Voltron: V4
                                 LEGEND
     
                             part 3: Discovery
                                 by Mea
     
          "...And this is my staff," said Professor Windum, presenting each
     member to the royal visitors.  "Allow me to introduce you to my good
     friends and colleagues, Barbara and Rachel... my assistants and site
     foremen, Stacey and Glenn... and this is Tamy, she keeps visual records
     of the dig... And Shannon, my main records keeper... Eddie here
     specializes in Historic Technologies... And this is Josh and his lovely wife
     Christi... Oh, and this is  Shelly and Mary, scholars in Arusian Society and
     Legend... and Thomas, Arusian History and Development... and these are
     some of my students, here to help with the dig.   There's one more, but I'm
     afraid that Scott just left  a moment ago to show some other visitors the
     site, but he should be back soon. He can't wait to meet all of you."
          "A pleasure," said Keith, shaking each hand in turn.  The members
     of the dig seemed genuinely happy to see off-worlders, like him and Allura,
     take such an interest in their work, and it was good to see faces that were
     happy to see him, particularly after the aircar ride here.
          Lord Kyr had taken no steps to hide his disdain for the pilot and his
     presence there. Kyr hadn't actually said anything to that effect of course;
     he didn't need to the way the ruler of Telos pointedly ignored him the entire
     trip, preferring instead to focus his attentions on Princess Allura.
     Thankfully, his advances had cooled so they were no longer as forward as
     they had been when they first met, but Kyr still made every effort avoid
     acknowledging there was any one else there except for the Princess and
     himself.  Allura took the attentions gracefully, but Keith knew her well
     enough to tell she was very VERY uncomfortable, and there was nothing
     he could do about it.  Kyr was royalty, and that tended to outrank a mere
     commander most of the time.
          He had found some quiet sympathy in Prime Minister Lynn.  It was
     obvious from the expression on her face that she was embarrassed by her
     sovereign's behavior, though there was also nothing she could do about it. 
     The look she gave Keith was a silent apology for the obvious snubbing
     he'd received.
          Thankfully, the ride was over, and they were here.
          "Here" was a makeshift camp built near the edge of the "Scar", a
     geologically rough box canyon that stuck out fro the rich greenery of the
     planet like a gouged wound.  A collection of scholars and students had
     gathered to meet them from the many tents and other makeshift shelters
     that were dispersed around the rocky ground in no obvious order,
     peppered with various pieces of small digging equipment, trays, screens,
     brushes, tanks, storage lockers, and so forth.  
          The nucleus of the seeming chaos was a hole.  A HUGE hole,
     about seven feet in diameter that stretched downward as to appear to be
     bottomless.  A reinforced scaffold had been constructed over the hole,
     several cables looped over a set of turning pulleys and a running
     motorized mechanism fed in and out of the blackness.  
          "There it is," Professor Windum beamed like a proud father. "Down
     there. You can't see it but we've been working a little over a week, and
     already it looks like it's going to be the find of the century. As soon as the
     lift comes back, I'll take you four down to see the ship.  You'll be AMAZED,
     I promise you."
          "I didn't realize your project had been progressing so quickly,
     Professor."
          "Yes, my Lord Kyr, it has," the professor's tone faltered.  "I did send
     a report to the palace for you... um, maybe it was misplaced in transit...
          "No, Professor.  It arrived.  I'm afraid I didn't have a chance to
     review it as... in depth as I should."   
          Odd, Keith thought, Kyr almost seems apologetic.
          "Professor Windum," Allura asked, "Forgive me, but how can you
     be certain the ship is Arusian?"
          "There are several factors, your Highness.  First, there was the
     general age, and design of the ship, from what we could see of it, Then,
     when we uncovered a door..."
          Keith hung back as the other three gathered around the lecturing
     archeologist; something bothered him, but he couldn't quite put his finger
     on it.  There was something in the air...
          His apprehension increased when he noticed the aircar driver
     approach the Prime Minister and whisper something to her which caused
     the color to drain from her face.  She then stepped over to Lord Kyr, and
     ushered him away from the others.
          "Lord Kyr," Allura called over to them,"Is there something wrong?"
          The Prime Minister quietly whispered something to him, and the
     young lord's entire face changed. Kyr's expression was odd; worry,
     coupled with... something else Keith couldn't place.  What ever the news
     was, it was not good.
          Everyone fell silent.
          Kyr opened his mouth to speak, hesitated, then began again.
          "I have been told... that... that a group of unidentified ships has
     entered Telos' atmosphere a few minutes ago." His voice belied that he
     knew more than he was saying.
          "How many-" the princess began before a gasp from one of the
     students interrupted her.  Keith followed their gaze to the sky where a
     formation of black specs had appeared.
          The formation was familiar; so familiar he didn't need to see the
     ships to know what they were: they were Doom fighters.
          He felt Allura behind him step closer as they both stared at the dark
     ship rapidly approaching from the distance. 
          "Keith, you don't think..?"
          "I don't know, Princess," he said, his voice cool and even, "but we
     should find these people some cover.  I have a bad feeling I know where
     their target is."  
          +    +    +    +    +    +
          "Wo-whe! How deep IS this hole?"
          "About a mile, Sir," answered Scott.
          "Oh please, you're makin' me feel old.  Just call me Owen."
          "Yes S... Owen."
          "See?  That's better.  Isn't that better?" he asked the stoic royal
     defender next to him, though he didn't react to the question at all.  Mira
     was beginning to wonder if the Telosian was even capable of relaxing.  
