"We need to take this initiative and punch through," Shiro said, "The last planet to solidify our fighting lines is here. Kicking out the Galra with everyone on our side should be a piece of cake. But we also can afford to have anything go wrong."

The meeting consisted of everyone. Rebels, Blades, Voltron, and the surrounding planets that would be aiding them in the fight themselves. It wasn't really the difficulty of the mission so much as the importance that it had. Shiro was giving this speech not only to lay out their plans, but to boost morale.

And he did a fantastic job of it.

They had left the planet they had stationed themselves on and Lance no longer got the messages he'd become so fond of receiving.

()

A 'close call' is what inexperienced individuals call a brush with death. Lance preferred the term 'a close shave' because a 'call' didn't implicate the possibility of getting your throat slit open.

What they had done was stupid. In hind sight he realized they hadn't done HALF the research that they should have. Why had they realized the planet was a bomb only AFTER landing on it? Why was the planet there to begin with? Did the Galra have that much foresight to predict exactly where they needed to place a huge multiple-star-system-destroying BOMB?!

Every time he thought about how close they all had come to that 'close shave', even years down the road, it would raise the hairs on the back of Lances neck.

Of course this was all speculation that happened AFTER they smacked Keith around.

"What, Where, you, THINKING!" Hunk shouted hitting Keiths arm with every word.

"He wasn't thinking," Pidge snapped glaring at him, "Wasn't that always his problem?"

"Ow, stop it, hey- ow!"

Lance just watched when Keith turned to him, Keith found only a cold look and knew he wouldn't be saved from Hunks tough love any time soon.

"As adorable as this is, I would like to discuss this matter at hand," Lotor replied.

Lance felt goosebumps rise as he glared at their former enemy. He had just swooped in out of nowhere, cool as you please, and the only reason he stood inside the castle unharmed was because he had stopped Keiths stupid stunt.

"I will surrender," Lotor replied, raising his hands again, "I just wish us to be allies."

"And I wish to go home, but that's not happening, now is it?" Lance sneered.

"The point," Allura cut in, "is why. Why now?"

"Why not?" Lotor asked back and Lance rolled his eyes and gave an exasperated groan, "Zarkon has ruled for so long that the empire itself doesn't know what to do with themselves. War is all many of my people know. I have been working on setting up a world were we can settle down on, to go back to the way things were. I still have yet to find anything, but I caught hold of what the Witch was trying to do and thought I should come and help you stop her. I didn't want to approach you until I could put my plans into motion and offer you an actual treaty. As it stands, Zarkon is still alive and I have little to no influence."

"But you have information," Keith said, "would you part with that?"

"I would," Lotor said, "I can tell you everything you would like to know."

Lance didn't like this. Lotor was way to calm. He acted the way he himself did when he was bluffing.

"And the truth?" Lance asked.

"I have told you the truth-"

"No, no, I mean the truth behind the truth," Lance said grinning, showing his barred teeth, "I want your motives, the dark little secrets that you're hiding with all that bull about caring for your people. I want your end goal."

Lotor just stared at him in confusion. Lance had to hand it to the guy, he knew how to control his face. But he couldn't hide the slight tensing of his shoulders and the way he braced his legs. Lance had interrogated enough people to know he'd made his point clear.

"I do not hide behind my people," Lotor said slowly, "I have done what I can FOR them. One can only do so much from the edge of the void. When I was brought back into the center of the empire, I'll admit, I let myself go a little. I felt the need to tease you a little, but I wasn't aiming to hurt you, that I promise."

"And the comet you stole?"

Lance sighed, and there went his line of questioning. They had just given Lotor an out with that question.

"I took it because I had need of it," he replied, "you already have five lions, if I, too, am to fight against my father, I figured I would need the same kind of power."

"All figures lie and all liars figure," Lance muttered. Pidge was the only one standing close enough to him to hear. She snickered and Lances grinned widened.

()

Lance yawned.

Lotor was in the brig. Good. For a moment there he thought they would buy completely into his bull and let his free in the ship.

Lance was almost to his room when Keith came up behind him.

"Hey, you ok?"

Lance gave what he hoped was a look that showed all of his distain.

"What?"

"The nerve…"

"hey, you just didn't seem to approve of what had happened in there, so I wanted to see what you thought."

"No one," Lance said opening the door to his room, "Flips sides out of the blue without motive, you can quote me on that."

"I know that," Keith snapped, "I also don't think it was a coincidence that he arrived when he did."

"The impact of his arrival wouldn't have been so great if you'd not set up the stage for him."

"I wasn't thinking-"

"HA! Obviously."

"What's that?"

Lance had been taking off his shoes and looked up to see Keith pointing to his issues com unit. Thinking of an excuse fast he said, "it's a doo-hicky that hunk had on his work bench. I was goofing off with it and-"

"I've seen it before lance."

Not from me, lance thought, "what do you mean?"

Keith told him about the prisoner that had been breaking into the galra ships system. Keith had just wanted a few answers but he didn't expect the reaction he got.

Lance gave a laughing shout and beamed, "Mother Mary BLESS!"

He continued to laugh and Keith waited for him to calm down.

"…do you know who that was?"

"Only my best friend," Lance said grinning in a way that he hadn't in a long while, "I'm glad he's alive. I was kind of worried there."

"He threatened me."

"What? Nooo, Not Frok. He's a tender soul."

"How did you get to know him?"

Lance opened his mouth to answer then stopped. In his joy at hearing about his partner, he'd almost given information that was level three clearance. They only had the official go ahead for level 4.

"Ahmmm…Can we perhaps talk about this tomorrow? I actually would like to tell everyone at the same time so I'm not repeating my self over and over again."

Keith scowled. And Lance let him glare all he wanted.

"Fine," Ketih sighed, "tomorrow."

He stormed out of the room and lance shrugged. He'd been meaning to tell them all long before this, but had never really had the time. Getting it out in the open would be good for him.