Ever since I could remember, I had always wanted to see what life was like beyond the stars.

My mother would tell me stories about far away planets, intergalactic heroes and hidden treasures waiting to be discovered.

That might have been true once…

But not anymore.

Ten thousand years ago, an alien race known as the Galra invaded earth. Their leader, Emperor Zarkon, was a cold-hearted, merciless ruler. Some say he was born with no heart. When the Galra realized the humans had very little to offer them in worth, their planet was destroyed. Thankfully, many had survived by evacuating the planet during the invasion. Those humans scattered the galaxy, finding refuge in various planets.

One of those planets was Altea.

A lush and vibrant land that resembled earth in almost every aspect. It also served as a refuge for many other alien races who had been forced to flee their home from due to the Galra's tyranny.

To fight against them, the grand council of Altea formed the Galaxy Defenders. A military army who fought in the war against the Galra. This war has been going on for centuries. A lot of us are wondering if it will ever end.

Some say it never will. I'm beginning to wonder the same thing.

In a war like this, we wouldn't just need the best pilots in the galaxy.

We would need a miracle.

We'd need a Hero.

*(~)*

The crowd had already gathered around the rocket launchpad. A colorful variety of humans and aliens aligned the streets. Some were cheering while others were bidding farewell to their loved once. Today, the top pilots of the Galaxy Garrison would be sent out into space to aid in the battle against the Galra. It was both a proud and sad day for many. Several bystanders were taking pictures of the pilots, who waved and smiled.

One pilot in particular, a tall, lean and athletic looking man around his mid to late twenties, appeared to be the most excited. Or at least, he demonstrated it in a calm and collected manner, his handsome smile remained permeant on his face all throughout. He had dark hair, partly cut around the back of his neck and a white bang hung over his forehead. He wore the traditional Altean pilot unicorn, which was adorned with several bits of blue neon lights around the shoulders and collar. He carried his helmet under his arm.

"Pretty impressive, isn't Keith?"

Another young man, several years younger than him, leaned against the wall, arms crossed. His raven bangs draped over his forehead and a short mullet was styled behind his head. His eyes were a gray violet mixed with blue, slender and mysterious looking. His skin, like the older man, was pale white. He wore a red blazer jacket over a black shirt and pants. His boots were white with red trims and a pair of black fingerless gloves covered his hands.

"Yeah. It's great." Keith replied, trying his best to sound enthusiastic, but really came off as disinterested.

The older man frowned. "Come on, it's only for a year. I'll be back before you know it." he smiled, ruffling Keith's hair, making him laugh. "Who knows, maybe someone you'll be standing in my place."

"Ha! Like that'll ever happen." Keith replied, rearranging the hair his brother had messed up.

"Never say never."

"Shiro." A voice called out, getting the two brother's attention. It was a young man, roughly around twenty, with orange red hair, amber eyes and wearing a pair of glasses. He too wore the same uniform as his companion, Shiro. "I've been looking for you. King Alfor wants to have a word with us before we launch."

"I'll be right there." Shiro turned to his brother, "Wanna come and meet the king?"

Keith spontaneously froze. His eyes widening before darting back and forth nervously. "Uh, I-I better not."

"Don't worry, he's a pretty cool guy. I've told him all about you and he agrees you have potential."

"No, it's fine. Really. You go ahead. I bet it's pilots only." Keith took a step back, placing his hands in his pockets looking away.

Shiro wanted to say something else, but he knew his brother all too well. Once he set his mind on something there was no changing it. He none the less wrapped his arm around Keith, taking him by surprise and ruffled his hair. The younger brother laughed. "Ah! Shiro, stop that!"

"Last noogie of the year before I leave, better make it count!"

"Okay, stop it already!" Keith shoved Shiro right off of him, his hair once again a mess. But, he was laughing none the less. Shiro nodded his head before walking off with his fellow pilot. Keith took this moment to look around, seeing families bidding farewell to their loved once. Keith's smile quickly melted into a frown. He then noticed several eyes staring at him. At the corner of his eye he saw a few Galaxy Garrison students, whispering to one another, while glaring at the young man.

He lowed his gaze and proceeded to walk away from the scene in hopes of finding some other place where he could watch the launch, away from prying eyes. A few pedestrians had bumped into him, causing the dagger in his back pocket to suddenly fall out. A few had accidentally kicked the blade away. Keith hurried past the crowd to retrieve it, only to see it stop in front of someone's feet.

