By the time Kovirak had managed to get her emotions under control and finish replacing everything she had scattered out of cupboards and drawers in her frantic search for any sign of her mate and cub's presences, the sun was disappearing behind the horizon. It would be full dark by the time she got back to the castle-ship, but at least there was no chance of getting lost in the dark with the massive resistance ships in the distance towering over the smaller rock formations and blotting out the stars. The cool night air was enough to make her miss the afternoon heat, and she shivered as she made the return journey at a slower speed than the first. All the while she turned the problem over in her head of how she was going to go about finding her missing mate and cub.
There was no sign in the house of where they might have gone. She'd checked thoroughly while cleaning up the mess she'd made. Perhaps they'd relocated? But then why was Keith's scent on those clothes? Kovirak growled and swiped at a rock pillar in frustration, leaving shallow scratches in the surface of the stone. She didn't know enough about Human customs to even begin to guess at the explanation. And despite the fact that the entire planet had, in a rather dramatic fashion, been introduced to the existence of aliens today, it wasn't as if she could just walk up to one and ask.
As she left the last rock formations behind and began making her way past the rebel ships, her ears pricked up at the sound of voices on the wind. As she got closer she realized they were coming from up ahead, near the castle-ship, but it took several more minutes before she was close enough to make out the words and identify the language. English. God, but had it ever been a long time since she'd heard that harsh, awkward language. She laughed to herself, remembering how difficult it had been trying to fit her mouth around the sounds at first.
Coming around the curve of the tall white spacecraft, she stopped short at the sight of the Black Paladin, Shiro, far distant across the front of the ship where he sat with the medic from earlier. It was their voices she'd heard on the wind.
Their voices speaking English.
Realization struck like a bolt of lightning. The paladins were Human, or at least Shiro and Lance were, since she hadn't taken the time to notice what the others were. She'd noted their species aboard the Weblum's Breath but she hadn't truly taken it in at the time, not with her focus on disabling the weapon and protecting her cub. Nevermind the question of how Humans, isolated, technologically primitive Humans, had ended up as Paladins to begin with, that wasn't important at the moment. They were from this world, and would hopefully have some idea of how to go about finding Thomas and Keith. And them she could safely ask.
Kovirak had barely taken two steps toward the pair sitting by the engine when her ears laid back at the sound of Shiro's voice raised in distress, and she backpedalled at once. This was not a discussion she should intrude on, no matter how impatient she was.
Turning away from the intimate conversation, she palmed the controls for the main airlock and was surprised and relieved when it opened to her. She must have been added to the system at some point-perhaps when she came aboard with the Blue Lion?-and it saved her the trouble of finding a service hatch to break open to get back inside. Kicking the sand off her boots and shaking it out of her fur, the Galra went in search of the Blue Paladin and the answers she needed.
The main deck, when she managed to find it again, was empty, but she could hear muffled voices down the corridor and followed them to a closed door, most likely a meeting room judging by the proximity to the bridge, but she couldn't be sure given that the ship seemed to be constructed to wildly different standards than the Empire cruisers she was used to. Bright blue lights instead of combat-optimal red and purple, trim and panelling on the walls that seemed to serve no purpose beyond aesthetics, and even carpeting in many of the hallways. It felt closer to Thomas's house than to the purely-functional war machines that were the Empire ships or the utilitarian warren of the Blade headquarters.
Caught up in her mental catalogue and comparison, she didn't realize she'd entered the room-a lounge of sorts, it turned out, rather than a conference room-until she felt several sets of eyes staring at her and her ears flicked back in embarrassment. "Ah...sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."
"Not at all." One of the two non-Humans in the room, of a species Kovirak didn't recognize, waved a hand in dismissal of her apologize and pushed some strands of curling silver hair back behind one pointed ear, regarding her with a welcoming smile. "We were just wrapping up. You're the Blade who assisted on the Weblum's Breath, correct? What can we do for you?"
"Ah, yes. My name is Kovirak." The Galra cleared her throat hastily. "And I actually was hoping to speak to the Blue Paladin for a moment. I have a problem I was hoping he could assist me with."
