Final Resistance
Chapter 5: Cheryl & Pidge
Disclaimer: I don't own the Voltron Force or its characters—they belong to World Events Productions. The good news is that Diana, Ethel, Bernice, Alex, and Cheryl are my original characters.
After going through the early morning wake-up call, the non-descript breakfast, and several check-ins by the Wade Droids, Diana was finally reunited with her friends in the Open Yard.
"So how did everyone sleep last night? Any good dreams of escaping this joint?" Diana asked as they all settled into the bleachers again. Everyone else answered her in moans before Cheryl spoke.
"No…but I'm ready to share my story about how I met Pidge," Cheryl volunteered. "I'm sure we'll need to listen to something to take our minds off our environment. The bangles can only do so much."
"I agree. Go head with your story, Cheryl," Diana answered as she shifted to a more comfortable position as the others shook their heads at her.
"So, my contact was Pidge. I know that everybody thinks their contact is so cool—but Pidge is really, really cool."
"I disagree. Lance is not cool," Diana said smiling as she crossed her arms. "He has some major explaining to do when I see him next time. I'm going to put an end to all those crazy stories."
"Sure, you will, Diana," Cheryl responded rolling her eyes. "Can I start my story or not?"
"By all means," Diana replied, waving her hand in invitation.
"So anyway, I met Pidge the day before the Graduation Ceremony at the Flight Academy. I just finished all my final exams for System Engineering and Pidge spoke to our group earlier that day and shared some of his ability in the field. He also mentioned that sometimes you just have to do things on the fly. So, after Graduation practice, I ran to my favorite store—Notecity to load up on music stuff. Imagine my surprise when I met Pidge there."
***Five Years Ago, at Notecity***
Alex pulled up to Notecity's decent sized parking lot in her small jeep with Cheryl sitting comfortably in the front passenger seat. "And here we are at Notecity." Once Alex stopped the jeep, Cheryl bounced out of the vehicle and started walking towards the front door.
"You know where I'm heading to. Take your time in the store, I'll probably be at Partside for a long while."
"That's fine. If you're not here when I step out, I'll probably stop by at the Pizza Hole for a snack."
"Works for me. See you later alligator," Alex called out as Cheryl entered the store.
"After a while, crocodile," Cheryl called back as the door closed.
"Cheryl! I haven't seen you in a long time!" Persephone greeted Cheryl. "Exams are all done and now you're about to graduate, right?"
"Tomorrow morning, in fact." Cheryl answered cheerfully as she walked to the cash register that Persephone was working behind. At 18, Cheryl is going to be the youngest systems engineering graduate in her class. In addition to her age, her physical looks were different from her classmates. She was also the shortest at 5'4", her skin was a rich, dark brown tone, hazel eyes, medium-framed, full nose and lips were a contrast to a sea of taller and fairer classmates. What also set Cheryl aside from her fellow classmates was her intellectual talent—she was first in systems engineering and fourth overall in her graduating class. "I'm done with the educational torture and ready to actually do something!"
"Welcome to the grown-up world. No kids allowed," Persephone said with a smile. "I'll tell you what, pick whatever you want from here and I'll add a special graduate discount for you."
"Thanks!" Cheryl exclaimed as she went nearly to the back of the store where the guitars were sitting at. Cheryl had been suffering from a guitar withdrawal since her last guitar mysteriously disappeared during winter break. As a result, Cheryl saved all the money she could this term to get a new, fancy guitar to play with. Notecity had the largest selections of guitars in Cape Canaveral and all the string musicians from across the region usually made the trip here first. "What should I get? Electric, bass, or acoustic?" Cheryl muttered to herself as she made her first walk around the guitar display. She stopped at the electric guitar section, first. "If I get an electric guitar, I will need to keep it charged constantly." She went through the electric guitar section another two times before walking away, deciding that she didn't want an electric one this time. "But if I get a bass guitar…" she told to herself as she went through the bass section a couple of times before continuing. "I would only be able to play deep notes and I'm not in that phase right now." She left the bass section.
