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

Chapter 4



Haggar entered the throne room of her two masters.  Zarkon, the King of
Doom (and a general nuissance, in her mind) was yelling at his son
Lotor.  Lotor was was a good soldier, but not really the great general
his reputation had claimed he would be, from what she'd seen- he lacked
the tactical creativity necessary to fight a war.



The topic of their argument appeared to have been forgotten, as Zarkon
was merely shouting insults in his son's direction.  She didn't really
care- she figured her news would be of more interest to the both of them
than anything they might be talking about.  She cackled slightly,
drawing the two fueding people's attention.



"What is it now, old witch?" Lotor snapped.  "You're interrupting a
private discussion between my father and myself."



"Hmm, yes," Haggar smirked.  "Well, I figure you might be interested in
this latest transmission we're recieving from Arus.  It may prove...
useful.  But if you think your 'discussion' is more important, well-"



"Quit babbling and show us!" Lotor cried.



"Very well.  But you may not be happy with this news, I warn you!"
Haggar crowed.



She waved her hands in the air, and an etherial picture of a news
broadcast appeared.  The picture was almost illegibly distorted, but the
sound was understandible.  "...coronation of our beloved monarch Queen
Allura.  She was married in a hastily arranged ceremony earlier today to
Vice Admiral Keith Lockhart of the Voltron Force, allowing this ceremony
to take place."



"WHAT!" Lotor exclaimed, infuriated.



"Shut up, Lotor," Zarkon ordered.  "Let me hear this."



"...unsure, at this time, if Vice Admiral Lockhart will be crowned King
as well- that option is up to Her Highness upon her coronation."



"Is your power weakening, Haggar?  Your images are so poor I'm surprised
we're able to hear what's going on," Zarkon complained.



"It is not my images, but their transmission, your majesty," Haggar said
with uncharacteristic chagrin.  "Some force is disrupting communication
throughout the whole Far Universe... I fear it is another magic user.
If it is, they are almost as powerful as I am...."



"And here comes our Queen-to-be, about to make a speech," the news
reporter said.  "Let's listen in."



Allura's features were indistinguishible beyond a pink and blond blur,
but the cheers of an assembled crowd could be heard as the broadcast
turned its microphones on her.  "My people!  As is traditional, I will
give you all one last speech before I become your queen."  She paused,
waiting for the renewed cheering to die down.  "You may be wondering why
this has all happened so suddenly.  My marraige, my coronation, and, as
we have said, an election as early as tomorrow to restore the Planetary
Council.  Well, I am merely officially establishing our government under
our former constitution, in preparation for the arrival of something
which may become a great burden for us.  It is a burden we must carry,
but it is a great burden nonetheless."



Lotor smiled.  "Hmm... I smell an opportunity brewing..."



"Perhaps, perhaps not," Zarkon said.  "Let us here what this 'burden'
is, first."



"A large fleet of Galaxy Alliance forces, escorting billions of
refugees, will be coming to Arus in a matter of days," Allura continued.
"I have been in contact with our ally, Planet Pollux, and together we
will accept as many of these refugees as we can.  These Alliance fleets
will then join with us in finally ending the threat from Planet Doom."



"If they truly believe they can harm Doom, they are in for a surprise,"
Zarkon bragged.  "We will anhiliate any force they can throw at us."



"The Vehicle Voltron team and over thirty thousand battlecruisers from
the Alliance will join our Voltron and Pollux's fleet in this endeavor.
And they will all be lead by my husband, who will become your new King,
Keith."



Lotor gagged.  "I can't believe she married that idiot."



Haggar looked uncomfortable.  "Your majesty, if they really will have
both Voltrons at once, as well as thirty thousand Alliance
battlecruisers, I don't believe our defenses will be enough.  We are in
serious danger."



Zarkon grimmaced.  "Are you sure, old witch?"



"There are many things which are causing me worry.  That interference,"
she gestured to the distorted picture, noting that the Arrusian reporter
was now speaking again, talking some nonsense about the tradition of the
coronation ceremony.  "Is perhaps just as dangerous.  But it is an
unknown threat, and we can do nothing about it.  We must deal with the
known one, first."



