A LATE AFTERNOON SUN was waning slowly toward the rolling green hills in the distance as the Red Lion glided easily and somewhat lazily over the vast planes of Arus, turned a metallic burnished copper in the setting sun. At the helm Lance sat far back in his seat, gazing somewhat glumly at the magnificent view spread out before him. The black shadow of the Lion was the only dark fleck on the ground below, but somehow Lance was certain he saw others, out of the corner of his eye, gathering and seeping like swarms of ants onto the peaceful landscape. This nagging suspicion of dread had not left him alone since the Voltron Force had returned to Arus nearly two weeks ago, after chasing the evil King Zarkon and his cold-hearted son Lotor to their home base on Planet Doom and defeating them there.

     Or had they?

     Lance ground his teeth, watching the scenery that rolled away beneath the air-born Lion with a wary eye. He had volunteered for this reconnaissance flight, despite the protests of his friends to let be. As if only he could sense that something was still not right!

     “Why am I the only one who gets these feelings?” he wondered aloud, sourly.

     Out of the corner of his eye he caught a dark flash and whirled the Red Lion about, only to find the Green Lion, glinting emerald in the tawny sunlight, hovering about a hundred yards away.

     “And I thought you weren’t convinced!” he said over the com unit.

     In response he heard Pidge chuckling. “Oh, I’m not,” he said blithely. “Keith sent me to call you in. You didn’t respond when he called.”

     “I didn’t feel like talking to anyone at the moment.”

     Pidge’s sigh was audible. “Well, he’s calling you in.”

     “So he can tell me once again I’m totally paranoid?”

     “Well, you are, but, no. The Chief was talking with Space Marshal Graham for the longest time, and he says he has something to tell us. New orders.”

     New orders? Lance was curious, but… He watched as the Green Lion turned and headed swiftly back in the direction of the castle. Lance gave the great sprawling plane beneath him on last cursory glance then, with a sigh, he turned and followed Pidge.

     Why not just slap her in the face? Keith wondered wildly, watching as the full force of his words struck the princess and her pretty face crumbled first into incomprehension and then to such total hurt that she may as well have slapped him.

     “Princess, I’m sorry-” he began.

     “Don’t!” she cried. “Keith, how can you do this to me? How can you stand there and tell me I can’t fly anymore?”

     “Allura,” he said, genuinely trying to sound understanding, “don’t act this way. Dammit, it’s not as if I have any say in the matter! I think you’ve become an exceptional pilot over the years.”

     “Then why,” she said, biting off the end of each word bitterly, “am I being kicked off the Force?” Before he could respond, she continued desperately, “Nobody has to know I’m still flying. How can Galaxy Garrison know? Keith, I am the princess of Arus! It’s my right to fly the Blue Lion…or the Black Lion, if I wish it!”

     At this, Keith’s anger returned full force. Taking a deliberate stride toward her, he glared down into blue eyes that widened in surprise at his sudden resoluteness. “Yes, you are the princess,” he said in a tight voice. “And it is my duty to protect you, from Prince Lotor or from yourself, if necessary. Allura,” he said, his tone softening somewhat-he truly didn’t want to hurt her any more than necessary-“it’s precisely because you’re a princess that you must…resign as pilot of the Blue Lion. How can you rule your people if you’re constantly in danger?”

     “But the danger is gone!” she interjected defiantly. Hands on hips, eyes flashing, “Or have you forgotten, I was there?”

     “I haven’t forgotten. And anyway, if the danger’s gone, there’s no need for you to fly, anyway, is there?”

     Allura flushed and Keith could see her gathering herself for another sharp retort. Desperately he cast about the room, his gaze sliding from his silent friends to the satisfied face of Nanny, to…Corran, who rose from his chair and Keith gave an inward sigh of relief.

     Corran strode forward to place a calming hand on the princess’s shoulder. “Princess,” he said in a soft voice but one that brooked no dispute, “princess, it must be so. I have always had my misgivings about you flying with the Force, but there was nothing I could do. We needed Voltron desperately, and there was no time to train another for the Blue Lion, after Sven was injured. You were the only one. But now…there is no need for you to run off into danger. There is time now that Zarkon has been destroyed, now that there is peace, to train another pilot, which I believe is the next part of Keith’s message from Galaxy Garrison.”

     Allura shot the old diplomat a look of fury and betrayal, but remained silent, allowing Keith to speak.

     “It’s true,” he said slowly, turning to face the three young men who had remained silent since Allura’s initial outburst. “Those are our new orders from Galaxy Garrison. Now that’s there’s no need to form Voltron, at least not for the moment, we’re to train new teams of pilots.”

     “Why?” Lance asked bluntly, with Pidge and Hunk a half-step behind.

     Keith glanced away from them, back to Allura. “In the case something should befall one of us, the universe must never be without the aid of Voltron,” he said quietly, but sternly. Allura turned away from him.

     “So, we’re just supposed to get new recruits and train them?” Pidge asked, somewhat dryly. “Just where are these people coming from?”

