"Commander Evans, I’m sorry to inform you that we have not yet been able to retrieve your Falcon Fighter from the lake," Coran said, his voice tinged with regret as he bowed before her in Castle Control the next morning. "Given more time, perhaps we could, but I’m afraid it’s a task that could not be accomplished in a few hours."
Samantha raised her hands to her heated cheeks. "Please, Coran, it’s just plain old Samantha now," she said with a shy smile at Coran. "And thank you very much for trying to save my ship." She sighed. "I was expecting this, though… I do have such incredible timing, don’t I, to have chosen to enter Arus in the middle of a meteor shower?"
Pidge, who was standing near Samantha, laid a comforting hand on hers. "It’s not your fault, Zarkon’s timing is lousy any time," he said, earning a sweet smile of gratitude from her.
Lance, leaning on one side of the computer console, grimaced at the besotted look on Pidge’s face. His head was still ringing with Keith’s psychobabble from last night, and it didn’t do wonders for his morning either. What bull, him in love with Sam and afraid she was going to make like his mother? It was so funny that it wasn’t worth laughing over. To top it off, Keith had beaten him again during their sparring match. He didn’t deserve to wake up to this.
"Pidge, my dear boy, you are still entirely too young to be charming the ladies," he muttered, annoyed that Sam had not smiled like that at him ever since she got here. Pidge heard him and stuck his tongue out at him, as if he could read his thoughts perfectly. It annoyed Lance even more.
"So what else are we waiting for?" Hunk asked, impatient as usual. "Shouldn’t we get going? I mean, we’ve all had breakfast, right?"
"This time, Hunk, you have the right idea," Keith said on a small chuckle. He looked at Samantha inquiringly. "Since your ship still isn’t available, I suppose you have to ride in one of the Lions with us," he said, biting his lip thoughtfully. Samantha nodded reluctantly. "So, Sammy, whom do you think you can spend the next five hours with without going crazy?"
Lance was just about to volunteer to have her when Hunk and Pidge both stepped forward and held out their hands to Samantha, who gazed at them with wide gray eyes blinking in bemusement. He grit his teeth and counted to ten in an effort to control his temper. Why were those two acting like love-struck fools this morning, anyway? This was just Samantha, for goodness’ sake.
"I’d really enjoy it if you would honor me with the pleasure of your company for the next five hours," Pidge said, smiling up at her and giving her a courtly bow. Where was he getting his lessons from? Lance thought, rolling his eyes. Nanny? "I’d like to know more about the rocks of Merion."
"I’m bringing some snacks with me – you might want to have something to eat while we’re on our way," Hunk said eagerly, eliciting a small giggle from the princess. Lance smirked. Just like Hunk to think that the way into Sam’s heart was also through her stomach, he thought. The puppy-like expression on Hunk’s face made him want to scream.
Tired of watching them fawn, he finally stood straight and stomped his foot down to get everyone’s attention. "Look, are we going to Merion within this lifetime, or are we going to spend the next century arguing about where to put Samantha?" he asked, his eyes flashing.
Keith looked at Lance’s agitated state with some amusement. He cleared his throat. "Right, Lance. So, to keep Pidge and Hunk from coming to blows over this, I think it would be a good idea for Sam to ride in the Bl –"
Lance cut him off, speaking through gritted teeth. "I suppose you’re going to say that she’s best off riding with you… heck, I don’t care, after all you were the one who dated her two years ago. Just get her in there and let’s go." He stomped off to his portal, leaving the rest of the team, Sam, and Coran staring after him in openmouthed shock.
"What was that all about?" Pidge asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.
Allura sent Keith a questioning glance that he replied to with an innocent shrug. "Don’t look at me," he said, warding off all questions with a motion of his hands. "I was just going to suggest that Sam ride in the Blue Lion with the you."
Allura turned away from Keith and smiled welcome at the still-disoriented Sam. "I’ll be glad to have you aboard – maybe you can even teach me some new tricks I can do with the Blue Lion," she said warmly. Still rather bemused, Sam tucked her Falcon helmet under one arm and followed Allura to her portal.
