Don't Ever Say What You Don't Mean

by Ishval

This is going to be a retelling of Voltron Legendary Defender but with an added character, Adam. Starting with Season 1.

33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33 – A Few Bumps in the Road

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

---

Keith's voice came through the comms of the lions. "Everybody up."

Although two people were already awake, sticking to the schedule of the Garrison. They now rode in the Green Lion with Pidge because she said they weren't as annoying as some of the others.

Shiro gazed over at the teen who still slept. "Did she have more nightmares last night?"

Adam frowned as he gazed in Takashi's dark gray eyes. "Yeah, she doesn't like for others to know about them, but one is recurring. It's about the clone's body rejecting your consciousness."

Shiro shook his head. "But that didn't happen."

Adam sighed as he sat down on the side of the bed. "It almost did. And I suspect that she knows about it because she probably overheard Keith talking about it with Allura after the fact. And I did tell her that it didn't happen. But she cried herself out last night." Adam yawned. "But that's also part of the reason why she wanted us here with her in the Green Lion. She also said that you are a link to her family."

Shiro's cheeks turned a slight pink. But he eyed Adam noting the dark circles that began to show under his eyes. "I'll keep watch over her tonight."

Adam shook his head. "No, you're still healing, and it's my job."

Shiro reached out and brushed his thumb against Adam's cheek. "You have to take care of yourself too, koishiteru. Your working too hard trying to make sure everyone is okay. So, I'll take my turn."

Pidge groaned, as one of her hands, reached out into the air. "Only a ninety-nine on the test? But I did all the extra credit."

Keith's voice through the Green Lion's comm system again. "Come on. It's time to wake up."

Pidge screamed as her eyes opened. "What a nightmare."

She gazed over at Shiro and Adam watching her. She blinked at them. "Uhm, yeah, I'm okay. I had a nightmare about being in school again."

Shiro chuckled, "We could tell you were talking in your sleep."

Pidge groaned. Rover floated above her head as it beeped. She rubbed at her eyes. "I know, I know. I'm getting up."

Lance replied from the Red Lion. "What's the point? We're floating in space. There's no day or night here."

Allura's sleepy voice came over the comm system. "I have to agree with Lance. We should sleep for fifteen more dobashes."

Keith replied, "Guys, we can't let this long journey make us soft or dull our skills. Routine will keep sharp."

Pidge grumbled under her breath as she sat up. Around her bed, like in her room on the Castle lay debris of some projects she was working on and on a crate at the head of her bed lay a couple of books she was reading.

Shiro said, "Keith is right. Routine is what got me through being Zarkon's prisoner and being in the infinite void of the Black Lion."

Lance replied, "I guess that does make you an expert on killing time."

Shiro frowned as his eyes watered.

Adam grabbed his hand as he stood up. "Lance didn't mean it. He's always spouting off without thinking about it first."

Shiro nodded as he held onto Adam's hand. "I know, it still hurts, though."

Adam tugged on Shiro's remaining arm. "Let's go so she can get dressed."

Shiro allowed Adam to lead him out of the Green Lion's cargo hold.

---

Keith said, "Okay, everyone, to your stations. Running battle situations now."

All the other paladins grumbled.

Hunk said, "Can't we - Can't we have breakfast first?"

Lance sighed, "Like mother like son."

Keith replied, "Focus."

Krolia said, "Here's the scenario. Your on a planet with double gravity, dense volcanic fog, and eight blovar raptors are attacking. What do you do?"

Hunk asked, "Do these raptors have eggs? I say we steal some, and we make a little breakfast." He screamed.

Adam winced.

Krolia said, "A raptor just melted your face off, Hunk! Now it's eight on four."

Keith said, "Everyone split up to thin their numbers. If there was a way we could – What?"

Krolia replied, "Keith, you're out."

Pidge leaned forward in her seat. "Okay, I think I know what to do. This place has thick volcanic fog, right? That means the blovars must use some form of thermal vision to see us."

Adam smiled. The Green Paladin was finally awake.

Lance replied, "Maybe I can lure them away with my heat rays. It's working."

Pidge grinned. "Nice."

Allura replied, "Let's get them while they're distracted."

Pidge's screen went dark. "Wait, what happened?"

Krolia replied, "You focused too much on the raptors and forgot about the volcano."

Lance replied, "That fictional planet seems harsh."

Krolia replied, "I programmed the simulator to be unbeatable. I wanted to see how long you'd survive."

Lance replied, "Well, I hope you're happy."

Thace chuckled. "Oh, she is Lance. She did this all the time while training new Blades."

Krolia replied, "Thace, you were never around. How would you know?"

Thace chuckled again. "Before Ulaz was sent to the ship where Shiro was held, he told me."

"Figures, it was Ulaz."

Hunk yelled, "Food incoming!" He sighed. "Aw, what a good wolf. Fella – guy. Gosh, we gotta come up with a name for the wolf."

Keith replied, "It's not gonna happen."

Hunk replied, "Oh, come on. I vote, Kosmo."

Allura said, "I like Kosmo."

Lance replied, "Kosmo's cool."

Pidge reached into the package tied around the wolf's neck. "Yeah, it's nice." She handed a smaller package to Adam and one to Shiro.

Shiro's floating tray hovered nearby, and he opened it so he could set the food out on the tray along with a drink that Hunk had provided in the package.

Keith said, "I figure when he's ready, he'll tell me his name."

Adam rolled his eyes. "Keith, he's an animal, a helpful animal, but still an animal, not a Voltron Lion."

Lance replied, "So, Kosmo. Got it."

As Pidge ate her breakfast, her communication screen popped up in front of her. She used her tongue to push the food over to the side inside her mouth. "I got a signal."

Allura asked, "How did you get a signal?"

Pidge tried to swallow too fast and coughed as her eyes watered. Shiro reached down and slapped her on her back as her eyes watered, and tears rolled out of her eyes.

She sucked in a breath as she waved him off. "I'm okay." She took a quick drink and coughed a couple more times.

Hunk asked, "Are you okay?"

Pidge nodded as she wiped the back of her gloved hand over her eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just swallowed the wrong way." She took another drink. "Back to the signal. I've been running a passive scan, so I wouldn't give our location away looking for any signs of communications. And I just picked up something!"

Keith asked, "Well, what is it?"

"I'm patching it through now."

Coran started laughing; apparently, it was a sitcom created by the bibohbi's.

Adam shrugged as he gazed at Shiro.

Hunk asked, "Wait, what's that noise in the background."

Pidge concentrated on it. "It sounds like some interference. I'll try to tune it out."

Krolia replied, "No, wait. Pidge, can you amplify that signal?"

"On it."

Romelle said, "Thace?"

Allura asked, "Thace? What is it?"

Pidge gazed at her screen. "Judging from the intermittent sound structure, it's just deep space interference. Most likely, a radiation pulse from a nearby star."

Krolia replied, "No, that's what it's supposed to sound like. Listen to the sounds in between the pulses. There's a unique pattern."

Allura replied, "She's right."

Krolia said, "Before the Blades were unified, we would use this crude way of communicating with each other. Not many Blades know this code. It must be a senior member."

Keith asked, "Kolivan?"

Krolia replied, "Possibly."

Shiro remembered the stoic leader of the Blades. "What does it say?"

"It's a distress signal. Whoever is sending it is in trouble."

Pidge brought up a star map on the Green Lion's screen. "It looks like it's coming from this sector."

Shiro gazed at her screen. "So, do we know anything about that section of space?"

Coran replied, "Not without the Castle of Lions research library core. We would be flying in blind!"

Krolia said, "We must go!"

Thace joined in the conversation. "We have to go. Isn't that what your Paladin code is all about?"

Hunk replied, "That's a pretty severe detour from Earth."

Adam sighed. "Hunk, we all know you want to get to Earth, but the Blades are our allies. We have to go."

Keith said, "Adam's right, and if Kolivan is there, maybe there will be more Blades. We need all the help we can get to reach Earth."

Shiro nodded. "I agree. We need to find out if we can find help."

Adam gazed over at Shiro, knowing this was the right call, he hoped they didn't run into a firefight.

---

The Green Lion led the way. "The signal is coming from this planet. I'm detecting remnants of a civilization, but I don't see any signs of life."

Romelle asked, "Is that a good sign or a bad sign?"

Hunk replied, "In all my space experience, there have never been any good signs."

---

The lions landed at the edge of a city that looked as though it were the survivor of a significant battle. Walls had crumbled to the ground like pieces of stone littered the road. A soft breeze blew up a small puff of sandy dirt from the ground.

Pidge studied her holographic screen from her wrist gauntlet as she walked down the remains of a street. "I still can't tell exactly where the signal originates. I'll keep trying to triangulate its location.

Adam slid his energy rifle from his shoulder as the group seemed to naturally form a protective barrier around Shiro, their former Black Paladin. He wasn't about to let Takashi out of his sight. Not after everything they'd been through.

Krolia gazed at one of the walls. "The signs are all around us. There was a massacre here."

Allura pressed her hand to a wall. "Some of this damage looks like it's from magic."

Keith gazed around them. "Keep looking. We need to find whatever Blade is broadcasting that signal."

Kosmo sniffed at the air and stared at something and began to growl in his throat.

Keith gazed at the wolf. "What is it?"

Kosmo suddenly took off running and charged up a broken wall and leaped into the air, landing on a humanoid that had an odd insect-like face. The wolf stood on the creature as it lowered its head and bared a mouthful of teeth.

Keith and Hunk, with their bayards drawn, flanked Kosmo. Keith placed his gloved hand on the wolf's back. "Good job." He turned his attention fully to the creature. "Who are you? Who's broadcasting the signal?"

