Disclaimer: I don't own anything that belongs to WEP or CBS/Paramount, so don't sue me. I'm not making any money off this anyway. What I do own are the crew of the Berlin, except Mordock and Scotty, the fighter Thunderwing, and the story itself.
This one's gonna be qutie a bit more character-oriented than my previous fics, but there'll still be a fair amount of trademark MustangAce action. So let me know what you think.
Star Tron: The Retreat
Chapter 1: Intruders
Castle of Lions, Arus
The night was quiet and peaceful. A light breeze whispered through the trees around the Castle of Lions and rippled the surface of the moat. Overhead, the stars twinkled brightly, and Arus' three moons cast a ghostly light on the royal palace.
But all was not as peaceful as it seemed. Overhead, a black shape soared toward the castle, its engines barely audible above the breeze. Like a giant vulture, it moved silently and inexorably toward its destination.
Coming into a hover above the castle, its cockpit opened, and a rope fell toward the roof of one of the castle towers. A lone figure, a black-clad ghost in the night, slid down from the craft and onto the roof. Landing with barely a sound, he began making his way down the roof. Already, he could see his destination, a gap in the castle's armor plating where the weapons had been removed.
This man was no soldier, not as such. He preferred the term "soldier of fortune", but the simple fact was that he was a mercenary, and one with some experience in assassination. When he'd been approached by his current client about a hit at the Castle of Lions, he'd almost left. In fact, he'd almost made it to the door. But when he was told that security at the castle was in pieces owing to repair and refit work, he decided that the job just might be worth it. And of course, the pay was damn good.
Crawling along the sheer steel wall, he entered the gap, and slowly maneuvered onto the ceiling. It always amazed him how everyone thought thick, metallic armor was the best defense. It just made his job easier.
Looking around, he saw no guards posted. Only a few space mice in the corner, which fled into a ventilation shaft as soon as they saw him. And why should there be guards here? The gap was over fifty meters above the ground, much too far to jump, and the smooth steel wall was unclimbable, with each panel being nearly three meters across.
Staying on the ceiling, the mercenary made his way to the door and out into the corridor. He saw several camera mounts sweeping the corridor, but their angle made them no threat. He easily navigated around them and continued into the next section of the corridor. A quick jog into a side corridor, and he found himself almost at his goal.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Keith yawned. It was his turn to cover the graveyard shift until practice in the morning, when he'd be relieved by Coran for the day shift. He took another swig from the cup of cold coffee he had with him. With most of the castle's defenses and security systems partially or totally offline, he had to be extra vigilant. He'd added extra guards to cover vital areas, but so far, all had been quiet.
The castle was into the second week of an expected four-week upgrade. Following the episode with the Konogg Brigade and the invasion, Coran, along with Adam's help, had convinced Starfleet to modify and update the castle with more powerful weapons. While the missile launchers and several of the anti-fighter laser emplacements would remain, most of the heavier laser cannons were being replaced by phasers, and a photon torpedo launcher was being installed in each tower. Also, the castle was being fitted with deflector shields to supplement the thick armor plating, as well as a transporter and several other useful devices. The specs on these would also be sent to the Alliance so they could work on their own versions.
In return, the Berlin was being provided with additional ion-dart launchers for missile defense, and a final agreement was nearing completion that would "lease" the submerged Doom base off the coast to Starfleet for use as a base until the orbital facility was complete.
Keith was about to begin checking in with the guards again when Cheddar, Pip, and Squeak suddenly came running up the side of the console and jumped around excitedly in front of him. "What's the matter, guys? Run out of cheese?" Keith asked dismissively.
The mice shook their heads and started pantomiming crawling and shooting pistols. Keith didn't quite know what they were trying to say, but it had nothing to do with cheese.
Frustrated, Cheddar pulled on Keith's collar, pointing toward the door. This message was unambiguous. "What's wrong?" he asked again. "Is someone in the castle?"
The mice jumped up and down, nodding their heads emphatically. Keith got the message. "Is the Princess in danger?" More nods. Keith knew that the mice had a tendency to exaggerate, but never about Allura. If they believed she was in trouble…
He slammed his hand down on the alarm button, but nothing happened. He hit it twice more, but still with no effect. His anger flared, but he'd deal with that later. Pulling a pistol from a locker on the wall, he raced from the control room, calling into his communicator for all guards to converge on the royal chambers.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ahead lay the entrance to the royal chambers. Outside, a lone guard stood watch. But in the dim light of the corridor, the mercenary was nearly invisible. Slowly, he crept forward, pulling a weapon from his belt. He wouldn't kill the guard. Not that he had any qualms about taking out whoever he had to in order to get the job done, but he preferred the cruel sense of defeat and humiliation that would come to the guard with his failure. It was his way of adding insult to injury.
He aimed carefully and shot a tranquilizer dart into the guard's neck. He looked around, shocked, took one stumbling step, and dropped.
