#cake garrett

A Portentous Warning: III

Word Count: 2979

A/N: Season 1 finale! 

The darkness of the room was lightened by the hallway lights outside the door. A dark head of hair brushed back behind their head, reflected the lights overhead. Whether the shininess was from oil or gel, it was hard to tell. Here's where the differences came. 

One wore a black and white vest, with their long hair in a ponytail. The other dark head wore dark plated armor, with their hair not reaching longer than the nape of their neck. The person wearing the vest walked past gray and white walls, heading towards an elevator that led to the main floor. As the doors opened, the person who wore the dark plated armor strode forward. As he walked past underlings, they stiffened, some biting their lips and closing their eyes to hide their fear. 

The doors to the bridge opened, and the man wearing the vest walked into the bridge, descending the staircase to the right to look out the large windows. The teens in the chairs didn't flinch. They ignored Keith as he walked past. Keith stared out into the darkness past the glass. The space was infinite and cold. 

If only they had known that father and son were looking at the same star.

"Keith, are you okay?" The voice was distant, far away from anything in Keith's mind. 

Kova stared at the man with a confused expression. Maybe she was also indignant that she had been ignored. The other teens looked up as Keith didn't answer. 

"Allura forbid," Kova muttered. 

"Keith. Keith!" Caleb said, hoping to get the man's attention. 

"No one get up," Kova said, moving from her console. "I got it." 

Keith didn't notice the footsteps, made purposefully loud. He didn't feel the presence of another person. Until a hand touched his shoulder. His body reacted before his mind caught up. Grabbing the other person's hand and twisting it behind their back, Keith tried pushing the person to the ground. Instead, Keith felt himself being lifted until his back met the floor and he was staring at the ceiling. Has that weird discolored plate always been there?

"I did nothing!" Kova yelled, holding her hands up in surrender. Heavier steps walked over to Keith, seeing Shiro's towering form. 

"Keith," Shiro said, letting his robotic arm push Kova back towards her console. "Are you alright?" 

"What happened?" 

"Kova flipped you." Caleb was helpful at least. It seemed that Shiro didn't appreciate it as he turned his head to glare at the teen. 

"He started it!" Cake yelled, standing from his console. 

"Who started what?" Hunk asked, coming into the bridge. The room descended into chaos. Pidge argued with Liz and Cake, Hunk was asking Allie what had happened, Caleb was just shouting over everyone, and Kova and Shiro had matching expressions. Reaching a human hand out to Keith, Shiro stood the man up and turned to his daughter. Her face was the definition of 'May I?' and Shiro nodded his approval after a survey of the room. 

"QUIET!" Kova yelled, louder than necessary, but effective nonetheless. The arguing ceased and Shiro's robotic arm had flown over to Caleb, covering his face completely. After a sigh, Kova looked at the struggling Caleb. "If you stop struggling, you'll get the hand off your face." After some more indignant struggling, Caleb finally relaxed in his chair. 

"You're loud." Hunk stated. 

"I took singing lessons." Kova looked at the chaotic bridge. "Right. So... we're going to go train in our Lions, and we'll figure out the rest from there." The adults tried to voice their opinions, but the teens were already filing out. 

Hunk took a seat in Cake's chair, using his bent arm as chinrest. Pidge reluctantly sat down in Liz's chair, watching as Keith walked to Caleb's chair. Shiro sighed, making his way to Kova's console. The Lions filed out in backward order: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Or Blue, Yellow, Green, Red, and Black. When the Lions were in the air and flew in front of the Coeus's large windows, Kenny finally woke up from his quick nap. 

"Oh," Kenny said, yawning his way through. "We're doing that today." 

"Send the file to my console," Kova said over the intercom. Through yawns and stretches, Kenny complied. Shiro received a file aptly named, 'TRAINING FILE'. Sharing it to the main screen, Shiro pressed something to open the file code. Strings of random letters, numbers, and symbols were written across the screen, undesirable for the Colonel. 

"Press the green button to launch the file and we'll be—" Kova said, getting interrupted 

"Who, when, where, and why?" Pidge exclaimed. "This is super complicated!" 

"Which teen?" Hunk asked, looking over the code as it scrolled by. "I don't know much about programming and it's been a while since I've stared it in the face, but," He let out a low whistle. "Whoever made this deserves a cookie. Maybe a cake." 

"I think Kova likes cookies and cream cake," Kenny said, voice muffled by something. How were the teens supposed to know he was stuffing his face with leftovers. "Before you ask how I know it's Kova, it's called she is perfection personified." 

Out in her Lion, Kova groaned, leaning her head back. 'Perfection personified'? Oh, boy. 

"Are we private from the Coeus?" Allie asked, and with Kova likely out of commission, Liz checked. 

"We're clear to rant." Liz leaned back without letting go of the controls. The other teens sighed in relief, chatting among themselves. Liz ranted about Pidge being super intrusive and petty. When they moved from Pidge to Keith, Allie said nothing bad about the man. She didn't say anything good either. In fact, she said nothing at all. 

"Kova," Allie said, silencing everyone. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm sure she's fine, Al," Caleb said. "She is 'perfection personified'."

"I'm not sure it's being interpreted the same way," Allie said. Kova sat up at the words. 

"What do you mean by that?" Liz asked. 

"Well, it sounds like a compliment, but it doesn't feel like a compliment." 

"And she's right," Cake spoke up. "Remember when she got really torn up about the chem test?" 

"Oh, yeah," Caleb said, looking off to the distance. "And the surprise pilot test." 

"DIdn't you guys redo that one?" Liz. 

"Yeah." Caleb stretched in his seat. "We still passed, but we felt better about it." 

"Coeus to Lions," Shiro's booming voice came over their earpieces. "Training file is launching in 3, 2, 1, launch." 

Each of the Lions received a different screen, explaining the long code. It took a second to recognize what happened, but it was made clear when the inner cameras appeared onscreen. The Blue Lion was on a frozen tundra, the Yellow Lion was in a howling desert, the Green Lion was in a rainforest, and the Red Lion was on an island. The Black Lion's screen didn't seem to change, still staring out into dark space, and Shiro thought that the file had malfunctioned or maybe Kenny sent the wrong version. 

"Alright, Paladins," Kenny said, watching from the massive screen down in the engine room. "Each of you has received a custom training simulation based on your individual strengths and weaknesses. Locate the green exclamation point to begin your simulation. Oh, and, uh, good luck Paladins." 

The simulations were created to spread the Lions apart from each other to prevent them from hurting the other. Everything else Kenny said was true. 

For Allie and Blue, the tundra was a thick layer of ice on top of a large body of water. The green exclamation point gave her the mission of stopping an oil rig in the middle of the tundra, risking an oil spill in the clear, undisturbed water. 

For Cake and Yellow, the howling desert's exclamation point gave him the mission of getting up close and personal with a town slowly being sucked under the sand. 

For Liz and Green, the rainforest exclamation point revealed that farmers were cutting down trees to make way for their crops, driving the natives that lived there already. 

For Caleb and Red, the island's exclamation point explained that a volcano on the island was set to erupt and Red had to follow the directions of a long-time resident because he was the only one who spoke both the native language of the island and English. 

For Kova and Black, it hit a little too close to home. All Kova had to do was fly out for a few miles and down. The orange and white wreck was in flames, on the verge of explosion. Her mission was to assist the pilots onboard to escape pods. Kova had seen the ship in perfect condition too many times. It was the Achlys, and the pilots onboard would represent Keith, Pidge, Hunk, and Uncle Lance.

——————————

Vhix scoffed as he looked at the screen. Yorak had managed to hack into the Coeus's most recently opened file. The Lions were all out and exposed, and according to the training simulations in front of them, they were very distracted. 

"She'll be playin as you," Vhix said with a smile, looking at his brother. Yorak didn't smile, didn't acknowledge Vhix, didn't even seem interested in a discussion with him. Yorak had been made a makeshift throne, made of cut black stone from the deepest parts of the Nether Region in sector IV. 

"We can take the Black Paladin now." Vhix held himself up on one of the armrests, leaning over the Emperor. "Why wait to grab her?" A second, then a minute of silence passed before Yorak slowly turned his head to Vhix. 

"Are you telling me what I want to hear or are you finally expressing your free thoughts?" Yorak asked, voice low. Vhix stood, hoping to shake off the chills that ran down his spine. He returned his eyes to the screen, showing the Paladins struggling with their missions. Yorak did the same after staring at the side of Vhix's head for a few seconds. 

"Hack further into the code," Yorak ordered to a shaking underling. "Ensure the blanks are real people." The underling bowed their head and returned to work, furiously typing away. As the underling highlighted and deleted the strings of code that indicated the blanks' appearance, an alarm rang. 

Every screen on Yorak's bridge had begun to turn red, flashing a warning sign over the middle of the screen. Every screen turned red, including the main one that had been used to look at the Paladins' progress through their Lions. 

"What. Is. Happening." Yorak demanded, watching the screens now turning from red to black. As the main screen deactivated itself, Yorak and Vhix didn't have time to react. 

The Yellow Lion had headbutted them straight-on.

——————————

"Great job, Yellow!" Kova yelled, flying under the ship. "Fall back and assist." 

"Roger that!" Cake said, moving Yellow away from the cracked glass. With a motion forward, Yellow joined Green in making long, deep scratches on the side of the ship, hoping to block off the escape pods. 

Red and Blue hoped to do the same but were unlucky enough to receive the first few blows from smaller ships. With Blue's laser tail and Red's jaw blade, the three smaller ships imploded on themselves. 

"Teleduv at 39% power, Paladins," Kenny said over the comms. The Black Lion had turned itself horizontally to make the best use of its dual-bladed jaw blade. It did almost run its wings into an engine, but likelihood said the engine was likely to become destroyed. Rationality said 'Don't quiznacking die'. As Black emerged from the underside of the massive ship, Kova flew straight up. With Red and Green to her right and left respectively, and Blue and Yellow to Red's right and to Green's left, Kova said the magic words. 

"Form Voltron!" 

"Yeah!" 

The giant robot towered over Yorak's ship. Onboard, the alarms had begun to sound. Two servants had come to whisk Yorak and Vhix away, hoping to catch an escape pod. How were they to know the ones normally used were destroyed or blocked? Yorak had raised a hand to one of the servants when he was violently thrown off his feet. Voltron did the football player move again. Tackle and push. Grabbing Vhix by the collar, Yorak ran to the other side of the ship, where the smaller combat ships were located. It would be cramped but better than dying today. 

With one last push, Voltron let go of the massive ship, watching it float away. At the same time, Cake inserted the Yellow bayard into the port, with an array of matching sparks. With the insertion, a yellow-plated shoulder cannon appeared on Voltron's shoulder. Taking aim, Cake fired. The recoil sent Voltron back a few feet, but what're a few feet in space? 

"Teleduv at 89% power, Paladins," Kenny called again, warning the teens. Voltron wouldn't be able to watch the destruction then, as they turned away from the incoming explosion to fly back to the Coeus. Shiro, to his credit, managed to snap a picture of Voltron flying away from the explosion as it happened. The teens sure do know how to angle. 

