Erik angrily paced Castle Control as he went over everything in his head. They had all returned to their rooms to shower and change. He was standing in front of the mirror over his bureau brushing his damp hair back, debating whether or not he needed a haircut. Setting the brush down, he threaded his brown leather belt through the loops of his khakis and straightened the front of the blue shirt he was wearing, he had chosen it because Sky had once told him she liked it, it brought out his eyes.

He felt great. His family would be arriving, Erik checked his watch, in a little over an hour. Unless there was an attack over the weekend, the team had been given a lot of free time. He wasn't too proud to admit that he was looking forward to this weekend, he had been for a while. And although he was busy working with the Force and Keith and prepping for attacks and even though he spent what little free time he had with Sky, there were still times that he felt a little homesick. He missed his friends and family and as soon as they disposed of Vinn, Erik was planning on taking Sky to Pollux for a visit.

Erik checked his watch again and decided he had enough time to swing by the kitchen for a drink before heading over to Castle Control to see if the pilot of his family's transport had checked in. He had just slid his door open when his communicator went off. It was Keith calling all the Force members to Castle Control, he wouldn't elaborate, saying he would explain when they got there.

With his heart in his throat, Erik ran as fast as he could. He knew it couldn't be good news.

"We just received word that a distress call was received by the Garrison outpost on Zettle," Keith explained when they had all gathered. "The pilot of the ship carrying Sven, Romelle, and Delora sent out a mayday call, saying they were being illegally boarded. The call was cut off quickly after that and we have lost all contact them."

Erik was aware that Sky had stepped close to him, he could feel the warmth of her against his arm. But he was unaware of everything and everyone else around him and a panicked rushing sound filled his ears and he forgot to breathe.

"Erik."

He raised his eyes to see Keith standing right in front of him, his hand on his shoulder.

"You need to keep it together, son," Keith said gently. "They'll be fine, we'll get them. But we need you to keep it together."

Erik nodded stiffly, "It's Vinn, isn't it?"

"We have reason to believe so."

"What do we do now?"

"We are working with the Garrison and the Intergalactic Policing Organization." Keith told him. "An APB has been released. It has been leaked to the media, but Allura caught it early made sure the proper information, and not too much, was released."

"But what do we do now?" Erik's voice rose.

"We have to wait and see what's found. We will not rest until they are all safely on the ground. You know that, Erik."

And now Erik was pacing the floor, as he had been for the past fifteen minutes, waiting to be told what to do as a flurry of activity surrounded him in Castle Control. Voices rang out around him as phones and communicators were answered, the 'clack' of computer keys and the quiet 'whir' of printers mixed with the quick steps of people passing him. Keith, Lance, Hunk, Pidge, Allura, Darcy, and Paton all worked with Declan, Gideon, Brina, and Sky along with the top brass of the Arusian military to try and find out what was going on. Even Captain Klari and Corporal Noral were there to help. And Erik continued to pace. His mind was a jumble of anger, fear, and guilt.

"Erik?"

He didn't stop moving as Sky fell into step beside him. "What?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No."

"You're wearing a groove into the floor."

"Not in the mood, Schuyler."

She took his hand and forced him to stop. "Damnit, Erik, this isn't helping."

"I don't know what else to do," he whispered helplessly.

Her heart breaking for him, Sky led him off to a slightly more secluded corner of the room, "You know we won't rest until we find them."

"I know," he stared at the floor.

She cupped his chin and forced him to look at her, shaken when she saw the moistness in his eyes, "Oh, Erik, it will be all right."

"They shouldn't have been coming. We knew how dangerous it was…"

"Erik, no," she interrupted, her voice shaking. "Don't you dare blame yourself. This is not your fault."

"They were coming for my birthday. They didn't need to come. If anything happens to them, I don't know what I'll do."

"Nothing will happen to them and this is not your fault. Do you hear me, Erik?"

"But…"

"No, buts," she framed his face with her hands and forced him to look at her. "Oh, honey, this is not your fault. They wanted to come, it was actually their idea to come. It will be all right, Erik."

Without a word, he pulled her into a tight hug, "I hope you're right."

………………………………………………………………………………

On Terra, Tristan was also pacing. He walked from one end of his bedroom to the next, a cordless phone pressed to his ear and the television turned down low to the Intergalactic News Network. With the low murmur of the reporter's voice behind him, Tristan continued to stay on hold. He had spent the last five minutes listening to bad music, waiting to be put through to his CO so he could see if he could help out with the situation on Arus. But he wasn't hearing the reporter or the music, he was mentally berating himself.

