Hey! I am doing a new story. Highly irresponsible of me considering I am notoriously bad at updating everything else. They will be two parts to the story. This part is set pre-Kerberos and the lead up to the mission. This is kind of my way of letting Voltron live. I really loved the reboot despite the craziness of the fandom. the only negative I have was that it felt rushed and if they had like two more seasons could have really fleshed out some of the plot holes.
Enjoy the first chapter, guys
"The stars are so much more here than at home, Mama." The little girl pointed up at the night sky. Back at home, she was so used to the blackness being highlighted with only a few constellations but out here, the dark canopy was shining brightly with millions of lights, swirling and dancing into various patterns. The girl's mother laughed at her excitement.
"That's because there isn't any city lights to hide them. Out here, they can shine as brightly as they want. Let's help your dad set up." She nodded and ran ahead to meet her father at their caravan. Ever since she could remember, her parents would take her to various places to study the sky. She wasn't entirely sure what their work involved and half the time it sounded like her parents were speaking another language but she was always fascinated by the gadgets and machines they let her play with.
"What are we looking for today, Dad?" she asked as she climbed up into the trailers back.
"There is a very special comet that only shows once every 75 years and it will appear here tonight."
"Cool!" Her eyes shone in excitement as she listened to him explain the comet's trajectory.
"Mija, come here." Her mother beckoned for her to come. "Take a seat, there's still time before it starts." She climbed onto the chairs that were set up and her mum handed her a tablet where they would log all the constellations they'd have seen. "Since we're far from home, there are a lot more new stars here. Like that one." She pointed up and her daughter aligned the tablet with it. It lit up beside the star with a speech bubble.
"Alpha Centauri," she read out slowly.
"That's one of the closest stars to Earth which is why it shines so bright. See that dimmer blue one? That's Beta Centauri and together they act as the Pointers. If you follow them down that way-" She guided her daughter's tablet slightly. "You'll find Crux."
"Also known as the Southern Cross," she read out loud. "It's commonly used for navigation," her mother helped her read. The constellation glowed white, surrounded by colourful stars and contrasting dark nebulae
"And there are some we can see at home Summer Triangle looks upside down and is called the Winter Triangle. Altair is on top, and Deneb and Vega sinking over time and there you can see Orion's sword pointing up toward Rigel instead." The two of them continued to explore the stars, marking each new thing they found. She excitedly pointed at the two glistening globular clusters, each holding hundreds of thousands of stars, resembling a geode that was cracked open. There was also a strange looking galaxy, as if it was all mixed up with a rainbow of colours. When she observed it with her binoculars it was actually two galaxies merging into a dusty bright spiral.
"And what about that one?" She pointed at a constellation far up in the sky. Twisting in her seat, she angled her tablet at it. "Fo.. ee… nix?" she pronounced haphazardly.
"Phoenix," her mother corrected. "It's a magical bird from ancient times. It's said that when a phoenix dies it bursts into flames." She gasped, mortified by the extreme death. Her mother chuckled. "It's OK. The phoenix is reborn from the ashes all brand new. It can now relive it's life again."
"That's so cool. I want to be a phoenix."
"You can be like one. It stands for renewal. That means overcoming darkness and rising to the occasion. It means not letting anything stand in your way. Whenever something goes wrong, you pick yourself up and keep going forward until you succeed. That is what it means to be a phoenix, mija." She kissed her hair. "And I know you are capable of anything you put your mind to." She stood up and held her arms out. "Come on, let's see what your dad is doing." She latched onto her mother and climbed up onto her shoulders, burying her nose into her hair and indulging in its comforting scent.
It took three years in the Academy and three of tertiary training, doing menial space missions and dealing with whiny cadets, before Milana Ross had her time to shine. She had given up on relationships, cut most friends off and even made a few 'enemies' along the way. But none of that mattered now.
Soon, she will find out if all of that was worth it or if it was in vain. One click was standing between her and her dream since she could remember, ever since her parents introduced her into the world of astronomy. She wanted to dive head first into the unknown and unexplored world beyond this small blue planet. One click was going to determine if she was going to make history.
"Can you just open the email?" Her soliloquy was interrupted. "You've been staring at the screen with that dead face of yours." Milana turned in her chair to glare at her roommate, Quinn who was frowning at her. "What does it say?" Sighing, Milana opened the email and began to read it out loud.
