Chapter 1 – Fleogas

It had been weeks since leaving Earth. Not only had Team Voltron laughed in the face of their immeasurable odds, but had delivered crucial blows to their enemies. If any one of them had been told a few months ago that they were going to be hurtling through space and using sentient robot lions to fight a massive alien regime with two alien comrades, they would have dismissed the notion as some sort of drug induced dream. But here they were, flying through the deepest reaches of space as the new norm, an opportunity that most scientists back on earth would kill to have. They had defeated a Galra cruiser, kidnapped a ranking officer from said ship, and were now picking his memories apart to see if they could discern any new information that would aide them in their upcoming fights.

Not to mention that they had already defeated two massive Galra monsters and saved an entire planet from destruction. Admittedly, both instances had been fairly close calls due to their inexperience, but the successes had to stand for something. Against further odds, they had begun bonding with their lions, becoming more of a team than any of them would have expected. They had formed Voltron; it was amusing to consider that a couple weeks before, they had actually tried stacking on top of one another in order to form the massive robot.

They were learning, and they were itching to find a new objective.

"Anything good yet, Pidge?"

The group had been hovering over their tech genius for nearly a varga, waiting for any results from the brightly glowing screen. Fingers picked away at the keyboard, discerning and modifying the waves of information. Each member wore different degrees of interest on their face as impatience began to mount. Shiro in particular watched Pidge's movements on the screen intently, ever the strategist and planner. Their situation was in delicate hands; with a lack of formal forces behind them and a monstrous empire in front, no doubt gunning for the team's lives at the very moment, every second and movement counted. If anything was a constant, no matter what bizarre situation they found themselves in, it was the fourth dimension. Time hung over their heads no matter what unit of measurement was used to record it. Whether it was on their side or not, it was important to utilize every moment.

Pidge momentarily paused to push her glasses further up the bridge of her nose, her voice neither crushing nor the most encouraging. "We were only able to salvage bits and pieces." Shiro winced, the predicament mostly his fault due to the sudden ejection of Sendak's pod from their ship, what with the virus that had infected the systems.

"We need something to work with." Keith sighed, standing up straighter and rolled his shoulders, still the most impatient out of the group. Irritation began to crease between his brows at the lack of immediate results. "Right now, we don't even have a decent map of the empire."

The blue paladin across from him scoffed, crossing his arms. "Who needs a map? After ten thousand years of conquering, I could probably fire my bayard at like, any random point in space and hit a Galra ship."

Placing a hand under his chin, Shiro mused half to himself, half under his breath. Did it honestly matter yet if they had a map? He was certain that they would find a Galra map eventually, but they needed to take some smaller actions before then. "If we could just find some troop locations, or supply routes, small targets we could hit-and-run, then we could start to free planets one by one."

"Boooring." Lance arched his back, looking at Shiro upside down from his position. "I want the big kaboom."

"Zarkon's been building his empire for ten thousand years. We're not going to tear it down overnight with five inexperienced pilots and one support ship. Hitting him where he lives would be a huge mistake."

"Okay. I've cross-referenced Sendak's memories with the info I got from the downed ship back on Arus." Lance righted his posture as the entire group edged slightly closer to the screen, as though they were trying to unscramble the information on the screen by themselves, hoping for some good news. It was heartening to hear that the group was finally getting somewhere with the data after waiting, eager ears waiting to hear what they had to work with. "Most of it was a garbled mess, but two things kept repeating. Something called a 'Universal Station,' and the phrase 'confirmed wings.'"

Hunk popped his head closer to the screen from his position on the ground, blocking nearly everyone's view. His attention, like most of the group, focused toward Pidge's first statement, the most concerning and easy to interpret. "Universal station? Like, the kind of stations that controls the entire universe?"

Pushing the yellow paladin's head away with amusement and irritation at her obscured view, Pidge adjusted her glasses again, the light reflecting off the lenses. "Well, we are translating it from Galra, so it could also be 'galactic hub.'"

