It wasn't long after Keith decided to stay at Kraydah's moon, that Matt learned that he had some… interesting sleeping habits. The first hint came on Keith's second day, after their first attempt at training.

Keith had moved on from the failed training fairly fast. Within ten minutes, his frustrated scowl was gone and he went from moody silence to brightly attentive quicker than Matt realized was possible for anyone older than four.

"I have to get to the hangers," Matt said when once he knew Keith wasn't holding any grudges. "Some of the resistance ships could use a fix up."

"Okay," Keith said, not moving from his spot at Matt's side.

"I'll be there late."

"Okay."

Matt stared at Keith, waiting. He had had Keith as a shadow since the boy woke up, and that been long enough to know that Keith had no apparent knowledge or even interest in mechanicking.

Olia laughed and walked away, calling back, "I'll bring dinner later if you don't make it to the dining hall."

"I guess it's you and me, then," Matt said with a shrug. "Come on."

The pair paused at their barrack to pick up breathing masks and Matt's tools. Keith had been given a satchel by Matt, and he carried a basic tool set inside. His knife and sheath, as always, was hanging at his side. Then they headed outside the oxygen tent to the underground hanger.

A couple of mechanics working on a supply ship called out a greeting. Matt waved, and Keith gave them a reserved nod.

Matt walked over to one of the few fighters that the base had, and set down his tools. He had been working on the ship for since the day before, repairing the engine and wing damage caused during an attack.

"I'm almost done with the engine," Matt said, heaving open the damaged panel. "You keep checking for holes in the outer shell."

Keith nodded and scrambled atop the ship. Matt shook his head and got to work. Keith's "job" was actually unnecessary, but Keith wasn't skilled enough to help with the actual work. So, it was that or have Keith simply watch him the entire time.

Matt quickly fell into distraction as he worked. It was a common thing for him, and he knew that the other mechanics would let him know when it started to get late. When someone tapped his shoulder, Matt jumped and spun around.

Olia was standing there, holding two plates of food and wearing a large grin. "Lose track of time again?"

"Always," Matt agreed, taking the plate Olia offered to him.

"Where's the pup?" Olia asked.

Matt pointed up. "I assume, at least. I doubt he wandered off."

In the little time that Keith had been at the base, he had been practically stuck to Matt or Olia's side. He wouldn't talk to many of the other rebels, Eni being a scarce exception.

Olia chuckled and leaned back. "Hear that, pup?" She didn't get a response, and her amusement died down to curiosity. "You don't suppose he actually left, do you?"

Matt set aside his food, curious himself now. He swung himself onto the ship's wing. Not seeing Keith on top of the ship, he climbed up further and finally spotted Keith.

Olia climbed up beside Matt and spotted Keith at the same time. Her brows raised as she asked, "How?"

Keith was sitting cross-legged on the ship's wing. His body was curled inward, head nearly on his lap. His arms were out of sight, tucked against his stomach. His only motion was the slight rise and fall of his frame with each softly snoring breath.

"He fell asleep?" Matt asked in bewilderment.

"Apparently," Olia said with a giggle. "I didn't realize humans could bend that far."

"Not without giving ourselves a majorly cricked neck, at least."

Matt slid down the way he had come to the floor, then walked around the ship. Keith's position looked no less awkward from that side. He reached up and gently jiggled Keith's knee.

"Hey. Wake up, bud," Matt said softly, not wanting to startle Keith and make him fall off the wing.

At first, Matt got no response. He was ready to try something else, when Keith flinched in his sleep. His head shot up, his bleary eyes wide. He looked quickly down and locked gazes with Matt. After a moment, his expression cleared to his normal.

"What did you need?" Keith asked, slowly drawing his body up in a stretch.

"Olia brought us supper." Matt eyed Keith. "Are you okay?"

"Sure. Why?"

"You just… fell asleep in that position?" Matt couldn't help but say it like a question.

Keith shrugged and unfolded his legs. "I finished checking the shell, and got tired." Keith's head cocked. "Did you need something?"

"No, no. Are your legs numb?"

"That's an odd question," Keith said, cocking his head. "But no."

Matt watched Keith slide to the ground. He didn't stumble or show any discomfort, so Matt just shook his head and pushed the incident out of his mind.

