Nyle POV

It had been a couple of days since we had left Earth and we had done some different plans on how to go on with our mission. But as of right now, we were approaching a Galra-occupied base.

We were all in our lions and flying in front of the Atlas as Keith patched through to them. "This is the Voltron Coalition. Lay down your arms and--"

"Open fire!" The commander yelled, interrupting Keith. The base opened fire as we started flying in different directions to dodge the shots.

"Well, that didn't take long!" Lance exclaimed.

"Fighters launching! Six o'clock low!" Hunk exclaimed.

"Remember, shoot them down if needed, but try to avoid collateral damage on the ground," Keith said.

We started to clash with the fighters, trying to avoid them hitting the ground. The Atlas opened up the shield and shot at the ground cannons, putting them offline.

The MFE pilots launched soon after and started to clear out a path for the rebel ships to prepare for a ground attack.

"Paladins, let's take out their reinforcements," Keith said.

We started attacking where the fighters come out, not allowing them to come out and fight. After getting most of them out of the way, the rebels set off the explosions to cut off all their power. It was quiet for a moment before there were lasers coming up from above.

"Does anyone have eyes on where these lasers are coming from?" Shiro asked.

"I'm not seeing anything on my scanners," Pidge said. "Trying to locate a point of origin now."

"I'm on it," Allura said as she used her sonar, pointing it to the sky. "I've got visual on two cloaked cannon satellites."

"How did we miss those?" I asked.

"It looks like we wormholed right past them," Pidge responded.

"Paladins, on me!" Keith exclaimed. "Form Voltron!"

While they went to form Voltron, I headed to one of the cannons. Once I got to the cannon, I quickly destroyed it. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Voltron destroy the other one just as fast.

"Great job making quick work of the satellites, paladins. We've successfully gained control of the base," Shiro said.

We landed on the planet and headed to the central command as the rest of the crew took care of the fleet. We came into the room where Griffin and Ryan were standing next to someone.

"This one says he's the leader," Griffin said.

The Galra turned around and faced us. It took me a minute but I recognized him from the omega shield place we helped when Lotor was emperor.

"Whoa! Oh!" Hunk said, laughing. "Holy Kaltenecker! What are you doing here? It's me, Hunk. Remember? Paladin of the Yellow Lion? We worked together."

"I remember," He replied.

"Wait, you know this guy?" Keith questioned as we walked over to them.

"Yeah, from the Omega Shield," Hunk replied. "Oh, that's right, you were on a space road trip with your mom. Keith, this is our friend Lieutenant Lahn."

"It's Warlord Lahn now, and you and I are not friends," Lahn responded.

"Oh. Okay, uh, I just thought we bonded by working together as a team to fix the Omega Shield and save your planet, you know?" Hunk said. "A Galra-occupied planet, no less. We saved it. It's cool. No big deal."

"Sendak only attacked the Omega Shield after we pledged loyalty to Voltron," Lahn responded. "Then you disappeared and left us vulnerable to more attacks. I vowed to never let that happen again."

"It was not our intention to be gone for so long," Allura said.

"Yeah. And we're back now," I added.

"To claim victory over us?" Lahn questioned.

"No!" Allura exclaimed. 

"We didn't come here to argue," Shiro said. "Warlord Lahn, we're asking you to join the Voltron Coalition to help provide stability to the universe."

"What's the alternative?" Lahn asked. 

"If you want peace, if you want to end this war, there can be no alternative," Shiro said.

"You've attained victory, and I accept defeat," Lahn said. 

"It doesn't have to be victory or death," Keith said. "I know it's the Galra way, but--"

"And what do you know of the Galra?" Lahn asked.

"My mother is Galra. She's a member of the Blade of Marmora," Keith responded. "So am I."

"The mutinous Blades have all but perished," Lahn said. "Are they so diminished in numbers that they're forced to enlist half-breeds and his mommy?"

There was silence before Pidge spoke up. "Guys, incoming communication."

"Patch it through," Shiro responded.

Pidge pulled up a voice log as a distorted voice came from it. "Yordam bering exus," It repeated.

"It's an emergency protocol built into the sentries when they're under distress. Has your Voltron Coalition attacked them as well?" Lahn asked, turning to Ryan.

"No, we didn't," Keith responded.

"Pidge, see if you can reopen the hailing frequency," Shiro said.

