Darth Wiki / Voltron: Cosmic Knights

Voltron: Cosmic Knights, or Cosmic Knights is a potential Crossover of Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Gundam metaseries by G2BattleConvoy. The fic is an attempt to explore how a sufficiently technologically advanced civilisation would have faced the villains of Voltron: Legendary Defender without the assistance of the titular robot. At least, at first.

For ten thousand years, the Galra Empire have been subjecting the citizens of the universe to their mad, brutal takeover of the cosmos. Thousands, if not millions of worlds have been crushed under their dark purple jackboots. There are rumours that there is rebellion in a few insignificant locations and that five coloured Lions have awoken from their slumbers. They are not the only ones fighting back. In another corner of the star-studded skies, there is a nation, the Arian Cosmic Empire, that has put up a stubborn defence against the invasion, and they are ready to release their latest weapon: Gundam.

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Main Series Tropes

• Adaptation Expansion: The fic attempts to give a much more expanded picture of the Arian nation that Reiji hailed from in Gundam Build Fighters, while also expanding its scope in order to establish a nation with considerable might and influence in order to incorporate the standard Gundam tropes the franchise is known for, while justifying a sustainable conflict with one of the oldest empires in the known universe.
• Aerith and Bob: Like many a Gundam entry, a lot of the characters' names sound either fairly normal by Earth standards, or downright bizarre, as if they're in a Star Wars film. Partially justified as the Arian Cosmic Empire is a civilisation that is not necessarily connected to Earth.
• Applied Phlebotinum: A two-fold example: Arian's Mobile Suits, and by extension the Gundams, are said to be derived from research into both the Arista mineral and Altean technology.
• Badass Army: Arian's Elite Army, the Cosmic Knights, consist of Arian's most talented soldiers, and were said to be able to Hold the Line against the Galran forces until the first Gundams were deployed.
• Canon Welding: The fic links Gundam Build Fighters with the Legendary Defender universe, as well as a few bits and pieces of the Gundam EXA manga.
• Cool vs. Awesome: It's the Galran Empire pitted against a crapton of Mobile Suits. Also a case of Author Appeal.
• Darker and Edgier: Than both Gundam Build Fighters and Voltron: Legendary Defender, due to it being a war story.
• Defictionalization: In-universe example: The Gundams used by the A.I.S.F. were inspired by the knowledge that was gained from Reiji's travels to an alternate Earth and several Gundam metaseries materials.
• During the War: The story starts some time after Arian's First Contact with the Galrans, where they've already conquered some of the frontier colonies.
• The Empire: The Galrans, naturally.
• Feudal Future: The Arian Cosmic Empire is defended by a group called the Cosmic Knights, they're ruled by a King, and they use advanced technology in their exploits.
• Friend or Foe?: When the Blade of Mamora attempt to intervene in a Galran infiltration plan, they're accidentally mistaken for other infiltrators by Arian forces.
• The Good Kingdom: Arguably, the Arian Cosmic Empire is this. They're ridiculously small compared to the several millennia-old Galra Empire, but they're stated to treat their people with human decency, and their unique resources are what have allowed them to Hold the Line for as long as they have.
• Human Aliens: To the naked eye, the Arian population look indistinguishable from their counterparts from Earth (i.e. humans). It's not clear whether their origins are actually tied to Earth, or if they happened to turn out exactly like humanity would.
• Humongous Mecha: Discounting Voltron, there is several fleets' worth of Mobile Suits, all used by the Arian Imperial Space Forces.
• Light Is Good: The Arians use white as well as a number of bright colours in their colour scheme, signifying their opposition to the Galrans.
• O.C. Stand-in: A necessity, since a few of the Gundam EXA-original characters do not have very detailed entries in the Gundam wiki. Hell, Yuza doesn't even have an entry.
• Super Prototype: The two Gundams that they give to Team Extreme near the start of the story are explicitly this. The Hot Scramble Gundam is meant to test the applicability of semi-independent attack drones, while the Extreme Gundam is meant to serve as a testbed for a multi-purpose MS frame. Their successors take this even further.
• Villain Forgot to Level Grind: A downplayed, interplanetary example: About halfway through the story, (not counting the Paladins' help) the Arians have managed to produce enough Gundams powerful enough to start pushing the Galrans back, who are so inclined into their We Have Reserves attitude, that they don't even realise they're losing on the Arian front.

