Just Like Earth/Bitter Struggle on the Planet of Light

Just Like Earth

Hazar's voiceover goes all schizophrenic and discusses how he has convinced the council to defeat and conquer Earth.  Huh.

The Explorer is escorted by the air and sea teams.  Marvin, Cliff, and Murdock are in the lounge, eating spaghetti.  Then they deploy, form the Turbo Terrain Fighter, and take the sea team's place on patrol.  Jeff protests pulling a double shift.  He's hungry and Cliff taunts him. 

At the Drule HQ, Keezor pounds on the table and orders a fake distress signal to lure the Vltron force to a planet where the light surrounding the planet will sap their energy.  Oh, it's planet Halo.  Drulle fighters are drilling near the planet.  Zabar and his XO discuss the end of the Voltron Force, and Zabar totally channels Lotor.

Hawkins orders the air team to investigate a distress signal from the planet ahead.  Jeff is still hungry, but he complies.  On the bridge, Crick and Hawkins are nervous that the Drule Empire has been quiet--and that the Drule Empire might be using the distress signal as a trap.

The Stratofighter approaches the planet, and Jeff plunges through the glow surrounding the planet despite Hawkins' warnings.  As they move to the planet, the glow surround the planet drains their power levels.  They make an emergency landing on the surface.  They separate.  On the Explorer, the radar operator loses contact, and Hawkins sends the Sea and Land Teams after them.

On the planet, Jeff is unable to raise the Explorer.  They land and try to figure out what to do.  They fear that Cliff and Crick will be stuck in the same trap if they come after them.

Zabar's fleet is floating in a nearby bay.  Zabar gloats.  Apparently, there is a place where ships can enter safely.

The Sea and Land Teams approach the planet, and Cliff decides to hold back and analyze the glow.  They send data back to the Explorer.  On the surface, Chip starts to figure out that this sounds an awful lot like a Drule plot.  Their fears are confirmed when a Drule fleet comes over the horizon.

Debbie gives Hawkins Page's analysis of the "chemical light" that will drain a spacecraft's energy.  Hawkins orders the Land and Sea Teams back to the Explorer.  He decides he's going to use the Explorer's larger power reserves to just brute-force their way to the planet.  Cliff and Crick are pensive in the observation corridor.

A Drule fleet is detected on the bridge, and the Explorer sounds the alert. Fighters are deployed at the Explorer.  Hawkins orders AAA fire commenced.  The Drule capital ships open fire on the Explorer as well.  Cliff and Crick are tossed around the corridor by explosions.

On the planet, the depleted Air Team engages the Drule fleet.  Zabar laughs like Lotor as his flagship closes in.  He's very happy that he's going to be the conqueror of Voltron, and he launches the robeast--this is the red one Keezor was watching practice in the last episode.

In orbit, the Explorer is driving its way through the fleet.  It plunges through the energy halo and splashes down with power to spare.  He launches the Land and Sea teams while the Air Team engages the robeast.  Cliff and Crick meet up with the air team, and keep the robeast busy while the air team returns to the Explorer.  Zabar's main fleet reaches the Explorer as Jeff sits impatiently, waiting for the ships to be refueled.

The Drule fleet from orbit links up with Zabar's, and Hawkings orders AAA fire again.  The battle rages and Jeff just about loses his mind with impatience.  Cliff and Crick have their hands full trying to keep the robeast away from the Explorer.  Robeast missiles send both subunits spiraling out of control.

The bridge crew watches in terror as the robeast makes a run at the Explorer.  Finally, the air team is refueled and they launch.  The Sea and Land Teams recover, split up, and form Voltron.  The Robeast commander tells his crew to keep them separated.  The robeast hits Lisa's ship, and Marvin goes to help recover her ship.  Meanwhile, Voltron fights one-legged.  It's not going so well, but Lisa regains consciousness just as Zabar's fleet closes in.  They fight their way through Drule ships and join up with the big guy.  Voltron first clears out some of the Drule destroyers with solar combat spears, and then deflects missiles from the robeast with the spinning laser blades.  Then he forms the blazing sword and destroys it.

Zabar flips out, and orders his flagship to ram Voltron.  There's a lot of screaming, and Voltron carves his ship in half--the blazing sword even cuts through the bridge.  Zabar totally makes it to an escape ship, as Keezor so helpfully tells us he's been captured.  He puts Nerok in command.

On the Explorer, Hawkins congratulates them on a job well down.  The air team rushes to the lounge, but spaghetti is off the menu.  Some dude a terrible voice tells him the sauce went all over the floor during the fighting.

