-------------------------

Chapter 3



"Maximum force?" Lisa exclaimed.  "As in- we may have to use our Voltron
against theirs?"



Jeff sighed.  "NOW do you see why I was so upset?"



When she'd confronted him, he initially refused to tell her anything.
She pleaded with him for knowledge, and he kept going back to 'orders'
as to why he couldn't tell her.  Finally, she decided she'd just ask him
how far off her guess was.



He'd agreed to that- reluctantly- and so she told him her theory.  Pidge
had gone renegade, making the Lion Voltron inoperative until his Green
Lion could be recovered.  They were sent in to backup Arus until the
Green Lion was recovered.  She was completely wrong, but at least it
inspired Jeff to finally open his mouth.



What he'd told her in response was considerably worse than she'd feared.
Essentially, they were being ordered to conquer a friendly planet,
possibly going head to head against another Voltron piloted by their
Academy colleagues, most of whom had graduated higher in their class
than they themselves did.  Jeff, perhaps, stood a chance in a one-on-one
dogfight against most of them... if the odds were otherwise even.  Each
Lion Ship, though, was as powerful as the Stratofighter.  And, if it
came down to a battle of Voltrons... well, Arus's was the original
Voltron.  Their own was comparably a bad copy with only a fraction of
the more advanced technology.  Arus's could remain in Voltron mode for
an indefinite period of time, theirs only had five minutes.  She could
go on, but she didn't want to think about it.



"If we actually do this, are we any better than the Drule?" Lisa asked
wistfully.



"No," Jeff stated bluntly.  "But orders are orders.  And we probably
wouldn't get away with it if we broke these orders."



Lisa stiffened.  "So... you're just going to go through with it?
'Sorry, my best friend from our Academy days, but we've got to go
against everything we believe in, kill you, and ransack the planet you'
re sworn to protect- orders, you understand.'  Is THAT how you want to
handle this?"



Jeff was across the room and grasping her by her shoulders in an
instant.  "Lisa, calm down, you're about to get histerical."



"Calm down?  Calm down!?" Lisa snapped, glaring at him with tears in her
eyes.  "Dammit, Jeff- we don't stand that good a chance against them,
you know.  They'll kill US, unless we sneak attack them- so I figure we'
re going to be stabbing them in the back, without even letting them know
why.  And you're telling me to CALM DOWN!?!"



"Yes," Jeff said sadly, letting her go.  "Because I'm not able to handle
it, myself.  I need you to help me through this... to help me figure out
what to do."



The despair in his voice broke through her anger, and Lisa couldn't help
but feel her heart go out to the man.  He- and the other officers, come
to think of it- had been having to keep this horrible secret bottled up
inside.  It was clearly tearing Jeff up inside, eating away at his usual
care-free exhuberance.  Without thinking, she wrapped her arms up around
him, trying to comfort him and be comforted herself.  His arms returned
the favor, and soon they were crying on each other's shoulders.



*          *          *          *          *



Keith was only half paying attention to the discussion of the upcoming
coronation ceremony with half an ear.  He was never very good at
planning ceremonial stuff- or, at least, non-military ceremonial stuff.
That was Nanny and the Princesses' forte.  Instead, he was paying his
attention to his blushing new bride.



No, that's not quite right, either.  He'd started out paying attention
to his new bride, but now he was paying much more attention to the
little space mouse on her shoulder.  While changing from her bridal
gown, Allura was aquired by the pet rodent as a nice fun ride for him
(her?  Keith was unsure if all the blue mice were males and all the pink
females or not), and the little mouse decided to come along as she made
the rounds with Nanny.



Keith's mind was working on something it was far more efficient at then
blending the appropriate amount of modern and traditional protocol to be
followed in the ancient ceremony they were about to partake in.  It was
working on battle plans.



Keith only had a week or so to develop a method for invading and utterly
anhiliating the Doom Empire in the shortest amount of time possible.
The problem was, there just was not enough information on his opponents.
As much time as he spent fighting them, he'd never been able to figure
out a method of collecting espionage which seemed safe.  Now,
remembering a certain incident or two involving a certain group of pet
space mice, he was starting to come up with something.