          They'd been riding a small metal lift down a shaft left by a large
     mining drillbit for several minutes, and there was still no sign of the bottom. 
     For most of the trip, the only sound had been the rhythmic ratchet of the
     pulley system that lowered them into the darkness, giving an oppressive
     air to the trip until Owen's comment had broken the gloom.
          Mira swallowed and popped her ears.  "Is it going to be much
     longer?"
          "Not much longer," the young archeologist replied.  He started
     fidgeting nervously with the railing.
          Mira sighed.  "Oh well... Lovely scenery," she added, looking
     halfheartedly at the plain brown rock that surrounded them.
          "I dunno, " mused Owen, "A little paint, a few curtains.... The place
     could be downright homey."
          "Owen!?" She smiled in spite of herself.
          "Come now, doncha think a little color would do wonders for this
     place?"
          "Mmm... The paint, maybe.  But where are you going to find
     curtains this size, hmm?"
          There was a snort as their guide tried to stifle a laugh.  Mira noticed
     he wasn't fidgeting anymore.  He looked a little more relaxed now, which
     made her feel better.  On the other hand, the Telosian Guardian hadn't so
     much as twitched.
          "So, uh... Scott," said Owen as he leaned against the railing. "Tell
     this old space tramp a little about this thing we're journeying to the center
     of the planet to see."
          "Well," Scott began, slowly gaining speed like a gossip with a juicy
     story to tell, "See, there was this mining group, and they got a contract to
     dig this area, because they thought they might get lucky and find meteor
     alloy or some rare mineral left over from whatever made the Scar.  Well,
     they started drilling, and then BAMMO!  The drill hits something and the
     drillbit just shatters.  They can't figure it out, since those things are
     designed to drill through just about anything, so they send something down
     to check it out, and they find these metal plates like the hull of a ship, but
     no one can figure out where it came from so they call around and finally
     someone calls the university and Dr. Windum comes down and starts
     doing tests on it, and he figures out that whatever it is had been down
     there for almost a century, which is WAY before Telos was colonized, and
     he starts getting a crew together to study it further, which was us, and we
     start poking around down there, well, not really poking, but we set up the
     dig and start clearing away a lot of dirt so we can see it better, and then,
     all the sudden, we'd barely cleared any of it, we find this hatchway, and it's
     got the Royal Seal of Arus, BUT it's not the Royal Seal of Arus they use
     today, it's one from before the Purges, which was way before the Second
     Galactic Expansion, when Arus went through a really bad war of
     succession, because the previous King, King Solon the Second, had
     disappeared without any heirs, and the guy who eventually GOT the
     throne, Haden the First, well he was a little crazy and started burning all
     the records and killing off the intellectuals, which lead to the Second
     Arusian Dark Age, though it was a lot darker than the First Arusian Dark
     Age, which was back when Arus was first colonized during the First
     Galactic Expansion and wasn't really a 'dark age', but we still call it that,
     but anyway, after the Second Dark Age, when Marcus the First got the
     throne and became the first Scholar King everything had changed so
     much, they no longer used the seal and they had to come up with a new
     one so-"
          Scott's history lesson was interrupted by a tectonic rumble that
     shook the lift.
          "What was THAT?" asked Owen, his eyes darting around warily.
     "Don't tell me we're on a fault line?"
          Scott looked even more bewildered than the rest of them.  "This
     area's supposed to be completely stable.  I don't understand!"
          "Shh," Mira shushed them.  "Listen."
          They listened.  For a moment, the only sounds was the rhythmic
     clacking of the lift's continuing descent.  Then, a low rumble that shook
     both them and the earth surrounding them, followed by another, and
     another.
          "I was wrong," Owen murmured, breaking their silence.  "That's no
     earthquake."
          "Explosions." said Mira in a quiet, somber voice.  "Some kind of
     large ammunition, like laser cannon fire. Or worse."
          She looked hard at the Royal Defender of Telos.  "They're here.
     Just like I said.  I only hope you're people are ready."
          Scott looked at the two of them, confused.  "Wait. Who's here? 
     What are you-"
          Without warning, the lift tipped violently to one side as one of the
     cables far above gave way.  Everyone on board instinctively grabbed
     something and held on.  Everyone except Scott, who lost his footing,
     screamed, and slipped under the railing.
          "NO!" Mira yelled as she dove across the lift.  She barely managed
     to catch his wrist with one hand as he fell, yet still managed to grab the
     railing with the other hand to keep herself from following him over the side. 
     Scott's full weight bore down on her, and for a moment, she thought her
     arm was going to be pulled out of the socket, but she refused to let go 
     Below her, the young archeologist dangled, his face pale and contorted in
     panic.  
          The lift never stopped moving.  It swung itself unstably as it
     continued to descend. The broken cable, still attached to the lift, whipped
     downward with a metallic shriek and snapped at the small transport as the
     end spiraled past.
          "Hold on, I think I can reach the brake!" Owen called.
          "NO!" Mira yelled back; she's slid another inch towards the edge. 
     "Let it run!  If we stop suddenly, I might lose him!"
          Besides, she added mentally, if it breaks, I don't want to have to fall
     too far.
          Scott was starting to hyperventilate, "I'm going to die!"
          "You are NOT going to die!" Mira shot back, "I won't let you! But
     you're going to have to help me!"
          "I can't!" 
          "You're going to have to, otherwise you're going to drag us both
               over!"    
