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In the dining room of Krolia’s house, they substitute the sofa and the armchair with carpets and pillow. In the center of the room, Kolivan places a metallic pod full of fire stones; next to it, a plate with small, white balls and a glass with long, dark stick.
Shiro is too tired to ask what is about. He shook too much hands, he thanked too much people, now he’s grateful he can enjoy a little bit of peace. He sees Kolivan as he takes his place next to Krolia in one of the pillow. Krolia is serious, composed, but she hasn’t say a word since the funeral ceremony speech. Kosmo put his head on her knees and she pet his back. Kolivan takes her hand, a private and comforting gesture.
Pidge and Hunk sit on the other side of the cup, on their pillows. Their eyes pass from Krolia, to Shiro, to the cup, to each other. Hunk especially looks like he wants to talk, to break the silence, but he doesn’t know what to say, what it can be appropriate from the situation. Pidge taps nervously her datapad.
The bell rings and Hunk startles, a relief expression appears on his face. Something is going to happen but he won’t take the responsibility for it. Shiro nods a little at Krolia to remain sit as he opens the door.
Allura, Lance and Coran appears in front of him. Shiro smiles. Allura cut her hair since last year and she has now a small pageboy. Lance wears his Garrison officer uniform and Coran is still Coran. Both him and Allura wears pink.
“Hi,” Allura greets him and hug him. “Sorry if I didn’t manage to be with you at the ceremony, but as a Queen of New Altea they asked me to remain with the other planets’ delegation.”
“I get it,” he assures her.
As Allura enters to greet the others, Shiro pats Lance’s arm. He’ great in that uniform. “How are you?” Lance asks.
“As someone who’s told his boyfriend died and just attend his funeral.”
Coran intervenes before Lance has the time to feel bad about the question. “These are from Romelle.” He gives Shiro a bouquet of red and black roses. “She wanted to come, but someone has to remain at the palace and take care of the planets, so she sent the flowers instead. She made them grown personally.”
“That’s a nice gesture from her,” Shiro says. “Can you thank her for me?”
“Of course.”
Lance sits down next to Pidge. “Wait. It that Kosmo’s son?” And he points at the small cosmic wolf next to Krolia.
“No. This is Kosmo,” Pidge answers. “Apparently, cosmic wolf’s circle of life involved a rejuvenation during mating season. We don’t know much other. Keith…” Her voice trails off. “There aren’t much records of tamed cosmic wolf,” she concludes, as Kosmo teleporters next to her and bumps his head on her arm.
“Only Keith could have a dog like this.”
Coran moves on the other side of the room and sits down to Allura’s pillow. “We’re doing the traditional garla funeral?” he asks. His voice sounds a little bit too exciting. “I remember it from the old time!”
Kolivan nods. “With the Blade of Marmora, during the war… we don’t have the time or the possibility to do that with all our losses,” he says, “but I think that now… we can do that. For Keith.”
“They want to do this alongside with the public ceremony,” Krolia adds. “We decides it’ll be better just between us. I’m pretty sure Keith would have preferred something inside his family.”
The other don’t say anything. Being a family is something they lost after the war, with all the works they had and the different life they chose. The fact that Krolia herself, Keith’s mother, consider them as part of Keith’s family is reassuring. They built something during the war.
Shiro sits down on the opposite side to Allura and Coran and places the flowers in front of the cup. “Can you explain this to us?” he asks.
“It’s pretty easy. Galra aren’t for complicate things.” Kolivan distribute the sticks. “As you enlighten them, think about a memory of Keith you want him to remember,” he explains. “Once it’s all red, put it on the cup. In this way, your thoughts will reach Keith and his spirit won’t lose his feeling.”
One after another, a small flame passes between them as they enlighten their sticks. Shiro is the last one, and observes as the fire consuming the dark and substitutes it with red. Black and red. Looks like a bad destiny joke. Nothing comes in his mind, though. He doesn’t want to be there, he doesn’t want to be at Keith’s funeral just to remember him. He wants him back.
Lance chuckles on himself. “What?” Hunks asks.
“Nothing,” he replies. “I just… remember that time Keith and I wanted to go to the swimming pool and then we remained blocked in the lift and then Zarkon’s attack and we have to fight him with only our swimming suit on…”
His voice becomes lower and lower until tears slip on his cheeks. At that sight, Hunk isn’t able to restrain himself anymore and he hugs him. They ends up sobbing, hiding their faces in one another.
Pidge closes her eyes and let the tears flow quietly. Allura leans on Coran and releases a small smile. She looks straight up to Shiro. “Once, we were all there to ask Keith to move on after your… disappearance,” she murmurs. “Since the end of the war, I never thought, not for once, we will have to do the same thing for you.”
Shiro knows about it. He was there, just inside the Black Lion. He saw through the Lion’s eyes. Everything that happened back then, how Keith was reacting and how bad it was with it. And how, in the end, he managed to bring Shiro back, while Shiro can just sit there and accepting Keith died. His hand grips the stick with anger.
“Always the selfish one,” Lance comments, still with his head against Hunk’s chest. “Leaving us like that…”
Kolivan is the first to put his stick in the cup, and the other follows after him. Shiro doesn’t have a memory yet. He decides he can do that later, after assuring that the people that murdered Keith will pay for it.
“We need to say the memory we thought?” Pidge asks.
“Only if you want to,” Krolia answers.
“Okay.” Pidge nods, and she doesn’t seem to particularly want to reveal it.
“Next thing, we will cook the traxises.” Kolivan drops the white ball inside the cup. “The sticks will warm up the fire stones, so the traxises will be cooked by your own memory. Eating it will be our way to maintain Keith’s memory inside us.”
“What are those exactly?” Hunk put his finger in one of them, to sag its consistency.
“Galra sweets.” It’s Coran, this time. “They’re made with a particular flour with a plant that only grow up in Daibazaal. They are a little spicy too.”
“I don’t think they taste as anything you have on Earth,” Allura adds. “The Garla doesn’t use this kind of flour raw but for the traxises.”
Pidge looks at her datapad. “Traxise means blossom in Garla language, right?”
