If the mood had been serious the last time they had met to discuss a plan of attack, now the atmosphere in the meeting room was downright grim, with tension so thick it could have been cut up and used as building material. The room was packed with the Long Wind's best strategists and hunters, and viewscreens offered windows into similarly crowded areas on her sister ships, called in by Shiiar'keh as soon as Kurogane had finished explaining to the pack leader exactly what they'd learned.
From his position near the center of the room, Matt looked around at the faces of those assembled. Determination and anger seemed to be the default emotions, not that he could blame any of them. The Alteans and the H'ress had both lost their homeworlds to world-breaker weapons over ten thousand years earlier, and they refused to allow the same to happen to others if there was anything they could possibly do to prevent it.
He stepped forward and cleared his throat and all eyes instantly turned toward him, silence flooding the room. One last deep breath to steady his nerves-he didn't think he would ever get used to the respect his h'ress'kaayan earned him in situations like this-and he raised his voice to address the crowd, Galran syllables slipping easily off his tongue now. "Alright. You should all know why this meeting has been called, but to recap. We have received word from another of our allies, the Blade of Marmora, that the world-breaker class weapon that is or will be known as the Weblum's Breath is currently being constructed at an unknown location. Based on the increased rate of resource diversion, it is believed that they are pushing the rate of construction high as it will go, meaning we need to find and destroy it as quickly as possible before it can be completed."
Matt turned slowly on the spot as he spoke, allowing him to see everyone with his good eye. "As I said, we don't know where it's being built, but we do know where to find out." He reached out and lightly touched the control panel beside him and a hologram burst to life overhead, a handful of planets orbiting a brown dwarf star. Similar projections were being mirrored on the other ships for visibility. "The fifth planet of the Metalt system, Karshelta, is home to the Trepan Kev Administrative Complex, the backup data repository for the Galra Empire." A wave of his hand and the star system was replaced by a three-dimensional rendering of a large underground structure, glowing blue lines marking out a maze of rooms and walls. Eyes narrowed as the strategists studied the layout of the building, and the ginger Human remained silent for a moment to allow them time to do so. He and Katie had spent several hours going over them that morning, piecing together what they could likely expect from the information the Blade of Marmora had been able to provide. They had never managed to break in themselves, and so what they did know about the base had been collected from other sources. Once they'd had a chance to look at the construction blueprints, however, both Holt siblings agreed that a lone Blade going into that place would not have been able to accomplish much anyway.
"As you can see, the base is divided into nearly fifty distinct sections branching off the main area spread across four separate floors. Given that this place was designed specifically to prevent anyone from doing what we're trying to do, we're going to operate under the assumption that each section contains a separate computer system, most likely unconnected to the others, with stored information being distributed between them either according to a specific organizational system, or possibly randomly. We hope the former, but we prepare for the latter. As such, we'll need to get separate access to each of the systems to make sure we get all the information we need."
"There will be two areas of attack to be dealt with. The aerial defenses, and the interior defenses." Nervousness faded away as Matt continued to speak-starting was hard, but once he got going he always gained confidence. The Icebringers and the Paladins were all listening attentively to the basic strategy that he and Katie had spent the early hours of the morning devising, but he knew he could count on all of them to speak up if they saw a flaw in the plan. It was ambitious, dangerous, and there simply wasn't time to do a lot of refining the way they had with the anti-Druid strategy, so it was critical that it be thoroughly picked apart now to maximize the chances of at least some of it surviving first contact with the enemy. "First, aerial defenses. The base is protected by nine cruisers and three dreadnoughts. It's a lot of firepower, and we'll need everything we can put in the air, including the main ships. Especially since I don't think we should have the Castle of Lions or Voltron on the space front of the fight."
There was an immediate outburst of consternation and confusion, many of those present wanting to know why he thought holding back two of their heaviest hitters from where they could do the most damage was a good idea. The only one who wasn't reacting was Katie, who had already heard him work out the core plan he was trying to suggest. But so far it didn't seem like a popular idea, even if he hadn't had a chance to explain his reasons.
