Keith, Lance, and the last member of their group, Lieutenant Sven Van Voorst, entered Arusian airspace cautiously, each in his respective fighter. They kept their eyes on their scanners, not allowing the slightest flicker past their intent gazes. The small Alliance fighters were nearing the coordinates given to them by the Arusians. They were told to wait there and they would be picked up, but that plan didn't sit well with Keith. He didn't want them stationary for too long while in a red zone.

To their surprise, the ground seemed to open and swallow up, and their fighters were slowly being lowered into an underground hangar. It had not showed up on their sensors, which Keith was sure was the whole point, and he found himself mildly impressed.

"That was pretty cool," Lance remarked.

They got out of their ships to be met by a young woman dressed in dark clothing, flanked by an older man. He looked welcoming, but she didn't--she looked annoyed. Keith was surprised at the emptiness he saw in her big blue eyes and and it made his heart go out to her. But it didn't look as if she wanted his sympathy nor any one else's. She regarded them all with a lofty air, her regal bearing intimidating. This was a young woman who knew who she was and used it to her advantage. Even though her expression looked as if it was set in stone, Keith could see that underneath the grime that covered her face, she was very beautiful.

"Commander Porterfield," she said, nodding in Keith's direction.

"Princess," he said, bowing slightly at the waist.

If Keith was taken aback by the sudden animosity, he didn't show it. He merely stared at her and said flatly, "Don't worry, Princess. You look breathtaking as you are."

She looked at him with surprise, not knowing whether he was being sarcastic or not because the look in his face was a study of innocence. She smirked.

"My advisor, Coran, will show you to your quarters," she said. "Try not to make yourselves nuisances while you're here."

With that parting shot, she turned brusquely on her heel and headed out through the already opened doors. They turned to Coran, unsure of what to say. He smiled at them.

"Welcome to ARF headquarters," he said as if Allura had not already welcomed them.

"Thank you," Keith replied.

"What was her problem?" Lance inquired, looking where she had exited. "That is not a pleasant woman."

"You'll get used to her," Coran said. He lifted an arm towards the door. "Shall we?"

Keith and Sven exchanged a look. This was going to be an interesting stay. They followed Coran to the three adjacent rooms that would be their living space for the time being. Keith entered his room. It wasn't much bigger than his quarters on Galaxy Garrison and it was empty except for a bed and a desk. He stored his bag in the closet and went back out in the corridor. Coran had told them they had to make a visit to the main control room, or the main, as he put it, and Keith did not want to waste anymore time. The inactivity of travel made him restless and he was ready to get some real work done.

"We have to enter your information into the computer so you can walk around here freely," Coran explained as they made their way down the long, bright corridor. "I'm sure you've noticed the need for identification at every door. The Princess insisted on it."

"A good idea," Keith said thoughtfully.

They reached the control room and Keith looked around. Their computers were souped up and thrown together from spare parts as far as he could tell, but a quick glance at the stats flashing on one of the screens told him that they were just as good, if not better, than the ones at the Garrison. He ran a hand over one of the control panels and felt an itch to sit down and poke around their networks to see what was going on. He fought back the urge and admired the smoothness of how everything seemed to flow together.

Whoever put this together must have been a genius, he mused.

Coran sat before the master computer. He typed in a command and a light pad with the outline of a hand appeared on one of the panels on the board. It lit up.

"Place your hand on it, Commander," he told Keith.

Keith did as he was told and waited until the computer scanned his hand before he removed it. Sven and Lance followed.

"So what do we have access to?" Sven asked.

"You have level three security access, one being the highest, four being the lowest," Coran replied. "Level three access allows you into the lounge, the mess hall, docking bay..."

"Which is basically a step up from a child's access," Lance interrupted. "Come on. How are we supposed to help if we can't go anywhere?"

"The Princess' orders were that you be given this access. The last Alliance officer nearly blew us up with his foolishness. She's not willing to trust without proof, Alliance officer or not."

Lance opened his mouth, but Keith gestured for him to shut it. He was one of the few people that Lance would obey, though that was still seldom. Fortunately, Lance decided it was one of those times.

"If you would like, I will give you a tour of the facilities," Coran offered.

"Actually, I would like to get something to eat," Sven said.

"That sounds good," Keith said.

Coran nodded. "Follow me."

He led them to the large mess hall. In the center of it was a long steel table with long benches on either side of it. A smaller room was to their left. It was probably where Allura and her top officers ate. It was brightly lit as well to make up for the lack of sunlight. Coran gestured for them to sit at the bigger table.

"Nanny will bring you your dinner," he said. "I must take my leave of you. I have other duties to attend to."

"Thank you for your help, Coran," Keith said formally.

The older man smiled and left. The three officers were then left to wait for the said Nanny to show herself. When she finally did, a short, rather rotund, woman, she pushed a cart heaped with dishes. Lance rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

"Hello," she greeted curtly. "Eat fast. It vill get cold."

