The Galra and Mended Fences

This is a direct follow-up to Distress Signal. I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. I'm just taking the characters out for a spin. The only one I own is my OC Maya.

AN: This chapter deals with some depression on Maya's part. In honor of Halloween, there's a little bit of a ghostly visit too.


The green lion landed in its bay when the castle alarms went off. "Coran, what's going on?" Shiro asked.

"A Galra cruiser has entered the system and is heading for Icturn. We're flooding the area with radiation, so they can't use their communications to contact any other ships."

Maya knew that without Keith they couldn't form Voltron. Her heart sunk another notch. This was all her fault. She didn't make eye contact with anyone as she ran out of the lion after it lowered to release the other paladins. Imagined or real she felt their eyes boring into her back. Her heart sank even further as the paladins ran to their respective bays for their own lions. She wanted to run away instead of facing anyone after what happened on Icturn.

She made her way to the bridge, but still, the cloying metallic smell of Keith's blood on her made her stomach churn. Though she knew that her efforts had helped to save him, she sniffed and frowned.

As she stepped onto the bridge, she took up a position near Allura as she watched the lions attack the Galra cruiser. Allura and Coran were busy with the weapons systems as they covered the lions and quickly destroyed the Galra cruiser.

Knowing she wasn't needed she slipped off the bridge and into the elevator heading down to the training room and the showers. She stripped off the armor and the suit underneath. She stepped under the water and leaned forward with her face in her hands and allowed herself the luxury of tears.


Once the lions were back onboard and the Castle of Lions back on course to the Blade of Marmora's base, Maya went out of her way to avoid everyone. No one wants to see my face, she told herself as she made her way to the infirmary, knowing that the others had checked up on Keith's progress.

She had to know for herself that he would be okay, she needed to tell him how sorry she was that he'd been hurt because of her. She bit her bottom lip and entered the infirmary. She walked over to the pod and placed her hands on the glass. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "If I hadn't been so easy to corner by the sentries you wouldn't be in this pod now."

Maya released her hold on the pod and allowed her arms to drop limply by her sides. She slowly sat on the top step next to the pod. She's not surprised no one has come to look for her. Why should they, she thought. She lay down on her side and curled up into a fetal position and just stared at nothing.

Shiro glanced around the lounge. "Hey, has anyone seen Maya since we've been back?"

Allura looked up at him from her seat on one of the couches, "I haven't seen her."

Lance shrugged and looked around at the others, Hunk shook his head, and Pidge said, "Nope, I haven't seen her either."

Coran glanced around, "I haven't seen her either. Come to think of it, I didn't see her at dinner."

"I'll look for her she might be in her room," Shiro said. "The rest of you should get some sleep."

Coran stood and stretched, "I'll go check on Keith's pod," he said as he rose from the couch. "I'm sure Shiro will find Maya, so don't any of you fret." He strode out of the room.


Coran stepped into the infirmary and walked over to the control panel for the pods examining the screen. Satisfied with the readings, he turned to leave but his eyes locked onto the huddled mass by the pod. She'll catch a cold there on the floor, he thought. He turned, intent on getting her a blanket from one of the storage areas when he heard her mutter in her sleep.

Moving closer to her he saw the moisture run out of her eye and race over her nose. She cried out in her sleep, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"

His forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows raised. He moved over to her and knelt beside her. "Maya," his voice was gentle, and his touch was just as gentle as he shook her. "Your dreaming."

She wiped at the moisture as her eyelids blinked open, she turned her head, and her unfocused gaze landed on him. She frowned, "I'm sorry," she muttered again.

He sat down beside her. "You're obviously upset about something."

As she sat up, she shook her head and drew her legs up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees. She had the thought that if she didn't say anything, he'd leave but instead he continued to sit there. Why? Why would he care about her?

She sighed, Coran probably knew about it already, and Shiro had undoubtedly told Allura about her failure on Icturn which she just knew deep down that she'd be sent away to someplace else. She wiped the back of her hand across her eyes. "After the fight, the Icturnians brought up the Galra commander in chains. I recognized her because she led the attack on Zenox."