The creature gazed up at them. "It was me," it said in an unusually deep voice.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "Impossible. You're no Blade of Marmora."

"I will explain all if you would put away your weapons and call off your beast."

Krolia's eyes slid over to Keith as she gazed at her son. "Let's see what he has to say."

The creature led them to the ruins of a building where it started a fire.

Pidge continued scanning the area. "This is where the signal was coming from. Somewhere below us."

The creature sat down on a box as it gazed at the Green Paladin. "You are clever. But I wouldn't expect less from the Paladins of Voltron."

Lance lowered his bayard. "You recognized us?"

"Of course, of course. Though I am surprised to see you, all were certain you perished."

Lance lowered his guard a bit as he relaxed. "Yeah, we found that out. But we're back."

"And I am so grateful that you are. It's been so long since I've seen another being."

Shiro gazed at the creature. "Thank you for your hospitality, but who are you? What happened here?"

"Bloodshed happened here. Death happened. I am Macidus. This is my home planet. And now I am the only one left alive here."

Movement from Adam's peripheral vision caught his attention as Krolia walked to a wall covered by a cloth.

Krolia spun around and pulled her energy pistol. It clicked and hummed as she prepared to fire. "What are you doing with these?" She reached behind her and pulled back the cloth revealing a wall decorated with the small swords carried by the members of the Blade of Marmora.

"I hang them in honor of their sacrifice. They died trying to protect the universe."

Krolia glared at him. "How did it happen?"

Macidus sighed. "This all started when Voltron disappeared, when – when you disappeared. The power vacuum that ensued destabilized much of the universe. Galra turned on each other. Warlords and pirates became the rulers of the land."

Allura turned her gaze on Macidus. "What happened with Haggar, the witch? She would not have let the empire crumble."

Macidus shrugged. "No one knows. But her druids continued her work, carrying out her final orders. They set out to destroy every Blade."

Pidge's eyes widened. "After Lotor took over the throne, almost every Marmoran agent was exposed."

"And that's when the slaughter began. All Blades were called away from their assignments and sent here. Kolivan knew they were being hunted, and he wanted to make a stand against them. He believed it was their only means of survival."

Romelle lowered her gaze to the floor. "That must be why they abandoned that base we found."

"Indeed. When they arrived, my people helped them to fortify their base. But the druids found us. They encircled the base and besieged it with magic. Casualties on both sides were enormous. My people tried to escape. They were slaughtered. I stayed behind with Kolivan. For each druid, we managed to take down nearly a hundred Blades fell.

"In the final battle, I was buried beneath a collapsed structure. When I regained consciousness, the fight was over, and I was the lone survivor. I've been sending the signal Kolivan gave me ever since in the hopes of finding any remaining Blades."

Adam frowned. Something about Macidus's words didn't ring true. Kolivan wouldn't have brought in all the Blades to one central spot. He wasn't stupid.

Keith gazed at the survivor. "There are still a few of us alive."

"Good."

Krolia gazed at the blade she held in her hands. "Kolivan? His blade is flickering."

Pidge gazed at Keith's mother. "Flickering? What does that mean?"

"A Marmoran agent's life force is connected to the blade. I just saw it glow. He must still be alive."

Macidus replied, "Just barely."

The Paladins gasped. Adam glared as he raised his rifle.

Macidus stood. "Your hand is looking much better."

Keith gazed at him and then down to his hand. "My hand?"

"You don't remember our fight?"

Keith growled. "You've been using that signal to draw Blades in!"

Macidus laughed. "Kolivan proved to be useful, after all!" He dropped something.

Krolia shouted, "No!"

Adam managed to squeeze off a shot, but Macidus disappeared.

The container impacted onto the ground, as a sickening magenta energy exploded out of it.

Adam could see, but he couldn't speak, he couldn't move. They were trapped. But Keith with Kosmo's aid had escaped. He hoped Keith could kill the druid and free them from this evil spell.

Wait, what was that? If he could have shook his head to clear it, he would have. Allura's hand was glowing. Somehow she was drawing the evil spell into her.

Adam stumbled. He was free of the spell, but Allura now glowed the same color as the spell. It was exactly like when she was able to draw the witch's magic inside her during the fight on Zarkon's Command ship. She fell to the ground. "Allura!"

Pidge gazed at the Princess. "Allura, are you okay?"

Allura grunted as she tried to contain the energy as she rose to her feet. "Pidge, lock onto Keith's location!"

"He's directly below us!"

Allura raised her arms. "Stand back!" she shouted as she aimed her hands down at the floor and redirected the energy blowing a large hole in the floor in front of her.

She and the other paladins dropped down into the hole. Shiro moved to jump down after them.

Adam dropped his energy rifle and placed his hands on Shiro's armored chest. "Not this time. You only have one arm."

"But it's Keith, and the others down there!"

"I know, Amor, I know. But this time, you have to sit it out."

Shiro glared at the shoulder where his prosthetic arm had been. "If I had both arms, I'd be able to help!"

Adam grabbed Shiro and hung onto him. "I know, but we can figure this out eventually."

---

Pidge knelt by Kolivan as Adam knelt beside her while she ran a medical scan. "He's in pretty bad shape, but it looks like he's gonna be okay."

Adam nodded, "I agree with Pidge's diagnosis."

Kolivan gazed at everyone. "I-I'm sorry my code lured you here."

Keith gazed down at Kolivan. "There was nothing you could do. The coordinates I gave you, the Altean colony, were you able to find it?"

"I sent a team. There was nothing there. Just an empty facility. They were gone."

Krolia gazed at Kolivan. "Judging from the Blades that Macidus collected, he may have delivered a critical blow to the Marmora, but he did not defeat us entirely."

Kolivan sighed. "I must find the others. The universe needs us now more than ever."

Krolia nodded. "I will join you. We will revive the Blade of Marmora together, father."

Keith stared at Krolia, then to Kolivan and back to Krolia. He shook his head at what he just heard. "What?" he yelled as he ran a gloved hand through his hair. He stood up, "You're my grandfather? Why didn't you tell me?"

Kolivan nodded weakly, "Yes, I knew you were my kin."

"Why didn't anyone tell me? Here I thought for the longest time I was alone, and now I find I have a mother, an uncle, and a grandfather."

Thace chuckled as he moved away from the others and wrapped an arm around Keith's shoulders. "Now, you know. How does it feel to be directly in line to the Blade's leadership?"

Keith shook his head. "Weird. But I'm also a Paladin of Voltron."

Kolivan gazed up at him. "We know, and that's why I never told you and swore Thace to secrecy. I didn't want you to leave Voltron entirely in case something happened, and it appears I was right."

Krolia placed her hand on her father's shoulder. "Rest." She rose and moved over to Keith, and the pair started murmuring together.

Thace walked up to Allura. He reached out and took her hand in his. "I'm going to join them in helping with rebuilding the Blades. Kolivan is right. The universe does need us, and we need to be able to help Voltron when you need us."

Allura nodded as she gazed up at him. "It has been nice having you and Krolia around. Come back to us soon."

He leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek. "Be safe, Princess."

---

Shiro leaned toward Pidge's holographic screen. He pointed at something on it. "Maybe if we run this configuration."

Pidge frowned. "Still nothing."

Adam leaned against a panel as he watched Shiro and Pidge try to figure out their current situation.

The Green Paladin focused on her flying. "Allura, try the sonic wave."

The Princess replied, "Okay, I'll try." She sighed. "It's still not working. And it probably won't work again until our power-cores are recharged."

Pidge's shoulders sagged. "Roger that. Well, our long-range scanners still haven't detected any planets nearby. No star systems, nothing."

Lance groaned. "How long have we been out here?"

Romelle sighed, "Going on four movements."

Lance sighed. "And how long is it gonna take us to get to Earth at this speed?"

Romelle replied. "I think Pidge said something like ten billion deca-phoebs."

Pidge shook her head. "I said one and a half Earth years."

Hunk said, "Whoa, whoa. Wait, there's a big discrepancy between ten billion deca-phoebs and one and a half Earth years. Which one is it?"

Pidge leaned forward in her seat. "It's one and a half Earth years! We've gone over this several times, though there may be a margin of error of about a month, depending on any time dilation we encounter."

Adam groaned as he slapped his, had to his face. Why did Hunk have to ask again?

Lance seemed to perk up as he asked, "You didn't just facepalm again?"

Adam sighed. "What do you think?"

Lance chuckled. "I think you did."

"Shut up, Lance!"

Shiro shook his head. "Look, we knew this wasn't going to be an easy or quick voyage, but replacing the Castle of Lions is our top priority."

Keith replied, "We just have to stay sharp and maintain discipline. We knew when we started this journey. We'd be low in power. We didn't plan on going through the galactic void, but we'll get through it."

Lance said, "Don't worry, guys. We'll run into something eventually that will turn this trip around."

Hunk asked, "What makes you so sure?"

"If my experience in space has taught me anything, it's that something always comes along to try to kill us."

---

Lance asked, "Hey, Pidge. Why is it so dark out here?"

Pidge shrugged. "I can't be sure, but my theory is that this area is surrounded by some kind of nebula that blocks most of the light."

Lance replied. "Oh, yeah. Must be a patch of that dark matter I've heard about."

Pidge leaned forward as a smirk pulled at her lips. "Stop trying to impress Romelle, and that isn't what dark matter is."

Shiro stared out the cockpit screen of the Green Lion. "Guys, I think I might have an idea on how to get the lions back to full power."

Lance replied. "And you're just now telling us this?"

