I glossed over the little infiltration mission at the Jackal's fortress because it's superficially the same as in canon. The only difference is that Victra and Darrow broke off their alliance with the Jackal before the Sons of Ares attacked.
This is another long, book-heavy chapter, but I'll try to summarize things when I can. Only four chapters left in the story.
2/18/18: Minor updates to account for story changes and grammar errors.
Chapter 34: Brotherhood:
Agea
Mars
March 3rd, 2841
Shiro tried to stop himself from fidgeting as he stood facing the leader of the Sons of Ares in the back of the warehouse that the resistance group had converted into a base. Sevro and Darrow were on their way back from rescuing Harmony, Mickey, and Evey from the Jackal's citadel in Attica, and Shiro had volunteered to stay behind with the Sons of Ares to keep Mustang and the others updated on the situation as it unfolded. Darrow's plan had gone off without a hitch. Darrow and Victra went to Adrius' new home to break off their respective alliances with him. While they were inside, the Sons of Ares, led by Sevro, launched a guerilla attack on the fortress, taking over the mainframe long enough to get the prisoners and get out. After that, money transferred into the accounts of his chief of security, a Gray woman named Sun-hwa, provided a convenient scapegoat.
"So," Fitchner began. "You're a time traveler." Shiro sighed. There was no way to avoid this conversation. Sevro and Darrow had both vouched for him, but to prove himself to the Sons of Ares, they'd had to tell Fitchner the truth of what he really was. The revolutionary leader had originally planned to accompany his son and the rest of the strike team to rescue Harmony's splinter faction from the Jackal's clutches, but after hearing from his son where "Shiro au Terranova" really came from, he had elected to stay behind at the main base and assess whether the twenty-year old could be trusted.
"I am," Shiro replied nervously. "I know I have no way to prove it, but I swear it's true. I'm not a spy, or crazy, or –."
"I don't need any gorydamn proof," Fitchner interrupted. "My wife had stories of the Paladins of Voltron passed down through her family for generations. She'd had a photo album that had been in her family for centuries back when she was still alive." She must have been a lowColor then, Shiro theorized. That's the only reason I can think of that Fitchner would become Ares. But when he realized that Sevro was descended from one of his friends, he let out a hysterical laugh.
"It looks like Lorn au Arcos isn't the only one who had Paladin genes," he said as he finally stopped laughing. What are the odds that our descendants are still running around even to this day? He wondered with a small smirk. I think I know who Sevro's a descendant of. After that brief bit of levity, he and Fitchner discussed more pertinent topics. Fitchner couldn't make any promises about being able to spare the resources to get him home while they were in the middle of a war on multiple fronts, but the man was grateful for the Black Paladin's offer of help in the rebellion.
An hour later, they were informed that Darrow's group had arrived, and the two men headed up to meet them. They walked downstairs into a garage that had been converted into a makeshift office to find Darrow amid a tearful reunion with Dancer, Fitchner's lieutenant, and Mickey, the Carver who had made the Reaper from a Red into a Gold. Sevro lurked in the corner behind an engine block, while Victra was nowhere to be seen. They probably figured it would be more productive if it was just Darrow and Sevro this time, Shiro surmised as he into the room and stood between Darrow and Sevro.
After Mickey walked out of the office, Darrow demanded that Fitchner lay all his cards on the table. When asked why Darrow had been kept in the dark about Ares' identity for so long, Fitchner answered that it was idiotic to put his life in the hands of a teenager's acting ability. Shiro chuckled at that, knowing that Lance wouldn't have been able to keep a secret of that magnitude for more than a day. Besides, Fitchner had argued, Darrow wasn't the only iron he'd had in the proverbial fire, and he couldn't be biased, even if Darrow was his favorite. After his frustration with being kept in the dark had been satisfied, Darrow asked about Fitchner's wife. After confirming that Darrow wanted the full version of the story, Ares began his tragic tale.
