The Gilmore Paladins - "They Shoot Paladins, Don't They?"

Chapter 3

Beside his locker at the Galaxy Garrison Lance tried to focus on what Pidge was saying instead of being distracted by Nyma and Matt making out with two other cadets right beside him.

"We need to talk about Saturday," said Pidge, collecting her books from her locker.

"What about Saturday?" asked Lance, having trouble focusing with the sounds of spit being exchanged so close to him.

Pidge closed her locker door and said, "I'm booking the simulator all day so we can practice before our exam."

"That's a bit extreme, don't you think? I don't need any more piloting practice. My first year of flight school they called me The Taylor because of how I thread the needle. Lance held up his right hand in the 'okay' gesture and inserted his left index finger through it. Then he blushed, realizing what gesture he was making.

Pidge's expression remained dead serious. "I've never actually seen you successfully thread the needle, but I have see you break the wings off the ship four times, nosedive into the ground because you were distracted scratching your nose, and total the ship half a second into take-off which I still don't understand how was possible. You shouldn't have even had enough momentum to incur that kind of damage. We're practicing on Saturday. Time!"

With that Nyma and Matt both separated from their respective partners. "Bye!" called Nyma to the boy she'd been kissing as she fell in step behind Pidge and Lance.

"What'd we miss?" asked Matt, following Nyma.

"We're practicing in the simulator on Saturday before our exam next week."

"Thanks for checking with us first," groaned Matt.

"But we don't really need to be there, right?" asked Nyma. "I mean it's just Lance that needs the practice."

"Hey!" snapped Lance, though to be fair his actual nickname is first year had been 'the King of Pilot Error.'

"We need to practice as a unit," stressed Pidge. "We need to be working as a team if we're going to ace this exam."

"I'd settle for a pass," said Nyma, being honest.

"We only just passed the mid-term," complained Pidge.

"And that was okay," said Matt. "Let's do that again."

"Wrong. We're acing the final."

"But realistically it'd be fine if we fell somewhere between a pass and an ace."

"We're practicing on Saturday!" snapped Pidge.

"Okay, we heard you," said Nyma, turning to head towards her locker with Matt.

Lance continued to follow Pidge as she stepped outside. Pidge began ranting to herself. "Why are we practicing on Saturday, Pidge? What's so special about the final exam, Pidge? Why does my head feel so light and yet not float away, Pidge?"

Pidge froze, seeing something up ahead.

"What?" asked, Lance, pausing too. He followed Pidge's gaze across the Garrison courtyard and spotted what had made Pidge freeze up. It was Robro, their long lost, reprogrammed Galra Sentry friend.

"What's he doing here?" asked Pidge.

"Maybe he's here to see you," said Lance, noticing Robro's gaze that was locked on Pidge.

"But he hasn't called me once. I haven't seen or heard from him since we shot him into space riding on the robeast coffin."

"Maybe he wants to explain why."

"He was supposed to go away and never come back. I already wrote his name in my revenge book."

"Pidge, he knows we're standing here talking about him."

"But what does he want?"

"Go ask him," encouraged Lance.

Pidge stuck her nose up high and marched over to Robro. "What do you want?" she asked, curtly.

"I found myself fatigued of exploring the cosmos," he answered, "I wished to see you again."

"But you never called."

"I know."

"You lost my number?"

"I have memorized your number."

"You didn't want to use my number?"

"I wished to be an explorer, to travel through space, the final frontier. It was my dream. The last thing I needed was a distraction."

"I totally understand," said Pidge, hiding her disappointment. "This school year is very important for me. I'm aiming to make the high honour, despite having a less than stellar simulator crew and the last thing I need is a distraction from that so good move. You saved us both from being distracted. Best of luck to you." Pidge held out her hand to give Robro a final handshake goodbye. His steely cold hand closed around her tiny warm one, but he did not shake, not did he let go.

"Pidge...," he began.

"I need my hand back," she warned.

"If I were to let go, how fast would your human legs carry you away?"

"3.2 ticks."

"My calculations concur. Greetings, Paladude," said Robro, speaking over Pidge's shoulder.

"Yo Robro!" Lance greeted back. "How's space exploring?"

"Semi-satisfactory."

"Jokes over," warned Pidge. "Let go."

"No."

"Yes."

"Pidge."

"Look, you don't have to be polite. Sure, I was your programmer and I made you the amazing prankster that you are. I put that sense of wonder into your circuitry, but you don't owe me anything. You don't need to come visit me or see me to be polite. And you certainly never have to have fun with me again."

"Because pulling pranks with you would be a distraction."

"Yes, I'm a distraction," grumbled Pidge. "We've established that. Is time looping or do you have trouble finding your way to a point?"

"However, not pulling pranks with you has become impossible."

"What?" gasped Pidge.

"I nearly flew into a white star because I was so distracted thinking about you. Would you like me to release this hand now?"

"I've got another," said Pidge, weakly.

"I have considered this and you are a distraction I am meant to have. Are you busy as of this moment?"

"Well -," began Pidge.

"She's free!" Lance called from the sidelines. "We're done."

"Excellent. Let us go find some capsuled ovums and launch them with a trajectory that would allow them to burst upon impact against Headmaster Iverson's land vehicle."

"What?" asked Lance.

"I think he wants... TO EGG IVERSON'S CAR!" cried Pidge with excitement.

"You crazy kids have fun," said Lance with a wave.

"Later Paladude," said Robro, grabbing Pidge's books from her hands and walking off.

"He took my books," said Pidge, helplessly.

"Go get them back," encouraged Lance.

Pidge scurried after Robro while Lance shook his head and left to catch his bus.