KathDMD - Hazar's people are a peaceful bunch, and their ships and troops, if you remember are few. But he felt the need to help those who helped him. And yeah, the "Five Minutes" crack. Highly intentional of course. I have my own theory about that. JC is a good leader, but he's kinda falling for Roxy, and feels crushed it's going nowhere fast. You must admit, Lotor deserved what he got from Lenora that episode (and in this one...hehe). How this plays out is gonna be interesting.
Voltrex - Tails is partially right. The ships aren't alive, per se, but much like the lions, as they are powered by the same mystic forces, they determine their pilots "worthy" of piloting them. This is why no one could get the ships to work until the cadets stumbled upon them.
Author's Note - As the story progresses, it's both easy and difficult. It's funny how joy and sorrow motivate me. In a way, each of the cadets are a part of me. So for reasons I can't begin to count, that's why I chose one of my favorite songs by my favorite band to represent this chapter. "All I wanted to say was I love you and I'm not afraid." On to the J/A.
Theme Music : My Last Breath, by Evanescence
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins is the property of KathDMD.
Episode 15 : Operation Rescue
"Sire," Haggar said, walking down the corridor with Lotor, "I did not mean to intrude, but there is so much that needs to be done."
"Like what?" he asked. "I already conquered Quantus. I've done what no Drule commander in the entire Supremacy was able to do."
"Which is why I believe that we must take our case to the Supremacy itself," she replied. "All these years of your farther pandering to fools and bafoons. You are not like that, Lotor. You create power from fear. Nations tremble at the mere mention of your name!"
"This is true," he replied, "but what is flattery going to get you, witch?"
"Why settle for Korronith," she said, "when you could rule an empire!"
"You mean…" he started to say.
"The Rite of Succession," she said. "If you challenge the Emperor's power and authority, and his is struck down, the Rite must be followed. His successor would have been your father. It is time the empire saw a ruler from the ninth kingdom ascend and take and use the power instead of squander it!"
"I like your thinking," he replied. "But why do you continue to help me, witch? I have little to offer you."
"I live to serve you, sire," she replied. "The only payment I need is to see the legend of Voltron smashed down, and its components returned to me, that I may study its magic. It rightfully belongs to me, and I shall have it back!"
"You shall have Voltron," he replied. "Have General Cossack contact the Drule Council. Let them know I am requesting an emergency meeting. That should bring attention to my claim."
"As you wish, sire," she replied.
"We will proceed to Quantus to check on the progress of the mines," he said. 'We will need more lazon to build more warships!"
"We have to do something!" Jeff said, pounding his fist on the council table. "We can't just sit here on our tails while Lotor has Len!"
"Easy, Jeff," Hawkins replied. "Believe me, I'm just as ready to charge in as you are. But I want to go in there with a plan, and I want to get her out of there unharmed."
"I can't believe Wade was able to break into her office and just take her," Cliff said.
"It's crazy," JC replied. "We need special key cards to get up here. For him to have been able to manipulate the system…"
"Our intelligence reports that Lotor's ship was last headed for Quantus," Stromclaw said. "If there ever was a time to strike, it's now."
"Sir," JC asked, "if we outright attack, won't Lotor or Wade harm the Space Marshall?"
"That's why we're gonna have someone on the inside to prevent it," he replied. "We need someone who can sneak in there and not only rescue Space Marshall Hawkins, but also take out the base's weapon systems."
"I'm electing to go," Hawkins chimed in.
"You know I can't let you do that, Jon," Stormclaw replied.
"Dammit, Mike, she's my wife!" he demanded.
"That's why I need someone with a sharp mind and an even sharper aim that has no personal attachment to perform the rescue operation," he replied.
"Sir," JC said standing up again, "I would like to recommend Cadet Truvall."
"Truvall?" Stormclaw asked.
"Yes, sir," JC replied. "You know as well as I do she scored extremely high in Human Weapon 101 exams, and records from her training classes on Arus indicate a high accuracy rating. Her rating comes close to rivaling Lieutenant McClain of the Lion Force. In all honesty, she was made for this mission."
"You do have a point," Stormclaw replied.
"You're seriously considering sending a cadet in after my wife?" Hawkins asked, protesting.
"With all due respect, sir," JC replied, "I wouldn't have even suggested it if I wasn't sure she'd succeed. She trusted us to pilot those ships, Commander. Let my team and I repay that favor."
