Thanks for all the great reviews, glad you're enjoying it!

Again, don't own 'em. Woe is me.

Keith awoke, not knowing where he was. He tried to open his eyes, but they were covered by some sort of bandage. He started to sit up, but pain in his back and shoulder knocked him back down. He moaned and groped for his shoulder with his left hand. His right seemed to be strapped to his chest.

"Easy Keith, you've got a broken shoulder."

His head turned towards the sound. "Allura?" He held his left hand out.

Allura took his hand in hers. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm not sure yet. Why can't I see?"

Allura was glad his eyes were bandaged. She was a terrible liar. "I'm not certain of all the details. You can ask the doctors when they come in." She hedged.

Keith fought down the rising panic in his chest. "Allura, tell me."

"I—I'm really not sure."

"Then I'll find out myself." Keith sat up again, ignoring the pain ripping through his back and shoulder.

"And just where do you think you're going Keith Alexander Montgomery?" Annie Harrison strode into the room. She looked down at the chart in her hands. "Vitals look good, how are you feeling?"

"Annie, what's wrong with my eyes?" Keith demanded.

"Feeling back to your usual ornery self I'd say."

"Annie…"

"OK, you took on a wine bottle with your face, and the bottle won."

"When can I take the bandages off?"

"In a few days if you're good."

Keith sighed with relief. "Then I'll be able to see?"

Annie exchanged a guarded look with Allura. "Keith, I won't lie to you. The cuts above your right eye were mostly superficial. We removed a few small shards and stitched up the lid. The left is another story." She looked towards Allura, who nodded. Annie walked over and sat down on the bed. "Keith, you have to understand. We've got major casualties. There are people dead and dying. Your injuries were fairly mild compared to that. We did what we could in the time we had." She told him softly.

Keith unconsciously tightened his grip on Allura's hand. "Just tell me Annie, am I blind?" He asked, fearing the answer.

"Honestly? We won't know for a few days. There was a large splinter of glass that went through the retina of your left eye. Mom did what she could, but with Troi and everything else going on…" Her voice trailed off wearily.

Keith tensed, his own injuries forgotten. "What about Troi? What happened?"

"Troi was hit by a shot intended for Hazar. He's back in surgery." Annie told him.

Keith struggled to sit up again. "Lance, I need to talk to Lance."

Annie pushed him back down. "Keith, you lay back down on that bed or so help me I'll drug you." She told him firmly. Then she softened. "Lance has enough to worry about right now, without adding you to the mix."

"I can't stay here!" Keith protested.

Allura placed her hand on Keith's chest. "Keith, there's nothing you can do. Cliff has lost nearly half of his security forces, and three members of the Voltron Force."

"What! Who?" Keith demanded.

"Rocky, and two others I didn't know." She said solemnly. "I'm sorry Keith."

Keith took a shuddering breath. "What about us?"

"Our forces took heavy losses as well."

"Pidge? Hunk?"

"They're fine. Pidge is at the Castle, working with Coran on bringing the defenses back online. Hunk is here on the 'Explorer' aiding with the repairs."

Keith lay quiet for a few moments, then sat up quickly. "Aria, where's Aria!"

"Sereti's taking care of her, Gil, Zarana and the other children. Cliff has them all down in the Brig for safekeeping." Allura told him.

"Now lay back down. I mean it Keith." Annie commanded, her tone unyielding. Keith complied, but his mind was running in a million different directions. "Good. I've got to go check on a few more patients. Rest Keith. I'm not kidding." Annie turned to Allura. "Call me if he so much as twitches." With that, she left the room.

Allura and Keith sat in complete silence for a few minutes.

"Tell me about Troi." Keith asked her.

"He took a bad chest shot. Lance is a mess." Allura told him.

"Why isn't Dorma in there?" Keith was puzzled.

"The doctors are afraid she'll kill herself trying to save him. She already drained herself once, before they were able to stabilize him."

Keith grew quiet again. "Allura, I need to get out of here." He said, struggling to get up. Allura helped him carefully to a sitting position. He winced and rubbed his good hand over his head. "I know who's behind this."

"Who?"

"Lotor's son."

Allura was stunned. "Lotor had a son? How? When?"

"I don't know." Keith slowly got to his feet. "But I intend to find out."

Allura placed her hand on his arm. "Keith, you can't even see." She said gently.

"I will." Keith stood quietly. "Find Crick for me. Please Allura."

Allura sighed. "Keith…"

"Allura, if any part of you still cares, please, help me."

Allura walked across the room, her arms wrapped around herself. She stood still, facing away from him. Finally she looked up, glad he couldn't see the tears in her eyes. "Lay back down. I'll be back soon."

Keith visibly shook with relief. "Thank-you Allura." He sat back down on the edge of the bed. "I love you." He said quietly.

But she was already gone.

Cliff leaned over the image table. It showed a 3-D image of the planet's surface. "How bad is it?" He asked one of his aides.

