#iverson

Her name is actually spelled “Nadya,” but whenever she told people her name, they assumed it was spelled “Nadia,” and she never saw the point in correcting them (“Eh. It’s just one letter, anyway.”) The other MFEs don’t find out until years into their friendship when they spot her Garrison ID

Her parents immigrated from Pakistan to Washington DC before she was born. She’s the middle child of five because she gives such middle child energy. That is a girl who has spent hours tussling with her siblings

Her parents were never sure what to do with all her energy and her thrill-seeking nature because they could sign her up for every extracurricular available (ice skating, hockey, robotics, basketball, etc.) and she would still seek out trouble. Fifth grade Nadia adopted a feral weasel (read: found him digging through their trash and decided he was hers now) and hid him in her room so her parents didn’t find out. She then cried when her dad called animal control and her mom dragged her to the clinic for a rabies shot. Sixth grade Nadia came home covered in muck and grime and having lost a tooth because she started her own wrestling club during recess that day and then immediately had to defend her title as leader. She threw a fit in the waiting room of the dentist’s office because it was taking too long and the TV wasn’t playing anything she liked and she was bored

They have tried taking her to yoga and meditation classes but she got kicked out of both within the first week

When Nadia called home to her parents from the Garrison, she would sometimes ask if they missed her, or if they were worried about her getting into trouble without them there to stop her

Nadia, on the phone with her mom: You and Abbu must be worried sick about me. Or afraid that I’m gonna cause some kind of national scandal and embarrass you.

Mrs. Rizavi, sarcastically: Hmm? Oh no, jaan. Your father and I are very happy. You’re finally someone else’s problem.

Nadia: *Gasps* D:<

Mrs. Rizavi: And here I thought I would have to wait until your wedding day.

Nadia: *Gasps even louder* D:<

Mrs. Rizavi, whose smirk is somehow audible on the other end of the line:

She and her family played a lot of cricket growing up. They’d show up to to the baseball diamond after school or on the weekends to play ball. Nadia became an excellent player but she wasn’t the best out of all of her siblings. She was, however, the most competitive and the best at rage-baiting her siblings into losing the match.

She also grew up with cricket matches playing on the living room TV and when I tell you this girl is loyal to her home team. She defends them with her life, and her eyes are glued to the screen every season. She has broken friendships over the results of cricket matches. She has begrudgingly rekindled those friendships when everyone told her it was stupid to lose a friend over a potentially rigged competition played by people who don’t even know she exists

She does that two-fingered whistle that people do when their team wins a cricket match. You know the one

She’s not just like this over cricket but most sports she watches (huge fan of the Washington Capitals, Washington Commanders, Washington Wizards), plus everything she has ever competed in. Her high school robotics team, her little league baseball team, elementary soccer team, etc.

She loves Kpop bands like BTS, Black Pink, Stray Kids, etc. I firmly believe she would be in the trenches of Kpop stan Twitter as an older teen/young adult had she not gotten wrapped up in the war

She also really likes artists like Rihanna, Tyler, the Creator and Megan Thee Stallion

She lights up every family function. She loves fun and she brightens every room she walks into. She’s the cool aunt who plays with the kids, she pranks other people then runs away laughing, she gorges on food, she talks and talks and talks and talks. She definitely complains when her mom forces her into a lehenga choli because she finds the blouse tight and the fabric itchy. She’s also out here complaining that her henna is taking too long, because she gets so bored so fast. As a kid, she’s definitely ignored instructions to wait till it dried first to get into trouble and accidentally smudged it. Or forgot about it and then absentmindedly scratched at her hand before looking down and thinking, Oops.

