Chapter 6: Doubt
A/N: I do not own Voltron: Legendary Defender.
I just own Ziera, Colran, Sephiras, Janze and any other OCs mentioned in this fic that isn't canon.
WARNING: Contains violence, death, racism, implications of sexual acts, Lance's flirting, and other things that may cause some readers discomfort.
Hey guys, this chapter is far longer than I expected it to be lol, if I'd known it would be over 10k words, I'd have split it into two chapters or something!
Enjoy!
Ziera was not sure how many hours she had been asleep for, only that it was a gloriously long time and she had no intentions of getting up anytime soon. She rolled over in her soft bed, hugging her pillow as a low, vibrating purr echoed around her room. The female feline was greatly enjoying her heavy nap after the hectic escape they had pulled off the day prior.
However, it seemed the castle's occupants had other ideas, as an alert sounded throughout the room, causing her to open one multi-colored eye to glare at the door, her purring coming to a stop. Did they not understand what it meant to wake a cat from her nap? With a groan, she nuzzled her pillow and yelled groggily at the door. "Let me sleep!" She whined, muffled by the soft fabric.
Silence passed for a moment, before the alert went off again, and Ziera knew whoever it was would not leave until she answered the door. With a tired sigh, she tossed the pillow to the end of her bed and sat up, rubbing her eyes before she stretched her arms out above her head with a soft yawn, her small fangs glittering in the light of the room. With a grunt, she slipped out of her bedding and stood up, decently covered due to the baggy shirt and shorts she wore as nightclothes.
"Alright, I'm coming..." She drawled out, shuffling over to the door and pressing the button to unlock and open it. With a hiss, the doors separated in the center and Ziera straightened up curiously when she saw that it was Shiro who stood on the other side.
What surprised her the most is that even though they had an exhausting day yesterday, he was up, alert, dressed, and ready for action.
What kind of coffee did this man drink?!
"Uh, hey..." Shiro started, rubbing the back of his neck with an apologetic smile. "Sorry to wake you, I know you must be tired after yesterday."
Ziera could not even hide the yawn that ripped from her as she covered her mouth with her hand and spoke through it, tears welling in her eyes from the action. "No, no...It's alright...I probably should get up at some point anyway." She wiped the corner of her eye with her palm. "What do you need? Is there an emergency?"
"Hm? No, no." Shiro shook his head, planting his hand on his hip. "I think we'd be a bit more panicked if Zarkon had shown up again, don't you think?"
Ziera let her tired mind wander for a second, then giggled. "I guess you're right, silly me." She bopped her forehead with the same palm she wiped her eye with. "So what's the matter?"
"Everyone's meeting at the bridge, now that we've all had some sleep, it's a good idea to convene and come up with a plan. Also, Allura wants to have a word with the team, and as the newest member, you're invited to join us." He smiled at her. "Of course, I can tell them you can't make it, if you want. After all, this kind of high-risk lifestyle takes some time to get used to."
"Don't worry about me." She shot him the same look back. "I lived in the forests of Olkarion for one hundred years-" She almost burst out laughing when Shiro's eyes widened in shock. "-I've lived a stressful lifestyle long enough to adapt to these situations well. I'll be right there, ok? I just need to get changed first."
"Well..." Shiro collected his jaw from the floor and turned his torso slightly, jabbing his thumb in the direction of the bridge. "I'll wait for you there, okay? Do you remember the way?"
"Yes, though I'm used to more organic builds, this castle is quite easy to navigate with time and a bit of curiosity." She exhaled as she thought over her next action. "Right, I'll see you there!" Ziera stepped back, giving Shiro a wave, which he returned before she pressed the button once more and the split doors sealed shut once again.
The alien engineer let out a breath, then turned to collect her spacesuit, only to falter when she spotted the box of her belongings she had yet to unpack. Settled on the top, concealing the picture of her friends from Olkarion, was the purple Galra Pendant she treasured dearly for reasons even she was not aware of.
Slowly, she reached down and picked up the jewel, lifting it and moving it in her hand, watching the light glitter against the angled faces of the gem. Her once relaxed brow creased with concern as doubt settled in her gut and made her feel sick. Deep down, she could not help but wonder whether the Galra were able to track her through this crystal. It would not be an impossible task, as the crystal has a similar frequency to the Galra crystals used to power their own ships, perhaps it was detectable through the storm, despite the castle remaining undetected, due to this frequency?
Ziera let out a sigh and clenched her fist around the pendant, holding it tightly in her hand, turning the dark flesh of her fingers a paler shade with her worries. Even if it was her crystal causing the frequent appearance of Zarkon's ship, deep down she could not bring herself to toss the gem out of an airlock, or break it into a million pieces.
Something about this necklace, despite the dangers behind it, felt like a comfort to her. She had worn it for the past one hundred years, it was connected to her forgotten memories. If only she knew why this jewel was so irreplaceable to her? It was not a valuable gem, it was a crystal ripped from the back of a Balmera by force, but still...It felt...Like home.
Her brow softened as she closed her eyes and finally snapped out of her thoughts, placing the pendant on her desk while she slipped on her spacesuit. Once she was zipped up and ready to go, she glanced back at the accessory for a moment, before she picked it up and placed it around her neck, letting it hang in the center of her collarbone.
With one last squeeze of the chain, she left her room, letting another yawn pass her lips as she lazily strolled down the corridor. 'Note to self...' She thought tiredly, wiping her eye once more. 'Get something to eat once the meeting is over...I don't think I've eaten since yesterday morning.'
Eventually she reached the bridge doors and opened them to a debate from the others inside. Allura was sat on the platform in the center of the room with Coran crouched at her side, probably ensuring she was well after the amount of wormholing they did the day before, while the others surrounded them like a personality-based rainbow.
Poor Ziera felt completely out of place and a bead of sweat slid down her cheeks as she tried to piece together their conversation from what she had walked in on.
"There's no point in debating this further." Allura stated as the feline entered the room and the door closed behind her. "Zarkon is clearly tracking us through me."
Ziera faltered mid-step as the others refused to accept the princess' reasoning. The pit in her stomach came back tenfold as she continued walking and stopped at Pidge's side, shooting her a nervous smile, which was returned by the young Green Paladin.
"Why would that be so hard to believe?" Allura continued. "Zarkon's forces showed up on Arus only after I awoke..."
Lance frowned. "She's got a point." He then completely turned the tables by leaning into a bow. "I would absolutely travel across the galaxy to find you~!"
Everyone stared at him in discomfort, while Allura looked disgusted at his comment, not liking that idea in the slightest. The awkwardness of the discussion amped up to eleven and was only broken when Keith piped up from the back of the room, away from the others. "It's not you Princess Allura..." He stated as everyone looked at him. "It's me."
Silence.
"Because...?" Hunk asked when it became apparent no one else would.
Of course, Keith faltered and nervously looked off to the side as he pouted and tried to come up with an answer. "I just think...I mean, Zarkon must have...Imprinted on me during our fight, or something."
"I...Don't think that's how the Galra operate, Keith." Ziera piped up, she had only heard of a select few alien species' that could imprint during a fight, and she was sure the Galra were not one of them. Even with her forgotten memories, she liked to read.
