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#edgar darlton
diopup · 3 years
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✨ English voice actor Bryce Papenbrook appreciation post ✨
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roloko-karlstein · 3 years
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Edgar N. Darlton 
First Appearance----->Last Appearance
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Ok ok, on this blog we've talked several times about underrated characters. About Cornelia, Cécile, Guilford,... But you know who we didn't talk about? Right! About these beautiful you men right here:
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The Glaston Knights! I don't know, do people even remember them? Because they had less screentime than fricking Clovis, which is pretty sad. I would've definitely liked to see more of them and their relationship with Darlton. I also want to know what happend to Claudio. Did he continue working for Cornelia? Or did he maybe quitted fighting and is now laying on a beach, enjoying his life?
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naruwitch · 3 years
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Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 36: At Least With Sorrow
Shirley wished with all her heart that this was simply a nightmare that she would wake up from at any moment and find herself wrapped up cozily under the covers in her room on the Castleship. Possibly snuggling one of the pill bug aliens in the process (Milly claimed she'd already done it several times and had a few pictures to keep for 'later.' A.k.a. blackmail material in its finest).
But the screams from below and the flashes of violet lasers and red-lined ships only confirmed the hellish reality as through blurred tears, she and Zinnia smashed through a group of about five Galran fighters.
With a battle cry, Rivalz used Polaris's ice ray to freeze multiple fighters, and it was quickly followed up by Zen shrieking through them with her jaw blade active. The ice did nothing to quell the explosion that occurred a second later.
While from their position in the air, it seemed that the Galra were only targeting the area around the SAZ, they knew it was only a matter of time before they started spreading into the settlement area, and the Paladins knew that the Galra didn't care, and they certainly wouldn't take the time to see who was Japanese and who was Britannia before destroying any building or home in their path. The Emperor would gladly sacrifice an entire area of the empire if it meant getting his way.
'Mom, Dad,' Shirley thought sorrowfully, 'please hang on!'
"Heads up!" another voice that Shirley couldn't place right away shouted through the comm. Snapping her head up, the Orange Paladin gasped as she saw what looked like a glowing blade penetrating the center of a Galra ship before swiftly cutting through the front of it. Once the blast cleared from the destroyed ship, Shirley had to take a moment to gape in awe at the sleek black Knightmare frame that was now hovering not too far from Zinnia.
The Seishin Knightmare frame itself was black and dark grey, but all of the crevices that pieced the Knightmare together were glowing a faint blue color, identical to the Balmera crystal she knew was powering it.
"Thanks, um…" Shirley hesitated before the pilot answered.
"Asahina," the pilot responded, and Shirley's brain spat out the image of the bespectacled member of the Four Holy Swords. One of Colonel Tohdoh's men.
"Thanks, Asahina," she corrected quickly.
Though she couldn't see him, she was sure she felt him nod before his Knightmare sped off after another Galra fighter.
Around in the air, the Seishins, though some were more unsteady than others, swung and swiped at the fighters with the same blades, easily keeping up with the fighters' speed. Several were firing multiple rounds of laser bullets from their built-in shoulder guns while also trying to avoid being shot out of the sky as well.
Two Knightmares in particular, stood out among the rest. The red glow of the Guren's Radiant Surger was hard to miss, and there was a Seishin with two dark blue appendages by its head, almost like a strange cape.
The same Seishin sliced a Galra fighter clean in two with a spinning strike before expertly dodging a barrage of shots from another. Four more hovered around it, picking off and dispatching any fighters that targeted the first.
Many Knightmares were also descending towards the SAZ, lasers already firing at any Sutherland and Gloucester they could see, forcing the Britannians to stop shooting the people below and divert their attention to the Seishins above them.
A streak of purple and blue flashed by two ships before they exploded. Yoru roared thunderously as she pounced onto another, ripping the top of the fighter clean off.
"Suzaku!" Nunnally exclaimed once she saw the Purple Lion, "Suzaku, is Euphie…?"
There was silence for a moment until he answered, "She's in a cryopod. She'll be fine."
"Oh, thank goodness!" Milly gasped.
"Yes, I'm glad to hear that…" Lelouch whispered the relief he felt rippling through his very bones.
"Zero!" Ohgi exclaimed, his Seishin gliding next to Zen, "How do we know who's on whose side?"
"Cornelia and her guard are with us, along with the Glaston Knights," Zero answered, his link open to all Black Knights, "Other than that… If they're shooting at the Galra, they're with us. Protect the people and destroy any Galra ship you see!"
"Got it!" Ohgi said before steering away.
"Right… Hold on, Nunnally," he warned his sister before addressing his fellow Paladins, "Time to take this battle! Form Voltron!"
While to the Paladins, it felt like it several moments to form the robot, to an outsider's perspective, it seemed the Lions joined in a flash of light, and with barely a blink of an eye later, Voltron stood in their place.
"Form bow!" Zero ordered.
Shirley plunged her Bayard into Zinnia's port, and Voltron's bow and arrow formed instantly. A single arrow formed in Voltron's hands, and he pulled back on the bow's string. Multiple targets emerged on the Paladins' screens within the cockpits—dozens of Galra fighters about to meet a fiery end.
"FIRE!"
In a flash of blue, the arrow was released.
Despite the promise of providing back-up from the ground, Cornelia's forces, the few who were actually listening to her anyway, were having zero luck against any Galra vessels that shot near them or descended low enough for their bullets to reach. Even the Hadron cannon being fired from the Le Fey was only having partial success, only melting the ship's outer metal instead of destroying them. The Blaze Luminous shielding was taking significant damage as well.
They were able to eliminate several Knightmare frames that were still firing at the escaping Japanese. Despite being locked up for almost a month, Cornelia had piloted a Gloucester long enough that her muscle memory easily allowed her to dive into the hoard. She didn't earn the moniker Goddess of Victory for no reason after all.
She was also certain that most of the other Britannian Knightmares, besides her own hand-picked men and the Glaston Knights, were only assisting her because they didn't want to end up on the wrong end of her Knightmare's lance. They could weed out the scum later, and she would do it personally if she had to.
There was a flash of light above their heads, and Cornelia smirked when she saw Voltron appear in the air, fire an arrow, then blast off into the main fray.
"No!"
Said smirk quickly faded with Darlton's cry as one of the Glaston Knightmares was engulfed in flames from a fighter's blasts. Said fighter was destroyed moments later by the custom red Knightmare with the strange claw. Didn't Lloyd say that one was called the Guren?
"Alfred!" Edgar Darlton exclaimed before swerving to avoid a barrage of blasts himself.
Cornelia grit her teeth. While they had finally got back-up via the sky, they were still taking heavy losses. Their Knightmares were simply not equipped to deal with the Galra ships.
"Nonette!" Cornelia exclaimed over the comms, "Any word from the other Knights?!"
"No, nothing!" the Knight of Nine said, impaling a Sutherland with her spear, "It's weird! It's like something is jamming my communication with them."
"Perhaps they-augh!" whatever Bart Darlton was about to say was cut off as a rain of lasers practically cut his Knightmare in two before it also exploded like his brother's.
"Asplund! Croomey! Any word from Schneizel?!" the princess demanded next. As much as she wanted to kick her brother's butt for nearly killing Euphemia back on the island, they needed all the help they could get right now. In fact, it was strange that Schneizel wasn't already dispatching his own men onto the battlefield. So why wasn't he doing so? He wouldn't sit back and simply watch this!
"No, nothing from the Viceroy!" Cecile's voice shouted through the comms, "The Le Fey is taking heavy-"
Cecile was cut off by a large crash on the other end of the comm, and looking up, Cornelia saw the airship take a heavy hit from the side. From the laser's size, Cornelia could only guess that the blast came from one of the giant ships where the other fighters were flying out of.
"Oh, dear! We're going down!" Lloyd exclaimed from the ship.
Fortunately, the Le Fey didn't get far, as several of the space Knightmares latched onto the ship and were able to slow its descent to the ground. She saw several fighters fire at them, a couple exploding, but not before the escape pods fired from the main body.
