Title: Winning Days
Fandom: Voltron, Vehicle Team
Author: Purrsia Kat
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Start Date: September 2004
Summary: In their exploration of galaxies in the
universe, the Voltron Force stationed on the S.S. Explorer must contend with
the combative Drule Empire. In this adventure, inspired by a dream of the
author, the Drules have found a way to sully the reputation of the Alliance,
which may make some planets rethink their affiliation with them and other
planets to simply not join at all. Hence the time is ripe for a potentially
devastating shift in the balance of power to take place…
This fan fiction will be split into four “books”
with each containing approx. three parts.
Part I
By Purrsia Kat
Air team leader Jeff looked down at
the control panel of the vessel he piloted, its lights alive with activity.
“This planet looks promising, Commander,” he reported to the figure in brown
uniform whose image appeared in the screen at the center of the console. “All
instruments reveal the air can support human life.”
“Great news,” came the Commander’s
radioed reply. “Once the other teams report, I’ll relay the news to Galaxy
Garrison.”
“Yes sir. Over and out.”
Jeff guided his conical star ship
around the last outcropping of rock, which marked the end of a particularly
mountainous region, with expert skill. He was then greeted by a breathtaking
panorama of lush green forests stretching to the arc of the horizon. Despite
the beauty and promise of the planet, experience had taught the young captain
of the Voltron Force a degree of cynicism. “It’s too good to be true,” he
muttered while checking the various gauges and sensors in his craft for any
sign of the Alliance’s perennial enemies, the Drule Empire. True, they hadn’t
clashed with the Drules in weeks but instead of taking solace in that, that
fact actually had Jeff more on edge.
Jeff was distracted from his
negative thoughts by the appearance of Land Team leader Cliff’s image on his
telecom. “Jeff, everything down here checks out okay. Plant and animal life
seem compatible with human settlement. We may have found the perfect world.”
Jeff forced a smile in an effort to
keep his cynical comments to himself. “Sounds great, Cliff. But keep an eye out
for the Drules. You never know when they’re going to show up and ruin a perfect
world.” Ever the vocal member of the team, Jeff found he couldn’t hold in his
doubts for long, though Cliff seemed much less concerned.
In fact, Cliff laughed. “Honestly
Jeff, we haven’t encountered the Drules in weeks. You need to relax. If the
Drules were around we’d have picked them up on radar by now.”
“Maybe if I was as naďve as you, I
could relax,” Jeff shot back playfully. What worried Jeff most was the Drules’
chameleon-like ability to adapt to the Alliance’s technology and find ways to
block or skirt their radar and other devices that would give the Alliance fair
warning.
“Ha ha. Maybe if you’d relax for
even one moment, you wouldn’t be the person solely responsible for the
depletion of the Explorer’s supply of antacids.”
Jeff cracked a grin at his
teammate’s exaggeration. “No way, we all know it’s Sammy’s cooking that’s
responsible for that.”
“Fair enough. See you back at the
Explorer. Over and out.”
**************************************************
That evening, Jeff watched a
brilliant sunset from behind one of the many great glass panes of their command
ship, the Explorer.
“It’s beautiful,” Sea Team leader
Cric remarked.
Jeff simply nodded without taking
his eyes off the sky, his expression giving away no surprise at the quiet
appearance of his teammate by his side.
“I heard Commander Hawkins sent news
of our find back to Galaxy Garrison. Once we finish thoroughly exploring the
southern hemisphere tomorrow it will be a done deal…a new world for the
over-populated people in the Alliance to colonize.”
Jeff sighed. “That’s the mission.”
After a brief silence, Jeff turned to look at Cric. He hesitated because part
of him didn’t want to confirm his worst fears. Cric, an alien whose skin was as
pale a blue as the water world he hailed from, had a gift – a sixth sense – and
if anyone could confirm Jeff’s fears it would be him. “What’s your feeling
about this place, Cric? What’s your gut feeling?” Jeff’s gaze was unflinching as
he searched his friend’s face for a reaction.
Cric cast his eyes downward as he
uttered two simple words. “Not good.”
“Damn,” Jeff cursed. “I was afraid
of that.”
“Something’s going to happen
tomorrow, so rest while you can tonight.”
Jeff shook his head. “After news
like that, how do you figure?”
“I confided in the Commander about
this feeling,” Cric explained, “and he’s got us on heightened alert. It’s all
we can do for now with nothing but a vague premonition to go on.”
“I guess,” Jeff conceded with
flagging confidence for he knew as anyone else on the ship that Cric’s feelings
weren’t to be taken lightly. Jeff had a pretty good idea who would be
responsible for the coming trouble, too. “I’m just so sick of the Drules coming
along and taking things from us.”
