Author's Notes - Just as I planned, everything is coming together, and coming to a head for the mid-season. Soon we'll understand completely what the "weapon" being created is, though I'm pretty sure many of you have guessed it by now. Have you made the connection to the pilots?
Disclaimer - Voltron and associated characters are the property of WEP.
Episode 10 : Identity Crisis
"Has security been put into place?" one man asked.
"Yes," another said. "the answers will only be clear to those of Baltan descent."
"Good," the first replied. "Once measures are in place, construction can begin on Ariel. Have you been in contact with the Arusians?"
"Their unifying magic shall be the key to unlocking the weapon," the second said. "The Arusians have sent their oldest son to oversee the project. It is he who will bestow the gift."
"And what of the girl?" the first asked. Dariana suddenly felt a strange feeling of dread come over her.
"They know of her role in all this," he replied. "Her power is great, and they know if unleashed, it could destroy them. Her soul must be split to protect her mind from the chaos."
"But will that destroy her spirit?" the first asked. "After all, she is just a child! Haggar will not allow such a senseless death!" Dariana cringed not only at the thought of her own death, but at the sound of the name….Haggar….
"We shall consult the council when we arrive on Ariel to oversee the project," the second replied. "But we mustn't waste time. If the evil ones find her, then not only will hope be lost, but the entire universe will fall into a darkness the likes of which has never before been seen." The first man looked down at the child and smiled.
"Don't be afraid, young one," he said to her softly. "I promised her I would never let anything bad happen to you." He kissed her gently on the forehead. "And I never will."
"Oh, papa!" she cried out, tears in her eyes.
"For crying out loud, Kovinx, wake up!" Roxy shouted, shaking Dariana. When she finally did come to, she saw Roxy and Tails standing over her.
"Papa?" she asked as she faded into consciousness. She blinked twice. "Oh, guys, I am so sorry."
"It's ok," Roxy said. "But the dreams you are having are getting out of hand. What's going on?"
"The dreams are becoming more frightening," she replied. "I believe the man with the little girl is either her father, or a surrogate. I keep seeing him and others discussing the construction of a weapon. But the scariest part of it all…was that they may have to sacrifice the girl."
"What do you mean?" Tails asked, horrified.
"The girl possesses some sort of power," Dariana replied. "I don't understand what it is. And the man keeps mentioning the name 'Haggar'."
"Haggar?" Roxy asked. "As in Haggar the Witch? Zarkon's personal sorceress?"
"You know the name?" Dariana asked in turn. "I was unaware of it."
"Haggar would create these horrible monsters," Roxy replied. "She found ways to terrorize and torture the people of Arus. She herself is an ugly and twisted abomination of a woman. As evil as they come. The official record states she was destroyed once and for all by Voltron in their final attack on Planet Doom."
"That's awful," she replied. "But…the Haggar spoken of in my dream…she was spoken of as kind and caring. Someone very powerful, but very understanding. She sounded like someone they would trust with their very lives."
"I don't know how that can be," Roxy replied.
"I don't know what to make of it," Dariana said. "All I feel throughout the experience is dread and sorrow."
"Hey there," Tails said, sitting next to her on the bed draping an arm around her. "It's nothing more than a dream. And we're here, so you know nothing bad is going to happen to you."
"I do feel safer knowing you are both with me," she replied. "I'm thankful for that."
"That's what friends are for, right?" Tails said with a grin, looking at Roxy.
"Yes," Roxy replied. "Yes it is."
"Colonel Cross," the Space Marshall said, "what is your status?"
"Well, Space Marshall," he replied, "our forces have not been able to locate a single trace of Former Sky Marshall Wade. In all honesty, and this is off the record, I think he's dead."
"Until I find a shred of evidence to prove he's dead, we won't stop looking," she replied. "Before construction of the new campuses are completed, I need to make sure this threat has been eliminated."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied. "I still feel it's a wild goose chase. We confiscated everything he had, froze his bank account, and seized all of his assets. If he's still alive, he has no chance of staying hidden for long."
"Don't underestimate him, Colonel," she replied. "I already did that once. I'm not making that same mistake again." The screen went dark. She put her head in her hands and sighed exasperatedly. Then there was a knock on the door.
"Enter," she shouted. Dariana stepped in. "Cadet Kovinx, what can I help you with?"
"Ma'am," she said quietly, "I don't mean to bother you. I just feel like I need to tell you about the things that have been happening."
"I'm not sure I understand," she replied.
"Remember when I blacked out and ran off with Jet Yellow to Nebb?" Dariana asked. The Space Marshall nodded her head in acknowledgement. "It all has to do with the dreams I've been having. I keep seeing myself as this little girl, and I'm watching the process, or discussion, about a giant weapon being built. On Nebb, we encountered a Sentinel. Part of me is aware of this, and part of me is not. I can't explain it, ma'am. I just know something big is happening, and it's connected to these dreams I've been having."
"You're sure you're not just overreacting?" the Space Marshal replied.
