Lance woke up slowly. His mouth felt like he had been dining on a seven course meal that consisted of only cottonballs and it felt like his brain was playing a drum solo. He could barely drag his eyelids open, but the insistent poking at his side could no longer be ignored. He had been asleep for nearly twelve hours, sleep the only sure escape he had from his anguish.

"Finally," said a tired and painfully familiar voice. "I've been trying to wake you for nearly ten minutes."

His eyes widened, increasing his headache, but he barely noticed it as he looked into the face of the sister he thought he had lost. With a strangled cry, he threw his arms around her, burying his face in her neck. She held him tightly, shaking with emotions, but her eyes were dry. She had finished her crying on the way there. Lance, on the other hand, was crying tears of joy. He could barely contain his joy at seeing Gwen alive and a part of him had to ask if she was a dream.

"Gwennie...Gwennie..." he said over and over. "Is it really you?"

"I'm here, Lancie-boy," she muttered. "I made it."

He held her at arm's length and took a good long look at her. She looked like she hadn't slept in days and she hadn't. She couldn't. He looked no better with his red-rimmed eyes and sallow cheeks. But they clung on to each other with a new strength borne of a small hope. Their family wasn't wiped out. It would live on in its survivors. Them. There was no one else but the two of them and Morgan. And Lance swore silently that he would avenge the deaths of his parents and of his brother-in-law. He would let nothing happen to his sister and her daughter at whatever cost.

"Thank God you're alive, Gwen," he sighed. "I didn't know what to do when I found out Luna was destroyed...I just..."

"Got bloody stinking drunk."

"That and nearly killed myself."

She shook her head. "I thought I was going to die, Lance. But somehow, I got myself and Morgan to that escape pod and somehow we weren't blown up by Drule fighters. Luck was on my side this time." Her expressions darkened. "But not on their side."

"No."

"Marc was in the main control room when it was hit," Gwen said with a quiet sorrow. "He didn't even have a chance. Mom and Dad were on their way there and they were probably caught in explosion. You know how they can't resist a chance to help. I would have gone too, if not for Morgan."

Lance sat back on his bed and leaned his forehead against hers. "They died with honor."

"Yes, they did," she said, putting a hand on his wet cheek. "They all did. But, oh, Lance, I wish that they were still here."

He hugged Gwen and she rested against him, closing her eyes. All her grief and lack of sleep that she had ignored had slammed into her the second she saw Lance safe and asleep and now she was succumbing to it. Before she knew it, she was fast asleep. Lance lifted her and put her in his bed, tucking her in. He kissed her forehead lightly and stumbled out the door. He fumbled with his communicator for a few seconds before finally getting it to work.

"Keith," he said. "Where's Morgan?"

"With me," Keith replied, his voice soft. "In the rec room."

Through half-opened eyes, Lance found his way to his niece. When he got there, Keith was cradling the little baby in his arms, holding a bottle. Pidge stood next to him, stroking the baby's black-haired head. She blinked her big blue eyes up at Keith as he looked up to find Lance standing at the doorway. Without a word, Keith stood and handed the baby to her uncle. Lance held Morgan gingerly, rocking her gently as she suckled on her bottle.

"Nice to meet you," he said. "I'm sorry it wasn't under better circumstances."

Keith patted Lance's shoulder. He gestured for Pidge to come with him and they left Lance with his niece.

Allura tapped a finger on the surface on the conference table, the vibration causing the water in the pitcher near her ripple. Keith watched the slender finger with its short nail move up and down, his thoughts elsewhere. In front of her, Allura had piles of data pads with information about the people she was going to talk to. She studied them, growing familiar with their faces and planets. Keith assured her that he would help with matching the names with the faces. Still, she studied them relentless in the last few minutes they had and then when the first monitor flickered to life, she swept them all to the floor with an outstretched arm. She and Keith exchanged a brief glance then went back to watching the monitors. Coran sat across from the commander, on the Princess' left.

The monitors around them came to life slowly, splitting into sections as two-hundred and fifteen leaders linked up. Allura waited the monitors stopped flickering and everyone was accounted for. She straightened in her seat and cleared her throat. She touched her tightly pinned hair, the most she swore she would go to at looking her best for the leaders. Keith was in his dress uniform, more for show than for anything else. His GG pin gleamed as the light caught it.

"I called this conference because of the current situation with Galaxy Garrison," Allura began. "I am sure that all of you have heard the news."

"Yes, we have, Princess," said a green-skinned humanoid with an elaborate hairstyle. "The K'Hira council has discussed it and we are prepared to take a stand against GG if need be."

"Thank you, L'laria Mit," Allura said.

