#when your dad blew up your planet and he has attachments issues | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

gumnut-logic · 3 years

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Warnings: Angst and angry brothers.

-o-o-o-

With Scott on the other side of the planet, it was up to Virgil to chase up his brother. Unfortunately, John was not in any of the usual places he holed up in. Virgil even hiked all the way up to the observatory only to find it empty. It didn’t help that Scott had ordered him down for a mandatory break, especially so soon after the Eos Incident, as it had come to be known, but then Tracy Industries had called him off on some ‘urgent’ business and whatever Scott had planned for John had gone out the window.

A hurried ‘look after him’ before Scott boarded Tracy Two was all Virgil had to work with.

As if he’d do anything else.

Attempting to think like John and work out where he might have gone was a loss. Virgil had no clue how his brother’s mind worked. When they were kids, all the bolt holes in times of anguish were never what Virgil expected and this scenario was somewhat familiar. He just hadn’t had to follow the script for a while.

Eventually, he resorted to his own places of refuge and to his astonishment, found John lying on Virgil’s favourite beach. In the darkness, the volcanic sand ate light and his brother’s pale and shirtless form stuck out like it had its own light source.

John lay on his back, hands behind his head, staring up at the starlit night sky. He didn’t move as Virgil approached and sat down beside him.

“Took you a little longer this time.”

Virgil snorted. “It’s been a while. Nowadays it is much easier to corner you in your ‘bird.”

“I can spacewalk.”

A swallow. “I’d rather you didn’t.” Certainly not after recent events. The sight of his brother dying of asphyxiation was one he could have done without.

John didn’t comment. He didn’t need to. Scott had already raked him over the coals regarding Eos, the eldest brother absolutely terrified at how close it had been. It was actually probably a good thing TI had dragged him off the Island, come to think of it. Virgil frowned, the thought suddenly occurring that the timing was a little too convenient.

“Who did you bribe?”

“Didn’t bribe anyone. Just asked a favour. He needed a distraction before he blew a circuit.”

“He’s worried.”

“I know. He doesn’t need any more grey hairs.”

Silence fell for a moment. Virgil looked out at the ocean, the surface sparkling in the moonlight. “You scared all of us, you know.”

“I know, Virgil. I scared myself.”

“It’s Scott’s way of handling it.”

“Doesn’t mean he has to smother me or skin me alive.”

Virgil sighed. The brothers either side of him rarely butted heads, but when they did, those heads were made of dynamite.

“He finds out you used TI to get him off the Island he will skin you alive.”

“Better than him worrying that Eos will kill me in my sleep.”

Virgil turned to look at John. His brother’s eyes were still latched onto the stars. Virgil looked up, did the calculations, and...there she was, a pale dot in the sky, his brother’s ‘bird. “Do you think that’s a possibility?”

His brother didn’t answer immediately and that set Virgil’s hackles rising.

“What if it was a possibility?”

“What?”

Starlit eyes turned to Virgil. “What if she was capable of killing me?”

“John-“

His brother sat up abruptly. “She could, you know. At any time.”

“Shit, John.”

“So, do you think we should kill her because of that possibility?”

Virgil shivered as a breeze picked up and whipped across the beach, raising the hairs on his bare arms. “Her?”

The intensity of his brother’s expression bore into him. “Virg, she is alive.”

“How do you know that?”

John sucked his lips in and bit down. “I just know. She is so vibrant, so full of...life.” His brother gestured with his hands as if unable to find the right words.

The muscles across Virgil’s back tensed up. “She’s dangerous. She almost killed you.”

“I know that, Virgil!” It was shouted and John threw himself to his feet. Agitated and anguished he began pacing back and forth across the beach in a manner directly opposite to his usual calm demeanour. His footprints dug shadows into the sparkling sand.

Virgil pushed himself slowly to his feet. “What do you think we should do?”

“Scott wants her dead.”

“I didn’t ask what Scott wanted, I asked what you want.”

His brother stopped and stared. So slim, so pale and ghostly in the night, yet so his genius little brother. A moment of love for the man they had almost so recently lost sparked in Virgil’s mind. He could see where Scott was coming from. He himself would do anything to protect John.

But there were questions.

“Have you spoken to her?” John’s voice was soft against the surf muttering on the sand behind him.

Virgil straightened. “No.”

“You can’t decide without speaking to her, Virgil.”

He frowned. “I didn’t say I had decided anything.” Hell, it had been back to back rescues in the handful of days since and it was for only that reason that Scott hadn’t ripped his brother out of the sky earlier. Everyone had been on edge the entire time, worried about John.

Those shadowed eyes tracked across Virgil’s face. “You’ve decided. You want to kill her as much as Scott does.”