          Something clamped onto her ankle.  She managed a quick look
     behind her to see Telos' guardian anchor her leg as he held on to the rails
     with his other arm and braced himself against the slanted floor of the lift.
          "Owen!" he called.
          "Gotcha," answered Owen, and anchored her other leg. 
     Somewhere above, the rumblings continued, along with a small rain of
     dust and pebble.
          Carefully, she released her grip the railing, and when she didn't
     start to slide off, she reached out to the archeologist.
          "Give me your hand!"
          "I.. I don't..."
          "No!  Give me your hand!"
          Scott looked around frantically.
          "Come ON!"
          Screwing up his courage, the archeologist swung his arm upward
     and caught Mira's outstretched hand.
          "Good!" she called back.  "Now, I'll help you, but you have to help
     me also, and try to pull yourself up!"
          She could see the determination on his face now as he strained to
     haul himself out of danger.  She pulled as well, feeling the grip on her
     ankles tighten with each swing of the lift.
          Another rumble from above was quickly followed by a violent tremor
     that almost bashed the lift against the rock wall.  Scott nearly lost his grip,
     and Mira felt herself start to slide forward before the two men managed to
     stop her.  The edge of the lift dug into the bottom of her ribs as she got a
     good look at the dark expanse beneath them, and vertigo swam in her
     stomach.
          This was not good.
          +    +    +    +    +    +
          "This is not good," muttered Keith as the Doom fighters closed in for
     another run.   The ships had swooped down from above, strafing the dig
     with laser fire as if anything there posed a threat to them.  Most of the
     tents were leveled in the first run, and were either flattened or burning;
     even the lift had taken some damage from nearby blasts, but stubbornly
     continued to run.
          The rocky cliffs of the Scar offered some cover, but it wouldn't be
     enough if the ships started firing closer, Keith thought.  There's a good
     chance they might not make it out alive. 
          He forced himself to turn and look at the people behind him; the
     ones who had gotten caught up in this insanity.  The look they gave him
     frightened him; it was a pleading look that said "We're going to be okay
     because you're here, right?" and he knew that he couldn't answer "yes".
          He turned away. They wanted a miracle and he didn't have one to
     give.
          Behind him, he heard Allura's voice over the noise, entreating them
     to remain calm.  He heard their frightened questions and whispers as they
     tried to understand what was happening, and then he heard Lord Kyr's
     voice advising them to listen to the princess, reassuring them that both he
     and his visitors would protect them.
          Protect them, with what?  A few laser pistols against fighters?
          He briefly considered trying his radio again but decided against it. 
     The message that had warned them was the last transmission before a
     jamming filed, probably from the fighters, had started and blocked all
     further transmissions both in and out.
          Three of the fighters broke formation and were starting to land
     nearby.  Keith's fingers flexed on his sidearm as he watched their crews
     disembark and begin to search the ruins of the site for resistance.  He
     watched them intently to see if they were coming his direction.
          For some reason, everything seemed to darken.  He looked up.
          Overhead, a huge ship loomed over the dig, blocking the sun.  It
     wasn't a warship; the design was wrong, but it was still well-armed and
     armored.  The ship hovered above them, as if waiting.
          The Doom troopers were getting closer.
          "Everyone, back up," Keith hissed, "And stay down.  We may have
     company."
           "But what about Scott, and the others?  They're still down there!"
     Dr Windum protested.
          "Right now," Keith answered grimly,"I think they're a lot safer than
     the rest of us."
          +    +    +    +    +    +
          "Come on, Scott! Climb! You can do it!"
          "...I'm TRYING!"
          Scott's face was pale, but determined.  His arms strained to pull
     himself up to the platform.
          From her precarious position halfway off the lift, Mira pulled as well. 
     Her arms were starting to tire but she wasn't about to let the boy drop.  A
     bead of sweat rolled down her nose; she wanted to wipe it away, but
     couldn't.  Instead she gave her head a quick shake and watched the
     droplet fall into the blackness below.
          "Try to grab the rail," she called to him, "It'll help!"
          The archeologist didn't answer, but the line of concentration on his
     face deepened.  Between the two of them, they'd brought his hand close
     to the base of the metal railing that encircled the lift.
          In one brief motion, he let go of Mira's arm and grabbed the railing
     with a white-knuckle grip.
          "I DID it!" he called excitedly.
          From the back of the lift, she heard Owen cheer "Way to go, Kid! 
     Keep going!"
          "Right, right, okay..."
          Mira heard him take a dep breath.  His weight shifted as he hooked
     his arm around the pole.  His other arm let go of her and clung to anther
     part of the railing as he then tried to swing his legs up to the relative safety
     of the swinging, descending platform.
          "Almost," he grunted, "almost..."
          "Doing great, kid!"
          "...Almost... THERE!"
          Scott rolled himself the rest of the way onto the lift and promptly
     wrapped himself around the railing, shaking, breathing hard, but safe. 
     There was a collective sigh of relief.
          A dull thudding sound from above was the only warning they got
     before the shower of rocks hurtled down at them. One of the largest ones
     crashed into the side of the lift and sent it crashing into the wall of the
     shaft.  Owen and the Telosian guardian lost their grip on Mira's legs.  She
     started to slide.
          "JENNY!!" Owen cried.
          Mira still had hold of one of the rails and instead of sliding off, her
     body twisted, banging her legs into another part of the railing.  She didn't
     fall.
          "I'm okay!" she called back, though her shins hurt from the bruising
     they'd just received.  "We're both okay, right Scott?"
