Hello,

I wanted to thank you all for your reviews.  They are greatly appreciated.

I do not own Voltron or any of the characters you recognize from the series.

Enjoy,

Failte

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            Keith and Lance slowly approached the hatch.  Checking the gauges beside the door, Lance made sure it was safe to open.  He turned to look at his friend.  Keith took a deep breath and nodded.

            Unlocking the door and throwing the latch, Lance stepped back.  There was a loud hissing noise and the doorway to Landor's ship was revealed.

            Two guards blocked the entrance.  They stepped forward and proceeded to pat down Lance and Keith, checking for weapons.  In the distance they heard the sound of heels clicking on a metal walkway.  The guards parted and Landor made his entrance. 

            He was a young man, only about eighteen years of age.  His skin was a pale lavender and his hair long, straight, and white.  His clothes hung on his thin frame and he wore a cape that swirled dramatically around him.  A guard followed closely, holding Cady.

            "Captain!"  Landor announced jovially.  "Welcome to my humble ship."

            Keith and Lance stepped forward into the Doom ship.

            "Hand Cady over."  Keith said, staring Landor in the eye.

            "Of course, I said I would and I will.  It's important to keep one's word, you will lose the respect of your peers if you don't."  Landor snapped his fingers.

            The guard stepped forward, holding Cady at arms length.  Her legs kicked in the air, she was no longer sobbing but making quiet, whimpering sounds.

            Keith gently lifted her out of his hands, cradling her to his chest. She clutched at his shirt front and hiccupped and whimpered.

            "Come along, Captain, we don't have all night."  Landor crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

            Keith quickly felt Cady's arms and legs.  Nothing felt broken.  He could see no visible signs of abuse.  Her diaper was heavy and her face was tear streaked, but she seemed otherwise fine.  Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, Keith handed Cady over to Lance.

            She was just too tired to fight anymore.  Laying her head on Lance's shoulder, Cady sighed and sniffled.  Lance gently rubbed her back and looked at Keith.  They exchanged a look and Keith slowly nodded.  Keeping an eye on the guards, Lance backed the few steps into their ship.  As soon as he crossed the threshold, the door to the Doom ship slid closed.  Reaching over, he shut the door to their ship before the pressure could change.

            Darcy and Sven stood at the other end of the hallway between Allura and the Doom ship.  When the door closed, Allura pushed her way through.  As soon as she had Cady in her arms, she burst into tears.  Lance took her arm and helped her into the bedchambers.

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            "Welcome aboard, Captain."  Landor led Keith down the narrow hallway, further into the Doom ship.  "I'm sure you'll find all you need in your room.  If you're missing anything, a toothbrush or more towels, just ring the bell and the maid will be right with you."  Entertained by his own humor, Landor stopped and laughed.

            Keith kept quiet and watched this crazy young man before him.

            Landor straightened and turned to Keith, "Do you know why I wanted you?"

            "My boyish good looks and charm?"  Keith asked dryly.

            "Oh, not quite.  I was trying to think of some way to effectively get back at you, your bitch wife, and the rest of the Voltron Force.  Pay you back for killing my father and taking my empire away from me.  Do you know what I decided to do?  Hm?"

            Keith continued to stare Landor in the eye.

            "I guess I'll have to clue you in," Landor grinned.  "The best way to get back at you all is to start with your daughter.  She's going to know what I went through.  She will know what it's like to grow up never knowing her father."

            Before Keith could respond, there was a woosh of air and everything went black.

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            Sven returned to his room to check on Romelle.  When the alarms had gone off he warned her to stay with Erik until he came for them.  After Landor contacted them and made his demands known, he had informed Romelle of what was happening, asking her to stay out of sight until everything was taken care of.

            Lance and Darcy entered the bedchamber with Allura.  She gently placed Cady in the center of the bed, quickly removing her pajamas.  Without saying a word, she cleaned and changed the little girl, checking for any bruises or cuts, and put new pajamas on her.  By the time she had finished, Cady could hardly keep her eyes open.

            Cradling her daughter against her shoulder, she turned to Lance.  "What's the plan?"

            Lance indicated Cady, "Is she alright?"

            Allura nodded, "I think she's just tired and scared.  It looks like they treated her well.  I'll have Dr. Gorma examine her when we get back on Arus."

