Chapter One

Distress Call

The sun snuggled behind the horizon, yellow, orange and red rays of light turning the land into rich colors and long, black shadows. The heat of the day had fallen, but the warmth of the sun still shone brightly even as it laid down in the sky to sleep. Keith watched it in awe, having never seen his own home from so far up and away.

"Worth the hike?" His father asked from beside him, sitting on the rocky ground next to his son.

"Yeah." Keith answered, staring at the sunset and all the lights and shadows it cast on the land from their position on the mountain, his father giving a pleased smile.

"You know," Joseph said after a minute, "I took your mom here quite a few times."

"Really!? Where was I?" Keith asked, instantly excited.

Joe chuckled. "You weren't even born yet. This was way back when me and your mom were just friends."

"Did she like it?"

"Oh she loved it. Never seen anything like it. We came back several times just for the view."

"Could she see our house from here too?"

"Yep. The house was a lot younger back then, but still home."

Keith smiled, spotting their humble house all the way down the mountain. Even from here, he could see the familiar shape of it, and the road that led to and went past their home. Thoughts of his mother brightened his face for a moment, but his gaze soon lowered as reality settled back in.

"Why hasn't Mom come home yet?" His question made his father pause. "You keep saying she left, but you never tell me why. Do you think she'll come back for us someday, even if it's just for lunch or something?" He looked up to his father with deep eyes, and his father sighed a little, his own gaze falling.

"I want to believe she will buddy, but…." Joe trailed off, knowing that because of how young he was, his son wasn't ready for the whole truth of yet. Looking back down at those sad, deep eyes though, made him want to say something that wasn't so doubtful. "Your mom, loved you and me very much, Keith. She left because… because she had to, but not because she wanted to." Keith only sighed, tucking his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around his legs, gaze lowered as his hopes died. Joe put an arm around him, trying to think of something else to say.

"This place, is home. Not just to us, but to Mom as well." He decided to say, looking from the sun to the boy snuggling into him for warmth and comfort. "I know she's not here, but, that doesn't mean that she's not with us. Home is… it's not truly where we live, or at least it shouldn't be. Home is where those we love are; it's a place where those we love are together. Mom might not be here, but, as long as the two of us are together, she'll be with us, and that means she'll be home with us…." They were quiet for a moment, a cold wind blowing through them as they now sat, a little cold, and a little grim together.

"Home, is where the heart lies Keith," Joseph said, and he looked down to his son, "and just as mine lies with yours, her heart lies in you as well."

"And in yours too." Keith remarked softly after a moment, looking up to his father with slightly brightened eyes. His father smiled down at him and nodded gently.

"Yes, in mine too." He agreed, near melting at those eyes looking up to him, "And we'll both be in your heart. For as long as that love stays in you, so will we. No matter how far apart we are." Keith smiled softly up at his father, encouraged by that thought. His father returned the smile and pulled him a little closer. Keith's eyes turned from his father to the setting sun, the smile brightening his face a little more than the sun's rays ever could.

The sun hadn't changed since that day. It still gave the same light and warmth, but even as Keith sat on that same rock, looking out over the same countryside, he knew how different things in his life were: in the world. He'd lost some things, but he had also gained many new things as well, including family. The Quantum Abyss had brought back memories Keith had nearly forgotten, not to mention how it brought to light memories he could have never witnessed. Now more than ever in his life, he felt he'd never come so close to losing sight of those memories and the meanings they kept: the lessons his father managed to weave into an everyday experience. Keith would always miss him, but he would always love and remember his father in those memories, and that way, his father would always be home with him wherever he went. Cheezy or childish as it could seem to someone who'd never known that kind of loss, it was enough for Keith to finally feel something he never thought he'd have: peace.

A cold breeze made Keith shiver slightly. The warmth at his side stirred, the soft, furry body leaning against him lovingly, and reminding him that he wasn't alone. Keith looked down to see the neon yellow irises of the cosmic wolf looking up at him. He smiled lightly to Kosmo as the wolf wagged his tail a little, and he petted the beast's soft head.