          There was a mumble from the archeologist, which was a good as a
     "yes".
          She shifted her position to something a little more secure and
     looked up at her other two companions.  The Telosian was as white as a
     sheet, but it looked his color was coming back after the scare, and Owen...
     he looked relieved too, but...
          The once regular clacking of the lift's mechanism skipped another
     "clack".  
          The light on the lift flickered.
          One cable was already gone.
          Mira wondered if this ride was ever going to end.
          Scott remained curled into his secure lump.  He was muttering
     something.  She listened carefully; it sounded like he was saying
     "ohGodohGodohGodohGod..." over and over again.
          "I see something!"
          It was the Telosian: he was pointing downward.  Mira looked and
     saw instead of the blackness, a grey expanse of metal plating.
          Scott lifted his head slightly.  "That's it," he said, "That's the ship!" 
     He laughed.  "We made it!"
          "'Bout friggin' time!" grumbled Owen, but there was a relieved smile
     on his face.  "We might actually live through this."
          "Maybe, but first we have to be sure that the roof doesn't cave in on
     us.  And there's a lot of roof."
          "Don't remind me."
          +    +    +    +    +    +
          The Doom soldiers, ten he could see, were a few yards away, still
     searching for survivors.
          Keith had never liked being outnumbered, or outgunned, but he was
     going to have to deal with both once again.  He leaned against the rocks
     and watched them silently, waiting to see signs if they'd been discovered.  
          He turned his eyes to Allura who watched form the other side of the
     opening in an unspoken question.  Her answer was an equally silent shake
     of her head; no she hadn't seen anything helpful or otherwise.  Since he
     had known her, he had watched her grow into her new role as soldier as
     well as princess, which made him feel a little less outgunned.  Instead of
     one, it was two (the Telosian party hadn't been armed) against the
     soldiers, the fighters, and whatever the large ship hovering overhead was.
          Something overhead began to glow a strange yellow-green.  He
     heard Allura gasp.
          The ship over head was powering up something on its underbelly. 
     Its glow intensified, getting stronger like a tiny sun, before it spat forth a
     huge beam of energy that tore into the ground and gouged deeply into the
     planet.
          It was after the ship, Keith was sure of it.  That thing was here to
     dig it up and take it back to Doom.
          And without their lions, there was nothing that he or Allura could do
     about it.
          +    +    +    +    +    +
          The underground shaft widened into a cavern as they got closer to
     the buried ship where excavators had cleared away the dirt in order to
     study the mysterious artifact. 
          It was huge.
          Obviously only a small portion of it had been uncovered, but
     evidently the entire ship was easily the size of a building, maybe even the
     size of the royal palace judging from the way the shape of the hull.  That
     and something about it felt inexplicably vast and powerful; it seemed to
     radiate it like invisible spotlight.
          The metal hull was scattered with rocks and dirt from above.  One
     side sunk back into the surrounding earth, but the edge was ringed in a
     makeshift railing broken every few yards by a ladder leading down the
     side.  A large crane-like machine stood near the edge as well, obviously
     there to lower the heavier equipment to the lower level; its canopy had
     caved in on one side and its windows were a spiderweb of cracks from the
     heavy boulder that had fallen on it from above.
          After what had seemed like an eternity to its riders, the tilted lift
     finally bumped up against the exposed hull and settled to a stop safely.
          Mira's body relaxed; she had to fight the urge to kiss the metal
     ground now that there was no more danger of experiencing free fall
     without a chute.  Part of her didn't want to move, but she could hear the
     others around her start to leave, so reluctantly she straightened up.
          The Telosian soldier offered her a hand.
          "Thanks," she said, letting him help her to her feet. 
          "Your welcome," he answered.
          "Look, um... I forgot to ask; what should I call you?  I know you
     have a title but, well... I am a little new here."  She gave a weak smile.
          "I am the Royal Defender, Protector of the Throne, Guardian to my
     Lord.  But I'd prefer it if you called me just Jared."
          "Just... Jared? I don't understand."
          "You and I, we are equals. After what you did up there, saving our
     guide, you are worthy of the name 'Protector' as well."
          Mira blushed a little. "Oh.  Um...thanks. Really, I just... I wasn't
     thinking.  That was just instinct."
          There was a low steady rumble from above.
          "Well that can't be good," Owen remarked. "Instead of gabbing, I
     think we should do something, before all that up there decides that gravity
     is a good idea.  And soon?"
          "Owen's right.  We need a real roof.  Scott, is there a door into this
     thing?"
          "Over there," Scott said pointing to a ladder affixed at the edge of
     the craft, "On the lower side.  We-"
          "Great.  Let's go.  Now!"
          She was the last of the for to make the short climb down the side of
     the hull to the area that had been widened off the existing shaft in order to
     study the ship more.  The door Scott had mentioned was embedded in the
     side of the bulkhead and looked like an auxiliary entrance, maybe even an
     airlock.  It was surrounded by the equipment the archeologists had been
     using to study it, one machine still wired to the locking mechanism. 
     Whatever the door may have been, it looked very solid and the small
     overhang of the doorframe didn't offer much protection from falling rocks.
               "What'rya watin' for, kid?  Open it."
          Scott cringed.  "The Professor's been trying to open it since we
     uncovered it but..."
          "Wait," Mira cut in.  "You mean we can't get in?" 
          "Well, I did have this theory I wanted to try..."
          "A theory?"
