#cause i know without my mood stabilizers i used to act so recklessly

[sierradeaton]

x

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under a Vanilla Sky prt 32 full draft

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus. Keith, do you still plan on going into the outpost alone" Several long ticks passed, he'd just told himself to be honest with Acxa, and yet, he was wavering in his convictions. If something happened to his team, he could never live with himself. In a new way, he felt like he understood what Lance had been saying all along. This fight wasn't there's... but... at the same time it was. The threat out there threatened to spill further, and it was already too far spread for him to see the full picture. What was the right choice to make? Either choice could end in regret... Lance might be injured. He might need help to extract his lover from the clutches of whoever held him... but leading his team in there might just turn into him leading them to their deaths... he couldn't do that... he couldn't risk his team... even for the love of his life. The realisation threatened to send him into tears. He was choosing his team over the man he'd claimed he loved... "I do" Acxa didn't miss a beat "Then we need a plan" He had a plan. A shaky plan but the start of a plan nonetheless "I'll take a ship to the outpost alone. They've already seen my face" "If you're going in, you're not going in without a backup plan" "No. I can't risk your lives" "Keith..." "Acxa, please. Lance... he could already be dead. If I go in alone, I don't have to worry about you all ending up dead too" Acxa scoffed "Yeah. Right. It's perfectly fine for you to throw your life away, and you expect us to simply comply. No way is that happening" "Look. I don't see another way" "You don't see another way because you have been blinded by your love for Lance" He'd been beaten and bruised, and may have held poor control over his emotions, but he wasn't blind "You have no right throwing that back in my face!" "You want to play hero and rescue him so all will be forgiven" "It isn't like that!" It kind of was... when Acxa's voice reached his ears, he realised that maybe he did. Maybe he did want to be the one who saved Lance so that Lance couldn't run from him again... He just wanted him back... "We're going with you" "You can't..." "Then let us wait close enough to the station to provide backup. Don't send us back to Shiro" Keith opened and closed his mouth, still gored on the horns of dilemma. What was to stop the Erathian police firing on their ship in his absence? What was to stop them from boarding the ship and taking all of them prisoner? The threat of the Atlas and the threat of retaliation from Daibazaal didn't seem to phase the police chief as much as the thought of losing his life by trusting them with the truth "Krolia will be preparing a unit, as will Shiro. If you insist on a solo entry, then we'll be close by. How many enemy soldiers were there last time?" "I don't remember. The base didn't seem to be an overly large complex... maybe... a dozen?" "And do you feel confident over a solo entry? If they are to take you prisoner, do you feel you could gain access to the air ducts, or potentially over throw a guard?" "The guards made up for their lack of experience with numbers..." He'd honestly been too focused on getting Lance out of there. What they'd witnessed still churned his stomach, and now he was going back like some idiot "Then we make a plan. If you don't return within a quintant or contact us, we'll follow you in" "Time works differently in there. Quintants in there are movements out here" Acxa frowned "We're not leaving you for movements" "You'll need to consult with Zac. He calculated the magnetic fields and asteroids. Also, due to the conditions inside the pocket of space, access isn't always available..." "Then that's what we'll do. With our new cloaking technology, we may be able to follow you without detection" "No... I refuse to let you guys follow me when you could end up dead. We have no idea who or what is waiting for us" "Keith. It's either we follow, or I'll shoot out the control panel so we have no choice but to wait for Shiro" "You can't do that!" If his ship wasn't running, he couldn't get to Lance... "I can and I will if I have to. Now, do we have a deal?" He really didn't have a choice. He needed to get to that outpost as soon as possible, and he knew Acxa's threat wasn't an empty one but rather a promise "Fine..." "Good. I'll update Krolia on the situation. You need to rest. Zethrid and Ezor have Kosmo for the night. Lucteal and Daehra both have beds made up in the storage hold. I will pilot us to Thatus" "I'm perfectly capable of piloting" "You know the rules. You're injured, which means you forfeit the right to pilot until healed. Now please go find Daehra... you might not be able to bare it if anything was to happen to us, but we feel the same way about you too, Keith." With freshly strapped ribs, Lucteal and Keith walked through the metallic junk piles that covered Thatus. Ships and ship pieces lay in various stages of salvaging, the towers of parts stretching high, as well as forming trip hazards all over the ground. Out of everyone, Lucteal was the one handling Lance's absence almost as bad as he was. Lucteal however had Daehra to lean on, while Keith just had endless hours of self wallowing and rage. The first movement after the loss of Lance had been the worse when it came to his temper, he'd been unable to calm himself. Now was still plagued with the lingering prickling anger, but moving forward meant he was moving closer to Lance. Moving forward towards the man who loved and the man who made everything better in his life. Lance was always there for him. Whether it be a rough day, or a bad nightmare, Lance would push his problems aside to be there to hold him until he felt better. Perhaps Lucteal could sense all of this, as he hadn't been an insufferable arsehole since coming with them on this scattered adventure to find Lance. Reaching the trade tent, Lucteal held the tent flap open for him. He really must look awful if they'd evolved into Lucteal opening tent flaps for him. It was the same muscled brown alien behind the workbench in the tent that Keith had spoken to over Guile's