A/N: Sincerest apologies and pleadings of forgiveness for making you wait! Long story short, season eight killed me (I can't believe half the things they did!) and I've been busy. This chapter took way too long, but... yep.
Ken awoke to the sound of low voices. He immediately knew one was Sam, but the second sounded like… Krolia? Had she woken up? Why hadn't anyone told him? What if she panicked again?
Ken dragged himself onto his elbows, worried of what Krolia might do. He rubbed his tired eyes and forced them open.
He shouldn't have worried.
Krolia was sitting up and watching him, not seeming concerned. She had a sheaf of papers beside her, a few having Galran runes written on them scattered around her. Coon was sprawled lazily across her lap, with Krolia slowly petting her. Sam still sat across the room, writing in his tablet.
"Ken, you're awake," Krolia said.
Sam looked up. "Ah, Ken!"
Ken took a moment to fully wake up. Sam didn't act surprised at Krolia being awake as well, so he had to have known beforehand. He was grateful -albeit surprised- that Krolia was acting calm as well. Most of her previous bouts of consciousness hadn't ended well.
"How do you feel?" Krolia asked before Ken could.
"I should be asking you that." Ken sat up, wincing as his back popped. A cot was hardly the most comfortable place to sleep for three weeks. "How are you?"
Krolia shook her head. "I am fine, just as I have been for the last three times you asked. You appear to be in more pain than I. Did you catch the infection?"
Ken blinked at her. "Infections are not contagious. Is this the first time you've had an infected wound?"
"If what happened to my leg is because of an infection, then no. I have seen a wound get infected only twice before." Krolia's eyes lowered. "Neither of them made it."
That explained her running away when the wound was infected, Ken realized. She really didn't think there was a way to survive.
"I guess that on Earth, we're just more suited to care for that sort of thing," Ken said awkwardly.
"The only times Galra get infected wounds is when we go planetside," Krolia said.
"Of course," Sam said, making Ken start. He'd forgotten the man was there. "If I understand correctly, most of your race live on large space vessels."
Ken glanced at Krolia, worried that she wouldn't approve of him telling Sam what he knew about Galra. But, Krolia simply nodded.
"Some are born on planets, but most are born in space and do not leave our ships," Krolia said.
"Your vessels must keep the air sterile," Sam said. "Without the germs, wounds are not as likely to get infected."
Krolia shrugged. "This is my first time planetside. It may just be a germ from Earth that affects Galra like this."
"True, without any way to test the air…" Sam trailed off.
While Sam's train of thought went elsewhere, Krolia turned back to Ken.
"You did not answer me before. Are you alright?" she asked.
"What? Yes. Yes, I am."
Krolia's eyes narrowed. She didn't say anything, but it was obvious she didn't believe him. It took all of Ken's willpower to not rub his aching back or touch his tender arms.
"Libby said I scratched you," Krolia abruptly stated. "Where?"
"It's not that big of a-"
"Where did I injure you?" Krolia cut in.
Ken raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay."
Ken pulled up his jacket's left sleeve to show the two pink, half-healed scars that ran from the underside of his wrist to his elbow. There was a was a single, long wound on his stomach that had happened more recently. Krolia's claws had torn right through his shirt, and it could have been much worse if Libby hadn't seen the claws coming and pushed Ken away.
"I did not intend to hurt anyone," Krolia said, remorse in her voice.
"I know you didn't. You weren't in your right mind at the time. Fevers do that to people, so forget about it," Ken said firmly.
Krolia stared at Ken, expression unreadable. Eventually, she nodded.
"How long have you been awake?" Ken asked.
Krolia looked at the clock. "One and a half hours."
"You can read the clock?" Ken had to ask. She hadn't referred to the clock before.
Krolia cocked her head. "Each symbol stands for an Earth hour, and the longer instrument makes a full circle for each hour. It is a simple concept."
"Right," Ken said, wondering if Sam had explain the clock or if -more likely- Krolia had simply figured it out herself. "Wait, for so long? Why didn't anyone wake me up?"
"You needed the rest," Krolia said. Before Ken could respond, she went on, "I can see that you are exhausted. You don't have to worry about anyone getting hurt now."
Ken blinked. Could she read his mind, or was he that obvious? He noticed Sam smirking, although his attention appeared to be on his tablet.
