VOLTRON: LOYALTIES AND INSURRECTION
Screenplay
By
Robert Barnes III
Adapted from the treatment for "Star Trek: Return to Genesis"
Written by
Harve Bennett
Based on Voltron: Defender of the Universe/Beast King GoLion - Armored Fleet Dairugger XV - Lightspeed Electroid Albegas
Created by
Peter Keefe and Toei Animation
We open on the primordial surface of a planet in the Drule/Galra Empire. As the opening credits roll, we see a strange troop bunker -– Mark IV -– which contains Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu on a secret mission ordered by Sky Marshall Steele/Dewa. The camera pulls back, up and away from the surface, dissolves through the atmosphere to the star field surrounding the planet. And then a giant Drule/Galra Warbird decloaks intent on keeping intruders out of the Drule/Galra Empire. They also seek to revive King Zarkon and King Lotor.
On the Drule/Galra Bridge, we see the Commander, a handsome swarthy man who bears a resemblance to the 20th Century actor Omar Sharif. He is the Captain of a spy vessel, and is deep in enemy territory. They are out to safeguard the Drule/Galra Empire from any possible attacks.
The Drule/Galra Commander and a landing party take a shuttle down to the planet and make a fantastic discovery -– the newly found planet has unlimited supplies of raw Haggarium/Honervium. As the Commander glows with triumph, he is summoned to another part of the forest by his men. They have discovered the deposited bunker of the Galaxy Alliance.
When it is opened, it is empty.
The Lion Voltron is en route to the Galaxy Alliance after its final battle with Castle Doom Robeast/Galra Castle Beast Fighter. Princess Allura/Fala's log informs us she has dropped Nanny/Hys and Coran/Raible off at Arus/Altea to continue work on protecting the Galaxy Alliance. Allura/Fala also notes her concern over the force's morale, particularly that of Sven/Ryou. Sven/Ryou's depression is especially acute.
Allura/Fala expresses her concern over what remains of her crewmates, and her grief at the supposed loss of Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu, to Vince. Vince calms her, and suggests she take an hour's rest to gather her resolve and collect her thoughts.
Allura/Fala goes to her quarters on the Blue Lion, and is very surprised to find her beautiful cousin Princess Romelle/Amue there. Something is wrong, she is trembling. Allura/Fala moves in to comfort her. When questioned about her loss of composure, she says, "I have seen the guys." Before Allura/Fala can question her further, Prince Bandor/Alor call for her, and urgently summons her to Sickbay in a distressed tone.
In Sickbay, Allura/Fala discovers the source of Bandor/Alor's distress. Sven/Ryou sits there, "drunk as a skunk." Sven/Ryou believes he killed Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu, thinks he should have done more to save their lives from being sent on such a dangerous mission. Plus, Sven/Ryou is sure that the guys wanted him to remember something before they left, but he cannot remember. Allura/Fala tells Sven/Ryou he needs to buck up, and stop languishing in guilt. Sven/Ryou agrees, but begs Allura/Fala to take him to Pollux/Heracles. Sven/Ryou believes his own ignorance is destroying him. Perhaps on Pollux/Heracles he can find out the truth. Allura/Fala considers it.
Alone, Sven/Ryou goes to the bathroom on the Black Lion, splashes water on his face, glances into his mirror. The faces of Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu stare back at him. Sven/Ryou whirls to see if they are behind him. No one is there. When Sven/Ryou looks back at the mirror it is his own anguished face that stares back at him. He thinks he might be going crazy, but he also thinks even worse.
On the bridge, Allura/Fala speaks to the Galaxy Alliance Sky Marshall Steele/Dewa, and asks permission to take Sven/Ryou to Pollux/Heracles. Permission is denied. When the transmission is cut, Allura/Fala turns to the Space Mice, and orders them to lay in a course for Pollux/Heracles.
On the newfound Planet in the Drule/Galra Empire, the Drules/Galras set up mining operations, supervised by the Commander and his formidable female Sub-Commander. As the operation begins, the Drules/Galras are spooked by strange sounds in the night, frightened out of their wits.
