Chapter 6

Keith had never been so grateful to be dry again. His clothes had been completely soaked by the time they returned. Luckily, Thace had found a spare set of pants and an under shirt from some old uniforms he could wear.

It felt a bit wrong to put on pieces of a Galra uniform, but he reminded himself it was only until his own clothes dry. Keith sighed as he finished drying his hair and sat on the chair in what he assumed to be some kind of mess hall.

He heard Thace approached and quietly watched him place a bowl of the same soup from the other day. Keith lowered the towel as he glanced to the bowl and the bandages on the Galran's arm.

"When did you have the time to make that?" he asked.

"It was already made before the power went out," Thace said.

"Oh," Keith said as he leaned on the table. "Um..how's your arm?"

"It will heal, and I've suffered worse," Thace replied as he fingered the bandage and his eyes narrowed. "On that note, I have something for you." He reached into his pouch and placed Keith's bayard on the table.

Without a second thought, Keith grabbed it and checked it over. Far as he could tell it was unbroken. "You're giving it back to me now?"

"I see no point on hiding it," Thace explained. "If you wish to run back into the woods, you might as well have the proper protection." He frowned. "You are a strong warrior, Keith, and it's good to keep your instincts sharp, but you need to think of the consequences of your actions more."

Keith sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know-"

"Zarkon would have killed you if the Black Paladin hadn't rescued you."

Keith froze and he glanced up to Thace in shock. "What...how do you know that?"

"Because I was there," Thace stated as he sat in the chair and folded his arms. "I saw the whole battle."

"You were there?" Keith said as he shook his head and sighed deeply to calm himself. No more rushing to conclusions. I need some actual answers here about this guy.

His gaze hardened and he looked up to Thace. "Look, I'll admit running off was not a smart idea, but you haven't exactly given me a good reason why I should trust you when I don't know anything about you."

He leaned forward and counted on his fingers. "You clearly don't want me hurt or to give me to Zarkon or you wouldn't have insisted I run when that darzol attacked, but now you tell me you were at Zarkon's main headquarters?" Keith took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes. "Thace, who are you?"

Thace was silent and slowly he leaned back in his chair. "You...have a valid point."

He raised his head up. "I don't mean to be so secretive, but I need to be careful because I can put many lives at risk." He folded his hands and stared into his lap. "Although, we did assume you paladins would discover us eventually."

"Us?" Keith asked confused.

Thace took a deep breathe. "I technically did work for Zarkon as a First Officer, but that was merely a cover so I could easily gain access to information and report it to my comrades."

"So, you were a double agent?" Keith asked. "For who?"

Thace shut his eyes, but opened them as he raised his head. "The Galra resistance."

Keith's eyes widened. "Resistance? As in freedom fighters?"

"Correct," Thace said with a nod. "Our goal is to one day rid the universe of Zarkon's tyranny and free planets from the Galra empire's control."

Keith rubbed his neck. "But I thought there weren't any freedom fighters, except for a few small groups."

Rolo had certainly made that clear when they asked him about it.

"We're not huge," Thace explained. "Truth is there are only a few cells of us scattered around, and we try to keep our presence as secret as possible."

Keith frowned. "I don't understand."

Thace rose from his chair as he started to pace. "We use to be much larger and more out in the open, but then Zarkon attempted to wipe us all out before you were born." He paused to look at Keith. "He currently believes he succeeded and that we're all dead."

"But you're not," Keith concluded.

"Correct, and that is our main advantage now," Thace said as he leaned back in the chair. "The few of us that survived regrouped and decided we would continue our work from the shadows."

"And do exactly what?" Keith said as he straightened his posture and was now more curious. The others would want to know this. They could have potential allies here.

"It varies," Thace said as he folded his arms. "Disrupt slave transports, warn planets of potential invasions, destroy weapon factories, try to assist prisoners to escape," he paused and narrowed his eyes, "including the champion."

"What?!" Keith said as he jumped to his feet. "Wait, wait, you mean you guys helped Shiro escaped?"

"Not directly," Thace replied, 'but one of my associates did make certain there 'just happened' to be a key in his cell and there was an escape pod waiting for him."

"So, Shiro didn't actually see you guys there?" Keith asked. Although since he has trouble remembering it probably doesn't matter.

"No, but that's often how we work," Thace said. "However, the day I saw you fight Zarkon was also the day I exposed myself and was forced to flee before they captured me."

