Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron or its original Japanese version Golion. Both are the property of their original creators and/or importers/dubbers. I'm just borrowing them for some non-profit entertainment.

(A/N: A brief warning. This chapter contains depictions of emotionally and psychologically demeaning acts of Master/slave and Dominant/submissive sexual fetish. Do not read if this is not to your taste. You have been warned.)

The Sindariin

Chapter Seventeen:

Late in the evening Fala was lounging in her sitting room thinking of how she should have taken the opportunity in the throne room to study the concealed door behind the dais. The hidden door that connected her bedroom to Sincline's was completely invisible when closed, but perhaps the one behind the throne was not. Or if it was, maybe there was some common identifiable characteristic shared between the two hidden passages that the Empress could learn to recognize and possibly use to find other such doors.

She had thought about going back several time over the course of the day, but didn't for fear of a servant or slave reporting her scrutiny to Sincline. They may not realize what she was doing, but her husband was no idiot and would most definitely put two-and-two together. Any hope she might have of escape would be dashed the moment he discovered her interest in the hidden doors and concealed passages. Fala had a feeling the only reason he hadn't already forbidden her from studying the castle layouts in the library was because the hidden passages didn't appear on them. He probably thought her searches were rather amusing and that rankled her just a bit.

With a sigh that was half exasperation at her seemingly hopeless situation and half resignation that she wasn't going to be escaping any time soon, the Empress stretched and pulled her datapad towards her. Captain Nera had left her with a few low-level reading materials for her. Just short little stories meant for children with large print and brightly colored illustrations. Fala scrolled through the list of titles, not understanding a single one but recognizing a few characters here and there. Most of the titles were written in that third writing system of Galra's, the one that expressed ideas rather than sounds. But what was nice about this children's book (for lack of a better term) was that the phonetic pronunciations had been typed below the difficult characters so that the child (or in this case, foreigner) attempting to read it was still able to.

Some of the titles were rather strait forward and easy to understand such as 'Beren and Lúthien', which was obviously a story about the two characters named in the title. Others, however, the Altean-born Empress hadn't the slightest clue as to what they might possibly be about such as 'The [Something Something] and the [Something Else]'. At least she could get in some practice with reading the characters. That was good, right?

It was as Fala was sounding out the first line of a story titled 'The Sindariin' (whatever that was) that Marisol interrupted her with an apologetic bow. She rose and handed Fala an intricately patterned piece of card-stock with a single line written across it in neat Altean characters making it obvious that it was not the writer's first language.

'The Emperor summons you to his bedchamber this evening before dinner.'

"Oh, how sweet." The Empress snorted derisively. "He actually sent me a printed invitation."

She tossed the card over her shoulder where it bounced off the back of the couch and clattered to the floor. She had no desire to go to his bed tonight or any other night for the rest of her life! But then again…

The memory of how much she had craved him the previous night fluttered up to the forefront of her mind. She remembered how her body had trembled with the wanton desire to feel his hands on her, his body's weight on her, his member with in her… Fala's face flushed and she focused her attention back on her poor reading in an attempt to push the memory from her mind.

"M'lady," Marisol began tentatively, "he has summoned you. You cannot ignore an Imperial command from the Emperor."

Fala was about to snap back with a comment about how she couldn't because she was a slave, but as Empress Fala had the luxury to decline. But that would have been just plain mean to Marisol not to mention untrue. She was expected to follow Sincline's commands as readily as any servant or slave and that fact just made her loath her situation even more, solidifying her resolve to get away some how.

But not right now. Not yet. For the moment she had to play his game and act the part of a good little wife. And so Fala tossed her datapad back onto her coffee table and stood.

"Then I guess I should get ready."

…

Sincline opened the plain unadorned black-lacquered box and withdrew from it a collar. Not a slave collar, this one had no thumb-print lock nor would it contract to strangle the wearer should they try to escape. No. It was a simple black leather strap with a primitive silver buckle. Silver studs ran its length from buckle to just before the holes for said buckle on the other end. It was the type of collar one might get for an animal, a pet. But this collar had been designed and fitted for a human.

