Hunk lay underneath Black's control panel. Carefully he placed the panel, which had taken most of the morning to rebuild, into place. Holding it with one hand, he reached down for the screwdriver to fasten it with a deft hand honed by hours of practice. Blowing out a breath, he inched his way out from underneath the panel. Good thing we removed the pilot's chair, he thought, this would be a tight fit otherwise. Of course we will have to repair the chair as well. That last RoBeast did a number on it with those spine things. Huh, wonder if they saved any so I could do my own analysis.

He patted the console and smiled. "There you go, Black. One rebuilt navigation panel with a few little improvements Pidge and I have wanted to try for a bit. Now, let's just see how it is working." Hunk continued to talk aloud as he entered the startup sequence. It had long been a habit of his to talk to the machinery he repaired. Sometimes just talking through a problem helped him fix it. Of course with the lions, sometimes it just seemed, well, rude not to keep them informed. He still did not believe they were any more than sophisticated machines, but Cady did and Keith. Hunk paused. He really did not know what Keith actually believed. The cap was one to keep his thoughts to himself, that one. He did not discourage Cady in her beliefs, and that was something to ponder.

Shaking his head, Hunk focused on the task at hand. Finishing the startup sequence, he happily noted it seemed to be functioning properly. Unlike some of the systems they had repaired, which did not work even though diagnostically the technicians could not find a problem. The yellow pilot had finally told them to leave Black to him. Grunson could handle flying Yellow when the doc gave them the clearance to fly again. It was now time to start the recovery and rebuilding process. The last of the ground troops had either been destroyed or surrendered in the last hour. The all-clear had sounded. Tomorrow would see the process of digging out the shelters. All shelters had reported to the castle. Keith would be proud to know his preparation had meant no one in the shelters had fallen to enemy fire.

The Lieutenant would turn his attention to repairing the lions to optimal working order. It would be a task which would consume weeks. With the battle over, the castle would reassign the repair crews to the rebuilding of towns. Winter came hard in some parts of Arus. Many of the people would continue to live the shelters. Some cities reported near total destruction of the buildings. It would take years to rebuild. The ruling council had already approved generalize rebuilding plans for the planet. Public buildings such as hospitals and schools had priority for manpower. The market districts and industrial districts had the next priority, then individual home, and finally government buildings. Of course, people were welcome to work on their own homes as they can. The towns had tried to preserve and hide the large construction equipment and had been somewhat successful. The areas of heaviest fighting had lost nearly everything, but the smaller towns and outlying areas had managed to save much. This would help the rebuilding effort.

Arus also expected a large influx of supplies from neighboring planets and the alliance. Pollux had pledged food stuffs and help in the form of trained personnel. Sven had finally reported with good news. The physical damage to Pollux was minimal. They had managed to keep the attacking force in space. Lotor had learned and not launched a major attack. The force between Pollux and Arus was to keep a blockade to prevent Pollux for launching a counter attack or pinching Lotor's armada between two hostile forces. The Drule prince's strategy hinged on a quickly overcoming the defenses of Arus. He knew that the alliance would come to help but banked on it taking longer than it did and in less resistance on the planet. Hunk knew without Keith's insistence on defense and protection of the people first, it would have happened as Lotor planned.

Hunk pushed all extraneous thoughts aside and concentrated at the task on hand. His complete absorption prevented from hearing Cady come up behind him.

"Uncle Hunk?"

With a yelp of surprise, Hunk scrambled to keep from dropping the portable analysis pad. "Cady! Make some noise, girl! You are as bad as your father for sneaking up on people!"

Giggling she climbed on his lap as he set the pad aside. Sighing she lay her head against his chest. "Your heart is beating really fast, Uncle Hunk! I scared you good!"

"You sure did, Cady-did-what," Hunk agreed as he reached to rub the back of his neck where the muscles felt tight. "So my girl. What brings you here? Does Nanny know you are here?"

He felt Cady's head nod against his chest. "Black wanted to talk to me."

Hunk paused and leaned sideways to look Cady in the eye. "How do you know that, Cady?"

"He asked me to come. When I was sitting with Daddy."

Hunk looked at her in bewilderment and repeated very slowly. "Black ask you to come. Here. When you were sitting with your Dad."

"Uh, huh."

"Ohhh-kay. How long have you been here with Black?" Hunk was feeling out of his depth and really wishing Sven or Keith were here. He was a mechanic! Just a mechanic.

Cady shrugged and swung her legs. "I dunno. Black said lots of things I do not quite understand. Can you help me?"

Hunk swallowed, glad she was tucked in his lap and not looking him in the face. "Of course sweetheart, give it to me." Cady's uncle was wishing harder for Sven. This was not his job!

The little girl did not answer right away, she seemed almost reluctant. Odd for her. She usually had no trouble talking to anyone. After a minute, Hunk finally prodded gently, "Did you want to tell me? Or the princess?"

"No, the princess would only cry. She loves Daddy very much and she would just cry and cry and that would be bad."

Hunk felt pole axed. Cady saw how the princess felt? "What about your Daddy? Does he like the princess?"

