In Your Mind

Chapter One

By Purrsia Kat

Jeff woke up, literally not knowing what hit him at first. His eyes wouldn't focus and his body ached fiercely. He couldn't figure out why his arms were stuck behind him while he was unable to lift his head up off the cold, steel floor. He stopped struggling a moment, trying to let his eyes and mind focus.

Slowly, he began to recall. Those ships he and Lisa saw on the horizon, then the Explorer's warning alarm. They'd made it to launch, but it was already too late. The attack fleet arrived so swift and in such large numbers, there wasn't even a chance to form Voltron. Last thing Jeff remembered before crashing was the glow of the Explorer lighting up his cockpit as it disintegrated into a mountainside. It was like his worst nightmare, but only all too real. The commander and the crew, all assumed lost. It was he and the Voltron Force all that as left in their individual ships and they were failing fast against an enemy he'd never seen before.

Jeff squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to vanquish the horrid memory of their last moments from his mind. He groaned and struggled some more but it was no use. He could only assume he'd been captured and wondered if any of his teammates survived this long as well. All he could see was the wall beside him, and the only thing he could hear were footfalls that grew louder until one heavy boot rested on the side of his head, causing Jeff to grunt.

"The captain awakes," came the gleeful voice of the boot's owner. Jeff tried to get a look at the man but it was little use. "Save any last words you may have for King Zarkon." The man pushed down hard for emphasis before leaving, whistling a carefree tune as he departed.

Zarkon! Jeff's heart pounded at the mention of the tyrant's name. And then he realized it must have been the forces of Doom that had attacked them, all the way out there. Despite efforts to monitor Zarkon's movements, they never saw it coming and yet he supposed, that had been the idea. They must have been just waiting for a vulnerable moment to strike, and the support fleet out escorting in settlers was prime time. But how – how did they move that many ships without anyone in the Alliance knowing? It seemed like Galaxy Garrison or the forces on Arus would have noticed something of that size moving through the galaxy. It didn't seem possible – and yet it somehow was.

He had to see more of his surroundings so he could get a handle on what he was up against, Jeff decided, his thoughts already turning to escape. With much effort and pain, he managed to get his feet up against the wall and used them as leverage to turn his body ninety degrees. There he was faced with another wall, but leaning upright against it with his arms and legs in irons was Hazar. The Drule leader looked beaten and dazed, perhaps roused by the booted visitor, but Jeff could tell when he looked at him that Hazar recognized him. His sister, Dorma, lie nearby but it appeared she was still unconscious – or at least that's what he hoped.

"What happened?" Jeff asked of the Drule.

"Doom," came Hazar's answer in a weak, near-whisper. "Hundreds of them…thousands…came out of the sky…we didn't have a chance." Jeff envisioned a scene on the new planet Drule unfolding much like what he'd witnessed. He assumed the attacks were coordinated to be simultaneous for he didn't recall any knowledge that Hazar's planet was in distress. And if so, the Doom effort was even more massive than he even first imagined. The idea put Jeff's stomach in knots of dread.

"Same here. Who else is in here?" Jeff wondered, for his awkward bindings and position, along with his injuries prevented him from seeing his surroundings completely.

"Your teams. That's it. We're the special prisoners – high security."

Jeff felt some temporary relief, for it meant Lisa was safe as well, although he hoped there would have been some of the Explorer crew mentioned. But what he really wondered is why they had been captured and kept alive at all.

"We've got to get out of here." Jeff didn't want to stick around and find out what was in store for them, especially not if what he'd always heard about Planet Doom was true.

Hazar stared blankly ahead. "I recognized the commander that was just in here. Cossack The Terrible."

Jeff grimaced. That didn't sound encouraging.

"He was coming up through the ranks on Doom just as the crisis on the old planet Drule was reaching dire levels," Hazar continued. "So I don't know too much about him. But if he's got a title like that, odds are it was well earned."

Jeff wished some of the others were awake, too. He could even use the occasional wise crack out of Cliff right now to take his mind off the situation. Jeff's mind swirled with ways to escape. He knew in his heart if they reached Doom, their fate was sealed.

On Arus the Lion Team ran into the Castle control room, nobody particularly comforted by Coran's solemn expression.

"Coran, what's going on? We heard the alarm," Keith said.

"Is Zarkon on the attack?" Princess Allura added, worry marring her pretty features.

Coran nodded. "Yes, but not here."

The Lion Team exchanged puzzling glances. "Then what gives?" prompted Pidge.

