Chapter 41
A/N: Once again, I just own this story, nothing else is mine except the OCs.
/comm/
Ghost talking to Keith alone/flashbacks/dreams
Bold is intercom/video chats
"Alright," Keith said standing before a large group of Blades as they held the new weapons, "now I know y'all are used to working with swords but when it comes to the Hive and Vex those won't cut it."
A screen popped up showing the different Hive classes at life size holograms. "We'll start with the Hive, what do you know?"
"They don't like sunlight!" some brave soul shouted from the back.
"True, Hive do prefer to avoid running in light, however if they do see you light will not stop them from trying to kill you," Keith added on. "Trust me, I've learned from personal experience. So what else?"
"Hive typically live underground?"
"That's mostly true, a large portion of Hive nests form under a planet's surface, however a Hive nest can form anywhere. Many old facilities on Terra, especially those with basements, became nests to the Hive. As long as it has some sort of indoor complex, they can use it. Now can anyone tell me how to identify a Hive nest?"
"The creepy white ones prowling around outside?" someone suggested.
"Black stuff?"
Keith nodded. "Those are good answers. Hive don't maintain buildings well, so most often nests made from already present facilities will be in a state of decay. One way to tell for certain is the black substance they use to cover the walls. If it gives off a dark smokey-mist, that means it's an active nest. They use that substance to reinforce walls and limit light entering. However, one thing you always want to watch out for at the entrance to a nest is Thralls," he motioned to the image of the small white thing.
"Those are the fast ones right?" someone asked.
"They're the fastest thing on land in the Hive, they can't work a gun so you don't have to worry about them shooting back," he stated. "However, these things bury themselves underground and they come in packs of at least ten. So while you shoot at one, its pack mates will swarm you and kill you. If you encounter them, you'll have to use your blades and kill them quickly. A Thrall's primary weapon is their claws, which can rip through my armor, so don't let them get close."
Keith pulled up the image of another Thrall with a glowing green head. "Then there's another type of Thrall you have to watch out for, this is known as a Cursed Thrall. They are much, much slower than a normal Thrall, but that does not make them any less dangerous," Keith continued. "No matter what, do not let that thing get as close to you as I am to the third row."
"Why?"
"Because, Cursed Thralls are created by Hive Wizards and they spontaneously combust," Keith informed. "If you see one, shoot it, because it will come with other Thrall and that will lessen the number of Thralls you face because it will explode and take those other Thralls with."
"…That sounds more helpful to us."
"It is, except when they get close," Keith stated. "In example, if two blew up next to me, I would be dead."
"Ouch," someone winced.
Keith agreed before moving the image of the Thralls away and replacing them with an Acolyte. "Now this, is a Hive Acolyte. They're higher ranked than the Thralls, their armor is thicker, and they can use a gun."
There was a series of groans from the audience at that statement.
"Good news is, they aren't fast and they don't rush you. Acolytes will hide use basic combat tactics, using available cover to shoot at you. Now, if you're a good sniper, then you can easily blow up their head when they come out, and also make sure you have cover because like Thralls they come in groups, and sometimes, they come with Thralls."
More groans echoes from his audience as Keith continued.
"But if you really want to try, when their numbers get low, you can rush them and use your blades to take them out. I wouldn't recommend it." Keith turned and pulled up the image of a Knight. "Now, if you're lucky enough to get deep into a nest or just really unlucky in general, you'll meet this massive creature."
"What in the universe is that?!"
"I'm glad you asked, this monstrosity is a Hive Knight, what they lack in speed they make up for in a lot of other crap. First off, they can use either a sword or a heavy cannon that shoots five shots simultaneously in different directions. If you see one with a cannon keep your distance and shoot, it won't try to get close, however, I do not want anyone here facing one with a sword. If you see one carrying a sword, just run," he said shaking his head, "you won't survive a fist fight with that thing."
"You forgot to mention they can heal themselves," Ghost added.
"THEY CAN WHAT?!"
"That's just a couple we've seen," Keith said raising an eyebrow.
"They still did it."