Zarkon sighed.  For some reason, he suddenly felt as if anything he was
going to do would be futile.  Still, he had to look as though he were
doing something, however ineffective.  "Very well, Haggar.  Prepare a
robeast...."



*          *          *          *          *



There was no reception after the coronation- it was decided that there
wasn't enough time to arrange a proper one after all.  Allura and Nanny
had mutually decided that it would be better to hold the wedding
reception simultaneously, and (so as to avoid disruption from the
arrival of the expected refugees from Earth) that reception would be
held in three days.  Romelle had already been told, and said that she
and Sven would be there.



"Well, Chief," Lance said, winking at Keith, "I think our duties are
done for the day, but your's and the Princess- excuse me, Queen's- are
not."



Keith shot an apologetic glance at Allura, an angry glare at Lance, and
then turned to the rest of the team.  "Not quite yet- we still need to
have a staff meeting tonight.  We need to discuss how we'll handle the
other Voltron if it shows up, and we need to do it now in case it
arrives ahead of schedule."



Lance backed down, and followed Keith and the Princess to a meeting room
with the others.  "Okay, chief- what's the plan?"



"Well, Allura, despite the reassuring words in your speech, I'm not
completely sure something won't happen when the other Voltron force gets
here."  Keith hesistated.  "We can't use our blazing sword if it comes
to a fight, guys.  We need to figure out some other way of beating
 them."



"We can't use the blazing sword?"  Hunk cried.  "But then what will we
do to finish them- it's almost impossible to handle an ordinary robeast
of Haggar's without the sword, and they're another Voltron!  Nothing
else we've got will do it!"



"That's my point," Keith said.  "The blazing sword will finish them.  I
don't want to do that."



Lance hesitated.  "Look, chief- I know Jeff's your friend and all, but
their blazing sword could finish US.  Their secondary weapons are even
better than ours- without the sword, they'll kill us in a fight.  Even
if THEY don't use their sword."



Keith shook his head.  "Their secondary weapons are NOT better than
ours.  We just don't do as much damage."



"Huh?" Hunk said, confused.  "Aren't weapons supposed to be able to
cause damage?"



"Of course," Keith said.  "But sometimes they're only supposed to cause
specific kinds of damage.  Without the sword, our Voltron is less lethal
than theirs is, but it was designed that way intentionally."



"Keith," Allura said.  "Perhaps you could explain what you mean.  Why do
you say our Voltron was designed to be less lethal?"



Keith smiled at her.  "Allura, haven't you even read your father's own
writings about Voltron?"  He shook his head.  "Listen, gang- I've been
studying this all for some time, and I've discovered a few interesting
things.  Voltron, as you probably all know, wasn't designed to come
apart initially.  It was after his first full-scale battle that Alfor
refitted Voltron to divide into the five Lion ships, when he realized it
was difficult for one ship, no matter how powerful, to hold off hundreds
on its own.  The lions were never meant to battle robeasts- they were
designed to battle fleets of enemy warships."



"I thought Haggar was supposed to have knocked Voltron to pieces, and
that's how the lions were formed," Pidge commented.



"She probably thought she did, because it was the first time the new
feature was exposed," Keith explained.  "Apparently, when Voltron is
formed, he only REALLY needs one person to pilot him.  One person is a
skeleton crew, but if you aren't going to split up into the lion ships,
that's all that's needed.  Voltron only had one trained pilot at the
time, and he was badly injured in the battle with Haggar.  The
autopilots of each lion directed them to return to their main base for
refueling, but to a person who didn't know that's what they were doing
it would have looked like Voltron had been destroyed."



Coran hesitated.  "I should point out that the one pilot mode is only
possible from Black Lion."



Keith's eyes flashed, and with a wicked grin he said, "As the Voltron
pilot at the time, you would know."



Stunned gasps filled the room.  "I, well... didn't want anyone to know,"
Coran said.  "By the time you all arrived, I was too old to continue
piloting, and I couldn't really handle things after my injury, anyway-"



"You don't need to explain, Coran," Keith said, waving him off.  "But
please, let me know if I get anything I'm about to say wrong."



"I will."



