The Stars Between -- (VLD)

[8] We've got a mission

 "Lan!"

Lance started in his place, the shouted greeting cutting unexpectedly through his focus. He nearly dropped the book he held in his hands- a small green covered thing that held a few basic words of ploteryin, the new language he was attempting to learn. Lance thought it sounded beautiful... with a bit of practice. He was still far from getting the words right, but he really did like hearing the words from the mouth of a native speaker, such as the child calling for his attention. 

Adjusting his seat, Lance leaned backwards in order to look under the table, smiling at the adorable kid that came into view. Nea smiled back at him, holding her arms out to him with a tiny pout. Lance patted his lap, inviting her to climb up, which she did, being careful to avoid his still injured leg. She was considerate like that, only adding to his love for the child.

 "Hello, Nea." He said slowly, he wanted to get the pronunciation perfect. He could of said it faster, but there was no point in learning her language if he butchered it so much that it was unrecognisable. 

Nea gasped in delight, wrapping her arms around the blue paladin and squeezing tight. Lance laughed, bending a little so that he might kiss her exposed forehead. It was something he had done for his younger siblings many times and felt it was natural. 

Nea seemed to appreciate it, hugging him a bit tighter as she giggled into his chest, tears of happiness forming in her eyes. 

Vi sent him an approving look from the opposite end of the table, where they were deliberating over a stack of paper with Muxis. He supposed that even the resistance had paperwork to do, though he was unsure what it was for. 

Lance looked to the door at the sound of footsteps, Matt stepping into the kitchen a moment later. Behind him a rather disgruntled looking Roy sauntered in, though was surprised him was that Olly wasn't right on her heels. Lance supposed she wasn't too far off- she had little legs, after all. 

Roy sat heavily at the table, head in hands as she glowered at the polished metal. Lance began to pity the table by how much she was glaring, and hoped he'd never be on the receiving end of it. 

"I need alcohol." Roy muttered, slamming her face into the table with a loud thunk. Lance winced when it made contact. That was probably going to bruise later. 

"Heya," Olly said cheerfully, appearing in the doorway. "We've got a mission." 

"Ah, that explains it." Muxis laughed. He moved over to where the girl was standing, giving her a boost so she could clamber onto the counter top. 

"Roy's underage," Matt warned. Olly just laughed, tossing a bottle down to Muxis, who caught it with practised ease."She's--" 

"Old enough to kill," Muxis interrupted, uncapping it and sliding it down to Roy. It bumped into her head, and she snatched it up, draining half of it in one go before continuing at a leisurely pace. "Old enough to drink." 

"Oh, and Lance!" Olly piped up, her head in the fridge as she fished out something that looked like juice for herself.She kicked the fridge shut, giving him a huge smile. "You're coming with us!"

 Lance tore his eyes from Roy, who looked like she was trying to drown herself in her alcohol. 

"Wait, what?" he tilted his head to the side, staring at Olly. "Why?" 

"Mux says you're a damn good shot." Roy mumbled, bottle empty and her head once more on the table. "'nd I can't take out both targets at once." 

Lance was wondering how much use he'd be on a mission if he wasn't up to full health yet. He still couldn't do most activities, and Kelaan still restricted his movements until his ankle was fully healed. 

Nea tugged at his arm and he absently ran a hand down her back. She giggled quietly, leaning into the touch before falling silent again. 

"Don't worry about your ankle, Lance."Lance turned to stare at Olly with wide eyes as she spoke. How had she known what he was thinking? Olly just smiled at him, shooting him a wink as she sat down next to Roy. 

"We're going to be on recon for a while, before taking the shot. There's not going to be any running, and the shuttle will be nearby." 

Roy moved so that Olly could grab her hand, sighing heavily. "Two targets..." she muttered "Really don' want to do this again..." 

There was a story there, but Lance let the thought leave his mind. He would not pry, after all it was none of his damn business. 

"When do we go?" He asked instead. 

"Tomorrow. You don't need to pack or anything, it's only a quick job." 

Lance nodded and stood, forgetting for a moment that he had a young alien child sitting on his lap. However, Nea payed no mind to his sudden uprising and merely moved herself so that she was positioned on Lance's hip. 

The position was familiar to the blue paladin from carrying his younger siblings and cousins, and he laughed,adjusting his hold on her a little as he took a few steps away from the table. 

"Kelaan said not to put too much weight on your leg, kid." Matt pointed out, folding his arms as he watched Lance. 

"It'll be fine," Muxis said, clapping Matt on the back. He didn't look too amused at the gesture, but didn't protest any further. 

Lance grinned again, and Nea booped his nose with a finger. She chattered something, pointing to the door. 

"Well, I'm gonna go now." Lance said, starting off. "Nea's not going to leave me alone, otherwise." 

Lance carried Nea to the library, but she frowned as she was placed down beside her pile of books, taller than it had been last time. 

"Be back. Promise." Lance said, taking a moment to remember the words in her language. Nea still looked sad, but dutifully picked up one of her many books, dropping to the ground and opening it to the first page. Lance smiled,giving her an affectionate pat on the head, being careful to avoid her disco ball thing. Apparently it was very sensitive. 

He tried not to feel guilty when Nea looked up again, giving him a sad smile. But he had duties to attend to, and a mission. 

Lance made his way to the hangar, where he was keeping his belongings within Blue. He had been allocated a room when he first joined the resistance, sharing a dorm a couple of other aliens, but Lance preferred it here. His dorm mates understood, and let him be. He really should get around to learning their names. 

Sighing, Lance stared into Blue's console. Despite his and Matt's hard work, the communications system remained broken. He was beginning to suspect that a key element of it had been lost, either while floating in space, or in his less-than stellar-landing on this current planet. 

Lance was a pilot, not an engineer. He wished he'd payed more attention in class, or asked Hunk for lessons sometime. Matt had expressed similar thoughts, mad at himself for not learning all he could from his father. But there was nothing they could do now. They just had to keep moving forward. 

Lance changed into his flight suit, but left his armour behind. He was fighting for the resistance, and it would only bring trouble to them if the Galra found out that rebels were harbouring one of the Voltron paladins. He would use resistance armour, and a resistance weapon. It was safer for everyone, he thought, leaving his bayard in the seat. 

"I'll be back soon girl," Lance promised, patting a wall gently "then we can get to work on your navigation systems." 

The blue lion pushed a wave of affection through their bond, and Lance smiled before leaving the hangar, only pausing to look back at the bay doors. He gave a small wave, before disappearing from sight. 

The blue lion shifted slightly, moving her head to stare the way her paladin had left. She stayed that way, as if waiting for the promise to be kept.