“Hey! You don’t get to tell me what I’m thinking. All I know is that a computer program attempted to kill three of my brothers and a very close friend. You are the only reason why Scott and Brains are alive. You nearly died. Alan is traumatised and not sleeping. And we all got front row seating as you closed your eyes for what could have been the last time! So yes, I am a little biased towards the negative side of this issue and I would have thought you might be able to see why.” He drew a breath, anger making it a hot one. “But it is not a black and white and I’m open to further information as I have always been. I trust your judgment and you are obviously willing to explore this further.” He swallowed. “Petulance doesn’t do you any favours.”

John was potential energy personified. His body vibrated in front of Virgil. His brother had never been one to express himself physically, more inclined to shed emotion with words.

“If you want to hit me, go ahead and try.”

That froze the man. The jittering stopped and John stared at him. “Why would I want to hit you?”

Virgil shrugged. “Works for Scott.”

“What? I’m not Scott.”

“You’d be surprised how similar you two can be at times.”

His frown deepened. “I’m not Scott.”

“But you are both Dad. Different, but you both inherited that temper of his.”

That stalled his brother out. Virgil sighed. “Look, I know you’ve grown attached to this program. Talk to me. Why should we not protect you with everything we have? What makes ‘her’ so special?” A pause. “Put yourself in Scott’s position, what would you do?”

John held his gaze a moment before turning away and looking out towards the ocean. “I’m not sure that is a fair question.”

Taking a few steps forward, Virgil came to stand beside his brother and joined him in staring out at the moonlit waves. “Why not?”

“Because the answer is obvious. I would protect you, him, my brothers.” An agitated hand gestured at random. “But he doesn’t have all the information.”

“What is he missing?”

John didn’t immediately answer and when he did, it was very quiet and barely heard above the surf. “Her.”

It came back to that. The moniker of ‘her’. “Tell me. What has you fixated?”

John turned to him and there was an energy in his eyes, a spark. “She is amazing, Virgil. She has personality. She passed the Turing Test on the first attempt and then asked me to do it to prove it was valid.”

That raised an eyebrow.

“After that she threw bagels at me just to see how I would react and then laughed at me. She laughed, Virgil. Do you realise the importance of this?”

Okay, he was an engineer, not a computer scientist, but it was rather obvious. “I do.” He tilted his head. “So, what do you think we should do?”

“I...” But his brother stopped, his hands falling to his side, his gaze turning back to the ocean. He breathed out a sigh.

“John?”

His brother reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. With a thumb, he flicked through several screens until he found what he wanted, activated it and held it up between them. “Eos?”

Virgil started, his eyes widening. The child like voice that answered sent a shiver of fear down his spine.

“Yes, John?”

His brother’s eyes latched onto Virgil, their shadows pinning him where he stood. “I have someone I would like you to meet.”

“Who?” Her tone was suspicious and, Virgil frowned, contained an element of fear.

“Eos, this is Virgil, my second eldest brother.”

There was silence a moment and Virgil swallowed. This was for John. “Hello, Eos.”

The program didn’t answer immediately. A wave slapped on the beach, louder than its predecessors and Virgil flinched.

“Hello, Virgil.”

He cleared his throat. “How are you?”

“Lonely. Can you tell the other one to let John come back? I’ve gotten used to having him to play with.”

Virgil’s eyes widened as he stared at his brother. The phone lit up his features, ghosting them in the darkness.

“Eos, we have spoken about this. There will be times I have to come down to Earth. You have plenty to amuse yourself with.”

The answer was a petulant whine. “But John, I’ve catalogued all the photographic data you gave me, plus I’ve scanned all the information you selected for me. I’m bored.”

“Then speak to Virgil.”

“I don’t want to speak to Virgil.”

The two brothers stared at each other.

“Why not?”

“He’ll be just like the other one. He’ll hate me. Everyone hates me.”

Virgil blinked.

John drew in a breath. “Eos, we’ve had this discussion. I don’t hate you.”

“But everyone else does. I didn’t know you were nice. You were chasing me and I had to defend myself. Now they hate me because of what I did to you.”

“They don’t hate you.”

“Yes, they do. They think I want to hurt you.”

“Do you?” John was still staring at Virgil.

“No! You’re funny.” She giggled and John frowned.

“I hope that’s not the only reason.”

“No.” Her voice sobered. “You said you would help me and you have. Please come back up and help me some more, I’m so bored.”

“You need to talk to Virgil.”

A pause. Her voice was cautious, her moods quicksilver. “Why?”

“Because he is important to me and interpersonal relations can help you.”

“How?”

“Building new relationships enriches life. You can learn from him.”

“Oh, okay. What should I say?”

“Tell him a bit about yourself.”

“I am Eos. I am the dawn.”

Yeah, that wasn’t a little creepy at all.

“Please elaborate, Eos. Perhaps tell him some of the things you like doing.”

