Lance flopped onto the sofa in the rec. room, thankful that no one was around.  He grimaced slightly, remembering the message his Uncle, Admiral Arthurs, had sent him.  It had basically told him to keep his head down and stay out of the way when he came to do the inspection of the Alliance forces in Arus, including the Lions.
     His Uncle found it disgraceful that he hadn’t been promoted, or moved on with his career.  It wasn’t good enough that he was second in command of the Voltron Force; to the Admiral he’d always just be the Black sheep of the family.
     Only Lisa… his throat closed up and it was difficult for him to breath as he leaned forward, head in his hands, elbows on knees.  It was still hard for him to deal with the way his twin had died.
     “Lance?”
     He looked up to see the Princess kneeling beside him, wearing her blue flight suit.  She looked slightly worried.
     Letting out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding he smiled slightly at her, “I’m fine Allura.”
     She straightened up, unconvinced.  “Alright… I’ll leave it at that.  But Keith’s looking for you.”
     Lance laughed bitterly.  “Can’t get along without me can he?”  Seeing Allura’s eyes widen slightly and let out a long sigh.  “Sorry… So where is he?”
     Allura eyed him a second before standing.  “In the Central Control.”
     Flashing her a quick grin he hopped to his feet and gave her a mock salute.  “Well I’d better get going before our Commander and Chief sends out a search party.”
     He watched Allura give him a soft smile before he turned, leaving her by herself.
     Thankfully he found the halls virtually deserted, everyone to busy making sure the military supplies and vehicles including the spacecraft were fully operational and at a hundred and fifty percent.  The thought reminded him of who they were preparing for and he felt himself grimace distastefully.
     “Is something wrong Lance?”
     Lance stopped so suddenly he nearly lost his balance and turning slightly he found a boy a little shorter than himself, wearing a green flight suit, much like his own.  “No, uh, nothing important anyway.  Aren’t you supposed to be in the hanger Pidge?”
     The brown-haired boy grinned.  “Already finished.  I’m heading to Castle Control.”
     Lance blinked, “So am I.”
     He watched as Pidge’s eyes widened and then he chuckled slightly.  “I think you over shot it.  It’s back the way you came about four doors.  Whatever you were thinking sure took your mind away, didn’t it?”
     He felt his cheeks burn but grinned sheepishly at the younger boy.  “Oops.”
     He was rewarded by another burst of Pidge’s laughter.  Green Lion’s pilot grabbed a hold of his own, tugging him in the right direction.  “Come on.  Keith and Coran have been running us ragged for the Admiral’s arrival.  You know, everything has to be just right or else.  I think they’ve decided it was the Lion’s turn and lucky us, the Lions equal the pilots.”
     Lance felt his grin slip, no one not even Keith knew of the relationship between Admiral Arthurs and himself.  Sure, Keith and Sven knew he was related to AN Admiral but they didn’t know WHICH one.  And no matter what he did he knew that it would never be good enough to impress his Uncle.  It made him thankful that his Uncle had no children of his own.  If he had had children the boy would probably have been anal-retentive, a psychopath, a mass murderer or all three.
     Absently he let Pidge drag him to mission control, much weighing on his mind.
………………….
     Lance listened attentively as Keith relayed the rumors that the trade ships had been reporting.  Supposed activity of the Drule in the Omega Sector, Keith had asked for a volunteer to check it out.
     And Lance couldn’t believe his luck.  His Uncle wanted him out of his hair and here he had the perfect opportunity set right in front of him.  “I’ll do it.”
     Keith looked up, slightly surprised but it turned to a look of weary acceptance as Lance spoke.
     “Look Keith.  You can’t leave because you’re the Commander of Voltron Force as well as Arus’s army.  The Princess is necessary for diplomacy and being the hostess while he’s here.  And both Pidge and Hunk are needed here to head up the mechanics and engineers.  But any of my duties can be covered by any one of you.  And to send anything but a Lion out there would be suicide.  Because if someone goes out there they may have to fight and the other space fighters don’t have the necessary fire-power but… the Lion’s do.”
