Author's Note - Last episode, we got a nice look at Mira, and a deeper look into our rogue pilot, Roxy. That said, I'm now officially coining the phrase J/A. Why A? A for Aroxia, of course! There's still much of her past that even she doesn't realize.
Disclaimer - Voltron and all related characters are the property of WEP.
Episode 8 : The Sky Above Space
Maahox had been working in his lab, trying to piece together another robeast, when he heard a loud bang. He left the lab, and began to walk down the hallway leading to the stairway to Lotor's tower when he passed an open room and stopped. He peered inside, and saw someone standing by the window. He walked in and found it was none other than former Sky Marshal Wade.
"Admiring the view?" Maahox asked.
"Maahox," he asked, "Have you ever taken a good long look at the Haggarian Quasar?"
"I have studied it quite extensively," Maahox replied. "But you already knew that."
"No," he said. "I mean, have you ever really, really looked at it? It wasn't until recently that I found something unusual."
"Unusual?" Maahox asked. "That's never a bad thing."
"I've looked at it every night," Wade said. "It's getting bigger."
"That could merely be an optical illusion," Maahox replied.
"Normally I would agree with you on that," Wade said. "But you know as well as I do that I wouldn't blurt out such nonsense if I didn't have sound evidence. I hear her calling out to me. She is still alive." Maahox's eye popped out of his head, and moved just off the balcony, and stared up at the quasar, which seemed to swirl and draw in all that got close enough.
The Space Marshall, freshly back after a couple weeks worth of vacation, was just getting settled back into her office when she heard a knock on the door.
"Enter," she said, sifting through a box she had picked up off the floor and placed on her chair. Commander Stormclaw entered.
"Space Marshall," he said, "how was your vacation?"
"Relaxing to say the least," she replied. "Was good to hang out with friends and pretend I didn't have the entire Garrison on my shoulders."
"That goes without saying," he replied. "I assume you heard about what happened while you were gone?"
"Yes," she replied. "But I knew I left things in capable hands. If it got to that point, you know I would have returned early."
"Of course," he said. "And by the way, the cadets are doing a fine job."
"I had no doubts," she replied. "That said, did you find what I sent you to the storage locker for?"
"Yes, Space Marshall," he replied. He placed a metal case with a Galaxy Alliance seal on it onto her desk.
"It's opened," she said. "Has it been tampered with?"
"Not intentionally," he replied. "It was just the access port that was damaged. We were able to repair it."
"Good," she replied, closing the case tightly. "In the meantime, I want you to send a drone squadron along the Miran border. I want to keep an even closer eye on what the Drules are up to since ramping up their attacks."
"Yes, ma'am," Stormclaw said, saluting. He then left.
"I know that son of a snake is out there," she said to herself. "And when he finally shows his face, I'll be ready for him."
"Honestly," Chip said, "if you reroute the energy matrix through here and here, you will increase weapons efficiency at least twenty percent if not more."
"Routing it through those conduits would be an analyst's nightmare!" Tails replied. "You can't sacrifice ease of repair in favor of efficiency. You're only sabotaging yourself by doing that."
"It's not such a damaging idea," he replied. "If the weapons systems go offline, the routing makes it entirely possible to engage an alternate path to bring the systems back online without having to analyze right away. It buys you time."
"Lover's quarrel?" JC asked as he walked into the hangar.
"I'm just trying to explain to Chip that rerouting the energy matrix is a waste of time and resources," Tails said.
"And I'm trying to explain that the efficiency yielded would more than compensate for the reduction in ease of access!" Chip replied.
"Hold a second," he said. "Here's the easiest way to settle this. Compromise. Find a way, to make…whatever it is…more efficient without making it harder to fix. You're both smart. You'll figure it out."
"I guess that could work," Tails said.
"He's got a point," Chip said. "Compromise is always a good solution."
"Now you two get back to what you were doing," JC said. "I'm just here to check out a few things on Black before I get to Spatial Theory class." Suddenly the alarms sounded.
"Voltron Force to the Control Room!" the voice shouted. Tails and JC ran out of the hangar and towards the stairway to the control room.
"Maahox," Lotor said as he walked into the room. "Has the work on the robeast been completed?"
"I have just completed the last of the adjustments, my lord," he replied.
"Excellent," Lotor replied. "Cossack will keep the Arusians busy with the attack fleet. Then we can take the robeast and launch a full scale attack on Planet Quantus."
"Are you giving up on your plans to conquer Arus?" Maahox asked.
"Not in the slightest," Lotor responded.
"He is making a strategic move," Wade finally chimed in, still looking out the window. "Quantus is one of Arus' largest suppliers of Lazon. The Drule Supreme council has been trying for years to figure a way to control the market, including by force. Keeping the Lions busy on Arus will ensure a smooth and quick victory over the Quantans. And for me, it is a small step to my very own goal." His eyes narrowed. "Earth."
"You mean to eventually return to the home planet of the Alliance?" Maahox asked. "The same planet that shunned and exiled you, and tired to imprison you?"
"Power means nothing without control," he replied. "The Space Marshall has something of mine. And make no mistake….I fully intend to get it back."
"Team," Stormclaw said as Roxy, Seth and Dariana entered the control room, joining JC and Tails, "We've just received word about an attack on Planet Quantus. Apparently a fleet from Doom approached the planet, and their defense systems were decimated by the amount firepower. They are demanding surrender."
"Doesn't Quantus provide the Alliance with over eighty percent of its lazon supply?" Tails asked.
"Yes, Cadet McGovern," he replied. "We not only need to protect our interests, we need to protect our allies. I need you all to launch and head to Quantus and stop that fleet!"
