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Kolivan was not one to be underestimated. He had been training for battle since he was able to lift a knife, been on countless dangerous missions, and stared death in the face on more than one occasion and lived. He led one of the most elite organizations of resistance fighters in existence. All these things Kolivan could handle, after all he’d never known much else, but a child? Nothing could have prepared him.
Now, don’t get him wrong. Kolivan loved the boy as if he were his own, but Keith had a tendency to cause… well, chaos.
The kit was very young, five and a half deca-phoebs according to Ulaz’s calculations. He’d been brought to the Blade of Marmora headquarters only phoebs after his birth, his parents nowhere to be found.
Thace had become attached quickly, Ulaz falling for those innocent, violet eyes soon after. It didn’t surprise Kolivan one bit when the mated couple approached him and asked permission to claim Keith as the pack’s kit. The boy was moved into their quarters the next day.
After that things changed, the pack was still as dedicated to their cause as ever, but now they were also devoted to their tiny new addition. As the quintants passed, their love for the kit grew, along with their familial instincts to nurture and protect. For Thace and Kolivan, this meant spending vargas every quintant teaching Keith to speak certain words and phrases and encouraging him to crawl and then eventually walk.
(Although, they were beginning to regret that last part as the kit had endless energy and could never sit still. Ever.)
Antok and Regris had taken to spoiling the youngling. Antok couldn’t resist Keith’s pleas and often carried him around the base in a sling on his back or against his chest. Regris had not fared any better, constantly giving him gifts and providing Keith with anything he could to make the boy happy. Usually, it was with toys or other little trinkets he found around the base, but recently he’d begun plying Keith with treats and desserts. Cookies had quickly become his favorite treat amongst the assortment of pastries and the offerings were always accepted with a wide, unrestrained smile from Keith and a scolding from Ulaz.
Ulaz, unlike the kit, had been quite displeased with the development. Afterall, Ulaz’s way of showing he cared, as a medic, was to keep Keith in peak physical condition- which included a specialized diet.
His nutritional plan for Keith got stricter, eliminating almost all sweets, much to the kitlings horror. Keith was distraught when he realized that he would only get his delicious treats on certain occasions, which were distinctly rare. Ulaz had given his ‘What You Put In Your Body Is Important’ and ‘It’s Better To Start These Good Habits Earlier Rather Than Later’ speeches about a hundred times, but all it ever did was ignite a mischievous spark in the boy’s eyes.
Really, that should’ve been a sufficient enough warning.
The incident happened during lunch. The pack was sitting at their claimed table in the cafeteria, taking a break from work. Keith was the only one not present as he was being babysat by one of the lower ranking blade members to help the rest of them focus better.
They were in the middle of a debate when the back door opened. It wasn’t the usual slamming open and shut that most blades, despite their training, refused to stop. The door was carefully, quietly opened, though not enough for any adult galra to be able to slip through.
Kolivan lowered his gaze, immediately finding what he was looking for.
There, attempting to sneak into the room, was Keith. He was dressed in the baby blade costume Antok and Thace had gifted him on his last birthday, hood pulled up around his messy hair and a tiny satchel wrapped around his body.
Kolivans prolonged distraction from the conversation caught the attention of the rest of the group within moments.
“Kolivan, is something wrong?” Antok asked, perceptive as always, once he gained his mate's attention.
Kolivan forwent a verbal response to gesture with his head, purposefully moving his eyes back to where Keith was scanning the room, adorable determination written across his face.
Regris cooed as they all discreetly turned to watch the kit. Keith ducked behind one of the food stands only to reappear ticks later in an awkward side tiptoe, his back pressed tightly against the wall and arms spread out on either side of his body.
Keith had already made it about halfway across the room before the realization finally dawned on him.
Kolivan let out an amused grunt-chuckle, “It seems our kit is rebelling against the no dessert rule, Ulaz.”
Ulaz dropped his head onto the table, groaning about how unnecessarily difficult Keith could be and how he’s only like this because all of you spoil him so much. The medic stood up to grab Keith before he could get to the dessert stand, but stopped in confusion when the boy pulled out a tiny metal box, tucking it behind him between his back and the wall.
“What was that? Regris, is that one of your gifts?” Thace questioned.
“No, I don’t know what that is.”
Suddenly, Keith turned his focus away from whatever he had previously been watching to look straight at their table, making eye contact with Ulaz for less than a tick before he activated the suit's mask and dropped into a crouch.
Without warning, a loud blast resonated through the room.
