BATTLE PLANS
The good thing about Altean healing pods is they can restore a person from the brink of death back to full health in as little as a few quintants. The not so good thing is, once that pod seals, you aren't coming out until the job is done. No matter what. As it turned out, Keith only needed a little over a varga in the pod; long enough to allow his Earth friends (now sworn enemies) to drag embarrassing kit-hood stories out of Krolia.
The pod began the slow process of waking its patient and running a final diagnostic before it would release him. With the unit sealed he was only able to make out a faint muffled sound for each individual present as they spoke. Though he couldn't move his muscles, his eyes were open and he was able to look around the room. Sitting on the floor were Hunk, Lance, Vaig, and Shiro while Pidge and Matt were standing behind them, backs turned to his pod. Pozzi, Slav, and Coran weren't present in his limited field of view, but he could hear the Altean's distinct voice off to the side where he knew the controls were located. Since the man was speaking to someone, and all others were accounted for, Keith drew the conclusion that the two were with him.
Leaning against the far wall was Krolia. The group had themselves situated in such a way that each of them could see her as they spoke. Zavin stood beside her, a respectful distance away, while still close enough to jump between his superior officer and the others if needed.
Keith wiggled his fingers slightly at his side, the numbing effects of the pod slowly wearing off, and listened to the muffled voices of the Paladins as they spoke over one other. The pod's final stages would take 5 dobashes to complete, but it felt like an entire extra varga while trapped inside. He heard Lance's mumbles, interrupted by Hunk's mumbles, then a louder Lance and a heated Hunk, before a parental Shiro intervened. Mumble-y Pidge spoke and he heard Krolia respond, and respond, and respond – clearly telling a story. The others were enraptured, their unwavering focus never leaving her as she spoke. Keith rolled his eyes and swore this was going to be the last time the Universe saw any of the Voltron Paladins alive.
He had just started thinking of the best ways to 'handle' each of them (Lance and Pidge he could take in a one on one fight. Hunk would take care of himself if Keith put out a fresh diffry berry pie. Shiro he'd let live, he still owed him for all the times the older had saved his ass back at the Garrison.) when the pod released and Keith stumbled out. "For how long?" he heard Hunk ask, tears in his eyes, and the strain of trying to hold back a laugh evident in his voice.
"The rash cleared within a movement." Krolia responded, her voice flat and dismissive as usual.
"But he was still bright pink for a solid phoeb afterwards." Zavin added while Krolia nodded along unhelpfully. Lance choked out an 'amazing' and Pidge was clinging to Matt for dear life. Which was good – Keith was definitely going to kill them. All of them. He didn't realize he was growling until Krolia looked up at him in alarm, her face breaking into a soft smile as she pushed off the wall and crossed the room to stand nearer to him. "I monitored the status of the pod, and you seemed to be healing adequately, so we moved to more comfortable positions. How do you feel?" He raised his eyes to meet hers then narrowed them, letting her know he was annoyed. She merely rolled her own and swatted the back of his head. "You're clearly fine." She deadpanned, but pulled him in for a quick hug nonetheless.
"Ya'll are dead!" Keith seethed through clenched teeth over his mother's shoulder. It only served to make Lance laugh harder.
They'd split up shortly after that, each of them heading back to their assigned rooms for the night. Keith grabbed Krolia's arm, tugging her with him in the direction of the Red Lion's hangar. She'd protested at first, but he ignored her and pressed on. "I commandeered some extra bedding from base and stowed it in Red's cargo hold. Help me sneak it into my room?" For a moment Keith thought she might scold him, but instead an all too familiar mischievous grin spread across her sharp features. Maybe Kolivan was right, maybe he was far too much like his mother. But Krolia was awesome and Keith would take the comparison as a compliment. He smiled back at her and the mother son duo used their deca-phoebs of covert operative training to tiptoe silently through the halls, each buried under an armful of incredibly fluffy blankets.
She stayed in his room that night, curled up in his bed with him, and purring softly as she lightly dragged her claws through his hair. He was well of aware of the fact that, soon, he would be too old for this. These soft moments were nearing their end and it hurt that he'd missed so much of it to the war. His mother had been stationed on Ranveig's base for most of his younger years and after she'd returned, he went and had himself banished to a remote communication base.
Keith let out a heavy breath and snuggled into his mother's side, returning the purr. He may be an adult, but no one was here to judge him. He'd been fighting this war since he was still a kit, so he'd allow himself this moment of weakness. He slept better that night than he had in deca-phoebs.
In the morning the various residents of the Castle, both permanent and temporary, gathered in the kitchens for breakfast. Hunk had made two different meal options. The first was some weird brownish grey slop that he dubbed 'space porridge'. The second was as close to traditional Earth bacon and eggs as he could get with ingredients purchased at the space mall. Neither looked particularly appetizing, but the smell of the crispy blue bacon reminded Keith of his dad's cabin. A sudden pang in his chest drew him back to the memories of the black-haired man nearly starting a grease fire as he tried to make Keith breakfast on his birthday. It had been one of the last weekends at the cabin, given that his birthday is in October and they'd taken off in the Blue Lion less than a phoeb later.
A nudge to his arm had him meeting his mother's concerned gaze and pulling him from his reverie. He gave her a small smile, nodding to let her know he was fine. Lance shrieked in the background and their tender moment was ruined. Keith turned to find Zavin and Vaig eating breakfast with an absolutely disgusted looking Lance pointing exaggeratedly at them.
