A/N: Torture warning! Please skip ahead to line if uncomfortable with torture! Or skip chapter entirely if you don’t want to be sad.
Far away from where the Coeus rested, Yorak's massive battleship floated through at almost a crawl. The bridge was lifeless. No holoscreens were lit. Any chairs were gone. Through a labyrinth of halls lit by lowlight from above, soldiers stood ready at an escape pod with coordinates set for the colonies. The silence dragged on with the hours, just waiting. The Emperor was creative and cruel. Whatever his latest victim ended up looking, they were likely not going to make it to the colonies. The soldiers who stood guard at the metal door in the kitchen reserves would agree. When the cooling system in the freezer turned on, they could remain stone-faced. Unmovable. When it turned off, the memories of boot camp returned. The barely audible screams. The soldiers flinched and shook as the screams became louder, but weren't enough to give anyone else on the ship the pleasure of hearing. They remembered they were lucky it wasn't them. That was all.
Inside the walk-in freezer, Yorak wore a cruel smile and a dark bodysuit. His victim was chained by her wrists to the ceiling. The woman wore a jade green shirt and light gray pants with matching boots. Her dark brown hair looked darker under the dim light in the freezer, blue eyes lifeless as she breathed heavily. Before her breath could even itself out, hot water forcefully sprayed onto her body. She shook her body, trying in vain to escape the scalding water. The chains shook, but never gave way. Ugly red marks were left on her pale skin where the spray hit her bare skin. Her clothes could provide only so much protection before they too were soaked in the hot water. At the temperature change, the freezer turned itself on and her screams were drowned out. As her screams died, the uselessness of her moving now apparent, her body now sagged, Yorak decided at last to restart his interrogation.
"Sammima," Yorak said, his smile growing impossibly wider. The woman shook as she strained her head to face the man. "You failed me. That is why you are here."
"I-I'm sorry, Emperor." Sammima bowed her head, every word taking another breath.
"Tell me." Yorak stepped forward so he was well-within Sammima's line of sight. "Why did the Black Paladin get away from you?"
"I-I," Sammima began to violently shake, the once-hot water quickly freezing on her skin.
"This will all stop when you tell me why the Black Paladin got away from you." Yorak was close enough to tuck a loose strand of dark hair behind Sammima's pointed ear. It was the only Altean trait the human half-breed had. That, and her inhuman strength.
"They pushed us aside, ordering us to take shelter," Sammima said between shuddering breaths. "My son—"
"What about your son?" The faux care in Yorak's voice turned cold again, removing his hand from Sammima's face. "This is about the Paladins."
"I was in position, but my son," Sammima tried not to meet the Emperor's cruel eyes. "He heard the Paladins and dragged me along to meet them."
"Sammima, I have no patience for excuses."
The freezer turned itself off, but the woman still shook. Yorak was fine in his bodysuit glaring at the woman's meek form. The skin on her face had begun to turn waxy and the tips of her fingers were turning blue. Ugly red welts appeared on her neck where the spray was most concentrated. Her head was still down when she heard the freezer being knocked on.
"She's ready." Yorak's voice was stiff. With weak movements, two soldiers came in to unchain her from her restraints, bringing her down to the floor. Sammima collapsed into a heap on the cold floor of the freezer. "Take her away. If she dies, her son will bear the weight of his crimes." Sammima was too tired to fight, to argue, to stand. Each of the soldiers hooked their arms under her armpits and dragged her out of the freezer. Before Sammima passed out, Yorak's tall form reminded her of the brave young man she remembered fondly so long ago. What happened to him?
Keith was smoothing down as much of his dark hair as possible, tying it in a low ponytail as he made his way to the bridge.
Through the door and into the bridge, his face fell as he saw Kova's stupid purple sweater. Her back was to him and the door, the bright blue screen at the windows lit up.
"Good morning, Keith," Kova greeted without turning around. Caleb, in his chair a step below and to the right of Kova's podium, turned around to see the man. With a little wave, Caleb turned around, looking at the screen.
"How did you know it was me?" Keith asked, approaching Kova to lean on her railing between Kova and Caleb.
"A teen with strict parents knows." Kova finally looked up from her holoscreen to meet his eyes. "And we were running the cameras for software updates." She pointed to a small part of the screen that had been obscured by Kova. She was right. Cake, with his tongue sticking out, was much too close to the camera, looking at something directly above it.
"Now?" Cake said, looking directly at the camera. His voice seemed to surround Keith, and he looked at the walls hoping to figure out where it came from. Kova pressed a finger to her ear to respond.
"Yeah, we're good." Cake made a little air pump, then got down from the small step ladder he was using to be so close to the camera in the first place.
