Final Resistance
Chapter 11: Deprivation
Disclaimer: I don't own the Voltron Force. It belongs to World Events Productions and whoever they decide to license Voltron to (and the Wade droids and all the recognizable characters and places). I do own Diana, Ethel, Bernice, Cheryl, and Alex though.
*****Present, The Void*****
Diana's journey to the Sensory Deprivation chamber was quiet and uneventful. After a few minutes of going down the hallways, she noticed that there was no way to escape and find her way back to the Open Yard or even to her cell. The doors, hallways, and even the vents all looked the same. I bet Wade probably had me go through the scenic route to confuse me. Diana thought as they finally stopped in front of the chamber. The Wade droids pushed Diana into the room. In front of Diana was Sky Marshal Wade, waiting patiently for her to show up.
"Diana, it's been a long time since we last saw each other physically." Wade drawled taking in Diana's appearance.
"Not long enough, it seems." Diana responded with a chill in her voice and turned her head away from Wade. In response, Wade walked up to Diana and forcibly moved her head to face him. Diana narrowed her eyes, giving Wade every piece of hatred, she held for him. "You'll never get away with this."
"You don't understand, darling. I think I will." Wade shot back. "As you learned yourself, the only way to find this prison is to be caught. It'll only be a matter of time before your pilot friends come to the rescue. I'm betting that it would be the Honor-bound Kogane. Once Kogane arrives with the idea, he'll be able to free your little group, it'll be too late—I'm on to him. He'll probably enjoy his time in the Black Hole first. I guarantee it." Wade paused to take an appreciative glance at Diana. The look gave her a chill to the bones. "In the meantime, you're going to enjoy the wonderful accommodations of this chamber. It'll only take a few days to break you down, enough to gather all the evidence I need to take down the Den Resistance and Voltron. Once you leave this room, who knows? Maybe I'll be in a forgiving mood and allow you to help me for professional…and personal uses."
"Only in your dreams." Diana spat out. "You won't win this war with Voltron, Wade. The Galaxy Alliance will be restored to its former glory. Trust and believe that we won't be in here long."
"Dreams do come true, my dear." Wade answered icily as he released Diana's chin. "Without further delay, your deprivation awaits you. I'll be back to check on you…eventually."
"I feel nothing but the upmost abhorrence for you, Sky Marshal Wade," Diana started her speech. "You'll never earn the same respect as Space Marshal Graham, Commander Keith Kogane, my father, or the Voltron Force. You impugn your title and you're also an embarrassment to all who wear the uniform. You're easily the most repulsive man I have ever met and there is a special circle in hell for men like you."
"Are you finished with your little speech?" Wade asked nonchalantly.
"No." Diana responded as she narrowed her eyes again. "Go back to hell and never come back." Diana gathered a large amount of saliva in her mouth before spitting it all out at Wade. She hit her target perfectly.
"After you, ma'am." Wade replied with a menacing smile as he wiped his face with the handkerchief he kept in his pocket. Wade turned to the droids and gave them the instructions to bind Diana. "Get the most noise cancelling ear plugs. Next, get the thickest hood, gloves, and jumpsuit. I also want the darkest goggles available. Once you changed her into the appropriate gear, chain her to the wall. Skip the first check-in time. With those instructions, Wade walked to the other side of the open door. "Enjoy your stay, Diana. I'll be seeing you around." And with that, the droids quickly followed Wade's instructions and made sure that Diana couldn't hear, feel, taste, touch, or see. To add insult, her arms and legs were stretched to their limits before being individually chained to the wall. After a quick scan of her vitals, the droids rolled out of the room satisfied with their handiwork and closed the door, enforcing the deep darkness of the room.
"Wade's a fool to believe that I'll break down easily in here." Diana said to herself, displeased with the fact that she couldn't hear her own voice—just the slight vibrations coming from her throat. "He forgot, my specialty is Mental Health. He also forgot about the intense intelligence training I had within the Alliance and from outside sources. I'm a woman with strong psychological training." After a few moments of silence, Diana decided to reminisce about the moment the Voltron Force learned that they were being disbanded.
