"Paladin Cadets, please report to the briefing room." Artemis looked up from her homework, confused. She moved anyway, marking where she was and standing.
She made her way to the briefing room, wondering what she was needed for.
She entered the room when she got there, nodding to Curtis and the other Bridge Officers when they filed out from the meeting they were in.
She was the first to arrive, unsurprisingly. Leo constantly had things he was working on, and was always researching something or looking through old scientific papers. Rex spent his time baking, Alex was probably coming from the training deck, and Sava was probably coming from where she was helping in the engine room.
Her parents, Lance and Keith Kogane, were there already, and they smiled as she walked in.
"Hey, mija. I hope you weren't too busy," Lance said. Artemis shook her head.
"No, I wasn't. I was working on some math homework," she replied. Kosmo teleported up to her, begging for pets. She caved in.
"Man, I suck at math," Lance commented.
"You do," Keith agreed. Lance gave him an indignant look. "What? You came to my room after we found Kuro and tried to work out how many Paladins we had even though it's the simplest thing in the universe." Lance huffed.
"I was struggling that day." Artemis chose to sit in her seat, ignoring her parents.
Leo came not too long after she did, Alex, Sava and Rex right behind him.
"Are we late?" He asked. Shiro shook his head.
"No, you're just in time," he said.
"Alright." The other four sat down.
"What did you need us for?" Alex, ever the leader, asked.
"There has been a request for help from a Coalition planet," Shiro began. He smiled at the confused looks that were shared around. "I'll hand this to you, Lance."
"Thank you, Shiro," Lance replied. He stood at the front of the table, screen behind him clear to see. An image of a planet appeared on the screen behind him. "Shaatull is a planet that's relatively new to the Coalition. Their culture is based around crystals, and they have some really interesting theories about Quintessence and relationships."
"You can talk about it later on, okay?" Keith said, a reminder. Not dismissing him entirely, an invitation to talk as much as he wanted to when they had time to talk about it.
"Right. Anyway, Shaatull has certain creatures. None of them are insanely dangerous, because it's not a death world like Earth, or New Altea or New Daibazaal. Recently the head of Shaatull, Lady Ravra, reached out to us and requested our help with a creature that has been terrorizing the planet. Or, that's what they say about it."
"What does this creature look like?" Leo asked, genuinely curious about this creature.
"This is what it looks like." The image of the planet disappeared, replaced with a few images that looked like it came from a security camera. Not the best quality, but it was enough to give them an idea of the creature. "This is the creature that has been causing so much panic." Pidge rested her head on her joined hands.
"It looks like some sort of cross between a cat, a fox, and a phoenix or something," she observed. Artemis looked closer at one of the clearest pictures and noted that she was right.
It was nothing like what Artemis had seen, and she'd seen a lot. Her dad had a cosmic teleporting wolf as a pet, her grandmother was Galra, and she was training to become a proper Paladin of Voltron.
The creature, from what she could see, was gorgeous. Its fur was and amber colour, and it had a white muzzle from what she could see. The white went from the muzzle to somewhere around it's stomach. The tail was only slightly bushy, almost as if it were a combination between a fox and a cat tail. It's paws, which were like a cat's paws, had white socks. It had wings, which went from the same amber as its fur where the wings were connected to an off white colour.
"It's beautiful," she commented.
"It is," Lance agreed.
"The Atlas crew is working on finding where it comes from. While we are working on that, you five are to go to Shaatull and trap the creature. Do not harm it. When we know where it comes from, we will release it and figure out ways to stop this from happening again, to protect the creature's species, and the ecosystems of other planets," Shiro said.
"Yessir!" The five Paladin Cadets said, in sync. Determination showed on their faces.
"This is your first mission. We will set up check-in times to keep updated on your progress and to help you wherever you may need it. However, apart from that, you will only have each other to depend on." The thought made Artemis... nervous.
"We'll go pack as soon as we can," Alex said.
"Go do that now. We will sort out the check-in times," Allura encouraged.
"I agree with Allura there," Shiro said.
Clearly dismissed, the five of them stood up and went to their quarters.
"This is so exciting!" Sava said. Leo shook his head.
"It might be tough but..."
"How long do you think it might take for us to be able to trap the creature?" Rex asked, nervous.
"Patience yields focus," Leo reminded them. It was something that Shiro told all of the children he knew - Keith, all of the Paladins, the first MFEs, and now them, the Paladin Cadets, and the MFE Cadets.