"As bad as it can be Sir." The man replied. He punched a few buttons. "These areas here were the hardest hit." He said pointing. "The attack on the ship seemed to be a diversion for the main attack on the planet."

"Do we have any idea who started this?" Cliff asked.

The man shook his head. "No Sir."

Cliff turned to his second in command. "Crick? What do you think?"

"I think we're missing something. Something important. Who would do this? It has to go deeper than just attacking the planet. This assault and the one on Allura and Keith must be connected somehow." Crick answered.

Cliff nodded. "I have to agree with you." He paced the length of the table, leaning heavily on his cane.

"Are you all right?" Crick asked.

"I'm fine." Cliff straightened, wincing. "We need to set up a meeting with Allura's people. And have Lance get his Team here as soon as he can." He glanced up at Crick, who had his eyes closed, frowning in concentration. "What now?"

Crick's eyes snapped open. "Keith will be joining us shortly."

Cliff frowned. "I thought he was unconscious in sick-bay with a broken shoulder, among other things."

Crick turned to Cliff. "I just sent Cinda to tend to him."

Cliff sighed. "It's about bloody time." He turned to his bridge staff. "All right people, let's get going. We have a planet to defend."

Keith heard the door open. "Crick?"

"No, it's me."

"Cinda?" Keith was puzzled. "Where's Crick?"

"He's in a meeting with Cliff. He sent me instead." She told him.

"Can you heal me?" Keith asked her.

"I can try. Keith, I'm not a miracle worker. I can only augment what healing your body is already doing. If your eyes are gone, there will be nothing I can do." Cinda said, her tone matter of fact.

Keith took a deep breath. "Then I don't have anything to lose by trying." He said quietly.

Cinda knelt down in front of him and placed her hands on his temples. "Relax. Open your mind to me."

Keith tried to clear his thoughts. :That's it. Let me in.: Cinda's voice whispered into his mind. Suddenly, a searing pain went through his entire body. He clenched his teeth and tried to stay calm. The pain ripped through his back and shoulder, setting it on fire. Then it traveled to his head. A bright light flashed across his vision. He tried to hold on, but felt himself falling. :Hang on Keith, I'm almost done.: As fast as it started, the pain stopped. "There, that's all I can do." Cinda's voice sounded weary.

"Than—thank-you." Keith stammered. He cautiously eased his right arm out of the sling and lifted it over his head. It twinged a bit, but the pain was bearable. Next, he started unwrapping the bandages from his eyes. Cinda leaned forward to help. Before they finished, Brenda walked in.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" She demanded.

Keith continued removing the bandages. "Aunt Brenda—"

"Don't you 'Aunt Brenda' me Keith Montgomery. I could have the both of you brought up on charges. Move." She pushed Cinda out of the way and finished taking the dressings off herself. She peered into Keith's eyes. "Well?"

Keith blinked, his eyes watering. The light was agony. "I—I can't..."

"Lights!" Brenda barked. The room grew dim. "Better?"

Keith cautiously looked around. His vision was blurred, but slowly came into focus and he looked up into Brenda and Cinda's concerned faces. "It's pretty clear in my right eye." He said.

"And the left?" Brenda asked.

Keith shook his head. "Too fuzzy, I can't see details, only colors and shapes." He got to his feet. "I need to talk to Lance, then get to the Bridge."

Brenda shook her head. "No Keith. Lance and Dorma are standing vigil over Troi. He won't want you there."

Keith nodded. "Later then." He turned to Cinda. "Cinda, thanks doesn't begin to cover—"

Cinda held her hand up. "None are needed my friend. Come, Cliff and the others are waiting."

Brenda stopped them. "Just wait a moment or I'll have you strapped back to that bed." Brenda took a slim flashlight out of her pocket and shone it into Keith's eyes. "Hmmm…We may be able to do something about that eye later."

"But not now." Keith stated firmly.

"No, not now." Brenda placed a black patch over his left eye. "Now, let me see that shoulder." She manipulated the arm, noting Keith's wince. "That too could use more rest." She held her hand up to stave off Keith's argument. "But again, not now. Go, and be careful, both of you." With a last squeeze to Keith's hand, Brenda watched as they rushed from the room.

They hurried down the hallway towards the Bridge. On the way, they had to step over repair technicians, who were gathered in the hallways. The whole ship smelled of scorched ozone. "How bad were we hit?" Keith asked.

"Pretty bad. No, they don't work." Cinda told him as he paused in front of the lift doors. "This way." She led him towards the stairs.

Keith thought himself to be in pretty good shape, but even so, he was winded when they finally reached the doors to the Bridge. "Jesus Cinda…" Keith panted, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees.

She laughed. "I do the stairs most of the time. Keeps me in shape."

He grinned up at her. "I'll bet." He straightened up. "Thanks Cinda." The doors opened and he stepped inside.

Cliff looked up at Keith, relief clearly written across his features. "It's about bloody time you got here." He looked Keith up and down, then turned back to the image table. "Shoulda kept the beard. It would've worked nicely with the patch." Cliff deadpanned.

