The H'ress are my own invention, and if anyone wants to know more about them feel free to message me so I can love you forever.
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Coran had been many things over the course of his life; a mechanic, a soldier, a doctor, an advisor, a teacher, a lover, among others. Even now, he made use of many of the skills he had learned in those roles as he protected and guided the Princess and her Paladins, helping in whatever ways he could in their desperate struggle. But the one talent he had been most careful to cultivate, and which had saved his life and others on many occasions, was a seventh sense for when an otherwise normal situation was about to go completely off the flight path.
That was why, in the middle of telling a story over dinner to an amused group of paladins, he stopped mid-syllable as his head whipped around in the direction of the unmanned bridge. Half a tick later, he was up and moving even before the proximity warning began to scream an alert overhead, charging down the hallways with the ease of an old star sailor even as the Castle shook under his feet.
The bridge doors slid open to reveal his fears confirmed, the sickly purple portal of a Druid wormhole in the process of disgorging a third Galra battlecruiser to join the two already firing on the Castle. The automatic defenses were already flashing warnings on the screens as he lunged for his station to bring up the full particle barrier, shouting into the ship's intercoms "all paladins to lions! We're under attack!"
He breathed a small sigh of relief at the sight of Red shooting past the window, the others not far behind. The pilots must have gone straight for the hangars. His relief was short-lived, however, as the battlecruisers unloaded their fighters into the space around them, the small craft engaging the Lions and leaving the larger vessels free to hammer the Castle.
"Alejandro, Kurogane, take command of the armaments! Coran, barrier status!"
"78% and falling, princess!" Coran hadn't heard her come in, but was more than happy to transfer control of the ship's offensive weaponry to the red and blue stations.
Even as the Castle's turrets opened fire and began targeting the weapons mounted on the opposing vessels, the older Altean could tell it wasn't going to be enough. They were vastly outnumbered and outgunned, the Lions unable to form Voltron as long as the galra fighters were able to keep them apart and the particle barrier rapidly losing strength. They were cut off from any avenue of escape. Coran cast a despairing glance behind him at the grim faces of the two time-travellers. Had their efforts been for nothing?
A new siren cut through the din of alarms, dragging his attention back to the battle. "Princess! Castle's sensors detect another wormhole forming behind us!" He called despairingly, expanding the holoscreen to view that area of space as a feeling of dread filled him.
For a moment, nothing was visible, then in an instant a wide portal flared open. Coran had only an instant to take in the fact that this one was Altean blue rather than Druid purple before the snout of a massive ship poked through, not Galran purple-grey but navy blue and flecked with painted stars. At his station Alejandro took his hands off the controls just long enough to throw his hands up in a whoop of joy.
"Shiiar'keh! My man! H'ress'wr!" He roared the last word, Kurogane echoing him with a delighted snarl.
As though the occupants had heard them, a fleet of mis-matched fighters spilled out of the edges of the portal around the main ship in a spectacular feat of flying that took the Galra completely off-guard as they sped past the beleaguered Castle of Lions to tear into the attackers. The portal snapped closed behind the newcomers and Coran could only watch in astonished relief that he heard echoed over the coms as the reinforcements cleared the way for the paladins to form Voltron and make short work of the three Galra battlecruisers. Soon there was nothing left of the enemy but scattered debris and their allies were disappearing into the hangars of the other ship. Only then did the Altean relax his white-knuckled grip on the edge of the console.
Touching a key on the console, he hailed the Lions, looking over the paladins for any sign of injury as soon as their faces appeared on the screens and thankfully finding none. "Are all of you alright?"
"All okay here, Coran. We're on our way back to the Castle now." Shiro looked equally relieved to see him, with Allura, Alejandro, and Kurogane visible in the background. "Who are those guys?"
The older man looked over his shoulder at the two men who had moved closer to the portion of the screen that still showed the star-patterned vessel. Kurogane's arm was looped around his partner's back while Alejandro pointed at first one small fighter and then another, chattering excitedly. "I suspect these are the allies our new friends contacted this morning. I was under the impression it would likely be a few days before we heard from them, but lucky for us they showed up when they did!"
