alyssa and awesome - Glad you're enjoying the story. I'm glad I'm writing it. It's a project I'm growing fond of! :)
KathDMD - Yep, Jeff is indeed married. As to whom, that's another thing that has to stay under wraps for now. Now Twyla, her hatred for the Alliance is deeply rooted. I'm sure we'll get to explore that at some point. Tails and Chip...it just works. He's a lot quirkier than we think he is. His VF counterpart was a cheap pop, but he's always been smart, funny, and on occasion, exceptionally brave. As for Hawkins...I will keep what you said in mind. I'm trying my best not to ruin the continuity...as this universe is governed by many, not one.
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP.
Episode 6 : Sidetracked
"I'm so glad we are getting a little time away from classes," JC said. "This is so what we needed."
"I heard even the Space Marshall is taking some time off," Seth replied. "It's good to get a little rest now and again. Plus I got a message from my mom today."
"Oh?" JC asked. "What's up?"
"While they don't know what we've been up to, obviously," Seth replied, "they do know I've been working hard, and are actually coming to Earth for a few days to visit."
"That's great news, dude!" JC said. "When are they due to arrive?"
"As early as tomorrow," Seth replied.
"Status report," the captain said to his operations officer.
"Everything normal," the ops replied. "It's actually been a quiet voyage."
"Good," the captain replied. "I had received word from Mira that Drule ships were spotted in this sector. I'd hate to run into…"
"Sir!" the ops shouted. "I'm detecting several large ships on an intercept course!"
"Can you tell what they are?" he asked.
"RadialTrack determined they are Drule vessels!" he shouted.
"Bring us about!" the captain shouted. "Be ready to engage the emergency hyperdrive. Maybe we can outrun them." Suddenly, the ship rocked as the shockwave of weapons fire was felt throughout the hull. "Status!"
"Damage sustained to the port thrusters," the ops replied. "Sir, we can't move." Suddenly, the view screen changed as a communication came in.
"This is Commander Brak of the Drule Supremacy!" he said. "Your ship is travelling illegally through Drule space. You will lower your shields and prepare for boarding immediately, or you will be destroyed!"
"This is Captain Ridgefore of the Ariel Transport Ship 257," the captain replied. "To my knowledge, we have no violated Drule space at all, and are merely trying to…"
"No excuses!" Brak shouted. "You have five minutes to comply!" The transmission ended.
"What are your orders, sir?" the ops asked.
"We don't have much of a choice," the captain replied somberly. "Open a secure channel and send a distress signal to Galaxy Garrisson. Once done, lower the shields and prepare to be boarded." He turned away. "Announce to the passengers to all come to the observation deck. Do not let on the situation until we determine what the Drules want with us."
"How late did you guys get to sleep in this morning?" JC asked Roxy as they all sat for lunch in the Garrison Courtyard.
"Late enough to not give a flack about a perimeter scan," Roxy replied.
"I slept like a baby!" Tails shouted. "Spent most of the night last night talking to Chip about things back on Balto. I was feeling a little homesick, but he made me feel better. I've never met anyone like him."
"I didn't sleep so well," Dariana replied softly. "It's no big deal though."
"No," Seth asked. "What's going on, Dar?"
"I heard you shouting in your sleep," Roxy said. "I wasn't sure what it was."
"Seth," Dariana replied, "You remember how I was telling you about the dream I had?"
"The one about the little girl?" he asked. She nodded yes.
"I've been briefly blacking out during battles," she replied quietly. "When I do, I keep getting flash images of that dream, and other parts of it. I don't understand it fully…but it seems like the men in my dream were building something huge. I wasn't exactly sure what it was. All I know is in the middle of it, I always see the attack, and in the back of my mind, I always know it was a Drule force placing that attack on us."
"But it's only a dream," Seth said, trying to reassure her. "None of us are sure what kind of changes will happen to us with our connection to the ships. But no matter what happens, we're all gonna look out for each other. Right guys?" Suddenly, a monitor displaying advertisements switched over to a news report.
"This is a Garrison Special News Report," the voice said. "An Ariel transport vessel, number 257, has been hijacked by a Drule fleet. Sources from within the Garrison have stated they are aware of the issue, and that they are making attempts to reach the Drules in order to secure release of hostages."
