Author's Note: We all know what happens in the episode so were gonna check in with the Dads of Marmora. When we get back to the Paladins I'll likely skip ahead to the end of the Battle for the Castle. I own nothing.
10. The Past
Ulaz knew why he was out in the middle of nowhere. He knew he was being punished. He knew why he was being punished. He'd freed the champion, lost his position at the left hand of the druids a strategic position it had taken him years to achieve. Kolvian had been beyond livid, Ulaz was slightly surprised he hadn't killed him. But he hadn't. He'd instead sent him out into the middle of nowhere with nothing but the stars and the crystals for company. He normally hated being out here alone it was far too quiet but today it was a blessing if only because he could cry in peace. His somber tearful mood had begun with a call from the main base. That rarely boded well.
"She's gone?" Antok nodded his ears drooping but his voice determined.
"By all appearances yes. It seems from what little information we've been able to get a hold of that she blew the ship nearly a week early. Over a small planet called Aris." Ulaz's mind raced.
"Is it inhabitable." Antok frowned.
"No record on that. It hasn't been accessible for many generations, no one's sure why some kind of field protecting the planet. Keeping it off the sensors." Then Antok looked up from his data pad and frowned.
"Ulaz you can't go after her you know that. None of us can, no matter how much we want to. If we could I would already be on my way there." Ulaz stared down at his feet for a moment. Antok sighed.
"If she's still alive she still has two days to find a way to contact someone, anyone in the blades." Ulaz nodded to himself.
"Can we extend that. Give her more time?" Antok frowned.
"You know we can't Ulaz. What would Thace say if he knew you were thinking of breaking protocol like that?" The fur on the back of Ulaz's neck rose.
"If it meant saving the kittling be would do whatever it takes. We both know that Antok." He cut off the call as he felt tears build behind his eyes. Ulaz slammed his fists down on the console as his eyes brimmed over. He couldn't comprehend it. She couldn't be gone. It felt like just yesterday he'd helped her mother deliver her.
The blades had been quite surprised when Miza had showed up from a simple information gathering mission heavy with child. They couldn't just leave her alone though, she was Kolvian's sister after all, and one of the most skilled blades they had. So they had been there for her throughout the troublesome pregnancy, a halfling was rarely easily carried or delivered. But they had gotten through it. Thace and Antok covered Miza's patrols and as much as was possible the assignments she would have taken. Kolvian kept her company focusing on training the new recruits and compiling information. Ulaz took care of her medically. And when the baby had arrived Miza had named her in the tradition of the kit's fathers world.
She had been quite the handful as a kittling. Once Miza was fully recovered she went back out on assignments. When Kathy was barely a year and a half she'd gone out and she hadn't returned. He remembered Kolvian breaking protocol, the only time anyone could remember him doing that. All he'd ever found of his sister was her Blade, carefully hidden so the Empire wouldn't find it. He'd returned to the base and refused to have anything to do with the kittling for nearly a year. The others had taken turns caring for her. It had been an interesting few years, some of the fiercest warriors with a tiny pink and purple splotched kit clinging to their legs and toddling around after them.
Eventually Kolvian had gotten over himself and begun to help the others take care of her. He'd begun her training young, even though Ulaz had recommended against it. She had always been so small. Female Galra were generally slightly smaller than the males but Kathy seemed to have inherited the height of her Father's species. She was at least three feet smaller than the largest of them. But she was agile, more so than a fully grown Galra. She'd used to climb walls in the base when she was feeling restless. She and one of the other young recruits Regis had raced up the walls of the observation deck once. She'd made it to the ceiling first but had fallen and broken her arm. Ulaz let himself sink into his memories once again.
Antok was angry. He tossed another recruit across the training room with a growl. There was a whistle from across the room. Kolvian gestured the recruits out of the training deck. Antok lowered his head slightly as Kolvian came to stand in front of him.
"Antok, as much as I approve of doubling down on training I don't believe you are doing it for the right reason." Antok hung his head. He knew Kolvian was right, he was angry. Angry he hadn't been there, angry at her for not contacting someone for help. But she hadn't really been the type. She'd been taught at a young age to be self-reliant. He couldn't help but wonder if that was what had led to her death.
Meanwhile across the universe, things were looking quite grim in the castle of the lions. Sendek was preparing to launch the castle, Shiro and Lance his prisoners. Pidge the only paladin left inside, Allura and Kathy trapped outside the castle and Hunk and Coran on a mission to the nearby Balmera. Things looked quite grim indeed.