"We should probably head inside for the night." Keith admitted to the wolf. Looking up at the sky though, he noticed there was not a single cloud in sight, and while the night always brought on a chill, Keith could stand it enough to watch the stars come out for a little while. Kosmo's warmth also helped a little with the chill, even if it was just on one side, and the dog was perfectly content to lay by his human companion. Keith leaned back on his hands a little more to get more comfortable and enjoy the view a little longer. Being among the stars was amazing in its own right, but admiring them down from one's home world wasn't too bad either.

IXXXXXXXXI

Shiro sat in his chair in the admiral's office, viewing a report of the day's progress for the ship. The Altas was preparing to launch out for space in a few more weeks as long as the upgrades and repairs continued on schedule. Shiro had been given the rank of admiral not long ago, and he was still getting used to everything that came with it. He was also still getting used to his office, which still needed a few repairs here and there, but it was overall functional. He had to admit, he did like the chair he was sitting in. It was large but comfortable, and it rotated easily and let him lay back a little when he needed to relax. There was a large window to his left that once out in space, would allow him to gaze out at the canvas of stars with just the turn of his head. Shiro believed that would be something he would enjoy most about his new office.

With the absence of furniture besides the desk and chair, and other interior accessories, the office felt rather large and empty. Shiro would have to find things to fill it in with time: somehow. He had thought about going back to his old quarters back at the Garrison HQ to get some things he had left there, but hadn't gotten around to it yet with all the busy duties of admiral. Between the Atlas preparing to leave and the new discovery of the Altean found in the wreckage of the robeast, there was a lot to be done; there wasn't a whole lot of time for luxuries.

A knock on the door brought Shiro out of his thoughts and reading. He looked to the door just as it opened and a woman poked her head in politely. Shiro recognized her as Julia Baker, a secretary kind of assistant for the admiral.

"Admiral," Julia addressed respectfully, "commander Holt is here to see you."

"Oh, of course, send him in." Shiro replied with a smile. Sometimes he wished the friends who wanted to see him would just let themselves in, but yet again, Shiro wasn't used to his new command quite yet since it differed from the previous ones he had kept. Sam Holt entered upon Baker opening the door further and stepping aside to let him in. The grey haired man wore a smile on his face as he greeted Shiro brightly.

"Evening Shiro, how's the new seat?" He asked brightly.

"It feels different." Shiro admitted. "And I haven't quite grown used to it just yet, but it's been going well."

"Good, I'm glad." Sam replied. "I have another report for the Atlas here and wanted to deliver it personally." He handed Shiro the report from across the desk.

"Thank you." Shiro replied, taking it. "How's everyone doing? I know I haven't been able to stick in one place for very long lately."

"Everyone's eager to get going I think, and I honestly have to say that I am as well. There are a lot of planets beyond Earth which need the Coalition's help. If we remain sharp on our schedule, we should be launching sooner than expected."

"That's great to hear." Shiro said with a smile, but his smile soon dulled a little at his next sentence. "Anything new on that robeast?" Sam's own bright expression dulled a little as well.

"No, sadly." he replied, his gaze drifting down. "We've hit a bit of a rock in our efforts. I'm afraid we might not get to figure out what this thing is while the Atlas is on Earth. Keeping up with the research teams while we're light years away will be difficult." Shiro's brow furrowed at the thought, his expression both contemplation and a leader's concern.

"Alright," He concluded with a sigh, "well let me know if anything changes."

"We'll do, Shiro." Sam replied with a nod. "I'll see you tomorrow at briefing." Shiro nodded and Sam left by the door, leaving the admiral alone once again in his office.

Shiro leaned back in his chair as he finished the previous report he had and then began overlooking the other. Tomorrow there would be a full briefing at the start of a new week, and they would be going over goals and key points as well as assignments, and a complete report of how the Atlas was doing (paper and screen reports could only go so far and answer so many questions). While Shiro hadn't fully settled into admiral yet, he was growing quite familiar with briefings.

Looking out the large window to his left, Shiro could see the last lights of the sunset, the stars beginning to become visible in the waking night. After finishing reading through the report, Shiro would do a few more things and then head to bed. He had another busy day tomorrow, and he hoped everything would continue to go as well as it has been going.