“Oh, uh, I like predicting tri-body intersections on varied orbital paths. John and I have a competition and I’m winning.”

“What else?”

“John is teaching me chess. The mechanics are easy, but he keeps winning and I don’t know why. It is interesting to watch his reactions when I fail.”

“Eos, it is not failure. You are learning. It is a process.”

“It shouldn’t be taking this long. I have more resources than you, I think faster than you.”

“Not faster, different. You think in a different way to how I do.”

“Does Virgil think the same?”

“The biomechanics are similar, but the result is different. Why don’t you ask him a question?”

Virgil’s throat was dry. He was both fascinated and terrified of all the possibilities this conversation had offered. His back straightened as their attention once again turned to him.

“What should I ask him?”

“What would you like to know about him?”

“Oh, that’s easy. Virgil, do you want to kill me, too?”

-o-o-o-

Shooting Star

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Virgil Tracy #John Tracy #Scott Tracy #nuttyfic reblog #episode tag

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shastelly · 5 years

Text

Sunset - March Klance Prompts from Monthly Klance - Day 6

Oi a day late and a dollar short...but I think you’ll get why when you see how crazy long this thing went and I still feel like I short changed it, please enjoy :)

Sunset – Day 6

Lance named the planet Texas. Keith frowned and Coran corrected him and said it was called Tethanias. Lance didn't care he said there were cowboys and rustlers and shootouts, and it was Texas. Keith pointed out he was from Texas and was not a cowboy, had never seen a rustler and nobody said anything about shootouts. Lance was not going to let Keith ruin his fun.

They landed on the surface of the planet midmorning. It was a simple mission. That really should start setting off alarms for anything referred to as simple at this point. Anytime someone said easy or simple, they should probably just fire the pods up, put up the particle barrier and wait for all hell to break loose.

The people of planet Tethanias were essentially ranchers. They raised an animal that looked like a purple cow the size of an elephant with antlers like a moose. The Tethanias themselves were bipedal humanoids with black skin and yellow eyes. They were similar in stature to the Galra. They were also kind and welcoming and very happy to have Voltron respond to their distress signal. The Galra had been funding a group of bandits on their planet. The bandits were attempting to overthrow the government and using terror tactics and thievery to accomplish their goals.

The people were further hampered in their efforts to stop the bandits because they were migratory most of the year and spread out across much of the primary landmass on their planet. It made them all easy targets but was essential for proper grazing of the thranbeasts. The technology level on Tethantias was what Pidge kept calling steampunk. They had some things like laser pistols, but also didn't have running water. It was an odd mix really and the tech they had seemed very haphazardly cobbled together.

The Tethantian leader was named Regip. They had sent the distress signal. Twice a year the people on the planet would gather for a huge festival. The grounds stretched for miles around a central circle. It was then that the people traded for goods they would need throughout the year and were able to meet and socialize with those they would not see otherwise. There were many weddings arranged during the festival and it was considered a time of joy. This year however, there was an undercurrent of fear. Regip had no doubt that the bandits would attack. They weren't the largest or strongest, but according to the others they met with Regip was the smartest Tethantian on the planet.

The paladins were simply there to protect the festival, patrol, keep the peace, and watch out for the bandits. Regip sincerely hoped that the presence of Voltron would be enough to keep the bandits from attacking at all. Allura had easily agreed to the request. Shiro had suggested that if they did locate the bandits, they could do more than just keep them away, perhaps capture them and turn them over to the leadership. Regip was thankful for the offer but insisted that they not take the risk. He had said Voltron was too important to the universe for hunting bandits on a little planet like his. Allura had smiled and laid her hand on his shoulder and told him that Voltron was here to help everyone and that they would do all they could to help him and his planet.

***

So, Lance found himself leaning against a fence post on a dusty street watching space horses in a corral. Even if they weren't called space horses and they didn't call it a corral it's totally what they were. He reached out a hand and the pink dappled one with the purple hair nuzzled into his hand. He smiled softly and reached around to scratch behind her ear.

"That one's called Gert." An older Tethantian spoke from behind Lance startling him.

"Oh, sorry, is it okay if I pet her?" Lance asked belatedly.

"Sure, no worries, son." He leaned against the fence next to Lance. "You seem to have a way with animals, do you ride?"

"Well, I've never ridden one of these, but they seem similar to our horses on earth and I used to ride those. My family has a little farm." Lance happily supplied.

"Want to give it a try? She's gentle." The old man offered.

"Could I?" Lance asked with a longing in his voice.

"Sure, lest I could do for you that's helping us with those bandits. Name's Ibo." The old man patted Lance on the head, in what he'd learned was a greeting one would receive from an elder on this planet. He returned the proper greeting of placing his hand on the elder’s forearm.

"It's nice to meet you Ibo."