"I'm trying, but no response," Pidge replied. "I'm locating the transmission's origin, but the EMPs we set off have done a number on the communications systems."

Suddenly there was a rapid beeping sound as a picture showed up on the screen. "We got a comm signature. Do you recognize this ship?" Pidge asked.

"Yes, it's the Klytax V-Three," Lahn responded. "It's one of the 15 ships I sent out on an assignment six pheobs ago. They all disappeared. We assumed them dead."

"It looks like they're not dead after all," Keith says. "We need to get out there. Shiro, how long before the Atlas is ready to launch again?"

"Hours. We still need to process all the Galra and prepare the planet to continue operating on its own," Shiro responded. "This is our mission. We need to see it through."

"Then Voltron and the Purple Lion will go," Keith said.

"Voltron is going to save the Galra?" Lahn questioned. "My fleet would never believe Voltron was there to help. They'd fight you until their last breath."

"Well, then you'll be coming with us," I added, a sly smirk on my face.

We boarded into our lions and headed in the direction of where the fleet was located.

"What was this fleet's mission when they left?" Keith asked.

"They were out gathering munitions," Lahn responded.

"Weapons? Were you buying or stealing them?" Allura asked.

"The Galra Empire is at war with itself," Lahn responded. "We have to do what we can to survive. But if you must know, they were salvaged weapons from an abandoned Galra base."

"I have visual," Pidge suddenly said as we approached a broken-down Galra ship.

"Everyone, stay alert," Keith said.

"What happened here?" Lance asked.

"Uh, Warlord Lahn, didn't you say there were 15 cruisers?" Hunk asked.

"Where's the rest of them?" I asked.

"I'm not detecting any signs of life or biorhythms on the closest two ships, but there are some signals coming from the ship at the end," Pidge said.

"That's Klytax V-Three, where the call came from," Lahn said.

"Hailing Galra cruiser Klytax V-Three. This is Keith, Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron. Do you copy?" Keith questioned, not getting an answer.

"This is Warlord Lahn, your commander. Do you copy?" Lahn asked.

The voice from before started repeating the distress signal we heard on the planet.

"Whoever's in there, we need to find them and get them out," Keith said.

"If I can access the ship's security network, we should be able to find out what happened here," Pidge said.

"Paladins, Lahn, and I are gonna head in first to make sure the entry point is safe. You guys jetpack in behind us," Keith said.

"Copy," We all said as they separated into lions, and we headed out towards the ship.

The airlock doors opened, allowing us in as we flew in with our jetpacks.

We flew to where Keith and Lahn were, the doors closing behind us.

"Pidge, are you picking up any signals?" Keith asked.

"There are multiple biorhythms, but they're intermittent, almost random," She replied. "It doesn't make any sense."

"Okay, we'll need to split up to find any survivors," Keith said. "Hunk and Lance, clear the aft of the ship. Nyle and I'll take the bow and work our way towards you. Pidge and Allura, take Lahn to go through the security logs. Find out what happened here."

"I don't like taking orders on my own ship," Lahn said.

"Duly noted," Keith responds plainly as we all went our separate routes.

Keith and I went through the bow with our flashlights on, passing by a bunch of sentry heads and parts.

"Nobody's here," Keith said as we continued our search.

"You think anyone's alive on this ship?" I asked.

"I don't have the best hope but, I'm trying to stay optimistic," Keith responded.

We approached a gigantic hole that looked like it had ripped through a bunch of sentries.

"What could have done this?" Keith asked.

"I don't know. But, I don't like it," I said. Suddenly there was a bunch of loud banging coming from our right.

We went towards it and saw a sentry that was still operational stuck in a door. Then I heard Pidge's voice.

"Keith, Nyle, we just contacted Lance and Hunk. They saw something. Be advised--" Then she just cut off.

"Pidge? Pidge can you hear us?" I asked.

Keith and I shrugged it off as something else before continuing to look around. Kosmo started growling and looked forward.

"What are you?" A voice said. We approached it to see a sentry. "What are you?"

"My name is Keith, leader of Voltron, Paladin of the Black Lion," Keith said.

"I'm Nyleaya, Paladin of the Purple Lion, Voltron's protector," I added.

"Wait. Yordam bering exus. Is that you?" Keith asked.

"Where are the rest of the Galra?" The sentry asked.

"They're still on planet Ryker. And they're safe. Why?" I questioned.

"Planet Ryker," The sentry said. 

