Final Resistance
Chapter 9: Cheryl and Alex's Galaxy Celebration
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, Deborah, and Alex are my original characters. If the names don't ring a bell—it's ok…it could be one of my characters, too.
"Is it just me, or is Wade trying to crack down on us harder these last few days?" Cheryl asked as she entered the open yard. Alex and Diana ran to Cheryl's side to offer support. Cheryl smiled and told them that she wasn't weak enough for help yet. They walked towards the middle of the bleachers in the yard. Bernice and Ethel asked how Cheryl was feeling, to which Cheryl replied that she was doing relatively fine. "I'm even better now that I'm off punishment. I don't know what Wade hopes to accomplish so suddenly."
"Since he finally managed to capture and hide me in The Void, he's probably trying to pressure us to open up about the resistance. I'm gathering that in the last few months he probably just asked a few questions then released y'all?" Everybody nodded in agreement. "Now that I'm here, he's hoping that we would feel defeated and desperate." Diana said. "I was first because we have personal history. And he sees me as a de facto leader of the Den Resistance."
"He's got another thing coming if he thinks I'm going to break," Bernice said. "I've been on guard since I was a child, thanks to my militaristic ancestors. I can't tell you how much my parents, their advisors, and palace staff trained me on things."
"He's definitely over-estimated his ability to scare me," Ethel said next. "I still remember how wonky things were after my parents died."
"It goes without saying that he's failing with me, too." Cheryl and Alex responded together. The group sat in silence for a few moments before Cheryl spoke again. "So…since we're all back together, I guess Alex and I should share our experience with the Galaxy Celebration."
"Definitely. We know we can't take tomorrow for granted," Bernice stated.
"Alright, then. So, after graduation, my parents were still in town, so they let Cheryl and I stay with them overnight after the Installation Ball. Once we woke-up late that morning, my parents had some conversations with the both of us about our future plans and some suggestions, too." Alex started.
"Those were some great conversations, too. I remember each piece of advice they gave me. There were a bunch of ideas, like sharing an apartment so that we could breathe and save money at the same time. Man, that apartment was the best in the world!" Cheryl said with a smile. "It was cheap, off the beach, had walk-in closets, the kitchen had a small bar, and we had a Jack and Jill Bathroom.""
"Right. The best kind of bathroom design—a door, a sink, and a toilet on each side with the bathtub/shower acting as a wall. We were able to keep our body and bath stuff separate." Alex explained with a smile. "But anyway, let's get back to our story before we get too sidetracked. Once my parents were done having their talks with us, we noticed that the crowd was showing up at the park. Cheryl and I decided to take advantage of the sizable balcony that our hotel room had to watch the celebration. My parents split their time watching the celebration from the TV and the balcony."
***Five years ago, Galatyn Hotel***
"Wow! The crowd is getting bigger. Most of the park is full of nothing but people and a few vendors." Cheryl said, looking at Alex. "At least, it's about to start soon!" Alex looked down at the park and noticed that there was barely one piece of uncovered grass. Even with the remaining space becoming a premium, people were still pouring into the park.
"I know that it's rare to see Voltron in a peaceful setting, but wow! You can barely see the playground equipment and tables." Alex added in. "There isn't an empty patio, terrace, or balcony surrounding the park either."
"Welcome back, everybody! Thank you for watching the Galaxy Celebration with us! In a few moments, our Emcee of the day—Solstice will come out and start the actual celebration." Their TV blared from the sitting area of the room. "As you can see, even our stage area is packed with our dear friends and families. And what a celebration today will be! There'll be music performances, presentations, speeches, and the guests of honor themselves—the Voltron Force! While we're providing coverage, we'll also have a few special guests at our booth." A loud burst of cheers sounded both through the tv and in the crowd as Solstic stepped on the stage. After a brief introduction to the celebration, Solstic was ready to leave the stage for the first time.
"Without further delay, let's welcome the Galaxy Alliance Honor Guard and the Galaxy Alliance Academy Honor Band." Solstic exited the stage to the left as the honor guard and band appeared on the stage together. After the flags were presented to the audience, Cheryl and Alex sang along with each child singer for all the anthems. As the groups left the stage, Cheryl and Alex shared their memories with their parents about the year they were in the Academy's Honor Guard. Alex's parents entered the balcony so they could get good view of Voltron as it started it's fly-by.