"Exposed yourself?" Keith asked as he tilted his head. "Why?"

It had to have been for a big reason if he had worked undercover for so long.

Thace took a deep tired sigh. "Well, SOMEONE had to lower the barrier to ensure Zarkon didn't get Voltron."

Keith blinked in confusion. Barrier? What was he..wait.

Eyes widened as he recalled the group's confusion on why the barrier that had trapped them had conveniently disappeared just as they were scrambling to escape.

Keith's jaw dropped and he pointed at Thace. "THAT WAS YOU?!"

"Yes," Thace replied in a firm tone. "I had no time to plan or cover my tracks and I knew it would only be a manner of ticks before they realized it was me. So, I fled."

"And you chased after me?" Keith said as he scratched his head.

"No, actually," Thace continued as he raised a hand. "Truth be told, I came to this planet to hide. I couldn't risk leading them back to the resistance, and this planet has been used in the past by fellow rebels to hide from the Galra Empire since signals can't be traced here and vice versa."

"So, you were going to hide until you thought it was safe to return to the resistance?" Keith asked.

Thace nodded.

"And me being here-"

"Was a total coincidence," Thace explained and gave a small smirk. "Fate, has a weird sense of humor."

Keith ran a hand through his hair as his brain absorbed all of this information. "...Why didn't you just tell me all of this at the start?"

"I didn't want to expose my comrades anymore than I had to," Thace explained and looked to Keith. "Besides, would you have believed me even if I did?"

Keith opened and then shut his mouth. "No...probably not." He then rose. "With that said, you guys should be working Voltron. Together we could-"

"No, at least not yet," Thace said firmly. "We are not your enemy, but if we joined forces with you now we would risk exposing our whole operation. We probably will in time, but for the time being, it's better for us to help from the shadows."

Keith gave a slight pout. He didn't quite believe that. "No offense, but that just sounds like an excuse to me."

"Perhaps," Thace replied slowly, "but there is also the fact I sincerely doubt the Altean princess would be comfortable working aside the people that destroyed her homeworld or your leader for that matter."

Keith didn't admit it, but he had a point. He couldn't see Shiro jumping for joy at the thought of working alongside Galra or Pidge for that matter. Maybe Hunk and Lance would be more open, but Keith wasn't certain how Allura and Coran would react. He couldn't see them turning down this opportunity in the long run, but still, he couldn't blame them for being reluctant either.

Thace took a deep breath as he sat down. "That's enough questions for now." He gestured to the bowl. "I suggest you eat that before it gets cold."

Keith gave a pout, but decided he would drop the topic for now. He silently picked up the bowl and sipped at the soup broth. A nostalgic taste swept over his tastebuds and he froze to stare into the soup.

T..This tastes a lot like the soup Mom use to make when I was a kid, Keith thought.

"Something the matter?" Thace asked, concerned.

Keith glanced up and rubbed his neck. "Um...no, it's nothing," he mumbled. "It's...um...good."

Thace looked like he was tempted to pry further, but in the end kept quiet to eat his own bowl. Keith continued to sip at his soup, part of him wondering if he should ask exactly where Thace learned this recipe, and the other part arguing that Keith didn't want the answer.

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The next few days passed by quietly. Keith would rest when needed, but under Thace's watchful eye would train with his sword to keep his skills sharp. Thace had also offered assistance to help repair Red.

"I'm no mechanic, but I have some basic knowledge at least," he said.

Truthfully, his knowledge wasn't that much better than from Keith's, but they certainly got farther then Keith would have on his own. He was still a bit weary of letting Thace near Red, so he made certain to never leave him and Red alone together.

Still, he sensed Red seemed to be fine with Thace's presence and Keith knew Red wasn't the type to keep quiet if she sensed something was wrong.

Instead, Keith found himself wondering on various things that while seem trivial, were slowly bugging him the more he thought about it. How did Thace know things about Earth? Why did the guy give him thoughtful looks at times?

But what bothered Keith most was Thace's dagger. Why did it look so similar to the one that belonged to his father? It could have been a coincidence, but his gut told him it wasn't. Could there be some weird connection he was missing?

Keith found himself stealing glances at the thing whenever Thace took out the dagger to cut branches that were in their way. He should bring it up, but honestly, Keith wasn't sure if he wanted the answer.

He found himself pondering this problem as he sat on the bed. He lay his hand over his eyes and sighed.