"Sam explained what happened. Why you let them see me," Krolia went on.
Ken rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah…"
"I am glad," Krolia said, startling Ken. "You've proven that not all humans would see me dead."
"You say that you're used to the idea," Ken said. "Or do all Galra refer to possible death so plainly?"
Krolia was silent for a second before saying, "It is our way." She glanced down at the bed, then asked, "Where is my knife?"
Ken blinked at the switch in topic, then winced as he answered. "Still out in the desert. I couldn't carry your gear back with you, and I haven't wanted to leave you alone for so long."
"I will be fine here. I do need my knife," Krolia said.
"If you are okay with Sam being here, I can go and get it now," Ken said agreeably.
Krolia nodded.
Going as the crow flies, the ride to the cliffs took only twenty minutes. Ken then spent another fifteen on foot weaving through the formations in search of where he had found Krolia.
"Should have been around here somewhere," Ken murmured to himself.
In the next step, Ken had to throw himself backward upon finding his foot over open air. He landed hard on his butt, panting from the scare. After a moment, he stood and cautiously peered where he had nearly fallen.
Sure enough, the ground disappeared completely. It was the top edge of a gorge, with a stream running through it like the one for which he was searching. The place was practically invisible from the surrounding area.
Ken followed the top edge of the gorge until he found the ledges to get inside. While there wasn't any traces left from his last visit, he recognized the area once he was inside. He immediately spotted the cave where he had found Krolia.
Ken breathed a sigh of relief when he entered the cave and found Krolia's stuff right where he had left it. He stuffed what he could into his pack, just realizing how light the armor was. He made sure her sheathed knife was safe in his boot, then picked up the breastplate, which was too large to fit in the pack.
He scanned the cave, not wanting to accidentally leave anything behind. The cave wasn't large, though he noticed a dip in the wall in the far corners. He stepped closer to investigate, when the beam of his flashlight fell on a set of carvings.
Ken had seen his fair share of carvings, left behind by natives generations ago, but these carvings wasn't like any of those. The images were clear and distinct, and didn't show regular people and animals.
The first carving was of an animal, that much was clear. It was sitting, and the image showed the creature from the front. The only details Ken could make out were small paws and a relatively small head with a boxy muzzle. It had nubby little ears, and a large frame.
The second, smaller carving was likely the same animal, but at a side profile with its body stretched out as it was running diagonally toward the sky above the first carving. The body was long and lean, and had Ken thinking feline.
Ken started to turn away, then paused, unable to ignore the carvings. He told himself that it was just somebody messing around, but he still couldn't pull himself away. Something told him that the carving was important.
Eventually, Ken made himself turn around. He'd have to ask Sam if there had been creatures like those in the desert at some point; the carvings were faded enough that an extinct animal wasn't out of the question.
At the cave entrance, Ken couldn't stop himself from stopping and turning back briefly. The dip was too far angled for the flashlight beam to reach, but Ken could have sworn that something was glowing around the bend. He shivered as a pang of heartache struck him to the core.
Officially unnerved, Ken turned on his heel and hurried out. He didn't look back again as he made his way back to his firebike.
Ken quietly entered his house. He set the armor in the living room, then headed upstairs to Krolia's room.
Krolia was asleep again, with Coon still on her lap. Sam was busy on his tablet, but glanced up to quietly greet Ken.
"She fell back to sleep soon after you left," Sam whispered in answer to Ken's questioning look. "Also, Libby will be here soon."
Ken nodded and smiled sympathetically at Krolia. He checked to make sure the knife's sheath was secure, then set the knife beside her hand. He brushed back her bangs, knowing she would never allow him to do so when she was conscious, then sat on the edge of the cot.
"How can that critter sleep so much?" Ken murmured. He wasn't expecting an answer, but Sam lifted his head and responded anyway.
"I've been wondering that as well. For being in basically a coma for three weeks, her physique has held up amazingly. No human could survive that long with only the broths and water that she gets, and have you noticed her pulse during the longer bouts of unconsciousness?"
Ken stared at Sam. "What about it?"
"Her pulse significantly slows. I thought her heart rate was simply slower than a human's, but her pulse rises to a speed closer to ours -if not more rapid- when she is nearly awake. When she is sleeping, her heart rate slows to something comparable to a hibernating animal."
