Initializing…

Reconfiguring data…

Please wait…

A loading screen him. Black, grey, and white haunting the recesses of his mind. Hunk didn't want to do this. It felt personal…too sacred to put his hands on. This is her stuff. I can't just…but a part of him knows he have to. He must do it, whether his teammates urged him or not. If there's anywhere that could have the traces of her last days, it would be within the very walls of the Green Lion's hangar and in her room. Everything has to be thoroughly searched for but never moved out of the room. That's what they agreed on. That's what the least they could do.

Please enter your password.

Hunk sucked in a breath. His eyes have seen and been stopped by the same screen over and over again for the last week. Thousands upon thousands of passwords guessed and tried but none were accepted. Eyes flitted on the paper filed neatly at the ground beside him. A list of possible passwords from her brother, Matt. The older Holt has tried his hand to get access on his younger sister's laptop to no avail. Hunk could still remember the frustration in his voice and the denial in his eyes.

"Why won't you open up?" He slammed his fists on the ground, barely missing the laptop by inches. "I know Katie left something! I know she did! She's alive! Goddammit! I know she's alive!"

It took Shiro, Keith, and Hunk to pull him out of the hangar and leave the laptop alone. Shiro has to steer him to her room to give him the time to cry his heart out alone. Hunk does not have the heart to silence the anguished cries echoing in the residential corridor as he himself too was mourning. All of them are in their own ways. His fingers tapped the keys with trembling fingers.

Wrong password. Please try again.

Four more attempts and the cool down timer began. Hunk gazed blearily at the screen, watching the timer beeped at each second lost. Behind him, the Green Lion loomed unresponsive in eerie silence. Her particle shield is up and her eyes dim at the absence of a Paladin. No candidate has turned up yet and Allura, despite her duty, didn't have the heart to do so. She tried to connect with the Green Lion – to get a glimpse of her Paladin's last moments – but the Lion denied her. Denied everything and everyone that comes across her.

Hunk didn't know how many but a few vargas has already passed since. Her laptop still refused any passwords he inputted so far. He knew it will be difficult; she doesn't want anyone snooping around her things without permission. What's her password? If I were her, what would I put? He peered at the paper and saw only one suggestion left. He got another attempt before the timer starts again. He paused before the screen before reluctantly typing the password.

Loading…

Welcome back, Pidge!

Hunk breathed out a sigh of relief he was holding in. The loading screen faded out into a simple black wallpaper with a lone folder at the upper leftmost corner of the screen that Hunk knew that is not right. He has managed to sneak in glances in her laptop whenever he caught her too focused on her work. She always has her desktop wallpaper in a slideshow comprised with her family pictures before the Kerberos mission, her Space Family's picture, and her and Green's picture. Her applications and files were all segregated in labeled folders for order and easy navigation. The screen before him is nothing like her. Like an omen of a tragedy.

He moved the cursor and clicked twice on the folder. A list of videos popped up – all labeled in a day and a log code. Hunk didn't know what to make of it. Were they a compilation of information she hacked? Were they footages she has stolen? Or were they moments that led up until that fateful day?

Part of him wanted to tell the others immediately about his find but he wanted to see first what the videos have in-stored for them. He wanted the others to be prepared no matter what. The cursor hovered on the very first video and with two quick, successive clicks, the video opened up and started to load.

BZZZTT! BZZzzt! Bzzzt!

Ca-chank! Chink!

Static poured on the screen and the sounds of adjustments made were barely heard from the noise. After half a minute, the static cleared and a familiar face appeared on screen.

"Hello? Is this on? Is it okay now?"

Hunk went stiff. His eyes refusing to peel off the screen. She was sitting cross-legged before the screen in her casual clothes, untamed mass of chestnut-colored hair, and big, round eyeglasses that she never needed. The Green Lion stood by the background – a stark contrast against the polished walls of the hangar. The space mice were sitting on her legs, noses twitching as they stared at the screen.

"Hmmm…I think it's fine now."

She looked so alive that it made Hunk teared up. He pressed her headphones that Lance gingerly returned against his ears and listened carefully to her voice.

"Okay…now how to start?" She looked thoughtful, glancing at the mice. "Maybe I should label this video first." The mice squeaked approvingly and she nodded. "Alright. I guess…Day One: Log Code T89S-19U311S?"

Platt looked at her questioningly. "What? Too long?" She shrugged. "I think it's great." She turned back to the screen and cleared her throat. "So, yeah. Day One: Log Code T89S-19U311S."

"Hello, this is Pidge. The Paladin of the Green Lion." She gestured at the mice on her lap. "And these are our resident space mice. This is Platt and Chulatt." She patted the two mice on their heads. "And Planchu and Chuchule. They're Princess Allura's, but most of the time they roam around the Castle of Lions and do their own stuff."

"There are other four Paladins but they're currently out of commission with Allura and Coran." She paused, eyes glazing briefly. Hunk recognized that look, as if she was deliberating if the video is worth continuing or not. "They got captured. By the Galra. All six of them together with their Lions. It's only me, the mice, and Green who were left." She clasped her hands together, thumbs twiddling together. "I don't have a lead yet on their location but…" She sighed. "I hope they're fine. They're strong. I would know because I always trained and fought with them."

"I'm planning to contact Matt and see if the rebels got any information about their whereabouts and maybe do some search on my own…" She swallowed thickly. She seemed unsure what to say next. "I guessed that's that? I really don't know what to say. I supposed the idea of them being all captured hasn't sunk in well in my mind. It's just…doesn't seem possible."

She looked at the mice who shared the same worried look. "Yeah, I guessed that's that. I'm ending this video now." She reached out and the screen turned blank. The first video has already ended.

A little tidbit for readers out there. Each log code has a hidden meaning and some may play a crucial role in the story plot. Try deciphering them to get a bit of insight from Pidge's thoughts while filming the videos.