Chapter 34 – Rebuilding

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

Shiro and Adam returned to the hospital. "I know you're worried about the Paladins, Takashi, but I'm sure you'll find they've woken up by now."

Shiro nodded. "I have to be certain."

As the pair strode down the corridor, a couple stepped out of a room. And started walking toward the pair of Garrison officers. A smile appeared on the woman's face as recognition flashed in her eyes. "Your Captain Shirogane. We saw your speech on the TV in Hunk's room. It's a pleasure to meet you." She reached out and embraced Shiro in a hug.

Shock flashed in Shiro's eyes, but he returned the hug.

The man beside her chuckled. "I'm sorry, but she's a hugger just like Hunk." He turned his eyes to the other man. "And you must be Adam. Hunk's told us all about the two of you."

Adam smiled in return. "All good, I hope?"

The man chuckled. "Well, some of his stories were hard to follow, but I'm glad he's home."

Shiro smiled back at them. "How is he?"

Hunk's mom smiled again. "He'll be fine. He just needs to rest for a few more days." She chuckled. "I just hope his Uncle Filo and Hunk's older sister can keep his younger siblings in check. They were so happy to find out that the Yellow Lion was part of this Voltron and that Hunk was its pilot. They're clamoring to come and see him, but the doctors say he needs rest. He'll get more excitement than he can handle when he gets home."

She wiped a hand over her eyes as she gazed at the pair of men. "I just want to say again, thank you for bringing our son home. If there's anything we can do, all you have to do is ask."

Her husband chuckled. "She means it too. And so do I. Take care." He placed his hand on his wife's shoulder as the pair continued down the hallway.

Shiro gazed at Adam. "That was interesting."

They came upon another room and heard Sam Holt's voice, "Now Colleen, I think she's sorry she ran away."

"Don't you try to calm me down, Sam Holt. Katie is grounded unless it's Paladin related. But for the rest of the time here, she is grounded!"

Shiro ducked his head. "I suppose Pidge was right about her mom being scary."

Adam nodded as he swallowed hard. He was not wanting to be on the receiving end of that temper.

They both heard Pidge yell, "That's not fair; you're going to ground me but not Matt?"

Shiro pointed down the hall. "I think we should move on."

As they neared another room, they heard mice squeaking. Coran's yelling followed it. "Platt, you give that back."

Adam chuckled. "Sounds like Allura's awake."

Shiro nodded.

They passed by his room and reached Lances. People talking and laughing along with the squeals of children announced that Lance was awake. Adam grinned.

"I can go on to Keith's room if you'd like to visit with Lance?"

Adam shook his head. "I can see him later. I'm just as concerned about Keith as you are."

The pair crossed the hall to Keith's room. Shiro knocked on the door frame and stepped into the room with Adam following. Kosmo stood from where he lay at the side of the bed and wagged at both garrison officers.

Krolia turned as Kolivan gazed up from where he sat on the window sill. Krolia started to rise from her spot on the side of Keith's bed.

Shiro motioned with his hands for her to remain seated. "Please don't get up on our account."

He walked over to the window sill, leaned up against it, and gazed out the window at the lions in the distance. He turned back and gazed at his brother's mother. "Keith's got a good view."

Kolivan nodded.

Krolia gazed into Shiro's eyes. "Thace explained to us the significance of the speech you gave."

Shiro nodded as a small, sad smile pulled at his lips. "I felt it needed to be said. Humans weren't the only ones who lost people." His eyes slid over to Keith's face, and he winced at the scar on the young man's face. "How is Keith?"

Krolia gazed down at her son's face. "He's still sleeping." Her eyes slid back to Shiro's as she cleared her throat. "When we were in the quantum abyss, we talked a lot, and he always came back to you. He let me know that you grew up like him without a family, and you're like a brother to my son. So, I would like to welcome you as a part of our family."

Adam gazed up from where he knelt as he gave Kosmo some attention. "There's not any kind of initiation like the Knowledge or Death stuff you put Keith through?"

