PREPARATIONS PART 1
The roof of the Galaxy Garrison was flat and littered with exhaust vents, air conditioner units, and ductwork. Neat rows of solar panels were arranged on each of the various levels and, amongst the ordered chaos, stood a large flag pole flying a truly massive flag. The red, white, and blue fabric danced in the wind, its edges tattered and singed from Sendak's initial attacks.
Keith sat at the edge of the uppermost rooftop landing, his feet hanging over the side of the building as he leaned his weight back onto the palms of his hands. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon, dipping behind the outcropping in the distance as vivid reds and oranges lit up the sky in a spectacular sunset. Taking in a deep breath, he stared out at the expanse of the Texas desert; wind rustling through his hair as it whipped sand up from the vast nothingness that surrounded him.
He narrowed his eyes, squinting against the light as it slowly began to dim. Somewhere out here was his childhood home. Not his kithood home; that was the Blade of Marmora's main base, but instead the small cabin that replaced the long gone home he had lived in with his father and mother for the brief time when they had been together, happy, safe.
Oh, sure, they were together again, reunited as a family for the first time after deca-phoebs apart; but they were far from safe. Sendak's 'Fire of Purification' was threatening a full scale invasion of his home planet, the Galaxy Garrison was anything but a bastien of acceptance, and there was the ever present reality that neither Krolia nor Keith truly belonged on Earth. They were wild, unpredictable, untameable, and they belonged out amongst the stars. Not stuck in some sandy desert shack sweeping rattlesnakes off the front porch like his father seemed to desire.
He let out a heavy sigh and lay back against the hot concrete, limbs spread wide, his black hair splaying around him like a dark halo. It was much longer now, back to the length it had been when he'd first arrived on Earth nearly three deca-phoebs ago, and though Lance still called him "Mullet" from time to time, the moniker didn't really fit anymore. These days, like before his father had cut it, his hair was mostly styled in a braid that he'd tuck up into his Paladin helmet, or loop around his neck. A dark plum hair band was currently sitting at his wrist like a cheap bracelet, having been removed to let the wind whip the black strands about. The fresh, but slightly sandy, breeze tangling them in a way that would undoubtedly result in a mind boggling amount of profanity later as he tried to brush out the knots.
Keith's pretty sure he'd heard the Humans call this position 'starfishing', though he has no idea what a starfish is, or why it would want to lay on a hot roof. In fact, he's starting to question his own reasons for being out here. After the sun fully sets the temperature will drop, though the wind will stay warm, which is why he came in full uniform instead of just his civies. The awful orange colour of his Garrison jacket shining like a beacon while the heavy fabric did its best to liquify him into a puddle of sweat under the attention of the hot sun. Stars , he'd blissfully forgotten how much he hated these uniforms. They were the actual worst thing he'd ever been forced to wear - and that includes the wretched Altean healing pod suit.
With Regris and Hunk's upgraded translator program in full effect, the non-Human members of team Voltron no longer needed to rely on the translators in the Altean helmets, which freed them up from being forced to wear their armour and flight suits 24/7. Naturally, Sanda's immediate followup to this was ordering everyone, regardless of species, to wear the Galaxy Garrison uniforms. Her dreaded announcement had been in response to Princess Allura urging them all to view each other as a team.
"We are fighting for the same goals: to free your planet Earth from Sendak, and to bring peace and safety to your people as well as the universe." The princess had said, rising from her seat at the briefing table to stand tall and address every individual present. "I urge you all to view us not as aliens amongst you, but as friends who have travelled far to help our newest allies -" She'd paused for dramatic effect before letting her warm smile fall over the paladins and continuing with "- and desperately missed home. " The scowl on Admiral Sanda's face eased momentarily as Allura's message of unity faded and the beaming Princess took her seat. The Admiral, who had sat with steepled fingers during Allura's address, rose to deliver the final blow; a closing point before she released them all with a final sentiment of "If we are to see each other as equals and allies, it is important that we look the part of a cohesive unit. From this point forward ALL personnel will be required to wear Galaxy Garrison uniforms and assimilate!".
Allura had been ecstatic, feeling as though her speech moved the Admiral, but Keith groaned at being forced into the terribly itchy Earth uniforms. Memories of soothing his painfully inflamed skin in oatmeal baths had come flooding back into his mind, reminding him of the agonizing amount of time he'd spent adjusting to the unfamiliar, heavily starched fabric and industrial detergents. He'd rolled his eyes but ultimately said nothing, deciding anything he had to contribute would only make the situation worse. At least he could take comfort in the fact that they were all being forced to suffer together.
However, as it turned out, that thought hadn't been entirely accurate. While Lance, Pidge, Hunk, Keith, Regris, Plak, Coran, Romelle, and Kolt had been forced into the hideous orange Cadet uniforms, Matt and Shiro (who had already graduated) retained their rank and received the substantially nicer grey Officer jackets.
Romelle had immediately swooned over Matt seemingly holding more power on Earth than the Paladins of Voltron and she toyed with the lapel of his jacket in barely concealed excitement. Keith and Pidge made gagging noises simultaneously while Lance toyed with Hunk's collar, teasingly mimicking Romelle's sentiments. A blushing Matt had called them all insubordinate and threatened them with being Court Martialed, much to Romelle's delight, even if he didn't actually have the power or authority to do so.
Like the rest of them, Allura had been given the same bright orange Cadet jacket and accompanying rank, though she received an extra shoulder bar in acknowledgement of her role as Princess and head of state for the newly reformed Altea. Krolia, on the other hand, flat out refused to wear the Galaxy Garrison Uniforms stating she was a highly respected covert operative and second in command of the Galra Empire and she would NOT be reduced to the level of a Cadet. Eventually, after nearly a varga of power glaring, Sanda had conceded and allowed Krolia to wear her Empire armour. Not that she had much of a choice, Keith knew his mother and no one could make Krolia do something Krolia didn't want to do.
