Chapter 4
The Holts were basically a family of geniuses.
Sam Holt, Pidge's dad, lead the Research and Development Team of Space Exploration. He also dabbled in numerous other fields Lance didn't bother to keep track of. Matt Holt, Pidge's older brother, became a part of Sam's research team a good couple of years before the alien invasion. His interests were very similar to Pidge's in all things technological.
Colleen Holt, Pidge's mom, remained the voice of reason for the house. Her field of expertise, while still a computer prodigy in her own right, fell more within the botany range. The woman also doubled as an unbreakable badass if anyone asked Lance. She remained the only person he knew that could put up with the shit Pidge and Matt came up with. Her husband usually right along with them for the ride.
Lance had no doubt that without Colleen, the Holt household would have burned down in a glorious show of an experiment gone wrong a hundred times over.
So needless to say when they saw living proof of the entire Holt family staring back at them on the computer screen, Pidge was ecstatic.
"We gotta go!"
"Of course we're going." Lance smiled brightly at her. "We already said we were! And now that your family's there, there's no way we aren't!"
The two exchanged giddy grins, practically jumping out of their seats to leave.
"Whoa, whoa, hold up!" Hunk placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "We need to talk about this."
"What's there to talk about?" Pidge immediately scowled. "My family is there. We can see them. We have to get going now! Before they move them again!"
The large man shifted anxiously. "Well yeah, of course but…" He glanced at Lance, searching for help. "Shouldn't we… I don't know. Think this through a little more? It can't be a coincidence that we all of a sudden found them like this. I mean don't you think it's a little weird? I think it's a little weird." His large hands gestured meaningfully as he tried to explain his point. "I mean of course it's great that we found them! But I gotta bad feeling ya know? And you know how I get when I get a bad feeling."
"I can't believe you right now!" Pidge snapped angrily. Her tiny formed whirled around to pierce him with a death glare. "What if it was your family? Would you wanna sit around the campfire and discuss the logistics of it all?"
Hunk visibly flinched.
Families were… a touchy subject over the past year. One of the few things that none of them could consistently stay on the same page about. Generally arguments went back and forth for finding family above all else or finding what they needed to take care of themselves first.
Pidge stood very promptly on the family side.
Hunk, who loved his family as much as any of them, stayed more realistic. He pointed out that if they wanted to take care of anyone, they needed to take care of themselves first. That meant not making rash decisions and taking their time to think things through. And of course the big one; Not getting caught.
Lance landed somewhere in the middle. Which ended up with him, more often than not, playing mediator.
Like now.
"Alright guys, let's just take a breath for a bit, okay?" Lance physically separated the two by stepping in between them.
Pidge directed her full ire on him now. "Taking his side?" She narrowed her amber eyes dangerously. "I should have expected as much. You always do."
Now Lance grew irritated. "That's not true, Pidge."
"Yes it is! It's always you two against me on everything!" She threw her hands up. "I just want to find my family. Why is that so hard to understand?"
"It's not, but you-"
He stopped as the conference room door flung open with a loud bang. In sprung Green, fur puffed up and teeth bared. The next instant she stood at Pidge's side, wrapped around her and starring Lance down. Ready to rip him to pieces if Pidge demanded it.
He might have been intimidated if it wasn't for Blue's calming presence. Her head pushed him back a few steps to separate him from Green. Blue stood almost six inches taller then Green and used her size to her advantage as she glared down at the other lion. Green wouldn't be able to do a thing to him with Blue by his side.
"No." Pidge spoke softly and hugged her lion around the neck. "I'm fine."
Green instantly slacked at her words. The lion sat down right where she was, letting Pidge lean against her.
Lance sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair and glanced towards Hunk.
Sure enough, Gold towered over them, being the largest of the three. His head reaching past Pidge's shoulders. His presence by far remained the easiest going. Hunk's hands were anxiously fingering Gold's mane.
This right here was why Team Griffin didn't feel comfortable around their lions. Whenever one of the trio was upset, their lion showed up. Usually followed swiftly by the other two, just incase something was wrong. Lance really couldn't blame the other four for being anxious whenever a large cat burst into the room unexpectedly.
