Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ The Taming ❯ The Chinicuan Target ( Chapter 2 )

The Taming

Chapter Three

The Chinicuan Target

Disclaimer - DBZ doesn't belong to me… enough said. ^-^

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This morning has been a trying time for me. There was so much to be addressed and my patience for such things is limited. After such an extended time away from this place, it is surprising how much I can actually recall. Even though the memories will never leave it as though the eight years that intervened never took place.

The palace, as I remember, has changed very little. I suppose the Ice-jins did not care much for decoration. Despite the time under their rule it as though they were never here. Only an array of alien technology in the science quarter and the large blinds that block the light from most of the windows remind me that things have changed so inexorably.

I wish I could feel secure that this is the end, but there is still something that nags my sense of refuge. It feels as though I still have no closure to this mess. There are too many things that remain unresolved to give me the ease that I crave.

The corridors I traverse are frighteningly familiar. There are so many things that I had forgotten, but now I have returned they force my attention. At this minute I am walking as though in a haze. Having had the blinds removed, the red light blazes through the open aisle and warms my skin. The columns frame this section against the world. I can catch glimpses of the great temple that once held so much passion. Now though, now I do not know if it will be used. Perhaps future generations will deal with it. I will not interfere.

A small delegation has assembled to greet my entrance but I will not give them any attention. They have no right to follow. A few try to keep pace, but a growl and warning glare stay their feet. Kakarrot is already ahead of me and as I walk through the elaborate doors to the inner chamber I can see him looking over the large room with a mixture of awe and curiosity.

"What is this place Vegeta?"

"The temple of the dead."

He frowns, "Guess it's been pretty busy lately."

I don't reply and look along the newly reinstated row of holographic images which line the walls.

"Do we have to stay here long?" he asks. "It feels… wrong."

"Its not wrong," I reply indignantly. "Grounding yes, but not wrong. There are some things that we as Saiyans have to face up to. To turn away from them would to be weak and to mark your reputation, labelling you a coward. You can leave if it disturbs you, but I wish to stay."

"I'm not a coward Vegeta, I want to stay, it's just kind of creepy that's all."

"This is tradition Kakarrot, and whilst you live on this planet then you will adhere to it. How else would you remember the fallen?"

"I remember them in my heart Vegeta. I may not have anything physical left of those I loved, but I can feel each of them in my soul. They are all there… Bulma, Krillin, Tien, Chaotzu, Puar, Master Roshi, Oolong, Kami… even Piccolo, although I don't think he'd appreciate it. I miss them and the pain doesn't go away, but in my mind I can see them, and in that small way I can honour their memory."

I can see the control on his face, but it is belied in the constricting of his throat.

"Forgiven, but not forgotten." I reply tersely.

His eyes leap up to mine, and I note a sudden change to them. It looks as though the pain of the universe is shining in their depths and I confess it is unnerving in conjunction with his usual placidity. "You shouldn't be so sure of the forgiven Vegeta." He reprimands in a voice that is so clearly his and yet frighteningly vacant.

I don't like the way his eyes are angled at me, but I will not bow to his anger. One way or another Chikyu was doomed the moment Frieza made it a target. So we continue to stare at each other until, at length, he shakes his head and looks away.

"I like to remember my friends as I knew them, not as how they looked in death. This…" he gestures all around, "It's so gruesome, I mean just what are you trying to accomplish by coming here, especially considering we…"

"Watch your tongue third class. The next mission is our own. You do not know who is listening. We don't want to cause any more trouble than it will already take. The chaos it would cause if this got out is immeasurable."

His face is still contorted into a frown. "So some things can unsettle the Saiyan no Ouji?"

"Yes." I agree. "Some things, but this is not one. I am being sensible. There is a difference."

"Tact?" He states in disbelief, his face instantly clearing of its previous gravity. "HFIL has frozen over and no ones bothered to tell me!"

"Very funny! Now shall we get this over with?"

