AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Sorry this one took so long but my cat got hit by a car on the weekend and I didn't get any editing done because of it. The little devil is doing okay - he has an adorable cast on his leg and thankfully the biggest injury is to my wallet for the vet bills.
Anyways - only two more chapters left ... maybe three if I split the last one up. We'll see how long it turns out. Enjoy!
- KarsKars
GALAXY GARRISON
"Hands where we can see them!" the Admiral commanded, her voice raised and authoritative. All of the Humans in their group, himself included, raised their hands high above their head and the others copied their actions.
Allura, Coran, and Romelle were wearing Altean flight suits utilizing the same translator technology as the Paladin armour. They had been synced up to the Castle of Lions before the mission which allowed them to understand Earth languages, but only those spoken by the Paladins. Plak and Regris on the other hand, were dressed in Empire armour and lacked a capable translator. They'd decided to stick closely to Krolia, placing full trust in their superior Officer's knowledge of English.
Sanda's scrutinizing gaze followed each of them as they exited the train car. She eyed Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro with frustration, Matt with surprise, Keith with anger, the Alteans with distrust, and the Galra with hate. He was just about to say something when the sound of a small transport vehicle echoed down the tunnels. Veronica pulled up onto the platform, having driven up the service steps, and parked just shy of the conflict. Lance exploded from the passenger side door in an instant, rushing to the side of this team and demanding to know what was going on.
"I'm pretty sure that's my line, Cadet!" Sanda spat back. She turned to face one of the Officers, ordering them to send for a group of Cadets to unload the gathered supplies after their classes let out.
"With all due respect Admiral, the supplies need to be unloaded immediately so that we can seal off the tunnels." Shiro objected.
"If I allow you to block off the tunnels, then how are we going to get more supplies?" She countered.
"There are no more supplies." Krolia casually announced, causing all eyes to turn in her direction. "If the other warehouses held anything useful, Sendak's soldiers would have taken them."
Sanda's ire turned to Krolia, her eyes narrowing as she spoke. "We will not destroy functional infrastructure under the commands of a Galra. Now that we know the Voltron Lions are here, we finally have a bargaining chip to use."
"Are you suggesting that we willingly hand over the Lions to Sendak?" Shiro asked, utterly bewildered.
The Admiral's jaw tightened, her patience clearly wearing thin. "If this is truly the last of our supplies than Earth can't hold out against them. The weapons we have aren't enough to mount an attack, and we've already lost countless pilots in an attempt to defend this base. The Galra are just too powerful."
"You don't understand!" Pidge shouted, tiny fists clenched tightly at their side, their entire body shaking with a barely contained rage. "It's not just Sendak, there's a whole armada waiting just beyond the asteroid belt. With all of those ion cannons, Earth won't stand a snowball's chance in hell if we hand over the Lions!"
"Yeah, we'll all be sitting duflaxes!" Lance added and Keith had to resist the urge to face palm.
With a roll of his eyes he swatted the Blue Paladin in the back of the head. "Be serious for one minute, would you?" He hissed and watched as several of the guns moved to aim in his direction. Krolia bristled at his side.
"Enough!" Admiral Sanda yelled, her voice echoing in the abandoned train tunnels. "We will inform Sendak that the Lions are here and offer to make a trade with him; Commander Holt and the promise of Earth's safety in exchange for Voltron's surrender."
A series of objections rang from the Paladins before Allura decisively stepped forward. She squared her shoulders and the air around her seemed to shimmer with the power and authority she'd begun to radiate. "I'll settle this argument right now. We're NOT giving up the Lions under any circumstances."
"There is no negotiating with Sendak." Krolia added. "He will make a deal and take the Lions, then destroy you anyway."
Sanda sneered and spat back hatefully. "Maybe you should leave the matters of Earth to the people who live here."
"Please, Admiral -" Shiro raised his hands in a calming gesture, taking over the discussion. "I respect that you'll do anything you can to protect Earth. But trust us, we've been through more than you can ever imagine. We have fought the Galra on the fringes of the universe and in their very home. I know there's a way to defeat Sendak."
"How? We barely know what we're up against. You say you've fought these monsters and yet you bring four back with you. How is Earth supposed to trust you Shirogane?" the inclusion of Keith in the 'Monster' category did not go unnoticed. He scowled at the Admiral, a low growl just begging to escape his throat.
"OKAY! Can we discuss this somewhere that is not on a train platform where every word echoes down the tunnels; tunnels that could have more of Sendak's soldiers in them." Matt cut in; breaking the tension and bringing everyone back to focus. "We need to get the supplies and seal off these tunnels like, now!"
"Fine." Sanda conceded. "You will all hand over your weapons and assist in unloading the supplies. Then you will be escorted to the main board room where we will continue this discussion." She turned another hateful glare on him and Keith narrowed his eyes in return. "I expect you to be capable of following a simple order Cadet, even though your record suggests otherwise." Keith's scowl deepened and he finally let the building growl out, noting several of the Officers flinch. "Kwelk." Krolia muttered under her breath and he offered his mother the biggest shit-eating grin in history.