A monster then showed up and threw the sentry at us as Keith cut it in half before grabbing my wrist and pulling me in the opposite direction. I used my jetpack to stabilize myself before he let me go. I flew in front of him before I saw him turn and he pulled me behind him as he put his shield up. The monster shot at us and we flew backward. Keith tried to attack the monster but it disappeared then reappeared behind us and knocked us back. It shot at us again and we moved out of the way as it put a hole in the wall, similar to the ones we saw before.

It came at us again before the wolf appeared next to us and teleported us into the room where everyone else was. 

"Oh, Keith! Nyle! Good, you're here. There's a monster on the ship!" Hunk exclaimed.

Keith then went over to Lahn. "The base you sent this fleet to plunder, was it Warlord Ranveig's?"

"Yes, it was," Lahn responded.

"Unbelievable," Keith mumbled.

"Keith, what's going on?" Allura asked.

"The creature on this ship is a superweapon designed to destroy the Galra, and only Galra," Keith said. 

"Warlord Ranveig would never create such a thing," Lahn said.

"Ranveig found the creature in the Quantum Abyss and experimented on it with Lotor's quintessence," Keith said. "He trained it to take out his Galran enemies, but he could never control it. The beast couldn't differentiate between adversaries and allies."

"Wait, how do you know so much about this super-monster-weapon-thingy?" Lance asked.

"Because Krolia and I let it loose so we could escape Ranveig's base," Keith responded. "This is all my fault. I'm sorry."

"It's what you've wanted from the beginning," Lahn started. "Something to get rid of the Galra for you."

"I don't know what that hell it'll take to get it through that hard-headed skull of yours but, we are not your damn enemy!" I exclaimed, tired of this man's shit.

"Pidge, can you initiate the self-destruct protocol? We need to destroy this ship and the monster with it," Keith said. "And we need to do it immediately."

"Okay, I'm on it," Pidge said, getting on the console. "Once I initiate, we'll have two doboshes to exit the ship."

"Two hours? Isn't that too long?" Lance questioned.

"Minutes!" We all shouted at him.

"What? That's not enough time!" Lance shouted.

"Let's move!" Pidge yells as we turned to leave before the ship rocked.

We looked back to see the creature holding a sentry's head. "All Galra must perish."

The creature roared and glowed a purple-type color before lunging for Lahn. We moved out of the way as Allura used her bayard to pull Lahn out of the way.

We started attacking the creature before making a break for the door. We turned to see the door close without Keith and Lahn with us.

"Pidge, how much longer do we have before the ship explodes?" I asked frantically.

"Sixty ticks," Pidge responded.

"We've got to get them out of there," Hunk said.

"This should do it," Pidge said, trying to use some type of protocol to open the door but it didn't work. "That thing overrode my protocol!"

"We can take it down with our bayards," Lance said as he aimed his bayard at the door, us following after.

"Keith!" Allura exclaimed.

"We're coming for you!" Lance shouts.

"Stand away from the door!" Hunk adds as we started shooting at it.

"Paladins, clear the hallway. We're coming through!" Keith suddenly shouted as a giant beam of light came through the door. "Let's go!"

We followed behind him and Lahn back to our lions. "Ten ticks!" Pidge warns us.

"The cargo bay where we entered is the nearest exit point," Allura says.

We made it to the cargo bay with the creature behind us, chasing us.

"Five ticks! We'll never make it!" Pidge shouts.

The creature bursts through the door as Keith shoots our way out, all of us getting sucked out by the force. The ship exploded before the creature could follow us. The explosion caused us to be thrown forward as our lions came to our rescue.

We regrouped and headed back toward the base, getting into like a mini-meeting for Lahn to talk to his crew.

"The Galra Empire may be decimated, but its warriors are still needed to maintain stability. Twice, the Paladins of Voltron have risked their lives for me, and yet I questioned their intent," Lahn said. "I was wrong. I pledge loyalty to a united front with the Voltron Coalition. And I encourage you all to do the same."

The crowd cheered as we stood behind him, smiling. We eventually left and headed into the bridge of the ship, crowding near Veronica's station.

"I downloaded some intel from that cruiser. There might be another one of Honerva's beasts out there," Pidge said.

"Another one?" Lance questioned, worried.

"This is just what I feared. Shiro, we need to adjust our mission's objective and track down where these things are coming from," Allura said.

"How certain are you that it's a robeast?" Shiro asked.

