Hunk swallowed nervously as he stared out through Yellow's screens at the small fleet of Empire ships ahead of them that were slowly settling into orbit around the orange gas giant. A single command battlecruiser, where the officer in charge of this group would be based along with the druid who served as Haggar's eyes and ears in this region of space. One dreadnought, slower and heavier and setting the pace for the rest of the group, but carrying heavy weapons that packed even more punch than a standard ion cannon. And half a dozen mid-sized assault ships. A fairly standard group when it came to the Empire's border patrols, enough to quickly subjugate anything less than a full space-faring civilization, put down a rebellion, or stall attackers long enough for reinforcements to be summoned if needed.
The yellow paladin was all too aware that they fell squarely into that last category, and that the whole objective of the mission was to keep them from getting reinforcements at all.
The mission was a test run, the result of three days of planning and discussion amongst hundreds of people on dozens of ships, to give the strategy a field test and see where improvements could be made before they scaled up to larger fleets. That was why they'd chosen a small target, out on the fringes of the Empire, far from prying eyes and ears. Even if the ships managed to get off an alarm signal by hyperwave, and there wasn't much hope of preventing that, it would take hours for it to reach help, and by the time anyone arrived the alliance expected to be long gone.
Squinting against the glare of the brilliant blue dwarf star nearby, Hunk checked on the positions of the rest of the assault team. The rest of the Lions hung close by, floating silently under the cover of a small moon. Other moons provided cover for the myriad fighters that belonged to the Long Wind and the Cracking Glacier, the two ships that had been chosen for this attack. In theory, the two should be enough to keep the attention of the fleet and not be an obvious distraction, but not so much that the commander was likely to consider them a threat they couldn't handle alone.
The coms crackled. "H'ress'wr!" The now-familiar hunt cry was the signal he'd been waiting for, and he flipped the switch on Yellow's cloaking device as his teammates did the same before breaking cover, plunging through space toward the command ship. All around him, the uncloaked fighter craft surged forward, opening fire on the Empire ships as they did so. Hunk was grateful for the gravity anchors as they helped him avoid several collisions from allies unable to see him as they dodged and wove in evasive patterns as the enemy finally overcame their surprise and returned the assault.
After a few minutes of tension and jerky flying, the teen felt Yellow's claws dig into the metal of the command ship as he secured his hold, crouching to rip open the outer doors of the airlock positioned neatly between his front paws. In short order the Lion's airlock was connected with that of the ship, allowing safe passage for the unsuited prisoners that were his group's target. "Yellow in position." He called over the coms. They were keeping their transmission to a minimum during this phase of the mission, hoping to operate in stealth mode for as long as possible. He missed his teammates' voices, though, it was reassuring knowing he wasn't alone out here.
"Black in position." Even if they hadn't been running cloaked, Hunk wouldn't have been able to see Black from here. Shiro was accessing another airlock on the other side of the ship to get at the other prisoner bay since Black and Yellow were the two largest Lions, with the greatest capacity for passengers.
"Green in position." Pidge's voice was calm and cold, making Hunk shiver. Ever since finding Matt and learning about her father's death, the tiny green paladin had been itching for a fight with the Galra Empire, chafing at every delay in planning their first strike. He knew he could count on her to complete her assignment, taking over the communications and security systems once she'd penetrated the ship through the spot on the belly that was closest to the main computer room, but after that, he wasn't sure she'd stay put, and hoped it wouldn't result in problems.
"Red and Blue in position." Keith and Lance, entering together from amidships, had arguably the most dangerous job. Once Pidge had taken control of the systems, she was supposed to find and monitor the locations of the druid, the commander, and any other major threats, with the druid being highest priority. If the druid tried to leave the ship to get reinforcements, or approached any of the others, it would be the red and blue paladins who were responsible for engaging them in a fight. They had a ground team with them as back-up, but when it came down to it, the paladins were the ones best equipped to go toe-to-toe with a druid.
"Begin penetration." Shiro ordered firmly. Hunk was on his feet in a moment, jogging to the airlock as his ground team fell in behind him. Half a dozen assorted aliens, all quick and strong enough to carry injured prisoners or hold their own in a fight and dressed in the orange-and-navy combat suits and grey armor of the Icebringers. They waited, ready to move in as soon as Pidge gave the all-clear.
It wasn't long in coming, his younger teammate's voice coming clearly now that they didn't have to worry about interception. "I have coms locked down, cameras looping. Hunk, Shiro, you guys are clear. Commander and druid are on the main deck monitoring the battle. Standard sentry patrols, but only in the main hallways. Must've diverted most of them to fighters. I'll keep you advised."