"Or 'space base.'" Lance pulled finger guns at the group, obviously finding amusement at his clever pun. The rest of the group, however, simply managed a deadpan look in return, immediately crushing Lance's fun. Scowling, he dug his hands into his pockets. "What?"

Shiro sighed. It was a good start, although the lack of a solid translation still left some room for error in his mind. Could Sendak really have been thinking about a home base for the Galra? The black paladin didn't know which situation he would prefer, that they had found the Galra Empire's home base location, or if they had found another secret base. Knowledge of the home and throne was only beneficial in the fact that they would be able to avoid the area until they were strong enough to take Zarkon and his multitude of fleets on. He mentally shoved the possibilities aside to consider Pidge's other finding. "And the wings?"

"Could be code for some sort of project," Coran piped his opinion from the back of the group. The idea of the Galra flying around with wings, although amusing, seemed nonsensical, unless it was some sort of weapons modification system. In which case, the enemy could become that much more dangerous. Fighting in three dimensional space was hard enough; the last thing they needed was another mobilized forced flying in the air with them.

Shaking her head, Pidge scrutinized a corner of the screen. "From the tone, it sounds more like some sort of term for enslaved animals, or an actual being."

"Or maybe they're like chicken wings." Careful not to obstruct Pidge's view, Hunk shifted from his spot to the left of the console, imagining a base filled with wings. "Do you think they have barbeque in space?" Even Lance seemed to appreciate the thought of the earth food, getting lost in the idea of said dish.

Shiro shook his head in amusement and slight exasperation at Hunk's antics. He could always be relied upon to think about food and make light of some of the most intense situations. "Alright, so we're working with some secret base and potential enslavement."

Making note of the coordinates that Pidge had pulled up, Coran jumped over to his control panel near the front of the room. "I'm pulling up the location on your Universal station, hub, base, thing, and our other project on our screens now." The group moved from their hunched positions around Pidge to look at the screens that pulled up at the front of the castle. A split image popped up, the right side focusing in on a gigantic, empty space between three planets. The left focused on a singular planet that honed an ashy looking surface, spotted with craters of green life.

"So there's nothing on one side."

"And there's a planet?"

"Fleogas?"

The paladins shifted their focus to Allura, whose brilliant azure eyes were intensely focused on the left image. Shiro thought that he saw the most faint flashes of hope cross over blue eyes filled with disbelief. Coran seemed to be frozen in his place as well, staring at the mysterious planet that had white clouds swirling over its face. The image captivated the two Alteans, suggesting to the rest of the paladins that this was no ordinary planet.

Shiro turned to face Allura fully, his arms on his hips. "You know this planet?"

Allura turned from Pidge's station to walk closer to the bridge, slowly stepping as though a single move could wake her from the certain vision she was seeing. Her brows, however, were furrowed in confusion, as though this new information was conflicting in some manner. "They were one of our closest allies before the war. I would have thought that Zarkon would have eliminated them."

"Unless they were too valuable to lose." Keith's eyes narrowed at the idea, the team following his train of thought. "They could have become enslaved like the Balmerans."

"Then there's a chance they might be alive." Crossing his arms, Shiro's voice called the attention of the two Alteans. "Keith is right. If the translation points to enslavement, maybe they're being subdued for some reason."

Lance crossed his arms in confusion, something not seeming to add up in his brain between the coordinates and the translation that Pidge was working with. "So what's with this translation about the wings?"

Coran perked up. "Of course, it makes sense! The Fleogans are an ancient race, where their legendary predecessors were apparently gifted wings from their gods."

Disappointment was a look well worn across Hunk's features, if only for the loss of his earthen food fantasy. "So it's not like chicken wings?"

"Well, considering that I don't know what this chicken of yours looks like, maybe. But!" Coran's finger pointed up as though drawing a new conjecture, his energy at the familiar planet obviously picking him up, "They were large enough to be able to fly, like birds!"

Lance's attention was drawn back to the excitement behind Coran's description. "Woah, that's pretty neat. So they're like bird people?"

