Work Text:
‘One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet.’
BBC NEWS - WORLD EVENTS
GSA ANNOUNCES CASTLE OF LIONS WILL TEMPORARILY RETURN TO SPACE.
Following an announcement from the Global Space Agency, the Altean spacecraft which landed at Fort Garrit, USA, on Christmas Eve past will be returning to space.
‘This decision,’ accordingly to Princess Allura, ‘is to extend and introduce not just Earth to farther star systems, but to also help extend the hospitality and kindness you have shown me to other races. It has been made in accordance and agreement with Earths space programme.’
On the trip itself, to a planet known as Olkarion, the Altean ship will also play host to Commander Iverson of the Galaxy Garrison high command, as well as Dr. Coleen Holt, and several other human representatives from the science division, who will record live footage of the mission for the public domain
All Paladins with the exception of Shirogane Takeshi (former pilot of the Hades shuttle), who has chosen to retire permanently from space travel along with Commander Samuel Holt, will be joining them for the trip.
Olkarion itself, according to Matthew Holt (former Junior Science and Communications Officer of the Hades for the fateful Kerberos Mission), is a technologically and biologically advanced planet inhabited by a semi-humanoid race known as the Olkari.
Lead by their Queen, Ryner, Olkarion is approximately 1,800 billion miles from Pluto, in a galaxy known as the Phaeron Belt…
Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt @ QueenOfGreen
Italian Trends
#TeamVoltron
#CastleOfLions
#KeepingUpWithKeith
#PrincessAllura
#HunkTheHunk
#KerberosMission
#HoltFamily
#GlobalSpaceAgency
#CoranTheGoregeousMan
#ShiroganeTakeshi
#Olkarion
Shirogane Takeshi @ BlackCat-Hades
[Image inset of a mug of tea and melon bread beside an Xbox controller]
Good luck to everyone on #TeamVoltron for the journey to #Olkarion! Going off-planet is always daunting, and will have its own new challenges, but I know you’ll all make earth proud! To the scientists and diplomats joining them, I can only say it will be everything and nothing like you imagine. #GladI’mRetired #CastleOfLions #BlackLion #RedLion #YellowLion #GreenLion #BlueLion In the meantime, I’m catching up on #TeamSonic with Jii-chan.
+9,089 comments Like Retweet
What originally started out as simply Katie’s mother accompanying them into space so that she could see a doctor who actually understood Keith’s biology soon grew arms and legs.
While Coran couldn’t do much with alien reproduction and pregnancy management - that part of the human body baffled him to no end - he had managed to synthesise a light sedative for Katie with the help of the earth doctors and scientists who had been chosen to accompany them, including her beady-eyed mother.
Keith figured Collen didn’t trust Iverson not to use her daughter as a science experiment by accident. He understood her mother’s concerns, but assured her Iverson was just as invested in her grandchild. It was the closest he would ever get to one of his own after all. He’d actually hugged Keith when he explained the reason for the sudden field trip, once he picked his jaw up from the floor.
After that he’d been more or less silent on the matter, but his determination and arguments with the top brass at the GAC spoke volumes to Keith. He was, in his own grumpy and Iverson way, just as excited as Colleen and the commander were.
In any case, Coran, video-conferencing Blade members, and the other doctors managed to make a sedative that at the very least helped his wife sleep.
As such, the hubbub in the halls of the castleship did little to disturb her, and they managed to avoid the consequences which had followed the first disastrous wormhole jump. Allura made sure to keep the ship on an even speed so as not to disturb her, despite one of the mechanics eager hints at seeing the energy generators working at full speed.
It was strange, being on the ship with so many people, and Keith was somewhat grateful that he was more concerned about his wife, and the fact that she had been able to keep down a bit of food goo the previous day. It meant he could get away from all the hubbub.
Hunk and Lance didn’t seem to be having as many problems, though he had seen hunk glowering at one of the nutritionists that had taken up residence in the kitchen, and Lance seemed to be spending more time in Blue with his partner Luis, so maybe he wasn’t the only one who was feeling like his territory had been invaded by… aliens.
It had its upsides though.
This time they had packed properly, and they had been able to bring some things along to make the ship feel a bit more like home. Hunk had been dancing along the hallway with music blaring from the cans on his head, and Lance had bursting at the seams with smiles as he showed Luis around the ship, and set about trying to convince Allura to make a twitter account.
He and Katie didn’t have much, things to make her comfortable as possible had been his main priority, but there were a couple of things. Books from the holt family collection, and a few of the photos from the ship now hung above their bed, condensed into one frame, including the sparing pictures of his parents.
The best thing was still being in signal range though. Following the first landing, a transmission network and rapidly been built between earth and the castleship using some of Katie’s drafts schematics, and this time, they had not lost all contact with earth.
Lance’s siblings made periodic calls, as did Hunk’s parents, and Matt called daily to check in on his sister and share the latest antics of the Mazzantis in America. Vicenzo even jumped on sometimes to talk to Keith too.
At that moment however, he wasn’t talking Katie’s grandfather, but Shiro.
They hadn’t really announced it, or talked about it, but once retuning home Shiro had retired from space travel for good, with much more finality than any of his younger team-mates. No-one blamed him in the slightest.
‘Well, I think it sounds good, just clean up that last paragraph. Your talking to kids remember, not a roomful of old grouch dignitaries. You reach Olkarion tomorrow then?’ Shiro asked over the voice comms. They were too far away from earth to have a video call, but at least he could talk to his friend. Keith was lying on his bed, communicator in his ear, and his wife slumped across his front.