Keith squatted down to quickly retrieve it before the stranger said anything, only to notice said stranger had also squatted down in an attempt to pick up the dagger. Keith hesitated to place his hand over his possession once the stranger had touched it. Looking up, his gray violet eyes met a pair of cerulean blue eyes.

The stranger was a woman with copper brown skin, long flowing silver hair with two pink markings under the side of her eyes and her ears were pointed, much like that of an elf from a fairytale book. A trait common to Alteans. She let out a small gasp and Keith briefly froze, worried about what she might say.

The silver haired woman offered him his dagger. "Is this yours?" she asked, speaking in a light british accent.

Keith blinked, looking down at the dagger in her hand. He simply nodded. The woman kindly handed it to him, smiling kindly as she stood up at the same time Keith did. "Thanks." he said.

The woman was about to reply, until she heard the sound of someone calling from behind. She turned her head, her silvery locks moving like gentle waves. "Allura!" the voice called again.

"I should go. Have a good day." she picked the helms of her long white and pink dress and dashed away towards the man calling her. Keith only stood there watching her leave and then looked down at his dagger, still in surprise. He thought she would have said something regarding what he was, but she was either one of those people who was genuinely trying to be polite, or simply didn't know of his reputation.

"You…too." he replied, though it was already too late and she was already too far gone to even hear him.

It was almost time to launch. King Alfor took the time to wish each of the pilots good luck before they got on the ship. The orange haired boy waved to his mother, father and younger sister while Shiro waved one last time to Keith, who stood several feet away from the crowd, but it wasn't hard for the older brother to spot him. Keith smiled in return, though his eyes carried much sadness as he watched his older brother being practically showered with praise and adoration.

Of course they would. Shiro was the smartest, strongest and bravest pilot there was. Everyone admired him, even Keith knew he could never amount to who Shiro was. He was everything Keith had always hoped to be, but in the end, knew he could never be. For a moment, he felt his heart tear up in two as the countdown began. The sound of rockets blasters practically made his ears explode but paid little mind. As the rocket ship flew out into orbit, Keith felt the last bit of his family leave with it.

"Come home soon, Shiro." Keith whispered, wiping away a single tear that escaped his eye.

"Enjoying the show, half-blood?" a voice from behind startled Keith. He spun around to see it was a tall alien with dark brown eyes and white hair and a light goatee. His skin was purple with darker purple spots on his upper arms. He had a long flat pointed nose and four fingers on each hand. He gave Keith a crocked smile while crossing his arms.

"Congratulations on not starting a riot just by being here."

"Back off, Rolo." Keith said sternly, narrowing his eyes.

"Might want to watch that temper of yours. Wouldn't want anyone around here seeing you give into your Galra nature."

A low angry growl was heard from Keith's throat. His fists clenched and angrily walked away. As much as he wanted to punch that alien in the face, Rolo did make a valid point. People around here were already afraid of him as it was. The only reason nobody threw him out was because Shiro was here. But, now he wasn't.

It would only be for a year, but it would definitely be a very lonely one for Keith.

(~)

After having watched season 2 of Voltron, I was hit with inspiration! Of course, this fanfic will only be done for fun, so there is no guarantee it will be updated as frequently as I hope. You'll be happy to know that, unlike my previous attempt, this one I plan on finishing. It'll be treated a bit more like a movie, with an adventure story and some Disney Elements thrown in because, I love Disney and why not!

As stated, this is an AU story, so it is like a retelling of the reboot version, but with a slightly closer tie in to the original series. You'll know what I mean latter.

The plot will borrow some similarities to the films Balto and Moana. Also, and this is something I need to confess…..I've turned into a Kallura shipper! Yes, I'm trash now! I only just side shipped it for fun, but I should have known better. The same happened with Bosami. The more I looked it up, the more it grew on me. I did originally ship Keith with my OC Estelle, but since I'm using her for my original novel, I kind of jumped that one the more I worked on the story.

Speaking of which, on January 22 at 12:00 I am launching the first three chapters of my original novel Legend of the Lost Star on quotev, fictionpress and wattpad. If you enjoyed The Legend of Korra, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, The Chronicles of Narnia and Voltron, then chances are you may like this book.

Don't forget, January 22 at 12:00 PM. The links will be in my deviantArt page and profile page.

Until next time, God bless *kiss kiss*