Iverson heaved a tired sigh of relief as the gate clanged shut behind the last of the convoy of trucks making their way across the open sandy terrain that separated the Garrison campus from the cluster of alien spacecraft. Onlookers still packed the hastily-erected fence line, both on the campus and along the road outside it, and the guards had been hard-put to keep them at bay while the trucks were being brought through.

Gunning the throttles of his ATV, the wheels spun for a moment before the treads dug into the sand and sent him lurching after the larger vehicles. He pushed on ahead of them, heading for the nearest of the big, dark ships. As he approached, a cluster of waiting figures became visible and he adjusted course toward them.

He eased to a stop as he reached them so as not to throw up a cloud of dust and jumped down from the driver's seat. To his surprise it wasn't Matt Holt waiting for him-the young man was nowhere to be seen-but rather the alien who had identified himself as Coran, advisor to Princess Allura of Altea, who stepped forward to greet him with a cheerful smile and firm handclasp. "Commander Iverson! Welcome back!" He said warmly, eyes crinkling as he smiled. Mitch couldn't help but be slightly thrown once again by the similarity to Humans. But then, he supposed, with all the life-bearing planets apparently out there in the universe, two races looking alike wasn't that statistically impossible.

"My pleasure, Advisor Coran." He answered sincerely. "The first shipment of the scrap metal Holt asked for arrived and I thought I'd better follow it in, make sure there's no problems." He shot a warning look over his shoulder in the direction of the soldier driving the lead truck, who'd parked his vehicle and frozen halfway out of the cab, gawking dumbly at the gaggle of aliens behind Coran. "Shut your mouth and open your truck, idiot!" He bellowed, and was gratified to see the man startle so badly he fell on his ass in the sand before scrambling up red-faced and rushing to follow orders.

The Altean chuckled, eyes twinkling. "Just Coran will do, thank you. With your permission?" He gestured to the waiting cluster of aliens, gathered with an array of hovering flatbeds and forklift-like machines.

Eyeing the alien technology with interest-now that the planet was aware of aliens, maybe some sort of technological trade could be established-Mitch nodded firmly. "The sooner we get these trucks unloaded, the sooner we can arrange another shipment. There's another convoy in Phoenix ready to hit the road once this one's almost empty." Which might take a few days, given how tightly packed those trailers were.

Coran didn't laugh, but Mitch got the distinct impression he was amused anyway. "You may as well tell them to get moving now, then." He turned towards the waiting group and gestured at the trucks standing with their back doors open. "Off you go!"

The aliens surged forward, separating into teams as they streamed toward the first three trucks. One of the soldiers had to jump out of the way as a forklift sped up the extended loading ramp and scooped out an enormous pile of tangled scrap-several times what an Earth-made forklift could have carried-before bringing it back down and dumping it onto one of the waiting pallets. It took every ounce of self control Mitch possessed not to let his jaw drop at the speed with which the trucks were being emptied. Full pallets, piled high, were quickly replaced by empty ones, aliens pushing ones loaded with scrap as if they weighed no more than a feather up the ramp and into the ship, reappearing within minutes with the flatbeds empty once more.

"You have our thanks, as well as that of the Icebringers." Coran continued, as if there was nothing remarkable about shifting literal tons of scrap in minutes without breaking a sweat, or however these various alien beings vented excess heat. "I understand they were already running low on many of the stronger metals after our last major fight. We're going to need every bit you can give us just to limp out of here for proper repairs."

"Stronger metals, huh?" Mitch watched as the forklifts moved on to the next three trucks, the pallets zipping across the sand to the next ship over now instead of the one beside them. "I'm guessing you're not talking about iron, or even titanium, not that we have much of that to give you." He eyed the towering hull. The technology was so far beyond what Earth had developed so far, he couldn't even begin to guess what they might use instead.

"They have their uses, but outer hull repairs are not one of them. This," Coran waved a hand at the trucks, "will let us conserve the stronger materials for those." He glanced at Mitch knowingly out of the corner of his eye. "Although I do expect we can spare a few small pieces as samples. A token of gratitude for your assistance."