The boy in question blinked in surprise, exchanging uncertain glances with yellow paladin beside him before gesturing to himself with the hand that wasn't in a sling. "Me? What do you need me for?"
"You're Human, yes? From here on Earth? "
"Um, yeah? We all are?" Lance waved a hand around to indicate the others in the room. Following the movement, Kovirak realized that the yellow and green paladins on either side of him were indeed Human, as were two others dressed in casual clothing and the red paladin on the other couch. Relief surged through her. Surely one of them would be able to help her.
Nodding quickly in acknowledgement, she bared her teeth in an awkward approximation of a Human smile. "Excellent. I need help finding someone here on Earth, and I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I was hoping you could help."
The yellow paladin sat up straighter. "Find someone? You mean, like, just someone who does a specific job, like a plumber or something, or are you looking for someone in particular?"
"Someone in particular." Kovirak sighed, her smile falling a bit. "My mate and cub. Their home was near here, but it's empty, and it seems as though neither has been there in some time."
A stunned silence followed that piece of information, the Humans exchanging shocked glances. Waiting patiently, she couldn't help noticing the surreptitious way they kept looking between her and the red paladin, as well as the older male beside him, whose resemblance to the younger suggested they might be siblings and who had been regarding her with an unreadable stare since she introduced herself. Maybe they were the ones who would be able to answer her question.
It was the green paladin who finally broke the silence, leaning forward to regard her intently and adjusting her glasses. "If you don't mind me asking, what are their names?"
The intensity of the stares being directed her way was a bit off-putting, but she'd expected the question and didn't hesitate. "My mate's name is Thomas Kogane. My son is Keith Kogane."
The reactions were immediate and loud, ranging from a strangled noise on the part of the red paladin to "Holy quiznack!" from Lance to a jubilant "I fucking knew it!" by the green paladin, and Kovirak's ears laid back in response to the noise. "I take it that means you know where they are." She stated flatly, trying to suppress the way hope was making her heart pound in her chest.
The green paladin was grinning from ear to ear now as she nodded. "One of them, anyway. Kovirak," she pointed across at the wide-eyed red paladin and the older man next to him, both still sitting frozen on their couch. "Red Paladin Keith Kogane, and time-traveller older Keith Kogane, now known as Kurogane."
Kovirak froze, her brain stuttering on that revelation.
Keith? Her Keith, here? And two of him? A time-traveller? What?
Without stopping to think, she stepped closer to the pair, eyes closing and nostrils flaring as she took in their scents. There was no mistaking that unique scent that was both Human and Galra and yet neither at the same time, the same scent that she'd smelled only a few hours early on clothing tucked away in a duffle bag under a couch. And the scents of the two were nearly indistinguishable from each other, identical in a way that siblings would never have been.
Her eyes snapped open again and she stared at the pair, taking in the matching messy dark hair, pale skin, and deep violet eyes that had once stared up at her out of a much smaller face. "Keith?" She whispered, voice cracking.
The younger one jerked at the sound of her voice, a flicker of recognition crossing his expression. "M...Mom…?" He asked, hesitating as hope and fear warred on his face.
All she could do was nod, tears burning in the corner of her eyes and her heart racing as she stepped closer again, arms spread in silent invitation. "Yes. It's me, Keith. Mama's back."
Before he could move, though, another voice sliced the air between them, cold and sharp. "Are you the one who betrayed the Blades of Marmora?"
Kovirak and Keith's heads jerked as one to stare at the speaker. The older Keith-no, the Green Paladin said this one went by Kurogane-was glaring at her expectantly. "I...what?" She faltered, thrown by the unexpected question.
Kurogane scowled. "I said, are you the one who betrayed the Blades? Kolivan said someone named Lieutenant Kovirak was the one he suspected."
The silence that had fallen over the room was thick enough to choke, every set of eyes on herself and her elder son as he held her gaze and stared her down, waiting for an answer. Guilt was a heavy ache in her chest. She knew what she'd done, but she'd never expected to be confronted about it so soon, so bluntly, and by her son of all people.
"Well?" He demanded as the silence stretched out. Keith, the younger one, was looking between them with a desperate expression, silently pleading with her to deny it. If Kurogane harboured similar hopes, they were hidden under a stoic mask.