The original call had been for some help with a speech for a Garrison talk they would all have to attend, yet another reason they were heading a cross the universe; Katie had been incredibly keen on being invited back to the garrison as a guest speaker, but she would only be showing up if she could keep her stomach contents down.
In response to the question, Keith nodded out of habit. “We could probably get there now, but Coran wanted to make sure Pidge comes around from her sleep meds,” Keith explained. “And that they clear her system before we see Ryner. He’s already sent her the information on them, but better to be safe than sorry.”
He glanced down at his wife, mostly the bags under her eyes and slightly more distinctive profusion of her collarbones than usual. Katie had never had large bone structure, or held onto much weight, but she was notably skinnier, and he didn’t like it.
Coran had been wary of giving her anything, as had some of the doctors from earth, but after getting into orbit and taking a wormhole jump to a halfway galaxy point between earth and Olkarion, it had been obvious that Katie couldn’t handle the effects.
The sedatives weren’t strong, they barely helped, but they made the sensation of constantly moving despite the ships internal gravity more bearable for her. She couldn’t sleep for long without him, but combined with the weird nests Kolivan had given him several lectures on, they helped her rest.
Shiro must have noticed him drifting his thoughts, because his next question caught Keith off guard.
‘I know it’s probably hard to think about right now, you’re both worried and I can’t blame you, but…’ Keith waited as Shiro paused, choosing his words. ‘…are you excited? All the fanfare aside, all the Galra stuff, this is your first prenatal check-up.’
Keith could almost hear the smile in Shiro’s voice, and it brought a hesitant one to his own lips. Carefully, the fingers of the hand slung arrowing Katie’s waist where she had curled up against him brushed over her abdomen.
“We… I think so. A little. I think it’s just hoping more than anything right now,” he admitted, pulling his fingers back and adjusting Katie’s fluffy periodic table blanket as she shifted, sounding as though her stomach was about to betray her again. “I’d better go. I think Pidge is waking up, and it must be late in Japan right now - you have your therapy appointment tomorrow don’t you?”
‘Yes,’ Shiro nodded. ‘My grandmother is going to go along again. She and Grandad told me to pass on their best to you both; they were really surprised when I explained it, but they were excited to hear your news.’ He added.
Keith chuckled, and after a few words of goodbye, the signal disconnected. Looking down again, he met his wife haggard eyes, and recognising the look, reached for the waste bucket at the side of the bed. Katie grabbed for it with her hands, her body lurching upwards with the movement before the familiar retching began.
Keith sat up with her, helping her to sit up with one arm, and holding the bucket steady while her hands shook. He could feel the roping tense coiling of her intercostal muscles against him such was its strength.
About the only good thing about Katie being able to process food goo was that at least she didn’t sound like she was ripping her stomach to shreds any more. There was a bit more substance to what she was bringing up, so he hoped that meant there wasn’t any worry for her stomach lining.
The downside was that it was much more obvious that something was distinctly wrong - it wasn’t just his wife spit that had turned purple.
Once she was done, Katie flopped back against him, slow, small breaths to rest her overstretch and tired muscles. Replacing the bucket on the floor, he reached for a water packet instead.
“how’s Shiro?” She asked, voice a bit raspy even after a couple of mouthfuls.
“good, his grandparents send their congratulations,” Keith reported, settling back down into the bed as she moved back for cuddles. “his therapy sessions have been going well I think. He said he’s been sleeping better.”
“hmm,” Katie acknowledged, waiting until he had settled and dug one of the books they’d brought from homeroom the bedside table before shifting closer again. “I heard that part. What were you talking about before that?” She asked, voice drooping already.
Keith paused, wondering if it was the right time to mention it. “he just wanted to know if we were excited,” he decided finally. “all add-one elements aside, he’s got a point; it is our first prenatal.”
Katie cracked a sleepy eye open. “huh, I hadn’t really considered that much. I mean I know in the back of my head but…’
“Not easy to focus on?”
“Not really.”
“I thought that at first too.” He admitted.
“but?” His wife prodded, curiosity bringing her some energy.
Keith kissed her cheek. “I kind of thought about all those conversation we had,” he said, leaning in a little. “we never really expected it to come true, now look at us. It’s terrifying, and I stand by what I said, if this is going to hurt you, but… we’re having a baby. That’s more mind-boggling and amazing than the first time we formed Voltron” he said, his voice quiet with awe at his own admission.
Katie smiled, only a small curl of her lips, but it was soft, and despite the obvious exhaustion and misery, she looked happy. “We are, aren’t we?” She asked, with just as much amazement in her croaky voice. “Quiznak, you’re right, it is, and scarier than a Giant Weblum,” she chuckled, nosing at the cover of the book - she’d always liked reading over his shoulder in spite of how much she despised it, the hypocrite. “Will you read it out loud?” She asked. “Maybe if the jellybean likes it, they’ll go to sleep and not make my stomach overdo the cardio.”
Keith raised an eyebrow, then nodded, shifting a little so that she could see the pages as he skipped over the contents and acknowledgements to the first chapter, then spoke familiar words they had both read a hundred times before.