“You have to remember, to them we’re
interlopers in their corner of the universe. Maybe they think if they destroy
the fruits of our labor often enough, we’ll tire of it and move on. And now
that we’re edging into what is believed to be the galaxy of their home planet,
we can only expect the attacks to be more frequent and vicious.”
“Fear and ignorance is no excuse for
what they do,” Jeff decreed. “Besides, why does anyone need a whole galaxy?
It’s big enough for everyone, damn it.”
“I wasn’t making excuses for them –”
“Besides, we know what their game
is! They’re rotten imperialists!” Jeff thundered interrupting Cric, for when he
got on a roll about the Drule Empire there was no room for calm, reasoned
discussion. “How many of your people have they enslaved, Cric?”
Despite the rhetorical nature of the
question, Cric sighed and replied, “Too many.”
“That’s right. They’re driven by
power and greed which is all the more reason we should stay right here in this
star system and not give up or run away.”
“Still, getting upset or angry isn’t
going to help matters, Jeff.”
“Aw, don’t you go making antacid
jokes, too,” Jeff replied, softening somewhat.
A wry smile crossed Cric’s lips.
“You should leave some for the rest of us. We have to eat Sammy’s cooking too,
you know.”
Jeff couldn’t help but chuckle, the
tenseness of the moment before diffused. “Well, I’m going to turn in early. I
have a feeling I’ll need all the rest I can get…”
“Good idea.”
As twilight fell upon the planet and
the Explorer gently settled into the calm waters of a bay, Jeff made his way to
his sleeping quarters. Unsurprisingly, he found sleep elusive, only coming and
going in brief spurts. So as dawn broke it was no small wonder Jeff was the
first to jump to his feet when the alert sounded. At least the adrenaline rush
was enough to make him feel more than awake as he wriggled into his uniform top
while racing down the hall at the same time.
“They didn’t waste any time,” Jeff
remarked as he passed by Cric, who was just emerging from his own sleeping
chambers.
“Nope,” was all Cric had time to
offer before each team rushed to reach their docking stations.
Slightly disheveled, Jeff sat in the
cockpit of his ship awaiting orders, which finally came when Commander Hawkins
spoke over the teams’ telecom. “Unidentified objects have been picked up on
radar approaching from the southern hemisphere. Teams check it out but proceed
with caution…we can’t rule out the possibility of a Drule attack fleet.”
“Yes sir,” Jeff replied, his lips
set in a determined line. This wouldn’t be the first time the Drules were able
to mask an attack force on a planet the Alliance was exploring. Ambush attacks
were their deadly specialty, after all. “Every time,” Jeff muttered angrily to
himself, “they do this every time.”
The fifteen units of the three teams
launched and covered the distance in no time. They were coming into another
mountainous region, and judging by radar indications Jeff observed, the ships
in question should come into view any minute. “Teams, be ready…”
Sure enough, a half dozen of the
Drules’ large star cruisers awaited them beyond the ridge. “It’s them!” Jeff
shouted, his finger hovering above the button that triggers his ship’s lasers.
“Hold on, Jeff,” Cric responded, his
image appearing on Jeff’s console. “There’s so few of them. Something’s not
right.”
“Oh yeah? Well I’m not going to wait
to find out what dirty trick they’re up to.” With that, Jeff fired a laser that
struck the lead ship squarely, resulting in a brilliant explosion as the Drule
vessel went into an out-of-control nosedive. An all-out firefight began, the
remaining Drule ships returning fire. That is, until Hawkins radioed with a
startling revelation.
“Hold your fire!” Hawkins barked.
“Those aren’t Drules.”
Jeff’s jaw went slack. “Sir?”
“I just had a teleconference with
them – the natives of this planet are in those ships, not Drules,” Hawkins
explained.
Jeff’s mind reeled. “Natives? But –
in Drule ships?” It had to be some kind of wicked Drule trick…didn’t it?
Then, as Jeff flew over a valley he
saw it – a sprawling city below, its dusty streets and modest white buildings
contrasting clearly with the dark forest surrounding it. “Shit,” he softly
uttered.
“I was as shocked as you, Jeff. But
when I radioed to try to reason with the Drule commander, frightened natives
greeted me instead. We may be able to explain things and make amends, but you
have to stop fighting,” Hawkins continued.
“Easier said than done, Commander.
We’re under heavy fire here.”
“What do you expect?” Cric
interrupted, his tone unusually angry for such a normally reserved member of
the team. “You fired on them without provocation.”