*****5 years ago, Arusian Embassy*****
Once the Voltron Force and Diana made it to the conference room, everyone settled into a somewhat comfortable seating arrangement. Keith sat at the head of the table. Allura sat on his left while Hunk sat on his right. Lance sat next to Allura and Pidge sat across from him. Diana sat at the other end of the table. Keith opened the envelope that Wade gave him in the hangar. He passed the first folded piece of paper to Allura so Lance could see his orders. Keith then passed Hunk the next piece of paper so Pidge could see his orders. Hunk's orders came next and finally Keith took the last piece of paper. With a collective sigh, they unfolded their paper with a frown.
"I'm guessing that these orders mean that we're going to be disbanded as a team," Keith said flatly. "Wade has me reassigned to Cetrac. I'm to oversee the building of the new Alliance base and serve as the leader of the Alliance peacekeeping forces there." Keith finished.
"That's on the other side of the remote galaxy. It's a good thing that Cetrac are our friends now." Allura said. "We're formalizing our new alliance as we speak."
"Could be worse, Keith. Wade assigned me to be a flight instructor at the Academy. I'm going to be under his thumb. Just to narrow the chances of Wade killing me in my sleep, I'm going to find some off-base apartment."
"He's not going to kill you—you're one of the best pilots in the Alliance. The other flight instructors love you and probably looking forward to seeing you give the students hell instead of them." Keith replied as Lance turned his orders into a paper plane.
"You're not the only one who's going to be looking for a place off-base, Lance. Wade is going to make sure that I'm busy by having me work double duty—I'll be working at headquarters and also teaching some of the introductory systems engineering classes."
"He has me working double duty as well." Lance and Hunk said in unison. "Wade also have teaching introductory mechanical engineering classes." Hunk finished.
"Everyone already knows that I'm going to be assigned at Headquarters under Intelligence. I would like to see how that's going to work since I've been highlighted in the newsreel several times this week. At least my busy work is going to be something I enjoy—I get to keep my full-time courseload for my dual masters Public Health and Social Work. Wade's not fooling anyone—he thinks that keeping us busy means that we wouldn't dare resist him together."
"Well at least most of you will be in one place. I'm going to be so bored at the Castle by myself." Allura said with a sigh. The guys did a collective ahh before giving Allura a team bear hug. A few seconds later, everyone was sitting in their chairs again.
"You won't be alone and bored, Allura. It looks like it's time to have our niece Larmina move to the castle and take her rightful place as your heir to the crown." Diana replied. "Besides that, I'm sure that the guys and I will make every attempt to visit you until Black Lion comes home. Hopefully, it shouldn't take more than a year to get that done." Diana paused again before speaking again. "And speaking about moving…Lance, Hunk, and Pidge why don't you guys share an apartment?"
"There's not enough earplugs available in the galaxy to drown out the roommate that likes to change ladies like outfits." Pidge answered, shooting the idea down.
"Don't forget ties. There's only so many ties we can afford." Hunk added.
"I'm wounded. I've actually matured into a better man and roommate." Lance said, before turning to stare at Diana intentionally. "There's this lady I've been eyeing for over a week. Since I'm going to be assigned on Earth, I'm going to do everything I can to have a committed relationship with her." Lance finished, leaving Diana breathless as she processed what Lance just said to the group. Turning back to the rest of the group, Lance added to the conversation. "Besides…what's the worst that can happen? Hunk's snores register just a few decibels shy of Sleep Apnea range. Pidge tends to feed mice that occasionally like to chew and steal things."
"Harsh…." Pidge said.
"But fair," Hunk added. "It's not the worst thing in the world, though. I remember when…" Hunk continued to share another roommate story to illustrate worse roommate habits. When Hunk was done with his story, Pidge added his roommate story. It wasn't too long before Keith was dragged into the roommate conversation since, he was Lance's roommate his junior year in the Academy. Diana shared some of her roommate stories from her college years. A few minutes later, the roommate conversation ended with Hunk and Pidge stating they still weren't going to share their apartment with Lance. In response, Lance said that he always wanted to have a bachelor's pad anyway. Diana rolled her eyes as they all stood up from the table. Pidge and Hunk left to do a quick search on off-base apartments in Hunk's room. Keith and Allura decided to take over their makeshift office to handle some administrative paperwork. That left Lance and Diana to make sure the conference room was clean before leaving the room themselves.