Keith scowled and walked over to stand next to him. "What have we got?"

"It's not good mate. We've taken damage on four decks. Power is sporadic across the ship. I've lost most of my forces, including…" He closed his eyes in grief.

"I'm sorry Cliff. Rocky was a good man." Keith said softly.

Cliff shook his head. "Yes well, we'll mourn our dead later. We have the living to worry about right now." He looked up at Keith and took a deep breath. "General Montgomery, are you planning on taking command of the ship?"

Keith looked startled. "What? No Cliff, of course not."

"It's in your right to do so." Cliff persisted.

"Are you relinquishing command to me?"

Cliff shook his head. "No Sir, just doing my duty."

"Then the 'Explorer' stays yours. And don't call me Sir." Keith said irritably.

Cliff smothered a grin. "Whatever you say…General." He pointed to the table. "Here, Hazar's ship was almost totally destroyed. I sent forces over to check for survivors. We have most of our repairs under control, but the planet itself is in pretty rough shape. There are fires spreading through villages thanks to the attack. The locals are trying to get them under control, and I've sent what help I could but there's only so much we can do at this point. I've sugar-coated the details to your wife. Didn't want to give her more to worry about." Cliff told him.

"You should have told her. Allura's tougher than she looks. Especially when it comes to defending her people and her planet." Keith replied.

"I'll let you fill her in then."

"Thanks." Keith muttered sarcastically. He gazed down at the table, anger coursing through him.

"Do you know who started this?" Cliff asked.

Keith nodded. "The bastard introduced himself before he tossed me overboard." He looked up at Cliff. Calls himself Haltor. He's Lotor's son."

"Lotor's son! You've got to be kidding me!"

"No. I shudder to think what this means. Allura told me you have the kids in the Brig?" Keith asked.

"Yes. I figured that would be the safest place for everyone until I heard otherwise from you. Hazar isn't too happy, but he understands. I'm not risking him trying to get back to what's left of his ship. Especially now." Cliff said.

Keith straightened up. "We need to regroup. I'll get Pidge, Hunk, my parents and my uncle here. You get your Team together. Say two hours?"

Cliff nodded. "Sounds good to me. Hopefully by then, the recon-fighters will be back and can give us more information."

"Until then." Keith gave Cliff a crisp salute and marched out the door. He made his way down to the Brig.

Aria came flying up to him, wrapping her tiny hands around his neck. "Daddy!"

"Easy baby, I'm here." He held her close.

Aria stepped back and looked up at her father. "You look like a pirate." She told him, running her hands across his face.

Keith laughed. "I suppose I do. All I need now is a ship. Arugh!" He said, tickling her. Aria broke up into giggles.

"Keith, how are you?" Keith looked up to see Sereti walking towards him. She held Gil in her arms and Zarana tagged along at her heels.

"I'll be fine, thanks Sereti. This one giving you any trouble?" He grinned at Aria.

"Not at all. The Commander though, that's another story. She smiled as Hazar approached them.

Hazar frowned upon looking at Keith. "You should be in bed."

Keith shook his head. "I came to find you. We're meeting upstairs shortly to discuss the situation."

"I have not appreciated being locked up like a common criminal." Keith could hear the anger in Hazar's tone.

"Cliff wasn't saying he didn't trust you. He only kept you down here until the ship was secure."

"I take it the intruders have been taken care of?"

Keith nodded. "Have you talked to Dorma?"

Hazar nodded with a pointed look at the children. "We should go." He bowed to Sereti, and followed Keith out to the main corridor. Once they were out of earshot, Hazar faced Keith. "My nephew is out of immediate danger. I want to find and kill whoever is responsible for this."

"I do too, believe me Hazar." Keith motioned to one of the guards. "See that the Commander is escorted to the Bridge. I hold you responsible for his safety." Keith ordered one of the guards. He turned back to Hazar. "I'll be with you shortly, I want to check on Troi." Hazar nodded and he and his bodyguards made their way to the bridge.

Keith headed back towards sickbay. He paused to gaze around at all the wounded, his temper boiling. He scowled to himself and made his way across the room to the intensive care ward. He asked a nurse where Troi was and she pointed to the far end of the room. Quietly, he slipped inside.

Professor Page looked up as Keith came in. "Brenda told me you were up and around." He said, frowning.

Keith ignored the look, and nodded towards Troi. "How is he?"

Page looked down at the sleeping boy. "Better. He's out of danger. I sent his parents to get some rest." He looked up at Keith. The young man moved stiffly, and the bruises on his face stood out deeply against his pale features. "The same goes for you General. I know how good Cinda is, but even so, you need to take it easy for a while."

Keith shook his head. "I wish I could. But I promise to crash as soon as I can. Thanks Doc." He waited until Page left the room, then sat down next to Troi. Troi was covered in tubes and wires, a large bandage covering his torso. Keith watched the boy's chest rise and fall in unison with the machines. He sighed. Too close, this was too close. He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands.