Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Barracks ❯ Part 45 ( Chapter 45 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.
A/N: Starcut’s crew members:

1.Captain
2.Backup Captain - (Kandar)
3.Master Sergeant
4.Navigator  - (Adriel)
5.Communications Specialist - (Sildara)
6.Programmer - (Rokunda)
7.Gunnery Sergeant - (Monteira Fawa)
8.Arms Specialist – (Hazel)
9.Arms Specialist – (Mandro)
10.Flight Officer - (Reyn Dueri)
11.Flight Officer - (Jadenas Ealt)
12.Head Engineer - (Nohail Ofura)
13.Maintenance Technician – (Mirun)
14.Maintenance Technician – (Landan)
15.Doctor - (Tamahi)
16.Medic - (Yereli)
17.Head Cook
18.Cook
19.Soldier - (Edesha)
20.Goten

Barracks

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by quatreofdoom

Part 45

Waiting for Goten to return from the toilets, Reyn dressed and looked around the cabin. There was no sign of the recipe book. Oh, it was still here, somewhere – in the wardrobe or the cupboard or even under Goten’s bed, but this time Goten had the decency not to display it for the masses.

Reyn thought that he should go to see how the Human kid was doing. On the other hand, he might be sleeping and waking him up would only result in the kid following him around. It was best to see Derek when it was certain that he was already up. He felt a little guilty for his avoidance, though. They were going to reach Meia Colony tomorrow evening and the kid and the rest of the passengers would stay there while Starcut would continue its patrol. Only two days were left and he should just stick it out.

Goten didn’t show up for five more minutes and Reyn decided to use the time by visiting the medical room. He found Tamahi seated in his usual chair. The doctor was yawning, obviously just out of the bed. Expressionlessly, he listened to Reyn’s request, then went to unlock the medicine cabinet next to Tom’s bed. He retrieved a small brown jar. Holding it out for Reyn, he tapped with his fingers on the label to draw his attention to it.

“Just read it before applying,” he said, being too lazy to explain.

“Thanks,” Reyn said, taking the jar and pocketing it. “And some lubricant,” he asked.

“Ye gods, there’s no need to show off this much,” Tamahi muttered, turning back to the cabinet. He grabbed a white plastic bottle from the upper shelf. There were at least five other bottles like that visible.

Reyn took the bottle without commenting. He thanked Tamahi and left. When he returned to Goten’s cabin, the other third-class was still absent. He wondered if he should go and check on Goten, but decided not to since he would certainly be accused of patronizing the younger male again.

Ten more minutes passed until Goten returned to the cabin. He seemed tired. He was shirtless with wet dripping hair and skin, just out of the shower. He hadn’t taken a towel with him and the trousers were sticking to his legs in some places while he carried the rest of his uniform in his hand. He went to the wardrobe to get a towel then, with a wince, sat down on the chair opposite to his bed where Reyn sat.

“The cabin reeks of sex,” he said, swiping over his chest and back with the towel to dry himself.

“Yeah, it does. Are you alright?”

“Everything’s fine.” Goten shrugged his jacket on and started buttoning it. “A little uncomfortable,” he admitted after a pause. His ass was throbbing with every step he took, even more so than it had after the first time.

“Come here,” Reyn said patting on the bed next to him.

Goten gave him a questioning look but rose from the chair and came closer. “Mm?” he hummed, brushing with the towel over his hair.

“Take your trousers off.”

“I don’t…” Goten started saying, then fell silent at the sight of a brown jar in Reyn’s hand. “What’s that?”

“Something Tamahi gave me to soothe the sting.”

Goten’s face reddened at the thought of Reyn asking the doctor for something like that. He reached out for the jar. “Thanks.” The other man’s raised eyebrows made him falter, and his hand froze in midair.

“I was rather hoping you’d let me treat you.”

Staring at him, the younger man rubbed over his hair with the towel, then dropped it onto the bed next to Reyn. The flight officer reached out for his belt and Goten let himself be tugged closer to the other man. Reyn unbuckled his belt, pulled his boots, trousers, and underwear off, then maneuvered him into the bed and made him lie down. Leaning on his elbows, Goten watched him uncap the jar and scoop some whitish salve onto his fingers. Goten spread his thighs apart when Reyn’s hand moved in between his legs. The cool, greasy fingers brushed over his entrance, circled it and slid inside. They moved about gently, spreading the salve around, then pulled out. Reyn scooped up a little bit more balm and eased his fingers back in.

