Chapter 3
Lance tried a lot of stuff to get Pidge out of the capsule. He even put her in the morning sun, maybe charging or over charging could open the capsule. Yeah...those were childish hopes. Several hot days pass and he was still on that damned roof with childish hopes. He groaned.
"I should have never showed her the plant..." Lance grumbled. His mouse friend squeeked sadly. Lance sighed and rubbed his head with his finger.
"I know bud...I know..." Lance says. He looked over at the capsule Pidge was in. He narrowed his eyes at it.
"I swear it's judging me somehow..." The mouse squeek-laughed at his small joke. At least that...That's when he noticed the thunderstorm coming.
"You're shitting me right now...." He said. And so he ended up sitting in the rain, holding umbrellas over that shitty capsule as they were getting struck by lighting, frying him a bit as well. He mumbled.
"The shit I do for her, huh?" He said, looking at the mouse, his hair plastered on his face thanks to the rain. Next up was dealing with a sandstorm. He had to cover Pidge's capsule and then dig it out after. Thank god to his shovel. He however needed to open that capsule so, he did the stupidest thing he could. He pries open a panel on Pidge's chest. Reveals her pulsing green heart-battery. Attaches jumper cables to his own blue heart-battery. Tries to connect the other end to hers. An automatic defense system blows him off truck. He groans.
"I'm NEVER touching technology like that again...." He groans again as he lets his face fall down in the sand. The small mouse laughs at him. Some time later, Lance decides he needs a break. He looks around at his mouth and frowns.
"I can't trust you with something that big...Maybe..." He spots a few Christmas lights and smirks.
"Bingo. Come on, buddy! Let's go for a walk." The mouse looks surprised at Lance. Next thing they did? was go on a walk with Pidge's capsule tied on a leash. For days he kept trying to get her to charge...OR SOMETHING! ANYTHING! Different objects, different shocks (which mostly ended on him) but one night he just kind of gave up. He was playing Pong alone on the TV and realized that there were supposed to be two players and it just hit him how useless he actually was. She had a directive and shit and here he was...Sulking over the only person to ever interact with him after his family died being trapped in a capsule. He sighed and collapsed in his hammock. The mouse came and curled sadly next to him. Lance sighed and rubbed his head with his finger. The two fell asleep like that.
Lance was at work when it happened. He was flicking a lighter defeated as he was sitting on a trash wall when the flame was put out by a gust of wind. He remembered that feeling. The distant rumbling just proved his point.
"Pidge!" He said as he jumped off. Shit- they were coming to get her now. No no no- that was his only human friend! They couldn't do this to him! If they were taking her? He will go as well. He won't be alone anymore. The Recon spaceship towers over his truck. A robot arm cherry-picks Pidge's capsule from the roof and lifts her up and into the ship's cargo hold. Lance was rolling as fast as he could.
"PIDGE!" He called out, uselessly since she was still in that capsule. Reaches the end of the collapsed bridge ramp. Forced to watch the capsule disappear into the ship. The cargo doors slam shut. He looks on his shoulder at his mouse buddy and frowns. He sets him down.
"You stay here! Understood?" The mouse wanted to protest but nodded. Lance turned on his heel and dolted towards the ship. He refuses to be pitiful and alone again! The first of the three rocket engines powers up. Lance slides down a hill of rubble to the ship. The engines blast a wall of smoke. Preparation for launch...Pidge capsule in the meanwhile, was being secured into a slot with multiple capsules. But only her capsule had a green light flashing, thanks to the small plant. Lance was now climbing onto a metal support, almost like a ladder. The ship's engines ignite and the rocket takes off into space. The small mouse watches his human go, but he will stay put. He had to. For Lance and for his probably new friend, Pidge.
The spaceship roars through the sky. Lance tightens his grip, battling the G's. He looks ahead. SCREAMS. HUNDREDS of BNL satellites litter the outer atmosphere. The ship bursts through the layer. The recon ship breaks free of the planet as it's boosters shut down. Lance takes in the sudden change and quiet. He was in space...He looks back at the Earth.
"Woah..." Lance says. Suddenly, weightlessness takes effect. Thank god he realized before he got to float away. He grabbed onto the metal support again. He look through the window and spotted Pidge's capsule. He snorted for himself.