They split up, going to their individual ways to their rooms.
Artemis cast one look at her homework, still on her desk. She turned away from it to grab a duffle bag.
She set out to pack it, grabbing underwear, a couple of hoodies, some jeans and spare shirts. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste too, as well as her hairbrush, some basic skincare products, and her shampoo and conditioner.
She grabbed some of her electronics, too. Her phone, headphones, and a tablet and the pen that went with it, as well as the chargers for those things.
She didn't over pack, fortunately. And she remembered to put in her pajamas, too.
Her phone pinged. She grabbed it and checked the notification that appeared on the screen.
MISSION ALERT - PALADIN CADETS TO PLANET SHAATULL TO ASSIST WITH FORGEN CREATURE. DEPATURE DATE & TIME: 20/4 1300. REPORT TO LIONS IN ARMOR.
Artemis checked the time, noting that she was set to leave that afternoon after lunch. She double checked her bag, making sure she had everything then triple-checked it. Once she was satisfied that she had everything she needed, she left her room and went to the Lion hangar.
When she was younger, her parents would take her and Alex around the ship, showing them all of the different places. She was four or five when they first did that, and she still remembered how it felt to be around the lions.
They radiated power, each and everyone of them. Black radiated power that told anyone and everyone that she was in charge, that she could zap them all if she wanted but chose not to. Green radiated the sort of power that came with scientists; smart, desiring knowledge, and using what they had to do their part.
Blue radiated the same sort of power that came from the ocean. Calm, playful, even, but with deadly currents and the ability to go from calm to raging quickly. Yellow radiated kindness, a solid rock to lean on when needed, and dependent.
Red had always stuck out to her, though. The lion was known to be fierce, unpredictable and dangerous to those who didn't know her. Hotheaded and reckless. Yet when Artemis first looked at Red, the only thing she felt from the lion was protectiveness, warmth like what one expected from a fire on a cold night, or a campfire. She was an observer, observing and making moves that no one could predict when she needed to. A gentle fire that would flair up when it needed to, often in the heat of battle.
Despite that though, Red was still rather stubborn.
"Hey, girl. We're going on a mission! I thought that I'd bring my stuff here now so that I don't have to worry about it later," Artemis said. Red's particle barrier went down, and she bent down, her jaws opening to grant Artemis access.
"Mission?" Red asked.
"Yep. We're being sent out to trap this creature from a planet known as Shaatull. It's not meant to be there, you see, so we have to figure out where it comes from and get it back to its home," Artemis explained. She placed her bag down and made sure that it would be secure.
"When?"
"After I have some lunch," Artemis replied. She stepped out of Red's mouth and onto the floor of the hangar. She turned to press a hand to Red's nose. "You won't be doing much except for flying to Shaatull and back. Sorry, girl."
"It fine." Artemis nodded.
Apparently, as her bond with Red grew, the lion would be able to speak in complete sentences. The fact that she was able to even hear simple sentences from Red was nothing short of an achievement. Not even Leo, the technological genius of the team, could hear simple words. He could only hear Green's growls and purrs and understand how they were meant to be taken.
Artemis walked to the cafeteria and grabbed some lunch. Looking around, she could see Leo, Sakura, and Shiro and Adam sitting together. Artemis got the hit and went to find her family.
It was easy, considering the fact that the red and black of both of her parents uniforms stood out among the sea of orange.
She slid into the seat next to Alex.
"I'm kind of nervous," Alex said. He was picking at his food.
"Hey, it's okay, mijo. At least you won't mess up your first mission as badly as your dad did when he first became the Black Paladin."
"Hey, I was mourning the loss of my brother," Keith shot back.
"I know. At least I was there to reign you in, eh?"
"Gay," Pidge said as she passed, a tray of food in her hands.
"That's glaringly obvious, Pidgeon!" Lance replied, a grin on his face. Artemis looked towards her twin and sniggered. No one else in the cafeteria bothered to look up. The Paladin's close relationship was normal, now.
Silvio slid into the seat next to Alex.
"I heard about the mission," he said nonchalantly, biting into the garlic knot he grabbed.
"It's nerve-wracking," Alex said.
"Our mission to free Shay's Balmera was super nerve-wracking," Lance reminisced. "So much so that we teased Hunk about his obvious crush on Shay." Keith snorted.
