Chapter Thirty-Four:

"What?" Allura said. "Dei? The first Blue Paladin?"

"Look at what we know so far," Shinji said, then started ticking things off on his fingers. "Altean male, somehow survived the fall of Altea and the rise of the Galra even ten thousand years later, and Coran apparently hates him. Put all of those together, and Dei fits."

"Is it possible your grandfather was a Paladin?" Shiro asked Caelum.

"I don't know," Caelum admitted. "If he was, he never told me… But he rarely ever talks about Altea before the fall, life before the fall."

"So then we just need to ask the Blue Lion for confirmation," Lani said.

"No bueno," Lance said, shaking his head. "Blue says she will not confirm nor deny or give any other information regarding the first Blue Paladin. Says that he will have to tell us himself when he's ready."

"Simple then," Tali said. "We find a way to coax information out of Dei."

"I question your definition of 'simple'." Shiro told her.

"Look, if he was the first Blue Paladin, then technically speaking the current Blue Paladin should invoke some sort of feelings," Tali said. "Lance, think you can charm Dei some and see what happens?"

"I can, but… I don't know," Lance said, frowning slightly. "No offense, Caelum, but something about this… It doesn't…" He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried again. "After what I just saw between Dei and Coran, I don't know how I feel about Dei possibly having been the Blue Paladin before me."

"People can change," Pidge pointed out. "Zarkon was the Black Paladin before Shiro, and they're nothing alike. Same with Hunk and King Alfor, and Keith and Ryla, and me and the first Green Paladin."

"Pidge is correct," Allura said. "The Lions have specific qualities that they look for when they choose a Paladin. But that does not mean that one pilot has to be the same exact person as the previous pilot."

"Not to mention ten thousand years of trauma and loss could really mess a person up," Hunk added.

Lance nodded some, still not smiling. "I'll do my best, then."

"In the meantime," Shinji said. "I'll look for more information about what caused the first Voltron team to split. Especially regarding the first Green Paladin. If charm doesn't work, maybe bringing up facts can."

"We should also probably do something to keep my grandfather and Coran separated," Caelum added.

"I'll take on that job," Keith said. "I was planning to ask Coran for some help with my own information search anyway. If needed, I'll just say that it's a good excuse to stay in the Castle and avoid any Galra shift slip-ups."

"Sounds like we have a plan," Shiro said.

Everyone just simply silently hoped it was a good one.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

"Hey, Coran?" Keith said over breakfast.

"Yes, Number Four?" Coran said, looking up from his bowl, arching an eyebrow.

"I was wondering if you could help me," Keith said. "I… I decided I do want to figure out exactly who my father is. But a name and this knife are all I have to go on, and I know practically nothing about Galra customs and culture and stuff."

Coran brightened some and said, "I'd be more than happy to assist!"

"Can we start after breakfast?" Keith asked.

"Don't see why not."

And with that, Phase One was initiated.

After Keith and Coran left the dining room, Shinji stood up with his bowl. "I'll be in my room; last night, I pulled a couple of volumes that looked promising."

Which left Lance, Allura and Caelum to initiated Phase Two.

Allura and Lance met up with Caleum and Dei as planned. They exchanged greetings and Dei asked Allura about how she planned to spend her first full day at the settlement.

"I was hoping to take a tour," Allura explained. "Get to know what life is like here."

"In that case, I would be honored to give you a tour," Dei said.

Lance stepped in at this point, though still a bit reluctantly. "Actually, Dei, I was wondering if I could offer you a better tour of the Castle, as well as an up-close and personal meeting with the Blue Lion. Maybe even do a few laps around the planet. Blue just loves to meet new people."

Dei smiled some. "I would be honored."

A few minutes later, Lance led Dei into the Blue Lion's hanger, grandly proclaiming, "And here she is, the coolest, most beautiful, best I-can't-believe-she's-sentient Lion in the pride, the Blue Lion of Voltron."

"She truly is magnificent," Dei said, leaning on his cane as he stared up at the Blue Lion in awe. "Permission to approach?"

"Of course," Lance said, striding closer to Blue, putting a hand to her force-field, which lowered instantly. "Half the point of us coming here."

