Prologue — The Disgraced Prince of Planet Vegeta


Age 734

King Vegeta stood alone, pressing a gloved hand against the incubation chamber that contained his newborn son. The infirmary was silent at this time of night, save for the occasional beeping of medical instruments. The aquamarine fluid in the stasis chamber bathed the dark infirmary in a dim light that was only abated by the royal's large frame. King Vegeta dragged his fingertips through the condensation that had formed against the glass chamber, and retracted his hand from the lukewarm surface.

He blurred his son out of focus, and gazed into his own onyx eyes that reflected back at him against the tube. A disappointed grimace spread across his features as he could feel the dream of rebelling against the Saiyan's oppressive ruler evaporate right before his eyes. Although the arrangement between the Saiyans and their employer, at times, was beneficial, King Vegeta desired that his race would once again be free to pillage and plunder the galaxy as they pleased.

The only thing constantly deferring his dream was the absurd power of Planet Trade's emperor; Lord Frieza. While King Vegeta himself was the most powerful Saiyan on the planet, his employer's combat strength bettered his own by thirty-fold. While the partnership flourished for years, the royal could feel tension growing between his race and Planet Trade. Although Frieza had the power to surely destroy them all, King Vegeta began to suspect that their employer had also come to fear what the Saiyans could become.

Shortly before the conception of his second son, Frieza requested that the king turn over his eldest son into his direct employ. His son, named after himself, was what King Vegeta had always envisioned what the Saiyan race's ultimate potential could look like. The boy was born with high combat strength for an infant, and was growing into the prodigy that his combat strength had predicted.

As if to make up for turning his only son over to Frieza, King Vegeta's wife bore him a second son. The joyous occasion of his birth had quickly devolved into disappointment, and confusion as the king was informed his youngest son was not as naturally talented as his first. He refused to believe the initial readouts about the infant's combat strength, and implored physicians to review the figures and retest if they had to.

King Vegeta could feel his heart beat within his ears as the prospect of a weak offspring caused it to thump faster. The sound of boots on linoleum tile began to echo over his heartbeat. The king snapped from his daze and shifted to his body sideways as he watched the door to the infirmary slide open. A thin, slick-haired Saiyan dressed in a sterile white lab coat entered the dimly lit room. The doctor removed his wire-rimmed glasses and presented the Saiyan king with a deep bow.

"You're highness.."

The physician rose from his bow and donned his wire-rimmed glasses once again. King Vegeta watched the doctor closely as he shuffled through papers that were clipped to a small wooden clipboard. The royal could see the physician's brow furrow as his eyes ticked back and forth as he studied the combat strength read-out. No amount of medical training could prepare the Saiyan physician for the information he was about to divulge to his king. The tests, and projections had be true; King Vegeta's youngest son was born with the combat strength of a low-class Saiyan. The entire staff was baffled with the child's read-outs; especially following the birth of his prodigious sibling.

The doctor took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly before delivering his latest findings. "Your highness.. I.."

He paused as he watched King Vegeta turn his attention back toward his son once more. The royal placed a gloved fist against the incubator glass and waited for the physician to continue.

"Uhh.. I'm.. Uhh.." the doctor stammered nervously.

"Continue," King Vegeta said curtly, banging his fist against the stasis chamber. The force of his strike perturbed the liquid inside, causing his newborn son to subconsciously shift his limbs with the new current.

Beads of sweat began forming on the physician's forehead as the situation began to feel ever more hazardous. He let a sharp breath escape his nostrils and composed himself once more. "I'm afraid the read-outs regarding your son's combat strength have been confirmed th—"

"Run the tests again," King Vegeta growled, the rage quietly building behind his gritted teeth.

"With all due respect, your highness, no amount of additional tests will change the result. We've run these tests nearly fifty times, and they all produce the same result," the doctor responded, cowering behind his clipboard slightly.

King Vegeta whipped around, and locked eyes with his fearful Saiyan subject. "Then there must be a problem with your methods!" he bellowed, aggressively pointing his index finger at the doctor.

