DETOUR
Lance would need an entire quintant in the pod according to Coran. There was no reason to hang around the medbay until it was time for it to release their Blue paladin, so they found themselves on clean up duty. Keith and Allura were assigned to the damage in the bridge, Coran was cleaning up the mess of the party, and the other three paladins were helping the Arusian's repair their homes and village from the fire.
Keith's job was simple; clear the bridge of debris, replace the corrupted Empire crystal with the new one, and transport Sendak to the cryopod. The princess had used the console in the bridge to send a series of electric shocks from the barrier into Sendak, effectively knocking the Commander unconscious. It wouldn't last long so Coran had given them a spray to mist in his face the moment the barrier came down. For this, Allura needed to be out of the bridge and Keith needed to be wearing his helmet to avoid breathing in the chemical and knocking himself out in the process. After the display in his visor read that the air was safe once again, he removed the helmet and began dragging the limp body.
Sendak was large and heavy. Keith struggled under his weight as he lugged the hulking mass of a man towards the bridge door. Every so often a particularly loud groan caused him to freeze, but Coran's spray did the trick and the Commander remained unconscious as he was placed in the cryopod. These pods were different from the ones in the medbay where Allura and Coran had been found. He looked around the room, taking in how different it was from everything else in the castle.
The lighting was dimmer here. The room, long and narrow, was more akin to a hallway than an actual room, especially when compared to the bright round rooms that were more common in the castle. The walls were lined with pods, each pod paired with a canister to its immediate right. Like everything else the Alteans created, nothing was labelled; there was no way to know what the canisters were for. Actually, now that he looked closer, they resembled a holding tank of some sort. Inside each tank was a strange ethereal liquid; it sloshed around slowly even though the castle wasn't moving. The slow, steady, graceful motion of the liquid was captivating and Keith felt himself drawn to it.
He tapped the glass of the tank and Allura snapped at him, chastising him for touching things he didn't understand. He'd rolled his eyes but moved away from the tank nonetheless. Keith watched as the princess typed a series of commands into the control panel of Sendak's pod. He hovered slightly in an attempt read the screen, but only managed to catch a few of the settings, Allura's form blocking the rest from view.
{ System Setting: CryoSleep }
{ Duration: Indeterminate }
{ Species: Galra }
{ Consciousness: On }
{ Paralysis: On }
{ Extraction: On }
"Why are you leaving him conscious?" He commented before his brain caught up to his mouth.
"So that we can extract valuable memories and hopefully find something that might be of use to us, perhaps even granting Voltron an edge against Zarkon." She waived him off as she typed away, pausing after a few tics to turn her scrutinizing gaze on Keith who had paled considerably at her response. The princess narrowed her eyes and jabbed a manicured finger into his chest. "How do you know what the configuration says? Can you read Altean?" His eyes shot wide and he felt the immediate blush cross his face. There was no way to explain his knowledge without admitting the truth, or partial truth at least.
Keith nodded and glanced down at her finger, still harshly digging into his chest. He quirked a brow and, in dreadfully broken Altean, responded. "Princess? Do you mind?"
Allura snickered, pulling her hand back to instead cover her mouth in a futile attempt at suppressing impending giggles. "Oh my, your Altean it terrible." She continued, the fit of giggles spilling out as Keith groaned and rolled his eyes.
He switched back to English before addressing her incredibly concerning answer. "My Altean isn't great, but what's terrible is rooting around in someone's head and forcing them to hand over their memories. This doesn't feel right Princess. It feels like – like something Haggar would do, not Voltron."
Allura stilled at the comparison, immediately shifting from laughter to menacing glare in the blink of an eye. "You will NOT compare me to that witch. Memory extraction is an ancient Altean tradition performed to transfer and preserve knowledge from one generation to the next. I will NOT have you soiling the reputation of Altean Alchemy by associating it with Galran Druid magic." She practically spat her words and Keith felt his stomach drop. She was right to treat the Druids with disdain, and she was right that Hagar was an evil witch, but she wrong about Galran Druid magic. It wasn't evil or lesser than her alchemy it was just different. The old ways of the Druids were about quintessence manipulation just like Altean Alchemy; using quintessence for energy and healing – not the cheap imitations they had become.