Krolia nods. “Yes. The memories of the dead will blossom inside you.”
“I think they’re ready.” Kolivan rummages the stone inside the cup.
Hunk is the first one to try it. “Ouch. It burns.” It doesn’t prevent him to stuff the traxise entirely in his mouth and swallow it despite it being too hot. “Nice,” is his final verdict.
Kosmo almost puts his muzzle inside the cup before Pidge manages to grab him and drag him behind.
“Ehi, he wants to remember Keith too,” Hunk comments as he offers a traxise to him. Kosmo licks his hand happily.
As the other tastes the traxises and make their opinion about it and about the resemblance with Earth food, Shiro chews one slowly. He feels he doesn’t have to eat a traxise to remember Keith. He understands it’s a tradition between Garla and he has no intention to ruin it for Krolia and Kolivan, he’s… just so angry.
The bell rings again. The others look at each other, surprise by it. Shiro is grateful he has something to do. He stands up and open it. He blinks: the Deuces are there in front of him, accompanied by two guards.
“May we, Admiral Shirogane?” one of the two – FARUX – asks, since Shiro just stands here on the door.
“Of course. Welcome.”
He moves so they can enter in the house. They close the door behind them, and the two guards remain outside. The others look at the Deuces with curiosity. They know who they are, both because they’re the face of Daibaazal at the moment and because they hold a speech at Keith’s public funeral just an hour before.
NURU bows a little in front of the cup. “We apologize,” FARUX says. “We don’t want to interrupt your private grieving.”
Kolivan grubs a little, which, in his language, can mean either annoyance or dismissal.
“We just want to give you our condolences in person,” FARUX continues, “and assure you we’re doing everything to find out the culprits. The best men of Daibazaal are on the case and we have suspects in custody.”
Krolia nods and murmurs a thank you.
“Already?” Lance comments.
“Of course.” FARUX seems almost annoyed by Lance’s remark.
“They’re from them?” Hunk asks. “From the Sincline’s force?”
“I apologize, but we won’t discuss the details with you.”
“I want to help,” Shiro states.
“That’s nice of you, but we can handle it.” FARUX’s voice isn’t as cordial as he wants it to sound.
“It’s Keith we are talking about,” Shiro replies. “And we are the Voltron Paladins. I may be a little bold to say that, but we know better than you how to deal with Galra that murder people. We need to participate at the investigation.”
Actually, they haven’t talk about it. Shiro is telling them what he wants to do, but none of the other interrupt him or disagree with him. They just stare at the three of them.
“The Red Paladin is our responsibility.” NURU answers this time, and he grits his teeth, as he’s trying to calm himself. “He was one of us.”
“You have to understand, Admiral,” and FARUX put a lot of emphasis, “that we are proud of having a Paladin of Voltron as one of us. You saw the funeral, you saw how many people came to give the Red Paladin a last goodbye.”
“I saw it,” Shiro admits. He gave him a little bit of comfort.
“None of them will let the killers get unpunished, that much I can assure you. But the Galra republic is growing… We are trying to amend to our past mistake. And for this reason, we can’t let anyone involved on other government deals with something that is a responsibility of us.” He turns his head on Allura. “I’m pretty sure you understand, your majesty.”
“I do,” she confirms, with a small nod.
“Admiral Shirogane, as you were the Red Paladin’s mate, we will inform you of our progress, as a form of respect to the Red Paladin himself. But as you are a member of the Earth Government, we can’t let you help the investigation,” FARUX concludes. He doesn’t wait for a reply; he moves his attention on Krolia and Kolivan. “May I have a word with you in private? It’s about the Blade of Marmora’s organization from now on.”
With a frown or her face, Shiro looks as the four of them move to the kitchen and close the door behind them, so they can’t be heard from the dining room. Shiro sits down again on his pillow and grabs a traxise from the pot. He chews it slowly, looking very firm at Allura. Nobody else speak until he finishes.
“The last thing – the last,” he repeats, “I want to do is let go this. If they think I’ll let some strangers take care of Keith’s killers for me, they’re wrong.”
He was in the Black Lion. He saw all the month Keith spend looking for him in the space. Even if Shiro can’t save Keith anymore, at least he can be sure all Keith’s work with the Galra don’t get wasted.
“Dude.” Lance sounds annoyed. “It’s Keith we are talking about. All of us want to find out the culprits.”
They all nods. “As much as we know how much Keith means to you,” Allura adds, “we have a lot to take in consideration before acting. And the first thing is how much Keith means to the entire universe.”
Shiro presses his lips. He knows, of course, what Allura is talking about. As the Admiral of the Atlas, he received many calls from different planets ambassadors, all worried about the terroristic attack and what it can mean for the peace of the universe. It’s understandable, since the war ended not many years before.
As Paladins of Voltron, they are the symbol of peace. Having someone kill one of them put everything in jeopardy again. It showed that Voltron himself isn’t as invincible as it seems, and it means there is someone out there that wants war again. The fact that this someone is Garla, the same race that conquered the universe in the first place, doesn’t help. The video doesn’t help at all.
The planets of the Voltron Coalition are freaking out and their duty as Paladins is to reassure them first and foremost.
“We should leave the Deuces at the investigation for now,” Allura continues. “It may give them reassurance – losing Keith hits hard Daibazaal too. I’m pretty sure they’ll be more helpful to let us help them if we show them we trust their operated.”
“In the meantime, we have to focus on the Voltron Coalition.” Hunk sighs. “I just received so many calls, everyone is scared out there… It’ll be easy if Voltron would be here.”
“Even so, we don’t have Keith for piloting the Black Lion,” Lance points out.
“Well, maybe Shiro can do it for a while?”
“This discussion is pointless,” Shiro states. Thinking of the Black Lion still hurts him, because of both Keith and himself. “Voltron is gone. We have the Atlas, and ourselves, and the coalition. It’s enough.”
Pidge nods. “It doesn’t mean we won’t do some… investigation of our own. I already created a small program to see if I can detect the source of the video from the deep web.”
“And do you find it?” Hunk asks a little too eager, maybe.
“Not yet.” She smirks. “But I will. If they’ll be able to send it, you can be sure I’ll be able to too.”
