#VLD Colleen

[chibi-pix]

Home sweet home. The team manages to return to their own reality, only for something unexpected to be waiting for them.

[heynhay]

heynhay klance funnies everyone say thank you colleen

[nerdy-nook]

Some Pre-Kerberos Holt Family Headcanons!

Colleen is the family's breadwinner. Yes, I know Samuel is a Commander, but I feel like people forget that Colleen is also a scientist!

Both Pidge and Matt have ADHD, they got it from their father.

Matt never learned how to drive.

Pidge has some troubles at school—no, not academic troubles, but troubles with bullies. Her parents wanted to transfer her, but she insisted she could tough it out.

The family often invites both Shiro and Adam over to dinner. This is how Keith met the Holts!

Samuel can't cook to save his life.

Matt (accidentally) set a fire in his high school chem lab and got away with it.

Pidge isn't allowed to have energy drinks, yes there is a story behind that.

They invent things to give to each other as gifts! This family is the definition of extra.

Matt tried pot once, and he immediately greened out.

Shiro taught Pidge self-defense because of the bullies.

Matt and Pidge are both heavily invested in FNAF lore; they've made their dad watch countless hours of content about it. He does it because he loves them.

Their back garden is phenomenal, thanks to Colleen.

They have family movie nights, sci-fi is their favorite genre.

Shiro used to lowkey babysit Pidge.

[mushed-kid]

voltron as textposts etc. 32

(woohoo i made another one! who would’ve thought? i feel like i kinda stopped, and idk lmk)

[atlas7seo]

I don't know if they ever touched on this, but I wonder what Pidge told her mom when she left for the Garrison. Like what can you tell your Mom who has just lost her husband and only son that you're going away for a little bit. How on earth did Colleen let her 14? I think 14 year old daughter like just leave? (She's 15 in season 8 but I refuse to believe they've only been in space for a year; she also says "running away" but i think that's in reference to going to space and not the Garrison? But idk)

[pidges-lost-robot]

Fucking side plot that gets flashbacked to throughout the shows run (instead of just like season 7) where its revealed that Adam finally recognised who Pidge was and before she got away to the roof, he let her know he was gonna contact her mother so she knew where her kid was and in the process of this ends up informing Iverson but before they can do anything, Shiro crash lands and the pilot episode takes place and the garrison trio go missing and we watch on Earth as Adam, Veronica, Colleen and the MFE pilots work to try and discover all that Keith and Pidge discovered before the first episode and to find out what happened to them and maybe try to get them back.

I want the stakes on earth to exist throughout, an ecosystem of the Garrison to exist that the trio are aware of and interact with before they leave, so we get a better idea of the people left back on Earth and what they're doing. I wanna know their families like they do. It doesn't have to be that I get a full on list for them all but like I just want there to be this existing world they come from cause as much as I actually can't fault the first episode on a huge amount, this is one of those things cause if I was rewriting it to have the lions discovered throughout season 1, I'd need that time for something and it's something the show lacks anyway

[leenfiend]

A broody gay half human and a fun loving goofy bisexual are traveling through space slowly falling in love as they learn to put aside their differences and realize they actually make the perfect team who am i talking about

[butchelves]

Losing my mind over these two panels of WUT everybody say thank you Colleen @leenfiend

[purplina]

Holt’s family memories (they could have been so happy, how tragic they were already doomed by the narrative)

(dumping holt’s family lore bc i love them and there’s so much material for family angst)

[voltrontranscript]

VLD S7E9: Know Your Enemy

Season 7 Episode 9: Know Your Enemy

Transcript by @dragonofyang

Episode Summary: Hearing that Sendak has taken over Earth, the Paladins hide their Lions on Saturn before landing incognito and discovering all the destruction Sendak has wrought, as well as the innovation found within the last free stronghold on Earth: the Galaxy Garrison.

[Google Doc]

Pidge: Dad, please respond. Voltron is coming. Hold on.

Hunk: Are we too late?

Sam: Katie? Katie, is that you?

Pidge: Dad, it’s me. I’m here.

Sam: Katie, I’m so glad to hear your voice. Where are you?

Pidge: We’re within the solar system. Heading to Earth now.

Sam: Wait! You must stop!

Keith: What? Say again?

Sam: Stop. Sendak has invaded the planet. He’s taken over Earth. If he finds out that Voltron is here, he’ll threaten the people of Earth in exchange for the Lions.

Keith: Reverse thrusters!

Hunk: Copy that. Hold tight!

[Cut to Garrison Command.]

