Chapter Four

 

 

The descriptions of Metark that Jack had read did not do justice to the true desolation of the location the base had been built.  There was absolutely nothing for miles around, not even a sand dune or a cactus, and the sun beat down on them relentless on the short walk from the tarmac to the base itself.  The gray building followed the same design as other Arusian military bases, but the weather had not been kind to this one and its exterior was a little worse for wear with cracks and holes.  

 

“Nice choice, Dad,” Jack murmured as they were showed to central command.  “Way to start from the bottom of the barrel.”

 

“That just means the rest of this will be a piece of cake,” Lance said jauntily.

 

Jack scratched at the starched collar of his Arusian military uniform, wanting to take it off, but he needed to wear it to be able to throw his weight around.  The shadow of a beard that covered his jaw went a long way in adding more years to his twenty-two and made the captain bars on his epaulets more believable.  He glanced at Lance who was enjoying himself in a General’s uniform.  A moustache and goutee completed his look and along with the stern expression on his usually relaxed face, he was hardly recognizable as the former pilot of the Red Lion.  Jack was not nearly as recognizable as his father, but a little disguise never hurt anyone.  Like his aunt had said the night before, it was better to err on the side of caution.  They told the base commander that the purpose for their visit was to conduct a few weather tests for new vehicles that were being designed for this kind of climate.  He had agreed easily, seeing no reason to refuse the request of a General.

 

The inside of the base was no better than the outside as signs of neglect met them at every turn.   Central command was a disgrace, but the man who sat in the big chair could have stepped out of a recruitment poster.  Captain Elias Coroni was just biding his time until his next assignment, but until then he would do his job well so that he could catch the eye of the people upstairs.  The visiting General was his first official visit as base commander and he was going to make the most out of it.

 

“Sir,” he said, saluting smartly.

 

“At ease, Captain,” Lance said and Jack was sure he was doing his best impression of Allura. 

 

“I hope your trip went well,” Captain Coroni said.

 

“It went as expected.  Thank you for your hospitality.” 

 

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.  Would you like to see your quarters?”

 

“Actually, I would like to see more of the base if I may.  If you could make sure that our things are brought to our quarters, that would be most appreciated.”

 

“Of course, of course.  I’ll be more than happy to show you around.”

 

“That would be ideal.”

 

Jack had to press his lips tightly together to keep from bursting into laughter.

 

“This is my aide, Captain Tomas Aquinas.”

 

Jack nodded at the other man.

 

“Follow me please,” Coroni said genially.

 

He was a good tour guide, efficient but informative, and they covered the base in a little over an hour.  Jack kept a mental list of the more serious repairs that needed to be made, as well as the outdated weaponry that would need to be replaced, as Lance asked Coroni questions about the base’s normal everyday routine.  They were working at below capacity and it showed.  Though Metark Base was at the edge of civilization, it was built for a reason; it would serve as a barrier should anyone come attacking from the barren west.  It was far too easy for ships to land in the desert, despite the defense satellites that orbited Arus.  At the end of the tour, Jack only hoped that this was the worst of it because they already had their hands full with Metark.

 

After changing into more appropriate clothing for the weather, they went outside with various instruments and made as if they were going to work on their “tests”. 

 

“That base is a disgrace,” Jack said with no preamble.

 

“Keith should be ashamed of himself,” Lance agreed.  “A military man should never let his own military fall into such shambles.”

 

“I suppose they did have other priorities for the past couple years, but it’s time to put the Arusian military back near the top of the list.”

 

“Tell me what you noticed about this place.”

 

Jack listed the more critical repairs and upgrades that needed to be done in order to get Metark back to speed and Lance listened as he fiddled with an instrument he knew absolutely nothing about.  He agreed with everything Jack said, having seen the same, and added a few more things that he felt would be necessary.  He was relieved to find that Jack turned out to be a very useful sounding board for this task because the sheer number of problems that Metark presented threatened to throw him off track.  He could not believe that a base like this existed in a planet run by his former commander and made a mental note to ask Keith if family life or the boards on his shoulders had made him soft.   

