Chapter Text
Lance frowned as he looked up at the watchtower, checking his route up. No obvious tricks, fair distance out from the rest of the facility, and most importantly, an excellent vantage point at the top. Jumping up the ladder, he started to climb.
“Everyone in position?” Shiro’s voice crackled from the comms.
“Hunk and I are ready,” Keith’s voice replied.
“I’m good to go,” Pidge whispered next.
After a brief pause, Shiro spoke again. “Lance? Come in.”
“I’ll be up-- in a few-- seconds,” Lance said breathlessly as he scaled the ladder.
“Alright team, let’s go. Pidge, start the hack.” The comms went dead as the infiltration began.
Lance, from his position on the ladder, surveyed the surrounding area. This facility was positioned near a rocky cliff overlooking an ocean. Yellow fields of grass spanned in every other direction for as far as the eye could see; perfect for lookout duty. As he neared the top, Lance paused as he heard voices.
“...like it here, actually. It’s much calmer than the last place I was stationed,” a deep, gritty voice said.
“Really? I think it’s boring as quiznack.” a lighter voice said.
The other voice laughed. “I remember when I had just been conscripted, I couldn’t get enough action. When you start to get more experience, you start to value more peace and quiet.”
“Huh.” The other voice sounded doubtful. “Well, I guess.”
Lance stood stock-still as he listened. Although he was normally very twitchy, during missions it was much easier to channel that energy into other things. Allura had said this was a minor weapons tech facility, but these were clearly flesh and blood galra. In a base like this, drones should have been doing all the work except for administrative.
Quickly and quietly, Lance scaled the last few rungs until he was just below the the voices. He peered up over the edge to confirm that there were only two galra, then climbed over the edge. The two galra stood at the very edge of the tower, overlooking the ocean, which conveniently put their backs to Lance. With a brief moment of concentration, Lance morphed his bayard into two pistols and fired two stun bolts at the galra. Although they were at war, Lance still had trouble killing galra in cold blood like this. He reserved that for the heat of open battle, and even then it still ate at him sometimes.
With both galra down, Lance opened up comms again. “Uh, hey guys? There’s a thing.”
“Lance? Are you in trouble?” Shiro responded
“Nah, I’m fine, but there were two galra at the top of the watchtower.”
There was a pause. “So, what’s the problem?”
“Well, usually these towers are only manned by drones.”
Another pause. “Okay, thanks for the update. Are you set up?”
Lance was quiet for a second as he morphed his bayard back to a sniper rifle. “Yep, good to go.”
“Alright, tell me if something happens. We should be done in roughly an hour.”
Lance opened his mouth to say something else, but then shut it. That was Shiro’s code for ‘don’t bother us unless something actually important happens,’ and chances were that the galra-manned watchtower wasn’t anything serious. As the self-proclaimed sharpshooter, Lance was the go-to paladin for look out duty, which, although was probably for the best, always left him feeling a little sidelined.
Still, it was easy to forget as the salty ocean breeze washed over him from the top of the watchtower. Lance smiled. Many (although there were exceptions) life-sustaining planets were actually a lot like earth; oxygen atmosphere and salty oceans. If he closed his eyes, it might as well have been home. An uncomfortable tenseness curled around his stomach, but he pushed it down as his eyes snapped open. The breeze was nice, but he had a job to do. Well, kind of a job, Lance amended. While occasionally he did play the role of the crazy ninja sharpshooter, sniping down reinforcements trying to enter the base, mostly it was just this. Although Lance had been practicing with the dual pistols for short-mid range, he was still usually the lookout.
It was easy for Lance to stay focused while actively engaged in a task, but looking out over the fields and the ocean, his mind started to wander. What would he be doing if he were in there with the rest of the team? He could imagine himself striding forward, dual pistols in hand, shooting down drone after drone, to clear the way with Hunk. Or, back to back with Keith, shooting while Keith slashed through the oncoming horde. Sneaking through to the server room with Pidge, the two of them silent as cats. He continued daydreaming for a while, occasionally checking his wristpiece for the time.
A sudden scream of an engine passing overhead jolted Lance back to reality. He crouched down and propped his bayard on the guard rail, scanning the area. A galra ship was coming down to land outside the facility. Lance opened comms immediately. “Shiro?”
