#MFE crew

[mosscreeper-ao3]

October 2024 writing challenges directory

Flufftober (prompts from @flufftober)

Pairings are in green. Please be mindful of the difference between "/" (romantic or sexual) and "&" (platonic) pairings

Lost pet meet cute-Kaidan & Rocky (his dog from my main mShenko series)

"Left, other left!"-mShenko

Favorite scent-Kaidan & the Normandy crew

Market day-MFE friendship

Acorn, pinecone, chestnut-Jaith

Mistaken identity-Keith & Shiro (Broganes)

Hoodie weather-Jaith

Chopping and piling wood-mShenko

"Don't do that." "but-Jaith

Bet, game, contest-Jaith, Veraxca, MFE friendship

Ingredients and spells-Paladin friendship

"This is spooky." "Really?"-Klance

Attic, cellar, hidden room-solo Keith

Fantasy AU/Mundane AU-Jaith

"What are you wearing?" "It's laundry day."-Jaith

Yes, no, maybe-Jaith

Rainy Day (alt prompt)-Jaith

Bewitched-Jaith

Yarn-mShenko

Paw-Keith & Kosmo

Bonfire-mShenko

Heirloom-solo James Griffin

Stormy night-Jaith

Comfort food-MFE friendship

Haunted house-Klance

"I can't find it."-mShenko

Afternoon stroll-mShenko

Lucky charm-MFE friendship, Jaith

Time capsule-Paladin Friendship

"Forever?"-Jaith

"Make a wish."-Jaith

Whumptober (prompts from @whumptober)

This one is mostly split into two fics with each prompt being a chapter. One exploring James' emotional state after Keith leaves and the other exploring Keith being captured during a BoM mission.

A few prompts are turned into one shots and drabble collections.

Keith's fic (Dear Agony) covers the following prompts

Day 1-race against the clock/search party

Day 3-set up for failure/wrongfully arrested

Day 4-hallucination/sensory deprivation

Day 7-only for emergencies/unconventional weapons

Day 8-sleep deprivation/forced to stay awake

Day 12-starvation/"just a little more"

Day 16-necrosis/wound cleaning

Day 21-body horror/spirit possession

Day 22-bleeding through the bandages/reopening wounds

Day 24-radiation poisoning/equipment failure

Day 26-nightmares/parting words regret

Day 29-fatigue/"who said you could rest?"

James' fic (Terms and Conditions) will cover the following prompts

Day 2-trust issues/role reversal

Day 5-sunburn/heatstroke

Day 6-not realizing they're injured/unhealthy coping mechanism

Day 9-obsession/broken window

Day 11-seeing double/loneliness

Day 13-team as family/"death will do us part

Day 14-left for dead/“Because I want you to know what it feels like to be haunted”

Day 18-revenge/loss of identity

Day 23-forced choice/broken pedestal

Day 28-denial/CCTV

Day 31-asking for help/"I'm alive, I'm just not well"

Jaith drabble +ficlet collection (Twin Skeletons)

Day 10-blow to the head/"I can't think straight"

Day 15-childhood trauma/"I did good, right?"

Day 17-nowhere else to go/"we had a good run"

Shiro drabble collection (I've Grown Tired of This Body)

Day 25-surgery/"it's for your own good", solo Shiro

Day 27-voiceless/muzzled, solo Shiro

Day 30-recovery/"what have I done", solo Shiro

One shots

Day 19-blood trail/"is there anybody out there?", Paladins

Day 20-emotional angst/"it's not your fault, Shiro & Keith (broganes)

Kinktober below the cut

Kinktober (prompts from @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction)

Pairings are in green.

Edging-Jaith

Love bites-Jaith

Breath play-Shiro/Curtis

First time-Allurance (all Allurance will have trans Lance)

Nipple play-Allurance

Mirror sex-Jaith

Secret reltionships-mShenko

Fingering-Romelle/Allura

Sex pollen-Jaith

Scissoring-Allurance

Threesome-Kallurance

Kneeling-Jaith

Shower-Klance

Begging-mShenko

Surrender-mShenko

Public-mShenko

Praise kink-Jaith

Psychic bonds-femShep/Liara

Fuck or die-Jaith

Whipping-Shiro/Curtis

Bondage-Shiro/Curtis

Shotgunning-Jaith (college AU)

Blindfold-Allurance

On the desk-Jaith

Sleepy sex-Shiro/Curtis

Marking-Jaith

Body worship-mShenko

Face sitting-Romelle/Allura

Hair pulling-mShenko

Afternoon delight-Shiro/Curtis

Free space, swimming-Jaith

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Okay so I counted the total number of notes on all of my posts and came to a grand total of:

839?!?!?

Oh. My. Goodness.

Thank you ALL so so so much!!!!!!! I'm having a mini freakout over here!!!!!

-------------------------------

The MFE pilots and Atlas crew know Shiro as "Captain," or "Takashi" at the friendliest.

They view him as a superior, someone to respect.

Which probably explains why they're so confused about his closeness with the paladins.

Colleen will be speaking to her child about motherly things, and suddenly Shiro will walk over and ruffle Pidge's hair.

