KathDMD - It's tough to tell where this series is going. I've been toying with a story arc as well as using the fact that there are so many characters to make the center of an episode to try and create writing fuel. Hoping to race towards the mid-season finale while we anxiously await Season 2 of Legendary Defender!

susan - I appreciate your condolences. Haven't really heard much from one of my writing partners in quite a while, and I became a little unmotivated. I'm hoping the new series on Netflix will jumpstart the creativity.

Author's Note - FFN seems to be having issues with my uploads. I thought it was due to working more on my Mac, but it is happening on my PCs as well. Hopefully they correct it soon. On a side note, a member of the Voltron community made some really horrible statements about me on twitter. Considering this person is a huge supporter of my work, especially Lion Force and it's KA shipping, I'm shocked and disturbed both by these words, and their refusal to apologize to me. I won't let that stop my writing, but it has soured me more than a little bit.

My muse is gone.

Theme Music : "Fire" by Pink

Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins and associated characters are the property of KathDMD. Admiral Lysette Fabrere and associated characters are the property of selena devargo.

Episode 209 : "Shipwrecked"

"I don't like the looks of this," Mai said cautiously, looking around.

"That's what SHE said," Chet replied softly, yet loudly enough to sound like a silent shout.

"Don't scare her, bro," Eddie replied, jabbing his brother in the side.

"I'm not scared," Mai said, still looking around. "I'm just….cautious." Inside, she was a ball of nerves. The three of them alone in a dense jungle, unsure if the enemy lurked nearby. "What was that?" They turned and circled around, back to back. "I heard a noise."

"I didn't hear nothing, bro," Chet said.

"Nah, I heard it too, bro," Eddie replied. "It sounded like a…..whoosh, then a click."

"I heard a whoosh," Chet said, "but no click. You sure that wasn't the burrito, bro?"

"Check your own butt, bro," Eddie replied. "I don't fart on you."

"Guys, I'm serious!" Mai shouted. Suddenly, six drules popped out of the surrounding foliage, blocking them from all sides. The cadets jumped in surprise, blasters at the ready. The Drules circled them.

"Now what?" Chet asked.

"Is this the part where we mess 'em up, bro?" Eddie asked.

"Get 'em!" one of the Drules shouted. Mai screeched and fired her blaster. Chet and Eddie charged head on at the Drules in front of them and wrestled with them. Lights flashed as the rapid sounds of blaster fire went off, and the entire area suddenly went dark.

"End simulation," Krik said. The lights came on, and the foliage was gone. The three cadets slowly got up off the floor of the room they were in, holographic generating panels layering the ceiling, walls and floor.

"Did we score?" Chet asked.

"I dunno, brah," Eddie replied. "The chief looks pissed." Mai sat there with her eyes closed tightly, still holding her blaster. Krik carefully leaned over and pried it out of her hands. She opened her eyes and looked up at him, with an 'I'm sorry' look in her eyes. He held out his hand, and she grabbed it, helping her to her feet.

"Your performance in the simulator was less than stellar," Krik said.

"If it makes any difference, Captain bro," Chet said, "we were, like, outnumbered and stuff."

"You're always going to be outnumbered," Krik said. "And there will be times when you will be without your ships, or even your weapons. You need to learn to trust your instincts."

"My instincts told me to smash and grab, bro," Eddie said. Krik shot him a look. "Sir."

"You three are outstanding pilots," Krik said. "Despite your demeanor, Keegan, you and your brother scored extremely high in testing. And Izmu, you're not that much further behind them. You have what it takes to succeed up here." Krik pointed to his head. "Now you need to learn to apply it. Not every lesson you learn at the Academy can come from Professor Paige or the test papers he hands you."

"Yes. (bro) Sir," they all said, Eddie correcting himself again.

"We will be arriving at the Binary system that Commander Aki mentioned to us soon," Krik said. "Take that time to not only relax, but work on your focus. Just like Voltron, you can succeed if you work as a team." He looked at them sternly. "Dismissed." The doors opened, and the cadets left. Krik letting out a sigh.

The crew on the bridge of the Defender stared at the viewscreen as they made their approach. Jeff stood up from his chair and walked towards the screen.

"There it is, gentlemen," he said with a smirk. "A bright shiny pair of worlds to colonize."

"IF they are habitable," Professor Paige stated as he walked onto the bridge.

"Professor Paige," Jeff said. "I'm surprised to see you here. Have you done any preliminary research on the planets?"

"Probes have been launched, yes," he replied. "And no, we haven't received their findings yet. Once we do, you will have my analysis."

