Disclaimer:  I don't own Voltron, Star Trek, or any characters mentioned here that are cannon to either franchise.  What I do own are the fighter, Thunderwing, and the crew of the Berlin, except for Mordock.  The rest I'm just borrowing for a while.

Star Tron:

The Black Suits Cometh

Chapter 7

The Voltron Force met their guests at the castle gates, watching the three people cross the bridge toward them.  Their leader was a young man, tall with dirty blond hair and steel blue eyes.  He was followed on the left by a towering, green man who resembled a dinosaur, and on his right was a tall, blond woman.  All three wore black uniforms with metal pins on their chests and small, gold circles on their collars.

The leader stopped in front of Allura.  "Princess Allura?"

"Yes?"

"I'm Captain Adam Driscoll of the United Federation of Planets, commanding officer of the starship U.S.S. Berlin," he said, bowing slightly.  "Callsign, Dinoman."  He motioned to the reptilian beside him.  "This is my first officer, Commander Gredar, and my security chief, Lieutenant-Commander Tina Jacobs."

Allura nodded.  "On behalf of the people of Arus, I welcome you to the Castle of Lions.  Allow me to introduce the Voltron Force."  Each man nodded as Allura announced their name.  "Commander Keith Mendoza, leader and pilot of Black Lion.  Lieutenant Lance Corman, pilot of Red Lion.  Lieutenant Hunk Michaels, pilot of Yellow Lion, and Lieutenant Pidge LeSur, Green Lion."

Although outwardly calm, the Voltron Force was on guard.  They hated all the formality; it just wasn't their style.  That, and they didn't know if they could trust the newcomers yet, and the giant lizard was more than a little disturbing.

As Allura made the introductions, something ate at the back of her mind.  Something important, but she just couldn't put her finger on it.  Then it hit her.  Their uniforms.

But these brave souls would fail, if not for the men in black.

It suddenly made sense.  Driscoll had saved them that day, and he wore a black uniform.  Voltron could have been destroyed that day.  They would have failed, if not for the men in black; if not for that man in black. 

She decided she had to talk to Keith about this as soon as possible.

"I'm sure you're all hungry," Allura said.  "Dinner should be ready now, if you'll follow us?"  She turned and headed into the castle, ringed by the Voltron Force.  To Jacobs, this was telling.  It showed that the Voltron Force didn't trust the Starfleeters, and that the Castle of Lions wasn't as safe as it looked.  If they couldn't even relax in their own castle, maybe the captain was right.  Maybe they did need help.

The Voltron Force led the group to the main hall.  The adjective that came to Jacobs first was cavernous.  Twin staircases at the opposite end of the chamber led to a balcony.  The stark, metal walls were adorned with several large tapestries and paintings.  A long table in the center of the room was set with a modest but impressive meal.  Two people were waiting for them.  One was a stately old gentleman, the other a plump, middle-aged woman dressed in servant-type clothes.  Coran and Nanny, like the Voltron Force, were courteous, but wary of the newcomers.

During the meal, most of the conversation was of a question-and-answer nature, as the Starfleeters and the Voltron Force felt each other out.

"What, exactly, is the United Federation of Planets?" Keith asked.

"It's an interstellar alliance of over 160 member worlds and hundreds of colonies, spread across hundreds of light years," Driscoll replied.  "We're generally a peaceful organization, but we are more than capable of defending ourselves."

"So your vessel is a warship?" Coran asked.

"Not at all," said Jacobs.

"The Berlin is a science vessel," said Driscoll.  "Our mission is to study subspace anomalies, which is how we ended up here.  Our ships are primarily designed for research and exploration.  Military stuff is secondary."

"That sounds a lot like the Alliance," said Pidge.  "We've got a lot of science ships, and there are a lot of planets in the Alliance.  Almost 900."

"But with guys like Zarkon and Lotor out there, we've been doing a lot of military operations," said Hunk. 

"How many ships does the Federation have?" Lance asked.

"That is classified," said Gredar.

"We don't even know.  We're fighting a war right now, and we're getting the bum end.  Our strength changes daily.  Even if we knew, we can't say."

"Of course," said Coran.

The group was silent for several moments as they ate, then Jacobs asked, "Commander Mendoza?"

"Call me, 'Keith'.  We only use first names."

"You never know who might be listening," Hunk added.

