"You wanna cut back on the throttle a tad, Sven?"

'Varfor?' Ericksen sent at him, not bothering to speak, or turn around. 'She's handling well enough.'

"Cause this little runabout ain't got no mech-type shielding, an' a bird strike would be real serious right about now!"

Ericksen saw the sense in this and immediately throttled down a bit, cutting their air speed by a few knots. About five minutes later they reached the valley. Hunk had to brace himself and Rae both as Sven went into a steep, swooping dive.

"Hey! Lieutenant Commander! Ease off the stick! You're flyin' like a man on a mission, not a' unsuspectin' tourist!"

Once again, Sven listened to reason, and leveled off his approach. Usually, he flew like a teenager; wildly, and with reckless abandon. That he listened at all was a bit of a shock, then. Hunk put it down to sheer distraction.

A moment later they spotted Lance. He was standing by himself in the midst of a little clearing, hands jammed into his jacket pockets. A number of glaring spotlights illuminated the slouching pilot, and threw the trees around him into deep, nearly impenetrable darkness.

"Trouble," Hunk muttered, hardly aware that he was speaking aloud. "Findin' targets in all that shadow's gonna be a real bear, 'specially without reliable scanners."

'Let me get oriented, and I'll have a look,' Sven responded, bolstering the air car's shielding with a surge of TK. As LaChance had predicted, the Galrans were allowing them time to land. He hated making someone else's stupidity a major part of his strategy, though. Best to take things out of the enemy's hands entirely by striking hard, and first.

With this in mind, Ericksen dipped one side of the air car a bit, letting Lance know he'd been spotted. Then he over-flew his friend's position and curved back around, shedding air speed and altitude like crazy.

'There ar over a hundred Galrans among the trees,' Sven sent at his passengers, sounding a little fainter than usual. 'The girl ar there, too, and Lotor.' Then he reached out with his thoughts for Lance's mind, trying to cobble together some sort of coordinated battle plan.

Hunk nearly leapt from skin when the lieutenant commander spoke again. "Throw me a pistol, and shield Alita till I get her untied. Other than that, a whole lot of chaos would really brighten things up, know what I mean?" he said, sounding exactly like Lance.

Then, in his own voice again, "LaChance, you and I get off here. I'm going to try to shield the girl. I might be distracted, so if you see anything I miss…"

"Gotcha covered, Sven."

"Jaha. Princess, take the stick as soon as we're out, find a place to land outside of the lights, and work your way back with Rae. Be careful."

"I will, Aniki. Be safe also, both of you."

By this time, the flitter was hovering less than fifteen feet above the ground, sending a small tornado of sticks and leaves churning across the clearing (and into someone's face, hopefully). 'On three…' Ericksen sent, counting off as he switched places with Allura. 'Ett…tva…tre!'

All at once, they exploded into action. Sven hurled a pistol at Lance, who deftly fielded the thing, hit the ground, rolled, and came up shooting. Hunk and Sven leapt from opposite sides of the flitter and began spraying the tree line with laser fire. Before they'd even hit the ground, Allura gunned the engine, floored the impellers, and lifted away. The return fire was blistering, forcing LaChance and Ericksen to the ground.

Then Sven shouted, "I've got her! She ar tied, though, and I can't work that loose with only TK. Keep them off me for a moment!" He was gone an instant later, heading for Alita's position at a broken, crouching run.

"Hey, no problem," Hunk groused, "I wasn't doin' nuthin impor…" Then an armor-piercing bullet came at him, having ricocheted off a rock. It struck his shoulder and stung rather than penetrated, most of its force spent on the rock, and the TK shield Ericksen was struggling to maintain over all three of them. Close one. "Like I said… no problem!" Rising to one knee, he concentrated on protecting the girl and his teammates, firing low on the theory that getting shot in the legs might ruin someone's day, but wasn't likely to be fatal. Every curse and scream made him wince, though, and mutter, "Pardon me," or "Sorry about that, Bo."

As for Sven, he reached Alita's tree after a few minutes of rabbit-like dodging and crazed shooting, wishing for his lion the entire time.

'This ar a lot easier from ten thousand feet,' he thought, at no one in particular. Still, he made it one piece, and that was something. The tree in question was a towering faara, with a trunk several times as big around as he was. Catching Alita's eye, he grunted a bit of reassuring nonsense, pulled a knife, then started sawing at the cords that bound her with one hand, while firing his pistol with the other. All this while attempting to shield himself, the girl, and Hunk. Not surprisingly, Ericksen's focus wasn't all it should have been. When another hand grabbed his, he reacted a second late, and physically, whipping around the tree with his pistol raised… Only to find himself facing Lance. They stood there a moment, gazes locked, guns aimed squarely at each other's foreheads.