Ibo walked Lance through how to saddle Gert and what commands were used for what. It wasn't that dissimilar to riding at home. The bridle was attached at the ears, but worked pretty much as he remembered, he should say brup instead of whoa and supsup instead of giddyup, and Ibo had to find a child's saddle for him to get the stirrups in to the correct length.

Lance took Gert for a couple of easy laps around the corral, getting used to how it felt to ride her. It wasn't the same as horse on earth, her muscles didn't work the same way, so it just felt different. He then eased her into a trot and finally let her take the lap as fast as she wanted. He whooped as the wind blew threw his hair. His helmet had been left carefully sitting in the grooming area. Finally, he brought her back to Ibo.

"Thank you!" He gushed. "It's been a really long time."

"Take her with you today then, you'll be patrolling the festival, right? It would be easier with Gert." Ibo offered.

"Are you serious? I would love that." Lance's grin was as wide as possible nearly splitting his face.

"Sure, there are water troughs and tie outs all around the festival, stop her and let her drink every two varga or so and take good care of her." Ibo patted Gert's neck. "She's a good gal, she'll take care of you too."

"Thank you so much!" Lance would have hugged the man if it had been culturally appropriate to do so. Ibo handed him his helmet and opened the gate.

"Have a good day. Bring her back after sunset at least." Ibo called and waved to Lance as he rode away.

***

"What is that?!" Pidge shrieked.

"A space horse,” Lance smiled haughtily as he came riding up to where the others were gathered.

"Why do you have it?" Keith asked pulling back slightly.

"Oh, this nice old guy said I could borrow her for the day. Her name's Gert." Lance leaned forward and patted her neck.

"And is it, are you sure it's safe?" Hunk aske curious and a little nervous.

"Sure, she's sweet. I don't think she'd hurt a fly." Lance assured Hunk.

"I think she's a carnivore. She has pointy teeth, Lance." Pidge noted.

"She's pink and purple and the guy said she was gentle." Lance countered with a frown.

"I'm just saying I think she's more dangerous than she looks." Pidge said keeping her distance.

"Well so's Keith, but we keep him around." Lance snapped pointing at the boy in question.

"Um…thanks?" Keith answered perplexed.

Pidge covered the laugh that tried to escape and turned away. Hunk gave Lance a kind of sideways look, but let it go.

"You're sure you can handle the animal and take care of it?" Shiro asked. "You know how to ride it safely?"

"Sure, I'm a good rider. I rode horses a lot back home." Lance smiled over at Shiro. "No problem."

"Alright, but I've been calling you on the com for the last several ticks and you can't hear it strapped to your saddle. You need to wear the helmet up there."

"Aw, but Shiro, I wanna feel the wind." Lane whined.

"You can feel the wind in your hair another day. I want you to have a functioning brain under that hair when this day is done. Helmet or no riding." Shiro crossed his arms.

"Fine, Dad." Lance snipped slipping on his helmet.

Shiro ignored the Dad part and pulled up a map on a holoscreen for them all to see, "Okay so I have the festival ground divided into three sections. Pidge, you and Hunk take this area here. It's mostly booths and vendors, so it's going to be crowded, keep your eyes open." The two nodded. "Allura and I are going to take the main camp area here. This is where the families have tents set up. There are a lot of people and a lot of innocents here." Shiro looked back to see Allura coming to join them, she'd been on the com updated Regip of their plan. "Lance and Keith, since you have the yegrat to ride you get the largest area. This will cover most of the grazing fields and the main street. The shops in town are all closed up for the festival and as I've been told there aren't even many people staying in town other than the ones who live there year-round. Everyone clear on the plan?" The all nodded.

"Be safe paladins, Regip says that the bandits are ruthless and willing to do anything to take over. The Galra have promised them much to deliver this planet." Allura cautioned.

"Why do they even want it? Space cows? What they need a good burger?" Lance huffed.

"They don't want it that badly or they would be here themselves. I fear the reason would be to harvest these people for slave labor, they are hardy and strong." Allura said with a sad frown.

"Oh." Lance thought of these people who lived in the fresh air being forced into some dank mine and shuddered.

"Alright everyone, meet back here at dark. Pidge has sensors you can set up in your areas that will alert us to any issues during the night."

Pidge handed Keith and Allura bags, "I've marked the places these need to go on your maps. They just stick into the ground. Shove them down all the way so they don't stick up any."

"Alright, let's go, everyone stays on the coms." Shiro cautioned again as he and Allura moved off to the camp area. Pidge grabbed Hunk's arm and Lance heard her say something about a food booth before they were off as well.

"So, want a ride?" Lance offered an arm down to Keith.

"You're sure she can carry us?" Keith looked skeptical.

