Marika's vacation plans with her friend Mami Endo get interrupted when Kane and Misa drag Marika to register and receive her letter of marque from the government. After visiting various government departments, Marika finally gets her privateer license but to her surprise, she is going to start her job as Captain now. On board the Bentenmaru, the bridge crew including Schnitzer, a cyborg and friend of her mother, teaches Marika various skills of a space pirate and what to expect in a real battle. Much to Marika's joy, Chiaki is also joining them to train as well, much to the latter's annoyance of the former. During a history lesson by Misa, she explains to Marika and Chiaki that the Independence War ended when the rebelling colonies, the Colony Federation, and their colonial masters, the Stellar Alliance, surrendered after the Galactic Empire's large fleets overwhelm both sides. After the war, the Empire allowed the colonies the right to self-rule and had its forces including the space pirates who fought in the war becoming part of the Empire's forces. Because the space pirates are now a military unit, they are not allowed to engage in piracy in peace time. Instead, they earn money by entertaining space cruises and their guests by "boarding and robbing" them. In Marika first raid, the Bentenmaru will be "attacking" the cruise ship Princess Apricot. With the ship's arrival, Marika announces to the Princess Apricot that she and crew are going on board much to the guests entertainment. Arriving on board with several crewmen including Schnitzer, Marika introduces herself to the guests and ask that they peacefully hand over their valuables. Kane, who went undercover earlier in the Princess Apricot as a guest, challenges Marika in a duel for the ship's fate, which Marika accepts and win after "shooting" Kane, who gives a dramatic fake death which convinces the others guest to surrender their valuables to Marika's crew. As a tired Marika nods to sleep after her first successful raid, Chiaki returns to the Barbarossa without telling Marika she's returning to her old school the next semester. Despite denying it to Kane earlier, Chiaki did enjoy being with Marika.