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

Chapter 5



"I'm so embarrassed," Allura blurted out as she and Keith left the
medical bay.  Both of them were blushing badly.



"At which part?" Keith asked.



"Well, Dr. Gorma's whole explanation of what birth control is, and how
condoms work, was WAY too explicit," Allura winced.  "I mean, really!
Do I need to know ALL of that?  Or, if I do, do I need HIM to explain it
to me?"



Keith shrugged.  "I heard worse at school back on Earth.  And, trust me,
it's a lot better hearing all of that from a stranger BEFORE you need to
actually do it.  Makes things, uh, less awkward."  He paused as they
continued their walk.  "No, that didn't phase me.  But your FATHER'S
GHOST coming by and intervening when Dr. Gorma tried to prevent you from
using any birth control- that was REALLY humiliating.  Especially when
the good doctor actually ARGUED with him"



Allura smiled hesitantly.  "What was it father said that made him give
in?  'Just give them the goddammed condoms, Dr. Gorma,' wasn't it?"



"Yeah, that was it."



Allura laughed despite her chagrin.  "I've never heard father curse
before.  I think he was just as embarrassed as we were."



"Yeah," Keith said, scratching the back of his head.  "I've never seen
him, well, so NOT pale.  I didn't know ghosts could blush."  He waited
until they reached the privacy of Allura's room before saying anything
else.  "I can understand why you father wouldn't be comfortable in this
situation.  I wouldn't want to get involved in my daughter's birth
control decisions, myself."



Allura smiled nostalgically.  "Yes, well- he's always shown up when I
needed him the most.  I guess I needed him pretty badly just about
 then."



Keith hesitated.  "You know, Allura... you're the Queen now."



"Yes, Keith," she said smoothly, amusement in her eyes.  "I'm the Queen
now.  That's what this whole day was about, wasn't it?"



Keith frowned a little, showing a little distress at what he was about
to say.  "Have you considered what that might mean with regards to your
father, though?"



"What do you mean?"



Keith took in a deep breath.  He had to tell her this, even if he didn't
want to.  "Allura, Alfor might not be showing up much more.  With your
coronation today, and your government's restoration tomorrow, your
father will probably have seen all of the problems- or at least almost
all of them- that tie him to this world finally solved.  You may not see
even his ghost any more."



Allura went stone-faced as soon as the realization hit her.  She
staggered slightly, and Keith had to guide her to sit down on the bed
before she collapsed.  Her father's death had hit her hard, but somehow
she always knew his spirit was watching over her.  His ghost's
appearance time and again constantly reassured her as well, knowing he
was there to guide her.



But Keith's theory rang true.  Her father might really BE gone, soon-
just like her mother was.  On top of what was already a stressful day,
she almost couldn't stand it- she felt herself begin to pass out.



Suddenly, she found herself in her husband's arms.  "I'm sorry," he
whispered, letting her cry into his shirt.  "I didn't mean to upset you.
I shouldn't have mentioned it- especially not today, of all days.  I
might not even be right- he may continue to guide us for years to
come... I'm sorry."



Allura sniffed and shook her head.  "No, you were right- I needed to
know that.  And I'm the one who should be sorry- here we are on our
wedding night, and I'm sitting here weeping like a baby.  My father died
many years ago.  The passing of his spirit should be a joyous thing for
me, as it would mean he's finally found peace, and is free of whatever
pain keeps him here."



"It's okay to grieve, Allura.  He may finally find his peace, but you
must now take on the burden that he's leaving behind."



"And who said I was leaving you behind, anyway?" Alfor's voice boomed in
the room.  The young couple, startled, spun around to see the ghostly
presence standing at their door.  "Now, why are you two calling me back
on your wedding night?  I didn't just snap at my old friend, Dr. Gorma,
so you two could cry on each other's shoulders all night!"



"Daddy," Allura whispered, using a term of endearment for her father she
hadn't used since he was alive.  "Aren't you done raising me?  Can't you
cross over and be free of the pain of this world?"



Alfor laughed.  "What pain?  I like being able to come here and look
after you.  I fully expect to see your grandkids, one of these days."



"Your majesty?" Keith said, uncertain.  "What does tie you to this
world, if it isn't raising Allura into adulthood?"



"Please, Keith," Alfor said, waving the young man off.  "You are a king
too, don't forget.  AND you're my son-in-law.  No need for you to call
me 'your majesty' or any such formalities.  Just 'Alfor' will do.  I'd
even accept 'father.'  I think 'Daddy' would be a bit pretentious,
though."