Kolivan snorted. "No, she just offered, and if Shiro accepts, he officially part of the family from Galra perspective. I don't know how it is with Earth customs."

Shiro swallowed, but he gazed at Krolia. "I'd be honored."

Krolia smiled. "Good, that's settled. Keith will be pleased."

Shiro rose to his full height. "I'll return to check up on him. We have a lot to do before we can even think about the rest of the Galra Empire."

Kolivan nodded. "I understand. I would like permission from your government to establish a small outpost here on Earth, so my agents can help your people."

"I'll suggest it to Admiral Sablan." Shiro began to walk away.

A weak sounding, "Sh – Shiro," came from the bed behind him.

Shiro spun on his heel and turned to see Keith wince as his eyelids moved, and he blinked several times as the light shone in them.

Adam stood as Shiro raced to the younger man's side.

"Keith," Shiro brushed the dark bangs out of Keith's blue-gray eyes. "You're awake. How do you feel?"

"Mm – head hurts."

Shiro reached down and pressed the nurse's call button. "We'll get a doctor in here to check you out."

"Okay." Keith reached up and rubbed at his temple and winced at the touch.

Adam felt something brush up against his chest. His eyes grew as he stood up and smacked himself in the face. "With all the events going on, I forgot I was still carrying this." He reached into the uniform jacket's inner breast pocket and pulled out the Altean medical scanner.

He moved around the bed and turned the Altean device on; It hummed as he ran it over Keith and gazed at the results.

Shiro gazed at Adam. "What does it say?"

"Keith has a mild concussion, but other than that, he's healthy."

Keith groaned. "Tell that to my head."

A nurse raced into the room. She appeared out of breath as she stopped within the doorway to see Keith awake. "I'm sorry for the delay, but Cadet McClain isn't an exactly good patient." She frowned but stood to attention as her eyes locked onto Shiro's Captain bars on his uniform and Adam's Commander's bars.

Shiro saluted in return. "He's got a headache and needs something for the pain."

Adam slipped the scanner back into his pocket, knowing that the nurse wouldn't believe him. "I'd better go get Lance calmed down."

Keith winced. "Adam don't. Let him be. He's home, and he's having fun."

Shiro's eyebrow rose.

The nurse frowned at Keith's comment. "I'll go get the doctor who's in charge of this floor to examine Cadet Kogane."

Adam turned his gaze on her. "We'd prefer it if you got Commander Holt."

The nurse shrugged and left the room.

Keith frowned. "What's the deal with getting Commander Holt?"

Adam smirked. "He at least understands Altean technology and won't ask questions or delay you getting something for the head."

Krolia smiled up at Adam as she placed a hand on Keith's knee, which was covered by the sheet. "Good idea."

Commander Holt appeared in the doorway. His eyes scanned the room as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "What's going on?"

Shiro turned his gaze to Commander Holt. "Adam ran the Altean medical scanner he has on Keith, who has a mild concussion."

Keith groaned. "And one hell of a headache. Feels like someone is pounding my skull with a hammer."

"Okay. I'll get the nurse to bring you a shot of a pain killer. But I'm going to advise that all the paladins take a week to rest. You need to regain your energy."

Krolia nodded. "I agree."

Kolivan snorted. "In two days, he will be climbing the walls to get out of here."

Keith's eyes grew. "You can't do that. I lead the Paladins."

Shiro gazed down on Keith's face. "I'm sorry, Keith, but just before the memorial service Admiral Sablan put Voltron under my command." He watched as the tension in the Black Paladin's body ebbed and dissipated. "Don't worry, though, there's more than enough work to go around in rebuilding."

Keith opened his mouth but closed it when a child's happy squeal came from across the hall.

Adam snorted. "That has to be Lance's niece, Nadia."

The nurse returned carrying the same type of medication delivery system that Adam had used on the Castle of Lions. She flashed a quick, nervous smile at Krolia and Kolivan before pressing it against Keith's arm. It hissed as the medication entered the Black Paladin's bloodstream. He sighed as his eyelids slid down to half-mast.

