Chapter 6 – Journey to the Impenetrable Island! Voltron vs. The Dark Paladins.
Two months earlier:
"Jeff! Talk to me, Jeff!"
"He appears paralyzed doctor!"
Running besides the unconscious pilot, wheeled by the orderlies into an operating room, Professor Wade saw Jeff convulsing, barely able to move.
"What happened?!"
"He's in shock! Whatever happened up there caused his body to black out! He's been mumbling since we got in?"
"Jeff! Don't die on me! You'll never see space if you do!"
Jeff did not reply, only muttering "the night" over and over again.
"The night? What are you talking about?"
"Saw…the night."
"It was daytime!"
"The night…the night."
"What night? Please, help him!"
Present Day:
"Do you think they're all jerks?"
Looking outside of the base that they had hurriedly been returned to in anticipation for the mission that morning, Jeff's words immediately caught the attention of Cliff, Cric, and Vince, who were preparing to turn in for the night. Seeing him waiting on top of a car, looking out into the sky, interrupted their walk.
"Who's the jerk this time?" Cliff asked.
"I mean aliens," Jeff answered. "Are all the aliens out there angry jerks who want to kill us? We haven't even left the solar system yet and so far all we've found is an empire of angry purple skinned people who want to take over everything they see."
"You having doubts Jeff?" Cliff asked. In response, Jeff went to a case full of bottles and opened one up, offering some to the others, who all took them. Vince appeared reluctant at first, but soon took the bottle, drinking some of the amber fluid inside.
"You're legal."
"Not to buy it."
"Well I'm buying. You buy it when we go to Canada," Jeff answered with a smirk.
"Now what's all this about aliens?" Cliff asked. "Yeah, we ran into some jerks. So?"
"So," Jeff answered, "maybe there's no point going out there. Not if all we're gonna find are more jerks and more wars. Maybe once the Galra are gone, we should just close up the windows and make sure no one else can get in."
"You mean just run from the stars with our tails between our legs?" Vince asked. "We can't do that!"
"Why not?" Jeff asked, his words slightly slurred. "All we have on Earth is war. All that's out in space is war! Why do we need new war? We've got plenty right here!"
"Well yeah," Vince answered, "sure, if that's all your looking for. There's plenty of war here. But there's also a ton of stuff besides that! Think how big the universe is! Do you really think every single last alien is obsessed with world domination? That's not even counting all the other non-civilized life out there!"
"You think it's still worth it kid?" Jeff asked. "Even after all the crap you've seen during the past month?"
Vince nodded. "Sure there is. We can't turn and run every time we see a scary shadow! We need to see what's out there! Think of all the new planets, new works of art!"
"Not to mention life," Cliff answered. "You want a hot green skinned babe or don'tcha?"
Jeff burst into laughter hearing this.
"With my luck, I run into a bunch of ugly ones! Aliens with rocks for skin where the women look as manly as Cliff does!"
"One to find out, eh mate?" Cliff shot back. "Or you could stay here and get turned down by all the Earth girls!"
Vince couldn't help but laugh even as he continued to take sips from the bottle.
"What have I unleashed on the cosmos?" he asked jokingly.
"Commodore! The island is in sight! It looks like the enemy is constructing a land base!"
"What are we waiting for then? Have all ships within range fire!"
Plumes of smoke emerged from the three ships as missiles launched at their targets. However, the missiles crashed into a purple barrier placed above the island, which became visible for a second and then vanished.
"They must have some sort of protective shielding!" the commodore yelled even as he viewed the impact through binoculars.
"Sir! Several gun batteries have been noticed on the island! They're moving!"
"Mov…"
BOOM!
"Several hours ago," Commander Hawkins began as he pointed at a projection on a screen, "a small advance scout party from a nearby naval force attempted to attack the Galran facilities on Singapore. The attack was thwarted by this, a protective shield which deflected the blasts."
"Question," Jeff asked, raising his hand. "We saw how effective massive ordinance weapons were against shields like that. Why not do it again?"