"Princess, look!" Guilford exclaimed, his Knightmare halting and looking at the sky. Above them, Voltron's weapon had transformed from a bow into the giant sword they had first seen when Colonel Tohdoh had been broken out of his prison. The robot was flying straight towards the closest cruiser and, with a mighty swing, much like how the original Avalon was destroyed, sliced straight through it, dragging the sword with a metallic tearing along before exiting out the other end. The cruiser erupted into an inferno, lighting up the sky as if a second sun had appeared above them.
Voltron shot directly for its next target, not wasting precious seconds, the sword shrinking to normal (or normal in giant robot cases) size, slicing through ships and Galran forces almost every second.
Reinvigorated by her brother's attack, Cornelia charged forward, a righteous battle cry issuing from her throat, not even bothering to see if her men were following her as she knew already they were.
Commander Corza frowned as a large chunk of her forces were taken out in Voltron's counterattack. While she knew that such sacrifices were necessary, it still seemed like a blow to her pride to see one of the cruisers go down.
A glow of blue drew her attention, and her eyes narrowed as she saw the Altean's wretched castle itself join the fray, lasers and shots firing from the particle barrier and its other weapons systems. She growled when she saw a concentrated shot rip through dozens of ships and take out the front end of the second cruiser; however, the ship was able to remain airborne.
The control panel in front of her flashed red, signaling an incoming call, which she promptly answered. The face of Zarkon's trusted witch greeted her, her hood casting a shadow over her eyes.
"Commander Corza," Haggar addressed, "recall your remaining forces and regroup at once."
"Vrepit sa," she intoned with a salute before the video call was terminated. As ordered, the crew pulled her main cruiser away from the planet's atmosphere, and she commanded the remaining straggling Galra to retreat.
Corza couldn't help but scowl. Those fools on this backwater planet only managed to decimate so many of her troops because Voltron was kind enough to protect them.
"But…" she smirked sadistically, "Enjoy this small reprise while it lasts, you fools. It's only a small taste of what fate awaits your people."
Seeing that the Galran forces were pulling back, the Black Knights took this as their cue to land on push back the remaining Britaiannain forces, which wasn't too hard. One look at the Seishin Knightmares' weapon arsenal sent most anti-Numbers Britannians running or surrendering on the spot. What really sent them running was the Castle of Lions itself landing in the now destroyed area that would have been the SAZ. Lelouch was grateful for this. While the castle had a limited number of cryopods, he knew there were other medical supplies they could still use to assist.
"Cornelia!" Lelouch exclaimed, landing near his sister's Gloucester (Voltron had dispersed as the castle began to descend), the hatch of which had opened up to reveal the ex-princess. For the most part, she seemed unharmed, though she had a fair stream of blood coming from her forehead. She must have hit her head at some point in the fight.
"I'm fine!" she replied, waving him off, "It's not me you need to worry about right now."
Lelouch grimaced, then nodded. He ordered a small handful of Black Knights to create a perimeter around the zone, at least until the castle's particle barrier turned on again, but he knew that several Japanese would be making their way over from beyond the barrier's reach, so he informed Allura to keep it down for now. He then grabbed a first aid kit that all the Lions were equipped with and exited Zen to try and help any wounded he could.
As he approached a small family, the mother of whom was cradling a girl no older than ten, he saw from the corner of his eye that the other Paladins and Black Knights were doing similar acts, and he even saw the elevator from the Castle of Lions descending, likely with Coran and C.C. to help and possibly escort heavily wounded to the healing pods. He ignored the look of awe that the family, especially the child, gave him as he helped pull the girl's arm into a sling. After checking over the mother and father, he ordered them to start making their way to the castle, where they would be further accommodated inside.
This pattern continued for what felt like hours. Look for an injured human, patch them up as best you can, then send them (or flag another able-bodied person over) towards the castle. Repeat.
During this time, Suzaku managed to dig Cecile and Lloyd out of the now-destroyed Le Fey, and Nonette followed behind Rai after helping her out her Gloucester to assist with the injured.
Zero was about halfway through the strange Altean wrapping gauze (he was fairly certain he had bandaged a good few dozen civilians already and wasn't in the mood for his brain to hurt as he thought about how this is possible) when the particle barrier flashed to life above him, frightening the teen that he was wrapping the ankle of.
"It's okay," Lelouch assured him, "that's up to protect us."
He tied off the bandage before shooing the teen off towards the castle, supported by a girl around his age.
Looking up, almost automatically ready to attend to the next injured civilian, Lelouch had to blink to see that almost everyone was already attended to or making their way to the Castle.
"Lelouch…"
The Black Paladin jumped a little and turned to see that Nunnally had wheeled her way out of Zen and found him. His heart nearly shattered when he saw the look on his sister's face, her eyes brimming with tears as she sadly gazed over the landscape.
"Big brother, what are we going to do now?"
Lelouch could only sigh, "I don't know, Nunnally," he murmured, "I'll think of something soon."
Nunnally just nodded, hugging her sides and desperately trying to hold her tears in.
She gasped when she felt her brother's arms encircle her, and her tears finally overflowed, and she clung to him as she let it all out.
Lelouch was also silently crying under the mask, but these tears weren't just of sorrow.
'Charles zi Britannia,' he thought through gritted teeth, a hot red rage building in his chest, 'I swear… you will pay for this atrocity!'
It was a rare yet terrifying sight to behold when Schneizel el Britannia was angry. Out of all the Royal Family members, the Second Prince was considered one of the calmest and most level-headed of the emperor's children. Not to say that he didn't get frustrated or annoyed from time to time, but everyone knew that it took a lot for Schneizel to lose his temper.
And right now, he was at his boiling point.
The Viceroy's office doors swung open with a resonating bang as the Second Prince stormed out and walked briskly down the hall. A flabbergasted Kanon matched his speed while a profusely sweating Bartley actually had to jog to keep up with the two.
"Get me an audience with the emperor this instant!" Schneizel snapped at the closest officer he could lay eyes on, most of whom were scrambling trying to establish order again within the palace itself. It didn't help that Bismark, Gino, and Anya had mysteriously vanished shortly before the emperor's announcement.
"Your Highness, all of our communications with Pendragon have-urgh!"
The officer was cut off as a barrage of lasers melted through him like butter, dropping dead to the ground.
"Dear god…" Kanon gasped before the three registered the sound of metal clamping against the tiled floor. Schneizel's eyes narrowed as several silver robots crowded the halls, either taking the palace staff hostage or shooting the ones who fought back on the spot.
Staying calm, Schneizel slowly lifted his hands in surrender, and he saw that Kanon and Bartley were mirroring him. It would be foolish to get killed now.
"Wh-what is the meaning of this?!" Bartley stuttered before feeling a sharp butt of the robot's gun against his back, pushing him and the others forward.
The robots lead them outside where Schneizel saw several more robots corralling soldiers away from guarding the Knightmare frames.
"So…" a purr of a voice drew Schneizel attention to the center of the courtyard, where several dark grey ships were parked. In the midst of the robots, he spotted a purple furry being with a slender yet muscular figure, large cat-like ears, yellow glowing eyes, and hair (at least he was sure it was hair) tied in several braids and tied back. Her armor was bright red, accented with black and dark grays. The woman (?) held out a long slender blade to the prince's neck, "...This is my partner, is it? I'll admit, I find myself disappointed."
"Why you-!" Bartley gasped in offense despite the situation, "You dare raise your blade to a-"
The man was promptly shut up as burning pain shot through his head, emanating from his right ear. The man shrieked and clutched the area now flowing with blood where his right ear once was, now hanging precariously from the tip of the alien's blade.
"Oops," Corza sneered insincerely, "I couldn't figure out where your off button was. I bet it's underneath all of that fat you're lugging around. Perhaps I'll save you the trouble and shave some off, hmm?"
This sadistic threat coupled with the pain from his severed ear had Bartley collapsing to his knees, keening and sobbing like a frightened child.
