**I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender (duh)
Morale on the Atlas plummeted the days following Voltron's battle in Oriande. But despite their restless and dispirited hearts, the crew had no other choice but to do what they could and move forward with their current situation.
Five Altean robeast pilots were recovered – the two who had been fighting the Atlas and protecting Oriande, and the three who had been left behind on Sanook, VeXilum, and Siiz – and were put in the brig. There was only one more abandoned robeast to find that had been a part of Honerva's spell, thankfully located on an unoccupied planet in the Grei-Aye system. The Atlas was headed there tomorrow to collect the pilot and proceed with the Alteans' interrogation – with no leads on Honerva's whereabouts, it was decided that Allura, Coran, and Romelle would try to reason with them and press them for information. In the meantime, the Blades would be rendezvousing with the Atlas along the way to swap intel and brainstorm their next possible course of action. As for the rest of the crew, there was nothing they could do except wait.
Standing in the quiet solitude of the Atlas' observation deck, Mari mulled over these things as an array of stars drifted by. She huffed, her heart and mind heavy with an abundance of fresh worries and uncertainties.
"I thought I'd find you here." Moving without a sound, Jia entered the room. She stopped by her side and gazed out the large windows at the shifting celestial display. "You always look to the sky when you're troubled. What's wrong?"
"What isn't wrong?" Mari wondered, letting out a humorless chuckle. "The Alteans won't crack. There haven't been any more wormhole signatures for us to track. Honerva is who-knows-where with her psycho son doing who-knows-what, and we've been forced to a standstill. Voltron has never lost like this before…Not once since it returned."
"The paladins must feel terrible. Especially Allura," Jia noted. "But great heroes can't win every fight. Real life isn't like how it's told in myths and storybooks."
"I know that. But still…It's just so frustrating." Mari crossed her arms and let out a tired sigh. "Dealing with the nightmare that was Haggar was one thing. But Honerva is even more of a monster. She's manipulative, cunning, smarter, and more powerful than ever. She has no regard for life or the natural way of things. I never would've guessed she'd become a greater threat than Zarkon. It's almost unreal. …I'm afraid of what she's going to do and how many more innocent people are going to suffer for it. And right now, we can't do anything about it."
"That is undeniable," Jia slowly nodded. "I don't know her like you and the paladins do, but I understand your anger. She's committed so many atrocities towards countless people. She's a powerful opponent and we're doing the best we can against her. But we are all only human, or humanoid in this case. Honerva is no exception. No matter how much space magic she may have access to, we all have our limits." She paused, pulling her attention away from the window to look at Mari. "The universe works in mysterious ways, but it always sorts itself out. This isn't the end. We've only lost the battle, not the war. Voltron will get through this. It always does, doesn't it?"
Mari didn't respond. She couldn't find any words to argue with her. Jia had always set such firm boundaries between her emotions and the ongoings of the world around her, keeping the spiraling, intrusive thoughts that threatened to bring many down in check. Mari was almost envious of how calm she was about all this.
But she knew Jia was no fool. Jia knew the stakes of their mission and how frightening the consequences of failing it could be. She knew there were endless dangers and possibilities out here in the outermost regions of the universe. She knew panicking and wallowing in regret now would get them nowhere. She knew the solution to finding and beating Honerva existed and would come to them soon. They just had to be patient, focused, and continue to show each other a little kindness and understanding while doing what they could. She knew they would win this war, and in all the time Mari had known her, she had never been wrong.
Jia smiled fondly at her, as if reading her thoughts. She quickly glanced at her watch before tilting her head towards the door.
"I'm leading a yoga session in about ten minutes. The energy on this ship has gotten so heavy, I thought it would be a good way to help calm the nerves," she explained. "The cadets from Thoh will be there. They were fascinated just as much as they were terrified witnessing the Atlas transform and fight those two robeasts. Care to join us?"
Mari could only imagine their reactions to Big Bro Atlas mode. The loud and heavy thunking and screeching of metal as the ship's structure morphed. The sudden and violent movements of the arms and legs as blows were dealt and received. The thunderous sounds of battle as cannons were fired and enemy blasts made impact, shaking the entire ship down to its core. The inescapable, heart-stopping dread of not knowing if the next hit will be the one to end you. It no doubt triggered bad memories of the past for the kiddos who had watched their instructors and comrades die all around them as their home was mercilessly ravaged. Mari could already sense JiJi's help in their futures. But for now, a calming activity like yoga could do wonders for them. Maybe even for her too.
Casting one last look at the stars outside, she turned back to Jia and nodded. "Alright."
Jia's class was held on the training deck. It attracted quite a few other participants as well, including Romelle, Acxa, Veronica, and even Ezor and Zethrid. Despite the latter's initial griping, the hour passed rather serenely.