"Any preconceptions?" Jeff asked, a slight bit of cockiness in his voice.

"The gravitational forces these planets exert on one another yields a unique circumstance," he said. "This binary orbit may help or hinder its progress. But as I said, we won't know until the probes return." Christiane put her hand on Jeff's shoulder.

"Do you want to launch the teams to take a look?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied, "but I only want to launch the Sea Team. The Drules may still be lurking nearby, and we still need to perform some repairs on the Land Team vehicles before they are ready again. Have Captain Keats assemble his team and prepare to launch in the next fifteen minutes."

"Yes, sir," Christiane replied, then left the bridge.

Merla sat in the command chair of her ship , taking a small and slow sip of blood wine from her chalice. As she swallowed the bit she had taken in, her eyes moved to her right where General Binak stood quietly.

"Lord Kanjii is not pleased with your efforts, General," she said. Binak took a deep breath. His bumbling had indeed caused some of their losses, but in true Supremacy fashion, was more than ready in his mind to place the blame elsewhere.

"He sends up inferior robeasts," he sneered. "Even if I were to pilot that last bit of scrap, Voltron would have surely destroyed it." She snickered. "Something funny, Your Majesty?"

"You believe what you want to believe, Binak," she replied. "Though I admit, that robeast was little more than a distraction. I am hoping our next is much stronger."

"Have we constructed another?" he asked. She turned her head, looking right through him.

"The lamia that graces Kanjii's side seems to think that the answer lies in our own men," she replied. "I think this is the perfect time to test a theory."

"What might that be, Your Majesty?" Binak asked.

"No doubt, being one force, the Alliance ship will be exploring one of the two planets at a time" she said. "While they are exploring the planet they choose, we will be laying he her to waste, exploring and mining it for our own. We will have all the time we need."

"But what if they notice and send Voltron to the other planet to stop us?" Binak asked.

"That's where we test the witch's theory," she replied. "She has turned one of Carnus' willing gladiators into a robeast. It will be the distraction that will attempt to destroy the Alliance ship, and Voltron if possible. The other…a mechanical droid of our own scientific design…one piloted by one of your best sergeants. He will assist us on the planet we begin to tear down. Should Voltron stay, they will not interrupt our plan. Should they notice and try to stop us, the other robeast will tear the world they've chosen to shreds."

"An excellent strategy, Your Majesty!" he replied.

"A new fleet of drones is coming to support our own," she said. "If the Voltron Force does take notice and try to stop us, they will get more than they bargained for."

The Voltron Force, as always, is lounging in the Observation Deck. Modoch sat at the bar, Jessica next to him.

"I'm glad you decided to stay on the Defender until your ship arrives," he said. "Though this isn't quite a pleasure cruise."

"I understand that," she replied. "But hey, I don't want to miss a moment of time with you. That's worth the risk, isn't it?" He turned slightly redder than usual.

"Definitely," he replied, smiling back at her. Christiane entered the lunge and walked up to Krik, who was sitting at a table with Cliff.

"Captain Keats," she said, "Commander Aki has requested you gather your team and prepare for launch."

"He is not sending all teams to explore the planet?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "With the Drules still posing a threat in this area, he felt the need to send one team."

"I understand," Krik said. "I will gather the team and launch immediately." She nodded, then walked over to where Cinda was sitting. "You heard her, team. To the launch area!" Mai waved to Jenny as her, Shannon, Eddie and Chet walked out of the lounge.

The five Sea Team ships flew down to the planet's surface and began scanning.

"The jungles below are green and lush," Krik said. "Perhaps we should take a sample of this plant life back to the ship for analysis."

"You mean we're not leaving that to the probes?" Shannon asked.

"The probes will take preliminary seismic readings," Krik said.

"You can tell by the turf in the area that the soil is Nitrogen rich," Eddie said. "There may be minerals deeper within the planet surface, but, like, ya know."

"I know, bro," Chet said. "If I like, fell head first into the ground, I probably wouldn't feel it."

"I bet," Mai snarked.

"Stay focused, Team," Krik said. No sooner did the words leave his lips that he caught sight of something. "I see smoke rising in the distance."

"Natives?" Shannon asked.

"We won't know if we don't go, huh bro?" Chet asked.

"You are so on it today, bro," Eddie replied.

"I hate to say, but the Keegans are right," Krik said. "We better investigate. If the planet is inhabited, we have no right to it." The five ships came in closer and saw a starnge vessel beached nearby, and makeshift huts just in from the shore line. They carefully landed and exited their vehicles.

"You sure this is a good idea?" Shannon asked.

