Final Resistance
Chapter 6: Alex and Hunk
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.
"Alright, I'll share my story," Alex responded. "As you could already tell, I met Hunk the same day that Cheryl met Pidge. Although he judged my final project along with all the Mechanical Engineering instructors earlier that day, I didn't get a good look at Hunk. So anyway, after getting a rental trailer, I took the Amigo, dropped Cheryl off and made my way to Partside and my personal project—a kit hoverbike for Cheryl to get around town in. Partside is the best place to get parts—especially on a budget."
***Partside, a few miles outside of Cape Canaveral limits 5 years ago***
Alex pulled into the large junkyard and parked her Amigo and the trailer in one of the large parking spots that was close to the office door. "Alright, let's see if I can manage to get everything I need here with no issues," Alex said to herself as she got out of the small jeep. "And of course, it's going to be a very hot day, too." Alex looked down at her clothes and was happy that she was wearing a lemon-colored tank top and capri outfit with her blue Nike shoes. Alex locked the car and walked into the Partside office to check-in.
Alex walked in and noticed that the owners, Trish and Mack Einzino, were sitting at their desks on opposite sides of the office. Alex heard the soft chime and saw Trish look up from her work with a smile on her face.
"Alex! Hello! How did everything go with your final project?"
"Well…" Alex started. "I got a perfect score. Which puts me in fifth overall in my graduating class and second in Mechanical Engineering."
"That's fabulous!" Trish exclaimed as she pulled an envelope from the drawer next to her. "This is just a little graduation gift from the both of us." Trish put the envelope in Alex's hand.
Alex tucked the envelope into her pocket and closer to her stomach so it wouldn't get lost. "Thank you!" Alex said with a smile. "I'm finally here to do a personal project! I'm doing a kit hoverbike for my roommate, Cheryl. She needs something to move around town in."
"So…what kit are you working from?" Mack asked from his desk, finally looking up from his work.
"I'm working on a bolt-on kit from OGR. It's their NX56 model," Alex said. "They sent me most of the smaller things I need, but everything else is going to need a donor bike or bikes."
"That's a solid beginner's kit," Mack said with a smile. "Although, you could easily take on a more advanced model. "Nonetheless, we should have almost everything you would need."
Trish took the time and grabbed a cart for Alex and rolled it to her. "Hopefully you remembered to get a trailer this time?" Alex nodded yes. "Have at it. If you need any help, just let us know."
"Thanks!" Alex said as she took the cart and went out the door on the right of Trish's desk. Alex put her hair in a high ponytail before glancing at her parts list again. "Let's start from the bottom up," she said to herself. Alex moved to the center of the yard, where the salvaged hoverbikes were found. Alex walked down and up the section before finding the near-perfect donor bike. "This Harley is perfect for this project…at least for the frame. I would need to replace the engine and exhaust," Alex said after bending down to check on the engine and exhaust. "And I thought I wasn't going to be able to use a welder on this project." With a smile, Alex went to scoot the frame closer to the cart—but was easily frustrated when she was only able to move the frame a few inches. "Really! I worked out a lot these last two semesters. Why won't you move?" Alex made another attempt at moving the frame. "Aww…come on! Just move!" She grunted and stared at the frame. "You're definitely coming to the garage with me. It'll be easier if you could just move more than a few inches!"
While Alex was struggling with the donor bike, Hunk arrived at Partside in the borrowed pick-up truck from the Embassy motor pool. "Partside! How I miss ya! The Hunkyard got nothing on you!" Hunk said with a smile as he looked through the parking lot, the fence, and the front office. "It's getting hot. I'm glad that my hair is cut. I might need to keep this look going for a while." Before leaving the embassy, Hunk changed into a yellow tank top and black cargo shorts with a pair of black work boots. "And at least, I won't be burning up either." Hunk walked into the office and found the Einzinos still sitting at their desks. "Hello!" Hunk called and both owners looked up with smiles.
"We know that voice and body anywhere," Mack said, getting up from his desk and went to shake Hunk's hand. "Long time, no see."
"I know," Hunk said, rubbing his hand against the back of his head. "Stationed way out in Arus, fighting Drules, freeing a planet. Keeps a guy busy. On the upside, I can get all the free metal I can get—just not all my favorites."