"But…sir…" the physician hid behind his clipboard once again as he expected a violent outburst from the monarch. He waited a few moments before lowering his clipboard. King Vegeta stood menacingly across the room; staring daggers through the weak medical practitioner. When the violence didn't come, the doctor composed himself and continued.

"Sir, although the read-outs regarding your son's combat strength have been confirmed, that does not necessarily mean that he won't become a powerful warrior," he offered with a hint of optimism in his voice. "Take a warrior like Bardock for example. He's become one of your most useful purgers, and he was born with relatively low combat strength,"

A slight smile crawled across the physician's face. Seconds ticked by without a response from King Vegeta, and he believed that no response was better than the violent alternative that he expected. As the doctor let out a sigh of relief, a kiai erupted from King Vegeta's palm, slamming the physician against the metal doorframe.

The force of the doctor hitting the wall caused the door to shut behind him, leaving nowhere for the shaken Saiyan to escape. He struggled to regain his footing, but was met by the bottom of his king's boot and forced back into the linoleum.

"How DARE you compare my royal bloodline with that of low-class scum!" King Vegeta erupted, his eyes filled with fury. He slammed his boot into the doctor's ribs and sent him crashing into the wall once again. Cracks in the wall began to spider away from where the doctor's shoulder had made impact.

A slight smirk found its way onto his face as he watched his subject squirm on the ground, attempting to make it to his feet once more. Although he could hardly call it a battle, his Saiyan bloodlust began to rise with each strike. King Vegeta let out a primal grunt as his fist connected with the back of the physician's head. The wounded doctor's body flew forward from the impact, and his forehead ricocheted off of the linoleum.

King Vegeta's boots echoed across the floor as he approached his fallen subject once again. He flipped the doctor over onto his back with his foot, and examined the bloodstained tile where his head previously lay. He wasn't sure if the physician was dead, or only feigning death to escape further punishment, but his message was clear.

The monarch refused to believe that his youngest son was being compared to the lowest of low-class Saiyans. The stakes were too high within his grand scheme to simply submit to this unexpected reality. Frustration continued to build within the displeased royal as he struggled to find a solution.

CRACK

King Vegeta's fist slammed through the drywall like it was a sheet of paper. Bits of the grey material crumbled to the floor, littering the bloodstained tile. With his fist still within the wall, he once again heard the presence of someone within the infirmary walls. He remove his fist from the wall, and ripped the door wide open to see who was approaching.

"Nappa!" the king shouted with irritation. "What are you doing here?"

The bulky, mohawked Saiyan bowed before his ruler. "Excuse me for intruding, sir, but I was just making su—,"

"That isn't necessary, Nappa. As you well know, I'm quite capable of taking care of myself," the king returned, slightly insulted that he was being checked up on like a child.

Nappa bowed his head slightly in contrition. "Of course, your highness. Is there anything I can do to serve you?"

King Vegeta stood silent in the damaged doorframe, the machinations of his mind spinning into place. "Nappa, over the years I've given you countless planets to purge.." he paused for a moment. "..and you've always performed above and beyond my expectations,"

The mountainous Saiyan was taken aback with King Vegeta's complementary tone. "T-thank..thank you, sir," he said, slightly overcome with emotion.

The monarch began to advance toward Nappa, and stopped a few feet from him. "What I want from you…is to turn my son into a fearsome Saiyan warrior. I do not care what it takes. He will one day be worthy of the title of elite,"

Nappa struggled to grasp ahold of the correct response. As a general in the Saiyan army, he had dedicated his life to transforming his Saiyan brethren into weapons to better serve their king, as well as their employer. He had taken low-class Saiyans and turned them into warriors of the highest caliber; capable of purging entire planets within hours. This task, he considered, would be his most formidable yet.