"What? Like we weren't going to try to see a better view of Voltron?" Mr. Zana asked as Cheryl and Alex moved over so the Zanas could have room on the balcony. A few moments later, the lions started to fly around the crowd. "Wow! Do you see the lions!"
"I know! They're kind of realistic!" Alex responded to her father. "And look! Yellow Lion really has a scar and an underbite! I knew I should have taken Hunk's offer of jumping into the lion!"
"And look how cool Green Lion looks, too! I should have jumped into the lion, too!" Cheryl added as the lions flew overhead again.
"The lions are so magnificent! Pictures just don't do them justice," Mrs. Zana added, eating a piece of fudge. It wasn't too long before the Lions went higher in the sky and formed Voltron so he could do a quick fly-over.
"Do you see that! Voltron's face is actually smiling! He knows this is all for him!" They exclaimed at the same time as Voltron flew over the park. Their balcony neighbors were also in awe of the giant robot.
"I'm never going to see something as cool as this again," Cheryl and Alex said at the same time with smiles.
"Can we talk about how good the pilots are? Princess Allura really flies Blue Lion? She flies like a pro!" Mrs. Zana asked excitedly.
"She should, Mom. She has to practice like the rest," Alex answered with a warm smile. "Hunk said that Allura is a quick study—even under stressful conditions."
"Pidge said even with being a pilot for a couple of years or so, Princess Allura's skills are comparable to everybody else's on the team."
With a smile, the elder Zanas left the balcony to sit in front of the TV again. As Solstic returned to the stage, Cheryl and Alex followed to grab a couple of pieces of fudge. "I would of have thought that the two of y'all would stay on the balcony," Mrs. Zana said as she opened the fudge container.
"We were…" Cheryl paused to grab a couple of pieces of fudge. "But we really don't like Arstic. I'm really looking forward to seeing GroupoStyless."
"And ClassikTopia!" Alex added as she grabbed a few pieces of fudge herself. Her parents rolled their eyes while Cheryl and Alex shared a high five. Alex returned the fudge container to her mother. "I don't know why everybody else in here acts like they're a bad band. There are worse bands out there."
"Like?" Mr. Zana asked.
"Nautica," Alex quickly answered. "They're 80 going on 20. They should be relaxing in a house in the country, teaching the next generation of musicians."
"Or 3," Cheryl added as she ignored the look Mr. Zana gave her. "We could mention their rival group, Rollers."
"Hey! There's not a bad band," Mrs. Zana countered. "Y'all kids just don't understand good music. You know how many things occurred listening to their music? Like making babies in special places—for example, Alex was most likely created in the—"
"Let's not divulge into the story," Alex said. "We get the idea…"
"Our music is still better," Cheryl replied. "How about…"
"Nope," Mr. Zana interrupted.
"But I didn't even finish yet, Mr. Zana!" Cheryl exclaimed.
"Doesn't matter. The answer is going to be no, no matter who was coming next." Mr. Zana started. "If you ever have a teen, I'm going to enjoy it when you have this argument with them. You're going to complain how bad their music tastes are."
"Never happening. They're going to love…" Alex started as the conversation turned to music, generational changes, and the future of music while Arstic continued their set on the stage. After the conversation died the group looked down at the fudge container in disbelief.
"Fudge sure doesn't last long around here," Cheryl started. "I was hoping for another piece. That fudge is addictive."
"I guess I can go back downstairs and get some more," Mr. Zana said with a sigh. "I'm not missing anything special right now. The line is probably shorter now, too." He got up and made his way to the end table near the door to the room. "I'll get my wallet and be on my way."
"I'll go with you dear, "Mrs. Zana said as she stood up as well. On the TV, the announcers were talking about Arstic before going to commercial with the premise that GroupoStyless was coming up next. "Besides, we can continue our happy conversation about great musical tastes."
"We sure can," Mr. Zana said as they left the room. Cheryl cheered as she made her way back to the balcony so she wouldn't miss a moment of GroupoStyless. Alex shook her head as she followed her best friend. Solstic shook hands with Artstic while the back-up band left the stage. When Arstic left the stage, the next back-up band entered the stage. Cheryl cheered louder as Solstic introduced GroupoStyless to the crowd. When Solstic left the stage, the band began a long interlude before the first song began and the lead singer appeared on the stage.