It took a varga for the train to be emptied with the help of James, Nadia, Ina, Kinkade, Veronica, Matt, the 3 Galra, the 3 Alteans, and all 5 Paladins. Keith caught a complicated look in Shiro's eyes a few times as he scanned the mass of armed Officers standing guard, but the older man steeled it away the moment it appeared. He resolved to ask him about it later, when the worst of the chaos had died down.
The ride up into the Garrison base proper from the tunnels was torture. They had to go in waves, splitting up their numbers as they were accompanied by various Garrison Officers. Each group had at least 1 Paladin and 3 Officers, with the ratios varying each time. Keith's group consisted of himself, Krolia, Plak, Regris, and Coran as well as 4 generic Humans. One looked vaguely familiar, but then again all Humans kind of looked the same and Keith didn't want to embarrass himself by staring. So instead he spoke to his mother in his native Galran, a language he knew wouldn't be understood by those who weren't meant to listen.
"You swore at the base's most senior officer." He snickered, a grin firmly in place. "You called her a Kwelk."
"I call it like I see it." Krolia replied with little to no interest and a dismissive wave of her hand. "That doesn't make it okay for you to repeat it." She quickly scolded. Plak choked back a laugh and Coran smirked, but Regris was too busy scowling at the elevator doors to notice the exchange, fearfully bracing against a wall with each protest of the old mechanisms. He was muttering a plea to the ancients under his breath and the Human Officers watched him warily. Keith rolled his eyes at his kit-hood friend.
"You used to look a lot more Human." The familiar one finally spoke up. The Paladin turned his head to glower at the young man, pointedly dragging his gaze up and down the other's frame before locking onto his eyes and quirking a brow. The Officer swallowed dramatically. "Bennet, Officer Bennet?"
"Are you asking me?" Keith said flatly.
"Uh, no that's, that's my name; Brian Bennet. I was more – you don't remember me, do you?" Keith shook his head slowly but thought better of it and stopped, pausing mid shake to shrug his shoulders instead; he did kind of remember him. The other let out a heavy sigh. "We were in the same training classes. I was assigned as your sparring partner like, at least a dozen times. Seriously?" Keith merely shrugged his shoulders.
"Sorry." He replied. "Humans all kinda look the same." Krolia snorted beside him and all 4 Officers scowled at him.
The elevator door opened and Regris practically flew out, earning some surprised gasps at his sudden movements. Keith quickly followed, desperate to leave the uncomfortable atmosphere of the elevator behind him. They stood with the rest of the group, waiting for the others to join them, before heading off as one large convoy to the main briefing room.
Sanda led the way; a Commander Keith didn't recognize speaking quietly with her as they walked. He watched them, arms stiffly clasped behind their backs, shoulders squared, and chins held high. They were the picture of Human military command and he hated it. Everything about them was stiff and rigid, sure the Blades and the Empire were built around order and control, but they felt different somehow. Perhaps it was because this place just wasn't home for him; these customs were foreign, alien. Immediately Keith felt uncomfortable, like an outsider being led around with calculated caution which, in a way, he supposed was exactly what this was.
They were marched through the halls, classroom doors being shut at their approach by the various armed Officers walking ahead. He could only imagine what it must be like for the Cadets sitting in class. Aliens were invading and attacking Earth and, as they learned about some petty Human war or perhaps algebra, Senior Command was traipsing down the hall fully armed and shutting their classroom doors without explanation. He wondered if they could see the procession through the door's small central windows. Could they see the soldiers accompanied by their Admiral as they led a party of strange aliens through the base? With the Paladins in full armour none of the Cadets would recognize them as Human. Would they think Griffin, Nadia, Ina, Kinkade, and Lance's sister had been attacked by them? Probably!
A firm hand rested on his shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze and Keith turned his head to meet Shiro's small smile. "Stop worrying. This is home, everything will be fine. I promise." His smile broadened, swallowing up the bits of face that were visible through the visor. Keith knew his words were meant to be comforting but it didn't help. This was their home not his, he didn't belong here and he wasn't welcome here. Suddenly the grip on his shoulder tightened and Shiro stopped walking, pulling Keith back and creating a slight traffic jam behind them. "Keith, I'm serious. Whatever you're worrying about; stop. Earth is just as much your home as it is ours. You're Galra, there's no denying that, but you're also Human and were born right here on Earth. Whether you grew up here or not is irrelevant, you have just as many rights as we do – technically more since you were born an American and Lance and I are both immigrants." Shiro smiled that warm, soft, old-man smile of his and the tension melted from Keith's shoulders.
He gave a small nod and let himself be pulled into the inevitable hug. Shiro was right, he had every right to be here and Sanda could hate him all she wanted, it wouldn't change that. "Thanks." He mumbled into the armour his face was currently squeezed against.