Quickly, Hunk cracked the airlock, his team darting out into the dark hallway of the Galra vessel. Taking a moment to orient himself to his memory of the blueprints they'd studied of the blueprints of Empire battlecruisers-there was something to be said for mass-production, Kolivan had commented when he transmitted the information to them at their request-he set off down the hallway with his bayard at the ready. He was the first line of defense for his group, and he refused to be caught off-guard.
This was hardly his first time sneaking onto an Empire ship, but somehow, today it felt as nerve-wracking as if it were the first time all over again. Maybe it was the way the ship shuddered and shook occasionally under his feet as it took fire from the Icebringer ships. Maybe it was the deep blood-red of the combat lighting inside the ship, making it harder to see and setting his nerves on edge. Or maybe it was the knowledge that at some point today he would be, willingly and deliberately, going after a Druid, the most dangerous class of soldiers in the Empire. Even the Empire's Galra soldiers were afraid of them, and with good reason. He took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. One job at a time. He could worry about fighting the Druid after they got the prisoners out.
"Hunk, sentry patrol from your left in 20." Pidge's voice crackled warningly in his ear making him jump. Fumbling for a moment, he made a recently-learned hand signal that had the others ducking into the shadows with practiced ease. The yellow paladin quickly concealed himself as well, counting half-seconds on his own rapid pulse until the patrol came and went. Once the coast was clear once more, the group continued onward. The doors to the prison section whirred open at their approach thanks to Pidge, and Hunk stepped through cautiously, swallowing hard.
He hated this, seeing the way the Empire treated those they took as slaves. Grouped anywhere from three to six per cell, gaunt and scarred under the tight purple body-suits that marked them as prisoners, and all looking at them with terror in their eyes. For prisoners of the Empire, Shiro had explained once, there was safety in the routine, in knowing what to expect each day even if that was pain and suffering. And a group of non-Galra in strange armor bursting into the prison bay was definitely not part of the routine on this ship.
"It's okay. We're with the resistance, and we're here to get you out of here. Don't be scared." Hunk quickly moved to the closest cell, pulling open the door that Pidge had already unlocked remotely. He could hear her in his headset, talking to Keith and Lance about the locations of patrols, and tuned her out for the moment. "Does anyone here need help walking?"
It took almost ten minutes to organize the fifty or so prisoners for the trip back to the Yellow Lion, and Hunk bit his lip anxiously, nausea coiling in his gut. Getting a group of six experienced soldiers through the maze of hallways without being caught was one thing. How he was going to get fifty scared, injured prisoners, four of them being carried by the aforementioned soldiers, back the other way was a logistical nightmare he wasn't sure he could handle. But there was nothing to be done but try.
For the first few minutes, everything went smoothly. They crept along one section of corridor at a time, the yellow paladin checking around corners before waving the group forward. His hands were white-knuckled where they gripped the handles of his cannon, ready for use at a moment's notice. Then:
"Fuck! Hunk! Look out!"
The patrol, live soldiers this time instead of robotic sentries, turned a blind corner and ended up practically on top of them, five prisoners back from the front of the line, halting in shock and confusion at the sight of half the ship's complement of prisoners clustered in the hallway accompanied by several beings who were neither Galra nor prisoner.
There was no time to hesitate. Hunk whipped around and fired, once. One of the two soldiers was sent flying by the force of the blast, hitting the wall and crumpling in a spray of blood that had the teen fighting desperately not to be sick. Killing was a fact of war. It didn't mean he had to hate it any less.
The second soldier yelled in shock, turning and trying to run down the hallway they had come out of. In a blur of white and navy, one of the two Icebringers not carrying injured prisoners charged forward, the H'ress's powerful legs covering the distance in an instant. The Galra only made it a few steps, still shouting into their coms, before having their throat ripped out by the hunter's claws. Bile burned in the back of Hunk's throat, and he looked away.
"Hunk, everyone okay?" That was Shiro, the black paladin's voice bringing him roughly back down to earth. Later. He could be sick with guilt later. Right now their stealth had just been blown and he still had prisoners to get to safety.
"Y-yeah. Yeah, we're okay." He managed to choke out, swallowing hard to get the nausea under control.
"Sorry, I was trying to keep Keith out of trouble and I lost track of those two." Pidge at least sounded guilty for endangering them.