The lead singer started to freestyle over the song and the crowd was instantaneously engaged as they sang along to the chorus. When the song ended, the lead singer took the microphone and announced the next song. "We're going to do something a little different with this song. I hope y'all like it. It's all new, all different sound." Each instrument slowly played their part into the song before the lead singer joined in and the beat changed to a rock beat. Cheryl started bouncing to the beat of the music, garnering cheers from the other balconies at the hotel.
"Get it!" They cheered Cheryl on as the song continued. When the song was over, Cheryl stopped to catch her breath as the next song started with a Latin beat that was interrupted and changed by a steady rock bat. Every time the chorus sounded, it went back to the Latin beat. The next song was a slower rock ballad, and the girls sang along with the group. When the song was over, the girls spoke again. "I love this song and I can't wait until I get to meet the right person to dance this song with." Cheryl said.
"Same here. Pidge and Hunk are cool and everything, but it's definitely a platonic thing."
"Ok. I'm not going there. I mean, they're our idols!" Alex said with a smile. "I just enjoy being able to talk all about mechanical engineering and not be stared as if I was crazy."
"Same here with Pidge—finally someone I can talk all about systems engineering and not have to be so self-conscious." Cheryl added. Just as Cheryl was going to complain about the song, it ended and a song with a higher beats per minute took over. Before they knew it, Cheryl and Alex were bouncing and bobbing their heads to the heavy metal beat. The guitar riffs and the driven drum beat took them to another world. Before they knew it, the song was over, and they were leaving the stage as Solstic took over the microphone again. While Solstic was introducing Wade, the television in the room was blaring all of his credentials and accomplishments since the Academy. They also noted to the public the different official reasons why his rank didn't change with his higher promotion. As Wade walked on to the stage, the announcer finished their summary telling how proud they were of the Sky Marshal as the coverage went back to the stage.
Wade took over the microphone and started his speech just as Mr. & Mrs. Zana returned to the hotel room. Wade spoke about his beginnings at the Academy, then his hopes to make the Alliance even better. "One of my favorite animals is the lion. In fact, I have a pet lion…" Wade continued to speak about lions in general before driving the speech towards learning more about Voltron and the Lions in general. "Although we know a little about the Lions, I would like to learn more about them."
"He's not the only one to wish to learn more about Voltron," Cheryl replied to the statement.
"Him and everybody else in the galaxy," Alex added. "It's not like he couldn't ask the Voltron Force."
"The short time I was in the Lion was interesting and I've spent my life admiring Voltron. It's an ancient technology but yet, something we're still learning about added to the fact that in a lot of ways is still more advanced than our current technology. That said, that's why we need more scientific and mechanical-minded students at the Academy. We're always going to need pilots and such, but if we're ever going to learn about Voltron, robeasts, and everything in between, we're going to need engineers! As I'm stepping away from the daily tasks at the Academy, I'm going to be looking for bright minds and high talent to fill in the blanks—but that's a discussion for another day."
"And this is why I didn't like his lectures or presentations," Alex said. "Of course, you want all the engineers, systems analysts, and grunts you can get. It still won't get him the full respect he wants."
"What you said," Cheryl added as Wade droned on about personnel and the lions again. "At least now, I won't have to plot on how to shorten his lectures or find ways to skip them." Wade spoke about the lions again before finally concluding and asked the audience to join the Alliance and the Academy. Once he was completely finished, the crowd clapped wildly as Solstic took over the microphone again. After thanking Wade, Solstic took a quick breath and introduced the next group, ClasikTopia.
"Cape Canaveral! Are…You…Ready...To...Fuse!" The lead singer roared into the microphone. The audience cheered loudly. "I don't know. Let me ask you again. Are…You…Ready?" The crowd went wilder, and the cheers were deafening. "Now, that's the welcome I was looking for! I'm Underscore and we here at ClasikTopia are ready to entertain!" The crowd responded again in a cheer as the lead guitarist started playing a solo introduction. The next sound came from the drums, followed by the keyboards. Finally, a group of voices sounded throughout the park. Before long the crowd was bouncing and dancing to the group's first single of the night.
The next song was Beach Vibrations which was accompanied by a wave of beach balls. The crowds bounced the balls in different directions. The song started with a taste of doo-wop and island beats before the final addition of a rock riff as the song brought the crowd into a beach day state of mind. As the song ended, the beach balls found their way back to the stage. The next song was a cover of a classic heavy metal song. It wasn't too long before Underscore took the end of the stage and enjoyed his time crowd-surfing before being guided back to the stage.
