Chapter 9

"I'll see if I can get a message out to my dad." Pidge tells the Paladins as they speed towards their home planet. "Dad, it's me, Pidge. Do you copy? We're back in Earth's solar system and heading home now." Static. After a minute, Sam's voice is barely audible. "To any beings who receive this message..."

"Dad, you're okay. How's Mom and Matt? Is he with you?"

"Planet Earth has been... Most of the citizens..."

"Hold on, let me try to get a clear signal."

"...have been captured."

"What? Who's been captured. Dad, what are you saying?"

"Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help." Keith presses a few buttons. He zooms in on Earth's location. He sees that Galra cruisers have surrounded the planet. "Guy's are you seeing this?" He asks. "To any being who receive this message..." Allura gasps "Oh no."

"...Planet Earth has been overrun by the Galra."

"The Galra have invaded Earth." Lance says in horror. "Most of the citizens have been captured. Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron. We need help."

"It's not a reply. It's a distress signal." Hunk points out. "Dad." The start moving faster. "Dad, please respond. Voltron is coming. Hold on."

"Are we too late?" Hunk asks. More static. "Katie? Katie, is that you?"

"Dad, it's me. I'm here."

"Katie, I'm so glad to hear your voice. Where are you?"

"We're within the Solar System. Heading to Earth now."

"Wait. You must stop!"

"What? Say again." Keith requests. "Stop! Sendak has invaded the planet. He's taken over Earth. If he finds out that Voltron is here, he'll threaten the people of Earth in exchange for the Lions. " There is a pause. "Reverse thrusters." Keith orders. "Copy that. Hold tight." Hunk tells them. He and Allura do as they were told. When they stop, their are three Galra patrol cruisers. "Pick up those Galra ships' locations. We need to scramble any transmission immediately." Sam orders. His team does just that. "Paladins, we blocked the patrol's transmission. You're clear."

"Roger that. Let's take 'em out." Lance says. Lance fires and hits 2 of 3. He almost hits the third. "Wait! Don't destroy that ship. We might need it." Pidge tells him. "Really? For what?"

"I've got an idea." They stop the patrol ship, without destroying it. "We can't fly our Lions to Earth without being spotted, so they'll have to stay here on this moon in Saturn's rings, which should keep them hidden from Sendak's radars. We'll fly in another way." So they crowd in the Galra patrol ship, and Keith gets in the pilots they go. "I hope the mice and Kaltenecker aren't to frightened without us." Allura voices her concern. "I think they'll be fine." Pidge tells her. They get closer and closer. The more nervous they get. Keith is on major guard. "Hang on! We're entering Earth's atmosphere."

"This is weird. This is almost exactly how we left Earth, crammed in the cockpit of the Blue Lion." Hunk says with a chuckle. "We're overweight. I'm losing altitude. Brace for impact!" Keith shouts. They crash in the sand. "Is everyone alright?" Keith asks. "Alive, yes, alright, debatable." Lance replied. Everyone gets out of the ship and begins to walk towards the Garrison. They stop when the come across a decimated city. "Hey, I know this place. I've been here. This is Plaht city." Hunk states. "It's about half an hour from the Garrison." He adds. "Whoa, I can't believe this is all that's left of it." Lance comments. "We need to get to the Garrison. Stay together. Let's move quick and quiet." Keith tells them. They get out their weapons and start sneaking through the decimated urban area. They come across cars and toys. And a few dead bodies. None of the group recognize them. (AN: I get this is supposed to be a kids show, but with the way they invaded, you cannot realistically tell me people didn't die.) Lance leads, watching with his long range rifle. Hunk watches the back.

They start getting fired at by some drones. The group goes for cover while Hunk gives covering fire. Lance and Keith are behind a car. "I'll distract it, you take the shot." Keith gets ready to run. "Don't miss." He hops over the car and starts running. Lance hits each other drones going after Keith with great precision. He turns around and hits the other one aiming for Hunk. "I'm offended you thought I would miss. I am the team sharpshooter after all." Lance says to Keith and smirks. Keith rolls his eyes. "I wonder how many of these things they have around here." He wonders aloud. "Pidge, any chance we could see those things before they get to us?" She asks him. "Already on it. Looks like four more headed our way." A laser fires right in front of her face. They all take cover. "It's not drones. Look." Shiro is correct, they are not drones. They are actually sentries. Hunk and Lance fire. Taking out a few each. Some drones come at them from behind where they have no cover. Lance fires at the drones and Hunk fires at the sentries. One is running at them, but before it can reach the group, it is run into a wall by a Garrison car. Griffin gets out and starts firing on the drones. Rizzavi comes in another car. She starts firing as well. "Stay down, we got this!" She tells the Paladins. "Hey, I had him." Keith complains. "Drones send distress signals when attacked. Our weapons neutralize those signals. So unless you wanna deal with a swarm of those things, let us handle it. Now let's get out of here before more show up." Griffin tells Keith. Keith just frowns. Everyone loads into the two vehicles.

