Chapter 18 – Finding Allies

I don't own Voltron Legendary Defender. I'm taking the characters out for a spin.


Shiro stood next to the Altean. "Coran, how soon will we get to the Blade of Marmora's base?"

"Based on the coordinates Ulaz gave us, we should be there in a few dobashes."

Pidge smiled as she balled her hands up in front of her body, trying to contain her excitement. "I can't wait to see it!" She looked up at Hunk. "I mean, they were able to fold space-time, and that was just an outpost!"

Hunk's stomach rumbled, and he put his hand on it. "Mm, the space taco. It left us too soon."

Pidge slid her eyes over to gaze him almost suspiciously. "Well, sure, but my point is, imagine how amazing their home base will be?" She spread her arms wide as her voice level rose as she grinned at him.

Hunk leaned over, gazing down at her. "Exactly. It could take on any shape. Like a space jelly donut. Or long, like a space éclair. Or a space cheese blintz with a cherry sauce on top. Maybe a little dusting of powdered sugar on. That's the stars."

Lance gazed at the pair. "Aw! Now, I'm hungry for breakfast."

Adam shook his head. "Lance for someone as thin as you are, you do pack the food away."

Lance smirked at Adam. "Well, yeah. I'm still growing, you know."

Pidge smirked. "A growing Dorkasaurus, you mean."

Keith leaned forward in his chair. "Guys, this a serious mission. We need to focus on."

Lance screwed his face up, trying to impersonate the Red Paladin. Sarcasm tinged his voice. "We need to focus."

Adam reached out and smacked his cousin in the back of the head.

"Ouch!" the teen yelled as he rubbed the back of his head. "Hey! What was that for?"

Adam leaned toward his cousin. "Like it or not, he's right. We do need to focus, and you need to stop acting like an ass."

Coran's voice brought all eyes to the front of the bridge. "The base is in range."

Shiro rolled his shoulders. "Take us in slowly."

The Altean gazed at the screen. That might prove the tiniest bit of a challenge."

Hunk stared at the screen. "Is that a Black Hole?"

Coran shook his head. "No. It's two black holes and a giant blue star."

Hunk frowned. "That's not better!"

Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose. "No, kidding. Just inside a black hole, the temperature is one-millionth of a degree above absolute zero. But just outside of that, it's hundreds of millions of degrees Celsius."

Hunk grinned as his eyes brightened. "Okay, it's like when you try to nuke a frozen burrito in the microwave, and it comes out all scorching hot on the outside, but it's still frozen in the middle, right?"

Lance gazed at the Green and Yellow Paladins. "Now, I'm hungry for lunch."

Keith jumped up from his seat and let his irritation at the other three teens get to him. "Guys, quiet!" His tone changed to something calmer when he addressed the Altean. "Coran, where's the base located?"

The man in question magnified the location of the base several times. "In between those three deadly celestial objects."

Pidge stared at the screen. "The perfect defensive position."

Allura added her own opinion for the first time. "Or the perfect trap."

Adam frowned. He silently considered Allura's experience with the Galra. She could be right, but and he hated to think this way, she could be judging an entire race based on the actions of others. His frown deepened.

Lance saw the expression on his cousin's face. "What has you frowning?"

Adam shook his head, "It's nothing." He crossed his arms over his body.

Hunk frowned as his eyes grew. "Yeah, I'm with Allura. Maybe we shouldn't, like, go in there at all?"

Keith suddenly blew up. "What are you talking about? We have to go in! This is the whole reason we came out here! There is no other option!"

Lance gaped at the Red Paladin and held his hands out in front of him. Okay. Jeez. Calm down!"

Keith turned away from Lance. His gray-blue eyes stared ahead, and he frowned.

A message in another language flashed up on the main screen. A female computerized voice came through the speaker. "Identify yourself."

Shiro turned to Coran. "Open a hailing frequency." As the Altean's panel beeped, the Black Paladin spoke. "We are the Paladins of Voltron sent here by Ulaz."

Time passed as no response came through. The tension was so thick on the bridge that Adam thought he could slice it and serve it up on a platter.

The computer beeped, and the voice replied, "Two may enter. Come unarmed."

Allura frowned, and her eyes hardened. "Why would they insist we come unarmed. Shiro, this doesn't feel right."