In the hallway, Diana casually leaned against the wall by the conference room door. "Lance, that was a great job of distracting everyone from the bad news. You may have more leadership skills than I thought."
With a smile, Lance casually planted one of his hands on the wall above Diana's head and leaned over her. "Do I have enough leadership skills to have a committed relationship with you?"
"What are we, high school students?" Diana asked as she rolled her eyes and moved away from Lance. "It's going to take some impressive dates and a lot of convincing for that, Lance." Diana finished. Lance chuckled and watched as Diana walked to the end of the hallway, her hips slowly swaying in rhythm to the soft clicks of her heels. At the end of the hall, Lawrence met up with Diana. They exchanged some words before Lawrence turned to leave the hallway. Diana turned to face Lance one last time before giving him a wink and blew a kiss his way. Lance smiled with a wink and a kiss of his own as Diana turned to leave the hallway.
*****Present, Castle of Lions*****
Lance was patrolling through the hallways of the Castle of Lions. He was thinking about Diana and how much he missed her. It was a cold comfort to know that Diana was currently in The Void but at least she wasn't completely mad at him—or at least he hoped she wasn't still mad at him. Just before the team went to dinner, Hunk pulled Lance to the side. Hunk apologized for the short notice—but wanted to know if Lance could take his hallway patrol tonight in exchange for taking over the class in the morning and taking the Cadets to the "Hunkyard". After a few moments of thinking, Lance agreed saying that it would give him some time to focus on other things after Voltron practice. With a huge smile, Hunk thanked him and said he had already had Keith's permission to change shifts. Lance laughed and simply told Hunk "Well played, sir, well played." The men laughed together before joining everyone in the dining room.
Finished with patrolling through the hallway, Lance walked to the team's wing. At the end of their hallway was the biggest room – Allura's room. The next largest rooms belong to Larmina and Keith with both rooms flanking Allura's. Coran's room was next to Keith's and across from the room that Vince and Daniel shared. The hallway was then split in half with two large storage rooms. In the other half of the hallway, Hunk's and Pidge's rooms were next to each other on the right side while Lance's and Diana's room were next to each other on the left side. Before reaching their rooms there were also two large storage rooms. So, imagine Lance's surprise to see Larmina standing in front of Diana's room instead of sleeping in her bed.
"Larmina, shouldn't you be in bed?" Lance asked softly as he stood next to the red-headed teenager.
"Lance! I though Hunk was patrolling the hallways tonight."
"We switch shifts so he could take you and the other cadets to the Hunkyard in the morning." Lance answered. Larmina nodded her head. "Since you're in front of Diana's room, I'm guessing that you're concerned about her."
Larmina nodded her head before sighing. "Lance, Aunt Diana never goes this long in between calls, texts, or even letters. The last time I saw her was after we went to Ariel and before the Roaming Mechanical Eye Incident. I get the feeling that Sky Marshal Wade captured Aunt Diana and is probably got her locked up somewhere."
It was Lance's turn to sigh. He almost forgot that Larmina's sense of intuition was almost to his level and similar to both her aunts' levels. If it was Vince or Daniel asking for confirmation, Lance would deny the facts and tell them to focus on themselves first. But Lance just couldn't find the heart to lie to Larmina. For one thing, she was mostly mature for her age—but being the heir to the throne would do that to any teenager no matter if the royal teen was on Earth, Cetrac, or on Arus. Even Allura was mature despite her social and dating naivete. On top of that, Larmina had the right to know since she was related to Diana. On the other hand, Lance never did like to hold things back from Larmina. "I'm not supposed to confirm that officially…but unfortunately, Diana has been captured by Wade and is currently held at The Void."
"She's been avoiding that fate for a while. It was just a matter of time." Larmina stated. "So…when are we going to spring her out?"
"We're working on that plan now. Just give us a few days. Of course, if I had it my way, I would have rescued her yesterday." Lance said. Larmina failed to stifle a yawn. "But for now, it's time for you to go back to bed."
