Back into the territory of solid canon, time to tackle Shiro's Escape! Here's your boy, Ulaz! Again! As if there is ever such a thing as too much Ulaz. Hint: There's not. Ulaz is great.

maroon

chapter five

ulaz

Keith.

For a moment, Shiro thought himself still dreaming.

The dream that had plagued his sleep had been vivid- too vivid to be anything but a memory. Even now, as he gradually returned to consciousness, the chill of the healing pod seeping from his bones, he could still recall it, down to each little detail.

Ulaz. The Blade of Marmora. His escape.

How could he have forgotten?

Realistically, he knew that it was likely from hitting his head. The explosion that Ulaz had set to cover his escape had enough force to send both him and the sentry he had been doing battle with flying forward, so that would more than suffice to knock the memory right out of him.

Combined with the strange Galra he had met on the planet the black lion had crashed on, he knew that this wasn't a matter he could leave alone. He had to follow up on this. There was one thing their assault on Central Command had made crystal clear- that if they were going to have any hope of winning this war, then they needed allies.

But first things first- Keith.

His touch grounded him, helping him alongside Hunk as he staggered out of the healing pod. He dimly recalled that Coran had placed him in one, and found his hand straying to his side. He couldn't feel any more pain, and it no longer hurt to breathe, which he took as a good sign.

"Keith," cracking a smile, Shiro looked down at him, "-they found you."

"Yeah," returning his smile, Keith nodded his head, "-they did."

Exhaling, Shiro felt his shoulders slump in relief. It was a thought that had plagued him as he'd drifted off- that they still hadn't been able to locate the red lion. So to see Keith here, now, seemingly no worse for wear- it was a huge relief, to say the least.

Or close to it, he thought.

"What's wrong with your hand?" Shiro asked.

Blinking, Keith lifted it up. "Just a little banged up. This is mostly just a precaution."

Frowning, he didn't know if he fully bought that or not, but for the most part, he seemed to be using it just fine. For the moment, he'd take his words at face value. There were bigger things to focus on right now.

"It is good to see you on your feet again." Allura spoke up, hovering at the edge of the group, as if she did not want to interrupt the reunion. "But there are still questions that I must ask you, Shiro."

"Of course." Nodding his head, Shiro stood up to his full height. "There's something I need to talk to you about as well. Just let me get changed, and we can get right into it."

Satisfied with that, Allura nodded her head. "Very well. Then let us reconvene in the lounge in half a varga."

"Actually," Shiro interjected, "-do you think we could move that to the green lion's hangar? There's something I'd like to have Pidge check out for me."

Blinking, Pidge pointed at herself. "Me?"

Giving her a faint smile, Shiro nodded his head. "You're our resident tech expert."

Allura seemed to frown, but nevertheless, accepted his words. "Very well then. We shall all meet in the green lion's hangar. Still in half a varga, though."

"I'll get something from the kitchen for Shiro." Hunk piped up. "You've been in there like, two days, so I'm guessing you probably feel a bit on the peckish side by now, right?"

"I do, actually." Shiro admitted. "Thanks, Hunk."

"And I'll help Shiro back to his room!" Lance chimed in, all but cutting off Keith, who he suspected was about to make the same offer. Catching the faint glower he sent towards him, he merely shrugged. "What? You snooze, you lose, mullet."

Brows furrowing, Keith's glower didn't fade. "I'm not even asleep, Lance."

"Figure of speech." Lance told him, seeming to brush it off. "Come on, Shiro. I bet you're dying to get out of that cryosuit. I should know."

Glancing towards Keith, who he could have sworn was sulking just a tad, Shiro looked back towards Lance. It almost seemed like he had made the offer on purpose- but he was right about one thing.

The faster he got out of this cryosuit, the better. The clothes that he had been provided as a Galra prisoner had been threadbare, but at least they weren't itchy, which the cryosuit was, to no small degree.

He... probably shouldn't mention that to Allura, though. She likely wouldn't take it well.

"We'll catch up later, Keith." Shiro told him, resting a hand on his shoulder, making sure to telegraph the action.

Nodding his head, Keith didn't quite look up at him. "Yeah. Sure."

Turning towards Lance, he arched a brow as he made a show of performing a sweeping bow, extending one hand out to his side. "After you, oh fearless leader."

