"Yeah, I'll be back in a couple of days; three at most if the weather holds up," she said into the phone. The cell was balanced between her ear and her shoulder as she handled the steering wheel of the old pickup truck.
"I don't know, Jude. I don't think that you should go on a trip that long by yourself," another voice crackled through the speaker. "Especially when you're going somewhere as creepy as a mountain in the middle of the desert."
"Don't worry, Nina. I've done stuff like this before. This mountain has tons of old caves and trails, I've planned out the entire trip. I've got plenty of water and rations, so there's really nothing to be worried about." Jude tried to reassure her friend over the phone, but she wasn't quite convinced.
"Have you got extra batteries for your flashlight?"
"Plenty."
"Do you have warm clothes?"
"Why am I going to need warm clothes in the desert?"
"IT GETS COLD AT NIGHT, STUPID! TURN YA ASS AROUND RIGHT NO-"
An obnoxious snort ripped from her nose, "I'm just kidding. I've got another four layers of clothes in my pack."
"Don't mess with me like that!" Her friend whined.
"Don't make it so easy for me, then!,"She laughed. "Seriously Nina, stop worrying. This has been on my bucket list for so long, I'm prepared for anything to happen."
"Dude, you're driving to the epitome of ancient indian burial grounds and abandoned ghost towns; that's some real Bermuda triangle shit that you're walking into. And aren't you going to be right next to that nerd school that the government runs; y'know where they train kids to pee in zero gravity or whatever? What if they're talking to aliens or something?!"
"Nina, please. Are you even hearing yourself right now? I'm just gonna do some rock climbing; so I'm not gonna walk into an ancient burial ground or an abandoned ghost town."
"Okay, but what if the space nerds kidnap you and offer you up to the aliens?"
"Nina, honey, sweetie, mijita, mamita; I'm pretty positive that the "space nerds" are in an astronaut training program. Like, they're prepping to go to Kerberos in a few months. And they're a good forty or so miles away from where I'm camping. So I'm not going to wake up angry ghosts or get offered up to aliens."
"Where the hell even is kerberos? isn't that the dog with three heads?"
"That's a Cerberus, but I'm pretty sure that Kerberos is the moon that orbits Pluto."
"Nerd."
"Shut up, I just like to watch the news in the mornings. It's been all over the papers too," Jude scoffed. "I'm just a well informed citizen."
"Dude, your well informed ass is gonna wind up on Dateline NBC if you aren't careful."
"Nina, would you relax? I know what I'm doing." She turned the rusty truck onto an old dirt road and the tires screeched. "Okay, my service is about to get real spotty. If you don't get a call from me by Wednesday, you should assume that I've been abducted by aliens."
"Don't even joke about that," she said seriously. "And your service is only sketchy because you're still using that jank-ass flip phone; get an upgrade already, and then you can quit carrying your iPod everywhere you go."
"Hey, my flip phone is reliable as hell. And I don't want to download my entire music library onto a different device, it'll take weeks." The line became patchy is she went further down the desolate road."Nina, seriously, I'm gonna lose you. I'll call you in a couple of days. Take care."
"Be careful out there, Jude."
One and a Half Years Later
A body was aimlessly flung against a wall, crumpling on the floor.
"When will you realize that escape is futile," an inhumane voice growled. "You have nowhere to go, nothing to look forward to. It's only a matter of time before the rest of your pathetic planet meets the same fate as you."
Jude lay motionless on the ground, not responding to the Galra guard. He crossed the room, each step pounding on the floor like a hammer as he approached her. One boot connected heavily with her chest, causing her to yelp in pain when the bone snapped. "If all the creatures on Earth are as pathetic as you, we'll have no problem colonizing."
He scraped her from the cold, metal floor by her hair before proceeding to taunt her in the most degrading way possible. "Look at you, you humans are so fragile. All I have to do is apply the slightest bit of pressure," He says, scraping a long claw down her cheek, " and I can puncture that pretty soft skin of yours." A trail of blood dripped down the side of her face. He lazily dropped her to ground once more. Jude fell with a thud.
"All I have to do,"He says with a lewd grin," is use the smallest amount of force." His large boot rolled one of her legs under his heel excruciatingly slow. "And then your bones make that delicious crunch." Not a second later, a horrifying crack echoed throughout the cell, followed by her blood-curdling shriek. The purple feline looked entirely too satisfied with his work, his yellow eyes savoring her writhing agony.
