Cheesy emerged in the pantry without encountering either the Space Mice or any spiders. Quietly, she stuffed grains, nuts, dried fruits, and anything else that looked tempting into her cheek pouches to carry away with her. The Space Mice must have been there before her since various types of food were scattered on the shelves, a practice about which Nanny grumbled frequently but was powerless to prevent.

After she finished gathering supplies, Cheesy risked peeking into the kitchen. ~If no one's there, then I can take a quick look around,~ she thought. However, a large form that she assumed to be Hunk was seated at the table. Cheesy started to retreat, but the sudden motion of something falling caught her eye. ~He dropped something.~ Hunk made no move to retrieve the item, whatever it was, and she heard the sound of pages turning. ~He's engrossed in reading!~ A wave of admiration swept over her for the Yellow Lion pilot, foregoing sleep and even food in order to better himself with knowledge. She hoped that if she ever became a real Space Hamster, she would have the same sort of self-discipline.

Curiousity about the fallen item overcame her sense of caution. ~I'll run over and back before he even notices,~ she told herself. ~Besides,~ she hoped, ~maybe it's a piece of fresh fruit!~ Quickly, she scurried in the direction of the blurry object near Hunk's feet, slowing as she approached it. From her position beneath the table, Cheesy felt safe from being immediately observed. Silently, she crept forward as one of her favorite scents, that of blueberries, filled the air.

But it was not a blueberry that she encountered.

And yet, somehow, it was.

~What is this?~ she thought, delicately sniffing the strange foodstuff. Blueberries in a blue-purple glaze covered a sweet-smelling substance resting on... ~Graham crackers?~ she wondered. Carefully, Cheesy reached out with a paw. Whatever it was, it was cold, yet the texture was creamy and inviting. She took a taste.

And another. And another.

~YUM!~ she thought, squelching a squeak of excitement. She glanced up, but Hunk had not moved. Cheesy turned her full attention to the glorious concoction in front of her, digging in with both front paws. Hazily, her mind tried to tell her not to eat too much, that this substance might be fattening, but, giddy with the sensations that only cheesecake can offer, Cheesy countered with, ~I've been good! I've done my exercises all week!~ She was so caught up in gorging herself that she didn't hear the Captain enter the kitchen and begin conversing with Hunk.

"What are you doing up so late? We have early practice, remember?" Keith said sternly. Hunk, startled, quickly shoved the book into an inside vest pocket. "Actually, I've already been to bed. I just got up extra early today, and thought I'd have a snack," he said, indicating the plate and fork on the table. "Well, just make sure you clean that up," replied Keith. "Nanny won't tolerate dirty dishes left in the sink. I'll see you in an hour." He abruptly turned to continue his rounds. Hunk muttered "Sir, yes SIR" under his breath and sighed inwardly, ~I'm not a complete slob, ya know.~ Then he dimly remembered something falling off his fork, but at the time thinking that it could wait for just a few more pages. Hunk craned his body around to assess the damage to Nanny's clean floor. ~Hello, what do we have here?~

Cheesy was intently licking the remains of cheesecake residue off her front paws when she became vaguely aware of large hands on either side of her that gently scooped her up from the floor. She froze, panic making her heart pound and her mind go blank. "Hey, Chief, look what I found!" exclaimed Hunk. Keith came back to scrutinize the small rodent intently. Even though she perceived him as just a blur, it was an imposing blur, and Cheesy recognized Keith immediately. ~It's the Black Lion pilot, Captain Keith himself!~ She attempted to rise up on her hindquarters to give him a smart salute, but the weight from her bulging cheek pouches threw off her sense of balance. She toppled over most unceremoniously.

Keith had been up all night after an earlier run-in with Princess Allura that had not gone well. In fact, he wondered if she was even on speaking terms with him at the moment. Thus, he was rather grouchy and not in the mood for games. He frowned. "What is it?" he asked Hunk. "I dunno, Chief. It's not one of the Space Mice, but it looks to me like some kind of rodent," replied Hunk. "Hmm, it could be one of Witch Hagar's creations," said Keith. "Nah, Chief, he's too cute for that! Hagar's flunkies have fangs or glowing eyes or acidic skin," protested Hunk.

Keith pondered this statement for a few moments, and Cheesy began to hope that she would be released. Finally Keith said, "We can't be too careful. He could still be a Doom spy. Let's see if Lance's sixth sense can pick up anything." Keith headed for the door. Cheesy trembled, dreading being thrown in the dungeon for filching a few tidbits of food. Hunk looked down at Cheesy's shivering form and whispered, quietly so Keith couldn't hear, "Don't worry little guy, as soon as Lance gives you the OK, you'll be free to go." He was starting to feel guilty about capturing the little fellow in the first place. ~Doesn't look like he could hurt a fly. Probably even the spiders in this place would give him a run for the money.~ Hunk shuddered involuntarily, and then followed Keith to Lance's quarters.