Sincline had often made Princess Amue wear this collar during the short time that she had serviced him. (If you could even call what she did 'service'. The disobedient bitch!)

He had though about having a new one made specifically for Fala. Something in a pink (as was her favorite color) with gold buckle and studs rather than silver and a tiny bell that would tinkle so cutely when she moved. But then, he reflected, it was not meant to cater to her vanity but rather to teach her a lesson. If she wanted to lower herself to being nothing more than his little fuck-toy then fine, she would be his little fuck-toy. Not his ardan, not his lover, not his mate… nothing that would elevate her above 'whore'. He had offered her the universe and she threw it back at him. Well, fine! If she wanted to be nothing more than another one of his sluts, then he would treat her like just another one of his sluts.

He placed the collar on the bed and withdrew the coiled leather leash that went along with it. It was as he was laying this out on the bed alongside the collar that the door connecting his bedroom to his 'loving' wife's was opened and she stepped through. Sincline schooled his features into an expression of malicious amusement before turning around to face her. When he did, however, the mask cracked and he instead gazed admiringly at the lovely Altean beauty that was his wife.

Fala stood with her eyes downcast, avoiding direct eye contact with him. Her hands were folded in front of her, one resting inside the other, her fingers clenching and unclenching nervously. Her slave had dressed her in a most appealing negligee of pale pink accented with gold lace. It hung from her shoulders and breast as if threatening to fall at the slightest movement and reveal the porcelain perfect of her skin to his roving eyes. The delicate hem of its skirt fell just long enough to conceal the juncture of her thighs but left the rest of her legs exposed to his appreciative gaze.

She was breath taking.

Sincline went stiff at the sight of her and had to glance down to make sure his arousal was not poking through the folds of his robe. He wanted to rush up and take her in his arms and kiss her softly, run his hands over her body exploring the smooth flesh beneath the thin fabric, he wanted to lift her up in his arms and carry her to his bed and lay with her as lovers should, with passion and fervor and ardor and all those other wonderful nouns.

But he did not.

He had offered her the chance to experience him as a caring lover and she had rejected him. Sincline hardened his heart against her most alluring charms and let his face fall into his more commonly used mask of bland indifference, since he could not fake anything malicious or sadistic at the moment.

The Emperor turned his back to his Empress, picking up the collar once again and said in as even a tone as he could manage, "Your cloths, take them off.'

"But-" She began to argue but cut herself off before the full dispute could pass her lips. She knew better by now than to disrespect a direct order. She also knew that if she didn't comply and remove her scant clothing of her own volition he would rip them from her.

When he turned back around, Sincline was pleased to see that she stood naked before him, her negligee draped over the same chair that he preferred to throw his discarded clothing on. He made a beckoning motion with his hand.

"Come here." He ordered.

Fala slowly crossed the space between them, stopping just out of his arms reach. Her eyes fell on the leather studded collar in his hand. "What's that for?"

"For you." The Emperor answered simply. Crossing the remaining distance between them, he fastened the collar around her delicate unblemished neck, making sure that it was loose enough for him to fit one finger beneath the band.

"Why?"

Instead of answering her question, Sincline yanked roughly on the collar making Fala stumble and fall against him, her hand's clawed for balance at the sleeves of his robe pulling the material of his collar apart and revealing the taught, well toned muscles of hi chest. He pushed her back to her feet and glaring down at her and snarled, "Do not question your Master."

"What!"

He yanked on the collar a second time without a word, this time not bothering to catch her as she was thrown off balance. She fell hands first onto the bed but before she could right herself again, Sincline pushed her back down. "What did I say?'

Fala didn't answer.

He clipped the leash to her collar and tugged on it to pull her back up, the leather strap pressing against the front of her esophagus, making her gag. He bent down to meet her eye level and said, "If I tell you to do something, you will do it. If I give you something, you will take it. You will not ask questions. You will do as you're told or else. Have I made myself clear?"