"I suppose that you can't escape if you can't walk. Just for good measure, I think a few days in solitary lockdown are in order." His boots hammered away as he left the cell and shut the large metal door. The auto lock made an audible click, a sound Jude knew she wouldn't hear again for days. She was left alone, in the dark and in excruciating pain, fading in and out of consciousness.
Time began to pass agonizingly slow. That was the thing about space, unless you were on a rock orbiting the sun, there was no way to keep track of the time. The situation was even more disorienting in the solitary confinement unit where there was no light whatsoever. There were four steel walls that amplified most noises outside of the steel door. Half of the time, the only sound from beyond the door was the marching of the sentries or the occasional Galran soldier barking orders. Jude touched the imprint of her iPod sticking out from the leg of her uniform, a habit that she's developed after being taken to space. It was the only earthly possession she had managed to hide after her capture, and it used to make being stuck in SCU easier, but it had long since run out of charge. Now it was just a reminder of the happy life she used to lead on Earth; it was by no means perfect, but she missed it dearly. At this point there was not much to do but sleep and hope that the sentries might let her out tomorrow.
When Jude woke up, she heard the booming of voices echoing throughout her cell. Panic rushed through her body at the thought that the guard would come back, only to be melted away by voices that were obviously not Galra.
"Pidge, can you hack the locks on the doors?" A deep voice called out.
"Yeah, just give me a sec," a higher voice replied. "Wait, okay, now!"
The door to the cell clicked open, bathing the room in artificial light. A thunderous herd of footsteps ran away from the prison deck, no doubt towards a hangar full of escape pods. This is it. This is my chance! Jude dragged her body across the floor, desperately trying to reach the door.
"Hunk and Lance, make sure that everyone gets back to the pods safely. Pidge, I need you to lead them back to the castle."The deep voice ordered. "Keith and I will make sure that everyone got out of the ship."
Heavy boots ran in all directions, but there was a flicker of hope when they approached the solitary confinement unit. Jude's voice hadn't been used in weeks, but somehow she still formed the words.
"Over here! Help!" Her voice squeaked, but the strangers still managed to hear. They're pace quickened as they approached the cell, but the sound was blocked out by all of the blood pumping through her ears. Jude's heart nearly leapt to her throat when two figures darkened her doorway; one in read armor and another in black. Their faces were enveloped in the shadows of their helmets, making the expressions of the rescuers unreadable. For the longest minute of her life, they stood there just staring at her.
Tears blurred her vision at the realization that they might not help her, panic seized her chest at the thought that she might not leave this terrible place. "Please," she wheezed. "Please help me." She continued to crawl towards the door even though her left leg was completely useless. Red hot embers seared through her torso as Jude clawed her way towards the door, contorting her face in pure misery. Only then, did her potential rescuers snap out of their trance.
"We're here to help," the taller one said. "Are you alright? Can you walk?" She nodded no, feeling exhausted just by the thought of dragging herself to the escape pods.
"Shiro, we have to carry her to a lion, all of the pods are gone," the boy in red said. "You grab one of her arms, and I've got the other. The man in black nodded in agreement, and then they lifted her off the ground. Pain ripped through her side, resulting in a strained groan on Jude's part, but she had never been happier in her life. Jude tried to stay awake as they barreled down the hall, she really did; but it became increasingly difficult to keep her eyes open. She began to go limp as they carried her past empty cells and broken sentries.
"You're doing great," the taller one said. "Just try to stay awake; we're almost there." Jude's eyes felt droopy, but she did her best to listen to the man in black armor. He continued to talk, just so she'd have something to focus on. "I'm Shiro, and this is Keith. We're paladins from Voltron, and we're trying to free prisoners from Zarkon's control. Do you think you have any sort of internal injuries?"
"They broke my leg, and maybe a rib. I'm gonna make it though," Jude croaked. Hot tears pricked her eyes as the neared the hanger, only partially because of the pain she was experiencing, but mostly because she was finally free.
"What's your name," Keith asked. Though he never actually looked at her, instead, he just focused on getting out of the ship as soon as possible.
"Jude Jimenez," she yelped through gritted teeth. Her ribs protested with every step they took, but there was enough adrenaline in Jude's system to keep her conscious.
"Okay Jude, how long have you been on this ship?" Shiro asked. They approached the hanger, and her eyes bulged at the sight of their ships. There were two monstrous lions with open mouths waiting for them, one red and another black.
