Intel mission - Yukino

- I can do it! You all can trust me!

Yukino said to the adults who were worried. This is the past day's morning when the human ship landed for a quick but important repair. Yashi and Sasaki have already left to search for material providers; Hoshi enters the forest to find Yukari, Tamao, and the Matsuhiro sisters. Only Tsukino, Tokuko, and Yukino stay to guard the ship. The mint catgirl was the youngest here and also the most energetic. Both the commander and her aide are in a tired state, even when they don't voice it or show it out. Yukino knows it, and she was sure that everybody here was in the same mood. Without hesitation, the little girl ran into the ship and took out some stoves, grill pans, and food. Before anyone can ask what she is doing, Yukino happily tells the two girls staying here with her.

- Commander! Tokuko! I'll be making a big meal for everyone when they return here, okay? We've been through lots and lots, and we deserve treats!

Tokuko didn't answer or react; only Tsukino smiled softly and patted the girl's head.

- It's okay, Yukino; there's no need to prepare too much. We won't stay here long.

Yukino hates to do something contrary to the commander's words, but she can't just make junk food for them to consume in a blink and then return to work. She looks up to Tsukino with sparkly eyes.

- Please, commander! Hoshi will need lots of time to find the others, and I'm sure there are no material shops nearby! We also need time to repair the ship! In the meantime, can't we just have a cozy meal together? I don't like how we eat on the ship; it's just eating, not enjoying!

Tokuko seems annoyed. She opens her mouth; surely there will be harsh words. But Tsukino stopped her, then spoke to Yukino gently.

- Thank you for caring so much, little one. But here, we have no time. You can play around with whatever you want, but I want you to make sure that you won't go above our time limit.

- Of course, I'll mind the time!

She doesn't know how many people will return to the ship or exactly how many humans Hoshi will find, so the little girl prepares a table full of food. It's fine if not all are found; we can eat a little bit more. It won't hurt, right?

A moment later, they see Hoshi, Yukari, and the Matsuhiro sisters walk out of the forest, talking about different topics. But where is Tamao? Hoshi said she can't find that girl, and she'll return to the forest for another search. Tokuko separated from Tsukino to convince Kiriko to obediently return to the ship instead of continuing to wander in danger. Kiriko never let her repeat it. Yukino looks at them with excitement, waiting for them to eat the food she prepared and give her good compliments. Well, they did consume the food, but their praise wasn't as loud as Yukino expected. Everyone is tired, some even injured, and even though it was a little disappointing, the little girl was still willing to accept it and help them bandage the wounds. After a quick nap, Hoshi stood up and left the ship again. Yukino didn't remember because she was also napping at that moment after clearing up the tables and washing the dishes. Between waking up and sleeping, her memories were like a dream. She can faintly see Hoshi's pink hair and colorful clothes slide past her before dozing off again.

- This is Tokuko, calling Hoshi. Please answer!

- Repeat. This is Tokuko, calling Tsumugi Hoshi from the 36th ship. Please answer!

Yukino woke up to Tokuko's loud and serious voice. She opens her eye halfly to see the commander's aide standing next to the transceiver, calling over and over again. On her face, there is an expression she has never seen before. After some more failed attempts, Tokuko says something to Tsukino. Yukino can't figure out what happened, but both of the adults there look very worried. She asked, and Tokuko answered in a hurry.

- It's 8 p.m., and Hoshi was still inside the forest. She didn't answer our calls, but she's keeping important information to herself. Now, stay here; I'll go into the forest and find her.

That girl in black—she's always the fastest when it comes to action. Faster than how Yukino can block her way to the door, saying with a steady voice.

- No, please! Please stay here; I'll go for you. You need to be here to help the commander!

Tokuko looks down on Yukino with scary, cold eyes. It's clear that she's right; Tokuko is very busy, and she can't be more grateful if someone can take on this mission for her. But Yukino? She's just a little catgirl with poor experiences. If they weren't in a rushy situation, she would never let that girl go into potential danger. The aura she emits is so threatening that Yukino trembles. She thought of backing off and saying sorry, but Tokuko only sighed and answered.

- Go, go into the woods. If you come late, we'll leave you behind. The next time I see you since then, I'll snap your neck. Now go.

She doesn't remember how much of a scary figure Tokuko looked like. Yukino said nothing, turned her back, and ran into the forest with tears in her eyes. She doesn't remember where Tsukino was at that scene. Welcoming the little girl was the endless darkness of the forest.

- They can't wait until the sun rises and brings light. When the morning came and the battle continued on their side, their time was up.

When the female Arma Caeli aims her gun at Hoshi's head, Yukino appears. She saw the two from a long distance and has been crouching since then to avoid attracting attention. Hoshi's glowing red eyes met Yukino's eyes, and she slightly nodded. She talked to the female alien, teased her, and said the documents were destroyed to buy more time. Now is the time for action! Yukino commanded her venomous Spidel to get out of its hiding place and bite that alien woman. She screamed in pain and dropped the gun. That bite brings unexplainable and inhumane effects that surely bring a quick death to anyone who is infected by it. Yukino runs to Hoshi, picks her up, and leans her weak body into her back. Holding her arms tightly, Yukino starts to run. Hoshi is bleeding badly, but she's still breathing. On the way back to their ship, she wishpered something.

- It'll be too late... Listen... I'm going to list the information I collected. It's no use trying to decode them... by yourself... You won't... make it in time...

- Just say it, Hoshi! Don't worry; I'm all ears!

Yukino was about to say some generic things, like she'll wait until Hoshi gets better and tell them the content of these files, or let Hoshi rest and decode them by herself. But Tokuko's scary threats echo inside her head. It's true; Hoshi will pass away soon, and when she gets well enough to wake up, it'll be too late.

- The third ship is the one that flies in the center. It will follow the first ship's commands, so the first ship's routine is what we need to care about. They act as the core force; they'll greet the head ships of the Fauns, which are the strongest ships that guard this realm. So basically, we only need to locate the head warmachine of the Fauns, then follow it. But it's not always facing our elite force; sometimes the ship will retreat to their giant portal to return to Armanite and fuel their ships again. When teleporting, they will let their guard down to focus on realm-hopping. That'll be the chance for us to... sneak into the first ship, where they keep the vault key. When we've achieved that, moving onto the third ship to open the vault will just be a piece of cake.

Hoshi seems like she used all of the energy left to let Yukino know about the documents' intel. It sounds like there are more of them, but she was already in a terrible state. Yukino doesn't want to push her further, so she brings her out of the forest. But instead of the ship, she brought Hoshi into a safe hideout bunker built by humans in Ihrutia to be the place for people who could not partake in the great battle. Hoshi can't continue the work or endure the rushy flow of people on the captured ship. She needs to rest in a safe place that the aliens can't reach.

By early morning, Yukino had returned to the ship alone. It's being repaired. Yashi and Sasaki returned; it seems like they found enough materials to get the ship ready. Tokuko stands at the door; her scary look1 pierce Yukino's heart. But she strengthened her trembling voice and looked into her eyes.

- I brought Hoshi to a safe place.

The dark aura almost defeats her, but she fights to stand still.

- She's just human, is she? I got the translated contents of the decoded documents. I'll tell the commander.

She walks past Tokuko, heading to the navigator room.