Author's Note: Wow, these updates just keep coming. Thanks to everyone who's still following along! I only own my characters and that's it. Now that I'm this far in, I should probably mention that I just do this for fun/stress relief and make no money off of it. Just knowing that I'm entertaining people is payment enough. :D
To Emie Mac - Glad to know I've made your day! And don't worry, I'll still be updating regularly, even once I'm back in the office. You're right, Christiane is a little ticked off at her brother, which is why she's keeping it a secret who her boyfriend is - and also why she's forging a strong bond with Morgan. Whoops. And as far as messing with Sven, Len, Romelle and Hawkins goes...do you REALLY think I would do that? Why, yes. Yes, I would.
Title Song: "Never Seen Blue" by Tori Amos
Jeff and Cliff exchanged glances as Commander Hawkins raised his hand to take the oath on the stand for a second day in a row. It was obvious that the Honorable William Brandt found the commander's testimony fascinating. Being the second-in-command to Wade for those four years gave the judge more insight to the former Sky Marshal's mind than probably anyone else's testimony would.
Deep down, Jon felt terrible about giving his seething testimony. Yes, while he wanted to lock up this madman for good, he still felt like a traitor - he had been Wade's right-hand man once, his most trusted ally, and he'd stabbed him in the back so many times that Wade could be mistaken for Swiss cheese. At his core, Jon was an honorable man, and though he'd disagreed with Wade on nearly everything, at the same time finding the man to be most dishonorable, he still couldn't help but feel bad.
"If Brandt keeps questioning the commander this way, we'll never make it to the stands today," Cliff whispered to Jeff. "And I would like to get back to piloting my mecha sometime in the near future."
"Relax," Jeff hissed. "As it is, we can't go back on the Explorer until after the commander and Len have tied the knot."
"Ick." Cliff scrunched up his face. "I'm sure Holgersson's rolling around in his grave over that."
"Quiet," Crik admonished him. "Pay attention to the trial, and don't worry about anything else right now. Remember, they're eventually going to call us onto the stand to testify."
"Yes, fine." Cliff shrugged his shoulders. "I'll tell you what I am worried about, though. I'm worried that when the cross-examination starts, Stensson's the first thing that comes flying out of their mouths." He grimaced. "And then, once Brandt finds out that Hawkins is engaged to her, he disqualifies everything the commander said."
Jeff nodded, but didn't say anything. In all honesty, he too was afraid of that exact same scenario. He should have asked Christiane if she saw anything like that occurring. But he didn't, and she was at yet another day of practice with the rest of the Albegas team.
Next time he saw his girlfriend, he would have to remember to ask her where she thought this trial was headed. He hoped it would end somewhere with Wade getting jailed for life.
Pidge monitored the situation as Dr. Gorma administered the injection to Sven's upper arm. The Norwegian didn't even flinch as the needle sunk into his flesh. If anything, he looked grateful, like perhaps this could bring about the end to his long suffering.
Problem was, Pidge was the one suffering. Watching his old friend, he couldn't believe in his gut that Sven and Lenora were on Arus at the same time, yet neither one of them was aware of it. He felt incredibly guilty about harboring that information, yet he wouldn't dare cross Keith's orders. He'd let their captain deal with the situation. He sure as heck did not want to get in the middle of that hot mess.
"Please, Pidge, don't feel bad," Sven assured him as Dr. Gorma placed a bandage over the injection site. "It's not so bad, I promise. It hardly hurt at all."
Yeah, that didn't hurt you nearly as much as this information is hurting me...
Pidge examined Sven's eyes. They were still slate-blue, much like they always were, which was good. Yet he knew that Sven had been having those Haggarium flashes in his eyes. He was hoping to eventually look him in the eyes as he was experiencing a Haggarium rage. That might help clue him and Vince in on what was really happening in Sven's body.
"You know, Stoker, if you keep looking into my eyes like that, I'm going to have to insist that you buy me dinner."
