Pidge looked up and grinned as Matt and Shiro dropped into chairs across from where she, her mom, and Ryou were having lunch. Well, she was having lunch. Ryou and Mom were eyeing their plates of food goo, Ryou as though it were a particularly strange archaeological specimen and Colleen looked like she half expected it to jump up and bite her. "Nice of you to finally join us, sleepyheads." She greeted them around a spoonful of her own goo.

"Morning." Matt mumbled through a yawn, reaching for the jug of space coffee and pouring himself a glass. Shiro grunted something unintelligible that might have been a similar sentiment as he held out his own cup to be filled.

She snorted. "It's afternoon."

Matt groaned. "Katie, chill." He gulped down half his glass and shuddered, and Pidge winced in sympathy. All Hunk's best efforts had yet to make the stuff more than tolerable taste-wise, and unlike real coffee adding sugar didn't help. "We didn't get to sleep until late."

"I know." She smirked at her brother and his boyfriend, waiting until they were both taking drinks before continuing. "You're both covered in hickeys."

She was rewarded by loud choking and spluttering, and cackled smugly over a spoonful of goo as a blushing Shiro tried to pull the collar of his pajamas up to his chin and Matt struggled to clear his windpipe while covering his neck with one hand. "K-Katie!" He wheezed.

"She's not wrong, Matt." Colleen put in with a chuckle. "Not that I'm not glad to see you're finally a couple instead of constantly giving each other longing looks and sappy smiles over your textbooks."

Matt made a strangled noise and picked up an empty plate to hide his face with, while beside him Shiro's face was well past pink and on its way to being the colour of the red lion. Ryou laughed, clearly enjoying his little brother's mortification. "Well, Colleen, at least you didn't have to endure Takashi's hour-long rants over the phone about Matt's smile and the look in his eyes when he talks about the stars and alien life and how smart he is." Shiro moaned and hid his face in his hands.

"No, but I did get ten-page email essays about how Takashi is 'precious cinnamon roll too good for this world, too pure' and how talented he is, among other things that a mother really doesn't want to hear from her son in that level of detail."

"Oh? Like what?" Ryou grinned, ignoring Matt's desperate pleas of 'mom no please stop'.

"Among other things, and I quote, 'Shit, he's bilingual, I think I have a language kink.' End quote."

There was a loud thunk as Shiro's head hit the table and a groan as Matt slid down in his chair, both of them looking very much as though they would like the floor to open up and swallow them whole. Wheezing with laughter and shaking her head, Pidge finally took pity on them once she managed to catch her breath. "Seriously, though, we're glad you guys are happy." She told them, getting up and heading for the dispenser to fill a couple more plates with goo. She'd known how her brother felt about Shiro for a long time, and she'd been damn near certain that Shiro felt the same way. After Kerberos...well, at least they'd gotten another chance at happiness, despite everything. "You guys deserve it."

Shiro smiled weakly at her as he took the first plate from her, passing it over to Matt before accepting the other. "Thank you, Pidge."

She nodded and went to sit back down. For a few minutes there was only the sound of spoons scraping plates and goo being chewed. Colleen and Ryou finally deigned to try it, wearing near-identical expressions of uncertainty and consternation. She remembered her teammates making similar faces when they'd first tried it and giggled. At least the new rations they'd gotten from the Icebringers had more substance to them than the Altean ones.

"So." Shiro spoke up between spoonfuls, drawing her attention back to him. "Did anything else come up after we...ah...left...that I should know about?" He looked chagrined as he referenced his outburst the previous evening, but she took that as a good sign that Matt had managed to get him to talk out whatever was bugging him. He definitely seemed a lot more relaxed, anyway.

"Um...yeah, actually." Hesitating, Pidge stirred her goo in circles as she tried to organize her thoughts. She hadn't expected to be the one to drop those particular bombshells on the black paladin, even if her odds had gone up with half the team out of the Castle today. Man, Lance and Hunk were lucky they didn't have to deal with this. She could feel four pairs of eyes on her and grimaced. There really wasn't any tactful way to do this. Best to just be blunt. "So, um, you know that Galra you guys brought back from the Weblum's Breath? Kovirak?"

She looked up at Shiro and he nodded, looking concerned. "What about her?"

Pidge took a deep breath. "Turns out she's Keith's mom."

There was a loud clatter as Matt dropped his spoon and Shiro's jaw fell open in shock. "His mother?" He repeated, looking dazed. "The one who disappeared on him when he was three?"