"Civilians in the path," was Hawkins' reply, pointing to additional photographs of civilians being herded by armored Galran troops. "If the explosion destroys the shield and flattens a good portion of the country, we could kill thousands. The Galra know this. It's why they kept them alive."
"So then how do we get in?" asked Daniel. "We know Voltron has enough power to penetrate the shields of their battleships, but this seems different."
"Voltron will be our point unit on this operation," Professor Wade interrupted. "It is the only unit that can penetrate the shield. Once it does, it will be in charge with disabling outer defenses so the naval force and other jets can move in. We have been adjusting our tactics for Galran fighters, but if they have another Robeast, that we're not prepared for."
"And our job?" Jeff asked. Commander Hawkins was quick to take control of the conversation.
"Air team, you'll be leading the initial strike and ensuring air control for the advancing force. Sea team, you'll be assisting with landing for troops and ensuring no one else comes near the area. Finally, Land Team, you'll be marking targets once the shield is down. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" the group announced in unison.
"Very well. Dismissed!"
As the group returned to their rooms to prepare for mobilization the next day, with the room otherwise emptied, Wade turned to Hawkins.
"Please, rethink this."
"I can't. Every nation is demanding our research. Maybe if I give them the signal itself and not your blueprints we can at least buy ourselves some time. Besides, they're demanding blood after that massacre. We can't hoard knowledge."
"I'm not hoarding anything!" Wade snapped back. "But this will start a new arms race, and you know it. Creating weapons constructs, mecha which defy human engineering, it is a gateway, and I don't know where it leads."
"If we don't give it to them, they may find some way to take it. He was right. The one delegate."
"About?"
"How we can't put the genie back in the bottle. Better to let the world be on an even keel than to shift it so we begin fighting anew."
"There's no sign of the enemy since those three ships were destroyed earlier Commander Cossack."
"Excellent," Cossack answered as he stood on the bridge of the landed battlecruiser. "How long until our base is completed?"
"At the rate the robots are working sir, three days before basic functionality is achieved. But what of the human's military amassing near this island cluster?"
"It's of no concern," Cossack replied to the Galran soldier standing next to him. "They can't penetrate the shield, and once we begin attacking nearby nations, the Earth will fall like a stack of dominoes. Not to mention once we ramp up production we can begin to replenish lost ground forces by creating new robotic troops."
"Sir, something is approaching the island! It's moving at an incredible velocity!"
"What is it?"
"Three fighter jets, no wait, one unit. Voltron!"
"Right on schedule!" Cossack taunted. "To your places everyone! We need to welcome our guest properly!"
"Here goes guys! We're on point! Vince, you know what to do!"
"Right! Form Voltron! ALPHA! FORM FEET AND LEGS! GAMMA, FORM ARMS AND BODY! AND I'LL FORM THE HEAD!"
Near instantaneously, the three jets began to combine into the sleek form of Voltron's Beta formation, their acceleration towards their target only increasing. As it charged forward, the lance of an arm reached out, with crackles of electricity emanating from it."
"Brace for impact! LIGHTNING LANCE!"
The shield covering the island and Voltron's lance collided, causing the machine to halt its acceleration and violently jolt everyone inside. The struggle between the machine and the barrier continued for five seconds before the machine broke through the barrier, landing on the island. Its arrival was greeted by firing from numerous stationary cannons and alien fighter craft.
"Shield is temporarily down!" Daniel shouted even as Voltron separated into its three components. "Everyone else can begin moving in while we take out the generators!"
Roger that! Air Team is moving in! Get those generators offline while Land Team is sent in!
"FORM VOLTRON!"
Voltron soon formed into its basic Alpha formation, the humanoid face of the machine looking down as it landed on the large alien structures that were assuredly the shield generators. Swatting aside fighter craft, the generator was soon within range.
"VOLT BEAM!"
