Dear Mama,

We found the Blade of Marmora's base today. Keith and Shiro went to see if they could form an alliance, and they've been in there for about 8 vargas, which is about the same as 8 hours. The base is between two black holes, beside some giant blue star, with a small opening that's only open for a little while. Coran said the opening won't be be back for 2 quintants. So that's 2 days of waiting for us back here at the Castle of Lions. I'm hoping that everything is fine.

If we can get the Marmorites on our side (that's what I call the members of the Blade of Marmora) then we'll have a better chance of fighting Zarkon and the Galra Empire after that. The only problem is that they're all Galra rebels. Allura doesn't seem to think they're trustworthy. I guess we'll see what Shiro and Keith say when they get back.

How is everyone back home? Today is Riley's birthday. I can't believe she's already 8! Make sure to tell her not to grow up too quickly or I won't recognize her when I get back. I was thinking about Marco today. Hunk made this dish that tasted almost just like his boliche. The spices were a little different, and he was missing the plantains, but it just reminded me of home. I really miss Marco's boliche.

I miss you all. I hope everyone is well and I hope I can see you soon,

Love, Lance.

Lance let out a soft sigh as he set his pencil down and stretched his arms over his head. He wished he could believe the words he wrote. Would he really be able to see his family again? The Galra Empire had reigned for 10,000 years. Would the seven of them really be able to take it down…? Was that even possible in his lifetime?

Would he really ever see his family again…?

He stared up at the ceiling of his room and blinked away budding tears. Would his family grow old and forget about him…? Would his mother forget the face of her youngest son? The day he had left for the Garrison, she had held him so tight and cried and cried. He had been the first of his siblings to move so far away, even for a short amount of time, and the idea of him not being next door at the farthest had broken her heart. What had she done when she got news of his disappearance? He clenched his jaw and swallowed back the knot in his throat. Those sorts of feelings were better left unthought-of. It was best to hold onto the hope that they would see Earth again someday. If that wasn't the case…then why did he even write these letters?

He took a deep breath to calm his emotions. He had to keep himself in check. Getting upset about this stuff wasn't going to change it. There was no use in crying. He folded up the letter and slid it into an envelope just as someone knocked on his door. "Yeah…?"

"Hey." The bedroom door slid open and Pidge peeked inside. She glanced at his somber face and at the letter. "Everything ok…?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lance waved his hand dismissively and gave her his usual smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing really. Hunk is making dinner and Coran and Allura are still on the bridge waiting to see if they hear anything from Shiro and Keith." She walked into the room and leaned against the wall beside the desk he was at and gave a heavy sigh. "Since we're so close to those black holes, it's messing with my equipment's sensors."

"So you're bored." Lance chuckled and stood up. He grabbed the letter and went to his bed, pulling out a box from underneath it.

"Yes." Pidge drew out the word in a whine and hung her shoulders in defeat. She followed him, sitting on the edge of his bed. She watched as he opened up the box and slid the envelope in front of hundreds of others. "What are those?"

"Letters to my mom." He closed it up and slid it back under the bed before sitting down on the bed beside her. "When I left for the Garrison, she made me promise to write her every day. I know I can't send them out now, but I guess the habit just stuck. When we get back to Earth, she'll have a lot to read."

"No kidding." Pidge gave a soft laugh at that. His words brought to mind her own mother. Would her mom like something like that? She had always seemed interested when her dad told his stories. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea.

"She used to write me back every day too." Lance smiled as he recalled the memories and he laughed a little nervously. "It was kinda embarrassing; she told me that she read my letters out loud to the rest of the family, so I had to start embellishing them a little back at the garrison."

"A little?" Pidge raised an eyebrow and scooted back on the bed, folding up her legs. She knew Lance well enough that his embellishing was much more than just a "little". She only hoped his mother knew him well enough to know better. "What lies did you tell your mother?"

"They weren't lies. They were just exaggerations for theatrical purposes." Lance defended. "You know, like…when I was a cargo pilot, we had a mission where one of the engines went down in an explosion and I had to land the ship safely. I told her about how I masterfully maneuvered around spires with one working engine to get the ship landed safely and didn't lose any cargo. It wasn't a lie. I just left out the part about it being a simulation."

Pidge eyed him skeptically. "And the part where you were the one to take out the engine?"

"Nuance." Lance waved her accusation away and crossed his arms. "Besides, the point is, I don't have to exaggerate anything since we've been on team Voltron. We get to do cool stuff all the time. She's going to lose her mind when she reads all of those letters."

