-------------------------
Chapter 9

"HAGGAR!" Zarkon roared, summoning his witch.

"You called, Sire?" Haggar replied, waddling slowly out to the throne.

"I thought your latest robeast could handle both Voltrons at once!  Yet it
was destroyed just like all the others.  Explain yourself!" he snarled.

Haggar shrugged.  "I overestimated him.  But not by much- he did more damage
to the lions than any robeast ever before.  Black Lion is utterly incapable
of combat, and Blue is badly damaged as well.  The base ship for the Vehicle
Voltron has had significant damage, and won't be able to leave the
atmosphere of Arus until after significant repairs.  Even Vehicle Voltron
has had some damage- if we'd sent a fleet or a lesser robeast along with
this one, we WOULD have wiped them both out."

Zarkon smirked.  "Is that so?  Well, how long would it take for you to build
two more robeasts as powerful as that last one?"

"A couple of weeks," Haggar said.  "These advanced robeasts take time."

Zarkon sighed, and nodded.  "Very well.  Begin building them.  Meanwhile, I
think I will send Lotor with a couple of our weaker robeasts on a raid... it
couldn't hurt to attack while they are injured."

Haggar hesitated.  "Our weaker robeasts aren't in any condition to go out,
themselves.  After three or four days of recuperation, maybe, but many of
them were badly injured in the last tournament."

Zarkon found himself gritting his teeth.  "Very well.  Go.  LOTOR!"

The witch departed hurridly, muttering something about finding a way to read
the thoughts of her next creation, and Lotor strolled in.  "You bellowed,
father?  I've already sent my harem to join yours if that's what you're
worried about.  I knew right away you had won our bet."

"This has nothing to do with that.  You have three days to prepare an
invasion of Arus.  You will have two of our lesser robeasts to help, but you
're in luck; both Voltrons are badly damaged.  All I ask is that you find a
way to destroy one of them before the main Alliance fleet arrives next
 week."

Lotor snorted.  "Destroy a Voltron?  That's all?  Why don't you ask me to
raise the dead while I'm at it?  Come on, father- make it a challenge!"

"Don't mock me, boy!" Zarkon snapped.  "If you are unable to do this one
thing, we are BOTH going to die.  The Alliance is serious about wiping us
out, finally, and we cannot handle two Voltrons AND the thousands upon
thousands of heavy battlecruisers and support craft which they will throw at
us."

"I know this, already, father," Lotor said, bored.  "But if you're going to
make ME responsible for the destruction of Voltron, I won't accept that
duty.  We've tried many times, and it's plainly obvious that robeasts alone,
even lead by my expert abilities, are just not enough."

"Didn't you hear me?  The two Voltrons are crippled!  They won't be able to
fight back!"

Lotor sniffed.  "Yeah, but that's happened before, and they always have
managed to recover just in the nick of time.  I imagine our Drule cousins
have had the same fate against their Voltron... we won't win.  Our situation
is hopeless!"

Zarkon just stared at him.  Gesturing, he sent off all of the servants in
the room.  Father and son were left alone, and the king finally had
something to say.

"Lotor, my son... what I'm about to tell you cannot leave this room.  You're
right.  The situation IS hopeless... we're doomed."  He collapsed into his
throne, looking old and tired.  "We're too strong, now, though.  If we
surrendered, they would completely disarm us... and every race we've ever
harmed will attack us in a desperate search for revenge.  We will be
slaughtered."  He sighed, looking at his gnarled hands helplessly.  "If we
stop attacking, then they'll wonder what's going on, and will be very
suspicious of our motives.  So, if we surrender later, they'll lock us up
and not let us go until we rot while they try and find a secret we don't
have."

Lotor frowned.  "Why surrender?  Why not run away?"

Zarkon just looked at him.  "Do you really think we could run away?  Can you
think of ANYWHERE in ANY universe which wouldn't know who we are?"

Lotor bit his lip.  "I... I guess not."

Zarkon nodded.  "Right.  So, our only choice for survival is to surrender,
and throw ourselves on their mercy.  When they try to 'reform' us, we can
pretend to go along with it... and maybe one day be brought into their
confidence.  Our race can live for up to a thousand years, my son... they
are lucky if they live for a tenth that time.  They will forget what we once
were... and then we can come back, and destroy them from the inside."