Her voice rasped out of her chest as she fought to control her emotions again. "I demanded that they turn her over to me, so I could kill her. I couldn't see anything else but my own desire for revenge. Shiro stopped me, but… I-I've lost his trust." She lowered her head as more tears raced down her cheeks.

Coran put his arm around her shoulders, "Maya, Shiro doesn't think any less of you."

"How do you know?" Her face paled as her lips and chin trembled. "He told you and Allura."

"Yes, he did," he said as he tightened his grip around her shoulders. "Don't be scared, it was a logical reaction, similar to one that Allura and I both had when we learned that Zarkon had destroyed Altea. But since then we both have learned that revenge in itself doesn't do anyone any good."

She leaned into Coran and let her head fall onto his shoulder, "How can I make it right?" she whispered.

Coran smiled gently as he reached over and wiped a couple of stray tears from her face. "Just be yourself. I've watched you, and you care about everyone. But I think the reason this situation is bothering you so much is that you see Shiro as something more than human, but he's not. He's just a man… a man who's been through a lot."

He held up a finger. "But I know he wants the best for you, my dear. So once Keith is out of that pod, you need to continue training with the paladins." He shook her lightly. "Stop worrying and be like a duflax and let your worry roll off your back."

"A duflax?"

"Never mind," he said. "Just stop worrying and go off to bed now before you catch a cold. Keith still has several vargas left."


Coran on his way up to the bridge found Shiro. "Shiro," he called out to the black paladin. "I found Maya."

Shiro's face brightened, but he couldn't help seeing the frown that pulled at the older man's face. "What's wrong?"

Coran closed his eyes there was no way to sugar coat what he had to say, though what a sugar coat was he didn't know other than it was a term he'd heard the paladins use several times. "She's in a fragile state of mind. She believes that she's the cause of Keith's injury and the worst part is she believes you don't trust her anymore."

Shiro ran his human had through his hair, "Are you sure?"

Coran nodded, "I talked to her, she's got a huge case of hero worship when it comes to you. I hate to say this, but she could be in a state to do almost anything."

"Where is she, I need to straighten this out."

Coran placed his hand on Shiro's shoulder, "Be careful with her. I sent her off to her room."

Shiro nodded, "I'll do my best."

Coran gave him a pat on the shoulder, "I know you will."


Maya headed to her room, but she changed direction. No, she wouldn't sleep. I can't do this anymore, she thought. No one would miss her. She stopped at Shiro's door and put her hand on it just for a dobash. "I'm sorry… Shiro," she murmured, "Goodbye." A tear slid down her face.


Shiro stood outside of Maya's room, but a flash in his mind brought his head up. He saw a long hallway, "No," he whispered as he felt the intent coming from the Zenoxian. There must be something about this mental connection that worked both ways, but he didn't have a chance to think about it. He took off running as fast as his legs could go. He had to stop her, his mind screamed.


Maya stepped up to the circular door, this was it. Her hand shook as she reached out to the button. All she had to do was step into the other room, close the door, and let it all end and be jettisoned out into space. But a voice in her mind stopped her, "Coward," it said, "You'd take the cowards way out and dishonor your word to Princess Allura?"

Her arm was wrenched down forcefully as if a force pushed it down. Her eyes locked onto a form of the woman Maura who stood in front of her. "Stop acting like a silly child," the voice in her head said harshly. "Stop beating yourself up over this. So, you made a mistake, who hasn't made mistakes? I made the biggest one of all and allowed my king to be killed by Zarkon."

"You don't understand," Maya whispered to the image of the Captain of the Imperial guard, "I wanted revenge, and that makes me a monster."

"No, it doesn't," the voice said. "It means your fallible and sentient being who still has a lot to learn." The voice softened, "but I can tell you don't want to take my word for it, but I believe there are others who will try to get you to see the truth. You are still a child, and you are being thrust into a situation you never wanted, and I wouldn't have wished this on you for the world."

Maya felt cold hands on her shoulders, "But these are desperate times which call for desperate measures. You are not alone in this, and you won't be alone, ever."

Maya looked at the face as her head cocked over to the side, "What do you mean?"

"No time for explanations," Maura's voice seemed to fade before imparting one more piece of advice, "You are not a monster."