 

“The last thing but most important thing this place needs is able personnel,” Jack finished.  “Coroni might be well-disciplined, but he’s too green to run an entire base.”

 

“The military is a little short on the top level officers.  They all retired at the end of the war.  Worse comes to worse, we can always calls them back, but we’d be calling them back to an military being held together by spit and Allura’s will.”

 

“I suppose we can deal with the officers later, but we need more technically inclined people out here…”

 

“Same thing as before, Jack,” Lance said.  “Low on the technicians, computer programmers, electrical engineers, you name it.” 

 

“This mission is over,” Jack said, throwing his hands up.  “Let’s go back and tell them to start recruiting nerds so that their military doesn’t just look like a collection of toy soldiers with even older toys.”

 

Lance laughed.  “Don’t give up so easily.  In another day or two, we’ll be able to put together a pretty comprehensive report for Keith with the appropriate recommendations.  Metark is probably the worst we’re going to see so don’t get an ulcer worrying about it.  There are ways to put this base back together without the expertise of nerds, as you put it, and we’re going to figure it out.  We’ll start with the more critical elements and work from there.  After all, you’ve got a month, right?”

 

Jack sighed.  “Yeah.  So what have you got to say about that?”

 

“Nothing,” Lance said.  “Don’t you think I’ve made the same mistakes?”

 

Jack laughed and Lance grinned, patting his shoulder.  It tickled Lance to no end that Jack had turned out to be exactly like him, but smarter, as he liked to boast to Link.  As he had never bothered to really grow up, he and Jack had gotten into a great deal of mischief together, but that did not mean Jack did not respect his father.  When no one was looking, Lance talked to him seriously about what step to take next in his young life and Jack had been more than willing to listen.  It was to Lance Jack went to with his serious childhood problems, then teenage problems…and now, adult problems.       

 

“It was stupid, I know, but the Nautilus was getting too small for me anyway,” Jack said, shrugging.  “If it’s any consolation, she came after me.”

 

“Yeah, but I doubt you tried to beat her away with a stick,” Lance said wryly and judging by the slightly embarrassed look on Jack’s face, he wasn’t far off the mark.  “If you wanted a transfer, why didn’t you just file for one?”

 

“Don’t you think I did?  Being your kid is a double-edged sword; on the one side, I can get what I want when I approach the right people, but on the other I am in a world of pain when an enterprising commanding officer wants me to prove myself, my name.  Captain Lonet went out of his way to throw the most difficult assignments my way—which I completed with flying colors, I might add—but he was not going to let me go until I finished my full tour.  Three years on that damned ship would have had me signing my resignation papers.”

 

“Sorry, kid, I tried my best to not be such a success.”

 

Jack chuckled.  “It’s not your fault.  I could have changed my name, I suppose, but what would be the point?  A Branegan by any other name would smell just as sweet.”

 

“We should put that on the family crest.”

 

“I guess I’m just a chip off the old block.”

 

Lance feigned horror.  “Who are you calling old?”

 

 

 

 

The report was on Keith’s desk two days after Lance and Jack’s departure from Voltronia.  Earlier that day, they had received reports of heightened traffic in a sector of Arusian space that had no business of being there.  He and Allura had argued over whether or not to send scouting ships there, a fight he won.  She had wanted to send fighters but fighters did not have the same kind of scanning capabilities as a scout ship.  They were waiting for the scouts to report back, which they were scheduled to do within the hour.  To pass the time, Keith picked up Metark Base report.  He did not relish reading about the state of disarray the Arusian military was in but he forced himself to make it to the last page.  It did absolutely nothing to improve his mood and he was staring out at the setting sun when Bethie found him.  She glanced at the bound papers he had tossed onto the couch and picked it up.

 

“They got back to us pretty quickly,” she commented, leafing through it.  “Uncle Lance works pretty fast.”

 

Keith’s only response was a grunt. 

 

“I was going through the annual budget and there were a couple expenditures that I don’t think are that crucial,” Bethie said, going to stand next to him.  “We can slice a bit off those numbers and pour them into the defense budget.  If you’re going to follow all of Uncle Lance’s recommendations, we’re going to need the money.”

