. Finally, they had made it to Arus. Keith watched his teammates as they made their way through the mist-shrouded forest. They were all sick and weak, thanks to the beatings and lack of food they had endured on Planet Doom. But we're all alive, he reminded himself. That's all that matters. We're alive, and we escaped from Doom. We can recover from everything else once we find that castle we saw on the way in.

Another half hour of walking brought them to within sight of the castle. Lance swore as they all looked up in horror. "It's been almost completely destroyed," Pidge whispered, the first thing he'd said since they woke up in the cell on Doom. "There can't be anyone left alive in there!"

"There has to be," Jeff said, exchanging a look with Keith. "SOMEBODY was behind that tractor beam that brought us down; it didn't appear by magic."

"Well, we ain't gonna find out just standing here." Hunk started walking towards the castle; after a minute, the rest of the team followed him.

Inside the castle, they found the last survivors of the Arusian court: Crown Princess Allura and her royal advisor, Coran. Keith supposed she was pretty enough—even though he didn't know about such things-, even with the hideously pink floofy dress. He quickly introduced his team and explained their mission.

Allura's eyes filled with tears. "Zarkon has all but destroyed Arus," she said softly. "Voltron is our only hope, and your arrival here is an answer to our prayers."

Keith swallowed hard. What he had to say wasn't going to be easy. "I must be honest with you, Your Highness. We were sent here by Galaxy Garrison to retrieve Voltron and take him back to Earth." He looked around at his teammates and got nods from each of them. "But now that we see how things are here, we can't take your only defense. And it would be our privilege to fight for you, if you will have us." Before he knew what he was doing, he was on one knee in front of the princess. "I pledge my life and my skill to your service. I vow by all that I hold sacred that I will avenge your people, and rid the Azure Quadrant of the menace of Doom." One by one his team followed his example.

Poor Pidge, though, had reached his limits. As he went to kneel in front of the princess, he simply collapsed. The princess gasped in horror. "Oh how rude of me to keep you standing here when you must be starved and exhausted. Coran, if you will show them to quarters, I'll go find them something to eat."

"Of course, Highness." Coran turned towards Keith. "If you gentlemen will follow me." Hunk picked Pidge up and the space explorers followed the elderly advisor down a corridor.

Later, after they had eaten and cleaned up, Jeff lay in Keith's arms, nearly asleep. "Do you think we should have done that, giving our loyalty to Arus? We're going to be in big trouble with the Garrison."

Keith was quiet for so long that Jeff began to think he had fallen asleep. "It was the right thing to do," he said finally. "All these people have left is Voltron; we can't take that away from them. And I just can't walk away. Garrison has plenty of other defenses against the Drules; Arus doesn't." He shifted to look down at his partner. "Are you sorry we did it?"

"Never! Where you go, I go, koibito, and I agree with you; I just wanted to hear your reasoning." Jeff snuggled closer. "We need to talk to this princess, though. Graham has to have figured out what we did by now; no way he's going to just let it lay." He propped himself on an elbow to look Keith in the eye. "And we need to tell her about us, before things go any further."

"Yeah, I caught the way she was looking at me," Keith sighed. "I can't think about it anymore tonight, though. I'm fried. Night, love." He was asleep before Jeff could answer him.

The next few days were taken up with learning the robot lions and practicing tactics. The mecha were far more sensitive than anything they'd flown at the Academy, and there were more than a few crashes as they adjusted. Three days after they arrived on Arus, Zarkon attacked; much to their surprise, they defeated him easily. That night, Keith and Jeff approached Allura. "Princess, could we speak with you in private?"

"Of course." Allura led them to what must have once been a splendid ballroom. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really," Keith sighed, "but there are some things you need to know about." He blushed and looked down at his boots. "Princess, Jeff and I—we're gay."

Allura cocked her head. "I'm glad you're happy; why is that a problem?"

The two pilots choked. Jeff took pity on his lover and commander. "It doesn't mean we're happy, Princess. We're lovers, and have been for a long time."

"And we're pretty sure Marshal Graham's going to make trouble for us." Keith had regained his composure. "There's nothing in Garrison regulations about same-sex relationships, but Graham doesn't like them. He actually changed our orders at the last minute to split me and Jeff up, but Pidge and his brother hacked the system and changed them back."

Allura was wide-eyed. "I see," she finally managed. "You should know there is no prejudice against same sex relationships on Arus; we believe that love should know no restrictions. And we will prepare for whatever action the Marshal may take. Do I have your permission to tell Coran what you have told me? I assure you that his discretion is absolute, and his advice may be invaluable."

"Of course, Princess. Whatever you think best."

Two days later, Keith and Jeff were summoned to the control room for the communication they had been dreading. Marshal Graham glowered down at them from the monitor. "You were due back on Earth two days ago, Commander Kogane. Why have you delayed?"

Keith saluted. "Sir, the situation on Arus is not what we were led to believe. Voltron is the only defense the planet has against Zarkon's forces. I made the decision that we would stay and fight for Arus."

Graham's face was red. "YOU decided? What made you think you had that kind of authority, Kogane?"

"Galaxy Garrison regulation 29, paragraph 4(a) clearly states that a commander in the field may use his discretion in altering his orders should field conditions warrant, sir." Keith was calm, managing to keep the smugness he felt out of his voice.

"Humph. And what regulation gave you the authority to change Lieutenant Commander Dukane's orders, Commander?"

Keith's expression didn't change. "I don't understand, sir. Lieutenant Commander Dukane's orders are the same as they have been since before graduation. I swear to you, neither he nor I altered them."

Graham had gone purple. "I suppose you think you've gotten away with something! I expect to hear in 48 hours that you and your team are on the way to Earth, with Voltron, Commander, otherwise I will send a fleet to retrieve him. Graham out."

Keith bowed his head and swore softly in Japanese, then straightened and turned to Jeff. "I want a meeting with the team and the princess in 5 minutes." Jeff nodded and left the room at a run.