     “We’re supposed to be recruiting,” Keith answered. “And GG said they’d send some of their top pilots…”

     “This is what we get for saving the universe from Zarkon?” Hunk demanded fiercely.

     Lance folded his arms over his chest and asked sharply, “Hey, Keith, if Zarkon and Lotor are dead and the universe is safe for peace and democracy and small children, why are they so worried about us?”

     “Because,” Keith said with a slightly exasperated sigh, “if you guys had bothered to listen before jumping in, I’d have told you our new mission is two-fold.” He paused for dramatic effect. Hunk and Pidge leaned forward in excitement, Allura continued to pout, and Lance raised a questioning eyebrow.

     “Well,” Keith continued, “apparently GG has realized that the galaxy’s a pretty big place, and Voltron can only be defending one part at a time”-Lance snorted derisively-“so our new mission is to seek out the people who originally created Voltron-if they even exist anymore-and bring their technology and secrets to our own scientists.”

     “We’re going to mass-produce Voltron?” Lance asked dryly.

     Suddenly Keith had had it with his recalcitrant team. “Basically, yes,” he said sternly, looking them all in the eye in turn, his gaze resting longest on Allura and Lance. “We have our orders and whether we like them or not, we are bound by them. I for one am intrigued by the possibility of learning where King Alfor discovered the secret of Voltron. I should think you would be, too,” he said to Allura, “since as you point out, it is your heritage.” Allura glared. Keith faced the other three. “C’mon guys,” he said, his tone softening. “We’re a team; we have got to be together in this. This is such an important search-just think what another mighty robot could mean in fighting off the forces of evil! Guys,” he said in a soft voice, not at all pleading, but quiet and somber with authority, “as your Commanding Officer I should expect your loyalty. As your friend…all I can do is ask for it.”

     “You always have it, Boss,” Pidge said and Hunk nodded his accord.

     Keith grinned at them, then turned to his second in command. “Lance?”

     “You know I’m with you, Keith,” Lance said in an uncertain tone. “I just can’t shake the feeling, though, that this Voltron’s job isn’t over, yet. I just don’t like the thought of us being distracted by this, and maybe caught off guard by Lotor or Zarkon whenever they decide to show their ugly faces again.”

     “Are you so sure it’s ‘when’ and not ‘if’?” Pidge asked.

     Lance shrugged. “You know how I get these…suspicions,” he said. “I just…something doesn’t feel right is all. I can’t shake it.”

     Keith nodded. “I’ve come to trust your suspicions, Lance,” he said. “Who knows, they’ve saved us more than once! Don’t worry,” he went on, scanning the faces of those around him to make sure they took his full meaning. “The Voltron Force will never be lax in its duties to Arus. Princess, you can always count on Voltron should anything threaten your world.”

     Allura raised her chin. “I have just one question for you, Keith. How is Voltron going to be doing all this defending without a leg? Or am I back on the Force?”

     “Allura, I’m really sorry, but-”

     “I hate you!” she cried. “Haven’t I proved I’m as good as any of you?” (Lance raised his eyebrow at Pidge, who shrugged.)

     “Allura,” Keith began, stepping forward, but she interrupted him.

     “Don’t call me that!” she snapped furiously. “You’ve just told me I’m your princess, her Royal Highness, or whatever! Allura is something you call your friend, but what kind of friend are you? You’ve taken from the other only that’s ever-” Her voice caught in her throat and tears sprang to her eyes. Trembling, she whirled on her heels and all but ran for the door.

     “Allura!” Keith called, and she stopped abruptly, but did not face him. “We’ll need access to your father’s records, in case any clue lies there.”

     Allura nodded stiffly, then fled. The sound of her sobbing floated back down the corridor. With a sigh, Nanny stood and hurried after the weeping girl.

     Silence hung in the Control Room for a long moment afterward, broken at last by Corran. “I hate to see her so unhappy,” he said sadly, “but you are right, Keith. Soon she will be queen and she can’t continue to be placed in danger all the time. Surely she will come to see that in time.”

     “I dunno…” Pidge said softly.

     Keith turned helplessly to Corran.

     “She will understand, Keith,” he said reassuringly. “Princess Allura can be stubborn, but she is by no means foolhardy. Give her time and she will understand why it must be thus.”

     Keith turned back to stare at the door, a very hard and unreadable look in his dark eyes.

     Another silence fell, broken this time by the ever practical Lance. “Hey, I’m sure you don’t really want to deal with this right now, Keith, but just who is going to fly the Blue Lion, now?”

     Their answer arrived a few days later, but in the meantime they were all exceedingly busy carrying out Galaxy Garrison’s latest orders. New recruits had arrived from GG within a few days of Graham’s transmission and though they were a gifted bunch of pilots, they as yet lacked the harmony and friendship that had made the Voltron Force so strong to begin with. In fact, there was quite a bit of competition between a few of them. One, a young hot-head named Teron, had reached instinctively for the missile launcher when his teammate had inadvertently flown right across his path, forcing him to bring up the Black Lion sharply, to avoid collision. Keith had swiftly thrown him out of the Black Lion and sent him packing. Several others had faced the same punishment after similar incidents.

