~~~~Saoirse~~~~
It had been some time after our victory on Naxzela, taking over a third of the Galra Empire and giving it to the Coalition. It was a large and great step towards Universal freedom.
However, we had different problems. After Lotor said that he wanted to speak to us, he surrendered and willingly entered the Castle's prisons, and he has helped us by pointing out several Galra hideouts, supply routes, and other Galra weak points where we could hit and run and weaken the Empire.
But with him helping, he kept asking to see one person.
He kept asking to see me. And none of us knew why he did, but we never let me see him. Personally, I never wanted to see him. His emergy was twisted, and yet it seemed different than Zarkon.
Even though he was his son, ans should have some kind of energy linking him to his father, it seemed that he didn't even have a bond to link. It made me more confused about him.
At this moment, we were flying our lions to a large moon occupied by the Galra. It was a base filled supplies and equipment needed for upgraded sentries the Galra were creating.
"That's our target, the moon of Tragoch." Shiro confirmed.
I looked out at the bright red-violet moon and felt a chill up my spine. This was
"According to our latest intelligence, that's where the Galra are building their upgraded sentries." Allura said.
"Taking out this base will mean the Galra won't be able to resupply their bases and ships for months." I said.
"And how so we know this isn't a trap?" Lance asked.
"All the intel's checked out so far. Everything's exactly how we were told it'd be." Shiro said.
All of a sudden, our sensors picked up several fighters heading our way to eliminate us.
"Including preparing us for those."
"Allura, I'm sending you the signals to interfere with the drones." Pidge said.
The Blue Lion flew closer to the drones, "Signal acquired. Broadcasting."
The Blue Lion used its wide-range sonar to broadcast the signal to the drones, deactivating them and letting them float in space lifelessly.
"Now, let's take them out before they recalibrate and report our approach." Shiro ordered.
We readied the jaw blades on our lions and quickly destroyed all the drones before they could come back to life.
"Form up on me. We're going in." We followed Shiro into an opening leading inside the base.
"We only have five minutes before the Galra notice that their drones aren't responding. Be careful to stay in formation and don't touch the sides!" Shiro warned us.
I carefully flew my lion through the red tunnel, trying hard to maneuver through the winding path. However, it seemed easier since my lion was slightly more lean and aerodynamic than the others. Even red was more stiff than my lion.
Just then, I could feel Hunk's energy spike with anxiety. I opened a transmission link to the Yellow Lion's cockpit, seeing Hunk sweat from increased nerves and his face clearly showing his nervousness.
"Hunk, you need to be calm, or else you're going to touch the sides." I said calmly, but it was no use. The Yellow Lion was flying too fast around an oncoming curve and hit the side of the tunnel hard.
It was then that I understood why we weren't supposed to touch the sides. As soon as Hunk flew away, the panel he hit fell off, releasing a massive wave of hot lava.
"I think I may have nicked the side a little bit." Hunk said in a panicked voice.
"Let me through!" Allura shouted, turning her lion around while the rest of us went on ahead. She shot a freeze ray at the lava, which slowed it down, but for how long we didn't know.
"We'd better hurry. That patch won't last long." She said rejoining us.
We flew, now even more carefully and quickly, down the tunnels once again. And it didn't take long for the lava to break through the ice and rush towards us once again.
"The lava's gaining on us! We can't outrun it!" Hunk shouted from the back.
"We should be directly underneath the Galra base." Allura informed us.
"There's an opening up ahead. Follow me!" Shiro said flying faster than before. We followed him through an opening right in front of us. As soon as we flew through, we headed upwards and watched the lava fall down while we escaped.
We only flew for a few ticks until we reached a dead end and the lava began to rise.
"Oh, no! We're trapped!" Lance yelled.
"No, we're not! There's another way out. From Voltron!" Shiro shouted.
We did as we were told and formed Voltron. We punched a hole through the wall, escaped the lava and entered the main factory.
"Take down the factory machines!" Shiro shouted.
The Red and Green Lion's fired their lasers and, with a little extra boost from my lion, destroyed the factory in a matter of minutes. Then we flew away before the big explosion.
Another victory for the coalition.
~~~~Shiro~~~~
Once the mission was completed, we flew back to the Castle set on Naxzela. We have been staying on Naxzela since we acquired it, keeping it safe for the time being.
After we got changed, all of us went to the lounge to rest and come in with out next plan.
"Oh, man! Going on missions is a lot easier when somebody gives you all the information you need before you get there." Hunk said relieved.
"And yet, you still managed to run your lion into a wall." Lance teased.
"Yeah, information is one thing. Ability is something completely different." Hunk stated.
"There's no doubt about it, we haven't encountered a single problem." I said.
"I must admit, we took down a vital target today." Allura agreed.