"Well, I'm sorry, Lance, but I guess having my consciousness transplanted from the infinity of Voltron's inner quintessence into the dead body of an evil clone of myself has left me a little out of sorts for the past few weeks."

Lance replied, "Oh. Uh. Yeah."

Keith asked, "What is it, Shiro?"

"It's difficult to articulate, but remember when we were fighting Zarkon, and we were hit with that beam that drained all of our quintessence?"

Adam sat up straighter. That was one of the memories he never wanted to relive.

Allura replied, "Yes, you were all incapacitated."

"That's right, but we managed to regenerate enough power to keep fighting."

Keith replied, "Yeah. We repowered Voltron ourselves."

"Exactly. And I think that's how its meant to work. Since I – I disappeared, you've been relying on the Castle's crystal to keep the lions charged. But if you were a team of fully – realized paladins, you wouldn't need that."

Allura replied, "I – I can't help but feel this must be my fault. You were able to recharge Voltron before, but since I joined –"

Shiro shook his head. "It's no one's fault. Being a Paladin of Voltron takes training. You just haven't had time to focus on working together to find your balance in this configuration."

Pidge grinned. "Well, we've got nothing but time now."

Lance replied, "That's right. We've been down before, and we always come back."

Keith replied, "I'm glad you're here, Shiro. After all, you went through, how did you find the strength to be the leader of Voltron?"

"I had help. That's why there are five of you to lift each other up."

Keith asked, "So what should we do? Maybe some flight formation exercises?"

Before anyone could answer, the lions were hit by some weird storm.

---

Allura said, "It looks like the nebula carried us thousands of light-years away."

Adam glanced around. "How did I wind up on the floor?"

Pidge craned her head. "We'll explain later." She turned back to her scanner. "That looks like – I recognize these constellations! This is Earth's solar system! It's the Milky Way."

Shiro gazed out of the screen of the Green Lion. "We're finally here."

Pidge gripped onto her controls as Voltron raced toward Earth. "Dad, please respond. Voltron is coming. Hold on."

Hunk asked, "Are we too late?"

A voice broke through the static. "Katie? Katie, is that you?"

Pidge grinned. "Dad, it's me. I'm here."

"Katie, I'm so glad to hear your voice. "Where are you?"

"We're within the Solar System. Heading to Earth now."

"Wait! You must stop!"

Keith said, "What? Say again."

Adam and Shiro stared at each other then gazed down at the screen, which showed Commander's Holt's voice pattern coming through.

"Stop. Sendak has invaded the planet. He's taken over Earth. If he finds out Voltron is here, he'll threaten the people of Earth in exchange for the Lions."

Keith yelled, "Reverse thrusters!"

Hunk replied, "Copy that. Hold tight!" He grunted. "Uh oh, we've come out of hyperspace and run into a Galra patrol."

Sam replied, "Paladins, we blocked the patrol's transmission. You're clear."

Lance said, "Roger that. Let's take 'em out!"

Voltron took out one of the Galra fighters, followed by a second one. The third tried to run.

Pidge yelled, "Wait! Don't destroy that ship. We need it!"

Lance replied, "Really? For what?"

"I've got an idea. We can't fly our lions to Earth without being spotted, so they'll have to stay here on this moon in Saturn's rings, which should keep them hidden from Sendak's radars. We'll fly in using the Galra ship."

---

Everyone piled into the Galra fighter while Keith took the pilot's seat. He fired up the engine, and the fighter rose into the air before he pushed the control stick forward.

Allura gazed at Lance and Hunk. "I hope the mice and Kaltenecker aren't too frightened without us."

Lance chuckled. "The mice seem to do well on their own, and Kaltenecker will be fine on her own."

Keith frowned. "We're making our way through Sendak's cruisers. I hope none of them decide to scan us."

Shiro gazed toward the cockpit. "I don't think we'll have a problem there. Sendak has always been too arrogant for his own good."

Keith shouted from the pilot's seat. "Hang on! We're entering Earth's atmosphere."

Hunk gazed up at the ceiling of the ship. "This is weird. This is about exactly how we left Earth, crammed in the cockpit of the Blue Lion."

Pidge glanced over at the Red Paladin as she smirked. "We'll be fine as long as Lance doesn't fart."

Lance glared at her.

The fighter shuddered, and everyone gasped.

Keith called out from the front. "We're overweight. I'm losing altitude. Brace for impact."

Adam did his best to brace both himself and Shiro against the nearest wall of the fighter.

The fighter smacked into the ground and gouged a furrow across the ground before resting in a smoldering sparking mass of metal.

They exited the wreck and climbed a ridge that gave them an Eagle eye view of a bombed-out city. Hunk glanced around at the remains of the city below. "Hey, I know this place. I've been here. This is Platte City. It's about half an hour from the garrison."

Lance's eyes grew. "Whoa, I can't believe this is all that's left of it."

Keith frowned. "We need to get to the garrison. Stay together. Let's move quick and quiet."

---

As they walked past the rubble and the wreckage of burnt-out cars that littered the street, purple beams of energy shot down at Lance and Keith. The Red and Black Paladins dived under the remains of a vehicle. Lance yelled, "Take cover!"

The others ran into the side of a building as Hunk provided them with cover fire from his bayard as he walked backward. Adam slid his energy rifle off his shoulder and returned fire after making sure Shiro and the others were safe.

Hunk stepped out from behind a wall. He and Adam took turns at returning fire at the Galran drones.

Lance stepped out from his hiding spot and returned fire.

Keith stepped up beside him. "I'll distract it. You take the shot. Don't miss." Keith moved back behind the car and slid over the rear of the overturned vehicle. He ran down the street with the drone quickly chasing after.

Lance instantly turned his bayard from a rifle to a sniper rifle and aimed it at the drone. He fired, taking out the first drone, then spun and took out the second drone effortlessly.

Keith stared down at the wreckage of the drone. "I wonder how many of these things they have around here. Pidge any chance we could see those things before they get to us?"

Pidge stared down at her holographic screen on her wrist gauntlet. "Already on it. Looks like four more headed our way."

More purple energy blasts fired at them as everyone separated and dove for cover.

Shiro recognized the impacts just by sound. "It's not drones. Look."

Lance and Hunk used another burned-out car for cover to return fire at the Galra sentries that had appeared on the scene. The pair of paladins took out two when a drone came flying over firing down them.

Hunk ducked behind the car, but when he stood up, a sentry charged at him. An engine revved as a garrison vehicle came speeding and smacked into the sentry and pinning it between the car and a wall. It sparked as the light in his faceplate disappeared.

A second car appeared, and a man around the same age as Lance and Hunk jumped out and shot the last sentry.

A woman jumped out and yelled, "Stay down, we got this," as she shot the drone.

Keith turned and yelled. "I had it."

Adam recognized the man who stood before him. It was James Griffin, Keith nemesis at the Garrison before Shiro left on the Kerberos mission.

Griffin turned and stared at Keith. "Drones send distress signals when attacked. Our weapons neutralize those signals. So, unless you want to deal with a swarm of those things, let us handle it. Now, let's get out of here before a lot more show up."

---

The vehicles pulled to the main building at the Garrison. Pidge was the first one out as she jumped from the car as it stopped and landed on her mom.

Lance and Adam stepped out of their vehicles as two kids ran forward, yelling, "Uncle Lance!" Both Adam and Lance were smothered in a pile of family.

Adam managed to squeeze his way out of the pile and strode over to Shiro's side as he helped Allura down from the vehicle.

A voice came from behind them. "Lieutenant Shirogane. It's great to see you again." Commander Iverson cleared his throat as Shiro, and Adam turned to face him. "My apologies for throwing you in quarantine."

Coran leaned forward, stuck his face in close to Iverson. "Ah, so you're the one who strapped Shiro to a table. I heard about that."

Shiro gazed at the commander. "You were following orders. Any good soldier would. Let me introduce our Altean allies. Meet Allura, Romelle, and Coran."

Iverson smiled. "The honor is mine. Your technology has been instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth."

Coran tugged on his mustache as he kept his eyes on Iverson. Adam chuckled, it appeared that Coran was daring the commander to order that he be placed in quarantine so he could throw a punch at the man.

Iverson turned toward Keith, "And Cadet."

Keith stood and saluted. "Yes, sir."

Iverson gazed at Keith. "I owe you an apology as well. I've heard about all you've done. I-uh-I was wrong about you. It's an honor and privilege to see you again."

A slight curve came to one side of Keith's mouth. "Thank you, sir. I guess I wasn't exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you an apology too." He held his hand, and Iverson took it.

Adam glanced past Keith as Griffin leaned against the tire of one of the Garrison vehicles. He watched as the younger man pulled his helmet off his head and stormed away.

Iverson gazed at the paladins and Alteans. "I'm sure you all could use a shower and fresh clothes besides some food."

Hunk mumbled something as he gazed down at the ground. Adam gripped his shoulder. "We will find them."

Hunk nodded.

---

The main briefing room was filled with military personnel.

The joint chiefs sat on one side of the table with the MFE pilots behind them. Admiral Sanda sat at the head of the table while Shiro, Adam, Paladins, and Alteans sat on the opposite side of the table.

Sam Holt and Veronica McClain stood in front of a giant wall screen. Sam pointed at the display. "Sendak's forces remain at bay, but without a meaningful supply line, we're slowly being suffocated."

Shiro gazed up at Commander Holt. "No one else is putting up a fight against Sendak?"

Veronica took over the debriefing. "Small underground pockets of resistance have attempted to do so with varying degrees of success. Eventually, all were systematically wiped out. Earth's offensive capabilities simply don't stand a chance against the Galra."

