Voltrex - The wait is over! Episode 23 is here! This one is an emotional one though.

KathDMD - Like I said, I decided now was the time to drop the first of the few final end of season bombshells. While last chapter was action packed, this chapter is a lot more emotional. I hope you like it.

Author's Note - I know what motivated me to finish this one. Even after the phone call I got this morning that disturbed me, I still managed to make this episode everything I thought it would be. Thank you.

Theme Music : Your Star, by Evanescence

Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins is the property of KathDMD.

Episode 23 : Wishes

"What do you think so far?" Lenora asked Jon.

"I can't even begin to take it all in," he replied. "How long did you say they were working on this?"

"Since the day the Explorer launched," she replied. "This project was about as hushed as Project Defender. I'm suprised Graham never told you about this."

"Not a word," Jon replied. "How long have you known?"

"I found out about it shortly before Graham retired," she replied. "I was just as shocked as you are. I can't even fathom how he was able to pony up the cash needed for something like this. You know how bad military funding was back then."

"That was before the legend of Voltron became a reality," Jon replied. "But this...this is nothing short of incredible!"

"I told you you wouldn't regret your decision," she replied with a smirk.

"How soon will it be ready?" he asked.

"When it's ready," she replied. "We have the lazon supply now, and that should be more than enough to complete the project. I haven't informed anyone yet, but the teams are still here making rounds as the generation system allows."

"I have a feeling they'll be as excited as I am," he replied. He turned to her. "You know I'll hold up my end of the bargain."

"Have someone in mind already?" she asked.

"Actually, I have a few people in mind," he replied. "But we can discuss that once I've had a chance to scout." One of the guards walked up to them.

"Space Marshall," he said, "Commodore Steele is on the telecom."

"I haven't spoken to him in ages," she replied. "Can you patch it through to the com station here?"

"No, ma'am," he replied. "It's on a private channel in your office...and it's urgent." She looked at Jon with concern, then followed the guard back to the elevators.

Dariana sat on her bed looking through her books for class. She sighed, then quickly put it down.

I can't stop thinking about it. How blurry is the line between good and evil? Can something demonic be good? I keep feeling like I'm going mad. I can feel the good in Kovinx. I can feel her bond with Voltron...feel a part of her in the nexus. I understand why I continue to have the dreams. They want me to learn from the past. But why is Kovinx trying to exist in me in the here an now? Is there something I don't understand? I know what I am now...and it scares me.

"Dari," Roxy said, coming into the room. "What's wrong? You thinking about the dreams again?"

"Yeah," she replied. "I've been thinking about it alot, Roxy. How can't I? It's a part of me. It IS me. I never thought I was anyone special. Now I'm some demon...with a power i can't even seem to control."

"You're scared," Roxy said, matter of factly.

"Uh huh," she replied. "It's one thing to have a skill you can control. It's a whole 'nother thing to be pushed into a destiny you don't fully understand. Kovinx and i are linked somehow. I have to find out why and how in order to get past this, and take control."

"You are in control, Dari," she said. "You seem to be able to fight it in the dream. Keep doing that. ask questions and get answers. But the biggest thing of all is to remember that you are Dariana Kovinx, pilot of Jet Yellow, teammate and friend to Aroxia Truvall and her team, and know you have friends who are right here to help you keep an anchor on reality."

"I appreciate that more than you know," Dariana said. She got up and walked to the window and looked up at the night sky. She looked at one star in particular, and fixated on it as she spoke.

"Roxy," she asked, "have you ever looked up at the night sky, and wished for something you wanted more than anything else in the world?" Roxy walked up to her and put a hand on her shoulder. She smirked.

"All the time, Dari," she replied. "All the time."

Dariana awoke to a comotion outside her door, followed by a banging.

"Come in," she said. The dor flung open, and Tails came running in. She looked excited.

"Hey Dar!" she shouted. "I have a little something for ya that'll cheer you up!" She held out her hands, and there was Tick.

"Tick!" Dariana shouted. She scooped him up and placed a kiss on his forehead. It scurried up her arm, and climbed on top of her head and sat there, letting off a few loud ticks of approval.

"Seems like he's happy to see ya!" Tails said with her usual cheesy grin. "Chip said the damage was repaired, and the little guy is back to perfect health. He was marvelling at the technology though. His brain is constantly forming new neural pathways all by themselves. How in the heck did you do that?"

