Catch the Stars ||Keith Kogane||

51

Trip didn't want to say that she and Braut had an agreement not to talk to each other. He couldn't talk at all due to his...lack of ability.

Training hadn't been as big of a mess as Trip had been expecting on their part. Which was good, because now they were all on board the Squad 11 ship and about to meet Voltron at the Olkarian planet to begin their final preparations.

"What's the castle like?" Haylie had been asking questions all morning as they filled the hanger. It had taken her a long time to bring herself to say goodbye to Ella and leave her in the care of the child center for such a long time. Harron had been the same way and Trip hated rushing them.

Trip sits at the ship's wheel with her eyes trained in front of them, "big. White. Loud. You'll see for yourself."

"Great description," Haylie huffs from her spot in the co-pilot seat, munching on a dried bar of Cleogiant meat that was used for rations, "it's almost like I'm there."

Trip snorts, her lips tugging at a smile as the castle appears in the distance, "you will be in like 10 minutes, look."

The others had been at the back of the ship. Esmerelda had been shuffling around the bunks that had been cleared out and given a scrub, organizing the supplies that they'd loaded up before leaving. Trip realized that she was an organized person and seemed to clean when she was nervous. Harron had been assisting since Trip had taken over the pilot's seat.

Braut had been passed out for almost the entire flight, thankfully. Both of them had as little interaction with each other as they could manage. And when they were around each other, tension was through the roof. And not on their end. The others were watching. Waiting to see who would snap first. Who would start throwing swords and who would win.

"Harron!" Haylie calls out, "Esmeralda! Ron Jenta!" (Come look!). The sound of uneven snores comes to a halt from the bunks. It seemed her shouting had alerted the sleeping giant. But Trip kept an even face as she heard all three of the others begin to stumble from the back of the ship.

Maybe she'd gotten used to the castle after spending so much time on it. It was still amazing to look at, but she didn't feel breathless when she saw it. However, she could hear the awe in Haylie's shouts for the others. The first time seeing something so marvelous and forgotten to history was a shock to everyone, it seemed.

"Vane!" (holy shit!) Esmerelda huffs as she ducks her head and joins the cockpit of the, "Sian te tiem?" (that's the castle?)

Trip hums, "te tiem o lions," (the castle of lions) she says calmly, "sek griun lustev ka te zuth." (it's even better on the inside).

She risks a glance over her shoulder. Braut had made his way into the cockpit as well, his eyes sticky with sleep but still staring out the front window at the castle. Behind him was Braut, who had his beady eyes boring into the back of his head. Harron hadn't let him out of his sight since they'd boarded the ship. And if he wasn't watching him, Haylie was. Even Esmerelda kept her head turned in his direction at all times.

Only Trip turned her back to him. And not out of trust. If Braut was going to use this opportunity to kill her, he wouldn't do it on the ship. Surrounded by people who could testify against him when they went back. He would kill her during battle. He would let an enemy slip by, he would swing his sword a little too close to her head. He would make it seem like an accident.

Interrupting her train of thought on how her life was on the line with this team, a blue image appears on the holographic screen in front of her. It blinks a few times in a dead language. Altean.

When Trip hits a button on her control panel, Allura's face illuminates the front window, a smile that just barely reached her eyes.

"You've arrived," the princess acknowledges, "just on time."