Fitchner had been liaising for a terraforming company on Triton when they first met. He was running one of the last Lovelock Engines on the moon's north pole when an eruption from one of the moon's geysers caused an earthquake. The ice crust cracked and spilled the whole engine into the subterranean sea. Three thousand souls drowned. Fitchner had been fished out of the sea and spent the next months recovering in an arctic hospital. "He had been in the highColor wing, which had good food, better showers, newer beds, and other luxuries. The lowColors had access to none of those amenities, but the one luxury they'd had was the window that had overlooked the northern lights. And the room Sevro's mother had been in was the one that turned out to have the best view.
Her name was Bryn. She'd lost a leg in the accident, and the Yellows weren't going to give her a new one. It would have been easy to just give her a bionic leg and let her get back to work, but according to the Coppers, it "wasn't cost effective." So Fitchner brought her with him when he'd saved up enough money to leave Triton. It was too expensive for them to live in the Core worlds – Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Luna – so they'd settled on Mars, settling just outside of New Thebes. Fitchner and Bryn had wanted a child more than anything, but thanks to centuries of genetic tampering, their DNA wasn't compatible. So, they'd gone to a Carver to see if they couldn't make some magic, and they had. It had cost almost everything Fitchner owned, but nine months later, Sevro had squirmed out into the world.
Two years after Sevro was born, the Board of Quality Control arrested the Carver for some illegal work he'd done on an Obsidian gladiator, and the man had quickly ratted the couple out in exchange for a reduced sentence. They'd come to the Barca home while Fitchner and Sevro were away, found Bryn, and took her in for questioning. When they saw that her fallopian tubes had been modified so that she would be compatible to sire a Gold child, they disposed of her. They gassed her with Achlys-9, put her in an over, and pumped her ashes into the sea. They'd never even referred to her by name in the records. Only by a number. Not because she was a thief or murderer or had violated anyone's rights, but because she'd been a Red who'd dared to love a Gold.
Fitchner's experience hadn't been like Darrow's, the man had explained. He hadn't watched his wife die. He hadn't seen Golds come into his world and ruin it, the way Darrow had. Instead, he'd felt the coldness of the system swallow the only thing he'd ever lived for. It had happened emotionlessly. A copper pressing buttons and filling out a spreadsheet. A Brown twisting a knob to release the gas. They'd killed his wife, but they wouldn't ever think so. Bryn hadn't been a memory in their minds, only a statistic. It was as if she'd never existed. Some ghost Fitchner had loved but no one else had ever seen. That was what society did, the haggard man had said. Spread the blame around so that there was no villain, and so it was futile to even begin to find one. It was all just machinery and processes, rumbling inexorably on till a whole generation rose to throw themselves on the gears.
"So," Darrow said to Sevro once the story was done and they had learned the name of Fitchner's wife. "You're half Red."
"Found out couple days ago," Sevro confirmed with a nod. "Weird as shit, righto?"
"Weird as shit," Darrow replied with a chuckle. "You'll make a good Ruster."
"I like to think I'm an endangered species," Sevro commented. Shiro couldn't help but laugh at the comparison.
"We all are," Dancer added as the old Red rolled a match through his fingers. That brought the playful banter to an end and the topic of conversation turned back to more serious subjects.
Darrow had revealed to his inner circle that Titus, a Gold from House Mars at the Institute who'd gained infamy for his brutal tactics and serial raping of his classmates, had turned out to be another Sons of Ares plant, only he'd been broken and been more concerned with cathartic revenge than with long term planning. As he'd suspected, Fitchner had known about Titus all along, but he was grateful that Dancer had been ignorant of that fact. He'd have been upset if his mentor had known that Darrow wasn't the only Red sent to infiltrate Gold. But Fitchner's reason for keeping him in the dark did make sense. Titus' mind had broken under the strain of maintaining his cover, and he'd spiraled down the path of decadence and brutality that had led to his demise.
If Darrow had known, then he would have been responsible for Titus' mistakes and vice versa. Shiro decided that he was going to have to borrow Fitchner's "You don't tie two boats together during a storm" line someday. But as Darrow pointed out, his mind had broken as well. He was just lucky enough to have people to help put him back together again and keep him grounded.