Some cultural foods she really likes are biryani, korma, kulfi, haleem, jalebi and kaju katli. A non-cultural food she does not like are hot dogs because she once entered a hot dog eating contest and stuffed so many down her throat she nearly choked five times before throwing up. She also did not win. If she ever sees another hot dog again,

She definitely has a close relationship with her cousins back in Pakistan. idk, she just has that vibe

She is an avid gamer and has the rage quits to prove it. She and Pidge game together on the ATLAS

Shopping is actually a relaxing activity for her (as she says in Launch Date), but only because it is mild in comparison to her usual hobbies of sky diving or provoking Iverson. She is still directing everyone on this shopping spree like a military sergeant to find the best deals possible and get to the check-out line before anybody else

Part of the reason her parents were so tired of her antics is because they knew Nadia was smart. The same girl who spent all night playing videogames still got an A on her science test the next day. On more than one occasion, they have implored her to stop being so rowdy and apply herself because she could really get somewhere in life if she just tried. They insisted on her becoming a doctor but she asked if she could do engineering instead and they relented because it was still up there in Top 10 Career Paths a Parent Wants Their Child to Follow

Having said that, she grew dissatisfied doing electrical engineering. The actual labs were fun, and so was figuring out thermodynamics and circuit analysis, but then she thought Is this what I’m gonna be doing for the rest of my life? Working behind a desk forever?

So eventually she gets it in her head that she could be a military engineer, that way she can work in engineering and finally experience the excitement she’s been craving. She drops out of uni when she’s 18 to apply to the Garrison, so she joins the MFE friend group later than James and Ina, but at the same time as Ryan, whose first choice was to become a photographer

Her parents are disappointed in her, but she got a near-perfect score on the Garrison entrance exam, so what can they do? At least she’s finally applying herself. Everyone else who knew her was thrilled because if she took engineering she would probably take cars apart for fun and if she became a doctor more people are leaving that ward dead than alive

She and Ina have this unspoken bond as some the few women in the Garrison engineering unit. She and Ryan have the bond of coming in late to the Garrison and having to catch up to their peers.

She and James didn’t get along at first. Or rather, if you asked Nadia, she would say she and James were super close on account of being in the same unit. If you asked James, he would say that she was a colleague. But honestly, James was growing sick of her tendency to be silly all the time and not take things seriously, wondering how on earth she even got in

This only grew worse during the war. The MFEs eventually got stuck in a Galran trap during a mission and James finally snapped chewed her out harshly for telling them to look on the bright side

Nadia was hurt but still comforted him and then managed to get them out. James then realized that Nadia wasn’t silly in spite of the war, but because of it, because if she couldn’t keep hope alive during the end times, what else was there?

Nadia: Basically I have to stay silly because the other option is death :3

Nadia brings a few things from home: a Rubiks cube, an old pen she’s had since the seventh grade and a henna cone. She’s never had patience but between Galran attacks and long nights fearing for her life, she’s had a lot of free time on her hands. Might as well learn a skill her mom has been begging her to her whole life. She’s not very good at first, especially because she’s trying to apply it on herself, which takes a lot of awkward maneuvering. Thankfully, James finds her applying henna one day, and after some brief confusion (“Is that a henna cone?”) he sits down and lets her apply it on him. James is half Algerian on his mom’s side and henna is pretty culturally significant there too. They take turns learning to apply henna on each other's hands and marveling at the difference in design

When Nadia finally comes home from war, she expects her parents to be angry but doesn't expect them to embrace her so tearfully ("We thought you were dead.")

They are shocked to find that she wants to continue working at the Garrison and they complain about it to anyone who will listen, but they do that thing that brown parents do when they say "My middle child, Nadya, grew up to be such an idiot. We told her to go into doctoring, she said, 'No, papa, I want to become an engineer.' We said, 'Fine, be an engineer.' And she said, 'No, papa, I want to go into the military. And we said, 'The military?' But then she went ahead and completed the exam without telling us, got full marks. What could we do? She ended up fighting on the frontlines of the war, but the phone lines were down, the radios were down, what could we do? Now she wants to go back." and it sounds like they're berating their child, but in reality, it's their way of saying, "My child Nadya got into engineering and then got full marks on an exam and became a military engineer, then saved the world. What has your Hassan been doing recently, hmm?"

Nadia: I'm like if a really smart person was also a massive fucking idiot.

James, not even looking up from his book: You don't say

Honestly, I don’t have that much to say about Iverson — which is actually one of the reasons this post took me forever to write. From an objective point of view, he’s not a bad character. He didn’t commit any grand acts of “evil” or “good.” He’s more of a neutral presence — someone whose influence can be both positive and negative.