They were nervous kittens, the lot of them.
'Just wanted to make sure nothing was happening.' Blue's voice popped into his head.
Lance chuckled lightly, shaking his head even as he patted her head affectionately. "Like Pidge said, we're fine here. Just…" his blue eyes glanced between his best friends' dejected faces. "Having a bit of a disagreement.
Pidge snorted, her fire returning. "Yeah. That's what it is."
"Pidge…" Hunk started and trailed off. The big guy shifted his weight from one foot to the other.
"Look. We are going." Lance interjected before either of them could say anymore. "We just need to hash out the details before we jump in head first. We don't do anyone any good by getting ourselves captured in-" he waved at the screen "-whatever it is that's going on there."
"Fine." The young woman dug her face into the fur of Green's neck. "Get on with it then."
Lance fought off his irritation at her attitude. He forcefully reminded himself that, despite all Pidge's genius, she was still a kid. Sixteen sure, but still a kid. The things they'd had to sacrifice, to manage the past year, were more than she should have had to deal with. Hell Lance had two years on her and he didn't feel like he should have had to deal with it. But Pidge was like a little sister he never had, and he wanted to protect her from things the best he could.
He wanted to make sure this rescue plan would work.
Who knew how she'd take it if it didn't.
"Alright, so what do we know?"
"My family is there."
"Yeah, besides that."
"Well," Hunk threw in his thoughts, "we know this is a new structure of some type. We don't know what it is they're doing, but they seem to be building something. And it looks like they're using humans to do it."
"Can't get their droids to do everything for them apparently." Pidge returned to her seat. Her eyes darted across the screen. "So from what I can tell, this base is pretty small. Just my family and a handful of others there working. Still fairly new I'd guess since they just came online an hour ago."
"Maybe they're there for a reason?" Hunk ventured.
"Like what?" Pidge glanced up at him.
"Well your family are well known geniusis. Maybe the aliens somehow figured that out and now they're getting them to build something for them? Something they would need humans to do because they don't know how?" Hunk finished unsure. "Or maybe they like do know how but don't have the capabilities to do it at this time. Like whether in manpower or resources." Hunk tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I mean, they are on an alien planet. At least some of our stuff shouldn't make sense to them, right?"
Pidge hummed, typing away at her computer. "Yeah, that makes sense. Though I find it hard to believe that an advanced alien species would have difficulty with our human technology."
"What if it's more environment driven?" Lance threw out there blindly.
The two turned to look at him curiously.
He shifted and shrugged. "Like maybe they aren't use to this kind of climate? I mean we haven't seen any of them in, like, helmets or anything so they can breathe the air but… well maybe the desert is new? And they need something from it?"
"Yeah, yeah," Hunk nodded along going with the idea. "There could be some kind of resource hidden here that they wanna get their hands on! But they have no idea how to go about it without, like, blowing up the Earth or something!" He threw his hands up dramatically and gasped at his own words. "Oh, that would be bad. You don't think they're going to blow up the Earth, do you?"
"Na." Lance patted his back reassuringly. "If they were gunna do that, they woulda done it when they first invaded. Why keep the planet intack for so long after finding us?"
"If that is when they found us." Pidge added helpfully. "They could have been watching us for a while. Making sure we had whatever it was that they were looking for."
Lance pursed his lips. "Shouldn't the Garrison have picked up on that though? I'm assuming they have some kind of, uh, radar for possible alien invaders."
"Something like that." She shrugged. "But I wouldn't doubt that they have cloaking devices available to shield them from our radar." The teen tapped the monitor. "Like these new bases or whatever they are. Maybe it's always been there and we've just been… missing it."
'It wasn't there.' Blue told him plainly.
"Huh?" He frowned down at her. "What do you mean it wasn't there?"
"They've come across places like what Pidge was talking about… apparently." Hunk answered for Blue. Gold likely telling him something similar. "Sounds like they've been avoiding them for the most part."
"Why?" Pidge questioned.