"We're on it!" JC replied. They all ran for the chutes and dropped in. They inserted their keys into the voltcoms, and took off for Quantus.
"General Greyvax!" the Doomite behind the ops console shouted. "The Quantans are returning fire, but their weapons are primitive! They can't penetrate our shielding!"
"Good," Greyvax replied. "Keep pouring on the firepower. It's only a matter of time before they surrender….or allow us to decimate their entire planet."
"Sir!" he yelled. "I'm detecting incoming ships!"
"Reinforcements from Earth?" Greyvax asked. "Let's give them a warm welcome. Launch the pod, and release the robeast!" A pod fired from the shit, then exploded. From it emerged a tall reptilian beast with a scorpion tail. It let out a mighty screech.
"Looks like Lotor's fleet was expecting us," JC replied. "Let's not disappoint!" They flew at it in formation, and fired at its head, knocking it backwards. It turned and fired its tail laser and hit Jet Yellow, sending Dariana into a spin towards the planet.
"Dar!" Seth shouted, pulling his controls, zooming after her.
"Hold your position, team," JC said. "Don't let it through." JC and Roxy began buzzing by the monster, firing missiles at it. The ones that hit it in the eyes made it stagger, but the rest did nothing. Seth hit a button and fired a grappling line which latched on to Yellow. He pulled hard.
"Come on, Blue," Seth said quietly. "Pull!" Yellow stabilized. "Dar! Are you alright?"
"Look out!" JC yelled, and another shot from the tail laser whizzed by, narrowly hitting Green.
"I think now is one of those times for compromise," Tails said. "I don't want to give it a bigger target, but we need more firepower."
"It's time for Voltron, JC," Roxy replied. Dariana shook her head, spaced out, then suddenly her voltcom glowed with power, and she blacked out for a split second.
"There must be human pilots!" one man shouted across a table surrounded by what appeared to be a council of workers. "No mechanical being can have a heart or express unity without a human spirit!"
"The Nexus must have meaning in its core, and spirit at the heart in order to function," another man said. Dariana had opened her eyes and looked up, seeing the man she saw in her dreams.
"Then it is only fair that the pilots be chosen by the matrix!" the first man said.
"The Baltans were nearly wiped out of existence by the great evil!" the man next to Dariana said. "We must make this work, or all hope is lost!"
"Then it is settled," the first man said. "Five pilots. One shall be selected from each planet. Their souls shall be forever bound to the matrix, working together as one against the evil." He picked up the plans and rolled them up. "Gather your materials and get started at once. Where is Haggar?"
Dariana was jolted out of the dream, her eyes whited out. She grabbed the controls and pulled hard as Jet Yellow powered up and moved into formation.
"Dar," Seth asked. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," she said confidently. "Lining up for formation!"
"You heard her guys!" JC shouted. "Activate Interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" They all shouted. They flew in formation, switching as they began to transform.
"Form feet and legs!" JC shouted. "Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Voltron arched back as the field exploded, and his eyes lit up with power.
"Watch out for that laser!" Roxy shouted. JC pulled the yokes, and Voltron dodged out of the way in time.
"We'll have more control on the surface," JC said. "Let's get behind it…" Voltron flew up and over the beast, landing behind it. He turned. "And tackle!" Voltron flew at the beast and tackled it through the atmosphere and crashed to the ground. Votron released it, then rolled and got back to his feet. He turned just in time to avoid another laser blast.
"That laser has the same energy signature as the stuff that was draining our power cells!" Tails shouted. "I don't understand it!"
"You not understanding something is a bad thing," Roxy replied.
"Suggestions?" JC asked.
"Form Throwing Axes!" Tails shouted. Axes appeared in Voltron's hands. He wound up and threw them through the air. One whizzed by the beast's ear, the other stuck in its leg. It pulled the ax out and threw it to the ground."
"Good job," Roxy yelled. "Ya got it ticked off!" It ran at Voltron and tackled it to the ground. It pinned him down and began striking him with its tail. Energy shocks filled the ships, and the team screamed in agony.
"We have to break the hold," JC said. Dariana, seemingly unaffected, pulled her weapons console.
"Form Blazing Chargers!" she shouted. The spiked handles formed in Voltron's hands, and he swung hard and clocked the monster. Voltron got to its feet and let loose with a series of hard punches, charged with energy, that sent the monster reeling. "Black, it's time to finish it!" Confused, JC grabbed the weapons console and swung it over, hitting the switch.
"Form Blazing Sword!" he shouted. Voltron reached to his left hip, Red clanking against Green, and pulling the energy beam out, forming the blade of the sword. JC pushed forward. "For the Alliance!" Voltron sliced clean through the monster twice, then severed the tail on the backswing. The monster fell apart and exploded.
"We did it!" Tails yelled.
"Look!" Seth shouted. "The Drules are retreating!"
"I bet Lotor will have a worse punishment for them than us destroying their ship," JC said, resheathing the sword. Dariana's eyes returned to normal, and she passed out. "I still don't understand where that energy is coming from, or how it sometimes isn't affecting us."
"Just take a win, Cadet," Roxy said. "Don't you ever just quit overanalyzing and just shut the heck up?"
"The day you wear a dress and dance a waltz," JC retorted. Roxy huffed as Seth brought the boosters online, and they took off.
"Dar?" Seth asked, but no response came.
Dariana woke up in the infirmary at the Academy. When she opened her eyes, she saw the team standing over her.
"Hey there, sleepy head," Seth said. "Glad you're finally awake. You had us all worried. You passed out at the controls after that fight, and you wouldn't wake up."
"There was a battle?" she asked.
"You mean you don't remember?" Roxy asked.
"No," Dariana replied. "All I remember is getting hit by that beam, then having another one of those dreams…."