Shiro didn't turn around. "We've come too far to back out now."

Coran stared down at his console. "They just sent us a route to the base, but we'll have to move quickly. Because of the solar flares, it's only open for one varga. Then it will be closed for two quintants."

Hunk's eyes grew. "They're gonna close it for two years?"

Pidge crossed her arms over her chest as her eyelids lowered to half-mast. "Two days."

"Oh."

Lance raised an eyebrow as he gazed at Shiro, who now approached where he stood next to Keith. "So, any thoughts on who's gonna join you on this little mission?" He grasped his chin. "I think things might get a little hot, so you're gonna want someone who can stay cool." He lowered his arm as he puffed out his chest.

Shiro didn't hesitate. "You're right. Keith, you coming with me."

Lance gaped at Shiro before he got his mind in working order. "Keith's a hothead. He's probably going to shoot first and ask questions later!" He leaned forward, sticking his face into the Black Paladin's face. "And they're not gonna be able to answer his questions because they'll be dead!"

Shiro put his hands on the Blue Paladin's shoulders and pushed him out of his face. "We haven't severed Zarkon's link with the Black Lion, so it has to stay here. And the Red Lion can withstand the heat from that sun. So, yes, it'll be Keith."

Coran's voice came from the front of the bridge. "The course to the base will be quite treacherous. You're walking the razor's edge between the gravitational pull of the black holes and the sun. One false move, and you'll either be crushed into infinity or burnt to a crisp."

Shiro nodded. "Let's go, Keith."

Adam stepped up. "Takashi, Keith, both of you come back in one piece."

Shiro placed his hand on Adam's cheek. "I will, koishiteru."

Keith nodded. "Don't worry. He'll be safe with the Red Lion and me."

Adam reached up and put his hand on Shiro's. "Stay safe," he whispered as he let his hand drop, and Shiro and Keith walked off the bridge.


Allura stared at the screen. "How long has it been?"

Coran glanced at the chronometer on his console. "Roughly ten vargas."

Allura frowned. "We cannot wait here."

Lance sat on the edge of the raised platform in front of Shiro's station. "The is closed for, like, I don't know, thirty more vargas or something?"

Coran ran the calculations through his console. "That's correct."

Hunk did a double-take at the Blue Paladin as his eyes bugged out. "Really?"

Lance laced his fingers together and popped his knuckles. "Yeah, I wasn't born yester-quintant."

Hunk rolled his eyes at his friend.

Adam stepped up behind the Yellow Paladin and tapped him on the shoulder.

Hunk turned.

Adam knew he'd heard right when he'd listened to the teen's stomach grumble about a varga ago. "How about we go make something to eat."

"Sounds good," Hunk glanced over at Lance. "You want to come too?"

"I'll stay here."


Adam and Hunk entered the kitchen. The Yellow Paladin turned to Adam. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"I was thinking maybe some Fajitas."

Hunk brightened. "Yeah, now that we have the cow, I can try out the butter I made from the milk."

"How did you figure out how to make butter?"

A quick laugh bubbled out from the teen. "Never underestimate a teen who's desperate for some Earth food."

Hunk reached into the refrigerator and pulled out some odd-shaped vegetables. "Here, you can chop these up." He pulled out a bowl and a pitcher of milk from the refrigerator. Then he moved to a cabinet and pulled out some spices, and what he found made an excellent form of flour.

Adam took the vegetables over to the sink. He turned on the water as he ran the vegetables under the water. "Why didn't you ask Pidge if she wanted to help?"

Hunk let out a nervous chuckle. "Because of those cookies I made when Zarkon was chasing us. It still stings that she called them terrible. So, for now, I've banned her from the kitchen."

He mixed the dough, keeping it pourable and then poured it some into a large skillet, frying them up. As he turned, the first of the tortilla's over his eyes shifted to Adam's. "So, are you and Shiro going to tie the knot?"

"Yeah, but later. Hopefully, once we get back to Earth."

Hunk nodded as he pulled the tortillas out of the skillet and began the process again. Both he and Adam worked in comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward.

Adam shifted his eyes up to Hunks. "Something else is on your mind."

Hunk gripped his bottom lip between his index finger and thumb before releasing it. "What do you think you and Shiro will do once we're back on Earth? I mean, you know, after you two get married. Lance has some crazy idea that the two of you will leave the Garrison and go back into space to live out your lives on the Castle of Lions."