"No arguments, here." Larmina said as she let out another yawn. Lance and Larmina walked wordlessly to Larmina's room at the other side of the hallway. Larmina used her code to open the door before turning back to Lance. "Lance don't tell anyone-especially Keith and Coran-but you're my favorite Uncle. You and Aunt Diana always tell me what I need to know. Although, I'm not sure why the two of you haven't settled into marriage, yet." Larmina finished with a yawn.
"That's the awesome thing about chosen family. It doesn't have to be official or blood." Lance replied as Larmina walked into her room.
"But you'll make an awesome uncle and a cool dad." Larmina said before closing her door. "Good night, Lance."
"Night, Larmina." Lance said as the door was fully closed. He turned around to see Keith and Allura standing not too far from him.
"She's worried about Diana, isn't she?" Allura asked.
"She's concerned. Her intuition level is nearly up there with mine." Lance answered, shrugging his shoulders. "Larmina is Diana's niece so I figured that I should confirm her concerns."
"Thanks, I was struggling on how I was going to tell her about Diana." Allura said with a sigh. "Since we're out here in the hallway, would you like to go to the kitchen for a snack and something to drink?"
"Sounds good to me," Lance answered. Keith walked on Allura's right and Lance walked on Allura's left. "Larmina's a good and resilient kid. She's becoming a good pilot in her own right, too."
"If only she would take to her other classes like she does with her martial arts and piloting classes." Allura said, as they walked down the hallway. Keith and Lance laughed at Allura's statement.
"I remember the same thing being said about another young monarch," Lance started. "It's unsightly for her royal personage to associate with those hooligans and flying a Lion." Keith and Allura laughed at Lance's impression of Nanny. "If only the Princess would focus on her studies more!" More laughter. "Princess! You don't have to pilot we can get another young man or a handsome prince to take over." Lance laughed along with Allura and Keith.
"And that monarch is doing just fine running and defending her planet." Keith said, taking a break from laughing. "And if you came out fine, so will Larmina. She has two awesome aunts, four guys that act like uncles, and one mellowed royal advisor who currently splits his time between Earth and Arus. Larmina will come out just fine with all our support and will make you proud." Keith finished as they walked into the kitchen.
Lance grabbed a bottle of his prized Arusian/Earth crafted beer. Keith poured two cups of iced tea while Allura grabbed a pie, a few plates, forks, and a couple of other things. When asked about the extra plates and utensils, Allura said they'll probably be joined by Pidge and Hunk. She opened up the apple pie and made a small slice for herself before sliding the pie to Keith to make his own slice. After Keith got his slice, Lance helped himself to a large slice of pie. It wasn't too long when Hunk and Pidge walked into the kitchen.
"So, this is where everybody's been! Is it Adult Swim or Three's Company tonight?" Hunk asked.
"Come on in." Lance said. "We're just about to get into this pie."
"I don't mind if I do." Hunk said as he grabbed an Arusian beer from the same fridge Lance took his beer from. Pidge followed suit and grabbed a bottle of Ginger Beer himself. "So…what are we talking about tonight?"
"Since everyone is here now, Manset should be captured by now and sent to the Void. I'm just waiting on a contact to confirm it before we move out. Then we'll get to The Void and free our friends." Keith shared with the group. "We'll take the Cadets with us, and I'll take care of everything else."
"But why does it always have to be you to save the day? I can save the day, too." Lance said.
"We already discussed this a couple of times, Lance. You're too emotionally involved to go in. Besides, Wade will be expecting me, but I'll have a couple of back-up plans up my sleeve."
Lance growled before Pidge shared his opinion. "You know he's right, Lance. Wade would just use your emotions against you and probably it'll probably affect Diana even more." Lance huffed his reply before taking a couple of long sips of his beer.
"Fine," Lance finally answered with words. "But I'm going to her as soon as I can. I probably won't be happy until she's in Red Lion with me."
"In the meantime, you'll need to figure out how you're going to make-up with Diana. Saying I told you so isn't going to work." Hunk told Lance. "Your last conversation with Diana ended in an argument and her disconnecting the call with a do not disturb notice."
