Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The moon glowed a brilliant purple in the endless night sky, casting the planet below in ever changing shades of lilac, lavender, and violet, the stars scattered across the dark surface of space blinking and shining cheerfully alongside the celestial giant.A faint rim of blue peeked out from the side of the purple, a subtle reminder of the secondary moon that lay hidden behind, one usually out on full display for the entire planet to see, but tucked away for this brief period of time as their nightly cycles had finally coincided for this beautiful nocturnal display.

Below, festivals were in full swing.

Strings of multi coloured flowers glowing with a soft internal light adorned rooftops and doorways, weaving and looping around each other, creating spiderwebs of illumination that hung across the streets, filling the air with a distinctly sweet fragrance. Swaths of purple fabric flew from poles tipped with torches, the cool breeze making them and the fire dance occasionally. Loud notes of music could just be heard over the sound of the crowds, a live band striking up a beat on their instruments, providing a melody for the multiple spectators to dance to, which many did, grabbing a partner or swaying by themselves, spinning around a large square with copious amounts of laughter and singing.

Around the legs of the festival goers ran swarms of painted-faced children, purple ribbons tied around their small horns, playing with each other and enjoying their newfound freedom of the night. The festival only came around every five years, whenever the two moons eclipsed, sharing and doubling their glow in the sky, so the children enjoyed their time as much as they could, knowing that the fun and excitement it brought would be over in just a few short days.

Vendors and stalls had set themselves up around the square, selling their diverse wares to whoever was interested, ranging from trinkets to clothing to food. The few benches that lined the edges were filled with people needing a rest from dancing or a break from the heat of the planet, which even the cool evening breeze couldn't fully chase away.

Leant up against the wall of a building a figure was stood, watching the dance and eating a pastry. Cloaked in loose orange fabrics, moss green skin stood out immensely from their garb, the bright collection of colours mirrored in every person in the square. Shades from teal to a deep forest green could be seen, along with ribbons of purple tied around arms and great curling horns that framed their heads.

Tied around the green skinned aliens left horn was a purple ribbon of their own, which swayed as they ate, and bounced even more when they nodded their head to the beat of the music, clapping their hands and smiling as each song and subsequent dance came to its end.

After the pastry had been completely consumed, and all crums had either been brushed to the floor or eaten, another song began to play, the live band striking up a fast tempoed jig on complex looking instruments, evidently enjoying their night as much as the festival goers if their wide smiles were anything to go by.

Slipping into the crowd with ease, the alien twisted and turned with the flow of the crowd, stomping their feet and clapping their hands as they went, occasionally pairing up with someone for a brief spin before breaking apart and weaving away.
After a good few minutes of dancing, the figure made it to the opposite side of the crowd, slipping out of the masses and heading down into a side street just off the square, wiping their brow with their scarf and humming along with the music as they went. They nodded their head to any others they saw, the polite greeting easily reciprocated due to the good nature the festival had brought around. They continued walking down the streets, heading deeper into the low built city.

Slowing their pace, they looked around the streets, and upon seeing no one in sight, quickly slipped into a darkened alleyway between two brick buildings just off the side of the street they were on. Crates were stacked haphazardly in the alleyway, dark block like symbols stamped onto the exterior of their wooden surface, listing their contents, or what they used to be.

The alien ducked behind a crate deep into the alley, crouching down low, head cocked to the side as they listened intently for any sign that they had been followed. They remained like that for some time, body coiled as tight as a wire, stretching their senses to the limit to detect any sign of pursuit, but when they heard none they relaxed, reaching down and unwrapping the red cloth from their arm. A smooth dark surface was revealed, the material seeming to absorb the faint light from the torches out in the street, gulping it in hungrily.

With a tap of a finger, a glowing hologram materialised itself above the arm, the picture unwavering and solid. The alien quickly read the lines of text on the projection and scanned the photograph next to it, reminding themself of the task at hand. When they were satisfied, they tapped the surface with their finger again and the hologram quicky blinked out of existence, leaving no trace that it was ever there in the first place.

After wrapping up their arm, they paused a second time, resuming the same position as they checked that they weren’t being followed, before quickly making their way behind another crate further into the alley, keeping as low down and quiet as they could.
They crouched close to the box and faced the side of the building they were positioned against before digging their fingers into the wall. With a few wiggles and a strong pull, the brick they had their hands around scraped it’s way free, revealing a long hole dug into the side of the house.