disappearance. Keith could almost swear they were tinkering with the same device they'd been last time, just to complete the picture of a stereotypical junker. Looking up from their project, the aliens flickered over him before settling on Lucteal with a big smile "I heard you were in trouble" "And I heard you were actually working for a change. Is Baja here?" "You never come to see me. Baja's off planet at the moment. What trouble are you getting into this time?" So apparently Lucteal was here enough to be friendly with them. Keith hadn't expected that... It seemed to him he'd been forgotten in the background "This Keith. Keith, this is Yule. Leandro needs a pick up, so we need a ship" "What about the ship you came in?" "That's his. He's not exactly on Leandro's team" "And the Telula? was it? Did it finally up die?" "I wouldn't let Leandro hear that. No. He's off with her and we need a ride out there" Keith had never seen Lucteal so talkative with someone who wasn't Lance. He didn't know what to make of it... Was Lucteal crushing on this alien now that he knew Lance was permanently off the market? He had no idea what flirting really looked like. He and Lance hadn't gone about things in the traditional sense of dating "That's not what I've heard. I heard he's got a bounty on his head" Lucteal huffed, shuffling his weight semi-awkwardly as hand came up to play with the edge of his hair. This was surely flirting... Lucteal was flirting... "You know Erathus. They're less than honourable. Leandro did nothing wrong" "I never said he did... though I've got not idea why he's in trouble, absolutely none. It's not like he's single handily upset almost everyone on that pretty little planet with all his tampering. Still. He brings in the business and it's all about that GAC at the end of the quintant. If you're after a ship, I think we can help. We've got some pods Baja was supposed to strip, damn imbecile's left them sitting for the last phoeb. Or do you need something bigger like that junker of yours? You know I'll give you a fair price when you finally trade that floating wreck in" "Leandro would sooner die than give up the Telula. We'd all rather die than give up the Telula. She is out home" Yule held... her? hands up. All four of them, as they? sighed at Lucteal "You know I'm only messing with you all" "Then remember that the Telula is our home. We need a ship that's not going to short out when travelling through magnetic fields" "Lemme guess, that idiot commander of yours is heading back out that way again?" "Leandro is not an idiot" "I'm using his own words" Keith's who body felt as if he'd been jump started at the prospect of Lance being on Thatus recently, forgetting he'd been excluded from the conversation, he hurried to ask "Have you seen him? Was he here within the last phoeb? Did he seen alright?" Yule raised a thick dark brown eyebrow at him "How do you expect me to know all that? He doesn't come out this way for anything other than work. I heard he's been bouncing around with Th'al. Friend of a friend and all that quiznak. I ain't seen him about 3 phoebs. Didn't even come back to collect his GAC from his last drop" Keith deflated on the spot. Of course Lance hadn't been here. That would be far too easy and far too safe... Shooting Keith a glare, Lucteal held it for a few ticks before looking back to Yule "Ignore him, Yule. He knows nothing about what it's like out here. We only need a small one man pod, two after we pick Leandro up" "I think we've got an old Galra fighter jet. She might be banged up, but Baja isn't here to say no. Just do us a favour and drop your next ship our way" Lucteal smiled a genuine smile and shocked the heck out of Keith. The man was acting surprisingly human. His English was already far better than when they'd met, and now he was flirting and charming Yule... Lance would have been proud, or would have wiped away pretend tears from the corners of his eyes as he whispered about how "they all grow up so fast". Maybe this was simply Lucteal copying how Lance would have handled the situation. Either way, Keith wouldn't say no to a Galra fighter jet "Sounds good. Where are we looking?" "Follow through the Greenlock cattle ships until you hit the T join, then take it right to the end. You'll find all the Galra jet parts there. Take whichever one you can get fired up. We'll chuck it on the account. Galra aren't to popular so their parts don't move like the used to" "Thanks, Yule. I'll be sure to send Leandro to deal with the account" "You better. Baja's going to throw a fit when he hears I didn't charge you on the spot" "Baja's always throwing a fit" "This is true. He's better now he's got Yuhpee" Giving Yule a wave, that seemed to be how the conversation ended. Lucteal making his way back out the tent with Keith trailing after him. His ribs complaining with every damn step, but he still had more than enough self pride and wasn't about to fall behind Lucteal of all aliens. "Do you know where you're going?" Trying to make conversation as they started walking back through the labyrinth of parts, Keith regretted his question. With how blunt it sounded, he wouldn't have been surprised if Lucteal thought he was insulting his intelligence "Yes. Greenstock ships then right at the T" "Can I ask what all that meant? A drop? And what makes Greenstock ships special?" Lucteal had lost the air of "Lanceness" as he hastened his pace "Greenstock was a planet out past our home world that was renown for its.. You wouldn't have a word for it. It was beast that could travel far on little water. It had much strength and the Galra soon wiped out the entire species of them with their greed. Old ships sometimes randomly turn up in this area of space, with all the magnetic forces, temporal anomalies and time issues... I do not know why I'm bothering to explain things. Any ship with no claim gets taken here. A drop here is a ship we've come across and liberated from its owner or was left abandoned. It's happened a few times here and there. If it's too far away, Baja will take a crew to collect. And because I know you will only hassle me with more questions a "Yuhpee" is a small yipping animal about a third of the size of your wolf. It has brown scales and is raised as a companion according to Zac's data. Now we walk, try