Happy New Year!
Chapter Nineteen:
Keith woke up warm and happy, curled up on his side with Lance's arms around him. He smiled with his eyes half-lidded, slowly falling back down…
No, need to get up. He thought.
So, reluctantly, he started to push away the blankets. Only for Lance's hand to move and grab the blankets, pulling them back.
"Hngh. Go back to sleep, Keith." Lance mumbled, pressing a kiss to Keith's head.
"We've got to get up." Keith said. "Breakfast. Training. Going over the plan…"
"We've got all day tomorrow for the plan. And Shiro told me that he didn't want to see any of us until after zero-nine hundred hours Castle time. Ya know. On account of it being a holiday."
Keith shifted in Lance's arms, turning onto his side to face Lance.
"What holiday am I forgetting?" Keith asked, arching an eyebrow in confusion. Lance's grin grew and he stretched a hand out to rake his fingers through Keith's hair.
"Silly." Lance said. "Pretending to forget Intergalatic Keith Kwan Day."
Keith felt even more confused.
"Huh?" He said.
Lance chuckled and kissed Keith on the forehead, right between the eyes where his brow was furrowed.
"Happy birthday, Keith." Lance said, pulling Keith to him and covering his face with more kisses. Or, he tried to, at least, as Keith decided that the best way to prevent that was to push his face against Lance's chest.
Neither one was particularly complaining as they went back to sleep.
"You guys didn't really have to do all this for me." Keith said at breakfast, which was all of his favorites.
"Uh, yeah, we did." Hunk said.
"No, you—" Keith started, but Lance cut him off.
"Keith, how did you spend your last birthday?" He asked.
"Um, exploring the desert looking for Blue." Keith said.
"And the birthday before that?" Allura asked.
"Got up, went to classes, Tali and Matt set Shiro's bed on fire and then we ate cupcakes." Keith said.
"Our point exactly, therefore we—Wait, what?" Hunk said, cutting himself off from further explaining the point as everyone looked back and forth between Keith, Tali and Shiro for an explanation.
"Okay, so, Matt and Shiro had to go off Garrison grounds for something to prep for Kerberos that week, right?" Tali said. "So, the three of us said, 'Hey, Keith's birthday is coming up, we should get him some cupcakes to celebrate'. So while Shiro and Matt were off Garrison property, they bought and smuggled in cupcakes. Except what Shiro didn't know was that Matt also got a pack of birthday candles."
"The Garrison doesn't allow candles." Shinji pointed out. "Because they don't want a bunch of teenagers accidentally burning the place down."
"Yeah, we didn't let a little thing like that stop us." Tali said. "But what Matt forgot to grab was a pack of matches or a lighter or anything like that. So Matt sent Shiro to go find Keith, and he and I tried to figure out how to light them. And the only thing we could come up with was this portable welding tool I had."
"Oh no." Hunk said. "I think I see where this is going."
"They got the candles lit, but they forgot to put the tool in a safe place to cool. That very unsafe place just happened to be Shiro's bed." Keith said, grinning. "Needless to say, it was quite a surprise to walk in to see Matt and Tali frantically hitting Shiro's bed to put the fire out. Shiro was pissed. Fortunately, it was just the top blanket that got scorched."
"Even more fortunate, we got it out before the fire alarms went off." Tali said.
"There was no way to explain the burn mark to the Garrison laundry." Shiro commented. "And Tali had the nerve to suggest that we 'burn the evidence'."
"A perfectly valid suggestion." Tali said with a shrug. "What we ended up doing was Matt systematically modified the thing so that it was completely destroyed the next time it was washed, and Shiro had a new blanket by the end of the week. No harm done."
"Dang, and I thought we got up to shenanigans at the Garrison." Lance said, looking impressed. "All of it pales in comparison…"
"You misunderstand," Shiro said. "It's Matt and Tali's shenanigans, and I just got dragged along as the voice of reason."
"That's about eighty percent true." Tali said with a nod.
"Dude, I feel ya." Hunk said with a nod. "So, uh, we were going to make a point about how we wanted to make this birthday special for you, Keith, and right now I'm glad we didn't go with 'memorable' because there's no way we're going to be able to top Tali and Matt on that one."
"Pidge, does that sound like a challenge to you?" Lance asked, turning to look at Pidge, who nodded, grinning.
"Why, yes, Lance, that does sound like a challenge." Pidge said.