"Oh uh, I'm not sure," her voice quivered. "Maybe a year, maybe longer? I've lost track of the days." Jude stared at the ships in awe. In what world was this a normal ordeal? Who in the hell gets kidnapped by aliens and needs to be rescued by spacemen in flying LION ROBOTS? Oh my god, Nina was actually right? That paranoid conspiracy theory junkie called it; I got kidnapped by purple aliens and my face probably got put on a milk carton. Do they still do that for missing kids? Do people even buy cartons of milk? Jude snapped back to reality at the sound of her rescuers' voice.
"Alright, we're going to take you somewhere safe." Jude's head spun as she began to digest the weight of the situation; she might actually get to go home and suddenly her tears stopped dead in their tracks. Shiro dragged her aboard the black lion, still calling out commands to his fellow paladin. "Meet us back at the castle. Help the others get the prisoners into the healing pods, but keep one open for her."
"No, there is probably someone else who needs it more," she shouted. "There are a lot of elderly people who need medical attention, not to mention all the people that got forced into hard labor or gladiator fights. They are the main priority here, I'm going to be fine."
"You're covered in blood," Keith shouted back. It was true, Jude's face was crystallized black from her last encounter with the Galran guards in addition to the scars that ran down her arms and chest, most of which were hidden by her prison rags. However, she didn't back down at the dawning realization that she was in pretty bad shape too.
"This is an old flesh wound, it already sealed up."She pointed at her face. "There are a lot of people worse off than me, please hurry!"
Keith nodded and ran into his ship. Mere seconds after the door clicked shut the engine roared to life. Not in the metaphorical sense but quite literally, it ROARED before taking off.
"C'mon, let's go," Shiro said wearily. He guided her gently into the gaping mouth of the lion, steadying her as she hobbled aboard on her good leg. When they entered the cockpit, Jude noted that it was a somewhat cramped compared to the rest of the ship. "The fit is going to be a little tight, but I can still steer if we share the seat." He sat down and helped her lie across his lap, careful not to bump her broken leg. "Is it going to be too painful for you to sit this way?"
"I'm fine, let's just get out of here," she shivered. The pilot flipped number of switches and pushed a series of odds and ends on a massive touchpad before the engine hummed to life. It was plain to see when they broke away from the prison vessel and a sense of relief washed over Jude as the ship became less and less visible in the distance. A much more inviting refuge came into view, a white castle. It was sleek and modeled more like a rocket than the gleaming ivory towers that children read about in storybooks, but it was a castle nonetheless.
As the ship approached a hanger, Jude couldn't help but notice how Shiro stared at her with such unease. His inky black eyebrows were furled in anguish as he examined her. I must look like a wreck. Everyone's seen those old war documentaries where someone frees an enemy prison camp, but the prisoners are just barely alive. I haven't looked at myself in a mirror since they captured me; the poor guy must be terrified.
"Um, sir," she said hoarsely. "I- I look a lot worse than I actually feel. honest to God, I'm way more concerned about the other prisoners. I'm gonna be fine."
"Yeah," he said absentmindedly landing the lion in the hanger. "We're still going to get you checked out when we go inside though." The lion hummed as it shut itself off. The black paladin gingerly looped Jude's arm around his neck, causing her to wince when his armor made contact with her rib. "Sorry, sorry," he said, panicked.
"I'm fine," Jude groaned. "Let's just make sure the others are okay." Ever so slowly, they made their way out of the lion and approached the castle. Shiro walked her into what Jude could only assume was the control room; it looked so similar to the one on the prison only differences were the fact that the room wasn't bathed in an eerie purple light, and a Galra wasn't working the controls. But then again, she had only ever seen a few glimpses of it through the confines of an air duct. Regardless, the sight left Jude trembling, causing her to take a tighter grip on Shiro's armor.
Six other people were waiting patiently for the man in black. Needless to say, they were more or less shocked to see this girl dangling from his arm. They all exchanged bewildered glances, afraid to address the elephant in the room. Well, all except for one.
The paladin in blue was the first to pipe up. "God, what happened to you?"
"Lance," the red paladin hissed. "Would it kill you to be a little more considerate? We just pulled her out of of a Galra prison hold." Keith's face was visible now that he wasn't wearing a helmet. He was obviously asian, his complexion was dead giveaway. He was definitely an aggressive presence, but it didn't seem to faze the wiry latino guy one bit. Keith crossed his arms over his chest and shot daggers at the boy in blue, but he didn't back down.
