Lance couldn't open his eyes at first. The light was too bright and he felt as if he had been given something. It made his eyelids stick shut. Unfortunately consciousness returned before his other senses were fully operational, his eyes working first. He tried to pry his eyes open with pure will but to no adu. Lance gave up on that front, shifting his focus to feeling. Feeling where he was, if anything was hurt. He wasn't sure how long it took but eventually feeling returned in his hands and feet, then worked its way up his body. But something was off. He could feel things, but it felt like he was experiencing his senses through a film overtop his skin. He felt fuzzy on the inside.
Lance thought he heard voices when he wiggled his fingers. They were muffled, noises that were probably words but in a language Lance didn't understand nor recognize.
Finally, he was able to open his eyes.
There was a particle barrier surrounding him. He appeared to be laying on a medical table, one with a pillow for his head. There was a screen outside of the barrier to his left. When he looked down at his body, there were various tubes and machines hooked up to him. Soundless. Lance attempted sitting up against his better judgement, but found that his wrists were in cuffs attached to the bed. The room was a bland grey color, apart from whatever Lance was hooked up to and trapped on. He looked down at his body again, noticing that his paladin armor was off of him. He was almost naked, his saving grace being the underwear on his body. Lance decided to ignore the fact that it was not the ones he remembers wearing last. He had a blanket on top of him, which was lit up. Lance started to panic. He was trapped almost naked somewhere he couldn't remember how he got there. He started squirming against the restraints; something didn't feel right.
An alien Lance had never encountered before appeared above him. It spoke to him in its native language, therefore Lance ignored it. A few of the screens and machines reacted to what Lance was doing. The particle barrier was expanded so the alien could enter. Two, actually. They placed their appendages on Lance to secure him down on the table. They seemed to be communicating. Lance figures out fast that fighting was useless. It wouldn't get him anywhere and probably result in punishment. He forced himself to calm down. The two aliens seemed relieved when he stopped fighting, one going to look at his shoulder. Watch as the other one wiped tears away from Lance's eyes, ones he didn't realize he was producing. The alien put it in a tube and left. Lance found it odd. The other was making noises at him but Lance couldn't understand. His voice was too dry to speak.
"I don't understand you," Lance raspily managed to get out. The alien looked at him with confusion, then as if they realized something. A little box was pulled out of their garment, a few taps were made. Lance took this chance to really look at these aliens.
The two he had seen were humanoid. They were around Shiro's height, Lance guessed. Their skin was purple and grey, appearing to be similar to human skin but more soft. They had a similar build to humans; head, torso, arms, legs. They had garments similar to the human hazard suits without the headpiece. They had three eyes in a triangle on their faces, two nostrils, and a mouth. Their hands could act as one unit, or split into "fingers". Their expressions were similar to humans as well. Lance briefly thanked the powers that be; he couldn't imagine trying to learn and process an alien species completely different to him in a situation like this.
"Can you understand me?" The alien said. Lance nodded. "Awesome! Sorry, I had my communicator set in a mode where I could understand you but you couldn't understand me."
"What am I doing here?" Lance asked, his voice trembling a little and still raspy. The alien looked confused.
"What do you mean? Do you not remember?"
It hit Lance as soon as the alien questioned him.
He and Keith were on a mission to scout out a few nearby planets for possible food. On their mission to the planet Jixal, they were attacked by a big beast. They had to evade the beast, unfortunately flying into a canyon. Their lions crashed into the sides, and then Lance blacked out. Keith…
"Yeah I remember now…" Lance's throat was like sandpaper.
"Why does your voice sound like that, human?" The alien close to him asked.
"Water?" Lance croaked. The alien above him nodded and asked someone to fetch him a glass.
"While we wait for that… Perhaps you would like to know what we know?"
