LANCE'S POV

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, trying to lock my lion onto the Shizan ship. "We just send you in as a distraction and blow the place up?" The Shizans were already far ahead of me. They'd reach Lotor's ship in a matter of minutes.

"Yep, pretty much. Are you within our vicinity?" I could imagine Pidge pushing up her glasses, the glow of the control panels shining in them.

"No. You are too far ahead," I said. "But don't you worry, I'll catch up in no time. Red is the fastest lion in the whole universe!"

I heard a snicker on the other line. "Lance, just hurry up."

"Fine," I said, heaving an exaggerated sigh. "So, what happens after we send you in?"

"Well, Astrid, Aurora and I will go in. We'll distract Lotor. Lance, you take down the weaponry systems and any ships that come after you. We'll either trap Lotor ourselves or get the quiznak out of there."

"Roger that," I said. "What if something goes wrong?"

Something tugged at my chest. I wasn't just worried for the safety of everyone in this mission; my focus seemed to target solely Pidge. She was being used as a bait, and if there was anything I knew about fishing from my life on the water back home, it was that sometimes the fish would bite and a fisherman would reel it in. Other times, it'd swim off with the bait in its belly. And although Pidge could handle herself in dangerous situations, she was still just one person, and who was to say that once she was caught- for real- the two Shizans wouldn't ditch her for freedom?

"We'll be fine, Lance," Pidge said, slightly irritated. She didn't like to be doubted, that's for sure. Or maybe she was just as worried as I was and didn't want to admit it. "As long as we're all focused..."

Her voice trailed off, as if she was staring into the empty space before her. What was she thinking about? She didn't sound so focused. She hadn't for the past couple of days. Was that why everything had gone so wrong?

"Pidgey, you okay?" I asked, my voice laced with concern.

"Of course I am," Pidge said.

I wished I could've seen her face; seen her expression. Something was wrong. What was it? "A- are you sure?"

"Yes, I am fine. Can't we drop this?" she hissed.

"S-sorry," I stuttered. I knew Pidge to be grouchy... it was completely normal! But this hurt... why did it hurt? "I was just worried about you, that's all."

There was no response from her end. My breath seemed to hitch in my throat, as if waiting for an answer.

"Oh, no..." A whisper barely registered on my end. It wasn't Pidge, but one of the two Shizans.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"The ship! It's his ship... he's coming straight for us!"

"That was part of the plan, wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah, but sending an entire fleet of Galra fighters wasn't!" Pidge's voice was strained from her obvious frustration. "What are we going to do? I didn't... I didn't plan for this!"

"Just hold out until I get there, okay?" I pressed a few buttons on the control panel, sending my lion a burst of speed. "I should be there in about three dobashes."

"We don't have that kind of time! We need you here now!" Pidge said, a gasp escaping her mouth as her ship was hit.

No, no, no... this can't be happening... "Don't you have some kind of weapons?"

"The ship- no! It's for cargo only." Aurora, calm and concentrated, spoke. "Plus it was only recently built, unfinished and... stolen. We weren't planning for an attack."

I felt helpless as the red lion sped through space, going as fast as it possibly could. I felt my own panic and the lion's course through my veins.

A faint voice interrupted the signal from Pidge's ship. Someone was overpowering their audio signal and was now making a message.

"This is Prince Lotor, of the Galra Empire. We are approaching the ship of the two Shizan royal guards, who hold something valuable to me. We'll fire until you hand her over. Surrender your ship's control to me and I'll order the attack ships to stop." The signal cut off and I could hear the panicked breathing of the shorter Shizan, Astrid.

"No! This is bad, this is bad! What are we going to do?!"

"Chill, Astrid! We'll figure it- agh!" Another crash noise and more alarms going off. "We've... we've just lost our engines, guys! Just turn me in already!"

"Almost there, guys, just give me another dobash-" I was cut off by another yell.

"Our shield is down!"

They really don't have more time...

"Lance, we have to give the ship up or we'll die out here!"

If only they hadn't taken her armor, she'd be fine...

"I... I can't lose you, Pidge!" As soon as the words left my mouth, I felt some sort of lift on my heart. Did I just say that?

"What?" Her voice was nothing but a tremulous whisper, as if she had been barely containing her frustration and hopelessness and fear of the situation at hand, and now her walls were breaking.

"I said I don't want to lose you, Pidge," I said. "We're totally alone here; no one's going to save us. If... if Lotor catches you and knows nobody's taking him up on his deal, he won't need you."

"They're chipping away at the ship as we speak." Even Astrid was morose and quiet. "We have about thirty ticks left before there's a leak of oxygen."

"I'm sorry, Lance, but I need to do this." Pidge's voice hardened as she became resolute- she was determined that this was what she had to do. I heard her voice, solid and unwavering, as she spoke to Lotor's ship. "This is Pidge Gunderson, green paladin of Voltron, and we- myself and other passengers- are surrendering control of our ship to you. Just cease fire."