Good morning! (As it is 12:34am) Sunday morning. Here is the next chapter. My apologies for it being so late. Really sorry!
KathDMD: You know I've always liked Hazar. Good or bad, the man has my heart. LOL! Oh, I was waiting for that kiss myself. LOL Thanks for reading! I know life is even crazier with that gorgeous baby! Loved that picture!
Snyperlady: I want your fic posted now! I need that wedding to happen! I hope you'll like where I'm going with the lions. There's more…hee hee hee. And yes, Lotor's obsession is there, it's just a little different from what we originally have a Lotor's twisted infatuation with Allura.
Sunshineleo: Thank you for reading. Yeah, I know life is busy! Look at when I'm posting! But I appreciate you taking the time to read and review. Very appreciative. I want my Lotor's from now own to have a little more meat in them. LOL! And yes, more K/A to come.
GoPinkLion: LOL! 13 chapters for that kiss? You cracked me up! There'll be more. I promise.
CubbiesFan1: I love that we can torment each other on our stories! LOL! Yes, Lotor and Keith will face each other at some point in the story and all I can tell you is that it's going to be brutal. Yes, Keith is connected to all of them. But why? What's the secret there? Hmmm…..LOL!
Okay guys and gals! Here. You. Go!
Playlist
Mazzy Star-Into Dust
Emotional Mix Volume 1-Where Civilization Once Lay
Oasis-Slide Away (Acoustic)
Chapter 14
Late into the evening, Coran sat in his office reading over the plan Keith sent him. The idea the captain put together was perfect. However, finding the right person would prove gravely difficult. As he finished reading the report, the advisor removed his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes. Sighing, his mind traveled to earlier in the day and the fight that occurred between Keith and Lance. The two of them fighting each other did not surprise him. As a matter of fact, he lost count of how many times he stopped their bouts in the past.
Years ago, he dealt with two young men that barely passed young adulthood. One, bold and impulsive. A risk taker in nature whose ego and impatience prevailed over order and reflection. The other, a born military leader whose attributes included keen perception, logic and intelligence. A strategic visionary whose self-confidence and decision making skills went beyond his current years, but his lack of patience and people skills overshadowed his strengths. At first, the combination of the two yielded nothing but challenges and arguments. But, Coran noted that what kept the two young men working together was their fierce loyalty to the team, the lions and Arus. With time, the two worked through their issues and found commonality. Synergy grew and developed into a friendship close to brotherhood.
Coran shook his head in regret, thinking of how shameful that friendship ended. And how they behaved toward each other now. Funny that despite their differences, their loyalty remains the same.
Going back to the report, Coran pondered. Putting someone on Korrinth and having them fit proved challenging. The best person for the job was Keith or Lance, but neither one would last a day. It needed to be someone completely unknown to Korrinth and the galaxy. A forgettable face, a chameleon of sorts. As the advisor continued thinking, a knock of his office door drew him to the present.
"Come in," his gaze traveled to the entrance of his office. It didn't take long for his lips to widen into a smile as he watched his daughter walk in. Coran stood up, "Ellie, what do I owe this wonderful surprise?"
"Dad," the woman immediately walked to her father and hugged him, "I'm sorry to bother you. I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time."
"You are never a bother my dear," he tightened the hug. "I'm glad to see you as often as I can. Now," Coran said as he led Romelle into the living area of his office, "What do I owe this wonderful visit?"
"Well," she shrugged playfully as they both sat down in one of the sofas, "I'm actually here to ask you for a favor?"
"That statement sounded more like a question," Coran chuckled lightheartedly. "You know what you just reminded me of?"
"What?" she laughed along with her father.
"That time you were thirteen and you and Allura practically begged me not to send you to Matron Hilda's class for tutoring because you preferred to go the lake with your friends."
"It was the first day of summer, Dad!" she laughed harder. "Only you would send Allura and me to tutoring when everyone else was out of school."
"You needed tutoring in mathematics," he reminded her.
"Allura needed tutoring," Romelle reminded him. "I had to pay the price for her lack of studying."
"You know she always preferred hitting the mats rather than hitting the books," Coran sighed.
"She's more of your daughter than I am," the woman gently squeezed her father's hand.
He snorted, "At times, she's going to take the little life I have left out of me. Your cousin rattles my nerves."
"That's because you kept fighting yourself, Dad. Face it, Allura is the female version of you," Romelle shrugged. "Now, enough about my cousin's antics. I need a favor and only you can help me."
"I'm at your disposal, my dear."
"I need the ballroom of the old castle."
Coran looked at her curiously, "Romelle, that's deep underground and we've never used it. Why on Arus would you want to use that room?"