"Ariel 257?" Seth asked, his demeanor changing. "That's the transport my parents are on!" He went to run, but JC stepped in front of him.
"Where are you going?" JC asked.
"I have to do something!" Seth shouted.
"The Garrison is working on it, dude," JC replied. "I'm sure Commander Stormclaw has things under control."
"It's my family, JC!" Seth shouted. He took a few deep breaths. "Look, I just need to take a walk. I'll catch up with you guys later." He walked past JC calmly and out the doors of the food court.
"You think he'll be alright?" Tails asked.
"No," Dariana replied softly, bowing her head.
"The Ariel spy vessel was found in Drule space, and is currently being detained," Brak said to Commander Stormclaw via a ultrawave message. "We will exchange prisoners on the condition that you surrender the Voltron units! You have three hours to comply, and that is being more than generous." The screen went blank.
"I can't just give the Drules what they want," Stromclaw said to himself. "But I can't just let them kill those people." Just then, someone ran in the door. "What now, Lieutenant?"
"Sir!" the man said. "Did we authorize the Voltron Force to launch?"
"No I did not!" he replied angrily. He turned on the screen and watched as Jet Blue took off through the sky and out of the Earth's atmosphere.
"What are your orders, sir?" he asked. Stormclaw pondered for a moment.
"Contact Cadet Grend," he replied. "Tell him to get the cadets back to the hangar. I want to know what's going on!"
"Yes, sir" he replied, saluted, then left.
"That boy is gonna get himself and those people killed," Stormclaw said to himself, "or worse."
"I sent the message to the Alliance, just as you asked, Viceroy!" Brak said to Viceroy Throk on the ultrawave. "I have given them three hours to hand over Voltron!"
"Excellent work, Brak!" he replied. "The Emperor will be pleased! Commander Nerok is sending out a little preset should you encounter resistance."
"I will make sure everything goes as planned," Brak said. As the screen went dark, he turned to his soldiers. "Nerok better deliver when it comes to this robeast," he said.
"Sir," one of them said, "I just picked up something on the scanners. It was there a moment ago, then vanished."
"Put the ship on high alert," he replied. "I don't want anything to interfere with the plan. It was probably a meteor, but better to err on the side of caution."
"Yes, sir!" he replied.
JC, Roxy, Tails and Dariana ran into the control room.
"Where did Seth run off to with Jet Blue?" Stormclaw asked.
"I should have known the big airhead would charge off to the rescue," JC replied. "Sir, with all due respect, his parents are on that transport."
"Well he may have just compromised my efforts to have the hostages released," he said. "But we'll handle disciplinary actions later. Right now, I need you to get him back."
"What about the transport, sir?" JC asked.
"There is nothing we can do," he replied. "Honestly, the Drules are asking for Voltron, preferably in pieces. You know I can't do that, and the Space Marshall would never give in to that. But unless you can stop Seth, this whole thing could fall apart."
"You asking us to launch, Commander?" JC said with a smirk.
"Go get your friend," he replied softly.
"Thanks," JC said, his face going serious. "Come on team, let's roll!" They ran to the chutes and dropped in. "Insert keys!" They each put their keys into their voltcoms and powered on the ships. "Launch!" The four ships shot out of the hanger, and quickly climbed into the sky.
Jet Blue shot past and around the Drule fleet and carefully landed on the back side of the transport. Seth waited a moment, powering down all systems, and when he was satisfied he hadn't been detected, he tapped his voltcom, and his suit turned metallic black with blue trim, a full helmet covering his head and face. He opened the hatch and carefully made his way to the outer hull of the ship. He held out his voltcom, and a crossbow appeared with a dagger attached to it. He gouged and cut until a hole in the hull big enough for him to fir through was made. He dropped inside, and the weapon vanished. He looked around, then held up the voltcom again. It displayed a map of the ship.
"If I were the captain," he said to himself, "where would I hide almost a hundred passengers?" He looked carefully. "Ah, the observation deck!" The map vanished, and he began to run. He turned several corners, and ran up a flight of steps. The next corner he came around, he bumped into several Drule soldiers.
"Stop!" one of them shouted. Seth ducked behind the corner, and his voltcom formed a crossbow. He reached around the corner and fired bolts at them, knocking them down and out. He turned the corner and continued running.