Or Veronica will be lecturing Lance about doing something stupid (The other traitorous paladins snuck off and mouthed their thanks towards him for 'taking one for the group.') and suddenly Lance will call out. "Hey Shiro!" before bro-hugging him.

They finally ask about it one day in the lounge when the majority of the Atlas crew and the paladins -even Keith- are all just chilling after a long battle.

Shiro is watching the paladins (read: Keith, Lance, and Pidge) play each other aggressively on the gaming console that Pidge apparently installed into the ship.

Shiro goes to grab them snacks because he's awesome like that.

When he hands said snacks to the three gamers, they all chorus, "Thanks, Spacedad," creepily in sync.

Everyone turns immediately in shock.

Of course, they had already figured out that the members of Voltron are very close with Shiro, but not that close.

Sam Holt feels slightly replaced.

"What is going on? Where is your military hierarchy?" Griffin pipes up.

Shiro is not AT ALL fond of Griffin. Yes, Keith did let the first punch fly when they got into that fight at the Garrison all those years ago, but Shiro will hold a grudge against anyone who dares hurt his baby physically or verbally (and James did both!) and therefore believes that Keith was at least 80% justified in his act of aggression.

WOW, that was a long sentence.

So when Shiro responds as neutrally as possible, it's with a slightly upturned nose and a dignified tone of superiority.

"I gave up trying to stop them a LONG while ago. I've come to terms with it."

Hunk walks in at that moment.

"Hey guys! Are we talking about Shiro's nickname? 'Cuz we gave him a shirt with 'Spacedad' written across it in sparkly letters last year for his birthday that I particularly like."

The other 3 paladins present nod mindlessly as they continue to battle each other virtually.

Shiro gives everyone a look that says, 'See? Totally normal.'

"It's the only way I can keep them in line. They threaten each other saying that they'll call their 'dad' which is me if you haven't figured that out yet somehow, and it actually works most of the time."

Lance snorts. "Yup. Spacedad's gotta do what a Spacedad's gotta do."

Shiro gives him a look.

"Okay I might have to smack you with a pillow for that one."

Lance squeals and wraps his arms around Keith for protection, causing the boy to startle and drop his own controller.

Pidge finally pulls ahead and wins. They jump up and crow out victoriously, "YES! In your FACES you crap-eating WEBLUM FACES."

Keith groaned and leaned back into Lance's chest (because Lance is tryna be sneaky and is therefore taking this as his chance to trap Keith securely in his arms).

"I blame this on you, Spacedad. I have to let Lance and Pidge braid my hair now."

------

I just added Spacedad to my computer's dictionary so that it would stop trying to spellcheck me. This is how you know that I'm truly way too into Voltron. Oh, well.

[voltronbthb]

the pain of living (and wanting not to live in pain).

prompt; hurts to breathe. requested by; @ardenrabbit. fandom; voltron: legendary defender. focus character; takashi shirogane. relationship(s); n/a. trigger(s); n/a (if there are any i didnt list, pls let me know!) written for @badthingshappenbingo​!

shiro had been having nightmares lately.

these nightmares always left him in a state of pure fright, with him bolting up in bed, eyes darting frantically around at his sleeping quarters on the atlas, body covered in a cold sweat, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

he didn’t tell anyone about these nightmares, for he knew that if he told, he would be coddled like he was when he was younger and had the muscle disease. adam, the doctors, iverson, his grade school teachers, his parents and older sister, they all treated him like he was some type of frail object. he hated being treated like he wasn’t capable of doing things, making decisions on his own.

he was able to prove them all wrong, though, by beating the odds. first it was that he wouldn’t make it past his first hour of life, then three years, then eight, then thirteen… now he’s twenty-six, and still proving everyone wrong with the shit that he’d been through in space.

but, maybe, this is catching up to him…

he’s stopped by keith in the hallways of the atlas one slow afternoon (or, what seemed like afternoon, they were in space and time doesn’t really matter when you’re in space). he had given the crew a day off and had gotten caught up on a much needed rest–not sleeping, of course, but resting nonetheless–in that time.

“hey, shiro,” keith chirps, a little peppier than usual, “i need to go over some upgrades to our lions that pidge requested.”

shiro smiles at his best friend and nods, successfully masking his lack of sleep. “yeah, sure, we can do that now.”

“great, uh, did you wanna go to the bridge?”

shiro suddenly feels as if his heart is about to burst out of his chest, but not in the good way. he breathes in slowly, then finds it difficult to push the breath back out of his lungs.

“…’ro?”

he looks up and sees keith’s concerned face, chest heaving.

“are you okay?” keith asks, putting a hand on his best friend’s shoulder to help comfort him.

shiro nods and steadies himself, breathing very slowly to help the pounding in his head. he makes a feeble attempt at a smile and leads keith to the bridge of the atlas to go over the plans.

~~~

it isn’t until the neighboring planet adjacent to the one they’re currently docked at attacks when the crew notices something’s wrong with their captain.

shiro’s kept his cool, he’s successfully masked his sudden symptoms; however, in this situation, the rest of the crew is focused not only on the attacking inhabitants, but also on the fact that their captain isn’t giving out the usual orders.

“captain, voltron and the mfes are having trouble with taking down the attacking ships,” veronica informs, “what are your orders?”

“um...” shiro starts, but it’s getting hard to concentrate on the panel in front of him when his vision is getting blurry around the edges.

“captain? are you alright?” curtis’ voice rips through the ringing in his ears, though it sounds muffled.

then, shiro collapses, breathing staggered and abnormally heavy. every attempt of breathing leaves his chest feeling like it’s fighting against something heavy. he hears coran and veronica next to him, veronica attempting to reassure him while coran tells iverson to call the medbay.

then, everything goes black...