"Of course!"
One of the Officers was chastising them for the delay, his thick accent obscuring the words to the point that Keith could no longer understand him. Shiro did though; he nodded at the Officer and pushed away, smiling warmly at Keith before catching up with the group. The young Galra felt a shiver run up his spine and snapped his head to the side to see the faces of several Garrison Cadets crammed in the tiny window, watching him. Guess that answers one question. He thought and grinned wickedly at them, his sharp teeth glistening in the fluorescent lights of the hall. Several eyes blew wide and one of the students paled as another gasped. With a satisfied snicker he turned heel and joined the others.
He knew they'd approached their destination when a small shriek sounded in the hall and the figure of a woman came charging towards them. She engulfed Pidge in a tight embrace, dropping to her knees and squeezing the Paladin so tight Keith doubted they could breathe.
"KATIE!" She sobbed into the white and green armour. "Oh, Katie, I'm so glad you're okay." Pidge mumbled something unintelligible into their mother's shoulder and Matt pointedly cleared his throat beside them. Watching the flurry of emotions run across Colleen Holt's face was cinematic. She seemed annoyed that someone would dare interrupt their moment, then confused as the young man looked familiar, followed by shock when realization set in, and lastly, pure joy as she tugged him down into the family group hug by his armour. Matt collapsed into the embrace and Mrs. Holt cried all over again. It was sweet and also super embarrassing for them - Keith couldn't possibly understand how they were comfortable with so much emotion in such a public setting. Humans are weird.
"Mom, I have a very important question for you." Matt said, his tone becoming incredibly serious as he pushed back and pointedly met her teary gaze. "Where. Is. BaeBae?" Colleen's expression shifted once again, this time landing on exasperation. She bellowed out his name and swatted at him before the rebel fighter burst out laughing. Just like that, the tension had been lifted.
"Stop it!" He quite literally hissed and Nadia visibly flinched before shrugging it off and continuing to poke at his markings. The boardroom they were sitting in was massive. A large table ran down the centre of the room and every single chair around it was filled, leaving some people to stand awkwardly in the small gaps and along the edges. Two doors stood opposite each other and both were blocked by armed guards on either side, as well as more standing watch in the hall. It was a show of arms and an intimidation tactic to remind them all that they were merely visitors on this planet; unwelcome ones at that.
Several members of the Garrison's command were chatting in various Earth languages all around them as everyone got situated. It was a moment of clarity for Keith, like a light bulb that had been flickering in the back of his mind and had only now received a strong enough current to finally switch on as the last piece clicked into place. Out of all the members in their little ragtag group, only Pidge and Matt spoke English as a first language. Hunk grew up speaking Samoan and English almost simultaneously, Shiro spoke Japanese until he learned English when he transferred to the Texas campus, Lance spoke Spanish until he was 14 and learned English as a requirement of acceptance to the Garrison, Keith spoke Galran until he re learned English for his mission to Earth, and Krolia had learned it while stranded on this planet approximately 20 deca-phoebs ago.
The lack of a unified language was further proof of how young Humans were as a species. They weren't ready for this war, and the interference of outside technology could interrupt their own advancement. Oh well, too late now!
He swatted Nadia's hand away one more time and shot her a death glare, growling under his breath as a final warning. Plak stiffened beside him, unable to understand any of the communications and therefore very confused and on edge. Keith turned to his former mentor, speaking quietly to assure him that everything was fine, Nadia was a friend, and that he would translate for him during the meeting.
But that appeared not to be necessary. Professor Harrison had worked with the IT department to create a program that allowed for instant translation between English and Common. She activated said program and suddenly everything the Admiral was saying started scrolling across a large screen in an overly stylized version of Keith's own penmanship. At least everyone can follow along now. He thought to himself as Plak and Regris' attention snapped to the screen immediately.
"So-" Nadia whispered at his left side, "you're an alien, huh?" He quirked a brow at her but smirked nonetheless, nodding his assent. "Sweet, sweet. Okay I have like, a billion and one questions and you absolutely have to answer them. Got it?" Keith's laugh was cut short when Krolia growled at him to pay attention and he noticed every single set of eyes in the room glaring in his direction. He blushed and slinked down slightly in his seat muttering a halfhearted 'sorry'.
"As I was saying -" Sanda continued. "If we are not even going to consider the option of Voltron's surrender, then we need to prepare an attack. We must protect our planet from being taken over."
"You can't fight back. You are not capable of taking on a former Commander of the Empire." Krolia rebutted. Her arms were crossed over her chest and her tone was more akin to an exasperated kindergarten teacher explaining the dangers of putting a knife in an electrical socket to a five year old. Not something you'd expect to hear aimed at a highly ranked military official. This tone did not go unnoticed by Sanda who glared menacingly.
"Well, if bargaining with the Lions isn't an option, and fighting back isn't an option, then what exactly does that leave us with?"
"What we told you to do initially."
"We will not surrender Earth!"