Hunk leaned forward. Why don't we bring more people into this base?"

Sam replied, "We've had to put a halt on our extraction ops as they were proving to be too risky."

"But there are good people out there. They could be protected. My family's out there."

As Commander Holt replied to Hunk's statement, Adam gazed toward the MFE pilots."

Griffin burst out. "Hey, don't Paladins understand the chain of command?"

Adam jumped up out of his chair that fell backward from his sudden movement. "You're out of line cadet! Don't say another word, or you will be on report!" Griffin had bullied Keith before, and he wasn't about to let him start in on Hunk.

Allura stood. "Well, then let's find out what we do. You said you'd integrated Altean tech with Earth weaponry?"

Sam nodded. "Yes, we should go to the hangar."

---

They rode down an elevator to an underground hangar. Sam pointed out at the four fights on the ground below. "The Mecha-Flex-Echo fighters, or MFE's, are extremely agile with advanced weaponry but are only capable of short-range attacks. Sustaining power with Altean infused technology is an issue we're trying to overcome."

Adam leaned over to Shiro. "I see that look on your face. You want to fly one. But this time around, leave it to the kids."

Shiro chuckled. "You know me too well."

"You bet your sweet ass I do." Adam grinned as Lance snorted from behind him.

Coran gazed at Sam. "Maybe I can help you out with that. I do have some leftover faunatonium. It's an Altean fuel additive, but it also has some unexpected effects, so don't get any on you."

---

Sam led them to the massive ship at the end of the underground hangar. "And this is our battleship. It's large enough to house all of the lions and an entire command unit."

Admiral Sanda gazed at the Paladins. "It's built, but it can't fly. Everyone there's a subject we can't avoid any longer. Sendak attacked Earth because he wanted the Lions, and now they're here. It seems that we need to discuss our options."

Shiro gazed back at her ask he frowned. "Are you suggesting that we willingly hand over the Lions to the Galra?"

"Our supplies are gone. We spent all our resources on a ship that doesn't fly. The weapons we do have are not enough to mount an attack. All we can do is protect a small pocket of Earth. But for how much longer?"

Sam glared at her. "The universe needs the Lions."

"So does Earth. They're our only bargaining chip."

Sanda's second in command, Commander Sablan, stared back at Sam. "I agree with the Admiral. Earth has been nearly destroyed. Countless citizens have been lost. But it could all be over if we give up the Lions."

Adam glared at them. "Excuse me for being blunt, but you're full of shit. Sendak isn't interested in the Lions. That was all Zarkon's deal. Sendak is pissed that the Paladins have bested him at different times. He hates us and would like nothing more than to see Earth destroyed and all humans gone from the universe. Why? Because we do something, the Galra have never understood. That is our will to survive."

Allura placed her hand on Adam's shoulder and gazed into his eyes. She turned her gaze on the Admiral and the joint chiefs. "I'll settle this argument right now. We're not giving up the Lions under any circumstances. There is no negotiating with Sendak."

Admiral Sanda glared at Allura. "Maybe you should leave the matters of Earth to the people who live here."

Shiro stepped forward, tired of listening to Sanda's mistreatment of one of their allies. "Please, Admiral. I respect that you'll do anything you can to protect Earth. But trust us, we've been through more than you can ever imagine." His voice rose as he stressed a couple of facts to the Admiral. "We have fought the Galra on the fringes of the universe and in their very home. I know there's a way to defeat Sendak."

Admiral Sanda asked, "How? We barely know what we're up against. We need intelligence, and we just don't have it."

Allura crossed her arms over her body as she gazed back at Sanda. "Maybe we do." She turned to Sam. "That information you downloaded from the Castle of Lions contains Sendak's memories."

Sam asked, "How does that help?"
Pidge caught on fast. "It might give us some insight into Sendak's plan." She turned her gaze up to the Princess. "Allura, you're a genius."

Sam gazed at the Admiral. "We just need some time."

Sanda growled in reply. "Fine." She turned to her second in command. "Take them to the computer room." She spun on her heel as she stormed away from the others.

Adam crossed his arms over his chest. "I think someone yank that stick out of her ass and beat her with it."

Sam chuckled. "Right now, I agree with you."

Iverson led the Paladins over toward the MFE's.

Sam turned to Adam, Shiro, and Coran. "Let me take you on a tour of the IGF Atlas." He led them onto the bridge. Coran gazed around. "I'm quite impressed despite the crude nature of Earth's technological capabilities."

Sam gazed at Coran. "It has a lot of potential, but I'm unable to recreate the power of a Balmeran crystal. Maybe your faunatonium will work for this ship as well?"

Coran gazed down at the floor, doing a mental calculation before gazing up at Sam. "I'm afraid not. A ship like this size might need two or three battleship class crystals."

Shiro kind of knew it was a stupid question, but he asked it anyway. "I don't suppose there any Balmera nearby?"

Coran laughed. "In this young galaxy?" He laughed again and then sobered. "That's no. No Balmera around here."

Adam saw someone crossing the hangar toward the MFE's after Iverson, and the Paladins walked away. "Excuse me, but I have to go talk to someone about his behavior."

Sam gazed at the person who Adam saw and nodded.

---

Adam crossed the distance between the Atlas and the MFE's. "Griffin."

James turned and saluted.

Adam saluted in return. "We need to talk."

James cocked his head at Adam, "About what, sir?"

"Your behavior since we've returned. You have gone out of your way to try to push your rule loving behavior down the Paladins' throat."

"Well, the way I see it, sir, they lack any military discipline."

Adam shook his head. "No, you don't understand. The Paladins have their way of doing things. They talk things through when they plan out a mission, so there are no misunderstandings, and it works for them. And what works for them probably won't work for you since I know you're the team leader of the MFE's. But now that we're back, I will not put up with your bullying tactics."

Griffin's eyes narrowed. "Bullying?"

Adam nodded. "Yes, bullying." A beeping noise caught Adam's attention, and he looked up and saw Rover flying around. "Rover, come here."

The drone beeped and dropped down to Adam's height. "This is Rover. Pidge repurposed it, and it has been a great help aboard the Castle of Lions until we had to destroy it to save the universe."

Griffin's posture tensed up as he reached for his weapon. "That thing looks like it's Galran."

Adam nodded. "It is, but it works for us now. Pidge reprogrammed it to work for us." He looked up at it. "Rover, do you have any footage of the Paladins in action recorded?"

Rover hummed and then beeped.

"Come with me. It's time for you and your pilots to get an education in what the Paladins have done." He turned to Rover, "Follow me, Rover."

---

Adam stood at the front of his old classroom. The MFE pilots were sitting in chairs, gazing up at him. "I'm not exactly sure which battles Rover recorded, but I'm hoping he also has the last battle with Lotor."

Rizavi gazed at Adam. "Lotor?"

"Zarkon's son. He was manipulative. He hid his agenda from everyone, even his generals."

Griffin gazed at Adam. "We didn't hear anything about Lotor."

Adam turned to his desk and pressed a couple of buttons. A screen came sliding down. "Rover, can you interface with this?"

Rover beeped as he sat down on the desk, and it whirred as it clicked into the controls.

"Playback battle footage."

Adam recognized the first scene from the fight with the Robeast on the Balmera. Well, both fights.

Griffin sat up straighter as he heard Shiro's voice. But he did pay attention as did the other pilots.

The next footage was both fights on Olkarion. The final footage was the battle with Lotor up until they entered the Quintessence Field and finally the destruction of the Castle of Lions.

Griffin gazed up at Adam, "So, Keith is the leader of Voltron now? I thought that was some kind of sick joke."

Adam shook his head. "It's not a joke. You have no idea what he went through, and until you figure it out, you have no right to even glare at him based on your past. Maybe if you'd kept your mouth shut, he might not have been booted out of the garrison. But you made it your mission to torment him every chance you got, and that's exactly how a bully works. They see someone who they think is weak and chip away at that weakness until they fight back, and when they fight back, you go running off to Iverson or whoever to keep him from killing you. But Lieutenant Shirogane saw what Keith was capable of, and now it sort of gnaws at you that he is a good leader. And one other thing you better realize is that he has a family now. The other Paladins, the Alteans, are his family, and I'm a part of that family."

Griffin gulped. "Seems like I may have misjudged him."

Adam snorted. "That's putting it mildly. From this day forward, you should give the Paladins the respect they deserve. They're young like you, but they've already fought more battles against the Galra than you."

Griffin cleared his throat. "What about Lieutenant Shirogane? He looks so much different than when he left on the Kerberos mission."

Rizavi raised her hand. "And how did he get the scar on his face?"

Adam sighed. "I was afraid you'd ask that." He reached up and pulled his glasses from his face as he wiped his hand across his eyes. He replaced the glasses to find Shiro standing in the doorway.

Shiro cleared his throat and walked into the room. "In answer to your question Cadet Griffin. I was a prisoner of the Galra. I was forced to fight in Zarkon's arena for his amusement. Only these fights were almost always to the death." Shiro sighed. "There's one thing you should know. Not all Galra are bad. There's a group that has been working for an exceptionally long time to try to stop the ones like Sendak. They are the Blade of Marmora. One of their operatives helped me to escape. He gave his life to save Voltron in one of our fights. His name was Ulaz."

Adam placed his hand on Shiro's shoulder, "You don't have to talk about it."

Rizavi jumped up from her seat. "I knew it! You two are a couple!"

Kincade jumped up and grabbed the woman. "Not now. I want to learn more about these Galra."

Rizavi smacked at his hands. "That's boring. This is great!"

Griffin groaned. "Sorry about that, sirs. She tends to go overboard at times."

