Raid on Galaxy Garrison/Earth's State of Emergency

Raid on Galaxy Garrison

A Drule fleet under Captain Dirka is moving through the wreckage of the space station.  They have destroyed Voltron's solar energy refractors, and Dirka orders them to move on Earth.

Newley is reporting on the situation.  The defense forces are either 30 or 40% disabled, and Voltron can't be used without the solar energy system.  Newley, Steele, and Graham are all trouble at the potential consequences.

The Explorer and her fleet are repairing the ships in space.  Hawkins launches the Voltron Force to go on patrol.

Dirka's fleet is passing Mars when a patrol of GG fighters sight them and engage.  A pilot warns Galaxy Garrison that they've seen a Drule fleet near the moon.  Which is apparently red.

An aid enters the council chambers and warns them that the Drules are within striking distance.  Newley calls the explorer as Alliance troops mobilize in Japan, Moscow, Ney York, San Francisco, the Middle East, and Disney World.

A boy is playing with his toy ship when he trips and drops it in a fountain.  He sees the real thing reflected in the fountain as the ships mobilize.

The earth fighters try to hold the Drule back, but are shot down.  Newley watches the fleet as it closes in on the first defense line.  Graham decides to warn all civilians to evacuate.  The civilians move to underground shelters.  Stevie, the boy with the toy ship, is found by his mother as he watches the ships.

Near-Earth space is filled with hastily-scrambled ships and pilots running to their fighters.  The Drule forces meet the Earth defenses and Dirka begins his invasion.  The Explorer fleet receives an pdate of the invasion, and Jeff is upset.  The fleet can't return to Earth in time.  Dirka deploys his robeast.  The robeast takes its toll on the Alliance ships,  punching through the orbital defenses.  On the Explorer, Jeff gets all angsty.  Again.  There is some rapid intercutting of the Voltron force's reactions, the battle, and Dirka's orders.  This is some of the most furious battle animation in the series and Dirka's fleet passes the orbital defenses and enters the atmosphere.  Lisa comforts Jeff, who's a jerk. Lisa tells him that they've figured out where the Drule base is.

At Earth, the orbital defense fleet is now chasing the Drule fleet as they push their way straight to Galaxy Garrison City.  Graham orders Steele to evacuate the city and the battle nears it.  Dirka orders part of his fleet and the robeast to hold off the orbital defense fleet while fighter bombers move in over the city.  Graham and his folks order a counter-attack, and another flight of ships lifts off as tanks move into position.  The Drule fighters bombard the city and tanks with missiles.  There is a lot of voice-over from Graham, Steele, and Newley in case we get confused by all the explodening. 

The civilians in the shelters are panicking, and the Voltron force is listening to the battle as Cliff retuns from patrol.  Stuff gets tense for a little while.  Crick tells Cliff that other Alliance planets are already sending help.

The battle continues in the city, with GG techs watching it in HD, and Newley is hoping the reinforces from planet Argus are soon in coming.  The Drule fleet continues fighting the orbital defense fleet, then ships from allied planets enter range, and Dirka orders a withdraw.  The Drule fighters return to the fleet.

On the Explorer, they discuss the arrival of Commander Carver (who's been with them for several episodes already).  Hutch has his too many chiefs, not enough indians quote.  The Voltron team leaders are in a meeting with Hawkins and Carver, and they determine that they have to destroy the Drule HQ.  In the name of peace and freedom.  They barge out of the office and knock the eavesdropping team members over, then we get the launch sequence as Hawkins tells thm that they are conducting a training exercise.  Huh?  They form Voltron in a slightly extended sequence (one which I loved when I was 8).

Earth's State of Emergency

Earth.  The camera pulls back from Earth to the wreckage of the evacuated space station.  A Galveston fleet is moving past the wreckage.  Captain Ducasse is in command.  They are within striking distance of Earth.

Back on Earth, Asimov is reading the latest damage report from Commander Date.  Kasawa is unsure of continuing as is, but Dewa reports the Date believes he can make up for the damage with morale.  Kasawa is concerned over the government's response.

The fleet repair teams are working even as the fleet continues moving.  Ise sends the land team out on patrol, and assigns the teams three hour work shifts.

Ducasse's fleet is passing Mars when three Alliance fighters strafe them and report to Earth Command.  At Galaxy Garrison, they get word of a Galveston flagship and 37 destroyers in Martian space, heading to Earth.  We then get the massive mobilization montage.  Galaxy Garrison is imploied to be in Tokyo.  In Tokyo, a boy is playing with a toy spaceship in the shadow of the Garrison Tower.  e drops his toy in a fountain, and sees the real thing moving overhead.

The patrol ships have apparently been dogging Ducasse's fleet all the way from Mars.  Ducassse orders them destroyed, and then increases speed for the final approach to Earth.  The Earth defence fleet is not quite to ready positions.  The Director declares a state of emergency.  The Civilian government complies and begins evacuations.  They've got some serious elevators leading to the shelters.  Akira is the boy with the toy, and his mother finds him standing agape at the ships moving into position.

The fleet gets fully in position ahead of the Galveston force.  There are some tense moments as they just watch the enemy get closer.

Ducasse is told that the defense cordon is just ahead.  He orders his ships to open fire.  And things get pretty brutal.

Keats and Aki rush to the Rugger Guard bridge, where they're listening to the battle on the radio.  They are shocked that Galveston managed to send a fleet out after them.  Ise tells Aki to have some faith in the home defense fleet.

However, the battle isn't going so well for them, though Ducasse is encountering heavier resistance than anticipated.  He orders the battle machine launched.  The battle machine plows right through Earth ships, wiping them out with little effort. 

The Rugger Guard crew listen in as the defense fleet is pushed back to the edge of the atmosphere by the battle machine.  Upset, Aki runs out.

Defense line is broken.  Ducasse orders his fleet into the atmosphere, brushing past burning ships.

Aki is brooding in the obersvation corridor when Kagas finds him.  He is torn between the job of finding the frontline base and the attack on Earth.

Ducasse's fleet has made it into the atmosphere, with the remnants of the defense fleet following.  The battle machine is holding them off. Ducasse orders them to record data on Earth and designate a target.  At Galaxy Garrison command, they break the fleet down to 34 ships: 1 flagship, 12 battleships, and 21 destroyers, heading for the megalopolis.  The city is fully evacuated.

The Galveston fleet is analyzing the atmosphere, and they launch bombers on the megalopolis.  He orders the rest of the fleet to hold off the Earth's orbital defenses while the bombers do their job.  The skies over the megalopolis are filled with fighter-bombers.  The grounded fleet and tanks move to interdict.  The bombers fire indiscriminately on the city.  The Earth ships are no match for them at this low altitude.  We see the fountain where Akira had been playing get bombed.  The civilians in the shelters huddle in terror.

Walter returns to the Rugger Guard bridge and first hears of the attack on Earth.  Walter reacts much like Aki.  Keats says its the same as if the attack were on Mira or Sala.  Aki and Kagas appear, and Aki agrees with Keats.  They must reach the Galveston frontline base.

The city is in flames and the resistance is faltering.  Galaxy Alliance command watches, and Kasawa orders reinforcements be requested from Mira and Sala.  Ducasse's XO informs him that the full payload of the bombers has been droped.  They then receive word that the Miran and Salan fleets are launching.  Ducasse declares the mission a success and withdraws.  Wakasa orders word sent to Date to destroy the frontline base as soon as possible, without reinforcement.

The team leads, Ise, and Search are in conference with Date.  He orders them to mobilize to the frontline base at full speed.  The teams board their ships, launch, and form Dairugger with the nifty extended combination sequence to the tune of the main title song.