"Dammit, Jon, you know they can do this," Stormclaw said.
"Fine," he replied. "Have Truvall meet with us within the next hour. We have a Drule shuttle she can use to get to the base, and access codes to enter the base. We have to move quickly."
"Yes, sir," JC replied.
"Jeff," Hawkins continued, "I want your teams on standby. We will remain out of range of their scanners with the Explorer and the support fleet until we receive word that she's safe."
"Yes, sir," Jeff replied.
"Dismissed," Stormclaw said, and they all left the room.
Roxy sat outside the main building thinking to herself. I know I'm better than this. Why am I upset? So I disobeyed orders. It was from a cadet. But it almost cost us my ship. It almost cost me my life. I wonder how he would feel if I had….no, come on Roxy, snap the flack out of it! This isn't your fault! Grend is just a boy. Another lying cheating sack of snart just like the rest of them. You can't trust him no matter how much you lo….whatever. I can't keep running this over and over in my mind. All he needs to do is stay away, and everything will be fine. All I need to worry about is me.
"Hey, Truvall," JC shouted as he came out of the building.
"Grend," she said, getting up, "we can't just sit here! We have to rescue the Space Marshall!"
"I agree," he replied. "They're sending in someone to sneak into the base, shut down the power grid, and rescue the Space Marshall."
"Who are they sending?" she asked. "Someone from Special Operations, or is Hawkins gonna charge in there himself?"
"Actually," he replied, "it's you."
"ME?" she asked loudly. 'What the flack, Grend?"
"I recommended you," he replied. She swung around and hit him in the face with a right cross, knocking him down. He tried to get up as he held his jaw.
"What the hell were you thinking?" she asked.
"You're flacking welcome," he said sarcasticly. "The honest truth is you're good. You are the best of us at hand to hand, and you have the best aim of all of us. They agreed."
"You better hope I survive this, Grend," she replied, "or I'll kill you!" She stormed up the steps and through the doors. JC rubbed his jaw as he walked back towards the Academy dorms.
Roxy sat patiently behind the controls of the Drule shuttle, expertly piloting it towards Quantus.
I want nothing more than to save the Space Marshall, but for Grend to just volunteer me without even asking….UGH! When will he ever understand?
Just then, her com started beeping.
"Oh great," she said to herself quietly. "Better be on your toes, Truvall."
"Shuttlecraft," a voice came over the com, "identify yourself and state your destination."
"This is Medical Shuttlecraft 519 heading for main outpost," Roxy replied with as deep an accent as she could muster. "Delivering medical supplies for non-robotic personnel."
"Permission has been granted," the voice replied. The communicator turned off, and Roxy wiped her brow.
"I guess I should get into this uniform," she said to herself. "Hopefully the Drules don't figure out who I am until I'm well inside." She set the autopilot to land the shuttle, and got up out of her seat to pull on the suit.
The shuttle landed on a pad near the entrance to a hangar on the base. A few soldiers came up to the shuttle as the doors opened. Roxy hopped out, a helmet with a darkened visor covering her face.
"Take an inventory," she said. "I need to go inside and log my trip." They waved her on, and she walked into the base. As soon as she was able, she ducked around the corner and raised her right arm. Her voltcom created a holo-screen, and she stared intently at the map.
"Of course they'd have her on the upper levels," she muttered to herself. "Lotor's not that bright, but seeing as how the generator is on the lower decks, it's gonna make this mission a heck of a lot more complicated." She lowered her arm and thought. "If I can find the Space Marshall, she can help me shut down the generator." She ran down a hallway and into an elevator. She pressed a series of buttons, and it went up. As soon as it reached the correct floor, she looked for Drules, then ran out, taking off around several corners until she found what she was looking for. She walked up to the door and saw two heavy chains holding the door shut.
"Primitive," she said, tilting her head sideways. He reached out with her arm, pointing her finger at the locks. A gun formed and fired several times, destroying the lock. She pulled the chains out and kicked down the door.
"Cadet Truvall!" Lenora shouted.
"Hawkins sent me," she replied. "We're gonna get you out of here."
"That man never ceases to amaze me," Lenora replied with a smirk.
"I need help taking out the power generator," Roxy said. 'It'll provide the distraction we need to escape."