“Good.” Shiro nods, trying to not sound disappointed. “I also can’t keep the Atlas on stand-by for too long. A couple of day maximum, then I have to return to work.”
Coran looks at him with a soft gaze. “Don’t you want to take some time for yourself?”
“Maybe, later. But first, as we said, we have something to do as Voltron Paladins. And if I decided to take a holiday, I have to organize it beforehand.”
“I’ll help you,” Pidge nods. “Matt and I can move our researches to the Atlas for a while.”
“And the Atlas should stop to Altea for at least a couple of days,” Allura adds. “So we can decide better how to move from now on.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s decided, then,” Lance exclaims. “I propose a toast, to Keith and to the fact we are going to rub in his face all this we will see him in the afterlife.”
“Yeah, but I hope it’ll happen later on,” Hunk adds. “Better include in the list of things we have to do be careful that the Sincline Force won’t attack us too.”
“Oh, let them come!” Lance replies. “I have an army of children ready to fight for me.”
“Since they’re trained by you, I’m not too scared,” Pidge comments, not looking at him, fully aware he’s going to blow up at her for insulting his cadets and his teaching methods.
Shiro sighs, as he feels the tension caused from the Deuces’s arrival lowered. Still, even if he’s grateful of their help and their advices, he still can’t let it go. He won’t let time passes before he can take care of Keith’s investigation himself. As he said before, it’s the last thing he wants to do, and he won’t do it.
The door of the kitchen opens. The Deuces bow a little. “Again, we are sorry for your loss and we apologize for interrupting your ceremony.”
They leave. “Everything okay?” Shiro asks to Krolia and Kolivan, as they sit down again with them.
Kolivan grunts. “Yeah, just burocratic stuff.”
Shiro doesn’t question further. They stay a little more together, finishing all the traxises and speaking more about their lives than Keith’s. At a certain point, it’s too painful when he’s not in the room with them.
“I have to go,” Allura announces at a certain point. “I stay at the hotel with some other kings and queens and they asked me to join them for dinner.”
“Me too,” Pidge says. “Matt is waiting for me at the Atlas.”
“You stay with us?” Krolia turns to Shiro.
“Yes, I… the Atlas is stationed around Daibazaal, but I’m not in the mood to return there yet. I ask for a couple of days off.”
“But we’ll see each other tomorrow, right?” Lance pats his altean arm. The other paladins but Allura all stay in the Atlas for now.
“Of course.” Shiro assures him. “I’ll pick you up at the spaceport.”
“Good. See you tomorrow.”
They leave. Kolivan takes care of the dishes from the ceremony and Krolia warms up a soup for dinner. Shiro isn’t eager to eat, and none of them isn’t eager to speak either. To be fair, Shiro would like to ask for Krolia’s assistance, because he knows her enough to understand she wants to participate at her son’s investigations.
But she brushes off her conversation with the Deuces as it isn’t important, and so does Kolivan. Whatever the Deuces told them, there are probably rules between Garla. Shiro isn’t Garla, and he won’t let it go.
They let him sleep in Keith’s room. Ten minutes here, and Shiro wants to escape. His PDSD improved in the past, but his time inside the Black Lion’s consciousness makes him a little bit claustrophobic for particular kind of small place. His dead boyfriend’s room is one of those places. It’s a familiar place, he has been there before with Keith, and it still has Keith’s personality, and the Atlas’ poster with Shiro as a pin up hanging on the bed.
Shiro lies down on the bed, still dress up in his uniform, and sighs. A flash of light and Kosmo is upon him, sniffing his face with attention. Shiro chuckles a little as Kosmo’s warm breath tickles him. With a whine, Kosmo sits on him and places his head against Shiro’s neck.
“I miss him too.” Shiro rubs its ears.
Trapped below the wolf’s body, Shiro looks around, at the room in the dark. No more rumors come from downstairs.
“I need fresh air,” he says to Kosmo.
Kosmo understands. Another flash and they are outside the house, and enough far from here not to be spotted by Krolia and Kolivan, if they’re still up. Not that Shiro needs to give them any explanation, still he prefers not to let know where he plans to go. He takes his datapad.
“Bring me there.”
The Blade of Marmora headquarter is a huge complex on the city’s suburb, a high skyline for the office and an entire area for employers’ ALLOGGIAMENTI, gyms, canteen, and laboratory. Shiro’s idea is to enter secretly in Keith’s office, but then he notices the light is up – he remembers the window from his previous visits. Another familiar light is on.
Therefore, he rings at the welcome hall and wait for a guard to answer. “I’m looking for Officer Axca,” he says. “We don’t have an appointment, but it is very important. Tell her Admiral Shirogane is here.”
The guard seems unfazed by the late request. He returns five doboshes later and he lets Shiro enter in the building. Axca appears from the lift and reserves Shiro a comforting smile.
“Admiral,” she says, and she nods at him to follow her.
He obeys, Kosmo following behind him. The reach her office: Shiro blinks as he notices she isn’t alone. Ezor and Zethrid are there. Axca takes place at her desk.
“What we can do to you, Admiral?”
“I spoke with the Deuces today,” Shiro explains. “They don’t want my help for the investigation, and I have the fear they are intrude in the Blade of Marmora organizations too. I got this impression from Krolia and Kolivan’s behavior, I can’t be sure about it.”
Axca snorts. “This sounds like them. If they want to protect the independence of our organization, they have to concede something to the Deuces.”
“I see. But I’m not them. I’m not going to let the Deuces take care of this investigation alone.”
“That makes four of us,” Ezor comments.
“What? Do you think we’ll let them too, so I can’t get my chance to throw some good punches at those killers?” Zethird snickers at Shiro’s expression.
Oh, how things have changes. Shiro wonders if remembering Zethrid she almost killed Keith in the past is a good idea, but in the end he just smirks and takes a chair to sit down. “Show me what you’ve got.”
“Before the Deuces arrived, we did a small research from ourselves,” Axca explains. “Even if the cargo ship doesn’t exist, the distress call was real. It comes from outside and with our codes. It looked real and there wasn’t any reason to believe it wasn’t.”