     Keith didn’t seem to like the idea, that was mainly because he was over-protective, but Keith’s hands were tied and Lance knew he had no real choice.
     So he watched with very little satisfaction as Keith’s eyes met his and let him know exactly just how much he hated the idea, before doing what any leader in his position would have done, and nodded his head in reluctant agreement.  “Alright Lance, you got it.”
………………………..
     Standing next to the Red as they prepped her for launch, Lance waited for Keith to show up and give him the lecture he knew he’d get… The only really good thing about the whole deal was that he’d be leaving an hour before the Admiral actually showed up.  So maybe running away seemed like the cowardly thing to do but the way he looked at it he was doing his very best to avoid a highly tense and stressful situation.
     “I hope you’re happy.”
     Lance jumped slightly as he turned to face his best friend.  “About what?”
     Keith frowned, “You’re going out there alone Lance.  This could be a highly dangerous situation… I know that you love risks but I hadn’t wanted you to be the one to go.  I might have been able to convince Coran and Allura to send a squadron….”
     “And risk upsetting the Admiral?  No, I don’t even think YOU could have managed that one Keith.  Heck, not even I could have managed that one.”  Adjusting his helmet in his arms he gave Keith one of his honest smiles.  “Look this works out the best.  Red has the firepower needed if there is trouble, but there probably won’t be.  I’m just scouting, not engaging.  Not to mention it gets me out of dressing up and prancing around in front of the Admiral like some prize stud.  You know as well as I do that I don’t do well in a diplomatic atmosphere, I’d only have ended up causing everyone extra trouble and Nanny would have probably ended up having a heart attack.”  Seeing Keith wasn’t convinced he became serious.  “Look, if any trouble arises I’ll call you before I even let the first shot go.  I promise.”
     Keith sighed.  “No hero stuff?”
     “Not unless there’s no alternative.”
     The older young man shook his dark head.  “I suppose that’s the best I can hope for.  But if you get hurt, I’m going to nurse you back to health just so I can kill you.”
     Lance laughed and punched him lightly in the arm.  “You got it fearless leader.”  A mechanic called to him from Red Lion and Lance gave Keith one more cocky grin before sliding his helmet on.   “I’ll see you soon.”  With that he went to his Lion and entered the cockpit.
…………………
     Lance watched his monitors as he neared the sector the ships had mentioned….  It seemed awfully quiet but he hit the thrusters and moved further into it, wanting to take his time on this mission.
………………….
     Keith stood at attention with the other pilots of Voltron.  The Admiral had readily dismissed the other troops, saying that he’d watch their practice drills later and that he wanted to inspect the famous Voltron Force first.   Keith eyed the man up and down; he had brown-cropped hair that was just started to go gray and stern blue eyes that seemed like ice.  His face was shaved smooth except for a distinguished mustache that hid part of a scar that went over his cheek.  There wasn’t an ounce of fat on his broad frame, only muscle, and his uniform was pressed and utterly impeccable.  It was obvious he was a hard man to meet the expectations of.  Keith hoped he didn’t have any children.
     The Admiral looked them up and down before coming back to him and looking him dead in the eye.  “I was under the impression that there were five Lions.  That would entail five pilots, wouldn’t it?  And I believe that I only count four… The other pilot, lieutenant Lance Braddock, is not present.   May I enquire the reason as to his absence?”
     Keith didn’t like the knowing way he used Lance’s name, or the gleam of certainty that had entered the man’s eyes but he answered the question as he would any other superior officer.  “He was sent on a scouting mission to the Omega Sector.  We have had reports from ships passing through the area of Drule activity and thought it a precautionary measure to have it checked out, sir.”
     The Admiral smirked, “Is that the story you’ve come up with Captain?”
     Keith blinked in surprise.  “Sir?”