Adam chuckled. "I'm used to outbursts like this." He thought of how Lance had reacted to the news that he'd asked Shiro to marry him.

Shiro cleared his throat. "There's something else you should know about the Galra when we fought them. They had a group of magic-users called druids who liked to experiment on prisoners. That's how I lost my arm. The scar on my face, I don't remember. When I escaped from the Galra, there was an explosion, and I hit my head while getting into an escape pod. My memories were scrambled."

Rizavi grinned. "And what happened to your hair? Why is it all white?"

Shiro shook his head. "No more questions."

Rizavi gazed back at him. "But why not?"

Adam gazed at her. "Sometimes, Cadet, it's not a good idea to push for answers." He turned to the desk. "Rover, go find Pidge and stay with her."

Rover beeped as it rose from the desk and flew off to find Pidge.

Griffin asked, "If that thing belongs to Pidge, why does it also respond to you?"

"Pidge programmed him to respond to me too, in case I needed help with a patient in the infirmary. And I'm sorry, but I have to agree with Lieutenant Shirogane. Question and answer time is over now."

---

Adam and Shiro entered a workshop. Shiro gazed at Allura, who stood at a worktable. As they approached her, Shiro spoke, "You wanted to see me? I thought you were with pidge and Sam."

Allura raised her head, but her back was still facing them. "Sendak's memories were hard to hear." She turned to face the pair. "But it did remind me of something my father once said. He told me there are those with the power to destroy and those with the power to create." She stepped out of the way and there lay a hand with a forearm attached to the workbench.

Shiro blinked, totally speechless.

Adam gazed up at Allura, "Did you make this for Takashi?"

Allura nodded as she smiled at Shiro. "I did. You deserve a replacement for the Galra arm after everything you've been through for the Universe. This was the best thing I could think of to give you something back for everything that you've sacrificed."

---

Adam tried sitting, but he couldn't. He stood up and paced the floor.

Keith gazed up at him. "Adam, it's going to be okay."

Adam shook his head. "Anything could happen."

Griffin stuck his head in the doorway, but Adam's pacing caught his eye. He walked into the room and stepped over to Keith. "What's up with him?"

Keith turned his gaze up at Griffin. "You hadn't heard?"

Griffin shook his head.

"Sam is doing surgery on Shiro. He's replacing the Galra interface where the Galran arm was and replacing it with an Altean interface and arm for Shiro. And Adam is worried sick."

Adam's head shot up to glare at Keith. "I'm not worried."

Griffin nodded. "Yeah, right, you're not. I'd say your petrified."

Pidge's cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket and turned it on. "Hello?" she listened to whatever the other person was saying on the other end. "That was my dad. He says Shiro should be waking up anytime now."

Keith stood. "Let's go."

Griffin stared after them. "I hope everything works out."

---

The Paladins and Adam stood outside the glass, gazing into the room as Shiro opened his eyelids.

Adam gazed at the arm as it floated in the air. But when Shiro screamed, his heart skipped a beat. Adam knew what the reading on the heart monitor was. Takashi's vitals were crashing and fast. "Takashi!"

Allura ripped the tiara off her forehead and took off running. She ran into the room and tackled the arm down onto the ground. Sam hurried over and removed the power source from the arm while Allura replaced it with the triangular-shaped Balmeran crystal from her tiara.

The arm rose and floated back to where it was placed initially before it went berserk. Adam and the other Paladins ran into the room. The heart monitor was back to beeping normally again.

Shiro's eyelids opened. "What-what happened?" He flexed the fingers of the new hand. "I feel strange." He balled the fist up and gazed down at the new hand. "I feel great."

Adam stepped up to Shiro's side and wrapped his arms around the other man's neck. "Don't you dare scare me like again!" Adam's voice cracked.

Shiro turned his gaze up to the other man. "I'll try not to."

---

Adam strode through a hall heading for the Conference room as Griffin reached him. Griffin matched strides with the older man. "How'd it go?"

Adam turned his head to gaze at Griffin. "Oh, it went fine."

Griffin's eyebrow rose. "What do you mean, fine? You were petrified."

Adam shook his head. "No, I wasn't. A little concerned maybe, but certainly not petrified."

---

Pidge and Allura stood facing everyone seated at the table. Pidge gazed toward Commander Iverson. "We've learned so much from Sendak's memories. We discovered his methods for taking over planets like Earth."

Allura took over. "Sendak constructs armaments at key strategic points around planets. This gives him the ability to control enormous swaths of territory. He uses these armaments as deterrents to prevent uprisings and to control the conquered populations."

Veronica pressed a button on a datapad that sat on the table in front of her. She brought up an image of the continents. Each one shows a spot where these Galra installations were built. "Based on data from Commander Holt's micro-satellites, cross-referenced with resistance intel, we've ascertained that Sendak built six massive structures on Earth. We never knew what they were being used for until now."

Hunk gazed up at the screen. "They're the weapons? So, what's stopping us from blowing them up?"

Admiral Sanda started spouting her same old tune again. "We simply don't have enough firepower to do the job. And even if we did, there's a good chance those facilities contain civilians. We can't just go in blind."

Shiro gazed at his datapad. "Admiral Sanda's right. That's why we should infiltrate a base and gather intelligence first."

Veronica studied her information before transferring it to the screen on the wall so everyone else could see. "The nearest base is fifty-two klicks south of our position."

Shiro gazed at the screen. "What's the terrain like?"

Veronica replied, "The region around what we'll call Base One is a complex urban environment. Our route will take us through highly patrolled areas. It'll be hard to keep proper surveillance of our surroundings due to all the structural damage."

Shiro began pressing buttons on his datapad with his left hand. "Then I suggest we form two teams. A ground unit that will infiltrate Base One and get eyes on whatever is inside, and a sniper team that will observe from a higher position, covering the ground unit and providing some visibility."

Veronica replied, "Use communications sparingly. Stay on the move. Keep an eye on the timing patterns of the portal drones. "Pidge, Keith, Allura, and Griffin, you're the ground unit. Hunk, Kincade, Lance, and I will be sniper support."

Adam craned his head to stare at his cousin. "What about me? I'm the team's medic."

Veronica shook her head. "Not this time, and you're a lousy shot with a rifle. And we need people who can shoot."

Adam shook his head and opened his mouth.

Shiro leaned over to him. "Let it drop, this time."

"Fine, this time only. Next time I'll bitch about it."

---

Pidge stood in front of the screen as she briefed everyone in the conference room. "Sendak has built Zaiforge cannons. Our intel indicates the cannons were just completed. They could launch at any time."

Commander Iverson asked, "What exactly is a Zaiforge cannon?"

Keith leaned forward in his seat. "Planet killers. If these cannons launch and are fully charged, Sendak will be able to destroy Earth in seconds."

Rizavi gazed at Keith. "What do we do?"

Keith shifted his gaze to her. "Ideally, we attack all six bases at once, allowing them no time to stage a counterattack."

Admiral Sanda replied. "That's not possible."

Adam shook his head. They knew it wasn't possible right now, but did she always have to be a Debbie Downer?

Keith turned his gaze on the Admiral. "If we had our Lions, it could be. We'll have to find another way to retrieve them since the ship we rode in on crashed."

Sanda glared at Keith as her voice rose. "Your Lions are orbiting another planet. There's no way to get you to them. Plus, there are only five Lions."

Adam gritted his teeth as his jaw clenched. What the hell is her freaking problem? Yesterday she wanted to hand the Lions over to Sendak, and today she's putting the Paladins down as if they were nothing.

Shiro turned his gaze on the admiral. "The MFE's would need to attack the sixth cannon."

Griffin gazed at Shiro. "We'd love to, but they don't have that kind of range."

Coran spoke up, "There should be enough faunatonium to boost them to the sixth base and back."

Pidge gazed down at the table. "That's great, and all, but Admiral Sanda has a point. We can't get to our Lions."

Shiro gazed down at the table as he thought about the problem at hand. "You don't need to go to the Lions. They'll come to you." He rose to his feet. "As Paladins of Voltron, you can connect with Lions. They will come."

Hunk asked, "From Saturn?"

"From anywhere. You've been training for this since the very beginning. Each of you has forged a bond with your Lions. Tap into it."

Lance raised his eyes to gaze at Shiro. "Our Lions did come to us when we were lost in space."

Keith gazed up at Shiro. "And Red saved my life numerous times."

Allura replied, "Yes, it's possible. So we'll call the Lions to meet us here."

Pidge said, "We'll need the element of surprise. The Lions will have to rendezvous with us at the bases."

Hunk nodded. "Yeah, that will catch the Galra off guard. I mean, assuming the Lions respond to our calls. What if they don't come?"

Shiro replied, "They'll come. And when they do, you'll strike and destroy all six cannons simultaneously before they can be launched. And when the job's done, you can form Voltron and finish off Sendak and the rest of his forces."

Griffin gazed at the Paladins. "My pilots can transport four of you to the Galra bases before heading out to the sixth canon."

Adam couldn't believe it. Maybe he'd done the right thing. Griffin's whole attitude toward the Paladins seemed to have changed.

Veronica gazed up at Shiro. "I'll bring Lance to Base One. It's the closest, so I can do it by ground."

Shiro gazed at the admiral. "It's settled then. While Veronica drops Lance at Base One, the MFE's will each fly a Paladin out to a base. The Paladins should reach the drop zones at the same time the Lions arrive. Then the MFE's will head to the sixth base. We'll launch a coordinated attack on all the locations at once."

---

Adam watched Allura walk away from the Garrison vehicle. Lance stood on the side. Adam started walking until he stood behind and gazed up at Lance. "Hey, kid."