“Inus, who is the one to receive it and the one that called for Keith, respected the procedure,” Ezor adds. “We can rule him off. The Deuces arrested him, just for precaution, but he’s a half-garla, so…”
“What about the bomb?” Shiro asks. “Any information about how it could be placed on Keith’s ship.”
Axca shakes her head. “No. The procedure for preparing a ship in emergency situations makes impossible to know beforehand which ship will be chosen. The only one it’s the spaceport employ that prepare it on spot.”
“The Deuces arrested the one that prepared the ship for Keith.” Zethrid snorts, as she doesn’t approve the Deuces methods. “He’s a pure-blood Garla, but not even they can be so stupid. I mean, they should know they’ll be the first suspect.”
“We have the hypothesis,” Axca continues, “that they set all the possible ships with a bomb, so whatever ship Keith would have taken, it would explode. And then, after Keith’s departure, they came and removed all the other bombs.”
“It’s possible, but it requires organization and definitely more than one person. And probably, even someone that cover for them,” Shiro comments.
Axca shows him a list of names on her datapad. “Those are all the employees that have access at the spaceport, both pure-blood galra and half-galra.”
“I mean, pure-blood may be behind this, but others can be bought,” Ezor points out.
“Or they can just like make things explode.” Zethrid speaks from experience.
“Unfortunately, there was a… mysterious failure on the access database,” Axca smirks, “so we don’t have information about who really was in the spaceport that night. We need to check all of them.”
Shiro pats his legs. “When we get started?”
***
Zhimir is a small planet, the fifth of his solar system, blue colored from the space. It remembers Mercury to Keith. Lorne contacts her headquarters for gain authorization to land. The spaceport of the capital is well organized, but it can contain only small pods. Big spaceships aren’t able to park there.
“It’s one of the problem,” Lorne says. “We aren’t prepared to welcome the Voltron Coalition yet.”
“It was the same before the war?” Keith asks.
“More or less. We haven’t been exploration people, except out solar system and the one next to ours. When the Galra conquered us, they use us as slaves in the other planets around here, where we have mines useful to them. They don’t need for us a bigger port.”
“But you know the Olkari,” Keith states.
“Yes. They come to us, not the other way around. And we don’t like them very much at that time. We fear they were the cause of the Galra invasion. They weren’t, of course, but their technology is very distant from us, and it didn’t help.”
Keith nods. For now, he doesn’t have the time to resolve controversies between Zhimirians and Olkari. He will speak with Pidge in the future, after understanding the problems of Daibazaal.
He lands in the indicated spot. When he and Lorne get out from the small ship, someone that looks like a guard welcome them.
“Captain Lorne, Red Paladin, their majesties required your present immediately,” she says. “I’ll escort you.” She moves her head a little to the right, and her voice tender. “It’s an honor to meet you, Red Paladin.”
“Thank you, nice to meet you too” Keith answers. He shakes her hand, and asks, “you said their majesties?”
“Zhimir is a monarchy,” Lorne explains. “It’s not a hereditary position. Only the people born with the chosen mark can become queen. It happens we have only one queen, or even ten or eleven at once.”
“In our history, the record of queens governing together has been twenty-three, and it happens only once, and for three years, to have none.”
“Interesting,” Keith nods. “What is the chosen mark?”
Lorne smirks. “You’ll understand when you’ll see them. Right now, we have three queens.”
“Their majesties need to speak to you immediately for an urgent matter. Please, come with me.”
Keith is grateful for the Zhimirians help so he doesn’t complain. He and Lorna follows the guard in a machine that looks like more like a caterpillar. The guard drives them to a triangular glass palace. There are few people in the main hall that looks at them, but the guard walks straight to the left side of the hall and takes the lift.
“00-AB234 here,” she says. “I’m with Captain Lorne and the Red Paladin.”
The lift starts by itself. Keith can’t say how many floors they pass before the door open again, to reveal a small room. It is completely cover with green wallpaper that, at a closer look, it’s made by brushes. A rectangular glass table is placed in the center and three people sit down in glass thrones, at one side of the table.
Looking at them, Keith understand what Lorne meant with the chosen mark. All the Zhimirans he met until now have different number of tail but, as Ezor, the width of the tail is large and most of their head is bald. The queens have numerous very small and short tails, they end up looking as real hair. Only one of them looks old, the one that sit in the center, while the other two are middle age.
“Their majesties.”
Both Lorne and the guard stand still but lowered only their head, as they wrap their tails until they form a small bun on their head. Keith imitates their position and hide his braid behind his shoulders.
“You may go,” the eldest queen says, with a small nod to the guard. She leaves without a word. Once the door of the lift closes, the queen continues, “please, sit down.” She smiles. “We’re glad you’re safe and sound, Red Paladin. We owe you our gratitude for your help with the heart.”
“I didn’t do anything.” Keith took place next to Lorne on the other side of the table. “I’m just glad the heart made here in time. And to be honest, the pirates didn’t treat me badly. I’m the one that is grateful: Lorne’s arrival saved my life.”
“We’re happy to hear that,” the queen says. “I’m sorry we can’t meet in more fortunate circumstance.” She turns her head to Lorne. “Captain, please, your report.”
Lorne nods. Her voice is clear as she tells the three queens how the pirates agreed with their exchange and how the three Galra cruisers attacked the pirate ship and how they ignored Keith’s calls as they didn’t care at all about saving him.
Hearing her report doesn’t help at all Keith to understand his situation. Someone wants to kill him, that much is clear, and it is someone inside the high ups of Daibazaal government. The reason is still unknown.
Once Lorne finishes, the elder queen nods. “This event put everything else in a different light,” she says. She’s talking more with her two colleagues than with Lorne and Keith. They both nod. “Red Paladin, you have to see this.”
The queen on the right side turns her chair and press her bracelet, to project a video on the opposite wall.
“What is it?” Keith asks.
“This is a video that was distributed to the planets of the Voltron Coalition ten quintants ago,” the elder queen answers. “It came from a secret channel of the deep web, but they’re able to reach all the Government, included us.”
