Chapter 35

A/N: so…I'm back! Glad to see y'all again, thanks for the reviews. Now, for those who are wondering on why it's taking os long to get to the Destiny stuff, I do have an explanation: through watching the series I've figured S4 and after are the best to start merging the timelines. However, I felt I couldn't add new characters without fleshing out the whole series (I made an effort and even debated with a fellow writer about what would likely be the best course of action; if it worked out that way I totally would've done it). So I am really sorry it's taking so long and I do feel like I do owe y'all an explanation. Trust me, the Destony stuff will start to pick up soon, and I hope I can meet y'alls expectations for this story.

Once again, just own this story, nothing else is mine, sadly. Now, I feel the need to warn y'all that I know this isn't my best chapter. I had a lot of trouble writing out the fight scenes here, so I figured I'd apologize now.

/comms/

"Bold is intercoms/ship announcements/Coran shouting into a megaphone you get the gist"

This is telepathy/dreams/flashbacks because I'm too lazy to find another way to differentiate all of these.

The Paladins gathered on the bridge listening as Kolivan relayed the most recent information gathered on their missions, "Entire Galra fleets have been mobilized, Zarkon seems to be out looking for Lotor."

"It's only a matter of time before he gets the empire back in order," Shiro sighed.

"Agreed, we should strike now while he's preoccupied," Jaz affirmed.

Allura turned to look at both of them, "What are you getting at?"

"Now is the time to assemble to coalition Voltron's been building. With intelligence gathered by the blades and coalition observers combined with Pidge's Galra tracking software, we now have a detailed map of the Galra Empire," Shiro replied pulling up a map, one that was almost divided in half between blue and violet.

"In this region, we have a line of coalition planets," Jaz motioned highlighting a line of planets, "only one Galra-occupied planet remains in the way. If we capture Naxela, we will successfully cut off all supply routes to any remaining Galra worlds behind the line."

"Wow, we could take back a third of the Galra Empire in one fell swoop," Pidge admired.

"Do we have a plan?"

"The best option would be to have simultaneous attacks across the region," Shiro said.

"Our first priority should be cutting off Galra communications in the sector. There's a satellite relay station orbiting Vantax-5," Jaz recommended.

"Pidge and I can handle that," Hunk grinned, "or Matt and Darvah, they could do it too."

"We also have to worry about the two new Galra weapons systems coming online," Keith chimed in, typing and pulling up a diagram on the map, "Zaiforge Cannons. If we really go through with his plan those must be taken out. They're strong enough to hit anything in the combat zone. Our forces would be decimated in minutes."

"Agreed," Shiro nodded, "The first, orbiting planet Teq, will be attacked by coalition air forces led by Matt, Darvah, and Captain Olia."

"The blades will lead a strike team against the second cannon located on the surface of Senfama, it is vulnerable to a covert ground attack," Kolivan volunteered.

"From there we can commandeer the cannons and use them against the Galra Empire," Jaz finished. "Without these weapons, the Galra defenses in our gamefield will be weak, that will be our time to strike and handle all remaining planets behind the Naxela line."

"And while coalition forces are taking control of the planets, Naxela will already be under attack," Shiro continued.

"By who?"

"Voltron."

"Aw yeah! Team Voltron's gonna drop in on Naxela, form Hunk's giant laser cannon and be like 'Pow! Pow! Pow!'" Lance jumped eagerly, "Easy-peasy."

"Not quite," Shiro disagreed. "Naxela will be tough; it's heavily fortified with Galra. Our attack must be swift enough to neutralize their forces before they have time to contact headquarters. Because if they call for reinforcements, we'll be caught in a battle on two fronts."

"If this works, the Voltron Coalition will possess a third of the Galra Empire's territory. It will be a massive victory," Kolivan commented.

"And inspire a whole new wave of rebellions."

"Just be careful on Naxela, data I collected on my last mission indicates the druids did some heavy-duty rituals there. We're not sure what kind of traps could be set," Keith added.

"Understood," Shiro nodded. "We have no time to waste. Paladins, it's time to gather the coalition, friends, and allies. With their help. We'll have a chance to turn the tides of this war. We all knew this moment would come and we're more prepared than we've ever been. Let's do this."

-.-

"Alright Princess, it's time to begin the broadcast," Coran said as Allura stood on the center platform of the bridge.

"Have we secured communications?"

"Yes," Darvah nodded as Matt stood waving awkwardly at Allura, "we used a mix of rebel transponder encryptions and Eliksni code to make sure our transmission will not receive any interference or be interrupted."