Finally Shiiar'keh stepped forward, holding up a clawed hand, and the others fell silent immediately. "Hear Matthew out, please." The H'ress requested quietly. All four dark eyes were fixed expectantly on Matt, and he suppressed a shiver. The pack leader seemed to be giving him those thoughtful, appraising looks a lot lately, ever since he'd been reunited with Takashi and Katie. "You obviously have a plan of attack in mind. Take us through it, and once we have heard what you have to say, we will discuss, revise, or replace as the situation warrants."
He gave the H'ress a respectful nod of gratitude, trying to get control over the resurgence of his nerves. "Thank you, pack leader Shiiar'keh." Matt took a deep breath, glancing around the room again. As his eyes fell on Takashi, his boyfriend awarded him a reassuring smile and a small nod of support, love and trust written openly on his face. That was all he needed, and confidence returned. "Alright. Yes, I do have a strategy in mind." He said firmly, lifting his chin and firmly ignoring the pack leader's steady gaze.
"First, the aerial theater of the attack. Nine cruisers and three dreadnoughts on the Empire side against two twelves of pack ships and their associated fighters. While the Castle would be a major asset, the damage it could do is not worth the risk of even temporarily losing the use of ten working Altean cryo-replenishers. We're almost certainly going to need them when this fight is over." He could see surprise, then understanding begin to spread across the faces of those around him, and allowed himself to feel a small flicker of satisfaction. "Given what the ground teams will be up against, there is a very high likelihood of major injuries and those pods can save lives. As such, we should hold the Castle in reserve unless absolutely necessary."
"There's a lot of complicated factors we have to consider in this mission. Aerial team needs to be able to hold off the defending ships. Ground teams need to be able to get through the defenses. Computer specialists must be able to hack through some of the best firewalls the Empire has to offer. And we need to get the ground mission in and out as quickly as possible because we have to assume that from the moment we enter the system, the clock is going to start counting down on the arrival of reinforcements."
The gathered strategists and warriors were listening intently now as he ran through the factors they needed to consider when it came to attacking Trepan Kev. There was no skepticism anymore, only consideration and understanding. "The latter two points are why we're not going to have Voltron above. We may have some of the Lions, based on the optimal distribution of Hunters, but we're definitely going to need the Green Paladin as one of our hackers. I estimate we don't have more than twenty people in the fleet with the skills necessary to break encryptions and security at this level, which means they're going to need to hit two to three systems each. Less skilled techs will take longer to get in, so we don't gain anything in the way of time by putting them in."
"Time being the critical factor." He gestured upwards to the system diagram overhead. "We have to assume that once we enter the system, the countdown starts on reinforcements arriving to back up the local defenders. Ground teams need to be in and out as fast as possible. This isn't going to be a mission where we can afford to take prisoners, sadly, so we need ground teams that can tear through the defenses as fast as possible. To complicate things further, we know from the blueprints that the corridors are narrower than standard. I recommend against having H'ress, Morwaiths, or Let-fen-shai on the ground teams because their maneuverability will be too limited."
Gra'shehn, studying the blueprints from their spot further around the room, nodded in approval. "Wise of you. They would be sh'keln in a corner in those hallways. What size teams do you suggest?"
"Teams of six. One tech, two close-range, three long-range. All small to medium Hunters, and fast movers. Enough to easily handle all but a very large number of defenders if they don't get caught by surprise or separated, but not so many that they'll be getting in each other's way. We land them using the Voltron Lions, which have the largest capacities for passengers and the best ability to punch through the fighting to reach the ground. Assign adjacent system sections so they don't have as far to go. Get in, copy out the data, get out."
Shiiar'keh let out a low rumbling noise. "A solid foundation. I believe we can work from this as our base."
As though the pack leader's words had been a signal, the room broke up into a multitude of smaller discussions, and Matt heaved a sigh of relief as he stepped back from the center of the room. With so little time to spare, he had been worried about the plan being rejected and the strategy specialists having to start from scratch, but instead, from what he could hear being said so far, it seemed as though they were taking the plan nearly as he had outlined it. Team assignments were being discussed and a list of computer specialists with the necessary skills devised-after much debate, they settled on a list of twenty-two individuals from all the packs, including Katie, who they thought would be able to get in and out quickly enough to not slow down the mission. Six of those would still have to hit a third system, but it was better than ten of them.
"You did great, Matt." Shiro said softly, startling him from his thoughts. The black paladin put an arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to press a kiss to the side of his head. "That plan is brilliant, and they all know it."