A thunderous strike of energy annihilated the box-shaped generator, while fighter craft seemingly abandoned their pursuit of Voltron and began moving towards the sea to engage the invading fleet. From the plaza by the edge of the island, Voltron stood, looking on at the departing craft.
"They're leaving?" Larmina asked. "What gives?"
"They're not just going to let us destroy their stuff here without a fight," Vince answered. "Be alert!"
Vince's warning however, came too late, as a powerful strike knocked Voltron on its face. Quickly rising to its feet, the sight of what did it came into view. Five robots, each colored black, red, yellow, blue, and green all stood in front of Voltron, with all of the machines carrying an unique weapon. The boxy machines, humanoid in shape with heads that had V-shaped visors where their heads were supposed to be and glowing panels emphasizing their colors, all began closing in on the singular target in front of them.
"Behold Paladins of Earth!" a voice shouted from the bridge of the landed spaceship. "The Dark Paladins!"
Hmph.
"Don't be too upset Maahox," Cossack taunted into another channel, "that Haggar's Robeasts will do what your machines could not."
"They're not wasting any time warming up!" Jeff yelled as hundreds of fighters closed in on the air team. Firing into the swarm, the group was relieved to see their shots bringing down enemy ships. They were less enthused by the fact that for every ship that fell, two more took its place.
"There's way too many of them!" Ginger shouted.
"We're going to run out of ammo before they run out of ships!" Wolo added.
"Maybe, but we'll take a bunch of them down first!"
Unlike the first engagement between Galra fighters and their human counterparts, the pilots of the air team were sure to move a bit earlier, fire and dodge a bit faster, and move their machines further. It was the only way to keep up with an enemy that had clear technological superiority. Even this however, was insufficient to prevent their biggest fear.
"Jeff! Five fighter jets just blew past us! They're going for the ships!"
"Leave em! If we turn our backs now, we'll be sitting ducks for the swarm!"
"But the ships are…"
"If the professor was right, they won't be nearly as defenseless as they think!"
A voice emerged from one of the machines even as they drew their weapons for show, red posing with a sword, blue aiming a rifle, yellow swinging a ball and chain, green swinging two axes, and black cracking a whip that rattled with electricity.
"Go on, humans. Make your move."
"Fine by me," Daniel smirked. "SPINNING LASER BLADES!"
As soon as Voltron drew the two spinning blades, the black Paladin swung its whip, attempting to restrain Voltron's right arm. An attempt to slash it with the other arm caused a powerful electrical shock to reverberate through the machine and into its pilots. Taking advantage, the green robot began charging forward, leaping into the air with both axes ready.
"I'll end this in one blow humans!"
"WING BLASTER!"
The response from Voltron was it raising its chest and head as a powerful stream of energy emerged from the chest emblem, striking the green robot. Placing its axes in front of its face to defend itself, said axes were rapidly turned to molten slag.
"Separate and form Beta!"
The robot quickly separated into its three individual pieces before combining back into Voltron's Beta formation. Immediately, the blue robot began firing wildly with its rifle while the yellow attempted to strike with its ball and chain.
"We can't let them gang up on us!" Larmina shouted. "Otherwise…
"Look out!"
The swing of the red Paladin's sword was aimed directly at Voltron's head. Another second and it would decapitate the robot.
"BLAZING SAWBLADE!"
Sword and sawblade met as Voltron continued its retreat backwards. Finally, Larmina had seen enough.
"One at a time, right? Vince, I've got an idea!"
"What's that?"
"Lure them in!"
"You sure?"
"You wanna argue with me, or you wanna live?!"
From his place on the bridge, Cossack cackled at his view of the battle.
"The fools! Voltron battling the Death Commandos in the Dark Paladins means that it can't aid its friends against my advancing forces! The human fleet will sink beneath the sea in no time at all!"
From the bridge of a battleship, flanking two aircraft carriers and a fleet of smaller ships, Captain Newely and Commander Hawkins looked on the advancing targets. He grimaced.
"Land team has made landfall and they're marking the targets, commander."
