Three Weeks

It had been three weeks since Lotor had met with the Alliance delegation. Tamrack counted the days, and Savin readied the crew, sure Lotor would move the fleet around Arusian airspace, but Lotor did not budge. He had been confident that a certain piece of weaponry was there to defend Arus. He was slightly disconcerted. Reports came in that he Arusian forces had ramped up their military patrols and their space fleet was at the ready. The lions were seen maneuvering but there were no reports of Voltron. He pushed aside his concerns. He knew the mega droid expended a lot of energy and maybe they wanted it on full charge is Lord Vashru's fleet appeared. Tamrack had interviewed Allura and even if she was lying he would have seen right through it. He had assured Lotor again and again that Voltron was functioning. .

The Seeker had been wrong. Tamrack seemed even more relieved than Lotor when Savin's predictions about Lord Vashru's appearance in Arusian space proved faulty. Of course, it did not mean that Vashru was not coming; it just meant that they had more time to prepare a strategy to defeat him. On the other hand, so did his enemy. Vashru could be setting up a base of operations and what was supposed to be a short operation could go on for months, even years.

Savin, on the other hand, was a wreck. He ha miscalculated. He spent days moving around the war room, staring at star maps, and driving poor Losh insane asking him every bit of minutia about fleet supply. Logistically, Lord Vashru's fleet could last months without resurfacing, but if his fleet was going to stay at full strength he would need a base of operations soon. Tamrack was infuriated with the Wyverin who was ignoring his requests. Savin had become preoccupied trying to determine where Vashru would strike next and was barely communicating with any of the crew. The Wyverin had spent the last week calculating the most likely locations for Lord Vashru to establish a permanent base instead of focusing on the more immediate problem of where and how they were going to halt his forces. Again, Arus was on the short list and a message was sent to that effect. In the end, it was a small Alliance mining outpost called Cabrisi which was close to Pollux. Savin had been wrong again, and this time he was being insufferable.

Day after day, it was the same routine that had Lotor's command staff and him on edge. They needed to find the enemy, come up with a plan of attack, and make sure every one showed up. Looking back at the last seven years of his life, Lotor had gone from being a prince to a professional mercenary. Although, considering if was for the Emperor, the pay was much better and until a few months ago Lotor had been very satisfied with his position. .

The years had changed him. Somewhere he had lost his rebellious, carefree spirit. He had become boring and except on the battlefield, too predictable. Tamrack was right, he needed a vacation. He was tired of living vicariously through Tam's exploits. Even when he tried to share a few stories of his less than righteous past, except for those involving violence or killing, he was met be disbelief. His men, behind his back, had taken to calling him the "Old Man" because he was strict and conservative. It would be good, for just a day, to be Lotor, the bad boy Prince of Doom. He was sure that after everything that had happened with Hazar, his father would have reinstated his position, but here was nothing but silence when it was briefly mentioned. Instead, in a gesture that bordered on touching, he returned his swords.

"We have him chase a decoy into the Rarvon Nebula and then draw him into the Rift of Perisis. We can then open up a Bostim wormhole, flipping the polarity of the fields. While they are trying to figure out what happened, we then hit them with a dampening field knocking out their hull generators and then force him to back the fleet into a minefield net." Tamrack leaned over the charts. He was pleased with the complexity of his plan.

"Savin, what do you think?" The winged demon circled the large board. Its long nailed fingers swiftly moved across the screen at a blinding pace. Then, a flurry of barely audile clicks started, as the creature was doing his mental calculations. Savin begin his rocking back and forth as he considered all the possibilities,

"Savin gives this operation a 68.9% chance of success. The fields will only neutralize the weapons systems. The Imperial Forces will still be required to board 23% of Lord Vashru's ships. Projected causality rate of the boarding parties will be 67% Drules, 5% Wyverins." Three loud clicks followed.

"Savin, just once could it be the other way around." Tamrack ran his hands through his hair.

"Savin cannot change the fact that Drules are weak and stupid." Savin gave a birdlike chirp that was akin to what a Drule would call a laugh.

"Those numbers are unacceptable, not to mention I do not need the risk of a singularity getting out of control and sucking in my own fleet to parts unknown. Opening up wormholes may be an everyday event for a Guild Master, but this is a military fleet and not automated cargo ships. Tam, can you please come up with something a little less dangerous. I am going back to my cabin to take a rest period. Maybe some sleep will help." Lotor heard Tamrack groan.

"Wait, you are going to leave me alone with him?" Tamrack protested.

"Do not worry, Tamrack of the Fifth House. Savin has already had his required protein for the day." Three clicks and a long whistle followed.

