~~~~11~~~~
Allura brushed her hair and yawned. She'd overslept, the day before had been long and boring, peace treaty talks were important yet dull and she'd gotten little sleep the night before. However, knowing that Lance had landed safely on Lyra, and that he was there with Keith; she'd felt better. There was comfort in knowing they would have each others backs, as much as they could given the situation.
Finishing brushing the tangles out of her long hair, she turned on her computer and found two encrypted messages waiting for her. The first from Lance, the time showed he'd sent it just before dawn broke on Lyra. She frowned, she hoped he'd gotten some rest. Opening it, she typed in the keystrokes needed to turn the symbols into words.
Allura,
Keith is fine, voltcom was grazed, Farla said she fixed it. Going to go check it out in a few. Have search party looking just north of his ship. He goes before Lyran King Enos mid-morning, that is when everything hits the fan. Wish us luck, because we will be winging it, unless I figure out a plan last minute.
He asked about you, in his way, you know trying to spit out the words and not quite getting there. I told him he should drop you a message now and again. Then he tried to yell at me about Farla having the code. So, you know, he's the same old Keith. He'll be fine.
Fill you in on specifics on why he was here when I get back.
Lance
Allura smiled, she could just picture Keith asking about her, trying not to be to obvious or forward. She'd thought it shyness for a long time, then some weird sense of honor he had because he was a civilian and she was royalty. She still thought that had a lot to do with his behavior toward her, but she knew now it also was about his feelings for her. Feelings that they never got to explore because once they were out in the open, once her own feelings had been placed out there - they'd started to avoid each other. Then Wade had happened and Keith was gone. Now she didn't know what she felt because when she'd seen Lance's name she'd felt a flutter of anticipation; something had changed there and she still wasn't sure she wanted it to, but she didn't seem to have control over it.
She opened the second message, it was from Farla and had been sent just fifteen minutes ago, from the timestamp on it. A few keystrokes brought forth the words and she read them, her heart dropping to her stomach with each word.
Princess Allura,
I'm hoping you can talk to Lance before the hearing for Keith. I'm - I terrified he's going to do something stupid. I'm not sure you know what happened when he was on Lyra to return with the pollen of our flower for the medicine Arus needed. But he had a fight with Lotor where Lotor pushed him over a railing; the railing is there because of a huge canyon drop below; people used to be thrown to their deaths from this spot. He was the only man to survive it, how he did manage it I'll never know. I'm afraid he plans to do well, do this again on purpose. I don't see how he can get lucky twice, I'm worried.
Lady Farla.
Allura felt shaky as she made the connections to make the call to Lyra. Hoping that she was in time to possibly make a difference, if she even could. Usually once Lance got an idea in his head - she inhaled deeply. Farla made have read him wrong, she didn't know him all that well. The problem was what Farla was saying was exactly the type of thing that Lance would do, in heartbeat, and she if he survived it she was going to throttle him.
"Lyra Control," a bored voice and a bored face appeared on the screen.
"This is Princess Allura of Arus, Commander Larkin please?"
The man's face changed completely. "Yes, yes, Your Highness, Savior of Lyra, he is right here," he left his chair.
Allura blushed at the accolade, and started tapping her foot in impatience.
"Thrace, just do what I say, we are on Lyra, we follow their traditions, the Guardians bring in Quinn, uncuffed, it's how it works. Follow with Privates Dennison and Holder." Lance came into view shouting, Allura frowned, though his bruises looked a bit better, he looked too tired.
"Hey," he said with a large smile, as he slid onto the stool. "You're a sight for sore eyes."
"I've heard you might be being stupid," Allura said.
Lance rolled his eyes. "I've got it covered."
Allura frowned, searching for how to continue this conversation without giving anything away. "I know Keith has made us all angry but we shouldn't do anything stupid to try to get through to him," she said, hoping he caught her real meaning.
"He's a traitor, to what we believe in," Lance retorted. "I will do anything I can to make sure he gets what he deserves, Allura."
Allura scowled at Lance. "Don't let yourself get hurt, you aren't as lucky as you think you are."
"Baby, luck has nothing to do with it," he said with a wink, holding up his right forearm. Allura saw for the split second it was visible Lance's voltcom come into focus and then it was gone. She breathed out, only slightly appeased.
"Be careful," she muttered.
"Always."
She broke the connection. It wasn't until a few minutes later as she was tying up the laces on the boots she was wearing for the day, as she was going hiking with Hunk it dawned on her Lance had called her baby. She smiled a bit as she pulled the laces tighter, shaking her head because really - baby? He was still getting throttled, the voltcom only made her worry a little less. Oh, she should let Farla know... She hopped back onto her computer quickly, before she left to meet Hunk.
~~~~.~~~~
Keith was surprised to see Farla, in uniform with two of her men, come up to his cell, with two Galaxy Alliance Privates and one Lieutenant flanking her. No sign of Lance at all. Farla unlocked the cell, Keith stood where he was waiting for the Lieutenant to walk up and cuff him.
"You will walk behind me, my guards behind you; Lieutenant, you may walk behind my guards with Dennison and Holder by your side."
"He should be cuffed."
"It's not Lyran law he be so, my guards can hold him."
Keith glanced at the Lyran Guardians, they were big men, burly, muscle bound, he had no doubt if they caught him in a hold - again - they could keep hold of him. He'd have to make sure he wasn't caught by them then, he thought.