The moving digits inside Goten resulted in him starting to harden. Besides, accidentally or not, Reyn would brush over his prostate. Goten wondered if he was going to make him come like that. However, soon the other man removed his fingers. Goten closed his legs, rolled on his side, and watched him wipe his fingers with a tissue, then put the lid back onto the salve.

“Here, keep it.”

With his head, Goten motioned at the wardrobe at the end of the cabin. “Just toss it inside.” He rolled on his stomach and folded his arms so that his hands were under his chin. His eyes followed Reyn’s journey to the wardrobe. The throbbing in his butt was already turning into a pleasant coolness and Goten let out a contented sigh. The salve was really effective.

Reyn turned away from the wardrobe and raised his eyebrows. “Well, that’s a pleasant sight,” he said, casting his eyes over Goten who was still lying on his stomach, bare-assed but with his jacket on. His tail was waving lazily in the air. The fur was almost dry now, glossy.

He walked over to Goten but, to the younger man’s relief, didn’t seem to be eager to continue the morning session. Instead, he bent down, retrieved the underwear from the floor, and tossed it onto Goten’s head. With a grunt, the younger male picked it up and rolled onto his back again. He slid into the garment and stayed sprawled, staring up at Reyn.

“Tired?”

“Yeah. Someone should have warned me that sex is so exhausting. Doesn’t really make sense.”

“Move over,” Reyn said, starting to take his boots off. “What doesn’t make sense?”

“I can beat two elites in hand-to-hand combat, but sex just knocks me over.”

Chuckling, Reyn walked to Edesha’s bed and dragged the cover from it. He returned to Goten and got into the bed next to him, spreading Edesha’s cover over them. The cover smelled musty and was permeated with Edesha’s scent. It was strongly reeking of sweat as well.

“This bed is really too narrow for two.”

“I know how we can conserve space,” Reyn said with a lewd grin on his face. “Just get me a coin. No? Then I suggest you stop complaining.”

“Just a whiny kid, aren’t I?” Goten pouted. “You really don’t have a good opinion about me, do you?”

“On the contrary,” Reyn said, patting Goten on his head. He planted a hearty kiss on the other third-class’s temple. “It’s only the best. You’re the best whiny kid I’ve ever laid my eyes on.”

“I’d hit you with something but I’m too tired.”

The older man ruffled Goten’s hair. “Has your hair re-grown completely?”

“Nah, not yet. I think I did mention that the final result looks as if I’ve been struck by lightning.”

“Ah, right. Can’t wait to see that.”

“So you can laugh at me?”

“Yeah.”

“Bastard.”

They stayed silent for a few moments, then Goten yawned loudly. He smacked his lips together, then turned his head to look at the other third-class.

“Say, there has got to be a reason why we have been put on one ship. And you can’t convince me that it was just so you could fuck me.”

Reyn gave him an intent look. “Hmm… When you put it this way… Can you bear babies?”

Goten rolled his eyes with a snicker. “Not that I know of.”

“Then, no. That was not the reason.”

Goten opened his mouth then closed it. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. He had no idea what kind of experiments had been performed on his kind. Damn, just a few weeks ago he had no idea who he was. He still didn’t. For all he knew, he could be carrying a bomb in his ass and know nothing of it.

“Goten, no. You can’t bear babies.” Reyn slapped himself on his forehead at the mistrustful look the other third-class was giving him. “Me and my fuckin’ mouth. No. No babies, Goten. What are you? Retarded?”

“But…”

“No. Just stop thinking about it. You’re such a…” He shook his head not finishing the thought.

Next few minutes Goten spent staring at the ceiling, brooding. The other man’s rhythmical breathing was lulling him to sleep. He wondered what his friends would think of the flight officer if they met him. Would they like him? What would the prince think? Well, it was not as if he cared.

“Have you had many partners?”

Reyn blinked his sleepy eyes open to give Goten a wondering look. Why the hell was he asking that? Wasn’t this something people usually tried to avoid talking about? Really, Goten could be really interesting sometimes.

“Well, a few.”

“A few?”

“A few.”

Goten rubbed his chin in thought, but didn’t try asking again. “A few” probably meant about ten. Or more. He wondered if Reyn would have approached him if he weren’t a third-class belonging to the same project. It was highly unlikely.