Dei came closer, resting his hand on one of Blue's massive paws. "I thought I would never see a Lion of Voltron again in my lifetime. It had been many decapheebs since she had last flown when Altea fell, and I assumed she and the other Lions were lost when Zarkon destroyed Altea. I have never been happier to have been wrong." Dei turned to Lance, and smiled slightly. "And, to be honest, I wasn't sure she'd ever pick another Paladin. King Alfor tried to find a replacement for years… She waited more than ten thousand years to pick the right one, it appears."

"We have a saying on Earth, that patience is a virtue," Lance said. He chuckled slightly. "That was, uh, one my mom said a lot… Mostly to me. Which means Blue has patience greater than all the Saints combined."

"It pays off, to have such discerning taste," Dei said.

"Want to go for a spin?" Lance asked.

"I would be delighted." Dei said. And he was, as Lance piloted Blue in the atmosphere. "The engineering is incredible, as are the aerodynamics." Dei eyed Lance and said, "It takes a very skilled and knowledgeable pilot to fly a Lion of Voltron. I can see why the Blue Lion chose you. Trying to get ahead of the game of her sisters, perhaps."

"Nah, I don't think that's the reason," Lance said, shrugging slightly. He didn't mind the occasional ego stroke, but Dei continuously seemed to be trying to flatter him. And for some reason it gave Lance a bad taste in his mouth. "Shiro has more training and flight hours, and Keith's got more innate skills. Compared to them, I'm just decent."

"You underestimate yourself and your abilities." Dei said. "You are far more skilled and more deeply bonded compared to your predecessor. He certainly did not have the same caliber." Dei's smile grew. "The Blue Lion has clearly raised her standards."

Blue let out an inaudible growl that Lance felt deep in his bones and heart. But Lance just smiled and said, "The Blue Lion picks her Paladin based on their quintessence, particularly on their abilities to have faith and trust. She chooses her Paladin based off of those qualities; I don't think those standards have changed."

Dei looked a little surprised, then said, "My apologies. Then it is clear that she has made the correct choice, because you put your faith in her and trust her decisions."

Lance simply nodded and started to direct Blue back to the Castle. They started to leave the hanger, then Lance stopped at the door, saying, "You go on down the hall, I'll catch up with you. I forgot to put something away."

Dei nodded and stepped out the door. Lance watched him go, then took a deep breath, pulling out his cellphone, sending a quick text to his friends: Not Dei.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

Keith frowned as he looked back and forth between the markings on his knife and the display. "I think these clan markings are all starting to blur together." He told Coran.

"The differences are incredibly subtle in a lot of cases," Coran said. "See here?" He pulled up two that looked virtually identical, but Coran pointed at the bottom of one. "See how this one curls in on itself while the other—" He pointed at the other. "—curls out?"

"You can hardly tell," Keith said. "Why are so many alike?"

"These two clans happened to have been one clan that divided," Coran said. He pointed to the second markings. "This one was the original, while the other was the new clan's."

"Why make a new clan but just modify the clan symbol?" Keith asked.

"Galra stubbornness, predominately." Coran explained. "When these clans broke apart from the one, they both wanted to keep the symbol. One of Zarkon's ancestors stepped in to mediate, which resulted in the alteration for the newer clan."

"Why did they split in the first place?" Keith asked.

"Could be anything." Coran said. "See, the Galra didn't always have clans. They had warriors, and magic users, and politicians, and workers, but they were all part of the same people. Then the people became divided into clans: one was warriors and leaders, the other was everyone else. That worked by an adoption system. But then within those clans other clans developed into more specific categories. Farmers had one, craftsmen had others…"

"Oh, like a guild," Keith said. "Or a union."

"Somewhat," Coran said. "And then the clans became even more divided by specifics, until the clans today became known for a certain skill set. For example, there are many warrior clans, but each specializes in a form of combat. It was actually a big deal when Ryla became the Red Lion's pilot, as she was from a clan that specialized in sword fighting and it was not someone from the warrior clan who specialized in warfare piloting that was chosen."

"And so she basically stepped on someone else's turf," Keith said, nodding. "So, based off the basic design of my knife, that means my dad was part of one of the warrior clans?"

