For The Stars

Chapter 10: Communications Base Thaldycon

Keith lay in his old bed, in his old room, on his old base. He should feel better here, shouldn't he? This place was familiar, it was once home. But the anxiety he'd been feeling the past few quintants hadn't let up. In fact, even though he was nowhere near the Princess, the awful feeling wasn't any better at all. He rolled over on his side and took a deep breath, then another, before finally resigning himself to a sleepless night.

They crashed against each other, the loud thud of colliding bodies echoing off the walls along side their heavy breathing. Keith lunged to the left, narrowly avoiding the edge of Plak's blade before whirling around to swipe his leg. The older man collapsed onto one knee, repurposing the momentum to somersault into a new position. "You're being reckless. Focus, plan your attack 3 manoeuvres in advance." His former mentor scolded and Keith let out a growl of frustration. He couldn't focus, he was trying as hard as he could, but something was blocking his ability to concentrate.

Keith didn't last much longer. With his mind elsewhere he was an easy target, Plak taking him out after only a few dobashes.

"Again" The mentor commanded and, for the first time in his life, Keith turned down to order to spar. "Is everything alright? You're not acting like yourself."

"I'm fine." He dismissed, moving to collect his red Earth jacket and wipe off his face with a towel. "It's just, a lot has changed."

"Yeah, no kidding! Red Paladin of Voltron! I'm proud of you, kit." Plak smiled as he nudged Keith's shoulder, throwing him slightly off balance.

With a half hearted groan Keith voiced his objections. "Not a kit anymore."

< Operative 2675 to the hangar for visitor arrival. Operative 2675 to the hangar. >

Tragok's voice echoed overhead and Keith let out another unenthusiastic groan. He made his way through the small base with Plak, the two traversing the halls in relative silence until he reached the primary hangar. Inside, Red was sitting tall in line with the pods and looking dramatically out of place next to the generally uniform appearance of the Blade ships. He smiled up at her and felt the soft purr in the back of his mind.

"It's pretty cool. I'd love to have a look inside it if that's possible. Maybe even a ride?" Plak contributed from beside him and Keith nodded.

"She." He corrected. "And sure, maybe later."

"Rubin would have been beside himself to see a Voltron Lion. I wish he was here to see this." There was a dark tint to his words, and a finality to the past tense that was used. Looking up at the accomplished young trainer, Keith couldn't see past the activated mask of his suit, but he did note an almost permanent slump to his shoulders. Why hadn't he noticed that before?

"Did he get reassigned?" Keith probed; fearing the answer his gut knew was coming.

Plak shook his head slightly. "No." He answered quietly, voice dropping as he continued to stare up at Red. "We went on a mission with Rikki and a headquarters operative named Zavin. It was a hard mission, and our intel had been planted by the Empire; we walked right into an ambush." He took a moment to collect himself and Keith watched him, his gaze still fixed on Red and his body tensing ever so slightly as he pulled up the memory of his lost brother. "Zavin called for a retreat and we turned back right away, but Rubin didn't make it to the extraction point on time. A few phoebs ago we found what was left of him in a work camp out on the fringes of the Empire. Hollowed out and stolen by the retched druids. The operatives who found him ... ended his suffering."

There was a distant sound in the young man's voice and Keith felt a pang in his chest. "Rubin was a fine Blade. His loss is felt by us all." Leaning into Plak's side, he let out a comforting purr as the other wrapped an arm around him, squeezing tight.