"Do you think I could get the same treatment if I tried the same thing?" Alex asked Cheryl, who rolled her eyes before responding.
"Not from here, of course. We'll have to go to a rock concert to see if you can stage dive into a surfing moment. Preferably in the near future."
"It's on the bucket list, I promise," Alex added as a new song started. This song took a classical piece and infused it with the song of rock and electric piano. Alex swayed along with the song as Cheryl simply listened to it. Mrs. Zana walked to the balcony with a box of fudge. Cheryl and Alex each took a couple of pieces as the song continued.
"I might have to give this group another look," Mrs. Zana said. "This song is perfectly fused."
"Yes, perfectly!" Cheryl echoed. ClasikTopia played a couple more songs, then a couple of encore songs before finally leaving the stage. Solstic returned to the stage with Diana and Hyacinth on each side. As the TV introduced them, Cheryl and Alex had their jaws wide open in recognition. "We know them! We met them the other nights! Diana sat with us, but I had no idea she was a diplomat's daughter!"
"Yeah, she just mentioned that her mother was from Arus, she served in the reserves, and she was Lance's date." Alex shared with her parents.
"Well, Diana did use her Arusian title. It just didn't click for me," Cheryl confessed.
"While we're confessing things here, I met them when they were touring the factory as part of their tour on the west coast." Mr. Zana stated from the couch as he put another piece of fudge in his mouth. "They were visiting the nearby base and heard that we were making new materials for the Alliance. By the way, I think the daughter is a case manager and doesn't exactly serve as a diplomat."
"So, Dad, how's the new material going so far at the factory?"
"It's coming along. Rumor has it that we're going to supply the Alliance pretty soon for a major project." Mr. Zana answered as Hyacinth started her presentation. He took another piece of fudge before giving his wife a kiss.
Cheryl and Alex continued to marvel at Hyacinth and Diana at different times during their speech. Cheryl noticed how poised Diana appeared, even though she could pick up that Diana wanted to leave the stage. Alex noted how easy the conversation was between the two of them on stage compared to their conversations during the last two nights at the balls. Focusing back on the speech, Cheryl shared how she admired Hyacinth's determination to get help for Arus even with all the difficulties that both the Alliance and Doom handed out. By the time the presentation ended, Alex and Cheryl clapped their hands and were excited to hear more music. It wasn't too long before the next group was introduced, and the stage was filled with smoke and pyrotechnics.
When the smoke and pyrotechnics cleared, Antber was dressed in a blue sequin leotard, blue thigh high boots, and blue streaks in her black hair with the microphone in her hand. "Are you ready to rock? Are you ready to roll? Are you ready for both?" She asked the crowd as the band moved into place behind her and Matgom. A few feet away, Matgom grabbed his guitar and prepared to play. He was wearing a red tank top and black cargo shorts with black boots. The crowd chanted yes, several times before Matgom started playing an intense guitar riff. Before the crowd knew it, they began to sing their cover of Celebration. The crowd chanted Woohoo every time the chorus rolled around. Even from the comfort of the couch, Mr. & Mrs. Zana chanted Woohoo loudly.
When the next song started, the instrumental intro had the crowd standing up and swaying to the beat. It wasn't too long before the crowd sang along with Antber. As the song continued, Antber had tears in her eyes from the audience's reaction. "Wow! Everybody's been great so far. I hope y'all are enjoying the performance so far. Our next song is about to be released soon, so we wanted to give everyone an advanced performance of it. Matgom created this song all by himself so, I'm going to let him take over. I hope that you'll love this song as much as we do." The crowd cheered as Matgom took over the microphone and placed it on the small stand on the piano. He played a quick interlude before he opened his mouth to sing. His smooth baritone voice came out and automatically entranced everyone. Couples started dancing as some of the unattached singles wistfully watched them. Cheryl and Bernice watched couples starting to dance, before looking into the room and the TV. They noticed that Mr. & Mrs. Zana were also dancing close together. They softly awed the elder couple, before staring out the balcony again.
After a quick pause, the next song introduced a faster pace. It was a rock song and had the ladies dancing and bobbing their heads to the beat. They enjoyed the song so much, they didn't notice Mr. Zana's camera flashing, recording their joyful dancing. When the song ended, the crowd chanted "more" several times before the group returned back to the stage. For their encore performance, they performed their most famous song, "Change the Rules". As the starting strains of the songs filled the park, there was a growing soft glow of cellphones, watches, and even lighters around the park. Cheryl and Alex even had their phones out, swaying to the music. The crowd waved their arms and sang along with Antber and Matgom. While the band picked up their instruments and left the stage, Antber and Matgom continued the song by tossing their guitars off-stage and singing the reprise a couple of more times.