"Enough," Schneizel said as calmly as possible, "There is no need for violence here. What do you want? Present your terms, and my men and I will adhere to them."
Corza chuckled mockingly, returning her sword to Schneizel's neck, "So, there is someone with a brain here after all. Well, for your information, your so-called 'emperor' insisted I keep you alive, which by the way, Lady Haggar only felt the need to agree to because you're more useful as a prisoner at the moment. But let me make one thing clear," Corza leaned close to Schneizel's face, "behave yourself. I may have orders but… As the saying goes, 'everyone makes mistakes' now, don't they?"
Schneizel fought to keep a straight face. This creature reminded him too much of Luciano Bradley in terms of bloodlust, and from the demonstration with Bartley's ear, she wasn't lying either about killing them if they stepped out of line.
As of this moment, he was in a deadlock.
The best he, and hopefully his subordinates, had of surviving was to accept their situation and wait for the right moment to either escape or fight back.
From the outside, the SAZ seemed completely deserted, now laying in ruins, and the bodies of dozens of Japanese men, women, and children littered the streets, all lost to a selfish emperor's order.
At the center, though, shining like a star in a moonless sky, a large cyan dome illuminated the battlefield, the survivors of the SAZ all herded safely inside… For now.
Many of the survivors were still in need of medical treatment, so all of the cryopods in the med bay were quickly filled. Coran pushed the pods into their highest and fastest setting that could be used safely so that they could attend to as many injured as possible.
The rest (both Japanese and Britannian) who were mostly uninjured or only suffered fairly minor injuries were currently gathered in the Castleship's ballroom. Above the crowd, situated on the balcony, stood Nunnally, Guilford, Darlton, Nonette, Ohgi, Sayoko, Tohdoh, Kaguya, and Kirihara. Zero was standing in the very center of them. Cornelia, Lloyd, and Cecile had also been brought up to the Castleship, but Cornelia had insisted on checking on Euphemia first, and Lloyd and Cecile kindly (being the word Lloyd used) offered their services to Rakshata's research team in the Knightmare bay.
In the front of the group on the balcony, Rover hovered faithfully, waiting for the signal from Rai to begin a worldwide broadcast.
It was time for Earth to unite, to fight against the intruders who had invaded not only their country but their very planet, the planet that all humans called home.
The Galra may have surprised them, but now Voltron had a little surprise for them.
"All set on my end, Zero!" Rai's voice crackled in Zero's commlink, "Whenever you're ready."
"And this will be broadcast to every electronic device on the planet?" he inquired.
"Yes, this program should keep any viruses the Galra develop at bay for a while."
"Very well," the Black Paladin nodded, "Begin."
"Got it!"
Zero could hear the righteous fury in his half-brother's (Lelouch was still getting used to calling Rai that) voice as Rover beeped in affirmation, and his camera blinked three times, signaling him to start.
At that moment, every digital device, televisions, laptops, jumbotrons, and even smartphones were hacked simultaneously, all broadcasting this very message.
It wasn't just Japan, though. It was broadcasting in the Chinese Federation, the European Union, and all other nations of the world were tuning in to this announcement.
"Attention, people of the Earth," Zero began loudly and dramatically, "and all who are oppressed by the empire of Britannia! Long have I waited, all through the struggles against Britannia's injustices, I've waited for them to come to their senses! The Special Administrative Zone of Japan, created by the kind-hearted Princess Euphemia was a genuine attempt to unite the world against a common enemy and end the fighting that has long since plagued our world, spearheaded by the fascist Britannian Empire! And how was she repaid for this act of selflessness?! Betrayed by the very man she called 'father'! Who would prefer to throw his lot in with a hostile alien regime and sell out his own world to save his own skin!"
The people down below began to scream in outrage. Not only the Japanese but the brave Britannians who willingly chose to oppose the emperor's actions.
"Never forgive the emperor!"
"Murderer!"
"Filthy coward!"
"Hypocrite!"
"Burn in hell Charles zi Britannia!"
"But fear not!" Zero continued when the cries started to die down, "For from this moment forward, we hereby declare the independence of Area Eleven from Britannian subjugation! But don't take this to mean the resurrection of your fallen nation! It is the birth of something new, a nation where nobody is oppressed for their gender, race, ideology, or even species! This is… The United States of Japan! And with that, I also hereby announce the formation of the Voltron Coalition, with its first member being the Planet Earth, and the nation of the United States of Japan led and protected by the Black Knights!"
This announcement resulted in even more cheers from all the Black Knights, Paladins, and gathered citizens.
'The United States of Japan?' Suzaku thought as he looked up at Zero from the crowd. He had to give Lelouch credit, he was going all the way and showing no signs of slowing down.
'They've done it,' a fanatically smiling Diethard hidden among the audience thought, 'Despite everything, they've actually created a whole new nation!'
"Once the land of Japan breathes freedom once more, we will continue our crusade of freedom to the rest of the planet, from the tyranny of Britannia and the Galra alike. From there, our cause will continue to spread beyond, reaching every planet and people in the universe, until the cries of the free will never be extinguished again! For freedom!"
"For freedom!" the crowd roared in response, fists pumping in the air.
"For freedom!" Kallen shouted, followed by Rai, Tamaki, Chiba, Asahina, Urabe, Senba, and all the rest of the Black Knights in the crowd.
"For freedom!" Ohgi shouted, raising his fist high, along with Kirihara, Kaguya, Sayoko, and even Tohdoh raised his katana. "For freedom!"
Even Guilford and Darlton, though hesitant at first and feeling out of place, raised their fists and joined them. "For freedom!"
"My first objective was successful. Princess Euphemia li Britannia is dead. However, unfortunately, I could not fulfill the second objective regarding Princess Nunnally. Forgive me, my Lords."
V.V. couldn't keep the small scowl from his face at this news as he and Charles stood tensely on Haggar's command ship. Nebrios was their most skilled assassin in the Geass Order. His Geass, dubbed 'Ward of Absolute Suspension,' was the perfect weapon for assassination and other related jobs. Therefore, it was a no-brainer on who would be responsible for removing his two meddlesome nieces. Well, at least one was out of the way. He could deal with Nunnally later.
"That's fine," Charles intoned next to V.V., "We still have time to correct this error. Remain on standby until further instruction."
Nebiros glanced at V.V. from his side of the screen, and he nodded. It still irked V.V. that Charles insisted on capturing Nunnally instead of simply killing her (the true order V.V. gave out). It seemed even in death, his brother was still soft with anything involving that bitch Marianne.
"Yes, Your Highness," Nebiros bowed before cutting off communication.
"I warned you, did I not?" the voice of their newest 'ally' made the twins jump and turn around. Almost melting from the shadows, Haggar approached the pair, "Once again, you underestimated the Paladins as well as Voltron. That is what led to this failure and all your past failures until now."
Charles scoffed, "They're only children! They-"
"And yet you yourself use children to do your own dirty work," Haggar interrupted with a sneer, "Your arrogance is blinding your judgment. Fail to contain it, and it will be your downfall."
"How dare you-" V.V. choked as Haggar raised her hand, causing his body to be engulfed in a violet aura and rise from the ground. The immortal's hands clawed at a non-existent hold around his neck before he felt himself being thrown backward and crashing hard against one of the ship's steel pillars. He felt several vertebrae in his back snap on impact as he cried out in agony.
"Victor!" Charles exclaimed, but he froze as Haggar raised her hand towards him as well, forcing him to his knees.
"Remember our agreement," Haggar hissed, "Earth will be yours to rule, but only from within the Galra Empire. As of this moment, you are both servants of Emperor Zarkon. Do I make myself clear?"
As V.V. struggled to sit up through the pain as Charles bowed submissively, though he grit his teeth furiously.
A low beeping sound drew Haggar's attention to the main screen again, and she waved her hand to answer the call.
The being that appeared on the other end made Charles's blood run cold. He was sure in another life, he would have been in a similar position, with those under his command cowering below him.
V.V. also, through the pain of his slowly repairing back, felt himself shaking in genuine fear at the sight of the figure before them.