Or perhaps it was true that once you were promoted to flag rank, you
were automatically granted everything you needed to know about
developing fleet tactics and that sort of thing.  At least, that was the
old theory he and Jeff had come up with in the Academy.



Keith was uncertain how he felt about meeting Jeff this time.  They were
good friends, or at least had been back in the Academy, but Keith was
uncertain that he and Jeff would be on the same side this time.  He
sincerely hoped that a battle could be avoided, but for some reason that
seemed unlikely right about then.



"I'm not sure.  What about you, Keith?" Allura said to him.  Both she
and Nanny were looking at him, expectantly.



Blinking, he realized he had no idea what she was asking him about.  He
hadn't been paying enough attention to follow the conversation, and now
he was being called on to make a decision.  Rather than admit weakness,
he decided to give a neutral answer.



"Um, whatever you think is best would be fine," he said.



The Princess frowned.  "I was asking you if anyone on the force was
allergic to shellfish.  Keith, don't you care about this?"



Keith winced.  "Sorry, Princess.  No, no-one is."



"Keith, I'm your wife.  You DON'T need to call me Princess any more,"
she said sternly.



"Er, sorry, Allura.  Habit," he apologized.  "And I DO care about the
ceremony, but coronations weren't covered at the Academy, which is
making it difficult for me to follow this discussion.  I'm trying to pay
attention, but sometimes what you're talking about goes over my head."



Allura relaxed slightly, but still didn't look happy.  "Okay, I can
understand that.  But why didn't you say something?  I'm sure there are
other things you can be doing right now- I won't be offended if you can'
t help me, here, and so go to deal with some of the other problems we're
having."



Keith flushed.  "Well, we just got married.  I don't WANT to do anything
else right now- and really, there's not much else I can do at this
point.  I can't make any plans until we get the government officially
established here, and Coran is already dealing with planet Pollux."



Allura was about to reply when something occurred to her, derailing her
train of thought.  "Say, Keith- did we remember to let Coran know that
Sven and Romelle eloped?"



Nanny, who also hadn't heard about that, blinked.  "They ELOPED?  A
princess can't elope!  That's just not proper!"



Eyes twinkling with amusement, Allura said, "Well, Romelle did anyway.
And I couldn't be happier for them- they deserve a break."



Nanny raised her hands and eyes heavenward in frustration.  "But she's a
PRINCESS!  Oh, what's this universe coming to?"  Turning her attention
to Keith, she asked, "Tell me, how exactly is it that you space
explorers keep snatching up all the eligible royalty?"



Keith smirked.  "I believe Allura once quoted Romelle as saying, 'the
universe is scarce of worthy princes nowadays.  Men who act princely are
good enough.'  Bandor's too young- and a relative besides- and the only
other real prince we've run into around here is Lotor, so I must say I
agree."



"But, still, royalty is expected to follow a certain set of guidelines.
And princesses marrying princes is one of them!" Nanny proclaimed.



Allura sighed.  "Nanny, there aren't any princes out there worth
marrying.  Or would you doom me and Romelle to dying as, I believe the
phrase goes, 'Old Maids?'"



Nanny finally relented.  "I suppose not.  But even if there was no other
choice for Her Highness other than to marry that hooligan, there should
have been a proper wedding!"



Keith scratched his chin in a melodramatic pose of thought.  "Hmm... I'm
a ruffian, and Sven is a hooligan.  Does that mean you think more of me
or less of me?"



Nanny was so flabbergasted she could only huff and puff a few times.
Seeing the expression on her governess' face, Allura could only laugh.
Trying to reign in her her laughter, the Princess said, "Nanny, you
really are pretty hard on the boys.  Considering how many times over our
lives have been saved by them, don't you think it's time to promote
them?  At least up to scoundrels, perhaps?"



