Prologue

Space Marshall Graham turned on his intercom. "Jihan," he said to his secretary. "Send Commander Keith Porterfield to my office immediately."

"Yes, sir," she replied.

Keith received the summons just as he and Allura were entering their suite after their first relaxing lunch in weeks. He responded in kind and headed towards Graham's office. He entered to find all the members of the council there and all had expressions of stupefaction or sympathy on their faces. He frowned.

Sympathy towards who? Me?

"Good afternoon, Sirs, Ma'ams," he said respectfully. "Is there something I can do for you?"

Graham exchanged glances with Admiral Selea which was not lost on the commander. She nodded slightly and stood. What she said next shocked Keith speechless. He stared at her, disbelieving. Dalora stood and put a hand on his shoulder. He didn't move.

"Commander, I know that was hard to hear..." Graham began.

"You have no idea," Keith interrupted, his jaw working. "Are you sure? Are you absolutely certain?"

"To the best of our ability," the Space Marshall replied.

Keith nodded. "If you don't mind, I...I..." He swallowed, blinking rapidly, the words unwilling to come out.

"Dismissed," Graham said, taking pity on the younger man. "I'm sorry, Commander."

Keith nodded dumbly and somehow managed to find his way out. He didn't know how he made his way back to the suite, but his feet seemed to know the direction he should be going. He entered and found Allura standing before the viewscreen. Coran was on it, an intense look on his face. Lance was behind him, pacing. The Princess turned upon hearing Keith enter and immediately noticed something was bothering him. His face was studiously blank and that was a dead giveaway. Even the light in his eyes seemed to have gone out. But something else needed to be done and she didn't have the time to ask him what was wrong. She only hoped his duties would help him forget whatever was bothering him...if only for a short time.

"Pollux just attacked Arus," she told him. "We nearly lost but apparently, I have a new cousin and ally."

He blinked. "What?"

She told him all that had occurred while they had been away and he listened carefully, forcing his earlier thoughts out of his head. The situation on Arus was not to be taken lightly. Yet his eyes did not lose their sheen. Then she told him about Coran's promise to free the Polluxians. His eyes widened and that broke him out of his stony stance.

"Was that the right thing to do, Coran?" he demanded. "You tell me of all the damage to the Lions, and the fighters and now you want to launch a full-scale attack on Pollux?"

"Those people need our help," Coran returned calmly. "We did lose men during the battle..."

"We're going to lose more if we attack!" Keith exclaimed.

Coran and Allura looked at him with surprise, not having heard Keith ever raise his voice before. Even Lance stopped his pacing and his inquisitive brown eyes turned towards Keith. But he didn't ask what the matter was. There would be a time and place for that. The commander only pressed his lips tightly together and fought to control his suddenly raging temper. He closed his eyes. Allura went to stand beside him and put a hand on his arm, a gentle gesture not lost on Coran or Lance.

"We will leave now and be there as soon as possible," she said. "Prepare for the flight into Pollux, but do not do any thing other than that until I get there."

"Yes, Your Highness," Coran said. "Castle Control out."

The viewscreen blanked for a moment then returned to its landscapes. Before Allura could ask what was wrong, Keith headed towards his room and began packing. She shrugged and did the same. They had a long flight ahead of them. He would talk then.