Chapter 25

The most prominent member of Freeza's special forces was irked.

Captain Ginyuu tried not to focus on his foul mood as he piloted most of his team away from Koorim, reminding himself that frown lines would mar his stylish appearance. It was difficult to set aside. It had been a long time since he last amused himself by slaughtering a largely-defenseless planet. Ginyuu envisioned going on a bit of a spree after dispatching the next batch of Saiyan forces, but Freeza would not approve his Captain's extracurricular plans. The planet was a political hot potato, and Ginyuu was too easily linked to the Cold Emporium. Ginyuu argued that the form he currently wore was not as yet widely recognized. "It will be," was Freeza's implacable response. "They are now alerted to the presence of something unusual on Koorim. If vids show up of your newest member battling the Saiyans, we can pass it off as a final mercenary assignment before he officially joined your ranks. Your presence in Saiyan space will be more difficult to explain away." Ginyuu did not feel that the most recent inductee into the Ginyuu Squad had earned the right to romp over far-less-qualified species, but he was obligated to concede to his master's sense of strategy.

Look on the bright side, Ginyuu told himself. They were really beginning to get on your nerves, Captain. Whoever gets to kill them, at least the moralizing bores will be dead soon. The patriots on the planet's surface became increasingly tedious as early successes over the Saiyans sharpened their devotion to their righteous cause. Oh, sure; the foolish inhabitants of Koorim thought the aid they were receiving from the great Freeza indicated support for their noble effort to liberate themselves from their tyrannical Saiyan overlords; however, disinterest in a direct confrontation with the Saiyan Empire meant they had received all the help they were going to get. The silly woolly critters did not realize that Freeza, himself in the planet trade, wouldn't consider a species that revolted against the master who originally provided the planet for them a profitable risk. As much as it irritated Ginyuu, his master was correct in noting that the planet's ability to resist the Saiyan's clearing efforts made it high-profile at the moment. While Freeza held two of the most powerful off-world Saiyans as political pawns, Ginyuu knew the third one — he forgot her name; the one with the real mean streak — was probably heading toward the planet now.

Although it might be marginally interesting to see what the Saiyans called "powerful", he had no interest in facing her in a fight. She did not possess a tenth of his own power. In fact, she wouldn't be anything close to a challenge for his teammate on the surface, any more than the other Saiyans had been. So far all the vaunted Ginyuu Squad had really accomplished was to amass data on the spectrum of colors displayed as the monkeys blew up. All in all, thought Ginyuu sourly, this had been one of the more tedious mission his squad had ever endured. He would have to suggest to Freeza — tactfully, of course — that other squads were better suited for these surreptitious propaganda operations.

The console demanded his attention. Expecting to see Dodoria, Freeza's liaison with the troops, appear on the screen, he was surprised to face Yuzun, the diplomatic attaché, who regarded him with a slight frown across his perfect features. "You're leaving it a little tight," Yuzun commented evenly. "The Saiyan forces left Vejiitasei a week ago. They should be there very soon."

Ginyuu preened a little for the changeling, turning his head so Yuzun could admire the chiseled three-quarters profile. Yuzun had booted him out of the coterie a few years back because he hadn't liked Ginyuu's previous body. Ginyuu didn't really blame him. The last form had been stylistically challenged but this body, with its sculpted muscles and smooth slate skin, was an impressive specimen that should tempt even someone with Yuzun's cosmopolitan tastes. The straight, sleek horns were a nice touch, almost a tribute to his master without being large enough to impinge on Freeza's superiority. "Yuzun, what a nice surprise," the Captain said urbanely. "I must say, you are looking very stylish."

The cross expression eased as a wry grin ticked up one corner of the changeling's mouth. Yuzun stroked a pale hand down the side of his face as if tucking wayward strands back into his glossy hair. "Well, of course, my dear Captain. I have a reputation to maintain. I'm also on a rather tight schedule, which is why I wanted to chat with you a bit. The current Saiyan incident is keeping me busy. I do not need another one added to my work load, understand?"

"My dear Yuzun, of course I wouldn't do anything that would make your diplomatic duties more difficult." Ginyuu flashed his best stage smile. "We'll stay well clear of the Saiyans." He placed one hand over his breast for dramatic effect. "You have my word on that."

A shift in the back of the shuttle brought a wide reptilian visage over Ginyuu's shoulder, "Have you had any contact with Zarbon?" demanded Baata.

Yuzun lifted one shoulder in a smooth shrug. "Some, although as usual he deals directly with Lord Freeza where he can. No indication whatsoever that he's about to chuck it all and come running home like a good little life-giver."