Casting a startled glance at the other, Mitch frowned. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the ones who just saved the entire planet from total destruction. I think that entitles you to a few favours."

The Altean laughed and waggled a finger at him. "Ah, but in doing so we also exposed your primitive society to technology far beyond its current levels, created mass panic, and caused extensive political upheaval. How's that settling, by the way?" He folded his hands behind his back and turned to Mitch with a concerned expression.

Caught off-guard, he could only blink for a moment before sighing and pinching the bridge of his nose. "About what I expected, to be honest. They're talking about forming a committee to draft a proposal for a group to look into exactly who knew what before all this and once they do that, then they'll do it all over again to figure out how much trouble people are in." He heaved a weary sigh, watching another group of trucks rev up and move further down the line to be unloaded. "I have to admit, I was expecting this to take longer. I figured it'd be a nice break from press meetings and conference calls with the president." He couldn't quite keep the disgust out of his tone. Talk, talk, talk, that's all he'd been doing the last few days. Usually the same things over and over.

He was startled when Coran burst out laughing. "Bureaucracy, the universal constant." He chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "I apologize. You just sounded so much like King Alfor. He never had much patience for it either. Very much a man of action, our Alfor." The Altean's voice took on a fond note, his gaze distant. Then he sighed and shook his head. "But that's not important. There won't be any trouble with you continuing as our liaison here on Earth?"

"Not a chance." Mitch shook his head firmly. "Not at the risk of pissing off the aliens. Especially not ones who promised to make sure we continue to not get blown up by the Galra." Although there'd been times over the last few days when he'd wondered if it would really be that great of a loss if some of those idiots he had to keep repeating himself to ended up on the wrong end of a fighter's lasers. The number of times he'd had to tell them that no, they couldn't negotiate with the Galra to leave them alone, that the only thing Earth had to offer to such an advanced race was slave labour and raw materials...he heaved another sigh of exasperation.

Coran's expression was sympathetic, and Mitch wondered how much he'd guessed of the bullshit that was happening. While he couldn't begin to guess the alien's relative age, he certainly seemed old enough to have plenty of experience with political crap. Especially as a royal advisor. He clapped a hand to Mitch's shoulder. "Well, if you have the time to spare, I'd like to get some more detailed information on Earth technology, so we know what we can give you in terms of defenses. The biggest limitation will be what you can provide power for, especially when it comes to particle barriers. Based on what the paladins have told me, I doubt we can give you anything strong enough to do more than buy a little time while sending a signal to us, but we'd like the give you the best we can under those limitations."

Glancing back at the low shape of the Garrison buildings, Mitch harrumphed in annoyance. "Anything to keep those reporters away from me for a while. After we've discussed defense systems, I'd like to talk to you about the possibility of bringing a press group in for an interview. They're frothing at the mouth to see an alien up close and personal." As well as literally climbing the fence, in a few cases. He dreaded to think what might happen if one got in unnoticed and barged in among all these strange beings.

"I'm sure that can be arranged as well. While we appreciate that you've been handling it so far, I expect it would be best if we spoke for ourselves in regards to the events of a few days ago, as well as our purpose here on Earth for the time being. I'll have to discuss it with the Princess and the paladins, of course, but I expect they'll be more than willing."

"Glad to hear it. Only so many times I can repeat the same shit over and over before I have to resist the urge to tell 'em to start doing laps." He fell silent for a moment, watching the cluster of aliens working like a well-oiled machine as they turned their efforts to the last group of trucks. The efficiency was reassuring. Their defenders were well-organized.

But there was more to success than organization. His eyes couldn't help but be drawn to the gashes in the dark hulls, places where paint had been stripped away and twisted metal was being cut back in order to allow proper patching. He'd listened to the battle, the communications, what he could understand of them, anyway. He'd heard the Princess and Shirogane explain to them about the Galra Empire and its ten thousand years of conquering. He'd stared down the barrel of that monstrous weapon, apparently intended to shatter entire planets with a single, massive blast.

