Jackson and Harvy ate in the room they'd picked out. There was a bunk on either side of the room and a table in the middle. The boy was impressed with how his trainer was completely unbothered by what the food looked like and instead ate it as if it were normal.
"Sorry…" Jackson said as the silence became too much for him, "I just thought I should say something and I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying and I was confused and irritated, and you guys were fighting and that didn't make much sense and the others started to get a little annoyed with you, I could tell, and I didn't want them to get upset with you because they don't know you and-"
"Its fine," Harvy cut in, "I was out of line and I had lost my temper. This is their territory and we are guests; not to mention we are guests that came with bad news. We can follow their lead so long as our goals are the same."
"…are they the same?" Jackson asked, his head spinning with all the things they had argued about.
"All of us wish to save Earth and protect as many people as we can. How we get to that end goal is something we disagree on, but so long as that end goal is the same then everything should work out for the best."
"You called them criminals."
"Because technically they are."
"You looked like you wanted to shoot B1A5."
"I did...do."
"why?"
"Because there is no one as selfish or as self-serving as a B1," Harvy replied firmly, "His trainer was an K10, if you can believe that. Every last one of them is a stain on the agencies record."
"Mmmm…" Jackson watched his trainers face, "You're just worried, aren't you?"
Harvy dropped his fork onto his plate and sat back with a sigh, "This is why B1 refuses to train."
Jackson scowled, "what do you mean?"
"Kids have an annoying talent to pick out bs," Harvy grinned and lit another cigarette.
()
The next day, after a morning of getting his Trainee up to work-out standard, Harvy set out to find Shiro. Not only did he intend to apologize, but he still had questions that he'd not asked about.
He took his time looking over the ship and getting to know his surroundings while he looked for someone to tell his where he could find the former pilot.
"This is going to bite back hard, isn't it?" Shiros voice floated down the hall from a room at the far end.
"Pretty much," that was Kogane.
"Are you sure?"
"If I wasn't I wouldn't be telling you guys," B1s voice was heavy with a sigh, "in my experience as agent and as paladin, this is always the case."
"I hate irony."
"You are living irony, emo-mullet."
"And you're a mess."
"Yes, yes I am."
"I'm just glad you two aren't trying to kill each other still," Shiro said, relieved.
"Who says?" they both chorused as Harvy finally made his way into the room.
The three looked up from a small table at him. Shiro was sitting with his hands laced in front of him. Kogane was leaning on one elbow and B1 had his head on the table.
"Feel better?" B1 asked as if the argument the night before hadn't happened.
"Much," Harvy nodded, "I wanted to apologize for losing my temper."
"That happens."
"Pod symptoms."
"happens to everyone."
"I also wanted to ask somethings that I didn't before," Harvy motioned, asking if he could sit with them.
"Sure, sure," Shiro said, "I just got finished being filled in on everything, so we can now answer whatever you need."
B1 stood and walked toward the door. He shut it, and locked it.
"'Everything' is such a heavy topic," he said taking his seat again, "and there are tender ears out there. Let's keep everything on the down low, k?"
"If you could start from the beginning," Harvy asked, "and tell me what's been going on, I'm sure I'll be able to understand the future plans better."
"Fair," Kogane shrugged.
"I'll start," Shiro grinned a little sheepishly, "since its basically my fault this all started-"
Slam!
Shiro and Harvy jumped. B1 and Kogane glared at Shiro, their hands had slammed against the table top.
"Red Leader, did he just use the 'f' word?" B1 asked, still glaring, but talking to the other paladin.
"I believe he did," Kogane replied mirroring the side conversation while staring at Shiro.
"Guys, its not-"
"What was the punishment we decided on every time he used the 'f' word?"
"I don't think we came up with one yet."
"We were neglectful."
"We'll add a tally next to his name and punish him later."
Shiro sighed, "I didn't mean it like that."
"the 'f' word is still the 'f' word," B1 said his eyes narrowing, "use it again, and I'll tell Pidge and Hunk."
"….right…" Shiro gave up, "I'm sorry."
"And now he's used the 's' word."
"What are we going to do with you?"
"I don't know what you want-"
Harvy cleared his throat. As amusing as watching the three of them was, he still needed answers. Shiro opened his mouth, probably to apologize again, but after a glance in Kogane's and B1's direction, he thought better of it.