Smiling ruefully, Nanny straightened up and self-consciously
straightened her clothing.  "I suppose that wouldn't be too much to
 ask."



"Good.  Then let's get back to planning this coronation," Allura said.
Turning to Keith, she said, "I know you said you wanted to stay with me,
since we just got married, but since you find all this talk so
incomprehensible, perhaps you could go help Coran work out the Earth
refugee plan, instead?  That sounds more like the sort of thing you
enjoy, anyway."



Keith hesitated.  He genuinely did not want to leave her on their
wedding day... though for some reason it didn't quite feel like their
wedding day at the moment.  "If you're sure you don't want me around..."



"Of course I want you around," Allura said, smiling softly at him.  She
reached over and grabbed his forearm, giving him an affectionate
squeeze.  "But not if you're just going to be bored.  Go and help Coran-
that's just as important."



Keith felt like kissing her would be appropriate before saying goodbye,
but he also felt uncomfortable with public displays of affection-
especially considering the current company.  Nanny was standing right
there, looking at the both of them, so he just sighed and nodded.  "I'll
see you later tonight, Prin- ah, Allura."



Giving his arm one last squeeze, the Princess released him and nodded.
"Go."  He turned to leave, and as he walked away she continued, "And
while you're gone, practice calling me by my name, okay?"



*          *          *          *          *



"Steele!" Space Marshal Graham snapped, entering the other man's office.



"Yes, sir?"



"Any progress raising Arus yet?"



Steele sighed.  "Afraid not, sir.  Whoever it is who is doing all this
is still jamming us."



Graham thought for a moment.  "How long would it take our fastest ship
to get to Arus?"



"Hmm... Captain Nathaniel Seiroku commands the Atropos.  According to
him, they've souped up the engines of his Lancer-class light cruiser
enough that he could make the trip in approximately thirty-seven hours,
sir, assuming they didn't run into any difficulties."



"And how far away is the Explorer from Arus?"



"Thirty two hours, I believe, sir."



"Hmm... prep the Atropos for launch.  I want it ready in five minutes."



"But it won't get there in time to stop a conflict, sir," Steele
reminded him.



"No, it won't.  But it can probably get me close enough to break through
the jamming," Graham sighed.



Steele's eyes widened.  "You, sir?  But then who will direct the
evacuation?"



Graham grinned darkly.  "I'm sure that, between you, General Warren,
and... Commodore Desaix, wasn't it?  I'm sure that, between the three of
you, the evacuation will go smoothly.  I'm going to take care of the
more difficult job- making sure we have some place to evacuate TO."



"Yes, sir," Steele said.  "I'll contact Captain Seiroku immediately."



*          *          *          *          *



"Hey, Chief.  Bored of the Princess already?" Lance asked as Keith
joined his team-mates and Coran in Castle Control.



"Hardly.  Just figured I'd go where I was more useful, so she and I
could have some free time together a little sooner."  He glanced up at
the blank viewscreen.  "You guys talk to Pollux already?"



Lance shook his head, getting serious for a second.  "No.  There's some
kind of interference.  We aren't sure if we're being jammed or if it's
something natural, but at the moment we're more concerned with breaking
through it, whatever it is.  Pidge thinks he can boost the gain enough
to open a channel in a few minutes."



"That's odd," Keith murmured.  "Well, when we're done here, I'm going to
have another job for Pidge, but it can wait until we've taken care of
this."



"Any chance that Lotor's behind this jamming?" Lance asked.



"There's a chance," Keith considered.  "I'm almost hoping that it is,
actually.  If it IS jamming and ISN'T Lotor, then... well, I can't think
of who else it would be besides the Alliance.  And if it's the Alliance,
then they're planning to take over Arus regardless of whether we have a
government in place or not."



Lance stared at him briefly.  "Keith... went did Arus become 'us' and
the Alliance become 'them?'"