Once at Lance's door, Keith punched in the override code and strode into the room. A faint snoring noise punctuated the darkness. Hunk entered and waited near the doorway while Keith leaned over and shook Lance by the shoulder. ~No sense both of us getting killed,~ he thought. Lance hated being awakened early.

"Mmm? Love muffin, izzat you?" Lance mumbled from somewhere under the covers. He rolled onto his back. Lance's sleepy "Gimme a kiss" was quickly followed by a loud "YAAAAAA!" as he scrambled backwards away from Keith, sitting up when he encountered the unyielding headboard. Frightened, Cheesy dug her claws into Hunk's hands, which were so calloused that he didn't notice. Lance glared at Keith for a tense moment and then said, in a voice full of carefully controlled anger, "I don't hear the alarm klaxons going off, so you'd better have a really good reason for ruining my dream."

"The supermodel or the stewardess?" inquired Hunk with mild interest. Lance tossed him a withering glance, tempered only by the dimness of the room, but before he could answer, Keith interrupted. "We captured a potential spy. I want to know if you get any bad vibes from him." Lance groused, "Oh sure, you've never listened to me before, not even when old Snake Eyes nearly made off with the Princess, but the moment the opportunity arises to cheat Lance out of some much needed downtime, I'm your man." He then noted Keith's ill-concealed ire and thought better of it. "Fine, whatever," said Lance as he disentangled himself from the covers. "Where's the prisoner?" he asked, getting out of bed.

Hunk presented Cheesy in his outstretched hands.

Lance blinked in astonishment and then turned to Keith, crossing his arms over his bare chest. "Is this some kind of joke?" he demanded, a look of total disbelief on his face. "Just check him out!" Keith ordered hotly. Lance glanced at Hunk, who shrugged slightly as if to say ~Don't ask me what's gone up his tailpipe.~ Lance sighed exasperatedly and then bent forward to be nose-to-nose with the captive.

In her brief time on Arus, Cheesy had had ample opportunity to witness the many moods of the Red Lion pilot, so she was petrified. She had caused him to be rudely awakened in the wee hours of the morning just to interrogate a hamster, so he had every right to be angry. Tears welled up her eyes, and she couldn't stop herself from shaking when she thought of all the spiders that probably inhabited the dungeon. Blinking, she looked up as Lance drew near.

The boxer-clad Red Lion pilot gazed at her intently. Cheesy could see him fairly well at such close proximity, and dazedly thought that he was quite handsome...for a human. His sleep-ruffled hair and deep hazel eyes, almost black in the room's darkness, reminded her of her gentleman friend. ~EX-gentleman friend,~ she thought sadly. ~Why did I ever come to Arus? Everyone was right -- this whole idea was crazy.~

"Well?" asked Keith, showing his impatience. "Well," drawled Lance, "the only vibes I'm getting are Mochachino and cheesecake, which are very good vibes in my book. And let's not forget an overwhelming cute vibe." He flashed a lopsided grin as he reached out to tickle Cheesy with a forefinger, "Kitchy-kitchy." Cheesy squeaked happily, relieved that the impending threat of imprisonment appeared to be lifted.

"Do you call this interrogating the prisoner?" Keith practically shouted.

"Um, sure," said Lance, never batting an eye. "Listen up, you," he said to Cheesy. "We have ways of making you talk, er, squeak." He redoubled his tickling efforts, and she squeaked with laughter, squirming in Hunk's hands. "Um, maybe you better take it easy. Is he housebroken?" inquired Hunk, a little doubtfully. Cheesy immediately sat up and glared at the Yellow Lion pilot, placing her front paws on her hips indignantly. "Hey, I think he understands us!" Hunk grinned.

"In that case," said Lance, straightening up and stretching, "why don't you see if Pidge can understand him?" He shook his head at Keith, "You really should have thought of that in the first place." Lance headed for the bathroom, calling back over his shoulder, "Since it's almost time to get up anyway, I'll take a shower and catch up with you guys..." The door shut, cutting off the rest of his words. "Well, Chief?" Hunk looked at Keith questioningly. "I mean, Pidge can understand the Space Mice pretty well, so maybe he can understand this little guy." Keith was rubbing the bridge of his nose and his eyebrows, ~Wish I would have gotten some sleep. Need coffee...~

"Chief?" Keith glanced at Hunk distractedly, "Huh?"

Hunk repeated his earlier statement. "Yeah," Keith replied, "let's see what Pidge can find out." They both left for Pidge's quarters as Lance began to sing in the shower.

To be continued...