Reyn’s sleepy eyes regarded him curiously. “What? Jealous?”

“A little bit.”

The flight officer chuckled. “I’m flattered, but there’s no need to be jealous – as I said, the last half-serious relationship I had ended about a year ago.”

“Half-serious?”

“Well, it was a convenient arrangement.”

“Ah, friends with benefits.”

“Mmm… Something like that.”

Goten looked doubtful. “Does it even count as ‘half-serious’?”

“I think in the end it would have turned out to be.”

“So why didn’t it?”

“She died. The damn infection.”

“Huh,” Goten said astonished. “A female?” Then he caught himself. “Err…sorry to hear that.”

Reyn shrugged. “That’s how it is.” Goten was silent but Reyn could bet he knew what the other male wanted to ask.

“Err…” Goten drawled sheepishly, his cheeks tinting red. “I do realize that it’s a horribly untactful question, but… Is it very different?”

“Different how?” Reyn asked just to tease Goten.

“Well, the sex. I kind of… Dunno, I’m just curious.”

Reyn chuckled. “Yeah, it’s different.”

“How?”

“Well, for one, they don’t have a dick. Second, breasts do feel nice. And third, I didn’t need so much lubricant.”

Goten frowned at him. “You know I wasn’t asking about that.”

“Yeah, I do. But you’ll have to do the research on finer details on your own.”

Goten pursed his lips in protest. “That’s not fair.” Really, Reyn wouldn’t even have thought about approaching him if he didn’t belong to that stupid project. Why would he if he could score a female any time he wanted? This was stupid, but it was kind of hurting his pride. Well, in a way, he was using Reyn, too. Fair enough.

“Right,” Goten said in a minute, his voice somewhat irritated. “As of this moment, I’m starting to save money for a visit to a female. Will probably take me ages, but who cares.”

“You sure you want that?”

“If you can, then I can too.”

Reyn rolled his eyes at the ceiling. Younglings. “Don’t turn this into some sick competition.” Shifting to get into a more comfortable position, he sighed. “You don’t need to save any money. As soon as you show any interest in meeting one, National Security will present all of them for you.”

“To inseminate them,” Goten said, not certain how he should react.

“Yup. You can line them up along a wall and fuck a different one every night. They would be so pumped up with sedatives that they wouldn’t even understand what was happening. They might even enjoy it, too.”

“Ugh… Is it really that way?”

“Well, that’s what they suggested to me. I kindly declined the offer and just chose one who didn’t seem as if she would claw my eyes out as soon as I touched her. It more or less worked out. Except for her death. I suppose I was also the one who transmitted the virus to her.”

“You don’t know that. And they sanitize all visitors, don’t they?”

“Yeah, they do,” Reyn agreed. “But there’s always a chance that… I also keep telling myself it’s pointless to think about it. Doesn’t really work.”

“Yeah, that’s how it goes,” Goten said. He thought about his own mother and father. His father must still be blaming himself for her death as well. Then, Toharu’s grinning face swam up in his mind’s eye. He thought of his brother, too. “It gets easier with time, though. Kind of…blurry,” he said after a pause. He cringed at the memory of Ario holding Toharu’s mutilated body in his arms. Nothing was blurry about that.

The flight officer watched him thoughtfully, then shrugged. “I suppose.”

Goten pursed his lips. It was clear now why his father had taken the female he liked away from that birthing factory. He didn’t know his mother, he only knew what Gohan had told him about her, but the thought of her staying in one of those facilities where anyone could just do her if they wished was very disquieting.

“Well, it doesn’t sound so exciting anymore,” Goten admitted. “It’s kind of…”

“You shouldn’t go there unless you’re ready to father a kid or two,” Reyn said seriously. “And even then, make sure you can take care of them. Be certain that National Security will want to get their hands on them.”

Unsettling. Really unsettling. “Thanks for the advice, I suppose,” Goten said uncertainly. More often than not, Saiyans didn’t particularly care what happened to their offspring as long as they were alive and continued the bloodline. Growing up at a children's home was a common occurrence. Reyn had correctly figured that he had grown up in a family or a pack. There was always a difference, no matter how small. Usually, those who had grown in families or packs later created or joined one as well. If there was a possibility to, of course. Due to the lack of females, it was mostly impossible for the third-class.