But seeing them all be honest and open about their doubts and fears on who was being tracked and why, made her feel guilty for hiding her own fears behind a mask of cheerful oblivion. "Plus..." She swallowed the lump in her throat as she clutched her pendant. "I think it might be me who's being tracked..."
"What do you mean?" Allura asked, looking a little more concerned than the others, fearing her original accusations about Ziera had been correct, after all.
"It's probably just a baseless doubt, but...This crystal is used to power the Galra's ships right?" She asked, lifting the chain to show off the purple gem. "Then doesn't that mean it can be tracked by Galra tech?"
"If that were the case, then the Galra would be able to track the castle too." Coran pointed out, raising a single finger as he did so. "Those crystals are all from Balmera, if your crystal could be tracked, then the castle would be vulnerable too."
"Not necessarily..." Ziera sighed and closed her eyes, holding the chain tightly, as if hugging the pendant. "The Galra crystals have more differences to them than the color their turn and how they're extracted...The electronic frequency in the crystals that gives them power would also be different, even if it's by a point one percentage...If that were the case, then Galra technology might also be able to track forcefully taken crystals from a Balmera."
Everyone went silent as they thought over her words, mulling over the facts she gave them and muttering about how they could potentially be true. In the end it was Pidge that brought them back to the topic at hand. "Look, the fact is we don't know how Zarkon is tracking us." She said, getting everyone's attention again, her words soothing the fears in Ziera's heart a little. She needed to remember that it was only a possibility, and not a solid fact. "It could be through the Black Lion! Every time Zarkon gets close to it, Shiro has to fight him for control."
"That's only when Zarkon is nearby." Coran countered, standing up with a hand on his hip. "No Paladin has ever been able to connect with a Lion over a vast distance."
"So, what're we gonna do?" Hunk asked.
"Look, it doesn't matter how he's tracking us." Shiro stated, trying to put everyone's minds at ease. He could see the strain this was causing between them. "Because we're gonna take the fight to the Galra soon enough." His brows knitted together as determination echoed across his features. "They've been chasing us from galaxy to galaxy, the last thing they expect is for us to come after them!"
Lance smirked and crossed his arms. "The hunter becomes the hunted, hm? Awesome! That's the tagline from, like, six of my favorite movies!"
"As it happens..." Pidge interjected and everyone looked to where she was, even Ziera, to find out that she was no longer stood there, instead she was sat in her usual seat on the bridge with monitors in front of her, while she typed away. Of course, the alien engineer was quick to dart over and peer at what the tech expert was working on. "I took our list of recent Galra attacks and analysed it for both commonalities and anomalies among the attack sites." While everyone else looked lost, Ziera was nodding along with endless excitement, understanding her every word. "I was hoping to create an algorithm that would, within a statistically acceptable margin of error, provide a list of target rich Galra environments." She took a breath. "Color coded because, what are we, animals?"
The confusion continued to spread throughout the group and Ziera let out a sound of amazement. "Ah, I see~!" She stated, grinning brightly. "So you've created a cutting-edge system to analyze all recent areas of attack that may indicate when they might show up next?"
"Exactly!"
Pidge smirked back with pride and pressed one final button, bringing up the large starmap filled with little icons that showed Galra inhabited areas. "Cool!" Lance blurted out, but arched a brow. "What was it again?"
"A Galra Finder?" Hunk suggested, having only just kept up with Pidge's explanation himself.
"Well..." Pidge piped up. "'Finder' suggests that it locates the Galra, whereas it would be more accurate to say that my model predicts their likely...Huh?" She looked up and took account of everyone outside her personal bubble not following along quite as well as Ziera had. With a pout, the young tech expert looked away from them, embarrassed that her long explanation went right over most of her teammates' heads. "Fine, it's a Galra Finder."
"Sooo..." Lance continued, looking back up at the large star map. "Where are the Galra?" Just as he said that, a small red dot appeared on the expansive screen.
"The nearest one's are right here." Pidge stated, selecting the dot to bring up the information about the area, which was written in the universal language, thankfully. "A planet called Taujeer."
Shiro nodded and turned to the others. "Then that's where we're headed...Everyone should get some sleep. Tomorrow we'll find that Galra fleet, and take it out."
"Wait!" Ziera said, her voice a little louder than she intended as she straightened up and surprised everyone in the room. With a blush, she continued. "What if Zarkon appears again while we're resting?"
Shiro shot her a comforting smile, putting her mind at ease, even just a little. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it...There's no use worrying about the 'what-ifs,' it'll just drive you crazy."
"Okay." Ziera frowned and looked down at her pendant, getting odd looks from the others as they all turned and started leaving, chatting away to themselves about breakfast and then more naps, or perhaps even training as they did so.
"Hey, Era?" Pidge said, getting the feline's attention as she hummed and looked down at the small female paladin. "Are you okay?"
"Huh?" She blinked twice before the question settled in and she giggled, removing her hand from her pendant as she relaxed at long last. "I'm fine Pidge, really." She ruffled her hair, which made the younger girl whine and swat at her hand playfully.
Ziera wondered if this was what it was like to have a sister, she felt like someone cared, but she had to be strong so they did not worry. The only other person she had felt this kind of connection with was Sephira, and if she made even one friend that she cherished as much as her friends on Olkarion, her time with team Voltron would have been worth every struggle.
After a second of taunting the young tech expert, Ziera removed her hand and Pidge began grumbling with a smirk as she fixed her hair. "Alright, I'm going to make myself some breakfast, I'll see you later, okay?"
"Okay." Pidge looked up at her. "Just, don't worry too much about your necklace." This made the smile drop from the older feline's face as she listened intently. "I'm positive that your crystal isn't the cause of this, and even if it was, we can just...Get rid of it, y'know?"
Ziera's blood ran cold and she grimaced, which Pidge saw. "That's the thing..." She said softly, ignoring Shiro and Keith who were discussing something else in the background. It was as if the world had faded away with her fear. "I-if it came to that...I don't believe I have the strength to throw it away."
"Why?"
Ziera let out a sad huff of empty laughter. "I don't know...I still can't remember who gave me this necklace, or how I came across it in the first place...I just know that if I ever lost it, my heart would break..."
Pidge stared in silence and looked down at the ground, she understood Ziera's pain, her glasses were just as important to her. "Alright, well...If it is your necklace, I'll make sure to figure out how to stop the frequency."
The two shared a smile, one of gratitude while the other of comfort, and Ziera chose then to end the conversation for the time being. "I must get going, otherwise it'll be lunchtime before I even consider what I'll eat for breakfast!"
They waved goodbye to one another and Ziera walked out of the room, eyes downcast as she thought over what Pidge said, and how willing she was to help her, even if it meant keeping a dangerous item aboard the ship. She sighed and finally let go of the pendant, her heavy boots hitting the floor with a soft echo as she traversed the halls and found herself passing the kitchen.
With this, she paused mid-step, glancing at the kitchen door with a curious pout. 'Come to think of it, the Nutritional Procurement Machine isn't operational at the moment...' She hummed and stroked her chin, tapping her foot as she stared at the door, as if contemplating something far more important than a small snack. 'I wonder if Coran or Hunk have made emergency plans for these situations, surely there must be a pantry inside filled with fresh ingredients, otherwise how would the NPM keep an ongoing supply?'