"Always helpful to have a group of tech-geniuses around."

Allura nodded, activated the crystal, and turning on the broadcast. "Fellow members of the Voltron Coalition, if you are hearing me now, it is because you have pledged to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us in our fight against Zarkon's enslavement of the free peoples of the universe. But that enslavement is about to be dealt a crushing blow. the time for a full-scale attack on the Galra Empire is now. Far in the future, when they speak of this day, they will speak of our sacrifice, but they will also remember this as the day freedom began to overtake tyranny. You all have your missions. You know what to do. Good luck. We'll see you on the other side."

-.-

/You guys ready for this?/ Olia questioned as the fleet flew towards the Tuq Zaiforge cannon.

/Ready as we'll ever be/

/Darvah how long till you're ready?/

The Eliksni engineer looked up from where he sat tinkering with the bomb in his own ship further back. "Buy me about ten more minutes, it'll be ready."

/And the reinforcements?/

"Waiting for the all clear from you."

/All right then, all ships form up and begin attack/ Olia ordered and the group of ships surged forwards to meet the incoming tide of fighters.

The fighters began chasing after the rebel ships in groups, someof the ship flipped around firing back, others brought the ships towards their comrades who shot the tails, some ships, we caught off guard.

/Darvah! Now!/

"Sfefc'hhohnhd'h uarvhfef! Bfefghgygnh arhshsarsuslht'h! [Second wave! Begin assault!]" he ordered and several ships came out of cloaking, each bearing a mark of the Spider. The pirate ships moved out effortlessly weaving between the fighters and providing aid. Every now and then, some stopped, despositing a ground team to handle the turrets sitting on the drifting asteroids.

/We can't get through those sheilds!/ Olia growled.

/The cannon's powering up!/

That was all they worning they got before a massive blast eradicated over the third of the coalition fleet.

Getting up, Darvah grabbed the bomb and began to load it into the missile. "Someone, get me a clear shot at that shield, it's ready."

-.-

Keith raced through the dense brush as they ran to the Zaiforge cannon with no resistance whatsoever, talk about a lack in security. Darting up the stairs, their first encounter with the enemy was a group of four sentries.

Kolivan moved first, slicing one in half before throwing his sword throw the second as Vrek jumped up and kneed it in the face. Keith whipped out his blade, stabbing one and slicing the head off the other before he raced up the steps.

"Their security sucks," Yorak muttered as they basically just waltzed into the cannon. Guess a ground assault never really crossed the Galra's minds.

It was basically a straight shot to the bridge, eliminating a few rouge sentries of guards that got in their way. Vrek hurled his blade into the guard talking to the commander and Kolivan tackled him as Keith lunged forwards. Picking up the commander, he hurled him across the room into the other guard, taking over at the controls as Kolivan and Vrek cut them and the rest of the sentries down.

Cracking his knuckles, he took the controls, deactivating his mask with a grin, "Let's see how this thing works."

"Downloading controls now."

/Zaiforge cannon secure, commencing attack on Naxela/

"Good luck."

-.-

/Everyone, give Darvah cover so he can get a clear shot!/ Olia ordered as the Eliksni's ship shot through the battle field straight towards the cannon.

His crewmate began typing on a monitor nodding to the Captain when he found what he was looking for. "Fire!"

The nano-thermite titanium-boron missiles fired, flying through space and impacting the Zaiforge shield with a blast large enough even the rebel ships could feel the heat.

"Breach in the Zaiforge Sheild detected," Avrok stated.

/Rebels you heard the man, focus your fire on that breach! Blades! We require an assit to bring down the last of this shield!/

-.-

Keith grit his teeth as he and Yorak worked together to find where in hellmouth they were supposed to aim. The cannon was ready, now he just needed—there! "Here goes nothin'," he grunted pulling back on the controls and shoving them forwards. Hopefully it would hit the cannon like it was supposed to, from Yorak's calculations, it appeared these things were made to hit planets, not tiny objects lightyears away.

/Shields are completely down! Take the cannon!/

He sighed in relief, he hit the cannon and avoided killing any rebels in the process. He'd call that a win. "Ready to provide the Taujeerians with cover."

/Cannon's been commandeered, ready to provide back-up/

/Copy that/ Jaz replied. /Coalition forces, you are clear to begin the blitz/

Pulling back, Keith began recharging the cannon, who knows when it would be needed again.