Lotor's eyes brightened.  "Brilliant plan, father!"

Zarkon nodded, acknowledging his sons complement but refusing to react to it
in any other way.  "But for them to accept our surrender, we have to act as
if nothing is wrong until our defenses are exhausted.  Until then, we have
to act as we always have... and so do our troops.  So, when I order you to
destroy Voltron, I want you to TRY and succeed.  I don't EXPECT you to
succeed, just like I doubt Haggar's new race of super robeasts will be able
to win against either Voltron.  If you do, or they do, then we have
everything to gain.  But if I am right, and we cannot win, then we have lost
nothing but raw materials that they would have taken from us, anyway."

Lotor nodded slowly.  "I understand."  With that, he spun on his heel and
moved towards the exit.

"Where are you going?" his father asked.

"Why, to prepare for an attack.  We have a Voltron to try to destroy."

* * * * *

"This was NOT how I was hoping to spend the second night of our marraige,
you know," Keith said, laying in a bed six feet away from his wife.

"Yes, well, I wasn't hoping to spend it this way, either," Allura replied,
scratching at the bandage on her hand.  Keith and Allura had BOTH been
ordered to spend the night in the medical bay for observation, as both of
them had nearly matching mild concussions from the battle.  Allura had cut
herself without realizing it on some broken instrumentation when she moved
to inspect Keith's damaged lion during his temporary period of
unconsciousness, and Keith had numerous injuries that resulted in a number
of stitches, a cast on one arm, and some pink gel application over a few
burn wounds.

"Sven's going to make fun of us tomorrow, you know," Keith noted.

"He is?  What for?" Allura asked, rolling onto her side to look at him.

Keith looked her straight in the eyes.  "He's going to take one look at our
injuries and say we're too rough in bed.  I know him- that's just the sort
of corny thing he'd say."

"Well, the reception's the day after tomorrow, but he and Romelle are coming
a day in advance to help out with the preparations," Allura noted.  "So
maybe he'll exhaust his supply of jokes before the ceremonial toast.  But
what would he mean, we're too rough in bed?"

Keith smirked.  "Think about it, Allura- what would we be doing in bed that
requires large amounts of physical exertion?"

Allura blinked, then flushed.  "Oh... OH!  Well, I... that is..."

Keith laughed.  "Don't worry about it.  It's expected that a pair of
newleyweds will get teased a little.  Sometimes, even about things like
that."

Allura looked at him with a devilish expression despite the pink blush still
painting her cheeks.  "So when are you going to give me another chance to be
rough on you, huh?"

Keith blinked at her.  "Um... I don't know.  You were pretty close to
breaking my resolve earlier tonight, but can we wait until I'm more or less
healed, at least?  I don't think I'll enjoy you being rough too much if I
reinjure my arm."

"I suppose," Allura pouted cutely.  "Does this mean you will give me that
chance when you recover?"

"We'll talk about it then," he smirked.  "But I have a feeling you won't
have any problems talking me into it, considering how close I was to giving
in earlier."

Allura recalled that earlier discussion, and became serious for a moment.
"Keith, about that plan we were talking about involving the Space Mice...."

"I won't do it without their- and, now that you know about it, your- full
co-operation," he declared.

Allura smiled slightly.  "Good.  But what I was going to say was... I know
that we need to conduct this surveillance- especially now with our Voltron
out of commission- and I even now realize that they're probably the only
thing we can send at this point.  So... if they're willing to do it, I want
you to send them out."

"I won't put them in any more danger than I have to," Keith promised.

"I know," Allura said, smiling, as she lay down flat on her back.  "Good
night, Keith."

"Good night, love," he said.

* * * * *

Jeff found himself awake much earlier in the morning than he had expected.
That largely had to do with the unfamiliar bed he had slept in- the
habitation quarters of the Explorer were temporarily shut down thanks to
battle damage, and many of the crew had been relocated to the Castle of
Lions.  Keith hadn't been too trustful of them, but he'd reluctantly agreed
when Coran saw how serious the damage really was and had explained the
Explorer's crew cabins were utterly uninhabitable.