Lance turned around and gasped as he saw what sat on Adam's shoulders. "When did that happen?"

Adam shook his head. "It's not important."

Lance's eyes bugged. "Not important? You're a commander now!"

Adam shrugged. "It's nothing."

Veronica appeared and saluted.

Adam saluted back but sighed. "Will you cut that out? I'm still the same person I've always been."

Veronica snorted. "The same person, my ass says the guy with the beard."

"Yeah, you went through hell out there. Not as much as Shiro, but you still went through hell." Lance's eyes teared up a little as he gazed at the other man. "His clone tried to kill you."

Adam nodded. "I remember. But I didn't come here to talk about that. I came up here to tell you to be careful and come back to us."

Lance nodded as he hopped down and gripped Adam in a hug. "I will."

Adam gripped Lance in return. "You better, you dork."

Veronica giggled from the Garrison vehicle. But she calmed quickly. "Let's go, Lance. We've got a schedule to keep."

---

Adam stepped into the command center as Shiro gave one last pep talk to the Voltron team. "Paladins, our window of opportunity is razor-thin. With the element of surprise, we'll have the advantage. Good Luck!"

---

Commander Iverson said, "Four of the five Paladins have reached their drop zones. We're just waiting on Lance."

Shiro frowned. He knew Lance was a goofball at times, but he'd never play around on a mission, especially with Earth at stake. "Lance, where are you? Can you hear me?"

Adam heard Lance's scream. He gripped the edge of a desk. This reminded him of Shiro's death. He found it hard to breathe. Why did he have to think of that again? Why? He took another breath as his knees trembled, and he dropped into an empty chair.

He rubbed at his forehead as he tried to clear those thoughts that were swirling around in his head. But it shot up when he heard Lance finally report. "Red Lion checking in!"

Iverson replied. "We have all Lions. It worked!"

Cheers broke out in the command center.

Shiro's eyes grew as the attack went sideways, and the Paladins and the MFE's were calling for help. "They were ready for us."

The cannons were launched, and Keith ordered the MFE's to return to base. Then the Paladins formed Voltron's intent on attacking Sendak's ship. But several blasts came from somewhere and converged on Voltron, causing the great warrior to split into the individual Lions. A tractor beam sucked the helpless lions and pilots into Sendak's command ship.

Commander Holt asked. "Where did those shots come from?"

Coran was quick to answer. His fear and worry for his Princess were evident in his voice. "The Zaiforge Cannons. Sendak was ready for the entire attack the whole time. How?"

Adam gazed around the room, spotting the joint chiefs and second in command of the Garrison, but one person was missing. His eyes narrowed. "It appears we have a traitor in our midst."

Commander Holt's eyes narrowed as he let his own eyes roam around the room. "Where is Admiral Sanda?"

A voice from off to the side spoke, Adam recognized as one of the people who was involved in some of the mission briefings. He'd gone out with him a time or two after Takashi's disappearance on the Kerberos mission, but nothing had clicked between them. The man's name was Curtis. "She's been gone from the base since the mission briefing."

The gray-haired man wearing glassed with the sash and medals on his chest stepped up. "I don't like what your all are insinuating."

Adam glared at him. "Really? Then where is she? Face facts she's either tried blocking us at every turn or lobbying to turn the Lions over to Sendak. Get this fact through you're head. Sendak doesn't intend for Earth to survive this attack. He hates us because what do we do when we're threatened or forced to fight for our lives we don't roll over and die we fight back. And we fight back hard. That's what he hates about us. He hates our human spirit."

Sam nodded from beside him. "And that's what we tried to get into her stubborn head. And now she's nowhere to be found, and Sendak knew our plan, so put two and two together."

Shiro gazed at the screen as he swallowed hard. "Paladins, are you there? Paladins, do you copy. Keith? Anyone?" He turned to Sam. "Commander Holt, what weapons do we have available?"

Sam replied, "Fusion cannons, but that fleet is out of range."

Adam slapped his hand against his thigh. "Is there anything we can do?" He raked a hand through his hair.

Shiro frowned. "What about the MFE's?"

Sam replied, "The mission depleted their power. They're charging now."

Coran gazed at the former Black Paladin. "Shiro, even with the MFE's, Sendak has an entire fleet."

Shiro silently cursed but gazed at the Altean and Sam Holt. "What about the Atlas?"

Sam shook his head. "We've had zero success launching it."

Shiro sighed but then gazed past Sam to someone he was kind of surprised to see. "Veronica monitor the fleet. Let us know if anything changes."

"Yes, sir."

Shiro turned his gaze back to Sam and Coran. "Come on, let's get that ship off the ground."

---

Coran's fingertips ran over the keyboard as Shiro hovered from behind. "Anything?"

Coran frowned as he shook his head. "Not yet. We can shut down all non-essential systems and use an external source to fire one engine."

Sam replied, "We tried that. It wasn't enough power."

Coran rubbed a hand along his chin. "What about the crystals from MFE's?"

Sam was ready to grasp for any kind of straw. "You think that would work?"

Coran frowned. "Actually, no, scratch that. Far too small. You don't happen to have any Nunville, do you?"

Sam gazed at Coran as his eyebrow rose.

Veronica's voice cam over the Atlas from the Garrison's mission command room. "I'm detecting movement from the Zaiforge cannons. Their course will have them converging over our location."

Shiro frowned. "Even with all the power we've collected to it, the particle barrier will never hold against a Zaiforge cannon."

Coran's eyes brightened. "Wait, that's it! We can divert power from the shield generator to the Atlas."

Sam nodded following Coran's train of thought. But he also frowned. "The base would be unprotected, but it's possible. And it just might work."

Shiro gazed ahead. "Veronica, how much time do we have before the Zaiforge cannons arrive?"

"By our calculations, less than two hours."

Shiro replied, "We have to hurry."

Sam nodded. "Veronica, transfer all data from mission control to the Atlas."

"Yes, sir."

Adam gazed at Shiro and nodded. "Commander Iverson, get all personnel aboard this ship immediately."

"Yes, sir."

Adam shot a grin at Shiro as he lowered his voice. "Never did I ever think Iverson would listen to an order given by me."

Shiro chuckled. "I know."

---

Adam waited by the ramp. Lance's family was already aboard the Atlas, but where were his parents. He caught a glimpse of a woman with dark hair and a taller man with salt and pepper hair approaching. He let out the breath he'd been holding as they neared him.

The man waved, seeing Adam first.

Adam smiled at the pair. "Momma, Poppa, I've got you accommodations with Lance's family."

His mother gazed at him as he brushed a hand along the side of the cheek. "You're tired. When's the last time you've slept?"

Adam shook his head as he grabbed his mother's hand. "I'm okay, really, but there's no time for this." He happened to look up and caught sight of Sam's wife. He waved at her. "Mrs. Holt over here."

Colleen saw him as she moved up alongside the younger man's parents. "What's going on?"

Adam shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I can't explain right now. I need to get you all aboard."

---

Adam appeared on the bridge in time for the energy transfer to begin from the barrier defense generator. He stepped up nest to Shiro. "My parents, along with Mrs. Holt, are with Lance's family."

Shiro nodded. "Good."

As the Atlas charged up, the ship shook in the underground hangar by Ion cannon fire from a Galra cruiser, now attacking the exposed base.

Sam's voice came from engineering. "We've got it. It's charged!"

Shiro asked, "Is everyone aboard?"

Iverson replied, "The Garrison is cleared."

Shiro replied. "Prepare for launch." The engines fired up as the hangar doors above opened, and the ship began to gain a vertical lift. However, the power drain was too much, and the Atlas settled down hard in its cradle.

Adam grabbed onto the rail in the command area to stay on his feet.

Commander Holt's voice came up from engineering. "I've built a useless ship. It would take the power of several supermassive black holes to get this hunk of metal off the ground."

Coran's eyes bugged out. "That's it! Why didn't I think of it before? Of course! Black Holes!"

Adam gazed at Coran as the Altean held up the crystal. "You mean that? The crystal left over from the destruction of the Castle of Lions?"

"Exactly!"

Commander Holt raced up on the bridge. He opened a container that rose from the floor. "This serves as the brains of the Atlas." He gazed at the crystal. I hope this works."

Coran released the crystal that hovered in the air and then flew into the container, and a flash came from the container as power immediately flowed through the great ship.

Veronica turned in her chair. "Subsystems fully powered."

Curtis spoke from his seat. "Mega thrusters are go."

Shiro turned around and faced the bridge crew. "Veronica, monitor the radars, let us know what you see. Commander Iverson, I need you on weapons, Coran get the helm."

Coran enthusiastically gave Shiro an Altean salute. "Yes, Captain."

The entire bridge grew quiet as everyone turned to face the former Black Paladin.

Commander Holt spoke from behind him. "The bridge is yours, Shiro."

Shiro turned back around to the commander. "I could use an engineer." He turned to Adam. "I could also use a second in command."

Commander Holt and Adam both saluted at the same time. "Yes, sir."

Veronica studied the radar. "Captain, the Galra fleet is directly above the launch pad!"

Adam frowned at the screen. "MFE squadron, we need you to clear a path."

Shiro nodded at Adam. His command was sound. "The Atlas is powered and ready for launch."

Griffin's voice came over the ship's speaker. "Copy that, Atlas."

Shiro gripped the rail as Adam spoke. "Crew, prepare for launch."

Shiro gazed ahead. "Launch." He stared at some readings coming over his holographic screen. "Nice work, pilots."

A slight grin tugged at one corner of Adam's mouth. "You've temporarily knocked out their systems, giving us some breathing room."

