Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is the seventh chapter of Astra Lost in Space. In the compiled volumes, it is the final chapter of the first volume, and the final chapter of the Vilavurs arc.

Synopsis
In a flashback, Quitterie Raffaelli finds her sister Funicia has entered her room without permission and is trying on one of her headbands. When Funicia apologizes, Quitterie gives the headband to her, out of annoyance rather than generosity. A short while later, Quitterie passes Funicia's room and hears her talking to her Beego. Funicia justifies her behavior to Beego by explaining that she thought making herself look more like Quitterie might make them more sister-like. Beego's assurance that the two already look very much like sisters is the moment Quitterie turns and walks away, without so much as a backward glance.

In her mind, considering these events in hindsight, she berates herself for her coldness: in the wake of her mother's death, Funicia had been left completely alone with no one to call a friend, much less a sister, and Quitterie did her best to drive her even further away. Having finally realized the true depth of the pain her alienation of Funicia has caused, she runs to Funicia, pushing Kanata off his feet and tearfully hugging her sister.

Funicia asserts that she herself made a mistake, and tells Quitterie that she climbed the tree-poline looking for a star-shaped flower; Funicia holds the flower up to her head, and Quitterie realizes her whole plan was to find something that matched the star-shaped mark on her headband. She breaks down in tears, apologizing as she buries her face in Funicia's chest.

When she collects herself and rises to her feet several moments later, Quitterie thanks Kanata for saving her sister, to the confusion of Kanata and the astonishment of Zack, who has never heard Quitterie apologize to anyone unprompted in his life. Going further, she apologizes for the confrontations she has sparked across their journey's duration, breaking down again as she admits that she has never been able to put others before her own pride. Aries comforts her, assuring her they all would like to be her friends; however, when Zack attempts to offer comfort of his own and encourages her to be more honest, she becomes hostile again, surprising him. Out of earshot of them, Aries and Luca discuss their understanding that Quitterie has feelings for Zack, and that Zack is too dense to understand it all.

The conversation turns to Kanata's feat of athleticism and his having saved Funicia. He explains to the group that he was trained by his father, a world-class track athlete himself before an injury forced him to retire. His father then transferred his dreams and ambitions onto Kanata, and he trained him obsessively, pushing him away in the process. He enrolled in a private middle school with dorms to get away from his father and met his homeroom teacher, who sparked his interest in space exploration and developed a genuine bond with Kanata before his accidental death on a hiking trip with Kanata and several others. Ravaged by guilt and feelings of powerlessness, Kanata returned to his father and began training again, all the while intending to take up his teacher's dream for him, not his father's.

Having heard the full story, Charce and Zack promise to join Kanata's crew when he becomes the captain of his own ship in the future. When Aries assures him that he is doing well as the captain of their own small group, he cuts her off, adamantly denying her bubbly assertion and citing his over-aggression, lack of propensity to think things through, and general recklessness as reasons that he should not be the group's leader. He suggests that the group pick Charce to be their new captain, but Charce refuses, saying that Kanata has the ability to make quick decisions in high-pressure situations and act on them immediately. The group stands behind his assertion, and reinforces their choice of Kanata as captain.

Uplifted by their commitment, Kanata asks them to help him haul the tur-gon's carcass back to the Astra. Having found enough meat to last them the length of the journey to the next planet, the crew departs Vilavurs and ascends into orbit, enjoying their first solid meal of the journey. Later, Zack pulls Kanata aside and reveals to him his belief that the Astra 's communications system was intentionally destroyed, and that the individual responsible for sabotaging the ship is a member of the group.