"Stop, it is not." The ginger huffed with a blush dusting his cheeks, leaning his head against his boyfriend's shoulder. "It's just the obvious strategy to balance our needs and abilities with the various constraints of the combat situation and the limitations of the available intelligence."
"Which you came up with cold in just a few hours on not much sleep."
He rolled his eyes. "Obvious. Like I said."
Shiro chuckled and pressed another kiss to his head. "Well, obvious or not, we've got our plan. All that's left is to see who's going to be fighting where, and find out when we're going in."
"That will probably take a few hours." Matt knew from experience how long the planning for one-off missions like these could take. Ever since he had been added to the Long Wind pack as the Boiling Rock's survivors were distributed among the other ships, Shiiar'keh had often invited him to sit in on strategy sessions, and encouraged him to contribute. They insisted that was the way of things among the Icebringers, that anyone could speak up regardless of station or experience and have their ideas considered fairly, and since he had previously demonstrated a knack for strategy, his Human way of thinking might spot holes other species would miss. Hence why so many different species were always represented at the strategy sessions. The time constraints simply meant the fine-tuning would be limited to several hours rather than up to a few days.
"Then why don't we get some lunch, and you can show me around more of the ship?" His boyfriend suggested, removing his arm in favour of lacing their fingers between them in a gentle way that never failed to bring a smile to the ginger's face. "Keith says there's a fantastic hydroponics deck, although he could have done without getting chased by whatever it is that lives in the room with the snow." With a gentle tug they started toward the door, moving slowly in deference to Matt's handicap.
Matt choked, then burst out laughing. "Is that why we had to send Katie to collect them that day, they wandered into the ssh'ohl habitat? If it chased them and didn't get them it must not have been trying very hard."
"I dunno, it nearly took Lance's head off to hear Keith tell it…" The happiness in Shiro's voice as he recounted Keith and Lance's misadventure brought a smile to Matt's face as they headed off in the direction of the cafeteria, and for a moment he could forget about the danger hanging over all their heads.
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Allura was startled by the speed with which the Icebringers finalized the details of the mission to attack Trepan Kev. But then, looking at the grim determination that seemed to paint every face on the ship, she realized she really shouldn't have been.
The tense atmosphere that filled every corner of the Long Wind was strongest wherever H'ress or Alteans gathered. They were decaphoebs too young to remember the worlds their races had been born on, worlds long since turned to icy rubble in the orbit of their stars, but the stories of those worlds had been passed down generation after generation to them. The H'ress were more fortunate in that their ancestors had been able to make a deliberate escape before their homeworld's destruction, taking some parts of their culture with them, but that world was still lost. All either race had was fragments and echoed memories, and perhaps it was the awareness of just how much they had lost that drove them now to do anything necessary to prevent the same fate from befalling another race.
She understood in a way that her paladins did not, aside from the two time-travellers. When she had been put in cryo-sleep, on her father's orders, Altea had not yet been destroyed but the Empire's ships had hung menacingly in the sky. She did not know what had happened after that-Coran refused to discuss it, saying only that he wished to avoid burdening his only remaining family with painful memories when she had quite enough on her shoulders already-only that she had awakened to a Castle-ship empty of all that was familiar but herself, Coran, and the Black Lion, facing five aliens of a completely unfamiliar species, and found herself immediately confronted with the fact that her father, her home, and everything she knew were ten thousand cycles gone, shredded to pieces by the weapons of the Galra Empire.
Somehow that had made learning that Zarkon was still the Emperor worse. One of the only surviving fragments of the world she remembered was the very man who had destroyed everything else.
And now his son intended to follow in his father's footsteps and destroy some other helpless world, just as he had done in the unaltered future to Arus, to Earth, to Olkari, and others. Was it any wonder that as soon as the teams for the mission had been announced those groups had gathered immediately to get a feel for how their skills would mesh once they descended on Trepan Kev, while the hangars became a feverish hive of activity as every fighter was inspected and prepped for battle?
Pacing the hallways to kill time before the assault-Shiiar'keh had decided the attack should be made the same day, since many of the Hunters would be too keyed-up to sleep, and they could not afford to go into this fight exhausted-Allura found herself awestruck at the well-oiled machine of preparation that was the Long Wind in the hours before the assault. None of their previous fights had had this sort of all-consuming intensity beforehand. Every set of hands was at work, making sure that everything was as ready as it could be.
