~~~~21~~~~

Lieutenant Felix Heddar and his best friend, Lieutenant Harland Dennis of the Arusian Royal Army had been at the tail end of a very long, very boring shift at the control room of Castle of Lions. When suddenly a ship had triggered the long range radar that been put into place to detect incoming robeast coffins during the war. They both upped and fixed in on it, all they could tell was that it was crashing and that it was sending out an automatic but generic distress signal. But then there was torpedo fired on it, that somehow the ship managed to wobble out of the way off before hitting Arus's atmosphere.

Harland hit the alarms, and started to try to contact the ship firing on the first vessel, bringing up on the smaller screen in front of him instead of on the main castle display. It was the same configuration, they were from the same planet but it wasn't a ship he was familiar with. "They're ignoring my hails."

"I don't think anyone is home anymore in the other ship, but yet, it's staying in the air, barely," Felix said, his whole body was shaking he couldn't believe something like this was happening on his watch, why was a ship being shot down on Arus, by another of its kind, no thus?

The doors to the control room whirred opened behind them, Felix and Harland shared a look, knowing it'd be Commander Larkin and Princess Allura no doubt, on their feet the second they heard the alarms. Faster than their own commander officer who probably was trying to snooze his alarm clock.

"What's going on?" their two voices were one behind them.

Harland nodded at him, as he continued to hail the ship that was still firing at the other one as it wobbled and fought to stay in the air and not crash into Arus's dense forests.

"It's two ships, same configurations, only one is sending a distress signal and the other is firing on it. The first one is going to crash any minute, it's not answering hails, I think whoever is flying it, is too busy trying to stay in the air," Felix explained, putting the first ship up on the screen and then turning toward Larkin and the Princess of his home world.

He nearly fell out of his chair. Commander Larkin was in jeans and nothing else, bare feet, bare chest and bed head. Princess Allura had on what had to be Larkin's shirt, her long hair was a mess that would have made young Princess Larmina proud, and she was wearing a pair of her yoga pants inside out. "Uh?

Larkin leaned over him, doing things with the control panel that Felix didn't know was possible bringing the image of the crashing ship closer. "Lyran?" he said, "That's not good."

Allura was leaning over Harland, who was smirking at Felix, his eyes going back and forth between the Princess and Larkin. Felix glared at him, had he no sense of decorum, didn't he feel as if they'd interrupted something that wasn't their business? Felix hoped he wasn't blushing.

"This is Princess Allura of Planet Arus. You are shooting at ship that is now under my protection by being in Arus Air Space. I must ask you to desist and please explain why you are shooting at one of your own kind?"

"Lieutenant, is there a ship on the tarmac that's flight ready?" Larkin said and Felix took a minute to realize Lance was talking to him, a minute too long.

"Lieutenant!" Larkin shouted.

"Yes, yes, sir, Arusian Inferno Four is ready for flight,"

"Allura, get medical to meet me out there, and you, send all the information to the flight console, now."

Felix watched as Larkin ran out of the room, he did as he was ordered, then brought up the tarmac on his display and watched in awe and admiration as Larkin jumped right into the ship, dressed as he was like he'd just rolled out of bed.

Princess Allura had repeated her message to the other ship three times, they were now idling in space, in orbit around Arus. She frowned at the display screen as she informed medical to get a team together and go out to the tarmac to meet Commander Larkin at a crash sight.

"I give you one more chance, answer me or I will send a squadron of my soldiers to escort you out of Arusian airspace," she said less than a second after she'd dispatched the medical team.

A man's face suddenly appeared on the screen, he was in simple garb, to Felix he didn't at all look like a pilot. His face was sad, wary and contrite. "Is Lady Farla okay?" he asked.

Felix watched as Princess Allura paled but kept her royal countenance in place, something he found a great feat given her attire and the mess that was her hair. "You are a Guardian, tell me why you would be firing on your leader?"

"We were ordered to, Princess Allura. We had no choice. It was the Galaxy Alliance soldiers on Lyra. The scientist, Dr. Early, he's made Lady Farla public enemy number one since she made her loyalties to Voltron clear. It was them or us - we couldn't let it be soldiers she didn't know," he looked away unable to look Princess Allura in the eye, even through a view screen, Felix thought.

Felix and Harland exchanged looks, Princess Allura grabbed onto the back of Harland's chairs. "I thought the Guardians of Rose of Lyra were not under Alliance control?"

"All soldiers on Lyra must work with the Alliance soldier's. Our armies are not grand Princess, but we have many important people coming and going from Lyra studying the flowers. We had to give over certain control to the Alliance to protect them."

"I see. And Lady Farla," Allura asked.

"I don't know what happened. The scientist ran into Lyra control shouting about her, saying she was a traitor, then she was on the screen stealing the ship. I didn't know she knew how fly, Princess Allura. It all happened so fast. I was told not to allow her to reach her destination, to bring her back. Will you allow us to land, to bring her home?"

"No."

The Guardian blinked. "But you are aligned with the Alliance."

"I am Princess of Arus. I have no Alliance soldiers on this planet, I have my own army. I am loyal to those who are loyal to me and my legacy. I may be wary of the technology of Voltron but I will never turn my back one who believes in what Voltron stood for. Lady Farla has asylum here. Leave of your own free will. Or, I will make you."

"Yes, Princess Allura. We wished her no harm, please, please tell her."

Princess Allura nodded.

Felix and Harland exchanged amazed looks, the screen went blank for a second, before the crash scene came up, fire and smoke everywhere, the Lyran ship looked like it'd shattered on its impact with Arus's desert.

"Lance, Lance?" Allura said, her voice losing it's edge, now she sounded young, afraid.

"It's Farla, I know, and no she's not okay, damn it..." Larkin's voice cut out with a loud static burst.

Princess Allura stood where she was still gripping Harland's chair. "Are they leaving, Lieutenant Dennis?" she asked.

"Yes, Princess Allura, they are leaving, they are on track to planet Lyra."

She turned and left. "You two did well," she said softly, turning back.

They looked at each other and shrugged, both feeling like they hadn't done anything at all.