~~~

shiro awakens a couple of hours later in the medbay, the bright lights almost blinding him as he slowly opens his eyes.

“look, he’s waking up!” someone says (the voice sounds like lance), and footsteps seem to come closer to his bed.

as he regains his vision, he sees team voltron, the mfes, and most of his bridge crew surrounding his bedside. keith and griffin are closest to him, with keith looking almost ready to cry.

“what...?” he starts, not registering until he speaks that there’s an oxygen mask on his face.

“you collapsed and were having trouble breathing,” keith explains, “but luckily, you had the bridge crew there to help you get to the medbay quickly. doctors said you wouldn’t have made it otherwise.”

“the...?”

“the inhabitants of the planet adjacent to us retreated once they realized they were outnumbered. luckily, we had pretty good allies on our side from the planet we’re currently docked at,” griffin reports.

“in fact,” allura speaks, “when they heard of your predicament, the empresses of vellion promised to join the coalition and help liberate planets alongside us. they’re starting with their sister planet next to them, but they say it’ll take some time.”

“that’s...” shiro takes a staggering breath, then continues. “that’s great...”

“now,” iverson comes up to his bedside next to keith, “rest up, captain. you definitely need it.”

“but who’s gonna-?”

“we’ll all do our part to make sure that the bridge is running smoothly in your absence,” veronica reassures, “but as iverson instructs, you need to rest.”

“...okay. thank you.”

as the others leave the room to go back to their respective duties, shiro smiles to himself and then gets some much needed sleep.

[leadveined]

out of commission ;;

any v.l.d rpers out there wanna rp with a keef ? if so , i'm more than open ! bring me the team , the galra , any aliens , garrison crew , or mfes !! i just wanna love on you all , pls let me lov u .. 🥺🥺

[discordiansamba]

Coran is their manager and Allura is their stylist. Shiro is the captain of the ship they've hired to take them on their intergalactic peace tour, in hopes of putting a stop to the brewing tensions in the universe. Lance and Veronica, alongside the Holts and Adam are all crew on the ship. The MFE pilots are tasked with the protection of the ship, and as their leader, James often comes into conflict with Keith because he's a pilot as well.

Hunk, Romelle, and Keith are childhood friends from humble origins. Hunk and Romelle started as a street act, before Coran discovered them and they were propelled into stardom. Keith can't carry a tune to save his life, but when Hunk and Romelle started to get more popular, he vowed to protect them. This whole 'peace tour' has him on edge.

(He's right to be worried. There are those who don't seem to want to let their peace mission succeed.)

me, minding my own business:

my brain: idol duo Hunk and Romelle. and Keith is their bodyguard.

me: sure I'll rotate that for the rest of the evening

[theyelmore]

anyway i headcanon that MFE-Ares ends up with some pretty significant hearing loss after the war which is a combination of projection and actual goddamn fact and i just want y’all to imagine like,, ten years down the line the crew meets up for a night out & someone’s offhandedly like “man, my ears just never stop ringing” which turns into an impromptu bonding session bc Nadia (an ADHD babe who 100% had weird tinnitus-y stuff even before the war) is like “wait i’m not the only one who literally no longer hears silence?” and yes,,, i love they.......

[rookie-pilot]

Air New Zealand

Boeing 777-300

[voltrons]

i always saw those posts about latching on to a background character and thought they were funny but now that i’m here and i’m in it it’s roUGH!!!!!!

[moonrose-arts]

"Will you be my wing?" • • This is a cute ship, I had to doodle something for them ♥

[tinfoilhats-work]

Ok so I made this originally when sea shanties were going around and i low key forgot about this but I really like pirate Keith and I can’t find any good fics to read rn so this is what I’ve got

— instead of Keith looking for treasure he is looking for Shiro (you can think of whatever reason maybe bc they are lovers or bc he’s never given up on him idrc whatever floats your boat)

— anyways Keith’s ship has a few members bc most boats that sail the ocean aren’t single person ships —> so for crew he has some rouge blades or maybe orphans/foster kids that were mistreated (like him) — think Peter Pan type shit

— if we don’t like the previous idea it could be the voltron gang or the MFE (James and those homies)

— idk how you could get the rest of the crew in it... maybe the Alteans are mermaids and the galra are sirens? but that’s up in the air - idk how I feel about it - they could also be different pirate gangs but I also feel like that’s cliche…

I don’t really know — all I know is that I want pirate Keith lmao

[silentwillowwhisperer]

Guys. Yes, s8 was a pretty trash ending. Buuuut, they gave us Kosmo! My baby! And again, the end scenes were really horrible, (mostly for Lance) but OH MY GOSH have you SEEN how BIG Kosmo is??? THERE'S SO MUCH FLOOF!!!!!

