Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The first thing he saw when he woke up was a bunch of scientists around him, he try to warn them about Zarkon and his empire, but they didn’t listen to him

He hope for somebody to help him scape, to create a distraction, to take him away from that quarantine room

But

No one come

And that felt…wrong?

_

Let me go!! - Pidge scream to Hunk, who have grab her by her wrist- I need to talk to him

Calm down Pidge - Hunk say, trying not to let her slip out of his hands

¡Come on!, stay quiet- Lance whispered, making a gesture with his hand so that his friends would imitate him- or I need to remember you that we suppose to be in our room, you’re gonna get us in troble

After seeing how Shiro's ship crashed, they considered whether to go see what was happening or not, but after seeing the number of guards in the place, they realized that creating a distraction from their position was not going to work, so although Pidge got angry, Lance and Hunk decided to return to their room, hoping that possibly General Iverson or any high command at the headquarters would give them a general announcement.

I told you it was a bad idea to follow him - Hunk whispers- but noo, no one listens to me, until it's to late

Yeah, yeah, I know - Lance answer

Mmmm- Pidge tried to scream, but Hunk covered her mouth

A few minutes later, they returned to their room

Oh, what a relief- Hunk said, sliding his back against the door

How dare you drag me back in here- Pidge yelled- Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this?

And why don't you explain to us why you care so much about this matter that we almost got expelled because of you?- Lance said, arms crossed

Of course I care! That's the mission they were- Pidge fell before continuing her sentence- Ugh, never mind, now I'll have to wait even longer!- And with that, she walked off to the bathroom where she locked herself

What the hell was that?- Lance asked

I have no idea, I'm going back to bed- With that said, Hunk walked straight to his bunk

Fine - Lance replied, but before taking another step, he looked back, nowhere in particular, for some strange reason, he felt like something else was missing, he didn't know how to explain it, but he had a feeling he shouldn't have gone back to his room, something else must have happened that night when that spaceship crashed, he shook his hair and decided to go to sleep, he turned off the light, the room would have been dark if it weren't for the light coming from the bathroom, he closed his eyes but couldn't sleep, because his thoughts kept leading him to that scene, with that strange and irritating feeling that something was missing

_

In the bathroom, Pidge felt like something was missing, she felt like the answers to her questions were right in front of her nose, but there was a missing piece in the puzzle that prevented her from seeing them clearly

_

Sanda felt between a rock and a hard place, the relief that one of his soldiers had returned alive after leaving his entire squad dead was overshadowed by the question of why only one returned, what had happened to the others, what had happened to them in general, why had they disappeared for so long?

She took a deep sip of his coffee and sat down to consider her next step

Although protocol dictated that Commander Shirogane had to remain in quarantine for at least a year before he could be released

But on the other hand, Shirogane kept shouting, warning them that someone named Zarkon was coming, and considering how long he'd been missing, there was a chance he'd encountered another life form out there.

The admiral wasn't an idiot; she knew they weren't alone in the cosmos, but she didn't think the Cerberus mission could have encountered another civilization, perhaps even more advanced than them

She rubbed his hands against his face, took a deep breath, and made a decision

She left his room and approached the nearest soldier

Sound the alarm, I want every soldier not on a life-or-death mission to return by dawn tomorrow - she continued- Notify the cadets that there will be a conference tomorrow morning, everyone, without exception, must report, the entire barracks, the Galaxy Garrison has to know what we're up against

Yes, Admiral- replied the soldier, who stepped back to give notice

But first - Sanda said to herself -I have to know

And with that, she walked out of the hangar, heading for the quarantine zone where Shirogane was being held

_

Somewhere far away, near a small town called Arcadia, Area 49-B was receiving alarming readings

General- said a scientist- our satellites have detected a ship entering the atmosphere

Does it belong to a known species? - asked the General

Yes, but... they're not allies - he answered, turning to look at the General - It's a Galra ship

Secure the equipment, ready your weapons - ordered the alarmed General- and have someone contact Krel Tarron for me!

Chapter Text

A Year Before

_____________________

When Shiro disappeared, Keith wasn't quite sure how to continue, at first, he leaned on Adam, but he was having his own internal battle over what he'd said to Shiro before leaving

So he did what any concerned younger brother would do

He told the commander that he would fucking kill him, if he didn't give him answers about his brother's whereabouts

Obviously, they didn't give him answers, and that ended up giving Iverson the perfect excuse to expel him from the academy

In the solitude of the barn he once called home, he began to reflect on the direction his life would take now that he could no longer participate in space exploration

Even before Garrison, he hadn't considered what he wanted to do with his life, Shiro gave him a purpose, and because of his impulsiveness, he lost it, like everything that had once mattered to him

He spent his time organizing the things his father had left behind, in a moment of carelessness, a box fell off one of the shelves, spilling its contents all over the floor

Among these things, Keith found a photo of him as a baby and his father posing in front of a bank, the curious thing was that his father was holding a key, that same key was also lying on the ground, tied to an envelope

He opened it, it contained a letter and a photo, again, Keith and his father were seen in it, Keith as a baby, this time posing in front of a bridge, this photo was split in half, he searched the envelope and the box, but couldn't find the missing part

So he decided to read the letter, which read:

"My little Keith

It's been just half a year since you came into my life, you two changed the way I see things, all this time, I always knew that protecting and safeguarding was necessary, it was the fight I was raised for, but I didn't understand how precious life was until you showed me what it meant to love someone, until I started living my life

But circumstances have changed, and they found me again, now that I have something so precious, I won't let them take it away from me, I would have liked to spend more time with you, my little one, but I know that here on Earth you are safer, I want you to find that spark, that reason for existing, but I also want you to make mistakes, to not let them define you, to live your life and maybe, one day, our paths will cross again, and you can tell me everything you've experienced

But until then, I want you to know that I love you, and if you want more answers as to why I left, I left you some things at the bank in a small town called Arcadia, the key tied to the envelope is the one that opens it; it's in your name

If you decide to take this step, you'd better keep an open mind, because you should know that Earth is not alone in this universe

Love, your mom"

Keith sat down and leaned against the wall, he tried to process the information, his mother left him a note, he didn't know much about her, his father didn't usually mention her, every time he asked, he just told him that he loved her, but that one day she had to leave, he never explain why

Besides, what's this about being open-minded? The Earth wasn't alone? What could that mean? At least, no, it couldn't be true, but, open-minded... could it be that his mother was an alien? What did that make him?

He thought for a few moments, rubbed his face, and stood up, he had made a decision

Curiosity killed the cat

He packed a backpack with several changes of clothes, some money, some food, the envelope he'd put the letter and the photo back in, he also packed his phone charger and some headphones

He didn't really have many belongings he wanted to take with him, aside from the essentials, he only decided to take one more photo, the last one he took with Shiro, the night before the older one left for his mission, they were both leaning against his motorcycle near a cliff, he put it in his backpack

He hung the key they'd left for him around his neck

He took the keys to his hovercraft and headed toward the highway heading for Arcadia

In the distance, the barracks could be seen, he looked at it one last time, turned his back on it, and decided not to look back, he would get answers, and maybe a new purpose