"Mhm. She said something about leading soldiers away from the area before she left the planet so they wouldn't find out about Keith or his dad. It's why she vanished so suddenly."

Now Colleen perked up, shooting Ryou a startled look over Pidge's head. "That sounds like...Keith's what, nineteen now? Sixteen years ago." Seeing her daughter's baffled look, she shook her head. "I think we might have the Garrison's log of the incident. It was in the files I hacked when I was looking for information about what happened to you. It happened near here?"

It was Pidge's turn to be startled, outrage bubbling up in her chest on Keith's behalf. How many lives had the damn Garrison screwed up over the years? "I think so? She mentioned her mate's home had been near here. She asked us for help finding her mate and cub when they weren't there."

"And instead found herself looking her cub in the face-twice." Matt chuckled, shaking his head. "That must've been a shock for her, coming back to find two of him. And Keith and Kurogane must be over the moon." Her wince must've shown in her face, because his smile fell and he leaned forward a bit. "Katie?"

"Keith just kinda seemed in shock when Allura shooed us out last night." She said, choosing her words with care. "And Kurogane is...pretty pissed, to put it mildly."

Shiro exchanged alarmed glances with Matt. "Pissed?"

She nodded, biting her lip. She still hadn't made up her own mind about her feelings on this particular issue. 'Cool motive, still betrayal' didn't quite seem to cut it when it was her friends' lives on the line. "It turns out she's also the traitor in the Blade. But she did it because Haggar was threatening to go to Earth and kill Keith."

A stunned silence followed that particular revelation. She could practically hear Shiro's brain stutter, bluescreen, and reboot as he tried to process that.

Finally he sighed, putting his head in his hands. "Yeah, okay, that's fair. Given what happened in the other timeline…" Pidge felt a surge of guilt sitting heavy in her chest. The relaxed happiness from when he'd arrived was quickly disappearing, replaced by a wearier leader-dealing-with-a-problem look. And now she had to make it worse.

"Not just the other timeline. We finally heard back from Kolivan." She interrupted quietly. "Allura told us all at breakfast. They went after the Blades at the same time as the Weblum's Breath attacked Earth, just like last time."

Shiro sucked in a sharp breath, while Matt uttered a quiet curse beside him. "How bad is it?" The black paladin asked after a moment.

She poked at her food, not looking at him. "About a third of the undercover Blades haven't reported in as of when he sent the message. And half their outposts were wiped out before they could be evacuated. A lot of others had to fight their way out, I think." Not nearly as bad as the previous timeline, thank god, but still too damn deadly. Allura's lips had been tightened to a thin line when she informed them all that their next stop once they left Earth would be Blade headquarters. Kovirak hadn't uttered a word, accepting the pronouncement with a single small nod. And Kurogane had left the table not long after, while Keith hadn't said a word since.

Letting out a slow breath, Shiro sat back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Where are Keith and Kurogane now? I should probably talk to them."

"Kurogane and Alejandro went to Cuba with Lance. Dunno when they'll be back, but probably not until at least tomorrow. Keith's training, I think. Punching his emotions into the gladiators like he always does when he doesn't know what else to do with them." Although in this case she couldn't blame him. If it was her, she'd probably want to punch something too. She sighed and leaned against her mom's shoulder.

"Alright. Thank you." Shiro grimaced and gave Matt an apologetic smile. "Sorry Matt. Duty calls."

Matt chuckled and waved it off. "That's what happens when you have little siblings. Don't worry about it. I was gonna take Mom, and Ryou if he wants, over to the Long Wind and introduce them to some people." He leaned in to steal a quick kiss. "Good luck with Keith."

Shiro groaned as he got to his feet. "Thanks. I think I'm gonna need it."

00000000

The crash of a gladiator hitting the floor was audible even through the thick metal door of the training room, and Shiro sighed. Seemed as though Pidge was right about how Keith was dealing with his emotions toward the situation. Stepping through the door, he started to call Keith's name only to break off mid-syllable, his eyes widening as he took in the scene.

Keith was ringed by three unarmed gladiators, their armor cracked and battered but not damaged enough to deactivate yet. The paladin himself was breathing hard, blood trickling from a split lip and coating torn knuckles. Dressed in casual clothes instead of his armor, his bayard were nowhere to be seen, fists raised defensively in front of him as he shifted, wild eyes flicking left and right to keep an eye on his opponents.