The second time it happened, Matt started to wonder.

It was once again after a difficult training session a couple days later. Keith had followed Matt to the Shop, the latter searching for some spare parts to improve one of the fighters engines. Olia had vanished, but Matt knew she liked to be alone sometimes, so he didn't worry.

"Hey, Matt!"

Matt straightened from his search of parts spread on one of the Shop's numerous tables. Eni was walking over.

"Hey, Eni," Matt said, returning to his search. "Need some parts, too?"

"Yes. Te-Osh's transmissions are becoming difficult to hear. We can't afford to have our communications with her lost." Eni pushed aside some parts and picked up a fuse to inspect it. "Anyway, where is your shadow?"

"Hm?" Matt turned to where Keith had been following him, but found the younger boy to be missing. "Huh. He was just here."

Matt scanned the room. He knew it was unlikely that Keith had gone off by himself, but what other explanation was there? He shrugged and turned back to the table. Maybe he had decided to talk to the rebels after all.

Matt and Eni resumed digging through the parts. The parts had come from trading members of the rebels, scavenging teams, and salvaged bits of the Galra attacks. The Shop was full and disorganized, but Matt didn't mind the search. More often than not, he would come across something that served his purpose even better than what he was originally searching for.

After nearly an hour, Eni gave a sudden start. Matt looked at him in alarm, relaxing when he saw the creature that had leaped onto the Balmaran's shoulder.

He was a small and monkey-like alien called a Riti. He had smooth, rust brown skin, and a puffy tuft of chocolate brown fur on the tip of his tail and ears. His face had more of a lizard muzzle, narrow and long. His black eyes had flecks of silver. The tunics and pants he wore always looked too big for him, but allowed him free movement of his eerily flexible limbs.

"Monty," Eni greeted the Riti.

"Hey. Looking for parts? What parts, I can help." Monty had a rapid-fire manner of speaking that made his words nearly run together.

"I think I have everything, thanks," Eni said.

Monty shrugged twice -due to having an extra joint between his shoulder and elbow, it was possible for him to shrug twice at once. He bounced off Eni's shoulder and onto Matt's.

"Where's Olia? Or maybe you can help. Are you watching her pup?" Monty asked, scurrying to the top of Matt's head.

Matt had to take a second to sort out the questions before answering. "Yes."

Until they figured out what to call him, Keith was being referred to as "Olia's pup." Matt found this equally amusing and odd.

Monty leaned down so he was facing Matt upside-down. "Well, you don't do a very good job. Oh, no, no. Ought to be ashamed of yourself."

Matt raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Don't even know." Monty made a rapid clicking sound. "Don't you let that pup sleep? No, gotta lay on the hard cold floor to get any rest. Shame."

"Hold up." Matt lifted the Riti off his head and set him on the table. "He fell asleep on the floor? Again?"

"This has happened before?" Eni asked.

"Yeah, the other day." Matt rubbed the back of his head. "I just assumed he was tired from the training. Monty, where did you see him?"

Monty gave a scolding chittering before bouncing up and hopping away. Matt and Eni followed him through the cluttered Shop, eventually rounding a pile of old panels and stopping. The panels were stacked to make an empty half circle, where the human in question was currently seated.

Keith was leaning back against the wall of panels. His head was cocked back and turned to the side, with his satchel under it like a pillow and mask slightly askew. His knees were drawn up to his chest, with his hands hidden behind them.

"Are you sure he's asleep?" Eni asked.

It was a sensible question. Keith's eyes were closed, but he was in such a clenched position, it didn't seem like he could be asleep. It was only his lack of response to voices that prompted Matt to nod.

"Should we wake him up?" Eni asked after a moment.

"Probably not, since this isn't the first time. We should let him sleep," Matt said.

Monty shook his head and bounded away, muttering about the "cold, hard ground."

"Let's at least get him to bed," Eni suggested.

Matt nodded. Eni handed over his basket of parts, then crouched beside Keith. He laid an experimental hand on his shoulder, but didn't get a response.