not to fall over or Daehra will be more than irritating" Keith kept his mouth shut as he processed. There was nothing usual about the Galra erasing whole species lines... and the owner of the salvage company on the moon was a grumpy old man who'd softened up because he'd gotten a space dog. Keith had thought they didn't do much business here because Lance hadn't been out in this area of space for more than six phoebs when they'd met, but his brain also hadn't thought of all the time stuff happening anywhere other than out near the prison station either. His accidental husband had also mentioned he had trouble with time since being held captive... so maybe while it'd been six phoebs to Lance, it'd been both longer and shorter in other sectors of this space. Trying to work it out, the half-Galra quickly gave up. Time travel and tracking was simply too much to comprehend when you started thinking about how huge space really was. In fact, it was kind of amazing humans even existed. How people figured out television, radio, mobile phone and computers back in the 20th century he'd never know. To make such huge and sudden leaps seemed impossible, and surely people back there had to question if any of it was actually real, and if they'd themselves were real. Everything they took for granted must have made them all question their own tiny existences once. Keith hadn't really stopped to ask himself any of these questions before being hurled into space. Since he'd come to grips with his past, part of him had been trying harder to understand his human side... but the mystery of that kind of wonder still felt foreign to him. The only wonderous thing in the whole universe, to Keith, was that Lance had feelings for him too. Reaching the area of the moon dedicated to Galra technology, Keith was impressed by how much salvage was actually there. Pieces of everything from half dismantled cruisers to scraps of sentries lay before them like bodies strewn across a field, left rotting after some sad battle "What can you fly here?" Most of it? Except for sentries as sentries didn't seem to fly without some external source of propulsion "Pretty much most of it. Those cruisers aren't going anywhere. Do you see any fighter jets?" "Probably further down. They don't exactly sell Galra parts out front" "They carry more than I thought they would..." Lucteal scoffed "Of course they do. They take almost everything. If it can be recycled it is. If it can be rebuilt, it is. They pretty much scrap ships for everyone out here" "I didn't pay that much notice when I was here before" "The great and legendary Keith can think of anything other Lance? I don't know if I can imagine that. Not with the way your emotions have been flooding out" There was the arsehole he knew. Keith ignoring him as he shuffled on. It wasn't like he wasn't sympathetic towards the two empaths, but he couldn't shut down what he felt for Lance. He wouldn't even try. With everything crumbling Lance was the hope that kept him going "That's exactly what I mean. You're thinking of him again. Do you really have so little faith in him? He was doing perfectly well before you came along. Now, please find this jet of yours. I would like to be off this planet as soon as possible" "Lance wasn't fine, you were all too stupid to see that. I thought you and he were close, but you really know nothing about him, do you? If you're so anxious to leave, then go. I'm sure I can find a ship on my own" Grabbing him by the shirt, Lucteal pulled Keith sideways into a towering pile of ship metal. Cringing as his sore chest made contact with something particularly pointed, he then growled as shoved Lucteal back "I know you're fucking mad at me for some shit, but Lance made his choice" "I know he made his choice, but you have no idea what he means to us! We look up to him and respect him. Never has he doubted himself in front of us as he does when with you. You make him doubt himself. You make him question his leadership. He is strong. Stronger than anyone else in this sector, yet you do not even think. He left because of you. Do you not think he would have been able to pull himself back together by now? Is this why we must follow you? He is strong and he has a plan. You have no plan. You're acting reckless. You knew Erathus would hold no leads and you went. Leandro wouldn't have. It was a waste of time. Now find this ship so we might go" The lecture wasn't appreciated. Lucteal had been sheltered all his damn life. A little rich kid who was now running around the universe like he had a clue what it was really like out there. Forcing his aching body to full height, Keith bit back the pain as he pushed past Lucteal, mentally taking back his sympathy towards the man and his sister. Daehra was the only one he was going to make an effort towards, even if it meant pissing Lance off. He didn't understand Lucteal, and he'd simply have to accept that. After all, it was impossible to be friends with everyone in existence. No one was built that way... Keith had almost been cruel enough to mention the fact that thanks to Annla he and Lance were technically married, but the words died on his tongue. Maybe he was still trying to find a way to get along with him for the sake of Lance? Or maybe he didn't feel like being pushed back into the sharp pile of metal? Either way, he didn't so much as glance back at Lucteal. Perhaps that was the answer to everything, simply ignoring what he couldn't handle and focusing on what he could. * The only fighter jet that was capable of flying needed work. There'd been three relatively in shape still, but one of those had blood throughout the cockpit, with lumps of something that looked suspiciously like bits of flesh splattered on the back wall of the space. The other one was missing too much wiring from under the dash, leaving the third option which needed the armour of the left wing replaced. Unable to do the repairs by himself, Keith had called through to his team, Zak banned from coming on the planet due to some past grievance with Yule and Baja, so Daehra stayed on board his ship with him. Lucteal had taken to wandering through the ship parts, with Ezor and Zethrid. Leaving Acxa alone to tinker with the wing of the jet, and Keith to stand and watch on while feeling like a weak