“Say,” Reyn drawled a little hesitantly, “have you had more of those dreams?”

Goten felt a little regret for mentioning them at all. “Well…sorta. I think I had one about ten days ago. But I can’t remember much from it. I think there was an explosion of sorts and then I also remember seeing many people.”

“Sounds similar to what happened on Orion.”

Goten shook his head. “No, it was completely different. It was…a big hall with many seats. A conference of some sorts?” he mused.

“Was your father there?”

Goten gave him a stunned look, but then remembered that Reyn had seen the notebook where he had scribbled something down right after waking up from his three-day sleep. Damn, the man had a good memory for things like that!

“Yeah, I think he was,” Goten answered after some thought. “I can’t really remember, but I wouldn’t have written him down otherwise. Or maybe I intended to ask him something. I can’t tell for certain.”

Reyn sighed. “Not much to work with. But you’d better contact him – maybe you had intended to warn him about what was about to happen.”

Goten nodded, but didn’t believe it was that. He somehow knew instinctively that it was not the reason. Why he knew, he could not explain. It was just one of “those” things.

“How goes it?”

Sildara gave Goten a sullen look. “I’ve been tasked with finding the hacker who messed with the screen on the captain’s bridge. No luck so far.”

Interested, Goten stopped chewing. “Yeah? I haven’t heard anything about that. When did this happen?”

“Two days ago. Well, we can’t walk around saying that there’s some mutton-head on board who can get into our system whenever he wants.”

“Yeah, makes sense. So what did he do?”

“Nothing much. He simply loaded a game and we were forced to watch him prancing around on the screen until Rokunda blocked him.”

Goten grinned. “I promise you that it’s just Humans getting bored.”

“I doubt it. Our systems and codes are pretty different after all, and only the most widely used equipment of ours is adapted for the codes Humans use. I think the only thing they could hack on Starcunt is our washing-machine, but even that one is out of order.”

“So you think it’s one of the crew? Nah. There are many Humans who are well-versed in all kinds of coding.”

Sildara looked dubious. He didn’t want to tell Goten, but he had already checked most of the Humans’ identities and none of them appeared at least partially close to being able to usurp the main screen. “Say,” he wondered, “there’s a terminal in your cabin as well? It doesn’t work, though, right?”

Goten gave him a sheepish look. “It does. I accidentally found out that there’s a switch on the system block under the table. It works perfectly.”

“Yeah? Mind if I take a look at it?”

“Of course not. Be my guest.”

The scheduled landing on Meia Colony was going to take place in seven hours and Goten was looking forward to it. There was a small matter to take care of after landing, but once it was done, all the Humans were going to leave the ship. Goten had made friends with a few but, in general, he wanted his routine back, the one without Humans’ scandalized comments and snooping around.

There was a meeting held on the captain’s bridge and Goten – with a few others from the crew – headed to the front of the ship. When he entered the room, he found a few of his crew mates engaged in a discussion about the upcoming landing on the colony. Goten looked around his gathered colleagues, then spotted Reyn and trudged over to him.

“What’s going on?”

“They want to spend the night on the colony. To go drinking or something.”

“Are you serious?” Goten gave him an incredulous look, then averted his eyes to the circle of several people next to the main screen. Adriel, Sildara, Edesha, and the twins. He sighed. “Yeah, you are.”

“Don’t even think about it,” the captain was saying.

“But…”

“No!”

Adriel shook his head in frustration. “But Landan isn’t feeling well! Tamahi said that he shows the symptoms of pnomorea. And we don’t have the needed equipment on board to finalize the diagnosis. He has to be tested.”

The captain cast an inquiring look at the doctor. Tamahi shrugged, then gave the ceiling an overly thoughtful look. “Well,” he drawled, “it might be that it is pnomorea.”

“One chance out of a million,” Reyn muttered under his breath only for Goten to hear. “Last time we were flying past this colony, some mysterious holes appeared in one of the water pipes and we didn’t have the required material to mend it.”

“And it will take time to run all those tests,” Adriel continued, “so why not let us go out? We’ll be staying here scratching our idle asses anyway.”

“Well, alright,” the captain agreed after a minute’s hesitation. He pretended not to notice the joyous grins on his men’s faces. “Now, let’s concentrate on the topic at hand.”

“How much did they pay Landan to be poked and prodded at?” Goten wondered silently.