Alarm curdled in Shiro's gut. He'd seen this sort of thing too many times before. It went well beyond merely trying to vent out his emotions. This was a Keith who was overwhelmed and pulled in a dozen different directions inside, past being unable to cope, picking a fight he couldn't win as though hitting and being hit would help. Back at the Garrison those would have been other students, or maybe teenage thugs in town surrounding him, ending in bruises and cracked ribs and a silent, withdrawn Keith who didn't utter a word for days. And while the gladiators had automatic safety shut-offs, they could still do more than enough damage to suit the teenager's needs. The tense weeks following the Trials of Marmora had proved that.

One of the gladiators shifted its weight, foot lifting for what promised to be a brutal kick. Shiro didn't give it a chance to land. "End training sequence!" He barked, already moving. The droids froze, flickered, vanished, and Keith whirled to face him, outrage and distress tangling across his face.

"Shiro! What are you doing?! I was-"

Shiro didn't let him finish. He didn't bother trying to talk, not while Keith was so keyed up. Instead he went for the one other thing that seemed to help when the younger male was like this, wrapping his arms around him and enfolding him tight in a hug just short of bone-crushing. Keith struggled for a moment, and Shiro could feel the tension in every muscle, springs wound too tight and ready to burst apart like shrapnel. Then he stopped, leaning into Shiro's chest and letting his brother envelope him fully in the embrace, Keith's head tucked under his chin and shuddering breaths tickling his neck. He seemed to take forever to relax, the tension uncoiling half an inch at a time, but Shiro stayed put. He'd do this as long as Keith needed him to.

Only once the younger was almost boneless against his chest did he ease up his grip. Keith allowed himself to be steered over to one wall, where a first-aid kit was stored in case of minor training accidents, and settled down onto the floor without complaint. Shiro sat in front of him, wordlessly pulling out gauze and disinfectant before peeling off one of Keith's gloves as delicately as he could manage.

Aside from a few winces, Keith held still, allowing him to clean and bandage his bleeding knuckles and split lip. There were bruises forming on his jaw, and probably more under his clothes, but there wasn't much Shiro could do about those. "Anything else need the kit?" He asked, helping Keith put his gloves back on over the bandages.

"No." Keith's voice was a hoarse whisper, but talking was a good sign. Shiro nodded and packed the kit away again, shifting to sit beside Keith and put an arm around his shoulders.

"Pidge told me about Kovirak." He began, and felt Keith stiffen again under his arm, He squeezed the younger boy's arm in a comforting gesture. "You don't have to talk right now if you don't want to. I was just letting you know that I know what's going on."

Keith subsided, leaning against Shiro's shoulder and huffing out a soft breath. "I don't know what to say. Hell, I don't know what to feel."

Shiro hummed. "I can imagine. After what Pidge told me...heck, I don't even know what to feel about this whole mess, and I'm not even directly part of it the way you are. I can't even begin to imagine what it must be like for you and Kurogane."

"Kurogane's already made up his mind. He hates her." The younger male sighed, tugging at the edges of his gloves. "I almost wish it were that easy for me."

"I don't think it's as simple as all that for him under the surface, Keith. She's still your mother, and his too. I doubt he's forgotten all those questions you had for her." He didn't know what most of those questions were. At the time the topic had come up his bond with Keith was still too new and too fragile for Shiro to be willing to risk probing for more information than the teen was willing to give on such a delicate topic. Even the admission that he missed his mother had been progress towards getting through Keith's walls, and he'd respectfully left the vulnerability be.

"Yeah…" Keith fell silent again. Shiro didn't push. Trying to force the other to open up would only make things worse. He needed support, not an interrogation.

He felt the other shift under his arm, tucking his knees to his chest. "Shiro...I don't know what to do. I'm happy, but I'm also angry. And I feel bad for being happy and for being angry?" Keith's breath hitched and he buried his fingers in his hair. "And I think there's more but it's all so mixed up it hurts and I don't know…"

The tension was coming back and Shiro turned, pulling Keith against his chest and hugging him tight again. The position was awkward but it seemed to help, Keith leaning into him and closing his eyes as he drew in a shuddering breath. That was a lot. No wonder Keith had been overwhelmed to the point of picking gang-fights with the gladiators again.

"Alright. Let's take this one thing at a time, okay?" He stroked his little brother's hair soothingly with one hand. "Let's start with why you're happy. Can you put it into words?"

A momentary hesitation, then a small nod under his hand. "I found my mom. She didn't abandon me. She was trying to protect me. She's been protecting me this whole time. She tried to find me when she came back." Another small pause, then, voice breaking just a little, "She loves me."