Keith let out another heavy sigh as he pushed himself up from the unforgiving concrete of the roof, once again resting his weight on his arms stretched behind himself. He'd come up here to be alone, to think about everything that was going on, and to let himself recharge his personal batteries after quintants spent in constant company. It wasn't that he minded having Regris around at night, or the other's around during the day, it was just that there was always someone around. He wasn't as antisocial as James seemed to think, or Lance liked to joke, but he was definitely more of an introvert and the constant companionship was starting to drain him.
That was the nice thing about the Blades and, hell, even the Castleship; there was always somewhere he could escape to. Their bases had the meditation rooms, the reflection pools, or his own private quarters, not to mention the various empty classrooms or simulators or training decks - though the latter were usually occupied. The Castleship was massive and had only housed the seven of them, meaning 90% of the castle was empty at any given time. Sure the kitchen, lounge, pool, bridge, medbay, archives, or training deck usually ran the risk of having someone there, but the castle offered floor after floor of empty, untouched places. He could spend time bonding with his fellow paladins, then easily retreat to somewhere more private when he needed to be alone. Even the one bedroom shack he'd shared with his father out in the desert had been relatively isolated.
But the Garrison was like none of those places. Around every corner was an Officer, several Cadets, and a constant stream of noise. Up here, on this rooftop, he could finally breathe.
Movement at the corner of his eye caught his attention and a large bird landing on one of the nearby solar panels pulled him out of his thoughts. It had dark brown feathers in its wings that faded into a lighter brown, almost gold, at the neck. And it was absolutely fucking massive. Over the year that he'd been a cadet, Keith had made a habit of seeking solitude on this very roof. Luxuriating in the shade of the solar panels during the day, and soaking up the residual heat from the concrete in the evening; usually managing to get a nap in. Most of the Garrison personnel, aside from maintenance workers, wouldn't dare come up here due to the baking hot sun, unhindered wind, and all around general danger of falling to their untimely death. But they weren't Keith and they didn't have his training. Training that allowed him to know with absolute certainty that, even if he did fall, he'd be able to survive.
"I came up here to be alone, asshole." He scolded, scowling at his unwanted companion. This very bird had disturbed his sanctuary reliably each time he'd sneaked up here to get away. And this time proved no different. They had a mutual understanding that neither would pester the other, and from time to time the large eagle would drop him a small rabbit it had caught. In return Keith would bring dishes of water up and place them in the shade under the great bird's favourite solar panel.
He watched as the eagle settled on its perch, unbothered by his presence. Clutched tightly in those razor sharp talons was a small furry animal, probably a rodent of some sort, still squirming in a useless attempt at freedom. The bird used its sharp beak to tear into its meal and the struggling stopped. Keith gawked at the magnificent creature for a dobash or two, having almost forgotten how majestic it was, and watched as it devoured its meal with surprising efficiency. Though he had only ever been in Texas, he knew Earth held a vast array of animal life. He'd come across coyotes, eagles (such as this one), an absolute shit-tonne of rabbits, scorpions, and the occasional snake. Not to mention all the various lizards he'd find scaling the walls of his dad's cabin in the early morning hours. Unluckily for them, the young Galra would opt to enjoy a live breakfast instead of tossing them out the window like his father would.
The bird dropped what remained of its meal and took off with a sudden shriek and Keith heard the heavy rooftop door slam shut. Great, more company . He pouted to himself and let his arms give way, laying down against the now slightly cooler concrete once again with a hearty thud.
"DUDE!" A familiar voice yelled from the far side of the roof. Keith ignored it, maybe if he stayed low the Human girl wouldn't find him. "What are you doing up here?" Nadia continued, slightly closer this time.
Keith rolled his eyes, but otherwise didn't bother to move. "Hiding." He replied as if it weren't completely obvious.
"Okay - but why are you laying so close to the edge?" There was genuine concern in his friend's voice, clearly worried he would slip and fall, and Keith shrugged his shoulders as best he could in this position.
"Comfy." He replied with another shrug and she groaned in the distance, still inching her way closer - though rather timidly.
He could see her roll those dark brown eyes and shake her head, the two pieces of hair she claimed 'framed her face' swaying back and forth with the motion. "You know, the fact that we didn't know you were an alien is really starting to get embarrassing." Nadia punctuated her words with a light kick to his shoulder, eliciting a small chuckle from the young Galra. "Actually, speaking of aliens - do you know if that moustache guy is single? He's giving off some serious daddy vibes."
Keith choked. He squawked so loudly, and jumped to his feet so suddenly, that he nearly lost his balance. "WHA - CORAN? I - what - how - WHY? " he finally managed, mouth agape and eyes bulging from his head. He couldn't even guarantee that his words had come out in English.
"Oh come on, I'm only kidding - mostly. But no really, kidding!" She threw her hands up in a mock surrender and Keith finally managed to retrieve his jaw from where it was lying on the floor. "You're wound so tight. You and Jamie. Always coiled like a spring. Learn to chill out Keith, all that tension isn't good for your complexion, or personal life for that matter." He huffed at her and settled back down into his previous position.
He snorted at her priorities. "I'm a soldier, I don't get to have a personal life right now."
"You're a nimrod, that's what you are." She snorted right back, shuffling around and coming to lay beside him in the opposite direction. Nadia rested her head directly beside his, ear to ear, her ponytail brushing at his shoulder as she propped her feet up against a nearby vent. He didn't turn to look at her but noted her position through his peripherals as he continued to stare up into the now dark night sky. Dobashes passed while they lay there. A comfortable silence settling between them on the roof, watching the stars begin to appear as the last few rays of sunshine fell beyond the horizon.
Amongst the twinkling stars were bright purple lights that hovered still in the sky. One directly above them, one off slightly to the right hovering over the outcroppings, one above the only visible train station, and several more much further away in the distance. The lights seemed innocent at first glance, beautiful even, but Keith knew better. He watched the purple light directly overhead as it twinkled slightly from a passing cloud.
