Author's Note: The back story for the Admiral's daughters can be found at the beginning of chapter 16 of 'A Knight's Journey'.
A Wagnerian Experience
Sven left Keith's office in a major snit, muttering under his breath as he stomped down the hall. He had heard the threat that Keith had leveled at him, about treason and the arrest warrant with his name on it. Even as he was dealing with Lotor and Maahox, all those months ago, he'd known it was wrong, but it was all for his son that he had even listened to their proposition in the first place. Maahox had almost read his mind, in how he approached the Viking, and what he had offered.
Arriving at his room he saw a holoscreen waiting for him, and he growled as he went to read the message. It surprised him to see that it was from Romelle, letting him know that she had come to say goodbye to him. It caught him off balance, because he had felt like she had been avoiding him the last two days. Sven then remembered how she and Erik were getting back to Pollux, and as the image of Fauk danced through his brain, he ground his teeth. He deleted the message, uttering several particularly nasty curse words as he did so.
Daniel was closing his bag, having already packed it the night before. Vince was sitting on the lower bed, looking forlorn as he thought to his friend 'well, we will get to see if the mind link works long distance'. Daniel mentally replied 'that is one way to regard this experience. Along with the fact I get to smoke pot – whoop de do!' Daniel didn't think toking a joint with Sven was going to be any kind of fun, especially with no girls and no drinking involved.
'Hey, I'll be talking to you every day, and will be visiting you once a week. Do you have your thermal linings?' Vince could feel the despair that Daniel was experiencing, and it hurt him deeply. 'Yea, I have my thermals, and along with all my cold weather gear. Do you think when it is all done; Lance and Keith would spring for a tropical vacation for me?'
Vince laughed out loud, commenting "I bet if the experiment is a success, Pidge will pay for the trip himself!" That made Daniel laugh too, which cheered him slightly. As the cadets left the room they joked about where to go, and could they get the admiral's daughters to come with them? Vince was soon mentally sending Daniel pictures of the girls, along with tropical beaches.
Arriving at the spaceport they were still laughing when they saw Keith and Lance there, who looked at them puzzled stares. "You two didn't go sneak a drink did you? Not that I would blame you, but still." Lance inquired, while Keith tried to muster disapproval, but couldn't because he would not have blamed them for drinking before this trip.
"Daniel had wondered if when this was done, would you two give him a tropical vacation? And could the admiral's daughters come along?" Vince replied, a knowing grin on his face, as he added "I think he would like a beach where bathing suits are optional." Daniel thought to Vince 'oh god, did your really have to tell them that?'
Lance laughed loudly when he heard that, and slapped Daniel on the back "Dan my man, yes, when this is done, I will pay for your vacation, first class all the way. However, I don't know about the admiral's daughters." That made everyone laugh, which is how Sven found them when he came stomping up to the waiting room.
"Glad to see that this is so funny." Sven snarled, as he looked at Keith and Lance with almost hatred. He still couldn't believe that his friends had backed him into a corner like they had. Lance's dig about Bandor being more of a man, and Keith's comment about Erik being the crown prince were also fresh in his brain.
"Svenny, we were just talking about tropical beaches and pretty girls! Once we get you cured, you will need to take your gorgeous wife to one. Romelle would be smoking hot in a string bikini." Lance tried joking with Sven, but was only rewarded with a string of curse words in Norwegian. The Viking then stalked up the ramp to his ship, turning to regard the group.
"Well, can't you walk up yourself? I'm not caring you!" Sven snapped, and then disappeared into the ship. The group waiting hugged each other, and then Keith saluted Daniel wishing him good luck. Daniel walked up the ramp and before entering the cockpit, gave one last wave to his teammates below. They watched the ship prepare to launch, and then saw the arc as it took off into the deep blue Arusian sky.
"Do you think Daniel will be able to curse like Sven?" Vince asked, trying to lighten the mood some. That made Keith and Lance smile, as they thought about their old academy roommate. Thinking about New West Point brought something else to mind, and Lance's face took on a worried expression. Keith and Vince both inquired what it was regarding.
"You do know who will be cursing, right?" Lance started to explain, "Pidge! Thank god I don't have to be the one to tell him that we are messing with his experiment."
Vince's eyes widened, and filled with horror "He is going to kill me!" He remembered how his mentor had treated him after hacking into Pidge's computer accounts. The Green Lion pilot was methodical about his experiments, and very touchy if anyone interfered.
