The Cryon IV Incident, Episode 2: The Blue Lion's Beacon
By Papa Palpatine 2008
Notice: All characters of the Voltron anime franchise are copyrighted. I don't own them, please don't sue me. Yada, Yada.
Now, on with the story...
"What do you mean, 'the Blue Lion's gone'?" Keith said to the castle diplomat. He, Coran, Pidge, and Lance were gathered in Castle Control.
"Just that," Coran said shaking his head. "I came in this morning and the console was flashing. Someone launched Blue Lion yesterday evening without notifying any of us."
Just then, Nanny ran into the control room, flailing her arms and shouting, "Where's the princess?! She didn't come down for breakfast this morning...Oh, merciful gods, where's my little baby Allura?!"
"Oh for the love of..." Keith slapped his forehead.
"Coran, did you try Blue Lion's homing beacon?" Pidge said. He looked at the others and smiled. "Come on guys, use your heads. She probably just took it out for some practice, maybe a joyride over the countryside..."
"I'm searching now..." Coran said, pushing some buttons on the command console.
"Yes Coran," Nanny said tearfully. "You find my little baby girl and tell her to get back here this instant."
Keith, Pidge, and Lance all groaned in unison. Coran raised an eyebrow.
"Got it. Blue Lion's signal is coming from off world, in the Cryon System; Planet Cryon IV to be precise."
"What?" Keith spun. "Why in God's name would she go to Cryon IV?"
Coran shook his head. "I've no idea, I can't get a hold of her on the com. I imagine I'll have to replay the audio and video from the security monitors to find out."
Behind them, there was a loud thud! Nanny had promptly fainted. Lance and Keith hoisted the big-boned older woman up by the shoulders and legs and carried her to a nearby couch.
"This makes...what...how many times has she pulled a stupid stunt like this?" Lance said shaking his head. "Seriously, I've lost count."
Pidge rolled his eyes. "Well, if a certain jackass would quit calling her 'Princess Peach' maybe..."
He was cut off as the room lights began to flash red and the alarms rang out.
"Great, more good news..." Keith sighed and folded his arms.
Hunk strolled into the room, clad only in boxer shorts and a dirty, yellow-orange tank top. As he yawned and stretched, he said, "What's with alarms this early in the morning? Can't a guy get his beauty sleep? What the hell is this, the end of the world?"
He looked around, and then added, "…and where's Princess Allura?"
"I don't think we have time to go into that now, Hunk." Lance said with a sigh. "It looks like we're about to be as busy as a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest."
"Yeah, literally…" Pidge said with a sheepish expression.
Coran punched up a view on the big monitor. A Doom battleship had entered Arus's upper atmosphere, escorted by the largest swarm of fighters any of them had ever seen in their lives…and it was already launching a coffin!
"Everyone, get to your lions!" Keith called out. "I'm afraid we'll have to worry about Allura later…"
As Coran pressed the button that raised the console and revealed the openings to the five chutes, Lance, Pidge, and Hunk gave grim nods of agreement in unison. All four male members of the Voltron Force quickly leapt into the chutes that lead to their respective lion ships. On the way down his chute, Keith thought to himself, God, why do the pretty ones always have so little common sense…
Cossack sat in the command chair on the bridge, slurping down a cup of lukewarm coffee. As the four Voltron Lions appeared on the giant screen before him, he casually discarded the empty cup on the floor, stood up, and assumed what he thought was a suitably dramatic pose.
"Look alive, tuna cans," He growled to his robotic crew. He clinched his fist and smirked malevolently. "Today's the day those big cats lose the rest of their nine lives…"
The Krelvan pirate ship hovered in the air over the Blue Lion and Lotor's fighter. A Beam of yellow-green light shown down from its underbelly, casting a circular field five meters in diameter on the ground below as a troop of Krelvan warriors slowly descended to the surface. They were all roughly two-and-half meters tall, vaguely humanoid, and clad in high-tech battlesuits with a distinct, crustacean-like appearance. Most of their numbers were blue in color, with a single red Krelvan obviously in charge. Gibbering amongst themselves in their native language, which was wholly incomprehensible to other species, they went to work searching both ships. Finding no one in either, they gathered around as their leader produced a small gadget from his belt and began to take readings. The device indicated a pair of red, heat signature blips, several kilometers to the East of them…
To Be Continued…