Growing serious the blonde haired woman pleaded her case, "You know that every year I am in charge of the Arus Children's Foundation Gala. This year we are expecting a huge turn out and with everything that has been happening lately, the board is considering cancelling it. If we do, it would be horrible for the children. We depend on this gala to bring in at least forty percent of the funds we utilize to help the orphanages and the homes we rebuild for families. Cancelling is not an option for me."
"I can definitely understand that dear," Coran nodded sympathetically. "But, what does that have to do with you using the old ballroom?"
"Well," she smiled excitedly, "I had a wonderful idea this morning. Why not hold the gala somewhere where the guests feel safe? The base is the perfect place. And then, I thought, why not make the gala a theme of old Arus during the aristocratic times? Donors can dress up in former court attire. Women with their long dresses and the men with royal suits. The ballroom is very traditional and regal. No one has been there in decades…it's something completely different and it fits with my theme. It would be fun, fantastic and I know the board would go crazy with the idea!"
"Romelle," Coran shook his head, "I'm sure the ballroom is structurally safe to utilize, but who would clean it and get it ready? I don't have the resources for this task. We're all busy—"
"I can get members of the foundation to do this," she excitedly replied. "I can also provide you background checks of all my staff, and all you need to do is give me a point of entry that they can use. We will be out of your way and I will personally fund anything that needs to be fixed or altered."
"Well," Coran sighed in thought. "There is a side entrance you can use and I can rotate guards during the day to cover that entry…It would be nice to use that ballroom after all these years." Nodding, the advisor said, "Alright, you can use the ballroom."
"Oh, thank you Dad!" she immediately hugged her father. "Thank you, thank you!"
"Well, I know how important the kids are to you," Coran replied.
"Good," Romelle replied with a tone of greater confidence, "Because I need one last favor."
"Goodness my dear! Are you following your cousin's footsteps in driving me crazy?"
She laughed, "This one is easy, Dad. I need the Voltron Force to attend."
"Well, that's easy," he sighed in relief. "I'm sure they will." Suddenly, Coran stopped himself and shook his head. "Well, I'm sure most of them will. You know very well who may not show."
"Keith," Romelle nodded in realization.
"He's always hated making public appearances and now…after all these years…"
"Well, maybe one of them can convince him?" Romelle asked, even though she knew the answer.
"Right," Coran answered sarcastically. "They barely tolerate him. And after today's fiasco, I'm not sure what's going to happen with the group."
"What do you mean?" A sudden frown emerged in her features.
"Lance and Keith had a fight during a briefing earlier today. It was strange. Not the fight, I was expecting that to happen at some point, but what happened during the scuttle."
"What?"
"The lions reacted in a way I had never seen before. Keith immediately excused himself. Not long after, Lance followed," Coran sighed in frustration. "I hadn't seen a fight like that between them in ages."
Worried and concerned, Romelle tried to play it off, "Well, today was a bad day. With the Drules making an appearance, I'm sure stress played a big part in their argument. Tomorrow will be better. You know neither can stay mad at each other for long."
Coran looked worried, "This time is different my dear. I'm not sure those two will ever trust each other fully."
VVVVVVVVVV
Lance sat in his living room listening to a strong and sultry melody playing on his system. Two empty beer bottles rested at a table next to him. A third still filled on his hand. The rhythm of the music relaxed him. Music usually helped him calm down. This specific song however reminded him of a time long ago, a time he longed to forget but could not.
The feelings of rage from earlier that day remained. His cheek throbbed from Keith's fist that pounded him mercilessly. "Damn you Kogane." He groaned as he touched his cheek. Part of him felt glad that he had been able to strike his former friend, he'd been waiting years for that opportunity. Another part, however, felt guilt. He couldn't understand why the latter feeling remained in him from a person he loathed. He hated Keith. Hated him with everything he had. Keith had killed their best friend and worse, he had destroyed–
Lance shook his head and sighed. No use thinking about that. He wouldn't let himself the pain.
He walked over to his vidscreen, beer bottle still in hand, and typed in photo album. As it loaded, he went back to his seat, before he took a drink from the bottle. Within moments, Lance transported himself to the past. A time where happiness was part of life.
Lance watched pictures of what used to be his family, his brothers, and his sister. When he arrived at a certain picture, he paused the slideshow. He stared at the picture for a long time and wondered.
The present suddenly reappeared when heard the doorbell ring. Startled, he gathered himself and turned off the vidscreen before answering. When the doors swished open, Lance was surprised by the person he saw.
"You're the last person I expected to see," he stated with a bit of anger in his voice.
"I needed to see you," Romelle answered, looking quite serious herself. "May I come in?"
Lance stepped back and gestured her in.
