Disclaimer: Voltron: Defender of the Universe and its many incarnations are the property of World Event Productions and Toei Animation. All affiliated characters, events, and worlds belong to them, and are used here without permission. This is solely a not-for-profit fan endeavor.
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Warnings: Mild Language. Rated Fiction T
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Introduction: Finished. Keith and Lance see something strange streaking through the early morning sky while on patrol. They run it to ground in the desert and trap it, but the tables are soon turned. The rest of the Voltron Force must rescue them before it's too late. Setting: DotU.
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Author's Note: 11-16-16 This story was written by request for the KAEX Gift Exchange. As I don't actually know who this is for, I hope the intended recipient enjoys my gift! ~Sapphire
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Author's Note II: 12-29-16 And this story goes out to…. KittyShan! What a great story prompt you came up with! I never imagined I would write a seven chapter story when I signed up for the gift exchange. In fact, it was a challenge to keep the story from getting away from me and turning into an epic, it sprouted so many subplots. (Pruning was necessary, as my subplots have a way of taking things over.) Your review was lovely. I'm so glad you liked it! ~Sapphire
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Voltron: Defender of the Universe
Running Out of Time
By: Sapphire
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Chapter One
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…...
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"I'm fed up," Zarkon thundered at his son and heir. "You are a failure, Lotor. A disappointment. I gave you one simple task, to bring Planet Arus under Doom's rule. I have given you chance after chance to succeed, and you have accomplished nothing."
"I know, Father, but Voltron-"
"Voltron! It's the same excuse again and again," Zarkon interrupted. "No more excuses, Lotor. It's done. I'm finished with Arus. There is nothing on Arus valuable enough to warrant the expense you've incurred trying to conquer that backward planet."
"What are you saying?" Lotor asked, rather more sharply than Zarkon thought appropriate.
"I'm saying, once I'm done dealing with the rebellions on Planet Tyrus, I will turn my attention to Planet Arus, and destroy it. Obliterate it. Wipe it from existence once and for all," Zarkon said. "Now go. Get out of my sight. I can't stand to look at you anymore."
As much as it galled him, Lotor had no choice but to bow respectfully and leave the throne room. His father was in no mood to hear argument. Lotor wasn't stupid enough to try, not with Zarkon in his current mood. No matter. Zarkon was apt to change his mind, and if he didn't, then Lotor would just change it for him. He thought he knew just how to do it, too. Now he just had to find Haggar…
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vvVvv
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Three Days Later…
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"What the hell was that?" Lance's voice came over the live audio feed from Red Lion.
"I don't know," Keith replied absently, trying to get Black's computers to tell him what it was they just saw streak through Arus's clear, blue sky. "Castle control, did you pick up anything out here?"
"Yes," Coran replied, his voice sounding somewhat tinny over the communications system. "Our computers picked up the anomaly as well. All we know for certain is that it came from space."
"What're the chances it was just a meteor, or some space junk burning up in the atmosphere?" Lance asked.
"Not very good," Keith answered. "I've got a bad feeling about this."
"Yeah, me too," Lance agreed with a sigh.
"Let's go find it, whatever it was," Keith decided.
"If the anomaly didn't burn up in the atmosphere and indeed landed on Arus, the castle computers tell me it would have done so in the desert, somewhere along the low mountain range not far off from your current heading," Coran told them. "Give me a moment, and I can determine a more exact location."
"Then that's where we're going," Keith said, adjusting Black's course, Red Lion following suit.
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vvVvv
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"Coran, we're on the ground," Keith said into his com unit.
"I always thought this was just a big canyon," Lance said, joining Keith on the ground. The two of them took in their surroundings, already sweating in their uniforms from the heat. "This is definitely not natural."
"You are in what was once an open mine," Coran's voice replied through the small communications device. "If the anomaly touched ground, the lions should be right on top of it."
"Let's start looking. It's too hot out here to waste any time," Keith said, waving Lance off in one direction while he set off in the other, working their way outward from the lions in circles.
Scouring the ground with his gaze, Keith was completely focused, looking for any trace of something that shouldn't be there. As he went, Keith kept the com unit in one hand, and his other hand didn't stray too far from the blaster at his side. His bad feeling about the anomaly hadn't abated. Now that he was on the ground, it was more intense. Something wasn't right. He just knew it.
"I've got something," Lance's voice was tight, even over the com unit.
"On my way," Keith responded, then turned and headed back the way he came. It was hard to spot Lance through the shimmering mirages created by the heat, but it only took a few minutes to reach Lance's position. Keith was soaked with sweat by the time he got there.
"Look," Lance said, pointing out the marks in the rocky soil. Keith dropped down on one knee to get a closer look. The rocky soil made the marks somewhat hard to make out; odd bowl shaped dents with lines narrower than the width of his hand crisscrossing between them.
"With the winds out here, this can't have been here long," Keith noted.
"Yeah," Lance agreed. "And look over that way," he said, pointing. "Another of those line tracks. Just one."
Keith got up and went to inspect that more closely. The narrow line in the dirt was roughly twelve feet long before the track disappeared on both ends in rockier terrain. It appeared to be the same as the others, the same width and the same depth, definitely made by the same thing. The only significant difference was an absence of the bowl shaped dents.
"If you sight down the line that track makes, it points right to here," Lance said, still standing by the bowl dents. "It either started here, or ended here. I'm putting my money on started here and moved off that way."
"Since it's unlikely anything flew out of here," Keith began.
"Yeah," Lance cut in. "Coran's been monitoring this area too closely for that to happen without us knowing."