The two Galra had obviously found the fridge that housed all of the Paladin's meat and had each filled up a plate. They were currently sitting at a table, tearing into the fresh steaks with blood dripping down their chins and claws. Keith was maybe a little jealous, their breakfast looked substantially better than the questionable blue bacon. He made his way over and snatched a yalmore steak off Zavin's plate to a series of aggressive hisses and a swipe of the other Galra's claws. Laughing, he scurried away to stand with the Paladins; his incredibly quick reflexes letting him escape unscathed.
Vaguely Keith was aware of Lance's shifting gaze as it followed him from his heist to the safety of his friends. The Blue Paladin's stare became even more intense as Keith bit into his pilfered meal.
"Mierda! Mullet, that's disgusting!" Lance squawked and Keith rolled his eyes.
"You think that's bad? When we were in the space mall he did the same thing! Except – except, he licked the blood off his hands!" Hunk sputtered and Keith laughed, his breakfast staining his teeth.
"Like this, Hunk?" he smirked, lifting his right hand and slowly licking the trail of blood that ran along the side. Keith pushed the index finger into his mouth and gave it a good suck, withdrawing it to let his tongue flick against the tip of the claw, before sucking it back in with a moan. Zavin choked. Shiro smacked him.
"Mature." The Black Paladin scolded, but Keith was laughing too hard to care.
"How old are you, Red Paladin?" Vaig asked and Krolia growled at him causing the Blade's eyes to shoot wide open. "Not old enough I see." He muttered to himself, withering under her intensity, and averting his gaze quickly. Keith merely laughed.
They ate their breakfasts, naturally segregating themselves. The five Humans, rebel, and Altean ate at the large dining table, while the three Galra sat at the smaller round table off to the side. Keith stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen for a few tics before shrugging and moving to sit at the smaller table. Shiro had given him a sad look but Keith merely tipped his plate to show the scrambled eggs, hash browns, and raw meat - the older Human blanched. He'd obviously made the right choice.
After breakfast they still had several vargas to kill before the path opened up again. Keith pulled Hunk aside, instructing the Yellow Paladin to make something vegetarian for the Princess since she would be hard-pressed to find anything to eat in the cafeteria of a Galran base and, after 4 quintants, she would be getting pretty desperate. When he turned away he caught Coran smiling warmly at him and Keith blushed in embarrassment.
Zavin, Vaig, and Krolia followed an excited Lance to the training deck to check out the electric maze, while a very on edge Pozzi followed Matt to Pidge's room in an attempt to wake the beast. Shiro had started cleaning up before being shooed out of the kitchens by Hunk and deciding instead to join Lance on the training deck. Coran was still finishing his 'space porridge' before he went off to do Coran things. Honestly, Keith had no idea what the crazy Altean did around the Castle, he suspected the man just sat in the engine room drinking nunvil and pretending to make repairs.
Keith didn't really know what to do. He could go to the training deck and watch Lance get his ass handed to him – that could be fun. Or he could follow Coran and demystify the moustachioed ginger. But really, he should catch up to Matt because he actually needed to speak with the gremlin once it was awakened. He chuckled at that line of thought – it made Pidge sound like a dragon, which - yeah, that tracked.
Calmly Keith made his way down the halls feeling rather optimistic. He'd had an incredibly relaxing sleep that night cycle, his belly was nicely full of meat from a large breakfast, and his mission report to Kolivan was going to be a breeze on account of everything having gone so smoothly. For a moment he could have added a little skip to his step, that's how great his mood was. Which is why the sudden screaming took him by surprise, and the blaster shots made him pickup his pace to a run. A terrified Pozzi rushed past him in the opposite direction, shouting that they were under attack, and Keith drew his blade.
He charged around the corner, running for the Green Paladin's room as fast as his feet could carry him. Matt was on the floor, hunched over himself with his back against the wall opposite Pidge's door, and legs splayed out in the hall. His blaster lay on the floor beside him and he appeared to be unconscious. The door to Pidge's room was wide open and Keith could hear the hysterical sounds coming from within. Carefully, he tightened the grip on his blade, feeling the pulse of life as it shifted into its awakened state. He crept forward; ever so carefully keeping his foot falls as silent as possible, and pressed himself against the edge of the frame. He took one final breath, slow and calm, steady – then launched into the dark room. The faint purple glow of his blade was the only light, but it was enough, his superior vision allowing him to see clearly as he took in the chaos of his surroundings.
"Are you quiznaking kidding me!" he screamed and Pidge fell out of their bed from laughing so hard. "What the hell happened?" he yelled at them, kicking their side lightly when they didn't respond. "Hey, Pidge!" he commanded again to no avail. "PIDGE! PI-KATIE!" he finally called and the tiny Green Paladin kicked him back.
"Don't call me that!"
"Then answer me! What the hell happened? Why was Pozzi screaming? Why is Matt unconscious? Why are you laughing?" He sheathed his blade, once again in dagger form, and reached his hand out to help the psycho to their feet. There was a scorch mark on the back wall and smouldering robot parts lay scattered on the floor beneath it. The rest of Pidge's room was an absolute disaster zone, filled with piles of parts and various gadgets they had been tinkering with. In all honesty, it reminded Keith of Matt's dorm back at the Garrison.
"Matt opened my door and Rover beeped at him. The pink one panicked and took off running. Matt freaked out and shot my poor baby, then I shot him with my bayard for pay back!"