Lance could faintly hear the sound of alarms and blaster shots, but Shiro’s voice cut through them. “What is it, Lance?”
“A galra ship is landing just outside the base.”
“Pidge is close to getting the information we need. Can you keep them out?”
Lance glanced over the gates to the facility. “Probably for a little while.”
“Alright. Keep me posted.”
“Okay.” The comms went off, and everything was quiet again. The gates to the facility were on a seperate power grid than the rest of the system, which meant that with a few well placed shots, Lance could easily shut down the gates, keeping the intruders out for quite a while. Wire panel… down. Generator… down. Battery… down. Lance grinned as the lights along the facility wall went out. Try getting through that. Lance looked back to the galra ship, whose doors were just now opening. Two soldiers on either side, and… Lance’s blood ran cold as he saw the three masked figures walking towards the gate. Druids. Lance doubted the gate trick would keep them out for long. “Uh, hey Shiro?”
“What is it now, Lance?” Lance cringed at the hint of annoyance in their leader’s tone.
“There are three druids heading towards the gate. I… don’t think I can--” Lance cursed inwardly at the hesitation in his voice.
“Lance. It’s okay. You’ve got this.” Well, at least one of us thinks so. “Do you think you can snipe them all before they can put up their shields?”
“I-- maybe? Don’t druids always have their shield thingies up?”
“Only when they realize there’s a threat. Pidge is just a few minutes to extraction.”
“Alright, I’ll take a shot at it then.” Lance grinned at the pun while Shiro groaned, then laughed.
“Okay, we’ll see you soon.”
Lance took a deep breath to calm his racing heart. Shiro believes in you. You can do this. Don’t worry. His breathing slowed as the wall lights hummed back to life, probably through some druid energy. He held his breath entirely as the gates slid open. In quick succession, Lance shot three perfect shots, one for each masked figure. Lance tensed, a thrill of adrenaline racing through him as the three druids fell.
Wait… the middle druid was only crouched. As it stood back up, Lance fired another two shots at it, heart going wild. Both shots fizzle against the druid’s now fully conjured shield. Lance’s eyes widened as the druid looked up, directly towards his position. Given where the shots had come from, and the surrounding area, it had to be blatantly obvious where he was. The druid reached a clawed hand up to its mask to remove it, and suddenly Lance knew why his shot had failed.
Just as he turned on the comms, an icy lance shot into his head, freezing his mind. He could feel the joyless mirth as Haggar grinned up at him, freezing him and preventing him from warning his team. The cold, unwelcome feeling grew overpowering, and Lance’s eyesight dimmed as he fought to stay awake. You need… to warn them… Lance gritted his teeth as the presence in his head grew dark and painful, attempting to force his consciousness into darkness. I… will not… mustering all his effort and energy, Lance felt something give way as he pushed back with everything he had, and suddenly the force freezing his body was gone. “Shiro, Haggar is here! She’s almost…” Lance felt sudden exhaustion wash over him as his words trailed off, and he finally faded into unconsciousness.
Back in the command console of the facility, Shiro’s blood ran cold as the Cuban boy’s voice went silent. “Pidge, how close are you to done?” he yelled out over the sound of Hunk’s cannon rounds.
“Almost… done!.. There we go! Let’s blow this quiznak stand!” Pidge yelled back, pulling her device off of the console.
“Lance is in trouble! We need to get up to him now!”
“What? Shiro, what happened? Where is he?” yelled Keith, standing next to Pidge.
“Wait, Lance?” Hunk said over the cannon blasts. “Shiro, what’s wrong? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine, for now!” Shiro said, praying that it was true. “But we need to get to him now!”
With Shiro leading the charge, the four of them dashed towards the exit. Just as they rounded the corner to the door, it slid open as Haggar strode in. Her eyes narrowed as Shiro, fueled by adrenaline and worry, charged her. With a crack, she teleported outside of the building into the yard of the compound. Shiro sprinted out, scanning for Lance. Movement by the watchtower caught his eye. His heart pounded he saw an unconscious Lance being carried by two galra soldiers toward the facility’s gate. “Keith! Go get Lance, now!”
“But, Shiro, Haggar is right--”
“Keith I need you to do this!” Biting off another complaint, Keith ran towards the galra carrying Lance away.
“Pidge, how long until your lion gets here?”
“20 seconds! Maybe less!”