Indulging him, Shiro took the lead. It was only after they had left the infirmary, that Lance finally decided to say what was on his mind. Just like he suspected, he had been trying to get him alone.

"Can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure, Lance." Shiro told him, giving him a reassuring smile. "You can always come to me about anything. Did something happen on the planet you and Hunk landed on?"

"No." Lance immediately replied, before reconsidering. "Well, yes. A lot of things happened, actually. But that's not the point."

"It's about- it's about Keith, actually." Lance ventured, for once in his life, almost sounding hesitant. Lance was a lot of things, he'd started to gather, but hesitant wasn't one of them. Especially not on the subject of Keith.

"What about Keith?" Shiro asked.

"Well, uh," chewing on his lip, he flagged half a step behind him, "-Hunk kind of talked to him, while you were out."

Ah. Mention of Hunk made things a bit clearer.

"He talked to you about his theory, didn't he?" Shiro asked. "Is this what this is about?"

"It's uh- kind of less of a theory at this point." Lance told him.

Coming to a halt at that, Shiro stared down at him, wondering if he was really saying what he thought he was. "Keith opened up to you?"

Something about that didn't sound right. Sure, Hunk had been making strides when it came to befriending the usually withdrawn boy (tempting him with food, like the stray cat he was), but Lance? The two of them being in the same room usually resulted in bickering, not exactly the best grounds for a friendship to form.

Especially not one that ran deep enough for Keith, for whom secrets seemed to be a means of survival, to open up to.

"Not exactly?" Lance frowned, rubbing the back of his head. "It was more to Hunk, and even then, he kind of forced it out of him. By accident." He was quick to add.

That made a bit more sense, he'd admit.

"Alright," turning so that he could look him eye to eye, Shiro ignored the itchiness of the cryosuit for the time being. This was more important. "-what did Keith say?"

"Well he didn't so much say anything, not exactly." Lance confessed. "But he didn't exactly deny anything either. So the uh, the war thing is true, at least."

That stung, he'd admit. Even if it hadn't been in the same way Hunk thought it was, being involved in a war, especially for someone of Keith's age, was nothing good. Being thrown back into one?

That was worse.

"We thought you should know about." Lance told him. "Since you know, you're the leader and all. And since Keith listens to you."

Letting out a snort at that, Shiro couldn't exactly help himself. "Sorry to disappoint, but Keith doesn't exactly listen to me."

"Uh, I mean, yeah, he kind of does?" Lance told him. "You're like the Keith tamer."

"That was you, huh?" Shiro asked, arching a brow. The guilty expression on Lance's face spoke volumes.

Still, he sensed that Lance was concerned about this, and that was telling. Lance and Keith didn't exactly get along- they tolerated each other at best, but he couldn't exactly claim that they were friends. So for him to be this concerned... it spoke to just how deeply the issue was troubling him.

Not to mention to Lance's overall character.

There were some issues that needed to be worked out, sure, but there was a heart of gold under there. Somewhere. Probably past the Casanova wannabe.

Resting a hand on Lance's shoulder, Shiro gave him a reassuring smile. "I'll talk to Keith."

He didn't know if it would do any good, but if his fellow paladins were this worried about him, he couldn't exactly turn a blind eye to the matter. Besides, he was worried about it too.

Whatever Keith's past, it didn't change the fact that in the present, he was someone that he thought fondly of. His stray cat metaphor was a damned good one- just as Keith had been warming up to him, he'd been warming up to Keith.

He was a good kid. That much was clear to Shiro- that his heart was very much in the right place. Even if he was willing to sacrifice others, he suspected that he was just as willing to be sacrificed himself- which was a chilling thought.

He'd just been raised that way. Perhaps with patience and understanding, he'd be able to undo that. It wasn't as if he didn't see value in his life, nor the lives of others- he just knew, perhaps all too well, that war involved sacrifices.

He'd told Pidge that much, on the Galra cruiser that carried the red lion, before he'd realized that she was actually Katie Holt, Sam's daughter. Before it had really sunk into him that what he was leading into battle was nothing more than a ragtag group of children.

Shaking it off, Shiro instead focused on the grateful smile Lance gave him.

"Thanks, Shiro." Lance told him. "Just- don't tell mullet I sent you, okay? I've got an image to maintain."

Letting out a faint snort, Shiro cracked a smile. "Don't worry. Your secrets safe with me."

The fact that a Galra had saved him went over about as well as he'd expected it to.