"The observation deck should be nearby," he said, then suddenly he felt a blaster in his back.
"Well," the voice said. "Who do we have here? Is the Alliance staging some sort of rescue? Commander Brak will be very interested to hear about this." Suddenly, something hit the Drule in the back, causing him to arch, then fall over. Seth looked where it came from, and Dariana tugged at her charger and reeled it back in, disappearing back into her voltcom.
"Are you alright?" she asked.
"Dar!" he shouted. "What the heck are you doing here? This is dangerous!"
"Exactly," she replied. "That's why I'm here to talk you out of it and get out of here."
"I'm sorry, Dariana," he said, turning away from her. "My family's on this ship. I have to save them."
"Yes," she said, "they are your family. But JC, Tails, Roxy and…you….are MY family. I can't let you risk your life. I can't lose you."
"Dar," he said, then sighed. "What do we do?"
"We do this as a team," she replied. "Let's help our family save yours." Seth smiled. "Tick, I need you to access the ship's hyperdrive system. Reroute all power to the starboard thrusters and transfer all control from the bridge to the access point on the observation deck." Tick detached itself from Dariana's voltcom, and letting out a few quick clicks, scurried over to a panel and burrowed its way in. "Come on. We're getting out of here. But not until we've given control of the ship over to the skeleton crew holed up on the observation deck, and made Brak's life miserable." She took off running, and Seth followed.
"Sir," the soldier shouted, "Enemy ships are approaching!"
"Put them on the view screen," Brak commanded. "Magnify!" As it did, he saw the remaining three Voltron ships. "Are they really complying with our demands?" They fired on Brak's ship, and it shook. "AAAAH! Fire! Launch all missiles! I want them in as many pieces as possible!"
Tick scurried through the walls, then finding a power conduit, a saw came from his back and cut it. Tick pulled wires and cables, then ran up another inside wall to another conduit. He turned and put his tail into the conduit, and suddenly, the lights all over the ship flickered. He made a few small ticking noises, then headed up further, coming out onto the observation deck. It scurried up and onto the panel, then made a loud grinding noise.
"What is that?" someone asked.
"I think….it's a mouse?" someone else said. When they came close, Tick scurried back into the wall. The man looked at the panel. "Hey, ship's control has been rerouted to this console! And it looks like we have navigational control!"
Two of the passengers, a man and a woman, spotted something outside the windows. A battle was ensuing.
"Look!" the man said. "It's the Voltron Force! They've come to rescue us!"
Seth and Dariana ran through the halls. A group of soldiers appeared in front of one of the doors. Seth launched a few bolts, hitting them. Dariana launched her chargers at the last two, then pulled, whipping them overhead into the bulkhead. They approached the opening to exit the ship.
"Be careful," Seth said.
"You too," she replied, staring into his eyes. Tick scurried out of the wall and climbed onto her back and down her arm, reattaching to her voltcom. Their helmets materialized, and they passed into space and made their way back to the ships.
"Dar!" JC said. "Did you get him?"
"We are both alright," she replied softly. "Control of the ship is in the hands of the crew again. Can we find a way to cut them loose from the command ship?"
"Well," Tails said, "if you can fire a missile with a trajectory of two six seven by one nine nine and with a speed of one thirty-four point one one two meters per second….you know what? Nevermind, I'll do it myself." Tails flew around the command ship and fired a missile at the base of the command ship where the tow beam was attached, and exploded the array, causing the beam to fail. The starboard jets fired, and the ship lunged forward, veering to port. It collided slightly with the command ship, causing it to drift.
"What was that?" Brak shouted.
"The tow beam has failed, Commander!" the soldier said. "The ship drifted into us! Our officers stationed on the bridge of the ship have lost attitude control!"
"WHAT?" Brak shouted. He looked at the view screen and saw the Voltron ships blasting away at his own fleet. But then he saw something else approaching, and calmed down. Look there! Magnify!" The screen magnified and showed a small vessel approaching. It suddenly broke apart, and a giant robeast emerged. "YES! Tear them apart!"
"JC!" Roxy shouted. "We got a rogue robeast coming up behind us!" JC looked at the monitor and saw the monstrosity, a set of three horns emerging from its forehead, and it's entire body metallic colored and gleaming with indestructibility.