“A well-known scientist (some say it was Bertrand Russell) once gave a public lecture on astronomy…”
Lance McGuigan-Valladares @ BlueLionLance
[Image inset of a young man half sitting in a packed hold-all]
So halfway across the universe again with #TeamVoltron and guess who I find hiding in my case but @Luis-Lou? #BlueLion #CastleOfLions #Olkarion #MyBoyfriend #Dumbass #LoveHim Guess this means I should introduce him to our cow?
+8,987 comments Like Retweet
Eventually, they reached Olkarion, and whilst the others disappeared under the guise of intergalactic diplomacy, she, Keith and her mother were escorted to the health division of Olkara City by one of Ryner’s aides.
The familiar alien smiled when she saw them, but she was not alone. Standing beside her was another familiar face. “Lotor?” Keith blinked, even as he helped his groggy wife towards the exam bed.
“Oh quiznak, please tell me your mother’s not here,” Katie croaked, staring in equal confusion at the newly crowned emperor as Keith rearranged her pillows for her, helping her sit up on the bed.
“I assure you she is most definitely not,” Lotor said, not quite masking the confusion at the question.
Beside her, her mother had a rather wild eyed, angry look. “Ah, Lotor, this is my Mother, Mamma, this is Prince, uh Emperor Lotor. It’s okay. He’s a good Galra, remember?”
“When Princess Allura contacted me about your problems, I felt it wise to consult with someone who had more intimate experience with half-Galra genetics,” Ryner explained, already moving to take some blood samples as her assistants began a procedure that looked very reminiscent of an ultrasound.
Lotor bowed to Colleen, much to her surprise. “A pleasure, I assure you. I am simply here to offer my knowledge. My mother would perhaps be the better choice, but alas, she is mad as ever,” Lotor said. “But my generals and I have faced similar issues in the past. If I can provide any assistance I shall, Keith and Katie have been great companions, and being able to assist them is my honour.”
Yeah, that was definitely Lotor. Big flowery words that sounded too sincere to be inconspicuous. No wonder Colleen was giving him a hawk-eye.
“Cool, whatever,” Katie mumbled, looking to him and Ryner. “Then can anybody tell me why my puke and spit is purple and tastes worse than something made by a greasy spoon?”
Lotor blinked, then shared a glance with the Olkari Queen. “Interesting,” Ryner mused, putting the blood samples into a machine, before going to Keith with a clean needle. Keith stonily held out an arm.
“How long would a human normally carry their young?” Lotor asked as she worked.
“Nine phoebs, or thirty-five to forty movements,” Colleen said quickly and Keith assumed his mother-in-law had been doing a bit of in-flight reading to understand those units so easily.
“Galra genes progress much faster, full gestation takes only four to five phoebs,” Lotor said, his tone curious as he too watched Ryner. “I have read her journals, and my mother also experienced discomfort with the change in foetal growth rates,” He glanced at her mother. “My mother was once Altean, like the Princess Allura, and they too procreate differently to the Galra,” he explained.
Understanding crossed her face. “I see,” she nodded. “If you don’t mind my asking… were you born from membrane? Alteans are similar to group known as monotremes on earth, as I understand it from the castle ships medical journals, and retain their eggs internally for a period.”
Lotor brightened a little, recognising intelligent curiosity. “No, while my birth was from an external structure it was not the Altean one my mother would have been familiar with, but a different structure utilised by Galra, as you suggest - her records show she had some problems with the birth.” He said. “Most Galra create an external birthing membrane which allows the foetus to grow, however due to the internal nature of Altean reproduction, while she developed the sac, for want of a better word, she retained it inside her body. It was an extremely dangerous pregnancy, as I understand it.”
“This is fascinating and all,” Keith interjected slowly, his eyes a little wild at the sound of what sounded like even pregnancy horror story on earth given a shot of acid. “but, Katie?” He asked, instinctively sitting as close to her as he could. “How is all this going to affect her?” He asked.
The look on Katie’s face, if he hadn’t been too busy glaring at their imperial friend, would have told him his wife was extremely grateful for the redirection of the conversation.
“The spit Katie is speaking of, I suspect, is a fluid usually found in Galran Sacs,” Ryner explained. “Normally, it is expelled through the sides once its developmental function has been completed, and given that human wombs cannot expel it in the same way, I believe this is simply Katie’s body’s way of expelling it.”
Colleen had been paying rapt attention through her translator, and Keith could almost see her mind flicking back and forth, ‘primitive synapses firing’ in Coran’s words, half a decade ago. “So once the purpose has been served, its being treated as a virus? There’s no harm to Katie?”
“None,” Ryner assured them, “While the fluid is ingestible, it is nontoxic. It is simply a sign that the first stage of development has been completed. that is, development of the hearts and basic foetal structure.”
her sincerity wrought a large sigh of relief from Keith, allowing the arm around his wife’s shoulder to relax a little. For now, that was all he wanted to hear. He knew there probably more things to learn and stew his concern over, but in their current reality, that was all he needed to hear.
Katie’s eyes widened at Ryner’s words. She didn’t even think about the implication that she was now spitting out unnecessary amniotic fluid (ew, no wonder it tasted like a horror story).
As Keith slumped with momentary relief, his lips pressing against the top of her head, her hands instinctively moved. “Our baby’s got heartbeats?” She blinked. “How many? That’s good, isn’t it? Keith has more than one, so that’s good right?” She asked, looking back and forwards between them, hands still held in protective shock on her belly.
“Three,” Keith nodded. He looked as confused as she did. Biology hadn’t been his field of expertise at the garrison either. Thank god her mother was here - at least she looked as though she understood. They would be able to get a full rundown in basics once they got back to the ship.