            "I'm going to contact Castle Control now, see if they have a lock on Keith.  Hunk, Pidge, Dante, and Caleb are going to be suited up and ready to fly as soon as we touch down.  We'll get him back."

            Allura swayed back and forth, rocking Cady.  "Alright, let's go, I want to hear what they find."

            Darcy followed them out of the room, trying not to feel insulted that Lance hadn't asked her to fly with them.  She knew he had his reasons for picking Caleb, but it still stung a little.  Right now Lance was commanding the Voltron Force and she had to accept his decision.

            Sven and Romelle joined them in the main cabin as Lance dialed into Castle Control.  He used the screen and system in the ship rather than his communicator so everyone could see.

            "How is she?"  Romelle asked, sitting down beside Allura.

            ""She's tired, but it looks as though she wasn't hurt."  Allura rubbed Cady's back, feeling the light, warm breath on her neck as the little girl slept against her shoulder.

             "We made the switch," Lance announced as Koran, Hunk, and Dante appeared on the screen.  "Do you have any signal from Keith?"

            "Pidge is working on it now," Hunk informed him.

            "We have a connection!"  Pidge called in the background.  "Right now it's coming in clear, they appear to be on course for Doom, but it's still too early to tell for sure."

            "How're the Lions, Hunk?"  Lance asked.

            "Gassed up and ready to go."

            Lance nodded, "I'm going to go over the notes Keith and I came up with.  Until we learn otherwise, we're going to assume their going to Doom.  I will be contacting you frequently to get an update. If anything happens, let me know immediately."

            Koran nodded, "Yes, Lieutenant."

            Lance closed the connection and turned to the other people in the room.  "Now comes the hardest part.  We wait.  I would suggest we go get him now, I really wish we could, but we don't have the means.  This is a transport ship, not a fighter.  The two escort ships we have are no match for the small army Landor has with him.  Our hands are tied until we get back to Arus, find where they took Keith, and can get the Lions.  Sven, Darcy, I'm going to ask you to stay here, we're going to work on a plan of attack.  Romelle, Allura, I suggest you guys get some rest."

            Allura shook her head, "No.  I want to be a part of this planning."

            Romelle decided to stay as well.  They all took a seat and turned them to form a circle.  Darcy took the pad and pen and made notes as they all brainstormed.  Lance and Sven had attacked Doom and Allura and Romelle had both been prisoners there.  Taking what they had learned in those experiences, they began their planning.  Lance contacted Castle Control every half hour, checking on Keith's progress. 

            "They're staying on course, Lance."  Pidge told him when he called them the fourth time.

            "Any new Intel reports?"  Lance asked.

            Pidge shook his head, "Nothing new to report there."

            Lance ran his hand through his hair, "Alright.  I need you guys rested and ready to go when we get back.  Start rotations, use the castle guards.  I will continue to check in and make it very clear that they are to contact me with any changes or news."

            "I'll pass that on.  And Lance," Pidge studied his friend.  "You should turn in too, you're looking a little rough."

            "Thanks, little man," Lance gave him a weak smile.  "I'll talk to you later."

            He turned to his crew.  Sven had his head back against the seat with his eyes closed.  Romelle stifled a yawn and rubbed her eyes.  Allura still cradled Cady in her lap, afraid to let her out of her sight.  Darcy watched him with wide, tired eyes.

            "Alright gang, you all need some rest.  We're less than ten hours out.  This has been a long day all around, go get some sleep."

            Sven stood and stretched, trying to work some of the kinks out of his back.  Taking Romelle's hand he turned to Lance, "Wake me de second you hear anyting."

            Lance nodded, "I will."

            Darcy reached over and took Allura's hand, "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"

            Allura thought for a moment.  She really didn't want to be alone.  "Would you mind?"

            "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't want to," Darcy smiled.  "It'll be fun, I haven't had a slumber party in years."

            Allura gave her a small smile, "Thanks Darcy."

            "I'll meet you in your room in five minutes."

            Lance was already in their room. He sat on the edge of the bed, his elbows on his knees, his face in his hands.

            "Lance, are you okay?"  Darcy sat beside him.

            He looked up at her, "As well as can be expected."

            "We'll get him back."

            "He told me he has a really bad feeling this time."

            She laid her hand on his back, rubbing gentle circles, "His daughter was kidnapped and he was offering himself up as a trade, you can't have a good feeling about that."

