Author Note: This is set a year after the first story.

"Salvation"

Krolia was on another mission. However, this one was just reconnaissance on a nearby planet. The planet was hospitable but unpopulated, and it was her job to find out why. She couldn't see any reason the planet should be deserted, so she took samples of the soil and water and clippings of different flora.

As she was tucking her samples away, a sniffle caught her attention. She cautiously made her way over to a nearby outcropping. She peered inside the cave and was surprised to see a half-Galra kit. What was he doing there? He had light purple skin, pointed ears, shoulder length white hair, and typical eyes for a hybrid.

She had already deactivated her mask when she had arrived, so she called out, "Hello?" The kit scrambled back further into the cave. She knelt at the edge of the cave. "Oh, little kit. I'm not here to hurt you."

"Who are you?"

"My name is Krolia." She didn't add that she was a member of the Blade of Marmora, because she thought she recognized the kit as the Prince of the Empire. However, if she was right, why would he be alone and in a cave? "What's your name, kit, and why are you in a cave?"

"I'm Lotor, and the Emperor banished me to this planet a few movements ago."

Krolia tried to hide her shock. The Emperor banished his own son, and he was alone for a few movements. She held her arms open and asked, "Do you want to come here, kit?" The hesitation prompted her to add, "It's just a hug and some nuzzling, kit, and only if you want it. I won't force you to come here."
The five deca-phoebe old kit all but flung himself into her arms. A whine escaped him as she nuzzled his head. Her heart broke as she held onto the little kit. It reminded her of how she found her son a deca-phoebe ago. She remembered how scared he was, and now, he was more confident, especially with Antok, whom he called 'Dad,' which amused Krolia greatly the first time he said it.

Movement in her arms jolted her back to the moment at hand and the touch-starved kit in her arms. Her mind made up, she looked down at Lotor and asked, "Would you like to come home with me?"

Lotor shook his head. "The Empire will find me. I don't ever want to go back there!"

Krolia purred to him, easing his distress. "They won't find you, kit. I am part of a rebel faction of Galra that oppose the Empire. We are called the Blade of Marmora, and our headquarters are well hidden. You don't have to worry about them finding you. I have a son a little older than you. He'd love to have a brother."

Lotor looked up at her and gave a small smile before snuggling back into her arms. "I'd like that."

Krolia smiled and stood up, taking the kit along for the ride. As she walked back to her ship, she told him, "You can either call me Krolia or Mama. It's whichever you'd like."

"I'm tired, Mama."

Krolia smiled. "Then, get some rest, my kit. You are safe."

Lotor closed his eyes, tucked safely in his mother's arms. Krolia was able to safely pilot the ship with the sleeping hybrid in her arms. She knew Antok would be dismayed at her bringing home another kit, and Ulaz and Thace would enjoy having another kit around, but Kolivan wouldn't be as easy to sway, especially with the knowledge of who the kit was exactly. She just hoped she would be able to convince him to let the kit stay.

%%%

"When's Mama coming back, Dad?" Regris asked, his tail twitching against the floor.
"Soon, kit. She'll be back soon. Again."

Antok had taken Regris to one of the training halls to let the kit burn off some energy. The best way for that was play fighting. Regris enjoyed play fighting like most kits did. The deca-phoebe he spent with the Blade of Marmora did miracles for the kit. He did have nightmares of his torture, but they occurred with less frequency now than when he had first arrived. He wasn't afraid of new people anymore. He was still a little shy, but that was just his nature. He loved all of his pack members, but he was closest with Krolia and Antok.

%%%

Krolia exited her ship with Lotor in one arm and the case with her samples in the other. Taulol approached her and took the samples. "Another kit, Krolia?"

"An abandoned, touch-starved kit, Taulol. I need to speak with Kolivan; however, I would prefer if the kit wasn't present for it. Where is Regris?"

"Last I saw, he was play fighting with Antok in training hall B."

"Maybe Regris would like a playmate. Thank you, Taulol."