"You added audio?" Keith asked, staring at the screen.
"We didn't add anything. We just improved it." Kova closed the camera feed and stared at the empty screen. "Now."
One by one, multiple screens lit up as Cake happily sang.
"SECRET TUNNEL! SECRET TUNNEL!" Cake sang to the engine room, putting the step ladder just inside the door. "THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!" He happily marched his way to the bridge. For every syllable, he marched one step. "SECRET, SECRET, SECRET, SECRET TUNNEL! YEAH!" With the last word, Cake's voice came from the hallway next to the bridge. With both hands in the air and a smile on his face, Cake posed for the camera.
"Coming!" Cake panicked and ran to the bridge, almost missing the door entirely. Keith stared at him with an incredulous look, but Cake walked past him with the little dignity he had left and sat down in his chair. One by one, the cameras turned off except for the one in front of Shiro's room. His door had opened, looking into the empty hallway. At last, he looked up at the camera and pointed at it with one finger.
"No." With that, he walked back into his room.
"The cameras take a tick to come online, but," Kova shrugged. "It works."
"Time for our next order of business." Kova moved her head from side to side, hoping to pop her neck. "Allie, did we find anything on Vatos's mom?"
"Good news is yes, the bad news is no," Allie said, uploading her screen to the larger one. "Her name is Sammima Clarke, a half-Altean and half-human hybrid." A woman appeared on the screen, with very dark hair swept to the side and tied in a bun and light blue eyes.
"She doesn't have Altean markings," Caleb pointed out, and Allie nodded.
"It's odd, but it isn't uncommon," Allie explained, showing a side-profile of Sammima. "Her file says she has Altean strength, ears, and others."
"Probably something else. I'm too young to develop past these." Allie patted her markings with her fingers, showing them to her team. Keith stared at the girl with questions, but the team moved on.
"So we found her official Altean file," Kova started.
"But we can't find her." Allie finished the sentence. "Maybe she worked for the Emperor?" Allie turned around, glancing at Keith as she spoke. Kova shook her head, looking at the woman.
"She isn't half-Galra, there's no point." Kova stared into the woman's eyes until a thought came to mind. "I've got an idea, but I gotta talk to Kenny first."
"This isn't something you can share with us?" Caleb said, turning around. Both Keith and Kova stared at him. Kova was side-eyeing Keith, hoping to get the point across. The realization struck Caleb just as Keith spoke.
"Why can't you share?" Keith turned his head to stare at Kova, who leaned herself against her screen in a second of panic. "On top of that, why are you guys in here? Isn't our turn?"
"Dad is making the schedule as we speak. And no."
"If we're going to be taking over for you guys, shouldn't we know what's going on?"
"We already covered technical with my dad and Pidge," Cake spoke up.
"Allie and I have medical covered," Liz said.
"Dad will be in charge of the main console, and you'll be in my seat." Caleb was next, crossing his arms.
"We're in here because we didn't want to wake up Kenny and Vatos." Allie was last, looking up.
"We haven't eaten breakfast yet," Kova explained, running a hand through her hair. "Patience yields focus." Before Keith could say anything in response, the screen showing a warning. Opening it up, the teens stared.
"Starting tracking!" Liz said, typing away at her screen.
"Do you want us to intercept?" Cake asked.
"No, take a mold and track it!" Kova ordered. "Liz, give me a BLIP reading!" Liz swiped at her screen, passing it onto the larger screen, and someone to Kova's right took it as Liz began to take a reading. The small pod appeared to contain only one person, with very low readings. Whoever was inside wouldn't make it to their destination without dying.
"We need to intercept," Keith said, staring at the screen.
"I agree." Kova made her way out of the bridge, removing her sweater as she did so. Caleb stood to follow her, but Keith stood in his way. With a pointed stare, Liz stood up and followed Kova out.
"There are some fights you need to wait and watch before you make a move." Caleb sat down, Keith's words setting in. Wait and watch?
The Black and Green Lions left the transport bays, heading towards the fast-moving pod. The Black Lion flew in front of the pod, catching its jaw. Inside, Kova pushed the controls forward, hoping to counteract the speed. Liz unboarded the Green Lion, hopping inside the small pod.
There was only a holoscreen showing the coordinates and a wide back area where a figure lay collapsed under a thick sheet.
"Green to Coeus, prepare med bay." Allie stood up, getting to the med bay as quickly as she could. "Hello?" Liz said, crouching to see the person's face. The person was shivering, shaking violently. The tips of their fingers and their lips were blue, but an ugly welt on the inside of their neck made it seem like they were worse off than they should. "I'm getting you out of here. Ready?" Liz said, picking up the figure by her armpits. She bit down on her lips as she marched herself towards the hatch she had come in from. Using the sheet as a wrap, Liz managed to hoist the person through the hole, over her shoulder, and into her Lion. Laying the person down in the back of the cockpit, Liz ran to her chair and took off.