"I don't know what either of you are thinking, and frankly I don't want to." Shiro said, giving them both stern looks. "So no. Just… No. Whatever it is, no."
"Fine…" They both said with feigned sighs.
Keith was pretty sure he was the only one who caught Lance mouthing the words "next year" across the table at Pidge, who nodded and mouthed the words back.
Although he was unused to and a little embarrassed by all the attention, Keith knew for certain that his friends had already made his birthday special.
Pidge walked into the large library, wondering what part of it Shinji could be holed up in.
They found him easily enough, though, in a back corner, surrounded by paper books and dozens of tablets as well as a few empty mugs.
"Hey," They said. "We're going to watch a movie. Keith picked Lilo and Stitch."
"Interesting choice." Shinji commented, not looking up. "He doesn't strike me as a Disney movie kind of person."
"Keith's a big fan of the Disney Post-Renaissance films." Pidge said. "So, you want to join us?"
"I probably shouldn't." Shinji said, flipping the page in his book, then holding the translator screen over it. "I'm kind of an outsider, if you haven't noticed."
"You don't have to be." Pidge pointed out.
"Have you considered that maybe I want to be an outsider?" Shinji asked, looking up at them with a frown. "I don't plan to be on this ship for very long."
"Well, you're kind of stuck with us until we make it back to Earth, and who knows when that'll be." Pidge said.
"Hopefully, soon." Shinji said, ducking his head back down.
Pidge couldn't help but laugh at that.
"What?" Shinji demanded, glaring up at them.
"You're usually so pessimistic." Pidge said. "So, to hear you say anything remotely hopeful and positive is kind of weird. I'm not an expert, but I think it'll take us a while to get this war done and over with."
"Yeah, I guess." Shinji said with a shrug. "I still think we'll be back on Earth soon."
Pidge tilted their head to read Shinji's screen.
"What are you reading about?" They asked.
"I'm not exactly reading as much as I'm researching." Shinji explained. He lifted his head, lowering the translator screen and turned to Pidge. "Hey, how much research have you guys already done on the Lions and the previous Paladins?"
"Not much, to be quite honest." Pidge admitted. "Usually, our information about them comes from experience, Allura or Coran. Allura admits she doesn't know everything, and Coran definitely knows more than her. I mean, he'd have to, if he was King Alfor's advisor and King Alfor was a Paladin."
"Yeah, I guess." Shinji said with a nod. "It's just… It's weird."
"What's weird?" Pidge asked.
"Well…" Shinji marked his place then flipped the pages back. He pointed to where Altean symbols were scratched out almost viciously. "You see that? Every time the author of this book mentions one of the Original Paladins by name, it's crossed out. This book's like a mission log or something, so while it's often 'whatever-color Paladin did this-and-that' or something similar, the few times the names are written they're crossed out. I started this looking for information about the Lions, but after that other day when Hunk, Keith and Lance tried to do that mind-melt—"
"Meld." Pidge corrected.
"Whatever," Shinji said. "When they tried to do that with their Lions and the Blue Lion said nothing about her first Paladin, and none of them said what happened to split the original Voltron apart."
"Weird." Pidge said with a frown. "Maybe after this mission, Shiro and I can try to meld with our Lions. See what reaction we get."
Shinji frowned at that and went back to his previous page.
"Pidge… Is this mission really a good idea?" He asked.
"We think so, based on the data we've gathered." Pidge said with a nod.
"Truly necessary?"
"Yeah."
"And you've done stuff like this before."
"Oh, yeah, dozens of times now."
"And it's one-hundred percent safe?"
Pidge blinked and tilted their head, studying Shinji.
"It's safe, isn't it?" Shinji asked again when Pidge didn't respond instantly. "Everyone comes back in one piece?"
"Maybe with a few battle wounds, but that's nothing for a healing pod." Pidge said. "Nothing unusual for us."
"Mmm." Shinji said, disbelief evidence in the disapproving hum he gave.
"Everything will be fine, Shinji, even if there's a few bumps in the road." Pidge said. "I promise."
Shinji looked up at them one last time, eyes narrowed.
"I'm holding you to that, Pidge." He said. "Go enjoy your movie."
Pidge left the room, suddenly very concerned that they had made a major mistake.
"Double-check rations?" Hunk said as he held up a tablet with a list.
"Rations double-checked." Pidge said, showing Hunk where they were in a compartment in the Green Lion.
