"Please, you must understand." Lotor's words felt unheard and lost in the darkness around him. There was nothing but blackness surrounding him except for the three figures that stood before him. Acxa, Ezor and Zethrid glared at him with expressions that held nothing but anger and disdain. Disgust, fury, betrayal, all of it was so clearly written on their faces that none of it required words.
Why? Why couldn't they see what he was trying to show them? Everything he was doing was for the good of the empire, and for them. Bringing them here was supposed to explain everything. This was their goal that they had worked towards together. He had prepared strength, power, and the ability to change this empire as they as a team wished for it to be changed. Why didn't they understand?
"For Narti." Acxa's words rang through the scene as his teammates turned their back to him.
"She was possessed by the witch!" He could only watch as they walked away from him, and even if he tried to follow they only got further and further away. "Haggar would have rendered everything useless. You must understand that!"
His words fell on deaf ears as the figures faded away in the distance, refusing to listen. He gritted his teeth in frustration. Did they possibly believe that he had wanted to kill Narti? Didn't they understand that he would have never gone to such lengths if he had had any other choice? This goal was one that Narti had wanted. He could not allow the witch to stop it.
A hand touched his shoulder behind him, which caused him to startle slightly. He hadn't heard anyone or even felt the presence of a person. He spun on his heel and found Narti behind him with Kova curled neatly across her shoulders.
"Narti." He made an effort to step towards her, but found his body frozen and unable to move. He focused on keeping his composure calm and focused on her. "Narti, please, I did what I had to do. The witch had possessed you. There was no other way to secure the secrecy of the project. Surely, you know that."
He didn't expect a response, he knew she couldn't give one, but none the less he hoped that she could see what the others couldn't.
She stepped towards him and drew herself so close that she was only an inch from his chest. Kova stared at him with an unfaltering gaze that he couldn't move to pull his eyes from. She stood still there for a moment, so close to him and yet not quite touching. She refused to release the hold on his mind and allow him to step away. "Release me."
She raised a hand, but made no effort to obey his command. She set her palm gently against his chest and rested it there for only a second before pulling her hand back quickly. She suddenly thrust her clawed fingers against him and the strength and speed of the attack pierced through his chest like a blade. Her hand cleaved through armor and bone and pain ripped through him in an instant.
Lotor awoke with a start, and the scene in front of him was no longer the dark void he had just been in, but instead he was faced with the paladins of Voltron. He had been awoken from his cryopod, but didn't feel rested at all. He flexed his fingers just to be sure that he could and raised his hand to his chest. There was no wound. It hadn't been real. It was just a dream.
"Lotor." Shiro stood front and center, as he always did, with Allura only a few steps behind him. Pidge, Lance and Hunk stood behind them with their bayards at the ready. "We've made a decision."
"Have you?" Lotor quickly regained his composure, forcing the dream into the back of his mind. He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin. "Let's hear it then."
"We went to both the locations you gave us coordinates to." Allura took a place beside Shiro, watching Lotor with a look of equal distrust and disgust. "We managed to take the Galra base and have already cleared the entire area of all Galra occupation. We've added a great number of allies to our coalition because of the victory."
"So it is as I told you it would be." Lotor smirked as he glanced between them. "You must realize now that the information I have is legitimate. I can help your cause greatly."
"The second mission didn't go as smoothly." Shiro's words were icy as he ignored Lotor. "Keith and Kolivan managed to get the intel, but the hub exploded before they could get out."
"I did warn you beforehand that stealth was necessary for that mission." Lotor frowned. Like any Galra hub, it was no surprise that it was rigged to explode at the loss of such valuable information. He had hoped that the Blade of Marmora would live up to their reputation in stealth, but it would seem that wasn't the case.
"They survived, and we got the intel." Shiro's stern face flickered with just a tiny glimpse of cockiness as he said that. "The only reason we're talking to you now is because of that intel. You know where that quintessence supply line is coming from and going to. We need that information."
"I am well aware of that, but you've already received all the information I'm willing to give until you agree to my terms." Lotor took a step out of the open pod which caused the three Paladins to raise their bayards a little higher. He folded his arms behind his back and his frown deepened. If these Paladins thought they could pry for anything more without a deal, they were sorely mistaken.