IXXXXXXXXI

Keith woke up to his alarm bright and early, Kosmo as usual at the foot of his bed and curled up in a black and blue ball of fur in his own bed. Keith got up, dressed in his Paladin uniform, and emerged from his quarters, Kosmo trotting along brightly beside him. They were both hungry for food, and of course had time for breakfast before the morning briefing for the week.

Kosmo didn't spend every second alongside Keith, but in the morning Keith took him to breakfast and from then on the wolf did his own thing. Penning him up in a single room all day was begging for trouble since when the wolf got lonely he tended to chew on things. Whether tagging alone with Keith or Krolia for a time or wandering around the ship, Kosmo was never really left inside a room alone. He spent some time with the only other canine aboard, who happened to be Holts' dog, Bae Bae, and sometimes they'd be seen playing or just snuggling together. Kosmo was well behaved for a wild wolf, and he'd most likely find Krolia or someone else he knew to tag along with.

After feeding Kosmo, Keith left him to do his own thing, the cosmic wolf content to finish his meal alone and find something to do afterwards. The Atlas crew were all getting up and going about their morning routines, but Keith was one of the first to get in line for breakfast along with all the other morning people.

Unlike the nasty food he remembered from his brief time at school cafeterias, the Atlas cafeteria had food which actually tasted good and filled one's stomach. The quality of the food was the works of Hunk, and the impact he had made with his cooking skills and his heart to serve were doing rather wonderful and amazing things throughout the Atlas. The Atlas crew were lucky indeed to have him, not only as a Paladin of Voltron, but as a very good cook as well. Keith typically didn't see any of his fellow paladins on his way to breakfast, but the cafeteria was normally where they saw each other in the beginning hours of the day.

"Another early morning." A familiar voice spoke through a yawn, coming closer.

"Hey Lance." Was Keith's casual greeting as the Red Paladin came and sat across from his leader at the table. "Where were you last night at dinner? I never saw you."

"Oh yeah, I was having dinner with my family at home." Lance explained with a shrug. "With everything that's been going on, I haven't been able to see them lately, so I managed to grab dinner with them and spend some needed family time at the house."

"Oh, that's cool." Keith replied, giving Lance a small smile, thinking about when the last time he and his mother actually ate together as the small family they were.

"So what did you do yesterday at dinnertime?" Lance asked curiously.

"I ate." Keith replied simply, in the kind of tone which Lance still couldn't tell was sarcastic or serious, because Keith was both at times.

"Okay," Lance shoved some food in his mouth, "where?"

"Here."

"Oh." Lance was quiet for a moment, chewing and thinking. "Are you always here every single day? Like, in your free-time and everything?"

"I had gone for a hike before dinner."

"Oh, cool. Where at? Wait, let me guess, out of town?"

"Near my house." Keith shrugged as he continued to eat, then gave Lance a sidelong look. "Which is, yes, out of town."

Both men were quiet for a moment, becoming more focused on their food. They were both near surprised however to see a very quiet Allura sit down in a convenient spot next to Keith to begin eating breakfast.

"Morning." Lance tried to greet brightly. Allura glanced up as if having been broken from a spacing moment.

"Oh, yes, good morning." She replied to him, concealing an expression of some kind of feeling other than good.

"You alright? You don't look like yourself?" Keith inquired, catching that look along with Lance. Allura sighed, her gaze falling.

"Yes, I was just, thinking." She admitted.

"About what? It looks like its got you worked up a little." Lance asked, some concern in his expression.

Allura sighed again, having not even touched her food. "I can't make sense of why an altean was at the core of that robeast we fought a few months ago, and why they attacked Voltron. I couldn't think of a reason why an altean would be against Voltron, as for those of my day, Voltron was a grand symbol of hope and peace: justice. Not just that, but alteans are extinct as far as we know. I've been boiling over every option since we discovered the altean, I began to wonder, what if, somehow, Lotor had something to do with this?"

"Because of his history with the altean colonies?" Keith asked, an eyebrow raising.

"Yes." Allura confirmed with a sigh. "What if they somehow knew that we had killed him, without knowing what he had done to their people? Their families? What if they acted in revenge against us?"

"If that's true, where could they even have found that robeast?" Keith wondered aloud, pausing from his food to think. "Could they have built it?"

