Disclaimer : Voltron and all related characters are the property of WEP.

Episode 1 : Secrets Revealed

"Jonathan Carter Grend!" yelled his mother from downstairs. "Your transport to the Academy is leaving in twenty minutes! What's taking you so long?"

"Just packing a few last things, mom!" he yelled back. He franticly stuffed a duffle bag with a few articles of clothing from the floor, and pulled two uniforms that were hanging up out of the closet and folded them in as well. Zipping the bag, he ran out the door and down the steps where he met his mother. She put her hands on her shoulders, and stared into his bright blue eyes.

"I'm proud of you," she said. "You know that, right? I can't believe you were accepted into the Academy…but I shouldn't be surprised. I mean, you did so well on the testing..."

"I'll be fine," he replied, smiling. "You don't need to worry about me. I'll call and write often, and I'll be home for the holidays." She gave him a big hug, and a smile, and he walked out the door. He walked down to the end of the block where the transport was waiting for him. He climbed onto the transport, and it pulled away. His mom and dad watched as it disappeared from sight.

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" his mom asked her husband."

"He was born for this," he replied.

JC walked down the hallway of the dormitory, his duffle slung over his shoulder. He saw new cadets just like him moving in and out of the rooms, unpacking and getting settled in. He looked at the paper in his hand again.

"Room 304," he said to himself. He looked up and saw the number, the door closed. He turned the knob and tried to push open the door, but it seemed jammed. He tried pushing it open with his shoulder, but it wouldn't budge.

"Let me give it a try," a voice from behind him said. JC stepped out of the way as the large man pulled slightly on the knob, then slammed the door wide open. He turned around and held out a hand to JC. "I'm guessing you're my roommate. Name's Seth. Seth Derringer."

"JC Grend," JC replied. "You from Ariel?"

"Yep," he replied. "Home of the Lion Riders. Want to be one of them someday, but my parents said they wanted me to train at the GA Academy first. I scored pretty high on the testing. They're actually putting me into the Systems Analysis program. Where did they place you?"

"Flight studies," he replied. "But I hear you don't get behind the controls of an actual ship until your third year."

"Man, that sucks," Seth said. "Well, while we're here, may as well make ourselves at home, right?" He began unpacking his things and setting them into drawers and JC began doing the same. Suddenly they heard someone bump into their door. When they opened it, they saw a pile of bags with something hiding behind it.

"Um," JC said, "hello?" The person set down the bags, and JC and Seth stared into the emerald eyes of a five foot girl with pink hair tied into pig tails.

"Is this Room 403?" she asked.

"No," JC replied. "It's 304."

"Snart," she shouted. "These contacts will be the death of me. I'm sure I counted fifty six steps in the stairwell. You SURE this isn't the fourth floor?" They shook their heads. She sighed. "Well, at any rate, my name's Sheri. Maybe I'll see you guys around." She smirked at them with a wink, then proceeded to pick up her bags and walk back down the hall.

"Kinda cute," JC said. "A little weird, but cute." They both laughed and continued unpacking.

"Cadets!" the instructor yelled. "Today we will be gauging your hand to hand fighting skills. May I have a volunteer please?" JC felt the need to prove himself, if only to speed the process of getting himself behind the controls of a ship, so naturally he was the first to raise his hand. "You there, come down here. And he'll need an opponent."

"I'll do it," a sharp and sarcastic voice came from the crowd. Out stepped a young woman with long, strait dirty-blonde hair, a look of seriousness coming over her face. JC noticed how her uniform hugged her body, and gulped. "You look like you could be a minor challenge." JC blinked, and thought to himself, I'll show you. They got into position, and the instructor blew the whistle. JC went to swing, and she managed to grab his arm and flip him over, pinning it behind his back, holding him flat on the ground.

"Like I said," she replied, "all too easy." JC rolled into his arm and pulled himself to his feet. She tried to pull him again, but he pulled back hard and wrapped an arm around her in a headlock. She struggled for a moment, then flipped him over her, then pulled back a closed fist for the kill, but was stopped by the instructor blowing the whistle.

"Alright, that's enough!" the instructor shouted. The girl turned her head and shot him a glare before getting to her feet. JC slowly got up as well. "That, cadets, is an example of what you will see in training, and what you could see out in the field. That said, I want everyone to take 20 laps around the arena." He blew the whistle, and everyone began running. JC looked at the girl.

"So, I didn't get your name," he said.

"Get bent," she said back, running off with the rest of the class.

"You little blit," he said silently to himself as he began running as well.

"So, how did the rest of your classes go?" Seth asked JC as he met up with him in the hallway.

"Flight Dynamics 101 was a complete snore," JC replied. "No action at all, just tons of blah blah blah about 'this is why a plane stays in the air' and stuff. Nothing about control or navigation."