Then Sven lowered his pistol. "Hej."

" 'S up?" Lance returned, relaxing his own guard just a little.

"Not much. You?" Replied Ericksen, firing past him at a half-glimpsed flash of blue.

"Same-old, same-old. You know how it is. Borrow your knife for a minute?"

"Ja." Sven flipped the blade over to him, then got back to business. A heartbeat later, Alita was free. Now all they needed to do was reclaim Hunk, and fight their

way back to the flitter. Easy enough, in theory, as Rae and Allura were supposed to meet them halfway. Fact often had a not-very-funny way of laughing at theories, though.

After giving Lance, and then Sven, a quick kiss on the cheek, Alita squared her slim shoulders and said, over the hiss and crack of gunfire, "I will be more use with a weapon. Have you a spare pistol, Takashi?"

"Ja," Ericksen responded, reaching into his jacket. Whatever else he thought of Hunk's taste in clothing, he had to admit the hunting gear was roomy. Accepting the gun, Alita threw him a brilliant smile, then dove for the shelter of a rocky outcrop, meaning to get a better angle on a nest of soldiers.

Sven watched her go, a certain reminiscent gleam in his dark eyes. Turning to resume blasting away at exposed Galrans, he encountered Lance's ferocious scowl.

"Dude. Don't tell me that you and Alita have already…?"

Ericksen shrugged. "Well, ja. There ar only so many times a girl have to dust the monitor room before I take the hint, my friend."

Lotor's bitter-cold voice cut the conversation short before Lance could reply. Blasted through some sort of loud speaker, his message was brief and menacing.

"Congratulations, Sk'roven. It appears you had a bit of strategy, after all. What a genuine surprise, and how terribly sad that it will all come to nothing. A bit of simple arithmetic should prove the folly of this little rescue effort. You are badly outnumbered, you see, and will soon be captured and slain… all of you. Yet… I am not without mercy. Perhaps if the three lion pilots surrender at once, peacefully, I will allow the females to depart unharmed. You have thirty seconds to decide, Apelings. After that, I retreat to the caverns and order an air strike."

Evidently, he hadn't noticed that Allura was one of the females he was offering to release. Lance cursed as Lotor began counting off the time in a nasty, mocking drawl. Then he noticed the slight smile on Ericksen's face.

"What the hell's got you so amused?!" he demanded.

"Just that I know two things skit-prince doesn't," Sven answered, maddeningly serene. "How long it have been since we left the castle… and the fact that the cavalry ar about to arrive."

"Huh?"

Smile broadening just a bit, Sven jerked a thumb at the northern rim of the valley. Exactly two seconds later, Green Lion roared over the top of the cliff, followed an instant later by Black.

"Six… five… four… WHAT?!? No! It's not possible! Not AGAIN!!!!" Then the loud speaker cut off, or was drowned out by the roar and thunder of the approaching lions.

"Alright, Lance!" Keith's amplified voice called out testily, shaking Galran and human alike, "I don't know what crap you're trying to pull this time, but I'm not falling for another of your lame practical jokes! Turn off that tape recorder, and get your sorry butt out of hiding, and I mean NOW! Hurry, with a capital 'get moving', mister!"

Not having reliable scanners or Sven's TK, Keith hadn't realized that Lotor was actually in the area. Apparently Pidge had made good on his promise not to reveal what had happened. The swarm of suddenly launched bat fighters probably gave it away, though. Not being much good in a close, hand-to-hand forest battle, the fighters had stayed on their pads, until Keith showed up and gave them a worthwhile target. Hissing from their caves like a black cloud, an entire squadron of the twisting, dodging things engaged the two lions, ending any doubts Akira might have had about Lance's sincerity.

Taking advantage of all the confusion, Hunk jogged up an instant later, slightly laser-burned, but grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like we got us some back up!" He announced cheerfully.

"Oh, yeah!" Lance exulted, punching the air with an upraised fist. Then, sobering suddenly, he added, "Not that we weren't handling things ourselves, of course."

"Naw, we was doin' great," Hunk agreed. "We're just bein' nice now, an' lettin' our friends play, too." A sudden spear of laser fire flashed into the sky from somewhere to the right, frying a bat-fighter's guidance systems. Crippled, the aircraft dove out of control, spinning wildly and trailing thick smoke as it hurtled into the valley wall. The pilot barely had time to eject before his fighter erupted in a ball of blue-white flame. "Now, that's gotta be Rae," Hunk said, proudly. "Go get 'em, Missy!"