Why am I worrying over some stupid dagger when I should be more concerned if Shiro and the others are all right!

It had been over a month now and truth be told, Keith felt guilty that he hadn't be able to get off the planet to search for them yet. Were they alright? Were they captured? Would he ever see them again?

Keith shut his eyes. He wished they were here. Without realizing it, they had become his strange new family and it killed him to think he might have lost them again just like his mother.

Maybe I just wasn't meant to have a family, Keith thought gloomily. Maybe I'm just meant to be alone for the rest of my life.

ROAR!

Keith jumped, hearing his lion roar loudly in his head. "Red?" he asked softly.

Another roar came, but more excited and encouraging like she was beckoning him to come see her.

Keith frowned, but got up and reached for his bayard. Doesn't sound like she's in trouble, he thought. But better go check on her.

He reached the hallway and almost crashed into Thace in the process.

"Keith?" Thace asked, looking concerned as he steadied the boy.

"Sorry," Keith replied hastily, "but Red just called me and wants to see me now. I need to check on her."

Thace frowned and nodded like he'd been expecting it. "Go on then," he said as he stepped out of the way. "But take care."

Keith tilted his head. "You're not coming?" he asked, slightly surprised.

"I need to make some repairs on my own ship," Thace replied, "and you've regained enough of your strength that you should be fine on your own."

"Oh, alright," Keith said as he started to weave around him. "I'll see you later then."

Keith went to walk, but stopped when Thace patted his shoulder.

"Stay safe," he said, "and I...hope to see you again soon."

Keith raised an eyebrow at the odd wording, but gave a shrug. "Okay, but I shouldn't be long. I'll be back in a bit."

Thace gave a nod and stayed where he was as Keith raced down the hallway. Keith turned to take one more glance before he found the door to leave the base and tried to ignore the feeling that it felt like he was saying goodbye for a lot longer than a few hours.

Keith dashed into the forest, and found the markings in the tree trunks Thace had made with his dagger to mark their trail. Just as he passed by the fifth tree, he heard movement and voices.

Keith went still as he swiftly morphed his bayard into his sword. He shut his eyes to concentrate.

Was it an animal? No, too noisy. Had to be a person. The noise was getting louder and Keith ducked behind the tree to hide.

Keith remain as still as a statue as the footsteps grew closer. Could it be Galra? If it was, it sounded like only one person, which meant Keith could take them down easily.

Crouching like a wild tiger, Keith waited until he was certain the intruder was just reaching the tree. Then, with his sword in hand, Keith pounced.

He let out a battle cry as he leaped and pinned the intruder. A surprise yell was given as the person fell flat on their back. Keith was ready to point the sword at their neck, except he forgot his plans as he saw the person's face.

"HUNK?!" Keith cried.

His friend shut his eyes as his covered his face with his hands. "Don't kill me! I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding-"

"Hunk, it's me!" Keith repeated as he dropped his sword.

Hunk removed his hands, blinked at him and within moments awoke from his stupor.

"KEITH?!" he cried joyfully and engulfed Keith into a tight bearhug as he rose. "Oh, man! We were so worried! When we found Red, we thought you had gotten captured or worse! But then I found those markings on those trees and thought, 'Hey, maybe Keith made those with his sword' and-"

"Hunk...need...air," Keith breathed.

"Oh...sorry, dude," Hunk said as he loosen his grip and instead replaced it by wrapping his arm around his shoulder. "I'm just so relieved we found you."

Keith gave a soft smile. "Me too, Big Guy."

"HUNK! Where are you?!" Lance's cry echoed. "I know I heard you scream"

"Over here!" Hunk yelled with a hand over his mouth. "I FOUND KEITH!"

Pidge was the first to emerge from the bushes and her eyes widened. "Keith! We finally found you!"

Delighted, she raced over and joined in on the hugging. Before Keith had a moment to take it in, Lance appeared, saw Keith and shrugged.

"Ha! See, I told you guys were worried over nothing," Lance said as he approached with a smirk. "There's no way Keith would have died because of one crash.

"You told us?" Pidge said with smirk. "Yeah, right, you were just as worried."

"I was so not!" Lance replied firmly as he crossed his arms.

"Oh, drop the cool act and get in on this hug," Hunk said as he dragged Lance in and before Keith knew it he was in the centre of the biggest group hug he ever experienced.

Keith looked awkwardly at Lance. "You...really weren't worried about me?"

