Submitted for your approval. Voltron: Zarrkon's Revenge, Chapter 1
Timeline: Somewhere midway during Voltron: The Third Dimension TV series
C&C is always Welcome.
Also, you can find my fics, and previous chapters of my other works, on my
website which is at
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Keep/5268/
I really need to overhaul that main page,
--Komodo
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Planet Aris....
The Castle of Lions was brilliantly lit by the morning sun, as was the
shuttle that touched down outside. The hatchway opened, revealing a tall,
slim young man, his face not quite vanquished of the baby fat of youth, but
still not fully formed of that of an adult. He was dressed in green, and his
black hair was thick, and cut sporadically.
"Uncle Isaac!" He called, jumping out of the shuttle and running across the
drawbridge to the heavyset man in yellow battle armor.
"Isaac?" The man known to the galaxy as Hunk turned to look at the young man
in green battle armor behind him.
"Yeah. Its the name my parents gave me." He snarled before turning back to
catch his nephew. "Hey, watch it Kevin." He said, embracing his nephew. After
the two separated, he gestured at the man in green. "Kevin, meet Pidge, our
computer specialist and gymnast."
"Hey Pidge." Kevin said, sticking out his hand, which Pidge clasped.
"Hey." He said. Kevin looked back at Hunk and rapped a knuckle on his
sleeve.
"Cool. Mark seven cybernetic interface suits."
"Mark eight." Pidge corrected.
"No way." Kevin said, impressed. "Trinary interface?"
"Binary." Pidge said. "But we have fifty six trillion bit per second
correction for data error."
"Yeah, but with trinary interfaces you don't have to worry about data error
because the buffer array modifies the flow to prevent it." Kevin said,
turning Hunk's hand over to examine the interface jacks.
"But that takes off half a second of reaction time." Pidge pointed out.
"Not if you jump the in/out gates." Hunk, who had lost track of what they
were talking about after the word 'cool' cleared his throat.
"Hey, come on, the others are waiting." Both nodded, and followed Hunk into
the castle.
The main control room was lit by unknown sources, but that had never bothered
the man in black armor before. He was a big man, a bigness that came from
thick muscle and ropy tendon. His face was beginning to show his age and his
hair, once such a dark brown to be almost black, was beginning to gray. He
seemed to be ten years older then he looked, but his eyes gleamed with
intelligence and hard won experience.
"Allura?" The slim blond woman in blue armor looked up at the sound of her
name.
"Yes Keith?"
"Just how is this place lit anyway?" She cocked her head at him.
"Why do you want to know that?"
"Just a thought." Allura smiled at him and returned to the book before her.
She and Keith had known each other for years, ever since he and his team had
arrived on Aris, with orders from the newly formed Galaxy Alliance to
resurrect Aris's greatest treasure. The Robot Lions.
It had been the beginning of a beautiful friendship, with her starting out as
guide, eventually taking over as the pilot of Blue Lion.
But then the war ended. Zarrkon reformed, and peace ensued. The lions were
returned to their nests, and the Voltron Force went its separate ways.
Keith chose to return to the Galactic Navy, visiting Aris when he could, and
as the years passed, their friendship had begun to change to something...more.
Then Amalgamus, the cybernetic entity that governed the Galaxy Alliance,
summoned them to Bastille Twelve, to interview Lotor, the terrorist who had
plunged the known galaxy into chaos, and anarchy, was serving twenty
consecutive life sentences for countless acts of murder, high treason, theft,
and violent terrorism with no possibility of Parole.
His Father, King Zarrkon, had reformed, using his people's knack for
diplomacy to stabilize the Alliance, bringing in much needed capital and
technology from the new worlds that joined. Currently, the number was nine
hundred. Nine hundred peaceful planets....
Until Lotor broke out, made a new alliance with the witch Hagarr, and cracked
open the Pandora's box that was the next generation of Doomweapons.
The Voltron Force was recalled into action to deal with Lotor once and for
all.
<And here, nearly a year later, we're still at it.> Allura thought moodily as
she turned to the next page in her father's journal. But the words blurred
and made no sense. She sighed loudly and closed the book, causing Keith to
look up again.
"Something wrong?"
"Just frustrated."
"Oh." He went back to wringing data out of the computer only to look up as
Hunk and Pidge entered the room along with a young man, more of a boy really.
"Hey Hunk. This your nephew?" Hunk nodded proudly.
"Guys, meet Kevin." Handshakes were made all around.
"Wow." Kevin said, after introductions were made. "The control room and the
Voltron Force in person." He grinned. "My life is now complete." Allura
smiled.
"So what do you do?" Keith asked, grateful for the distraction.
"I'm finishing up my 3rd year of the Computer Doctorate program at the
University on Scolari." Kevin replied. Keith's eyes widened.
"Kevin is the genius in the family." Hunk said, not without some pride in his
voice. "He just has to look at something, and he knows how it works." Kevin
nodded agreement.
"But until I started learning what I was doing instinctively, it was red wire
here, blue wire there, twiddle knob here." He made motions with his hands as
he spoke. "I still don't know how I'm doing it, but at least now I know what
I'm doing."