Conversing with a ten-thousand-year-old spirit zapped what little energy reserves Maya had. She collapsed on the deck plate.


Shiro's booted feet pounded down the hall. He forced air in and out of his lungs working hard to keep his rising panic down. He slowed as he spotted Maya's form on the deck plate. His breath ran in and out of his chest as he stepped up to her.

He knelt beside her and placed two fingers against her neck feeling her pulse. His eyes softened as he slid his arms under her and stood up and all the tension released from his body. He carried her back to her room and stepped inside before placing her on the bed.

She needs to rest, he thought but felt a presence in the room something he'd never felt before. He looked around and an image formed by the bed of an Altean he'd never seen before. She wore the same bronze armor that was now Maya's and the same weapons.

"Black Paladin, I am Maura."

"Uhm…" he tried to form a response to whatever this was. Could Lance be right that the castle was haunted? He asked himself.

"Stay calm, I only wish to impart a little advice," she turned to Maya. "She in a way reminds me of my daughter." She reached out towards the Zenoxian but pulled her hand away. "Remember that she is still a child, a child who is still learning. So, do not think unkindly of her, she made a mistake, but also remind her that mistakes we all have made, and a mistake can be rectified."

Shiro folded his hands in his lap as he listened to the spirit. "I might have been a little too hard on her down on Icturn," he said.

"No, you weren't," she slashed a hand down, "your words were wise, but she has many problems. Continue to teach her, and one day she will flourish," the spirit said as she vanished leaving him with the blue-skinned Zenoxian.

He reached out and brushed a strand of her silvery white hair out of her face. "We have a lot to talk about when you wake up."

Now that he was satisfied that she'd sleep awhile he lay down beside her and allowed his eyes to close as he thought about this new mystery on his hands. Was this the Maura that Princess Allura had mentioned once before? If so how was she reappearing after ten thousand years?

He reran what she'd said about Maya through his mind and used his own observations. He wasn't a health professional but having to go through some psych training at the garrison he guessed that she was suffering from some depression.

Well, who wouldn't be depressed, he thought. Even though he still suffered from PTSD he'd learned how to separate that part of himself and still continue to function. Though he knew it was difficult at times. There were even times where he'd freeze up hearing a particular sound or smell, but his team helped him get through it. Maybe they could help Maya through her troubles too.


Allura walked to the infirmary and checked on the pod where Keith healed from his wound. She scanned the readings, everything looked normal. She touched the communicator on the screen. "Coran, have you or Shiro located Maya yet?"

"Is she missing? Last time I saw her, she was in the infirmary, but I sent her off to her room."

"Thank you, Coran. I think I'll go check up on her," she replied as she switched off the com unit and headed for the door.


Shiro's eyes opened as he heard the knock-on Maya's door. He rose and stepped over to the door. The door slid open to reveal Allura on the other side. He turned his head to gaze at the Zenoxian, then turned back to the Altean princess. "Let's step in the hallway," he said quietly.

She moved out of the way to allow him to pass her, "Shiro, I didn't expect to find you here."

He shook his head, "Don't read anything into this other than concern about a family member."

"Okay?" she replied as her voice rose slightly. "Seriously though, what's going on with Maya? Why has she made herself scarce?" She folded her arms across her body.

"I think she's depressed," he said as he locked eyes with the princess. "I told you what happened on the planet, but Maya created a mental link with me why I don't really know other than Coran thinks she has some hero worship going on also about me." He swallowed hard as he glanced away for a moment. "I saw her earlier heading down the hall to the airlock, but it was in my mind, and I could feel her intention. I don't understand this," he said as he shook his head.

Allura reached out to him as her face paled and her eyes blinked several times, "You don't mean…" she said as her mind raced to form a conclusion she didn't want to think of.

He nodded, "Yes, she meant to jettison herself out of the airlock, but something stopped her. By the time I reached her she was on the ground unconscious. I brought her back here, and something else happened." He reached up and touched his forehead with his free hand and rubbed trying to erase the fatigue he felt.

"What else happened?" her heart reached out to the black paladin. He looked so tired.

"What if I told you that Lance might be right and that the castle might be haunted?"

