"We went through a wormhole! In a giant robot space lion!!!"

As the lion swoops lower, their destination becomes visible: a castle with four shining white spires surrounding a central turret. It's on an island by itself, with an impressively tall bridge connecting it to the closest landmass. 

They land in a large open courtyard between the end of the bridge and the grand front entrance. It looks like there'd be room for another four lions like this one, and then some. 

Bending its head down to the ground again, the lion opens its jaws and extends the ramp.

"Awesome! Come on, let's go explore," Nuray says, bouncing out of where she'd secured herself and heading for the ramp.

The others follow.

"Stick together and stay alert," Shiro warns. "Just because the Galra don't like these guys doesn't mean they're friendly." 

The massive front doors swing silently open as they approach. 

Inside is a cavernous hall, lit only by the setting sun through the open doors. Second-storey balconies run down either side, and several passageways with lower ceilings lead off in different directions. The walls are the same sleek white, grey and blue as the exterior, made of finely shaped panels that fit together like metal or plastic, rather than stone. 

One by one, pale blue lights begin to glow on the walls of one corridor. The others stay dark. 

Akira's somewhat grouchy about having been poked into leaving the blue lion.

"That looks like the way," he says. "Let's go."

The lights continue to paint a path for them, through abandoned rooms and corridors, and up flights of stairs coated in a layer of dust. 

Nothing else stirs. 

"The lights are on...but nobody's home," Pidge jokes, wincing when the word 'home' echoes around the walls for a second or two. 

Nuray huffs. "Wonder how much longer it'll take to get wherever?" she asks, valiantly resisting the urge to say 'are we there yet.'

"We saw this place from the outside; it can't be that big." 

She starts giggling. "Maybe it's bigger on the inside!"

Pidge snorts in amusement, and even Shiro lets go of his wariness long enough to grin. 

"Nice to know I'm not on an alien planet with a bunch of uncultured swine." Apparently Nuray isn't the only one who likes classic sci-fi, which isn't too surprising given that they're all students or former students at an academy for space explorers. 

Keith shrinks a little and doesn't join in the laughter. 

She smiles at Keith. "Sorry about the in-jokes." And, sticking her tongue out at Pidge: "Gundam and Evangelion are better anyways. And more relevant! Possibly." To Akira: "Maybe I can finally get you to watch some of the classics now."

"Good luck with that," he says, mildly. 

After a few more downward flights of stairs, they reach a door.

It slides back into the walls on either side, revealing a circular room beyond. Eight pillars surround a large central dais, in the very middle of which is a waist-high pedestal with a tilted surface, almost like an ergonomic desk. Around the edge of the dais are eight raised circles, each identical and a little larger than a manhole. 

Everything continues to be sleek white, black and grey with blue lighting. 

Pidge heads straight for the pedestal in the centre and starts poking it. 

"I think this is some kind of control centre." Something beeps. "...oookay that did something." 

"What is it with you guys and poking stuff!"

One of the raised circles next to Nuray's feet starts rising out of the floor with a pneumatic hiss, followed a second later by the one on the other side of it. 

They turn out to be tubes about seven or eight feet tall, with sides that look like frosted glass. Vaguely humanoid shapes are visible silhouetted inside. 

She jumps back, away from the creepy tubes.

The 'glass' of the one next to her dissolves into light, which clears to reveal the tube's occupant. 

Inside is a young woman who could be mistaken for human, with dark skin and striking white hair. She's wearing blue and white robes, or possibly a dress of some kind. Her eyes are closed.

A breath later, she collapses forward out of the tube.

Nuray darts back forward. She doesn't know much more than the basic first-aid, but - she can try to catch the woman, check if she's breathing - 

The woman's eyes flutter open. 

In the second before they focus on her surroundings, she calls, "Father!" in a tone of anguish. 

"...where...what happened? Who are you and where is my father?" 

"I'm Nuray. A blue lion brought me and my friends here. I don't know who your father is, but I can help you find him?"

"The Blue Lion? But—oh, no..." 

She looks wildly around the room. 

"Where is its paladin? What have you done with him?"