"Galaxy Garrison has put out an alert, although they want us to be especially on guard," Coran began carefully. "I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it. Doom forces have attacked the planet the Vehicle Team was preparing for new settlers. The new Planet Drule has also been under heavy attack. We have lost all communications with the Explorer, the Vehicle Team and our Drule allies."

Coran looked at them levelly, waiting for their shocked gasps and utterances to subside before he went on. "The worst is feared, and you know if they have fallen Zarkon's next stop will be Arus. Pollux is on standby to lend reinforcements while the Alliance has launched a support fleet for us as well as a search and rescue mission in the near universe."

"How could this happen right under our noses?" Hunk demanded to nobody in particular.

Keith scratched his head. "It's not like Zarkon hasn't been keeping us pretty busy. How he put together a force big enough to take out Drule and the Vehicle Team…"

"Surprise attacks never turn out well for the surprised," Lance pointed out.

Nobody had noticed Pidge edging toward the launch tower until he spoke up. "I'm not waiting. My brother is out there. We've got to go!"

Pidge's teammates regarded him with a mix of sorrow and pity, which only seemed to anger him.

"Pidge, it's over," Allura said gently, her eyes glistening with tears. "We can't do much now but wait for word on survivors."

Hunk tried to comfort his friend as well. "They've sent out a search party. I know it's hard - we've all got friends on that team - but we all gotta just sit tight and wait for word."

Lance nodded. "Rushing off and getting ourselves killed isn't going to help anyone. We've got to find out more about what we're up against first."

Pidge was exasperated. "You guys don't understand." With that he turned on his heel and went to launch his lion ignoring his team's cries for him to wait.

Tears clouded his eyes on the shuttle trip to Green Lion. Chip wasn't gone. They were twins and had a special connection. He'd know it if Chip was gone. What he felt was that Chip needed him, and he was not about to sit in a Castle while practically the only family he had left in the universe needed help.

Part of him knew it was foolhardy to jump in headlong. But his heart didn't care, and it surely couldn't bear the wait for word from the Alliance. However, once he was seated in his Lion, the reality of the situation and his friends' words of wisdom hit him. Just where did he think he was going to go? And what was he going to do when he got there?

He quickly shut down his intercoms and visuals to the Castle control so they wouldn't see him just sitting there to hang his head and cry.

Sitting on his throne, Zarkon leaned in closer to better see the vision his faithful witch Haggar had conjured in her crystal ball. First he beheld a large fleet of his own ships out in space. Then the scene showed the cargo of captives. The King scowled.

"While it is amazing that Cossack and that idiot son of mine managed to pull this off," he began, "I don't know why you're keeping that other Voltron Force alive."

"Sire, if I may beg your indulgence," the old witch said in a particularly obsequious tone. "There is a method to our madness. The years of planning, the slow build-up of ships and arms…the sneaking it all bit by bit nearby to them under the Alliance's nose – it will all pay off in the best way soon."

Zarkon arched a brow. "Oh? And do you plan on letting me in on this or am I just wearing this crown as a decoration?"

"Of course, sire," Haggar said hastily, bowing slightly. "Freeing what's left of the old Drule Council and capturing Hazar was of utmost importance. We will restore the Drule Empire of the near universe to its former glory. But we also scored the bonus of defeating and capturing the Vehicle Voltron Force, their command ship reduced to a cinder." She paused to laugh, the thought of all they'd gained amusing to her.

"However, the little one who pilots the Green Lion – his twin brother is part of the Vehicle Team. I believe for now they are more valuable to us alive."

Her eerie yellow eyes peered out from under her dark cowl hood, looking at her master in an expectant way.

The hurt in them wasn't masked when Zarkon waved his clawed hand dismissively. "We stalled around and played parlor games back when we had the Lion Force here on Doom, ready for the Arena. I won't make the same mistake twice. Tell Cossack to put a bullet in the back of each one's head."

Haggar had plans, of which she was not ready to give up on just yet. "Sire," she pressed as gently as she could without inciting his rage. "It is Lion Voltron that still guards Arus. It is he who has prevented you from ruling the Denubian Galaxy all these years. We have the tools to make the Voltron Force bend to our will like never before now."

Zarkon shifted in his seat. "Then what the hell did I spend a fortune on ships and arms if I can't just send it all down to Arus and obliterate it?"

