Chapter One

 

 

Ethan was sitting on Bethie’s bed, his legs stretched out in front of him, watching as his sister tore through her drawers.  Jack stood at the doorway awkwardly, confused as to what was going on when she tossed a sweater behind her and it landed on a pile in the middle of the room.  Jack had been in Bethie’s room several times in the past, but the size of it still surprised him.  There were two overstuffed chairs, bookcases, a desk, a dresser, and a large four-poster bed and she still had plenty of room to move.  However, at this point in time, all that furniture was covered with clothes and he was surprised to see that she still had plenty left in her closet.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked carefully.

 

“Cleaning,” she answered, her tone clipped.

 

“Usually the clothes go into the closet…”

 

Ethan shook his head at Jack and Jack clamped his mouth shut just as Bethie whirled on him.

 

“Did you want something?” she demanded.

 

Jack was tempted to let Ethan stay, simply to have a body to throw in Bethie’s way when he showed her what he held in his hand, but he knew it would be better to talk to her alone.  He owed her that much.

 

“Ethan, could you give us a minute?” he asked.

 

And he saw that Ethan knew why.  The younger man’s gaze was diamond hard as he moved past Jack.

 

“Take it easy, alright?” he said in a low voice that only Jack could hear.

 

Jack nodded.  Unaware of what was going on, Bethie continued to rifle through her drawers.  The doors slid shut behind Ethan and Jack stared at her.  He took in her lithe form as she moved efficiently from one end of the room to the other, picking up the clothes she had thrown about.  His mouth suddenly felt dry as he thought about what this was going to do to her.

 

“Bethie,” he said softly.

 

“What do you want, Jack,” she said, not looking at him.

 

She continued to look through her clothes but Jack could see that she was just keeping her hands busy.  Her eyes were unfocused and her shoulders were tight.  He went to her, taking one of her hands in his.  She looked up at him, the planes and angles of her face fixed in an expression of pain.  His heart seemed to clench in his chest.

 

“My Bethie,” he said.

 

Holding out his other hand, he gaze was drawn to the oval key that sat in his palm.  She released a breath and her hand slid from his grasp.  On shaky legs, she went to her bed and sat down hard.  Jack kept his eyes on her face, hurting as much as she was.  He’d never seen her look more exhausted or more broken as she did right then, and he wondered what it had cost her to raise her head and offer him a small smile.

 

“I’m glad it’s you,” she said, her throat tight with emotion.

 

He blinked.  Of all the scenarios he had imagined, from being thrown out of the window to getting a punch to the face, a smile had not even made it to the list. 

 

“What?” he said.

 

“You’d be good in the Black,” she explained, her voice slowly gaining strength and she straightened as she stared up at him.  “It probably should have been you all along.”

 

“Bethie…”

 

She stood and wrapped her arms around him.  Silenced, he rested his cheek against the top of her head and held her tightly, at peace with himself for the first time in days.  Seeing her with Skech was forgotten and he was reminded of the friend that she had been to him for as long as he could remember—it made him realize that no matter what happened, he needed her in his life.  He only hoped that she felt the same about him.  As her arms tightened around him and he felt her release a breath against his neck, he realized that she did and it made him smile.   

 

“Red was never my color, but I’ll make do,” she said.

 

He would have kept on holding her if his attention wasn’t drawn to the face on the muted telescreen on the wall opposite.  His arms dropped and in two long strides, he was in front of the screen.

 

“What…?” Bethie said, turning and she saw what had captured his gaze. 

 

 

 

 

Alana listened to her brother tell her about the rift that now kept their mother and sister apart.  Her heart had ached when Bethie had told her what Allura had done and she was angry on her sister’s behalf later on when her mother called her.  Allura had not tried to change her mind, simply told her what had happened and how she saw things, and Alana could not help but agree that perhaps it had been the right move despite how Bethie felt.  Her first few days on Earth, she’d spent in Romelle’s office, catching up on what was happening. 

 

The intricate political dance that her aunt was choreographing had intrigued her and she began to see things in a different light; in terms of ends and outcomes rather than the steps needed to get them there.  She used that insight to understand her mother and the relief on Allura’s face when she said so was priceless.  Alana could only imagine the strain this break in their relationship was costing Allura on top of everything else and she knew her support was needed even though she was so far away.  She hadn’t yet had a chance to speak with her father, but she was sure his call was forthcoming.

 

“I am their messenger boy,” Ethan was saying.  “They refuse to speak to each other and Dad’s got more important things to attend to—things he won’t even let me near—so it’s got to be me.”

 

“What do you expect?  If I were still there, it would have been me.  You’d think they could get past this and just focus on the issue at hand.  How’s Jack doing?”

 

Ethan’s expression was resigned as he shook his head.  “I’d never admit it in front of Bethie, even with a blaster to my head, but he’s got it,” he answered.

 

Alana could imagine Jack in the Black’s seat and it did indeed seem to fit just as much as it suited Bethie to be inside the Red instead.  Her fiery sister and her skillful flying was meant to provide cover fire for the more powerful Black Lion because it was that Lion that would lead them to victory.  

 

“Mom’s a lot of things, but she’s always been a good leader,” she said.  “I suppose it takes one to know one.”

 

Ethan winced.  “You don’t pull your punches, do you?”

 

“I love Bethie, you know that, but…”

 

“Yeah, I know.  Alright, I gotta get some rest.  You sure you don’t wanna come home yet?”

