KathDMD - Rich Newley has a bad habit of hanging out in interesting places to pick up strange women. But he's also the type that can see potential in people, and saw in her a lot of the same stuff he saw in the Voltron Force. I'm sure there's a good flashback in there someplace...and I'll do one someday. I promise. Her backstory was supposed to be fleshed out this way, and I'm glad it more than explained why I wrote her the way I do. Don't expect her to be completely OK with the idea of being with Ken...she may act comfortable and nonchalant, but inside...there's a scared little girl.

Author's Note - Without my muse, I am nothing.

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. Admiral Lysette Fabrere and associated characters are the property of selena devargo.

Episode 112 : "To Great Lengths"

"How is this possible?" Christiane asked herself as she pulled away from the module. She couldn't understand it…. How could it be alive? Part of her was frightened, while another part of her wanted to desperately know more.

"Are you alright, Sergeant?" one of the workers asked as they walked by. She shook her head.

"I'm fine," she replied. "Static shock."

"Ah," he replied. "Hate it when that happens. Should get yourself a set of polymer gloves. Insulates you from the static." She pondered the thought.

"I'll probably do that," she said. "Thanks for the advice."

"No problem," he said, continuing on his way. She looked carefully at the module again.

"I'm prepared this time," she said, taking a few deep breaths, and cracking her knuckles. "I can do this. I just need to focus." She carefully walked up to the panel and reached out her hand. She slowly inched her way closer and closer to it, then slammed her hand on the access panel. A jolt of energy flowed into her, and she closed her eyes.

"The nexus crystals have been infused," Alfor said. "It looks as if her plan succeeded. I just wish it didn't have to come at such a hefty cost."

"I agree, Your Majesty," Dr. Loring replied. "No one wished for a sacrifice of that magnitude to be made. But if what your prophets on Arus, as well as what your trusted advisor said, is true, then we very well have saved the lives of billions of people."

"The Drule Empire under Kanji was vast," Alfor said. "Now in the hands of Zarkon, under the new Emperor Zeppo, that empire continues to expand, and with it, threaten not only life on Arus, but Earth, Mira, Quantus, Pollux, and all of the planets that make up the Alliance." He paused a moment. "If what we have done today, together, has succeeded, then Voltron's legacy will live on."

"We have fifteen crystals ready for implanting," Loring said. "That should be enough for phase one of the project."

"But there were at least eight more crystals," Alfor said.

"Thirteen actually," Loring replied. "They still need time to grow. Their power is still weak, and haven't shown their affinity as these fifteen have."

"I take it the skeptic in you is fading?" Alfor commented.

"I'm merely yielding to experience, my friend," Loring replied. "Unlike the other scientists at the Garrison, I hold your beliefs in the greatest of respects. If you believe the spirits of the elements are what hold Voltron together….that the very soul of magic holds those elements together, binding them into one, then I believe you. Believe me, I have seen things that would make others question science for millennia."

"I only hope that when the day comes," Alfor said, "that this Voltron will be able to thwart the threats that its predecessor could not alone." He turned back to the schematics set before them. "When the vehicles combine in this manner to form Voltron, the crystals will unify like this." He drew a fifteen pointed hedron, signifying the unified nexus. "There will be an issue with power consumption, but we'll get to that later on." Christiane snapped out of her confusion and looked around at the laboratory, and the hangar before them. She tried to touch the table before her, but her hand went through it. She took a step back, astonished.

"Don't worry, young one," a voice from behind her said. "They cannot see or hear you." Christiane turned around to find a middle-aged looking Drule woman, garbed in a black and red cape. The woman looked at her with a smile.

"You're Kovinx," she said.

"You remember what was," Kovinx replied. "I'm showing you this vision for a reason. You have touched the matrix….the part of the nexus that breathes life into Voltron. You truly seek to heal the rift created by the damage?"

"Yes," Christiane replied. "Yes I do."

"Dark forces are returning to the universe," Kovinx said. "There is more at work than the Drules and the Halas. You can feel it all around you." Christiane closed her eyes.

"Yes," she replied. "Voices….echoes from the past?"

"More than an echo, young one," Kovinx replied. "The day Alfor spoke of is coming soon."

"What does this have to do with the vehicles?" she asked. "What about the tear in the nexus?"

"You must seek out the spirits of Voltron," she replied. "Attune yourself to the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the earth you walk upon. Only then will you have the tools you need to mend the nexus, and unleash Voltron's true potential." She began to walk away.

"Wait!" Christiane yelled. Kovinx stopped. "Is it true? Are the ships….alive?" Kovinx looked over her shoulder.