"Teleduv at 97% power," Kenny warned one more time. "Prepare for teleduv travel." Shiro hung onto the banister while the others put on the provided seatbelts. 

The wormhole opened and the Coeus pushed itself through. Voltron wasn't far behind, hanging onto the tail end of the Coeus. 

Within the hour, the teens were cheering, polishing their armor, and reviewing what they would say. Allie was running her hands on the gravel underneath her feet to calm her down. Liz was on the verge of squealing in excitement, shaking her fists with her helmet in her lap. Cake was speaking slowly to make sure all the words came out of his mouth correctly. Kova was working with Kenny to set up the bridge drone to record and broadcast their message while simultaneously brushing her hair and braiding it. Caleb was snapping pictures of the team, sitting around excitedly. 

"I give up," Kova said. "Allura!" Kova made her way over to Allie, who was sitting on a log. How Kova could plop herself down on the gravel, was a true mystery. "Braid my hair." Demanding brat. Allie relented, taking Kova's dark hair and braiding her long bangs back in a side french braid ponytail. At least, that's what Allie thought it was called. Why couldn't all the countries on Earth be one united clump like their landmasses show them to be? 

"Alright, get in positions, everyone!" Kenny yelled. "We're ready to telecast."

"One more minute!" Kova yelled back. Allie muttered something under her breath. "Two more minutes!" 

"You get five because you haven't cleaned your armor yet." 

"Are you calling me dirty?" 

"I ain't calling you clean!" Kenny walked away just as Caleb walked up to Allie and Kova. 

"Is my hair good?" Caleb asked, crouching down to be eye-level with Kova. 

"I don't know," Kova said. Her eyes were closed, but a quick peek at Caleb was all she needed. "But your hair would be called 'Rat's Nest Chic'." 

"What are you going to do about it?" 

"Me? Nothing. Dad, on the other hand," Kova trailed off as Shiro appeared like a menacing villain behind Caleb, holding a brush in his human hand. While Caleb tried and failed to run away from Shiro and the threatening brush, Allie finished the braid and started helping Kova clean her armor. Kova did the same for Allie when the five minutes were up. 

The Paladins stood in a line in descending order. Far behind them, the Lions were sitting proudly. With two stomps on the gravel ground, the teens stood straight and at attention. Behind the drone, Kenny held up his hand. Telecast started in five, four, three, two...

"My name is Kovalia Shirogane, and I am the Paladin of the Black Lion and leader of Voltron." Kova was confident, with her arms crossed behind her. The other teens had followed suit. "My team and I have been training relentlessly on the looming threat. With war on the horizon, we decided to announce Voltron's return to the universe as a united front. Yorak and his minions will have you believe we have hidden in fear rather than confront him directly. Earlier today, we proved him wrong." Behind the scenes, Kenny uploaded the footage of the earlier attack. "With a virus disguised as a training simulation designed by our engineer, we managed to attack and destroy the largest ship in Yorak's fleet. After defeating him today, we returned here, to Moilea. Voltron has never backed down from a fight, from a war, or the right side of peace. Myself, and my team," The teens spread further apart from each other to make themselves better seen by the camera when Kenny gave the signal. "Are prepared to take on any and every challenge thrown our way. I, Kova, am a second-generation half-Galra. My brother, Caleb Shirogane, and Paladin of the Red Lion is human. Paladin of the Green Lion, Eliza Griffin, is human as well. Issako Garrett, Paladin of the Yellow Lion, is a first-generation half-Balmeran. Allura Smythe, Paladin of the Blue Lion, is Altean. Together, we can not only unite the galaxy," As Kova spoke the teens reached down to grab their helmets, to either hold them in their hands or hold them between their hips and arms. "We can rid the world of doubts in the coming war." She turned her head to Caleb, who handed her the helmet for the Black Paladin suit. "Your move, Yorak," Kova said with a smile, with the teens looking at the camera as it zoomed out to show the teens and the Lions in the same frame. 

Brittle Relations: III

Word Count: 2992

It took three days to prepare the ship for launch. Besides the repairs and harvesting and the weblum, a majority of the urgency came from Keith. When Keith was shot with tranquilizers, it was Kenny freaking out and rushing the team. If it ain't one Kogane, it's another. They would've tranquilized Kenny, but they needed him down in the engine room. The makeshift solar panels helped a lot in powering the ship, storing it all in backup generators. By the third day, it was only a review of systems and they took off. The teens learned from their mistakes and traveled through a wormhole on empty stomachs. 

On the other side of the wormhole, the teens rapidly checked every map. In front of them, there was only a deserted and broken hull of a planet. 

"Kova, where are we?" Shiro asked with arms at his sides. Kova had pulled up the maps Liz had sent to the main console, while simultaneously trying to triangulate Pidge's location. 

"Thayama," Kova replied, finally able to translate the triangle. "Once a satellite to a larger star, it became too cold to sustain life." 

"Why is it broken like that?" Caleb asked, staring between the lifeless hull in front of the window and the complete planet on the map. 

"I think it became so cold, the entire planet kind of," Liz replied, holding her hands together in a spherical shape. "Broke." She separated her hands to hold half-spheres. 

"That's the running theory," Cake nodded his head with hands under his chin. Kova began talking to Kenny over her earpiece, working together to steer the Coeus towards Pidge's location. 

"Hold!" She yelled, dropping the controls. Down in the engine room, Kenny turned off the thrusters. "Cake, Kenny, suit up, and let's go." 

"What." Cake and Kenny deadpanned, eyes comically wide. 

"No offense to either of you," Kova began. "You look more gullible than I do." Cake stared at Kova as she walked out, putting her helmet on as she was doing so. Cake looked around at the other four Paladins, who stared back at him expectedly. Slowly, Cake places a dramatic hand on his chest. Allie, who was across from him, nodded her head, confused. 

"Cake!" All of the Paladins jumped, but Cake was the only one who stood up, tripping up the stairs while pulling his helmet on. 

Together, the trio (ugh, unavoidable alliteration) boarded the Yellow Lion with a vague plan in Kova's mind. Kova directed Cake towards the signal, narrowly avoiding several big chunks of Thayama. 

So, uh, what's the plan?" Kenny asked as Yellow neared the bright orange triangle. 

"Since Cake and I can defend ourselves, you'll stay here until we need help." 

"That's offensive, Kova." 

"If we need you, your code word is 'dump'.

"'Dump'? Why 'dump'?" 

"Cake, find a place to land here." It's safe to assume Kova never answered Kenny's question. Yellow touched down on a giant chunk of land still attached to the bigger mass of the dead planet. Kova handed Kenny a screen after Cake led Kenny into the seat. 

"This is going to give you a status on the weblum." 

"How do you know where the weblum is?" 

"Kenny, not the time." Kova glared at Kenny through their screens, shutting him up. She looked up at Cake and nodded towards the door. Cake nodded in response, gripping his bayard.

On the surface, Thayama wasn't cold. There were no readings. Even though the suits warmed them, Kova and Cake could feel the chill of the strong wind. Turning on their floodlights did nothing to help them, but they continued forward. They could still see Yellow's eyes when the first blast came. It came in between the teens, making them duck. Kova dived to the ground, summoning her shield. Cake summoned his minigun, firing a warning shot. Another shot came at them, hitting three feet away from Kova's left. 

"Where are they?" Cake shouted over the wind. Kova looked down to check her screen, seeing the triangle point thirty feet ahead. 

"Not far!" She yelled back, pushing forward. Cake hefted his weapon up and pushed forward too. Three more shots were fired from the darkness at the teens, who continued forward. The shots kept missing, but when one hit a boulder, causing it to explode, it rushed the teens. 

At ten feet, the Yellow Lion was a dim blob in the distance, but the howling wind stopped. Kova deactivated her shield, stood up, and lifted her hands in surrender. Cake saw what she was doing, and did the same, except he held the deactivated bayard in his hand. 

Two figures approached the teens. Dark fabric hung from their shoulders, with a makeshift mask covering their blurry shields. Either they didn't see their armor from the fogginess of their dark screens, or they weren't the person they were looking for. 

"Who are you and what do you want?" One of the cloaked figures said, holding up an upgraded weapon. This cloaked figure was significantly shorter than the other, with their torn fabric cloak dragging on the ground. 

"We want to get you off of here," Kova answered, getting the cloaked figure's attention. They approached them with their gun, pointing the barrel directly at Kova's chest plate. 

"Why?" The figure inched closer. "Who sent you?" 

"No one sent us." Kova stepped forward. Only a step. "We followed a signal coming from this location." The second, taller cloaked figure scoffed, standing next to the first figure. 

"Not until you tell us who you are and what you're doing here." Kova gave Cake a side-glance, who didn't meet her eyes. Kenny took the silence to update Kova. 

"Weblum is approximately half-hour out." 

"Listen, we have to get you—" Kova tried walking forward again, but the first figure held up their gun. Now that Kova was having a little bit of a closer look, it looked more like a bazooka, if a bazooka was made of random bits and pieces. "My name is Kova, and I'm the Paladin of the Black Lion." The taller cloaked figure hadn't made a move, but the shorter figure had begun to shake their shoulders. They were trying to stop their laughter. "We have to get you out of this dump." 

"Why?" The taller figure asked, earning them a 'huh?' from the shorter figure. 

"There's a weblum en route to this planet." The wind started up again, pushing the teens to their side. Kova held up her arm to try to block some of the wind. "Let's go!" 

"No!" The first figure shouted over the wind, trying to hold onto the dark fabric over their face and the bazooka at the same time. From behind the teens, Kenny ran against the raging wind to reach Kova and Cake. 

"Weblum is twenty minutes out!" He shouted, diving in front of Kova and Kenny to make his face visible to the pair. "I'm Kenny, and we really have to get you both out of here! You know what a weblum is, right?" He looked at the shorter person, then at the taller person, hoping to garner some sympathy. 

"Matt?" The shorter figure says. "What are you doing here?" 

Jackpot. 

"Katie 'Pidge' Holt?" Kova asked, getting a hesitant head nod. "And you? Who are you?" 

"I'm Hunk." The taller figure said. "Hunk Garrett." 

"I'm Takashi Shirogane's daughter."

"Shiro?" Both said. Kova nodded.

"Let's go!" Kova turned, dragging Cake by the back of his collar. Kenny stood up, grabbing the elbows of the two people, and pulled them towards Yellow's general direction. 

"Wait!" Pidge shouted, turning around towards the area behind them. Both Kenny and Hunk yelled after her, but she paid no mind. Pidge ran back to Kenny after about thirty seconds with a satchel, and let Kenny lead them. 

"Hang on, everyone!" Cake yelled as soon as Kenny and his guests boarded Yellow. The ride in Yellow was pretty bumpy, jerking around through the wind. It bounced the passengers except for the pair in the cockpit around like balls. Pretty soon, the Yellow Lion escaped the strong winds of Thayama. The calm was disturbing after the winds. 

"Yellow to Coeus, do you read me?" Cake asked into his earpiece, ignoring Kova's sigh of relief as they flew towards the Coeus. 

"Coeus to Yellow, what's your status?" Caleb answered. 

