Shin's old F-8 Crusader proves to be no match for the rebel MiG-21 Fishbed fighters, and he is shot down over the desert. While his friends comb the desolate dunes, Shin remembers better days with Ryouko Tsugumo, his old girlfriend in Japan, and the event that sent him to the Area: the betrayal of his childhood friend, Satoru Kanzaki, who made him sign that fateful contract with the Asran mercenary forces.