In one swift motion, Eni swept his arms under Keith's thin frame and easily scooped him up. Keith moaned and squirmed at the motion, eyelids threatening to open. Matt tensed, but Eni just laid a gentle hand over his face and hummed lowly. Keith shifted a bit more, as if protesting being forced out of his tight position, but calmed down under Eni's embrace.

"You got him?" Matt asked when it became clear that Keith wouldn't awaken.

"Easy. He's so light," Eni said.

A strangely sad expression crossed Eni's face, but was gone so quickly that Matt wondered if he had imagined it.

Matt picked up Keith's satchel, saying, "Yeah. Olia really worries about that, but I think that is just how he is."

The pair fell silent, making their way outside. Halfway to the oxygen tent, Matt spotted Olia exit one of the firing ranges. Her gaze trailed around, before falling on the trio.

Olia froze. It was like she had run into an invisible obstacle, her stop was so abrupt. Matt paused, confused by her reaction and horror filling her face. The next moment, she was running. She ground to a stop in front of Eni.

"He's just asleep," Eni said before Olia could even open her mouth. "He got tired."

Olia visibly relaxed with a sigh. Matt glanced between Eni and Olia, really curious now.

"What the deal?" Matt asked.

Eni looked at Olia, signalling she would have to be the one to say. Olia lowered her ears, thinking about not answering.

Olia figured Matt had a right to know. He sounded like he would be sticking around, so maybe she should tell him in case she reacted like that again. Plus, he was already a good friend. She knew she could trust him with the truth.

Then again, she had felt that way not long after even meeting Matt. But explaining just then felt as impossible as it had almost a year ago.

"Bad memories," Olia muttered.

Matt didn't press Olia. He wasn't sure he wanted to know what could fill the tough Caneen with such fear.

The trio started moving again toward the oxygen tents. They ducked inside, Matt and Olia removing their masks and Keith's. Eni had no mask, but was able to breathe fine in either environment. They went to the barracks and Eni settled Keith in his bed.

"Thanks," Matt said as he Eni took his basket and left.

He got busy pulling off Keith's boots so he could get more comfortable. Of course, no sooner had Matt removed one boot, then Keith's eyes snapped open and he sat upright. Matt leaped back, startled and barely holding in a yelp. Olia wasn't as successful, her ruff also fluffing up.

As before, Keith felt a surge of panic upon awakening, before spotting Matt and calming down. He opened his mouth to ask what he needed, then paused.

Keith's eyes slowly fell to the bed he currently sat on. He lifted his bootless foot, cocking his head at it, then raised his eyebrows at Matt.

"You fell asleep in the Shop," Matt finally said. "Eni carried you here."

"Oh. Thanks, but you could have just woken me," Keith said, snagging his boot from Matt.

"Bud." Matt waited for Keith to look at him. "You fell asleep on the floor."

"Yes?"

Matt and Olia looked at each other, then back to Keith. Was that normal for him? It had happened twice now, and Matt had to admit that Keith didn't act tired during the day. Maybe he just liked to nap.

Olia shook her head. "You should rest for the day. And no training tomorrow."

Keith sat up straighter. "But I need to train! Ask Matt!"

"You have a long way to go, but exhausting yourself will only make training go slower," Matt said. "Listen to Olia."

Keith frowned, his face pursing into more of a pout than he intended. Matt ducked his head to hide a smile, but Olia wasn't amused.

"How about this?" Keith said, switching tactics. "I'll stay in bed for the rest of the day, as long as you let me train tomorrow."

Olia was ready to say no, but Keith just gazed up at her with expectation. He was beaming like Matt over a new piece of tech.

Olia groaned. She couldn't say no to that face.

"Fine. As long as you don't budge from that bed, and you tell us if you are getting tired tomorrow," Olia said.

Keith's smile grew even wider. He yanked off his boots and tossed them under the bed, then squeezed back against the headboard and pulled the blanket over his knees. He sat there for about two seconds, then his cheer faded slightly.

"I'm not tired," Keith said. "What am I going to do for the rest of the day?"

Olia gave in to a laugh at Keith's frustrated expression. "I'll keep you company, pup."

Keith perked up. "That sounds good!"

"I'll leave you to that," Matt said with a laugh. "Those ships won't fix themselves. And don't worry, Olia, I'll keep an eye on him tomorrow."

