Author's Note: This is a short story about...aw, heck, just read it. It goes along with my other stories, but if you haven't read them, don't worry about it - you'll catch on quick.

This story is dedicated to my friend Emie Mac, who was the first to know about it. And not only that, Jeff's her main man. Here's for you, my Doll!

And to my girl bknbu and my Lovey Wade Wells...there's a scene for you in Part 3, I think you'll know what I mean when you get there!

I own nothing except my characters, and I do this for fun/stress relief purposes only, and not profit.

The lyrics are, as always, all for Mer3Girl.

Princess of China: Part 1


"Once upon a time somebody ran

Somebody ran away saying fast as I can

I've got to go, I've got to go!

Once upon a time we fell apart

You're holding in your hands the two halves of my heart..."

- Coldplay ft. Rihanna, "Princess of China"


Commander Jonathan James Hawkins stifled an irritated sigh as the image of Earth came onto the screen. He knew he shouldn't be so annoyed, but he couldn't help it. The Voltron Vehicle Team had just defeated Emperor Zeppo and Viceroy Throk, and had begun the colonization of a new Planet Drule. He'd wanted to stay for longer than they had. Commander Hazar needed all the help he could get.

But no, they had to go back to Earth. For a wedding.

The commander didn't know the couple getting married. He only knew that half of his Vehicle Team had been invited. From the information he'd gathered, Cliff was a guest, Lisa was a bridesmaid with Ginger and Cinda, Shannon was a groomsman along with Modoch and Wolo, and Jeff was walking the bride down the aisle. And because of that, the Explorer had to dock in New York for a few days and take away from their original mission.

Oh well, he thought. He'd make the best of it. I'll check on the triplex. And maybe Rich and I should go out. Hit up Per Se or Cipriani.

As if the captain was reading his mind, Richard Newley's ship hailed the Explorer, and his face appeared on the private screen in front of him. "Jon," he greeted his old friend, "what are we doing while we're in New York?"

"I was thinking we'd go back to the triplex and relax."

"Boring." The captain's smirk burned through him. "You need to come up with something better to do before we dock."

Hawkins smirked. "I'll let you know when I figure it out. How does that sound?"

"Like a cop-out."

"Good-bye, Rich." He shut the communication off and leaned back in the chair.

Back in the day, he and Rich had been quite the duo. Before they were promoted to Captain and Commander of the S.S. Explorer, back when they were both working under Commander Moriarty, they had been known to run wild when they docked, hitting up fancy restaurants or upscale bars and picking up women. Jon's uncle, Jacob Christopher Hawkins, had often used his influence and wealth to secure them entry into the best places. So it was no wonder that Rich wanted to do something.

But Uncle Jacob was gone. All that was left of him was Jon's inheritance.

There was something else that had died with him: Jon's philandering ways. When Uncle Jacob was alive, the commander had been more than happy to go out carousing, picking up random women, having flings and then literally calling it a night. But now that he was older, he began to think that maybe settling down with one woman wasn't such a bad idea, after all.

Ironically, he hadn't begun to think that way until Lieutenant Stensson made her way onto his ship last year.

Sitting back into his seat, Jon thought about exactly what he wanted to do for the few days they were docked in New York. He wanted to see the lieutenant again. He didn't know how he was going to make that happen, but he was going to try.


"I can't wait to see these dresses!" Ginger cried out as the dome-shaped buildings that made up Garrison island came into view. "I mean, if she's gonna be putting us in hot pink, then it had better be a hot dress!"

"You know who'll look good in hot pink, Cupcake? Cinda." Shannon smirked at Ginger, then turned his sights to the Miran Land Team member. "That hot pink will pop against her blue skin."

"Dude, now you sound like a girl." Ginger playfully pinched him. "And where the heck did you come up with Cupcake?"

"Since you're just as sweet as one." He shot her a cheesy wink.

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, gross."

Lisa laughed off the Irishman's attempts at flirting with her Academy roommate. "What do you think, Jeff?" she asked her boyfriend, squeezing his hand. "Do you think I'll look as good in hot pink as Cinda will?"

The Air Team captain's dark eyes scanned the horizon over Garrison Island. He was completely oblivious to his girlfriend's words. It wasn't until she squeezed his hand harder that he took note. "Sorry, Lis. What did you say?"

She giggled. "Never mind." She rested her head against his shoulder and looked out at Garrison Island with him. "You're worrying because your best friend is getting married, and you don't know the groom all that well, other than the fact that he beat Lance's pants off at every shooting competition at the Academy. And you wish that you had met him a lot sooner than a couple of days before the wedding."

Jeff sighed. "Bingo."

She was right, of course. He wished fiercely that he had been around for the length of his best friend's relationship with her soon-to-be husband. He wanted to know who he was. He wanted to gauge for himself that David Rackens was a good guy, one worthy of Morgan Feld.

It had been easy with Keith. During their time at the Academy, when he and Keith Kogane were rooming together, Jeff knew exactly what was Morgan was getting. Their relationship may have been volatile, but at least he knew what it entailed and who was involved. As far as David was concerned, though, Jeff could only rely on testimonies from Modoch, Shannon, and Wolo. And the last time they saw him was five years ago. Five years.

"Well, you should stop worrying," Lisa attempted to soothe him. "Morgan's one of the smartest people I know. She wouldn't get married if she didn't think he was the kind of guy she could spend her entire life with."

"So do you think she would have married Keith if he hadn't gone to Arus?"

"Ooh." Lisa exhaled. "Honestly? I think, yes, they would have gotten married. But they'd be divorced by now."

"Ouch," Jeff winced.