“Yes, three,” Ryner assured them, smiling. “Once the last of the first stage fluid has been eliminated from your system, I’m hopeful that the current discomfort should pass, through based on the medical files sent by the Garrison, I won’t rule out human symptoms continuing.”
In other words, she might still get the incorrectly named morning sickness. Katie nodded - that she could probably deal with, it would be normal at least.
“You keep calling it a first stage fluid, does that mean there will be a second?” Colleen asked.
“Galra contain three different fluids that support each stage of development. The first, I’ve already explained. The second promotes foetal growth further, and usually has some side effects depending on the species,” Lotor said, watching as Ryner continued her ultrasound-like-exam. “It can vary, but none of the effects have damaging, permanent, od dangerous in the recorded hybrid births. The most common one is hair or fur or scales changing colour, since this is how a typical Sac would show its growth and maturity, by changing its outer surface colour.”
“And the third? Colleen asked.
“The third helps to dismantle the sac, and is only found at the time of the birth,” Ryner said. “Its function is to dissolve the sac itself once the foetus is mature.”
“D-Dissolve?” Katie asked the alien woman, feeling Keith tense around her as her too heard the word’s connotations. “That sounds… potentially bad for a human…” If there was a fluid that could dissolve what sounded like a space-mermaids-purse inside her, then Katie was extremely anxious about what that might do to her uterus.
“No, not necessarily,” Lotor said. “The fluid produced by the Sac in the third stage is a stimulatory fluid,” Lotor said. “It may not be as dangerous as it sounds. Its function is to make the sac easier for the foetus and its parents to break through, but in many species who carry live young, like humans, it does not take such an action when no sac is formed, and often is simply a trigger to the more natural birthing process of the species in question.”
“What?” Katie blinked, not really reassured by the words and looking to her mother, who seemed to be following with much more clarity.
“It acts as a normal birth fluid then,” Collen said. “Do species like ourselves ever develop that feature, as I assume your mother did? What would happen in that scenario?”
“It doesn’t often happen,” Lotor said. “It usually only occurs when the Galra parent is the seed producer.”
“You mean like us?” Keith said; Katie gripped the hand on her shoulder in hopes of keeping him from snapping. She could practically feel the worry and irritation that it brought in his shaking fingers.
“Well yes, but most of those cases are with a full Galra, and while your internal biology is more or less full Galra, you are still half human,” Ryner said, her voice a calm one that sounded much less ominous. “Given that Katie is fully human, there’s a high chance that 50% of human DNA will make the foetus more compatible with her body. It’s what I’m checking right now, in fact. I’ll know for certain once the imaging is complete.”
Katie let out a breath, trying to process it all. She had known that having a family wouldn’t be easy, but so far Ryner didn’t sound discouraged, and she could only hope that meant it might not be entirely impossible for them.
She had still been out of it when Keith read to her on the ship, but she hadn’t spoken a word of lies on how surreal and amazed she was. Despite how awful she felt and how terrifying the prospect of carrying a multi-species child was, it was her baby.
She’d never considered herself the naturally maternal type, and she probably wasn’t, but after all those years talking and hoping, this was what they’d both been dreaming of. How could she not want her jellybean? Keith’s jellybean?
“If I might add,” Lotor said, slightly more cautious in his tone, as if he realised he had caused significant concern (he had). “In the cases I mentioned, the sac still develops internally, and the fluid adapts enough that it can dissolve the membrane entirely, and then allow natural processes to take over without harming the carrying parent.”
He looked at them both. “Acxa was born in this exact manner, and her mother is most assuredly alive and well. A horrible woman, but alive and well none the less,” he said encouragingly.
Katie tried to let that reassure her as Ryner completed her scan with the weird wand thing, leaning back against the pillows and Keith’s shoulder. It seemed to take much longer than what she would have expected an ultrasound to take back on earth, and she even managed to catch a half hour nap before her belly began to churn again.
Staring at the purple fluid on the basin shed quickly been given by an attentive nurse, she wrinkled her nose. Ew. Waste amniotic fluid. Why couldn’t she pee this stuff out or something? It would make a whole lot more sense.
“Here we go,” Ryner smiled from the computer she had been tapping away on. She paused for a moment. “I know you felt there was no other option, but I truly appreciate that you sought our aid,” she said to them both. “What you’ve both done for our planet with Voltron is something that we will spend a long time thanking you and the paladins and your other companions for. Being able to help you in return is something for which we on Olkarion are truly grateful.”
“Ryner,” Katie said. “That’s lovely, really, you know how much I love it here, but-”
Ryner laughed, a bright encouraging laugh. “I know,” she chuckled, typing a command into her system and summoning a screen infant of them both. The image looked just like a human ultrasound would but for the colours and clarity.
“This is amazing,” Colleen breathed. “The depth and scope is something unheard of on earth…”
“Yeah…” Katie felt Keith swallowing his own awe, his fingers tightening around hers. “…it is.”
It was small and nowhere near fully formed, but that was definitely a baby on the screen, in full colour and with optimal zoom. Their baby. Small still but clearly more developed than a human foetus would be at this stage.
Tiny hands and feet and a head, and through its delicate skin Katie could even see its tiny hearts fluttering.
“Are they okay?” Keith asked quickly. “What you said about that sac thing,” he said pointing to something at the edge of the jellybean’s foot. The camera view zoomed out and for a moment Katie’s heart stopped when she realised that as Lotor had guessed, there was a different membrane around the baby, inside her uterus.
