The rest of the force was already assembled in Castle Control by the time Keith got there, with Allura following close behind him.
"Coran, what's happening?" Keith demanded automatically, only to realize that the person stationed in the prime minister's normal seat was not who he expected it to be.
"Umm... I'm not sure, Sir," A flustered Arussian enlisted rating technician reported, after a long glance at the console in front of him, "Our early warning system just went off!"
"Well," Lance snapped sarcastically, "since it just went off, don't you think you should put it on the main screen so that we can see WHY it went off?"
"Oh... yes Commander sir... I'm bringing it up now, sir." The rating tech pressed a few buttons and the main screen shimmered to display the sky west of the castle.
Behind him, Keith cast his eyes towards the heavens and made a mental note to discuss the Castle Control staffing requirements with Coran Allura as soon as the battle ended. They needed to train a replacement for Coran ASAP.
Allura's eyes widened with horror as she saw the size of the assault force that filled the western sky.
Pidge let out a low whistle, "I think Lotor isn't very happy with us, Keith. I thought you were going to remind Nanny about the special invitation for him?"
Keith looked up from the display monitor he was examining and grinned at the young space explorer. "I guess it slipped my mind. Does anyone want to come deliver it with me?"
The Lions burst out of their hidden dens and fell into their normal formation — Keith in the center, flanked by Lance and Pidge, with Allura and Hunk trailing slightly behind.
Pidge opened the intership comm-channel, "Keith, my sensors show that there are least twenty vessels including five dreadnoughts and twelve cruisers."
Keith glanced at Pidge distractedly, his attention focused on scene before him. Unlike the others, he preferred to analyze the tactical situation on his own, without relying on the computer too much. "Any sign of Lotor in the bunch?"
Pidge shook his head. "My sensors can't detect him, but I wouldn't put it past him to be hiding in the middle of the fleet with his cloaking device on."
"Noted." Keith began to issue his orders. "Lance and Hunk, I need you guys to distract them before they start firing on the nearby villages."
In response to his order, the Red Lion and the Yellow Lion increased their speed and flung themselves into the middle of the fleet. Without wasting another second, they began to focus their weapons on the heavily armored Doom ships.
"Lance, don't get cocky!" Keith called after them. He glanced at the other two remaining lions and shrugged, "On second thought, I think I'd better keep an eye on them. Allura. Pidge. The two of you stay here. Don't let them get past you. We've got to stop the momentum of the fleet."
Two helmeted heads nodded in agreement. They settled into defensive positions at the perimeter of the aerial battlefield and waited, discouraging any of the ships from making attack runs on the castle or the outlying countryside.
Keith winced inwardly as he saw that despite their best efforts, the pressure of the Doom fleet allowed them to continue onwards, until they were almost on top of the castle.
Coran slowly pushed himself off the bed in the medical facility.
His weakness made it a difficult task but the shock waves from the energy beams of the Doom cruisers as they fired on the castle walls made it an even more difficult one.
Leaning heavily on the walls, he slowly made his way to Castle Control. A violent blast hit on a nearby section threw him off his feet, but he was unhurt.
Never had the short distance from the medical facility to Castle Control seemed so long.
The prime minister paused at the threshold of Castle Control only to find out that the enlisted rating technician manning it was in over his head. Around him, warning lights flashed while sirens and klaxons ran insistently.
Coran swore fluently and with great fervor as he relieved the young technician from his duties. He sank down into his usual chair, typing the sequence to enable the defensive force shield of the castle as he did so.
Lance watched admiringly as the Black Lion danced through an intricate maze of enemy fire. Keith had a sixth sense the likes of which he had never seen before — the enemy fire couldn't hit him.
He tried to focus on his own maneuvers and soon he was making his usual quota of kills. He polished off the last of the assault group that attacked him and quickly scanned the area.
"Pidge!" Lance's heart stopped as a stray shot from the Castle hit the Green Lion on its right flank. The lion began to spin out of control and plummet to the ground.
He hit his thrusters in a desperate attempt to reach his small friend, but he knew in his heart of hearts that he would be too late. Luckily, Allura had noticed Pidge's plight as well.
She managed to catch the paw of the smaller lion with the mouth of her own. She grunted with effort as she pulled her control yoke upward with all her strength, but the Green Lion continued its downward plunge.
Lance moved in to help her. The Red Lion grasped another paw of the Green Lion in its mouth. He pulled his yoke upwards as well. Together, they managed to slow Pidge's fall.
"Pidge, are you okay?" She examined her friend's face over the comm-channel worriedly and sighed with relief as he nodded and grasped his yoke again.
Assured that Pidge was all right, Keith turned his attention to the battle once more. He watched with disbelief as the Castle's guns fired at a patch of empty sky. He opened a line to the Castle, "What the fuck is going on there?! You're firing on friendlies, Castle Control!"
"My apologies, Voltron Force," a familiar cultured rumble answered and Coran's face appeared on their monitors. "There were some coordination problems but we're over them now."
"Thanks, Coran," Keith said warmly, feeling a burst of confidence wash through him. "You got there just in time, Zarkon just launched one of Haggar's ro-beasts. Can you handle the ships while we handle the big ugly?"
Coran's answering grin was the only answer Keith needed. "Get ready to form Voltron! Activate interlock. Dynotherms connected... Infracells are up and megathrusters are go!"
He watched the familiar transformation sequence begin. The four other lions retracted their legs and positioned themselves around the Black Lion.
He waged an internal debate with himself on whether on not to call out the transformation sequence. It wasn't really necessary — the team could run through the transformation sequence without his audio cues — but he liked routines. They were soothing and helped him focus.
"Form feet and legs! Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Keith leaned forward and grasped his control handles tightly, as the transformation sequence finished. "Let's go Voltron Force!"
The ro-beast stopped and stared at Voltron for a brief moment before launching itself at the giant robot in a blind rush.
Hunk cheered with glee as Keith stepped aside to avoid the ro-beast's charge. "You owe me your dessert tonight, Lance! It only took him point-oh-eight seconds to launch his first attack."
Lance groaned in dismay, swatting at a Doom cruiser that had come a little too close.
The ro-beast growled in rage. It backed up warily, careful not to turn its back to Voltron.
"Hey, it's a minotaur!" Pidge announced with surprise as he studied the ro-beast on his monitor screen. "It's a monster from ancient Terran mythology — half-man, half-bull" he explained further for the benefit of those not as well-read as he was.
"And it's just as dumb as one too, I'll bet." Lance couldn't help but remark even as he anticipated Keith's next command. "Let's see how it likes the Lion Torches."
"And our Stingray Missiles!" Hunk chimed in.
Keith secretly hid a smile as he listened to the friendly banter over the comm-channel with half-an-ear. Despite all their wisecracks, his team was the best there was.
"Save your power for later, guys. We still have to help Coran with the battleships," Keith ordered. "Form blazing sword!"
Lance rolled his eyes but complied nonetheless. The Red Lion head drew closer to the Green one. When they drew apart, Voltron's famous sword was clasped in the Red Lion's mouth.
"Yeehah! Toro time!" Pidge cheered. "Keith — he's up to something. Energy is building up around his horns."
"That shouldn't be too hard to handle," Keith replied as he deftly sliced off the minotaur's horns and followed through by slicing him in half.
The ro-beast glowed white-hot then filled the Arussian sky with a brilliant sunburst of color as it exploded and by the time that the sky cleared, the Doom fleet was in full retreat.