The Gold Paladin

Chapter 2 - Kty'hipta

Lance climbed into Red, feeling the familiar sensation of Lion. He had spent a few hours bonding and flying with Red, so he knew the controls well. It was just that Red was so agile, and responded with the slightest touch, whereas Blue took a good push to do flips and rolls. It felt really different. But a good different at the same time. Flying a different Lion reminded Lance of the time Lance had gotten new shoes for his birthday, to replace his worn sneakers. The new shoes were so fancy and stiff, but after he broke them in, it was like he had been wearing them forever.

Keith followed him. Allura had sent the red lion, as the king of Kty'hipta knew the red lion the most. King Alfor had done many missions to the jungle planet, so Allura was certain they would recognize it. If not... He tried not to think about it. Lance plopped down into the seat, sliding his hands onto the bar controls. The airlock beeped, warning them they had only a few seconds to prepare and get ready before it hurled them out into space.

The final countdown ensued, and Red zoomed out of the port. Lance looked back at the castle, which was getting smaller as they sped away. He turned his attention to the route path, which displayed a line out into space; telling him where he needed to fly. Once he was comfortable, he turned to Keith, who was fiddling with a latch on the ceiling.

"So. Keith, what's the plan? Do we just fly in there and say, WE ARE PALADINS! GIVE US GOLD!" Lance boomed.

Keith shook his head. "No. Allura says we need to talk with King Kthya and arrange to find a paladin for it. Remember, it can only be flown by a Kty'hiptan?"

Lance grinned sheepishly. "Right."

Red began a gentle descent towards the planet. Up close, Lance could see a lush jungle, with trees as tall as mountains. Some trees even pierced past the thick clouds that covered Kty'hipta. As Red got even closer, he could see a small runway/landing zone, cut right out of the tree. Thanks to Red's agility, the tricky landing was no big deal.

Keith and Lance stepped out of Red, into the humid air. Lance looked around in awe. The trees had homes carved out of them! Some huts hung from the trees, others just floated. One, which seemed to be the castle, was the tree itself.

"Wow, Keith. This place is amazing!"

Keith agreed. "It reminds me of the Olkari when we went to their forest."

A small helper drone approached the awestruck paladins.

"Greetings, visitors." The drone spoke in a robotic voice. "Do you have an ID card? If you do, please press 1. Press 2 for more options."

A keypad slid out of the drone's belly. Keith pressed 2.

"There is 1 appointment scheduled for King Kthya. Are you in correspondence for this meeting? Press 1 for yes, 2 for no."

Lance glanced at Keith.

"That's us, I guess." Lance pressed 1.

"Please follow me." The drone rotated with a grinding noise and slid down the runway.

The paladins followed, looking this way and that at the view. They were pretty high up, and down below, Lance could see a small village, where children played in front of what appeared to be a market. Their laughter carried even up to the treetops. Looking up, Lance could see floating homes, which appeared to be suspended in the clouds. Pidge would have loved to see this, he thought.

A rustling sound above him broke his thoughts. Lance looked up, curious. A small pink squirrel-like creature was busy making a nest for itself.

"Keith, look!" Lance pointed up at the pink mammal.