Bitter Struggle on the Planet of Light

A recap--Teles demoted, the homeworld in decay, Caponero and his cronies laughing.  And Luciano is pursuing war with Earth.

The Rugger Guard is escorted by the Sea and Air Ruggers.  The land team are just finishing lunch, and then launch to relieve the Sea Team.  Aki and the Air Team are left out to complete a second shift, and Walter taunts Aki with the French cuisine they had. 

In the Galveston HQ, Luciano is frustrated at the slow progress in attacking earth.  Gramont is ready to ambush the survey force, but the space fortress is far from Galveston resources, and Earth is even longer.

In the orbit of the Planet of Light, Gramont oversees his fighter pilots in training maneuvers.

Ise orders Aki ahead to investigate a planet that is not in their data.  On the bridge, Keats wonders why they have not encountered any Galveston forces--he suggests that maybe they were off in their base's location.

Aki finds the planet engulfed in light.  The Air Rugger plunges into the light and everything goes nuts.  They make it to the planet and separate.  The radio operator on the Rugger Guard bridge loses contact with them, and Ise sends Walter and Keats to check on them. 

Patty and Kreuz discuss that they've used up 52% of their fuel, and Aki can't raise the Rugger Guard or the other teams.  Elsewhere on the planet, Gramont's fleet floats in a bay and he laughs at the Air Rugger's predicament.  The magnetic field is weaker in some areas, and he was able to land his forces without power loss.

Water and Keats approach the planet.  Walter wants to charge ahead, but Keats is more circumspect.

Mutsu is worried that Galveston will attack.  Patty wants to leave, but Aki explains that they can't spare the power.  Then the enemy fleet passes over the horizon.

In the lab on the Rugger Guard, Search's assistant tells Ise that there is a strong magnetic field around this planet.  There's some pseudo-science, and then Ise recalls the Sea and Land teams.  He plans to pass through the field in the Rugger Guard with its large energy reserves and refuel the grounded Air Team.

Back on board, Walter and Keats are pensive.  The Gramont fleet suddenly approaches the Rugger Guard, and they go on alert.  Ise orders them to contact the reinfircement fleet.  The Galveston ships launch fighters and encircle the Rugger Guard.  The fighting is intense.  Keats and Walter are having a hard time remaining on standby.

On the planet, the Air Team is fighting off their own attackers.  The rest of the Galveston fleet, Gramont's flagship and two destroyers, come over the horizon and Gramont launches the battle machine.  He is hunting for medals.  The red battle machine Luciano watched in practice in the last episode begins fighting the Air team.

In orbit, the Rugger Guard is pressing the attack through the destroyers and fighters when it reaches the magnetic field and plunges through to the atmosphere.  The Rugger Guard makes a spashdown in a body of water and Ise contacts Aki, recalling him for refueling.  Walter and Keats deploy.

Aki and his team are holding off the robeast, but barely, and are rescued by the Sea and Land teams int their combined subunits.  Aki withdraws, and the battle machine commander tries to follow the Air team.  Walter and eats ram it to hold it back.

The rest of the Galveston fleet enters the atmosphere while the Air Team is refueling and Aki comes close to losing his mind.  Gramont gives the order for the engagement and the floating Rugger Guard trades fire with the Galveston Forces.  Walter and Keats keep the battle machine from reaching the Rugger Gaurd, but they take missile hits and are sent sprialing.  Gramont presses the attack.  The battle machine reaches the Rugger Guard just as Aki and the others are fully refueled. 

Walter and Keats pull out and meet the battle machine again as they rush to support the Rugger Guard.  The ships separate again and go to form Dairugger.  The battle machine hits Kagas' machine, preventing her, Izu, and Izumo from forming the right leg.  Dairugger continues fighting while Izu tries to wake up Kagas.  She launches just as the Galveston fleet reaches their position.  They take out two Galveston ships and rejoin Dairugger.  The Battle Machine commander is displeased.   The Galveston fleet comes up behind Dairugger, and Aki dispatches them with shot arrows.  They turn turn the battle machine and it's over pretty fast, since the battle machine just stands there and lets them hit it. 

Dairugger and Gramont's remaining fleet turn on each other, and Dairugger kills Gramont and destroys his ship.  No medal for you, jerkface.

At the Galveston HQ, Luciano watches the battle and assigns Lafitte the duty of attacking the space fortress, and Church the task of protecting the front line.

The air team returns to the lounge, and Air is dismayed that the French cuisine theme is over.