"Yeah, but the other guys are aliens," he threw up his arms emphatically. "She's obviously from our planet, so when did a Galra ship invade Earth and start to kidnap people? What if they've enslaved the Earth since we've left?!"
"Lance!" a female voice barked. "You know that I've been keeping tabs on your planet; Earth is not a priority for Zarkon now!" Lance only backed off when the ebony-skinned woman told him to do so; she was obviously the leader. She had an authoritative air to her, what with all of her alabaster locks tied into a tight bun and how everyone in the room seemed to gravitate towards her naturally. Jude made a mental note not to make her mad. "We need to turn our attention to the young lady's injuries, it's apparent that the Galra have done quite a number on her."
"But Princess," the man with the mustache interrupted."All of the cryopods are occupied." Wow, I didn't know that they had Australians in space. I guess Nigel Thornberry got sick of exploring the African safari.
"I'm fine," Jude chimed in, hoping to ease some tension. "I just need a splint and then I'll be good as new."
"You see,"Space Nigel Thornberry explained," Alteans didn't have much use for medical supplies during the times of old, so we don't necessarily have a "splint" just lying around."
"Coran, we can just use something makeshift. What have we got?" A husky guy in a headband asked. He stood tall, hovering over everyone in the group but Shiro. However, intimidation did not seem like a trait that came naturally to the boy in yellow armor. His disposition seemed too warm and friendly.
"I bet I can find something in the lab. What do you need," another person chimed in. This kid made intent eye contact, willing to help Jude in any way possible.
"Two rods about 'ye big," Jude gestured the approximate length of her leg to the paladin in green. "And duct tape! Wait, is there duct tape in space?"
"I'll see what what I've got, but you should try to get some rest, uh," she looked at her blankly. "What's your name again?"
"Oh, I'm Jude," she winced. Pain had a tight grip on her body; Jude almost regretted turning down the healing pod. She knew it was the right thing to do, so there was no use in complaining about the situation. Everyone in the room, however, could clearly see the anguish wash over her tired features.
"I will take our guest to go get cleaned up," the princess said as she crossed the room. "Meanwhile, the rest of you should be using this time productively. We will break for dinner in an hour."
Shiro, still propping Jude against his shoulder, voiced his agreement."You heard Allura, hit the training deck."
Allura looked intently into Jude's golden honey eyes, almost scared to approach her too forcefully. "I can only imagine that you'd want to change out of that prison uniform." Jude nodded silently, eager to burn the rags that she'd donned for more than a year. "Alright then, Shiro, will you help me bring her to my quarters."
"Yes," he said, eyeing Jude warily. "Of course." Allura proceeded to wrap Jude's free arm around her neck, and guided her out of the room.
This time, they were more careful with the girl; walking throughout the castle slowly as not to disturb any of her injuries. As they meandered in and out of hallways, the paladins would stop whatever they were doing and look at Jude sorrowfully. They passed by the lab, and Pidge stopped digging through boxes of old gears and other unfamiliar objects long enough to wave at them half heartedly. When they turned at the kitchen, Jude caught a glimpse of Hunk and Coran whispering to each other as their eyes darted from her and back to whatever they were preparing for lunch. Needless to say, they weren't very discreet. Lance lounged on a couch across the way and he eyeballed the trio apprehensively, uncaring of whether or not Jude noticed. Walking past the training room was the most painful interaction by far. Keith was sparing with what could only be described as robot with roid rage; when they passed by, he lost focus and left his defenses wide open. The robot sent him flying with the cleanest uppercut that Jude had ever seen. The simulator promptly shut off and the princess made it a point to rush her away from the training deck. Everyone was acting like they had seen a ghost. But it wasn't just passerbies in the hall, it was also Allura and Shiro. They would look at her like the pop-eyed puppies on those celebrity endorsed animal shelter commercials, glance back at each other, and then continue to give Jude the worst pitying gaze. It was almost too much to take.
"Um, guys," Jude chimed in. Her voice snapped them out of their daze. "I'm not dying or anything. Sure, space prison is no joke; but I'm going to be okay." Jude did her best to cheer them up, even though it should've been the other way around, but they still looked worried. "I do a lot of bouldering and rock climbing, so I've fallen off small mountains before. Seriously, if a thirty foot fall onto sheet rock doesn't kill me, nothing will."