     “What is it with these kids?” Lance wailed to Pidge and Hunk as the three leaned against the giant metal paw of the Yellow Lion where it rested by the shore of a secluded forest lake. “Were we ever that young and stupid?”

     “At least Allura never tried to kill anyone when we were training her!” Hunk exclaimed.

     They were getting no further in their search for the origins of Voltron, either. King Alfor’s records were deliberately vague, as if he too were trying to conceal the secret. Allura, who was still not speaking to Keith, had suggested, by way of Pidge, that they try Runan, the old shaman who had known King Alfor and who had helped them just before their final battle with Zarkon. But Runan remained suspiciously tight-lipped, insisting first that he did not know, and then that perhaps it was better some things remain secret.

     “This is so frustrating!” Lance exclaimed as once again he and Pidge and Hunk sought the relative quiet of the forest, away from the noise and tumult that the Castle of Lions had become.

     “Right!” Hunk agreed gustily. “At least before we could see what we were chasing after. This is just ridiculous.”

     “And these kids are just awful,” Lance continued sourly. “Sure, they’re all great pilots, but there is something missing.”

     “It’s like they’re just here for fun,” put in Pidge. “We had a job to do, but them…”

     “Hey, where’s Keith, anyway?” Hunk asked suddenly.

     “Skinning that last hotshot who tried to crash the Black Lion,” Lance said laconically, closing his eyes and leaning back against a tree, a bit of grass between his teeth.

     Pidge gave a whistle of amusement and Hunk laughed outright. “That’ll be the fourth one he’s had to ship back to GG. Ol’ Marshal Graham must be going nuts. We’re running out of his precious new recruits!”

     “Mmm,” Lance agreed lazily. “I wonder how Keith is handling it all?”

     Rather well, as it turned out, considering. Well, anyway, he had kept his almost over-powering urge to either break something or kill someone in check. But then, Keith had always been one to retain a firm hold on any situation without losing his cool. But now… Well, after the harangue he had just inflicted on Lona, the errant recruit, he was as close to boiling over as he’d come in a long time. Abruptly he strode out of the room, leaving the red-faced youngster practically in tears and with an hour to pack her bags.

     That is IT, he thought furiously. That is bloody IT. I can’t do this alone. I’m going to find Corran and then I’m going to apologize to Allura and BEG her to take her Blue Lion back!

     He rounded the corner that brought him to the Control Room where he was certain Corran would be, instructing the new recruits. The great doors whooshed open for him, and he thundered in-and blinked in amazement at the sight before him.

     Corran sat in his customary seat before the control panel, but it wasn’t the green, crazy recruits he was deep in conversation with-

     A very tall, dark-haired young man slid off the arm of the chair he had been perched on, rested his steaming cup of what appeared to be coffee (what a glorious day it had been when the Voltron Force had introduced it to Arus!) on the console, and flashed a friendly grin. Keith’s eyes widened and his anger evaporated as he realized he was face to face with the one man in all the galaxy he most wanted to see at the moment, though up until then he hadn’t realized it.

     “Sven?” he said incredulously and the grin broadened.

     Keith crossed the floor in four swift strides and sank down weakly into the high-backed chair beside Corran’s, laughing faintly.

     “I take it you’re glad to see me?”

     “You have no idea, old friend,” Keith said wearily.
     Sven retrieved his coffee cup and sat down again. “I heard you were having some trouble with the new recruits.”

     Keith didn’t particularly want to talk about the new recruits anymore, and his sudden sour expression made this apparent.

     “Did Doctor Gorma make it back okay?” Sven asked.

     “Doctor Gorma arrived just a few days ago,” said Corran.

     “We weren’t expecting you back so soon…if ever,” Keith said, frowning. “I thought Romelle wouldn’t have-”

     “Let’s not talk about the Princess Romelle,” Sven said lightly, but guardedly and Keith’s eyes widened. True, the Polluxian princess could be a forceful personality, but he could never imagine her quarreling with his best friend.

     He would have pressed further, but the hard set of Sven’s mouth dissuaded him. Switching tactics, he asked, with some concern, “Are you all right, Sven? I’m real sorry we haven’t been by to visit you, guy, but we’ve been so busy, what with these new recruits and new orders, and Allura off the team.”

     “I’m completely hale and whole,” Sven replied pleasantly, “and actually, it’s Allura being off the team that I wanted to talk to you about.”

     “We need a pilot for the Blue Lion!” Keith spluttered, suddenly so incredibly relieved he would not have to humble himself before Allura or go against GG orders.

     Sven said, “I’ve done more thinking these past two weeks than I think I ever have in my life, and I’ve come to this conclusion: I was trained to be a pilot, and that’s what I will always be. I have to be flying again. I have to be part of the team.”

     Keith grinned and reached out to clap Sven on the shoulder. “Welcome back to the Voltron Force, friend!”

     Corran nodded approvingly.


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