Solstic returned to the stage and took the microphone from the duo before thanking them. "I know everybody has enjoyed themselves, right?" The answer to the question was a resounding cheer. "The moment you all have been waiting for is here! The Voltron Force! As you can hear, the Lions are circling above us. Once they land on the stage, they'll give out their brief speeches, followed by fireworks. It's been a pleasure hosting this wonderful Celebration. Have a great night, everybody!" The crowd cheered as they could now see the Lions as Solstic left the stage and the higher platform was installed as the final things removed from the stage to allow space for the Lions to land.
The Zanas joined Alex and Cheryl on the balcony, so they could get another good look at the Lions. "We'll never know when I'll have this opportunity again." Mr. Zana said as he hugged Cheryl, Alex, and Mrs. Zana before looking up in the sky. They smiled again when the Lions flew overhead in laps before they slowly landed on the stage. Yellow Lion landed first, followed by Red Lion, and finally Green Lion. Blue and Black Lions landed behind them on the higher platform. The pilots stepped out of the lions as the crowd cheered "Voltron! Voltron!" increasingly louder. If the crowds on the ground were loud, the cheers from the balconies, terraces, and patios were even louder. When all the cheers finally died down minutes later, the speeches started.
"Now, that's a welcome!" Hunk said, speaking into the microphone first. "And I have to say…" Hunk continued with his speech, focusing on how good it was to return to Earth victorious. "We've been through everything—spending unwanted time on Doom, seeing new planets, experiencing new cultures and cuisines, defeating ugly robeasts, and finally beating the pants off of Doom!" The crowd laughed and cheered. "Although I enjoyed my time as a cadet, I had so much more fun this week at the Academy as a guest and even met some of replacements—I mean future mechanic engineers." The crowd laughed again with Hunk. "Especially from the recent class. I even got to spend time with one of the high achievers!" Cheryl nudged Alex as Hunk continued. "Anyway, it was an honor to defend Arus and the Galaxy. I love Earth and my family is here, but Arus is home now. I'm looking forward to helping Arus rebuild and recover! It's back to be home at Earth and I hope to see some of you in the future!" Hunk finished to cheers.
Pidge went next with his speech as he grabbed the microphone from Hunk. ""Hi, everybody! It's nice to be back on Earth for a few days! Anyway, I love coding and everything programming related. If you would have told me that…" Pidge started his speech, commenting how unbelievable his life has been since the Academy. He also added some of his adventures and how he was apply to some of his knowledge on Arus. "I can't tell you how much fun it's been for me to use the systems on Arus and upgrade them. Not to mention, working on the Lions and even piloting Green Lion! Being a wiz with systems has it perks and none bigger than being able to continuously build a better system for a planet! But the highlight of my week was helping to grade the final exams for Systems Engineering and speaking to the group. I even got to meet the next genius from this year's class!" Alex nudged Cheryl, in response to Cheryl's earlier nudge. "I also enjoyed spending time at Notecity and of course the wonderful balls this week. It's also nice to enjoy and celebrate with the public at large!" After a few more moments, Pidge ended his speech and Lance grabbed the microphone.
Lance's speech was focused on his perspective on the team's adventures in Arus and beyond. His speech was full of opportunities for the crowds to cheer or laugh. During his speech, the TV in the room would highlight some of Lance's accomplishments and his other abilities. The TV also highlighted some of the times Lance would wink or blew kisses to the VIP section. After finally sharing his thoughts of the Alliance and encouraging the audience to never give up, Lance finished his speech. After Lance's speech, Keith and Allura took over the microphone and did their speech together. Keith and Allura took turns throughout their speech as they shared their perspectives, adventures, and sentiments about the Alliance and Arus. At the end of their speech, Keith said that he will always defend the universe. The rest of the team nodded in agreement as the speech ended.
Everything seemed fine when the fireworks started with the Voltron Force waving at the crowd in general. After a couple of rounds, suddenly all hell broke loose. The crowd panicked as Black, Blue, then finally Green, Yellow, and Red Lions randomly shot rays in different places. Cheryl rushed into the room as Alex slammed the balcony door for some semblance of safety.