"You already know that answer," Kovinx replied, and in a flash of light, everything was gone.

"Sir!" Sparks shouted. "I'm getting a signal on an old emergency channel. The transmission is heavily encrypted, but we can still translate most of it."

"Put it on the screen," Jeff ordered. The screen came up, and the slightly garbles screen was filled with interference, but displayed Captain Stebbins standing next to Space Marshall Lenora Hawkins.

"Jeff, we have a situation," she said.

"Len!" he shouted. "I'd say we have a situation! What the hell is going on with the Garrison? We have been without communication!"

"I don't have long," she replied. "I need you to rally your forces and rendezvous with the Bogart at these coordinates. I realize this will compromise your mission in the Yolon Sector…"

"I'd say," Jeff replied. "We are trying to build a base, and are fighting off the Drules AND the Halas!"

"If your men can get a foothold on Delta Five," she said, "then leave a detail to secure what little territory you can. Else I am ordering a full retreat. After everything settles, you can continue on your mission, preferably with better reinforcements."

"The Defender is at your service, Space Marshall," Jeff replied.

"I'll expect your arrival within the next day or two," she said. "Hawkins out." The transmission ended.

"Sparks," Jeff said, "put the Voltron Force on standby. Send a communication to the settlement. I want to know if they are able to adequately defend themselves for at least a week. If they can't, then they need to board the defender and abandon the outpost."

"Understood, Sir," Sparks said, and began relaying the Commander's orders.

"We're leaving?" Shannon asked angrily. 'We just got a foothold on this new world! Now we have to abandon it?"

"I'm sure the Commander has a reasonable explanation," Krik said. "He wants us all on standby."

"We need to stay calm," Cliff said. "I know we would never abandon an outpost if it wasn't an emergency. I have a feeling whatever it is, it's going to be big."

"I just wish we didn't have to give up," Jenny said. "Voltron's been getting more powerful…"

"But what about the energy leak, Jenny?" Mai asked. "Don't you think the techs at the garrison should have a look at it?"

"You're probably right, Mai," Jenny replied. "But it's a shame to have to leave a world with such an abundance of resources, and capable of sustaining life."

"There'll be other worlds," Ken said. "And we'll find them." Dixie came up from behind him and messed his hair, then leaned on his shoulder.

"He's right, ya know," Dixie said. The rest of them gave the two of them a blank stare.

"Well," Jenny said, "glad to see you two are finally getting along."

"Hopefully everything back home is alright," Mai said. "Hey Jenny, how about after this is all over, we have a couple of drinks together. We'll find that new world together and celebrate. Sound good?"

"A girl's night always sounds good," Jenny replied with a smile. "Come on, let's get ready. The Commander wants us on standby." They all walked off. Mai hung back a moment, and Cliff, noticing, turned to talk to her.

"What's wrong, love?' he asked. She looked up at him with those innocent brown eyes of hers.

"Do you think she likes me?" Mai asked.

"Who?" Cliff asked.

"Cadet Owens," she replied.

"Of course she likes you," Cliff laughed. "She's you're commanding officer."

"No," she said. "I mean….REALLY likes me."

The door on the bridge of the Drule command ship opened, and Merla walked in. General Binak's head snapped around to look at her, and received her look of disapproval.

"You sent the robeast without consultation," she said.

"I had the best of interests, Your Majesty," he replied.

"You allowed the Alliance to destroy it," she continued.

"Again, not my fault," he said carefully.

"General," she said, "you keep forgetting your inability to hide the truth from me. However, you will be glad to know I heard what you had told the Viceroy about your actions, and the Halas. For that, I won't have you killed." She walked over to the chair and sat down. "I want you to speed up the mining operations. I want as much ore as you can muster before the Halas begin to suspect."

"Yes, Your Magesty," he replied. The alarms sounded. "What's happening?" He shot a glare at one of his officers.

"Sir," the officer said, "The Alliance ship is taking off!"

"What?" he asked. They put it on screen, showing the Defender lifting off from where it sat. "We have to stop them! If the Alliance escapes, the Halas will discover what we've been up to!"

"Then it's a good think I covered for your incompetence," Merla snapped, pressing a button. A secondary cargo hold opened, and what looked like a missile fired from it into the sky. As it reached the outer atmosphere, it exploded, the parts moving synchronously, converting and expanding into a sleek-looking robeast. "I was going to save this for a good time, but since you convinced Throk to send us several more robeasts….I figure I could launch this one with no harm done." She began to laugh. Binak looked on in shock and awe.

"That robeast…." he started to say.

"…will DESTOY the Defender," Merla said, "and with it the Voltron Force!" She laughed maniacally.