"And we made it look pretty easy, except for the getting buried in lava part." Pidge said, looking off to the side.
"It may be time to consider taking the next step." I suggested.
Allura looked down, uneasy and unsure.
"I'm still not comfortable with this. It just doesn't feel right." She sajd.
"Shiro, let me go this time." Saoirse said. I turned around and faced her, knowing that she was determined to get a yes answer.
But she wouldn't get it.
"I'm sorry, Saoirse, but my answer is still no." I said.
"Oh, come on Shiro. There's a reason he's been asking for me and I want to know what it is." She explained, "You said that the last time you asked him why he wanted to see me, he said that he would only discuss it with me alone. Maybe he's holding some kind of vital information, something that only I can get."
"Saoirse's got a point, Shiro." Pidge said, "I mean, maybe we should give her a chance to talk with him."
"Of course not without you, that is." Hunk added.
I sighed, "The answer is still no. End of discussion." And that was my final and only answer.
Unless Lotor gave us a reason as to why he wanted to see my sister, then I would think about it. Until then, Saoirse would not see him alone.
I walked with Allura to the elevator and pressed the prison level button. The lowest level was for important and dangerous prisoners. Perfect for the unpredictable Lotor.
As we rode down the elevator, Allura looked at me curiously.
"What do you think Lotor wants with Saoirse?" She asked.
"I don't know, but I don't trust him, especially with my sister." I answered quickly.
"But maybe Pidge is right. We will be by her side while she speaks with him. And he's restrained, no prisoner has ever escaped the cell he is in." Allura reasoned.
I sighed, "Even so, no matter how tightly he is restrained, I won't let Saoirse see him unless he tells us what he wants with her."
The elevator stopped after a minute of silence. When the doors opened, we saw the cell where Lotor was being kept on the other end of a long catwalk ramp.
We walked down ramp and up to the cell. I watched Lotor sit tall and look at us with his menacing yellow eyes
"You're intel checked out." I said.
"You still feign surprise." Lotor said, smiling at us with a chilling grin, "All the information I've given, proven correct. Every target I've provided, easily dispatched. And yet, you still look at me--"
"As if you were the leader of the most bloodthirsty race if murderers this universe has ever known." Allura finished for him, her voice filled with disgust.
Lotor lost his grin and frowned in fake hurt, "Can people not change? Is it so hard to believe that I wish to the return the Galra Empire to a bygone era of peace? Our fathers were friends once, long ago. There must be hope for us."
"I guess still need convincing." I said.
"The facts speak for themselves. The Galra Empire is completely reliant on quintessence. Serve that need peacefully, and you have a complete paradigm shift, a new dawn for the old empire." Lotor explained.
"And you're the man to make this happen?" Allura asked.
"My plan frpm the beginning has been to find a way to harvest quintessence without resorting to the barbarism of the Komar. Extracting quintessence from entire planets at the cost of every living thing? I think not."
"And your solution was to send Voltron to do your dirty work." Allura said.
"Only Voltron could retrieve the trans-reality comet. So, yes, I'm afraid I had to be a bit duplicitous in effecting its retrieval."
"But if the paladins were killed, that would be fine for you, too." I pointed out.
Lotor sighed, "It was a calculated risk, I admit that. But I knew they'd come through without a scratch. And since recovering the comet, I haven't been in the least bit aggressive."
"What about your generals?" Allura asked.
"A simple misunderstanding." Lotor answered, "I had no idea our paths would cross in the Ulippa System. What would I gain by fighting you?" Suddenly he smiled, "Well, other than meeting that Silver Paladin again. That would be a pleasure."
I grolwed in fury and slammed my metal hand against the cell wall.
"This conversation is between us. Leave my sister out of it." I said through my clenched teeth.
Lotor chuckled and went back to the topic, "I apologize. The Silver Paladin is a touchy subject for all of you. But back on topic, my sole focus has been finding a way to enter the zone between realities."
Allura glared at him, "Sounds like you are your father's son."
"It was your father who led the scientific exploration that discovered quintessence. An exploration I might add, that resulted in the creation of Voltron." Lotor retorted standing up, "This isn't some zero-sum game. Meeting the needs of the Galra Empire means bringing peace to the universe. That is the future enlightenment brings us one of prosperity for all. I save your lives and the lives of your comrades. I have given you target after target in the Galra Empire, and all of them have been dismantled or destroyed at no cost of life to you. All I ask is to be judged by my actions rather than your preconceptions of my race. If that is beyond you, then perhaps you should just finish me and get it over with."
"Clearly, Princess, you are not ready to end this war." Lotor said. Allura looked down at her feet, her eyes wide in realization.
We were about to leave when Lotor stopped us.
"So, when am I able to meet the Silver Paladin?" He asked, making my blood boil.