"But I was right! And in case you forgot, I did tell her so," Lance said as he crossed his arms. "And if she would have listened to me…"
"You know that she would have gone anyway." Everyone finished for him. "She probably thought that it was better for her to go than anyone else." Pidge added, finishing the group's line of thought. "Keith just came back, you have the cadets to teach, Allura has the kingdom, while Hunk and I would be found as soon as we step off the fractal."
"Anyway, flowers and jewelry aren't going to work this time." Hunk replied, focusing the conversation back on Lance.
"Especially when she finds out from Cheryl or Alex that you had a big hand in embellishing those stories about the two of y'all." Pidge added, as he took out his glasses cleaner and a small microfiber cloth to clean his glasses.
"You know…" Allura started. "Diana always wanted to start a garden and orchard at Smythe House. It'll fulfill one of her dreams for the house and it'll also get you back in her good graces whenever she fully recovers from whatever Wade is doing to her in The Void."
"There's nothing like labors of love." Keith added with a smirk.
"You know what-I'm not taking any relationship advice from y'all. That includes the third and fourth wheels…" Lance paused to point to Hunk and Pidge. "And the poster children of pining away." Lance finished by pointing to Keith and Allura. Lance got up and walked to the fridge that held his beer. After taking out two more bottles, he turned back to the group again. "I'm going to spend some time with Red." Lance said before leaving the kitchen.
Allura sighed and started to get up from the table when Keith held her back. "Give him space, Allura. He's not going to get drunk from three bottles of beer. Let him be Moody in Red Lion—it'll be good for him."
"I knew that Moody was going to eventually show up." Pidge said, as he got up from the table and took the empty pie plate. Hunk also stood up and collected all the empty bottles before putting them in the recycling bin. Hunk and Pidge waved to Keith Allura before leaving the kitchen. Down the hall they could hear Hunk make comments about how Thirds and Fourths sound like a good group name.
"Well…it's just the two of us." Allura said softly, looking back at Keith. Keith smiled in response.
"I like that." He said before taking their glasses and placing them in the dishwasher. He turned around and swept Allura into his arms before going to their wing. Once they made it to Allura's room, Keith made to lower Allura—but she had other plans.
"Commander, would you stay the night with me?" Allura asked as her door was opened.
"Anything for you, Princess." Keith responded as he stepped into the room. As the door shut closed behind them, Keith gave Allura a lingering kiss.
*****The Void*****
Cheryl, Ethel, Bernice, and Alex were sitting on one of the picnic tables in the middle of the open yard. They decided to sit somewhere else besides the bleachers they tend to sit at. They were also waiting for Diana to show up. After 10 minutes they knew that Diana was not showing up today. "So, I guess Diana is going through another round of interrogation?" Cheryl asked the group.
"I vaguely remember yesterday hearing some of the Wade Droids saying that Diana was being taken over to the sensory deprivation chamber." Alex said. "She's definitely not at her cell."
"I'm confused. On Cetrac, sensory deprivation is used for relaxation. Why would it be here?"
"Your sensory deprivation is different. Your sensory deprivation is intended to soothe and rejuvenate people by allowing them to float in an enclosed tank with Epson salt water for about an hour with no stimulation. Wade's sensory deprivation, however, includes putting in the most noise cancelling ear plugs in Diana's ears so she can't hear, the thickest hood so she can't see or feel anything near her head. The heaviest goggles to prevent her from seeing any light, and the heaviest gloves and clothes to keep her from feeling anything on her body. The chamber is dark and there's no way for Diana to count time." Cheryl explained to Bernice.
"What! It should be illegal!" Bernice said. "A person can go mad in that situation."
"Exactly. The practice of sensory deprivation for prisoners has been illegal by galactic law for years—but Wade doesn't care and really wants Diana to psychologically break." Ethel added.
"How long do you think she can last in there? They have quite a past." Bernice asked.
"Most people can last roughly between 4 days and two weeks. The better question would be if Diana would end up having her regular nightmares while in there. If she gets them enough, it would probably break her more than not being able to use her senses." Cheryl said as the alarm for the Open Yard rang loud.
