shining like the stars

26

Shiro was not the first to arrive on the bridge of the castle-ship. When he stepped off the lift, wearing his paladin suit and helmet tucked safely under his arm, Hunk was already standing on deck – fully dressed in his paladin suit as well, but not quite awake yet despite the proximity alarm still going off. Shiro patted his shoulder as he passed and Hunk straightened out of his slouch for a moment, then yawned hugely.

Allura stood at the helm, also dressed from her usual night clothes, hair tightly coiled and very few strands escaping, as if she had had all the time in the world to prepare for this scramble. Which, judging by the empty starfield on the forward display, was more than likely a training exercise. "What's going on?" he asked her, and Allura looked back as the lift opened again and spilled Pidge onto the bridge as well.

"We've received a distress call from a ship currently being pursued by a Galra scout ship," Allura said, and nodded to Coran, who pulled up the display. Several humanoid aliens were clustered around a video message, with furred complexions ranging in shades of browns to reds. "These Clawomians escaped through a blockade on their system but were pursued; their ship lacks the ability to create wormholes, but is more than fast enough to move between systems."

She gestured, and the display of aliens shimmered into a distant shot of a small craft, much smaller than the castle-ship, cutting across the highlight of a planet. A few moments later, a Galra ship loomed after it, much larger but still not a frigate.

"Why isn't the Galra ship firing?" Pidge asked.

Allura shook her head. "I'm not sure. But it is clearly in pursuit." They all looked up as the lift opened again, and this time Lance and Keith staggered out, fully dressed. Allura turned to them with a severe frown, clearly about to unload.

Shiro beat her to it. "Glad to see you could join us," he said sharply, then paused. Somehow, in the scramble of trying to get dressed and report to the bridge, Keith and Lance had switched helmets. Keith was wearing Lance's helmet, and Lance had Keith's tucked under his arm, and neither of them looked with it enough to notice. Pidge and Hunk both snickered, and Shiro sighed. Allura was appalled.

"Sorry we're late," Keith said, and did not elaborate further as to the reasons. "It won't happen again."

"Keith," Pidge said. "Lance has your helmet."

Keith looked over at Pidge, clearly confused by this, but Lance looked at the helmet under his arm, then his head snapped around very quickly to actually look at Keith, then he turned red. Keith looked at Lance without comprehension, until Lance held up the red helmet and said, "you've got mine."

"Oh," Keith said, and took it off. They swapped helmets and then stood loosely at attention.

"Emergency alarms could occur at any moment," Allura said. "You must always be prepared." She gestured at the image on the screens of the small Clawomian ship. "They've been broadcasting a generalized help message; they clearly have no idea who is out there or even listening, so we must offer aid with due haste."

Hunk raised his hand. "So," he said, carefully. "What if it's a trap?"

Everyone looked to Hunk, clearly waiting on an explanation. "The Galra ship isn't firing on them," he said. "Doesn't that strike anyone else as a little odd?"

"Could be that they have something important on board," Pidge said with a small shrug.

"Or someone," Keith said. "Important."

"But why not use the tractor beam if that's the case?" Hunk shrugged, his hands wide. "It just smells a little fishy, guys."

"Hunk's got a point," Shiro said. "We have to proceed like this is a trap set specifically for us."