Fala clawed at the collar, trying desperately to work her fingers under it to pry the strap away from her throat.

"Have I made myself clear, Fala?" Sincline repeated, giving the leash a little slack.

"Yes." She gasped. "I understand."

"Good." He smiled, suddenly all sweetness. "Now then, are you hungry? How about dinner?'

He lead her with the leash through the door to his sitting room where two slaves were busy setting a delicious looking meal on the coffee table. Fala instantly flushed and attempted to cover her nudity, one arm going across her ample breasts, the other sliding down to cover her nethers. She felt utterly scandalized, her own husband leading her naked into a room of people. It was an affront to every single bit of modesty Hys had drilled into her and if she weren't tethered to him via the leash he held she would have darted back into the bedroom and hid.

Sincline, on the other hand, seemed not to notice their presence at all. He sat himself down, reclining on the couch in front of the coffee table as if he hadn't a care in the world. The action causing his robe to part slightly displaying his dark blue balls. When she failed to follow, he yanked on her leash again and Fala slowly moved to sit beside him, her steps made awkward by her attempts to hide her exposed body from the slaves. The moment her delicate round backside touched the couch, however, the Emperor kicked her off again.

"On the floor." He growled.

Suppressing a sudden whimper that rose in her throat, Fala sank to her knees on the floor next to him, her bottom lip quivering from mingled shame and fear. She had no idea where he was going with this or what he planned but she already did not like it.

The two slaves finished setting the table and were dismissed. The Empress breathed a sigh of relief as they left and let her hands fall. It was then that she finally let herself examine her surroundings. She had never been in Sincline's sitting room before. It actually wasn't all that different from his bedroom in terms of colors and adornments. Lots of blues in shades of powder and navy, dramatic paintings of Galran warriors in medieval or Renaissance clothing, dark wood furniture. The biggest difference was really that one room held a bed while the other held a table, couch, a couple of chairs, bookshelf (that was packed) and a small liquor cabinet with a flat surface like a mini-bar on top. The liquor cabinet, she noted, was also very well stocked. Sincline was apparently a heavy drinker, just one more vice to add to his already long list of excesses.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, interrupting her musings and returning her to the fact that she sat naked at his feet like an animal.

Fala glanced at the food spread out over the oval shaped coffee table and noted that, while there was plenty for two people, there was only one plate (which Sincline was already filling with generous helpings of various meats for himself). She glanced between him and the place setting, wondering if he was intending for her to watch while he ate and she did not.

He took a generous bite of some pink meat and closed his eyes, savoring the flavor as he chewed. He then cut a second smaller piece and held it out for her on the end of his fork. "Try this."

Fala hesitated. "That's not… people… is it?"

With his free hand the Emperor yanked on her leash, nearly causing her to bang her forehead on his knee. "When I give you something, you will take it without question!"

Suppressing a wince, Fala closed her eyes and took the offered bit of meat off his fork. The moment it touched her tongue, however, her fears were alleviated. It wasn't human meat, it was just pork! He wasn't monster enough to make her eat the flesh of her own people, or at least, he hadn't tried to yet. What worried her now was this new treatment he was giving her, as if she were nothing more than a pet. A dog of some sort being fed table scraps at his feel. And why? Because she had refused to be his ardan?

"Are you thirst?" Her husband asked as he poured a glass of water from a pitcher.

As she obediently accepted the glass Fala supposed she should count herself lucky he wasn't making her drink out of a bowl on the floor. But as she sipped the crystal clear liquid it became apparent that he had some other nefarious purpose in allowing her to drink. The water did not taste like water should. There was a subtle hit of flavor to it, like how water sometimes tastes when you slice up lemon rinds in it. Only this flavor was sweeter, more like a syrup-medicine. He had laced it with something!

"What's in this?"

Instead of answering, Sincline tugged violently on the leash pulling her up by the collar to meet his eyes. "That's twice now you've questioned me." He growled. "If it happens again I'll have to punish you."