After a while, they see the particle barrier incasing the Garrison. They drive through the gate. They come into the courtyard. The group is in awe. Pidge gasps when she sees her parents. Colleen runs to the vehicles. The moment the door opens, Pidge jumps out onto her mom, they hold onto each other. Sam comes up and hugs them both. "Oh, Katie, I'm so glad you're home." She cries. Pidge laughs. "Lance!" I voice shouts. He turns in that direction. It was Veronica. He sees his whole family. He runs to them. They have a large group hug with many tears. "It's so good to see you." Lance tells them. "We never gave up on you." Veronica tells him. "I missed you all so much." Lance picks up his niece. "You two are so much bigger now."

"You're still the same size." His nephew says. Hunk looks at his friends with their families and smiles sadly. He thinks back to the time spent with his family before he left for the Garrison.

Hunk's thoughts are interrupted by Sam. "It's good to have you home."

"So, my family?" Sam looks at him sadly. "We'll get them back soon." Commander Holt promises the Paladin.

"Officer Shirogane." Iverson says after Shiro has helped Allura out of the car. "It's great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarintine." Iverson continues. "Ah, so you're the one who strapped Shiro to a table." Coran gets up in Iverson's face. "I heard about that." He starts to fiddle with his mustache. "You were just following orders, as any good soldier would." Shiro smiles. "It's great to see you, too. Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies. Meet Princess Allura, Romelle, and Coran."

"The honor is mine. Your technology has be instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth." Iverson says. "Oh, yes. Pop-Pop was quite the genius."

"And Cadet." Iverson turns to Keith, who stands up and salutes. "Yes, sir."

"I owe you an apology as well. I've heard about all you've done. I was wrong about you." Keith puts his arm down and smiles. "It's an honor and privilege to see you again." Iverson finishes. "Thank you, sir. I guess I wasn't exactly the best cadet back then. I probably owe you a bit of an apology, too." Keith extends his hand. Iverson shakes it. Iverson turns to the wolf. "Ah, and who's this little fella?" He walks up to Iverson and allows himself to be pet. "Oh, Kosmo likes you. But be careful. If you touch it, it could zap you to a different universe." Iverson pauses. "Seriously." Coran finishes his previous statement. Keith looks over to see James Griffin staring at him. Keith watches as Griffin walks away.

Iverson takes Shiro to see a wall of those who sacrificed themselves. Shiro rubs his hand over Adams plaque. "I'm sorry." He says barely audible. "It's because of them that Earth still has a chance. It's time for our debriefing." Iverson walks away and leaves Shiro for a moment.

Everyone of importance has gathered in the meeting room. All of those that just came to the Garrison have been given new Garrison clothes. "Sendak's forces remain at bay, but without a meaningful supply line, we're slowly being suffocated." Sam explains. "No one else is putting up a fight against Sendak?" Shiro asks. "Small underground pockets of resistance have attempted to do so with varying degrees of success. Eventually, all were discovered and systematically wiped out. Earth's offensive capabilities simply don't stand a chance against the Galra." Veronica explains. "Why don't we bring more people into this base?" Hunk asks. "We've had to put a halt on our extraction ops as they were proving to be too risky." Commander Holt tells him. "But there are good people out there. They could be protected. My family's out there."

"I'm sorry, Hunk."

"But if we have an opportunity now-" Hunk is interrupted by James. "Hey, do Paladins not understand the chain of command? Your CO said it was too dangerous."

"Officer Griffin, that's enough." Sam tells him. He then turns back to Hunk. "Believe me, I understand what you're going through, Hunk. Not being able to save your family is a difficult thing. We all have family out there, but we have to weigh our options. We can't lose ten people to save twelve. I'm sorry." Hunk looks down. Allura stands. "Well, then let's find out what we can do. You said you've integrated" Altean tech with Earth weaponry."

A smaller group heads to the elevator that leads to the docking bay. They ride down and see the MFEs. "The Mecha-Flex-Exo fighters, or MFEs, are extremely agile with advanced weaponry, but are only capable of short-range attacks. Sustaining power with Altean-infused technology is an issue we're trying to overcome." Sam explains. "Maybe I can help you out with that. I do have some leftover Faunatonium. It's an Altean fuel additive, but also has come unexpected side effects, so don't get any on you." Coran tells him. The group exits the elevator. Sam blinks twice before following. Sam leads them to a large ship. "And this is our battle ship. It's large enough to house all of the Lions and an entire command unit." Sam tells them. "It's built, but it can't fly." Admiral Sanda complains. She continues on. "Everyone, there's a subject we can't avoid any longer. Sendak attacked Earth because he wanted the Lions, and now they're here. It seems that we need to at least discuss out options."