"Oh, lighten up. He is actually trying to make a joke we can all understand. At least I think he is." Lotor threw a wink to Savin who started to click excitedly. Tamarack threw Lotor an evil glare. "I will be back when the shift changes. Behave yourselves." Lotor hurried down the hall. They were getting nowhere fast. They had worked through several scenarios and either Lord Vashru won, which would have been disastrous, or Lotor lost half the fleet. Savin and Tam had been at each other's throats all day. On top of that, he was supposed to meet with Zarkon and Hazar tomorrow evening . A Guild delegation was coming to make some sort of peace gesture to the Republic. It seems the cold war in the Border Territory might be ending soon, It was an on and off thing that had lasted for five hundred years.. Lotor was tired and he had a headache. He was sure that Hazar was going to hound him for the details of his master plan to take down Lord Vashru. So far, he had nothing.

He should have stayed longer the last time Hazar had come to Korrinoth. He just could not stomach being in the room another minute with her. He would have loved to seen the look on Allura's face when Arus and the Alliance had taken a backseat to Korrinoth. In the end, even Hazar could compromise his morals if it meant some security for their people. The Alliance, according to Hazar, was not registering the threat of the Wyverins. And why should they, thought Lotor, most of their worlds were far away from the Denubian Galaxy. Humans had, going by galactic time, been recent inhabitants of the Denubian Galaxy. By the time they had arrived, the Wyverin Empire was already crumbling around he edges. Even during the thousand years of overlap, the Wyverins had shown little interest in their small populations that had no real value for them.

For the most part, it was the Drules that had taken the brunt of the attacks, and eventually pushed them out after eons of being under their rule. Had the Wyverins not been having an internal crisis, the Drules would have still been slaves to this race. There was no doubt about it; the Wyverins were stronger, faster and smarter than everyone else. They were insatiable creatures, ancient as time itself. Even though they had been pushed back, and to some extent neutralized for centuries, they were still feared by ever man, woman and child in the Drule territories. In there literature they were portrayed as creatures not of this reality but demons from another plane banished by the gods themselves. Lotor, of course, did not believe this. He had killed enough of them to put that belief to rest.

As he made it back to his quarters, he felt his locator vibrate again. His communications officer had texted that Queen Allura of Arus had tried to contact him again. Almost two weeks had passed since they had met and still his heart was raging in fury at what he had seen. He would not have cared a wit if Lord Vashru had raped Arus to the ground, and then, for jollies, do it again such was his anger. Nor did his feelings improve when he talked with Zarkon, and then later with Barak about the dire straits that Korrinoth was in. The upper and middle classes were the first to leave. Everything from hospitals, schools, factories, and here vast mines were all in a state of collapse. Korrinoth's vast reserves had been kept in escrow while plaintiffs filed suit after suit against the battered world. It can to no one's surprise that Arus had the most claims against his world.

Lotor took a shower and let the warm water run down his body. What could she possible want to say to him? Lotor growled softly as he closed his eyes and her image appeared to him. Tamrack had taken an instant dislike to the woman and had spent the week barraging her. Yet, it was Savin, in his remarkably efficient way that had driven in the knife. As usual, he wrote a comprehensive report about the interactions he had witnessed during the meeting on Korrinoth. He went into great detail about Allura's reaction to Tamrack. He described the prolonged gaze, the increased heartbeat, the inviting smile and the blush of her cheeks all, as the Wyverin said, "indicating a willingness to mate" in the human species. Lotor was a little perturbed that the Wyverin went down this route. Lotor would have usually been amused as he never knew what bizarre monologue would be in a Wyverin report, they all had a tendency to digress if a subject interested them, but this was all too much. Savin then added the final blow. He recorded the interaction with Lotor as being "hostile" in nature. Lotor thought that was an understatement.

Lotor touched the counsel, and after a brief conversation with his communication officer, was patched into the Castle of Lions. He was still pulling on a shirt when she appeared on the screen. She looked exhausted. Dark circles were under her eyes. Her hair, though still an enticing shade of gold, was a mess. She must have been in bed when he called. He smiled. If she had looked her usual ravishing self, he feared he would start fantasizing about her. This, on the other hand, bordered on wonderful.

"You look as tired as I do" He spoke to her in flawless Arusian.

"You still remember. I never really mastered Drule." Allura spoke softly.

"It is a difficult language and you were a terrible student." Lotor caught himself. He did not want to let down his guard.

"Have you seen the news feeds today?" Her voice was shaking and he thought he saw tears brining in her eyes. "Lotor, I'm scared."