"Good," Keith said, breathing a sigh of relief.  "Now, as I was saying,
Voltron was initially designed to be a one-piece robot.  He was NOT
exclusively designed to battle robeasts, but to protect Arus from all
forms of danger.  He could fight, yes, but he could also put out fires,
irrigate fields, engage in emergency construction projects, take fresh
drinking water to drought-ridden villages by freezing it, carrying it
over to that village, and then melting it again with fire blasts.



"Militarily, he also had multiple purposes.  The blazing sword could
handle any robeast out there.  Voltron had so many other functions that
to design other weapons which were useful against robeasts probably
appeared unnecessarily redundant.  Instead, the other weapons were
designed for other purposes.  Some were meant to fight against multiple
weaker targets.  Others were designed to stun rather than destroy.  I
read in Alfor's books on his plans that he included one weapon because
it 'just looked dangerous,' even though he knew in combat it would
rarely be effective."



Allura chuckled.  "Hey, I remember him mentioning something about that-
but I don't remember what weapon it was!"



"The spinning razor blades," Coran said uncomfortably, still not happy
with having been exposed for his former job.  "I did actually later find
they worked well against heavily armored battlecruisers, but they weren'
t supposed to be used in actual combat when they were put in."  He
paused.  "They also were good enough to give me time to properly the
blazing sword.  I had to adapt my robeast-fighting tactics when some of
them were too fast for me to use the sword alone."



"Well," Keith said.  "That's totally unlike the other Voltron.  The
other Voltron, while it did have some non-combatitive functions,
practically could not be used in robot-form except to fight robeasts.
Three minutes is not long enough to put out forest fires or dig trenches
for irrigation or anything like that.  So, instead, the creators tried
to make sure EVERY weapon could damage something as powerful as a
robeast.  That is why I say the weapons on the other Voltron are not
better, just more lethal."



Lance nodded.  "Okay, I can see that.  But none of this matters- how are
we supposed to deal with the other Voltron if we can't use the blazing
sword?"



"We can't destroy them," Keith said.  "We all know those people- they
aren't blatantly evil, like Zarkon or Lotor.  They don't willingly
commit attrocities, like the Drule.  They're people who honestly believe
they're doing the right thing."  He sighed.  "We have to find some
strategy to immobilize them without killing them.  And THAT is what this
meeting is all about."



*          *          *          *          *



Jeff came back and sat down next to Lisa, carrying two cups of steaming
hot tea with him.  It wasn't very good tea, but in his limited
experience hot tea was the best thing to have after a good cry.



"Jeff, what are we going to do?" Lisa asked, sipping from her cup.



Jeff shook his head.  "Well, we can't just not launch our ships.  That
was what I thought we could do first- just stay in the Explorer, and not
go out.  The problem with that is that SOME of our orders really do need
to be followed.  We need to clear a path for the refugee fleet, and I
can certainly understand the rationale for establishing a temporary
Galaxy Garrison facility."  He paused.  "It's just the interfering with
Arussian independence that bothers me."



"Again, what are we going to do?" Lisa repeated.



"I think... we need to get some other people with us," Jeff said.  "We
need to be in position to stop our own Voltron from fighting theirs.  I
think you should handle that.  I think Ginger, Chip, and... maybe Rocky
would be good candidates from my team.  I dunno who in your team, though
I recommend NOT talking to either Crik or Shannon.  Crik already knows
what our orders are, and if he's going to do something about it he'll
work it out himself.  And Shannon... eh, he's a bit too much of a
hothead to trust with something like this."  He paused.  "I don't know
if you should talk to anyone from Ground team.  Cliff, like Crik,
already knows.  Cinda... I think Cinda would want to talk about it with
Crik, to be honest.  I don't know if the others would be willing to join
us...."



Lisa nodded.  "I can do that.  What about you?"



Jeff smiled tiredly.  "I'm going to violate our orders and break radio
silence.  Let Keith know what's going on- give him enough of a heads up
that he'll be able to plan to immobilize us instead of destroy us if it
comes to a fight."



"Okay."  Lisa felt her spirits coming back.  It felt good to have a
plan- any plan- even if their chances of success were debatable.
Standing up, she said, "Let's get started."



Jeff nodded, then glanced up at Lisa.  "Say, Lisa..."



"Yeah, Jeff?"



"I like your new look."