Lance opened and shut his mouth as he adjusted his helmet. "Well…," he said with a slight blush on his cheeks. "Maybe I was a little worried."

"Guys!" Shiro's voice called out. "Where are you-"

"Over here!" Hunk called. "We found Keith!"

Within seconds, Shiro appeared and relief washed over his face as he sat them. Without a word being said, the group broke up the hug and to let in Shiro.

"Keith, are you hurt?" he asked as he placed his hands on Keith's shoulders. "We saw Red had some damage to her-"

"No, I'm okay," Keith replied and smiled as he looked all of them over. They were all okay, safe and alive. "And it's really good to see you all."

Shiro let out a deep breath and gave Keith a hug. "Good to see you to, Buddy."

Lance looked unconvinced and poked at Keith's arm. "Um...if you're really not hurt then why do you have those bandages on your arm?"

Keith blinked as Shiro released him and raised his bandage arm. "Oh, I nearly forgot about this."

"How do you nearly forget about an injury?" Pidge asked.

"It's Keith," Shiro replied with a laugh. "Trust me on this, it's possible."

Keith smiled. It felt so good to be with the others..no, his family again. He didn't have to go searching for them, they went looking for him.

He then frowned. "Wait, how did you guys manage to find me? This planet isn't able to receive or send signals."

"We know," Shiro explained, "and it's a long story." He wrapped an arm around Keith's shoulders. "One I think is better explained once we're back in the castle and we have Coran check over you to make certain."

Keith almost let Shiro steered him, but he stopped himself. "Wait, I should tell Thace what's going on first."

The group exchanged baffled expressions.

"Thace?" Pidge asked. "Is there someone else on this planet? Coran and Allura seemed certain there was nothing but wild life here."

Keith chewed his bottom lip. "Well...um…" He rubbed his neck. "He's kind of...a Galra that's been helping me the last month."

SIlence fell upon the group, until finally Lance coughed. "Okay, my ears must be clogged or something because I thought you just said a GALRA has been helping you?"

"If your ears are clogged then mine are too," Hunk replied earnestly.

"No, no you heard, right," Keith confirmed.

"WHAT?!" Pidge, Lance and Hunk exclaimed in unison.

"Guys, calm down," Shiro replied, but kept a concerned frown. "Keith, where is this Thace?"

"At this old base I'll show you," Keith replied as he lead the way. "I think it's better if I just have you meet him."

"Or we could not meet him and just get to our lions to fly back to the castle."

"Lance," Shiro said in his no nonsense tone.

"What?! I'm just saying it's an option!"

Keith gave a laugh. He never thought he be so happy to hear all of this again.

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Shiro sighed as he came back out into the hall. "Okay, I finished checking the west half, but I didn't see any sign of anybody. How about you guys?"

"I looked around the base, and didn't find anything," Lance said as he leaned against the wall. "I'm starting to wonder if this 'Thace' was just Keith's imaginary friend."

Keith growled. "He wasn't imaginary." He shook his head and sighed. "I don't get it, he was here when I left."

"I finished checking the mess hall," Hunk said as he entered. "And while I didn't find this Thace guy, I did find this dried meat that actually looks really tasty."

"Thace made those," Keith said and ran a hand through his hair. "Look..I'm not crazy."

"No one said you were, Buddy," Shiro said as he placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "But maybe he left when you went to check on Red."

"Yeah, but why?" Keith replied.

"Because he heard us coming and was afraid of us badass Paladins," Lance declared as he flexed his muscles.

Keith frowned and folded his arms. "Actually, you might be right." Did Thace realize the rest of the Paladins were coming and decided he better leave?

"Keith."

All heads turned around as Pidge approached them and held out a piece of folded paper. "I found this on a bed and it has your name on it."

Keith took the paper and unfolded it to read it aloud.

"Keith, I'm sorry for vanishing, but when I saw the lions flying in the sky I thought it was best I leave since I knew you would be in good hands. I'm going to return to my comrades and hopefully we will met again soon, Thace."

Keith rubbed his eyes. That explained the weird goodbye Thace gave right before he left. He knew the others were here before Keith did himself.

"Um..is anyone else wondering how this guy knew how to write in English?" Hunk asked as he glanced over Keith's shoulder.

"Hunk, that's the least of it," Keith grumbled.

"Alright, I'm really confused here," Lance stated as he threw up his arms in the air. "Who exactly is Thace?"