"I very clearly remember the way Pidge called Shay his girlfriend," he said. Lance barked out a laugh.
"Man, those times were... much better than the rest of the war." A grimaced passed both of her parent's faces.
"The problem I have right now is what we're going to do to trap the creature," Artemis said, pulling both of her parents out of their thoughts before they got too far.
"Simple. Get its trust, then trap it in a cage," Lance told her.
"But it won't trust us after that," Artemis said, pouting.
"It'll be fine, Arti. We'll have to break its trust to get it safe." Artemis nodded.
They ate in silence after that. Then, as one, the Paladin Cadets got up and put their trays back. They left the cafeteria and went to the armory, where the Paladin armor was sitting, already out for all of them.
Artemis grabbed the red armor and the accompanying undersuit. Sava grabbed the blue one, Alex the black, Leo the green, and Rex the yellow.
They ducked into the changing rooms, changing out of their Cadet uniforms and into their armor. Artemis grabbed the red pin and put it into a hidden pocket.
She went back to the armory and grabbed the red bayard. She threw the black one to Alex, who caught it and stored it away in his storage bars. They handed the others their bayards, too.
Now fully ready, they walked to the lion hangar.
"Mijo, mija," Lance said. He walked up to them and wrapped them both up into a hug. She returned it.
"Alex, Artemis." Both twins pulled away to face their dad. He handed them something. "Your grandma left these with me last time." Alex and Artemis gasped when they realised what their dad was offering them.
Two Luxite blades, like the ones the Blade of Marmora carried. One had a black grip. It stood out against the blueish colour of the blade. The other one had a red grip.
"What-"
"They're both linked to your life forces. The red one is linked to Alex's life force, the black one is linked to Artemis'. I was waiting for your first mission to give these to you."
"He's had them for years, since you were babies. He decided to give them to you when you turned eighteen, but then you were both chosen by one of the lions, so he decided to give them to you before you went on your first mission," Lance explained. Artemis reached out and took the red blade.
It was perfect in her hand, the red grip comfortable in her hands. The symbol of the Blades glowed with Alex's life force, his Quintessence. She pulled it out of the sheath and turned it this way and that in the light. She put it back into the sheath and hugged her dad. Alex joined her.
"Thank you," she murmured.
"Anything for my children," Keith replied. Lance joined them.
Artemis waved goodbye to her parents from Red's jaw, then stepped inside. She sat in the pilot's seat and, when the doors opened, shot off into space just behind Black. A wormhole opened, and she flew through, right to Shaatull's solar system, and far away from the Atlas and her parents.
Shaatull, though, was a pretty planet from space. There was pink, and some green, and yellow, too.
"The pink is land, the green is water," Leo informed them.
"Alright. I've got the landing coordinates here, I'll send them to you guys," Alex said. His face went from the nervous look to focused. Artemis, knowing Alex like she knew the back of her hand, could see the nerves still there, in his eyes. "Everyone got them?"
"Yep," Artemis replied. She entered them into Red's system.
"Ditto," Rex said.
"I've got them," Leo confirmed.
"Me too," Sava piped up. Alex nodded.
"Alright, team, let's go." Black sped up, heading to the planet. Artemis urged Red forwards, matching the speed that her brother set for them. She could see Blue on her right, just behind her.
They entered Shaatull's atmosphere. The grass and the leaves of the trees were all different shades of pink, and the sky was a similar blur hue as Earth's sky was. There were clusters of something sparkling in clusters on the ground.
"This kind of reminds me of Barbie Land from that twenty twenty-three Barbie movie," Sava commented. There was laughter through the comms.
"Let's not let the Shaatullians hear that," Alex suggested.
"Wouldn't dream of it," Sava replied.
They landed in the designated landing area. A group of Shaatullians were waiting for them, ready to greet them.
"Alright, the atmosphere is safe for all of us to breathe. We can leave our helmets behind," Leo said.
"Let's do that, then," Alex agreed. Artemis stood up and took off her helmet, leaving it on her seat. She walked out of Red and onto the ground, falling in step just behind Alex.
The Shaatullians were an interesting people. They were mostly humanoid, but they weren't entirely so. They were tinted dark colours that contrasted with the landscape, and came in all different colours. Artemis counted four fingers on each hand. They wore loose clothing, like robes that people in the Middle East would wear, which were pale in contrast to their skin. They had long hair that was tied back, and they were decorated in crystals.