"I'll just start with the Kerboros mission…"
()
"So the crystal comes from a planet sized beast," Jackson asked looking from Coran to the large blue crystal on the bridge, "beeeecause the beast has THAT much quintessence to spare? I'm not understanding how this all balances out."
Coran was teaching him about the basics of how the ship ran and how their brand of tech worked. Hunk and Pidge were working on getting a list together of all the things the Olkarie would need and things they would need to pick up themselves.
"that's because you're thinking that quintessence is a finite amount, when its actually INfinite!" the Genter instructed.
"Then why the whole ceremony and 'exchanging' of energy? If its infinite, then why would over harvesting kill it? And if you're giving back what you take, can't you just power the ship yourself?"
"Mmmm…" Coran had to hand it to the kid, those were good questions.
"Think of it as donating blood or plasma," Pidge piped up, looking around her screen, "if you go and get blood drawn once every three to four days, its not going to really hurt you at all. However what the Galra were doing was basically pulling a Dracula and going to town. The energy is infinite, but still requires time to adjust and recover."
Coran nodded, "Exactly, the ceremony simply aides in that recovery so there is a fair exchange."
"Huh," Jackson tapped his foot, "what about that witch lady then? Did she just over produce quintessence so she can shoot it from her fingers? Of are you actually expecting me to believe that that was magic and not a lick of science?"
"The witch…well…that's…" Coran looked to the others for help again. They shrugged.
"The Witch fed off of everything around her," Allura said, walking into the room, "she abused power and frankly, no one should be thinking too much about it."
She eyed the kid who gave small grin, "it was just a question, honest."
"Are you done? I would like to get started on his instruction as well," Allura said, giving back a smile that was less than trustful.
()
Harvy had his face in both hands.
"I think we fried his brain," Lance said cheerfully, "so who wants lunch?"
"Lance, I don't think-"
"NO, that's great," Harvy snapped, sitting up, "it will give me time to let everything sink in…and organize itself…"
"Try having to live through it," Lance sighed dramatically, "luckily you're just hearing about it."
"this is not…" Harvy was searching for a word and couldn't quite pin it.
"Kosher? Protocol? Smart? Easy? Take your pick, I got more," Lance yawned, "the point is, this is the only solution we've managed to come up with. The whole 'enemy of my enemy' bit only goes so far, ya know? And sometimes you have to break a few eggs."
"Preferably eggs, B1, NOT planets!"
"Planets exploding is not on the agenda," Lance's voice raised slightly in pitch, "plus, that was an asteroid, not a planet."
"Three," corrected Harvy, "THREE asteroids."
"Technically four," Lance said picking at his nails, "your point?"
"My point is what's in it for you?"
"Huh?" Keith and Shiro looked from Harvy to Lance.
"When we get home," Lance said slowly, "and all is said and done. I'm going on an extended vacation. I'm going to sleep for a whole month and eat whatever I want. I'm going to take my mother out shopping and I'm going to babysit my nieces and nephews and I'm going to go to the beach every day. That's what's in it for me. The job we do here means I get to actually go on a real vacation. Iverson OWES me a VACATION!"
"...why do i believe you," Harvy sighed.
"because i'll quit if i don't get what i want," Lance stood and stretched before walking out of the room.
"Good luck pulling that favor," Harvy called after him. A tap on his shoulder made him turn around and face Keith.
"So you're on board with the whole plan?"
Harvy looked the kid up and down. His initial misgivings had cooled somewhat, but he still couldn't shake that there was something he wasn't understanding.
"It seems like the only course of action so far," Harvy replied, "I'll be with you, but I'll also be looking out of better alternatives."
"So will we," Shiro nodded.
"Now, I understand not telling that princess, lady, about her boyfriend, but what about the other two?"
"they wouldn't be able to keep it a secret," Keith said and pointed at Shiro, "Neither could he, but his clone memories and all that stuff are starting to blend together."
"That's another thing," Harvy leaned forward, "…what the hell?!"
"that's what I said," Shiro nodded.
"No you didn't."
"I thought it."
"You say B1 was alerted through a code, what code?" Harvy asked, he'd not asked before for two reasons: because B1 wouldn't tell him if he asked, and he was still trying to process everything on top of that while they told the story.
"Lance wouldn't tell us, we thought you'd know?" Kieth asked lifting an eyebrow, inviting the agent to spill his secrets.