"Then whatever it was went that way," Keith said, pointing in the direction opposite Lance, directly toward the closest wall of the open mine.
"Please tell me we can get the emergency water from the lions first," Lance begged. "I'm dyin' in this heat."
"Let's go get the water," Keith agreed, surprised- but thankful- that Lance wasn't complaining about having to double back to retrieve it in the oppressive heat.
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vvVvv
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"We're here," Hunk announced as he and Pidge entered castle control right behind the princess. "What's goin' on, Coran?"
"Keith and Lance saw something strange while on patrol this morning," Coran quickly related. "The castle's monitoring systems also detected it. It appears that something entered Arus's atmosphere from space and landed on the surface."
"Do you know what it is?" Pidge asked, hurrying to one of the consoles.
"No," Coran said. "We have been unable to identify what it is, though we have pinpointed the location of where it landed. Keith and Lance are there now."
"Keith, what have you found?" Allura asked, moving to stand behind Coran, glancing over his shoulder at the indicator lights on the command console that showed Keith and Lance both had their com units on.
"Just some tracks, and the place where whatever-it-is landed," Keith replied. "Lance and I just finished gearing up to follow the tracks. We need to figure out what the thing is and make sure it isn't a danger to Arus."
"Where are they?" Hunk asked, joining the princess so he could look over Coran's shoulder, too.
"There," Coran said, putting a map up on the large screen, two indicators showing the positions of Red and Black.
"In the big canyon?" Hunk asked.
"In the mine," Allura corrected, recognizing the area of Arus shown on the screen. Arus's geography had been drilled into her head time and time again since she was a little girl.
"Mine?" Hunk echoed, surprised.
"Yes," Coran confirmed. "It's an open mine, not a canyon. Large and valuable deposits of ore were once mined there, the very same kind of ore used in making many of the components of the lions."
"Something tells me it's not a coincidence our mystery object landed here," Lance said over his com unit.
"I believe you are right," Coran said, his worry evident.
"Doom has to be behind this," Hunk guessed.
"It's quite likely," Coran agreed.
"Hunk, Pidge, I want you in the lions and in the air," Keith said, rattling off orders. "Princess, you stay there on standby. Coran, I want the castle on full alert. It's possible Lance and I are following a decoy of some kind. We can't afford to be caught off guard."
"Got it, captain," Hunk said, stepping back out of the way so Coran could raise the dais.
"I hate being on standby," Allura grumbled as she rose into the air, still on the dais with Coran. Hunk chuckled.
"We all hate babysitting duty," Hunk said with a shrug.
"But we're sure glad it's your turn and not ours!" Pidge added, grabbing his t-bar, his laughter echoing as he rode it down.
"Pidge!" Allura scolded, though she knew he couldn't hear her.
"Don't worry, Princess," Hunk assured, reaching for his own t-bar. "You might get to take Blue out after all." With that, he was gone.
"I very much hope not," Coran said with a sigh.
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vvVvv
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Tracking whatever had landed on Arus wad no easy task. Except the few places where it had passed through a sheltered area, the desert wind had obliterated all trace of it. Keith and Lance found themselves backtracking more than once, returning to the last known location to hopefully pick up the trail in another direction. It was slow going, and Keith knew that, though they hadn't said anything, Hunk and Pidge were getting bored flying patterns above them.
"Hey, Lance, I think I found the trail," Keith called out, spotting that narrow line track in some sand on the lea side of a small boulder. He hurried closer. Sure enough, there was the track, just narrower than the width of his hand.
"How the heck did you spot that?" Lance asked, coming up behind Keith. "It's barely as long as my foot, if that." Keith just shrugged. "Well, let's go that way," Lance said, pointing in the direction the track seemed to point. "See if we can pick up the trail farther on." Keith nodded, and they set out, keeping some distance between them to cover maximum ground. Surprisingly, they didn't go far before picking up the track again. "There," Lance said, heading for the spot. "It went this way."
"Let's keep moving," Keith said. Lance nodded, and they started walking. "Look there," Keith said, spotting yet another track only a minute later. Lance hurried forward, meeting Keith at the faint marks in the dirt.
"Keith, there's another one of those indentations, like at the spot where the thing landed," Lance said, pointing up ahead. They went for a closer look
"Wish I knew what the indents are from," Keith mused, puzzled, studying the track and the bowl shaped indent. They had only found a handful of them since picking up the trail at the landing site.
"Well, when we find the thing that made them, you can ask it," Lance grumbled before taking a swig of water from a canteen.
"Come on, let's see where the thing went next," Keith said, ignoring Lance's comment. "Maybe there are more of those indent marks." Lance stowed his canteen in his pack, and lined up with Keith to make another sweep for more tracks.
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vvVvv
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"They're on to us already, witch," Lotor complained loudly, watching the Voltron Force from afar- with the aid of Haggar's magic.
"Let me assure you, Prince Lotor," the witch hurriedly replied, "all is well. The Voltron Force is having difficulty tracking your little toy. While they scramble around blindly chasing after it, it's sending us the information you desire."
"But will it find what we're looking for before they find it?" Lotor questioned.
"All we need to find is a trace," Haggar reminded. "It only takes a trace to calibrate the scanners to find other deposits of the ore on Arus."
"And when we find valuable deposits, then my father can be convinced to abandon his plans to annihilate Arus," Lotor said.
"Yes, my prince," Haggar agreed.
"Arus was meant to be mine," Lotor said, his golden gaze turning possessive as he viewed the blue planet through the observation window of his ship. "Arus and its princess."
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vvVvv
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To Be Continued…
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