Shiro squeezed the younger man's shoulder. "You get some rest. I'll return when I can."

Adam leaned against the doorframe. "You look good sitting behind that desk, not out risking your life."

Shiro looked up from something he was reading as he chuckled. "Is that any way to talk to your captain?"

A smirk pulled at the corner of Adam's lips. "Yes, it is if I'm talking to my future husband and not my captain." Amusement twinkled in his eyes as he shook his head. "However, right now, I'm here as your executive officer." He pushed himself off the doorframe and strode toward the desk as he shook his head. He waved the flimsy plastic-coated report in his hand as he shook his head. "You're not going to believe this," he said as he passed the report over to Takashi and sat on the corner of the desk.

Shiro took the report, and his eyebrows rose as he read it. His eye twitched. He brought his hand up and smacked himself in the face and let his hand slide down. He groaned. "What am I going to do with them?"

Adam chuckled. "You can drill them until they drop, but in the end, they're still teenagers."

Shiro steepled hands together in front of him. "So, do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, the first one is to find out why Pidge is trying to hack into the hospital's mainframe. She's looking for something. Secondly, I say we set a trap in the cafeteria tonight to catch Lance and Hunk in the act. According to the security camera, they've been caught sneaking out of their rooms at about midnight. I also think that if they're able to sneak around the hospital at night, they're well enough to get back to work. They can start by hauling the debris from the city to the new reclamation plant that will break down the building materials and make new ones to rebuild the cities."

Shiro smirked, "That sounds like a good idea." He now faced the other problem. "Keith is still complaining about headaches."

Adam rubbed a hand on his pant leg. "Yeah. I did a follow-up with the doctor in charge of that floor. He says his tests are fine, but he's perplexed by the headaches himself. There's also the question of him being half-Galra, which could be part of the problem."

"Okay, I should probably talk to Kolivan and Krolia. I finally got the answer back from Admiral Sablan about the Blade of Marmora outpost. He's agreeable to the idea, but he has a condition to it. That they should take humans who are interested in joining."

Shiro and Adam strode into the hospital. "I'll go talk to Krolia and Kolivan. You go talk to Pidge."

Adam sighed, "And why do I have to go talk to Pidge?"

Shiro shrugged, but then he smirked over at Adam. "You're just lucky, I guess."

They both turned and continued down the hall where the Paladins rooms were located. As they reached Pidge's, Adam turned and stepped into the room. The girl in question sat on her bed, flipping through channels on the TV.

Pidge's honey-brown eyes light up as she caught sight of Adam. "Hey, Adam."

"Hey, yourself."

Pidge stared at him a moment as she visibly deflated. "Oh, you've got that look on your face."

Adam cocked his head as he gazed at her. "What look is that?"

"The, we've got to have a talk look."

Adam nodded. "You're right. You were caught trying to hack the mainframe. Care to explain what that was all about?"

"Well, I was wondering if dad had made any headway on creating healing pods for both the Atlas and here. You know they work wonders and decrease the healing time. So, I thought if we'd had at least one working, we could stick Keith in it and maybe get rid of his headaches."

Adam rubbed at his bearded chin, which he kept trimmed close to the skin. "That is a good idea. I'll mention it to your dad."

"Thanks. I know he's been busy with everything going on."

"Yeah, you could say that." Adam held up his hand before Pidge could say anything else. "But, I think you can go to work with the Green Lion and start hauling the debris from Platte City to the new reclamation plant."

Pidge sighed but then smiled. "Anything would be better than sitting around here doing nothing, and it's is technically work for Voltron so I can get out of being grounded for a while too."

Adam smiled. "I thought you'd see it that way. Good to have you back."

Pidge giggled as she climbed out of bed. "No, thank you."

