The Gold Paladin

Chapter 14

Night flew next to Keith, twisting and turning around Lotor's main battle cruiser. Pidge had planned a complex route for them to take, doubling or tripling back about five times to confuse and elude Lotor. The confusing path was programmed into Gold's central computer, and it displayed a glittering path on where Night was supposed to go.

Why did Pidge make this so hard?

She swooped under an asteroid and popped up. Night flipped upside down into a barrel roll, shooting back in the direction she just came.

Gold zipped by Yellow, who was spiralling around in a circle.

"Hunk, what are you doing?!" Night followed the path around a ring of ice planets, watching Hunk.

"I honestly have no idea," Hunk pulled out of the spiral to a steep climb. "Pidge's plan is kind of crazy." He dipped back into a dive.

Night flipped into a sharp corkscrew, then turned to the right and zigzagged wildly through the galaxy. "You can say that again. But don't."

"What's the point of this... plan... anyways?" Hunk slipped into another dive, plummeting down, then zooming off in the other direction. A few seconds later, Yellow came speeding back towards Night, who was busy circling around a planet.

"I think it would be suspicious if we just hurtled towards Lotor's base and told him we surrender. We have to give him glimpses of us, so he knows we're nearby, then come in." Night explained, leaping from rock to rock as the stupid line instructed.

Hunk followed her, leaping up and down, too. "Oh... got it. But what's the point of doing all these fancy tricks out here if Lotor can't even see us?"

Night dropped straight through a hole in the asteroid, and looped around it for another asteroid run. "I have no idea. Maybe he's tracking us, and if we're spiralling everywhere, he'll think we're being chased or something?"

"That sounds about right," Hunk corkscrewed, almost smashing into Night. "And dangerous."

They split ways, and Night was left to dart in and out of a cloud of space dust, alone.

The path ended after five minutes of rolling around in the dust, and Night was in her position for plan Burrito.

Dust cleared, and Night barely spotted the others, ready for Burrito to go down. She saw Red, slowly approaching. Night kind of felt bad for Lance.

He was placing such a big responsibility on himself, making Red vulnerable to all attacks for this plan, plan Burrito, to work. Lance could be selfless when he really put his mind to things, fearless and determined.

"Alright, team, I'm approaching the surrender point. Pidge, get on Lotor's radio stream, please."

Night heard Pidge programming something on the computer. Multiple blips and beeps sounded over the communication link, along with the occasional curse.

"Alright, Lance. You're in. We won't be able to hear you, so, good luck."

"Good luck, McClain." Night added.

"Yeah, Lance," Keith began. "Be careful, okay?"

Red drifted even closer to Lotor's huge cruiser. The defending ships opened fire, but Lance weaved around the shots easily.

Thank the gods he's in Red.

The ships ceased fire, instead forming a defensive line.

"It worked." Night said, letting out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.