"No kidding, I thought we were goners!" Lance was grinning, but still looked a little wild-eyed.
Keith rolled his eyes. "Maybe you would've been, cargo pilot. The rest of us were doing fine."
"Excuse me!" The blue paladin scowled, refocusing his attention at the insult. "Whose left hind thruster is smoking? Because it sure as hell isn't Blue's!"
"Paladins, if you could join us up here once you've landed, I expect we'll be hearing from the other ship shortly." Allura cut in before the fight could go any further, to the obvious relief of the other three pilots, looking a little shaken herself from the intensity of the brief fight. "Coran, damage report, please."
Coran nodded, turning his attention to the Castle's systems. Now that he knew his makeshift family was safe, the ship was the next priority. Thankfully the timely arrival had come before the particle barrier could fall completely, and damage appeared to be minimal. He catalogued the more serious items on a datapad for later attention and turned to welcome the young pilots as they arrived on deck.
"So, that's the Icebringers you mentioned?" Hunk asked Kurogane, tucking his helmet under his arm as he stared in awe at the massive ship, only visible against the backdrop of distant stars by the bright lights of its open hangars.
"Some of them, yes. That ship is the Long Wind. We...spent a lot of time there." There was a sadness to the traveller's smile that told Coran there was much being left unsaid about the nature of their stay aboard the other vessel. Although the two had been aboard the ship for less than a day, he had already noticed a tendency to evade disclosing many details about the events of their timeline, though whether for their own sakes or that of the younger paladins, he couldn't be sure. Likely some of the others had noticed as well, and sure enough the green paladin was already opening her mouth to ask a question when the communications panel beeped an incoming transmission, cutting her off and bringing an expression of annoyance to her face.
At Allura's nod he put the call through to the main screen, then stared. It was one thing to be told that you were not, as you had believed, one of the last of your species. It was quite another to come face-to-face just hours later, with an unfamiliar Altean, smiling broadly enough to stretch his forest green eye marks and ears flared in greeting.
"Greetings and good trading! Everyone alright over there? We scrambled the Hunters as soon as we realized you were under attack."
Allura looked as stunned as Coran felt, and it took her a moment to collect herself. "Yes, we're all fine, thanks to your timely assistance." She bowed deeply. "You have our deepest gratitude, ah…"
"Communications specialist Avenol, at your service. I'll pass on your thanks to the Hunters that flew today, lady…"
"Allura. Princess Allura of Altea. These are my advisor, Coran, the paladins of Voltron, and Kurogane and Alejandro." She gestured to each in turn, hesitating slightly as she tried to put a title to the time-travellers before giving up and using their nicknames instead.
Avenol's eyebrows shot up nearly to his slate blue hairline. "The lost princess? My mother used to tell me stories about you and the Last King when I was little. We'd heard rumors that Voltron was getting around by teleduv, so we knew there had to be an Altean on board, but we figured it was just a descendent of someone who escaped the fall." The garrulous Altean looked as though he would have continued rambling indefinitely, much to Allura's obvious embarrassment and the amusement of the humans, but a muffled snarl was audible in the background and he promptly looked chagrined. "Right, right." He straightened and puffed out his chest a little, trying and failing to look serious and official in a way that had Coran hiding his laughter behind a diagnostic screen. "Pack leader Shiiar'keh would like to invite you aboard the Long Wind to discuss a formal Pack alliance between the Icebringers and their allies and the Voltron Alliance."
Coran blinked and looked over at Kurogane and Alejandro, who didn't share the looks of surprise visible on the faces of the others, merely having relaxed, pleased expressions instead. Obviously they had known that the Icebringers would bring the interests of their existing allies to the table, dramatically boosting the size and strength of the Voltron Alliance if all went well. He frowned, a thought prodding at the back of his mind. The two time-travellers may have known their versions of the inhabitants of this ship and its allies, but here and now these two group were strangers. "If I may," he interrupted, stepping forward, "I have to know, why are you so willing to ally with us?"