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Characters

Cosmic Knights: Team Extreme

A.I.S.F. Cosmic Knight Squadron 5 / Team Extreme

A group of elite soldiers tasked with fighting off the Galran invasion forces, and part of the titular Cosmic Knights. They are led by Leos Alloy and are given the first Extreme Gundam prototype in order to change the tide of the war.

• Ace Pilot: All of them (save for Sthesia) are noted to be extremely capable pilots that have managed to help stave off the Galran offensive, even with their standard-issue Mobile Suits.
• Elites Are More Glamorous: They are some of the best soldiers in all of Arian, and gain quite a bit of development as the protagonists of the story.
• Protagonist Title: Subtitle example. They are part of the titular Cosmic Knights.
• The Squad:
  • The Leader: Leos Alloy
  • Number Two: Meijin Kawaguchi III
  • The Squadette: Sthesia Awar
  • The Big Guy: Michael Tapferin

Leos Alloy

Main mecha: AGX-11/MF Extreme Gundam I/MF Magnificence, AGX-14/VS Extreme Gundam II VS Valiance

• All Your Powers Combined: The Gundam Valiance is designed to have the abilities of all three variations of Gundam Magnificence, without the needed drawback to switch between the loadouts.
• Beware the Nice Ones: If anyone threatens Sthesia's wellbeing, then Leos will be sure to give them a Curb-Stomp Battle.
• The Dreaded: Once the Galrans learn just how powerful his Extreme Gundam is, they nickname it the "Crimson Angel."
• Evolving Weapon: The Extreme Gundam prototype that he's given at the start of Cosmic Knights is designed to use combat data gathered in its deployments to craft new armaments and upgrades to improve its combat potential. If necessary, it can also deploy them at will.
• The Hero: He's very much your typical Gundam protagonist: a noble yet somewhat naive pilot who's been put in command of Team Extreme.
• Mid-Season Upgrade: Eventually upgrades to the Extreme Gundam II VS "Valiance."
• Multiform Balance: The Extreme Gundam "Magnificence" eventually gains three different forms, each with their own strength and drawbacks:
  • Lightning Bruiser/Close-Range Combatant: The Xenon Face
  • Mighty Glacier/Long-Range Fighter: The Eclipse Face.
  • Glass Cannon/Jack-of-All-Stats: The Agios Face.
• Nice Guy: He's incredibly polite and friendly to his comrades and other people alike.

Meijin Kawaguchi III / Tatsuya Yuuki

Main mecha: AGX-B76 Hot Scramble Gundam

• Ascended Fanboy: Technically, he is one. As Aria von Reiji Asuna reveals, the only prior combat experience that he had before becoming a Cosmic Knight was Gunpla Battle.
• The Ace: Even with his relatively simple Hot Scramble Gundam, he is very deadly in combat.
• Ace Custom: Arguably, the Hot Scramble Gundam is an Ace Custom Gundam. Not only does it have its own model code, it was tweaked personally by him to take advantage of his Gunpla Battle fighting style. Considering that the design is derived from his own Gunpla, this makes perfect sense.
• Attack Drone: The fin funnels on the Hot Scramble Gundam's back can either be launched independently to attack from multiple angles, or attack to his beam rifle to power the weapon up.
• Char Clone: He's an Ace Pilot who pilots a red Gundam, wears a Custom Uniform complete with Cool Shades and has one hell of a charismatic personality.
• Energy Weapon: His funnels fire high-powered energy beams capable of trapping enemies.
• The Lancer: Meijin, unlike Leos, is a very passionate person with his personality set to Large Ham on overdrive. Despite that, he normally acts as the voice of reason when he thinks that Leos is in over his head.
• Super Mode: The Hot Scramble Gundam, while glowing red, can gain increased speed and firepower by overclocking its systems. This proves useful when the Paladin-Cosmic Knight alliance needs to retreat from a successful Galran counterattack.
• Token Human: Or, at least, the only one from an Earth that isn't nearly as advanced as the one in this universe, but it still counts.

