"I still don't think you should have gone alone," Zethrid's voice said over the comms. "Who knows what could happen on this waterball."

"Hey, this might be a waterball, but it's Acxa's waterball!"

"Would you two knock it off?"

"Come on, Acxa. How did your dad's species even develop terrestrially with all this water around?"

"We're literally in a desert right now, Ezor. There's no water anywhere near us aside from a few small underground springs and whatever nearby humans are carrying."

"And there aren't many of those around either," Ezor snorted.

"That would be why dad had us out here," Acxa said, killing the power on the land speeder and hopping off. She took in the condition of the shack as she walked around from the back. "You sure no one's here?"

"Positive, why?"

"The place looks lived in." She stepped around to the front, taking in a replaced floorboard, the sand trails left by the door opening, and her mother's old rocking chair, which looked far too clean and cared for for being left outside. "I would have thought they'd abandon the place after we left."

"Good. It will be easier to track down your father," Zethrid said.

"Hopefully. That school's gotten bigger since we've left. They might be using it for something now. It's probably a good thing you guys didn't come."

"You should have at least brought Ezor."

"I'll be fine."

Acxa pushed into the shack and looked around. Not much had changed over the years. Her dad's board had been covered with a sheet, the cover on the futon her and Alicia used to sleep on was gone, and some curtains had been pinned up over the windows, but otherwise everything seemed just as she remembered it.

She slipped into the small side room her parents had shared and opened up the trunk they'd kept clothes in. There were a few things damaged by time, but she managed to dig out a few of her mother's clothes that were alright enough. They were a bit big, but the jeans could be held up by a belt and the baggy shirt hid the dagger she tucked into the waistband. Her armor was tucked into a backpack with her blaster sitting right on top, then she slung the bag over her shoulder.

She checked her appearance in the dusty mirror hanging on the wall. She had shifted her skin to the olive tone she and her mother had used on earth so when she pulled on her mother's hat to hide her crests and ears, she looked like a proper human. Or close enough at least to not raise questions.

She grabbed her comm from where she'd set in on the bed while changing and slipped it back in her ear.

"That's it I'm going to get her!"

"She said - ACXA - to stay here! ACXA, CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

"I hear you," she snapped, rubbing her ear. "What's wrong?"

"You've got incoming. One lifeform, moving fast."

"Human?"

"As far as we can tell. Definitely bigger than anything else we've picked up here."

"How far out?"

"Half a dobosh at their speed. You should get moving."

"I'll take cover, but I'm not leaving," she said, moving out into the main room and peeked out through the window. She could just make out a small cloud of dust being kicked up by a vehicle. "If it's dad or Thea, I don't want to miss them."

"Alright, but we'll be ready to move on your position if things go bad."

"Just wait for my word. I might be able to handle it even if it isn't them." She grabbed a pair of boots and shoved her feet into them. They were a little small, but they'd do. As she pulled on the hat, she peeked outside again to see her father's old land speeder pulling up in front of the shack. It wasn't her father or sister that stepped off it, though the man was just as familiar.

She pushed open the door and stepped outside. "Uncle Takashi?"

He nearly dropped the bags he was carrying as he jumped and spun around to face her. "Who's th- Wait, Asuka? Is that really you?"

"Asuka?"

"Long time no see, Taka."

He smiled and ran over. He set his bags on the chair before pulling her into a hug. She was still a touch taller than him, she noticed. She wondered if it would still upset him like it did when they were kids.

"It's so good to see you. After… I never thought I'd see you again," he said.

"Neither did I. What are you doing here?"

"I've been staying here for the past couple months. Long story. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for dad. Another long story. Can you tell me how to find him?"

Takashi pulled back with a frown and Acxa felt something in her chest tighten.

"Asuka…"

"How?" she asked. It seemed losing family was going to be a common occurrence for the time. At least this one wouldn't be right in front of her and at the hands of someone else she had considered family. "How did it happen? When?"

"He got sick, a few years after you both left. He didn't make it. I'm sorry."

"And Thea?" She had to be alright. She couldn't lose her too.

"He's… alive. He's been going by Keith though."

He. She had a brother then. "Where is he?"

"That's complicated."

She raised an eyebrow as she watched him grab his bags. "You don't know where he is?"

"I do, mostly. He's just… not in a place where we could get ahold of him," Takashi said, stepping past her into the shack and not meeting her eyes.

"Could we go to him?"