"Mission successful. Prepare accommodations and treatment for two."

"Copy. Transport bay doors open." Caleb was right, and both Kova and Cake were grateful for it. Flying Yellow into the bay, they began unboarding and led the newcomers directly into the observation room. Keith's room was dark, but he turned over as they passed by. Allie and Liz were on standby in the med bay, hanging out in the doctor's office as Kova walked in to knock on the glass. Liz led Pidge into the observation room while Allie led Cake to the spare cot in the corner of the room. They asked them to remove their cloaks and suits, which they seemed hesitant about. That was where Cake, Kova, and Kenny left them, practically skipping to Shiro's office. 

"Dad." Kova was the first one into the room. Shiro looked up at the teens and 'adult' with a bored expression. An inverse image of Curtis with crossed arms was on the screen. He smiled at Shiro's expression, choosing to answer for him. 

"What's wrong, Kova?" Curtis said with a funny deep voice, trying to imitate Shiro. Shiro turned to glare at Curtis, who began snickering. 

"Was your mission successful?" Shiro asked the teens, ignoring his husband. 

"Yes sir." Kova straightened her back and crossed her wrists behind her back. "We successfully recovered Katie 'Pidge' Holt and Hunk Garrett." Shiro did a double-take at the names, pushing past the teens to head for the med bay. Kova came into her Pop's view, who began to ask her about her mission. She confirmed and answered every question. 

"Bridge to the crew, weblum crossing. Repeat, bridge to the crew, weblum is passing." Curtis's last words to Kova were a demand to take a video of the weblum. Together, Kenny, Kova, Cake, and Caleb watched the giant weblum cross in front of the Coeus, devouring the broken remains of Thayama. 

"So, uh, how did you know where the weblum was?" Kenny asked again, and Kova sighed. 

"You know how there's online tracking for dolphins and whales?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Researchers applied that to weblums." 

"You're joking."

"It took eighteen months to find them all." 

"Did they find them all?" Kenny asked, turning his head to look at Kova. She shook her head, still looking at the huge weblum. 

"We don't need any scaultrite, right?" Cake asked with a smile.

"Please, don't joke about that," Caleb said with a flat look. 

That night, everyone aboard the IGF Coeus went to bed without a heavy thought. The lights dimmed, and the Coeus sang a soft lullaby. 

Early the next morning, Kova was rubbing a towel over her wet hair, grimacing at the neon green on the fluffy towel. As her hair went up in a towel turban, she walked into the kitchen to find Liz and Cake standing over a huge pot in the middle of the floor. 

"Um, what are you doing?" Kova asked, coming to stand next to them. The metal pot was filled to the brim with water, with a wooden stick sticking out of it. The water shifted from white to pink, reflecting the light above the teens. 

"We tried to wash the poncho, since two people have already worn it without it ever being washed," Liz began, looking at Kova. 

"So we started washing it, and we left it over one of the air ducts." Cake finished, taking the stick and moving the fabric around. 

"The Coeus releases hot air if low temperatures are detected, and the metal heats up easily," Kova pointed out, staring at the pair. 

"We know." They answered at the same time, faces darkening. Cake kept stirring, lifting the poncho out of the water. It looked like a bad tie-dye, with patches of white and pink from the leftover dye. Staring at the patches, Kova had an idea. Taking the towel turban from her head, Kova fluffed her hair so it fell smoothly down her back. A little prong fell in front of her forehead, almost touching her nose. Two other locks of hair framed her face, curling next to her chin. Her hair was as dark as before, reaching her shoulders. The rest of her long hair was still bright green, ending with dark tips. 

"Would you guys mind getting the green out?" Kova asked. Wordlessly, Cake dropped the poncho and stick back into the water, furiously pushing it to the bottom while Liz grabbed a lonely chair in the corner of the room. It took a half-hour and not all of the dye came out of Kova's hair, but it was enough to dye the fabric bright green. Not as neon as before, but green enough. Kova was left with a patch of hair that looked brown, but at least it wasn't green anymore. As the dye settled into the fabric, the teens remarked how amazing the dye was, wondering what store Caleb had gotten it from. Cake and Kova deadpanned Liz, but Liz said nothing. 

Thank Allura it was early. 

Breakfast was served as usual, Kova looked for any leads regarding Yorak, Allie searched for the colonies, and Liz took care of the three patients. Kenny was excited to see his parents together again, but to avoid being physically restrained to a chair again, he occupied himself in the engine room. 

By lunch, Liz declared everyone healthy, if only dehydrated. The five teens walked down to the observation room, calling for Shiro and Kenny. 

Hunk sat on the bed in the furthest corner of the med bay, wearing a yellow shirt and black pants and boots. His hair had grown to shoulder length, tied back by an orange headband. Sideburns grew long his face, stopping short of his beard. He watched as the teens filed in, wearing their Paladin armor. Cake wanted to wear his, while the others wanted to wear their normal clothes, but Cake persisted. 

"I didn't think the Lions would appear again," Hunk said, a sad smile on his face. "Much less so soon." 

"What are you talking about, Hunk?" Pidge said from her observation room. Her door was open, unlike Keith's. She stood from her bed, and stared at the five teenagers. Kova had brushed her hair, a small braid holding back the prongs, and a bigger braid holding back the rest. Caleb had swept his hair to the side, crossing his arms next to Kova. Beside him, Liz had left her short brown hair down. Behind them, Cake wore an identical orange headband around his dark hair, while Allie returned to the dual braids on her head. 

"I was the Yellow Lion," Hunk said, pointing out Cake. He couldn't contain his excitement anymore. 

"I know, Dad," Cake said, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. Hunk stared at Cake while he pulled up a picture on his arm screen. It showed a smiling Hunk with a little Cake, smiles wide and eyes sparkling. Hunk wore a spacesuit, while little Cake wore a yellow shirt with a small sticker that read 'MY DAD IS A PALADIN'. Cake looked up from the picture to Hunk, who did the same. Before Hunk could stand, Cake ran into his father's arms, crying into his shoulder. The other Paladins, the current ones, barely had time to get out of the way. Kova was directly in Pidge's line of sight, but there was nothing there. 

"You said you were Shiro's kid, right?" Pidge asked, getting Kova and Caleb's attention. Pidge wore the bodysuit of her armor underneath the poncho, now sewn at the open ends to form short sleeves. The rest of the loose pocho was tied by the random long strip on the back of the poncho. 

"Yes, but there is someone you'd rather meet first," Kova said, smiling slyly. (ALLITERATION). Kova walked towards the other door, the other teens stepped back to give Pidge room to move around. Their grins were wide as Kova opened the door, turning on the lights. A pillow flew in the direction of her head, with muffled grumbling coming from the bed. Thankfully, Kenny had arrived. 

"Hey, we have someone for you to meet." More grumbling come from a mass of blankets on the bed, missing a pillow. Kova carefully stepped further into the room, ever closer to the bed. "C'mon, it'll be good for you." Even more grumbling, but at least Kova could hear it. She grabbed an edge of the blanket, pulling it away from the being's face. "Keith, that's a very rude thing to say to someone." Keith's dark hair barely peeked out of the white sheets, turning to glare at Kova. 

"Keith?" Pidge whispered, eyes wide. "Keith Kogane?" That was enough to lift Keith out of bed, to stare at the woman on the other side of the room. Kova stepped out of the way just as Keith launched out of bed to embrace Pidge. Crying, they fell to the floor. Pidge leaned into his shoulder, grabbing fistfuls of Keith's vest. Keith had one hand on Pidge's head, combed into her light brown hair, while the other easily wrapped around her back. Cake and Hunk stood together to watch the scene unfold, with Hunk's arm wrapped around Cake's shoulders. Kenny silently sobbed in the doorway, watching his parents. Ten years. He waited ten years. 

Kova smiled at the happy reunion, already wondering what they would do. Pidge's next words, though, struck a lightning bolt through Kova's heart. As Pidge sniffled, and Keith wiped his tears away, they pulled away from the other to meet each other's eyes. 

Zealous Approach: III

Word Count: 2791

A/N: Torture warning! Please skip ahead to line if uncomfortable with torture! Or skip chapter entirely if you don’t want to be sad.

Far away from where the Coeus rested, Yorak's massive battleship floated through at almost a crawl. The bridge was lifeless. No holoscreens were lit. Any chairs were gone. Through a labyrinth of halls lit by lowlight from above, soldiers stood ready at an escape pod with coordinates set for the colonies. The silence dragged on with the hours, just waiting. The Emperor was creative and cruel. Whatever his latest victim ended up looking, they were likely not going to make it to the colonies. The soldiers who stood guard at the metal door in the kitchen reserves would agree. When the cooling system in the freezer turned on, they could remain stone-faced. Unmovable. When it turned off, the memories of boot camp returned. The barely audible screams. The soldiers flinched and shook as the screams became louder, but weren't enough to give anyone else on the ship the pleasure of hearing. They remembered they were lucky it wasn't them. That was all. 

Inside the walk-in freezer, Yorak wore a cruel smile and a dark bodysuit. His victim was chained by her wrists to the ceiling. The woman wore a jade green shirt and light gray pants with matching boots. Her dark brown hair looked darker under the dim light in the freezer, blue eyes lifeless as she breathed heavily. Before her breath could even itself out, hot water forcefully sprayed onto her body. She shook her body, trying in vain to escape the scalding water. The chains shook, but never gave way. Ugly red marks were left on her pale skin where the spray hit her bare skin. Her clothes could provide only so much protection before they too were soaked in the hot water. At the temperature change, the freezer turned itself on and her screams were drowned out. As her screams died, the uselessness of her moving now apparent, her body now sagged, Yorak decided at last to restart his interrogation.

"Sammima," Yorak said, his smile growing impossibly wider. The woman shook as she strained her head to face the man. "You failed me. That is why you are here." 

"I-I'm sorry, Emperor." Sammima bowed her head, every word taking another breath. 

"Tell me." Yorak stepped forward so he was well-within Sammima's line of sight. "Why did the Black Paladin get away from you?" 

"I-I," Sammima began to violently shake, the once-hot water quickly freezing on her skin. 

"This will all stop when you tell me why the Black Paladin got away from you." Yorak was close enough to tuck a loose strand of dark hair behind Sammima's pointed ear. It was the only Altean trait the human half-breed had. That, and her inhuman strength. 

"They pushed us aside, ordering us to take shelter," Sammima said between shuddering breaths. "My son—"

"What about your son?" The faux care in Yorak's voice turned cold again, removing his hand from Sammima's face. "This is about the Paladins." 

"I was in position, but my son," Sammima tried not to meet the Emperor's cruel eyes. "He heard the Paladins and dragged me along to meet them." 

"Sammima, I have no patience for excuses." 

"I'm sorry, Emperor." 

The freezer turned itself off, but the woman still shook. Yorak was fine in his bodysuit glaring at the woman's meek form. The skin on her face had begun to turn waxy and the tips of her fingers were turning blue. Ugly red welts appeared on her neck where the spray was most concentrated. Her head was still down when she heard the freezer being knocked on. 