With the guard out of the way, the mercenary dropped to the floor. Whipping another device from a pouch on his belt, he quickly disabled the door locks, and stepped inside. The door had just shut behind him when the guard's radio crackled, carrying Keith's alarm. But the assassin heard nothing behind the soundproof door.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Princess Allura woke suddenly. Something didn't feel right. She thought she'd heard her door open a moment before, but she saw no-one in the room. A chill ran down her spine. Something was wrong. Slowly, she reached toward her nightstand, grabbing a small cylinder and holding it tightly in her hand, her thumb poised over the switch on the end.
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind. She struggled and tried to call for help as she was dragged from her bed, but a hand was clamped tight over her mouth as a low voice whispered, "Shh. Be a good girl now, and this'll all be over soon."
Terrified, Allura tried to turn to her attacker, but the mercenary held her tight. He preferred to do this sort of work up close and personal. And with a target as lovely as the princess, he didn't mind letting his fingers do some of the talking. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, your choice," he said. He felt the princess relax a bit. "That's right," he said, as his hand slid down across her body and around to the dagger on his belt.
Allura was disgusted. Perhaps more that than frightened. She quickly pressed the button on the device, and it began to blink. Just a few more seconds… She felt her attacker pull something off his belt, and knew her time was almost up.
Just then, she felt a tingle start at the base of her spine, and gradually the room dissolved around her in a blue haze. She just had time to hear Keith and the others crashing through the door into her room as the world faded around her.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Keith and Lance were the first through the door. A guard hit the lights as Lance and Keith opened fire, both hitting the mercenary squarely in the chest. As he felt to the ground, a bronze-colored knife fell from his grasp. The man was dead before he hit the ground.
The Voltron Force and the guards fanned out around the room. Keith and Lance checked the dead merc, while the others looked for the Princess. "Keith, the Princess isn't here," Pidge said with alarm.
But Keith was unfazed. He pulled his communicator from his belt and pressed a few buttons. "This is Commander Keith calling the Starship Berlin. Do you have the Princess?"
U.S.S. Berlin
In orbit over Arus
Allura sat on the edge of the transporter pad, shivering from fear and the cool temperature in the chamber. Taking several deep breaths to calm herself, she looked over as the door opened and Captain Driscoll walked in with Dr. Saladin. Neither was in full uniform, suggesting they'd both been awakened at her arrival.
"Ally, what happened?" Driscoll asked, kneeling beside her. He saw her shivering and looked at the transporter attendant. "Get her a blanket, Foley."
Allura shook her head, but didn't look up. "I don't know. I heard the door open and I woke up, and then someone grabbed me from behind. He… he touched me… and then he reached for something, and I hit the transponder."
Since her capture by the Konogg Brigade, Driscoll had given her a transponder to carry in case something like that ever happened again, and the starship could beam her to safety immediately.
Adam nodded and looked at Saladin. "She'll be all right, Captain," the doctor replied, stroking his mustache. "She's had quite a scare, but no physical harm done, aside from some light bruising." Saladin stepped back as Ensign Foley handed Allura a blanket, and she quickly wrapped it around herself.
"Bridge to transporter room."
Driscoll looked up. "Transporter room, Driscoll here."
"Commander Keith is calling about the Princess, sir."
"Send it through." He paused and a moment later, he heard Keith's voice. "Is the Princess safe?"
"Yeah, boss. She's okay. Pretty shook up, though. What happened?"
"We need to talk, but not like this. Can you come down with Allura?"
"On the way." Driscoll replied. "Tell Nanny we'll beam the Princess to her room. I assume you left a mess in the Princess' chambers."
"Good idea. Keith out."
Adam looked at Allura. "You okay to go?" he asked. "Or do you want to take a couple minutes?"
Allura looked at him, the first time she'd made eye contact since he got there. He saw the traces of fear, but there was a measure of calm as well. Nodding, she said, "I'll be all right. Besides, Nanny will lecture me for hours about proper dress in public if I don't get down there."
Adam smiled slightly at her half-hearted attempt at humor. "Okay. Nanny'll be right there waiting for you, and we'll see you in the Control Room. Take your time." He'd never seen her so upset as she was now. She usually didn't react so strongly to situations like this. A result of her combat experience perhaps, but this rare show of trepidation had Adam concerned.
Taking her hand, he helped her up and onto the transporter pad. They didn't release each other until just after Driscoll commanded, "Energize."
Castle of Lions, Arus
Walking into the Control Room, Captain Driscoll saw that Coran and the other members of the Voltron Force were already waiting for him. He'd walked Allura to Nanny's room and made sure she was safe before heading up. Surprisingly, Nanny had thanked him for the effort.
"Is she all right?" Coran asked.
Adam nodded. "A few bruises, but nothing bad. Coulda been a lot worse."
Coran relaxed a bit, but said nothing more.
"So who's the bad guy?" Driscoll asked. "And for his sake, I hope you killed him, after what he did…"
Keith held up his hand to stop the Captain's rant. "Yeah, he's dead. And we found this." He held up the mercenary's knife. The blade was dark bronze in color, with a black handle. Keith held it wrapped in a cloth Driscoll reached out to touch it, but Keith pulled it back. "No, it's poisoned. One touch and you're a goner."
"This was no kidnapping attempt. This man intended to kill Allura," said Coran.
Driscoll was shocked. "Kill her? Why? Who?"
