Return Of The Stars

Chapter 6: The Battle Begins

He'd waited patiently; given the Humans far more time to prepare than he usually would out of sheer curiosity. What was so special about this species that not one, not two, but four out of the five mighty Lions of Voltron would choose them as Paladins? Seemingly nothing. And yet the Black Paladin was the former Champion of the arena, while the Green Paladin's father had proven quite intelligent; the Empire even utilizing some of his more creative designs.

Others might take him for a brute, but Sendak knew the importance of psychological warfare. He knew that taunting one's opponent could cause them to slip, betray their goals, or even bring them to their knees entirely - all without having to lift a finger. These Humans may be intelligent, but they were driven by emotion and that made them weak. And weakness was not tolerated amongst the Galra; a lesson the Champion had learned the hard way. Now it was time he paid a little visit to his favourite prisoner.

Sendak made his way towards the prison block in the lower levels of the ship. The Paladins had a pathetic habit of trying to release all of the prisoners before properly destroying a cruiser; unlike those pesky Blades, but he didn't need to be concerned with them. With Thace on the Galran throne the Blade of Marmora had fully come out of the shadows. He'd heard rumours from other dissentients of the new Empire that the Blades had become a private force of sorts; a secret service of agents at Emperor Thace's disposal that he could hide amongst the populace spy on them, or strike against them. It was for this reason that Sendak had purged his own ranks.

He'd hunted down the remaining druids alongside the Empire, and now had the last survivor on board his ship. He'd used the druid to search his underling's minds. Those whose loyalty was questionable were executed by Sendak himself, while any discovered Blades were left to the mercy of his druid. As a deterrent he'd broadcast their screams over the ship's PA system, their anguish eerily echoing down the metal corridors and bringing him great pleasure.

Sendak came to a stop outside the main cell block. He passed orders to the four sentries standing guard, instructing them to shoot any prisoners that tried to escape, and placed his hand on the scanner to open the large barrier door. Once inside he slowly made his way down the hall towards his final goal, his pace steady and bootfalls heavy as he let the tension and suspense build during his approach. The prisoners would be able to hear him coming, would know that with him he brought only pain, and they would be afraid. He smiled callously, revelling in the reputation he had earned.

When he reached his desired cell, Sendak placed a hand on the scanner and stared down at the frail, crumpled form of the pitiful Human. How tiny and fragile they were; so easily crushed. It was almost a waste of his time; almost.

"To your feet." he commanded in Galran, refusing to reduce himself to the use of Common simply for the benefit of a lesser being. To his great pleasure the Human rose to standing, his weak limbs struggling to hold him upright. And Sendak laughed.

He instructed a nearby sentry to escort the prisoner as he led the way, silently marching back up the hall, out the main barrier door, and back towards the command centre. He could easily have called a sentry and had the Human brought to him, but Sendak enjoyed seeing the fear in the prisoner's eyes when they saw him approach.

They arrived at their destination and he activated the screens, showcasing their view of the planet below them. "You will watch as I destroy them." he sneered, shoving the prisoner closer to the screens lining the room. "But first, I want to show you something." With a snap of his fingers the sentry nearest him rushed into action, activating a video feed Sendak had saved in his armour.

Ancient halls lined with too-bright white walls and lit by blue lamps appeared before them, the halls were wide yet mostly empty as they suddenly played host to a small gathering of sentries. To the right was his former lieutenant, Haxus, and to his left was the massive crystal they were about to install. With the castle having lost power when their bomb deployed, the language of the Paladins was indeterminable yet Sendak knew his prisoner would understand it and watched for the moment of recognition in his eyes when the alien words rang out in the large room.