Author's Note - Dariana is beginning to play a bigger role in all of this. And the introduction of Former Sky Marshall Wade should come as an even bigger surprise. There is a history being played out here, and some of it is unfolding right before our eyes. Now with the Explorer about to take her leave again, what will there be for the cadets now?
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP.
Episode 9 : A Dream of Peace and War
Roxy and Tails were just finishing straitening up the dorm apartment, getting things together for Dariana. Today was the day they released her from the infirmary and let her return to the dorm.
"You think she likes flowers?" Tails asked, her usual cheesy grin on her face. Roxy let out an exasperating sigh.
"I don't know," she replied. "Flowers are stupid. But she seems like the type that'd get all mushy over them."
"She's been through so much," Tails said. "I just want to make her feel better."
"We've all been through our share," Roxy snapped back. "But I've seen her be tough at times. She'll bounce back."
"Well I still think we should decorate everything pink and pretty and cozy to make her feel special," Tails said, smiling again.
"I think some yellow flowers will be fine," Roxy replied, exasperated. It was then the door opened, and Dariana slowly limped in, supported by JC and Seth.
"Welcome home Dar!" Tails shouted. She directed her attention to the table. "We bought you flowers!" Dariana smiled, and held her side.
"That's sweet of you guys," she replied. She hobbled into the adjoining room and sat on the bed. The rest of the team followed her in.
"So," Roxy said, "you never got to tell us what happened in that dream."
"Don't push her," Seth said. "She's still trying to recover."
"No," Dariana replied, "I have to say it. I have this feeling it's important in some way."
"What was it about, Dar?" JC asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," she replied. "I was in a council chamber, and two men…one of them was in my previous dreams…they were arguing over plans. They mentioned, and agreed to, five pilots for the weapon, one from each planet. They said something like, 'Their souls shall be bound to the matrix.' Then the leader shouted for someone…" She had a dizzy spell, and Seth and Roxy steadied her.
"That's enough," Seth replied. "I want you to relax and get some more rest. You're returning to class, and I don't want you passing out on us again. We'll figure this out one way or another."
"Thanks Seth," she replied. "Thank you all. I only wish I could remember things."
Her eyes opened slowly, staring up at the night sky. Her thoughts at first were blank, most likely brought on by the cloudiness of coming out of a dreaming state. When she finally became consciously aware once more, she took a deep breath, and studied the heavens.
"Phantus Twelve," she muttered. "One of the large asteroids that guard Doom. I am not so far away." She slowly got up, and was actually surprised to see herself dressed in her crimson battle armor and standing on her own two legs, rather than crawling around naively on eight. At once, she saw something shine in the sky. It became bigger, and fell from the sky with a crash. She ran over to it, and found it was indeed a rescue pod. She felt something strange, and closed her eyes for a moment, then smiled sadistically.
"He's still alive," she whispered. "And revenge is on his mind." She climbed into the pod, and it blasted away.
The Space Marshall heard the intercom alarm sound, and she turned on the viewscreen. The image of a Miran captain appeared.
"Captain Pon," she asked, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Space Marshall," he replied, "We've received a message from the Drules that they want to propose a treaty. They wish to meet on the Miran border to discuss the terms of the cease fire."
"Not used to the Drules talking peace," she replied. "Had many conversations with friends aboard the Explorer, and Commander Hawkins. Nine times out of ten, it is a cleverly laid trap. I'll send Stormclaw out there with the Voltron Force. The Explorer will be launching soon for another mission, so I will have them alter course and escort the convoy to the border. Hopefully by seeing two Voltrons in the same place at the same time, they'll think twice of trying anything."
"You're not coming yourself, Space Marshall?" he asked.
"I haven't decided," she replied. "I have a few things I need to wrap up here. And as sincere as I would like the offer to be, I have serious doubts."
"Understandable," he replied. "I will command my crew to head to the border now, and await the arrival of the Alliance fleet." The viewscreen went dark.
"Doom, and all of Korronith has kept their distance from the remainder of that shattered empire," she said to herself. "I wonder how much longer that will last."
"Voltron Force to the launch area immediately!" a voice shouted over the loudspeaker. The team ran into the control room."
"Team," Stormclaw shouted, " I need you to launch immediately. You will escort the Alliance fleet to the Miran border and hold there. The Explorer will be joining you shortly afterwards. Once there, you will meet with a small Drule fleet. I will be meeting with one of the Drule Commanders for a cease fire talk."
"A cease fire?" Roxy asked. "How can you expect to trust them after all this?"
"We have to try," he replied. "I'm not convinced either, but I'm gonna play along and see what happens." He turned back to the rest of the team. "Launch!"
"Yes, sir," JC replied, and the team dropped down their chutes and launched their ships.
"What are your orders, sir?" the soldier asked King Lotor.