Sthesia Awar

Main mecha: AGX-16/CL Extreme Gundam II CL Excellia

• Action Girl: She eventually gains this status, see Took a Level in Badass.
• Friendly Sniper: Apparently, her marksmanship skills were more effective at longer ranges. This serves as Foreshadowing for her eventual possession of the Extreme Gundam Excellia.
• The Heart: She's the one who more or less keeps Team Extreme working together, despite their differences. It helps that she has a very optimistic personality and is always hopeful for the future.
• Mission Control: Serves this role for a good majority of the story.
• Nice Girl: Arguably more friendly than Leos.
• Took a Level in Badass: She's eventually chosen to pilot the Extreme Gundam II CL "Excellia", a heavily modified variant of the Extreme Gundam II VS "Valiance".

Michael Tapferin

Main mecha: AGS-95B Powered G-Stream Blazer, AGX-11/MF Extreme Gundam I/MF Magnificence.

• Ace Custom: His Powered G-Stream Blazer is a customised G-Stream outfitted with a veritable arsenal of weapons, such as particle beam cannons, integrated Gatling cannons and shield-mounted missile racks.
• Badass Normal: He uses a customized G-Stream Mobile Suit as opposed to Leos's Extreme Gundam and Meijin's Hot Scramble Gundam in order to fight the Galrans.
• The Big Guy: He's one of the more aggressive members of the Cosmic Knights, and can be incredibly arrogant at times.
• Dual Boss: Serves as one-half of one thanks to being Brainwashed and Crazy by -EX-.
• Dual Wielding: A unique aspect of his fighting style is to usually have two of a certain weapon deployed.
• Empowered Badass Normal: He's given the Extreme Gundam I/MF "Magnificence" as his Mid-Season Upgrade.
• Fiery Redhead: Downplayed. He can be rather irritable at times.
• Odd Friendship: He forms one with Pidge.

Cosmic Knights: Team Firebrand

A.I.S.F. Cosmic Knight Squadron 6 / Team Firebrand

Another team of Cosmic Knights that take part in the anti-Galran offensive. They, unfortunately, have to play second-fiddle to Team Extreme, as they don't have any Gundams of their own to use in the war effort. This changes shortly after the Galrans pull a devastating counter-attack.

• Anti-Hero Team: They, unfortunately, have to play a lot more dirty tricks in order to survive.
• Badass Normal: They truly are natural aces despite their lower-calibre Mobile Suits. It doesn't make them any less dangerous, though.
• Expy: Their Mobile Suits are basically identical to several Mobile Suit designs seen in the various anime series, OVAs and video games. Their Ace Customs at the beginning are essentially Celestial Being's 3rd Generation Gundams as Mecha-Mooks.
• The Squad:
  • Cold Sniper: Keith Ors
  • Army Scout: Yuza Shindou
  • The Engineer: Themis Chiron
  • The Big Gal: Pigna Hershey
• Weak, but Skilled: They certainly make up for their lack of firepower in a lot of creative ways.

Keith Ors

Main mecha: AGS-95M G-Stream Marksman, AGX-15/RS Gundam Resolution

• Byronic Hero: Downplayed. He is not a nice person by any means, but he still fights alongside the Cosmic Knights.
• Cold Sniper: Carries a professional attitude, both in and out of combat, and is the designated sniper of the team.
• Consummate Professional: Takes his role as a Cosmic Knight very seriously, to the point of having an issue with Leos and Sthesia's increasing closeness.
• Dark Is Not Evil: Wears a black uniform, but is most definitely working on the side of the Cosmic Knights.
• Deadpan Snarker: This is most likely the only indication of him having a sense of humour.
• Smart People Play Chess: Does this frequently with Themis.
• The Strategist: Known for coming up with rather effective strategies against the Galran threat.