Using a map to guide him through the unfamiliar halls, Jeff made his way to
the castle's cafeteria.  Much to his surprise, it was occupied despite the
early hour of the morning.

"Hi, Jeff!" Chip waved enthusiastically.  "Have some breakfast- best food I'
ve had since signing aboard the Explorer!"  Pidge, sitting across from him,
just grunted a hello as he fussed with a complicated-looking piece of
circuitry.

Jeff blinked.  "What are you two doing up so early?"

"Pidge is working on something to help us gain some intel on Planet Doom,"
Chip explained.  "I'm trying to help... though some of what he's working on
is over my head."

"Guidance system," Pidge muttered, inspecting his work with a pair of
special magnifying lenses.  "Mostly just trying to figure out why this
circuitboard isn't working properly."

Chip squinted, looking at his captain closely.  "Say, Jeff..."

"Yeah?"

"When was the last time you looked in a mirror?" he asked, his lips quirked
up tightly.

Jeff shrugged.  "I dunno.  I guess not since yesterday- why?  Do I have some
dried food on my face?"

"Uh, because you've got some lipstick on your face.  Not since yesterday?
Haven't you showered yet?"

Jeff's eyes widened.  "Lipstick?"

Pidge glanced up at him, removed the magnifying glasses, and nodded.  "Yeah,
looks like lipstick to me."

"Lisa's shade, isn't it?" Chip teased, trying to keep from laughing.  "And
you haven't answered my question- your shower?"

Jeff grimmaced.  "Uh, keep that lipstick thing to yourself, okay?  Lisa and
I haven't really talked about it yet."  He paused.  "And I was going to grab
something to snack on before I showered, but now I think I'll change my
mind."  With that, he bolted out of the room to a set of teasing whistles
and catcalls.

* * * * *

Lisa blinked herself awake.  The bed she was sleeping in was a LOT more
comfortable than her typical hard mattress on a bunk in a sparse 8' x 8'
cabin aboard a spaceship where the artificial gravity sometimes wasn't to
her liking.  She had been sleeping deeper than she had in ages- partially
because she'd been so worn out from the battle that she (like much of the
rest of the Voltron crew) had gone to bed without even bathing or changing.
She felt safer in the castle walls than she ever had in the Explorer- in
space, there was always the chance a meteor or something would puncture the
hull, and she always had to stay half-awake in case some sort of emergency
arose.  On a planet's surface, however, she was much safer.

That was probably why she didn't notice the intruder until they were already
at her bedside, and that was also probably why she was so annoyed when that
person decided to shake her awake.

"Time to get up, missy," Nanny burred.

Lisa blinked up at her.  "I don't remember asking for a wake-up call," she
said blearily.

"It takes some time for a lady to get presentable, so I and my staff get
every lady visitor up at this time," Nanny explained.  "We used to wake the
Princess up now, as well, but since she's gotten married she's forbidden us
to enter her room until she calls for us.  Now come on, come on.  I'm
drawing a bath for you, and that'll help you perk right up."

Lisa rolled over, pulling the covers tighter around her and shutting her
eyes closed.  "I'd rather sleep in- I don't need to look presentable."

"Come, now- every lady needs to look presentable," Nanny cajoled.  "If you
don't, how do you expect to catch the fancy of a male admirer!"

Lisa grinned, refusing to open her eyes again.  Forgetting in her sleepy
daze how confused she was about the issue, she replied, "Already got a man.
Don't need any more male admirers."

Without missing a beat, Nanny countered, "Then you need to be sure you keep
him!  Come on, up, up!"

Finally, one eye peaked open at the older woman.  "There's nothing I can say
to get you to leave me alone, is there?"

"Her Highness, back shortly after I returned following our Voltron's
restoration, once threatened to have me tarred and feathered if I didn't let
her sleep in for just five more minutes.  That didn't stop me then- what
makes you think you can stop me, now?"

Lisa shook her head in disbelief.  "The girls who visit this castle must
hate you."

Nanny harrumphed.  "They may, but that's my duty.  And I like to think most
of them appreciate the efforts.  Now, come on- no more delays!  Up!"