"I see Keith left an impression on you," Romelle glanced at Lance's face as she walked past him. She noticed his bruised cheek and swollen bottom lip.
"I'm sure he's looks just as good as I do right now," Lance replied with satisfaction. "What are you doing here Romelle?"
The woman looked around for a moment before answering. The place looked almost the same as she remembered it. "You need to stop Lance." She simply said as she turned around to face him. "You need to stop."
Ignoring what she had just told him, Lance walked past Romelle and headed to the kitchen, "You want anything to drink? If I remember correctly, Merlot is your wine of choice. I have some in the winery."
Romelle closed her eyes to keep her nerves from blazing. Lance was hard to deal with when he was angry. She followed him to the kitchen. "Lance–"
"You can't change the way that I feel, Romelle," he took out a wine glass from the cabinet before he walked over to the wine fridge and opened the bottle he had taken out. Pouring the wine into the glass, he continued, "There's no sense in taking about this."
"I can't make you do that. You're right," she nodded. Lance offered the glass of wine to her. After she accepted it, she asked, "But what is your anger going to solve?"
A hard look embedded in his eyes and his voice seethed with anger, "He hurt you," Lance answered slowly.
Romelle's eyes softened as she gazed into his eyes. Taking her hand, she caressed gently his bruised face. Lance's feelings toward her always won out over her anger. "I am fine, Lance. I've made my peace where Sven is concerned. But, you need to learn to work together again. This isn't just about me anymore. This is about the lives of those on Arus as well as those on Earth."
Lance closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her hand on his face for a moment before he took her by the hand and led her back to the living room. "You should enjoy your wine. I bought it from one of the finest wineries in Italy while on mission a few months back."
She knew his game quite well. Resigned, Romelle allowed him to guide her back to the living room. She took a seat next to him and she tasted her drink. "It's very good."
Lance smiled. "I told you." Quiet for a while, he took the beer bottle that sat on his table, "Why did he leave?"
"I didn't come to talk about me," she reminded him.
"Humor me," he offered a smile.
Romelle sensed his anger slowly dissipating, "I really don't think this is any of your business."
"When are you going to realize you are my business?" he answered, the smiling slowly going away. "You have always been my business."
This time it was Romelle who smiled. She didn't understand how Lance could make her feel so damn good, even at the most opportune times. Even worse, she didn't understand why she was answering his question, "Ryan met someone. He's happy. I'm happy for him."
"Now, you're the first woman that I know that would take the infidelity from her husband so…casually."
Romelle shrugged, "We both knew neither one of us loved each other. He needed a companion after his wife and daughter's death and he found that in me. I needed him too."
"You needed him?"
Romelle looked at him seriously this time, "Yes, Lance. I did."
Lance remained quiet for a while before he spoke. "How does Hope feel about this?"
"She's accepted it well," she shrugged lightly, tapping another sip of her wine. "Ryan's relationship with her is very close. He loves her as if she was his own daughter. She wishes both of us to be happy."
"Are you happy?"
"I am where I'm supposed to be," Romelle answered as she finished the remaining content of her glass. "Now, are you going to calm down and start acting like the great officer that you are? Or, are you going to continue being the bully in the playground?"
Lance just nodded as he finished his beer.
"Good," she answered with a warm but sad smile. The game's over. "I should start heading out," Romelle put the glass down on the table and stood up.
Lance went after her, "Leaving so soon?"
"I'm meeting Allura, tonight," she answered gathering her things. "Thank you…for seeing me."
"You're welcome," Lance nodded and led her to the door. "Just one thing Romelle."
She turned and faced him. "What is it?"
"I haven't forgotten what I told you that night," his tone was firm, his eyes filled with determination.
"You are wasting your time," she responded matching his stare.
"I don't think so," Lance walked closer to her, "I made a mistake. A huge mistake back then. I don't intend on repeating it. I'm not giving up on us."
Romelle took a deep breath before she answered him, "I'll see you around Lance." She turned and began to walk out, but he stopped her once again.
"And another thing. Don't expect me to like him. He means nothing to me."
Ignoring the latter comment, Romelle finally built up the nerve to answer him, "Don't delve on the past Lance. That's just what it is…the past." She turned and walked away leaving him at the door.
Lance stood by as her form walked down the hallway until she reached the elevators. He closed the door once the elevator doors closed and went back to the living room, to relive the past.
XXXXXXXXXX
"Hey," Kirian in walked in to control with a smiling face, "I brought in sustenance!" she told him as she lifted a bag from what looked like a fast food place.
Smiling back, Darrell answered, "What did you bring? Just don't tell me it's from the cafeteria."