"I always knew a Gold couldn't lead this rebellion," Fitchner went on. "It has to be from the bottom up, boyo. Red is about family. More than any other Color, it is about love amid all the horror of our world. If Red rises, they have a chance to bind the worlds together. MidColors won't. Pinks, Browns, can't. Obsidians have failed before. And if they succeeded alone, they'd break the worlds instead of freeing them."
"Well, I've squabbed up your position next to the Sovereign," Darrow commented before gesturing to Shiro and Sevro. "We think we've guessed the plan, but tell us if we're wrong. Augustus is going to adopt me as his heir. Use me as a praetor in his armada."
"Righto," Dancer replied with a nod.
"And if we defeat the Sovereign," Shiro added. "He won't settle for being King of Mars. He'll want to be Sovereign. So, we help him take the Morning Throne."
"You're right so far," Fitchner answered.
"Then a year or two into his reign," Sevro piped in. "We kill him and pin it on a rival. Then, Darrow inherits the empire."
"Bloodydamn," Dancer breathed, impressed. "You actually figured it out."
"It was a group effort," Darrow replied humbly. "I barely contributed anything to the discussion."
"Regardless of how you figured it out, you did," Fitchner said after he regained his composure. "So, after Augustus dies, all will look to the strongest. Be the strongest. Win the game of succession and you can be Sovereign just as you were Primus. Just as you are Praetor. It's all games. Except this time, we're helping you cheat. We will feed you information, guard you against assassination attempts. With me on your side, you will have a spy network even the Jackal and the Sovereign cannot rival. We will bribe who we need to bribe. Kill who we need to kill."
"Does that Jackal care about that?" Sevro asked. "Seems like he's abandoned the hope of ever gaining his father's approval. Bloody bastard's building his own empire."
"We'll have to wait and see," Darrow said. And we'll have to be on guard for him to try and stab us in the back for his own personal gain, Shiro thought to himself, putting mental words to what the Reaper had left unsaid.
"I won't be in the dark again," Darrow demanded. "We will communicate. We will plan. No more gray areas. Do you understand? I can't be alone like before."
"Say yes Fitchner," Sevro added. "Or I'm not going either."
"We'll communicate every day, if you need," Fitchner promised. "I can't come with you though. There's a ghost war being fought that I have to manage. But in my stead, I'll send my best agents. You'll have a cabal you can trust. Spies. Assassins. Courtesans. Hackers. All with perfect covers. All willing to die to break the chains. You are no longer alone." Darrow sighed in relief, and even Shiro released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Now that he'd finally contacted the Sons of Ares and would be more actively involved in toppling the hierarchy, he didn't feel as helpless as he had when he'd first arrived.
"I have to go back," Darrow said. The Black Paladin snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of his friend's voice.
"Yes," Fitchner agreed. "They'll be wondering where you are."
"No," Darrow replied. "I have to go home."
"Home?" Dancer asked. "To Lykos?" Darrow nodded his head, and Shiro figured it out a second later. Of course, the Black Paladin realized. Before he lets Augustus adopt him as his heir, he wants to see his family again and remind himself why he's doing all of this.
"Why?" Fitchner demanded, confused. "What's left for you there?"
"My family," Darrow snapped, clearly frustrated after being kept in the dark for so long. "It's been four years. I need to see them before this begins. You have to understand that. Things are about to break in ways we can't predict. We pretend we know what we're doing, pushing these Golds to war. Planning our own. Like we can control it. But we can't. We're just mortals opening Pandora's box. And before everything turns upside down, I need to remember what I'm fighting for. I need to know it's worth it."
"You want their blessing," Dancer said with a nod of understanding. "Her blessing."
"You can't tell them what you are," Fitchner remarked cautiously, wary of the Reaper's temper. "They won't understand. You know that." If he tried to tell his family who he really is, they'd probably look at him like he was crazy, Shiro thought sadly as he realized what Fitchner was saying. Doesn't mean he can at least try to talk to them though.
"How much easier would this have all been if you and I had conspired the whole way through?" Darrow asked. "Lies breed lies. We have to trust." He paused as he looked over at Shiro and Sevro. "I'm taking her to Lykos."