But she could not, would not lie to them. "Yes." She said quietly, her ears drooping. Behind her, someone inhaled sharply and someone else uttered a soft curse. "But I-"
"Rohh'shka nhe'elwrr."
The unfamiliar words didn't translate, but the tone, sharp as ice and twice as cold, stopped her in her tracks. Not one person spoke as Kurogane surged to his feet with the grace of an experienced warrior-she could see the mark of Kolivan's training in the way he moved-and strode from the room without a single backward glance.
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Keith was reeling.
In the span of a few minutes his entire world had been turned on its head. The Blade Galra who had helped stop the Weblum's Breath was his mother, who knew his name and his Dad's, whose voice he remembered from faint, half-forgotten memories when she whispered his name. Kovirak was his mom, she was alive, she was here.
She was also, apparently, a traitor.
It was all too much to take in.
He knew he should be angry, like Kurogane was. In another timeline, her betrayal had caused the deaths of every single Blade of Marmora. But right now, all he could process was the fact that the mother he could barely remember had finally returned and was standing right in front of him. Keith drank in the sight of her, his gaze scanning over violet fur, large, almost cat-like ears, tilted yellow eyes currently staring after the older red paladin, and a wide, swept-back crest of long, dark hair almost exactly the same shade as his own. He'd been too young to remember her when she left, but looking at her, he could almost picture her standing next to his Dad in hazy recollections of his childhood home.
"So...you're really my Mom?" He whispered into the awkward silence left in the wake of Kurogane's abrupt departure.
Kovirak jumped, her gaze darting back to him from the closed door. After a moment she sighed, nodding. "Yes. I'd know your scent anywhere, Keith." Her voice was pained, a far cry from the bewildered joy of a few minutes earlier. "It's been a long time, but I never forgot it."
He nodded slowly, fidgeting with the edges of his armor in lieu of not having his usual gloves on. "Sixteen years." He agreed. What did you say to someone who'd been gone for that long?
"I know. I'm so sorry." Her ears drooped with distress. "For what it's worth, I didn't want to leave."
"Then why did you?" The question tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop it, just one of thousands that had rolled around in the back of his mind for as long as he could remember. Why did you leave? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back?
He wasn't sure if he was ready for the answer to the last one.
"To keep you safe." Kovirak answered, too frank to be anything but the truth. Her eyes closed, sorting through memories. "I knew I wouldn't be able to stay hidden forever. So when it seemed as though we were about to be discovered, I led the soldiers away, made it look like I took everything of importance with me, so when I escaped they wouldn't think to look for you or your father." Opening again, her yellow eyes bored into his, searching for what, Keith didn't know. "It was the hardest thing I ever had to do. Only knowing you would be safe made it worth it."
He nodded again, not trusting himself to speak again just yet. Her words sat like an ache in his chest and a burn behind his eyes.
"Everything I did was for your sake, Keith. Even betraying the Blade."
His eyes widened and his head snapped up as he stared at her in undisguised shock. "How is that…"
Kovirak's fists clenched at her side, the corner of her mouth lifting in a disgusted snarl. "Haggar discovered that I was a spy. I don't know how. And rather than simply have me arrested or killed, she looked for leverage she could use against me to force me to be her tool. And she found it."
"...Me." He breathed. His gut twisted painfully.
"Yes. Not you specifically-if she'd known my cub was the Red Paladin, well…" She shook her head in despair, voice heavy with bitter regret. "But that I had left a cub behind on Earth, yes. She made a game out of forcing me to buy time for your life by giving up names and bases of my fellow spies. Any information that came to me from fellow Blades also had to be turned over to her, and all outgoing messages had to meet with her approval."
"So that's why we didn't find out about the Weblum's Breath until it was too late." Keith and Kovirak both startled. They'd forgotten the others were still in the room, watching and listening. Alejandro's brows were furrowed in thought where he sat perched on the arm of the couch. "You were the only one in a position to report it, but you couldn't out of fear for Keith's life."
