I don't own Voltron or its characters, just the ones I made up!

"Cochova?" Keith looked up. Dorma walked over to him, her beautiful violet eyes filled with tears.

"Dorma…" He stood and took her in his arms, holding her as she broke down.

Lance stood in the doorway, watching them. Keith met his eyes. Lance sighed and stepped into the room. Dorma pulled back from Keith, and brushed a lock of hair off her son's forehead.

"The doctors say he is better." She said softly.

"Page was just here and told me the same. Dorma I'm sorry." Keith said simply.

Dorma looked up at him. "You should be resting as well." She placed her hands in his and Keith felt a tingle course through him. He pulled his arms away.

"No. Save it for Troi." He turned to Lance. "Are you alright?"

Lance nodded. "Yeah, I guess. Cliff wants to see us."

"I know. I just wanted to check on things first." Keith turned back to Dorma. "Take care of him. Take care of you." He placed a soft kiss on her forehead, then turned and left the room.

Lance followed a moment later. "Mom told me what happened. Can you see out of it at all?" He asked as they started down the hall.

Keith shook his head. "Not much. She said it might come back later, but I'm not counting on it."

"Allura said it was Lotor's son."

Keith nodded. "So he claims."

"Do you believe him?"

"Yes."

They were quiet until they reached the doors to Cliff's main conference room. "I want him dead for what he did. I nearly lost my son." Lance's voice was deadly calm.

Keith looked him in the eyes. "Stand in line Lance. He killed mine." Without another word, they entered the room.

Cliff, Kim, and Crick had gathered along with Admiral Harrison, Keith's father, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, and Hazar. Lance's cousin Ginger, who was now head of the Air Team stood looking down at the Vid-table. Dreana and Hans stood quietly in one corner. Cliff looked up and nodded to Keith. "Now that we're all here, let's get started. First of all, Admiral Harrison, do you intend to take command of the 'Explorer'?"

Harrison shook his head. "No son, she's yours."

Cliff turned to Keith. "General, have you changed your mind?"

"You know I haven't Cliff. And stop 'Generaling' me." Keith ordered sharply.

Cliff nodded in reply and punched a few buttons on the computer. The image table sprang to life, showing the surface of Arus around the lake and Castle. There were small fires in the villages, and around parts of the Castle. "This is where we stand. The attack fighters have backed off, for how long we don't know. The 'Explorer' is undergoing repairs as we speak. I've lost half my security fighters and three members of the Voltron Force. However, main weapons are back on line." He nodded to Pidge.

The young man pulled up his own set of schematics. "The Castle sustained minor damage. Some of the turrets were hit, but no weapons systems were compromised. The villages nearby were hit pretty hard. We have major casualties. We won't know the exact number until we can get search parties out there to check it out."

Hazar narrowed his eyes. "My ship was totally destroyed. If I had not been aboard here, I would be dead." He said solemnly.

Keith scowled. "Lotor's son is behind this. He calls himself Haltor. We didn't get the chance to exchange more than pleasantries, but I know he's got more up his sleeve. This goes far deeper than trying to kill me."

Pidge cleared his throat. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but there's more." He keyed in some commands on the computer. The image in front of them changed to show the planet. Surrounding it were tiny green dots, each connected by a beam of light.

"What is that?" Allura asked.

"A communications blanket. They have the planet surrounded. We can't get transmissions of any kind in or out." Pidge told her.

"What exactly do you mean?" Harrison asked.

"It means that we're on our own Sir." Pidge answered.

"Have we tried to get fighters through?" Keith asked.

Pidge nodded. "I took the liberty while you and Lance were unavailable and set up a squad of robot fighters. They never came back." He said quietly.

Keith paced the room as the others fill in their thoughts on the situation. "This just doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't?" His father asked.

"This whole situation. How the hell did Haltor know just when to attack, and where? He's been getting into the Castle for weeks now and we haven't been able to catch him. We have some of the best alarm systems in the galaxy, this just doesn't make sense!" Keith seethed.

"I have to agree with you mate." Cliff said. "He just can't be that smart, especially being Lotor's son!"

"I want him dead." Lance stated flatly. "I want him dead."

The Admiral shuddered at his son's tone. "We need to think about this people. Stop reacting and start thinking."

"Haltor needs to be stopped before he does more damage." Allura said shaking her head. "Before more people get killed."

Kim gazed thoughtfully down at the table, then she straightened and looked up at Keith. "You won't like this, but I suggest an offensive attack. We've never shot first, Haltor won't see it coming." She told him.

"It could work. What do we have for firepower?" Edward asked.

"With some shuffling, we have two full assault teams. Rocky's ship was the only one badly damaged, we should be able to put it back together in time for an attack. The other two are already repaired. For now, that gives us Air and Sea Teams. If needed, we could find three more pilots and try and complete the entire Force." Crick said thoughtfully.

Cliff paused, thinking. "All right. Get on it Crick. I trust you to find those pilots and get them ready. Try for volunteers first. I don't want to order anyone unless I have to."

"We're short two pilots for our Team." Lance said with a pointed look at Keith. "Dorma might be able to fill in for Blue, but I'm not asking her to leave Troi. I'll guess I'll start looking in our reserve forces." He continued to glare at Keith.

Keith refused to rise to the bait. "We still need to figure out how he got in here in the first place." He muttered to no one in particular.

Hunk stood, his arms folded across his chest, staring at the table. "Maybe he's using magic." He said quietly.

They all froze and looked up at him. "What did you say?" Keith asked.