"Her?" Dancer asked.
"Mustang," Shiro and Sevro replied, almost in unison.
"No!" Fitchner nearly yelled. "Absolutely not! No. It's not worth the risk. You're set up now. She's in love with you! Don't lose that leverage because of a guilty conscience."
"And what if I love her too?" Darrow asked rhetorically.
"Shit," Fitchner cursed. "Shit. Shit. Shit. You're serious? I thought this was part of your gorydamn game. Shit. Boyo, you'll ruin everything. Gorydamn idiot. Shit."
"This is everything," Darrow replied. "She loves me. On her own she figured out what I am and still she chose me over Gold. Without her, Gold can't change, and Titus and Harmony were right. Hell, the Society is right. You and I know that it's not about our Color. It's about our hearts. She's proof of that. And it's not just the war that I want my family's blessing for." Shiro's eyes widened as he recognized what Darrow had just implied. About gorydamn time, he thought to himself.
"Congratulations, Darrow," Shiro remarked with a smirk as he put a supportive hand on the Reaper's shoulder. "I'm happy for both of you."
"You've got to be gorydamn kidding me," Fitchner cursed again as he put his head in his hand. "Just when I thought everything was going as planned, you pull the damn rug out from under me, boyo. Shit. She really figured it out?"
"It's partly my fault on that front," Shiro interjected. "When she fabricated my backstory to help me blend in among the Sovereign's court, she used the exact same methods you did for Darrow's fake family history. A minor, obscure Golden House with no children that Gold culture knew of that lived far enough away from the political spheres of influence that an heir kept hidden from the public eye wouldn't be implausible. Once she noticed the similarities in my fake background and Darrow's, then she started to put the pieces together." Fitchner sighed in frustration as he crossed his arms.
"And you're absolutely certain that she won't betray you later when it's convenient for her? Darrow, how can you be sure that she hasn't already told her father the truth?"
"Fitchner," Darrow replied. "I fought beside Mustang at the Institute. She was the one who came up with the strategy that allowed us to win. For two years, I have seen her criticize and condemn the very system she was raised to uphold. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for her, and after all this time, I know Virginia au Augustus well enough to know where her loyalties lie. She's with us. Heart and mind."
"That and she kept me alive even thought she could have just let the Board of Quality Control dissect me," Shiro added snarkily. "So, there's that." He bit back a comment about how Victra, Roque, Quinn, Tactus, Ragnar and the Telemanuses had been brought into the fold as well. One Mars-shattering revelation at a time, he reminded himself. Let them warm up to having Mustang on our side before we drop that bombshell on them.
"Gorydamn it," Fitchner remarked with another resigned sigh. "Alright. Fine," he went on. "If you think she can be trusted, then go on right ahead. But I will be saying I told you so if she turns us over to her father. Since you're all here, we might as well get some things over with and introduce you to one of my top operatives. I can't be everywhere at once, so he'll be your primary contact with the Sons." Dancer left the room for a few minutes and came back with an older model dataPad, the kind that were too big to be mounted on a person's forearm. Fitchner set up a comm channel and went through every hoop he could to ensure that it was as encrypted as possible. After a few minutes of tinkering, a holographic face appeared in the air above the dataPad.
"Holy bloodydamn shit!" Sevro cursed at the emerging hologram of Regulus ag Sun, otherwise known as Quicksilver, the richest man in the solar system.
So yes, Fitchner has pretty much decided to warn Darrow in advance about Quicksilver being the Sons of Ares' primary financial backer. That's going to lead to an entirely different course of events when we cover the Phobos rebellion. That's one of the main events of Morning Star that I plan to keep. Darrow's speech and the subsequent uprising is too amazing not to keep.
And yep, more characters who turn out to be descended from the Paladins. In this case, although I didn't confirm it in this chapter, Sevro is descended from Pidge on his mother's side.
The next chapter is going to be the last one from Darrow's point of view, and then it's going to be time for the three-part finale.
Terminology:
Ruster: Gold slang for Reds.
Burner: Cigarette