Once the deal with the Doom Empire was solidified, the illegal drug trade on the world of Caelia began to thrive. The ruler of the small planet, Gareth, originally had been against the idea of entering into a business agreement with the feared Drules, but it was an excellent opportunity for his planet, and besides, one did not tell King Zarkon "no" without repercussions. Gareth had been harboring secret hopes that Caelia could one day join the Alliance, but if the arrangement with Doom was discovered this would be all but an impossibility.
The drug at the center of the deal, Voryul, had only been discovered in abundance recently when settlements began appearing in the newly-terraformed regions of the planet, which had formerly been uninhabitable. The agreement itself was simple - if Caelia agreed to provide the Drules unfettered access to the Voryul stockpiles, Doom would provide the slave labor needed to extract it. They would also help distribute it to other parts of the Galaxy while staying under the radar of the Alliance, which had outlawed the substance many years ago due to its severe intoxicating effects and the fact that only a very small amount could kill most species if the chemical wasn't sufficiently boiled down. It was agreed that all profits would be split evenly. With Doom's help, the illegal trade brought in a windfall of profits for the struggling planet. Gareth wasn't sure why Doom was so interested in helping their unexciting home, but his suspicions became more focused after he met the witch Haggar. She seemed particularly interested in its odorless and highly dissolvable properties.
The son of Doom's King Zarkon, Prince Lotor, and Haggar had recently arrived on Caelia to inspect newly constructed Voryul mines and settle an accounting dispute. Lotor was livid at the preposterous idea that anyone would try to short-change him.
"Keep cool, Sire," Haggar reminded him in an atypical soothing tone. "We still need their services for awhile longer before I have enough of the Voryul to create the magic elixir that you so desire. Soon the experimentation process will be complete and I will be able to manufacture enough of the concoction to put the Voltron Force out of commission forever."
Lotor's lips curled upwards in a satisfactory smile. He had tasked Haggar with using the Volyrul to create a poisonous brew that would be used to sicken members of the Voltron team. His idea had been different from previous attempts to thwart the irritating men who had become the bane of his existence. This time, the process would be slower and more calculated. The eventual substance would be slipped into the Voltron Force's food and drink slowly, over time. In an earlier raid on Arus, Lotor had captured the Castle of Lions chef and his family. He threatened the chef's wife and baby child with death if the chef did not comply with his plans and poison the Princess and her friends. They wouldn't get sick right away but eventually, after ingesting small amounts bit by bit, meal by meal, they would fall ill and be unable to defend the planet from his attacks. Then he would be able to take the planet at his leisure and Allura would be his. The fact that she would fall ill because of the Volyrul had been a concern, and the smile that had crossed his face disappeared and was replaced with a deep scowl.
"You're sure the princess will not be seriously harmed by this?" Lotor asked the witch as they walked towards King Gareth's council chambers.
"I'm quite sure, my Lord," she replied. "They will all fall ill, but we will conquer the planet before they ingest enough to be killed. They will all be captured alive and at your disposal on Planet Doom. And if prepared correctly, the Volyrul is untraceable in any current known tests, so no blame will befall us."
Lotor's smile returned again, thinking of the Voltron force in his prison and Allura at his side on the throne. And unbeknownst to Haggar, he planned the same fate for his father, only he planned to finish the deal. With the Voltron force out of his way, Allura as his queen, and Zarkon gone forever, his life would be complete. Lotor and the witch stepped inside Gareth's modest council chambers and Lotor immediately assumed the role of judge, jury, and executioner, the previous thoughts of Allura and Voltron replaced with revulsion for the King who would try to steal from him.
"Gareth," the dark prince growled, hatred unmitigated in his yellow eyes. "You think me a fool!" he bellowed, his rage building fast now that he was in the presence of the man who obviously had a death wish.
"My Lord," Gareth stammered, falling to one knee. "Let me explain, please, it was a mistake! I have the money, my accountant has been fired – you will not deal with such incompetence again, this I assure you!"
"HA!" Lotor retorted, "Of this I am sure of! It is not enough, Gareth, I need to be sure that something like this will never happen again. You are only still breathing at this moment because we are not finished with your precious resources."
"My Lord, what can I do to appease you? Please, you must know that I am sincere – I would not risk my life or my planet on such a stupid, blatant trick!"
