Connections - klance

>>7<<

"Keith, look out!" Keith whirled his lion around just in time to blast the Galra ship.

"Thanks, Shiro," he replied. 

Focus, Keith, he thought to himself. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the blue lion blast a Galra ship. Allura was actually really good at this. The sight of the blue lion, on the other hand, hurt more than he wanted to admit. Keith turned away from her, blasting a few more Galra ships.

"How are you doing, Pidge?" Shiro asked, slamming a couple cruisers.

"We're almost to the main control deck," Pidge replied. "Once I'm there, I can hack into their system and get whatever prison records they have access to."

"Great. Keep us updated," Shiro replied, returning his attention to the battle at hand. Keith frowned, losing himself in the battle. They felt a lot more intense without Lance's stupid comments. All the excitement was gone, leaving only intensity behind.

Keith grunted as a Galra ship hit him from behind. Pulling his lion up, he turned quickly to face the Galra. A couple blasts fired from his lion, hitting the ship dead on.

"Alright, I'm at the control room. It looks like this might take a while," Pidge said, her voice tense.

"How long is a while?" Shiro asked.

"Maybe fifteen dobashes," Pidge replied.

"You doing ok, Hunk?" Shiro asked.

"Yeah, I'm good. We've only met a couple Galra so far. I'll make sure Pidge is covered." 

Keith frowned, noting the strained tone of voice. Hunk was never like this. If Lance was here-

He shook his head, ending that thought abruptly.

Focus.

Looking to his left, he saw the blue lion barely fighting off a group of fighters. Clenching his jaw, he flew to Allura's aid.

"Allura, are you ok?" There was no response. Keith frowned. A couple of his blasts took out the Galra ships, and he returned his attention to the blue lion.

"Allura?"

Silence. Keith started to panic. Was she hurt?

"Keith! I'm sorry, I must have turned off my communicator accidentally!" Her voice sounded panicked. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's ok," he replied, turning his attention back to the battle at hand.

---

Pain.

Lance screamed, his body writhing on the table. Haggar only smiled, digging her knife deeper into his skin.

"This is what happens when you try to escape," she hissed, dragging the knife down his chest. Tears fled his clenched eyes, mingling with the blood on his face.

"I'm sorry!" he gasped. "I won't- it won't- argh!" He screamed again, the pain shooting up his body. Haggar paused, looking down at him in amusement.

"You're sorry?" she asked.

"Ye- yes," Lance sobbed. "I can't."

"If you didn't want this to happen, you wouldn't have tried to run," Haggar responded, running a finger delicately along the dripping blade.

Lance didn't reply, sobs hitching in his throat. Haggar studied him for a moment before handing the knife to a nearby attendant.

"Continue for another varga." Lance's sobbing and pleading increased in volume. "When you've finished, return him to his cell." She swept out of the room. Lance looked up at the Galra above him, blood tainting his vision.

"Please," he whispered. The soldier ignored him, raking the knife along his left leg. Lance screamed, his voice echoing through the room.

Nobody answered.

(527 words)