"With something as great as that, it would have taken years. And I can't imagine where they would have found such powerful resources, especially after having thousands of years of inexperience in altean magic." Allura responded, shaking her head.

"Maybe you should mention it in the briefing today, Allura." Lance suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe that would be a good idea." she agreed, nodding. She was then quiet as she began to finally eat, her eyes deep with thought as she did. Lance looked at her a minute, wishing he could say something to help or cheer her up, but he eventually remained silent as he continued to eat. Keith had already nearly finished his food, but Allura's thought now weighed on him as well and caused him to eat at a slower, distracted rate. He was still considering possibilities when he heard Hunk's voice as he came to the table, joined by Pidge.

"Hey guys," the Yellow Paladin greeted them brightly, "how's breakfast?"

"It's good." Lance replied for them with a smile. "Another one of your recipes?"

"My mom's, actually." Hunk replied. "It's pretty easy and so I thought I'd add it to the Atlas' lists of recipes in the kitchen."

"How many do we have now?" Pidge asked.

"Uh, I think it was around a thousand, last I checked." Hunk replied thoughtfully. "I think I checked last week though, so it's probably grown a little since then."

"How many recipes do we need?" Keith asked with an amused chuckle at the number.

"Hey, we could be out there for a really long time." Hunk replied criticall with a shrug. "Who knows for how long it'll be before we come back to Earth, especially if we experience some kind of time jump like last time!"

"And how much time it would take for us to get back to Earth after however many light years we traveled. We might not be back for a few years on Earth time." Pidge added thoughtfully.

"Which means, we'll be missing time on Earth. Missing moments we'll never get back with people who aren't coming with." Hunk suddenly realized quietly, an expression forming on his face which made him seem like a completely different person. The table grew very quiet after that, spirits falling at the thought of family and friends remaining on Earth, living on their lives without them able to see it. Keith saw expressions of concern and even heartache in different variations on each of his teammates' faces. He himself felt a small weight pull down at his heart, but if he let the silence go on, it'd just drag all of them down.

"It might be a while before we see Earth again once we leave," Keith admitted, "but, I know my goal will be for everyone to come back in one peice, and for everyone on Earth to be safe. I'm willing to stay out in space for as long as it takes for that to happen." He gave his team a steady, soft smile, and was rewarded to see their faces brighten a little.

"As long as we all look out for each other," Allura added in agreement, "I believe we will all make it back safely. Or, that is my hope at least."

"Same here." Hunk remarked as Keith, Pidge and Lance nodded in agreement. The team continued to eat their meal, allowing the sad moment to run its course and then make room for brighter conversations to take over the beginning of their morning.

IXXXXXXXXI

"With not much progression in the research of the robeast wreckage, we haven't been able to gain much information on how an altean got into the mix." Sam announced, wrapping up his part of the briefing. "We've been trying to find a way to get the altean out safely, but haven't figured out a way just yet."

"Remind me what's making it so hard to get the altean out?" Officer James Griffin inquired.

"We've found that the podlike structure the altean is being held in is still surrounded by some sensitive energy which is still somehow active within the machine." Sam answered. "If we're not careful, we could set off an electrical charge or worse that would kill the altean inside. Other than that, it seems there are no other energy sources to worry about in the other parts of wreckage we've found so far."

"Have we figured out what kind of power it is? Where it's from?" Shiro asked.

"From what we've been able to find, there's been no power like it that we know of." Sam answered gravely. "And we haven't found if there's a way to track it to its source due to how sensitive it is. We need to learn more about it, but with the altean still inside, it's pretty risky."

"And it's unlike anything we've ever seen as far as robeasts go." Pidge commented. "This one was way more powerful. It even had a failsafe so after it was defeated it would self-destruct, engulfing half of an entire planet with it. And even now that it's dead, it still has a failsafe to make sure we can't find any answers from the pilote. Someone really wanted to make sure that we wouldn't survive or answer questions of our own."

"That begs a few questions." Krolia spoke up thoughtfully. "Voltron has made a lot of enemies, but which ones would not only have that amount of drive, but also the resources to create such a powerful weapon."