Which was to say, not at all.

Or at least, most of them didn't. Keith said nothing, merely hanging back, a bit away from the others, but that was almost to be expected. Hunk was curiously silent as well, looking almost contemplative- and he didn't miss the brief way his gaze turned towards Keith.

He'd have to ask him about that later. He got the feeling that maybe Lance had left something out.

"You trusted a Galra?" The words came out almost as an accusation, a sting of betrayal evident on Allura's face. He understood it, knew where it was coming from- she had literally everything taken from her by them.

But even knowing that, he wasn't going to back down.

Maybe he hadn't lost as much as her to them, but he still had lost things- his arm, his freedom, his mental well being. Besides, loss wasn't exactly a competition.

"Yes." His voice was resolute. "I was able to escape because of her."

"I don't know, Shiro." Pidge piped up. "Are you sure it wasn't some kind of a trap? Maybe there was some kind of tracking device in the patch."

"There wasn't." Coran chimed in. "I checked it out myself. Just a patch."

Exchanging a glance with Coran, Shiro couldn't help but note that he also seemed to be taking this news well. Like Allura, he had lost everything to the Galra- so that took him a bit by surprise, he'd admit. Then again, he didn't really know Coran as well as he should.

"It wasn't." Shiro told them. "If they wanted the black lion, they could have just taken it. I wasn't in much of a condition to fight back."

"He does kind of have a point." Hunk said, flinching a little when Allura narrowed her eyes at him. "What? He does. They could have just used the black lion's signal to lure us here."

It was true, and Allura knew it. She wasn't happy about it, but it was enough to keep her quiet for the time being.

"This isn't the first time this happened either." Shiro told him. "While I was in the healing pod, I finally remembered how I managed to escape from the Galra. Someone helped me."

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Keith perking up a bit. The moment he caught him looking at him, his expression settled back into it's neutral, impassive default.

"Another Galra, I'm assuming." Allura said.

Looking her square in the eye, Shiro didn't back down. "Yes."

"So what? You're saying there's some kind of Galra rebellion?" Lance asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying." Shiro told him. "When he freed me, he told me that he put coordinates in my arm. That if I made it, I should go to them."

"So that's why you wanted me." Pidge noted. "Let's see it, then."

Resting his arm on the table she had set up, Shiro pulled his chair a bit closer, to give her better access to it. She poked and prodded it for a few minutes, before she hooked it up to her system, wasting no time in getting to work.

"This Galra you met," Keith's voice took them all by surprise, he felt. He'd been so silent up until this point. "-on the planet. She have a name?"

Blinking at the question, Shiro realized he hadn't given her name. "Krolia."

His reaction was so faint, it was like he'd barely made it. He was almost entirely sure the others had missed it, but he caught it- the slight pull of his lips, an almost silent hum escaping him. It's worth noting, but he doesn't quite know what to make of it.

"Well, I'm not seeing any coordinates here." Pidge spoke up, breaking the hushed silence that had fallen after that. "Are you sure this wasn't just a dream?"

"I'm positive." Shiro told her, though he could understand her doubt. A dream had while in a healing pod didn't sound like the most reliable source of information, but he knew in his gut that it had actually happened. "Someone helped me escape."

"And he was Galra?"

Allura's tone was harsh, and while he considered himself a patient man, his past few days had involved getting hurled into an escape pod, blasted into space, zapped by a space witch, and shot out of a corrupted wormhole. It had been a rough time for him, so he felt he was at least a little justified at being short with her in return.

Besides, he wasn't the only one who needed to tell the team something.

"Your father must have trusted them once." He began, looking her dead in the eye. "Zarkon was the original black paladin, wasn't he?"

The pull he had towards the black lion... it was the only explanation.

The shock that swept over the group was understandable- all of them, except for Keith. But then, Keith had been the only one to fight him. He'd seen him use his bayard- the black bayard- and said as much, not holding back in the least with his words.

Allura, for her part, looked regretful. It was clear that this wasn't how she had planned for things to go, and her reasons, when she gave them, were relatively sound. Still, it was a lot of her to ask from them, to be honest and truthful with each other, when she wasn't willing to do the same in return.

Zarkon being the original black paladin... that was an idea he was still trying to wrap his head around. No wonder there was a sting of betrayal to all of the princess' words, whenever she spoke of the Galra.