20 seconds. 20 seconds to hold off the most powerful known being in the galaxy. Shiro glanced back at Pidge and Hunk. He needed to keep them out of danger; neither of them could last long against Haggar. “Okay, both of you stay behind me! Hunk, if you get a clear shot, cover fire and keep her on the defensive! Pidge, make sure your lion can get us out of here immediately when it gets here!”
A bolt of energy arced towards him, but he rolled out of the way. He looked up, but Haggar was gone. Looking around frantically, Shiro turned as Pidge screamed. Haggar was standing over her, grinning malevolently as Pidge twitched on the ground, her armor sparking with small, weak arcs of electricity. A fearsome roar echoed overhead as the green lion appeared overhead. Haggar teleported again, appearing next to Keith, who was dragging Lance towards them. An equally fearsome roar came from behind him, as Hunk wound up his cannon, firing over and over at her. The Hawaiian’s normally gentle countenance was set in rage, and Haggar was caught behind her shield, unable to let it down while the green lion landed next to Pidge. Gently lifting Pidge up, Shiro carried her into the lion, then returned to help Keith with Lance.
“Hunk! Everyone’s safe! Get on!”
Hunk glanced back, then backed up slowly, still firing the cannon. As soon as he was safely on board, the lion lifted up and flew off as Haggar stared them down, malevolent grin still visible from under her hood.
Only when the facility was barely visible on the ground did Shiro finally let loose a breathe he didn’t know he’d been holding. Standing up shakily, he walked over to Pidge, cradling her tiny body as he took off her helmet. “Hey, Pidge. You okay?”
Her eyes barely opened, and her mouth moved slowly, nothing coming out. She cleared her throat, and tried again. “Lance… was right,” she croaked. “You totally are Space Dad.” Shiro smiled as she continued speaking. “But, yeah. I’m okay. That really quiznacking hurt, though.” Shiro helped her sit up, then turned to the rest of the team. Keith was sitting in the corner of the lion, alone, and looking away from him. Shiro walked over to him.
“Hey bud. What’s wrong?”
Keith didn’t turn to look at him as he spoke. “Why didn’t you let me fight Haggar with you? We had the chance to take her out right there! I-- I can--”
Shiro interrupted him, putting his hand on his shoulder. “Hey, Keith. Look at me.” Keith turned towards him, but looked at the ground. “Keith, you’re an amazing fighter. But Haggar is… on another level. I don’t think we can take her on until we learn a lot more about quintessence, and develop more as a team. Besides, if Lance had been captured by the galra…” He trailed off, but Keith took the message.
“I… I know. I mean, I guess. It’s just… I wish we could just…”
“Yeah, me too, kiddo.” Shiro turned towards the remaining two paladins. Hunk was crouched next to Lance, who was still out cold. “Hey, Hunk. How is he doing?”
Hunk looked up, worry etched on his face. “He… He’s breathing. But he isn’t waking up.”
Shiro crouched down to look at the unconscious Cuban boy. “I don’t think Haggar had enough time or motivation to do anything serious to him. He’ll probably wake up soon, and if he doesn’t, a pod will fix him up.”
“I… yeah, you’re probably right. No point in worrying, right?” Hunk seemed to try to smile at him, but then gave up halfway through.
The rest of the ride back was quiet, and exhausted. By the time they got back to the castle, Pidge had regained full mobility, but Lance was still unconscious. Allura and Coran greeted them in the hangar.
“Welcome back, paladins! How did the mission--” Allura cut off as she saw Shiro carrying the unconscious Lance in his arms. “Oh, dear. Coran, do we have a pod prepped?”
Coran took Lance from Shiro, worry creasing his forehead. “Of course, princess. I’ll take him right there.” The doors hissed as Coran carried Lance out of the hangar.
“Well, I daresay you all could use some rest. You all had best relax until dinner.” Hunk, Pidge and Keith walked out of the hangar, leaving Shiro and Allura alone. “Did Pidge at least get the information?” Allura asked.
“Yes.”
“Well… there is that, at least. What happened to Lance?”
Shiro looked at the hangar door for a second before answering. “To be honest… I’m not sure. Near the end of the mission, he warned us that Haggar was entering the compound.” Allura’s eyes went wide. “He cut off right after. When we got out of the building, we saw two galra soldiers carrying him out to their ship. Keith managed to get them before they left with him, though.” There was a heavy pause.