"Actually, I have something about that." Allura remarked. "I was wondering last night how an altean could have gotten this far away from the colonies, and, I had a rather disturbing thought. I was thinking, what if their sudden attack had something to do with Lotor?"

"Lotor?" Sam asked, slightly perplexed. "Isn't he dead though?"

"Most likely," Keith elaborated with a shrug, "but the alteans in the colonies saw him as their savior: their god even, as Romell explained. We were thinking of the possibility that they could be out for revenge."

"But where could they even get a weapon as powerful as a robeast?" James asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hagar was usually the one who specialized in robeasts and magic in the past," Allura purpossed, darkening her tone a little, "the enemy we faced possessed similar capabilities like the robeasts we've fought in the past. With such a vast gap between the alteans of my lifetime, and the alteans of this colony, it wouldn't be likely for them to have the knowledge to craft such a weapon." Shiro's brow furrowed in thought.

"We can't know anything for certain just yet with what little we know about the situation," he reasoned, "but it could be a good theory to think about. Good to bring it up, Allura." The princess nodded, and she let out a small sigh, some of her nerves about the subject easing upon bringing it to light.

"Also," Keith piped up, "what will Voltron be doing this week while the Atlas is preparing to leave Earth?"

"Not much of anything different really," Shiro admitted with a shrug, "other than being an extra help to construction and preparation." Keith nodded in understanding. He of course didn't want to stop helping rebuild, but part of him wanted to start getting a move on things rather than being the constant 'extra help'. He wished they could have some more progression on some of the bigger issues and questions, not just leaving them hanging even though that's all they could do with what little clues they had.

"Does anyone have any other questions?" Shiro addressed the room, bringing Keith back out of his thoughts. The silence and small shakes of heads told him 'no', so Shiro continued. "Alright then, moving on to the-" A sudden beep, repeated and minor alerting, interrupted Shiro and caused him to pause and look for the sound. Obviously everyone else in the room heard it as well.

"We have an incoming message." Sam elaborated aloud, enlightening everyone on what the sound was. Shiro looked down at the holo-screen keyboard in front of him on the table. A key blinked, and Shiro assumed it was for the incoming message. He pressed it and pulled up the message on the big screen behind him. All eyes looked to the screen as the message played. No voice or video accompanied the message; only a series of certain sounds, almost as if it was a code. Keith felt like he had heard it somewhere, but couldn't figure out where.

"It's a code." Kolivan announced, recognizing the sounds and how they repeated. "A distress signal by the looks of it."

"Blade of Marmora too." Krolia added, recognizing it as well. "It's from one of our agents. They normally don't report to this computer, but directly to Kolivan or I. They must be in pretty desperate need. Does anyone have the time?"

"Nine o'clock." Sam replied after taking a look at his watch.

"So it must be Acxa." Krolia concluded after running some math in her head.

"I didn't know she was a Marmora agent." Veronica piped up, and she had spoken Keith's near exact thoughts.

"She isn't, not officially at least." Krolia explained, looking Veronica's way. "She volunteered to go on this mission since she's had dealings with some of the protagonists in question in the past."

"What does the message say?" asked Keith, wishing he knew more of the Marmora code so he could answer his own question. Krolia listened for a minute.

"From what it sounds like, she hasn't found anything useful or a danger to the coalition, but her cover's been compromised." Krolia translated. "Something must have happened to her own ride, because she needs a pickup as soon as possible."

"Is there any reason for us to be suspicious of who's really sending it?" James asked.

"The Marmora code isn't known to just anyone," Kolivon answered, "and there's a time element which only agents and their superiors know. If the time isn't right, something about who's sending it isn't right either."

"Can we send anyone?" Shiro asked him.

"Not just anyone," Kolivan answered in turn, "if we're able to send someone, it'll need to be a Blade member."

"Unfortunately, we're stretched pretty thin as is." Krolia added on gravely. "I'm not sure how fast we'll be able to send anyone to her location." Keith was silent for a minute, his brow furrowed in thought as he was momentarily out of the conversation.

"There's, no one we can send?" Veronica inquirried in slight concern.

"Not at the moment." Krolia answered her with a shake of her head, her brow furrowed in her dislike of the fact. "We'll need to send word that she'll have to hold out until we can send someone, or find another way out on her own."