"She's ready." Yorak's voice was stiff. With weak movements, two soldiers came in to unchain her from her restraints, bringing her down to the floor. Sammima collapsed into a heap on the cold floor of the freezer. "Take her away. If she dies, her son will bear the weight of his crimes." Sammima was too tired to fight, to argue, to stand. Each of the soldiers hooked their arms under her armpits and dragged her out of the freezer. Before Sammima passed out, Yorak's tall form reminded her of the brave young man she remembered fondly so long ago. What happened to him? 

————

Keith was smoothing down as much of his dark hair as possible, tying it in a low ponytail as he made his way to the bridge. 

Through the door and into the bridge, his face fell as he saw Kova's stupid purple sweater. Her back was to him and the door, the bright blue screen at the windows lit up. 

"Good morning, Keith," Kova greeted without turning around. Caleb, in his chair a step below and to the right of Kova's podium, turned around to see the man. With a little wave, Caleb turned around, looking at the screen. 

"How did you know it was me?" Keith asked, approaching Kova to lean on her railing between Kova and Caleb. 

"A teen with strict parents knows." Kova finally looked up from her holoscreen to meet his eyes. "And we were running the cameras for software updates." She pointed to a small part of the screen that had been obscured by Kova. She was right. Cake, with his tongue sticking out, was much too close to the camera, looking at something directly above it. 

"Now?" Cake said, looking directly at the camera. His voice seemed to surround Keith, and he looked at the walls hoping to figure out where it came from. Kova pressed a finger to her ear to respond. 

"Yeah, we're good." Cake made a little air pump, then got down from the small step ladder he was using to be so close to the camera in the first place. 

"You added audio?" Keith asked, staring at the screen. 

"We didn't add anything. We just improved it." Kova closed the camera feed and stared at the empty screen. "Now." 

One by one, multiple screens lit up as Cake happily sang.

"SECRET TUNNEL! SECRET TUNNEL!" Cake sang to the engine room, putting the step ladder just inside the door. "THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!" He happily marched his way to the bridge. For every syllable, he marched one step. "SECRET, SECRET, SECRET, SECRET TUNNEL! YEAH!" With the last word, Cake's voice came from the hallway next to the bridge. With both hands in the air and a smile on his face, Cake posed for the camera. 

"Cake!" Kova yelled. 

"Coming!" Cake panicked and ran to the bridge, almost missing the door entirely. Keith stared at him with an incredulous look, but Cake walked past him with the little dignity he had left and sat down in his chair. One by one, the cameras turned off except for the one in front of Shiro's room. His door had opened, looking into the empty hallway. At last, he looked up at the camera and pointed at it with one finger. 

"No." With that, he walked back into his room. 

"Software update." 

"The cameras take a tick to come online, but," Kova shrugged. "It works." 

"I can agree with that." 

"Time for our next order of business." Kova moved her head from side to side, hoping to pop her neck. "Allie, did we find anything on Vatos's mom?" 

"Good news is yes, the bad news is no," Allie said, uploading her screen to the larger one. "Her name is Sammima Clarke, a half-Altean and half-human hybrid." A woman appeared on the screen, with very dark hair swept to the side and tied in a bun and light blue eyes. 

"She doesn't have Altean markings," Caleb pointed out, and Allie nodded. 

"It's odd, but it isn't uncommon," Allie explained, showing a side-profile of Sammima. "Her file says she has Altean strength, ears, and others." 

"Other?" 

"Probably something else. I'm too young to develop past these." Allie patted her markings with her fingers, showing them to her team. Keith stared at the girl with questions, but the team moved on. 

"So we found her official Altean file," Kova started. 

"But we can't find her." Allie finished the sentence. "Maybe she worked for the Emperor?" Allie turned around, glancing at Keith as she spoke. Kova shook her head, looking at the woman. 

"She isn't half-Galra, there's no point." Kova stared into the woman's eyes until a thought came to mind. "I've got an idea, but I gotta talk to Kenny first." 

"This isn't something you can share with us?" Caleb said, turning around. Both Keith and Kova stared at him. Kova was side-eyeing Keith, hoping to get the point across. The realization struck Caleb just as Keith spoke. 

"Why can't you share?" Keith turned his head to stare at Kova, who leaned herself against her screen in a second of panic. "On top of that, why are you guys in here? Isn't our turn?" 

"Dad is making the schedule as we speak. And no." 

"If we're going to be taking over for you guys, shouldn't we know what's going on?" 

"We already covered technical with my dad and Pidge," Cake spoke up. 

"Allie and I have medical covered," Liz said. 

"Dad will be in charge of the main console, and you'll be in my seat." Caleb was next, crossing his arms. 

"We're in here because we didn't want to wake up Kenny and Vatos." Allie was last, looking up. 

"We haven't eaten breakfast yet," Kova explained, running a hand through her hair. "Patience yields focus." Before Keith could say anything in response, the screen showing a warning. Opening it up, the teens stared. 

"Starting tracking!" Liz said, typing away at her screen. 

"Do you want us to intercept?" Cake asked. 

"No, take a mold and track it!" Kova ordered. "Liz, give me a BLIP reading!" Liz swiped at her screen, passing it onto the larger screen, and someone to Kova's right took it as Liz began to take a reading. The small pod appeared to contain only one person, with very low readings. Whoever was inside wouldn't make it to their destination without dying. 

"We need to intercept," Keith said, staring at the screen. 

"I agree." Kova made her way out of the bridge, removing her sweater as she did so. Caleb stood to follow her, but Keith stood in his way. With a pointed stare, Liz stood up and followed Kova out. 

"There are some fights you need to wait and watch before you make a move." Caleb sat down, Keith's words setting in. Wait and watch? 

The Black and Green Lions left the transport bays, heading towards the fast-moving pod. The Black Lion flew in front of the pod, catching its jaw. Inside, Kova pushed the controls forward, hoping to counteract the speed. Liz unboarded the Green Lion, hopping inside the small pod. 

There was only a holoscreen showing the coordinates and a wide back area where a figure lay collapsed under a thick sheet. 

"Green to Coeus, prepare med bay." Allie stood up, getting to the med bay as quickly as she could. "Hello?" Liz said, crouching to see the person's face. The person was shivering, shaking violently. The tips of their fingers and their lips were blue, but an ugly welt on the inside of their neck made it seem like they were worse off than they should. "I'm getting you out of here. Ready?" Liz said, picking up the figure by her armpits. She bit down on her lips as she marched herself towards the hatch she had come in from. Using the sheet as a wrap, Liz managed to hoist the person through the hole, over her shoulder, and into her Lion. Laying the person down in the back of the cockpit, Liz ran to her chair and took off. 

Watching the Green Lion fly around, the Black Lion let the pod go underneath them, watching it fly into the distance. 

The Lions returned to the bay, Liz and Allie took the figure into the med bay and began trying to treat them, and the rest of the team anxiously ate breakfast while the pair worked. 

"Colonel and Kova Shirogane to the med bay, thank you." Allie said over the intercom, just as Shiro had served himself a plate and Kova finished hers. They both stood, with Kova seeming more anxious than before. 

Liz looked exhausted and defeated, with Allie nowhere to be found. She looked up as the Shiroganes walked in. 

"Allie confirmed," Liz started. "That's Sammima Clarke." 

"And?" Kova asked, approaching the window. Liz looked down. 

"We can't save her." Liz clenched her hands into fists. "She requested the Black Paladin and the Colonel." 

"She's talking?" Shiro asked, opening the door. 

"Not for long." She looked up again, staring at the figure in the bed. Allie was at her bedside, holding Sammima's hand and brushing her hair away from her face. 

"Sammima?" Shiro said, stepping into the room. Kova stood at the door, placing a hand on Liz's shoulder before walking in herself. "I am Colonel Takashi Shirogane." Allie tried to walk away, but Sammima's strength came back if only to keep Allie at her side. 

"I'm Kovalia Shirogane, Paladin of the Black Lion," Kova said, standing at the foot of the bed. Sammima struggled to breathe, but she managed to speak. 

"Yorak wants you dead, Colonel," Sammima said, meeting Shiro's eyes, then turned to Kova. "For stealing you away." 

"Sammima," Kova said, coming around to where Allie stood. "Have you been to Earth?" The woman smiled as her eyes softened. 

"My father took me there many times. I grew up there. In a little house, with a big willow tree in the backyard." 

"Have you ever met a TJ in your time?" 

"Yes." She breathed, turning her head towards the ceiling. "So nice. So smart. So handsome. Nothing like whatever he turned into." Sammima's eyes became sad, a tear coming from her eye. She turned her head to the side to meet Allie's tearful gaze. "I hope my son never turns out like him." 

"I promise, Sammima," Kova said, as Allie choked back a sob. "No harm will come to your boy." 

"My crimes are mine to bear," Sammima said, staring at the ceiling again. "Mine to bear." The heart monitor bounced a few more times as the O2 levels lowered until the monitor read a flatline and low O2 levels. Kova held Allie as she sobbed. The young girl was led out while Shiro raised the sheet over Sammima's face. 

After a few hours, the former Paladins and the Shirogane clan were on the bridge. Caleb sat in his chair with Kova sitting on the step next to him. Pidge and Hunk took seats in Liz and Cake's seats, respectively. Keith was annoyed in Allie's seat, arms crossed. Shiro was in front of the team, rubbing the bridge of his nose. 

"We have to cremate the body," Kova said, muffled by her own cheeks as she squished them with her fists. "It's what we were trained to do." 

"We can't just," Hunk said, making little hand gestures. "Launch her?" 

"Or send her back to Altea?" Pidge asked, looking to Shiro. Shiro sighed. 

The teens were right. 

All bodies had to be cremated because they aren't degradable in space, unlike ocean burials or traditional burials. The problem was the Coeus. The Coeus was built before this law became law at all. Before the Garrison Council and the Galactic Coalition. The Coeus doesn't have a cremator unless you count the thrusters as a make-shift one. That was when the idea of respect for the deceased came up. 

The Coeus would have to land, and with Yorak becoming more desperate, it was dangerous. 

"We don't know if the pod would cross through Fire sectors, and they might intercept or attack the pod before it gets there." Caleb was arguing for landing the Coeus. Kova was with him. 

"We have to land." Kova stretched her arms over her head, giving her cheeks a break. 

"How are you going to make a fire hot enough to turn the body into ash?" Keith asked, turning around to face Kova. 

"We made a welder. I'm sure making a hot enough fire won't be that bad." 

"We can't land. We can just eject and go." 

"We have to land." 

"No, we don't." 

"It's space law. I'm not committing another felony." 

"What?" 

"Enough," Shiro said, the two sides finally quieting. "All in favor of landing, raise a hand." Kova, Caleb, and Keith raised a hand. Shiro also raised a hand. Keith turned to Pidge and Hunk at the other side of the room, who stared at him in surprise. Just as quickly, they accepted the landing. 

Wavering Objectives: III

Word Count: 2990

Kova padded into her attached ensuite bathroom, sighing and rubbing the back of her neck. The makeshift arm sling was starting to make a rash and the bandages were much too tight. As carefully as she could, Kova removed the bandages and rolled them into tight balls of cotton. The water ran cold, then warmed. Steam came from the top of the shower, filling the room. 