Keith looks at the video. At first, he doesn’t recognize the place. There is a familiar rumor, and he guesses the camera was inside an engine. The area was dark until a trap door opened, enlightened it. A face appeared from it, and at that moment Keith understands. The videocamera was placed in his engine, next to the bomb. It was his own face that looked straight at the video, recognizable because he didn’t wear his suit mask back then.
On the video, his eyes widened: the moment he understood there was a bomb. Then, his figure disappeared from the area, the trap door still opened. Then, the bomb explodes and the video becomes dark. At his side, Lorne startles visibly. She places a hand on her mouth in shock.
“For all the sacred…”
The queens don’t move. The video isn’t finished. After two seconds of dark, the scenery changes. This time, the video shows three Galra. Keith guesses they are Galra from their bodies and from the armor they wear, but their faces are covered with a mask with Zarkon’s face. Behind them, the Galra symbol glows purple at the wall.
The Garla in the middle starts speaking, as he is reading a pre-written discourse. His words are steady, his voice hard.
“We killed the Red Paladin,” he affirms. “It is what he deserves, as every filthy half-Galra out there.
Once, our Galra were the most important and powerful race in the entire universe. We were the rules of the universe. Then, we became sloppy, we let our blood being tainted by the other lower races, at the point that you, you all, started to call your hero the same person that stripped you of all your privileges of being a Galra. I guess we can’t expect much from you lower creatures, even you possess a once of true Galra blood.
Well, now your hero is dead like the shwamus he was.”
Keith doesn’t know what a shwamus is, but he can image it isn’t a compliment from their side.
“And you all half-blood will follow shortly. It is time for the true Garla to return and take back their place in the universe. Beware, Voltron Coalition, you’ll be next too. We, the Sincline Force, will end you. Surrender or die.”
The video ends. The queen on the right turn off her bracelet and turns again to the table. There is a sad expression on her side. She looks at Keith, and so do the other two. Keith doesn’t have a clear answer for them. He suspects the culprit of his bombing may be the Sincline Force, but he doesn’t expect them to be so organized to send video to the entire Voltron Coalition.
The thing that worried Keith most is his family and friends’ reaction. Not only they received a confirmation of his own death, but they had to see that horrid video. It’s terrible and Keith first reaction is to take the first ship available and fly to Daibazaal to show them he’s alive. Instead, he remains still.
In the end, the elder queen speaks. “As you may imagine, this video shook the Voltron Coalition until its very core. Not only they kill a member of Voltron, but they called himself the heirs of the Galra Empire.” Her voice trembles a little. “For all the planets subjugated to their control for all the previous years, it looks like a nightmare. Voltron is no more, and the Galra are returning.”
“It won’t happen,” Keith affirms. “Voltron disappeared, it’s true, but we don’t need it anymore. Now we have the Atlas, and the entire coalition. I don’t fear this, and neither do you.”
The elder queen nods. “When Captain Lorne returned from her expedition and informed us about your rescue and your kidnapping, we rejoiced.”
“Not for the kidnapping, of course,” the queen on the left side chuckles, covering her mouth with her small tails.
“The Red Paladin was still alive. The Sincline Force wasn’t as smooth as they thought. Your returning would raise the coalition’s humor.” The elder queen continues ignoring the interruption. “But Captain Lorne’s report gave us new information we have to take in consideration.”
Keith nods. He’s glad he’s speaking with people that gets things fast. “The Sincline Force isn’t just a secret group,” he states. “They have members in the Daibazaal Government, and at enough power position to stop communication from other planets and organizing at least three cruisers.”
“That’s what we think. Do you know about this Sincline Force?”
“Not much. I’m usually around the universe with the Blades. I only heard about them few quintantes ago. The people I spoke with doesn’t particularly fear them.”
“Instead, they were waiting for the right moment to strike.” The left queen activates again her bracelet and shows them a diagram. “That’s what we guess we happened: the pirates contacted someone in the Daibazaal Government for your ransom. They were unlucky they spoke with a member of the Sincline Force, or maybe the Sincline Force kept an eye on the communication to be sure nobody saved you. Probably, the pirates spoke about our ship, and this was the reason our communication has been cut off. Then, they send the cruisers to destroy the pirate ship with you on board. The video was already on-line and they couldn’t risk you survived.”
“Tell us, Red Paladin,” the elder queen says, “do they know you escaped again?”
“I can’t be sure,” Keith admits. “Their attention was on the pirate ship, and I was careful to let the explosion covering us, but I can’t tell if they register our position with their radar. Those cruisers have very sophisticated equipment.”
He passes his gaze on the three queen’s faces. “I don’t think they will attack the planet,” he adds. “The cruisers aren’t enough for it, and it’ll be too risky.”
“We agree. Still, they’re coming here.”
Keith grits his teeth. “Here?”
“They don’t seem to have aggressive intentions,” the elder queen tranquilizes him. “For now, they just sent us a communication about their passing.”
“Did you tell them I’m here?” Keith asks.
“Of course not.” The queen on the right side frowns. “Something is fishy in this situation. Tell us what you want to do, and we’ll do it.”
The elder queen seems annoyed by the other’s intervention, but nods. “We will assist you, Red Paladin.”
“Thank you.” Keith breathes hard. He’s still a leader, he learned how to lead in the past. “I’m really sorry to have put you in this situation.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” Lorne speaks for the first time, even if her head is lowered and she isn’t looking at him.
“I image the communication are still down?” Keith asks.
“We haven’t tried again since Captain Lorne’s departure,” the elder queen explains. “But we guess they are, since I suspect they won’t risk us to divulgate your possible survival.”
It makes sense. They surely want to confirm the Zhimirians aren’t hiding him before letting them contact again the coalition.
“For now, may I ask you to not reveal my presence here? At the moment, I can’t say which one is an ally and which one is an enemy. I can’t trust no one but you.”
“Not even the other Voltron Paladins?” the queen on the right shots him a meaningful glare.
Keith’s heart clenches. His mind shots him imagining of Shiro looking at the video, f his mother looking at the video. Again, he feels the urge to rush to them and hug them and tell them everything is fine. He can image Lance mocking him of his kidnapping, and Hunk hugging him crying.