Shiro chuckled softly, although it didn't seem like he was quite processing what Jude was saying. Allura was a little more apt to engage in conversation though. "Oh really? You'll have to tell me more about that." However, the group stopped in front of a large door and Allura told the black paladin," Thank you, Shiro. I believe that I can take care of things from here."
"Are you sure that you don't need anything else?" Although, his eyes desperately pleaded for her to say 'no' when he removed the former prisoner from his shoulder.
"Perhaps you can bring the things that Jude requested whenever Pidge finds them?" The princess didn't get the hint. She couldn't be bothered to read social cues when she was taking care of someone that desperately needed help.
"I'll try to be back soon, in that case," he answered casually. However, his body language was anything but relaxed. Shiro's shoulders were stiff and he wasn't really focusing on anything in particular. Or rather, he was trying not to stare at Jude. He practically ran out of the corridor when Allura gave him the okay to leave.
Allura turned to face the girl, who was surprisingly calm given the circumstances. "Perhaps a bath is in order?"
Jude's face lit up at the word "bath". How long had it been since the last time she had a real bath? The guards only ever sprayed prisoners with a power hose whenever they deemed fit, and even then those times were rare and few.
"Please, I would appreciate that more than you know," she beamed.
"Of course, let's go." Allura led her into a lavish bedroom fit for a king, or a princess in this case. Floor to ceiling tapestries covered the walls, and a massive round bed was covered by a transparent canopy. On the opposite side of the room, there was a vanity. For the first time in months, Jude finally saw her own reflection and it was somewhat terrifying.
Her tan skin was blanketed in a thin mixture of sweat, dirt and whatever other grime that had stuck onto her during the course of her imprisonment. Her once short hair, the mass of black ringlets that she could never successfully grow past her shoulders, was now a knotted rats nest that fell to the middle of her back. An unsightly clump of dried blood ran along the top of Jude's cheekbone, just beneath her eye, threatening to leave a nasty scar. Her lips were chapped red; the bottom one had split open, leaving an ugly strip of dried blood behind. The only evidence that that she was still Jude Jimenez, were her eyes. They still looked like honey, they still looked determined to take on whatever the universe decided to throw at her. Nobody could ever deny that.
"Wow, this is a pretty good hair day for me," Jude chuckled. "Truth be told, I didn't look much better before they abducted me."
Allura smiled harrowingly at the small human. Even though Jude was getting by on her humor, the princess's heart went out to her.
"Come on," she smiled. "The spring is right over there." Spring? Allura led the grubby human to a door within the room, and when she opened it Jude's jaw hit the floor.
A waterfall, with an undetermined source flowed into a pool that appeared to be made of a substance very similar to rose quartz. It was easily the size of an actual hot spring and probably just as deep. Steam rose from the surface of the water, which was swirling with unfamiliar flower petals.
"Holy crud," Jude uttered. "This is amazing! How does something this big fit into a room this size? Where does the water come from?" Jude looked around the room in awe, threatening to give herself whiplash.
Allura laughed," We had many highly skilled architects on Altea. Only the best of them worked on this castle."
"Just, wow," Jude gushed.
"Alright, I assume that you'll need assistance," Allura said, rather confidently.
"Oh, I hadn't thought that far ahead." Even under all of the dirt, it was fairly obvious that the tips of her ears were turning bright red. "I guess I do." A lump formed in her throat, and the princess took notice.
"Jude," she said softly. "There's no need to feel embarrassed. My people view the body as a more of a shell for the soul to safely reside in. We don't read too much into body-image hype like the people on earth do."
"I just want to warn you that I have a few scars," Jude said, avoiding eye contact. "The druids didn't mess around, so just… Don't panic."
"I can handle it," Allura said confidently. Jude nodded, letting the princess know that it was okay to proceed. They carefully peeled away the body suit that was the staple of a Galra prisoner. The princess was sure to be especially careful with Jude's ribs, trying to make the ordeal as painless as possible. Once the uniform made it to her ankles, a silver rectangle clacked to the floor. Allura bent over to pick it up, looking thoroughly confused. "What is this."
"Oh that's my iPod."
"Your what?" Allura turned it over in her hands a few times.
"You use it to listen to music and play games. I have a ton of pictures saved too. It just hasn't been charged in a really long time, but I was able to hide it before the Galra threw away all of my things. It's more of a keepsake from home now."
