Beginner's Resistance
Ch. 7: Galaxy Celebration Part 1
Disclaimer: I don't own the Voltron Force or its characters—they belong to World Events Productions. The good news is that Diana, Ethel, Bernice, Alex, and Cheryl are my original characters.
"Morning! Get up! It's time for breakfast." The Wadedroids said. "It's time for all prisoners to get their morning meal. If you don't eat now, it'll be 16 hours before your next meal. Eat up!" The Wadedroids repeated the instructions for the second time.
Annoyed, Diana looked up at the closest robot. "Just what I always wanted to see first thing in the morning," Diana muttered to herself and stretched out her arms and legs, before swinging them over the bleacher bench she was sleeping on.
"You'll never get used to it. And you thought that fire alarms were annoying. At least you only get to hear them occasionally. This happens every day and you can't even punch or press snooze on them." Ethel replied from the bleacher below."
"Great, an alarm I can't shut off," Diana muttered. Bernice was on the bleacher row above her and woke-up muttering.
"This has to be against some galactic law. One of the first things I'm going to do when I leave here is to disable this treatment for all beings." Bernice replied. "I don't do mornings."
"I hate this," Cheryl replied from two bleacher rows up. "One of the first things I'm going to do when I'm free is personally reprogramming every bot here."
"I'm so going to take a personal delight in taking them apart," Alex said from one of the seats next to Cheryl. "Don't worry Diana, this is going to be an everyday thing. Hopefully, we'll be free soon."
"I trust the Voltron Force," Diana said. "They'll get us free. It's just a matter of time." Diana stood up and the rest of the team followed her to one of the dining tables in the middle of the open space. A few moments after they sat down, the robots brought their breakfast. Diana took a spoon and swirled the contents of the bowl several times. Then she moved the spoon out of the bowl before returning it back to the bowl. "What exactly are we eating? What's the chances its poisoned?"
"Ssh. Not too loud." Cheryl said. "Believe it or not…this is actually a bowl of cornmeal. I think our ancestors would call it mush. It's like a version of Cream of Wheat or grits made out of cornmeal."
"I always wanted to try it," Diana said, eyeing the bowl. Diana noticed that the rest of the group was eating their bowls, so Diana finally took her spoon at tried it. Nodding her head, Diana decided that mush was quite okay. "This tastes ok. Too bad we don't have any sugar. Sugar makes everything better."
"I know. Several of my ancestors would make it and allow it to refrigerate overnight in a loaf pan before cutting it in slices and frying it. They used to call it Fried Mush." Cheryl replied. "And they would use powdered sugar. If I'm ever free, I'm going to try it that way."
"Less talking, more eating. They're going to take this away in a couple of minutes." Bernice said, as she quickly moved the spoon back and forth. They finished their meal in silence in time for the robots to take the bowls and spoons. Ethel suggested that they walk a few laps around the open yard before figuring their next activity. About 30 minutes later, they were huddled against one of the high walls and Diana started to vomit her breakfast back out.
"It's an acquired food," Bernice replied. "We all vomited our first few breakfasts."
"This is torture," Diana said. "But I feel better. So what are we going to do next?"
"Let's go back to our bench and share more stories. Like what we went through during the Galaxy Celebration." Alex suggested as they made their way back to the bench they claimed as theirs. "So how are we going to do this? I know for one that Cheryl and I were at the same spot at the celebration—on the balcony of my parent's hotel room."
"And Diana and I were standing in the VIP section, close to the stage," Bernice replied.
"I was standing somewhere near the back since I was late leaving my house," Ethel replied. "I guess the best way would be for Cheryl and Alex to tell their stories together, Bernice and Diana can share their stories together, and I will tell my story to myself. Since my story is a solo story, I'll go first and then we can go from there."
"Ok, that sounds good. With all of these stories, it's making time go faster and I'm keeping my sanity better." Bernice replied.
"I agree." Ethel, Alex, and Cheryl said in unison.
"I left my house late and public transit was a nightmare since it appeared that a lot of people were taking public transit to the celebration." Ethel started. "Luckily for me, it was in the afternoon because I honestly needed the morning to recover from Wade's gala the night before."