Reaching in, their fingers wrapped around something small but rectangular, and they quickly tucked it into a pouch at their side before reaching in a second time. They had to feel around for a few moments before they found it, tucked against the side of the hole, and withdrew a thin metallic pipe, setting it beside them carefully.

A few moments later found the brick wedged back into place, and the alien rose from their crouch, tucking the pole safely away behind their back as they did so. They turned and faced away from the mouth of the alley, instead staring deeper inwards, where the small passage was abruptly ended by a tall brick wall, about 10 foot in height.

Stepping into the center of the alleyway where no crates restricted their movement, they took a few steps backwards, sizing up the wall, before running forward and launching themselves up, angling themself so they kicked off the side of the house to grant themself an extra boost, before landing in a balanced crouch atop the wall.

The evening breeze was stronger up here as it danced through the air, shifting the loose orange scarf the alien wore around their neck ever so slightly.

They waited, remaining balanced and unmoving at the top of the wall for about a minute, head cocked as they made sure that no one had saw their jump, before suddenly turning and scaling up the building to their right, using almost invisible handholds to propel themself up the surface of the wall.

Moving with a sense of determination, they didn’t stop, pulling themself up over the lip of the building and onto the roof with ease. Keeping low down to avoid being seen by anyone on the roads below, they made their way easily across the flat surface of the roof, stopping only when they reached a low built chimney that protruded out through the center of the roof. No smoke drifted out from it’s mouth tonight, the inhabitants of the home below their feet more than likely attending the festival they had just left, enjoying a frivolous night of song, dance and music.

With swift hands, the alien pulled out the two items they had acquired in the alley, as well as a few more strangely shaped objects from deep inside the folds of it’s robes, and began to assemble them. The entire process took less than a minute, the incredibly practiced hands assembling the numerous parts with deft movements, never faltering in their continuous work.

A soft click sounded as they finished twisting the pipe onto the contraption, and symmetrical lights began to glow a soft blue as it powered on with a faint hum.
Flicking out the stand with a nonchalaunt motion, the assassin rested the rifle on the chimney, rising up onto one knee as they peered down the sights, adjusting their direction ever so slightly.

They scanned the skyline, eyes searching for the building they needed. After a few moments of adjusting the scope, they found it, a tall high rise made out of a sleek green metal, large windows lining the outside. Similar buildings of different colours stretched out beside it, filling the skyline with tall illuminated shapes, reaching into the sky like fingers straining to touch the stars. It was quite a contrast from the low built stone buildings that made up the district they were currently situated in.

Near the top floor of the green building a party was taking place. The city's rich and powerful wandered around in expensive looking orange robes, adorned with strips of shimmering purple fabric and intricate embroidery, conversing among themselves and drinking out of tall stemmed glasses.

They quickly found their target lingering near the bar, an individual with seafoam green skin and fashionable purple makeup that swooped across his face in dramatic lines. He was talking to another, who looked as if they had painted the entirety of their horns purple for the celebrations, swirling a drink around in one hand as he spoke.

The target laughed at something the other had said and threw his head back in laughter, his free hand coming to rest delicately on his chest, the green contrasting with the orange and purple fabrics.

The assassin was faintly aware that the band in the square had just changed the song, going from a light and fast paced tune, to one much slower, accompanied by harsh repetitive drum beats.

Perfect.

Lining up the scope, they mentally timed the song, memorising the beat and the melody, humming along to the tune as they went.

As crosshairs of the scope rested neatly between the target’s silver eyes, the assassin released a breath - and pulled the trigger.

The crack from the bullet leaving the rifle was smothered by a cacophony of drum beats from the band in the square, and barely a second later the glass window shattered and the target’s head snapped backwards, blood spraying from the bullet wound.
No emotion crossed the assassins face when the target hit the floor, and the party erupted into madness, people fleeing from the twitching body, diving behind furniture and pushing past others in the panic to escape.

If they felt any remorse about the death they had just caused, they showed no sign of it, only staying a moment more before beginning to disassemble the rifle, shoving parts into their robe, and dropping back down into the alleyway when they had finished.

