In a time of war when darkness stretched all across the universe, there was one team of young individuals with the strength and determination to defend the innocent: the paladins of Voltron. As they flew through space aboard the castle of lions the team was always ready for a fight and would always rush to the aid of those in need. None of them would run from a challenge and this was no exception. A very difficult task lay before them and if they did not come together it would surely be disastrous. That's why they were all gathered together for a very important briefing…
…Or more accurately all but one of them were crammed together in a small storage room for the sole purpose of holding a secret meeting. And no one was happy about it.
"Seriously, Keith, why did we all have to come in HERE to meet of all places?" Lance whined, attempting to find some comfortable position in the corner.
"Yeah, like why didn't we meet in one of our rooms?" Hunk also asked, trying to be careful where he put his hands as to not offend anyone, particularly Pidge who was the only one who was somewhat comfortably situated.
"Because," Keith said with a groan, "Shiro would have noticed and our rooms were too obvious."
Coran and Allura exchanged confused glances and Coran shook his head. "I never will understand all of human traditions. To think, all this secrecy for a birthday party?"
"Well, YEAH, it's called a surprise party for a reason!" Lance replied, rolling his eyes.
Yes, this super special meeting was to discuss a special surprise party for one of their own: Shiro. Keith cleared his throat and began the meeting.
"Look I know this isn't fun so lets get right to the point. We only have a few days now before the party and we need to assign tasks. We already decided that Pidge and Allura will be in charge of decorations. Hunk and Coran will be responsible for preparing the food. That leaves Lance and I who will be working together to keep Shiro distracted so he doesn't ruin the surprise. We'll also be helping out with various tasks as needed."
"Yeah, that's all fine and good but we still have an issue." Hunk said. "In order to prepare party food we need to make a stop off someplace for supplies. Coran?"
"I looked at the star charts and did manage to find a planet nearby would be perfect for a supply run but there are some security concerns. After all, this part of space isn't known for being very friendly." Coran explained.
"That's alright." Keith assured him. "We can take a skiff and go down in a small group. That should be discreet enough to not raise any alarms. We'll be in and out and get back here before anyone knows we're gone. We'll take a long range communicator with us in case something goes wrong."
"Sounds good to me. Though lets hope nothing goes wrong. Please?" Hunk was getting very tired of seemingly simple tasks that somehow escalate to life-threatening adventures.
"Nothing to it, Hunk. We all have our tasks… does anyone still have any concerns?"
"UH, yeah, I'd say I have a concern." Lance said, looking even more bothered. "Just whose elbow is currently stabbing into my kidney? It's driving me nuts!"
"Hey, don't look at me! My hands are-"
"EEE!" Pidge squealed. "Hey, watch it!"
"You watch it!"
Everyone was now making so much noise in the small room that a passing Shiro overheard the noises and approached the door to investigate. When he pulled it open, however, everyone unceremoniously fell out onto the floor in a heap. Shiro rose a brow, unsure if he should ask what they were all doing or not but upon seeing him the group quickly scrambled back to their feet and sped off in different directions, claiming to have work to do and the like.
Keith let out a sigh as he walked back towards his room, Pidge on his heels. She looked up at her friend who looked like he had more on his mind than just party planning. Taking a shot in the dark she spoke up.
"You figure out what to give Shiro for his birthday yet?" The pursing of his lips was a clear enough answer.
"No… I don't have a clue what I could give him. I mean, he's like a brother to me… I want to give him something good."
"Keith, I think you're putting too much thought into this. It's the thought that counts, remember? As long as he has a good time then what does it matter what you have to physically give him?"
"I know, I know." Even so, Keith really wanted to present Shiro with a gift of some sort. Maybe, he thought, he could find something on their trip to the planet. He returned to his room for a short rest on his bed to think and a few hours later he and Hunk were preparing to leave, starting up the skiff. Shiro walked in to check on their progress. He looked notably concerned.
"Are you sure this trip is necessary, Keith?"
"Yeah. Coran asked us to go down and pick up a few things—you know, for the castle and whatnot." Keith lied, keeping his eyes on his work. It was easier to lie to Shiro if he didn't make eye contact. "It'll be a quick in and out sort of thing and we'll be back here before you know it."