Baata frowned.

"So sorry, darling. You'll just have to make do with me."

"You shouldn't be in the military, either," snapped Baata.

"And you wonder why both of us prefer mammals," murmured Yuzun.

Ginyuu shifted to a full-face view to show off the horns, a subtle reminder to Yuzun that this form was all mammal.

There was a series of beeps from the scanner monitor set up in front of Gurudo's seat. "I have a Saiyan cruiser on my long-distance scanners."

"Then we need to make tracks." Ginyuu beamed at Yuzun. "Obviously we don't want to do anything that might create an incident and take up Yuzun's valuable time."

"No interest in the little Saiyan king, Ginyuu? Reports place Vegeta on that ship. Did you know he was personally coming to see what was going on?"

At that, regret ran across Ginyuu's face. "Really?"

"Evidently rumors of something strong in the area have drawn him off-planet. You do good work, Ginyuu."

The regret quickly snuffed as a nasty smile pulled at Ginyuu's thin-lipped mouth. "Heh. If what I hear about the little monkey is true, he may be a bit much for our fifth member to handle." The idea pleased him. "I trust you'll be present to hear my report for Lord Freeza," he said to Yuzun. "It will be a stimulating presentation, I promise."

Yuzun murmured a response that, to everyone in the shuttle except Ginyuu, sounded non-committal.

Beaming, the Captain turned back to the navigational controls, humming at first, then breaking into a rousing rendition of a Ginyuu Force recruiting jingle. The other squad members winced, except for Rikuum who continued to sprawl in his chair with his eyes closed and his jaw slack.

"The Captain's in a good mood," said Gurudo, uncertainly, as he scrunched several of his eyes closed in an attempt to shut out Ginyuu's singing.

"That's 'coz there can only be one Captain in the Ginyuu Force," mumbled Rikuum as if he were still more than half-asleep. "The big guy was pretty miffed when Freeza insisted on adding another Captain to the squad. Looks like we're about to go down to one again."

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Pompous idiot, thought Yuzun, leaning back in the console chair. What did I ever see in that one? Well, apart from his position, of course. I bet he has no clue how to use that body to its full potential, either. What a waste.

A hard tug against his braid brought his head back sharply.

"And you say I play games," remarked Taurus.

Yuzun studied his lover from under half-closed lids. Taurus had taken Ginyuu's place in the changeling's coterie when the Captain had just gotten too full of himself be tolerable. Although he never witnessed any sign of tension between the two, mammals were difficult to manage and the Saiyan was the temperamental type. Since Taurus was also just strong enough to believe he had a chance at Ginyuu in a fight Yuzun occasionally worried that he might overstep his boundaries, although he also harbored hopes that the Saiyan would one day be a member of the prestigious unit. Alas, despite Yuzun's earnest efforts, he had never been able to impart more than a superficial court polish to the Saiyan. Even though Taurus' ki was high enough, he would never have the style necessary for Ginyuu Force membership.

Taurus exhibited no anger, just amusement. Relaxing, Yuzun grinned up impishly. "You play dangerous games," he retorted. "I just... play."

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A dozen squad commanders attended Fleet Commander Shouga's briefing, some with seconds in tow. That accounted for the presence of the Elite warrior Riiki, who always shadowed her squad's leader during meetings. She stood behind Squad Commander Ros with her arms crossed and a dark scowl stamped on her features. Shouga scanned the conference room to make sure everyone else was present before glancing toward the King for permission to start the meeting. Vegeta, wearing a plain dark battlesuit that left his muscular arms and neck bare, stood off to the side, head tucked down and eyes half-closed, as if this were beneath his attention. Technically it was, of course. He had not originally planned on attending. It had taken a call from Zarbon to prevail on the King the necessity of being aware of the up-to-the-minute situation on Koorim.

If Shouga ever experienced nostalgia for the old days when she commanded the flagship of the Crown Prince, dealing directly with the King instead of dealing with Zarbon was enough to quench it. The difficulties of working with someone of high rank who refused the responsibilities that came with it manifested almost as soon as Vegeta set foot on the ship. He wasted little time in shedding his imperial trappings. The royal pendant was not around his neck when he boarded the ship; within minutes the cape and imperial armor had been exchanged for a plain battlesuit. The King, just as he had done when he was the Crown Prince, locked himself in his quarters and trained ceaselessly.