Kolivan jumped up, activating his blade and running to the source of the explosion. It must have been a relatively small detonator based on the miniscule portion of the room affected. Usually, an enemy explosive would have taken out the entirety of the cafeteria along with the surrounding rooms on their level as well as the ones above and below them. This time, the only casualty was the lone vegetable stand in the corner of the room. Luckily, no one had been anywhere near close enough to be hurt.
“You three!” Kolivan barked at three of the other blade members that had rushed over. “Go to security and check on the posted guards, they should have alerted us if someone slipped in or if any unauthorized weapons were checked out. See if they have been compromised, then go over the cameras and figure out how this happened. As for the rest of you, sweep the base for an intruder or any other possible threats. Report back to the mission room as soon as you clear each sector of the base.”
Kolivan walked towards the wreckage once all the other blades left, scurrying to follow his orders. Immediately upon approaching, he noticed a chunk of the bomb shell lying on the ground and picked it up.
“Do any of you recognize this?” Kolivan inquired. Antok nodded, stepping forward to take the rough material from the Marmoran leader.
“It’s a very simple model, not meant for executions. They are built for small targets, most commonly used to disable or dismantle machinery or to create a distraction,” Antok stated.
“Hmm, but if an enemy was able to get into Marmora headquarters, why would they attack a harmless food stand and not the control center or the living quarters?” He pondered aloud.
“Perhaps it was timed wrong or faulty. Many blade's have come and gone from this stand, especially during heavy mealtimes. There could have been several victims, including our own pack, if it had been set off any earlier,” Thace chimed in, studying the scene before him.
Ulaz and Regris returned from where they had been surveying the other food stands and then the multitudes of tables for any more planted bombs. Ulaz shook his head at Kolivan’s raised brow. Evidently, they were in the clear.
“Wait!” Regris blurted out, frantically turning his head this way and that in search of something. Kolivan tensed, expecting the worst when Regris continued, “Keith! Where’s Keith?”
Kolivan’s eyes widened as he remembered that Keith was not back in their room, but in the cafeteria with the rest of them when the explosion hit.
“A distraction. Antok, you said the bomb is commonly used as a distraction!” he emphasized as he ran to where the pack had last seen their kit. His ears were only able to pick up the horrified gasps of the others and feet pounding against the floor before the sound of his own rapid heartbeat in his ears overtook his senses.
However, he stopped dead in his tracks as he approached the dessert stand, his breath forced out of his lungs as he found it completely deserted.
“Where is he!? He couldn’t have been taken! The base is so guarded, no one would be that audacious… right?” Regris asked, his face crumbling the longer no one answered.
Thace put a hand on his shoulder, “Right. Even if someone did get in, they wouldn’t have been able to go unnoticed. We don’t even know for a fact that Keith has been taken, he could simply be wandering around or hiding somewhere in the base.”
“Thace is right, let’s not panic until we know everything-” Ulaz started, but was cut off as Regris spoke up again.
“Umm, Kolivan? The cookies are gone.”
The galra in question stared blankly at Regris as the younger blade moved his face closer to the collection of plates on the stand, half exasperated and half disappointed in his apparent ability to get so completely distracted by such an insignificant observation.
“Regris, this is a serious situation. Now is not the time to let your stomach lead you astray,” he stated firmly, causing Regris to flinch a little at the reprimand in his voice.
Still, he didn’t back down, “No, I mean the entire plate is gone. No one has touched the actual plates since that one blade-in-training accidentally broke one and got yelled at by Venir for a whole varga in front of the whole lunchroom. Even you and Antok avoid messing with them and you guys run the entire organization,” Regris hastily clarified.
Kolivan hummed. Yes, that had been a bad day. Venir’s latest mission had been interrupted and his mate got unnecessarily hurt. He’d been so destroyed that he’d shoved himself into his work in the cafeteria and broke when the one trainee (Badeek, he believed their name was) had picked up one of the plates to dump food onto their own tray and ended up dropping it by accident. After he’d taken care of checking on both Venir and Badeek, there had been an unspoken rule put into place to not touch the dishes ever again in fear of inciting another incident.
"Do you think-” Thace began, only to be cut off by the soft thud of the cafeteria door closing. The five galra stared incredulously at the door, all of them clearly taking note for the first time of the line of crumbs left behind that led straight out into the hallway. They simultaneously rushed forward, all their Marmoran grace forgotten as they stumbled through the doorway together.
