Allura paced the length of main, a finger in her mouth as she chewed on the tip of her nail. Coran watched her, his brown eyes the only part of his body that was moving. Around them, men manned the controls and watched the skies and the ground for Doom forces. Allura barely paid them any heed as she waited impatiently for word from the Voltron Force.

"If I see even a dent on one of the Lions, I'm going to scalp all of them," she muttered. "What was I thinking? Father's dead...he doesn't necessarily know what to do in times like these. He's been out of touch for ten years!"

"Allura," Coran said, hearing her and praying that no one else had. "You've seen playback of their flying. They're good pilots. They'll take care of the Lions for you."

She threw him an apologetic look. "I know, Coran. I guess I'm just twitchy because I'm not with them. This is the first time that something big is happening and I'm not around to see it."

"I suggest you relax somewhere. You've been working too hard the last few days, more so than usual."

For once, Allura didn't argue, which proved to them all just how tired she was. She only nodded and went out the door. Her feet led her to the arboretum that the Arusian botanists had set up and cultivated. It had grown into a peaceful and calming place that Allura enjoyed visiting. It was going to be a while before they would hear from the team and she needed something to distract her until then or else she would lose her mind. Sleep was out of the question, no matter how tired she was.

She was worried about them as much as she was the Lions, even though she knew Keith was fully capable for leading them through a decent practice. She had studied their files, knew they were good pilots, but like everything else about them, she needed to see it to believe it.

The arboretum was quiet and she could hear the soft trickle of water from the miniature waterfall in one corner of the room. Allura made her way through the flowering plants and shrubs to her favorite spot, a stone bench hidden behind a trellis covered with vines. The minute she took a seat, a small blue mouse skittered up her arm to take a seat on her shoulder. Its small red eyes twinkled as it chittered away at her. Allura smiled. This little mouse and its family had been her friends ever since she had been a little girl. They had grown up together and she had missed them while she was in the battle compound because they stayed in Housing. It just wasn't safe for them to be underfoot there.

"Hi Cheddar," she greeted. "What have you been up to, my little friend?"

He chatted away, waving his tiny arms in the air as he told her. She listened attentively as if it was the most important thing in the universe that Nanny had refused him a piece of cheese. She found it almost a relief to have to worry about something so inconsequential after the recent events and when she smiled at Cheddar, it was genuine.

"I'll be sure to tell her to save you a piece next time I go to the mess hall," Allura promised him. "But you really shouldn't be in the kitchen. You know how much she hates that."

Cheddar shrugged. Allura chuckled. It was with her mice friends was she most relaxed. She was sure Lance would have a field day if he found out about the mice, but then again, she was sure most people would. They were not typical pets and she was the least likely person to have an attachment to little robot mice. Looking down, she saw the rest of the mice gathered at her feet and she lowered her hand so they could join Cheddar, still perched on her shoulder. The pink mouse played with a strand of her hair, chattering.

"I know it looks terrible," she said, brushing away a strand from her face. "I just haven't had the time to get a cut lately. I'm lucky Nanny hasn't seen me."

Time went by as quickly as she had hoped so when her communicator beeped, she looked at it with surprise. She opened it and Coran looked up at her from the screen.

"They've reached Daordian," he said. "They're going to begin practice in five minutes."

"I'll be there," she said, standing.

The mice slid down her arm and waved. She waved back.

"I'll be back to visit soon," she said. "I promise."

She went back to main. On the viewscreen were five smaller screens showing each of the cockpits from the pilot's point of view. She sat down and watched the show.

"Have you sent the spy yet, Hagar?" Lotor yelled. "I thought we'd have something to work with by now."

The Prince of Doom sat at his dinner table, a servant girl on either side to answer to his every whim. He gulped back a mouthful of red wine as he waited for the witch to make her entrance. There were some strange activity on Arus' surface but the soldiers assigned to Arus had gotten lazy and could not tell him more than that there was activity.

"I have sent the spy, Lotor," Hagar replied amidst a cloud of smoke. "Would you like to see what they're up to?"

He glared at her. "Wasn't that the whole point of this exercise?"

Hagar waved her staff and an image appeared. From what Lotor could make out, he was looking at the cockpit of a fighter, but it was different somehow. The controls were more personalized. He rested his chin on a cupped hand, his yellow eyes focused on what he was watching. A sleeved arm came into view to push a button.

"Score one for Pidge!" a young voice cried.

"Pidge?" Lotor echoed. "That's Nicholas. What are we looking at Hagar? What are they doing in fighters? I thought those Alliance officers were staying on Arus."

"Oh, they are," the witch cackled. "And you'll be excited to know why."

He stared at her from over his goblet of wine.

She grinned. "They're the new Voltron Force."

Lotor's goblet fell to the ground with a loud crash. He felt a little dizzy.

"I'm not sure I heard you right. What was that you just said?" he said slowly.

"The Voltron Force, sire," Hagar repeated. "I'm sure you've heard of the legendary Voltron robot."

Lotor stood and waved the servant girls out. He began to pace.

"How could this happen?" he spat vehemently. "I thought the Lions were lost or the Arusians would have certainly used them before now. This is not good news. It certainly makes things more complicated."

"You have no idea." She looked to the image still floating in midair in front of her. "Fortunately for us, we found out about it before it was too late. They're only practicing now."

"Witch, I want you to get rid of them now."

"And how do you suggest I do that?"

"Build a Ro-Beast like you did in the past. Destroy them now before they know what they're doing. If they learn just how effective those Lions are, it will make my conquest of Arus a lot harder than it has to be."

Hagar nodded. "As you say, sire."

She disappeared, leaving Lotor to his thoughts. He had heard of the Voltron Legend from his father and the King's old generals. No one knew how Voltron was created but the robot had protected Arus for a millenia before it was broken apart into the five Lions. After that, Arus had fallen to Zarkon's forces and the Lions were never seen, never resurfaced to protect their planet. Once, Lotor heard his father theorize that the ship Alfor had flown during the war was a Lion ship but he could not gather the evidence to prove that. Lotor could not disagree with him because that stealth fighter than technology that was not avaible at the time...or even at this time.

If the Princess and her new team did indeed find the robot Lions, his job would become infinitely more difficult and troublesome. All that power aside, Lotor knew that there was something more damaging than firepower when it came to war: hope.

Lotor crushed the broken pieces of his goblet beneath his boots. The Arusians would not see the light of day under his watch.

I will prevail.