"I don't know," Dariana replied. "I just built him out of spare parts. He has...a brain?"

"Uh huh!" Tails shouted. "The most sophisticated brain I'd ever seen in a robotic creation!" Tick let out another few ticks of approval, and Dariana forgot about everything else and smiled. Tick ran back down, leaped onto the night stand and attached himself to her voltcom.

"I owe you and Chip for taking good care of Tick," she said.

"It was our pleasure!" she said. "We're all friends, Dar. I told ya we'd take care of him, and we did. But there is something else about the whole thing."

"What is it?" Dariana asked.

"Chip further examined the parasite," she replied. "This thing is also highly sophisticated. Whoever made it made it so it could control whatever it managed to burrow itself into. And there are others. Chip was able to create a tracking device for the little suckers."

"Wait," Dariana said, coming to a conclusion. "The construction vehicles at the robeast crash site, and the underwater monster, and that weird gigantic eye...they were all a swarm of these things?" Tails nodded in agreement.

"Yep," Tails replied. "From what Chip could tell, most of them were destroyed when we got rid of the giant eye. We're trying to track the rest down in the hopes of destroying them before they cause any more trouble."

"I'm just glad Tick's ok." she replied. "I don't know what I would do without him."

Maahox slowly opened the door to Wade's room and skulked inside.

"Charles," he said, "may I have a word with you?"

"Yes," he said, standing at the window, looking down at the slave pits. "Yes, of course."

"I know bringing up the takeove of Earth is a touchy subject for you," Maahox said, "but I think I know of a way we can salvage that situation."

"You have my attention," Wade replied.

"The...parasites...I sent to Earth," Maahox said, "are designed to take over for the host, in a sense, becoming a miniature brain that would follow my every command."

"Yes," Wade replied, "I remember you working on the technology."

"You may not have control of the robots of yours the alliance scrapped," Maahox said, "But I know something that CAN control them." He grinned from ear to ear.

"Are you saying your little bloodthirsty nanobugs can attach themselves to the robot soldiers, and cause them to rise up and wreak havok?" Wade asked.

"The possibilities those little buggers have are practically endless!" he replied. "I'll plant a command in the little buggers that will have them make a beeline for anyone I choose! I could send every last one of them after the Space Marshall, or even to leader of the Voltron Force!"

"Your plans are nothing short of brilliant, Maahox," Wade replied with a smile.

"Merely a stroke of genius amidst a sea of incompetence," Maahox said.

"Indeed," Wade replied. "Lotor holds Quantus in his back pocket, and does nothing with it! Well, we're going to change all that. And from the latest report I have from my sources, I now know the perfect time to strike."

"Space Marshall, I'm sorry to have to contact you under these circumstances," Steele said. "I regret to inform you that Space Marshall Graham has passed away." Lenora put her hand over her mouth in shock.

"I can't believe it," she replied. "What happenned?"

"Honestly," Steele replied, "he's had a few bouts with pneumonia, and being as up in age as he is, his heart just gave out. Natural causes. He died in his sleep early this evening."

"I'm glad he went peacefully," she replied. "I'll miss him terribly. We all will."

"Another reason I'm contacting you before the media is because one of his requests was for you, Space Marshall, to give the eulogy."

"Me?" she asked. He nodded.

"Lenora," he said, "you know as well as I do that as respected as he was, Graham trusted only two people in his service...you and myself. You used to hear the beaurocrats talk about him behind his back. People thought he lost his mind when he commissioned the force to go after what they called a rediculous legend. No one fought so hard to keep this organization afloat than you. That's one of the many reasons he recommeded you as his replacement, and one of the reasons he considered you a trusted friend. I know it meant alot to him."

"I'll begin work on it at once," she replied. "How soon before the media hears of this?"

"I am going to contact them first thing tomorrow morning," he replied. "I know the news might make it out before that, but we still want to keep things low profile for now, in light of the threats from the Supremacy."

"Of course," she replied. "Has a date been set for the service?"

"Three days from now," he replied. "Hopefully his body will be released from the morgue sometime later tomorrow."

"Thank you, Commodore," she said. "It's been good speaking with you again."

