Smashing the Meteor Barrier/Locate Enemy Headquarters

Smashing the Meteor Barrier

Voltron is flying through space.  Jeff wants to smash the Drule outpost where they are amassing a fleet to attack Earth (uhhh, didn't they do that in the last episode?)  Hawkins wants them to proceed cautiously.  The fleet moves forward until the encounter an asteroid.  Colonel Carver calls Hawkins and they consult on strategy.

At the Drule HQ, Keezor is arranging his own forces, planning to trap the support fleet and the Explorer between different fleet elements.

Captain Malgon (he was Dirka in the last episode) ignores Keezor's orders to resupply, and decides to attack the support fleet as the situation is.

Jeff and Voltron approach the asteroid belt.  Morale is high, considering all the goofing off going on.  Just them, a scout probe passes them.  Hawkins explains it's a high-speed video probe.  Hawkins leaves for the conference room to monitor the probe.

The probe (it looks like a standard shuttle) is in the asteroid belt.  We can see minds on some of the asteroids.  One of the officers viewing the probe footage sees one of these mines.  There are hundreds throughout the asteroid belt.  The shuttle is destroyed by laser fire, and then the Drule fleet is sighted.  Hawkins orders them all to battle station.  Carver is on the screen as Hawkins gets to the bridge.  Carver urges him to stay out of the asteroids and to cover the support fleet's rear.  Hawkins sends Voltron to support the support fleet.

Malgon/Dirka is about to engage the fleet.  He launches fighters.

Keezor is angry that Malgon has ignored his orders.  His plans will be ruined!!  And Malgon can be called because all his lines are busy.  No, really, they are.

Voltron dives at the Drule fighters, proving the the best anti-aircraft weapons are FISTS.  Malgon deploys the same robeast he used against the Earth's defense fleet.  Voltron tries the Raybeam Whip, but misses.  Then *yawn* the robeast grabs him, electrocutes him, and they go tumbling through space.  The two fleets close in, trashing each other.  Malgon's forces aren't doing so well, and Keezor clenches his fists and squeals like a little girl.  Then he sends the other to fleets to assist.

Hawkins and the bridge crew see these new battlegroups and move to intercept them.

Malgon realizes that skipping that pesky refueling is a problem.  He's out of ammo and fuel.  Meanwhile, Voltron and the robeast crash onto an asteroid and face off.  Voltron uses the solar combat spears.  He misses, and the robeast knocks Volts into a lava-filled crevasse, which they fly out of at the last moment.  They form blazing sword, but get entangled in rocket ropes.  Voltron lops off an arm, then cuts the robeast in half when it makes its next pass.

Keezor watches the robeast explode, and is told that the relief squadrons are being held back by the Explorer.  Malgon is not taking the loss of the robeast well.  He decides to fall back into the asteroid belt.  He didn't count on Voltron coming up behind them and disabling the engines with spinning laser blades.  They get to the escape ships.  Carver, Voltron, and the support fleet move to assist the Explorer.  The Explorer spearheads the attack.  Keezor is in despair.

Jeff wants to go right ahead at the command base, but Hawkins recalls him.  The fleet repair crews are on duty as quickly as possible, as Carver and a nameless lieutenant meet Hawkins and the Voltron leads in Hawkins office.  Hawkins shows him how heavily mined the asteroid belt is.  Jeff is all for plowing through the rocks.  Carver vetoes him, and the lieutenant suggests using the meteor breaker. 

The repair teams work feverishly to finish, while the Voltron force is in the lounge.  Rocky eats a lot.  Ginger has a new plant.  Crick is worried that the lieutenant will get damaged in the plan to get through the asteroid field.  The Voltron force is scrambled again.  Lisa gives Jeff a good luck charm from a wizard on some planet.  The force launches.

The meteor breaker takes the lead, with Voltron close behind. 

Keezor prepares plan B and laughs maniacally.

The meteor breaker moves through the asteroid belt with the Explorer and Voltron behind him  The lieutenant decides to make his own path.  Jeff tries to hold him back, but he plows on ahead and things get explodey.  A mine hits head on and we see the bridge get destroyed, but then we get another shot of him on the bridge.  Jeff's eyes are watering from the heat.  Yeah.  Sure.  Then the smoke clears and they see the Drule HQ we've been looking at since the very first episode.  Jeff thinks the base is abandoned.  And the lieutenant thanks the Voltron force.  In a seance or something.  Then Voltron forms the blazing sword and plunges toward the HQ.  Hawkins gives us another Voltron commercial.

