Title: Trinity

Chapter: 6

Summary: Pidge, Hunk, and Lance set out on a routine mission…who thinks that is going to end well?

Rated: T

Author's note: Set during season one - between Crystal Venom and Collection and Extraction

Pidge and Hunk were huddled together in the corner when the door opened. Two guards entered. Each had weapons pointed.

"The small one is to come with us." The first of the guards announced and gestured with his gun.

"No. She's hurt. You can't take her." Hunk stood up between the guards and Pidge.

"Hunk." Pidge warned and grabbed at his pants leg.

"No."

The guards moved closer, "You will stand down. She is coming with us."

"No."

The second guard moved so quickly that Hunk hardly had time to react. He spun his gun around and slammed Hunk in the face. Hunk feel to one knee, blood pouring from his nose. He shook his head dazed.

"She is coming with us!" The first guard stated again.

Pidge used Hunk to pull herself up to a standing position. Her leg felt like it was on fire and standing was excruciating, but she was not going to sit still while they hurt Hunk.

"Stop. I will go."

"No. Pidge." Hunk reached out and took her hand.

She squeezed his hand to reassure him. "Be strong, Hunk."

The guards grabbed her from either side and escorted her from the room.

Hunk pinched the bridge of his nose to attempt to stall the bleeding. He was pretty sure it was broken. He was beside himself worrying about Pidge and Lance. She was hurt and they had taken her. He hadn't seen Lance since the planet. He didn't even know if he was here, where ever here was. He knew they had been taken onto a ship and transported. They hadn't been moving more than five varga, but without knowing how fast these ships moved he couldn't even make a guess as to how far they had travelled. He wasn't even sure if they had transferred to another ship or a station or a planet. He had gone from the ship to another purple and gray corridor, just like every other Galra anything he'd ever seen. For all that mattered they could actually still be moving, it's not like you could feel the ship moving.

He growled and slammed his fist down. He wanted so bad to help his friends and he couldn't do anything trapped in this stupid cell. He couldn't help but think of Shay and how she had grown up as a prisoner. He imagined what it would have been like to sit behind bars as a child, restrained, trapped, never allowed to be anything but what the Galra wanted from you. She was so brave to have reached out and made herself more. He thought about her soft eyes and the way she looked at him with such admiration. He was going to live up to what she thought of him, because she deserved it. He imagined her smiling at him when he old her about this later when they escaped. He would tell her that she inspired him, just like she had said he inspired her.

His nose had stopped bleeding and his eyes had swollen nearly shut when the door opened again. This time the guards didn't even bother to step inside they just threw the person they were dragging through the door.

Hunk watched Lance tumble to a stop near him. His eyes were closed and his face was pale. He was dressed in his undersuit from his armor and was soaking wet, a puddle forming around his clothes and hair. Hunk scrambled over to him. He was breathing and Hunk found a pulse easily when he checked.

"Lance?" He touched his friend's face. "Hey, you with me?"

"Hunk?" Lance whispered. "So tired."

"Okay, okay. Are you hurt any where?" Hunk was checking his arms and legs and hadn't found any wounds.

"No, they gassed me." He was barely loud enough for Hunk to hear him.

"Oh," Hunk moved back to his head. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Lance managed to get his eyes open some. He felt so drained, like there wasn't hardly enough energy to breath.

Hunk looked into his eyes and it seemed like the pupils were a bit too large and there were busted blood vessels in both eyes making red splotches around the ocean blue.

"Do you know where you are?"

"Galra. Bad."

"Yeah, that sums it up I guess."

"Pidge?"

"They took her out of the cell earlier." Hunk didn't bother telling Lance she was hurt. There wasn't anything he could do about it right now and his eyes had already slid back shut. "Why don't you try to rest a bit. I've got you."

"'Kay," Lance slurred and his breathing evened into a slow sleepy rhythm.

Hunk pulled him over to the corner where he and Pidge and huddled earlier. He sat down next to him and laid a hand on his chest so he could feel it rise and fall. He sat watching the door guarding, waiting for what was to come next.