Upon arrival at Pollux/Heracles, Allura/Fala, Sven/Ryou and Romelle/Amue take a shuttle down and find themselves attacked by a band of hostile renegade Polluxians/Heracleans. They are rescued by those most loyal to Bandor/Alor and Romelle/Amue, a group of Pollux/Heracles Regulars, plus the Vehicle and Gladiator Voltron forces. They are cold and somewhat angry -– "This is all you guys' doing," they all tell Allura/Fala.
In the Pollux/Heracles Castle, we learn that the implications of the mission to the uncharted planet and the horrifying report of Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu going missing have shaken the Galaxy Alliance. Many young Galaxy Alliance cadets fear universal Armageddon, and have taken up ancestral war-like traits, demanding that Pollux/Heracles do something about the intellectually inferior Galaxy Alliance. Bandor/Alor and Romelle/Amue, peace-makers, are just hanging on.
Allura/Fala and Sven/Ryou are further shocked to learn that Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu may not be completely lost after all. The people ask why they left the guys to be taken on a dangerous mission to the planet in the Drule/Galra Empire. They say that they are ignorant to imagine that they absolutely knew they guys were gone forever. "The guys may be in a dangerous state," they all say. When Allura/Fala asks what she can do, the people tell her to bring them to them, hoping they're still there when Allura/Fala does so.
Sven/Ryou asks for Allura/Fala and the other Voltron teams' permission to remain on Pollux/Heracles. There is much he wants to learn. He is sure the guys have planted information in his head, and he must find out what it is. Allura/Fala allows him to stay as they depart.
A Galaxy Alliance Light Cruiser, the G.A.S. Chawla/Onizuka approaches the forbidden planet, and discovers the Drule/Galra operations. The ship is attacked by the Drule/Galra Warbird and destroyed without warning.
The three Voltrons arrive in orbit around Earth/Galaxy Garrison, and the Galaxy Alliance Commander immediately takes a shuttle aboard and meets Allura/Fala in her quarters. He is pissed at Allura/Fala, telling her she has mishandled the whole affair. The entire galaxy is up in arms at the implications of the newfound planet and the fates of the guys. And, what's more, Allura/Fala has disobeyed orders and stopped at Pollux/Heracles. Allura/Fala explains that she now believes the guys may be alive. As Allura/Fala makes her impassioned plea to go to the planet to find out what happened to the guys, the Galaxy Alliance Commander is beginning to think Allura/Fala has lost her mind. He relieves Allura/Fala, and confines her to his special apartment, and orders her to be examined by certified psychiatrists. As the Galaxy Alliance Commander leaves, he angrily tells Allura/Fala the Voltrons will be disbanded and sent to other assignments.
In a ceremony in the torpedo bay, Allura/Fala bids a sad farewell to the rest of the Voltron teams. Secretly, they have all seen the guys.
In the Commander's Tokyo apartment, Allura/Fala reads a book Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu gave her as a birthday present years back. Allura/Fala pauses, and looks over her reading glasses, and sees the guys sitting in the room with her. "Why are you doing this to us?" Allura/Fala asks. No answer. "This is one hell of a mess you've all got us all in, and the least you could do is talk to me," Allura/Fala yells. Still no answer. The images of the guys disappear.
The Gladiator Voltron and the new Voltron teams visit Allura/Fala, and look about the room suspiciously, checking plants and objects to see if there are any eavesdropping devices secreted there. They update Allura/Fala: Vehicle Voltron's Ginger/Patty has been named Helmsman of the G.A.S. Odyssey/Miyamoto, which is the newest Galaxy Alliance vessel, one capable of speeds far in excess of Warp 10. The Space Mice are dispatchers at the Space Shuttle Dock. Daniel has been named Executive Officer of all the Voltrons, with Vince and Larmina at his side. When Daniel is certain there are no bugs planted in the room, they turn to Allura/Fala in a burst of energy. "Let's go," he says. "We're busting you out of here." When Allura/Fala protests, she asks Daniel what if they really are mad, Daniel assures her, "You're not mad. I have seen them too. We've all seen them."
Daniel dispatches the guard at Allura/Fala's door with aikido, and they head for the space shuttle dock, by way of the old city.