"Dear Miss Ross,
"We are writing to inform you that, based on the performance you've displayed as both a pilot and supervising officer, you have selected as a potential candidate for the Kerberos mission. Training will commence next week." The rest of the email contained forms she need to fill in beforehand and instructions for the first meeting.
"Oh, my God! Congrats, Mila." Quinn hugged her from behind. "All that antisocial, nerdy behaviour finally paid off." She pulled away when she noticed there was no response from Milana. "And why aren't you smiling?"
"Because I haven't got anything yet. The email said I'm one of the candidates. Until I have beat them and get to head this mission, I have nothing to smile about." She stood up and grabbed the documents that printed out. Holding a pen between her teeth, she read through the forms.
Not liking that she was ignored, Quinn spoke up. "You are going to die alone."
"As long as I am successful, that's fine with me. People suck. Minus you," she added hastily and blew her a kiss before leaving so she would have to endure another lecture about how unhealthy her behaviour was.
She walked down the near deserted halls to the office of the Head of Exploration, the only sound was the receding footsteps of others. She turned the corner and checked to see if anyone was around. Confirming that the coast was clear, Milana's normally straight expressionless face changed into an uncharacteristic wide grin.
She broke into a small yet enthusiastic celebratory dance, quietly squealing and jumping around. She did it, she finally did it. She could feel her cheeks straining from how much she was smiling. Holding the folder under her arm, she took a step forward and pumped her fist. Fists still raised, she caught her reflection in a nearby glass cabinet. Holding in a laugh at her now dishevelled curls, Milana flattened her hair and tucked it back and continued on her way. Finally making it to the office, it seemed that no one else was there.
Good, she thought, hoping that this put her ahead of the other candidates. She raised her fist and knocked on the opaque stained glass thrice. A voice from inside commanded her to enter, the door automatically sliding open. Expecting to be the only one there, Milana was not prepared to see another supervising officer there. Her face flickered with irritation as she approached the desk, realising she wasn't the first one.
The room had both Commanders Mitch Iverson and Linda Jiang, the latter being the head of the department. Beside them was Professor Samuel Holt, someone who's work she had studied from beginning to end. She found his unconventional ways something she connected with from a young age and his keen interest in extraterrestrial lifeforms was a passion she shared with him. The last person in the room, the source of her annoyance, she recognised instantly.
Takashi Shirogane. He was two years above her when she was a cadet and was hailed to be one of the best pilots the Garrison had ever produced. Handsome and naturally gifted, he had broken every record in place when he was merely a teenager. People either wanted him or wanted to be him.
During her cadet years, he was her senior. He had mentored her and a couple of other teams and she did once look up to him. However when she graduated, realised the hard truth. When it came to missions and records, she had always come close but never actually surpassed him. People would congratulate her for getting close but all that did was rub salt in the wound. Even with missions, she had missed out on chances by a hair's breadth to him.
If she had a list of people she want to beat, he was on top. Milana was prideful and Takashi Shirogane hurt that pride. Dispelling all negative thoughts, she stepped up beside him and gave her superiors a salute. She glanced up at Shirogane who flashed her a welcoming smile.
Ugh… stop trying to be so likable.
"Wow, look at you two being keen beans. It's always the younger ones who are the keen ones." Professor Holt stepped out of the line and approached the two officers. He stopped in front of Shirogane first. Extending his hands and clasping them both around Shirogane's, Holt shook them vigorously. "It is not a surprise to see you here, Shiro. Such a gifted pilot, one might call you a genius." Milana felt slightly jealous at the familiarity between Holt and Shirogane.
"Please, sir. That's too much." Milana wanted to roll her eyes. This man had the goody two shoes act pat down. One of the many things that pissed her off was geniuses, especially the ones who pretended they were like 'everyone else'.
"And you must be Milana Ross." Holt shook her hand with the same vigor. "I had the pleasure of working with your father on several research projects. How is Michael doing?"
"He's well, I haven't spoke to him in a while." She squeezed his hands and leaned forwards. "I have read all your papers, Professor Holt. It's amazing to finally meet the man behind such brilliant work."