Harvy snorted, "As if. You say your memories are slowly coming back, do you remember what it was?"
Keith bristled slightly but Shiro just gave a small chuckle, "not really…I'm…trying not to think about it too much."
"there are codes we use. There's a code that literally means, 'you're about to be sprayed with purple goo', but not one that specifies 'you're facing a clone that wants to torture you for information'."
"What about just a general emergency?" Shiro asked, "kind of just a red alert warning?"
Harvy made a face, "eeeeh, not really. Those codes are specific to the section you're allied with. B1 is the only section B, so his emergency codes are his alone…and maybe Frok. So, you, Mr. no-longer-a-clone, are the only one other than B1 and his partner that has any idea what that code is."
"So these sections in the agency are basically independent of each other?"
Harvy sighed, "I can't believe B1 hasn't even explained this much to you if he's already telling you inner-council secrets. Think of it like the U.S. You have the central over reaching authority, which is the council. And then you have the states, which are like the sections everyone belongs to. Agents criss-cross all the time depending on where their talents and skills are needed. Each section has their specialty."
"Ssssssooooo….Iverson would beeee…."
"The head of B section."
"Wait, back up, you said Lance was the only section B? Like…the only one?"
"The only one," Harvy affirmed, "it's a well-known fact that the head of B section is looked at as more of a 'handler' or 'baby-sitter' than an actual head of office."
"But why?" Shiro asked, "What's sections B's specialty?"
Harvy lowered his voice, "you haven't figured it out yet?"
"would we be asking?" Keith asked, irritated.
"Then he's doing his job," Harvy shrugged, "no one but those in the section know what its all about and since B is basically two people and two people only- except for Frok, a lot less is actually known about it."
"So, since we have you talking, Lance said something about you getting placed in a section after you graduate?"
"that's your secondary section. My code is A3A1. I was trained as an A3 and the section I was housed in is in section A. Your primary section are the missions you take first, your secondary are the missions you take because you can. Lance is B1A5. His first priority are the missions requested and required of section B, and when he has time he will join section A in their missions."
"I'm sure it makes sense because you're a part of it," Keith muttered and rubbed his head, "If we're going to work with this agency then this is going to have to start making SOME sense SOME time…"
"You're first example was B1," Harvy said sympathetically, "not the best first impression."
"Better than a stuck up snob like you," Lance called from the hall before he appeared carrying plates, "I figured you all would start talking after I left. Say 'thank you, Lance'."
"You didn't so anything to it, did you?" Keith asked scowling at the plate Lance had put in front of him.
"Good grief, Keith, any more distrustful comments like that and I'll have to make it worth it," Lance threatened.
"Thank you, Lance," Shiro said.
Lance beamed and turned to Harvy, bending his ear down ever so slightly.
"absolutely not," Harvy said, "I'll starve first."
Lance gasped and dropped the plate in front of his anyway, "And force me to take a full plate back to Hunk?! You sadist!"
"So you tell us then," Shiro said and Lance turned, "Why are you the only on in section B?"
The smile dropped from his face and he turned back to Harvy, "When I said they had full clearance, I didn't think you'd be a bitch about it."
"Is it bad?"
"I already told you," Lance said taking his seat and started to take a bite, "I do all the odd jobs no one wants to do."
"…I guess that's one way to put it…" Harvy shrugged, "if you don't know about the job in the first place, how is one supposed to want it?"
"Awwww," Lance pouted, "dose A3 wanna go on adventures with the B's? Mmm?"
"Frok's not a B," Harvy said pointing his fork at Lance, "He's only there temporarily."
"I love it when you talk like you know everything," Lance countered, "it gives me something to laugh at later."
"Why doesn't Frok have a code name…thingy?" Keith asked, hoping to stop any fighting from starting.
"Because the other worlds have their own way of organizing their agents that they send out," Harvy said, taking the opportunity to disengage with Lance, "They have their own training and then we have liaisons. Frok was supposed to go to section O, but then this kid needed an extra babysitter."
"Keep talking," Lance said taking another bite.
"Lance," Shiro said slowly, "and Harvy, would the agency work with Voltron? We're not going there to be put under a council, we know the enemy and we have this plan set. Can we count that you will work with us?"
"You have Section B's full support," Lance said immediately, "However I can't speak for the others."
Harvy rolled his eyes, "You can count on full support so long as we can get word back in time."