Jeff felt his face glow hot with a
mixture of embarrassment and anger. “They’re in Drule ships! How was I supposed
to know there wasn’t Drules in them?”
Time for righteous indignation was
cut short when a robeast emerged from one of the Drule ships. And on top of it,
more Drule ships were launching from the city below.
“They may not be Drules, but they
fight like them,” Cliff remarked.
“We’ve got no choice, Commander.
We’ve gotta form Voltron,” Jeff reported.
******************************************
In the city below, hysterical citizens scrambled for
shelter as fiery shrapnel rained down on them. But one young woman stared up at
the sky, so in disbelief she was able to move only to sweep her wind-swept hair
from her line of vision. She watched the group of alien ships that had attacked
her people combine into a giant with human-like characteristics. She was almost
hypnotized by the way the early morning sun cast shadows on the behemoth that
made a large area of its metallic skin appear black in hue. It was then Keira
couldn’t get out of her mind the cryptic prediction by one of the town’s
council members years ago. She’d been too young to attend the meeting, but she
clearly remembered listening in on her parents’ hushed discussion on what the
seer had revealed then – their world’s days were numbered and a giant with skin
of black metallic would seal its fate.
“Black metallic,” she uttered in shocked wonder.
The accuracy of foretold events was unfolding so
vividly, Keira’s mind reeled with all the events that lead to it. So, those
strange blue-skinned aliens who had come to her people over a year ago were right
as well. There would be alien invaders who would descend upon them one day –
war-mongering imperialists, they warned, that wanted nothing but to take over
planets or else destroy them. They claimed to be struggling against this bane
of the galaxy for years and, out of shear concern for their planetary
neighbors, saw fit to give warning. Coupled with their own seer’s prior
prediction, the council not only took heed but also accepted these people, who
called themselves Drules. They helped them prepare for this day in the form of
donating technology and training so that they could at least stand a chance in
case the Drules themselves could not arrive in time to lend aid.
Keira hoped it was enough or the seer’s words would
become unfortunate reality. Keira was just glad the old psychic was no longer
around to see the horrific prediction come true. She didn’t want to believe
their lives were about to be shattered but here it was upon them, their day of
reckoning. Keira was numb with disbelief.
“Keira, come on! Take cover!”
An urgent tug on her arm brought her somewhat out of
the trance. “Huh?” Keira gazed dumbfounded into the wide eyes of a woman she
recognized the local innkeeper and friend of her parents. It was then that a
distant thought in her head reminded her that she had no idea where her parents
were or if she’d ever see them again. She’d left them at home on their farm
when set out for town earlier, hoping to beat the crowds to the market.
However, she was too overwhelmed to panic over it.
“Come on!”
Keira felt like everything was happening in slow
motion as her gaze slowly moved away from the terrified inn keep’s face and out
beyond the woman at a group of rioters who were in the process of looting the
shops across the street. Most of the rioters were women because the majority of
the men were in those strange Drule ships trying to fight off an even stranger
enemy. This made the sight seem all the more surreal to Keira. Utter chaos
swirled around them and yet, Keira remained rooted to that spot in the street.
“I’m coming,” Keira murmured. However, in her state
of shock she didn’t even notice she was talking to herself for the inn keep had
already abandoned her.
“The end…” she finally said in a distant monotone.
“This is the end.”
********************************************
Meanwhile, safely tucked behind one of the planet’s
moons, was a true Drule attack fleet. Nerok sat in the command ship with a
satisfied sneer on his face, watching on the ship’s various monitors as the
situation ignited into an ugly battle far below. Things couldn’t be unfolding
more perfectly if he’d wanted them to. He’d let the Explorer drift in relative
peace in recent days just hoping they would happen upon the sparsely populated
planet Rilo. When they did, the year’s worth of resources used on the natives
was paying off in spades. It was so easy to play on the fears and ridiculous
superstition of the simple people of Rilo so that they would believe the
Alliance was the enemy. What’s more, Nerok couldn’t believe it was the Alliance
who had the itchy trigger finger – which worked out more to his advantage than
he ever dreamed.
Now, with the Rilons dying and fighting for the Drules, Nerok was confident that one way or another the Alliance’s winning days would soon be over. And when the Alliance and the natives got done destroying each other, he’d simply swoop down and claim the planet for the Drule Empire without losing a single Drule soldier! But if something were to go awry – and experience had taught Nerok that the Alliance had a seemingly unbelievable amount of fortune on their side – he had ways to ensure there would be no chance of the Voltron Force emerging from this skirmish looking the least bit favorable or righteous.
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