KathDMD - Dixie has her problems. In fact, the first scene of this episode tiesup the loose end. Jenny needs to take responsibility for her team, and I assure you, things will iron out. Jeff has his hands full. As you know, Galaxy Garrison has abruptly stopped all communication with the Defender.

Author's Note - I think I need to make something clear beforegoing into this episode. I do not condone problem drinking. We are the
#DrunkenWritersCouncil, but Dixie's binge was not meant to be seen as a detriment to the team. I admit, this may be the first time one of my ideas was misinterpreted, and for that, I'm deeplysorry. I did write this episode beforereceiving feedback, and I'm hoping it better explains what I was going for in
the story.

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 106 : "The Mixup"

Dixie sat at the bar in the lounge, carefully sipping black coffee. Jenny approached her and sat down next to her.

"Hey," Jenny said, "mind if we talk?"

"Is the Commander ticked?" she asked.

"Not really," Jenny replied. "He's got his hands full with snart upstairs. Between the problems with the Halassians, and the loss of contact with Galaxy Garrison, he's got a lot on his mind."

"I know I don't have much of an explanation for my actions lately," she said.

"Sure you do," Jenny replied. "It's called alcohol poisoning." Dixie let out a small laugh.

"You know what, Owens?" she said. "You're alright."

"I know you're not though," Jenny replied. "Not sure what's gotten into you, but if there's booze involved, there's men trouble."

"Yeah, really," she replied, again with a chuckle. "Men and bullshit."

"Tell me about it," Jenny said. "Before I signed on for all this, I caught my boyfriend of three years cheating on me. Some bleach blonde little tramp he picked up from a dive downtown. Said he was 'helping her'. Phht….he was helping the blit outta her panties."

"Tell me you at least kicked his ass," Dixie said with a laugh.

"Guy was a chump," she replied. "Not worth the effort. But yeah, sent his stuff flying out the window. Should have sent HIM out the damn window, but I did get to twist his arm and slam him against the door before throwing him out of the apartment."

"Nice," Dixie said.

"Then I started to drown my sorrows in peanut butter cup ice cream and cotton candy vodka," Jenny laughed. "Good thing I was sober enough when Professor Paige called me. Can't tell ya what I was doing later that night."

"Amen, sister," Dixie laughed. "Everything just ticks me the flack off. And yesterday was a bad day, lemme tell ya. Only thing I remember after telling Sammie to leave the bottle was Hunter coming up to me bugging me to hang out with him again. Dumbass doesn't know when to quit."

"You don't remember him telling you off?" Jenny asked.

"He what?" Dixie asked, a bit of anger in her voice.

"You went to slug him for it, and he spun you around and pinned you to the ground with your arm behind your back. You were so drunk and ticked off, you went to attack him as he was leaving. Took three of us to hold you back."

"That sounds like me," she laughed. "Damn Hunter. I wouldn't touch that know it all suck up with a twenty foot pole!"

"Hey now," Jenny said, "he may be a know it all suck up, but he's our teammate."

"You're right," she replied. "But I don't have to like it." They both laughed.

"So you have no idea where you were after that?" Jenny asked. "All I know is you took a full bottle of Jack and walked out of the lounge. You're lucky the Commander didn't catch you then and there!"

"I had no clue," she replied. "But by the looks of things when I woke up, I had a hell of a time! Aside from the hangover…" She leaned in close and lowered her voice. "…I musta got laid big time. I felt incredible. No clue who the flack it was, but wow!"

"At least the damage to Voltron was minimal," Jenny replied.

"I am so sorry…." Dixie said.

"I'm just busting on you," Jenny replied. "But from now on, we gotta be on the ball. Commander Aki wants the team to be tight knit and ready for anything. And since we're gonna be stuck on Delta Five for a while, as soon as the repairs are done, we're gonna be performing some practice runs."

"Joy," Dixie said. "Long as Hunter doesn't get in my way."

"He's probably still trying to recover himself," Jenny said. "Crazy kid came out of his room right before we launched, beaten and bruised from head to toe. Said he was in a chess accident!" Jenny laughed hysterically. "I better go check on those repairs. Good luck." Jenny walked away, but Dixie spaced out all of a sudden.

"No…." she whispered to herself. "I wouldn't have….I wouldn't….there's no way…..NAH!" She laughed to herself, then flagged down Sammie. "Sammie! I need a Long Island to shake off the sober from this coffee!"

"Any signal from Galaxy Garrison?" Jeff asked Sparks.

"No, sir," Sparks replied. "I've sent multiple requests for communication, and the only thing we've received was a bounce back message. If I didn't know any better, I'd say we were being ignored."