*****Five years ago, at the Galaxy Celebration*****
"Alright, I got my bus pass on the watch and it's fully charged. Ready to go." Ethel said to herself as she walked out of her house and put her shades on. As she walked to the bus stop, she noticed that the traffic in her area was busier than usual. Ethel was glad that she was wearing a plain pink romper set with pink sneakers and the highest SPF sunscreen money can buy on her skin—the temperature started to rise quickly. Just as Ethel made it to the bus stop—the bus arrived.
"4-Cape Canaveral Loop. 4-Cape Canaveral Loop." The bus announced as the doors opened. Ethel followed a group of kids into the bus and waved her watch over the farebox. The farebox beeped the acceptance of her bus pass and Ethel walked to the open seat four rows behind the driver. Just as Ethel sat down, the bus moved and Ethel had to hold on to the handle on the seat in front of her to keep from falling. Her fellow riders in the bus were talking excitably about the upcoming celebration.
"I can't wait! I want to see Red Lion." A kid's voice rang out.
"It's Black Lion that's the best." Another boy's voice replied. "One day, I'm going to pilot it." Ethel looked around and saw a little boy with violet eyes and messy hair in front.
"If you work hard enough, you'll be able to fly." The man next to the kid replied. "Good grades and some discipline."
"I'm already ahead of the curve, then." The boy replied. Ethel turned around and noticed that she was close to the celebration. She pressed the stop bell and a few moments later, the bus started to empty out. Ethel followed the crowd and noticed that the square was already filled—and the celebration didn't start for another hour.
"Get your Galaxy Celebration gear here. Buy a piece of history here! I got Voltron items of everything you can imagine!" Ethel could hear some of the vendors calling out for business. The merchandise, for the most part, appeared to be of high quality. "Over here, lady! Get your Voltron Memorabilia here!" One of the vendors called out to Ethel. She smiled her refusal and continued on to see how much further she could get into the gathering crowd. As Ethel moved closer towards the stage, she could see the large area that was set aside for the celebration. The streets were blocked off to her left, her right behind her and most likely behind the stage in front of her.
The buildings behind her were two hotels, each one having two towers and a middle building that faced the stage. Both hotels had small balconies for each room. The buildings on both of Ethel's side were apartments with shops, restaurants, and offices on the ground floor. Behind the stage was an office tower. Where the people were gathering was a large park several blocks long with a couple of playgrounds, a small restaurant with a hamburger stand, and a few bathrooms. Ethel looked at the buildings around her and noticed there were people filling up their balconies from either their hotel rooms or from their apartments. More people poured into the open space and a few moments later, an announcer came to the stage.
"Hello, everybody! Thank you for coming to the Galaxy Celebration! My name is Solstic and I'll be your emcee today. The Celebration Committee has planned today's entertainment with you in mind as well as the Voltron." A loud burst of cheers sounded, interrupting Solstic. "Thanks. We'll have music, speeches, a couple of presentations, and finally we'll get to meet our very special guests, the Voltron Force!" The crowd cheered louder. "To start things off, we're going to introduce you to the Galaxy Alliance Honor Guard to present the colors. After that, the Galaxy Alliance Academy Honor Band will play five anthems—Alliance Anthem, "Star-Spangled Banner", "Lift Every Voice and Sing", "Hymn to Liberty", and the Arusian Anthem. After that, we'll have a fly-over before we start the first sets of music." The crowd cheered again.
"Without further delay, I would like to introduce you to the Galaxy Alliance Honor Guard! Give them a great welcome!" Solstic said, before walking to the left side of the stage before the honor guard made their appearance on the stage.
"Atten-hut!" The voice of the commander sounded on the stage as she became visible. "Company, forward march." A few seconds later, the honor guard filed onto the stage in groups of two until 20 members were on the stage. "Company halt. About Face." The soldiers stopped, then turned towards the crowd. "Present Colors." Five guards stepped forward to the crowd, with a flag each. The Greek flag was on the furthest right side. The UN Flag was to the furthest left side. Next to the Greek flag was the American flag and next to the UN flag was the Arusian Flag. In the center was the Galaxy Alliance flag.