"It looks like somebody is joining the yard." Alex said as the doors opened and the wade droids rolled in with Manset.
"You can't treat me like this! I'm a successful businessperson! I've even had contracts with your boss. You tell him that!" Manset was saying as both pairs of his arms were waving in several directions.
"Warning! If your behavior continues, we may be forced to shut down your anti-gravity anklets and you'll have the opportunity to escape." The main wade droid told Manset.
"Why ye—" Manset was interrupted by Alex who ran to Manset side's side and covered his mouth.
"Hey, Manset, you'll want to chill. If your anklet goes off-line and the roof opens, you'll escape—with no life support and will die a cold death." Alex warned before taking her hand away from his mouth. "And I'm going to want to wash my hands—it feels like I just touched a lobster or crayfish."
"I resent that!" Manset said as the wade droids wordlessly left the Open Yard. "But it's so nice to see you, Alex. You'll be happy to know that I'm leaving my smuggling days behind."
"That's great and all—but there's more pressing things at the moment." Alex said as they walked back towards the group's picnic table.
"Ladies! It's such a pleasure to see you all again!" Manset boomed before softening his voice to a whisper. Ethel, Bernice, Alex, and Cheryl all leaned in closer to Manset. "I had a set of goodies for you, but Wade confiscated them all. Luckily, I have better news—Commander Keith and the Voltron Force are preparing to free you and the other Den Resistance members soon."
"That's great news. But there's a few details…" Bernice started.
"For one, Wade just took Diana to one of sensory deprivation chambers yesterday. We've already been through several rounds in the three weeks."
"I was just about to ask about her. That's not good—but I'm sure we'll find a way to get her out."
"And two—Chief Kalon is held up in the Black Hole—floating in a dark room with no gravity."
"We didn't know that. It's a challenge but I'm sure when Keith gets here, everybody will be free with no issues. Voltron should arrive in roughly about a week." Manset finished whispering before raising his voice to a normal level again. "Now that I've seen you ladies and can confirm everything, I'm just going to mingle with some of my new and old buddies here."
"Have fun!" The group cheered as Manset walked towards a group of prisoners that resembled walking sea life.
"At least we finally can see the light at the end of the tunnel here. Our main worry now is whether Diana can hold out for a week or so." Ethel said to the group.
"I have faith that Diana can hold out. Don't forget, she also received intense psychological training from focusing on Behavioral Health and from her military training." Bernice added.
"I almost forgot about that! We got to be strong, too." Cheryl said.
"Easier said than done when you're feeling hopeless." Alex pointed out. "But let's give it a try. Since Diana arrived here, telling stories did help to distract us. I'm sure that most of us haven't felt this hopeless since we were captured and sent here."
"Right. I guess we can share how we got caught." Ethel said. "I can go first, since I was here the longest. Bernice you can go next, then Cheryl and Alex and work out their story together."
"Sounds good." Everyone else at the table responded.
"Ok, so my last mission just happened to be…" Ethel started.
*****1 Year Ago, Earth*****
Ethel had to admit it, Diana was right when she said this mission would be beneficial for her. Diana's mission sounded crazy to her at first listen. Ethel was a businesswoman and not the operative that Diana always claimed she was capable of being. Diana simply laughed off Ethel's doubts and pointed out that mission couldn't go to anybody else but her.
"There's a big jewelry show at one of the hotel domes in Dradin. There's going to be a lot of high rollers visiting the jewelry show in between gambling games and other entertainment. The jewelry show would also provide a great cover while you search for an updated lead for Black Lion." Diana started her pitch. "You can work either a pop-up shop or a booth at the show by day and search for leads at night. With all the high rollers around—legitimate and smugglers/hustlers—somebody's bound to know where Wade might be hiding Arus' stolen property."
"Why can't you do it? You're more social than I am!" Ethel asked.
Diana sighed before answering. "I'm too known now. Thanks for a couple of higher rank officials, it's near impossible for me to take on new missions at the moment. Also, being a diplomat's daughter also works against me when it comes to intelligence work. Since you run a successful business, you'll be able to blend in, network, and get new sales all at the same time." Diana stopped and took the last sips from her green tea latte.