Hunk hummed and pat Gold's mane with an understanding nod. "They said it was too dangerous. Which I totally have to agree with. I mean we were new at the whole infiltration thing and the lions were well, a lot smaller."
'Wouldn't have been much help.' Blue confirmed for him.
"That's… fair." Pidge relented with a huff at whatever Green must have said to her. "Don't like it, but logically it makes sense."
"Soooo… does that mean you guys could help us find this place? Even if it goes off the radar?" Lance brushed his hand over Blue's cheek.
She nodded.
He sighed in relief. That was one less problem they had to worry about. In the off chance Pidge hadn't already recorded the location and they lost the site, at least they had the lions to help.
"What's our plan of attack here then?" Hunk asked.
"Yeah, fearless leader, whaddya got?" Pidge teased with a grin.
Lance half debated throwing her a snide remark or gesture. But her and Hunk were back on the same page so he wasn't going to press his luck. "I say we load up a little heavier with the weaponry. And I think we will be needing the vehicle after all." He grinned at the both of them.
"Really?!" Hunk beamed brightly, face dropping a moment later. "Uh… I won't have to ride in it.. Will I?"
Pidge rolled her eyes. "Are you just now remembering your motion sickness?"
Hunk appeared a bit pale. "Maybe." He responded.
"Not for us, no." Lance shook his head with a smile. "I'm thinking maybe two of the others. One to man the guns if needed and the other to drive. We'll need the extra space and I don't think the lions will work out to well."
He stared at his friends hopeful faces.
Lance grinned. "We're going to be bringing a few people back with us, after all. Right, Dream Three?"
The other two groaned.
-.-.-.-.-
"Alright, in and out." Lance whispered from the back of Blue to the other two, mounted on their own lions. "From what we can tell there is only two additional people with the Holts. We grab them and go. The less noise we make, the better."
Hunk and Pidge nodded.
He singled at the van. A mirror reflected quickly back twice, giving him the go ahead.
Lance inhaled deeply and patted the side of Blue's neck gently. She strode forward, paws silent against the desert sand. The only light offered to them by the glow of the moon. Night as a cover seemed like their safest bet to get in and out undetected.
The building stood about two stories high against the night. Pidge had reasoned that being able to see it meant that the Galra likely didn't have most of their base technology setup. That now was the best time to go before they got the chance to install a cloaking device, heating radar, and all that other shit that would just make a rescue mission impossible.
At least that's what the tech was telling her.
Lance and Hunk both agreed that the sooner, the better.
Nadia and Ina volunteered for the mission before James or Ryan even got a chance. Honestly Lance was going to pick them anyway. Ina was scary brillant, if not a little awkward, just like Pidge and he trusted her behind the computer in the van running the scans almost as much. And Nadia… well she would make sure they got out of there in one piece. Whether by her crazy driving or shooting, remained up in the air. But her determination would get them out of here.
Plus, ya know, it'd be a hell of a lot less awkward without Ryan here after how this morning ended. And he tended to pair up with James for missions. And Lance could only handle so much of James. There was also the possibility that James maaay totally be into Ryan and Lance maaaybe putting a damper on what could be a blossoming relationship between the two.
So… there was that.
This was also just speculation of course. Lance really didn't pay much attention to what went on between James and Ryan unless the two seemed to be acting out of the norm. Like if it messed up their team dynamics and what not. Not really something they had time for.
Possible shit show that waited him when he returned aside, Lance focused on the task at hand.
Getting close to the building was easy enough. Just a few droids watching what was clearly the front entrance. Well timed attacks by Hunk and Lance with their gun of choice took care of that problem. A simple hack into the control panel by Pidge, let them in the door.
From there the mission grew a bit tricky.
They slipped off their lions for better mobility and more attack/defensive options. Green lead the way through the maze of halls. Pidge assured them that her lion could tell the right way. Their lions had an uncanny ability that let them sense certain… things. To what extent these 'senses' went, they still hadn't been able to figure out. As far as they could tell, the skill grew with the lions.