"We have to defend the transport!" JC shouted. "Get ready to form Voltron!" The ships pulled into position. "Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. They took off in wing formation. Just as they shifted into connecting position, the robeast fired a grappling cable at Jet Yellow and locked on, pulling back.
"Let go!" Dariana shouted, fighting with her controls. Seth flipped the cover from the yoke and used the controls to fire missiles back at the cable, snapping it in half. Dariana was flung forward back into formation.
"Form feet and legs!" JC shouted. "Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Voltron arched backwards as the field exploded, and his eyes lit up with power.
"Thanks, Seth," Dariana replied softly.
"That's what family does," Seth replies. "They protect each other." The robeast launched two more cables and wrapped around Voltron's waist and tried to pull him.
"It's trying to pull us away!" JC shouted.
"We can't let it!" Seth shouted back.
"Then we'll just have to pull back!" Roxy shouted, yanking her controls.
"Let's kill two birds with one stone!" JC shouted. Roxy smirked as they worked in unison. Voltron grabbed the cables, and with retros firing, they pulled hard and flung the beast into the side of Brak's command ship.
"YOU IDIOT!" Brak shouted. "Get to the escape pods!" Moments later, the ship exploded, the few pods shooting off into the distance.
"Now we just gotta make it let go!" JC said.
"Form Blazing Chargers!" Roxy shouted. The spiked handles appeared, and Voltron's eyes flashed as it struck the cables with them. The charge traveled down the cables and into the beast, which then released it's grip.
"We're free!" Roxy shouted.
"JC," Tails said, "I found a kink in the armor."
"Kinky," JC replied. Roxy frowned.
"Back of the neck," Tails said, "but we have to get behind it!"
"Seth," Dariana asked, "are you ready?"
"Yeah," he replied, pulling up his weapons console. She hit a button, and Voltron fired a charger at the beast which wrapped around it once.
"Time to give him a taste of his own medicine!" JC yelled, pulling hard. Voltron yanked the beast towards him.
"Now!" Dariana shouted. Voltron flipped over the beast. Seth hit the console.
"Form Aquatic Bow!" Seth shouted as a blast of water molded into an icy bow. Voltron turned it sideways, took aim quickly and fired. The bolt hit its mark, and the back of the robeast's neck exploded. It turned slowly, and the armor disintegrated. Seth fired three more shots, embedding in the beast's chest.
"Form Blazing Sword!" JC Shouted. Voltron reached to his left hip and pulled, unsheathing the Blazing Sword. With boosters on full, JC pushed the yokes forward and lunged, and Voltron sliced the robeast twice quickly criss cross, then twirled the sword and resheathed it. The robeast exploded, and the remainder of the Drule fleet fled the scene.
The team, in their cadet uniforms, patiently waited for the transport to release its passengers. When it did, they were met with glorious fanfare.
"Well," JC said, "the Ariens made it to their destination, and the Drule soldiers have been taken into custody. Not bad for what was supposed to be a vacation, right?"
"I'm just glad Commander Stormclaw let Seth go with only month's worth of ship cleaning duty," Roxy said.
"I'm just glad we all made it back safely," Dariana said, looking up at Seth. Seth's attention was on the ship though, and he smiled when his parents emerged.
"Mom! Dad!" he shouted. They ran to him and hugged him. "I was so worried."
"It's good to see you are alright, son," his father said, "and doing well at the Academy. Who are your friends?"
"This is JC," Seth said, "my roommate. And they are Roxy, Tails, and…this is Dariana."
"It's an honor to meet you both," Dariana said softly, but with a slight smile. They both shook her hand, then looked over at Seth.
"You have a fine group of friends, son," he said. "Good friends are hard to find, but not hard to trust." He took a deep breath. "Your mom and I are going to check into the hotel. We'll come visit you a bit longer later. Right now, we just need a rest."
"I'm just glad the Voltron Force was there to save us," Seth's mom said. "It's good to know they always will." They walked away from the team.
"You think the Space Marshall will let us tell them someday?" Seth asked.
"I dunno," Tails replied. "It's just good to know they're proud no matter what."
"You know what's also good?" Dariana asked.
"What's that, Dar?" Seth asked.
"Being part of a family," Dariana replied.