Author's Note - I was not expecting to release this so soon, but I am so excited to bring it about! It's the new Vehicle Force in all their glory! Between the Drule Supremacy, and an unknown Force, the team will hav their hands ful exploring the Yolon Sector, desperately trying to find new worlds to help the overcrowded planets of the Galaxy Alliance!
Theme Music : None
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 and associated characters are the property of selena devargo.
Episode 1 : "A Native Threat"
Cliff and Krik walked into the lounge, talking over their next assignment.
"So, I heard you proposed to Justine," Krik said.
"You bet I did," Cliff replied. "We haven't exactly set a date yet, but we're both excited about it!"
"Of course," Krik said. As they approached the bar, then went to order, but saw someone else behind the bar. They turned around.
"Cadet Owens," Cliff said, surprised. "What are you doing behind the bar? Where's Sammy?"
"He wasn't feeling well today from what I heard," Jenny replied, "and I wasn't about to let any of us go hungry. I'm in the process of cooking up my own desert. I call it, 'Brownie Surprise'."
"Sounds interesting," Cliff said.
"Lemme fix you both some drinks," she said.
"Did you hear the orders from the commander this morning?" Krik asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "heading to System Nine of the Yolon Sector. He was saying long range scans showed two planets that seem to be Earth-like, and have quite a bit of potential."
"He's waiting for Professor Paige to find something wrong with 'em." Cliff said with a laugh.
"I'm pretty optimistic," she replied. "He's sending me and the Air Team to check it out."
"Let's hope the Drules are licking their wounds after that last battle," Krik said. "Hopefully that will keep them from fighting us over planets." Across the room, Dixie had a glass that was still a quarter full in front of her. Ken approached her table.
"Mind if I sit here?" he asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Do I have a choice?" she asked sarcastically. He sat down and began to fiddle with his sandwich. "What in the heck are you doing?"
"I'm not fond of the crusts," he replied. "Alot of the food from the supply bins and replicators comes complete with crust. I just have a thing against them, that's all. I mean, you must have something that annoys you, right?"
"I can think of at least one thing that's annoying me right now," she scowled quietly, then slugged back her drink.
"I was just thinking," he continued, "since we're on the same team and all, we should get to know each other a little better." She set down the glass hard.
"Look, Cadet Hunter," she replied, laying on a thick layer of snark in the process, "I realize you're a….guy, but honestly, you're nothing more than a pain in my butt." She got up from the table. "Do us all a huge favor, and keep to yourself, hmm?" She flashed her middle finger at him and walked away. He let out a heavy sigh.
"Whatever," he said with a shrug, and finally took a bite of the sandwich.
"Air team, report to the launch area immediately," Jeff shouted over the com. "Do not enter the transport until you have seen me first." Jenny and her team ran for the launch area, and indeed ran into Jeff.
"Cadet Owens," he said, "I have a little present for you and your team. Our buddy Chip was put in charge of Project Defender, and has been working on some additional upgrades to go with the remodeled ships."
"The little guy always knew how put stuff together," Rocky said.
"They're called Voltcoms," Jeff said, showing them one. "Professor Paige is still making some last minute adjustments to the rest of them, but the ones for the Air team are ready. I figured now was as good a time as any to give 'em to ya." He placed the one he had around Jenny's forearm, and it locked with a click.
"What's it do?" Jenny asked.
"Some pretty cool stuff, let me tell ya!" Jeff replied. "In addition to powering on, and within limits, remotely operating your vehicles, it can act as a weapon."
"A weapon?" Wolo asked. "How?"
"Chip said it's complicated," Jeff replied. "He said it electronically determines the best weapon for you based on fighting style. So I guess you won't know until you run into trouble, right?"
"Makes perfect sense," Ken said. Dixie smacked him in the back of the head.
"Alright," Jeff said, "get out there and scout that planet!"
"Yes, sir!" they replied with a salute. They ran into the Launch room and sat in their chairs. The platform rose to the next level, and each chair slid along rails into the pillars of the hangar, locking into place in the module, which was then lowered into the vehicles in the hangar.
"Alright, Team," Jenny said. "Let's see what these Voltcoms can do." She pushed a button, and it glowed with a white light. Then an entire white suit of armor surrounded her, helmet and all. The engines of the Air Team Vehicles came to life, and the five piloted their ships out of the hangar of the Defender, flying towards the planet below.