"I don't know," Krik said. "I'm suddenly getting the strange feeling we should be leaving."

"But what if these people are stranded?" Mai asked.

"Yeah," Chet said. "We can't just, like, leave them here."

"Just stay calm, and stay together," Krik said. As they approached, people came out of the huts. One man smiled and approached them.

"A rescue party!" the man shouted, and walked briskly towards the group. "Thank heavens you've come! You have no idea what it's like here!"

"What happened?" Krik asked.

"Our ship was attacked just outside this system," he replied. "And orange-skinned race calling themselves the Halas."

"We've had a few run ins with them," Krik replied. "Where are you from?"

"Planet Lyra," he replied. "Our navigator accidentally led us through a wormhole, and somehow we ended up in this place. We then started hearing radio transmission calling this sector of space 'Yolon'."

"Yes," Krik said. "We are part of an exploratory fleet sent by Galaxy Garrison to explore Yolon. At first, we saw your fire and thought you were natives."

"Natives?" the man said, then let out a strange horse laugh. "We haven't run into anything or anyone. Barely any wildlife. Thought we'd starve to death if it wasn't for all of the banana and coconut trees growing in the nearby jungle."

"We can take your crew back to our ship," Krik said. "We may be able to arrange to send you home."

"That's kind of ya," the man replied. "But before you go, one of my men has taken ill to a strange disease. It doesn't seem contagious, but maybe you could take a look at it."

"I'm not medically trained," Krik said.

"Wouldn't hurt to take a look though, eh?" Shannon said. "Show us the way." The man led Shannon and Krik into the makeshift hut.

"Either of you feel queasy?" Mai asked.

"Nah, bro," Eddie said.

"That's just gas, bro," Chet replied.

"Captain Keats said he had a bad feeling when we were walking towards this settlement," she said. No sooner did that happen, Halas soldiers came out from behind the huts and opened fire.

"Take cover!" Chet yelled. The three ran into the jungle to avoid the laser fire.

"Captain!" Mai shouted.

"We gotta, like, get away first before we can rescue him," Chet said.

"Bro knows what he's talking about," Eddie said as they continued to run into the forest.

Sparks placed a hand over his earpiece, picking up a faint blip. He zoomed in on the scanners and saw something.

"Commander," he said, "I'm picking up something heading towards the planet. The energy readings identify it as Drule…but not tech."

"It's not a machine?" Jeff asked, standing up.

"No, sir," Sparks said. "There is at least one life sign coming from it….it's almost biometric."

"Whatever it is," Jeff said, "if it belongs to the Drules, we need to stop it. Contact the repair crew and see if the repairs are complete on the Land Team vehicles."

"Yes, sir," Sparks replied.

The three cadets ran behind a large boulder and slumped to the ground, out of breath.

"That was a close one, dude," Eddie said.

"Are we safe here?" Mai asked.

"We just need to be totally quiet," Chet said. "This here piece of granite should stand up to their blaster fire if they do find us."

"We need to come up with a plan to rescue Captain Keats and Sergeant Izumo," Mai said. "Can we get back to the ships from here?"

"Not without them seeing us," Chet said.

"We need a distraction," Eddie said. "Ya know, like, something to take their eyes off the prize."

"I feel ya, bro," Chet said, "but I'm not going out there in a grass skirt and a pair of coconuts like last time. I had chafing so far around my…"

"I don't think I wanna hear about it," Mai said with disgust.

"You got a better idea?" Eddie asked. Mai sighed. She pulled her blaster.

"Can't be scared," she said to herself. "We'll circle around. While they search the jungle for us, we can circle back and try to rescue the Captain and Shannon."

"What about the ships?" Eddie asked.

"No doubt since they ambushed us, they have a guard detail there," she said. "We'll have a better chance with the entire team." They got up and made their way through the jungle back towards the camp.

"Air and Land Teams have launched, Commander," Sparks said. "Cadet Owens has reported back that the object is a robeast of sorts."

"Have we heard back from the Sea Team?" Jeff asked.

"Negative, sir," Sparks said. "No one is responding to our communications." Jeff balled his hand into a fist, tightening with his frustration.

"Keep trying to get ahold of them," he said. "In the meantime, maneuver the Defender to give the teams some cover fire."

"Aye, sir," Sparks replied. His eyes were drawn to another screen with a series of red blips. "Sir, Radial-Trac is picking up a fleet of ships headed for the other planet!"

"What?" Jeff shouted. He ran to look at the screen. "A two-pronged attack? Can't the Drules leave well enough alone?" He sighed. "We can't split our resources. Not with this much at stake. For now, keep trying to get in touch with the Sea Team."