"Eh," Seth said. "All the information overload is gonna lead up to the big moment. You just gotta be patient."

"You're probably right," JC replied. "By the way, you have any idea who that girl was that fought me in hand to hand this morning?"

"I heard a couple of people calling her 'Roxy'," Seth said. "Not sure where she's from though."

"Maybe Amazonia," JC replied. "Heard the women there are absolutely brutal." Just then they heard a commotion. He and Seth looked at one another, then ran ahead. When they turned the corner, they found a couple of people harassing a girl in the hallway.

"Why are you even here, freak?" one said to her.

"You shouldn't even be here!" another shouted. "You're one of them! You're probably a spy!"

"Go back to your own world!" a third yelled. Seth's blood boiled. He ran ahead, JC in pursuit. He ripped one guy away and punched him in the face so hard, he went flying across the floor. The others backed away, and Seth turned to them, breathing heavily.

"Get away from her!" he yelled. "She's done nothing to you!" The others ran off, afraid of Seth. He turned to the girl and helped her up from a crouched position. "Are you alright?" JC came over to help as well, and they both found the slim and seemingly frail girl had dark blue skin.

"You're a Drule?" JC asked. Seth shot him a look.

"Pay no mind," Seth said to her. She turned her head to Seth and opened her eyes, and he saw the piercing yellow eyes that Drule people had.

"It's ok," she replied softly. She picked up a book and brushed back her shoulder length dark grey hair. "I knew being one of the few people selected from that part of the galaxy that it wouldn't be easy."

"I didn't mean anything by what I said," JC said, helping her up as well. "What's your name?"

"Dariana," she said. "Though I am a Drule, I've actually never set foot on the Drule homeworld. My family was one of the many that were relocated by the Galaxy Alliance when the homeworld exploded. I was actually born and raised on Nebb."

"Nebb?" JC asked. "I heard that world used to have technology that rivaled the Alliance! But wars broke out that nearly destroyed the planet."

"They've done a lot since then to rebuild," Seth said. "That's why a lot of technicians go to study there. I head the Academy is looking to build a campus there."

"I'm studying to become a Tech Sergeant," she said. "I've always been fascinated by how things work. Taking things apart and putting them back together again."

"You'll definitely fit in with us," Seth said confidently. "I'm Seth, and this here is JC. Maybe we'll see you around later?" She smiled slightly, then continued walking down the hall.

"I'm sorry, JC," he replied. "I hate seeing people bullied. I spent my entire life watching my brother and sister get picked on. I was always the one to come to their rescue. I'd never let anyone endure that kind of ridicule."

"I know how you feel, man," he replied, patting his friend on the back. They too continued on to their final class of the day.

Later that evening, JC and Seth were roaming the hallways after class, getting a feel for the area. As they rounded a corner, they came across Dariana again.

"Hey, Dar," Seth said, smiling. "What are you still doing here?"

"My Holo-circuit 101 notebook went missing," she replied. "I think someone took it and threw it up on the rafter there."

"I got this," Seth said, motioning to JC. He held out his hands, and JC stepped into them, hoisting him up high enough to grab the notebook and leap back down to the ground. He dusted it off and handed it to her.

"Here ya go," he said, "safe and sound."

"Thanks so much," she said. Suddenly something came running around the corner and bumped right into Seth. She fell onto her rear, and papers flew everywhere.

"You alright?" Seth asked.

"Snart!" she retorted. "I hope I find those glasses soon. Else I'll never find my way around this place." She picked up her papers. The others helped her.

"Sheri, was it?" JC said. "What's with the…" He pointed to her pink hair.

"You mean the tails?" she asked. JC nodded. "I dunno. A lot of girls on Balto like to have this dark and mysterious ninja-like look to them. I prefer to be different." She grinned.

"Tails, huh?" Seth said. "I like that. Mind if I call you that from now on? I mean, only if you want…"

"Doesn't bother me a bit," she replied smiling. As they turned to walk down the hallway, something dropped from the rafters in front of them. JC's eyes widened as he recognized the girl from earlier in the day.

"What are YOU doing here?" he asked.

"I was just going to ask you the same thing," she replied with a curious look. "Are you trying to find out about the top secret project the GA's got going on?" They looked at her funny.

"What project?" JC asked.

"I hear that the Alliance technicians are trying to build new experimental ships," Dariana said. "They are said to be like nothing they ever built before…well, aside from Dr. Loring's Voltron."

"A new ship you say?" JC asked, his curiosity piqued. "Maybe we should have a look at it."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea," Sheri replied. "Security around here is pretty tight."

"You saying you're scared?" the girl asked.

"I'm not afraid of anything," JC replied. "Are you?" The girl gave him a look, then a slight grin.