Lance nodded. The alien introduced theirself as Kralvera, one of the top medics in the area. She specializes in other species however humans are one species they have never come across. The Jixalians only knew about humans from what they have read or heard. The base Lance was currently in was in the canyon that he and Keith crashed into. They sent a rescue team out to find information, and they came back with the two Paladins. The lions now have a particle barrier up that the Jixalians could not go through. Kralvera, or Vera as she said she preferred, told Lance that his companion was safe in the room next to his. They found something suspicious in him and were checking it out. Lance's wounds were also not as extreme as Keith's. She explained that Lance's shoulder was dislocated and he had a few cracked ribs, as well as many bruises. Lance was otherwise fine. Keith, however, broke a leg, broke his wrist, dislocated a hip, and had a mild concussion. The aliens were able to heal Lance's ribs right away. Keith's concussion was healed, but he would probably have a headache when he woke up. His hips were put back into place. His wrist and leg, however, needed more time to heal.
The other alien returned with a glass of water. The bed shifted so that Lance was sitting up, his arms still locked into place. Vera assisted Lance in drinking the water; the cool liquid rejuvenated his throat and Lance felt so much better having something in his stomach. He cleared his throat, finding that the pain and stiffness was gone.
"OK, so… why am I almost naked and why am I all locked up?" Lance asked "And when can I see my, er, friend."
While the aliens had shown them kindness, he was not entirely sure they were safe.
"We had to heal you and assess damage. Normally our kind is, as you put it, naked. But you are foreign and we recognized that the garment was important being the only one under the over garments. You are locked up so we can study you. And because you humans are squirmy, according to the information we know. You can see your friend after two more healing sessions."
Vera lowered Lance back down to being fully horizontal. She grabbed a bottle of some weird pink oil, caked it onto Lance. Lance started hyperventilating, unsure of what was happening. What the hell were they doing to him?
"Your readings convey an emotion of panic. What is wrong?" The other alien asked. Then, to Vera, said "Should we knock him out again?"
Lance felt the substance seep into his skin. Vera's hands, which had been massaging the oil onto him, started going INTO him, as if he was made of dough. Lance couldn't help it; he screamed and yelled and cried. Over his own noises, he heard the two aliens calmly talking.
"He seems to be uncomfortable. No pain, as we drugged that away." Not Vera said.
"I don't believe humans have this kind of healing method." Vera replied. "Can you make him stop?"
"Knock him out or muffle?"
Lance felt the answer, more than heard it. He could not stop the device being placed onto his mouth, cheeks, and chin. He screamed some more but the sound was not audible. The hands inside him touched his ribs and Lance started crying.
"Look, more fluid!"
His tears were collected and he gave them lots. Eventually the hands were removed. Lance was patted down by Not Vera, wiping the sweat away. They asked him to not scream or make noise if the muzzle was removed and Lance tiredly nodded in agreement. It was taken off.
"A warning would have been nice," Lance hotly remarked.
"Noted." Lance saw Not Vera write something down.
"Can I please be released? I'm not a big fan of the cuffs. And can I have some clothes?" Lance asked.
Vera considered Lance.
"Not until your last healing session. Your ribs are almost back to normal. As for clothes, we have to be able to see your body."
"But you can remove the clothes. Even a blanket would be great."
Vera turned to her fellow alien.
"Grenvala, please go retrieve a blanket."
The other alien, Gren as Lance would now call her, left to grab the blanket. Vera told Lance she wanted to observe his anatomy and structure, if it was ok with him. She said she would place a screen overtop of him and would be able to see inside him. Lance agreed, mostly out of curiosity. What kinds of technology did these aliens have?
As the machine was put in place, Vera asked Lance for his name. They had been calling him Blue Human due to the outfit he was in when they found him.
"Your Red Human is different. He woke up first, and we did not have restraints on him. He knocked out 5 guards before he was taken down, all while being injured."
That sounded like Keith.
"You say that humans do not like to be exposed?" Vera inquired just as Gren returned with a blanket. She set it down somewhere before taking her place beside Vera to take notes. Lance explained to the best of his ability why. He explained that for some cases, it was ok, but even then there had to be warnings or the option given to not be naked. He explained briefly that human procreation required nakedness, that this activity was sometimes done for fun. He told them that he personally would like to be covered unless they have to check something, and would like a warning and explanation.
"Perhaps," Vera thought out loud "we should go cover the Red Human before he awakens."
