Chapter 7:

Communication

"Did you know?" Pidge demands. She is so mad that she's shaking. "Allura, Coran… did you know?"

"Yes," Allura states stiffly, her head held high and her expression cool and distant. "I knew."

Pidge turns on her heel and roughly pushes her way through them.

"Pidge," Lance attempts, reaching for her arm.

"Leave me alone!" she snaps, yanking her arm away. And then she's off, running down the corridor, her footfalls echoing in the darkness.

Lance watches her go, a stricken expression on his face. "Pidge…"

"I'll go get her," Coran offers, "I can explain."

"No," Shiro says, stepping in front of him and holding up a hand. "I'll do it. She's… my responsibility. You'll just… She's not going to listen to you."

Privately, Keith thinks that she's not going to listen to Shiro either, but then again Shiro isn't offering because he wants to talk to her, not really. Shiro's offering because he wants to be anywhere else but here right now and it's written all over his face, plain as day.

And yet, he's still hesitating, eying the confused and terrified prisoners warily. His eyes dart to Allura and then back to the prisoners. His left hand is shaking.

Keith's never seen Shiro look so cornered in his whole life and it hurts, especially because it's blatantly obvious that these prisoners are no threat to anyone.

"Go," Allura says, "It'll be fine. Hunk, Lance, Keith and Coran will be right here with me the whole time."

Shiro meets her gaze, but doesn't move.

"Hey, Sephora," Keith says, stepping forward. He puts himself between her and Shiro. "Don't worry, we'll be fine. I've got this."

Shiro blinks, his eyes locking on Keith, and for a moment, his brother is back.

"It's okay," Keith adds. "I'm not going to let anything happen, I promise."

Shiro stares at him.

"It's okay," Keith repeats, more firmly this time.

Shiro nods absently, turning away, and starts jogging back down the corridor. He pauses, looking back over his shoulder, and Keith nods at him, mouthing "go." Again, Shiro shoots a furtive look at the prisoners beyond, but then, finally, he forces himself to look away and starts back down the hall again.

Lance waits until he disappears from view and then gives Keith an incredulous look. "Sephora?"

"I was twelve and he really liked eyeliner," Keith explains.

"Sephora, though," Lance repeats, clearly beyond amused.

"Twelve," Keith fires back sharply. "And don't even think about it, cargo. He'll kick your ass."

"Well, then how come you get to call him that, huh?" Lance asks, jabbing a finger at Keith's chest. "What makes you so special?"

"I dunno, because he's my foster brother and I've known him since I was nine?" Keith suggests with a shrug.

"What?" Lance exclaims. "Shiro's your brother? Why didn't you tell us? We bonded. You cradled me in your arms."

"I thought everyone knew," Keith says.

Everyone at the Garrison sure had, at any rate. After Kerberos, he couldn't decide what had pushed him into going off like he had more: the grief of losing the first person that had really ever cared about him, the fact they weren't even trying to look for them or the fact that everyone began to treat him like he was made of glass.

Keith then narrows his eyes at Lance. "Wait, didn't you say that never happened?"

"Hunk, did you know?" Lance asks desperately, completely ignoring Keith's question. "Does Pidge know?"

Hunk smiles apologetically and nods.

Keith rolls his eyes. "The whole Garrison knows, Lance."

"Am I the only one that didn't know?" Lance asks, rhetorically.

Coran nods in the affirmative and Allura helpfully adds, "Keith told me, after Typ'ff Prita."

Lance lets out a dramatic groan, slumping forward. "I hate you guys. You suck so much."

Hunk pats him on the back in an attempt to be assuring.

"Some rescue party we are," Keith mutters under his breath as he turns around and forces a smile at the prisoners.

They regard him warily.

Maybe that wasn't the best of ideas, Keith thinks to himself.

Allura glides forward and bows to them, raising her voice to let out a greeting that doesn't quite translate beyond the sparse mention of Allura's own name and that of Voltron.

Several of the prisoners let out gasps of excitement. A murmur ripples through them, but it doesn't sound threatening or bad at all. Someone starts crying. One of them cries out and hugs another, then someone else does the same and it spreads like wildfire. One elder, her skin fair and mottled with purple patches approaches Allura with tears in her eyes and embraces her warmly.

"Oh," she says, her voice creaking, "Long have we waited with hope in our hearts. You have returned, blessed child, and brought Voltron with you."

"Tell me your name, elder, that I might speak with you," Allura responds with a gentle smile, "and afford you all due honors."

"Why is she talking like that?" Lance whispers to Coran.

"It's considered the polite way to address an Altean elder," Coran explains quietly.

"But," Hunk whispers, "Isn't she Galran?"

Coran's mustache twitches. "Hardly – she's a quarter at best."

"There are Alteans here, too?" Keith asks in surprise and then he looks back at the crowd.

The markings.

Oh.

"Oh," he says quietly, as Coran's words on Typ'ff Prita come back to him: there have always been those of Altean descent in the Galran Empire.

He looks at Lance, who is clearly troubled. Hunk lingers next to him silently, his arms at his sides, bayard holstered and expression deeply upset.

"Just before the war, the Empire began deporting Alteans and anyone of obvious Altean descent," Coran adds, softly, "Along with their families and anyone who opposed it. We only know because some made it to Altea and our sister colony on Pollux. That is why this station was a priority for us."

Coran pauses, his eyes misty as he looks at the prisoners. "We didn't expect there'd still be survivors."

The Altean man then crumples a little and chokes out a sob. "I'm glad."

The three Paladins exchange glances. No one knows what to say to that, so they don't say anything at all.

Out of the corner of his eye, Keith sees something as Allura steps out of the corridor and into their midst, unafraid and unhesitating.

Her eyes are shining with tears, but, for the first time in a long time, she's truly smiling.

She shifts subtly again, but this time it's not giving him the willies.

This time, he feels like he should be smiling, too.

Notes:

Shiro is also better known as Captain Guyliner, but Keith's not about to give Lance that kind of ammunition. That's a thing between brothers and Lance isn't quite on that level yet.

Also, Allura's capture continues to have psychological fallout for Shiro, yay.