     The man clucked his tongue.  “Oh, don’t pretend you don’t know anything about it Captain.  I come to inspect the troops and my only living nephew, second in command of Voltron Force, just up and goes on a scouting mission?  Spineless… that’s what that boy is.  Can’t even get his career on the right track…”
     Keith choked, “Lance is your nephew…”
     He let his gaze drift over to the others and could see their shock as well.  Lance hadn’t told any of them.
     He wasn’t the only one who noticed their reactions.  The Admiral had as well and he was wearing a frown.  “You didn’t know?  But I thought that he had used my name to get to be part of the Voltron Force.”
     Keith only managed to look at the self-indulged man in disbelief, and it was actually Allura who spoke.  “Lance would never do anything like that.  He earned the position he has, by himself.  He would never accept charity.  Not from anyone.”
     The Admiral watched her blankly but tilted his head to the side slightly when she didn’t waver under his gaze.  “You think highly of him Princess?”
     Allura’s face set in determination.  “He’s a good man, a great pilot.  He’d risk himself for you in a second, without hesitation.  He’s one of the few honorable and kind-hearted people I know.”
     The Admiral’s lips twitched upwards.  “But….”
     Allura’s cheeks reddened,  “But… he tends to joke around a lot and take unnecessary risks at times that could get him killed.  He’s just a little too impulsive at times.”
     The older man nodded.  “THAT is the boy I used to know.  Funny how he managed to gain you’re respect though.  Tell me, do you all feel that way?”
     Hunk cleared his throat, “He’s smarter than he let’s on, and he’s helped me figure out a problem or two with the engineering.  He can be a pain in the neck, but I wouldn’t trade him for anyone else…. Sir.”
     Pidge nodded his head, “He’s saved my life a few times and he’s always ready to listened to me complain about stuff, and he always knows when I should be taking a break cause I’m tired.”
     Keith nodded curtly.  “I wouldn’t have anyone else as my second sir.  He may not like to lead but when it calls for it he’s good at it.  Voltron just wouldn’t be Voltron without Lance.”
     The Admiral seemed to think about that for a second before looking at the Lions.  “I’d like to inspect Castle Control now, if you don’t mind Princess.”
     Allura, caught of guard managed to regain her footing quickly, “Of course Admiral follow me.”
…………………………….
     Lance was starting to get bored.  It seemed as nothing had actually been happening in the Omega Sector after all.  That is until his cockpit sirens started going off and the red light began flashing… Someone had targeted him.
     He quickly spun out of the way, just as a blast shot by causing the Lion to rock.  Blips started appearing on his screen, coming from behind a fair sized moon.  A LOT of blips.  Only one word came to his lips as he fumbled for his radio.  “Shitshitshitshitshitshit.”
………………………..
     Having not been dismissed, Keith, Pidge, and Hunk followed the Admiral and the Princess into Castle Control.   And barely two seconds later the screen flickered with an incoming message that sounded throughout the room and made Keith’s stomach clench as he recognized the slightly panicked voice.   “Castle Control, this is Red Lion.  I have a MAJOR confirmation in the Omega Sector.  Many hostiles.  WAY too many to count….”  He watched as Lance was knocked around the cockpit.  “Back up would be a REALLY good thing about….”
     Just like that the transmission ended in white fuzz and the entire room was deathly silent for a moment.
     Keith broke free of his momentary paralysis and didn’t even look at anyone as he turned towards the door.  “To the Lions.”
     He was stopped by a hand on his arm and turned to look into the Admiral’s eyes.  The old man swallowed hard.  “H-he took this assignment to avoid me… I-I was… Please bring him back safely.  He’s the only family I have left.”
     Keith squeezed his shoulder for a second.  “He means a lot to all of us Admiral.  We’ll do our best.”  With that he turned to the others.  “Let’s go team.  I want us in space two minutes ago.”
…………………….