          "Professor Windum seemed to like when I told him this afternoon; I
     started with his notes and then with Old Arus' heraldry being primarily a
     base-four pattern and maybe-"
          "Never mind Scott, just try it.  Now.  Please."
          The young archeologist nodded and knelt at the machine wired to
     the lock.  "I think I need some help here."
          "What do you need," Jared volunteered.
          "I just need you to watch the lock and tell me if it does anything. 
     Anything lights up, if you hear it do anything.  That would help a lot."
          The two set to work as Owen and Mira waited, backed up against
     the hull in case of more falling rocks.
          "Hope this doesn't take long," Owen muttered,"Being buried alive is
     not one of my top ten ways I'd like to go."
          Mira mumbled an affirmative, but she had other things on her mind.
          "Owen, who's Jenny?"
          "Jenny?  Don't think I know-"
          "You called me 'Jenny' when I almost fell."
          Owen looked down at the floor and didn't say anything for a minute. 
     When he did speak, his voice was much quieter.
          "You caught that, huh."
          She nodded.
          "I was hoping you didn't notice."
          "Is that why you've been helping me so much?  I remind you of
     her?"
          "A bit.  But it's not what you're thinking," he added quickly.
          He slumped a little against the bulkhead before he went on, his
     eyes focused off somewhere far away, looking at a memory.  
          "She'd be about your age now.  Full of spunk and fire.  And so
     tenacious... I think she got it from both of us, but she got her hair from her
     mother, and she had my eyes..."
          "Jenny is..?"
          "My daughter.  Was my daughter... She died almost eight years
     ago.  A riding accident, the horse got spooked and threw her and she
     landed on her head.  She lingered a few days, but there wasn't anything
     the doctors could do except make her comfortable.  Even with all this
     technology, there's still a few things we can't do, I guess.
          "I was near Brahos stationed on the S.S. Argo during the war there. 
     I didn't even hear about the accident until after she was gone.  Rose told
     me about, how she just wanted her Daddy at the end.  Broke my heart. 
     She kept asking 'Where's Daddy?' over and over.  I couldn't forgive myself
     for that.  I don't think Rose could either.  She left me not long after that."
          "...I'm sorry," Mira said.
          "It's all right," he answered, a bit of his habitual smile starting to
     return.  "The thing between Rose and me had been had been brewing for
     a while, it was bound to happen.  My fault really; I'd been so caught up in
     soldiering, I completely forgot about what was important, so afterward, I
     resigned my commission and decided to stop missing things.  Went
     freelance, have my own schedule, which gives me time to appreciate
     things, and haven't had any regrets since.  Well, not serious ones.  
          "You know, I never told Hawkins?  After all this time, I never told
     him.  Don't know why.  The two of us, we were like THIS.  And look at me,
     tellin' someone I just met... You know, when this is over, I think I'm going
     to tell him the whole story, if we live through this."
          There was a low rumble form above and a moment later, a small
     rain of pebbles.
          "Yeah," Mira murmured, "If we live through this."
          "I DON'T BELIEVE IT!  IT WORKED!!"
          The two looked over at the archeologist, who sat opened mouth,
     gaping at the readouts form the machine in front of him.  His helper had
     taken a guarded step back from his position next to the door.  Behind the
     rumbling noise, Mira thought she heard the sound of machinery.
          "You got it?"
          "The Professor almost had it, but he was using one as the first digit,
     where if you use zero to three you get-"
          "Did you get it?" she demanded.
          "Look!" he pointed happily.
          The door slid the rest of the way open to reveal a small alcove
     and...
          "Another door," Owen groaned.  "Wouldn'tcha know it.  Of course,
     it's an blasted airlock!"
               Mira sighed wearily.  "Let's hope we can get through this one a little
          quicker." 
          "Wait!" Scott protested, "We shouldn't disturb it too much!  We
     need to take photos, record how everything upon opening the door, check
     for particle traces and-"
          Behind him, a large rock feel from the roof and landed with a loud
     "THUD!"
          "-I guess maybe we can forget it this time."  Then he added quietly
     "Professor Windum is going to kill me."
          "Don't worry," Jared assured him, "Under the circumstances, I think
     he'll understand."
          Mira missed most of this exchange.  Something in the back of her
     awareness called her forward to the crest set in relief on the doorway: it
     was a four-pointed star made from pieces of colored crystals radiating out
     from a central core made of silver.  She stared at it, slowly reached out
     and touched it.
          For the barest fraction of a second, the metal was so cold it burned,
     as if it were made of liquid nitrogen; her hand recoiled instinctively as the
     spark of sensation shot up her arm.  And then...
          She touched it again (she wasn't sure why), the sensation was
     gone.  The metal was smooth and cool to the touch, but not the extreme
     cold she felt moments before.  Odd.  Maybe she had imagined it, that it
     had been only a static charge, or... well, something else?
          A new sound made the four of them jump; the sound of machinery
     from deep within the ship.  Mira stepped back, nearly bumping into the two
     Telosians, and wondered what was happening now.
          The door with the crests slowly and methodically opened.
          Scott gaped at her.  "How did you DO that?"
          "I don't know," she answered, not taking her eyes off the doors, "All
     I did was touch it."
          Air that hadn't been outside the metal ship flowed out in a cool rush. 
     It smelled clean, not musty or stale, as it should have after being buried for
     so long.
          "Ya' think it's safe?" Owen murmured at her side.
          "I think it's safer than out here.  Is that enough?"
          He frowned.  "I don't know... Hey, where's the kid goin'?"