Adam stepped out of Pidge's room and headed for Keith's when he saw the piece of clothing that indicated there was a strong possibility of Lance listening in on the conversation. He shook his head. Lance needed to stop his shenanigans. Especially seeing how much Jell-O he could eat in the cafeteria overnight.

Adam saw Shiro's eyes slide over to him, and he raised a fighter to his lips while he motioned toward Lance's room. He bypassed Shiro and the two Galra and strode into Lance's place.

The teen raced to his bed and jumped into it. He gazed up at Adam, trying to play off the fact that he was just listening to a private conversation. "Hi, Adam."

Adam closed the door behind him. "Don't hi Adam me, Lance," he said as he turned around. "You were eavesdropping."

"But, Adam, I was hoping to find out something about Keith." Lance sat up and slung his long legs over the side of the bed.

Adam strode over and sat down next to his cousin. He wrapped an arm around Lance's shoulders. "I know you're worried. We all are."

Lance wrapped his arms around Adam. "What if there's something wrong with him?" A tear slid out of the teen's eye."

Adam knew where Lance was coming from because of all his fears from his experience with Shiro. He gripped the back of Lance's head with his free hand and pressed the teens head into his chest. "I know it's hard, but Pidge may have come up with a way to help, though. So don't lose hope."

Lance nodded as he sniffed. "Thanks."

Adam released his hold on his cousin. "I'm going to guess that your eavesdropping on private conversations is how Pidge knew about Keith's headaches?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah."

"I have a feeling that sometime soon you're going to be too busy to think of listening to another conversation,"

Lance groaned.

Adam smirked as he rose from the bed. "One more thing. Suck it up, buttercup."

Lance growled. "Why you," and threw the pillow on his bed at his cousin.

Adam picked up the pillow and tossed it back at Lance. He opened up the door and shot one parting remark over his shoulder at his cousin. "Don't try it." He shut the door behind him.

He was surprised to find that the conversation in front of him had grown. Now standing in the hallway were Allura, Thace, and Coran along with Krolia, Kolivan, and Shiro.

Krolia shook her head. "As far as I know, there's no reason given Galra physiology that would cause these headaches."

Allura gazed at the others. "It is puzzling. I wish there were something I could do to help."

Shiro gazed at her. "Isn't there? I mean, after all, you did pull my consciousness out of the Black Lion."

Allura frowned. "That was simple, pulling your consciousness out of the Black Lion. You were willing. This is completely different. Keith isn't in danger and not at risk."

Adam gazed at the others as he focused on what Pidge had said about healing pod technology. "I have an idea."

Shiro motioned for Adam to continue.

"Well, my conversation with Pidge got me to thinking. She was hacking the mainframe to see if there was any information on there about integrating Altean healing pod technology with Earth's technology."

Coran snapped his fingers. "That is a good idea. And we still have the pod that we saved from the Castle of Lions inside the Black Lion."

Shiro frowned. "But, we need Keith awake to get inside the Black Lion."

Allura smiled. "Not necessarily, Shiro. There's the hatch at the top of the Black Lion. I can get it to open, but we need someone to go inside and carry it out."

Krolia nodded. "I can do that."

Adam smiled. "And we can get Sam to install it in the Atlas's med bay. That infinite energy crystal should provide more than enough energy to power it."

Coran pulled at his mustache. "I can run a diagnostic on it to make sure it's operating correctly."

Shiro nodded. "Then we transfer Keith into the healing pod and hope it cures the headaches."

Shiro and Adam waited in the darkened cafeteria for the two Paladins. Their wait wasn't long when Hunk and Lance made their appearance. Hunk bumped into something, and Lance whispered something.

The pair of teenagers made their way into the kitchen. The light to the sizeable industrial-sized refrigerator opened as Lance squealed in delight.

Shiro stepped out from between a stove and reached out with his Altean arm and grabbed Hunk by the back of the collar. "HELP!" Hunk yelled.

Lance turned around and saw Shiro. "Hey, Shiro." He dropped the small saucer with Jell-O on it and ran out of the kitchen and smack into Adam.