Green managed to choose a path with limited patrol of droids. For the most part they went undetected. In the few instances they had ran into a bot, Pidge would sneak up on them and zap them with her homemade taser. Hunk would catch the large droid before it hit the ground. He'd then drag it into a deserted room and leave it.
Hours seemed to slip by.
Finally they stopped in front of a door.
"This it?" Lance asked impatiently. His eyes scanned the hallway. "I'm ready to get out of here."
"Yeah, yeah." Pidge grumbled at him. "Hold onto your panties, princess."
Lance squawked in indignation.
Hunk elbowed him sharply, placing a finger to his lips in the universal sign to 'shut the fuck up'.
He scowled but didn't say another word. Just huffed and crossed his arms as he openly pouted.
"Got it!" Pidge shot up straight as an arrow as the door began to open.
Each of them waited on baited breath. Pidge stepped cautiously into the room. The rest of them followed. Lance blinked as he let his eyes adjust to the room. The first thing he noticed were beds. Beds occupied by people.
"Katie?" An older man sat up with a start. "Is that… is that you?"
"Dad!" Pidge threw herself at the older man. Her dad, Sam Holt. They hugged each other tightly.
A woman ran over to them quickly. Colleen. She squeezed Pidge as soon as the man let go. "Katie…" the rest of what Colleen mumbled into her light brown hair was lost.
"What? Pidge?" A young man bolted from his bed and rushed over. Matt. "What in the hell… How are you here?"
Pidge peeled away from her mother to wrap her arms around her brother. "We came to rescue you."
"We?" Sam frowned lightly.
All eyes in the room turned to Hunk and Lance.
"Uh… yo." Lance gave them all a two fingered salute and a sheepish grin.
"I repeat. What in the hell and how are you here?" Matt held his sister at arms length and stared down at her quizcally.
"We can explain all that later." Pidge shook her head.
"Yes." Colleen pursed her lips. Her sharp gaze on the lions. "I imagine it's quite the story."
"You have no idea." Hunk laughed anxiously. He patted Gold's mane. A nervous habit of his he'd developed over the past year.
"Well, let's get going then." Sam nodded. He waved his hand towards the back of the room. "Come with us. We can figure out details after we get out of here."
Lance noticed the other two for the first time. Two young men. He didn't recognize them. But that really didn't mean much. The two simply exchanged looks and nodded.
Slipping out of the base proved too simple. They were almost back to the vehicle when fire started to rain down on them.
The lions threw up their shields moments before the shots struck. Everyone gathered safely into the back of the large van. Nadia hightailed it out of there without a word. Ina typed away on the computer. The lions ran along outside. Offering extra protection. There simply wasn't room for them to travel along in the van.
Silence and relief weighed heavily in the small space.
"What were they doing to you in there…" Pidge broached the topic that had probably being eating at her since she saw them early that morning.
"They had us searching for something." Sam told them plainly.
"What?" Pidge tilted her head curiously.
Lance's lips set into a thin line. What on Earth would draw an alien species here?
"It was a weird name." Matt chimed in. "Don't even know what exactly it was, but they were very convinced that we did."
"And it was?" Pidge asked again irritably.
"Voltron."
"Let's take one a them fighter jets!"
"No."
"Why not!?"
Keith inhaled deeply through his nose, trying not to snap at the other man. "For the last time, it's not practical! Not to mention you've never flown one before!"
"But you have!" His companion shot right back. His brown eyes were irritated. "It'll be a lot more effective in taking them down."
He tried not to scowl. This was not the time to be bringing up Keith's past experience at the Garrison. How this guy even knew that he was part of the fighter pilots, he didn't have time to ask. They needed to get moving. The others were still very much pinned down and waiting for them.
"The tank thing meets what we need it for. We need a way for you guys to transfer people after we take out the Galra." Keith explained as he walked towards the closest armored looking van tank combo. "And assuming that none of you are pilots, this thing is your best bet. Besides," Keith quirked a brow at him over his shoulder, "what about those driving skills your sister mentioned?"
The other man pondered it over for a few seconds before giving in. "Fine. I drive. You shoot."
"That's the plan."
