Hello everyone! Sorry this took such a long time to finish, but I got bogged
down with school. This chapter takes place some twenty years before the main
story, and is sort of a prelude explaining the relationship between the King
(who is at this time the prince) and Baradock. I really need feed back for
this chapter, so anything you have to say will be very welcome. Previous
chapters are found at
http://www.crosswinds.net/~rhionae/storytime/guest/lerrico/. Thanks to
Rhionae for hosting it. Go check out all her stuff 'cause its really good!
All C&C are welcome ( yes, even flames!).
Liz E.
Standard Disclaimer- DBZ is owned by Akira Toriyama ( or however you spell
it), not me. No infringement is intended.
* * * * *
Chapter 3 "What Needs To Be Done"
*24 years before*
An inky black sky loomed over the smoking remains of a few small
houses. The buildings were utterly decimated, barely a wall left standing.
Brilliant flashed of light illuminated the distance, as if stars rained down
upon the world. Beside the remains of the village, a scrawny figure
struggled to his feet. Moaning softly, his glinting red eyes searched in
the darkness for an object unknown. The curving tips of the creature's
lethal ivory fangs gleamed as a grin spread over his face. A cold, leather
piercing laugh echoed through out the empty night. They had won the first
battle, but the troops were readying. They would not win again.
*****
The Saiya-jin troops swarmed over the country side like a ravenous
pack of hunting wolfs. The reptilian inhabitants of the valuable planet
were few and far between, not that they would have stood against the brute
strength of the Prince's personal troops if their numbers had been ten fold.
The planet would succumb; they all did. Then it could be "cleansed" and
sold. Such was the business of the Saiya-jin.
* * * * *
Baradock lounged sleepily on the springy, grass covered ground. The
prince had ordered his battle squad to remain behind, once again. That
arrogant fool had always seemed to have something against his squad;
assigning them the worst swampy backwater planets and the oldest out of date
equipment. One of his soldiers had nearly lost a leg when a faulty space pod
exploded. It was just the sort of thing one of those inbred royalers would
do. Mind you, he didn't really mind that his soldiers were getting hurt,
that didn't bother him at all, it was just that the prince took such pleasure
in ridiculing and humiliating him. Besides, whenever those little accidents
occurred, the prince's royal investigators always found them to be Baradock's
fault. Too many wrong doings would get you kicked out of even the corrupted
Saiya-jin army. Perhaps if he had not been so disrespectful to the prince as
a child......, but there was nothing he could do about that now. One day he
would get his revenge, and for now he would have to be content to wait until
that day.
Sighing, he rose slowly and walked over towards the bustle of the main
camp. Unless the profile on this planet was unusually inefficient, and that
was unlikely, considering the accuracy of the reports Freiza's scouts sold
the empire, he would spend his time monitoring the incoming messages from
Vejita-sei and encrypting messages to be forwarded to the other planets in
the empire, hardly suitable work for a captain. As he idled beside the mound
of ashes left over from the bon fire last night, a tallish soldier who he
couldn't put a name to paused beside him and saluted in the usual Saiya-jin
manner, fore arm raised and palm spread wide.
"Captain Baradock, a message from an unknown sender has arrived. It
has been tracked down to one of the troops dispatched to the East side of
the planet. It was marked urgent."
So, one of the prince's little puppets had sent an urgent message.
That was most unusual. It was indeed a rare day when one of them would call
Baradock with something as important as to be coded urgent. Perhaps the day
would not be as boring as it had seemed would be the case. With a curt nod,
he dismissed the soldier.
The soldier left Baradock as he walked towards the squat, makeshift
building that housed the large alien computers that the Saiya-jin used.
Several guards nodded briefly at him as he entered. The machine was not so
valuable that it could not be replaced, but the King had decided it was too
dangerous to be without communications if it broke due to someone's
tampering. The few Saiya-jin technicians would probably just do more damage
to the thing. He chuckled to himself. It was truly amazing how many of his
people were ignoring the native calling of their blood, and instead of
becoming the warriors they were meant to be, became artisans, scientists, and
merchants. It was one of the greatest shames of the Saiya-jin. Some even
speculated that the empire would eventually disappear, as the number of
soldiers grew less and less, and then the empire of Freiza would eventually
overrun and capture the homeworld, and enslave them all.