Pidge laughed. "Still as sarcastic as ever, aren't you? I guess it comes with being Lance's roommate," he laughed, masking his guilt over not telling his friend about the Space Marshal. "Listen, I hate to have to tell you this, but we have to keep you minimally stimulated at all times throughout the course of these injections to make sure they work properly."
"Minimally stimulated? Has Lance's dirty mind rubbed off on you?"
"Stop. You know what I mean, that there's no training, there's no prolonged visitation, there's no groups of people visiting you...that kind of stuff. I need you to stay close to the infirmary."
Sven shot him an irritated look. "Pidge, I already have a child. You don't need to treat me like one."
"Oh, of course not. I'm just saying..."
He sighed. "I appreciate your concern, Pidge, and I thank you for all of your help in trying to find me a cure. But right now, I'd like to see Erik."
Pidge nodded, relieved. At least now he could pawn Sven off on someone else and not have to worry about keeping his mouth shut and holding all of his information in. His brain felt like it was about to explode. "Of course. I'll page one of the guards to escort you to Nanny's building."
He grimaced. "That woman has my son?"
"Hey, it's not like you were around for the bulk of the time to deal with her."
"Eh, true enough." Sven shrugged. "But I heard plenty of stories about her from Hunk and Lance."
Pidge smiled. "Hey, they had it coming."
Sven grinned. "For some reason, I'm not surprised."
Keith, still in Castle Control, seemed relieved when Pidge contacted him through his VoltCom. "Sven's with Nanny and the baby right now," he reported. "Can we page the rest of the team and get out in the lions now?"
The captain inhaled sharply. "Sounds good. Let's page them and pull them away from the viewing screen. Lance wanted me to know that Jeff's finally up on the stand."
"Are you sure you don't want to see him testify?"
"No. It's like watching a football game. Whenever I watch the game and my team is playing, my team ends up losing. So I think I'll pass on watching Jeff up on the stand."
"Gotcha...I think."
Pressing his VoltCom again, Keith paged Lance, Hunk, and Allura to Castle Control. He expected some resistance, especially from Lance, who seemed to be taking the trial rather personally. Yet within moments, all four of his teammates had shown up, with the Space Marshal in tow.
"I can't watch it, Chief," Hunk admitted. "I'm getting too mad. And Lennie here is chewing off all her nail polish."
"It's ugly, the trial and my nails," Lenora chimed in. "Jon took a beating, and now poor Jeff is getting a verbal smackdown."
"Wait'll they get Cliff and Crik up on the stand," Lance cracked, amused. "If they think they're having a tough time now, wait 'til they get a load of Cliff's and Crik's accents."
"Newley. They haven't even called Newley up to the stand yet." Lenora shook her head. "And Brown...and Stebbins...those poor guys, they don't even know anything and they're gonna get beaten up."
"Sounds like Wade's lawyers are doing a good job," Keith muttered through clenched teeth. "Blast it."
"Yeah." Pidge sighed. "We couldn't watch anymore, Keith. You're right. We need to fly."
"And I'm going with you." Lenora looked adamant. "I mean it. I need to take my mind off of this blasted trial. I'm going to go crazy."
Keith nodded. It would be useless to argue with her. "That's fine. Do you have a preference for which lion you'd like to ride in?"
Five expectant faces turned towards her. Lenora closed her eyes, trying to absorb the colors to see which one spoke to her. God, she wished Christiane was here right now to give her some advice. This would probably be her only chance to ever ride in the lions.
Even without Christiane's guidance, one color stood out to the Space Marshal. It was so bright and vivid in her mind, so dominant and insistent, that she felt it take root in her body. She opened her eyes. "Green. Green Lion is speaking to me."
"Yesssss!" Pidge cheered, throwing his arms up in the air. "Len rides with me! The two systems analysts riding together, as it should be!"
"Hey, don't get arrogant, Shorty," Lance grumbled.
They rode down the elevators to their lions, with Lenora popping into the transporter with Pidge. As they boarded Green Lion, she strapped herself into the rear seat, looking around in awe. "Wow. This totally makes me want to buckle down and start analyzing data."
