperial territory and destroy them in one fell swoop.

As if to fill the void caused by the death of Siegfried Kircheis, Reinhard von Lohengramm devotes his energies entirely on reforming the Galactic Empire. His wide-ranging reforms earn him tremendous goodwill from the populace, and despite considering them to be publicity stunts, even his sceptics are suitably impressed by the breadth of the reforms.

Annerose, Reinhard's older sister, lives in the palace as the kaiser's favorite mistress. As Reinhard and Kircheis make their way to her residence for a visit, they both recall memories of their childhood together. Then Annerose, after greeting them with a smile that hasn't changed since they were young, asks Kircheis to continue looking out for her brother and guide him back toward the right path if he ever goes astray.

Until the age of 16, Yang Wen-li spent most of his life on an interplanatary merchant spaceship with his father, who was a trader. After his father's death, Yang entered the Free Planets Fleet Academy to study war history. There, he met Jean, who would become his best friend, and his childhood friend Jessica, a music school student

When the Free Planets Alliance Navy conquered Iserlohn Fortress, they took two million Imperial soldiers as war prisoners. And during the Battle of Amritsar, the Galactic Imperial Navy took two million Alliance soldiers as war prisoners. A deal has been reached to exchange all of these prisoners at Iserlohn Fortress. Representing the Alliance at the exchange is Yang, the commander of Iserlohn Fortress. Representing the Empire in place of Reinhard, the one who proposed the exchange, is Kircheis. The two men, who have fought one another with equal resourcefulness in battle, meet face-to-face for the first time at the prisoner exchange ceremony.

The head of the Galactic Empire's Science and Technology Department, Anton Hilmer von Schaft, is a man known for his sheer ambition. He is now presenting to Reinhard a large-scale plan to retake the long-lost Iserlohn Fortress.

The Imperial invasion force returns to the capital Odin, where Reinhard shows very different treatment to the personnel involved in the operation. Meanwhile, dissatisfaction with the new leadership is unexpectedly growing in the heart of one who was once the Empire's most loyal war hero. At Iserlohn Fortress, where peace has temporarily been restored, Yang and Julian have a very frank conversation, and Julian reveals the path he has chosen.

Sub-lieutenant Greenhill, a woman with an unusually keen memory, is added to the crew of the 13th Fleet along with several other highly well-regarded officers. Captain Schönkopf and some members of his regiment, the Rosen Ritter, board a previously captured Imperial cruiser as part of Yang's plan to infiltrate and capture Iserlohn Fortress, disguising themselves as Imperial soldiers being pursued by the Alliance

A High Council vote determines that the Free Planets Alliance will invade the Galactic Empire. Meanwhile Yang, after having his resignation rejected by Chief Sithole, visits a restaurant with Julian for dinner and runs in to Frederica Greenhill, who was there with her father. The four of them dine together. On the way home afterward, Yang learns that Jessica, the fiancée of his fallen comrade Lapp, has decided to go into politics.

The Free Planets Alliance Navy Expeditionary Fleet encounters a grave shortage of food during its advance into Imperial territory. The 5th Fleet commander, Admiral Bewcock, conveys Yang's proposed escape plan to Supreme Commander Lobos, but Lobos fails to comprehend the situation and won't allow them to flee. Meanwhile, Reinhard has already given orders to Kircheis to strike the Alliance Navy's supply convoy. The Imperial Navy's counterattack has begun!

Emperor Friedrich IV of the Galactic Empire has suddenly passed away without naming a successor. Edwin Josef, the son of the late prince and the emperor's only surviving direct descendant, is only five years old. The Braunschweig and Littenheim families, into which the emperor's daughters had married, begin scheming to install their respective daughters as the new empress. Thus begins the battle for the throne between the families who serve as guardians to the emperor's three grandchildren. Reinhard has not sided with any of them yet, so a certain influential power seeks to take advantage of his military strength.

The planet Fezzan is an autonomous dominion located in one of the only two safely navigable zones that connect the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance. Every Fezzani head of state, or Landesherr, has protected the independence of the dominion by maintaining strong ties with both its much more powerful neighbors. However, the current fifth Landesherr, Adrian Rubinsky, also known as the Black Fox of Fezzan, seems intentioned to change this long-standing policy.