"Let's do it big. I'm getting an acoustic this time." She walked through the acoustic guitars a couple of times before another familiar voice hit her ears.
"Hi, Cheryl! I'm guessing that you're finally going to try out an acoustic guitar, huh?" Ares asked. Cheryl turned to face him and smiled. Ares was the resident Guitar specialist at Notecity and one of the main reasons why the guitar section was so legendary. Ares played professionally with several popular musicians and could play virtually any genre of music imaginable—even the intensive Renaissance classical music. Ares also offered personal lessons which were extremely coveted, and he often used a lottery system to enroll new students every quarter. Standing at 6'1", Ares had an olive skin tone, long dark brown hair, straight nose, a full mouth, and was somewhat muscular.
"Yep, I decided that I wanted to jump into the deep end with acoustic. That and my electric guitar mysteriously disappeared during the winter break. Since I was focused on school work and had to save up my money, my graduation gift to myself is going to be an acoustic guitar."
"Congrats! I'm going to know another musically-inclined Systems Engineer," Ares replied. "The last one I knew was Pidge. I'm surprised he hasn't made it here to the store yet. I know he's not much of a guitarist—he leans more to the keyboard anyway. Musically-inclined engineers tend to be the best engineers."
"It's not proven—"
"Bah. Sometimes you just have to use common sense and logic," Ares interrupted. "People tend to overlook the fact that music and data can overlap. But anyway, let's find you a guitar that will work out the best for you. I know you're an advanced player, so we'll go the higher-end guitars. And since you're used to electric, let's get you one of these acoustic-electric ones with a cutaway. It'll make the transition easier. What kind of sound are you looking for anyway?" Ares paused in the middle of the section and turned to look at Cheryl.
"I'm looking for more a balance of volume, tone, and comfort. Something that could work with my body frame," Cheryl responded as she looked at the different guitars. "I want a rich sound, too. Since I'm going acoustic, I thought a six-string would probably work for me. I don't want a bluesy-folksy sound."
"You're going to need a natural wood one with six strings, then. If you want balance, you may want to try an Ovangkol or Spruce." Ares responded as he guided her to the guitar display with those materials. Ares pulled one of the high hanging guitars and gave it to Cheryl to try out. "Try this one out and we'll go from there."
Cheryl nodded, as she moved the guitar in her hands and changed into a playing stance. As she was going through the process of selecting her new guitar, Hunk was dropping Pidge off at the same store.
"Alright, Little Buddy. I'm going to Partside, so it'll probably take me about two hours to come back. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"
Pidge got out of the pick-up truck Hunk managed to borrow from the embassy. "I'll be fine. I've been wanting to get to Notecity all week long. It'll probably take me a couple of hours to make a selection."
"Fine. I'll see you in hours," Hunk said as he drove the pick-up truck out of the parking lot and onto the street heading south.
Pidge turned around and walked into the store ready to explore his next musical discovery. It wasn't too long before he was greeted by Persephone. "Pidge Stoker! It's been years! You could at least write from Arus sometime. I tell you, my customers have no love for the owner of their favorite music store." Pidge chuckled while Persephone finished her greeting. "And don't tell me that Arus is too far. It's not like you were assigned to a ship like the Explorer."
"You have a point, Persephone. I'll do better from now on," Pidge replied back with a smile.
"Since it's you, I'll forgive you. And since it's been ages since you stopped by, I'll give you the ultra-exclusive friends and family discount for you."
"There's a friends and family discount?"
"Of course. And it's better than your Alliance discount," Persephone answered. "Once you get everything you want, I'll make sure to apply it. And of course, you already know to look for me if I'm not at the counter still, right?"