That was most likely Sendak's flag ship. It would be where Sam Holt was being held, where their team would be infiltrating, and where Sendak himself was lurking. Stars, he hated that man. Keith wanted nothing more than to march his way to Red and tear into that ship with her mighty jaws. He knew they needed to secure Mr. Holt first but that didn't stop his brain from wanting it. Somehow they'd find a way to get the soldiers off the cruiser before he'd tear the ion cannon right off the top, peeling the metal back like a can of tuna, impaling the front of the ship with Red's tail, then blasting it to bits. He'd watch as the debris rained down on the desert floor, landing softly in the sand. Maybe Sendak would survive, maybe the sandy ground would cushion his landing just enough that Keith could pull him from the wreckage and watch the expression on his face as he realized he'd lost.
He'd drive his sword, or maybe his blade, straight through Sendak's stupid face. After everything that monster had done to the people of the universe, to the Galra's legacy, and to Keith personally, he deserved to pay for his sins. Keith wanted to make sure that happened. It was Sendak's fault that the other Paladins didn't get to return home to their happy families. It was Sendak's fault that their home planet was in danger. And it was Sendak's fault that all of this was happening. They'd won, they'd done the impossible and taken out both Zarkon AND his witch. They'd begun to bring peace back to the Universe and still, after all of that, they weren't even free themselves.
"Keith?" He heard Nadia's voice break through the haze of his mounting anger and he turned his head to look her in the eyes. "You were growling." She responded, concern once again clear as day on her features. "Is everything alright?"
He stared at her for a moment before buckling. He hadn't connected with any of the other Human's quite like he had with Shiro, Matt, Ina, and Nadia. They were by far the four people he'd been the closest to here on Earth, aside from his father.
"When we first got to the Castle of Lions, it was deserted." He started, speaking up for the first time in several dobashes. "Pidge led the way through the empty halls, and you know what thought popped into my head?" Nadia shook her head as Keith continued. "I kept thinking, ' huh, this is kinda creepy!' and ' damn you, Nadia, for making me watch all those horror movies!' because you know what? I have never been scared to wander through seemingly abandoned bases until that very moment. I kept picturing some horribly disfigured corpse around every corner. Or like, cannibals, or something. So thanks, Nadia, thanks for scarring me for life." He poked her head with the tip of his claw, the sarcasm just dripping off his words.
"Oh good, and here I was worried you'd forget all about little ol' me!" The shit eating grin splitting her face in two brought Keith to a laugh. It was amazing how they slipped right back into the way it had always been between them; vaguely flirtatious without the possibility of anything further ever developing. But that was fine, that was exactly how they liked it. It was fun to joke around with Nadia in a way he couldn't with anyone else. Sure, he'd been willing to try his hand at flirting with Humans but the guys he'd been attracted to were either way out of his league (Shiro), an absolute dick (James), or seemingly out to get him (Lance). Things were different now of course, Lance and Shiro were his friends and teammates, while James seemed to have matured - a little. Or maybe it was Keith who had matured.
A peck on his cheek caught his attention. "I'm going to bed, Kogane. Are you coming or staying here?" He stared up at the night sky a moment longer before sighing and nodding in agreement.
"Yeah, I'm coming." He replied, both of them struggling to their feet after laying on the hard concrete for far too long. They made their way over to the heavy metal door, descending the narrow steps back inside the Garrison.
Keith returned to his dorm room feeling slightly better, though not nearly as refreshed as he'd hoped. Still, several vargas of proper solitude had managed to do the trick and his head was now mostly clear of the constant chatter that surrounded him. Walking into his quarters, Keith was greeted by a sight he could never have prepared himself for. His kit-hood friend was hanging upside down from the top bunk by his tail while Lance sat on Keith's bottom bunk, sewing needle in hand and three more pinched in his mouth, attempting to modify Regris' pants to accommodate for the halfling's tail. Since the appendage was thicker at the base, tapering off to a point at the end with three barbs along the length, it wasn't as simple as cutting a hole in the butt section and being done with it. Lance needed to complete "fashion surgery" as he was calling it. Cutting down the rear seam, measuring out the diameter of the tail's base, cutting a hole, something else, another step, some sewing probably, and something else again, before finally declaring his work complete.
Regris dropped from the bed, flipping in mid air to land gracefully in front of the Blue Paladin, and thanked him profusely for his assistance. Lance practically beamed at the praise, standing to scoop up the remaining pants and tucking them under his arm with the promise to complete them later that evening in his own room.
After being expelled, Keith had been blissfully free of the horror that was the Galaxy Garrison's Cadet uniforms. Just over a year spent in these itchy, stiff, starchy, restricting, bulky, and frankly hideous garments left him with a deep seated hatred. He'd been loath to put them back on. His disdain was validated by both Regris and Plak voicing the same sentiment. Unfortunately, uniforms were uniforms and they had no choice but to comply.
He watched Regris excitedly trying on the altered pants, spinning around and darting off down the hall to catch a peak at Lance's craftsmanship in the mirrors of the communal men's bathroom. He knew this side of his friend and fellow Blade was one others rarely got to see and it made the older halfing seem much more reserved and stoic than he really was. Though he presumed the Humans thought him to be rather cold and distant as well. But that was just the way he was raised and what felt natural to him. Galra were much less expressive than Humans and Alteans. Which, honestly, probably contributed to his lack of social life while he'd been a Cadet here, back when he'd first arrived for his mission to find the Blue Li-
"The Planet Earth calling Keith." Regris announced, cutting off his train of thought by waving a hand directly in front of the Red Paladin's face. Blinking, Keith frowned as he focused back on the present before rolling his eyes and lightly shoving the older Blade's shoulder. "You 'outer spaced' as the Humans call it." Regris explained.
Okay, so maybe Keith's lack of social life had been more a reflection of him personally, since Regris seemed to pick up on the Human's colloquialisms with relative ease. He rolled his eyes.
"I didn't 'outer space', Reg. I was just - thinking."
"I am certain that is precisely the meaning of the phrase. We can ask the Blue Paladin to confirm if you don't understand it." He grinned back at him and Keith scowled in return. They were not bringing Lance into this. Asking Lance to translate Earth phrases, and giving quiznaking LANCE more ammunition to mock him with was absolutely out of the question. Nope. Not gonna happen.
