"You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion from Sendak's ship." Allura ordered. 

   "That's a pretty big ship. How are we gonna know where the Red Lion is?" Keith asked next to Ember. The said girl had her helmet under her arm as she stared at the map of the ship. 

    "It's not a matter of 'we'. It's a matter of 'you'." Pidge inputted.

    "Pidge is right. Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and track it down." Hunk added. 

    "Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" Lance asked. 

    "Yeah, you made fun of me for that."

    "And I'm proud of it, but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo." 

Ember felt a someone gazing at her and without taking her eyes off the map, she said; "Don't look at me. I have no idea what they are talking about."

    "Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn its respect." Allura reminded him. 

    "All right. Here's our plan of attack." Shiro started, but was cut off as Ember waved her hand awkwardly. 

    "Allura, does the Galra spacecraft thingy have a medical room?"

    "Uh," Allura narrowed her eyes in thought. "I know they use healing pods like we do - so they must have a medical room. Why?"

    "I want to be helpful - and to be helpful I have to have some medical stuff around me. Will you allow me to go aboard the ship to sneak some medical supplies off it." At the sound of people starting to protest, she held up her hand. "Hey! I'm sure there is medical stuff in this castle, but it could be out of date or not even there. The Galra will have updated supplies that should last us longer. We don't have to use a healing pod for a tiny cut anyways. Please!"

Ember looked Allura in the eyes, determined. "Just let me go with them onto the ship."

Allura looked Ember in the eyes as well, scrutinizing her.  "You'll have to bring a weapon with you." She finally spoke, making the paladins jump. 

    "What? Princess, she could get hurt!"

    "We can't have Bee here just running around the place, that'll be crazy!"

    "Hey," Ember snapped at them, making their complaints fall silent. "You each are doing something to help this plan go into action. I am practically useless without these supplies." She looked up at Princess Allura and nodded. "If I have to use a weapon, I will."

    "Shiro." Allura looked over to the Black Paladin. Ember looked up to him, eyes burning brightly. The Black Paladin met her gaze head-on. 

    ". . .Alright, Here is what we're going to do."

  ▬ ✦✧✦ ▬ 

Ember held onto Pidge's seat at the Green Paladin made her way to the underbelly of the ship. Shiro was on her left and Keith was on her right - his face showing his disagreement. 
    "Ember, you can't go! Do you even know how to protect yourself if you are under attack!" 
    "I know enough to get me through this, Keith. Calm down, I got this."

The black-haired girl clenched her weapon tighter in her palm - a retractable metal staff. She didn't want to injury anyone - Galra or not - so she stuck with a plain staff. Worst comes to worst - she can just whack the shit out of these aliens. 
Pidge landed the Green Lion and the four of them made their exit quick. Moving a little bit away from the lion itself, Pidge cut a big enough hole out to fit them in. 
Once inside, they were careful not to touch anything. 

    "Pidge? What's your ETA?" Lance asked. 

    "We're in." Pidge informed them as Ember did a quick flip and landed. Shiro looked around before leading the teens out into the hallway. 

    "Allura? Coran?" Ember whispered lowly as the sound of fighting picked up. "Where do I go from here?"

    "You're a floor under where you need to be. Head up a level somehow and we'll help you from there." Coran answered, making Ember narrow her eyes. 

    "Copy that." She sighed, looking around.

    "Are you sure you don't need one of us to go with you?" Keith asked once again, making Ember look at him with a smile. 

    "Come on, Kogane. You know me better." She teased, looking up. Air ducts. "I got this. Focus on finding your lion, alright? We'll meet up soon." 

With that being said, she used the jet pack on her suit to fly up next to the vents. Popping the vent off easily, she saluted her friends before going in - putting the vent back where it was. 

    "How did she do that so smoothly?" Pidge muttered. 

    Ember made her way through the air ducts, going up the first tunnel that went up before coming into the castle again. 

    "Alright, I went up a level and I'm in the vents. Can you get me there now?"

    "Brilliant idea, Ember! Using the air ducts - hold on." Coran paused before speaking again. "Alright, go straight until you reach a four way. Then go left, straight, right, left, straight. There should be a vent leading into the medical room after that last straight."

    "Straight, left, straight, right, left, straight." Ember repeated to herself over and over. "Got it. Shiro, Keith, Pidge, what's happening?" 

    "Still trying to find the lion. We'll tell you if anything changes."

