Not Giving Up

The Game is Afoot!

Beep, Beep!!! Pidge lazily rolls over, squinting at her laptop on the dresser. Huh, that was fast, too fast, in fact, the program shouldn't be done yet. Damnit! She groans and sits up, stretches and walks over to the laptop. She grabs it along with a coke from the mini fridge she installed in the room. As she makes herself comfortable again on the bed, she realizes the program analyzing the communication lines IS still running. Okay, she thinks that makes sense. She pulls up more windows and that's when she notices that the beeping was caused by a completely different program, the energy mapping program.

Pidge looks over the numbers and thinks that Kolivan's Chief of Engineers personal room is pulling in a lot of power. Like crazy amounts. Brow furrowed, she starts to compare the ship's specs with the numbers she is seeing here, to try and determine what could use that much power. She thinks, this can't be right. It's like he's powering a space cannon or siphoning off power for ...what?? Why would he need that much power and while she recognized that she jumping to conclusions here, it was suspicious. But more curiously, he shouldn't even be ABLE to draw that much power to his room. It should overload the circuits. She had to upgrade Keith's whole grid just to plug in the mini fridge and extra lights!

She frowned, it was possible it was a coincidence of some sorts, but Pidge doesn't believe in coincidences. What could be using that amount of power? Perhaps he's using it to run a separate communication line...but even that doesn't account for the energy being expended. She texts Krolia and Kolivan asking for more pillows and blankets, hoping they will realize she wants them to come over. She doesn't want to text anything that if intercepted would blow their cover.

After sending the text, she looks up and yells, "Keith, you okay?" He's been in the bathroom a while and she hoped he wasn't getting sick. She hears a thump and a "YES!"

She shakes her head and thinks, okay, if you say so. She gets a terse reply from Kolivan, "Sure Princess". She groans, she really doesn't want to be called princess! That's Allura's nickname definitely doesn't fit her.

Speak of the devil...Allura messages her, <how are things?>

<Fine>

<Anything fun happen> Pidge wonders at the question, what on Earth? This wasn't a vacation.

<No, I may have found a thread to pull on that blanket I am knitting> Damn, that was vague. Hopefully someone is around so she can ask what that means. She smiles and chuckles softly.

"Keith, I need you!" She wanted to go to the bathroom and get dressed before his mom gets here. She puts her stuff to the side and grabs her sweats and knocks on the door. "Keith?"

The door opens as soon as she knocks and she reaches a hand out to feel his forehead. He looks nonplussed, "What are you doing?"

Pidge turns red, "Um, just making sure you are ok, so I was feeling your head to see if you were you know, feverish. My mom does it all the time so (pushing past him) get used to it." Closes door and says loudly, "Your mom and Kolivan are on their way over."

THUNK.

"Keith?"

"I'm fine!"

*********Skip**********

Everyone is in the room (with all her interference up and running) so they are able to freely talk. For a minute Pidge was confused, when Krolia hugged her tightly and said something about kits? But then Keith raises his voice and tells his mom "Not Yet!"

She was quickly dropped and Kolivan asked what was going on. She wanted to ask Krolia what she meant but figured, what the hell. She went over the information about power grids, what possible causes and finally wrapped up with the possibility of the communication mapping that still was not complete yet. Kolivan was stoic when faced with the possibility that his Chief of Engineers was the traitor but since he's so good at seeming unsurprised she couldn't be sure, if he actually was.

Kolivan brought up the idea that they should have a few plans put in place. They went over different options with Keith being annoyingly overprotective. Finally, Pidge told him he had to stop. He started to argue, when Krolia interrupted and asked him if he trusts his mate. Keith tried to argue, when his mom just again repeated the question. Keith blushed but nodded. Pidge sighed in relief (while also blushing). Kolivan turned to her and asked what plan she thought would work best. Pidge was actually surprised he asked her but thought about it from a few different angles. She figured that once the tests were done, she could hack into his personal accounts and see if she could find anything. Then agreed upon three contingency plans depending on what they found also coming up with a few phrases that would indicate which plan they were going forward with. Plan agreed upon Krolia and Kolivan stand to leave.

Kolivan actually brought her blankets which made her smile and while this was still a job, she couldn't help but be happy she was here with Keith. Reflecting on all the time she missed with him she was glad to be working by his side again, vowing to herself never again will she stay quiet and be mad in silence.

As they went to leave and Keith said he was going to wrap up a few things and would be back soon. Poof! Cosmo was on the bed with Pidge and Keith smiled, "Stay and take of care my girl." Pidge rolled her eyes but it didn't really bother her. She was going to snoop around the mainframe so she figured she had time before Keith got back, not that he minded when she worked in bed. She got to work with a smile on her face and a space dog cuddled to her side.

Keith on the other hand, was busy explaining why he still hadn't asked Pidge to marry him yet. Kolivan said he 'needed to claim his mate' before something happened in the case and things got busy. His mom was a little more direct, asking him if he was afraid. He scoffed, afraid. At that point Krolia pulled him in her room, sitting him down.

Krolia started, "Galra often claim mates roughly sometimes in or after battle. One states their intent and the other does as well. Our world is fraught with danger and it is not like on Earth. Your father, he, he was kind and brave. But I didn't understand why he valued the asking part. But now, after seeing more humans, and talking to Colleen I understand better. This is a true union - two parts agreeing to make this commitment.  And is just as much her vowing to you as it is you vowing to her. Do it while you can." Keith nods, "I understand. Mom honestly, I planned on asking her when she said that you guys were coming by!"

Meanwhile, While Pidge had time she also decided to create a few traps within the mainframe system as well as a few other programs. She loved to create back door systems and booby traps. These aliens don't know what's going to hit them.

Next Day

Pidge opens her laptop and is hit with a ton of messages and alerts. Pidge opens the first, from anon. It's a grainy picture, of Keith and Acxa in front of her room, then a multitude of shots showing Keith going into her room and her hand on his back. Then it rounds out with him leaving her room looking like his hair is disheveled and it ends with a moody face Acxa looking after Keith as he walks away.

Well hell.