At the mention of Keith's name, the Air Team captain's mind began to drift to another Kogane. I really should make time to see Chris while we're on Earth, he thought. I did make him a promise to watch over his sister to the best of my ability. And I haven't seen her for a long time.

It was good that he wasn't technically in the bridal party. Yes, he would walk Morgan down the aisle, but he wasn't a groomsman. How much rehearsing could that possibly require? He quickly decided that on the night before the wedding, he would hang out with Christiane while everyone else was at the rehearsal dinner.

As soon as he made his decision, Lisa shot him a funny look. She was so intuitive, almost like she could read his mind, but she couldn't. She couldn't possibly know that he was planning on spending time with another woman while she was otherwise preoccupied.

Could she?


When the Explorer finally landed, Shannon nearly bounced down the gangplank, with Modoch and Wolo following close behind. They knew that their friends were waiting for them.

The bride and groom, David and Morgan, were already there. Jamie Gatehouse, David's shooting partner from the Academy and Shannon's old roommate, was waiting as well. Hanging out with them was Kelly Asimov, who was both an old friend of the bride's and Modoch's girlfriend. It was a small greeting party, but it was exciting nonetheless.

"Rackens! Gatehouse!" Shannon shouted, racing towards them joyfully. He grabbed each one of them for a patented one-armed guy "hug." He eyed Morgan, with her violet eyes and long black hair, shot with threads of aubergine and cerulean, before turning back to David. "Seven hells, man. You did good with this one. She's a looker."

"Hey, I thought we agreed before we even got on the Explorer: you can't say seven hells with an Irish brogue, man," Wolo teased the Irishman as he greeted his old friends. "David, Jamie, it's good to see you both." He glanced at Morgan and Kelly, then asked, confused, "Where's Cole?"

"Harmonn's coming in from Austin tonight," David explained. "His flight's not until later." Cole Harmonn, David's old Academy roommate and best man, had defected from the Garrison entirely after graduation and went to work for NASA. He was currently stationed in Texas, but wouldn't miss the wedding for anything.

He was going to say more, but he was cut off by Kelly's playful shriek. Modoch had lifted his girlfriend up in the air and was kissing her face all over. The guys laughed at what a doting, lovesick man he'd become.

"Mo, you'd better not let Harmonn catch you doing all that lovey-dovey stuff," Jamie warned the giant Land Team member. "The king of the hook-ups will never let you live it down."

As Modoch laughed in response, Jeff came bounding down the gangplank, his eyes scanning for his best friend. "Morganza!" he cried out, racing from his girlfriend's side to the bride. He enveloped her in a sweeping embrace and kissed the side of her face. "I've missed you!"

She laughed, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "Amigo! I've missed you too! So much! Thank God you're here - I can't get married without you." She noticed the girls out of the corner of her eye. Pulling away from Jeff, she moved to embrace the rest of her friends.

Morgan had one arm around Lisa and the other around Ginger, while Kelly had both arms wrapped around her old roommate, Cinda. "Oh, I love this picture," Cliff greeted the bride. "But there's someone missing. Actually, two someones. Where's my Mate? And where's Len?"

David didn't know his fiancée's friends from the Explorer, but he did know Aidan Dalloway and Lenora Stensson. "I think she's still working," he informed the Land Team captain. "She's pulling the late shift because she's taking a few days off from work for the wedding. And I'm sure Aidan's waiting for her."

"Why would Aidan be waiting for Len?" Cinda asked as the pieces slowly came together.

"Because," Kelly answered, "they've been joined at the hip since Len's mother passed away."

Silence. The friends-turned-family stood around in a stunned silence.

Finally, Cliff cleared his throat. "So you're telling us that my Mate is dating Len?"

Morgan nodded. "Yup. I know, it came as a surprise to me, too."

Lisa's large, dark eyes opened even wider in surprise. "But what about Sve -"

"We know, Lis," Kelly cut her off. "We know. The weird thing is, she's still wearing Sven's wedding band around her neck." She shrugged. "Dalloway doesn't seem to mind. He's crazy about her. I have to admit, they seem pretty happy with each other."

Ginger blinked incredulously. "I don't believe it."

"Me neither." With one arm draped over Morgan's shoulders, Jeff's gaze shot towards David. "So, Morganza, are you going to officially introduce me to your fiancé, or do I have to do the honors myself?"

She laughed. "Oh, of course, Amigo. Hon," she called called out, "come over here. I want you to meet my best friend in the entire world. This," she announced proudly, "is Jeffrey Manabu Aki, captain of the Voltron Vehicle Force and its Air Team."

"Pleasure." David shook Jeff's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, Jeff. I've heard a lot about Morgan's amigo." He offered a rare smile that reached his grey eyes. Then, turning to his fiancée, he asked, "I thought Lenora was your best friend...?"

"Wifey, Dave. She's my Wifey. Jeff here is my best friend."

David looked confused, locking eyes with Shannon. "Okay, then. What's left to say to that, old boy?"

"Seven hells," Shannon answered.

"Shannon!" Wolo chided. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can't say 'seven hells' in an Irish brogue?"

Modoch laughed, never taking his eyes off his girlfriend. "We outlawed it a long time ago. Man, it's a good thing Harmonn isn't here yet. He'd lay into you but good if he heard that."

Jamie snorted, "Yeah, well, coming from the guy who felt free to raid David's British vocabulary, I'd say that's ridiculous."

Morgan exhaled. "This is gonna be a long night," she sighed, snuggling into Jeff. Although her soon-to-be husband was the love of her life, she knew that no man would understand her - or love her - the same way her Amigo did. As they all headed back to the old Victorian house that she and David had recently rehabbed, she realized how much she'd missed him.

She needed his blessing. She couldn't marry David if she didn't have it.