"I'll go." Keith suddenly spoke up decidedly, drawing surprised looks from nearly everyone.

"Uh, not sure if you remember this Black Paladin," Lance chimed in, poking his head around from the other side of Allura so Keith could see him, "but you're our leader. We kinda need you here since you fly the Black Lion and we can't form Voltron without all five lions."

"I'm with Lance on this one." Pidge agreed, and she then made an expression as if an odd taste had just occurred in her mouth. "As weird as that felt to say." she added dryly. Lance gave her an annoyed look.

"I'm not sure if you leaving is a good idea, Keith." Shiro put in honestly, ignoring the looks Pidge and Lance were giving each other. "We could still use you here."

"I know," Keith admitted honestly as well, "but I also know that I'm not completely needed either. My membership with the Blades and that I'm not completely needed here is the only reason why I'm even suggesting to go, and I can get there in good time. It'll just be a quick pick up job which just needs a Marmora member at the head of it, right?"

"But what if something happens where we need you and you're not back yet?" Allura asked in concern, not decided on if she liked the idea.

"I know I have a strong enough bond with Black to where I can call him if I need to, worse comes to worst." Keith replied. "I've called him from lightyears away to help the team. He can get me back here in time." The rest of the Paladins, Shiro, and the other people in the room stayed silent, unsure. Keith could understand their reasoning, but he had good reasons for going.

"Her cover is already compromised," he tried to convince, looking at the faces of Shiro, Krolia and Kolivan at seeing they were still undecided, "and we don't know for how long she'll be able to keep it up. She's done more for us than what we might realize or give her credit for. If we can send anyone to help, we should: I can help, and I can get there quickly, and I'm a Blade of Marmora. I can go, but I'd rather go with permission than without, respectfully."

The room remained quiet. Shiro sighed, running a hand through his platinum white hair. Keith's points were honestly well made, and while it was true that there was no constant need for Voltron at the moment, they never knew when they might need all five of the lions. On the other side of that, someone else's life could be on the line as well. As of now, Keith could be the only person they could send who'd be there in time. Shiro had mixed feelings about it, a little undecided, and he wanted someone else's input to help decide.

"Sam?" He asked, looking for the man's opinion.

"Honestly," Sam said with a sigh of his own, his tone weighed by a difficult choice, "I have to say that I think it would be best for all five Paladins to remain together, on Earth or anywhere else. While an attack isn't all that likely, there's still a possibility that one could occur. I saw Earth overtaken once, and while I don't think the galra could conquer us that fast, we've already lost enough to them. I don't like the thought of leaving one of our own, but I don't like the risk either, as small as it is."

"I agree." Iverson put in with a sigh. "I'd hate to leave somebody out there, but it's best if the lions stay together. Just for safety." Keith's hopes fell a little, and he honestly felt a little frustrated, but keeping himself calm, he looked to his mother and Kolivan to hear their answers.

"Acxa might not be one of us completely," Kolivan spoke up, his deep voice carrying through the room, "but she's been an incredible help lately and has asked for nothing in return. She knows the risks, as do we all, but I don't see harm in letting the Paladin go to her aid. I'm aware of and understand his position on Earth, but I also know the enemy. They would never be able to gain complete control over Earth in a single day, especially with the amount of resistance which seems to be naturally built into you humans."

Keith looked to his mother, hope stirring in him again. Krolia looked at her son a second. Knowing him, she could see he wanted to go, and looked for her approval, even while he was a grown man. She looked at Keith, then to the screen with the ended message. She then finally sighed.

"As of now, Keith would be the only person we could send." Krolia admitted with a small shrug. "I'm well aware that he's the black paladin and leader of Voltron, and that he has a certain duty to that; but he's also still a member of the Blades, which means he has just as much of a right to go on this mission as any other Blade member. I think it's his choice to make, wisely." It was two against two, but there was one more person to break the tie.

"Shiro," Lance spoke up in his more serious tone, "you're the deciding vote on this, since apparently, we're voting." All eyes turned to the admiral, awaiting his final decision. Shiro's gaze was downward in thought, weighing the options of both sides and trying to rule out which was more important. Have Keith remain on Earth and help rebuild, ensuring that if there was an attack Voltron would be ready, but in the process letting someone's life be put in danger, or even ended. Or, let Keith leave for a short time to help Acxa and bring her back and out of danger, and in doing so weather the risk of Voltron being delayed if there was an attack. Both choices had some sort of risk, a gamble almost with lives, but yet again, that came with being the leader.