"Fascinating. I'll keep this dry for you, in that case." Allura tucked it away into a pocket in her dress before continuing to help Jude into the spring.
It was a slow and painful process, but Jude managed to sit on a stoop near the edge of the pool. Warm water came up to her neck, and the bathing process would've been a godly experience had Allura not been brushing knots out of Jude's hair with the force of a lawnmower. "Princess, I appreciate the enthusiasm, but could you AHHHAHAH-" Jude couldn't finish her sentence when a monster knot got ripped out of her hair.
"Hush, I'm almost done," then she proceeded to yank out three at once. "Try to finish washing up, I'm sure that Shiro will be back any moment with your splint."
Since the princess couldn't be bothered with her whining, she decided to make small talk. "So, your highness," Jude started.
"It's alright if you just want to call me Allura, titles aren't too important out here," she said as she yanked out another section of matted hair. Jude did her best not to shriek.
"Allura, what's your planet like?"
She stayed quiet for a moment, but decided to answer the question anyway. "Altea was the most beautiful place; it was a land of fantastic beasts and mighty mountains. My father was a fair ruler, and all of his subjects admired him greatly. We were a peaceful people that thrived in diplomacy and exploration, which is why we were in such great standing with our allies until Zarkon…" Allura clenched the brush in her hand and relaxed just as quickly. "Zarkon destroyed everything, Coran and I are the only Alteans who have survived this ten thousand year war. He's destroying planets, Jude, and wiping anyone that doesn't surrender to his power."
Jude's breath hitched in her throat. "Does that mean...is the Earth going to be destroyed too?" Her chest began to tighten, but Allura rested a hand on her shoulder.
"I won't let that happen. That's why we have the paladins and Voltron! We're slowly taking back planets and freeing innocent people from the rule of the Galra empire. Eventually we'll be able to fight Zarkon head on and then we'll destroy the empire at its source." She enthusiastically ripped out more tangles from Jude's hair, causing her to actually yelp this time. "Oh sorry, I'll try to be gentler. Why don't you tell me more about your planet?"
"Well, I also live near the mountains," she said as she scrubbed another layer of dirt from her skin.
"Oh, yes. Didn't you say something about climbing on rocks?"
"Yeah! So what you do is, you strap yourself into a harness with a lot of ropes and clips, and then you scale a rock wall and secure clips into the mountain every now and then. Then when you reach the top you can lower yourself down safely."
"And then what?" Allura probably didn't mean to sound unimpressed, her question stemmed from genuine curiosity.
"Well, you don't really do anything else after that. Rock climbing is more about pushing yourself to new limits and becoming stronger. It's really invigorating, there's nothing more satisfying that reaching the top and taking in the view."
"How interesting," Allura exclaimed as she began to attack the last of the knots. But she stopped dead in her tracks at a new discovery. "Jude, I didn't know that humans came with pictures on their skin!"
"Wait, what?" Jude looked down and realized what Allura was talking about. Damn, I was so dirty that I forgot about all the ink I had underneath it all. "We don't," she giggled. "These are tattoos." Jude lifted her arm out of the water so that the princess could take a better look.
"What?" Allura seemed thoroughly confused.
"You mean that you've never seen tattoos before?"
"I've never seen anything like them! How do you get your skin like that?!"
"Well, you have to find someone you trust and then they dip a bunch of needles in ink and sort of...weld a picture into your skin. And then it's there forever."
"But you have so many!" It was true, Jude had three quarters of a sleeve running down one arm, a chest piece that ran into the sleeve, a wrist tattoo on the opposite arm, a piece that took up both of her shoulders, and a piece on the outside of her thigh. "My uncle owns a tattoo shop, so he did most of these for me. I actually work there after school and on the weekends."
"How strange," she mused. She yanked one last knot from her hair with a great deal of finesse, and quickly plaited it into a long, loose braid. "Well, I think we're done here. Are you ready to get out?"
"I think so."
Allura grabbed a towel from a nearby rack, ready for Jude. The princess practically lifted her out of the water before helping her back to the bedroom. She sat on the edge of the massive bed, shivering at the change temperature after the door to the spring was shut.
"Let me see if I have anything that will fit you." Allura flung open the doors of a very impressive wardrobe, and a multitude of brightly colored cloths burst out.
"I don't know, Allura. I'm not all that tall-" It was true, the alien woman practically built like an amazon warrior. She was easily eight inches taller than the little latino girl, if not taller.