Sam: Pick up those Galra ships’ locations. We need to scramble any transmissions immediately.

Curtis: Scanning location. I got it. They’re opening a channel. Triangulating position for broadcast. Sending interference.

[Cut back to space.]

Sam: Paladins, we blocked the patrol’s transmission. You’re clear.

Lance: Roger that. Let’s take ‘em out!

Pidge: Wait! Don’t destroy that ship. We might need it.

Lance: Really? For what?

Pidge: I’ve got an idea. We can’t fly our Lions to Earth without being spotted, so they’ll have to stay here on this moon in Saturn’s rings, which should keep them hidden from Sendak’s radars. We’ll fly in another way.

Allura: I hope the mice and Kaltenecker aren’t too frightened without us.

Keith: Hang on! We’re entering Earth’s atmosphere.

Hunk: This is weird. This is almost exactly how we left Earth, crammed in the cockpit of the Blue Lion.

Keith: We’re overweight. I’m losing altitude! Brace for impact!

Hunk: Hey, I know this place. I’ve been here. This is Plaht City. It’s about a half an hour from the garrison.

Lance: Woah, I can’t believe this is all that’s left of it.

Keith: We need to get to the garrison. Stay together. Let’s move quick and quiet.

[Scene change to the interior of Plaht City.]

Lance: Woah! Take cover!

Keith: I’ll distract it, you take the shot. Don’t miss. I wonder how many of these things they have around here. Pidge, any chance we could see those things before they get to us?

Pidge: Already on it. Looks like we’ve got four more headed our way.

Shiro: It’s not drones. Look.

Rizavi: Stay down, we got this!

Keith: I had it!

Griffin: Drones send distress signals when they’re attacked. Our weapons neutralize those signals. So unless you wanna deal with a swarm of those things, let us handle it. Now let’s get out of here before more show up.

[Scene change to the Galaxy Garrison.]

Pidge: Mom!

Colleen: Oh, Katie, I’m so glad you’re home!

Veronica: Lance!

Kids: Uncle Lance!

Lance: Oh, hey!

Mrs. McClain: My son!

Lance: It’s so good to see you.

Veronica: We never gave up on you.

Lance: I missed you so much. Oh, my gosh. You two are so much bigger now.

Lance’s Nephew: You’re the same size.

[Flashback 1 begins.]

Hunk’s Niece: Hey, Hunk.

Hunk’s Nephew: We’re going to miss you so much now that you’re going to be a space explorer.

Hunk: Well, I don’t know about space explorer. I was thinking more of a mechanic for space explorers.

Niece: Can you build us a spaceship?

Hunk: Uh, well, I don’t need to because we’re already in one.

[Flashback 1 ends.]

Sam: It’s good to have you home.

Hunk: So, my family?

Sam: We’ll get them back soon.

Iverson: Officer Shirogane. It’s great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarantine.

Coran: Ah, so you’re the one who strapped Shiro to a table. I heard about that.

Shiro: You were just following orders, as any good soldier would. It’s great to see you, too. Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies. Meet Allura, Romelle, and Coran.

Iverson: The honor is mine. Your technology has been instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth.

Coran: Oh, yes. Pop-Pop was quite the genius.

Iverson: And Cadet…

Keith: Yes, sir.

Iverson: I owe you an apology as well. I’ve heard about all you’ve done. I was wrong about you. It’s an honor and privilege to see you again.

Keith: Thank you, sir. I guess I wasn’t exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you a bit of an apology, too.

Iverson: Ah, and who’s this little fella?

Coran: Oh, Kosmo likes you. But be careful. If you touch it, it could zap you to a different universe.

Iverson: Hm?

Coran: Seriously.

[Scene change to inside the garrison.]

Shiro: Adam… I’m sorry.

Iverson: It’s because of them that Earth still has a chance. It’s time for our debriefing.

[Scene change to the Garrison meeting room.]

Sam: Sendak’s forces remain at bay, but without a meaningful supply line, we’re slowly being suffocated.

Shiro: No one else is putting up a fight against Sendak?

Veronica: Small pockets of underground resistance have attempted to do so with varying degrees of success. Eventually, all were discovered and systematically wiped out. Earth’s offensive capabilities simply don’t stand a chance against the Galra.

Hunk: Why don’t we bring more people into this base?

Sam: We’ve had to put a halt on our extraction ops as they were proving to be too risky.

Hunk: But there are good people out there. They could be protected. My family’s out there.

Sam: I’m sorry, Hunk.