Adam gripped his cousin by the arm as he planted his feet down to keep from bowled over by the teenager. Lance swallowed hard as he gulped with his eyes wide as saucers. His voice squeaked. "Hey, Adam."

Adam narrowed his eyebrows as he glared at his cousin. "Don't." Adam tugged on Lance's arm. "Let's go," he said as he drug the offending teen back into the kitchen where he pushed Lance into line next to Hunk.

Shiro gazed at the food sitting out on the work table and several saucers that were empty of Jell-O. He shook his head. "I don't think you two know this, but you Paladins are officially under my command. So I have to figure out a suitable punishment for your excursions to the kitchen at midnight." He began to pace as he thought and then turned back to the pair.

Lance frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Keith is our leader."

Hunk hissed at Lance, "Don't do it, Lance."

Shiro nodded. "That's true, but Keith isn't in any condition right now to lead Voltron. So, right now, the two of you are going to clean up this mess, and then you'll return to your rooms. Tomorrow at the crack of dawn, you will get dressed and join Pidge in the cleanup."

Lance's shoulders sagged with his bravado at the mention of Keith's health.

Hunk couldn't stop the whine that came out of his mouth. "Without breakfast?"

"Hunk, I'm not heartless. You'll each get a breakfast tray from this cafeteria."

Hunk grimaced. "Uh, thanks."

Adam stood in Mission Control, where he monitored the other three Paladins' progress. Allura stepped into the room, seeing him there. "Oh, Adam, I was looking for Shiro. Have you seen him around?"

Adam's eyes gazed up at the clock on the wall. "He had a meeting with Admiral Sablan this morning. But he should be in his office by now."

"Could you show me where that is?"

"I can't right now. I'm busy monitoring Lance, Hunk, and Pidge's progress at the cleanup operations going on." He turned to the dark-skinned man who sat at one of the desks. "Curtis, take Princess Allura to Captain Shirogane's office."

Curtis stood and saluted and led Allura out of the room.

Veronica stormed into the room. "Adam, how could you!"

Adam turned to gaze at his cousin. "What?"

"How could you put Lance to work so soon?"

Adam turned off the two-way communications so he could still hear the Paladins. "What are you going on about?"

"I'm talking about Lance. Commander Holt said they should have a week to rest. But I don't see him resting. I see him working!" She jabbed her index finger toward his face.

Adam pushed her hand out of the way. "The decision to put Lance and Hunk to work came from Captain Shirogane. But I happen to agree with that decision. Did you know they were sneaking into the cafeteria after the kitchen staff had gone home making a mess while Lance was trying to eat all the Jell-O for patients?"

Veronica deflated her temper cooling off. She sighed. "Lance."

Adam nodded. His attention was pulled back to Pidge, Lance, and Hunk.

Pidge said, "Lance, why don't you wait for the two of us?"

"Why? The faster we get this done, the sooner we can go home. I can't wait to eat some of my momma's food. Especially her Garlic Knots."

Adam sighed as he switched the two-way communications back on. "Lance, it matters if you do it right the first time than leaving a trail of debris behind you."

"Hey, I can't help it if Red is the fastest of the Lions!"

Adam shook his head. "But you don't have to travel at full speed, either."

Lance said, "Pidge, you know what a blonde names a pet zebra?"

"I'm afraid to ask, but I'll bite. What?"

Lance chortled. "Spot."

Veronica groaned as she gazed at Adam, knowing that Lance just took a shot at the man.

Hunk chuckled. "Good one, Lance."

Pidge said in an utterly deadpan voice. "You know, Lance, I just love the way you reaffirm my faith in your insanity."

Lance spluttered.

Veronica wrapped her arms around her middle as she broke out in laughter.

A smirk pulled at the corner of Adam's mouth. Pidge was in fine form today.

The smirk fell instantly as his Garrison issued cellphone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and listened to the voice on the other end. "Okay, I'll let them know." He disconnected the call and slid the phone back into his pocket.

