Author's Note: Thanks for reading and reviewing this story. Thanks to HiddenValor for beta-ing the story and leaving with a lot of helpful feedback (from Chapter 3 to Epilogue) even when it took a 2 year hiatus. Good luck in your own writing projects this year. Thanks to StarDuchess for beta-ing as well from (Chapter 1 & 2). Good luck.
I did decide to leave several story threads open:
Allura's hunt for Arus Eyes
Jazia/Vela reuniting her mother and Marsh or going after Maahox
Some myths about the Lost Children
You can also check out the story's casting line up under [2014 January] heading in the profile.
Epilogue
The next two days for Allura were a whirl of activities. She submitted her official statements to Oliyar constabulary and to Chief Andros and then she held meetings with the Councilor Magan and the representatives of the housing committees through the Castle of Lions computer linkup. She attentively listened to their recommendations to further facilitate the re-housing of affected Arusians from Doom's recent incursions to the planet and finally, the Blue Lion pilot.
However, it wasn't smooth sailing with the cadets either. They continued testing the limits of Lance's patience and insisted on taking the pilot seats when they all go on maneuvers. Thus, it fell on Lance and Keith to work out a system to keep the cadets in check and not have them escape with one of the lions later.
As the third day wound down, Keith closed the operations meeting with the rest of the team and pulled Allura aside for a private moment. An incoming call interrupted them. Allura nodded her understanding and left.
Keith immediately went to his console to accept the message. It was from Arthel Roo, division head of GA Psi Corp. They spoke for a couple of hours.
After ending his communications with Roo, Keith glanced around the control center and noted he and Pidge were the only ones left. He was curious why Allura hadn't re-joined them. Keith nodded a good night to his friend and left the nerve center. He quickly entered the elevator and pressed the button for the underground levels where the royal catacombs were located. The princess had been spending these past few days trying to crack the Arus Eyes project riddle. But no matter which database she accessed, the blueprints for the project were not available. The elevator doors slid to the side revealing the end of metal modernity of the castle, and beyond were the subterranean stone tunnels.
He quickened his steps along the long branching corridors designed to confuse intruders. Keith took the third right corner, knowing the layout of the tunnels by heart. His keen ears soon heard a sound of stone crashing against stone.
He took the narrow corridor to King Alfor's final resting place. He reverently slowed his steps as he glimpsed the princess inside the chamber. She was hunched before the waist-high pedestal at the foot of Alfor's crypt.
Inside the vaulted chamber, Allura stood before the pedestal which served as another access port of stored data. This port remained separated from the main Castle Control computers.
"I don't understand; it has to be here." She let out a frustrated sigh as she continued accessing another archive with no new results. She entered every conceivable secret Arusian password she believed her father would have used but nothing came up. "Could it be Mother's favorite place?" She entered the coded words. The stubborn pedestal beeped another no.
"Father," she spoke softly. "You told me in my dreams about Arus Eyes but where else do you want me to search for it?" She closed her eyes to assuage the coming headache.
Keith stood by the entranceway and moved quietly to her side. He laid a comforting touch on the princess's tense shoulder.
"Sorry," Keith apologized in a sotto voice. "I didn't mean to startle you."
Allura shook her head. "Was I gone too long?"
Keith nodded and glanced down at the small monitor on the pedestal. The cursor blinked patiently. "No mention of Project: Arus Eyes?"
Allura shook her head again. "I won't give up." She declared and closed down the unit. She followed Keith out of the catacombs.
"Maybe you missed something else in the dream." Keith gently guided her back to the elevators.
"Probably." Allura rubbed her tired eyes and stifled a yawn as they entered the elevators. "How's Pidge's attempt to find the right frequency?"
"He learned that if he broadcasts the wrong deactivation frequency," Keith began.
"We risk of destroying the whole installation and what's left of the castle." Allura finished his train of thought.
Keith and Allura shared a chuckle together. It was private moments like these Allura liked to surprise him and prefers to share those with him when they're alone.
"I don't want to destroy the castle. It was his only remembrance of Naria," Allura murmured as they stepped out of the elevator.
Keith nodded in agreement. "The Oliyar ruling council said the same and according to Manseet, those codes were from a discontinued Drule archive program."
Allura filed away the information for later. She was too tired to think anymore.
Together, they headed for the small verandah that was at the end of the hallway to the right. It was their favorite spot to relax after a very long day.
"We just have to be patient Marsh will pull through this whole ordeal." Keith remarked. "I'd probably lose my mind if I were in his shoes.
Allura interlaced her hands with his, reassuring him the events of the past few days were already behind her.
"Any word from your friend about the Drule agent I met? She reached the verandah first and took a deep breath. The scent of lavender from her potted plants filled in the cool night. It dissipated most of her stressful thoughts and let herself enjoy the evening. She noted the inky indigo hue of the sleeping landscape and she didn't realize how late in the night it was.