"No Vince, you will be completely blameless. Please remember that Allura said that she would take full responsibility for the decision. You are just following her orders, nothing more." Keith reminded the cadet, while looking at Lance. "When is she going to tell him about it all?" He asked in a hard tone, making it very clear that she wouldn't dump that job in his lap.
"Allie figured that she would talk to him after he and Larmina returned from the honeymoon. I think she is hoping that he will be so full of wedded bliss that he won't be that upset." Lance reassured Keith, understanding why he wouldn't want that job. Vince made a ribald comment about the honeymoon, which made Lance and Keith laugh again, as they all walked back to the castle.
Daniel walked up the ramp, and looked at the small utility craft docked there; it's only insignia the tail number. He knew that the transport that Allura used bore the arms of the royal house, held aloft by a gold lion. He and Vince had also been in the holding area where they'd seen the transport crafts used by Bandor and Fauk. Both those also bore elaborate insignia, designating them as royal transport ships, and he'd heard all about the luxury of the Odeon one. Daniel looked at Sven's small ship again, and remembered what he'd been told about the man's relationship with his brother-in-law. The cadet hoped that the Polluxian king wasn't trying to get rid of a bothersome family member by giving him a dangerous ship to fly. If nothing else, Daniel thought, it certainly made a statement about Sven's standing on Pollux.
Entering the cockpit of the small ship, he saw Sven already sitting at the main chair, doing some pre-flight checks. Daniel had grown up reading all about the brave exploits of the Voltron team, and he knew a great deal about Sven. His prowess as navigator was second to none, and he had been the Blue Lion pilot originally. The story of the haggerium attack, and his subsequent time in the Pit of Skulls was a well known story.
Daniel had already discovered that his heroes, up close, were not the same as when he'd read about them on the newsfeeds. He had admired Keith for his stand against Wade, to hunt Black Lion as a fugitive. It had been disconcerting to see the other side of his personality, which included moodiness and the tendency to keep everyone at arm's length. Daniel had also come to see the other team members as people with problems just like everyone else.
Sven didn't even acknowledge his presence, as Daniel went to stow his bag, before sitting in the chair next to the man. The Viking turned and gave him a baleful look, and Daniel wondered if he was supposed to go sit in the cargo hold. He decided though to stay where he was, because he was a trained pilot. There was also the issue that Keith had pretty much told him that if Sven stepped out of line, he had the authority to deal with the situation.
"I understand this is not what you wanted, but we are stuck with each other for the next couple of weeks, so can we be cordial to each other?" Daniel asked calmly, deciding not to be intimidated by the man next to him. The cadet had been raised by a single aunt, who always had lots of boyfriends, and Daniel had learned a lot about men from them. Some good, some bad, but he prided himself on being streetwise and tough, both of which he was going to need in dealing with Sven.
"Worthless piece of shit! If you were at the Academy, which is where you should be, you would be referred to as a douche bag." Sven replied, imaging Daniel being pushed around by an upperclassman. It was the one bright spot of his day so far.
"Well now that we have the pleasantries out of the way, shall we get going?" Daniel inquired coolly, not being that impressed with Sven's insults. "Do you want to listen to music? I have the Zarkonian Freaks latest playlist, along with some of Stereolatic's classic stuff, and of course Def Techno Kat." He rather doubted that the Viking had heard of any of those groups, but it would be better than sitting in silence on the flight to Crydor.
"Douche bag, you need to be educated about music! Wagner was the greatest musical genius that ever composed. When I fly I listen to his operas; I also have the entire collection of the operas produced at the Bayreuth Music Festival. The 'Ring Cycle' alone takes over fourteen hours to watch; it is the music of the Norwegian gods!" Sven declared in a strident voice "Now though we will listen to 'Die Meistersinger' which is just five hours long." Daniel sighed as Sven pushed the levers to launch the craft, as an aria sung in a heavy sounding language came over the speakers. He wished he would have had a drink before the flight, dreading five hours of depressing songs about weird god beings. Daniel was also trying not to think about the last time he'd flown to Crydor, with Lance in the Red Lion.
It was late afternoon when they entered Crydor's atmosphere, and Daniel felt the temperature in the ship drop almost immediately. Using his voltcom, he activated the heat conducers in his thermal linings, and then upped the temperature almost immediately, from the initial setting. By now his ears were ringing from the never ending opera, which Sven played loudly, as he sang along in parts. Daniel had managed to figure out that it was about some singers, but not too much else. His new roommate's remarks about the 'Ring Cycle' being fourteen hours long scared him. He wondered why this Wagner guy could not have written shorter pieces.