"Patético idiota enamorado..." Lance said to himself as he looked at the beautiful star show. And he was glad to have a front row seat at this show. The stars have always been so beautiful. The ship flies past the moon. A billboard stands next to the abandoned Apollo moon rover. "BNL Outlet Coming Soon." Lance frowned.
"So greedy..." He muttered to himself as he watched the billboard pass. Then later, the ship passed the sun. Lance took off his glove and recharged in a second. The ship cruises alongside Saturn's outer rings. Lance runs his hand through the tiny particles of ice and laughs.
A Dumbbell nebula slowly twists in space. Lance watches it with admiration. Days have passed since they left Earth. He was starting to grow skeptical of how far these people have gone and boy of boy here they were. He first thought it was a planet or a star? But it was a giant starliner. Gigantic in size. The "AXIOM". The now tiny recon ship heads straight for it. lance's mouth almost fell open. He knew the ship was huge since it had to hold the whole altean population on it but- Holy... As they got closer, two tug-rockets guide the ship in. It locks into giant braces fixed on the deck. The impact knocks Lance off. He lands in the scaffolding of the front brace and rolls a bit. He groans but gets up and straightens his back. Man, he missed gravity. His back was sore.
"This place is kind of dead, huh?" Lance mutters to himself. Suddenly the entire dock comes to life. Robotic arms and service robots of all types appear...Rise from the floor...Lower from the ceiling...It's a cacophony of automation. They all attend to the ship. Lance smacked his lips as he watched everything happened.
"I~ should really stop speaking too early, shouldn't I?" Lance says to himself as he watched the robotic parts work. Lance eyes the ship and sees Pidge's capsule and another four other, slide out of the ship's side, suspended in a horizontal rack. Lance raises a brow. A squad of cleaner humans emerge onto the dock. A robot dressed in white with red accents leads. Who the hell was THAT guy? And who thought that giving him a mullet was a good idea? At least short haired girls wasn't so uncommon and Pidge ROCKED the style. But this dude? Someone give him some scissors because that MUST be a crime, right? The guy raises a hand.
"Hold up." He tells the others, who look at him unimpressed. They all wait for the floor lines to appear, depicting their exact path of action. Lance couldn't believe how nonpersonal and cold these humans are. They file out on the line. Lance almost wanted to laugh at how they had to wait for a LINE to tell them what to do. It was pretty hilarious if you asked him. A crane-bot lowers Eve from the rack. Keith (as Lance read on his tag) and his cleaning crew stand ready. Keith scans Pidge. His screen beeped and he scoffed. Lance studies the routine in which this crew cleans. There's Keith with a brush roller, then another guy with a vacuum and lastly a spray and a buffer guy. He also realized how to get down to Pidge. He pretends to be the third capsule, the crane grabbing him instead. He is set down and Keith starts scanning him. The screen beeped and Keith looked at him in horror. He presses a small red circle on the screen on his arm and a small red light blinks from time to time.
"Disgusting! Where the hell have YOU been?!" The robot asks. Lance snorts and shrugs.
"Earth??" Keith rolls his eyes and pulls out a brush and tried brushing him.
"Aye- Woah woah woah! Off of me!" Lance says, pushing him back. Keith frowns. He tries to clean Lance again. Lance slides back, leaving a dirt trail. Keith gasped.
"How dare YOU?! LOOK WHAT YOU DID!" Keith said as he started wiping the floor. Lance snorted. This was fun. Two humans, led by a human who had an undercut and the hair in the middle was white arrived just as Lance was messing with Keith. Keith was furious. Lance smirked and wiped his hands off on Keith's face. The human cleaner screamed as he was cleaning his face. Shiro (as Lance managed to read on the bi-colored hair human's tag) began scanning the capsules. Lance backed away as Shiro scanned him. Shiro had to do a double take after only to see Lance gone. He was hiding behind Pidge's capsule. Shiro starts scanning Pidge's capsule and stops with wide eyes as he reaches her sign.
"Holy shit....She did it..." Shiro mutters. Keith who was still cleaning his face froze and everything started lighting up green.
"She did?!" Keith asked almost in disbelief. Shiro looked at the other two humans who brought a special bed. They binded Pidge's capsule to it. The entire dock goes to "Code Green"! Alarms sound. Green lights flash. All automation stops, all in a rapid succession. It was all too fast and automatic for Lance who lived in a garbage filled planet all his life. Suddenly Pidge's capsule is heading for the elevator.