Ken took a moment to think about that. "She's hibernating?"
"Essentially. I believe that if she was more comfortable with her surroundings, her body would slow even further. Perhaps Galra enter a hibernation state to cure injuries and illness," Sam said, eyes gleaming.
"You can ask her when she wakes up," Ken said, not really caring how Krolia was healing, just that she did.
Sam waved a hand at Ken with an irritated frown, then went back to working on his tablet. Ken leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, a frown coming over his own face as his mind inadvertently went back to the carvings. The thoughts made a smaller pang of heartache return.
Ken groaned and dragged a hand down his face. Why did he have to keep thinking of them?
"Tired?" Sam asked with a knowing grin.
"Ye-no," Ken shot back. "I'm thinking."
"About what?"
"Nothing." Ken's frown deepened as a strange, buzzing sensation flashed in his mind. "It's nothing."
"Ken?" Sam set the tablet aside and leaned closer.
"I saw some carvings," Ken said, trying to brush the matter off. "It was no big deal, but I can't stop thinking about them."
"Carvings? Of what?" Sam sounded bemused.
"I'm not sure." Ken's attention moved to Krolia as she shifted, but didn't awaken. He continued talking without thinking. "It was some sort of animal. They looked old, but something was… glowing when I was leaving the cave."
"Glowing?" Sam asked. Ken turned his head to see Sam peering over the top of his glasses. "There's no sort of flora that grows around here that glows. To my knowledge, at least."
"Probably a trick of the light. But the carvings, they looked like some sort of…" Ken intended to say "feline," but for some reason, what slipped out was, "Lion."
Sudden pressure on his hand made Ken look quickly down. Krolia's hand was tightly holding his, and her eyes were wide open.
"Krolia, what-"
"What did you see?" Krolia interrupted Ken.
"Uh, c-carvings?"
"Of lions?"
"Yes?"
Krolia struggled to sit up, blinking hard and limbs shaking. "Where's my gear?"
"Woah, hold on," Sam said, standing. He, at least, had recovered from the shock of Krolia's frantic motions and questions. "What's the matter?"
Krolia succeeded in raising to one elbow, but even that wasn't likely to last long if her drooping eyes were any indication. Nevertheless, Krolia focused her gaze on Sam.
"I need my gear."
Ken looked at Sam, who shrugged. Krolia growled in annoyance and angled her body like she intended to slide her feet off the bed. Coon meowed when she was dislodged, then bolted from the room. Her struggling sent the knife to the floor, but not even that got her attention.
"Okay, okay!" Ken said before Krolia could get far. "I'll get your stuff. Just stay here."
Krolia stopped moving. She was panting and each time she blinked, she acted like it was an effort to get her lids open again. But, she stubbornly held herself up.
Ken had her pack behind the cot, and he wasted no time in pulling it out and setting it beside Krolia. With a tiny nod of acknowledgement, Krolia proceeded to dig through the pack until she pulled out her scanner. She turned on the device and did something on the screen that pulled up a picture. Ken only glimpsed something silver and red before Krolia moved past that picture to another one. She scrolled past several pictures before holding up the scanner so Ken could see it.
"Did it look like this?"
The picture was of a carving that was, indeed, very similar to the ones Ken had found. It had only one lion in a crouched position. The design was slightly different and the stone it was in was black, but there was no mistaking it.
"That's it."
The relief on Krolia's face was both obvious and startling. She nodded and fell back against the pillow, cradling the scanner against her body.
"Krolia? Krolia, where did you get that picture? What is the carving?" Ken asked, hoping to get an answer before Krolia passed out again.
Krolia blinked heavily at Ken. "My mission."
Her eyes fell shut and she sank back into unconsciousness without further explanation.
A/N: Writing out of it Krolia is as much fun as Keith! Don't worry, people, a time lapse is long overdue.
Also, no promises on when the next chapter will be out. I'm obviously not thinking clearly, as I almost had Krolia refer to the lion as the "weapon that will end the tyranny of the Galra and wanted to make Ken a temporary blue paladin.
Guest review responses!
Dragunz: Oops, thanks for pointing that out! I'd put "millions" down with the intention to double-check my numbers, then forgot to get back to it. And, yeah, it's pretty rare to see many Galra in one place at one time. Drama? Me? Nah.