Now, they were the ones cowering as the face of Emperor Zarkon flickered onto the screen.
"My Lord," Haggar bowed in respect, "have you successfully received our latest weapons?"
"Yes," Emperor Zarkon's deep, haunting voice vibrated, "the druids are making final preparations. When they are ready for launch, I myself will be joining you at your location, Haggar."
Haggar's poisonous smirk widened, "Of course, my Lord."
Meanwhile, back on Earth, the Castle of Lions was a buzz of activity. After Zero finished his speech for the entire planet to see, the Black Knights, along with their latest Britannian recruits, got right to work. Coran was herding the Britannians down the armory to fit them in their spacesuits and then give them a crash course of how the suits functioned and how to properly use the Seishin Knightmare models.
Despite the crew's hustle, though, there was a layer of distress as well. While the Paladins and Black Knights managed to rescue many of the SAZ's attendees, many more died, and even more were succumbing to their injuries before they could be placed into the cryopods in time. Even though the pods were working at near overdrive, and human doctors and some Altean medical droids that Coran managed to reactivate were treating them, the reality was that even they couldn't save everyone, and the infirmary was still overflowing with injured.
Nunnally looked on with sorrow as she saw one of the pods with a young child inside. The little girl had been shot several times in the chest and stomach, and her arm had gotten badly mangled in the attack. Coran was honestly unsure if the pod could completely fix it. Even if it repaired the muscles, the nerve damage was extensive, meaning she may never have full use of her arm again.
Lelouch and C.C. together managed to shoo Cornelia out of the medical bay to get fitted in her armor with the promise she would be updated on Euphemia's condition.
So far, Euphie was stable, though Coran did note that the assassin who attacked her knew what he was doing. She had been lucky that the bullet had only nicked her heart wall. If she had been brought up only a few minutes later, she would have likely bled out and went into cardiac arrest. The cryopods could pull someone from the brink of death if they are put inside in time, but they couldn't do anything with a corpse.
The pod had frosted over what was below Euphie's neckline to preserve her modesty. Due to the severity of the injury, they hadn't had time to change her into a cryosuit. This wouldn't alter the healing function, but it was likely that most of her dress would dissolve during the process. From what they could see from her face, though, she didn't appear to be in any pain.
"The fellow in the third cryopod should be done in another varga," Coran informed, the depressed quiet of the room getting to him.
"That's good," Shirley whispered half-heartedly.
The feel of death and destruction was being felt by all of the Paladins, feelings of sorrow, anxiety, and even rage permeating the room, though some were better at hiding it than others. Rai and Kallen looked especially angry, but the clenched fists that Suzaku and Lelouch shared made it clear what their feelings were as well.
"Dammit…" Kallen muttered, clenching her teeth and fists so hard she was sure they'd be bleeding if she was barehanded.
Despite the Paladins' effort to keep their feelings suppressed, Allura showed no such action.
"What kind of disgusting, ludicrous, quiznacking kazrlgi must you be to willingly join the Galra!" she ranted furiously whilst pacing. She looked two seconds from tearing her hair out, "How can someone be so stubborn and shameless?! How could…" the princess faltered, "...How could it come to this?"
"Why are we acting so surprised?" Rai asked bitterly, "We knew with Haggar on Earth, the rest of the Galra weren't far behind. Maybe she struck a deal with the emperor. One that he couldn't turn down."
"A deal that includes enslaving his planet and people with himself on top?" Milly asked skeptically, "Since when does Zarkon actually agree to a partnership like that? From what we've seen of the psycho, he doesn't seem like the type."
"He isn't," Coran confirmed, "Alfor attempted to negotiate a peaceful solution with Zarkon when he was still alive, but he couldn't sway him from his ways."
"I'm quite shocked that Charles agreed to this as well," C.C. said, "As we've stated before, Charles is just like Zarkon. He won't negotiate unless it ends with him as the sole ruler and beneficiary of the deal he's struck. He's not the type to submit to anyone. The only person he sees as his equal is V.V., but they're partners at best. He only trusts himself to fulfill his plans. And yet… He still did this."
"Do you think… Maybe Zarkon's Geass did something?" Shirley suggested quietly, "Maybe he's using it to control the emperor and V.V."
"It's a possibility," C.C. admitted, "but we can't know for sure, especially without knowing the type of Geass Zarkon has, or if it can affect a Code Bearer."
"It doesn't matter," Lelouch finally snapped, "Charles made his choice, and we've made ours. There's only one path left for us… Straight forward."
Everyone in the room looked up at the Black Paladin before Rai rose from his spot by one of the pods, "No turning back, right?"
Slowly, one by one, everyone got to their feet.
"Let's do it," Kallen said, cracking her knuckles.
"No way am I turning around now!" Rivalz exclaimed.
"Same here!" Shirley nodded.
"...Right," Suzaku murmured, his eyes blazing.
"We promised we would support you, Lelouch," Milly said solemnly, her bayard suddenly flashing to life, "and that hasn't changed."
Trance-like, in unison, everyone else's bayards flashed to life. A bow, a rifle, a katar, a kusarigama, a katana, a cestus.
Allura gasped softly, and Coran's eyes widened. C.C. also looked intrigued as she took a small step back.
"What's…?" Nunnally began before her brother stepped forward, his hand traveling to his waist. When he removed it, a small knife wrapped at the hilt was grasped tightly in his hands.
All meeting in the center, the seven Paladins of Voltron raised their weapons above them.
"No turning back," Lelouch intoned strongly.
"No turning back!" the rest of the Paladins echoed.
There was a silent awe in the room as the four outliers watched the Paladins make their vow, the Warrior's Bond forging anew.
As the Paladins slowly parted, C.C. smirked, "Well, don't leave us out of the fun. We're in this just as much as you are."
"Quite right!" Coran exclaimed, "We're with you, Paladins! No point of the universe is treacherous enough to deter us!"
"Yes," Allura nodded resolutely, "We, Voltron, are meant to protect the weak, defending them from those who would wish them harm! That mission has not changed, nor will it now."
"We're with you, Lelouch!" Nunnally piped in, her hand gripping his arm.
Lelouch couldn't keep the grateful smile from his face as he squeezed his sister's hand back, "Thank you… All of you!"
After smiling at his team, his face soon relapsed into a stoic mask, "Kallen, Rivalz, Milly, Shirley. Head to the settlement and get your families. Now that your faces are known, I doubt the military will be leaving them alone. Bringing them to the castle is the most secure place to hide them. Rai, Coran," he turned to the two in question, not waiting for the latter four to respond, "Head down to the launch bay and assist Rakshata's team with our newest recruits. Run them through the Knightmares and weapons operations. Suzaku," he looked towards his oldest friend, "You're with me and Allura. We'll regroup with Tohdoh and the rest of the leadership to organize our forces. Everyone understand their orders?"
When no one objected, he nodded, "All right! Move out!"
"Lelouch, is there anything I can do?" Nunnally asked as most of the rest quickly exited the room.
Lelouch knelt on one knee (Nunnally was still in her hoverchair), "Just stay here with Euphie, Nunnally. If she wakes up sooner than expected I think seeing a familiar face will help her stay calm."
Nunnally nodded in acceptance before wheeling closer to her sister's pod. Lelouch then looked towards C.C., "Will you look after them?"
C.C. nodded while shooting a look at him that said, 'You still had to ask?'
Lelouch smiled a little bashfully before turning to leave the room himself, only to stop short when he saw Suzaku standing at the doorway.
"Suzaku?" he asked in concern. The Purple Paladin jumped, looking embarrassed.
"S-sorry, Lelouch," he stuttered, "Can you just…? I'll catch up with you later. I need a moment."
A sympathetic look crossed Lelouch's face before he nodded and patted Suzaku's shoulder. "Take your time."
Suzaku nodded and jogged down the other hallway as Lelouch rushed off to catch up with Allura.
Neither Paladin noticed C.C.'s concerned look as she watched Suzaku disappear.