"No you don't..." He muttered to himself as he started rolling after it. THIS?? Was the best idea he ever had! Wall-E chases after them. Grabs onto the back of the transport. They disappear into the elevator. The cleaning crew files out. Follow their lines back to their hold. Keith stops short. Notices Lance's filthy tracks crossing his path. He scrunches his face in disgust.
"Filth..." He says. Must clean dirt. He makes a radical decision and...jumps off his line. Starts methodically cleaning the dirt trail. Dozens of humans speed along a multi-lane passageway. All following glowing lines on the floor. Lance's head whipsaws back and forth. Tries to process it all. Doesn't notice Shiro's transport merge into traffic...without him! Lance frowns as he finally notices. He instantly causes a human pile up! Lance just starts running, rolling. Weaves across all the lines on the floor. Bounces off robots and humans like bumper cars. Barely able to navigate the chaos. Takes refuge in the middle of an intersection. He scans for Pidge and finally notices her.
"There we go~ Let the fun begin." He flies up the ramp. Nearly collides with a merging hover chair. It blocks his way. Lance gains alongside it, and discovers AN ALTEAN! An actual altean sitting, reclined, in the chair. The person is wearing a red BNL jumpsuit. The chair seems to be steering itself. Guided by floor lines, just like the robots and humans. Speaker headrests block his peripheral vision. A holographic screen floats inches in front of his face. Lance looks amused.
"They're brainwashing you lot...aren't they...?" Lance says to himself, knowing the altean probably can't hear. He was surprised however to see that alteans truly don't get fat. Their legs will sure be numb since it looks like they haven't moved in anything else but...The rumors about them controlling the change in their bodies is true. Peculiar and more peculiar. Oh wait! he was here to see where Pidge was going and make some mischief with her. Oops- But as he looked on the man's screen he couldn't believe that the man he was talking to was right next to him.
"Are ya blind, pal? He's right- Ughhhh...Nevermind." Lance started speeding again .He is in awe. Hundreds of floors of guest rooms rise on all sides. THOUSANDS of passengers fill the giant space. All reclined and riding on hover chairs. Multiple floor lines guide their chairs in all directions. Alteans have become the most extreme form of couch potatoes. Absolutely no reason to ever get up. No purpose. Every one of them engrossed in their video screens. Cocooned in virtual worlds. Fingers tap armrest keypads The controls allow them to steer...order food...play games...and most of all...CHAT MINDLESSLY with other passengers: The chatter is deafening. No one notices Lance at all. He drives into the endless altean traffic. Lance couldn't believe these alteans. No wonder Pidge was happy to see the objects on earth and so curious. They were mindlessly raising her as well! He was surprised she had any little bit of personality left! Oh yeah- Pidge!
A city-sized, mall-like environment. All under a giant dome. The ceiling simulates the sun and sky. A BNL logo with time and temperature appears on the sun! The sun! How silly that is! Lance is gobsmacked. A passanger hovers up alongside him. Tries to hand off his empty drink cup to Lance. The human just stares at the altean confused.
"Hey, Drink-bot!" Lance spurted. Did he just call him a bot?! They all were tools to these brainwashed couch potatoes! This altean however seemed a bit more chubby and darker skinned, also had something different, an orange bandana across his head. Lance raised a brow at him. The guy reaches forward with his cup. Lance backs away.
"Here, take the cup. Take the cup -- Whoa!" The altean fell. Lance winced. Ouch...Poor guy. Reaches too far. The guy falls to the floor and flails like an upside down turtle. Unable to stand on his legs. Instantly, sirens start sounding and the lines turn red. Two bots come and starts informing him help is on their way. Help? You mean these bots are here for show?!
"Useless fuckers." Lance says rolling his eyes. The passanger looks surprised at Lance's show of actual brain and Lance helps the guy up.
"And up we go, bud." Lance says as he pushes the guy on the chair, flopped on his belly.
"Uhh...Close enough. I'm Lance." Lance out-stretches his hand. The altean blinks in surprise.
"Uhh...Hunk." The two shake hands. Lance smiles.
"Sayyy...have you seen some guy with bi-colored hair around here with my friend in a capsule? I'm tryna follow her." Hunk stares confused.
"Wha...?" Hunk asked confused. Lance looked in the distance and whistled.
"Welp, looks like I've found her. See ya!" He started rolling on his tiny wheels again. Hunk waved a bit at him.