The two loaded up into the van along with Red. The thing was spacious enough to fit probably three of him so it should hold all the captives just fine.
"Dude!" The man exclaimed with a large grin as he settled into the seat. "This is totally rad! They don't even have keys! Or they have those little fob things somewhere in here. Just push and go!"
The tan man does just that, pushes a button and the vehicle roars to live.
"Seems odd they'd leave these so easy to get." Keith voiced his concern. Better not be some kind of trap. He thought off handley as they drove towards a large door.
"Probably dont' think humans are stupid enough to try to steal from them." The other man snickered. He fumbled around looking for something. He pushed a button above his head and the doors in front of them opened. "Oh my god!" He laughed maniacally. "They have a garage door opener in this thing!"
'He's… odd…' Red blinked at Keith.
The dark haired youth reached out to stroke his mane. He couldn't help but think the same thing.
"Amused by the little things, huh?" Keith quirked a brow curiously. Though it was convenient. Saved them a few minutes instead of trying to find something to open the door for them.
"Dude." He shot a look over his shoulder. "I've been in this place for like 6 months staring at rocks in a dessert." He turned the wheel sharply towards the sound of gunfire. "You'd be pretty pumped too if the only thing you did in that time was stare at rock formations."
"... fair enough."
Keith knew the feeling all too well. It reminded him of his time in his shack in the month he'd been out of school before the invasion. He slipped into what he assumed was the chair to handle the weapons. Of course everything appeared in whatever language the Galra used. He had no idea what to do.
'That one.' Red helpfully pawed at a section of the controls.
"We're coming up on them. You ready, my dude?"
He didn't question his lion. Instead Keith mashed the largest button. A screen in front of him lit up. A target system of sorts displayed. He poked the button to the right of it.
A whirring sound and then BOOM!
"Whoa!" The driver laughed heartily. "Nice aim bro! That had to be like, half of the droids! Mighta even caught a Galra with that one."
Keith smiled at him. His eyes drifted past to the window and widened. "Pay attention!"
"Shit!" The man cursed, seeing the two Galra now shooting at them. He yanked the wheel to the left, clipping one of them and sending him into the other. "Yes!"
"Was that on purpose or a fluke?" Keith mumbled as he began pressing buttons again.
More droids exploded.
The other man laughed. "All skill, my man. All skill."
Keith only half believed him.
"Three down, two to go."
"What?" Keith jumped out of his seat to look through the windshield.
Sure enough, three of the Galra soldiers were down. Tied up even by the others. Shiro, of course already fighting one of the remaining two.
"Stop the van."
"What? Why?"
"Just do it!" Keith shouted, already reaching for the door handle as the driver stomped on the brakes.
He barrell rolled out of the van. He pulled his galra sword up just in time to block a hit at Shiro's back. The impact sent him stumbling slightly into his brother.
"Keith." Shiro breathed in relief. The two were pinned, back to back against the two Galra. The others guarded by Black. Red joined his fellow lion in his job. "Think you can take that one?"
He rolled his eyes, not even responding as he pushed back against the soldier. Keith jabbed at his center. His opponent blocked it.
Keith swiped again.
His opponent dodged.
He smirked, finally far enough away from Shiro and the others that their fight wouldn't do any damage.
The Galra brought his sword down heavily on Keith.
He raised his own up to block it. He then twisted out of the way, striking at the other's opening.
The alien hissed. "You insolent little pup!" The deep voice rumbled. He slashed widely. The strike aimed near Keith's shoulder.
He moved out of instinct. His body already knowing how to dodge.
Completely unnecessary as Red tackled the Galra to the ground. He roared viciously in the man's face. The man practically whimpered underneath the fierce beast. Keith couldn't blame him. He didn't know what kind of creatures these people were use to, but being face to face with something like Red would be terrifying.
Still.
Keith huffed. "I didn't need your help, Red."
His lion's face shifted to his normal air of indifference. He sat right on the Galra's chest. 'I know.'
"Get this thing off of me!" The Galra shouted. "I'm a general of the great Galra Empire! You are a lowly subspecies! Barely worth our time."
