Veronica Kogane-McClain

*"I trust you. You're my daughter, you'd never hurt me."*
— Keith, to Veronica

**Veronica Soledad Himari Kogane-McClain** is a princess of Altea, and the Paladin of the Red Lion. She is the adopted daughter of Keith and Lance Kogane-McClain, and the oldest of her adopted siblings.

## Appearance

Veronica is a young adult woman with light skin, short shoulder-length red hair, and gray-blue eyes. As an Altean, her ears are pointed at the top rather than rounded, and she has red marks on her cheekbones, similar to Altean marks, that curve up toward her eyebrows and under them.

She wears her Paladin armor while on missions, in battle, and in training. When she's not in her Paladin armor, you'll normally find her in her favorite gray sweatshirt, black jeggings, and white converse.

She has various scars and wounds from training and fights she's been in. She has many more scars than the other Paladins.

## Personality

Veronica is hotheaded, temperamental, hard-working, and very stubborn. She’s also independent and works well by herself. Despite this, if she works with someone she agrees with and likes, more often than not her cousin Merona, they can do amazing things. She also has quite a temper, and gets very angry when her orders aren't followed word-for-word.

Known to be an orphan, Veronica tends to keep people at a distance and shut them out before they can reject her first in order to protect herself. Despite this, she is incredibly close to her family and would do anything for them.

She also looks up to her parents and wants to make them proud. But she’s sick of being called “Keith’s daughter” or “Lance’s daughter” and wants to make something of herself.

## History

Not much is known about Veronica's past prior to being adopted by Lance and Keith. She was born to an unnamed Galra mother and Altean father, making her a hybrid. Her mother left her in a hospital on New Altea, where she was born. A nurse found her and brought her to an orphanage on New Altea, where Keith and Lance adopted her when she was three. Her father Keith is Commander of the Blade of Marmora, and was the Paladin of the Red and Black Lions of Voltron. Her father Lance is the Grand Prince of Altea, and was the Paladin of the Blue and Red Lions of Voltron.

Keith and Lance adopted her younger brother Gabriel when she was five and adopted the twins Rachel and Daniel when she was seven.

When she was 14, she enlisted in the Altean Army, where she came across the Red Lion and bonded with him.

## Abilities

### **Equipment**

Apart from the Red Lion, Veronica uses this equipment:

* **Paladin Armor:** High tech armor that protects the wearer from harmful forces. Contains a built-in oxygen mask, jet pack, energy shield, communications system, and a grappling hook and tether.
* **Bayard:** Takes several forms suited to the specific Paladin who wields it. For Veronica, it takes the form of a longsword, a bow and arrows, and a whip.

* **Lion Speeder:** Small transport vehicles within each Lion that allows the Paladins to separate from their Lions and travel to other locations.
* **Marmora Armor:** Armor specialized by the Blade of Marmora that allows safe travel in space. Contains a highly advanced computer system, communication system, an identity-concealing helmet that can disappear and reappear at will, and breathable air.
* **Marmora Blade:** A small double-edged knife made of luxite that can manifest into a larger, single-edge blade when activated by Veronica's Galran heritage.

### **Skill Set**

* **Close-range Combat:** Veronica is exceptional at close combat and is a deadly foe go up against.
* **Acrobatics:** Veronica is an expert at acrobatics and gymnastics often uses this skill while evading enemy fire.
* **Magical Abilities:** Like her father and aunt, Veronica is gifted with the latent ability to manipulate magical energy.
* **Expert Piloting:** Like her parents and family, Veronica is an expert pilot and was the best pilot in the Altean Army.
* **Altean Physiology:** Like other Alteans, she possesses a natural, though somewhat limited ability to shapeshift.

* **Galran Heritage:** Allows Veronica to interact with Galran technology so she can open locked doors in Galra building and activate Galra computer consoles. Also allows her to use her Marmora blade.

## Trivia

* Veronica’s extended family includes Takashi and Adam Wright, their children Katsumi, Aiko, and Hiroshi; Queen Allura, Prince Lotor, and their children Merona and Amias.
* Veronica has Atelophobia, which is a fear of never being good enough.
* Veronica has an Altean cat named Nebula from her cousin Merona.
* She calls Lance “papa”, and Keith “dad”.
* Veronica has pierced ears, and crunches on ice when nervous.

## Gallery

Original concept art of Veronica by @miia\_draws\_ on Instagram.Veronica in her day-to-day outfit.Veronica in Altean armor.