KathDMD - Glad you enjoyed Ginger's entrance, and Hunk lamenting over Cinda. Jeff is indeed glad to have Christiane on the bridge of the Defender, especially since they will be launching again soon! I did enjoy the nod to KBL's "Elevator Lance" as well. As for Roxy, yeah, she might just take Tails' plan beyond its limit...and you will see the effect it has on JC and the rest of the team. Cinda is hell bent on finding out who was responsible for the incident...and you'll find out soon that Mike has put one of the Garrison's top interrigators on the case!
lovecastle89 - It took me a while to fully develop the main characters, and decide where they came from and where they are going. It will be just as much a challenge with some of the new cadets coming into the picture. As for Red, you know how Lance is protective of her, and his relationship with Roxy is a special one. In the end, everything will come together, but by all means, read on and enjoy the trip there!
Author's Note - Alot has been going on in my life in the last few days. It's been hard to get anything done, let alone writing. But as usual, my muse knows how to move me in unimagineable ways, and I hope you all enjoy this installment.
Theme Music : "Kickstart My Heart" by Motley Crue
Disclaimer - Voltron and all associated characters are the property of WEP. Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins and associated characters are the property of KathDMD. Lieutenant Lysette Fabrere is the property of selena devargo.
Episode 59 : Kickstart
As Keith and Roxy got to the elevator, it opened to reveal Lance, Hunk and Ginger.
"Crisis averted, oh fearless leader," Lance said in his usual demeanor. Keith frowned, then turned his head to Ginger.
"Sergeant Ellington," He said.
"That's Lieutenant, Commander Kogane," Ginger snapped back. "As I told McClain, we ran into a Drule blockade, and a few asteroids, but I've arrived in one piece."
"Indeed," Keith replied. "As long as you're alright. I take it you would like to address the contestants?"
"Absolutely!" she replied ecstatically. "After all, most of them will be my students this semester. I wanna see what they got."
"Well," Lance said with a smirk, "let's get you out there so we can officially get this thing started." He led her through the hallway towards the main entrance. Keith shook his head.
"Well, Truvall, you better get out there," he said. She nodded and took off running. He turned to Hunk. "After we finally find a cadet to begin training to fly Red, there's just one more matter to attend to."
"Take your time," Hunk said with a chuckle. "No one's in a hurry to fly Yellow. And I'll be here until I'm no longer needed. And even then I'll still be here." He paused for a moment, lost in his own thought process. "So, is there gonna be any food served during this competition?" Keith laughed, patted him on the back, and the two walked down the hallway.
"We tried our best to stop the fractal," the Drule general said angrily to Wade. "We even forced it into the asteroid field, but the pilot was able to avoid us at every turn!"
"The loss of forces should concern you, General," Wade replied adamantly. "You failed in your task, plain and simple.
"It wasn't my fault!" the general snapped.
"Then perhaps it was Lord Kanji's fault?" Wade quipped. "Perhaps you should be the one to explain your predicament to him." The general huffed, not willing to take orders or disciplinary action from a pathetic human. He stormed off and walked into the throne room. Kala approached Wade.
"You do know what you have done?" she asked. He nodded.
"One of the rules of outsmarting your enemy is learning to be one step ahead of them," he replied confidently. "And if I am correct, Kanji will deliver the lesson the general so desperately needs."
In the throne room, the general carefully approached. Kanji took notice and looked over at him.
"So," he said, "you have news of the blockade? I was informed earlier that an Earth ship had managed to slip past your forces."
"The pilot of that fractal was very skilled," the general replied, bowing. "We did our best to stop it, but were unsuccessful. We forced it into the asteroid field, but they were able to avoid us. There were only two people aboard, and felt no need to pursue them." Kanji stood up and walked down the steps to the general. The general looked frightened, but tried to stand firm. Kanji smiled. He looked the general in the eye.
"Each soldier on the battlefield is a sword," he said, unsheathing his own sword. He showed it to the general. "Each one is a weapon against the enemy, striking a killing blow to them with each success." He looked upon his reflection in the blade, admiring it. "There will, however, become a day when the blade is dulled. It is then it will fail." He looked at the general again. "After all….it wasn't your fault." In one quick motion, he turned around and sliced the general's head clean off its shoulders, sending it flying across the room. His body fell to its knees and slumped to the side. Kanji took a step backwards, and with sword in one hand, pointed it at the body. His hand began to glow a fiery orange as he began to chant. The body rose into the air, then out of nowhere, burst into flames. It burned completely….bones and all….and the ashes fluttered to the floor. The sword as well as his hand stopped glowing, and he resheathed the sword. He looked down at the ashes. He turned and walked back up to the throne. Haggar watched from the shadows in delight, but two others watched on from outside the doorway.
"There are only two things you do with a dulled blade," Wade said to Kala. "You either sharpen it….or dispose of it."
Allura stood in the control room, Nanny and baby Alexander not far away. She watched as the competition was about to be underway. But then she heard a female voice behind her clear her throat. When she turned, she saw it was Dariana.