"Have you smelled around you?" Kirian's big eyes widened as she laughed. "Come on! When has the cafeteria food smelled this good?" She walked up to him and opened the bag. "I went Bernie's. Best burgers on Arus, or so I've been told."
"Oh, you are awesome Mosley!" Darrell grabbed one of the bags. "Thanks. But why the gesture? Don't get me wrong, I appreciate it, but I thought your shift ended about a while ago."
She took a chair next to him, "Well, I knew you were scheduled for tonight and I know how much you would have hated to eat at the cafeteria. Besides, I have no plans tonight."
"Really? No dates, no online chatting with some guy in cyberspace?" Darrell mocked.
Kirian laughed and shook her head, "No, nothing like that." She took a burger from the bag, opened it and took a bite. After she swallowed, she continued, "It's just that…" Pausing for a moment, she sighed.
"What's going on Kirian?" Darrell asked, his tone showing concern for the pretty blonde girl.
"Honestly," she looked back to him, "I've never been in the middle of an attack like the one Lotor brought at Lenna. And, I was floored when he appeared today." She sighed again, thinking, "I just want to be prepared, you know…so next time I can help when it really counts."
He had forgotten how young and inexperienced the young woman was, despite the current position. And, although he had seen plenty and was relatively unscathed by the harshness of the Drules, Kirian was not. Darrell remembered how he handled situations when he was her age. Right in the control room gaining more experience. "You want me to teach you?"
"Yes," she nodded humbly. "Anything that you think I should learn."
Smiling, he nodded appreciatively, "Well, how about a little hacking 101? There's a lot to this, but why don't we start with the simple stuff?"
"Thank you," she looked grateful. "So, what's the first lesson?"
"Well, I'm going to retrieve information from a main computer," Darrell answered with a wink.
"Darrell, I already know how to do that?" Mosley mentioned with a matter of fact tone, "I'm not that bad!" she poked fun of herself.
Shaking his head, Darrell replied, "No, no my dear, not from the base's computers, but from the Korrinth's main servers."
"What?" she replied in disbelief, "You can do that? Without being detected?"
Sighing, Darrell shook his head and began typing codes on the screen, "Well…not really. Lotor mentioned that he knew I was hacking my way in. I don't know, but something tells me that he allowed me entry into his system."
"Why do you think that?" she asked.
"Because I used every scanning tool imaginable to make sure I wouldn't be detected," he answered. "The scanner didn't detect anything, so whatever I looked at was somehow virtually implanted in his system. It's like if it was staged for me."
"Staged?"
He nodded, "a virtual reality system or entry way that mimics actual files. I was looking at what he wanted me to see, but that will change tonight."
Looking at the man next to her, Kirian took a small bite of her hamburger before asking, "How?"
"I have another idea."
"Tell me more," she sounded interested.
"Go backstage," he smiled, "But, once there, get in and get out in one minute. The key is to retrieve as many files as possible on or under that time. And the best way to do that is by creating a matrix. I'm going to search through all files at the same time. After the minute, their systems will notice an increase activity of downloading and that's when I'll need to bail out before they find me."
Nodding and extremely interested, Kirian replied, "So this can be done on any system?"
"Yes, but not everyone can do it," Darrell smiled as he took another bite of his hamburger. "It's not as easy as it sounds."
"Show me," she said excitedly.
"Well Kirian Mosley, allow me to show you the master at work."
VVVVVVVVVV
Allura walked into her apartment with the intention of cancelling dinner with Romelle and telling Sam she had a headache and wanted to go to sleep early. Today, had probably been the hardest day in a very long time. And, it wasn't because Lotor showed up.
Allura couldn't believe she let her feelings get the better of her. For the rest of the day, she didn't stop herself from reliving that moment a number of times. Kissing Keith was the most grandiose feeling she had had in almost twenty years. And that was just one damn kiss.
Along with those wonderful feelings, guilt also mixed itself in. She didn't think she could look Sam straight in the eyes after what happened today. Allura was glad that tonight she didn't have to.
Opening the door, she was startled by Sam moving the furniture around in the living room, "Hey babe," Sam said with a smile. When he heard her gasp, he told her, "Sorry! I didn't mean to startle you."
"It's okay," Allura immediately said. "Hey," she smiled before giving him a quick kiss. "What's going on?" So much for not looking at him.
"You forgot?" he asked curiously.
"Apparently, I did," she answered a little confused. "Did we have plans to night?"
"Allura, you have plans with Romelle. You told me I could hold my monthly poker game with the guys at your place since it's the day I stay over. Honey, we talked about this two weeks ago."
The memory of that conversation suddenly flooded back in her mind, "Oh my God, you are right! I'm sorry, I must have forgotten."
"Is this okay?" Sam questioned, unsure by her reaction.