"The name is Roxy," she replied. "And if you want to try and catch a glimpse of the project, follow me." They all walked down the hallway until they reached a simple dead end.

"What is it?" Seth asked. "There's nothing here but a wall."

"That's what I thought at first too," Roxy replied. "Then I saw the keypad, and put two and two together."

"Then I guess our trek ends here," Sheri said, sounding disappointed. "After all the combinations are…" Dariana walked up to the keypad, tilted her head sideways, then entered a seventeen digit code. The light turned green, and the wall opened up to let them past. "How in the heck did you do that? There are literally millions of combinations!"

"My dad," she replied, "he knows a guy who knows a guy." Sheri groaned. The five carefully stepped forward down the hallway which led to an enormous hangar. In it were five ships, very unique in design.

"They're different colors," Dariana stated. "Like a rainbow?"

"I call black!" JC yelled. He ran across the room and climbed a scaffolding ladder and pulled himself into the cockpit.

"Guess it can't hurt to look," Seth replied as he made his way to blue.

"Green has always been my favorite color," Sheri replied. "Next to pink, of course." She ran to green.

"Well, I guess if I had to choose, I'd pick red." Roxy said, walking slowly to the huge red ship in front of her.

"That's ok," Dariana said softly. "I actually like yellow most of all." She too made her way into the yellow ship.

"I so wish I could take off in one of these things," JC said. He looked around and grabbed the two handles that appeared to be yokes. He pulled and pushed them, getting the feel for how and what they worked. He looked down and saw a panel with a strange multicolored symbol. "Anyone else see this strange symbol on the controls?"

"Yeah," Sheri shouted. "It looks familiar."

"It's the Arusian Royal Family Crest," Roxy said in shock. "But why would it be on an Alliance ship?" Joe placed his hand on the control, and all of a sudden, the insignia moved from right to left, as if locking in place, and an energy coil lit up behind him with lightning. He felt the engine roar to life. The others were in shock as well as theirs did the same, and the cockpits sealed.

"Oh snart!" Sheri yelled. "What did we get ourselves into?"

"Something fun!" JC yelled as the hangar door opened, and the ships blasted off through them, and into the sky. JC was clumsy with the controls at first, but after a bit, he was able to steady out and fly around easily.

"JC," Seth said, "I'm not sure this is a good idea.

"I'm actually getting used to this," Roxy said. "Think you can keep up, cadet?" She jerked the yokes and pressed a pedal, and the red ship took off faster.

"I think I can more than manage!" JC replied, doing the same, and speeding off after her.

"Seth," Dariana said, "even though you're probably correct, there's something that just…feels right about this."

"I wish I could see where I am going!" Sheri squealed.

"Is the seat too short?" Seth asked.

"Actually no," she replied. "When I climbed in, the seat was just the right fit. Everything is perfect….except for my eyesight!"

"Oh!" Seth laughed. "Maybe we should return to the hangar before something happens.

"Probably a good idea," she replied. "You coming, Dar?"

"Yes," Dariana replied. "Let's put them back where they were. I have to admit, this was fun. Speaking of fun, where is JC and Roxy?"

"Don't worry about us!" JC yelled over the intercom. "We'll meet you there!" The three turned their ships around and carefully landed them back in the hangar. While the landing and parking were a tad clumsy, they were able to pull it off. JC and Roxy came zooming in afterwards, and their landings were a tad smoother. As the cockpits opened, they hopped out and to the ground.

"What a rush!" JC exclaimed. "I can't believe the power behind these things! And it was so easy to control!"

"I still want to know why the Arusian Crest is on the console," Roxy said, pondering.

"Well, we better get out of here before a patrol finds up," Sheri said. "I'm surprised we weren't picked up on RadialTrac and shot out of the sky." The five left the hangar the way they came and quickly headed back to the dorms.

JC went to his first class that morning, but there was no sign of Seth or Roxy. When the class ended, he headed for the door, and was thinking about going to look for them when he was stopped by two men in full dress uniform.

"Cadet Jonathan Carter Grend?" one asked. JC nodded. "You need to come with us." He sighed and walked with them up the hall to the elevator. After they entered, the doors closed, and one of them placed a key into a slot, and typed in a code on the keypad. Suddenly the elevator began to rise further than the several floors he was accustomed to, and peering at the floor numbers, he knew he was headed someplace not good. When the elevator came to a stop, they led him out into the hallway, and at the very end keyed in another code which caused the automatic doors to slide open. When JC stepped inside and looked up, to his horror, he was standing just inside the entrance to the Space Marshall's office, her eyes glaring into his.