The royal advisor's hands returned to their panel, rapidly typing away as he distractedly began to answer Lance's question. "Well, they actually look more like earthlings, now that I think about it. Just massive wings attached to their backs. Or sometimes small! Bright colors too. Or not. Ah, here we are!"

Projecting a new image to the front of the room, the team marveled at the individuals before them. King Alfor stood at the center, along with a few other Alteans and other magnificently winged creatures, implicitly understood to be the Fleogans. Coran had been right in his descriptions, although to see the colorful sight was another thing; wings of creams, browns, blacks, and even blue and green were vibrantly spread behind one another, layered in a Technicolor blanket backdrop. Their bodies, however, looked fairly humanoid in appearance with a range of skin tones from olive to a deep chestnut complimenting the array of colorful wings. It was a happy moment, the bodies staged in a formal manner but faces laughing without restraint, some figures even leaning onto others as though some fascinating and hilarious inside joke had been muttered among the happy group before the shot was snapped.

"The Fleogans were valued mechanics and inventors," Coran continued, a wistful, nostalgic, quality in his voice. "This team actually helped King Alfor in the shaping of Voltron. They were quite close."

Allura's eyes narrowed in determination, hands grasping for the castle controls. "If they're still alive, we must rescue that planet. They were trusted allies; who knows what Zarkon might have done to them?" The castle reacted, beginning its slow and steady navigation toward the new destination. It had been settled in the moment that Allura had grabbed the controls, and while there had been little discussion, no one seemed to argue their destination choice. The four standing paladins moved to their consoles to remain on standby on their new journey. Only Pidge glanced back at her station briefly, contemplating the information she had gleaned.

"So what about that other 'galactic hub' thing?"

If Allura was about to defend her immediate turn toward Fleogas, Shiro beat her to the punch. "We investigate that later. If there's a planet we can strike now to gain some allies, it's worth looking into first."

Coran nodded from his station, eyes still glued to the monitors at the front of the castle. "To Fleogas, then."

"Let's hope they're alive." While the princess' statement was particularly ardent in her heart, each paladin earnestly wished for a positive outcome to this discovery. The discovery of such an ancient and close ally of the Alteans was monumental. Allura would never admit it out loud to the paladins, but after the loss of her father's memory forever, it would be nearly impossible to bear another loss of such an important part of her history.

Strategically, the move made sense, but if any of them looked beyond the surface, they all knew that this trip was getting personal.

After several years as an engineer, technician, and elite warrior, Almira Eos had thought that she had seen it all. She herself had a hand in rewiring old Galra fighter pilots to be repurposed for her own people, had molded outdated Fleogan warships into stylish, effective, and efficient weapons of destruction. She had witnessed the wars that raged in the Technology Brigade over the hundreds of communication lines that covered the planet, hacking into Galra lines while preserving and encrypting their own. Medical technology could bring people back from near death, could create prosthetics visually astounding and cool to the touch. She had handed men their dignity after knocking them breathless into the ground, had demolished gender expectations of her society, had climbed to the top of her own skill and willpower and fought not only for her own dignity, but for the dignity of her people.

She was relatively young, but she had seen and experienced it all; the safety as a citizen within the walls and the exhilaration of fighting for her life on the front lines were familiar feelings and memories for her. It was therefore nearly no surprise when scouts had sounded an alarm, declaring that five lion robots were attacking the main Galra base along the northern mountains.

Nearly.

"Robot lions?"

A half-grunt, half-chuckle escaped into their line of communication from the large, elder, man next to her as they flew through the cavernous tunnel. Their wings cut through the damp air, the younger woman taking the lead to exert more energy while the elder glided on the path of the least wind resistance. Faces were saved from the whipping air by a black helmet that fully encased their heads, not only providing tactical insight but also a visual and audio line of communication between the two. "It's a sure sign of the end of times, isn't it?"

She shook her head in amusement, wings beating infrequently but steadily in order to conserve their energy while maximizing speed. Certainly she imagined that someone was losing their mind on their patrol from one of the smaller caverns when they first received the report. If she had to admit it, it would have been almost fun to entertain and eventually admonish the call. But Artus, who had requested their immediate presence in the Exodius crater, had only confirmed it, and Artus knew when to call an end to a joke. "I wouldn't doubt it."