Then her mother pointed to the top of it and she saw that the membrane was connected, like an umbilical cord to the uterine lining. “You said the tertiary stage fluid would simply dissolve the membrane?” She asked and Lotor nodded.
“Galra genetics are extremely flexible, there are few species we haven’t been able to reproduce with. The cells will always find ways to adapt to the partner species without endangering parent of foetus,” he said. “It is, regrettably, one of the thinks that helped my father’s dominion grow so large.”
Katie wasn’t really listening, she had completely cuddled up to Keith, and they were both zooming back in, turning it from every angle. 3D Ultrasounds could give very good picture quality, going by the photos her mother had kept of her and Matt, but this was an entire scope.
“Do you want to know the child’s genetic placement?” She asked, as though she was trying not to disturb them.
Keith glanced at her, and raised an eyebrow. “Surprise?” He asked.
“Yeah,” she agreed.
They had already been sort avoiding looking anyway, too absorbed in the tiny, almost featureless face. She could see some things already though, like the tiny line of the nose and-
“Keith! Ears!” She pointed, pointing at the tiny double points. “They’re just like your Mum’s!”
They absorbed that for a moment in silence, as Lotor quietly left the room, sensing the need for privacy. He’d been there when Krolia had died, and after quickly developing friendships with them both, knew what this simple instance of genetic inheritance would mean to her husband.
Keith stared, lost his own thoughts and bittersweet memories that hadn’t been nearly enough time to collect, turning the camera as if he didn’t believe his own eyes until they stopped.
“Is that a…?”
He pointed to what looked like a leg, and she gave it a closer examination, then her eyes nearly popped out of her skull. Beside her, her mother was equally amazed.
“My goodness,” she laughed.
“…I think it is!” She gasped. “I think it is!” She almost squealed with excitement.
Her baby had a tail.
Hunk Galuvao @ YellowLionMan
[Image inset of a large Himalayan cat looking back to the camera, on a veranda facing the ocean.]
It was only for a few days, but I missed my little lion so much! But if the vet trips are any indication, she’d have liked getting to orbit even less than my stomach does. And that’s saying something. The space cat treats will have to do. #Pets #SpaceTravel #TravelSickness #SeriousBusiness #YellowLion #CastleOfLions #TeamVoltron #Olkarion
+8,767 comments Like Retweet
‘Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it.’
Katie watched as hunk peered around the edge of a side stage curtain, then let a whine of horror, and fled back to his chair.
‘If we have learned anything in the past few months, it is that our world is far larger than we ever imagined. When the castleship landed on earth, it was a moment that I think all of us in this room will remember for the rest of our lives, regardless of rank and training…’
“I don’t think I can do this,” hunk mumbled, trying to huddle into the chair he was sitting on beside the assembly hall stage where Iverson was stressing the massive turnout. “I mean, how many times did we skip assembly?! There’s even extra seats in there!”
After the initial check-up, she and Keith had returned to earth with much more optimism and twice as many worries as before. Luckily, Ryner had been able to make some medication that would help supplement Katie’s diet, as well as minimise the effects of her purple puke.
So as far as she was concerned, things were looking up, and it meant she could get back to doing things she wanted to do, rather than be too tired to leave her bed for weeks on end.
The Olkari were welcomed as Allura and Coran had been, especially by the doctors who had accompanied them on the trip, the few people outside the family who had been allowed to learn the original reason for the trip, for with the Olkari came their technological and biological brilliance.
Katie didn’t know what other technology they had brought with them to earth, but she had begged Ryner to bring the BabyCam. Even if she had video recordings and picture printouts it was nothing in comparison to the live image.
There was no rest for the wicked however, and the first point of call had been the Garrison. The entire team had been drafted in to give talks to graduates and the cadets currently enrolled into the programme, and quite honestly, she was really looking forward to it.
The same could not be said of Hunk.
“You and the others made a live action galactic propaganda campaign eerily reminiscent of the power rangers, and succeeded” Keith reasoned, trying to help him calm down. “I’m sure you can handle this!”
“That was different! The fate of the galaxy rested on our acting! This is inspiring a bunch of teenagers and passive-aggressive young adults!” Hunk bemoaned. “I’m not ready for that level of responsibility!”
“Hunk, it’s going to be fine, it’s a Q&A session, you won’t even have to do much of an introduction - Keith’s leading the introduction to the question opening, remember,” Shiro smiled, straightening the epaulets on Lance’s red uniform.
They’d all been given something of a rank boost and the matching paraphernalia, but Katie honestly couldn’t remember what exact rank it was. Only that she’s stabbed her chest pinning the badges on and nearly ruined her eyeliner, and barring Shiro, who had requested a normal uniform, they were all colour coded to the lions.
Keith grunted, and picked at the hem of his black tunic. He’d already bemoaned the fact that it wasn’t red in their room that morning (they’d move the mattress back upstairs, but kept the weird little nest). “I still don’t know why,” he shrugged. “It’s not like I was there much more than you were.”
Shiro, ever the glue and backbone to support Keith’s self-doubt, put a hand on his shoulder. “Keith, we talked this through. I haven’t been the black paladin for a long time, I’m really only here for moral support. What happened after I disappeared,” he spoke the words carefully, and everyone tensed, remembering darker times and subversion that had almost destroyed them from the inside out. “What happened after that, it isn’t my story to tell. I have one, but it’s not the Voltron the universe knows.”