"Yes…" he says with heightened agitation, "lets."

He walks forward a little way and turns to face the most recent picture. I follow, standing next to him and look up. The holographic projection is framed in a twisting of gold and is hung under the veil of deep red velvet. I contemplate it for several moments, unresponsive to the strong hand that rests on my shoulder as it gently squeezes. There is something odd that sits in my stomach as I gaze. I can feel it working on my features and my cheek spasms as I fight it.

I hoped it would go unnoticed, but I continue to underestimate the creature that shares my company. "I'm sorry Vegeta." His voice is solemn.

"You will be if you don't remove your hand!" I admonish. "The one you wish to see is at the end of the hall."

"I can wait. Besides you'll want to see it too… right?"

"I will get to it in my own time. Leave me!"

His hand lingers for a little while after, but eventually it relaxes, and I can hear footsteps echoing against the large flagstones. All at once I am left on my own and even though pain swells through my heart, convulsing as it beats, my façade is unchanged.

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Under the serene quiet of the temple I presume now is as good a time as any to continue my narration. I might not get another opportunity. The amount of bureaucratic nonsense to be dealt with before Kakarrot and I leave is unprecedented. The sooner I appoint a new Aide the better. I never was any good at the technical side of my royal title.

Two weeks after I left Chikyu and Bardock behind, did I finally reach Kasaku-sei. There is not much to tell about my journey. It was long, boring and filled with nothing but my own company. I knew very well before I left what it would entail, and so I was not overly disappointed with the claustrophobia. The worst part was the lack of training facilities. The commander might only have been playing with me, but the thought of him being able to reach my level was alarming and confounded by my inability to push myself.

The Kasakuan ship I travelled in meant that the journey took twice as long as it would do otherwise and the unassuming identity of the ship of course meant we had to mask its real purpose. Along the way there were several check-in stations. Each of which was negated successfully, despite a very close call with the scouters. One of the underlings was still finding it hard to disguise his ki and because of delays, was forced to suppress it for longer than in training - a feat that almost proved too much for him.

There was not much that could be said for the bounty of the mission. The holding cells only accommodated two, and one of those thought worthy enough, decided it would rather end its own life than give it up to us. Unfortunate really… had the creature known its true destiny then it might not have relinquished its life so pointlessly.

The other Earthling, however, Yamcha…. he seemed to adjust a lot better. He was eating well, speaking to the guards and asking vigorous questions. This of course immediately set me on guard about the disposition of his character. I knew I would have to be careful, but it was enough at that time to actually have something to show Tanielle and Raiish after such a prolonged absence.

There is not much to be said of the creature before we reached planet. He was relaxed and although still bound with scaream he showed no outward distress over the situation. To be honest he was of little consequence to me, other than as a trophy. I thought he would do well if trained properly and would probably be easy to tame as long as Kakarrot was alive.

Just as we were about to break orbit of Kasaku-sei there was one piece of news that hit him very hard, and no doubt it did for any of those that had survived our initial invasion and had the means to get off planet before Frieza arrived. As part of the taming process it is critical to keep the creature up to date on anything it would deem important. It is an offer that we give to trust in these hard times. We do not do it to rub salt in the wounds, but to show that although brutal, we are not what they think. Evil isn't black or white and although as a species we come in at a dark grey, there are those that are even more shaded than we.

The destruction of Chikyu, it was said, was very minor in the scale of previous cleansings. According to a source from the east quadrant there was nothing to see other than the cheap display of fragmented ki that the ice-jins used to make their explosions look as impressive as they were powerful, but in comparison to the solar searing of the Chiantil, it was a let down. Feh! How crushing it must have been for them to make such small headlines!

Their tactics had been spot on of course. Or at least they would have been, had they not left Bardock and I out of the equation. As it was they were days too late to stop us. Fools. They paid for there own cockiness, but then… we didn't have the luxury of bathing in our strategy. King Cold would not make the same mistake twice and there was always the ever-present android threat to consider. Seventeen's whereabouts were an unknown and that on its own caused a lot of insecurity.