A small image of a graying man's face displayed in the bottom left corner of her helmet, silver eyes twinkling at her in childish excitement. For being her superior, she sometimes felt as though she was the adult in the situation, often becoming the serious captain when something particularly piqued his fancy and interest. "Perhaps they're friendly."

No amount of scoffing and exasperated looks could hide the twitch of a smile that played on her lips. "Friendly robot lions. Now I've definitely seen it all."

The tunnel that the two flew down opened into a moderately sized chamber that connected multiple paths. On one wall stood a door, a small security panel on the side to grant entrance. Touching down into the room, the commander walked to the panel and pressed his hand to the surface, the motion eliciting a small beep and hiss as the door slid open. "If they could travel through space and just decided to land on this hell-hole of a Galra controlled planet, I'd be willing to bet that anything could happen."

The sun had already set outside, and Almira was thankful for the gentle transition on her eyes from the dimly lit cave systems to the ethereal moonlight that streamed into the crater they entered. Just outside the door was a narrow pathway, barely large enough for one man to run along. Making a right outside the door, the duo continued up the path that ran along the side of the crater, moving as quietly as possible. Stealth was not an issue, but the two moved with caution and all the lightness of a practiced predator that quietly stalked their prey from a distance.

Nearing the top, the path came to an abrupt end, another door embedded into the hillside their only option. Facing the cliff wall, the commander at the front ran his hand on the smooth surface until he felt a hand-sized panel emitting a cold embrace. Pushing it in, the door quickly opened with a hiss to reveal a well disguised monitoring room inside the hillside, the contrast of the metallic interior sharp against the red stoned walls. The two slipped in quickly, as the door hissed to a quick close behind them. Safely inside, the two tapped the sides of their helmet to remove the glass and expose their faces. Almira lingered by the door for a moment longer, golden yellow eyes glimmering in the artificial light as she scanned the room, her superior walking in a direct path toward the center console where a tall, black haired man stood. "Artus, report."

The young man looked no older than thirty, but held an air that oozed confidence and careful observation into the room, commanding the respect of the other Fleogans who manned individual stations. Upon seeing the commander and the captain, his eyes relaxed a fraction, although they still held notes of disbelief and tension. "They weren't lying, sir, if you can believe it. Five lion robots attacking the southern Galra station at Doseogwan." His eyes went back to the monitors in front of them, the newly entered duo following his line of sight. There were multiple visuals on the battle that was raging a few miles away from their location, most of them hacked signals from Galra security cameras on the base. "They haven't made much progress, aside from ruining nearly a full squadron of Galra fighter pilots and wrecking a grounded cannon."

"Any insight to what their goal is?" The older General reached the center where Artus stood and looked around at the multiple screens. The center of the room in front of the commanding console had the highest concentration of visuals of the skirmish; at least sixteen of the cameras were focused on the battle zone from various distances. Almira walked over to a technician monitoring the closest cameras, giving a smile as she approached the middle-aged man. Looking at the monitors with her hawk-like eyes, it was obvious that no matter how outlandish the report had seemed, it was true. The multicolored lions sped around in colorful blips, their shapes barely visible unless they paused to redirect their momentum, and Almira couldn't help but be impressed with the speed and precision used.

"Other than provoking the Galra, nothing too obvious. They're obviously not friendly with them."

"But that doesn't mean they're also friendly with us," Almira mused as she watched a red lion darting through the sky, performing intricate maneuvers to escape a number of fighter jets that were on its tail. "Regardless, it doesn't look like it's going well for them."

"I'm with Almira on that observation." Artus exchanged a nod with her, direction his observation to his superior. "They're not faring well, and there's no signs of a back up for them. Garen," he lowered his voice, "they need help."

"It would be suicide to launch an attack so quickly and without planning." The general seemed to ignore a direct answer, instead turned his attention back to Almira. "What's the closest crater, Atlas or Urudu?"