-.-

Haggar mediated in her summoning circle, hoping that some form of her magic could answer the questions that had only been growing as of late. Where was Lotor? Who was the Guardian? Where was the Guardian?

So far any swift pries she'd made through Project Kuron had yielded nothing. The Yellow Paladin had been difficult to question. He seemed to find it odd her clone seemed to ask if there was anything he was hiding from them. Instead of getting a sign that there was something he was hiding, he just went on about how he missed their home planet and his family. It would be useful for torture later on when the Paladins were eventually captured, but either he was very good at hiding or she was looking at the wrong paladin. There hadn't been a situation dire enough for her to even find a way to test the Yellow one, the Paladin training sessions she'd momentarily observed were no where near dangerous enough nor did she have any influence over anything in the area besides Kuron. And she was not about to reveal her spy just to get answers.

Perhaps this process would be easier if the Red Paladin hadn't departed, this way she could observe and figure out which one of her two options was her desired target.

Hearing the door open, she sensed one of her underlings enter. It was Macidus. "High Priestess, Naxela is under attack. Voltron and the coalition have just reclaimed an entire section of the empire."

This was it. This was her chance. If there was one place Voltron would be, it would be Naxela, right where she planeted her bomb. It would be the perfect place to eliminate Voltron.

And the perfect place to finally determine which one was her Guardian.

"Good."

-.-

"It appears that all the areas have been liberated," Coran smiled pulling his moustache as he and Jaz watched the map.

"Problem just outside the playing field," Jaz grumbled, "we've got another Galra warship inbound to Naxela."

-.-

Keith fired his cannon again, clearing sector Ugqeo. /Sector Zar Niomofor is clear/ Matt called.

"Cool, we just cleared Ugqeo," he replied. "Can you get a shot at that crusier, cause I've got a shot, charging now."

/Checking for line of fire/ Darvah replied before cursing explicitly over the comms. /Zaiforge cannon Senfama, are you still operational?/

What were they—Keith's train of thought stopped as the controls fizzled from his grasp and the power went out. "No."

/That incoming cruiser must've shut them down remotely/ Coran said.

"Sorry Shiro, that's it for artillery support, what do you want us to do about that cruiser?" he called waiting for orders.

/That cruiser's gonna be too late/ Shiro called and Keith could hear something crashing in the background. /Naxela's almost secure, we just need to take out the last of the artillery/

As more explosions went off in the back, drowning the comms, Keith couldn't help but feel otherwise. That warship was a problem. He didn't know how or why, but he knew, something was off.

Then he felt it, a surge of energy, none of it good.

/Keith! Xe chea woop htuh [Do you feel that]?!/ Jaz called sounding worried.

"Choj [yes]," he replied. "Htoko'j enpch hfe htinvj i rnef htuh yun yuajo onokvioj piro htij [There's only two things I know of that can cause energies like this]."

/Ih'j hto xkaixj [It's the druids]/ she confirmed. /I'x rnef tok quuviy unchftoko [I'd know her magic anywhere]/

-.-

/Did we cause that earthquake?/ Lance asked as Voltron landed on the shaking ground.

/I don't think so/ Pidge responded as the alarms in the lions began going off as the earth beneath them rumbled more.

It was Hunk who noticed first. /Guys! Look over there!/ he called and they turned, staring at the missive pillar, one of many, now rising from the ground. They were huge, Dwarfing Voltron in the way a planet dwarfs a spaceship.

/Uh, guys…what are those?/ Lance nearly stuttered.

/We've never seen anything like this from the Galra before/

/Am I the only one thinking that these could be the traps Keith talked about?/ Hunk remarked and all of their eyes widened. Their teammate did mention that Naxela had once harbored large druidic rituals, could these be a result?

/I'm not sure, they look like some sort of generator/ Pidge confessed.

Shiro frowned, they all had a point. They didn't know what they were and Keith did mention he discovered evidence of traps set on the planet. But weren't those likely all the cloaked mines they dealt with? Surely not even the druids could do something this big. "Everyone stay alert," he ordered debating on what to do. On one hand, his gut told him to get out of there as fast as possible, on the other, something in the back of his head told them they had to stay. That they needed to find out what this was.

/I say we get outta here!/ Lance voted. /Pidge plot a course for our escape/

At that, Shiro chose to follow the nagging voice in his head. "Hold on, we need to find out what these things are," he said as the one beside them began to glow. In the sky, a violet barrier appeared on the top of the pillar and like a particle barrier, it spread out between each one.

