Set a couple years before Bulma meets Geta.

"The universe is a big place, and almost never talks about the same thing all at the same time. But for a long time, vast portions had been talking about the icejin and their planet trade. And, as a result, for a time not quite as long, but still plenty long enough for most of its inhabitants, the universe had been talking about Frieza's best-known soldiers, the saiyans.

"The saiyans. A race whose potential strength was limited only by their ability to survive. Their planet was harsh and its people were harsh in turn, and just barely developing a unified culture when Frieza sent a squad to purge their world, at exactly the wrong time in the lunar cycle - for the squad. The saiyans made history then as the first non-space-faring people to ever successfully resist being purged. And Frieza saw this strange, violent race, and realized they might be of use to him.

"Faster than any would have thought possible, the saiyans adapted to life in space, working for Frieza and becoming one of the most dreaded scourges of the universe. Some said even Frieza secretly feared what he had unleashed.

"This rumour was taken as truth when King Cold's youngest son destroyed Vegetasei.

"And now the universe was talking of the saiyans again. For before, though terrifying and powerful, the saiyans had had weaknesses that could easily be exploited. They were rowdy, relied too heavily on brute strength, lacked a common goal to unite and give them focus, and they were arrogant to a fault, often not willing to believe a foe to be superior to them unless handed physical proof, usually in the form of one of their own internal organs. They had grown more unified when Frieza stole, then killed, their crown prince, but they were still disorganised as a whole.

"Then Frieza blew up Vegetasei, hoping to end his worries and the saiyan race at the same time. Which would have worked perfectly, had one saiyan not heard of the prince's death and begun to question more than the others. This one saiyan had been talking with other saiyans, who in turn talked with more of their kind. Frieza had acted quickly, but not quickly enough. When Vegetasei fell, close to five hundred saiyans were off-planet.

"And the saiyan who had first acted, who had found like-minded people and gotten them organised? He had flown off minutes before the Death Ball hit, in a ship bound for a safe location, the second prince of Vegetasei snug in his arms.

"The saiyans had been arrogant and rowdy, secure in their superiority. Frieza had shown them they were fallible when his Death Ball consumed more of the royal guard – the finest of the elites – without pausing. He had broken their pride when he destroyed their planet and a little more than seven eighths of their population with it. And he had given them focus. Almost five hundred saiyans left in the universe, all with one goal in their hearts: the destruction of Frieza, his family, and their empire – more than once, if possible.

"And now the universe saw the saiyans undergo another change, one that had it cursing Frieza even more than it already had been – a feat previously deemed impossible. For the saiyans were survivors – it was in their blood to overcome adversity and come out stronger for it. They had adapted to space and to serving Frieza. Now they adapted again, picking up a skill that turned them from merely dangerous to positively lethal: subtlety. They began to think and strategize under the guidance of their red-crowned leader, who, it was said, could see the future, so great was his understanding and knowledge, and whose power shone like a yellow sun.

"And the universe trembled for, though it had prayed for Frieza's death, now it began to fear the cure might be worse than the disease, and it was rumoured the saiyans held a secret weapon, one whose coming had been foretold in their legends, and whose power would make the red-crowned leader's look like a candle next to a star.

"And then the biggest shock of all came. The red-crowned leader landed on a planet with two of his most trusted companions and offered them a deal: resources the saiyans had access to in exchange for basic necessities – food, clothes, medical supplies. The leaders of the planet were afraid, for they knew what even a small number of saiyans could do, and it was said the red-crowned leader carried the moon in his pocket. But, afraid though they were, they would not work with a people with so much blood on their hands.

"Is that your final answer? the red-crowned leader asked them, Can nothing we do convince you to trade with us?

"No, said the leaders, We will not trade with killers.

"So be it.

"So saying, he stood, taking his companions with him, and they left the planet, with no new blood on their hands. The inhabitants of the planet waited, but they did not return, and nor did any other saiyan come seeking vengeance.

"Three more planets the red-crowned leader approached, growing more ragged with each encounter. For though he was strong and a worthy fighter, Frieza's forces pressed him and his people sorely whenever they could, and the saiyans were all too happy to respond in kind. But supplies were beginning to grow thin, with no home planet to replenish them and no one willing to trade.

"The fifth planet he went to, the red-crowned leader went alone, and there he knelt before the rulers and begged, his forehead on the ground.