He shuddered in a way that had nothing to do with the shadow of the ship hanging over them and blocking out the hot morning sun.

"Coran." He said quietly, drawing the alien's attention back to him from where he was watching an alien using a series of gestures to request one of the trucks be repositioned.

"Hm?"

Mitch let out a slow breath, folding his arms behind his back. "Be honest with me, one soldier to another." There was no mistaking that subtle steadiness of stance, the way the other's eyes constantly scanned the surroundings. Advisor he may be now, but he hadn't always been that. "Can you win?"

There was a long silence between them, filled with the rattle and scrape of scrap metal, the revving of truck engines, and the clang of something heavy high up and off to one side. Coran's expression was serious, but otherwise unreadable as he turned his head slightly to gaze at the white spires of the Castle of Lions. "...I believe it is possible for us to win, yes." He said at last.

"But you're not certain you will." He caught the careful choice of words.

Coran hummed for a moment. "You heard our recounting the day we landed. You're aware of who, and what, Kurogane and Alejandro are, and what happened to them that led them to us. While their warning was sufficient for us to avoid following their path directly, in doing so, events have...altered. Our enemy is powerful, and also unpredictable."

"Not to mention having the advantage of numbers and resources." Mitch waved an arm at the row of alien vessels for emphasis. "You mentioned that the Galra wiped out the entire Altean civilization, one of the most powerful of its time. You have an ace in the hole that they didn't?"

"Yes, actually." A trace of a smile appeared on Coran's face as he turned himself fully towards the Castle. "We have Voltron. Built to defend the universe, it was the most intricate and powerful weapon ever conceived. Not indestructible nor undefeatable, mind you, but unlike anything else created before or since. Rather than raw energy, Voltron's strength has always come from the Paladins, from their inner strengths and their bonds with each other. As they grow in strength, so does it."

"I thought you said Voltron was built well before the war started. Why wasn't it used to stop the Galra invasion?"

The smile wiped away and the Altean's gaze became distant and sorrowful. Mitch had the distinct impression he was no longer seeing the Castle, but something else that had taken place a long, long time ago. "Because," he said softly, "Voltron's strength is also its greatest vulnerability. When Zarkon turned on his friend, King Alfor, his very first act was to kill as many of his fellow paladins and the apprentice paladins as he could, so that Voltron could not be used against him."

00000000

Allura frowned as she surveyed the group scattered around the lounge. "Alejandro, you said there was something that urgently needed to be discussed with the team?"

Alejandro nodded, sliding Kurogane's arm gently off his shoulders as he rose to his feet. Both were frowning, the former red paladin likely already privy to whatever his partner was about to tell them. The pair had been unusually quiet all morning, murmuring to each other occasionally in whispers and only speaking up to request a meeting regarding a matter of importance.

Nor were they the only ones acting oddly. Her gaze slid for a moment to Keith, arms folded tightly across his chest where he sat next to Shiro. The red paladin had been oddly withdrawn today, speaking only when spoken to and delivering clipped, one-word answers. It was almost as if their Keith, who had after months of patience and effort on the part of his teammates begun to open up to them and relax around them, had been replaced by Keith as he had been during the early days of his time on the Castle. It was a baffling change from the day before, and while she knew she wasn't the only one who had noticed, she'd yet to hear more than a non-committal "I'm fine" when Shiro had asked if he was alright.

And if Keith was quiet and stand-offish, Lance had been downright despondent. The usually talkative teen hadn't uttered a word, even to his mother, who had spent much of the meal frowning at her son as he pushed his food around on his plate rather than eating it. Even now he was sitting with his knees hugged to his chest, leaving a space between himself and Hunk, who was watching his friend with a concerned expression out of the corner of his eye.

What in the name of the ancients had happened last night after Coran had led the two blue paladins away to apologize to them?

A throat-clearing beside her made her jump and startled her out of her musings. Alejandro was standing beside her, looking at her expectantly, and she blushed and hastily moved off to the side, sitting down in the empty space beside Keith with her hands folded neatly in her lap.