"Shiro, certainly you of all people don't believe that."

He rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm not sure what I believe after seeing something I never expected to see with my own two eyes and hearing a voice speak to me who's been dead for at least ten thousand years." He paused for a second as he gazed at Allura's skeptical face. "Maura appeared to me."

Her shrieked what was several octaves higher than her regular speaking voice. "What? Are you serious?" She reached out to touch his forehead.

Shiro grabbed her hand in his human one, "I saw what I saw."

Allura frowned and grabbed at her bottom lip. "I guess it is possible, but this is beside the point, how are we to help Maya."

"We have to make her see that we as a family love her, and she'll make mistakes along the way but because mistakes are made doesn't mean we think any less of her, and we need for Keith to get out of the pod. He might be a key to this."

Allura smiled gently at Shiro, "Sounds good. Now you should get some sleep yourself. I'll sit with Maya for a while."

"Thank you, princess."


Maya's eyelids opened, and her vision focused on the ceiling above her bed. How did she get here? She groaned as she blinked and brought her hand up to her head and winced as she probed around her temple with her fingertips.

"Did you hit your head?" Allura asked from her position on the bed.

Maya's body jerked, and she raised her hand to her chest, "I thought I was alone. How did I get here?"

"Shiro found you and brought you here. He was anxious about you," Allura replied as her smile was gentle. "Good thing you woke up we need to go down to the infirmary."

Maya nodded and sat up and swung her legs over the side. Allura glanced at what she wore. "Is this all you've been given? I thought Coran would have found you something else to wear."

Maya touched the black suit that fit under her armor. "Other than a sleep shirt, this is all I have."

"I'll find you something else suitable," she leaned over to Maya, "just between you and me I think Coran was a little jealous of you when you first joined us. So, it may have just slipped his mind." She thought about it a moment, "Yes I believe I know what I can find for you."

Maya and Allura both stood up and walked to the door. Allura led the way to the unused portion of the castle. "These were the quarters of some of Altea's ambassadors to other races." She moved over to a chest rummaged around until she found what she was looking for and pulled it out. It was a uniform similar to Coran's, only the blue on Coran's one-piece uniform was black, and the white on the front and trim were gray with gold piping around the waist. There was also a pair of black boots.

"Here try these on," Allura said as she passed the clothes to Maya.

"Princess, you didn't need to do this," Maya replied as she lowered her head.

"Yes, I did. I'm sorry that I didn't think about it sooner." Allura hoped this would not only boost her confidence but help her feel like she was one of them.

Maya stepped behind a partition that separated the bed from the rest of the room and slowly peeled off the black suit that fit under her armor. She picked up the undershirt and pulled it on, then pulled on the one-piece form-fitting uniform. She turned and stared at herself in the mirror that rested against the wall. She now looked official. She reached up and did her best to smooth down her long silvery white hair. She stepped into the boots.

She stepped out from behind the partition. Allura's eyes lit up, "Yes, this will do nicely. We should hurry down to the infirmary."

As they entered the infirmary, Coran saw them and gasped, "Princess, is that…"

"Yes, it is Coran. I felt these would work well for Maya."

The paladins turned toward the newcomers at the sound of Coran's gasp. Lance stepped up to Maya and walked around her, "Nice threads," he said.

"Threads?" the Zenoxian asked.

Hunk piped up, "He means clothes, and that really does look nice on you."

Maya's cheeks grew hot as her blue flesh darkened.

"Stop it now, your embarrassing her," Pidge threw in, "but I do have to agree with Lance they look nice."

Maya's heart pounded in her chest as her blood rushed loudly in her ears. Did they actually like her, could she have been wrong about everything? Had Maura been right?

Shiro smiled her way as the door to the pod whooshed open. Coran reached out and caught Keith before he fell out. "Hang on young paladin, we'll get you some food, and you can change into your clothes." Shiro moved over and caught Keith on the other side.

Keith glanced around the room seeing everyone there. He craned his head around to look up at Shiro, "Did we win? No one else was hurt, were they?"

"We won, and between Maya and Pidge, they got you here safely."

"The last thing I remember was falling down," Keith said. "Everything after that is kind of a blur."