            "His feelings are never wrong."

            "He's a strong man and you're a great leader.  Keith will survive and you will get him out."

            Lance laid back and stretched out on the bed, "I just hope we can get to him in time.  We're nine and a half hours out from Arus, if they are going to Doom, we'll be home first."

            "That's good."

            "If only we had thought to bring Lions, you and I could have attacked their ship and the others could've been here in no time."  Lance sat straight up.  "Why didn't I think of this before!"

            "What?"  Darcy asked.

            "We'll be passing Jil'ar in about two hours, it's a planet friendly with Arus.  We could have the Lions meet us there.  There is a way to tether Black to two other Lions, they could bring him with them.  We could attack then."  Lance ran out of the room and back to the main cabin.

            Darcy followed him, "Can they get there that quickly?"

            "It'll be tight, but we can do it."  He dialed up Castle Control.   "The faster we get to him, the better, any time we can shave off is good.  Dante?  Can you call the others to Castle Control right now?"  Lance paced impatiently while he waited for the others to arrive.  They all listened as he explained his plan.  It would take them a little over two hours to get there, but they were up for it.

            Darcy crept to Allura's room and knocked on the door.

            Allura still held Cady as she answered.

            "Shouldn't you have tucked her in by now?"  Darcy whispered.

            "I know, I just can't seem to put her down."

            "Lance has a new plan.  He's having the others meet us at Jil'ar.   They'll bring the Lions and they will leave from there, this way they can get to Landor's ship sooner."

            Allura nodded slowly, she turned and walked to the travel crib in the corner.  After settling Cady in and watching as her little girl sighed and fisted her hand, Allura turned to Darcy, "It could work. The Lions are more than three times faster than this ship."

            "I thought you would like to know what he had planned."

            "I appreciate it, Darcy.  I know Lance will do everything in his power to get Keith back, they're like brothers."

            Allura crossed to the door when there was a quick knock.

            Lance walked in, "It's a go.  This should shave a couple of hours off."

            "Are they still headed toward Doom?"  Allura asked.

            "It certainly looks that way."

            "You have a couple of hours, Lance, why don't you go get a quick nap."  Darcy suggested.

            "I'm way too wired to sleep right now," he told her. 

            "Have you contacted Queen Waddell of Jil'ar and let her know what you're planning so she knows to expect you?"  Allura asked.

            "Koran is doing that now.  He's going to contact me as soon as we get the clearance."  As if on cue, Lance's communicator beeped.  He pulled it from his belt, "Collier."

            "Lance, they've changed their flight path.  They're no longer headed toward Doom."  Pidge told him.

            Lance turned and walked from the room, "What are the new coordinates?"

            Allura let out a shuddering sigh.

            Darcy went to her, placing an arm around her shoulders.  "We'll get him back."

            Allura nodded, "I know."

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            Keith's head throbbed with pain.  Blinking slowly, he allowed his eyes to focus on his surroundings.  He was lying on his back on a cold, hard floor.  The lights were painfully bright, he was staring up at a plain, gray metal ceiling.  Murmured voices spoke in low tones.

            Keith winced as he heard the sharp click of boots on the hard floor.

            "Captain!"  Landor stood over him, grinning wolfishly.  "It's about time you joined us."

            Keith squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain.

            Landor nudged him with his boot, "Come now, it's rude to lie there when you are before royalty.  Get up."

            Before he could do anything, Keith felt strong hands under his arms and hoist him to his feet.  Pain, dizziness, and nausea washed over him. Opening his eyes, he saw two large guards holding him up.  He was standing in front of a low platform with two large chairs, thrones really. 

            "Welcome, Keith."  A familiar voice permeated his mind.  "It's so nice to see you again."

            As his vision cleared, Keith saw who was sitting in the chair before him.  His left eye gone, half his nose melted away, and the left side of his face pocked and scarred.  The once thick, white hair that flowed from his head hung in sporadic clumps.  He spoke with a dry voice out of the right side of his mouth. 

            Keith swallowed the bile that rose in his throat, "Lotor."

            "Thought I was dead, didn't you?"  Lotor's mouth twisted into a grotesque smile.

            "I had hoped so."