Keith shrugged turning back to face the Blades. Pressing a button he switched slides onto the Wizards. "Now, finally we have this asshole, which under no circumstances will any of you face."
"Why?"
"Because, this is the Hive version of the Druids known as a Wizard. They are incredibly powerful and are near the top of the Hive power pyramid. Wizards conduct most of the dark rituals that give the Hive their power, they create the Cursed Thralls, and they run the given nest. These guys are infamous for their shield spells, which you'll have to break through before you can hurt it. Unfortunately, these things' shields regenerate much faster than a Knights will and they don't stay still and will use any offered cover to recover. Now, unlike Druids they can't teleport, but they can fly, shoot fireballs from their hands, and summon Thralls."
"These things sound fantastic," someone commented.
"WAIT! YOU DIDN'T MENTION THAT KNIGHTS MADE SHIELDS!"
"Well they do…I think we'll call it a day for this session. We'll start with the Taken and Hive Language next time before I move onto the Vex."
Several members nodded as everyone got up, slowly starting to disperse to perform different tasks, go on break, or find a way to erase the new nightmares he gave them.
Keith sighed, leaning against the wall, he wasn't expecting teaching to be so…nerve-racking. Was this how his teachers at the Tower felt all the time? Or was it just because he was trying to teach adults instead of kids? Kids would seem easier because they don't judge…at least not the younger ones, older kids definitely judge, Earth taught him that much.
"I'll admit, I'm surprised you didn't jump right into teaching them to shoot," Kolivan said getting the Guardian's attention.
Keith crossed his arms. "They need to know just what they're up against first. Teaching them to shoot and not tell them what they might be facing would be counter-productive and would most likely get them killed," he replied looking at the Blade leader. "You guys ever encounter Hive before?"
"No, neither have we encountered the Vex."
Keith nodded, it wasn't really a surprise, if they had he'd probably heard of a mandatory training course by now. "I don't really expect anyone to encounter the Vex, my people did a good job of keeping them confined to the Krein System. Not to mention even with the Guardians gone, they wouldn't get far due to their constant clashes with the Hive, Fallen, and Cabal in the system as well. I'm more concerned about the Hive. I know they've been expanding for eons. Frankly I'm shocked that we haven't encountered any, either in the Blade or Voltron and the rebels."
"They could be trying to regroup after Oryx's fall," Kolivan said, "there must be infighting for a new leader."
Keith frowned and glanced away. "If there is, then the remaining Hive gods must be still clashing for the title of Queen."
That got Kolivan's attention. "I thought The Guardians eliminated all the Hive gods?"
Keith shook his head in response. "No, we merely eliminated Oryx's line specifically. His sisters are still at large and have yet to be located...but if I'm remembering correctly according to the Books of Sorrow the Knight Progenitor and Hive God of War, Xivu Arath left her siblings a few thousand eons ago and hasn't been heard from since…which leaves the Progenitor of the Wizards, the Witch-Queen Savathûn. She's most likely taken power within the Hive now that her brother's dead…of course, she vanished as well…"
Kolivan frowned, if the Hive were regathering it would be very bad news for Voltron, the Blade, and the rest of the universe. "What do you know of them?"
"Not much…Oryx was the focus of my Hive studies since he was in our system at the time," Keith contemplated holding his chin in thought. "…If I can get my hands on the Books of Sorrow then I could give you more information. I'll probably have to raid a Hive nest with a Wizard present to get a copy."
"What are these books?" Kolivan questioned as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"They contain the Hive's complete history, the Warlock of the Rein Fireteam obtained a copy during one of their raids in the Deep during the War with Crota about a thousand years ago. We didn't get the real books till they invaded the Dreadnaught. Legend has that the book has a spell that enables it to continue adding the history to is as time passes," Yorak informed. "It took some time, but we were eventually able to translate it. If anything in the universe contains something on Savathûn it'll be that book…we'll probably want to brush up on Xivu Arath, as well, while I think it's slim, she could've returned and taken power in her brother's absence and in the event something happened to Savathûn."
"After your mission, contact your trader, see what she can find, before we look for a nest," Kolivan stated.