I also want to say that I am incredibly upset that yesterday's post was actually posted exactly at 12AM, and therefore my daily posting streak is broken. I'm pretty salty right now. Keith in this post is me right now.

Anyway, this is on the Atlas, so it includes the MFE fighters and crew.

--------------------------------------------

Kosmo is absolutely the best boy.

Most of the time.

Right now, he is a demon. You see, he is the most obedient canine in existence, and is the sweetest puppy you'll ever meet, but he HATES baths.

He'll gladly swim through a swamp, or run around in rain that makes him smell like an odd mixture of lavender and socks.

But he HATES baths.

And when Keith tries to wash him, all Hell breaks loose.

It's a fairly calm day, at least compared to the rest of their time spent in space.

They came back a few hours ago from a planet entirely covered in marshes.

Kosmo, as usual was a great help, but the last time anyone saw Keith, the guy was chasing his wolf all over the Atlas.

The paladins and MFE fighters are trying to get to know each other better by playing 21 questions.

Hunk is in the middle of gushing about yeast with Kincade when Keith bursts in.

"Where is that DAMN DOG?"

Lance arches an eyebrow so high it flies right out of the ship and into the land of skepticism.

"Really, Keith? It's been hours since we got back. You can take down a six foot extremist purple (deformed) space cat, but you can't catch a wolf?"

Keith makes a face that almost looks like pout.

"Well, I would have caught him by now if he wasn't trying to MURDER me! So far I have been attacked by a training gladiator set on the absolute HIGHEST level, ejected into space, face planet in Collen's poop-fertilizer, gotten my hand set on fire thanks to a stove that randomly turned on, ran into SEVEN doorways, and knocked out by those gas samples we retrieved from that weird planet we visited the other day. KOSMO IS OUT TO GET ME. I just want to clean his goddamn floof!"

"Did you just say floof?" Pidge comments.

"THAT'S what you got from my whole rant? REALLY?"

Keith looks like he's about to continue his rant, when his eyes widen and his mouth presses into a firm line.

Everyone follows his gaze to where a glowing blue tail is peeking out from behind the couch.

Without any warning, Keith lunges towards it with his whole body. Like, he genuinely throws himself at it.

For a second, it looks like he's going to land on top of Kosmo and finally be able to bathe the wolf.

This, however is not the case.

Kosmo teleports out at the last second, causing Keith to land sprawled out across the floor with a painful sounding thump. That's most definitely gonna leave a mark.

Keith groans loudly.

He flips over so that he's laying on his back, but stays down.

Lifting his head just enough to look in front of him, he sees that Kosmo, the traitorous wolf, has trotted over to sit directly next to Lance.

And Lance, the traitorous paladin, makes no move to grab him.

Keith flips them both off. Kosmo can stay dirty. He'll suffer the consequences when those wicked thorns in his fur stab him while he sleeps. No, it's not petty. Okay, so it's a little petty, but Keith is ready to stoop lower than dirt at this point.

-

Nicknames for Kosmo (all by Lance):

Kosmic slushie

Komic book

Karrot cake

Wolfie

BKFF (Best Kosmic Wolfie Friend)

BFW (Big Friendly Wolf)

The Beast (Lance is Beauty, obviously) (though Kosmo and Keith kind of share that one. It's Lance's logic, don't question it. That's Keith's job.)

The Kosmopolitan museum

Komic Sans

The Kute Kosmic Kritter

The amount of red lines that are under these nicknames is quite annoying.

[midnightlie]

Flight crew au: since Keith’s a pilot does that mean his “actual” rival James is a pilot too? Like the MFE gang are all a different flight team or something...lol

so yeah james is another first officer and he and keith dont get along with at all djdbdbdhdjd and tbh i hadnt thought of it but i like the thought that theyre all pilots!! maybe ina is a flight attendant too, tho, for some variety

[theyelmore]

send me your MFE-Ares crew headcanons!

i've got killer cramps & can't go to sleep anyway bc i don't trust myself to wake up for work, so i'd love to distract myself in the best way possible!! dbbdhdhsj i just love them lol

[rookie-pilot]

Boeing 777-X

[discordiansamba]

Twenty five years have passed since the end of the Galactic War, and tensions have begun to rise again. Among the Galra, there are those unhappy about the peace agreement, sentiments stirred up by the Galra Warlord Sendak, who once served as Emperor Zarkon's right hand.

In order to combat this, Emperor Lotor has suggested that they return to the negotiation table, discussing the matter one by one with each Galra colony individually to learn their needs and determine the best course of action. In order to put an emphasis on their desire for peace, he proposes that each meeting be proceeded with a concert- for if there is one thing the Galra love, it is music.

And who better to serve this need than the popular duo, Yellow Lion?

Coran is somewhat wary of the offer at first, but he understands the importance behind keeping the peace. After discussing the matter with Hunk and Romelle, they decide to accept. Although Emperor Lotor originally offered to send the flagship of his fleet as an escort, Keith proposes an alternative- a good friend of his serves at the captain of the IGF-Atlas, a Galaxy class cruiser that was built for the Galactic War, but went unused.