"Speaking of distractions," Lenora said, "there's one thing I need from Wade before we get out of this place." My Voltcom.
"It's been over an hour, Commander," Jeff said impatiently. "What if Truvall blows her cover? We can't just sit here! We have to do something!"
"Truvall will succeed," JC replied. "I'll bet my life on it. She's tough. I do think we should get to the ships and be on standby."
"Now THAT I'll agree with!" Jeff said, running for the door. JC ran after him.
Roxy and Lenora peeked around the corner of a doorway and saw Wade pacing back and forth behind a desk. Lenora looked around, then pointed at something and looked at Roxy. Roxy nodded. Lenora walked casually into the room.
"Charles Herbert Wade," she said. Wade turned and saw her, a bit shocked, but that quickly turned to anger.
"How did you escape from your room?" He asked angrily. He held out his arm, and a shotgun appeared, pointed right at her. He began to walk towards her, and she carefully backed away. "I knew I should have killed you when I had the chance! Nothing ever goes right when I leave it to incompetence! I'm sick to death of human error!" Wade took one more step forward, and Roxy reached out, her gun forming, and fired at a heavy chandelier above, which dropped on Wade's head. He staggered back a bit, and Lenora ran up to him and punched him in the face hard, sending him to the ground. She shook her hand and wiggled her fingers shortly afterwards.
"Damn, that felt good," she said. She walked up to the now unconscious Wade and removed the weapons cache, and placed it back on her own arm. She smirked. "Now let's get out of here."
"You're not going anywhere!" Kala said as she grabbed Roxy from behind. Lenora reached back, and a green throwing ax appeared. She threw it hard, and it pinned Kala's cape against the wall. Roxy elbowed Kala, turned and punched her in the gut, then gave her a roundhouse kick to the face. Kala slumped unconscious.
"Nice work, Truvall," Lenora said. "Now let's get to that generator." They ran out of the room and headed to the elevator.
"Sir!" Sparks shouted. "Drule forces have spotted us!"
"Go to red alert!" Hawkins shouted. "Ahead full! Voltron force, launch immediately!" The fifteen vehicles and four of the five jets launched from the Explorer, and flew in to meet the oncoming drones.
"There's warships and plasma cannons on the ground," Jeff said. "We're gonna need a bit more firepower." He pulled a lever. "Air Team, Form Strato-fighter!" The five units of the air team flew into position, and combined, forming the Strato-fighter sub unit.
"Land Team," Cliff shouted, "Form Turbo-Terrain Fighter!" The Land team Units flew into position, combining into the Turbo-terrain Fighter sub unit.
"Sea Team," Krik shouted, "Ignite nuclear power thrusters, and form Aqua Fighter!" The Sea Team Units combined, then merged together to form the Aqua Fighter sub unit.
"Now let's take out those ships!" Jeff shouted. The four jets followed them, firing forward and aft arrays at the drones.
"Too easy," Seth said.
"Like pie?" Tails said. "I like pie!" She grinned.
"I hope Roxy's ok," Dariana said.
"Me too, Dar," JC replied. "Me too."
"There's the generator," Roxy whispered. "There are way too many guards. How are we gonna get that close?"
"We won't have to," Lenora said, smirking. She reached towards the generator controls, and a massive gun appeared on it. It fired, and a grenade launched at it. She quickly pulled back as it vanished. "Now we run!" They took off for the elevator as the panel exploded. When they arrived at the doors, they were jammed shut. The two women managed to pry the doors open, and climb up the elevator shaft. Two floors up, Roxy held up her hand, and the voltcom glowed red. She punched the door, and it flew off the rails. They climbed out of the shaft and ran for the hangar. Roxy formed her guns, and Lenora began throwing axes at the wade-bots to slow them down.
"Space Marshall!" she shouted. "This way!" They climbed into the shuttle, and took off. Suddenly, the shuttle was hit by laser fire, and they crash landed.
"Are you ok?" Lenora asked her. Roxy nodded.
"The thrusters are jammed," she replied. "This thing'll never get off the ground." They left the ship and looked up, seeing the Voltron Force. Roxy reached for her Voltcom.
"Guys!" she yelled. 'Where's Red?"
"Aboard the Explorer!" JC shouted.
"Perfect," Roxy said. She keyed in several commands into the Voltcom, and Red launched from the Explorer, and flew on auto to her location. It landed next to them. "Climb in, Space Marshall." They both climbed into the cockpit and took off.