“No idea. They might start taking turns getting sick every time we fly past this damn colony.”

Goten chuckled. “He does know what they are doing, though, doesn’t he?”

“Sure he does. You don’t become a captain for being brain-dead.”

Absently, Goten listened to the instructions for fifteen minutes, then they were dismissed. Reyn caught him by his arm just when he was about to leave the captain’s bridge.

“Wait a moment.”

“Mm?”

Goten let himself be guided to Adriel’s terminal. The flight officer tapped his fingers on the navigator’s desk to get his attention.

“I want eighty percent,” Reyn said when the other man’s eyes concentrated on him.

At first, Adriel seemed to be flustered, then his face changed into an unreadable expression. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do. I saw Edesha watching it.”

“I seriously don’t un-”

Reyn smiled at him. “I think I don’t need to bother telling you how hard it is to pilot this ship with broken arms.” With his head, he motioned at Goten next to him. “Show him.”

Adriel hesitated, but the look on Reyn’s face made his fingers move on the keyboard. Goten leaned in to see the monitor better. He rolled his eyes when two naked bodies appeared there. Figures. More porn. Then Goten’s jaw unlocked and he just stood frozen with his mouth wide open.

“What the hell?!” he stuttered in shock in several seconds. “Where the hell…?” Then his head snapped around to Sildara, who quickly hunched behind his own terminal. “I’ll freakin’ kill you,” he hissed, straightening.  “Both of you!”

Reyn patted the other third-class on the arm. “Now, now. It’s not a big deal. I look hot, you look hot, and we have put on a pretty good performance. I’m more interested in the income our video earned.” He thought his uniform was going to ignite from the look Goten was giving him. “Hey, I thought you liked being watched?”

“Not this way, you idiot!” Goten screamed at him, pointing at the screen. He turned to Adriel. “Delete it all to motherfuckinghell or I’ll freakin’ blast it together with you! How many people have seen this?!”

Shrinking away, Adriel gave Goten a tentative look. “Umm… About fifteen?”

“I will kill you. I’ll fucking kill you!”

Tom hunched his shoulders and tried to appear non-existent at the look Goten was giving him. It wasn’t really directed at him, the Saiyan was staring at him without really seeing him, but the furious flame in his eyes made him want to hide under the bed. Whoever had pissed Goten off had better watch out.

The Nondren moved on his bed, and Goten’s eyes snapped to him. There was one hour until they boarded Kareli. It was going to take about twenty minutes to land the shuttle on Meia Colony. He just knew the damn pirate had a plan up his sleeve and would attempt an escape. He didn’t even need to be clairvoyant to know that. The third-class realized he was growling and stilled the sound. There was no need to frighten the bastard – let him try. He badly wanted to bash someone in, anyway.

That fucking Sildara. And even more fucked up Adriel! To think they had had enough audacity to activate the intranet video camera on that damn computer for their sleazy interest! He should have smashed that damn terminal to bits as soon as he set foot on Starcut! Not only had he phoned the purple-haired asshole, but also this happened! He just hoped that Nohail wouldn’t attach that video to his weekly report to the prince. Or maybe he hoped that he would. That would show the bastard! Mentally, Goten let out a row of colorful curses. What exactly did he hope would happen then? That the prince would come running after him? As if! He would probably forward the video to Ranvera to show him that he had finally given in to his fate and become a porn star.

Goten realized he was rambling.

He regretted not having punched Adriel and Sildara at least once. He most probably would have if not for Reyn, who had dragged him out of there with a promise that he would be able to beat the crap out of them once they weren’t needed to pilot the ship. That had sounded about right then, but now it didn’t make much sense.

The third-class watched Andrew typing away on his laptop. He must have written an entire book by this time. Besides being angry, Goten was anxious as well. He remembered his reaction to Starcut’s take off and now was even afraid to think what a landing might do to him.

He was relieved when, in about half an hour, Edesha and Reyn came into the medical room. They rounded up the patients and the Nondren and led them out of the room and onto the runway where the shuttle stood waiting for them. The Humans were being herded inside by Hazel and Monteira. The Earthlings appeared to be quite eager, though, climbing the stairs quickly.

