"Taehyung NO!" Screamed Jimin as V was an inch from stripping the covered nametag off Stella's shoulder. Using the diversion, she then shifted her wrist to the side and threw the distracted man off balance. Stella rolled over, body pressed against his to form a headlock. Only then our assassin remembered the purpose of their search and quickly removed herself from V.

"We come in peace." Stella raised her hands, she then turned her left shoulder away from Jungkook, who had just emerged from the shadow. "It is best that we team up against the Greens. There are 3 of them left."

"And why should we trust you?" Said the younger boy, his footpace remained constant.

"So..so firstly, these two are kind of best friends." Stella pointed at Jimin and then V, who had just managed to get up and was now brushing dead leaves off his uniform. She responded to his murderous gaze with a smirk. "Jimin, isn't this the roommate who convinced you to take the Survival E3, so that he can protect you?"

"Protect isn't exactly the word..." Jimin mumbled and his ear grew red. "But she's right, we are outnumbered fighting as 2 separate teams. Shouldn't we be working together?"

"Ts-k." The future Admiral was visibly annoyed. "I know that she happens to be your teammate, but this girl is not to be trusted."

"Pretty sure we can take the other team down easily, after dealing with you guys." Jungkook bundled his long hair into a bun, his feet threw back into a sprint start, ready to make a move.

"2 of the Greens came from Nestrorius." Unfazed by the knight's attempt, Stella spoke calmly. "That team is no easy feat."

Jungkook's advancement came to a halt as predicted. Nestrorius was a planet orbiting around the same star as 1204 Veloria Prima. Yet due to the positioning of their planetary system, the latter one had always been more prosperous, therefore more prone to invasions set forth by their aggressive neighbor. The Flowering Knights hadn't always been royal ornaments to the Velorian, they were once protectors of the lands and for centuries, keepers of the throne. 

"Where are they?" Asked Jungkook to the surprise of the remaining parties. 

Stella smiled, she knew that as a citizen of 1204 Veloria Prima, he would do anything to stop the Nestrorians from earning another point in this competition. Despite the recently signed peace treaty between the 2 planets, their inhabitants couldn't seem to shake off the idea that they had been sworn enemies to one another all their lives.

And boy, wasn't the Velorian a petty race.

"So here's the plan." Stella squatted down and drew the game plan on the ground. She described the overall setting and the general dynamics of the other team based on her observations. "We need to draw the Nestrorian man away first, he's difficult to deal with in terms of strength and speed. The Earthean man seems to be more grounded, if anything was to happen, he would be the one staying back and guard the loots. The other woman can be pretty tricky. She's flexible and strong, might be able to rip your badges off with her toes kind of deal. That's why we need Jimin to be our bait..."

"And why does Jimin have to be the bait." Asked the visibly displeased V.

"Why can't Jimin be the bait?" Stella was puzzled. "He's fast and can draw them away from one another."

"I can be the bait." Jimin raised his arm, which was then taken down by his best friend.

"It is way too dangerous, these aliens are dangerous." V then looked over and pointed at Jungkook. "This one alone has sent 4 kids back to base on a medical vessel."

Nodded the younger boy. He doesn't seem to be offended by his teammate's statement. 

"Mother hen, can we at least go through the strategy before clutching your pearls?" With her eyes rolled, she pulled Jimin away from his protective roommate. "He won't be tackling any of the Green people before you do. Two of you Reds will be on the other side, jumping at whatever coming your way."

"Like what you did just now, to her." 

"Thank you, Jimin! Finally, someone who speaks Sapien."

"How about you?" Still unable to trust the girl based on V's reaction toward her last name, Jungkook called the plan out. "How do we know that you are not just using us to win?"

"We ARE using you guys to win. Champ!" Stella kneaded her forehead. "Well, to gain more points to be exact. We have no chance against them or you two, so it is a matter of ranking third and fourth or worse."

"Taehyung, we can trust her." Said Jimin. "Neither of us wants to win, we just want to end this game. I haven't eaten in hours for heaven's sake!"

The 2 members from team Red exchange eye contact for a while. Jungkook was not fully convinced still, but V couldn't seem to resist his best friend's pleading. He reached into his bag and threw a half-eaten peanut butter bar at Jimin. "Eat that, and we re-evaluate whatever plan she has."

