10 「Prepare」

Adam stood in front of Nemoi at the control center. It had been a day since the scandal with Sanda's arrival. "She can't sleep in the same room as you, not while other cadets are here." He stated, Katie literally being right outside the room leaning against the door outside.

Nemoi knowing Adam's sexual background and relation to Shiro, felt this was a double standard. The cadets would be bunking with one another. "Oi. We're both guys, Pidge and I can sleep in the same room."

Adam paused hearing him refer to Katie as Pidge, mainly because Iverson had agreed to not pull her from the records, nor reveal her true identity. He pinched the bridge of his nose, that was right, Katie was still known as Pidge on the roster.

On top of that, it was very apparent most people thought Pidge was a guy in the first place.

Katie who was outside the room was finding that beyond hilarious that he was using her alter-ego as an excuse. She didn't mind being referenced as a guy. It actually made her feel a bit closer to her friends.

She however covered her mouth so she wasn't laughing too hard, and too loud, so she wasn't heard. Of course however, Nemoi already knew she was there, Adam was quite out of the loop.

Lance had finally returned with a group of Cadets which decided to learn on board the Altean Battlecruiser for the few days left of the week.

As Iverson touched down in a shuttle, it appeared he was flying the vessel instead of Lance. In the co-pilot seat also was a different cadet. It was very much likely, that Iverson refused to let Lance fly him back to the Altean castle.

Was it because he now knew how to come back?

Either way, that wasn't very important.

Nemoi was focused primarily at the problem at hand. His eyes focused on Adam, who was now giving the boy a death stare. He was being a stern instructor, but he knew this wasn't his facility. He was only to be an advisor, and probable pilot.

"Oh come on, you usually keep your composure," Nemoi seemed to be swaying side to side, listening to the music in his head.

"I am keeping my composure Mister Vargon," Adam stated with a very strong tone, looming over the boy. While Nemoi was about a head or two taller than Pidge, Adam was still taller.

"Hm... Pretty sure my Title is Lord." Nemoi frivolously rubbed his index finger beneath the tip of his nose, his eyes deadpaning to the side. "I am an Agent of the Throne after all."

Adam sighed quietly hearing his and shook his head slightly. Agent of the Throne? While he did say that the Princess and her Royal Advisor might still be alive, he felt as if he was just messing around here. While he did give the Galaxy Garrison useful tech, translated information on various aspects, it seemed all he wanted to do was spend time with Katie.

He didn't want to instruct the other cadets. Instead he rather use what they already know and have them do menial tasks, or perform upgrades on Altean tech.

That's when Adam paused, upgrades on Altean tech? From what remembered from yesterday, he clearly recalled him asking Pidge to add a stealth system. Or at least something that would cloak the ship, based on the training equipment on board.

"You have a weapons training room?" Adam asked with a grin, he knew what he could do while he was here.

Nemoi raised a brow slightly hearing this question. "Uh... Yes, we have Gladiator drones, laser defense and an invisible maze to hone partnership. If you want the Cadets to use it, I don't see a problem with it." He seemed to casually pick his nose at this, showing a bit more childish behavior, almost borderline shameless.

Katie who was outside the door only rolled her eyes as she gave a glance inside. Adam catching a glimpse of her as she was walking away.

"Where is Hunk?" Adam asked as he looked at Nemoi, knowing that he was hardwired somehow into the system due to yesterday's fiasco.

"Oh. Hunk is in the kitchen. He ordered supplies through the Galaxy Garrison. Apparently he went on a repair spree in the galley." Nemoi looked over at the control console and turned all the screens on the terminal to view the Galley. It was clear that Hunk was programming all of the automated systems to cook like he did, as well as to make his own recipes.

"It... Seems he's programming the machines to put love into his cooking. Interesting," Nemoi stated as he was watching this. He was clearly speaking metaphorically, but he did find it interesting.

Adam simply looked over at Nemoi for a moment before watching over Hunk's enginuity and skill. Not only was he good with culinary, but he was pretty good with machines.

While in Nemoi's opinion, not as good as Pidge, he was still relatively good.

"So.." Adam went back on task, "You had Pidge upgrade your systems, even though she... He is just a cadet?" He'd ask with a brow raised, wanting an answer from him.

"Yup. And she's not just a cadet. She's to be a Voltron Paladin, working with Altean, Galra and other Alien technology will become common place," Nemoi responded with a simple tone with his hands now folded behind his back.

Adam understood the inevitability, and saw what he was saying. This in a sense was training for the near future. By the end of the week, he could only assume that they'd no longer be on Earth.

"I am curious, how long would it take us to get to Kerberos on board your vessel?" He asked curiously, wanting to know the specifics.

Nemoi looked to the ceiling in thought and shrugged slightly. "Under five minutes perhaps? Maybe a few seconds depending on existing quantum variables and the like."

"Quantum science is theoretical science." Adam retorted with a sneer, only for Nemoi to snicker at him in response.

"Quantum is fun-sized. It is Science of the small. Science of infinite Power." Nemoi scoffed back at him with a brow raised slightly.

Adam shook his head a bit and pinched his nose again, harder this time. "Funsized..."

Nemoi shrugged a bit and began walking out of the room. "I'm going to go check on what Kat–Pidge is doing. I'll see you a round Adam," He gave a slight wave before waltzing out of the room, as he actually owned the place.

...