Avenol smiled, but there was no humor in it now. "Your message to us came by way of Sh'ra H'ressnor. As far as could be determined, no one on your vessel should have been aware of its existence, let alone its location, so you can imagine there was some alarm when it arrived there." Kurogane's face showed a mix of dismay and chagrin at this revelation. "However, the one who sent the message on your behalf also mentioned knowledge gained through the final aspect of blue quintessence, which is presumably how you obtained that information." The other Altean pinned them all with a grim stare. "In the words of Pack Leader Shiiar'keh, clearly we have much to discuss."
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Why, Pidge wondered irritably as she craned her neck to look up at the Pack Leader of the Long Wind, are all the aliens we meet so fucking big?
As they had travelled over to the other ship in one of the Castle's pods, Kurogane and Alejandro had pointedly ignored her questions about what the hell Avenol had meant by 'final aspect of blue quintessence' and what that had to do with their time-travelling, in favor of a brief crash-course on the critical elements of interacting with H'ress so as not to mortally offend their new allies. Don't lie, don't brag, but speak up if you think you or someone else has something to contribute, and for quiznak's sake don't lump all Galra in the with evil leaders of the Empire, Allura, which seemed a bit of a non-sequiter relative to the other rules, but hey, these two were the ones who had worked with H'ress before.
And that was all very helpful to know from an intellectual and diplomatic standpoint, but right now the primitive screaming monkey part of Pidge's brain would have appreciated a little warning in regards to the fact that a H'ress was a six-limbed, four-eyed, sharp-clawed, pack-hunting carnivore roughly the size of a horse. She was never going to be scared of any mere Galra ever again.
While Allura and Shiiar'keh exchanged formal greetings, Pidge pulled her gaze away from the twelve intimidatingly large claws that were right at eye-level and let her eyes wander around the hangar they were standing in. The Castle's pod was parked at one end of a neat row of small fighter craft that came in nearly as wide an assortment of sizes, shapes, and designs as the aliens servicing the craft after the earlier skirmish. The scene was one of well-organized chaos, group and individuals moving this way and that with tools or parts and yelling to each other across the floor. Even with all the industry, however, she could see many people looking curiously at the group of seven armored Paladins and one strange Altean. Shiiar'keh was clearly aware of the attention, and sighed once introductions were completed.
"If I may, we should continue this discussion somewhere with fewer curious eyes and ears and less noise. Follow me, please." The alien turned to lead them out of the hangar, affording them a clear view of the complex patterns dyed into the blue-white fur of their back. Kurogane and Alejandro followed immediately, obviously relaxed and comfortable, and with a quick glance at Shiro and Allura for confirmation, the others followed.
"How many different species of aliens are there here?" Lance asked curiously, looking around. If the hangar had been busy, the corridors were downright chaotic, beings of all sorts moving this way and that, some even flying overhead in the high-ceilinged passages or traversing conduits and vents high on the walls. If it wasn't for the fact that the ship was obviously of H'ress design and therefore massive in proportion to the smaller Humans, it would have been claustrophobic.
"On the Long Wind? A few twelves of twelves." A sharp turn to the right revealed a transparent wall on one side of the new hallway, the space beyond filled with water and water-dwelling species. Lance's eyes lit up with delight at the view, much to the amusement of the rest of the group, and Alejandro gave him a knowing grin. Hunk elbowed the blue paladin playfully, gesturing to one of the aliens in the water, and whispered something that sounded like 'Plaxum', making the teen blush and push his friend away. "In the entire Icebringer fleet, however, nearly every sentient species in the known universe is represented, although many only by a few individuals."
"Even Galra?" Keith sounded surprised, and almost hopeful. Confused by his tone, Pidge followed the Korean teen's gaze and saw a group of children, some of them Galra, running by with the gleeful shrieks of mischief-making youngsters everywhere. A harried-looking teenage Galra sprinted after them, hurling warnings of dire punishments if they didn't get back to the nursery on the double.
