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[Being core members of the Voltron coalition meant that sometimes the team had to spread their forces thin in order to take care of everything that required their attention. Sure, they had other allies who could hold their own -the Blade of Mamora for example- but it had a little more impact if the paladins themselves saved a colony or planet, as opposed to more Galra.

In other words: politics.]

I mean, I understand what Coran was saying but I still think it's kinda dumb, right Keith? [Undeterred by Keith's noncommital 'uh huh's and 'yeah's, Hunk continues on as he follows Keith's lead and slows down his approach. They're going to have to try and sneak up on this installation or risk the Galra retaliating against the captured techs for calling for help.] They've been around way longer than we have, and fighting for way longer too! It kinda feels like we're shoving them out of the way to get all the glory. Not that that's what we're doing, but it sure feels like that's what we're doing. I guess in the end it doesn't really matter who gets the job done so long as the people are saved, but it still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Right? Do you have a bad taste in your mouth too, Keith?

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[Keith follows after him. It's hard, letting Hunk take the lead, but it's what he needs to do. Even when he almost shoots a harmless frog and instead watches it scamper away. Keith does almost stumble a couple of times, catches himself before he slams into Hunk and scares him more.

The place is so quiet though... If not for the situation, Keith would like it here.]

I don't know. If everything inside were drones like I saw, maybe they don't even realize we're here. Like -- [Oh man he's onto something.] maybe what happened was just automated or something.

...automated...like on a timer, or some kind of sensor more likely. Yeah- yeah, of course, they wouldn't want to risk anybody getting obsessed like Zarkon did, so of course it'd just be drones, so-

[Hunk spins with a grin, clapping a hand to Keith's shoulder excitedly.] Keith, you genius! You know what this means?

[Hunk spins on him and Keith freezes but. He's happy Hunk is happy?]

That Lance owes me a lot of money?

Wh- nevermind. [Points in the direction of the base] It means whatever the powersource is, tear or not, is already sealed. We don't have to close it or destroy it! We just have to disable the mechanism that allows it to fire, and then we can call for help!

[Hey! He helped solve this weapon puzzle! He smiles a little more, Hunk's enthusiasm ever contagious.]

And since the base is this big, we'd have to get a strong signal out to the others. It has to work.

[Hugs, but is gentle about it] Ah jeez, Keith, I'm so glad you're here...! I'd be such a wreck without you. And I never would've thought of that, I would've just spazzed out somewhere and hid! Gah, I could kiss you.

[Oh.

Oh jeez, his face is so obviously red in this brighter light.] Uh.

Heh. Maybe later. Let's uh- Work on getting there and doing this first?

[Totally. Yep. Not at all thinking about that now or how close their faces are with Hunk hugging him.]

[Slllowly extracts self, peering down at Keith. Is that an uncomfortable 'heh' or an embarrassed 'heh'? Even with his face red, it's hard to tell.]

Right! Yeah, of course. [Only now he's gonna be thinking about it, even as he hefts his gun again and restarts their march.]

Yeah. Of course. [Keith just sort of parrots Hunk's words back at him, not. Really able to think too too clearly with how slowly Hunk pulls away, Keith's hand trailing along his arm until the big guy goes to get his gun again.

Right. Mission first. Feelings later. That's something he understands.]

So...

[He trails off immediately. He was going to ask something but maybe now isn't the right time. Jungle nastiness and all.

Oh god he started talking with no idea what he wanted to say. This is why he doesn't do small talk. He clenches his fist around his bayard handle while he trudges along, wishing he could keep his mouth shut for a single syllable. Maybe Hunk won't notice. Maybe he'll think it was just some noise in the wild out here.]

[Oh no he heard that, as clearly as he felt Keith's hand linger on his arm as he pulled away. The awkwardness of it makes him snicker, though he tries to swallow it when he remembers how hurt Keith had been before.]

Okay, the goal is to make it out of all this alive so we can have our first kiss! That's it, that's the goal.

Uh. [God, how is Hunk good at that? Reading his mind. God, he should figure out how to not be predictable.

That'll never happen but he nods and follows after him. He wants this to work. He wants to be able to say he has at least one nice, selfish thing in his life that didn't fall apart around him. Even as they get into view of the base, Keith is still thinking about it.]

Can't take the same entrance as last time, so. Guess we can take the front of the back door.

Are there really 'front' or 'back' doors in a circular structure? [It's a legitimate question that deserves pondering] Okay, uh, lets just go for the closest door, maybe? We're both already kind of tired. How about I just go in, gun blazing, take out anything moving right from the get go? [That's a Keith thing to do right, that'll probably work out]

Right.

[Keith looks at the base again, weighing options he doesn't have a lot of forethought about. He's so bad at this. But he definitely doesn't think Hunk should go in guns blazing.]

I get the feeling that may be a bad idea. Let's try to be smart about it. [That's what Shiro would say right?] Sticking together, since you can do more with the gun, I can keep a shield up for us while we go in.

Great. Better plan, I like that plan. I'm trying to do the hotshot thing, it's not a good idea, I'm not hotshot material. I like being shielded, good plan. [pls portect him, small fite teammate]

[small fite boyfren will do just that, but Keith simply watches Hunk for the moment. Wondering why he thinks he's not hot shot material, but not wanting to stall them bringing it up. Conversation for later. After they do this. After they're rescued.

.... After that kiss.

Right. Keith moves so he's shoulder to shoulder and brings up his shield.]