A few hours later Katie and Nemoi were standing outside of the castle, staring at it. "So... Ready to go into space for the first time?" He asked curiously as he looked over at her.

Katie wore a face of almost pure determination. She would do anything to get to her family. Do anything to save her father, brother and probably even Shiro.

"Will Shiro know where my family is?" Katie asked him, since he appeared to know a lot of what is going to happen, she wanted more answers. A clearer vision of what she was going to be up against.

"No, he was separated from them. However he will be referenced as a the Champion, due to his capabilities in the arena." He responded to her as he looked over to get a glimpse of her face.

Katie nodded slightly and sighed, before looking at him once more with a stern expression on her face. "I'm sure this has been bugging everyone, not just me. Nemoi, but you talk like us. You like our food. You have a strange connection to Earth that I can't recognize. You also said that you're mentally older than you actually are. It's starting to feel that... You weren't originally Altean."

"Yes.. I was a sentient Earthworm. Very much liked starburst and burgers left in the grass," Nemoi nodded as he spoke with not only a straight face, but a completely serious tone. "Dodging the birds was one of my main peeves."

Katie's eyes just rested their gaze on him. It sounded as if he was being serious, but she could sense the joke. That or he was trying to throw her off. That wasn't necessarily going to work if that was the case. "Uh-huh..." For the time being she decided to leave that alone.

She turned her head and looked back at the castle entrance seeing as a group of cadets were walking towards them. They were dressed in their uniforms, rather than their casual gear.

Katie proceeded to awkwardly wave to them as they walked passed them. Some of them returned the gesture, others simply ignored her, or spoke of how lousy their group was.

"Humans, that's when thing I never missed." Nemoi muttered quietly as he watched the teens wander off towards the abandoned shack which was being replaced and fixed up all tidey like. It was a side project apparently.

"Oh?" Katie immediately took hold of that and raised a brow.

"I mean, you can trust a wolf to be a wolf. A bear to be a bear. You already know their intentions, humans can just hide theirs." He responded as he waved his hand in dismissal, "As can every other sentient species." He added with a vacant gaze, focused forward.

Katie just stared at him for a few moments. It seemed he had some experiences with people that didn't rub him the right way. Scratching below her jawline, she reached over with one hand, and gently began tugging him back towards the castle. "I think Hunk is about done in the kitchen..."

Nemoi blinked several times feeling her hand holding his. While she continued talking, he completely droned her out as he watched their fingers remain entangled. Shallowly biting down on the interior of his lower lip, he hid his excitement.

Before he knew it, they were walking into the mess hall right outside of the galley. Cadets and instructors were here. Eating modified Altean delicacies synthesized from nutrient paste and protein goo. Despite how that sounded, it smelled delicious.

Both of them grabbed a food tray, though Nemoi was reluctant to let go of Katie's hand. She eventually shook free so she could hold her plate.

...

After Lunch they moved onto other things. Katie continued her self thought out upgrades to the castle, as well as the shuttles. Nemoi had given her the utmost freedom. He wanted her to know Altean tech from the inside out and to improve it where she saw fit.

However he knew very much so that the fact her upgrades could be relatively lethal. Potentially turning the shuttles into bombs wasn't something he wanted. He knew though, that she was capable of upgrading them. Adding new functions and making them seamlessly perform better than before.

She was always good with that and it seemed it attracted the attention of other cadets. Many times as Nemoi was wandering around the castle, he could hear her confidence improving. Especially when they asked questions about the Altean tech she was working on.

The funny part was that he had no idea what half of the things on the ship were. All he knew was what the buttons did and how the teladuv worked. Otherwise, he wasn't necessarily qualified to work on anything. The most he could do was train humans in fighting hand to hand combat, or as a sniper.

The first thing that Adam found was that Nemoi was abnormally skilled in combat. He not only took down the Gladiator in record time compared to the cadets whom were in teams of four, but he didn't need guidance to breach the invisible maze.

When he did however work as a team, he was exemplary, he could take and give commands. However there was something hidden in every movement he made. An expression. Survivor's guilt was always present.

Whenever he was around Katie, he was notably excited, whimsical. When he wasn't with her, he droned around and did miscellaneous chores. When people talked with him, he would seem casual, but he seemed afraid of them as he could read every micro-expression they made. He had social anxieties. In some of his interactions he even showed anti-social tendencies, almost sociopathic.

However just like humans, no one was perfect. Nemoi was far from it despite how he carried himself, how skilled he was in combat.

Adam couldn't quite tell what Nemoi's goal was other than the fact that he seemed adamant on helping Pidge and those he believed to be the Paladins.

From what he saw yesterday with his magic prowess, or alchemy from what he heard from Sanda that day, it appeared he could also have different origins. Just like Katie, he was starting to believe that he wasn't telling them everything. He also wasn't hiding that he wasn't telling them everything. It was as if he was just laying it all out there, like a venus fly trap.

When asked, he'd give a serious tone, but a trash answer. Much like that sentient earthworm gag he pulled with Katie outside the castle earlier.

Hunk seemed to be in his own little world however, and didn't even confront Katie for hiding her true identity. However he also felt that she had always been herself and only had a different name.

Lance on the other hand was overtly surprised by the news, but ever since had been avoiding Nemoi. The reason? Because he immediately knew Pidge was not Pidge, but Katie, and hid it. Even went as far as sleeping in the same room as her, sharing his own bed.

Clearly, it was jealousy. Clearly... Right?