Landing silently, the assassin rose and began readjusted the scarf around their neck, as it had become unwrapped during the fall, and felt their knuckles brush against a chain around their neck. They hesitated and placed their fingers on the thin chain, running their forefinger over the small links and shut their eyes briefly, collecting themself as a dull ache began to throb at the base of their skull.

After a few moments, they opened their eyes and looked around, making sure no one saw them before their hand dropped from their neck and they returned to the side street, heading back towards the hustle and bustle of the square, the people they passed blissfully unaware of the panic spreading through the green high rise behind them.

They took a different route this time, swerving around the festival and taking paths that lead out of the district and towards the pale red forest to the east, slipping past any people they encountered with ease.
It was a different story when they reached the treeline.

As soon as they were under the cover of the towering branches, they broke out into a run, sprinting forward with unnatural speed and agility, leaping through the pale underbrush.
The hologram surrounding them flickered before blinking off, the green skinned alien disappearing, revealing a dark helmet and hints of armour underneath the robes, simple but sleek in its design, the only colour on its surface being the glow of two blue symbols on the face plate that activated in the darkness.

No one on the planet noticed a streamlined galra fighter ship rise into the night sky moments later, shooting out into the atmosphere and flying away deeper into space, leaving behind the efficient assassination of a rebel weapons manufacturer and a beautiful moonlight festival.

_________________________________________

-NO.5-
MISSION REPORT-
TARGET NEUTRALISED
MISSION SUCCESS
NO INJURIES SUSTAINED
NO WITNESSES
KILL COUNT NOW 41
RETURNING TO BASE

Chapter Text

Fear. Pain. Purple light.

Sudden flashes of dark lightning.

The sound of his teammates screams in his ears.

An echoing panicked roar that pierced into his mind with an intensity that he never thought was possible.

These were the last things Hunk knew before blacking out.

Then there was nothing.

Infinite darkness that stretched out around him, all encompassing in its weight.

Hunk knew the vastness that was space, he’d been living in it for over two months now. He’d grown accustomed to its deepness, its unending silence, its annoying habit of making him panic whenever he thought about it for too long.

This darkness was nothing like that. This darkness felt alive.

It was vast, and there was no light whatsoever, just an endless expanse of black all around him.

He felt something impossible shift in the darkness, but Hunk realised he wasn't scared. The presence appeared again, it’s incomprehensible mass gliding past before wrapping around him like a blanket, and it let out a comforting rumble that he could feel vibrate through the space surrounding him.

As if sensing his awareness, the presence drew closer and a sudden warmth bloomed in his chest as a voice, unknown, though familiar, whispered in his mind.

“Wake up child.” It spoke, deep and rumbling. “You have slept long enough.”

As the words bounced around his head, echoing into the abyss around him, a soft yellow light bloomed in the darkness, steadily growing stronger as it crept across the inky blackness like rays of sunshine through his curtains in his bedroom at home.

“Wake.” It said again, more forceful than before. “You are needed.”

There was a tug in his sternum and he found himself being pulled forward through eternity until he knew nothing but warmth and sunlight.

-

Hunk slowly remembered what consciousness was.

One by one, his senses slowly returned to him.

His fingers twitched by his side and he knew the familiar weight of his armour on his body and the firm press of the pilot seat behind his back. 

He was exhausted.

There was no energy anywhere left in his body - which began to ache almost as soon as he thought about it - and he felt like he’d just gone ten rounds with the gladiators at an incredibly high setting. All his strength had been sucked out of him, leaving him nothing more than a unmoving husk, so he let himself drift in the deep of his subconsciousness. For how long, he had no idea.

When he finally found the last tiny reserve pool of strength left inside of him, he dug in deep and dragged himself back from the brink of unconsciousness, peeling his eyes open. Hunk instantly regretted it, screwing them shut once again when his vision was flooded by a blinding red light that sent a sharp stab of pain through his head.

Almost like a trigger, sound rushed back to him, the faint ringing that had been echoing in his ears the entire time sharpening and amplifying until it became a screaming siren that drilled into his mind, aggravating the thumping in his head.

Letting out a groan, Hunk lifted his hand to cover his eyes from the rhythmic flashing of red but was stopped suddenly when his muscles spasmed, and the left side of his ribs flared up with red hot pain.

A strangled croak forced its way out of his mouth, and he quickly dropped his arm back down, the pulling sensation along his side alleviating as he did so, although a throbbing ache remained.