"Oh Keith." Shiro sighed, placing a kiss on top of the other's messy hair. "Of course she does. You're her kid." How many other families had Keith watched go by over the years, parents showing their love to their kids in a thousand small ways, and craved the same thing, so blatantly absent in his own life? Shiro tried to give him the attention he'd been deprived of, but a parent's affection was something special that could never be replaced. Shiro himself knew that all too well. His aunts and uncle had tried their best, but it was still never quite the same.

"And at the same time, I'm mad as hell because she loves me but she wasn't there. She wasn't there when Dad died and I got shoved into foster care, and she wasn't there any of the times I had to call cops or grab my bug-out bag and just go." A fist pounded into the floor and Shiro grabbed Keith's hand, keeping him from doing himself more damage, heart aching for the battered teen. "I went through so much shit because she wasn't there and her coming back now doesn't take it all away."

Rubbing a thumb over Keith's bandaged knuckles, Shiro nodded solemnly. "No, it doesn't. You have every right to be pissed at her for that, as well as to be happy that she's here. It's a complicated situation. Makes sense for your feelings about it to be complicated too."

Keith groaned, throwing his other hand up in a frustrated gesture. "'Complicated' doesn't do it justice, Shiro! People died because of her! A lot of people! In both timelines! People who are our allies, who've been fighting the Galra Empire for their entire lives, and she betrayed them. I should hate her!"

"But you don't." Shiro observed, noting the catch in the younger's voice.

Sagging, Keith rested his elbows on his knees and shook his head. "I don't." He whispered. "She sacrificed all those lives to try to protect me." He lifted his head a little, swiping at his nose with the back of his hand, and from this angle Shiro could see his eyes were shining. "'I'm a mother and my cub will always come first.' That's what she said."

Oh. Shiro found himself feeling torn. On the one hand, god, Keith definitely deserved a mother who loved him wholeheartedly after all the crap he'd been through. And it certainly sounded as if Kovirak was exactly that. But on the other hand, where did you draw the line when it came to doing anything for your child? "She didn't have any other options?" He asked, trying to keep his tone non-judgemental despite the fear sitting heavy in his chest. If she had and betrayed them anyway...but Keith would've been a lot angrier in that case. He hoped.

"No." A sharp jerk of Keith's head confirmed that suspicion, relief soothing the worry in Shiro's gut. "I don't think so, anyway. Haggar was blackmailing her by threatening to track me down and kill me. She couldn't refuse and she couldn't run. What else could she do?"

"I don't know." Shiro admitted, leaning his head against Keith's. He might even have done the same in her situation, for someone he cared about. Heaving a sigh, he studied the far wall as if it might contain answers to all their problems. "The real question is, what are you going to do? What do you want from her right now."

Keith fidgeted with his gloves again. "I, uh...I asked her to stay." He sounded small, like he was expecting to be in trouble for doing something like that without clearing it with anyone else, and Shiro felt a pang of guilt. He didn't want Keith thinking that way. Not with him, especially. The younger was clearly nervous. "I asked her not to leave again."

"Okay." He managed to make his tone easier than he felt, and was rewarded by Keith relaxing again under his arm. "We'll have to keep an eye on her, just to be safe, but it doesn't sound like she's going to make trouble for us. And I can't promise she won't have to leave once we go talk to the Blades again after we leave Earth, but for now it should be okay. She can stay, and you guys can get to know each other again."

A sudden shift under his arm was all the warning he had before Keith's arms were around his middle in an awkward hug. He let out a soft noise of surprise, then chuckled, wrapping his own arms around the other's shoulders in return. It wasn't often that Keith initiated physical affection like this, but it was a hell of a lot better than him busting his knuckles on gladiators. The problem was a long way from solved, for Keith or for Kurogane, with everything that had happened. But for now, at least they could try to focus on the future. The past would come later.

00000000

It was one thing to know that aliens had to exist somewhere out there simply because it was too damn statistically improbable for Earth to be the only life-bearing planet in the whole vast universe. It was another to uncover proof that aliens not only existed, but had been to the Solar system and even Earth, and the fucking government was lying about it the whole time.

It was something else entirely to be face-to-face with something that looked like a six-legged, four-eyed cross between a snow leopard and a polar bear but even bigger, conversing with her son in a language that sounded like ten tigers singing a cappella, while her son glibly growled and snarled right back to, according to the translations she was hearing courtesy of Katie's paladin armor, catch up on the local gossip.