He wondered what the black lion thought. It didn't communicate with him as much as he suspected the other lions did with their paladins. Their bonds all felt deeper than his own- though none so much as the bond between Keith and the red lion.

Maybe he should start sleeping in his.

"Wait a second," Pidge spoke up, "-I think I see it now."

In short order, his dream was proved very real- coordinates, installed into his arm, just as Ulaz had said. The Thaldycon system.

"That's where we're headed."

"Are you sure?" It was Lance who spoke up. "I mean, I trust you Shiro, but this seems kind of weird to me. What if Pidge is right? What if this is some kind of trap?"

"That's just a chance we'll have to take." Shiro told him.

"Why would it be a trap?" It was Keith who spoke up, once more taking them all by surprise. "Those coordinates had to have been put into his arm before Shiro became the black lion's paladin. Why bother?"

Frowning, Shiro carefully studied Keith. Maybe the others didn't know him as well, but the fact that he was willing to throw caution to the wind, and trust in what he said was... unusual for him, to say the least. Normally, Keith was the last person he'd expect to trust something like this, not the first.

He was used to him being skittish and paranoid. What about this was different?

"He is right about that." Coran said. "It does seem awfully elaborate for a trap."

Gritting her teeth, Allura stiffened her shoulders. "Fine. We will head for the Thaldycon system. But just for the record, I do not like this."

Keith left the meeting as soon as it was over.

He sensed Shiro looking at him, and got the feeling that he wanted to talk to him. But they only had half an hour at best before they made their next wormhole jump, and he couldn't afford to waste time with what might be a lengthy conversation. He felt a little bad about giving Shiro the slip, but he needed to contact Ulaz, and do it fast.

He needed to know they were coming.

Slipping into the red lion, he listened to her soft purr as he took his seat. Pulling out his transmitter, he tuned the frequency to that of the communications base they had tucked away in the Thaldycon system. That was where they would find Ulaz, where he had been sent ever since he'd broken his cover.

Remote, hard to find, and difficult to get into.

Every Blade of Marmora base was selected with those three traits in mind. Secrecy was important, they couldn't afford to have people just stumble on them by chance.

A faint smile tugging at his lips, he couldn't help but imagine how fascinated Pidge would be by the gravity generator. Maybe they could use it to their advantage, an edge to push her over to the side of going, rather than staying.

"Kyix. I did not expect you to contact me again so soon."

Ulaz's voice was good to hear, even though he'd heard it not so long ago, and in person at that. When he had left to go undercover in the Galra Empire, posing as a technician, he'd always known there was a chance he might never see him again. He would be working closely with the druids- contact was dangerous.

But now he was free from that, so even if he did have to remain hidden, contacting him was a fair bit easier than it had been before.

"Neither did I." Keith confessed. "But I've got some good news."

"Oh?" Ulaz questioned. "Do tell."

"We're headed your way." Keith told him.

"That is good news." Ulaz remarked. "I take it Shiro's memories returned to him?"

"The bit about escaping, at least." Keith told him. "It wasn't easy, but he managed to talk Allura into it. I've sent you the access codes to the ship. There's a hatch on the outer hull on level five that you can sneak in through."

"I could always just hail you." Ulaz pointed out.

Frowning, Keith considered it for a moment. It would be easier.

"That would just confirm that you knew we were coming." Keith said.

"As would someone providing me with access codes." Ulaz pointed out. "But I suppose it would be a good chance to put the paladins to a test. Have they faced many Galra in combat?"

"Mostly it's just been sentries." Keith told him.

Considering it, Ulaz let out a low hum. "Perhaps it would be a good chance to make them wise to the fact that not all of their opponents are going to run on automated systems."

Perking up, Keith couldn't help but grin. "So that means we'll get to spar again?"

"In a sense, I suppose it does." Ulaz admitted. "Though you do realize I do not intend to let you win, young one."

"Ulaz, you have never let me win even once in my life." Keith pointed out. "Why would you start now?"

"Out of consideration for your human form." Ulaz told him. It was a Galra trait to be stoic, so not many could tell when one was joking, which he knew Ulaz was doing right now, at this very moment, without so much as batting an eye.

"Hilarious." Keith said dryly.

"Yes, I find it as such." Ulaz observed. "You are sure that this will provide you with no difficulties? It is to my understanding that they have seen you once before in your armor. They will most likely make the connection."

