KathDMD - You're mistaken about Bhorn. He is concerned, but after reading Voltron Legacy's latest episode, you saw Kanji's warning to stay out of Korronith's affairs. While there is a lot happening in the way of action this week, you'll love what Christiane does on the bridge, and Dixie will have a revelation of her own.
Author's Note - This is going to heat up quick! With the Defender cut off from the Garrison, the Voltron Force will need to fight off the Halassians, and try to understand a strange new power overcoming their beloved Mecha!
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 107 : "Secrets"
"Sir," Sparks said, "RadialTrac is picking up a fleet of ships heading this way."
"What?" Jeff asked. "Put it on the viewscreen." The image came up, and his eyes widened. "Those ships look like the ones the Halassians had! Sound the alarm, get the weapons systems online, and prepare for anything!"
"Aye, sir," Sparks replied. Jeff activated the com.
"Land and Sea Teams to the launch area immediately!" he shouted. "This is not a drill! Halassian ships are approaching!" He turned off the com. "Sparks, try and contact the Air Team to let them know what's going on. We need them up here in case they try something."
The ten remaining vehicles comprising the land and Sea Teams launched from the hangar aboard the Defender. They flew towards the approaching ships.
"Anyone getting a fix on what we're up against?" Cliff asked.
"The readings I am getting show a large swarm of small fighters, backed up by three warships and a single command ship," Krik said.
"Let's split up into teams," Cliff suggested.
"Right," Krik agreed. "I will take the Sea Team and take out as many of their fighters as possible. Your team can concentrate on taking out the warships one at a time."
"Lovely," Cliff replied sarcastically. "Come on, let's take out these ships!" The Land Team broke formation and followed Cliff towards the warships. Meanwhile, the Sea Team opened fire on the fighters, beginning to thin their numbers.
"The enemy is engaging us," the young Lieutenant said over the com. "We are trying to return fire, but they are beginning to whittle down our numbers."
"Then launch the beast!" Marth shouted. "You know our orders! We shouldn't have even given them a chance to launch! Send the beast after their command ship! Destroy it!"
"Yes, sir!" he replied with a salute. He turned to the others. "You heard the Captain, launch the mecha robeast! Their exploratory vessels can't stop us all! Increase speed and intercept their command ship and open fire!" The Warships fired forward arrays simultaneously, giving the command ship and path towards the Defender.
"Commander!" Sparks shouted. "Their command ship is moving towards the Defender!"
"So they want a fight, do they?" Jeff shouted. "All units, open fire!" The Defender opened fire on the command ship, and the command ship returned fire.
"Their weapons are set to an unfamiliar frequency, Commander," Sparks said. "I'm getting reports from all over the ship that the shield integrity is fluctuating in spots." Jeff clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. Christiane walked up to him and grabbed his hand, and it suddenly relaxed.
"Reset and recalibrate the weapons systems to thirty-five point seven," Christiane said. "Set the Defender's shields to rotate frequencies every eight point five seconds."
"Ma'am?" the tactical officer responded, raising an eyebrow.
"Trust me on this," she replied. Jeff turned his head to look at her.
"Do it," he ordered.
"Yes, sir," the officer replied, and began keying in commands. Christiane looked back at Jeff.
"Thanks, Chris," he replied.
"We're a team," she replied. "I know almost everything there is to know about analyzing and reconfiguring systems, but you're the one that knows this ship better than anyone else aboard."
"We'll pull through this," he replied, smiling. "Sparks, any word from the Air Team?"
"Rocky, you see anything down there?" Jenny asked.
"Aside from the basic stuff the Sea Team reported back," he replied, "there's not much else. I can see some of the rock formations above ground the Keegans were talking about, but haven't seen any sign of life, native or otherwise."
"Thoughts, Hunter?" Jenny asked. There was silence. "Cadet?"
"Sorry," he replied. "Scanners are confirming what Rocky just said. Not too much in the way of animal or sentient life on the surface. Some of the land has basic vegetation, but that's pretty much it. Aside from the ore, I can't understand what the Drules or even the Halassians are uptight about, if they aren't trying to settle this world themselves."