"How'd he end up unconscious in the hallway?"
"Pfft. Pussy - can't take a little zap." They rolled their eyes but Keith had a suspicion that 'a little zap' was probably a lot stronger than necessary. Poor Matt. He shook his head and walked over to the panel by the door, activating the PA system.
{ "Attention!" } He commanded into the mic, hearing his own voice echo through the halls { "We are not under attack. I repeat – we are NOT under attack." } After disconnecting, Matt began to stir.
"HEY! You owe me a new pet you asshole!" Pidge hollered at him, flying out of their room to press a tiny, but bony, finger into his chest. Keith rolled his eyes; praising the ancients for saving him the burden of biological siblings as he abandoned his friends to duke it out. He would just speak to Pidge when they got back to base.
Krolia, Zavin, and Vaig were returning in the small blade pod with Krolia in the pilot's seat. Shiro, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and Matt were to join Keith in Red. Pozzi flat out refused to step foot on a Galran base, opting instead to remain on the Castle of Lions with Coran. Which was fine by Keith because she was starting to wear on his last nerve anyways. Speaking of annoying – Slav hadn't been seen until the absolute last moment before their departure. Shiro had gone off in search of the chronic pain-in-the-ass and dragged him back amongst a slew of protests. He'd apparently been concerned that going in the pod with the Blades would result in them being sucked into one of the black holes, while going in the Red Lion would result in him being ejected into space by her Paladin. Keith couldn't deny that it was a possibility.
Because Red was one of the smaller Lions her cargo hold was far too cramped for all of the passengers, and there was no quiznaking way he would allow them all in the cockpit again. Keith and his fellow Blades watched with amused expressions as the five Humans battled it out in a tournament style round of rock-paper-scissors to see who got to ride with Keith and who had to ride with Slav. It had taken him vargas to learn how the game worked back at the Garrison.
~~~ "Rock beats paper, paper beats scissors, and scissors beat rock." He said, making the symbols with his hands as he went.
"NO! OMG what is wrong with you? Rock beats SCISSORS, scissors beat paper, and PAPER BEATS ROCK!" Nadia all but shouted, her arms thrown wide in the air above her head. He could almost see the steam as it sizzled from the heat of her fury.
"Why does paper beat rock? That makes no sense!"
"Why would scissors beat rock?" she replied incredulously.
"Exactly! You're whole game is stupid." He sat down with a decisive thud on the bed, crossing his arms in the process and muttering under his breath in Galran about Humans and their ridiculous culture.
"You know, one of these days I'm just going to learn Danish and yell right back at you. I know you're cussing about me." Her hands had found their way to her hips and she was leaning over him in a power pose that he was all too familiar with. So many times he'd had this pose pulled on him by Marra – so he stuck his tongue out at her.
"Go ahead." He replied with a tone laced heavily in sarcasm. Ina had taken over after that, stepping in and using a much more logical approach to teach him.
"Scissors beat paper because they cut it -" she displayed this by using her fingers to 'cut' his hand. "- paper beats rock because it can cover it up -" she displayed this by forming his hand into a fist and wrapping her own around it. " - and rock beats scissors because it crushes them -" she displayed this one by shaping his fingers into a V and lightly tapping her fist against his hand. "- understand?" she asked and he had to be honest – no, he still didn't get it! Why couldn't they just toss a quiznaking coin or something?
Keith shook his head and Nadia groaned from the other side of the room. "Well, what do you not understand?" Ina asked with an admirable amount of patience.
Nadia muttered "The core concept." condescendingly under her breath and Keith shot her a glare. It was almost a varga later that he was finally able too play the stupid game without messing it up. "Great! Now lets teach him hunter-bear-wife!" Nadia excitedly exclaimed, forgetting the trouble of just a few moments prior, and Keith was groaning all over again. It was going to be a long night. ~~~
Apparently Pidge and Hunk had won the tournament but, as Slav rambled on, Shiro squeezed his eyes shut so tightly that a vein on his forehead was pulsing and it prompted the compassionate Hunk to give up his spot. It was now Keith, Pidge, and Shiro in the cockpit while Lance, Hunk, Matt, and Slav sat in the cargo hold. Keith launched the Red Lion from her hangar, following the Blade pod through the treacherous pathway and landing on the surface of the asteroid. He opened the hatch and let the passengers out; making sure everyone had their helmets and suits on before stepping onto the surface.
Like the Paladins, Matt marveled at his former home the moment they landed, blown away by the 'other worldliness' of it. "Damn, no wonder you killed it in the sims!" he said, staring behind them at the narrow route he had just expertly guided them through. Keith smirked in pride but grabbed his friend by the collar of his suit and dragged him into the base.
Kolivan was not impressed at yet another unauthorized visitor. Apparently, both Matt and Pozzi were supposed to remain on the Castle ship until the Paladins could return them to their crews. Keith's punishment for not having listened to this crucial information during the briefing was an intense sparring session. He was to head straight for the training deck after their reports and meet up with whomever was on duty; he wasn't allowed to leave until he literally could not fight any longer. Shiro deemed this unfair, attempting to intervene by coming to his defense and being thoroughly put in his place by a very annoyed Kolivan.
"Mind your own charges, Human. The kit is my responsibility, and I will decide what is necessary." He'd practically growled back, lowering his voice and adding "do not bring my authority into question on this base unless you are willing to follow through with the implications." Allura blanched, pulling Shiro back and explaining to him how badly he had over stepped.
