A new mission
by jalpari
The Blades of Marmora have expanded as a humanitarian relief organization. Keith receives intel on humans from Earth being held captive on another planet. Shiro and Pidge join him on the new mission to release and bring the prisoners back to their homes.
A/N:
This fanfic picks up from where the "Voltron: Legendary Defender" Netflix series ended. I won't be changing the canon and intend on retaining the original character arcs and history. As a quick review, here are the relevant details:
- Hunk is now an intergalactic chef on a diplomatic mission
- Shiro got married and left the battle behind, but most likely is still a space explorer
- Pidge and the Holt family is leading the next generation of legendary defenders
- Keith works with the Blade which is now a humanitarian relief organization
- Krolia is the Galra representative in the galactic coalition
- Lance continues to spread Allura's message and is living a simpler life with his huge family
- Timeline: One year has passed since the end of season 8
- Ages: Keith 25, Shiro, 32, Hunk 23, Pidge 21, Lance 23
For those of you who actually like my story line and stay with me through the chapters, I want to let you know that this work *squeals in excitement* is eventually going to be a Voltron x Avatar crossover!
NOTE - Based on comments, I wanted to clarify something. One, this story will have many chapters and will slowly build up to the point where it crosses over with Avatar. Two, this is not going to be a cross over of the characters from these two worlds, but a cross over between the two realms itself.
I don't want to give anything away so will just leave it at that and hope y'all stick around and enjoy the journey! Thanks for the comments, keep them coming!
"Are you sure of this?"
"Yes", Pakim replied.
Keith looked at the screen with a frown. Pakim was a young recruit but he had proven himself to be a quick learner, reliable and clever. Keith had recruited him himself along with a handful of others. He had made it his personal mission to ensure that the work of the Blades would persevere and reach new heights. It had been a satisfying year ever since the end of the war.
The Blade of Marmora had transformed into more than just a group of rebels fighting for justice. They were now contributing to the relief efforts across the galaxy and were also allies of the Voltron Coalition. It brought him great joy knowing that what they did, was making a difference. The war was over, but it would take much longer to bring back peace and balance after thousands of years of destruction and distrust.
Amidst all the peace efforts, it was easy to forget the real purpose of the coalition - being ready for any future wars. But now, on hearing the new intel that Pakim had brought to his attention, he was reminded of the dangers that still plagued the universe.
"Alright then", he sighed and nodded, "let's form a small team and look into this."
"Yes!" Pakim exclaimed but then regained his composure when Keith shot him a stern look. "I mean...it's an unfortunate incident but I will put together the best team for the job."
Keith rolled his eyes and walked past Pakim to the comm system.
"Before we look at any of the other blades, I am going to ask Shiro and Pidge to join us."
"You mean...you mean Dr. Katie?" Pakim gasped.
"Yes, Pakim", Keith groaned.
Sometimes he forgot the hero status his friends and he held for the younger recruits. And as smart and capable a Blade as Pakim was, he was still just a 20 year old who fangirled at the mere mention of Pidge, a now 21 year old hacker, engineer, undefeated champion of Killbot Phantasm 5, and overall genius.
"Very well, Sir", Pakim inhaled deeply and straightened his posture, attempting to hide his excitement.
Keith nodded and gestured for him to leave, "Bring me the files for suitable Blades for this mission. I want the team assembled by tomorrow."
"Shiro!" Keith rushed forward to embrace the smiling man standing in the control room.
"Keith! It's nice to see you", Shiro turned around and opened his arms wide to hug him.
Keith closed his eyes and let out a long exhale. For a moment, he felt like it was ten years back and he was just a teenager whose life was about to change forever. As they pulled back and Shiro patted his arm affectionately, Keith felt another arm touch his shoulder. It turned him around rather roughly and before he knew it, he was locked in a tight hug.
"Pidge?"
"That's Dr. Pidge now", a grinning Pidge pulled back and popped her collar.
Keith laughed and ruffled her hair much to her annoyance.
"Keith! Stop that", Pidge stepped back.
"Uhhh…", a voice trembled behind them.
Keith looked over Pidge's shoulder and saw Pakim, with a stack of folders in his hand, eyes wide open. He shook his head and looked at Pidge.
"Prepare yourself, Dr. Pidge", we've got a fanboy on board."
"Huh? What do you...", before she could finish her sentence, Pakim was standing in front of her, eyes still wide open, mouth half open.
"Dr. Katie…", Pakim began, but his voice trailed off as he saw Pidge smile and hesitantly offer him her hand.
Pakim stared at her hand and then at her face. He heard Keith grunt his name under his breath and caught the get-it-together-man look he had on his face. Immediately, Pakim cleared his throat and shook her hand hastily only to drop all the folders to the ground.
"Oh...umm...sorry...I…", he mumbled.
Pidge bent down to help him gather the scattered documents. She shifted her glasses, uncomfortable under the dazed look Pakim still had on his face. As she stood up, Keith's firm voice addressed Pakim.
"Alright, Pakim. Get it together", he walked over and took the folders from their hands and sat by the desk.