Daniel did have to admit that the flight was smooth, and the utility craft had performed well. After landing they pulled up in front of a huge metal structure, and Sven remotely opened the doors to the building. He taxied the ship inside, and then shut the doors behind them, as he positioned the craft in the hanger bay. Once the ship was at a standstill, the cockpit doors were released, and Daniel jumped out quickly.
"Let me show you around, and you will unload the supplies, drone." Sven barked, and Daniel recognized the terminology from New West Point. He figured that his companion was going to treat him like a first year runt, which caused him to emit a low growl in Sven's direction. He followed the Viking, as he walked around the structure.
Off of the big open area was a smaller area that functioned as kitchen/eating room/living room, as well as a small store room too. Daniel was glad to see that there were several small rooms that had cots in them, so he was relieved that he wouldn't have to share a room with Sven. The Viking showed him where to put the provisions they had brought back from Arus, and then stalked off to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
The cadet unloaded the supplies, and put them away, tidying up as he went along. Daniel had discovered that the mind link with Vince was not working anymore, which he missed. The link had been broken about halfway through the trip, and Daniel had made a point to record exactly when and where it had broken, for Vince and Pidge's research. He wished he could communicate with Vince now, thinking of all the things he wanted to tell him. Even hearing Vince's never ending thoughts on sex would be welcome, he mused.
Finishing up his task, he entered the living area, and sent a transmission off to Arus that they had arrived. Due to the orbit of the planet, and the weather, there was only a narrow window every day when messages could be sent and received. Daniel knew that the message traffic was held in a VAX system, which was activated when Crydor's two moons separated. They were normally one in front of the other, but for up to an hour each day, the moved apart, allowing access to the outside world. Provided the weather cooperated.
Daniel sat down on the lumpy sofa, and brought up a holoscreen, deciding to get caught up on the episodes of 'Real Enforcers of Meccan'. It was a show about the galaxy border patrol during the days of the Drule Empire, and how they policed the neutral zone. The episodes were heavy on blood, gore, and skimpy clad females of all species, but very light on writing. Larmina had dismissed it as 'man tv' to which Hunk, Lance, and Daniel had all replied 'and the problem is?'
"Honestly, whoever did that show never met a Lynob! Their women were into each other, not men! And those weapons are all wrong for Drule soldiers at that time!" Sven had come into the room and seen what Daniel was watching, the current scene being the Lynob female seducing the Drule soldier so she could get his gun. Not only did the douche bag have no taste in music, but obviously no taste in anything else.
"Hey don't tell me that! You have to admit that her body is awesome!" Daniel didn't want to think about a woman with a woman, but now that Sven had brought it up, the episode was ruined. He shut down the holoscreen and regarded his companion "Were you ever in the Meccan system?" Any kind of conversation would be welcomed by now, but Sven only grunted.
Daniel sighed, and decided that they might as well get on with the regime they were supposed to be following. "Vince has us scheduled to do a treatment tonight, so shall we do it now?" He had thought about waiting until after they ate, but figuring that they would be hungry after smoking the pot, it seemed to make more sense just to get on with it.
"Should you really be smoking pot? I find it hard to believe that Pidge came up with this!" Sven looked Daniel closely, wondering how old the kid really was. It came to him that this boy was someone's son, and now Sven was in a way responsible for him. The thought was sobering to him, and he was upset that his friends had put him in this position.
"I have smoked pot before, and done all kinds of other things! As for how Pidge came up with the idea." Daniel went on to explain about the Admiral's son, and then his daughters and the little party they had one afternoon. Sven smiled as he heard the cadet talk about the girls, and he remembered when he was like that.
The Viking also decided not to worry about the moral implications of the kid smoking pot, since Sven had started smoking cigarettes when he was younger than Daniel. Even Keith, who had finally gotten Lance to stop smoking, had not been able to make Sven quit. Only the Pit of Skulls had accomplished that. It was rather funny to think that smoking might end up saving his life.
"Let's get going, why not!" Sven decided, as he brought up a holoscreen. Daniel had started rolling the joints, but looked up to see what his companion was doing. He asked Sven that, and the answer made Daniel almost cry.
"I am putting on the first opera from the 'Ring Cycle' – Das Rheingold!" Sven announced with pleasure, looking forward to educating the douche bag about music. The opera sprang to life on the screen, and as the opening number started to fill the room, Daniel's heart sank.