"Please, he said, Please, give us a chance to become better than we are, and to rid the universe of the true monster in the process. For we are killers, yes, and have been too proud, but he is cold as the heart of space and corrupts all he touches. If left unchecked, he will befoul the whole universe, he and his miserable kind. Please, for the sake of a people already so befouled, trade with us.

"And whether it was the red-crowned leader's words, or that these rulers were slightly more wise, or compassionate, or foolish than the others, or whether it was merely the sight of a saiyan kneeling so low of his own volition to a being far weaker than himself and not of his race, this fifth planet decided differently than the others. They opened trade with the saiyans, and found them as good as their word.

"And so the saiyans made their first ally and began learning the ways of diplomacy. In time, other allies would follow, though they would be few and far between, for the reputation of the saiyans preceded them in a rich and multi-hued tapestry of blood, and few were bold or foolish enough to ignore such a thing. But the people of Anesh were the first, and, when Frieza's eye fell of their lush planet, the saiyans changed again and rose to the aid of their allies, rather than cutting their losses and running. Some defended the planet from the ground, but most made so much trouble for Frieza elsewhere that he had neither time nor resources to spare on one small planet, no matter how fine its vineyards were.

"And so the saiyans continue to write a new future for themselves, rising out of their blood-soaked heritage to find they are capable of more than death and destruction. And though some have questioned the wisdom of their red-crowned leader's judgement in these matters, lo, he has reminded them why he is best suited to lead them in this and, failing to convince them by words alone, has reminded them of his strength of arm as well as mind, and verily he has wasted their sorry asses for back-talking him, especially Paragus, who is a wuss anyway and thus does not count.

"Thus is a brief history of the saiyan race in current times."

Broly finished reading and looked up at his current teacher for approval. Okrar blinked at him.

"I don't think Bardock has ever sounded that hoity-toity in his life. And the tone of the thing changed a bit at the end."

"I took some liberties," Broly said shyly, looking at his feet, "The message was the same, but I thought it might fit better with the flow of the piece than a speech that started out 'Look, I know we're the biggest fuck-ups in the universe.'"

"True," Okrar admitted, "And the last bit?"

"Commander Bardock was reading over my shoulder and made a few suggestions."

The grey-skinned saiyan ran a hand through his short hair and snorted. "Of course he was. Has your father seen it yet?"

Broly nodded. "I showed it to him just before I showed it to you."

"What?!" Okrar jumped to his feet. "Fuck the rest of the lesson, we're probably missing a good fight!"

And so saying, he led his student out of the room they were in and followed the sounds of shouting towards one of the training rooms, where an enraged Paragus was trying to do in Commander Bardock, who would probably have been better able to defend himself from his friend if he weren't cackling so hard.

Because, attempting to better themselves or not, saiyans were still saiyans, and some things were immutable.

OoOoOoOoOoO

I had so much fun writing this piece, you do not even. It was fun to take a break from my usual style and go with something more lyrical for a bit. It also allowed me to give the saiyans some en masse character development, which they already had in my head, but I figured you guys should be allowed to see it, too.

Yeah, Bardock and Paragus are friends – Paragus is one of Bardock's chief advisors/generals, along with Celipa, Toma, and a few others. Bardock's in charge, as said, due to a combination of being good at it and being really strong. Paragus is actually pretty serious and formal, he's a stickler for rules and is one of the small number of diplomats the saiyans now have. It's also one of Paragus's unofficial jobs to yell at Bardock when he's not taking care of himself or being overly reckless. Bardock (sort of) appreciates this and gives him all the shit for it; because it is funny to watch Paragus explode.

The saiyans have been having children here and there since Vegetasei was destroyed, but Tarble and Broly are the only two kids on the ship they live on with Bardock, Paragus, and sixteen other saiyans. Raising and educating them has been sort of a group effort, along with a process everyone is making up as they go. Honestly, no one has much of a clue what they're doing, but the brats seem to be turning out alright, so everyone's counting it as a win.

The Resistance is still going strong by the time Bardock reunites with Raditz and Kakarrot, and will be for quite awhile after as well. It took time for the saiyans to regroup after the loss of their planet, and they're going up against a huge force with very small numbers of their own. They're gaining allies, but the planet trade is enormous, and it's taking time to bring it down in such a way that no one can instantly restart it once the Colds are gone.

Okrar – okra

Anseh - Ganesh