"Sir.." he began with trepidation spread across his face. "I'm honored that you would think of me to train your son, but do you believe that there is anything I can do to further along Vegeta's development? He's already so advanced for his age, and —"

"Not Vegeta, you thickheaded cretin! I want you to train him," King Vegeta pointed behind himself at the glowing stasis chamber. "I want you to train Tarble,"

"Tarble?" Nappa's eyes could not hide his look of confusion. His eyes shifted back and forth as if he was confirming that if he and King Vegeta were alone. "But I thought his combat strength readings were a mistake,"

"Well apparently they're not!" the royal shot back, swinging his cape as he turned his back to his subordinate. "I've seen what you can do with low-class trash. I can only imagine what you can turn my son into,"

Nappa rose a finger to interject, but was rebuffed by the impatient royal. "I'm not asking you Nappa, I'm ordering you! Tarble still has royal blood flowing through his veins, and you will see his potential through, dammit!"

The large Saiyan flinched at King Vegeta's forceful words. He opened his mouth to respond, but nothing came out. All he could manage was a simple nod.

King Vegeta crossed his arms and smirked at his subject. "I'm glad we have an understanding, Nappa,"

"I'm honored, your highness," Nappa said graciously as he bowed.

The king strode past Nappa with a content look across his features. "Tarble will stay in his incubator until I deem him ready for training. Once that day comes, I expect you to be prepared," he informed his subordinate as he exited the infirmary.

Nappa was now left alone with only the aquamarine light, and beeping machines to keep him company. He cautiously walked into the small room that contained Tarble's stasis chamber. To his left lay the body of the Saiyan doctor that Nappa could only surmise had gotten on King Vegeta's bad side. He watched Tarble slowly bob up and down within the tube until a sheet of paper strewn about the floor caught his eye.

He knelt down and snatched the combat strength reading that King Vegeta had spent all night fretting about, and his eyes widened. He glanced toward Tarble, and back again to the report. 'This may be more challenging than I imagined..'


Tarble remained in his stasis chamber for two more years; his father hoping that the incubative environment would change his combat strength for the better. With minimal change to his strength, King Vegeta made the decision to release his son into the waking word.

Right out of the incubation chamber, Tarble was thrust into the rigors of training. The expectations of an elite were apparent from the start as he did battle with tiny training droids that pushed, and built his strength and quickness.

Within the first two years of training, Tarble made little progress. While his elder brother was already taking on purge missions for Planet Trade, Tarble still toiled in the bowels of the Saiyan military training center.

During these formative years, Nappa observed that the young Saiyan's demeanor was unlike that of his Saiyan brethren. Most were blood thirsty killing machines using their purge missions as a way to satisfy the ever burning flame of battle in their hearts. Tarble on the other hand was quiet, lacked aggression, and coupled with his low birth strength made it difficult for him to grasp the concepts of battle that Nappa strove to instill.

Frustration was building not only with Tarble's instructor, but with his father as well. In a last ditch effort to see Tarble's potential through, Nappa proposed that the young Saiyan accompany him on a purge mission to Planet Outa. The aquatic world was considered a simpler task on Planet Trade's long list of suitable planets that needed to be cleansed. The risk of death still remained, but with Nappa by his side, Tarble had a failsafe. King Vegeta met the suggestion with roaring enthusiasm as he was curious to see if his youngest son would sink or swim.


Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for reading the first chapter of Out of Exile! I truly appreciate you taking the time to do so, and I hope it did not disappoint. This chapter marks the first half of the beginning of a new reality for the disgraced prince of Planet Vegeta. This first chapter was actually much, MUCH longer, but was pared down to be more of a mood setter. I felt that the longer version was throwing too much information all at once. Much of what was written will be seen in the next chapter to come as well as the point of divergence between this reality, and the one we are all so familiar with.

This is a project that I have such high expectations for, and hope to meet and exceed them with each new chapter. That being said, If you enjoy the story, please don't hesitate to follow, or fav, but one of the most rewarding things is reader feedback. Drop a review to let me know what you think!

There are so many stories to tell within this new universe, and I'm so excited to get started!