"I think it is time we had a discussion."

The lions pulled into the open bay, entering in pairs on opposite sides. Behind them, Keith's small Galra craft led the way for Lotor's ship into the bay, with the Blade of Marmora's ship bringing up the rear in case Lotor tried anything. Keith guided Lotor's ship to a stop at the center of the bay and only once he saw the Paladin's exit their lions did he signal him to land.

All of the Paladin's had their bayards at the ready as Shiro took the lead. He hoisted himself up so that he was standing above the cockpit of the ship, with Lance and Hunk following close behind. Once Hunk and Lance had their bayards aimed at the cockpit, Shiro motioned for permission to open up. The glass cover released, spewing pressurized air as it lifted up to reveal Lotor watching them with a small smile and his hands raised obediently. Shiro jumped into the cockpit and pulled his arms behind him, twisting them behind his back. He pushed him forward to exit the craft, and Lance and Hunk kept their weapons aimed on him from both sides. Allura and Pidge brought up the rear, soon joined by Keith and Kolivan.

In this formation they led Lotor up to the bridge where Coran had restraints ready. Shiro led him to the Black Paladin's chair and Coran restrained him as soon as Shiro let him go. Soon enough, he was tightly restrained to the chair by his wrists, ankles and waist. Shiro stood in front of him with his arms crossed, flanked by the other paladin's. "Okay. What is it you want to talk about?"

"It is such a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Paladin's of Voltron." Lotor smiled at them as his eyes passed between each of them, lingering on Allura. He gave her a short bow. "Princess Allura, it is an honor."

"Enough with your flattery." Allura glared viciously, standing tall to assert her dominance over him. "Speak your words so that I can get you off my ship."

Lotor let out a chuckle. "You all are as hasty as ever, I see. You have not changed much from our first meeting."

"What do you want?" Shiro's firm voice forced Lotor to give him his attention. There would be no formalities here. They would get to the point and then throw Lotor to the wolves of the Galra Empire who were searching for him.

"I have a proposition for you." Lotor met Shiro's eyes, attempting equality with the man despite his restraints. "It is a deal that will benefit the both of us greatly."

"What are you offering?" Shiro inquired, not breaking eye contact. He didn't trust this man as far as he could throw him. Making a deal with the Prince of the Galra? He had to have quite the offer for that to sound like a good idea.

"Information. Valuable information that will both aid and quicken your conquer of the Galra Empire." Lotor's smile finally faded, asserting his seriousness on this matter. "In return, I would like to fight alongside your coalition against my father, under the protection of your Voltron."

"Are you kidding me?" Lance glanced at the others to see if they were even listening to this. "That's the worst lie I've ever heard. Why would you want to help us? This is probably some ploy to get you in here so you can take over the castle and kill us all!"

"If I wanted you all dead, I would have allowed you all to die moments ago with the destruction of Naxzela. It certainly would have ended your little coalition." Lotor only broke eye contact to look at Lance, almost sneering his response. "But instead, I chose to spare you. In return, I am offering you valuable information as well as aid, and all you have to do in return is provide protection, as you already do with all of your allies."

"Why are the Galra trying to kill you?" Shiro drew his attention back to him. "What did you do?"

"My father has regained his rule on the throne, deeming my reign a 'black spot' on the Empire's reputation. He felt I was moving against the Empire and sent out a warrant for my death." For the first time, Lotor's demeanor seemed slightly disappointed as he spoke these words, but it was fleeting. "Every Galra in the Empire is out for my head, so what better than to join forces with another who is on the Galra blacklist?"

"How do we know you're not just here to be a spy and report everything back to your generals, or something?" Hunk proposed a question that many of them were thinking.

"I no longer have any communication with anyone in the Empire." Lotor's statement was firm, and he finally broke eye contact with them, looking mildly downcast. "I realize that it is fairly natural for you not to believe me. I assure you that my assistance will be incredibly valuable to your cause. I have vast knowledge of the inner workings of the Empire that you cannot acquire from any other source. I would like to offer you two pieces of information to sway your decision, if you'll have it."

"And what information is that?" Shiro wasn't going to be easily persuaded. This information would have to help them an incredible amount for it to be worthwhile.

"Two locations. One is a major Galra hub just a short distance east from here. If you manage to overthrow the hub, you will cut off Galra support to a large quadrant of outposts to the Northeast. The remaining Galra rule in that quadrant is scarce due to a lack of useful resources. If you conquer the area, it should greatly expand your small territory." Lotor sounded confident enough in this information, but the Paladin's listened with skepticism. "The second location is an information outpost. I believe the information you gather there will be helpful to you, as well as much sought after. "

Lotor glanced at the Blade of Marmora when he said that. "I highly suggest using stealth when you reach the information outpost."

"If you are willing to give us this information before we make a deal with you, what would be the benefit of us agreeing to your terms?" Allura pointed out.

Lotor allowed a charming smile at her words. "Princess, the Galra rule over almost the entire known Universe. Giving you these two locations will not hurt Zarkon for long, but if you agree with my proposition, not only can i give you the location of every major hub in the Galra Empire, but I can inform you of where to attack where it will hurt them the most. I will guide you directly to where they will be hurt the most. We Galra have many sources of power, you see, and we keep those places hidden well."

"This sounds like a trap." Keith stepped forward from where he had been listening beside Kolivan. "He's planning on sending us right into Galra hands. They could be waiting for us out there already."

"Yeah, this all sounds way too good to be true." Lance sided with Keith. "I mean, get in the castle, send us all out to die, take over the castle, boom, no more coalition. This sounds a lot like that."

"We already have a Galra finder." Pidge piped up. "We don't need him to tell us where to find Galra."

"But let's say what he claims is true." Coran chimed in a little sheepishly, knowing that his consideration of the proposal would be the unpopular opinion. "We could defeat the Galra hub and greatly expand our territory overnight depending on how vast the hubs areas of protection are. It would be a major victory for the Coalition and bring in countless allies. Not to mention, if we accept his offer, and he does give us the location of more Galra bases, we will be able to free much larger areas much more quickly."

"Coran is right. We can't disregard the possibility of it being true." Shiro brought a hand to his chin as he considered the options. "But it's also just as possible for it to be a trap, but if it is, we can prepare for that. Lotor, you said you would give us those locations in order to sway us. What are the coordinates?"

"Wait, wait, wait. We're really agreeing to this?" Hunk looked between Shiro and Allura, beginning to question their decision making skills. "This is the Prince of the Galra we're talking about here!"

"We're not agreeing just yet." Shiro reassured him. "But I think it's worth checking out these locations to see if what he's saying is true. If it is, there could be some value in keeping him around."

"Shiro, you know I am not comfortable making deals with Galra." Allura's tone was warning. "The Blade's are an extreme exception, but trusting Lotor? I cannot comprehend the sense in that."

"Relax." Shiro lowered his arms and turned to address them all. "We're not making any kind of agreement right now. We should check out these locations and see if what he claims is true. We'll be prepared if it's a trap. If it isn't, then it'll be a huge victory for the Coalition. We can't pass that up."

The team's silence was tense, but they didn't disagree with him. They knew well enough that passing up an opportunity to liberate such a large area so quickly would be foolish. But it was equally foolish to fall straight into a trap.

Shiro took their silence as a go ahead and turned back to Lotor. "All right then. What are the coordinates?"