"This must be unbearable for Suzaku," Nunnally said softly from behind the immortal, "I mean, big brother loves Euphie too, but not in the same way that Suzaku does. Lelouch tries to hide it, but I can see the pain in his eyes… I can only imagine what Suzaku's feeling right now."
C.C. frowned and looked back down the hall.
"Nunnally, stay here for a moment," she finally said, "I'll be right back."
Suzaku trudged down a deserted hallway, wondering if this is what it feels like to be a zombie. No emotion, no thoughts, he felt like he didn't even have a heartbeat.
Being numb wasn't a foreign feeling for Suzaku. He remembered this feeling well eight years ago after driving a knife into his father's heart. The months that followed came in flashes to him, but he knew that it took forever for him to start feeling decent enough to function again.
Now the feeling had returned tenfold. Like a huge hole had been punched through his chest. He had held the love of his life in his arms as she was dying. Bleeding out from an assassin's bullet, and he couldn't do anything to stop it at the time. He had promised he would protect her, and he had failed. Just like he always did. Why? Why did this keep happening?!
Eventually, the Purple Paladin slowed to a stop. The hole he felt inside him suddenly grew hot. His breath came out in short hisses as it exited through his clenched teeth. His vision became blurry as anguished tears built in his eyes.
With a cry of agony, Suzaku brandished his Bayard and swung it wildly against the wall, leaving a dark scar in the pristine white of the Castleship's walls. Letting this new bubbling rage guide him, he kept swiping at the walls. Eventually, this wasn't enough for him, and he threw his Bayard, still in sword form, to the ground and his fists collided with the wall. He knew deep down that he wasn't accomplishing anything by doing this, but right now, Suzaku's feelings were completely feral. He was a rabid and broken animal that couldn't find solace.
A hand snatched his wrist, keeping him from punching the wall again. This act felt like an icicle to the back, icy cold reality hitting him and the furious rage vanishing. Looking to the source, tears and even snot covering his face, Suzaku saw C.C.'s somber face staring back at him.
Only now was the reality of the situation sinking in. The Emperor of Britannia had shot Euphemia through the hands of an assassin. Her own father didn't so much as bat an eye as she lay bleeding to death on the SAZ's stage.
Now Suzaku wasn't an idiot. He'd heard enough stories both from Lelouch and others about how stubborn the emperor was, but this… He actually had the audacity to side with Zarkon?! Not even Lelouch predicted that his father would make such a move, so… Why?!
With these thoughts buzzing in his head, all fight left his body, and he sunk to the floor.
"If there's one thing I know about Charles from my years of knowing him," C.C. said as if reading Suzaku's mind, "it's that he's an incredibly ambitious man. More importantly, when he sets his sights on something, nothing is off-limits, and he will resort to any tactic possible to fulfill his goal. Sacrifice anything… Or anybody."
Suzaku didn't move from his spot on the floor, but he was listening.
"I'll admit, even I was blindsided by his decision to side with the Galra, but when you think about it, this actually isn't too out of character out of him," C.C. paused to think about to word this correctly, "Voltron represents everything he disagrees with about humanity, but it also stands as his biggest obstacle toward his goals, and right now he's trying to remove that obstacle. In his mind, siding with the Galra is the most logical choice."
Suzaku finally reacted with a hysterical laugh. "Logical?! What is so logical about this?! We were offering an olive branch, a chance at a peaceful resolution! We were so close! So close to finally achieving peace! The dream that I… that Euphie thought was possible!"
C.C. sighed, "Suzaku, what you must understand about Charles is that he isn't interested in peace. His only interest in life is making the world the way he wants it. He wants his version of peace, not anyone else's."
Suzaku fell silent again, just staring sightlessly at the floor.
C.C., apparently tired of the silence, speaks again, "Suzaku, I want to ask you something, and I want an honest answer. When you first joined the Britannian military, did you really do it to change the system on the inside? Did you truly believe that Britannia could change?
Suzaku doesn't answer right away. His head and his heart were screaming two different answers. His heart was saying yes, he did! But his head was louder this time, and the truth was…
"...When I met Euphemia, I really believed that she had the power to do it. To change the system, to change Britannia. And I was ready to give her my full support, even my life if I had to. That's how much I believed in her. But… when I first signed up… when I first became an Honorary Britannian… No. I didn't believe that."
"You only told yourself that so that you could put yourself in a situation where if you died, you would die a "heroic death" and redeem yourself for what happened to your father," C.C. said.
"Yes…" Suzaku nodded slowly.
"So… What are you going to do now?" C.C. asked, "I hope you're not planning to give up now, especially not after that display by the cryopods. I won't tell you what to do, but there are people here who truly need you, and Euphemia is one of them. When she recovers, and she will, she might have family and friends who are there for her, but she might need you even more; that is if you truly feel the same way she feels about you."
Suzaku's mind wandered again, this time starting from the very moment they shot into the sky in Polaris, meeting Coran and Allura, becoming the Purple Paladin, finding his Lion aboard the Galra cruiser, forming Voltron for the first time, and training and bonding with all of Paladins. Then learning Lelouch's true identity as Zero and the shock and horror he had originally felt, but still agreeing to help if only to not break up Voltron, as thanks to Lelouch's first attempt to leave they all learned were hard to find. All of the battles the Paladins went through and the crazy training trips Coran sent them on. He noticed that over time, something slowly changed in him, in all of them. He stopped silently questioning Lelouch's plans, began following orders more willingly, and began risking his life not just because it was convenient for the circumstances but because he wanted to. He wanted to follow Lelouch and his other friends. He wanted to protect people. He wanted to save the universe from the Galra.
And Euphie… Dear sweet Euphie. Not one day went by on the Castleship that he didn't think about her and miss her. He constantly thought about what she would think if she was in his position. One thing was for sure though, he was sure she would have persevered, even if it was painful.
"If I stop now…" he started, "I won't just be failing my team, I'll be failing Euphemia too. It would be a mockery to her dream, the one I know she still has. I'm ashamed it took me so long to see reason, but… I'm not going to let this chance go to waste."
Standing up fully, he turned to C.C. and held out his hand. "C.C., I want to form a contract with you."
C.C. actually took a step back in surprise. Out of all the Paladins, the immortal had honestly believed Suzaku would be the one not to get a Geass, much less ask for one.
Suzaku noticed her look and said, "You've made contracts with everyone else so far."
"Yes…" C.C. said slowly, "But there was no telling the type of ability they would get or how it would manifest. The same still applies to you, including the risks involved."
"I know that," Suzaku nodded but didn't lower his hand.
"...Are you sure this is what you want, Suzaku?" she asked again, "If you're making this decision purely based on your emotions there can be negative consequences on your mental state… Like with Mao."
"I know," Suzaku said, "I'm sure about this, though."
"...All right," C.C. relented, reaching out to grasp his hand, "Just make sure you don't become too dependent on it."
With this final warning, her hand fell on top of his, and Suzaku's world burst into color.
"We're sorry! We're working as best as we can!"
"We weren't fast enough! We managed to keep the news off the Net, but there are insurrections all over the map!"
"Not just Elevens either! Even Britannian forces! Voltron is absorbing and rallying all of the masses against the settlement!"
"With so many honorary Britannians, and even full-blooded Britannians turning on us, our enemies number in the tens of thousands!"
Corza growled, "You Earthlings can't even keep control of your own people? Pathetic!"
Schneizel remained silent with two Galran sentries looming over his chair, rifles raised, knowing that speaking up or correcting her would likely worsen the situation.
"Report in! Our units have been unable to detain the Fenette, Cardemonde, and Ashford families. They all managed to escape!"
"What?" Schneizel said aloud, but more out of confusion than shock as he was sure he never issued an order to capture those families. However, he quickly confirmed his own suspicions and figured Charles had given that order instead. It was logical from a strategic point to take hostages, especially if they are friends or family of the enemy.
"There are reports of the Orange, Blue, and Yellow Lions intercepting the units. The targets were gone by the time they left. We've also confirmed reports of the Red Lion attacking the Eastern Penitentiary. Several inmates are confirmed to have escaped, likely on the Lion!"