Mai's head popped out of the narby foliage, followed by Chet and Eddie.

"There it is," she said. "It looks like they sent the bulk of their forces after us. Maybe we can sneak in and get them."

"They could be in the tent with them," Chet said. "We may still need to fight, bro."

"Already ready, bro," Eddie said.

"I guess it's now or never," Mai said softly. The three ran from the foliage towards the camp. As they approached the hut, several Halas troops emerged from behind them.

"Stop there!" one of them shouted. "You're surrounded. You can give up now, or die on these sands." Mai turned to face them and Chet and Eddie turned slowly as well, their guard still up. Mai held her blaster, her hand shaking in fear. "I said drop your weapon, little girl!" Mai closed her eyes, and a strange feeling came over her.

"What was that?" one of the soldiers guarding the Sea Team ships asked. He turned along with another guard to observe, and the Prober's engines began to whir. Out of nowhere, a blast of electricity launched from the hull, incapacitating them both. Mai's eyes opened.

"I'm not a little girl!" she shouted. "I'm a paladin!" Her Voltcom charged up, and she swung her arm around. Five rings of energy flew from the fingers of her open hand, blasting the Halas troops. Chet and Eddie followed suit, launching combat spears and throwing them at the enemy. The leader rushed from the hut, and Mai turned and punched him in the gut, then fired her Voltcom again, sending him flying backwards. She ran into the hut, and quickly untied Krik and Shannon.

"What….happened?" Shannon asked.

"We have to get back to the ships," Mai insisted. "The Halas are here. We're not safe." Shannon staggered to his feet, and they helped up Krik. The three ran from the hut.

"Get him to his ship, bro!" Eddie shouted. "We got this." Mai and Shannon ran with Krik back towards the ships. Arriving, they saw the guards incapacitated. Krik started to regain consciousness.

"What…is going on?" he asked.

"Contact the Defender," Mai said. "They need to know the Halas are here!" She turned and pointed her hand again as Chet and Eddie ran towards them. Several troops opened fire on them, and Mai fired back. They climbed into the ships and took off.

"Commander," Shannon said over the com, "the Halas set a trap for us on the surface! They're here on the planet!"

"I need you and the rest of your team to meet with the others," Jeff said. "The Drules are here too, and they brought reinforcements!"

"We're on our way," Shannon said. "Captain, we need to help the others."

"Agreed," Krik said, pulling the yokes as tightly as he could in his weakened state. "All units follow me in formation." The Sea Team flew off in the direction of the battle.

The ships flew around the robeast, taking shots whenever they could.

"Our blasters barely phase it," Ken said. "Its makeup is organic, but it's almost as if it had an armored exoskeleton."

"Keep focusing fire on the neck," Jenny said. "If it is alive, that may be its weak point."

"Could always try shooting it in the crotch," Dixie snarked.

"We're trying to stop it," Rocky said, "not tick it off."

"We need to form Voltron," Cliff said.

"Then let's form Voltron," Krik said, the Sea Team now taking shots at the beast.

"Alright," Jenny said. "Make one final pass then move into formation." The ships all swung around making individual passes firing at the beast, then maneuvered into position.

"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted.

"All units, form Voltron!" Jenny shouted, pushing the far lever forward. The energy field took hold as they began to drop into place. "Form feet and legs! Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" The CJE locked into place, and the bay doors opened to reveal Voltron's face. His eyes lit up with power as the Falcon screamed downward, locking into place on his chest. Voltron reached upwards, then followed up with a series of air punches as the energy field exploded.

"This thing is alive," Christiane said. "I don't know if we have a right to destroy it." The beast leaned forward and fired beams from his eyes, knocking Voltron backwards and out of the sky, crashing into the ground.

"You want to go have a word with him?" Cliff asked. Christiane sighed.

"It may be alive," Jenny said, "but it poses a threat to us and the Defender. If it's a Drule creation, we have to stop it." The robeast ran at them, and Voltron got to his feet and locked up.

"This thing is strong," Rocky said.

"Not strong enough," Modoch commented and he pushed a lever forward. Voltron shoved the beast backwards before following up with a hard right hand.

"The Drules and the Halas are both here," Mai said. "Are they working together?" Voltron went to close in, but the robeast pulled an axe out of nowhere, scoring a lucky strike on Voltron's thigh. Mai screamed as the force hit her ship, and Voltron staggered backwards.

"Mai, are you alright?" Jenny asked. Voltron tried to say on his feet, but damage had been done. "Mai? Cadet Islu, answer me!"