Keith took a deep breath. "Yeah..I also got a long story for you guys." His gaze locked onto Shiro's. "And you're not going to believe what I have to tell you."

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"Hmm….well, I will say this," Coran said as he finished checking Keith's arm, "You certainly healed well without a healing pod." He finished bandaging his arm. "At this point, I think the healing pod would be overdoing it. Best to just let your body heal naturally."

"That's a relief," Keith said. He never really did like going into the healing pods. It always creeped him out how lifeless people looked while they were inside it.

"I'm so relieved that you're alright, Keith," Allura said as she patted his shoulder and looked to the others. "I'm relieved that you all are. It took us awhile, but we finally managed to find you all and be reunited."

"Yeah, and I for one am so not up for being split up like that again," Hunk said as he raised his hand.

"Yes, great, fantastic, we all agree on that," Lance said as he paced the floor. "Can we PLEASE get back to the topic that there's apparently a Galra resistance?!"

Keith shrugged as he leaned back against his chair. "I've told you guys all that I know." He counted off his fingers. "That's Thace was the one to lower the barrier for us to escape and that there are a few rebel cells with Galra resistance fighters."

"It is rather amazing," Coran said as he grasped his chin. "To think a bit of the resistance was working right under Zarkon's nose the whole time. I imagine he was quite angry when he found out."

"Angry is probably an understatement," Allura said and frowned as she looked to Keith. "But Thace didn't tell you how to locate them?"

Keith shook his head. "Frankly, it was a miracle I got him to tell me that much. According to Thace, they work against Zarkon from the shadows unseen." Keith looked over to Shiro. "He even said they gave a hand for you to escape."

"What?" Shiro replied softly. He had been mostly quiet as Keith repeated what Thace had told him.

Shiro frowned as he shut his eyes in thought. "Wait...now that you mention it, I..there was a day I was returned to my cell and I found a key to open it laying on the floor." He ran a hand through his hair. "I just assumed a guard was careless and dropped it."

His frowned deepened. "And...I did find ship already for take off when I broke out of my cell." He glanced back up, his face looking a bit shaken. "I just figured it was dumb luck, so I didn't think too much on why it was there...I was just so happy to get out of there."

Hunk gave Shiro's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Dude, honestly, I don't think anyone of use would have questioned it if we were in your shoes."

"Question is though," Allura said in a serious tone. "What do we do now?"

"Isn't it obvious?!" Lance exclaimed. "I mean, come on, a Galra resistance? This is classic Star Wars here. We can totally team up with them and have some actual backup!"

"Star..what?" Allura asked.

"Classic movie, lots of ships, lazer swords and join the dark side deals," Hunk explained. "We'll give you the details later."

Keith coughed into his hand. "Well..thing is, they don't want to team up with us, at least not yet." He folded his hands into his pockets. "Thace made it clear they're trying to remain unknown so Zarkon doesn't find out about them. They're afraid if they partner up with us, that will expose them."

Coran twirled his mustache thoughtfully. "Can't say I blame them for that, especially since you said Zarkon had attempted to wipe them out before. Frankly, it's incredible Zarkon hasn't found out their current existence already."

"But these people could have vital information," Pidge replied as she rose. "We should seek them out."

"No argument on that here," Shiro said, softly, "but we don't know a lot about them and I think for now we need to respect their request and leave them be." He held up a finger as Pidge gave a disgruntled pout. "At least for now."

Lance huffed and sat with a plop on the seat. "Okay, fine, but I bet we could find them if we really wanted to."

Keith looked to Lance as he leaned forward. "Speaking of finding, where exactly were you all?"

"All over the place," Allura said. "Coran and I found the castle was in the middle of the Katerra System."

"Yes, but thankfully we were able to use the castle to locate the lions' by locking onto their quintessence," Coran explained. "It took us awhile, but we just found each of you one by one."

Hunk raised his hand. "Yeah, so we just did what Shiro said and stayed put. Thankfully, Lance and I ended up on the same planet."

"We actually landed on this beach, which was rather awesome," Lance explained and frowned, "even though it was weird that the water was purple."

"On that note," Hunk said with a grin, "I did gather up some alien seafood and I should be able to make us something similar to clam chowder and fish tacos."

"Okay," Keith said slowly. "So, who did you get after Lance and Hunk?"

Pidge suddenly scowled and slumped. "It was me and I don't want to talk about it."