“Do you have any idea why Haggar was there?” Allura asked.
Shiro thought back. It had been clear that the facility was more than it appeared when they saw the vats of quintessence in one of the rooms they passed. “I think the facility had something to do with quintessence. There were tanks of it being stored there. It still doesn’t explain why Haggar herself was there, but…”
Allura was silent for a few seconds. “Perhaps Pidge’s data will explain it.”
Shiro nodded. “I hope so.”
“Well, you could use some rest yourself. I imagine you are just as tired, if not more so, as the rest of the paladins.”
“Of course, princess.” Shiro smiled.
After some light exercise and a long shower, Shiro was on his way to the bridge when he ran into Coran. “Hey, Coran.”
“Why, hello number five! Lance is set to wake up in a couple of vargas. Thought you ought to know.” Coran said, though some of his usual chipperness was missing from his voice. “How did the mission go?”
“Pidge got the information, but we ran into Haggar on the way out. Lance and Pidge were hit the hardest, though Pidge had recovered by the time we got back to the castle.”
“Ah.” Coran’s eyes narrowed. “Well, I am glad you all escaped.” There was a tense silence before Coran spoke again. “I had best go tend to the castle’s mechanics to prep for our next jump. I suppose I will see you at dinner?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
Lance awoke suddenly as the pod opened, to the dimmed lights of the medbay. He stepped into the empty room, shivering, and cursed silently. Would it kill someone to stand here with a blanket when he wakes up? Or a hug? A hug would be nice. He shivered some more, and then yawned. Okay, time to get some warmer clothes on.
While changing into his regular clothes, Lance checked the time. It was dinner. No wonder no one had been there when he woke up. His mind flashed back to other times he’d woken up from the healing pod alone. Well, they have a lot to worry about. His stomach rumbled. Like food.
As he walked toward the kitchen, the voices of the other paladins and the two Alteans carried into the hall.
“--haven’t gone through it all, but it’s all about quintessence weaponry, including robeast experimentation.” Pidge’s voice could be heard. “Of course, Allura and Coran would know more about that than I would. There are a lot of studies. Lot of experiments.”
“Hmm,” Allura said. “That would explain the presence of Haggar.” And two other druids, Lance thought.
“And apparently two other druids,” Shiro added. Lance smiled.
“Wait, you fought two druids as well as Haggar!?”
“No, Lance reported seeing three druids entering the facility. I told him to take them down, and when he next spoke, it was to tell me that Haggar was there.”
“...wait, Lance took down two other druids? By himself?” Lance could hear the skepticism in Allura’s voice.
“As long as he caught them off guard, it would have been simple,” Shiro said.
“Sounds like Lance’s typical bragging,” Keith’s voice cut in. Lance’s smile sank.
“Huh,” Shiro said, sounding doubtful. “Maybe. He did sound pretty worked up when he told me about them.”
“Hey, if Lance shot them before they got their shields up, they wouldn’t have a chance, right?” Hunk countered.
“So then Lance would have had to shoot three times within a time period in which the remaining druids wouldn’t be alerted,” reasoned Pidge. “And with enough accuracy to hit all three of them fatally. If he did that, it would be really impressive.”
“Were there any druid corpses nearby?” Allura asked.
Keith snorted. “No.”
“Not that I saw,” said Shiro.
Coran’s voice cut through the debate. “I, personally, find it in incredible poor taste to criticize your fellow paladin like this. Lance may enjoy storytelling, and sometimes bragging, but he does not lie. And certainly not about such important matters as this.”
Lance stood outside the doorway, his face blank, and his mind cold. He was too hungry to deal with whatever shit his teammates thought of him right now. Best to just walk in like nothing had happened.
“What’s up guys? Didja miss me?” Lance said as he walked in. Hunk, thank the lord, had prepared a tuber dish, ingredients courtesy of the last planet they had stopped at.
“Who let him out of the pod,” Pidge deadpanned, but stood up and hugged him.
“Lance!” said Hunk. “I saved you some mystery tuber surprise.”
“From anyone else, I would sooner die than accept ‘mystery tuber surprise,’ but you, my friend, are a legend,” Lance decreed, flopping down in his chair and digging in to the, as per usual, delicious meal.