"Whatever." He muttered, flipping his wrist in the air dismissively. Turing back to his bed, Keith grumbled under his breath as he picked up the tiny pieces of string the aforementioned pain-in-his-ass had left behind. He was seriously debating heading back to the roof.
Reg finally settled down from his excitement, crawling onto the top bunk and passing out almost instantly. Keith, on the other hand, wasn't ready for sleep. He still had so much on his mind. A meeting with Sendak was imminent but they had no real plan of attack. He knew that Krolia was right, if the massive support fleet waiting beyond the asteroid belt could be sabotaged without Sendak knowing, then he could be led into a trap and stripped of backup; thus rendering him vulnerable.
But how they would accomplish this was the hard question. Obviously, Krolia had offered up the small group of Blades that had split off from the Empire ships as they pretended to retreat. But Admiral Sanda shot her down with support from the Garrison's entire upper command. Apparently they didn't trust a group of Galra "terrorists" with something so important, and in the name of peace Krolia had agreed to hear their counter offer. Naturally, they didn't have one.
Tensions had been rising inside the compound, which was what had ultimately driven Keith to hide on the roof that night in the first place. The Humans were becoming more and more desperate to chase Sendak away, the Holts were becoming more and more desperate to retrieve Sam, and Voltron was becoming more and more desperate to defeat the last remnants of the old regime. Once Sendak was dealt with, the universe would be that much closer to peace and all opposition to Thace's rule would be wiped out. The Galra Empire would be fully unified once again and they could finally, finally , begin rebuilding their own civilization; restoring the old ways and bringing back long forgotten customs of Galra culture.
Until this point, Voltron had been acting as a sort of buffer between the Garrison personnel and their alien visitors. But the longer they stayed on Earth without making any progress, the more the Paladins were drifting from one another. Pidge and Matt spent most of their time either with their mother or in their labs. Shiro spent most of his time with Adam or in meetings. Allura and Coran joined in those same meetings (along with Krolia), but otherwise mostly stayed to themselves and Romelle. Keith spent his time split between his father, his Garrison friends, and his fellow Blades with little time left for the other Paladins. While Lance and Hunk mostly tried to connect with their families.
Hunk had started to act decidedly less Hunk-like as of late. Pidge had found Matt and was now reunited with their mother, Keith had both of his parents present, Shiro had his partner Adam, and Lance had his sister Veronica at the Garrison. But Hunk had no one and it was starting to drain the positive outlook right out of him. More than once, Keith had seen him wandering aimlessly into the kitchens only to pause, turn around, and walk away. He wanted to say something, but words and feelings weren't his strong suit; that was better left to Lance.
He rolled over in his bed and stared at the wall. There was this growing sense of dread that had started the other quintant, building slowly inside him until he was finally able to identify it as wholly other , separate from his feelings of being back in the Garrison. This was more like a warning, not the blaring alarm his gut usually sent him, but more like a "proceed with caution" sign, or a dull headache that you can ignore but can't fully be rid of. It was starting to keep him up at night and no amount of hiding on the roof could ease the mounting tension inside.
Four quintants had come and gone since arriving on Earth. A lot had happened in that time. 1) Sanda had relented and offered Earth's surrender under the guise that their rescue had never arrived. 2) Emperor Thace's fleet made a strategic retreat, heading back through a wormhole created by the Altean named Bandor who'd been left to run the Castle of Lions. As predicted, Throk's crew had immediately given chase. 4) A small team of former Blade of Marmora operatives split off from the Empire fleet to blend in as debris. They'd followed the prearranged plan set forth by Krolia and were now hiding on one of Saturn's moons, waiting for the call to resume their role of distraction once again. And most importantly 5) Sendak hadn't questioned Earth's surrender.
The Commander had arrogantly accepted that he'd outsmarted Thace and Voltron and clearly believed the Humans to be far too primitive to offer much resistance. Though, in all honesty, that last part was true. The Humans really didn't have a way of effectively fighting back against him; until now.
The first test flights of the newly upgraded MFE fighter jets were scheduled for later next quintant - though after a cursory glance at the neon orange digital alarm clock in his room, it was more like later this quintant. Even though he still wasn't sleeping well, Keith was incredibly excited, though not nearly as excited as the two Holts. The siblings had been quite literally bouncing with frenetic energy in the boardroom when the announcement had been made. It was going to be dangerous, the MFE pilots needed to perform the flights while Sendak and his crew were distracted or else they'd risk their ruse being discovered.
Everything had been painstakingly arranged for the test flight. Three of the other Garrison bases were going to launch false test flights of their own, drawing Sendak's attention and allowing the Texas, Yokohama, Berlin, Bardufoss, and New York bases to test their newly upgraded fighters. Aircraft and weapons that boasted a fusion of Altean, Galra, and Earth tech.
With Regris snoring away, and the rest of the Garrison sound asleep, Keith decided to wander around the once familiar halls. He didn't have a particular destination in mind, or any definitive purpose for that matter, merely the unshakable need to be moving . He couldn't sleep with his mind constantly running and, without the resources of the Castle of Lions, he couldn't exactly rush to the training deck to work himself into exhaustion like he usually did in these situations. So instead, he found himself listlessly roaming the dark empty corridors at 0200 hours in his Garrison issued pyjamas.
It didn't take long before he realized where his zombie feet had taken him; the cafeteria. Abrupt grunting and groaning caught his attention, the sounds cutting their way through the thick fog of his sleepy chaotic brain, and Keith stilled in the doorway, unsure if he should enter. But after his eyes adjusted to the light, a familiar form could be seen inside and Keith felt his heart clench.
Hunk was reaching for a towel, rubbing grease from his face and hands, as he groaned into the cloth; frustration radiating off him in waves. It made the air in the room seem heavy and acrid; Keith hesitated only a moment before calling out to his friend.
"Is everything okay in here?" He asked, unable to keep the surprise and concern from his voice. This was Hunk, his friend, his fellow Paladin. How could he not be concerned.
"Yeah …" Hunk half heartedly replied and Keith didn't buy it for a single tic. He leaned himself in the doorway, crossing his arms over his chest and firmly deciding, right then and there, that someone needed to help and if he was the only one around then that someone would just have to be him. Poor Hunk; Keith was a shit therapist.