"Of course," she smiled uneasily, "I'm sorry, Sam. I have a lot on my mind."
Walking up to her, Sam gave her a hug, "I know. Listen, if you rather have the apartment tonight—"
"No," she shook her head, "I don't want you to cancel tonight. You've been looking forward to this for a while. Besides, like you said, I'm going out with Romelle tonight. It's alright," she gave him a quick kiss before walking past him, "I'm going to go get ready."
"Allura," Sam called out to her, "I know this isn't the time. But later on tonight, can we talk?"
Curious, Allura looked at him, "Is everything alright?"
"Yes," he nodded uneasily. "I just want run something over by you."
Smiling a little, Allura walked back to the living room and sat down, "Let's talk now. We have a little time." Tapping on the sofa, she gestured for him to sit next to her, "What's up?"
"Coran approached the Generals about finding someone to send undercover to Korrinth," Sam looked at her.
"You have someone?" Allura looked interested. "Who?"
Sam paused for a moment before answering her, "Me."
Altair's features grew serious as shock set in, "What? Why? Sam, no!"
"Listen to me, Allura," he told her, "I've done this before. A tour on Ebb, Lyra, Olion."
"None of your tours have been on the Crimson Quadrant!" she raised her voice. "Besides, you haven't done recon in over twenty years. Sam, this is insane! Why would you want to do this?" Even as she was speaking, Allura could see the brightness in Sam's eyes slowly diminishing. She couldn't help it. He couldn't go to Korrinth. This was a job out of his scope.
"Allura, I need to do this," he told her solemnly.
"Why?" she pleaded. "What are you trying to prove? You've never been interested in going out on the field."
"What makes you think I can't do it?" his voice raised slightly. "Just because I'm not as young as I used to be doesn't mean I can't do this."
"Is this what this is about?" Allura asked. "Sam, you're a General for god sakes! You are beyond this. There's no need to—"
"You have no faith in me, Allura," he interrupted her. "I'm not going to argue with you. And, I'm not asking for your permission. I want to do this because I know I'm capable of doing it. I'm doing it because I need you and your team to realize that just because we are not aided with your gifts, we can't be of any use in this war. This isn't about me proving anything to anyone. This is about me contributing to the freedom of my planet! I can take an active role as opposed to sitting on the sides. You don't have to do it on your own. I love Arus as much as you do and I deserve the chance to keep my world safe from the Drules."
Allura didn't know what to say. How could she oppose him? How could she negate him the opportunity to contribute to the freedom of his own planet? Looking at Sam, she sighed as she took his hand, "I don't like it. But, if you want to do this, I will not stand in your way. You have my full support."
"Thank you," he nodded as he gently squeezed her hand.
"I won't, Sam. I'll back you up. But, you are going to have to have a hell of a better argument if you want Keith to approve you for this mission."
"I know," he agreed, "But know this Allura. I will do everything and anything to get this assignment. Kogane doesn't know who I am."
XXXXXXXXXX
"What are you doing now?" Kirian looked at Darrell as he typed feverishly on the screen.
"There's a firewall I'm trying to get into, but this one is a little more challenging," he answered, continuing to look at the screen.
"What's so challenging about it?"
"They have added on protective barriers that limit my way in. It's like attacking combat fighters before heading to the mother ship," he smiled shaking his head. "They are being very guarded. I'm dying to find out what they are hiding."
Kirian continued watching him intently and was startled when she suddenly heard him yell.
"Yes!"
"What?"
"I'm in," Darrell answered, "Put the timer for one minute, that's all I have to gather all information."
The girl did as bidden as she pressed a couple of buttons on the console that led to the computer timer, "One minute set," she answered.
Darrell worked feverishly downloading every file he could get, "Some files have a longer bytes that others, I'm not sure I'll be able to retrieve the entire files."
"Can you open them?" Kirian asked.
"Only the ones that are fully downloaded," he answered, "Like this one. Hold on." He went ahead and moved the file into another screen and opened it while the others were still downloading. "What is this?"
"Looks like blueprints," Mosley answered looking at the screen with the same wonder that Darrell saw. "Blueprints of what, though?"
"I'm not sure, but it looks like a base of some kind," he replied. "There's something else."
"Yeah," she nodded. "There's something under that base. Looks like a basement of some kind? But, a basement that is bigger than the original base? Something is off Darrell."
"I agree," he nodded.
"Look over here," Kirian said as she drew closer to Darrell. "The dimensions of this basement is almost twice as big as the base itself."
He could smell her perfume, she smelled good. Feeling rather uncomfortable, he subtly separated himself from her, "How long until my time is up?"
Smiling uneasily, she looked at the timer, "twenty seconds."