"Jenny, look out!" Cliff shouted.

"Hard right!" Jenny shouted, and Voltron spun to the right, the robeast missing them. "Eye Beam!" Voltron fired at the robeast, forcing it backwards.

"We have structural damage," Ken said. "If he comes at us with that axe, he could do some serious damage."

"Then we need to take it out," Jenny said. "Form Blazing Sword!" Voltron reached upwards with the Spinning Laser Blades, combining them and pulling downward, the sword forming in Voltron's hands. The robeast swung the axe, and they managed to block it with the sword.

"Keep your footing, Marv!" Hutch shouted.

"I'm trying!" Marvin replied. "We're losing traction!" Voltron was being pushed backwards. The robeast's eyes focused, and shoved hard, swinging the axe, and knocked the Blazing Sword from Voltron's hands. The sword flew through the air spinning, and stuck in the ground a few thousand meters away.

"Look out!" Krik shouted, and Voltron dodged a swing of the axe, forcing them to dodge away from the sword.

"This isn't looking good," Wolo commented. Christiane watched the screen as the robeast prepared to come at them again.

"It won't let us get close," Shannon said. Christiane leaned forward in her seat, her hand coming into contact with the bare metal. Without thinking about it, a thought filled her head.

Scatter your shot. Blind your enemy. The Nexus is waiting for you.

"Dammit, Islu, say something!" Jenny shouted.

"I….," Mai eeked out as she grabbed her yokes. Christiane plugged in her Voltcom.

"I don't know what I'm doing," she shouted, "but someone do something!" Mai gritted her teeth and pulled the trigger.

"Scatter shot!" Mai screamed. Voltron reached out and fired a blast of rings from his fingers. The shots hit the beast repeatedly, causing him to stagger. His eyes were hit, and he dropped the axe, screaming in pain.

"There's our opening!" Jenny shouted. "Pull it together, team!" Voltron rolled to his feet and ran for the sword. Voltron pulled it out of the ground quickly and turned towards the beast. "Cut it down!" Voltron ran at the robeast and sliced through it twice. Voltron skidded to a stop, and the robeast fell apart and exploded behind them. Christiane felt weak, but pondered over what just happened.

"It was alive," she whispered. "But so is Voltron." She closed her eyes. "Is this his fate?"

"Your Majesty," Binak said, "the Voltron Force defeated your robeast on the other planet."

"Then let them come and try to take this one from us," she sneered. "Our mining operations are in full swing. Nothing can stand in our…" The ship shook. "What was that?" They watched the viewscreen. It zoomed in on the planet. The earth broke apart. Volcanoes exploded. Oceans began to ravage and evaporate.

"What is it?' Binak asked angrily. He approached his senior officer. "Speak up!"

"The planet," he replied, "…it appears to be….breaking apart!"

"How is that possible?" Binak asked. "Our scans showed it to be stable!"

"I can't explain the seismic changes, General," he replied. "It's moving as if it were being….being…"

"What?" Binak asked more angrily."

"Devoured," he replied. A distance away, several ships sit and watch. The one in command, a Halas General, watched with a smirk on his face.

"General Lars," one of the officers said, "it is absorbing the planet just as you expected."

"Everything is going exactly as planned," Lars replied carefully. "Not only will it send a message to those Drule interlopers, but Omega will be the key to ridding Delta Five of those troublesome Alliance scum once and for all."

Mai sat at a table quietly, staring out at the stars. Her arm was in a sling, sprained from the jolt she'd received. Jenny approached her.

"You feeling any better?" she asked. Mai nodded. "The other planet appears to have broken apart. Professor Paige received his reports back."

"And?" Mai asked.

"And…he said the planet the Drules were trying to mine succumbed to some sort of artificial force," Jenny said. "We don't understand why, but the entire planet imploded into itself. Unfortunately, the planet we were looking at was thrown out of alignment. That's the thing about a binary system. Without the other to keep it in its perfect orbit, its orbit changed. Within a short time, the jungle will burn away, and the planet will become a burnt out mess."

"Then it was for nothing?" Mai asked angrily.

"No," Jenny replied adamantly. "Captain Keats told me what you did out there. You and the Keegans fought off an entire battalion of Halas troops. That took guts."

"You think so?" Mai asked.

"Know so," Jenny replied. "So what if we didn't find a planet this time. That'll happen. But we're growing as cadets, and even more as explorers. We're gonna find that world, you'll see."

"Lieutenant Aki mentioned that she believes Voltron is alive," Mia said. "Is it possible?"

"Anything's possible, Mai," she replied, putting her arm around her. "Anything's possible."