Keith nodded and related his friend's report. "The woman you met was a member of the Faceless. According to him, Vela and another member were out of commission after an armed conflict with GA forces in a classified location."
Allura listened intently and was shocked how she felt provincial once again because she wasn't aware of this group.
Keith paused for a moment, catching Allura's pensive expression. "Allura, you have to understand, I'm sharing GA Intel files which are always excluded from the public newsletters."
"Don't we have security agreements for these kinds of circumstances?" She sighed. "It feels I'm always the last one to know of these things."
"If it's not Arusian matter, they won't bother telling you," Keith replied. "Maybe it's for the best." He pulled her closer to give her a kiss on the forehead. "I wouldn't want to see you take the problems of the universe on your shoulders." He wrapped her in his arms. He remembered the last time he was able to do this for her. It had been far too long.
"You already have a lot on your plate these days." Keith spoke softly. The moon finally poked its glowing face to the land below and they admired the night vista shift colors.
"The sketch you made was very helpful since it was Vela's signature look from few years back. My friend Arthel will keep digging as his pay grade permits him and I have several others who are looking into the matter." Keith continued.
Allura nodded her thanks and felt secured in his arms. "Obviously, Vela isn't dead."
"No, a GA soldier was suited in Vela's uniform," Keith remarked.
"She went to all that trouble to disappear?"
"From anyone who must be searching for her," Keith speculated, but he shook his head. "Whatever her reasons, it may tie to the next news my friend found out."
"What else?" Allura wanted to know.
"There were reports about the Faceless group in-fighting during the conflict. GA survivors mentioned Vela and another Drule agent provided them cover fire when two teams were pinned down by the other members of the Faceless and then she supposedly blew up along with the other Drule agent."
"Except she escaped," The princess commented.
Keith nodded and continued, "From what my friend could find, the Faceless operated like an elite infiltration unit, mostly focused on intelligence gathering. He also found some things of interest from the morgue examiner reports. One of the Faceless had Terran features but her blood chemistry, musculature, and bone density - Drule."
"A hybrid." Allura recalled her brief time with Vela. "The Drules have enslaved many worlds in this system. All those children growing up under their rule..." She trailed off, aghast at the reminders of war. "I witnessed Vela very easily lifted Havran with just one arm too."
"At least for now, we know something about Vela." Keith looked up when he felt Allura's pensive sense through their bond. He waited for her to speak.
"Havran accused Vela of being 'inside the constabulary.'" Allura recalled.
"She easily could do it using a remote access." Keith tucked a wayward strand behind Allura's ear.
"I thought so…"The princess giggled and caught Keith's hand just as it ventured teasingly near her nape. Allura composed herself for a few moments before she continued. "It was good thing Havran finally confessed Freylyn's whereabouts. I think Geldrin panicked when their associates in Lazar encountered their demise under the hands of the ex-deputy. He must have thought Zanir was behind it and had Freylyn kidnapped."
"As his leverage for Zanir's compliance," Keith commented, standing next to a large potted flower with the princess still in his arms.
"I hope when Marsh wakes up from his coma, he will be in a calmer frame of mind because all I can rely is half-remembered history lessons which I should have paid close attention before but, we have nothing to go on." Allura was sounding exasperated once more.
"We'll find a piece to the Arus Eyes puzzle, don't worry about it."
She suddenly straightened up, her fire coming back again. "The possibility of using the Arus Eyes project could be more profitable than Wade's robots." She began to pace the length of the small verandah. "I'm sure we can affect adjustments once we get a hold of some surviving blueprints, and any case studies connected to it and other findings that related to the North Queens mental states." She stopped pacing and gazed out at the night sky.
"Maybe we can hold off that search?" Keith suggested, wanting to ease Allura's frustration.
The princess shook her head. "There will come a time when Voltron will be sent on another mission leaving Arus defenseless. If I'm left to stay," she added. "I prefer we have a stable Arusian technology to defend my home." She stopped at the middle of the verandah as Keith sauntered to her side.
The moon nestled behind a few clouds before deciding to illuminate the vista with its silver glow again.
"And another set of defenders," Keith muttered ominously. He felt Allura's fingers interlaced with his, and he didn't let her go.
She gazed at the barely visible mountain range outlined in black. Minutes ticked by before she spoke again, drinking in the silence with the one who holds her heart.
"I've told Jazia about the pendant she and Marsh shared but she said it was an old trinket she bought at…"
"Arus Eyes," Keith finished her thought.
"Now, I know how much you miss me." She lightly chuckled, noting she was easily in his warm embrace again.
"It's my reminder how grateful I am that you're here with me, Allura." Keith let the comfortable silence slid down between them as they watched the evening tableau change in hues.
Allura broke the silence once more. "I know it's a sign for me to look into this matter more and whoever Vela is, I hope she has already left Arus." Allura leaned into the embrace as Keith planted another kiss on her head. There were no more talks of business that night. Their next whispers were for matters of the heart.
The End