"Let's see what else we got," he turned and looked at the window and watched as he was able to retrieve a couple of other files. "Let's pull out now. I don't want to wear out my welcome." Clicking on the keyboard, Darrell quickly closed the program, "Done. Let's see what else I was able to copy."
Kirian smiled as she drew close to him, "You know Darrell, I like hanging out with you."
"You do?"
"Yeah," the girl nodded, drawing even closer, "You're a nice guy."
Darrell laughed uneasily, "Thanks."
"I'm surprised that you haven't found someone, yet," Kirian answered. "Unless, I'm wrong. Do you have someone in your life?"
Swallowing a little hard, Darrell again laughed uneasily, "Well, no. I was with someone, but—"
"You don't sound very convincing," she laughed. "Seems like you are not sure if it is over."
"It's over," Darrell firmly said before smiling, "I'm a bonafide bachelor. It's the best thing for me and for her." He looked at Kirian who seemed unconvinced, "I'm serious!"
"Really?" she asked, "Prove it."
"How?"
Kirian shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe—"
Darrell didn't wait for her to finish. Cutting her off, he kissed her. Kirian was surprised, but soon she lost herself in his kiss. After, Darrell gently let go of her, "It's over."
Looking at him, Kirian saw something in Darrell's eyes. Looking at him, she smiled sympathetically, "Somehow, I really don't think so."
VVVVVVVVVV
Allura walked in to the Tashma, a Greek restaurant known for authentic Greek cuisine and lively entertainment. Romelle loved eating there, but Allura was rather annoyed by the entertainment. She conceded to having dinner there just to please her cousin. Tonight, however, the entertainment sounded rather relaxing. That's good, Allura thought. There was a lot to talk about tonight.
As she walked in, she found Romelle seated on a corner booth waving her had. Smiling a little, Allura headed to where here cousin sat, "Don't you get tired of this place?"
"No," Romelle answered with a smile, "I can't think of a better way end today than with good Kleftiko."
"And good company?" Allura smiled as she took a seat.
"Yes, of course!" Romelle laughed. "You can be so sarcastic at times, cousin. But, I love you anyway. By the way, I ran into Lucy this morning and I invited her to join us."
"You did?" Allow frowned.
"Was it wrong?" Romelle looked concerned. "I'm sorry—"
"No, it's okay," Allura shook her head. "That would never bother me. I love Lucy. It was good that you did. It's just that so many things happened today that I needed to talk to you. Lucy has so much on her plate, I don't want to worry her with this."
"What do you mean?" Romelle's tone hinged on unease. "She's still on her way. We have some time."
"Where do I begin?"
"Start with what can easily be solved first," Romelle suggested. "We can speak about the others later on at my place."
"Okay," Allura sighed, "Sam and I had this argument earlier in the evening. He wants to go uncover to Korrinth."
"What?"
"I know!" Altair continued. "I'm not sure, but I think he wants to prove to me that he can do this. Romelle, he doesn't need to prove anything to me. Besides, the man is a General, why would he need to feel the need to do this? It makes no sense."
The waiter suddenly interrupted asking for drinks and handing them their menus. Romelle and Allura placed an order and told him to leave an extra menu for their friend who was on her way.
Looking back to her cousin, Romelle began, "Let me ask you something Allura, do you think this is easy for Sam?"
"What do you mean?"
Her cousin laughed and shook her head, "You have no idea how it is for him. Allura, you and Sam have been together for a little less than twenty years. Do you think he's changed in these years? Of course he has! He grown older, tired, while you do not change at all. Do you think that's easy for him to live with the fact that he is not the same young man you fell in love with all those years ago?"
Allura did say a word, but she began to understand.
"Sven would tell me that on every occasion he could muster," she continued. "He said he would feel growing old while all of you basked in youth. Of course, it wasn't literally happening, but I guess that's what he felt after he lost…the gift. I'm sure that Sam is living this now."
"I never seen it that way," Altair brushed her long locks away from her face. "I've never thought of Sam as old."
"That's just one thought that goes on his mind. You also have to consider that you weren't in the spotlight before. He probably felt comfortable. Now, your face is plastered everywhere on the news. People see you as their savior, their protector. Sam is left behind, probably thinking he has nothing to contribute."
"That's not true," Allura shook her head.
"We know that, but he doesn't," Romelle reminded her of this. "Going to Korrinth is his way of telling you and the world that he's not done."
"He shouldn't feel that way," Allura stubbornly said.
"Allura, give the man a break!" Romelle sighed in frustration. "It's hard to turn off those feelings. Doesn't help that on top of that he gets to see you working closely to your ex-boyfriend."