"The Ilomian Faction has heard this disturbing news, but we want to know if there is any proof of this," said a pink slug-like alien.

"There is proof," said a handsome blonde-haired man. "One of my people was told of their plans to ambush the Doom fleet. They needed ammunition from us. But I was not told."

Allura looked at the Prince. "Thank you, Prince Alderain. Does anyone else doubt GG's betrayal?"

No one answered. Allura clasped her hands over the table and leaned forward. "We must take back some control from Galaxy Garrison. They keep things to themselves, telling us nothing, not even when our lives at our stake. They swore to protect us, but we can no longer sit back and allow them to rule over all the Alliance planets without our say."

"You speak of a mutiny, Princess of Arus," said the rasping voice of a two-headed, brown-skinned Atlantian.

"No," she said. "I speak of taking our lives back into our own hands. The leadership at Galaxy Garrison is no longer sufficient if this last incident is any proof and we cannot sit back and allow them to throw all caution to the wind to suit their own agendas!"

"I agree with the Princess," Prince Alderain said.

A hundred and fifteen voices began to talk at once. Allura looked to Coran who nodded imperceptibly to show his support and then at Keith who looked back at her thoughtfully. She raised her hand to silence them.

"I can ssssee that you have a Galaxy Garrissson officer next to you," said Leader Zilan from the Planet Namek. "What does he have to ssssay about thissss?"

"That is Commander Porterfield, I believe," Emperor Barron of Woltran V said.

Keith cleared his throat and his dress uniform's collar began to feel tight. But he faced the question with steely eyes. "I believe that they did the Alliance a grave wrong by not coming out with the information. They should have been more sure of how many ships they were against, instead of cockily going into battle and ultimately doing nothing more than become speed bumps." He looked at each monitor, glancing over each and every face and they looked back at him silently. "Above all else, I am a citizen and an officer of the Alliance. My allegiance is with you concerning this matter."

There was a collective gasp and underneath the table, Allura's hand clasped his briefly. She looked at him with disturbed eyes, surprise apparent on her face. She said nothing, but her movement spoke of her support.

"We hear mutiny from the mouth of a GG officer," the Atlantian muttered.

Keith stiffened. "Not mutiny, Sir. I speak of making a change. We are not rising up against Galaxy Garrison. We are merely going to exact a change. I believe that the Princess has a plan."

"Before I speak, I would like to open the floor to any question or comments."

"I agree with the Princess of Arus," Leader Zilan said. "My people were outraged at hearing about their secrecy and we will not stand by to let this happen again."

"We are unsure," said the leader of Planet Crushan. "We do not want to take such a large step without bringing it to the Assembly."

"We are not asking for your decision now, King Crushan," Allura said reassuringly. "But we would like to know your decision by the evening of the twelfth day from today."

"I strongly object to this," Queen Amideia said, shaking her head causing the beads in her hair to fly around. "We have relied on Galaxy Garrison too long to move so quickly against them when we don't even have a plan. We cannot forget the long years where we did know some peace."

"Those years are long gone, Your Majesty," Minister Jinn from Edaner. "We must move know because we cannot let an incident such as this happen again. If Zarkon attacks again, I fear that all will be lost. They may have protected us for nearly a century, but this false step is too large and far-reaching to ignore."

"We all know that GG has been deteriorating from the inside for years," President Ayjay from Orion said. "This is just the culmiation of that deterioration. It's time to bring in new blood to the leadership. I believe that the Princess of Arus has made a good point. Your father would have been proud."

Allura's face did not speak of her feelings, but her eyes glowed a bright blue with pride. "Thank you, President."

"What is your plan, Princess?" Prince Alderain asked.

Keith studied the Prince. He seemed very eager to speak with Allura and from the way he looked at her, he wasn't studying for lack of nothing else to look at. The commander's eyes narrowed.

"I'll give everyone a few minutes to talk amongst themselves while I confer with my advisors," Allura replied.

The other planets had remained silent up to this point as its leaders discussed what she had put forth. Allura turned to Keith and he pressed a button to keep their conversation from being heard by the others.

"Are you resigning your commission?" she asked.

"No," he said. "But if it comes to that, I'm not adverse to doing so." He was surprised with the ease that he said that, giving up a life he was so sure was for him, but after learning of Galaxy Garrison's actions, he was no longer sure that he wanted to be part of them.

"You discounted GG," Coran said. "If our plan does not work, you will be forced out."

"You will always have a place here," Allura said.

"Thank you, Allura."

She nodded. "It's the least we can do." She turned back to the leaders. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," said the collective voice.

She leaned back in her seat and steepled her fingers. "We have devised a solution over the course of the past few days ever since the news was let out. It's far from perfect but it's something to build on."