"I told you the code on the nursery door was too easy, Kalme!" Shiiar'keh called after the rapidly-disappearing figure, shaking their head in mock despair as the Galra flicked their tail at the H'ress in a gesture that made Allura's cheeks redden. "And yes, there are many Galra among the packs." Dark eyes refocused on Keith, then moved to Allura. "You would be surprised how many of the Empire's people are disenchanted with the current system for one reason or another. They simply lack the means to make a stand, or end up imprisoned or killed for their troubles if they do." Ah. So that was why they'd been warned not to lump all Galra in with the Empire.
Keith hummed thoughtfully at that as the alien guided them through a doorway and into a small lounge area much like the ones on the Castle. They settled themself onto a low cushioned platform that reminded the green paladin of the stereotypical 'shrink's couch' that only appeared in cartoons, gesturing for the visitors to make themselves comfortable. After a moment's thought the group arranged themselves on a long, V-shaped couch across from the alien. Only once all were settled did Shiiar'keh speak again.
"Now…" Four pitch black eyes focused their attention on Kurogane, the alien crossing their forelimbs thoughtfully in front of them on the couch. "You said you used the last aspect of blue quintessence and gained information important to our cause. Being familiar with the aspects myself, I cannot imagine you have good news if that is how it was gained." They tilted their head curiously, inviting the time-traveller to speak.
Before he could, however, Pidge saw an opening and shot to her feet in irritation. "Okay, look, what the hell is this 'aspect' stuff you guys keep mentioning, and what's blue quintessence got to do with all this? These two," she waved her arm at the startled older males, "keep changing the subject whenever I ask. I mean, clearly it's important, and has something to do with how they got here, so why won't you just tell us?!" She directed this last question right to the pair, scowling furiously. If there was one thing she hated, it was having information withheld from her, and for all their openness about what needed to be avoided, these two were being downright evasive about a lot of things and it was starting to piss her the hell off.
Kurogane and Alejandro exchanged nervous looks before glancing at Shiiar'keh, who nodded and waved a hand for them to go ahead. Kurogane cleared his throat, fidgeting with his gloves for a moment to gather his thoughts. Pidge stared him down, unwilling to settle without an answer. "Alright, so, I don't think either of us could explain this as well as a quintessence trainer, but I can try to give you the basics and you can all talk to one of them later?" He looked over at the H'ress, who chuckled.
"You requested quintessence training, so naturally they will need to speak with one."
Kurogane relaxed a little, nodding. "Fine. The basics, though." He looked back at the other paladins, who were regarding him with open curiosity. Even Allura looked attentive, but then, the princess had had almost no training in manipulating quintessence beyond what was necessary to operate the Castle-ship, so perhaps this was news to her as well. Pidge crossed her arms, tapping her toes impatiently, and the scarred man chuckled, giving her a fond look.
"Well, you know there's five colours of quintessence, right? Black, yellow, green, blue, and red. One Lion for each." At her nod, he continued. "Each one has several...traits, I guess? Associated with it. These traits are grouped, one per colour, into categories called aspects. For example, the first aspect is the natural element. Black is sky, yellow is earth, green is forest, blue is water, and red is fire. Make sense?"
"Yeah, with you so far." She glanced over at the others, who were all making small sounds of agreement or understanding. Allura hadn't mentioned any of this, and she wondered whether that was simply oversight on the part of the Altean, or if she simply didn't know. The woman's curious expression suggested the latter.
"I won't get into all the different ones and what they mean because it's complicated and I don't actually know all of them, but the last aspect, the one we keep talking about, is the metaphysical element. All you need to know is it's dangerous as hell for everyone, involved or not, and if it hadn't been literally the fate of the universe at stake, with absolutely no other options left, we never would have tried to access it to come here. The fact that we did, hell, the fact that we even know about the last aspect and what it can do at all, is enough to tell anyone who knows about that stuff that something went really, really wrong in the future." He ran a hand through his hair with a tired sigh. "Is that enough for you for now?"