“I hear,” said Coran, looking proudly at Lance, “That you shot down two druids before they could even get their shields up.”
“Oh,” mumbled Lance through a mouthful of mystery tuber surprise. “Yeah, they weren’t really expecting anyone to, well, snipe them while they were at their own base.” As he relayed the tale, Lance noticed Keith’s head was cocked as he listened, as if his doubt had been more for show than actual disbelief. “Hey, after I… was out, how’d everything go?”
“We had to fight Haggar while the green lion came to get us,” said Shiro. “Pidge got a nasty shock, but other than that, we made it out fine with the information.”
“Oh, awesome! I thought you all might have had to cut it short to save my beautiful face, but that’s great.” Lance grinned as Pidge snorted and pushed his head.
“As if your face is worth half of the information I got,” Pidge exclaimed.
Lance stared at her in mock outrage “I will have you know that this godlike countenance is worth more than a million times the information you collected from that base!”
“Godlike, as in Hephaestus?” butted in Keith.
Pidge cackled as Lance stared at Keith in shock. “Did you just ancient history roast me? I don’t even think I can get mad at that. Angsty Mullet over here just ancient-history roasted me. Wow.”
Keith looked down, but he was smiling as Pidge fell over in her chair from “angsty mullet.” Shiro put his hand over his face in exasperation, but he was also smiling. “Alright, let’s talk business for a while.”
“Oh, Shiro, I’ve been waiting for you to make a move! Why, I just don’t know what to say--” Lance said in a breathy tone of voice as Pidge disappeared under the table, cackling the whole time. Allura glared at him as Shiro’s second hand went up to cover his face as he gave a deep, long-suffering sigh.
“Okay please can we focus,” he said exasperatedly. “Tomorrow, we’ll be on a diplomatic mission to an alien race called the Meriades. They look a lot like us, and their culture is based on honor and profession, a lot like England’s old monarchy. Lance, that means no flirting.”
“How about courting?”
“No.”
“Are you positive.”
“Extremely.”
Allura cut in. “Lance, this is vitally important to the coalition, thus to the fate of the universe. If you cannot control yourself, you will remain aboard the castle.”
Something twisted in Lance’s gut. “Of course, princess. I was joking.”
“Sometimes that seems to be all you do.” Allura stared pointedly at him.
Lance looked down as Shiro continued. “The ruling family has been considering tying in with both the galra empire and the coalition, and we believe a personal visit may sway their decision in our favor. They have agreed to host us for three rotations to discuss things. Tomorrow, before we land, Allura will go over the schedule. Any questions?”
“Yeah, it seems--” Lance started off, before Shiro interrupted him.
“Any real questions?”
The twist in Lance’s gut grew a little tighter, but he maintained a friendly smile. “Uh, yeah. It seems like if this society is considering both the empire and the coalition, should we be careful about possible betrayal?”
Shiro looked at him confusedly. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Lance continued, “Wouldn’t they want to do what gives them the biggest, baddest advantage possible? If we go to stay there for three days, it would be a perfect opportunity for them to con and capture us and give us over to the galra, which would put them super high in the galra’s favourite list.”
Shiro looked at him for a while, considering what he had said, before Allura answered him. “An… interesting idea, but as Shiro just told you, the Meriades are a very honor-bound society. Such deception would go directly against their morals.”
Lance frowned, but nodded. That made sense… mostly. And if there were a few problems, well, he’d just have to keep close lookout. As always.
“Thanks, Allura,” Shiro finished. “Alright, with that out of the way, any other questions?” When no one came forward, he continued. “Well then, see you all tomorrow! And be sure to get some sleep tonight,” he said, glaring at Pidge, who muttered something incomprehensible under her breath. As they all disbanded, Lance was the only one who felt subtly out of place.
As soon as Lance stepped into the main hangar, Blue’s love and appreciation washed over him. Lance felt a tenseness he hadn’t even noticed was there disperse as he stepped into his Lion’s personal hangar, where he walked over to a giant paw, and flopped down onto it. For a hunk of sentient machinery, Blue was actually surprisingly soft. Lance assumed it was just his bond talking.
“Hey, beautiful.” Lance said, exhaustion evident in his voice. “You know, for having spent so much time in the healing pod, you’d think I would be less tired out.” He shared with Blue what had happened throughout the day, from the two galra lookouts and their conversation, to his attempt at sniping Haggar herself, to the interactions he’d had with his team.