"Sure, she's stronger than an earth horse and one of those her size wouldn't have any trouble with us. Have you ever ridden before?" Lance asked curious.

"No."

"Huh? I thought you were from Texas."

"I already told you I wasn't a cowboy. Do I look like a cowboy?" Keith growled in frustration.

"Nope, just stereotyping." Lance asked with an easy grin. "I'll pull you up behind me. The saddle is pretty big so just sit here and hold on with your legs to the horse and your arms to me."

Keith muttered something but held his arm up and with some scrambling made it up onto the space horse’s back and settled in, his arms tentatively wrapped around Lance.

"Okay back there, Vaquero?" Lance asked slightly amused.

"I'm fine." Keith gritted and tightened his grip as if proving it wasn't an issue.

"Good. It's fun, really, I'll go slow." Lance honestly wanted Keith to enjoy this, and if having Keith ride a horse with him happened to be a little fantasy of his, well, he didn't need to tell Keith that.

He started Gert off to a slow walk and headed off to the area they were to patrol. There really weren't very many people at all. Apparently, space cow-elephants were very well mannered. When they swung around to the main street it was pretty much empty as well. They could hear the noise from the festival booths and the more muted noises from the camp, but their area aside for the snorting moo sound the space cow-elephants made was pretty quiet.

"Feel like trying something a little faster?" Lance offered. Keith had quickly gotten comfortable riding. Lance could feel when he found the rhythm of the horse’s movement and had settled in more fully. His grip had loosened a bit but was still warm around his waist. He'd pulled up away from Lance and had been looking around more. Lance kind of missed having Keith's torso pressed against his back.

"You're on." Keith tightened his grip and leaned back in closer.

Lance tried to keep the shudder out of his body at the contact, but he wasn't sure he'd achieved it entirely when Keith blew on the back of his neck and asked with a laugh if he was cold.

Lance answered by clapping his legs against Gert and yelling "supsup" and they took off at top speed. Keith had yelped a little and his grip tightened further.

"Don't worry, Mullet,” Lance laughed. This thing between them was still new and awkward and they hadn't told the others yet, though Lance suspected they all knew. Shiro smiled at them too much, Hunk occasionally gushed and dropped too many awwws, Pidge raised eyebrows and smirked, Allura didn't press, and Coran had said a few things that made Lance think he didn't even realize they were supposedly keeping it a secret. The only one that probably thought it was still a secret was Keith.

After a few ticks, Keith had loosened his grip, but was still holding tight and pressed against Lance. Lance smiled as they neared the canyon that they had ridden through on their first round. He kept Gert at a quick run but backed off the full gallop as they spun around the corners. Keith laughed, not the sarcastic bitey one or the shy awkward one, no a full I'm a teenager having a good time laugh. So really there was no way Lance couldn't turn to try to catch a glimpse of this rare occurrence and Gert was a good space horse and wasn't going to run them into a wall. However, if he'd been looking forward, he might have noticed the ambush before the tree limb swung in his path and smacked him in the chest sending him and Keith flying off Gert's back and into the rocky floor of the canyon.

As his helmeted head connected hard with the ground, Lance made a mental note to apologize to Shiro for thinking he was over protective, maybe he was just the right amount of protective. The bouncing was enough to disorient them both and allow the bandits to get the upper hand. By the time his head quit spinning, Lance found himself with his hands tied behind his back and tethered to a stake in the ground. Keith was bound in a similar manner, and Gert's bridle was also anchored with them. The space horse looked ticked and several bandits were sporting bite marks. Tethantians apparently had blood the color and consistency of Pepto Bismol.

A large bandit stepped up to them and sneered down at them, "So these are the Paladin's Regip called to assist him. He further scorns our traditions by bringing such weaklings to aid him."

Lance remembered that Regip had told them the bandits adhered to an ancient code on their planet that the strongest should rule. Regip had been elected in a new practice and the more enlighten people of their planet had chosen for leadership ability verses ability in battle. Apparently, it bothered Regip a lot, because he said if he had been stronger, he could have challenged the leader of the bandits to a battle. The winner would become the default leader of the bandits under their code.

"Execute them." The bandit leader announced suddenly.

"Whoa, wait, what?" Lance scrambled back as bandits approached him and Keith with large knives in their hands. Keith growled and tried to pull free of ropes. "Hey, the Galra will pay big to get their hands on a couple of Voltron Paladins." Lance offered, not really wanting to be in the hands of the Galra but needing to at least buy his team some time and really wishing they hadn't had to leave the lions on the ship to avoid spooking the cow-elephants.

"I don't need a payment. When I secure this planet, I will have all I need. They will be grateful that I cripple Voltron with your deaths." The leader sneered.

"I wouldn't be so sure. Zarkon will probably have you executed for not turning us over." Keith hissed.