Lisa groaned, finally opening her other eye and sitting up.  "Fine, fine.
Since I'm already awake, I might as well.  But from now on, let me sleep in-
it's a rare thing that those of us on the Explorer are allowed more than
four hours sleep between shifts, and I want to enjoy it while I can."

Nanny felt a twinge of guilt hearing that, but suppressed it.  "If you tell
me what time you want to get up in the morning, that's fine.  But I won't
neglect my duties- and my duties include getting you all clean and ready to
impress that man of yours!"

Lisa blushed slightly, sliding out from under the rest of the sheets.
"Oops- I don't think I should have told you about that.  It's still very
early in our relationship, and I don't think we really want anyone else to
know until we sort some things out between ourselves."

Nanny guided Lisa on her way to the bathroom.  "Och!  I know better than to
gossip.  Come, come- let's get you clean.  Phew!  And the first step to that
is to get you out of that uniform- I can still smell the stench from your
battle yesterday!"

Stripping out of the smoke-stained and worn Voltron Sea Team jumpsuit, Lisa
nodded.  "It's not just my uniform.  One of my monitors caught on fire when
that robeast exploded, and it singed my hair."  She fingered the damaged
ends lightly, sighing.  "I might want a slight trim after my shower."

"Shower?" Nanny said as if she hadn't heard of the word before.  "We offer
much more than a shower in this castle!  Now, you take care of your morning
toilette and I'll just send these clothes down to the laundry."

Lisa gasped slightly.  "Oops! I was so tired I just came straight to bed- I
was planning to pack out my room today, but forgot about clothing!  Could
you see if Cinda or Ginger packed some clothes I could borrow?"

"Mm," Nanny hummed noncommitally, inspecting the uniform.  "I'll be right
back to help you in the bath."

"I don't need-"

"I said I'll be right back.  Now, hurry up!  I'm coming back in whether you'
re finished or not!"

Lisa's eyes widened, so she rushed to finished before Nanny got back.  She
was still brushing her teeth, however, when the nursemaid returned.

Nanny waited in the doorway, looking the younger woman up and down.  Lisa
felt very uncomfortable at her inspection- even though she was naked, it
didn't feel like something perverted or anything like that.  Instead, it
felt like she was being... evaluated... as if her flaws were being searched
out.

Lisa rinsed and spat, and before she could turn a powerful vice-like grip
attached itself to her arm and started dragging her in the direction of the
partitioned-off bath.  "Come along- I'll scrub your hair and back for you."

Lisa shook her head.  "But I-"

"No buts, young lady," Nanny snapped.  "You don't have a choice- as I said,
this is my job.  I've been doing this for countless women for the past
fourty five years, and I've never let a woman spend the night in this castle
without recieving some of my or my staff's special pampering."

Lisa unsuccessfully tried to shrug out of the older woman's grip.  "I've
never had someone else with me when I've bathed, before."

Nanny grinned fiercely.  "Then you're in for a treat- as I said, I've never
let a woman spend the night in the castle without my attention.  But almost
all of those women were of noble families.  This treatment is usually
reserved for a princess."

Lisa grimmaced.  "I'll remember that," she noted doubtfully.

Nanny guided her to a stool and made her sit down.  "Come, now- it won't be
so bad.  Most people enjoy this."  The shower was turned on, and to Lisa's
surprise it was ice cold.

"YIEEEI!" she shrieked, jumping back.  "That's FREEZING!"

The nursemaid steadied the girl with an arm to the shoulder and shook her
head in disbelief.  "For such valiant warriors, you space explorers are real
wimps.  Just sit right back down and let it rinse you off.  This won't take
long."

Lisa settled back into the bracing stream of water and closed her eyes
tightly, hoping she could endure the torture with a minimum of fuss.  After
a few seconds, she found that, while the water almost gave her a chill, it
was very refreshing as well.  Then, as suddenly as it had started, it
stopped.

"I'll give you that trim, now... then we'll shampoo your hair, okay?" Nanny
said.  Not waiting for an answer, she started the scissors going.  Lisa
trembled slightly from the cold, and the nursemaid noticed.  "So... tell me
about this man you've found that you don't think you need to be presentable
for."