"Yes, ma'am," Pidge answered before walking towards the DJ equipment section in the back. As he walked by the guitar section, Pidge noticed that Ares was personally working with one of the Academy cadets he addressed earlier in the day. "Maybe when I'm done going through the DJ section, I can talk to Ares," Pidge said to himself as he continued on.
When he arrived at his desired section, Pidge let out an alright before walking to the clearance side first. Although he did some research before visiting the store, he wanted to go through all the options—especially those well within his budget. Pidge felt like a conspiracy against him DJing in the future. His original set got destroyed when Doom captured their ship when they originally made it to Arus. All of his other replacement sets near seemed to make it anywhere near Arus. Hopefully this set will make the trip to Arus safe. After going through the clearance section, Pidge moved around to other sets. Finally, he found the perfect set for him. It was a portable set that could stand alone or be added to a table. The set also included speakers and was able to play both the oldest media like cassettes and CDs but also the newer technology and files. "No need to continue looking around. This set is perfect!" Pidge took the box and put it under his arm. Satisfied with his choice, Pidge decided to check out the keyboard section.
Meanwhile, back at the guitar section, Cheryl and Ares seemed to finally agree on a guitar. "This is perfect, I can't stop playing with it," Cheryl replied. "Seriously, I don't want to put it down."
"You're going to have to put it down sometime if you plan to walk out the door with it," Ares responded in a chuckle.
"I can't help it! And it's well within my budget, too!"
"That's great. I'm happiest when my customers are happy. So, is this all you're getting today?"
"I'm not sure yet, but since I have more money to spend, I'll probably get some sheet music. Or a keyboard. Who knows? I might be able to swing two instruments and new music to learn."
"Awesome," Ares replied as he took the guitar out of Cheryl's hands. "I'll add a complimentary case for your guitar and have it waiting for you at the front counter with your name on it.
"Thanks, Ares!"
"You're welcome. And if you're interested later, I'm thinking about composing lessons. Keep your eyes out for updates—and with this baby here, you're going to want to make your own beautiful music."
"I'll take the vote of confidence. I could try to compose but it wouldn't make any sense," Cheryl stated as she finally walked away from the guitar section and made her way to the keyboard section. During her childhood, Cheryl learned how to play the piano first, then the guitar and would practice both instruments for hours before switching to her main passion of computer networking, systems engineering, and technology. Whenever Cheryl is stressed out from life, she'll pick up some sheet music and get lost playing whichever instrument was closer to her.
The first type of keyboards, Cheryl decided to go through were the ones that resembled electric pianos. These pianos had several instrumental sounds in addition to piano sounds. It was this kind of keyboard that Cheryl learned how to play music on first. After glancing at the models available, she finally found the keyboard of her dreams—the latest Kurzweil upright keyboard and smiled. The frame of the keyboard was similar to some of the antique upright pianos but boasted of all the technological updates even a technical expert like herself could appreciate. Cheryl took her time admiring each feature—the keys, the pedals, the built-in speakers, even each sound on the board. She was so into the keyboard that she didn't hear Ares and Pidge walking behind her.
"Hey, Cheryl! I want you to meet somebody!" Ares said loudly. Cheryl startled for a second before turning around to greet Ares again. Her jaw was nearly on the ground when she noticed Pidge standing in front of her—in the flesh!
"Wow! It's Pidge!" Cheryl said cheering for a second before she stopped and saluted Pidge. Pidge returned the salute.
"Easy now," Pidge said. "I'm nobody special."
"Just the best system engineer ever!" Cheryl replied. "I mean you're the Green Lion pilot!"
Ares laughed at the situation. "Pidge, this is Cheryl Jackson. She's graduating from the Academy tomorrow morning. When I saw you, I knew I had to rush and introduce you to her. It's hard to find musically-inclined system engineers. And now, I'm getting ignored," Ares stated as he slipped the DJ table from Pidge and walked to the counter with it for Pidge.
"Nice to meet a fellow systems engineer," Pidge said as he stretched his hand out for a handshake. Cheryl took his hand and returned the handshake. "So, what other music instruments do you play?"
