Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.
Rating/Setting: Rating is T for kissing and groping. I know, who knew that I would write a story with some mild groping? Flavor is DotU, but is part of the "Just a Kiss" story arc. 1. Just a Kiss, 2. Shirts vs Skins, 3. More, and , Answers, and Intrigue. You really need to read them all to make sense of the story. Stories 1-3 are all pretty short and should be a quick read if you are interested.
Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! I love them! About halfway through this chapter you'll see the breaks change from XXXXXX to .*****. The story before the .***. was written 2014 I think through summer 2016. I wrote the rest of the story this spring :)
Chapter Fourteen
Sven looked grimly at his friends around the conference table. "There's been no trace of Keith?"
"We've narrowed it down to the foothills around Mynos and the mountains of Raytac that are closest to Mynos. Any old caverns or evacuation shelters would be perfect," Hunk reported. "Valeria Com is a dissident and hasn't been seen around her dwelling since yesterday. We've tried every method available to contact her and all have failed."
"The same goes for Loretta Roman. Her neighbors told me that she is rather zealous in her opposition to Alliance involvement on Arus," Lance added.
Coran nodded. "It's a starting place, but if their friends and families don't have any ideas of where they are or what they've been doing, it isn't that helpful."
"Well, you know that I-" Sven were cut off as the claxons sounded.
The group ran from the conference room into Castle Control. Robeast!
Allura turned with worried eyes to the team. "We haven't had a chance to discuss who's going to fly which Lion!" The fear in her voice was loud and clear.
Gripping her shoulders, Sven said, "I'll take Blue. You take Black."
"But the last time-"
"The last time you cut a robeast in half, Princess!" Lance yelled as he ran toward his tube.
"Come on, Princess! We know you can do it!" Hunk called as he grabbed his T-bar.
Sven and Pidge were right behind him. With a deep breath and a heavy heart, Allura ran towards door #1.
Thirty minutes later, a bedraggled team hobbled into Control. Lance had wrenched his shoulder and Hunk had a cut on his arm where he had collided with some of the electronics in Yellow Lion when he was thrown from his seat.
"You did it, Princess," Lance said to Allura as he walked beside her. "Keith will be proud." He saw her nod and knew that she was rather emotional right now after the battle and having flown Black, not knowing what was going on with Keith.
Allura looked to Coran. "Did the group contact you, Coran? I know it's been more than an hour now since we received the recording."
"A one word message: tomorrow."
"A slight reprieve." Turning to her team, she said, "Let's get changed and patched up. We'll meet in the dining hall for dinner and planning in an hour." She watched the men file out and her shoulders slumped. It was hard staying strong all the time.
Coran watched her with concern as she left the room.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Loren, Carp, and Mina looked at each other with concern when the alarm sounded in the underground bunker. A robeast attack near the castle was imminent. There were no concerns for them as the bunker had withstood attacks from Doom since the war began over a decade ago. But each of them had family in the area. Had their kidnapping of this man put their families at risk? The Circle's leadership had talked about the possibility that Doom would learn that Kogane was missing and take advantage of the situation. But they had decided that the potential benefits from their demands outweighed any possible negatives. And just like the beating that had occurred earlier, such things were easier to agree to when they were abstract.
Fifteen minutes into the tremors and loud explosions in the distance, Valeria had entered the room to tell them that the princess had been granted an extension until tomorrow.
Three pairs of eyes went back to the prone figure on the bed that hadn't moved since he'd been given the pain killer. All three had concerns over what Loretta would do to Kogane next if the princess didn't deal. They all hoped it would be something they could live with.
Two hours later, Carp was the only one left. Mina said there was nothing more she could do for the commander and Loren needed to get home to his family. Carp wasn't married and he lived alone, so there was no one expecting him.
Keith couldn't help but groan as he came too. In many ways, he wished that he hadn't woken. His back was just a mass of pain and agony. Even the slightest movements were excruciating.
"You know if you had just made some sounds like that during your beating, she might have stopped sooner."
Keith opened his eyes and tried to find the voice but he couldn't. A painful, screeching noise assailed his ears and moments later, he could see a chair on the other side of the bars. Then, a man sat down in the chair. A man he hadn't named yet but who he remembered from before the beating. In fact, he remembered the man asking Hostile (Loretta) to stop. She hadn't. But he had asked. "I couldn't. It's what she wanted and I wasn't going to give it to her."
Carp laughed. "You are going to be in for a painful time if that's the game you're going to play."
Keith looked seriously at the young man. "Is that what this is to you? A game?"
"Why, no, of course not. It was an expression I used for your behavior, not mine."
"Do you realize that Hostile is playing a game as well?"
"Hostile?" Carp asked. "Oh, is that what you call her." At Keith's nod, he said, "It fits." Then he paused and continued. "You think she's playing a game?"