Lisa looked at him in puzzlement for a moment before remembering that
she'd gotten dressed up a little 'sexier' than normal.  She'd forgotten
all about having done that.  She blushed.



"Well," she said, stammering slightly.  Considering the flirty smirk on
Jeff's face, it looked like he was slowly going back to his old self.
She wasn't really comfortable with what she was about to say in
response, but he deserved it.  Or maybe she did.  "I was willing to use
any weapons in my arsenal to get answers from you.  Thankfully, I didn't
have to use this one," she said, gesturing to her outfit.



Jeff gaped at her as she stormed out of the room.  Was she implying what
he thought she was?



*          *          *          *          *



The strategy session was winding down.  Keith looked from person to
person, hoping to keep the meeting going.



"Does anyone have anything else to add?" he asked, hoping desperately
the answer would be yes.



No-one said anything for a moment.  "Nope.  Time for you and the queen
to perform your wedding night duties, your Majesty," Lance quipped.  "Go
on, get outta here.  Have fun."



Keith looked downright uncomfortable at that suggestion, but Allura
merely looked slightly embarrassed.  "Let's go, Keith," she pleaded, her
face flushing brightly.  "It's time."



Well, that was a request he couldn't turn down.  "Um, right. Lion
practice tomorrow is cancelled- we don't want to disrupt the elections
by causing a disturbance with a flyby."  He got up, but wasn't quite
willing to leave just yet.  Allura cleared her throat haughtily, causing
the others to start chuckling.  That spurred him to action.  "Meeting
adjourned."



Allura stood up herself, offering him her arm.  He took it, and they
started out the door.  When they got out of the door and rounded the
corner, however, Keith started leading them.  Allura was somewhat
surprised- they had agreed to move into her stateroom together.  Had he
forgotten?



"Keith?" she asked.



"We're going to the medical facilities, first, Allura."



That surprised her.  "Why?"



Keith smirked slightly.  "We're obliged to have kids one day- to provide
the throne with a royal heir.  I don't think now is the time to attempt
that, though, considering you still are needed as a pilot for Voltron.
If you got pregnant, you'd have to leave that post.  I don't think that'
s what you want, either."



"Oh!" Allura gasped, concern written on her face.  "But... what can you
do to stop it?"



Keith paused, looking at her oddly.  "You don't know anything at all
about birth control, do you?"



"Birth control?"



He sighed.  "Great.  Um... maybe we'd better talk to the doctor about
that.  I guess it's not something you're supposed to need to know,
considering that as a member of royalty you aren't supposed to try and
avoid getting pregnant."



"Keith, when WILL we try and have kids?" Allura asked.



Keith didn't say anything for a while.  "When the war is over, I
suppose."



"And if the war is never over?"



Keith laughed softly.  "Why does this remind me of another conversation
we had?  One where I promised you we'd try and work our feelings out
when the war was over?"  He sighed.  "As I said then, the war may never
end, Allura.  We may never have peace.  But there is bound to be a time
when there will be long enough of a break in the action that we can
relax, enjoy ourselves, and allow our love to run to its natural
conclusion."  He paused.  "And that natural conclusion will be to have a
baby.  Maybe a little princess.  One we won't want to grow up.  One who
will steal the blue lion and terrify the Voltron force's commander a
number of times...."



Allura was starting to smile.  "Could be a little boy.  One who will try
to be a slave driver, but will really be a big softy at heart.  One who
will bring hope to some young woman on a far off world simply by being
there to help."



"Whatever they become, Allura," Keith said, "They'll be ours.  And I
want to give our children a chance at peace before we make them... so
let's go to the doctor, so we can discuss options."  He paused.  "Unless
you don't want to... tonight.  It might be better if we don't- if we
hold off until we actually learn a little more about each other.  Like I
suggested earlier."



Allura stiffened.  "No way, Keith.  I don't want there to be any chance
of someone declaring this marraige invalid."  She started storming off
in the direction of the medical bay.  "Come on, Keith- let's get this
doctor's visit over with."



For some odd reason, seeing the steely determination in her eyes, Keith
felt he was in for the night of his life.  He hoped he could survive it.



*          *          *          *          *



The doors to the bridge of the Atropos swept open, allowing Space
Marshal Graham to enter.  Captain Seiroku spied him a few moments later,
and jumped slightly when he saw him.