Now it was Ethel's turn to sigh. "Fine, I'll do it." Ethel said as she finished her iced caramel macchiato. "So…are we still on for our Ladies' Night next Saturday? Bernice just confirmed that she's not going to be able to make it this time since she's working on something new and big for Cetrac. She promised to be there for the next one no matter what."
Diana groaned before answering. "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that. I break up with the guy and he still decides that it's fun to torture me with date duty. Since he's the new Lead Flight Instructor—it's his turn to host the other instructors at the Academy. He said something to the effect that I was the perfect date because anyone else would just embarrass him." Diana rolled her eyes. "So, I'm stuck with date duty with Lance next Saturday, even though we broke up a month ago. Dude just won't take the hint—I moved out of our nice apartment and into a swanky extended stay suite. I've been ignoring his calls and all interactions. Somehow, he remembers that I like to run at the beach every other Sunday and corners me about this shindig." Diana finished her protest.
"So, I should be expecting an invite to your next 'We made-up' party in two weeks?" Ethel asked with a soft laugh.
"Whatever, I'm just doing this as a one-time favor. He's going to owe me big for this one." Diana promised as they stood up to throw away their cups.
"I'll be looking for that 'We made-up' notification in about a week." Ethel said as she opened the door for Diana so they could leave the coffee shop. Diana muttered something profane before giving Ethel a one-finger gesture as Lance's ringtone played on Diana's phone. Diana answered the phone in a huff as Ethel walked away laughing at Diana's situation.
A month later, Ethel had to admit it—Diana was right when she said this mission was perfect for her. Ethel was able to grab a small pop-up shop for the Dradin Jewelry Show at the hosting hotel and a generous discount on her hotel suite. Ethel ran the day shift at the shop, while Jenna—her trusted assistant—took over the night shift. By day, Ethel was networking with new business associates and gaining new clients and by night, true to Diana's word, she was able to network with some interesting and dubious businesspeople. Business entities—to be more inclusive. Those last group of contacts were surprisingly able to come up with a great lead for Black Lion. As a bonus, Ethel was actually able to find legitimate business and suppliers through the night contacts and was able to complete her trip in time for the show to end perfectly. Diana was right about getting those coordinates—Diana would never been able to get them herself this time.
Luckily for Ethel, the show was ending tonight. Satisfied that her inventory was gone, Ehtel and Jenna packed up the empty displays and returned the keys to the hotel staff. Ethel also gave the hotel their share of the profits. As a treat, Ethel gave Jenna the night off after giving her the plans on maintaining the business while Ethel decided to push her checkout time an extra day. She also made sure that Jenna understood to reach out to George for extra help. Two hours later, Ethel hopped on her rented hovercycle and drove to where she was supposed to meet with Keith this time for the coordinates.
On the way to the meeting spot, Ethel thought deeply about the Den Resistance and how long they had carried on since Wade manhandled the Voltron Lions during the celebration four years ago. She also thought about how hard they tried to help Arus find its missing lion. Who knew it would take years instead of months? True, Ethel did enjoy the Den Resistance, but she wasn't sure if she could handle both her business side and her resistance side much longer. It was getting very tiring living her version of a double life. Maybe, this time it'll be Black Lion, and this will be all over. Ethel thought as she waited for Keith to show up.
It wasn't too long before an old man in a hoverchair arrived at the meeting spot in the alley. "I think you lost your cameo bracelet." Ethel turned to get a good look at the man. That was the code phrase for this mission to let her know that Keith was there.
"You must be mistaken. I don't own any cameo bracelets." Ethel replied, waiting for the next coded response.
"But it's actually a rare black cameo piece." The old man continued, concerned. "It coordinates with basically everything. Are you sure it's not yours?"
"No sir," Ethel answered, disappointed that it wasn't Keith. That was not the response she was looking for. "Finder's Keepers as they say on Earth."
"Thanks. I'll see what I can do with it. Maybe I could find me a young lady." The older man said as he moved his hoverchair towards the lighted street and onto the next corner.