She stopped in the hangars and watched the fighters being prepared. While technicians checked weapons and shielding, the pilots boarded their craft to do their systems checks. Both groups were composed of many different species, but to her surprise she saw that many of the small craft seemed to have Hylathian or other aquatic pilots. As she watched, one outfitted themselves with a tight orange suit and, at the direction of the techs, moved this way and that in the water behind the access port nearest their vehicle. The thrusters of the ship turned this way and that in response, and then she understood. Who better to pilot spacecraft than being who moved in three dimensions naturally?
Moving on, the Altean Princess passed crowds of personnel moving this way and that in the wide corridors of the ship. Some were laden with tool and parts for last-minute maintenance, while others carried crates of supplies marked with medical labels, restocking the hospital areas in preparation for the aftermath of the fighting. She passed a group of children of different species being shepherded by a handful of older beings, and the calmness of their faces drove home how much this war was part of the daily life of the people of this time. Allura felt a sudden surge of determination. One way or another, she would ensure this was the last generation that had to live like this, where a major battle that would claim the lives of friends and family was simply part of the routine.
All too soon a loud warbling call was audible over the Long Wind's speaker systems. Not the snarling hunt call, not yet, but the final call to battle positions. Allura quickly headed for the hangar where the Lions were being loaded. Keith was supposed to take her back to the Castle of Lions before returning to collect his load of ground teams, since the smaller Red Lion would take less time to load than the much larger Black and Yellow.
The Red Paladin gave her a nod of greeting over his shoulder as she entered the cockpit. "Ready for this?" He asked conversationally as Red picked her way carefully around the assembled crowd of warriors and headed for the open hangar doors.
"As much as one ever can be for something like this." She sighed, looking around as Red leapt into space. The Icebringer ships were all but invisible against the background of distant stars, their paint patterns blending in easily. "Are all of you on ground teams?"
Keith hummed a confirmation. "Pidge and I are in the same group, and Alejandro and Kurogane are together, but Lance, Hunk, and Shiro are all in different teams. Pidge is one of the techs with three targets."
"Naturally. Her skills are incredible, especially when you consider that a cycle ago she'd never seen a Galra computer system before. 'Talented' doesn't even begin to do her justice."
"One part skill, two parts sheer guts if you ask me." The red paladin commented back. "You've seen how she throws herself at challenges without a second thought." He sighed as Red's claws hit the floor of the Castle's hangar. "She's gonna get hurt doing that one of these days."
"Well, when she does, we'll all be there to patch her back up." Allura reassured him with a smile as Red's head dropped to lower her ramp. "Thank you. Stay safe, Keith."
"Will do." He promised after her as she left. As soon as she was clear of the ramp, the Lion's head lifted once more and the massive machine was gone in a single graceful leap. The Altean watched the cat's rapid flight back toward the Long Wind for a moment before turning and heading for the bridge. As much as she would have liked to join her paladins on the ground for this fight, she was needed here, ready to assist in fighting or escape should the battle go terribly wrong.
"Welcome back, Princess. All systems are go and ready." Coran greeted her as she entered the main deck, stepping easily onto the platform with the control pedestals. The main battle displays were already active, and a quick pulse of quintessence into the controls told her that the ship's engines were up and running and ready for her commands after sitting idle during the last few decarotations in the Long Wind's tractor beam. He shot her a welcoming smile over his shoulder as he settled in at his own station, ready to monitor the particle barrier strength and the targeting systems.
She smiled warmly in return. "Thank you, Coran. It shouldn't be long now." Even as she said it, the main com crackled. Shiiar'keh's face appeared on the screen, the H'ress taking central command of the other packs for this mission. "Commencing hunt in five dobashes." They warned.
"Understood. Good hunting."
"Good hunting." The connection closed once more, and Allura took a deep breath. Very soon they would be descending on one of the most heavily-defended bases in the Empire in an attempt to retrieve information that would lead to an assault on an even more heavily-defended target, to prevent the total devastation that the Weblum's Breath was capable of wreaking in the hands of the Empire. The dobashes seemed to tick by with agonizing slowness, her heart already pounding with adrenaline.