Julian is deeply hesitant about his new assignment in Fezzan. Wouldn't he be more helpful to the Alliance's cause by staying at Iserlohn, where the Imperial fleet is more likely to strike, making any available pilot sorely needed in the near future? However, Yang believes that this otherwise unwelcome top-down decision may actually turn out to be crucial to obtaining invaluable insight on where the struggle for power in the galaxy is heading.

On his way to Fezzan, Julian spends several days at Heinessen. Here, he pays a visit to Bewcock to hand over a strictly confidential letter from Yang, which exposes his conjectures about the possible move the Imperial forces are likely to make. As Julian finally reaches Fezzan, he is immediately mesmerized by the freedom and affluence that surrounds him, and starts seriously wondering whether he will ever be apt to his new mission.

In humanity's distant future, two interstellar states—the monarchic Galactic Empire and the democratic Free Planets Alliance—are embroiled in a never-ending war. The story focuses on the exploits of rivals Reinhard von Müsel and Yang Wen Li as they rise to power and fame in the Galactic Empire and the Free Planets Alliance.

After its defeat at the Battle of Astarte, the Free Planets Alliance Navy returns to the planet Heinessen, the Alliance's capital. A memorial service is being held for the 1,500,000 Alliance soldiers who died in the battle, but according to Rear Admiral Cazerne, it's nothing but a political show put on by National Defense Committee Chairman Trunicht. Yang reluctantly attends the service, but while there, he encounters an old acquaintance he never expected to see

The Lippstadt Nobles Coalition devises a plan to lure Reinhard's forces away from the Imperial capital, Odin, and capture the emperor while Imperial defenses are spread thin. While the nobles fight among themselves over who gets to lead this strike, the Mittermeyer Fleet lays a minefield that forces the rebels off-course, and then strikes them from behind. The defeated rebels flee to Rentenberg Fortress. Reinhard sends Reuenthal and Mittermeyer to occupy the fortress, but upon arriving, they are forced into close-quarters combat with the notoriously barbaric High Admiral Ovlesser.

Wolfgang Mittermeyer and Oskar von Reuenthal, two renowned admirals under the command of Reinhard von Lohengramm collectively dubbed as the "Twin Pillars", get together and reminisce about their respective pasts, culminating in the event that would lead to the defining moment of their careers: the Klopstock Incident. In March 795 UC, after thirty years of life in exile from Imperial high society, Marquis Wilhelm von Klopstock plotted an assassination of Kaiser Friedrich IV that was to occur during a party organised by Duke Otho von Braunschweig.

The Empire moves forward with its experiments to warp Geiersburg Fortress through space to attack Iserlohn Fortress. Reinhard and several of his subordinates watch anxiously from the safety of his flagship as the countdown begins. Amidst the tension, some of Reinhard's most trusted men discuss how he has changed since Kircheis died a year ago.

Military Police Commander Ulrich Kesler informs Reinhard that Count Alfred von Landsberg and Leopold Schumacher, two former members of the now-dissolved Lippstadt Nobles Coalition that fought against Reinhard during the Civil War, have reportedly infiltrated the Imperial capital of Odin. Unsure of their true intentions, Reinhard first asks Hilde to assure Annerose's safety, then summons Fezzani High Commissioner Boltik. It's June of the 489th year of the Imperial Calendar...

In a sudden public speech from Heinessen directed to all citizens, Chairman Trunicht announces that epoch-changing events are occurring as a most unexpected defector has arrived seeking protection under the ideals of freedom and democracy in the Alliance. Everyone on Iserlohn is puzzled, but Yang has a hunch that makes him feel aggravated. Then, news from Odin casts an ominous shadow across the entire galaxy.

The Free Planets Alliance counters the Galactic Imperial Navy's advance in the Astarte Starzone, still divided into the 2nd, 4th, and 6th Fleets to surround the latter on three sides. The Alliance top brass are certain that their victory is assured, but 2nd Fleet Deputy Staff Officer Commodore Yang predicts the enemy's attack on their divided forces before their encirclement is complete.