He could feel the hate imbued directly into Shiro's prosthetic, the pain and rage that emanated off the robeasts, and the suffering Haggar's experiments had caused. He knew what pure quintessence felt like, and that wasn't it. Everything the witch had a hand in creating felt tainted, corrupted, and empty. The old ways didn't do that - they couldn't do that, Druid magic just didn't work that way. Altean Alchemy could though; it was different, served different purposes, and used different methods. What the witch was doing was closer to alchemy and, as someone who would have been trained in the old ways before the war; it bothered him that Allura didn't see that. She was so quick to assume the worst of his people and associate anything Galra with evil.
"Whatever Haggar is doing, it isn't Galran Druid magic, it's something else. She uses Druids, she corrupts them and uses them as her pawns; they're nothing more than disposable tools. The Witch takes quintessence sensitive kits and corrupts them until they can't even be classified as Galra any more. It's vile and disgusting. I'm sorry for comparing your alchemy to Haggar but don't compare her minions to true Druids because they aren't, they're twisted abominations." He was seething. It took every ounce of control he had not let his fury show. A soft purr sounded in the back of his mind and Keith pulled on it for support, feeling himself calm slightly from Red's constant presence. After a deep breath he changed the topic. "Is Sendak's pod sealed? We should go check on Lance." He spoke quietly, though he met her gaze head on. He was Galra, and the Galra were not ones to back down.
She watched him for a moment before seemingly deflating, losing whatever internal battle she had been fighting. "Lonce will not be released from the pod until next quintant." Her words were soft and kind, though a little hesitant and he realized there was something standing between them, a cultural blockage that prevented them from fully understanding one another. The other Paladins didn't seem to have this problem, to them Allura and Coran were just aliens, but to him they were Altean. The knowledge and guilt of what his people had done to theirs, the pain and suffering the Emperor had caused, and his ever-present deception all swirled together in his gut to make him feel slightly nauseous in her presence. It wasn't the princess' fault, and it wasn't his fault; it just was. Keith sighed, maybe the lying was his fault, but that was only because he knew she held deep seeded hatred for his people and he wasn't ready to deal with that just yet.
"Right." He gave a curt nod; there was nothing he could in the medbay. "I'll just head back to the bridge and finish cleaning up." He didn't wait for her response. Bowing at his waist, head tilted slightly to the left, Keith left.
The rest of the clean up took the remainder of the quintant. He stopped for half a varga to grab some food goo, then continued straight through till dinner. Removing the Empire crystal had been fairly difficult. The crystal was heavy and bulky, making it difficult to handle, but it also gave off a sour feeling that made Keith's more aggressive nature come bubbling to the surface.
Coran had walked in on quite the scene when Keith became over whelmed and pulled out his bayard to begin attacking the crystal. He knew his eyes had changed, he could feel it, and he knew his teeth were bared but he honestly hadn't cared. The Altean left a bowl of food goo on the Red Paladin console and exited the room without a word, merely whistling to himself as went.
The break had calmed him down quite a bit, but the moment he touched the crystal the anger was back. He managed to finish his project, disposing of the tainted crystal and replacing it with the pure one. While sweeping up the debris, Keith had pocket one of the larger shards. He'd learned that Balmeran crystals could be used to enhance quintessence manipulation after spending vargas in the archives with Pidge. The Druids of old had used them to focus their abilities and Keith felt he could use the texts and the crystal shard to hone his own.
As night fell on planet Arus, the paladins each went their separate ways; exhausted from the quintants efforts. Keith found himself in his room, sitting on the edge of his bed, and staring down at his knife. His thumb traced gingerly over the sigil and the responding pulse of quintessence resonated inside him. He'd had a chance to tell Allura the truth and he'd run away like a coward. Guilt and embarrassment hung over him, draping themselves around him like a cape and he sighed. The knife returned to its home under his pillow, this time accompanied by the crystal shard, and he lay down. The dimly lit, but not dark, Altean room with its stiff mattress and scrip blanket eventually leading him into a fitful night's sleep.
They gathered in the medbay, crowding around the pod. Lance was due to emerge any moment and the entire crew was anxiously waiting. Keith, Allura, Hunk, and Pidge were standing directly in front of the pod studying the display, the latter of which had their face pressed tightly against the pod door.
"I can't tell if he looks healthy or not." Hunk commented, glancing at the Altean medical report displayed on the screen in confusion.
Pidge had both hands on the glass and crinkled their nose. "I think he's breathing weird." They contributed and Keith had had enough.
"Oh, come on!" Since he and Allura were the only ones who could actually read the Altean count down, he knew there were only a handful of tics left. Impatiently he tapped the commands to over ride the preset time and felt his hand promptly swatted away.