"...all it took was one of them getting blown up?" Matt rolled his eyes in exasperation. "That figures. Who won the pool, then?"

"Tolna-Tchet in data analysis." The other replied with a snort of laughter. "As usual. I don't know how she does it."

Matt heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Neither do I. I really should learn to just place my bets with hers, y'know.?"

The alien's massive head bobbed in a nod of agreement. "Two bets in two days. It will be a while before she has to take a turn at laundry or cleaning duties again."

"Two?" Matt blinked. "What was the other one?"

Four dark eyes pinned her son with a knowing stare, and despite the wildly different facial structure Colleen got the distinct impression the being was smirking at him. Apparently Katie thought so too, because she started giggling into her hand.

And then, erasing any doubts, one eye closed in an unmistakable wink.

Matt choked, spluttered, and turned bright red. "OkaythankyouverymuchfortheupdateIneedtogointroducemymomtosomeotherpeoplenowGoodhunting!" He blurted. Colleen found herself being dragged down the hallway alongside her daughter as fast as Matt's bad leg would allow, with Ryou following after them laughing his head off and the alien's rumbling laughter chasing them down the corridor.

The H'ress, as Matt identified the species to her afterward, along with a name composed of a long string of pitched consonants that she couldn't begin to remember, let alone reproduce, ended up being only the first of many to comment on the progress of Matt and Takashi's relationship. As they made their way through the ship, she watched as her son was greeted warmly by aliens of all shapes and sizes, and subjected to quite a bit of affectionate teasing as well as sincere congratulations. While many of them said hello to Katie as well, and were pleased to meet herself and Ryou, there was an easy camaraderie between them and Matt, as though he were no different from any of them.

"He's part of the family here." She murmured to Ryou, watching as her son knelt to chat with a cluster of children, green-skinned and wide-eyed.

Ryou nodded. "You noticed too? They treat him like one of their own."

"He is one of their own, mom." Apparently Colleen hadn't been quiet enough, Katie moving closer to weigh in on the discussion. "He's spent almost a year and a half with them, on this ship and on another one before it. And all that time he didn't think he would ever get home, so...he made this his home."

Stunned, Colleen lifted her head and regarded her son again. A larger, seemingly older alien of the same type as the children had appeared and was chatting with Matt, who laughed at something being said. He had told her so little so far of his time since being taken by the Galra, before being reunited with Takashi and Katie, and she hadn't been about to push. The scars had been enough to tell her that much of the story wasn't going to be pleasant for her to hear or him to tell. But there was more to his story than the scars, apparently. Another home, another family that he had forged for himself out among the stars.

He was happy here, she realized, watching him waving goodbye to the group as the taller being chivvied its brood away down the corridor. Someone else shouted a greeting in passing and Matt shouted back as he limped back over to her, an easy smile on his face. An odd sense of relief filled her. If he couldn't have been safe in her arms, at least there'd been others who cared about him to take her place.

"Come on, we're almost at the main control room. Shiiar'keh should be there." He grinned at her.

Colleen answered his smile with one of her own and let him lead them onwards.

Shiiar'keh turned out to be another H'ress, this one with dyed patterns in the fur of their back that put her in mind of the northern lights. Various technicians and specialists manned consoles or moved in and out of the room around them, consulting with the pack leader or providing updates on various projects. Matt waited while a large reptilian alien that almost looked as though it could have been descended from a velociraptor finished reporting on the status of some repairs before stepping forward. "Good trading, Pack Leader. Hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Good trading, Matthew. It's good to see you aboard again." Shiiar'keh rumbled in greeting. "And not at all. I was just checking in to make sure everything was under control and progressing smoothly up here." They lifted their head, and Colleen felt their dark eyes fix on her for a moment. "New faces?"

Matt nodded. "I wanted to introduce my mother, Colleen Holt, and Takashi's older brother, Ryou Shirogane. They came aboard the Castle yesterday. Mom, Ryou, this is the Pack Leader of the Long Wind, Shiiar'keh."

"Good trading, Colleen, Ryou." To her surprise, the alien put out a hand to shake. It took her a moment to figure out how to line her hand up with theirs, since it had an extra thumb on the opposite side and intimidatingly sharp claws, but the handshake itself seemed to come naturally enough to the other being. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the last of Matthew's family."

"Um, thank you. Uh...lovely ship you have here." She felt her cheeks burning, and knew she sounded like an idiot. How did you make small-talk with your son's very alien superior?