idiot. He was tired of everyone else doing what he should be doing. Thanks to jumping in head first, he was left licking his wounds and mulling over what Lucteal had said. He loved Lance. He loved waking up with him. Cuddling into him. Having Lance hold him until he calmed from whatever nightmare reared its ugly head. Things hadn't been perfect. Withdrawal had taken far more than he wanted to admit out of him, and now there was a risk they'd have to go through that all over again... Did Lucteal see going through withdrawal as weakness? Because Keith couldn't see things that way. It took strength to say he needed help. It took strength to let someone in and to let them help. Lucteal was full of shit. Keith already knew Lance was fucking strong. He made an amazing commander for his team, their loyalty proved that, as did his briefing on the Atlas. Lance controlled the whole room, despite the fears and anxieties he'd held. Yes, he doubted himself, but Lance had told him when he'd suffered his own doubts over being Black Paladin that all leaders felt that way. At the time he'd thought them just words to soothe him, now he knew otherwise. Lance was living the words of advice he'd given him so long ago. He trusted and relied on his team, something Keith realised he hadn't done completely with his own. It wasn't like he didn't like Ezor and Zethrid, yet when they were alone he never knew what to say. He'd never moved past whatever they were when they'd formed their team over a deca-phoeb ago... He'd let the girls to organise themselves... Quiznak. He was a terrible leader. He was leading his team into danger without that key trust... no wonder Acxa and Lucteal had both spoken to him as they had. He was still a child... Things were going to change when he got Lance back. He wouldn't be going back to Daibazaal until he'd sat down and done some serious self reflection.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS update. I'm not actually dead

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus. Keith, do you still plan on going into the outpost alone" Several long ticks passed, he'd just told himself to be honest with Acxa, and yet, he was wavering in his convictions. If something happened to his team, he could never live with himself. In a new way, he felt like he understood what Lance had been saying all along. This fight wasn't there's... but... at the same time it was. The threat out there threatened to spill further, and it was already too far spread for him to see the full picture. What was the right choice to make? Either choice could end in regret... Lance might be injured. He might need help to extract his lover from the clutches of whoever held him... but leading his team in there might just turn into him leading them to their deaths... he couldn't do that... he couldn't risk his team... even for the love of his life. The realisation threatened to send him into tears. He was choosing his team over the man he'd claimed he loved... "I do" Acxa didn't miss a beat "Then we need a plan" He had a plan. A shaky plan but the start of a plan nonetheless "I'll take a ship to the outpost alone. They've already seen my face" "If you're going in, you're not going in without a backup plan" "No. I can't risk your lives" "Keith..." "Acxa, please. Lance... he could already be dead. If I go in alone, I don't have to worry about you all ending up dead too" Acxa scoffed "Yeah. Right. It's perfectly fine for you to throw your life away, and you expect us to simply comply. No way is that happening" "Look. I don't see another way" "You don't see another way because you have been blinded by your love for Lance" He'd been beaten and bruised, and may have held poor control over his emotions, but he wasn't blind "You have no right throwing that back in my face!" "You want to play hero and rescue him so all will be forgiven" "It isn't like that!" It kind of was... when Acxa's voice reached his ears, he realised that maybe he did. Maybe he did want to be the one who saved Lance so that Lance couldn't run from him again... He just wanted him back... "We're going with you" "You can't..." "Then let us wait close enough to the station to provide backup. Don't send us back to Shiro" Keith opened and closed his mouth, still gored on the horns of dilemma. What was to stop the Erathian police firing on their ship in his absence? What was to stop them from boarding the ship and taking all of them prisoner? The threat of the Atlas and the threat of retaliation from Daibazaal didn't seem to phase the police chief as much as the thought of losing his life by trusting them with the truth "Krolia will be preparing a unit, as will Shiro. If you insist on a solo entry, then we'll be close by. How many enemy soldiers were there last time?" "I don't remember. The base didn't seem to be an overly large complex... maybe... a dozen?" "And do you feel confident over a solo entry? If they are to take you prisoner, do you feel you could gain access to the air ducts, or potentially over throw a guard?" "The guards made up for their lack of experience with numbers..." He'd honestly been too focused on getting Lance out of there. What they'd witnessed still churned his stomach, and now he was going back like some idiot "Then we make a plan. If you don't return within a quintant or contact us, we'll follow you in" "Time works differently in there. Quintants in there are movements out here" Acxa frowned "We're not leaving you for movements" "You'll need to consult with Zac. He calculated the magnetic fields and asteroids. Also, due to the conditions inside the pocket of space, access isn't always available..." "Then that's what we'll do. With our new cloaking technology, we may be able to follow you without detection" "No... I refuse to let you guys follow me when you could end up dead. We have no idea who or what is waiting for us" "Keith. It's either we follow, or I'll shoot out the control panel so we have no choice but to wait for Shiro" "You can't do that!" If his ship wasn't running, he couldn't get to Lance... "I can and I will if I have to. Now, do we have a deal?" He really didn't have a choice. He needed to get to that outpost as soon as possible, and he knew Acxa's threat wasn't an empty one but rather a promise "Fine..." "Good. I'll update Krolia