Taking A Chance

Checking out Pluto

‘Looks like we're on our own,' Lance said.
‘For now,' said Keith, ‘let's go and see what we can find.’
‘I'm hoping for nothing,’ Lance said.
‘Me too,' Keith assured him.
There hope was dashed when they came out of the wormhole, and saw a ship so huge it shook them to the core in the distance.
‘Fuck me,’ Lance breathed.
‘Let's get out of here,' Keith said.
The alarms on the ship sounded, and the watched fighters pour out of the ship and head towords them. Kosmo had wedged himself back in his normal spot.
‘Strap in,’ Keith ordered.
Lance jumped into his seat as Keith turned the ship. Blasts rocked the ship, and fighters shot past them, then turned and headed back in their direction.
‘Hold on,’ Keith said, and pushed the ship into a dive under the fighters.
‘How the hell can they see us?’ asked Lance.
‘Don't know,’ said Keith. ‘I'm going to make a couple of wormhole jumps to make sure we loose them.’ A wormhole appeared in front of them, and Keith pushed through and closed it behind them. He opened another one straight after, and they disappeared through that one as well.
When they came out the other side, Keith turned sharply to the right as another massive Carandian ship came into new.
'Fuck,’ Lance muttered, as he held onto the seats arms.
There was a planet blow them, and Keith headed for it, with fighters right behind them. Keith pushed the seattle as fast as it could go, and it began shaking around them.
Thankfully the shuttle was smaller, and more manouverable than the two man fighters the Carandians used.
They dropped down into a forest and wove their way through the trees, the fighters blasting at them from above. Around them trees exploded and went up in flames.
The next explosion threw their ship to the left, and Keith lost any control the had. The shuttle hit trees and spun out of control. Keith and Kosmo where thrown around like rag dolls until the ship came to a stop.
‘Oh crap,' Keith groaned, and winced. ‘I think my left leg’s broken.’
Out the front window of the ship, Lance saw figures moving in the trees. He unstrapped and dropped to the floor and crawled to Keith.
‘They're heading to the ship,’ he hissed.
‘Kosmo,' Keith said.
They looked around and saw the space wolf out cold.
‘Damn,’ said Keith. ‘Help me over there.’ He pointed to the floor behind where he stood to fly the ship.
On his knees, Lance dragged Keith where the wanted to go.
Keith placed his hand on the floor and a panel slipped aside to reveal a six foot long by four foot wide, and two foot deep cargo area.
‘We need to get Kosmo in first,’ said Keith. ‘You do that, and I'll try and create a diversion to buy us more time.'
Lance didn't bother asking what Keith was going to do because there wasn't time. He crawled to Kosmo and started hauling him back to the opening.
Outside, they heard shouting and blaster fire. When Lance looked at Keith, he saw Keith's eyes and marks glowing.
As carefully as he could, Lance pushed Kosmo into the cargo area, jumped in affer him and moved him to one side. Standing up inside the cargo area, Lance reached over and pulled Keith to him, and lifted him into the hole. The pain in his leg made Keith lose concentration.
‘I've lost the illusion of us escaping,’ said Keith, ‘we need to get the hatch closed.’
With little room left, Lance came down on top of Keith, being careful of his leg. Keith placed his hand on the roof next to the opening, and the hatch slid closed.
It wasn't even a minute later when they heard the outer door open, and footsteps enter.
‘Hey, this is one of them Altean control panels,’ a man said.
‘And without the Altean, the ships junk,’ said a woman. ‘The boss wants us back on the ship, he's ready to move out. The planets here are empty.'
'Wish this ship belonged to that Ancent Altean that Galran promised us,’ said the man. ‘He could heal all our sick and wounded.
‘Probably, all bat shit,’ said the woman. ‘I bet 'e was just runnin' out of food to give us, 'cause now 'e's scarpered.’
‘I can't say I'm sorry, Galra meat is tough,’ the man said, as they left the ship.
They didn't dare move or make a sound for another twenty minutes.
‘Open the hatch,' murmured Lance. ‘I'll see if they're gone.'
They didn't have much choice, they couldn't stay where they were.
The hatch slid open, and the light blinded them a moment.
Lance pulled himself out and carefully raised himself up and looked out the window. Everything was still. He then went to ramp and looked out the door. Still nothing.
‘I think we may be okay,' Lance said, going back to the cargo area and helped Keith out.
‘I'll see if I can run a scan,’ Keith said. Putting an arm around Lance's shoulder, Lance helped him to his feet and over to the control panel. Standing on his good leg, Keith tried to get the ship to power up.
Sparkes flew out everywhere and the ship died.
‘Let's hope they don't decided to check the ship out again,' Keith said, pulling out his datapad. He had no choice but to message Shiro.
‘What you mean you 'eard something?’
Keith and Lance looked at each other wide-eyed. Lance pulled Keith to the cargo area and Keith slid in, hitting his leg. He bit back his scream as Lance came in on top of him. Keith put his hand on the controls, but nothing happened.
‘Shit,' Lance hissed. He rammed his elbow into the hatch cover trying to jerk it back to life. ‘Come on you piece of shit.’ He kept ramming his elbow into as the voices got louder, and footsteps echoed on the ramp.
With all his strength, Lance hit the hatch cover again, and it slid closed.
‘There ain't nothing 'ere,' the man said. ‘Come on, before the boss leaves us ‘ere.'
‘Fine,’ the woman grouched.
They didn't know if they could trust that the Carandians had left or not, so they waited.
When they heard footsteps again they tensed.
‘They’re not here.’
