#sendak scoffed at the witch's experiment. as if you could ever be a TRUE galra

[discordiansamba]

Sam returns to Earth before Shiron allies himself tentatively with the paladins and before Karrion becomes Keith again. Therefore, he is left to debrief the Garrison on the status of their two missing pilots- which is a mess of a report that he's dreading to make. How do you inform the people they used to work with that two of your own are working for an evil space empire now?

He's fairly certain they were both brainwashed. He can't think of any other reason they'd join the Empire. He certainly can't imagine a reason why Shiro would, in his right mind, ever agree to being turned into a Galra. Which is. another thing he's going to have to report to the Garrison- as well as the fact that Keith was, apparently, half-Galra the entire time.

That second part is definitely not going to make him look good.

So needless to say that when Voltron finally returns to Earth with Keith and a Shiron who is mostly Shiro now but not entirely in tow, things are... very tense. They're nearly mistaken as enemies, until the paladins defend them. They can both confirm that they were brainwashed- Shiro keeping the part where he's not... entirely unbrainwashed yet to himself.

But also. Yes. They did spend the last several years working for the Galra Empire. That part they cannot deny, brainwashing or not. Admiral Sanda has half a mind to throw him both in the brig and be done with it- except as someone points out, that would only work so long as Keith agreed to stay put. Since he can teleport now.

She doesn't, in the end- if only because they can provide them with valuable intelligence. They might be three years out of sync with the rest of the universe, but Shiro definitely knows Sendak. He hated him even when he was working for the Empire. Both Keith and Shiro are itching for a chance at redemption- and what better way to get it than helping stop Sendak's invasion?

(and if Shiro gets to kill Sendak while he's at it. well. that's just a bonus.)