Chishan and other members of the King's Guard were also at the meeting, lining the walls as if expecting one of the low-caste warriors to attack at any minute. It was an insult to the loyalty of the rank-and-file soldiers, which made for a lot of subtle bristling between the two groups. Personally, Shouga considered the Guard a waste of space. A lot of power, to be sure, but none of them had been off-planet since their infant missions. Since the King sequestered himself they were left with little to do and were constantly, in Shouga's opinion, underfoot. At least Chishan had the rare good sense to bring only those guards who had been on infant missions. All she needed was a bunch of over-powered prissy aristocrats who had never been off-planet to handhold. They'd probably all get space-sick.

Vegeta was not going to bother to acknowledge her long enough to yield her the floor. Shouga bowed formally in his direction so that no one could accuse her of disrespect and began the briefing. It was a routine run-through covering details such as the ice-planet's current weather conditions and population localities until she got to the part about the missing squads. At that point team leaders began to pipe up with questions while Riiki smiled to herself in grim anticipation. The King — Shouga glanced toward him as she spoke — still appeared completely disinterested. "The locality where they all eventually vanish appears to be at the planet's north pole. There's an ice-covered continental mass there. Although settlement is limited, it is a religious center. It may just be the place they are most willing to defend."

"Is it true that the legion with the two Elites came to grief here?"

"As near as we can tell, they never made planet fall. The last time they showed up on the sensors was not too far from here, though. There must have been a massive navigational malfunction to send them—" She glanced again at the King's inattentive face and cut herself off. "Squad Commander Ros. You have the strongest team; you take the polar assignment."

There was the usual round of blustering protests as other squad commanders protested that their teams were just as suited to take the most prestigious mission, although in the face of the King's complete indifference to the conversation the arguing didn't reach the usual decibel levels. No one wanted to risk irritating Vegeta, reflected Shouga as she asked for any last questions.

There was one. "Anyone tasted these guys yet?"

Shougan glanced down to check her computer's screen. "Gamy. Best when cooked."

There were slurping noises from some, groans from others who didn't like 'gamy.' Chishan looked shocked, but he did have a question of his own. "Where do we report to?"

"Stay out of the way," snapped Vegeta. "Do not interfere with the soldiers, Chishan. You don't have a clue what to do in a real fight."

At least he was listening to something, thought Shouga in relief. Hopefully he picked up enough information to stay alive.

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If it appeared that the King was not paying much attention to the briefing, it was because he wasn't. The mission he wanted to go on so badly was far from the enjoyable experience he expected. Oh, he might get a fight out of it yet, but apparently it would be nothing compared to the battle he would have on his hands when he returned home. Zarbon was no help, so busy being 'diplomatic' that Vegeta couldn't get any useful information out of him whatsoever. The King finally lowered himself to checking on Bulma by calling Radditz.

The conversation did nothing to set his mind at ease — not, the King reminded himself, that he felt any concern about his wife. Radditz flatly refused to tell him anything apart from a general report that the Queen and the Heir were physically fine and had resumed their daily routine. He added one comment that was definitely a barb, however: "The Queen has made the warp drive research a priority. She's interested in cutting down travel time between Chikyuu and Vejiitasei."

Vegeta refused to give Radditz the satisfaction of asking if the Queen planned on utilizing the results of that research herself. If she was there when he returned, fine, he told himself crossly. If she wasn't, fine. He didn't have to deal with his mate's peculiarities when he was light years away on a mission, and he couldn't afford to be distracted by thoughts of the possibility that her future plans no longer included him. It was enough that he was haunted by his last glimpse of her, alone and pale in that huge bed, staring at him with empty indifference in her blue eyes. The lack of any emotion on that human visage, which was usually awash with so many, was the most disturbing thing he had ever seen.

If she asked him to stay at that moment, he would have.

She didn't ask.

The meeting was breaking up. Vegeta raised his head to give one curt directive. "If anyone runs into something big, contact me." He stalked out of the room.

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In a pale ice-blue sky five starbursts appeared, starbursts that rapidly became streaks of whistling fiery colors. The streaks made a close pass over steep mountains as they angled down, the air whining in protest at their speed and violence. They struck in close proximity to one another, wrenching showers of steam from the ground as snow vaporized. Sizzling sounds arose from the deep, newly-formed craters.

Almost exactly one minute after impact figures emerged from each of the craters, rising in slow synchronization as they levitated over their respective landing sites. Four of them drifted toward the center impact site, each touching down and looking up at the still-hovering figure over it. That figure had its arms tightly folded across its chest, hands clutching at each opposite shoulder. "Brrrr!"