"Hey Jenny," Ken asked, "do you think we should form the Strato-Fighter to scout the planet?"
"Dammit, Hunter," Dixie shouted, "shut the flack up!"
"I want to remain in a fairly loose formation," Jenny replied. "We're here to scout. If we need more firepower, we'll regroup. But for now, just keep an eye on your sensors and your ground cameras. I want to know what you see from here."
"I'm picking up something to the east of here," Ken said. "I'm not sure what it is, but it's mechanical in nature."
"Then let's head down there and check it out," Jenny replied. "I'm going to land with Wolo. I want the rest of you to stay airborne and cover us in case something goes wrong."
"Yes, ma'am," Ken replied.
"Suck up," Dixie muttered. Jenny and Wolo landed carefully near where they detected the object. They climbed out of their vehicles and began walking in the direction of the signal.
"Not seeing anything yet," Jenny said.
"Wow, these Voltcoms are pretty neat!" Rocky said. "I can still hear you through the built in communicator."
"That's good," Jenny replied. "Keep an eye on the skies." As they got closer, Wolo heard something.
"I heard something," he said. "A rustling noise…over there." Suddenly, blaster fire came from out of nowhere, and Jenny and Wolo barely got out of the way.
"It's an ambush!" Jenny shouted.
"We're coming down!" Ken said.
"Hold up!" Rocky said. "It looks like we got company!" A fleet of strange ships took off from the surface in the near distance, and began making their way towards the trio. "And they don't look too friendly!"
"Is it the Drules?" Jenny shouted and her and Wolo tried to take cover.
"They don't look like Drule ships," Rocky said.
"Maybe they're natives?" Ken asked.
"Brilliant deduction, Einstein," Dixie shouted.
"Commander," Jenny shouted, tapping the voltcom, "we're under attack by an unknown force! There are strange ships in the air, and they got Wolo and I pinned down!"
"Sending help now!" Jeff replied. He sounded the alarm. "Land Team, Sea Team, Battle Alert! All units launch!" Within moments, the Land and Sea Team Vehicles launched from the Defender. "Sparks, take us down. I want a look at these things, and if needed, give them a little cover fire."
"Yes, sir!" Sparks replied, and the ship slowly glided through the atmosphere.
"What do we do now?" Wolo asked.
"The Commander said these Voltcoms act as weapons," she replied. "Now's a good time as any to find out what they do." She pressed one of the buttons on the voltcom, and a complex looking arm cannon appeared on her forearm. She looked at Wolo, and he nodded. She emerged from behind the rock and opened fire. She saw the troops that were engaging them…their skin was bright orange, and wore camouflaged uniforms.
"Let's see what happens," Wolo said. He pushed a button, and a long staff appeared in his hands. He twirled it around, then ran from behind the rock, dodging blaster fire, and engaged the troops hand to hand.
"I got you covered!" Jenny shouted. "Get back to the ship!" Wolo dispensed of three more before nodding and making a run for his ship. Another soldier popped up and took aim at Wolo, but jenny fired, and sent the soldier flying backwards to the far ground, skidding to a stop. Wolo climbed in and powered up. He turned the vehicle and opened fire, causing the enemy troops to scatter.
"Make a run for it, Jenny!" Wolo shouted. She fired one last shot before taking off running for the CJE. One got off a lucky shot and hit her in the shoulder, causing her to fall to the ground. Wolo opened fire again, and took out the one that shot her. She got up, holding her shoulder. "Are you alright?"
"Go help the others!" she shouted. "I'm fine." She limped to the ship and climbed aboard. Both took off in time to see the other three flying aimlessly around the ships taking random shots at them. One of the ships fired a beam at the ground….and moments later a humanoid beast, seemingly created from a carnivorous dinosaur, smashed its way out of the ground and let out a huge roar.
"The ships are definitely not Drule!" Sparks said.
"Maybe they really are natives," Jeff replied. "Open a channel to them." Sparks did as he said. "This is Commander Jeff Aki of the U.S.S. Defender. We mean you no harm. We are part of a Galaxy Alliance Exploratory Mission." The ships fired on the Defender. "Return fire, but just enough to give us all a chance to escape."
"Sir?" Sparks asked.