Matt did try to go easy on Keith the next day, but Keith was too stubborn to train to give up. It took Olia's interference to stop the training from lasting over half an hour.

Afterwards, Matt and Olia kept an eye on Keith, but he never showed signs of fatigue. The same thing followed for the next week, causing them to figure it had been a fluke the first couple times.

Then, Olia turned her back one day, and came back to find Keith asleep in the corner of the shooting range. She promptly woke him up and sent him to bed.

It happened a fourth time the day after the Galra attack. It took a good deal of shaking to rouse Keith, but Matt put it to how much he had trained with his new sword.

Keith would have trained longer with the sword, but it had mysteriously vanished without warning. Keith had been put out, and Matt decided to conveniently "forget" about the training swords.

Three days later, after an intense conversation with some of the officers during a meal, they had found Keith curled under the table. No one knew how long he had been there, and it was only because of the startled yelp Keith had given when Eni accidently kicked him that prevented the group from missing his absence even longer.

Needless to say, Matt was starting to get worried.

"It's happened five times? In less than three movements?" Mikkal clarified.

Matt nodded. He glanced at Keith, who admittedly looked too awake considering he had been snoozing under a table less than an hour earlier. Olia was watching him like a hawk, half afraid he would fall asleep the moment she took her eyes away.

Mikkal took a step closed to Keith, who backed away. Mikkal paused, raising an eye ridge in Matt's direction.

"It's okay, bud," Matt said. "Mikkal is just wanting to figure out why you keep falling asleep."

Keith's eyes ran through the examination room. There was a high, simple table, a counter, a pair of stools, and a collection of jars on a shelf above the counter. A tray on the counter held some electronic devices and very normal-looking tools like a thermometer and otoscope.

Keith shook his head, backing further away. His arms were crossed in a way that was very close to hugging himself. He bounced nervously on his toes, conscious of the others' curious gazes.

"'m fine," Keith mumbled.

"Blade, you've been falling asleep in the middle of the day for no reason," Olia said. "You obviously aren't 'fine.'"

Keith scowled at his feet. "Don't need a doctor."

Matt's eyebrows raised at a thought. "Blade, are you afraid of doctors?"

"No!" Keith protested immediately and vehemently, confirming Matt's theory.

Matt looked at Mikkal, grinning. Mikkal, acting unfazed, simply crossed the room and took a seat on one of the stools.

"Alright," Mikkal started, curling his tail around the stool legs. "How about if I just ask you some questions?"

Keith stared at Mikkal. He was sure there was some trick behind his method, but couldn't decide what.

"What do you spend your day doing?" Mikkal asked.

Keith shifted from foot to foot, then decided to answer. "I train. With my sword and knife. And help Matt."

Matt hid a smile at Keith's short way of answering. Olia gave an amused snort, knowing just how animated Keith could be when he wanted. Keith gave her a sharp look.

"And you enjoy it?" Mikkal asked, as if the silent exchange wasn't happening.

"Yes," Keith said firmly. "I do it whenever I can."

Mikkal smiled. "You'd do it all day if you could, huh?"

Keith nodded. "I would. But Olia won't let me."

Matt gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. Olia swatted him with her tail.

Ignoring them, Mikkal asked, "Do you ever feel like it is too much? Does it make you tired?"

"Not at all," Keith said. "No."

"So it's Matt's conversation boring you to sleep," Mikkal said.

"Hey! I'm not boring!"

But Keith didn't respond. Which wasn't too surprising, considering how quiet he had been, but his thoughtful expression did catch Matt's attention.

"I'm not that boring, am I?" Matt asked.

"It's better than the quiet," Keith mumbled.

Mikkal gave a slow nod. Matt and Olia looked at Keith, trying to puzzle out what he meant.

"I see the problem now," Mikkal said, standing. Keith tensed, but Mikkal didn't look at him. "There is none."

"See?" Keith said, relaxing enough to be smug.

"I can see you're itching to go," Mikkal said, waving a hand. "Go on, I'm done."

Keith nodded and bolted for the door. Olia shook her head, amused, as she followed. Matt was behind her, but paused when Mikkal put a hand on his shoulder.