            "I didn't want you," Lotor slowly rose from his seat.  "I wanted Lt. Collier.  He's the reason I am like this now.  But I have to admit, Landor makes a very persuasive argument.  So we have you for Landor to do as he pleases.  I figured the best way for him to learn how to deal with infidels is to start at the top, with the famous Captain Keith Whitaker of the Voltron Force."  Lotor stopped less than a foot from him.

            Keith fought to hide his feelings of disgust.  "You will not defeat us, Lotor, why can't you accept that?  You may have me, you might even kill me, but Arus will survive and you, both of you, will be defeated."

            Landor's had shot out and slapped Keith upside the head.  Combined with the pain he already felt, Keith stumbled forward and saw stars.

            "Show some respect," Landor growled.

            Lotor laughed, "He's making great progress, isn't he?"

            "You must be so proud."  Keith muttered.

            Landor knocked Keith's feet out from under him, sending him sprawling onto the floor.  Pulling back his foot, Landor delivered two bone-breaking blows to Keith's ribs.

            "Yes," Lotor smirked.  "Quite proud."

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            Not only did Queen Waddell give them clearance to land, but she also extended an invitation to Alllura, Cady, Romelle, Sven, and Darcy to stay until the threat had passed.  Allura thanked her for her kindness, but graciously explained that it was important they return to the Castle of Lions.

            They had arrived twenty minutes before the Lions.  According to Keith's homing device, Landor's ship had veered off course and was now nearly two thousand miles away from Doom.

            Darcy found Lance outside the castle, watching the sky. 

            "They should be here any moment," he said as she came to stand beside him. "Where's Allura?"

            "She's still on the ship, she doesn't want to let Cady out of her sight and she didn't want to move her.  Any idea where they are now?"

            "They haven't landed anywhere, we're still tracking them and they are getting further from Doom.  Koran is checking on the two systems closest to where they are to see if there are any planets there that are known to still be faithful to Doom."

            Darcy laid a gentle hand on his arm, "Lance?"

            He turned his gaze to her.
            "Be careful."

            He flashed her a smile, "There's no fun in that."

            "I'm serious, Lance.  I know you know what you're doing and I know you can win and bring Keith back safely, but, just…be careful."

            The smile faded from his face as he pulled her to him, "I will, Darcy. I'll be careful.  Just take care of yourself and get Allura and Cady home safely."

            She sighed as she laid her head on his shoulder, "I wish I was going with you so I could help you.  Keep an eye on you."

            Lance chuckled and kissed her temple, "So that's what's wrong.  You want to be up there flying Red."  When she didn't respond, he continued.  "I know you could handle this without a problem.  I asked Caleb to fly because he's more rested and because Allura needs you right now.  The two of you have become close friends, she will need you back at the castle.  Right now, your assignment is to act as bodyguard to Allura and Cady."

            "I wasn't questioning your decision."

            "I know you weren't.  Just don't think, for one second, that I don't believe you could handle this.  I know you can, you're one of the best soldiers and pilots I know."

            "Alright," Darcy pulled back and looked at him.  "Go.  Bring Keith back and get home as soon as possible.  We have a wedding to plan."

            He smiled at her, "I love you, Darcy."

            She kissed him, "I love you too, Lance.  And I wasn't questioning your decision, I don't want you to think I would.  I just hate waiting for you to come back from battle."

            "Then I guess we'll have to make this quick."

            "I'd appreciate that."

            They both looked up as they heard the Lions approaching.  Lance's communicator went off.

            "Yeah?" He asked, flipping it open.

            "ETA three minutes, Lance."  Hunk told him.

            "Set Black down and we'll be off."  Lance replied.

            He snapped the communicator shut and turned to Darcy, "Head back to the ship, I want you guys to leave as soon as we're gone.  Get back to Castle Control."   

            She brought her hand up in a salute, "Yes, sir."

            Lance grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a hard, passionate kiss.  Darcy wound her arms up around him, clutching his hair with one hand and his shirt with the other.  He turned his head, deepening the kiss, pulling her tightly against him, trying to get as close to her as he could.

            They broke apart, both breathless. Lance laid his brow against hers. 

            "We'll get him back and be home before you know it."

            She nodded, "You better be."

            Winking at her, he took a step back, "See you back at the castle, beautiful."

            Swallowing her worry, she smiled back, "I'll be waiting, handsome."