Then suddenly it was time. The com spat a single word-"H'ress'wr!" and even before the last syllable had died her energy was flooding the controls to activate the teleduv. All the ships would be going through separately for speed, and emerging as close to the target as they dared to allow them first strike before their opponents could bring their weapons to bear. The Castle's portal opened, small compared to the massive blue rings that gave entry to the Icebringer ships, and she sent her ship plunging through.
They came out in a high orbit over Karshelta, further back than their allies who were dumping their fighters into the air even before they'd fully emerged from their portals. The tiny craft rushed their much larger opponents, strafing them with gunfire as they streaked past. Allura had to give the Empire ships credit however, for the speed with which they rallied to answer the surprise attack. Before the last streams of fighters had even made their run the light and medium guns on the purple vessels were opening fire and the Icebringer fighters were forced to break off and evade.
"There go the Lions!" Coran called out, and Allura quickly searched the battlefield for them. She'd been so focused on the opening salvos that she'd missed the launch of the Lions with their ground teams aboard. After a moment she caught sight of a blur of colour amidst the purple of Empire ships and the deep blue Icebringer fighters with their bright squadron markings. The Paladins had taken advantage of the confusion of the initial assault to punch through while there was almost no resistance to speak of, and had covered the distance to Karshelta's thin atmosphere in moments. Even as she watched they plunged down towards the planet's surface and she lost sight of them amidst the burning glow of reentry, their position marked only by the blue flares of their cannons as they took out the surface defenses on the way down.
A stray cannon shot shook the Castle as it glanced off the particle barrier and she quickly returned her attention to the orbital engagement below her. The cruisers had unloaded their fighters now, and the small craft were going against them fiercely as they wove around the larger weapons fire of the pack ships and the dreadnoughts. With so much happening, Allura knew she needed to stay alert. However much she wished to plunge into the battle and bring the Castle of Lions' main particle cannon to bear, she knew her ship's weapons were a last resort in favour of protecting the dozen cryo-replenishers deep in the Castle's heart. An ion cannon's massive beam lanced past, and she winced. Matt had been quite right that against odds like this, they were certain to need every single one.
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"H'ress'wr!"
Shiro's hands tensed on the controls in anticipation, and Black growled her eagerness in his head as she stomped a foot impatiently. Only moments later, the view visible from the hangar changed to the swirling indigo of the interior of an Altean wormhole. As he kept his gaze fixed on the opening, it didn't take long for the first of the Long Wind's fighter squadrons to go streaking past, the orange chevrons on their sides marking them as the Kotel squad. More flashed past, flanking their mothership on the way out of the wormhole and ready to come out shooting, and just as the flare of blue signalled the other end of the portal he spotted the pink and green feathers of the Chal-fey squadron. "That's our cue!" He called, and Black leapt instantly for the stars on the heels of the last team.
The air was already starting to fill with the blue and purple flares of laser fire, but he ignored it, leading the other Lions in a straight plunge down toward Karshelta. A few stray shots glanced off sturdy armor, then they were in atmo and opening fire to take out the main defense towers scattered around Trepan Kev's small surface compound. Black roared, firing her mouth cannon, and one of the towers disintegrated in a burst of flame.
The five Lions hit the ground in a cloud of dust and immediately dropped their heads to let out their passengers. By the time Shiro left the ramp the large group had already formed up into their twenty-two teams of six, and Pidge was already crouched and breaking open the codes on the main door into the complex. She grinned smugly up at him as the doors whirred open, and then the first teams were charging inside, breaking off down side corridors ahead of him.
Shiro fell in beside his team, activating his bayard and feeling the comforting weight of the shield on his arm as he ran. His group consisted of an Olkari tech, a Bytor laden with several guns, a Galra who carried no weapons that he could see, and two others whose species he didn't know. As they ran down the main hallway the Galra signalled their turn away from the other groups and they veered left, leaving the rest of the teams to their own assignments.
A pulse of energy from the Bytor's guns startled him until he saw the soldier-a live soldier, Matt had suspected there would be more live soldiers than sentries here given the importance of the base-crumple to the ground in a bloody heap. There was no time to feel guilt as they jumped the body and kept going. Worlds were at stake.