Hunk: But if we have an opportunity now–

Griffin: Hey, do Paladins not understand the chain of command? Your CO said it was too dangerous.

Sam: Officer Griffin, that’s enough. Believe me, I understand what you’re going through, Hunk. We all have family out there, but we have to weigh our options. We can’t lose ten people to save twelve. I’m sorry.

Allura: Well, then let’s find out what we can do. You said you’ve integrated Altean tech with Earth weaponry?

[Scene change to a hangar bay.]

Sam: The Mecha-Flex-Exo fighters, or MFEs, are extremely agile with advanced weaponry, but are only capable of short-range attacks. Sustaining power with Altean-infused technology is an issue we’re trying to overcome.

Coran: Maybe I can help you out with that. I do have some leftover faunatonium. It’s an Altean fuel additive, but also has some unexpected side effects, so don’t get any on you.

Sam: And this is our battleship. It’s large enough to house all of the Lions and an entire command unit.

Sanda: It’s built, but it can’t fly. Everyone, there’s a subject we can’t avoid any longer. Sendak attacked Earth because he wanted the Lions, and now they’re here. It seems that we at least need to discuss our options.

Shiro: Are you suggesting that we willingly hand over the Lions to the Galra?

Sanda: Our supplies are gone. We spent all our resources on a ship that doesn’t fly. The weapons we do have are not enough to mount an attack. All we can do is protect a small pocket of Earth. But for how much longer?

Sam: The universe needs the Lions.

Sanda: So does Earth. They’re our only bargaining chip.

Sablan: I agree with the Admiral. Earth has been nearly destroyed. Countless citizens have been lost. But it could all be over if we give up the Lions.

Iverson: We have a fighting chance now that the Lions have returned. We need to take it.

Allura: I’ll settle this argument right now. We’re not giving up the Lions under any circumstances. There is no negotiating with Sendak.

Sanda: Maybe you should leave the matters of Earth to the people who live here.

Shiro: Please, Admiral. I respect that you’ll do anything you can to protect Earth. But trust us, we’ve been through more than you could ever imagine. We have fought the Galra on the fringes of the universe and in their very home. I know there’s a way to defeat Sendak.

Sanda: How? We barely know what we’re up against. We need intelligence, and we just don’t have it.

Allura: Maybe we do. That information you downloaded from the Castle of Lions contains Sendak’s memories.

Sam: How does that help?

Pidge: It might give us some insight into Sendak’s plan. Allura, you’re a genius!

Sam: We just need some time.

[Scene changes to the server room of the garrison.]

Sablan: Everything from the castle is stored here. Processing the massive amount of complex Altean data takes nearly every node we have. Sifting through that much information is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Pidge: Then let’s get started.

[Scene changes to the IGF-Atlas.]

Coran: I’m actually quite impressed, despite the obviously crude nature of Earth’s technological capabilities.

Sam: It has a lot of potential, but I’m unable to recreate the power of a Balmeran crystal. Maybe your faunatonium will work for this as well?

Coran: Afraid not. A ship like this might need two or three battleship-class Balmeran crystals.

Shiro: I don’t suppose there are any Balmera nearby?

Coran: In this young galaxy? [guffaws] Oh, yeah, it’s right next to the Wizblattle. Uh, that’s a no. No Balmeras around here.

[Scene change to the server room.]

Sablan: Those are Officer Holt’s designs for some of the injured soldiers. They’re extremely advanced, but like everything else, we don’t have an adequate power source to make them viable.

Pidge: Here they are– Sendak’s memories. It’s just code until we find a way to interpret it.

Allura: I might know a way.

[Flashback 2 begins.]

Hunk: Found it.

Hunk’s Father: Good job, Hunk. Now, you remember what to do.

[Flashback 2 ends.]

Hunk: [groans]

Keith: Is everything okay in here?

Hunk: Yeah.

Keith: Look… I’m not really good at talking with people, and I… I don’t expect you to open up to me, but… if there’s ever anything on your mind–

Hunk: This situation stinks! I ca–I can’t believe we finally get back to Earth and it’s taken over by Galra.

Keith: I guess there is something on your mind.

Hunk: And I know–I know it’s stupid, but I used to daydream about coming home to a peaceful Earth. And that would’ve been great. But I realized that nothing… nothing would have been greater than seeing my family. But I can’t. And all I keep thinking about is that I wasn’t there for them. And I don’t even know if they’re okay. An–and I see Pidge and Lance with their families, and–I, I mean, I’m happy for them. I am. But it just… it makes me miss my family more. I–I just… I’ve never felt so alone and scared.