Alex led them up to a Shaatullian who was a deep purple. A pink crystal hung around their neck, glowing slightly.
"Paladin Cadets, it is an honor and a relief to have you on our planet," the Shaatullian, who Artemis guessed was Lady Ravra, greeted them.
"Lady Ravra, it is an honor to meet you as well. I do wish that the circumstances were much better than this, though," Alex said.
"As do I. Now come, follow me, we must discuss our options." Lady Ravra turned around and led them through an estate that was huge.
The walls and floors were made out of a marble-like material, and there were crystals everywhere. In the chandeliers, in the artworks and arches of the hallways. Crystal statues, and crystal columns. Artemis looked around in awe, unable to tear her eyes away from anything in fear of missing anything.
"You can explore later," Leo reminded her. She nodded, and turned to face the front.
They came to a room that housed a crystal table made of some sort of brown crystal. The chairs, thankfully, were made of wood.
"Please, have a seat," Lady Ravra said. They sat down at the rounded table, Artemis on Alex's right, Sava on her right. Leo and Rex were on Alex's left.
Lady Ravra introduced them to her councilors, all of whom nodded in reply. In turn, Alex introduced each of them.
"So, about this creature?" Alex prompted. Lady Ravra nodded.
"Yes. This creature came on a trade ship. We have made sure that the people who have brought it to our planet have paid their fine for doing such a thing, but no one knows where the creature came from," Lady Ravra said. Alex nodded.
"Fortunately, the Atlas' scientific crew is searching for the creature's home. If all goes well, then we will be able to trap the creature and take it back to it's home planet," he explained.
"How do you plan on trapping it?" A councilor asked.
"We'll have to get the creature to trust us, which will take some time. We have a cage that we can trap the creature in when we get to that part, though it will be a while until we can do that," Artemis explained.
"So you wish to release it in its home world?" Lady Ravra asked.
"Precisely. And, with the information we receive about the creature, we can properly document it and enforce rules and regulations surrounding it to keep something like this from happening again," Leo added on to Artemis' explanation. There were murmurs as the plan was discussed by the councilors and Lady Ravra. Finally, she stood up.
"Paladin Cadets," she said. Her voice was clear, with a hint of a sound that was like crystals clinking against each other. "We will provide you with anything you may need in order to capture the creature. We trust that you will be sure to capture it." Alex stood up.
"We promise to help with this issue, and bring your planet back to stability," he said, using his Black Paladin voice. Authoritative, sure and steady.
This declaration closed the meeting, and the five of them were led to the rooms that they would be staying in. Someone had gone in and grabbed their things, because Artemis' things were at the end of her bed. Sava's things were at the end of another bed, right next to the one that Artemis had been given.
As soon as she was inside of their room, Artemis stripped off the armor. She didn't throw it anywhere, instead choosing to piled it up into a corner. She grabbed her spare clothes and put them on. She could hear Sava doing the same as her. Once they were done, they sat on their respective beds. Sava scanned the platter of food left for them.
"Safe for us to eat," she said. She grabbed a strawberry looking thing. Artemis grabbed a pastry thing. It was sweet when she bit into it, perfectly satisfying her giant sweet tooth that she'd inherited from her dad.
There was a knock on the door.
"Arti? Sav?" Leo called through the wood.
"Come in," Artemis said. Leo opened the door and walked in, followed by Alex and Rex. Leo sat on a chair while Alex joined Artemis on her bed, and Rex sat on the floor.
"You can sit on a chair, you know," Sava pointed out to him. Rex shrugged.
"The floor's comfortable," he replied.
"Check-in time, let's go," Leo said. He set up the communicator, they all crowded around it.
A holographic screen appeared, showing the faces of the Paladins. Artemis watched as worry disappeared from her parent's faces like ripples in water.
"How's it going?" Shiro asked. Right to the point.
"We came out of a meeting with Lady Ravra and her council not too long ago. They explained that the creature came in on a trade ship, though no one's sure when it got on," Alex reported. There were nods.
"The team is researching on where it comes from, but so far it's proved to be fruitless," Pidge told them. "Coran has been sent the images of the creature, and he has a team looking into it. Hopefully, with our combined efforts, we will be able to figure this out."
"We'll start searching for the creature in the morning," Alex said. Looking out the window, Artemis saw that the sun was setting.