"That's what we thought you would say." Allura crossed her arms and stepped back as Shiro stepped forward. He extended his Galra hand towards him.
"We're agreeing to your terms, but this doesn't mean that we trust you. You won't have free roam of this castle and you won't get to know everything. We need your information for our cause, and you'll get a place to stay safe from Zarkon, and that's it. Deal?"
Lotor contemplated his words for a minute, admittedly mildly taken aback at their acceptance after hearing of the result of the second mission. He wasn't surprised at the decision, however. It was the logical answer after all. He grinned and took Shiro's hand, giving it a firm shake. "We have a deal."
"Good. Then it's time we get some answers. Follow us." Shiro turned to lead the group out with Allura at his side. The other three waited for Lotor to follow and took up the rear.
They walked through the halls in silence, and Lotor took the opportunity to observe his surroundings. The castle was small in comparison to the Galra headquarters, but it was quaint and still bigger than he had suspected. The structure was elegant and well built. Being in this castle felt like he was like looking at an old piece of art; Outdated, but impressive in comparison to its time.
He fell into step beside Allura and folded his arms behind himself once again. "Your castle is astounding, Princess. Alteans were far ahead of their time ten thousand years ago."
"I am well aware of the quality of my castle." Allura cast him a side glance that bordered on a glare. "As I said before, flattery will get you nowhere here."
"It isn't flattery, merely observation." Lotor was suddenly shoved to the side as Lance wedged himself between him and Allura.
"Step away from the Princess." He shoved his weapon in his face with a menacing glare. He refused to move until Lotor let out a soft chuckle and stepped back.
A door slid open in front of them and they entered the bridge, where Coran had the screens full with the intel they had gathered. His center screen had the map that Keith and Kolivan had brought back, while the left and right screens filtered through all the other intel on the chip. It seemed to contain things like coordinates, times that Galra ships would dock and where they would go next. It was a goldmine of information. Coran turned to face them as they entered. "Oh, you're just in time. Keith just woke up from his healing pod. He's going to change and he should be right up."
Those words seemed to send a wave of relief over the paladins, and Lance finally quit glaring at Lotor.
"That's great to hear. "Shiro smiled and took a place beside Coran. "What have you figured out?"
"I'm still searching through all of the information on the chip, but the most important thing we've found so far is this." Coran motioned to the map so that everyone's attention was on it. "It's a full map of the quintessence supply line that the Blades of Marmora were investigating. The section they discovered is here."
He highlighted a tiny portion of the map, which really made it clear just how expansive this supply line was. "The Galra seemed to keep the supply line a secret by making it so large. It spans across multiple quadrants, with hundreds of small hidden bases and stops along the way. There also seems to specific planets included. They could be used as bases or holding facilities. The intel doesn't specify their purpose."
The door to the room slid open and caught everyone's attention. Keith came inside clad in his normal outfit and he was tugging on his familiar red jacket. He looked none the worse for wear. The pod had healed everything besides a small pain in his shoulder, which he seemed to be trying to work out as he twisted his arm. He looked a little nervous at everyone's stares. "Hey."
"Keith!" Hunk lunged at him, scooping him up into a hug that yanked him off his feet. "Welcome back!"
"Don't scare us like that!" Pidge punched Keith in the arm before she joined the hug. "We all thought you were going to die."
"Yeah, man. We were so worried." Hunk set him back down and pulled away. "What happened?"
"One of the Galra guards came back before we could get out of the control room with the intel. She set off a bomb before we could attack her." Keith took a second to recompose himself after the bear hug. "Kolivan shielded me from the worst of it."
"We're grateful that the both of you survived." Allura set a hand on his arm and gave it an affectionate squeeze.
"Would have been nice to lose that mullet though." Lance cocked an eyebrow and pointed at the hair around Keith's neck.
"Why do you have such a problem with my hair?" Keith snapped with his usual temper when it came to Lance, which elicited a chuckle from the latter.
"That's the Keith I know." He gave him a pat on the shoulder. "I'm glad the rest of you is okay."