"We can have a deal, but only under one condition. Once the other team is defeated, you will eliminate yourself first. Also, you will act as the bait." He then looked up, it was as if his piercing gaze could see right through her. "That or we can eliminate you right now."

"Because you guys are afraid to fight me?" She chuckled, fully intended not to follow said agreements. "A girl?"

"We do not wish to hear from your father, that's all." Added V. "Take it or leave the game, Whitlock."

"Deal." Stella gritted her teeth. The desire to complete her mission grew stronger every time her target opened his mouth. Her brain ran through a couple of scenarios in which she could gain the upper hand. The 4 finally reached an agreement, they then gathered to discuss their final course of attack.

After a brief review of the plan, Stella led her alliances to the edge of the forest. The boys from the Red team assumed their position on Stella's escape path, while Jimin stayed near The Green team's base to provide support and give signals to the team. The strategy was to capitalize on the Green team's arrogance, to trigger their predatory instinct and lure the stronger ones away from their loot.

After settling her pawns, Stella headed toward their rivals, drawing attention to her presence as she went through the noisiest bushes off the beaten track. It wasn't difficult to make sounds in the forest, especially when all the participants were on the edge of their nerves. The air seemed to be denser as she moved in close, as their silhouettes slowly came into the background and their figures ran toward the foreground. 

"Hoo-h'hoo-hooo-hoo....hooo" Right then, a soft, clumsy hoot began to resonate across the area, signaling that her targets' attention had been engaged. Stella then gave her knees, or rather, Stellaris' knees a motivational speech, hoping they wouldn't give up on her halfway through the chase. She began to sprint, her speed accelerated, even more, when the ground shook at the alien couple's heavy pace. Having to take down 2 Nestrorians at a time was one of the worst possible outcomes, but their alliance had the element of surprise acting in their favor; Stella smirked before rolling over and letting the main athletes take the stage.

Jeon Jungkook was done waiting, he leaped out from his original position, pinned down the larger Nestrorian, and began to grapple while V tried to take out the other. The Velorian had managed to keep his opponent grounded but was still unable to remove the blinking name tag, they both shifted their weights to the left shoulder, trying not to expose their badges.  

Stella got back on her feet and assessed the situation, it didn't take her too long to find out who needed the support. Our future admiral had just been thrown across the air, she stooped down to avoid impact and heard a loud whomp coming from the tree right behind her.

"Shit!" Stella growled as the female Nestrorian began to charge toward her; our assassin quickly evaded the opponent's grasp, but quickly enough, the lack of stamina and strength crept up and her leg gave in. Stella fell face down to the ground and the towering fighter made sure she stayed that way. 

The Nestrorian stapled the Stella's arm down with her iron grip, knees pressed hard against her opponent's back. But just as she was reaching for the purple name tag, the body underneath slithered away, followed by a loud crack coming from the arm she had been trapping. In the split of a second, she could no longer control her captive's disjointed limb. As a matter of fact, her left arm was completely exposed by being in the current position. The alien wanted to release her opponent but the thought came in too late - the frail Earthean girl was already on her knee, hand ripping away her green badge in a flash.

When Jungkook had finished his grapple with the unfriendly neighbor, the winning Velorian came back only to see the other Nestrorian acting all hysterical. Her badge was completely stripped off and she was cursing at the culprit.

"I did not even hurt her, what a crazy bitch."

She was not the only one shocked by the contortionist's approach to the assignment. The whole girl-on-girl action had been occupying another spectator, V, who was unable to stand up immediately for such a reason. It wasn't just her speed or her techniques, or how she managed to overturn the situation in a heartbeat. The expressions from his temporal ally were just off, the despair in her eyes, the warring vigor, the following blank stares, they all reminded him of the previous war, especially of those who had been pushed beyond the point of no return.

"Gotta go back...to check on Jimin..." Stella stood up, her left arm lifeless, draped over her shoulder as if it was a clip-on. She gently covered her name tag as if it was a precious artifact, only to realize that the name she had been trying to protect didn't even belong to her.

Our assassin took a couple of steps forward, she wanted to stay away from the other two boys but her new body wasn't as determined. Stella went through in her head a list of strategies she had prepared just now to escape the current situation. But suddenly the world spun and turned dark in the split of a second, and she found herself melting into the arms of her nemesis.

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Hi guys~ I'm backkkk back back again! 

Thank you all for the support, they really do keep me going. The E3 is ending soon and a new school year will begin with fewer actions and more drama~ Stay tuned ;)