"Look," He began, incredibly uncomfortable with the situation but forcing himself to proceed anyways, for the good of the team and his friend. "- I'm not very good at talking with people and Human emotions are still really confusing to me, so I don't expect you to open up - but, if there's ever anything on your mind -"
"- This situation STINKS!" Hunk cut him off, slamming the scrunched up grease coated towel onto the counter. Keith started slightly, eyes flying wide in surprise. "I can't believe we finally get back to Earth and it's taken over by GALRA . " the pure hate he laced into the word Galra left Keith reeling.
He winced slightly at the venom in Hunk's tone. "I guess there is something on your mind." he muttered more to himself than anything as he walked closer, closing the distance between them and coming to stand at Hunk's right side.
"And - and I know it's stupid, but I used to daydream about coming home to a peaceful Earth. And that would have been great. But I realized that nothing - NOTHING would have been greater than seeing my family. But I can't. And all I keep thinking about is that I wasn't here, and that Sendak is only doing this to get back at us. I - I don't even know if they're okay." He Paused a moment, letting his head hang heavy in front of him, the words and bottled up emotions weighing him down, pulling him further into an abyss that Keith is seeing for what really shouldn't be the first time. "And, I see you and Pidge with your families, Shiro and professor Warren, even Lance and Veronica, and - I, I mean, I'm happy for you guys. I am. But it just … It makes me miss my family more. I - I just, I've never felt so alone and scared."
The pain in his eyes was unbearable and Keith had to look away. He may not be good at this, but he needed to try, he needed to say something to help. One thing Shiro had taught him was to always rely on the truth. Being genuine and honest is more important than saying just the right thing. So Keith reached deep, deep down inside himself, finding the thoughts he needed to convey and formed them into words; words he hoped would help Hunk. "Look, Hunk. I never told you this but, of all the Paladins, you're the one I'm most impressed by. It's no secret that you've always been the most scared, but you've never backed down. In the Blade's we live by a creed of " knowledge or death" and fear just isn't an option. That's not to say we don't get scared, because we do, but we learn to work past it. We're taught that to be brave is to go on in spite of fear, and that's who you are, Hunk. You've never backed down. Never. I know you're scared but your family - they need you to be strong right now."
He'd barely managed to get the words out and Hunk was already squeezing the air from his lungs. "Okay, alright. Now we're hugging." He gasped, just a few phoebs ago he wouldn't have allowed this contact, but things had changed and the team was closer now than they'd ever been. Closing his forearms around as much of the big guy as he could manage with the rest of his body locked in a vice grip, Keith returned the embrace.
"Thank you, Keith." His voice was soft and gooey, returning back to the classic Hunk he remembered from late nights working on their sim runs and studying in his dorm, from fighting side by side in their lions and relaxing around the castle. This was how Hunk should be and he, Keith, had managed to bring this Hunk back. He gave himself a mental pat on the back and smiled into Hunk's broad shoulders as the last of his air escaped his probably bruised lungs.
The larger boy abruptly released him, which brought a welcome relief, and started powering towards the exit.
"Uh, Hunk? Where're you going?"
"I can't just sit around and do nothing."
"It's 2:30AM." He replied completely deadpan, as if that wasn't already clear. Honestly, what did Hunk think he could do at this time?
"Yeah, and I'm willing to bet Pidge is still up working. I'm gonna go see if I can help with their latest project."
"Not without me you're not."
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because I said 'No', that's why." Not even bothering to spare him a glance, the tiny Green Paladin continued to focus on the program they were working on. "Go back to bed'' they dismissed and Keith scowled at the small tuft of blonde hair poking up from behind the many screens angled toward their workstation.
"Pidge, I can read English, Galran, Common, and Altean. I could help."
"Unless you can also read binary, get out." Keith's scowl deepened in response and he crossed his arms defiantly over his chest, refusing to move. The furious clicking of keys paused for a moment, punctuated by a heavy exhale as brown eyes narrowed and finally raised to lock with violet set in gold. "Look, I know you think you can help, but you can't. Allura and Romelle are already on this, and now with Hunk helping, we've got more than enough brain power. Go back to bed Keith, you're only going to get in the way."
He stood in stunned silence for a moment, not surprised that Pidge would be so blunt, but rather that no one had even considered asking for his help. Pidge's gaze softened as the words registered in their own head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I just - there's really nothing for you to do here. Besides, we're almost done and heading to bed soon anyways."
"What are you even working on?" He asked with a huff, letting the Green Paladin off the hook for their sass.
"We cannot tell you." Allura answered, a slightly guilty expression crossing over her very tired face. The princess' eyes moved between the screens open in front of her, occasionally venturing up to meet his, before immediately darting away. It was very strange behaviour and Keith was instantly suspicious.
He silently moved to stand nearer to her workstation, opposite of Pidge, and peered over Allura's shoulder before she could collapse her screens. It had only been a glance, but it was long enough to know exactly why he wouldn't be of any help. "THIS is what you've been working on?" He gasped abruptly, startling both Alteans and earning an exasperated groan from the young gremlin. "How did you even get this?" A memory of Sendak in the cryopods flashed before his eyes.
Guilty looks were exchanged between Pidge and Allura, but no words were spoken. Keith waited, staring between the two of them. "Allura, you know it's wrong! How could you?"
"What is so wrong with it?" Romelle piped up from her seat at the end of the table, stifling a yawn as she did so. "Memory extraction is a very common practice. We are simply trying to reconstruct the method used by the Castle of Lions for interacting with King Alfor's memories. Once we succeed we will be able to use it to interpret the data already collected from that mean purple Commander guy. I do not see the problem."
"Because you're a quiznaking Altean!" He nearly shouted in return - nearly. The frustration was clear in his tone but Keith managed to remain as calm as possible. It wasn't Romelle he was upset with, like Pidge she didn't really understand what this meant to a Galra. But Allura did. His voice echoed off the multitude of servers in the vast, but otherwise empty, room as his volume became more difficult to control. "Allura, we talked about this, I told you how wrong it is!" He insisted.