Keith: Look, Hunk, I never told you this, but of all the Paladins, you’re the one I’m most impressed by. It’s no secret that you’ve always been the most scared, but you’ve never backed down. Never. And to be brave is to go on in spite of fear. And that’s who you are, Hunk. I know you’re scared, but your family… they need you to be strong right now. Okay. Alright. Now we’re huggin’.

Hunk: Thank you, Keith.

Keith: Wha– Where’re you going?

Hunk: I’m going to get my family.

Keith: Not without me.

[Scene change to a vehicle bay.]

Griffin: You two heading somewhere?

Keith: This doesn’t concern either of you.

Veronica: No, but you’ll probably be concerned with the patrol drones that will spot you within seconds.

Griffin: And you might be concerned with the blast from Sendak’s automated low-orbit, long-range blaster satellite that takes you out.

Hunk: What’s your problem?

Griffin: My problem is I don’t wanna see our only hope for saving Earth get hurt. That’s why we’re coming with you.

[Scene change to the server room.]

Pidge: Uploading… And… there.

Sam: Whoa. Amazing!

Pidge: We’re mimicking the way the Castle of Lions interacted with King Alfor’s memories. Test it out. Ask him a question.

Sam: Um, alright. What is your name?

Hologram!Sendak: I am Commander Sendak, a royal officer to the Galra Empire.

Sam: Where are you from?

Hologram!Sendak: I am proud to say I was born with unquestionable Galra lineage.

Sam: Commander, explain to me your method of conquering planets.

Hologram!Sendak: There are as many ways to conquer a planet as there are planets themselves. Primitive species are the easiest. It usually doesn’t take more than one or two waves of attack to bring them to their knees.

Allura: What about more advanced civilizations?

Hologram!Sendak: There are always those willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. That’s why it is best to find something they value more than themselves and make that the target.

Pidge: What do you mean?

Hologram!Sendak: Citizens of advanced civilizations have the weakness of caring for each other.

Pidge: A military operation of that scale takes immense time and resources.

Hologram!Sendak: Our operations rely on the resources of the planet. They become our supplies and feed our occupation.

Sam: Have you ever failed in overtaking a planet?

Hologram!Sendak: Tenacity and time conquer all foes.

Allura: What if a planet refuses to give up, no matter the cost?

Hologram!Sendak: If a planet refuses to give up, then we annihilate it. But only one planet has ever refused. Altea.

Allura: I’m sorry, I think I need a break.

[Scene change to beyond the Garrison.]

Griffin: She did it. The signal’s sent.

Hunk: Okay, now what?

Griffin: Now we wait.

[Flashback 3 begins.]

Hunk’s Mother: Okay, just about done.

Hunk: Oh, I hate waiting.

Hunk’s Mother: But waiting’s the best part. It’s the time we get to spend together.

[Flashback 3 ends.]

Rebel: Come with me, quickly.

[Cut to a hideout.]

Rebel: Amazing. The rumors are true. Word of the Paladins’ return has inspired the resistance.

Hunk: Thank you for your help. Tell the resistance we’re gonna get rid of the Galra.

Rebel: Words we’ve waited a long time to hear.

Veronica: Is this where they’ve taken all the prisoners?

Keith: What are they doing down there?

Rebel: They have work camps operating day and night mining ore for Sendak. It’s been nonstop for months. He’s building something, but no one is sure what.

Veronica: I thought the labor force was outside the encampment.

Rebel: They were, but they’ve been moved in.

Hunk: What does that mean?

Veronica: It means… we can’t get you to your parents.

Hunk: No. No. Please.

Veronica: Believe me, if there was a way, we would do it.

Hunk: Can I at least see them from here?

[Scene change to a lab in the garrison.]

Shiro: You wanted to see me? I thought you were with Pidge and Sam.

Allura: Sendak’s memories were hard to hear. But it did remind me of something my father once said. He told me that there are those with the power to destroy, and those with the power to create.

[Scene change to the labor camp.]

Keith: I see movement. It looks like the workers are exiting.

Hunk: That’s them. My mom, my dad. Don’t worry, you just need to hang on a little longer. We’re going to get you out. I’m going to get you out.

[End.]

[alien-slushie]

Lance: Keith! You have to pretend to be my mom to Pidge's mom!

Keith, takes phone: Hello, this...is Mom McClain...Yes, the children are playing swords..Sorry, playing with swords. They're bleeding. Oh no, they are dead. Don't call again.