"Not yet! A few more tics." Allura scolded.
"How much better do you think he's gonna get in a few more tics?" He objected with a pouting as he crossed his arms and huffed.
Pidge interjected, interrupting his suddenly sullen mood with a question he thought was pretty self-explanatory. "And what exactly is a tic?" Keith rolled his eyes and tried to explain but the Princess beat him to it.
"You know, a time slice."
"Like a second?" Shiro asked from where he stood behind the group.
"What is a 'second'?" Keith smirked at the princess' confusion. He had been confused by Earth terminology once as well, but it had become second nature to him now.
Arms still crossed, scowl still firmly in place, Keith nodded his head to confirm Shiro's question. Pidge however, held up their Earth phone, opening the stopwatch app and clearly displaying the counter. It beeped rhythmically, ticking way with each passing second. Clearly 'tic' was the superior word. He rolled his eyes again as the princess leaned in to exam the primitive technology.
"I'm not sure, I think tics are bigger." Keith nodded to her words, mumbling 'they are' under his breath. "Coran, do you have a ticker?" She carried on.
"Right here Princess!" The moustachioed man immediately whipped around, ticker in hand.
Hunk and Pidge studied his beeping device carefully before Hunk spoke up. "I think tics are a little slower."
"I can't tell. We have to start them at the same time." Pidge ordered and Coran enthusiastically agreed, counting them down to begin. Once again, Keith rolled his quiznaking eyes.
Nevertheless he found himself migrating over to the group, watching as the two devices beeped slightly out of sync from one another.
"YES, I think we're winning!" Hunk cheered and Keith glowered at him.
"Winning what? The intergalactic time-measuring competition?" He sarcastically jeered.
"Yes." Hunk scolded without missing a beat. Keith picked up a weird hissing sound in the background and suddenly Lance stumbled up to watch, jumping in with commentary of his own. Keith was so surprised by the Cuban's abrupt reappearance that he was genuinely glad to see him alive and well.
"You guys having a clock party?"
"Ugh, Lance you just ruined it – Hey, LANCE!" in the blink of an eye Lance was completely enveloped by the massive arms of their yellow paladin, the thin boy being lifted off the ground by the larger.
"What happened?" Lance asked, still in a haze.
"We can tell you all about it while you get something to eat. Are you able to walk?"
"Talking? Eating? Are you asking me out on a date?" Lance asked cheekily, flirting with Allura once again as the princess folded her arms and scowled at him.
"Yep. There he is."
"He's ok."
Pidge and Shiro simultaneously fluffed off his behaviour and Keith felt an already prominent frown cementing into place. "Classic." He added to the chorus.
They made their way to the dining hall and Coran placed a bowl of food goo in front of Lance. The boy didn't hesitate to dive in as the princess recounted the events of the battle Lance had been unconscious for.
"You wouldn't have survived the explosion if Hunk and Coran hadn't gotten a new crystal!" Pidge added to the verbal 'minutes'.
"Wow. Thanks everybody." Lance turned to look at Keith, a devilish smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "Sounds like the mice did more than you though."
"I punched Sendak!" He yelled back, rising to the bait.
"Yeah, apparently after I emerged form a coma and shot his arm off."
"Haxus would have killed Pidge if it weren't for me!"
"Pidge would have figured it out, he's pretty scrappy like that!"
"We had a bonding moment. I cradled you in my arms!" Keith could hear his own voice going higher and forced himself to breath and steady his heart rate.
"Nope. Don't remember, didn't happen." Lance shook his head back and forth but Keith didn't miss the slight blush – oh he knew! He remembered! And Keith was going to get that little shit to admit it if it was the last thing he did. Lance abruptly changed the subject. "So, what happened to Sendak?"
"He's frozen in a cryopod. We're keeping him here in the castle." Allura supplied.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Keith had to agree with him, he was against it too. Sendak was far, far too dangerous to be kept alive, especially in a semi-conscious state. Allura was playing fast and loose with all of their safety.
"He's too dangerous to be set free. Besides, we might be able to get some information about Zarkon from him."
"Sooo what's the plan now?"
This time it was Hunk who spoke up, interrupting with a sense of urgency Keith hadn't been expecting. "We have to get back to the Balmera and save Shay and her people."
"Wow! You are really hung up on this lady!" Lance teased.