"Why's that?" Lance asked.
"He is naked, as you say, and locked in our bonds, more than you. We can put a blanket on him too, maybe a few?"
Lance tried to get the image of a naked Keith out of his head. Vera helped because she soon was tapping away on a device while the machine over him did it's work. Lance could see his insides in real time. It both fascinated him and freaked him out simultaneously. Vera asked Lance a lot of questions about human biology and he answered to the best of his ability. He told them he was not good at biology. They didn't care. The aliens just wanted information, little it may be. After what felt like an hour, they stopped asking him biology questions. Vera told Lance that it was time for healing sessions two, in which Lance would have to go through the weird being-felt thing.
Gren asked why it was weird for Lance to be healed. Lance told her it was not the healing itself, but the feeling of it, how humans are not used to their insides being touched. Lance almost fainted at the thought of it, despite already having gone through it. Gren nodded as if taking in this information and making a mental note.
"There are many things we do not know about you humans. And I am guessing we will not know cultural differences until they come up, unfortunately."
They asked Lance if he was ready and Lance sighed. He wasn't sure if he could be ready for this.
"Just… don't collect my tears. That was weird." Lance requested.
"Human fluids may have healing properties for us. Anything you excrete, we would like to collect. We already took some of your blood-"
"WHAT?!" Lance exclaimed. They probably took it while he was passed out.
"This angers you?" Vera inquires.
"Yes, because it's MY blood. It's… for humans, we like to give people permission for things. Some things are bad to take without permission, others are absolutely horrible. Blood is one of those things."
Lance watched Gren make note. If they had those fancy tablets that presumably connect to the space internet, then they should be able to access notes other species have made about humans. He pondered this as Vera spread the weird oil on him. Lance started hyperventilating. When did the x-ray device come off? He was suddenly very self conscious of his chest and did NOT like being exposed and felt. The feeling was just NO. Vera, probably noticing his reaction, stopped. She looked down at him with sympathy.
"Is there anything we can do to make this more comfortable for you?" She asked.
"Yeah, um…" Lance cleared his throat, which was starting to dry up. "Is there anything I can squeeze? Or something to keep me grounded?"
Gren offered, much to Lance's surprise, a stress ball. She also offered her hand.
"Should we move his hands?" Gren asked. "To be sure you can get full access, and that this is the last session?"
Vera agreed. With a few taps on a screen, Lance's hands were suddenly over his head. Lance focused on breathing instead of the hands on him. In a different scenario, with a certain Red Paladin, this would have been good. No alien with their weirdly advanced medical procedures, and their not-knowing-human-social-rules. Now that he came to think of it, Keith wasn't that far off from the aliens. He knew the bigger social rules, however smaller ones he missed. He was still learning. Lance stopped thinking of Keith out of fear of his body's natural response to that; he REALLY did not want to have that discussion with them. Thinking of Keith in this way reminded him that Keith was in a different room. Vera and Gren mentioned Keith was also unconscious. Well, he woke up and had to be sedated for trying to escape. How bad was Keith's mental state? The two doctor aliens said after this healing session that Lance could possibly go see him. Lance figured Keith would have to go through similar treatment and it would not be fun. For either parties. Keith was definitely more likely to lash out. Lance could probably help calm him down-
Lance yelped as the hands worked their way along his ribs, the sensation ripping him from the thoughts of Keith that had distracted him. He whimpered and showed Gren's hand very little mercy.
Lance either passed out, or the alien medics gave him a sedative. Either way, Lance woke up again in the same room, in the same position as before, this time consciousness hitting him all at once. Lance tried to sit up but found that a strap had been added to go across his chest. His bare chest. Vera and Gren did have the decency to put a blanket over him. As Lance wiggled a little to test his restraints, he felt his legs were also tied down. He noticed that some machines were removed. Lance sighed.
He was glad for the rescue and that these aliens are trying, but he was not mentally prepared for this. He hoped that his fellow Paladins were looking for him and that they found him soon. The cryopods could heal him better than whatever the Jixalians could do. Coran has a better understanding of human biology than Lance due to him being responsible for their healing. Could these aliens contact the Castle? Did they know what Voltron was?
