Awake
by jalpari
As the team try to convince the Coalition to launch a rescue mission to the second rebel base, the sixth prisoner regains consciousness.
A/N:
This fanfic picks up from where the "Voltron: Legendary Defender" Netflix series ended.
I have taken the liberty of bringing back Olkarion, the Olkari, and Ryner (since the show left a lot of it to conjecture).
"By then, it might be too late for those prisoners!" Keith gritted his teeth and nearly growled at the leaders of the Coalition who were against the rescue mission.
"Yes, but we don't know enough about the rebels to attack! What if the mission fails? Then...they will know we've been tracking them! And who knows where they'll disappear to next."
"Right now", another leader joined in, "it's in everyone's best interest to keep gathering more information so we can take them down properly...later...once and for all!"
"At the risk of more lives?!" Keith snapped. "And you have gathered as much information as you possibly could remotely."
"Keith, calm down", Shiro placed his hand on Keith's arm.
"No!" Keith jumped up and nearly yelled, "The only way to learn more is by actually sending a team to the ground."
They were interrupted by a hasty knock on the door and a nurse peeked in hesitantly.
"Queen Ryner, the girl is awake."
"Alright", Ryner turned to the group once more, "Shiro, do you want to go check on her?"
"I think Keith should."
Before Keith could protest, Shiro lowered his voice and addressed him, "You need to calm down. Take a break and go see if she is in any condition to be interrogated."
As Keith stomped out the room, Shiro sighed and faced Ryner and the rest of the representatives.
"I apologize for his outburst", Shiro began, "but I agree with Keith."
"Me too", Pidge added. "From what we saw at Naxzela, these people don't use a lot of advance tech. We need to be down there and find out whatever we can to piece together their plans."
"We can come up with a way to infiltrate this base and rescue the prisoners without wasting more time and risking more lives", Shiro concluded.
"I agree", Krolia finally spoke.
Everyone turned their attention to the Galran representative who had been silently listening to both sides of the discussions. Many of the representatives were hesitant to launch a hostile mission. It was understandable given that everyone was still recovering from the last stand against the Galran enemies. Peace efforts were still ongoing and no one wanted to start another fight.
But lately, concerns about a new rebel group were growing. And there was little to go on. It started when the Olkari picked up a primitive distress signal. They were able to track it to a nearby galaxy, on a planet which they had thought until then to be uninhabited. To their surprise, there was a small construction on it. Over the next few days, two more buildings had been constructed and multiple groups of people had been brought there.
And one day, some equipment and people were loaded onto a departing craft, and the distress signal stopped. Two days later, Shiro's message had startled them. Pakim had detected a similar primitive distress signal. Another base had been discovered. The new information confirmed their suspicions. There was something bigger going on. But there was no way to tell what it was.
So far, the only known member of the group which they held captive was the creature Keith had found in Naxzela. And he wasn't cooperating. The prisoners hadn't been of much use either. They only remembered a masked group kidnapping them from their planets and taking them to a prison that held at least 20 other prisoners. They didn't know why they were separated from the rest and taken to Naxzela shortly thereafter.
"If we wait any longer, it might be too late to prevent something worse from happening. But", she held a hand up to silence the protests that were about to begin, "we should wait for the human female to wake up and see if she can give us more answers."
"Hmmm", Ryner pondered. "That makes sense. She is the last source we have as of now."
"Then it is agreed?" Shiro asked expectantly. "After we question her, we can launch a stealth attack."
"I think that's best", Krolia stood up and looked at Ryner.
Ryner nodded and looked around the table. Slowly, each representative nodded and sighed.
"Thank you, I will make sure…"
"Uh...Captain Shiro…", a sudden voice boomed.
Everyone startled and turned to see a panicked face.
"I think...you need to come...the human...she's attacking Keith!"
Keith stood by the girl, observing her stats. Her heart was not racing anymore and her breathing seemed normal. Her black hair was strewn about her pillow haphazardly, framing her face. Her skin was the color of caramel but dry and almost translucent. Her lips were blue, as if she was freezing. Every now and then, she moaned and shook her head as if she was having a bad dream. Her eyebrows furrowed and her entire face winced.
He cautiously placed a hand on her forehead to check her fever. As soon as his hand touched her skin, her eyes opened wide and she let out a shriek, taking in a long gasping inhale as if she was coming up for air. Keith startled and took a step back. Before he could say anything, he saw dark brown eyes lock onto his and he saw a storm of fear, anger, and panic raging in them.
"Hey...it's alright…", Keith put his hand up and spoke as softly as he could, "you're…"
Much to his shock, the girl reached for the table by the bed, grabbed a pair of scissors and sat up shakily, pointing it at his face.
"Get away...don't come any closer", she barked, "...I won't hesitate to use this."
"Hey!" Keith exclaimed, now alarmed. "No...I'm not…"
"I said STAY BACK", she began standing up but groaned in pain and looked at the tube going into her wrist in confusion.
"You need to lie down...you're not fine…"
"I don't have to...I'm fi…", she yanked the needle out and placed both her feet on the ground.
Keith could see her head spinning as she clutched the side of the bed with one hand, the other hand still pointing the scissor at him. She shook her head to clear the fog in it and glared at Keith again.
"Who are you?" she grunted in pain.
"I'm here to help…", Keith began approaching her with both hands up in surrender, "I'm not going to hurt…"
In the flash of an eye, the girl growled and lunged at him, stabbing him in the arm with the scissor.