"Are you suggesting that we willingly hand over the Lions to the Galra?" Shiro asks her. "Our supplies are gone. We spent all our resources on a ship that doesn't fly. The weapons we do have are not enough to mount an attack. All we can do is protect a small pocket of Earth. But for how much longer?"

"The universe needs the Lions." Sam argues. "So does Earth. They're our only bargaining chip."

"I agree with the admiral. Earth has been nearly destroyed. Countless citizens have been lost. But it could all be over if we give up the Lions." One of the CO's states. "You're right. I would all be over. Sendak would destroy the whole planet the moment he got what he wanted." Keith argued. "We have a fighting chance now the Lions have returned. We need to take it." Iverson sided with the Paladins. "I'll settle this argument right now." Allura starts. "We're not giving up the Lions under any circumstances. Keith is right. There is no negotiating with Sendak. The moment he has the Lions, its over for Earth and the rest of the universe."

"Maybe you should leave the matters of Earth to the people who live here." Sanda tells her coldly. Shiro steps forward. "Please, Admiral. I respect that you'll do anything you can to protect Earth. But trust us, we've been through more than you could ever imagine."

"Especially Shiro. He died and then Allura used Alchemy to remove his consciousness from the black lion and put it in the dead body of his evil clone." Lance interrupts. They don't seem to by that. Shiro continues. "We have fought the Galra on the fringes of the universe and in their very home. I know there's a way to defeat Sendak."

"How? We barely know what we're up against. We need intelligence and we just don't have it." She states. "Maybe we do." Allura tells her. She turns to Sam. "That information you downloaded from the Castle of Lions contains Sendak's memories."

"How does that help?" Sam asks her. "It might give us some insight into Sendak's plan. Allura, you're a genius." Pidge tells her. "We just need some time." Same tells the Admiral. She glares. "Fine." She walks away. One of the COs lets Allura, Pidge, and Colleen into a room full of computer processors. "Everything from the castle is stored here. Processing the massive amount of complex Altean data takes nearly every node we have. Sifting through that much information is like trying to find a needle in a haystack." He explains. Pidge sits at a monitor. "Then let's get started." Allura turns to Colleen. "What's a needle and what is a haystack?" Allura asks. Colleen does her best to explain.

Sam takes Shiro and Coran onto the deck of the Atlas. "I'm actually quite impressed, despite the obviously crude nature of Earth's technological capabilities." Coran tells Sam. "It has a lot of potential, but I'm unable to recreate the power of a Balmeran crystal. Maybe your Faunatonium will work for this as well?"

"Afraid not. A ship like this might need two or three battleship-class Balmeran crystals."

"I don't suppose there are any Balmera nearby?" Shiro asks. "In this young galaxy?" Coran laughs. "Oh, yeah, it's right next to the Wizblattle. That's a no. No Balmeras around here."

Allura begins to wander around the room. She comes across some robotic limbs. "Those are Officer Holt's designs for some of the injured soldiers. They're extremely advanced, but like everything else, we don't have an adequate power source to make the viable." The commander tells her. "Here. I found Sendak's memories." Pidge tells Allura. Allura walks back over to her. "It's just code until we find a way to interpret it." Pidge explains. "I might know a way."

Hunk is thinking about fixing a car with his dad. He's in the workshop and gets something on him. He blindly tries to find a towel to wipe his eyes. "Is everything okay in here?" Hunk hears Keith's voice. "Yeah." Hunk gets the stuff out of his eyes. "Look. I'm not really good at talking with people, and I don't expect you to open up to me, but if there is ever anything on you mind..." Hunk interrupts him. "This situation stinks. I, I, I can't believe we finally get back to Earth, and it is taken over by Galra."

"I guess there is something on your mind." Keith walks up to Hunk. Hunk stammers. "I know it's stupid, but I used to daydream about coming home to a peaceful Earth. And that would've been great. But I realized that nothing... Nothing would have been greater than seeing my family. But I can't. And all I keep thinking about is that I wasn't there for them when they needed me. And I don't even know if they're okay. And, and I see Pidge and Lance with their families, and- I, I mean, I'm happy for them, I am. But it just... makes me miss my family more. I, I just- I've never felt so alone and scared."