Lieutenant Thrace sighed. "I just want it on record I disagree with Commander Larkin."
Farla nodded. "Yes, every one has heard you loud and clear. You have no respect for Lyran law. As much as Commander Larkin disgusts me he had least has respect for the planet that has granted him such high laurels. Commander Quinn, please, between me and my men," Farla said.
Keith nodded, as he placed himself into position, he continued studying Lieutenant Thrace. It had been obvious Lance felt she was a disgrace to the uniform, that he didn't like her. Her attitude was bad but it seemed to come from a nervous place; Lance had said she was a Wade lackey. Keith watched how she walked, getting a sense of her bearing, how she carried her weight. The Privates would be more of a fight than her, Keith thought, then idly wondered how she'd gotten to the rank of Lieutenant.
As they walked, Lance showed up, stepping in next to Farla. Farla tensed up, making a show of disliking the presence beside her. Keith could see the pretense of it in her lines, the way she held her shoulders, the way she had to keep forcing her body to move away and not toward Lance. As they got close to the outdoor throne room where his hearing was to be heard, he heard Lance lean in and whisper to Farla. "you tattled."
"Princess Allura promised me to throttle you if you survive."
This made Keith's spine go rigid, what the hell was that about. Lance then turned toward him, right forearm quickly flashing his voltcom. Lance had a plan then. Great. Keith had wanted Lance to have a plan, winging it was dangerous, even if had seem the only way. Only now there was plan and Keith had more of a bad feeling about it.
He was in the open air room of a sorts, the sky above him, a railing behind him. He looked around the room, took in its size and shape. It matched the description of the place in Lance's written report on his trip to Lyra years ago. He frowned, Lance had survived a death fall - a fall no one should have survived from this place. Keith looked at Lance with his peripheral, trying to glare at him, let him know he was onto him and he was being reckless.
Farla pushed him closer to the throne, Keith took the steps. Then he watched her walk past him, her men following her to stand to the left of the King. Lance was now behind him where Farla had been, the two privates were on his left and right. He couldn't see Lieutenant Thrace.
"King Enos, this Commander Keith Quinn,"
"Former Commander," Lance shouted.
"He's the leader of the Voltron Force," Farla continued.
"The Voltron Force is no longer needed, we are now just military soldiers like everybody else, except of course for Princess Allura. And this traitor," Lance added in.
"I believe that this man is owed our favor and that we should grant asylum, without the Voltron Force, and his leadership we would not be a flourishing planet right now."
"Uh, he wasn't going to let me come," Lance added.
Keith had to try to stop himself from rolling his eyes or breaking out in inappropriate laughter, it was insane. It was all a stall anyway, he shouldn't be enjoying the performance he should be looking for his moment. He looked to his left, Holder was trying not to laugh himself, he looked to his right Dennison was holding herself with decorum and looked battle ready. Holder it was, Keith thought.
"King Enos, I beg of you to give him asylum, at least please let him speak on his own behalf." Farla gave her final plea.
"He's a traitor to the Galaxy Alliance of which Lyra is a proud member of, you know what you have to do King Enos," Lance said.
"I cannot grant asy..." King Enos began to say.
Then chaos.
Keith kicked Holder's legs out from under him, grabbed his laser blaster and tossed it over the railing, then grabbed Dennison from behind and grabbed her laser blaster, using her briefly as hostage. Until Thrace showed up, in front him, her own blaster out, then he threw Dennison on top of Thrace, tossed the other blaster over the railing and found himself on the ground from a tackle by Lance.
Vaguely he heard Farla say. "Asylum wasn't granted. Let the soldiers deal with it."
"So, I have this plan," Lance whispered in his ear, just before Keith was able to switch their positions of the ground.
"I caught wind of that, I think its reckless and stupid."
Lance made a move that made them both flip over and end up back on their feet, Lance's back to the railing, then he punched Keith in the chin. "I've got it under control."
Keith tackled him, pushing Lance against the railing, and then having them grappling on the floor again. "It'll kill you this time."
"It won't," Lance grunted, flipping Keith over his shoulder so he was on the ground.
Keith bounced back onto his feet and growled, flying back into Lance. "You really piss me off!" he yelled.
"Feeling. Totally mutual," Lance shouted back.
Keith did all he could do, to keep Lance from backing himself up into that railing, but they were fighting in an enclosed space, everyone else had fallen into some kind of trance just watching them, instead of Lance's team trying to help him -and before Keith knew what happened, Lance was tipping over the railing, mouthing 'Run' at him, then Lance was gone.
Keith froze, until he heard footsteps, turned and saw Thrace about to gain ground on him. He punched her once quick, she crumpled down, and he took off, heart beating too fast and a real desire to truly kill Lance if he did survive that fall for the second time.
Behind him he heard Dennison yell, "Holder, go after Quinn, I'll start a search party Commander Larkin, can someone take Lieutenant Thrace to a doctor!"
Keith never caught wind that Holder was on his heels at all, he got on his ship, saw the money Lance had left and felt another rise of anger, put on his own voltcom and started the ship, downloaded from Lyran Control the degrees he needed to get off planet and was off of Lyra in less than five minutes. He then typed a very pissed off encryption code letter to Farla, Allura, Pidge, Hunk and Lance.