Emerging from the shower, Kova wrapped her hair in a fluffy white towel and dressed in her purple pajamas. Her eyes were closed the entire time, enjoying the quiet, steam-filled room. The mirror was completely fogged up. Kova reached up to wipe it away with one hand, using the other to unwrap her hair from her towel turban. Slowly, she pats her hair dry starting from the roots to the ends and back again.

She opened her eyes, seeing green on the once-white towel. Confused, she looked up. 

"CALEB!" Kova screamed. Caleb, on the other side of the door, covered his mouth to stifle his laughter. It failed. 

The door opened to a furious Kova with neon green hair, clashing with her dark eyebrows, bright amber eyes, and dark purple pajamas. Caleb couldn't stop himself from choking on his own spit from laughing so hard. Kova's anger stewed while Caleb attempted to catch his breath, wiping away tears. 

"What's wrong?" He managed to say, taking deep breaths. "Thought this would be the highlight of your day." Caleb's body released an unholy wheeze at his own joke. Kova, ever the lovable hothead, glared at Caleb even more than before. Her hands balled into fists at her side, shaking with anger. 

"Caleb." She said, grinding her teeth. Caleb looked up, covering his mouth to restrain his laughter. "I. Am. Going. To. KILL. YOU." Kova shouted the last two words of her threat, lunging forward to grab Caleb's scrawny neck. Caleb stumbled to a stand, then ran down the halls of the Coeus. Kova ran behind him, screaming in frustration as she ran into walls, clipping her shoulder on a corner. The pair chased each other, the distance between them growing. 

The other teens ignored the screams, continuing their meals. Allie stood from the lunch table to stop them when Cake placed a hand on her shoulder, sitting her back down. He shook his head, and she looked on. Eventually, she turned around, doing her best to ignore the screams.

Kova ran until the air in her lungs evaporated and the only sounds coming from her were raspy gasps for breath. Caleb stopped at the entrance to the next hallway when he realized Kova was now leaning on a support beam. 

"Kova?" He asked. She gave no response. Her wheezing became more evident as the seconds passed. Caleb was going to help her when Shiro pushed past him to get to Kova. 

He heard the screams and watched from the camera footage to see if they would exhaust themselves or actually kill each other. Glad it wasn't the latter, or Shiro would never hear the end of it from Curtis. 

"Caleb, you know better than to prank your sister," Shiro scolded. He was holding Kova like a princess, shushing her as he strode to the med bay. Caleb ran to stay behind them but didn't say a word. 

This happened before, but way more serious. Like, Kova ending up in the hospital for weeks on a ventilator serious. She had to have an oxygen tank for months afterward. No one expected it, but it happened. When she returned, the teachers started failing her without proving it. The looks on their faces when Aunt Veronica confronted them was priceless, according to Kova. 

Shiro sat Kova on the edge of the bed, letting her try to catch her own breath while he grabbed the oxygen tank. It could only be assumed Kenny replaced the original oxygen tank and all its attachments, but again, it's only an assumption. The green strap was around Kova's head, clashing with her new hair color. The clear mask fogged up as Kova continued wheezing. Shiro turned it on, letting it run until Kova's breathing normalized. She reached out to turn it off when Keith barged into the room. All three Shiroganes stared at the confused Kogane, who stared right back. 

Keith had his own individual observation room with shatter-proof windows, a bolted-down bed, and a door that can be opened from the outside. Kova was sitting on a small cot in the open space of the med bay only several feet away from the window to his observation room. He wondered why Kova deserved a cot while Keith had a cell. 

Kova didn't pass out and wake up with murderous tendencies. No one tell him. I don't want to be thrown out. 

"What happened?" Keith finally asked, shaking his head, approaching a kneeling Shiro. 

"Nothing major." Shiro turned forward to turn off the oxygen tank. "Just a disagreement between siblings."

"She's wearing an oxygen mask."

"Disagreement between siblings."

"She said she'd kill him." Keith pointed at Caleb over his shoulder. 

"Disagreement." 

"Her hair's green." 

"Are you done stating obvious facts?" Kova snapped, pulling the strap over her head to fully remove the mask. "I want to sleep now." 

"Of course." Shiro stood up, holding a hand out for Kova to hold. She took it, trying not to focus too much on the swaying room. He led her to the outermost wall of the hallway, letting her hold onto the wall. The men watched her stumble towards her room until the neon green left their eyes. They returned to the bridge, busying themselves with potential plans. Caleb unofficially grounded himself, sulking in his room. 

Allie and Cake approached the entrance to the bridge, where Liz was peeking into the room, completely entranced by something inside. Cake quietly approached her and blew on her ear. With a jerk of her knee, Liz rammed her knee into the metal wall. 

"Quiznak!" 

"Sorry!" Cake reached out to grab her before she could fall onto the metal grate floor. He didn't. Liz fell onto the metal grate floor, causing more curses to fall from her mouth. "I'm so sorry!" 

Allie approached the door, peeking her head inside the doorframe. Caleb and Kova were at Caleb's chair. Kova was leaning on his desk, and Caleb was using the back of his chair for support. The most noticeable difference was Kova's bright green hair. It was hard to miss. Kova's hair was loosely braided down her back. 

"Hey, look." Caleb's eyes met Allie's, and he stood to full height. "They're here."

"C'mon in, team." Kova walked up the few steps to her console. "In positions."  

Liz limped inside, Cake creeping behind her, pushing Allie into the bridge much more forcefully than intended. The teens sat at their respective chairs, waiting for the adults to join them. They sat for a few minutes in silence, hoping someone would ask. 

"Uh, why is your hair green?" Liz turned her chair to ask. 

"It was the first box I saw on the shelf," Caleb answered casually. Kova scoffed. 

"You really expect me to believe that?"

"You don't need to believe it." Caleb turned his chair, propping his chin on his fist. "You just have to accept it."

"You could've gotten firetruck red, or poopy brown, or even lilac purple!" Kova slammed her hands on the console. "But neon green and highlighter jokes were your go-to?" Caleb shrugged. 

"Oh, please." Caleb waved off her concerns. "It's not /that/ bad."

"My hair is bright, neon green, Caleb." Kova aggressively pointed at her hair. "How is it not that bad?" 

"Uh, Cap," Liz said. "Stop talking." 

"Why?"

"Next time we go to the space mall," Kova began, studying her nails. "Maybe I should grab some platinum blonde. Ooh, no. How about some rusty copper?" Caleb physically shrank into his chair as Kova thought aloud. "Hm, Nah. How about highlighter yellow?" She smiled, staring at Caleb's retreating head. 

"Try that, and you'll never see Peaches again." 

"You don't like Peaches!" 

The others sat confused about peaches, assuming they're Kova's favorite fruit or something when the saviors finally walked in. Kenny had foregone his cadet jacket, leaving him in a green t-shirt and black slacks and ugly brown sneakers. Keith looked more cleaned up, wearing a sleeveless gray vest with a hood, a black t-shirt, and gray pants lined with red ribbon and black combat boots. The Colonel wore his officer jacket rather than the white t-shirt he always wore around the ship. The three adults descended the staircase. As they passed, the teens sat straighter in their chairs. Shiro stood in the middle of the floor as Kenny and Keith took a space on the walls closest to Cake and Allie respectively. Allie scooted her chair closer to Caleb's line of sight and the staircase. 

Guess she's still afraid of Keith. 

"Alright, team." Shiro began. "We've been out here for a while, and with the latest development," He met Kova's eyes. "It's time to review, or at least, make a plan." 

"A plan?" Kenny asked. Oh. I guess the other adults didn't know what the meeting was about either. 

"The Lions have selected their respective pilots. The paladins have successfully formed Voltron. It's time to make a decision." Shiro met the eyes of each individual team member. "Do you want to continue fighting here or do you want to return to Earth?" 

The teens sat in stunned silence. They have a choice to make. They're being allowed to make a choice? 

"Caleb?" Shiro called, and all eyes landed on the Red Paladin. 

"Return to Earth." He said immediately. No gasps, no pomp. Just a fact. "We're not ready for this. This is a war waiting to happen. We can't do this alone." Shiro nodded, ready to say another name, but Liz beat him to it. 

"I'm sorry. I know I'm on your team and I'm supposed to agree with you, but I don't." She was looking at Caleb, turning her attention to Shiro. "If we return to the Garrison, we'll be shut out. We're dumb, undertrained kids who control Voltron. The council will put us on the frontlines without a plan." 

"What she said." Cake agreed with her, pointing his finger up at Liz. 

"We have the firepower. We can do more than just sit still and wait to be given orders." 

"We're also undertrained," Caleb argued when Shiro held his hands up to silence the two. 

"Allie," Shiro said. "What do you think?"

"I agree with Caleb," She said. "We can't fight in a war. We would be better off with help than without. I only spent a night in my dorm before all this. I can't do this again."

"Keith, Ken, I'm guessing you both agree with your respective sides." Kenny approached Cake's console, arms crossed. Keith stayed in place, hands on his hips. 

"We fought in a ten-thousand-year-old war with Allura and Coran, the only surviving members of Altea. We had advanced alien technology. Our goal was to return to Earth and the Garrison." Keith stated matter-of-factly. He gestured widely to the teens in their chairs. "They're kids. They don't have what we did." 

"Liz is right," Kenny spoke up. "The council won't touch them. They'll put Voltron on the frontlines without a plan, hoping that will be enough to scare off the enemies."

"They're undertrained!" Keith turned his attention from Kenny to Shiro. 

"They're resourceful!" Kenny argued, getting Keith's attention. 

"Alright, you two." Shiro stepped in between them to break their intense staring contest. "Kova." 

"Yes, sir." 

"You were the one kidnapped by the Fire. You met with their leaders in person. You're also a top student at the Garrison." He didn't have to say it. This was all on her. 

"What about you?" Kova asked, gripping the railing around her console. "What are you leaning towards."

"I'm siding with the most reasonable plan." Keith scoffed, interrupting Shiro. "It's not my team anymore. It's yours." Slowly, Kova released her hands from their tight grip on the railing and let them fall at her sides and closed her eyes.

"She'll totally agree with me." Caleb had turned his chair. 

"Uh, she's her own person." Liz crossed her arms. Caleb scoffed in response. 

"We've been attached at the hip since we were kids. She's taking my side."

"How about you let her talk first?" 

"Why don't you shove that opinion up—"

"Enough!" Kova said, rubbing her temple with a hand. "You're both annoying. And right." Kova looked up at Shiro, who raised an eyebrow. She raised her arm to her right. "We are severely undertrained. Not as a team, but individually. If we have the same goal in mind, we work well together. There's going to be a point where Voltron can't be formed and we're going to have to fight as individual Lions." Putting it down, she raised her arm to her left. "If we return to the Garrison, the council won't touch us. We're liabilities. None of us joined the LDP. It was our choice."

"The what?" Keith interrupted. 

"You would've called it the Vehicle Defender Unit," Kenny answered. "It was the defense program Pi- er, Mom, helped start." 

