Yurika makes it clear to the United Earth Armed Forces that she won't let the Nadesico be used as a pawn, but its first mission isn't to go to war - it's to elude enemy forces and rescue a mysterious special ambassador from Uchatsurawatosk Island in the Bering Straits. Akito broods about a haunting, decade-old memory in which he and Yurika shared a kiss. But Megumi surprises him, confessing her love for him. Akito stops her from undressing. Yurika, on the bridge, wonders what's going on down there. Frustrated, she bangs on the console and inadvertently broadcasts the ship's position to the enemy.

The Nadesico crew receives an assignment to visit Tenician Island, a vacation spot reported to house a new kind of dimensional gateway. Everyone dons swimsuits and sunblock.

Yurika deduces that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but Megumi, getting wind of this plan, also tries her hand at cooking. So, besieged with nauseating food, Akito takes refuge in an episode of "Gekiganger 3" that features the perfect woman. Her name is Aquamarine, and she cooks non-poisonous food.

Ironically, on Tenician Island, Akito meets a lovely girl named Aqua - and she can cook too. But she also harbors convictions that may prove harmful to the Nadesico crew.

The Jovians have created a new gravity wave railgun located in the Russian region currently controlled by the aliens. And the Nadesico finds out the hard way that it has the potential to do more damage than even its owners realize.

The Aestivalis ships journey to secure the new weapon, but the crafty Jovians have commandeered ancient Earth tanks to help defend their gun.

The Nadesico's attempts to help the UEAF fight the Jovians turns sour when the great battleship fires on its own allies as well as the enemy. Fearing a trap, the Jovians scurry off.

A team of investigators decides that the problem is the ship's computer, which still recognizes the UEAF as an enemy. They tell Yurika that its newly developed self-awareness must be purged. Determined to fix the computer and save its memory, Ruri appeals to Akito for help. And the two of them set to the task that will eventually bring Akito face to face with his anime hero, a character from "Gekiganger 3," locked in the ship's data banks.

The already formidable comedy of "Nadesico" seeps through these four episodes, which feature a first-rate mix of satire, lust, action and poignancy. Director Tatsuo Sato and the series writers add new twists to the romantic tangle - it's difficult to keep track of how many are involved at this point - and "Gekiganger 3" resurfaces in the series to take a more active part in events that just keep spiraling out of control.

"Nadesico" has entered a new plot phase - no longer defying Earth's forces to rescue the colonists on Mars, the battleship undertakes missions for the UEAF and fights the Jovians alongside the military. This means that much of the interplanetary conflict from earlier episodes no longer exists, and the drama loses a little steam as a result. However, it does open up new sources of conflict for potential storylines, which makes up for some of the loss, and several episodes focus on exploring the change and its effect on the crew, a plus in such a character-rich series. For example, Nadesico's battles with Earth-based forces are now bureaucratic rather than physical - and when the crew pits itself against UEAF officials, it's with sneaky manipulation and computer hacking rather than giant robots and gravity cannons. Bureaucracy is funnier than war - so Nadesico takes excellent advantage of the change by weaving this new development into a keen satire of military brass.

But the thematic material for each of these third volume episodes varies widely. "Finding Yourself in a Routine Plot" is an action-saturated tale in which the pilots try to take out a secret Jovian weapon - while the tension between Nergal and the military recedes, the war with the Jovians advances leaving episode 11 to focus almost solely on battles with the aliens with little time committed to the ship's interpersonal relationships. "The Dangers of Femininity," on the other hand, features a completely different kind of story, with almost no technology and very little action.

And Ruri, who once only jabbed sardonically at valiant efforts, develops an earnest desire to save the computer's memories and drives the action in episode 12. Other characters benefit from more screen time and clever writing - Megumi's willingness to bare all (literally) and the grudging respect between Akito and Nagare begins to flesh out their characters. Of course, nothing is sacred in "Nadesico" - everything is fodder for parody. The series' strength is that it can turn its wit into a tool to build a cohesive, compelling story.