"Look, Hunk... I never told you this, but of all the Paladins, you're the one I'm most impressed by." Hunk looks at Keith. "It's no secret that you've been the most scared, but you've never backed down. Never. And being brave is to go on in spite of fear. And that is who you are Hunk. I know you're scared, but you family... they need you to be strong right now." Hunk wraps Keith in a hug. For a second Keith doesn't know what to do. "Okay. All right. Now we're huggin." Keith hugs back. "Thank you, Keith." Hunk steps back and starts to walk away. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to get my family." Keith smiles. "Not without me." The two of them sneak down to the cars in full Paladin armor. Keith gets ready to steal one. Hunk follows. Before they can, headlights turn on behind them. They turn around to see what caused it. "You two heading somewhere?" Griffin asks. Veronica is standing there with him. "This doesn't concern either of you." Keith tells him. "No, but you'll probably be concerned with the patrol drones that will spot you within seconds." Veronica points out. "And you might be concerned with the blast from Sendak's automated low-orbit, long-range blaster satellite that takes you out." Griffin says. "What's you problem?" Hunk asks. "My problem is I don't wanna see our only hope for saving Earth disappear. And I really hate to admit that Keith is part of it." He frowns. Keith frowns right back. "That's why we are coming with." Veronica tells them.

Sam walks in to check on Allura, Colleen, and Pidge. "Uploading... and... there." Pidge says. A hologram of Sendak appears in front of them. Like the one king Alfor had in the Castle of Lions. "Whoa. Amazing." Sam says in wonder. "We're mimicking the way the Castle of Lions interacted with King Alfor's memories." Pidge explains. "Test it out. Ask him a question."

"Um, all right. What is your name?" Sam asks. "I am Commander Sendak, a royal officer to the Galra Empire."

"Where are you from?" Sam inquires. "I am proud to say I was born with unquestionable Galra lineage."

"Commander, explain to me you methods for conquering planets."

"There are as many ways to conquer a planet as there are planets themselves. Primitive species are the easiest. It usually doesn't take more than one or two waves of attack to bring them to their knees."

"What about more advanced civilizations?" Allura asks him to elaborate. "There are always those willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. That's why it is best to find something they value more than themselves and make that the target."

"What do you mean?" Pidge asks. "Citizens of advanced civilizations have the weakness of caring for each other." They continue this game of questions and answer. Finally Allura asks, "What if a planet refuses to give up, not matter the cost?"

"If a planet refuses to give up, then we annihilate it. But only one planet has ever refused. Altea." Allura turns Sendak off. "I'm sorry, I think I need a break." She tells them.

The group is trying to find the best way to get through the city without being spotted. Veronica is working on something, with Griffin using his long range riffle to watch. "She did it. The signal's sent."

"Okay, now what?" Hunk asks. "Now we wait." Hunk thinks back to cooking with his mom. They move to under the street. Sentries continue to walk overhead. They are in a drain. A light shines right above them. They look up to see a stranger. "Come with me. Quickly." They follow him to a mostly destroyed building, but has a room. "Amazing. The rumors are true." The stranger says with a strong accent. "Word of the Paladins' return has inspired the resistance."

"Thank you for your help. Tell the resistance we're gonna get rid of the Galra." Hunk tells him. "Words we've waited a long time to hear." Veronica looks out the window of the small room. "Is this where they've taken all of the prisoners?" Veronica asks the man. Hunk looks out the window as well. There is a Galra work camp. What they are working on is unclear. But it is clear they are using the citizens for labor. "What are they doing down there?" Keith asks. "They have work camps operating day and night mining ore for Sendak. It's been nonstop for months. He's building something, but no one is sure what."

"I thought the labor force was outside the encampment." Veronica states. "They were, but they've been moved in."

"What does that mean?" Hunk asks with urgency. Veronica looks at him sadly. "It means... that we can't get you to your parents." Hunk looks heartbroken. "No. No please." Tears begin to well up in his eyes. "Believe me, if there was a way, we would do it."

"Can I at least see them from here?" Hunk asks.

Shiro finds Allura in the same spot that Keith found Hunk. "You wanted to see me? I thought you were with Pidge and Sam."

"Sendak's memories were hard to hear. But it did remind me of something my father once said. He told me that there are those with the power to destroy, and those with the power to create." She steps to the side to reveal what she was working on. It is a robotic arm for Shiro. He looks at it is awe.

"I see movement. It looks like the workers are exiting." Keith says. Using binoculars, Hunk looks and tries to find his parents. He find them. "That them. My mom, my dad." He says. He watches as his dad helps his mom walk. "Don't worry. You just need to hang on a little longer. We're gonna get you out." He lets the tears fall. "I'm going to get you out." He promises.