"What just happened out there?" Alex asked after taking a couple of deep breaths. They watched the aftermath on TV.
"A better question would be why were there so many armed Alliance soldiers in the crowd? Also…what caused this to happen?" Cheryl asked in response. "I got a bad feeling about this whole situation."
"You're not the only one," Alex replied.
"At least the two of you are safe in here at the moment." Mr. Zana said. "The situation looks pretty bad out there.
"The Lions never broke down before." Mrs. Zana stated. "Didn't they always used to say even though it was old technology, the Lions would never break down?"
"You're right, Mrs. Zana. Something's fishy about this breakdown." Cheryl answered. "Now I really wished I would have taken up on Pidge's offer of checking out Green Lion."
"Same here. I should have taken up the offer of checking out Yellow Lion." Alex added.
"Well, this is up y'all alley. As systems engineer and mechanical engineer, you'll also have to look into issues like this. It'll probably be a part of your job to do forensic technology investigations," Mr. Zana said as he turned off the TV.
"There's no way they'll have us work on this. We just graduated two days ago." Alex said. "Not that I'm wishing for an easy ride already."
Cheryl started to respond to Alex's comment when a knock sounded from the door. Confused, Cheryl walked to the door. "It's probably the staff personally checking in on us. I'll get the door." Cheryl opened the door and was surprised to see a group of Alliance soldiers at the door. Alex joined Cheryl at the door, and they saluted. The soldiers returned the salute.
"Tech sergeants Jackson and Zana. You're to report immediately to Headquarters. Your teams are assembling there to help with the investigations on what happened earlier." The Lieutenant of the group introduced himself.
"Understood. We didn't pack any of our uniforms, though." Cheryl pointed out.
"You're to report immediately. Don't worry about your uniforms. Let's get a move on."
"Sir." Alex and Cheryl responded together before Alex turned to her family. "Mom, Dad. We're going to Headquarters now. I'll check in with you later—it looks like we're spending the night on base."
"Ok. Be safe, babygirl." Mr. and Mrs. Zana answered together as they waved good-bye at the girls. Alex and Cheryl followed the soldiers into the elevators, out of the hotel, and into a waiting SUV. Cheryl and Alex sat in the middle row of the SUV, while 3 soldiers took the back row. Another soldier took the driver's seat as the Lieutenant took the front passenger seat. The SUV drove away from the hotel, wordlessly and made a right turn at the stoplight.
"So, you're probably wondering why you two are going to be involved in the investigation."
"Yes sir, the thought did occur." Cheryl answered. "We're pretty much inexperienced."
"By the way, I'm Lieutenant Dell Woods. Your labs and scores helped add you to the teams responsible for the Lions investigation. You're also assigned to the two highest technical teams. It didn't hurt that Sky Marshal Wade noticed that over the last two nights you sat with some of the pilots. We hope that you may be able to supply some insight into the problem."
"I'm not too sure about that, sir. We never took advantage of the offer to personally look into the lions by two of the pilots." Alex answered. "A decision, I painfully regret."
"I have complete faith that you'll do well. We interviewed your instructors and noticed that your scores matched their scores on graduation. Your resourcefulness, inquisitive nature, and thoroughness complements the abilities that your teammates already have. You'll develop all the other abilities and skills you'll need as you serve."
"Yes, sir. Thank you." Cheryl and Alex responded together as the SUV made its way to the primary bridge that connected the mainland to the island where Headquarters was situated on. The rest of the drive to the hangar where the Lions were held was silent. Cheryl was stuck in her thoughts, still processing what they're about to do. Alex was also stuck in her thoughts, processing everything from the celebration to this investigation they've been pushed to join. The soldiers in the vehicle were also quiet, keeping to their thoughts and probably processing things themselves.
When the SUV stopped, everyone got out of it and walked into the hangar. The group took a collective gasp at the sight greeting them. Each lion was standing in the middle of a group of scaffolds and a few electronic chains—it looked like each Lion was held in a mechanical cage. At the base of each Lion stood its pilot, staring up at their machine seeming to share their sentient ship's misery. Cheryl and Alex couldn't make out what the pilots were saying to their Lions, but it looked as if they were trying to build up a resolve. "Never thought I'll see the Lions like this," Cheryl and Alex thought separately at the scene before them. A few minutes later, the pilots left their Lions and were escorted by a large group of soldiers. Cheryl could barely make out their next destination: Sky Marshal Wade's office. It wasn't too long before an officer approached the group. After salutes were exchanged, the officer spoke.