“No-one's trying to replace Shiro dude, you know that already,” Lance said, giving him a thumbs up. “But he’s right. You’re our leader. Ergo, you get to talk to a bunch of kids first. Congrats! Besides, you know they’ll love you!”
“No thanks to your stupid hashtags,” Keith grunted, though Katie noticed he looked much less tense.
Sitting back in her own chair, she took a breath and took a sip of the water that had been left on a table for them. Her only concern was the potential heat from the stage lights, but her would-be father-in-law seemed to have taken everything into his consideration, because there had been iced water jugs and glasses on little tables set up beside their chairs onstage.
“Pidge? Are you feeling well?” Allura asked, watching as she drank.
“I’m alright Allura,” she assured her friend. “I promise, I was sick this morning but I’m fine now. I’m actually really good. It’s nice to be in normal clothes and look my best after feeling so crappy actually,” she admitted.
It wasn’t even a lie. Shed had a lot of fun picking out a bit of make-up and straightening her hair for this big talk. It was refreshing after speaking over two weeks feeling greasy and slimy from illness no matter how many warm baths Keith had filled with non-scented bubbles for her, or showers he’d helped her stand up for.
She looked nothing like the girl who had snuck out to a U.F.O crater with her two fellow cadets, but she felt exactly as she wanted to - like herself.
“That is something she should talk about, actually,” Keith said, catching everyone’s attention. “We’re bound to get some questions about our private lives. Does anyone have anything they’d rather not talk about? This is a press conference too remember,” he reminded.
“Oh god, I forgot about that,” hunk bemoaned. “But that is a good point. We never really mentioned what happed to Shiro,” he said cautiously.
“I’m happy talking about it else I wouldn’t be here,” Shiro nodded. “I don’t think there will be any problem questions anyway. The stuff I’ve been going into with my therapist is fairly deep down, and I think the questions directed my way will probably be a lot lighter.”
Hunk nodded, then looked to Katie. “What about you guys?” He asked, also turning to Keith. “You never made any public statements, but there might be some questions where…” He asked.
“We didn’t, but we talked about it, and we decided that it should be okay, just, let’s keep the jellybean a secret for now?” She said, looking to Keith. “We both want to keep them to family only for a while.”
Keith nodded, before draining a glass of water of his own as the chatter beyond the stage grew. Iverson had finished talking, and he was tucking away his prompt cards for the speech.
‘…now, I’m sure everyone’s tired of me talking, so I will desist. Please stand for Commanders Galuvao, Hawkins, Holt, McGuigan-Valladares, Flight Commander Shirogane, and Princess Allura of Altea. Attention!’
“Hijo de puta, they’re saluting us!” Lance croaked as the familiar sound of feet lining up echoed in the hall. “Wait, I thought you took Keith’s name when you got married?” He blinked, walking even as he turned the question to Katie.
“Technically we aren’t married yet,” she reminded, bracing herself against the glare of the lights as they made it out onto the stage. "We got Space married, not Earth married."
After they had done the same to Iverson, they each made a nerve-racking stand at the speaker’s podiums that stood at the from to the stage, except for Shiro, who took a seat with commands Iverson to Allura’s left.
She had to admit, someone had gone to a lot of effort to get positioning dead on. Each one was set out to the position of each of their lions, with a glowing Voltron ‘V’ in a matching colour. Keith in the middle with a Galra purple, then Lance and Allura on the right, and herself and hunk on his left.
She didn’t have to look at her husband to know it was exactly the kind of thing that made him nervous, but she did; Keith looked like he was the one who was going to throw up. Hiding her hand behind the podium, she gave him a secret thumbs up - he’d catch it in his freaky Galra peripheral vision.
“At ease,” he said, raising his own salute, which they all mimicked, even Allura (they’d kind of had to teach her, but she been very enthusiastic to learn the new ‘earthling societal custom’).
God, she was going to tease him about this for weeks, once she made sure he knew he’d done a good job, obviously.
The second the probably hundreds of salutes had dropped - Hunk had a point, she’d never seen the hall so full even for the few visiting lecturer seminars she’s attended - the kids erupted. It took a few moments for them all to settle, but she was pretty sure Iverson gave them a look.
As Keith started into the opening speech he’d been forced to concoct, she could see the rapt attention on their faces, and even a few data pads recording the whole thing. It was utterly surreal.
“So, that being that, let’s get to the talking. The questions will all be selected at random, but from what we’ve been told, there should be time for everyone, this is a week-long seminar after all, so if your question isn’t answered today, then we should get to it later on in the programme,” Keith said, putting a hand to a button on his stand, one which they all had. It would cycle through all the questions all day, so maybe there weren’t quite hundreds of students if they had all been preprogramed.
On the screen wall a big number 047 lit up, and one of the students to the back of the room stood, saluting again. “Cadet Lebedev, Russian Branch! My question is for Commander Holt,” she said, sounding like she was going to trip up over her words. Katie stood a little straighter at the prompting and hoped she was at least smiling. This was a bit more nerve-wracking than she had thought.
“Fire away,” she said, and the girl smiled.
“When you contacted Earth to warn the GAC and global militias about the incoming threat from the Galra Empire, you commandeered the now decommissioned International Space Station,” she said. “How did you manage to connect technology that is considered obsolete by Earths standards to that of the Altean Castleship's broadcasting system, and the signal transmissions of the Galra base you utilised as a streaming mechanism?”