Allura/Fala makes her way to all three Voltrons, where we learn that Larmina has put all three on full automatic. When Allura/Fala tells the teams that they are committing an act of mutiny, the response is, "Long live Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu, ma'am." The Voltrons move out, and they are followed by the Odyssey/Miyamoto, which comes to a screeching halt, sputtering and dying. "There's nothing," scoffs Larmina, "that a few well-placed pieces of chewing gum won't do to a hyper-warp engine." The Voltrons warp toward the forbidden planet.
On the forbidden planet, something is wrong with the planet itself. It is rumbling and beginning to shake. Additionally, "ghost-like figures" have been plaguing the Drule/Galra mining operations. First, equipment goes missing, and then a few Drules/Galras disappear in the night. The Commander is summoned to view the dead body of a Drule/Galra soldier. His neck has been broken. "There is no ghost here," the Drule/Galra Commander exclaims as he removes objects from the dead Drule/Galra's clenched fist.
They are four Galaxy Alliance belt buckles.
Near the planet, the Voltrons find themselves face-to-face with an imposing Polluxian/Heraclean vessel. Allura/Fala and crew are afraid it is the rebel factions. After a tense few moments, the Polluxian/Heraclean vessel asks for coordinates to the Lion Voltron's docking ports. Sven/Ryou and Romelle/Amue take themselves in a shuttle aboard, as they have decided to tag along. "You took your sweet time about it," they grouse.
On the forbidden planet, the Drule/Galra Commander has patrols out searching for the "ghosts." He is called by his Sub-Commander. The three Voltrons are approaching the planet. The Commander orders the Warbird cloaked. The Sub-Commander tells him they have little "cloaking power" left, but does as he orders. They intend to sneak up on the rescue party.
The Lion Voltron and the Warbird engage in a fierce battle, and the Lion Voltron is mortally wounded. Allura/Fala barks orders, "Larmina, signal surrender – Romelle/Amue, execute General Order III – Daniel, feed all power to shuttles. Set timers at five minutes." This is the code.
When they all take shuttles down to the planet, Romelle/Amue frets that the battle has been lost. She gets a response that one of the guys would rather have said from Allura/Fala. "The battle has just been joined. In exactly three minutes, it will enter phase two." replies Allura/Fala.
The bulk of the enemy shuttles to board the Lion Voltron and perishes when the robot-starship explodes. On the planet below, the Lion Voltron survivors watch as the lead mother robot-ship burns up in the atmosphere.
The Drule/Galra Commander is enraged by the loss of his people, vows vengeance when he learns that Allura/Fala and the others are on the planet. The ominous rumblings from the planet reach an even higher level.
Night falls on the forbidden planet, and the brave Lion Voltron crew huddles against the elements. Sven/Ryou is frustrated, but Allura/Fala tells him there are always possibilities. He tells her there is no need for bravado now, with their friends still missing; on the lam.
There is no wakeup time to end this nightmare. The Lion Voltron is lost, Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu are all illusions, and Sven/Ryou has always loved Allura/Fala as much as Romelle/Amue. There is nothing else to say. Allura/Fala holds him tight.
The following morning, the planet's rumbling and moaning is worse. Allura/Fala and Sven/Ryou reconnoiter, to discover the Drule/Galra Haggarium/Honervium mines. The Drule/Galra Commander appears behind them and takes them prisoner. At the main camp, we discover that Larmina, Vince, Daniel, Romelle/Amue and the Space Mice have also been taken prisoner. The Vehicle and Gladiator Voltrons and their teams head down to the surface to rescue them.
Allura and the Drule/Galra Commander talk. Both know what is at stake. The unlimited supply of Haggarium/Honervium means unlimited use of the Drule/Galra cloaking systems. Warbirds can stay cloaked indefinitely; wander freely about the galaxy, undetected. But the Commander wants something more from Allura/Fala. He wants to know the secret of how the planet, which has unlimited Haggarium/Honervium was exactly formed from. Allura/Fala philosophically muses about the historical battles fought over gold, spices, oil. The Drule/Galra Commander promises to begin killing members of Allura/Fala's crew if Allura/Fala doesn't divulge the secret.