Ow. He wouldn’t be doing that again.

Hunk opened his eyes, pushing past the urge to close them when his vision was again assaulted by the light, and blinked away the grogginess brought on by his unconsciousness.

After a few moments, the scene before him shifted from one of obscure blurred shapes into the familiar sight of Yellow’s cockpit.

Lights that normally glowed a soft yellow flashed a bright red light instead, intensified by the shrill alarm that was sounding alongside it. Garish holograms displaying warning signs were everywhere, hovering above the consoles and presenting themselves as large as life across the front front window screen.

Pushing past the overwhelming distractions, he peered out into the darkness outside, trying to make out whatever was obscured by the inky fabric of space. Large shapes slowly glided past them on their left, whatever speckled starlight was visible being blotted out by the huge masses - their gaseous forms completely unaware of the plight of the universe around them - but other than that he couldn’t discern much about their surroundings.

Hunk envied the stars. They just burned, combusted, supplied their surroundings with heat until they expanded into a Giant, exploded in a supernova or collapsed into a black hole, leaving a permanent scar in the body of the universe.

Stars were simple, guiding the lost and granting light, each gifted with their own mythology and legends. It was all physics, and physics was easy. What wasn't easy was the situation he found himself in now.

Where was he?

Hunk tried to think back, stringing together whatever scraps of memories floated around in his head to give him an idea of how he ended up here, wherever here was.

They’d been fighting Zarkon, that much he remembered.

Voltron had been surrounded by fighter jets, battlecruisers, and destroyer class ships. Surrounded on all sides, they hadn't even been able to escape because somehow the gala barrier had jammed Coran’s ability to make a wormhole.

But then - by the grace of some universal divine power - the barrier had flickered, once, twice, then vanished, giving them the perfect opportunity to get the hell out of there.

That was when his memory became fuzzy.

He remembered the wormhole ripping itself open before them, and Allura shouting everyone through from Blue. He remembered the tunnel fluctuating sporadically around them.

He remembered landing in the hangar before being wrenched backwards, out of the ship once more.

He remembered being seperated from Allura, the blue lion crashing through the writhing energy as her pained cry filled his comms.

He remembered the purple walls of the wormhole being the last thing he saw.

Hunk paused.

Purple?

The wormhole was supposed to be blue, not purple.

Well, the wormhole was supposed to bring them to safety, not put them in even more danger, but he’d still somehow ended up here.
In the unfamiliar, endless darkness of space, injured and alone.

Oh boy.

Why the hell did he ever think that joining an ancient space rebellion against an intergalactic empire was a good idea? He really should have stayed in his dorm that night instead of joining Pidge up on the roof. Then at least he wouldn’t be in this mess to begin with.

In an attempt to push down the panic steadily creeping up in his chest, Hunk turned to the only other distraction he had.
Yellow.

The siren was still wailing painfully in his ears, so he leaned over to the console and turned it off, clutching his side and gritting his teeth, pain still sliding through his ribs like a serpent. He leaned back in his chair, letting out a pained breath as he did so. He knew he’d have to sort out his ribs before he did anything else, otherwise it’d be slow going.

A sporadic flicker of light caught his attention, and he glanced to his left, coming face to face with the source of his injury.

One of the console panels was sparking randomly, a large crack cleaved through its center, the displays glitching and shifting as the image futally tried to display itself across the ruined surface.

He must have been thrown into the console during the fall - or whatever it was that pulled him out of the castle, lion and all - Hunk realised as he stared at the panel, surveying the damage. They really needed to install some harnesses in these lions, it was past ridiculous at this point.

At this point, something brushed against his consciousness and Yellow’s familiar purring filled his mind, a gentle blanket of comfort washing over him at the sensation.

“Hey bud.” Hunk smiled, grateful that his lion was still responding despite what they’d just been through. “Let’s get you back up and running, alright?”

Yellow let out a louder purr at that, enveloping him in a sense of warmth that reverberated around the cockpit.

Hunk got to work.

Examining the flickering holograms, he learnt that Yellow was down to reserve power and that his armour integrity was dangerously low - evidence of the unholy amount of damage the lion had suffered - meaning that they couldn't fly just yet, not until he got the power levels back up.