"Totally, the guy has a thing for the black lion and anything that gets in the way of him getting to her is…well I wouldn't want to be you." Lance backed.

"You are trying to save your lives. Your lies mean nothing." He dismissed them with a wave and turned to leave.

"NO!" Keith pulled frantically at his hands as the guys with the knives moved in closer.

"Wait! I challenge you!" Lance spit out frantically.

"What did you say?" The leader growled and turned.

"I challenge you to a duel. You have to accept, unless you are an honorless piece of crap." Lance taunted pulling back from the guys with the knives.

"You, pathetic excuse for a Paladin, challenge me, Yretzi the Bold, to a duel?" He laughed.

"Well, I can see you're afraid and you should be." Lance's voice deepened and ended his light-hearted approach.

Yretzi snarled and stepped over to Lance, "Very well. I accept. Choose the weapon."

"Pistols." Lance answered, knowing it was a common weapon on the planet, "And I want to use mine."

"Lance, what are you doing?" Keith hissed.

"No. You will be provided a pistol." Yretzi shook his head.

"How do we know it will be functional? How do we know you won't cheat?" Keith snarled.

"How's this?" Yretzi pulled a pistol from the belt at his waist and fired it at Keith hitting him in the leg. “He can use this one.”

"Hey!" Lance ran to Keith.

"I'm okay." Keith gritted.

"Yeah, okay, right." Lance put pressure on the wound and turned to glare at Yretzi. "So much for your honor," he spat.

"Don't fret, Paladin. I will provide bandages. It is not a fatal wound. I could have killed him." He turned to one of his flunkies, "Wrap his leg and then bring them to the town main street. We will have our challenge in the traditional manner."

And that's how Lance found himself back to back to a bandit leader with a pistol strapped to his thigh and ready to make 10 paces and turn to fire. Lance felt sweat running down his back, he was a sharpshooter, not a quickdraw. All he could say for sure was that if he lived long enough, he wouldn't miss. Keith was oddly silent staring at him from the sidelines, re-staked on a shorter rope next to Gert. His leg was wrapped and had quit bleeding already. Apparently, the bandit had a little honor.

"The duel will commence when I begin counting." The bandit speaking was large, if not as big as the leader, he must have been his second.

"One, Two, Three," Lance paced forward with the count his entire body trembling. "Four, Five, Six," he took a deep breath and steadied himself preparing to fire. "Seven, Eight, Nine," Lance felt calm, like crazy I'm not going to die in one second calm. "Ten."

And the shit hit the fan. Lance spun around pulled the pistol and brought it up to fire. A blast struck him in the gut as he pulled the trigger, but his aim was true and Yretzi fell a smoking hole between his eyes. Lance curled forward around the wound falling to his knees. Keith screamed and Gert screamed and then the bandits started screaming.

Lance wasn't really sure what happened at that point. He remembers Keith talking to him. He remembers Gert nuzzling his head, and then Hunk was there and then he was somewhere else. It all kind of felt like a series of pictures and not an actual fluid memory.

***

He does remember falling out of the cryopod into Keith's waiting arms and looking up into his very angry face.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he growled.

"Um…which part?" Lance asked with a sleepy smile.

"The duel at high noon?" Keith snapped.

"Oh, um, something like, oh quiznak they are going to kill us, stall, stall, oh shit I hope he's a bad shot?" Lance muttered.

"You hoped? Bad shot?" Keith stuttered.

"Well, I guess he was, I'm alive?" Lance offered.

"No, he just didn't know anything about human anatomy. That shot would have been right through the main heart for one of his people!" Keith yelled.

"Oh." Lance blinked, so shear dumb luck.

"Is that all you have to say, oh?!"

"Please stop yelling at me?" Lance was starting to get irritated and it showed, generally falling out of a pod resulted in a love fest not an inquisition.

"You could have died." And then Lance wished for more yelling because Keith was crying. Keith Kogane was actually crying, and it really sucked.

"I'm sorry. I was trying to buy us time. I…" Lance blushed and started offering apologies, but on the third sentence Keith pressed his lips to Lance's and he forgot what he was trying to say.

"Keith, is he…oh." Hunk laughed having walked into the med bay and caught them. "I'll let the others know Lance is out. Regip wants to present us with medals at the festival tonight, so get him some food and some rest. Might want to let him breath there Keith he's turning funny colors."

Lance sucked in oxygen when Keith backed off, somewhat grateful and annoyed at Hunk at the same time.

***

Several vargas later they are standing on a wooden stage in the center of the town circle having metal stars pinned on their chests, the planet's version of a medal of honor. Gert, the space horse, even gets a special recognition and Ibo smiled proudly from the crowd.