on the situation. You need to rest. Zethrid and Ezor have Kosmo for the night. Lucteal and Daehra both have beds made up in the storage hold. I will pilot us to Thatus" "I'm perfectly capable of piloting" "You know the rules. You're injured, which means you forfeit the right to pilot until healed. Now please go find Daehra... you might not be able to bare it if anything was to happen to us, but we feel the same way about you too, Keith." With freshly strapped ribs, Lucteal and Keith walked through the metallic junk piles that covered Thatus. Ships and ship pieces lay in various stages of salvaging, the towers of parts stretching high, as well as forming trip hazards all over the ground. Out of everyone, Lucteal was the one handling Lance's absence almost as bad as he was. Lucteal however had Daehra to lean on, while Keith just had endless hours of self wallowing and rage. The first movement after the loss of Lance had been the worse when it came to his temper, he'd been unable to calm himself. Now was still plagued with the lingering prickling anger, but moving forward meant he was moving closer to Lance. Moving forward towards the man who loved and the man who made everything better in his life. Lance was always there for him. Whether it be a rough day, or a bad nightmare, Lance would push his problems aside to be there to hold him until he felt better. Perhaps Lucteal could sense all of this, as he hadn't been an insufferable arsehole since coming with them on this scattered adventure to find Lance. Reaching the trade tent, Lucteal held the tent flap open for him. He really must look awful if they'd evolved into Lucteal opening tent flaps for him. It was the same muscled brown alien behind the workbench in the tent that Keith had spoken to over Guile's disappearance. Keith could almost swear they were tinkering with the same device they'd been last time, just to complete the picture of a stereotypical junker. Looking up from their project, the aliens flickered over him before settling on Lucteal with a big smile "I heard you were in trouble" "And I heard you were actually working for a change. Is Baja here?" "You never come to see me. Baja's off planet at the moment. What trouble are you getting into this time?" So apparently Lucteal was here enough to be friendly with them. Keith hadn't expected that... It seemed to him he'd been forgotten in the background "This Keith. Keith, this is Yule. Leandro needs a pick up, so we need a ship" "What about the ship you came in?" "That's his. He's not exactly on Leandro's team" "And the Telula? was it? Did it finally up die?" "I wouldn't let Leandro hear that. No. He's off with her and we need a ride out there" Keith had never seen Lucteal so talkative with someone who wasn't Lance. He didn't know what to make of it... Was Lucteal crushing on this alien now that he knew Lance was permanently off the market? He had no idea what flirting really looked like. He and Lance hadn't gone about things in the traditional sense of dating "That's not what I've heard. I heard he's got a bounty on his head" Lucteal huffed, shuffling his weight semi-awkwardly as hand came up to play with the edge of his hair. This was surely flirting... Lucteal was flirting... "You know Erathus. They're less than honourable. Leandro did nothing wrong" "I never said he did... though I've got not idea why he's in trouble, absolutely none. It's not like he's single handily upset almost everyone on that pretty little planet with all his tampering. Still. He brings in the business and it's all about that GAC at the end of the quintant. If you're after a ship, I think we can help. We've got some pods Baja was supposed to strip, damn imbecile's left them sitting for the last phoeb. Or do you need something bigger like that junker of yours? You know I'll give you a fair price when you finally trade that floating wreck in" "Leandro would sooner die than give up the Telula. We'd all rather die than give up the Telula. She is out home" Yule held... her? hands up. All four of them, as they? sighed at Lucteal "You know I'm only messing with you all" "Then remember that the Telula is our home. We need a ship that's not going to short out when travelling through magnetic fields" "Lemme guess, that idiot commander of yours is heading back out that way again?" "Leandro is not an idiot" "I'm using his own words" Keith's who body felt as if he'd been jump started at the prospect of Lance being on Thatus recently, forgetting he'd been excluded from the conversation, he hurried to ask "Have you seen him? Was he here within the last phoeb? Did he seen alright?" Yule raised a thick dark brown eyebrow at him "How do you expect me to know all that? He doesn't come out this way for anything other than work. I heard he's been bouncing around with Th'al. Friend of a friend and all that quiznak. I ain't seen him about 3 phoebs. Didn't even come back to collect his GAC from his last drop" Keith deflated on the spot. Of course Lance hadn't been here. That would be far too easy and far too safe... Shooting Keith a glare, Lucteal held it for a few ticks before looking back to Yule "Ignore him, Yule. He knows nothing about what it's like out here. We only need a small one man pod, two after we pick Leandro up" "I think we've got an old Galra fighter jet. She might be banged up, but Baja isn't here to say no. Just do us a favour and drop your next ship our way" Lucteal smiled a genuine smile and shocked the heck out of Keith. The man was acting surprisingly human. His English was already far better than when they'd met, and now he was flirting and charming Yule... Lance would have been proud, or would have wiped away pretend tears from the corners of his eyes as he whispered about how "they all grow up so fast". Maybe this was simply Lucteal copying how Lance would have handled the situation. Either way, Keith wouldn't say no to a Galra fighter jet "Sounds good. Where are we looking?" "Follow through the Greenlock cattle ships until you hit the T join, then take it right to the end. You'll find all the Galra jet parts there. Take whichever one you can get fired up. We'll chuck it on the account. Galra aren't to popular so their parts don't move like the used to" "Thanks, Yule. I'll be sure to send Leandro to deal with the account" "You