She managed an awkward nod, the angle at which the collar was pulling her face up making the motion difficult. But it was enough to satisfy her perverted sadist of a husband and so he let her back down.

The meal continued from that point on in silence. Fala sat quietly at his feet while he ate, occasionally offering her bits of meat or vegetables off his plate. She noticed that he seemed to give the majority of his vegetables to her and wondered if he had never quite grown out of that 'vegetables are gross' phase that most children go through. Then again, Galrans were carnivorous by nature, being half human might give him the option of having a varied diet but his natural leaning would be toward meats. This was just a passing thought, however. Her thoughts shifted when she realized that all the foods he'd given her so far had been rather salty and made her thirsty.

She glared suspiciously at her still half full glass of water. After that first sip she had tried to avoid drinking it as much as possible, but Sincline had insured that she would have to drink by only feeding her food that would make her parched. A very subtly way of forcing her to drink whatever drug it was he had spiked the water with. What an evil conniving bastard!

"Are you still hungry?"

Fala glanced at the fork he was holding out for her and shook her head. Truth be told, she was still hungry, he had made sure to feed her only enough to wet her appetite but not nearly enough to actually satisfy her (as was most likely his plan). But she knew that if she ate anymore she would want more water. In the choice between knowingly drugging herself and going a night without food she'd rather go to bed hungry than ingest an unknown substance with an unknown purpose. (Not that she suspected Sincline would give her anything particularly damaging, she just didn't like the idea of putting things in her body if she didn't know what they were.)

"You will eat." Her husband growled when she shook her head 'no'.

"I'm full." His wife lied. But no sooner were the words out of her mouth than her treacherous stomach gave a none to subtle growl of protest. It apparently didn't care what Sincline's nefarious plans were, it just wanted more food. The Emperor raised one skeptical eyebrow at her and she reluctantly took the meager bite of meat and vegetables off his fork.

"You must be thirsty, too." He continued, refilling her water glass even though it was still half-full.

Fala suppressed the urge to ask what he had put in the water. She feared what kind of 'punishment' he might visit upon her for continuing to question him. She was sure that he did not want her dead, nor permanently damaged and so she could rest assured that whatever was in it would not kill her or cause any lasting harm. Reluctantly, she took her newly filled water glass and sipped it conservatively.

"That a girl." Sincline cooed, stroking her hair affectionately as one might a cat or favored pet. "Drink more… I need you well hydrated for tonight."

Fala wasn't sure what he meant by that and was rather confident in the belief that she did not want to find out. But she was also aware that her options were rather limited and that she did not want to find out what he might do to her should she refuse to cooperate with his demands. Reluctantly, she took another large gulp of the sweet laced water and hoped that she wouldn't regret drinking whatever was in it.

"Good…" He whispered.

She winced at the soft and almost soothing tone in his voice, as if he were speaking to a child. Fala drained the glass and glanced up at him whom smiled warmly.

"Now, was that so bad?"

Unsure of how to answer and afraid of saying the wrong thing and angering him once again, Fala just lowered her eyes.

As the dinner progressed Fala began to feel warm to spite her nakedness. She could feel a light blush begin to cover her whole body and she knew that the drug in her water must have caused it. Sincline had spiked the drink with the same aphrodisiac he had given her the previous night! She glanced up at him and noted that he was attempting to suppress a self-satisfied smirk. The drug had only just begun to take effect and he could already smell her body's reaction to it.

"Perhaps we should cut this dinner short?" Her husband suggested, standing as he did so. He gave her leash a gentle tug, signaling that she should do the same. "Shall we retire to the bedroom?"

Fala's nipples tightened into pearls of shamed excitement at the prospect but she did not move. Though the thought of having him inside her was beginning to sound very appealing, she still retained enough of her rational mind to know that it was not an experience she wanted to relive again. His idea of 'love making' was not a pleasant one.

Sincline, annoyed by her lack of movement yanked hard on the leash, pulling her to her feet by the collar. "Come on!"

She obediently followed him back to the bedroom gagging and coughing as they went. And yet, the rough treatment did nothing to discourage the arousal that was quickly building in the pit of her stomach and pooling between her thighs.