"You honestly think she isn't?" Keith queried. "You think that she will let me walk away from this?"
Carp set forward. "Yes. We agreed upon it. You are not to be seriously harmed."
Keith laughed softly. "She hates the Alliance and since she can't attack them directly, I am the surrogate. I will be the recipient of all her vengeance."
"No. No you won't. We won't allow it."
Keith reached painfully behind him and removed the bag of melted ice and the damp towel. Carefully, he stood and turned his back to Carp. It was a mass of bruises and welts. Keith turned back around and sat on the edge of the bed and looked through the bars at the man he now called Reluctant. "During the beating, I heard you call to her to stop. But she didn't. Later, right before I blacked out, I heard you ask her again. This time it did stop, but I lost consciousness. My question for you is this. Did she stop because you asked her to or did she stop because she was satisfied for the moment?" He could almost sense Reluctant's thoughts. He'd given the man something to think about.
Carp (Reluctant) stood and left the room without another word.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The next morning, Keith was surprised when four people came into the room and asked him to stand and turn around. He complied as he felt this was at least part of the leadership of the Circle. He recognized Leader (Valeria), Reluctant (Carp), and Muscles (Morgan). The last member of the party was a woman that he didn't recognize.
"Are you in pain?" Valeria asked.
Keith turned to face the group. "I don't really think you need to ask that question."
Valeria nodded and then turned to the group providing them with some signal so that all followed her out of the room.
Once they were in the corridor, Valeria said, "We knew that he would have to be hurt to persuade the princess."
"But his back-" Carp began.
"Is not seriously cut and bleeding." Daphne interjected. "He can stand and move. There is no permanent damage." Her tone indicated that she saw nothing wrong in Keith's treatment.
"I'm concerned that Loretta started out with this level of consequence," Morgan said. He had been the one to request Carp to go to the chamber and observe the beating. "She takes way too much pleasure in Kogane's pain."
"I'm afraid she won't be willing to let him go," Carp said as he reflected back on what the Voltron commander had told him that morning.
"He won't be permanently injured and we all agreed that no matter what happens with the princess that we would release the commander in three weeks. We agreed and we will stand by that decision," Valeria said.
The group had been focused on their discussion and had not heard Loretta and Kareem enter. "Well, if you coddle her with no real threat then she'll just wait us out. She has brought in that other Garrison pilot so the planet is safe. Let's be sure that she understands the pain that we can bring." Loretta walked further into the room.
Kareem hung back slightly as the air charged with tension. He had so far had more of a supporting role in the Circle but had come to the bunker because of concerns expressed by Carp. Now he understood them. "Loretta, pain is one thing," he said. "Vengeance is another."
Loretta scowled at him and said, "Just put the demands to the princess again. We delayed because of the attack. There is no reason to delay any longer." She looked at them: Valeria, Morgan, Carp, Daphne, and Kareem. The seven who made up the leadership of the Circle were all in attendance except for Isis who was still at the castle.
"Agreed," Valeria said. "We shall have Morgan make contact again."
.**********.
Allura closed her eyes as the view screen went blank. She had denied the Circle their demands once again but this time, Arn had ended with a disturbing comment: "I'm sorry that the commander's pain didn't soften your heart. Perhaps if he is more vocal you might be persuaded."
"We'll find him," Coran said as he pulled her into an embrace.
"But how much will he suffer before we do?" Allura asked as she leaned her head against his chest.
.**********.
The six members of the council gathered in the room that contained Keith's cell. All wore their hoods and masks. Keith hated it, but they were an imposing and eerie sight. He stood slowly and faced them. "She held firm?"
"She still denies our requests-" Valeria began.
"You mean your demands," Keith retorted.
"Call it what you will commander. She is not willing to concede."
Keith snorted. "Good for her."
The one he called Hostile stepped forward. "It may be good for her, Commander. But it will most definitely be bad for you."
As the one he called Muscles moved toward the keys that opened the cell, a small explosion could be heard in the room beyond.
"Quickly," the one he called Leader shouted. "Get your weapons!" The six then rushed from the room.
Keith could hear shouts and shots being fired. He grasped the bars of his cell tightly as he listened for something that would indicate a rescue. But nothing was familiar. The blaster had a higher pitch tone than Drule or Garrison ones. Then he heard a voice and recognized the accent. He dropped his hands from the bars and stepped back. "Out of the frying pan and into the fryer," he muttered as the door to the room burst open.
A haze of smoke came in with the dark clad figure that stood six foot tall. The figure pulled the breathing mask from his face exposing a burnt orange skin tone. When he smiled, the teeth were pointed. "Commander Keith Kogane I presume?"
Keith nodded and knew his situation had just gotten much worse. He was now in the hands of Stymax pirates. The bright green symbol on the right sleeve indicated it. They were known for their black market selling of weapons and… slaves.