Hi guys! So I'm back... after three years hiatus. Chapter 3 of Protected is still sitting half-finished in my folders. I'm so sorry!

I've recently finished Kuromukuro's Season 2... and had had had to DO something about that cliffy the moment I realised that Season 3 was not obviously forthcoming. So here goes my take on how the story continues, because the show MUST go on. I'll aim to have new chapters up each week. I have also acquired a new beta reader in the form of my best friend, whom I'm trying my best to convert into a fanfiction reader, hence my motivation.

Enjoy. I have included some story notes at the end of this prologue.

Disclaimer: Kuromukuro does not belong to me.

:Prologue:

"I object to Shirahane-san taking the Medusa geoframe on this mission. Our forces against extraterrestrial invasion are limited as it is! We cannot be giving away Artifacts to forces whose allegiance to us is tentative at best." Carrie Dunham, the representative of the UN's Extraterrestrial Research Division and the biggest pain up Shirahane Hiromi's arse since the very first day she stepped into the Director's research institute, spoke up – just as the Chi-1 Sagittarius Assist Team's final meeting was about to be concluded.

Colonel Arthur Graham pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, leaning heavily on his elbows against the hardwood desk. He had really rather not have to re-hash this argument, after nearly six months spent convincing the UN and NATO leaders that this was a necessary move, but bureaucracy excelled at rearing its ugly head each time he thought he was done with it. Hiromi glanced at him and made the reply on his behalf, understanding that his patience was a rather thin line at the moment.

"Ms Dunham, I understand your concerns, but the plans have been cleared with all the leaders concerned, and are final. And to clarify, neither are we 'giving away' any assets, as the geoframes accompanying the mission will be piloted by our team members."

"And I suppose we are to believe that your daughter will not be handing Medusa over to the extraterrestrial, Muetta, once she has a chance to co-pilot with her lover once again?"

"Her daughter is sitting right here, Ms Dunham, and would appreciate it if you would kindly address such concerns to her face," Yukina spoke up, turquoise eyes sharp as she met the gaze of the lady sat diagonally across from her. "May I remind you that this is a military operation aiming to foster inter-stellar co-operation, and co-operation cannot be achieved where trust is not offered. We cannot continue to hoard resources and remain insular in the name of fear disguised as self-defense, not when the Efi Dolg are a threat to all, not just Earth."

Sophie met Hiromi's gaze and both smiled with pride at Yukina's level-headed, measured response. They had watched her grow, these five years, from a girl with conviction to a woman with conviction, and the skills to back it up. The Yukina of five years ago would have been able to make these arguments – in a shy, uncertain voice. The Yukina now knew what she wanted and what she was worth.

"The Extraterrestrial Research Division believes that there is more research to be done on these geoframes – " Ms Dunham frowned at Yukina for speaking out of turn, when she had been addressing Colonel Graham and Director Shirahane.

"And the Director will tell you that the institute has extracted all possible information from Medusa. Of course, if more information is required, Long Arm, Lockhead, and the restored Blue Bird should provide more than sufficient material for research and will remain as Earth's defense," Yukina countered.

"Alongside the new GAUS units we have built, using the data gathered from these geoframes," Hiromi added. The UN had restored her as the Director of the Kurobe Research Institute, realizing that no one else was more qualified for the task when Hiromi's successor had been unable to catch up with her research notes after six months in the job. It was a great relief to her family – Hiromi and domesticity simply did not suit – and she had been able to lead the institute to develop fifty more GAUS units adapting the unique characteristics of the enemy geoframes.

"Very well," Ms Dunham conceded the point after a long silence. "We will relent as long as our division continues to have custody of the Efi Dolg, Yoruba, and further research on the Efi Dolg geoframes is shared. But you are very quiet, Colonel Graham. On what authority is Shirahane-san answering all these questions?"

Colonel Graham, Director Shirahane, Yukina, Sophie, Sebastian, and the team members soon to be deployed in the Kurobe Survey Space Shuttle One began quietly packing their things at this sign that the meeting was winding down. Her loss of the argument rather irked the blonde-haired woman. Humans had opposed the idea of these extraterrestrials as allies for years, and rightly so - they were an unknown quantity. Yet, so many of her compatriots had been swayed by this ragtag group of children and their far-fetched ideals, to the point where Earth was actually sending them to an unknown planet, swallowing resources that would have been better utilised on Earth's defense. Plus, I'm not sure we aren't sending them to certain death. She scrutinised the lavender-haired young woman who had been surprisingly outspoken compared to the one she'd met five years ago.

Yukina tucked her tablet and notebook into the crook of her arm as she stood from her seat, ready to reveal something that had yet to be announced to the public – although, surely, many had guessed at it. "I," she said steadily, meeting Ms Dunham's gaze, "am Captain Shirahane Yukina, Commander of Kurobe Survey Space Shuttle One, and leader of the Chi-1 Sagittarius Assist mission. Thank you for voicing your concerns. This meeting is dismissed."

Ending Notes:

I have made some assumptions about what happened during the five years prior to Yukina's departure for Chi 1 Sagittarius, which I will explain below (if they are not already explained in the story itself).

- That Major Arthur Graham has been promoted to Colonel, as he took charge of the isolated Kurobe Dam area after the Efi Dolg invasion.

- That Shirahane Hiromi was reinstated as Director of the Kurobe Research Institute, because I think she must have been a combination of a genius and a good leader to have been appointed in the first place - although I am thinking this would have happened after the uproar over the Kurobe Incident died down.

- My assumptions on the surviving, functional geoframes/grongols are based on whether or not their pilots were alive at the end of the final battle, as the geoframes' recovery appears to be tied to their pilots' recovery. We know Tom and Shenmei piloted Longarm to try and stop the Kuromukuro leaving Earth, so that's definitely functional, but I assumed that Blue Bird and Lockhead recovered as their pilots were kept in Earth's custody after they were defeated.

- I will be referring to the geoframes/grongols as 'geoframes', as that was the humans' term for it. Of course, any Efi Dolg characters will refer to them as 'grongols'.

I welcome any constructive feedback - let me know what you think, or if I've made a factual error in the story!

Until next time,

Rave-chan.