Chapter 25

From his place on the bridge of his command ship, Prince Lotor watches the screen as they approach Planet Pollux. His screen changes unexpectedly and King Zarkon stares down on him. Grinding his teeth, Lotor nods his head to his father in deference before greeting him, "Father. Is there something you require?"

"I required your presence in my throne room hours ago, Lotor," the king states. He raises his scepter and points it at Lotor, "Lucky for you, you are in the right place at the right time."

With his eyebrows drawing together and his eyes narrowing, Lotor demands, "What?"

The screen pulls back to show Haggar in her usual seat beside the throne. She strokes her blue cat, an evil thing Lotor would love to skin if given the chance. She looks up from her place to say, "Two slaves stole a ship. Princess Romelle and that Voltron pilot you lost."

"WHAT?" Furious now, Lotor takes a step toward the screen, "I thought that bitch was dead."

"She isn't."

Turning his attention back to his father, Lotor watches Zarkon glare at him, his disgust showing, "That pilot called Arus with a stolen transmitter and requested assistance. Mogor remotely activated the onboard signal jammer to block any further communications. This is your chance to solve all of your blunders at once."

"How is that? I'm not near Arus," states Lotor, unable to believe his bad luck. He thought one of the more savage groups of slaves had taken Romelle when the troops he sent into the tunnels could not find her. For both Romelle, and that Voltron pilot, to be alive is unbelievable.

His father smirks, "They're all headed for Pollux. You managed to have the dumb luck of getting there ahead of them." His expression turns savage, "Do not let any of them survive."

The screen turns black before he can answer. Furious with his father, Haggar, Romelle and the whole damn group of Voltron pilots, Lotor smashes his fist down on a control panel. Looking up, he finds his troops waiting for orders. Wishing he could ignore his father and commence his attack on Pollux, Lotor orders, "Hide behind the Polluxian moon. We attack when they are all within range."

As the robots move to follow his orders, Lotor returns to his seat on the bridge to wait. He'll use the Iron Maiden to get rid of Voltron, Pollux and Romelle all in one fell swoop. Then he'll return to Doom and perhaps, just perhaps, use it on his father. Happier with the thought, Lotor sits back in his chair and waits.

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Flying through space, Keith pushes Voltron as fast as the robot will go. Glimpses of stars fly past on the screen and it still doesn't seem fast enough. His foot continuously taps against the metal plating of the floor, matching his impatience.

"Commander."

"Go head, Pidge," he says.

The screen changes to show the youngest member of the Force. He smiles at him, "I got through to Planet Pollux. Prince Bandor is launching his fleet and standing at ready."

"Great!" Keith exclaims. "Did you reach Sven?"

"Not so far. I tried the frequency he used to contact Arus, but can't pick up a signal."

Grinding his teeth, Keith tries not to think of what that could mean. Sven is smart. He can out run or out maneuver the Doom troops, depending on the ship he stole. Hoping his friend isn't lost before he can reach him, Keith calls out, "Keep trying, Pidge."

"Will do, Cap."

Left to his musings, Keith's impatience grows. He failed Sven once. He won't fail him again. His private screen turns on to show Allura. She stares at him in silence then attempts to smile at him. However, he can see the worry in her eyes. She feels the same way about saving Romelle as he does about saving Sven. Her hand stretches out to touch the screen, as if touching him. He calms down and manages a comforting smile back. Just before the screen turns black, Allura whispers, "I love you."

Feeling better, Keith turns his attention back to the mission. Doom will undoubtedly come after Sven and Romelle. He just has to get there first and keep them from succeeding.

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Jittery, Romelle taps her fingers against the controls while staring blindly at the monitors. It won't be long before they reach Pollux. It seems strange though. No Doom ships are trying to stop them. They wouldn't just let her get away, would they? She shakes her head in answer. Not after what happened the last time she stole a ship. She looks over at Sven. He continues to push buttons on the transmitter. After his initial message, the unit stopped working.