"I wouldn't be here if I wasn't sure," she replied. "Ma'am, I'm no one special. I'm just a Drule cadet from a planet of refugees, with nothing remotely special about me. I don't claim to be a seer, and I don't claim to be a sorceress. What I do claim is that my dreams led to what happened on Nebb, and I fear the same thing may be happening on Balto right underneath the Alliance's nose. All I ask is that you give us an opportunity to look into it."
"Are you saying the rest of the team knows about this?" she asked.
"Not yet," she replied. "I've told them about the dreams. But unlike last time, as we agreed, I'm consciously trying to keep myself in check. And doing the right thing means making sure I have backup, and of course your blessing….ma'am." The Space Marshall let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, Miss Kovinx," she replied. "But please be careful. We barely got Jet Black repaired in what little time we had, and the Explorer is not due back for the next eight to ten weeks."
"I understand," Dariana replied. "And I will be careful. I won't disappoint you." She saluted, then left the office.
"Kala," Wade said to her, still staring at the quasar. "Do you…"
"Feel drawn to it?" she asked. "It was that strange calling that awoke me from near death. Why?"
"You know I feel it as well," he replied. "I almost want to say it's the haggarium infection. It's almost as if the haggarium in my blood is boiling over, trying to return from where it came." He tightened his fist.
"I feel your anger," she replied. "I haven't felt this much rage since our last battle with Voltron together. Very few things delight me so."
"That's the difference between us and them," he said to her. "We carry the haggarium in our blood, just like all the others infected. But we embrace our rage. Our rage doesn't come from haggarium. It comes from years of anger and resentment. A resentment that can only be satisfied by revenge."
"I love it when you talk dirty," she replied.
"I have an idea" he said. "Lotor is still brooding over his loss. I feel maybe it's time to give him some direction."
"I know exactly what you mean," she replied with a smile.
"I can't believe you talked us into this," JC said.
"Calm down, JC," Seth replied. "Look at it this way. If we don't find anything, then it was a chance to get some more light time in."
"And if we do find something?" Roxy asked.
"We will," Dariana said. "We will." They approached Balto, and landed in a desert area, near a plateau.
"So how do we find this thing?" JC asked.
"I remember in my dream, the men were underground," Dariana replied. "Balto doesn't have a lot of deserted area. Most of Balto is densely populated. It has to be around here."
"I am detecting a cavern five hundred eighty-two meters….that way," Tails said, pointing to the plateau.
"Well," Seth said, "Let's get moving and check it out." They left their jets and walked to the plateau, and sure enough, a cave entrance was there. Tails took a close look at the entrance.
"This entrance wasn't formed naturally," she said. "It was expertly carved. It's not just an opening. It served a purpose."
"What kinda purpose?" Roxy asked.
"The arc suggests two things," Tails replied. "First is that this particular curvature, according to Baltan tradition, is based on a complex mathematical equation that draws on the natural energies inside the structure itself to provide balance and stability."
"And the other?" JC asked.
"That there is one huge flacking thing they needed to move though here," she replied.
"Well let's head inside to see if Dar is right about a Drule presence here," JC said. They carefully made their way into the cavern and followed it as it twisted and turned inside the plateau. It wasn't long until they came upon an open area of the cavern similar to the one on Nebb.
"Look," Seth said, pointing at a large object at the other end of the area, surrounded by Drule soldiers and scientists. "It's just like the one Dariana and I saw on Nebb."
"Let's see if we can get a closer look," Dariana said, tapping her voltcom. Tick transformed and detatched from it. "Tick, sneak over to the object and send back a visual….please." It let out a few acknowledging clicks before running off towards the object. As it approached, she held up her voltcom, and a holo-screen appeared. They watched as Tick scurried up to the object and looked up. Dariana gasped.
"Exacly like what we saw on Nebb," Seth said again. "Dar, can you get audio?"
"I can try," she replied, tapping her voltcom. They listened closely.
"Viceroy Throk wants a status report on this project," the soldier said to one of the scientists.
"Progress has been slow," he replied, "but I assure you and the viceroy that we are progressing. We have found the energy sources, and have been trying to reanimate the guardians with the new programming we were able to install. It has been difficult."
"Well the viceroy demands results," the soldier replied. "If we are to squash Voltron and take back the kingdoms lost by the Supremacy, we will need this super weapon! Wait…what's that over there?" JC looked up from the holo-screen and saw them pointing in their direction.
"I think they spotted us," JC said. Dar closed the holo-screen, and the team turned to look. JC held out his arms, and a pair of katanas appeared in his hands. "We'll hold them off. Dar, you know what needs to be done?"
"I think so," she replied. She ran out from where they hid, and the team followed. Roxy held out her hands, and a pair of guns appeared as she began firing at the oncoming soldiers. Seth followed Dariana closely.