In that moment, she blushed brightly as her stomach complained, echoing almost as loudly as her footsteps. Well, it looked like her body made the decision for her, and with a nervous laugh, she opened the doors by punching the access code into the keypad, and walked inside.
The kitchen was a decent size with the same white walls and shiny floors that the rest of the castle adorned, however there was a large electronic oven on one wall, and two NPMs at each of it's sides. In the centre of the room were a few small counters, while the left wall had another sealed door that led to a walk in pantry and freezer for storage. The room itself was pitch black, much like the rest of the castle, due to their recent transfer of power to the teladuv.
Of course, luckily for her, she had very impressive eyesight, due to her race's naturally improved vision, but she knew the room was still really dark, especially to humans, who seem to have much dimmer senses than she had ever seen. 'How humans can find anything with their terrible senses is beyond my comprehension.'
What Ziera did not understand was why there was not a window in this kitchen, but she chalked that up to the large monitor against the wall, probably used to stream cooking shows or even recipes for those wanting to eat. To be honest, this made the alien feline sigh in relief, as she herself was not even sure she remembered how to cook, if she had ever cooked before to begin with.
"I can't wait to get my memories back..." She whined as she strolled to the other door and opened it, looking around inside for anything that could be eaten without instructions. When she spotted a very questionable fruit basket, she cautiously plucked out the most edible looking piece she could find and went to take a bite, only to hesitate.
What if it was poisonous, or in the very least an hallucinogenic?
Making a face, she walked over to the monitor against the wall near the freezer and typed for a few seconds, beaming when she managed to access the storage units inventory. 'A-ha! Now...Where would I find a green and purple fruit that oozes red fluid...?'
Without wasting a second, Ziera began to scroll through the thousands of different food options in search for one that matched the strange produce in her hand, with every option an image popped up of the item itself, so she knew all she had to do was skim through until she saw one that she recognized.
However as she was making her way down the list, her mind began to wander back to her previous fears, causing her forgotten anxiety to start festering in her chest once again.
What if she was the one being tracked, after all? Shiro had said that they should cross that bridge when they come to it, but the mere idea of her friends getting hurt because of her strange attachment to the pendant she adorned made her heart ache painfully. She had already lost too much to even consider losing these guys too.
Even though she had been the subject of suspicion due to Allura recognizing her necklace as an enemy power supply, after all that's happened, she opted to trust Ziera up until the feline engineer proved otherwise. She feared what would happen to that hard-earned trust once her fears became a reality.
'I can't concentrate on anything with this looming over my head...' She thought, eyes staring at the words as they passed on the screen, but not registering what they even said. 'I need to come up with a way to test if I'm really the one being tracked...I need to isolate my pendant and see if Zarkon follow's it's low-level signal.'
She stropped scrolling and stroked her chin, holding the fruit in three fingers, as it was a relatively small snack. A moment passed as she mused the many ideas that flooded through her mind, scouring for the safest and easiest one to pull-off in their dire situation, and it hit her, making her drop her hand, squeezing the fruit tightly as she swallowed hard.
She had a plan, it was reckless, yet safe to those she feared hurting. Now she just had a execute it without anyone finding out, or they would stop her before she could get any conclusive results.
Ziera let out a hard breath as her eyes hardened slightly, but still gleamed with fear and she lifted the fruit to her lips, taking a large bite despite not knowing what the hell it was. She quickly regretting that decision when her face almost turned inside out and she spat the sour contents into the nearest waste disposal unit.
"What in the sacred name of the Divine Beings did I just eat?!"
~FbnL~
Silence crept through the castle as the darkness settled through its corridors. Despite the abyss of space being a timeless void, the occupants of the ship were kept aligned with a day-to-night clock cycle which had just struck the second varga of the quintant. At this point, even civilians, let alone those akin to the sleep schedule of soldiers, were tucked in bed or preparing themselves to sleep away their fatigue.
However, on this night, there was movement down the castle corridors. A pair of bootless, dark feet tiptoed silently through the halls, while cat-like claws held the Skate-Overs tightly. Ziera knew they made too much noise on the metal flooring with their own metal soles, so she opted to carry them.
The feline's ears were held high in the air, no longer floppy like a beagle's ears, but pointed towards the ceiling, resembling bats or large eared cats. She listened for any noise as she finally reached the door she was searching for.
The pod bay.
With a sigh of relief, she dropped her ears and typed a code into the control panel, watching as the door let out a soft hiss and opened down the centre. Without wasting a breath, she crept inside and towards one of the more inconspicuous pods, near the end of the row. She paused in front of the machine as she hugged the strap of the small duffel back strapped across her waist, resting at the hip.
If she did this, she would effectively be alone in a fight against Zarkon, should she find that she was the one being tracked. Was it worth the risk?
'Is not taking the risk worth risking the others?' She thought to herself as she took a second to collect herself, nodding her head with a slightly fearful look of determination in her eyes.
However, as she stepped towards the pod to prepare it for launch, a voice spoke behind her and she felt a shock up her spine before she spun around and went to scream, only for a hand to cover her mouth, muffling her surprise. Right in front of her, was Keith, and he looked just as startled as she was.
"Shhh! You're gonna get us caught!" He hissed out, waiting until she calmed down from her panic before he let go and stepped back, watching as she gripped her pendant in response to her easing fear. "What're you doing here? I thought everyone went to bed!"
"What're you doing here?" She countered, nervously shuffling from one bare foot to another. "I'm an aspiring engineer, it makes sense that I'd want to inspect the pods without being interrupted!"
"Then why are you barefoot?" He arched a brow, he was not falling for her story.
Ziera sweat-dropped and panicked for a moment before Keith spotted her duffel bag and sighed, remembering what she had said during the meeting. "You too, huh?"
This confused the intelligent engineer as she stopped stammering to make up a new excuse and took a closer look at his person. He too was carrying supplies for a trip. "Oh..." She managed to blurt out after a moment. "So we had the same idea?"
"Looks like it, You were-" Keith began, only to go quiet when he heard the pod bay doors open once again. He shushed her and lead her behind the small ship, where the two ducked down and hid from sight. Ziera had no clue what was happening, but with her acute hearing, she knew the person was Allura by the way she breathed and the small noises she made when performing certain actions.
Her suspicions were proven correct when Keith suddenly poked out from his hiding place beside her and spoke loudly. "Princess, what're you doing here?" He asked, Ziera shuffled over and poked her head out just in time to see Allura fall from the pod and into the Red Paladin's arms.
The three looked between one another for a moment before Allura dove out of his grip and stood up, feigning innocence. "Oh." She started, glancing over at them suspiciously. "I might ask you the same thing!"
"Nothing!" Keith quickly interjected, while Ziera's large ears tucked downwards with her discomfort, the two of them avoiding Allura's eyes. "Just walking...Uh, together...Late at night...Near the pods."
Oh she wished he had worded that differently.
With a groan, the alien engineer covered her face with her hands as her cheeks turned black from embarrassment. "Keith, that makes it sound worse than it was!"