"Oh nonsense, something is bound to fit you," she said cheerfully. She may or may not have been excited at the prospect of dressing this girl up. Heaven knows she tried with Pidge, but that ended VERY badly. She jumped at the chance to pick something out that was pink and drowning in ruffles. "How about this?"
"Um, that's nice, but maybe we could try something more loose? Something that won't rub up against my ribs and legs too much? I don't need anything fancy." Jude tried to be polite, but couldn't fight a cringe at the sight of a garment that closely resembled a circus tent.
"That's fair," Allura sighed. "Is there anything that jumps out at you?
"What about that?" she pointed to something grey that had fallen to the bottom of the closet.
The princess picked it up. "This is a sack that I keep ribbons in."
"Oh." The tips of her ears turned pink with embarrassment. "What about the one in the corner?" A little sliver of white fabric peeked through the piles of clothes. Allura pulled out a white dress with short sleeves and beading in the front.
"It's so plain," she gasped. "Are you sure?"
"It looks comfortable though," Jude smiled. "It looks like it'll keep off my leg."
Allura tossed it across the room and it landed on the bed next to Jude. The material felt silky to the touch, and she lovingly admired the beading before she slipped it over her head. It was in this instance that Allura saw one long, pink scar in the middle of Jude's chest and several smaller ones littering her legs and torso. She decided against commenting on those.
"It actually does look very nice," Allura smiled. "You look like a completely different person now!" Jude looked at her reflection in the mirror once more, and the results of the bath were astonishing. She looked like her normal self, but older. Now that the knots were combed out, her hair was even longer than before, resting at the small of her back in a beautiful braid. Her lips were no longer inflamed, and the scar on her cheek was barely noticeable. In fact, her skin was practically glowing, It must have been something in the water.
"Thank you for helping me, I don't know how to repay you," Jude bowed her head humbly.
Before the princess could reply, there was a knock at the door. "That must be Shiro," she smiled. But when she opened the door, all five paladins and her advisor were there. "Hello, everyone. I assume that you all wanted to check on your fellow human?"
Lance practically lept into the room, examining the transformation that took place in the span of the past hour. "What happened to you?"
"Um," Jude was slightly taken aback. "I think we established that I was on a prison ship?" Wasn't this guy looking at me like I grew an extra head an hour ago?
"Yeah, but now you're a lot easier on the eyes, sweetheart," he said with what he thought was a charming grin. He proceeded to sit next to her on the bed and throw out another line. "I'm Lance, kind of like the knight from the round table."
Jude was horrified to say the least, but she could handle this guy. She put on her sweetest smile and pretended to take the bait.
"I'm Jude," she smiled and stroked his arm. "And I will not hesitate to break a round table with your face." Then she twisted it behind his back and pushed him off the bed in one fluid motion.
The team did their best to stifle laughter, but Keith outright said,"Ooh, I like her."
"Thank god someone finally twisted his arm, I'm just a little disappointed that it wasn't me," another voice chimed in. Pidge pushed to the front with a rig that looked a lot fancier than two rods and a roll of duct tape. "I made a splint, it should hold up until another cryopod opens up."
"Great job, Pidge," the princess beamed proudly. "Come in. Let's see if it fits." She pushed up her glasses and approached the stranger as confidently as she could.
"Hi," she said, holding up the splint. It didn't look much like a splint at all, it was more like a couple of thin rods bent together and smoothed out to look like a piece of foreign space jewelry that would reach from her knee to her ankle."This material is super light, and I know that it doesn't look like it's padded, but there's a good chance you'll be able to walk on that broken leg."
"That's amazing," Jude breathed. "Thank you so much." Pidge smiled at Jude as she helped her slide into the splint. The black material curved around the outside of her leg, practically cradling the broken bone. "Fits like a glove."
"Do you want to try walking?" Jude nodded and rose from her seat. She really was able to put weight on the injured leg, kind of like an air-cast. Only, this thing was a couple of strips of foreign space metal welded together. She didn't even need straps to adjust the fit, the device was that perfect.
Jude wobbled across the room a couple of times until she got used to the feel of the contraption; she began walking normally after three laps. Pidge looked quite pleased with herself, to say the least; and the team looked a little relieved to see that the girl wasn't in too much pain.
Coran clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention,"Well, dinner is ready. You all should come to the kitchen, we've got quite a spread set up."