This time, Katie knew she was grinning. Taking a digipen from her stand, she pressed another button which made a magnified screen appear behind her in place of the girl’s question number, and began to write onto the touchpad.
“Your right, it was really difficult, especially the Russian, which after decoding Altean and Galra tech, you’d think wouldn’t be nearly as difficult, but turns out I can’t make head nor tails of it” she said, and a few laughs went through the room. “But the main problem was finding a connection. Coding patterns on earth aren’t that much different from Galra or Altean - it’s just a case of learning the different sequences,” she said writing as she spoke. “This is a basic communication code from earth, and if you look here…”
On and on it went, and for the first time, Katie found herself enjoying one of the many public events that the garrison had been harassing them to participate in as a group. Her dad had been a visiting lecturer before he was recruited for Kerberos, and she felt a little of the excitement.
After the first question, Lance was next, followed by Hunk, and back to her, then Allura, Hunk again, Lance, Shiro, Hunk, then herself. She was grateful for the barstool seats they were provided with, else she’d have dropped from exhaustion long before Keith got his first question.
“Cadet Williamson, Australian branch, my question is for Commander Hawkins, but I think it applies to everyone, if that’s allowed?” the boy called out, one of the graduate cadets going by his basic grey uniform.
“I think that’s okay, if no-one objects?” Keith said. “We’ll make it an open question, have the other Commanders pitch in they feel comfortable enough to answer?”
The boy nodded, and he checked his card again before speaking. “During our cadet training, were all given training to help maintain focus in pressuring situations; during your time as paladins, you’ve all been through situations which have tested you - what was the hardest situation you had to cope with as group, or individually?”
Katie took in a breath.
“Wow, I’m not even sure where to begin there, either way there are a ton of things,” Hunk said, scratching his head. “For me personally, I think I’ll go for the first big realisation I had. We had been on planet Arus, where the blue lion first landed, for a while, and we’d been attacked. The castles power source had been destroyed, and Lance was not doing so well, so easy solution, get a new power source,” he said, explaining the chain of events caused by Sendak. “…when we were leaving, blasting ourselves out of the Blamera away from the sentries, it was a wakeup call for me. I missed my parents so much, and had been complaining about it, but once I'd seen the oppression in front of my own eyes, I knew I had to make a decision with my conscience - could I live with myself if I turned my back on people who had helped when I had the chance to do that? We’ve been away from home for so long, but I’m glad I made that choice now.”
There was a little round of applause then - Hunk underestimated how much his honesty resonated with people - and as it echoed, Shiro stepped up to borrow Allura’s microphone for his own story - the decision to step down as Voltrons Black Paladin.
As he spoke, Katie tried to think; she could mention her own family, but that whole mess of hacking into the system and the cover up was a little sensitive. It was public knowledge, but still edged around, and she didn’t want to darken this. This was supposed to help these kids learn in some way, but besides that, there was only one thing that stuck out as a difficult decision in her mind.
Getting into the private message system on the data pad, she sent a quick one to Keith, quickly looking up for a sign of his rejection or approval. It was just as personal for him, and she wouldn’t think of talking about it. He nodded.
After Shiro had advised everyone on the benefit of knowing when to step back, Lance told his own story about facing inner demons, and then Katie cleared her throat.
“For me, there were a lot of times when I had to choose between my father and brother and my team-mates, which is a rather unique situation, but after living with these guys for five years, that kind gets transcended,” she said. “We were infiltrating a central command base after Zarkon turned out not to be dead, again, she said, getting some more laughs for the exasperated tone. “It was a construction base for a biological weapon, and… well we failed pretty miserably…”
Katie kept her words loose and light, matter of face, but she constantly watched Keith’s face as she gave an edited account of his mother’s death and the struggle it had taken to persuade him that they had to leave her behind.
She had to take another breath as the memories came back, and covered it by taking a drink of water. It was something seared into her memory, Keith’s frantic screams and the heat of the air as it burned around them.
In all honesty, she still wondered sometimes if they couldn’t have managed it, but she knew they wouldn’t. Even dragging Keith in his injured state, besides her own, had barely given them a second to get to the shelter of her lion.
“… in the end our survival came first, and as horrible as it was to realise, that kind of situation isn’t really something training can prepare you for,” she finished. “Sometimes training doesn’t even come into it.”
Allura quickly took over, going into her own problems accepting the idea that there could have been Galra who opposed Zarkon, though she left out Keith’s ancestry. That was something that was still a firm secret, though Katie assumed they’d have to reveal it at some point.
Her baby had a tail and pointy ear, that would probably raise questions unless they revealed it sooner rather than later. It wasn’t like they would be able to hide the baby from the world forever. They just wanted a little more time in their bubble.
As she mulled the multitude of future decision to be made Allura finished her story, and Keith finally took his first question.
“As a group, I think our hardest experience was learning how to form Voltron on command,” he started.
“Yeah, that was pretty bad,” Hunk agreed. “Even Shiro got snappy.”
“It wasn’t just bad it was demoralising,” Katie agreed.
“Best food fight I’ve ever had though,” Lance countered.
They all went into the explanation then laughing and joking and clearing away some of the tension from the heavier answers when they called Allura out on her less than Princess-ly behaviour.