Solstic spoke again on the microphone. "And now, presenting the Galaxy Alliance Academy Honor Band." The crowd clapped their hands as the band appeared behind the honor guard. Once the band was settled, Solstic spoke once more. "To sing each of the anthems, please welcome the Cape Canaveral Children's Choir!" The children dressed in green tops and black pants filled the stage. When the director stepped up, he motioned to the honor band to start an interlude before the children song the Alliance anthem to the Voltron Theme. After a few seconds break, they continued to sing "Star-Spangled Banner". Then they sang "Lift Every Voice and Sing", "Hymn to Liberty", and finally the Arusian National Anthem. When they were finished singing each anthem, the crowd clapped loudly as the choir left the stage, followed by band and lastly, the honor guard. Finally, the crowd was greeted with a fly-over from Voltron, then disassembled into the lions and they flew above the crowd twice before flying away. Solstic returned to the stage while the crowd was cheering for Voltron.
"After all the pomp and circumstance, are you ready for fun?" The crowd cheered. "Sounds like it to me. The first group to perform is Arstic! They'll play a few songs before our next group. After that our first presentation." The crowd cheered again. "Now, here's Arstic!" The group appeared on the stage and the crowd went wild. Ethel bobbed along with the music, as she occasionally looked around in the crowd. Every so often, she would see some of the Alliance soldiers acting as security for the event—and it didn't miss her attention that a few of them seem to be heavily armed for a civilian celebration. Ethel mentally shook her head and focused on the next group playing.
After a while, Ethel was hungry, so she decided to walk over to one of the food tents located to the far-left side. Occasionally, Ethel would ask someone to excuse her as she made her way to the makeshift food court. The closer Ethel walked to the food tents, the hungrier she got. A few minutes later, she finally made it to the food tents. The first tent featured hot dogs and hamburgers. The second tent featured pizza and some light Italian food. The third tent featured sandwiches and salads. The fourth tent had a variety of deserts. The fifth tent had Greek food. The sixth tent sold Arusian food. The last tent had comfort food. After closing her eyes and Ethel randomly chose the sandwich tent.
"Whatcha have?" The clerk asked Ethel.
"I'll have a veggie sub with vinaigrette and a little bit of miracle whip," Ethel replied.
"Do you want chips or a drink with that?"
"If you could add two oatmeal raisin cookies and a Topo Chico, that'll be great."
"Done. 15 credits." The clerk said, as the sandwich and the cookies were put in one bag and a large cool bottle of mineral water was given to Ethel. Ethel waved her watch over the cash register before thanking the clerk and made her way back towards the crowd. On her way to her original spot, Ethel ate her cookies first. Ethel also heard a few whispers about Marshal Wade on the way back to her spot in the crowd. Ethel raised her eyebrows on some of the comments made, but didn't make any further comments and focused on getting back into the middle of the crowd again.
When Ethel made it back into the thick of the crowd again, Wade took over the stage and started making a speech as Ethel started to eat her sub. Wade spoke about his beginnings at the Academy, then his hopes to make the Alliance even better. He also spoke about the Voltron Force and how interesting the lions were—and his wish to learn more about the lions. "Always with the Lions," Ethel muttered, to which a few people around her sounded their agreement. Wade then ended his speech to recruit people to the Academy. When he was finished the crowd cheered loudly and another set of music started with a new group known for fusing different genres and making them work. As they continued to perform, a wave of beach balls suddenly appeared and was bounced around the crowd before the found their way to the stage as the group performed a classic heavy metal song. The lead singer jumped from the stage and briefly crowd surfed before being guided back to the stage.
Ethel was thoroughly enjoying the music performance and was surprised when she heard a voice behind her as the Arusian ambassador and her daughter walked across the stage for another presentation. "Funny meeting you here, Ethel." Ethel turned around and smiled at her new friend, George Wavestrummer. Ethel met him at the Installment Gala last night and didn't expect to meet him again so quickly.
"I could say the same to you, George," Ethel said taking an appreciative glance over George's slim figure in his cargo shorts and blue shirt with blue sneakers. George's short wavy brown hair was brushed back and gave Ethel a full view of his lightly tanned face and stunning grey eyes. His full lips and aquiline nose completed his facial features.
"I thought I'll check out the celebration. How often does someone get the chance to see Voltron in person?"
"Good point," Ethel replied, as she turned back to the stage as Diana started to speak on how important service is at any level—whether it's at the community level or intergalactic level. Diana shared that the Department of Planets is always seeking people to enter the civil service—ready to learn and work with other cultures. Dr. Smythe-Williams took over the conversation again to share more points as Diana left the stage to join the VIP Section again. Once Dr. Smythe-Williams left the stage, a musical duo was introduced.
