After Pidge had successfully shut down at least ten sentries, Lance realised something.
"Pidge?" He asked. "Have you seen any crystals yet? Because theses walls look like they haven't had crystals in them for quite some time."
Pidge looked up from trying to de-arm a sentry to get past the gate. "No, I haven't." She frowned. "Do you think there are any jewels here at all?"
Lance pondered. "Well, we are going through the transportation routes, maybe we need to check the crystal silos?"
Pidge got up after successfully sawing an arm off a guard, then said, "Well, we've not been very successful here, so I guess that's our best option." Pidge walked over to a second door, to the side of the main one, and opened it with the detached limb she was holding. "So? You coming or what, dumb one?"
"Stop! Seriously!"
"When would I ever be serious?"
Hunk was flying the lion to Shay's Balmera to free it when a pre-recorded message came through the radio. Hunk put the speaker system in and listened. Sam Holt was on the line.
"Paladins, I have recorded this message and sent it to each of your lions so only you and those you trust can hear it. We need you back at the IGF Atlas on the third moon of H'rai, preferably as soon as you get the message. Put only your lives before this order. Over."
Hunk sat there and blinked for a good five seconds before saying: "Should we go?" And then welcoming another ten seconds of awkward silence.
"Sam looked pretty worried in the message. And it looks pretty urgent to me." Alex said.
Shay frowned, "I'll guess home will have to wait a little bit longer, then." She said, grumbling slightly.
Alex patted her on the shoulder. "Hey, after this one mission, we can always go back to the Balmera and save them. We've got time." He reassured her.
Hunk pulled a lever and the lion flew on course to the third moon of H'rai, where the Atlas was apparently kept.
Lance had made it into the crystal silo with Pidge on his tail, he performed a series of hand movements, clearly describing how to get in and out without being seen. Pidge gave him the things up, and ran to the back of the silo, and knocked out a sentry who was guarding a lever. She pulled it, and the entire front of the silo dropped open, with crystals the size of barges cascading out like a glowing river of gems.
Lance dived straight into the pile and grabbed one of the slightly smaller gems, but he couldn't lift it even then. The gems were too big.
Pidge looked around for something to carry it in, and her eyes fell upon a cart connected to a clear mining system. She grabbed a loose rope from the floor, and tied it around the crystal that Lance had tried to carry on his own. Then, they each pulled the crystal that precious two feet to the cart and started pushing. Granted, pushing a ton of teludav rock on wheels was a darn sight easier than dragging it on bare ground.
Halfway through the journey, Pidge spotted an air hangar with a roof opening, clearly for shipping crystal form this Balmera to a galra cruiser somewhere in the middle of a cruiser harbour.
She looked around for ideas, and spotted a gas container set to be loaded onto a ship quintant. She edged closer to the barrels and read what was on the containers. Apparently it was Nephim, which was a fuel additive for short, fast journeys. It was also deadly poisonous, but only to Galra. It was such a perfect distraction, she thanked the universe under her breath. Now all she needed to do was pierce the inch-thick steel encasing the gas without being caught. Easy.
"Lance?" She whispered, "I need you to sneak up on that guy sleeping on those crates, and steal his sword. Got it?"
Lance nodded, and crept off, leaving Pidge to grab a handful of rocks on the floor, then throw them straight at the button controlling the doors to the emergency vacuum room. The doors slammed shut, then Lance came back with the gun. "Now what?" He asked.
Pidge knitted her eyebrows. "I need you to throw a grenade straight at the doors to the emergency vacuum room, leaving the room useless and every Galra in here poisoned. But only when I say 'geezer'. Okay?"
Lance smiled, and pulled a detonate-on-contact grenade, ready to throw.
Pidge aimed the stolen gun at the barrel, said "Geezer." then shot a hole right through the middle of the stack.
A thick yellow cloud piled out from the hole in the container, smelling like burnt food goo. "This is disgusting." Lance complained.
"Well this is going to get both us and the crystal out of here, so follow me." She ordered, so Lance crept on after her towards a forklift truck. "Just because it's saving our lives doesn't make it less disgusting." He said underneath his breath.
"I heard that."