Throughout their conversation, the Drule/Galra has been twiddling something in his hands. Finally, Allura/Fala sees what it is. They are the four Galaxy Alliance belt buckles. Their impact on Allura/Fala is to revive her reason for being on the forbidden planet.
That night, someone approaches the bound prisoners, steps behind Romelle/Amue. Instructions are whispered to her by these shadowy figures. Instructions in familiar language! She is freed, and watches as the figures disappear into the inky blackness of the forbidden planet night. Then she frees the others, leads them away from the Drule/Galra camp. She will not answer any of their questions as she leads them on.
They reach a cathedral-like palace in the forest, and Larmina points.
In the distance, backlit by an eerie light, amid the growls of the strange land, stands what appears to be who they think they are; who are Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu.
The current Lion Voltron crewmembers rush forward, overjoyed to see them, but stop short at the sound of a group of animal-like roars.
Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu are bearded, ragged, and seem mad. They are primeval humans, in turmoil - sanity vs. madness, logic vs. passion. They yell at Allura/Fala, "You all left us here to die, didn't you?!" The guys curse the Drules/Galras, "Monsters. We will kill you all." The rescue teams fear the guys have lost it.
Sven/Ryou gets in Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu's faces despite warnings from the others. "You red-blooded idiots, how dare you turn on all your friends? You think I don't know what lurks under your cool, calm nonsenses all these years! You animals -– you're mine, all mine-" A big fight four on one breaks out.
Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu grab Sven/Ryou in a five-way viselike hug, beginning by crushing the very life out of him. Sven/Ryou raises his arm, and plunges hypodermics into the four guys he used to work with. "You sons of bitches-–I read the book."
Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu fall into a coma, and soon the rumbling of the planet grows worse. A full blown quake strikes. Allura/Fala surmises that since the planet was originally formed so quickly and due to the mining, it is accelerating its growth and its destruction.
The Drule/Galra Commander stalks them, despite warnings from his Sub-Commander telling him the forbidden planet is doomed. Romelle/Amue ties into the Drule/Galra frequency with her communicator. Allura/Fala pretends to be the Drule/Galra Commander, orders the Sub-Commander to shuttle them up. Shuttles are sent down to collect the Lion Voltron survivors.
The Drule/Galra Commander appears at the edge of the clearing, and raises his weapons, aiming at the Lion Voltron survivors. They are shuttled away by the shuttles and the surviving Voltrons before his eyes.
The Lion Voltron crew makes their way to the Drule/Galra Bridge. The Sub-Commander reaches for her laser pistol to stop them all, but alas, Romelle/Amue grabs one first, and finally vaporizes her.
Allura/Fala offers to shuttle the Drule/Galra Commander and his soldiers aboard as prisoners of the Galaxy Alliance. The reply is static. "To the darkest reaches of space with him," Allura/Fala says. Vince and the others fumble about; trying to decipher the controls, and finally the ship joins the other two Voltrons and goes into warp as the forbidden planet explodes.
Allura/Fala and Sven/Ryou ride an elevator to the Drule/Galra sick bay. Both realize that the rules were different on the planet, but here, back on duty, their love has no chance. It is against the rules, though Allura/Fala devilishly says she has been known to break a few rules.
As Allura/Fala arrives in Sickbay, Romelle/Amue calls from the bridge of the Drule/Galra vessel. The Argo/Miyamoto is approaching, and Larmina wants to know what she should do. "Why," Allura/Fala says, "Surrender."
Allura/Fala, Keith/Akira, Pidge/Hiroshi, Hunk/Tsuyoshi and Lance/Isamu are alone. They tell her what she did will resonate. "They'll make you pay a price for this, Allura/Fala. A court-martial for sure."
"I know. I've already figured my plea, nolo contendre, and I'll throw myself on the mercy of the court. With any luck, they'll bust me down from my high ranking position and send me out with you guys again."
"In a new Lion Voltron," adds Keith/Akira.
"I hope so," says Allura/Fala.
There's a moment, then the guys say, "Your Highness. . .", and Allura/Fala looks up, "Yes?"
"Thanks for coming back for us." they say. "We owe you our lives." The Princess smiles.
As the Warbird heads for home, we FADE OUT.