"What are you talking about?" Allura asked, completely naive to what she was insinuating, while Keith turned beet red and opened his mouth to correct his mistake. Upon realizing she had no clue what they were talking about, Keith straightened up and cleared his throat. "Anyway, why would you be taking a walk in full paladin armor..." The Altean princess peered around Keith's back, glancing from his bag to Ziera's bare feet. "With a bag of your belongings, and your shoes in your hand?"
The two, now caught red-handed, looked at one another before they both sighed, their shoulders sagging in defeat before Ziera crouched down to put her shoes back on. "We have to know if Zarkon is tracking us..." Keith stated, moving his downcast gaze to Allura's own, now filled with determination. "This is the only way!"
"Please let us do this..." Ziera interjected as she straightened up, shuffling around in her boots to get a feel for them.
Silence passed for a moment as Allura read their strong conviction in their expressions, before she relaxed herself. "I'm not going to stop you..." She started, her eyebrows knitting together with the same incentive. "I'm going to join you."
"Wait, what?" The feline female spoke up, ears lifting as her eyes widened with a dumbfounded pout tugging at her lips. "What're you talking about, Allura. It's too dangerous for you to come with us!"
"I'm well aware of the dangers this decision poses." She countered. "However, just as you two need your answers, so do I...Let me join you, I must know the truth!"
Ziera and Keith stared at Allura, then looked at each other hesitantly. But after a moment, their hesitation washed away and they nodded. "Alright." Keith said, opening the pod for them. "It's too dangerous to take a second pod, it might alert the others, so we're all gonna have to fit in this one."
"It's alright." Ziera stated as Keith helped Allura into the pod. "I'm used to tight spaces, I've worked under many machines throughout my life...I think..." The last bit was uttered under her breath so the other's did not hear. "I can cope with being in a 'tight spot.'"
The three shared a laugh and Keith linked his fingers and bent over, an invitation for her to stand on his hands and get a leg-up into the pod. She thanked him with a silent smile and took his offer, hopping into the ship and squeezing into the space behind the two seats. It was definitely cramped, with barely enough space to twitch her fingers if she needed to, however she would be able to cope for a good twelve hours or so, if she ignored the discomfort and distracted herself.
Keith climbed into the pod and the three slipped their space helmets on, Ziera having borrowed one, as she lacked her goggles and they acted as a helmet as well when activated. Once the airtight lock clicked into place with a soft hiss to indicate the suit and helmet were connected securely, Keith pressed a button and closed the pod up, trapping them inside.
"Last chance." He said, looking at his two female passengers. "You sure about this?"
Both women looked at one another, then nodded at Keith. "Definitely."
The Red Paladin nodded briskly and with that, he started up the pod, sending them hurtling into space and away from the castle.
Now only time would tell if this was a good idea or not, and Ziera's stomach sank with fear at the idea of Zarkon appearing when they were their most vulnerable. If only they could have taken the Red Lion instead, however that would have been too obvious and ruined their overall evaluation.
All she could do was pray to the Divine Beings that their worries had been all for naught.
Ziera took in her surroundings as Keith steered the little pod only fit for two, he was right when he said it was small, her chin was almost touching her knees with how little space she had behind the chairs. It was claustrophobic, suffocating, and the feline could feel anxiety forming a knot in her gut from the sensation.
However, it was that sensation that seemed to spark a headache deep between her temples. With a grunt, she grabbed a fistful of her hair and pressed her other palm against the bridge of her nose, throbbing waves bouncing from one end of her skull to the other as every sound, every single call of her name by her friends, was muffled by a loud ringing in her ears, until finally everything went black.
Ziera gasped as she looked around the small emergency pod she was trapped within, fumbling to control the craft as red alarms blared overhead, a warning that the pod was running out of air. She looked out the window and saw the green glow of Olkarion from orbit, her vision beginning to blur as she fought to take shallow breaths, attempting to hold onto her oxygen supply just long enough to make it.
'I've got to get some air!' She thought to herself as she tried to find some way to sustain herself until she landed, putting on her goggles to check her suit's oxygen levels. 'Damn, it's empty, I knew I should have filled up when I got back!'
She tore off the goggles, letting them fall around her neck and rest at her collarbone, clinking off the pendant she adorned so lovingly. Everything in her vision started to blur around the edges, and she started to loll forward, taking heavier, deeper breaths in response to be body's desperate need for oxygen. 'I'm not...I can't...!'
Everything dimmed and she blinked once, twice, three times, each one getting longer and harder to recover from, until finally, everything faded to black, and all the sound around her, the loud, screaming alarms and warnings, dulled into a blissful silence.
With a sharp intake of breath, Ziera jerked from her memory and coughed, gasping for air as she grasped her chest, trying to rid herself of the sensation she had felt in her foggy daydream. Keith and Allura's voices were slowly returning as the low buzzing in her ears faded into the background.
"Ziera!"
The feline engineer with tears clinging to her lower lashes, snapped her eyes to Allura, who, along with Keith, was staring at her with deep concern washing across their once stoic features. "Ziera, are you alright?! You looked like you were about to collapse!"
"I-" She choked out, coughing again before clearing her hoarse throat, ignoring the lump that had formed with her distress. "I-I'm okay, I just...I had another flashback, that's all." She kept breathing in through her nose and out of her mouth as she looked around at the cramped pod. "I-I was in a ship just slightly smaller than this when I crashed on O-Olkarion." The tears in her eyes fell down her cheeks and dripped off her chin as she grasped her pendant tightly. "It was almost as if I was reliving it, just for a second...M-my lungs burned for oxygen, and I knew I was going to die..." The quivering in her voice broke and she sobbed softly, covering her mouth with her free hand as she squeezed her eyes shut.
Allura glanced at Keith, who shared a concerned frown, before she turned back to her distressed comrade. "We can take you back, if you want." She said in a soothing, calm tone, reaching out and placing her hand on the other woman's knee.
"Yeah." The Red Paladin chimed in, looking from her to the console, to space's vast darkness, then back again. "No one's forcing you to stay here with us."
"If it's too much, no one would blame you for wanting to leave."
Ziera shook her head and swallowed her sorrow, wiping her eyes with both hands before planting one of them on top of Allura's with a weak smile. "N-no...No I've got to do this...Just like you two, I need answers." She gave the hand a squeeze, which Allura reciprocated.
"If you're sure..." The princess started, both her and Keith nodding as they turned back to their adventure ahead. "Just let us know if it's too much, okay?"
"I-I will, I promise."
Once the shock had worn off, Ziera hugged her knees as she went through her flashback with a fine-toothed comb. Despite being told she was in Galra armor when she crashed on Olkarion, what she saw in her memory had not been the usual Galra colours. Instead she wore a mix of blue, black, grey and orange. Her large brows knitted together and she wore a confused pout as she kept her gaze transfixed on the beauty of deep space.
However, despite the colors not matching what she had seen other Galra soldiers wear, the pod, with it's angled design and purple lighting, was definitely one of Zarkon's dreaded ships. Of course, this did nothing to answer her questions, if anything it just kept piling confusion on top of confusion.
With so little to go by, she couldn't piece her memories together and get a full picture just yet. All she could do was hope she would see more in the future, no matter how distressing, in hopes she could finally understand her own past.