Once everyone was inside and secured to their seats, Jadenas started the engines. Through the front screen, Goten stared at the hangar door that was opening slowly, the dark gap behind it becoming wider and wider. The third-class tore his eyes away and swallowed loudly. He looked around. There were only a few of them in the cockpit, the other passengers crowding the lower deck. Kareli was so packed with Humans, the shackled pirate, and the crew themselves, that there was hardly enough space for a fly left. Only half of his teammates were left on Starcut to cruise the orbit of the colony. Adriel and Sildara were coming to Meia as well. Goten would have expected them to try and stay away from him at least for a while, but it seemed that their wish for change was greater than their fear of getting punched.

The shuttle jerked softly and started maneuvering towards the open hangar door. Goten gripped at the armrests. He would have preferred not to go because he dreaded the landing and the takeoff. Otherwise, he was eager – he had never imagined he would have the chance to set foot on one of the Saiyan Empire colonies. He had spent his entire life in a small town, with the exception of that half a year on the base. The two haphazard days in the capital city didn’t even count. This was a great opportunity to broaden his horizons.

“You okay?”

The third-class looked at Reyn who sat in the row of chairs next to Jadenas in case the other pilot needed assistance. Goten figured that his face must have shown distress, making Reyn wonder what was wrong with him.

“Ehh…” Goten laughed nervously. “I’m not particularly good at this shifting gravity thing.”

“Why the hell did they even send you off to space?” Sildara wondered from across several rows of chairs.

“I’m still not talking to you, asshole!” Goten snapped at him.

“There should be a plastic bag in the pocket of the chair in front of you,” Reyn said. “Unless someone has already used it.”

“Found it. Thanks.”

Reyn turned away to face the screen again. He exchanged a few words with Jadenas, making the other pilot laugh softly. Goten’s eyes crossed when Kareli shot forward and his back pressed into the chair. In a few seconds, Goten opened one eye to take a peek at the screen. It was filled with a round ball of a planet which was increasing with every passing second. For a while, the third-class admired the bluish ball, then screwed his eyes shut again when they entered the atmosphere. The jolting and shaking lasted for a few minutes, then the flight smoothed out. Cheers and claps rose from the lower deck and Goten added his own sigh of relief to them.

The touchdown was smooth. Another row of applause echoed from the lower deck, making Jadenas chuckle. He started flipping the switches, turning off the engines, and the others started unbuckling their seat belts.

Reyn took a careful look at Goten, but it didn’t seem that there was something wrong with the other third-class so he turned towards the door. They filed into the lower deck to help the rest of the crew with the Humans. In a few minutes, they were walking down the lowered trapdoor. It was late evening by standard time, but it was only afternoon on the colony, the two small suns still bright and scorching above everyone’s heads.

A mob of military personnel and onlookers were already crowding around the shuttle. A few were Saiyans, Goten also spotted a Human or two, but mostly the crowd consisted of a species he had only seen in textbooks. Curiously, he took in their large yellowish bodies. The Ardarians bowed their heads in respect as soon as his eyes would meet theirs. However, the four eyes on their wide round faces made it hard to grasp what they were looking at exactly. They had no hair and he soon became aware of their long chunky tails. They were as thick as his arm. It was probably a formidable weapon.

Goten found that there was a higher oxygen concentration in the air than he was used to. At first, he felt somewhat dizzy, but then his breathing rate slowed down to adjust and the feeling passed. The Humans, though, started swaying on their feet. Uncertain, the Saiyans stopped, giving each other questioning looks. In a few moments, though, a large vehicle glided to a stop next to Kareli and two native men or women (Goten couldn’t tell) with stretchers rushed out of it. The military personnel started leading the staggering Humans inside the vehicle.

The maintenance technician lurched as if he was about to faint. With a roll of his eyes, Tamahi pushed him towards the stretcher. Landan was nearly manhandled onto it and rushed off into the vehicle together with the Earthlings. Goten watched both of his crew members disappear inside. Adriel was already flipping through a bunch documents, signing every one of them, confirming the delivery.

With a gesture at the pirate, Goten asked one of the military personnel: “What about this one?”

The man bowed his head. “Sirs will escort him to the detention center.” He stretched out a clawed hand to point out a prison van speeding their way. “Here, the ride’s coming, Sir.”

The creature’s mouth quirked up, showing a two rows of razor-sharp teeth, when Goten continued staring at him even after he had finished speaking and the scouter translated his words. Saiyans often reacted like that. He had heard that it was due to how jarring their voices sounded to their ears.