"Have you noticed Blade being awake in the morning before you?" Mikkal asked.

"He's an early riser," Matt said with a shrug.

"I think it is more than that," Mikkal said knowingly.

Matt rolled his eyes. "You're being as cryptic as Travis. Spit it out."

"It's the silence. Haven't you noticed that Blade falls asleep when everyone is busy and talking? I don't think he likes the silence, and it keeps him from sleeping during the night."

"What can we do? We can't exactly talk all night long, and Blade's current sleeping habits can't be healthy."

"He isn't showing signs of extreme fatigue, so he must be getting enough. But you are right. If something were prevent Blade from falling asleep during the day, then we will really have issues."

Matt thought for a moment. "Hey, I bet I could put together a white noise machine."

"I'm not familiar with that sort of machine," Mikkal said.

"It's just a little machine that runs, you know, background noise. The sound of rain or wind -or even the sound of a ship engine, if that's what calms Blade down."

"I think that would work," Mikkal mused. "It would be worth a shot."

"I'll get to work on that right away," Matt said, backing toward the door. "Thanks, Mikkal!"

Matt, Olia, and Keith had a little section of the barracks to themselves. The small room had four beds, and a blanket hung like a curtain to divide Matt and Keith's side of the room from Olia's.

Matt's corner of the room had a vast collection of parts overflowing his cabinet, half-finished robots under the bed, and more than a few devices that Keith hadn't figured out the purpose of of on the floor.

Keith's portion of the room was significantly neater. He kept his satchel and knife -on the rare occasion he wasn't wearing them- on the bedside table beside the small lamp and flashlight. His armor sat in a box under the bed, and some spare shirts and pants occupied his cabinet. A small clock Matt had rigged up hung on the wall, and there was a smaller box under the bed holding odds and ends that Keith had claimed from the salvage teams and the Shop.

Olia's corner had very little. She was always ready to fly off, so she kept most of her stuff in the Clunker. It was rare for her to have anything more than a spare set of clothing.

The finished projects of Matt's currently occupied the unclaimed corner of the room until Matt found a permanent place for it elsewhere.

After the discussion with Mikkal, the trio had retreated to their room. Matt had started right off with his white noise machine. Taking a nearly finished communicator, Matt swept off parts from his bed and got to work. Olia and Keith, receiving no explanation, decided to ignore Matt in favor of Keith's self-proclaimed "everything box."

"And the purpose of this is…?" Olia asked, dangling a braided strip of black cloth between her fingers.

Keith snatched it back. "It's important."

Keith dropped the strip back into the box. Besides the braid was a a green metal device that gave a constant clicking sound, a bundle of blue metal sticks, a yellow crystal, an orange, fuzzy toy that resembled a klanmuirl, and a pink box with a light blue clasp and highlights mixed in with the bolts, a few tools, and cables.

"You said that about the jitterstick," Olia said, referring to the rubbery yellow stick that Keith had insisted on keeping the week before. She held up the crystal. "Until you got this."

Keith huffed through his nose as he shuffled through the box, leaving Olia to run her paw over the crystal's surface.

It hadn't escaped her notice that Keith always kept some item that was green, blue, yellow, orange, pink, and black in his box. They were replaced out frequently, but she had also noticed how defensive he was of the black-themed item. The quirk puzzled her, but Keith didn't think it was odd in the slightest.

Matt gave a frustrated noise, drawing his companions' attention. With no explanation, he leaped up and ran out of the room, still holding the device.

"I wonder if Mikkal asked him to make something," Olia wondered aloud.

"He'll show it off to us when he is done," Keith said, already distracted with a broken handheld radio.

Olia shrugged in agreement. The pair leaned over the radio, both with honestly no real idea of how to fix it.

Half an hour later, Matt rushed back into the room. He was panting, but grinning as he held out his device to Keith. The boy took it and inspected the palm-sized item.

Keith spotted a button on the top. He pointed to it and raised an eyebrow at Matt, who nodded. He pressed the button, and the sound of a thrumming engine filled the room.

"What is this?"

"Press it again!" Matt ordered.

Keith obeyed, and a chirping came from the device. Keith and Olia's eyebrows raised as trickling water joined in.