“I trust them,” Keith affirms. “I don’t trust the idea of someone else intercepting my communication to them.”
“We understand.” The elder queen stands up. “Until we won’t find out the cruisers’ course of action, we will hide you here.”
“Captain Lorne, please, you will stay here too.” The queen on the left presses her bracelet, and the lift’s door open. “For your own safety, and because we may need you soon.”
She and Keith take it. They don’t talk until they reach the new floor. It is a hallway, and two doors are opened. Looking inside, they are two bedrooms. Keith takes a long breath. He said I can’t trust anyone but the Zhimirians, but is it true? For now, Lorne has been on his side, and the queens seemed ready to assist him. The arrival of the cruisers may change it: they are reserved people, maybe they will hand him to the Sincline Force to save their planet. Keith won’t even be angry at them for it.
Lorne places one of her tail on his back and he startles. “Rest,” she advises him. “You piloted for a long time. You can’t think clear.”
“I don’t have the time,” he replies.
“Listen.” She licks her lips. “I can’t say I get how bad it is having all the people you love that believe you’re dead. But a varga or a quitant won’t change it. You need to survive so you can return to them.”
Keith nods. Lorna smiles. “I’ll rest awake, so I can call you if something happens.”
“Fine. But I don’t think I can sleep at all.”
He’s wrong. As soon as he places his tired body on the straw bed, his eyes close shut.
***
Zhimirians’ beds are like nest, with soft brushes on the inside and a good, peaceful smell. Keith curls in himself, still half-asleep, before remembering that everyone out there believe him dead and there are still killers after them.
He jumps still. The door of his room is still open, and Lorne sits there, looking outside. He can’t believe she stayed there for so long only for him. He brushes her shoulder and she startles a little.
“You’re awake.” She sounds tired.
“How much time passed?”
“Almost four vargas.” Lorne stands up. “They brought us some food.” She nods at the table inside Keith’s room, where a covered tray was placed.
“Do you eat?”
She nods.
“Go to sleep,” Keith orders. “I’ll keep an eye from now on.”
Lorne moves her mouth a little, as she wants to reply. In the end, she moves to her room and closes the door. Keith returns to the table and notices there is also a datapad places there, just next to the tray. It’s an older model than the one Keith is used to, but it works.
The food in the tray smells good: Keith eats distract, as he taps on the datapad.
He searches news about his death, he finds the video of his funeral ceremony on Daibazaal. A crowd was there for him. Keith learned something about Galra traditions when he was with the Blades and he realizes they held all the honor for him, almost as he was an emperor.
The Deuces held the first speech, talking about how important was for half-garla like them having someone to look up, and that the very existence of Keith was indispensable for the redemption of the Garla. It was more about the importance of Keith being a half-garla in the universe than Keith as a person, but it was nice.
His mother spoke after, and it was a small speech about the fact she had left him and she was grateful to have the chance to meet him again, even if they lost so many years because of the war. Kolivan was with her, and told shared to the crowd a small anectode about Keith’s time with the Blades.
It is surreal from Keith’s part, seeing his own funeral. He also knows that those people love him, Krolia, Kolivan, and the Paladins, yet there is a small warm on his chest. His life has a meaning.
Shiro was the last one. His face was like stone and the word came out one after another, heavy as stone in the water.
“Once, Keith said to me he would have saved me as many time as it takes. And he did. I wonder if he would come back again for me. I wish I would have been there for you the only time he needed me.”
Keith shuts the datapad. “You were there, Shiro, you were…” he murmurs under his breath. His stomach is clenched and his throat’s emits a sob. He wants to see him so badly…
“Are you okay, Red Paladin?”
Keith takes a deep breath and turns his head to the door. The same guard that welcomed them is there. “I’m fine.”
“Their majesties need you again. Now.”
He doesn’t ask. For now, he needs something to do so he can distract himself. ”Coming. Can we let Captain Lorne rest?”
The guard looks at the door of the other room. “I guess we can,” she decides at last.
They take the lift and end in another different floor. It looks like an inside balcony, completely covered by glasses. Below, you can see a big, empty room. On the opposite side, on a platform, the queens sit on their metal thrones. The throne room, Keith guesses.
“We can’t be seen from there, but we can hear everything,” the guard says. She presses a button on her portable datapad and, in the same moment, the queen on the left looks at her bracelet. She taps it and a screen appears in front of them: it has a double face so Keith can see at it.
On the screen, the face of a half-galra appears. Keith doesn’t recognize him, but the area behind him. A galra cruiser. He has to be one of the people in charge of the attack at the pirate ship. How strange…
“We are the queens of Zhimir,” the elder queen says. “Please introduce yourself.”
“I am Captain Plantux from Daibazaal,” he says. “I am deeply grateful you concede me some time.”
The elder queen nods a little, for him to continue.
“I am here to investigate about the incident that stole from us the Red Paladin,” Plantux explains. The three queens bow their head in respect. “You may not now, but the incident happened a couple of light-years from here. While we investigated, we intercepted a communication from your planet. It’s directed to Daibazaal, but unfortunately a solar storm blocked all the communications in that area. They are still blocked for now.”
“This is unfortunate indeed,” the elder queen confirms. “This explained why we never received an answer.”
“This is the reason why we come here. We apologize for the delay.”
“We understand, Captain. We still need your assistance.”
“Please, feel free to ask me. As a member of the Voltron Coalition, we’ll do everything to help.”
“Fifteen quintans ago, we send one of our spaceship for a medical expedition to the solar system next to our,” the elder queen explains. “We lost contact with them at a certain point. We fear they might be in danger, or having some incident on the street. That area is full of space pirates. It is a mission of highly importance for us, so we hoped that someone from the Voltron Coalition may help us. You have better technology than us.”
“It’s too late, isn’t it?” the queen on the right comments. “Even with all good intention, too many quintants passed.”
“I’m afraid so,” Plantux confirms. “We haven’t meet any spaceship in our way, neither we received any emergency calls. Also, we engaged to a pirate ship and they ended up blowing up their own ship to escape us. If they were captured by the pirates, probably there wasn’t anything we can do.”
