Chapter 2

Difficult to Swallow

How strange it was to awaken in a foggy mindset that was unable to pick out the smaller details of his surroundings. It was like being drunk but without the fun of being in such a state. Unfocused, Blue-grey eyes narrowed and took in the one ray of light above him that added an ethereal feel to his surroundings as the dust fluttered in the light. Where was he and how long had he been out? He couldn't recall but that might also be due to the buzzing in his head and the ringing in his ears. Turning his head even slightly caused a wave of nausea that forced him to lay still on his back.

Small things started to register in his mind as he laid there such as a mixture of cool and warm mixture trickling down his head. He must of busted it on something. His right arm was on fire and yet numb at the same time. He was positive if he was to move it he could verify it was broken. Testing that theory snapped him into full awareness with a sharp scream into the empty silence. Sitting up suddenly, he soon wished he hadn't as he rolled slightly to the side to empty the contents of his stomach. His head was now pounding like a jackhammer was trying to crack open his skull.

Everything was coming back to him.

Cradling his busted arm on the cold floor he took in his closes surroundings again, this time more clearly. What appeared to be a storage room was a wreck or rather an understatement. Half the cabinets were destroyed, containers of who knows what were spilled out across the floor and rubble. Nothing was intact with shelves on the floor. Even the doorway was covered with no signs of it being possible to clear. A machine behind him was busted with a slight intent on the edge where his head had made contact. To the right, he discovered the original sounds of the shattering he recalled hearing, his mask was crushed under a ton of debris beyond repair. His left leg seemed to also be trapped in a mixture of rubble, shelves and that whatever was in the containers. Butt for some reason it didn't hurt all that bad, though he knew better. His leg was probably a mess and the shock was probably numbing it. He didn't try to move his leg now. He didn't want a repeat of his arm so quickly.

"Yukari?" He called out, voice cracking with pain and concern. Having recalling he had been tackled by his fellow blade. "Yukari?" No answer. That only had one meaning. He was either dead or managed to , spotting a dusty limb poking out beneath a car sized piece of rubble confirmed his first suspension. Muttering a curse under his breath he lowered his head into his hand. He felt sick all over again. If Yukari was dead did that mean everyone else was as well? No, Jak had made it out. He had to of but if he did then that means two things. The data was safely on its way to the Blades as well as to Shiro. But also, it meant he was abandoned.

Blades never went back for one of their own if they didn't make it back to the ship in time and he knew it. He was alone on this destroyed base with a broken arm, a cracked skull and possibly a fractured leg. "Shit…" There would be no rescue, no escort of lions to come dig him out. No one would come searching for him. He was on his own and if he wanted to return to the Blades it would have to be done on his own.

Ignoring the ache in his head he used his one good arm to try and remove the debris but it did not move. Again, he tired but with only slight success as the shelf above tilted and crash to the ground. Finding a little hope in that and knowing he made progress he shoved again. The debris shifted and turn just slightly which caused him to scream and flop down on the ground as the material shifted on his leg. This wasn't working out well. He had to get up and out of here regardless of the pain he felt. This was now life and death. He had to send a message out to let the others know he was very much alive and would be returning. Especially, before the Blades got to the Castle. His eyes turned towards the console, right, busted.

Sitting up he prepared himself, talked himself through the scenario, and then talked himself up to free his leg. Once more he shoved on the thick piece of ceiling and nothing happened. But this time he didn't stop, he kept at it and it finally started to budge when the sounds of voices made him stop with a grunt. Footsteps and lots of them seemed to echo all around him. Urgency suddenly captured him as he shoved and twisted the mass. Another scream, though this time silenced as much as he could by biting his lip, he was free. Taking one look at his leg he could see it wasn't broken but fractured it might be. He wasn't sure but he didn't have time to think about it. Glancing quickly he looked for a place to hide. The only shelter he found was the large pile of debris that was the makeshift grave of Yukari. Dragging himself painfully across the floor he was able to draw himself into its shadows right as a figure dropped down from the hole above.

"Well, this is quite the mess, isn't?" A male voice called out rather bored as two other bodies joined the figure below and then three more.

"Seems we were a bit late to the party, doesn't?" A sigh was the only reply to a feminine voice. Keith pressed his lips together tightly. He knew that voice well and he would be damned if he got caught by Lotor of all people. In a panic he looked around quickly and low and behold Yukari's clip that generated his mask was to his left. Quickly, he snatched it from the ground. Sending a silent thank you to his fallen companion he snapped the clip on and hit the button. In mere seconds his face was covered by a new mask. It would at least hide his face and offer him some protection from both Lotor and the elements. The sad thing was the mask might of not been physically damaged but the internal workings caused his vision to glitch every so often. Super.

