Warmth (Klance Warmth series Book 1 of +4)

4: Icy Fate

A/N: I've named the gas giant and the moon after deities from Egyptian mythology.  Tefnut is one of the two children of the creator god Atem.  She is a primordial goddess, the personification of the mist, dew, and rain, and the mother of the famous gods Nut and Geb (the sky and the earth respectively).  The moon is named after Khonsu who is literally the personification of the moon and whose name means "traveler." 

Khonsu is a shepherd moon.  Shepherd moons are moons which orbit within the rings of the parent planet.  Their gravity and tidal forces clear out a path from the dust, rocks, and ice in the rings as they move.  They "shepherd" the ring debris aside resulting in rings of emptiness except for the moon.  A good example of a shepherd moon would be Saturn's moons Prometheus, Daphnis, Pan, Janus, and Epimetheus as well as Neptune's moons Cordelia and Ophelia.  Look them up.  They're pretty cool.

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"I think I'm going to throw up," Hunk said in a shaky voice.

Lance  flinched and suddenly did not enjoy the thought of flying in a cramped  cockpit with his new Altenoid friend. "Please don't," he said, inching  away from Hunk's cone of aim. "I really don't want to get stomach acid  and who knows what else all over me, thank you."

"Paladins," Allura's voice rang through the Yellow Lion's communicator. "I'll  open a wormhole for Shiro and Pidge first then I'll open one for Hunk  and my brother. The pod travels slower than the Lions, so Shiro, be  prepared for your search to take a few ticks longer than Lance's."

"What's a tick?" Pidge asked rhetorically.

"This is very important," Allura continued. "Wormholes are one-way only, so do not try to come back once you reach the other side. Wait for me to reopen the wormholes calibrated for incoming travel."

"Understood, princess," Shiro replied like the well-trained soldier he was.

"How long do we have to get to our Lions?" Pidge asked.

"I'll reopen the wormhole at regular intervals to check on your progress," Allura said.

"With any luck, you'll both have your Lions and be ready to come back when we check back the first time," Coran chimed in. "Or who knows? There could be a fleet of Galra on the other side."

"Galra?!" Shiro gasped.

"Uhh, I'm not sure I want to do this anymore," Hunk said.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Pidge asked urgently.

"Not funny, Coran," Lance snapped, gripping the back of Hunk's pilot seat tightly.

Coran's  chuckle was the last thing the group heard over their communicators  before they were blasted through their respective wormholes.

Allura  gave her advisor an exhausted look. "Coran, please try not to scare  away our paladins before they even get their Lions together. The last  thing we need right now is a stroke of bad luck."

~~XxX~~

Lance  had to blink several times to clear his head after the trip through the  wormhole. Fortunately, his vision settled just in time for him to  flinch out of the way when Hunk turned green and let out a huge belch.

"Do not throw up," he pleaded, waving his hands desperately. "At least wait until I'm out of here before barfing. Please, please, please!"