Veronica gazed at him as she pushed her glasses up her nose but didn't ask as his face went from amused to severe.

"Okay, guys, you've got a reprieve. Make this your last drop off, then land your lions and head to the Atlas's sickbay."

"Wha—" Lance started to say.

Adam shook his head. "Don't ask questions. Just do it." He turned to leave, and Veronica put her hand on his arm. "What's going on? You and Shiro have been pretty secretive lately."

Adam sighed and motioned for her to join him as he started walking. "Keith has been having headaches since he woke up. They aren't normal headaches. They're debilitating ones, and he can't live on pain medication for the rest of his life either. So, Pidge came up with an idea, but she went about it the wrong way instead of going to her father or even Takashi or myself."

Veronica nodded. "Yeah, I heard that from Lance. He's pretty worried."

Adam nodded. "Well, to make this a bit of a shorter story, we brought with us an Altean healing pod from the Castle of Lions. It's the only one to survive. We hope that with the addition of Slav that he and Commander Holt can figure out how to make more." He craned his head to gaze at his cousin while they got on the elevator that took them down to the underground hanger where the Atlas sat. "Roni," he used her nickname. "These things are amazing. They can heal a person quicker than normal. I've seen them work. So, between Coran, Sam, and Slav, they hooked it up in the Atlas's sickbay, where Keith has been. I'm hoping this works."

Adam and Veronica joined Shiro, Sam, Coran, Allura, Kolivan, and Krolia in sickbay. Adam moved to Shiro's side and took his fiancée's human hand in his. "He's gonna be okay."

At the sound of Adam's voice, Allura turned and smiled at the others. "Yes, he will be. I think the pod found the source of his headaches. It appears that Keith's brain was quite bruised."

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge entered sickbay toward the end of her statement. Lance blinked at the healing pod. "Hey, isn't that—"

Shiro nodded. "Yes, the healing pod from the Black Lion."

Pidge was instantly at her dad's side-firing a ton of questions off.

Sam held up his hands and chuckled. "Hold on, Katie. One question at a time."

Pidge sighed. "Okay, but it's Pidge and first question. Do you have plans to make more healing pods and integrating them with Earth's tech?"

Sam smiled at his daughter. "I do at that. Although, I'll need a lot more help than what I thought I would."

Pidge smiled. "Count me in."

Hunk raised his hand. "Count me in on that too."

Sam nodded. "I have a list of people I'll need."

Pidge took his datapad that he carried and looked at the list. "Slav, you have him on this list?"

Shiro cringed as he heard the name.

Everyone's eyes were drawn back to the healing pod. It hissed as the covered dissolved, and Keith's eyes blinked as he worked to focus on the faces before him.

Shiro released his grip on Adam's hand and grabbed a nearby blanket that lay on a bed behind him. He stepped up with it and wrapped it around the younger man whose face was clouded with confusion.

"We're not on the Castle of Lions. Where are we?"

Shiro led Keith over to the bed. "Your in the Atlas's sickbay. We got the healing pod from the Black Lion and hooked it up to the Atlas. "How do you feel?"

Keith gazed up at everyone from the bed. "I feel great. That headache is gone."

Krolia sat down next to him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a hug. "Good. Because you need to get back on your feet again."

Lance smiled at him. "Yeah, we needed our team leader back."

Adam nodded. "I, for one, am tired of babysitting these three."

Lance turned and glared at Adam. "Hey!"

Keith chuckled as he gazed at Lance. "It's a good thing. Some things never change."

Shiro chuckled himself. "Take the rest of today off and rest up. Tomorrow you'll need to get back to work. I'll have other assignments for all of you. We've got to get Earth's defenses online and possibly start by building two more ships like the Atlas to keep Earth safe if the Galra return."

Hunk gazed around him. "But first we're going to have to celebrate and I know-how. Ice cream cones for everybody!"

Coran gazed at the Yellow Paladin. "Is this similar to a milkshake?"

