A/N: So, if all goes well, I will be posting a new chapter every Saturday. This takes place between episodes, Stayin' Alive and Best Laid Plans. (Slav's little explosion did a fair amount of damage that needed to be fixed.) I'm going to try to stay as canon as I can, so please let me know if you notice something inconsistent with the show. If possible, include a reference episode. Contains spoilers for seasons one and two, and spoilers as characters and places from seasons three and four make appearances or are mentioned.

"Now?" Keith asked, drumming his fingers on Red's controls.

On his visor, Keith could see a rectangular pop-up showing Pidge, seated in Green. She was tapping away at a holographic screen in front of her, but paused to roll her eyes.

"No, Keith, I'll tell you when it's time," Pidge said. Under her breath, she muttered, "And I thought Lance was impatient."

Keith scowled and turned his attention to a section of Red's control panel, where a scanner showed all objects nearby.

There was a pair of large circles on the screen, signifying planets, and a cluster of smaller, purple dots that were Galra ships. A speck of red in the center showed where Red was hidden on the far side of one of the planets. The other planet was home to the Olkari, who was currently under the protection of Voltron.

A pop-up showing Hunk popped up in Keith's visor. "This is the third patrol in two days. Do you think the Galra are suspicious yet?"

Shiro appeared next. "If they suspected anything, the Olkari would be back under their control. The Galra pass through here a lot, anyway."

And, finally, Lance. Keith's visor was getting crowded.

"Just act like you don't see them," Lance said, as if he were an expert, though he had only played decoy for Voltron once. "And don't go too fast."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Keith said, not bothering to hide his annoyance. "No problem."

"Oh, and Keith?" Lance smirked. "Don't mess it up."

Keith scowled, but before he could respond, Pidge yelled.

"Keith, go now!"

The other paladins disappeared from view as Keith gripped Red's controls. Now things would get interesting.

Keith flew Red out from behind the planet, pretending to not see the Galra patrols that were barely in sight. He flew just slow enough to make it seem like he just happened to be passing through, which turned out to be harder than he thought it would. It took a lot of self-control to not turn around and take on the ships himself.

Pidge re-appeared on Keith's visor. "They've spotted you. Wait as long as you can, then take off. The rest of us are waiting."

"Got it."

Keith kept an eye on the scanner, watching the purple dots get closer and closer. A shudder went through Red.

"I know, I don't like this, either," Keith said. "But we have to get them further away from the Olkari."

The plan was, to prevent the Galra from finding out the Olkari were currently free from their control, to redirect any Galra patrols away from the planet with a decoy lion, then battling the Galra far enough away from the planet to avoid suspicion. The plan had been working so far, but every day that the Olkari continued work on the giant teleduv Voltron would use to defeat Zarkon's army increased the risk of notice.

The ships were almost on them. Red roared, and Keith jerked the controls to the right, just in time to avoid the Galra tractor beam.

"Okay, let's go!" Keith exclaimed, slamming on the thrusters.

Red shot forward. The Galra ships increased speed, just as Keith knew they would, to follow.

Keith smiled. Everything was going according to plan.