Captain Shirogane and his crew are happy to accept them onboard. His crew is mostly young but talented, with the most senior officer being the ship's engineer, Sam Holt. It's escorted by the four pilots of the MFE squadron, lead by James Griffin. With the addition of Keith's own personal fighter, a one of a kind ship left to him by his father, they're more than enough to protect Yellow Lion.

And they'll need it, because there are forces out there who would love nothing more than to see the intergalactic peace tour fail...

Coran's primary mission is to keep Allura safe.

When King Alfor entrusted his young daughter to him, he knew it would be unlikely that the two of them would ever return to Altea. It was better this way- the young princess might grow up without any knowledge of her parents or her royal heritage, but she would be safe. With the Galactic War still raging, it was easy enough to fake her death. It was a tragedy that would eventually propel the people of Altea to victory, finally bringing peace at long last.

But Allura must still be hidden.

Her voice contains a mysterious power, one that Alfor feared could be used for dark purposes. Alone, it is nothing, but if it happens to resonate with others like her, then it holds the key to a power so fearsome it could be used to restart the war- or worse. Given the choice between raising Allura on Altea as a caged bird unable to leave the Castle, and raising her in an environment where she is free to live her own life, the answer seemed obvious.

Coran's second mission is to look for those like her.

He finds two of them on the very same space station that he took up residence with Allura on. They turn out to be a pair of childhood friends, an Earthling and an Altean named Hunk and Romelle. They have a street act that's been spreading through word of mouth, and Coran decides to take them under his wing before anyone else can. Thankfully, they agree to sign on to his newly formed talent agency- and they even come with a free bodyguard, in the form of their other childhood friend, a half-Earthling/half-Galra named Keith.

Allura is excited at this development, and throws herself into helping the pair. Immensely talented, she acts as their stylist, voice coach and choreographer, easily befriending them along the way. But it becomes clear from the way she watches them that she too, wants to stand on stage with them.

Coran's just not sure he can allow that to happen.

[voltrontranscript]

VLD S8E7: Day Forty-Seven

Season 8 Episode 7: Day Forty-Seven

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Summary: Kinkade and Rizavi film a vlog that follows a relatively normal day on the IGF-Atlas with its humorous moments and the stress of battle.

[Google Doc]

Kinkade: Hello. This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 0600 hours. It’s day forty-seven. And this is a glimpse at day-to-day life aboard the IGF-Atlas.

[Cut to Kinkade brushing his teeth as the camera floats over his shoulder.]

Kinkade: Last night, I unpacked my video gear and decided to document the crew. I know it seems strange, but before Earth was attacked, I didn’t go anywhere without my camera.

[Cut to Kinkade running on a treadmill.]

Kinkade: Back home, people asked me why I liked recording things. They also asked me why I didn’t talk that much. To both of those things, I’d always say… [grunts]

[Cut to Kinkade doing pull-ups.]

Kinkade: Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

Romelle: You’re recording? Why?

Griffin: Kinkade has always been, uh… an individual who’s most comfortable observing and reflecting on life. Being a fighter pilot was actually his backup plan.

[Cut to Kinkade wearing a blindfold as he works on his blaster rifle.]

Kinkade: It’s true. I learned how to shoot with a camera before I learned how to shoot with a rifle. I guess filming is just a small piece of the larger puzzle that makes up the picture of who I am. Hm.

[Cut to Kinkade turning the camera on once more and walking to a fighter jet.]

Rizavi: So you’re really shooting another documentary? Please tell me this is going to be more exciting than that project you did for Mr. Pollard’s biology class about yeast.

Kinkade: That was actually about the process of fermentation. Yeast converts carbohydrates into carbon diox--

Rizavi: Boring! Okay, look, if this little documentary is how history will remember us, I’m gonna help you spruce it up! How many cameras do you have? What’s your visual effects budget? Do you have any smoke bombs?

[Cut to Keith and Pidge facing the camera as it focuses on Pidge directly.]

Kinkade: Okay. We’re set.

Rizavi: So, uh, catch us up on what’s going on.

Pidge: Right. Well, the Atlas is headed to the Grei-Aye system where we’ve identified the remains of a disabled robeast.

Rizavi: Oh! Those things are pretty dangerous, right?

Pidge: Do I need to explain that the robeast was one of the ones used in Honerva’s intergalactic ritual?

Rizavi: No, it’s fine.

Pidge: Okay. Um, so, once the Atlas arrives in orbit around the planet, the other Paladins and I will head down to the surface to secure the robeast and hopefully find its Altean pilot.

Rizavi: Ugh, okay. Keith! Why don’t you tell us about the dangers of this mission?

Keith: Well, every mission has some inherent dangers. For this one, we have to be especially diligent about the robeast. Even if it’s not fully functional, it can still pose an extreme threat. Combine that with the hostile Altean that’s probably still in the vicinity, and you’ve potentially got threats on multiple fronts.

Hunk: Hey, guys. What’s up? You making a movie? Cool. Can I be in it? Now, wait, if this is an action movie… is it? I don’t wanna be in it.

