Allura sat in her office scrolling through the various reports beginning to pour in from all parts of the planet. The outlying areas showed light damage and few casualties. The larger towns and trade centers had suffered the worst of the attacks. It repeated the pattern of Zarkon's first attacks. The population centers gave the best return on investment in terms of slaves and loot.
The population centers had lost more people and suffered a much greater level of destruction. Zarn, the second largest city in terms of population, had lost three-quarters of the buildings to Lotor's troops. Casualty reports for Zarn indicated heavy losses among fighters and military personnel. As a percentage, the loss of civilian life was exceedingly low.
The pattern repeated itself throughout every report she read. Finally, she put her head down on the desk and just lay there for several minutes, too many thoughts and emotions flowing through her to sort one from anther. Allura felt tired. Tired of war. Tired of fighting. Fighting against Lotor or some other force wanting to take over Arus. Fighting against the counselors of the cities and towns as to who could have what, when and how much.
Sitting up slowly, Allura looked at her hands; callused and scarred from war and rebuilding. They did not look like the hands of any other princess she knew, with the exception of Romelle. But then they both had the same problems. Both from war torn worlds. Both victims of Lotor. Both in love with pilots. Allura let the thought trail off in her mind and then sighed. Why not pursue the thought, it was not like it would go away.
Keith would know just what to say to bring her out of her funk. If nothing else he would raise a supercilious eyebrow at her and declare her work-day temporarily ended. It had become his pattern over the last few years.
When they had first emerged from the caves and begun to fight for the planet, Allura had done her best to avoid the captain. After overhearing some remarks he made to Lance, the princess felt sure that he thought of her as only a child. She had determined to prove him wrong. Laughing quietly, Allura though of how, in may ways, she had just proven him right.
At the same time, he treated her with respect and courtesy. Always giving her the courtesy of listening to her ideas and never directly disparaging them. Coran had once commented how well the captain could use a few simple questions to bring someone around to his point of view or to show them what was incorrect about their proposal. Although he could and did become immovable on a subject, Keith rarely verbally put his foot down on any subject. A born diplomat, is how Coran referred to him. Flexible when needed and harder than diamond and just as rigid when required.
Several weeks after she had foolishly taken Blue out without permission, Keith had found her in one of the less damaged rooms. When it became known she would not be a temporary pilot, it had caused some small panics among the counselors. A proper princess did not deliberately put herself in harm's way. She courted disaster, and what would Arus do without her?
He had entered the room quietly and stood behind her for several minutes and the objections continued to pour fourth. Finally, he had rapped lightly on the table. "Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen." Somehow his quiet voice carried through the din and quieted the room. "Princess Allura has accepted the position of Blue pilot. Until such time as she shows incompetence in the role, or can no longer perform the function she will do so. The matter is solely under my discretion."
Allura almost giggled at the stunned and astonished expressions of the people in the room. She managed to keep her expression under control and the captain continued.
"Thank you for your concern, it is duly noted." He turned to Allura, completely ignoring the rest of the room. "Your Highness, practice was to commence at 1000 hours. It is now, "the captain paused to check his time piece, "1023. You are to report immediately to the deployment area. At 2000 you will report to my office for your punishment detail for tardiness." He turned back to the room, "Excuse us, ladies and gentlemen." With a quick curtsy to the room, Allura hurried off to the chutes. Pausing on the threshold, he turned back to the still quiet room. "The defense of this planet and its people WILL take precedence over any other discussions. Galaxy Garrison has entrusted me to this position and then confirmed by Princess Allura. You will be invaluable in rebuilding this world and protecting it from all who would cause harm. In this room lies the future of Arus. I am a simple soldier, but you are the lifeblood of this planet and I know the princess has entrusted you with helping to bring Arus back to life. While the Voltron Force may ensure the safety, it is you who will bring this planet to glory. Thank you for making our task simple." With a courtly bow, he left the stunned room behind him.
Since that time, whenever Coran or Keith believed she worked too hard or needed a break, he simply declared her work day over until further notice. After that first meeting, no one would dare argue with him on the subject. With that one small speech, everyone had assumed the captain had precedence on her time. In a few short weeks time, he had trained not only Allura, but those who made demands on her time. If Keith did not actively participate in a meeting, his arrival would put a quick end to it. Sometimes it was the only way Allura had any time to relax.
Pondering the subject further, she thought of how he ran the Voltron Force. When running drills, battles, or training sessions he was The Captain. No arguing, no second guessing him, no questions. He encouraged input as time allowed before making any decision and did not hesitate to ask for assistance when needed, but once he made an order, Keith expected to be asked 'how high' as they jumped into the air.
It made an interesting dichotomy to compare his different roles. A somewhat dictatorial tyrant (in a good way!) Allrua's mind said, as a Captain. A suave diplomat when needed. The consummate organizer and always over planning for everything. As a father. Oh, he certainly made his share of mistakes, and he defiantly had an interesting style of parenting, but once Allura had heard the stories of the events surrounding and after Cady's birth, it made things very clear. She had just about memorized the stories Lance, Hunk, Pidge, and even Sven had told her through the years. Leaning back and closing her eyes she could just picture it.
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