"Where are you," echoed the words of a Saiyan. The sound bounced about through the dark caverns, every little life form must have heard it. The Saiyan cursed his stupidity.
Blood shone in what little light could penetrate through the dark cave. The blue shoulder guards on his armor were destroyed, and his scouter was cracked beyond repair. "Curse it," the Saiyan said to himself; "Bardock, where the hell are you?"
He could barely stand. The ambush he had encountered had isolated him from his fellow companions, allowing those bastards to attack, and attack they did.
The Saiyan couldn't stand anymore. Slowly, he sat down and observed the light dipping into the cavern. "I need regain my strength," he said to himself. "Then I'll show them how it's unwise to mess with a Saiyan."
He fell back and passed out.
A dream to a Saiyan often involves what a Saiyan does best: and that is combat, and when a Saiyan hungers for combat, they long for assignments that will earn a name for themselves. This was the case for four young Saiyans named Bardock, Raditz, Zekunai, and Yham. The four of them were just over twenty years of age, and Bardock had been given an assignment that was considered a high honor for a low class. However this operation could not be done be itself. Bardock had to put together a team of allies to aid him. He chose his three closest friends whom had journeyed with him on many previous occasions; however nothing in the past had come close to what now faced them; not only the respect and privilege, but the danger.
A true Saiyan does not feel nervous, however they do get anxious. That was the case now, as the four of them stood in the docking bay, ready to board their pods. They had just finished briefing, and it was time. Their guide led them to their ships.
"Are you sure you four can handle this?" the guide asked. "Kretkor might be a challenge for you boys."
Bardock scoffed. Not a rude scoff, but nonetheless, it told the guide that Bardock was somewhat insulted.
"We've all prepared for this assignment," Bardock told the guide. "This is our moment to shine. We can handle it."
The guide smiled. "I hope so," he said. He raised his hand and pressed the large red button on his scouter. Several beeps sounded throughout the hall. "I see," the guide said. "Well best of luck to you."
None of the four responded. They turned away and headed for their ships. In they went, into four round pods. The doors pulled up, separating them from everything outside, with only a small circular window covered in green glass, showing what was before them. A large crack sounded and the four ships rocketed out of the hanger, and soon they were all in the depths of space.
Before returning to his next job, the guide stood there for a few moments, gazing out into the starry night sky of the planet Vegeta.
"An impressive level for a low class," he said. "The four of them just might actually conquer Kretkor. That is if the other three are like that too." He smiled and turned away.
As the pods rocketed through space, the Saiyans calmed down their anxiousness. "Alright, men," Bardock said. "It's a four day trip to Kretkor. Prepare for stasis."
"Hey Bardock," Yham said over the intercom, "what is your power level anyway? I don't think you've ever told any of us."
"That's right," Raditz replied. "What the heck is it?"
"Well," Bardock said laughing, "I'm not really the bragging type, but I suppose it's the reason why they even gave me this assignment in the first place."
"Oh, come on," Zekunai said. "Spill the beans already."
"Fine,' Bardock said. "It's 2,330." There was a pause before Bardock spoke again. "Well friends, it's a long journey and it's time for sleep."
He shut the intercom off and sat back, closing his eyes.
The other three remained silent for a few moments before speaking.
"2,330," Zekunai stammered. "Can you believe it? A low class only twenty years of age cracking the 2,000 barrier; It's unheard of."
"It's not surprising," Raditz replied. "Bardock's worked hard all of his life, harder than any of us have." Raditz remained silent for a moment. "And if you asked me, considering the way he fights, I'd say you can expect a much higher level from him in the future then "2,330"."
Yham snorted loudly. He laughed and then spoke. "Don't be ridiculous," he said. "Sure, Bardock's great for a low class, but he's a low class for crying out loud. Let's be reasonable. The chances of him going past 3,000 in his life are slim to none, so come on."
"Well, I strongly disagree," Raditz replied. "I think the low class can do anything they set their minds to. The whole "class" thing is stupid in my mind."
Yham laughed. "I'd like to see you say that to the Royal Court. King Vegeta would have you killed." Neither Zekunai nor Raditz replied. The awkward silence forced Yham to continue his sentence. "Come on guys," he said. "It's just natural for a middle class or elite to gain more power. Remember my uncle, Pepaur? He was a middle class, and before he died, his power was 3,102."
"How is that relevant to our discussion?" Raditz asked.
He had Yham on that one.
Zekunai laughed. "Yham," he said. "We all know how proud you are that you had a middle class in your family, but you've brought it up many times before."
Yham was thankful that neither of them could see him, because his face was red. "Well," he said. "It is an honor to have a middle class in a family of low class, but aside from that, what's your power level Raditz?"
"Not what Bardock's is, that's for sure," Raditz laughed. "But if you must know, it's 1,420."
"I suppose that's alright," Yham replied; "yeah, not bad at all."
"Thanks," Raditz replied.
"I still don't know how Bardock can possibly do it," Yham said. "I guess it doesn't matter though; and I suppose it's now time to join him in stasis."
"Oh, hold on," Raditz said. "I almost forgot. I wanted to tell you about this hot broad I hooked up with. You know, as a pre celebration for this mission."