better. Baja's going to throw a fit when he hears I didn't charge you on the spot" "Baja's always throwing a fit" "This is true. He's better now he's got Yuhpee" Giving Yule a wave, that seemed to be how the conversation ended. Lucteal making his way back out the tent with Keith trailing after him. His ribs complaining with every damn step, but he still had more than enough self pride and wasn't about to fall behind Lucteal of all aliens. "Do you know where you're going?" Trying to make conversation as they started walking back through the labyrinth of parts, Keith regretted his question. With how blunt it sounded, he wouldn't have been surprised if Lucteal thought he was insulting his intelligence "Yes. Greenstock ships then right at the T" "Can I ask what all that meant? A drop? And what makes Greenstock ships special?" Lucteal had lost the air of "Lanceness" as he hastened his pace "Greenstock was a planet out past our home world that was renown for its.. You wouldn't have a word for it. It was beast that could travel far on little water. It had much strength and the Galra soon wiped out the entire species of them with their greed. Old ships sometimes randomly turn up in this area of space, with all the magnetic forces, temporal anomalies and time issues... I do not know why I'm bothering to explain things. Any ship with no claim gets taken here. A drop here is a ship we've come across and liberated from its owner or was left abandoned. It's happened a few times here and there. If it's too far away, Baja will take a crew to collect. And because I know you will only hassle me with more questions a "Yuhpee" is a small yipping animal about a third of the size of your wolf. It has brown scales and is raised as a companion according to Zac's data. Now we walk, try not to fall over or Daehra will be more than irritating" Keith kept his mouth shut as he processed. There was nothing usual about the Galra erasing whole species lines... and the owner of the salvage company on the moon was a grumpy old man who'd softened up because he'd gotten a space dog. Keith had thought they didn't do much business here because Lance hadn't been out in this area of space for more than six phoebs when they'd met, but his brain also hadn't thought of all the time stuff happening anywhere other than out near the prison station either. His accidental husband had also mentioned he had trouble with time since being held captive... so maybe while it'd been six phoebs to Lance, it'd been both longer and shorter in other sectors of this space. Trying to work it out, the half-Galra quickly gave up. Time travel and tracking was simply too much to comprehend when you started thinking about how huge space really was. In fact, it was kind of amazing humans even existed. How people figured out television, radio, mobile phone and computers back in the 20th century he'd never know. To make such huge and sudden leaps seemed impossible, and surely people back there had to question if any of it was actually real, and if they'd themselves were real. Everything they took for granted must have made them all question their own tiny existences once. Keith hadn't really stopped to ask himself any of these questions before being hurled into space. Since he'd come to grips with his past, part of him had been trying harder to understand his human side... but the mystery of that kind of wonder still felt foreign to him. The only wonderous thing in the whole universe, to Keith, was that Lance had feelings for him too. Reaching the area of the moon dedicated to Galra technology, Keith was impressed by how much salvage was actually there. Pieces of everything from half dismantled cruisers to scraps of sentries lay before them like bodies strewn across a field, left rotting after some sad battle "What can you fly here?" Most of it? Except for sentries as sentries didn't seem to fly without some external source of propulsion "Pretty much most of it. Those cruisers aren't going anywhere. Do you see any fighter jets?" "Probably further down. They don't exactly sell Galra parts out front" "They carry more than I thought they would..." Lucteal scoffed "Of course they do. They take almost everything. If it can be recycled it is. If it can be rebuilt, it is. They pretty much scrap ships for everyone out here" "I didn't pay that much notice when I was here before" "The great and legendary Keith can think of anything other Lance? I don't know if I can imagine that. Not with the way your emotions have been flooding out" There was the arsehole he knew. Keith ignoring him as he shuffled on. It wasn't like he wasn't sympathetic towards the two empaths, but he couldn't shut down what he felt for Lance. He wouldn't even try. With everything crumbling Lance was the hope that kept him going "That's exactly what I mean. You're thinking of him again. Do you really have so little faith in him? He was doing perfectly well before you came along. Now, please find this jet of yours. I would like to be off this planet as soon as possible" "Lance wasn't fine, you were all too stupid to see that. I thought you and he were close, but you really know nothing about him, do you? If you're so anxious to leave, then go. I'm sure I can find a ship on my own" Grabbing him by the shirt, Lucteal pulled Keith sideways into a towering pile of ship metal. Cringing as his sore chest made contact with something particularly pointed, he then growled as shoved Lucteal back "I know you're fucking mad at me for some shit, but Lance made his choice" "I know he made his choice, but you have no idea what he means to us! We look up to him and respect him. Never has he doubted himself in front of us as he does when with you. You make him doubt himself. You make him question his leadership. He is strong. Stronger than anyone else in this sector, yet you do not even think. He left because of you. Do you not think he would have been able to pull himself back together by now? Is this why we must follow you? He is strong and he has a plan. You have no plan. You're acting reckless. You knew Erathus would hold no leads and you went. Leandro wouldn't have. It was a waste of time. Now find this ship so we might go" The lecture wasn't appreciated. Lucteal had been sheltered all his damn life. A little rich kid who was now running around the universe like he had a clue what it was really like out there. Forcing his aching body to full height, Keith bit back the pain as he pushed past Lucteal, mentally taking back his sympathy towards the man and his sister. Daehra was the only one he was going to make an effort towards, even if it meant pissing Lance off. He didn't understand Lucteal, and he'd simply have to accept that. After all, it was impossible to be friends with everyone in existence. No one was built that way... Keith had almost been cruel enough to mention the fact that thanks to Annla he and Lance were technically married, but the words died on his tongue. Maybe he was still trying to find a way to get along with him for the sake of Lance? Or maybe he didn't feel like being pushed back into the sharp pile of metal? Either way, he didn't so much as glance back at Lucteal.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