"Bye...??" He said, still dumbfound after the whole encounter. The trapsport pulls out of the station. Lance leaps on, barely catching the last car. It glides down the concourse. He chuckles at himself for that, it was a cool move. Now he had time to take in the scenery. And WOAH. Dozens of themed food restaurants whizz by. Each specialty is served in the same jumbo plastic cup.
"No wonder you dumbos never move...Who the hell eats so much??" Lance said to himself. He now notices his fellow passengers. They all slurp from similar cups. Lance scrunches his face up. They pass through the fashion district. Enormous billboards hawk the latest color schemes. Lance blinked in surprise. He smirked as he realized he was wearing blue. Suddenly a woman's voice started talking.
"Attention, Axiom shoppers. Try blue! It's the new red!" They all pressed a button and their jumpsuits were now blue. Lance's mouth fell open. He looked at Pidge.
"You dare do that woman and I swear to god, I am disowning you as a friend." Lance said. That's when he realizes there's a girl between them. She looked nice, with a muddy color of hair, with a small green-ish hue. He tries to sneak past her but can't as the chair is blocking the way.
"Uhhh- Ma'am? lady? miss??" Lance says. The girl was too absorbed in her talking. Lance looked unimpressed.
"I swear if I miss that transport again because of your freaking chair...HELLLOOOO??" Lance said, trying to wave at her. Then he got an idea. She was still talking...
"Date?! Don't get me started! Every holo-date I've been on has been a virtual disaster! If I could just meet one who wasn't so superficial. There are no good men out there--" Lance scoffs.
"Who are you to say that, lady? Hunk is quite nice!" Lance said. He then looked at her chair. He tries to fold back her speaker headrest. Accidentally breaks it off. Mary's chair shorts out....holo-screen shuts off...jumpsuit defaults back to red...For the first time Mary has an unobstructed view. Her eyes slowly dilate. It's as if she's seeing the world for the first time...Lance snorts at her.
"Welcome to the real world but umm...I kind of need to pass??" Lance says. The girl gasps.
"O-Oh! Sorry!! Sure go ahead." She backs away and he passes.
"Thank you~" Lance sings as he goes next to Pidge. He then turns to the girl.
"Name's Lance! Nice to meet ya!" The girl blinks in surprise.
"Uhh...Shay." She says. The monorail emerges into "First Class." A vast, circular plaza of pools. Surrounded by a ring of high rise apartments. Hundreds of passengers lounge poolside. Lance frowns.
"You all should try swimming sometimes. It's refreshing!" Lance says as the blue fence keeping them in falls down and Shiro leaves with Pidge's transport. Lance follows and waves at Shay. As Shay's eyes fall onto the pool she gasps.
"I didn't even know we had a pool!" Lances next up? Was this weird room Pidge's transport enters. This cavernous hall where a lone human, typing, is stationed at the far end. A bridge elevator behind him. Blocked by a force field gate. The transport pulls up to the 'typing-bot'. Shiro presses a button and his metalic hand seems to be scanned. The typing-bot responds by typing. Slowly. One...button...at...a...time... Finally, the gate lowers. Elevator doors open. The typing-bot watches the transport enter the elevator. Notices Lance hiding at the back. He gives it a friendly wave as the doors close. The elevator shoots up to the bridge. The typing human frowns and starts slowly waving his hand in confusion.
Lance looks out on the descending Lido Deck. Marvels at it all. His view suddenly goes dark. The elevator doors open on...The large circular room is dimly lit. Windows to space on one side, a Lido deck view on the other. A massive console wraps around its entirety. Covered in buttons. A sea of thinking lights. Lance can't help but stare in awe at them. A purple figure emerged. It had long white hair and yellow eyes with long ears. Was that...A galran? He heard about those! They were extra rare. Like a premium human type of thing. Shiro pulls the transport in the middle of the room and raises his hand. The galran eyes it in shock and nods, disappearing in the shadows. Lance sneaks into the shadows as well.
"Well well Pidge, aren't you coming from an interesting place alright...." He says, still marveling at this place he was now in. That's when Lance accidently presses a button and drops somewhere. He hits the floor hard in the room below. Someone stirs, then resumes snoring. It was a girl.