They don't need my help, he thought to himself. There are plenty of well-trained soldiers both on Arus and in the Garrison who can handle this situation. But I want to be able to help Erik, he's a friend. He shook his head as he turned and walked back towards his bed, Who am I kidding? This is the perfect excuse to see Cady. But that's stupid and selfish! I can't get involved with her! What am I supposed to do, move to Arus? What if I'm not happy there? I'm not ready to settle down, especially with a girl I hardly know. But how else will I get to know her better if I don't take the chance and spend more time with her. Maybe I can blow off Europe and take my trust fund and go to Arus for a while. But I never responded to her email, it's been five days since she wrote me, she probably thinks I blew her off. She probably wouldn't even talk to me now. What am I thinking! No! I want to help Erik out. I want to fly. I want to stay in the Garrison. I am going to sign up for another tour of duty with the Garrison, I love what I'm doing and I don't want to be a lawyer. I want to help people, travel the universes, meet beautiful princesses. No! Stop that!

His rambling thoughts were interrupted by a voice in his ear. "Lieutenant Alexander?"

Tristan jumped slightly, "Uh, yes sir."

"All right, I have your file in front of me," Colonel Horton said. "You're on leave son, why the hurry to return?"

"I just heard about the problem on Arus, the abduction of the Polluxian royal family and I would like to help."

"You were just serving on Arus, weren't you?"

"Yes, sir."

"I take it there is a personal connection then."

"Uh, well, sir, Erik, the Polluxian Prince, is a friend of mine and I would like to help."

"Mm hm," the Colonel closed the file on his computer screen. "Your help is not necessary, Lieutenant, the Arusian military is working with the IPO and the Garrison."

"But sir…"

"We can not allow personal feelings to dictate our missions, Lieutenant. When there are people's lives at stake we must go in with a clear mind."

"With all due respect, sir…"

"We appreciate your initiative to want to help," Colonel Horton continued. "That shows the kind of go-get-'em attitude we appreciate in the Garrison. You've done great work, Lieutenant, and we look forward to several more years of working with you. Now if there is nothing else, good day, Lieutenant."

"I want to help, sir," Tristan insisted.

"I understand and appreciate that. Enjoy the rest of your R & R, Lieutenant. Good day."

And the line went dead.

"Damnit!" Tristan shouted, whipping the phone across the room, not noticing when it shattered and the pieces fell to the ground.

…………………………………………………………………………..

To keep him busy, Keith gave Erik the job of monitoring the radar. It kept his mind busy and kept him from underfoot. Keith didn't want to admit it, but he was worried. They should have heard something by now. Vinn was obviously planning to use Sven and his family as bargaining chips to get Voltron, but they couldn't act until they knew what the next step was.

"Any word?" Allura asked, appearing at his side.

"Not yet."

"I moved Nanny, Cady, and the children into the caves as a precaution and I released a statement to the press saying it might be necessary to seek shelter in the event of an attack."

"Good thinking."

"You think he's doing this in hopes we'll turn Voltron over, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"We can't, Keith."

"I know."

"Hey, Keith," Pidge hurried over.

"What's up?" His commander asked.

"We have it all set up. If Vinn contacts us, keep him on the line for ninety seconds and we'll be able to trace him." Pidge explained.

"How reliable is this system?"

"As reliable as we can hope for."

Keith nodded, "Thanks, Pidge. Who do you have running it?"

"Whitman is on it now, but I'm going to cover it when I'm done here with you."

"Good job. You can get back to it."

Pidge saluted and returned to his post.

"We still haven't heard anything?"

Keith and Allura both turned to see Erik standing behind them.

"No," Keith laid a hand on his shoulder. "But chances are Vinn is taking them somewhere safe before they contact us."

"They want to use my family as a bargaining chip."

"Most likely," Keith admitted.

"What are you going to do?"

"Erik, we know what we are doing, we have been in situations like this in the past and we've all come out of it safely. We have faith in you and the rest of the Votron Force and we will do everything in our power to get them back safely."

"I know," Erik sighed. "I just wish they would contact us, let us know…know they're still…with us."

Allura squeezed his hand, "They're still alive, Erik, you have to believe that."

"How long has it been?"

Keith glanced at the clock, "It's been an hour since the distress call was reported."

"They have some good ships, they could be a fair distance away."

"Pidge has a new program hooked up, if we can keep Vinn on the line for a minute and a half we'll be able to trace their whereabouts."

"That's great, we'll be able to send the Lions right to them."

"That's the plan."

"Along with a Garrison escort," Captain Klari spoke up.

Keith turned to her, "This is our fight, Captain, we will take care of it."

"Vinn has been a priority with the Garrison for over a year, Commander, we will be taking part in this."

"If you go, your men will be working under the Voltron Force. Erik will be the field commander and he will be running the show out there."