"Why do you want to see my sister so badly?" I asked.
"As I have said before, I only wish to speak to her about something. Ans I will only reveal it to her alone." He answered. The same one he had given us time and time again.
"Unless you give us a real answer, I won't let you anywhere near my sister." I declared and left with Allura back to the upper levels.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
A little while after Shiro and Allura returned from speaking with Lotor, we went to the conference hall in the Castle to speak eith the leaders of our allies. The allied leaders were on their own individual screens waiting for the meeting to behind.
Once we were all set, the meeting began, Allura discussing our plans and strategies for taking down the rest of the Galra. She had summoned a large map of our recent activities.
"As of today, our rebel forces have taken control of one-third of the former Galra Empire." Allura said, "But we cannot grow complacent. The Galra Empire is still the dominant force in the universe. However, the tide is changing."
"The rebel coalition is winning because of you, Princess Allura. You and Voltron. Mere cycles ago, I felt that my race would breathe its last in Galra chains, but then Voltron appeared on the horizon, and our lives changed forever!" One of the leaders said.
I smiled when I saw the leader's eyes sparkle with hope and determination.
"This bid for liberty is only possible because of all of our sacrifices." Allura said, "And we still have a long way to go before the entire universe us free."
"We'll be behind you every step of the way."
Allura smiled, "Thank you. We will reconvene soon. Until then."
The members' screens disappated and all that was left was Kolivan and Keith.
"Did you complete your raids on the targets we sent you on our last communication?" Shiro asked.
"Yes." Kolivan answered, "The information we've received from Lotor has consistently checked out."
"With all these successful missions taking place in such a short period of time, it won't be long before the Galra realizes we're using inside information." Pidge said.
"That's true. We should expect the enemy to change protocol soon."
"Then we need to act fast and hit as many targets as possible." Lance said eager to get back to the action.
"We'll talk to Lotor and see if there's anything else he can give us." Shiro said.
I sensed Allura's energy spike, her uneasiness growing by the second.
"I can't stop thinking that we might be an unwitting part of a much larger ulterior motive." She said. I nodded in agreement.
"I agree with you Allura." I said, "But I still think we should keep going, we just need to be more elusive and careful. Now is a crucial time for the coalition."
Shiro looked at me with worry. I glanced at him and yet I said nothing to him. He was being overprotective of me as of late. Ever since Lotor came to the Castle, everyone could see him except for me.
Although, the fact that he wanted to see me personally got me me thinking of what he wanted to talk about. And I had to know.
Shiro and Allura went back to Lotor to find out more information and the rest of us went our separate ways.
I went to my room, took off my paladin armor and changed into my casual clothes before I sat on my bed and read my mother's journal. The tales of her adventures seemed to calm me down a lot. The way she wrote about her travels and adventures were amazing and made me felt like I was a part of them.
While I read the journal, I wondered what I should do about Lotor. Should I go against my brother's warnings, or follow them?
Should I think about what's best for the coalition, or should I think about what's best for the trust I have with Shiro?
I put the book down and went outside to clear my mind by taking a walk through the halls of the Castle.
Just as I was walking down the halls, I ran into Shiro and Allura, their faces showing that they were worried about something.
"Is everything all right?" I asked.
Shiro looked up at me and sighed.
"Lotor gave us some information on a prison that held someone important." He said.
"Well, who's in there?" I asked.
"Sam Holt. Pidge's father." Allura said.
I was so shocked. Lotor knew where Commander Holt was being held? And it took him this long to tell us?
"Are you going to tell Pidge?" I asked. The two nodded their heads.
I nodded back and turned around.
"Where are you going?" Allura asked.
"Lotor seems to be in a giving mood, so I'm going to talk to him." I said.
"No you're not!" Shiro shouted at me. I turned back around to face him, my brother's face filled with pure anger.
"Yes I am! If Lotor has anything important to say that only I can get, then I will risk talking to him for a few minutes." I countered.
"I will not allow you to see him! What if he tries something!? I won't risk you getting hurt." Shiro yelled.
"Takashi! He is restrained, locked away and hasn't attacked any of you, nor tried. And even if he wanted to hurt any of us, he couldn't since he's locked behind a cell wall. I'm going to talk to him and you can't stop me."
Before my brother could shout at me again, I ran down the hall until I reached the elevator and pressed the button for Lotor's level.
I got there in record time, the door opened and revealed to me for the first time Lotor's cell.
I took a deep breath, ignoring my shaking fists as I walked dowm the catwalk towards his cell.
"Lotor." I said, making him look up at me. He smiled and stood up, walking closer to the cell wall and looking down on me.
Suddenly, he bowed respectively, "It is an homor to meet the Angel I've heard so much about." He said, "I had figured that you would be beautiful, but you have surpassed what the stories tell."