"Hunter, as usual, overanalyzing everything," Dixie snarked.
"Is that you're two cents for today, Cadet?" he asked. She began to fume.
"Why you snart-nosed little…" she started to reply.
"Enough!" Jenny shouted. "We need to report our findings back to the Commander."
"This is odd," Wolo said. "The radio frequencies seem jammed."
"Yeah," Rocky added. "I'm not able to get through to the command ship."
"Something's not right," Jenny said. "Let's head back up and see if once we get in closer range, the radio interference clears up." The Strato Fighter took off into the air towards space.
"If we don't do something soon," Shannon shouted, "that robeast is going to hit the Defender!"
"I know that!" Krik shouted back. "We have to take out these fighters and regroup! Cliff, how are you doing on the warships?"
"We're not making much of a dent," Cliff replied.
"The shielding on these warships is like nothing we've seen before," Modoch commented.
"We're barely able to avoid the firepower," Cinda said.
"What about that robeast?" Marvin asked.
"Between the robeast and that command ship," Hutch said, "I'm not sure if the Defender is gonna be able to handle it." Just then, a heavy blast of laser fire streaked past and hit the Warship.
"Welcome back, love!" Cliff shouted as he watched the Strato Fighter streak by.
"We lost communication with the Defender," Jenny replied.
"There's a robeast headed for the Defender," Cliff said.
"Then I guess we should get to work, right?" Jenny asked. "Air Team, separate!" The Strato Fighter exited the fight, and in a flash of light, spit up, returning and firing on the smaller ships occupying the Sea Team.
"Most of the fighters have been destroyed," Krik said.
"It's down to the warships and that robeast," Mai added.
"Then let's do this!" Jenny shouted. "All units, form Voltron!" The ships flew in formation, then began to reconfigure as the energy field took hold. "Form feet and legs! Form arms and torso! And I'll form the head!" The CJE locked into place, and the bay doors opened, Voltron's eyes lighting up. The Falcon came screaming downward, locking in place over Voltron's chest. Voltron reached into the air, powering up, following up with a series of air punched as the energy field dissipated.
"Let's get ourselves in a position to block that robeast!" Krik ordered.
"Yes, sir," Jenny replied. "You heard 'em, team!" Voltron took off towards the Defender.
"Commander," Sparks said, "It looks like Cadet Owens and the Air Team returned. They formed Voltron and are headed this way."
"Open a channel," Jeff ordered. Sparks did as he ordered. "Owens, we've found a way to modify the Defender's weapons to penetrate their shields! Sparks is sending the information to Cadet Hunter right now."
"Lovely," Dixie said, rolling her eyes.
"We can handle their warships," Jeff said. "Just take out that robeast!"
"You got it, Commander," Jenny replied. "Tackle it!" Voltron flew at full speed at the robeast, slamming into it. They rolled end over end, and the gravitational pull of the planet sent them into a free fall.
"Their mecha has engaged our beast!" an officer said.
"The robeast will destroy them," Captain Marth said. "And if it doesn't, it will at least keep them occupied long enough for what remains of this fleet to destroy their command ship."
"I think I'm gonna be sick," Rocky said.
"Hold on to your lunch, Sergeant!" Jenny shouted. "We're taking this fight to the ground!" She pulled a lever. "Calla, you ready?"
"One explosive lightshow, coming up!" Dixie shouted.
"Electro Thermoblast!" Jenny shouted. The blast launched from Voltron's chest, blasting Voltron and the robeast apart. Voltron rolled twice and finally landed on the ground on his feet. The beast crashed to the ground. "Follow up!" Voltron ran at the beast, leaped into the air, and came down with a flying kick. The beast rolled out of the way and got to its feet.
"I'm getting strange power readings from that thing," Ken said. "I'm not sure what kind of tech the Halassians are using, but it's pretty sophisticated."
"Less talk, more BOOM!" Dixie griped. Voltron fired another Electro Thermoblast, and the beast dodged it and fired missiles at Voltron.
"Dodge left, counter right!" Jenny shouted. "Spinning Laser Blades!" Voltron turned left to avoid the missiled, then grabbed the blades and launched them, turning right. The blades struck the beast, but bounced right off it.