"Sergeant Kovinx," she said. "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Actually," Dariana said, "Yes. You see, I have been seeing visions again, Your Highness. Visions of Arus' past. And I think you of all people should be aware of them. The ghosts of the past have been trying to send me a message, and I'm afraid that message lies somewhere deep in the crypts." Allura gasped.
"What kind of message is it?" Allura asked. "I know of your history, and ties to my family. You have shown me this, and told me of your many visions. But what message could possibly be hidden in the crypts?"
"I am hoping together we can find out," Dariana said, subtlely trying to coax the queen to follow her. Allura let out a sigh, and turned to Nanny.
"Please attend to Alexander until I return," she said. Nanny grimaced.
"Allura!" Nanny shouted. "Haven't you had your fill of running around the crypts and getting into trouble? I thought once you became queen, and then a mother, that you would give up such notions!"
"Nanny," she said patiently, "Dariana is a lamia. And above all, one that has ties to my father. If there is something she needs to know of Arus' past, it is my duty to assist her in any way I can." Nanny went to speak, but instead huffed, and returned to fussing over the baby. The two left the room, headed for the crypts.
"Will they be alright?" Dariana asked.
"She has always been protective of me," Allura said. "Sometimes to a fault. But she is very capable. I trust her with my life, and my child's life. As for her concern, in time she will understand. For now, let's get to the crypts so you can show me what you wish me to see." They approached a tapestry….the very same one Dariana saw in her vision. Even the signature in the corner was that of Lumen Truvall. Dariana wondered if the queen even realized this….that the artist that painted this mural was in some way related to Roxy. Allura pushed it aside and revealed the entrance, and both women entered the crypts.
"Many times I would come down here," Allura continued as they walked. "Times when I was bored, or confused, or even frightened. As strange as it sounds, this place brought peace to my heart, because I knew my father was watching over me." They turned at a point in the passage and entered one of the tombs. Dariana was mesmerized when the light hit the walls….she had been here before, if only ion a dream.
"This is it," Dariana said. "This is where I was in my dream. My grandmother spoke to me….told me that the spirits of the royal family would continue to watch over this place, and that a message would come when I need it the most." Allura let out a sigh.
"As you can see," she said, "nothing is written on these walls. They are of solid rock, hand carved by my father and his men. As for my father's spirit, I'm afraid when I ascended the throne, he moved on."
"No," Dariana interjected. "I definitely feel something here. I KNOW the message is here. I need answers."
"To what questions?" Allura asked. Dariana began to cry. She turned to Allura.
"Why King Alfor agreed to hide my father," she said, "and proclaim to the world he was dead. I want to know how and why my father became the man he is, a willing servant of the Drule Supremacy."
"I wish there was something I could do," Allura said. But before she could say anything else, Dariana grabbed Allura's wrist and tightly squeezed it. Her eyes glowed, and a wild look appeared on her face.
"Dariana!" she shouted. "Sergeant Kovinx, let me go!"
"No!" Dariana shouted…her voice suddenly different from her own. "You must see this through to the end!"
"Competitors," the announcer boomed, "take your place at the starting mark!" Roxy power on the engines of the test craft she had been given for the completion and taxied to the starting position. "The rules are simple. There is to be no contact. Your weapons systems have been disabled. This is a race through a rigorous flight course. The one to complete the course and arrive back first will be the victor!" Roxy looked over at Sam.
"Time to show you what a real Voltron pilot can do," Roxy snarled.
"You're nothing but a rogue and a cheat!" Sam snarled back. "The Academy hasn't changed you one bit. You're still the snarling little blit that had to win at everything….at all costs. It's time someone took you down once and for all, Truvall. And I'm gonna be the one to do it." Roxy brushed it off as the signal to begin flashed, and all the ships took off down the course. They rounded a curve and flew rapidly through a section of the course set up like a slalom. One of the ships knicked a post and made an unscheduled landing in the clearing beyond. The rest continued following the markers up and out of Arus' atmosphere.
"Watch closely as the cameras closely follow the competitors through the grueling course set out for them!" the announcer boomed. The crowd looked in awe as the remaining seven ships zoomed up the course and out of Arus' atmosphere. Lighted markers marked the path through the system, and the remaining ships continued to blaze through it. Roxy was in third, followed closely by Sam.
"Some things they don't teach you at that Earth Academy," Sam spouted over the com. Suddenly, her jet spun to the right and rocketed past Roxy, putting her in third. Roxy grimaced.
"Yeah, right," Roxy replied. "Because you learned that move from me you little…." She puched the throttle, and the two raced ahead, dodging obstacles left and right. Another one of the ships, the one behind Roxy, didn't see the final marker and smashed into it. The pod jettisoned, and the ship exploded. The others continued on.