Now that Lance was alone and didn't have any distractions, he could think. They must have some technology to contact the Castle. They could contact the castle and figure out a means to either get them back, or Coran could come heal them and take them once done. The thought of his team made Lance happy and sad simultaneously. He was overcome with an urge to be able to move, to hug himself, but was reminded of the helpless position he was in. He yelled out for Vera and Gren. They had to at least set him free. Give him a bed or something.
Gren entered the room, looking curious.
"Yes Lance?"
Lance gestured with his eyes to the rest of his body.
"What the hell?" He asked.
"We had to be sure after you lost consciousness that you didn't move in response to Vera touching your insides. Now that you seem to be mostly healed, I could allow you more movement." She replied calmly. Lance appreciated her honesty.
"How about you move me to see my… friend," Lance hesitated. Keith was his friend but they had gotten close right before the mission. Lance couldn't tell Keith, nevertheless these aliens, his feelings. He had been hushing a crush since he first met Keith at the Garrison.
"We are currently checking on him; that's where Vera is currently." Gren avoided the answer.
"Let me see him. What do I have to do? I have told you about humans and our culture. I've told you about our biology. Now what do you want me to do in order to see my friend?!" Lance was yelling by the end of his spiel. Gren looked upon him with interest and as if she was mentally taking notes. She wordlessly left the room. Lance stayed quiet for a minute. Just before he was about to yell out again, Gren returned.
"You know this human well, yes?" She asked.
"Yeah, I've known him for a few years." Lance said. He wondered where this was going.
"So you know how to calm him down?"
Lance asked what they wanted. According to Gren, Keith was now conscious but was refusing treatment. Vera and Gren were assigned to Lance while two other medics were assigned to Keith. After Keith's little escape attempt, two different medics had to be assigned. Keith had regained consciousness while Lance was passed out the second time around, somehow was able to injure both medics. Vera had to intervene; she gave Keith a drug that basically tranquilized him. Keith was conscious currently, but was still fighting back. Rather sluggishly. In order to determine all of his injuries, they had to wait until all of the drugs were out of his system.
Gren presented two new cuffs from her smock pockets. She secured them around Lance's wrists. She unbuckled him from the many restraints. Giving him a minute to stretch after helping him to a sitting position, Gren fetched a wheelchair. An old fashioned wheelchair.
Gren explained that they want his complacency and the promise of peace. To not be attacked. And, eventually, sample of various human substances. Lance agreed. Whatever they wanted, he would give just to see Keith, to help him. Gren grabbed a patient garment and dressed Lance. She explained that he could move freely but one wrong move and the cuffs would activate. Any bad moves she could also use the cuffs to hurt him as a punishment.
Lance heard Keith before he saw him. His yelling was slower and he sounded tired. As if he had been fighting for hours, which given what Gren has told Lance, he probably had been. Keith was swearing at, presumably, Vera. He was demanding her to tell him what they did to Lance. Lance could hear as Gren knocked on the door.
"IF YOU HARMED HIM IN ANY WAY I SWEAR I WILL SNAP YOUR ENTIRE STAFF'S NECKS!" Keith threatened, the speed of his voice slowed down due to whatever they gave him. The door opened slightly, Vera's head poking out.
"I brought Lance in hopes that he can calm down the threatening one."
Vera looked from inside the room, to Lance, to Gren, then back at Lance.
"Great. Can you talk to him?"
Lance nodded enthusiastically. The door opened to let the two in.
Now that Lance was sitting and able to observe the room better, he looked around. The room was exactly like his. Keith's bed (Lance was being generous calling it that) was close to the back wall. There was a screen above him that had scribbles in a language Lance didn't understand. He guessed it was notes about Keith. Keith had multiple restraints on him. He was yelling up to the roof; he had a band over his head, one across his shoulder blades, one across his elbows and stomach, one on his hips, one across his thighs, and then his ankles were in restraints. Keith's head was turned slightly, eyes on the door. He calmed down significantly upon laying eyes on Lance. He stopped struggling against the bonds, his muscles visibly relaxing.