Hunk looked up at them, confusion written all over his face. "Nothing, I mean, I was just talking to myself…"

Keith looked at Lance. Both wore the same startled expression. "But how? She's dead." Lance stated.

"But what if she's not." Keith shot back.

"They ran DNA tests!"

"They were inconclusive. They said she was dead using circumstantial evidence."

"But she's dead!"

"Will some one please explain what in bloody hell you two are talking about?" Cliff asked testily.

"Haggar. It's the only way." Keith told them.

"But didn't she get killed over ten years ago?" Cliff asked, a confused look on his face.

"Fifteen but who's counting." Keith paced the room again. "It fits dammit, it all fits. She's the only one who would have the knowledge to get Haltor into the Castle undetected."

"And she's probably been feeding him revenge stories his whole life." Lance added.

"That would also explain the weird energy readings we've been getting." Pidge said. "She must have magicked him into the caves."

Cliff shook his head. "You do realize how mad this sounds."

"And it's not solving anything. We need a plan." Admiral Harrison added.

Keith paced the room again, stopping to stare out the window at the fires in the distance. "He's got a fucking armada around my planet." He said quietly, venom in his voice. "He thinks he's got us. He thought wrong." He turned to Cliff. "I need a fighter. Some one has to lead our attack, and half blind or not, I'm the best qualified."

"I've a better idea. Take one of our Voltron ships. You'll be a welcome asset to our Team." Cliff responded.

Keith nodded. "Thanks I'll—"

"No." Everyone turned to look at Lance. "You will not fly with them." He said firmly. "You fly with us."

Keith glanced at Allura and shook his head. "Lance, I—"

Lance pulled something out of his pocket and tossed it to Keith, who caught it. "I said, you fly with us." He said again, steel in his voice.

Keith looked down. It was the Key to Black Lion. He looked back up at Lance, whose expression was unreadable. They stood staring at each other for a few moments. Then Keith's hand closed around the Key. "We'd better get going if we're going to get a jump on their forces."

There was a collective sigh of relief. "Crick, get your Teams ready. I want them launched at the General's command." Cliff ordered.

"Ahem." They all turned. Hans and Dreana had stepped forward. "Sirs. We've been talking, Dreana and I. We want to help. We'll pilot the ships." Hans told them.

Keith shook his head. "No way. This is no place for you two."

"Command—General, Hans, Troi and I are the top pilots in our class. Just give us a chance." Dreana said.

"I said no."

"Begging your pardon Sir, but I don't see that you have a choice." Hans turned to Lance. "Let us do this. For Troi."

"Hans, this isn't a game. You could get hurt." Lance told him shaking his head.

Dreana stepped if front of Keith. "We know that Sir." She glanced at Hans who nodded. "The three of us, Troi, Hans and I are in special training." She said quietly.

"What kind of train—Shadow? You're all in the Shadow program?" Keith looked stunned.

Both nodded. "Yes Sir." Dreana said.

Keith turned on Cliff. "Did you know about this?"

Cliff shook his head. "News to me mate."

"Lance?"

Lance shrugged. "Troi told Dorma the other day. Guess I forgot to mention it." He said sarcastically.

Keith glared at his friend, then turned back to Hans and Dreana. "I still don't know about this." He said hesitantly.

"This Haltor needs to be stopped, you're short pilots, let us help. We can do it." Hans finished vehemently.

Everyone grew quiet, staring at Keith. Finally Keith sighed and nodded. Lance gasped, incredulous. "You aren't seriously considering this!"

Pidge shrugged his shoulders. "They're the same age I was when I started flying Green."

"Dad! Say something! They're just kids."

The Admiral shook his head. "If they've been selected for Shadow, then they're up to doing this." Hans and Dreana's eyes lit up but Harrison held up his hand. "But the final decision is up to Keith, technically this is his command."

Keith looked thoughtfully at the two Cadets, then nodded.

Lance threw his hands up in disgust and anger. "Fine, it's on your conscience if anything happens to them." He stormed from the room.

Keith faced the two Cadets. "This isn't a game. I expect you to follow orders at all times. If you don't, not only will you get yourself killed, you'll take others with you. Is that understood?" There was no mistaking the steel in his voice.

Both snapped to attention. "Yes Sir!"

Keith turned to Cliff. "This OK with you?"

Cliff looked over to Crick and Ginger, who nodded. "We'll put them through some paces in the simulator and see how it goes." Cliff told him.

"All right. Where will the rest of you be?" Keith asked, glancing at his wife.

"I need to get to the Castle. My people will look for me there. The children and the wounded should be there as well. They can hide in the catacombs. It will be far safer than here on the ship or in the Castle." Allura said.

"What about Haggar? She's already proven she can get in there." Hunk asked.

"I will have security guards posted all around the area. She won't get in so easily with us watching for her." Allura told them firmly.

Cliff nodded. "Thank-you Allura. I had thought the same. We'll start moving them out as soon as possible."

"I shall go with you Your Highness, if that is permissible. I want to be seen with you so that this will not be seemed as sanctioned by my people." Hazar told her.

Allura smiled. "I would be honored to have you by my side Commander."

"I'll stay here on the 'Explorer'. I can relay messages to you planet-side if needed." Harrison said.

"I'll follow you to Arus. Maybe I can fly Blue. Sure as hell can't hurt to try." Edward said.

"Thanks Dad. We'll see what we can do." Keith turned to face his friends, his family. "This is it folks. We're up against the worst enemy we've ever had to face, and the odds aren't in our favor. Some of us may not come back this time, so if any one wants to back out, now's the time." Everyone stood, resolute. "All right people. Let's fly."