He felt her nod. "He just does not know it yet. Maybe I should just tell him. I miss my Daddy, Hunk. He has not even opened his eyes once. I know, cause I asked Dr. Gorma. I asked the nurses, but they would not tell me. The doctor did though." She fell quiet again as the pilot's thoughts continued to race.

This girl was wise well beyond her years. She had a knack of seeing through to people. Well, truthfully so did Keith, but like so many people was blind to himself. Cady believed Keith loved the princess but did not know it? Could be, could be. It would be so right if. Hunk cut off the thought as Cady finally began to speak.

"Black says Daddy is scared. He says Daddy had ac-cept-ted what would happen and now is scared to come back. He says Daddy thinks he won't every be really better and doesn't want to be a burden. What's a burden Uncle Hunk?"

"A burden means several things. The first means to carry something very heavy. What your Daddy means is he thinks he will make everyone take care of him and he would not be able to take care of himself."

Cady sat quietly for a moment. "Well that is just silly. I would take care of him. Just like he takes care of me when I am sick." She turned toward Black's control panel. "Tell him I said so, Black. You tell him I will take care of him for ever and ever 'cause he is my Daddy. You tell him Black." She paused and listened for a moment. Then nodded and turned to look at Hunk. "Black says something else. He says Daddy is very tired and just wants to rest. He says he wants to let someone else carry the load. He says Daddy has nothing left to give. What does that mean, Uncle Hunk?"

Mentally, Hunk whistled. If Cady told the truth, and Hunk was starting to believe just what she said, then it would take a miracle to bring Keith back. "It means that your Daddy needs a really long vacation, sweetie. He has been working too hard and should stop working for a time," he prevaricated. Hunk felt out of depth on this one. He should talk with Coran, no better yet, with Dr. Gorma. The doctor often looked beyond the obvious. "Anything else sweetie."

Cady shook her head, "Just that Black says Daddy is still far away, but said he would not go any further for a while. I want Daddy to wake up, Uncle Hunk. He has not even stirred when I read him a story. He always listens to me read."

The pilot just gathered the little girl in his arms as she started to cry. He made those nonsense sounds one makes when trying to give comfort where none exists. Hunk rubbed Cady's back and let her hold onto him and cry. It nearly broke his heart. As she started to quiet, he became aware of a noise in the cabin. It sounded like, purring? Straining his ears, Hunk tried to pinpoint the source, but the low rumbling seem to emanate from every where. With a last loud sniff, Cady stilled in his arms. The noise dimmed until he could no longer hear it. Head shaking to clear it, Hunk reached into his pocket for the ever present handkerchief. He and the others had learned to carry one at all times when Cady was only a baby. They cleaned a variety of messes, wet or dry.

"There now Cady-girl. Let's go find Nanny before she worries. Then we can go have a nap if you want, or dinner?"

Cady shook her head at the dinner idea, but she clung to Hunk as he stood. He tucked one arm underneath her so she could lie on his shoulder as they walked. It had been a long time since he had carried her like this, and it surprised him to discover how long her legs had grown in the last few months.

Nanny took one look at Cady and bustled her off to a warm bath and bed. She just shooed Hunk away before he could tell her why Cady had been crying. "I know, Lieutenant, I know."

He watched his niece walk down the hallway without her usual sparkle. Swallowing hard, he straightened his shoulders and walked to sickbay. For now he would accept what Cady told him at face value. The rest he could evaluate later.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"So that is what she told me, Doc. I did not know what to make of it, so thought to come and tell you. Do you make anything out of it?" Hunk sat in one of the chairs in Gorma's office, hands clasped between his knees.

"Well," said the doctor slowly, "that is interesting." He sat back with a thinking expression on his face. Several minutes pass, with each man lost in his own thoughts. Finally Dr. Gorma broke the silence, "Do you think it accurate, what Cady told you?"

Hunk nodded, "The concepts are beyond her age. I realize she has more practical knowledge than most girls her age, but Keith would never knowingly tell her about the burdens of command. He would never put that kind of pressure on her when he knows she could not understand." He shook his head, "No, I really think Black somehow is tied to Keith and Cady. From a purely mechanical standpoint, I cannot understand why some systems work and some do not. We could not fly Black now if we launched him with a slingshot. But if his condition is somehow tied to Keith's or if his trying to keep Keith here keeps him from paying attention to himself, well, the princess has always maintained the lions to be more than simple mechanical constructs. Cady has talked to Black since the first time Keith took her to him. It was not long after she came. Black was in for repairs and he took her to show her what he did." Suddenly Hunk stopped his recitation and clamped his lips together. "Sorry, Doc, just babbling there. So, what do we do?"

"I do not know, Lt. Garett, I really do not. Let me digest what you have told me. There are some people I can contact, see if they have any ideas. It may sound strange, but this in some ways this does not seem that unusual. The captain has fallen into a very deep coma." Pausing, "I cannot speculate, let me contact Obreck and see if they have any insights."

Hunk stood and held out his hand to Mikko. "Thanks, Dr. Gorma, I knew you would want to know."

Shaking hands, the men parted to their differing duties.

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