Ground exploded upon the pod's impact, in similar fashion to a meteorite. The four of them had arrived on Kretkor after four short days of stasis. As usual, Bardock was the first to get out. Wasting no time, he flew out of the crater to observe his surroundings. Wasteland surrounded him as far as the eye could see, except to the north, where the mountains formed.
Bardock looked down at his crew, just emerging from the pods. "Move it," Bardock yelled. "It's mission time."
Raditz rubbed his eyes, trying to adjust to the brightness from the white main sequence star looming in the sky. "Should we wait until night?" he asked. "After all we did program our ships to arrive on the night of a full moon."
"You make a point," Bardock replied. "Let's see."
He pressed the button on his scouter. "We'll try to find the strongest being on this planet that isn't us."
Bardock moved his head around, allowing the scouter to sense from every range; then a loud beep signaled that the scouter had locked onto a target. "See those mountains?" Bardock asked. There's a life form over there with a level of 1,324 – suddenly Bardock cut off his words. He froze for a moment in apparent shock.
"What's wrong," Zekunai asked? "Is something bothering you?"
Bardock wiped some sweat off his forehead. "Yeah," he replied. "There isn't only one being over there over 1,000. There's at least a hundred."
"Aw crap," Yham said. He felt a shiver crawl down his spine. His power was only 1,250. For so many hospitable beings over 1,000 to be near him made him nervous. "So I guess we wait for night then," he said.
"I suppose so," Bardock replied.
Time crept by slowly for all but Bardock. Just the thought of so many powerful beings to face scared all three of them, but their warrior's pride masked it from their faces. None of them aside from Bardock had ever fought to the death with another being over 1,000. They couldn't wait for the night to come, and for their powers to multiply ten fold.
It had now been three hours since they had arrived. Waiting in silence yielded boredom, and conversation soon began:
"So, what does King Cold even want this planet for?" Zekunai asked.
"Well," Raditz replied, "I'm not sure, but I have heard a rumor that it's for Cold's new born grandson, Kuriza. Supposedly Kuriza wanted a planet turned into an amusement park."
Yham spat out what he was drinking. "What!?" he yelled. "You mean we have to bust our asses for that?"
Bardock laughed. "It doesn't make a difference," he said. "First of all, it's just a rumor, and second of all, it doesn't matter. A jobs a job, and if we accomplish this, it will bring some respect to out names."
"Not to mention the pay," Zekunai said. "We can't forget that now can we?"
Everyone laughed and sat back, enjoying the warm sun until nightfall - when all four of their scouters suddenly beeped.
"What the hell!" Raditz yelled, "Ten life forms approaching from the north; all of them over 1,000."
Bardock quickly scrambled up the crater to get a better view. Sure enough, their silhouettes soon came into view.
"Looks like we're going to have to start the fight early," Bardock yelled down at them. "Prepare yourself!"
Before any of them could respond, Bardock lunged out of the crater, soaring straight towards the incoming Kretkanians.
There was no time for any of the aliens to react. Before they knew what hit them, Bardock's fist was planted straight through the head of a Kretkanian. In an instant, Bardock pulled his fist from the head, and attacked another one as the dead corpse fell to the ground below.
Bardock's opponent raised its arms in defense, but the blow from Bardock's kick broke both of the limbs. Then Bardock raised his arm and blasted it into oblivion.
Zekunai, Raditz and Yham joined him, and soon they were all fighting. Bardock was taking on four of them by himself, while the other three handled the other half of this squad.
Raditz struck his fist hard into the chest of his opponent, but the alien countered with a jab to the face. Raditz coughed up some blood, and then he slammed his head into his opponent's chest, sending them both crashing down into the ground.
Yham was having a bit more trouble than the others. His opponent's power level was 1,290, slightly higher than his own. Yham threw several jabs at the alien. Only one of them struck. The alien threw a high kick at him. Yham barely managed to duck out of the way, and then he fired a blast of Chi at it. The alien swatted it away with mediocre effort.
Bardock had already killed another one of his opponents. He had thrown a kick at its neck, snapping it into two. Bardock felt a certain pride as he watched the other three aliens recoil in fear. He raised his hands and fired several beams out of his fingers at them, obliterating their faces and killing them all.
With his work done, Bardock flew towards Yham and struck the alien he was facing in the ribs, piercing deep into its body. The alien lurched uncontrollably, and then Bardock kicked the corpse away. "Disgusting," he said. "This thing's blood is all over my legging."
Raditz had finally gained the upper hand against his opponent. He dodged several jabs, and managed to get behind it where he snapped its neck.
Zekunai was still in heated combat. His foe was clearly the strongest, and the leader of the group. Realizing that all of his comrades were dead, it decided to resort to deparate measures. It lunged foreword at Zekunai and grabbed him. Both of them fell towards the planet's surface and crashed through the ground, falling deeper and deeper into a cavern below.
As they fell, a chunk of debris struck Zekunai in the rib, bruising it. Finally they crashed at the bottom of the cavern, both of them winded. With the adrenaline pumping, Zekunai summoned all of his strength. He rolled on top of his foe and continuously pelted him with an onslaught of punches.
The face of the alien was badly bloody and bruised. Zekunai picked the body up and blasted a hole in it, and then he threw the corpse into a nearby pool.
To Zekunai's surprise and disgust, several loud crunching sounds emitted from the waters, and then all was quiet.
Zekunai fell to his knees and momentarily blacked out from the pain.