/This can't be safe/ Hunk said as they all felt it. Cold, Shiro felt like he'd just been shoved head-first into frozen, pitch-black waters and now he couldn't find the surface.

He knew that feeling, it was the same one he felt back in prison, the same one he could occasionally feel roll off Jaz during their time in the arena. The very essence of Haggar's magic slithering under his skin and causing agony over and over again. This was it, this was the trap Keith was talking about. Not the mines.

/Do you feel that?/ Allura questioned breaking him out of his thoughts, /That wave of darkness?/

Opening his mouth to answer, he didn't get the chance as suddenly what felt like the weight of a building fell onto him. Voltron couldn't move, forced in place as whatever was attacking them only began to press harder.

/I can't move Red!/

/Yellow won't budge either!/

Voltron collapsed to its hands and knees, not even able to stay upright anymore as the weight continued to grow. /This weight's holding us down! Gravity levels are spiking!/ Pidge called.

"We have to get out of here! If we stay here we'll be crushed. Everyone, we have to focus. Give everything you've got, and maybe we can fight through this energy field. Ready?"

/Ready!/ they all replied and Shiro could feel a surge of determination and energy as they all funnled it into their shared bond. Voltron could move, granted it was a little impeded by the gravity, but they managed to get up onto their knees and activate the thrusters.

And they were airborne again. Shiro grinned, they could do this, they could escape this field and handle the Galra cruiser causing this problem.

His hope was short-lived as Voltron suddenly grinded to a hault. Their thrusters weren't able to push any harder, and for a moment they sputtered to a stop. They were in freefall, and, once again, Shiro desperately wished for seatbelts as he clung tight to the controls trying to will himself to stay in his chair.

It wasn't hard because the moment Voltron landed prone Shiro felt like her was being pressed against his chair like he was launching out of Earth's atmosphere in a Garrison rocket. "Is anyone able to move?"

/Barely. But the gravitational pull is worse on Voltron/ Katie grunted. /Maybe if we go down to the surface, Hunk and I can figure out a way to disrupt this energy field/

/Sounds good, except for the zillion robot dudes kicking around down there/

Shiro pressed his lips together. They had no choice. Voltron was out of commission with these generators on, they needed to deactivate them. "We're gonna have to stay in a tight formation. Watch each other's backs," he said hefting himself out of his chair and onto his feet. "Let's move!"

Hopping over the ground utilizing their jetpacks was the only way they managed to remain upright as they ran out of the lions towards the pillars. Leaping off the ledge, they flew over, thankfully making it with the only close call being Hunk. Lifting their sheilds, they began blocking the incoming sentry fire.

"Pidge, Hunk, do your thing."

The two nodded, disengaging from the protective line and scanning the tech.

"This rod seems to go all the way down to the planet's core. But I'm not detecting any kind of energy source on the planet that could cause all this."

"Then we'll need to follow it down to the core," Allura said.

/It's open!/

Hearing a beep, they all backed up into the pillar, lowering their sheilds as the door closed and blocked them from the incoming blasts.

They didn't stay where they were long, everyone leaping off the platform down to the shaft. It was the fastest way to get down, but they had to use their jetpacks to slow themselves down or risk breaking every bone in their body.

What they found down there was unexpected. The cold feeling doubled when they reached the bottom, and before they all knew it, they were in a room with a glowing violet orb in the center. But that was the only thing about the facility that looked Galran.

"Allura…this looks…Altean," he said biting the inside of his cheek waiting for her reaction.

However, instead of being furious that he'd even suggested such a thing, she nodded. "I'm afraid you're correct Shiro," she said walking towards the orb. "This was a decommissioned Altean terraforming plant, which somehow the witch has been able to remotely reactivate."

Shiro's brows furrowed, if there was one thing that could shut it down, it would be something with light energy like how Allura and Jaz healed the Balmera. It had to be that, they stopped her magic before, the girls could do it again…only…Jaz was with Coran. Maybe Allura could do it, hopefully, otherwise they'd need a miracle. "Can you shut it down?"

"I can try," she said walking forwards out-stretching her hand. Blue energy glew in her palm and across from her violet began to meet it.

It was then Allura began screaming as it started electrocuting her. Grabbing on, they all pulled, crying out in pain as they were blasted back, all of them smoking slightly.

"Are you ok?" Lance questioned.

"It's too poweful," Allura panted and Shiro's gut dropped. She couldn't do it, and they didn't have Jaz. They really would need a miracle, but for some reason, he got the feeling it wouldn't be coming anytime soon.