Pidge was marched through the halls, past the Hasran cells, and into a room that contained about 10 Hasran prisoners. There was a long table holding tubs full of what looked like electronic parts. Chairs were lined along one side of the table. There were six robotic guards around the outside edges of the room, each armed and an additional Galra soldier who seemed to be in charge.

"Prisoners sit." He commanded.

The Hasrans scrambled to sit at the table. The two guards escorting Pidge shoved her down into the last chair at the table. She huffed in pain as it jarred her already aching leg.

"You will be assembling devices or you will die. You will assemble them correctly or you will die. You will assemble them so that they work properly or you will die. This is the device." He held up a small device strapped to his wrist. "It is a personal shield developed from Hasran technology."

He gestured and one of Pidge's guards fired a shot at him. It impacted just short of his body onto a shield that glowed green briefly and then returned to clear.

"In eight varga I will return. You will either have the device assembled or you will die. There are example devices at each station. The parts are before you. Prisoners who complete their device will receive food for those in their cell. Those who do not will be killed and the ones left in their cell will go without food today. Tomorrow another from your cell will be chosen to take your place. You will begin now." he turned and left the room, not even bothering to see if his order was followed.

Pidge managed to focus her eyes on the device. On a good day she would have put it together easily, but today she had sweat standing on her forehead from the exertion of walking down here and her hands were shaking slightly. Most of the Hasrans at the table had scrambled to begin and were assembling the devices already. Three sat in the chairs with their arms crossed looking defiant.

Pidge took a quick moment to make up her mind. On one hand she didn't want to build shields for the bad guys and on the other she wanted to get food for her and Hunk and hopefully Lance and not die. As she saw it she really didn't have much of a choice, so taking a deep breath and trying to steady her hands she began the intricate assembly.

Four vargas later a guard came in with a bucket of water and they were allowed to walk over one at a time and get a drink. She managed to get to her feet, but fell on her face when she attempted to walk to the bucket. Ignoring the laughs from the guards she pulled herself up and hobbled over for her drink. The guard "accidently" poured half of her cup down the front of her shirt and laughed even more. She glared at him but said nothing as she made her way back to her chair. She basically fell down into the chair, unable to control a bend in her leg with the swelling and pain. She looked to the slave next to her but they wouldn't even look up at her, let alone meet her eyes. Sighing she went back to work.

After another four vargas the one who had delivered the orders come back into the room with another guard. He walked up to the first Hasran at the opposite end of the table from Pidge.

"Activate your device."

The slave pushed the button, but nothing happened. The guard shot them point blank. Pidge was too shocked to move. She stared as the body hit the floor.

The guard and commander moved to the next slave as if nothing had happened.

"Activate your device."

This device hummed when the button was pushed. The guard fired and the shield worked. That slave lived.

They proceeded down the line. When they came to one of the ones who hadn't even assembled a device they were simply shot, no request to activate anything.

By the time they got to Pidge, six Hasrans were dead.

"Activate your device."

Pidge pushed the button and it hummed to life. The guard raised the weapon and Pidge could feel her gut churn and the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The beam was aimed right at her face, but it was absorbed into the shield. Her breath hitched in a sob.

"You will be returned to your cells. A guard will bring food for you and those in your cells. Today you have served the empire and will be rewarded. Tomorrow you will have another opportunity to serve." The commanded coldly looked at them. "Tomorrow those who failed will be replaced. Tonight the members of their cells will suffer for their failure."

Pidge was dragged back to her cell. Her leg just flat out refused to move after having sat so long. The guards sat her down just inside the door, aiming weapons behind her at Hunk and Lance. As they stepped out a green skinned creature dressed in slave clothes came by with a small bucket and two bowls. He had a beak for a mouth, similar to a turtle, his skin was thick and pebbled.

"Food and water for the slaves." He sat the food inside.

"But there are three of us?" she asked.

"No food for the Paladin."

"Why I earned food for those in my cell!" Pidge demanded outraged.

"If you want to eat less share with him. I was ordered not to feed him." The slave shrugged and left. The door slamming shut behind him.