Yuza Shindou

Main mecha: AGS-95S G-Stream Swordsman, AGX-15/TM Gundam Taskmaster

• Anti-Hero: Like Keith, he's not exactly a cheerful person, and is usually quick to eliminate the enemy as quickly as possible.
• Combat Pragmatist: When necessary, he'll use anything to win.
• Custom Uniform: His uniform looks like a customised cloak, for crying out loud.
• Dual Wielding: Gundam Taskmaster's design encourages this, with two pistols, two cannons and two heavy swords.
• Dude Looks Like a Lady: He looks rather effeminate from a distance. The long-haired ponytail doesn't help.
• Master Swordsman: He's more or less unrivalled in using a sword-like weapon in combat. Elevates to The Musketeer when he acquires the Gundam Taskmaster.
• Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Apparently, it's been noted that Yuza has a few admirers.

Themis Chiron

Main mecha: AGS-96T G-Stream Technician, AGX-15/SM Gundam Seigemaster

• The Engineer: He is more or less one of the few people that can understand how Altean tech can even work in the Gundams.
• The Smart Guy: More or less plays this role for both Team Firebrand and the frontline unit of the Cosmic Knights as a whole.
• Unknown Rival: To Pidge, of all people.

Pigna Hershey

Main mecha: AGS-95C G-Stream Combatant, AGX-15/FH Gundam Fireheart

• Ace Custom: Her personal Mobile Suit is a heavily modified pink-coloured G-Stream, which she insisted upon. It's been heavily modified to transform into a jet fighter form with optional bombing equipment.
• BFG: Her Mid-Season Upgrade, Gundam Fireheart uses a high-output heavy beam rifle that can wipe out several groups of Galran fighters in one shot.
• Boisterous Bruiser: She's known to be rather overconfident at times.
• Pink Means Feminine: Her uniform's colour and the colour of her Mobile Suit.
• Macross Missile Massacre: Fittingly for a Transforming Mecha Ace Custom Space Fighter, her Combatant can carry numerous missile pods which can be fired at her discretion.
• Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's rather small compared to her fellow Knights. Doesn't stop her from fighting as well as her teammates during combat.

Team Voltron

The Paladins of Voltron / Defenders of the Universe

A group of five humans, from a planet called 'Earth', that were recruited by Princess Allura of Altea in order to fight back against the Galra Empire. They each control a Lion individually, but together they possess the greatest weapon the universe has ever known: Voltron, the combined form of all five Lions and perhaps one of the last few hopes the universe has.

For other tropes related to them, please see their canon page.

• Combining Mecha: All five Lions can combine to form Voltron.
• Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: All five Paladins have a distinct colour to them, and they each pilot a Lion which would match their uniform.
• Famed In-Story: By the time they arrive in the Arian Cosmic Empire's territory, they are treated as legendary heroes. It helps that they managed to liberate some worlds themselves and give Emperor Zarkon something to think about.
• Hope Bringer: Essentially, their arrival brings up the morale of the Arian troops that are defending their homeworlds simply because they were the first people to deal a major blow to Emperor Zarkon.
• True Companions: Even more so than Team Extreme, especially since they were effectively thrown into the fight for universal liberation.

Takahashi "Shiro" Shirogane / The Black Paladin

• The Hero: Of Team Voltron.

Keith / The Red Paladin

• The Lancer: A Foil to Shiro.

Lance / The Blue Paladin

• Casanova Wannabe: Any chance he gets to flirt with an attractive woman, human or otherwise, he'll take it, despite these attempts failing more than once.

Katie "Pidge" Holt / The Green Paladin

• Odd Friendship: She forms one with Michael.
• The Smart Guy: Fills this role for Team Voltron, being the foremost expert on Altean technology and culture

Hunk / The Yellow Paladin

• The Big Guy.

