A/N For my beautiful daughter, Tatiana. I love you will all my heart!
Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and its characters and locations. The story is mine. All other characters and locations are also mine. Please don't use without my permission.
Chapter 36
Several hours later, Lance stood up in the cramped cockpit of Red Lion and stretched his tired and aching muscles. Thankful for the couple of hours he had to stretch at the Garrison base, he now could not wait to make it home to Arus. It had been a stressful and harrowing several days, and he knew he and the rest of the team needed food, a shower, and a couple of days of sleep and rest.
Glancing at the rear of the cockpit, he could not help but admire how beautiful Isla was, the handmaiden who had helped Allura while she was being held on Rydrax. Originally flying in Green Lion with Pidge, she requested that she might finish the rest of the trip in Red Lion with Lance. Chuckling to himself, he wondered if Pidge's constant and nervous chatter around pretty girls had driven the polite young woman to the edge. He accepted her as his passenger and did everything he could to make her comfortable for the remainder of the trip.
Once she was safely on board Red Lion, she and Lance watched as Keith and the princess streaked off in Blue Lion, to an unknown destination. The only information that their commander had volunteered was that he and the princess had something that they wanted to take care of and that they would be home on Arus by no later than tomorrow evening. Any questions that may have arisen were quickly squelched with the stern look that Keith shot his teammates before boarding Blue Lion with Allura.
Once Keith and Allura were out of sight, the rest of the Voltron Lions continued home toward Arus, with Sven in command and piloting the damaged Black Lion. It had been a mostly quiet trip, with each of the Voltron pilots lost in their own thoughts as they replayed the events of the last several days. Within a few minutes of settling onto Red Lion, Isla had fallen fast asleep, leaving Lance to entertain himself for the remainder of the long journey.
Dozing off, Lance was awakened suddenly when Red's computer alerted him that they were approaching Arusian airspace. Grabbing his yoke, he took back manual control of Red Lion and acknowledged Sven's hail on his comm. "Voltron Force, this is Commander Holgersson. We are approaching planet Arus. Assume manual control and pilot your Lion to its den. Meet in Castle Control immediately for mission debriefing."
Lance acknowledged his orders with a mock salute and then turned back toward the scene in front of him. Through his viewscreen, he could see the beautiful blue and purple sphere that was planet Arus growing in size as the Red Lion entered the planet's atmosphere. A quiet gasp behind him alerted him that Isla was also awake, seeing her new home for the first time.
Smiling softly at her beautiful face, filled with wonder and amazement, Lance reached back and softly squeezed her delicate hand. When her green eyes met his, she returned his smile tentatively. Something passed between them in that moment, and all Lance could say was, "Welcome to your new home."
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Koran, Crystali, Romelle, and the rest of the officers in Castle Control waited impatiently for the Voltron Force to return from their Lions. Four out of the five Lions had returned from Rydrax. Black Lion was severely damaged, so he had been flown directly to the maintenance bay where mechanics and engineers would be waiting to see to Black's repairs. The Red, Green, and Yellow lions had returned to their respective dens. Only Blue Lion had not returned, and neither Koran nor Romelle were happy that they had been given no explanation. Koran could only assume that the princess was aboard Black Lion with Keith.
After several moments, the large viewscreen of Castle Control began flashing, indicating that the Lion transports were returning to the main hub. Pressing the button that raised the dais, Koran watched anxiously as Lance, Pidge, and Hunk stepped out of their chutes.
"Where is Sven?" came the sudden, worried cry from Romelle as her blue eyes swept from one Voltron pilot to the next. She ran to Lance. "Where is my husband? Please tell me he is ok!" she pleaded. Lance barely had time to respond before the conversation was quickly interrupted.
"My darling," answered Sven's thickly accented voice from the main door of control. "I am here; I am fine. I came back to Arus in Black Lion." His words were suddenly cut off as his wife threw herself into his arms. Catching the eyes of Lance over her blond head, he smiled softly as he wrapped his arms around his heroic wife, kissing her softly in reassurance that he really was just fine.
Koran scanned the room again, from his vantage point on the raised dais, hoping for a glimpse of the kidnapped princess. Seeing the Voltron Force and Romelle, he also noticed an unfamiliar alien girl and an older woman as well. Realizing the princess and the commander were not present, he slammed his fist on the button to lower the dais and demanded, "Where are the princess and Commander Kogane?" Just before he completely lost his temper, he saw Crystali move to stand next to him and felt her gentle hand on his forearm offering her support.
"They're not with us," Lance explained quickly. WIthin a second of opening his mouth, he immediately regretted it. He could see from across the room the color rise in Koran's face. The princess's guardian was furious, and if Lance didn't know any better, he was sure that the normally stoic and controlled Koran was about to flip his lid. "But I will let Sven tell you about that," he continued, deferring Koran to the Voltron Force's temporary leader.