"Likely gathering more forces that way," Corza mused, but chuckled, "Not that it will matter. Plenty more Galra vessels will be arriving shortly. It won't matter how many humans stand against us. They were doomed from the start."
"Okay, let's fire this one up!" Rai called as he was lowered back to the ground. He had just finished installing a Balmera crystal into the Lancelot's power generator. Despite the Le Fey being unsalvageable, Lloyd and Cecile managed to lead some Black Knights to retrieve both the Lancelot and Gawain Knightmare frames from the wreckage. They were also in the process of modifying the remaining Glaston Knights' Knightmare frames. They didn't have time to install everything, but they had a much higher chance of surviving the upcoming battle now compared to using normal Knightmares. The Gawain had also been modified to one passenger seat instead of two.
"All right, Lancelot startup sequence beginning… Now!" Cecile announced. With the engine roaring to life, the Lancelot's system booted up, the Balmera crystal's energy syncing in. Like with the Seishin Knightmares, the Lancelot outlines began to glow a faint blue, and even the green 'eyes' of the Lancelot shifted into a cyan color.
"Oh my! This is greater energy than I ever anticipated!" Lloyd exclaimed like a kid in a candy store.
"Well, if you're a good boy, Lloyd, I might let you take a look at my notes from the original test runs," Rakshata smirked.
"'Might'?" Lloyd pouted.
"Might." Rakshata giggled while Lloyd continued to sulk. Cecile rolled her eyes while Rai and Coran shared a chuckle.
"Excuse me," someone cleared their throat from behind them. Turning around, the group spotted Claudio, David, and Edgar Darlton, and they were all clad in their new Black Knight space uniforms and armor.
The armor looked fairly similar to the Paladin armor, but with several distinct design changes. The helmets were nearly identical, but small three spikes were branching out from above the forehead (above the dip in the 'v') and two off to the sides of their ears. Altogether it looked much like the symbol for the Black Knights. The suits' arms and legs were armored in the same way as the Paladins, but the neckline was tighter and the shoulders broader.
The only other major difference was the color scheme. Compared to the white and black with different colored accents for the Paladins, the Black Knights' armor was black, the undersuits dark rusty red, and the highlights silver.
On the back of each of the uniforms, just beneath the jetpack that bore the Black Knight symbol, was another feature. A single homing device. This was sewn into the suits as a safety precaution. Just in case one of the Black Knights got 'lost in space,' or otherwise, the Castleship could hone in on the device and retrieve the wayward pilot.
They were also designed to withstand all of the extremes of space, from 2.6 to nearly 5810 Kelvin ("If I'm converting your Earth measurements to the ship's correctly, that is," Coran had said), and (according to Earth standards) were completely bulletproof.
"Ah, Andreas's little boys," Lloyd greeted, "How do you do?"
"You're surprisingly chipper considering the situation," David scowled back.
Lloyd just shrugged, "Eh, what can I say? It's my nature as a sociopath."
"Perfect timing, though," Rai interjected, "We just finished modifying your Knightmares a couple of dobashes ago. We didn't have time to upgrade them completely, but they're better than nothing. You should have time to do a couple of practice runs around the moon to get used to it."
"'Around the moon,'" Edgar echoed softly, before laughing in disbelief, "I can't believe I'm actually hearing something like that."
"Thank you," Claudio nodded, "We were actually coming to inquire about that."
"So… about the suits," David said, examining his helmet skeptically, "Is this seriously supposed to help with the interfacing?"
Coran laughed jovially, "Of course not, young man!" The three brothers looked at him dubiously, "It's supposed to help keep you alive out there!"
At this admission, the Glaston Knights felt themselves pale and glanced at one another. Rai smiled sympathetically while Cecile bit her lip.
"From the reports that are pouring in, it seems that most of the settlement has been evacuated," Ohgi pointed out from his position on the bridge, "So I don't think we'll have to worry too much about civilian casualties."
"Good," Zero nodded to everyone presented, which included Suzaku, Tohdoh, Allura, Ohgi, Cornelia, Darlton, and Guilford, all of whom were looking over the terrain of the settlement on the screen, "Then we can continue with final preparations. The Castle of Lions will provide support, while Voltron engages the Galra head-on. In the meantime, the Black Knights will attack the stragglers in the Britannian military. It's a shame that we couldn't collect any further support from the other branches."
Guilford and Darlton both scowled at this reminder. Shortly after being taken aboard the castle, the two had attempted to contact any military personnel they had connections with. Much to their disappointment, though, most of their allegiance remained steadfastly with the emperor's decision. Only a couple of newer Privates and other soldiers who were brave enough to desert answered their call.
"It seems that several of the outlying rebel groups still in the area are offering assistance as well," Allura said, "Many are providing weapons and other resources at their disposal."
"Yes, General Katase made contact with me about an hour ago," Tohdoh nodded, "Several groups from Yamanashi and the remnants of the Blood of the Samurai are being rallied as we speak."
"Good, we'll have them focus on the Britannian ground troops," Zero said, "Try to keep them out of areas heavy with Galra forces."
"Still no word from the Knights of the Round?" Suzaku asked, glancing at Cornelia. Nonette was currently in the engineering area getting prepped for the Lancelot's new modifications, but she said she'd try to make contact with her colleagues in the meantime… She also admitted that it was unlikely they'd help due to being under the Emperor's direct orders and answering almost exclusively to him.
"No nothing," Cornelia shook her head, "We've been unable to make contact with any of the leadership either."
"You mean there's still no word from Prince Schneizel?" Guilford gasped.
"Nothing yet," Cornelia said with a frown. She still wanted to gut Schneizel for his stunt on the island, but having him as an ally at this point would be a hundred times better than not. She and Lelouch knew that it was extremely unlikely that Schneizel would support this, so if they couldn't get in contact with him, it was likely that the enemy had captured him. They would likely have to come up with a rescue operation if they managed to at least locate him.
"Well, we should find him then!" Suzaku said, "If he's with us, I'm sure more Britannian forces will be willing to side with Voltron."
"Suzaku, as much as I do agree, we don't have time," Zero said, "We don't even know where to start looking, or whether Schneizel's even still in the settlement or not!"
Allura had heard many mixed reviews about the Second Prince, most of which took a nosedive after Shikine Island. However, if cooperating with this ambiguously moral individual meant this planet would survive, she was willing to swallow her pride and do it. She had already agreed to work with Cornelia after all. "If we do manage to locate him during the battle, we'll assign a team to retrieve him," Allura decided, "But until then, I'm afraid Zero is correct."
"That's it then," Darlton said gravely, "Unless there's anything else that needs to be discussed?"
"No," Zero shook his head, "You all have your duties and squads assigned. It's time to get moving!"
With this final exclamation, everyone except Allura, who would monitor the battle from the bridge and provide the support Zero mentioned, exited the room.
'If the Britannian military wishes to side against us, so be it,' Lelouch thought gravely as he marched briskly toward Zen's chamber.
This was it. This was only a few Earth minutes until midnight. All the Voltron Coalition forces and their supporters from the insurrections had surrounded the settlement and were waiting anxiously for Zero to issue the order to attack. Up above the ruins they now occupied, Voltron himself hovered strongly at the front of the settlement, surrounded by hundreds of Seishin Knightmares, the Lancelot, Gawain, and the remaining Glaston Knights.
On the ground, there were also multiple ground-units, including tanks, armored vehicles, and infantry.
While Voltron's troops looked impressive, the settlement was also heavily guarded. Not just by the bulk of Britannia's military stationed there, but also a small Galran fleet. Dozens of Galra ships hovered around the Tokyo settlement, circling it like hawks ready to swoop in and snatch its prey.
"Hear me, Britannia! This is Zero!" Lelouch exclaimed from Voltron's head, "A rebel against oppressors who abuse their power! We will wait until midnight. You have until then to surrender! This is your only warning — heed it. Twelve midnight, not a single tic later!"