Kovirak blinked, glancing between Alejandro and Lance and seeming to come to the obvious conclusion before nodding. "That's right. Until she made the mistake of threatening Earth anyway. With Keith in danger either way-" one ear flicked as she glanced at his armor, making him shift self-consciously-"or so I thought, anyway-I was finally free to act. I sent a warning to Kolivan, and I was on my way to sabotage the weapon when I met Lance and Shiro."
Alejandro tilted his head to the side, a frown still painting his features. "When you sent the warning about the Weblum's Breath, did you also tell him you'd endangered the lives of everyone else in the Blade by compromising their positions?"
Kovirak's ears laid back at the accusing tone. "I did." She stated flatly, staring him down. "Please don't think I don't wish there had been another option, that I don't fear for the lives of my friends and colleagues. But I am a mother, and my cub will always come first."
Keith's breath caught in his throat as her words sank in. He meant that much to her, that she would sacrifice others for him? He'd heard that parents were supposed to love their kids that much, that they would do anything for them, anything to keep them safe. But it had always seemed so unrealistic. It couldn't possibly be true.
(At least, not for him.)
For a long moment no one moved, and yellow and blue eyes bored into each other. Then, abruptly, Alejandro nodded as though he'd decided something and rocked forward to his feet, posture going from hostile to indolent in an instant. "I'm gonna go talk to Kurogane." He declared, shoving his hands into his pockets. "He's probably had enough time to cool down now."
As if his movement had been a signal, the others relaxed, tension flowing away like water. The other three paladins began to whisper quietly to each other, and Allura rose to her feet as well, gesturing for Coran to join her. "I should send a message to Kolivan, apprising him of the current situation here." She shot a meaningful look at Kovirak before turning her attention to the chattering trio on the other couch. "You three should sleep. It's been a long day, and I expect Lance and Hunk will want to be up early to go see their families." She raised an eyebrow at the pouted denials, and waved her hand in a shooing motion. "Come on, everyone out, let's leave Keith and his mother to get to know each other in peace."
And just like that the two of them were alone in the room.
Keith ducked his head awkwardly and tugged at his gloves. He had so many questions that had piled up in his head over the years, so many things that he'd wanted to ask his mother if he ever saw her again, even more so once he'd met the Blades of Marmora and learned his true heritage, but now that he could he had no idea where to begin.
Footsteps padded across the floor toward him. "...May I sit?"
He nodded, watching Kovirak out of the corner of his eye as she settled onto the couch beside him. It was a relief to see that she seemed as nervous as he did, ears flicking this way and that as she adjusted her tunic. Silence stretched between them again.
"You've grown up well." Kovirak said at last. "You were so small when I last saw you, and now you're a strong young man, fighting to protect the universe. I have to admit, though, when I imagined seeing you again, this was...not quite what I had been picturing." She let out a soft huff of laughter.
Keith chuckled in spite of himself, although there wasn't much humor in it. "Yeah, well, up until about a year ago, I wasn't picturing anything like this either."
"Is that when you became a Paladin?" Her head tilted to the side curiously.
He bit his lip and shook his head. "No. It's when we first met the Blades of Marmora and I found out I was part Galra." He grimaced. That had not been a good time. He'd been scared, so scared, of how his team was going to react. Even Allura's subtle hostility had been far better than he'd been expecting during that short flight back to the Castle of Lions from the headquarters of the Blades.
Glancing up, he realized Kovirak was gaping at him in naķed shock. Her mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before her ears pinned back in sudden anger, making him bristle in response. "Found out-Did your father not tell you anything?! He promised me when you came of age he would tell you all about-"
Fury swelled in his chest, burning hot. "He didn't get the chance!" Keith cut her off, scowling in outrage. He had so few memories of his Dad, precious, happy ones all of them (right up until the end, anyway, but he tried not to think about that one), and he would not let her talk shit about the one good parent he'd ever had any more than he'd stood by and listened to Iverson badmouth Shiro after Kerberos. "He died when I was six years old!"