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly as she began to ascertain her commander's line of thought, mind racing. There was potential that they would be able to send in fighter pilots, but it definitely wasn't a preferable situation, as they were unprepared for the arrival of such strange guests. If they were to assist these lions, then it might be more effective to send in the Warpers or Wind Benders, who would be able to use their skillsets from a distance. "Urudu would be the best," she finally answered. "It's smaller and more narrow, but Commander Jove and some of the Warpers should be in the area. They're closer than we are."

Garen nodded, turning to a technician on the other side of the room. "Patch me through to the command at Urudu. See if you can get the attention of any leadership in the area. Alert them to a potential rescue of the lions if anything goes south. Artus, keep a visual. Almira," he paused, beckoning her closer as she turned to look. The three convened at the center, while Artus busied himself with the visuals, keeping half an attention on the conversation behind him.

"I'm thinking the best line of response is to have the Warpers come in." His voice was slightly hushed, although not attempting to keep a secret.

Almira nodded. "I figured as much. They're the most capable of handling those lions. They can determine if they're friendly or not. It's probably the safest for everyone."

"We've just another hacked Galra security camera from one of the buildings," Artus interrupted, voice projecting into the room as a new camera angle was brought to the forefront of the screens.

Garen's attention turned to the new footage, overseeing the massive charging strip for an ion cannon. Smoke and dust flew in all direction, as beams of light shot in the distance, the cameras unable to identify if it had hit its target as the visual became obscured. "I want to send you, if you're up for it. If you can create a visual distraction-"

"Then we can provide cover for a retreat, without risking our own." The two looked at each other, the elder looking on with admiration and a bit of humor in his eyes.

"Ever my protégé."

Almira smirked, crossing her arms. Garen was the commander of the Wind Benders, and he had picked her for a reason, which she often liked to remind him of in both good and bad situations. She was sharp, and was tactically similar to her mentor and commander, allowing them to move as a unit and effectively command as one. It hadn't always been like that; she certainly had to work hard to cover ground that many of her peers had years to perfect in comparison to her months. But she had been molded into the perfect successor, and if she did her job well, who was to complain about how fresh she was? "Did you ever question it?"

"By the gods, what is that?"

Heads turned, the entire room froze as a single robot appeared from the smoke and debris that had clouded the camera, gigantic sword in hand. With one swing and movement, it tore through the charging strip, ripping it to pieces and catalyzing explosions that rocked the building and destroyed the camera, static ripping across the screen. Silence fell over the room as every being attempted to process what happened. Garen recovered first, barking out orders. "I need visuals; do we have visuals on the lions?"

Technicians flipped frantically through monitors, as not one could find the multiple oddities, instead finding a seemingly bigger problem in the shape of a looming, sword-wielding, robot. Artus frowned. "The lions are gone."

"No," Almira breathed, pointing at a medium ranged camera. "Look closer. The arms and legs."

"Impossible." Artus brought the camera to the main feed, projecting it in front of the control panel. "The lions appear to have merged."

"Voltron."

Garen and Almira looked at each other in surprise at their unanimous emission, while Artus turned towards the two of them. His forehead and brows furrowed in confusion and disbelief. "The child's tale?"

"A child's tale no more. It's imperative that we help such an ally." He flourished his cape as he strode out of the room, calling his last commands dramatically. "Contact Commander Jove and tell his to rendezvous at Urudu. Almira and I will head there ourselves now."

"Sir." She saluted, and then grinned at Artus, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Give my regards to the old man, won't you Artus?" She received a broad grin and a thumbs up from her peer and an eye roll from the General at the saucy comment as she back out of the room, slapping on her helmet as the door opened and closed quickly behind their backs.

Dashing down the same dirt path, the duo scurried back into the cavern room, adjusting eyes to the artificial light and consulting their helmets for the quickest route to the cavern of Urudu. Almira's mind raced a million miles a tick, and she inhaled deep and slow to calm her breathing and her racing mind; an unclear thought process would only slow her down and put her and others in danger. Recalling her training, she slowed her mind, processing everything in an orderly fashion as the duo waited for their GPS signals to organize a route.