His head seemed to swell at the idea of his family getting to hear the stories of the cool, alien fighting, blue lion piloting, sharpshooter Lance. He couldn't wait for the day when he could show off his lion and demonstrate his piloting skills to his siblings and little cousins. He always told them he would be a great pilot someday. He would finally get to prove that to them.

Pidge laughed at his puffed out chest and listened as he went on about how he would be the coolest son and nephew and pride of the family. He had a point. They had done some pretty impressive things since they left Earth. Not only did they pilot Voltron, the greatest weapon in the universe, but they had managed to defeat hundreds of Galra fighters, face entire fleets of enemies and free a handful of planets from Galra reign. Ideally, they would be the ones to free the entire universe of the Galra. They would have even bigger, flashier and more impressive battle stories to bring home. Lance would go from being a pilot to…well basically the savior of the universe. Maybe it was okay for them all to have a little pride in that.

"Matt is going to freak when I tell him I'm a pilot. And a pilot of Voltron at that." Pidge cocked a smile. "When I tell him about all the planets we've been to, he'll be so jealous. Especially when I tell him about Olkarion. He would love that place. He always bragged about all the planets he'd go to someday. You should have seen him when he found out he was going to Kerboros. He was practically bouncing off the walls he was so excited. He wouldn't stop talking about it for months. 'I'll be going further than any other human has gone' he kept saying."

"Well I'd say you've got him beat." Lanced smirked and leaned back on his hands. "You can tell him all your crazy stories and rub it in."

"We sure will have a lot of stories when we get back." Pidge looked up at the ceiling absentmindedly. Her mind was at home, with her family. She could see Matt's wide eyes when she told him about the Balmera and her father's series of questions when she told him about the Olkari. Her mother would smile at them all with a quiet pride. She couldn't wait to have everyone together again.

"You really think we'll be able to go back to Earth…?" Lance's voice was soft and his smile had faded. The fear of never seeing his family again was obvious on his face as he looked at her. He missed his family so much. He missed his mother's letters and hearing her voice when she called. He missed her hugs at Christmas time and noisiness of the house when everyone was over. He wanted that again. He wanted to know he could go home.

Pidge watched him for just a second, contemplating her words, and when she spoke them, she did so with confidence. "Yeah, I do."

"You think so? I mean, Zarkon has reigned for ten thousand years. He rules almost the entire known universe, Pidge. I mean we may be able to make a dent in his reign, but in our lifetime, is it really possible to overthrow the entire Galra Empire?" These were obvious thoughts that had gone through his head many times.

"Yeah, I do." Pidge repeated with even stronger confidence. "Lance, we have Voltron. It's the strongest weapon in the universe. Look at all the stuff we've done so far. We've helped a lot of people. The Arusians, the Balmerans, the Olkari; they all believe in Voltron. The least we could do is believe in it too. I mean we are the ones piloting it after all."

"Yeah…" But that was the problem. Could they do it with him as a paladin? He'd never been good at piloting back at the garrison. He made mistakes. None of them have been dire so far, and they had done some cool stuff, but what about when things got really serious? They could easily find someone better…

Pidge set her hand on his shoulder and he caught her eyes. She looked serious, like she was trying her best to form her thoughts into words. "Lance, you have to believe that we can do it. Just like I believe that I'll find my family. I…I dunno…I guess it's like a fuel, to keep you going. If you don't have it, you won't be able to keep moving forward. But if you believe you'll make it back home, then you will."

He stared at her and took in her words. She was speaking from her own perspective. Of course, finding her family seemed like a daunting task. Maybe just as daunting as defeating Zarkon. They could be anywhere in the entire Universe! But she never faltered in her determination to succeed. She didn't have the luxury to doubt herself. None of them did. Including him.

She pulled her hand away, feeling a little embarrassed. She was never the best at pep talks and his silence seemed to be telling her that hers hadn't been too successful. She felt slightly relieved when a smile spread across his face.

"Awwe Pidge." He cooed with that stupid grin. "Have you been hanging around Shiro too much lately? 'You just have to believe!' That's totally something Shiro would say."

She could feel her face getting hot and she snapped at him. "No! Shut up! I was trying to cheer you up! I'm not one for pep talks, okay? That's the last time I try to be nice to you."

She huffed and crossed her arms, turning away from him as to avoid his obnoxious grin. She looked to the ceiling as Hunk's voice chirped over the castle's speaker system. "Hey everyone! Dinner is ready! Come get some grub!"

"That sounds like our cue." Lance stood up and Pidge followed suit. She passed him a sour look before heading to the door and into the hall.

"Pidge." Lance caught her at the door and she answered with a glare which didn't affect him at all. His expression was surprisingly soft, which caught her attention. "Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah." She turned away with a huff and headed towards the kitchen. "Come on, let's get dinner."