alyssa and awesome - Lots more to come! I plan to keep turning out episodes one after another until 13. Kinda like the mid-season break? But then I'll put out one a week. I wanna give everyone something to look forward to. ;)
KathDMD - Tails is a character and a half! Just a heads up, she'll have her moment in the spotlight soon! On another note... What make you think the Space Marshall is Ginger? ;)
Disclaimer - Voltron and related characters are the property of WEP.
Episode 4 : Hidden Enemy
The bell rang, and the cadets stood up from their seats in Commander Stormclaw's classroom and began to make their way out.
"Remember what I told you," he said before opening the door for them. "We still don't know a lot about the power behind those ships, but one thing we can always rely on is the weapons arsenal. Get to know your voltcoms, and you'll be able to tap into a wealth of knowledge!" As they walked out of the room, JC caught up with Roxy and Tails.
"Where are you guys going tonight?" JC asked. "This is the first night we aren't busting our butts on something. You got any plans?"
"Tails and I are going out for drinks," Roxy replied.
"Mind if I join you?" JC asked.
"Well, it's kinda a girls night out," she replied. "So yes, of course you can come along."
"Great!" JC said. Then he thought for a moment. "Wait a second…." He ran off after them. Seth and Dar walked down the hall together.
"You never did tell me exactly what happened when we were fighting that robeast," Seth said. "I know you said not to worry, but I can't help it."
"Honestly, I'm not sure myself," she replied. "It was all a blur. One minute we were being pummeled by that robeast, and the next I opened my eyes and felt in control…yet out of control. The next time I blinked, I woke up in the infirmary on Drule."
"It was almost like you single handedly took command," Seth said. "Whatever that energy was, it was sapping our power. One minute the gauges were haywire, and the next minute everything stabilized, powered up, and ready. It was almost like the system fought back."
"All that matters is we're safe," she replied.
"You're right," he said, smiling. "Wanna go get a bite to eat?"
"I wish I could," she replied, "but I need to get some rest. I've been given the task of performing the perimeter scan tomorrow morning, and that means out the door at 0400."
"I understand," Seth said sadly. "I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Absolutely," she said with a smile. They both headed off to the dorms.
The mood in Castle Doom as a somber one. Damaged ships were being repaired in docks by workers and slave laborers, and from the balcony overlooking it all a scream of anger poured forth.
"MAAHOX!" Lotor screamed at the top of his lungs. Fortunately or unfortunately for him, the occult scientist had been close enough to respond quickly by entering the room.
"You bellowed, my lord?" he asked.
"You're accursed robeast has failed its attack on Arus and the Castle of Lions!" Lotor snapped. "You said the Voltron Force was occupied with that phony distress signal, yet there stands your robeast, defeated by another Voltron!"
"It was an unforeseen incident, my lord," he replied. "Rest assured, we have learned from this experience."
"Learned to have little faith in your inventions!" Lotor said. "If it wasn't for the haggarium supplies you were able to supply me, you would have already found your way into the Pit of Skulls!"
"The robeast I sent, true, was not haggarium powered," he replied, "but this Voltron we saw was different. It may have defeated my robeast on luck alone from the look of clumsiness."
"I want you to find this Voltron," Lotor said. "I want you to find it, and more importantly, find a way to defeat it! I will not be the laughing stock of the entire Drule Supremacy!"
"Yes, my lord," Maahox replied, backing out of the room. He walked down the hall buttering to himself.
"I still can't believe he survived his last pathetic attack on Arus," he muttered to himself. "Perhaps the haggarium is having a more lasting effect on my little test subjects body."
Dariana was in her room getting ready for bed. Some might say she was lucky enough to have a room to herself, but she knew it was because the majority of the cadets on her wing did not want to room with her. She knew that things would be tough at the Academy, but was going to make the most of it, especially in light of her new role. She grabbed a glass of milk and walked over to her bed over the edge of it. Her flannel PJs were soft and warm and she felt comfortable, but couldn't shake the feelings she had the other day.