"Damn it," Altair sighed again, "Then, what I'm going to tell you next is not going to make my argument any better."
"What are you talking about?"
Looking at her cousin, straight in the eye, Allura said, "I kissed Keith today."
Romelle's eyes widened, but she didn't have a chance to say anything. At that moment, without either of them noticing, they heard the voice of the person they were waiting for.
"Hi girls! I'm sorry I'm late. I would have driven here, but Hunk insisted on dropping me off," Lucy said with smile. Then noticing the looks on her friends' faces, she asked, "Is everything alright?"
XXXXXXXXXX
Hunk dropped off Lucy at the restaurant before heading over to the base. Tonight was his night to patrol the skies. But, before reporting to post, he needed to see someone to discuss something that had been on his mind for most of the day.
What happened between Keith and Lance earlier in the day bothered him. Not only did it hurt the dynamics of the group, but the overall peace of the lions. It needed to stop. Someone needed to speak up and Hunk guessed it was up to him to deliver the message.
He was not a fan of Keith any more than the rest of them. But, the man was their commanding officer, their leader. Whether they liked it or not, they all had respect him. Aside from that, they needed to listen to Keith's ideas, no matter how out farfetched they might be. After all, if the lions still accepted him, then, by reasoning, he couldn't be doing anything that bad. Why was that so hard for all to understand?
Driving over to Lance's building, he got off the car and took the elevator to his floor. Ringing the doorbell, he found Lance answering. Hunk tried to hide the surprise on his face after seeing what Keith had done, but it was unsuccessful. Lance rolled his eyes, "Not a word."
"No words needed," Hunk snorted. "We need to talk."
Baffled for a moment, Lance looked at his friend and then allowed him in, "What's going on?"
"I only have a couple of minutes, so I won't be here long. I want to speak to you about what happened earlier today," Hunk stood up straight, using his towering height to help him deliver his message effectively.
Somewhat unfazed by the height of his friend, Lance stood in front of him, "There's nothing to talk about Big Guy—"
"As a matter of fact, there is," Hunk didn't deter from his message. "Sit down Lance."
Lance knew better. When Hunk was in one of his "talking" moods it meant that everyone had to listen. Even in the past, when Keith, every now and again did or said something out of the norm, Hunk was the one to ground him. The Yellow lion pilot figured he'd have to be the one. Back then, Darrell was too young, Allura more often than not sided with Keith and Sven was too busy with the Arus Corps to place his attention on his former team. Some things never changed.
Walking over to the living room area, Lance and Hunk sat down. Staring at his friend, Hunk asked, "Why do you need to make things even more challenging than they are?"
Lance was about to speak when Hunk quieted him again.
"I don't mean for you to answer, just listen and think. Whether we like it or not, Keith is our leader. And, despite what we think of him, the lions think differently. We gave our undivided and unconditional loyalty to them and if they think Keith is still worthy of them, then we shut up and follow our leader."
Rage boiled in Lance's eyes. Raising his voice, he started his ranting, "He doesn't deserve—"
"You can think what you like personally," Hunk once again interrupted him by raising his voice equally to Lance's, "But, for this mission and until the end of this war, he is our leader and you will listen to him!"
Staring at the larger man, Lance just curtly nodded. Deep down, he knew Hunk was right.
"Good," Hunk sighed and nodded. Then, looking at Lance once again, he continued, "This is hard for all of us. It's hard for me to see him as well, but we need to look at the bigger picture. We need to protect a lot of people Lance. We can't let the team fall apart."
"I know," the Red lion pilot replied. "It's just that…he doing business with Drules, Hunk."
"You never let him finish," Hunk reminded him, "We don't know the entire story and until he tells us or you allow him to, we can't permit ourselves to come up with our own conclusions."
"Easier said than done," Lance snorted.
"Lance!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know….don't jump into conclusions," he answered. "Fine. I'll listen. I will Hunk. Trust me." Pausing for a moment, Lance leaned forward on his chair, "Was it just me or did the lions—"
"Yeah," Hunk immediately said, "I've never heard them do that. But you know what surprised me the most?"
"What?" Lance asked looking intently into his friend's eyes.
"I'm not sure, but I think I heard Keith answer them," Hunk nodded, reassuring himself. "It was like they spoke to him and the bastard was able to answer back. I don't know Lance," he shook his head, "I've never known the lions to communicate with us telepathically. It's always been just a feeling, an instinct of what they want us to do, but to speak to them like we are speaking to each other."
"You think Keith can do that?"
"I'm not sure," Hunk shrugged, "But, at this point, anything is possible."