Pidge blinked, digesting this information. It still left her with a lot of questions, but it was a start, and they'd been promised more details later from someone more knowledgeable. Finally she sat back down on the couch between Lance and Hunk, who also looked as though they were fighting the urge to pester the man with more questions. "Yeah, I guess so. But I expect a long talk with this quintessence trainer person later. Carry on." She made a shooing motion at Kurogane, who raised an eyebrow before shooting an apologetic look at Shiiar'keh, who merely gave a rumble of laughter and murmured something that sounded like "green as the trees."
"Anyway, like Kurogane said to Pidge, things went bad. Really bad." Alejandro spoke up now, eyes flashing darkly. "The resistances were all wiped out, Voltron was destroyed, Zarkon, Lotor, and Haggar were all still in play, and the enemy had a planet-destroying weapon called the Weblum's Breath on their side. By the end of it what was left of our side was running for our lives and being actively hunted down." He took a deep breath, staring down at his hands. "With the threat of that weapon hanging over anyone who tried to resist, we couldn't see any hope of future resistances forming. Ours would be the last, and Zarkon would rule unchallenged from then on. Which was why we made the decision to use the pure blue quintessence of the Blue Lion to come here and try to alter events in our favour. But we can't do it alone." He looked Shiiar'keh straight in the eyes and set his hands on the couch beside him, fingers splayed and nails digging into the couch in what looked to Pidge like a deliberate gesture. How much time had their future selves spent with these aliens to be able to use their body language? "We need your help."
There was a pregnant pause as the resistance leader sitting opposite took in this information. They stroked their arm fur thoughtfully, head turning to consider each of the paladins in turn. Finally, they turned their head back toward the two worn, tired men who were all that was left of their efforts several years on. "What do you recommend we do to alter the universe's trajectory?"
Alejandro's shoulders sagged in relief for a moment-had he been worried that they'd be turned away?-before he straightened again. "We already have the Blade of Marmora, a Galra-only resistance group, looking out for the Weblum's Breath, and we're allying ourselves with you cycles earlier than we did in the original timeline. Those two actions should already alter things significantly. What we need to do now is get this timeline's paladins trained in using the aspects, and get Shiro's arm replaced." He nodded and made a prompting gesture to the Black Paladin, who nervously pulled off his glove to show the metal hand.
Shiiar'keh leaned forward to peer at the limb. "One of the witch's so-called enhancements?" They questioned. At Shiro's pained nod, they hummed thoughtfully. "The training I can understand, it will afford a significant advantage in battle, but why the prosthetic? Her enhancements, cruel though they are, usually confer some advantage in strength, speed, or enhancement of the sense."
"There's an override in it she can use to control him and force him to fight us against his will." The man answered abruptly, voice sharp. Pidge couldn't help but notice the way Kurogane wouldn't look at Shiro, and the guilt on the former gladiator's face at the implications. Were any of the time-traveller's scars from his brother?
The H'ress looked surprised at the revelation, or at least she thought that was the expression on their face-four eyes and a broad muzzle were hard to read when you were used to Human and Altean features-but they nodded acceptance of it. "I can make arrangements for you all to start working with the Long Wind's quintessence trainer tomorrow morning. The arm will take more time, as I will need to request the presence of those on other ships who have the most experience with the Druids' work, Haggar's in particular, and those who are best qualified to construct a replacement prosthetic. Only a few of those best suited for chasing this problem are on board the Long Wind. We should be ready to begin with that in a few rotations. Is there anything else?"
Kurogane shook his head. "No, I believe that's everything. Thank you for your assistance."
"There is no need for thanks. You were, will be, and are pack to us. H'ressyan kaa, H'ress sh'ra. Aiding you aids us all." The massive alien rose to their feet, turning to Allura. "You should return to your vessel, as it is late in the rotation. Tomorrow, when you return, bring the Lions with you. They will play a crucial role in your training. Your trainer will meet you in the hangar."
Allura rose as well, bowing deeply. "It is an honor to be allied with your pack, Shiiar'keh."
"And with yours, Princess Allura. Good hunting, Princess, Paladins. Someone should be just outside to guide you back to your pod. I must contact the rest of the fleet to share news of our alliance and request the presence of the specialists you need."