‘HUNK?' Lance yelled.
Keith tried the controls, but they didn't work.
‘Shiro, here,' Hunk called.
There was a rush of footsteps.
‘The controls to open the hatch don't work,’ Lance said.
With the aid of Shiro's prosthetic arm, the hatch cover was peeled away.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Shiro.
‘Keith's broken his leg, and Kosmo has been out cold this whole time,’ Lance said.
Hunk helped Lance out, and Pidge and Shiro helped Keith.
‘Hunk, give me a hand with Kosmo,' said Shiro, dropping into the cargo area. They hauled Kosmo out, and onto the deck. ‘We better not hang around here, the Carandians might come back.‘
Keith, Lance and Kosmo were taken to Black lion. Shiro used Black to pick up the shuttle, and they returned to the Castle.
There, they found Rear Admiral Collins, and Coran waiting for them.
‘Coran, can you and Hunk put Kosmo in a healing pod,' Shiro said.
‘Of course. Keith, Lance, how about you?’ asked Coran.
‘I'll wait until I get home, I will be quicker,' Keith said.
‘I'm fine, just bruises so I'll stay with Keith,' Lance said.
‘Very well,’ Coran said. With Kosmo in a pod, Allura opened a wormhole, but not to Earth.
She hid them in a nebula and they were now all gathered around the dinning table with coffee and food.
Keith put his leg up on Lance's lap, and sighed in relief.
'Okay boys, tell me everything,’ Collins said.
Collins didn't miss Keith's glance at Shiro, and Shiro's subtle nod.
Keith told them everything that happened since they last talked. Collins also noticed Lance remained quiet.
‘Do you have anything to add?' Collins asked Lance.
‘No, sir,’ Lance said.
'Do you disagree with anything he said?' Collins asked.
Lance frowned. 'No, sir,' he said, glancing at Shiro.
'The question is, do you not believe me?’ asked Keith
‘I have no reason not to,’ said Collins, 'it's just in my experience, when two people go through something like that, they both have something to say about it.'
Keith laughed. ‘For once you shutting up has backfired.’
‘Watch it, mullet or I'll hit your leg,’ Lance said.
‘You do, and I'll stab you in the throat,' Keith replied.
‘I wonder how they could detect you while cloaked?' wonder Pidge, ignoring their banter, ‘and if they know about the Ancient Altean, does that mean Lotor told them you live on Earth?'
‘Wait, what?' frowned Collins. ‘Who’s the Ancient Altean?'
‘I assumed Admiral Sandra informed you about that,' said Shiro. ‘Keith is the Ancient Altean.'
‘I think you may need to fill me in on a lot more details, Shiro,’ Collins said.
‘Yes, sir,' said Shiro. ‘But we do need to be getting back for the ceremony.’
By the time they returned to Earth, Shiro had filled Collins in on everything, and Kosmo was out of the pod.
Shiro flew Keith and Lance home, and Collins went with them, curious about how Keith was going to heal himself and Lance. They stood on the grass in a tight embrace. He watched in awe as the gold threads of quintessence wove their way around the to young men, and their bruises fade.
When the thread began to fade, Shiro leapt forward as Keith swayed on his feet, and Lance began to collapse.
Collins ran forward and grabbed Lance, lowering him to the ground.
'You all right?’ Shiro asked Keith.
‘Yes, I don't think I will ever get used to doing that,’ muttered Keith, as he crouched next to Lance. ‘Can you get the front door, there's a key above the door.'
Shiro ran over, and unlocked the door as Keith picked up Lance in his arms and took him inside and lay him on the lounge.
‘Will he be okay?’ asked Collins.
‘Yes,’ said Keith, ‘it always happens. I’m not really sure why, it might be because I’m not in full control of my powers.’
Kosmo went over to Lance and pushed his nose against his cheek.
‘Baby, stop it,’ Lance said.
Keith slapped his chest. ‘Idiot, next time I’ll leave you laying in the middle of the lawn to wake up.’
Lance chuckled. ‘Oww, come on, Baby, you wouldn’t do that to me.’
‘Stop mucking around,’ sighed Shiro, ‘we have half and hour before we need to be at this ceremony, so go get changed.’
‘Space dad is angry,’ Lance said, sitting up.
Collins could stop the chuckled that bubbled up in him.
‘Sometimes, Lance, you’re enough to make a saint swear,’ said Shiro. He looked at Keith. ‘Are you sure you want to put up with him for 700 years?’
‘You keep asking me that,’ Keith said.
‘Because I’m beginning to question your sanity,’ Shiro said.
‘You should know by now, that my sanity has been under question for years,’ said Keith. ‘I’m sure all those therapists you and Adam paid for told you I’m right on the edge.’
‘I was hoping they were wrong,’ Shiro said.
‘Sorry to disappoint you,’ said Keith, ‘now go away and get changed. We’ll see you at the ceremony. Sir, would you like Kosmo to take you back tot he base?’
‘Err,’ Collins said.
‘Just kind of take a hand full of fur around his neck, and you’ll be there in seconds,’ Keith said.
‘Okay, thank you,’ Collins said. He moved forward and did as instructed and he was gone.
‘Meet at the Castle in half an hour,’ Shiro said, heading out the door.
Keith stood and headed for the stairs. ‘I need a shower.’
Lance ran to his side. ‘Can I come?’
‘Well, I pretty sure you need a shower too,’ said Keith, ‘and we do have half an hour, and the house to ourselves.’
‘I like the way you think,’ Lance said, grabbing a handful of Keith’s ass.