Keith's eyebrows furrowed. "Mission? I thought I was benched?"
"Well, there's one mission I need done as soon as possible, and considering your skill set, you're the most qualified to complete the job," the leader stated typing on the monitor, pulling up several images of a base. "This base was—until recently—run by a Galra commander named Ranveig."
"I remember him, we stowed away on his ship on the way to the Kral Zera."
Kolivan nodded. "Yes, and according to our intel, he's been working on a superweapon in secret. It is incredibly powerful."
"How'd you get the intel?" Keith questioned.
"We have a spy in Ranveig's base, one who has managed to acquire high-level security clearance. Since Ranveig's departure, it's highly possible she's taken control of the base, but we can't be sure."
"Why not?"
"We aren't the only ones who know of the weapon," Kolivan answered as the images of two female Galra appeared, both whom Keith recognized from the Kral Zera. "Two Galra factions lead by Generals Trugg and Ladnok are at war over the territory. All communication has been cut off since the fighting began."
"What do you want me to do?"
"We need you to infiltrate the base, extract our operative and destroy the weapon," he stated turning to face the Guardian. "This is of the utmost importance. If either faction acquires this weapon, it could tip the balance of power in their favor, so you cannot allow your feelings to cloud your judgement."
"I wouldn't—!"
"You have in the past," Kolivan stated. "Remember the mission is the only thing that matters. Emotions are a luxury we can't afford."
"Then I hope you remember that Guardians put the lives of others before a mission," Keith reminded coldly.
Kolivan frowned, but said nothing as he pulled up another image, zooming in on a female Galra with light purple skin and darker stripes on her cheeks. "This is the operative you'll be contacting, her name is Krolia."
"Huh," Yorak commented.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
"Should I go in Marmora gear?" Keith questioned, turning to leave.
"Considering since we don't know what we're up against, your armor will work better. However, use your Blade so the spy can identify you," Kolivan ordered.
Keith nodded, turning to walk off off when Kolivan call out to him again. "And Keith, use one of the stolen Galra fighters."
-.-
"I'm sure everyone had a pleasant evening?" Lotor greeted sitting down at the head of the dining room table. It also happened to be beside Tarin whom was reading a datapad quietly sipping from a cup of tea. Though Lotor was more focused on the fact that she was actually wearing the clothes he bought for her all those decapheobs ago. He thought she threw them out.
"Yes, thank you for the accommodations," Allura said taking her seat bringing him out of his surprise.
"Yeah, I forgot how soft a real bed could be," Hunk sighed as he and Lance sat down, the Cuban making a tired hum of agreement.
"I don't think I've ever sleapt that hard in my life."
"Good morning," Shiro smiled walking in and taking his seat. He was followed a minute later by Pidge, who just mumbled something indistinguishable in greeting before flopping onto her chair. "Where's Coran?"
"GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!" the boisterous Altean advisor greeted. "You won't believe who decided to join us today!" Reaching behind the door, he pulled Jaz in sitting in a wheelchair. She still looked like she'd crawled through hell itself, but at least she no longer resembled a corpse.
"Hey guys," she rasped, weakly waving a hand.
"JAZ!" all except the two Galra exclaimed shooting from their seats and hugging their friend.
"I'm so glad you're ok!"
"How are you feeling?!"
"Are you hungry? Need something to drink? I could make a tea that's almost like a honey tea my mom used to make!"
"Easy there everyone," Shiro said, gently pulling them all back, "give her room to breath."
"Thanks for the lift Coran," she said, resting her hands on the armrests, "I can make it to my seat from here."
"Oh no you don't!" he said pushing her back in the chair. "We just got you out of the pod, I'm not risking the chance of you going back in there till we're absolutely certain you're at one-thousand percent!" He wheeled her over to the table, setting a napkin on her lap and Hunk filled her plate and passed it over.
"I could've gotten my own stuff."
"I know, but we were so worried!" the Yellow Paladin whimpered tears forming at the corners of his eyes.