Rizavi: Hunk, we’re trying to do an interview here.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Yeah, my bad. I just came by to see if you wanted to try this new recipe I’ve been experimenting with. This is just the first pass. The final version of it will be coming soon. No, Bae Bae! Not for you! I’m sorry I yelled at you. I’ll make you some doggy treats later.

Kinkade: What’s the recipe? Can we watch you work?

Hunk: Well, yeah! Yeah, this’ll be great! I’ve secretly always wanted my own cooking show.

Rizavi: What? No! Keith was just telling us about the mission and all the dangers! We’re not losing that to document cooking.

Kinkade: But, I like cooking.

Rizavi: It’s like you’re trying to make this boring.

Hunk: Whoa, first of all, cooking is not boring, okay? And it can bring people together. Some of the best times of my life were spent breaking bread with loved ones.

Keith: So, is this interview over?

Rizavi: No! Great, now the talent’s getting restless!

Iverson: Everyone, report to your battle stations immediately! I repeat… battle stations immediately! This is not a drill!

Rizavi: The camera!

Kinkade: Leave it! We need to go!

Rizavi: But this is gold!

Kinkade: Come o--

Iverson: MFE pilots, report to hangars alpha-bravo! Scrambling fighters in five! Paladins, stand by for launch.

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the fallen camera and carries it around.]

Shiro: Where did it come from? Veronica, get me eyes on it!

Coran: That thing just appeared out of nowhere!

Shiro: Iverson, fire when ready!

Iverson: Target acquired! We’ve got lock! Wait. No… we lost it! Target has gone dark!

Veronica: Electromagnetic radiation from that planet is overloading our radars.

Shiro: Voltron, do you have a visual? I repeat, Voltron, do you have a visual?

Keith: Not yet. We’re going in now! Stand by! We can’t see a thing in here!

Griffin: Copy that. We have zero visibility as well. We need a visual.

Curtis: Roger. Trying another avenue. Scanning for biometrics. Visual acquired!

Coran: Incoming!

Iverson: Recharging all starboard cannons!

Curtis: Sensors are offline!

Iverson: What is that thing?

Coran: It’s massive!

Shiro: Iverson, open fire!

Coran: Direct hit! It’s coming back around for another shot!

Shiro: Veronica, prep shields!

[Scene change as the camera falls down a vent into Sam and Slav’s workstation.]

Sam: Whatever hit us just knocked loose the gravity generator! Grab the flaxum assembly!

Slav: I can’t do that! It’s red!

Sam: Is this one of your crazy probability, reality things?

[Scene change to a hallway as soldiers float through to their stations.]

Shiro: All crew, report to stations and prepare for Atlas transformation--

Atlas Crewmember: Go, go, go!

Shiro: --in T-minus thirty seconds!

[Scene change as Bae Bae finds the camera again and carries it.]

Colleen: Bae Bae, what are you doing out here? And what’s this in your mouth? A camera? Come on, girl.

Shiro: All crew, prepare for Atlas transformation sequence in five… four… three… two… one!

[Scene change as the camera dies, then powers on again facing Kinkade once more.]

Kinkade: Camera’s fully charged. We’re good to go. The time is now 0900 hours. We just experienced a minor mishap aboard the IGF-Atlas, but we’re back on track. In the future, we’ll hopefully be avoiding creature-occupied gas planets.

[Cut to Kinkade floating through a hallway.]

Kinkade: Hey, Seok Jin, where you headed?

Seok Jin: I’m transporting these samples back to Earth. Commander Holt thinks it can help with the recovery efforts there.

Kinkade: Well, they couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. Take care, man. Hey, Seok Jin… we’ll miss you, buddy.

[Scene change to the camera looking into the mess hall, where Vrepit Sal is cleaning tables and then rotates to face the hallway.]

Rizavi: There you are! Tell me this thing was recording during the attack! That was so intense! Oh, this documentary’s gonna be awesome!

[Cut to Kolivan sitting in a small office facing the camera.]

Kolivan: I believe our heading readout en route was 92254739.275. Wait, no. It was 9.265. Yes. That was our heading per our readout just prior to our deployment.

Rizavi: [mock snoring]

Kolivan: Our teams vary in size. Often we use the three-person unit, but it’s not unusual to have a four- or a five- or perhaps even a six-person unit. Seven seems rare, but... it could happen.

Rizavi: Okay, I like everything you’re telling me, but let’s just try it a little less like you’re reporting the facts to your commanding officer and a little more like you’re telling your friend an exciting story in the gym. You understand?

Kolivan: Yes, understood.

Rizavi: Okay, good. Why don’t you tell us about your last mission?

Kolivan: Our last mission took place on planet K-V Exus. The Blades divided into three four-person teams and we escorted approximately twelve rescue crafts to the surface. I believe our heading readout was 359.222--

Rizavi: Thank! Thank you! Okay, I think we got it!

Kolivan: But I wasn’t done.

Rizavi: Yeah, you nailed it. Yeah. We need to get someone more exciting in here.

[Cut to Coran leaning into the camera as it slowly attempts to focus on him.]

