Hey, Brother? {a Voltron fanfic}

Chapter 24

After she had eaten, Kiera went with Coran to the control room. The planetary map popped up and zoomed in on their location.

"This is Calamity, as we learned from Sendak the other day." He said "Its people look relatively Altean, with longer hair. They all have pure white skin though. And their eyes are pure white. You should be able to blend in and just say you're a traveller. They are formal people though, so you must treat everyone with respect."

Kiera nodded "Should be easy. The 'I am a traveller' excuse is one I've used many times. When I'm hunting someone down to turn then in, it can be quite useful."

"I forgot you were also a bounty hunter." Coran said "Don't turn us in." His eyes sparkled at the joke.

Kiera smirked "We will see." She had no intention of turning the Paladins or their crew in "Getting onto the planet should be simple enough. How will I pay for the outfits?" Saying the words 'how will I pay?' felt strange in her mouth.

"Oh, um." He scratched his head "We have some money. It's quite old though."

"It'll have to work." She said "Wither that or I'll just do some work for the people. Or, you know, I'll do what I do best and steal the outfits."

Corans moustache twitched "Lets hope it doesn't come to that. One more thing about this planet, women must be accompanied by a male relative. Strange. I could go with you but we hardly look alike."

"I'll just say you're my brother in law." Kiera said "Let's go."

He lead the way to a pod and they took off into Calamity's sky. The earth below was purple and red with pale blue plants all over the place. Fluffy clouds floated around the pod.

Kiera smiled. The clouds reminded her of Earth. A tear pricked in her eye and she switched her mental focus quickly. She couldn't dwell on Earth for very long. Nobody missed her and she missed nobody. She missed the trees and the clouds and the sky. Nature.

She distracted herself by saying "You haven't been coming to the dance practices. Are you coming to the dinner party?"

Coran shook his head "No. Diplomacy was something I simply put up with. If I can avoid it, I do. And someone will need to have the ship ready just in case you all need to make a quick escape."

"Alright. I can make a little intercom thing so we can communicate. I'll hide it in an earring or something." Kiera said "If you need to talk to me I will hear it straight into my ear."

"We are here." Coran said. The pod landed just outside of a city. The houses were made of white stone with blue roofs. A huge silver and blue castle rose off in the distance. If glinted like sapphires.

Kiera and Coran walked into the city, side by side. They emerged into a market. People with pure white skin and eyes were bustling around, chattering. Younger ones ran around, playing games with their friends. There was a street performer singing beside a large building with a small crowd around them.

Kiera spotted a stall selling dresses and formal wear "Lets start there." They walked to the stall and entered. It was a small stall and it was filled to the brim with lovely dresses of all colours. It seemed almost cozy with a small campfire just outside.

The owner of the stall greeted them with a wave. Kiera smiled. These people were so peaceful.

She dragged Coran around, looking for the perfect dresses for herself, Pidge and Allura. He followed reluctantly. She tried a few dresses on before settling for a certain three she thought would suit them the best. The dresses looked about the right size. She bought the dresses (the money worked) and exited the store.

"How about that stall?" Coran pointed to one with suits on display. She nodded and they went inside. Once again, Kiera dragged Coran around, finding the suits that suited the boys best.

"Coran?" She said.

"Hm?" His reply came from one rack over.

"Would this fit them do you think?" She held up four suits.

Coran inspected them carefully and nodded "Probably. That's most likely the closest you will get."

Kiera nodded and went to pay. On her way out, she had the bags with the dresses in them and three more with the suits.

"I haven't gone properly shopping since I left Earth." Said Kiera "That was kind of fun."

Coran sighed "I never understood why women like shopping so much." Kiera laughed.

They walked through the crowd of people back to their pod. The sun had started to set. Kiera hadn't realized she had taken this long. No wonder Coran looked tired.

The pod door opened and she tossed the bags in before climbing into the passenger seat. Coran sat in the driver seat and shut the door. The pod slowly lifted off and flew back to the castle ship.

"I wonder how the others are doing." Kiera said "I hope they're practicing."

Coran said "They'd better be. After today we only have four days. Four days until we need to know the coordinates of the prison."

"Four days until we find Pidge's family." Kiera had a determined look on her face "This is going to work. It has to."

Coran said nothing as they approached the ship. They flew into the hangar and the pod set down. Kiera hopped out with all the bags and smiled at Coran.

"Thanks for coming with me." She said and dashed off to her room. The bags bounced against her back and legs as she ran. She wanted to show them the dresses and suits on the day of. She wanted it to be a surprise.

The door to her room opened and she tossed the bags in. Her arms ached a little as she walked to the training deck.

Music was playing as she opened the door. Shiro and Pidge were dancing. Pidge wasn't falling all over the place. Allura was laughing as she danced with Hunk. Lance and Keith were dancing and Kiera couldn't tell who was leading.

She ran forward and grabbed Pidge's waist, effectively stealing her from Shiro. She yelped as Kiera twirled her into a fast waltz, quickly ending with dipping her.

Kiera stood her up and said "I'm back!"

"Welcome back, Kiera." Allura said.

Shiro looked at her, faking hurt "You stole my dance partner."

Kiera laughed and gently pushed Pidge to Shiro "Fine, take her."

"You're back, can we go eat now?" Hunk asked as his stomach growled.

Lance let go of Keith, who was bright red, and said "I'm with Hunk. Let's eat now that Kiera is back."

They all walked down to the eating room. Kiera felt pride bubble up in her stomach. They were all getting better at dancing.

The next three days went by in a blur and suddenly it was the night before the day of the dinner party.

Kiera lay awake on her bed, desperately trying to sleep.

Nothing could prepare her for what would happen the next day.