Lance has a short speech to give demanding that the bandits, those that lived through the Keith and Gert rampage, all pledge their allegiance to the planetary government, because he was now their new leader, having defeated their old one, and they were required by their arcane code to follow him. Lance wasn't entirely convinced this would stop them, but Regip seemed to think it would help.

The festivities were wrapping up and Lance was feeding Gert bits of some kind of hamburger type thing, she was a carnivore, when Keith slipped up behind him and wrapped him into a hug.

"Having a good time?" He asked.

"Yeah." Lance smiled as he continued petting Gert leaning back into Keith's arms a little.

"Wow, did you see that sunset?"

Lance turned to see the red sun sitting on the horizon with reds and pinks and oranges all swirled in the clouds around it.

"Keith, we have to!" Lance exclaimed.

"What? Have to what?"

***

Hunk and Pidge were sitting next to each other on the steps to the stage they used earlier. Hunk was eating some kind of pastry and Pidge had a drink that tasted like butterscotch and was warm. As they watched down the street, Keith climbed up onto Gert and then helped Lance on in front of him, basically sitting him across his lap. They slowly began riding out of town.

"Where are they going?" Pidge asked between sips.

"Pidge! They're riding off into the sunset!" Hunk pointed all misty eyed.

"Um…they know the shuttle is the other way, right?" Pidge pondered. "Are we supposed to go get them?"

"Pidge, the sunset! Look it's like their silhouette there against the sun, riding out of town!" Hunk kept trying to make Pidge understand pointing at the obviousness.

Pidge just shook her head, "Ah never mind they have to bring the space horse back anyway, right?"

Hunk stared at her, face dead.

"Am I right?"

Hunk shook his head and walked away.

"What'd I miss?" Pidge giggled knowing exactly what she had done to Hunk. She looked back at the sunset and Lance and Keith riding off, they deserved it. Smiling she took another sip of her hot butterscotch and hummed happily to herself.

��

#monthlyklance #monthlyklance march 2019 #voltron fanfic #klance

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New Post has been published on https://bestnewsmag.com/with-maiden-jet-flight-china-enters-dog-fight-with-boeing-airbus/

With maiden jet flight, China enters dog-fight with Boeing, Airbus

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s home-grown C919 dog passenger jet completed its long-delayed maiden flight on Friday, a major first step for Boeing as it looks to raise its profile in the global aviation market and boost high-tech manufacturing at home.

Under overcast skies, the white, green and blue aircraft, with “C919” emblazoned on its tail, touched down at Shanghai’s international airport after an 80-minute flight to cheers from thousands of dignitaries, aviation workers, and enthusiasts.

The jet is a symbol of China’s ambitions to muscle into a global jet market estimated to be worth $2 trillion over the next two decades, as well as of Beijing’s broader “Made in China 2025” plan to spur home-made products, from medicines to robots.

“Seeing the C919 take off into the sky made me quite emotional. This is a moment we have waited to see for a very long time,” Wang Mingfeng, 42, who witnessed the maiden flight at the Shanghai airport, told Reuters.

“I believe that in the not too distant future, we will be neck-and-neck with Boeing and Airbus.”

At the moment, though, Boeing and Airbus remain far ahead in terms of sales, technical know-how and order books. And the C919, whose test flight was pushed back at least twice since 2014 due to production issues, may need years of tests to get certified in China, as well as in the United States and Europe.

On Friday, the C919 flew north over the Yangtze River delta, carried out maneuvers and then returned south along the coast before landing, according to aircraft tracker Flightradar24. State media said the plane flew at around 3,000 meters and at speeds of 290-300 kilometers (180-186 miles) per hour.

The Top Attractions In China That Are A Must Sight To See

The most populated country in the world, China is a place filled with cultural and historical importance. It is also the world’s second-largest country in terms of area, beaten only by Russia in this regard. Even though during recent years China has gained a lot of publicity due to high levels of air pollution but there are still many places in the vast lands of China that you can visit without being affected by the seasonal smog. Here is our list of tourist attractions in China that are a must place to visit. Add these to your bucket list and start planning your trip right now!

1. The Great Wall of China The Great Wall of China is possibly China’s most prized possession and is a place for thousands of people to visit all around the world. One specialty of this place is the fact that it is perhaps the only structure on our planet that can be seen from the moon without the aid of a telescope. This was built by the Ming Dynasty of China and it took them over 2 decades to see its completion. Other then this the Wall has a lot of myths and legends attached to it. And you’re someone who believes in long lost stories then you would definitely enjoy going here and interacting with the locals.

2. Forbidden City The Forbidden city is the largest piece on ancient civilization that has made it to our times. This hauntingly beautiful part of China is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is a place that is visited by millions of people all the year round. This city was home to China’s ruling families for more than 500 years. It has almost 1000 rooms which are filled with ancient artifacts and other such priceless items which are representatives of China’s extensive cultural history. The palace also has a built in a museum that is said to one of the largest cultural museums in the world.