          Scott had stepped forward as if in a trance.  His eyes were wide as
     if he were physically trying to wrap them around the scene before him.  His
     jaw hung open in pure soundless awe. He would have walked in without
     any hesitation if a strong hand hadn't caught his shoulder.  Snapped out of
     his stupor, he spun around to confront the Royal Defender of Telos.
          "What?  What's wrong?"
          The soldier's face was firm.  "You have no idea what's in there; it
     could be dangerous."
          "I agree," said Mira, then added "That it COULD be dangerous, but
     so's this place and let's just say I'd rather be in there than standing in there
     than out here if the roof goes, and judging from that noise, it's not going to
     last much longer.  Let's go, but we'll be really REALLY careful."
          "Taking the frying pan instead of the fire?"  Owen supplied.
          "Basically.  Ready?  Here goes..."
          With that, she stepped through the doorway and into the ship with
     the others following close behind.
          +    +    +    +    +    +    
          General Norak glared at his officer.  "Why is it taking so long?" he
     demanded.  "No doubt we've been detected by now!"
          "Sir, the weapon is buried deeper than we expected, and it is much
     larger than our estimates."
          Norak growled but continued to pace the bridge.  
          "With the Voltron Force nearby, it won't be long before both they
     AND Telos' fleet mobilize," he muttered, thinking aloud.  "And then... 
     There's no choice."
          "Tell the excavator crew to get Haggar's creature ready to activate
     on my mark.  I will not lose this prize now, not when I'm this close."
          "Yessir."
          He paused in front of one of the monitors that showed a feed from
     one of the ships on-planet.  A huge hole was being carved out of the
     planet, and down below... he could see it, his mission, his prize; it was
     humongous.  And powerful, he was sure of it.  Within that metal shell, his
     weapon waited; he could imagine feeling its radiating power from space.
          "Sir," his Comm officer called, "Our surface force reports a
     contact..."
          +    +    +    +    +    +    
          "Stay back, Princess!"
          "Keith, you can't hold them off by yourself!"
          Lord Kyr saw the young commander wanted to argue with her, but
     resigned himself quickly to her help as several more laser shots tore into
     the nearby rock.  The Doom soldiers had spotted their small group, but
     surprisingly enough, the Princess and her escort were managing to keep
     the soldiers at a distance.  
          It bothered him.  It all bothered him: being caught unawares by the
     invaders, being stuck out in the open without his guards, and most
     bothersome of all, the fact that he was relying on outsiders to protect him. 
     Here was Allura, the Princess of Arus, defending HIM on HIS planet.
          He was grateful, but he felt like a fool; he should be defending them
     not... this.
          The Princess wasn't the shot that her companion was, but that
     didn't stop her, Kyr noted.  She stayed at the front, fighting the good fight. 
          ...while he stayed in the back with the innocent bystanders. 
          ...like a coward.
          ...and a fool. 
          It was his own fault.  He'd never given much thought to the defense
     of Telos, except to make sure that the military was well equipped and
     funded.  He'd never expected Telos to be attacked, never.
          Which reminded him, where were his forces anyway?  Surely they
     would have noticed a disturbance like this by now.  Where could -
          "ALLURA!!"  He heard the Princess' companion cry out.  For a
     moment, Kyr expected the worst.
          He was wrong; a shot had come amazingly close to hitting the
     Princess, but she was unhurt, and only mildly shaken.
          Kyr got to his feet to get a better look at the enemy on the far side
     of the gap.  He felt a tug at his arm.
          "Your highness, Please! It's not safe."
          He looked at Prime-Minister Lynn; she had always been at his side,
     like a second mother, doing her duty far beyond what was expected to the
     point where he doubted he could run the kingdom without her.  Her advice
     had always been good, even now he knew she was right.  Still...
          "I'll be careful, Lynn," he answered, giving her hand a reassuring pat
     before gently pulling free.  "Don't worry."
          He could hear the members of the dig talking about him in low
     voices, none of them were sure what he was going to do. Neither did he;
     he had no weapons, his skills at war were strictly piloting and the
     traditional arts like swordplay, his skills with a firearm were limited merely
     to his hunting rifle, there was no transport he could reach or working
     communicator... why was he doing this?
          Lord Kyr couldn't answer except that he couldn't cower back while
     strangers defended his planet and his life for him.
          He could see the forces they were up against better from his new
     vantage point. There were at least ten robotic Doom soldiers being
     directed by two other non-robotic soldiers.  All of them were firing on the
     little gap in the rocks defended by the two from Arus.  These two would
     wait at the edge of the gap for a break in the weapons fire to snap off a
     few shots at the enemy.  Even as he watched, he saw one of the robots
     fall to the pilot's beam to join four others scattered on the ground.  Behind
     the enemy, the giant ship continued to tear away great chunks of earth. 
     The hole was almost big enough to fit the palace inside.  The sight made
     Kyr's heart sink lower in defeat.  They were tearing the Scar wide, ripping
     wide the planet's wound.
          The robots' commander shouted a order, Kyr strained but he
     couldn't make it out over the surrounding noise, but he saw the robots
     regroup, aim high and fire in unison at the rocky gap.  Their beams
     together cleaved into the stone overhead, breaking off huge pieces and
     sent them tumbling free.  
          Kyr barely saw what happened next, it happened so fast: the young
     commander was a blur as he threw himself into the Princess, throwing
     them both clear of the falling rock.  Something silvery flew off in the other
     direction.  The stones hit the ground, bringing a cloud of dust that made it
     hard to see anything.  Behind him, he heard the worried voices of Lynn
     and the others.  