"Whole supply list double-checked?" Hunk said.
"List double-checked." Pidge confirmed.
"Alright." Hunk said, checking that off, then went and pressed the button for the intercom. "Allura, we've got everything we need. Ready to jump when you are."
"Everyone to the deck, then." Allura responded over the comm.
Hunk and Pidge were the last two to arrive and quickly found their seats.
The plan was for them to wormhole jump and have the Castle hidden behind one of Marth's moons while the Paladins took the Green Lion down to the planet's surface, utilizing the cloaking system.
Thanks to Scout, getting in and avoiding Galra patrols and security droids was no problem.
Also thanks to Scout, they had learned that in addition to a mysterious drop-off, the ship would be picking up a supply of drones.
The plan was fairly simple, and involved splitting up. Lance would guard Pidge and Hunk while they were in the control room and tried to figure out how to get into the secret basement lab while Shiro and Keith caused a distraction, namely in using the grenades to short-out the drones for pick-up.
Once Pidge, Lance and Hunk were hidden outside the command room, Pidge whispered into their helmet,
"Shiro, Keith, we're ready for Distraction Number One."
They knew it worked moments later when the base commander exited, snarling and cursing in the Galran language as he strode towards the hanger. A quick biothermal scan showed that only drones were left in the room and Pidge was more than happy to let Hunk and Lance take care of them while they got a head-start on downloading information from the main computer.
"We're in position and ready for Distraction Number Two." Lance reported moments later.
"Copy that." Shiro said.
"How much longer, you two?" Lance asked, eyes not moving from the door.
"Only a few more ticks." Pidge answered. "Allura, Coran, how are things going on your end?"
"No sign of an incoming ship or wormhole yet." Allura responded. "But given the vessel's estimated arrival time, it should be any—"
Allura's voice was cut off by a sudden, sharp gasp over the communications link.
Pidge looked up and turned around, looking to see if the sound came from either Hunk or Lance, but they were both just as wide-eyed and confused as Pidge.
That's when they heard Keith's voice over the comms.
"Shiro? Shiro!" Followed by a noise of frustration and in the distant background, Pidge thought they heard Shinji say 'Takashi?'.
"Something's wrong with Shiro!" Keith said after a moment.
"Do you have visual?" Allura asked.
"Yes, and he's clutching his arm… Galra one… Oh… Oh no… Pidge, Hunk, I need one of you now!" Keith said, the urgency in his voice increasing.
"I'm coming." Pidge said, heading for the door without another word, bringing up the panel on their wrist that displayed the energy levels in Shiro's arm as well as it's inner mechanisms.
"Pidge, I think the grenades interfere with Shiro's arm!" Keith said with a grunt and Pidge could hear the sound of something dragging against the ground, and they were pretty sure that something was Shiro.
"I think you're right," Pidge said, frowning as the mechanisms went haywire. "Hold on, I'm going to attempt a hard-reboot. And, Keith, I mean this very literally, hold on to Shiro."
"What does that mean?"
Pidge didn't even have time to react to the fact that it was Shinji's voice that asked that question, and simply listened to the sound of the thuds and grunts followed.
"I told you to hold on!" Pidge said, half complaining, half defensive. A 'Hard reboot' of Shiro's arm meant not only turning it off, but withdrawing the connectors that were attached to Shiro's nerves, making him able to move it. It also turned the arm into dead weight.
"Yeah, just be glad I got us into this supply closet before you did that." Keith said with another grunt. "Sending you location now."
Fortunately, Pidge didn't have much farther to go, quickly slipping in to see Keith kneeling beside Shiro, who sat up against the wall, helmet beside him, grimacing in pain and shaking some. His lower lip was bleeding, and Pidge's heart and stomach started to ache, realizing that they hadn't heard many sounds from Shiro a little too late. He had been suffering in silence. Or attempting to.
Keith had been holding Shiro's left hand in his own, two fingers pressed to the inside of Shiro's wrist.
"His pulse is erratic." He told Pidge.
"I'm fine." Shiro said.
"No, you're not." Came the echoed response from Pidge and Keith.
"I don't even want to know how many volts you were just hit with." Pidge said.
Shiro suddenly had a small grin.
"Probably enough to power Volt-ron." He said.
Pidge and Keith narrowed their eyes at him and exchanged a look where they decided to say nothing.