"Laaance?" Keith slurred. Gren pushed Lance so he was closer to Keith.
"Hey Mullet," Lance softly said.
Keith's eyes raked Lance's body, concern washing over the Red Paladin.
"Did they hurt you?!" Keith slurred, a hunt of protectiveness in his voice.
"They healed my injuries from the crash," Lance truthfully said. "They healed your concussion and dislocated hip. They want to heal your other injuries too but you need to be chill."
Keith sent a grimace to Gren and Vera.
"How do we know we can trust them?" Keith asked.
Lance pointed out that they could have killed them, left them to possibly die, or not healed them. Keith nodded to the best of his ability.
"I heard you've been… not a great patient." Lance tried to hide his chuckle. Keith rolled his eyes.
"I wanted to save your ass so that I could say I did. I didn't know how well you were apparently being treated."
"Are you ready?" Vera piped up. She had the x-ray machine and a cart with various liquids. "We have to wait until all the drugs are gone but until then I would like to collect samples and give 'Mullet' another examination."
Keith growled when Vera said Lance's nickname for him.
"Sorry, his name is Keith. Mullet is a nickname for him." Lance calmly explained.
Vera and Gren typed something into their tablets. Lance requested to be brought next to Keith and Gren filled that request. The chair was set so that Lance could look down at Keith. Lance realized that Keith had not been given a blanket, but they gave him underwear. Lance looked down at Keith; the red paladin seemed to be having a hard time focusing his eyes. Keith kept looking from Lance, to the aliens, to his own body.
"Keith, if they release some of these restraints, do you promise to not fight?" Lance asked. He looked pointedly at the aliens "Pain and discomfort response does not count as fighting."
Vera agreed to let Keith be free of some restraints. She removed the elbow-level one, the collarbone, and the head one. His legs and others were deemed important. Lance gave Keith a warning glance when Vera went to take off the head restraint. She hesitated.
"You won't bite me again?" Vera asked for confirmation.
"You bit her?!" Lance exclaimed.
"Promise… I'm not fast…." Keith slurred.
When less restrained, Keith wiggled slightly to test this level of freedom. Meanwhile Vera set up the machine that examines the insides of a person. Lance asked Keith if there was anything he could do to help him relax. Keith requested Lance hold his hand and speak to him in Spanish. Whenever Keith was upset or when he was overstimulated, Lance would speak in Spanish and massage his hands. The least amount of contact for someone who was both touch averse and touch starved at the same time.
Whatever drug they gave Keith yo stop pain must have worn off. When Vera touched his ankle, Keith let out a loud whimper of pain, biting back a sob. Lance put a little pressure on his ministrations. Vera rolled his ankle while observing in the x-ray machine. Keith nearly passed out from pain; he focused as much as he could on Lance's voice. Gren, on the other hand, seemed to be observing the two boys and how they interacted. She asked what purpose massaging Keith's hand had, why Lance was doing it. Was there a biological connection that made Keith relax?
Lance told her that humans are very reactive to touch. Each human was different in their response to touch. He explained touch aversion and touch starvation. Gren ferociously wrote everything down. Vera moves on to Keith's other hand. Keith recoiled at the touch, jerking against the restraints. Vera hesitated.
"The other medicine is out of Keith's system. Once the tranquilizer is gone, we can start."
Vera nodded in confirmation. She finished her examination of Keith. They removed the x-ray, and Gren offered to put a blanket over Keith. He nodded, staring blankly up at the ceiling. His body released some tension when the blanket was placed on him, his muscles relaxing. Keith's eyes closed but he squeezed Lance's hand to let him know he was awake. His breathing was heavy.
As Vera left the room without a word as to why, Gren sidled up next to Lance in a chair of her own. She had her tablet ready.
"I have a few questions," she stated matter-of-factly. She checked something on her tablet. "Firstly, we took some samples from Keith earlier and found something interesting about his DNA. We were wondering what his species is? Are humans varied in their DNA?"