With a chorus of "Good hunting" at Kurogane and Alejandro's prompting, the group filed out. The lanky young Galra from earlier, Kalme, was waiting outside, leaning against the wall.
Pidge smirked, pushing her glasses up her nose as she peered up at the alien. "Did you manage to get the kids back, or did they escape?" Kalme scowled and stalked off in the direction of the hangar without answering, tail swishing and ears laid back in obvious annoyance at the reminder.
"I think that's a no." Hunk stage-whispered to her, prompting a chorus of laughter.
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Everything is purple.
The deepest, darkest not-quite-indigo of the open void between the stars, tinted just this side of black by the light of suns too far away to be seen.
The ugly mauve metal of Galra ships, so many, too many, keeping between him and his objective no matter how many he destroys.
The searing lilac of the massive energy blast bursting from the maw of the massive new ship the others have been protecting, flaring brilliantly and painting the inside of his cockpit with the colour even through his viewscreen.
And the incandescent near-ultraviolet of the atmosphere of the planet below them as it ionizes violently, a wave of burning death sweeping across seas and continents even as the energy blast continues its relentless path, tearing a hole through the blackened, rocky surface of a sphere once painted in greens and blues and browns.
Someone is screaming, an animal wail of gut-wrenching grief and despair. It takes him minutes to realize that someone is him.
Abruptly, the damage reaches a tipping point, and the world shatters, cracking like an egg spilled from a mishandled carton. Pieces tear away, smashing against each other, breaking smaller. Glittering flecks between are all that are left of the oceans, now massive chunks of ice in the cold void of space. Stone and ice, all that's left of a world that only minutes earlier was an oasis of life in the harsh universe.
Distantly, he's aware that the others are frozen as motionless as he, their Lions hanging still in space. It would be child's play right now for the Galra to tear them apart where they sit. But they don't. They've done what they came to do, sent a message to all who live inside their borders and out. 'This is the price of defiance.'
The Galra are leaving now, their ships vanishing one by one through the grape-coloured portals of the druids. Leaving the Paladins hanging in space over the ruins of Earth.
He doesn't think he's ever hated anything as much as he hates the colour purple at this moment.
Lance jolted upright with a strangled scream. Chest heaving, he looked around wildly.
The darkness of his bedroom on the Castle of Lions surrounded him, lit only by a shard of Balmeran crystal gifted to him by Shay after he had admitted to not being terribly fond of the dark. No cockpit, no Galra, no broken remnants of his home. Trembling, he brought his knees up to his chest and buried his hands in his hair, trying to steady his breathing. In. Hold. Out. Again. Slowly, slowly, the ache in his chest lessened, although his heart still pounded a frantic rhythm between his ribs. "Just a dream...just a dream…"
As the panic attack began to subside, he became aware of the worried touch of Blue in the back of his mind, the Lion sending a soothing purr and waves of comfort and reassurance through their bond. Gratefully he reached back through the link, letting his energy twine with hers and feeling her own worry at his lingering fear. He got the impression from her that she'd been one more minute of hyperventilation away from tearing a path straight through the Castle to get to him, structural integrity be damned.
The mental image drew an unpleasant comparison in his mind to the destructive beam of energy in the dream, and any amusement he might have felt was wiped away in an instant. Feeling his distress, she sent him a rumble of questioning concern about what had scared him so badly.
"Just a bad dream, Blue." He whispered aloud, his voice hoarse. He must have been screaming in his sleep, and felt a surge of gratitude for alien sound-proofing. "Too much talk about everything that could happen if we screw this up, giving me nightmares. I'll be fine."
The reassurance sounded hollow even to his own ears, and the thought of trying to go back to sleep was almost nauseating. A glance at the clock told him that while it was still quite a bit earlier than he needed to be up, it was late enough that he would only miss a couple hours of sleep if he chose not to try. "Early breakfast it is." He muttered, swinging his long legs out of the bed. He'd just have to make up the lost sleep tonight instead.