"And I told you that memory extraction is an Altean tradition."
"But the Commander isn't Altean, he's Galra, and Galra don't quiznaking dig around inside each other's heads to steal memories! It's twisted and wrong!"
"It's the only way we're going to find out what he's planning." She shot back, her patience starting to wane. Allura took a deep breath, closing her eyes and raising a hand to rub at her temple in a soothing motion. Her voice dropped lower and Keith could hear the exhaustion echoing in it. "This is exactly why we decided not to tell you."
"Keith, just go. We really need to finish up here and get some sleep." Pidge interjected, their voice soft but firm, gentle but resolute, leaving no room for argument. He turned a scrutinizing stare their way before sighing heavily in frustration.
"This isn't right." He insisted and scowled at the screens for about 30 tension filled tics before finally letting out another heavy exhale and stalking out of the room, cursing under his breath the entire way to the exit.
The door unsatisfyingly slid shut behind him and Keith let out a loud hiss as he kicked the wall in growing frustration. They never listened; Allura never listened. She just did what she thought was right, regardless of anyone else's beliefs. It was such a quintessentially "Altean" mind set. They had always seen themselves as righteous and therefore justified in any action they took. Even before tensions began to rise between their two species they'd looked down on the Galra for what they labeled more brutish tendencies. A society that favoured academic achievements vs a society that favoured militaristic achievements. No wonder they'd clashed.
But Alfor and Zarkon had made it work, they'd been close friends and even commanded Voltron together. Allura tended to look past Keith's more violent habits, so why then couldn't he look past this? Simply put, it was because this was different . This wasn't about charging into battle without thinking (Keith), or being overly bossy (Allura), or coming across as slightly rude and uncaring (Keith), or even about being speciesist (Allura). It was about messing around with someone's memories, the parts of a person's mind that make them distinctly them. And it was something Keith just couldn't accept. There were some lines you just didn't cross and of course it had taken an Altean to push the druid's into mind control, of course it had taken Haggar - Honerva, to push the druids into her twisted version of Altean alchemy.
But Allura was NOT Honerva. She was kind and good and also arrogant and stubborn. This was going to happen with or without his support. He gave the wall one last kick, releasing with it the remainder of his frustrations. The two Garrison staff on patrol duty gave him a startled look, but otherwise carried on their way, actively avoiding the young Galra and Keith rolled his eyes.
"Okay, so like, you gonna explain what that was all about?" Hunk asked cautiously. His strong hands came to grasp firmly on either shoulder as he stared Keith down, concern set deep in his eyes.
The agitated Red Paladin let out an indignant huff, less than a varga ago their rolls had been reversed. "I don't care how evil Sendak is, it's just wrong to mess around with someone's consciousness like that. Forcefully taking his memories and tinkering with them for your own benefit; how do they justify it to themselves?" he asked in exasperation.
"Well you know Allura, she's just doing what she sees as the right thing to do."
"That's the problem! She's Altean, she should just stay out of this! Leave it to the Humans of Earth and us Galra, just do what we tell her to. She has no business meddling."
"Well, I mean, she kinda does since, you know - Voltron is Altean and all that."
Keith rolled his eyes again. "I'm going back to bed." Quintants of little to no sleep were taking their toll.
Hunk nodded, squeezing his shoulders slightly for support. It felt nice. "Yeah, yeah that's probably a good idea." He turned abruptly and started making his way back to the residential halls alongside Keith.
"Aren't you staying to help?"
"Nah, now that I've calmed down myself, I'm suddenly super tired." Hunk punctuated his words with a very loud, very exaggerated yawn. Forming his hands into tight fists and throwing his large arms wide over his head, he arched his back as the caverns of Drogli swallowed his face.
Morning came and with it, another quintant spent in the Galaxy Garrison's massive war room. Keith had reluctantly made his way to the cafeteria after being quite literally dragged from his bed by Regris. " I don't know where to go! " He'd complained. " Get your quiznaking ass out of bed! " He'd demanded. " Keeeeeith! Come on! " He'd whined. Finally the tired Red Paladin stumbled his way through getting dressed, blindly navigated the route to the cafeteria solely from muscle memory, and halfheartedly stuffed his face with a balanced breakfast of bacon, oatmeal, sausages, hash browns, pancakes, and a soup bowl full of scrambled eggs. All washed down with a large glass of orange juice and a gallon or five of piping hot black coffee.
This quintant's meeting was supposed to be the last one. After this, their plans for defeating Sendak should be finalized and ready to be put into action. Phase 1 of the plan had already been set in motion. The MFE upgrades were ready for testing, a rudimentary particle barrier was nearly completed, and the schematics had already been sent out to the other Galaxy Garrison bases across the planet. The hope was that, even without the assistance of actual aliens at their bases, the designs assembled by Coran, Regris, and Matt would be sufficient enough for them to build the weapons, aircraft, and defences needed for Phase 3.
The groundwork for Phase 2 had already been laid out and mostly finalized, all they really needed to do was hammer out a few more details such as timing and the specifics of who would be participating and why they would be chosen. Everyone had different nominees and each nominee came with varying levels of support and justifications. It had already been decided that the hiding Blades would be essential to any plan's success and surprisingly, Sanda was proving incredibly agreeable. He'd overheard a conversation between Commander Iverson and his father about it. Kolt had suggested it was a trick, Iverson had come to the Admiral's defence saying that her ultimate goal was the protection and liberation of Earth and that she would do whatever it takes, even if that meant working side by side with actual aliens.
Keith was inclined to agree. Admiral Sanda was an uptight bitch, for lack of a better word, but she wasn't unreasonable. He'd come to see that during his time at the Garrison and it was even clearer now than ever. Sure, at the start she had made everything far more difficult than it needed to be, but he supposed her mind set was understandable - not justifiable, but understandable. If Earthlings had come and attacked his base he'd be pretty loath to trust any Humans that offered a plan of attack. He still didn't like her though.