"Captain. You are needed on the bridge." The galran said, he assumed name Lotor thanks to the name on the tag. Also, what was with the tags?! They seemed so...STUPID! Can't remember your name or something?? Jesus...The captain however was snoring in bed. She got up, her hair a mess and rubbed her eyes. She reaches out in his sleep to quiet the snooze alarm. Smacks Lance's pocket by mistake, which hit the player and the song from Hello Dolly he had recorded was now playing. He hissed.
"-- All hands on deck!!" The captain says, sleeply, as Lance is trying his hardest to stop the music. But he had to admit the captain was cute. However, Pidge, in his opinion, was cuter. Lance's eyes widen as the bed automatically raises and forms into a hover chair. The bots started cleaning the captain. He looked around and saw multiple photos on the wall and in the last one? Lotor standing with The Captain in front of him and the name 'Allura' written on it. So she was Allura. Alrighty, he's learning more names today than in his whole damn life! And he comes from a BIG family. Lines light on the floor. Lead his chair automatically to the elevator. Lance sneaks aboard just as the doors close. Elevator doors swish open. The Captain still half-asleep. Claps his hands twice. On cue, a coffee maker rises from the console. Pours a cup.
"Jesus Christ you lazy asses..." Lance mumbles, hiding in the shadows.
"Ma'am--" Lotor tries to say. The tired girl raises her hand.
"Coffee and protocol, Lotor." She says.
"Computer, status report." She says and the screens all lit up.
"Fascinating..." Lance says in awe. Her chair automatically arcs along the console. Specific panels light up as she passes. Lance then eyes Pidge's capsule. Is she dumb...? THE ROBOT IS RIGHT THERE DO SOMETHING--
"Captain..." Lotor says as he calls out a screen on the console. Allura looks at it with wide eyes. Oh hey- That's Pidge's console on the screen!! Lotor calls up a screen on the console. Displays the recon-ship and a flashing positive probe. Waits patiently for the Captain to notice. Finally, the Captain turns...but notices the time instead.
"12:30?! Auto, why didn't you wake me for the morning announcements?" She slingshots her chair to the Lido Deck side of the bridge. Lance nearly collides with her.
"Honestly, it's the one thing I get to do on this ship." Allura grumbled in annoyance. She grabs a large dial. Time of the day icons surround it. She cranks it from mid-day back to sunrise. The fake noon sun reverses at high speed to a sunrise. Passengers' lunch cups switch to breakfast cups. Poolside passengers' umbrellas close up. An announcement whistle blows over the intercom. A section of the sky becomes a Jumbotron screen, displaying a live video feed of the Captain. The image also shows up on every passenger's screens. Lance watched in awe.
"Well, good morning everybody, and welcome to day 255,642 aboard the Axiom. As always, weather's a balmy 72 degrees and sunny, and -- Oh, hey, I see the ship's log is showing that today is our 700th anniversary of our five year cruise. Well, I'm sure our forefathers would be proud to know that 700 years later we'd be......doing the exact same thing...they were doing..." He snorted a bit at the sarcasm. Nice one.
"SO! Be sure next mealtime to ask for your free......septuacentennial cupcake -- in a cup. Also today we have, uh...uh..." Allura's eyes fell onto a green flashing button.
"Hey, Lotor? What's this...??" The transmission stopped.
"Captain? Probe One has returned positive." Did this hoe just have the AUDACITY to call Pidge a probe?! He thinks not.
"Positive?" She asked. Lotor went over to the transportation Pidge's capsule was in and undid the binds. The capsule was set down and Lotor started tapping on it. When it opened, Pidge stumbled out, rubbing her head, her glasses a bit wonky. She notices Allura and immediately straightens her back and salutes. Lance smiles. There's his Pidge. He was glad she was okay.
"But...no probe's ever come back positive..." Allura said. The flashing button is practically calling to him. Can't resist. Presses it. Instantly shades close on all the windows. The room goes dark. A large screen appears right above him. Pre-recorded footage of the BNL CEO plays:
"Greetings and congratulations, Captain! If you're seeing this, that means your Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator, or..."EVE" probe, has returned from Earth with a confirmed specimen of ongoing photosynthesis!" Pidge frowned and started fuming. She HATED being called an EVE. She was a PIDGE...AND the only one of her kind! A programmed intellectual designed ground evaluating bot! A Pidge-bot!! What an ass. The Captain was staring slack-jawed at the screen. Lance sneaks under the console towards Pidge, slowly...
"That's right, it means it's time to go back home!"
"Home? W-w-we're going back?" Allura said, hopeful.