"Good work, everyone," Jia said, as the others rolled up their mats. "Remember to practice the breathing techniques we went over whenever you're feeling stressed or overwhelmed. Take time to relax and — "
"Yeah, yeah, enough of the peaceful stuff," Zethrid said, briskly cutting her off. She turned to the Thoh cadets, a wide grin stretching across her face. "Who's ready to rip into some training dummies?"
The youngsters jumped in excitement. "Me!" they screamed.
Veronica's eyes twinkled with amusement and she moved to set up the training system for them. Jia frowned at Zethrid.
"You know, these sessions can be very beneficial to you too, if you let them," she stated flatly. "Mental and emotional exercises are a crucial part of training as well."
"Oh, we know," Ezor said. "And these yogurt classes have been a great help."
"Yoga," Maggie corrected, but the ex-pirate ignored her.
"Zethrid's anger has been very controlled since we started doing these exercises," Ezor continued, lovingly patting her partner's uninjured bicep. "It's helped her get more in tune with her inner peace. Isn't that right?"
"Of course!" Zethrid exclaimed, her voice booming. The first holographic dummies manifested and she pointed to the Thoh cadets. "Now let's get moving, you runts!"
The kids jumped into action, with Ezor and Zethrid right on their heels to join in on the fun. Veronica and Acxa stood on the side, smiling and providing their own advice to the youngsters.
Jia sighed as she watched them. "Well…at least she's lost most of her murdering intent."
"It's okay, babe," Maggie beamed, patting her shoulder consolingly. "I, for one, love your classes."
She glanced at her, unfazed. "You just like wearing yoga pants instead of your uniform."
"Yeah. And I like seeing your butt in them," Maggie crooned. "It's all fine and defined."
Jia rolled her eyes, but granted her a tiny smirk nonetheless. "Calm down, girl," she chided, and Maggie playfully stuck out her tongue.
Together with Mari and Romelle, they dragged away the yoga matts and stacked them in the storage closet. Romelle huffed as she set down the last one, brushing a stray strand of blonde hair out of her face. Like with most of the Atlas crew these past few days since the Oriande battle, her usually bright eyes had lost some of their luster, now flooded with worry.
"Have you, Coran, and Allura made any progress with the pilot interrogation?" Mari gently asked. Maybe there had been a change in the last few hours. But with the way Romelle's brow pinched, those hopes were instantly dashed.
"No. They all still refuse to open up to us," she admitted. She clasped her hands together, staring sadly at the floor. "They were once my friends. We grew up together. But now, I am nothing more than a traitor to them. They couldn't care less if I live or die." She paused, twiddling her thumbs, inhaling and exhaling deeply before continuing. "I know they are just confused. Angry. Honerva has twisted what is right and wrong for them. But still…it is incredibly painful to be hurt by the people you love."
Mari's face fell, her own heart aching. "I know how you feel."
"They'll come around soon. They just need a little more time," Jia kindly assured her. "We're on the right side of this war. We can't forget that."
Romelle tried for a small smile, but it didn't last long. "I should probably go meet Allura now," she said finally, leading them out of the storage room. "She wants to try speaking with them one more time before the quintant ends."
"Okay. Good luck," Mari said, and she nodded.
"Thank you."
Walking along the edges of the room so as not to disturb the training cadets, Romelle hurried through the training deck doors to find the princess. Not a minute later, Kosmo padded through the entrance, followed by Keith. His eyes scanned the space, locking onto the three women standing on the other side. But before he could make his way over, the Thoh cadets practically pounced on him. They gasped, stopping mid-punch and kick to run over and gather round, blocking his path.
"It's the Black Paladin!" one gushed.
"Hi Kosmo," another giggled, gingerly petting the cosmic wolf's head.
"Are you gonna form Voltron today?" Zucksar wondered.
"Can you watch us practice?" Penibrae asked.
Surrounded by the starry-eyed and giddy group of energetic younglings, Keith looked overwhelmed and at a loss for words. He had to force himself not to step back as he tried to answer their questions. "Um. No Voltron today, unless something comes up," he managed. "But I guess I can stay and watch for a little bit. …Uh. Do your best."
It was enough to send the kids reeling. Grinning from ear to ear, they scurried back to their training, eager and ready to show him what they could do.
"Yeah!"
"We will!"
"I'm gonna kick ALL the dummy butts today!"
As soon as they had cleared the way, Keith and Kosmo made a beeline for the safety of the walls. Maggie swallowed back her laughter as they approached, and she slapped Mari roughly on the back.
"We'll give you and Mister Popular some privacy," she giggled through her fingers, and she and Jia promptly peeled away from her to leave the deck.