"Been waiting long?" Keith's voice sounded in Ethel's ear. Ethel jumped in surprise to see Keith dressed in a long, hooded jacket and a pair of black pants with boots. He took the hood down and revealed his face and his old mullet hairstyle.
"Not long," Ethel answered as she gave Keith the small rectangular box. "Here's what you've been looking for. I also added a little something extra for you." Ethel turned to the street to make sure nobody else was watching their interaction.
"Hopefully I can get my property back this time. I would like to walk in the sun again," Keith finished as he placed the hood back over his head and moved towards the dark shadows of the alley. "Thanks. As always, I promise you're going to be one of the first to get that invitation."
"I'll be waiting for that day." Ethel said, turning to see that Keith had already disappeared down the alley. She shook her head before returning to the street and hopped back on her hovercycle. With a sense of relief, Ethel made it back to her hotel suite. The next day, Ethel spent the day at the spa. After hours of relaxation, Ethel then enjoyed the afternoon shopping at the luxury shopping center next door to her hotel. Finally, after gaining bags of clothes, shoes, and new purses Ethel enjoyed the quick dinner she ordered through room service and ended her night at the hotel's upscale nightclub.
The next day, Ethel gathered her things and enjoyed her heavy brunch before checking out of the hotel. From the hotel, Ethel left for the spaceport where a private fractal was waiting for her. One of the business associates she came across during the show offered his fractal for her trip back home to Earth since he had extra room. After getting everything on the craft, Ethel took a seat on the left side of the passenger cabin and waited for the associate and the crew to take off. Little did she know that Sky Marshal Wade was personally boarding the craft to take her away to The Void.
"Ms. Ethel Acenas. Fancy seeing you here." Wade said as he entered the passenger cabin.
"Sky Marshal Wade, how can I help you?" Ethel asked nonchalantly.
"The real question is how could you help the Den Resistance?"
"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're talking about." Ethel answered. "You can't go around throwing all kinds of unproved accusations around."
"I'm surprised at you, Ethel. I would never thought you were personally against me to this level. You've been involved with the Den Resistance for a long time." Wade replied. Before Ethel could launch her rebuttal, Wade called for a group of military police officers to board the fractal. "Take her to the prisoner transport. I'll personally take care of the intake procedure."
"Sir!" The men answered as they grabbed Ethel and escorted her off the fractal. From the corner of her eye, Ethel noticed Dezvous her associate entering the fractal. He didn't blink or even acknowledge Ethel as he walked up the ramp. Ethel should have known that the blue dolphin-like being had an ulterior motive in offering his craft.
"Dezvous, thank you for your cooperating with the Galaxy Alliance. As promised, your company should receive all the paperwork concerning our new contract within the next day or two. I look forward to having a new jewelry supplier."
"As do I, Sky Marshal." Dezvous said Wade walked out of the craft. Dezvous took a sneak glance at Ethel as she boarded the prisoner transport. "Sorry Ethel, it's not personal—just business." He said softly as the prisoner transport quickly took off.
When Ethel arrived at The Void, her street clothes were quickly torn off and exchanged for a set of orange prisoner gear, white shirt, and shoes with no laces. After that, Wade was delighted to personally oversee Ethel's intake procedure—including pictures. After giving her the anti-gravity anklets, Wade pushed Ethel into the Black Hole, laughing at the small amount of time it took Ethel to figure out that the room was just a dark floating space. "Enjoy the Black Hole, Ehtel. I'll let you think about all the consequences of going against me for a few days before we'll have our first weekly chat." And true to his promise, Wade had Ethel taken out of the Black Hole and into her first interrogation. A few months later, a more interesting prisoner came to The Void.
*****Present, The Void*****
"Even now, I still feel as if I was a complete failure." Ethel said, finishing up her story. "I kept thinking about who betrayed me and why. After narrowing down the possible motives, I regretted not listening to my gut instincts about him."
"It could have happened to any one of us, Ethel." Cheryl replied. "I'm sure that we all ignore one detail before being caught and sent here. Even Diana probably missed a detail and got caught."
Before Bernice could start her story, the Wade droids announced that the recreation break was over, and it was time for all prisoners to return to their assigned cells. "I'll share my story tomorrow, then." Bernice said as the group separated.