Then he spotted something else. Eyes narrowing suspiciously, LaChance rumbled, "Hold on a sec, you two. I think I see someone what's trying ta sneak off without payin' their bill! Back in a flash!" And with that, he darted away.

Careful to avoid gunfire and hurtling debris (for the battle upstairs was heating up), Hunk tracked his quarry through the smoky forest, gaining steadily until…

"Gotcha!" He seized Lotor just outside one of the launch caverns, lifted the struggling, cursing prince high overhead, and then smashed him to the ground. "You ain't goin' nowhere, little mister!"

Prepared for a fight, LaChance leaned down and grabbed Lotor's collar. Having landed on his head, though, the Galran prince was pretty much unconscious. A wretched groan was his only response to the rough shake Hunk gave him.

"What was that? 'I surrender, Mr. LaChance, Sir'? That's what I thought."

Hunk's triumph was cut short by a hissing laser bolt. Mostly deflected by Sven's shield, the concentrated light still managed to toast his left ear a little.

"Put him down, and back slowly away, Sk'rova!" Came a cold, furious voice. Looking around, Hunk spotted a very young Galran officer, standing some ten feet away with a crowd of grim enlisted men. The kid couldn't have been more than seventeen, LaChance thought, though his knowledge of Galran anatomy and maturation rates was too sketchy to be sure. Not that it mattered. Hunk refused to be robbed of his prize. With the capture of Lotor, Galra's persecution of Arus would have to end.

"No, sir I won't," LaChance growled. "He's stayin' right here, and answerin' for what he's done. And you best get ta steppin' yourselves, 'fore I add ta my collection."

Kirano scowled, and took aim. "Think carefully, primate. Are you willing to kill to keep him? For I will not leave without my prince."

"He ain't worth that kinda devotion," Hunk replied, backing slowly away with his unconscious prize. Too far, as it turned out, for those few extra feet put him just beyond Sven's effective TK range. "All he'll do when he comes to is spit on your loyalty, an' blame you fer his own bone-head mistakes."

He never saw the trio of Galran soldiers who'd circled around behind him. A moment later Hunk was on the ground, stunned unconscious. Putting away his sidearm, Kirano strode up, kicked LaChance aside, and hoisted Lotor off the ground into a fireman's carry.

"Let's go," he ordered, turning toward the launch cavern. "Once the royal shuttle is away, have the fighters retreat to safety." And then, glancing up at the searing, fire lit sky, "whatever is left of them."

"Yes, Sir," the old sergeant responded, saluting. Nudging Hunk's prone form with a booted foot, the man added, "And this one?"

Kirano shook his head. "Leave him. I will not kill an honorable foe when he lies defenseless. Powers grant that we meet again, to finish this matter fairly, as men should."

The sergeant nodded. "As you command, Sir!"

Realizing that he'd lost track of Hunk, Ericksen started after him. Lance followed, shoving his heedless friend out of harm's way more times than he could count. When Sven was this focused, he tended to ignore little things like smoldering debris and unexploded ordnance. Made for some rather hectic babysitting.

They found Hunk at the threshold of a converted cavern. He was unconscious, but alive, and came around a few minutes later. Sitting up suddenly, Hunk pulled away from Lance's supporting arm.

"Lotor! I had 'im right here! Where…?"

"Escaped, I think," the lieutenant told him "Some of the bat-fighters, too."

Hunk sighed deeply, burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, y'all. Can't believe I had him, right in my hands, and just let him get away like that! Guess I shoulda waited for you two, or toldja what I seen in the first place. Real sorry, guys…"

Standing to one side, arms folded across his broad chest, Sven said coolly, "Ja, and whenever I stop making mistakes of my own, I'll type up a full reprimand. In the meantime, LaChance, I suggest you get off the ground. Our 'girlfriends' ar here."

"Huh?" Sure enough, Alita, Rae and Allura soon hove into view, marching a unit of dejected-looking Galran prisoners before them. Spotting the boys, Allura gave them a delighted thumbs-up. Pretty Alita waved at Lance, calling out,

"Two junior officers, twelve enlisted men, and a bat-fighter with rabies!"

Lance grinned. "Way to go, Babe! Tops my count, this time."

Rae glanced over at Hunk, but the big guy was staring at his own boots, red-faced. Then Keith and Pidge joined the party, and all merriment vanished. Or most of it; Lance, as always, was nearly irrepressible.

"Keith! My man! Love the butch new 'do!" For Akira had had to shear off nearly all of his shaggy hair after that little super-glue-in-the-helmet incident. The fact that he'd done the hack job himself, with a pocketknife, hadn't helped his mood any.

