Catch the Stars ||Keith Kogane||

81

"This is entirely my fault," Allura says sadly over the coms, "I activated the ship's navigation system, they have the comet."

"Nonsense," Slav had somehow been given access to their communication system, or he'd forced his way in, "you can still get the comet away from them."

"Pidge," Keith's voice is strained but Trip pretends not to notice at all, her back to him and her only view of the outside through the windows on her side, "get a read on that signal."

"Already on it," the youngest answers, "it's still in the cargo bay where we left it."

"Then we're going in to get it," Keith instructs, and the being of Voltron is thrusting forward enough to make Trip sway her weight in her heels to remain standing. She was starting to get used to the rough flying in the lions when they were forming the legendary weapon, though she missed the Red lion's willingness to provide her a seat for flights.

The sword that the red lion forms cuts through the metal of the Altean ship with not even a hiccup, like it was melting it on impact. The enemy ship hadn't budged an inch since being moved through the rip in time. Whether that was on purpose or not, nobody knew, and that made Trip uneasy. Were they planning something? Did they have some kind of trump card they were about to pull?

When Voltron leans forward to fly into the hole that had been sliced open, Trip braces her hand on the door frame so she doesn't slide into the back of Keith's chair.

"Okay..." Hunk says as she watches Voltron's arms grab hold of the comet that was still being held in the beam of gravity in front of them, "what do we do when we have it?"

"Use it to get home," Keith says as he guides the motions of Voltron with an unsteady hand, hesitation in every movement. The robot struggles for a moment, its hands struggling to get a grip.

Funny. The comet had seemed so big when she'd been standing at the bottom of it. Now, watching Voltron handle it like a bottle cap, it looked so small. It looked so...unimportant. This is what had the power to rip apart the fabric of time? This rock? If she hadn't seen it with her own eyes, Trip wouldn't believe it from here.

"Hey, Trip!" Lance laughs over the coms, "it's you! Look!"

"She's waving!" Hunk chimes in.

For a split second, their words make no sense, and then she remembers where she is and who she had been with leading up to the confrontation with Hira. There was another her here. Trip walks forward, wondering what they meant when they said she was waving. She ducks beside Keith's chair, eyes gazing through the front window.

The other Trip was behind the glass window of the cargo bay, her arms waving wildly up at them as Voltron pulled the comet from its bindings. She knows it's her because of the sword that didn't match the rest of the black uniform hanging at her hip.

"Is she saying bye?" Pidge asks.

"Awe, this Trip is friendly," Lance coos, "bye other Trip!"

She wasn't necessarily waving goodbye. As soon as she sees the other version of herself in the window of the head of Voltron, her motions switch. She's reaching behind her, where real Trip's sheath was resting against her spine. But the clone's sword wasn't anywhere in that position. She was simply motioning to it, mimicking grabbing for it.

Trip reaches up for the hilt of the weapon. It was still there. Why would she need to grab it? There was no use for it up here in the safety of Keith's lion. It's so confusing that, for a moment, Trip doubt's it's a message for her at all. But she hadn't started the new movement until she'd seen her double in the window.

Voltron is turning away from her before Trip can try and make any more sense of her movements.

The comet barely fits through the gash in the side of the ship, but it manages to be pushed between the pieces of metal and then it's in open space. For the first time in 10000 years. Trip remains at Keith's side, looking around their surroundings.