"It's great to have you back safe." Shiro held out a hand and when Keith grabbed it he pulled him into a hug.
"Yeah." Keith returned it with a smile. "I'm guessing your mission went well."
"Yes, we've expanded our territory even more and now have control of a large Galra hub in the area." Allura answered with a smile, which quickly faded into slight concern. "With the intel you gathered and the success of our mission, it seemed logical to consider Lotor's terms."
"And you accepted." Keith turned to look at Lotor, who stood quietly distanced from the heartfelt scene and focused on the monitors. The fact that he was here in the control room with no bindings was enough to let Keith know the team's decision on the matter.
"We don't have to trust him, but we can't ignore the fact that he has the answers to all of our questions. If he's being sincere, having him on our side is a huge advantage." Shiro returned to his position beside Coran.
"Okay…what do we know?" Keith folded his arms cross his chest and focused on the intel on screen. He couldn't share much opinion on the Lotor issue, because he hadn't really had a chance to form one. He'd been too busy in a healing chamber. Besides…he wasn't a part of team Voltron. This was their decision.
"I believe I can answer that." Lotor spoke up. "This supply line is the Galra Empire's main source of energy. Pure quintessence is harvested in a physical form and transported to hidden bases for conversion into Galra fuel. Which, of course, you are well aware, being that you did infiltrate one of those bases previously."
"How have you managed to turn quintessence into a physical form?" Coran inquired with genuine curiosity.
"The witch Haggar and her druids are able to perform a ritual which extracts the quintessence of entire planets in mere ticks. Once the discovery was made that this was possible, the need for growth and power has led to the creation of this expansive supply line." Lotor gestured to the map in front of them.
"She's completely eliminating entire planets." Allura held a look of horror at that news. Planets that people and animals lived on the Galra were now harvesting for fuel. She should have seen it on the Balmera. The Galra had completely torn the creature apart. Now they were doing the same to entire planets. "Pure quintessence is an extremely powerful source of energy. One small planet's supply of quintessence should be enough energy to fuel many ships for thousands of years. Just how much quintessence is being harvested?"
"Every planet on this map is marked as a source of quintessence. And once they are drained, the route will be adjusted and others will be added. Hundreds of planets have already been eliminated for the sake of the Galra Empire." Lotor turned to face Allura. His expression was calm, as if the news that countless planets were being destroyed was something to be relaxed about.
"What do you intend to use it for…?" Allura focused on the planets on the screen. What could the Galra be planning that would require so much energy…?
"I have no intention with it whatsoever. This method of quintessence collection is not something I agree with. A fact of which Haggar is well aware. I think it is a crude and outdated method that weakens the Empire." His eyes narrowed as he spoke about the witch. "She, however, keeps her intentions well-guarded."
"You don't know?" Hunk questioned, sounding a little doubtful. "You're the Prince of the Galra, and you were the emperor for a few months recently. How do you not know?"
"The witch and I have never been on good terms." Banishing him for thousands of years didn't usually create a compatible relationship, but he kept that to himself. "Months ago, you fought my father. He is very much alive and well today, but he is not one to take loss well. Power is his only concern. You have refused to hand over Voltron, and so he is creating something stronger in order to either acquire it or destroy it. In order to achieve that, a large amount of quintessence is necessary."
"So…what? They're making some giant anti-voltron robot?" Lance raised an eyebrow.
"I think a Voltron destroying robot is more accurate." Pidge looked concerned as she took all of this in. "With that much quintessence he'll be basically unstoppable…"
"Using this much quintessence isn't necessarily a good thing." Coran spoke up as he plucked at his mustache. "It's true that pure quintessence is a powerful energy source, but using too much of it will cause the systems to either crash or become corrupted. The technology we have today can't possibly handle such an influx of quintessence. They will have to create something that is able to handle all of that energy."
"The comet." Keith's eyes were trained on Lotor. "You had us get the comet so that you could use its material, didn't you?"
Lotor let out a sarcastic chuckle. "I've never had any desire to aid the witch in her plans. The comet was something I wanted of my own accord. I wanted a ship that could rival Voltron in speed, defense and power. However, my ship did not use the entirety of the comet, and my plans were discovered by Haggar. She deemed my possession of the comet a threat to the Empire, which led to the call for my head. She is now in possession of the remaining part of the comet. It's highly likely it will be used in her plan."