"Likewise, Space Marshall," he replied. The com ended. Lenora paced back and forth for a bit, then sat down at her desk. She grabbed an empty sheet of paper, and pulled a golden pen from a fixture on her desk. She looked at it, and Marshall Graham's initials were engraved in it, along with the phrase 'Good luck!'. She put the pen down on the paper, then buried her face in her hands, remembering the day he had given that pen to her, and wiping away tears.

"I can't believe he's gone," JC said as the team walked together to the outdoor memorial service for Space Marshall Graham. "I remember being a kid and seeing him on the news in press conferences about the war with the Supremacy. It's a strange feeling to know this is the last time we'll ever see him."

"If it wasn't for him," Dariana said, "The Vehicle Voltron would have never been launched, and Nebb would have been enslaved by the Supremacy."

"He was a good man," Seth said. "I'm not sure Ariel could have survived under the thumb of the Supremacy if it wasn't for aid and supplies from the Alliance."

"That's why we're here, guys," Roxy said, "to pay our respects." They sat down in the third row back, which was assigned to them. As the rest of the large crowd gathered in, things began to calm down. Coomodore Steele cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, "today we have lost a great man. Not only one of the most recognizable faces in the Galaxy Alliance, but a great leader, and a great friend. We come here today to pay our respects, and to honor and respect his many accomplishments." He paused and glanced to his left nervously. "Now I would like to introduce to you, with some final words about Marshall Graham, Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins." The crowd applauded as she walked from stage left to the podium. She shook Steele's hand, and gave him a quick hug, then took the podium. The crowd quieted down, and she cleared her throat. She carefully pulled out a folded piece of paper and placed it onto the podium, and nervously looked out to the crowd. She took a deep breath.

"Space Marshall Graham was an exceptional man," she said. "His service to the Galaxy Alliance has been highly regarded as one of the most prosperous times in history. I remember a man who when faced with adversity, looked it in the eye and fought for what was right. He fought for the greater good, even when the world was against him. To me he was a mentor and friend, someone each and every one of us should look up to." Just then, shots were fired from behind the crowd. Everyone began to flee in a panic, and Lenora ducked behind the podium as her personal guard began firing. The team turned to see a huge army of Wad-Bots marching towards them.

"Wade-Bots?" Roxy shouted. "I thought we destroyed them all!"

"Apparently not," JC said. Katanas formed in his hands. "Dar, you and Seth get the Space Marshall to safety."

"Grend!" Roxy shouted.

"Sorry, Turvall," he replied, then ran into the fray, slicing through robots.

"Dari, you and Derringer get the Space Marshall to safety," Roxy said. "McGovern, you're with me." Magma pistols appeared in her hands.

"Let's cut 'em down!" Tails said as she pulled green axes from thin air. Roxy began firing into the crowd of robots. Tails threw several axes, smashing two or three of them, then began slashing at them once she was close enough to fight hand to hand.

"Space Marshall?" Dariana said, "please come with us."

"I didn't become who I am by backing down to Wade," she replied, pulling back her sleeve. A long range plasma rifle appeared in her hand, and she began firing at the robots as well from a safe distance. Seth pulled his crossbow and began firing as well.

"I have a bad feeling about this," Dariana said, staring out at the crowd of robots.

"They seem to be trying to get to the stage!" JC said, slicing through two more robots. '"We can't let them get that far!"

"I'm going to circle around back!" Roxy said. She took off running, climbing over walls and fences, trying to get to the back of the army. When she did, the army started to turn, and march towards her.

"Oh no," JC said, "The robots aren't after the Space Marshall...they're after Truvall!" JC ran into the crowd, trying to carve a path to her. Roxy fired shot after accurate shot into the crowd, taking out as many as she could. She started to back up.

"Why are they coming after me?" she asked. She put away the guns, and began fighting hand to hand. She smashed one, and whipped another into a group of them. They backed her into a corner, and she heard their weapons preparing to fire. As they did, JC leaped in between them and delfected the shots with his katanas.

"Truvall!" he shouted. "get back to the hangar! Get the ships!" She pulled her guns again and fired as she ran. JC tried his best to hold them back. Several axes came whizzing by and stuck into a wal behind him. Tails appeared.

"Woops!" she said. "Sorry, still working on my aim."