CSUAVS prt 32 start

Coming too with a long groan, Keith was startled by Ezor hovering right over his face. Her smile wide as she chewed on her gum "He's awake!" Wincing at her yell, Keith placed his hand against his aching side as he forced himself to sit up, discovering he was back on his ship and back in his quarters "Take it easy, you have bruised ribs and are suffering the effects of the drug in your system" That kind voice and way of speech could only be from Daehra "He's fine. He's had worse than this" "He is still my patient. Rest is important to recovery" "He's part Galra. We're stronger than most" Great. Ezor had upset Daehra and now the two of them were fighting... "Excuse me... I am right here. Daehra, what happened?" Ezor huffed at him, jumping back from his side and crossing her arms with a pout. Coming over to his bed, Daehra sat herself down near his knees "You were left at the base of the space port. Zak said your tracker signal had been in place for the last two doboshes, so Acxa and Lucteal went down to meet you and found you unconscious on a bench in front of the port. Your left side is heavily bruised, and you were affected by which ever drug was in your system. Without my equipment, I was unable to perform an analysis. Do you have any lingering symptoms?" So they beat him up and left him for collection. That was... something. He'd kind of hoped being gassed would lead to a one way ticket out to the outpost "No... I'm just a little stiff" "Any memory loss? Do you remember what happened on Erathus?" Scrunching his brow, Keith nodded. His mind felt foggy, but that would be the gas and would pass once it cleared his system "I met with him... he wouldn't change his mind about Lance... and he said something about... not trusting our allies or something... or them not being who they appeared to be. When he tried to have me escorted out, I kind of..." "He means he got into a fight" Injecting herself back into the conversation, Daehra nodded at Ezor's words "I gathered as much from the state he is in. You have been unconscious for the last 6 vargas now. We have left the orbit of Erathus, and are now in a rather neutral sector for the moment. I have been contacted by Th'al while you slept. She is planning on meeting with Lance next movement" Keith lowered himself back down. His ribs hurt like a damn quiznak "He said something about Lance's bounty status changing. Do you know anything about that?" "No. It has not been updated on the boards. We do not have Th'al's pod signature so we cannot track her ship. All our security systems were designed by Zak. They are designed to be unhackable and he has done his job too well" "Can we contact Th'al?" "She said she will be in contact with us. We have been waiting for you to awaken before deciding our next course of action" That was easy. They'd tried knocking at the front door. Now was time for a side entrance "We're heading to the outpost. Erathus was a bust" "Not necessarily. You did learn that you are associated with those causing the disturbances here" "You mean his cryptic warning? I don't think we can believe anything the chief of police said. Not with how he acted over Lance" Daehra sighed "Alright. For now I will inform Acxa of your decision. Is there anything you wish for the Atlas or your mother to be doing?" Why would she be asking that? The further away they stayed, the better "No?" "Understood. You should try eating something then sleeping off the rest of the drug in your system. Should you present with more systems, please notify immediately. I shall leave you to rest" "Thank you, Daehra" When Daehra left, Ezor didn't follow. Rocking on the balls of her feet, it wasn't like her to be keeping her mouth shut "What is it?" "Acxa called Shiro" Going to shoot up, Keith barely made it a few inches before dropping back down "She did what?!" "Yep. Shiro will be sending a team to deal with the people who handed your arse to you" Shiro is what now? "This isn't funny" "I never said it was. That Daehra is weird. She's so nice it make me sick" "She's a good person" "She's too nice. No one is that nice" "She's an empath. She can feel your feelings. I hope you and Zethrid haven't been making trouble" Popping her gum obnoxiously, Ezor hummed. Never a good sign "What did you do?" "Nothing. I definitely didn't let Acxa call Shiro, and I definitely didn't let her call Krolia" "She called my mum?" "They handed you your arse and left you sitting there like some kind of idiot. What happened, Keith? This isn't like you" "It's not like me?" It probably wasn't... He was acting sloppy and recklessly, driven by his need to see his husband again "Nope. Are you in looooove? Is that why you've been acting all weird since you saw Lance again?" Ezor's tone got under his skin, Keith's anger prickling at him for a tick before fading away, his tone filled with resignation "Yeah. Yeah, I am. I'm serious about him. If you're going to laugh, you can just leave" Ezor sighed "Seriously, we've been working together for over a deca-phoeb. You don't think I can take this seriously?" "I don't know what to think. You all think Lance is some goof-ball. That he wasn't take anything seriously. He's not like that all... He... he's more than that" "We all get it. The Earthling is important to you. I'm sure he's not going to do anything too stupid. That's you're department" "I wish I could