          There was another sound; the advance of the Doom soldiers. 
          The silvery thing caught his eye again.  It was the young
     commander's sidearm, which he dropped when he saved his Princess. 
     Kyr ran forward and grabbed it and pointed it at the gap, ready to shoot
     anything that might come through.
          Before the first soldier came through, there was a huge roar, a rush
     of air, and an earthshaking metallic crunch.
          The dust cleared enough to see there were no more soldier, just a
     few limbs sticking out at odd angles from underneath a huge silver paw
     attached to the most awe-inspiring machine Lord Kyr had ever seen.  Red
     and silver, it towered over him like a majestic beast of legend.
          The lions... he remembered that the Princess had arrived in them,
     and he knew how they were supposed to look, but the pictures did nothing
     to prepare him for the sheer scale of what now loomed before him.
          "Hey Keith!  The Cavalry's here!" a voice from a loudspeaker
     somewhere in the red mechanical beast. "Keith?  Princess?  You down
     there?"
          There was movement to Kyr's left; the Princess Allura and her
     companion were on their feet and waving at the monstrous machine. 
     Then the Princess noticed him standing there.
          "Lord Kyr, are you all right?"  she asked.  She sounded genuinely
     concerned.
          "I'm fine, your Highness," Kyr nodded.  "I should be the one asking
     you. Are you..?"
          "Just fine.  I'm just glad Nanny's not here to see this," she smiled.  
          A joke; even in the middle of all of the chaos, she was able to make
     a joke.
          "Lance, this is Keith, can you read me?"  It was her companion,
     trying his radio.
          The reply was broken with static, but still managed to be clear
     enough to hear.
          "I read you Keith.  Though I think Red Lion just stepped in
     something."
          Now the two of them were smiling.  Kyr was amazed.
          "Thanks for the save Lance."
          "Hey, just being the dashing hero I always am.  Pidge and Hunk are
     with the Telosian Air Fleet taking out the fighters, so if you'll just hop on,
     we can get you to your lions and finish that big thing off in time for dinner. 
     Have you seen what it's dug up?"
          "We can't leave Lance.  We've got civilians."
          "...How many?"
          "About twenty-five.  Including Lord Kyr."
          "He's there?  That jerk?  Still, we can't leave 'em.  I'll see if I can get
     the team to draw the fight away from you.  We may not even need you
     guys; that big ship doesn't look so tough."
          "Just be careful Lance.  We'll try to find some way to get the
     civilians out of here on our own and join you if we can."
          "Gotcha, Keith.  Over and out."
          With that, the huge beast leaped into the air to join the dogfight that
     was now raging overhead around the monstrous Excavator ship.
          "Lord Kyr," Princess Allura apologized, "You'll have to forgive
     Lance, he's not always..."
          Kyr raised his hand as a sign that he wasn't offended.  Inside, he
     was, but after today, he felt he deserved it.
          "Just do what you have to do, your Highness," he said quietly.  "Just
     help me protect my people, and my planet.  Please."
               +    +    +    +    +    +    
          Within the ancient buried ship, the first people to be inside in almost
     a thousand years walked deeper into its recesses, partially by choice,
     partially by circumstance.
          The moment they entered the ship, a series of small lights
     activated, illuminating one of the two corridors that stretched out before
     them.  Debate had been short, and it was decided to see where the lights
     lead.
          "Hey kid!" Owen called, "Slow down, we're supposed to stick
     together here."
          "But, this... this is just AMAZING!!  Professor Windum, isn't going to
     BELIEVE this!  It's preserved perfectly!" Scott called back to them as he
     darted around, examining every doorway, metal panel, lighting fixture, and
     whatever else he could find, pausing only to scribble a quick note in a
     small notepad.  He now grudgingly stopped and waited for the rest.
          "Figured you'd appreciate it. Me, on the other hand?  Well, I don't
     mind telling you, this place gives me the creeps.  It feels like a tomb."
          "There's always outside," Mira remarked offhandedly, trying a door
     as she passes.  Like the last two they'd passed, it refused to open.
          Owen gave a laugh.  "I think I'll stick with the creeps.  Better to
     FEEL like I'm in a tomb, than go out there and actually GET one. 
          Mira gave a small laugh, though deep inside, she was bothered by
     her own thoughts about the ship.  No wonder Scott was so ecstatic; the
     ship had been preserved perfectly, almost too perfectly.  There wasn't
     even dust on the floor, and the air.. the air smelled slightly stale, but now
     how you expected one-thousand year old air to smell.  And the power? 
     Could it possibly have been running all those centuries?  And the lighted
     corridor, how come there was only one branch was lit?  The questions
     weighed on her already tired brain.  She felt like they were being lead
     somewhere; however she didn't say anything, logging the thought off to
     general paranoia.  No need to make the rest of them needlessly paranoid.
          "We're being lead somewhere," Jared said bluntly.
          The four of them stopped.
          "Are you sure?" asked Scott, his tone pleading for a negative
     answer.  "I mean, what makes you think... I mean the lights... it could be
     just... oh man."  His shoulders sagged as denial crumbled away and the
     truth broke through.
          "You know, I was thinking the same thing," Mira said quietly, "but I
     thought it was just me,"
          "You and me both, my dear," added Owen.  "Guess that makes it
     unanimous."
          "You don't think there's... there's something alive down here?  Do
     you?"