"Ezor, we are merely here to entertain my fathers idea of an attack. Though, I hate to say it it seemed to have come true as he planned." The crunching of rubble under foot alerted Keith to the movement around him. Withdrawing his blade he held it firmly in hand as he listened. In total there was roughly five bodies in the room. Two that was light footed and the other three heavy, clearly soldiers. The lighter footed one, known as Ezor came to a stop in front of the mass Keith had ducked behind. Her dark clad foot tapped at the dead hand as if she might catch some unknown disease if she touched it with her bare hand.

"I would venture a guess it was the Blades. To think your fathers idea of sitting this place up as a false base to get rid of a few mice worked. Though, sitting it to explode seems a tad dramatic."

"My father has a flare for the dramatics. Regardless, check to see if there are any survivors. My father wants them brought in if we find any. Also, check the…" Lotors voice fluttered as he gazed at the ruined computer. "...I suppose it would be pointless to see if they gathered any information with the console utterly destroyed." Shaking his head he waved two of the three heavily armed soldiers carelessly away. "There isn't much to explore but scout as much as you can."

Keith held his breath, waiting for the footsteps to leave his area but they never did. Only two of the soldiers left which meant he had three left in the room. Leaning firmly against the rubble he took a deep breath as he tried to formulate some kind of plan of escape. Alas, he didn't have much of an option with a busted arm and a damaged leg. Then suddenly, there was nothing but silence. Not a single sound or word was spoken. Had they left and he misjudged the steps? Was that even possible? No, he couldn't be alone. Confused, he would tilt his head to the right to try and peek past the rubble but he didn't see anything at first because everything appeared blurry. It was like trying to look through rippling water or raising steam from a hot surface. Everything was distorted and uneven. It took only a mere moment to discover why the world appeared like a fun house as a pair of green on yellow eyes appeared in a rippling effect. Soon after the grinning face of Ezor was peering over him with her hands on hips. "Ohhh, why hello there Mr. Blade!" Keith answered with a sharp jab towards her colorful face with his knife. He moved quick as a vapor but she was must faster and easily flipped backwards out of his range. Allowing physics and gravity to act out their small humorous plans of allowing Keith to fall forward from momentum, landing on his arm and cry out through the mask. His voice must of been masked well because Lotor didn't take not of the tone or try to identify the voice. He merely turned with a sideways smirk with arms crossed to take in the view of the upper part of the Blade he could see in the darkness.

"What a pleasant surprise. One does live among the rubble." His voice was chipper with false surprise at discovering Keith's location as if he had known all along he had hidden himself away in that very location. Surprisingly, Lotor didn't move from his spot nor did his general as they watched Keith struggle to stand. While he did manage to get to his feet his leg easily collapsed beneath his weight painfully. At least it wasn't fractured as he feared but it still hurt as hell and would not support his weight. Begrudgingly, he accepted the fact he was caught here but he wasn't about to give up. Again, he stood and only managed to take a few steps forward with his blade held in a offensive posture to attack before he went down in mid swing at Ezor who once again twisted away like a professional dancer.

"A stubborn one at that." Added Lotor while Ezor kicked the weapon out if Keith's hands and proceeded to play hacky sack with it for the time being. Eventually, she would kick it all the way up to her hands. From there she held the knife and flipped it to the left and right, admiring its balance and weightless metal. In seconds, the remaining guard lifted a struggling Keith by the base of his neck with one hand, the other took hold of one arm and bent it behind his back. He was lucky that his broken arm hadn't been the one to receive that particular treatment. Otherwise he was positive he would of blacked out from the sheer pain.

"Take him aboard. We at least have one mouse for the empire to squeeze and Ezor, if you would be kind." Holding out one gloved hand towards his pouting General. Rotating the blade once around her hand she merely flipped the weapon to her commanding officer. Once in Lotor's hands he regarded the weapon then promptly tucked away on his person. About that time the remaining two guards returned empty handed minus one who merely carried Ulta's mask in hand with the sure sign that no one else had survived leaving Keith heartbroken and angry. They had somehow taken false information and easily fallen into a well laid out trap of Zarkon. All in hopes of wiping out a majority of their numbers in one go. Luckily, only a handful of them entered the mission and only half made it out. Someone was going to pay dearly for this tragedy.