Coran: Then the Atlas started firing with everything it had! And don’t forget the white hole is swirling right next to us the entire time! Oh, no, it’s about to close! Meanwhile, not one, but two, yes, two, robeasts are attacking! Shiro’s shouting out orders. “Coran, get closer! Iverson, open fire!” Beams of quintessence energy are converging from all over the galaxy! Ah! You know, you could just imagine it.

[Scene change to Rizavi turning the camera on in Slav and Sam’s workspace.]

Sam: Welcome to the engine room. What you see here is just a tiny part of what keeps the ship functioning.

Rizavi: Slav, you’ve created some incredible technology. What do you think of the Atlas?

Slav: I can respect any engineering that extrapolates for transmutation, but I wish the writing was in Altean.

Sam: He’s mentioned that a few times.

Rizavi: So what are you doing now?

Slav: Right now we’re about to adjust the gravity generator, which was fractionally increased during our last battle.

Sam: Yes, our gravity generator is actually a fluid system, ever-changing depending on the specific needs of the location, so it requires recalibrating from time to time. Okay, adjust gravity generator back down to .12.

Slav: Copy. Adjusting now.

Sam: What did you press?

Slav: I don’t know! Which one is the two again? I can’t read these weird symbols you call numbers! Hey, big guy, toss me over! Oh, no. Directly on a crack!

Kinkade: Weird.

[Cut to the camera focusing on some juniberry shoots in a pot.]

Colleen: Beautiful, isn’t it? It’s an Altean juniberry. The first one to bloom in nearly ten thousand years. I managed to get it to grow by resequencing the genetic code of a similar plant. I wanna give it to Allura. These are our fertilizers. We have fish emulsion, worm castings, Kaltenecker manure. Just so much great recycled poop! And this is our lighting station. I like to say our lighting array is literally out of this world! You know, because we’re, you know, on a space ship.

Rizavi: Can I take a shot at this?

[Cut to the camera panning across the crops in the grow room.]

Rizavi: Welcome to extreme space harvesting! Where we have plants and crops and super fertilizers all under one roof! Meet Colleen Holt, the botanical genius behind it all.

[Cut to Colleen sitting in a chair in the grow room.]

Colleen: I guess I just liked plants all my life. I’ve done a lot of research, but I know I have much to learn. I guess… I like… the challenge. I’m sorry, where am I supposed to be looking?

Rizavi: Without Colleen, all life aboard the ship could perish. One bad crop, the introduction of one foreign pest, and it’s all over.

Colleen: I just like plants.

Hunk: Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something again? I just--I just came in to see if Colleen had a very specific type of yeast.

Kinkade: Yeast? What for?

Rizavi: Oh, no.

Hunk: It’s that recipe I’ve been working on. I think I got the topping down, but I’m still trying to figure out the sweet bread.

Colleen: Well, I have so many strains of yeast, it’ll make your head spin. I got AB972, S288C. I even have O unilateralis. Don’t mess with that one.

Kinkade: Are you getting this?

Rizavi: Unfortunately, yes.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through a hallway.]

Rizavi: The time is 1200 hours. We just got word that we are in the Grei-Aye star system. The Paladins will be heading down to the surface of the planet any second now.

[Cut to the camera facing Allura, Lance, and Keith in the hangar for Black Lion.]

Rizavi: Lance, how are you feeling about the mission you’re about to go on?

Lance: Oh, hey. I’m feeling good, I guess. Maybe a little tense. Maybe a lot tense. I don’t know. Why’d you have to ask me that question?

Allura: I think what Lance is trying to say is he’ll be fine. We all will.

Keith: Let’s move out.

[Camera cuts to Kinkade and Rizavi standing a ways away from Blue Lion as it launches.]

Rizavi: Right now, we’re headed to the situation room where we’ll be monitoring the Paladins in real-time.

Kinkade: By the way, you know we’re not gonna be able to bring our camera into that meeting, right?

Rizavi: Says who?

[Scene change to the situation room where Veronica, Coran, Sam, and Shiro are all facing a screen showing a no-signal symbol.]

Sam: Come in, Pidge. Are you reading us?

Pidge: Okay, we’ve just touched down on the surface.

Keith: We’re at the crash site now.

Pidge: That’s the robeast. It looks disabled, just like our intel reported. The Altean should be nearby.

Shiro: Paladins, brace for incoming!

Hunk: I didn’t know it could do that!

Keith: Take cover!

Shiro: Paladins, report! We’ve lost visual. Bridge, lock onto that ship now!

Curtis: Yes, Captain. Adjusting to long-range parameters. Locked on!

Shiro: Light it up!

Curtis: Direct hit!

Lance: Nice shot, Atlas!

Hunk: Yeah, thanks for the cover!

Shiro: Bridge, stay on alert.

[Cut to the Altean viewscreen of Pidge’s point of view through her helmet.]

Allura: Stand by, Atlas. We’re approaching the ship.

Hunk: Guys, there doesn’t seem to be a pilot inside.

Keith: Hey, guys. Over here.

Pidge: Keith’s found something. Let’s go! Give me a second. Just reconfiguring to this barrier’s isometric frequency. There! That should do it.