"No, it's not like that. Look, guys – when you see how Zarkon has treated these people and destroyed their home – they've been under his thumb for so long they don't even know what it is to be free. It's up to us to set this right. This is what being a paladin of Voltron is all about. It's time to man up." He had managed to capture each of their attention with little speech. Though Keith hadn't been to that particular Balmera, he had a sinking feeling it was just as badly damaged as the others he knew about.
A slightly awkward shifting caught his eye and he noticed Pidge fidgeting with their glasses as Shiro spoke up. "Then let's get moving, time to go defend the universe."
"Wait." Pidge commanded weakly. "I have something to say first. I need to come clean and I'm afraid this may change the way you all think about me." Keith didn't miss the way both Pidge and Coran flickered their gaze toward him briefly. "Just so there are no secrets between us anymore, I can't 'man up' – I'm a girl. I mean, I can 'man up' because that's just a figure of speech I don't have to actually be a man to 'man up' I just have to be tough. But what I'm saying -" Pidge rambled but Keith wasn't paying much attention, it wasn't exactly new information to him, instead he was grinning wickedly as he watched Lance have a stroke, shutdown, and reboot. Suddenly shaking himself into awareness as he sputtered an interjection.
"Wha…? You're a girl? How?" His shriek had startled their green paladin who jumped nearly a foot off the ground. No one else seemed surprised in the least.
"I've known for some time, but I'm glad you've shared it with everyone." Ever the diplomat, princess Allura offered kind words and he thought for a fleeting moment that maybe she might be mature enough to handle his reveal – likely not.
"Yeah I figured" Hunk added and Keith also confirmed his own knowledge.
Coran leaned in over Allura's shoulder. "Wait, we were supposed to think you were a boy?" He sounded genuinely confused by the reveal. While he was quirky and eccentric, Keith knew the Altean man was far more astute than he let on.
"Pidge, owning who you are is going to make you a better paladin." Somehow Shiro's words seemed to setting in his gut as if they were meant for him. He knew they weren't, and he wasn't so vain as to think everything was always about him in someway, but their aptness was an eerie coincidence.
Pidge let out a long held breath, their sigh sounding as though it took some heavy weight with it as it left their body. "It's good to get that off my chest. Now, let's launch this Castle-Ship!"
"Wait what!? Pidge is a girl and the castle is a ship? How long have I been out?" Keith chuckled at the poor confused blue paladin and clapped a hand on his back.
"Long enough to be stuck with the only chores left, buddy." Lance quirked a brow at him and, wickedly he elaborated. "Latrine duty." There was a loud groan followed by some snickers from the others as they made their way to the bridge. "Maybe next time don't take a nap during an attack." That one earned him a gasp and a slap to the back of the head, but it had been oh so worth it.
The castle launched without complication. The three younger humans rushed for the screens of the bridge the moment it was safe to leave their seats. Keith snickered and exchanged a look with Shiro, the older having already experienced the planned take off of a ship before, though nothing quite like this. Yet, it was a completely different experience than that of the Blue Lion's departure from Earth.
Lance tapped the screen and marveled at the cleanliness of the windows, while Pidge was gushing over the glass' ability to block the cold of space. Keith rolled his eyes. "They're screens you morons." Both blushed in embarrassment.
Almost an entire varga went by before they moved away from the screens and the group found themselves clustered between Allura and Coran. "So, when we get there, what do you think? Do we just roll up and start blasting?" Hunk asked nervously, beginning to pace. "Or do we land and have some kind of public address system, like, 'Attention – Galras, this is Voltron. Turn yourselves in' ? … No. Blasting, right?"
"Hunk, calm down. And, no to the blasting. The Balmera is alive, we go in guns blazing and we could damage it even more than the Empire already has." Keith added crossing his arms as he leaned against a console.
"It's our first big rescue mission. He's excited." Shiro offered a reassuring smile to Hunk and Keith rolled his eyes.
"Excited to see his new girlfriend!" Pidge teased causing both Lance and Keith to snicker. Hunk protested vehemently and, though he liked to play the mature adult, Keith saw the corner of Shiro's mouth twitch.
Just then, a loud alarm started blaring, signalling the interception of a distress beacon from a ship that had lost power and was now stranded on a nearby moon. "Who ever it is they will have to wait, Shay has first priority." Hunk announced firmly.
"The Paladin Code states that we must help all those in need." Allura corrected, punctuating her words with a tone laced in finality. Keith had to agree with her, though he didn't get the chance to voice his support. Lance's irritating siren sound was echoing through the bridge and thank the Ancients Shiro put an abrupt stop to that!