"Alright." Alejandro scanned the group slowly. "This is a discussion I think we should have had a long time ago. Closer to when we started as paladins, I mean. In fact," She felt his blue-eyed gaze land on her and stiffened in surprise, "we probably should have had it right after we found out that Zarkon was the original black paladin."

There was a quiet hiss of "he was what" from Matt, who apparently hadn't managed to completely catch up on all the little details, and Shiro straightened. "What's this about?"

Nodding to their leader, Alejandro frowned. "Glad you asked. It's about the old paladins. Specifically, who they were and what they did. We know Zarkon was the first black paladin, and he turned on Alfor and started conquering the universe. We know that King Alfor was the first yellow paladin, and the one who sent the lions into hiding to keep them out of Zarkon's hands. But it wasn't until a couple weeks ago that I learned that the original blue paladin was Alfor's sister, Acalli. Head of the amvel nayeta guild on Altea. And who took Zarkon's side when he betrayed the others."

Startled exclamations went up on every side and Allura winced as she saw heads turn in her direction. All she could do was swallow hard and try to keep her composure. "Yes. That is, unfortunately, true." She sighed heavily and closed her eyes, trying not to think of a lean, white-haired Altean woman performing feats of quintessence manipulation that had awed a much younger Allura. "Acalli was my father's younger sister. They...quarrelled often, but I never would have expected her to turn on him in such a way." She breathed a soft laugh that she didn't feel. "Perhaps I was simply naive." Lifting her head once more, she frowned at the time-traveller. "But I don't see how this is relevant right now. That was ten thousand cycles ago, and Acalli is long dead."

"It's very relevant." Alejandro scowled grimly. "Because last night Lance figured out that Acalli is Haggar."

The stunned silence that followed that declaration was as heavy as stone.

Allura gaped at Alejandro, dignity forgotten in her shock and horror. Acalli, Haggar? Her mind reeled, an Altean in blue paladin armor overlaying in her vision with purple robes and glowing yellow eyes. Shifted, she had been unrecognizable in the brief glimpse Allura had had when they fought. But those eyes...Acalli had always had cold eyes, no matter what species she wore. How had she not realized?

And if Zarkon could use quintessence to extend his life for millennia, why not Acalli as well? She pressed her hands over he mouth, drawing in a shuddering breath through her fingers. Of course she would. It shouldn't even be surprising. A woman who would turn on her own kind, assist in trying to kill her own brother, turn her back on her own species' legacy of peace and diplomacy in favour of becoming the right hand of a murdering conqueror was more than capable of the atrocities they'd seen from the witch in the short time since they'd taken up the battle once more, of using the life force of others for her own personal gain.

A hand came down on her shoulder and she jumped, looking up at Alejandro's chagrined expression. "Sorry." He said softly. "I shouldn't have dropped that on you like that. Guess I'm more shaken up about it than I thought."

She took a deep breath, trying to get her emotions back under control. Now was not the time to give in to a resurgence of the fury that had filled her when she learned of her Aunt's betrayal alongside Zarkon. Allura carefully forced herself to put her hands down, settling them on the couch beside her. Something soft brushed against one, and she glanced down to see the mice gazing up at her, alerted by her rampant emotions. She picked up Chulatt and stroked him gently. "No, you have every right to be upset." she informed Alejandro, and glanced over at Lance, still sitting with his knees hugged to his chest and the same troubled expression he'd worn all day. "Both of you. Learning that one of our enemies was a predecessor to your role must have been…"

"Like finding out that Zarkon was the original black paladin?" Alejandro supplied with a humorless grin. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, moving back across the room and tossing himself down beside Kurogane again, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees as he regarded her steadily. "That's twice now we've found out that previous paladins are still alive and out to kill us. Maybe we would have known about Haggar sooner if we'd taken the time to ask you about them sooner, maybe not, but either way, I don't think any of us wants a third bombshell like that. Princess," his gaze softened, "I know it's a painful topic, talking about the past. Believe me, I know. But we need to know. Is there any other past paladin who might turn up on Zarkon's side of things?"