The expected confirmation of Chikyu's fate, however, was not the only news to be received at that time. There was also a veiled report from border patrol that suggested a new target somewhere in the Rean straight (a backward and rather obscure sector of space.) I must admit that even though the prospect lifted my spirits, my mind was already aching in sympathy over the weeks of thinking ahead in order to find a viable way of reaching it.

We didn't have much to go on that was for sure and one of the first things I did, when I reached planet, was order Nappa to that sector. That of course only led to the indignation of his mate who demanded that being the more powerful warrior, she should go instead. I had great satisfaction in reminding her why she was out of favour and that she would do best to follow my orders or else I might be forced to let my father's aide deal with her punishment instead.

That sharp, acidic tongue of hers was silenced almost immediately, but the look she sent me could have killed a creature with lesser ki. As it was her attempt at disapproval only succeeded in making me laugh from the inside out and even more determined to do everything in my power to piss her off in the future. Silly female… so much anger, and so easy to manipulate.

As for my adoptive guardians… well I have no doubt that my homecoming was emotional for them. Tanielle came to me first. Her strong face was lined with worry and even though it was concealed well under years of discipline, still managed to make me recoil. Raiish followed behind but I could not greet him directly. Diplomacy of course dictated that I should, but under the cosh of his wife it was impossible.

Before I knew what hit she was looking me over exclaiming, that, "If I was marked or damaged in some way that the King would surely have her head."

It was an excuse for inspection of course, although she would never admit as much to me. The poor creature could not help it, the compassion was filtered through her diluted blood, but she kept up the pretence even though I knew the truth. I had respect for her because of it.

I can still see the way concern shimmered through those pitch-black orbs, reminding me briefly of the look that was captured on Kakarrots face when he looked at me on Chikyu. Her eyes, to me, were one of only two features that reminded me she was, in fact, half Saiyan. To witness such foreign feelings behind them was always a shock to the system.

The other, of course overwhelming Saiyan aspect to her was her physique. There was no doubting what species her body structure belonged to. Despite her fifty-three years and lack of recent field experience, she still had the body of a warrior.

Her husband on the other hand was all Kasakuan. How any species could possibly look so unfit as a whole is a mystery to me. Believe me when I say they are raised big on that planet and Raiish did his species proud. I am still convinced that there wasn't a single area of skin on his obese body that didn't roll over another.

Once his wife had finished her inspection he shook my hand and bowed once, as is custom, and I listened with agitated patience as he read off the diplomatic spiel that is required whenever I land on planet, irrespective of how much we live in each other's pockets.

I think I ended it after the first twenty pages exclaiming that, "If he didn't shut the fuck up, I'd shove the holy scrolls so far up his fat ass, that it would take a team of lectorian miners a lifetime to find them again!"

Promptly he did as he was told. Most creatures have instinct enough to avoid my temper and Raiish had the advantage of having received first hand experience as well. Anything other than compliance of course was unthinkable, but even though he had sense enough to know when to quit, he would still sulk about it.

"Vegeta-sama, you know what our tradition dictates." He sermonized, on the way to the waiting shuttle, in what can only be described as an overworked teacher-like mewling. "Would it really hurt to let the spirits give you their blessing once before you threaten my body with acts of anal sadism?"

"Yes" I replied, not baying to his mood, "It would hurt you."

I think he chuckled a little at that. "You are right young prince, but enough of all that. We hear strange reports from your mission to Chikyu. Kakarrot is found is he not?"

"That is correct." I stated, entering the plush leather-clad shuttle and throwing my white gloves casually onto the bar as I sat down. "The mission went well and Kakarrot's capture was as planned, except for the use of cantoir of course."

"Cantoir!" exclaimed Tanielle, "Surely not. Why not just use sacream, you know the side effects of cantoir!"