She gave a tired smile, "Thanks." Reaching for her fork, the Awoken woman raised an eyebrow as she spotted the person beside Lotor. "Uh, hi…who are you?"
"I'm Tarin," she said.
"Cool," she nodded. "So, uh, can someone explain to me what the quiznak happened while I was out?"
Pidge slapped her forehead. Sitting down by her friend, she began rapidly explaining what happened over the course of the past few days as they ate: the arguments about the Kral Zera, Shiro sneaking off with Lotor to the Kral Zera (despite how weak she was Jaz did punch Shiro's fleash arm and chewed him out for a solid ten minutes for that), about her dad's departure to Earth, when her brother and Darvah left to go back to the resistance, and everything else up to that moment.
"Wow…y'all've certainly been busy," she remarked.
"And we will still be busy today as well," Lotor informed setting down his napkin. "Shiro, Coran, I believe you two wanted to cross-reference our star charts with current Galra troop locations?"
Shiro perked up, "Yes, that'd be great!"
"I can have a sentry escort you to the record room," the Emperor spoke. "Allura, I was curious if you two could assit Tarin and I on a project we've been working on. Jaz, you are more than welcome to join us if you feel up for the task."
"What?" Tarin questioned her head popping up.
"What kind of task?" Coran questioned.
"I'M NOT INFIRM CORAN!" Jaz snapped, making the advisor jump. "Whatever it is, I'm in."
Lotor smiled. "Excellent. And no need to fret advisor, I assure you I will not strain her."
"Good," Coran nodded as he and Shiro got up following a sentry out of the room.
Lotor's gaze flickered over to the remaining three Paladins. "I'm leaving you with a personal escort sentry, he'll take you where ever you need to go." Standing up, he pulled back Allura's chair, helping her up before going to Jaz and taking the handles on her wheelchair.
"I can walk!"
"I already promised Coran I would see to it that you did not strain yourself," Lotor reminded. "This project is likely going to take some time, I don't wish to see you exhaust yourself so soon."
"Lotor, what project?" Tarin said raising a brow. "Just what is it you're dragging me into this time?"
"Please, there is no one else who knows the artifact vaults as well as you do."
Red-gold eyes narrowed, "…Fine. But I want rematch in that card game I bought!"
"I DID NOT CHEAT!"
"YOU DID TOO!" she snapped storming out of the room.
Lance glared after Lotor as he chivalrously wheeled Jaz from the room with Allura gently taking ahold of one arm. Getting up, he moved to follow them when a sentry stepped in his path, effectively stopping him.
"So…we're just free to run around Galra HQ and have some fun?" Hunk questioned.
"What is fun?" the sentry inquired slightly tilting its head at the unfamiliar term.
Previous plans gone from his mind, Lance couldn't help but think of the chaos he could cause. "Nevermind that."
"Lance, it's a robot. It can't have fun," Pidge said. She narrowed her eyes in thought, and a diabolicale grin slowly started to spread to her face. "Unless…I reprogram it!"
Hunk shot out of his seat throwing a pointed finger high into the air, "TAKE US TO THE SENTRY REPAIR CENTER!"
-.-
Pulling out of hyperspeed, Keith blinked at the massive battle being fought before him, dozens of Galra warships were firing at each other from both sides.
"Well…I don't think this is a sight I plan to get used to," Yorak commented.
"Agreed," Keith nodded swerving to avoid a stray blast from an ion cannon. "Looks like things have escalated between Ladnok and Trugg!"
"I'll say!" Yorak exclaimed watching some pieces of the ships falling towards the planet's surface. "Try blending in with the debris! We could get to the surface without attracting any attention to ourselves!"
"Here goes nothing," Keith grumbled activating the thrusters.
They flew into the firefight, weaving in and out of explosions and cannon blasts rocking the battlefield. An ion cannon blast shot through a cruiser, forcing Keith to adjust course to the other side of the ship so he wouldn't be spotted. Two large pieces of the hull broke off, making Keith spin the craft as his ghost flew aimlessly screaming around the cockpit.
"You need to learn to chill out sometimes," Keith smirked when they were out of range.