“Sir, huh?” Goten muttered, turning away to glare at the navigator, who had been appointed the head of their group. He could already tell who exactly would be escorting the pirate while the rest of them would head for the nearest pub. “Just call me G-”

“Hey, Goten!” Sildara called as if on cue, motioning for him to come closer. “You, Reyn, and Edesha are escorting the Nondren to the detention center and…” he trailed off at the cutting grin Goten was giving him. “Umm… So,” he continued, “you leave him there and then go to “Triple Luck”. It’s…“

“We know where it is,” Edesha cut him off with a scowl on his face. “And I expect you lot to at least buy us a free drink for dragging our asses around.”

“Sure. And, Reyn,” Sildara said, turning to the flight officer, “try not to…”

Reyn rolled his eyes. “Right, right,” he muttered, not waiting for him to finish. “I’ll try.”

“Try what?” Goten wondered, shoving at the pirate’s back to make him move faster in the direction of the prison vehicle, which had already stopped. The driver was opening the massive metal side door for them.

The look on Reyn’s face indicated that he didn’t want to talk about it. Edesha was sniggering, and Goten was intrigued, but before he could pressure Reyn for the answers, a commotion caught their attention. They turned around to look at the vehicle with the Earthlings. A shrill, protesting voice made Goten flinch and want to cover his ears.

“Ah, shit,” Reyn said at the look of the Human kid trying to wrestle out of a yellow creature’s grasp. He had suspected this might happen, but he had hoped he would be able to slip away unnoticed. He wondered what he should do, then just shrugged and pushed the prisoner to make him move.

“You sure?” Goten asked, walking after them.

Reyn nodded. He had talked to the kid in the afternoon while trying to explain that they were going to separate on Meia and that, in a week or two, he was going to be picked up by his mother. At least that was what she had promised him on the phone. It had taken Rokunda quite a while to find her contacts, but when he called her, it appeared that she had already been contacted and updated on the situation.

“It will be even more difficult for him if we prolong this,” Reyn said, wondering a little since, when they had been talking, Derek seemed to understand and accept their parting as natural. Now all he could do was frown while listening to his hysterical shrieks.

“I hope he’ll be alright,” Goten said, turning his head to catch a glimpse of the kid being manhandled into the vehicle. “Shouldn’t they just use sedative or something before he screams himself raw?”

“I don’t think they have many Humans here,” Edesha muttered. The pirate stopped in front of the vehicle, refusing to climb through the door, and Edesha kicked at his back, sending him sprawling inside. “Move it, you shit! So I doubt they have something like that.”

“Hmm… Yeah,” Goten agreed reluctantly. “But those few that are here are probably treated at local medical centers anyway.” The third-class climbed into the vehicle after the Nondren, grabbed him by his arm, lifted him to his feet, and half-pushed, half-threw him into one of the seats. “Let’s say one of them breaks his leg or arm or needs some kind of operation.”

Edesha nodded. “True.”

“Look over yonder,” Reyn said, grinning. “What do we have here?”

Goten looked past him and through the door to see Andrew running towards the prison vehicle. Edesha grunted, and all three of them met each other’s eyes. Edesha shrugged.

“Hey, could you give me a lift to the city? They are taking us to the refuge center here and I’m rather fed up with all that right now; I could do with a nice and clean hotel room.”

The driver gave the Human a stunned look, but Goten nodded before he could give his piece of mind about what he thought of this kind of request. “Sure, hop in. I think I owe you ten credits, don’t I? If we find an ATM, I’ll withdraw some cash.”

Andrew gave him a thankful grin and climbed into the vehicle. He was carrying only his laptop and a small bag of clothes. Mumbling under his breath, the driver slid the door closed with a slam. Andrew quickly took his place on the chair next to Reyn.

All the while they were riding to the city, Goten was staring out of the windows, turning his head this way and that. The architecture, to put it mildly, was strange. The houses reminded him of termitaria – there were tall, thin buildings the color of sand everywhere he could see. The vegetation was as sparse as it was on his home planet. They were probably taking water from deep underground streams, too.

“Ah, here!” Andrew suddenly said, pointing through a window at a distinctive whitish tower further down the road. “That’s the hotel. You can drop me off there.”

Goten banged with his fist at the metal partition separating the driver and the rest of the vehicle. “Stop at that white tower. We’ll drop the Human off.”

“Yes, Sir.”