"I guess…" Shiro couldn't shake the feeling of unease in his stomach. "Just do me a favor, will you?"
"What?" Keith finally looked up only to receive a flick on the forehead, making him glare. "What was that for?"
Shiro put on a smile. "Just a warning not to do anything reckless."
Keith pouted as Shiro walked off, waving over his shoulder. Somehow Shiro always had a way of embarrassing him, underestimating him… He'd prove he could handle anything on his own, whether it was a supply run or a surprise party.
With that, he and Hunk boarded and skiff and set off away from the castle…. With an uninvited passenger. Keith groaned, piloting the small craft while glaring daggers over his shoulder.
"Lance…" he said in a deep and displeased tone. "Why are you here?"
"Why? Because I was bored! Look, I'm not the fancy type to stay back and decorate. I'm a man of action! Exploring, scavenging, stuff like that!" Lance said, puffing out his chest and grinning ear to ear. "And besides, someone has to make sure you guys don't mess around!"
Despite his perfectly sensible explanation, Hunk had another theory of his own. "They asked you to clean, didn't they?"
His query was met with a long silence followed by several sighs of resignation.
"Honestly, you're hopeless."
"Dude, you can't tell me you'd want to stick around and clean up after us. Lets face it, man. We're slobs." Lance said, patting Hunk on the back. The other couldn't exactly deny this fact.
"Whatever." Keith said. "Lets just get this job done and go back."
"Fine by me."
It didn't take more than an hour to reach the planet and the paladins buckled in as they entered the atmosphere. After breaching some thick clouds the group looked down over a dense forest.
"It doesn't look inhabited…" Hunk commented. "I don't even see any small settlements."
Keith turned on their communicator. "Away team to Castle. Coran, can you hear me?"
"I hear you, Away team." Coran's voice came through clearly. "What's your status?"
"We did a quick fly-over but don't see anything dangerous." Keith found a semi-open clearing and set the ship down, waiting an watching for a moment before moving from their seats. "Can you tell us anything about this planet?"
"Hold on a moment…" Coran pulled up a bit of data from the castle's archives and gave it a silent look over. "There isn't much I can tell you, I'm afraid. I do know that this planet is commonly called "Nord" and the atmosphere is stable enough that you shouldn't have any trouble breathing. As for the life forms, they are still in a primitive phase in regards to their technological development. Should you run into them they shouldn't give you too much trouble."
"Phew…! That's relief!" Hunk sighed, starting to relax.
"Alright. We're leaving the ship then."
"Copy that."
The group took their bayards and some other supplies and exchanged glances before opening the door. Immediately they were assaulted by a horrific smell, causing them to cough and gag. They were quick to close the door again.
"Ugh…! What on earth is that awful smell?" Lance whined, his eyes watering.
"I think I'm going to be sick…!"
"Well let me see…" Coran responded, looking through the records some more. "Oh I see! Apparently in their tongue the word "Nord" translates to pungent stink bud."
"Stink bud? Are you serious?"
"Quite serious." Coran continued. "While the inhabitants may not pose any threat you do still need to watch out for the plant life. There is a particular yellow bulb that grows there that releases a nauseating scent. While you're walking around out there make sure to watch where you step. The smell wont last long but it'll still be enough to curl your nosehairs!"
"Right… We'll keep that in mind." The group decided it was time to break out the breathing masks on board before venturing back outside. The air was clearly murkier than other planets and small spores could be seen floating about.
"It must be pollinating season here…"
"Must be. Lets not stick around long enough to have this stuff permanently soak into our clothes, you know?" Lance said, already feeling dirty.
"Right." The group followed Coran's instructions and in time were able to gather several probably food items, loading them onto the ship.
"Ugh, I hope we can wash this stink off before serving them. I'd hate to prepare a stinky birthday dinner." Hunk commented, concerned about getting the whole team sick.
"I'm sure it'll be fine. And if it's no good we'll just shoot them out into space like nothing ever happened!" Lance always seemed to find humor in everything but Keith wasn't in the mood for joking around. During their hunt for food he had been searching for something, anything of interest to give to Shiro. So far he'd come away empty handed.