"Ugh," Hunk groaned popping up holding some of the dirt in his hand skeptically, "this soil's weird, it's so white and powdery, like ground-up rocks or earth. And hexamite!"

Blaster fire started up again and those with distance weapons began firing back as they all raised their shields. "What's hexamite? Some of us may've slept through chemistry!" Lance called.

"The whole planet is a bomb! One that's big enough to wipe out several solar systems."

"It's under increasing pressure, and when that reaches a certain point, it's going to explode!"

"How long do we have?" Shiro questioned.

"Maybe twenty minutes?"

"We have to get off this planet and warn everyone!"

"Anyone within ten solar systems of us will get blown to pieces!"

"They could take out Voltron, the Blade of Marmora, the rebels, the entire coalition in one fell swoop!"

Shiro activated his jetpack ad shot forwards. They couldn't afford to sit there. He needed to get his team off this planet and to safety, they needed to warn everyone of the danger they were in.

-.-

"Coran, is there any targets needing help?"

/I haven't heard from anyone, Jaz is checking now/ he replied. /And that Galra fleet heading towards Naxela stopped/

That didn't sound right. "Stopped?"

/Yes. Quite a distance away too/

"Perhaps the Galra decided it's too well-fortified to attack," Kolivan said.

If he was trying to be optimistic, Keith decided he would rather take the man's pessimistic personality more. "That doesn't make sense, the Galra way is victory or death. They never stop attacking…" The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. No, the Galra wouldn't stop attacking, not unless thay had a plan. "Voltron. Shiro? Can you hear me? Shiro!"

There wasn't a response.

"Something's wrong."

/Must be the magnetic distortion coming from Naxela/ Jaz called, /It's been getting worse/

"I'm gonna check it out," he said. Running away from Kolivan and the others, he raced for the landing strip. As far as he knew it was empty, and even if anyone did see his ship, they could assume he stole it. "Yorak, summon the Holborn!"

"Understood."

A familiar black and silver ship fazed into reality and Keith teleported onto his ride, practically hurling himself into the pilot seat. "Matt, something's wrong. I can't reach Voltron," he called driving his ship out of the atmosphere as his ghost input the coordinates for hyperspace.

/We can fly to Naxela to check on them/

"No, I need you help. I can't explain why, but I know that we need to attack that fleet," he countered.

/I thought it stopped/

"It has, but we're afraid it has something to do with Voltron," he stated.

/We're on our way/ Darvah replied.

"Copy."

/We're coming too!/ Jaz called. /It may take us a bit, we're on the other side of the galaxy and I can't produce enough energy to work the teludav right now/

"Stay in position. We might need you two back there," he said and could hear the Awoken woman grumble angrily.

"We're ready for hyperspace," Yorak informed.

"Actiavting in three, two, one."

-.-

/Keith, can you hear me?/ Shiro called causing Yorak to yelp and evaporate in a flash of light.

"Shiro," he breathed relieved to finally get communications running with his brother again, "where are you?! Is everything ok?"

/Not for long if we don't stop Zarkon's witch. She must be aboard that battle cruiser/

"I'm way ahead of ya," he smirked. "And I brought back up."

/Rebel squad is en route/ Olia called as Keith glanced at the fleet moving beside his own ship.

/Good to have Voltron back in the fight!/

/Target in sight…By the Elders/ Darvah breathed, /What is that?/

/There appears to be some sort of weapon attached to the cruiser/

Keith zoomed in and frowned, they were right. There was a weapon attached to the bow of the ship, one that reminded him of a bayonet. "Everyone focus your fire on that ship!" he ordered as they dove out of the way as the fight began.

Typing on his monitor he began charging the Holborn's transmitter before firing as several more fighters got in his way. "Darv! EMP's charging, I'll need a clear shot at the ship!"

/Understood, clearing way now, I can't guaruntee how long it'll be open though/

While Darvah's ships got to work, Matt chose to focus on a different matter all together /YOUR SHIP HAS AN EMP?!/

"Yes, now's not the time to focus on that, just make sure all rebel ships are out of my radius when I attack," he said glancing at the charge again, just a minute longer. Hopefully it would be enough time, the dark energy radiating from the ship was only continuing to grow. It wouldn't be long before whatever the witch was planning came to pass.

"It's ready!"

Blasting forwards, Keith wove under and over the incoming fire, placing his thumb on the trigger. Seeing a laser coming his way, the ship flipped and dove down, aiming the satellite dish right at the ship. "Hope this works," he muttered.