"It's fine, Pidge." Back to the task at hand. Dispensing with caution in favour of speed, he picked up the pace, going as fast as the prisoners he was leading could manage. They were all too aware of the urgency of the situation, stumbling after him and looking around fearfully as the alarms began to sound, pulses of brighter red in the crimson gloom. The yellow paladin could hear Pidge on the coms, frantically directing Keith and Lance's team to intercept the druid who was apparently now headed his way, and Shiro promising back-up as soon as he had his own group to safety. Just as they turned the last corner and the open airlock came into view, the sound of blaster fire echoed through the hallways from some point further ahead.
Hunk hesitated for a moment. The desire to go and help his friends warred with his duty to the prisoners he was evacuating. But his bayard wasn't suited for going up against a druid, especially not with his teammates in the line of fire, and he knew it. Firmly, he turned away from the direction of the sound of fighting and started ushering the frightened prisoners up Yellow's ramp toward the passenger bay. "Make sure they're all strapped in good and tight." He warned the H'ress bringing up the rear, trying not to look at the red streaks on their claws. "The flight out's probably gonna get rough."
They gave a single sharp nod, waving a hand towards the sounds of battle. "I will cover the Lion. Go help your pack."
Not needing to be told twice, the yellow paladin whirled and ran down the hall, reaching for the comforting mental touch of Yellow to steady himself. "Prisoners loaded. On my way!"
"Am I ever glad to hear that, buddy!" Lance sounded out of breath, but Hunk was relieved to hear no panic in his voice. He could hear occasional blaster shots close to the mic, and the blue paladin's heavy breathing, but nothing beyond that. "Witchy lady won't sit still and let us shoot her. Quiznacking rude if you ask me."
"No one did, Lance." Pidge joked. "You're almost there, Hunk. Careful on the next corner, you'll be right on top of them. Shiro's two minutes out."
Hunk adjusted his grip on his bayard, now able to hear the scrape of armor against the metal walls of the ship, undoubtedly Keith as he engaged the Druid in a head-on fight. "Thanks, Pidge. Keith, get down!" He raised his voice in a shout, throwing himself around the corner and opening fire and trusting the warning would be enough for his friends and allies to get themselves out of the way in time.
With no opportunity to aim, he only managed to clip the druid a glancing blow, sending her spinning away from him and clutching at her burned shoulder as she whirled to face the new threat. Her momentary distraction cost her, though, as two of the Icebringers who were teamed up with the red and blue paladins seized the opening and lunged, a massive Galra slamming her into the wall hard enough to make bones crack audibly while another, smaller alien whose species Hunk didn't know put their blaster to the now-trapped druid's head and pulled the trigger. Red sprayed the wall, and when the Galra pulled back, the druid hit the ground and didn't rise again.
Hunk looked away, nausea rising in his throat again, and found himself meeting the eyes of a Lance who looked as pale as he felt. There was no time to commiserate over the necessity of cold-blooded killing, however, as Pidge's voice cut in again over their helmet coms. "Guys, we got problems. The commander's pulling back fighters to put more troops back on the ship. I guess he realized the Icebringers aren't going to actually destroy his ships as long as it's still got friendlies aboard. We need to get out of here before we get overrun."
"Head back to your Lions, guys." Shiro cut in, voice firm as he gave out orders. "We got the prisoners and the druid, and those were the important targets. Hunk, you and me are to get the prisoners out and back to safety, the rest of you join the fight and help disable the ships."
"You got it, Shiro." Lance said, clearing his throat to get his voice under control. "See you on the Long Wind, guys." The blue paladin flashed his friend a grin as he took off down the hallway with Keith and the rest of their small group.
"Stay safe, you two." Hunk called after them before turning on his heel and running back the way he'd come. Even without Pidge to give him directions, the green paladin already pulling out to get back to her own Lion and escape, he could feel Yellow's firm pull guiding him easily back to the airlock and he concentrated on that to take his mind off the memory of sprays of crimson against purple walls. The H'ress hunter retreated up the ramp ahead of him when he arrived, turning down toward the passenger hold while the paladin continued up to the cockpit. Even as he threw himself into the seat, the Lion was already leaping starward as the cloak finally powered down.
