"So these are our volunteers for the Winburr mission?" said the purple alien as he stood over the three saiyan cubs. Each child lay in crib with a plaque that read their names, father's names, power levels, and identification numbers. The first was pumping his fist in to the air wailing, the second was dozing off, and the third was watching the two aliens with fascination.
"Yeah, it's a barren wasteland yet it's already killed two infant exterminators," said the blue alien as he joined his comrade.
"Why don't they send a squad?" asked the purple alien staring back at the third child.
"The natives are huge but weak and few in number, and the planets not worth much, so King Vegeta chose this route," answered the other. He picked up the plaque on the middle child's crib and then moved to the first.
"Oh," said the purple alien as he finally shifted his gaze to the first child who was still wailing.
"The new plan is three waves, each infant after the other, they'll be launched to arrive just in time for the full moon but after that the cold will kill them," said the blue alien reading off a tablet
"And their fathers volunteered them, poor low level brats," said the purple alien shaking his head.
The middle one is an elite's kid, the other two are low levels though," said the blue alien without looking up.
"Why's an elite's kid in with this bunch?" asked the purple alien as he looked at the sleeping infant. How the child could sleep with his neighbor's noisiness was beyond the alien's comprehension.
"He's the fifth son, average power level to boot. The first is a lowborn's third and, hm, this one's a firstborn," said the blue alien still into the tablet. The purple alien looked back at the babe in question to see him staring over in the direction of his wailing neighbor. The alien approached the crib and read the plaque.
Raditz
Son of Bardock
Power Level – 7
#207496
"It's got to be a mistake then, no way this Bardock volunteered his only kid for this," said the purple alien as he looked at the child properly. The kid almost had enough hair to make his own blanket, but he didn't seem defective in any way. He was fairly big for a day old infant. His power level was slightly above the average of 6, although not by much. He knew saiyans didn't value it much but the child seemed inquisitive, the first steps to an above average intelligence, if nurtured.
"He must have pissed someone off then, these kids were handpicked by the King's advisor and he's already verified the list and order," said the blue alien finally looking up from the tablet. He too looked over the third cub in the line up with something akin to pity.
"Sorry kid" said the blue alien. The purple alien took the tablet now interested in the young saiyan's unfortunate fate.
"He'll be sent to the nursery for 6 months until it's his turn to be sent off," said the purple alien as he read. "I wonder if we'll see this Bardock before then,"
The blue alien snorted, loud enough to bring the baby's attention back to them. "I doubt it why get attached to a kid on a suicide mission?" he said. Just as he spoke the door opened and a saiyan walked in, the two aliens unconsciously held they'll breathe as the alien walked over. He stopped however at the first crib, and without hesitating reach in and lifted the wailing babe. The child calmed immediately and nestled comfortably against his father's chest.
"I always thought I'd lose a kid but I was usually thinking of your brothers, alive for less than 6 months what a rip off, right?" spoke the saiyan softly. He began rocking the child and the boy's eyes started drooping. "You were born at the right time for this mission, I didn't have much of a choice in giving you up to it. I thought maybe with a power level of 9 they'd pick someone else but…," said the saiyan. He lifted the baby up higher, cradling the boy on his shoulder. "Look, Turin, I'm sorry, just, die well son," finished the saiyan as he laid the now sleeping babe back down.
He looked over at the two aliens and fear rolled through them at his intense gaze. "Sedate him until he's in his pod, it'll all be one big nightmare, you understand?" ordered the low level saiyan. The two aliens nodded and the purple one scrambled over to a drawer and under the saiyan's watchful gaze gave the cub a good dose of sedative. He then scrambled back and away from the pair.
The saiyan rubbed the baby's check before turning to leave. He stopped at the door. "If any of this gets out, if I hear the slightest rumor about my visit here today I kill you both, slowly," said the saiyan as he left.
The first infant was shipped out that night on his four month journey to Winburr, the other two were sent down to the nursery and placed in nutrition pods. The purple alien, Tyrian, as he was known followed them. He was now curious as to the fate of this project on the whole. He had both infants placed on high fat diets to increase their chances of survival.
The second infant would be launched at three months old, before the first child actually reached Planet Winburr, but each child had been calibrated to reach the planet just as the full moon was rising. Tyrian learned that the second babe, who had no name, was the son of very libidinous elite saiyan. He had five sons, two daughters, and another child on the way, and each child had differing bearers. There were even rumors that he'd fathered a half-saiyan child. This particular child was borne of a saiyan woman who had challenged the elite and lost, brutally. She had refused her right to name the boy and that duty had fallen to his father who didn't see the point as he had already volunteered the child for this mission. Not wanting to get attached but needing to call the boy something Tyrian dubbed the boy 'Cadaver' in his head.
Bardock had shown up with half his crew. Tyrian knew him immediately, he had gotten into a fight with an elite a few months back and absolutely humiliated him. Bardock had been beaten eventually, but it was a hard won fight, he caused the elites friends to mock him for months afterwards, no wonder his kid got volunteered for this mission. The boy's bearer had shown up with him, berating him for his carelessness and storming off before Tyrian got a good look at her.