Fortunately, Shiiar'keh didn't seem bothered by her awkwardness, making a soft huffing noise. "It is much nicer when it's not in the middle of being extensively repaired from battle damage. Which reminds me, Matthew, is there any chance we would be able to trade for scrap metals here on Earth to supply the fabricators? We were already running low on most of the ships after the battle at Trepan Kev and reclaiming the raw elements of the Sliding Snow will only provide enough materials for the most crucial repairs."

Matt blinked, humming thoughtfully. "I don't see why not, but I better run it past the Garrison. I'm sure Iverson can arrange something for us. Let me go contact them." He moved away from them to a console manned by an alien of the same species as Allura and Coran, exchanging warm greetings as the Altean vacated the chair for her son.

Colleen watched him go. He fit in easily amongst these aliens. Not just a home. He'd managed to make a life for himself here. "Thank you for taking care of him." The words left her almost before she realized she'd spoken, and Shiiar'keh followed her gaze.

"He's a valued member of the pack, Colleen. The pack takes care of its own." They answered softly. "I'm just sorry we couldn't bring him home to you sooner, for his sake and yours."

Colleen let out a slow breath. "Katie mentioned he didn't know how to get home, so he tried to settle in here." Beside them, Katie nodded quietly. She'd been hovering close enough to include her mother in her suit's translator's area of effect but not intruding on the conversation. She'd been watching her brother as closely as Colleen had.

Shiiar'keh nodded. "I won't deny it was hard for him. He only joined the Long Wind pack after the destruction of the Boiling Rock, so I don't know his early time with the Icebringers. But to be separated entirely from any of his own species, most likely for the rest of his life...I know it must have been more difficult than he ever admitted to anyone but himself. Your son is very strong, Colleen, and we are lucky to have him. Many would not have endured in the face of such losses. But he accepted them and devoted himself to the pack instead. There are many here and on other ships and even on Sh'ra H'ressnol who owe their lives to him both as a doctor and as a strategist." Colleen was surprised by the obvious respect in the pack leader's voice as they offered her a glimpse into her son's missing years that made her heart ache in her chest. He'd endured so much pain, things that she could never even imagine experiencing, and come out of it still able to smile so freely.

"He's always been strong, and brave." Colleen agreed quietly. Across the room, Matt was resting his elbows on the console, apparently deep in discussion with someone at the Garrison while the Altean leaned over his shoulder, listening in apparent fascination. The Icebringers didn't use translator tech, she'd been told, so English would have been no use to him. No wonder he was so proficient in the various languages used here. Even as she watched Matt covered the microphone, making a comment to the other in a language that was neither English nor the growls and snarls of H'ress'wr. How much had he learned out of sheer necessity? "And brilliant. He gets that from his father." she swallowed down the lump in her throat. Sam would never see all that his son and daughter had achieved.

"Very much so." Shiiar'keh agreed. "We value him greatly for his skills, and also as part of the pack."

"He's got many friends here?

"Well-known, well-respected, and well-liked. Everyone was ecstatic for him when he was reunited with his sister and Takashi after we allied ourselves with Voltron. They'll be happier still knowing he's found his way back to you as well."

Colleen considered that, watching Matt break off the connection and pass the chair back to the comm specialist. "I'm glad. If he couldn't come home, I'm glad he wasn't alone. Thank you."

"The Long Wind and the Icebringers will always have a place for him, no matter where life takes him." The pack leader promised, then turned his attention to Matt as he limped back over to them with a pleased smile. "Good hunting?"

"Great hunting." Matt told them smugly. "Iverson's gonna see about arranging for junk cars to be shipped here from the Phoenix landfill. Lots of iron, carbon, and aluminum. Not really suitable for outer hull repairs, but we can use the scrap from the Sliding Snow for those and use the other stuff for interior rebuilding. Some of it will need to be replaced later once we can get the right materials, but it'll make the ships functional for the time being. He said if there's something specific we need to let him know and he'll see what he can find."

Shiiar'keh let out a pleased rumble. "Thank you. I'll need you to be our primary point of contact for things like that, for obvious reasons. But I won't take up more of your time right now. Good hunting Matthew, Colleen, Ryou, Katie."

Matt gave a respectful nod "Can do. Good hunting, Shiiar'keh." With a wave of farewell, he turned and headed for the door. "Come on, Mom," he gave her a cheerful smile that she couldn't help but return, "Xel will skin me if I don't introduce you to her next."