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."


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