Watching the Green Lion fly around, the Black Lion let the pod go underneath them, watching it fly into the distance.
The Lions returned to the bay, Liz and Allie took the figure into the med bay and began trying to treat them, and the rest of the team anxiously ate breakfast while the pair worked.
"Colonel and Kova Shirogane to the med bay, thank you." Allie said over the intercom, just as Shiro had served himself a plate and Kova finished hers. They both stood, with Kova seeming more anxious than before.
Liz looked exhausted and defeated, with Allie nowhere to be found. She looked up as the Shiroganes walked in.
"Allie confirmed," Liz started. "That's Sammima Clarke."
"And?" Kova asked, approaching the window. Liz looked down.
"We can't save her." Liz clenched her hands into fists. "She requested the Black Paladin and the Colonel."
"She's talking?" Shiro asked, opening the door.
"Not for long." She looked up again, staring at the figure in the bed. Allie was at her bedside, holding Sammima's hand and brushing her hair away from her face.
"Sammima?" Shiro said, stepping into the room. Kova stood at the door, placing a hand on Liz's shoulder before walking in herself. "I am Colonel Takashi Shirogane." Allie tried to walk away, but Sammima's strength came back if only to keep Allie at her side.
"I'm Kovalia Shirogane, Paladin of the Black Lion," Kova said, standing at the foot of the bed. Sammima struggled to breathe, but she managed to speak.
"Yorak wants you dead, Colonel," Sammima said, meeting Shiro's eyes, then turned to Kova. "For stealing you away."
"Sammima," Kova said, coming around to where Allie stood. "Have you been to Earth?" The woman smiled as her eyes softened.
"My father took me there many times. I grew up there. In a little house, with a big willow tree in the backyard."
"Have you ever met a TJ in your time?"
"Yes." She breathed, turning her head towards the ceiling. "So nice. So smart. So handsome. Nothing like whatever he turned into." Sammima's eyes became sad, a tear coming from her eye. She turned her head to the side to meet Allie's tearful gaze. "I hope my son never turns out like him."
"I promise, Sammima," Kova said, as Allie choked back a sob. "No harm will come to your boy."
"My crimes are mine to bear," Sammima said, staring at the ceiling again. "Mine to bear." The heart monitor bounced a few more times as the O2 levels lowered until the monitor read a flatline and low O2 levels. Kova held Allie as she sobbed. The young girl was led out while Shiro raised the sheet over Sammima's face.
After a few hours, the former Paladins and the Shirogane clan were on the bridge. Caleb sat in his chair with Kova sitting on the step next to him. Pidge and Hunk took seats in Liz and Cake's seats, respectively. Keith was annoyed in Allie's seat, arms crossed. Shiro was in front of the team, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
"We have to cremate the body," Kova said, muffled by her own cheeks as she squished them with her fists. "It's what we were trained to do."
"We can't just," Hunk said, making little hand gestures. "Launch her?"
"Or send her back to Altea?" Pidge asked, looking to Shiro. Shiro sighed.
All bodies had to be cremated because they aren't degradable in space, unlike ocean burials or traditional burials. The problem was the Coeus. The Coeus was built before this law became law at all. Before the Garrison Council and the Galactic Coalition. The Coeus doesn't have a cremator unless you count the thrusters as a make-shift one. That was when the idea of respect for the deceased came up.
The Coeus would have to land, and with Yorak becoming more desperate, it was dangerous.
"We don't know if the pod would cross through Fire sectors, and they might intercept or attack the pod before it gets there." Caleb was arguing for landing the Coeus. Kova was with him.
"We have to land." Kova stretched her arms over her head, giving her cheeks a break.
"How are you going to make a fire hot enough to turn the body into ash?" Keith asked, turning around to face Kova.
"We made a welder. I'm sure making a hot enough fire won't be that bad."
"We can't land. We can just eject and go."
"It's space law. I'm not committing another felony."
"Enough," Shiro said, the two sides finally quieting. "All in favor of landing, raise a hand." Kova, Caleb, and Keith raised a hand. Shiro also raised a hand. Keith turned to Pidge and Hunk at the other side of the room, who stared at him in surprise. Just as quickly, they accepted the landing.
The Coeus would find itself on a dwarf planet, named Vyria 1RC, within hours. The teens flew around in the Lions, practicing their moves as they planned ahead.