"And Cadet Greyson has just been eliminated from the competition!" the announcer boomed. "Thankfully he was able to jettison in time. And the remaining competitors are beginning to make their way around Arus' twin suns….a feat of skill to govern the gravitational forces of those colossal celestial bodies! They must use the manual controls to govern the forces in this test. If anyone switches to automatic….they are out of the competition!"
"Dammit, Roxy," Tails said softly, watching the monitor, "I hope you know what you're doing." Nearby, JC and Seth watched in awe.
"She's something else, eh?" Seth said.
"I've never had a doubt about her piloting skills, Seth," JC replied. "I'm more concerned about what'll happen when she wins."
"Don't you mean 'if'?" Seth asked. JC looked him in the eye.
"No," he replied. "When."
Jenny walked into the hangar that morning to see her new teammates already working on the Sea Team Vehicles. Chip took notice of her and walked up to her.
"Ah, Cadet Owens," Chip said. "I'm glad you're here. We could use all the help we can get."
"Sure," Jenny replied. "Where do I start?"
"Well," Chip replied, "the Air and Land Team vehicles have been repaired and upgraded. We're working on doing the same to the Sea Team. Most of the work you will be doing with the others is structural, but I'll also need some systems analysis done so that we can detect any further issues. I'm glad you were able to discover the fault in CJE's systems."
"Yeah," she replied, "I kinda had to wing it there. No tools means you need to think on your feet." Chip smirked.
"I think I'm gonna like you, Cadet," he replied. "Go over to the Communications Module. I need you to assist Cadet Islu with her analysis." Jenny walked over to the Communications Module, and saw Mai tapping away on her datapad. Mai heard her approach and looked up.
"Oh, hey!" she said. "So you're one of us now?"
"Uh huh," Jenny replied.
"Great!" she replied. "Maybe you can make heads or tails of these systems. Does this look like a Thrmo….um….Thermocoupling Inducer?"
"Anything in the manuals?" Jenny asked.
"Nothing in the books at all," Mai said. "We see stuff similar to this in the testing, but I look at the way this thing is wired and scratch my head! Oh, but I'm not trying to bore you with technical mumbo jumbo. I still can't believe you're on the team with us!"
"Can it, Islu!" Dixie shouted from across the hangar. "Quit hitting on the new girl. We got a job to do!" Dixie picked up a panel and carried it over to the Keegan twins, who were welding pieces of the Space Prober together.
"Yelling isn't gonna make the job finish quicker, Calla!" Ken shouted over from the top of the prober, working on wiring the new control panels. Mai embarrassedly turned back to Jenny.
"The girl with the blonde hair is Dixie Calla," she said. "She's a bit rough, but helpful. Then there's the Keegan twins, Chet and Eddie, and up there is Ken Hunter." She beamed a big smile at Jenny. "Well, now that you know everyone, and of course I know you, let's get to work on this thing, shall we?" Jenny took a look at the datapad, and began tracing the wiring in the module. Chip headed back towards the control room, but bumped into Commander Stormclaw.
"How are the repairs going?" he asked. Chip pushed his glasses further up his nose.
"We are thankfully ahead of schedule, sir," Chip replied. "I put Cadet Owens with Cadet Islu to work on the Communications Module."
"Good," Mike said. "We need Voltron up and running in time for the Defender's relaunch."
"But Commander," Chip said, "Just because the vehicles are rebuilt and revamped, there's still the little matter of the energy conversion. I've poured over most of the files from Dr. Loring's lab, Project Defender, and notes from the assistants that worked on their construction, and I haven't found once clue to the secret to the energy mystery."
"You'll find it," Mike said.
"What about the investigation?" Chip asked. "Have they found the guy who sabotaged Voltron?" Mike shook his head.
"We're still looking into it," he replied. "Pouring over months of video footage takes time. I put Lieutenant Fabrere in charge of the investigation. She will be working hand in hand with security on the matter. She's the Garrison's top interrogator. If we can get a suspect in custody….she'll make 'em talk."
General Kovinx walked into a private office in the base deep below the surface of the bay. He sat in a chair behind a desk and hit a button on one of the panels.
"Has the Alliance found our position?" he asked. After a brief silence, a soft voice came over the com.
"No, sir," the voice replied. "From what I can tell, they are more interested in getting Voltron back up and running."
"We can't let that happen!" Kovinx demanded.
"I've heard the Defender will be launching within the week," the voice replied. "And even so, they have not found a way to restore the ability of the ships to combine. So even if they are able to repair them in time for the launch, they will not be able to form Voltron."
"This is welcome news," Kovinx replied. "You have done splendidly for the empire all these years. It's time you come home." There was a brief pause.
"Indeed," the voice replied. "Once I carry out our final mission, the Defender will be at our mercy. And with their weakness exposed, we will crush the life from them! I will see to it that in the commotion I slip away."
"The scout ship will be there to pick up your escape pod," Kovinx replied. "Until then….good luck." The communication ended. "The master spy with the master plan. He expects a hero's welcome….when he will instead find a martyr's death.