The moment they reached the bed she was quickly pushed down upon it. Laying on her back she watched with bated breath as Sincline slowly disrobed, sliding the golden satiny material off one muscular blue shoulder then the other. He stood naked before the bed and licked his lips with a wicked grin. Her eyes focused on his mouth, which suddenly seemed so very, very sensuous and remembered what he had done on their wedding night. How he had licked between her thighs with that wet pink tongue of his. She felt herself go wetter at the memory; he hadn't done it for long, but what he had done felt wonderful, the only thing he'd ever done to her that she had actually enjoyed.

He stretched out on the bed next to her, one blue clawed hand wrapping itself around one of her aching breasts and she squirmed. That self-satisfied grin was back and he leaned over her, his long fingers taking possession of both her desperately erect nipples. Stroking. Twisting. Tugging. All with a tenderness she would not have imagined he had in him and she moaned in pleasure at the sensation.

Sharp white fangs flashed in a knowing smile. "Someone's horny."

Fala wanted to bite back with some witty retort or smart-ass remark but her arousal-addled brain just wasn't up to it at the moment. She felt hot, feverish. Her eyes drifted down the length of Sincline's long alien body until they settled on his stiff member with its thick shaft and drooling tip, both oddly textured, a trait inherited from his alien blood. She had wanted it before, when he had drugged her and tied her to the bed, but now… now she found she craved it! She licker her lips in anticipation for it, impatiently rubbing her thighs together and relishing the sensation of spreading her own hot wet desire over her skin.

She reached a single hand down and took hold of his granite-hard erection. Stroking it gently, felling every bump, every ridge, every contour of his thick length. He hissed with the sensation, golden cat-like eyes clouded by lust focused on her, his expression soft and affectionate.

"Somebody's impatient." He whispered in a deep throaty purr. "Naughty girl, did I say you could touch me?"

Sincline sat up and leaned over to open the bottom most drawer of his bedside table, pulling out the same cord he had used to tie her up the previous night.

Fala scurried onto her knees and sat protectively on her hands. "You're not going to leave me again? Are you?"

Her words sounded desperate and fearful, even to her own ears. But she wanted him so much… at this moment and in this state, she needed him. If he made her go another night desperate to feel him inside her yet never having him she feared she might go mad!

"That all depends on you." He soothed, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger and leaning down as if to kiss her. She closed her eyes, leaning into the kiss as well. Expecting to meet him half way. But at the last moment her turned to the said, her lips brushing lamely against the side of his neck. "If you're a good girl and do as you're told I might be incline to offer you some sort of relief."

"I'll be good." She nodded, desperate to keep him from leaving again.

"That's a good girl." He left the rope coiled on the bedside table, out and easy to reach should he need it and crawled back onto the bed. "Now lay back down and let me enjoy you."

Obediently, Fala uncoiled her hands from beneath her knees and laid herself out on the bed again. His hands were on her before she was even fully stretched out. Kneading. Tugging. Caressing. Fondling. Every where his hand passed her skin felt hot to the touch and tingly, as if he had lit a fire in her flesh and she wished to touch him in return. To light his skin on fire as he did hers. To make him as desperate for her and she was for him. If only she knew just how strongly her highly aroused state was already affecting him.

Fala's hand had felt so wonderful, so divine when she had stroked his throbbing erection. It had taken every ounce of willpower Sincline possessed to resist her. But he wanted to remain in control; he needed to be in control. He would not allow her to dictate the pace. He would enter her eventually, he fully intended to finish inside her, but on his own terms, only after she couldn't stand it any more. Only after she begged for him to fill her. The other night when he'd left her alone she had called his name in her need. His name, not that loathsome Black Lion pilot Kogane Akira or anyone else, no, she had called for him. He wanted to force that same plea from her lips again, and this time he wanted to see the desperation and need on her face. He wanted to see just how much she needed him.