Allura interrupted before Krolia had the chance to respond. "We are not asking you to surrender genuinely, merely to pretend to surrender so that you may provide enough time for us to come up with a plan of attack." She used a soft and reassuring tone, attempting to diffuse the mounting tension and being sure to speak in Common so that her input was translated. Keith watched her words scroll across the screen in English as she continued. "Sendak does not know that we are here, he believes that he has stopped our arrival at the edge of your system."
"We can use this to our advantage." Shiro added. "With the element of surprise we can mount an attack that he is unprepared for. Like Pidge said, there are several fleets waiting beyond the asteroid belt as back up. If Sendak has even the slightest hint that we're here, he'll call them in and Earth could be destroyed in the crossfire."
"The best chance we have for victory is to destroy his fleet with stealth, then go after the others." Krolia finished, not having strayed from her firm but impassive tone even once thus far.
Sanda let out an exasperated huff, balling her hands into fists as they rested on the table. "He will think we are weak."
"You are." Krolia dismissed and she was met with a long silence as the meaning of those two little words sank into everyone's consciousness. Finally, the Admiral spoke up.
"We need to weigh our options here and come up with a plan before I make the call either way." Sanda glared her words into the reflective surface of the boardroom table. Her brow was furrowed and the ease with which she dropped the idea of surrendering the Lions made Keith's gut clench.
"Well, then let's find out what we can do." Allura piped up with a smile, looking over to Coran who sat dutifully by her side. "Coran, is there a way to integrate Altean tech with Earth's weaponry? Perhaps we could give them the boost they need to be effective."
The ginger man twiddled the corners of his moustache, an annoying humming sound coming from him. "I don't see why not Princess. It would take a lot of work; I would need the combined brain power of Number 5 and their brother to get this done. A galaxy this young won't have any balmera so we'll have to find some alternative power source which could take more time than we have."
"I can work on a proper translator for this base. Earth's rudimentary tech forcing us to read what everyone is saying off a screen is becoming a nuisance." Regris piped up and Sanda was too surprised to even glare at him.
Professor Harrison announced that she would join Regris to help with the translations, and Hunk volunteered his services as well. Shiro was going to update the Garrison's senior command on everything they didn't know regarding the war, the Empire's new leadership, Voltron, and the coalition. Krolia and the Princess opted to join him and fill in any gaps in his knowledge. Keith and Lance were to take Romelle and Plak through the desert and back to the station where they had hidden the Lions. Coran was going to put together a list of parts he needed and it was up to them to retrieve it all. They'd decided the safest way was in one of AW Cruisers which James and Nadia both volunteered to drive.
In the end it was decided that both Keith and Lance were capable of driving the transports on their own, seeing as both Cadets had received the same training on the basics. Shiro made the executive decision as leader of Voltron that Keith would drive and Lance would man his sniper rifle to keep the group safe. Both Paladins were satisfied with their assigned roles.
The meeting was adjourned and their group was escorted to the cafeteria while sleeping arrangements were made. The Paladins gorged themselves on familiar foods, excitedly taking more than they could possibly eat. Keith filled a small plate for himself and directed the non-Human members of their party as to what was safe to eat. He pointed out all of the dishes that he knew contained meat, allowing the Alteans to avoid them, and made sure to warn them all about how terrible coleslaw and carbonated drinks were.
Naturally they all insisted on trying the strange fizzing beverage, with Krolia as the only exception. She'd had coke and ginger ale before, deemed both horrid, and vowed to never again consume them. The Alteans decided that they liked the tingly feeling while the two Galra agreed with Keith that it was terrible. Plak even went so far as to say it would make an effective method of torture.
After their dinner they were escorted to the main entrance of the Garrison to meet up with the crew who had been sent on a retrieval mission. They had been assigned to search for survivors of the last attack, though no one expected any positive results. In a moment of uncharacteristic compassion, Sanda pulled him aside to say that Kolt volunteered to go on the rescue mission because his training as a fireman could prove beneficial. Keith had felt a welling of pride for his father's bravery and genuine gratitude to the Admiral for telling him in private. He stood in the entry with bated breath as the transports came back into the base.
Out of the cruisers emerged several Officers he didn't recognize, Commander Iverson, Officer Warren, and his dad. The Officers pulled a stretcher from the back and pushed an injured pilot into the base while Iverson, Officer Warren, and Kolt made their way to the group.
"A-Adam?" Shiro stuttered, his voice a mix of shock and relief. The Officer paused in his steps to look up at their Black Paladin, taking in the Altean armour and his cybernetic hand before recognition settled in and he dropped all pretenses and to run towards him. Shiro stepped out from the group, meeting his partner just before the crowd and wrapping their arms tightly around each other. They held the embrace for a moment before Shiro spoke. "Adam! When we heard about Sendak's attack I – I didn't know if I'd ever see you again." He moved to step back but the arms at his waist visibly tightened.
