Amid the effulgent camera flashbulbs galvanized by the fanatical and frenzied volition for the ideal photograph, Akiha has her reservations about the mission objective which Honoka promptly replies with a "Not another word about the ICP!" telekinetic sweep that knocks Akiha on her bottom unaware that she is what Bougainvillea and Mintao are having a briefing complete with an injunction about the Shishido family. While Itsuki is cautioned about Bougainvillea and Mintao, Leopard's web-surfing on her computer incenses Akiha enough to confront the AI and declare her autonomy only to have the mission objective reaffirmed, acquiring the Positron Matrix, before being sent on her way with Imoko. Meanwhile, Itsuki is summoned when a psychotic Nervalist iconoclast decides to wreak havoc only to find that she cannot even defend herself, never mind attacking him. Several members of the Student Council combining efforts with Honoka to stalemate and eventually neutralize the assailant sets the stage for a sequence that explains the common prologue both Honoka and Itsuki share with the Nervalists and the X-QT race, the latter having a near-complete computation crash as she tries to interpret all she has experienced while the ICP deals with the aftermath. Leopard reads Akiha finding the Positron Matrix right when Itsuki arrests her as the perfect opportunity to humble Akiha's recalcitrance by phasing away parts of her Q-TECTOR. Unfortunately, since Itsuki is in the same boat, that forces an armistice as Akiha and Itsuki collaborate to evacuate with some of their dignity and modesty unaware that Honoka has already successfully acquired the mission objective.
In the year 311 of the Orbital Calendar, humanity has migrated to countless colony clusters in space. A space colony girl named Akiha Shishidou encounters a malevolent artificial intelligence named Leopard that has been installed on a colony.
