Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Velut Luna ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Meanwhile, on the space station Raaviol…

"I come with a message from the high council Mr. Bardock. We regret to inform you that your son Radditz is dead. The council mourns your loss, and wishes to speak with Mr. Bardock as soon as possible."

Bardock did not move from his position, sitting stiffly on the cot with his eyes staring unseeingly at the stars visible through the porthole. He was silent. Toma leaned against the wall next to the cot and looked straight ahead without a word.

The alien, who had lived on the station his entire life, stood blinking in confusion. The two Saiyajins had arrived alone at the station only a few hours ago, and already all sorts of rumors were flying. None of them had prepared him for this. He had expected some sort of violent reaction, angry snarling and at least some smashing, anything but this stony silence. Was this what the infamously violent Saiyajin were really like? What should he do? Should he even bother to give the details of the report? Why did his superiors give him such a sensitive mission when he had never even dealt with Saiyajin before? Fighting back panic, he edged towards the doorway, opened the door, and padded quickly away.

When the sound of his retreating footsteps faded into silence, Toma looked at his companion and asked, "You knew this was going to happen?"

Bardock did not reply but merely nodded once. His expression showed no emotion.

"I figured as much," Toma said evenly. He knew it was too much to ask to get any information by asking a specific question, either about his son or the visions. Bardock had never been the chatty type, and he hated talking about his visions. The only times he had ever spoken much about them was either when he was still reeling from the aftereffects or when he was blind drunk. He would never say exactly what he had foreseen; he would hint and make comments. Toma had always preferred to respect his wishes in any case. If Bardock wanted to comment on it, he would, and if he didn't, then he wouldn't. Simple as that.

'I'm probably better off not knowing anyway,' he thought.

He and Bardock had the resistance to thank for their current situation. They had heard of him, rumors of him knowing things he shouldn't, and figured out the obvious when they heard it had begun shortly after his mission to Kanassa, the planet rumored to have been inhabited by creatures with psychic power.

It wasn't long until they set about `persuading' him to join their ranks. Bardock had agreed to join automatically, without even bothering to hear their offers. And thus, Toma also found himself a member of the resistance because wherever Bardock went, so did he.

It was strange because Bardock had always been loyal to the crown before, but he never spoke a word to anyone about why he chose to defect. He probably never would. 'Probably another one of those damn visions,' Toma thought bitterly. The visions had made him a very valuable asset to the resistance. They had even gone so far as to see to it that he and his kin would be `taken care of' on a neutral station should anything go wrong. Not that it had helped Radditz any, of course.

"I don't really want to know the details anyway," he said, sitting on the edge of the cot next to Bardock. "It's all the same to me. Whatever happens, happens." His tail uncurled from his waist and laid itself across Bardock's lap, squeezing his thigh.

"Whatever happens, happens," Toma repeated.

Bardock smiled, and reached out to pull Toma closer to him. He kissed his temple. "I understand," he said softly.

Toma grinned, watching him from the corner of his eye. "You know, that page said we had to see the council as soon as possible."

Bardock gave his ear one long, slow lick. "Is that so?"

"Mmm. We should hurry," he said teasingly. He as his companion began growling, demanding his full attention.

"Just kidding," he said, leaning back into his lover's arms.

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Afterwards, they lay together, quiet and still. Soon, Bardock twisted himself free of Toma and the sheets and got up out of bed. A light came on in the bathroom not much later, and then the sound of the shower running followed. Toma thought about joining him in there but decided against it. He preferred to just lay in bed and relax after sex, but Bardock always had to get up and take a piss or eat or something. He never came back to bed afterwards, either. Toma made himself comfortable and waited for him to come back.

Soon, Bardock returned from the bathroom and sat on the edge of the bed as he dressed himself.

Toma was still in bed and lay there watching Bardock appreciatively. "You want me to go with? To the thing that alien wanted us to go to?"

Bardock turned to look at him, straightening his arm bracers. "You mean the meeting with that council? We were supposed to meet with them to discuss the terms of their alliance with the resistance on videophone, but since we're here, I guess they want to have it face to face. It's nothing. If they start anything I'll just tell them they can kiss our asses, and we'll leave. There are plenty of other places we can go."

Toma blinked, taken aback for a moment. He was used to going wherever Bardock went...

"Are you sure? I could take a quick shower if you want-"

"It's nothing," Bardock repeated. "Just leave something in the kitchen for me, alright? I'll probably have a bite of something once I get back."

With that, Bardock stood but felt Toma grab his hand before he could leave. He turned around to see what the problem was. "What?"

Toma pulled him closer and wrapped his arm around Bardock's neck before kissing him deeply, licking his palette gently.