"And now it's—"

"The Legendary Defender Program. I'll catch you up later." Kenny turned to Kova and nodded his head for her to continue. 

"Our curriculum was updated to include battle strategies. As pilots, we learn how to gauge our enemies' strengths and weaknesses, multiple defensive, offensive, and evasive maneuvers, and different wind speeds. As engineers, we're taught the inner workings of warships, raw materials and how to use them. As programmers, we can disable entire structures by taking out large chunks of code."

"The point?" Keith asked annoyed.

"The point," Kova glared at the man. "Is we're prepared for a war, but we haven't used those skills. Besides, even if the council includes us in their plans, they'll give me the plan to execute. I'm the head, I'm the leader, and I'm the top student. If the plan fails, it'll be on me." 

"Kova, that's not—"

"If we return to Earth, we won't be given a second glance, by the council or anyone else in the universe." Kova gripped the railing again, her tirade coming to an end. "We should stay, fight and learn as much as we can before we return to Earth and deal with the council." Caleb's eyes widened, and Liz looked surprised. Did Kova really choose left? 

"Alright team," Shiro said, climbing the stairs. "Get ready to travel through a wormhole." Kenny climbed the stairs after Shiro and walked out of the bridge to head down to the engine room below. Keith stared at Shiro's retreating back. Keith chased after Shiro, maybe to argue his point. The teens didn't care. They followed their orders. 

As the wormhole opened before them, a heavy blast rocked the Coeus. The ship's inner alarm system went off as the teens tried desperately to right the Coeus. It had gone off its directed course, heading for mere feet away from the wormhole that had opened up. 

Down below in the engine room, Kenny was trying to override the alarms. It was refusing to shut off, citing critical damage on the left side of the ship. Kenny tried to turn on the particle barrier around the ship, receiving an error message instead. Kova's face appeared on the huge screen on the engine room console. 

"Kenny!" She shouted to be heard over the blasts. "Where's the particle barrier?" 

"There isn't enough energy in the reserve to power it!" Kenny yelled back, being shaken like a ragdoll. 

Up on the bridge, Kova stared at the small fleet of ships firing incessetnaly on the Coeus. There was no way the Coeus would survive if they didn't activate the particle barrier. A million thoughts raced through Kova's head, then she took over.

"Shirogane, Griffin, Smythe," Kova barked, earning their attention. "Report to your Lions. Garrett, report to the engine room." The teens didn't say a word, doing what they were told without a second word. Allie went along with them, sparing Kova a second glance. "Holt, transfer all remaining, unused power to the particle barrier."

"But that will shut off the lights!"

"Afraid of the dark?" Kenny groaned in annoyance, doing what he was told. The firing stopped as the Coeus went dark, becoming an empty shell. Up on the bridge, Kova steered the Coeus toward the wormhole, still open in the sky. It was hard. It demanded much from Kova's body. But it got the job done.

Red, Blue, and Green fired on the fleet of ships, hitting many in wings and thrusters. Blue fired several blasts, encasing ships in ice. Green flew around them, getting fired on while Red cut through them like butter with their blade. 

"Everyone through the wormhole!" Kenny shouted over the earpieces. Red, Green, and Blue stopped their attacks and flew towards the closing wormhole. They weren't going to make it. Pushing their Lions even faster than they have ever pushed them, the trio raced each other to the wormhole. 

They cut it close by a tail, but they made it through. The teens cheered, thanking Allura they made it through. One by one, they reentered the bridge to celebrate. They stopped at the entrance.

Kova was kneeling on the ground, holding her arm. In front of her, Keith was redirecting the console, traveling to Earth. That was in the opposite direction they were heading. Caleb, furious at seeing Kova hurt and on the ground, held his bayard up to point the barrel of his weapon at Keith. Keith turned, face-to-face with it. 

The map on the screen was beeping, finding the nearest geolocation. 

As Keith and Caleb faced off, the beeping grew louder. 

"What is that?" Keith all but shouted. Kova looked up at the screen, still holding her arm. 

Brittle Relations: II

Word Count: 2855

A/N: Allura, give me the power to overcome my procrastination and the ability to spell words correctly the first time.

The Coeus appeared on the other side of the wormhole with the beauty and grace of ocean liners. Its splendor, even in ruin, could rival its sister ship, the Atlas. Its beauty could not, however, make the trip enjoyable for its crew onboard. While the Coeus remained intact, many of the teens in the bridge were having a hard time staying intact. Many of them were green, holding their stomachs or covering their mouths with their hands to hold down their lunch. Cake gagged, trying in vain to stop his lunch from coming back up. As he gagged, it made Liz begin to do so. Kova took deep breaths, calming her stomach. Caleb and Allie were matching shades of green, gripping their consoles to control themselves. 

"We are NEVER traveling through a wormhole after lunch again." Kova had shut her eyes in hopes of calming her stomach. And will. With various forms of agreement from the others and a retch from Cake's direction, the teens fled to their rooms. Kenny watched the entire scene unfold from the comfort of the engine room with a plate of sliced fruit in front of him. He scoffed as they fled, shaking his head as he took a bite of one of the slices. It turned into mush in his mouth, but at least it wasn't moldy. 

"Please, I implore you, I must speak to the half-Galra," Darrar's voice shook as he spoke to Shiro through the glass of his makeshift prison.

"Like I've said before, whatever you need to say to them, you can say to me." Shiro was firm, with arms at his side. Darrar still wore his dark armor, while Shiro wore his Colonel Jacket. Darrar's violet hair had been held back by a scrap of fabric in an updo, messy after days onboard. The poor man looked defeated and desperate, begging with his dim eyes. Shiro's stone cold expression softened slightly as he turned to look at something off to his side. As Darrar noticed Shiro's wavering expression, he tried to look at whatever it was. The edges and corners of the glass obscured the being too much for the Galtean to really see them.

"Who is there?" Darrar pleaded, banging on the glass. "Please, summon the half-Galra!"

"Enough!" Shiro said over the pleading, silencing Darrar. He sighed. "Enough." Without another word, Shiro walked away from Darrar, who slammed the glass as he realized he was being left alone again. His shouts were met with withering silence as the steps grew silent. Darrar collapsed on the ground, tears brimming his eyes as the realization hit him like the cold metal floor.

He was as good as dead. Yorak won the war without even trying.

Far away, a voice alerted the crew of a landing, but Darrar could only hear the blood rushing in his ears and the almost silent hum of the Coeus. As Darrar closed his eyes to attempt to sleep, screams echoed in his mind. His fellow cadets when they began training for running away. His mother when he and his brothers were torn away from her. Seklok's when he displeased the Emperor and left for dead. As the screams overtook him, he was shaken violently. His whimpers became screams as he tried to fight off whatever was dragging him away. 

Kova held on to Darrar's shoulders as his screams stopped and his eyes opened. His shaking never stopped. Neither did his tears. The poor man was tortured enough. Behind Kova, Allie clutched the first-aid kit with tight fists. They heard the screaming and ran towards the observation bay. As Darrar sat up, Kova dragged him towards the closest wall. Sitting on the floor, Allie and Kova calmed the man down. Both Allie and Darrar seemed to process the other's Altean markings at the same time. 

"It's okay," Kova whispered under her breath. "It'll be okay." Kova slipped a bracelet on Darrar's wrist, activating the magnetic field. Even if they were on the same side, Darrar still wore enemy colors.

"Who are you?" Darrar asked Kova, then turning to Allie. "Where's the Colonel?" Allie didn't meet his eyes, unpacking the first-aid kit. Kova met his eyes after triple-checking the magnetic field had been activated on his bracelet.

"I'm Kovalia Shirogane, Paladin of the Black Lion. This is Allie, Paladin of the Blue Lion." Darrar's eyes widened, but Kova wasn't done. "I understand your name is Darrar, and you've been wanting to speak to me."

"Yes, of course. I—" Darrar tried to stand up, but his wrist kept him down. As he looked, a bracelet connected to the floor kept him down.

"I'm sorry, but it's a security measure." Darrar nodded his head, sitting back down. He looked up to meet Kova's eyes again. "We came to ask you about the colonies."

"Of course." Darrar nodded again. "Where are we?"

"We have just landed on Senfama. The Colonel decided it was best to join an expedition." 

"Expedition?"

"I cannot answer what it is."

"Is it because I'm a member of the Fire?" Kova nodded her head.

"I am going to remove your armor piece by piece. Are you feeling any sensitivity or pain in any particular area?"

I'll spare you the details. It took two hours as Darrar flinched and twitched as the armor was removed, and Allie had to make sure he didn't have any injuries. Then when Darrar wore only his bodysuit, the girls put Keith's old poncho over Darrar's head to remove the bodysuit. The time was halved. Regardless, it took too long. With even more spare fabric, they made the baggiest pair of pants in the universe, using a long strip from the back of the poncho as a belt. 

When they were done checking for injuries, they began their questions. What is the status of the Galtean colonies? Where are they? How long have the colonies been under Yorak's reign? What did he want with so many Galteans? How long had he been involved in the war?  On and on the interrogation went, until they had covered topics twice. Allie left to grab a bottle of water while Kova kept watch.

"I can help you get your Lion back," Darrar said after a few minutes of silence. Kova shook her head, taking something out of her pocket. It was a small black box with the Fire insignia on its side.

"You've been tracked." Kova handed Darrar the box. He looked stunned, confused even, to see the small box. "A similar tracker was found in the mecha we encountered."

"He knew," Darrar whispered under his breath. He handed the box to Kova, who put it back in her pocket. "He knew."

"Who?" Kova asked. "Yorak?" Darrar didn't say a word. Kova would have turned off the tracker, but she didn't have her tools on her. Allie came back and held a closed fist in front of Darrar. He held his hand open to see two little pills in his palm.

"They should help you sleep so you can heal a little faster," Allie explained, taking Kova's place so the latter could stand and dust herself off. "The water is for you." Darrar took the pills after a moment of hesitation, and had big gulps of water. "When you awake, alert us. Have a good rest, Darrar." Allie stood, following Kova to the door, letting it shut behind them. They dimmed the lights in Darrar's room and deactivated the bracelet. Hopefully, his commanders would find him before Yorak did.

"Coeus to crew, call in." Kova had walked to the bridge, turned on the screen, and began sorting the camera angles. "Sec."

"Here."

"Griffin."

"Here."

"Garrett."

"Here."

"Kogane."

"Here."

"Colonel and older Kogane."

"Double here." As the boxes lit up with every person calling in, Allie had typed in their names as the boxes lit up. When the Coeus landed on Senfama, the crew left in pairs. Caleb and Liz were in charge of water. Kenny and Cake were undergoing repairs to the ship and the satellite. Shiro and Keith had to search the planet for lifeforms and food. Allie and Kova stayed behind to watch over Darrar, and make some minor research. Why isn't Keith on the screen too? Kova was too lazy to connect Keith's suit to the Coeus's software.

"Did you deactivate the tracker?" Shiro asked.

"Yes, sir. I also saved the universe and found my Lion."

"Kova."

"I haven't gotten to it yet." Kova rolled her eyes, and looked for her tools. "We just got back."