"That's a good idea," Lance agreed, also eyeing the window that he could see.
They talked a bit more before signing off. The boys retreated to their room, and Artemis climbed into her bed.
"G'night," she mumbled.
"Night," Sava replied.
____________
The next morning, when she woke up, Artemis stretched and went to the bathroom. She showered and changed, threw her hair up into a ponytail and let Sava use the bathroom after her.
They were given breakfast by a servant. Artemis ate her fill, and left the rest for Sava, who ate her own fill after she came out of the bathroom wearing casual clothing as well.
They went to meet up with the boys afterwards.
"The best thing for us to do is to split up and search for the creature. It'll give us a better chance at spotting it," Alex said. He was typing something out on his phone, probably a message to the Atlas about what they were doing. "The creature has been spotted here multiple times, trying to steal food, so that's where we're going to start our search. Feel free to buy yourselves something while we're here."
"Alright," Leo said. They were standing not too far from where the market was, and even from here, Artemis could see all of the people milling around. Mothers with babies strapped to their backs, children chasing each other, and men talking to each other.
It was so interesting, and Artemis had always been one to learn about culture. Exploring a market place was perfect for learning about the Shaatullian culture.
"Lady Ravra gave me some maps. There's enough for all of us to have one each. Artemis, you take this area. Leo, you take this part. Rex, you take this one. Sava, you take this one. I'll search here." Alex pointed out each part. Artemis took one of the paper maps from her brother and a pen from her backpack and outlined her area. The others did the same on their maps, handing the pen back to her once they were done. "Meet back here before dinner time. Lady Ravra has invited us to eat with her."
"Copy that," the four of them said in unison.
They split up after that and went to find their areas. Once Artemis found the start of her area from where she'd entered, she started to explore and search for the creature.
The Shaatullians were rather fond of bright colours, she noticed. All of the stalls sold things like jewelry and scarves and clothing all in different shades, as well as some food. Curious about the culture, Artemis bought some candy. The candy tasted good, and they were in the shape of crystals.
Papa wasn't lying when he said that the Shaatullians find crystals important, she thought as she watched a mother buy her child their first piece of jewelry. Artemis couldn't help but smile at the child's happy expression as their mother helped them put it on. The vendor smiled as well.
"Come and get Soul Crystals here! Perfect gift for married couples and parents!" One of the vendors shouted. Artemis stopped, thinking about it. She was... intrigued, to say the least. And her papa would love to have a souvenir from this planet.
Artemis turned and walked to the booth.
The booth was covered in those simple crystal necklaces that Artemis had noticed everyone wearing, all of which glowed slightly, like Lady Ravra's. None of these ones glowed, though they came in all different kinds of colours. Pink, purple, blue, green, red and many others. The vendor grinned when they saw her.
"Well, hello there, traveler! May I interest you in a Soul Crystal for your significant other? Or perhaps as a gift for your parents?"
"What do they do?" She asked, eyes roving over the crystals.
"Well, these are an ancient tradition among our people. They are linked to two people's Quintessence. It allows for couples to feel each other's emotions, as well as acts as a compass of sorts for them, so that they always know where each other are, and how they are feeling."
"Is that why they glow?" She questioned. The vendor nodded.
"Precisely," they said.
"How much would it be to get a couple for my parents?"
"Fifty VIC," the vendor replied.
I have a few hundred VIC in my wallet, she thought.
"Buy. Lance like," Red said.
"Keep it a secret from him," Artemis said.
"Yes. Secret. Surprise." Artemis pulled out her wallet and pulled out a 100 VIC note.
"Here," she said, handing the money over.
The vendor took the note.
"Now, just close your eyes, and search for the crystals that match your parents. It's easier for those who have Quintessence sensitivity." Artemis closed her eyes, feeling for something that matched her parents. She opened her eyes and looked at the crystals her Quintessence sensitivity helped her zero in on.
"Those two, that blue one with white swirls and that red one that has gold in it, those match perfectly," she said, pointing to the crystals. They were on a basic black string. The blue one looked like the ocean, while the red one looked like fire.
The vendor boxed them up and tied the boxes with a ribbon without question.
"I wish your parents wonderful and fulfilling life, Young One," the vendor said. Artemis nodded.
She left the vendor after that and wandered around some more. The crystals she bought were in her bag, waiting to be given to her parents.