Kovirak jerked back, expression turning from anger to horror in an instant, but Keith kept going, not giving her a chance to respond as he lashed back at her, his angry defense of his father dragging out all the buried hurts associated with the man's death and her absence and sending them tumbling out into the air between them. "I didn't even know your name. The only thing I knew about you was that you were big, strong, and beautiful, and that you supposedly loved me very much! I spent twelve fucking years in foster care looking at that knife and praying that someday you might come back for me and get me out of that hellhole of a system!" His hands were shaking now, clenched into fists in his lap. He squeezed his eyes shut, hard floors and thin blankets and cold windows parading behind his eyelids as memories threatened to overwhelm him. Suddenly there were arms around him and he tensed, bracing for an unknown threat, but then he registered a voice in his ear, a sorrowful whisper that seemed to echo up out of his dustiest, most faded recollections and cut right to the very core of his being.
"I'm sorry, Keith, I'm so sorry. If I'd known, I would have come, I swear, cover identity be varakasht. I love you Keith, I do, and I'm so, so sorry I wasn't there when you needed me."
"Mama has to go away for a while, baby. I'm sorry. But I love you so much, and I always will. No tears now, Keith-kitten. Mama will see you again someday, I promise. Be good for Daddy, okay? I love you."
A sob tore itself from his throat before he even realized it was building and he clutched at her arm, folding himself instinctively into an embrace that felt familiar and safe despite the sixteen years since he'd last experienced it. Kovirak curled around him, a protective shield between him and the world as tears soaked his cheeks and his chest ached with the force of his cries. A broad hand, so much larger than his, stroked his hair with infinite care and tucked his head against a soft, furred chest where he could feel a soothing rumble against his ear.
It felt good and yet strange at the same time, like something he didn't even know he'd been missing until now. Even as his eyes burned and ragged cries muffled themselves in her fur a strange warmth settled over him, the same kind of warmth he'd felt when Pidge hugged him after she came out of the healing pod, or when Lance had let him cry on his shoulder a few days before that after the disastrous Trepan Kev mission, or when Shiro would hold him close as they fell asleep to remind him that he wasn't alone. But it wasn't quite the same. It was better.
Was this how Matt and Pidge had felt this afternoon, wrapped up in their mother's arms?
He wasn't the only one crying, he realized. Her breathing hitched, her hands were shaking where they clutched him close, and tears matted the fur below eyes screwed shut. Only Shiro had ever cried over him like this.
She must have sensed him looking at her, because her eyes slid open and one hand cupped his cheek, a careful thumb swiping the tears from his cheeks. "I'm sorry, Keith. I'm so sorry I wasn't there." She made a pained sound, leaning her forehead against his. "I love you, baby, and I let you down so badly. You should never have had to grow up alone like that."
He looked away, unwilling to meet that sad yellow gaze. "You didn't know." keith didn't want to blame her; as much as he wanted to kick and scream and throw a tantrum, he knew it wasn't her fault. And he was afraid to scare her away now that she had finally come back for him.
"But I should have. I'm your mother. I should never have left you."
"You did it to keep me safe." Colleen Holt had mentioned something about the Garrison knowing more about aliens than they'd admitted to the public. Had his mother's efforts to keep him and his Dad safe been one of the things they'd been hiding?
Another pained, frustrated sound escaped her. "Still. Please, Keith-kitten, if there's anything, any way I can even begin to make up for the fact that I wasn't there for you for all those years…"
"Don't leave me again." The plea slipped out before he'd taken the time to think. Kurogane would probably be furious, after the way his older self had reacted to her admission about the Blades earlier he'd probably prefer if she disappeared again and never returned. But Keith wanted his mother to stay, wanted to know what it was like to have a parent in his life who actually cared. He swallowed hard, then repeated himself with more conviction. "Promise me you won't leave again." He needed her. Needed her to be there. Needed her to want to stay.
Relief filled him at the undisguised joy and adoration that spread across his mother's face. "Of course, sweetheart." He felt a light kiss being pressed to his forehead, gentle claws combing through his hair in an affectionate gesture. "I promise, I'll be right by your side from now on. Nothing will take me away from you again."
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Haggar didn't bother to glance up at the sound of the door opening behind her, keeping her attention on the young Druid tending to her injury, green quintessence coating his hands. Only one person would dare to barge into the area of Central Command that was her personal domain in such a fashion.