"Well, Cadet," she said, breaking the moment of silence, "take a seat." He turned to an empty chair to sit in, and found that Roxy, Seth, Sheri and Dariana were already there, sitting motionless and unsure. JC sat down next to them. It was then the Space Marshall stood up and took a deep breath. "You two are relieved." She pointed to the guards that brought JC to the office. They left the room. She sighed.

"Now," she said. "Seems we have a little security issue on our hands."

"Ma'am," JC said, "I take full responsibility."

"Indeed you will," she replied. "All of you." They gulped. "It's interesting the way you found the project lab." She began to pace in front of them. "Even more interesting how you were able to enter the correct access code to enter. But the most intriguing matter is how you managed to power on the ships." She stopped pacing and turned to them, a serious look captivating them. "How aware are you of Project Defender?" They remained silent. "Project Defender was started almost a decade ago under Space Marshall Graham. Even with the design flaws in its power structure, the Voltron created by Dr. Loring was a technological marvel. But with that unit accompanying the Explorer on its mission close to Drule space, the growing need for a similar mecha for Earth's own defenses was apparent. That's when Project Defender came into play. A team of our best scientists tried to create a machine similar to Voltron that could be used in Earth's defense. The problem arose when certain information shared with Dr. Loring from the late King Alfor of Arus was lost. Scientists spent years trying to piece together the elements needed to build and power such a mecha. Prototypes through the years failed. The project was accelerated when an attack was instituted on Earth by the Drule Empire."

"I remember seeing Alliance ships fly overhead in formation," JC said. "I heard very few of them returned from the outer perimeter."

"We managed to fight off the attack mostly on luck," she continued. "After years of research, we found that the material used to construct Voltron was mined and smelted on Ariel. It wasn't until recently that information crystals…crystals that gave off tremendous amounts of energy…were discovered on Nebb, in abandoned laboratories deep beneath the planet's surface. They were later identified by Nebbians as 'Nexus Crystals'."

"With all due respect, ma'am," Roxy interjected, "where does that lead us? Are you saying those ships are another Voltron?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she replied. "The problem we were having with the ships was that they would not start. The engines would not operate. The cores were infused with the nexus crystals, and generating systems created to initialize and recharge the systems. But even though the systems were perfect, and by design, from a Systems Analyst perspective, should power on and work, it didn't. Until you five managed to sneak into the hangar and sit in the cockpits, those machines made not one sound. So my question to you five is how the heck did you power them on?"

"I might be able to answer that," Sheri said, a bit quieter than her boisterous self. "The ships knew us. They detected us. I mean, Space Marshall, look at me. I'm only five feet tall. I'm probably, statistically, one of the shortest cadets attending the Academy. I sat in that chair in the cockpit, and it fit perfectly. Had I been wearing my glasses instead of these blurry nightmares in my eyes now, I could have mastered every control. It was all in reach. I'm telling you…I don't know how or why, but the ship knew me."

"It's true to an extent," JC interjected. "All I did was touch the insignia, and it moved."

"It's a key," she replied. "The design actually came from Arus, which is why the crest appears on it. The mechanisms that draw the key in would not function until you five came along."

"So what are you saying?" JC asked. He then took a step back and bowed his head momentarily. "I mean, with all due respect, ma'am."

"I'm saying I have a proposal for you five," she replied. "You do not breathe a word of this to anyone at the Academy. You take special training from Commander Stormclaw, and you pilot those ships. You become an elite force under my command to help curb the threat of the Drule Supremacy. So, do you accept these terms, or immediate expulsion?"

"Well, when you put it that way," JC replied, "heck yeah we'll do it!"

"The idiot doesn't speak for all of us," Roxy replied, "but in this case, I agree. I'm on board."

"Me too," Seth replied.

"Me as well," Sheri said.

"And you, Miss Kovinx?" the Space Marshall asked. Dariana slowly stood up and looked her in the eye. Her yellow eyes stared back into the Space Marshall's, tears forming in them.

"It would be an honor," she replied.

"Then it's settled," the Space Marshall said, clapping her hands together and rubbing them vigorously. "Your first assignment will be at 1800 hours tomorrow."

"That soon?" JC asked. "Won't we need to train?"

"You seemed to handle those ships well," she remarked, smirking. "Commander Stormclaw will give you a quick rundown of the project tomorrow morning. Then you're all heading out to Arus."

"What for?" Roxy asked. "I mean…what's going on there that the force there can't handle?"

"Part diplomacy, and part training," she replied. "I want the Queen of Arus to see that our plans were finally successful, and to hopefully give you more insight as to why the ships react the way they do."

"Very well," JC replied. "That is, if the rest of the team agrees?"

"Team," Dariana said softly. "That sounds like the perfect word."

"Very well then," the Space Marshall replied. "Dismissed." They left the office, and the Space Marshall breathed a sigh of relief.