Adam chuckled. "You should know by now not to listen to him." He shook his head at the absurdity of the idea. "We don't have any set plans yet, because the future is too far away even to consider."

Hunk grinned. "Yeah, I figured he was talking nonsense, but he's on cloud nine since the two of you will be getting married. Mainly because Shiro is his hero, after all." He pulled out the last of the tortilla's out of the skillet and set it off to the side away from the heat.

He picked up the pitcher milk and put the remainder into the refrigerator. He pulled out a small haunch of meat and cut it into thin strips, placed the skillet back onto the heat, and put the strips of the giant boar meat in the skillet. The flesh began to sizzle. He sprinkled spices over the meat and added some extra butter to the skillet for flavor. "This won't take long."

Hunk turned the meat over. "I need those vegetables added to this so I can get them tender."

Adam scooped up the veggies and dropped them into the skillet. He scooped up the rest and cut them and smiled as the aroma of the cooking meat and vegetables filled the room. "Your quite the genius at turning the stuff we have into foods we all remember."

Hunk nodded, but then he frowned. "Well, I still want to try to make some cookies, but I haven't found a suitable substitution for sugar yet, and I know Pidge likes Peanut Butter Cookies, and it seems like trying to find peanuts out here, well, that's a problem."

Once the filling was finished, Hunk and Adam began assembling the Fajita's and placed them on another plate. Once they were finished, Hunk grabbed one of the floating serving trays and lifted the plate and put it on the floating tray.


As they stepped onto the bridge, Hunk made sure to grab two of his Fajita's before the serving tray floated away. Adam managed to grab one.

The smell from the tray caught Lance's attention, and he stood and gazed at what Hunk and Adam held in their hands. "Hunk, did you figure out how to make Fajita's?"

Hunk managed to swallow the bite he'd taken to answer his friend. "Yeah, but I didn't do it alone. Adam helped."

Adam nodded. "And make sure you get enough to eat, 'Growing Dorkasaurus.'"

Pidge snickered from her station.

"Hey! Why'd you call me that?"

Adam stepped up to Lance. "That was for trying to figure out what's going to happen in mine and Takashi's future. You need to butt out and stop trying to dictate what we will do. Maybe we'll want to stay at the Garrison. Just like you, I miss my parents, and I wonder if my parents know I'm out here and safe."

Lance rolled his eyes as he stuffed a mouthful of Fajita in his mouth. He stopped, and a grin came to his face, and he chewed and swallowed. "Hunk, my main man. You are a culinary genius!"

"You tell me this all the time. Why not tell me something else?"

Allura finished hers. "I must agree with Lance. That was good."

Coran snorted from his station.

Adam raised an eyebrow at the Altean but didn't say anything.


Allura crossed her arms over her body then uncrossed them. "I-I have to know what's going on down there." She brought up her holographic command screen.

Pidge craned her head to gaze at the princess. "There's no way to get a read on their base. Too much interference from the solar flares and black holes."

Hunk crossed his arms over his chest. "If we account for the gravitational lensing, maybe we can reduce the noise and interference and connect with the Red Lion's sensors, right?" He gazed at Lance, craned his head toward Coran, and back to Lance. "Th-That's right, right?"

Lance looked toward Coran and then back to Hunk. He pointed a thumb at himself. "Are you looking at me?"

Coran held his chin as he gave Hunk's idea some serious thought. He released his chin. "We can give it a try."

Allura nodded. "Get on it."

Allura gasped. "The Red Lion is moving!"

Lance straightened up. "We've gotta get down there!"

Hunk shook his head. "It won't be ready for five more minutes."

Coran turned from his station. "The Red Lion has started attacking!"

Hunk ran to his station with Lance racing to his own. "Wait, what does that mean? Why would the lion attack? Unless—" he didn't finish his statement as he swallowed hard and gazed up at Adam.

Time had passed quickly for them as they all wondered and worried about what could be happening at the Blade of Marmora base to cause the Red Lion to go berserk.

Lance gazed up at the princess. "Allura?"

The Princess's facial expression hardened. "Everyone stay focused. Coran, how much longer until can get in?"

Coran twisted his body along with his upper body to gaze back at her. "Just a few more ticks, Princess."