A sharp poke in the ribs caught his attention. "Pay attention, Kogane." James scolded from behind tightly clenched teeth. Keith just rolled his eyes. How in the ever-loving hell did he get stuck on this side of the table? All of the other members of team Voltron were on the far side, but he and Reg were nearer the door, having arrived mere dobashes before the meeting was to start.
Regris was standing directly behind him (the Halfling's tail made it difficult to sit in the Garrison's boardroom chairs), while Nadia was seated next to Keith on his left. She was snickering quietly to herself as he grumbled. In the time since he'd zoned out, Allura and Pidge had made their way to the front of the room and placed a small device down at the edge of the long table. Pidge dropped to their hands and knees, crawling under the table and reaching for an outlet in the floor directly in the centre of the carpet. The moment it was activated, the room was filled with the too-bright blue light that he'd come to associate with Altean tech.
"We have not been able to test our program as of yet." The princess prefaced. "However we are certain that it will work. Combining Altean technological theory with Earth devices and circuitry was a difficult hurdle to overcome, but we managed." She smiled broadly across the room while the tiny Green Paladin rapidly tapped away at their handheld device, entering in the final sequences to begin the program. Keith knew what it most likely was, but the other Galra in the room did not, and he had a sinking suspicion this was not going to go well. He'd tried to warn Allura after breakfast, but she had simply brushed him off with " we put far too much work into this project to abandon it now " and he really didn't care to argue about it any further.
The beeping intensified and suddenly, a large holographic image of Commander Sendak was standing atop the head of the war room's large table. "Ah-ha!" Pidge shouted. "Success!"
A chorus of "Amazing" and "Woah" was muttered throughout the room while a sprinkling of surprised gasps and fearful inhales punctuated the sentiments.
Pidge turned to face the crowd and began to explain the specifics of how they'd found a way to mimic the method used by the Castle of Lions to interact with King Alfor's memories. Reverse engineering a much more basic version for their own use with Sendak's. Krolia had gone rigid and Plak's jaw was on the floor, both of their faces turning quite pale. But Keith was most disturbed by the sudden stillness of Regris's tail behind him. "Let's test it out. Would you like to do the honours, Princess?" Pidge asked excitedly and Allura nodded, giving a kind smile in return as she stepped closer to the device. "Just, ask him a question."
"Who are you?" She asked.
{ I am Commander Sendak, a loyal officer to the Galra Empire. } The hulking hologram replied. Its voice was odd, a strangely unnerving blend of Sendak's true voice with an obviously robotic tone and a distracting amount of background static.
"It's not as crisp as the Castle of Lions, but it should do the trick." Pidge explained. "These memories were extracted back on the Castle well over a year ago - almost two actually. So the information won't be super up-to-date but it's all we've got."
"Admiral Sanda, As the highest ranking Earth Official, would you care to ask a few questions?" Allura directed the conversation to the Admiral and a proud grin spread across her stern face. She gave a curt nod and lifted her head to gaze up into the glowing blue, and slightly transparent, form of the Commander.
"Where are you from?" She asked.
{ I am proud to say I was born with unquestionable Galra lineage } His arrogance shone through even as a hologram. Keith rolled his eyes and Regris hissed quietly at the figure, tail twitching in agitation.
"Explain your methods for conquering planets." Sanda continued.
{ There are as many ways to conquer a planet as there are planets themselves. Primitive species are the easiest. It usually doesn't take more than one or two waves of attack to bring them to their knees. }
Keith could see the room becoming more uncomfortable as the Commander spoke. "What about more advanced civilizations?" Allura pressed.
{ There are always those willing to sacrifice themselves for the "greater good". That's why it is best to find something they value more than themselves and make that the target. }
Murmurings were beginning amongst those present and a deep frown was settling in on Krolia's face, her yellow eyes flicking over to the Princess and Admiral from time to time. "What do you mean?" Pidge prompted, her voice laced with indignation.
{ Citizens of advanced civilizations have the weakness of caring for each other. }
The questions went back and forth for vargas, Keith's neck becoming sore from turning to the left for so long, his butt falling numb from prolonged sitting, and his legs growing restless as he yearned to move . He tapped his claws on the table, earning a few glares that he pointedly ignored, and listened to the back and forth between the Admiral, the Princess, the Paladin, and the Commander. The three of them continued with question after question, some coming from the others present in the room, others coming from a list Pidge had drafted in advance.
Certain questions earned more dramatic reactions to Sendak's answers, but so far nothing Sendak said had been incorrect or an outright lie. In fact, most of it made complete sense and even lined up with the policies of the Blade of Marmora. He was starting to see that it was the base level of Galra culture and values that the Humans and Alteans were objecting to the most.
That revelation made him slightly uncomfortable.
"A military operation of that scale takes immense time and resources." Pidge's voice cut into his train of thought and pulled him back to the present where his butt and neck were still hurting. He scowled to himself as Sendak replied.
{ Our operations reply on the resources of the planet. They become our supplies and feed our occupation. } again, completely valid and reasonable. They were getting nowhere with this; violating Sendak's consciousness for absolutely no benefit.
"Have you ever failed in over taking a planet?" Admiral Sanda asked and Sendak spat out something Keith had learned at the Blade's academy, word for word.
{ Tenacity and time conquer all foes. } He had to stop himself from whispering the words alongside the Commander. It was something the Empire taught to their soldiers as a justification to never give up on an invasion. It was also something the Blade had held onto and adopted as a justification for continuing their cause even when it seemed like they would never win. Surrender just wasn't the Galra way - Victory or Death.
"What if a planet refuses to give up, no matter the cost?" Allura spoke with a carefully masked tone. At the sound of her question, silence came over them all, each one of them desperate to hear the answer, others fearing they already knew what it would be and Keith had to shake his head in disbelief. She was not going to like the Commander's response.
{ If a planet refuses to give up, then we annihilate it. But only one planet has ever refused: Altea. }
The hologram immediately deactivated as Allura removed the plug from the device, a pained look on her face. "I'm sorry, I think I need a break." She turned to leave the boardroom but Krolia rose to her feet, a focused look in her eyes.