Keith would need to smooth this over later; explain to his leader the Black Paladin's intentions, that he was merely trying to help. This is why the Blades had such a hard time working with the rebels. Cultural differences led to them being seen as tyrannical, cold, cruel, blood thirsty, or aggressive when in reality they were just different. In Shiro's mind he was protecting Keith, standing up to what he saw as unfair punishment. In Kolivan's mind it was insubordination on behalf of another leader, a challenge of his power on his own base committed directly in front of his operatives.
Allura narrowed her eyes at Kolivan but otherwise didn't say anything regarding the interaction. Keith ignored her and moved to stand with the other Blades, beside his mother. The remaining Paladins filed in, taking their places next to the Princess.
"Why does she stare?" His mother asked, leaning in to whisper the question in his ear.
"Allura's distrustful of Galra. We've had our issues and we're working past it. Slowly." Krolia nodded at his explanation.
"You're reports." Kolivan gave the order and each of the teams relayed the basics of their respective missions. Apparently Lance had mistaken a yupper for Slav, even though they had all been shown his picture during the briefing, and Shiro had advocated for just leaving the Engineer in his cell. Keith gave his own report, followed by Krolia giving hers. Hunk and Matt didn't contribute, but Allura took the opportunity to complain about Pozzi being used as a communication tool and the unnecessary mental stress that fearing she'd be left behind could have placed on her. Every single one of the Galra in the room rolled their eyes. "This is war. I see nothing wrong with the actions of our Operatives." Kolivan dismissed her concerns with a cold, but not entirely cruel, tone.
For someone who had been so unyielding in their training when they had first become Paladins, it was baffling to see how quickly she jumped to defend the rebel. The princess had really put them 'through the wringer' as Lance had phrased it, and now she was going soft? He realized that she had more-or-less handed over the position of drill sergeant to Shiro while instead taking on the role of diplomat herself. Huh, that actually explained a lot. No wonder she seemed nicer now. No wonder he liked the old Allura better.
With their reports given the Paladins and Blades were dismissed to their quarters, except Keith who had a punishment to complete. He stayed with the group as they made their way to the elevators, the Paladins and Princess selecting a different floor than him. The guest quarters were nearer the lower levels and could be sealed off if needed, while Keith's room was in one of the primary residence blocks of the base. He exited the elevator and turned for his room to change into his training garb before heading for the training decks as instructed.
His punishment had been grueling. About mid way through, he'd run out of opponents and had instead been paired with a training droid. It was nowhere near as advanced as the Castle's gladiator and he defeated it time and time again. Eventually the Paladins were escorted from their rooms to watch and Lance's laughter each time Keith took a particularly hard hit only served to piss him off. It also pissed off Krolia who was overseeing the punishment. She decided to snatch the Blue Paladin from the sidelines and throw him onto the mats to face off against Keith. Normally he would relish in the opportunity to kick that cocky ass, but right now he was struggling to catch his breath after 4 vargas of nonstop, high intensity combat.
Lance, who was well rested, took one look at him and refused; saying it wasn't a fair fight. Keith watched his mother's angry glare soften as she nodded to the human boy, respecting his integrity. "While I would normally agree with your rationale, this is not a training session but a punishment. Take up arms and stand your ground Paladin." Keith groaned as a reluctant Lance gripped the training staff and squared off against him.
Keith wiped the rivers of sweat from his forehead, taking note of where the other placed his grip and lunging forward at the first sign of movement. He swiped his leg out, knocking the Cuban off balance, and spun around to kick him in the chest, sending the Human flying into the walls behind him. Victory – in under 5 tics.
"Ughhhhh" Lance groaned as he rose to his feet, grabbing the staff he had dropped. "Why aren't these walls padded?"
"What purpose would that serve?" Krolia responded with genuine confusion. "Padding trains you to be less capable of taking a hit and is counter productive. Stand your ground Paladin." She commanded, once again pushing him forward so that he stumbled back onto the mats.
Hunk asked a Blade sitting beside him why the floor was padded and realized that not a soul understood them. Keith snickered and the side of Lance's staff connected with his gut, taking advantage of his distraction. Krolia clapped Lance on the back, congratulating him on the victory while scowling at Keith for the failure. He groaned in pain and exhaustion.
"There's no translators on base but my mom speaks English." He told the Yellow Paladin. "The floor mats are to limit how much space each sparring team is allowed, and they make it more difficult to jump and run." He explained their setup as he got back to his feet, legs shaking from over use.
Taking his position across from Lance, he flexed his claws and tightened his grip on the staff. They carried on for an entire varga – Lance being told to stand his ground multiple times as he tried to cut out early. Krolia wasn't having any of it, she forced them onto the mats over and over until Keith literally couldn't stand any longer and was fighting Lance from the ground, rolling around on the mats to dodge the other's strikes. He managed to beat him once from that position, swiping out his legs like the first time, but he never got that opportunity again. Lance was a surprisingly fast learner and as soon as a weakness was exploited, he did a damn good job of correcting it.
Another particularly hard jab to his stomach had Keith coughing and he spit up a little blood onto the mat as he curled into the fetal position, another victory for his opponent. Krolia finally called the match and his punishment was complete. Shiro, Hunk, and Matt rushed to his side to help Lance pick him up amidst his protests.
"Keith, you need to go to the medbay." Shiro insisted. "Coughing up blood is not a good sign."