Pidge looked at Keith accusingly. "Did you really date Samantha two years ago?" he asked loudly with narrowed eyes.
Allura paused in front of her portal at the question.
Keith’s eyes twinkled in amusement as he regarded
Pidge’s indignant face. "It was just a few dates – and one of them was
a set up," he explained just as loudly. "Nothing serious." He glanced
towards Allura, but she and Sam had already gone down the chute. "What
are we still here for… they’re leaving us all behind!" With that, Keith,
Hunk, and Pidge also went down their portals and into their lions.
"There it is, guys, the Planet Merion," Keith said softly as they approached a white and gray planet with swirling clouds that blanketed it.
"Looks cold," Hunk said. "Did you all remember to bring your jackets?"
"Well, Hunk, I’m sure you have enough insulation not to worry about feeling the cold too much," Pidge quipped with a mischievous grin. The rest of the team laughed.
"It’s all right, I’m sure we have enough cloaks at the settlement for all of you," Sam offered over the commlink. "Keith, in a few minutes, you’ll be able to see a dark gray area that extends from the top of the planet and appears to almost split the planet in two. That’s the Merion Belt of Fire, mountains of fire rocks."
"Wow, no signs of life," Lance said, whistling under his breath as he looked at his sensors. "I suppose that’s because everyone is underground. Wait – there are four blips on my screen. Are they Lotor’s ships?"
"We see them, too," Allura said over the link. "Samantha says that those are Lotor’s ships."
"We’ll be landing our lions on the other side of the range then," Keith said thoughtfully. "They’re not expecting us to be here. I don’t think they’re monitoring air space or they would’ve attacked by now, and considering the snow cover and the high winds, I don’t think they’ll know we’re there when we land. Still, I want all commlinks shut down just in case they may be monitoring transmissions. Princess, you lead and let Sam guide you down. We’ll be following closely at your tail."
"Will do, Captain Keith," Allura replied with a grin, sending a jaunty salute over the commlink.
"Good luck, Princess, and be careful," Keith said, saluting back at her with a grin of his own. "All sensors home in on the Blue Lion. It’s going to be a white-out down there, so we might lose all visuals. All lions, sign off."
Allura gripped at her controls, her heart thudding in anticipation. "Well, Sam, it’s up to us – tell me the way!" With the precise instructions she got from Sam, Allura guided the team during their precarious descent, avoiding several rock faces she could barely see through the snow.
"Okay, Princess, this is the last one, steer just a little bit more to the right," Sam said tightly. Allura nodded, her face white with concentration. Just one wrong move would cause them to set off the fire-rock, and it would mean the end of the Voltron Force. After the last turn, Sam relaxed. "You can begin your descent now, you’re clear of the mountains."
Allura breathed out in a heavy sigh and wiped her brow. "Whew! That was tough…" she said, then grinned at Sam. "You were incredible… how did you remember all that?" she asked Sam.
Sam shrugged modestly. "It’s one of the secrets passed on to the Guardians," she explained. "Thanks for trusting me to guide you down."
As Keith predicted, the howling winds and the fiercely blinding blizzard had covered their arrival on the planet. Inside the cockpits of the Lions, the team was putting on several jackets at a time, insulating themselves from the sharp cold they were bound to encounter once outside.
"Don’t we have to do anything to camouflage the Lions?" Hunk asked over the commlink.
"Nah, the snow will do that nicely, and besides, Lotor’s on the other side of the mountain range and has no idea we’re here," Lance said. "Sammy, did you happen to arrange a welcoming party for us?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I did," Samantha replied, putting on her white cloak and her helmet. "Look below you, and you’ll see them."
To the rest of the team’s surprise, mounds of snow appeared to be moving towards each of the Lions.
"Well, I’ll be damned…" Lance said, mouth dropping in awe.
"I’m sure you will be," Keith said wryly, looking
impressed by the men in the snow himself. "Let’s get down there, guys."