"Sorry.  But, what is Voltron's mission?  I'm sure it's not all about fighting robots?"

"Our mission is to free the worlds that have been enslaved by Zarkon, and bring him to justice," Keith replied.

"He's killed, robbed, enslaved, and laid waste to hundreds of worlds, including this one," Allura said vehemently, fire flashing in her eyes.  "We won't stop until he, Lotor, and all the rest of them have answered for their crimes."

"Well stated, Your Highness," Coran said. 

Her words were also well regarded by the Starfleeters, although they kept their own council on the matter.  The princess obviously spoke from personal experience, and her words carried a tone of fierce determination and a hint of righteous anger. 

"We're fighting for our freedom, and our lives, and those of millions of other people," said Lance.  "And we're gonna win."

As Lance spoke, Allura studied the face of the Starfleet captain.  She saw how he reacted, and could sense his empathy.  She knew he could be a valuable ally.

And he wasn't bad looking, either.

The thought had entered her mind unexpectedly, and as she wondered where it had come from, she didn't realize she was staring until she saw Driscoll looking back at her.  She looked away a moment, and when she glanced at him again, he was still looking at her, and he smiled.  His smile was warm and friendly, not like the lustful sneers she'd received from so many suitors.  Yes, a valuable ally indeed, and perhaps a friend as well.

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After dinner, Driscoll, Jacobs, and Gredar were given a tour of the castle, ending in the Control Room.  The Starfleeters noticed that the room was laid out much like a starship's bridge.

Coran had just finished a cursory explanation of the function of the Control Room, when Driscoll's combadge beeped.  He slapped the silver delta on his chest.  "Driscoll here."

"Scott here, sir, everything all right down there?"

"Yeah, Scotty, we're good.  What's going on up there?"

"Not a thing, sir. Everything's as quiet as a churchyard."

"Good to hear, Scotty, keep me posted."

"Aye, sir.  Scott out."

"Was that your ship calling?" Keith asked.

"Yep.  Just a routine check-in, Commander," Driscoll replied.

"Where is your ship?" Coran asked as he adjusted the sensors.  "It isn't showing up on the scanners."

"The Berlin's in orbit," said Jacobs.  "You should be able to see her."

"It isn't showing up," said Coran.

"The ship is still running silent," said Gredar.

"Right," said Driscoll.  He tapped his combadge.  "Driscoll to Berlin."

"Scott here."

"Scotty, stand down from silent running."

"Aye, sir."

A moment later, Coran began stroking his beard.  "Interesting," he muttered.

The others gathered around for a look at the ship, which Coran put up on the large central screen.  After a minute, lance whirled around.  "You were hiding that up there all day?"  There was a mixture of awe and anger in his voice.  "How many more are there?"

"None.  The Berlin is the only Federation ship in this dimension.  And she was always detectable.  You could have seen her with a telescope, detected her magnetic signature, a bunch of things.   We just didn't want Lotor to catch on to us.  Or stealth capabilities are really basic.  You oughta see what the Romulans can do."

Lance stared at Driscoll.  "Captain, I don't mind saying that I don't trust you.  You wouldn't' be the first one to come in here pretending to be our friend, and then attack us when we weren't looking."

"That's not our intention at all!" said Jacobs.

"No?" Lance asked.

"No." Jacobs replied.

"T.J.," Driscoll cautioned, motioning for her to back down.  "Lance, I don't blame you for not trusting us.  You'll see we're straight, but we're gonna have to prove it, I guess."

"We'll see," said Lance noncommittally.

Keith leaned over and muttered something to his friend, who only became angrier.  The captain decided to end the standoff.  "Well, it's getting late.  We should be getting back to our ship."

"Of course," said Allura.  "May we accompany you to your craft?"

"It's your planet, Princess," Driscoll said.

"Sometimes I wonder," Allura replied under her breath, spearing Keith with a glance as he was about to say something.  The commander shook his head forlornly, but said nothing.

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Outside the Castle of Lions, the Mustang and the shuttlepod were dimly illuminated by the lights from the palace.

When the group arrived at the craft, Driscoll climbed onto the wing of his plane and slipped on his jumpsuit and jacket, then went to say his farewells.  Gredar and Jacobs caught up a moment later, after bringing the Toto's systems online.

"Thanks for the great evening, Your Highness," Driscoll said.