"Don't ask where I got that one. Some of the rebels can make really interesting sounds, but I had to promise to not say who to get the bird sound," Matt said.

Keith curiously pushed the button again, and a more familiar engine sound came out.

"That's the Clunker!" Olia said.

Keith pushed the button a fourth time, and the device fell silent.

"I could only get three, but there will be time to record others later," Matt said. "Oh, and that's not even the best part!"

Matt took back the white noise machine and pressed a button on the bottom to activate the hologram function. A foot-tall projection of a planet and its moon with some stars appeared.

The hologram had been a last second thought of Matt's. He figured that in addition to white noise, having a small light in the room could maybe help Keith relax.

"It's just the area around Kraydah's moon right now, but I have some space map images I hope to download in it," Matt excitedly explained.

"That's cool," Keith said, taking back the device when Matt offered it.

"And it's yours," Matt said.

"What? Really?"

"Yep. Mikkal thinks you may be not getting a solid night's sleep because it's too quiet. So, tah-dah!" Matt finished with a flourish.

Keith smiled, touched by the gift. There was also a bit of amusement at how proud Matt was; he was just beaming. He thanked Matt and insisted on trying it out immediately. Matt and Olia agreed, and everyone went to bed to the sound of the Clunker's engine.

Keith had to admit that the constant thrumming was actually pretty relaxing. Matt smiled when Keith fell asleep in minutes. He turned over, very proud of himself.

"Oh, come on!"

Matt planted his fists on his hips and glared down at Keith. Not that he was noticed. Once again, the boy was out cold. This time, he was bunched under a table in the Shop. Matt wasn't sure what could have prompted Keith to get down there in the first place, never mind fall asleep.

Matt crouched in front of Keith and poked his arm. Perhaps a bit too hard, because Keith shot awake.

Giving a startled cry at the sight of a shadowed figure in front of him, Keith kicked his curled legs straight out. He caught Matt in the chest, causing him to fall backwards into a table. Keith scrambled to get to his knees and draw his knife, still unaware of who had woken him.

"Blade!" Matt squawked, ignoring the startled looks he was now getting from the rebels. "What was that for?"

Keith froze, hand inches from his knife. "Matt?"

"Who else?" Matt asked rhetorically as he stood.

"Um…" Keith thought for a second, but he couldn't recall exactly what it was he thought had been in front of him upon awakening. "I don't know. Olia?"

"It was a rhet- you know what? Never mind. Just get out here, would ya?"

Keith sheepishly crawled out from under the table. Matt was giving him that funny look he always got when Keith came out of impossibly small spaces. Keith stood and cocked his head in response, getting a snort from Matt.

Matt took Keith's arm and started leading him away. "I thought you had been sleeping at night."

"I am. Your Lan-Dev works great," Keith said. The "Lan-Dev" stood for Light and Noise Device.

"If it works so good, why are you still falling asleep in the middle of the day?" Matt asked.

Keith shrugged, playing innocent.

"Honestly, what I am going to do with you?" Matt asked himself. "And we didn't even train today!"

Keith just smiled, letting Matt go on about his sleeping habits as he tugged him across the base.

A bit later, Matt had handed Keith over to Olia so he could get some work done. Some of Mikkal's machines were having issues, and Matt was quickly becoming the one to call for mechanical problems.

As he was exiting the oxygen tent, complaining quietly to himself over what to do about Keith, he passed Lt. Ozar.

"What was that?" the blue humanoid asked, causing Matt to pause.

"Oh, it's Blade," Matt said. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "He is apparently not getting enough sleep at night. You saw him last movement… under the table."

Lt. Ozar raised an eyebrow. "It isn't easy, keeping the night watch."

"No, I never could-" Matt stopped and looked at Lt. Ozar. "What?"

"The night watch. I've been meaning to speak to him, tell him there really is no need. He sure acts determined to…," Lt. Ozar trailed off as Matt's expression grew more confused. "You don't know?"

"Know what? Blade isn't part of any night patrol!"

Lt. Ozar smiled and waved Matt to follow him without explaining. Thoroughly curious, Matt trailed after Lt. Ozar.

The pair soon reached the main security building. Lt. Ozar led the way inside to a room full of monitors, where images from throughout the base was shown. The rebels inside stood as Lt. Ozar entered, and were waved to sit down.