Mari scowled at them as they fled. When Keith came to a stop beside her, Kosmo booped his nose against her hand in greeting. She ran her fingers through his soft blue fur to scratch him behind his ears, her expression softening as she turned to Keith.
"Hey," she said. Then taking note of the perturbed tightness that lingered around his face, she added, "What's wrong?"
He blinked at the question, some of the shadows in his eyes receding. "Nothing," he murmured. "It's just…I haven't seen you in a while. How is everything?"
With all the chaos of the aftermath of the Oriande battle, they had both been busy with their respective duties. Mari had had to write up report after report to keep Earth and their coalition allies in the loop about the Atlas and Voltron and their recent missions retrieving the stubborn Altean pilots from their robeasts. She'd received an influx of calls from frightened coalition members, asking if they were really safe and worrying if their planet would be targeted next. And then of course, she and Shiro had had to speak with each department onboard the Atlas, encouraging the scared and dispirited crew to keep working. It was all a big headache to do, especially while keeping her own negative thoughts at bay, but at least she'd had Curtis' and Veronica's help with most of the tasks.
"It could be better," she admitted, hoping she didn't sound as troubled as she felt. "How have you and the paladins been holding up?"
Keith pressed his lips into a thin line. "We could be better," he replied grimly. "Morale is lower than ever, but we can't lose hope now."
As the leader of Voltron, Keith understandably had a lot more pressure on his shoulders. He had to go to every meeting, check every report, answer every angry question about their failure from coalition leaders and the Garrison superiors on Earth, all while endlessly persisting and moving forward with every mission to prevent everyone from losing faith in them and the legendary hero. All while hiding the fact that he was, no doubt, just as worried and stressed as the rest of them.
Mari sighed. She sank to the floor to sit criss-cross and patted the space next to her for him to join. He hesitated before giving in, scooting closer so their knees touched. Kosmo promptly sat down next to his human, watching attentively as the Thoh kids ran amok along the training deck.
"How have those two been?" Keith asked, breaking their moment of silence. He was regarding Ezor and Zethrid through narrowed eyes as they hollered and whooped while Beani clawed a dummy to holographic bits.
"They seem to have made up," Mari replied, not missing the loving looks the two ex-pirates constantly cast each other. "Zethrid's not after your or Acxa's heads anymore. And they haven't started a coup, so that's good. I guess it helps that we have so many kids distracting them."
"Seeing them here was definitely an unexpected surprise when we came back," Keith said, following as Penibrae roundhouse-kicked her virtual opponent in two before waving at him. "What exactly did you tell them about me?"
"That you killed Sendak," she answered simply. "And that you're part Galra, like them."
He grimaced. "They've been following me around every chance they get asking me questions," he muttered, unable to hide the mild irritation in his voice. "Why aren't I purple, why do I look human, how did I kill Sendak, can I sign their face…things like that."
The corners of Mari's mouth quirked up. "I think it's cute that they're so excited," she said, honest if not a tad amused. "You're a role model for them. Living proof that the Galra and other species are equals and can get along. You're proof that they can grow up to be anything they want, soldier or not."
A few of the younger cadets zipped by, chasing each other. They grinned at the two humans as they passed, dramatically shouting out obscure lines like "She's gooooone!" and "No thanks" and "Pidge, for Pete's sake, ditch the grenade!" and "Alloooooraaahhh!"
Keith raised a doubtful brow at her. "You sure they don't just like me because of the TV show?"
"I'm sure," Mari chuckled. "They should be cleared to go to Vurelle in the next couple days. I'm glad they got to have some fun here while they healed up."
He nodded in partial agreement. "Immea says a few of them have shown some interest in the Blade," he noted. "Krolia said they'd be able to take them to start training."
She hummed, unsurprised by this bit of news. "You excited to see your mom tomorrow?" she asked, a teasing lilt in her voice. "It's been a while since you last saw her."
"It's only been a little less than two months."
"Still doesn't mean you can't miss your mama," she practically sing-songed, and he rolled his eyes.
"I guess I'm glad we'll be able to meet up," he admitted with a shrug. His signature smirk graced his features as he prompted, "What about you? Have you messaged your mom since we launched?"
Mari winced, instantly regretting having egged him on. "Ah. No, but that's a different story," she pouted. She waved the subject away, refusing to think about it. "I'm sure Takashi has, so let's not worry about it."
"If you say so," Keith drawled.
She nudged him in the ribs to shush and he nudged her back, both of them smiling. They watched the Thoh cadets for a little longer in the comfortable silence that had settled between them.
"Are you free tonight?" Mari finally asked.
He paused, running a mental double-check over his evening schedule. "Pretty much," he concluded.
"Do you want to have dinner together? Without the parents this time."
Keith looked at her, the fire returning to his eyes. "Yeah," he said, not missing a beat. "That would be great."
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