"Look out!" JC shouted. One went to grab Tails, but a yellow spike attached to a cable wrapped itself around the robot, and it was flung around into the others, smashing them. Dariana ran to them, smashing them one by one with the electrified spikes from her chargers.

"Where's the Space Marshall?" Tails asked.

"She's safe with Seth," Daiana shouted. "She had her weapons cache on her. They are actually fighting their way here." Suddenly, laser fire came from the sky, obliterating what was left of the army. Five ships landed automatically, but only one had a live pilot.

"Nice work, Truvall!" JC said.

"No time for suck up," Roxy replied. "We have a bigger problem. Look!" The parasites left the destroyed wade-bots, and attached to the girders in the stage. Everything began to come together into a massive monstrosity. Seth and Lenora were able to jump down and escape.

"Space Marshall," Seth said, "Head for the underground shelter. We got this from here." She nodded and ran off. Seth ran to the ships.

"Let's get up in the air so we're not an easy target," Roxy shouted, closing the hatch and taking off in Red.

"You heard her!" JC said. "Let's go!" All five ships took off, and began attacking the stange, which seemed to be blindly swinging at them.

"He doesn't seem to be coming after us," JC said.

"That's not what I'm seeing!" Roxy replied. "I just had several near misses." JC's eyes widened.

"Truvall!" he shouted. "Careful! It seems they're programmed to come after you!"

"Flack," she said. "Well, if it's after me, let's give it a bigger target!" The ships regrouped in formation. "Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go!"

"Let's go Voltron Force!" they shouted. The ships flew, then switched to diamond formation as the energy field took hold.

"Form feet and legs!" Roxy shouted. "Form arms and torso!"

"And I'll form the head!" JC shouted. Voltron arched back as the energy field exploded, and his eyes lit up.

"McGovern," Roxy asked, "Can you tell how many of those pests are attached to that thing?"

"Not many," she replied. "Just shy of a dozen?"

"Do you have anything to take them out?" Roxy asked. The beast charged at them, but Voltron was able to leap out of the way.

"I can reconfigure the weapon systems to hit them with an electromagnetic pulse," Tails replied. "It's gonna take me a minute or two."

"Let's buy her some time," Roxy said. "Seth?"

"Form Aquatic Bow!" Seth shouted. A bow of pure water formed in Voltron's hands, tirning to ice. Voltron fired several bolts at the monster, freeding the girders making up its legs to the ground."

"Don't destroy it until I have the EMP ready," Tails said. "If you do, the little buggers will just fly away!"

"I can try and short circuit them," Dariana replied. She started to focus. "Form Blazing Chargers!" The spiked handles appeared in Voltron's hands. As she focused, her eyes blinked, and changed pure white. "This is for Altaire!" Voltron launched a charger at the beast, hitting it in the shoulder, piercing two of the bugs and destroying them. A charge was exchanged between them.

"It's...trying to take control..." JC said, trying everything he could to break loose."

"Just one more...got it!" tails shouted. She h9it a button, and a pulse travelled through the charger and zapped the beast. Voltron pulled and drew back the charger.

"Form Blazing Sword!" Roxy shouted. Voltron reached to his hip and pulled the sword.

"EMP is charged!" Tails said.

"So is the sword!" Roxy said. Voltron ran at the beast and sliced clean through it twice in quick succession. It fell apart and exploded. "Did we kill the parasites?"

"Not seeing anything on the modified scanners," she replied. "We got 'em"

The team gathered in the Space Marshall's office. They stood in a row in front of the Space Marshall, with Commander Stormclaw and Commander Hawkins standing on the side.

"I called you in here to personally thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you have done," Lenora said. "If it wasn't for your quick thinking, many more lives would have been lost." She began to pace. "In my career here, while I have always been true to myself and my own skills, I also did, and still do, my best to emmulate the great things Space Marshall Graham accomplished. And in a sense, you all are the product of his greatest achievement. I always want to support you...in the same way he supported me." She sat down at her desks. "I received your reports from your professors at the academy. Your work has been exemplary. Because of this, we've decided to move your graduation date up. A week from now, it will be official. Congradulations, Team."

"Thank you, Space Marshall," Roxy said. They saluted her.

"Dismissed," she said. After they left with Commander Stormclaw, Commander hawkins approached her desk.

"You sure this is a good choice?" Jon asked.

"He would have done the same thing," she replied.