"Good. Prepare the reflex cannon. We can take down those shields and land more ground troops."
"Commander!" Captain Newley yelled. "Galra fighters are heading right for us! At least twenty by my count!"
"Then it's time to see if Professor Wade was on target. Ready the reflex cannons!"
Two smaller ships immediately began sailing ahead of the fleet, revealing cannons with three-prongs on the end, as if they were massive forks.
"Fire!"
What emerged from the cannons were not shells, but instead concentrated beams of energy, which cut through the approaching ships like a hot knife through butter. The debris of falling metal rained upon the ocean as the crew of the ships let out a cheer.
"Good news, Commander. The Professor's reverse engineering of the Galra weapons is a complete success. Bad news, it's going to take another fifteen minutes with our current cooling capabilities to get them to fire again. Let's hope we don't have any more surprises till then."
"Separate and form Voltron Gamma!"
The thick tank-like form of Gamma stood in front of the robotic Dark Paladins, each looking for a spot from which to attack from. Larmina grinned.
"GO! VOLT TORNADO!"
Powerful winds ripped through the plaza as the winds knocked the machines to the ground, all save the red robot, which dug its sword into the ground in an attempt to stay upright.
"Now! Separate and form Voltron Beta!"
The three fighters split apart into Voltron's beta form, targeting the closest robot to them, the green robot.
"SURE KILL! LIGHNING LANCE STRIKE!"
The lance on Voltron's left arm shot out like a missile, striking the green Paladin dead center. A powerful stream of electricity soon followed, causing the robot to explode.
"Alright! We UGH!"
The ball of the ball and chain wielded by the yellow robot sent Voltron crashing to the ground where it once again was forced to separate. What formed was Voltron's Alpha form, facing down the red robot's sword as well as the yellow's ball and chain.
"FORM BLAZING SWORD!"
The large broadsword formed in the machine's hand even as the red robot moved in to disarm it. Its first swing deflected the blow, while Voltron leapt into the air, past the red robot and towards the yellow.
Cracks of the whip and laser blaster shots were ignored even as Voltron leapt down to face its foe. A swing of the ball and chain soon met it.
CLANG!
The first swing of the sword sent the ball flying to the ground with a forceful THUD, while the second cleaved the robot in two, causing its to explode into a charred wreck.
"Two down," Daniel smirked, "three to go."
Well then Cossack, it seems that Haggar's creations, her so-called 'Dark Paladins' really aren't the elite weapons you claimed, are they?
"NONSENSE!" Cossack shouted. "I still have one more surprise for them! Men, you know what to do!"
"So," Daniel taunted, "who's next?"
"How about you fight all three of us at once!" the pilot of the black robot yelled. "Dark Paladins, Combine!"
"The three robots dashed away from Voltron to create space, then soon began to shift their boxy forms into blocks, one on top of the other. What emerged as the machines modified themselves and pulled together was a massive six-armed robot, nearly twice the height of Voltron. In one set of arms it held the whip of the Black Paladin, in another the rifle of the Blue Paladin, and in its top set of arms, the sword of the Red Paladin.
"This is the true form of the Dark Paladin!" the pilot boasted. "Not even Voltron is a match for it!"
"And what about your two friends?"
"Irrelevant! They'll be avenged, with your blood!"
"We've made landfall!"
From their position in a tank and two radar trucks, Cliff and the rest of the Land Team noticed their primary target, the incomplete alien facility that stood in the center of the island. Next to it were two landed battlecruisers. Immediately, the group began to get to work.
"Target is being marked. We're waiting on your signal!"
We can't attack until the shields are down! Voltron appears to be engaged with the enemy, so taking the remaining generators out will take time until the reflex cannons are armed!
"Well you oughta hurry then!" Cliff shouted. "We'll stay hidden, but…"
Looking up, the group noticed a third battlecruiser emerging from space and hovering over the area. Fighters immediately launched from its bay to join the battle.
"The area could get hot real quick!"