Across the Galaxy, a large ship docked the Castle of Lions. Jak sat in the commons of the ship with his eyes focused only on his armor covered hands. He wasn't ready to face Kolivan or the others but it was bound to happen. He was only avoiding the inevitable for as long as possible. A few of his comrades entered the room as others left the ship to venture into the Castle. Pushing his hood back and tapping at the tiny button to lower his mask it was clear to see that Jak was could still be considered a young Galra. His mixture of white and purple mane styled in mohawk that ended in a thin rat tail. His fur pattern looking similar to the past Ulza but clearly different. He was of no relation to that particular comrade but many said there was a slight resemblance towards him.

In his moments of silence, he tired to figure out the best way to tell the others of the events that unfolded. However, his time was brief as Kolivan stepped into his line of vision or rather his feet. Looking up, Jake made eye contacted with the yellow eyed leader who was casually frowning down at him. "I've been told you are the only one to come back from your team. Is that correct?"

Jak lowered his eyes and looked off to the right. "Yes."

"What of Yukari and Keith?" He asked softly.

"They had been behind me. Not too far but when I turned back there was nothing but a cloud of dust. The whole mission was a trap. The supplies cargo was nothing more then well concealed bombs that donated with our own. We lost almost everyone but, Kolivan. Yukari wouldn't let Keith die. He must still be alive on that planet. We have too…" His words were silenced by a breath intake of their leader.

"We will not go back. It is not our way, Jak. He knew the risk just like everyone else. If he is truly alive then he will find his way back to us. If not, then we shall meet him again in our own passing." Kolivan stated simply.

"But, Sir! The Paladin's will not accept this!" Jak stood so suddenly that it surprised himself more than it did Kolivan who only narrowed his eyes slightly at his subordinate. Dealing with death was always hard no matter the race and even harder for those that favored one another. Jak had been fond of the former Paladin even if he did not know it at the time.

"Even if I wanted to go back there Jak I can not. It would put everyone here at risk and could compromise our whole mission. Especially, if they were there waiting for us. By now they would be combing the base if not the rest of the plant for any traces of us. All we can hope for is a swift and painless death for the young pup. If the Galra Empire find him he will a fate far worse than death. You must understand that one man, no matter his ranking or value, is not worth putting everyone at risk. Now then, go to your room and rest. I will handle the Paladins of Voltron." Reaching out he gently rested his hand on the younger ones shoulder. "His death shall not be in vain. He has done much for the cause. The data he gathered with you shall prove useful." And with that Kolivan left a tired and angry Jak behind.

Boarding the Castle of Lion's had always been an interesting affair. Mostly, because of the environment being completely different. The whole ship always seemed to vibrate with life, laughter, and overall too many emotions that Kolivan was not used too. While the Paladins of Voltron were quite the formidable foe and a great alley he considered them to be quite exhausting. Lance was always far too talkative for his own good. Pidge always seemed to be looking for something to analyze and pick apart for answers or in other cases wanting so badly to learn their tech that he had once found the Green Paladin trying to steal a mask. Luckily, that didn't get very far but he would be damned if the tiny squirrel of a pilot didn't try it again sometime soon. Hunk was an endearing human but his squamish stomach always seemed to pop up in the worst times. Truly, the only human he could stand for a long period of time was Shiro. He swore that the Black Paladin was the only one with a strong military head on his shoulders that was worth his grain of salt. He could understand battle tactics, think three steps ahead and overall understand Kolivan, well, to a degree at least. It was enough though to gain Kolivan's respect.

Among the Alteans, he had no issues with them. Allura was a fine woman but her emotions often got the best of her but then there was Coran. He seemed quite goofy but Kolivan had a strong feeling that was purely for show. He had often caught the much older Altean eyeballing him off to the side in a more conserved manner. As if he was sizing up the Galra for a fight or merely waiting for him to move out of line with the Princess. In short, Coran unnerved him due to the single fact he couldn't figure out the fellow. He came to a sudden stop as he neared the entrance to the bridge of the Castle. For a moment, much like Jak, he felt anxiety of delivering the news. He knew very well that they would not handle it well much like the young Galra had stated earlier and to be quite honest, Kolivan hadn't taken it well himself.

