Catch the Stars ||Keith Kogane||

25

Pidge was the first person to enter the room where Trip and Coran were speaking urgently. She ran into the room like she was being chased by the Galra. And behind her were the rest of the paladins.

"Coran!" She pants hastily, interrupting their conversation. Trip could've cried out in glee when he turned away from her. He was very insistent that there was some way she overlooked one of the missing lenses. She wasn't trying to start another fight while they're in the middle of one, but once it's over she has a few choice words to share, "what did you say the lenses were made of?!"

"Scaultrite!" He says confidently, "a very rare Altean element! It's not so easily found these days, so I'm afraid finding new lenses anytime soon is out of the question."

Pidge's eyes light up as everyone catches up to her quick pace and stands behind her, "I think Hunk made some bad cookies with Scaultrite earlier!"

Hunk looked momentarily offended at her words. A few seconds later, everyone processed what that meant. His eyes widened, "I'll go get them!"

And he and Pidge disappeared back out the door, leaving the rest of them full of adrenaline and nothing to do. Which lead to frantic conversations.

"How are they tracking us?" Shiro asks the remaining people in the room, "and how are they getting to us so quickly? Even in magnetic storms!"

Trip couldn't contribute to the conversation. She didn't even have a slight clue as to the why or how. It was itching her brain to not have an answer to something so crucial. So while they mulled it over, she stared at the ground with a glare. Her arms were crossed, knuckles pressing against her forearm to get a gratifying crack.

Any signs that could've been given away. Any clue. But if any had been given, they slipped through the cracks. To her and everyone else, it seemed. Shrio was getting more and more irritated with every second that no one had an answer. Not with everyone else, but more with himself. 

Trip knew where that anger was irritation in disguise. Being the leader meant you were supposed to have all the answers. If you didn't, then you created one. But you can't fix a problem you can't see. That little detail is always what starts the tipping point. And when you show that you have no idea what to do, panic ensues around everyone else.

"It can't be something physical," Trip suggests from the entrance to the teleduv, "the castle would have detected it by now."

It was grasping at threads now, at least in her mind. But Shiro perked up at it and looked at her like she struck gold, "it's not physical," he says confidently, "but its something always on the ship. He's connected to something on the castle!"

Trip quirks an eyebrow, "that narrows our search down by nothing," she says, "this place is huge."

"What if it's not something," Keith says and turns to look at her, "what if its someone?"

It fell silent at his words. The two of them didn't break eye contact. Trip knew what he was insinuating towards her. She didn't appreciate it, but she didn't blame him. She was held captive by Haggar for so long that it would make a small piece of sense if they were using her as a tracking device. But if that was the case, wouldn't they have followed them back to Olympia after she was rescued?

Keith opened his mouth to say something that would probably anger her and Shiro at the same time when she stops him with her own words.

"Think about what you're going to say," Trip tells him dully, "and if you still think it's a good idea to say it, don't."

He closes his mouth, violet eyes narrowed at her. Even he knew the concept of her being a tracker was far fetched. But with no other plausible options, it was the first thing he could think of.