"Okay... father," Keith said uncomfortably.  This was, by far, the most,
well, 'human' conversation he'd ever experienced with the spirit.  Alfor
's casual tones and quiet jokes were almost... disturbing.  "What ties
you to this world?"



Alfor paused.  "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest.  Whatever it is
ties my wife here, as well- though you cannot see her, she is everywhere
that I am.  I do know, however, that it is something which won't be
going away any time soon.  Somehow, I can feel that I'll still be here
for some time."



"I'm glad, daddy," Allura whispered, not able to meet her father's face.
"Your guidance means a lot to me."



"Now, now, my daughter," Alfor said.  "I'm glad to hear that, but you
don't need me.  Especially now that you have Keith.  With him as your
husband, I finally feel as though I can relax for a while.  You will
still want me from time to time, I know, and I will come when you truly
desire my presence.  Though if I'm called in during another battle or
similar emergency, I'll have to be my formal self, don't think I can't
come by to whisper some encouraging words or give a little advice if you
need personal help."  He grinned at the young couple.  "I can already
tell you there'll be problems with your plans to remain celibate for a
period after tonight.  I won't tell you that you two are making a
mistake, because I'm not allowed to do that, but I can say it will lead
you both to call on me for help, every now and then."



Keith considered that.  "Would it be a mistake to remain celibate
tonight, as well?"



Alfor sighed, looking at Keith in concern.  "Poor boy- you really are
too disciplined for your own good, aren't you?  I'll tell you now, if I
was in your shoes I'd forget this whole 'let's be celibate until we
really know each other' thing and just pretend you'd already gone
through all of that already.  And I don't know the future- not really-
but I know a few things about certain people.  And if I were you, I
wouldn't give Nanny a chance to anul your marraige so she can arrange my
daughter to some undeserving royal.  If I'm not mistaken, she's already
tried to convince Allura not to do this, but I can tell you that unless
you, ahem, 'bed' my daughter tonight, I'll have to intervene to stop her
from trying.  And Nanny can be SO tiring to deal with...."



Keith flushed.  "I can't believe you actually WANT me to sleep with your
daughter- most parents I know would throw a fit over this kind of
 thing."



Alfor smirked.  "I've already got my revenge, Keith.  See, I was allowed
to remain in this world in order to 'haunt' my daughter.  But now that
you're married into the family, I apparently can 'haunt' you, too.  So,
for the rest of your life, Keith, I'm going to be looking over your
shoulder...."



Keith groaned.  "Oh, great- as if Galaxy Garrison keeping track of
everything I do wasn't enough!"



"Now, son," he said, clapping Keith on the shoulder- a move which mildly
un-nerved the space explorer, as he couldn't feel anything from the
touch.  "As your friend, Lance, put it, it is time for you to perform
your 'wedding night duties.'  And don't worry- I will not be watching
for this.  Instead, I will be making sure no-one disturbs you this
night."



Allura sighed.  "Goodbye, Daddy."



"Good night, my daughter.  Um, enjoy!"



Keith and Allura both flushed again as he faded away.  They looked at
each other uncomfortably, not quite sure where to begin.  Allura picked
at her sheets, finally picking up the foil packets that Dr. Gorma had
given them.



"Keith, why are they labeled 'Trojans?'" she asked, genuinely curious.



Keith looked at her for a minute, trying to pick from a wide number of
possible answers to that question, then burst out laughing.  "Let's not
worry about that, okay?" he said, moving in to kiss her.



As promised, Allura's father had left.  Her mother, on the other hand,
kept watching until she was sure that the condom was put on correctly.
Sighing, she left as well- it looked as though she'd still have to wait
for grandkids, after all.



*          *          *          *          *



Cinda left the lunch line, carrying her tray full of, well, vaguely
edible products (she wouldn't quite call it food) and entered the main
cafeteria.  Most of the tables were full of her chatting colleagues.
Marvin, Mordock, Hutch, and Cliff- the other members of Ground team
Voltron- were sitting at one table playing some card game.  She
considered joining them until she saw Crik, Sea Team's captain, sitting
alone several tables away.  He did not look happy.



"Uh, oh," she said as she sat across from him.  "I've seen that look
before.  Okay, what's your sixth sense telling you this time?"



Crik grimmaced.  "I can't tell you."



That surprised Cinda.  Usually, whenever he had a premonition, he wouldn
't hesitate to let her know what it was about.  She could tell from the
look on his face that he'd had one- so why wouldn't he let her know?
"Why not?"