~FbnL~
Hours had passed since her fearful episode, and now it was the early morning, according to the console's day-to-night cycle, which was synced with the Castle of Lions for ease and convenience. Keith was still readily piloting the small ship, a bored frown on his face while Allura played with her nails and Ziera sat in the back, using what little space and supplies she had to tinker with her Skate-Overs, hoping to ease the weight limit a little to make her gliding easier.
Their dull silence was soon broken when the intercom started bleeping, and everyone aboard immediately looked at it like it had grown legs. "Something tells me we've been found out." Keith stated, pressing the button to allow the call through.
Immediately, Coran's voice echoed through their small space. "Keith, Allura, Ziera, where are you?"
The three looked at one another for a second before Allura spoke up. "Exactly where we should be." She started. "Far away from the castle."
"What?!" Shiro cut in. "Why?"
"We must know if we are the ones Zarkon is tracking."
"They're isolating the variable!" Pidge said, and Ziera's ears lifted slightly at the sound of her fellow science geek, at least one of them understood their actions so far! "Well, isolating three variables."
"In English please?" Lance asked with a deadpan drone in his voice, this made the feline snicker.
"In order to test a hypothesis-" Pidge started.
"I said English!"
"Ugh! Never mind!"
Ziera decided then to lean through the gap between Keith and Allura's chairs, putting her two cents in when Pidge gave up. "Lance, when testing a theory, you must make sure all possible outcomes are analysed...Do you understand?"
Silence.
"...Yeah." Lance finally spoke.
"Good, three of the possible outcomes that could lead to Zarkon finding us happen to be us three, therefore we're separating ourselves from you to see if we are indeed the cause of this mess to begin with."
"Ohhhh." Lance drawled out. "See Pidge, Ziera knows how to speak English!"
Pidge growled and Ziera giggled again. "C'mon guys, call me Era, we're friends now, right?" She looked at her comrades on either side and they both smiled and nodded in agreement. "Anyway, I hope I helped at least somewhat, Pidge."
"Yeah..." Pidge sounded deflated, but chippered up really quickly. "But they'll never figure it out if we keep giving them the answers!"
A laugh echoed from both sides and Allura saw fit to interject, bringing the separation issue back to the topic at hand. "In this situation, Pidge and Zier-I mean...Era." She glanced at the feline engineer, who's ears lifted with glee. "Pidge and Era are right, if Zarkon finds you, despite our absence, we will know with total certainty that we're not the ones he's tracking!"
Shiro spoke up. "Splitting up the group makes us far more vulnerable. Come back to the castle, immediately!"
"I'm sorry, Shiro...I cannot do that."
"If Zarkon does find us, I can pilot us to safety!" Keith chimed in, looking out at the empty space before them as the stars twinkled in the far distance. "We're in wide-open space with plenty of room to maneuver! Plus, we'd be able to outrun him." He glanced at a button on the console, hidden from Ziera's view by his arm. "Pidge added that booster rocket!"
"That thing's still on there?!" Coran muttered, a tinge of surprise in his breath along with an undertone of concern.
"We need all of you back here, now!" Shiro started, only for a loud rumble to cut them off, and cries of shock to be heard. The three variables looked between one another, then leaned closer to the com, startled by the sudden sound and unable to see what was happening, due to the pod's lack of a visual intercom function.
The voices crackled and all three of them began to push for an explanation, shouting to be heard over the rumbling and fizzling audio until finally, the com cut out, and they were left with radio silence. This alarmed Ziera and she gripped the backs of both chairs, leaning further forward. "What're we going to do?!" She asked.
"Hold on, I'm gonna try and get a signal...!" Keith said, pressing button after button in hopes of reconnecting to the castle, but to no avail. "Damn, it's not working!" He looked over at Allura. "What do we do, Princess? Should we go back?"
Allura pressed a finger to the chin of her space helmet, feeling two sets of eyes on her as she thought over their options. "We keep going." She stated. "We'll wait for Zarkon to appear one way or another. If we go back now, we're putting everyone at risk, I'm certain the other paladins can handle themselves, and they have Coran to guide them...We shouldn't rush into anything."
The two others stared for a moment, then nodded, getting back to their boring waiting game. It would only be a matter of time before they got the answers they needed, then they could rush back and help everyone.
Ziera grabbed at her black chained necklace, glaring at the wall of the pod. She had to know if she was the problem, otherwise she would lose her mind to the dread and suspense. Not only that, but she would risk losing her pendant, should she find out she was the cause of their tracking and she did not want that to happen either.
Some deep part of her had a connection to that jewel, and she knew it was the key to her past, she just had to find the right door to unlock and it would all make sense.
~FbnL~
God, it had been hours.
The pod was silent as Ziera did her best to curl up and get comfortable in the back, attempting to sleep so she could rid herself of the gnawing anxiety this waiting game had given her. However, with the limited space, and the unending boredom that continued to consume her, she could not find it within herself to rest. Instead she groaned and sat up again, crossing her legs and holding her ankle with a pretty childish pout.
In all honesty, watching Keith pilot this ship for so long, made her want to try her hand at piloting a ship too. Of course, since she was not sure if she had ever piloted an actual ship before, she held off on asking for a turn, just in case anything actually happened while she was 'behind the wheel' so to speak. Though, deep down, she was starting to consider the idea of being a pilot more and more, as with her current skill set, she was no use to the others in battle, of course, Coran and Allura were not really pilots either, well Allura was, but Coran definitely was not. However with the castle, they were at least useful to the others as backup and support.
Right now, all she was good for was tinkering, and it made her heart heavy to know that she was basically useless to them.
Her self-deprecating thoughts were interrupted when Keith let out a bored sigh of his own. "We've been here for hours." He started, pressing a button on the monitor to scan their surroundings. "Still no sign of Zarkon."
"Well, I'm glad I don't have to wait here alone." Allura pointed out. She leaned forward and looked over at her two allies. "You understand, I could never live with myself if Zarkon was finding us because of me..." Her gaze fell to her feet. "I must know...We face such a dire threat from the Galra!"
Both Ziera and Keith shared a curious look, then turned their attention back to the princess. "Well, sure they're bad, no doubt about that." The Red Paladin began, unable to maintain eye contact with either of them as he kept glancing back at the console in front of him. "But...At the same time..." He glanced back at Allura. "Couldn't just a few of them be fighting for good?"
Ziera nodded, something in her sinking stomach telling her that what her friend said was true. "I agree with Keith, not all Galra can be bad, right?"
"Right!" Keith continued. "Just look at Ulaz! He sacrificed himself to save us."
Allura's brows knitted together, her tone more than a little defensive. "For all we know, his sacrifice was a ploy." She was dismissive of their claims, and neither saw that changing anytime soon. "One life means nothing to Zarkon!"
Something about Allura's tone, her aggressive stance on the Galra as a whole, not just Zarkon and his crew, made Ziera's black blood boil with simmering rage. Of course, before she could say anything, Keith spoke up, his voice echoing her feelings. "It means something to me! It means some of them are actually willing to help! And we can use all the help we can get."