    "Alright."

Ember let out a breath and started crawling her way through the vents. Every time she felt like someone was close to hearing her, she paused, waited, and continued. 

 After the final straight - she noticed there were more grates along this path. She got close to one, making sure there wasn't any sentries or Galra. 

    "Coran?"

    "It looks clear. Pop that sucker out, and the medical bay should be the first room to your right." 

The woman in purple armor nodded and easily popped the grate out - peaking her head out and checking the hallway. 
    "Clear." She muttered to herself, using her jet pack to make her landing safer. Of course, after putting the grate back. Ember pressed her back against the wall as she edged closer to the medical bay's door. 

With a deep breath - and a grip on the metal staff - she stepped forwards and the doors parted for her. Surprisingly enough, no one was there. Not taking a chance, Ember slid into the room and headed straight towards the cabinet-like things. 

Ember pulled the backpack she brought off her back, opening the cabinet doors and started shoveling stuff into her bag. Random bottles, what looked like an alcohol, bandages, and other stuff. She hesitated on taking the simple things - like tweezers, scissors, needles, this rolled up thing that could  be tape - but decided to shove them into the bag as well. Her eye twitched in irritation at Hunk's and Lance's commentary, so she quickly managed to mute the two of them.

    "Coran, would the Galra have herbs going around her?" Ember asked curiously, grabbing a last few things before shutting the doors quietly. 

    "If they do, it would be in the back. They usually keep their own stock of herbs and grow it themselves."

    "Could we grow some if I snag some?"

    "Absolutely! We have a room dedicated to planets and herbs in the castle!" 

    "Okay,"

    "Ember?" Keith's voice suddenly sounded through her helmet, making her pause before walking towards the back. 

    "Jackpot," She whispered to herself, seeing planets growing all along the room. "Yes, Keith?"

    "Change of plans. Pidge and Shiro are going after the prisoners - I'll be finding the lion myself. Do you think you could find a different place to meet up?"

    "Yeah, I'm almost done! I'll have Coran track you down so it's easier."

    "Copy that. Stay safe, please?"

    "Of course!"

Ember moved some things around in her bag before grabbing a bunch of plastic bags. "I know I have aloe and cinnamon, ginger, Cayeene, Holy Basil. . ." She looked over the weird species of plants - almost all of them she has never seen before. "Let's just get one of each."

With that being said, she carefully uprooted each plant she could - being extremely careful when putting them in plastic bags. When she was about half-way done - she heard the doors slid open.

    "Crap!" Ember hissed to herself, looking around to find a hiding place. Sadly, it wasn't a good one. It was just behind the table like things that held the herbs.

The girl listened to footsteps as they walked around the medical room - a growl - before someone started making their way into the herb room. 

    "Keith?" She hissed lowly. 

    "Kinda busy here!" Keith replied, grunting. She heard shots in the background, making her assume he was in a fight. She gripped the folded up staff tighter. 

The footsteps got louder before they stopped at the entrance of the room. "Sendak, someone has infiltrated the medical bay and stolen medical supplies and herbs." There was a pause before he spoke slowly. "The culprit is still here."

Ember held her breath. Her hands shook with anxiety as the Galra's footsteps walked slowly towards her. 
    "Ember, I have the Red Lion. Where are you?" When she didn't reply, his voice sounded again. "Ember? Jalus!" 

Finally, Ember could tell the officer was right around the corner. With a big breath - Ember extended the staff as he took another step. She swung her staff at his legs as hard as she could - and he fell to the ground in surprise. 

    "Kinda busy here!" Ember shouted back at Keith as he called her name again. She dashed around the table and out of the door - making sure her bag was securely on her back. 

    "Where are you?!"

    "I just got out of med bay," Ember panted, as she slid out of the doors. Her staff was gripping in her hand. "A Galra person-thingy spotted me. I'm running."

    "Could you make it to an escape pod??" 

    "No, I'm a level under that. Or above. I don't know!"

    "Halt! Stop running, you thief!" Ember heard harsh footsteps following after her as she turned a corner. 

      "Keith, I'm getting called a thief!!" Ember cried out. 

      "You're getting chased by an alien species - who is most likely going to kill you - and you're worried about getting called a thief?!"

      "I don't steal, I borrow! This goes against my code!"

      "Then why did you suggest it?!" During the small silence, Ember noted that the walls were starting to have long windows.