The EMP rang out, hitting the ship and everyone could see the shield flickering for a few moments before coming online.

"There must be a back-up power generator, or the druid's magic is counteracting our weaponry."

"Either way, we need to break through that shield. Is there anything in our arsenal that could work?"

"I would've said the nano-titanium boron bomb-thing but we're fresh out."

A pit formed at the bottom of his stomach, "Nothing else?"

"No."

/Keith! Our weapons can't break through this shield!/

"…Maybe not with our weapons," he muttered. Turning to the scanners he looked over the energy cells, combined with any remaining ammunition, it should be enough to break the shield. It had to be.

/Keith, what are you taking about?/

Without answering, Keith hit the thrusters, setting them to the max. He needed to be going as fast as possible in order to ignite the ammo.

/WAIT! KEITH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!/

/KEITH!/

/KEITH! NO!/

He ignored their cries for him to stop. This was the only way. He understood that now, it was the logic behind the actions of Ulaz, Thace, Regris, and thousands of other Guardians who'd given their lives. Without sacrifice, there is no victory.

And Guardians were designed to be the expendable soldiers.

With one last shaky breath, Keith closed his eyes waiting for the inevitable pain of death.

Only, it never came. Instead, he was greeted by an already exploding shield when he opened his eyes, and with its collapse, the darkness that had been growing suddenly retreated. Pulling the Holborn back, he stared in shock at the one who came to his aid.

Why? Why would he help them?

/Naxela's returning to normal! You did it!/

/Good work Keith/ Shiro praised and Keith frowned.

"It wasn't me. It was Lotor. That cannon on his ship was the only thing powerful enough to take down that shield."

A comm channel opened and Keith held his breath, he was here, the person he'd been hunting down for months was now here and he couldn't treat him like an enemy. Not after he just saved his life, he at least owed the man that much. The least he could do was hear what he had to say. /Attention Paladins of Voltron and Rebel Fighters: I know we've had our differecnes in the past, but…I think it is time we had a discussion/

-.-

Keith leaned against his ship as everyone else was in the meeting room discussing what to do about Lotor. It wasn't that he didn't want to have a say in what happened with him, but at the same time…he couldn't do it. He couldn't face Matt and Davrah and all the other rebels after what he did. After he almost killed himself.

They wouldn't understand, they wouldn't get where he was coming from. Everyone would just tell him his choices were stupid and selfish like they always were.

It would be best if he left now, there was no doubt Matt would tell everyone what he almost did. The Paladins…he wasn't sure he wanted to see how'd they'd react to the news. He didn't want to hurt them, that was why he left in the first place.

Besides, even if they did find out, he knew is Voltron was far more important. More important than his own life.

-.-

Haggar strode to her lab in rage. Naxela had failed, because of Prince Lotor.

The traitorous prince had outright attacked her ship using one of the stolen comet ships to save Voltron. It was infuriating because they lost a third of their territory and she had been unable to test the Yellow Paladin. She was still no closer to her Guardian.

"High Priestess," Macidus spoke and she grit her teeth. Hagger was not in the mood to deal with his useless attempts to prove to her which Paladin was her target. She would determine that for herself, she needed the evidence, not the mere hopes of someone who had virtually become obsessed to redeem themselves after such a brutal failure to stop Voltron from obtaining vital intel. "High Priestess?"

"What?"

"There is something you need to see," he said and she turned to watch him put something on the screen, "your ship during the battle of Naxela managed to obtain an image that may help solve our Guardian debacle."

Alright, now he had her attention, Macidus had evidence. Gliding forwards, she watched the footage appear and pause focusing on an arrow-shaped ship with beams extending out from under the engines and a satellite on the top. This was definitely a Guardian aircraft, Prince Lotor had once been obsessed with their engineering, if what she remembered was correct, Hagger found herself gazing at a Holbron Splint, a ship specialized for speed and combat. The color was different, this ship was black at the front, grey along the rest, almost unnoticible in the void of space save for the glint of the light coming off the metal. What made it so notable, was the satellite on its back, modified to emit powerful EMPs to bring down large ships. An attack by that would explain why the power temporarily went out till the druids not involved in the ritual had to reactivate the ship.

"Voltron was reported leaving Naxela at the same time this ship was already engaged in combat."

A wicked grin split over her face, finally, some good news. There was only one Paladin that could have been there. The one whom had departed not long after Kuron had arrived at the Castle of Lions, the Red Paladin.

"Inform Emperor Zarkon immediately, there is a Guardian among the Blade of Marmora."