General Disclaimer: Voltron does not belong to me. I make no claims to the characters. If it did V3D would never have happened and we may have the movie already. However I am writing this for my enjoyment and the enjoyment of others. There is no monetary gain involved, just a feeling of fuzzy goodness before the zombie apocalypse dooms us all.

AN: Constructive Criticism is welcome and encouraged. I have a relatively thick skin and a poor understanding of commas so you have been warned. Also I've borrowed things from the Devil's Due comic as well as the TV show. Dynamite hasn't been playing with the characters long enough for me to delve into their story yet. And I may borrow a little from the new cartoon. Haven't decided yet.

The sunrise over the Earth caught the eyes of the young captain as the ship broke atmosphere. He let his mind save a snapshot of the peaceful image as they began their journey away from the only home he had ever known. It didn't matter anymore. Something nagged the back of his mind giving him the feeling he wouldn't make it back there. At least not for a long time.

Far across the universe a young woman watched the sun setting over the lake outside her home. The quiet peace of twilight hid the scars that war had torn across the once peaceful countryside. She was running out of hope as the daily attacks ravaged her planet. Her world was running out of time.

On the small ship hurtling away from earth a young lieutenant sat plotting the course to the jumpgate. He allowed his mind to wander to the stunning redhead he spent his last night on Earth with. She was every bit as firey as her hair. A small smile played across his lips as he navigated far away from her sparking temper.

As the ship broke through the jumpgate the rest of the crew slumbered in their stasis beds. The trip was a month long. Having them sleep consumed less oxygen and space on board the small ship. Stasis sleep meant no dreams. The captain checked his crew before joining his lieutenant in the cockpit. The two had been roommates at the academy, and friends for most of their time there. As he joined him both fell into a comfortable silence.

"Now for the long boring part my friend." The pilot chuckled, breaking the silence for the first time since the trip began.

"You could always join the rest of the crew Lance. I'm more than capable of getting us to our destination."

"Wouldn't being alone make it worse Keith?" Lance replied.

"I like the quiet. If I get stir crazy I can always wake you back up." He smiled at his lieutenant. "Besides I'm not sure I can take a full month of your singing."

"You wound me deeply Keith. I sing quite well. It's gotten me many a kiss from a beautiful woman."

"Are you sure they weren't just trying to shut you up?" Keith replied softly.

"For that, my captain, you are stuck with me for the duration of the trip." Lance replied. "So tell me about the rest of the crew."

"Well, your replacement is Sven Holgerssen." Keith ducked the pen that flew at his head and laughed. "Sven you know from classes. He's one of the few that were able to keep up with your flying. Our two new additions are Tsyoshi Garret and Darrell Stoker. Specialist Garrett is a whiz with anything mechanical, he can fix just about anything. Private Stoker is a computer specialist. He's only sixteen but has already forgotten more about computers than you've ever known." Keith scanned the file a bit further and chuckled.

"He's also the reason you were caught hacking the flight sim Lance."

"Oh joy." Lance muttered under his breath.

The three weeks following passed quite quickly for the pair, though both were tempted to use the remaining stasis pod at one point or another. As the outer rim of Arus' solar system approached Keith noticed a worrying sight.

Cursing under his breath he flipped on the intercom and gritted his teeth. There was a blockade around Arus.

"Lance! Plan D! Get in the stasis pod."

"What about you?" came the reply.

"Just get in the damn pod lieutenant. I need you in one piece." Keith replied.

"Fine, but you better stay alive or I'm coming after you to kick your ass!"

Keith couldn't help but grin at his friend's comment and began to formulate a plan to get them to the planet's surface. The size of their ship gave him their only advantage as he navigated the asteroid field that was just in radar range. Using the skills he had he scanned the communication channels and found the one the ships were using. He had studied both Drule and Arusian while in the academy. As he listened to the chatter he realized something.

The Drule blockade had been going on for quite some time. Most of the crews felt that it was busywork and were very bored with the job. All he had to do was find the weakest section of the blockade. That's when he heard it. One of the large destroyers was going to be running drills. Drills that included false enemy on radar. If he planned it right he could, hopefully slip by.

Using the debris of the asteroid field he got as close to the destroyer as he could. No one was suspicious of anything out here. They were overconfident of their win against Arus. The alert went out on the ship and he began his move. He was fine as long as the fighters didn't see him. Using a trick he learned from one of his more daring teachers he punched the controls and moved his ship erratically hoping that would further confuse the destroyer.

As he passed the ship part of him felt that they had made it. That was when the mission began to go south. Laser fire erupted around him as he neared the Arusian atmosphere. He misjudged the drill as fighters began to flow from the destroyer.

Beginning evasive maneuvers he managed to avoid most of the ships. Their tiny transport was unarmed but the shields were some of the best available. Diverting most of the power to the aft shield array he began atmospheric re-entry. Catching a couple of the fighters unaware he watched them burn up as they misjudged their entry approach. However he was still being followed and shot at. Once he broke through he pushed the little ship as fast as it could go and headed into a nearby canyon. Somehow his ship was more maneuverable than the fighters and he heard two more explode upon impact with the canyon wall.

Then an explosion rocked his ship bouncing him painfully in his harness. He had lost one engine and much of his speed.

"This is Captain Kogane of the Galaxy Alliance." He began on the encrypted frequency he knew the Arusian's were using for communication. "I have lost one engine and am being chased by Drule fighters. I am going to try to make it as close as I can to the castle after losing the two fighters on my tail."

Another shot bounced off of the shield array rocking the ship and causing a panel to explode to his left. He shielded his face from the shrapnel and pushed what was left of the engines a little harder. Seeing the canyon made a sharp turn ahead he tried a move he had only ever seen in the movies.

Speeding up he raced toward the canyon wall. As the fighters behind him closed in he waited until there was almost no space left and quickly slowed down and shot upward. He watched as both of the fighters following him slammed hard into the canyon wall.

Sighing for a moment he began to move towards the castle, keeping his ship low so it would be mostly undetectable. Another explosion rocked his ship as the final engine blew. Holding it as steady as he could he aimed for the forest outside the castle hoping he could keep the ship together as it crashed. The stasis pods were made of a durable almost unbreakable material. If he could put it down away from the pod bay they should hold together.

"This is Captain Kogane of the Galaxy Alliance. Mission code V-5B. We are about to crash land in the forest north of the castle. If anyone gets this message please help."

Saying a small prayer to whatever deity watched over this planet he braced for the impact as the ship finally hit the ground. 'Please make sure my crew is safe'. The impact threw Keith forward, snapping the harness and sending him careening into the console. Mercifully he blacked out.