"Antber and Matgom are the best voices in years," George told Ethel when she asked who they were. "Because their singing octaves are so extensive, they can sing just about any genre of music. They have been invited to sing along with some of the Opera companies across the Galaxy."
"Wow, that's some group." Ethel said as Antber started to sing their cover of "All I Ask of You" From Phantom of the Opera. Ethel was entranced by the song and started to sing along with the group. George joined her in singing along with the group until the song ended with some light pyrotechnics at the end. The next song they performed was their original song, Ruan—a fast paced song about celebrating the good things in life. As they performed another song, Ethel was amazed. "That's it. I'm getting all of the songs. They made a new fan."
"I happen to have a large collection of their songs on different media if you want a physical copy of their music. I know you can always get the digital things, but sometimes it's more fun to have physical copies for backup and emergencies." George said. "If you ever want to borrow some, just let me know."
"Believe me, I will definitely take you up on that offer," Ethel replied, focusing back on the stage. Antber and Matgom finished their performance, took a bow and even did a couple of encore songs before leaving the stage. Since the performance, the sky was dark and the temperature was slowly going down. George left Ethel's side for a few moments before returning back with two large bottles of mineral water. George shared that the shifts must be over since there were Alliance soldiers lined up around the crowd. Ethel responded that it's not unusual for large crowds. George replied that they were moderately armed, and Ethel agreed that to have that many soldiers and armed at the same time can't be good news. Ethel and George focused back on the stage.
"Alright, everybody! I know that we're having a great time, right?" Solstic asked the crowd. "I know that everybody is waiting anxiously for the highlight of the evening—the Voltron Force!" The crowd cheered. "Alright! As you can hear, the Lions are circling the area and will land on the stage. After they land on the stage, they'll come out—make a few speeches and we'll end the celebration with fireworks!" The crowd cheered even louder as the Lions made a few laps in the air. When Solstic was finished with his statements and thanking the crowd, the stage was cleared to make room for the lions. Ethel raised her head and smiled as the Lions flew overhead a few more minutes before they slowly descended on the stage. Yellow Lion landed first to the left, Red Lion followed next, then Green to the right. Blue and Black Lions landed behind them on a higher platform. The pilots stepped out of the lions and the cheers grew louder. "Voltron! Voltron!" The cheers were repeated for a few minutes, until the ovation finally died down.
"Now, that's a welcome!" Hunk said, speaking into the microphone first. "And I have to say…" Hunk continued on with his speech, focusing on how good it was to return to Earth victorious. Hunk continued on to say how he enjoyed his week on Earth and how it was an honor to defend not only Arus but the Galaxy as well. Hunk shared how he loved Arus and was looking forward to helping with the full recovery efforts there. "It's good to be back home. I hope to see some of you in the future!" Hunk finished to cheers.
Pidge went next. "Hi, everybody! It's nice to be back on Earth for a few days! Anyway, I love coding and everything programming related. If you would have told me…" Pidge continued on about some of his adventures as a pilot as well as upgrading a host of things as the resident computer engineering expert. After a few more minutes, Pidge's speech ended with louder cheers, while Lance grabbed the microphone.
"Hellooo, Canaveral!" Lance introduced himself. "Did you miss me?" Lance asked the crowd how cheered and laughed at the same time. Several ladies around Ethel catcalled him. "It's good to be back on Earth! I loved the adventures of being the ace pilot of Red Lion. When I wasn't fighting evil, I was winning hearts." Ethel rolled her eyes, as Lance continued. "But, let me share a quick story with you and hopefully I would be able to inspire everyone. So, things were looking…" Lance shared how there were times when things looked bad for Arus and the team and how they were able to change things around. "Remember, it's not how you start, it's how you finish. Goodnight, Canaveral!" Lance finished to loud cheers before Keith and Allura started to speak.
"It's a pleasure and a privilege to be here today in front of you." Princess Allura started. Keith repeated the same sentiments before Allura continued with her speech. Allura shared her feelings and how grateful she was that Earth sent some of their best to the Denubian and by extension, Arus. Keith took over the microphone and shared his story of how they arrived in Arus. Allura took over again and focused on how Arus changed since Voltron came and gave the planet a fighting chance. Keith shared how the team was happy when they were awarded permanent deployment in Arus and fought for their new home. Keith and Allura then shared that they were able to find the most precious thing since Voltron's return—hope. Keith ended their combined speech by stating that he will always defend the universe. The rest of the team nodded their heads in agreement.