"Is that corrite plating?" Cliff asked.
"It's that shielding," Ken replied. "We gotta find a way through it!" The beast pulled a chain from nowhere, and launched it at Voltron. It wrapped around his wrist, and Voltron tried to pull away. The chain electrified, sending a surge of energy throughout the hull. The crew grunted in pain.
"This totally sucks, Bro!" Eddie shouted.
"If you die, can I have your stuff?' Chet asked.
"Nothing in Voltron's arsenal is working!" Krik said, straining to remain conscious.
"Nothing except…." Ken said, looking down at the power readings. "Something's happening! Jenny, something inside Voltron is resisting the energy!"
"What is it?" she asked, gritting her teeth in pain.
"I'm not sure," he said, "but it's the same energy signature as our voltcoms!" Jenny looked down at her forearm.
"Then maybe Voltron needs a little boost," she said. She mustered all the energy she could, and connected a cable to her voltcom. "Transferring power from my voltcom into the energy matrix."
"Jenny," Rocky said, "something weird is going on in the cargo hold!" Within his vehicle, though the hull damage was repaired, a small crystal bled energy. Voltron's eyes lit up with blue energy, and out of nowhere, a huge arm cannon formed on his left arm, and fired, hitting the robeast and breaking the chain.
"What was that?" Cliff asked.
"Whatever it is," Jenny said, "I'm doing it again!" She charged her voltcom, and Voltron fired another round, hitting the robeast again, dead on.
"The shielding is weakening!" Ken shouted.
"Form Blazing Sword!" Jenny shouted. Voltron put the Spinning Laser Blades together over his head and pulled downward, forming the sword. Voltron ran forward, sprinting, then swung back and cut through the robeast twice, coming to a rest a few hundred feet away. The robeast fell apart and exploded.
"Back to the scrapyard for that one!" Jenny shouted.
"Jenny," Mai said, "we have to help the Defender!"
"Right," she replied. Voltron took off into the air, the sword returning.
"We're making progress, Commander," Sparks said, "but they're still hammering us!"
"Look!" Jeff shouted, "It's Voltron!" Voltron smashed one of the warships.
"Let's try this one more time," Jenny shouted, connecting her voltcom again. The strange arm cannon formed, and fired at the warship, blowing it up instantly.
"Captain!" the officer shouted. "The warships are destroyed! Their mecha is too powerful!"
"Set a course for the far side of the planet!" he shouted. "We will need to regroup." The command ship tuned and fled as the final warship set a collision course with the Defender.
"Open Fire!" Jeff shouted. "Give 'em everything you got!" The Defender blasted the ship, and it fell to pieces and exploded before it could crash.
"We did it, Commander!" Sparks shouted. "Their command ship retreated."
"Voltron Force, return to the Defender for repairs," he ordered. "And I want to know….where did you get that cannon?"
Jenny, Krik and Cliff were sitting at a booth in the lounge when Jeff came walking up to them.
"You three did a great job out there," Jeff said. "You never did tell me about that weapon. Where did it come from?"
"Cadet Hunter said that the robeast was emitting some sort of energy pattern," Jenny replied. "Voltron itself was trying to combat the energy. Rocky's ship sustained more damage than we thought in the last attack. We're trying to piece together what it is now. But it was emitting the same signatures as our Voltcoms. When I tied mine into the power grid, that cannon appeared."
"I'm gonna have to check with Lieutenant Commander Stoker to see if he had something to do with this," Jeff replied. "That is, if we ever hear from the Garrison again. And speaking of that damage, where is Cadet Calla?"
Dixie walked down the hall, a flask in her pocket, and a lot on her mind.
I have to know, she thought. I usually don't care about these one night flings….but this was so much more. I can't let it go. I can't. I'm short of addicted…
She walked up to the door to one of the rooms and took a deep breath.
This is the room I came out of, she thought to herself. This man….gods, a MAN….has me so damn wrapped up. Someone who knows what I need. I gotta know.
She hit the button, sounding the door alarm. She took a deep breath as the door opened, her eyes widening as she saw the man on the other side.