"I'm fine! I just need a hydration pouch and a few dobashes to rest, then I'll get myself to the medbay." He choked out. All of the Blades were staring at them and he was losing face. "Put me the fuck down!" He hissed, using the last of his energy to squirm free. "Seriously, this isn't the first time I've gotten in shit and probably wont be the last." Paladin dad eventually conceded but refused to leave his side, insisting that he would accompany his 'little brother' to the medbay.
Keith sat on the sidelines as the next pairing took his place on the mats, moving through their stances and beginning their sparring session. Approximately 30 dobashes later, both Blades were exhausted and had taken seats beside him.
"How you fight for 5 vargas straight is unbelievable." The larger of the two said as he collapsed onto the small bench. The other finished sucking back his entire hydration pouch, tossing it into the waste bin beside them, and breathed out an exhausted assent. Keith just shrugged.
After another few dobashes he decided he was rested enough to tackle the trip to the medbay and let out an admittedly dramatic groan as he struggled to his feet. Shiro was there in an instant, grabbing his waist in support and causing Keith to blush. It meant nothing, he knew that, but the other Galra in the room definitely did not. There were some murmurs about Keith taking a mate of his other parentage and some comments about the Black Paladin being an admirable fighter and therefore worthy of a Blade. Keith rolled his eyes; thankful the Humans didn't speak Galran. Except – Shiro was blushing and his eyes were darting around the room anxiously. That was when Keith suddenly remembered the translator in the other's prosthetic and burst out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Thank the ancients Krolia had left a while ago or she would most certainly have some comments of her own.
As predicted, the entire gang had followed him to the medbay. Pidge and Matt had expressed their curiosity over Galran medical care. Lance felt bad for being the one to inflict the injuries, even though Keith insisted it wasn't his fault. Shiro and Hunk were just incredibly worried about his well-being. He was touched, really, but having a posse of aliens following him around only drew more attention to him, attention he didn't want.
The medbay was a familiar, and oddly comforting, sight. A team of medical staff scurried around busily between patients and Keith made his way over to his usual bed at the far end of the room. The scorch marks from the time he and Regris had set off flares were still there, as were the paintings and murals that had adorned the walls since the creation of the base. They were images of Daibazaal, depicting various landscapes and creatures native to the Galra's home planet, and clearly meant to be comforting but Keith never really liked them. They reminded him of what his people had lost, but that was also kind of the point. Kolivan had commissioned them to provide a less clinical feel in the recovery rooms, while also serving to remind their Operatives just how much the Galra, as a species, have lost with Zarkon in power. Remind them why they fight.
"Well well well, look who finally showed up." A familiar voice mocked and he turned around to the radiant smirk of Sergin. He couldn't stop the responding smile if he tried. Keith had thought maybe, just maybe, his adolescent brain had exaggerated the attractiveness of this man but NOPE. "And here I thought you'd forgotten all about me." The older man teased and Keith felt the blush creep up his neck. "I'd heard you were back on base, guess it was just a matter of time before you ended up down here, hey kit?"
He scowled at the head medic. "I'm not a kit anymore." He replied with finality and the other's brows rose in mock alarm. "I'm the Red Paladin and the right hand of Voltron and a quiznaking adult!" The responding laugh threw him for a loop and offered a strange juxtaposition to his more serious tone. The other Humans (aside from Shiro) must have been incredible confused.
"You're right! My apologies Paladin!" Keith groaned and rolled his eyes, yet he couldn't help but smirk, he'd missed Sergin. "So, what brings you to my humble medbay? Let's do some scans shall we?" He pulled out a tablet and aimed it at Keith; the bright purple light skimmed over his body and relayed the damages. "Stars ki-Keith, what happened?"
They went back and forth as he explained his punishment and Sergin shot an impressed eye Lance's way as well as a strange glance to Shiro. Their Black Paladin had taken a protective place by Keith's side, standing next to his bed and keeping one eye on the medic at all times. He knew it was Shiro's own issues, his fear and clear discomfort with being in a Galran medical facility. It was nice to have someone so willing to protect him but at the same time it was incredibly annoying because he was literally safer with Sergin than anywhere else. After all, he'd spent the majority of his kit-hood down here being bandaged up by the older Galra.
Sergin left the room to get some healing gel and Keith flopped down on the bed. Switching back to English he told Shiro to lighten up, Matt, Pidge, and Hunk to stop touching the equipment, and Lance to leave the poor medical intern alone.
A particularly fine-featured recruit had drawn his attention and was politely trying to fend off the strange alien boy who didn't understand a word she was saying. Her sideways glances to Keith were just begging for an intervention and he was all too happy to oblige. He scowled at the Blue Paladin, scolding him for making the poor girl uncomfortable and Lance stormed out of the room, followed by Shiro in a bid to ensure there was someone with a translator around at all times. Pidge and Matt left shortly after, deciding to find Regris. The latter's knowledge of Common had proven sufficient for communication on the base, allowing him to speak to the Blades in return unlike Shiro's arm. Keith let out a heavy breath as he lay back against the bed once again, and Hunk took the opportunity to settle down on a bed next to him, falling asleep almost instantly.