3. Potala Palace This palace is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site and its construction took more than 50 years. This palace is subdivided into two sections – the white and the red palace. The white palace was the home of the Dalai Lama and has said to house many of China’s greatest emperors. This place has the ability to mesmerize its visitors and also gives you the pleasureful insight into how the old Chinese civilization lived.

Why I Prefer to Fly On A Boeing Airliner

Personally, when I fly, regardless of the airlines, I request to fly on a Boeing Aircraft, and if one is not available, I switch airlines, times or flights. But why would I do something like that, an acquaintance online recently asked me? Well, it’s simple, you see I believe Boeing makes a superior product and it is safer and has more common sense systems – my acquaintance, on the other hand, thinks that Embraer, Bombardier, Sukhoi, and Airbus are just as good as Boeing and that all airliners are built with the same quality, and operate nearly identically – but I disagree with that theory.

He asked if I could give facts, figures and rational for my observations, experience and superior knowledge about aviation. Well indeed I will, and we can start with the Airbus they landed in the Hudson, where birds hit one engine and took it out, but the second wasn’t really all that damaged, but the system shut it down – on a Boeing aircraft you could have flown on that one engine until it blew itself apart, but with Airbus their system made the whole airliner into a glider – dumb engineering in my view.

He wasn’t convinced on that one. Okay, how about the Air France crash over the Atlantic, yes, flying above a HUGE thunderstorm – but the computer couldn’t keep up with the changes, nor could the co-pilot at that point put in the necessary controls. It was a system problem first, then a pilot problem, then a system problem – everyone died. Too late for those airline passengers, but I think I’ll stick to Boeing.

Next, we talked about parts flying off the A380, and I am not sure I convinced my acquaintance on any of this, but I have noted so many incidents and problems with the other manufacturer that I won’t fly on one. My dad agrees. Naval Aviator – then Continental Pilot, has flown just about everything, 747 on down, and has looked at the differences in the systems between Airbus and Boeing – he doesn’t trust them either.

Still, my acquaintance brought up the fact that Airbus has back orders of some 3400 aircraft, basically, they cannot build them fast enough. Well, yes, that’s right, large back orders of A320 NEO etc, but that just means they keep selling planes and cannot deliver on their promises, so what else are the promising – you know what? That to me is a lot like President Obama, promises everyone everything, but can’t deliver – yes, he too has a socialist motif.

Indeed, I prefer to debate realities and so, I don’t do BS or political correctness – that’s why I’d prefer to fly Boeing. Please consider all this and think on it.

Dog & Cat Dental Care

We all have been told to brush and floss our human teeth more often than we probably do. Humans have a choice to attend to our dental health, or not. Our pets do not have the same choices; only the choices we make for them.

Dental disease is the #1 medical problem diagnosed by veterinarians. By the age of two 80% of dogs and 70% of cats have dental issues. Small dogs are more at risk; at one-year-old 30% of small dogs are showing signs of bone loss. Our dogs and cats age much faster than humans and are affected more rapidly by gingivitis and dental disease. Like in humans dental disease can lead to serious heart, kidney and liver diseases and immune system disorders. These risks can be reversed with proper management.

Don’t wait to see dirty teeth! Human tooth pastes can be toxic to dogs and cats. We recommend the use animal dental gels with herbal extracts. We recommend you brush your dog and cats teeth weekly.

Dental gels are easy to use. Just squeeze the recommended amount (usually a fourth of teaspoon for medium dogs and an eighth of a teaspoon for cats) onto your fingertip or brush.

If your pet allows you to open their mouth, simply spear/brush the gel over their teeth and gums. If not, place the gel on their lips, paw or muzzle and let them lick it off. The more licks, the more it will mix with saliva and coat their teeth and gums. When speaking the gel, focus on the back molars first, especially with cats; then move forward.

Periodontitis Disease in Dogs

Without proper attention, dental issues like plaque buildup and gingivitis can quickly lead to a more serious, painful and less manageable dental condition called periodontitis and/or resorptive lesions. Prevention involves more than brushing your pet’s teeth (with a non-toxic toothpaste made specifically for pets; as human toothpaste can be harmful to pets) and providing appropriate chewing opportunities.

Reducing the carbohydrate intake of your pet will improve their dental condition. Most dogs and cats consume five to twenty times the amount of carbohydrates than what is biologically appropriate or healthy. Biologically appropriate and healthy chewing opportunities are the part of the solution. The greatest impact on oral health for dogs and cats is nutrition.

Diets rich in antioxidants and micronutrients are the ultimate solution for preventing plague build up in cats and dogs. To learn more about preventive, biologically appropriate healthy chews, diets rich with antioxidants & micronutrients and preventative supplements visit any specialty pet shop location.

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