For the moment, however, he satisfied himself with rubbing against her side. Every inch of her body felt so soft and warm, the sensation of her skin on his was about the only thing keeping him from going mad with his own desire.

He lowered his lips to one of her taught nipples and sucked greedily, relishing in the way her back arched at the sensation. She let out a deep throaty moan of pleasure and his impatient member throbbed at the sound. The sweet and pungent scent of her arousal wafted about them, heightening Sincline's own, threatening to drive him wild with desire. No woman had ever driven him so close to the edge of his control, not even Amue whom had resembled Fala so greatly. Truly his wife was something special.

The Emperor mentally shook himself. No. She was not special. He had thought she was, but she refused him, rejected him; the only difference between her and any of the other women in his harem was that legally she was his wife. That was all. That was the only difference. She was not special. She wasn't!

"Sincline…"

And then she said his name. A soft, desperate, whispering sigh that once again had him clawing at the edge of his reason, desperate to maintain control and yet also desperate to loose it. He gazed into her round deep-blue eyes and saw himself reflected in them. She gazed at him with something that wasn't quite affection but certainly wasn't revulsion either.

"I…" She faulted, unsure of what she really wanted to say. Hys had always taught her that it was improper for a woman to want sex. That while it was a wife's duty it was not a task to be enjoyed. A woman with a heavy sexual appetite was of loose morals and improper breeding. But… but if the reason she wanted it wasn't her own but because of a drug that was alright… right? "Sincline, I… I want…"

"Speak up." He purred as his hands reached beneath her to fondle her neglected ass.

"I want… I want this…" Her hand once again stroked his stiff and aching shaft and this time he found that he couldn't resist her touch.

"On your knees." He ordered.

Without question Fala pulled herself up into a sitting position on her knees. She leaned in as if to hiss him, but he pushed her away.

"Turn around and bend over." He had meant it as a growl, but the words came out as more of a throaty purr.

"W-what?" She blinked in confusion.

"Do as you're told." That was a growl.

Obediently, Fala turned her back to him and bent down on her hands and knees. His hands gripped the cheeks of her buttocks, kneading the soft flesh and caressing his palms over them. His hands drifted down along the outside of her legs and up the inside of her thighs. When his fingers brushed the entrance to her hot wet core she trembled with the sensation, moaning at even the slight touch.

"You really are a first rate slut, Fala." He murmured in her ear. His hand, wet with the nectar of her need closed itself around his cock, polishing it with her most intoxicating dew. "All open and creamy for me."

She wanted to respond with some smart comeback, but words were beyond her by this point. All she wanted was to have him inside her.

"I'm going to enjoy fucking your brains out!"

That was the only warning he gave her before thrusting himself roughly between her spread thighs and into her warm and receptive body. She jerked at the intrusion but as he began thrusting his hips in a fast-paced but steady motion her body relaxed, letting him slide deeper within her, each jolt of his hips punctuated by a throaty moan of ecstasy from her.

Her body was so open for him, her muscles loosening and contracting again, as if she were trying to pull him even deeper within her, as if her body were sucking on him and the feeling nearly drove him to a quick climax. Nearly. She began to wiggle her hips, the action causing her ass to grind against him and he had to smirk at just how far gone her mind must be. In this moment her inhibitions were seemingly non-existent. He could convince her to perform the most profane and perverse acts for him. But he wouldn't. Not this time, not tonight. It was all he could do to keep from cumming the moment he entered her.

"So… good…!" She gasped into the pillow.

The sound of her voice sent him skyrocketing back to the edge of ecstasy and he once again had to fight his climax. Not yet. He wasn't ready yet.

"What's good?" He asked, thought it came out in a gasp.

"Mmm…" She moaned back, words apparently failing her.

"Fala, uh…" His own words were interrupted as her muscles once again contracted around him in another one of those divine 'sucking' motions. "What's 'so good'?"

"Y-you…" She gasped out between breaths.

"And who am I?" He needed to hear her say it, needed to know that it was him she was referring to and not imagining another man, a dark-haired, dark-eyed man from Earth. "What's my name, Fala?"