Keith, handing the phone back: Sorry, I panicked.

[chibi-pix]

So, a thought was sparked. What if Pidge was a witch from Earth but thrown into space as per usual. So now she's balancing being a paladin and being a witch. Thankfully a good witch as opposed to Haggar. Lance already figured out she was a girl (at first the others, like canon, assumed male for her, but they figure it out, not that she actually hides this part in this AU), but he was a little off. He thought she was a lesbian. I wonder what witchy things Pidge did that made Lance assume she was a lesbian instead. At least he was accepting of the potential lesbianness of Pidge. Once the shock wears off, he'll be accepting of her being a witch, too.

Honestly? It'd be need to see a witch fight between her and Haggar. Gotta love witches.

Anyway, I hope y'all enjoy this one. Commissions are open and available on my Ko-fi. Until next time.

[heynhay]

COLLAB ALERT @leenfiend wrote the awesome script and I drew her genius 😎 if you think THIS collab is epic you should see us run a whole klance zine👼oh speaking of, have u followed @klcosmiczine yet....? you can apply to join us right now until May 19!! :D

[nerdy-nook]

Do you guys have any idea how much I love Pre-Kerberos headcanons??

Oh My God. It's basically half of my Voltron thoughts (the Voltron brain worms have been eating me alive).

I love thinking about Pre-Kerberos Pidge (or should we call her Katie?) and her possibly meeting pre-kerberose Keith. Shiro has taken Keith under his wing and decides it would be a good idea to try to get him to socialize more, and it just so happens that Commander Holt's annual Christmas Party is coming up.

Normally Shiro wouldn't recommend something as intense as a party for such a socially stunted kid, but he knew the Holt's were someone he could trust. Shiro particularly hoped to introduce Keith to the Holt's daughter, Katie. She has some social issues of her own and it's been affecting her at school. Because of this, she's having trouble making friends, and some of her classmates picking on her.

Both Katie's parents and Keith's "parents" (Shiro and Adam) think it would be a good idea for them to meet. Matt, who became friends with Keith through Shiro, told Katie all about him. She was thrilled to meet someone with similar interests and couldn't wait to quote "Have an intelligent conversation with someone her own age."

Cut to the day of the party, Keith is shaking with anxiety and doesn't know if he can do this. It takes a while but Shiro and Adam manage to calm him down. Because of this, they're a little late so to make up for that Adam suggests that they grab some flowers for Colleen. They stop at a store and pick out a poinsettia because they need to have some Christmas cheer in Arizona and then are off to the Holt's.

They decide that Keith should be the one to give Colleen the flowers. Keith introduces himself to the Holts, fumbling all the way, shakily gifting the flower to Colleen while trying to make eye contact. She sees Keith's effort and is somewhat charmed by him. Once inside Colleen calls Katie over to meet him.

Katie dashes over, excited to try to make a friend, and immediately starts to bombard Keith with questions. "Hi! My name is Katie, but you probably already know that from Matt. What's it like studying at the Garrison? I heard you're at the top of your class! What's your favorite subject? Do you like Physics?"

She grabs his arm and pulls him away from the entrance towards the couch where they can talk more. Keith is bewildered but does his best to keep up with the excited young girl. Colleen smirked, thinking this was the beginning of her little girl finally having a crush. Boy was she wrong.

Katie holds Keith hostage for the rest of the night, and he finds himself genuinely enjoying the company. He's still quiet and a bit reserved but he answers, managing to ask Katie some questions about herself. He's glad he's found someone his own age he can relate to and doesn't look down on him.

By the end of the night, after dinner, both Katie and Keith fell asleep next to each other on the couch. Katie's head leaning on Keith's shoulder, little did they know this would be the start of a lifelong friendship.

[earthravenclaw]

Imagine being Colleen Holt. your entire family just. keeps mysteriously disappearing into space. except for your dog

[quintessenceofdust73]

Colleen had spent the last several minutes arranging the small, brightly wrapped packages on the dining table in the Holts’ private suite onboard the Atlas. This wasn’t exactly where she expected to celebrate her daughter’s eighteenth birthday. Colleen never could have imagined that her youngest child would have been fighting in an intergalactic war at such an age, or that Colleen herself would be out in space with the rest of their little family instead of planning a quiet little party at their home.