"See, that's why I wanted you to ride with me, Len. You get it. You see all of the systems associated with Voltron, and it's like being a kid in a candy shop - you don't know what to start analyzing first." He shrugged. "I love the others, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I don't think they can appreciate just how intricate Voltron's workings are."
"Well, I can."
"I know you can." Suddenly, Pidge felt guilty again. He was so excited about having another systems analyst in the lion with him that he forgot that he wasn't supposed to tell her about Sven. Now he had to harbor that blasted secret all over again.
Sigh. This was so much easier when he wasn't dealing with either one of them directly. On the bright side, though, it was also easier to ignore the guilt when he was piloting his lion.
The lions really did make everything so much better.
Lenora remained in an awed sort of silence for the first twenty minutes or so of their practice. She watched Pidge intently as he piloted the lion, continuously checking his systems as he flew. She followed along with his train of thought until she could almost predict what his next move would be. Piloting the lions was like a dance. A rhythmic, analytical, mathematical, positively hypnotizing dance.
No wonder Wade had been so intent on getting his hands on them.
"I hope he burns in the worst of the seven hells," she muttered to herself.
Pidge looked back at her slightly. "What was that, Len?"
"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about how you pilot the lions. They're fascinating. Truly fascinating. Hypothetically speaking, I'd love to get my hands on one."
"Hey Keith?" Pidge suddenly asked through the intercom. "Can I ask you a question?"
Keith's face appeared on the monitor; Pidge had been careful to only open the channel to Black Lion. "Of course."
"Would you mind if I let Len pilot my lion for a little bit?"
Lenora's mouth dropped open. "Pidge, no!" she insisted. She felt the panic rising through her body. Oh, that was not a good idea. She had only been watching Pidge pilot for twenty minutes. Twenty-five minutes, tops. "There is no way in seven hells -"
Keith's voice cut her off. "I don't see a problem with that," he assented. He then opened up the communications channel to all of the lions. "Hey Team, I think I'd like to see what the Space Marshal can do behind the controls of a Lion."
"Not a bad idea," Lance remarked. "She can use mine. She might like Big Red."
"No way! Let her try Yellow!" Hunk cried out. "That way she can report back to me on how awesome it is!"
Keith cleared his throat. "No. I think she should ride with the Princess. Lenora, you're flying Blue Lion."
Silence.
Even Lenora knew what he was trying to do. It was evident to all of them; for whatever reason, Keith Kogane deemed it best that she pilot Sven's lion. Most likely it was for sentimental reasons, she couldn't be sure. But if he was offering to let her pilot a lion, well, she wasn't about to turn that golden opportunity down.
"Ohhhh - kay," Pidge stammered. "I have to say, Len, I wasn't expecting that."
"No. I wasn't, either." She didn't mention Sven. Neither did her fellow systems analyst.
Without another word, Pidge gracefully landed Green Lion. Its jaws opened, and Lenora stepped out. She waited, watching, as Allura landed Blue Lion next to Green. Its jaws did not open for her.
Anxiously, the Space Marshal approached Blue Lion and placed her hand on its side.
Immediately, her mind was flooded with the words, You are not one of the Voltron Force.
Her eyes widening, she replied softly, "Blue Lion, I wish to fly on behalf of one of the Voltron Force."
One of the Voltron Force? Who do you choose to honor by flying on his behalf?
For that question, she couldn't even open her mouth to answer. My fiancé, Sven Holgersson.
Blue Lion seemed to accept that answer. It opened its jaws and allowed her to climb into the cockpit. Allura, anticipating her arrival, had already moved herself to the rear seat and strapped herself in.
"Allura?" she asked nervously as she strapped herself behind the controls. "Do me a favor? Make sure I don't make a complete and utter fool of myself in here, will you?"
The princess laughed. "Oh, get going. You'll be fine."
Remembering Pidge's actions, Lenora began to fly Blue Lion. Surprisingly, it came easily; perhaps more easily to her than it might have been to other novice pilots, given her expertise on analyzing systems. And with Allura's help, she seemed to do an okay job, at least one that wasn't bad enough to get her completely laughed out of the cockpit.