He had been hard on the former red but he had to be. He was still young, stupid and headstrong. There was so much training to be done still but he had thought that sending him out as a lead could strengthen him. Give him that confidence boost and a sense of self worth. One that would outweigh the ever growing negativity in the young one that believed he couldn't fit in anywhere. He had hoped Keith would of returned with a feeling of pride and to feel like he too had a place in the universe, a place to call home. Unfortunately, his ideal had failed and the boy was lost among the rubble on that desolate planet. It pained him beyond belief to have lost the boy and the comrades he sent out. But being the leader of the Blade of Marmora had taught him to be cold. He couldn't afford to show weakness to his crew. Someone had to remain strong and tall at all times and that person was himself. Only when he was truly alone did he allow himself to feel and right now, he could not. Pushing away his own thoughts of sorrow he raised his head high and stepped into the control room like he owned it. Two large companions followed him in as the doors swooshed closed.

Coran was at the castle's panel as usual with Allura in the center piloting and settling the ship to remain still for the time being. Pidge was at her own seat, leaning into two screens that flowed with information with Matt standing next to her. Lance looked board as usual. The only two that turned towards him upon entering was Hunk and Shiro. Both had apparently been engaged in some conversation before he interrupted their topic.

"Kolivan." Shiro greeted with a small thin small and a nod as he pulled himself away from Hunk's talk. The other remained silent with a tilted head. It didn't escape him that Hunk was staring at his company with eyes scouting for a similar, thinner, framed individual who was not accompanying him nor would he again. The announcement of his arrival seemed to have caught everyone's attention minus the Halt siblings. He could tell from a distance that they were perfectly absorbed in decoding the information supplied by Keith.

"Welcome back," Came Shiro's greeting. "We just got your intel. As you can probably see Pidge and Matt are all ready working on it. Seems to be something pretty interesting seeing as they haven't even turned to say hello." At that, the Halt siblings raised a hand in greeting but never turned their eyes away from the screen. "It shouldn't take them too long to get it all decoded." There was a pause as Allura finally lowered her arms once the ship was stable enough to be left alone. Turning on her heels she offered Kolivan a tight smile. The Princess was still getting used to those of Galra heritage coming and going on her ship but at least she wasn't hostile about it any longer. The only unsettling thing about her was her sharp eyes looking between his guards. She too was looking for a the smaller male.

"Welcome aboard, I hope the mission went well." Her greeting seemed pleasant enough though strained.

Silence. One hundred percent awkward silence filled the bridge and for the first time in many years Kolivan felt a tad uneasy. "So, um, where's Keith?" Hunk asked finally with a single point towards the guards in a shy but blunt manner. "I mean, not to be rude but usually you send Keith in with news. But um, you know, that's no big. I mean, I'm sure he is pretty busy and all and you like to leave the ship too from time to time. It's cool man. I was just, ah…" Again, everyone but the Halts now had all eyes on Kolivan for answers. Lance swiveled his chair to face him, legs crossed ankle over knee. Allura looked concern and Coran was once again sizing him up. Hunk looked nervous as he poked his index fingers together all while Shiro stood there with his arms crossed.

Shiro then tired to translate Hunk's words without the stuttering, "I think what Hunk means is we are all happy to see you but it is a bit odd for you to come for a social visit after a mission" They were correct in that manner. Kolivan only ever boarded the Castle for things related to missions, strategy, and political talk. He was never one for small talk and when a mission was completed he did allow Keith to return to the Paladin's if he wished for company. It had usually put the boy in good spirits and made him easier to handle. But in this case the meeting was for a darker visit.

His silence caught Shiro's attention with his brows coming together. Ah, their leader was a smart man and when his arms dropped to his side he knew why Kolivan was here. "What's happened to Keith?" Now, this sentence alone finally caught the Halt's attention. Both siblings all together stopped their muttering over codes and turned towards Kolivan like he just slapped them with a hot poker. Looking at all of them the old Galra sighed but did not remove his mask in fear of his own face betraying him.

"Keith did not return to the rendezvous point on time. We assume him to have perished." Blunt and to the heart of the matter. Kolivan was not going to sugar coat the situation. With arms behind his back in military style he stood firm even as the information seemed to work its way through each Paladin. The silence was deafening and so he continued. "The base was a trap and was set up with explosives to detonate with our own. We lost half of the party sent out, Keith was one of them. Luckily, he had handed Jak the information before the building collapsed. We assume he was still inside as no one saw him come out.

Lance was the first to speak as he pushed himself out his chair violently, "You're telling us that you abandoned him! You didn't even check to see if he came out on another side!" His words were so full of emotion it took Kolivan a moment to regain himself. He had forgotten how passionate and loyal the blue pilot was to his fellow paladins.