"What. Happened." Lotor's voice was a snarl of fury, not surprising given that his prized weapon had been forced to retreat, damaged, without ever firing a shot.
"You miscalculated." She responded coldly. "The fleet you allotted for the task was insufficient to keep Voltron and their allies from penetrating to the Weblum's Breath, and the ship itself lacked the extra personnel to defend the almathium lattice when the paladins breached the hull." Nevermind that the few soldiers available had been ordered away to let her deal with the blue and black paladins, and her own grievous error where the Champion was concerned. Lotor didn't need to know those particular details. If he hadn't underestimated the enemy it never would have mattered to begin with. "The almathium lattice can be repaired, but it will take several decarotations to mine enough of the mineral unless you intend to strip the ion cannons of active warships to restore the Weblum-"
"Forget the Weblum's Breath. It's of no use to me now."
Haggar narrowed her eyes at the Prince. After all the resources that had been sunk into his pet project, he abandoned it after the first failure, a failure that was his own fault? "My Prince, the Weblum's Breath is a formidable weapon and an asset to the Empire."
"A weapon which has been defeated once before is not one that strikes fear into the hearts of our enemies." Lotor's disgust was evident as he wave a hand in dismissal of the idea, pacing the room and studying the various notes and projects scattered across the work surfaces. "Do with it what you will, I don't care."
She ground her teeth in annoyance. It was clear she'd been too hasty in thinking that Lotor might prove a suitable successor during Zarkon's recovery. He may have been the best of the Emperor's offspring, but that wasn't saying much. He was far too focused on his own whims and his desire to create fear in those around him, rather than the expansion and maintenance of the Galra Empire. "Very well. Then the next actions of the Empire in stomping out this insurrection will be?"
Another dismissive gesture, increasing her irritation. "The regional commanders can continue as they have been in expanding our territory for now. As for dealing with Voltron…" He hummed thoughtfully. "Brute force was always my father's preferred tactic, but it is obviously one that has failed to suffice thus far." Her eyes narrowed at the insult to Lord Zarkon, but she held her tongue as he continued to speak. "Perhaps something more subtle is in order." He paused in his pacing, raising an eyebrow at her. "Surely you have some ideas? Something that will strike terror into the hearts of all who oppose us."
Something...subtle? In spite of her simmering fury, Haggar felt the ghost of a smile curving her lips. Insult though it may have been, Lotor wasn't wrong about the Emperor's preference for old-fashioned conquering. There were far more effective methods of achieving the same ends, ones less wasteful of resources and that would squash out any hope of resistance from those subjugated. None of her ideas in that vein had ever left the pages of her concept files, since Zarkon required her to devote her energies elsewhere in the crafting of weapons like the robeasts and the Komar, but given a little time she could easily breathe some life into them. "Yes, I believe I have just the thing."
Lotor smirked, pleased. "Excellent. Consider that your priority project now." He turned and headed for the door. "If you'll excuse me, I need to check in with Commander Vetrak regarding the effort to eliminate all those pesky little spy friends of Kovirak's. Hopefully she will have some good news for me."
Haggar growled under her breath at the Prince's parting shot, then looked down at the Druid who was nearly finished closing her wound. "Railan, once you're finished, you are to find Anilta, Celli, Loavan, and Narto. Inform them that we are accelerating the Emperor's healing program according to schedule Lor-7."
Railan's hands stilled for a moment in shock. "Lor-7? Are you sure? The risks-"
"I know the risks!" She snarled, venting some of her bad mood, and was gratified to see the younger Druid flinch at her fury. "I'm the one who designed the program. Now do as you're told, and do not question me again." He gave a hasty nod, clearing away the disinfectants and bloody bandages, and made his escape from her workroom. Left alone once more, Haggar traced contemplative fingers over the thin line of red, half-healed flesh left by the limitations of the green aspects. Railan's concerns were not unfounded, the Lor-7 program carried dangers for all involved, but it was proving to be a necessity. While his request would benefit the Empire in the long run, Lotor was getting above his station. That disrespectful whelp needed to be reminded of his place. Below Emperor Zarkon.