A diagnostic scan revealed that Yellow’s armour was extremely dented in numerous places all over his body, and that one of his forelegs had been wrenched out of alignment, locking it in place until it could be physically realigned.

Dread washed over him. Hunk didn’t have the tools to make any sort of impact in repairing the extent of the damage. The only place that did was the castle ship, and he had no idea where or any of his friends were.

Even though he knew it would be a pointless endeavour, Hunk glanced out of the front view shield and looked around outside, hoping to whatever omnipotent being could hear that he would spot any sign of his team or the castle.

The slow moving shapes he had spotted before gilded last him silently, and it took a few seconds for the objects to solidify in his vision and reveal themselves to be huge asteroids.

To his left, a maelstrom of rocks and debris scattered themselves across the darkness of space, illuminated by a nearby star that was hidden from view because of the position of the Lion.

A strange burnished substance was scattered amongst the rock, reflecting the light off it briefly before going dim again. The asteroids collided with each other occasionally with a cacophony of muted thumps, creating a new collection of fresh rocks as they crashed together, and the other clusters separated, revealing a seemingly endless field of space rock and glinting debris.

As he watched, the asteroids slowly drifted forwards, rising above his current position and curving to the left, vanishing into the darkness, the gravitational pull that guided them seemingly strong enough to carry along even the most stubborn of debris.

A rock shifted, and a flash of colour in the wash of grey caught Hunk’s eye. Leaning forward until his nose nearly touched the glass of the view screen, he peered closer at the source of his interest.

“What is that?” He mumbled, mainly to himself, but half to Yellow, who was still curled around his consciousness protectively.

The gravitational forces pulled another asteroid forward, gliding ahead like a bird through the air, a primordial titan, and the shift in the rock revealed nothing other than a Galra fighter jet.

Hunk flinched violently backwards as it appeared out of the shadow of the hulking monstrosity, trailing after it like a pilot fish.

His new war driven instincts kicked in, preparing for it to begin firing on him, and was already in the pilot seat, hands gripping the controls in a vice like grip before he realised that it wasn't reacting to his presence at all.

It took him a few long moments to push past the fear and pounding in his chest to fully clear his mind so he could examine it properly, and was stunned by what he saw.

The ship was missing its right wing, wires drifting freely outside of the purple shell, and the front window was smashed inwards, revealing a darkened interior. However, it was quickly pulled back into orbit, disappearing from sight behind another asteroid before he could see if there was still a figure slumped in the pilot seat.

Hunk swallowed heavily, now realising what the shining material scattered amongst the rocks was.

The asteroid field was dotted with the ruined husks of spaceships of varying sizes, some designs he recognised, some he didn’t.

It was a graveyard.

The rational part of his mind realised that the asteroids must have been the cause of all the damage to Yellow, but all he could think about right now was contacting his friends and getting the hell out of there.

Leaning over to the console to his right, Hunk let out a hiss as the motion aggravated his side once more, and activated the comms system.

“This is Hunk, of the Yellow lion, can anyone hear me?” He waited for a reply, letting the ticks slip by in a haze of anxiety, but was met with silence.

“Hello? Is anyone there?”

Nothing.

Hunk sighed. “Dammit.”

His comms were working fine, he knew that, having miraculously sustained no damage during the wormhole or subsequent ejection into a terrifying and deadly game of ping pong, so they weren't the problem. The problem was the fact that the castle and the rest of the lions must have been out of range, unable to pick up his message.

It looked like he was getting himself out of this mess.

With a few taps of his fingers, he activated his distress beacon, projecting it outwards as far as Yellow’s satellite range allowed, hoping that the castle would soon get close enough to pick it up.

But then - a thought hit him, and he paused, lip sucked between his teeth, the wheels in his head spinning frantically.

With no real clue of the castle’s location he was just broadcasting his position into open space, for anyone to pick up and trace. There was a chance of it being received by someone good, someone willing to help, but there was also the chance that the Galra could pick it up too.

Hunk knew he couldn't take that chance, not matter how small the percentage was. If the galra found him, he only had a small amount of power left to drive them off, and with the damage that Yellow had sustained, he couldn’t risk it. Yellow was too important for that.

He switched off the beacon.

Hunk didn’t even know if he was in Galra space or not, but he needed to find out, and fast. He didn't recognise any of the constellations outside, so he knew he needed to orientate himself fast, otherwise he’d be lost to the neverending darkness.