Allura scoffed and crossed her arms, averting her eyes with a pout. "Any offer of help from the Galra is merely a prelude to a trap." Ziera gripped the seat tighter as her emotions bubbled beneath the surface. "I know all too well how quickly they turn..."
"It just seems crazy to lump everyone together." Keith stated, softening his voice in hopes of stopping an argument before it started.
"Listen, if there are any good Galra, they have had ten thousand years to take down Zarkon..." Her eyes narrowed sharply. "I would never count on them for help."
That was when Ziera surprised everyone, she made a sharp sound in the back of her throat, similar to that of a cat yowling aggressively, and her claws dug into the fabric of Allura's seat, leaving deep gashes in the leather and sponge padding. "Era?" The Red Paladin said after a moment of silence, both sets of eyes wide as the engineer blinked and realized what she had done.
"Oh, s-sorry. I thought I felt another headache coming...!" She lied, stammering as she pulled her talons from the chair and hugged her knees again, laughing awkwardly. "I guess I'm just tired."
"Well, we have been awake for over twenty four hours..." Allura chimed in, giving her a kind smile, which just irritated Ziera more in that moment. "Get some rest, we'll wake you if anything happens."
"I'll try." She manged to muster, attempting to curl up once more, her back now facing them as she stared at the wall of the ship. Anger was simmering in her heart and with every word Allura uttered against the Galra she so desperately wanted to scream and counter her accusations with examples she did not have of a Galra acting out of kindness.
She understood being annoyed at the fact that Allura was lumping all Galra together as evil beings, when in actual fact, it was impossible for every single member of a species to agree with one another in their moral standing. What she did not understand though, was why she felt so strongly against the princess' words.
It made her wonder if somewhere in her past, she had known some kind Galra, and her anger was because of a connection with that unknown part of her history. When she thought of this, the idea of her wearing Galra armor, and flying a Galra escape pod seemed to make a little more sense. Maybe instead of fighting for Zarkon, she was fighting against him. Perhaps as part of a rebellion against what he stood for and what he desired to obtain.
That thought brought a huge wave of relief washing over her angered form, and she relaxed with a deep sigh and a slight smile. She had always feared that she worked for Zarkon prior her crash, but to know that there was even a slight chance that was not the case made her world seem just a little bit brighter.
Of course, she would keep her suspicions to herself, with Allura's hard stance on the Galra, it would only put fuel to the fire if she were to mention once wearing Galra armor. This thought brought that little bit of anger back to her, and she glared ahead as her brows knitted together.
Why would someone treat an entire species so callously?
The tense silence that her sudden outburst had caused was broken when Keith cleared his throat. "So what happens if Zarkon does come after us?"
Ziera sat up and turned to look at them over her shoulder.
"You said you could pilot us to safety, right?" Allura asked.
"Sure but..." Keith swallowed his fear. "After that, could we even go back to the group?" A sense of helpless dread washing over him. "And if we don't, who would pilot the castle, or create wormholes?"
"Well, what about you?" Allura asked, arching a brow. "Without you, the team cannot form Voltron."
The young pilot looked down at the steering wheel in his hands. She had a point, if he did not return, then not only would he be in deep space, alone, but he would be leaving his entire team, his friends, at risk of being killed.
"Honestly..." Ziera stated, her voice heavy as she looked down at her own legs. "I...Hope it's me that's being tracked." She looked up to see the horrified shock on both Allura and Keith's features as they snapped their attention to her. Of course, she blushed from the surprise of the sudden, synchronized movements. "Both of you are important parts of our plan to save the universe from Zarkon...If it were either of you, then any hope we had would be thrown out of an airlock..."
"No." Allura's hard tone startled Ziera as her ears tucked downwards and the Altean female glared daggers into her soul. "I would not wish anything of the sort on you...You're just as valuable to the cause as we are."
"But...I could be the one holding you all back." She gripped her pendant. "Maybe all this time you were right not to trust me, and I just wasn't aware that I was the beacon this whole time."
Allura's glare smoothed into a solemn frown. "I admit I was quick to suspect you when you first arrived...And I truly regret my actions even now..." She reached over and grasped Ziera's hand, smiling slightly. "You proved your loyalty when Zarkon kept showing up and you did everything you could to help us. If you really were working for him, you would have taken that opportunity to escape, or even attack us. But you didn't."
"Allura's right." Keith chimed in, smiling at her over his shoulder. "You're one of us now, and we take care of our own."
Tears pricked the edges of Ziera's ombre tinted eyes and she let out a half-laugh, half-sob as she pressed her palms into her face, hiding her cracked smile. "Thank you...!" She managed to choke out, quickly wiping her dark features with the back of her hands as she looked at them, mirroring their kind expressions. "I won't doubt myself anymore. If you can put your trust in me to help, then I'm going to honor that trust by giving it my all! I'll find a way to be useful to you, other than just technical support, I promise you!"
They nodded and before any other words could be uttered, the communicator crackled and the link between the pod and the castle was re-established.
"Keith, Allura, Ziera!" Coran's voice came through, fizzy and very distorted, but salvageable. "Are you there?"
"We're here, Coran." Allura piped up, uncrossing her arms as she gripped her seat, glad to hear back after such a long bout of radio silence. "What is it?"
"Zarkon is definitely not tracking us through any of you!"
"He's not?" Keith said, he and Ziera sharing a dumbfounded look, while Allura seemed a little more cautious.
"How do you know?" She asked.
"Because you're out there, and a Galra fleet just showed up here!" The Altean mechanic clarified, which lead to the three of them sharing looks of surprise and relief all at once. "We need you now!"
And with that, Keith's raised brows knitted together and he shoved the thrusters into overdrive, sending the ship rocketing forward while Zliera held onto both seats for balance, as she was the only one not secured. "Watch out, Era!" He said, typing on the monitor. "It's gonna get a little bumpy!"
"At this point, I'm starting to get used to it!" She had crashed, been on the Lions during battle, and had even fallen over more than once on the Castle of Lions. Maybe in the future, she would look into a heavy-gravity option for her Skate-Overs, but for now, she would just cope with the bruises, they had bigger things to worry about.
"Alright, if you're secure..." Allura started, glancing back to ensure Ziera was safe. "We'll be there in two doboshes!"
"Even faster than that!" Keith chimed in, flicking through the options on his console, before landing on one that looked similar to a jet.
"What is it, some kind of upgrade?" Ziera asked, leaning over Keith's chair to take a peek, though she struggled to see from this distance.
"It's a booster fuel that Pidge added to this pod!"
Ziera squinted, only for her eyes to widen as she realized just what kind of fuel he was talking about. "No Keith, Wait-!"
However it was too late, as Keith pressed the icon with a faster reaction time than her own. "Wh-what?" He asked, looking back at her as the blood drained from her face.
"I suggest you hold on tight!" She hissed out, gripping his chair with both arms as the rockets on the outside of the pod lit up orange, as if they were about to shoot them forward even faster, but instead exploded with such intensity, the pod's automatic fail-safe kicked in and ejected the passengers, even Ziera who was holding onto Keith's seat, out of the pod as it scattered through space in a million separate pieces.