Voltron. Even as she began to clear her mind in order to process things properly, she felt her heart give a jolt at the unexpected turn of events. The legend of the ancient symbol of peace and prosperity; how did they not figure it out when the five lions had landed on their planet, attempting to ravage the Galra outpost? Perhaps the idea, the memory, the hope had been lost to them. Fleogans had been fighting on their own for this long, so why should they dream or hope of salvation from beyond the skies of their planet? They were a determined people, and when answers halted from beyond their borders, they sought their own answers, growing strong on their own.

But the tide could be turned. Almira opened her gauntlet on her arm, bringing up a keyboard that allowed her to interface with her helmet as she pulled up a map to Urudu. For all the meditative strategies, her mind still buzzed, halfway on the task before her, the other half on Voltron. Why were they there? Why after thousands of years did they appear only now? What had happened to them?

As she began to tap her foot impatiently, her communicator buzzed before patching a communications and visual line through, both Garen and an image of a dark skinned man with molten gold eyes popping up in lower left corner of her helmet. She grinned broadly at the second figure. "Arden."

"About time you answered." The voice was gruff and maintained an irritated quality, but Almira could hear the affectionate undertones in his complaint. On her forearm, the mapping system let out a jovial beep, drawing both Garen and Almira's eyes and launching the duo down a path to their right. "Hello, Garen." The older man grunted, but tinges of a smile tricked the corners of his lips to quirk up.

The deep voice of her brother helped to soothe her nerves, although her heart jolted at his words. "Jove just called. I'm on my way to Urudu from Siu Va."

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. "I thought Jove was patrolling the area."

"And I thought you knew how much I hated patrolling Ti Le Vang."

"And I thought you were trained better than to abuse power."

A chershire grin covered Arden's face. "What the men don't know won't hurt them."

"Ass."

"I'd lecture you to remember the fortunes of your position, Arden, but seeing as you won't listen anyway…" Garen had been half joking, half serious, but all three knew that his whole mind was set on admonishing the younger general. The only reason why he stopped was the historic knowledge that nothing would stop the youth. A sheepish, sharp smile crept on Arden's lips, understanding the threat enough.

"ETA?"

"Ten dobashes. Arden, it's Voltron." A smile ripped across her face, radiating joy even in the moment of panic and uncertainty. She knew that he could feel her excitement, the unspoken questions and emotions that rippled through her face and her simple words. It was like that with Arden, the unspoken between the two as easily interpreted as words themselves. "Voltron is real."

"I know." A muffled voice sounded in the background, Arden's eyes narrowing at something off-screen. "Any chance you can make it faster?"

Garen pulled ahead of Almira, wordlessly urging her to pick up their pace. "Make it seven."

With a nod, his attention looked as though he was about to yell off screen when the visual cut out, leaving Almira a full view of the darkness in front of her. The tension that his gaze held notified Almira to some sort of struggle going on in his location, which made her move with just a little more intent. Wings out again, she dashed through the tunnel, towards an uncertain future that was getting even stranger and stranger as each moment wore on.

What a way to start the night.

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AN: I'm back ~

Thank you so much for checking this story out if you're new, and thank you so much for coming back if you're familiar with my original story of Limitless. I seriously can't thank you all enough for the reads, comments, and follows. You are what brought me back.

Why such the long wait? The new year has been a bonafide shit show in the worst and best ways. On the second day of the school year, I found out that my plans for post-undergrad work weren't going to work. I've since then decided to apply for PhD programs across the country, specifically in Applied Linguistics. It's been a ride with mental health and physical health acting up, but I'm surviving. I actually started a Kingdom Hearts fic, but I felt so guilty about ignoring this story that I came back. I specifically was stuck on the third chapter here, so you might notice some changes.

So thanks for the support, and I promise I'll be working on this story more, even if I only finish one paragraph each day. Please leave a comment or anything about the story!

Update 3- 25-18: Fixed a few grammatical inconsistencies and cohesion.