Canis Major | Keith Kogane

7

Back on the bridge, Elle and Keith had just returned to The Castle of Lions and was watching Allura try and locate the Red Lion. Hunk and Lance had just come in, both looking a little roughed up. Allura welcomed the two back, only to get a short complaint of how difficult their task was.

"Yeah, we had a rough time too," Pidge said, sharing a look with Shiro.

Elle looked over at Keith and they too shared a look. Elle smiled, remembering Keith's bad luck with snow.

"Did we find the Red Lion yet?" Shiro asked the two Alteans. Coran stepped up and explained the situation to the paladins.

"The good news is the Red Lion is nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship orbiting Arus."

"They're here already?" Shiro asked Coran.

"Yes," Coran said sheepishly, "Finger counting. It's more of an art than a science." Coran said. As if on cue, the screen began wavering. An image of a purple alien with fur began to speak.

"Princess Allura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire," he identified himself. Elle squinted her eyes at the image, maybe the Alteans just happened to have the most human-like physical appearance. "I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me or I will destroy your planet." Sendak commanded. The image of Sendak faded to black and was replaced by the landscape of Arus.

Everyone stood in shock until Shiro broke the silence, only to be replaced by Hunk's panicked words. He worried about having only four lions against a whole battleship.

"Wait!" Allura interrupted, "This castle has a particle barrier that we can activate."

"Girl, you've already activated my-"

"Lance!" Shiro said, cutting his words short while Lance received a quick smack on the back of the head from Elle.

The plans for the next course of action were split about three ways. Lance and Hunk wanting to flee, Pidge and Keith wanting to stay and fight, and Elle and Shiro trying to figure out what to do. When the argument between Keith and Lance escalated, Shiro intervened and turned toPrincess Allura's counsel.

"What do you think is the best course of action?" Shiro asked.

"I-I don't know," the Princess stammered.

"Perhaps your father can help," Coran suggested. He then took Allura away to a room that stored the artificial intelligence of her father, leaving the paladins to themselves for a short while. The silence that filled the room was thick. There was simply a lot to take in. One moment, Elle is relaxing on the rooftop of the Galaxy Garrison and the next she's suddenly a paladin of Voltron. Well, technically she's not a literal part of Voltron that it combines with but still, she was on the team.

Not long after, Allura returned clad in a pink and blue armor set and with a determined look on her face. "You paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon." Allura announced. Having her father's wisdom must have created a new spark within her. "Voltron is the universe's only hope. We are the universe's only hope," she emphasized. Elle didn't know how, but the tension in the air seemingly disappeared and was replaced with determination and a sense of power.

"We're with you, Princess," Shiro announced. Allura smiled and lead the paladins to a room storing armor in pods similar to the pod they found the Princess in, each color-coded to the same colors as the pilot's lion.

Elle reached into the pod and suited up. In the spots that were color coded was simply grey for Elle instead of white, perhaps just a design choice. She chuckled at the thought of calling herself the 'Grey Paladin' as a joke since her armor didn't match her lion. Once everyone was suited up Allura placed a hand on a box that contained something that looked like boomerangs with a handle.