Lelouch didn't expect a reply, but according to the scans of the enemy they were picking up, the foe had begun to converge around the edge of the settlement. It seems they had their answer.
"So be it…" Lelouch murmurs mostly to himself before turning to the comms, "Rai, is the virus ready?"
"Affirmative!" Rai answered, "I have it automatically set to activate at midnight just like you said."
"Good. Now we wait, it seems…"
"Um… Lelouch?"
Lelouch blinked, and if one had been looking at him, they would have seen the faint circle of red around his iris.
"Milly?" he responded mentally, "What's wrong?"
"Well… This may be a bad time to bring it up, but when I went to Ashford to pick up my grandfather, I tried to look for Nina too. I couldn't find her, though. Shirley and Rivalz said they haven't seen her in a while either. Do… Do you think she's okay?"
"I'm sure she's fine, Milly," Lelouch reassured her, "She's likely been evacuated with the other civilians. Besides with us, that's likely the safest place she can be right now. We can try and find her after the battle."
"If you say so…"
The ring in Lelouch's eyes faded. They had yet to completely test out how far Milly's range could reach, but depending on it, especially if the Paladins were separated on different missions, Milly could easily be a liaison between teams. The only drawback they'd found with her Geass so far is that she could only use it on one person at a time, and she had to say the person's full legal name to connect to them.
"Lelouch," this time, it was Kallen's voice that drew his attention, and he turned on the video camera.
"What is it, Kallen?"
"I was just thinking… We know that Haggar's here somewhere, whether in the settlement or one of those ships. So… what the chances that Zarkon's here too?"
Lelouch didn't answer at first, but he felt his hands shake slightly. Despite not having seen the Galra overlord for a couple of months, the thought of facing him still terrified the Black Paladin. The… Violating feeling he felt when Zen was ripped from his grasp at the Galra HQ still haunted him, and he wondered if he was strong enough to stand up to the warlord this time.
Shaking his head, Lelouch looked up, "There's nothing we can do about that now. If Zarkon does show up, we'll deal with him."
"Um…" Now Rivalz's face joined Kallen's on Lelouch's console, "Not that I want Mr. Negative here, Lelouch, but the last time we fought Zarkon, he nearly wiped the floor with us. He almost killed Kallen and Suzaku, and they're the best pilots out of all of us!"
"It doesn't matter!" Suzaku's face joining the conversation, "We weren't expecting to fight Zarkon the last time. But we've gotten stronger since then. We're not going to let him beat us around this time!"
Lelouch nodded with a small smile before he sent a signal to Shirley, Milly, and Rai to turn their monitors on too.
"Listen, before this all starts," he said after the three appeared alongside the others, "I feel like I need to apologize to you all. I feel like I dragged you into my problems-"
"This again, Lelouch?!" Milly exclaimed, annoyed, "How many times do we need to tell you? None of this is your fault!"
"Yeah, if your dad weren't such an asshole, we wouldn't be in this situation!" Rivalz agreed.
"We all agreed to stand by you and see this through to the end!" Rai said, "No way we're backing out now!"
"We trust you, Lulu!" Shirley held up her fist confidently.
"We've been through a lot already as a team," Kallen said, "and we plan to keep it that way. So you're stuck with us."
"I...We're not abandoning you, Lelouch," Suzaku said, "Not like he did."
Lelouch struggled to keep the tears in his eyes from falling as he smiled at them all in gratitude.
"Thank you… All of you…"
With a final round of nods, his fellow Paladins cut the comms just as the timer reached zero.
Almost like a rippling earthquake, the Tokyo Settlement rattled at its foundation before collapsing in on itself like a giant sinkhole. From Voltron's head, Lelouch could see that a majority of Britannia's forces—Knightmares, tanks, armored vehicles—got caught in the shock of the attack as streets were ripped apart and buildings crumbled, some of which took out several enemy planes with them, and collapsed under them, leaving them buried and destroyed.
This seemed to spur several fighters into action, but before any could fire, the Castle of Lions descended from the clouds and with a blast from its central cannon, and shot straight through a Galra battleship, nearly cutting it in two. Seconds later, it erupted into a fiery inferno.
"You told me to learn the gambles of war, Father," he whispered aloud. But these words were not for him. They were for his sworn enemies, Zarkon and Charles zi Britannia, who had brought this tragedy to Earth, "But I think I've already learned them. Have you? You think your Galra allies will save you? You think Zarkon will come and protect you? None of that will change your fate. Hell, I welcome it even. It's what you wanted right? You want a war? Well, now you've got one."
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letstraveltoorion · 6 years
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Why a story about Master of Orion? (Part 2)
2018-09-10
 Although I explained why I’ve decided to do a story on Master of Orion, I’ve never really explained the reasons behind that story. Reasons that are both complexes and quite nebulous in some area.
 First, I must admit this is not my first attempt at writing. For as long as I remembered, I’ve tried very hard to come up with a story. Usually, those attempts were basically my take a story I liked and spines it my way. Today, I recognized those failed attempts as trial runs for a story one day I will write. Some of these failed starts were based on Yoko Tsuno (French Graphic novels), Robotech (my favourite setting), Battletech, Jovian Chronicles, Heavy Gear and others. All of them grandiose in my mind … all of them, except maybe one, were sent to oblivion.
 To be frank, I’ve lost faith in my abilities to come up with a good story. I keep dreaming but I never come up with anything … worth writing for. That is, until a couple of years ago … sometimes in 2016, I stumble upon “the dialogue”!
 The Seed
 One particular weekend of 2016, not fully awake yet, I surprised myself imagining a conversation between two entities in regard of a third party. It went like this:
 “They’re courageous and clever … maybe we should help them a bit?”
 “No!” Responded the second being. “Leave them! They are below our considerations, not worth our energies.”
 “Really?” interjected the first being, “I notice they have mastered the primary basic of nuclear energy, and they have managed to build a starship to travel beyond their solar system…”
 “Don’t be ridiculous!” Protested the other one. “Giving enough resources, time and a good dose of luck, any animals could develop nuclear weapons and build starships! It doesn’t mean they have reached enlightenment at all…”
 At this point, I “woke up” with the realization that “I got something! I do not know what it is, but I got something!”
 This realization leads me to reflect on our perception of civilizations throughout history and how we “rank” them through their scientific and technological achievements … but then, I came to ask: What if another civilization had “other” criteria’s? How “we” will be judged by “them”? What if a civilization put more value on the philosophical concepts rather than technology? Or how good are we to make the lands fertile and bountiful? Or in a more exotic way, what if they value magic or psi powers?
 Sure, I must not be the first one to think about these concepts but, it got me thinking about how I could explore these concepts…
 This was the seed for my story.
 The Field
 Having the seed is one thing, but to explore this seed to its full potential, I needed a canvas, a sandbox, where I could explore and play with it in any way I saw fit. I chose “Master of Orion” mainly because I enjoyed the game and working a story in that setting should to be fun to do. I said “should”, as it turns out much more work than I originally thought. To be honest, Master of Orion is just a frame for my story. A strong and solid frame in where I can weave anything I want. This frame provided me with textures and flavours along with a general guide line or a starting point to depart from.
 Since that frame is quite neutral, neither good nor bad, this means for the story I’m writing that it success or failure will rest solely on my shoulders…
 Damn! This is pretty heavy.
 The Water
 Following my original reasoning, I started to gather data to assist me in my world-building process. During that time, I stumble upon two pieces of information that would shape both the type of story I will tell but also the background of the story…. The primordial “spark” if you wish.
 The first information was the myth of Orion himself. On how he would hunt and kill every creature of the Earth was stopped by a scorpion sent by the gods and also, on how both were placed in the sky as constellations … the Scorpion forever chasing Orion in the Milky Way.
 Now, I’m sure the people at Microprose probably never thought of the full implications in symbolism then when they put out their second game Master of Orion: Battle at Antares. On how this title fit perfectly with the mythology of Orion.