agree. Go tell Acxa to call Shiro and tell him not to come. He can't take on Erathus alone, we need to get to that outpost before Lance does" "Roger that! We'll rescue that boyfriend of yours, then demand payment" "No. We're taking a holiday once Lance is safe" "Boo. I'd rather the money" Bounding out the room with far too much energy, Keith let himself relax properly against his bed once Ezor was gone. He wanted more time to mull over what the chief of police had said, but was far too close to falling back to sleep. Daehra had said to eat and rest, yet food meant having to move which felt too much like commitment at that point in time. All he'd gotten out the chief police had been a stupid cryptic clue over who to trust. The man's words were completely pointless given there weren't that many people he trusted to begin with. If it was something big that involved one of their allies, than surely it would have come up by now? They had people who kept in regular contact with their alliances. Kidnapping and killing people would have had to have come to light, meaning what the man had said was a complete load of shit. The quiznakking arsehole didn't need to drug him... though, not that he'd admit it, he probably shouldn't have picked a fight with the police officers even if he was in a right royal arse of a mood. Shiro was probably going to yell at him, while his mother was probably going to be disappointed he hadn't held out for longer... God. He was so ready for all of this to be over. * Unable to justify laying in bed while his team was busy, Keith found himself creeping out of his quarters during what would be the small hours of the morning. With one hand holding his busted ribs protectively, he crept up to the helm of his ship to find Acxa piloting, and Daehra reading a data slate beside her. He didn't know the two of them had gotten so close, or close enough for them to both be doing their own thing without caring about the other. Looking up at him as her attention had been caught by the opening door, Daehra raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips as she prepared to scold him. Holding up his free hand, Keith nodded at her "I know. I'm supposed to be resting" "Yes, you are" "I'll rest when all of this is over. Where are we?" "Skirting close to a safe planet. Acxa and I decided we should wait until you were on your feet again" "I thought I told you to head towards the outpost?" Acxa sighed at him "You're in no condition to be performing a mission right now. We still have no way of approaching the outpost safely, and Shiro has instructed us to wait. He will be wormholing out to this sector once he his finished work at his current location" "We don't have time to wait. Lance's status has changed. For all we know he's already at the outpost..." Growling out the words, Keith gripped his ribs harder before continuing "... I refuse to let him be hurt again. I refuse to believe he's been cut to pieces. We're going after him. I'm going after him" Acxa crossed her arms "What aren't you telling me? Veronica is worried for him. She has no idea what has happened to him, and you're acting strangely. If you expect me to follow your plan, you need to tell me why? Why are you risking your life, and ours, for him?" "Because I fucking love him! I love him and they fucking hurt him. He thinks no one cares enough to be bothered by his death. He lets himself get hurt repeatedly, he throws himself into battle not caring if he dies. He's been fucking hurt, and I made things worse. So we're going after him. We're going to get him back and then he's staying by my side. I'm sorry Acxa, I know he's Veronica's little brother to you, but to me he's my whole damn life!" Yelling didn't help his ribs, the half-Galra wincing as he hunched over. Hearing the engines whirl, Keith's head shot up. Acxa flicking and tapping her way through firing up the engines and plotting their route "Wha... What are you doing?" Acxa continued as she spoke "He's family to you. I understand now. I don't agree with this, but it's better than you finding a way out there alone" "Wait a dobosh, Keith is wounded and your ship is too obvious" Daehra had a point. Limping over to the spare seat she sat in, Keith leaned heavily against it "There's a trash moon out here isn't there? Can we pick up a smaller ship there?" Daehra turned so she could look up at him "Thatus. Perhaps. It is usually used to scrap ships" "Acxa, take us to Thatus. Daehra, do you have anything here that can help heal my ribs faster?" "I'm sorry, I do not. I can rewrap your chest for stability, that may aid you?" Keith gave nod "We'll do that. I should have painkillers in the first aid box..." "I believe the first aid case is in your quarters. You sit here and remain still. I shall return" Nodding his consent, once Daehra had left Keith took her seat. Watching Acxa, he wasn't sure what to tell her. Maybe the truth was the best way to go? "Uh... Acxa. About Lance. We decided we were going to take it slow. It's not that I didn't think you're not trustworthy, but..." "They tortured him?" "Yeah... its awkward and hard to explain what's going on between us. But he's important to me..." "He's always been important to you. It did hurt when you wouldn't say what was happening, but you were trying to protect him. I understand. When we find him, be sure you tell him how much you love him" "He knows... I'm actually the one who confessed my feelings to him first" "Dammit. Now I owe Veronica 500 GAC. We were sure Lance would confess his feelings first" Keith drew his brow "You two talk about Lance?" "Of course we do. She's been very worried over him" "Lance knows, he's not ready to talk though. Things didn't go well with him living on Earth" "She never said anything about that" "It's complicated. Given you're dating Veronica, it's probably best I don't explain it all. I don't want to put you in a position where you need to lie to her" "I understand. He does know he can talk to her, doesn't he?" "Yeah... Lance knows. He just needs more time. How far out from Thatus are we?" "Zac updated our star maps for the area. The nav system is saying it's roughly a varga and a half until we reach them" "That's not too bad..." It was a quiznak of a lot closer than Keith thought "We were already a way from Erathus"