"If you weren't such a terrifying pilot, then maybe I would!"
"Hate to break it to you Yorak, but I'm one of the best pilots in the Galaxy."
A piece of debris slammed into the wing of the fighter, ripping it off and sending them into a freefall towards the planet.
"SOMEHOW I'M REALLY STARTING TO DOUBT THAT!" Yorak shouted over the alarm vanishing in a flash of light as they fell down towards the planet's surface.
Quickly pulling up a screen, he pressed a few controls and pulled up on the thrusters, allowing the right bottom-thruster to activate and straighten their course so they weren't just falling aimlessly.
Angling himself with the surface, they glided along for a few moments before the bottom of the fighter made contact with the ground, sending it rolling and skipping across the barren grey terrain.
The stop was sudden and brunt, but the harness thankfully kept Keith from being hurled through the window. Sighing in relief, he let his head dangle singe he managed to crash upside-down.
Taking a breath, he started to fiddle with the harness. "Now the fun part," he muttered, grunting when the he was released and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. Everything hurt as he slowly got up, but it would heal in a few moments.
He could see some light coming through a break in the front windows. Kicking it in, he shattered what was left and crawled out of the burning wreckage. Thankfully he didn't crash too far from the base, the fun part would be avoiding the cannon shots that reached the surface.
-.-
"Reconfigured processor inserted and wired for optimal performance," Pidge listed.
"Checkity-check."
"Now, I just gotta upload the new program, and…all right, all finished," she said as she and Hunk high-fived.
"Yeah! Team Punk does it again!"
"How do we know if it worked?" Lance questioned peering over the sentry as Hunk joined him. Pidge leaned in for a closer inspection, adjusting her glasses with a skeptical look on her face.
The robot powered up, sitting up fast enough to heatbut the Green Paladin and slam her to the ground. "You dum-dums got any non-leathal, semi-combustable diversionary devices?"
"Huh?"
"I think he's LOOKING FOR FIRECRACKERS!" Pidge exclaimed shoot up from her spot on the ground.
Lance and Hunk grinned darkly. "Oh, it worked."
It was then the chaos began.
They started by blowing up packets of food goo.
"YEAH!"
"AWESOME!"
"AMAZER-BEANS!"
"What next?"
"Hunk, hand me another packet of food goo," Lance said.
"HAULT!" someone shouted and Hunk jumped, accidently squirting food goo onto himself as they spotted the guards. "You are being detained for unsafe sustinence preparation!"
The sentry grabbed a bottle and slammed it on the ground. "SCATTER!"
-.-
Alarms blared loudly as Keith came to a junction, peering around the corner, his eyes narrowed behind his helmet, there was his target…surrounded by four armed sentries.
While those tin-plated drones would be easy to handle, it was going to be tricky to get Krolia away without attracting attention.
The Galra woman stopped for a split second, glancing in his direction, forcing Keith to duck back. Listening closely, he heard the sentries start moving again.
Pulling out his Blade, he rounded the corner, towards the hall he watched the operative walk down…stopping at the corner, he waited, something wasn't right…
Sensing something, he whirled around as the sound of a blaster charging came from behind him. Keith's Marmora blade was mere centimeters away from slicing Krolia's neck, and her gun was leveled at his head.
"Krolia," he greeted.
The spy seemed to look surprised for a moment, before glancing at his sword and lowering her gun. "You're late. We don't have much time."
"No kidding, why do you think I was sent here?" Keith snarked in reply. "We'll have to handle the weapon first."
"Follow me," she said motioning with her head and they began running through the halls, ducking back when sentries and troops rushed by.
Rushing into a room, Krolia went to one of the monitors and began typing quickly. "I wasn't aware we had a Guardian in our ranks."
"Tried to keep it secret, cover got blown," Keith replied letting his helmet vanish.
"So why would Kolivan send you, our most powerful asset, here?"
"He's heard about the superweapon. We can't let it fall into the wrong hands," Keith replied.
Krolia glanced his way. "And he wants you to use your power to destroy it."
"He wants to make sure the job will get done, we don't know this thing's power, so you might as well use your most powerful force to handle it."