"Indeed," Coran said. "And unfortunately, we might not be able to determine which clan is yours, due to there being ten thousand years for new warfare to develop."

"We'd at least need to find an up-to-date guide," Keith said. "Think Pidge could download one somehow?"

"I think they'd at least give it a shot," Coran said. "But may I ask why you have this sudden desire to determine which clan your knife belongs to?"

"What happened on that ship a few days ago got me thinking," Keith said. "Mostly that figuring out who my father is and where he is in the grand scheme of things is a good idea. At least, it could give me some idea of who I am and where I belong."

Keith's brow furrowed as Coran laid his hand on Keith's shoulder. Keith looked up as Coran gazed at him seriously. "You are Keith, the pilot of the Red Lion and the son of Sun-Hi Kwan. You just so happen to also be the son of a Galra solider named Thace. And you belong here, in the Castle, with Voltron, no matter who your parents were. And you always will belong here. Found family is just as important as biological family."

Keith smiled. "Thanks, Coran. I needed that."

They both continued on, completely oblivious to the fact that their conversation had an eavesdropper.

()()()()()()()()()()()()

"So. Not Dei, then." Shinji said, frowning. "I was so sure…"

"It was a good theory," Shiro said. "And you're right, he did fit a lot of the clues."

"Coran did say he has a list of people he hates, and was glad he'd never have to deal with them again," Pidge pointed out.

"A real list or a hypothetical one?" Shinji asked.

"Hypothetical." Pidge said. They frowned. "Probably. You never really know with Coran." They turned to Lance and said, "So, how'd you figure it out? What happened?"

"I couldn't tell when he was being sincere or not," Lance said with a shrug. "Something just didn't feel right. He did a lot of complimenting and stuff, and for some reason it rubbed me the wrong way. It felt…"

"Sleazy?" Hunk suggested.

"Like he was trying to sell you a used car?" Pidge suggested.

"I was going to say 'fake', but those descriptors work, too." Lance said. He turned his head at hearing the door whoosh open. "Hey, Keith. Did your search for answers go better than ours?"

Keith groaned as he hopped down onto to the couch, rubbing his eyes slightly. "I could belong to three different clans if you look at my knife from five different angles."

"No luck then?" Shiro asked. Keith shook his head.

"Coran also thinks that we need an updated clan encyclopedia," Keith said. "Apparently, there are a lot of clans and they multiply like rabbits."

The door opened again and Allura, Lani, Tali and Caelum entered the room.

"How did the tour go?" Hunk asked.

"It was fantastic!" Lani said, hopping onto the couch beside him, turning on her camera as she did so. "Look at all these photos we got!"

Allura sat down with a sigh.

"Everything alright, Princess?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, it's just…" She closed her eyes and sighed again. "The people here have high hopes and expectations for me. And I'm honored for that. But I don't know if I can live up to them."

"What do you mean?" Pidge asked. "What expectations?"

"Many people expressed joy that Princess Allura would be staying here with us," Caelum explained, frowning slightly. "Allura, I love my grandfather, but I recognize when he is trying to make a power play. He wants you here, and he has no qualms about using guilt to get you to comply to his wishes."

"I won't bow to anyone's games," Allura said, leaning back, folding her arms over her chest. "Discuss situations with me in a straight-forward manner or not at all."

"Exactly," Lance said, remembering his own experience with Dei that morning.

Caelum suddenly straightened at hearing a beep, then pulled a communication device out of his pocket. He studied the message, then said, "My grandfather would like to speak with you, Allura. Tonight if possible."

Allura grimaced but said, "I will speak with him."

An hour later, Caelum escorted Allura to meet with Dei, who greeted both warmly.

"I'll get straight to the point, Princess," Dei said as he invited them to sit down in his office. "I would greatly appreciate it if you and the Paladins could act as diplomats for me, and negotiate the return of an Altean heirloom."

"Which heirloom?" Allura asked. "And who would I be negotiating with?"

"The people would be the Yunglins of planet Mitalin," Dei said. "For the last ten thousand years, they have been the guardians of a particular heirloom, and I think it's time we have it back, now that our princess has returned."

Allura sat up straighter. "By heirloom, you don't happen to mean…"

"The Book of Lions, yes."