     Lance was one of the best.  He knew it, everyone else knew it, but with the number of enemy he was now faced with he knew that talent would never be enough.  All he could do was try to take out as many as possible and survive until the others arrived… that was if they received the message in the first place…  Glancing down at his sparking radio, he knew without a doubt that he wouldn’t be able to send another message.
     Red lights still flashing he neatly rolled out of the way as a ship fired at him, waiting until the ship in front of him fired and effectively taking them both out without a single shot.  Absently he wondered if dealing with his Uncle wouldn’t have been better.
……………………..
     Keith was pushing the Black Lion as fast as she would go.  The others keeping pace with him, but it would be at least another twenty minutes before they made it to the Omega Sector.
………………………
     Lance pulled out of a roll sharply, firing two missiles.  One to counter the one the Drule ship had shot at him and the other to take out said ship.  And no matter how many ships he took out, his screen remained one big blip.  The shots kept getting closer and he wasn’t sure how long he was going to be able to keep from getting shot.  He had luck.  But even he didn’t have THAT much luck.
     He started darting in and out of the ships.  Making it difficult for them to target him without the possibility of hitting their own ships.  It was an attempt at stalling but he was quickly running out of ideas.  If he got moved into the open, they’d all fire and at least one shot would hit its mark.  But he wasn’t about to roll over and play dead.  If this was it he’d take some of them out with him.
     His mouth dropped open when the ships started firing at him despite his proximity.  They were destroying each other just to kill him.   A shot hit the Red Lion and sent him forward, so that he smashed his helmet against the console, breaking the face and cutting his forehead above the eye.  Blood flowed freely from the cut, and into his eye.  Angrily he removed it in one fluid motion and wiped the blood away.  Trying to focus on his screen.  He was in trouble.
……………………….
     Keith spotted the area of the fight while they were still miles away.  It was kind of hard not to.  “Okay guys let’s take out as many of them as we can before we find Lance, when we do… its Voltron time.”
     “You got it Captain.”
     “Understood Keith.”
     “Time to have some fun.”
     Keith dove into the fray, trying to find Red Lion in the mess of ships that filled the area.  If Red Lion’s radio was operational he would have just contacted Lance but it was broken or Lance would have called them long ago.  He just hoped that his friend had managed to hold out against them.
     He was just starting to think Lance had been taken out when he caught sight of a blip on his screen that was flying in a familiar way, and despite himself he grinned in relief.  “So there you are Lance.”  Hitting his thrusters he contacted the others letting them now the coordinates where Lance was.
…………………..
     Lance looked up and out of his cockpit, and stopped before laughing as he saw Black Lion approaching from one direction and the other Lions from various others.  Slumping back into his seat for a moment he found himself grinning ear to ear.  “Oh yeah, it’s Voltron time baby.  You Drule are so through.”
     He watched as the others started to move into formation and quickly followed suit.  He knew the timing by heart even if he couldn’t hear Keith’s instructions and at the same time as the others he hit the interlock and relaxed as the Red Lion became the right arm of Voltron.  He figured that the sword would be the first thing Keith would use.  It would do the job the quickest, so he punched in the codes and waited as Voltron formed the Blazing Sword… Keith was just too predictable; of course at a time such as the present, that was a good thing.  He watched as the sword took out nearly ten ships in one swing, and another ten when it swung back.   But suddenly the red lights flashed in his cockpit again.   And he saw a blip on his screen, a missile, heading straight at the Red, the Drule were trying to take Voltron out using its weakest point.  There wasn’t anything he could do but brace for impact.    Luckily Keith had seen it coming, because the eye beams shot out and destroyed the missile, unfortunately it had been too close to the Red and Lance was thrown around the cockpit.  And without his helmet on, his head made contact with the hard metal and everything went black.
……………………
     The Princess wasn’t sure how she knew but she knew there was something wrong with Red Lion, or the pilot.
     “Pidge?”
     “Yes Princess.”
     “Run a check on Red Lion.  Tell me if there’s anything wrong?”