Toma released him. "All right, now you can go. But hurry back, all right? I hate having to just sit around."

"All right," Bardock agreed. Picking up his scouter, Bardock quietly headed for the door. It opened with a soft swish, and Bardock paused in the doorway looking over his shoulder at the lounging Toma. "Toma, I-"

Toma raised his eyebrows. "Hmm?"

Bardock turned away and stepped to the other side of the door. "It's nothing, I'll see you when I get back."

And then he was gone.

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'These aliens have an interesting sense of style," thought Bardock. Everything was in shades of pale green or bright purple or both, with rounded curvy shapes and oval-shaped doorways. It looked like it had been made from some kind of alien fruit. He had to ask around to find where this meeting was supposed to take place, as there were no obvious signs saying anything like "secret meeting place". The stupid page had cut out before telling him anything helpful. Aliens.

He approached an ornate door with swirly patterns on it and pressed the buzzer. The door opened instantly, and he entered.

Inside, there were two aliens, a different species than the most of the ones he had seen around the station. They had light green skin, and both had matching green braids slung over their shoulders. One was sitting in a chair, his back straight and his legs crossed over one another delicately. The other stood behind his shoulder, wearing typical planet purger armor and an unreadable look on his face.

"Hello there, sir. My name is Pomelo, and this," the one sitting spoke in a quiet, friendly voice and then gestured delicately to his companion, "is my friend, Zarbon. He has just returned from service in the court of Freeza, and no doubt will have to depart from us again shortly. He is on vacation, you see."

'I thought these aliens looked familiar,' thought Bardock, 'Damn, I'm stuck alone with Freeza's right hand man and some other bastard I don't even know. Maybe I should have brought Toma with me.'

Bardock put on his best poker face and looked around the room for cameras or microphones. Of course, there could always be ones that he couldn't see. "Are you the 'council' that the alien wanted me to talk to?"

"Oh, that," the one named Pomelo waved his hand dismissively. "That just was a lie to get you here."

Afterwards, there was an uncomfortable moment of silence. Bardock waited expectantly for one of them to explain what they wanted with him, or say anything, but they didn't. The two aliens just looked back at him as if they expected him to say something. Eventually, a there was a soft buzzing noise, and the one called Zarbon pulled a small silver object from his armor and examined it carefully.

"Ahh, does Freeza want you?" Pomelo asked coldly, while gazing indifferently at his fingernails. "Well, you had best go see to his needs. I will be here until I am done speaking with Mister Bardock. Then I shall return to my quarters. If he does not require you to return to him, you are welcome to meet me there."

Zarbon stood there, a look of pure rage twisting his formerly attractive features. He crushed the silver device in his hand, but he remained silent.

"Well? He will be most displeased with you if you dally," Pomelo continued coolly.

Zarbon stalked towards the door, pushing himself past Bardock and out of the room. When he was gone, the one called Pomelo relaxed visibly. His expression softened and took upon a strangely sad expression.

"He used to be a good person, you see." Bardock assumed that he was talking about Zarbon. "However, a year ago, he enrolled into Lord Freeza's service, and I fear it has changed him for the worst. It has made him rather cruel, calculating. Now the only thing that matters to him is his rank in Freeza's army. He feels it will mean the end of his life if he grows out of favor with him. It's sad, really. He used to be a good person. He and I were very close before all of this happened. But I am afraid that is not we are here for. We are here to talk about other manners. Shall I order you a drink?" he asked politely.

'Just how stupid does he think I am?' thought Bardock. "No, thank you," he answered aloud curtly.

"I see. You do not have to be so cold to me, Mister Bardock. I am most certainly not in the service of Freeza. I am a conscientious objector, in fact. I take no part in such things. I am merely here to pass on some information to you, you may take this information and do as you see fit. Are you willing to listen to what I have to say?"

Bardock leaned on the wall, with his arms crossed and the tip of his tail flicking absently against his waist. "Go on," he said quietly.

"Very well," Pomelo cleared his throat before going on. "It has come to my attention that your newly crowned king, Vegeta, has been amongst Freeza's rank for quite some time now. He is also gaining favor with Freeza, and my Zarbon is beginning to become rather threatened by his presence. He's been filling Freeza's head with ideas that there is going to be some sort of revolution, that the Saiyajin are going to attempt to rise up and defeat him. I cannot tell you with certainty whether or not Freeza believes this, or even how true it is, but if he does believe Zarbon, then-"

"Then he'll decide to destroy Vegetasei," Bardock finished. Continuing evenly, he added, "I already know all about that."

Pomelo narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?" he hissed.

Bardock laughed. "It would have happened years ago, if King Vegeta hadn't killed his father and become King before he could have started a rebellion."