"And yet you're here on our planet." Keith deadpanned. He glanced around the clearing. Shiro heading his way. His opponent in a pile with the others.
"Why are you here?" Shiro questioned as he stepped up. Black faithfully at his side now that the danger had passed and the others were safe.
"I owe you no explanation, humans!"
"We'll deal with him later." Shiro placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "You got him, Red?"
The lion nodded.
Shiro tipped his head towards where the survivors were already loading up the van. The older gentleman approached Shiro. Keith parted off to talk to the other members of his family. The ones who had really helped him out. The driver and sharpshooter.
Their mom intercepted him.
She beamed at him as he approached. "Thank you so much for your help!" Her dark blue gaze shifted behind him. "The both of you. And your companions. I don't think we ever would have made it out of here without you."
"It wasn't that big of a deal…" Keith trailed off, unsure how to take the praise.
She smacked his arm and he blinked in surprise. "Nonsense. You did so much for us."
"I actually came to thank your… kids?" He said the word cautiously. Half of him worried she might hit him again at the wrong assumption.
"Yes those two numbskulls are some of mine." She sighed with a fond shake of her head. A proud smile tugged at her lips. She waved the two over.
"You're packing up awfully fast." Keith noted. Only the family and a few others stayed outside of the van. Everyone else already loaded.
She hummed. "Want to get out of here as fast as we can. Who knows if they sent out some type of distress signal."
That makes sense. He nodded.
"You're sure you don't want our help?" Keith asked. His eyes flitted over to where Shiro and her husband talked. He was sure Shiro asked the same thing. "We could help you set up a camp or-"
"No, no. You've done enough." The older woman insisted. The shake of her head in time with the other man's. "We have a few more members of our family to find. They, thankfully, weren't captured with us. We're hoping that they stayed put like we asked so we can continue looking for our other son."
Just how many kids do they have? Keith found himself thinking.
"Oh he's so going to be in trouble if he's not there!~" Sang the markswoman from before with a smug grin.
"Pfft!" The driver snorted. "When isn't that kid in trouble?"
"Hush, now." The woman silenced her children with a look. Both stood up straight and nodded. She turned back to Keith. "Thank you again for all that you've done."
"It really was no trouble." Keith shifted anxiously. He stared at the other two, wanting to get the attention off himself. "And thank you two for your help."
Both glanced at their mother and merely nodded. Apparently not trusting that she wouldn't repermind them again.
She hummed, blue eyes relaying her appreciation. "You didn't have to come help us. Most wouldn't."
"I'm sorry it took us so long to realize places like this exist."
"You did what you could with the knowledge you had." She smiled kindly and pat his shoulder in reassurance. "That's all any of us can do."
Keith blinked at her. He didn't necessarily agree but he nodded anyways. She didn't seem like the type of person he wanted to cross. She barely knew him for more than a half hour. Yet here she had both smacked him and offered him comfort in a way he wasn't very familiar with.
"That's a good boy." She chuckled and pat his shoulder again. "Perhaps we'll see you again." She dipped her head and walked towards her family.
The group of survivors hopped in one of the vans and disappeared into the night.
He turned his attention back to the Galra. "Ready to answer our question?"
"We'll let you live." Shiro tacked on.
"What makes you think-"
"Red." Keith simply said his name.
The lion roared in the man's face.
"We're… looking for something. Searched most of the universe and it somehow made it to your tiny insignificant planet."
"And that would be?" Shiro prompted. Even his patience seemed to be wearing thin.
"Voltron."
A shot then rang out through the air, silencing the alien.
Their eyes snapped to the shooter, finding one of the Galra still functioning. Shiro shot them without a second thought. The body slumped to the side. Motionless once again.
Keith quirked a brow at Shiro in confusion. "What in the hell is a voltron?"
A/N: And there it is! Yeah, Voltron is still a thing. Or is it? This is an AU after all. Could be referring to anything. I mean, we do already have the lions. What else could they mean?
Anyways, next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for! Hope you found this chapter enjoyable and will be back for the next one!
Thanks for reading!
Luv~