That, of course, was the underlying reason that this mission was of
the utmost importance. Many people, some of them the king's own top
councilors and advisors, were tiring of the old king and his old fashion
ways. The general connects confirmed that the hierarchy needed some new
blood, a fierce king ready to defend the honor and pride of his people at all
cost. The prince promised that and more. He would rise the empire to new
hights. The Saiya-jin would once again be the dominant species in their
corner of the universe, and eventually conquer the empire of Frieze. Then,
the future king would shout to the masses who gathered for his boastful
speeches, then the Saiya-jin would claim their rightful place as the rulers
of the galaxy. Exalted by some, and feared by all.
This was the prince's final test. It was quite obvious to all what
was going on in the king's mind when he had not assigned one of his top
commanders to accompany the prince on his mission, as was customary. He was
testing his son. If anything out of the ordinary occurred, anything at all,
then the king might well continue his reign until another prince was born.
Who knows? He may already have a "replacement" prince waiting in the wings.
It would be infinitely simple for someone of the king's power to arrange for
the gene banks to have a duplicate of the prince incubated. He had heard
rumors of late that the banks may have even found away to speed up the growth
process. He grimaced at the thought of multiple princes being available on
short notice. This was a most critical time. Yes, every one was quite
certain that the destiny of this planet was heavily entwined with the
destiny of the empire, and Baradock had to agree.
He suddenly noticed that several of the techs were standing in
attention waiting for him to address them. Blushing heavily, he cringed at
the thought of the prince discovering his newest and least favorite captain,
who was also his sworn enemy, getting lost in thought while he was supposed
to be answering a possibly critical message.
" Um....Yes, please report." Sighing sullenly, he winced to hear how
new and inexperienced he sounded compared to the other officers on this
mission. It was no surprise that only a few of the new younger cadets would
obey his orders. Most of the older soldiers would just walk away. It was
certain that was what their prince had ordered them to do.
"Sir, an encrypted code arrived from approximately latitude forty-four
degrees north, ninety-seven degrees east. It requires a class III security
code to view "
"Thank you. All of you are dismissed." Baradock walked up to the low
iron table that held the dull metal machine. Randomly punching in the
letters of his clearance code, he waited impatiently while the machine, an
older model, processed his request. The letter appeared on the screen,
glowing a soft florescent green. The purpose of the letter, which was once
quite unsure, had become crystal clear after merely reading the first line.
He read in disgust the prince's mockingly sweet words. Only Vejita would be
petty enough to do this. He was not a soft fool. He was not! As burning red
anger filled his heart, the words seemed to run together, forming the too
familiar face of the man he held in such loathing.
Outside, Baradock fumed past the bewildered guards, and into the silent
darkness of his tent. Privacy was a very important benefit of being promoted
to an officer. It was hard to compare the spacious tent he had to use now
with the cramped barracks of the common third class soldier. And yet, he was
a third class soldier. His power rating could barely compare to those of his
fellow officers. As much as it shamed him to admit it, one or two of the
soldiers under his command could even muster strength greater then his own.
Baradock wasn't the only soldier shocked at his selection, even with his
father's power over the king. That day had earned him great prestige, to be
sure, but it had also earned him more then his fair share of enemies.
Still, a few people had wondered about the identity of this mysterious
officer. Anger cooling, his thoughts drifted back to the first time he had
seen Tycho. She had been one of the captains administering the exam needed
to enroll in the Saiya-jin armed forces. There was nothing at all that set
her apart from the other females of her class, except perhaps the first class
fighting power, a rare and prized trait in a woman. Shoulder length black
hair sticking out in spiky masses, misleadingly slight build, wide brown
eyes creased in a scowl; she was absolutely average, but something about her
drew him. After the second session which she had led, Tycho had challenged
him, as was customary, and, despite his lose, he had found himself deeply
enthralled with her. Before long they had been married.