"I spent over a year thinking you were dead in space, Takeshi. Don't you fucking dare let go of me or I'm going to kill you myself. Do you understand?" Shiro laughed at him, closing the gap and muttering something into Adam's neck that made the bespectacled man blush. Keith caught himself smiling.
A chirp to his left had the Red Paladin turning to stare at his parents. Their foreheads were pressed together, hands clasped tightly between their chests, as they whispered words too quiet for even the hearing of a Galra to pick up. They separated rather abruptly, Kolt turning to face him and smiling wide. "Keith, git over here kiddo. Yer ol' man needs a hug!" Despite his best efforts, Keith found himself grinning as strong arms wrapped themselves around him. He took a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of his father; he smelt of a hot dry sun, the sand in his desert cabin, and the faint smoke of fire that seemed to cling to him. If Keith let out a soft purr, well, none of the Humans needed to know that.
Their embrace was over as quickly as it began, Kolt affectionately ruffling his hair and resting a sturdy hand on his shoulder, the other arm wrapped possessively around Krolia's waist. "Iverson, you gonna give that report or are ye want'n me to do it?" he joked, broad beaming smile never waning.
The gruff Commander grumbled that he would do it himself but made no move to leave. Instead, he turned to Shiro, awkwardly clearing his throat as the couple finally separated. "Officer Shirogane. It's great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarantine."
"Ahh, so you're the one who strapped Shiro to a table." Coran jumped in, leaning uncomfortably close. "I heard about that." Without the translator program from Professor Harrison, the Commander had no idea what was being said, he merely narrowed his … eye, at the eccentric Altean instead.
"You were just following orders, as any good soldier would. It's great to see you, too." Shiro responded with a smile, his human hand falling behind him to clasp tightly with Adam's. "Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies. Meet Princess Allura, Romelle, and Coran."
"The honour is mine." Iverson replied; nodding in acknowledgement to each as their name was called.
"We've brought some allies from the Galra Empire along as well. They are Regris, Plak, and Krolia." The mention of Krolia drew the Commander's attention towards Keith and his little family. Once again Iverson gave a nod to each of them and a frown to the Halfling.
"Cadet …"
Keith felt himself standing straighter, he raised his hand in an Earth solute and responded with a prompt "Yes, sir."
Iverson's hard exterior melted slightly giving way to a kinder expression, not over friendly, but still much more welcoming. "I owe you an apology as well. I've heard about all you've done and I was wrong about you. It's an honour and privilege to see you again."
To say he was shocked was an understatement. "Thank you, sir." He managed before thinking better of it himself. "I guess I wasn't exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you a bit of an apology too for, you know, the apple sauce incident and your eye." He stuck his hand out to shake but winced when Iverson squeezed too hard.
"The apple sauce was you? You nearly killed me!"
Keith stood in the door-frame staring into the room he'd been assigned with a strange sense of déjà vu. It was like that first day back at the Garrison all over again, except this time he had a roommate. Regris squeezed past him and Keith would be kidding himself if he didn't admit to being a little excited about the sleeping arrangements. Being paired up with his kit-hood best friend was like having a permanent slumber party. Reg wrapped his tail around the bars and flung himself onto the top bunk, almost sliding headfirst into the wall as he claimed the bed as his own. The Red Paladin tried to hide his excitement as he feigned defeat and "reluctantly" took the slightly larger bottom bunk.
They had all been divided up into rooms with one Human and one alien in each and Keith was surprised to find himself counting as one of the Humans, he'd thought for sure he would be treated as an alien. But his previous status as a Garrison Cadet meant that he was just as familiar with the layout and protocols as each of the others and therefore he was responsible for his non-Human partner.
The pairings were pretty good actually, and he was starting to think the Admiral wasn't a complete nimrod after all. She had paired them up mostly by gender, with Matt & Romelle being the exception. Lance was paired with Coran, Pidge with Allura, and Hunk with Plak. His parents were allowed to stay together and Keith wanted nothing more than to crawl into a hole in the desert and die when Lance made a joke about them 'making up for lost time'. It was all made worse by the dirty little glint in his dad's eye as he winked back at the Blue Paladin. Keith made a mock vomiting gesture and received a smack and a hiss from Krolia that made the Humans in their vicinity flinch.
Shiro was the only one not staying in the Cadet dorms. Instead, he moved back into his old apartment-style residence with Adam. Keith was happy for him, their time apart had seemed to fix the issues in their relationship; distance makes the heart grow flowers … or something like that. He couldn't remember what the Earthling's saying was. Mostly though, Keith attributed their happy reunion to the very real threat of alien invasions putting the smaller things into perspective and the near loss of each other's lives. Shiro had been star struck with Kolt before Kerberos, but he was utterly in awe of the man after learning how he'd been directly responsible for Adam avoiding the same fate as the other Pilots in his fleet.
