Romelle watched her viewscreen silently. The news broadcast was of the preparations on Pollux as the survivors were readying themselves for their journey to their new home. Her smile was bittersweet however. She was happy that they were given a chance to prosper on Arus, a planet once as ravaged as Pollux, but sad that they had to leave their home. Regardless of all that had happened to her there, Romelle still thought of Pollux as her home. Vaguely, she realized that she wasn't a Princess anymore since the people she was supposed to be ruling were now going to be under Allura's reign. But she was not bitter about it. She relished her position as Arus' Senator and was more than happy to accept the permanent assignment from her cousin.

She brushed her dark blonde hair from her face with a graceful hand and sighed. The picture changed to the preparations on Arus. While there were some homes ready for some of the Polluxians, most of them would have to live in longhouses until more homes could be built. The camera panned the area and Romelle could see that they were building several of them already. The view then changed to inside a longhouse and she was relieved to see that it was partitioned to give the Polluxians some privacy. She had to hand it to Allura. Her cousin thought of everything--or perhaps Keith did. In any case, Romelle was grateful to them for taking care of her people.

Suddenly, a familiar face crossed the camera's path and she grinned in delight, leaning forward eagerly. But Sven walked by too quickly and he was gone in the blink of an eye. Still, Romelle was happy to have caught even just a glimpse of him. Without him, her days were dreary, no matter how interesting the Senate was.

It's gotten so bad that even just a peek at him makes your heart beat faster, she mused.

Romelle watched for a few minutes longer, wishing for another look at Sven, but she glanced at the clock, and saw that it was time for Bandor to call. Her brother called her every night at the same time and although they were separated by millions of light-years, she never felt closer to him than she did then.

Right on schedule, her communicator beeped and Bandor's face filled the viewscreen. He was more serious than usual but that didn't worry her considering the circumstances.

"How are you holding up, Brother," she asked kindly.

"It's hectic, but still organized. They did an impeccable job keeping things in order."

"Allura told me that they worked day and night to make sure the transition was as smooth as possible." Romelle smiled grimly. "All this for a traitorous prince."

Bandor winced. "Romelle..."

She put a hand up to silence him. "It's alright. I'm not angry with them. I'm resigned to Pollux's fate. It was hard enough getting Arus together, so why not just join our two nations. I understand Allura offered you a position."

The young prince nodded. "I'm to represent the Polluxians here. We haven't thought of a title yet."

The image of her sharp-tongued cousin sitting down and tossing pompous names at Bandor made Romelle grin. "I'm sure it will come to you."

Bandor chuckled, but turned sober again a moment later. "Is this truly alright with you, Sister? I know that Lotor made your life a living hell..."

"That's an understatement," Romelle scoffed. "But that part of my life is over now. If I held on to the past I would not even be able to move, Bandor. We have to do what we have to do."

Bandor stared at her with a mixture of awe and relief. "You never cease to amaze me."

Romelle smiled. "Thank you. I wish we could talk longer, but I think you're needed."

"Yes. You will come to visit soon?"

"Soon. Give everyone my love."

"I will. Good day...rather, goodnight, Sister."

"Good day to you, Brother."

He smiled one last time and then severed the connection. Yawning, Romelle stood and glanced at the clock. It was half-past eleven and the Senate was to convene at nine o'clock the next morning to discuss the matter of Allura and Alderain's situation. Romelle wished she'd been around to see it end and wondered if Keith had anything to do with it. She made a mental note to ask Sven the next time she spoke to him.

Sven looked harried and abused when Lance finally caught up with him. He smiled tentatively at his ill-tempered Norwegian friend.

"Bad day?" he asked.

Sven growled at him.

"Easy boy. Don't worry, it'll be over soon."

"De Polluxians aren't efen here yet!" Sven railed. "Eet has not yet begun."

"How long have you been up?" Lance questioned, squinting at him.

Sven glanced at his watch. Lance noticed how red his eyes were.

"Twenty hours in ten minutes," Sven replied curtly.

Whistling in disbelief, Lance took the sheets Sven was carrying. "Why don't you get some rest, Buddy. It's not like we have a shortage of volunteers. Besides, we're scheduled to escort the Polluxians in about three hours. We can't have you falling asleep at the controls."

Sven ran a hand through his wavy ebony hair. "Alright. Just make sure you vake me."

Lance grinned. "Don't worry. Keith's still walking around with his head attached to his neck. He'll be shaking you awake come hell or high water."

"Keit's on Pollux," Sven reminded Lance smugly.

"Damn...well I guess I'll wake you up. Get out of here. The clock's ticking and I don't wanna hear you whining about how you need five more minutes."

"Alright, alright. You sound like my mother."

Keith shielded his eyes from the blinding Polluxian sun. It was high noon and he cursed himself for not thinking to wear sunglasses. His head was already beginning to ache as they'd been outside for the entire morning and the sun only got brighter with each passing minute.

Behind him, Pidge had his nose buried in a datapad as he calculated the figures that were running down the small screen. They were standing on the Black Lion's head so that they could easily see how things were going below them. Like ants, Polluxians streamed in and out of the transports in orderly lines. There were only a few Arusian and Polluxian soldiers directing them where to go, but apparently it was enough.

"We should be finished by eighteen hundred hours," Pidge told Keith, sounding distracted. "They're moving a lot faster than I expected and our schedule is making everything run smoothly."

"Not bad for moving fifty thousand people and their things," Gwen added, appearing behind them. "But I think we all need a break. They're hungry and tired. I have to confess that I am too. What I wouldn't give for a hamburger..."

"Nanny only packed us some meatloaf and mashed potatoes," Keith said. "But we can't just stop working altogether. We'll have to do it in shifts."

"Whatever works," Gwen agreed. "But I get first shift."

The other two laughed. True to her word, Gwen disappeared inside the Black where the picnic basket was. Keith studied the crowd below and made a quick announcement that the passengers of transports one through thirty could take a thirty minute break. With some amusement, he saw those passengers disperse quickly to various other places for food or just to sit and rest.

"You're working them pretty hard, Keith," Pidge said. "They're not all young and spry like us."

"They don't have to move endlessly, Pidge. They can stop if they're tired. I told them that when we started."

"They want to get out of here as quickly as we do. They're not going to stop until they're done or unless you say so."

Keith nodded. "You're right." He smiled at the younger man. "You're getting pretty good at this, Pidge."

Pidge shrugged, embarrassed. "It's nothing."

Keith's communicator beeped then and he answered the call.

"Porterfield," he said.

"How is everything, Keith?" Coran asked.

"Everything is going smoothly," he answered. "We should be there by twenty hundred."

"When should the other Lions leave to meet you? It is one-twenty in the morning here."

Keith did a quick calculation in his head. "In three or four hours. It's up to them how soon or how late. Their extra hands are needed there as well as here. Remember that they're to meet us half-way, around quadrant forty-nine point two."

"Acknowledged. Castle Control out."