Keith smiled slightly.  "Arus became 'us' the moment I swore fealty to
the Princess.  The Alliance might not have become 'them' at all- but if
they plans to ignore the independent government of Arus, they will be.
And if they're jamming our ability to communicate with our local allies,
then they're planning something."  He paused.  "Now I'm very glad I'm
here.  I think when we get through I should alert Prince Bandor to get
his fleet on call, and to keep open a constant line with us.  We may
need his help... or he may need ours."



Lance looked at him seriously.  "Do you think you could take us against
the whole Alliance?"



Keith snorted.  "Not while they've still got the Explorer and their
Voltron.  The Vehicle team may have some problems, like the connection
time limit, but they're still a match for us.  Supported by a fleet as
large as the Alliance has, we're doomed if they go against us."  He
paused.  "And, according to their own reports, the Explorer is going to
be here the day after tomorrow."



Lance paused, taking all that in.  "If they're giving you information
like that, then why do you assume the Alliance is planning to invade?"



Keith frowned.  "Oh, I believe Space Marshal Graham has no intention of
attacking us.  I trust him.  It's the politicians on Earth that worry
me- they're allowing the Alliance to fall apart around them.  Why?  How
did Earth suddenly become indefensible, when it has been the most
powerfully defended planet in the known universe for decades?  Voltron
wouldn't be able to penetrate the automatic defenses of Earth, you know-
not without a battle fleet to back it up, at least.  So, this sudden
decision makes no sense."  He paused.  "I also trust Jeff... and even
Hawkins and Newley.  They're good men.  But the Alliance may have lied
to them, told them we're being unreasonable, demanded that we be 'dealt
with.'"  He shook his head.  "I trust Arus and Pollux, because we're
good people and so are Sven, Bandor, and Romelle.  But Earth
politicians... I dunno.  Who made this decision to abandon Earth?  They
haven't told us, you know."



Lance nodded.  "Those are all good questions, Keith, but... why would
the politicians want us divided?  Isn't a unified Alliance better for
all of us?"



Keith pondered that.  "I'm not sure.  I've got a few ideas, but-"



"I've got it!" Pidge's enthusiastic cry rang out from under the
bulkheads that made up the communications equipment.  "Comm link ready
to be established.  Arus to Pollux transmissions are now available in
both secure and non-secure modes."



Coran nodded.  "Good work.  Now, let's get things started, shall we?"



"Make it secure," Keith suggested.  "We're going to be discussing things
we don't want anyone else to find out."



"Of course, Keith," Coran said.  "Secure line now open."



It took a few seconds for Pollux to respond to the signal, but it was
fewer than they had expected.  Standing their, on the viewscreen, were a
very happy-looking Sven and a madly blushing Romelle.  They were further
apart than was typical for them and their clothing was somewhat
disheveled- and, in Sven's case, lipstick-stained- but they were still
looking fairly attentive.



"Hi, guys!  We've been trying to get through for hours, but there's a
magnetic storm somewhere between us cutting us off," Romelle chirped
overenthusiastically.  "Glad to see we finally got through."



Keith relaxed slightly.  If it was a magnetic storm, it might still be
Haggar, but it was unlikely that the Alliance was trying to block their
communications.  "Glad to see you, too.  We weren't sure what it was
that was interfering," he said, stepping up to be situated better in
their viewscreen.  "I think you have some news for us, and then we'll
also have some news for you."



Romelle frowned slightly in mock disappointment.  "Well, I'm afraid my
little brother spoiled our news, but we'll let you know anyway- besides,
there were a few details he didn't know at the time."



"We have yet to let Coran know of that message, Your Highness," Keith
noted.  "So I give you back the enjoyment of letting him know your
little secret."



Romelle nodded approvingly.  "Thank you, Keith.  Coran, we've got a
surprise for you.  A few weeks ago, Sven and I, um, eloped."



For a brief moment, the normally inflappable Prime Minister of Arus was
startled enough to allow his mouth to fall open in a gape.  With a great
amount of mental exertion, he quickly reasserted control, however, and
returned to his normal, stiff pose.  "Congradulations, Your Highness.  I
am greatly heartened at the news that you two have found happiness
finally, after such incredible hardship."