This behavior had not impressed his superiors at the time. Marriage
was heavily discouraged, except to solidify a family's standing. It was
considered an inconvenience, and selective incubation was more efficient in
weeding out the bad traits of the species. At most, marriages were simply for
physical pleasure. Most females didn't bare young anyway, so one hardly even
needed to form a long lasting relationship. You simply chose someone to have
a child with, and went through the procedure. The necessary "ingredients"
were collected from all citizens when they reached maturity. To have a
child, one simply had to fill out a few forms. Afterwards, it was not
necessary to see your mate until you retrieved the child from its planet. It
was not the Saiyan way to worry about things involving thought or emotions,
they were strictly a physical race. Love, the actual emotion, was a feeling
unknown and scorned.
Closing his eyes, Baradock sighed. He had often attempted a discussion
of the subject of love with Tycho, but true to her heritage, she would
mearly stare at him oddly for a moment, and scowl, claiming she must have
been insane to mate with such a half-wit fool. He sometimes wondered if she
was right, perhaps he really was just a foolish dreamer. That was probably
it. After all, he had been labeled as an idiot his whole life. Even his
father had threatened to disown him. If so many people recognized it in
him, it had to be true. A crestfallen expression appearing on his face, he
left the lonely solitude of his tent. If he was a fool, then at least he
would be a fool who did his job.
* * * * *
The tech who was trying to establish video connection was quite baffled.
It could not be denied that he was not quite a genius, but the basic
training he had received should have at least allowed him to pull up a simple
visual connection. He ran through the procedure in his mind once more; open
connection screen, enter outgoing coordinates, verify coordinates, enter
security clearance code, send data, wait for conformation, pull up
communication screen. Yes, it all went as it was supposed to until the
conformation from the receiving location. He would wait, yet no answer would
come. It was almost as if no one was at the other end. Perhaps they had
just moved the receiver. That was always a possibility. Still, he should
probably inform the captain. Hopefully, Baradock wouldn't be too angry about
his unauthorized actions. One never knew what those soldiers would do to stay
out of trouble. There were far too many strange tales and disturbing rumors
circulating around the camps theses days for one to ever let his guard down.
"Captain, Sir, I cannot establish a visual contact with the coordinates
you gave me. Either the team is not at that location, or their equipment is
broken. I just felt...um...you should be informed." He gulped down those
last few words, as Baradock's eyes tightened into tiny black slits. The
captain always had been prone to extreme mood swings, and it was a rule of
thumb in this troop to steer clean of him when he got angry.
"Of course you cant fool. There is nobody at that point. It was........a
decoy! Now listen, I am going to leave camp to address the problem. It is
none of your concern." Baradock earned several curious stares as his ranting
took on a slightly maniacal tone. "You, you, and you, you will accompany me.
Mizar, you will be in charge here. No one," He paused dramatically here. "No
one will try any thing that will get me in trouble."
As he turned and motioned for the soldiers who were to accompany him to
follow, most of the crowd stood rooted to the spot. Something was defiantly
wrong. Leaving a troop without a superiors permission was punishable with
death. Most of them had always had their suspicions about Baradock's sanity,
but this confirmed it. The man was completely insane.
*****
Wispy, curls of steam drifted lazily over the black of the lake. It's
surface bubbled violently, and an odd smell of cooking meat wafted through
the air. Frowning, Baradock knelt down and touched the hissing water. He
pulled back suddenly, holding his hand and yelping. Shooting a reprimanding
look towards the soldiers, he cursed himself silently. Always making myself
look like an idiot, he ranted to himself. Baradock inhaled deeply, and
focused on the boiling lake. It would take a tremendous amount of heat to
make such a vast body of water so hot. It most certainly couldn't have been
a fire. Racking his brain, it dawned on him that a ki blast, if large
enough, could boil that much water. Surely, that must have been it. What
else could produce such results.