"I wish this milk was warm," she said to herself sighing. "Warm milk always helps me sleep. But the dorm kitchen is on the other end of the hall." Tick scurried across the floor and up onto the bedpost. It looked at her inquisitively. "Hey there. What's wrong?" She looked at him with a smile. All of a sudden, it leaped at her glass of milk and grabbed on. She became startled and almost dropped it, but suddenly it transformed, surrounding the entire glass. She suddenly felt heat coming from inside the glass. She looked at the inside of the glass, hearing the familiar ticking noise, and carefully dipped a finger in. Indeed, it was warm! At once, it transformed back into a mouse and hopped back onto the bedpost, looking at her inquisitively again. She carefully took a sip, then looked at it and smiled. "You clever little thing!" she said. "You did this for me?" It ground out a series of ticks that sounded almost like a squeak. She drank the rest of the milk and set the glass on the nightstand, then laid down and turned off the lights.
"Goodnight, Tick," she said softly as she closed her eyes. Tick ran over to where her voltcom lay charging, and laid beside it.
"How are the energy levels?" a man asked the man beside him.
"Eighty-Six percent and rising," he replied. "At this rate, we will have an unending energy supply for the project."
"And it fits within the parameters of the schematics provided by the Baltans?" the first asked.
"Yes," he replied. "The main power structure will be located in the right leg, with backup systems throughout. That should provide some stability."
"I hope you are right," the first replied. A loud boom was heard. "What was that?" An alarm went off, and the two men ran.
"It's another attack!" he yelled. "Come on! We have to hurry!" Dariana felt the man grab her hand and yank her, pulling her through the cavern. She looked down and saw she was no longer an adult, but a young child. She suddenly felt scared, and a feeling of dread came over her.
"PAPA!" she screamed. "NO!"
Dariana sat up in bed. She opened her eyes wide, and they were pure white, with no pupils, instead of their usual yellow. She began to walk to the nearby table. Tick sprung from its rest and leaped onto the voltcom and transformed, merging with it. She clasped the voltcom around her forearm, and her PJs were surrounded by a skin tight black jumpsuit with yellow stripes.
"I'm coming, papa," she said. Then ran out the door and sped down the stairs. Seth had just come back from the gym and heard the banging in the stairwell. He saw Dar.
"Hey Dar!" he yelled. "Where are you going?" She didn't answer him. "Something's not right." He ran into his room and grabbed his voltcom and took off after her. Dariana raced through the door of the control room. One of the workers in there turned to her, and she elbowed him in the gut, then hit him in the face with her palm, knocking him out cold. She dove into the yellow chute, and moments later, her ship was powering up and pulling out. Seth ran in and saw her ship taking off. He saw the worker knocked out and sounded an alarm, then he jumped into the blue chute, his clothing transformed around him into a skin tight black jumpsuit with blue stripes. He placed his key and took off after her as fast as he could.
"All this extra work they have us doing is brutal," Roxy said. "I'm just glad to be out of there just kicking back and relaxing."
"I'll say!" Tails replied.
"I wonder what's taking the drinks so long?" one of the other girls asked.
"Looks kinda busy," another of them said. "They'll get to us. My brother used to work here. The food was always good but the drinks are amazing!"
"So, Roxy," the first asked again, "who's your friend?"
"This dork?" Roxy asked. "He just kinda followed me from Human Weapon 101 and hasn't left me since. Kinda sad really." JC frowned.
"Don't listen to her, JC," Tails said laughing. "You don't look like much of a dork. Well, for a Terran, anyway." She grinned. JC chuckled a bit.
"What is it they have you doing?" one of the girls asked. "Is it extra credit, or do that have you doing maintenance, or what?"
"It's an advanced program," Roxy replied. "The coursework is hectic, but the tradeoff is we'll get to fly sooner than expected."
"Awesome," the girl said. Suddenly, Roxy's arm started making noises.