    "Okay, Keith, I going to do something ineradicable stupid."

    "Now, hold on a minute!"

    "I don't have a minute!" Ember cried, hearing more footsteps from behind her. Or was that in front of her? "Wait, Coran!"

    "Yes, Ember? Is everything in tip-top shape?"

    "No, definitely not!" Ember smacked a drone in the head with her staff as she ran by the new group. "Give Keith my coordinates, please!"

    "Of course!"

After a small pause of Ember gasping through the chat - Keith got the information. "Alright, I'm locked onto you Em - stay alive." 

    "No, I'm just gonna roll over and die." Ember stopped, looking at the group of drones and Galra surrounding her. "Okay, so I didn't mean that literally."

    "Ember!"

With a glance back at the window, Ember raised her staff. "Keith, I hope you're nearby."

    "Why?"

Emberson smiled cheekily at the enemy as she smacked the edge of the window with her staff. It cracked badly, like a spider web, and before they could stop her - Ember shattered the window with just a couple more hits. 
Her helmet covered her face last second as space threw her out of the ship. She breathed heavily as she spun - just seeing stars and nothingness. For a second, she thought this is how she would die. In space, no one with her, spinning until she ran out of oxygen. 

But when a metal room appeared around her - she knew she was safe. Ember hit the ground stomach first, the breath getting knocked out of her. The black-haired girl coughed and wheezed before realizing that Keith was talking to her. 

    "Are you crazy! What if I hadn't got there in time? Shattering the window like that, do you want to die?!"
Ember chuckled breathlessly - having an inside joke that no one could guess - before she croaked out her answer. "Keith, I'm fine. I'll be up there in a minute."

When Keith didn't reply, she pushed herself off the ground and checked her backpack. From the looks of it, nothing seemed damaged. Ember sighed in relief, starting to make her way up to where Keith was piloting the Red Lion. 

    "I think you might be more reckless than me," Keith stated as she walked through the doors. The planet Arus was becoming bigger as they flew back to the castle. "That is saying something."

    "I'm not reckless," Ember retorted lightly, smiling. "I just don't think my decisions thoroughly." Keith shook his head, landing passing through the particle barrier with Pidge and Hunk's lion before it went back up. "Oh, yeah!" She exclaimed, starting to unmute the others. "Forgot I had Hunk and them muted. They're so loud!"

    "No kidding," He muttered, landing the giant lion. "Now head up to the control room! Allura and Coran might need your help."

    "On it!" Ember saluted playfully, taking off her helmet, before turning around and running out of the Red Lion. Thankfully, Keith lowered the head so she wouldn't have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to to get down. She smiled and waved at Shiro as she passed before making her way to the room the two aliens were in. 

Not even half-way there, a force knocked her down, making her squeal in surprise. From the grunts and groans from her helmet, it wasn't just an earthquake. . .Would it even me called an earthquake? Arusquake. . .Naw. . .Ember shook her head vigorously, pushing herself to her feet. Not now, brain!  

    "Status update?!" Ember demanded as soon as she ran into the control room, stumbling only when the ground shook again. 

    "Particle barrier is about to break!" Coran informed the girl. "Voltron hasn't been formed yet, either! The shield could probably hold out for one more shot??" 

    "Quickly, Paladins, our energy levels are getting low!" Allura informed them, letting out a groan as the castle was hit again. 

    "What can I do?!" Ember asked, sliding the bag off her shoulders and carefully putting it against the wall. 

    "Can you fly?!"
    "Yeah?"

    "Can you shoot?" 
    "No??"

    "Great!" Coran grinned, typing rapidly on the screen in front of him. "Oh, and we're just in luck! We have a weaponized pod that can be controlled from here working!  Barely, but it's better than nothing!" A chair slowly rose from the spot next to Coran. "Over here, Hommel!"
Ember quickly jumped over the back of the seat and landed with a hard thud. She didn't have time to even wince as a screen appeared in front of her and controls started popping up. "Alright, stick is to fly that button on screen is to shoot. Shouldn't be too hard for ya, huh?"

    "Uhh," Ember trailed as she looked at the many, many buttons on her screen. "Sure?"

    "Good, start trying to shoot down those smaller ships!" Coran ordered, making Ember take a deep breath. 

    "Lets give this a try," She murmured, taking one of the control sticks. She narrowed her eyes, pressing a random glowing button and watching the screen turn on. She moved the stick forward and the. . .whatever she was controlling followed in movement. "Uh, untrained support is coming in!"

