Voltron: Legacy

Chapter 21

The planet loomed up ahead. We were finally there. It had been three days since our rendezvous with the Blades, and although they’d be essential to winning the coming battle, I was starting to regret how much they’d slowed us down. It wasn’t their fault at all, their ships simply couldn’t move as fast as Voltron.
We headed in towards the single small moon, made out of a deep reddish stone that stood out against the blackness of space. It was pretty barren, it didn’t look like they’d set up much of anything there. We had a good view of the planet, Earth-like and mostly covered by thick swirls of cloud. It was at the outer edge of its sun’s habitable zone, meaning it was probably pretty cold down there. From this distance, we could only see one city, but that was probably our target anyway, being heavily defended.
“I can’t believe they haven’t noticed us yet.” Leilah muttered. “It’s like they’re just letting us walk right in.”
“They are.” Xaroc said. “They probably knew we were coming. It’s getting out that’s going to be the hard part.”
“Well, we should be able to handle it.” I said. “Axca, are your people ready?”
“Yes. We’re scanning the defenses now.”
“Me too.” Jason added. “Oh, crap. That big cannon is definitely going to be a problem. Apart from that, let’s see . . . Jeez, they have a triple-layered particle barrier! Do you know how much power something like this sucks up? They have to be using Balmeran crystals or something like that. Then they have an array of smaller cannons, and guard ships posted in the lower atmosphere. All that, plus a security system that locks down each floor of the main building separately. We’ll have to just smash our way through if we want to search the place effectively.”
I gritted my teeth in frustration.
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Wait.” Axca said. “They have all those things ready, but none of them are actually powered up.”
“Yep, we’re definitely walking into a trap.” Jason decided.
“Yes, we’ve all gotten that point!! The question is, are we going to do anything about it or just sit here picking our noses?!” Surprisingly, the outburst came from Linnea. “My entire family is down there right now, including my brothers Alec and Emry. They’re only seven! We can’t just stay here while they might be getting who knows what done to them!”
“You’re right. We’ll be heading down there in just a few minutes.” I put a hand on Linnea’s shoulder. “Which is why you have to calm down, get it together and be strong for the people who need you. You can’t save your family if you’re busy panicking.”
She took a deep, shuddering breath, then nodded.
“I understand. I’m alright now.”
I knew she wasn’t actually alright, but if she was close enough to pretend, that was good enough for right now. I gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, then let go.
“Alright guys. Get to your lions. We’re ready to head in.”
I got in Black, sat down, and gave the lion my best equivalent to a mental hug.
Okay, dude.
I thought. This is it.
After today, things are going to be really different, one way or another. Thank you for bringing me this far, teaching me so much. I hope . . . I hope I’m the leader you thought I could be.
At that, I got a feeling from Black, one so strong that I almost gasped from the sheer force of it. Affection, joy, and mostly, pride. The Black lion was proud of me. I wiped a bit of unexpected wetness from my eyes, then grinned.
“Everybody ready?”
“Ready.” My friends said in unison.
“Then let’s go finish what we started. Form Voltron!” 
We channeled our worry, anger and fear into our bond, transforming it into raw energy, the strength we’d need to save our loved ones. In a blinding flash, we were one. We lifted our sword and hurtled towards the planet with the Blades of Marmora right behind us. We were about to enter the atmosphere when something about the planet . . . changed. The cities and ships all over the place flickered in unison, then vanished.
“What the . . .?” Leilah gasped.
“It wasn’t inhabited at all.” I realized. “They faked it somehow. MOVE!!”
We weren’t quick enough. As the illusion-cities disappeared, the biggest spaceship I’d ever seen, nearly the size of a planet in its own right, flickered into existence right above us. A tractor beam shot out of the bottom, snatching up Voltron and the Blades’ ships in one sweep. We struggled, but the beam was too strong. Slowly but surely, we were being sucked into the hold of the ship. When the doors closed behind us, we were in an empty hangar, large enough to hold all of us, maybe even if Voltron was standing.
“Guys, split into lions. Voltron’s too big to be useful in here.”
We split up and were just getting braced when our cabs started to fill with some kind of bluish smoke. I accidentally inhaled a little and coughed, but the cough turned into a yawn as I suddenly felt exhausted. My limbs were relaxing, and I couldn’t move them. My vision swam, then went dark. The last thing I heard before I completely lost consciousness was an unfamiliar voice saying, “Well. I guess Axca gets to say, I told you so.”