"Take your seat, Princess" She commanded, her tone stern and unyielding. "You subjected myself, and my fellow Galra, to this display knowing full well how we'd feel about it and the cultural implications." She gestured towards the device that now stored Sendak's memories. "What did you expect the Commander would say to such a question? We need to make the final decisions for our plan of attack, and your presence is needed. Take your seat."
Allura looked back at her in shock before she blushed from having been called out. "Very well." She replied and took her seat as directed. "Where do we stand in our plans so far?"
The room was silent but Krolia gave the princess a small, soft nod; the kind of nod a Galran mother would give their child to show appreciation for their compliance. It was weird to see such an action directed to the Altean Princess. The sentiment was not lost on Allura and she returned the gesture in kind. Krolia, still standing, walked around the table to stand at the head, where Sendak's hologram had just been. She turned to face the attendees and began to explain the agreed upon details in her most authoritative voice. Unlike Allura, Krolia spoke in English.
"A Blade of Marmora operative will be retrieved from the satellite Titan and brought back to Earth -"
"We do not need more Galra here." One of the Garrison Officers spoke up, cutting her off. Krolia paused momentarily to growl at them for the interruption but carried on as if nothing had been said.
"- so they may be briefed on the plans and their role within it. The other operatives will be given a device created by Regris and the Holt siblings." She gestered to Regris who had silently moved from behind Keith at some point to stand nearer the screens at the front, beside Krolia.
He looked incredibly uncomfortable with the attention. "The device emits a strong, but undetectable, pulse of energy." He began, pulling up the schematics on the large screen behind them. "Once activated, it will shatter any crystalline structure it is put in direct contact with. When placed on the balmeran crystal in the ship's central hub, it will destroy it - effectively shutting off the engines and disabling both the weapons and communications systems, rendering the ship "dead water" as you Humans say." There was a round of barely stifled snickers from the Garrison personnel and Paladins, even Krolia smirked slightly before dismissing Regris with an appreciative nod.
She turned back to face the room as Regris returned to his place behind Keith. "The Blade of Marmora will plant these devices on the primary crystal in each ship's central hub as well on the smaller emergency backup crystal. Once their confirmation signal has been received, we will proceed with Phase 2." Behind her, the large screen activated to show many, many video calls open, each revealing an identical boardroom filled with highly ranked Galaxy Garrison personnel. In the background of each screen were flags from across the planet. Some he recognized and others he did not. There was Japan, Germany, the UK, Russia, a blue flag that was mostly covered by the very large Admiral sitting directly in front of it, several more that he recognized but couldn't place, China, India, and of course a small collection of flags that were perfectly identical aside from their colour scheme.
This time the nudge to his ribs came from the other side as Nadia leaned in to whisper "Oh look - your home country of Denmark" with a sly grin on her face. Keith just rolled his eyes but smirked nonetheless.
"Phase 2 will consist of five tactical teams being transported to the ships orbiting Earth. Commander Tragok's fleet consists of 2 cruisers, while Sendak boasts 3 plus his flagship. A total of 6 ships. Since Galran technology is genetically encoded to our species, each team will include one Paladin, one Human, One Galra. We currently have three Galra present on Earth and with the addition of two extra Blades we will have enough personnel to accomplish our goals."
"There are four Galra at the Garrison, not three." One of the Officers unwisely interrupted, causing Krolia to glare menacingly in their direction as the individual gave Keith the stink eye.
"I am able to perform basic mathematics, thank you very much." She seethed. "My son is not included in these numbers as he is instead being grouped with his fellow Voltron Paladins. I will NOT tolerate any further interruptions." Krolia paused, letting her fierce intensity wash over the room before beginning again, picking up where she had left off.
"The five teams will use the Lions of Voltron's cloaking abilities to fly undetected. All five Paladins will remain in their Lions as the other two members of each team infiltrate their respective cruiser to place the device on the balmeran crystal in the central hub. It is imperative that the blasts are coordinated to detonate at precisely the same time so as not to alert Sendak's flagship of our attack. Once this is complete, all teams are to return to their Lion which will depart from the cruisers 15 dobashes after detonation. Not a tic longer. Anyone who does not return to their Lion will be left behind and ideally retrieved after the battle." Plak and Regris were nodding along but the various Garrison staff stared in unmasked horror. Keith turned to look back at his powerful and authoritative mother, catching a pair of familiar eyes on him. He moved his focus to his father, returning his small smile and rolling his eyes at the eyebrow waggle the man directed towards Krolia.
"Keith. Focus." The aforementioned tyrant demanded. "I asked you a simple question."
"Sorry." he muttered as his father stifled a snicker.
"Kolton." She turned her ire on him and he threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Feet off the table. Chair on all four legs. Stop distracting Keith."
The shit eating grin never left his face as the seat returned to an upright position and strong legs unfolded from the table top, his hands coming down to his sides from where they had been laced behind his neck. "Yes Ma'am." He replied with a wink and Keith couldn't help but groan.
"Keith - do you agree with the Blue Paladin's suggestion?"
"Uh, no?" He honestly hadn't heard what Lance offered but decided to disagree with him on principle. A loud " WHAT? " echoed from where the Cuban had shrieked in disbelief.
Krolia gave him a levelled stare. "Noted. I move to proceed with the suggestion put forth by the Blue Paladin. All in favour?" A round of agreement swept the room and Krolia nodded her approval. "Very well. Green Paladin - it is agreed that you will be the one to drop off the device to the satellite Titan and retrieve the Blade of Marmora operatives joining our infiltration team. Do you object to the nomination?" Pidge shook their head. "Excellent. Then it is decided. The exchange is to take place this quintant. I will contact our operatives to inform them of the plan and ensure they are ready for departure. MFE pilots -" Keith felt Nadia and James stiffen on either side of him. "- are you prepared for your test flights? Have you gone over the predetermined route? You are aware of the risks involved? And you accept your assignment? Excellent."
The four MFE pilots replied with a "Yes Ma'am" in perfect unison to each of her questions and Krolia grinned at their cohesiveness, a trait the Galra demanded from their soldiers. These Cadets had won her respect more than the much higher ranked Officers who'd kept interrupting ever would.
"Right. Now, as for Phase 3 ..."