Baradock glanced around, searching keenly for evidence to support his
theory. And it was there, hidden under the faint signs of a hurried and
haphazard cleanup. Rusty blood stains marring the ground, grass trampled and
flattened by the tread of heavy boots, spots of burnt foliage punctuating
the field, to Saiya-jin eyes such as his own, trained in battle since
infancy, these told a story, the story of a brutal and bloody battle.
Baradock rose, and turned towards his companions. An odd gleam in his
eye, he pondered them thoughtfully for a moment. He smiled in a fashion that
was almost happy, for a man of his nature and race. "I have a question for
you three. Can any one tell me what has happened here? Have the trainers
taught you well enough to piece together this puzzle? Well?"
The three men glanced at oneanother uncomfortably. They were new to
this squad, and as of yet, were quite uncomfortable with the captain's rather
unorthodox and slightly eccentric ways of dealing with those in his command.
It didn't help them that Baradock tended to talk rather...oddly to those in
his troop. Murmuring slightly, they looked a way from Baradock.
"Ah..so the prince's little trainer's haven't taught you everything.
I'll tell you then, yes, I'll tell you. My friends, the blood that is
spilled on this ground is Saiya-jin blood. It is seeping down into the bowels
of the planet, leaving mark of the victory."
Baradock glared , as if daring them to deny him. He knew he was right,
the earth here was saturated with the blood of his people. This was a most
interesting development. He gazed to the horizon, wondering if the rest of
the Saiya-jin troops were losing, the injured lying on the cold ground, pain
echoing through their bodies. It would be the honorable thing to do if he
were to go and assist them. With as many warriors as he commanded, he would
surely make a difference in the battle. But should he? That was the
question. There was no real reason that he should help the man who's mission
in life it was to torment and degrade him. Perhaps he would go just to gloat
and revel in the prince's defeat. The joy it would bring him to behold the
broken and bruised body of his enemy; to finally behold his conquest over the
that brat; his heart swelled with happiness as he made up his mind to go at
any cost. There are some things in one's life that just cant be missed.
* * * * *
Baradock flew silently through the empty sky. He turned his scouter on,
hoping to find the location of the Saiya-jin troops. He normally didn't use
the thing, as he found its constant beeping and blipping rather annoying, but
he had to admit that it did have its uses. Peering through the red lens, he
watched as weak signals zoomed across its screen. Most likely just a few herd
animals. Sighing, he looked away. Suddenly, a barrage of numbers flew
across the screen. Nearly a dozen rather strong individuals, mingled with
dozens of smaller ones, were located almost due west, over the snowy capped
peaks of the nearest arms of the planet's one great mountain range. Baradock
skidded to a halt, and turned abruptly towards the mountains. He sped
onward, vigor renewed, smiling all the while at the thought of being the
solitary bystander at the prince's undoing.
* * * * *
Baradock had landed about a half a mile away from what he supposed was
a primitive native city. It would be far to dangerous to land in the actual
battle field. He had proven his suspicions correct. This was indeed the
site of the battle. Even at this distance he could make out the long
mournful cries of those who had become casualties, and the exhausted screams
of those who fought on. He crept stealthily through the shady forest, careful
not to wander or change directions. Such minute noised as the whisper of the
wind through the bare branches and the crackle of dry fall leaves under foot
made a shock run up Baradock's spine. Adrenaline was already rushing through
his bloodstream, filling his with the irresistible urge to hurt and main and
draw blood. To leave his enemy, no....victem, dead on the ground. His
muscles tensed as he drew nearer to the fighting. Yes, this was what it
meant to be a Saiya-jin.
Very soon, he reached the eves of the forest. The city lay spread out
before him, injured and weak. The rents that were torn in the grassy path
ways seem to Baradock wounds; the essence of the city slowly oozing out. But
as he saw the struggle within; the serpentine creatures who called this place
home fighting vainly against the ruthless invaders, knowing that any minute
they might lay dead, yet not surrendering, as most would have done; it was to
him as if the city struggled against it's wounds, painfully rising to its
feet, readying to strike back. This was, in his opinion, a very bad sign.
