Marked For Death | klangst

Three.

The Paladins diligently and meticulously readied themselves to enter the planet's atmosphere, double and triple checking their jetpacks to make sure they were working as they should and inspecting their helmets several times over for any fissures or cracks. One by one, they arrived at the air lock, their faces grim with determination. Coran stood at the machine panel, his own face more solemn than usual.

As Lance -- the last to arrive -- stepped into the air lock, Coran shut the doors, saying, "Good luck, Paladins. Hopefully this all works out in our favor."

"Hopefully," Keith muttered, forgetting the linked communication in his helmet.

Pidge looked at him impassively. Her eyes were wide with wonder, a bit apprehensive about their mission. "If we just stick together like Allura said, we'll be fine," she said, repeating those same words in her mind to convince herself.

Coran nodded resolutely, faith shining in his eyes. "You have accomplished harder missions than this," he told them, gesturing outside of the air lock to the churning mass of colored mist and dust hiding the planet of Grumga. "This... This is like a walk in the park, yes? Is that the expression you Earthlings use?"

"Yeah," Lance replied. "Only this park wants to kill us."

Frowning, Coran responded, "Well, I suppose." Then, more cheerily, he said, "But you four will be fine! Good luck!" With that, he waved his hand pleasantly and started tapping on the controls. A voice rang through the air lock: T-minus ten ticks before hatch opens.

Lance braced himself, remembering when he was almost sucked into space without his suit to protect him. Keith had pulled him back through the hatch, though, saving his life.

T-minus five ticks before hatch opens.

Keith closed his eyes, recalling when he saved Lance's life before he was ejected into space. He would never forget that day -- the day that he held his hand and felt the fear radiate off of him. And all he had wanted to do was eradicate that fear from existence.

T-minus three ticks before hatch opens... Two... One... Hatch opening.

With a metallic groan, the air lock doors separating them from the rest of the galaxy opened, and the four Paladins leaped out, their jetpacks burning behind them. And they were in complete awe.

Even though they had seen some very strange and enticing planets before, there was something about Grumga that made the four go silent -- even Hunk, who was yelling how much he hated this mode of transportation. Maybe it was the way the light purple mist whirled and folded unto itself that struck a chord within them, causing their speechlessness. Perhaps it was the mesmerizing images that seemed to be forming before their very eyes, taking the shapes of loved ones and cherished memories.

Lance's heart ached again. He missed Earth; he missed his home. He missed his family and their comfort. He missed the palm trees he used to climb when he was little. He even missed the stray dog that visited the neighborhood every once and awhile. He had named it Gumbo.

Tears formed in Pidge's eyes. She saw her brother and her father, their smiles infectious. She could almost hear their voices calling to her, assuring her that everything would be alright in the end. "Dad," she whispered unconsciously. "Matt..." She leaned forward and her jetpack started to veer from everybody else.

"Pidge!" Hunk called in alarm. The Green Paladin's head snapped back in confusion, no longer advancing towards the image of her lost family.

"What?" she asked, the same confusion in her voice.

Hunk jetted his way to her, followed by Lance and Keith. "You were flying off by yourself... Did you see something?" Then, horror crossed his face. "Is your helmet broken?"