After Keith and Allura finished their speech, the fireworks started going off. The crowd was reduced to oohs and aahs as the Voltron Force waved to the crowd. Suddenly…everything changed. The Lions started to attack the crowd and Alliance soldiers started to work the crowd, asking them to disperse. As Ethel was taking in what happened, George pushed Ethel away as one of the lasers came closer to them. George shielded Ethel from the crowd and accepted the accidental kicks and punches. Once everything stopped, George stood up and helped Ethel to her feet. Ethel and George saw that the Voltron pilots were struggling to control their lions until Keith was able to enter Black Lion before Alliance soldiers used their weapons to rein in the lions.
"Wow. What just happened?"
"That's a great question, Ethel," George said as he noticed that Alliance soldiers surrounded the lions. "But the Alliance is all over the lions. I hope they don't spin this negatively."
"I hope they don't either," Ethel said as they started to leave the area. "But I have a feeling that it's going to be spun in the worst way," Ethel whispered to George. "And I have a feeling that someone from the top has something to do with it." Ethel and George waited with the rest of the public transport riders at the bus stop.
"So where are you getting off?" George asked Ethel.
"I live not too far from here. My stop is at the other side of the Canaveral Loop. Yours?"
"I live on the mainland. Why don't you stay over at my place? I live alone and I have a guest bedroom that's calling your name. You may not be able to get home tonight."
"I couldn't. I'll be fine."
"I insist. We'll stop at one of the late night stores so you can get what you need for an overnight stay." George replied. Ethel thought about the offer. "How about this. We'll get on the bus and we'll play it by ear."
"Sounds good to me," Ethel said as the bus pulled up. The transit authority had a worker already at the stop sharing directions.
"If the bus is too full, we'll have another one here in 15 minutes. So don't fret. We'll get everybody home." The employee said as the bus door opened. Ethel and George were able to board the bus and take the last two seats. The bus took off towards Ethel's house and their conversation continued in whispers.
"Something very fishy about this," George added.
"Very fishy," Ethel replied. "I hope that there's a good explanation for it. The Lions never malfunction. Their engineering is the best unknown secret." George and Ethel stopped their conversation when they noticed that the people sitting around them were taking an interest in them. As they approached Ethel's place, the streets were blocked and nobody was allowed to leave the bus for the next few blocks. Ethel noticed that her place was too damaged anyway. "Guess, I'm staying the night on the mainland." Ethel sighed, defeated.
"Hey, don't be sad. I got you covered. We'll make a stop at Prime and get everything you need." George said. "My treat."
"Ok, if you insist," Ethel replied. Ethel yawned as they continued on to the transfer station on the mainland.
***Next Morning***
"Beep. Beep. Beep." Ethel's watched chimed. She grabbed her watch from the nightstand and looked at the time. It was 8:00 AM and somebody was calling her. "Why?" She asked as she sat up and pressed accept to answer the call.
"Good Morning, Ethel," Keith said, looking haggard from staying up all night. "Is there any way you can come to the Arusian Embassy?"
"Sure. What time do you want me there? I'm already on the mainland." Ethel said, yawning.
"How does now sound?"
"Good enough. It must be important."
"Yes. I'll send you the address so you can make it here. At the gate, tell them that Commander Keith is expecting you and they'll let you in."
"Alright. I'll be there as soon as possible."
"Thanks, Ethel. See you then." Keith said, hanging up. A few moments later, Ethel's watch had the address to the Arusian Embassy.
"Luckily, I chose a short-sleeved professional dress and shoes," Ethel said, as she stretched her arms and legs. "First things first—I'm taking me a quick shower to wake myself up."
***The Void, Present***
"And so, that's what happened to me during the Galaxy Celebration."
"Wow…so this George fellow?" Bernice asked Ethel.
"Friend."
"Friend?"
"Friend. Sympathizer. Hopefully, he's helping to keep my business floating while I'm here." Ethel replied. "So back to the stories at hand. So who wants to go next?"
