Prologue – The Saiyans
The cold space provides many possibilities; it's limitless expanse harbours at least as many planets and a practically indefinite amount of targets for a Saiyan warrior.
The Saiyans; in many corners of the galaxies, they are unknown, but the ones who have met them, hardly ever got the chance to tell the tale. A warrior people that kill the inhabitants of the planets they land on and claim the resources for themselves, sometimes to trade with other peoples.
The home planet of the Saiyans was called Vegeta. It was a warm planet, void of seasons, but with gravity ten times as strong as on planet Earth. Perfect for working on one's strength continuously. Next to the normal Saiyans, there were also more distinct individuals amongst them; those who earned the title of warrior not simply because of their given strength, but because they achieved levels of power that far exceeded the usual amount. They were part of the elite of the Saiyans and – as with any proper people – the Saiyans had a royal family.
Any good fairy-tale has a King, a Queen, and – of course – a handsome Prince waiting to stoke his passion for a young girl. Well, in our case, reality looks a little different: As already mentioned, the Saiyans are not exactly what one might call the epitome of overflowing passion. First and foremost, their interests lie with a good fight to match their strengths with each other. Swell, just what any girl is looking for.
Apart from that, Saiyans are notorious eaters and judging by the amounts they can pack away, their hauls must be quite sizable as well, for a hungry Saiyan might well become… disagreeable. Like an angry one. Or a tired one. But hungry.
But why report on the Saiyans, one might ask. Well, since meeting them usually results in a lot of blood, no one can tell their tale. Personally, I escaped this fate, because the aforementioned warrior people are not exactly into science. After killing a second people that lived on their planet, the Tuffles, no one was left to concern themselves with technology and progress. Saiyans are great in brawls and they're by no means stupid… but it just doesn't run in their blood to sit in a cold laboratory and concern themselves with theories and games of the mind all day long.
This in particular made the King of the Saiyans seek out a planet where the people loved to do exactly that. Not all of them, mind you, because Earth's people tended to have varying interests and therefore prioritized differently. But there was a family of world-renowned scientists. The Briefs. My family.
Contrary to the usual approach of the Saiyans, the King decided not to kill the entire civilization. He insisted to take someone who could transfer Earth's knowledge to planet Vegeta and improve it from there. If problems should arise, he could always get someone else from Earth who would take over the task. The King voicing his threat to destroy Earth should we refuse to meet his demands, my teenaged idiocy made me step in front of my father – Earth needed him.
Looking back later, I didn't know why the King of the Saiyans took the deal – I was only a girl, no older than thirteen and in his eyes I should have seemed like a joke. I could not read a single thing in the King's dark eyes. I don't believe he would have let me peek behind the façade had we met under different circumstances either. His gaze pierced me and he narrowed his eyes before moving toward me and throwing me over his shoulder with a quick move of his arm. I screamed in terror, not knowing what my intervention meant for me. I glanced at my parents' faces for one last time, full of fear and sadness, not knowing I would probably never see them again. The last time – and I was incapable of thinking or feeling.
Transfixed, I was being hauled back to the space ship and we left Earth with incomprehensible speed. I stuck to a window and watched my home planet become smaller and smaller. Just then I realized that I would never return and my body began to shake as hot tears ran down my cheeks.
Thinking about it, it feels like yesterday, but the time that I've spent with the Saiyans from then on taught me to live with them, to laugh, to fight; it's brought me closer to the warrior people than I ever thought possible.
When you're kidnapped or forced to leave home by forces outside of your control, there is this fear you'll forever live like a prisoner. I suppose, that is the case for most people. Not for me. The warmth I felt, the bond that grew in me, while not making me forget how I came to be with the Saiyans, did make me feel less alone. I still feel, as I probably will for the rest of my life, connected to them.
I have – inevitably – become one of them.