Trying to get his attention, Romelle says, "We'll reach Pollux soon."

"I know," he replies then sighs with defeat. Sven drops the transmitter onto the floor and looks over at her, "Something is wrong. We should have fighters all over us, and nothing. The transmitter won't work. Somehow, Doom is blocking all communications. I can't contact Keith and the others again even if we are attacked." Sven shakes his head, "But, I don't think we will be. Not until we get there."

Romelle's eyes widen with realization, "They're setting a trap."

"Most likely," he replies. His lips press together into a thin line as he shuts his eyes, drops his chin to his chest crosses his arms in front of him.

"What can we do?" Romelle asks, her anxiety rising.

Opening his eyes, Sven looks back at her to answer, "Fly into it." The grimness of the situation leaves his features, his eyes becoming determined as he says, "I won't let Keith, and the others, fly into the trap alone. I will not let my friends down again."

"Nor will I," Romelle adds, her fingers tightening around the controls until her hands hurt. She has lost too many people she loves already. She will not lose more.

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An alert light on the control panel ignites, letting Keith know of their approach to Pollux. Not that he needs it. He has been watching the planet growing larger on his monitor for the last several minutes. Reaching over, Keith flips the switch to turn off the alert then calls out, "Get ready, team."

"We're being hailed, Cap."

Flipping screens, Keith finds Prince Bandor in front of him. The younger man's face is pale. His fingers clench and unclench at his side as he inquires, "Have you heard from them?"

"No," Keith says with a shake of his head. "I don't like it either."

"Should we fly towards Doom?"

"Not unless we're prepared to declare war," Keith replies. He tries to calm the young royal, "Princess Romelle escaped with Lieutenant Sven Holgersson. He is one of Garrison's best. Have faith."

"I wish I could, Commander," Bandor says, looking weary. "It's been too long."

He has no idea how true that statement is. Clearing his throat, Keith says, "We're scanning for activity and will reach Pollux in a few minutes."

"Hurry," Bandor replies before the screen goes black.

As if he hasn't all along. Keith shakes his head. Even with the slowest ship, Sven should arrive soon. If he doesn't, Keith may throw caution to the wind and fly toward Planet Doom himself.

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Bored waiting for Voltron to show up, Prince Lotor sits in his command chair with his hand under his chin. He has sat and watched that weakling, Prince Bandor, get his fleet into position for the last hour. The wimp actually thinks his four little battle cruisers can take on his fleet? What a joke. If he wasn't stuck waiting for Voltron to show up, Lotor would show Bandor how quickly he can wipe out his precious ships. He hopes Romelle shows up just as the Iron Maiden is tearing her brother's command ship to bits. Once he is finished with Bandor, he will eliminate Romelle himself, once and for all.

The screen changes, showing Voltron approaching. Dropping his hand to grip the armrests, Lotor sits up and feels his excitement start. Now he will be rid of all of them. Turning to his lieutenant, Lotor asks, "Is there any sign of the ship Princess Romelle stole?"

"Not yet, sire."

Slamming his hand against the armrest, Lotor proclaims, "I'm tired of waiting. Commence the attack!"

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"Doom fighters!"

Hearing Pidge's cry, Keith pulls back on the controls and looks out to find Doom fighters coming from the direction of Pollux's moon. They engage Bandor's ships. Several smaller Polluxian fliers deploy to battle the fighters one-on-one.

"Looks like Bandor can handle them."

Keith nods in agreement with Hunk, but continues watching the area of the moon. Sure enough, two Doom battleships appear next. Hitting his communication system, he calls out, "He won't be able to handle those. Everyone get ready."

As the battleships get near enough to fire on them, Keith calls out, "Stingray missiles!"

Missiles fly out of the mouths of Blue and Yellow lions, flying straight for the closest battleship. One is destroyed by counter measures, but the second finds its mark and explodes on impact. More fighters deploy, heading straight for Voltron.