Lance rubbed his hands together. "Oh, this is better than a milkshake."

Allura blinked. "Better?"

Lance nodded. "Much better."

Adam groaned as he raised a hand to his face.

Keith gazed at his mother and Kolivan. "Uhm. Shiro, I want to take my mom and Kolivan to visit my dad's grave. It's been a long time since I've been back there."

Shiro gazed at Keith and nodded. He turned to look at Adam. "Take Keith where he wants to go."

Adam knew at that moment, Shiro was thinking of his own family. A twin sister who'd never made it past the infant stage, and his parents and grandparents who'd died. He wanted to wrap his arms around Shiro right now, but some might not consider it very military behavior. "Whenever you want to go, tell me. I'll take you."

Shiro nodded and released a small, sad sigh. "I'll let you know." He turned and walked away and out of the sickbay.

Lance gazed after him. "What's up with Shiro?" And then he yelled, "Ouch!" He turned and glared at Adam as he rubbed the back of his head. "What in the hell was that for?"

Keith gazed at Lance. "You know, sometimes you can be insensitive. Shiro's missing his family, and I'm afraid I brought it up since all his family died."

Lance mouthed an 'O.' "I didn't know."

Adam shook his head. "Do us all a favor and don't bring it up in front of him, okay? He's been through enough." He turned back to Keith. "Don't worry about it. Takashi has been thinking a lot about his family lately. Let me know when you're ready to go."

Adam drove the garrison vehicle through Platte City, following Keith's directions to the cemetery where his dad was buried. Kosmo sat between Keith and Adam as they neared they entered the graveyard. Keith pointed to a statue of an Angel that sat on someone's headstone. "You can park next to that row there."

Adam nodded as he pulled the garrison vehicle to a stop by the row of headstones and turned the engine off. He climbed out of the car and followed Keith and Kosmo as he led Krolia and Kolivan to his father's grave.

He stood back far enough away from the others but still close enough to hear what was being said.

Keith knelt beside the grave. "Hey dad, I brought mom and my Galra grandfather Kolivan to meet you."

Krolia knelt beside her son. "Ken, I wish I could've stayed here, but I had to do what I could to protect both you and Keith." Her voice broke. "I love you so much, only to find out you died. But you should be proud of the man that Keith has become."

Kolivan placed his hands, one on Keith's shoulder and the other on Krolia's shoulder. "I regret that I never had the chance to meet you. But Krolia has told me so much about you. I'm sure I would like you."

Keith nodded. "I'm sure he'd like you too."

Adam heard a noise behind them and turned to find Acxa standing there, gazing at them. "Acxa? What are you doing here?"

Acxa lowered her gaze. "I came in with the latest group of rebels. I-I didn't know if I'd be welcome here given my history with Lotor."

Adam nodded. "You are welcome here on Earth. You helped save us from Zethrid and Ezor. Plus, your military experience will be invaluable to us for however long we are here before we leave again to free other planets from Galra control."

Her gaze rose from the ground and gazed at Adam's face. "Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure. You can ride back to the garrison with us."

Acxa gazed around the area. "This planet, your home, looks like it was a beautiful place."

Adam nodded. "It was before Sendak attacked."

Acxa sighed. "I'm sorry about that."

Keith appeared next to Adam. "No need to be sorry about anything. You can help us in rebuilding Earth."

"Okay."

Days and weeks went by as the Paladins, along with the Galaxy Garrison, worked long, hard days rebuilding Earth's defenses.

Shiro wasn't about to leave the planet without a way to defend itself against another Galra attack. Admiral Sablan agreed.

Adam led Allura into an area of the Garrison, where Sam Holt worked some of his miracles. She gazed at Sam. "You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, as you know, we've been piecing together the wreckage of the Robeast, but we never knew what the source of its power was. That is until now."

Two engineers moved out of the way, and Allura gasped as she saw the red-haired woman who was in an almost coffin-like cockpit. Allura gasped. "An Altean!"