A little shorter, but I seem to be on a roll when the muse strikes, so pretty good thing. I really got lucky to find a spot to put this whole survival scene in. It's a lot shorter than I thought it would be, but that's ok. I hope you enjoy!
I make no claims to Voltron or any WEP characters.
Chapter Four
Hours later, Lance finally caught sight of the fire, it was growing low, but it was a welcome sight. He continued to drag the cargo net full of whatever gear he thought could be useful into the area by the shelter.
"Vessa?" he called softly, so not to startle her. He frowned when she didn't answer. He let go of the cargo net and pulled his blaster, not wanting to call his magma pistol, wanting to conserve what he could of his Voltcom's power. He checked the area, then made his way to the shelter, tossing open the door flap. He sighed and lowered his weapon, seeing her sitting on the medkit, the cure in her hands, asleep against the side of the shelter. He shook his head. "I told you not to fall asleep," he muttered. He holstered the blaster, went back outside and put more wood on the fire, before bringing the supplies into the shelter. He walked over to her and gently shook her. "Vessa, wake up."
Vessa jerked and opened her eyes. "Lance?" she asked, looking up at him.
He squatted down in front of her and held up two fingers. "How many fingers?"
She blinked in confusion. "Three," she answered.
He sighed. "Damn, it's a bad one," he muttered. "How long have you been asleep?"
"I…I don't know," she answered. "I put some more wood on the fire and came in here to get out of the wind."
"Hmm. From the looks of the fire, you've probably been in here for about an hour or two," he stated, shaking his head. "Ok, you just sit tight there while I unload the seats, then you can get a little more comfortable."
"Seats?"
"Yeah, figured if we're going to be here awhile, we wouldn't want to be on the ground. And from what I could scan with the Fractal's last bits of power, Lotor is long gone. He bought the lightshow," Lance told her.
She shook her head. "I have no clue what you're talking about," she mumbled.
Lance grimaced. "Yeah, you've got a bad concussion. Just stay put, Vessa."
She nodded and leaned back against the side of the shelter again. "Okay."
Lance got up and unhooked the cargo net straps, pulling out a pair of seats, another box of emergency rations, a large jug of water, and a couple of small pillows and fleece blankets.
Duvessa blinked at the pillows and blankets. "Did you pack for a camping trip?"
Lance laughed. "No. Keep them in the ship for long flights. Creature comforts for passengers and stuff."
"Oh, I didn't know that," she murmured.
He smiled at her. "Keep talking to me, Vessa. It will help you stay awake."
"I will try," she assured him. "It's just so cold and my head hurts."
"I know, but if your concussion is as bad as I think it is, you need to." He grabbed a small penlight out of another case he brought along and shined it on her.
She flinched and looked away.
"Damn, you've got one hell of a goose egg on your head and it is bruised pretty good," he stated. "I'm impressed your crown stayed on your head during that landing."
She reached up and pulled it off. "It…has a mind of its own sometimes or so it seems," she stated. "There is a mystical side to it that even I don't quite fully understand."
Lance held his hand up, having put the penlight away. "I don't need a history lesson, Vessa."
"You wanted me to talk…"
"Anything but that," he stated. "And not your love life, either."
She smiled faintly at that as she put her crown back on her head. "Mine is non-existent at the moment. Kind of why we were on this…how did Hunk say this that one time? Boxed up mission?"
Lance chuckled. "Close. Botched."
"I swear I am never going to get all these slang words everyone has come up with in the last five hundred years," she muttered.
"Yeah, there's been a lot in that time. So, you want to get off the medkit and get a bit more comfortable on the seat?"
She slowly nodded and rolled to her knees, crawling over to the seat, pulling herself up into it. "It's not exactly…stable," she stated as it rocked a bit as she sat in it.
"Well, it was a quick hack job," Lance confessed. He handed her a pillow and a couple of the fleece blankets. "They're not much, but it's better than freezing."
"At least we are out of the weather and wind in here," she stated. "And you found a good spot, defended on two sides, hidden on the others."
"Yeah, I just hope rescue comes soon," Lance agreed, setting his chair up to face hers, then pulling the medkit between them, flipping it open and finding the pain killers. He pulled them out, handed her one, took one himself. "I'm going to go back out here in a minute. Put some rocks around the fire, heat them up and before we go to sleep, we can bring them inside here and warm it up."
"Sounds good," she murmured. "And then we can have tea and cake and call it a night, right?"
Lance laughed. "Sure thing, Vessa."
Vessa slid the cure into the medkit and Lance closed it up. "We need to get home," she whispered.
"I know," he agreed, his smile fading. "We will get home and we will get him back. I promise you that."
She nodded and he got to his feet to find some rocks to heat.
Xxxxxx
Lance carefully carried in one of the last stones and he could tell his idea with the rocks was working, it was actually comfortable in the shelter. He set the stone down near the others in the center of the room and then dropped down into the other seat he'd dragged. It had started snowing quite heavily in the last hour, so he knew their tracks to and from the Fractal would be hidden. A good thing if the Drules found the ship, but not so much if the Force came to find them. He pulled the medkit closer, flipped it open and pulled out the pain killers, taking one.
"Arm still hurting?" Duvessa whispered from her seat, her eyes closed.
"Like a mother," Lance stated. "How's your head?"
"Like there is an entire orchestral percussion section in it. I move and I get nauseous," she stated. "And I'm glad it's pretty dark in here, too."
