The Republic's evacuation resulted in massive casualties on both sides, and the fallout takes a toll on everyone. As Shin muses on what it means to be a leader, Lena thinks of her homeland, now lost to her forever. Frederica, too, is dismayed by her own powerlessness as the ill-fated Empire's last Empress—she'll have to change if she wants to survive. Meanwhile, discontent is brewing within the Empire, and a few disaffected squadrons, desperate to reverse the state of the war, reach for a dangerous miracle....