"Orders," Crik sighed.  "We can't speak to anyone about the mission, and
my premonition has to do with them."



Cinda pouted.  "Aw, come on.  Surely the orders can't be THAT secret-
there must be some way for you to talk around them, huh?  You really
look like you need some support for this."



Crik thought about it for a moment, then nodded.  "I'll try to.
Basically, though... my premonition is telling me to obey the orders we'
re given.  Which... I don't want to do."



Cinda nearly choked on her drink.  "What?!"



"I don't trust our current set of orders," Crik said.  "I don't like
them.  They are orders which direct us to do something which seems, to
me, to be against everything I joined this crew for."  He paused.  "I
wouldn't hesitate to disobey them for a moment, except... well, somehow,
I know that we have to follow them anyway.  Somehow, it will all turn
out alright in the end, I guess.  But for the first time I can remember,
I'm questioning my own sixth sense."



Cinda took a sip of her drink while she thought of an appropriate reply.
She wasn't sure what to make of his revelation that the orders everyone
had been wondering about were going against the principles of the
Alliance.  "Perhaps it won't matter whether you follow your orders or
not," she said finally.  "If they truly are as bad as you say they are,
perhaps someone else is going to stop them from happening."



"I don't like it," Crik said.  "If someone else is meant to stop this,
then why am I not to join them?  I just don't understand."



"Well, if you were to try to stop it, how would you go about it?" Cinda
asked, taking a bite of her 'food.'



Crik considered that question.  "I might not launch my fighter."



"And what if that is the wrong move?" Cinda asked.  "What if someone
else has a different way of stopping this, one which could be more
successful in preventing... whatever it is you don't want to do?"



"If we launch, Cinda, we WILL be committing an attrocity," Crik noted.
"There will be no turning back from that point."



Cinda frowned.  "Is that your head or your sixth sense telling you
 that?"



"My head," Crik admitted after some contemplation.



She stopped eating and locked eyes with him.  "Your head is telling you
to stay in the ship and disobey orders.  Your heart is telling you to
follow those orders.  Crik, which do you really think you should believe
in?"



Crik stared at her for a moment.  Finally, he lowered his head.  "My
heart."



Cinda smiled.  "Then follow your heart, Crik.  It WILL work out.  You
have to know it will."  She stood up- she couldn't eat any more of the
'food' that had been served.  "But if you're still worried, there's
always one thing you can do."



"What's that?"



"Go work out.  Play some games.  Have fun.  Relax," Cinda said,
stretching sinuously.  "If you want, I'll join you.  But get your mind
off of these problems that you know will solve themselves."



Crik eyed her for a moment, then let a smile of his own play on his
lips.  "Hmm... I think I'll take you up on that."



*          *          *          *          *



Lance smiled.  He was going to enjoy this.  In his hands, he carried a
report which was of relatively little significance.  All it said was
that elections were underway across Arus, and that they were on-schedule
to have the results late that night... not that the results needed to be
all that timely.  All that was needed for the government of Arus to be
officially re-established was for the voting to be completed.  The
report was important, in one sense, as it said that things were
proceeding as planned.  However, there was nothing in it that needed
immediate attention.



However, it was the ideal excuse for Lance to enter the royal suite and
awaken the newly married couple.  It would be fun to embarass Keith by
walking in on him and Allura while they were, if not engaged in intimate
acts, at least in some form of compromising position.



It would be the perfect way to get him back for that time back in the
Academy, when the then-Cadet Squad Leader Keith burst into his room to
rouse him for morning drills.  Lance didn't need 'rousing' however, as
he was engaged in a rather... physical... encounter with Ginger from the
Vehicle Voltron team.  Keith had never apologized, claiming that it was
Lance's fault for not paying attention to the clock (which, he pointed
out, was an important part of subterfuge, a necessary skill to carry on
an affair in the Galaxy Garrison Academy).  Well, Keith was supposed to
be getting up right at that moment, so now he could return the favor.



"Do NOT involve my daughter in your petty attempts at revenge," a voice
came from the door he was about to open.  Lance jumped back, startled.
Alfor appeared in front of him, arms crossed and looking rather upset.
"Your complaint rests with my son-in-law, not my daughter.  I will not
allow you to involve her to be caught in the crossfire of some juvenile
antics dealing with events which happened before either of you had ever
met her."



