PROLOGUE : A distant planet
Underneath a grim crimson sky, three warriors feasted triumphantly around a campfire. Around them, the smouldering ruins of Emonel - a once proud planet – told the tale of a slaughter, the genocide of an entire race of people at the hands of mighty and merciless soldiers. For miles there was nought but fiery rubble where cities had once stood proud and once barren wastelands were littered with the corpses of Emonelian soldiers and civilians alike.
"The planet Korma, huh?" grumbled the larger of the trio as he bit into what looked to be a large, cooked animal leg. The meat had not been very well prepared, and dark red juices dribbled messily down his chin. "Never heard of it."
"I'm not surprised, - it's on the other side of the galaxy…" said another man, much shorter than the one he addressed: Nappa. Unlike the larger male, this one had a full head of hair which was naturally spiked upwards to a tip. The strange armour he wore was not unlike his associates, yet his commanding tone and stern presence marked this man as the leader of the group.
"I have," claimed the third and final speaker. He was perhaps the most bizarre in appearance, with wild back-length hair and a peculiar smile. Clad in the same style armour as his comrades, this particular warrior seemed to be at a midpoint in physical build between the other two men. "Some say the inhabitants of Korma are almost as powerful as us Saiyan warriors! Apparently, they --"
"Preposterous!" barked the shorter man, "We are the finest warriors in the entire universe, Raditz. No other race comes close to our power!"
"Gr… sorry Vegeta."
"Kyah! As strong as the Saiyans! What a load of crap." Nappa bellowed whilst he tucked into his second helping of meat. More of the thick red juice spilled down his chin as he ate in an almost animal fashion.
"Humph… regardless of these Kormians' strength, the condition of the planet is simply superb!" Declared Vegeta proudly. "Lord Freeza is sure to reward us handsomely if we secure it for him." Vegeta explained, before taking a generous gulp from a large bottle of green liquid which he held in one gloved hand. "But I do have my doubts about Planet Korma…"
"It's an easy choice!" Nappa announced, spitting half-chewed food as he yelled. "We should head for Korma immediately and level the damn place!"
A strange silence followed, as Raditz chewed quietly on his food and Vegeta looked deeply into the green liquid swirling in the glass bottle from which he drank. Nappa looked to his superior, an expression of confusion etched upon his rugged, ugly face.
"Prince Vegeta…" Nappa began, confused
"Yes, Nappa?"
"Korma… we are going, right?"
Vegeta remained silent, drumming his long, thin fingers against the cold bottle whilst he contemplated the situation. He took another sip of the chilled liquid, and gasped with satisfaction. Raditz had looked up from his meal now, and was surveying the pair with an aura of confusion about him.
"As a warrior, I can't help but feel the urge to tear every single Kormian to pieces as soon as I can." Vegeta began, smirking, yet as he finished the sentence, his gaze hardened and his voice took a more serious tone. "But as a tactician I cannot ignore the fact that with the natural strength of this race and their immense number, the three of us… might not be enough for the job."
"What!?" the bald Saiyan spat "Surely you cannot be serious? We could crush those damn bugs!"
"Silence, you fool. We are strong and brave, not foolish!" Vegeta barked in retort. His eyes shot Nappa an angry, threatening gaze which the large Saiyan took to be a serious warning, and promptly shut up.
"So… we're just gonna let Korma go? Just like that?" he questioned.
"Of course not!" Vegeta barked, grinning broadly as he drained the last of the green liquid in one final, greedy swig. The Saiyan prince shook his head as his two subordinates looked towards him, eagerly awaiting an explanation.
"Listen," Vegeta said his voice flecked with impatience. "Raditz told us about how his brother was sent to some distant planet as a child… before ours was destroyed, and how he never returned, right?"
"Yes…" Nappa nodded.
"Well," Vegeta said, "Four Saiyan warriors would be more than enough to tackle Kourna!"
"You mean…" Raditz muttered
"Yes, we find the missing Saiyan and convince him to join us."