          Jared shook his head.  "I don't know."
          "You're the expert here on this ship, kid," Owen said, "you tell us."
          "Well, there SHOULDN'T be.  I think.  So, what do you think we
     should do?"
          For a few moments, they stood quietly and pondered their situation.
          "Let's keep going," Mira said at last.
          "I don't think that's wise," said Jared.
          "Any wiser than staying here?  At least if we stick together and keep
     going, we might find out what it is, if it's an automated system or...
     something else, I don't know what.  And we don't know how long we're
     going to be stuck down here, so we might as know as much as we can
     about where we're stuck."
          "You actually think it's safe?" Jared challenged.
          "...I do.  Don't ask me why, but I just have this feeling. 
          "You have a 'feeling'.  Of course." 
          "Besides," she pressed, slightly annoyed at Jared's sarcastic
     remark, "if it was going to hurt us, I think it would have done it already.
     Right?"
          Jared frowned at this, but grudgingly agreed. 
          After going a careful few yards more, the corridor ended in a set of
     massive metal doors.  As if sensing their approach, the doors groaned a
     quiet metallic groan, and slowly parted revealing what appeared to be a
     central control room filled with screens, command stations, controls and
     readouts (which were inactive), and one raised chair set at the central hub
     of the area like a nexus point.  In the chair was what appeared to be a pile
     of splintered sticks, a few small sparkly things, and some old fabric that
     spilled onto the floor.  Several tentative steps closer revealed that the
     sticks weren't sticks at all.
          "What were you saying about a tomb, Owen?"
          Owen let out a low whistle.  "Sweet Lord.  I wonder what happened
     to that poor guy.  Scott... Scott?  Hey kid?  You okay."
          Scott stood as if in a stupor. He tried to speak, but nothing came
     out.  He just stared at the bones and cloth. 
          "Something's wrong," Jared declared, "We should go-"
          "No!" Scott interrupted, finding his voice at last.  His raised tone
     echoed through the room, only adding to the tomb-likeness of the setting.
          "It's okay," he continued, "it's okay, it's just... I think I know who that
     is."
          "You know him?"  Owen asked incredulously.
          "No, no, it's... I don't even know how to say it. This is one of the
     biggest mysteries of Arus.  There's theories, but this... This is proof.  I
     think, I mean, if I'm right, Professor Windum would give his right arm to
     see this. I mean, this confirms it, that this is the Holy Grail of Arus, that
     thing people look for but never really expect to find.  This has-"
          Before he could finish, there was a beep as the largest screen in
     the room flickered to life.
          "What's that?  Did we do that?"
          "I don't think so."
          Jared moved protectively between them and the screen as the four
     of them watched.
          A man's face filled the monitor; he looked to be in his late twenties
     with regal features and an air of nobility and weariness about him.  He
     wore a thin circlet around his forehead that also kept his long red hair out
     of his face, and white robes that were beautifully made, and, on one side,
     stained red with blood.
          "I, King Solon the Second, greet you," he said in a voice with an
     accent none of them had heard before.
          Scott made a little strangling noise in his throat; if his jaw dropped
     any lower, he'd trip over it.
          "The spell I placed on the Fortress Ship hopefully was enough to
     keep out those who would loot it for their own aims or worse... As you
     probably know, the Solar Void is dead, but not without a price."
          He paused, holding his hand to the side of his chest where the
     blood seemed heaviest, his paling features trying not to show the pain.  It
     was hard for him to continue, but he did so anyway.
           "The Fortress Ship will not fly again I fear.  The damage to the
     engines is far too great, and very soon, the ship will be in range of planet
     27's gravity...  I have no way of pulling her away.  And as Voltron has
     suffered too much damage to leave her right now, it had to stay aboard on
     her last voyage.  The keys... the keys are safe with me and by the time
     you see this, provided the ship survived the crash of course, the auto-
     repair systems should have done their work, so you should be able to take
     it back to Arus... along with my body. 
          "Do not blame the crew for leaving me.  As they told you, I ordered
     them to leave me behind... I'm dying.  I know this, and decided that this will
     be my final resting place, as..." he swallowed dryly,"...as it should be.  But I
     die knowing that we were victorious against the Void.  I name, as my
     successor, Lord Beraund, who has shown wisdom, patience, and
     kindness.  And if Lord Haden should dispute this, merely tell him that his
     ambition was his own undoing.  He should have been content with what he
     had.
          "My only regret is that I was able to see the people of Arus one last
     time, now that they are safe...  May God bless and keep you as he has me
     and my crew."
          His head lowered and the screen went blank.
          The four stood in a kind of reverent silence. It was as if they'd been
     visited by a ghost.
          "King Solon the Second," Scott breathed, his voice barely above a
     whisper.  "The Lost King.  He was here."
          "And that message?"
          "Waiting all this time.  He must have thought that they'd salvage the
     ship, but the War of Succession must have started before they could send
     a mission."
          "What a way to go," Mira whispered.
          "I wish I had my camera," Scott remarked.
          "Kid, you are morbid."
          "What do you mean?"
          Before Owen could explain, the ship trembled and an alarm began
     to sound.  The screens sensors around them blinked to life and started
     churning out data.
          "Oh NOW what," groaned Mira, regretting again that she ever left
     the hospital.
          Owen squinted at one of the readouts.  "If I'm reading this right,
     we're under attack."
          "HOW?  We're buried under a mile of dirt?"
          "Not any more."
          +    +    +    +    +    +
     To be continued