"So...what do we have here", Pidge shook off her embarrassment and joined him.
Keith looked at her then Shiro.
"It seems we have a situation in Naxzela."
"The reclaimed planet?" Shiro joined them at the desk with a grave look on his face.
"Yep."
"But I thought it was still uninhabited", Pidge leaned in.
"That's what we thought too. But our intel suggests that a rebel group is using it as a hidden base."
"Galran rebels?"
"We're not sure yet", Keith frowned.
"And what are they doing there?" Shiro asked.
Keith paused and looked at Pakim.
"Pakim thinks there are prisoners being held there."
They turned to face Pakim, who walked to the screen behind the desk and swiped it till a map appeared. The map was dotted with a few markers. Pakim tapped on one and an image popped up. It was blurred but it seemed to be a satellite view of a building of some sort.
"This is the latest image one of our satellites took a few days back. That", he pointed to the building, "was not there last week."
"What is it?" Shiro crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"It seems to be a base for the rebel group we've been tracking. There has been a lot of activity in the last three days. Yesterday, I noticed a small group arrive."
He swiped on the image to another blurry image of a group of people surrounded by three more on all sides.
"My guess is these three people are herding the group into the building."
"Why do you think they are prisoners?" Shiro asked.
"Where are the controls to this database?" Pidge stood up and walked to the screen.
Pakim managed to point to a console near the desk. Pidge walked over and popped a chip in and began typing furiously. Soon, the screen was moving under her control. They watched as the images closed, a terminal opened, and a program ran. Pidge returned to the map and opened the marker once more. This time, the images were sharper.
"How did…", Pakim gasped. "Those images didn't have enough resolution to…"
"It's my own algorithm", Pidge stated simply.
She swiped to the next image and as she zoomed in, Keith stepped towards the screen and narrowed his eyes.
"They are prisoners."
"Yep", Pidge agreed, "they seem to be tied up."
"So what's the plan?" Shiro opened the folders that lay on the desk. "Do we have a team?"
"Not yet. I want to assemble a small agile team and make our way there as soon as possible."
"And what about the current mission your ship is on?"
"My second in command will handle it. It's just a relief project in a new planet that's joining the coalition."
"Who do you have in mind?" Shiro flipped through more folders.
"Well, there's you, Pidge, me…"
"And me?" Pakim chimed in hastily.
"Yes", Keith groaned. "And you. As long as you keep it together and behave around Pidge."
Pakim winced and tugged at his collar in embarrassment.
"I...uh…", he glanced at an amused Pidge and then at Keith, "yes, Sir."
"Good", Keith walked to Shiro and picked up two folders. "I was thinking these two."
"Tara...", Shiro skimmed the document.
"She is a strong pilot, a Blade, and is good in tactical and evasive maneuvers. And this", he pointed to the second folder, "is Luten."
Shiro's ear perked up at the name.
"Is he from…"
"Yeah, he comes from a long line of military heroes. He will be very useful on the ground. He has been with us only for a few months but he ran many missions with the coalition."
"Alright", Shiro stood up, "let's discuss strategy."
"Pakim, get Tara and Luten here immediately."
Pakim nodded and rushed out of the control room.
"So", Shiro turned to Keith, "why is this mission important enough to call us here."
"I was wondering the same thing", Pidge added, "not that I mind it. It's good to be out of the base for a while", she cracked her knuckles in delight.
"Because", Keith tapped on another marker on the map, "if our intel is correct, they are doing much more than keeping prisoners."
Another image popped up, sharp thanks to Pidge's algorithm.
"We think there's some sort of factory here. And my guess is, they are manufacturing weapons there."
"What kind of weapons?" Pidge asked with a frown.
"Can't be sure. But they're big judging by the size of this building. Almost as big as the Zaiforge cannons."
Shiro and Pidge froze. For a while, no one spoke. Harsh memories flooded them. Memories of the Galran attack that had nearly destroyed their planet.
"So...you see…", Keith broke the silence, "I just wanted to be sure. If there's any imminent threat, we need to nip it in the bud."
"I agree", Shiro nodded.
"I'm in", Pidge smiled.
By the end of the day, the team had been debriefed and Keith led them to a spacecraft. It was small enough to be quick and agile. And big enough to provide enough defense capabilities. After everything was loaded, Keith turned to Pakim.
"You're the analyst", he poked him in the chest. "Make sure you have everything covered. I don't want to take any uncalculated risks. Understood?"
"Yes", Pakim nodded nervously.
"Go easy", Shiro chuckled and walked over. He placed a hand on the boy's shoulder and smiled at him. "We're a team now, Pakim. As long as we work together, things will go as smoothly as is possible in such missions. Let's do our best. Alright?"
"Yes", Pakim smiled in relief.
"Good", Shiro patted his back and entered the craft, followed by the rest.
Once inside, everyone took their positions. Tara did all the checks and confirmed their status with the base.
"All systems go".
"Clear. You are ready to launch", the speaker droned.
Keith looked at a grinning Shiro and Pidge. They nodded at each other and Keith turned to Tara.
"Let's do this."