Intel mission - Yukari

- The vault is located on ship number 3! Ship number 3! They know their ship has been captured; please stop all plans that involve mimicking one of their own! Repeat, the vault is located in ship number 3! The enemy knows their ship has been taken by us! Over.

That's the content of Tamao's report through the transceiver. She and Yukari are running to a hideout. They also received a call from Kiriko saying she had alerted an Arma Caeli ship too. Tokuko and Tsukino would be very frustrated about this. But after two successful sneaks, the girls have totally won at pissing them off. That's why they need to find a place to hide, or else they'll most likely be killed. Kiriko tries to explain that she doesn't mean to do it on purpose, but Tamao only stays silent. Yukari sighed before taking the transceiver from Tamao, listening to their commander's questions.

- Who are you going with?

- Yukari! This is Yukari Katsura.

- Where is Kirifuren, Yukari?

- I've lost track of her!

- Damn it! Try to reunite as soon as possible! Over

Yukari sighed again, and it quickly turned into panting. She has been trying to follow Tamao's quick running speed.

- "Why do I have to be in this situation?"

She asked herself. She does nothing wrong, but she still has to listen to Tsukino's anger. She's not one of those arbitrary girls who never think before they do something. Now the aliens will never forgive them. They'll find them to take revenge and recover their reputation. The mighty, futuristic, and formidable alien species that let some petty humans run away? Only thinking about it makes Yukari lose hope.

She, along with Kirifuren, were commanded to find and rescue Tamao. Before they could enter the enemy ship, they already saw the arrested girl jump out of the trapdoor and let herself fall freely without a parachute or shield! Yukari even needs to use light artifact power from her companion to boost her speed so she can catch Tamao mid-air. Then she uses her parachute and shield to avoid Arma Caeli's firepower, like Tokuko guided. They have a successful landing, but the aliens are right behind them. The situation was so urgent that Yukari had no time to realize Kirifuren had been missing the whole time. Where was she going? Is she still on the enemy ship? Is she still on the captured ship? Did her parachute have a problem, or has she been shot down by the enemy? Countless worrying thoughts pop up inside Yukari's head, and she starts imagining terrible worst-case scenarios. But just putting all those aside, she and Tamao came across an abandoned village, and they decided to hide there. The enemy ship didn't chase them to this place, but they don't feel safe yet. They carefully examine the surroundings, searching for any signs of danger or potential threats. The silence of the abandoned village adds to their unease, and they can't shake off the feeling that they are being watched. The girls find a small, secluded house and cautiously enter, hoping to find any clues about the whereabouts of Kirifuren or the enemy's next move. Inside, they discover a dusty room full of ashes. It can't seem to be a good place, but it's still better than none.

In there, the girls sat together, and Yukari asked for Tamao's experience on the enemy ship and what had happened. Then she writes down important bullet points before linking them to theories and estimations. She doesn't want anyone to risk their life by going into Arma Caeli's ships again. The aliens seem to keep their formation in battle, and based on the given information, they're still in a good state to maintain it. The screen shows the top number of ships, from one to four, in a separated formation. The rest of them go in groups of 24.

- I want to report a clue! The ships that go in formation of 4 are our target! Please try to spot them!

Yukari speaks through the transceiver again. Tokuko answered her call.

- We did pass it; I'll make our way back.

She can faintly hear someone else's concerning voice from afar through the device.

- But the four ships belong to a very elite class; they have much more powerful firepower!

- The vault belongs to the ship there. We have no choice.

Tokuko answered shortly, then she continued with Yukari.

- We need to locate the vault key before tomorrow afternoon. By then, I'll try to approach the quartet formation. We shouldn't roam around for too long. I'll debate a new plan with the commander later. Over.

Yukari was speechless. She doesn't know what to say, and she doesn't understand half of what Tokuko has said. The vault key? Where can they find something like that?

After an hour, they were separated. Yukari doesn't want to go with that girl at all; she dislikes the way Tamao comes looking for trouble every time she sees the enemy. She only went by herself, trying to figure out which ship was the third one so she could call everyone and address them to approach it. There lies the mysterious vault. But watching from the ground is not a good idea since she can't see their hull number. Yukari walks past a long road, and she finds a hill that can help improve her sight. After an hour, the sky begins to darken, telling her there's not much time until nightfall. That's when she realizes they have been too busy to mind the time. There's no call for the last hour, people seem okay up there, her anxiety and worry decrease, and Yukari starts to think about some place to hide when it's dark outside. She tries to stick around for a bit longer to see if something like a squad of four mighty airships or, less likely, a ship hull number 3 is flying across the sky. But they weren't; all it was was nothing. She climbs down the hill to find a steady-looking rock cave. It might be a good hideout, but it's getting cold quickly. While Yukari is freezing, she doesn't want to light up a fire, or the aliens will notice that.

- Phew, this took longer than I expected, but at least I can sleep here tonight!

After 10 minutes, she finished cleaning up the cave to find a place that's tidy enough to lay down. She took out a radio and started looking for signals. This is old-fashioned, but it can avoid the enemy's signal scans. They thought nobody would use these devices nowadays. It's too dark to read the notes again; she can't check them again even if she wanted to. Sounds of guns and explosions keep echoing, reminding her of the people who are still fighting. Yukari sighed; she couldn't contribute more for people to locate the vault key. Those insights she analyzed were also Tamao's. Right at that moment, the radio catches a signal.

It's from Kirifuren!

- Hello, this is Kirifuren. I'm about to set an enemy base on fire. I'm worried there will be a large explosion. I hope you're close enough to swing over and bring me with you, though. I'll be heavily injured after this, I can be sure.

With Yukari's surprise, Kirifuren's voice is very clear; it seems like she's having a stable signal. But she doesn't understand how Kirifuren can be that calm and talk about the mission while Yukari is dying of worry.

- Where have you been? Why don't you call me sooner? I was very worried!

- Oh, sorry about that. I've been in near-death situations for the whole time since we got separated, though I don't have any brain cells left to think about it. Don't worry, I'm in a good state right now.

- Okay, let's put that aside! Where are you?

Yukari asked in a rush. What did Kirifuren just say a few seconds ago? Is she going to do a suicide bombing or things like that?

- I'm in a forest; I guess it's close to the west side of Ihruria, though I can't make sure of it. There's an Arma Caeli ground base here, and I plan to destroy it. Are you nearby? I also collected a bunch of information; maybe most of it is irrelevant but worth a try. And I have some coded clues; if I can, I'd want to solve them with you.

They haven't ended the call, but it was stopped all suddenly because of a loud, explosive noise. Kirifuren's voice concernably rose.