The plan was falling apart.
It wasn't that the Galra hadn't followed Keith into the trap, quite the opposite. They had fallen easily -too easily- for the trick. They had followed Keith right to where the other paladins waited in the shadows of a forested planet.
No, the problem is that they brought reinforcements.
"I think they've caught on!" Lance yelped as Blue narrowly dodged the blasts of the small Galra ships on his tail.
Boom!
A laser shot from Red blew the ships to bit.
"You don't say," Keith said sarcastically, maneuvering Red expertly around another group of fighters.
"Let's just finish up here and head back to the Olkari," Shiro said. "Hopefully, the Galra have not realized that we have mainly been redirecting them from the planet."
"More Galra incoming!" Pidge called.
Yellow smashed a couple of ships, then spun around. Hunk groaned at the sight of a large fleet rapidly growing closer.
Like the first batch of Galra, this was mainly the small, drone-flown fighters. There were a couple of larger cruisers that were a bit of a concern, but not too bad.
"It's like they're just stalling us," Hunk worried.
"That's what I am afraid of," Shiro said grimly. "So far, Allura and Coran haven't spotted anything suspicious around the planet, but we should get back as soon as we can. The teladuv is nearly complete. We can't risk the Galra finding it now.
"Hey, look at that ship!" Pidge said, pointing with Green in the direction off to the left of the approaching ships.
The ship Pidge was talking about was bulky and long. It moved the more slowly than any Galra ship the paladins had seen, and seemed to purposefully be staying outside the fight.
"Maybe a supply ship," Shiro said, barely sparing the harmless-looking ship a glance. "It's possible that this group of Galra was just moving supplies and happened to be in the area."
"What are the chances that it's a prisoner ship?" Pidge asked.
"We can find out once we finish off these ships," Shiro said.
"Yeah, that thing isn't going anywhere anytime soon," Hunk said.
Having decided the ship was of no concern, the paladins turned to the fighters speeding toward them.
Which, as it turned out, was a very bad idea.
The lions were moving towards the fighters, when Red rumbled and shifted. She slowed to a stop. Keith pushed on the hand controls, but Red wasn't going anywhere.
"What is it, Red?" Keith murmured, frustrated that she wouldn't join the fight.
Red roared, then there was a dull boom. Out of the corner of his eye, Keith saw something come flying out of the "supply ship." He wretched Red around, and saw three long metal cables speeding through space. They were headed for Shiro!
"Shiro, look out!" Keith yelled.
Red shot forward, slamming into Black hard enough to knock her out of the way of the cables.
It wasn't, however, enough to get Red to safety as well.
Keith was jolted forward as Red was struck from behind. Metal thumped, screeched, and groaned at the cables wrapped themselves tightly around Red.
"Keith!" Shiro yelled, having seen what Keith had saved him from.
The lions ahead of Red turned, but another round of cables and a regrouping of the cruisers had them surrounded, cutting them off from their tangled companion.
Panting from the hit, Keith straightened in his seat. Red was drifting sideways in space. Keith grabbed and wriggled the hand controls, but Red was too tightly wrapped to move. He glanced up and saw the other paladins' dilemma.
"Go on! We'll be fine!"
The lions hesitated, then turned back to the fight. Shiro waited the longest, but finally turned to aid in the fight.
"We'll be fine," Keith said, this time to himself. His visor glowed, then expanded to enclose his whole face. Keith stood. "Open up. I'll cut you free," he told Red.
Red rumbled, but didn't open the hatch for Keith.
"Come on, Red," Keith persisted. "Don't you want-"
Red rumbled again, but Keith realized she wasn't communicating this time. A second, stronger shudder ran through the ship. An orange-ish glow lit up Red's viewing ports.
It took Keith seconds to realize what had happened.
The fight had been taking place just above the planet's atmosphere. The force of the cables hitting Red had knocked her close enough to enter.
Keith jumped back into his seat. He yanked back on the controls. If Red couldn't get moving, there would be nothing to stop their free-fall!
Red roared as loudly as her wrapped up mouth would allow. Hunk heard and turned Yellow. He quickly realized what was happening as he saw Red pick up momentum and glow brighter.
"Keith!" Hunk yelled. Yellow started forward, but a barrage of laser blasts cut her off.
The other paladins turned briefly from the fight. The Galra were intent on keeping the paladins separated, though, so they could only watch at Red fell further and further away.