"Please tell me Lotor wasn't Green's original pilot or something." Pidge muttered off to one side, drawing scattered laughter and easing the tension in the room just a little.

Allura managed a small smile, scratching Chulatt behind the ears. "No, thankfully. Lotor was not even alive at the time. The first paladin of the Green Lion, part of the same group as Zarkon, Acalli, and my father, was a Hylathian by the name of Ilexam. Very serious, but he loved seeing new places and cultures. He would tell me about them sometimes, when my father was busy with meetings. And the Red Lion," she was pleased to see Keith perk up a little in interest, "was first piloted by an Olkari named Kobar. She was...very energetic. If there was trouble, she would find it-assuming she didn't cause it."

Shiro chuckled. "They sound like interesting people. What happened to them?"

Her hand stilled on Chulatt's back, her smile falling. "They were killed." She said at last. "By Zarkon. The day he turned on his friends and began his reign of terror."

The day the war had begun. The day her life had changed forever.

The beginning of the end of everything she had known.

"The paladins and apprentices had been called on for aid by a planet called Koltarma. They were in political upheaval after an accident had caused the death of the entire royal family, over a dozen factions on the verge of a catastrophic civil war. The paladins of Voltron were known for their impartiality, and so they were asked to arbitrate a meeting between the leaders of several of the more powerful groups in order to forge a new unified planet even in the absence of those they had once rallied around. Each would spend several days with their assigned local leader, learning more about their capabilities and needs, before coming together for the final meeting."

The room was silent around her as she spoke, but her eyes weren't seeing them anyway. "I don't know what happened. I was not there, nor was Coran, and King Alfor never told the full story within my hearing. All I know is that the day the meeting was supposed to take place, the Lions returned to the Castle."

She remembered it so clearly. Her sharp ears had caught the familiar crack of ships entering the atmosphere, and she'd looked out the window to see the brightly coloured streaks in a close formation descent. Her heart had leapt and she had raced to the hangars to greet her father on his return. Down the hallways, over the banister to save time, and out into the wide courtyard where she knew they would land. Only to stop dead at the sight that greeted her eyes.

Where there should have been ten figures, there were only four, the white of their paladin armor streaked with blood of various colours. The ones in yellow and green supported the one in red down the mouth ramp of the Red Lion as the one in blue trembled against the paw of their matching lion, issuing ragged sobs she could hear from where she stood, frozen in horror. There were no black-armored figures to be seen, and the Black Lion lay sprawled where it had been dropped. The eyes were dark and lifeless in a way she had never seen before.

The wrongness of it all kept her rooted to the spot as Coran arrived, pushing past her with a cry of alarm. "Alfor! Stars, what happened?!"

She would never forget the look on her father's face as he lifted his head toward them. Sorrow. Grief. Despair. And fear.

Allura shook her head roughly, forcing back the memories. "My father told us that Zarkon had declared the Galra Empire to be at war with Altea. That we needed to begin preparations against an imminent invasion." A shudder ran through her body, remembered terror and shock chilling her all over again. "Coran asked if there was any possibility of negotiation, of averting the conflict. And my father said no."

"Zarkon had made his decision, his intentions, plain by striking the first blow. In leaving, he and Acalli ensured that there would not be enough of the first paladins left to form Voltron, even if I were to join them as a back-up pilot. So his first act was to kill as many of the apprentices as he could, so that they would not be able to either. He succeeded in killing his own apprentice, a H'ress by the name of Loh'raakkar, and Alfor's, a half-Galra, half-Balmeran named Aven, before anyone could intervene. The others, led by my father, escaped with the Lions to keep them out of Zarkon's hands, while Ilexam and Kobar sacrificed themselves to cover their escape."

"So that's why he sent the Lions into hiding?" Kurogane asked softly in the quiet that followed the end of her story. "Because without Voltron, it was better to conceal the Lions entirely?"

Allura nodded. "I believe so. The apprentices were inexperienced, and would not have been able to use the Lions to their full potential in combat. They would only have ended up dead, their Lions captured, and Kobar and Ilexam's sacrifice would have been in vain."