"Well, these rocks will help keep us warm tonight. I put some more in the fire and wood, too, so we do have that going for us," Lance stated.
"Thank you, Lance. I'm sorry I'm not much more help right now," she murmured.
"Hey, you have a pretty big bump on your head, I think I can give you a pass. I'd rather you stay put and not get hurt more," he stated.
"Yeah," she agreed. She was quite for a few minutes, making Lance think she'd fallen back to sleep until she spoke again. "Lance, what all will happen once we get the cure back to Arus?"
Lance sighed, leaning back in the seat, putting the small pillow under his broken arm. "Well, we will be getting checked out, for one," he stated with a chuckle.
She smiled slightly. "Obviously."
"But, I imagine Gorma will run the test again. Pidge will want a sample so he and the folks on New Balto can try to reverse engineer the cure and virus so if it were to be used again or spread, they could counter it," Lance stated.
"And to think that there are those on Arus who believe you are not intelligent or worthy of Allura," she muttered. "You hide who and what you really are well, Lance."
"Well, don't let it get around that I'm smarter than I look. I have a reputation to uphold," he joked.
"It doesn't suit you anymore," she whispered. "Your playboy, rogue routine."
Lance grinned and shook his head. "Well, it isn't really a routine, Vessa. It's…me."
She sighed. "If you say so. I don't believe it."
Lance chuckled. "Allura sees through it, too, but it keeps some folks that I don't like to deal with at bay, so, it works for me."
"But, you could become king…you wouldn't have much choice, but to deal with some folks that you don't exactly like…"
"Vessa, don't remind me, please?" he begged.
"But…"
"Vessa, I'm going to be honest here. I really hope you and Allura work out some sort of plan that keeps me from becoming king. I mean, realistically, you will probably take the throne." He held his hand up, stopping her. "Allura's been researching it. The Black Crown is still the higher crown and can claim the throne. The laws were even changed to allow you to resume your place in line. Your brother and father saw to that." He smiled. "Besides, Keith would make the better king anyway."
"But, Allura and my brother's descendants have ruled for centuries…I can't just come in and take it all away from them," Duvessa protested.
"Honestly, I think Allura would be relieved if you took it from her. She would like nothing more than to be an average citizen of Arus sometimes," Lance stated.
Duvessa opened her eyes and stared over at him. "I hit my head too hard."
Lance chuckled. "No, you're hearing me right, Vessa. Try to get some rest now. I'll wake you up in a couple hours to check on your head."
She nodded and closed her eyes as Lance set an alarm on his Voltcom, then he settled in to get some rest, too.
Xxxxxx
Hunk flew low over the one section of forest where he saw some smoke rising. He grinned as he finally got answering pings from their Voltcoms. "Pidge. Princess, I've found them. They're a good five clicks from the Fractal, but if the smoke I'm seeing is any indicator, they're alive. I'm going to set down and go see if they're ready to come home."
"Good job, Hunk. Thank the gods they're alive," Allura whispered. "We'll be there in a few minutes."
"Roger that," Hunk stated and set Yellow Lion down in a semi-large clearing nearby and climbed out, making his way towards the smoke and the Voltcom signals.
Xxxxxx
"Lance? Vessa?" Hunk called as he got closer. "Guys?"
Lance stepped out of the shelter. "Hunk?"
Hunk laughed as he saw Lance. "Hey, nice cozy spot you two found." He stopped seeing Lance's bandaged arm. "That the worst of that crash you did?"
Lance shook his head. "No. Vessa has a nasty concussion. She's been getting sick all morning. We've got to get her back to Arus soon."
Hunk grimaced and his armor flashed over his uniform. "I'll get her. You get the cure and we'll get the hell out of here."
Lance nodded and walked into the shelter, going over to the medkit and picking up the cure. "Hey, Vessa, look. Our ride home has arrived."
Duvessa groaned, her eyes opening slightly. "Hi," she whispered.
Hunk shot Lance a nervous look. "She doesn't look so good, Lance."
"I know," Lance agreed. "I've got this. Get her and we'll get off this rock."
Hunk nodded and gently picked Duvessa up. "Hold on, Vessa. We'll get you home and Doc Gorma will get you feeling better in no time," he assured her.
Duvessa laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
Soon, they were back to Yellow Lion and they took off for Arus.
Xxxxxx
Duvessa opened her eyes. Her head felt somewhat better as she looked around the dim, sterile room she was in.
"Hey," came a soft voice from beside her. "How are you feeling?"
Duvessa turned her head and saw Allura sitting next to her. "Better. I think," she murmured. "How's Lance's arm?"
"Broken," Allura answered. "He's been released. You, on the other hand, might be in here for a while."
"How long is a while?"
"At least overnight," Doctor Gorma stated from the doorway. "How are you feeling, Princess?"
"Better," Duvessa answered. "I don't feel dizzy or like I'm going to be ill."
"That's good. Any blurriness in your vision?"
"Not at the moment," she answered. "How soon will you bring Keith out of cryostasis?"
"As soon as Pidge is sure the cure won't have any lasting side effects," Gorma answered. "Reverse engineering this cure and virus is…well, it will take everyone some time."
Duvessa nodded, her eyes drooping again.
Allura stood and pulled the blankets up over Duvessa. "Get some more rest, Vessa. We won't bring him around until you're there."
Duvessa nodded and fell back to sleep.
