Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron, Star Trek, or any other material that is copyrighted by either Paramount or World Events Productions. What I do own are the crew of the Berlin (except for Mordock and Scotty), the fighter Thunderwing, and the story itself.

Thanks for the reviews, folks, I really appreciate them. And Crash, you just go ahead and keep guessing as much as you want. Some of those guesses have given me ideas.

Star Tron: Escalations

Chapter 7: Cleared and Questioned

The next two days passed uneventfully for the Voltron Force and their Federation allies. While the crew of the Berlin worked on a way to defend against the effects of the ionized topaz, the Voltron Force watched for any signs of an imminent attack, ever ready to fly into action.

Two days after Coran delivered the information on Tango Seven's research, Princess Allura awoke shortly before dawn and began to get ready for practice. Just as she finished combing out her hair, her communicator went off. She reached over to her dresser and answered it. "Allura here."

"Princess, practice is cancelled this morning," said Keith's voice.

Allura was confused. "Why?"

"I have to call in to Graham this morning. We'll have practice this evening. We could use some work on our night flying anyway."

Allura nodded to herself. "Understood, Keith," she replied.

"Would you please tell Hunk? He's the only one I haven't seen."

"Sure, Keith."

"Thanks. Keith out."

Allura finished up and left her room. As she walked down the corridor, she ran into Pidge. "Hi, Pidge."

"Good morning, Princess," the boy replied. "How about that, huh? No practice."

"Yeah, it's nice to get a morning off," she said. "Have you seen Hunk?"

"Uh, last I knew, he was heading down to the repair bay."

"Thanks, Pidge," said Allura. "I'll see you at breakfast."

"Okay. See you later, Princess."

Allura made her way to the repair bay. Walking through the heavy double-doors, she found the chamber deserted. The equipment was stored neatly along the walls, and the only other thing in the bay was the P-51 standing near the outer doors.

She approached the right side of the plane, running her hand along the flap as she examined the fuselage. There was no evidence of the damage she'd sustained. The skin of the plane was unblemished, the paint pristine.

Climbing up on the wing, she looked into the open cockpit, and could see no sign of damage there, either.

"Enjoying the view?"

Allura let out a startled yelp and almost fell off the wing. Turning around, she saw Captain Driscoll staring up at her. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Sorry," Adam replied. But the grin on his face told her that he wasn't all that sorry.

"It's all right." As she looked at him, she realized that he wasn't wearing the sling. "Did Dr. Saladin clear you for duty?"

"Yep. About an hour ago." He climbed up on the wing next to her and leaned into the cockpit, adjusting some of the controls. "I can't wait to get up."

"Keith cancelled practice," Allura told him.

"Yeah, I know. Hunk told me. But Lance told him, so I wasn't sure it was for real. You know how Lance is with his practical jokes. But anyway, I'm still going up."

"Oh, I see."

Adam paused a moment, then looked at her. "What do you see?" he asked, a wry smile on his face.

He's playing with me, Allura realized. Okay, fine. She spoke in a confident, matter-of-fact tone. "Well, I just thought that since there was no practice..."

"That I'd skip my morning flight?" Adam finished. "No way in hell. I mean, today I have to test my systems, but even if I didn't, I'd still go up."

Allura nodded. She watched Adam as he continued his preflight checks. "You really love to fly, don't you?"

He looked at her again. "Yeah, I do." He jumped down and began walking around the plane, doing a visual inspection. Allura followed. "There's just something about flying, something almost spiritual," he said. "Different pilots'll tell you different things, but to me, there's just one word that describes it. Freedom."

He stopped and turned, leaning on the left wing tip. Speaking softly, he said, "When I'm up there in the morning, just before dawn, I'll be cruising along at 40,000 feet, skimming the cloud tops. Then, the sky lightens, and the sun bursts out over the clouds, and it's like flying through a sea of gold." he paused and looked at Allura. "And being all alone up there, with nothing but the roar of the engine in your ears and the rising sun on your face, I tell ya, there's no other feeling in the world like it. Your destiny awaits only a twist of the stick or a nudge on the throttle. That's what flying's all about, Allura. That's freedom."

Allura stood there a moment, unsure of how to respond. The passion in Adam's words spoke to her as much as the words themselves. For her, flying had always been important. She flew to defend her people and her planet, and she was proud of that. Indeed, she loved flying, but she had never seen it as Adam had. But then, she seldom had the chance to fly for pleasure, as Adam did.