The shock of the blast sent each of them flying off in different directions, connected only by their intercoms, which were filled with their startled and terrified screams. Keith was the first to get his act together, starting up his jets to slow his own decent, before he flew after Allura, the only one of the three who lacked any means of changing trajectory. Ziera herself was quick to press the button on the side of her shoe, watching as they lit up blue, similarly to Keith's own jets.
With swift work, and excellent aim, the two were able to reach towards Allura as they got closer. "Grab my hands!" Keith called out to them, reaching out as the two women flailed slightly, missing his grasp twice before they were able to get a firm grip. With heavy breaths and fearfully pounding hearts, their scattered movements began to calm, and soon they were aimlessly floating in deep space, linked in a circle by the hands.
"Princess, are you okay?" Keith asked.
Allura looked herself over. "I-I believe so." She then turned her attention to Ziera. "What about you, Era?"
"I'm fine, just a bit shaken up." The feline engineer reassured them, smiling nervously as she gripped her pendant, feeling her heart thump beneath the accessory. "Lucky for me I had the sense to wear a borrowed helmet, huh?"
"Yeah, though we wouldn't have left without securing one for you anyway." The princess smiled back. "Keith, is your radio still working?"
The irritated pilot frowned. "Let's find out." He used a control unit encased in his suit's forearm to turn on the com, hearing nothing but static on the end. "Coran, can you hear me?" Silence. "Coran?!"
The three sighed when they realized it was a lost cause, and Ziera looked back at the debris of their pod. "If I'd known that was on there, I would've removed it before we departed!" She sighed. "Science is always an experiment, I can't fault Pidge for trying, though I agree with Coran's previous statement. It should've been disposed of after the risk was understood."
"That's Pidge for ya." Keith pointed out, and Ziera could not help but smile back in response.
"That's any scientist for you, myself included." She lifted her leg, only to yelp when the movement nearly sent her spiraling away from the others, had it not been for their linked hands. "Wh-whoops...Uhm, wh-what I meant to say was..." She cleared her throat. "When manufacturing the Skate-Overs, I injured myself many times just getting them past the prototype phase. Though it never stopped me from trying again."
"It must be nice having something to focus on that you're so passionate about." Allura commented. "What made you love engineering so much?"
"I...Don't know." Ziera frowned and looked down at her shoes as the jets inside hummed almost silently, just enough for her own ears to pick up, thanks to her heightened hearing. "Though I remember creating the Skate-Overs and loving my technical capabilities, I can't remember how I got into engineering in the first place. Nor much else, for that matter."
"We'll figure it out." Keith chimed in, squeezing her hand comfortingly just as the princess did the same. "We'll stop Zarkon, save the universe, and get your memories back."
"You can count on it." Allura confirmed. "But for now, we need to focus on getting back."
Ziera stroked her chin, putting all of her might into coming up with a solution where there would not usually be one. "It's a long-shot, and perhaps completely impossible, but we could use our jets to make our way back...Slowly."
"Isn't it several light-years away as it is?"
"Yes, but at this point, we don't have much of a choice. I'll hold one of your arms, while Keith holds the others, if we train our jets in the same direction, it would increase our speed slightly, and though it's not much, it could be a significant difference."
"It's worth a try." Keith agreed, letting go of Ziera's hand as the two then linked their arms' around Allura's own before setting off in the direction of Taujeer, or what they hoped was the direction towards Taujeer. Keith was only able to get a short glance at the star map before the ship exploded.
Ten minutes passed in utter silence as they slowly but surely moved forward, but being the hot-headed Red Paladin of Voltron, Keith was the first to growl in frustration and pipe up with a complaint. "We'll never get there at this rate!"
Allura squeezed her eyes shut, regret sinking deep into her heart. "This was a terrible mistake! Shiro was right, we never should have left them." She looked out at the black abyss before them, twinkling with faraway stars.
"Don't worry Allura." Ziera stated, her eyes gleaming with the same sense of determination the paladins often wore during battle. "We had to ensure we weren't the cause of the frequent attacks Zarkon managed to pull off, with this knowledge we can be even more useful to the team!"
"But how can we be useful to them all the way out here?!"
This caused the Tylyrion engineer to falter.
Keith stared down at nothing, his expression twisted with the same guilt Allura felt, he knew this was as much his fault as it was theirs. If he had just refused the two women from the start and had gone alone, then maybe they would have been able to find a way around the issue and bring him back without struggle.
Now they were all stranded.
"Keith, look!" Both Allura and Ziera called out, causing him to open his eyes and look out at what his feline friend was pointing at.
"The Red Lion's found you!" The princess explained, and all of their expression turned to relieved smiles and awed gasps.
"Red!" Keith called out as the lion stopped in front of them and opened it's maw. "Thanks buddy, I knew I could count on you!" He patted the metal exterior of the ship as the three headed inside and into the elevator to the cockpit within the mind of the beast.
"What do we do now?" Ziera asked, tugging off her helmet with a sigh, letting her mid-length hair fan out in the comfort of the large ship.
"We get back to the others." Allura affirmed as the elevator stopped and Keith dove forward, planting himself in the pilot's chair as he prepared the ship for flight. Ziera and the Altean ruler only just managed to grab onto his chair as he sent them hurtling towards the signal of the other four lions, their beacon in the darkness of space.
"We must hurry, at this rate we won't get there in time!" Allura pressed on, but Keith hesitated.
"You're not secure, if I speed up, you could get hurt!"
Allura and Ziera looked at each other, then smiled at the paladin as his gaze switched between them as the two stood behind him on both sides. "We'll be fine." the tech geek told him, gripping the seat as tightly as she could. "You just focus on getting us back, alright?"
Keith stared for a moment, then nodded as his hesitation washed away and he shoved the steering handles forward, sending Red into a speed that neither expected. Both women only just managed to keep their balance through the sudden acceleration.
Ziera watched as space blurred past them through the large window of the ship and, silently, she prayed to the Divine Beings that they would make it back in time to save their friends. She could not lose anyone else, not after everything she's witnessed over the past few days.
~FbnL~
Back at Taujeer, things were not going so well, as the four remaining lions stood against the edge of a crumbling planet, within metres of a bubbling sea of acid, attempting to keep an ark which the Taujeerians relied on from falling into the fluid, killing an entire species in the process. They had nowhere to run and the Galra cruiser that had flanked them from the start was now charging an Ion cannon in their direction, preparing to blast them out of the sky with no mercy.
However, before the charge could be completed, a twinkle of red flickered in the distance, and within a few seconds, the Red Lion zoomed towards the enemy ship and cut the cannon off using the jaw blade all the Lions carried. Cheers were heard over the radio as Ziera, Allura and Keith beamed, watching the cannon fall into the acid, leaving the cruiser without a heavy-duty weapon.
"Good to have you back, Keith!" Shiro called out to him.
"Good to be back!" Keith stated.
"Is the princess with you?" Lance chimed in.
"Yes."
"Like, with you, with you, or-"
Hunk's awkward voice cut in before Lance could finish his question. "Uhhhh, Keith...! Little help?"
Keith's brows knitted tightly together and his smirk grew. "On my way, buddy!" He sent Red towards the ark, positioning the ship against the side much like the other lions, and with the extra strength now backing them up, they were able to push the ark far enough over a large ridge to stop it falling, as dust settled around the large ship and the Taujeerians cheered from within.