Sergin had insisted that he stay at least a varga for observation while the gel worked its wonders. He'd had to eat a spoonful of the stuff to help with the internal injuries and it had been a struggle to get down. Two deca-phoebs on Earth, followed by one more on the Castle of Lions had spoiled him. The Altean healing pods were literally the greatest thing ever invented and Earth's medicine, while not nearly as effective as the Blade's, was damn tasty. The simulated cherry flavour was sweet and delicious; he'd actually managed to get himself incredibly high by drinking three quarters of a bottle of Nyquil after catching a slight cold. Keith had been so out of it that little stars had twinkled in the corners of his vision and his lips felt numb. That night his incredibly sharp teeth had bitten straight through his bottom lip and he'd woken up to a blood soaked pillow. His dad joked that it was painfully obvious Keith was an alien if he liked the taste of cough medicine that much.
"I thought I'd find you here." Krolia strolled into the medbay followed closely by Regris and Marra, the latter of which immediately ignored the location of their reunion and tackled him. Keith groaned in pain as his sore muscles objected to the unexpected pressure.
"OH STARS! Keith, I'm so sorry!" She drew back immediately, hands flying to her mouth in concern. In an effort to placate her, he insisted he was fine, but he wasn't. Stars, his muscles hurt. He wouldn't be zoning out in one of Kolivan's debriefings for a very long time.
"Keith, I heard some rather alarming things from Antok regarding the Princess." Krolia cut right to the chase, sitting down on the edge of his bed, and making very intense eye contact. Quiznak! "Antok received the mission reports from Ulaz while Kolivan was on a mission and- "
"Kolivan went on a mission?" She glared at him for the interruption. "Sorry."
"As I was saying, Kolivan was on a mission so Antok took over command in his absence. Ulaz had some very interesting things to say about your dynamic with the Princess. Specifically, concerns over the way you were being treated." Her expression was fierce. Krolia stared him down and he knew if he didn't word his response correctly, Coran would find himself as the sole Altean alive. Prince Lotor didn't count.
He looked up at her, then between his two kit-hood friends; they'd come for answers. A quick cursory glance toward Hunk confirmed the Yellow Paladin was out cold and Keith let out a heavy sigh. "She felt betrayed and I probably could have handled the situation better. It didn't help that the Emperor's witch corrupted a balmeran crystal and its dark energy only exasperated the problem. We've talked it out and I've mostly forgiven her."
"Mostly?" Reg cut in.
"Well, yea. She was pretty awful." He conceded and the fury in Krolia's eyes was alarming. Keith was about to say something until Sergin came back, releasing him with a medical 'all clear' and a warning to take it easy for a few quintants. Unlikely, he thought to himself but smiled and thanked the kind-hearted medic before shaking Hunk awake and heading out.
That night cycle had been relatively uneventful. Keith had made good on the promise he'd made to Lance back on their Thaldycon base, and the Blue Paladin excitedly followed him around as he went through the motions of a typical evening from before he'd been sent to Earth. Their first stop was the main cafeteria since Keith hadn't actually eaten anything since breakfast on the Castle ship. Lance had pulled faces at his plate of mostly raw meat, but Keith did his best not to intentionally gross him out this time, pointing out a few of his favourite dishes he knew the Human boy could eat.
Next they made their way back to the training decks and Lance grumbled about Keith being far too predictable. In reality, he just needed to grab a few of his belongings that he'd left there early that quintant. That particular stop had taken quite a while as many Blades who knew him had stopped them to catch up, and others were very interested in meeting the Voltron Paladins. Lance loved it; the attention he was receiving had him beaming with pride as they recounted some of their more exciting adventures. The story of Lance protecting Coran from an explosion, then waking up from unconsciousness to shoot Sendak and save Keith, had everyone in the vicinity salivating as they listed. Lance took full advantage of their attention, exaggerating each detail beyond recognition. Keith rolled his eyes but let the boy have his moment.
After the training deck, they made their way to one of the meditation rooms. This wasn't normally a part of his schedule, but with Lance shadowing him he didn't want to go to the reflection pools – they were too sacred. He opened the door and motioned for the other to take a seat, thanking the Ancients that the room was empty. They'd sat in silence for a while. Keith started a fire beneath the center pot, adding a handful of tealeaves to the mix when the water reached the perfect temperature. He gently placed an incense stick into the fire and poured them each a cup. Unlike the Castle of Lions, this room was built properly and the pot never boiled, meaning the tea was at the perfect drinking temperature as soon as it was poured.
He took a sip and felt the remaining tension in his muscles melt away with a sigh. "Woah, this is insanely relaxing, dude." Lance spoke quietly, maintaining the peaceful air that hung around them. Keith nodded and took another sip, thinking back on the battle they'd endured not too long ago, the lives he'd been forced to take. Innocent lives, soldiers assigned to a post, just following orders and doing their jobs. He felt terrible, a pit forming in his gut, taking lives never got any easier. Though he'd relished in slitting the throat of Haxus, it had been different, he'd deserved it; the blood on the Officer's hands alone justified Keith's actions
"Whatcha thinkin' bout?" Lance slurred, his relaxed state making wakefulness difficult to hold onto.
Keith shrugged. "The mission. The toll of war. Take your pick." Lance hummed his understanding.
"How much longer do you think we'll be out here? Like, that's what tomorrow's meeting is about right? To discuss taking out big bad Zarkon and getting home?"
"It's not going to be that easy. There's a lot we have to do before you get to go back to Earth. Voltron is kind of a big deal and our job won't be over even if we manage to take out the Emperor. There's still aid that will need to be delivered to half the universe, rebel factions will probably pop up, not to mention the struggle for power that's bound to take place in the Empire once both Zarkon and Lotor are dead. I'm sure Kolivan has it all planned out but I guarantee you Voltron factors heavily in those plans."