"Over here," Lt. Ozar said, standing behind a Balmaran. "Viti, could you bring up the footage of Blade from last night?"

"Sure thing," said Viti, as she turned to another monitor.

"Last night?" Matt repeated.

"Just watch," Lt. Ozar said mysteriously.

Soon, a new image filled the screen. It showed the front of one of the barracks, which Matt recognized as his from the half-finished solar panels on the roof.

"I don't get it," Matt said.

A moment later, the barrack door opened. Keith crept out in full armor, gently closing the door behind him. He glanced around, then dragged a ladder laying nearby upright. He leaned it against the side of the barrack, and climbed to the roof. He sat down cross-legged, and proceeded to stare at the sky.

"What's he doing? Star gazing?" Matt asked, not getting how this could be defined as a "night patrol."

"Skip ahead," Lt. Ozar said.

Viti obligingly fast-forwarded the video. The clock in the corner of the screen showed an hour past before Viti slowed down the images.

Keith was standing from his spot and climbed back to the ground. He replaced the ladder, then trotted out of view. Viti brought up several more images of Keith moving through the base. He peered in through the infirmary doors, shined his light into the shop, inspected the hangers, and slipped between barracks.

"He… he's really doing a nightly patrol?" Matt stammered out.

"Not every night. We haven't noticed a pattern," Viti said, clicking through a few more images. "He spends random nights outside for no set amount of time. Sometimes he just sits on your barrack roof, and other times he goes through the whole base."

"I assumed you knew," Lt. Ozar said.

"First I heard of it," Matt said. "No one told him to do it?"

"There is no need to patrol at night," Lt. Ozar pointed out.

"Huh." Matt shook his head. "Well, that explains him falling asleep at night. Thank, Lt."

"No problem. Will you let him know that the patrols aren't necessary?"

Matt thought for a moment before responding. "No, I don't think so. As long as it is okay with you, I don't think I'll tell him that I know about that."

"I don't see any problems."

"Good. I would bet that why Blade does that might have something to do with his past. Kind of like his knife. I'll ask Mikkal next time I see him."

Matt waved good-bye and left. He chuckled to himself as he went back to his business. Maybe the night patrol was odd and unnecessary, but it must have made Keith happy. Matt figured he could put up with Keith sleeping in odd places if that was what Keith wanted.

Several nights later, Keith was sneaking out of the barracks. He used his usual means to get onto the room, and settled down to watch the sky.

He hadn't been sure what prompted him to come out the first time. Okay, maybe he did a little.

He had woken up in the middle of the night, frozen and full of a feeling of dread. It had taken several minutes for him to calm down. He had then risen and quietly checked the barracks.

Nothing had been wrong. Matt had been sprawled out in his bed, a robot he was working on clutched in one arm. Olia had been curled in the bed like a dog, snoring softly.

From there, he had moved outside.

The base was never truly quiet. Machines hummed, nocturnal aliens chattered quietly, and the occasional rebel ship flew overhead. But nothing fit the feeling of wrong that still pounded in his chest.

Keith would have pushed it away as his imagination, if the sense hadn't risen the very night before the Galra sentries had attacked. The feeling had persisted for most of the day, fading away when the sentries left. He took the sensation a bit more seriously after that.

It had become a bit of a habit. Some nights never held that foreboding feeling, but he still liked to give a quick check around if he happened to be awake.

Tonight was as quiet as ever. Keith shifted so that he was laying on his back, head pillowed on his hands.

Some night, he would have to drag out Matt and Olia to watch the stars with him.

A/N: It took almost two weeks to realize that I had the wrong document posted for this chapter.

Now, for some acknowledgements that are way over-due and wimpy short. (Seriously, give these guys a hand!)

First off is Gravtron1, who's become a steady reviewer and a great friend and writer to talk stories over! She's been great, and was going to help me with some of the lighter things in this tale.

Next is Cuthalion97, who has also become someone I enjoy talking with! They have been my beta for another one of my stories, and was going to help me keep my ducks in a row for this one.

Finally, is Wolf of the Demise, whose comment in Distant Memories inspired this little divert!