She placed the smallest of the packages on top of the stack of colorful boxes. It was wrapped in bright blue paper and tied with a green ribbon. Curious, Colleen glanced at the card. It read “With Love, From Lance.” She smiled to herself, wondering what the gift could be. She knew Katie loved all of the other Paladins like older siblings, but with Lance things had been different. She always sat close to him at meetings and at mealtimes. She blushed when Lance complimented her and pouted when her father set a curfew on her late night video gaming sessions with him. ”Leave the door to your quarters open when that boy is here,” her husband had insisted.

Boy? She thought. No, he was a young man, Lance was nearly twenty, and was of an age to have a more serious view of dating and relationships.

More than once Colleen had noticed that Lance had casually slipped one of his long arms around her daughter’s slight shoulders when the Paladins gathered with her family to have a movie night. She also noticed that Katie wrapped her arms around Lance, clinging to him and affectionately nuzzling his chest, a gesture that always made him smile and draw her even closer to him.

Colleen had always thought they were cute together and had hoped for the longest time that their friendship would blossom into something more. She smiled at the recollection of how Lance had won a stuffed Green Lion for her when they went to the Clear Day carnival together. Katie cuddled with it every night, falling asleep with it in her arms.

Sam, on the other hand, wondered what his daughter saw in the boy.

“He’s not as smart as Hunk,” Sam had observed after Katie had gone to bed one evening. “Why would she like a boy who isn’t even close to being her intellectual equal?”

“Shh! She’ll hear you,” Colleen whispered.

”She’s asleep,” Sam replied. “I still think that she and Hunk would make a good match though. He’s a very bright young man—“

“Who’s in love with a very sweet Balmeran girl,” Colleen reminded him. “Katie has told me things about Lance. Did you know that he nearly got himself killed while saving Coran from an explosion? Lance was practically comatose from his injuries, but he woke up momentarily just to take a shot at Sendak when he was trying to hurt our daughter. Did you know about that?” Sam shook his head. “Did she tell you what Lance did when they were captured by Galra Pirates? Those fiends wanted to torture our child, but Lance wouldn’t allow them to come anywhere near her, so they gave him a good thrashing instead.” Colleen stood with her hands on her hips, as if daring Sam criticize Lance for his heroics.

”No,” Sam paused to consider this new information. “She didn’t tell me about any of that.” He didn’t comment on their daughter’s choice of boyfriends any further, but Colleen was still half-convinced that Sam still believed that no one was good enough for their little girl. Not wanting an argument, Sam changed the subject to what Matt had been doing on his latest missions with the Rebels.

Their son was, at the moment, far away from this sector, fighting in a battle in a distant solar system whose name Colleen couldn’t even pronounce.

So much of their time together as a family had been cut short by the apparent tragedy that had befallen Sam and Matt on the Kerberos mission. The grief she experienced at their mysterious disappearance consumed her, then was multiplied when Katie ran away from home to join the Garrison under a false identity. She later found out that her daughter and her friends had been abducted by a sentient spaceship and taken through a wormhole to the other end of the universe. Her only daughter was lost among the stars for three years, and when Katie finally returned home, Colleen could barely recognize her. Her long hair was shorn, her beauty concealed by the disguise of her brother’s old round spectacles. Most shocking of all, she was clad in the hard shell of some high-tech armored alien spacesuit. Although she had returned home physically unharmed, Colleen knew her the little girl she had raised was gone forever.

Every time she watched Katie fall asleep in her narrow bunk, she could momentarily forget that her daughter was a confident young woman who was, among other things, a Paladin, a scientist, and a veteran of far too many battles in the endless war that had been tearing the universe apart centuries before she had been born. Losing this war might mean the end of humanity’s freedom and possibly its very existence. Of course, they weren’t just fighting for Earth’s freedom, but for the liberation of all of the sentient beings that the Galra Empire had enslaved over the last ten thousand years. Defeating Honerva was all any of them could think about these days.

And here she was, making preparations for her youngest child’s birthday party. Colleen sat down at the table and covered her mouth to stifle a sob. But there was no one around to hear it. Sam and Katie had already departed for the mission briefing. She let the tears flow only when she was alone. Then, in order to face the day, she straightened her uniform and donned the steely facade of the brave officer and loyal crew member that she had to present herself as. She wiped the corners of her eyes and hastily departed for the main conference chamber.

[Pidge’s 18th birthday doesn’t go as planned in this fic. This is an excerpt from chapter 2 of one of the best multi chapter fics that I have ever written. Angst, drama, space battles, sword fights, friendship, loyalty, courage, humor, romance, and an epic conclusion with a satisfying epilogue. What are you waiting for? Go read it! ]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31663769?view_full_work=true