"Do I have to?" Lisa whined.  Then she winced, realizing how much like
Ginger she just sounded.

"Nooo...." Nanny drew out the word with a sing-song tone.  "But you might
find yourself enjoying this more if you do."

Lisa pressed her lips together until they were just a thin line.  "I suppose
you'll just keep bugging me about him until I do, won't you?"

"Mmm," Nanny hummed noncommitally.

"I thought so," the younger woman sighed.  "His name is Jeff."

"Jeff?  Isn't that the name of that young captain who organized your ship's
resistance to the supposed invasion orders?"

"The same man," Lisa said, struggling not to nod and ruin the haircut.  "We
actually organized the thing together... and we started sorting out our
relationship at the same time, which made everything complicated.  It felt
like the whole universe was collapsing around me at once."

Nanny clucked, inspecting Lisa's bangs.  "Poor girl.  But you made it
through it, and you say you no longer have to worry about looking
presentable, so surely it turned out all right!"

Lisa smiled slightly nostalgically.  "Well, it's a long story.  It was a
case of everyone else seeing that we like each other, but us being too
scared to say anything about it.  Then a friend of mine said that if I didn'
t do something about him, she'd find a way to embarrass us into doing
something.  That kind of spurred us into talking about it, and... well, the
only thing that we've resolved is that we want it to happen... just what,
and how we'll do it, we haven't talked about yet.  But we want it to
 happen."

"That's wonderful!" Nanny cooed, running a comb through her hair and
checking the length.

"We decided it just seconds before the battle.  He asked me if I wanted
something to happen, and then the alarm went off before I could answer.  It
was the second time he'd asked me, and the second time the same thing
happened, but he refused to go to his battlestation until he got my answer.
When I told him yes, he..." she blushed.

"It must have been a good kiss," the nursemaid teased, winking at her.

Nanny could see the blush extend its way down to the girl's belly button.
"Well, yes, it was."

Deciding the poor girl had enough embarrassment already, Nanny changed topic
slightly.  "So... what's this Jeff person like, anyway?"

"Hmm... as an officer, he's one of the best.  He and Keith were pretty
closely ranked at the Academy- I recall one rumor saying Keith wound up
being number one over him by a mere coin toss.  The best of marksmen, the
best of pilots, and pretty darn good at the hand-to-hand thing, too.  They
even SOUND somewhat alike, which really scared some people down at the
Academy who knew the both of them.  Jeff has a bit of a slur, though, that
comes from a minor injury he suffered to his mouth during a training
accident, but before that happened you wouldn't be able to tell them apart
from their voices."

Nanny paused, inspecting Lisa's hair again with the comb.  "I suppose they
pulled a lot of pranks thanks to that."

"Only on Lance," Lisa said.  "And only in retaliation for pranks played on
them.  But beyond their academic skills and their voices, there's not much
similar between them.  Their weaknesses are the exact opposite of each
other- Jeff is a bit impulsive whereas Keith is a little over-cautious.
Keith is authoritative and likes being in charge of everything, while Jeff
is more subordinate and democratic in his leadership style.  Jeff is also a
bit more expressive- I've never heard of Keith shedding a tear before- not
even at the death of a family member- but I've had to hold Jeff as he cried
once or twice.  There's more, but you're probably bored to tears by now."

"Nonsense," Nanny admonished, rubbing shampoo into the newly-cut hair.  "I'm
enjoying this.  And I imagine you're enjoying the chance to brag about your
man."

"Kinda," Lisa admitted.  "But I wouldn't exactly call it 'bragging.'"

"Close your eyes- I need to rinse, now," Nanny said.  The cold shower
started again, and soon the suds in Lisa's hair were running down the drain.
The flow of water was quickly stopped, however, when the suds were fully
cleansed from the hair.  "Okay, time for me to scrub your back."

Lisa flinched slightly at the gentle touch of the washcloth.  "Uh, before
you go much further, I should note that I'm mildly allergic to aloe.  I hope
the soap you're using isn't aloe-based."

"No, just normal soap and water."  There was a pause in conversation as
Nanny lathered up Lisa's back.  "Sounds like you and Jeff were getting along
fine even before you started sorting out your relationship."

"Eh?" Lisa said, straightening her back in surprise.

