Disclaimer : Voltron and it's characters belong to WEP. The awesome twosome that is Lysette and Marina, along with there Burley Q Friends, are mine. I hope you enjoyed this story and are looking forward to the completion of Deception. For those that are wondering, these characters are not done yet and will be making several appearences. To WarzonePrez, thanks for encouraging me to write this, and for helping edit my work. To cubbie, Yes I'm not done yet so keep KAEX going. To KathDMD, I hope you like the outfits and the whole range of designers. To sunshine Leo, Hunk and Jessica are not done yet. See you all in Deception. Thanks for the reviews.
Arus The Next Morning
Corran walked into the control center with a cup of coffee in his hand. Nanny had just made a fresh pot, and it tasted wonderful. With Lotor in prision and the Drule army in disarray, the team could relax a bit. He had been nervous though about the Dradin trip, but he knew that the commander would protect the princess with his life. Suddenly the terminal beeped with an incoming message marked urgent. Corran punched in the numbers to bring up the message on the screen. A middle aged man appeared wearing the uniform of a commander. He had graying black hair cut in military fashion, and his uniform was crisply pressed. Corran smiled.
"Mike, it's great to hear from you," Coran said. "In regards to our chess game, I had you beat."
"I wish it was that easy," Mike replied, "but I had to tell you before it got to out of control. Have you seen or heard anything from Dradin? Has the team checked in at all?
"I spoke with Commander Kogane yesterday evening before they went to dinner," Corran said. "I have yet to receive a call this morning." The commander sighed.
"I'm about to show you why," he said. He sent another message, and Corran pulled it up. A look of horror came over his face.
"Oh this will not do at all," he said.
Fabrere Tower, Dradin
"I just got off the holovid with the hospital," Keith said to the group. "Manset is out of ICU, and will make a full recovery."
"Thank goodness," Allura replied.
"Great," Pidge said. "I knew he was a tough old man" He grinned.
The team had met for breakfast in the common room after talking most of the night on how to control the damage from last night's debacle. Suddenly, the holovid came to life indicating a call, and after accepting the code, a face came on screen. Allura groaned at the two faces that appeared.
"Princess," Coran said, "I am deeply disappointed in you. I knew this was a mistake. I knew I should have done a better job at stopping it. I assumed that you had grown up in the past few years, especially piloting the blue lion. Now I'm wondering if you are even prepared for the task at hand!"
"Corran, I'm so sorry," Allura replied. "It's just that you know that I was running a planet at sixteen, and that there were no girls my own age. I didn't even know about Romelle until I was eighteen when we visited Pollux, then later after she was rescued form Planet Doom. I never got to experience what being a young woman was like. For the first time last night, I wasn't just a princess. I was simply a young girl who had no responsibility or worries. I have no regrets about what I've done. In fact, I want to spend more time with Jessica, Marie Christine, Whitney and even Lysette and Marina. Maybe we should invite them to Arus."
"Princess," Nanny said, "they are not suitable companions for a woman of your station!"
"I don't care, Nanny," Allura replied. "I'm twenty-three years old. It's time I made my own decisions. I have decided that once a replacement is found, I'm giving up blue lion. It's time my people had a full time queen, rather than a part time princess. And this is not negotiable. I will marry Commander Kogane in three month's time. We shall talk more when we get back to Arus." Allura motioned for the holovid screen to turn off. Lance clapped along with the rest of the team. He came over and hugged her
"Welcome to the land of adults, Allura," Lance said, grinning. Keith came over and kissed her before getting down on one knee. He pulled out a velvet box and flipped the lid open. A simple marquis cut sapphire twinkled from the box.
"Will you marry me?" Keith asked. "Officially."
"Get off your knees, you know my answer!" Allura said, and laughed as they began to kiss.
A few hours later, the team left to get into the lions, while Sven and Romlle went to the shuttle. They had all ignored the photographers camped out in front of the lobby.
"Dradin, baby Dradin," Lance crowed as they shot toward the atmosphere into open space.
"Arus, here we come!" Pidge said.
"Oh man," Hunk said, "I didn't get Jessica's number!" Hunk frowned. Pidge started laughing.
"Don't worry Hunk," Allura said, grinning. "I did."