"Calm down onna, it was a mild dose and the effects will be temporary. Besides it is the Commander you want to be shouting at. It was his decision. I was off planet until the last."

"And how is Bardock?"

Such a sly little creature! "Why would it concern me? The commander is alive, that is all that matters."

It was at this point that they exchanged a knowing glance. I groaned.

"Oh come now Vegeta! We'd have to be blind not to see how you pine after him."

"I do NOT pine!"

"No but you miss him when he's not here."

"The commander is a good soldier and a competent sparring opponent. Of course I regret the loss of his presence, but that is all. I sometimes wonder if this pathetic planet has chased out all the Saiyan in you Tanielle."

She snorted and turned away.

"Still…" continued Raiish, not realising how much I wished the subject dropped, "I bet he was happy to see his second born. You know I still can't get my head around your custom to send infants away so young. Still it is not my place to question such an old and noble race such as your own. And so Bardock has been given the job of taming him? A logical decision, but one that will cost you I think Vegeta. How long is the breaking in period?"

"Oh stop teasing him Raiish, you know its twelve months. Now put him out of his misery and give him the good news already!"

I had been watching the countryside rolling past the window, but under this new train of conversation I began to pay attention again. "What news?" I demanded.

Tanielle chuckled. "I thought that might get your attention my prince. It is about the new project in Rean."

"Hn!" I snorted, "Nappa will be there in three days. He will tell me all I need to know, and his information will be more accurate than any spy you can bribe."

"No bribing at all unfortunately." Raiish smiled at me, reclining along the back seat, and already with a glass of his favourite tipple in hand. "There was no need, everything we needed was already in the database. You'd do well to order Nappa to the fourth planet in the Kariech system Vegeta. That is where you will find it."

It took my mind a while to process the information that was handed to me. "The fourth planet in Kariech…? But isn't that Chinicu-sei? What a lot of nonsense you spout old man! My father has been there countless times, if there had been one of our own there he would have known immediately. The creatures power signature alone would have… unless…"

"Unless…?" Prompted Raiish, in full smugness.

"Of course! Unless he had learnt to suppress his power level… a technique that was unknown to us before the great purge. Shit! Ok," I admitted, "You have my undivided attention. What have you discovered?"

"Well we submitted the area to a search and it was discovered that a Saiyan infant was indeed sent to the Rean straight."

"And why wasn't it reported sooner?"

"Because," interjected Raiish, "Saiyan administration is practically non-existent. How your kind ever ruled over so much is a mystery to me. It has taken our top researches years to decipher even the most documented infant planet sheets."

I sneered and forced my posture into pride. "That is because history…"

"Yes. I know." He interrupted, "History should be recited not written. Please don't put us through all that again!"

"You're pushing my patience Raiish!" I turned my gaze to Tanielle, "What kind of pure Saiyan writes in their spare time?" She growled threateningly at me just as she should to defend her heritage. "Why do you think we left it to the off-world slaves to run and document the infant project?"

"Precisely!" He rubbed his temples and downed his drink in one. "The slaves were the first to yield to the Ice-jin's. It's a miracle we've managed to get our hands on the amount of information we have."

"Well that aside old man, what of the creature on Chinicu-sei?"

"He is a third class soldier, or so it was predicted at birth, but that is not the interesting part.

"Obviously!" I snorted, "Yet another low ranking soldier to waste precious resources on! Just once in a while it would be nice to risk my life for a worthy object. Nappa and Gilesh were the last elites to be found and that was almost three years ago now!"

"Well Bardock might not agree with you about this one being unworthy."

Tanielle chuckled slightly from beside me. "Nicely turned Raiish!"

"What has the Commander got to do with this?"

"Well," continued Raiish, "It seems that as far as good fortune goes, it runs in his family. The Saiyan on Chinicu is another one of his offspring."