Haggar tried her best to keep her cool, straining to smile at Zarkon. It always frustrated her deeply when he was so dismissive – so unwilling to see the bigger picture. "We considered that, but Arus has many allies in this galaxy, plus the Alliance has supply bases close enough to supply them with reinforcements – enough to make such a confrontation messy and costly on our side. Never mind that their Voltron is the original, and has far more mysterious components the Alliance could not replicate with the version we have now defeated. But with these hostages that we were lucky enough to acquire, I think we should seize the opportunity to make Voltron surrender without firing a shot."Zarkon paused to ponder Haggar's case. "Well, we might fire a shot or two – at the Vehicle Team members each time the Lion Force stalls," he finally said with a laugh, and Haggar knew he'd bought into her plan.

Something in the crystal ball's vision caught Zarkon's eye just then and he did a double take. Haggar shrunk back a little as the King's eyes narrowed to slits. "That better not be what I think it is in that cargo hold, witch."

"I can explain," she offered meekly. "Yes, those are the ships that comprise the Vehicle Voltron – we salvaged them."

Zarkon sighed. "And what are we supposed to do with that? Make a Voltron copy ourselves?"

A knowing smile crossed Haggar's lips. "Close. I thought if the Voltron Force on Arus needs a little nudge, we could send a messenger."

"Didn't we try that before? And it failed miserably?"

"It is more correct to say we didn't bother to try given what we know about Lion Voltron's make-up. And while this other Voltron is based on the Arusian model, it's more science than anything as I mentioned before. And computers can always be hacked and overridden. In the slight chance I'm wrong, I promise to destroy it, sire."

Zarkon rose to his feet, and to her disappointment, he didn't look all that impressed. "Whatever this scheme is of yours, it better work. I'll have your, Cossack's and Lotor's hide if those prisoners escape and especially if we have to then deal with TWO Voltrons because of some half-baked failed plot. It's in your best interest to guard them well."

Haggar nodded and bowed, grateful that he was at least letting her proceed though she tried not to let the fact that he used 'half-baked' to describe the plan get under her warty skin. She was confident that scenario wouldn't play out, for the prisoners were not even aware their ships were salvaged. And she didn't plan on having them find out until it was far too late.

She decided to add parting words she knew would put the King in good spirits. "I believe we have done well to keep Hazar in one piece. I'm sure you would like the pleasure of dealing with that traitor personally."

A grin split Zarkon's face. "Oh yes. Yes I will."

This was the day Throk had waited for. He knew that pompous Hazar would eat his words, and as he walked out into the fresh air on the new Drule for the first time in years, he felt invigorated. Doom soldiers marched through the streets keeping martial law. There would be no blasted URF to subvert authority this time. And there'd be no elections either. Throk had been informed upon his release that Zarkon himself appointed him in charge of Drule. He found it curious there was no mention of Keezor, but then, Throk thought it best not to bring it up either. The less high-ranking cronies from the old days there were left, the less he'd have to worry about the old backstabbers and manipulators rearing their ugly heads to challenge his position.

No, this was perfect. And now that he and Durak were free, they needed to find suitable quarters and organize. He didn't mind Durak, for he was what Throk would consider harmless and subservient. The type that was content to just ride one's coattails rather than murder you to steal them.

The people would soon know there was a new order. Throk only regretted that he wasn't afforded the chance to smite Hazar himself. It would have been a wonderful way to begin his reign. Every time he looked down at his gnarled and useless hand – which Hazar had shot before taking him into custody – he was reminded of the mark that man put on him. As for Dorma, he'd like to get her alone and backed into a corner…

He smiled in a sort of lopsided leer at the thought and entertained the idea of asking Zarkon if he could have her as his personal servant. Perhaps, if she survived the Pits long enough for him to impress Zarkon with his rule on Drule, he'd put in the request. By then, her spirit would be broken—

"Throk, sir," Durak pleaded, tugging at his arm.

Throk hadn't realized how into his reverie he was until that moment. "What is it?"

"Look," Durak replied, pointing just up the street. The walk was deserted other than a slender blonde female heading their way with purpose and weight to her steps.

At first, Throk thought Durak was doing a little window shopping of his own until he peered closer and thought he recognized her. "No…it can't be---"

The woman neared until she stopped just in front of a slack-jawed Throk and Durak. She looked older and scarred, but there was no mistaking it. What was amazing about her standing before them was Throk thought for certain she was lost in that last battle with the Alliance over old Drule.

"Honey, I'm home," she quipped, her glossy pink lips curling into a snide smile.

"Twila!"

TO BE CONTINUED…