    "Don't tell me you're actually coming out here!" Pidge shouted. 

    "Relax, I'm controlling this. . .thing from the control room. Worry about forming Voltron, I'll try my best to cover you guys." Ember ordered, grabbing the other controller and started flying out of the castle. 

As soon as Ember pushed the smaller ship out of the partial barrier, she started shooting randomly - hoping at least one shot would hit an enemy. She was blocking out all the noise around her - dodging and weaving away from the smaller ships. 

    "Sendak's ship is sucking us in like a black hole!" Pidge's loud exclamation caused Ember to wince, swerving the bot around. 

    "Uhh, I'll try to help you all!" Ember informed with a nervous tone, making her way closer to the beam on the Galra ship. She wasn't even half way there when another blast from the ship his the barrier and destroyed it. "Accorde moi un instant!" Ember called out in frustration, wincing as the castle rocked them all. 

    "This can't end here!"
    "This is it."

    "It's been an honor flying with you boys."

    "Don't give up! We haven't lost yet!" Ember ordered, flying the drone around and shooting at the ships that were getting close. Ember didn't hit a single mark - not really that surprising. I mean, this is her first time shooting at flying objects!

     "Ember's right!" Shiro suddenly shouted out. "We can do this. We have to believe in ourselves. We can't give up. We are the universe's only hope. Everyone is relying on us. We can't fail! We won't fail! If we work together, we'll win together!"

    "Yeah!"

    "You guys have this! You just got to believe it!" Ember let out a gasp of surprise as her screen suddenly went dark. "I'm down! You - " The black hair girl didn't get to finish her sentence as the lions roared - bursting out of the beam and finally forming Voltron. 

Ember watched with eyes full of awe as the five different lions combined to make one awesome robot. 
    "They did it!" She cheered as Allura pulled up the large - although small from here - figure. 

    "I can't believe it!"

    "We formed Voltron!!" 

    "I'm a leg!!"

    "How are we doing this?" 

    "I don't know how - but we have to get that canon!"

Ember laughed in relief, slouching into her seat as Voltron continuously blew stuff up - tearing parts of the ship off and blasting holes in the ship. Her eyes barely could keep up with the speed of the robot before the ship exploded - Voltron standing heroically in front of it. 

    "They did it!" Ember cheered, pushing herself out of the chair and following Allura and Coran as they raced to meet the new paladins.

    "Good work, Paladins!" Allura praised the group, stopping just in front of them. Coran was quick to follow but Ember kept running - hugging Pidge tightly. Pidge returned the hug - a bit confused. 

    "That was so cool!" She squealed, letting Pidge go and giving Hunk a hug.  "It was like - 'pow!' and 'boom!' and the ship you threw went to far! It was-" Ember stopped rambling - giving Lance a hug and moving on to Shiro. "It was beautiful," She sighed, turning to Keith. Knowing how Keith didn't really care for physical contact - aside from Shiro - she settled for a high-five.

    "We did it," Hunk sighed. 

     "Heck yeah, we did." Keith pulled the helmet off his head.

    "How did we do it?" Shiro asked with an amazed expression.

    "I was just, like, screaming the whole time. Maybe that did it." Hunk suggested, taking his helmet off as well. Ember snorted, but sent a smile towards the Yellow Paladin. 
    "If you want to think that, Hunk."  

At Pidge's forlorn expression, Em made her way over to her best friend as she put her glasses on. The taller girl gave the Green Paladin another hug, patting her back.

    "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father." Shiro declared, putting a hand on Pidge's shoulder as Ember pulled back. "Wherever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

    "We wont the battle, but the war has only just begun." Allura stated grimly.  "I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."

    "Good thing you paladins know what you're doing, because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

    "Totally." Hunk agreed before processing Coran's words. "Wait, what?" 

    "We barely survived forming Voltron this one time." Lance pointed out. 

    "And you only had to fight one ship." Coran took a dramatic step forwards, crossing his arms. "Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them! It's not going to be easy being the Defenders of the Universe."

The words seem to have rung in the new paladins head - as their faces showed different emotional reaction. 

    "Defenders of the Universe, huh?" Shiro mused. "That's got a nice ring to it."

  ▬ translation ▬   

"Accorde moi un instant!"
v
"Give me a moment!"