Commander Wildstar makes a report to Earth, saying the Argo has investigated several planets, but all are uninhabitable. Meanwhile, Galman Eastern Task Force commander Admiral Smeardom summons Commander Lugna von Feral, who is in charge of the "Wolf Pack", a fleet of space submarines. Smeardom tells Feral what happened to Dagon and charges him with destroying the Argo. Feral locates the Argo and launches an attack with space torpedoes, but the Argo is unable to locate the Galman ships. From an observation window, Jason sees a periscope. He reports this to Derek, saying he thinks the rest of the ship could be hiding in subspace. Impressed with the cadet's knowledge, Derek reassigns him to the bridge. The Argo warps at the same time the Galman ships enter normal space. Feral orders his ships to again submerge into subspace. Sandor works on a subspace sonar to help locate the Galmans while the Argo damages some of the Galman ships. Feral then launches another attack that injures Derek. 207 days remain before the sun destroys Earth.

The Star Force has been standing still in space for several weeks, waiting for a huge space storm to subside, in hopes of finding a short-cut channel through the vast Octopus Star system which fuels the storm. The Argo's crew grows anxious, with everybody on edge, and several scuffles break out, including one between Derek Wildstar and Mark Venture. Nova voices her concerns about the fights to Captain Avatar, who says the ship is running low on food and that it's better for the crew to be fighting instead of wondering where their next meal is coming from. Meanwhile, Assistant Engineer Sparks begins to question the feasibility of the mission, and asks Orion to present a case to Avatar for simply finding a nice, quiet planet on which to settle. When the storm momentarily quiets down, Wildstar takes a fighter plane into the system. He finds a channel, gets halfway through, and prematurely concludes that the channel goes all the way through. Wildstar reports his findings, but after Venture chides him for not verifying whether the channel actually exists, they get into an argument and then a fist fight, which Nova breaks up. Meanwhile, Captain Avatar decides to act, ordering that a course be set through Wildstar's channel. After a very rough ride through the vortex, during which Wildstar helps Venture pilot the Argo, the Star Force appears on the other side of the storm. Wildstar and Venture stop fighting and congratulate each other on their successful teamwork. The year 2200 dawns. Earth has 280 days left.

The Star Force has arrived at the Rainbow Galaxy nebula. General Lysis's task force begins its attack by deploying fighter planes to lure the Star Force's Black Tiger squadron away from the Argo. The plan works, and once the squadron is away, the Gamilons launch precision bombers, and use S.M.I.T.E to teleport them into close range of the Star Force. The attack cripples the Argo's radar. The Black Tigers are recalled, and drive off the bombers, but not before the Argo suffers significant damage. Not relenting, Lysis next sends torpedo planes, warping them to the opposite side of the Argo. They inflict severe damage to the ship before being driven off, and nearly all of the Argo's gun turrets are destroyed. The Black Tigers then return to the ship for refuelling. Striking the final blow, Lysis teleports the Drill Missile bomber right in front of the Argo. The gigantic missile is dropped, and plows into the Wave Motion Gun, rendering the gun useless. The drill head penetrates into the gun's control room. With the Argo defenseless, the Gamilon fleet moves in close for the kill, and begins a close-range, ship-to-ship bombardment. The Argo's last remaining gun turret explodes, and the ship is utterly defenseless. But Sandor and IQ-9 manage to break into the missile, and with 30 seconds to detonation, switch some wires and make it back itself out. The Drill Missile flies backward, right into the Gamilon fleet, striking the very battle carrier from whence it came. The debris from the exploding ship strikes the other three carriers, wiping them all out. Only Lysis's command ship remains. Stunned at this turn of events, Lysis attempts to ram the Argo, chasing the Star Force into the black gas cloud. With the Star Force unable to see his ship, Lysis maneuvers beneath the Argo and grapples onto the lower hull. He contacts the Star Force by video to inform them that the battle is now over – he has placed a bomb against their hull. Captain Avatar tries to convince Lysis that the Star Force is no threat to Gamilon, but just wants complete its mission to Iscandar. For a moment, Lysis considers the matter, but he refuses to relent and starts the bomb timer. His ship ungrapples and moves away, but is heavily damaged in the ensuing explosion. As for the Argo, half of the underside is utterly destroyed, but still the lucky ship survives. Lysis's own ship is too damaged to continue the fight, and he returns to Gamilon in disgrace, knowing that unpleasantness awaits him. After holding a burial at space for those lost during the battle, the Star Force pushes on toward Iscandar. Earth has 214 days left. Note: The ending of this episode differs from the original Japanese version. In the Japanese, Lysis's ship itself is the bomb placed against the Argo's hull, and Lysis and his ship are destroyed in the explosion.

The Star Force approaches Beta in the Scalageck Star Cluster, the last possible planet the Argo is scheduled to survey. Although the planet is uninhabitable, the crew discovers the remains of the United States spaceship Arizona, which was apparently attacked by the Bolar Federation. Just then, both a Galman and a Bolar fleet materialize and both demand Queen Mariposa. Derek refuses, ordering Flash to look after Mariposa. Meanwhile, Desslok orders the Galmans to defend the Argo. The Bolar fleet attacks the Argo, which – along with the Galmans – returns fire. Several ships are destroyed, along with that of the Galmans' fleet commander, Admiral Gustaf. The Bolar main fleet radios the Argo, again demanding Mariposa. Derek refuses, and the Bolars attack. Using asteroids for cover, the Argo launches a counterattack with its wave cartridges, finally ending the battle. Flash begs Queen Guardiana for help, prompting Mariposa to help by inviting the Argo to Guardiana. Even though the Star Force did not find a second Earth, Derek decides on one final mission – to take Mariposa to Guardiana. 51 days remain before the sun destroys Earth.