"If you are referring to Cabrisi, I am aware of its occupation. Actually it was the best news of the week, it has bought us time. We were anticipating that he would need a base of operations and assumed he would attempt to conquer Arus. The bad news is that he had a steady supply of lazon. He is setting up for the long haul, just like Hazar surmised. It would be nice to think that this is all about me but I too think he has ulterior motives for situating himself in the Denubian Galaxy. He is planning on conquering it and using it to gain control of the Western Territories. That is the problem when you remove one tyrant, another one moves right in and all the bloodshed begins again" Lotor leaned back in his chair. "Power vacuums tend to attract the worse sort of men." He flashed her a brilliant smile.

"Lotor, you have to do something. The outpost was populated by young families. They killed off all the males. They were ripping off limbs of the men while they still lived and devoured them. It was like a picture from hell. As for the women….the Wyverins have no decency. They took them, in the middle of the streets. It was disgusting." He heard the panic in her voice as she described scene after scene of rape, murder and pillage. "They are worse than Drules." The concern for others still burned deep within Allura, Lotor could see the pain in her face. For a moment, he thought about how she treated his people and tried to reconcile the two Alluras. It only served to harden his heart. Lotor had listened impassively to her rant, until finally he interrupted.

"No, they are not worse than Drules. They are just physically more unattractive. Does it really matter if a Wyverin has your for lunch or a robeast steps on you. Dead is dead," Lotor was actually rejoicing in her angst. "As for the women, well, that is expected. They will mate with anything on two feet. Sometimes, even four. In that area, they are a very curious species. They actually think they are providing a needed service. In their minds, they are genetically enhancing other species by interbreeding with them. In fact, they were the ones that introduced the custom of bride by capture to Korrinoth."

"Your friend called the practice juvenile." Allura shot back. For a moment, the image of the impossibly handsome man came to mind. It only then occurred to her that she did not even learn his name.

"I knew you were attracted to him but I did not realize that you two had already discussed Drule marriage customs. Maybe I can be your best man." Allura could hear the jealousy filtering into his voice, A dark flash of anger entered into those yellow eyes,

"Lotor, I did not call about Cabrisi or your colleague. They are incidental." Allura paused. "Coran thinks we should call a truce. Perhaps an alliance between Arus and Korrinoth would be beneficial to both of us. At least, that is, until Lord Vashru is contained."

"So, Voltron is out of commission." Lotor threw his head back and uttered a curse. "I knew it. I hate it when Tamrack lies to me. He is so damn good at it."

"Voltron is fine. I do not know how this rumor started, but I assure you, it is false." Allura looked Lotor in the eyes, trying to stare him down over the monitor

"If you really want to talk an alliance, come meet me face to face. Do not try to obfuscate the truth. I can read you like a book." Lotor peered into the monitor and looked intently into her eyes. He had seen that look when they were children. She would present it after she had lost but refused to concede. His voice softened "Now, I am really tired. I am going to sleep, and from the looks of it, little sister, you should do the same."

"Lotor…" Allura paused, and took a deep breath.

"Yes, Allura.." He asked impatiently.

"Thank you for taking my call. I know how upset you are about Korrinoth." Allura almost sounded apologetic.

"Perhaps it is best that we do not discuss that particular topic." He reached over to the counsel and angrily swiped his hand across it,

Allura looked at the blank screen. She had heard Coran enter during the conversation.

"You really expect me to trust him? Coran, it is not over. Did you see how angry he was over an innocent flirt with his officer. He is still obsessed with me." She whirled around and faced the advisor.

"I know. I am counting on it. The Alliance has just about said that their help will be limited. Hazar is correct. We are nothing more than an outpost to the Alliance, without Voltron we are about as useful as backwater onion farmers." Coran sighed. "Cabrisi is just the start." Coran walked over and put his hand on her shoulder. "If the legends of the Wyverins are half true, you face a graver threat than your father ever did."

"I saw the security tapes from Cabrisi. They were like demons from hell. How can even Lotor expect to fight that." Allura started to cry.

"From the sounds of it, he has already.. You are forgetting he has been bred, generation upon generation, from the finest warlord stock the Universe. Something tells me that if he is pushed he could easily match, and probably surpass, Lord Vashru. And that is a good thing, we have no need for an angel right now." Coran backed away and reached over to get a tissue. Gently, he dried her tears,

"He's right. You haven't slept in days and tomorrow we are going back to Doom." Coran walked her over to her bed.

"Zarkon will gloat." Allura mumbled as her head crashed into the pillow.

"Let him, he is an ass." Coran answered as he turned out the light. "Now, go to sleep."