"Ready my ship," he said. "The empire chooses the have a cease fire talk with the Alliance, but refuses to include Korronith in its plans….I plan to be a part of this one way or another."
"I'm actually in agreement with you for once," Wade said, entering the room.
"And why is that?" Lotor asked.
"Because it's the perfect place to strike," he replied. "All of our enemies gathered in one place at the same time. You could strike a blow to the Aliiance, and show the Supremacy your dominance."
"Yes," Lotor said. "But what about the presence of the Voltron Force?"
"What about it?" he asked. "Quite frankly…I'm counting on it." A loud crash was heard outside the castle.
"What was that?" Lotor asked. He looked over at his personal guard. "Go out there and investigate that blast!"
"Yes, sire," they replied before running out of the room.
"The Alliance delegation has boarded, Commander," one of the soldiers said.
"Good," Twyla replied. "I don't want to disappoint the emperor after appointing me as Commander. His strategy is sound. As soon as the Voltron Force is at its most vulnerable, we'll attack without mercy!" Moments later, the delegation entered, uncluding two security personnel, the Voltron Force, and the Space Marshall.
"Ah, Space Marshall," Twyla said. "It's good to finally meet the head of the Galaxy Alliance military face to face. I am Commander Twyla."
"I thought I would have an audience with your viceroy," she replied. "Has there been a delay in his arrival?"
"I have been appointed to head up these talks," Twyla replied. "Please, sit down." They sat down at the table. "As you know, there has been turmoil over the demand for lazon production,"
"Lazon is in short supply," she replied. "But there is no reason we can't come to terms over it. Quantus supplies a great amount of lazon."
"Which is why we would like to bargain for its mining operations," Twyla replied.
"We don't have the authority to give or take entire planets," she said. "With all due respect, Commander, Quantus is a free world and provides free trade. That's why I propose in exchange for at the very least a cease fire, we will arbiter a meeting with the Quantans for a deal on their lazon supply."
"But you misunderstand, Space Marshall," she replied. "The Supermacy needs the resource not just to function, but to crush its enemies." Guards surrounded them all. "Which is why we are merely going to take Quantus, and destroy Voltron. And I'm sure the empreror will pay handsomely for the Space Marshall of the alliance." She laughed.
"Then I take it the peace talks are over," the Space Marshall replied. She slowly stood up. A guard approached her, and she turned and backhanded him. JC stood up, and two katanas appeared in his hands from the voltcom, and he fought off the remaining guards. The rest of the force pulled their weapons as well, and fought their way out of the room.
"Stop them!" Twyla shouted. "Launch the robeast! Before they can escape! Make sure to destroy the Explorer and the entire Alliance fleet!" The ship's cargo doors opened, and a mechanical beast with a flail mace appeared from it. It fired several shots at drone ships, then attacked one of the fleet ships with the flail, damaging it enough to cause an explosion.
"I take it you knew this would be a trap?" JC asked the Space Marshall.
"Let's just say I had a long talk with Commander Hawkins about Commander Twyla," she replied. "While I hoped this would end differently, we were one hundred percent correct in her reaction to the terms." Just then, a group of soldiers appeared in front of them. They all ducked around a corner, and Seth and Roxy took shots at them with their crossbow and guns. The Space Marshall went to step out.
"What are you doing?" JC asked.
"Creating a diversion," she replied. "Run for the ships. I'll meet you there." She stepped out from behind the corner, avoiding the laser fire, and pulled back her sleeve. She pointed her arm at the attackers, and a shotgun materialized and began to fire. Several blasts knocked down the soldiers, but she then fired something else which landed near them, and exploded in a cloud of smoke. She pulled back, and the gun vanished. She ran after the rest of the team. Upon arriving in the bay, they found the ships they came in were destroyed, except for the Jet Ships.
"You'll have to ride with us," JC replied.
"Green's closest," Tails shouted. "Come with me, ma'am." The Space Marshall boarded Jet Green with Tails, and they all took off, exiting the shuttle bay.
"We're approaching the rendezvous point," Cossack replied. "It appears Supremacy forces are already engaging the enemy."
"What?" Lotor screamed. "Come at the Alliance forces from behind! Maahox! Send out your robeast!"
"Yes, my lord," he replied, pulling a lever. Their robeast, a beast with four arms and a pair of wings, soared into battle and started tearing apart the Alliance ships.
"Wade seems to think the Space Marshall will be aboard the Explorer," Lotor said. "Let's make sure it doesn't come back in one piece!"
"All units launch immediately!" came a voice on the intercom aboard the Explorer, the alarms blaring.
"You heard 'em team!" Jeff shouted. "Let' go!" The Voltron vehicles launched from the Explorer to confront the attack force. They immediately moved into formation sequence, and began to form Voltron. As they finished, there was a shout over the com.
"Jeff," came the voice of Commander Hawkins. "There is a second robeast coming in from behind."