Lance swallowed.  He was never comfortable around Alfor- the whole
concept of ghosts disturbed him in general- and now it seemed the damned
spirit was reading his mind!  "Um..." he hesitated.  He wasn't sure if
there was anything Alfor could do to him if he went in anyway, but who
was he to challenge the undead King of Arus?  "Uh, okay, your majesty.
I'll, uh, see you later."



King Alfor shook his head as he faded away.  The poor boy never even
realized he'd been talking to himself.



*          *          *          *          *



Ginger smiled as Lisa approached her.  "Hi, Lisa!  Haven't seen you
since you were on your way to 'interrogate' poor old Captain Jeff.  So,
how'd it go?"



Lisa grimaced- she knew Ginger was going to tease her for that outfit.
ESPECIALLY after she found out why she'd been wearing that outfit.  In
this case, however, it might just work out.  "Actually, I'd like to talk
about that in private, okay?"



Ginger squealed.  "Ooh- sounds juicy!  Sure, let's go to my quarters- I
want to hear all about it!"



Lisa winced, but followed the overexcited girl to her cabin.  Taking a
seat on the bunk, Ginger smiled.



"Okay, girl- I want DETAILS," Ginger grilled.  "What happened?  I gotta
know!"



Lisa sighed.  "Well, it isn't what you're thinking of, I can tell you
that.  I almost wish it was!"



Ginger raised an eyebrow.  "Almost?"



Lisa laughed.  "Okay, I DO wish it was.  Hell, I wish it was almost
anything else.  See, I DID find out what our orders are."



Ginger frowned.  "Uh, oh.  I'm sensing that this isn't going to be that
juicy after all."



"No.  This is going to be something serious.  Deadly serious, in fact-
we're being ordered to eliminate Arussian independence.  Earth has been
abandoned, and Galaxy Garrison has decided that they'll move the entire
population to Arus whether that planet wants them to or not."



Ginger froze.  "We're invading... ARUS?!  No way- tell me you're
 joking!"



"Sorry, can't do that."  Lisa paused.  "That's why I wanted to talk to
you- Jeff and I have a plan.  He wants to have people in place to stop
us from fighting the Lion Voltron team.  I've already talked to Chip,
and he's in.  What about you?"



Ginger nodded.  "Oh, you bet I'm in.  You think I'd fight against
 Lance?"



Lisa smirked.  "I forgot about that.  You two dated for a while, didn't
you?"



"We'd still BE dating if we hadn't had such radically different
assignments," Ginger admitted.  "I wish we'd had more time together when
we were last at Arus- it would have been fun to resume it."



Lisa raised an eyebrow.  "I thought you were interested in Cliff, now?"



Ginger sighed.  "Well, yes, a little.  And he's interested in me, too.
But nothing's really going on between us, yet... not like it was between
me and Lance.  Cliff just moves too slow for me, I guess."  She paused.
"Anything going on between you and Jeff, yet?"



"Uh, well," Lisa stammered.  Nothing was- not really- but it was just so
difficult for her to talk about.



"Something IS- isn't it?"



"No!" Lisa exclaimed.  Relenting slightly at the other girl's glare, she
admitted, "Well, we cried on each other's shoulders for a bit.  And I
sort of teased him when he FINALLY noticed how I was dressed, yesterday,
but only a little.  Nothing's really going on, though."



"You want something to happen, though, don't you?"



"A little."  Lisa blushed.  "But he isn't ever going to make a decisive
first move and I'm too shy to try.  It's just not going to happen."



Ginger clucked.  "Once things are settled on Arus and I have my Lancey
back, girl, I'm going to see to it that something DOES happen for you
two.  And in the most embarrasing way possible, so you might want to
make that move before I do...."



"Eep!" Lisa squeeked.  "Um, please, don't...."



"Too late, Lisa," Ginger cooed smiling.  "I've already got some things
in mind..."



"If I make my move first, will you PROMISE me you won't?"



Ginger considered the offer.  "Well, I promise you I won't do the REALLY
embarrassing ones, anyway.  But I think you'll really enjoy some of the
others, so we'll see about those."



Lisa sighed, turning to leave the room.  "I guess that's the best I
could expect, huh?"



"Of course.  What are friends for?"  Ginger grinned.



"Fine... I'll do it.  But give me at least a week after we're settled on
Arus, okay?"



"Just enough time to snare Lance again!" the other girl chirped in
delight.  "Perfect!  One week it is.  But you'd better hurry up- I've
got some awfully cruel ideas in mind if you don't."



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



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