"You said you've had to hug him as he cried 'once or twice,'" Nanny
explained, setting down the rag she'd been using to lather the younger woman
up and searching through her supplies for something.  "Sounds to me you've
had a relationship for some time, you only just admitted it recently.  Oh,
lie down on your chest- I'm going to do a harder scrub."

Lisa shook her head.  "It wasn't like that, then.  It was just... he needed
a shoulder to cry on, and I was there."  She paused, then chuckled a little,
moving as Nanny had directed.  "Or maybe you're right- like I said, everyone
else saw how we felt before we did."

"Ah!  Here it is," Nanny said, pulling out a whitish-grey block of
something.  "Some people say this hurts, others really enjoy it.  However it
feels, though, your skin will never feel quite so soft and smooth
afterwards, I promise you."

"What?" Lisa asked, seconds before the nursemaid started scraping some kind
of gritty stone running up and down her skin.  "Ouch!  That... that's not
actually that bad.  It feels like someone scratching my back with their
nails... what is this?"

"It's pumice, more or less," Nanny informed.  "It's manufactured for
distribution the same way a pumice block is, but the material is slightly
different, and some say it has mildly magical powers.  One of the few beauty
products in the universe still unique to Arus."

"I like it now, but I fear it would hurt if you kept at it for long," Lisa
grunted slightly.  "How much longer will this take?"

"Done," Nanny said with one last flourished swipe.  "Like I said, some think
this is mildly magical.  The reason is that it takes almost no time to
finish with it."

Lisa smiled, feeling her back with one hand.  "I may ask if I can have some
of that to take with me when we leave here.  It's absolutely amazing."

"I'll pack some for you.  But note that you need to soap your skin before
using it, or else you risk it scratching your skin."  With a mere hand
gesture this time, Nanny directed the young woman to sit down at the bench
again.  "I need to rinse one last time, then you can go soak for a while."

"Thank you," Lisa said.  "You were right- I have enjoyed this."

Nanny winked.  "I told you.  Besides, every girl likes to get pampered now
and then- even hard-bitten space explorers."  She released the cold spray
again, and Lisa was quickly cleaned of suds once more.  "Now, go and enjoy
the soak.  Don't stay too long, though, or you'll get overheated."  She
walked out of the room as Lisa made her way into the steaming bathtub.  She
returned a moment later carrying a pair of towels and a robe.  "Here you
are- I'll make sure your clothes are waiting for you outside in the changing
room.  Breakfast is in an hour- the cafeteria is down the hall as far as you
can go on the right, take a left, and any one of the next three doors will
get you in.  Don't be late."

Lisa waved and smiled.  "Thanks again."

About ten minutes later, she got out of the tub before she started sweating
too much and ruined all of the cleaning work they'd done.  Wrapping her hair
in one towel and drying off with the other, she shook her head with chagrin.
Nanny was right- she did like having been pampered.  She had been given the
'royal treatment,' it seemed.  As she wrapped the robe around her, she
wondered if Cinda and Ginger had experienced the same or similar service.

She walked into the changing room, and looked around for her uniform.  It
wasn't there, but another pile of neatly-folded clothing was lying nearby, a
note attached to the top.  Frowning, she grabbed the note and started
reading.

"Lisa," It said.

"I know you asked for your uniform, but you have to remember you're off
duty.  And, when you're off duty is the perfect time to treat yourself like
a lady- something I tried to show you today.

"I also remember you saying you didn't need to be presentable for your man,
but I think he'd appreciate the effort.  So, here's a little something to
help you look and feel like a lady, while still hopefully drawing just a bit
more of his attention than normal.  I think you'll both like what I had
picked out for you.  (I got the measurements from your uniform, so don't
worry- it will fit).

"Have fun with Jeff!  (But not too much- it's not proper for a lady to do
certain things until she's married, after all!)

"-Nanny!"

When Lisa saw exactly what it was Nanny had picked out, a tear of
thankfulness came to her eyes.  "Oh, Nanny... you're SUCH a dear.  Allura, I
'm jealous that you have her with you."  She held the set of clothing up to
the mirror and smiled.  "Jeff, you aren't going to know what hit you."

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