Instantly they were in the thick of the aerial battle, laser fire flashing past in every direction. Hunk was flung around in his harness as he tried to avoid the heavier cannon blasts, and desperately hoped the rescued prisoners were properly secured in the netting that served as a one-size-fits-all seatbelt in the hold as Yellow's gravity anchors surged with power. If it hadn't been for the anchors, he would have been knocked ass-over-teakettle by laser fire more than once, and as it was the Lion shook frequently from glancing blows. As they dodged and wove he caught brief glimpses of the other Lions, Black up ahead of him with her load of passengers, Green shielding damaged fighters long enough for them to retreat, Blue carving a path of destruction through the enemy's small craft, and Red little more than an afterimage as she tore past under the power of her new boosters to rip her opponents apart with her bare claws.
A brilliant flash out of the corner of his eye caught his attention and he turned to see that the main battlecruiser's engine modules had been destroyed, reduced to a slowly-cooling patch of glowing scrap metal at one end of the hull. Something in his gut untwisted with relief as the engines of one of the assault ships followed suit, followed by another. They may have killed those two soldiers, and the druid, but they weren't going to slaughter everyone on the Empire ships simply because they could. Distantly he remembered a conversation during the planning of the attack, about the final phase of the assault and what to do with the ships one they'd been cleared of prisoners and druids. Allura had suggested simply forming Voltron to destroy the enemy ships, but, to her surprise and that of the Humans, the Icebringers had flatly refused.
"In war, as in life, death and killing are sometimes necessary to maintain the balance of the world." Shiiar'keh had explained, making a gesture with both front hands that remind Hunk of an old-fashioned set of scales wobbling back and forth. "A hunted ssh'ohl provides food for the pack. A druid eliminated limits the damage a fleet can do. And yes, often a battleship destroyed can ensure the safety of a ship or planet. But needless slaughter is against all balance, and there will be enough lives ended in this war without killing those we can afford to spare. We have more than enough power available to us to disable a small patrol fleet rather than destroy it, and transport them to a distant region of the universe and leave them their lives, Princess Allura, and that is what we will do unless they give us no other choice. Otherwise, how are we any better than they?"
The crackle of a stray shot against armor shook Hunk from his memories, Yellow growling in mild reproach. With a last glance back at the Empire ships, whose guns were falling silent now under the precision fire of the Long Wind, the Cracking Glacier, and four of their sister ships who had joined them for the final phase of the fight, the yellow paladin poured power into the Yellow Lion's boosters and shot toward the Long Wind's hangar and safety for those who had been prisoners aboard the ship he had left behind him.
000000000
The beep of an incoming transmission jolted Haggar out of her contemplation of the remains of her latest experiment, the heavily-modified corpse of what had once been an Olkari spread across the metal table in front of her. Already frustrated by the way the species' natural affinity for green quintessence conflicted with her mechanical enhancements, resulting in the total failure of three successive test subjects, the new interruption only served to infuriate her further. The head druid slammed a hand down on the com panel, snarling "This had better be very important for you to interrupt me while I am working."
The way the hapless communications officer on the other side of the screen visibly cringed at her tone helped mollify her somewhat. "V-Very sorry, Lady Haggar, but we've received a transmission from the main base in the Vreltan sector. They said it was extremely urgent that you see it." He swallowed hard, ears pinned back to the sides of his head in obvious anxiety as the probable bearer of bad news. "It...it apparently concerns Voltron. And their allies."
Haggar frowned, to the great dismay of the unlucky soldier who had drawn short straw to pass along the message. Voltron? In the Vreltan sector? And with allies? There was nothing of interest out there, unless a patrol had somehow stumbled across a rebel stronghold. Something strange was going on, and she didn't like it. "Send the recording through." She snapped. "And if it's not as urgent as they've claimed…" The Altean resisted the urge to laugh at the way the Galra cringed and hastily sent the file through the connection, all the while muttering apologies for disturbing her and saluting repeatedly. The connection broke off and she turned her attention to the transmission from Vreltan main base.
The transmission turned out to consist of a short text file a and a video recording. The first was an explanation: a patrol fleet in an isolated area of the sector had been ambushed by a group of rebels, who broke into the ships and liberated the prisoners on board. Some quick-thinker on one of the assault ships had begun their own broadcast of their view of the fight under the, apparently correct, assumption that the battlecruiser's transmissions had been compromised. Shortly after, the transmission cut off, but not before it was seen that the Voltron Lions were present and cooperating with the rebels. The fate of the patrol fleet was unknown, as there'd been no sign of them in the area where the signal had originated besides a small amount of battle-debris, but it was presumed to have been destroyed.