Lance grinned, "You should have seen her after you fell she just sort of went berserk and turned into a wolf and took down four sentinels trying to get to you."

Hunk grinned. "Well, Lance kept taking down the sentinels that tried to surround the two of you and helped clear a path for Shiro to reach you."

Pidge jumped in, "And Shiro carried you all the way from the battlefield to the freedom fighters camp, and then Maya changed back into a wolf and carried you on her back into the green lion while I flew us back here. She carried you all the way here."

Keith smiled slightly as he glanced around at everyone, "Thank you." His cheeks flushed a bright pink as his stomach rumbled.

"I'd better go fix us something to eat," Hunk said.

Lance called out after him, "I'll help."


Once Keith was showered, changed, eaten, and retired to the lounge. "There's something we all need to talk about, and I want it to be known that if anyone has a problem you can come to me."

"Where'd that come from?" Lance asked as he turned to Shiro. His breath came out in an oof as Pidge elbowed him in the stomach. His eyes narrowed as he glared at her and rubbed at his.

"I'm not going to come down on anyone, but as paladins of Voltron, we see a lot of things like the cruelty of the Galra. But from now on I want us to just be able to open up and talk to each other and just whatever is bothering us out in the open," his eyes slid over to Maya who sat with her hands folded in her lap and her head down.

Shiro waited for a moment to see if anyone was going to say anything. When no one did, he rose from his seat and moved over to Maya where he knelt in front of her. "Maya, I know you're bothered by something so let's talk about it."

She lifted her head slightly as she winced at his gaze and her shoulders curved down along with the corners of her mouth. "Why?" she asked as anguish tinged her voice.

"Why what?" he asked.

Her eyes watered as she fought to hold onto a shred of composure as she stared into Shiro's dark gray eyes. She sensed that he was earnest with her. "Why do you or any of the others care? You should hate me after what I did. I wanted revenge for my people, for me and…" she closed her eyelids over her silver eyes and took a deep breath feeling everyone's eyes on her. She didn't like this attention and just wanted to find a place to hide and be forgotten. She opened her eyelids again as she found a spot to stare at and not make eye contact with the black paladin. "Keith nearly died because of me."

"Maya," his voice was soft, comforting, "None of us hate you."

"I don't hate you," Allura said as she reached out and took the nearer of Maya's hands in hers. "Yes, you made a mistake, but we all learn from our mistakes. But you had the presence of mind to take it upon yourself to save Keith, and for that I am grateful."

Keith swallowed trying to force the lump that had formed in his throat down. He stood up from his seat at the fringe of the group and moved to sit on the other side of Maya. He took her other hand in his. "You only did what you felt was right," he said quietly but squeezed her hand gently.

She glanced around the room as her gaze fell on the faces of the others and couldn't see an ounce of hatred in their faces. Her gaze fell on Coran's, and even he looked at her with a friendly face as he tugged on his mustache.

Allura released her hand and continued to smile gently at Maya.

Shiro took Maya's hand in his. "Believe me when I say this, we are a family. We care for each other, but no family ever gets along all the time. So, from this day forward if you have a problem, any type of problem you come and talk to me. Okay?"

"Or me," Coran interjected as he added, "if Shiro and the paladins are not around."

The pain that Maya had held in her chest began to ease. "Thank you."

Shiro stood and moved out of the way as Pidge stood and walked over to where Maya sat to give her a hug.

He couldn't help it but chuckle as it soon resembled a dog pile as Lance and Hunk joined in the hug followed by Keith, Allura, and Coran. A smile tugged at his mouth. It was really heartwarming, but he hated to put an end to this as duty and bonding came to the forefront.

He made a throat clearing noise and raised his voice to be heard. "Guys. Guys," his voice rose a little louder, and the others turned to face him. "Now, I want everyone to get some rest. Tomorrow bright and early we train."

Groans and muttered complaints arose from the others.


Maya donned her armor and hung her weapons on her belt. She didn't want to be late wondering what kind of training she'd go through today. Even though they'd reassured her that she was a welcome addition to their family, she still had reservations.

What if they were just nice, she couldn't help but wonder as she stepped onto the training deck. The other paladins were waiting for her.