"Well, what if we just want to go home? I don't want to be a space soldier forever. I get that's like your whole 'thing' and all, but not me – I wanna see my family again, eat some decent food, go to the beach, just be a normal kid again you know?"
"No, Lance, I don't know. I was raised in this war. I never got to do that – not that I care, I don't, I like the life I had. I honestly think I would have gone stir-crazy if I'd been raised on Earth. But I know my place and my role in all this." He threw his arms wide to show his point. "This war is bigger than us, it spans entire galaxies, whole worlds that have been taken over and will need to be freed. We, the Blades that is, have our work cut out for us and we're facing an uphill battle. Most of the people we need to free are going to hate us purely because we're Galra, just like Allura hated me, and having Voltron backing us up could make all the difference." Lance nodded, looking dejectedly into his cup of rapidly cooling tea, and Keith felt the boy's despair as if it were his own. The look of gut wrenching pain hit him like a brick wall and he realized just how hard it must be for him, for all of them, to be so far away from home for so long. He'd been trained for it, knew it was inevitable, and he'd learned to handle it before ever leaving for his mission to Earth. But the other Paladins had no warning, one dobash they were sneaking out after hours, and the next they were flying through space in the Blue Lion.
"Once the Emperor is dealt with, we'll find a way to bring you guys home, even if it's just for a visit." He smiled at Lance, receiving a genuinely grateful smile in return.
He'd brought Lance back to his guest quarters, knowing full well the other had no hope in finding his own way, before heading back to his room to crash. And crash he did, Keith hit the pillow and didn't stir again until the base's day cycle began. He took a hot shower, got dressed in his Paladin armour, and headed back to Lance and Hunk's room to collect his shadow. They were all waiting for him in the hall; ready to head for breakfast but not having remembered where the nearest cafeteria was in the maze of identical hallways and signs they couldn't read.
After eating, they made their way to the main briefing room yet again, this time to discuss what would hopefully be the end of the war and Keith was full of nervous energy, excitedly anticipating the discussions. Kolivan and several other Blades were already there, speaking amongst themselves as they waited. He walked in and one of them broke away from the pack, walking over to him – no, past him to … Allura? Oh shit! His brain was in panic mode as whom he now recognized as his mother made her way directly to the Princess with intent. Her precise and deliberate movements showed her agitation in the tight way she held herself. He couldn't hear her; she spoke too quietly directly in the young Altean's face, leaning in to whisper at her ear and Keith felt – nothing. Which was strange, he thought he'd feel more anxious but aside from the immediate alarm and surprise, he didn't actually care. Allura could take care of herself and Krolia was smart, she'd never do anything to jeopardize the success of their missions or any alliance between the Blades and Voltron.
"Keith -" Shiro whisper-yelled at him. "- what's that Blade doing to Allura?" Keith shrugged and smirked to himself, that Blade was putting her in her place.
He moved to stand closer to Kolivan, and the hulking form he recognized as Antok, when the meeting was called to order. There were several rebel leaders on the screens around them, not invited to come to base but still included in their plans. Te-Osh was one of them, as was the one he knew to be Olia. Coran was also on the screen, Zavin having setup a link for him while he was stuck on the Castle ship.
"Welcome." Kolivan's calm, but authoritative voice commanded the attention of the room. "We are gathered here this quintant to discuss the destruction of the Empire, the end of this war, and plans for the future. A tall order." There were murmurings of assent throughout the crowd and some cheering coming from the screens. "Presently we are in the company of the very best the Universe has to offer. Captains Olia, Te-osh, Frythyl, Bakwadiariaslioveckae, Juadi, and Kapkayo." He nodded to each rebel leader as he said their name and Keith blanched at a few. He then introduced the Blades as a single unit and acknowledged both Matt and Slav's presence, before turning to the Princess. "We are also graced with the presence of Princess Allura of Altea and the Voltron Paladins." There was a steady round of applause from the rebel leaders and Kolivan took the opportunity to mention Coran as well.
Keith looked around and noticed that Allura appeared uncomfortable, though she hid it well. Siro had straightened his back and squared his shoulders, taking on the responsibility as their leader. Keith smiled, if he wasn't going to be fighting the Emperor as a Blade, he was proud to do it as Shiro's right hand.
The meeting took vargas, they were all exhausted by its end, but a plan had been formed; one that he had a really good feeling about. Voltron was going after the Emperor and the rebel Captains were sending fleets to assist. The Blades were going after Prince Lotor and Keith honestly didn't know who had the harder assignment. The Prince was ruthless, pragmatic, and perpetually one step ahead of his enemies at all times. He would not go down easily.
There were a few exceptions of course. Krolia was to join the Paladins, as was Regris, so that they could infiltrate Central Command and shut down the main weapon systems. Until their plan was ready, everyone had been split into groups with various assignments. Slav was to be escorted to Olkarion by Coran to create a mindbogglingly massive teladuv. Matt and Pidge were being joined by Marra to invade several prisoner bases to retrieve a few valuable rebels. Hunk and Allura were returning to the Balmera in search of crystals large enough for their needs. They would be accompanied by a few Blades Keith had never met before and Allura had been reluctant at first but some harsh glares from Krolia shut her up. It made Keith genuinely curious as to what their little exchange had been.