"Sending map of Senfama to crew," Allie announced, and every camera on screen had looked down at their screens. "Senfama is a jungle. There should be a large body of water ahead."

"On it," Liz confirmed, jumping forward with Caleb on her heels. An alert came online, before the power was cut short.

"Hey, uh, Kova?" Kenny asked. "Is there any way to return to the Balmera and get more crystals?"

"Power source isn't holding up well, is it?" 

"Nope." Kova fiddled with the tracker she found on Darrar, hoping an idea would come to mind.

"Random question, Ken." Kova looked up at the screen. "What did you do with the extra solar cells?"

"Solar what?" Keith asked, but he was ignored.

"How do you know about the missing solar cells?"

"Long story. Where are they?"

"I, uh, brought them onto the ship. Why?"

"Kenneth, I need you to think, okay?" Kova had leaned forward to rest her forearms on the railing around her console. "If wired correctly, solar cells can be made into..." Kova trailed off on purpose to let Kenny come with the answer. 

"Solar panels!" Kenny and Cake exclaimed at the same time.

"I'll send the materials up." Kova nodded her head, and finally managed to deactivate the tracker. "Allie, cover me." Kova walked down to the engine room, leaving Allie alone on the bridge. Using the Paladin Tracker, or the Teenager Tracker, Allie watched as Liz and Caleb creeped closer to the water source and Shiro and Keith inched further from the Coeus. That's when the entire ship went dark.

"Kenny?" Allie's voice shook as she looked around. "Guys, this isn't funny!" Not even the hum of the ship answered her. With only the sunlight streaming in from the large windows, Allie walked up the stairs to the door. Before she could even leave the bridge, she heard Kova's voice. 

"Get back in the bridge!" Kova yelled, and Allie listened. She and Kova were the only ones still wearing their normal clothes, so when Allie fell down the stairs to her seat, it hurt. Kova kicked, sending a figure cloaked in dark colors into the console. The figure went to punch Kova, but she side-stepped, Allie froze when she saw a flash of purple on the front armor piece of the dark figure. "Allie, your bayard!" Quick as can be, Allie summoned her bow, pulling the string back so the quintessence arrow could form. Now if they could stay still. Kova took a blow to her abdomen, collapsing on the ground. When the figure tried to pin her, Kova pulled the figure's leg out from under them. With a quick turn, Kova straddled the figure's hips from behind, holding their arm with one hand and used the other to push their shoulder to the floor.

"Are you alright?" Allie asked, limping up the steps.

"Fine." Kova gritted her teeth as the figure began resisting. "Do you know how long it's gonna take to replace all those wires? This ship is hard enough to maintain!" Kova began to rant. "Allie, help me pull their helmet off." Allie's eyes widened as she held the string taut, reminding Kova of the arrow. Kova nodded towards the door, so Allie aimed in the dark and fired the arrow. The ding could be heard around the world. As the bayard detransformed, the figure tried again in vain stand up, but Kova was faster. With their arm still in Kova's grasp, Kova reached around her back to grab the knife in its sheath. Allie had grabbed the matching pair of Darrar's bracelet from Kova's pocket and put it around the figure's right wrist, as it was the only one touching the ground. Letting go and standing up from the figure, Kova activated the magnet. As the figure stared at the bracelet holding them down, Kova pushed them against the console with the knife point at their neck.

"Deactivate your helmet or I rip it off," Kova growled, sneering at the figure and their dark outfit. The figure didn't move, so Allie pulled the helmet off their head. While Allie didn't recognize the Galra woman, Kova did. Her expression darkened while the Galra woman's softened.

"Kyla," The woman said. She got the knife point even closer to her neck and Kova's angry eyes.

"Call me that again and you lose your head." Kova stood after her threat, deactivated and collected the bracelet, and stood in front of the door. "Allie, this is Krolia, one of the Galra representatives."

"I'm not just that."

"You're right about that." Kova crossed her arms. "She's the reason a half-human and half-Galra exist in the first place."

"Oh, please." Krolia stood, rubbing her wrists. "You make it sound so bad." Kova scoffed in response.

"What are you doing here?" Kova reached behind her to sheath the knife. "I don't get the point." Allie silently died as the pun set in, but Krolia moved past it. 

"I saw your declaration. Pretty impressive how far the family goes."

"We aren't family."

"I beg to differ, Kovalia." Krolia crossed her arms, too, leaning against the console. "Headstrong, advanced, and prefers using a sharp instrument."

"Get off the ship."

"I came for my recruit. Where is he?"

"I'm shocked you didn't see him as you cut the power to the entire ship." Kova stepped aside from the door. "Darrar, get your butt over here!" Footsteps became louder as they approached the bridge. Darrar had dressed himself in his Fire armor since there were no spares onboard. At least he had the decency to look sheepish at being caught.

"Daibazaal sides with Voltron," Krolia said as she passed the angry teen. "It's wonderful to see you again."

"Wish I could say the same." Kova blocked the hall leading to the transport bay, leaving only the side door as the only way out. "May we never encounter the other again." The door opened, and Darrar jumped out first. Krolia's eyes softened, hoping to appeal to the teen. Kova wasn't having it, watching as Krolia jumped out. Stomping over, Kova slammed the door shut, and marched herself to the cut power lines. Allie followed her, since the bridge was scary to be in alone.

"Why didn't you say anything about Keith?" Allie asked after Kova began her tedious work.

"What about Keith?" Kova continued working, connecting wires with electrical tape.

"There is only one half-human and half-Galra hybrid that reached an age to reproduce." Allie began her thought process. "That hybrid sired three children, and you have confirmed the status of all three second-generation hybrids. The first-born is a maniacal genius, the second-born is a plant genius, and the youngest, which is you, is a—"

"A wannabe genius," Kova said, slamming the door closed. As the door secured itself, the power slowly came on, with the lights turning on the brightest they go before returning to their pre-sliced state. "How did you figure out Kenny was the middle child?" Allie shrugged as they went into the bridge.

"Yorak has called you his sister many times before, and you've never denied it. He seems much older than Kenny, and you've never denied Kenny as your sibling, either." Kova chuckled as she approached the console and reactivated all systems.

"Sec to Coeus, do you hear me?"

"Coeus to Sec, we're all clear." Various sighs of relief and cheers came from the team as they continued their errands.

"Keith is your father, and Krolia is Keith's mother." Allie had made it to her chair, where she began checking her injuries. "You met your grandmother," Allie looked up. "And you didn't seem too happy to see her."

"I'm not." Kova muted the Coeus to properly look Allie in the eye. "She had a chance to change what had happened and she didn't." Kova shrugged, and unmuted the Coeus. Allie looked on as Kova smiled at Caleb's screen because he was one misstep away from falling into the water. While his suit may be waterproof, it wasn't float-proof."

By the end of the first day on Senfama, the teens celebrated finding edible food on a planet. That's a first. An alert came on while they celebrated, and Kova opened it. She expected it to be a systems alert, since they still haven't cleaned the Coeus's filters, or even an electrical failure (only Allie and Kova know what happened with Krolia and Darrar). Whatever it was, it should be fixed soon.

She was wrong and she alerted the team of such.

Brittle Relations: I

Word Count: 2815

The days on the Coeus stretched into a heavy monotonous cycle. The team would wake up and perform daily duties: Liz and Allie would check on Keith, who was recovering, Cake busied himself with meals, Caleb and Kenny worked together in the engine room, and Shiro and Kova reviewed plans and caught up with Curtis on Earth. When the Coeus was attacked, only one or two Lions were dispatched if the threat was more serious. Otherwise, they stayed on board and let the Coeus do all the hard work. After that was done, they would return to normal duties and only saw each other during meals and briefings. 

Liz, Cake, and Allie could see the wear and tear on the Shirogane clan, but they said nothing. Cake and Liz worked with Kova and Caleb long enough to know they weren't the types to back down, even if they were tired. It tugged at Allie's heartstrings to see the pair with the dark circles under their eyes, that intensity in their eyes was just...gone. Upon cleaning the bridge, Allie heard a strange noise coming from a vent. On closer inspection, Allie found the bottle the teens used during their game. It felt like a lifetime ago when the biggest worry was Keith piloting the ship. Allie finished her cleaning and ran out of the bridge to find Liz and Cake with the bottle in hand. Together, they spawned an idea. 

A few days later, Kova was found on the bridge, typing away at her console. Maybe she was updating the info board. Maybe she was writing fanfiction about a life that wasn't completely screwed up. Maybe she was writing a poem about peaches to make herself feel better since it is her favorite fruit. Whatever it was, the teens didn't care. They saw Kova standing alone, looking more stressed out than she had been the entire trip, so they struck. 

"Hey, Cap," Cake said, slowly approaching the older teen. Kova gave Cake a small glance before returning her attention to the console. "Cap, listen, we-" 

"I'm busy, Cake." Kova's voice was cold. 

"Okay, okay." Cake backed away with hands raised in fake surrender. Allie, who stood at the doorway, rolled her eyes and all but shoved the bottle into Cake's hands while he tried to give it back. Liz turned the corner, deadpanning at the scene with Kenny and Caleb on her heels. With Liz's help, Cake walked back into the bridge exasperated. With a sigh, he puffed up his chest and marched (like, seriously marched) to Kova's console. 

"You wanna play a game?" He asked loudly, thrusting the bottle into Kova's imaginary bubble. Allie inched herself into the room next to Cake so she could be in Kova's line of sight. Kova met Cake's eyes then stared at the bottle in his hands, and back again into his eyes with furrowed eyebrows. With every second Kova continued to stare, Cake's heart continued dropping lower into his stomach until he was sure it couldn't go any further. Then Kova smiled. His heart shot back up into his chest as Kova gestured to the floor with her head. The others followed until they sat in a circle in the middle of the floor. Liz and Cake explained the game to Kenny, who nodded along. 

Kova was the last person that spun the bottle when they played last time, therefore, it was still Kova's turn. Allie needed to think about her question, so it was either Kenny or Caleb who had to ask. Caleb went ahead, lazily turning his head. 

"What's scarier: a weblum or a nine-month-old who is just starting to crawl?" Kova let out a dry laugh, looking around the room. She was wearing her lavender sweater, so when she started rolling up her sleeves, the others looked on. 

"Caleb, the answer is so obvious that I'm shocked you even had to ask." Kova rolled her left sleeve up until it was around her elbow. "The answer is obviously-" Kova held up her now bare arm to show off the pink starburst scar on the back of her hand to the middle of her forearm, where the pink faded into Kova's natural tan. "The baby." 

"The baby?" The other members of their team asked incredulously. 

"What baby did that to you?"

"Wasn't that caused by burns on the Fire ship?"

"It was a human infant, right?" Kova's tiredness seemed to fade as the questions were being asked, replaced by amusement at their shock. 

"Yes, it was a human baby, no, it wasn't caused by burns on the Fire ship, and it was Cy."

"Cyrus did that to you?" It was Kenny's turn to look incredulous. Caleb looked pleased with himself as Kova was the one to answer everyone's questions. 

"Crawling humans are scarier than you think." 

"You weren't scary when you were crawling."