Galaxy Garrsion Heaquarters
Later That Morning
Lysette Fabrere straightened the dress uniform before opening the door to the office. This was the one place that always made her nervous. The Admiral was waiting with a look of fury behind a desk. The moment Lysette stepped in, the tirade began.
"Of all the asinine things you have done over the years, this has to be the worst thing you have ever done!" the Admiral scolded. "I stood up for you. I pulled strings so you could attend here. Even after that porn video came out, as well as the striptease at Lt Carter's bachelor party. The brass wanted you court martialed right then and there, and I still saved your ass. But I'm not going to do it now." The admiral came around the desk with a look of fury on his face, and slapped Lysette across the face. Lysette stepped back with a look of terror and fell to the ground as the Admiral reached for her. Suddenly, images began to flash back to a time she'd rather forget.
"Now listen here you little bitch," a man said, "you're gonna stay in this closet until I say it's okay to come out!" The man shoved the little girl into the closet and locked the door.
"Sir, why did you do that?" a woman asked. "The child did nothing wrong. She's learning, that's all."
"You know your place woman!" he replied. "If anybody goes near that door, there will be consequences!" The angry man then reached for the woman and yanked her down the hall. Lysette curled up in a ball and cried soflty in the dark.
"I didn't mean to," she said. "It was an accident. I"ll be good, I promise. I want my momma.." She began to whimper.
A few hours later, the door opened, and a figure came in to the closet.
"Ma patite cher,"a woman's voice said. "You can come out now. He's gone."
"Why does that man hurt me?" Lysette asked. "I've done nothing."
"Someday I will tell you all," the woman replied, "but not now." The woman held out her hand. "Come on, I kept some Shrimp Gumbo for you. And some of my crawfish eduflee."
Lysette flashed back to the present to see that the admiral was now grasping her arm and was about to hit her again.
"Help!" Lysette screamed. Suddenly the door slammed open.
"Enough!" a voice roared. Lysette looked up with a sigh of relief as the officer came into the room. Commander Hawkins looked down at the disheveled figure huddled on the floor.
"Admiral Carletti," he said, "your presence is wanted in the briefing room. I suggest you get there before I report you. You may be above me in rank, but I have enough clout to have you take your four stars and shove it." Edward Carletti straightened his dress uniform and left the room. Commander Hawkins reached down to help Lysette off the floor.
"You okay Lieutenant?" he asked. "You need anything?"
"Three shots of vodka and a cigarette would be nice," Lysette laughed as Hawkins smiled.
"Keep that sense of humor, Lieutenant," he said. "It will serve you well. Oh, his time will come. What I'm about to say will stay confidential. There is a task force investigating the Admiral, We have received reports of incidents that happened under his command.."
"He will fight it," she replied. "He's got money, connections and power. How will you take him down?"
"You, Lieutenant Carletti and Captain DeVille are being sent on an important mission," he replied. "We need you to be part of the prosecution for Lotor's trial. This also gets you three off Earth while we conduct the investigation. I've watched all three of you very closely, and I think you all would be perfect for this assignment."
"When do we leave?" Lysette asked, straightening her uniform.
"0800," he replied. "The Admiral will be there to see you all off. What I need you to do is act natural, and don't let him get suspicious. In order for this to work we need him not on his guard. Even the most careful of men can slip up."
Across the base was a nondescript building that had a steady flow of traffic. Marina stepped out of the waiting shuttle and walked into the building. After giving her name to the officer on duty she was escorted into a private suite. Marina sat down on the couch and picked up the snifter of brandy. As she was sipping the liquid, her gaze fell on a door opening to reveal a figure.
"Welcome back, Lieutenant Carletti," the figure said. "I have been expecting you."
"Well," she replied, "when a summons arrives, I can't very well turn it down now, can I?"
"I read your report in great detail," the figure said. "You are doing well. I know Lieutenant Fabrere can be a handful, to put it mildly, but things are progressing wonderfully. Just a few more months and we will have everything complete."
"I hate lying, and acting like a stern shrew," she replied, "especially with Lysette. She's like a sister to me and I feel awful about this."
"You must succeed at all costs!" the figure implored. "If the truth is to come out, we must be prepared for all instances. We cannot afford to have any screw-ups."
Want to find out what happens next? Read Deception, coming soon.
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