They had been there for months now. Each of them had fallen into a routine. Pidge and Hunk spent their days helping the people rebuild and repair the equipment and buildings that surrounded the castle, while Lance and Sven kept themselves busy training anyone who wished to learn to fight. In the evenings Hunk helped out in the kitchens while Pidge spent his free time writing new software for the command center. The only time these routines were broken was when Yurak's fleet would attack. The people had developed a grudging respect for their saviors. It was beginning to turn into a reality.

They still couldn't move the people out of the shelters yet, but it was getting safer for small groups to begin scouring the surface for useful items. As more buildings were repaired and made structurally stable the hope of returning to the surface grew stronger. Keith spent many of his days helping with the day to day logistics of the military. It was up to him to make sure these people were safe. He worked closely with Coran and Allura in planning the planet's defenses.

Frequently the young captain could be found perched beneath his lion. This was usually where Allura would find him after the daily, long strategic meetings. It was in this spot that Allura found him on that fateful day.

The sun was shining brightly in the sky above the castle as Allura made her way to the top of the lion monument. There the young captain sat nestled in the paw of his lion. She could almost see the power radiating off of the pair. Black Lion had taken to the young leader quickly. There were stories of the bond that the pilots had with their lions. She could see that some of them were actually true.

"I thought I would find you up here." She said finally alerting him to her presence. "You seemed eager to get away from the council today."

He looked up and smiled at her. "So did you, if I remember correctly. I thought you were going to punch Maester Livit at one point."

"That man infuriates me. He's pompous and arrogant and pissed off that he actually has to work. How do you stay so – diplomatic?" She asked as she sat down across from him. She could feel the hum of power from the mighty lion as she did.

"Years of practice. Something you should start to work on. Soon you'll have to deal with other planets' politics. You would be surprised at what is considered an insult in other cultures. Lance angered an Assalian Ambassador by sneezing once."

She chuckled at the thought of the Red Lion pilot getting yelled at for sneezing. "Lady Nan keeps trying to corner me for 'Royal Lessons". Soon I'll have to stop actually avoiding them." She sighed audibly. "How do you know all of these things about other cultures? You even understand Drule."

"My family studied languages and cultures. They made it interesting to me when I was younger because I came from two drastically differing ones. My Father's family was Japanese and my mother's was British. Both had a rich heritage of their own. When I joined the academy I found that there were so many different cultures outside of Earth I never really stopped learning. I learned Drule and Arussian when I first learned of the war out here."

"Maybe I should start bothering Nan for lessons." She grimaced. "Oh I wanted to ask if we could set up an expedition to the mountain city tomorrow. There have been a few garbled transmissions from them and I was hoping we could see what they need. Yurak's last attack wasn't that long ago and I was thinking we might be able to start helping other groups."

"Let me talk to Sven and Lance, and see if Hunk can get a car from maintenance. You get Coran to give the okay and we'll go."

The soft smile she had been wearing grew into a genuine grin and she leaned forward to give Keith a quick hug before almost skipping to the exit of the pedestal. "Thank you Captain."

"Don't thank me yet. Coran still hasn't said yes."


In orbit above Arus' moon an angry Drule Captain was still licking his wounds from the last defeat when the Battlecruiser's proximity alarm sounded. A small ship was approaching the command vessel at a high rate of speed. Yurak recognized it as Haggar's personal coffin ship.

What does that damned witch want now? He hissed to himself.

"Now that is no way to think about the person who has come to help you stop failing." Her cackle sounded from his doorway. Yurak had forgotten two very important things. The witch could teleport short distances and was quite capable of reading his mind.

"How do you plan on doing that? Is it another robeast? The last one worked so well." His voice dripped with sarcasm as he spoke.

"No. I need you to just get me to the surface undetected and I will hand you an easy victory. All I need is to get one of the lion pilots alone. Once they cannot form that despicable defender I will give you a robeast to deal with the others. Then your troops can finally finish what they started."

Yurak though about Hagar's plan for a moment and grinned. "This could actually work. I'll send a few ships as a distraction. Then you should be able to reach the surface undetected."


Lance was busy on patrol when Red's sensors picked up something entering the atmosphere. Sending a quick message to Control he turned the lion towards the disturbance. In the distance he could see three small fighters on an intercept course with the castle. He grinned and sped up.

"You ready for a fight kitty?" He asked as he patted the dash. The lion roared in response alerting the fighters to his position. Opening a com channel he attempted to offer them a chance to escape. The one closest to him used that moment to fire upon the lion. With a grin and a flip he easily avoided the shot and then quickly returned fire. All three ships were quickly dispatched and he began a scan to make sure he had gotten them all.

What he didn't notice was the small coffin ship landing quietly in the forest near the mountains. The witch's plan was now underway.