Kolivan, being the first one to push through, was able to catch sight of tiny hands pulling the missing dessert dish into a small vent a few inches off the ground before they disappeared, only coming back out to grab the vent cover and slam it back in place.
Ulaz cursed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he shouldered his way past Thace and Kolivan to run over to the vent. There were little giggles emanating from the pathway, calming Kolivan’s still racing pulse.
Their kit was safe. Their kit was still there in the base where they could watch over him. Their kit… stole an assortment of cookies.
Huh.
The rest of the pack walked over to join Ulaz, who was now on his knees trying to stick his arm into the much too small vent and quite clearly failing to reach Keith if the muffled squeals coming from inside the wall were any indication.
Kolivan furrowed his brow, wondering if it was okay for Keith to be apart from them while there was still the looming threat of an enemy on the loose.
His thoughts were interrupted by a curious growl from Thace. He tore his attention away from the crumb covered floor to follow the galra’s line of sight. In doing so, he found that Ulaz’s frown had deepened, and his expression had shifted from one of annoyance to confusion.
He pulled his arm out of the vent, producing the little metal box that Keith had been holding onto earlier.
It only took half a tick for Antok and Regris to burst into laughter, practically collapsing onto the floor. Ulaz and Thace shared a concerned glance with him, unable to understand what they found so funny.
“It’s… hah! It’s the act-activato-tor… hahaha… for the bomb!” Regris managed to tell them in between breaths. His and Antoks laughter slowed with a lot of visible effort until they glanced at each other and started all over again.
Thace and Ulaz gaped right along with him; first at the two hysterical galra, then at the metal box, and finally at the open vent.
Kolivan quickly composed himself, connecting all the dots leading up to that point. His lips curved into a smirk as he took out his handheld to redirect his previous orders, amusement and pride swelling inside him.
He sent out a message to let everyone know they had found the culprit and sending a few select blades to figure out when and how their kit had managed to get his hands on an explosive- unnoticed.
Thace continued to gape beside him as Ulaz leaned back down, futilely attempting to cajole the boy into giving him back the cookies and to come out of his hiding place.
After a few dobashes, Ulaz fell back onto his butt and slumped against the wall in defeat, giving up on trying to lure Keith and his unhealthy snacks out.
As soon as he did, a victorious yell emerged from the depths of the metal caverns. “Cookie heist successful!” Keith whooped; his voice slightly muffled- presumably because he had shouted through a mouthful of cookies.
Thace’s face broke out into a smile as Regris and Antok wheezed, desperately trying to suck in a breath of air.
Kolivan watched, humor glittering in his yellow eyes, as Ulaz dragged an exasperated hand down his face, directing the dirtiest glare he could at the youngest pack member bar Keith.
“You started this! Now you’re going to pay for it,” Ulaz growled, making Regris suddenly straighten, laughter long gone as the fear on his now ashen face grew.
Within mere moments Regris was sprinting down the hall. Ulaz hastily jumped to his feet, giving chase. Antok had all but lost it by then, sliding down the wall as his shoulders continued to shake with silent laughter.
He and Thace looked between each other and the vent until Thace shrugged and started casually walking in the direction of his mate, leaving Kolivan to stare down at his own mate as the affection he held for his pack warmed his heart.
~*~*~*~
Later that night, Kolivan was sitting in the middle of their pack’s room, surrounded by blankets and pillows laid out perfectly while the rest of his pack was still out looking for Keith. Kolivan would normally have joined them, but Thace convinced him to stay behind in case Keith decided to return on his own.
He was going over some mission data on his handheld when the vent directly above their nest opened and Keith’s tiny form fell out. Kolivan quickly tossed his device aside to snatch the boy out of the air and into his arms.
Keith immediately snuggled into his chest, the cute, satisfied smile on his face surrounded by chocolate smudges and crumbs. He was still wearing his miniature blade outfit, though now he was clutching onto the toy knife that Kolivan himself had gifted him on his last birthday as if it were a stuffed animal.
“You and I are going to have a good, long talk about the events that have taken place today, Kit,” Kolivan whispered, his voice an odd mixture of soft and stern.
Keith didn’t even bother trying to seem guilty or sheepish. He simply grinned with a small, “Mission accomplished,” and proceeded to pass out against the larger galra. Kolivan held him close, leaning back into their nest to get more comfortable. He sent a short message to the rest of the pack that Keith was with him and asleep before letting himself relax. Soon enough he found himself drifting off as well as he savored the contentment and security of having the kitling’s tiny, warm body lying safely against his own.