Allura offered a comforting smile. "Oh, Pidge, it's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"Even though it was hilarious," Lance replied.

"Lance!"

"What it was?"

Keith raised an eyebrow and looked to the others for an explanation, and finally Coran caved.

"Well, it would appear Pidge landed on a planet that hasn't achieve space travelled yet," he explained like it was an everyday fact. "Thus, when Pidge arrived in her Green Lion they instantly believed to her to be a Goddess of some kind."

"Oh," Keith replied and looked to Pidge who was still scowling and not making eye contact. "What was so bad about that?"

Pidge sighed. "Nothing, it was kind of fun actually." Her eyebrow twitched. "Until they expected me to marry a tree."

Keith blinked. "What?"

Hunk snickered. "Yeah, apparently they believed the king of all spirits lives in this giant tree, which Lance and I have named 'Bob'." He giggled as he ignored the glared Pidge was giving. "Thus when we found Pidge she was actually getting ready to just make a run for it."

"So, sad," Lance said as he wiped away a fake tear. "I'm sure you two would have made a lovely couple."

"Can it, Lance," Pidge retorted.

"The wedding dress they made for you was quite beautiful," Allura admitted.

"I thought you were on my side here!" Pidge exclaimed.

"I am, but you would have looked so pretty," Allura said with a slight pout.

Keith fought back a smile as he looked to Shiro. "What about you?" He frowned. "I know you came out of the same wormhole." His fists tightened. "And it killed me I couldn't get to you."

"I know, me too," Shiro said with half smile. "I landed on this ice planet that wasn't too far from Ceinus, that's how we guess where you were when we couldn't pick up your signal."

Process of elimination? Yeah that makes sense. Then a thought occurred to him. "Wait, an ice planet? How did you survive that long without freezing?"

"I was lucky," Shiro said with a wistful grin. "I got taken in by this old healer woman, who also fixed my wound for me." Shiro touched his side where Keith had been told he'd been wounded. "She was a bit eccentric, but she was actually a nice lady."

"Not to mention she gave us a whole box of sweets that we swear taste just like ginger snaps!" Lance said with a grin.

"Yeah, you got to try one, Keith," Hunk said. "They're the first thing we found in space that even taste something like a cookie."

"I'm betting it doesn't have the same nutritional benefits as my cooking though," Coran muttered.

Allura sighed as she rose and clapped her hands. "Well, it's been a long day for all of us, so before we even decide our next move we should all get some rest."

"Sounds good to me," Hunk said as he rose and rotated his shoulder. "I want to see what I can whip up from that dried meat Thace left behind."

"I'm up for food," Lance said as he rose and Pidge followed. "Maybe I'll just snag another one of those cookies while you cook-"

"Lance I forbid you to fill up on sweets before you had a proper meal," Coran said as he trailed after them. "That's the start of the bad habit right there."

Allura laughed as she went after them. "I could make us some tea."

"Princess, you're not helping!"

Shiro laughed and looked ready to follow, but paused mid-step as he looked to Keith. "You coming?"

Keith glanced up and leaned back to tuck his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Man, it felt good to have it back. "Yeah..in a bit, just thinking."

Shiro frowned and walked over to take the seat next to him. "I know that look, what's on your mind?"

Keith sighed and slouched forward. "I just can't stop thinking about Thace." He turned to look at Shiro. "I really don't think he's evil or anything, but there's a lot I don't get about him."

"Like what?" Shiro asked.

Keith rubbed his neck. "He seemed to know a lot about Earth, Shiro, like stuff you would only know if you've actually been there."

Shiro grasped his chin. "Is it possible he visited there? The Blue Lion was on Earth, maybe he was sent there to find it."

"Maybe, but...there's something else," Keith said as he reached back for his dagger. It was the first thing Keith went to get as soon as he had gotten back to the castle. "I..told you this dagger belonged to my dad, right?"

"Yes," Shiro said, slowly. "What about it?"

Keith sighed, not certain what he was trying to get at. "Thace has a dagger that looks scarily similar to it." He raised his head, his bangs almost covering his eyes. "That's..strange, right?"

"It's a bit strange," Shiro said, thoughtfully. "It's probably just a coincidence though." he gave a shrug. "Or maybe somehow a Galra soldier dropped it while on Earth and your dad picked it up."

Keith looked to his dagger, chewing his bottom lip. "I guess that would make sense."