He was just starting to settle down when a quiet knock on the door made Reg stiffen. "KEEEEIIIITH, open up!" Nadia's voice drifted from the other side and he hastily crawled out of bed to let her in. "OMG OMG OMG, I was hoping the one with a tail was your roomie!" She was practically bouncing in excitement as she zipped her way across the room in the blink of an eye. Her small hand thrust up to reach Regris as she introduced herself and the poor guy eyed it in obvious concern. Keith couldn't contain his laughter and barely managed to translate her words into Galran.
Ina slipped in quietly, taking a seat on Keith's bed, and as nice as it was to have the chance to catch up, he didn't want to play translator all night. He hadn't taken nearly enough time to appreciate the Castle of Lion's tech when he had the chance. Red could translate, but that would mean leaving the base and heading back to the Lions, something he knew he'd get in shit for, and not just from Shiro but from Allura, Krolia, and probably even Sanda. Not worth it. He couldn't ask the other Paladins to borrow their helmets because they would be using them to communicate with their roommates. So that just left his helmet and Reg's suit, the latter of which was useless since it couldn't translate to or from English. Quiznack, he was going to be stuck translating.
"If you speak Galactic Common, I will be able to understand you." Ina said and Keith gaped at her. "Professor Harrison handed out the language to everyone and I am one of the few that realized the tactical benefits of being able to speak a universally recognized language, so I learned it."
"Perfect! I'll be right back!" he announced, jumping to his feet with an inhuman grace and flying from the room.
There was only one combination that could communicate without their translators; Matt and Romelle. He made his way down the hall and knocked on the rebel fighter's door. It took a minute, far too long than it should, but eventually a disheveled Matt opened the door and scowled at him.
"Dude, the fuck man?!"
"Sorry, I know it's late but can I borrow your mask? Or Romelle's helmet? Or both?" Matt quirked a brow at him but didn't put up much resistance, closing the door and returning a moment later with the aforementioned mask.
"Here, Romy needs her helmet for tomorrow but you can take this. Do I even want to know?" He briefly started to explain the situation but Matt clearly didn't care and shut the door on him.
Keith returned to find Regris half hanging off the top bunk by his tail, Nadia sitting on the ladder, and Ina speaking in stilted Common from the bottom bunk. He handed his Paladin helmet to an incredibly eager Nadia and passed the mask to Regris. "Okay, Reg you can only speak in Common or Ina won't be able to understand you, and I'll speak English since it will be easier. Ina, if you don't know a word just say so and I'll translate."
That night had been more fun than he'd ever expected. Nadia ratted him out for thinking Ina was a robot when he'd first met her and Regris poked the girl's cheek to confirm that she was in fact Human, admitting that he'd assumed the same. They played a few rounds of truth or dare, one of which resulted in Regris nearly falling out the window after Nadia dared him to hang by his tail and the curtain rod snapped from his weight. Keith had luckily been standing close enough that his quick reflexes were able to grab the older Galra and pull him back inside.
Nadia dared Keith to sneak into the commissary and steal them a snack with his 'space ninja powers' as she put it. He had to remind her of the last time she'd dared him to steal a snack. After getting him ridiculously drunk playing shots and ladders, they'd snuck into the kitchens and stolen an entire tub of lemon-lime jello that had been meant for lunch the next day. A trail of radioactive green slime lead straight to his dorm room and the pair had been found covered from head to toe in the evidence. He'd even had it in his hair. She giggled at the memories and Regris fell into a fit of laughter, offering to accompany him on his heist.
In the end, Keith had lost. All four of them snuck their way down to the kitchens, only to startle Hunk who had the same idea as Nadia. Not wanting to be left alone, Plak had followed the Yellow Paladin and the six of them now sat on the floor, hiding behind the counters, as they dug into tubs of sorbet.
Hunk had given his helmet to Plak so that the former Blade could understand him, but with no knowledge of Common he was unable to understand him in return. "We really need that translator, like, sooner rather than later." Hunk grumbled and Regris nodded in assent, adding that they were going to be working on it in the morning. "Dude, I have no idea what you're saying." Hunk complained as he shoved another spoonful into his mouth. Keith translated.
They continued their game of truth or dare, now with the added risk of getting caught where they shouldn't be, and managed to polish off two entire tubs of sorbet in the process before finally calling it a night. Regris asked if he could borrow the mask to work on the translator with Hunk and Professor Harrison, and Keith agreed that it would probably make things much easier. He was sure Matt would be fine with it; after all, he didn't seem all that concerned tonight.
Matt was very concerned. He grumbled about having been preoccupied last night and wanting to keep his rebel mask with him, but ultimately conceded that Regris needed it more.
Everyone had met up in the main cafeteria for breakfast and Keith barely managed to carry his giant plateful of pancakes back to their table before dashing back to the buffet to snatch a bottle of pancake sauce and a mug of coffee.
The cafeteria was filling up with Cadets, Officers, and various other Garrison personnel as they slowly filtered in. One by one the tired Humans would walk through the doors, notice the table filled with aliens, and make a dramatic double take before unabashedly staring. Keith was painfully aware of every single eye glued to their group as they ate. The three Alteans talked with his fellow Paladins, their Altean armour and flight suits facilitating their conversation, while the three Galra chatted amongst themselves in their native tongue.