Bardock hung around for a bit with one of his friends, Toma, not actually picking up the boy but sharing his gaze. He then left and Tyrian thought that would be the last he'd hear from him.
The children slept in pods, separated from the rest of the babies with only Tyrian bothering to look after them.
He arrived one morning and noticed two things were off, Cadaver was crying, which was unusually for the normally calm baby, and Raditz was missing. He looked under and around each pod before concluding the boy was not in the room. He checked the charts to make sure the boy hadn't been taken for an examination.
He decided to wait a bit; it wasn't uncommon for the medics to forget to fill out paperwork.
A couple hours later there was still no baby. It was time to go look for him. Tyrian went to the records room and log in to the baby's tracer. It show the child to be somewhere in the slums.
Tyrian really didn't want to go down there. However he was responsible for that boy until he was launched and if the mission was compromised King Vegeta would probably have him killed. He could ask someone else to go but then he'd look incompetent and probably still be killed for losing the kid in the first place.
He had to go to the slums.
He checked over Cadaver's pod before he left. He wouldn't be gone long hopefully, and watching saiyan babies in nursery pod was really just checking the pod to make sure it was functioning properly. It would feed, cleanse, and put the boy to sleep. Tyrian doubted it would malfunction in the short time he was gone.
He borrowed a tracker and set it to Raditz's tracer. He followed it dutifully ignoring the jeers of drunken saiyan soldiers as he passed through the bar area. It led him to an apartment, when he reached the door he knocked.
"What!" came the muffled shout, Tyrian froze in fear, what was he thinking. Whoever was behind this door was probably going to kill him to cover up their theft. He should leave and take his chances with reporting the baby missing.
It was too late though. The door opened and there was Bardock, with Raditz curled awkwardly on his chest. It was obvious he had no clue how to comfortably hold the boy.
"Oh, you're that alien from the nursery room," said Bardock stupidly, scratching his head with the hand that wasn't ncorrectly holding the baby.
"Yes, I came searching for my missing charge," said Tyrian pointedly, nodding his head towards the baby.
Bardock looked confused for a moment, and then looked down at the baby. "Oh, you mean him. Sorry I was a bit wasted last night I must have borrowed him,"
Tyrian's jaw dropped, how could anyone be so idiotic? He shook his head and closed his mouth, it was good this idiot hadn't accidentally killed the boy.
"Well I'll take him now," said Tryrian reaching for the child.
Bardock leaned back slightly. "What for? He's my kid I can borrow him for a while if I like,"
"Actually no you can't. It is my job to make sure this boy is ready for his mission and it is obvious that you know nothing about the children of your own kind. Saiyan infants need to eat every few hours or more, it's been about 9 hours since his pod recorded a feeding. He must be starved by now," pointed out Tyrian
"Looks fine to me," said Bardock. He was right, Raditz showed none of the typical fussiness of a hungry saiyan babe. His eyes were drooping, and his tail was curling, all signs of tiredness but not of hunger.
"Well-," started Tyrian
"Look why don't you tell your boss I decided to keep the kid myself. He'll be back for his launch, I mean the whole point of this was so that bastard elite could get back at me right. This way he gets his satisfaction and the next time I decide to spawn the same thing won't happen. Have a good night," said Bardock slamming the door in Tyrian's face.
Tyrian had no choice but to go back and report what Bardock had said. He was surprisingly not punished, nor was Bardock. Bardock's reputation was shot though. Sentiment in a saiyan warrior was frowned upon and there was a split between those who though Bardock's drunken antics were hilarious and those who though they were the sad actions of a desperate man.
Just out of curiosity Tyrian obtained the video from that night. It only recorded the door, he watched a few medics walk pass, he watched himself leave, and then only moments after he had left he watched a saiyan woman sneak in and leave with the long-haired baby held to her chest.
'She waited until I left to take him,' thought Tyrian as he stared at the woman on the screen. It was obvious she didn't know about the camera, it had a good view of her face, she was familiar.
'Why did Bardock cover for her,' thought Tyrian as he looked at the face on the screen. Then it hit him, this was Raditz's bearer, she'd stolen the baby, Bardock covered for her. Sentiment in a saiyan warrior was frowned upon but in a saiyan woman it was ten times worse. It made them weak, it made them a target, it usually got them killed.
'Although it explains why the baby wasn't starving,' thought Tyrian as he replayed events in his head. The woman had probably been in the apartment, Bardock hadn't wanted him to search the place that was why he brought the baby he'd obviously never held before to the door, and Bardock certainly couldn't have carried the baby all the way from the nursery to the slums. He thought of a way to keep the boy to please the boy's bearer. Tyrian thought it was sweet in its own way, so he deleted the recording. Bardck obviously wasn't as much a fool as he'd taken him for because he played the part too well to actually be one.
'Good luck, Kid' Tyrian thought to himself.