Shooting the Red Lion pilot the dirtiest look he could muster, the Pollaxian royal consort struggled to explain under Koran's intimidating stare. "Commander Kogane issued us orders to rendezvous at the Garrison base on Omni-12. From there, I took Black Lion and he and the princess took Blue Lion. Our orders were to proceed immediately to Arus. The commander and the princess took off toward the Amourian system." He swallowed hard as Koran's angry flush deepened. "The only explanation Keith offered was that he and the princess would be home on Arus by tomorrow night."
Koran's moustache twitched as he grasped to find the appropriate words to express his extreme displeasure in this unexpected turn of events. Before he could utter a word, a gentle squeeze from Crystali woke him from his angry reverie. "Perhaps the commander and the princess simply needed some time alone after everything they have been through over the last several days. We can surely afford them an uninterrupted twenty-four hours before they must return to Arus and their duties, can't we?" she probed gently. "We know that they are safe and that they are together." When Koran seemed to deflate, all of his anger dissipating into a great sigh of relief, Crystali pulled her beau into a quick, comforting hug. "Besides," she said after she had released him. "It appears we have some guests to welcome and get to know." Pointing at Isla and her madame, she grabbed Koran's hand and led him toward the two women. Koran immediately morphed into the welcoming diplomat that was his second nature and walked toward Isla and her madame to welcome them to Arus.
The exchange between Koran and Crystali did not go unnoticed among Romelle and the members of the Voltron Force. They shared a smile and then parted, each seeking the rest they deserved after their successful rescue mission.
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Lotor kneeled in front of his father, his heart racing as he faced him for the first time since his return from Rydrax. Immediately on his return to Doom, Lotor had wiped the hard drive and logs of the Scar Blazer so that there was no record of where he had been or what he had done over the last several days. Instead he programmed the navigational computer and ship logs to reflect that he had returned to Rodrat as he awaited word from his father. When the order finally came that he was to fly to Rydrax to secure the princess, he did just that; he returned to Rydrax and reported that he found no sign of the princess or the Drule Rallock. Upon the receipt of his report, he was ordered to return to Doom immediately, with no consequence or explanation. Lotor followed the order, he no sooner landed his ship in his personal hangar before he was immediately escorted to his father's throne room by his personal and elite guard.
Kneeling with his head bowed, Lotor began to sweat when he heard the door swish open to his father's antechamber. A moment later, a booming voice commanded, "Rise, my son, that I may see your face."
Lotor slowly rose to his feet. He lifted his chin so he could gaze up at his father lounging on his throne on its raised dais. His father appeared neither stressed nor angry. In fact, his father appeared to be in a good mood.
"Hello, Father," the prince of Doom called when his father gave no further greeting. "Did you receive my report?"
"I did," Zarkon bellowed, his loud voice booming in the large room. "It seems like the mission failed."
"The mission failed long before I arrived on Rydrax," Lotor explained. "When I arrived there, at the coordinates of the brothel that you had forwarded to me, I found nothing. The suite was empty, save for the remains of a blaster battle. There were scorch marks on the wall and blood and a sheet left on the floor." The prince paused. "It seems that something serious had gone down."
"Interesting," Zarkon commented. "And how do you explain the change in circumstances? What happened to make the plan go awry? We have just received intel that the Voltron Lions have arrived safely back on Arus."
Lotor thought long and hard for several moments. He had gone over and over the story that he and Kogane had come up with to explain why Lotor had failed in his mission. He needed to make sure that what he was about to say sounded plausible. "It appears to me that the Arusian ended up helping the princess of Arus to escape. He contacted the Voltron Force and forwarded them the princess's exact location. They got to her before we knew what had happened. Perhaps when Rallock found out, he murdered the Arusian by blaster for being a traitor in favor of his ruler."
"And Rallock?" Zarkon asked. "What of him?"
"He was nowhere to be found," Lotor explained. "Neither was there any sign of the old Drule fighter he had stolen. I would assume he fled, your majesty." Lotor stood taller as he continued his explanation, his words growing in confidence. The old king seemed to be buying his explantation. "I can't say I blame him," the Doomian prince quipped. "I would much rather run away and exile myself than have to face my king with such an epic failure." Bowing his head to hide his smirk, he showed mock reverence to his father.
King Zarkon laughed out loud, a great booming sound that echoed through the large and opulent chamber. "You are right, my son. Better be that he is running for his life. If I were to ever cross paths with Rallock again, he would receive an immediate execution for his failure to complete this mission." Stopping suddenly, the old king mellowed for a moment. "It is a shame really. This mission was supposed to put Rallock back into my good graces. Oh well." He turned his yellow eyes back to his son. "So where do we go from here, my son? What is the next step to take over Arus and destroy the Voltron Force?"
Lotor felt his stomach drop. It seemed that they were right back to where they had started. The truce between Kogane and Lotor would indeed be temporary. Unless he could start making small changes himself. Perhaps he could start swaying his father away from Arus. It may not happen immediately, but after what he and Kogane had accomplished in working together, in his heart, he knew anything was possible.