Yellow’s external scanners were still up and running, a small mercy, so he activated them, trusting his lion’s extensive database to recognise where they were and to plot it on a star map when it was done.

Satisfied to let the programme run, Hunk moved onto other matters.

First things first, his ribs.

As if in response to his thought, his ribs ached again, sending a fresh wave of pain through his torso and forcing a pained gasp through his teeth. Yellow was a concerned rumble in the back of his head as he stood, placing a hand against the wall for balance as he began moving further into the lion.

Hunk knew that Yellow had a first aid kit built into him, he remembered seeing it once while tinkering around inside the giant robot, but the trip took him far longer than it should have done normally, his ribs aching with pain with almost every step, causing him to go slower as not to activate them as badly.

In the back of his consciousness, Yellow purred comfortingly, the deep rumble travelling down his spine into his body, relieving some of the pain that wracked his paladin.

Easily finding the panel the kit was hidden behind, Hunk leaned against the wall for support as he blinked black spots from his vision. Sweat dripped down his forehead into his eyes and each heavy breath pulled at his chest, so he tugged off his helmet and dropped it at his feet before wiping his brow with his hand.

He quickly dug his fingers into the wall and slid open the kit, popping two pills that Yellow confirmed as being painkillers into his mouth and washing it down with a packet of water he found nestled amongst the various bottles and packets labeled with Altean symbols.

When the water hit his throat, he realised how thirsty he actually was, and took a large sip before realising that he’d have to ration whatever water and nutrition packets were stored in here since he didn’t know how long he’ll be out here.

Closing the pill bottle, he slid it into one of the pouches on his belt before screwing the top off a familiar looking small tub. Inside sat a light blue paste that gave off a sharp smell that reminded Hunk of a mixture between mint and chlorine, the strength of the aroma making his eyes water slightly.

He knew this stuff - it was med cream. Coran used it whenever they got banged up in training or on missions. It reduced swelling and numbed the area it was applied to, a good remedy for bruises, sprains or cuts.

Grabbing some bandages as a last thought, Hunk shut the panel again and began making his way back to the cockpit, grabbing his helmet as he went. His ribs still throbbed, a thumpthump that echoed the increased beat of his heart, although he found it slightly less painful than it had been before.

When he returned to the cockpit, a quick check of the mapping program notified Hunk that it was still scanning the stars and piecing together their position, before he sat back down in his seat.

With a wave of his hand he dismissed the rest of the holograms, moving them over to the panel at his right where they sat blinking and silent, revealing the endless expanse of the universe before him.

Examining the graveyard of an asteroid field outside, he was glad to notice that Yellow hadn't been pulled any closer to the debris. They were obviously outside of the gravitational pull, which was a good thing. Hunk wasn’t sure how much more damage the lions could take, and another round inside there would surely mean the end of the both of them, leaving them to be just more scrap metal woven tightly inside the gravity field

Thankfully for Hunk, Altean tech was incredibly advanced.
When they’d first learnt about Voltron and the lions, Hunk had asked how they still had power, even after 10,000 years.

“Well my dear boy, the Lions are something of a technological miracle, even by Altean standards!” Coran had explained to him and Pidge, tugging on his moustache as he spoke.
“When they were built, we had no idea they were capable of half the things they ended up being able to do. It was quite the surprise when we found out that the lions didn’t require any internal power source, they just powered up by themselves as soon as they felt they were ready.”

Pidge’s brow had crumpled in confusion. “No power source? How’s that even possible?”

Something had twinkled in Coran’s eye at that, and Hunk had a strange feeling that they’d barely scratched the surface of what was possible and what wasn’t in the universe.

“The original plan was to power them with balmeran crystals, much like the castle and most of our explorer class ships, but the lions rejected them and activated by themselves. After some careful study by our top alchemists, and by King Alfor himself, we were able to learn that the lions are powered by their own sources of quintessence, laced into the material they were built from. As long as they still have some scrap of lingering energy within themselves, they can self generate their own power, in time of course, but with no outside help needed at all!”

Hunk had turned to stare up at the Yellow lion, who towered above the trio in a mighty display of strength, and amazement had settled in his chest.
It hadn’t been the first time he was impressed by alien technology and how much further advanced it was than their own back on earth, but it was certainly the moment he realised the grand impossibility of the Lions, and it made him feel tiny.