"You ready for this?" Lance asked as he flashed her a smile. Usually, there were teamed up for these exercises, but after a while she found herself fighting back to back with Keith.

Shiro gazed upon his growing family. "Today we'll start with drone training."

The others groaned. Maya cocked her head at them wondering what was so wrong with drones. Hunk turned to her, "We didn't do so well the first time around."

Pidge nodded, "I was the first one taken out. We really sucked back then," she added.

Shiro chuckled at the memory. "We weren't prepared either, but as a team, we've come a long way." He cleared his throat. "I have some surprises planned for today, but we need to keep up with our training. It does help our bond grow stronger. So, we'll be pairing up a little differently this time. Lance is with me."

Lance preened at that and couldn't help but flash a cocky grin at Keith.

Shiro continued, "Hunk you're with Pidge."

Hunk and Pidge high fived each other.

"And that leaves Maya with Keith. Get ready, spread out, and back to back," Shiro said.

Hunk activated his bayard which turned into his cannon while Pidge activated the shield that sprang from her wrist gauntlet. Lance activated his bayard while Shiro activated his shield. Keith activated his shield and bayard while Maya grasped her chakram and drew one sword from the scabbard.

Shiro had set up some prearranged signals with Coran who stood on the observation deck. He nodded, and the Altean flipped a switch, and the room was filled with tennis ball sized drones.

They flew through the air flying towards the paladins breaking off into groups of threes. Maya took a half step back, took aim with the chakram and threw the spinning weapon which screamed through the air and severed three of the drones. It curved in the air and came spinning back towards her. She grabbed it out of the air and hung it back on her belt. She lowered her hand and gripped the hilt of her second sword and drew it out quickly.

The room was filled with heavy cannon fire as Hunk took down several. Pidge grunted as she blocked blasts from the drones.

Light weapons fire joined the chaos as Lance fired his weapon taking down more drones.

Keith and Maya both slashed more drones with their swords.

In no time the drones were taken out. Shiro gave Coran a two-fingered salute as he moved off to the side. A gladiator dropped from the ceiling.

"How's the training going?" Allura asked as she stepped into the control booth.

"Good, they made short work of the drones. Now, Shiro wants to test their bond to one another."

She couldn't take her eyes off the scene being played out below. The Gladiator advanced on Hunk and Pidge. Lance yelled out, "Hunk, duck!" Hunk dropped to the floor.

Lance fired his gun. Each shot was blocked by the gladiator.

"Is it set on level three?" Allura asked.

"Yes, it is, Princess."

"Maya," Keith yelled as the Gladiator chose that moment to charge towards her. He blocked its attack with his sword.

The Zenoxian drew her other sword and attacked the mechanical warrior from the side.

Pidge drew her bayard and attacked from behind and managed to get it wrapped around a leg and sent a jolt of electricity through to the mechanism.

Shiro saluted again, and a second Gladiator dropped from the ceiling.

Hunk having gained his feet didn't see the threat that landed behind him, but Lance did. "Hunk, behind you!" he screamed.

Maya saw the danger as Hunk started to pivot, but he wouldn't be fast enough. She dropped one of her swords, grabbed the chakram, and threw it at the same time Lance raised his gun and aimed for a head shot.

The bolt from his gun and the chakram both struck home and dropped the second Gladiator. Maya grabbed her spinning weapon and hung it on her belt. She ducked the staff that swung wildly by the first mechanical and picked up her sword again.

Lance and Hunk fired their weapons. At the same time, Pidge ground her teeth together and upped the voltage on her weapon. Maya and Keith swung their swords as the gladiator fizzled and collapsed into a pile of junk on the floor.

"Good job paladins, and you too Maya," Shiro praised with a smile tugging at his mouth. "You all took care of your teammates. Excellent work."

Allura joined them on the training deck as she clasped her hands together. "I have to agree with Shiro, that was excellent."

Shiro gazed at his team, "Hit the showers."

The paladins smiled at each other, and each took a turn at clapping Maya on the back. She couldn't help but smile back as the drape of depression lifted a little more from her. She wanted to wrap her arms around herself finally coming to terms that she had a family again.