She continued around the market. She bought some fresh meat and some fruit for the creature to eat when she came across it. Part of gaining its trust was to give it food, which was a universal sign of 'I'm not here to fuck you up' with all species, not just people.
There was a commotion. Artemis looked over to see it.
The creature, which was the size of a cat that was somewhere between being an adult and a kitten still. It was trying to get some meat, but was being chased off by a vendor.
Artemis leapt into action. She ran after the creature, following along as it flew through the air and ran on buildings. She never took her eyes off of it, which caused quite a few close calls with other people.
"Hey, watch it!" One yelled.
"Sorry, gotta chase this creature," she shouted.
She ran around a corner, using her arm to turn more accurately. She used the momentum to keep going.
She followed the creature out of the market and to a dilapidated house on the outskirts of the city. It flew in, and Artemis followed, slowing down do not scare it.
The house was made of the same stone as the other houses were, but the crystals that adorned them were missing. Artemis stepped over a chunk of rock that had fallen from the ceiling and into the room. Dust and rocks covered the ground. Artemis saw the creature in a corner. It yowled at her, wings and fur puffed up to make it look larger.
"Hey, it's okay, I don't want to hurt you," she said. She crouched down and sat on the floor, making herself smaller, less intimidating as much as she could. "You're hungry, aren't you? That's why you were trying to take that meat from that guy."
The creature growled at her, still untrusting. Slowly and clearly, so that the creature could see what she was doing, she pulled out the meat from the bag the vendor had given her. She held up a chunk of the slightly green meat - the colour reminded her of the description of dragon meat or whatever it was Hagrid has used as an ice pack in The Order of the Phoenix.
"Here, I got this especially for you," she said. She chucked it to the creature, as far as she could. The creature crept forward and sniffed the meat. It took it and went back to its corner, chewing on the meat. Artemis took out her phone and snapped a picture, sending it to the others and the Paladins and Shiro.
Artemis: I've found the creature.
Artemis: It eats meat.
Artemis: Click to see image.
Shiro: Good job. We'll pass on the picture and the information.
Pidge: It's even prettier than the security pictures show.
Alex: Save the location of where it's staying so that you can find it later.
Alex: It'll be better for you to be the one to capture it in the end.
Artemis: Already on it.
She saved the location on her phone and looked up. She saw that the creature was looking at her, having eaten the meat she gave to it.
"Here, have some more. You need to eat all you can so that you don't starve. I'd rather be able to take you back to your home than have you die," she said. She grabbed more meat and chucked it over to the creature. It grabbed that meat, too. Artemis chucked over the rest of the meat and stayed there. She stayed there until an hour and a half before dinner.
The creature watched her with wary eyes.
"I'll be back with more food tomorrow, and a bowl. I'll be able to give you water without having to force you to get too close if you don't want to." She turned to leave. Before she was our from under the door, she turned back to smile at the creature. "Bye." She walked away from the house.
____________
True to her word, she set out to the house that the creature lived in the next day. She packed her electronics into her backpack along with some lunch and some meat and water, then set out. She went and bought a couple wooden bowls, and made her way back to the house.
The creature was still there. It growled softly, a warning to not come any closer.
"Hello, pretty. How are you today?" The creature growled again. Artemis nodded. "Fair enough. I've brought some bowls with me, so I can put your food in there as well as some water. You don't have to worry about coming too close to me anymore." As she told the creature about the bowls, she pulled them out, and poured some water in one. She set it on the ground, not too far from the creature, not too close. She then took the meat and put it into the other bowl. She set that down next to the water bowl.
She walked to the opposite side of the the room compared to the creature, the bowls halfway between them. She got herself comfortable and put on some music, using her headphones. She started to draw on her tablet.
She sketched out the creature, capturing it's beauty on a canvas. It moved forward to sniff the bowls. It realised that she wasn't trying to kill it and watched her. Artemis watched it herself, and smiled as the creature ate the meat and drank some of the water before hopping up onto it's perch.
She grabbed her phone and opened the voice recordings.
"Day two of taming the... creature. We don't know what it is still, but it's beautiful. I'd say that it's the same as a kitten that's nearing the same size as a fully grown cat from Earth. I've given it some meat, and some water. They're both in a bowl so that it doesn't have to come too close to me if it doesn't want to. I'll continue to do this until I can get close to it without it panicking and trying to murder me."