She gasped as her muscled contracted around him again. Beads of sweet lustful nectar dripped down her legs, staining the bedspread with her cum.

"Fala, what's my name?"

She bucked her hips more fervorently now, almost desperately. The walls of her inside stroking and caressing his shaft as if desperate to receive his hot sticky load. She was close to a climax of her own and was pulling him along with her. But he refused to give her release until she did as she was bade.

"Say my name, damn it!"

"S-SINCLINE!" She cried as her body trembled. The feeling of her around him and the sound of his own name shouted in ecstasy pushed him over the edge and he let go the final shred of his inhibitions and rode the waves of euphoria to a rapturous climactic orgasm.

He collapsed on top of her, trying as best he could not to rest too much of his considerable weight on his fragile human wife. She still lay bent over on her knees, the strength gone out of her arms and her face buried in the pillows, still muttering his name.

"Sincline… Sincline… Sincline…"

…

"Of course! Its so simple!"

Shorty's shrill yet triumphant cry jerked Sedou out of his nap. Sleeping while on guard duty was sure to get him a good tongue lashing from Kogane, but what the over-stressed Golion Chief didn't know wouldn't kill him. His pleasant nap, however, had been cut dramatically short by his diminutive companion's outburst.

"Wha's goin' on?" He yawned.

The miniature Grenn Lion pilot rushed up to him. "I've solved it!" He cried. "We gotta call Kogane and the other down here!"

Twenty minuets later, the four Golion pilots plus Princess Amue had gathered in the hangar of the Galran freight ship.

"What's this all about?" Kurogane asked, thrusting his hands in his pockets.

"I've solved it." Suzuishi said again. "I know how to get past the energy field that's surrounding planet Galra!"

A chorus of 'what!' followed this announcement.

"How!" Kogane placed his hands on the diminutive pilot's shoulders and nearly lifted him up by them.

"It was simple really." He said. "After the princess told us what everything in the ship was, it was easy to find the generator for their distortion field."

"Distortion field?" They all echoed, not really understanding how this was significant. Golion already had a force field, if that was all that was needed then why couldn't they have rescued Fala already.

"Yeah, distortion field." Shorty repeated. "Ya see, Galra is surrounded by an energy field and energy cannot be broken or destroyed, it can only be dispersed or redirected. You wouldn't be able to pass through the planet's energy barrier with a normal force field because the two energies would just bounce off each other and the small of the two would be flung away."

Everyone nodded as if they understood, but the Green Lion pilot had a sneaking suspicion they did not. Still he continued.

"So, I thought to myself, 'Galra's been sending ships in and out of their space for centuries. Their ships must be equipped with a way to either disperse or redirect the energy.' And sure enough they do! A distortion field! Instead of trying to destroy the energy around it, the field redirects and disperses it around the ship so that it can pass safely through the barrier. If we can reproduce the technology and equip it to our Lions we'd be able to pass through the field and save Fala with no sweat!"

"That's great!" Kogane might as well have done a little dance for how ecstatic he was. "How long until we can leave? We'll have to swing by Altea and pick up Blue Lion. Moody and I will start planning for that. When can you have five working distortion field things working and ready to be equipped to the Lions?"

Here Suzuishi faltered. "Well… that the thing… I still need to study the technology a bit more before I can even begin to try and reproduce it. And then… and then it'll take time to build one of our own, more so for five of them…"

"How long!" The Chief pressed.

"A… a few months."

"Months!" Everyone echoed.

"Fala doesn't have months!" Princess Amue stepped between Kogane and Suzuishi, picking the diminutive pilot up by the collar of his line-green jump suit. She glared daggers at him. "You can't leave her there with him for months! Its bad enough she's been there this long! You have no idea what he'll do to her! What he's already doing to her! You can't! You just can't! Its too long! She'll… she'll…"

"Princess…" Kogane ventured in the hopes of calming her down.

She just degraded into sobs, dropping Shorty from her hands and sinking to her knees. "You can't…"

…