"Is that your phone?" one of the girls asked.
"Um, yeah," Roxy replied. "I better take this." She left the table and went to a secluded area near the restrooms. She pulled back her sleeve far enough to hit the communication button.
"What's up?" she asked quietly.
"I need you, JC and Sheri back at the control room ASAP," Commander Stormclaw replied. "Something's happened."
"We're on our way," she replied, turning it off and pulling her sleeve back down. She made her way back to the table.
"Well," she said, 'it looks like our night is gonna end a bit early."
"Why do you have to go?" one of the girls asked.
"Something wrong with the transjunctors in the scanner array," she replied. "They need it fixed now."
"It's ok, we'll try again another time," the girl replied smiling. She looked over at JC and raised an eyebrow.
"Come on guys," Roxy said walking off. JC and Tails followed.
"There's no such thing as a transjunctor!" Tails whispered.
"I know," Roxy replied, "I made it up."
"Dariana!" Seth shouted over the intercom. "Can you hear me? What's wrong? Please stop!" The ship flew faster, and they both approached Nebb and entered the atmosphere. Jet Yellow landed quickly and precisely. The hatch opened, and Dariana emerged, running into a cave entrance. Seth landed Jet Blue next to it, and he too exited his ship and ran after her.
"I'm coming papa!" she yelled, running through the caverns. She turned a corner and bumped into someone. When she looked up, her eyes turned back to yellow, and she snapped out of her trance.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" the Drule soldier shouted.
"I….uh…." she stammered.
"You must be one of the Nebbians that stumbled down here!" he shouted. "Commander Brak will be thrilled to hear we caught ourselves another traitor to make into a slave!" Her eyes turned white again, and all at once she pushed aside his arms and kicked him. He grabbed her again, pinning her arms, and she headbutted him. She backed up and held up her voltcom, and it fired some sort of white balls of energy which hit the man, knocking him down. She ran ahead. Seth caught up and saw the man on the ground.
"It's a Drule," he said quietly. "What the heck are they doing down here?" He raced ahead to try and catch up to her. When he did, they were in entrance to a large cavern filled with slaves and soldiers building something. Dariana charged out.
"Dar, wait!" Seth shouted. Guards came at her, but she fired on them, knocking them out. "What is going on with her?" He held up his arm, and his voltcom produced a crossbow. Bolts appeared in it as he rapidly fired at the soldiers, knocking them out. He ran after Dariana. She made her way to the thing being built, and looked up at it. She held out her arm, and wires sprung from her voltcom and attached at various places of the monstrosity. She glowed with a white energy. Seth ran to her and tried to fend off the guards, firing more bolts around them. All at once, she stopped, and the wires retracted, her eyes returning to normal. She fell weak.
"Dar!" he shouted. "Are you alright?"
"It's too late," she said weakly. "It's too late." She shed a tear. The room rumbled, and everyone, soldier and slave fled the chamber.
"What's happening?" Seth yelled. Suddenly, the creation came to life, stretching out and smashing the walls of the cavern, beginning a cave in. Seth picked up Dariana and ran out of the cave. Once outside, things were quiet. He carried her to the ship and set her in Jet yellow's cockpit.
"Seth," she said weakly. "I couldn't stop it. It's too late."
"Too late for what?" he asked. The ground rumbled, and the beast exploded from the mountain. "Dariana, are you strong enough to fly?" She nodded yes. He kissed her forehead, then ran for Jet Blue. Both ships took off into the air and began firing on the beast, but the shots were doing no damage. "The lasers aren't even scratching the thing!"
"It's borne of pure corrite," Dariana said. "No mortal weapon can strike it down.
"We can't hold it off," Seth said, "but if we don't do something, it'll make its way towards the cities! If only we had…"
"Voltron?" came a voice over the intercom.
"JC!" Seth screamed. "Where did you come from?"
"Earth originally," he replied. "But now doesn't seem like the time to discuss it."