Shiro gave a smile and ruffled Keith's hair, just like he use to do when Keith was stressed when he was younger. "Let's not worry about it for now. We got the team back together, so I think we deserve a little celebration. Don't you think?"

Keith gave a genuine smile. "Yeah...I got to admit, I missed you," he turned to Shiro. "All of you, even Lance if you can believe it."

Shiro gave a small laugh and tugged Keith by his arm. "Come on, let's go join the others."

Keith nodded as he put his dagger away, but could still feel the questions regarding it to the back of his mind.

Whenever I see Thace again, Keith thought. I got some questions for him.

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Elsewhere in the universe, Thace landed his small ship near the base of a mountain on the planet Albea. So far, this planet had proven to be the best location for Leah's rebel cell and had remarkably spent the last decade here. The planet was mostly made of rocks, with only underground rivers and some wildlife they could use for resources. Others may have described the planet as a giant mound of dirt, but to Thace it was his haven.

"Home sweet home," he muttered as he collected his gear from the ship and ensured it was shielded by the rocks so it was hidden from passing ships.

He weaved his way through the rocks and spotted one of the dozen caves that lead inside the mountain. He felt relief as he stepped inside, but it swiftly vanished as the tip of a blaster came into his view.

"Y-You stay right there!" a young Galran male exclaimed as he pointed the weapon directly at him.

Thace took a deep breath and remained still as he took a good look at the boy whose hands were shaking. He didn't recognize him. The kid was probably barely older than Keith. Must been a new recruit since Thace was last here.

Not good, especially with Thace still wearing his officer's uniform.

Thace dropped his gear and raised his hands up. "Easy, Boy, I come in peace."

"I'm suppose to believe that?!" the boy scoffed. "I..I'm not going to let you pass."

"PUT THE GUN DOWN, DAIEN!"

A larger and older Galra grabbed the hilt of the blaster and shoved it to the ground. "Quiznak, didn't I tell you to wait for me?! Don't be so trigger happy!"

The boy blinked in confusion and pointed to Thace. "But he-"

"Is one of us!" the older man exclaimed as he tugged on his beard. "So, just relax, okay, Daien?"

Thace let out the air he'd been holding here. "Thanks, Ford, it's good to see you."

Ford shook his head as he rubbed his eyes with his cybernetic arm. "I'm getting too old for these shenanigans."

Thace chuckled, knowing he'd been saying that since Thace had been a young teenager. Same old Ford.

Daien looked between Thace and Ford, uncertain wait to do. "So...uh…"

Ford sighed. "Run ahead and tell Leah that Thace has arrived. She'll know what it means, Junior."

Daien gave a shaky nodded and looked to Thace. "Um..sorry for almost...shooting you." He gave a shaky wave before turning on his heels and running back into the cave.

"Junior?" Thace asked as he gave Ford a quizzed look. "Since when do you have kids?"

"I don't," Ford scoffed. "He's just a kid Maya brought back with her from the last mission at the labor camp she was gathering intel on." His face hardened. "Believe it or not, that kid let a whole group of prisoners escape."

"Really?" Thace said in a surprised tone. The kid looked the type that would get nervous for even considering it.

"Yeah, he's braver than he looks, although he makes a better mechanic than fighter. So, I've been taking him under my wing." He then paused and approached Thace. "Never mind that though, you sure took your sweet time getting here. I know you had to lay low because of the whole Voltron mess, but Leah and I were starting to believe you got killed or worse."

Thace sighed as he touched the dagger hanging of his hip. "I got..delayed."

Ford raised an eyebrow and ran a hand through his beard. "Yeah? Does it have anything to do with the LAST time you got delayed?"

Thace winced slightly and shut his eyes. "I know you're joking, but in truth it is directly related."

Ford's gaze hardened. "Right, okay, then I'm guessing we better get Leah before you tell me anymore." He turned around to lead the way for Thace. "And I'm assuming you need a hard drink."

"More than you could know, Ford," Thace said as he fingered his dagger as Keith ran through his mind. "More than you could know.


Author's Note: So, yes this is the last chapter for this story, BUT this is not the last story. I got at least a part 2 and 3 planned out for this plotline. I'm currently working on part 2 and I'm hoping I can at least start posting it before season 2 begins in January in which this whole plotline will be considered an AU.

With that said, next week I plan to post a start posting a story which is explaining what the others were doing in more detail while Keith was stranded with Thace. So, keep an eye out for that.

Thanks to everyone for reading!