The major's glare grew slowly narrower. Behind him, Pidge stifled a big, 'I told you so' grin. Sensing imminent danger, Sven sent, 'Shut UP, Lieutenant!'

Too late. "Answers, people," Akira growled. "I want 'em! As in, what the hell's going on here? There I was, tape in the VCR, feet up on the coffee table, bowl of popcorn by my side, when Pidge buzzes my room and tells me that you're in some kind of trouble. Now, I ask you… and I expect a straight answer… what did you do?!"

Lance smiled again, looking so honest and reasonable, the major wanted to punch him. In a humble, ingratiating voice, Lt. Calvin started to explain.

"Well, you see, Keith…"

"Shut up, Lance! Nobody asked you!"

Knowing better than to trust the skinny pilot's version of events, Keith next turned to Sven. Another dry hole. Being possibly the universe's least capable liar, Ericksen tended to simply clam up when faced with orders to tell the truth about something as explosive as the doings of his randy wingman. Hunk saved him another three weeks of monitor duty, saying,

"Uh… Boss? Here's what really happened: The ladies, here… Rae an' Alita… they was off on a campin' trip, here in the valley. Only, they didn't realize that Lotor 'd set up an air base in them caverns over there, owin' ta the fact that scanners don't work real well around here. Guess he thought that'd help him escape detection, or sumthin'. So, anyways, the girls 're out an' about, havin' themselves a good ol' time, never realizin' that they's smack in the middle of Camp Lotor. Then he makes his move, see, capturin' the ladies, and they just manage ta get a call out ta the castle 'fore he ties 'em up. Well, Lance was at the monitor, 'cause Sven here needed ta step out 'n freshen up, an' I hadn't got in ta relieve 'im yet. When Lance got the call, he didn't stop ta think of nuthin, not himself, not callin' f'r help, 'cause that's just the kind of hero he is. He just up an' headed out ta help, disguisin' himself in huntin' gear ta blend in and fool Lotor with. Well, I got ta the monitor room about the same time that the lieutenant commander finished talkin' ta mother nature, an' we realized that Lance was headed f'r a pile of trouble, all by himself like that. So we put on some huntin' clothes, too, rounded up a little help, an' went after 'im. Knowin' that you was tired an' all, we thought we'd spare you the excitement. And that's what happened, Boss. God's honest truth." His fingers were crossed behind his back, but Keith never noticed. Instead, the major turned to Sven, who merely shrugged.

"What?! You know what Calvin ar like!"

"I suppose." Then, fastening that narrow gaze on the lieutenant again, "Lance, it was certainly commendable of you to rush to these ladies' aid, but next time, wait for the rest of us, and don't involve the princess. She's a Royal VIP, too valuable to risk in something as iffy as this. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Lance responded promptly, the very model of humble repentance. You're absolutely right. I've seen the error of my ways, and I'm a new man. Thank you, sir."

Nodding once, Keith said, "See about getting these prisoners transported to the palace processing center, and put out the fires before there's no forest left to camp in. Pidge, let's go. I want to make sure that Lotor's bat-fighters have cleared out of Arussian air space. For all we know, there may be a robeast on the way." And with that, Akira turned on his heel and left, followed by a still-grinning Pidge. When all was safe again, Lance high-fived Hunk.

"Dude!" He laughed, "That was a most excellent prevarication! I never knew you had it in you!"

The big guy blushed modestly. "Well, it was that or watch you carted off ta the stockade, again. What Keith don't know don't hurt nuthin', know what I mean?"

"Yup, I get you."

It was about then that Sven showed back up. They hadn't even realized he'd gone, thanks to his annoying talent for psionic misdirection. That wasn't what floored Hunk though; what instantly caught the burly pilot's attention was the little figure following in Ericksen's wake. It was Rae, still cradling her precious rifle.

"Alright," Sven announced, stalking over to stand before Hunk. "Official introduction, because if I leave it to you two, nothing will ever be done. Rae, this ar Lieutenant Henry LaChance, Jr., pilot of the Gold Lion, and team medic. Most people call him 'Hunk'. He likes you a great deal, but ar nervous to say so. Properly encouraged, he would kanske ask you out." Then, turning to regard his stunned teammate, "LaChance, this ar Rae, the daughter of Marta and Hiroshi. She thinks a great deal of you, too." Proud of himself, he added with a smile, "There. Simple. Who says I can't be subtle?"

Ignoring Lance's helpless laughter, Hunk dared a swift glance at Rae. She was smiling at him, dark eyes soft with something that looked a lot like… well, maybe even like love.

"Hi," he whispered, taking her hand.