Keith turned his attention from the story Plak was telling to watch Krolia and Kolt join the buffet line. They'd entered the large room hand in hand, ignoring all the hushed whispers his Galra mother was more than capable of hearing, and eventually sat by their son with plates full of food.
Breakfast went by quickly. Regris and Hunk hurriedly inhaled their meals (much to the latter's annoyance) and promptly made their way to the lab Admiral Sanda had assigned them. Pidge didn't even bother showing up for breakfast and a disgruntled Allura made it clear that attempting to wake the beast was a dangerous mission; a mission that Matt was more than up for. The Officer turned rebel fighter took a small plate of bacon, eggs, and pastries in one hand, and an entire pot of coffee in the other, before venturing off on his noble quest; a nervous Coran in toe.
Nadia and Ina popped over to say good morning before joining James and Kinkade at their usual table. As their group dwindled Allura and Romelle moved down the table to sit with those still remaining. Shiro had yet to be seen, but Kolt assured them that it was likely due to his residence having a kitchen. Sure enough, when Officers Shirogane and Warren finally made an appearance it was for the sole purpose of refilling their matching 'Mr. Right & Mr. Always Right' coffee mugs. The couple offered them a smile and a nod, collecting Krolia, Kolt, and Allura before heading to their day of meetings.
"Who is the angry boy?" Romelle asked, speaking up outside of Matt and Allura's presence for the first time. Both Keith and Lance turned to see James glaring at them.
"Cadet Griffin - er, James Griffin." Lance answered with a scowl.
"OH, that is the boy that has the large genitals!" She practically yelled and Lance spat his drink across the table.
"WHAT?" he wheezed.
"Keith told Allura that he has large genitals while they were talking about Earth." She answered in complete innocence. Lance's wide eyes moved to stare at Keith who hadn't been able to gather his faculties yet.
"And how - HOW, do you know what Griffin's dick looks like?" Lance yelled - in English. Keith wanted to die.
"I don't." he seethed. "I told Allura that he IS a massive dick, not that he HAS a massive dick! STARS!" Lance blinked as he processed the information and promptly burst out laughing. Keith turned back to Romelle. "What else did the Princess tell you?"
They finished their retrieval mission and returned to the Garrison with Coran's list of parts in record time, arriving just before the Cadet's lunch ended. Unfortunately, this meant Iverson noticed their presence and demanded that they attend classes since they were still Cadets themselves. Keith tried to argue that he'd been expelled but it was no use.
"Non Garrison personnel are not permitted to wander the halls unsupervised." The Commander countered and Keith deflated, knowing full well he'd been bested. "Since you've pointed out that you are no longer a Cadet, you will be assigned a temporary guardian for the day. McClain! You are now responsible for Kogane's whereabouts until further notice. He is to remain in your company at all times and that's an order, Cadet."
Lance replied with a 'Yes, sir.' and a dangerously cocky grin.
Iverson nodded and offered a smirk of his own, fully aware of what he was doing as the rest of his dastardly plan became evident. "Now, since Cadet McClain has been ordered to attend class, and Kogane has been placed under his watch, you will both be attending class for the duration of the day. Dismissed."
"Uh, sir? What about Plak and Romelle?" Lance asked, his best 'boy scout' voice in full effect.
Iverson's eye glanced over the two aliens and he frowned, clearly not having accounted for them in his little plan. Keith could almost see the moment the lightbulb went off in his head. "Take them with you Cadet. Give them those fancy translating helmets of yours and take them to class. Dismissed."
Romelle was beside herself with excitement but Plak stared at a dumbfounded Keith in equal bewilderment. He hadn't been able to understand the exchange but he was incredibly gifted at reading body language, especially Keith's after having been his instructor for so long.
Class sucked. The moment they walked into the room they were met with not-so-hushed murmurs from the other Cadets. Some were terrified of the aliens, specifically Plak, others found them interesting, and others yet refused to believe that Keith was the same 'Cadet Kogane' that had been enrolled with them. At least until he stepped back into the sims and shattered every record he'd ever set. Plak followed suit, breaking all the Garrison's top ranked scores but not even coming close to the ones Keith had just set. He'd always been a talented pilot, but his time as the Red Paladin had only made him better.
When Lance proceeded to outfly both Nadia and Kinkade, coming in just below James on the scoreboard, Keith couldn't help but share in the Cuban's excitement. Even if his impromptu 'hammer dance' was a bit over the top.
After flight training they had math which didn't go quite as smoothly. As a universal constant, mathematics is one of those things where the symbols change but the fundamentals do not. This meant that, after adjusting to the different characters used by the Earthlings, Plak took it upon himself to argue with Professor Krise about one of his calculations. The argument ended with Keith literally having to tackle the former Blade in an effort to stop the escalating argument from getting any worse. The Professor had thrown a piece of chalk at his head and Plak not surprisingly lost his shit, going from arguing loudly in Common to hissing and growling in Galran. Needless to say the only clean pair of underwear amongst the Humans belonged to Lance.
