Disclaimer: If you recognize the character, it isn't mine. Just playing in Dreamworks' sandbox.

Notes: I'm on Twitter and Tumblr under Avidbeader. Come say hi!

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"I got something!"

Hunk leaned over Pidge's shoulder at her announcement. "Is it more Metreans?"

"Maybe. I'm trying the frequencies Luvixx gave us." Her fingers flew over her screen as she sent the same hail multiple times. "Lance, go get Varixian so he can talk to them if we get a signal."

"Me?" Lance tried to cover it up, but the squeak in his voice was definitely there.

Hunk cuffed Pidge lightly on the back of her head. "Be nice."

Pidge snickered and Lance sent a glare of death to Hunk. "You told them."

"Told them what? It was obvious at the negotiations table that you're terrified of spiders. I didn't have to say a word." Hunk laughed and left the bridge.

Pidge glanced at Allura while she waited to see if her hails got any response. The princess was at her station, but her eyes kept darting around tentatively, mainly in Shiro's direction. His posture was rigid rather than alert.

She checked on Keith, who showed a similar stiffness. But for Keith this was somewhat normal, especially if they were waiting around for something to happen.

And the events of the night before came back to her. They hadn't spoken to Allura yet about the fact that Zarkon had Shiro's bayard or that Zarkon had once been Black's paladin.

Easy, my cub. Let them approach when they are ready.

Pidge blew her bangs out of her face, keeping her eye on the channel. An indicator on her control panel beeped and she sat up. "Princess, they're responding!"

"Bring up a communications link." Allura straightened. A holoscreen appeared with a pair of Metreans, looking wary. "Greetings. I am Princess Allura, leader of the Voltron force. We have been searching for you and are ready to assist you in rejoining the other survivors from your world."

The Metrean on the right had pale streaks in his fur that Pidge now knew to be a sign of maturity. The one on the left was dressed in green, indicating a Metrean Representor. The representor drew breath to speak, but the elder interrupted him.

"Why should we trust you? I don't see the fabled Voltron anywhere, just your ship! How do we know you aren't in league with the Galra, hunting down the rest of us?"

Varixian's voice sounded from behind Pidge. "You know because I'm telling you, kinsman."

The Metreans glanced at one another and back to them in shock. The Representor recovered first. "Kinsman! You are with these people?"

Varixian moved to stand beside Allura, with Hunk beside him, and gestured at them both. "Yes. I am Artificer Varixian of Clan Ged. Thanks to Voltron, the largest refugee party with most of the Representors was protected when the Galra found our evacuation location. That entire group has been resettled on a planet called Arus, far enough away that the Galra are much less likely to be a problem. We have located and escorted two other refugee ships to Arus from this area; you were the last ones we had information on."

Allura stepped in before they could argue. "We can open a wormhole to Arus in just a few tics and reunite you with your fellow Metreans. All that is necessary is to fly through it."

The two looked at each other, then the Representor nodded. "Thank you, Princess. We accept."

"Very well. Ask your people to seat themselves. Teludav jumps are generally smooth, but a little turbulence is possible. Coran, set coordinates for Arus."

"Of course, Prin—" He was cut off as alarms began blaring.

"What is it?" Shiro's voice was sharp.

Coran brought up a tactical display. "Two Galra battleships just came out of hyperdrive! They're headed straight for us!"

Allura leapt to the castle's navigation columns. "Is there any way for us to bring the Metrean ship into a hangar?"

"It's too big," Hunk replied.

"Then we need to hold them off long enough to open the wormhole. Paladins, get to your lions!"

Pidge darted for her hangar.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Hunk was irritated. Really, really irritated.

Everything had been going according to plan. They had found the Metrean ship, Allura was ready to open a wormhole to get them to Arus where the rest of their people waited.

So of quiznacking course the Galra had to show up.

Hunk reached for Yellow, who growled and brought up their super-armor-claws the moment they were clear of the hangar. Hunk had barely shifted the controls forward when Yellow took off, straight for the nearest of the Galra ships. Fighter drones were spilling out of it, hundreds of them, and, as they flew forward to engage, Yellow plowed through them and rammed the ion cannon before a shield could appear to protect it.

"Whoa, boy! What's gotten into you?" He vaguely heard Shiro telling Pidge to back him up, but she would have to maneuver through the fighters first.

Strike first. Give no opportunities.

"Engines, then! Take out their propulsion!"

Yellow agreed and they whipped around to the rear of the ship, claws extended. As they shredded the turbines, digging through the hull, Lance's voice pierced his ears.

"What's happening? Why are all the fighters converging on Keith?"

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Shiro soared through the waves of fighters, heading for the second ship as Hunk attacked the first one. He fired repeatedly, swinging the energy beams in wide sweeps to take down as many fighters as he could.

"Pidge, go with Hunk and finish that ship. Keith, Lance, with me! Take out as many fighters as you can, but we need to bring down the big guns first!"

Ice beams appeared on his left side, immobilizing fighters. Shiro was already going for the shield on the remaining ship's ion cannon when he realized nothing was happening on his right side.