Keith: Atlas, our target is acquired.

Overlapping voices: Yippee! Alright! Yeah!

Shiro: Great job, everyone!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi floating through another hallway.]

Rizavi: We just got word that the Paladins have returned from their mission. Maybe we can catch a glimpse of this new Altean.

Kinkade: This’ll be the sixth Altean pilot we’ve recovered from the powered-down robeasts left behind after Honerva escaped Oriande. Allura keeps trying, but she hasn’t been able to get any information from them as of yet.

[Camera cuts to Rizavi standing outside a room marked “Authorized Personnel Only”.]

Rizavi: Commander Shirogane said you two were needed on the bridge. We’ll cover your station.

Woman: Yes, Lieutenant.

Rizavi: There! Oh, man, I think we missed the beginning.

Romelle: Tavo, please. You and I grew up alongside one another. You must trust me. We’re here to help.

Tavo: We were told you are a traitor, and I can see now that it is true.

Allura: I’m done talking with him. I’m done with all of them.

Kinkade: Uh, what are you doing?

Rizavi: Sh! I got an idea.

Lance: Anything?

Allura: No. He was just like the others. A true believer in Honerva, and there’s nothing I can say that would make him think otherwise.

Lance: I’m sorry.

Allura: No, I am. These Alteans are the key to unlocking Honerva’s plan. They’re my people, but they won’t speak with me. You have no idea what it’s like to find out after ten thousand years that you’re not the last of your kind… only to be rejected by them.

Lance: I don’t. But I wish every day there were something I could do to change it all for you. You’ve suffered more than anyone should in a thousand lifetimes. But still you persist. Through the pain, you inspire. It’s one of the reasons I fell in love with you.

Kinkade: No, that’s private.

Rizavi: Kinkade, what are you doing? That was our love angle!

[Camera cuts out, then focuses in on Romelle’s face.]

Kinkade: Please don’t touch that.

Romelle: Oh, sorry.

Rizavi: So, Romelle, you know these Alteans from your time on the colony?

Romelle: Yes, I lived alongside them for many decaphoebs. They are good people.

Kinkade: What do you think would make them join forces with Honerva?

Romelle: I don’t know. But you must understand, my people were hunted nearly to extinction. They’re afraid. And this Honerva… she’s turned that fear to aggression. If there was just some way to get through to them.

[Cut to the mess hall.]

Griffin: I’ve never seen anything like it. All those tentacles… so nasty.

[Cut to the kitchen where Hunk is stirring something purple in a pan.]

Hunk: Oh, hey. You’re just in time. I was just about to add the yeast Colleen gave me. No, Bae Bae! Bad dog!

[Cut to Kinkade and Rizavi sitting at a table with Allura.]

Kinkade: First off, thanks for doing this, Allura.

Allura: You’re welcome.

Rizavi: Maybe we can start with the Alteans we have aboard.

Allura: What about them? They’re on the wrong side of this war and they refuse to speak with me. There’s nothing else to say.

Rizavi: So, you’re frustrated?

Allura: Yes, I am. Oriande was destroyed, Lotor is back, and we aren’t any closer to tracking down Honerva. She’s out there, right now, planning something, preparing, and growing stronger. And we’re here flying around in circles, searching for Fraunhofer lines that don’t appear and scanning for wormhole signatures that don’t exist!

Rizavi: Do you think we’ll ever find Honerva?

Allura: No. I think she’ll find us.

[Camera cuts back to Hunk in the kitchen, this time wearing oven mitts.]

Hunk: Okay, it’s been a long day, but I’m finally done.

Kinkade: What is it?

Hunk: It’s an authentic Altean dessert! I’m gonna give it to the Alteans. Coran helped me with the recipe, but I think his memory was, like, a little bit fuzzy, so, you know, I did some improvising. No big whoop.

Kinkade: You did this for them? Why?

Hunk: Well, I don’t know. Because food has a way of reminding people of moments in time. That’s why I made a dessert. Usually, when you eat dessert, you’re pretty happy, right? Who knows? Maybe this’ll help those Alteans remember some moment that made them smile. Something before all this madness. That could go a long way in building a relationship. Well, that’s just what I think.

[Cut to the Alteans in a holding cell as the camera zooms out and pans to face Hunk.]

Hunk: Please, eat. Look, it’s good! Mm, really!

Tavo: You made this? It reminds me of home.

Hunk: Well, I had a little help from someone born and raised on Altea. A-and I know you don’t wanna talk with them, but Allura and Coran know more about your homeland than anyone alive. They were on Altea until its final day. They both would’ve stayed and died to protect it if Alfor hadn’t sent them away. That’s how much they loved it.

Tavo: I heard Altea was one of the most beautiful places in the universe. Did your Alteans ever tell you about the zyo crystal springs outside of the capital? The stories say those cliffs were more beautiful than all of the stars combined.

Hunk: They never told me about them. But I’m sure they’d love to tell you themselves.

[Scene change to Kinkade sitting in casual clothes facing the camera.]

Kinkade: This is Lieutenant Ryan Kinkade, MFE pilot. The time is 2300 hours. Day forty-seven aboard the IGF-Atlas is officially done.

End.