Right above them, thunder suddenly cracked and the temperature seemed to drop several degrees. The group looked up.
"That doesn't look good…"
Suddenly, Coran's voice came over the communicator again, but this time his voice sounded distorted. They only got bits and pieces of what he was trying to say. Lance, who was carrying it at this time, pressed it to his ear to try and hear.
"What was that, Coran? You're breaking up!"
"Paladins- - Storm—Dis-rtion—Sh—ld c-me back- -ship."
"Coran? Hello?" Try as he might that was all he could get. Looking back up at the others Lance frowned. "I can't get a good signal, you guys."
"It's probably electrical interference from this storm." Hunk said, eyeing the unfriendly clouds. "Looks like that's it for our little outing. We should head back."
"No." Keith said without hesitation. The others looked his way in confusion.
"What do you mean no? Look, there's a storm coming and now we've lost contact with the castle. We've got what we came for so lets just get on board and go back."
Keith knew Lance was right but he just couldn't leave yet. He glanced out into the dense wood and then back at his companions.
"I just need five more minutes, okay? Then we can head back." Without waiting for their permission- or more likely their complaints, Keith walked off and out of sight. Lance groaned and his shoulders slumped.
"What the heck is his problem, huh? Acting like a child… "Just five more minutes!" What a nuisance!"
"Ahaha…" Hunk laughed, shaking his head. "Leave it alone, Lance. He probably just has to take a leak or something."
"Out here? Whatever man! You couldn't get me to mess with this place and its creepy stink plants longer than necessary."
"Oh yeah…?" An idea popped into Hunk's mind, a wide grin forming on his face. He looked around the brush near the edge of the clearing before returning to Lance's side. He then held up a baseball-sized yellow object to Lance's face. It was clearly the culprit of the grotesque fumes permeating the air.
"You really wouldn't, say, play a risky game of catch with one of these? Not even on a dare…?"
The idea was absurd and stupid. Tossing it around would risk puncturing the soft outer shell and releasing the smelly, disgusting spores all over them. It was a good chance that direct contact with them would permanently ruin their nice clothes forever! Only a fool would risk playing catch with such a thing. Bu they had five minutes so of course they did it.
While they played their dangerous game, Keith was rushing through the woods, looking for something, anything that stood out. It would be weird to get Shiro flowers, and he wouldn't be interested in some weird bug- thing… especially one that looked like a beetle with acne. Groaning in frustration, Keith kicked a rock into the woods. The stone made contact with something nearby, resulting in a strange chime-like noise. Curious, Keith moved aside some thick foliage, finding himself before a large stone wall that looked like a giant crystal. It had a slightly opaque surface and inside were bits of fiery-red stones. It was mesmerizing… One ragged shard looked particularly interesting and he pulled his knife from his belt, stabbing it into the rock until the shard came loose and fell to the ground.
Keith knelt down and examined it, noticing how it looked like a small blade with a red sliver of stone directly in the center of it. Immediately, Keith knew this was what he had been looking for. It was perfect! Pocketing the stone, he turned to go back to the ship but immediately froze, hearing a rustling in the bushes. He ducked back down and hid as he heard strange voices speaking in a hushed tone followed by more rustling. They were moving past him… and in the direction of the ship.
By this point, the two buffoons had lost track of time and they'd both managed to hit the other with exploding balls of stink several times. Instead of an innocent game of catch, the game had evolved into a high-stakes version of dodge ball. They were laughing and taunting each other that neither noticed anyone had entered the clearing until Hunk turned around to collect more ammo. Instead he came face to face with a plasma gun. And the thing holding it… looked like a strangely un-threatening looking child-sized ferret wearing a face mask.
"Uh…" He was stuck silent for a moment as he saw other well-armed ferret-people emerge from the brush. "Uh, hi? Can I help you?" His friendly greeting was met with a hiss and a nudge of the gun.
"Okay, okay!" Hunk slowly backed up, meeting Lance who was also being threatened. "Um, Lance? What do we do?"
"Given that we're currently outnumbered and outgunned… I'd say running for our lives screaming would be a bad idea."
"I agree." Seeing as they didn't have any other options, the two put their hands up and were led out of the clearing slowly at gunpoint. Keith was nowhere in sight.