"Just say it's someone we sent to gather information." Keith said with a shrug. "It wouldn't exactly be lying."

"Fair enough." Ulaz admitted. "In that case, I shall begin my preparations. I will see you soon, Kyix. Though I suppose perhaps, that I should call you Keith instead?"

Quirking a faint grin, Keith nodded his head. "Probably, yeah. See you soon, Ulaz."

Switching off his transmitter, he slumped back in his chair. He wanted to ask Ulaz about his mother, to confirm that she was really working underneath Warlord Ranveig, but there wasn't time.

Hell of an assignment. He knew his mother could handle it though.

To think that Shiro had met her... he'd joked about it before, but he guessed the odds of it were actually really good, since it had, in fact, happened. Someone must have told his mother about Shiro, which meant someone must have been feeding her periodic updates on his own mission- and he could make a few guesses as to who.

If it wasn't Regris, it was Vrek. Had to be.

Maybe if he told that to Kolivan, he'd go a bit easy on him in regards to the whole challenging Zarkon thing. Which reminded him- he still needed to contact him.

In his defense, now just wasn't the best time. The pressing priority had been to contact Ulaz- he'd have plenty of time to contact Kolivan later.

He wasn't putting it off. Nope. No way. Not a chance.

(He was totally putting it off.)

When the intruder alert went off, Shiro felt tension gather in his shoulders. How had someone been able to just slip into the Castle?

Then again, it had happened once before- but that had been when they were on the ground, not floating in the middle of space. Watching with one eye as Allura searched the camera footage, she eventually found what she was looking for, bringing it up for all to see.

It was Lance who spoke first. "Is that...?"

"No." Pidge said. "It's the same uniform, but whoever this is, they're way too tall."

"Whatever the case, they broke into the Castle." Allura told them, her voice tense. "We cannot just let them run amuck as they please."

"She's right." Shiro said. "Everyone, suit up. We're heading down to level five."

Clad now in his paladin armor, Shiro felt a familiar tension in his body. He knew this feeling- even while most of his memories of his time as a Galra prisoner were still fragmented, he was able to recognize it. It was the same feeling he got whenever he waited for a challenger in the arena, that tense feeling of anticipation, mingled with dread.

The tension the other paladins held was different. Hunk was just plain worried, and Pidge and Lance were that too- though the former was more curious than the latter, who was trying to cover up his own worry with no small amount of bravado.

Keith was just excited. It didn't show on his face, but there was a gleam of it in his eyes.

The same violet eyes as Krolia.

He tried not to think about that.

He'd go back over the footage later, after everything had calmed down. As it stood, he was the last one to clash with the intruder- though even over the coms, one thing became apparent to him.

They weren't attacking.

Defending, yes, but not once did they attack.

They were fast, light on their feet in spite of their massive size. There was something familiar about the way they fought, but he just couldn't manage to place it.

No one could come close to them, except for Keith, who landed one solid kick that forced them back more distance than he would have thought possible coming from someone of the red paladin's size. Even he had still been disarmed in the end, tossed like a ragdoll towards Hunk and Lance.

When he came up, he'd come up laughing. It was a faint sound, one that both Lance and Hunk would have concluded that they had misheard, were it not for the gleam in Keith's eyes.

He was having fun.

(In hindsight, that really should have been his most obvious clue.)

It was only when they clashed, taking advantage of the element of surprise to corner him, that the intruder withdrew his sword, pulling down his hood and revealing their face.

"...Ulaz?"

Seeing Ulaz again so soon was great.

Seeing Ulaz in chains? Not so great.

Hanging at the back of the group, Keith shifted uncomfortably on his feet. This didn't feel right- being free and unsuspected, while Ulaz was effectively being treated like a prisoner. A quick glance from Ulaz assured him that it was alright, for him to continue to maintain his cover, but he couldn't shake the feeling.

It was guilt, he recognized. Different from the guilt he felt about lying to the paladins- more raw. If Ulaz was being treated like this, then he should be too.

Thankfully, everyone else was too focused on Ulaz, paying him no mind. When Ulaz gave them the name of the group he was working with, nobody noticed that he bit too hard on the inside of his lip, tasting blood.

"We have seen one such wearing your same armor before." Allura observed, her tone cold. "On Arus. On my ship. Tell me, what were they doing there?"