Allura tensed, her muscles coiled for action. "Get ready!"

Coran began counting down the ticks. "Five, four, three, two, one!" He moved his hand to activate the thrusters to move the Castle of Lions forward.

The Red Lion appeared on the screen. Shiro's voice came over the speaker. "Princess, we're coming back, and we're bringing someone you should meet."

Coran twisted around a second time and gazed at Allura, who sighed.

Pidge grinned. "Yes, they did it!"

Everyone assembled in the Red Lion's hangar as the lion flew in and landed. It dropped down and lowered the ramp allowing the two Paladins to exit, followed by two Galra. Both of the Galra wore the same uniforms that Ulaz wore; however, one also wore a wrap around his body. He was even taller than the Galra beside him. His facemask disappeared, revealing an aged face that bore a scar and a white braid that fell when he kneeled before the young Altean woman. "Princess, Allura, it's good to see the rumors are true. You're still alive after all these years. I am Kolivan, the leader of the Blade of Marmora."

Allura gazed down at him. "So is Zarkon. Can we consider you our ally in the fight against him?"

The Galra stood. "Yes, but we have received word from our spy inside the Galran hierarchy. They have become aware of our presence, so the timetable for our plan of attack has been moved up."

Shiro gazed up at Kolivan. "How soon do we need to begin?"

"Now."

They turned to walk out of the Red Lion's hangar when Keith cleared his throat. "Uh, guys, I need to tell you all something." He pulled out his knife so everyone could see it. He activated the knife for everyone to see it turn into one of the Blade of Marmora's small swords. "I found out the only way I could do this is well," he rubbed at the back of his neck. "I'm part, Galra."

Shiro nodded and smiled as his eyes glowed with pride.

Allura, Coran, and the other paladins gasped. Adam stared at Keith and raised an eyebrow. He didn't like how the teen was holding himself, and his eyes were full of pain.

Pidge pushed her glasses up her nose. "How did this happen?"

Keith shrugged and tried to hide that his shoulder hurt. "I don't know. I never knew my mother."

Adam moved over to stand next to Keith. "I want to check him out."

Shiro nodded. "Your right, he does need to be examined. In the meantime, the rest of us need to go figure out the plan to take down Zarkon."

Allura didn't say anything, but her eyes narrowed as she glared at Keith.

Keith sighed as everyone else left the hangar. "Now, everyone is going to hate me."

Adam put an arm around the teen's waist. "Lean on me. I'm taking you to the infirmary. And just for the record, no one hates you."

Keith stared in the direction the others had walked away in. "Allura hates me."

Adam shook his head. "She's got to get used to this new situation."


The pair entered the medical bay. Adam eased Keith down on the steps and pulled out the scanner from his pocket and ran it over the teen. "You've got some pretty bad bruises, and I don't like the way this shoulder looks." He ran a closer scan on the shoulder. "You've got a hairline fracture in the collarbone."

Keith frowned. "Does this mean I have to spend time in the pod?"

Adam nodded. "Yeah, it does, but don't worry. I'd say about an hour will do you some good." He rubbed a hand against his chin. "How did you get those bruises? You can explain while you get out of the armor and change into a cryosuit."

Keith sighed. "I wanted to know where the knife came from, and Kolivan told me that I would have to go through the Trials of Marmora. Nobody told me it was some gauntlet type thing. But I fought, and I had a couple of," he shrugged, "visions, I guess. One was of Shiro trying to convince me to give up the knife, and the second was my dad telling me that my mom would return and explain everything. I was going to give up the knife, but I finally realized exactly who I was, and that's when the knife turned into the sword, and I was told that I have Galra blood in my veins."

Adam set the cryopod for the required time. "Sounds brutal, but it also sounds like you passed this trial. But it's time to get you in here, healed, and ready to go so you can help take down Zarkon."

Keith nodded as he stood. "Yeah."


The lid to the cryopod slid open, and the Red Paladin stumbled out. Adam caught him and placed a blanket around his shoulders. "I'm sorry, but you're needed on the bridge. Shiro has a mission for you and Hunk to go on."

Keith nodded. He flexed his shoulder and was relieved the pain was gone. "Thanks."

Adam grinned. "I'm glad I could patch you up. Not get up to the bridge."

Keith saluted. "Yes, sir!"