It was 4:47am when Iverson flicked on his office light and took a deep breath. The air freshener was almost out, he'd have to change it soon.

Walking over to his desk and pulling out the chair, he paused. The sight of a pair of sneakers poking out from underneath confusing him more than alarming him. Knowing who it was before looking, he bent over to see what the matter was.

Lance sat under the desk, hugging his knees to his chest. When he made eye contact with Iverson he simply said, "no."

()

There was a knock on Iverson door later in the day. The bell dismission classes had just rung and Keith stepped inside.

"Have you seen Lance?"

Iverson quietly pointed down at his desk, "No, I have not. He's supposed to be overseeing the New A recruits trials, have you checked there?"

Keith shifted uncomfortably, "Yeah, I checked there…just wanted to apologize…training four people can't be easy…"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Iverson smiled, "That cockroach has survived worse."

Keith nodded, "I'm going to get Shiro and go over some plans…I'll be in the castle if you find him…let me know."

When Keith was gone, Iverson waited a few minutes before saying, "See? He just wanted to apologize."

"It's a trap," Lance muttered from the darkness, "and calling me a cockroach was mean."

"but accurate. Look, Lance, everyone has hiccups while training. S7K3 had a trainee that once hacked into all of Russia and leaked a ton of information…we were able to blame it on someone else and cover up the rest, but mistakes happen."

"He shot at a hiker," Lance said, "Even my trigger-happy youth never did that!"

"Granted the hiker was hiking at one am-"

"There was a meteor shower that night," Lance said crawling out from under the desk, "I TOLD Keith that there would be hikers and star gazers out and he STILL shot without even a warning first!"

Standing now he reached out and grabbed Iverson by the lapels.

"I don't know how long I can do this. Between Shiro and Hunk not being able to lie, Pidge off in la-la land, and Keith and Allura not understanding basic protocol…."

"Give them time."

"I don't have time, I'm going crazy."

"So you want to go back to being a B1?"

Lance froze and Iverson sighed, patting the boy on the shoulder.

"Look, you either train others as a B2 or you go back to being a B1 with a trainee that the council chooses for you. Those are the conditions."

Lance let go of Iverson and sat on the desk, "I'm cornered."

"You'll be fine."

"Of course, I'm trained that way," Lance shrugged, "but how am I supposed to train others that are so much more competent than me and one of them is MY leader?"

"Figure it out."

"You are no help."

"On the contrary," Iverson grinned waving a file in the air, "I just got you five a job. One even the others can't mess up."

"Oh?" Lance leaned forward, eager for the intel.

"the Olkaries and the Jermites need a little more…coaxing, to get along. That's right up Alluras and Hunks alley. While you're there I want you to get in touch with their agency and make sure everything is ok."

"Boss," Lance gave him a disgusted look, "This is not a simple mission."

"No, but its one where all your tallents can be useful. Waste not and all that."

Lance snatched the folder and flipped through it, "No way…"

"Just make sure you get the information and evidence first," Iverson said, "first, Lance."