"I will take these samples to Ulaz." Taulol headed in the direction of the med bay, while Krolia went to training hall B.

She didn't have to worry about waking Lotor up, because the kit awoke as they neared the training hall. "Where are we, Mama?"

"We are home, kit. This is the headquarters for the Blade of Marmora. I am taking you to see your new brother, Regris, and one of our pack members, Antok. Now, Antok may be large and look intimidating, but he's nice." Krolia opened the door to the training hall and entered.

"MAMA!" Regris called out and started running towards Krolia. He jumped into her arms.

Krolia easily caught Regris in her free arm, nuzzling him. "Hello, kit."

Antok came over and immediately saw the other kit. "Another kit, Krolia?"

"Yes. I found him on the planet I was investigating. He was abandoned and touch-starved."

Antok sighed. "You're keeping him." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Yes. However, I haven't talked to Kolivan yet. May I leave the kits in your care while I talk to our leader?"

"Of course."

Krolia set both kits down and knelt down to their level. "Regris, this is your new brother, Lotor. He's going to live with us. Why don't you two play fight while I speak with Kolivan? Antok is going to stay here to keep an eye on you until I return."

"Okay, Mama. Come on, Lotor!" Regris gently tugged on his new brother's wrist. Lotor looked at Krolia, who nodded encouragingly, before he went willingly with Regris.

Krolia sighed and left the training hall. She wasn't looking forward to the conversation with Kolivan. She knew he didn't like her habit of adopting stray hybrids, but this was different. This was the exiled prince of the Empire, the very people they were fighting against. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Krolia walked in and approached Kolivan's desk. "Well done on your mission, Krolia. Ulaz has just finished his analysis of the samples you brought back. There is nothing dangerous about the planet, so the reason it's deserted remains undetermined."

"Thank you, leader. There was an unexpected aspect to the mission."

Kolivan looked at Krolia and said with a fair bit of certainty in his voice, "You brought back another hybrid."

"Yes, but this one is different than Regris. He wasn't tortured, but he was abandoned and is touch-starved." Krolia took a deep breath. "He is Lotor, the exiled prince of the Empire."

Kolivan's face darkened. "He is not staying."

"I can't abandon him."

"You will put him back where you found him," Kolivan growled.

"If I put him back, Regris and I will stay with him. I will still operate as a Blade but on my own."

Kolivan closed his eyes. A rogue Blade was a dangerous variable that he could not allow. He reopened his eyes. "Very well. He can stay. I cannot allow any operative to go rogue. Dismissed."

Krolia walked out of the office, closed the door behind her, and sighed in relief. She hadn't wanted to leave with her kits, but if Kolivan hadn't relented and let Lotor stay, then she would have taken both of her kits with her and left for good. She was glad it hadn't come to that. She straightened up and went back to training hall B to watch her kits play.

%%% That Night

Krolia, Regris, Lotor, Antok, Thace, Ulaz, and Kolivan were all sleeping together in the familial nest. Thace and Ulaz were curled up around each other, Regris and Lotor were curled up against each other, Krolia was behind Regris, Kolivan was behind Lotor with Antok behind him. It was peaceful.
However, the peaceful atmosphere didn't last as one of the kits was having a nightmare. Lotor whimpered in his sleep, terrified at the events unfolding in his mind. Kolivan, who was the adult physically closest to the kit, rumbled to him. His instincts wouldn't let him not comfort a distressed kit, no matter his personal feelings about said kit.

Lotor sat up with a whine. His eyes were blown wide open, and his breaths were coming in pants. Kolivan continued to rumble to him. "You are safe, kit."
Once his breathing was under control, Kolivan couldn't help but ask, "Do you wish to talk about your nightmare?"

"I was found and brought back to the Emperor. I wasn't able to be brought back here to Mama."

"The Empire can't find you. You are safe here with your pack. We will protect you, kit," Kolivan reassured him. He realized that he wasn't Prince Lotor anymore. He was Lotor, son of Krolia.

Fin