"Is that really a good idea?" Captain Klari asked.

"Are you questioning me?" Keith bristled.

"It is his family, will he really be able to act with a clear head?"

Erik tensed and glared at the woman.

"If I didn't think he could handle it, I wouldn't assign him the position," Keith said.

Allura pulled herself up to her full height, but even with heels she only came to the other woman's shoulders. "Listen to me now, Captain Klari, we have put up with enough of your interference. We had hoped to cooperate with the Garrison for the betterment of my people as well as any other planets who have been threatened or bullied by Vinn. But you have done nothing but threaten and bully us. It ends now, Captain. As ruling monarch of Arus, I am ordering you to turn over your command to Commander Whitaker now."

"With all due respect, your highness, you do not have the authorization…"

"Garrison Rule 37-F, Section J." Allura interrupted.

Captain Klari's mouth opened and closed a few times before she spat out, "I am going to contact my CO and then we'll see who is running this show." With that she whirled away and stormed from Castle Control.

Keith grinned down at his wife, "I love you so much."

"Well, someone had to do something."

"What's Garrison Rule 37, uh, what's that rule say?" Erik asked.

"In matters of extreme importance, including battles and wars, the ruling monarch may override the rule of the visiting Garrison commander." She explained.

"Why didn't you use it before?"

"The matter of extreme importance is a matter of opinion. It is a very easily over-ridden rule. Chances are her CO will over-ride it and Klari will probably leave with her men."

"Would that be so bad?"

Allura sighed, "We can still use the help of her men."

A beeping sounded from the main console and silence filled the room. The Force followed Keith and Allura over to the monitor and a crowd quickly gathered around them.

Keith dialed in the connection, "Castle Control, Planet Arus, Commander Keith Whitaker speaking."

"Commander!" The rose colored face of Kabandha Vinn filled the screen. "How are you this beautiful evening?"

"What do you want, Vinn?" Keith demanded.

"You know what I want, Comander, and I think we are ready to bargain."

"What do you mean?"

Vinn stepped aside and pulled Sven roughly into the screen. He raised his head defiantly and met the eyes of his friends.

At the sight of his father's bruised and beaten visage, Erik sucked in a sharp breath and made to move closer, but stopped when Sky grabbed his hand in both of hers and held him back.

Keith took in his old friend's black eye and split lip and gritted his teeth, "Where are the others?"

"They're here, they're safe."

"We need to see them."

Vinn rolled his violet eyes and pushed Sven into one of his guards, causing him to stumble with his bound hands and feet. There were some scuffling noises and the sound of Delora letting out a gasp.

Sky gently stroked Erik's arm as his hand clenched her's painfully.

Romelle and Delora were also bound at the wrists but it appeared that their legs were free. They both looked disheveled but otherwise fine. Delora stayed close to her mother, her eyes wide and terrified, but she and her mother both stared at the monitor, their heads held high with stoic dignity.

"As you can see," Vinn said after turning the two women over to his guards, "that they are all here safe and sound."

"You have gone way too far, Vinn, and there is no turning back," Keith warned.

"I agree, we can only look ahead, Commander. I know how important your friends are to you and if you ever want to see them alive again you will negotiate the turn over of Voltron to me."

"That won't happen."

Everyone turned to see Captain Klari standing behind them, none of them had heard her return.

Keith's lip curled in disgust as he addressed her, "This is not your place, Captain, leave it to us."

"You can not negotiate with this man or turn over Voltron."

"That's my family," Erik hissed at her.

"I know you don't want to think about it, which is why you should never work with family and friends, but those three lives are nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands who could be lost if he gets his hands on Voltron," Klari explained.

The tension was so thick that even Vinn knew not to speak.

"You bitch," Allura snarled. Without another, the petite Queen of Arus pulled back and slammed her fist into the larger woman's stomach. Caught off guard, Klari clutched her stomach and doubled over. Allura took the opportunity and brought her fist up again, bringing it in contact with Klari's jaw.

Everyone swore they felt the floor tremble slightly when the Captain's large, muscular body hit the floor.

"Get her out of my sight," Allura commanded two guards.

Vinn laughed and clapped his hands, "Did I just see the Queen knock down a Garrison officer?"

Keith turned back to the monitor, "Yes you did. Are you sure you want to challenge us?"

"Oh yes, this looks to be a lot of fun! I will be in touch to discuss our plans to meet." With that Vinn flipped a switch and the monitor went black.

After a moment of silence, the room was once again a flurry of activity.

"I got it," Pidge pushed his way over to Keith with a printout in his hand. "They're on Planet Bru'lik."

Keith nodded, "That's forty-five minutes away, half an hour in the Lions."

"Let's go," Erik said over the noise surrounding him.