 

“It won’t be possible to follow all of them and I don’t think he’s expecting us to.  We’ll end up doing a little over two-thirds of what he suggests just so we can improve on more bases rather than just focusing attention on one,” Keith said.  “Have you talked to your mother about this?”

 

“She told me to go to you about it.  She said you were the commander-in-chief and she would stay out of your way.”

 

Keith raised an ebony eyebrow at Bethie.  “She did not say that.”     

 

Bethie sighed.  “Okay, maybe not those exact words, but she did tell me to ask you for your opinion.  She thinks we should.”

 

“Lucky for her, so do I.  Make it happen,” he said.

 

“Aye, aye.”

 

With the report tucked under her arm, Bethie left his study and went to her mother’s.  Allura had her nose in the report, her brow furrowed as she made notes on the page. 

 

“What did he say?” she asked, not looking up.

 

“He said to do it.”

 

“What are you standing around for?  Go do it.”

 

Bethie bit back a retort.  “You’ll call me when the scouts report back in?” she said instead.

 

“Yes, I will.”

 

Bethie retreated to her rooms but she had only gotten to the third page of the report when her communicator chimed.

 

“Come to Castle Control,” her mother announced tersely.

 

Skech and her parents were already there when she walked through the doors.  Ignoring Skech’s presence, she went to stand next to Keith, her eyes on the viewscreen.  It was a transmission from the scout as it circled what appeared to be a large cocoon-like object floating aimlessly in space. 

 

“What’s that?” she asked, frowning.

 

“Trouble,” Allura replied.  “Can you get a reading on it, scout?”

 

“It’s organic,” the pilot answered.  “We can’t seem to penetrate the outer layer to see what’s inside.”

 

“What if it’s a ro-beast,” Allura said to Keith.  “We never actually did see how those things were brought about.”

 

“Is there anyway you can tow it away from Arusian space?”

 

They watched a beam of light came to rest on the pod.  Nothing happened.

 

“No, sir, it won’t budge.  I don’t know what’s holding it there, but it’s not moving.”

 

Keith and Allura exchanged a look.

 

“Stay where you are, scout,” she said.  “Skech, alert Alpha Squadron and have them deployed to that sector.  I don’t want to be surprised when whatever is in that thing hatches.”

 

“Your Highness, there are reports coming in from other planets that they too have found pods near them.”

 

“How many others?” Keith demanded.

 

“Twenty and counting.”

 

“Mom, I think it’s time to dust off some of your old friends,” Bethie muttered.

 

“Skech, could you leave the room for a moment?” Keith said.

 

Without a word, Skech left his seat and went out the door, leaving the three on their own.

 

“We need Voltron, Dad, you know it,” Bethie argued.  “If these pods are incubating ro-beasts, we’re going to need all the help we can get.  Vehicle Voltron can only take care of so many and we have to hold up our end.”

 

“How fast can we get the others back?” Allura asked.

 

“What others?” Bethie countered.

 

Allura shot her daughter a quelling look.  “You’re untested still, Elisabeth, no matter your flying skills.  If this is as serious a threat as we all think it is, we need veterans behind the controls.”

 

“I’d have experience if you had taken the Lions out of mothballs years ago.”

 

“They’re weapons of wars, not toys.”  Allura’s hands fisted. 

 

“You’re so stubborn!” Bethie railed, blue eyes flashing.  “I thought you always wanted to be prepared?  If you’d trained new pilots to fly the Lions, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”

 

“Back off, Bethie,” Keith said when Allura remained silent.  “We didn’t tell you everything about the Lions and I guess now it’s time to.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We still don’t understand completely how they work and when the war was over, they just….”

 

“They shut down,” Allura finished.  “We could not get them to fly again.  It was as if they just decided that their time was over.”

 

“Are you serious?” Bethie asked incredulously.

 

“Dead serious.”

 

“What if they still don’t work?”

 

Keith went to the door.  “There’s only one way to find out.”