"Hmph!" Lotor countered, backhanding Gareth across the mouth. He was still unconvinced. The young king stayed firm, his cheek burning but there was no blood. He knew this recent turn of events would displease the dark prince of Doom but he had underestimated his temper. It was obvious to the less experienced Gareth that Lotor was used to dealing with a level of professionalism Caelia was not able to deliver. It had been an honest mistake but he did not know how to prove this to Lotor without delivering what would sound like a myriad of rehearsed excuses.
Suddenly Lotor's demeanor changed and he looked down at Gareth with an unexpected gleam in his eye. An idea had just occurred to him that could speed up his plan just slightly.
"Gareth," Lotor said, motioning for the fearful king to stand, "Is it true that you wish to join the Alliance?"
Gareth looked at him, unsure exactly how to respond. He had to be truthful, he couldn't deceive the prince a second time even if the first had been unintentional. How upset would he be if he knew that he wanted to join with Lotor's sworn enemy? And how did Lotor find this out? He had never made his goals obvious….
"I have my sources," Lotor responded as if reading Gareth's mind. "And I may have a way of helping you achieve your goals…." The dark prince smiled masochistically. "Helping" Gareth would aide Lotor in achieving his goals, as well.
"My Lord?" Gareth asked, obviously confused.
"Gareth," Lotor replied, "If you want to join the Alliance, maybe you should speak with someone knowledgeable about their…..procedures….."
"I'm sorry, Prince Lotor, I don't understand." Gareth shook his head, still not seeing where Lotor was going with this.
Lotor grinned again, mentally finalizing his plan. Gareth could bring him his ultimate prize – Allura. He would convince the Caleian king to invite her to the planet by convincing her he wanted to join the Alliance. No doubt she would come, the naïve girl, always assuming the best in people. And adding new support to her silly cause would be appealing to her as well. While they waited for the date to arrive that Allura would visit, Lotor would see to it that the Voltron Force would be slowly poisoned…the caustic chemical building in their bodies so that they wouldn't feel the affects just yet, but it wouldn't be long before they did. Lotor would also not have to worry so much about Allura falling ill since she would be in his possession after the Caelian incident, but he could keep drugging the remaining four Voltron imbeciles until it pleased him to stop. It wouldn't be long until Haggar had her formula perfected….Lotor was confident Gareth could contact Arus and make the appointment right then, and by the time Allura actually arrived Haggar's experimentation would be complete.
"Gareth," Lotor said, "Have you ever spoken with Princess Allura of the planet Arus? She has great knowledge of Alliance protocol. She could help you in your quest."
Gareth only looked at Lotor, still not sure where the Drule prince was going in his suggestion of help. Why wouldn't Lotor be upset that he was trying to ally with his enemy?
"I've…met her, my Lord," he said slowly, "at various royal events. Formal functions and the like, but I've never spoken to her of my ambitions."
"I would think she would be a very powerful ally," Lotor responded.
"Yes of course," Gareth said, "However, I'm still not sure what you are suggesting….."
Haggar the witch only pursed her lips, knowing exactly what Lotor was suggesting. He was willing to ruin yet another well laid out plan in his relentless pursuit of the Arusian princess. His reckless ways would only hurt them again, no doubt.
"Invite Princess Allura here," Lotor said. "Discuss the Alliance with her. I would like to speak with her as well, currently my father has no plans in aligning with the Alliance, but maybe once he is…..no longer in power…..I may change things…." Lotor stroked his chin, thinking of the possibilities if Gareth was successful in coercing Allura to come to Caelia.
"Please forgive me, my Lord, but I still don't understand…."
"Allura would never speak with me herself, Gareth, so I'm asking you to bring her here so that I may talk to her. Are you really that stupid?" Lotor retorted. "Invite her here, now, and if she agrees to come then maybe I can be persuaded to forgive your ealier insolence!"
"Ahh, I do understand now, Prince Lotor. I will do as you suggest."
"Yes….yes you will," Lotor murmured, feeling almost giddy at the prospect of seeing Allura sooner than he had originally intended.
Gareth immediately went to the communications console in the council chamber and hailed planet Arus. He knew there had to be more in this plan for Lotor than the dark prince had originally let on, but he didn't care. He was in no position to question the man who had just spared his life……………