"Really? We'll take some of that metal off you hands if you'll like." Trish said with a big smile. "We'll work a fair price to haul it here. It'll be far distance, but then, I wouldn't mind the occasional trip or two."
"That sounds like a good idea. Let me talk to Princess Allura and see what we can come up with. In the meantime, I'm doing a quick personal project. A hovercycle project – just a bolt-on kit. It's like a big thank you gift for our hostess' daughter."
"So how long are you going to be on Earth?" Mack asked.
"I'll be here until Saturday, then it's back home to Arus."
"Aww, not enough time. So, you're permanently stationed there?" Trish asked.
"That's the plan. But it'll depend on Wade and how he sees things since he's taking over this week," Hunk replied shrugging his shoulders."
"I know—I would have stopped here sooner, but there are so many things to do," Hunk Replied. "That's the main reason why I'm doing a bolt-on kit. After tomorrow, I should have more free time."
Trish pulled another cart to Hunk. "Here you go. If there's anything you need, just let us know." Trish said, hugging Hunk for a few moments.
"I sure will." Hunk replied as he walked out the back door and into the junkyard. He stretched his arms before putting his earphones in so he could rock out to his heavy metal and pick out his parts. Hunk carefully made his way to the hovercycle section and noticed a woman struggling to move a frame to the cart. He could tell that she was about 5'11", had a rectangular shaped, medium framed body and was wearing lemon yellow. After taking another few glances, he recognized her as one of the graduating cadets he graded this morning. He couldn't remember her name, but he knew it started with an "A" and at the moment, she was frustrated with her lack of progress.
"Why won't you move? I'll it the gym more if you could just move more than a few inches. I have more free time now," Alex pleaded before kicking the frame. "I want you so much! Don't you want to be made better than ever? Be back on the road?"
Suddenly, Alex felt a hand on her shoulder and fought with all her might not to jump. "I can help you move the frame to your cart, miss." A masculine voice sounded in Alex's ears. She turned around and her jaw nearly dropped to the ground. In front of her was one of her Engineering idols—Tsuyoshi "Hunk" Garrett. "Uh, hello?" Although Alex saw him earlier, she wasn't prepared to see him in person out side of academic or professional realm. Hunk was not only tall, but he also had bulk muscles that bordered on attractive to her.
Alex finally remembered to salute Hunk before speaking. "Hi! You're Hu—I mean you're Sargeant Garrett! You judged my final project! It's an honor, sir!"
After returning Alex's salute, Hunk put his hand behind his head bashfully. "Aww, you can just call me Hunk, everybody else does for the most part. I recognize you now…you're the cadet with the only perfect score/"
"That's me. My name is Alexandria Zana. Just call me Alex."
"Nice to meet you, Alex. So, do you want me to help you with that frame?" Hunk asked again.
"Oh, yeah. It'll be great. For whatever reason, it doesn't want to move for me." Alex replied. "I swear I went to the gym more the last couple of semesters." Hunk simply smiled at Alex before he easily picked up the hovercycle and placed it in the cart. "Thanks for the help!"
"No problem," Hunk said. "So how are going to move it later?"
"I'll figure something out. I'm working on this project at a fully stocked, rented garage. It's for my roommate so she'll have some kind of transportation to move around town in."
"Awesome. So, I'm guessing you're also working on a kit project?"
"Sure am. I'm working on a bolt-on kit since it's my first time around. It's mostly bolt-on…but that engine and exhaust is going to need replacement. I'm also going to have to add an operating system on it as well. My roommate is a genius, so she'll probably upgrade it to suit her better anyway. I have a love-hate relationship with coding."
"Same here. I could mess around with coding—but I prefer to work with my hands a little more," Hunk replied. "Coding is a necessary evil." Alex laughed along with Hunk. "If you can wait, I'll find my donor bike around here and we can go for the other parts together. It's a thank you gift for a friend of mine."
"That's sweet of you," Alex said with a smile. "I'll wait up." Hunk nodded before walking down the aisles before finally finding the donor bike that would fit Diana perfectly. He hefted the frame to the cart and started to pull both his and Alex's carts.
"So, I'm guessing our next stop is engines and exhausts? I also need to get a few minor things."
"That's right. My kit came with all the smaller stuff I need."