“It was definitely an experience, but I think we all learned that solutions can come for surprising places,” Keith said, taking back the question. “Just so you know, we’ll be breaking for lunch in a few moments, so I’ll make this the last question until we come back in the afternoon.” he leaned his head on his hands for a moment. “Like the others say, there are so many individual situations I could talk about, but honestly? The hardest thing I ever did?” He paused again, then looked to her. “It was when I asked Pidge if she’d marry me.”
Katie blinked, Lance fell of his chair, and Shiro looked like he was trying not to choke on his water from laughing as the hall erupted once again. Amidst the chaos, there was one question that no matter how hard she tried to get her tongue move, she was simply too stunned and happy to reply to.
Keith Hawkins @ KeithVoltronRed
[Image Inset of a space backdrop, and bioluminescent sky writing written as follows: 'It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love’ — Marry me?]
For those wondering exactly how I faced the biggest decision I ever made in space, from today’s Garrison Q&A seminar with @QueenOfGreen @YellowLionMan @BlueLionLance @BlackCat-Hades and @Princess-A #RedLion #GreenLion #BlackLion #BlueLion #YellowLion #TeamVoltron #GalaxyGarrison #GlobalSpaceAgency
+10,860 comments Like Retweet
“Well, we’re trending,” Katie sighed, unsure how she felt about that as they sat in the back of the garrison car that was taking them home. “But Lance was proud, so it was worth it,” she chuckled.
Keith laughed, flicking through his own feed at the pictures and live reactions, mostly the ones of his foster father’s face. “I think Allura’s convinced it’s a human right of passage now,” he said, before looking up at her. “You’re not mad? It was a bit spur of the moment.”
“Nah, I like it when you surprise me with romantic stuff like that,” she said, pushing her phone back into her pocket. “And I think it was actually a good thing for all those kids - there so much awful stuff we might end up covering, but it was a good contrast? I mean, it’s such a human thing to worry about, and I think it’ll remind them that you know, you can be amazing and worry about regular things at the same time?” She frowned. “I’m not sure that’s making sense, but no, I’m not mad. It was nice.”
Katie paused. “Are you mad that I talked about your mother?” She asked.
“Nope,” Keith said with absolute sincerity. “I never have and never will,” he promised, reaching out for her hand and giving it a kiss. “Are you feeling okay?” He asked.
“Just tired, and hungry, Garrison staff meals aren’t any better than the cadet ones,” she said, leaning back into the beige seats. “I can wait for the rest of it, but this was just our first day! Do you think it will be that crazy again?”
“Let’s wait and see if anyone asks about our favourite planets and watch what happens when lance talks about the mind-controlling mermaids,” he grinned as they pulled up around the back of her parents’ house.
She could see her Nonno in the kitchen window, probably doing the washing up for her mother or Nonna, and he waved at them enthusiastically as they headed for the door.
“Do you think Iverson would let you bring one of your Tribbles along? I bet they’d love them,” Keith suggested, opening the door.
Katie almost stopped in the doorway, but managed to get in and hang up her coat before getting too excited. “Just let him stop me, you're right, we could work it into one of the big talks on the last day!” She blurted, mind already thinking of a demonstration. “It’s one thing to meet intelligent life like us, people like Allura, but the tribbles are more like space animals and-”
“Stellina! Keith!” He Nonno called out, finally catching them and smothering them both in rapid affectionate kisses, and even faster Italian praises.
Her Nonno had been on twitter then. She’d have to talk ideas with Keith later. She had to take her night-time vitamins anyway, then they were going to start house searching.
If Lotor and Ryner were right, they had about four months left to find room for a nursery. Much as she loved her parents and grandparents, they really needed a place of their own soon.
Not to mention the ceremony her grandparents were asking hopeful questions. She had to admit, it had been strange to be called commander holt. Not because she minded using it, but because in her own head, she was Katie Hawkins.
Keith had been surprised when she told him she’d take his name if they ever registered it on earth, but she knew having another person with it meant something to him, reminded him that he wasn’t alone.
Besides, it would be easy enough to use her own name for public stuff like that. As Keith and her Nonno chattered away in their mixed up little language, she looked down at the ring on her left hand.
The multi-coloured stones flashed at her encouragingly in the hallway lighting, and she couldn’t help wondering how, after all their trials and near-death experiences, everything had worked out exactly as they’d hoped.
However, it had happened, she wouldn’t change it at all.
Katie ‘Pidge’ Holt @ QueenOfGreen
[Image inset of two separate hands, with matching rings. The smaller has external set stones, the thicker internal set ones, and both are surrounded by welding equipment]
For those who wanted to know my reply to @KeithVoltronRed from today’s Q&A, I said yes :) #Family #Rings #SpaceJewellery #Here’sOneIMadeEarlier #RedLion #GreenLion #TeamVoltron
‘Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don't throw it away.’
I'mcrying. I CRIED A LOT TODAY. Techincally yesterday but it was still the 14th when I was writing this SO.
R.I.P Stephen Hawking, I hope you’re waiting for us on Mars and space is everything you dreamed of.
ALSO crying over Lotor and his birth but strangling myself cause the S5 reveal means I had to rewrite my entire idea of Altean/Galran reproduction and JFC it was so complicated??? but on the plus side I know a lot more about platypuses and their reproductive system???? I’m not sure when I’ll use that information, but yay! Platypuses???
And I have to go back and edit Krolia's name and how commander holt was found though, because details like that are argh
As you can see, I have conflicted feelings for this chapter, but I think I liked how it turned out.