I didn't smile at his flattery, "Flattery will get you nowhere in life, Lotor, especially with me." I said, "Now, what did you want to talk to me about?"
Lotor didn't seem fazed by my cold tone, he simply stood back up straight and kept on smiling.
"Yes, of course. You are the type to get straight to the point." He said, "I have heard of your abilities as a Teshirian, the way you are able to control quintessence, or as you are familiar with calling it, energy. With your abilities, my goal of bringing peace to the Galra Empire will be completed faster than anticipated."
I eyed him carefully, "What do you mean? What can I do?"
"The reason why the Galra Empire is the way it is, is because of their lack of quintessence. If we can somehow find a way to supply them with an unlimited amount of quintessence, then they would be at peace, not hostile and cruel like they are now."
I thought for a moment, and made my decision.
"You know, that just sounds like a temporary solution." I said, "It's like when a child begs for a toy and you give it to them because you are annoyed by their crying. They believe that they can get anything they want by crying for it, and once they get what they want, they want more and more. By giving the Galra an unlimited supply of quintessence, we will only instigate more chaos and a sense of control that we cannot take away once they have it."
"Yes, but when I take the throne, I will make sure that the Empire will be peaceful and calm. The Galra will not be the same after I take the throne and rule over them." Lotor said.
"And how does this involve me? This information would be helpful to the coalition, so why tell me alone instead of charing with Allura and my brother everytime they come down here?" I asked.
Lotor came closer to the wall and smiled either kindly or wickedly. I couldn't tell really, he just had that face that wasn't so easy to read at times.
"Because, you are the key in completing my goal." He said. Taking in his words, I backed away in surprise.
"What do you mean by I am the key to completing your goal?" I asked cautiously.
"I cannot share all the details at the moment, but I can tell you that I believe there is a way to find the source of an unlimited quintessence pool. And with all that energy, a Teshirian is the only one who could even have a chance to control it all. And you are the strongest Teshirian ever recorded in history since the beginning of the of the Universe's creation. I believe that you can help bring peace to the universe by giving the Galra the quintessence they need. All you have to do, is use your abilities when the time is right. That's it. Simple."
I processed what he said, thinking about the possibilities of the his plan, and most of them were bad endings.
I turned around without another word.
"Please, consider the good things that could come after the Galra are at peace." He said before I walked into the elevator and left.
I went straight to my room and laid in bed thinking. There was so much quintessence in the universe, and to control so much. I didn't know if I could even attempt to do it.
And if I did try, what would happen to me?
The questions kept running through my head until I heard someone knocking on my door a couple hours later.
"It's open." I said. The door opened and revealed Allura in the doorway.
"Pidge and Matt have returned." She said. I immediately sat up in bed.
"Pidge and Matt are here? Did they find Commander Holt?" I asked.
Allura looked down sadly and shook her head, before explaijed everything that happened with their rescue mission.
I felt so bad for the siblings. I knew their pain of not knowing if your family was alright, or even alive.
I followed Allura to the bridge, where everyone was gathered. I spotted Pidge and Matt near Pidge's seat. I walked over to the Holt siblings and saw them in so much pain.
Pidge had her knees brought up to her chest, her eyes barely even open to see me. Matt had his hand on his sister's shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
"We'll find him, Katie." I said, saying her real name, "I promise. And I never break a promise."
Pidge looked up at me with tears in her eyes before she jumped up and hugged me. I immediately hugged her back as she silently sobbed into my chest.
We both fell to the ground as she cried while the others watched. The Galra have done too much, caused too much pain and agony. No matter what I had to do, I would stop them with my team.
Just then, the sounds of electronic beeping brought us out of our thoughts.
We looked up at the large main screen and saw a transmission coming in. Who we saw contacting us shocked us all.
It was the Emperor of the Galra Empire. Emperor Zarkon himself. Behind him were Lotor's generals, all of them seeming nervous and yet they also seemed betrayed, especially the woman with purple hair.
"Paladins of Voltron." Zarkon said, his deep voice shaking my very core.
"Zarkon." Shiro muttered angrily.
"I am making a one-time offer. I have someone of value to you."
He stepped aside and revealed the person we had been looking for.
Sam Holt was standing in front of Lotor's generals. He was dressed in Galra prison attire, his hair long and shaggy and his glasses sliding down his nose.
But his eyes were as bright with hope as he looked directly into the camera.
"Dad!" Pidge exclaimed, jumping out of my hold and standing tall with her brother as they stated at the long lost father.
"I will hand him over, and in exchange, I you give me my son Lotor."
It was a hard deal, but Pidge's expression was one that told us all we needed to know.
We needed to go save a friend. We had to save Commander Samuel Holt.