 The second information I stumble upon was the fact that Orion was known as Osiris by the ancient Egyptians. This in turn, let me investigate the ancient Egyptian’s myth which proves to be a bountiful as I’ve found many elements I could apply into my story.
 As you can see, this is an opportunity way too good to pass up…. Those ancient myths, or at least some part of them, could be used a background source for long past events that shaped the current universe. So, Mythology will be the water of my story; past events have dramatically affected the galaxy and those ramifications are still felt today.
 Mythology also gave me a way to study the interaction between the gods and the mortal. Why? Because: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” (Arthur C. Clark). Which means that if mankind has to, one day, deal with a type II or type III civilization (from the Karshev’s Scale), their achievement will look like magic to us and they will probably act like gods toward us.
 As water is required for life to grow, I will use mythological tales to infuse life in my story; especially when I have to deal with occurrences that happened thousands of years ago that are still impacting the current events of today.
 The Fertilizers
 Because a story is, like any other story, a living thing that will grow and evolve as I’m writing it, I will also require some “fertilizer” to help it grow. In this particular case, this will apply to the multitudes of books, novel, comic books and Bandes-dessinnées (French Graphic Novel) I have at my disposal. As I move forward, those books and publications that inspire me for this story will be posted into my Bibliography section of my blog. Also, by reading the description I’ll write about them, you’ll be able to see and understand what part of this specific book or story is fuelling my imagination. But here a few examples:
 RPG
Among these sources, you’ll find Role Playing Games (RPG) such as Traveller and 2300 AD, mostly for their world-building materials (very good sources of inspirations). Empire Galactique, one of the rare French RPG by François Nedelec which I love because it gave me a sense of grandeur of what could be a real Galactic Empire. Although the rules are a bit obsolete, its encyclopedia galactica gave me a sets of rules for commerce and judicial systems.
 There is also the series Numenéra and their Cypher system by Monte Cook, which include other universe like the Strange, Predations, etc. But Mostly Numenéra because it gave me a visual look of what could be the left-over of a type one or two civilizations. Without their work, my imagination would never have flared up as it did for this project.
 But before I go any further, I must also do a special mention to an almost forgotten RPG from TSR (now Wizard of the Coast); the grandfather of the sci-fi genre in the RPG industry… I named Starfrontiers! Launched on the heel of Advanced Donjons & Dragons, perhaps around the same times as Traveller, this game capitalized on the AD&D enthusiasm, this little space opera RPG, although quite cheese by today’s standards, had quite a few details right and to my surprise, can still be relevant today with only a few slight modifications. But what I retain the most from that game was their antagonist: the Sathar! The sathars were an alien race that were enigmatic, sneaky, highly advanced in cybernetic and very deadly … all the marks of a great villain.
 There is also the multitude of books of the G.U.R.P.S. by Steve Jackson Games. Due to the intensive research that went into those books, they provided me background or layout on subject I was not familiar with or, like the rest of us, got warped vision of Hollywood and TV shows.
 Also, I need to include the multitude universes published by Palladium Books. Their unique take on different subjects was enough to fire my imaginations. Going from their high fantasy world of Paladium World to their post-apocalyptic future of Rifts, and not forgetting their take on the Vietnam War, or the Robotech franchise to their Superhero or super spy genre, every one of them had something to contribute or get inspiration from.
��Lastly, I must also include the work of Games Workshop in Warhammer 40,000. Not because of their dystopia future they describe but for the simple fact it was the, maybe not the first, but the most recent example of what it would take to have an Empire on a GALACTIC scale. On that level, their take on the subject is unchallenged and unmatched.
 Books and Novels
 Other sources of inspiration come from old stories and novels, such as the work of A. E Van Vogt (more specifically the novella “The Monster [a.k.a. Resurrection]” published in 1948. There is also the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs [mostly the Barsoom series] who are still a great source of inspiration for me.
 Another writer is Edmond Hamilton who happens to be the writer of one of my childhood hero Capitaine Flam [Captain Future in English]. I didn’t make the link between both of them until a few years back. At the time my favourite story by him was “the Dead Planet”, which I read as part of an anthology. It was when I started to do my research for this current work that I came to the realization of who he was and de facto gave me a greater respect for the man and his work.
 Of course, there are many other writers whom I can name here but let just say it will be easier to simply read about them in my Bibliography section of my blog. However, I can’t end this part of my reasoning without talking about one of the most influential piece of science-fiction to me: Perry Rhodan.
 Perry Rhodan is a German science-fiction serial novel that started in 1961 and still going strong today. The brainchild of Karl-Herbert Scheer and Clark Darlton, their story started with the first venture of man to the moon and ended up pitching our hero onto a massive galactic background. Right from the beginning, the series had beam weapons, jump drives, teleportation, psychic powers, alien [both humanoid and not], positronic brain, robots, a dying galactic empire, etc. If one thing could define the series, it is the scales of things: EVERYTHING is done on an epic scale. Going from ships that vary between 800 metres and 2.5 km, to planet size arsenal and factories, to engineering on a galactic scale … everything is HUGE. Trust me, what could be a better source of inspiration if you want to do an epic space opera than the grandfather of the genre?
 Out of my French side, there are also two little-known writers that I really enjoyed and have influenced my work: Frank Dartal and P.-J. Hérault. Frank Dartal, on which I could barely find any information at all, wrote stories in the 70s and 80s that are still readable by today’s standard … which is quite an achievement if you think about it. The second, P.-J. Hérault, impressed by his profound humanity and his love for flying which he managed to infuse all of his work.
 Games
 As I mentioned earlier, two games that I plan to use as a source of inspiration and, also I might also include elements of both in my story. The first one is another computer game by Binary System and the other is Galactic Empires, the collective card game by Companion Games.
 Starflight … back in the late 80s that game was one of the best in the genre. Part action, part quest, part exploration and part business … but most important, 100 percent fun. Back then, it is quite poetic to have a ship for which you had to hire the right crew and be sent on a mission to find the cause that makes your sun going nova. As you explore the space around you, collecting minerals and clues, meeting aliens and fighting some implacable enemies, until you find the culprit and destroy it. As I said, 100% fun! However, it was in their sequel, Starflight 2, that Binary System lifted the veil on some of the questions that were left unanswered in the first game. Mainly who were the Uhlek and where they came from. This origin story game me the idea of a great antagonist, a Sauron or Galactus type of antagonist that may, one day come to threaten all life in the galaxy, if not the universe itself. Lastly, because the game was so good, I might include some of their alien races in my story. The beauty of it all is that it will mix perfectly to what I want to write and it will not contradict what was already published in Master of Orion. But don’t worry I’m still very far from that goal and I do not even know if I’ll ever reach that point … as it stands right now.
 This brings me to the second game: Galactic Empires. This game came out in the wake of Magic the Gathering card game. However, although well thought the game never really took off. However, they had some great ideas in it. Because of this, I intent to use some of them in my story. More specifically things like spatial phenomena, some space creature, a few strange planet and, of course, some alien races. Among those are the Krebiz Capitalist Alliance, the Indirigan Tribes [space nomads] and but not least, the Space Dragons.
 What? Space Dragons? Well, since there was a space dragon event in the very first Master of Orion, I thought it could be nice to reintroduce them in my story … but I intent of tweaking them to make them a bit more … galactic!
 That said, there are also numerous movies and TV shows that I could name but I need to conclude this so…
 In conclusion, the main reason why I’m doing this is to give a canvas for my creativity and a means to keep my sanity. In the last few years, I came to realize that one of the reasons I was not happy at my work was the simple fact that I had no venue for my creativity. The day-to-day work only serves to grind my mind and personality into dust. That if I didn’t do something fast I was running the risk to see my soul die! And because the feeling of being useless and powerless can kill a man as surely as a gun or cyanide would be the main motivation for this story.
I am not looking for fame or fortunes. I just want to write and tell a good story that will entertain you and make you dream a bit… If you like what I wrote and make you want to know more … then I have reached my goal.
 Nothing more, nothing less.
 Come on board, the journey is about to start and, I hope, it will be amazing.
 Alain Vollant.
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