The others laughed. "You Southerners," mocked Ros. "So thin blooded."

"Feh," snorted Riiki, but she neither denied the charge nor made any move toward the ground. "Wasn't the temple supposed to be built into the side of that mountain we over-shot?"

Seika glanced at the surrounding high peaks scornfully. "Which mountain?" she demanded.

"Eh, no matter," grunted Yaman as he tapped the side of his scouter, checking the readings that flashed across his lens. "They must have seen us. We can wait for them here."

"I'm not waiting in this freezer," snarled Riiki. She tapped on her own scouter, scowling at what she saw. "Dammit, I'm only getting linear information on this."

They all tested their scouters, finding the same problem. "Probably the cold," suggested Sachin. "I have the manual in my pod. We can figure out the cold weather settings—"

That met with hoots of derision.

"It was just a suggestion." Hurt, Sachin hunched his shoulders.

Grimacing, Riiki did a slow pivot, examining every direction and finding no indication of fighting-level ki. She rubbed her arms through the fur-lined short coat she wore, shivering, as she analyzed the readings on her scouter's lens. She hated the cold. "Snow" did not exist on Vejiitasei, a sensible planet with no seasons beyond the cloud shifts and no solid precipitation on even the highest peaks. Perhaps one could call the moon year a "season" since so many things did change then. However, it had been a long time since she had been on Vejiitasei for any length of time during a moon year. A few hundred thousand rampaging oozaru would tax even Vejiitasei's resources to its maximum. Much better to ship the off-world troops out so they could use their seasonal fury more constructively.

If he had been here, Bardock would have probably told her she looked "cute" in her parka. Riiki would have boxed his ears as members of both squads rolled their eyes and suggested they get a room. But Bardock had not been assigned to this mission, for which Riiki was grateful. Even though she wasn't picking up anything on her sweep, some battle-honed instinct was tugging at her mind. Something was off about Koorim.

"Move out," she ordered. "The temple should be north-west of here. Let's see what the little bead-counters have that's so lethal to Saiyans."

Although she technically was not a squad commander no one in the little group, not even its official 'commander' Ros, countermanded her. Forbidden as part of her punishment to have an officer's rank, Riiki nonetheless was in charge both on and off the battlefield. The first dozen or so 'squad commanders' who were foolish enough not to realize that met untimely demises.

She took point, hovering over the snow to try and keep her feet dry. Sachin, Yaman, and Seika obediently fanned out, but Ros paused by the crater as he gazed in the opposite direction. "It's weird that there's nothing here," he murmured.

Riiki turned to make a sarcastic rejoinder about some people never being happy.

The strike came over her shoulder, close enough to snip some strands of hair near her ear. Up! Curse us for rookies, we didn't check up! The energy's backwash threw her off-balance. She caught a glimpse of Ros collapsing on the crater's edge as she tucked to hit the ground. Hearing the pop of scouters overloading, Riiki struck hers with the side of her hand as she rolled, knocking it off. She didn't need a sliver going into her eye; the seconds it would take to orient herself and compensate would get her killed.

By the time she finished the roll and gained her feet, she was the only one left.

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"What?" demanded Shouga.

"An energy spike," reported the tech. "At the pole, as expected."

Shouga started to order, "Inform the King" when warning klaxons sounded.

"Explosive decompression in Airlock 7A deck 12!"

Shouga felt the shudder that ran through the ship as the portion of the planet centered on the viewing screen skewed. The ship was listing, perhaps rolling. "Cut gravity!" she snapped. There would be fewer injuries if the ship were at zero G as it spun.

An emergency override prevented her officer from relaying the order. A frantic voice came from the communication center. "Fleet Commander Shouga! The King is missing!" shouted Chishan.

"Of course he's missing, you moron!" Shouga shouted back. "Who the hell do you think put that freakin' big hole in the side of my ship!? Now get off the communication system; I have an emergency on my hands!"

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She had a hard time seeing her opponent at first.

The only parts that were clearly delimitated against the snowy background were touches of black here and there. It was not enough for Riiki to get a clear impression of the attacker right away. He was encased in white armor, a white helmet enclosing his head, broad white boots to his knees, flaring white gloves. The initial impression was of height. There was a shifting of the form as arms tucked across a deep chest were unfolded. She was able to pick out facial features as the oblong head tilted to the side. Broad lips pulled back into an arrogant smile, which wrapped around his elongated jaw. "What a pretty little thing."