Her anger returned ten-fold at the impudence of the attackers, Haggar turned her attention to the video file, a copy of the transmission received from the lost assault ship. Calling it up on a larger holoscreen, she hit the playback and fixed her attention on the screen.
At first, all she could see was a maze of fighters darting this way and that, Galra craft interspersed with the mismatched vessels of the attackers in a frantic firefight. A thick bolt of purple lanced across the screen, cannon fire from the dreadnought somewhere out of frame, and the fighters of both sides swerved to avoid it. Through the gap she caught a momentary glimpse of another craft silhouetted against the nearby gas giant, and snarled. Icebringers. Only H'ress camouflaged their vessels with star patterns like those. It seemed the snow-walkers and their fellow refugees were continuing to be a nuisance, even though ten thousand year should have been enough to teach them that they had no hope of winning against the might of the Empire.
She quickly lost sight of the vessel through the chaos of the battle, and a moment later was distracted by bright streaks of colour peeling away from the cruiser. Increasing the magnification confirmed that yes, those were indeed the Voltron Lions. If Voltron and the Icebringers were working together, they might have the potential to become an actual problem, albeit a small one. It was fortunate indeed that Prince Lotor was not hindered by his father's obsession with the Black Lion. Haggar knew she could count on him to take the matter seriously and do what was necessary to eliminate the threat.
Watching the movement of the bright streaks against the purple of Galra vessels and the navy of Icebringer craft, she frowned. Something about the movement of the Yellow Lion...it was too jerky. Stopping abruptly and changing direction, something the heavy machine should not have been capable of. Pausing the recording on a frame with the Lion clearly visible, she increased the magnification as much as she could and studied the image, fingers drumming irritably on the edge of the console.
As Haggar's gaze landed on the Yellow Lion's legs, she froze.
Thick silver hoops, mounted at the ankles and glowing with energy, gravitational lensing warping the image of anything that would have normally shown through the openings. Gravity anchors. Quickly, she moved to examine another still frame. The Blue Lion appeared unchanged, but the Red, once she finally found a clear enough image, carried unmistakable ion boosters mounted on her shoulders, alight with energy as she blazed across the battlefield. Haggar didn't bother checking Green or Black, instead leaning back and staring at the screen in trepidation.
The aspects. Somehow those pathetic, primitive excuses for paladins were unlocking the aspects. Pushing away from the console, Haggar strode out of her laboratory and down the corridor of her ship, unconsciously radiating an aura of barely-controlled fury that sent even commanders scurrying to get out of her way. Any other day she would have enjoyed the terror she inspired in those under her command, but today, her mind was fixed entirely on the implications of the recording she had watched.
She was well aware that over the course of the last cycle, the current paladins had all managed to stumble across their natural elements and the weapons afforded by those aspects. But that was hardly cause for concern, the natural element was by far the easiest to learn for those rare individuals capable of it. Vrekt, even most of those worthless apprentices had managed that much, even without the full Lion-bond. And while they had managed one of the physical analogues some time earlier as well, they hadn't seemed to realize afterwards what they had done and there'd been no repetition of the incident. But the gravity anchors and the ion boosters were the manifestation of the combative characteristic, which should have been considerably harder for them to come across accidentally. And for at least two of them to have done it, in such a short span of time, suggested that they had been told about the aspects and were now actively trying to learn to use them.
Which meant that the paladins of Voltron, if left to their own devices to continue to learn the aspects, could potentially become a major threat to the Empire, and that was something they could ill-afford to ignore.
The guards outside the throne room flinched away as she strode between them, flinging open the doors ahead of her with a push of quintessence. Inside, a kneeling commander who had been giving her report glanced over her shoulder, paled, and instantly fell silent, dropping her gaze to the floor.
"Leave." Haggar hissed.
The commander was only too eager to comply, saluting hastily and giving the head druid a wide berth as she made her escape. The lean figure on the throne merely chuckled, resting his chin in the palm of one hand as he regarded Haggar curiously. "Something on your mind, my lady?" He asked, twirling a lock of white hair lazily between his fingers.
She nodded stiffly, and his playful smirk dropped instantly as he straightened. "We have a very serious problem, my Prince." Lotor listened attentively as she explained the situation, the recording from Vreltan sector and her observations, as well as the implications. Once she'd finished, he remained silent for several minutes, mulling it over. The Prince was a good leader. Lord Zarkon had chosen well.
Finally he spoke, eyes narrowed. "Find me all the data we have on the Paladins. Especially their leader, Champion."
Haggar nodded, pleased. "As you wish, my Prince."