"Well, since Trugg's attacking my base it'll be best for me to assume Ranveig's dead," she grumbled.
"Krolia, Trugg is on the verge of crushing your forces, we need to destroy that weapon," Keith growled, crossing his arms. "Now what exactly is it? I have to know what I'm dealing with."
"Warlord Ranveig intercepted a shipment of undocumented quintessence travelling through his territory. He took it for himself and began experimenting with it. This quintessence is more powerful than anything we received from the empire, and Ranveig believed it could be the closest thing we've ever come to in recreating a Guardian's power," she replied. "However, it has some…unexpected effects."
Keith nodded, before the building shook, as the lights turned red. "First levels of defenses have been breached! Activating secondary defenses!"
-.-
"Now I see why you really needed me," Tarin mused as she crossed her arms.
"I don't understand," Allura breathed. "What is this place?"
"Haggar's lair," Jaz spoke. "I…when I was a prisoner, let's say I used to spend a lot of time in here."
"Jaz, if you wish to back out of the project and join your friends, I completely understand," Lotor spoke apologetically.
Jaz remained quiet, and Allura felt the need to speak up for her friend, "Lotor, why would you bring us here?"
"Our fathers travelled into the rift between reality, I believe Alfor's Altean alchemy made that possible."
"So you think the witch has something in here that could tell us?" Jaz questioned.
"Precisely, something of which contains secrets even Haggar was unable to unlock," Lotor nodded, "something that you two might be able to access."
"We shouldn't be here," Allura shook her head, taking hold of Jaz's wheelchair.
"Allura, please, I can't do this without you," Lotor pleaded.
The Princess was about to disagree when a hand rested on her arm. "I'm fine Allura, it's ok."
"Are you certain?"
Jaz nodded. "I can't run from my fears forever, and who knows, maybe I'll find something cool."
Lotor almost beamed as they both turned to look at him, "Tarin where do you recommend we start?"
Tapping her chin, she thought for a moment before making a sound of revelation. "I know! Since we're looking into Altean lore, we should look down this one," Tarin said leading the way down one of the passages. "From what I remember it has the most artifacts and records."
"We should split up, search for…whatever it is we're looking for," Jaz suggested, "something that looks like it could hold secrets or something."
They all nodded moving to different shelves and searching through the materials. Without a moment of hesitation, Tarin grabbed Lotor planting him in front of one of the shelves. "Tarin—"
"Hold still," she stated climbing on him and standing on his shoulders as she examined the higher shelves.
"Finding anything?" Allura asked walking over to Jaz as she sifted through the lower shelves.
"Not yet. You?"
Picking up a small tablet, Allura frowned in recognition. An Altean log. What was this doing here? "Maybe."
Dim glowing eyes looked up at her, and Jaz sat up. "Hey guys get over…here?" she trailed off as both stared as Lotor struggled to maintain balance as Tarin quickly moved between shelves, occasionally leaning back to check the one across from her.
"I can see how they were engaged," Allura murmured and Jaz gaped.
"They were engaged?!"
Allura nodded. "Lotor! Tarin!" she called waving her find.
"Oh! You found something!" Tarin exclaimed leaping off Lotor and knocking him to the floor as she jogged over.
Approaching, Allura couldn't help but feel relieved as the other woman's eyes widened in recognition. At least she hadn't grabbed something possibly dangerous…at least, she hoped it wasn't.
"I remember this, it's some old data log from an Altean scientist: Honerva, I think."
"Honerva?" Allura breathed in awe. "The Honerva who discovered the rift on Daibazaal?"
"Yep. Lotor! It's something about your mom!" Tarin yelled down to the fallen Emperor.
"Wait, if she's his mother, that would make him…half-Altean."
"He's Galtean!" Jaz exclaimed sounding excited and they looked at her. "What?"
"Yes," Lotor said joining them, "my heritage was something the Galra considered a weakness, but I considered it a strength. The union between Zarkon and Honerva sparked a technological revolution within the Empire. Even back then Altean culture was remarkably advanced. The kinds of experiments she was conducting…she advanced science by eons."