She went back to her drawing when she finished the log.
Pidge: We've found out what the creature is.
Pidge: It's called a Refr, and it's from Hvalba, which is an extremely new planet, only having sentient life within the last 357 years.
Artemis: Seems like a cool place tho.
Pidge: It is.
____________
"Day twenty of taming the Refr, who I have discovered in a girl. She's friendly now, and she has let the others get close to her. That's as long as I'm here, though. No one can get close to her without her trying to maim them if I'm not around. She trusts me enough to keep her safe from danger if it ever arises. That's... that's the same level of trust Dad and Kosmo have. I don't know if we're going to be able to actually release her onto Hvalba, but it's worth a shot." She finished the log and looked at the Refr.
"Mrow?" The Refr asked. Artemis smiled.
"I'm going to go now, girl. I have to get back to my friends before it's too dark," she said. She stood up and packed her things into her bag and then set off for Lady Ravra's estate.
She was barely walking for five minutes before she heard the telltale signs of something following her. She looked back to see the Refr landing on a building.
Artemis grabbed her phone and took a picture of it.
Artemis: I don't think we need to trap it.
Artemis: And I think I have a pet now.
Keith: That's fine.
Lance: At least it's safe.
Lance: Don't worry, I give you my full permission to keep the Refr if you want to.
Allura: We can still create rules and regulations surrounding the Refrs to keep something like this from happening again.
Artemis: Alright.
Artemis: She'll only let people near her if I'm around tho.
Alex: That's some Dad and Kosmo level trust.
Lance: It is.
Artemis put her phone away and turned the Refr, who was still there.
"Come on, girl. I'll take you to Red, she's a safe space for you to stay," she told it. The Refr tilted her head.
Artemis started her walk again, path engraved in her mind. She could hear the Refr following her, all the way to Red, who bent down to let Artemis in. The Refr followed.
"You'll be safe here," Artemis said. She offered her hand to the Refr, who pushed its face into it. "You need a name." She thought through all of the names. "How about... Amber?" The Refr purred at the name. "Amber it is."
Artemis had to leave Amber in Red, which was simple enough. She went back to her room, where Sava was waiting.
"So you have a pet now, huh?"
"Yup. I've named her Amber," Artemis replied. She grabbed her pajamas and went into the bathroom and changed.
"Amber's a nice name," Sava commented when she walked back out.
"Yup. And we've finished the mission, so we can leave soon."
"Thank quiznack. I miss Hunk's cooking," Sava said.
"I miss Dad and Papa," Artemis said. She climbed onto the bed and under the covers.
The next day, the five of them climbed into their lions and departed Shaatull. Amber sat on one of the consoles, staring out at space. Artemis flew Red through the wormhole that appeared and into the Lion hangar, landing her expertly.
"Let's go, girl," she said to Amber. The Refr meowed again and followed her out of red. Artemis went and hugged her parents when she saw them, leaving Amber to watch with curious eyes.
"This is the Refr," Lance said when he pulled away. He knelt down and offered Amber a hand.
"Yeah. Her name's Amber," Artemis replied. She watched as Amber readily accepted pets from Lance.
"You guys have to debrief. Bring Amber with you," Keith said.
"I will," Artemis agreed.
Ten minutes later, and she was in the briefing room for the mission debrief. Amber laid on the table, watching everyone. Artemis' hand on Amber's head kept her calm.
"Why do we have to do a debrief?" Alex asked.
"Protocol," Adam answered.
"Adam's right. This is protocol, and the Garrison will have my head if I don't do this," Shiro said with a sigh. "Trust me, I hate debriefs too. I don't even know why I'm still the captain of the Atlas."
"Let's not question life choices now, otosan," Leo said.
"Alright. Let's get through this."
It was... surprisingly quick. Amber willingly got up and went to meet everyone in the room that she didn't know, including Kosmo, who touched his nose to Amber's nose in greeting. After sniffing each other, they curled up on the ground together.
"That's cute," Alex commented.
"Yeah, it is," Artemis agreed.
"I didn't expect for you to end up with a pet after all of this," Leo said.
"Shut up," Artemis shot back. Leo stuck his tongue out at her. Artemis returned it.
"It's good to have you guys back," Shiro said.
"You're a sap," Adam said. Everyone laughed at that, causing Amber to look up from where she was lying on top of Kosmo.
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