Shiro's silence continued for a few more seconds, and Keith had conflicting thoughts about what the admiral would choose to do. Finally, Shiro looked up to the people in the room looking back at him, his eyes firm in his choice being made.

"Voltron is always going to be needed since the danger of the galra is, unfortunately, constant." Shiro admitted, and Keith's hopes were dashed. "But, Earth isn't completely defenseless while he's away for a short time. We should be willing to save one of our own if we can, and this is one of the few cases where it can be all for one without a definite threat to all. I say to let Keith go. If worst comes to worst he can call the Black Lion and hurry back, and Earth can put up a good fight with the defenses we now have." Keith gave Shiro an appreciative nod, and Shiro returned his own. Shiro was very confident Keith could do it, he just hoped he hadn't made a bad call.

IXXXXXXXXI

Even after two years in survival conditions in the Quantum Abiss with barely a proper wash until recently, Keith's old Marmora Blade uniform still fit fairly well. The suit was designed to feel like and be the wearer's second skin. It was old, but still in good shape, and Keith was still just as confident in it's protection and wear as he was in his paladin armor and suit. Keith had grown so used to skin tight suits by now that he hardly noticed when he was in one, but he could tell the difference between this suit, and his paladin suit. Kosmo could recognize him in anything, and clothes rarely mattered to a friend who only recognised their companions by scent and facial features.

Krolia, Kolivan and Keith had all agreed that bringing the cosmic wolf was a good idea, mostly for the beast's warping capabilities which could become useful, but also because Kosmo was very attached to Keith and could be a kind of backup. Other than Kosmo, Keith would be alone on this mission until he got to Acxa. Kolivan and Krolia both had laid out the plan to Keith of where to go and what to do, and all there was left to do now was get to the ship waiting for him in the Atlas hangar. Some supplies for the journey to and from the pickup point during the mission had already been packed as Keith had been getting himself ready, so he was all set to leave immediately. Having already equipped his Marmora dagger, Keith exited his room with Cosmo walking at his side. He made his way through the Atlas halls to get to the ship waiting for him.

"Hey man." Lance's voice came from behind. Keith stopped and looked back to see Lance walking towards him with his hands in his pockets.

"Hey Lance, what's up?" Keith asked, slightly surprised to see him.

"I thought I'd catch you before you left." Lance replied with a shrug, Kosmo coming to greet him as he stood where he was. "Just wanted to say good luck and all."

"Thanks." Keith nodded. "I'll be back in a few days, at most."

"Yeah. We'll be here." Lance replied with an at ease and confident look. "And no worries, I'll keep a sharp-shooter's eye on everyone while you're gone." Keith merely rolled his eyes a little with a small smile.

"I guess you are my right hand." he admitted dryly as he turned and continued to walk down the hall, leaving Lance to work out the quip in his sentence. Keith was soon in the hanger of the Atlas, which was busy with workers. He found his way to the low profile shuttle that was waiting for him, Krolia and Shiro both standing near its entrance, waiting to see Keith off on his mission.

"I've sent word ahead to Acxa that you're coming," Krolia informed him, "and we'll be in touch the whole way."

"I'll be sure to report when we're heading back." Keith told them both.

"Good luck Keith." Shiro adieued, having confidence that Keith was well capable of doing the mission. "Stay safe."

"I will." Keith replied with a nod, and turning around, he boarded the shuttle with Kosmo behind. The shuttle engines came to life as Keith activated the controls, and he soon brought it up off the landing deck and exited the Atlas bay. It was around ten o'clock in the afternoon now, and the sky was bright and blue with barely any clouds. Keith brought the shuttled skyward until the blue sky around him darkened to the black void of space, speckled with white stars. Keith set the ship's course for the rondevu point, and after that was finished, all there was left to do was sit and keep the ship on that course. He launched a channel to the Altas.

"This is Keith, I'm out of Earth's atmosphere and headed on track." Keith reported.