Andrew gave him another grateful smile and Goten answered with a modest one. The vehicle soon slid to a halt and Andrew left his seat to go to the door. He pushed it open, then suddenly turned back, throwing himself on Reyn. Meanwhile, in the other row, the pirate slammed his body into Edesha, both of them toppling down onto the floor. Goten jumped out of the van just in time to intercept a band of five attackers. Powering up to what could probably be his maximum, he wasn’t even aware of the native people scattering around and away from the street.

His ki-shield instantly up, Reyn ignored the kitchen knife in Andrew’s hand, grabbed him by his face, and slammed his head against the tempered glass window behind him. Leaving the unmoving body slumped on the floor, he jumped out of the van after Goten.

Goten’s back was glowing with powerful ki while he was fighting the Nondrens. Three men were already down, charred and broken. In fact, the last two were trying to escape. Without much luck, though. Goten’s ki-blast hit one’s back, sending him crashing down into the nearest building. Reyn shot into the air after the last one, overtook him and then, using his locked hands, slammed them into the pirate’s back. The man sailed backwards through the air as if he were a rocket, colliding with the asphalt in a loud, sickly sounding thump.

Reyn’s scouter was beeping incessantly, but he ignored the noise completely. All of the pirates were down, but the biggest threat was still there, strong and powerful. Still in midair, he turned to the source of that raw energy. Slowly, two dark and calculating eyes focused on his.

Enraged, Edesha kicked the shackled Nondren out of the van and then continued to kick him around for a few more seconds just to vent his anger. His arm was almost healed, but he was still favoring it, thus his feet were his best friends. His scouter was screeching like mad, but this always happened when Reyn powered up, so he paid it no attention. He knew that the enemy was down and nothing else mattered.

It took Edesha some time to notice that there was something wrong with the other two Saiyans. He gave them a perplexed look. Only now he became aware that his scouter was warning him, not about one, but about two incredibly high sources of ki. They were even glowing with it. Reyn and Goten were staring at each other as if they were about to attack each other. Reyn was hovering about ten meters above the ground while Goten was on the asphalt, his feet planted wide, his fists clenched. This was absolutely different from when they had been sparring, though. The tension was deadly. The fur on Reyn’s tail was standing on end, the look on his face ferocious. Goten’s stance was similar. Edesha thought that he had even heard a soft growl erupt from the younger man’s throat. There was also a lot of confusion in the air. He couldn’t be certain, but mostly the scent was being emitted by Goten.

The soldier briskly walked over to the youngest man and tugged at his arm. “Hey, what the hell are you two d-”

Edesha was cut off short when, with the back of his hand, Goten sent him flying backwards into the side of the van.

There was something absolutely wrong with this situation, but Goten was having trouble staying focused. Edesha’s painful groan coming from behind him cleared his mind a little. It was only a matter of several seconds until Reyn or he attacked one another. It was unavoidable. Why that was, Goten didn’t know. He didn’t even know if he had a chance to win against Reyn at his full power.

The flight officer blinked slowly when Goten started powering down. The urge to annihilate the other man was decreasing in time with his diminishing ki. Uncertain and wavering, he stared at Goten until the other third-class’s power level dropped almost to nothing. All the time Goten kept his eyes on him, too.

The entire incident had not even taken a minute, but it felt like an hour to Goten. He was still not sure if Reyn wouldn’t decide to attack him. Only when the other man landed back to the ground and gave him a guilty look, did Goten allow himself a breath of relief. The yellowish people were coming from the corners and nooks they had been hiding in to avoid the dangerous clash between the Nondrens and the Saiyans.

Edesha punched Goten in the face when the younger man rushed over to him to ask if he was alright. “What the fuck was that?” the soldier demanded with a snarl. He hadn’t been hurt. There was, however, a large dent on the side of the van.

“I’m sorry,” Goten apologized honestly, rubbing his cheek. “I guess I was afraid you’d get hurt if… I really don’t under-”

“No, seriously! What the fuck is wrong with you two?” Edesha growled. He looked as if he was about to hit Goten again.

“We just couldn’t decide who was going to be on top today,” Reyn said while dragging one of the unconscious Nondrens into the van. “Yowch!” he yelped when Goten punched him in the back, but he was just in time to avoid Edesha’s left foot aiming for his backside.

“Not funny in the least, you sonovabitch!” Edesha growled.

TBC
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