Chapter 1

The young captain adjusted his uniform for the third time that past minute.

He arrived at his destination and waited for the doors to automatically open.

"Thank you for seeing me on such short notice."

"Not like I could say 'no' to you, Sir." He bit his lower lip; maybe he should dial the humor down a notch until he found out what this was about. "I came as soon as you asked me to, Commander Hawkins."

The middle-aged superior nodded and motioned for him to take a seat.

This was most certainly not the first time he was being called to the Commander's office but for some reason, he felt as if it was.

Maybe it had something to do with the way his senior was staring at him from across the desk.

"Jeff, I take that you are up to speed with everything that's happening on this ship?"

"Uhm, yes, Sir, I'd like to think so."

"So you know where we're headed and why?"

"We're on a course for Arus to keep an eye on it while the Lion force is away."

"And why is that team off the planet in the first place?"

"Because they're going on vacation."

"And why are they on vacation?"

"Because Galaxy Garrison mandated the members of both the Lion and Vehicle Force…" Jeff stopped himself. "Sir, what is this about?"

"Do you know why you're here?"

"Uhm, not really, Commander. I'm just hoping it's not something that I did."

"As a matter of fact," the Commander began, as he opened a folder with some paper in it, "it's about something that you didn't do." He tossed it towards his subordinate.

Jeff reached for it and peeked at the heading. "Sir, this is MY file."

"I realized that you're the only one on the team who hasn't filed for a leave."

He arched an eyebrow. "Commander, you called me in because I didn't file for a leave?"

"Yes."

"Commander…"

"Jeff, you do realize that this is quite the rare opportunity that everyone was presented with here. Who knows when we'll be allowed to go on sabbatical ever again?"

"I just didn't see the need, Sir."

"Even I went on leave." The Commander pointed out, suddenly standing up. "Trust me, it's good for you."

"I'll take your word for it, Sir."

"Jeff, as soon as we land on Arus, you're joining Chip and Lisa on their vacation with the Lion Force."

"But who's going to lead the team while I'm away?"

"Cliff will. The replacement pilots have already arrived on Arus and there are three of them. Vehicle Voltron will be up and operational should the Drules decide to cause trouble."

"But Sir -"

"Do you have anything against spending the next two weeks with them?"

Jeff suddenly couldn't form a coherent sentence. After about a minute, he recovered and finally said, "No, Sir, I don't."

It was the Commander's turn to arch an eyebrow at him.

"Jeff, I never thought you had anything against your Lion Force counterparts."

"Sir, you've got it all wrong. It's not what you're thinking. They're my friends, we're all friends, but -"

"But?"

"But," Jeff sighed in defeat. "Nothing, Sir. I'll go pack my stuff."

He stood and saluted. But before he stepped out, Hawkins called his attention.

"Jeff, whatever it is that's going on, you have two weeks to fix it."

He didn't answer; didn't even look back at his commanding officer.

I've been trying to fix it for more than half of my life already, Commander.

He just left the room.

She was floating on air. It has been years since she last saw him and although they were both up to date with every aspect of their lives, she still extremely missed him.

She hummed to herself as she turned the corner and found herself hitting, what felt like, a brick wall.

A strong hand grabbed her by the wrist just in time to stop her from falling backwards.

"Hey, I'm sorry, I didn't -"

She opened her eyes and gasped upon recognizing the voice. "Jeff?"

"Lisa, you okay?" he asked, his tone worried. "I'm sorry that I ran into you like that."

She shook her head as she steadied herself. "No, I was the one who wasn't paying attention."

He regarded her carefully. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Jeff, I'm fine." She answered, smiling a little. Her eyes shifted to where his hand grasped her. "Uhm, thank you for stopping my fall."

"Huh?" he turned his gaze to where she was looking. "Oh, yeah." He let go of her, slightly embarrassed. He looked away, uncertain what to say or do next. So he asked her the first thing that popped into his mind: "So, you excited about landing on Arus?"

Her face suddenly lit up. "Yes! I'm very excited to seeing Keith again."

His hands balled up into fists but relaxed them as soon as he realized this had happened.

"Jeff? Is something wrong?"

He wondered if she had noticed his hands but when he saw that her attention was on his face, he was relieved. He then forced a smile. "No. Nothing's wrong. It's just that I came from a talk with the Commander and I'm still rather woozy about it."

"I did see him approach you at the cafeteria earlier. Those within earshot heard that he asked to see you as soon as you were available. Everybody's curios; wondering what the meeting was about." She stopped herself from asking any questions. She knew her place as a pilot of the force and she wasn't going to put Jeff in the position of feeling that he had to tell her because she asked…

"The Commander chastised me because I didn't file for a leave."

She stared at him in disbelief.

He couldn't help but chuckle at the expression on her face; how her big brown eyes blinked at him while she tried to digest what he had just told her.

Those big, brown, beautiful eyes.

"That was what the meeting was about?" She finally managed to ask him. "But, wait, why didn't you file for a leave in the first place?"

"Because I just didn't see the need." He answered again; though he wasn't sure if he himself believed it.

"Jeff, you need to give yourself a break. You've been working really hard and nobody will think less of you if you do go on a vacation." She gave him a warm smile.

He never grew tired of that smile.

The smile instantly faded. "But, Chip and I are the last two on the roster of approved leaves." She realized; worry crossing her features. "When will you be -?"

"Commander Hawkins ordered that I join you and Chip."

Again, she stared at him in disbelief.

"I hope you guys don't mind that I'll be tagging along."

She shifted rather uncontrollably under his gaze which made him uneasy as well. He has noticed her uneasiness around him, particularly when they were alone, but her unease seemed to have doubled since he mentioned that he was joining her on vacation.

"Or, I can stay on Arus while you guys go with the princess and the Lion Force on Amaget. I'm sure I'll find something -"

"We can discuss this when we meet up with the group." She offered; her discomfort still apparent. "It is not for me to extend to you Prince Allan's invitation to join us on his home world but I'm sure Keith would be able to do something about it." She smiled again.

Keith would be able to do something about it.

"Yeah, I'm sure he would."

"What was that, Jeff? I didn't get that."

He wanted to hit himself for letting that slip out. "I need to start packing." He said instead as he started to walk away. "We'll be within communication range in the next hour and Commander Hawkins said that he'll be the one to mention that I'll be joining the group." He clenched his fists again as he turned the corner. "I'll see you later."

Lisa stood there for a while unsure of what had just happened. But the nostalgia from earlier soon replaced the uncertainty and she continued her walk while humming the tune she had on her mind before her encounter with the captain of the Vehicle Force.

I wonder how Keith's going to react to all this?