“It’s horrible!” the queen on the right exclaims.
“Indeed. We can’t be sure, though. If you sent me coordinates about the route of your spaceship, we may go back in the area and do a better search.”
“This is utterly appreciated,” the elder queen says. “We’ll sent all the information immediately.”
“I’ll wait for them. And please, feel free to contact me as much as you’d like. I hope soon the solar storm will end and we’ll restore all the communication to Daibazaal too.”
The queen on the left presses her bracelet, and the screen disappears.
“It’s a bluff?” Keith asks.
“In our attempt to contact Daibazaal, we never speak about you or your rescue,” the guard says. “We just try to reach for them, so they can’t be sure the real reason. But it is possible that the space pirates, when asked for you ransom, told them some details about us.”
“But they can’t be sure,” Keith deducts. “And they may believe I still died back in the explosion of the pirate ships.”
“Correct. It also means that, for now, you can’t leave. Not until they’re around, and not until the communications don’t work.”
Keith grits his teeth. He understands, of course, but it isn’t much reassuring. He wants to do something, as usual. “Fine,” he spats, hoping she understands his anger isn’t direct at her. “I want to go outside. I need to clear my thoughts.”
“No problem, but it’s better if you put our clothes on. Most people here don’t know very well the face of the Red Paladin, but it’s better if you keep a low profile.”
They return at the room floor, and the guard leaves Keith alone so he can change, using their long tunic, with the large sleeves and the large long pants. Once he finishes and he returns in the hallway, Lorne is here.
“They informed my about what happened,” she says. “Do you want to talk?”
“Not really. I still haven’t put my thoughts in place.”
“There is something I want to show you. Come with me.”
They leave but not trough a secondary door on the basement of the palace. There is another car, a smaller caterpillar, and Lorne drives them in the city. They reach a small, green area on the suburb of the city, and she park outside. Blue flowers with three long petals surround a small path that lends to a small two-floor building.
It is the hospital of the city, a quadrangular structure with a porch in the middle. Lorne shows Keith, from the window of the first floor, a woman that play with a child. They sit down in the grass, they are both laughing, as the woman uses her tails to make the child fly.
“That woman… she’s the one that awaited the heart,” Lorne explains. “As I told you, the operation was a success.”
Keith places a hand on the window and smiles. “I’m glad. Thank you for showing me.”
She doesn’t reply, just smiles still at his next. Keith keeps his gaze on the woman for a while, then he moves to the other people. Despite being a hospital, there is a calm feeling inside, reassuring, in the way people come and go.
“Zhimirians are only women?” he asks.
Lorne bends his lips. “For simplicity when we come in contact with different alien species, we identify as female, but truly the best definition would be hermaphrodite. Our genitals aren’t inherently male or female.”
“Oh. Oh, I see.”
“You sound surprised.”
“It’s not… Just…” He smiles. “I have a friend. She’s half-galra half-zhimirian. She never spoke about it, and I understand the reason, but…”
“Well, we don’t have many records of half-zhimirians, but the ones we have shown they tend to tale the genitals of the person of the other species.”
“Okay, I think I’m done talking about my friend’s genitals. Or everyone’s genitals for that matter.”
He flushes, and she chuckles. “You asked first.”
“And I regret it.”
“Keith!”
He turns to the voice: Vixer is coming in his direction. He doesn’t manage to answer because he finds himself trapped in her hug. “Of course you’re safe. I’m glad.”
“Thanks,” he answers, embarrassed.
At Lorne’s gaze, she takes a step behind. “I saw the video. About the explosion. It was terrible…”
“It’s okay.”
“What are you going to do? We’ll bring back and show them it’s not easy to kill a Paladin of Voltron!”
“Doctor, please, it’s better do not talk about it,” Lorne intervenes.
“Of course, of course.” She nods. “I just want to know that I want to help, if I can.”
“You already help a lot of people,” Keith replies. His gaze is again on the woman and her child.
“Still…” she whispers. “I have work to do. I’m glad you’re safe, Keith.”
Once he leaves, Lorne sighs. “We informed both her and Merthred. They’re worried, you know.”
He nods. “Did they tell you everything about the call with the Galra cruisers?”
She frowns. “I think so?”
“The Captain was a half-galra.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.”
The Sincline Force claimed his assassination, but at this point Keith is convinced there is a large conspiracy inside Daibazaal. Their motives are still unknown to Keith, but he has the feeling they’re something more complicated than a new Garla Empire. He can’t trust anyone back then except, like, seven people. There is only one curse of action he can take.
“You know,” he starts. “There is one thing… It’s the last thing I want to do. To my friend, to my family…” To Shiro. “The last thing I want to do,” he repeats.
“But you’re going to do it nevertheless,” Lorna states.
“I don’t have other choices.” In the past, Keith already took decision that made him suffer the consequences for the sake of the people he loves. It hasn’t changed. “I just hope they’ll forgive me.”
Lorne understands. “You want to remain dead for now.”
“It’s the safest way to protect me and the others,” Keith explains. “They might be suspicious, but I guess they expect me to return as soon as possible. If I don’t, it’ll allow me to investigate better.”
“And they might get cocky, with the conviction of having been able to kill you.”
“Yes, this is what I hope.”
“But how do you think to move from now on?” Lorne asks. “You will need some assistance, at least to reach Daibazaal. And your face is recognizable…”
“Yes, I’ll need some help. The plan is still in the making. Since I’m stuck here until the galra cruisers will be far, I have some time to spare.”
Lorne takes his hand. “If I can, let me assist you again.”
***
“We’re here,” Lorne warns Keith.
He moves from the back of the cockpit and sits next to her. From the glass, he can see the enormous white form of the Atlas. Shiro is so near, yet so far… His heart clutches and he rubs the head of the cosmic cat in his lap.
The cosmic cat was a present for Merthret. It was found badly wounded in the space during one of their medical expedition. It’s heal now, but nobody is able to get near to it. It’s too aggressive. But Keith has already a cosmic wolf, a very unusual pet, so Merthet decided to give it a shot. Also, cosmic cats have physic powers, or so they say. They can’t read minds per se, but they can connect two minds together, allowing them to speak telepathically. It can be useful for Keith’s mission.