"I'm not positive, but according to the message logs, some Galra have spotted a giant robotic mech that fits the description," Pidge said. "The longs even refer to a similar weapon."

"There may be another Altean piloting it. We must investigate," Allura said. 

"Thousands of innocent souls are waiting to be liberated from what remains of the Galra Empire. We can't just change course." Shiro said.

"Maybe you won't have to," Keith said.

"Keith, what are you saying?" Shiro asked.

"We'll split up," He said. "The Atlas will continue working with the Galra while Voltron and the Purple Lion search for Honerva and her beasts."

"You'll be out there on your own, without backup," Shiro warned.

"We'll be okay. Voltron is stronger now more than ever," Keith said as we all looked at Shiro with smiles on our faces.

Our little meeting ended soon after and we left to change out of our armor. I went to the room I shared with Keith and went inside, seeing him already there buttoning up the rest of his uniform.

He turned when the door opened and smiled at me. "Hey, there you are. You want me to leave so you can change?"

I laughed and rolled my eyes before closing the door, and starting to take off my armor. "Please, you've seen me naked before Keith."

He laughed and rolled his eyes, putting his armor up, and threw me my uniform. "I just don't wanna be weird or rude."

I laughed and shake my head, starting to put my clothes on. "Uh-huh, ok. You act like we haven't been together for two years."

He turned to look at me and rolled his eyes. "I'm trying to be nice."

"Yeah, well you being nice kinda comes off like you don't wanna look at me. Am I not pretty?" I said with a fake pout, messing with him.

He laughed and pushed my arm before sitting down on our bed. "You're beautiful! And we both know that!"

I smiled and reached for my shirt before Keith snatched it. "Hey! Give that back! I need that!"

He smirked and looked at my shirt as if he was inspecting it. "What this? Mm, I don't think you do."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. "Give it back you weirdo."

He laughed and gave me a challenging look. "Come and get it then."

"Oh, oh, oh you're on Kogane," I said, grabbing the belt of my uniform and going over to him. "Give me my shirt or I will whip you."

He laughed and clicked his tongue. "Is that just something you're into?"

I scoffed and laughed before hitting him with the belt. "You are such a weirdo! Give me my shirt!"

He held it away with a childish smile. "No! I don't want to!"

I snickered and tried to reach for my shirt. "Keith I'm gonna have a damn nip slip if I reach over anymore!"

He laughed and tilted his head. "I wouldn't mind that."

I couldn't stop myself from becoming a little red before laughing, pushing Keith's arm and grabbing my shirt from him. "You are such a child."

He laughed and came behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing my shoulders.

I smiled and leaned back. "Are you trying to get me out of my clothes?"

"Mm, maybe," He responded. "Is it working?

I held onto his arm and chuckled. "Maybe it is. What of it?"

He laughed softly and locked our door, pulling me onto our bed. "Then maybe we should be alone a little longer."

I laughed some and lay down before pulling him on top of me. I kissed him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

I felt him grab my waist and I reached down, unbuttoning his shirt. He pulled off my lips and relocated his kisses to my neck.

I let out a soft hum and grab onto the back of his head, closing my eyes.

A knock interrupted us, making Keith stop and Lance's voice came through the door. "Hey, if you guys are in there, Keith, Shiro needs to talk to you about something. Nyle if it's just you, can you tell Keith to go see Shiro if and when you see him?"

I rolled my eyes and pouted a little bit as Keith answered. "Yeah, I'm here. I'll be right there."

"Alright, cool," Lance said as we heard him walk off.

I groaned as Keith got up, allowing me to sit up. "There goes the mood."

He laughed softly as he buttoned up his shirt again. "Don't be so upset Ny, we can always pick up where we left off later."

I laughed and rolled my eyes, putting my shirt on. "Doesn't change the fact that we were interrupted while I was having the time of my life."

He let out a small chuckle and looked at me. "Were you? Guess I'm doing my job right."

I laughed softly before going over to Keith, wrapping my arms around him. "You do your job so much more than just right."

He smiled and wrapped his arms around me, kissing my jaw and moving down to my neck. I laughed and tried to push him off. "Keith, you need to go talk to Shiro."

"Fine, fine. But this isn't over," He said, letting go of me.

I giggled and rolled my eyes before putting on my belt. "I already know that. Now get to scooting."

He laughed and left our room. I fixed myself up a little more before leaving as well to go get some things done.