Chapter Text
“Breaking news: The long-awaited first flight of Voltron, the first nuclear-powered spacecraft, ended in disaster this morning. Only minutes after takeoff, the vehicle burst into flames over the Arizona desert. All six crew members are presumed dead. No cause has been identified yet, but a full investigation has been announced.
“In other news-“
Sendak turned away from the TV monitor and sighed heavily. It was a damn shame about that mission -he’d met the commander while they were both still in service, and he knew the rest of the crew by reputation -and now he was the one heading up the investigation.
It would be his first time as a lead investigator, too, and with a case this high-profile, he couldn’t help but feel nervous. A lot of eyes would be on him, and his career was on the line.
He’d taken the very first plane out of DC, less than an hour after his supervisor called, and now, he was disembarking into the dry desert air of Tucson, forty miles from the crash site. A car was waiting for him, a standard black government vehicle.
Even the minute and a half it took to get from the doors to the car had sweat beading on his forehead and under his arms.
And it was only May .
He said as much to the driver, and the driver only said, “But it’s a dry heat.”
Which was also definitely true.
Sendak pulled his phone out to see if there were any updates on the case while he’d been in the air.
Preliminary evidence collection had been halted, once significant radiation had been detected, and several members of the initial response team had been taken to the hospital in an abundance of caution.
Maybe it was time to start thinking about changing careers again…
Something private sector, with very low stakes, maybe.
At least the view was nice: clear blues skies, rolling hills and towering mountains. There were no skyscrapers here, only a handful of buildings that rose more than a few stories off the ground, making the sky seem that much more open.
If only it weren’t so damn hot .
“Alright, buckle up,” the driver said after a while. “We’re going through Gates’ Pass, and it’s pretty bumpy.”
Sendak wanted to laugh; he’d been a Naval test pilot, before a crash had taken his career, his arm, and one eye. He could handle any treacherous road.
The view, once they crested the pass, was breathtaking: miles of red desert, patchworked with greens and yellows, marred only by a plume of thick, black smoke rising into the sky, blotting out only a small portion of the seemingly endless sunshine.
“Is it always so green here?” Sendak asked. They were in a desert, after all; he’d been picturing the Sahara in his mind, but obviously…
“Wet winter,” the driver said. “Hope you packed some allergy meds.”
Sendak, who did not have allergies, did not. He’d be fine.
“And that’s the crash site, I assume?” He asked, pointing at the plume of smoke.
“Yeah,” the driver said. “She came down in the best possible place, I suppose, all things considered. Not much out this way.”
Tucson was nowhere as big as DC, or San Diego (which had been part of the original flight path), but having a nuclear vessel come down in the middle of downtown still would have been a disaster of untold proportions.
Especially with the radiation.
At least there were only six casualties, this time, and as test pilots… you knew the risks you were taking, every time it was wheels-up.
Sendak knew better than most.
They finally made it to the security checkpoint, staffed by airmen holding rifles, radiation badges affixed to their arms.
They were arguing with a man, incongruously dressed in a very sharply tailored navy blue suit -obviously nothing the Air Force would issue to anyone - his white hair pulled back into a messy updo. Large aviators covered his eyes, but while he was agitated, he didn’t seem alarmed by the airmen or their rifles.
One of the airmen turned towards Sendak’s car, and the driver rolled the window down. “I’m bringing Agent Sendak with the NTSB in. He’s assuming control of the investigation.”
Sendak passed his badge up to the driver, who passed it to the airman. The airman studied it, then handed it back. “You’re cleared for entry. You’ll have to stop at the command center for a radiation badge.” He gestured off the road to a series of tents set up.
The crash site was still a ways away. Sendak was used to the command center being at the edge of the debris field; he supposed the radiation complicated things.
“What’s with him?” Sendak asked the airman, pointing at the man, still arguing with the other airmen.
“Oh, him? He showed up about half an hour ago and won’t leave. Says he’s the lead engineer.”
Sendak took another look at the man. There were no other cars around, except a couple of Jeeps, probably used by the airmen. The man had a thick briefcase with him, but no other luggage. “Did he give a name?”
The airman snorted. “Yeah, said he was the son of Zarkon Daibazaal. I swear, people will do anything to see a spectacle.”
Zarkon Daibazaal was the founder and CEO of Daibazaal Industries, a multimillion dollar tech firm and the builders of the Voltron program.
If this was his son, and if the son was the lead engineer…
“Tell him to get in the car,” Sendak said.
The airman looked startled for a moment, but was likely too used to following orders to argue. He motioned for the man to come over, and even opened the door for him.
The man gracefully slid into the backseat next to Sendak.
“Agent Sendak,” Sendak said, offering the man a handshake, “NTSB lead investigator.”
“Lotor Daibazaal,” the man said, shaking Sendak’s hand firmly. “Formerly lead engineer on the Voltron program.”
“Formerly?” Sendak asked, as the car went through the checkpoint.
“I was fired two weeks ago for refusing to sign off on this test flight,” Lotor said.
And Sendak knew immediately that he was the key to this investigation. Whatever was out there in the debris field… this man would be able to provide the context that could crack the case right open.
“You’ll work with me during the investigation?” Sendak asked. “You’ll let me interview you?”
“Whatever you need,” Lotor said. “My father is already trying to pin the blame on me, and I intend to clear my name if it kills me.”