Keith opened the cage of the cosmic cat and let him roams freely, until it itself decides to befriended him, with Lorne’s disbelief. He called him Red, because, unlike Kosmo, Red sends him through his brain a feeling, something that tell him it likes the name. It remembers Keith of the Red Lion: it doesn’t have a fur, but is skin was bright red, with some bloody red streams on his back. It’s small, it can stay on Keith’s hand.
It doesn’t purr, but his presence reassured Keith.
Lorne sends a message to the Atlas and receives back the authorization. They park in the second hangar, the one reserved to the guest. Keith returns to the hold, hidden, while Lorne leaves the spaceship. Waiting is hard for Keith, especially in that place, but he won’t back up from the plan now.
Luckily for him, he gets a distraction. In his lap, Red hisses, and in a flash a small cosmic wolf appears in front of Keith. He blinks, because he is too small to be Kosmo, but once it jumps on him and starts licking his face, Keith recognizes him.
“It’s you! It’s really you!” he says, rubbing his fur. “How can you be so small now?”
Red growls lowly next to Keith’s ears. Kosmo turns its attention to Red: a bad move, because Red hisses again and rushes to hide in a corner.
“I need you to get along,” Keith murmurs slowly. “Please.”
In his mind, he can feel Red’s annoyance, but it lets Kosmo getting near and sniffing it. When Lorne returns a couple of Vargas later, they are playing together, with Kosmo that pop in and out the existence to let Red ambushing it. Keith diverges his attention for them and he goes to greet Lorne.
“No luck,” she says. “The Green Paladin is busy in an important matter and can’t receive me for now. They ask me to do a presentation with the other high-ups tomorrow, and I was invited at dinner tonight.”
“It’s okay. I have another way to enter,” he says, nodding a little with his head at Kosmo. “Just… When you’re at the dinner, sent me a message. Tell me if Pidge is attending or not.”
“Sure.” She nods. “I met the Black Paladin. I mean, Admiral Shirogane.”
Keith holds a breath. He doesn’t want to ask. “How is he?” he asks.
“He looks tired. Sad.”
“I see.” He lowers his head. A part of almost hopes Shiro is okay. He prefers a happy Shiro over a Shiro that misses him.
“We can stop, you know. You’re here, you’re probably safe here.”
“No.” Keith shakes his head. “Do it.”
“Okay.”
She doesn’t question him further. She goes at the dinner and, as promises, she sends him a message. Pidge isn’t there. Nothing really surprising, since Pidge has habit to lost herself in her work when she’s near some new important discover. Back at the Castle of Lions, they found her sleeping around, her laptop next to her.
So Keith knows very well where to find her, and probably alone. He takes Red in one hand and places the other on Kosmo’s head. “Let’s go to Pidge.”
Kosmo teleporters him in Pidge’s laboratory, the one reserved for her, but in the far corner of the room, in the dark, behind some metallic box. From that position, he can see the small figure of Pidge, sitting at her desk, five computer screen around her. They enlighten her with their blue light.
Keith presses lightly Red’s head. He places it on his head. Red’s light blue eyes glitter.
“I hope all the legend about the psychic powers are true,” he whispers. Then, he thinks, “Pidge.”
She looks around, then she returns to his computer.
“Pidge,” Keith tries again, putting more strength in his thought.
This time, Pidge stands up. “Who is it?” she asks, loudly.
“It’s Keith.”
“W-what?” she stumbles. “Matt? This isn’t funny.”
“Please, Pidge,” Keith pleads. “Turn off all the camera and I’ll explain it to you. Please.”
She doesn’t look convinced, but her curiosity gets the better of her. She still takes out her bayard – Voltron might be gone, but they still have their weapon – and then taps on one of the screen. “Done.”
Slowly, Keith advances in her direction. “I hope you don’t want to hit me with that,” he smiles, pointing at her electric weapon.
Pidge’s eyes bulges, her mouth opens, and she lets the bayard falling on the ground with a loud clack. A second later, she’s hugging him, her hands are all over him, groping every inch on him to make sure Keith’s in there, flesh and bones.
“I’m here, Pidge. I’m alive.”
She takes a step behind, tears in her eyes. “We should’ve known you survived… I’m so happy, Keith… We need to call Shiro immediately. And the others…!”
“No!” Keith grabs her hand. “You can’t tell anyone. This has to remain a secret between you and me.”
“Why?”
“It’s better this way. The people that wanted me dead… they have to believe I am.”
“But… But Shiro…”
“Do you think I’m happy?” he snarls. “This is the last thing I want to do. But…” He licks his lips. “If Shiro believes I’m dead, everyone else do too.”
Pidge melts back on her chair, her face deflated. She knows he’s right, and that she can’t change his mind. “How do you manage to sneak here in the first place?” she comments, and Keith appreciates the change of the argument.
He leans a hand and points at Kosmo. She snorts. “Of course. Nice dress, by the way.”
Keith still wears the large green tunic. “Zhimirans gave me a big help. You should definitely speak with Lorne when you have the time.”
“That explain how you get on Atlas,” she murmurs. “Why me?” she asks. In her voice, he can feel all the weight of the responsibility of being part of such a big secret. “Why are you telling me you’re alive?”
“I need your help.”
Pidge crosses her arms. “Just… let’s Shiro never find out about it, gotcha? What do you need?”
Keith takes places next to her. “I need a dispositive to disguise me as a pure blood galra. Then, I need an identity as a garla. And last, I need the list of the crew of the three galra cruisers that moved in the Zhimir’s solar system last week, names and everything.”
“What you have in mind?” Pidge looks at him, worried.
“Infiltrate in the Sincline Force and take them down from the inside.”
“It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I know.”
She sighs. “No problem for the names and the identity, but your disguise could be a problem. I guess I can create a full body suit that covers you entirely, and maybe, maybe, I can make it in a material that remembers fur, but it won’t be perfect. You should be careful to not let others touch you too much.”
“I don’t plan to,” Keith replies. “How many doboshes do you need?”
Pidge smirks at him. “Give me twelve vargas and you’re in.”
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