Tanabe suspects that Fee is having an affair with the division manager Technora Corp, Dolph Azalia. However, Fee is not, and actually is being promoted to assistant chief of Control Section. Meanwhile, the rest of the Debris Section take this opportunity to go on a very difficult debris mission on their own.

An engineer from an impoverished country, El Tanika, comes to the ISPV 7 space station to have his new spacesuit tested. No one will have anything to do with his unusual suit because of the lowly status of his home country unil the Debris Section volunteers to help him with the testing.

Fee's quest for a smoke leads her to become entangled in a terrorist plot to stop human development in space by initiating the Kessler Syndrome, destroying the Toy Box in the process of saving the ISPV 7 space station from destruction.

Claire has been demoted from working in Control Section to replacing Hachimaki in Debris Section. Hachimaki and Hakim encounter unexpected difficulties completing a 10-day group endurance test, the second round of testing for those wishing to join the Von Braun.

Debris Section has been assigned to the Moon for a month to help collect debris from the Tandem Mirror Drive disaster. In training as a finalist aboard the Von Braun, Hachimaki learns that one of his fellow candidates is planning to sabotage the mission.

Hachimaki is called to the moon for questioning about the explosion aboard the Von Braun. He also learns of the death of his sensei and of Tanabe's prior knowledge of Gigalt's fight with cancer

As the final preparations are being made for the Von Braun's maiden voyage to Jupiter, the Space Defense Front makes a bold attempt at interrupting the INTO summit by taking control of the ship.

The Space Defense Front's sinister plan to crash the Von Braun into Luna City is thwarted at the last minute when INTO caves in to the terrorists' demands. Tanabe and Claire are stranded on the surface of the moon in a life or death situation.

Following the Von Braun crisis, Hachimaki sinks into deep depression and wanders on the lunar surface. He returns to Earth for a holiday, only to encounter Tanabe, who was paralyzed during the Von Braun crisis.