"That doesn't make sense," Christiane said.

"It makes sense in the context of my last conversation with Len," Jeff said angrily. "The High Council has been limiting access to certain databases in the Garrison archives. I wouldn't be surprised if they limited communications as well."

"Should we head back to Earth in case something is amiss?" she asked.

"No," Jeff replied. "If we turn back now, we lose out on what little foothold we have. We were ordered to complete a mission, and that's what we're going to do."

"What if the Halassians return?" she asked.

"Then we'll deal with it," he replied. "For now, we want to repair the ships and get a better look at Delta Five. I want to know what is going on with them and this world. I had Professor Paige analyze the samples collected by the Sea Team. If there is lason down there, we have to determine if the Halassians have a claim to this planet, and what kind of claim it is. I told you I wouldn't allow them to continue harvesting a planet if they are responsible for enslaving its people. I want to know their true intentions, because every time we've tried to talk to them, they have been more evasive than Viceroy Throk!"

"The Air Team will be going out on maneuvers later today," Christiane said. "Maybe it would be a good time to have them scout the area near where the battle took place to see if there is any evidence that the Halassians have colonized this planet."

"That's a good idea," Jeff replied. "Go ahead and alert Cadet Owens to round up her team and be ready to launch. I'm going to head back to my office and try to make heads or tails of the situation with the Garrison." He walked to the doors and left the bridge.

"The fleet has been launched, sir," the officer said. "What would you have them do?"

"I want them to orbit Delta Five," Captain Marth replied. "If they come across the Alliance Vessel, I want them to engage it immediately. Destroy it before they have a chance to launch their exploratory vessels. And if they do manage to launch, then send the new robeast after them."

"Yes, sir!" he said with a salute.

"If they choose to hang around," Marth said, "then we will obliterate them. They've had more than enough chances to leave Yolon. Now it's time to show no mercy."

"You have an incoming transmission, Your Majesty," General Binak said over the com.

"Put it through to my quarters," Merla replied. "And close your end of the com. I can still hear your thoughts, and the fact that you want to listen to my conversations disgusts me."

"Yes, Your Majesty," he replied, ending the com. The UltraWave came on, and Skath appeared on the screen.

"I have not heard from you in some time," she said. "I was beginning to think you've forgotten about me."

"I'm sure even through a viewscreen you can sense my thoughts," he said. "Though matters much worse than your assumptions of infidelity have been occupying our minds as of late."

"How so?" she asked. For the first time since their marriage, she could sense fear in him, but could not get a clear image of what.

"General Soltorn of the Fourth Kingdom has been taken," he said.

"Taken?" she asked. "By whom?"

"The rumors I hear are even stranger," he replied. "It was rumored that Korronith is being ruled by a human, and that he and his allies kidnapped the general."

"That's madness!" she replied. "What have they done?"

"The kingdom is strangely not in chaos," he said. "Apparently, her subordinates are bartering with Korronith for her safe return."

"And Bhorn is allowing this?" she asked angrily.

"My dear," he replied, "King Bhorn is the least of our worries right now."

The Air team launched from the hangar of the Defender, flying several thousand yards from the ship, giving them more than enough area to practice.

"Alright," Jenny said, "we want to first practice getting into formation. Follow me and prepare to link up! Air team, form Strato Fighter!" The CJE flew up, then down to connect to the Command Module. It began to rotate, the ARCs attaching one by one. Then once combined, pivoted ahead as the Falcon came in from behind to lock into place, completing the formation.

"That wasn't so bad," Ken said.

"You act like it killed you," Dixie replied.

"I thought you'd realize by now how much of a beating I can take," he replied. She huffed.

"Just because you wrestled me to the ground in a bar fight in the lounge?" she asked. "I hardly call that a beating, Hunter."

"You really don't remember, do you?" he asked angrily.

"I remember trying to hit you on the way out of the lounge!" she screeched.

"Guys, focus!" Jenny said. "Get on the controls and work with me here. We're gonna take a swing down to the planet and have a quick look around, and practice our maneuvers along the way."

"Alright," Dixie replied.

"Sounds fair," Ken replied.

"Hey Jenny," Rocky said, "my RadialTrac is picking up something in the distance."

"Maybe its debris from our last battle?" she asked.

"It could be," Rocky replied, "but I think I'm gonna send the data back to the Defender just in case."

"Sounds like a plan," Jenny said. "Alright team, let's see what we can do!" The Strato Fighter headed down towards the planet, while in the distance a large fleet of attack ships slowly made their way closer and closer to the planet.