"Okay, I'm sure that everyone is used to this scene, now. Let's see if we can find out what happened to make the Lions do what they did at the Celebration. I'm Lieutenant Kraantje Gann and I'll be overseeing this investigation. Sargeant Zana, you'll be working under me with the rest of the mechanical engineering group."
"Yes sir," Alex answered.
"Let's get you into some working overalls and boots. I don't like this project anymore than the next person, but Sky Marshal Wade is going to want something on his desk. Lt. Woods, help Sargeant Jackson get into some work gear and see what you can find out about the codes." Cheryl and Lt. Woods responded as they went to the locker room on the far left. Lt. Gann and Alex made their way to the locker room on the far right. Moments later, the teams met in the middle of hangar, surrounded by the Lions.
"So, we're all here of course because of work. This isn't what we had in mind when we wanted to learn more about the Lions, but here we are. Our goal is to thoroughly go over each Lion for clues on what happened earlier and have some kind of results on Sky Marshal Wade's desk when we're done. We'll start with Blue and Yellow Lions first, followed by Red and Green Lions, then finally Black Lion. As we go through the Lions, hopefully Sergeants Jackson and Zana can provide extra insight from being around some of the pilots. My team will start with Yellow Lion, Lt. Woods' team will start with Blue Lion. When we're done, we'll switch Lions. They're still "on" for the moment so we should be able to access the systems will need for the time being. Let's get a move on, the Lions aren't going to do it themselves."
"Although they probably could since they're sentient in a way," Lt. Woods said with a smirk as he led his team towards Blue Lion. The team stopped at Blue Lions' front paws. Lt. Woods sighed before looking up to the Lion and speaking again. "I know you didn't like the fact we got you caged and chained, but we're just trying to do our jobs. Please don't make it hard on us." Blue Lion responded with what sounded like a low growl. The team looked towards Lt. Woods before looking at the Lion. They turned back to Lt. Woods. "My parents were Arusian, so the Lions are sacred to me in a way." He explained before pointing to Cheryl. "She trusts you for some reason. Go on to the cockpit and I'll be close by on the tallest scaffold."
"Yes sir." Cheryl answered before they stepped into the scaffold elevator to reach the cockpit. When they reached the level, the cockpit was open and the system was waiting for an input. "Here goes real project one," Cheryl said as she took the pilot's seat and connected her work tablet to the terminal. Instinctly, Cheryl entered a few commands and started to look for bugs and issues. "Ok, what are you trying to say, ma'am?" Cheryl asked softly as she decided to check the rear legs and paws first.
Meanwhile at Yellow Lion, Alex as looking up at the Lion in awe. "Ok, I'm taking any chances. I can't explain why—but I get the feeling that everything will be a little easier if Lt. Zana gets to look at the cockpit. Everybody else, pick a joint and work from there." The team nodded as Alex and Lt. Gann went up the scaffold elevator to reach the cockpit.
"You're probably wondering why I said what I said down there," Lt. Gann started. Alex nodded her head. "I spent half of my childhood in Arus, so the Lions are somewhat sacred to me. Yellow Lion trusts you more than everybody else. It probably trusts Cheryl, too." Lt. Gann paused when they arrived at the cockpit level.
"I'll see what I can do. I doubt we're going to find anything tonight, anyway." Alex stated as she walked into the cockpit, surprised to see the operating system on and waiting for her to type in a command. Alex plugged her work tablet into the system and decided to start with the tail mechanics. After an hour in the lion, Alex was done going through the mechanics and confirming her findings with her new teammates on the ground her findings. She softly patted yellow's console before leaving the cockpit and met with everybody on the ground. The two teams passed each other wordlessly as they switched to focus on the next lion. Similarly, to what happened in the earlier lion, Cheryl and Alex worked from inside the cockpit, confirming and helping their teammates on the ground.
Five hours later, all the Lions were searched with the same result: The Lions responded to Black's command—but there were no trace of a virus or malevolent hacking. With a heavy sigh, the teams with the exception of the Lieutenants, Cheryl, and Alex were dismissed for the night with instructions to meet in the afternoon for another sweep. When everyone else left the hangar, Gann, Woods, Cheryl, and Alex were sitting in Gann's office. "So, probably wondering why you weren't dismissed yet." Lt. Gann started.