Immense pride flowed through from her as he described his mental battle with Haggar. “Well, at least someone acknowledges my amazingness.” He gave a small smile. “Just kidding. It was really hard, but… I couldn’t lose, you know? I couldn’t let her catch them unaware in her own creepy lab. It’s hard to think that if I truly mess up, we all could die, but… I think we came pretty close today.” Lance recalled the surge of mental energy. “Was that you helping me, Blue?” Blue purred back, and her reply was as obvious as if she’d spoken as clear as Allura.
That was all you. I told you, I have the best paladin. Lance smiled, a true smile this time.
“Thanks, Blue. I don’t know what I would do without you.”
Warmth flowed through their bond. Nor I you.
They sat like that for a while, simply enjoying each others’ presence, before Lance spoke again. “So, we’re going on a diplomatic mission tomorrow. Sounds like fun. Shiro has stated very, very specifically that I am, on no account, allowed to flirt with anyone whatsoever , and Allura has made it clear that they will, at the drop of a hat, ground me if I do.” Blue’s amusement was evident in her next sentiment.
As if they could survive three whole days without you.
“Pfft. As if.” He smiled, but Blue could sense the sentiment behind it.
You know, they couldn’t live without you for long. They may survive, but you are the one that makes that survival bearable. Why continue to fight when there is no love, no laughter, no light to fight for?
Lance paused and opened his eyes to look up at her. “I… hope you’re right, Blue.”
I know I am.
“You know, Allura, I think you sell him short.”
“Aside from Coran, you and I know better than anyone else how high the stakes are… Perhaps I do sell him short, Shiro, but sometimes I feel as if I have no choice. I feel as though he treats this war, and its pieces, as nothing but a joke, or a game. And that… seems to disrespect all that I, and you, have lost.”
“Maybe you’re right, but he’s smart when he puts his mind to things. Like today at the dinner table.”
“His only partially meaningful addition to the conversation at dinner was his question about a potential betrayal, and even that could have been avoided if he had listened to your explanation of Meriadian culture.”
“Allura, you can’t--”
“I’m sorry… that was… uncalled for, and uncharitable. I simply… this war… it is everything to me. When I see someone else joking and playing in the middle of it… I get upset.”
“I know, Allura. And I understand, too. I’ll talk with him, see if I can make him take this a bit more seriously.”
“Hey, Hunk…”
“Yeah, Pidge?”
“Do you ever feel like Allura and Shiro are too dismissive of Lance?”
“Well, I wasn’t going to say it, but yes.”
“I mean… at dinner today, Allura just totally shot down a completely valid and well thought out concern and made it sound as if Lance hadn’t even been paying attention. What if it is a trap? Seems like that would be a brilliant thing to do. Ensure your society’s protection and shoot yourself into the good graces of your rulers, all with one move.”
“Yeah, I would be lying if I said it doesn’t sound a little suspicious to me. Allura and Shiro seem to have this image of Lance in their minds of just a total goof-off and idiot, but… well, he got into the Galaxy Garrison, even though English isn’t even his first language. And I’ve known him for ages. I know how smart he is. Not real technical-- could you pass me that screwdriver?-- but he’s very strategically and socially minded.”
“I remember when I first met Lance, I thought he was a goof-off too. I wondered how someone like him could ever have gotten into the Garrison, but after a little while I started to notice the things he does. Remember when Iverson was screaming me into the floorboards, and Lance just came up and somehow managed to direct all his attention at himself? Or when he talked us out of a month’s worth of detention for sneaking off school property?”
“I remember when you were too wound up from finals week to realize you needed sleep, he got you to turn away from your computer and talk to him long enough that you ended up knocked out right there.”
“I was furious in the morning.”
“The next morning you woke up, which I think was a full twenty hours later.”
“...”
“Anyways, yeah, Allura and Shiro have been pretty harsh to him these last few weeks.”
“Last few months.”
“...”
“Maybe… do you think I should talk to Shiro? I know him better than you do. He might listen to me.”
“Actually, I’d really appreciate that. I’ve been worrying about what to do for a while now, but since I don’t know Shiro that well, I’ve always been too uncomfortable to talk to him alone.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to him when we get back from this mission.”
“Great! Thanks, Pidge. This really means a lot to me.”