By the time Keith calmed Plak down, one of the students had proved him right and he took to arrogantly strutting back to his seat for the remainder of the class, very proud of himself. It was infuriating.
Next was English Lit which Keith napped through, followed by Cultural Studies. Professor Harrison had taken a break from helping Regris and Hunk with the translator to teach this class. She set the Cadets to work on a short assignment and pulled Keith aside to inform him that, just because the project had already been graded, it did not mean he was off the hook for having cheated on his alien culture. Her parting words before the bell rang were "I expect you to redo the project as assigned, after you defeat this Sendak character of course." With a bright cheery smile she shooed the very grouchy former Cadet along after Lance to their final class of the day.
Luckily for Keith, and everyone who had to be in his presence, that final class was combat training. He'd been itching for a rematch with Professor Montgomery ever since he'd had to take that kick to his jaw. This is going to be cathartic as fuck! He squealed to himself in glee.
As predicted, Professor Montgomery was 'stoked' to have some actual aliens in their class to spar against. He wasted no time in inviting both Plak and Romelle to the floor to demonstrate a traditional fight style from each of their species. Plak was breathtaking to watch, he moved so fluidly and with a precision that sharpened steel would be jealous of. Keith gladly watched him and when their instructor called him up to show what a typical Galran sparring session looked like, he happily leapt at the opportunity.
While Plak was smooth and precise, Keith was graceful and quick. His blinding movements were difficult for the larger Galra to track and more than once Keith managed to slip between his wider stance, sliding out of his reach. They went back and forth for nearly 15 minutes before the older finally managed to grab him by the leg. He lifted Keith high into the air and moved to slam him down but the Paladin grinned, focusing his energy on the familiar tingle and evaporating in a cloud of smoke. He reappeared behind his opponent, swiped out his legs, and pinned him to the mat. Victory, and what a sweet victory it was!
Every single person in the room, Lance, Romelle, and Plak included, were in utter shock at his display of Galran Druid magic. Staring at their faces, Keith took a bow.
"I didn't know you were a Druid!" Romelle excitedly exclaimed. "My brother, Bandor, will be studying under Princess Allura to become an Alchemist!"
"WHAT THE QUIZNACK!" Lance yelled before he could respond to Romelle. The Cuban jumped to his feet and shook Keith rather violently by the shoulders. "When did you learn to do that?" He continued and the Red Paladin stared at him in disbelief until realizing the others hadn't been around both times he'd used this new ability. So he explained to Lance, Plak, and subsequently his former classmates, about how he'd taught himself from the archives on the Castle and from watching Haggar's Druids.
Eventually it was Romelle's turn and she was - well, she was insanely talented. Her movements were fast and powerful but soft and graceful. It was like watching a dance; she'd clearly received a lot of training and she reminded him of the times he'd caught Allura on the training deck.
Professor Montgomery matched them up for sparing, pairing the two Paladins and the two aliens which one another. Lance insisted that it was cheating for Keith to use his Druid skills and he surprised the Cuban by agreeing without putting up a fuss. With Keith's deca-phoebs of training, and his abundance of time spent training on the Castle, Lance proved to be an easy opponent in hand to hand combat. Though he didn't get the rematch he'd been hoping for, spending a varga wiping that cocky smirk of his guardian's face was incredibly satisfying.
When the bell rang it was nearly 1800 hours and they went straight for the cafeteria. Shiro and Adam joined them at their table, as did Allura and Coran when they arrived. Both Holts refused to leave the confines of the lab they'd been assigned, choosing instead to work unendingly into the night to complete the weapon upgrades. Regris, being a half Galra mirror of Pidge, also chose to remain in his assigned lab, but Hunk eventually surfaced when his hunger got the better of him.
According to Shiro they were in for an entire quintant worth of strategy meetings tomorrow but, for now, they were free to relax in their rooms. Keith finished his dinner, snatched his helmet back from Plak, and followed Hunk to Regris' new lair. He released the Yellow Paladin of his duty and promised to escort his kit-hood friend back to their shared dorm.
Taking a seat across from his fellow halfling, Keith switched back to Galran. He slid a plate of food across the table and threatened to shove it down the other's throat if he didn't eat willingly. They laughed about their days while Reg worked. Keith recounting the spat during math, how he and Plak destroyed the records on the sims, and his disappearing act during combat. Reg told him all about how Hunk fell asleep under the desk and ended up curled around Regris' tail because he said it was warm.
After another few vargas, the sleepy Blades made their way back to their shared dorm, passing some fascinated Cadets and Officers along the way. In the morning they'd have to focus and get back to business, but for now they could just be two kids hanging over the edge of their bunk bed in a college dorm.