"Now that Earth has been restored to a life-sustaining status, by golly, we can begin "Operation Recolonize"!" A section of the console illuminates. An ancient, dusty manual slides out...Pidge and the others all look at it. Allura grabs the manual and blows dust off the cover. It reads: "OPERATION RECOLONIZE". Below the title, the same icon from Pidge's chest.
"Simply follow this manual's instructions to place the plant in your ship's holo- detector, and the Axiom -- will immediately navigate your return to Earth! It's that easy!" Lance frowned. That didn't sound right. Lance then looks at Pidge.
"Now, due to the effects of micro-gravity, you and your passengers may have suffered some slight bone loss. But I'm sure a few laps around your ship's jogging track will get you back in shape in no time. If you have any further questions just consult your operation manual. See you back home real soon." The transmission ends. The Captain examines the manual. Holds it out in front of her.
"Operate... Manuel...Manuel, relay instructions. Manuel?" Pidge, Lotor and Lance face-palmed. That's a book...Not a holographic-something. Lotor opens the book for her.
"Wow... Will you look at that?" Allura says. That's when Lance taps her on the shoulder. Her eyes widen.
"LANCE?!" She whisper yells. He chuckles.
"What's up Pidgey?" She covers her mouth in horror and ushers him to hide.
"WHAT ARE YOU IDIOT DOING HERE?!" He snorts.
"Well...I'm lonely on Earth...You literally closed yourself in an egg and almost gave me a heart attack AND i said hey! why not go see where these fuckers are taking her?? You know?" Pidge bit her lip in frustration.
"Well, let's open her up. Step One. Voice command, "Confirm Acquisition."" Allura reads. Suddenly the lights turn green and a giant robotic hand grabs Pidge, holding her in place. Pidge yelps in surprise. Lance looks surprised as well, but stays in the shadows.
"Confirm Acquisition. Voice authorization required." A microphone gets shoved in the alteans voice.
"...Uh..." Allura says.
"Accepted." The arm starts tapping on Pidge's chest. The small icon lights up stronger and a small compartment in her abdomen opens. Pidge's and Lance's eyes widen. The plant was missing.
"Where's the thingie?" Allura asked. Pidge looked at Lance in rage.
"Plant." Lotor adds.
"Plant. Right. Right. Where is it? Maybe we missed a step. Show me how you change the text again..." She asks. Lotor and the altean in a hover chair turn around to re-read the manual. Pidge searches the compartment and then goes to Lance, enraged. Lance was surprised at that and didn't expect her to grab him by the shoulders like that.
"Lance! The plant! Where is it?!" She asks, desperate. Lance shake his head.
"I-I don't know! I didn't take it!" Pidge frowns.
"Lance! This isn't the time for some stupid prank of yours, ok??" She says. Lance shakes his head.
"I would never, Pidge! I didn't! I swear--" Pidge snarls.
"Then let's find it! Damn it!" They both search the room frantically.
"Why don't you scan her to be sure?" Allura says. Shiro comes forward. Her eyes soften.
"Shiro, you must believe me...It was there! The remains will tell--" She tries to plead. Shiro has a stone cold face as he scans her using his arm.
"Contains no specimen. Probe's memory is faulty." Pidge's eyes widen.
"Shiro...No..." She says softly. Lance frowns and snarls. What an asshole! Aren't they supposed to be friends or something??
"So, then...we're NOT going to Earth?" Allura said. Lotor shook his head.
"Negative." The galran said.
"So, uh, I guess things go back to normal, huh?" Allura said.
"Correct, Captain." Lotor chided.
"Well, false alarm!" Allura said, closing the book. The lights stopped flashing green and the arm retracted.
"The probe must be defective. Shiro, send her to the Repair Ward." Allura says, waving her hand dismissvely.
"No!" Pidge says. Shiro nods.
"Yes, Captain."
"Have them run diagnostics on her. Make sure she's not malfunctioning -- EEYAH!!" Allura's chair hovered away as it reveal Lance. Lance blinked in surprise.
"Name's Lance. What's up?" Allura frowned as Lance shook her hand.
"What's...up...Umm...And give 'Lance' a cleaning and a change in clothes, please." Allura said. She had dirt on her hand now. The elevator opens. Shiro's transport drives out. Both Pidge and Lance strapped on it with energy bands. This will be...something....Allura frowns at the dirt.
"Analyze."