"Reconnaissance." Ulaz answered flatly. "We received rumors that Voltron had been reformed. Our leadership wished to verify it themselves. I can assure you, no harm was intended."

"Reconnaissance." Allura replied. "On the same day our ship was nearly taken by Sendak."

"Mere coincidence, I can assure you." Ulaz told her- and nobody but him saw the irony in him saying that. Ulaz, who didn't believe in coincidences, backed into a corner where he was forced to acknowledge that they might exist.

Ulaz knew it, and was staring straight at him the entire time. He had to fight the urge to grin.

"Yeah, sorry if we find that kind of hard to believe." Lance said.

"I mean, they did kill Haxus." Pidge pointed out.

"Yeah, but it's not like they stuck around to help after that." Lance said. "And hey, I thought you were on the side that this was all one big trap."

"I'm not on any side." Pidge told him. "I'm just considering the options."

"I'm on the side that finds out if there are any others here." Hunk ventured, holding up a hand. "Are there? Like, he's working with a group, right?"

Yeah, one, Keith thought to himself. Me.

"I am alone on this base." Ulaz reported.

Not technically a lie.

He kept his silence at the ensuing exchange. Allura's sharp tongue grated at him, but he forced himself to ignore it. She had every reason to hate the Galra- he knew that much. Dealing with this sort of thing was nothing new.

They were born into a universe in which the Galra had done vile deeds, there was no denying that, and he never would. That they were all painted under the same brush was something that could not be avoided. All they could do was back up their words with their actions, become something better, and hope it was enough.

Still, he couldn't help but get some faint amusement out of the sheer excitement Pidge displayed over the space pocket, as she put it. Maybe his human act needed some work, but at least he could read them well enough.

And Shiro- Shiro who steadfastly stood by Ulaz, even in the face of the doubt expressed by the others. The belief that he put in him, the faith- even after everything he had been put through at the hands of the Galra Empire, it stayed strong, true.

It wasn't a trait he could have anticipated, back on Earth, where no human even knew what a Galra was. But it made him glad once again, that if there was any human he'd let himself get attached to, it was Shiro.

He could understand why the black lion had chosen him.

"Keith?"

Glancing up, he realized that Shiro was talking to him- and that furthermore, everyone was looking at him. Blinking, Keith frowned. "Yeah?"

"What's your opinion?" Shiro asked.

"We already know what mullet's opinion is." Lance said, rolling his eyes. "Pretty sure he made that clear back in the green lion's hangar."

Shrugging his shoulders, Keith gave them a blank look. "I stand by it. I don't think this is a trap. If this Blade of Marmora," and that indifference was going to come back to bite him later, wasn't it, "-says that they want to help us, I think we should believe them."

Granted, it was Kolivan they needed to convince, not Ulaz. That might be the real trick of it.

"Then it's settled." Shiro said. "We'll go with Ulaz to his base."

"You can." Allura said, her tone curt. "I will remain here."

"And I'll stay here to protect the princess." Lance chimed in. Keith had to wonder if he was honestly that oblivious to the fact that if push came to shove, the princess would probably end up being the one protecting him.

She trained when no one was looking. Keith had seen what she could do. That, combined with the compassion and determination that she had shown on the Balmera, had earned his grudging respect.

Even if she was likely to shoot him out of the closest airlock if she found out he was Galra.

"Alright," giving the princess and Lance a curt nod of his head, Shiro looked back towards Keith, "-duly noted. Think you can fly us out, Keith?"

Blinking, wondering if there was a particular reason he'd been chosen, Keith merely gave him a nod of his head. "Yeah. Sure."

Exchanging the briefest of glances with Ulaz, Keith dared a faint smile. Before anyone else could notice, he ducked his head away.

At least he'd get to take Ulaz with him inside the red lion. What he really wanted was to show Thace, who had taught him to fly, but if he was being realistic, that probably wouldn't happen. The post he had now was too valuable to the Blade of Marmora, he wasn't likely to risk it for anything.

His mom, too, of course- he wanted to show her too. Now that he knew where she was stationed, the only thing keeping him from going to her was a staunch understanding that in doing so, he could not only put her at risk, but their entire operation. No matter how much he wanted to see her, he wouldn't do that.

He wasn't a child anymore. Hadn't been from the day he'd taken his first trial.

They had a war they needed to fight- and with Voltron's help, they might actually have a shot at winning it.