"How did Haggar get her hands on this?" Jaz questioned.
"Haggar was always after artifacts containing info about magic," Tarin stated. "Why do you think she has all of this?"
"Surely there must've been things she was unable to access."
"There might be a couple, we should keep searching," Tarin said as Lotor turned to read through his mother's log.
-.-
Krolia typed on the monitor, pulling up a camera feed. "Trugg's fleet has touched down! We're running out of time! C'mon!" A door opened, and they rushed into the elevator.
"…This seems awfully dangerous," Yorak murmured.
"Not now!" Keith hissed as Krolia glanced at him, an almost worried frown appearing on her face for a split second before her emotionless mask was back in place.
The door opened and they both sprinted out. "Get to that console!" Krolia ordered quickly typing.
"Yorak!" Keith said summoning his partner and tech expert.
"On it!" he said accessing the system. "What now?"
"Together we must enter this code simultaneously," she replied before and explosion shook the room and the doors caved in.
"Nope!" the ghost said vanishing again and Keith grit his teeth as three sentries carrying blasters entered, this day was just getting better and better wasn't it?
Growling, he pulled out his knife, changing it to its sword form, he rushed a sentry, slicing it in half, before rolling as two more shots rang over his head. Getting to his feet, he sliced off an arm, and stabbed the offending sentry through. Ripping his blade out, Keith leapt off of it onto the next sentry that grabbed his leg and tossed him aside.
His sword skittered across the floor as Keith caught himself in a handspring, before landing in a crouch watching as Krolia fired at the sentry that tossed him. Grabbing his sword off the ground, she slashed the remaining sentry in half. Before narrowly avoiding a shot from the new set of drones that rushed in.
Hurling the blade, it ripped through the helm of one, and Keith caught it. Changing it to knife form, he flung it through another sentry back to Krolia whom caught it with a smirk as he pulled out Crown Splitter.
Krolia quickly changed the blade from knife to sword, and they ripped through the last two sentries easily, before the sound of numerous guns cocking caught their attention.
Whirling around, they saw Trugg a few remaining sentries and several officers aiming their weapons at them. "Surrender or die," the general sneered looking down her nose at them.
Keith growled and raised his sword as Krolia lowered her weapons. "What are you doing?!" he growled.
She looked at him, and he watched as his sword changed back into a knife in her hand…when did it even change into a sword? He tossed it to her as a knife, right?
Krolia raised her arms in surrender as Keith bristled. "We can make a deal."
"What?! No! We're destroying whatever's in there!" he growled.
"I lost you once, I'm never going to lose or risk losing you again," she replied making his eyebrows furrow in confusion. Just what in God's name was she talking about? They had only known each other for a total of thirty minutes!
Krolia looked away from Keith back to Trugg. "Give us a ship and I'll give you the code to the weapon."
"Why should I trust you?" Trugg hissed.
Krolia snorted in amusement. "You have no choice, I'm the only one who knows the code to get in. The room will self-destruct if you try to break in. As soon as we're airborne, I'll give you the code."
Trugg's eyes narrowed in fury, she really didn't have a choice, and if they fought, there was a good chance that the Guardian would kill them all and destroy the weapon. She needed to get him out of the way.
"Very well," Trugg said.
-.-
"Why the long face?" Jaz spoke as she wheeled up to Lotor with Allura in tow.
"I'm afraid I don't understand?"
She sighed, "Is there something wrong with the log?"
Lotor sighed, "Yes. They start out clear, but the final entries, it's like they're written by a completely different person. Someone who's frantic, paranoid, erratic; someone who's lost all reason an intellect."
"Lotor, have you ever wondered…" Allura began, "what if—what if Honerva became corrupted the same way Zarkon did? Perhaps she didn't die. What if she and Haggar are the same—"
"That witch is not my mother," Lotor interrupted turning to continue the search.
"It's alright," Tarin reassured stopping beside them, "you're not the first to suggest that to him."
"You did?"