"Roger that." Sam's voice responded. "We'll be in touch. Good luck, Keith."

Keith disconnected and sat back more easily in his chair. Kosmo snuggled in a ball of fur on the ground near Keith's feet, and even with his suit Keith could feel the wolf's warmth. He reached down and gave Kosmo a pet on his back, and the dog's tail wagged a little in the attention. With his eyes soon set forward, Keith kept the shuttle on track as they headed to their destination. It had been a while since he had done a mission alone, or almost alone at least, but the pick up was going to be easy and simple from the plan Krolia had walked him through. Keith didn't really have any worries about the mission, since it would no doubt be a quick and easy journey with little to no complicating factors involved with the pick up.

IXXXXXXXXI

It was cold, but space always was. Acxa had grown used to that chill at an early age, and she had learned many other things along with that as well. This however wasn't new, the situation she was in, thus why she was calm. She was pretty sure it had been a full twenty vargas since she had sent that distress sign, a day in Earth time she had learned. Whether or not they were sending someone was beyond her knowledge though since not long after she had sent that message, her cover had been blown. They had taken her weapons and communications and thrown her in the cells beneath the ship, and they had kept her there ever since. They hadn't made any efforts to kill her yet, and that concerned Acxa in the sense of why they were choosing to keep her alive.

Acxa had sent the location of where the pirate gang had been planning to land next for refueling, but had their course changed after she had been caught? The only thing Acxa knew for sure, was that she needed to escape so she could get to the rendezvous point where her ride would hopefully be waiting, if one was coming. She had no reason to think they'd really send someone. She could have tried to get her own ride after the one she had originally planned was, no longer available, but she couldn't be sure she would find one. Now though, she wasn't even sure if help would be coming, for her at least. To pass the time and hopefully gain progress, Acxa distracted her mind a little by inspecting her cell for the hundredth time. It was completely enclosed, the door having a window for guards to see the prisoner through. She peered out at the hall through it, wondering how strong the glass was and if it could withstand one of her more powerful kicks.

As she was peering out, a face rather suddenly moved right in front of the window with a rather nasty look, meant to scare. Acxa stepped back from the window quickly, slightly alarmed but mostly due to the fact that she didn't like someone's face right in front of her own. The pirate who had aimed to scare her with his sudden appearance cackled as if he had succeeded in his intentions. Acxa narrowed her eyes and frowned in obvious annoyance.

"Hello pretty thing!" The pirate said on the other side of the door in a mocking tone. "I thought I had recognized you from somewhere! Acxa, right?" Acxa responded with a hard stare, no words accompanying it, and honestly, she had no recollection of this guy. The pirate cackled again in amusement, taking no heed it seemed to her expression.

"Yeah, I knew it was you! Never forget that face!" He taunted. "Also never forget that guy you used to work for. Lotor was it? Yeah. You were one of his generals, weren't ya?" Acxa remained silent. It was better for them to think she was still in league with Lotor rather than Voltron. By staying silent, she hoped the blabbering pirate would reveal their plans, if he was that stupid.

"Luckily we don't really care who you work for now." The pirate continued in uninterest as he shrugged, his words coming to Acxa as a slight surprise. "We only care about what you're gonna be worth to, the client." The pirate gave Acxa an oily, greedy smirk, and being satisfied in knowing he had given her something to think about, he moved on. His words left Acxa at a loss, as well as a little chilled that she was being regarded as a source of income: something to be sold at a high price.

*note to readers* Hello! Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of this thing! I was kinda nervous about posting it because I only have a few chapter written, and I have so much more to work on as well (including The Colors of Voltron, a story be and my good friend, ScarlettWhitecross are working on). I'm excited for the story though, and wanted to share it with more fans who weren't completely satisfied with how season eight turned out. Hopefully, you'll come to enjoy this one, and if not, hey, that's okay too! So yeah, thanks for reading this little note, and expect another chapter, hopefully, this coming Saturday (I actually posted this on an irregular day)! Please have a wonderful day and week, and stay safe and fearless with COVID still out there!

P.S. Also let me know if you see any errors or things that don't look write. I proofread as best I can, but you might see something I might have missed. Okay, bye!