Chapter Text
"You know Mister McClain," I say as I walk past a suspicious looking garbage receptacle, its fellow recycling bin close beside it, "cadets only get in trouble for unsanctioned outings. As soon as a staff member accompanies them, there are usually no repercussions to be wary of." I smile as I continue down the corridor, slowing my step as I hear urgent whispering from the direction of the bins.
A moment later, there's some soft - then not so soft - clunks behind me, and a set of footsteps. Garrett groans, but his footsteps join in, sounding bigger and just a little off from McClain's.
"So where were you two headed?" I lower my voice, in case any of the patrolling officers are within earshot. I haven't actually logged an outing with any cadets, let alone these two after their disastrous sim attempt this afternoon, but it's unlikely that the typical patrollers would know that.
There's half a beat of weighty silence as if the two are having a conversation via facial expression, but then McClain draws breath to speak. "Team bonding," he says. "We were gonna find P-" They both freeze, one slim hand snaking out to grab my sleeve and tug me back. I turn easily, taking a few steps to be out of the intersection of corridors, and I hear a door whirring open accompanied by a muted jangling sound. McClain's eyebrows are furrowed as he peeks around the corner. "Where's he going?"
My eyes meet Garrett's momentarily, and I can tell that although the bigger boy is nervous about the 'outing' he is also curious.
"Your communications teammate?" I ask, guessing. McClain creeps forward around the corner, his actions incredibly overdramatic. I roll my eyes at the antics. We've talked about stuff like this.
Garrett lands a hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, I'd apologize for him but uh, he's not sorry."
"Oh, I know," I murmur, offering him a brief smile. I slide my hands into my pockets as we follow McClain, my fingers brushing over Escalus' communicator unit. It's cool, no urgent heat spot. We haven't talked in a few weeks, not really talked about anything of importance. She's been spending a lot of time in the library, even when it's not her shift, or on the computers at home, but I can't think of what project might have claimed her attention this time.
McClain is peeking through the window of an access door when we catch up to him. He whips his head around, guilt painting his face, but it clears when he sees that it is us. "Pidge is being SUPER duper suspicious," McClain says in a conspiratorial tone, leaning in and snagging Garrett's shoulder to draw him in to a huddle. "He just went outside. On the roof!"
I puff out a sigh, shaking my head. "Seriously Lance? Everything you've told me about your teammates, and this is what you choose to label suspicious?" He shrinks for just a second before shrugging with his whole body.
"I don't know man- ma'am, everything about Pidge is suspicious, this is just like... super suspicious." He seems earnest, so I resist picking at his word choice again. We're not in a session, and I'm off shift. He's entitled to his fun. "Aaanyways, he just went out on the roof? And now he's just sitting out on the far edge. I say, we go grill 'im."
Garrett shrugs as he opens his mouth, but McClain takes the shrug as answer and runs with it - or rather, spins around to pull at the door. It doesn't budge. I step forwards, slipping my staff card off from the edge of my pocket where it's clipped. With a pointed glance at McClain, I wave the card in front of the access pad and gently tug the door open. We pile out onto the roof, and Gunderson doesn't move. It looks like they're wearing headphones or a headset.
"Go ahead, I'm going to hang back a little bit so you can discuss whatever you want. Don't worry, I've got plenty of my own stuff to focus on." McClain frowns, glancing between me and Gunderson, so I reach out and grab hold of his shoulder, turning him in the direction of his teammate and pushing him into motion. "Get moving!"
He half stumbles, but catches his stride soon enough. He gestures Garrett onwards then shoves his hands into his jeans pockets, shoulders slouching forwards a touch. Rebellion, in one of its most harmless forms. I shake my head with a smile. I'm not interested in correcting his stance, not right now.
I continue walking until I get about halfway between the door and Gunderson's position, then stop. Raising my arm a little, I push back my sleeve far enough to tab my wrist computer on. The holodisplay takes a moment to pop up, so I take that moment to check how well I can hear the cadets. McClain's voice is easy, his tone almost musical as it rises and drops within each statement he makes. His Spanish upbringing still shows through in that characteristic more than any others.
Gunderson is loud enough for me to make out most of their words - especially when they reprimand Garrett for trying to touch whatever technology they've lugged up here. Garrett himself doesn't seem to be saying much, so picking up his voice is irrelevant.
The display is up, and the static has cleared. I connect in to our home computer array, skimming over what Escalus has been working on. She's pulled up various calendars several times today alone, like she's looking for something or trying to verify a date.
I stop fiddling with my wrist computer when I hear Gunderson mention alien radio chatter and start paying more attention, but it isn't until they mention 'Voltron' that I spin to look at the trio, pulling the comm unit from my pocket. I think... I think I know why my friend was checking through our calendars. "Escalus," I say breathlessly, knowing from the green light on the unit that my friend is already listening. "You said it would be today, right? That- that date from the cave." She sucks in a breath, and I start striding towards the trio. "Get the go bags, put the expansion on the bike and meet us on the east side of the compound." I ignore her 'us?' as I approach the cadets. "We should-" I start, but I'm cut off by the alarm and ensuing orders for students to stay in the barracks.
The trio are still, staring across the desert, then Garrett turns and points to where something is falling through the atmosphere. They all burst into exclamation, nearly talking over each other as Gunderson whips out a pair of binoculars. McClain grabs them over Gunderson's hands, lifting both the binoculars and his teammate.
"That's not one of ours," he says, sounding excited.
"So, wait-" Garrett is clearly getting agitated, and his next words show that fear has overtaken his previous curiosity. "There really are aliens out there?!"
"We've got to see that ship," Gunderson declares as they start shoving their tech back into their massive backpack. They stand and spin about, ready to bolt back to the doors at McClain's side, but they freeze when they see me. "Uhh..."
McClain glances over his shoulder, towards where the ship crashed. "Are you gonna escort us to our rooms?" he asks, his tone defensive enough that I know that's what he expects of me.
My smile grows as I shake my head, quickly sweeping my gaze over all three of them. Gunderson is daring to hope for an unhindered excursion to the crash site, Garrett is fretting over the people he chooses to spend his time with, and McClain is nearly bouncing in place, excitement running through his body. "Don't you want an experienced staff member along on this... extension of your team bonding event?"
McClain whoops quietly, running past me to the door with Gunderson at his side. "Hunk, come on!" he urges.
Garrett looks ready to drop to his knees in despair. "Worst team bonding exercise ever," he moans, but starts moving anyways.
I clap a hand to his shoulder, grinning at him. "Well, at least you've got an adult this time, right?" He turns his head to look at me while we walk at a quick but comfortable pace while the other two are stuck by the door, waiting for my access card. I'm not certain what he sees in my eyes, but he doesn't groan and complain any more, so I must be reassuring enough.
I don't know what we're going to find at the crash site, and I know that Escalus and I have prepared sufficiently for a variety of possibilities, but I can't help but wonder if we'll really be ready for what we find. Unlikely. Either way, it is sure to be an adventure.