~~~~.~~~~

Allura walked into her room and saw Xara stripping her bed, shaking her head she ignored her and headed for her bathroom.

"Princess," Xara called after her. "Is everything okay with the Castle, was it just a practice alarm?"

"No, it wasn't a practice alarm," Allura said picking up her toothbrush.

"Princess, uh, about what, oh, I...May the Arusian Gods help me. Princess you must change."

Allura looked in the mirror, her hair was a mess, her free hand came up to try to calm it down on instinct but then she just dropped it. She smiled, a short brief smile when she realized she was wearing Lance's old academy shirt, then she rolled eyes at herself for pulling on her pants inside out. But she'd been in a hurry. She grabbed the toothpaste and squeezed it onto her toothbrush, she didn't have much time. She wanted to be down in the medical wing of the castle when Farla was brought in. "I'm in a rush Xara, what is it?"

"Nanny, she handpicked me, she requested... She told me to keep. She said that you would need reminding of what proper behavior is. I admit most of her views were antiquated, old fashioned, however. Princess Allura, sleeping with Commander Larkin, running around like..."

"Like what?"

"In his clothes. The whole castles is already talking, I've had ten text messages, brought on by the run you two made to the control room alone."

Allura sighed. "Xara, I realize that everyone believes I'm going to keep with tradition, and while that tradition worked for my parents - as they were very much in love. It will not work for me. I will not be marrying a prince, I will not be marrying anyone I do not know and do not love."

"You are in love with Commander Larkin?" Xara asked her eyes wide.

Allura didn't like her tone, or her shock. "What would be wrong with that?"