"Haven't trained much in hand to hand," Tails said, "but I guess there's a first time for everything!" She held out her arms, and a pair of throwing axes appeared in them. She ran at the group, throwing one of the axes, embedding one in a drone's back, and the other cutting a cable, causing a fixture to fall on the soldiers. Dariana ran up to the Sentinel and held out her hands. Wires came from the voltcom and attached to it.
"What is that?" Seth asked. "Can you…communicate with it?" Her eyes whited out, and she did not answer him. After a moment though, she began to speak.
"They are in pain," she said. "Millions of them dying….chaos….destruction….sould trapped forever with no release…" She suddenly let go, and snapped out of it. She blinked, and looked back at Seth, her eyes yellow once more, tears streaming from them.
"Seth," she said, "I saw everything. It was….it was nothing short of genocide. The modifications made to the sentinel are nothing compared to the power they don't understand…"
"Dar," he asked, "what are you saying? Are you saying ti's alive?"
"Their souls are trapped inside," she replied. "And now they are angry and confused…" Suddenly, it shook, and the sentinel came to life and began to cause the cavern to collapse.
"Guys!' Seth shouted. "We need to get out of here and back to the ships!"
"No need to tell me twice," Tails replied, as her and Roxy put away their weapons and took off running, JC not far behind.
"Dar," he shouted, "we have to go now!" Suddenly, the passage out collapsed. "Snart, we're trapped!" Dariana walked up to the collapsed entrance and placed her hands on the rocks. Her eyes turned pure white again, and suddenly, the charger handles materialized in her hands, causing the obstruction to explode.
"Come with me," she shouted, and echo in her voice. Tick came running from nowhere and scurried up her body and onto her arm, reattaching himself to her voltcom. He followed her through the cavern entrance.
JC, Roxy and Tails ran out of the cave just as the entrance collapsed. Roxy turned and saw the collapse.
"Seth! Dariana!" she shouted. She went to run, but JC stopped her. "Let me go, cadet, or so help me I'll break every flacking bone in your body!" Suddenly, there was an explosion, and Dariana ran out with Seth not far behind.
"Next time have a little faith, Truvall," JC said.
"Get bent!" she shouted at JC before running to her ship. Just as they all took off, the sentinel burst free of the cavern, and began heading away towards civilization.
"What's it doing?" JC asked.
"The souls are trying to return to their homes," Dariana replied. "They don't understand what has happened to them. We have to free them! The sentinel had to be destroyed!"
"Then everyone get into formation," JC shouted. The ships flew into wing formation. "Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The ships flew into star formation, and the energy field took hold.
"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 its eyes lit up with power.
"Let's bring it back to us," JC shouted. They flew at the sentinel. "Raybeam Whip!" Voltron pulled the Raybeam Whip and lassoed the sentinel, and pulled hard, sending it flying at them. "Now smash!" Roxy yanked the controls, and Voltron threw a punch that sent the sentinel to the ground. Voltron put away the whip.
"I see its weapon systems coming online, JC!" Tails shouted. "Be careful!"
"Diverting power to energy shields," Seth replied. The sentinel fired a blast of solar energy that knocked Voltron backwards several hundred yards and to the ground. It leaped into the air and went to come down on Voltron.
"We gotta move!" JC shouted. Voltron lunged to the right, and the sentinel missed them.
"Form Blazing Chargers!" Dariana shouted. The handles formed in its hands, and voltron launched it around the sentinel's leg. Voltron launched the other into it's chest, the spikes embedding itself into the monster. A charge of electricity began to flow between them, and the force was feeling the intense feedback.
"I don't know how much more of this we can take!" JC shouted.
"The systems are going critical!" Seth yelled. Dariana's eyes remained completely white, and she actually smiled.
"It's time," she said. "Put them to rest." Her hands glowed on the controls, and JC suddenly felt relieved from the energy surge. He pulled the weapons console.
"Form Blazing Sword!" he shouted. Voltron rolled to his feet, and Red clanked againstdt Green at the left hip, unleashing the sword. Voltron ran at the smoldering sentinel, trying to get up, and leaped into the air, driving the sword right through it. Time seemed to freeze for the moment as white mist was released from the monster. Dariana came out of her trance and nearly passed out again. JC pulled the controls, and Voltrol pulled the sword from the sentinel and turned just as it exploded.
"It worked!" Seth shouted. "We defeated it!"
"They can finally go home," Dariana replied.
The Space Marshall was filling out some paperwork when she heard a knock on the door.
"Enter," she said. Dariana walked in slowly and sat down in front of her desk. "Cadet Kovinx. I hear the team was successful in stopping the Supremacy threat on Balto. Well done."
"That isn't the only thing I came to talk to you about, ma'am," she replied softly. "There's more to this than the threat of the Drule Supremacy. I know they are trying to reactivate and reuse these sentinels, but I feel there is an even bigger evil at work here."
"What is it?" the Space Marshall asked. Dariana took a deep breath, her yellow eyes looking into the Space Marshall's.
"Space Marshall," Dariana asked, speaking slowly and softly as she always did, "do you know who Haggar is?"