"Sounds great," Shiro said. Everyone shuffled into the hall eagerly. Jude made it a point to stay behind the group in order to avoid seven pairs of eyeballs being glued to her back. But the paladins still glanced over their shoulders at her. She cleared her throat and their heads snapped forward when they realized that they were probably making her uncomfortable.
Jude let her eyes roam around as they walked down the halls. The tall ceilings were held up by long pointed arches made of a smooth white material. The walkways and doors were lined with soft blue lights that strained the eyes less than the purple glow of a Galra ship. The group passed one window that led from the floor to the ceiling, causing Jude to stop in her tracks. Beyond the pane of glass were millions of stars and glowing strips of galaxies. Jude had spent many summer nights at the tops of mountains, gazing at clear, unfiltered night skies; but nothing looked familiar. She couldn't find a single constellation she knew, and the halo that cloaked Venus or any other planet was nowhere to be found.
Shiro had noticed when she broke off from the group and decided to approach the girl, against his better judgement. Jude never even noticed him standing right next to her. How could she notice anything but the sinking sensation of how far away she was from home?
The black paladin broke her from her hysteria-induced trance by putting a large hand on her shoulder. She barely registered it.
"Jude, you doing okay?" He asked tentatively, even though she obviously wasn't.
"We're a long way from Earth, aren't we?" She continued to stare blankly at the the glass.
"Yes," he sighed.
"Am I actually going home, or?" Jude couldn't finish the question; she turned to look at the face of the sorrowful paladin and knew the answer. Worry-lines crept to the edges of his dark eyes as he ran a hand through his greying hair. He didn't have to say anything for Jude to know that the chances of going back to Earth right now were slim to none.
"I'm sorry," was all he could manage to say. "If we go back now, the Galra will follow us. This time they might actually enslave the planet or worse. I know how badly you want to go home, believe me; but we can't risk putting the Earth in danger. We can't go back now."
Jude sucked a shallow breath into her tightening chest and did her best to stay calm. Her knees felt like jelly and the color drained from her face. She clawed onto the window for balance, pushing Shiro's hands away when he tried to help keep her steady. "I'm okay!" She snapped at him. He took the hint and backed away. "So, if Zarkon falls from power, everyone will be safe?"
"Yes. But the empire spans across the entire universe, it's not going to fall over night." Shiro looked at her solemnly, but she appreciated his honesty. She finally got a good look at the fifth member of Voltron and knew that he had also been taken by the galra. The scar across his face, the cyborg prosthetic, and the tired look in his eyes gave him away.
"They got you too," she whispered. "How long did it take for you to escape?"
"It was almost a year before I managed to get out," he recollected. "I'm just disappointed that I couldn't manage to save my old crew after our mission to Kerberos went south."
"Wait, you were on the Kerberos mission? They took me months before that even happened," Jude gasped. Shiro's eyes widened at the realization that this girl, with no connection to the Garrison or any kind of pilot training, had done more time in an alien prison than him.
"What do you mean?"
"The six month countdown to your launch was still a newspaper headline when I got taken. I just bought a car, so I decided to go on a road trip and do some climbing. There's a canyon on the state line that has a lot of trails and climbing spots-"
"You didn't." Shiro's voice went down an octave.
"My friend warned me that there were a lot of weird old ruins in that area, but I thought that I would be miles away from anything strange," Jude said, shivering when she dug up memories that she had shoved deep down inside of her. "So when it started raining, I had to wait out the storm in a cave with all sorts of pictographs carved into the walls. I thought I was alone, but it turns out that the galra were looking for something. I tried to run, but.." she trailed off. "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"I'm so sorry. I know what it was like to be imprisoned by them, it's hard to bounce back after being held hostage for so long. The important thing is that you're safe now." He definitely seemed like a leader, knowing just the right thing to say and when to say it. Jude really didn't mean to step on his sentiment.
"No, the important thing is that we take down the Galra," she said almost nobly.
Shiro raised an eyebrow at her sudden determination," We?"
"I don't know anything about going to war against an empire or flying a giant lion into the infinite abyss of space, but I want to help. I don't want anyone else to be a victim of Zarkon's tyranny, especially the people that I left behind on Earth. There has to be something I can do! Just please, let me help." She looked at the paladin with pleading eyes and he smiled.
Shiro stretched out his Galra arm to the girl; she shook his hand without hesitation.
"Welcome to the team."