With that done, the five lions flew up and into the atmosphere, towards the Galra Cruiser. "Alright, everybody!" Shiro started. "No time to relax, let's show them what they're dealing with!" He snarled as he glared at their enemy. "Form Voltron!"
Ziera watched in awe as she saw the five lions transform and combine for the first time, gazing as the five ships fused into one. "This is incredible!" She cried out as Voltron stood facing the Galra Cruiser, no longer a beast made of five parts, but as much a man as any of the pilots inside. "I've never seen anything like it before!"
"Really?" Allura piped up, thinking back to the other times Voltron had appeared while she was there. "Not even when you were on Olkarion?"
"No, I was on the ground, leading the Olkari into the city against the sentries."
"Yeah, and the other times we formed Voltron, you were helping Coran fix the wormholer." Keith said, eyes scanning over the different monitors, keeping track of Red's power supply and overall welfare. "Welcome to Voltron, the one and only ship capable of taking down Zarkon!"
Ziera let out an inspired huff of laughter, however the moment was cut short as the Galra Cruiser started turning towards them, lining up with the ark and rushing forward with as much speed as a ship that size was capable of. "They're heading for the ark!" Pidge cried out.
"They're gonna ram it!" Hunk continued.
"We'll have to meet them head-on!" Shiro commanded as Voltron slammed its hands together, a light gleaming between its palms. "Form sword!" Thrusting both arms out to the side, the glow between its palms took shape and when the light dissipated, a sword was left in its place.
"Will a sword be able to cut through an entire battle cruiser?" Lance asked.
"It'll have to!"
Keith, being in charge of the hand holding the sword, looking over at the control unit where his bayard was situated, a low growl from the lion he controlled rumbling beneath their feet. "Guys, I think my lion is telling me something."
"Yeah, mine too." Lance agreed.
"I can feel it too!" Pidge added.
"Same here!" Hunk said.
"Then do it!" Shiro commanded, and with each of the others trusting their instincts, they all took hold of their bayards and turned them like keys in an engine.
The sword which Voltron brandished lit up once more, only to explode into a series of sparks as it expanded in size, now resembling a heavy-duty cutlass, long enough to pierce through the enemy's ship, or any ship of that size, for that matter.
With bated breath, Ziera and Allura watched as Voltron shot forward, sword poised to strike as the Cruiser made its way towards them. The five lions joined as one lifted the cutlass over their collective heads and slammed it through the front of the ship, flying forward as their weapon cut through the metal like it was butter until it came out unscathed on the other side.
After a split second, the ship that once terrorized them split into two before erupting into a ball of metal and flames. Amidst their victorious cheers no one saw a small pod escape the carnage and fly off into distant space, out of sight and mind.
"Now let's get the Taujeerians to safety!" Shiro told them, elation clear in his voice, even without a video feed connecting them.
"How're we gonna do that?" Hunk asked, his concern diminishing their former cheer. "Their booster rockets are shot!"
Shiro thought for a moment, everyone silent as they each tried to figure out a way to save the ark that teetered on the edge of the crumbling rock they called home. "We'll use Voltron as an engine!" He finally decided.
"Wait, what?" Lance asked. "How're we gonna do that?"
"...If we carry the ark, it should be a piece of cake!" Pidge said, connecting the video feed now that the battle was over, each of the Paladins looked at the other with confident smiles.
"You ready?" Shiro asked, satisfied when they all nodded, Coran, Allura and Ziera included. "Alright, let's get these guys off this planet!"
Voltron flew down to the edge of the ship and with a tug, and a large tremor to the ark, they managed to lift it above their heads, using their large back thrusters to fly the ark out of danger and towards the moon they planned to live on until their planet was restored to its former glory.
Ziera had never felt such a warmth in her chest, though right now, she was nothing but a witness to Voltron's incredible acts, this action only fueled her desire to work with them and help them as much as they helped others.
Now that she had inspiration, she just needed to find a field that would allow her to fight alongside them.
~FbnL~
Though the mission ended in success, and the group found themselves on the receiving end of the Taujeerians gratitude, all was not a joyous occasion once the group made their way back to the Castle of Lions. Tense silence filled the air and all that could be heard down the corridors were footsteps from their various boots before they entered the bridge where Coran stood, leaning against his usual control unit, watching for their return.
Slowly, everyone who had not tried sneaking out in the middle of the night turned to face Ziera, Keith and Allura, who were avoiding eye-contact as much as possible. The tenseness in the air did not dissipate, and soon Allura could not take it anymore, and spoke up. "I'm so sorry for leaving..."
Keith sighed. "Me too..."
"And me..." Ziera sheepishly spoke up, raising her hand. "I let myself get swept up in my paranoia and didn't even consider how it would affect you all..."
"We thought we were doing the right thing..."
"But..." Allura chimed in once again. "Clearly you were correct, Shiro." She looked up at the others, who all wore worried looks on their usually aloof or serious faces. "We are always stronger together."
Lance tilted his head to the side, his shoulders sagging as the worry he felt finally melted away. "At least we learnt that Zarkon isn't tracking us through you three."
"Plus, I learned that my lion can grow armor and extend it's claws like that, ting!" Hunk stated, replicating a cat extending its claws as he made the sound-effect. "Which would come in handy if we ever needed to, say...Slice up a giant steak while getting beat up?" Upon seeing the disapproving looks Shiro and Lance were giving him, he shrunk down a little and looked away. "Or fight evil and save innocent people...That too. That would work."
This made Ziera smile, it was nice to hear their lighthearted discussions again, now that a blade was not being held against their throats, so to speak.
Shiro directed the topic back on it's original path, clearing his throat. "The fact that the Red Lion came to help Keith from so far away is a vital piece of information." Everyone's smiles turned to sobering frowns as they listened intently. "We now have proof that a lion and a paladin can, in fact, connect over a far greater distance than we realized." The Black Paladin lowered his gaze to the floor. "Which means we now know how Zarkon was tracking us...It's through the Black Lion."
"Wait..." Ziera started, getting everyone to look at her as she stroked her chin, bouncing from foot to foot as her hype from Voltron was still somewhat burning through her body. "Hold on, if Zarkon is able to find us through the Black Lion, much like the Red Lion could find Keith despite our distance from the ship...Then doesn't that mean that Zarkon would have to be connected to the Black Lion in some way?"
Everyone became very awkward, shifting their gazes and positions as they tried to figure out how to breach the topic. Ziera's ears tucked back as she watched them all with wide eyes and innocent confusion written across her feline features. "What...Did I say something wrong?"
Allura and Coran looked at once another, and the princess let out a sigh, stepping forward. "I think it's time we told you everything, Era..." She started, looking back at her only remaining friend from her home planet, who closed his eyes and accepted her decision, silently, but wholeheartedly.
"Ziera, you may want to sit down..." Coran started. "This is going to take a while..."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading! Please review, as all comments and suggestions help me become a better writer!
Voltron Time = Human Time
Tick = Second
Dobosh = Minute
Varga = Hour
Quintant = Day
Phoeb = Month
Deca-Phoeb = Year