"I said...get away from me", she pushed back a stunned Keith, "...I don't believe you. You're just another one of them...sticking more needles into my body!"
Keith looked at the gash on his arm in frustration. Before he could turn his attention back to her, she came running at him with another groan and stabbed his other arm.
"Nurse!" Keith yelled towards the door, "Get Shiro here!"
It took every fiber in his being to control himself and not overpower the girl with aggression. He evaded her and tried to reason with her.
"I'm not one of them...trust me…", he backed up closer to the door.
"I DON'T trust you…"
"You're hurt...you need…"
"YOU HURT ME!"
As she took an angry step towards him, the door behind Keith flung open and Shiro and Pidge ran in, coming to an abrupt halt at the sight before them. The girl froze as well. She was panting and looked weary, yet fearsome.
"Keith!" Shiro looked at his arms, "you're...injured."
"Wow", Pidge adjusted her glasses and raised her eyebrows. "She got you real good."
"I could've gotten her if I wanted to", Keith spat out.
"Shut up, you two", Shiro whispered and stepped in front of them with his hands up.
"My name is Shiro...please put that scissor down."
"Why should I?"
"We're not going to hurt you. We...saved you and the other five from the prison."
Shiro was encouraged when the girl's eyes softened in confusion and her shoulders dropped ever so slightly.
"They're here...the other prisoners. This is a hospital. You…", he took a step closer when she didn't flinch, "...were badly injured when we found you."
Her eyes darted from Shiro to Keith to Pidge. They could see her assessing the situation. Her eyes turned from anger to despair. She looked at the scissor in her hand.
"Fine", she lowered it a little, "but I'll only talk to you", she glanced at Shiro. "Everyone else has to leave."
"How're your arms?" Shiro walked out of the girl's room to where Keith and Pidge were sitting.
"It's fine", Keith grumbled.
"It's bad…", Pidge smirked.
"Well at least we know she's doing better", Shiro grinned.
Keith scowled and sat up straight.
"So...what did she say? Anything useful?"
"Maybe…", Shiro mulled it over for a few seconds and then continued, "...she remembers being captured along with five other humans and being taken to the same prison the others described."
"What were the rebels up to? Did she see any of them?"
"From what she told me, I think she only saw the mercenaries. But...she said that every time they took a prisoner out of their cell, they returned with cuts in their bodies, similar to hers, and were always unconscious. When it was her turn, they tied her down and…"
"And...did some kind of tests on her?" Pidge gasped.
"Yes", Shiro nodded sadly, "for some reason she didn't pass out like the others. And then a few days later, she was blindfolded and taken away. When the blindfold was removed she was in a new prison with the five prisoners we found, in Naxzela. Her last memory before seeing Keith today, was being strapped to something big and cold and feeling multiple tubes being injected in her."
"That's…", Pidge winced, "terrible."
"That's probably why she attacked you", Shiro turned to Keith, "she thought she was still there...and you were the…"
"That's it", Keith made up his mind and stood up, "We need to make a move on the second base before more people get hurt."
"Alright", Shiro nodded, "let's go to the council."
"Uh...I'm going to stay here…", Pidge glanced at the room, "in case…"
"That's fine, Pidge."
Pidge watched them leave for the council and walked to the room. She stood outside and hesitated.
"Hey...uh...it's me...Pidge...it's just me...can I...can I come in? I can bring you some food...or water..."
Silence.
"I…", her mind raced, wondering what she could say to possibly convince the girl to let her in, "...I held you in a bathtub when we were trying to bring your fever down!" Pidge blurted and immediately cursed to herself.
Yeah, Pidge...that won't freak her out at all! Good going.
After several seconds had passed, Pidge heard footsteps and the door cracked open. The girl peered out and looked Pidge up and down. Pidge grinned nervously and waved a hand at her.
"Hi, there", she managed an awkward smile, "I...are you...do you want some water or food?"
The girl opened the door a little wider and shook her head.
"Uhh...okay...can I…", Pidge noticed the girl was still clutching the scissor. She gulped and went on, "...come in?"
The girl opened the door to let Pidge in and closed it behind them.
"That's all she said!?" A council member exclaimed.
"It's enough", Keith maintained an even but stern tone. "We know the rebels are doing some kind of tests...maybe even dangerous experiments...and that there are innocent lives in danger."
"We need to make our move", Shiro urged the council.
"Yes", Ryner announced and motioned to Krolia, "...take charge and have the team ready in a few hours. It may be best to surprise them at night."
After an hour of pouring over every detail, intel, and evidence they had, Krolia leaned back and glanced at everyone around the table.
"So we agree then?"
"Yes", Shiro stood up and walked to the projection behind them. "Tara will pilot us to this drop point. From here you and Keith will make your move and Luten and me will approach from here."
"What about me?" Pidge stood in the doorway crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"You will stay in the control room with Pakim and guide us. And keep the people here posted as well. We will have a back up team waiting here on Olkarion."
"How's the girl?" Krolia inquired.
"Noor…", Pidge smiled, "...her name is Noor."
"Oh", Ryner looked at her with interest, "and she is a human female?"
"Yes, she is a 'human female'", Pidge chuckled in amusement.
"I would like to see her", Ryner stood up and walked towards Pidge.
"Uh...really? I'm not sure if that's a good idea. She's still scared and doesn't trust anyone...just look at what she did to Keith."
Keith scowled but before he could defend himself, Ryner replied.
"She clearly trusts you enough to tell you her name. I am confident she will speak with me if I am accompanied by you. Now, come along", Ryner began leaving the room, leading Pidge with her.