"You still haven't answered my question."

Bardock uncrossed his arms and carefully walked towards the door. "I don't really feel like answering that question, if you don't mind. Now if that's all you have to say, then I'll just be leaving."

Without waiting for an answer, Bardock opened the door and left, letting it snap shut behind him. He walked slowly towards his and Toma's room, deep in thought.

' `As it is with my own people, there will be nothing but destruction for yours,' eh? We'll just see about that! I'll change the future yet.'

Bardock quickened his pace until he was almost running towards Toma.

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Toma continued to lie in bed after Bardock had left until the stillness and silence of the room became too annoying to bear. He took a shower and started decided to scrounge around the kitchen for something to eat.

When he opened the food unit, he noticed a dozen or so cans of something-or-other in there. He lifted a can and examined it carefully. Being a planet purger by trade meant coming into contact with many strange alien cultures, even if it was for only long enough to blow them into little bits. Coming into alien culture meant their foods and drinks, and therefore their alcoholic beverages. Of course, Saiyajin had high tolerance level to everything from disease to energy blasts, so it was rare for any of it to have any sort of negative effect. Some of it was fairly good taste-wise, but one always had to be careful when trying unfamiliar shit out because it sometimes turned out to be truly stomach-churning.

He stared at the can. What the hell? All of the writing on the can was in a completely unidentifiable language. There weren't even any translations in the standard interplanetary language, or anything recognizable. Mystery Beverage. Deciding to throw caution to the winds, he opened it and took a careful sip. He shrugged. Not too bad. He decided to help himself before he sat down to his actual meal. He leaned against the counter and drank quietly, tossing the cans in the sink when he was done.

So Radditz was dead. While Toma mourned his death, he wasn't precisely upset because of it. Radditz was one hell of a warrior, tough and obstinate. He'd always been his father's son, after all, and he'd definitely given them hell before they had killed him. He had joined the resistance, knowing that few who did so lived for long and died honorably in battle.

However, it was also true that his death had been rather pointless. It was a sad fact that many young Saiyajin suffered similar fates, though naturally not under the same circumstances. But still, if they had been more careful, if Radditz hadn't insisted on staying in that dump by himself... God only knew what kind of fate had befallen Bardock's other son.

Sighing, he searched around for something to appease his hunger. When he had found something satisfactory, he sat down, propped his feet up and began to eat, thinking about the days when they had first joined the resistance. Things had been...difficult.

The newly crowned king of Vegetasei was ruthless and had made many unpopular decisions and even more blood enemies during his reign. He had quickly gained a reputation for being cold, cruel. Many believed it was a result of being in Freeza's service at such a young age. He had been warped, they said, by associating with such a creature. Yet, any and all resistance had always been small and secretive, and help from outside worlds was almost non-existent. This was because few aliens cared for the Saiyajin at all; they didn't see it as the doings of the crown, merely as the barbarous actions of the blood-thirsty Saiyajin monkeys. Not only that, the Saiyajin were a race that believed in loyalty, something no alien could understand, there were very few out there who would even consider turning against the crown under any circumstances. The few that were willing to do something about it were rarely able to do so for long. The crown showed no mercy to dissidents.

Toma remembered when Radditz had first joined the resistance, a few months after he and Bardock had. It had taken that long for Radditz to find out about their involvement, after which he had immediately joined up. For weeks afterward, Bardock had seemed edgy, always tossing and turning in his asleep, and never at ease in his waking hours either. It was like he was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it was even worse when Radditz was nearby. He would watch the kid with this strange expression on his face but would never say what his problem was. Did he know that his son was going to die all that time?

A soft swishing noise coming from the other room announced Bardock's return. Toma silently offered Bardock a drink in greeting, waiting for his report on what had happened. He noticed a strange tint to his scent, a twinge of something he couldn't quite identify.

"Well? How did it go?" Toma asked.

Bardock avoided answering the question. It was still possible that the room had been bugged. Toma would have to wait until they were out of there to get his explanation.

"We have work to do," Bardock said. "We need to get out of here as soon as we can. I don't think this place is as neutral as we were promised. We'll find a new spot to hide out in, wait for a few days, and see how many of the resistance contacts us. We'll just have to assume the ones who don't are dead or taken prisoner. We will have to act as soon as possible. We'll take the men we find and assemble them, and-"

Toma stood from his chair and moved cautiously towards Bardock, his stance defensive and fearful. Bardock's tail was slashing back and forth, and his voice was becoming more loud and angry as he spoke, shifting from his previously matter-of-fact tone. "Bardock, are you alright, I-"

Suddenly Bardock froze, his expression terrified. He fell to the ground in a heap, convulsing with his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

"Bardock? Bardock!"