Shiro and Lance were to accompany him into a quiznaking weblum for some quiznaking scaultrite and Keith was legit pissed about that. He'd scowled at Kolivan for the assignment, and scowled even harder when he found out they'd be going in Black. He was the only one with any experience entering a weblum, which meant he would have to be one of the ones to collect the scaultrite, which meant that he couldn't act as the distraction, which meant they couldn't take Red. He may have pouted for the rest of the meeting.
Bright and early the next quintant, the path was clear again and all outbound parties left the base. Several pods docked in the Castle's main hangar to drop off their passengers. Currently Keith was sitting on Red's paw, leaning back against her leg, and swinging his foot over the side of her massive metal claw. He'd been grumbling to her about his assignment for the past 20 dobashes and all he'd gotten in return was the vague sense that she was laughing at him.
"Keith? Buddy, you in here?" Hunk's voice echoed through the hangar.
"Mullet? I don't think he's here man." Lance replied and he tried his best not to move, hoping his Paladin armour would allow him to blend into the lion. "No wait, I think I see him." Quiznak. With a groan he leapt deftly from Red's paw, flipping in mid air to land gracefully on his feet. "You're like a freakin cat, you know that?" The Cuban boy snarked and he grinned in return.
"What do you guys want? Usually when someone makes a point of being hard to find it's cause they want to be left alone." He shot back.
"Ya, well, listen – while you're actual alien butt is sitting around, the rest of us are trying to communicate with the other aliens and getting nowhere." Lance crossed his arms over his chest in his very best impersonation of Keith and the latter rolled his eyes but waved his hand dismissively.
"Whatever. What did you want?"
It was Hunk who recovered first. "What does 'kwelk' mean?" Keith's eyes shot up his head and he stared at the Yellow Paladin in shock.
"I'm sorry – what?"
"What does 'kwe-"
"No, I heard you!" He put his and up to silence the other, eyes darting around to make sure no one had over heard him. "Don't repeat it. Where did you learn that word?"
"We, uh – we heard your mom, Krolia, say it to Allura." Hunk replied, rather sheepishly, and Keith stared blankly back at him. "What does it mean?"
He blinked a few times in shock before gathering himself enough to respond. "Krolia called Allura a … she said that to Allura?" Both boys nodded and Lance was looking at him with a wary expression. He let out a sigh. "It's kind of hard to translate. The actual word is 'kwelik' but when used as a curse it's pronounced 'kwelk'."
"So she was swearing at her?" Lance asked and Keith nodded. "Kay, but what does it mean?"
"Uh, 'kwelik' is a bodily orifice, like a mouth or anus or anything else along those lines, and 'kwelk' means 'asshole'. If you pronounce the word correctly it's a medical term, if you intentionally mispronounce it then it's a swear."
"So Krolia was calling Allura an asshole?" Hunk clarified and Keith shrugged his shoulders.
"More or less. Look, don't repeat it. I know you guys have picked up saying 'quiznak' but that's a Common swear, this is a Galran swear. You really shouldn't be cursing in a language you don't speak or understand. It's also not as generic as 'asshole' is in English."
{ "Keith and Lance report to the Black Lion's hangar for departure. Keith and Lance to Black for departure. Hunk report to the Yellow Lion's hangar for departure. Hunk to Yellow for departure." }
Shiro's voice sounded over the coms sounded a whole lot like the Garrison announcements. They split up, Hunk going one way while Keith and Lance went the other. He groaned to Lance about how much their assignment sucked, telling him all about the time he had to go into a weblum with the Blades for training. By the time they made it to Black, the Cuban boy was whole hearted against the assignment. Keith smirked; if he had to suffer then he was bringing someone down with him.
The weblum sucked, as predicted. Shiro stayed in his lion to act as the distraction and force the beast to shoot its face laser, which meant it was Lance and Keith who had to go inside the giant worm. It was Lance and Keith who had fight off the acid creatures, it was Lance and Keith who got into a fight about which way to go, and it was Keith who had been shoved into the stomach lining.
Almost immediately, the walls started sealing in around him and Lance had to blast the tissue in order to squeeze his way out. The Blue Paladin ended up tripping and falling into a pit of acid later, or maybe Keith pushed him – no way to know for sure and the latter would never admit to it.
They'd gotten the damned scaultrite, and captured one of the Prince's Generals in the process. She tried to escape, but Keith had disarmed her and Lance held her at gunpoint while the Red Paladin used the energy cuffs in their armour to bind her arms. They flew the bags of crystallized worm gunk and the prisoner back to Black, storing both in the cargo hold.
Shiro called ahead, letting the Castle ship know that they were returning with a prisoner, and Krolia met them in the Lion's hangar. She helped the three Paladins escort Lotor's General down to the holding cells, locking her inside. Coran typed a series of buttons on the control pad so quickly that Keith wasn't able to catch a thing he had commanded. Because of this, he was unprepared for the blindingly bright flash of light, followed by an earsplitting high-pitched beeping, and finally an electric zap. The last one had only been in the cell and part of him felt bad for the General, the other part of him relished in how much that would have hurt.
"Which of the Prince's Generals are you? Why were you inside the weblum? What is Prince Lotor planning?" Krolia's calm, calculated voice floated into the cell but the General refused to acknowledge her. With a grunt, the seasoned Blade dismissed them, sealing the entire floor behind them.
"What's she going to do?" Lance asked and Keith gave him a leveled stare causing the Human boy to gasp in alarm.
"The good thing is that's one less General our operatives will need to face. The bad news is the Prince is up to something."