"You're most welcome," Allura replied.  "And thank you for your help today."

Driscoll shrugged.  "It was fun.  And it's another sixth of a kill for my record."

"Sixth of a kill?" Keith asked.

"Well, the six of us laid the smackdown on that robeast," Driscoll reasoned, "so the kill is split six ways, right?"

"We don't count kills," said Keith.

"Well I do," Driscoll said with another shrug.

"Will you be staying long?" Allura asked.

"Well, by your leave, Princess, I'd like to stay for a few days.  We've been on active patrol for a month, and it would give us some time to do some housekeeping and give the crew a rest."

Allura nodded.  "Of course.  You're welcome to stay as long as you need."

"Captain, a word?" Gredar rasped, stepping back from the group.  Driscoll followed.

"Make it fast."

"Sir, there are diplomatic issues.  If these Doom forces find us here, they may see us as an enemy.  We are neutral in their affairs."

Driscoll nodded.  "Point taken, but the crew needs a rest."  He paused a moment, thinking.  "What if we hide near a pole?  Use the planet's magnetic field to help mask us, and go silent?"

Gredar thought a moment.  "Acceptable," he said.

"Good," Driscoll said.  The officers returned to the others, where Jacobs was speaking to Keith.  "Sorry.  My XO was just reminding me of some diplomatic protocols."

"From what Commander Jacobs was telling us, your ship sounds really interesting," said Pidge.

"If you'd like to see it for yourselves, I'd be glad to give you a tour.  Maybe with dinner thrown in?"  Driscoll offered.

"Thank you, Captain," said Allura.  "We accept."

"Great," said Driscoll with a smile.  "I'll see to the arrangements, and I'll be in touch tomorrow."

Allura smiled back and nodded as the Starfleeters took their leave and boarded their craft.  A few moments later they started up and took off with full running lights, circled the castle once, and flew off into the sky.

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After the Starfleeters left, Pidge, Lance, and Hunk decided to turn in for the night, because they knew they'd be up at the crack of dawn for lion practice.  Keith was scheduled for the evening watch, and Allura decided to accompany him to the Control Room.  There were several things she needed to discuss with him.

After relieving Coran, Keith checked the log, and then turned to Allura. "What's on your mind, Princess?"  He was pretty sure he knew the answer, but Allura was not always the type to volunteer information.

"Do you think we can trust them?"

Keith sighed.  "I'm not sure.  Interdimensional travel?  Subspace anomalies?  It all seems a little far-fetched to me, Princess."

"Lance said he didn't trust them."

Keith scoffed.  "Yeah, well, Lance doesn't trust anybody at first.  You should have been there when Lance and I first met.  Sven had his hands full keeping us apart."

Allura laughed.  "I can just imagine that!"  She paused.  "But they were hiding that ship up there for so long, and we never knew it.  They had plenty of time to attack, but they helped us."

"Sounds like you trust them," said Keith.

"I think we can, Keith.  I believe what they told us about themselves, and there's another reason, too."  She explained to him about the prophecy, and how she made the connection.  When she finished, Keith was silent a moment, thinking. 

The Voltron Force's arrival had been prophesized as well, so there was a precedent, and all the elements fit together well.  Also, what Driscoll had told them earlier was true.  They had detected the Berlin, but since she wasn't emitting any signals or unusual radiation typical of a ship, the sensors had classified it as space flotsam, and not worthy of notice.  Finally, he asked, "Could they have known about the prophecy?"

"No," said Allura.  "So maybe we can trust them."

"Maybe," Keith allowed.

All of a sudden, the doors flew open, and a voice echoed through the chamber.  "Ach! Princess, where have you been?  It's time for bed."

Nanny bustled into the room, shooting a wary glance at Keith.  "And you should not be alone with one of those…scoundrels.  Who knows what might happen?"

Allura rolled her eyes in frustration.  "Nanny!  I'm not a child anymore!  I can take care of myself perfectly well."

Keith wanted to say something in Allura's defense, but knew it would only earn him a tongue-lashing from the ever-proper governess.  So he said, "Nanny's right, Princess.  It's late, and we have an early practice tomorrow."

Allura was surprised at Keith for taking Nanny's side, but she knew when not to argue.  So, reluctantly, she acquiesced and followed Nanny out of the Control Room.