Sven's wedding band weighed heavily around her neck the entire time.
His son. Erik was so happy to see his father. Sven held the boy and kissed his forehead, smiling and overwhelmed with joy and happiness in their purest forms. He knew he wasn't completely numb to everything. He knew he just needed his son, and he would start to come back from the dark, cold place he'd been in.
Even Nanny was happy. She discreetly wiped tears out of her eyes, too proud to let the Norwegian know that she too was overjoyed. She didn't argue with him in the slightest as he took the boy outside to sit in the sun and simply revel in the fact that he was with his child at last.
Erik began to doze off, and Sven looked to the sky, basking in the sunlight. There had been far too little of that on Crydor. He shook the frozen planet out of his thoughts for now. He was on Arus and Pidge would help him. He was sure of that.
The flying lions caught his eyes, and in his gut he wished he was out there flying with them. He noted that Blue was lagging behind a little, and he smiled faintly to himself. "Allura must be having an off day."
"Okay, I cannot do one more day of that," Cliff grumbled, violently knocking back a shot of Ciroc vodka. He was still dressed in his Land Team uniform, and if he had been in public, he would have been written up for drinking while in uniform. But in the Rackens household, pretty much anything went. Much like in Vegas, what happened with the Rackenses, stayed with the Rackenses.
"Me neither." Jeff took a swig of the Ciroc straight from the bottle. Cinda slapped his hand while Christiane shot him a dirty look.
"Thanks, Cinda," Christiane grumbled. "Aki, my darling, now you owe me another bottle of Ciroc."
"Hey, after my day, you're lucky I don't drink the whole freakin' bottle myself." Jeff took another swig.
Cinda scrunched up her face. "Well, now that you've put your mouth on the bottle, you probably should."
"Good thing I brought my own liquor," Ginger sighed, pouring herself a glass full of straight Bombay Sapphire gin. "I can't believe what you guys went through today. It was like being in the seventh level of hell. I was actually squirming in my seat when they were cross-examining Commander Hawkins. I am so proud of him for not cracking under pressure."
"Much unlike Crik. He kept pleading the Fifth." Lisa grabbed Ginger's drink and took a sip. "Blech. I don't see how you can drink this stuff."
"Hey, when there's alcohol in it, anything works after a day like today," Aidan answered her, also grabbing Ginger's drink and sipping at it. He handed the glass back to her. "Thanks. Here you go, Lemon Drop."
She rolled her eyes. "Don't make me kill you, Dalloway."
Morgan fished out another bottle of vodka from the freezer, this one a cake-flavored gem from Three Olives that she and David had received as an anniversary present last year. "Well, I've got this," she announced, "though it's definitely not Ciroc."
"Again, anything works after a day like today," Taye groaned, opening up the ice-cold bottle and grabbing plastic cups. He poured one for Kelly and another for himself.
David looked around skeptically. "So, after a hard day of practice and a miserable day at Wade's trial, everyone's response is to get wasted? How many sorry drunken behinds are crashing here tonight?"
"Dude, I don't think you have enough beds," Aidan quipped. He grabbed Ginger's bottle of Bombay and poured himself a shotglass. "Don't be surprised if you wake up tomorrow morning and there's, like, four other people in bed with you."
"Apparently, now I'm not drunk enough for this conversation," David groaned. "Ginger, I'm stealing some Bombay. Honey, do we have any olives? Or tonic? Anything?"
"Nope. No olives," Morgan answered, shoulder-deep in the refrigerator. "I do have a bottle of chardonnay in here, though."
"Bust it out!" Lisa suggested. "I need something to drink, seeing as how I'm not much of a gin girl, and Jeff here has put his mouth all over the Ciroc bottle."
Jeff stuck his tongue out at her.
David shook his head in disbelief. He had the entire Albegas team, a third of the Vehicle Team, and the Space Marshal's right-hand woman in his home, slowly drinking away the night and their pain. He sighed to himself, lifting the glass of unadorned gin to his lips.
He hoped there were enough pillows to go around.