"It's nothing, it is just... He's slept with half the staff and then there are the women from the towns. Princess, how could you be sure you aren't just some notch on his belt?"

She laughed partly at Xara's exaggeration of Lance's prowess for getting laid. Allura more than anyone knew it was more reputation than truth. But mostly she was laughing because it was all she could do to stop herself from getting hurt and angry. Which was her typical reaction when people consistently treated her like she was an idiot who didn't know what she was doing, right now she didn't have the luxury.

Xara stared at her. "This is no laughing matter, Princess. A man shouldn't use you."

Allura's laughter died instantly though when the communication unit in her room beeped, and she pictured Farla's ship in pieces in Arus's desert and what Lance's reaction would most likely be. She dropped her toothbrush unused on the counter and rushed to answer. "This is Princess Allura."

"Allura, Gorma's rushing her into surgery, there was so much blood, there was a head injury, I... Shit... Allura this is my fault."

"No, Lance, Lance? Damn it he's not there..." Allura quickly took off her pants, then put them back on right side out and grabbed a pair of her sneakers from her closet to put on at some point. "Xara, please have shoes and a shirt brought down for Commander Larkin; and know this: I will do as I please when it concerns my own personal life."

~~~~.~~~~

Lance stared at his hands, they were covered with blood; he was covered with blood. His chest, stomach, his jeans. Farla's blood. She'd had small cut on her forehead, probably from hitting her head on the console. At first he'd thought she'd just passed out, that she had a bad concussion which was why she'd been focusing on trying to control her landing. But when he'd put his hand under her head, her hair had been soaking wet. He'd pulled his hand out and it was covered in blood.

He'd nearly frozen but he heard a ship landing, and he glanced behind him and it was the med shuttle. He started checking her for more wounds because the Lyran ship was in pieces. Electricity was sparking everywhere from broken consoles and shredded wiring. There were fragments of metal and plastic everywhere, he found a piece of metal in her thigh, blood oozing out around the edges.

Gorma was behind him then. "Where did the blood on your hands come from?"

"Back of her head," Lance said. He felt dazed.

Gorma had started shouting directions to his team, behind them, then he squatted down on the other side of Farla and indicated the metal in the thigh. Handing over a thick cloth to Lance. "Pull it out and apply pressure, while I get this quick apply stitch bandage ready," he said pulling something out of his bag.

Blood went everywhere when he pulled it out, but he tamped it down quickly, pressing in with the thick cloth only letting go when the doctor applied the strange sticky bandage to the wound. It tightened her skin together, closing the wound at least temporarily.

It was the head wound. Gorma had examined, ordered his med team to be careful while moving her, looked at Lance with a look in his eye that to Lance's eyes said the doctor wasn't sure he could help Farla.

That was when Lance had ordered him to save her life, in no uncertain terms. Then repeated it on the flight back in the med shuttle when she flatlined. Gorma had gotten her hard beating again and when they'd made back inside the castle, to the medical wing, Lance watched as she was whisked away through the door into surgery.

And he was left with nothing but blood on his hands.

It was his fault. Whatever had driven Farla from her home, followed by her own people firing on her, it had to be his fault. He'd asked her speak against Alliance policy in order to save Keith. He'd asked her to come out as a Voltron supporter. This was on him.

A soft voice said his name and Allura was standing in front of him, looking down at him with sad expression. Lance met her eyes, eyes so full of compassion and he shook his head at her because he didn't deserve it. She shook her head at him, then something soft and wet hit his palm. He looked down and Allura was wiping the blood off of his hands with a wet towel. Then took them in her own and pulled him up so he was standing. She ran the towel over his chest, then wiped one of his cheeks.

Lance stood, quietly, shaking and not knowing what to do as she took care of him. He was dazed, worried, scared, guilty. When Allura finished, she dropped the towel onto the floor, kicked it out their way, and gently guided him back down onto his chair and took the one next him.

Then she took his hand hers and just squeezed. They waited.