"No!" Lotor shouted. "I won't let them get away!" He pulled a lever, and the robeast with drill arms protecting Quantus came at them. The Jets scattered, and the Vehicle Force began focusing their firepower on it. "I will not let them escape!" He pulled another lever, and a huge laser cannon came from the tower. He pressed a button, and it fired on the Explorer."
"Sir!" Sparks yelled. "We've been hit!"
"Damage report!" Hawkins shouted.
"The forward thrusters are offline," he said. "The fuel cells have been compromised! I'm sorry, sir, the ship is gonna blow any minute!"
"Get to the escape pods!" Hawkins yelled.
"Jon!" Newly shouted.
"I know what I'm doing, just go now!" Hawkins yelled. The crew began to run for the escape pods. "This is for what you did to Lenora you sick son of a blit!" He keyed in commands into the ops control, and the Explorer headed at full thrusters right at the tower.
"NO!" Lotor yelled. "No! I won't let it end like this!" Lotor tired to run, but in seconds, the Explorer crashed into the tower, both exploding in a fiery blaze. Lenora in Red saw the Explorer explode.
"JON!" she shouted, tears in her eyes.
"Guys, it's now or never!" JC shouted. "We need Voltron!" Roxy heard Lenora crying, and felt herself start to tear up…perhaps for the first time in her life since her mother died. "Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"
"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The jets flew in wing formation, switching to star pattern for connection.
"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.
"We have to check the escape pods," Jeff shouted. "You guys able to handle this?"
"We got this," JC replied. "I'll holler if we need you." Voltron turned towards the beast. It came running at him and hit him with the drills, pinning him against the wall of the base. The drills were scratching the corrite, but thankfully not cutting through the ships.
"Hull integrity is at sixty percent," Tails said. "We can't take much more of this, Cap'n!"
"Then let's change it up!" JC shouted, pulling the weapons console. Voltron grabbed the drills, and pulled them away, then planted them firmly into the wall behind them. Voltron kicked hard, sending the beast flying upwards, still stuck in the wall. Voltron moved out from beneath it, then turned. "Roxy, it's your turn!"
"Draw Magma Pistols!" Roxy shouted. Lenora connected her voltcom to the console, and instead of the pistols, a giant shotgun formed. "What the flack?" Voltron fired, and the projectile hit the beast in the chest and exploded, leaving a gaping hole. The weapon vanished.
"Form Blazing Sword!" JC yelled. Voltron reached to his left hip, meeting hands, and pulled the energy beam that became the sword. Grasping the hilt with both hands, he ran at the beast and swung twice in quick succession. The beast fell apart and exploded.
"JC!" Seth shouted. "The support fleet is getting pummeled by the Drule ships. Stormclaw is ordering a temporary retreat."
"What about the escape pods?" Roxy said.
"The Support Fleet picked up the pods," Seth said. "To my knowledge, all but one are accounted for." Lenora broke down again. Roxy gripped the yokes in anger.
"Let's get back to the Garrison," she said. "Mark my words, I'll make Lotor pay." Voltron took off and followed the support fleet towards Earth, the three teams from the vehicle Force not far behind.
The Jets landed back at the hangar, and everyone climbed out. Lenora was distraught as Roxy led her out of the hanger towards the control room. As they made their way down the hallway, tears streaming down Lenora's face, Roxy heard a voice, and looked up. She actually grinned."
"Hey," he said. "Why the tears?" Lenora suddenly looked up, and became overwhelmed with joy.
"Jon!" She ran to him and wrapped her arms around him, burying her soaking wet face in his chest. Her tears of sorrow had turned to joy in an instant. She looked at him, and kissed him passionately. Roxy continued to smirk. She wasn't quite sure why, as usually the thought of love or men sickened her. But for a moment…in her own deepest region of her heart….she wanted that.
"I told you I would never leave you, mon ange," he said.
"I'm glad you're alive," she said, still sobbing.
"The escape pod jammed," he said. "Luckily, Rich waited 'till the last moment to eject. That man literally saved my hide!"
"We'll have to thank him," she said, smiling. They walked away, continuing to talk. JC approached Roxy.
"So," he said, "now that this is over, you think we could…"
"Get bent, Grend," she said. "Flack off…and just…get….bent." She walked away, and he let out a sigh.