"It's an OGR NX56 kit, isn't it?" Hunk asked.
"Yep."
"I'm working on the kit one step above it. Wait here a few moments and I'll get those smaller things I needed." Alex nodded at Hunk. She looked over at his parts list and noticed that the small items he needed were in the next section.
"Luckily for you, the next section has all those little parts you need," Alex said. "I'll wait here for you." Hunk nodded at Alex before going through the next section. Every so often, he would pick up an item, examine it, then discard it. If it was an item he wanted, he simply held on to it before going to the next part of the section. It wasn't too long before Alex turned to look at some of the first engines in the next area. Once Hunk had all the items he wanted, they walked over to the engines.
It took them about five laps around the engine sections before they agreed on their engines. Every time either one found an engine, they would walk away—only to find a better engine to grab their attention. In between engine swaps, Alex and Hunk discussed the engines along with their pros and cons. With the engines picked out and put into the carts, they went through the exhaust section easily. After picking their exhaust, they were ready for a quick break. Leaving their carts at the exhaust section, Alex and Hunk walked to where there was a small rest area with vending machines near the middle of the yard.
"This project is going to be much more fun than whatever Marshal Wade is going to have me work on in the future," Alex said as she took a few sips of her soda.
"Just out of curiosity, what does he plan to have you work on?" Hunk asked.
"Just rumors right now, but I think he's going to want me to work on the engineering team to copy the Voltron Lions. What is it with him and lions? He's beyond obsessed with the animal," Alex stated. "I got a bad feeling about copying the lions. There's too much to figure out, much less copy them. It could be worse—it could be coding them."
"That's a good question. The dude is obsessed with lions. Why does he want the project so much? Isn't one set of lions good enough?"
"Who knows?" Alex replied. "I think it's foolish—we could be doing better things. You know, make things from scratch—and not simply reverse-engineer things."
"I always thought he was a little different during my days at the Academy. I didn't have as much interaction with him compared to other people, but I felt that he could improve on a few things—especially constraints in issues in engineering and technology," Hunk shared. "But I could be wrong. What do I know? I'm just a sergeant."
"And I'm just a graduating cadet that's about to cut her teeth in the adult world," Alex replied as she threw away their soda bottles. "But for now, back to more pleasant things—like getting the last system items we needed."
"Same here. It's the last item," Hunk said taking a look at his watch at the same time. "After that, I have to pick up Pidge from Notecity."
"Funny. That's where I'm headed to next. My roommate and best friend, Cheryl is there," Alex replied. Hunk and Alex walked back towards the exhaust section to pick up their carts. Hunk grabbed both carts and followed Alex to the systems area. It didn't take them long to pick out the perfect systems for each project. Satisfied, Hunk and Alex made their way back to the front office to pay for their parts. "I think these projects are going to be perfect!"
When they entered the office, Trish walked to the front counter and greeted them again. "Hey, Alex and Hunk. It looks like you two found each other out there. And, if I'm not mistaken, you both are ready to check out."
"Yep, we sure are," Hunk said. Trish went through Alex's cart and gave her a discount before receiving Alex's money. Trish repeated the same steps for Hunk. After congratulating both engineers, Trish got a promise from Hunk that he'll follow-up with her regarding the extra metal in Arus and a promise from Alex that's she'll be back in a couple of weeks with a new project. Hunk followed Alex to her jeep and placed everything in the trailer. He then dropped his things into the truck bed and trailer. On his way back to the office, Hunk stopped at Alex's jeep again.
"So…are you going to need help with the frame at your rented garage?"
"Nope, I should be able to handle it. There's a couple of moving jacks I can use there to get this thing to move around easily."
"That's good. So…you're going to your Graduation Gala, right?"
"I was thinking about skipping it."
"What about the Installation ball?"
"I was going to skip that, too."
"So, you're free on both nights? I can't skip either thing, but I'm dreading all the boring conversations and stuff surrounding it. Why not make sure your dress uniforms are good and hang out with me?"
"Well…since you're so nice about it. I'll go and be your plus one."
"That's the spirit. You'll get better seats at my table anyway with everyone else."
"Everyone else?"
"Yes, basically Lance—Red's pilot; Pidge—Green's pilot; and Diana—our hostess' daughter and new friend."