"Then you don't remember what happened to Stephen the Hawk." Kenny stared at Kova absolutely confused until his eyes widened. 

"What happened to Stephen the Hawk?" Liz asked, leaning forward so her elbow was perched on her knee and her hand supported her chin. 

"Stephen Hawkling had a beautiful life, staying with Kenny since he was about two years old until his unfortunate demise ten years later." 

"What happened to the plush, Kova?" Caleb said, staring at the side of her head. She rolled her eyes and continued. 

"I accidentally crawled over a cord, toppling a lamp that was turned on, and it burned Stephen's head and back. Ken never let me forget it." Kova stared at Kenny pointedly. To his credit, Kenny looked shocked hearing about Stephen Hawkling's demise again, but he seemed to remember the vaguest details, like how big the hole was. 

Allie wrung her fingers as she looked around the circle of friends. "It's my turn, right?" She asked, much too quiet to barely be heard over the hum of the ship. Even so, Cake heard her and nodded. "What's the most sentimental thing you kept from your youth?" 

"Wow, okay Allie," Liz said. Cake gave a low whistle and a smile. Kova smiled, too, and straightened up. Her arm went to her back, pulling something out. Tied to the back of Kova's pants, a matching black sheath held a small blade about the size of Kova's lower back. As Kova brought the blade forward, she pulled down her rolled-up sleeve. 

"I kept Keith's knife." Kova held the small blade in her open palms. "I never had the courage to get rid of it, and I rarely use it. Besides the family picture and a blanket, I didn't keep much from the Kogane household." 

"Does he know you have it?" Liz asked. Kova shook her head, reaching behind her to sheath it. "Kenny's turn." The teens turned their heads to stare at him. Kenny opened his mouth when a beeping went off. Liz and Allie checked their makeshift pagers, seeing an alert for Keith, and excused themselves. Cake stretched his arms out, then stood up to go to the kitchen, since it was almost dinnertime. Caleb asked if he could help, to which Cake nodded his head. 

"Well, I need to get back to the engine room," Kenny said, standing up. 

"I'll join you." Kova jumped to her feet, dusting herself off. "I don't have anything better to do." Kenny nodded and made his way to the engine room with Kova right behind him. When they got down there, the room felt warmer than before, and the pair got to work on lowering the temperature, not saying a word to each other. Eventually, they figured out the heat was coming from an exhaust vent and it was facing the wrong direction. The two ran diagnostics on the entire ship, and when it came back as clear, they stood facing the other. 

Kenny stared at Kova then down to his hands as she redid some cables, organizing them in their compartments. Kova noticed Kenny's mood darkening and finished quickly. 

"Hey," She said. "You okay?" Kenny gave a small nod, still staring at his hands. He had turned around to rest his butt on the console panel. Kova found an engine box covering to sit on across from Kenny. "You didn't get to ask me anything while we were in there. What was it?"

"It was nothing," Kenny muttered. He laced his fingers together so they were holding each other. 

"Kenny." Kova continued, crossing her arms so they rested comfortably on her thighs. 

"Everyone at the Garrison wants to be you." Kenny's voice was firm, making Kova flinch. "It doesn't matter what life. You're the Jax, near-perfect at everything you try, no matter what it is. Engineering, programming, even communications." Kenny looked up at Kova with those blue-gray eyes that sent Kova back. "You're just like him, y' know." 

"That's not true."

"Isn't it?" Kenny looked angry. "You're both half-Galra, you're both the perfect soldiers, you're both the best of the best, and-and," Kenny shouted then grew quieter as his sentence trailed off. "And I never saw you guys again. You both left, one way or the other." 

"You're just as talented."

"You're just saying that." Kenny looked down. "I've been a Holt my entire life, and I still can't be on your level." 

"Just 'cause you think you're not good at tech doesn't mean you're not good at other things!"

"Like what?" Kenny met Kova's eyes. They were flicking back and forth in their socket as Kova searched through her memory for something, anything to make Kenny feel better. 

"Remember that spider plant you used to have in your room?" 

"It was plastic."

"No, it wasn't." Kova shook her head. "Pidge switched yours out with the one in the living room because yours looked better." Kenny stared at her. "And! And remember that hybrid flower you made?" 

"The juniberry hybrids?" 

"Yeah! Colleen took them! The Altean soil is the only place they'll grow, so they were grown there." 

"You're joking."

"I'm not!" Kova's eyes lit up as she saw Kenny's dark mood disappear. "You can ask Allie about them! She worked in the inner courts!"

"What about me and the inner courts?" Speak of the devil. 

"Allie, can you tell Kenny about the juniberry hybrids?" Kova scooted forward so that Allie was in full view. Allie stepped forward, her lips pursed and eyebrows furrowed. 

"They're hybrids between Earthen flowers and juniberries. What else can I say?" Kova nodded her head, gesturing to Kenny. "They can only grow on Altea, and because of their rarity, they reside in the Royal Gardens." 

"That's only an acre or so, isn't it?" Kenny crossed his arms as Kova looked to a confused Allie and rolled her eyes. 

"It was expanded a couple of years ago because the formula was being repeated on so many flowers." 

"I love juniholts," Allie remarked. Kenny all but jumped out of his skin at the mention of the playful name he gave one of the hybrid flowers. 

"What do they look like?" Kenny demanded, scaring Allie. She looked to Kova for help, to which the older girl put a comforting hand on her back. 

"They're about my height, covered in green foliage, and they bloom pretty pink juniberries from bottom to top." Allie described, retreating further into Kova's bubble until she was in between Kova's legs and Kova's hands were messing with the braids on Allie's head. 

"That's the hollyhock hybrid." Kenny was astounded. His heart was about to burst out of his chest. "They're seriously called juniholts?" Both girls nodded. 

"There's a lot more, but that's my favorite one." Allie and Kenny stood in silence while Kova sat, unbraiding and rebraiding Allie's hair. Kenny had a hand over his mouth as the information sunk in. His hybrids survived. On Altea. He fathered an entirely new species of hybrid flowers because he didn't want to do his programming homework. Like she read his mind, Kova smirked. 

"Seems you have Colleen's green thumb." Kova looked up from her work. "Sounds like a pretty good deal to me." She continued to sift through Allie's now curly hair to attempt a new hairstyle on the girl. In the end, Allie wound up with six small braids pinned to the back of her head over the rest of her hair in a modified half-up and half-down. That's when Allie remembered why she went down there, to begin with. Dinner was ready. 

The next morning, the teens were bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in their places on the bridge for their daily briefing. Keith was still on bed rest but will be fine. The Coeus is approximately two wormhole jumps away from Pidge's location based on current capabilities. Food was beginning to run low, so they would have to land somewhere to harvest food and water. The filters needed cleaning and the Coeus needed minor repairs, too, so they would need to land anyway. The prisoner had given more information about himself and the place he came from. While he described the area he grew up in as 'the colonies', it was enough for Allie to figure out what he meant. 

"Allura, this better not be-" Romelle began to say as her face appeared onscreen. 

"Can I have access to the Galtean colonies?" Allie immediately asked. 

"Allura, unless you-"

"Romelle, what is the status of the Galtean colonies?" Allie looked annoyed and determined. An odd mix. Romelle sighed with exasperation, typing away at something off-screen. Her violet eyes went wide as she searched for something she clearly was not found. 

"There is no status on the colonies," Romelle said, standing from her chair to call for guards. "Go to the last known location of the colonies!" 

"Romelle!" Allie shouted to get the woman's attention. 

"Right!" Romelle sat down in her chair again and typed something up again. On Kova's console, Romelle sent a full folder of information on the colonies. "Do make good use of it. I will alert you if we find them." While Romelle disappeared, the folder and its contents appeared. Allie hurried up the stairs to Kova's console as Kova stepped back. All the documents were labeled and written in Altean, and unfortunately, the teens don't learn languages at the Garrison. 

"What was the name of the prisoner?" Allie asked Shiro, who was standing on the floor. 

"He said his name was Darrar," Shiro replied, turning to look at the screen. Allie typed the name into a search engine under a subfolder. Fifteen different individuals popped up on the search, only about half of them with pictures because they were grown. Thankfully, Shiro was able to point out the prisoner. However, Darrar was much younger in the picture. Only a teenager since the pictures were time-stamped. 

"I didn't even know Galtean colonies existed!" Cake exclaimed, staring at the folder. "You think that Yorak has been recruiting from the colonies?"

"He's half-Galra," Kova said, crossing her arms. "It makes sense he'd go after other half-Galra." 

"Stupid question over here." Liz raised her hand as she spoke. "What's a Galtean colony?" 

"Galteans are an uncommon hybrid of Galra, the people of Daibazaal, and Alteans, the people of Altea. The colonies, however, are a consolation gift between Daibazaal and Altea to foster peace between the two," Allie explained, showing a map of the colonies' last location. "There were four colony groups. Alpha, Beta, Gamma, and Sirius. Darrar is from the Gamma colony." 

"The colonies are designed to move and interlock if the need arises. They aren't attached to anything, just themselves." Kova explained even further. 

"A moving colony?" Liz looked from Kova and Allie to the map on screen again. "How do you even keep track of it?" 

"There are supposed to be satellites constantly supervising them, with monthly updates." 

"Supposed to?"

"Darrar has to tell us where the colonies are!" Allie ignored Liz's question. "Yorak is pure evil!"

"I'll try my best, but Allie, I doubt he knows." Shiro sighed, meeting the young girl's eyes. "Kova, what's the closest planet so we can make a landing?" Allie stepped away from the console and returned to her chair as Kova closed the Altean folders and opened a map. 

"Senfama is the closest to us," Kova reported, and Shiro nodded his head.

"Set a course for Senfama," Shiro said, climbing that stairs. As he approached the door, he paused and turned to stare at the teens, who seemed more upbeat than they had in weeks. "Are you guys okay?" Shiro asked with a half-smile. The teens looked at each other than at him, just as curious. 

"Never better."

"I feel fine."

"I think I'm okay. Am I okay?"

"You're fine, Cake." 

Impending Difficulties: I

Word Count: 2812

AN: Don’t hate me too much. XD

It had only been a few hours, but Kenny's brain couldn't seem to process anything but the encounter from before. 

It had been years. 

His grandfather never spoke about either of Kenny's siblings, never mentioned them, or even what had happened to them. During the launch of the failed mission, the one Kenny's parents never came back from, he found it weird that he didn't see his sister. His parents asked him about it but he could only shrug. He hadn't seen her in three years at that point. It was her birthday, but Kenny suspected they didn't know. 

Every memory Kenny had stored away in his brain was being taken out and being sorted through again. Unfortunately, the reason for the resorting came up empty when Kenny couldn't find what he needed. 

He couldn't remember his sister's face. 

Eventful Days: I

Word Count: 2895

Despite the reactions of the Arusians, the crew of the Coeus was allowed to stay on the planet for as long as needed. Kova wanted to fight it, but Shiro had already thanked the Arusian King for his offer. 

For days, the crew of the Coeus set themselves up for success by preparing the Coeus. This ranged from restocking food and medical supplies to repairing recognition software and everything in between.