"He knew the risk. We do not wait. Galra fighters had already started moving in. If we did not pull out at that moment more would of been lost as too the information he had went to retrieve."

"That's bullshit! There was plenty of time if you had ju…" Shiro held out a hand to silence Lance who, for once, did so for the time being but he wasn't liking it.

"Kolivan, do you know for sure he is lost?" The words came out dryly as if his tongue turned to sandpaper. He was in full agreeance with the blue pilot but he had to stand as their leader and hold his own feelings back for the time being, much like Kolivan. The other Paladin's sat in silence each playing out their emotions mentally but for some reason Pidge only sat there with a tilted head.

"I only know what was reported back. I did not see it with my own eyes but it is safe to assume he did not survive." Kolivan responded.

Shiro turned his vision from Kolivan to Pidge. The Green paladin made a sound like a huff and went towards her screen. Slapping the codes over to the side she popped up a new screen and began furiously typing. "So there is a chance he is still alive and possibly stranded." Shiro commented coldly. "While I understand your intent to leave him and your own culture, you have to understand it is not in our ways to leave anyone behind. Pidge?"

"I'm looking." She called out with a wave of her hand all the while Matt turned to lean against the back of his sister seat to explain what was happening. "The last meeting we all had together Pidge took it upon herself to modify Keith's gear. The Paladin's armor has a built in tracking device to help keep an eye out for them in case they ever got lost again, if say, a jump didn't go so well and all the lions fell out, sound familiar?" Lance mumbled and Allura cleared her throat. Everyone recalled that episode. "So, what your saying is we could possibly see his whereabouts?" Allura offered while Coran stroked his mustache in thought,"That's brilliant."

"Technically, speaking. Yes, if we are close enough to him which sadly we aren't. My beckon works differently on our armor because I've installed in our helmets that can produce a great signal, thanks the our communication set up. But with Keith's, it will only work from a certain distance and while its at a great distance, we are to far out. I haven't got gotten it to work the way I wanted it yet, it's still a prototype for his type of suit, because he doesn't have a physical helmet so he doesn't have a wide broadcast system. However, if his suit is still functional and on his person I can tell you if he is still alive. Because let's face it people I am ingenious." She started to rattle off all the modifications she had performed from tracking to a bunch of other gibberish with his life support monitoring system and other mobo that no one else but Matt could follow. Clearing his throat, Matt continued as he silenced his sisters ego. "In other words, we can pick up on his suit signal purely on the data that regulates his vitals. Of course, that is to say nothing in it is broke or he has taken it off or you know..." No one wanted to say dead but leave it to Hunk to finish unwanted sentences. "Dead?"

At that moment a tiny purple pulsating dot appeared on the screen and with that a ton of random information, charts and waves flying by. Everyone turned towards Pidge for answers as they held their breath in waiting. Shiro drew close to her and leaned on the back of her seat with hope reflecting in them. "Well, Pidge?"

"He's alive but his heart rate is out of this world." Adjusting her glasses she, Shiro, and Matt shared concerned looks. Everyone folked towards Pidge's seat with looks of concern and pleasure in knowing their comrade was at least alive. "Any idea of where that planet is?" asked Shiro.

The question was not directed towards the Paladins but to a certain Galra who had remained in place the whole time, Kolivan. The old Galra closed his eyes behind his mask and while he was thankful that the young one lived he was concerned for it. Keith would never betray them but if he was in the hands of the Galra it would of been more merciful for him to have died in the explosion.

"It will be crawling with Galra…" Kolivan would further insist.

"I don't care." Shiro stated a bit roughly then he should of which caused the other Paladin's to look at him. "We don't have a choice. We are going back for Keith and like it or not Kolivan, you are a part of this mission." There was a silence between them and for a moment things looked hostile but the calming voice of Kolivan shattered it.

"Shiro, may I speak with you in private?" At Kolivans request, Shiro turned away from the group and left with Kolivan out the main door leaving the group and two Galra's behind.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Hunk asked. "It's probably just your stomach." Lance replied and Pidge sighed. Leaning back in her seat with her legs drawn up she stared at the screen in concern. "Who cares, Keith is alive and stranded guys. Who knows what's going on there but for one thing...his heart rate is only increasing."

"What does that mean?" Lance questioned.

"He's in trouble…" Pidge answered with a troubled expression.