 

Alana smiled at him.  “Not just yet.”

 

“Tell all of them I said hi.  Take care and remember what I said about men, Lana.”

 

She laughed.  “I will.  Goodnight, Ethan.”

 

“’Night.”

 

He severed the link and Alana stood, stretching as she left her room in the Van Voorst house to go to the living room.  She was tired from that day’s work and needed something that did not demand too much of her intellectual strength to distract her for a little while.  Ian and Jason Branegan were sitting there, eyes glued to the telescreen.  She frowned when she saw what they were watching.

 

“Can’t we watch something else?” she asked.  “I’ve been hearing nothing but Lotor this, Hagar that, Lotorians there for the entire day.”

 

“Well, we hear nothing but urban warfare and missile deflectors all day and we’d like a change of pace,” Ian said.

 

“Jordan’s lucky she got sent back,” Jason said.  “What I wouldn’t give to fly a Lion.”

 

“Imagine what it’s like for Bethie,” Ian said.  “Flying the Black…now that’s a story to tell.”

 

“Jack won’t shut up about the Red Lion.  After hearing about my dad talk about it all my life, you’d think I’d get a break now that he’s all tied up in this military thing but now Jack can pick up the slack.”

 

Alana kept her mouth shut, realizing that they did not know about the leadership shuffle.  She wrestled the remote control from her cousin and flipped through the channels.  Her finger stilled when suddenly a broadcast took over all stations. 

 

“What is this?” Ian breathed.

 

 

 

 

Lance tilted his chin up a fraction as he met the hard gaze of General Sal Lemane.  He had just effectively cut the man off at the knees and prayed that his reflexes were fast enough so that if the General pulled out his blaster, he could get out of the way.  Behind him, Gwen was thinking the same thing.  His new aide, the newly re-commissioned Major James Archent, was sitting next to Gwen, his gaze pointed at the datapad in his hands but his attention on the General. 

 

“You’re out of your mind by taking half the soldiers out of this base,” Lemane said angrily.  “Without Genesis Base, you should not have had soldiers to fight alongside you twenty years ago and it is tradition for Arusian soldiers to start their training here in order to gain the skills they will need to have successful careers elsewhere.  How dare you come into my office during this time of trouble and seek to make a change of this magnitude without the express consent of the King, Colonel.”

 

“I have been authorized to act for the King, General,” Lance said calmly.  “I don’t need a written statement from him to do what needs to be done here.  Considering what is happening to Arus at this moment, you understand then that this has to happen as quickly as possible.”

 

Lemane moved to pick up his communicator.

 

“If you want to keep your own position, I don’t recommend that,” Lance said.

 

With a hiss of disgust, Lemane pushed back from his desk and got to his feet.  “You win this time, Branegan, but the others are going to hear about this and they learn that the King is behind all this, Porterfield will have even more trouble in his hands.”

 

“Now, that’s not patriotic, General,” Major Archent said, his voice low and dangerous.  “To turn on the King and Queen at a time when they have asked the Arusian people to stand together would be a public relations nightmare for the ARF.  We get little attention as it is, but you can bet that this will be seen in a negative light…and we don’t need that.”

 

Archent rendered the General speechless and Lance had the absurd urge to applaud.  Lemane glared at the trio and turned his back.

 

“Get out of my office,” he snarled.

 

“Aye-aye,” Lance said with more than a little sarcasm.

 

They walked out in the corridor and back to their quarters.  Archent walked a little behind them and at first it had unnerved Lance because he kept on having to turn his head to talk to the other man, but he came to realize Archent did it to watch their backs. 

 

“That went better than I expected,” Gwen said. 

 

“None of us are dead, so yeah,” Lance said, loosening his tie as they walked into the main room.  “You know what I’ve noticed after a couple days of this?”

 

“What?” Archent asked.

 

“All military uniforms are equally uncomfortable.”

 

“Why do you think I left?”

 

Gwen picked up the telescreen remote and turned it on.  It was already turned to ANN and she gasped out loud when she saw what was on.  The sound drew Lance’s and Archent’s attention.  They could only gape when they saw what she was watching.

 

 

 

 

Citizens of the Intergalactic Alliance, we meet again.

 

The years had been kind to the former Prince of Doom and he smiled at his audience, charm dripping from every pore…it was chilling.

 

I come before you now in anticipation of the events that will transpire in the next forty-eight hours. It does not surprise me that Arus has not agreed to our demands—the former Princess Allura and her consort have never shown cooperative attitudes towards me.  I am sure that you are all aware of the beast that was unleashed on Arusian space and that none of your armies have the firepower to put a monster such as that down.  Voltron was nearly destroyed by that ro-beast and even though it eventually proved victories, Voltron cannot be in thirty other places at the same time.  These ro-beasts will descend upon your planets and its people without mercy unless Arus steps down from the Alliance and surrenders to the Lotorians.  I am sure that your leaders believe that to give in to our demands would only invite more heavy-handed methods.  I have come before you to assure you that this is not the case.

 

All of you know of the history between Doom and Arus.  My father may have overstepped his bounds by seeking to wage war on the planets that now make up the Alliance, but I am not so foolish.  My motives are selfish and driven by my own desires; and I desire Arus. 

 

The pods will self-destruct if you decide to choose wisely and give me the planet that I covet, should that be one hour or one minute before the deadline, but not any time after. 

 

I hope that I will meet your leaders under a peaceful banner in the coming days. 

 

 

 

 

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To Chapter Two