"Besides the piano/keyboards? Guitar. And you?"
"The keyboard is my first choice—but I really prefer the DJ station and mixing up sounds together," Pidge replied. "It helps relieve me from stress and frustration when things just won't run right."
"Same here. Lately, I've been going towards the guitar—but I'll stay in front of a keyboard for hours, too. I would probably love the keyboard more if I could ever compose something that makes sense enough to share with everyone."
"That's why I like DJing more. I would like to produce a little more and get behind the scenes. I can indulge in my hobby while still entertain everybody else."
"I like crowds, too. But system engineering is my main passion now," Cheryl replied. "I don't mind playing the piano for a choir or as a background accompaniment. Just not by myself."
"Too bad we can't just get a realistic hologram to cover our tracks," Pidge replied. "I love music, but Voltron and systems are my true love." Cheryl smiled her understanding. "They keyboard you're looking at seem to have a lot of potential."
"It's great. I grew up with a similar model at home. I was taking piano lessons and used to practice everyday with it," Cheryl said. "It's has just about every musical instrument sound programmed into it. It can make a plain piano piece come to life if you layer it right. The downside would be translating it to a beautiful composition for other instruments. With the right programming and a connection, you could translate and update songs to suit your needs."
"Yeah, Kurzweil is good for that," Pidge replied. "If I could hook it up to a DJ station, which would be perfect to make a holographic band."
"It's possible. I haven't attempted it, but there are several videos that highlight the latest attempts. It won't be too long before somebody successfully integrates them together at will."
"Who knows, it could be me."
"If it's you, let me know! I want to try it out!" Cheryl replied with a smile. "What brand do you like to use?"
"I'm a bit more traditional. Weird considering I'm from Balto, but I digress. Yamaha is my favorite," Pidge said. "In fact, the best ones are actually on display here." Pidge pointed towards the keyboard. "If you come with me, I can point out the good features." Cheryl nodded before following Pidge to the other keyboard. 15 minutes later, Pidge finished his Yamaha pitch and was asking Cheryl for her opinion. Pidge went through each feature of the keyboard and how it could connect to a DJ station to import some sounds.
"But it doesn't have all the instruments out there," Cheryl replied.
"No, it doesn't. That's why your Kurzweil is cool. Complicated but cool," Pidge paused. "Almost as complicated as figuring out some of the nuances of Voltron."
"Hmmm. Or the nuances to figure out what to put together in a program that could decide your future." Cheryl added. "After graduation, I'm assigned to headquarters here. Sky Marshal Wade thinks it's a great idea to push me into the deep end with the sharks and come up with a new operation system for him—one for a machine he wants to work on. It's supposed to be something like the Lions for whatever reason."
"Oh, really?" Pidge asked.
"But I'm not even sure it'll be any kind of successful. I don't know Voltron's systems." Cheryl said and paused for a second. "I don't think I even have the heart to copy that system. I would rather work from scratch and put my stamp on it."
"Interesting," Pidge stated mentally filing what Cheryl just told him. "Why is he so interested in Voltron?"
"A lot of people are interested in Voltron," Cheryl replied. "His motives? I couldn't tell you. I just keep getting bad vibes from him. It's almost at an unhealthy level how he likes anything lion or lion-related."
"A lot of people have been saying that about him," Pidge said, putting his finger on his lips to Cheryl. "You don't know who could be listening to us here," Pidge said whispering to where only he and Cheryl could hear. Cheryl nodded her head before scanning the store—it was starting to get a little busy.
"You have a point," Cheryl said. "Actually, another keyboard I like is further down the store," Cheryl continued as she pointed out to a random keyboard at the furthest wall from them. "Let's check it out." Pidge nodded and followed Cheryl to said keyboard and out of earshot of other customers. "I have other misgivings with Marshal Wade-but I'll just have to suck it up for now. I don't have another way of making a decent living right now."