"Here, lemme show ya the computer." Pidge said, grabbing Kevin by the arm and
taking him over to the main console on the other side of the room.
"So that's your nephew?" Keith asked, watching the two, their heads together
over some equipment.
"Yeah." Pride could be heard all over Hunk's voice.
"Your Highness?" Allura turned to the heavyset man in robes standing in the
doorway. "It's time."
"Oh. Thank you Corran." She executed a short half bow to Keith and Hunk.
"If you gentlemen would excuse me?" She asked in a girlish tone. They laughed
and bowed right back.
Galaxy Garrison, three days later.....
Although all the leaders in the Galaxy Alliance were linked to Amalgamus,
Allura included, the GA's charter still required a meeting of the leaders of
all the member worlds three times a year.
<And to be bored to death while in attendance> Allura thought wryly as she
sat in her small seat in the auditorium where the meeting would take place.
Humming softly to herself, she opened up her briefcase and removed the binder
and electronic notepad. Although it boasted one of the most powerful tech
bases in the Alliance, Aris was largely an agricultural world, and its entire
economy was based solely around what small exports it had and the outragous
fees the GA paid to Aris for the use of the Lions. She smiled to herself as
she activated the terminal on the small desk in front of her and called up
the schedule for the day.
"Damn idiot." She muttered.
"Excuse me?" She looked over at the Prime Minister of Zycan, who was sitting
next to her.
"Oh. Minister Kha." She smiled at the one being in the universe who had
taught her more about statecraft then anyone else save her father. In many
ways, he had replaced her father and completed her training after her
father's death. "I was referring to the first speaker of the day. Not you in
the slightest." The squid headed being chuckled.
"Not to worry my dear, I understand completly, Minister Zak evokes the same
response from me too." He tapped his terminal keys. "Interesting."
"What is?" Allura leaned over the small partition between their seats.
"This." Kha jabbed his finger at the screen. "Zak's speech is about new
membership guidelines for the Galaxy Alliance."
"What sort of Guidelines?"
"It doesn't say." Kha folded his hands across his middle. "This should be
interesting." He said, looking down towards the stage, where Almalgamus was
approaching the podium.
"Ministers and leaders of the member worlds of the Galaxy Alliance, Minister
Zak of the Conqaut system." A tall, thin looking human, with a pinched face
and slim build stepped onto the stage.
"Thank you Amalgamus, Ladies and Gentlemen, male and female beings." He
looked around the auditorium. Something in his tone made Allura sit up
straighter. "The Galaxy Alliance was established to unite all the people of
the Galaxy under elected rulers. Yet some of us here, are not elected by the
people, but are here because they were born to their position. The people of
their planets did not choose them. The people are not represented! The people
do not have a say! This must change if we are to present a united people to
the rest of the Galaxy!" He paused for a moment. Tradition and law required
that all comments and questions must be held back until the speaker had
finished, but that didn't preclude murmurs of shock and amazement.
"By the Five, is he saying what I think he's saying?" Allura's voice was
strangled.
"It looks that way." Kha agreed, even as Zak resumed speaking.
"In my hand," He held up a sheaf of paper. "is the new alliance charter. In
it, you will find that the charter requires that all members must have some
form of a republic or democratic government in place to be admitted for
membership. All members must also have this requirement if they are to
remain. Thank you." Zak's voice, aided by loudspeakers, rolled across the
auditorium. He was confident that they would support him, it could be no
other way otherwise. He would succeed. She could hear his smarmy smugness in
his voice.
"H-How dare he?!" Kha glanced over at his protégé, hearing the shock and
anger in her voice. Her jaw was set, and her eyes hard. Slowly, almost
delibratly, she pressed the button on the table, signaling that she wanted to
speak.
"The Alliance recognizes Queen Allura of Aris." Allura stood.
"Fellow beings. Minister Zak has certainly been blunt and forward." A small
chuckle could be heard. "But I have a question for the esteemed Minister."
Her tone was dangerous, and her eyes cold.
"Of Course Allura." Zak said, "As everyone knows, Aris is one of the most
valued planets in the Alliance."
"Yes..." She let the word, backed by bitter sarcasam hang in the air. "Your
charter, would that apply to Aris and the other founding worlds as well?" Zak
nodded.
"Of course Allura, all worlds must be united and equal in their goverment."
"And if Aris refused to sign the new charter..."
"Then Aris would be expunged from the Alliance." Zak said, clearly not
understanding why she was asking what he had already answered. But Kha knew
her better, and a deep sense of dread twisted his belly as he prayed that she
was not about to say what he feared she was about to.
"I see." Allura looked down at her table for a moment, when she looked up,
her face was sweet and innocent. "But there is one problem that you seem to
have overlooked."
"Oh?" Allura smiled an ugly smile as she leaned on her desk and delivered the
blow.
"Where Aris goes, so does Voltron." She snapped, punctuating her statement by
slamming the binder on her desk closed.
It was the only sound in the chamber for many moments save the rustle of
Allura packing the binder and briefcase away, then leaving.
Then there was only silence, for a very long time.