"So it sounds like our best course of action is to cut off this supply of quintessence from reaching her Voltron destroyer robot." Shiro was already working on forming a plan in his head. "We'll have to move quickly or risk being too late and having to face it at full power."
"Kolivan was already planning a mission to infiltrate the supply line. There's a holding facility here." Keith stepped forward and motioned to the area they had discovered, drawing a line between the small dot that resembled a base and the neighboring planet. "We'll have to eliminate the Galra occupation on that planet that the supply line leads to in order for us to go in and destroy the holding facility. That will cut off the supply route here."
"So we'll have to target all of the holding facilities and all of the planets we see here. Once we liberate these planets, if they decide to join our coalition, we'll have more manpower to tackle this huge map." Shiro crossed his arms as he worked through all of this in his mind. This was no small feat. This would take a multitude of missions and time to conquer. He also had to consider the territory they had already liberated and focus manpower and maintaining that region that Zarkon was clearly keen on getting back. Their forces were going to be stretched extremely thin.
"And what do you intend to do with the quintessence in the holding facilities that you destroy?" Lotor inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"He has a point." Allura had been wondering the same thing. "Quintessence cannot simply be destroyed. Even if we blow up the entire facility the quintessence will remain. It is simply raw energy with a physical form or not. Unless it is converted into a fuel and exerted there is no destroying it. We can't allow it to just…float around in space. The Galra will simply recollect it all once they are given the opportunity."
"So…we'll have to collect it all and put it somewhere where they can't get it. Where can we hide hundreds of containers of quintessence that the Galra can't find? " Hunk tapped his chin. You know, that was super easy considering the Galra ruled 2/3rds of the entire known universe and really wanted the other 1/3rd back.
"What about Naxzela?" Lance threw out a suggestion with a shrug. "I mean, it's already got a huge underground cavern in the center of the deactivated the giant orb thing that that witch lady Haggar tried to use to blow everything up right?"
"It could be a good idea. We'll have Naxzela more heavily guarded than any other planet anyway because of what happened the other day." Pidge agreed. "The soil is still sensitive to high pressure but there shouldn't be the threat of that anymore. Hiding the quintessence underground in our largest and most heavily guarded planet is the best idea I can see."
"All right then." Shiro turned to Keith."How long will it take for the Blades to be ready to do the infiltration mission?"
"All the other blades are out on defense missions. We'll need Kolivan." Keith looked to Coran about that. "Is he going to be alright?"
"He should be completely healed by tomorrow morning." Coran looked a little concerned. "But it's not as if he'll pop out ready to go on another mission immediately. He'll need food and rest to make up for the lost quintessence that the pods use to accelerate the natural healing process. It will likely take at least another day of rest until he's fully recovered, and the same goes for you, Keith."
"Then we'll take tomorrow to get ready and rested." Shiro turned to face the team. "Then Keith and Kolivan will infiltrate the holding facility while we take out the Galra rule on the neighboring planet. Once we take control of the facility, we'll send over transport ships to bring the quintessence to Naxzela. This is going to be an ongoing thing until we can we can completely cut off the Galra quintessence supply. Sound like a plan?"
"Aye, aye, captain." Lance gave a salute in approval and the others chimed in with their agreement.
"Good. Then get some rest for tonight." Shiro smiled. "You'll need it once we start this mission. It's going to be a long one."
"This is really quite a development." Allura mused from beside him as she focused on the map. "We've made quite a bit of progress in just a few days' time."
"Yeah. Let's just hope it keeps looking up." Shiro gave her a gentle smile before a thought crossed his mind and he turned on his heel. "Keith?"
But Keith was already gone, as was Lance. Shiro frowned at that. Keith was always stalking off places, and he had hoped to talk to him.
"So…where's the new guy going to sleep?" Pidge shoved a thumb in Lotor's direction, and her expression seemed to say what everyone else was thinking. No one wanted to be next door to the guy who might kill them in their sleep tonight.