"And that's why I'm up there every morning," said Driscoll. "If I only flew combat, that's all flying would be to me, a way to fight. I mean, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the contest, but there's so much more to flying, and I would never want to lose track of that."

After a moment, Allura said, "Wow. I never realized it meant that much to you."

Adam smiled. "Well, usually, I prefer that people think I'm just getting some extra practice. And sometimes, that's all it is. But during my pre-practice flights, it's all about the experience."

Allura nodded. "I'll have to try that some time."

Adam was quiet a moment, then said, "How about now?"

"What do you mean?"

The Mustang pilot chuckled. "Well, practice is cancelled this morning, I'm still going up, and there are two seats in this bird."

Allura beamed. "Yeah, I'd love to," she said.

"Okay. Well, go get your flight suit and meet me back here. I'm taking off in fifteen minutes, with or without you."

Allura nodded. "Right," she said, already walking toward the door. Adam set about completing his pre-flight checks.

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Keith watched on a small monitor as Thunderwing taxied out of the repair bay and took to the air. Once the Mustang was safely away, he opened the communication channel to Space Marshal Graham.

Graham regarded Keith a moment before speaking. "Commander. I've read the report you sent me about Tango Seven. I can't say I'm pleased."

"I understand, sir, but Captain Driscoll assured me that he did all he could."

"I'm sure. However, I think it may have been better if you had led the Lions on that mission. Especially now that it seems Doom was able to sneak a recon flight through your defenses."

"But, sir..."

Graham held up his hand. "No, Keith. I know you made the best decision you could. I'm not criticizing you. Given the information you had, it was a better idea for the Berlin to go. However, because the Berlin was involved, there may be an issue we need to address."

"What's that, sir?"

"If Captain Driscoll sent a report on Tango Seven's research to the Federation, it might cause problems for our alliance with them. As I'm sure you know, they have banned biological weapons, like we have. So if they think we're using these weapons, especially in violation of our own treaties, they might start having second thoughts about backing us against Lotor."

"Marshal Graham, was Tango Seven assigned to research biological weapons?" Keith asked. That was the whole question at the heart of the matter, and he felt that it was time the truth was known, whatever it was.

"No, Keith, of course not. They were only assigned to research various mineral compounds and report their discoveries."

"Then how did Doom know to attack them?"

"That's an excellent question. And one I intend to get the answer to as soon as possible. I've ordered the cruisers Farad and Mistral to secure the base and conduct an investigation. Obviously, though, anything we report on Tango Seven's research will be looked at skeptically by the Federation."

"And that's the prime concern," Keith commented.

"In this situation, yes. The Senate wants to do everything possible to ensure that relations between the Alliance and the Federation do not degrade. That's why they sent a communication to Starfleet Headquarters, inviting the Berlin to accompany our ships. Hopefully, this will all smooth out once the Federation people see for themselves that the discovery of topaz's mutagenic properties was accidental."

"Yes, sir."

"Keith, I can't fault you for thinking of the station's crew first. You did the right thing, asking the Berlin to go. If there had been any survivors, or if the Berlin had caught the slave ship, there would be no problem now. But from here on, I am ordering you not to involve the Berlin in these situations when there is a risk that classified material may be compromised."

Keith stiffened at the obvious reprimand, but said nothing but a crisp, "Understood, sir."

Graham nodded. "Very good. I'll keep you posted on the situation."

"Thank you, sir."

"Graham out."

The screen went blank, and Keith let out a deep sight of frustration. Now Graham was criticizing his command ability. He had made a call that had to be made. Who cared if their allies found some classified information? And wasn't he even concerned that Doom now knew just as much, if not more, than the Federation?

He felt like hitting something. Here Graham was, rebuking him for something beyond his control, but where was he when the robeasts came? Where was he when schools and hospitals had to be rebuilt? The fact was, Arus and the Voltron Force had already received more help from the Federation than they ever had from the Alliance. The Voltron Force was very nearly single-handedly defending the Alliance from Zarkon's forces, but Graham didn't seem to notice that.

Disgusted and frustrated, Keith left the chamber, heading for his room. He'd only been up for an hour, and this already wasn't his day.

No sooner had he slumped into the chair behind his desk, preparing to catch up on his paperwork, than the castle's alarms rang out.

Sprinting back to the Control Room, he found Coran and the others already there. All except Allura.

"Where's the Princess?" Keith asked.

"The Princess is missing," said Coran.