Lance looked to Keith. He knew the answer but figured it was Keith's information to tell. They don't know how these aliens feel about the Galra.
"I'm not… entirely human…" Keith said slowly. "Don't freak out over what I am about to say."
Gren nodded.
"I'm part Galra. Half human, half Galra."
Gren did not seem to react to this information negatively. Her eyes sparkled with interest.
"How does that affect things? We know we have had to administer larger doses of medication. You seem to be stronger than Lance-"
"Hey!" Lance exclaimed; Keith smirked.
Gren wrote down on her tablet the new info. Gren informed Keith of what Lance had told them about humans. Most of the info was intended to help them help the Paladins. Keith asked Gren if he could have something to drink. She told him she would get someone to fetch him something.
"Why can't you get it?" Keith challenged. His strength was returning, Lance could tell just from his voice. The drug was fading from his system.
"We aren't allowed to leave you alone together." Gren answered.
"What if you activated the cuffs on Lance's wrists? That way there is no way he can try to escape or help me escape."
Gren considered it. She shook her head.
"Nope. You are being watched, and I am also being watched."
This alarmed Keith and Lance.
"Watched? By who?" Lance asked.
Gren scratched her head, eyes not making contact with either boys.
"The other scientists. Again, we have never had humans here before. They want to know about you. Once you two pass out again, which you humans seem to do a lot of, we will be going to meetings to present what we have learned. Or, depending on the Council's wishes, we may be bringing one of you as, er, examples…"
"We are not just some animal you can parade around." Keith spat at Gren "Sure, you helped us. But we are not going unless we want to. You can't make us."
Gren's face grew sad. She did not seem to agree with the actions but was implying they would take them anyway.
"Actually, you are in no position to talk."
She gestured to the cuffs Lance had on.
"You listen here, bitch-" Keith growled.
"Keith!" Lance reprimanded. Keith ignored him.
"You will heal us. Or, honestly, not. At this point, we are fine. You will tell us where our lions are, or you will do everything in your power to contact Allura and Coran of Altea. If you do so, we will not attack. Our friends will not attack."
Gren's expression was soft.
"Vera and I are following orders. We cannot go near these lions you speak of. We understand you may be distressed by the circumstances. But you are the first human, and human hybrid, we have encountered. There are some here who think we should keep you for experiments. There are some who think you should be killed. You are valuable to us dead or alive."
That did not help Keith calm down.
"Can you at least contact our friends to let them know we are okay?"
"That will be up to the Council…"
"Let us speak at this Council. If you truly think we are more than just animals, let us speak there." Keith said. He was attempting to sit up but due to his restraints was kept horizontal. Gren sighed. Vera reentered then.
"You want to meet the Council?" Vera asked.
"...Yes." Keith cautiously said.
"Well, you're in luck. They want me to take one of you to present to them. Along with our information." Vera reported, way too cheery. Vera's cheerfulness was fake; her eyes were full of sadness, and her smile was faltering.
"They would actually like both, but I need reassurance that you will behave." She looked at Keith. "Specifically, they want me to muzzle you."
Keith was too enraged at the proposal in general to notice that Vera was now trembling. He started yelling superlatives at her. Hearing the commotion, another alien in similar dress as Gren and Vera entered the room. Gren grabbed Lance's chair and started moving him away from Keith. The new alien approached Keith with a face mask connected to a chamber. Lance tried to stand up, to go to Keith, but the cuffs on his wrists were activated. They hurt. They clamped down, connecting to the chair. Locking him in place. Keith's yelling and cursing and threatening was lost; Vera held him down by the shoulders, a few tears escaping from her eyes. The new one placed the mask onto Keith's face and soon he was knocked out. Lance heard as he was forced out of the room the third alien ordering Vera to bring both of the Paladins.
Lance turned his attention to Gren.
"What the hell?" He spat at her. Gren was speechless. She brought him down the hall, passed his room. Where was Gren taking him? He asked her this; Gren took a shaky breath.
"Before you are brought before the council, they want you to be clean. Since you have behaved, they are allowing it to do it yourself."