"Shiro, is anything hurting right now?" Pidge asked, kneeling down beside him. They hovered their hand over Shiro's right hand and frowned at the heat there; it was usually warm for a little while after he lit the hand up, but this was extremely hot even for that.
"Head. Chest. Arm." Shiro got out, breathing heavy. "Not in any particular order."
"I don't get it, nothing went wrong when we set off the first one." Keith said.
"You set off the first one, Keith." Shiro said. "Must have been out of range. But I set off the second one…"
"And, apparently, your arm is set at the same frequency as a Galra drone." Pidge said as they carefully removed pieces of armor off of Shiro's arm. "Allura, we're going to need back-up, and Keith, I'm going to need your knife."
Keith passed his knife to Pidge while Allura promised to be there as quickly as she could. Pidge then cut Shiro's sleeve up to where his prostethic met flesh. They frowned as the fabric tried to seal together again; while it was nice to have self-repairing armor, at this particular moment it was more annoying.
"Keith, hold this for me." Pidge said, letting Keith grab hold of the material before digging out their tools. Pidge winced at the heat that was still radiating from the arm when their gloved fingers touched it, but quickly got it opened and did what they needed to do, which was trigger the release mechanism to remove the arm. Shiro let out a small sigh of relief as Pidge removed the arm and both Pidge and Keith grimaced at seeing the stump and the burns that covered it.
"Yeah, I don't need to be team medic to say that's going to need a healing pod." Keith said, reaching for his pack of first-aid materials.
"Roger that." Coran said.
Pidge pulled a water packet out of their supplies, stuck a straw in it before giving it to Shiro with strict orders to drink it all.
"Okay, guys, what are we going to do here?" Hunk asked through the comms. "Are we going to see this through or do we get out of here A-Sap?"
"Oh, well, uh, that is a decision that has to be made rather quickly." Coran said.
"What is it?" Allura asked.
"Er, that wormhole that wasn't supposed to open for another twenty ticks? It just opened."
"Oh, come on!" Lance exclaimed. "That's not fair! Allura, ETA?"
"I'll be in the base in few ticks." Allura responded. "I say that we continue on with our original plan, only I take Shiro's place in it."
"I don't like the idea of leaving Shiro alone and, uh, unarmed." Pidge said, looking down at Shiro's arm lying beside them. "In more ways than one."
Shiro started snickering.
"Nice one…" He said. "I'd offer you a high-five but you've got my hand…"
"And, he's totally out of it…" Keith said with a sigh. "Look, we still don't have a clue what's going on in this place. If we don't find out today, that can come back to bite us tomorrow. We've got to see it through."
"My part was going to be from the control room." Pidge said. "I can do it just as well in here with Shiro."
"That should work to everyone's advantage." Allura said.
"Alright, let's get a move on." Lance said. "The faster we get this done, the faster we get Shiro back to the Castle."
Keith left the room and Pidge secured the door after he left. Bayard sitting beside them, Pidge sat against the wall alongside Shiro so that he could see what they were doing. He ended up leaning a little too far and his head ended up resting on theirs.
Pidge looked up at him.
"You alright?" They asked. "Pain getting better or worse?"
"Feel dizzy, but I'm sitting down…" Shiro said. "Pain… Pain isn't that bad. Really. Have had it worse."
Pidge swallowed. They were sure that was true.
"Your blood pressure is probably low. That's why you're dizzy." Pidge said. "That happens sometimes after an electrical shock. We just need to make sure that doesn't impact your kidneys. That and making sure that it didn't destroy any of the tissue and nerve endings in your arm."
Shiro nodded some.
Pidge reached into their belt again and pulled out some crackers with peanut butter between them, quickly tearing off the plastic.
"Eat one of these, it should help." Pidge said. Shiro took the cracker and ate it while watching Pidge work, quickly closing the hanger as the ship's commander spoke with the base commander. While Pidge was with Shiro and Keith, Hunk had managed to hack into the software that all of the drones were programed with, putting all those drones into the hands of Pidge, who proceeded to round up any other living Galra within the base and ship, while the others took care of the hanger.
"Hey, Pidge." Shiro said a bit sleepily as it became clear that it was a Team Voltron victory and the Castle began to land nearby.
"Yeah?" Pidge said.
"Thanks. For everything." Shiro said. "For coming and for staying with me."
"No problem," Pidge said, reaching over and gently patting his knee. "I'm just glad I was able to."