"Right," Seth said with a smile.
"Activate Interlocks!" JC shouted as he turned the yokes inward, jerking hard. "Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The ships flew in wing formation at full throttle until the energy field took hold, and switched to star formation.
"Form feet and legs!" JC shouted. "Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Voltron arched back as the field exploded with energy, and its eyes lit up with power.
"JC," Seth said, "I'm not sure what that thing is, but it looked to me as if it was built by the Drules."
"It's a sentry," Dariana said quietly. "It may not have been created by the Drule Supremacy, but it's been corrupted by something dark…."
"Time to put these weapons to use," JC said. "You ready Roxy?"
"Let's do this," she replied. The monster picked up a huge boulder and threw it at Voltron, and he avoided it.
"Form Raybeam Whip!" JC shouted. Voltron reached back and pulled a whip out of thin air and cracked it. It turned and lashed on to the flying boulder and pulled hard, sending it flying at the beast. Voltron took off after it, heading towards the beast as well. The beast was able to destroy the boulder, but Voltron lashed on to the monster with the whip and pulled, flipping the monster into the air and back to the ground. It cracked the whip as it put it away.
"We got him!" Roxy yelled.
"Form Blazing Sword!" JC yelled. Voltron reached to his left hip and pulled upwards, and the beam of light materialized into the sword. They ran towards the monster and leaped up to stab it, but it blocked it with its own sword.
"Impossible!" JC shouted. The moster overpowered Voltron and pushed hard, sending the mighty robot backwards into a rock face. It charged at Voltron, and before they could react, the sword skewered it just above the right leg.
"We've been hit!" JC shouted.
"We're losing power!" Seth yelled. "I think it may have severed a connection to a main reactor!" Dariana remembered what she saw in the dream. She looked around the console and started hitting buttons here and there. Suddenly, the gauges stabilized again.
"I managed to reroute all auxiliary power to black," she shouted. "I hope it's enough." JC grinned as he pulled back on the yokes. Voltron raised its arms overhead and drove the Blazing Sword through the sword impaling it, severing it in half. It charged forward, pushing the monster back.
"Finish it!" shouted Roxy. JC jerked the controls, and Votron backswung and swung forward, slicing the monster twice, criss-cross. They stood still as the monster fell apart and exploded around them.
"How are we going to explain this to the Space Marshall?" JC asked, a bit of worry in his voice.
Viceroy Throk sat in his office when Nerok entered, seemingly furious.
"You wished to see me, Viceroy?" he asked.
"Yes," he replied. "After your bungled attempt at an invasion of Drule, we have decided to take a slightly different approach."
"And what might that be?" Nerok asked.
"Not sending you for starters," he replied. Nerok frowned. "Send for Captain Twyla. I want to see her about heading up this mission. I have big plans, Nerok. And so help me, you better not screw them up."
"Yes, sir," he replied sarcasticly and left.
"You do realize how much damage was sustained to Jet Black, right?" the Space Marshall scolded as the team sat there in silence. "It will hopefully be back in operational condition soon, but a lot more repairs will need to be made. That's why I've called in a favor, and the Explorer will be back in the Interstellar Dock within the next few days. I know a few members of the crew that might be able to assist with the repairs." She looked over at Dariana. "As for you, Miss Kovinx, what were you thinking? Knocking out an unarmed worker and running off with Jet Yellow?"
"I can't fully explain my actions, ma'am," she said softly. "I don't even think I was fully in control. All the same, I am sorry for what happened."
"The good news is he's not pressing charges," the Space Marshall replied, "and we were able to stop that underground slave dungeon buried right in the heart of a Galaxy Alliance planet. But I urge caution, Miss Kovinx. I don't know what came over you, but find a way to keep it under control. Understood?"
"Yes ma'am," she replied, even more quiet than before.
"Dismissed," the Space Marshall said, directing them to leave. Once gone, she plopped into her chair and sighed. "Finally, the Explorer is coming home."