"I see it, Commander," Jeff replied.
"Do what you can to stall them while we try to move the Explorer out of range," Hawkins replied. "I'm about to launch a rescue attempt to retrieve the Space Marshall from the Drule command ship."
"Unneccessary, Commander," the Space Marshall said over the com. "I'm with Cadet McGovern in Jet Green. Maneuver the fleet away from the border and leave the drones to provide cover fire. Get the Explorer out of here."
"You can't be serious," he replied. "I can't let you just…"
"That's an order, Commander," she replied, cutting the communication. "Grend, don't you think it's time for Voltron?" JC smirked.
"Activate interlocks!" JC shouted, tuning the yokes inward, and beginning the formation sequence. "Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The jets shot off in wing formation, switching to star as the energy field formed around them.
"Form feet and legs!" JC shouted. "Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" Voltron arched back as the energy field exploded, and his eyes lit up with power.
"Cadet Grend," the Space Marshall said, "I believe it's your move. Ready to even things out?"
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "Ok team, let's lighten the Vehicle team's load a bit. Engage thrusters full. Let's tackle Lotor's four-armed freak!" Voltron flew at full speed at the beast and stopped it from going after the Explorer, tackling it. Both flipped end over end several times before the robeast kicked Voltron off him. It launched several missiles from its right arm.
"Incoming missiles!" Dariana shouted.
"Form Spinning Laser Blade!" JC shouted. Voltron's arms met above its head, forming a semicircle, the blade materializing in its hand. The missiles hit it like a shield. "And launch it!" Voltron wound up and threw the blade, cutting off one left arm, then cutting off one of the right ones on the return trip. "That ought to stop the missile fire."
"Then let's stop the beast," the Space Marshall replied. "McGovern, ready your weapons console."
"Yes, ma'am," she replied. "What's the plan?"
"Off with his head," she replied softly.
"Form Blazing Axes!" Tails shouted. Voltron reached back and pulled two green axes from nowhere. The Space Marshall pulled back her sleeve, and connected something to the attachment on her forearm, and the other end into a port on the control board. Energy flowed as Voltron threw the ax with deadly precision, slicing off the robeast's head. JC pushed ahead, and Voltron flew at what remained at full speed, winding back with the other ax and splitting the entire robeast in two. It immediately exploded as they turned to see the Vehicle Voltron strike back at Twyla's robeast.
"Electro Thermo Blasters!" Jeff shouted as the blasters engaged and knocked the beast backwards.
"Ma'am!" one of the soldiers shouted. "The beast from Korronith has been defeated, and the other Voltron Force is winning against our robeast!"
"First we lose the Space Marshall," she said, "and then Nerok's bungling robeast is a failure! Mark my words, the emperor will hear about this!" The Drule ships began to fly off.
"Form Blazing Sword!" Jeff and JC said simultaneously. Vehicle Voltron put the spinning laser blades above it's head and pulled downward, forming the Blazing Sword. Likewise, JC hit his control console, and Voltron reached to its hip and pulled the Blazing Sword from its sheath. Both Voltrons swung back and headed for the robeast, still stunned from the blasters, and both slashed through it. Moments later, it too exploded in a flash of fiery light. The Space Marshall carefully removed the cables and pulled her sleeve back down.
"Are you alright, Ma'am?" Tails asked, looking back at her.
"I'm quite alright, McGovern," she replied. "Cadet Grend, please send a signal to the Explorer letting them know I am unharmed and will be returning to Earth. They are to proceed to outpost 227 before continuing on with their current mission."
"And JC," Tails shouted, "send a message to Tech Sergeant Stoker that I'm gonna miss my little Pooky Bear!"
"Pooky Bear?" Roxy said in disgust. "Really?" Tails just grinned from ear to ear as Voltron and the remainder of the Alliance fleet continued back to Earth, and the Explorer set a course for Outpost 227.
Wade continued to stand at the window and stare up at the sky above. It wasn't until he felt the presence of someone else enter the room that his consciousness shifted slightly. He could read the thoughts, but being a man of strategy and action, he spoke his words aloud.
"I knew you were still alive," he said.
"So it WAS you who sent the rescue pod," Kala replied. "I thought it was that wretched Calite exile trying to get back into my good graces. I want nothing more than to snap his scrawny little neck!"
"Calm yourself, Commamder," Wade replied. "The ones we really want revenge on is the Voltron Force. They are the ones that changed us. They are the ones that took away what was rightfully ours."
"I can see inside your mind," she replied. "Or have you forgotten that?" Wade grinned.
"On the contrary, Commander Kala," he said, "it is that link between two of the greatest strategic minds that will allow us to crush Voltron once and for all!"
"I sense something else," she said. "You have your thoughts clearly focused on Earth. Is taking the Alliance the only thing you want?" Wade took a deep breath.
"I want her dead," he replied.