Lance did have to admit, he was feeling gross. Whether that was the physical sensation of being dirty, or a feeling from everything he had gone through since crashing Blue, he was not sure.
Gren dropped him off at their version of a bathroom. It was quite similar to an Earth bathroom. It had two machines that Lance discerned were for waste. The most similar to Earth was the bath; it was already drawn when they entered. Various vials were on a cart. Two aliens were there when Gren and Lance entered, situated next to the cart. They were both blue in color. They had the talk boxes on them.
"Lance, this is Heve and Juro. They will be your… assistants." Gren introduced. She made sure Lance was calm before releasing the cuffs. Lance was mostly just weak from the drugs earlier and the exhaustion brought on by stress. He was not able to support himself. Gren gave Lance a reassuring squeeze before leaving Lance in the clutches of Heve and Juro.
"We have learned that humans like to be asked things." Heve said. He was the thicker of the two aliens. His voice was slow to make the words. Juro approached Lance, studying him. It made Lance uncomfortable, despite having already been DEEPLY studied by Gren and Vera.
"Would you like us to take off this garment or would you like to do it yourself?" Juro asked. His voice was deeper than Heve's. Lance opted to take it off himself. Juro watched him struggle with it for a solid minute before asking if Lance would like help. Lance sighed. The stuff on his chest from earlier was making it stick to his skin.
"Can I leave it on? That's the option I was hoping to get."
The two Jixalians exchanged looks.
"I believe no," Juro answered. Lance swore and told Juro to make it quick. The two took the over garments off. Juro went to take the only thing standing between Lance and total discomfort, but Lance smacked his hands. Juro muttered that it could stay on. They both lifted Lance up and into the bath. There was a little lip for his head. Lance allowed himself to relax in the warm water. He wasn't even bothered when one of the aliens started scraping his torso off. The cuffs on his wrists seemed to be waterproof, unfortunately. They took some of the substances and massaged two into Lance's hair. The movements on his scalp were so nice, Lance had to fight to stay awake. Luckily the feeling of the rest of him being washed by someone else was enough to distract him to alertness. They dipped Lance's head into the water. Soon he was deemed clean and taken to a different room.
He was placed in a cylinder that Lance was too groggy to ask what it did. It's not like he could fight them anyway. He was supposed to be the complacent one, the nice one. The peaceful one. It's what Shiro would want. It's what the rest of the team would advise, if they were here. Since Keith was being difficult, while it was fully warranted, it was also not great for their impression on this new species of alien. They left him to change into new clothes. These ones had underwear to cover that area, the rest of the outfit was a button up short sleeve shirt and tight fitting shorts. Lance changed quickly, and good thing he did. Vera entered the room without warning. She looked relieved to see Lance dressed.
"Oh good. Did Heve and Juro treat you okay? Did they follow instructions?" She asked. The first time Lance had heard genuine concern in her voice.
"Yeah. They, uh, cleaned me and stuff."
Vera pulled in a gurney-like device. She shut the door after making it in. Lance, sitting on the only furniture in the room, a bench, looked quizzically at her. All her poshness and emotionlessness was gone. She sidled next to him on the bench.
"Listen Lance," she whispered "I don't have much time. The council meeting is being prepared so most of the scientists are there. Meaning no one is watching the room right now. I want to help you and Keith as much as I can. Grenvala too. But we are under orders. While you were cleaning up, I had Gren try and contact the Alteans you spoke of. We thought Altea was destroyed. Jixal and Altea were close in regards to their relationship. Gren found the Castle and sent them a message. I will keep you updated."
Lance was stunned into silence. This was so much information for him to process.
"We might be able to help. Just… you need to get Keith to behave."
"I can't exactly control Keith," Lance retorted, still processing. Vera chuckled.
"He is very protective of you. At least, very vocal."
There was a silence that hung in the room. Vera's tablet beeped.
"Oh! We should get going. Unfortunately, there is going to be some… not nice sensations at the meeting. They want you and Keith on.. Display," Vera spoke as if the wording was acid in her mouth.
Vera helped Lance get strapped to the gurney. He closed his eyes and awaited what was to come.