Shiro called out, "Iverson, how are the weapons systems coming?"

Iverson replied, "Still working on them."

Veronica craned her head around to gaze out the corner of her eye toward Shiro. "Sir, Sendak appears to be positioning to attack from above."

Shiro nodded. "Shields at the ready."

"Yes, sir."

Iverson craned his head. "An ionic discharger came online."

"Very good," Shiro replied. "Lock onto that cruiser. Fire when ready!"

Iverson crowed, "Direct hit!"

Veronica called out. "Galra cruisers are taking up positions around us!"

The Atlas was rocked from fire by the cruisers.

Sam's voice came up from engineering. "We have a problem with the main engine. The dynotherm connections are weakening."

Adam gazed at Iverson. "Commander –"

"I know. I'm hitting them with everything we've got, but there are too many of them!"

Adam let Iverson's reply go. He knew the man was under pressure, hell they were all under pressure to save Earth from Sendak.

The Atlas rocked again from heavy fire. Shiro held tight to the rail. "Sam, what other weapons does the ship have?"

"I'm not sure. Once the crystal was added, this ship gained abilities I never imagined."

Veronica spoke from her seat, "We've got incoming." She studied her screen a little longer. "Wait, they're friendly!"

A huge grin formed on Coran's face. "The Lions, they've escaped!"

Shiro grinned. "Paladins, welcome to the fight. Let's go take out Sendak's cruiser."

Pidge replied, "Wait! We're still on that ship! Well, our bodies are."

Shiro's grin grew. "Amazing." He directed his next comment to the Atlas crew. "We've got ourselves some breathing room. "Let's make it count."

Adam gazed at Veronica. "Roni, keep those reports coming."

Amusement colored her voice as she replied, "Yes, sir."

The battle continued to rage while the Paladins escaped from Sendak's ship and formed Voltron.

Shiro said, "Welcome back to the fight, Paladins."

Hunk replied, "It's good to be back. You know, in our bodies."

Adam shook his head. Hunk was still Hunk.

Shiro said, "MFE pilots, what's your status?"

"Power's dropping."

Adam nodded. "Return to the Atlas and recharge."

"Copy that."

Weapons fire from the Galra fleet began hammering the Atlas again as Voltron took out several other cruisers.

Shiro gazed at the Altean. "Coran, adjust our heading to narrow our surface area for incoming attacks." He turned to focus his attention back to the cannons. "Sam, what's the status of the Zaiforge cannons?"

According to the projected trajectories, they've started moving together, but the convergent point is—"

"Sam? What is it?"

"I know what Sendak's doing. He's going to merge the beams to make one massive amplified emission of particle radiation that will vaporize Earth!"

Hunk said, "We can't let that happen? What do we do?"

Allura asked, "Should we go after the Zaiforge cannons? The Lions might not be able to defeat them all in time."

Sam replied, "If even two of those beams connect, they have the power to destroy Earth."

Keith said, "We know Sendak is controlling them. Let's take him out."

Adam gazed at some of the readouts flying across a screen by him. He turned to Shiro. "The Zaiforge cannon bases are attacking Voltron, but Voltron moved near the cruisers, and Sendak is destroying his ships."

The Atlas rocked again. Alarm klaxons were going off on the bridge.

Coran called out, "We can't get to Sendak!"

Veronica turned her head. "Voltron is pinned down."

Shiro glanced at one of the displays on his holographic screen. "Griffin, what's your team's status?"

"The MFE's are nearly charged."

"We need you back in the fight! Head to the coordinates I'm sending you and your team. Take out those surface-to-air cannons!"

"Yes, sir."

The Atlas continued to rock from the battle. Veronica shouted, "We've sustained structural damage on our starboard bow!"

Iverson called out. "Aft cannons are charging. Holding at forty-five percent!"

Sam's voice came from the speakers. "Shiro, the Zaiforge cannons are almost in position. By my calculations, we're not going to get to Sendak in time."

Shiro knew he had to decide, and it had to be made now. "Paladins, you have to stop your attack."

Keith said, "What?"

"Abort your attack, or Earth will be destroyed."

Lance replied, "What's going on?"

"The Atlas will continue to attack Sendak while the MFE's continue to take out the ground cannons. But you need to stop the Zaiforge cannons directly."

Griffin reported in, "Atlas, cannon one is neutralized. Moving on to the next target."

Adam stepped up behind Veronica. "Roni, what's the status of the shielding system?"

Veronica growled. "I'm trying."

Adam gripped her shoulder and gave it a quick squeeze. "Keep working."

Shiro studied the positions of the remaining Galra cruisers. "Coran, adjust our heading to five-point three eight." As the Atlas came around, Shiro continued to study his screen. "Full ordinance! Starboard side!"

Iverson said, "Munitions to starboard!"

Shiro called out, "Coran, bearings seven point two. Fire!"

Iverson roared out, "Galra cruiser destroyed."

Veronica gazed over her shoulder to Adam. "Commander, the shielding system is coming online."

Adam gazed up at Shiro. "Particle barrier is now working."

Shiro gazed at his screen. "Sam, how much time before the Zaiforge cannons fire?"

"Any second now! The Paladins have the plates in position, but those plates were designed to reflect short bursts of energy. They won't hold for long."

Shiro's eyebrows narrowed as his face hardened. "We have to take Sendak out now!"

Coran replied, "But we can't get through the cruiser blockade he's created."

Shiro growled. "We need a new plan! Sam, what if someone were to infiltrate Sendak's ship and gain access to the crystal? Could the cannons be disrupted?"

Adam gazed up at Shiro as he took a step forward. "By someone you mean you."

Sam asked, "Infiltrate Sendak's ship?"

"Would it work?"

Adam balled his hands into fists. A stream of Spanish came from his mouth as he glared at Shiro.

Veronica's lips pursed together as she ducked her head, and a blush came to her cheeks. "Wow, Adam is pissed," she whispered.

Sam's voice came from the speaker. "It could work, but you'd need a communication device to link the Atlas so we can hack their systems."

Shiro nodded. "Then that's what we'll do. I'm going in." He locked eyes with Adam's knowing that the man he loved was pissed at him for risking his life again. "It's to save Earth." He sighed. "Adam, you have the conn." He turned and raced out the doors.

Adam grits his teeth together as his jaw clenched tight. He took Shiro's spot. When Takashi returned after this was over, they were going to have a long talk about risking his life. Adam closed his eyes and took a calming breath. He opened them again. "Coran, we need to get the Atlas to the impact site. We need to be prepared for every outcome."

Coran nodded as he set in the course.

Keith groaned as he asked. "Atlas, what's happening?"

Adam replied, "Hold on a little longer! We have a plan!"

"Whatever it is, we're running out of time!"

Shiro reported in. "Atlas, I've arrived at Sendak's command ship."

The Atlas rocked under the onslaught of the combined beams of the Zaiforge cannons. Veronica said, "We've interrupted the beams, but we need more power!"

Adam nodded. "I'm aware of that. Paladins! Paladins, are you there? Takashi, I can't reach the Paladins, and the Atlas can't hold out this beam much longer!"

Coran spoke up, "Shiro, whatever your gonna do, can you do it now?"

Shiro replied, "Sam, I've made it to the crystal. Activating communication transponder."

"Okay, Shiro, I have to warn you, this might be a little strange. I'm about to use your brain as a computer node."

Shiro replied, "Well, it wouldn't be the first time."

Adam muttered under his breath.

Sam hacked into the crystal. After a few moments, he said. "I've lost the connection. Shiro? Shiro! Are you there?"

Iverson spoke from the weapons console. "One of the cannons is down!"

Veronica replied, "That bought us time, but we can't withstand the blast from the other cannons much longer. The shield is failing. Twenty-five percent and dropping!"

Sam replied, "I'm diverting power from the infinite mass crystal."

Adam frowned. "Paladins, hurry!"

Veronica yelled. "Lance!" Maybe that was what spurred the paladins, but she sighed as she sat back in her chair as the Atlas stopped shuddering from the impact of the beams. "The Lions have defeated all the cannons."

Adam gripped the rail that surrounded the command area. Where in the hell was Takashi?

"Atlas, this is Griffin. MFE's have successfully neutralized the final target."

Adam nodded. "Good job! Return to the Atlas."

"Copy that."

Veronica said, "The only remaining hostile is Sendak's ship. It's free-falling toward Earth's surface. It's hit terminal velocity."

Adam spoke, "Keith, Takashi's on that ship."

Keith growled. "What the – never mind. I know why he'd do something like that. I'll look for him." The Lions guided the ship past the city.

White noise seemed to roar through Adam's eardrums as he listened for anything to tell him that Takashi was alive.

Keith spoke again, "I've got him, Atlas and Sendak is no longer a problem. Hunk is bringing Shiro to you."

Klaxon's rang out over the bridge. Adam gazed at Veronica. "What's going on?"

Coran craned his head. "It's a Robeast. I have no idea where it may have come from or who sent it."

Hunk called out, "Shiro's onboard the Atlas."

Adam listened to Keith. He sounded exhausted. "Paladins. I know we're all in bad shape, but we have strength in together. This is Earth. This is our home. We're going to defend it!"

Adam's chest swelled with pride. He opened his mouth, but Coran beat him to the punch. "And we'll be by your side."

Allura replied, "Good to have you back, Atlas."

Adam called out, "Raise particle barrier."

A hit from the Robeast struck the Atlas as a new alarm joined the noises from the bridge.

Veronica said, "We've taken a direct hit. It's aligning for a second attack."

Keith said, "Atlas, we need you to hold the beast back temporarily, so we have time to form Voltron. It's the only way we're gonna beat this thing."