Locate Enemy Headquarters

Dairugger is ready for the big showdown after the Glaveston raid on Earth.  Aki and his teammates are determined to find the Galveston base now.  After the title card and Dairugger doing some Shotokan poses, Dairugger is leading the Rugger Guard and fleet toward the Asteroid field to the Galveston base.  Date calls Ise and is dubious of Ise's frontal assault plan.

Luciano is conferring with his staff officers.  Ducasse's Earth attack fleet is returning for resupply, and the asteroid field has been fully mined.

Ducasse, on the other hand, has other plans.  Rather than return to the base first, he's on a course that will intersect with the Earth fleet's.  He's a little cocky now that he's successfully raided Earth.

Aki and Dairugger approach the asteroid field, and he makes fun of Mutsu.  And, I think he proposes a threesome with Kagas and Kirigas.  Or maybe that's just me.  I'm a pervert, you know.  Then an unmanned shuttle zooms past Dairugger.  Aki protests, but Ise insists.  Ise then has the mission commanders meet to watch the unmanned shuttle's progress.

They are surveying the depth and density of the asteroid field, and it's too much for the larger ships of the fleet to get through.  And then they see the mines.  Then the shuttle is destroyed by enemy fire.  Ise is called to the bridge as a Galveston fleet comes up behind them.  All hands scramble to battle stations.  Date calls Ise and tells him that the Rugger Guard should watch the Asteroid field, while his fleet engages the Galveston ships coming up from behind.  Dairugger is sent to assist.

Ducasse launches fighters.  Luciano hears of it, and is furious, but Ducasse is not acknowledging.  Luciano can't send ships to support Ducasse because the rest of his plan will fall apart.

The vanguard fighters of the Galveston fleet reach Dairugger.  Who PUNCHES HIS WAY THOUGH THEM.  Awesome.  Ducasse's XO is freaked out that the fighters were so easily wiped out.  Ducasse deploys the battle machine.  The battle machine and Dairugger end up grappling and tumbling through space.  Date and his fleet engage Ducasse, who is low on ordnance. Frustrated, Luciano orders the Solgell fleet out of the asteroid belt to support.

The Rugger Guard sees the 40 ships of Solgell's fleet and prepares for the battle.

Ducasse is told that his ships are out of energy.  He wants to recall the battle machine, but it's in combat with Dairugger.  The two mecha land on an asteroid and continue their fight.  Dairugger nearly falls into lava (this is an active asteroid) but he manages to pull out of his fall using the whip.  Then the battle machine uses rocket ropes and a drill hand.  It's only a momentary delay before Dairugger uses the sword.

Luciano is upset at the loss of the battle machine, and incredulous that the Rugger Guard is holding back the Solgell fleet singlehandedly.

Ducasse, realizeing that his fleet is lost, begins to retreat into the asteroid belt.  Dairugger arrives just in time to destory his flagship--Ducasse dies with his XO doing a total "I told you so!"  Dairugger and the Date fleet rejoin the Rugger Guard, and Luciano watches as Solgell's fleet is also annihilated.

Aki wants to proceed on to the base, but Ise wants another strategy meeting.  Date is surprised at how haphazard the Galveston defense was.  Aki wants to push ahead with Dairugger, but Date doesn't want to waste the big robot.  Captain Yamamoto volunteers his ship to break a trail through the asteroids with a skeleton crew.

The fleet hurriedly makes repairs while the Rugger teams eat and relax in the lounge.  Patty has a seed from one of the planets they've visited.  Aki tells the teams that they're going to be going in after Yamamoto, and Keats surmises that it's a suicide mission.  Then they get the message to scramble.  Kagas gives Aki the good luck charm her mother gave her before leaving Earth.

The Galveston staff officers see the Earth fleet moving in, and Luciano has regained his confidence.

Yamamoto's ship is ahead of Dairrugger and the Rugger Guard.  They enter the minefield, and starts taking damage.  Aki tries to call Yamamoto back, but he pushes on, his ship exploding around him.  One mine trashes the bridge, and he pushes on.  Aki, Date, and Ise all react act Yamamoto hits the last mine and his ship explodes.  It apparently causes a chain reaction through the mines, 'cuz the explosion is real big.  And then the vapors from his destruction clear, and they see the Galves frontline base that we've been seeing all series long.  Aki is angry, eager to make the Galveston force pay.  Dairugger forms his sword and plunges into action . . .