"It's not that simple."

"Why? Is he out of the country? That won't be a problem."

"No, he-he joined the Garrison."

"Garrison? You mean that school that's near here?"

"Yes."

"Is he not allowed visitors? Surely they'd make an exception considering we haven't seen each other in almost sixteen d- years."

Takashi finally turned to face her with a confused frown on his face. "It's only been thirteen years since you guys left, hasn't it?"

Right, deca-phoebs were a touch shorter than Earth years. "Guess it's just felt longer. My point still stands."

"It's not that simple."

"Why not? Taka, what's going on? What aren't you telling me?"

"Keith's on a mission. In space."

Ezor snickered. "Your first time planetside in deca-phoebs and your brother's out there."

Acxa crossed her arms. "He's eighteen. He's not old enough to be on missions yet." Was he? Humans were considered adults at eighteen of their years, but they wouldn't send out someone barely of age, right?

Judging by the flinch he gave, the answer was no.

"What are you hiding, Taka?"

Takashi sighed and set the bags down before dropping onto the futon. He stared down at his hands for a moment then looked up at Acxa. "Where did you guys go after leaving?"

Acxa shrugged. "The East Coast. Florida. Why?"

"I just figured you went to space."

Acxa raised an eyebrow. "Mom was a self-defense instructor. Why would we go to space?"

"Because she was Galra."

"Ooooooh!"

"Hey, I thought you said they didn't know!"

"She did. Now shush! Things are getting interesting!"

"Galra?"

"Galra."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Right."

The two stared each other down.

"Come on, Asu," Takashi huffed, grabbing her wrist and tugging her towards him. "I think we both know what I'm talking about."

Acxa narrowed her eyes and sat down next to him. "How much do you know?"

"Probably not as much as you, but enough. Your mom was Galra."

"Half, but yes. How do you even know about the Galra?"

Takashi snorted. "Part of the long story." He pulled off one of the gloves he was wearing, revealing metallic fingers in place of his flesh ones. "We kind of had a run in."

Her fists clenched as purple energy flickered over the digits. "Druid design?"

"Unfortunately. Haggar's work from what little I remember."

"Zarkon's witch," Acxa growled. "But how? I've been keeping track of this area. No Galra ships have gotten anywhere near here except… Oh Takashi, that moon abduction. You were one of the humans taken, weren't you? I'm so sorry. If I had known…"

He shook his head and set his hand on her shoulder. "Don't, it's not your fault.

"How did you get back here? And what's this have to do with Ali-Keith?"

"How caught up on current events of the empire are you?"

"Up until a few movements ago, completely."

"So you've heard of Voltron."

Axca froze while Zethrid let loose a string of curses in her ears.

"Well that's not good," Ezor giggled nervously.

Acxa stood up to tower over her uncle. "Takashi Shirogane, you better not be about to tell me that you let my little brother become a Paladin of Voltron."

Takashi gave a crooked smile and rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know if let is the right word. I'd like to see you tell Keith not to do something, and get him to actually listen. He's got Lía's temperament and Akira's impulsiveness."

"So you just stood back and let him take off!"

"I didn't just stan-"

"You left him alone in space!"

"He's hardly alone, and it's not like I did it on pur-"

"Do you even realize how dangerous it is out there? Especially for Voltron!"

Images of Voltron disappearing into the rift and taking the blast from the Sincline ship danced past her eyes.

"Of course I do! Would you just let me t-"

"We could have killed him!"

"What?"

Acxa grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the shack. "Let's go! We're finding him right now!"

"Asuka, wait!"

"It'll be a long trip; you'll have plenty of time to explain yourself."

"Bu-"

She shoved him towards the old land speeder, then headed for her own. "Follow me."

"You haven't changed a bit," she heard Takashi grumble, but she ignored him.

"Woah, hold on, you can't honestly be thinking about flying right into Coalition territory," Ezor said as Acxa started up the speeder and took off.

"I like a good fight, but there's no way we can take on the entire rebel fleet and Voltron with just one ship."

"It's suicide."

"I can drop you guys off somewhere if you want, or steal another ship, but I am going to get my brother."

"Hey, we never said we'd leave. Just making sure you know how dangerous this sounds."

"And stupid."

"I'm not going to sit back and let him get himself killed."

For reference, Keith's birth name (Alicia) uses the Spanish pronunciation, hence the nickname Thea. Hope that didn't confuse anyone.