Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Voltron characters.

Beta Reader :-) – Dawn

Setting & Rating: DotU in nature, but AU in that none of this (or events leading up to this) ever occurred in the series. I think it's possible to read this one without reading the previous stories, but it will make more sense as past story events are referenced. The order of my related stories is: Mistletoe & Valentines (1), Hidden Hearts (2), and Retaliation (3). Has a rating of Mature for most chapters for physical violence. Lotor is not kind or nice anywhere in this story. Though it's not in this chapter, be warned that torture is a part of this arc.

A/N: This is my original work. There are a number of stories out there that deal with torture, but any similarities are coincidental.

**Based on the comments of my wonderful editor, I will endeavor to put A/N at the beginning of the chapters indicating the level of violence. There will be chapters that reference no violence and I don't want anyone to stop reading the story because of the torture involved in future chapters. So keep reading and just check the A/N to see what may be going on in the chapter.

Safe to read. For those that are wondering... the 'bad' stuff starts in the next chapter. (Smithy, your fears are not unfounded.)

Chapter Ten: Who Goes, Who Stays

When Allura walked into the conference room, she found Coran and Lance already there. Pidge had wanted to stop by and check on Hunk again. Moving to an open seat, she sat down. They would begin their discussion when Pidge arrived. No need to repeat things. Allura closed her eyes, put her fingers to her temples, and started massaging her head. There was a slight headache that she was sure would grow into a large one. She hadn't eaten in hours, she had thrown up from stress, and her husband was taken by an egomaniac. Yes, she was sure the headache would grow. Opening her eyes, she saw Pidge sitting a glass of water, some tablets, and some plain crackers in front of her. She looked at him questioningly.

"Dr. Gorma said you would probably have a headache and sent all of this with me. He said to take the pills and eat the crackers." Seeing her skeptical look, Pidge continued, "He said if that wasn't enough, to tell you that you won't be any good to the commander if you can't think straight."

Narrowing her blue eyes, she thought about it. Yes, that sounded like Gorma. For once, she did as she was told by the doctor without complaining. Hopefully, the pills would help quickly. She nibbled at her crackers even though she really didn't want them, but realistically, she knew she should eat them.

Pidge sat in his seat as Lance addressed Coran. "So what did the computer diagnostics and reports show?"

"The computer and its programs are all working correctly. The reports show that there was an anomalous reading in the area where Lotor's ship appeared yesterday morning just before dawn."

"So he was observing and planning yesterday," Pidge commented. "That was unusually patient for Lotor."

"I think this has been the plan since he went off on that campaign. They've been observing us and our routines and waited for our guard to relax just a little." Lance slammed his hand down. "Okay, enough of what we can't change. Pidge, can you work on the computer so that the program recognizes the anomaly that is the stealth ship?"

"Yes, but it's going to take at least a few hours to rewrite the code and modify some of the programs."

"Get on it right after this meeting." Lance then surveyed the group. "Okay, we followed them all the way to Doom. We know that is where they took Keith, and unless they took the tracker out of him, he's still there. Our plan is to go in under the cover of dark to Castle Doom. The plan had been for Hunk and I to go, but that is out of the question and we can't wait for Sven. I know that he and Romelle are on a diplomatic mission that would take them several days to return from. We're down two team members and two Lions."

Allura spoke up. "I want to go. I can replace Hunk."

Leaning forward, Coran vehemently objected. "Out of the question, my Queen. We cannot risk having both you and the prince captured."

But Allura wasn't looking at Coran, she was looking at Lance.

Lance sat back in his chair. Allura was right, and Coran was right. This was a military decision and it was his to make. Taking a moment to weigh the pros and cons of both teammates, Lance made his decision. Pidge would not be physically able to carry Keith if he was injured, that task would fall to Lance if Pidge went. Allura would only be able to offer slight physical assistance. Pidge was better with firearms, but Allura could really handle herself in close quarters. Pidge would be able to patch into the Drule computer system. That was a big plus. And the final thing that swayed him was that Keith could be on death's door when they found him. Allura would be an unknown emotionally. Pidge would be able to compartmentalize his emotions until they were away from Doom. All the Force had been trained in that skill; Allura had not. "I'm sorry Allura, I'm taking Pidge. He will give me the best chance of bringing Keith home." He saw her face fall as he leaned forward to take her hand. "I know you would give me everything you have. You would help me carry him, you would kick ass, and you would shoot whoever needed to be shot." He saw her give a frail little smile.

Returning the squeeze on his hand, she added, "But…"

"But Pidge can patch into the computer system, which we may need to do. We also don't know what kind of shape Keith will be in. While it will hurt Pidge and me on the inside, we'll be able to push those emotions aside. We'll be able to think clearly and complete the mission. It's something we've been trained to do and you have not. It's not saying that you are lacking in anything; it's just saying you haven't been trained like we have."

She squeezed his hand again and drew a deep but ragged breath. "I understand. I am okay with staying here if the reasons are related to my abilities to complete the mission and not the fact that I am queen."

Looking her in the eye, Lance said with a characteristic smirk, "You should know me well enough by now, Allura, I don't take the royalty stuff too seriously. I would never keep you from a mission just because you are queen."

Coran cleared his voice and said, "Well, I'm glad that the queen will not be going. We have the craft already in the launch bay as prepared by the commander. All the supplies will be rechecked. Are there any new additions that need to be made? Any alterations now that Pidge will be going instead of Hunk?" Coran glanced from Pidge to Lance.

"I don't think there are any changes." Pidge looked over to Lance. "Can you think of any, Lieutenant?"

"I think you and I should review the contents of the ship just to be sure."

Coran looked at the clock on the wall. How long had Keith been on Doom? Three, maybe four hours? Looking at Lance, he asked, "What is the timeline on your departure?"

"It's late, but Pidge and I aren't going to get any sleep tonight. We will review the contents of the ship, change, and try to get a little rest. If we want to time our arrival right after the night shift change, we have to wait four more hours before we leave."

Four more hours to wait, plus the travel time. It's not what any of them wanted, but it was the plan that they made with Keith. It would be a long wait for all of them.