My jaw must have hit the floor. I can still remember the astonishment I felt. "My god! How the hell did he ever have the time to get promoted to the palace? He must have spent every single free moment of his life procreating!"

Raiish chuckled, "I know Vegeta. I wonder how many more of his brood we will uncover before the end? The question now though, of course, is what is to be done about it?"

"Hn!" I contemplated for a moment. "I do not think anything else should be done about it now."

"You're not suggesting we should ignore it?" demanded Tanielle.

"No I am not." I replied angrily to her insinuating, parental tone, "Nappa will be there in three days, he will observe for a while, whilst I try and contact the Commander. Nothing can be done anyway until he has managed to lose Eighteen. And besides I have training to catch up on before Bardock and I meet again."

She didn't look overly convinced.

"Don't look at me like that!" I roared, "I have my reasons!"

"I suppose," Intercepted Raiish, "It would also be unwise to expose Kakarrot, before we can be sure of its loyalties. Bardock will have to be given adequate time to make a difference. I guess we can wait. He will have to be contacted soon though."

"I will deal with the Commander." I replied. "Now let us have the rest of the journey in silence. I have a lot to think through."

Both nodded their agreement, and although it was unnatural to the openness of Kasakuan culture to remain quiet long, they made sure to leave me out of the necessary conversation.

Things progressed smoothly after that time. I was installed very comfortably in a palace on the east continent designated for visiting dignitaries and was given every attention that was my due.

The training facilities there were second to only Vegeta-sei in the universe and I had great delight in testing their resources to the fullest. My days were spent very laboriously to my duty to gain strength and I relished every moment of freedom after having spent so long away.

Nappa's first intelligence report was handled with quiet acceptance. He had very little to add to Raiish's preliminary findings. He had spoken at length with the informant who had first brought the area to our attention, and had used every means possible to extract as much information from him as possible.

It was confirmed in his report that the target was on Chinichu and an initial meeting had been set up between himself and the young emperor of that planet. Soerin was his name and despite his young age was an adept ruler, not because of his own experience, but because it was confounded on by his long run and respected government.

Unfortunately not much was revealed in their first meeting. The Emperor was very guarded with his information and denied any knowledge of a creature by the name of Radditz. This of course was of no great surprise. Just as it was on Chikyu, a creature that had been devoted to one planet for so long and having forgotten its original mission, was unlikely to hold onto its Saiyan designation.

It was highly implausible however that such a creature should have been so well able to conceal itself, as had been the case with Kakarrot. It would have been easier for Bardock's second son to blend in because of the human physiology, but for his first it would have been near impossible. The Chinicuan's were a lot paler, and their skin tinged by a faint blue. Being closer to reptilian than mammalian, the pronounced scaled forehead and flanks would have been hard to incorporate into his Saiyan body.

It was not impossible of course (with the right prosthetics or even with the aid of holographic surgery) but it would have been complicated. That in itself would draw attention. There would be no plausible way for the work to be done without some creature of high rank becoming suspicious.

My orders were therefore simple. I instructed Nappa to keep a distant but strong vigil on the planet. We did not have the means to simply purge and take in this case. The planet was too well known to the Ice-jins for that. We had to be guarded and cautious in our approach. Until anything concrete was known of the creature's whereabouts, prudence would have to rule over action. I regretted that such a role had fallen to Nappa, but was equally thankful that I had ordered Gilesh away. Subtlety was hard to instil in the Saiyan elite, but was next to impossible to enforce in his mate.

Despite any headway that was made during such a mission, it was now almost a matter of urgency that the Commander should contact me. I knew that nothing could be planned for any search until that time, and all the weeks that past without any news of his whereabouts, were a strain that I could have done without. It was at that time I cursed daily over what the hell was taking him so long?

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A/N - The next chapter will be up in the next couple of weeks. Until then, please review and let me know what you think. *hugs* Ember

Special thanks go to Phantomscribe72 for beta-ing.