"Yes, it was a thought," Cheryl answered as Alex nodded her head.
"We have dual citizenship with Arus and as we said earlier, the Lions are sacred to us. We believe strongly that the Lions were sabotaged—but we can't prove it." Gann started.
"With a virus or firing system hack. I think Wade had a hand in it—but as Gann stated earlier, we can't prove it. I think it's hidden deeper in Black Lion. We can't ask for help from Commander Keith obliviously. The Arusian Embassy can't help since this is out of their expertise. We could ask Countess Diana—but unfortunately, Wade's going to be looking at her every move for the next few months since she's going to be serving under him full-time in Intelligence. While you're going through the systems again tomorrow, try to do a discreet search again. Hopefully, we'll have another couple of days to find the evidence." Lt. Woods added.
"That's all for now. I'm sure you're pretty beat. Get a good nights sleep at the Honors House and we'll try this again in the afternoon. Have a good night and keep all this between the four of us."
"Sirs." Cheryl and Alex said as they left the room. Cheryl and Alex walked to their old dorm room in silence, occasionally stopping to salute a few officers, cadets, and newly formed colleagues. Once they arrived at their room, they let out a loud collective sigh. "I'm going to really hate this investigation." Cheryl let out.
"Find something we can't prove. What fun." Alex replied as she took over the coach in the middle of their sitting area. "But at least we know that the Lions like us, though."
"They trust us enough," Cheryl responded. "Red said that it liked me enough to be it's backup pilot number 2. Diana's is the main backup pilot to Lance. Although I didn't know she could fly the Lions."
"She probably doesn't know it," Alex replied. "Yellow said I was its back-up behind Hunk."
"I doubt we get to fly them." Cheryl and Alex shared together with a chuckle. "But if given the opportunity to serve and protect…" They finished together.
"I wonder how the Voltron pilots are faring in Wade's office?" Alex asked as she got up from the couch and was making her way to her bed. Although all her stuff was packed for their move into their temporary room in the barracks, Alex's wall was decorated similarly to her old room in California.
"Me, too." Cheryl said as she walked to her bed. Cheryl's stuff was also packed to go to their temporary room in the barracks. If they didn't have to move, Cheryl's wall would be covered with pictures of her family, trophies, and a frame featuring the logos of her favorite professional sports team. "Good night, Alex."
"Good night, Cheryl."
Just as they closed their eyes, their phones started to ring with Hunk and Pidge's faces on the screen.
"Hey, fellas. Don't y'all sleep?"
"Sorry for calling you so late/early," Hunk started.
"But can you meet us at the Arusian Embassy later this morning?" Pidge finished. "We're having a meeting and you're invited."
"Sure. What time?" Cheryl asked.
"How does 9 am sound?"
"Sounds about right. We're moving into our barracks room at 8. We'll drop our stuff off, then swing by." Alex stated.
"See y'all then!" Hunk said before hanging up.
"What did we just get ourselves into?" Cheryl asked Alex. She waited a few moments to see that Alex was already sleeping. Shrugging her shoulders, Cheryl turned towards her wall and closed her eyes as well.
*****Present Day, The Void*****
"And that's our story about the Galaxy Celebration and the longest night ever," Alex finished.
"Is it just me or is Alex the only person I know that absolutely loves ClasikTopia?" Ethel asked.
"As long as it's rock, Alex will like them." Cheryl answered with a smile.
"Harsh…but fair," Alex answered. "I do have some standards about my rock."
"It remains to be seen," Diana responded with a chuckle.
"But how is it that only Diana and Cheryl like GroupoStyless?" Bernice asked.
"Diana will listen to just about any kind of music. She's easily entertained. Cheryl just has a unique personal taste." Alex answered with a smirk.
"Comprehensive education from two planets and music lessons on several instruments. GroupoStyless checks the boxes on what I should like in a scholarly way." Diana responded. Before anybody else in the group could say another word, the doors to the yard opened and a group of Wade droids rolled in. They stopped in front of the group and quickly grabbed Ethel.
"I guess it's time for my 'rehab' session," Ethel said as she walked away with her escorts. "I'll see y'all later." She called out. After the Wade droids disappeared behind the doors, it was announced that it was time for the rest of them to return to the cells. Eerily all the prisoners were quiet on the way to their cells, thinking about several things. When Diana arrived at her cell, she took a deep breath before promising to take down both Wade and The Void as hard as she could at the first opportunity.