But then Yellow had purred, the sound echoing deep in his soul, and Hunk remembered that at least he wasn’t alone.

Hunk wasn’t alone now, and he was as thankful as ever as he watched the hologram showing Yellow’s power reserves creep upwards ever so slightly, rebooting systems that had been previously shut down and replenishing energy levels.

The damage to the lion’s exterior would still need to be repaired at the castle, but everything else would be fine.
All Yellow needed was time.

-

What felt like hours passed in near silence, the only noise that could be beat being the beeps of new notifications from the monitors and the muted cracks of the asteroids colliding outside in space.

Hunk was sat on the floor in front of the broken console, the front panel pulled off, exposing a multitude of wires and switches and machinery. Around him were scattered a small collection of tools, the meager supply being all that had been stashed in the pouches of his belt during the mission and subsequent crash.

His chest plate and bracers had been discarded near his chair, the scuff marks and dents glaringly obvious against the steak white of the material, and the top half of his flight suit was tied securely around his waist.

When he’d removed the suit, he’d found that the left side of his ribs had been a splotchy pattern of greens, purples and blacks that stretched in a rough horizontal line across his side. The stabbing pain had subsided, the effect of the painkillers finally taking hold, and after gently prodding around he’d come to the conclusion that nothing was punctured.
His breathing wasn’t laboured, his heart rate was normal and it didn’t hurt especially when he breathed in, so he figured he’d be fine for now, at least until he could get into a pod and get properly checked up on.

Hunk had covered the bruises with the bruise cream, shivering slightly at the cold sensation and the tingling as the muscles went numb and then wrapped his ribs in the bandages before attempting to fix whatever he could inside yellow’s interior.

He’d been attempting to repair the now broken panel that had initially caused the damage to his ribs when a loud beep sounded behind him.

Putting down the tools he’d been using to re-establish connections between some of the wires, he turned and glanced up at the hologram that now presented itself above the main console.

Standing up and stepping forward, Hunk examined the blinking alter before tapping its surface and watching as it expanded, sliding outward in a smooth motion.

It shifted and changed until he found himself stood in front of a detailed star map dotted with thousands of constellations and multiple symbols, while a small yellow dot glowed in the dead center.

In his mind he felt a proud rumble as yellow presented him with the map.

“Good job buddy!” Hunk grinned, sitting down in the pilots seat, only feeling a slight twinge in his ribs as he moved. “Let’s see where we are.”

As he spoke, a string of Altean symbols appeared in the corner of the map, the strange shapes quickly being replaced by familiar letters until they spelled out a phrase he could read.

The Heirillius Belt.

Huh. He’d never heard of this sector of the universe before. Well, that was a given, the universe was huge and the chances that he’d be spat out of the corrupted wormhole in a place he’d recognise were incredibly low.

Hunk hoped again that the Belt wasn’t under galra control, because if it was, he was even more screwed. However, on the off chance that it wasn't, he could head in and try to find an inhabited planet that could hopefully help him. If they were technologically advanced enough, they could help him fix Yellow, and possible have the tech to allow him to boost Yellow’s satellite range and hopefully get a message across to the castle or one of his friends.

Glancing back at the star map, he examined it with a practiced eye, zooming in on his location with a swipe of his fingers, finding that he wasn’t too far from a tri-cluster of planets. It would be as good a place as any to start looking for help.

Over the hours, Yellow had recovered enough power to be able to function almost properly again - that was if he diverted power away from unnecessary systems like the lighting in the interior, leaving him basked in the faint glow of emergency power lights, and towards the most important ones, such as the engines and shielding integrity - so Hunk grabbed his helmet, slipped it on and woke Yellow from his slumber like stasis with a gentle push of the controls.

Power flooded back to the systems around Hunk, the lights flickering back on once more, and a roar of excitement and relief echoed in his mind as Yellow prepared for the journey, finally able to stretch the rest of his functioning limbs after such a long period of immobility.

With a deep breath, Hunk pushed the controls forward and Yellow responded in turn, turning away from the graveyard of asteroids and shooting off into the darkness of space towards what Hunk hoped was civilisation, towards help, and most importantly, towards his team.