Calmly, Baradock entered the city, minding to walk around the piles of
corpses that had accumulated in the street, drawing the crowds of gluttonous
insects and uncouth vermin from their dark lairs. He was certain that, lost
among the rambling roads and quaint buildings, there was conflict here; he
could feel it in the air, ominously overshadowing the city. He went onward,
every so often catching a glimpse of the snakeish things who had built this
metropolis. They were an unusual race. In his ten years of service, on his
dozens of missions to all reaches of the universe, he had never come across
creatures quite like these. They had elongated bodies, lacking any notable
arms. Two small unstable legs helped to steady the beast. The heads were
nearly humanoid, if a bit green, with the exception of the long, cruel fangs.
They spoke in a slippery lispish tongue that Baradock, with the sensitive
ears of a Saiya-jin, could barely understand, despite the fact that the
version of standard they spoke was fairly ordinary. Still, despite what ever
anomalies in their evolutionary history might have caused them to take on
such a cumbersome and unwieldy form, they should by all rights be dead now.
There was no explanation for their success.
Baradock slowed his pace now, as the shouts and explosions grew
louder. As he rounded a corner, he came to face a large spread of
desolation. Nearly everything in a wide radius was flattened and broke. He
peered forward, hoping to see something in the muddy distance. Suddenly, an
ear wrenching scream blasted his ears. Dozens of the natives were slithering
towards him, all bearing large, cruel guns and menacing expressions. A
momentary paralysis froze him to the ground. There had to be literally
hundreds of soldiers marching towards. Where were they all coming from?
Suddenly, a thousand roaring bullets rushed towards him. Even in his shocked
stupor, he couldn't help a chuckle. Why, they still used actual metal
bullets. Most planets atleast had a low level of laser technology. If it
weren't for the sheer overwhelming amount of the bullets, he would simply
brush them aside. Then, suddenly, a heavy thing struck his head, knocking
him to the ground. Incoherent blurs of pictures and sounds swirled about in
his head. Growing steadily, a loud roar, like that of rushing water, filled
his ears. The ground under him shook and trembled violently with many feet.
All of this became distant and detached soon, as if he were sinking in to a
long, deep, endless well of black and mist. Finally, everything quieted and
settled down as he slipped into the murky depths of sleep.
* * * * *
The sweet woody smoke of the fire drifted into the crisp starry night.
The glowing red and yellow tongues of flame danced and whirled playfully as
the embers floated peacefully down to the grassy floor, like fireflies one
might find on a muggy summer night. Against the backdrop of a tumbling
cement wall, the shadows of the fire played out their performance, a
senseless, endless dance, beautiful as it was dangerous. Yet the play of the
fire went unobserved, for the only figure around the fire lay motionless, but
for the occasional moan. A the reason for this was obvious. Large sickening
burns, just beginning to heal, hid most of his face and left side. A wicked
cut sliced across his chest, the heart was obviously the target. All of his
skin that wasn't cloaked in blanket had begun to bruise a sickly yellow-green
color that made one quite ill to look at.
Anyone could see that this man was much in need of rest, that much was
obvious to even the most untrained eye. However, one might find it odd that
no medicines were cluttered about, or no vigilant nurse kept watch over her
charge. Except for the loud crude echoes of song that sounded from a distant
bonfire, not a soul was here to comfort his twisted dreams. Twisted they must
be, to see the looks of horror and disgust that alternately swept across his
face. The mind had difficulty imagining what beast could torture a man so.
So terrible was his face, one might imagine him as a frightening beast;
moaning, as he did ever so often, in a painful inhuman way. Man or beast, it
did not matter. No one could see his pain wracked form, frozen still in the
cool night air that slowly blew down from the crisp snow crowning the bald
heads of the distant, shadowy mountains.
Continued in Part 2