XXXXXXXXXX
After making himself dinner, Keith walked over to his balcony and sat down with a book in hand. It had been the first night in weeks that he considered himself off. No reports to write, no patrolling duties and nothing to really strategize over since he was waiting on information from Darrell and feedback from Coran.
So knowing that he had nothing to do, at least for this particular evening, he picked up a book from his library and decided to relax outside in his balcony with a bottle of beer on the side. The book was interesting. One of his favorite genres-Mystery/Suspense. Even in his spare time, Keith liked to solve mysteries. But, despite wanting to solve the particular mystery of the book, tiredness crept in and without noticing, he fell into a deep slumber.
"We can't do this!"
"I know."
-Knife
"You can't do this!"
-Stab wound
-Eyes Widened
"You can't do this!"
"I'm sorry…"
"Murderer!"
Keith gasped as he sat up from the chair he had fallen asleep on. Looking around he noticed he was still in the balcony, the book, previously, on hand, had fallen on the floor. Swallowing hard, he sat up and sighed harshly. Rubbing his hand through his face, he stood up, picked up the book from the floor and the empty bottle of beer and walked inside the house.
Closing the door, Keith headed to the kitchen, disposed of the beer bottle and headed upstairs to his room. Throwing the book on the bed, Keith walked to the bathroom, brushed his teeth and washed his face. As he looked himself over in the mirror, he noticed the light colored bruise on his right cheek. He fared well compared to Lance. Snorting, Keith shook his head. Lance hadn't changed. He reacted on impulse rather than thinking things through. It could have gone worse. He had no doubts that he would have continued to beat Lance to a pulp if the lions hadn't interfered. Sighing, Keith asked himself, how did I end up here? Oh yeah, Sven.
He had killed him. No doubt about it. Keith had taken his knife and plunged it down Sven's abdomen before throwing him down to the witch's fire pit. He didn't even have the decency of leaving a body to mourn. All that was buried in Sven's tomb was nothing but ashes collected from the pit months later.
He knew the team was angry that he had committed such brutality against one of their own, but what Keith suspected was that they were equally mad that they didn't have anything to mourn. Nothing but a memory.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Late that evening as Lance watched the evening news, the vidscreen alerted him of a call. Switching the flat screen to vidscreen mode, he pressed the accept button to find Darrell on screen, "What?"
"Well, hello to you too," the younger man snorted, "I'm calling because I found something."
Sitting up, Lance asked, "What did you find that merits you calling me at eleven o'clock on my night off?"
"How about if I were to tell you that I found something so interesting it was worth calling and seeing your ugly mug?
"Screw you," Lance snorted, "What do you want?"
"Take a look at this," Darrell divided the screen in two and showed Lance blue print designs of what looked like a base.
Studying the blueprints, Lance asked, "What's this?"
"Specs of Lotor's base," Darrell smiled. "I hacked in and stole them from his systems."
"Are you serious?" Lance laughed as he sat up and studied the screen, "I can't believe you pulled that off! Damn Darrell!"
"Well, I can't take all the credit for this," he answered, "Kirian helped as well."
"So tell me what are we looking at?"
"You're looking at Creta," the younger man answered, "A base located about fifty miles south of the castle. I was also able to pull satellite images…look at this," he continued as another screen pulled up.
"That base is guarded pretty heavily," Lance continued studying the screen, "Now what is Lotor hiding?"
"Probably this," Darrell answered as the satellite images disappeared from screen before being replaced by another set of blue prints, "Pay close attention Lance. What do you see?"
The Red lion pilot studied the screen for a moment before his eyes went wild with recognition, "Oh my God!"
"Yep!"
"Have you contacted Keith about this?"
"No," Darrell appeared on screen once again looking solemn, "I refrain from speaking to the guy as much as I can. That's why I contacted you. As second in command, you can deal with him."
"Duly noted," Lance sighed. "Fine, send me everything you have and I'll speak to him tomorrow."
"As well as you spoke to him today?"
"Listen, about that," Lance struggled to say the words, but Romelle and Hunk were right. They all needed to understand that Keith was their leader and that he couldn't be the role model for others to follow. The last thing he needed was for Darrell to follow suit. "It was wrong of me to do it. Whether we like it or not, he's our leader. The lions approve and I shouldn't question him."
Darrell looked at him shocked, "How many beers did you drink this evening?"
"Don't patronize me you schmuck!"
"Fine," Darrell laughed, "If you had a change of heart with Kogane–"
"No," he immediately corrected the Green lion pilot, "Not a change of heart, but a temporary truce. Darrell, it's the right thing to do. My feelings for him are and will remain the same."
"Fine, whatever you say. But I still you rather talk to him. I don't want to."
"Fine," Lance sighed, "But sooner or later, you're going to have to. And believe me when I tell you, it doesn't get easier."