She had not been called 'little' very often in her life, but the alien's lanky form did appear to top her by a foot or more. "You have good taste," conceded Riiki with a smirk that was more a snarl. He took out the whole squad... "I can't return the compliment. Were you dropped at birth, or was your head always shaped like a sausage?"

"Very amusing, coming from someone whose face came out the wrong end of a meat-grinder."

"You think yours came out the right end?" Scouters blew, scouters were set high, bad, this is bad—

One quick way to get his measure. With no prior warning she snapped her arm straight out from her body, pouring everything she had into one solid, powerful ki strike. The blast struck with a satisfying explosion. There was the hiss of melting ice and snow as dark streamers of smoke flowed skyward, and small thuds as torn-up pieces of ice and rock flung outward from the center of the blast. Riiki dropped her hand.

It was, quite simply, the biggest thing she had.

It was, quite simply, not enough. Smoke thinned into wisps. Through the tendrils the outline of her enemy could be clearly discerned, floating just above a massive blast crater, gloved hands on his slim hips. He raised one to brush against his chestplate. "You scuffed my armor," he said, disapproving. The broad, thick lips pulled back into an unpleasant smile. "We'll just have to see what your armor can take."

Riiki was not above running away from an unequal fight, if there were someplace to run to. She shot straight up, trying to get to the ship circling the planet just above the upper limits of the atmosphere. It had weapons, some of which just might inconvenience this freak long enough to be swarmed by Saiyan warriors. There was a tug at her ankle. Riiki came to a jarring stop. Glancing down, she glared first at the white gloved fingers wrapped around her ankle, then into the face of her smirking captor.

Dammit, he's fast, too.

"Leaving so soon?" mocked the other warrior. "But we just met." And, casually, ignoring her efforts to be free, he reared back with the long arm that had her ankle and whipped her toward the ice-and-snow covered ground. She urgently marshaled her power to try and cushion her landing, but the collision knocked the breath out of her. The snow hissed around her from the friction of the violent contact. A big hand reached into her icy tomb and pulled her out by the neck, hoisting her so that her feet were well over the snowy ground. She tried to kick at him, but his arms were long enough to hold her away from his body. The fingers on her neck tightened with deliberate slowness. He laughed at her struggles; clawing at his arm, she was appalled at how helpless she was. Kami, he's a monster!

Shouldn't have gotten rid of the scouter, I can't contact anyone, thought Riiki in irritation as the grip around her throat constricted. She was expending all of what was left of her power to keep her windpipe open. She slid her eyes from side to side as the thick fingers relentlessly crushed down, desperately looking for an out, not finding one, as her thoughts continued. Who are you going to call, baka? Bardock? He can't take this monster on.

Vegeta, she tried desperately, but there was no response. She was uniquely attuned to Bardock, but she was not strong enough to force the King's attention to her. Even if she could, should she warn him off or call him to battle? Vegeta came here to fight, but if they lost the King, what happened to Vejiitasei?

Feh—it's just a planet. It can take care of itself.

She picked up the body of Ros in her peripheral vision.

Ros.

Who had been killed from behind before ever focusing on the enemy.

Who had an intact scouter attached to what was left of his head.

Riiki went limp, letting her power collapse. The fist around her neck closed. Vertebrae cracked. The alien loosened his grip, lowering Riiki's body until she could feel the cold wet kiss of the snow against her shins and knees. She concentrated on being dead weight, letting her arms dangle loosely and her hands trail in the snow, all the while watching her assailant from under her lashes. He smirked his fleshy-lipped smirk, pushing his protruding snout within a centimeter of her own nose. "Giving up, little lady?" The prickle of gathering ki ran along her skin; he was just going to just blow her head off. Messy. "Can't blame you. When you're faced with my awesome power, what else can you possibly do?"

This, moron.

Clenching her fingers into the snow, she threw a handful of the wet stuff over his smirking lips into the green-glowing eyes. He sputtered, reflectively reaching to scrub at his face. Bringing her leg up, Riiki planted one big booted foot against the creature's protruding jaw and focused the last dregs of ki she could conjure up through it. As the warrior yelped in surprise, her other leg lashed out, striking him hard on the chestplate, using the recoil's energy to shove herself away as he involuntarily released her and stumbled back. She flipped, or tried to, and managed well enough to land on all fours, scrabbling toward Ros through the snow, choking and coughing and trying to get her breath back. She snatched the headset up, mindless of the bits of Ros that came with it. Pushing the button that opened communication channels, she screamed hoarsely, "My King, it's here, what you want is here!"