Romelle laughed.  "Well said, Coran.  Well said."  She paused.  "And
now, I wish to invite you all- and my dearest cousin, wherever she may
be, to the celebration of our wedding.  As the plans stand now, in their
roughest stage, we will be holding this reception in three weeks time.
I sincerely hope you will come."



Coran's good humor vanished in an instant.  "Well, we shall do our best,
your highness, but it may be impossible," he said.  "We have a bit of a
crisis at the moment.  One which we will most likely need you and your
planet's help on."



The smiles on Sven and Romelle disappeared as well.  "Oh, dear- what is
the problem?"



Keith decided to take the lead and explain.  "We recieved orders earlier
today that the Alliance is destabilizing, apparently due to the Drule
conflict.  Earth has been declared indefensible and will be evacuated.
The refugee ships are being directed here, to Arus."  He paused, looking
into Sven's eyes.  He knew his old first officer would understand what
he was about to say.  "We're going to take in as many as we can, but
there is no way we can safely recieved all seven billion people on
Earth.  We will have to turn some away."



Sven recognized the problem right away.  "Keith, Arus' government-"



"Isn't yet officially independant, I know," Keith nodded.  "It will be
tomorrow- we've already set everything necessary in motion.  The
Princess will be crowned Queen tonight, and tomorrow elections will be
held for council positions."



"But Allura would have to get married first for that to happen," Romelle
said.  "Or did you find a way around that?"



Keith shook his head uncomfortably.  "Uh, not exactly.  See, that's a
piece of news we were planning to tell you- Allura and I got married
about an hour and a half ago."  He scratched the back of his head.  "We
didn't exactly elope like you two did, but it was a lot more sudden than
anyone was expecting...."



Romelle laughed.  "And here I was, afraid of the teasing my little
cousin was going to give me.  Well, this certainly ends that problem."



Keith, however, was not distracted from the point of this bit of news.
"At any rate, assuming the Alliance respects our independence, we were
wondering if we could direct some of the refugee fleet to Pollux."



"Of course," Romelle said, back to business once again.  "I'll talk to
my advisors, and let you know how many we can take in as soon as
possible."



Sven had his own concerns, as well.  "I vill talk vith Bandor, as vhell.
His fleet should be prepared vor battle."



Keith nodded, glad that there was someone on Pollux who knew exactly
what he wanted.  "Thank's, Sven.  By the way, Space Marshal Graham's
last communique told me that you had been promoted to Commodore, in
charge of all Alliance forces on Pollux.  His orders."  He paused and
grinned.  "You're still my subordinate, though.  I made it to Vice
Admiral."



"If ve are still on speaking terms vith ze Alliance when zhis is all
over, I vill be sure to thank him."



Keith nodded.  "I respect Graham enough to believe that even if the
Alliance betrays us, he won't.  So, I suggest you think about thanking
him regardless."



"Well," Coran interrupted, checking a clock.  "We have work to do- the
Coronation ceremony is in two hours unless Nanny has pushed it back in
her planning.  We're going to have to get Keith and his friends back
into their dress uniforms, and make other preparations for the event as
well."



"Of course," Romelle said.  "We'll keep in touch- even if you can't come
to OUR reception, I fully intend to come to yours, Keith."



Keith flushed.  "Of course."  He paused.  "Don't shut down the comm
link- though go ahead and change it to a non-secure line if you wish.  I
want to be sure we can call you or you can call us in a moments notice,
and as long as that link is up we won't have to worry about
electromagnetic interference surprising us."



"Vill do," Sven acknowledged.  "Good luck tonight."  With that, they
were transferred to a blank 'link-ready' screen with the Polluxian Royal
Symbol on it.



Lance snickered.  "Well, let's get through this last ceremony," he said,
trying to keep from laughing.  "And then we can all wish you and the
Princess good luck tonight, Chief.  You're going to need it."



-------------------------
David A. Tatum
http://davecon.anifics.com
desaix@anifics.com



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