Hunk's expression was sorrowful, obviously aching for those lost to Zarkon's treachery. "The other apprentices, what happened to them? Or do you know."

"No. I wish I did." She sighed. "Towards the end, the Castle carried only my father, Coran, the remaining three apprentices, and myself, along with the Lions. In the rotations that followed, King Alfor sent the apprentices away with the Red, Green, and Blue Lions. What became of them afterwards, I have no idea. Obviously at least two of them succeeded in hiding their lions, but I have no idea where they would have gone from there. Or where King Alfor went after concealing the Yellow Lion. I was already in the cryo-replenisher when he left." Her chest ached. She hadn't even had the chance to to say goodbye.

Something of her feelings must have shown in her face, because Shiro leaned across to put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "We're sorry for your loss. I know this must be incredibly hard to talk about. But are you sure there's no chance any of them would have gone to Zarkon's side? Considering that Red was on a Galra warship when we found her…"

"Absolutely not." She shook her head firmly. "I knew them well enough to know that none of the apprentices would have done such a thing, even if Zarkon had not killed two of their own. That would merely have cemented their resolve to fight against him any way they could. Especially Torlast, the red apprentice. Velkwins have very strict codes of honour when it comes to combat, and Zarkon broke every single one. Xe would have rather died than aid him."

"And the blue and green apprentices?" He prompted gently.

"Father often said that Fiorin embodied loyalty better than any other person with blue quintessence he'd ever met. He was utterly devoted to his team, and to the purpose for which Voltron was created, the defense of those in need. Conquering and killing was counter to everything he believed in." She bit her lip thoughtfully. "I can't imagine how my father convinced him to take the Lion into hiding rather than using it to defend Altea. And despite being Galra herself, it was Marmora who tried to rally the Galra in opposition of Zarkon in the early days of the war." Tried and failed. Was it any wonder it had been so hard for Allura to believe that there were any who did so now?

Pidge bolted upright at that, though, drawing her attention. "Hang on, did you say Marmora? That was the green apprentice's name?" Her voice was filled with barely contained excitement.

Allura blinked, and nodded. "Yes. It was."

"As in, the Blades of Marmora?"

Realization hit her like a thunderclap, and she stared at Pidge in shock. "I...I don't know. It was a common name back then, but...I suppose it's possible."

Pidge was grinning fit to split her face in two, bouncing in her seat. "More than possible, I think. Keith," she called, "Remember the day of the battle? When your blade did that glowing thing? It was green, wasn't it?"

Keith nodded, shoulders hunching as everyone turned to look at him, but he sat up a bit and unsheathed his knife. He held it carefully, looking down at it where it rested in his palms. "The sigil on the stone lit up green, and it made me feel like I needed to get away. It was really weird." He grimaced. "Then Kolivan's message came in and I stopped thinking about it. Other things to worry about."

"Allura, can you tell us if the symbol means anything?" Pidge asked.

Despite her confusion at the request, Allura carefully accepted the knife from a reluctant Keith and studied the bright symbol within the blue stone. It took her a moment to place it, from studies that felt so very long ago now. "It's an old Galran runic symbol." She told them, tracing the shape likely with a fingertip. "If memory serves me correctly, I believe the literal translation is 'nerve', although that can vary depending on the context." She passed the knife back to Keith who quickly returned it to his sheath. "It can also be commonly read as 'courage'."

"Two of the green aspects!" Hunk exclaimed, looking over at Pidge and meeting her grin with one of his own.

"Yup." The green paladin started ticking off points on her fingers. "A Galra who rallied others of their own kind to oppose the Empire. Blades that carry a symbol whose meaning is the same as two of the green aspects, including the one that's supposed to be about carrying information in a group. 'Knowledge or death.'"

The smile she turned toward Allura then was heavy with understanding for the weight of not knowing as she leaned closer against her brother's side. "I know it's not conclusive proof, but it is pretty strong evidence. I guess we do know what happened to one of them after all."