"Shiro?" Rolo asked, echoing Shiro's tone of incredulity, "What are you doing here?"
Shiro glanced back at the exit, still expecting an attack, before looking back at Rolo. He shrugged, "Same as you, I guess." he answered, "Come on, we're escaping."
Shiro stepped away from Rolo's cell and moved to the next locked cell. He repeated the process he had used to open Rolo's cell and was less surprised to find Nyma in it.
"Black Paladin!" she exclaimed and threw herself at him, wrapping him in a grateful hug, "I don't think I've ever been so happy to see someone in my life!"
"Uhh, okay." Shiro said awkwardly.
Rolo snorted, "That's what you said to me the last time we escaped a prison."
Nyma let go of Shiro and shrugged nonchalantly. "That was then, this is now."
Rolo rolled his eyes and turned to Shiro. "So, fearless leader," he said, "What's the plan?"
Shiro looked back at the exit, "Find an escape pod. Escape. Take out anyone who gets in our way."
Rolo grinned, "Nice and simple. I like it. Any idea where the escape pods are?"
Shiro smirked, shrugging as he replied. "Nope."
Nyma rolled her eyes, "Luckily for us we're on a prison supply ship, otherwise we'd all be screwed."
"What do you mean?" Shiro asked, his smirk falling away.
"Prison supply ships have the least security." Nyma answered with a shrug, "Feeding prisoners isn't exactly high on the Galra's to-do-list, you know. It's why you've been able to pull off this escape at all, because these ships usually only have two security details. Sometimes three. That's also why the cells are more heavily reinforced than the usual cells. Not that it mattered to your arm."
Shiro glanced down at his arm and shrugged, "How do you know all this?" he asked
Rolo grinned, "Nyma knows things."
Nyma smirked in turn, not offering any further explanation.
Shiro shrugged. He would have to take that for now, as they didn't exactly have time to chat, but he did need to ask one more thing.
"How many prison holds does a ship like this normally have?"
"Only one." Nyma asked, "They're not usually supposed to transport prisoners, just supplies."
Shiro nodded. That meant that his team was not somewhere else aboard this ship. "Alright then, let's get moving before someone comes along and notices our escape. Let's try and remain undetected for as long as possible."
Rolo nodded, "Yeah, we want to be on that escape pod long before they realise that we're missing and call for back-up."
Shiro nodded and moved towards the exit, Rolo and Nyma trailing close behind him. He peeked around the entryway, wishing he had his armour. He felt vulnerable and exposed, clad only in Galra prison attire.
The hallway ahead of them was mercifully empty so Shiro motioned for the other two to follow him. They made it pretty far down the hallway, constantly looking out for any sign that would lead them to the escape pods, when they suddenly heard the approaching footsteps of a security patrol. Shiro frantically looked around for a place for them to hide.
Nyma made a small noise to draw Shiro and Rolo's attention. They glanced back to see that she had pushed open a side door. They wasted no time diving into the room and Nyma pulled the door closed just before the Galra stepped into view.
Shiro held his breath as they crouched in a dark room and listened to the approaching footsteps, and only let it go once they had faded out of earshot.
He heard Rolo let out a relieved breath beside him, "That was close."
"Yeah." Shiro answered, keeping his voice low, "We should keep moving."
"Hold up a minute." Nyma said, "I found the light switch."
A moment later the room was bathed in a dull purple light, revealing racks filled with all kinds of different supplies. They were in a storage room.
"Hello." Rolo murmured as he stepped toward a shelf right in front of them, "What have we here?"
Shiro recognised that tone as Lance's "I'm about to get up to mischief," tone and eyed Rolo warily as the space pirate held up a tube of little blue rocks that sparkled dully in the purple light.
"What is that?" Shiro asked.
"Oh this? This is Pixurite. Harmless on it's own. When dissolved in water it can be used as a strong disinfectant. And this-" he picked up a bottle filled with some sort of green, viscous liquid, "Is the Last Poison of the Sulphora Blossom, Sulphora Poison for short. It's a mildly acidic substance produced naturally by the Sulphora Blossom of planet Gmali. Also harmless on its own, used primarily as a cleaning agent. But," Rolo grinned, "Mix this-" he held up the tube of Pixurite in his left hand, "And this-" he held up the bottle Sulphora Poison, "And you get one huge boom."
Shiro raised his eyebrows, impressed, "Great. Grab some. Just in case."
Rolo's grin widened, "I like the way you think, Black Paladin."
Nyma made a sound of triumph somewhere towards the back of the room. "You guys are never going to guess what I found!" she called.
Rolo and Shiro glanced at each other before making their way to the back of the room.
"Look, it's our stuff!" She exclaimed when they got closer, waving her hand over a couple of ratty sacks and pile of weapons ranging from guns to knives. "There's yours." she said to Shiro, pointing to a lower shelf.
Shiro could see the tip of his helmet peeking out of a box on that shelf and he immediately pulled the box out, unable to stop a grin from spreading across his face. He immediately pulled the tattered, purple overgarment over his head and tossed it to the side before beginning to pull his armour on over the undergarment. By the time he was done, Rolo and Nyma had gathered up their things, as well as a generous helping of Pixurite and Sulphora Poison.
"Ready to go?" Rolo asked.
Shiro nodded and slipped his helmet on over his head. He desperately wanted to try and contact his team, but that would have to wait for later. First they needed to escape.
"Let's go find us an escape pod."