"We dunno," said Hunk. "But when I get my hands on him…" He punched his palm hard, leaving no doubt about what awaited the mastermind of this plot.
"We should know more by tomorrow," Coran said. "But that's not why we asked you to come."
"Really? So why?" Driscoll asked.
"Frankly, the reason the assassin was able to get in was because of the refits. There are too many security gaps," Coran replied.
"The security cameras didn't see him. His ship was found hovering over the castle, near one of the new torpedo rooms. He probably got in there," said Pidge.
"The main alarm system was offline," said Keith. "Your guys didn't turn it back on when they finished their work yesterday, like they were supposed to."
"Hold on a sec here. Are you saying this is my fault?" Driscoll asked incredulously.
"No. Not directly," said Coran.
"But your guys, yeah," said Lance.
"I don't believe this! I guess the first thing that gets fixed is always the blame, ain't it?" he asked hotly. "We didn't force these refits down your throat, ya know. You asked for 'em, and we agreed. Now you're blaming…"
"Adam, wait," said Keith.
"No, you wait, dude. What have I ever done but stick my neck out to help you guys? I damn near got court-martialed, Starfleet's giving you…"
"Captain, enough!" Coran said sternly. Driscoll's mouth snapped shut mid-sentence. "We are not accusing you. We're trying to find a way to keep this from happening again. Giving Allura that emergency beacon saved her life tonight, and we have you to thank for that." Hearing that sentence blew the anger right out of Driscoll, and made him feel more than a little sheepish. Once again, he'd blown his stack at the wrong time.
"What happened tonight was the result of many factors. Now we've already reactivated the alarms, but we still don't know how the security monitors, which were working, didn't detect him," Coran continued.
"The guard was knocked out. He never knew what hit him." Lance said.
"This guy was a real pro," said Pidge.
"That's the problem. Someone hired a professional hit on Allura. Someone wants her dead," said Keith
"Can't be Lotor," said Hunk. "He just plain wants her." The look his comment earned from the others stifled any further opinions.
"Whoever it is…" Keith continued. "They probably won't stop with one try. And next time, it'll be different. With the castle's defenses in the state they are, it's going to be a lot harder to keep the Princess safe."
"I can arrange to get work crews around the clock, but we'll only be able to shave off a week at most. That's still at least two weeks to complete the refit," said Adam. "And there'll be almost constant problems with your systems until they finish."
"We've already determined that the Castle of Lions is no longer safe enough for the Princess," said Coran. "Our only alternatives are the starbase and your ship, Captain."
"Then you've only got one option, unless you want Allura hot-bunking with Starfleet engineers. The starbase is operational, but the only livable accommodations are enlisted quarters."
Just then, the Control Room's great steel blast doors opened, and Allura walked in, with Nanny by her side. She joined the group at the console. "Princess, are you all right?" Coran asked.
Allura nodded.
"Coran, I told her she should sleep, but she insisted on coming," Nanny complained.
"That is best, Nanny." Coran explained the situation to Allura. "So you see, for the time being, it is not safe for you here, until we complete the refit, or stop whoever is trying to have you killed," he finished.
At this point, Adam spoke up. "If you want, Allura, you can stay on the Berlin until we get this taken care of. You can beam down in the morning for practice to take care of whatever you gotta do, and come back up at night for security."
Nanny immediately objected. "You call that security? And what happens if you are attacked?"
"We have shields and our weapons work fine. The hatches for the ion dart launchers are already installed. The rest of the work is internal. Allura will be perfectly safe," Adam assured her, a bit annoyed.
"Princess, I still think you'd be better off…"
"With my people," Allura cut in. "I appreciate you offer, Adam, but my people are in just as much danger as me, and I won't flee when they can't."
"Allura, you're not running away. It's temporary. And you'll be down here whenever you need to be. We ain't locking you up."
"Your sentiments are noble, Allura, and I agree with you. But your people also need their Princess," said Coran. "And for the time being, I think this is the best choice."
"Besides, who has to know? You could come and go from your room, and nobody but us would know what's really going on," said Pidge.
Allura saw the reason in their statements. She hated being hidden away and protected so much, but she had to admit, this time, things were a bit more serious. Finally, she nodded. "All right. I'll go to the Berlin for now. But only until the castle upgrades are finished."
"It's decided, then," said Coran approvingly. "The Princess will remain on the starship unless official business requires her presence."
"Including combat," Driscoll chimed in. Seeing the dark look from Nanny, he quickly added, "With the castle defenses down, we can't afford not to have Voltron ready."
"Quite right, Captain," said Coran. "Now, I believe we have arrangements to make. The rest of you should try to get some sleep. Including you, Commander," he added for Keith. "I will take the watch, and a guard can relieve me early today."
Keith agreed, adding, "We'll push practice off until nine, so everyone get some sleep." On that note, the group drifted out.
Adam caught Allura near the door. "I know how you feel about this, Allura. And I'll do everything I can to get you back here ASAP."
Allura nodded, the events of the past hour already catching up with her. She yawned and headed down the hall, with Nanny close behind. Adam nodded to the governess, and called for a beam up. The princess' silence bothered him, but he figured she'd be better after some sleep and a little time.