"I understand," Pidge replied. "I have my own set of concerns with the Marshal, myself. He always was kind of particular during my Academy years. I caught him changing grades, stimulations, and even changing up training jets. Which might explain why he's so law and order."
"I hope we're wrong," Cheryl replied as they finished paying attention to the keyboard. "Well, I better head to the sheet music section and then finally check out. I need to find some songs for my guitar."
"I'll go with you. It's not everyday that I get to hang around a genius such as myself."
"I can't be a genius. I'm unproven," Cheryl replied.
"No selling yourself short around me. If you attended my lecture this morning, you're already marked as a genius—and you're graduating early compared to most of your classmates. You're only 18, right?" Pidge asked Cheryl as they continued to the sheet music section. Cheryl simply nodded before stopping to glance through the sheet music for guitars. After going through the gospel and popular racks, she decided to go through the rock and soft rock racks. In between rows, Pidge shared a little more about his electronic music dreams and how he would like to jumpstart the DJ scene in Arus. Cheryl said that if she could write a song or two, she'll consider herself accomplished. After a few more minutes of sharing and laughter, Cheryl picked up her selections while Pidge grabbed a couple of keyboard sheet music.
They walked back to the front counter satisfied that they got everything they wanted from this trip to Notecity. Persephone was still at the cash register and at once started ringing Cheryl up. When everything was rung up, Persephone surprised Cheryl with a 50% discount. After promising to visit the store more now that she would have more disposable income, Persephone surprised Pidge with his 40% off discount restating that she would send whatever he wanted to Arus. When he pointed, he hadn't been able to get his last few purchases there, she promised to personally deliver it herself. With a smile, Cheryl and Pidge walked out with smiles, satisfied how their visits to Notecity came out.
"I forgot how hot it could get here in Florida," Pidge said.
"I swear it gets hotter here than in Houston," Cheryl remarked. "It gets hot and very humid in Houston, but this is a whole different level of both."
"Maybe one day you'll get to come to Arus. Arus stays pretty temperate year-round with occasional spurts of extreme weather."
"Sounds like Dallas to me, they're more temperate than Houston." Cheryl added as Alex and Hunk drove up to the store parking lot.
"By the way, you're going to the Graduation Gala tomorrow night, right? And the Installation Ball?"
"I was going to sit both of them out."
"I can't skip either one but if you'll go with me, it'll be worth it. Call it a friendship date."
"Works for me. I'll be your plus one, then," Cheryl said with a smile. "I guess you don't mind a woman in uniform."
"As long as it's the Mess Dress, it'll be fine." Pidge said. "So where am I picking you up at?"
"You can pick me up at the Honors House."
"I'll be there at 6:45p," Pidge said as he walked to the truck Hunk borrowed from the embassy. "And don't bother with saluting me."
Cheryl chuckled as Alex opened the back door so Cheryl could put in her new guitar and sheet music end. "So, is that the "Pidge" Stoker?"
"Yes. Is that the "Hunk" Garrett?"
"Yes. So, I guess we need to make sure that our Mess Uniforms are pressed and ready to go for the next two nights?"
"Yep."
"Works for me. Going through Partside made me hungry. Let's go grab our uniforms, go to Glenn Blvd, stop at the Dry Cleaners, and finally get some good food in our stomachs." Cheryl laughed as they pulled off from the store.
***Present Day at The Void***
"So, that's how I met Pidge," Cheryl finished. "It's one of the coolest days in my life! After that I learned so much more about systems design and engineering. You all could never understand how cool this was." With the exception of Alex, everybody else gave Cheryl blank stares.
"See, I keep telling you that Systems Engineers have their own culture," Alex replied.
"I'm not into technology like that, but as long as it's your passion, it's all good," Diana said diplomatically.
"Fine, it's your turn anyway, Alex. We have enough time for your story." Cheryl said, pointing to Alex. "Spill."