Corran

Princess Allura of Altea

The Arian Imperial Space Forces

The Arian Cosmic Empire's interplanetary military force, they are the ones who put their lives in defence of their various colonies and controlled worlds. They are also the ones providing the Cosmic Knights with their full support, allowing them to use their infrastructure in order to effectively deploy the Gundams against the invasion.

• Cool Starship: As they are a moderately well-armed Space Navy, this is a must. The General Answer is a primary example.
• Expy: Their general military structure is similar to the Earth Federation Space Forces from the Universal Century timeline.
• Mecha-Mooks: A heroic variant with their use of the mass-produced Mobile Suit known as the G-Stream.
• Redshirt Army: Unfortunately, a good number of them end up as casualties against the Galrans. Their elite brethren, the Cosmic Knights, however, fare much better.
• Standard Sci-Fi Fleet: Just like any other fictional Space Navy, they have a ship-class structure and they stick to it fairly well.
  • The Battlestar: The General Answer serves as one of these, having a moderately high amount of firepower and being able to deploy Mobile Suits into combat.

Captain Davron Fiennes

Main ship: AIC-1024 General Answer.

• The Captain: Of the General Answer.
• Commanding Coolness: Nothing gets past him, and he rarely loses his temper.

The Arian Royal Family

The ruling family of the Arian Cosmic Empire, they have a fair but firm ruling stance on their denizens. Known for possessing the mysterious Arista crystals and allowing the Gundams to be developed.

SPOILERS AHOY FOR GUNDAM BUILD FIGHTERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

His Imperial Majesty, Aria von Reiji Asuna

• Big Good: As The Good King, he automatically fills this position.
• The Emperor: Defied. He deliberately calls himself a King for two reasons: Emperors are usually seen as corrupt rulers, and he has no delusions about holding all the power of the Arian Cosmic Empire.
• Former Teen Rebel: Was very much this in Gundam Build Fighters.
• The Good King: A lot of the Arian people praise him for being fair, but firm to his people, and never letting the temptations of the Crown get in the way of his responsibilities.
• Old Friend: He actually knows Meijin by his real name, Tatsuya Yuuki.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Ascending to the throne hasn't stopped him from being a capable fighter, in and out of a Mobile Suit.

Her Royal Highness, Aila Jyrkiäinen-Asuna

• Dark and Troubled Past: Working for the Flana Institute did not do her any favours in her previous life on Earth.
• The High Queen: Of a sort. Alongside Reiji, she holds the second-highest amount of power in all of Arian.
• Rags to Riches: Her backstory is essentially this, all the way up till she married Reiji.
• Rank Scales with Asskicking: Like her husband, she's capable of giving anyone a Curb-Stomp Battle.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Do not assume her to be one who takes the possible invasion of her subjects' homes lightly.
• Tsundere: Sometimes her husband's trademark oddness can really get on her nerves.
• Purple Is Powerful: She wears purple to contrast Reiji's Red Is Heroic, but is just an effective a fighter as he is.

The Galra Empire

Others

The Blade of Mamora

A Galran Resistance group who reject the Galran Empire's current mission to bring the universe under their jackboot rule. Using infiltration and subterfuge tactics, one of their main methods is to weaken the Galran Empire on the inside. They have worked with the Paladins before, but after learning that the Arian Cosmic Empire has somehow held off the invasion of their own territory for some time, have decided to place some agents there too.

• Dark Is Not Evil: Despite wearing dark colours, they are on the side of good.
• Malevolent Masked Men: Subverted. They're somewhat benevolent, but a lot of their members still wear masks in an effort to preserve their true identities, lest members of the Galran military find out.

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Cosmic Compiler

The main intelligence agency for the Arian Cosmic Empire, they collect any and all information they learn about the Galrans and send the appropriate intelligence to the frontlines. They work closely with the Cosmic Knights, and as a result are necessary for the war effort.

• Covert Group with Mundane Front: Of a sort. They're a secret intelligence agency, but their public front is a historic library and museum in one, showing natural pride for the Arian nation.
• Government Agency of Fiction: Their job is to essentially gather and use any information about the Galra Empire that they find for their own uses.

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Chapters