They are trying to separate us. Finish quickly.

At the same time, Lance yelled over the comms, "What's happening? Why are all the fighters converging on Keith?"

Shiro pulled around to look. Over fifty fighters were swarming after Red, who was holding them off by speed alone. And then he saw the second wave, preparing to flank him in open space and create a crossfire. "Keith!"

"I know! I got this!" Keith shouted back as he and Red spun like a hummingbird toward the second group of fighters, dodging fire as he drew closer. And at the very last second Red shot up and out of the way, leaving dozens of fighters crashing into one another and exploding in laser fire. But far too many of them pulled out in time and continued their pursuit, as more fighters poured out of the ship. Shiro glanced around, seeing that the Yellow Lion was turning the first ship's hull into shrapnel, and adjusted the plan.

"Lance, Pidge! Concentrate on the remaining ship, engines and weapons! I'm going to help Keith!"

The Red Lion had circled back and was beginning to weave through the wreckage of the destroyed fighters, slowing down his pursuers. "Shiro, we're okay! Get that second ion cannon down!" As if his words were prophecy, the ion cannon sent a blast against the Castle's particle barrier, shaking it and the Metrean transport huddled next to it.

"We don't have anything to take it down fast enough! We need Voltron!" Pidge objected.

"Yeah, that's not happening as long as all those fighters are after the Red Lion!" Lance shot back.

Shiro seized on an idea. "Wait, Keith! Your rail gun! Use it on the ion cannon! We'll cover you!"

"Yes, sir!" Keith and Red darted back, and the others moved to intercept the fighters.

Shiro sucked in a breath as a huge weapon appeared on Red's back in swirling blue light. Energy gathered in the prongs, building for a few seconds, then a pulsing beam leapt from it, racing through space toward the Galra ship.

It tore the ship in two, explosions spreading rapidly through the halves.

Hunk's voice dragged his attention back. "Guys! The fighters! They're not stopping!"

Shiro deployed Black's jawblades and began carving up any drones he could reach. His concern mounted when he realized that there were still hundreds of remaining fighters.

And they were ignoring all targets in favor of the Red Lion.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

"Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Keith could feel the sweat running down his face as he and Red continued to try and shake the flood of fighters. "What the hell are they doing?"

Red was growling in irritation. Unknown.

He tried the rail gun once, but it needed to build power before releasing and was too narrow a beam for the mobile targets. The flamethrower worked better for taking out multiple targets at a time, but he had to concentrate on evasion. He could hear the others trying to coordinate how best to cut down the numbers when a third ship, bigger than the other two, dropped out of hyperspace and began spewing out more drones.

Shiro cursed over the comms. "Keith, can you handle yourself long enough for us to take out that ship?"

Keith was steering Red through any open path they could find. It was getting impossibly crowded and the fighters were firing less and chasing more. Every dodge Keith and Red made would send two fighters into each other, only to have three take their place. And the only cover available was the remains of the other warships and fighters. If only there were a handy asteroid field…

"Keith! Come back to the castle!"

The others protested Allura's order, a cacophony of words echoing in his ears. Shiro cut across all of them. "Princess, what if we need Voltron?"

"Look at how they're attacking! Keith needs to bring Red inside the particle barrier! Then we can all concentrate our fire on the last ship and wormhole away from the fighters!"

Red was already turning up to where the castle-ship had positioned itself. Good plan.

"Go, Keith! Get to safety!" Shiro barked.

Keith snarled in frustration, but guided Red up. As they approached, the grid around the castle dropped, allowing them to close in. The second they were within range, the grid popped back up and dozens of fighters splashed against the barrier, cracking apart in fireballs. He and Red quickly took out the handful that had made it through with a few bursts of fire.

"We're in!"

"Stay with the Metreans," Allura ordered. "Coran, fire!"

Keith leaned forward to watch, just in case he needed to come back out, but reared back as more fighters exploded against the castle's shield. He realized that most of the fighters were still trying to reach him, instead of breaking off and attacking the other lions. What the hell?

They are programmed to sustain an attack against one target.

Okay, but why? Why us? That makes no sense at all!

I don't know, my cub.

Shiro's voice interrupted their thoughts. "All right, ship is down! Allura, get that wormhole open!"

"Ready! Everyone, when it opens, get through it as fast as possible! Keith, stay inside the barrier!"

"Yes, ma'am," Keith replied dryly. A circle of light formed and grew in front of them, expanding around a swirl of different-colored sky and stars. The other lions darted through, then the castle with Red and the Metreans close to it.

Keith became conscious of his rapid pulse and shallow breathing. The last time he'd gone through a wormhole without being on the ship's bridge, he and Red had been torn away from everyone else…

We are safe. This wormhole is secure.

Red's reassurance came just before they emerged, seeing the familiar topography of Arus. He still had to bring his gasps under control before he hyperventilated.

"Keith? Are you okay?" Shiro's voice was worried and Keith wondered if he'd been calling to him. Wreckage from the few fighters that had made it into the wormhole plummeted to the ground below.