Adam replied, "Affirmative. Fire all weapons. Pin that thing down! Veronica, prepare to raise shields!"

The Robeast flew up in the air and began firing down on the Atlas.

Adam frowned. "Cease firing. Raise shields."

Veronica replied. "Shields up."

Shiro appeared on the bridge. "Coran, hold this course."

Iverson turned in his seat and gazed at Shiro. "Captain, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine."

Adam leaned over, "Bullshit."

Shiro stood. "Shields report."

Veronica replied, "They're holding at seventy percent."

Shiro braced himself against the rail. "Iverson, the port side cannons."

"They're fully charged."

"Shield's down. Fire!"

The Robeast reflected the attack at the Atlas.

Sam said, "We lost an energy inverter on two cannons. Diverting power."

The Robeast charged forward to attack the Atlas, but fire from above caused it to retreat. Keith's voice came over the bridge speaker as Voltron stood in front of the ship. "Thanks for covering for us, Atlas."

Shiro gazed forward. "Coran take us up to cover fire position. Iverson, once those cannons come back online, we'll need to give Voltron some support."

Adam's heart seemed to jump up from his chest into his throat. He knew Shiro saw the same thing he did. The Robeast had its dual weapons shoved into Voltron's shoulders.

Shiro said, "Launch fighters!"

"Griffin announced to both the Atlas and Voltron, "We're coming in." The MFE's strafed the Robeast.

But it was enough of a distraction for Voltron to break free.

Shiro asked. "Paladins, what happened? Are you okay?"

Hunk replied, "Those blades, they sapped our energy."

Pidge said, "It felt like the Komar."

The MFE's continued to harass the Robeast.

Keith said, "Pilots, fall back. Those blasts can vaporize you."

Shiro replied, "Keith's right. You've successfully drawn its fire. Rendezvous with the Atlas ASAP."

"Roger that."

Veronica said, "The enemy has turned its attention back to Voltron, sir."

Shiro asked, "Sam, how are those cannons?"

"Coming back online now."

"Fire!" Shiro saw a glint of purple in the dust clouds that flew up around the Robeast. "Shields!"

A blast of energy struck the Atlas and took out the shields of the ship. Klaxons blared as everyone shouted, and emergency lighting came up, bathing everyone in an eerie orange glow.

The Robeast fired striking the Earth warship.

Sam said, "It's destabilizing the molecular reflection arrays!"

Shiro shouted. "Pull out of range!"

Voltron rose and attacked the Robeast. Their fight rose into the sky.

Iverson roared, "We can't get a clear shot!"

Veronica said, "Rebooting shields."

Adam's eyes locked onto the fierceness of Shiro's face. It was scary. Is this how he looked when they fought Zarkon?

Voltron and the Robeast crashed to the ground with the beasts blades again tuck into Voltron's shoulders, pinning the great warrior to the ground as it drained the mech's energy.

Shiro asked, "What's our status?"

Coran replied, "Stabilizing thrusters are gone. I'm attempting to override."

Iverson said, "The cannons are offline again, all of them."

Sam reported in from engineering. "Initiating backup generators!"

Shiro's eyes grew, "No!"

Voltron lay on the ground lifeless.

The Robeast turned and fired, striking the Atlas.

Coran said, "Shiro, the shields are gone, and we don't have countermeasures.."

Adam gazed up at Shiro as his face went blank. He ran and entered the command area and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Takashi?"

Shiro whispered, "It's talking to me."

"What?"

Shiro blinked and gazed ahead. "Bring us up. Set coordinates for the upper atmosphere."

Coran turned in his seat and glared. "But, Voltron."

Adam shifted his gaze to the Altean. "Do it, Coran."

Shiro said, "Commander Holt, I need all the power we've got."

"Copy that."

Shiro closed his eyelids and then opened them. "Atlas crew, hold tight!"

Adam stared at one of the command screens as it switched to a new display that popped up. The Atlas, according to the display, now looked like a giant mech warrior even bigger than Voltron. He turned his gaze back to Shiro. "What did you do?"

Shiro shrugged. "I don't know, but it started talking to me like the Black Lion used too." He said, "Paladins are you there? What's your status?"

Keith replied, "We're here. How did you –"

"I'm not exactly sure. We've got you covered."

Veronica said, "Hostile returning for another pass."

"Get me eyes on the target."

The Robeast attacked the Atlas and used it's weapons to drain the energy from this new mechanical warrior.

Voltron attacked the Robeast at the last minute.

White noise roared in Adam's ears. He shook his head as he picked himself up off the floor, and the noise cleared. Shiro stood up next to him. They both watched as Voltron carried the body of the Robeast into the atmosphere. An explosion occurred, and the lions were thrown violently down to earth.

Shiro yelled. "Paladins! Keith, Keith, anyone answer me!"

Adam gazed at a display. "We're offline."

Shiro nodded, but he sagged as his injuries began catching up to him.

Adam sighed. "I knew you were hurt worse than you let on. Commander Iverson. I need your help getting our Captain down to sickbay until we can get back to the garrison."

---

Adam dozed in the chair next to the bed where Shiro lay. His eyelids opened as he heard movement from the bed. His eyes blinked as they slid over toward the noise.

Shiro gazed over at Adam. "Where are we?"

"We're at the Garrison hospital." Adam sighed. "I know you're going to ask. The Paladins are here, but none of them have woke up yet. Their bodies need time to heal, just like yours did."

Shiro nodded. "Your still mad at me."

Adam's eyes narrowed. "Damn straight, I am. Why do you always have to be the one risking your life?"

Shiro sighed. "I did it to save Earth. You know that."

Adam sighed as moisture gathered in his eyes. "I know you did, but what about the others you would have left behind if you'd died. Like me?" He raised a hand and wiped at his eyes. "I lost you once. I don't want to do that again."

Shiro reached out and grabbed Adam's hand. "I promise I won't do that again."

A throat clearing noise came from the doorway. The newly-promoted Admiral Sablan stepped into the room. "Captain Shirogane, I've talked to your doctors, and they say you will be released in a day, possibly two. We're planning a memorial service for those we've lost in three days. We need you to give a speech."

Shiro gazed up at the man. "Why me?"

"You and the Paladins saved Earth, but you're the first one to wake up."

Adam frowned as he muttered under his breath only loud enough for Shiro to hear the nickname that Coran had coined for him, "Shiro the Hero."

---

Thace had prowled this corridor for the last two days since both Allura and Keith were brought in. Both were still unconscious. But Keith's was a little more troubling since he sustained a head injury sometime during the fight.

He stopped as he heard voices coming from one of the rooms and then the exit of the new Admiral Sablan. He'd run into him a couple of times, and though the man wasn't pleasant, he seemed to be competent at his job.

He stuck his head through the doorway, finding Shiro sitting up and Adam sitting on the side of the bed beside him.

Thace grinned as he stepped into the room. "It's good to see your awake, finally. I heard you took out Sendak and his ship and managed to survive."

Shiro groaned.

Adam jabbed his elbow into Shiro's side. "Your legend is growing."

Thace nodded. "Not only his but also of Voltron and Earth. The people of the Voltron Coalition, rebel fighters, and The Blade of Marmora are here now besides others who are offering assistance in helping your people rebuild." Thace paused and then pointed with his clawed index finger toward the doorway. "What was he doing here?"

Adam chuckled. "He drafted Shiro to give a speech that he and the joint chief's wrote for a memorial service to be held in three days."

Thace cocked his head. "What's a memorial service?"

Shiro frowned as he held the speech. "It's to honor the people we lost. But we shouldn't only honor them. We should also honor others like Ulaz and Antoch, too, with this speech."

Thace nodded. "Then rewrite it. Keep whatever sounds good, but toss out what it doesn't say."

Shiro grinned, "Thanks Thace."

Thace grinned in return. "I'm glad to help. Now I must get back to Keith's room before Krolia or Kolivan come looking for me."

Shiro's grin faded. "How is Keith?"

"He's still unconscious, but he has a head injury. The doctors here are optimistic about his recovery."

Shiro sighed. "I hope so."

"Don't worry, Shiro. He'll be okay. Not only is he part human, but he's also part Galra and has his mother's stubbornness. He'll pull through."

Shiro nodded. "Thanks for that, Thace."

---

The day dawned bright as the Galaxy Garrison's flag flew at half-mast. The Lions sat on the tarmac on the part of one of the remaining runways that were chosen for the memorial service.

Shiro gazed up at the Black Lion, but he turned to face the podium. Adam stood next to him, both dressed in full military dress uniforms. Shiro pulled off the cap and laid it on the podium next to his speech. He gazed out over the faces of those who stood facing pictures of some of the people that the Galaxy Garrison had lost.

Shiro blinked and turned his eyes down toward the paper and then gazed up again. "Today is a solemn day." He took a second breath before continuing. "Today, we look at the lives we've lost, and the sacrifices that were made both here on Earth and across the universe. There isn't a person among us here today who hasn't lost a friend or a family member." He stopped to suck in a calming breath. "It truly feels like a light has gone out, and we can't reignite it."

Shiro paused for a moment as images of people he'd never see again flashed through in his mind. He blinked again, fighting back the tears that glinted in his dark gray eyes. "But that light, that fire, has not gone out completely. It is fueled within each of us by the memories and the love of those we've lost. And now, we must move forward in their names and shine that light onto a new path for future generations. Today is a solemn day, but it is also a day of hope. Earth is now stronger than ever, and it stands a beacon of light to guide everyone fighting against tyranny and oppression. From here, we will spread peace, and together we will hold strong as the Defenders of the Universe."