"Sir!  We weren't expecting you on the bridge... welcome, welcome!" he
said, using sweeping hand gestures to emphasize his invitation.  "What
brings you up here?"



Graham waved him off.  "Mostly just the instincts of an old captain who'
s long since regretted the day he accepted promotion to desk duty.  You
run a tight ship, Mr. Seiroku."



"Thank you, sir."



Graham paced up to the command station, joining the captain.  "So, what'
s our position."



Seiroku sighed, typing a few things into a keyboard to bring up a
starmap.  A blinking light was identified as their position.  "We've had
to detour around an ion storm- I already contacted Galaxy Garrison to
warn them about it- and so we're still twenty-nine hours away from Arus.
Estimates show that the Explorer will be at Arus in twenty hours."



"Damn... any chance we'll be in communication range by the time the
Explorer arrives?"



Seiroku shook his head.  "You'd need a much more powerful transmitter to
make ANY sort of transmission through the interference we're detecting."



Graham thought about that for a moment.  "How much more powerful?"



Seiroku looked startled.  "Um, I... I don't know.  Does it matter?  We'
re not getting anything more powerful anytime soon."



Graham studied the starmap.  "Hmm..."  He typed a few keys.  "Well, that
might work out.  It's tight, but we might have enough time... Mr.
Seiroku.  Let's change course."



"Sir?"



"Planet Pollux is twenty hours away at full speed.  We'll have to
immediately establish a connection with Arus using their communication
systems- which, if I'm not mistaken, are some of the most powerful in
that region of space."



"I don't recommend that, sir," Seiroku said, swallowing uncomfortably.
"We'll lose two hours if we are unable to establish communications from
Pollux."



"If we don't get in touch with someone on Arus before the Explorer
starts trying to follow the counterfiet orders it was sent, it won't
matter at all.  Set course for Pollux, and hurry- we don't have time to
waste!"



Seiroku sighed, stepping away from the Space Marshal.  "I was hoping we
wouldn't have to do this.  Men!"  He snapped his fingers, and
immediately three other bridge officers had grabbed Graham by the arms.



"What is going on here!" he cried.



"Sorry, Mr. Graham," Seiroku said.  "I'm afraid I cannot follow your
orders.  See, I happen to be under the command of the man who issued
those 'counterfiet' orders."



Graham's eyes widened.  "Who are you working for?  The Drule?"



Seiroku sniffed disdainfully.  "Please.  Give me some credit- I know the
Drule would turn on me the moment I was of no further use to them.  We'
re AGAINST the Drule."



Graham shook his head, not understanding.  "But then why would you want
to destroy Voltron?  Why are you doing the things we hate the Drule for,
like removing the independence of Alliance member planets?  Why-"



"Do you really want to know?" Seiroku said, smirking.  "We aren't trying
to DESTROY Voltron- we're just trying to see how they fare against each
other.  We're studying them in combat situations against equal
opponents... so we can build more advanced Voltrons.  Arus?  We don't
REALLY intend to take its independence, we just wanted to ignite
conflict."



"But-"



"We intend to do everything in our power to anhiliate both the Doom and
Drule Empires," Seiroku continued, overriding Graham's questions.  "If
we have to sacrifice Earth, Arus, and both current Voltrons to do it,
well... so be it.  But we WILL defeat them- even if it requires us to
use their own tactics against them.  And we will eradicate the Drule
race from the universe forever."



Graham stared at the man for a moment.  "There is no point in destroying
the Drule if we become them."



Seiroku sighed.  "It is a matter of survival, Mr. Graham, not of lofty
impossible-to-reach ideals.  Our survival versus theirs.  And the people
I work for believe that our survival is more important."



"I will fight you.  So will both Voltrons, once they find out what you'
re up to," Graham said.  "Not all of the Drule are evil.  Genocide is
not the answer to their sins."



Seiroku didn't say anything.  Turning away, he walked to the viewscreen,
and waved to his men.  They started leading Graham off the bridge.



"That's where you're wrong, Mr. Graham," Seiroku said once the Space
Martial was taken away.  A lone tear ran down his cheek as painful
memories of a young red-headed woman assaulted him.  "The only way for
them to atone for their sins is for them to die."

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



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