Okay. Let's do this.

[And in they go, Keith keeping the shield up while trying to give Hunk room to fire.]

[Hunk manages to keep most of his composure as they burst in, probably because he's half-cowering behind Keith while also trying to get around him to shoot, and he's totally ready to shoot some droids and he sees one right there so he-

Fires at a droid crumpled up on the ground. Sends it skidding across the floor with a horribly loud noise. Hunk winces, screwing his eyes shut and waiting for all the hundreds of droid guards to come bearing down on them...

Any time now...

Annnnny time now.......]

...uh, Keith? Exactly how many of these things did you destroy?

Uh... [He trails off, watching around them as they move further in. There should definitely be more here. But he doesn't hear anything, doesn't see anything. It's weird.

This is weird. Even for him. He shrugs.] Didn't count, was trying to get to you.

[That's not too gay to say right? Or to say it that way? God, he has a lot going through his head right now.]

Let's just... Keep going.

[They keep going, finding nothing but deactivated droids and parts laying around. He stops when they reach a corridor.] This is where it was marked on the map that the labs were and I called you.

[The corridors are eerily quiet, ringing with their footsteps but little else. There isn't even the telltale hum of a large generator, as there should be, as they step over deactivated droids in their path.]

Right here? So the generator room should beeee...over here, right? [The domed room is darkened and unresponsive to their arrival, though Hunk can see the hole he and Yellow had torn open earlier.] ...it's like it's all...off. I- I-I, I don't get it. Is it because of that second pulse...?

Maybe?

[He isn't sure how all this works. But with no immediate threat in front of them and nothing getting him nervous, he wills he shield away and steps further in. He does, at least, turn the little blue lights on his suit brighter so they have some light.]

This doesn't make any sense, this was all lit up and going when I was here before. Maybe the... Second thing shorted it out or something? Maybe it was a test.

I don't like this... [Okay, so Hunk says that a lot, but this time he really really means it. The large, cone-shaped structure in the middle is probably the generator in question, but Hunk doesn't move closer, instead pressing against Keith.] You know, this is a perfect trap scenario for us. All they'd have to do is slam the doors and reactivate the generator, maybe get some of these droids to attack us-...

I don't like this.

[He may have willed his shield away, but Keith has his sword out and at the ready. He keeps looking between where the generator should be and the door they came in from, like he's waiting for something, anything come after them.

It happens so fast, the loud click. The lights like floodlights turning on in a circle around the generator and the loud hum as the turbines start. The ground below his feet vibrate and Keith starts taking steps back to the door.]

I think that's our cue to get out.

[Normally, Hunk would be already gunning it for the exit. Normally he'd be picking Keith up and booking it. Normally, he'd subscribe to the philosophy of 'live to fight another day'...

But then he remembers how it felt when Yellow just went dark, how the generator only clicked on once he got closer, how the others would undoubtedly be looking for them, sensors, a trap-]

We can't! [Hunk spins and runs for the nearest access panel to the generator he can find, prying it open.] The others must've found us, this thing probably kicked on to take them out too! We've gotta stop it!

[Or they could stop the army of droids suddenly bearing down on their position, which is likewise pretty pressing.]

Hunk?!

[They should be running away and Hunk is doing the opposite of that, he's running into the place. Keith hasn't put two and two together just yet but when he says the others must have found them, Keith's eyes are wide. He doesn't get the correlation but if they're out there and this thing blasts...

He's still watching the door, wanting to get away but there's something blocking the door now. He hears a lot of doors open and a lot of metal shuffling and oh crap those are droids. There are so many droids and Hunk's doing something so he can't look. So Keith gets his sword ready, calls over his shoulder:] I'll hold them off! Just- Do whatever you're going to do!

[And then he dives in.]

[Keith with his wounded leg and busted rib is gonna hold off that army of droids. Yeah, if it was literally anybody else, Hunk would already be getting up to help, but Keith- Keith can do it, he can last long enough to-

But just cutting the power won't work, not if this thing is also holding back the tear when in lockdown, as Hunk suspects. He can't just kill the process, he has to make it go back into lockdown, and then interrupt whatever sensor circuit this thing is using to trigger powerup. Which means he has to find the main command line, the switchboard for that and find out if it's just a simple mechanic or something more complex, and he doesn't have time for this because it's going to fire and Keith can't hold out forever-]

Just, calm down, [Hunk mutters to himself, and gets to work. Locates the circuit and cuts a couple wires to reverse the charge. That's the first thing, the most needed, get this thing to power down. The generator suddenly clunks with a bone-rattling thud, but it starts to power back down and Hunk cheers silently to himself as he digs for the circuit to interrupt the sensor data. Just a little more, just a little more, hang on Keith...!]

[It's bad. It's really bad, how exhausted Keith feels after only a few swings of the sword. Getting winded and holding his side before he takes a hit and the air is knocked out of him. But he stays up on his feet because Hunk needs time. He has to do this, he has to last.

He hears the generator shut down and breathes because that's it right? That's all they need. He looks to Hunk, like ready to go but he's still... He's still working. Shit, was there something else? Did they miss something? He's trying to figure it out when he's slammed from behind, knocked to the floor and cries out because his leg twisted a bad way with his weight and god there are so many.

Keith gets his shield back up with gritted teeth, uses it to at least get up to one knee, breathless and backed against the wall.]

Hunk! How much time do you need!