"No prob--"

She was gone before Lance could finish his sentence. He shrugged and began lifting dishes from the cart. They dug into the steaming food. Surprisingly, considering the Arusians' limited resources, the food was delicious. Keith couldn't even remember the last time he ate something this good. Lance shoveled spoonfuls into his mouth and didn't appear to taste anything at all.

"Haven't had food this good since I went home," Sven said between chews.

Keith bit into a piece of chicken. Normally, he was a careful eater, but he hadn't had an appetite since his troubles began. Now, since he was close to their end, he found his hunger return. He swallowed the last bit and took a drink of water.

"So, what do you think of the Princess?" Lance inquired, his eyes not leaving his plate.

"Not Princess-like at all," Sven answered.

"She's had a hard time," Keith said with a touch of sympathy. "You have to consider that. She's been doing this for so long that I don't think she knows what peace is. She didn't have a chance to enjoy her childhood."

"She definitely has a spike up her--" Lance began.

Keith cleared his throat. Lance chuckled.

"Sorry, chief," he said.

They finished eating and piled the cart up with the dirty dishes, not knowing what else to do. Lance stood and stretched.

"I don't know about you two, but I'm ready to turn in," he said.

"Sounds good to me," Keith replied.

"You're very quiet tonight, Keit," Sven observed. "Vat's on your mind?"

"Too many things most likely," Lance said, elbowing Keith lightly.

"I'm just tired is all," Keith said with a small smile that convinced no one.

Lance and Sven only exchanged knowing glances and followed their commander out the door. They headed towards their quarters, their steps slow by weariness. Lance stifled a yawn.

"I wonder what she has in store for us tomorrow," Sven said.

"Nothing, most likely," Lance replied. "She obviously doesn't want us here."

Keith fiddled with his cuffs. "I think she's just feeling territorial."

"Yeah, and I'm in this for the laughs," Lance scoffed.

Keith stopped in front of his door. "Be up by seven-hundred hours. I'll meet you in the mess hall," he told them.

"Aye-aye," Lance said with a jaunty salute.

They disappeared into their rooms. Keith changed into a pair of Alliance issue sweats. He hung the white dress uniform up in the empty closet and unpacked the rest of his clothes, mostly casual uniforms and sweats. He had few civilian clothes, not really having the need for them. He put up the few pictures and momentos he took with him. Finally, he settled down into bed and closed his eyes.

Allura stared down the conference table. Seated around it were her top officers, save Coran. They watched her, wondering why she hadn't dismissed them yet. They had gone over all the items she had listed on the itinerary, but still she sat there, making no move to leave. She tapped her finger idly on the table's surface, the one movement catching their gazes. Her lips were thinned to a line. Not a good sign.

"Have you found them yet?" she asked.

"We're still working on it, Allura," Captain Ryain replied. "We have a team searching through your father's archives as we speak, trying to find their actual location."

"Are you making any progress?"

"We think we know where the keys are."

"Then, I think you should get them," she said slowly, as if speaking to a child.

"We will keep you informed."

She stood. They got to their feet and stood straight as she made her way out. She marched down the corridor, her countenance thoughtful. She reached the main control room and entered to find it bustling with activity. Usually, it was only Coran, herself, and two other officers there and rarely did they bustle. It was with the addition of three meddling Alliance officers that the scene before her could be described as "bustling".

"Don't they have level three clearance?" she said, her voice low.

Keith looked up from the screen he was studying. "Coran let us in," he answered. "We thought that we should make ourselves useful."

She raised a blonde eyebrow. "I can tell you right now that you're far from useful."

The Arusian officer next to Keith opened his mouth to say something, but she silenced him with a quick look. He looked apologetically at Keith and turned back to his work. The commander gestured for his friends to follow him. Lance looked like he was about to chain himself to the steel post near him, but Sven grabbed his arm and fairly dragged him to the doorway. Allura opened the door for them.

"Thank you," Keith said, his eyes straight ahead.

"You're a joy to work with," Lance said with a saccharine smile.

She returned it with a withering glance, deciding that she liked that one the least. If she had to rank them, the commander came a close second, and finally the one with the weird accent. He hadn't said much to her but his presence was annoying; perhaps he was too good-looking. In any case, she could not wait until all three were off the planet. When they were gone she whirled on Coran.

"What were you thinking?" she demanded angrily. "I told you what I wanted and you deliberately disobeyed me!"

"I believe that you misjudge them," he answered in a maddeningly calm tone.

"Oh, really. And you decided this after only one day? Listen to me. We have to be more careful."

"As your Advisor, I advise you to rethink you decision."

She let out a frustrated breath and sat before the main controls. He stood behind her, waiting for her answer.

"Stop hovering," she snapped. "I'll think about it if you insist."

She had to admit that Coran made wise decisions and he did not trust easily. There must have been something about the officers that she had missed, but she just hated having to accept more people into the fold. There were too many holes that needed patching up as it was and she did not need anymore risk in their faltering rebel forces. Still, they sorely needed expertise and if these three could give even a little bit of help, maybe they could keep going for a little while longer...

"Good," Coran said, seeing the acquiesence on her face.

He returned to his other duties, a small, but satisfied smile on his face.