But let’s be real, when we look at him on a more personal level… yeah, he was pretty terrible toward the Garrison trio. His teaching methods were questionable at best. You could say he definitely helped lay the foundation for Lance’s whole “I’m not good enough” complex, and was at least partly responsible for the way Keith was treated back at the Garrison. He also clearly was one of those authority figures who make you feel stressed without even realizing why. Especially when it comes to hierarchy and leadership.

That said, after the students disappeared, he did manage to keep training other cadets well enough that they actually survived the siege on Earth. And to be fair, if he hadn’t drilled them so harshly beforehand, they probably would’ve been a lot less prepared for actual wartime conditions. So, in a way, he helped toughen them up — even if his approach wasn’t exactly healthy.

In summary: he’s your typical adult who’s good at his job, but not necessarily good at teaching young people. He can lead experienced soldiers and give solid advice, but he’s not the kind of person who should be shaping fragile minds — especially in such a high-stress field.

Veronica and Adam know that Shiro crashed to Earth in an alien ship. They know Hunk, Lance, and Pidge snuck out that night and helped Keith kidnap Shiro from the Garrison, the group escaping into the desert where Adam suspects they found refuge at the old shack his ex-fiance and his adopted brother used to hang out in for some godforsaken reason.

The footage of a giant mechanical blue lion darting across the desert and beyond the atmosphere circulates despite the Garrison's efforts to hide it. The base is put in lockdown, but not before Adam and Veronica can sneak out to investigate the shack where they find Keith's conspiracy board and five distinct sets of footprints leading out toward the surrounding canyons. It's easy enough to connect the dots between the pictures pinned on the board and the video of the blue lion and figure their missing people found the ship and are far out of their reach.

It takes some time and a few trips to find where the blue lion was hidden. Amongst the wreckage, there are ships similar in style to what Shiro crashed to Earth in. They seem to be in good enough condition to use, which means the two just need do some minor repairs and gather supplies for a potentially long journey.

Colleen Holt and Lennie Garret, Hunk's uncle, visit the Garrison to demand answers. Students and faculty can hear the yelling from down the hall as they argue with Admiral Sanda and General Iverson and curious eyes watch as the two are escorted from the building. Veronica and Adam catch up with them, easily offering to drive the two away from the base and back to the nearest town.

What the Garrison doesn't know is that the four talk during that time. They find a place where they won't be overheard and Veronica and Adam explain their findings, tell them about the footage and the ships and their suspicion that their missing family members are not only alive, but out in space. All they need to do is get out there to rescue them, to bring them home.

While Veronica and Adam venture into space, Colleen and Lennie will wait on Earth. A dozen reasons are listed off to enforce the plan, but in a couple days when the two are setting up their ships for takeoff, everyone shows up. Everyone including Iverson who's been watching his lieutenants sneak about and conspire and who figured the sudden disappearance of supplies from storage meant the two were about to make a move so he followed in order to stop them. The Garrison can't have more of its people vanishing from Earth.

There's arguing. Colleen and Lennie brought their own supplies and want to come on the journey. Iverson wants to keep everyone on Earth. Veronica and Adam don't want the extra weight and inexperienced tagalongs slowing them down.

In the end, they all end up in the ships. Veronica and Adam pilot, the others cramming into the small cargo holds.

They estimate a couple months is the most they'll have to be away. If these alien ships move anything like that lion, then they can catch up easily enough. Hopefully, there's somewhere close enough to stop, somewhere the previous owners of their current ships must have gone to stock supplies and somewhere their missing friends and family may have ended up at, are maybe even stranded at.

They don't suspect that a wormhole shot the lion to the other side of the universe until they see a battleship disapppear in one and suddenly their mission is that much harder. Their ships allow them to hitch a ride amongst the terrifying fleets that travel in a blink when called upon, so that becomes their main form of travel when it comes to long distances. Keeping close to those fleets also brings them close to swap moons and ports where they can grab supplies.