"Ha! Excellent plan!" Nappa bellowed triumphantly.
"And… if he won't join us?" questioned the youngest Saiyan.
"Then we do what we do best and sell the planet to Freeza!"
Vegeta stood, and approached a large white pod which lay in a small crater towards the edge of the mesa. With a swift kick to a button on the spherical structure the door opened, revealing the spacecraft's comfortable one-man interior. The Saiyan prince leaned into the pod, and began tapping commands into the on-board computer.
"Raditz! What was the name of your brother?" he asked, ceasing his operation of the computer.
"Kara... Kan... oh, Kakarrot."
"Hmph, a lower classman's name." Vegeta grumbled, as an image of the mysterious Saiyan named Kakarrot as a baby appeared on the small screen. Even one such as Vegeta who wasn't always swift to notice resemblances between family members could recognise the similarity in appearance between Raditz and his elusive sibling.
"All right." Vegeta said, emerging from his pod. "Raditz, since this Kakarrot is your own flesh and blood it is your duty to obtain his alliance. The computer tells me his ship is still stationed on Planet Earth." The prince ordered, marching back towards the ground on which his two Saiyan companions were sitting. "Meanwhile, Nappa and I will deal with those pesky little creatures on Planet Fruise."
Raditz opened his mouth to protest his lone assignment, but decided against it. "Yes, Vegeta." Was all he said whilst standing. He straightened his back, and flexed the muscles in his arms. "I'm sure Kakarrot will be most pleased to join the last of the Saiyan warriors!"
Vegeta nodded in approval, and the Saiyan known as Raditz headed towards his own space pod, hurling the bones from his meal to one side.
"I'll keep in touch via scouter!" Raditz said as he tapped the green-lensed device fastened to his left ear. With that, he opened up the space pod and sat comfortably in the seat which made up the majority of the craft's interior. The white sphere lurched forwards as the jet propulsion system roared into life, spitting the pod a few feet into the air. It hovered for a while as Raditz set the course for Earth, and finally with a giant roar of energy, the Saiyan was hurled towards the stars.
"Think he'll handle it, Vegeta?" Nappa questioned, now onto his fifth portion of food. His superior was pacing atop the mesa, occasionally stopping here and there to practice his punching technique.
"Of course, Nappa." Vegeta replied dryly, jabbing at an invisible opponent.
"So… what kinda reward are we talkin' for taking Korma?"
"Humph… I don't know, but something big. Then again, after your little outburst in front of Freeza last time we met with him, I wouldn't be surprised if he rewards us with dust." The prince commented harshly. He furrowed his brow, and stopped pacing, fixing his gaze on a distant glittering star.
"Damn you, Freeza!!" He cried, his voice booming out into the dead night sky. Clenched fists shook at the warrior's side. "Who would have thought it? I was prince of the greatest of races! And now look at me… nothing more than a tyrant's pawn!!"
"Vegeta…" Nappa started, standing for the first time in hours. Bits of torn meat and crumbs dropped from his armour.
"Silence, Nappa. We have business to attend to."
With that, the two Saiyans headed towards their respective crafts and without a single thought for the dead planet of Emonel, they shot into space simultaneously, ready to wipe another race of people from the galaxy.
It took several minutes of the loud chirp! chirp! chirp! in Raditz's ear to finally awaken him. Looking at the calendar displayed on the small computer, he was told that three Earth days (he figured he may as well get used to the planet's time system before arriving) had passed since leaving Emonel.
/GOOD DAY, RADITZ!/ said the soft electronic voice on the ship's computer. /YOU WILL SOON BE ARRIVING AT YOUR DESTINATION!/
The Saiyan shrugged. He must have heard the same damn speech at least a thousand times and it was starting to get more than a little repetitive.
/NOW APPROACHING PLANET EARTH. PREPARE FOR LANDING, AND GOOD LUCK./
With just a few minutes before the voice would brief him on the safety checks, Raditz's lips curled into a smile.
"We will meet at last… brother!"