"Yeah, yeah. We're okay."

"Everyone, rendezvous at the Metrean settlement." Allura's direction helped him focus, and Keith steered Red to join the other lions.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Lance emerged from the showers, scrubbing a towel over his head and luxuriating in the feel of different clothes. He was in his favorite surfer tee and a fresh pair of jeans, padding down the hall in his socks. Everyone had retrieved extra clothes when they had visited home after Keith's rescue and Lance, at least, was hugely grateful for them.

Pidge exited her room in front of him, and Lance blinked. He wasn't sure how long it would take him to get used to seeing her in different clothes, such as the flowy green blouse she was wearing over black jeans. He sped up to catch her.

"Where are you off to?"

"Didn't you hear the all-call? Shiro and the princess want a debrief. We're starting in the conference room near the bridge as soon as Coran and Hunk get back from the settlement."

"Didn't hear it. I was in the shower."

Pidge ignored him in favor of the Altean tablet she was carrying and they entered the meeting room. Shiro and Keith were already there, heads close together and Shiro's hand on Keith's shoulder as they talked in low voices. Lance sniffed, seeing them both still basically wearing the same clothes as always, though the shirt under Shiro's heavy vest was now black and Keith's T-shirt was a deep red.

Allura followed them in, holding her own tablet. "Coran and Hunk will be here in a few minutes. The Metreans have one more set of possibilities for us to try and track down."

Shiro sat back and nodded. "Same sector?"

"No, these are ships that left from their northern hemisphere. Their trajectories place them in the Gozniar quadrant."

"And what's that quadrant like?" Keith asked. "More deserted empty space?"

"No, actually. It's fairly well-populated and our search is likely to be faster if we stop and ask for information. There are a number of space ports that are nominally under Galra control, but are mostly left alone by the Empire to keep commercial interests running smoothly."

"That'll be a nice change," Lance commented.

Hunk and Coran entered, Hunk still wearing his armor. He dropped his helmet on the table and collapsed into a chair. "Wow, I never thought talking would be so exhausting!"

Allura smiled at him. "Leadership is an exhausting job. But we'll make a diplomat of you yet, Hunk."

Shiro leaned forward, signaling the start of the debrief. "All right, we need to talk about the battle today. The Galra have never fought like this before and we need to figure out why."

"They know our biggest weakness: capture one lion and we can't form Voltron." Lance felt particularly proud to point that out before anyone else could.

"Yeah, but why go after Keith? The best pilot in the fastest lion? Hunk would be a much easier target," Pidge argued.

"Hey!"

She shrugged. "Sorry, Hunk, but it's true. Those big ships didn't engage immediately; all they did was dump out wave after wave of fighters. And there were logistically enough fighters that they could have tried attacking all of us at once, keeping us separated and too busy defending ourselves to take out their ships. Instead it looked like they were all programmed to go after Keith like a tsunami. Even when we tried to run interference, they ignored us."

"Pidge is right." Shiro cast a worried glance at Keith. "Their entire battle plan seemed to be taking down the Red Lion. The question is, why?"

"Revenge?" Coran offered. "Keith was the one to attack Zarkon directly when we fought them before."

Keith snorted in disgust. "Not like I did any real damage to him."

Allura's expression hardened. "The fact that you attacked in the first place would be insult enough to him."

Lance huffed out a laugh. "Good going, mullet. You jumped the gun and now you have the personal attention of the biggest bad in the universe."

Shiro laid a hand on Keith's arm as Keith drew breath to respond. Keith glanced at him and sat back, crossing his arms and satisfying himself with a death-glare at Lance.

Lance made a mental note to avoid doing any training with Keith for a few days.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Haggar watched from her place by the throne as Zarkon loomed over his target. Commander Prorok was on one knee, head bowed. His second in command was behind him and to the side, almost across from Haggar herself.

"I grow tired of your string of failures, Prorok. You disobeyed orders at Balmera X-95-Vox and Voltron escaped you. You were in charge of the solar barrier when it was sabotaged, allowing their ship to flee. And now, you couldn't even accomplish so minor a task as to capture the Red Lion and its paladin after we gave you their location."

"Sire, we sent out hundreds of fighters, every last one we had! I don't understand how they could have evaded so many!"

"Because, you fool, the Red Paladin is proving to be a pilot of immeasurable talent and the entire Voltron team was there to support him," Haggar hissed, needing to insert her voice in the conversation in a way that would make sense to these military-minded simpletons. "The target is the paladin, not the lion. You must set up a situation where the paladins are not with the lions, then capture him. Be prepared—one of my druids faced him and reports that he is quite capable fighting hand-to-hand. The element of surprise will be paramount."

Prorok's expression hardened, affronted that a witch was dictating strategy to him. His second, however, looked thoughtful and Haggar paused to place the man's name. Anyone in the chain of command who would be receptive to her advice was worth cultivating.

Thace, she remembered. Lieutenant Thace.

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Thank you as always for reading!