They arrived on the desolate moon and Allura ordered Coran to stay behind. The rest of them descended to the surface to meet what turned out to be two individuals and a cyber unit. Their ship was a standard rebel pod that looked to be a part of Te-Osh or Olia's fleets, though neither of them were anywhere near this system. Immediately, Keith was on edge.
Their names were Rolo and Nyma; their cyber unit was Beezer. Instantly both Lance and Pidge were smitten, Hunk on the other hand – not so much. The longer Rolo talked, the more Keith distrusted him. The way he talked about their ship, and his past; it was all too neat, too convenient. Shiro gravitated to the guy, bonding over their shared experience of loosing a limb to the Empire and Keith felt his heart sink. Shiro talked the same way Rolo did, the way Allura did. He didn't see the Empire as a corrupt government; he saw all Galra as inherently evil. Any semblance of a good mood Keith had was officially gone.
It didn't take long before Rolo suddenly took off. He'd received a transmission and suddenly packed up ship. Several dobashes later they were receiving a distress call from Lance. The 4 paladins took off in pursuit of Rolo and Keith's blade communicator intercepted a call between a rogue ship and Commander Prorok's fleet.
Immediate Keith opened the line and listened as Rolo offered Blue in exchange for a reward and pardon. His blood boiled in his veins, these spineless cowards were going to pay for their deception.
The lions caught up to the rogue ship with ease, and it darted into the Zorlar asteroid belt in an attempt to ditch them. Shiro's voice came over the coms as he prepared for action. "Keith, you're the only one who could possibly fly through this. We need you, buddy. Get in there and flush him out."
FINALLY! A chance to show his skills, to really fly! He felt Red purr in the back of his mind and the rush that accompanied flight flooded through him. "You got it. See you on the other side." He cheered back, not even attempting to hide his glee as he raced full speed into the danger zone.
Keith dodged asteroids, ducking and swooping around them with ease. Red was the most responsive and agile ship he'd ever had the pleasure of piloting. He swooned over her speed and grace as he ripped his way closer to the ship. This was the first time in his life a 'she' made his heart race. Only you, Red. He purred right back to her.
Rolo was a decent pilot, naturally quick reflexes and resourceful, but he was no match for a Galra, and most other Galra were no match for Keith. He grinned wickedly once again as he took out their blasters and finally one of the thrusters while Rolo tried to make an escape. The damaged ship started falling towards a nearby moon, captured by its gravity, and Keith rushed into action He dug Red's claws into the ship to steady it and the others flew into view, forcing their captives to surrender.
"YEAH!" Keith cheered, an adrenaline laced chuckle escaping. "Hey, Lance, I got your lion back." He teased.
"Thank you Keith. Now can you come and unchain me?"
"What's that? I, uh - You're cutting out. I can't – I can't hear you." He responded in what may have been a slightly flirty tone.
"Oh, come on! I thought we bonded. Keith? Buddy? My man?" Keith snickered into the coms, to high on the rush of his victory to muffle it and Lance continued to stammer but he wasn't listening.
Keith guided the fighter to the moon, assisting Rolo in a steady landing. "Since your ship really doesn't work now, you'll have to wait here for a rescue."
"Thanks, for sparing our lives."
"Now that these guys are dealt with, let's get to the Balmera and save Shay and her family." Hunk interrupted, pressing his sense of urgency.
"You may not believe this, but I hope you do stop Zarkon. It's a lifetime of fighting the Galra that led me to where I am today." Rolo hung his head as he spoke and Keith watched the others deflate with sympathy but not him, he felt a rage building.
The team parted ways, heading for their lions to fly them back to the castle; Allura using the transport. Keith hesitated, waiting until the others were well out of earshot. He and stared Rolo down, there was no way this quiznaking asshole could be allowed to justify his pathetic existence based solely on 'the Galra made me do it' – that wasn't going to fly. He leaned in close, letting Rolo watch his eyes shift to slit pupils set in yellow sclera. The man gasped when he recognized them and Keith smiled menacingly, his sharp teeth on full display. Turning off his helmet coms, he switched to Galran. "Last I heard Commander Prorok was patrolling near this area. I hope for your sake you didn't try to contact him." He tisked as he watched the other's eyes go wide and Keith straightened back up. "He's not a very forgiving man, and you seem to be down a bargaining chip."
With that, he turned on his heel and walked back to his lion.