"If they are natives, then they have every right to be here," he replied. "To them, we may seem like an invading force. Maybe they don't even understand us. The translators are limited."
"Understood," Sparks said.
"Voltron Force," Jeff said, "get back to the Defender as soon as possible. If these are Natives, we need to leave here as soon as possible as a show of good faith. If you get trapped, you know what to do."
"Sir," Cliff said as the teams engaged the enemy, "a robeast appeared out of nowhere!"
"A robeast?" Jeff shouted. "Do what you can to get outta there!"
"All units regroup," Krik said.
"All units, form Voltron!" Jenny shouted. The ships flew in formation, and prepared for the formation sequence. "Form Feet and Legs! Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" The CJE locked into place, and the bay doors opened to reveal Voltron's face, his eyes lighting up with power. The Falcon came down and locked onto Voltron's chest, and he reached into the air, powering up with several air punches.
"We're gonna give you some cover fire," Jeff said, "but you gotta finish that robeast and get outta there."
"Understood, Commander," Jenny replied. "Run at the beast full force with a shoulder tackle!" Voltron took off running, and the beast braced itself and caught Voltron. They locked up in a struggle.
"This guy's tough," Cliff said.
"I just did a preliminary scan of this thing," Ken said. "It's more machine than beast, but has a power source I'm not familiar with."
"The servos aren't gonna hold much longer," Krik shouted.
"Redirect the force," Jenny said. She pulled the controls and stumbled backwards. Voltron fell backwards, but kicked upwards, sending the robeast flying behind them. Voltron rolled to its feet.
"Raybeam Whip!" Jenny shouted. Voltron lashed onto the beast as it got up, and Voltron took off into the air. "We're gonna take out this robeast, and escape at the same time."
"What the flack do you mean?" Dixie asked.
"I'm gonna block the enemy fire with the robeast," Jenny said. "Once he's softened up…"
"It's slice and dice time!" Chet shouted.
"Like robeast chowder, bro!" Eddie said.
"Get ready," Jenny said as they rose higher and higher in the sky. "Now!" They released the whip, and the beast was freed, but immediately hit with crossfire. "Form Blazing Sword!" Voltron reached to his shoulders and grabbed the Spinning Laser Blades, then combined them overhead and pulled downward, forming the sword. "And in for the kill!" Voltron came down at the beast, starting to freefall, and Voltron slashed through it twice in quick succession. The remains plummeted back to the ground below and exploded upon impact. Voltron took off, following the Defender.
"Commander," Krik said, "the robeast is destroyed. We'll rendezvous just outside the system."
"Good work, team," Jeff said.
"Have you determined who they are and where they are from?" one of the orange-skinned men aboard the transport asked.
"Yes, Commander," another replied. "They sent a communication, stating they are an exploratory mission from a Galaxy Alliance."
"They are a threat to our control of Yolon," the commander said. "I will not let some small exploratory fleet counter our operations in this sector!"
"But sir," the soldier said, "they destroyed one of our robeasts!"
"I don't know who this 'Galaxy Alliance' is," the commander said, "but they will rule the day they crossed paths with the Halas."
Jenny walked over to the table with her tray, sitting down with Cliff and Krik.
"Hey," Cliff said, "I heard you got to use your voltcom. How is it?"
"Didn't expect what I got," she replied. "The uniform upgrade is amazing."
"We're supposed to receive ours once the Professor finishes the last minute adjustments," Cliff said.
"I don't get it though," Jenny said. "Why would the natives attack us? We're a peaceful exploration ship."
"Not all people view visitors with open arms, Cadet," Krik said. "They may have mistaken us for a small invasion fleet, or at the very least, a threat to their planet. That's why the Commander was right in ordering the retreat."
"I know you're right," she replied. "I just wish they understood we meant them no harm. But who knows. There's another planet in the system that could possibly suit our needs. Maybe we'll have better luck with this one."
"That's the spirit," Cliff said. Jenny went to take a bite of her food, but immediately spit it out on the ground, gagging.
"Dammit Sammy!" Jenny said, raking her tongue with her fingers. "What the hell?"
"You don't like vege-sauce?" Sammy asked.
"Not on top of my Brownie Surprise!" she screamed.
"Well, that's the surprise, isn't it?" he replied. Krik and Cliff laughed, and she stared Sammy down with a low growl.