"Aww, thank you." He scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
"My favourite was the one about the reinstatement of Pluto as a planet. Despite having a few others against your theory, the information was sound and made a lot more sense than other papers I read. The detail you go in about it all is superb. You mentioned how Pluto is technically gravitationally dominant as its orbit isn't controlled by Neptune as once believed because of the better imaging taken, showing a more accurate time lapse of her orbit rather than relying on predictions which tend to have a margin of error."
She paid no regard to the others as she continued chattering. "I also love how you believe we are not alone in the universe. If there is humans existing, why stop there? My biggest dream is to meet an alien lifeform and study their culture and lifestyle. Like how different would they be from us. If we strip them down to the bare necessities, are they like us?" Milana couldn't contain her excitement. Samuel Holt was someone she always wanted to meet and finding out this was his expedition made her want it even more.
"It's amazing to see someone so young interested in what I do. The only kids I find into this are my own and even they get bored of hearing me talk. If you ever want to discuss this further, come stop by my lab."
"I would love to."
"I seems like we are getting off track here." Commander Jiang spoke up and gestured for Holt to return to her side. "It's nice to see you two so enthusiastic about the program. The next few months will involve the three of us assessing your skills as a pilot and a leader in different scenarios and how well you do in each situation. At the end of the trial, one of you will be selected to join Professor Holt and his son on the mission to Kerberos. It will be the first time humans will be able travel that fat into space and one of you will be a part of this historical moment."
"Thank you for this opportunity, Commander." She gave him her best professional smile. "I look forward to starting next week."
"Me too," Shirogane added from beside her, making it very difficult for her not to roll her eyes. It was already irritating enough to be standing beside someone who was considered to be a prodigy. She could feel Iverson's attention turning more to Shirogane than herself as he spoke. "I am honoured to be included in this. I will do everything in my power to prove myself to you."
"Excellent," Jiang clapped her hands together. "Thank you for the forms and I'll see you on Monday for the first briefing. You are dismissed" They both saluted and left the office. Not having any plans for the day, Milana was contemplating whether she should get some early practice in the fight simulator, familiarise herself with it again. It had been a while since she used it herself. She also needed to inform her commanding officer that she wouldn't be as available to help supervise the cadets, Making a mental checklist for the rest of her day, she started to go back the way she came.
"Milana, right?" Turning around, she saw Shirogane smiling at her. She nodded. "We've met as cadets. Takashi Shirogane." She stared at his outstretched hand before clasping her own around it, returning the shake.
Assert your dominance through a firm shake, she thought, as she squeezed his hand hard before letting go. She smiled to herself as she noticed Shirogane acknowledge her power move.
"Milana Ross. You have to be living under a rock to not know the great Takashi Shirogane." She was surprised to see him looking bashful when she said that.
"Yeah, it's embarrassing," he chuckled awkwardly. "I heard you have nickname too. Ice Queen, wasn't it?"
She frowned. She was given that name in her first year as a cadet partially because of her cold demeanour and partially due to an altercation with a classmate within the first semester. As revenge, she always made sure her mark was always above his by a hair's breathe, 'freezing' him place. She only did that because he was being a dick and not only to her but other cadets, someone had to show him his place. She hated the name, it made her seem ruthless and unloving, but she used it to her advantage.
"Well, it must mean you were a force to be reckoned with." She raised her head and watched him smile gently at her. "All the good pilots get nicknames and you know you must be really good out you get one that scares others."
She arched an eyebrow. This was not what she expected. Typically the top male pilots had this air of arrogance to them that infuriated her but it seemed that Shirogane retained the kind helpful personality he had when they were cadets.
"You're too nice." The thought was out of her mouth before she could stop herself. Her eyes widened slightly as she tried to keep her composure, pretending what she said was a normal response.
Shirogane laughed. "I was just telling you the truth." He glanced at his watch. "It was good to meet you. I'll see you next week, and nice dance before." He gave her a wink and jogged down the hall, leaving Milana frozen there.
Milana's personality is very hot and cold. While writing her, she even confused me. Hopefully, you guys enjoy this story. It is pretty fun planning the pre-Kerberos storyline since we didn't get much of it in the canon. It will be fun to create something with such little cannon information.
Hope you enjoyed the first chapter,
Minami