It's at these ports they hear about other lion ships, ones that are a part of a bigger weapon that's saving the universe one planet at a time. Every so often, they hitch a ride with a fleet that's about to do battle with Voltron. Those occasions are the closest they get to crossing paths with their targets, but they have no way to connect to the lion ships and it's too risky to get near the massive ship that seems to be Voltron's own battle cruiser, so they're forced to focus more on survival than trying to chit chat with Voltron.

Far longer than they ever thought they'd be in space, they get their first view of the people they've been looking for. In the streets of some city, projected across the kinds of massive screens Veronica has only seen pictures of in New York, there they are. Lance, Hunk, Katie, and Shiro on a stage with a pointy eared alien, decked out in matching, color coordinated armor and putting on a frankly pathetic performance in front of a stadium of people. The Voltron Show.

It's happening far beyond where they can reach in so short notice, but there's a schedule of their appearances with locations and if Veronica can just get a connection to a Galran battle cruiser, she might be able to hack it so it will make a jump to one of those locations.

*****

Other notes:

Veronica and Adam take the lead of their little team. They're piloting the ships, which means they make the calls for which direction they'll head, when to hitch a ride with a cruiser, when to find a place to camp out. In the beginning, they handle most of the talking when they're planet-side, though Iverson tries to butt in and take charge whenever possible.

Safe to say, no one really trusts Iverson to make any decisions. He helped hide what really happened on the Kerberos mission and was ready to hide what happened the night Shiro crashed to Earth. His usefulness to the team comes during times when they're thrust into battle and his military experience proves beneficial to them all.

Colleen can never compare to the tech knowledge of the rest of her family, but she knows plants and how to maintain a functional garden on the ships. She also takes it upon herself to go full mom mode on the team. Her voice is the grounding one of the group, forcing them to be logical when emotions run high, quelling arguments that inevitably break out from their different ideas for handling the mission or from being crammed into two small ships.

Lennie doesn't really know about space ships, but he taught Hunk as much as he could about engines and how to put back together anything he takes apart. When they need ship maintenance done, he does his best to find a solution even if it would be considered unconventional. He also knows a bit about cooking. As long as they have edible ingredients, he can throw together something that tastes at least okay if not pretty good.

Reuniting:

They make the connection with Voltron before Pidge goes on her mission to find Matt. Or maybe they make it there while Pidge is gone? So Colleen has to wait even longer to see her daughter and for the first time during the whole trip, she becomes the flight risk. Every instinct tells her to grab a ship and follow instead of waiting around wondering if the last known living member of her family will make it back alive.

Having Veronica around unlocks a new insecurity in Lance because his one signature skill was taught to him by his older sister and Veronica has always been amazing at everything she does, so what if the lions warm up to her and replace Lance as a paladin? The reality is that Veronica is going to take up a position shadowing Coran, helping the Altean on the command deck so she can always have eyes on her brother.

When Shiro starts confessing to Lance that he's feeling off, Lance confides in Adam, tells him that he's also noticed how different Shiro is, wants to know if his cousin gets the same vibe. A lot has changed since Adam last saw his ex-fiance, but even he can see what Lance means. The two keep their eyes on Shiro, Adam opening back up to the man in an effort to get closer and maybe figure out what's wrong.

Hunk becomes overprotective of his uncle. Lennie is the only one of the group that has literally no experience or knowledge of space before being shot into it. He constantly worries that his uncle is going to get into something that will get him hurt and it doesn't help that Lennie has shown an interest in joining the team on planet-side missions. The man wants to know what his nephew is up to in space, wants to understand so he can help, not just on the Castle but on the inevitable trip home or if he finds himself out in space chasing after his nephew again.

Iverson finds himself back in a place of respect at Shiro's side, the not-yet-revealed-clone liking the military style of the general. He enjoys getting to have a say in matters, again, and feeling like he has some sort of control over what's happening. And if he notices how Shiro picks on Lance, targeting the red paladin over everyone else, he doesn't bring attention to it. Cadet McClain was always a problem at the Garrison, so of course he'd be a problem on the Voltron team (even though Iverson can admit Lance is more serious here and some of the ideas/concerns he brings up aren't exactly wrong).