The Galra nodded her ears drooping, "How do you think our betrothal ended? When it comes to anything contradicting facts to what he believes is true, Lotor is one to ignore and shove it aside. Do anything contrary to how he believes you should act, he might to the same to you."
-.-
Keith glared at the spy. "I can't believe you! We could've taken them! How could you just hand over the weapon like that?!" he snapped.
"Keith! Shut up and trust me," Krolia hissed, tossing him a sharp glare over her shoulder. "Trugg, we're prepared for liftoff. Are you at the console?"
/Affirmative/
"The code is Beta-5-2-7-4-Omega-5-4-5."
/Confirmed/
"GET US OUT OF HERE! NOW!" Krolia screamed and Keith swung into the pilot's seat. Activating the ship, they shot out of the hangars, immediately shooting away from the surface towards space.
As they flew away, Keith felt something that nearly made him freeze…something dark. Shaking his head, Keith gunned the engines from his momentary let-up, he couldn't afford to be distracted now.
"Keith! They're locking onto us!"
"I can see that!" Keith replied. "Hold on back there!" Pulling the ship back, the first shot passed under them, before he spun to the left as the next shot came, which was followed by another and another as he continued to evade. They had to get out of range, fast.
Flying to the battlefield, he wove between ships that were still battling against one another and the wreckage of previous ships, avoiding the incoming ion cannon blasts as they continued to come at them.
A blast ran by their wing, thankfully not breaking it off. "This is why we should've taken them! We could die and you just gave that weapon over to Trugg!" Keith snarled swerving around another cannon shot as it blew past. They were almost out of range, just a few more ticks and they would be safe.
"No Keith, I gave them over to it," Krolia said and Keith felt a chill go up his spine…perhaps that feeling he got just before leaving the planet wasn't just his imagination.
-.-
"There must be something we missed," Lotor sighed.
"We've looked all over, there's nothing pertaining to Altean alchemy."
"Perhaps we're not using all the tools at our disposal," Lotor mused, "after all, all three of you are inclined in the magical arts."
Tarin pointed at herself, "Tracking spells and combat magic, that's all I got."
Lotor sighed, he really did know that, how could he not given their history. "Allura, close your eyes and just…let yourself feel the energy around you."
Doing as he said, Allura tried reaching out with her magic to see what she could find. There was Jaz, her normally powerful aura dulled to embers, but she would no doubt return to her old self within no time. Tarin was easy to detect as well, while not as powerful as Jaz and herself, Allura would still bet she was a formidable opponent. She could sense Lotor as well, his own energy swimming with nervousness and uncertainty.
And there was something else too.
Opening her eyes, she stepped around Jaz, moving a box and grabbing an arrowhead. "This."
"Wait a tick!" Lotor said. "I know I've seen something like this before!" He turned to Tarin grabbing her shoulders. "What was it again?"
"The water ruins?"
Opening a screen, he sifted through the data pulling up the files. "Yes! The Altean outpost beneath the waves of Entuk! It was there we found a mosaic depicting Altean explorers following a map projected from what they called a 'compass stone'. Supposedly, it can lead to the magical realm of Oriande, which houses the secrets of Altean alchemy."
"Oriande? I thought that was a folktale."
"My research has lead me to believe it's quite real," he stated. "We need to get this stone working."
"Abracadabra?" Jaz offered.
"Open sesame?"
"I think it'll be a little harder than that ladies."
"No draaf."
"Um…sir!" a soldier spoke up walking in nervously.
"What?"
"Um…the Paladins fired the robeast pod."
"…I love these guys," Tarin grinned.
-.-
Keith looked back at the scanners, no more shots were coming their way. "I think we're far enough away, they've stopped firing at us," he said putting the ship on autopilot as he got up to speak with Krolia.
The female Galra pulled out his knife and held it out to him. "I should give this back to you."
Keith took it, putting it back in its sheath with a suspicious glare. "How were you able to use it?"
She sighed and looked him in the eyes. "Because it used to be mine, before I gave it to your father."
"I KNEW IT!"
Keith's eyes widened and he took a step back in shock as if he'd been slapped. "You're my…Mom?"