     There was a pause before the young genius looked back up at the screen, worried.  “There’s no imput coming from the Red at all.  That doesn’t make any sense, because so far Lance has been constant in sending instructions.  The only thing that would prevent him from sending them is…”
     The Princess looked glum, “If he were unconscious.”
     As Pidge nodded she opened a channel to Keith, who looked at her seriously.  “What is it Allura?”
     “I have reason to believe Lance is hurt Keith.  I would suggest you take control of the Red.”  Before he could protest Allura continued.  “If I’m wrong I’ll take full responsibility and Lance’s wraith, but if I’m right and we don’t do this.  We could all be in danger.  It’s better to be safe than sorry Keith.”
     Keith stared at her a moment.  “Alright.  I’m taking control of Red.”
…………………………
     Lance’s head was pounding and he was vaguely aware of hands moving him, of voices wavering around his head.  But for some reason he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, instead he gave in to the darkness and slipped back down into oblivion.
…………………………
     Keith stood with Dr. Goma, the other pilots and a very worried Admiral.  The Doctor was concerned that if Lance didn’t wake up soon, he’d have an excellent chance of ending up in a coma.  Keith knew better and as he walked away he looked over his shoulder.
     “He’ll be awake in a few hours.  He’s got a hard head, I know, trust me.”  But despite his words he couldn’t keep a slight tremor from entering them.
…………………………
     Lance forced his eyes open and nearly choked when he saw his Uncle, uniform actually wrinkled, coat undone, sitting in a chair next to his hospital bed, sleeping.   Not quite sure of his eyes he rubbed them with his fists and blinked owlishly at the sight.  Thinking he was still seeing things he struggled to sit up and groaned in pain as his head throbbed.
     “Lance?  You’re awake.”
     Feeling off-balance he looked up at his Uncle and swallowed hard.  “Yes sir.  I have a thick skull, it takes a lot to knock me out for good.”
     He watched in disbelief as the Admiral actually smiled at him.  “That’s what your friend Keith said.”
     Lance shrugged, “He’s known me for a while now.”
     There was a sudden strained silence that filled the room and seemed to way them both down.  But it was the Admiral who cleared his throat.  “Um, Lance, I… I may have misjudged you.”
     His head snapped up, eyes as wide as saucers, but he didn’t dare speak.
     The Admiral continued to talk, staring at the floor.  “I’ve talked to quite a few people around here, of varying rank and when ever I spoke harshly of you… even if it had meant court marshal to them, each and every one of them defended you.  They admitted you could be annoying, impulsive, brash, and loud… but they also hold a high respect for you, your abilities, and surprisingly your personality.  Most, including the Princess, admire the way you follow what you believe even if it means you’ll get in trouble for it.   It seems that they know that no matter what you do, your heart is always in the right place.”
     “I’ve come to understand that Keith believes you could move on quite quickly if you wanted to.  He says that you can lead as well as he can, but he’s told me that you don’t want to… Is that true?”
     Lance looked at his hands, “I’m happy where I am sir.”
     “They need you.”
     Lance stared at the Admiral only to find the older man was staring at him as well.  His Uncle smiled slowly, “You don’t realize that do you?  They do need you nephew.  They count on you, and they worry about you… so do I… I mean you’re only sixteen… Do they know that?”
     Lance blushed, “Only Keith and Sven.  No one else does but you and Ditch.”
     The Admiral once again stared at the floor.  “I-I just wanted to tell you that I’m, uh, I’m proud of you Lance.  For your age you’ve done remarkable.  To have earned the respect of so many in so short a time is something very few people can do.”
     Lance blinked at him, “Uh, t-thanks.”
     With that the Admiral stood up, fixing his uniform.  “I should be on my way.   Just… take care of yourself son.”  And than he was gone, leaving Lance to stare after him.
     There had always been an invisible line between them, a line neither had ever dared cross and yet, with his own eyes and ears he’d just witnessed his Uncle cross it.  “You too… Uncle.  You too.”