Chapter Text
In the vastness of space only silence carries between the stars, poets even say that this comfort of nothingness is enough to drive anyone mad, it's a good thing then, that loneliness made itself his companion since birth
Prince Lotor, heir to a throne that has never changed rulers for ten thousand years, disgraced son of the Galra empire lies at the far corners of the galaxy that soon will, too, be of his father's empire… but not yet, and this technicality is what maintains him and his crew alive, for the time being at least
His eyes are lost in thought, expression somber, focused some would say, his generals however, know better than that, he is overthinking again, mulling over the expectations and consequences that this project of theirs has, after all… a legend has come back to life hasn't it?
Voltron…
The war mecha emperor Zarkon once commanded has appeared back into reality, seemingly out of no where, a powerful player to end this endless conquest of the eternal empire of the Galra… and a perfect time buyer for this rag tag of "defects"
His father was distracted, not that he ever had any focus on anything that isn't sucking a planet dry of quintessence with his witch, but still, at least some of the thorns on his side can finally turn their eyes over to the other side of this galaxy
The empires' efforts will be focused back to the hunt of the black lion, but if the emperor ever catches that thing… his work will be useless, no discovery of eternal quintessence will be enough to shadow the propaganda of this war machine being back to it's legitimate pilot
It will put a blasted wrench in everything Lotor has been working for the last four hundred years, the cultural impact, the change in Galra society, the limitless energy they could conquer if only he could finish what his mother started, all will be wasted because some overgrown cats decided to show up ten thousand years later and fuck his plans all over…
With a whine his eyes blink back to reality, the datapads and screens surrounding him making sense once more, his gloves are stretched thin and his claws pierce hard enough through the synthetic cloth to hurt his palms…
"Well… that sure looks like a big kitty" Erzo replies, looking at the monitor display of the colorful mecha that was being transmitted to warships of the empire
"And a really nice challenge" Zetrid adds, eyes shining with defiance, smile sharp "We could take them on, bet the pilots aren't even trained"
"We could" he answers, now stretching his limbs on the commanders' chair "But we will not"
"Ugh, seriously?! This is the perfect opportunity! Maybe even get you out of exile even!" His general barks, yet Lotor smiles fondly to her
"That is precisely why we will not go after Voltron, let that thing be my fathers' problem, we have a new discovery that could change Galra civilization for decades, if not eons, to come, far more important than an old piece of war machine that we don't even know if its' the original"
He remember his apprehension many Phoebs ago, the stillness of peace is rather unsettling for a group that is used to the chaos of prey, Zetrid of all of them was the most affected, so used to battle since her childhood, it tends to do that to a person. This would be the record of consecutive days since a "stray" Galra warship has tried to hunt them down for mere sport, it was making them all restless
The prince himself can feel his bones rattling for action, he really should take a break to spar, keep the body ready, this peace, as everything is for him, is only temporary, he is sure of it… but right now he must at least follow through this wave of readings while it's still traceable
"Soon we will get to the pivot point of these readings and then we can go back to civilization, if we are even luckier it will be close to a resourceful planet for some exploration" he reassures, eyes darting over to the readings that show in his throne, old datapads by his lap that he checks from time to time as the transmission if cut short
The data is no where near the same as his mothers' notes, too weak, too vague… Lotor sighs and to Acxa says "send another wave"
The group collectively groan, again they have lost course, even Narti who has no capacity to speak exhales tiredly, but no-one complains, if they are just used to failure or because they fear his reaction the exiled prince wouldn't be able to difference it at this point
He knows this is, very likely, an impossible task, far grander than any of them, to keep alive his mothers' research is something that should have been give to a team of trained scientists with financial support of the empire itself
And yet… Here he is, dragging to the middle of nowhere the only people that may, or may not, consider his own existence not a waste of oxygen, all of this for a chance to keep a dream of a woman he has never met alive, not in a way that mattered at least… but it was not only because of that was it?
If there is a chance… small as it is that they could replicate what once happened to Daibazaal… so much quintessence… study it, replicate it… it would put an end to his father's ways and create a new era for the Galra empire and perhaps…
It's foolishness, he knows, years of trying to gain this same childish goal has teached him that no matter how hard they try, no matter how hard they fight, how much they learn, nor how much they perform… the Galra empire will never see half-galras as their children
But pride is a stubborn thing… deep down, all aboard this ship are moved by the fuel that is spite and a sole lonely dream of acceptance, if they could be the ones to actually revolutionize the never ending hunt for quintessence… At the very least no commoner could ever look at them the same way again, not one Galra could call them a mistake again
"Next quadrant to the east, the wave has picked up again sire" Acxa reports
"Set course"
"Ay ay captain!" Erzo laughs and they feel the propulsors take the spaceship faster through the galaxy
It takes two Vargas for the readings to die down, and one more to reach the location, sadly it was completely unremarkable, not a surprise really, but none the less frustrating…
With a sigh Lotor rises his hands and starts analyzing the data of the area, the quintessence burst did occur in this place, stronger than any other location they have exploded yet, that… that was good, excellent actually, maybe this won't be another dead end again
"Keep track of the readings" his voice commands, a bit of excitement slipping through making his team peak up in interest "Erzo you may rest now, Acxa will take care of the steering, we will stay for a while"
"Finally!" Zetrid laugh, immediately picking up the pink general
"He said rest Zetrid!!!" The pink hybrid complains, but shows no sighs of putting up an actual fight
"But Lotor never said alone did he?" the tall woman teases "come on, lets' eat something, then we can sleep, you look like you need it"
The laughter of both girls fade as they walk away from the command center and the door closes behind
"These two won't be back in time…" Acxa sighs, Narti nods in agreement and even Kova mews, which makes his top general laugh softly "even Kova agrees"
"They needed the break… or do you want a repeat of Alpha Aruian?"
"Ugh, don't remind me, I couldn't sleep right for days with how much noise-" their talk is interrupted by the sound of an alert "It's a distress signal sire"
"What fool is flying in this parts of the galaxy…" rolling his eyes Lotor comments but makes no move to actually address the call "Ignore it, we have more important things to do right now"
The burst was strong, probably happened mere moments before their arrival near by, and just as quickly it was gone, leaving only it's signature behind, frustrating as it is perhaps this could help them perfect their quintessence tracker and… Acxas voice cuts through his concentration "Prince Lotor…"
"What is it now?"
"The signal is synchronized with our private channel sir… but all our ships are docked"
That makes the prince turn, with a quick movement of his wrists the internal security reports exactly what his general said, all five ships were docked and chipped according
"… Narti, provide us with visual feed back" the blind general nods, Kova dutifully turning to her screen
"The radars can barely see it too" the purple woman says, one eyebrow shots up from Lotors face, what…?
"Either they have a very good clothing device or-"
"Wow!" With a hiss the commanders' chamber open as Erzo and Zetrid walk back in with protein bars on hands "isn't that model like, super old?"
"Might even be older than your father sire!" Zetrid chips in, a booming laugh filling the room while she chews on two rations at once, she places on each station a ration carefully, leaving his for last, her eyes glimmer in anticipation and curiosity
"Indeed" he agrees, not looking away from the relic at the screen, it's a fighter model, black instead of the usual gray, its wings weren't even movable by the looks of it, almost… organic like in it's structure, like a bat "but what is it doing here...?"
The ancient model, the isolated location… could it be related to the quintessence burst?
"Acxa, establish communication, Narti, force it to work if you must, Erzo, open the hangar and stay alert, I want this ship ready to flee if this is a trap "His generals fall into motion like a well oiled machine, and to his final one he commands "Zetrid, bring that fighter inside"
"yes sire" all four proclaim