Using the robot's arms to reach for weapons, Keith yells, "Spinning laser blades!"

As the blades spin out to destroy two of the fighters, Keith yells, "Eye beams!"

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From his command chair, Prince Lotor watches Voltron destroy his fighters with lasers from its eyes. He grinds his teeth as darts leave the robot's head next to destroy three more. Having had enough, he calls out, "All ships move into double claw formation and release the Iron Maiden!"

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"Heads up everyone! A large object is approaching at high speeds!"

At Allura's warning, Keith looks over to find a robeast coffin flying toward them. He pulls back on the controls and turns Voltron away to avoid a collision with the tube. He turns and watches as it stops, moves into an upright position and breaks apart with exploding force to reveal a large robot.

"It looks like a giant, robotic woman!"

"No kidding, Lance! Master of the obvious!"

"Knock it off guys," Keith calls out before Lance can retaliate against Pidge. Flying Voltron toward the robot, he calls out, "Fire, heat beams!"

The robot doesn't even attempt to avoid the blasts. They hit her directly. The gray metal casing surrounding her cracks with energy beams shining through. Keith studies it as the cracks flash a bright color, as if waiting to explode.

Pidge's voice echoes through the comm. "Looks like we got her."

Hunk snorts then says, "Some robeast."

"Yeah, more like a paper tiger," Lance adds.

"Wait!" Allura calls out, stopping the disparagement, "There's something underneath!"

The cracked pieces fall away, showing a golden exterior underneath. The left hand falls away, revealing a large claw with protruding spikes. A golden shield lowers, covering the area where the robot's eyes once were. Gripping the controls tightly, Keith calls out, "Get ready for round two!"

Suddenly, the robot moves faster than Keith could have dreamed possible, drawing out a sword then attacking. Raising Red Lion's arm to deflect the strike, he barely avoids the first blow aimed for Voltron's head.

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Laughter escapes out of Lotor as he watches the Iron Maiden kick out and knocks Voltron back before attacking again with its sword. The blows are continuous, raining down on the mighty robot. Voltron can barely block them, the arms showing significant damage. Voltron tries various weapons, all failing to slow down the Iron Maiden. Lotor sits forward in his seat, his eyes unblinking, knowing the end is near.

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"Keith! Get this bitch off us!"

Lance's cry the next moment as another blow lands against the side of Red Lion has Keith grinding his teeth. The lion torches, eye beams and iron darts simply bounced off the robot's metal exterior. He can't get enough distance from it to form blazing sword. Desperate, Keith calls out, "Electro-force cross!"

"Keith! We're too close for that!"

Ignoring Pidge's warning, Keith presses the button. The electrified cross flies from Voltron's chest, hits the robot's and causes a giant energy pulse that blows the two robots apart. Sparks fly from the control systems as Keith fights to regain control of Voltron. Yanking hard on the controls, he brings Voltron upright. He turns back to find the robot robeast bearing down on them once more with its sword raised to deliver a killing blow. Slamming his hand on the button, Keith calls out, "Spinning laser blades!"

The blades fly, one taking out the robot's hand with the sword and the other imbedding itself in its chest. The hand breaks away, another giant claw descending to take its place. It pauses to reach up and dislodges the blade in its chest.

Taking the opportunity, Keith calls out, "Form, blazing sword!"

Voltron rises, the Green and Red lions come together, the sword appearing between them as they move apart. Keith raises Red Lion, the sword firmly held within its jaw and waits for the robot robeast's next move.

The crown suddenly leaves the robot's head and flies at Voltron. Pidge cries out a warning, but it is just too fast and lands on Voltron's head before Keith can react. Energy beams descend from the crown and wrap around Voltron's body, pinning the sword to his side. Keith listens to the cries of pain from his crew as the energy beams enter the cabins. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he thinks desperately for a way out of the situation. The alert light begins flashing for the energy crystals, signaling system overload. If they don't break free soon, Voltron is finished.