"Is that going to be okay for everyone else? I don't want to put anyone out…"
"Nonsense. They'll just say the more the merrier."
"You got a friendship date!"
"Sweet! I'll pick you up at your dorm—"
"I'll be at the Honors House."
"Alright then, Honors House at 6:45."
"I'll be there and ready to go," Alex said, finishing up their conversation. "We better go get our friends before they send out a search party."
Hunk laughed. "I'll return the carts. See you later!"
"I'll see you later, too!" Alex called out as she started her jeep. She waited until Hunk dropped off the carts and started the truck he was using before leaving for Notecity. It wasn't too long before she arrived at the store and noticed that Cheryl was having a conversation with Pidge. Cheryl noticed that Alex just pulled up to the driveway. Behind her, Hunk pulled his truck just behind her. Pidge and Cheryl finished up their conversation and she could hear Pidge say one more thing as he walked towards Hunk.
"And don't bother with saluting me."
Cheryl chuckled as Alex opened the back door to the jeep, so Cheryl could put in her new guitar and sheet music end. Alex couldn't help but ask the question on her mind: "So, is that the "Pidge" Stoker?"
"Yes. Is that the "Hunk" Garrett?" Cheryl asked in response.
"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.
***The Void, Present Day***
"And, that's how I met Hunk," Alex finished her story.
"See? That's a sweet and interesting story," Diana said with a smile. "You get to meet your idol, and everything works out. All I get is a flyboy with a fly mouth."
"And a flyboy with a fly mouth that you're so in love with that no other man will do," Bernice said, chuckling. The other women laughed along with Bernice.
"I promise that I'm not going to let him off when I see him," Diana replied, crossing her arms as they rolled their eyes at her. Cheryl pointed out that she wasn't convincing anyone that she was going to do the opposite. Diana stuck out her tongue again while the rest of the group chuckled. When the chuckling ended, a group of Wade droids made a beeline for Diana.
"Prisoner 062481, it's time for your rehab session. It's time for the rehab session for Prisoner 062481."
"Rehab for what? I don't need a rehab session," Diana responded rebelliously with her arms crossed over her chest. Before she could do anything else, she was grabbed by a couple of the droids as the group stood still.
"This must be a record. You've only been here three days and already have your first rehab session," Bernice stated. "I didn't think your first day was coming up so soon."
"That makes two of us," Diana responded back as the droids pulled her to the door. "I'll see y'all later. I knew that I was going to eventually see my first interrogation." The door closed behind the droids, and they took Diana down a few halls before settling for a dark room. They forced her to sit down on a chair in the middle of the room. As they left the room, they locked the door. A few seconds later, a bright light shined on Diana as Wade's face took over the large monitor in the room.
"Diana Smythe-Williams, welcome to your first rehab session," Wade said. "These sessions are here to help you get back into my good graces. We'll meet every few days until you disclose everything about the Den Resistance or until I need you again."
"You'll be wasting your time, then. I'll never disclose anything about the Resistance. And I'll never help you again—unless it's to put you behind bars."
"Never say never, my dear," Wade replied. "Why don't we start? Who are you in the Den Resistance?"
"Wouldn't you love to know that?" Diana replied. "To answer your question, for me to know and for you to never find out."
"Cute, very cute," Wade responded. Diana let out a snort. "What made you join the resistance against me?"
"Do you really have to ask me that question?" Diana asked back. "The better question would be what made you such an ass to people?"
From his side of the screen, Wade narrowed his eyes at Diana. "I would watch your words, if I was you." Diana rolled her eyes at the screen. She asked why should she mince her words with him. "You wouldn't want me to be ugly."
"Too late," Diana muttered under her breath. Wade asked Diana to repeat herself. Diana stared at Wade and confidently stated that she didn't say a thing. In response, Wade asked her a few more questions which were promptly ignored. So, he decided to ask her again why did she join the resistance against him. "Really, Wade, really? After all of our history together, you actually have the nerve to ask me that question? Maybe you should start eating more walnuts or blueberries. Or better yet, write notes down everywhere. Like I said, you're wasting your time."
Wade answered in a long growl, before summoning the Wade droids again. "Take her to the shower room, change her clothes, then put her back into her cell. She'll be skipping the next two days of meals and recreation breaks."