(I
felt that dividing this storyline up into several fics, like my original
Senshi/Trooper fics would be much more potent than all in one very long fic.
This is turning out quite well.)
As
always, I own only those whose names you don't recognise. If you watch DBZ,
then obviously that's only quite a few. If you don't watch DBZ, then, well, you
might well assume I own everybody. I don't.
A/N:
If you haven't read up to and including the third book of Harry Potter (that
would be YOU, Ami-chan!) then don't read this, it contains part of the story.
Not much, but then Harry Potter is best experienced all at once.
Ch.
1
I
guess I'm so easy to understand.
I
just do whatever comes to me naturally.
Sweet
sweet you're so sweet.
I'm
not simple minded.
-I just felt that Amy from Sonic Adventure
was grossly underrepresented in my fic songs.
Krista
reported to her tactical station and immediately continued running the
diagnostic of the launching pads she'd been running the day before. They'd been
malfunctioning, not giving enough thrust to launch the capsules into space or
not giving any thrust at all. She sighed. Murphy's Law, she supposed. Whatever
can go wrong will.
She
looked up as Frieza entered the Command Centre. He gave her a curt nod and
walked around the other stations. She smiled faintly. Only a couple of weeks
into her career here on the planet and she was already beginning to settle into
a routine.
Morning, Sergeant.
Good morning, Sir, she thought a little absently as Zarbon entered the Command Centre. She
could almost feel Zarbon's shadow of a smirk.
A little busy?
If I don't get these
launching pads back on line, I'm done. Krista
informed him. So far, I've tried
everything I could think of, every diagnostic, but there's no answer. I don't
know what else to do.
Tell Lord Frieza when he
comes over. You're not our most skilled technician, you know. You've done all
you can.
Krista
sighed both inwardly and outwardly. I
suppose so…but I wish I could do more…
Don't stretch yourself
Sergeant, Zarbon warned her. It wouldn't be a good idea if you had a breakdown.
Krista
was pondering this when Frieza stepped over to her.
"How
are you doing, Sergeant?"
"Sir,
I've been working on the Launching Pad problem, but I can't seem to find an
answer," she informed him. Frieza frowned.
"You've
done all you can, Sergeant. Stand down and work on something else for a
while."
"Yes
sir," she said softly. She stood and moved to another tactical console,
choosing to take inventory of their weapons stores.
That wasn't so hard, was it?
Oh quiet.
This
time, she actually saw Zarbon's smile as he checked up on the security
stations. She shook her head and tapped a few buttons on her display, bringing
up the charge meter on the lasers.
"So
what happened then??"
Krista
grinned. Mere was turning into quite the Harry Potter fan. She smiled.
"Well,
Harry was awoken by Ron's scream and a ripping sound. When he got out of bed,
Ron's curtains had been ripped to shreds and Ron was claiming that Sirius Black
had been standing over him with a knife. When he'd screamed, though, Sirius had
ran."
"That's
odd," Mere said. "If Sirius realized he'd gotten the wrong bed, why
didn't he just silence him and move on to Harry? For that matter, how'd he get
past the painting of Sir Cadogan?"
"I
can answer the second question now, but not the first," Krista smirked.
"Spoils the story. Anyway, remember Neville had written Sir Cadogan's
passwords for the week down on a piece of paper? Somehow Sirius got hold of it
and read off the entire weeks passwords, and Sir Cadogan let him in."
Musquo
chuckled as Mere's eyes widened. "What did Professor McGonagall do to
him??"
Krista
opened her mouth to answer when Musquo chimed in. "Knowing her, probably
transfigured him into a rabbit, or maybe an owl."
Krista
grinned. "That would have made it more interesting…she just gave him
detention and forbid him to receive the password again. And the Fat Lady was
brought back."
"After
her picture was slashed?" Kuao asked incredulously. "The Fat Lady
always struck me as having more sense than that."
"She
does," Krista giggled. "She didn't go back until Dumbledore agreed to
give her a security detail, which came in the form of some gnomes."
Krista
stretched. "Enough Harry Potter talk. Mere, you were telling me earlier
about the different men who've been here?"
Mere
grinned. "Of course. Where was I?"
"You
were speaking about arrogance…" Kuao said solemnly, though he was grinning
as well. Mere nodded.
"Of
course. Arrogance. Well, as you can imagine, many men here are guilty of that
little defect. The stronger you are, the more arrogant you seem to become. So,
of course that well is topped by the Ginyu Force, who's considered Lord
Frieza's personal army.
"Then
again, Zarbon himself comes pretty close to their level, as well."
"Don't
I know it," Krista said, rolling her eyes and smiling. Musquo nodded.
"Of
course he's entitled, being the second-in-command. However, he can get pretty,
well…annoying. Most of the men really don't like him, but put up with him. If
any of them thought they could stand up to him, they would."
Krista
smirked. "Then maybe I should."
Kuao
raised a brow. "Oh?"
"Yes.
I mean, I did hold him off when we were fighting on my planet. Come to think of
it, I believe Lord Frieza called a halt because he was afraid I'd beat his poor
little soldier." She looked up at the expressions on their faces. All
three registered complete shock.
"Y-you're
a match for Zarbon?" Musquo finally squeaked. He shook his head, then
looked up at her, an entirely new respect for her in his eyes. "No matter
what happens, you continue to astound me," he said, smiling. Krista
suddenly flushed.
"I'm
not that outstanding-"
"Tell
me," Mere said. "Were you one of the strongest on your planet?"
Krista
sighed. "I wish. I was only a novice. Probably still am."
Mere
glanced at his companions, and saw that they were thinking the same thing: If
this girl was a novice, what would their strongest have done? He glanced at her
again. Something told him that she was going to shake the compound before she
left. She grinned.
"You
want to talk Arrogant, but you haven't mentioned Vegeta yet!"
Musquo
laughed. "I was getting to him. Actually, I've not met a sayajin yet that
wasn't somewhat arrogant. Of course, they deserve to be…"
She
sighed and flopped back on her bed. She turned over onto her stomach and began
to put the finishing touches on the picture. She began singing to herself
softly in Japanese.
"Arashi
no naka o kazenukete,
Yume
ga mienai dark night.
Hitori
oshiyo dakishimenaiede.
Ikazuchi
yo hashire anata no moto e,"
A
soft chime from her door made her halt both activities. She stood and opened
the door. Just as she'd thought, Zarbon was there. His visits had become daily,
and he usually came about this time.
I haven't interrupted
anything, Sergeant?
Nothing vital, she thought with amusement. Have
a seat. I was just working on a new picture.
May I see? Zarbon thought with interest. Krista showed him. He frowned.
He
recognized the girl in the picture. It was the same young girl who, after
killing Kui, had been killed by Lord Frieza.
So you do remember Sakura
Avalon, she thought, gently tugging the picture away
from him. I wasn't sure you would. After
all, here her thoughts became tinged with bitterness. What's one more casualty, and a child at that?
A
sigh reverberated through her mind. Did
everything go all right today?
Fine as usual, Commander.
You really ought to give me some credit. I know now to come to you if
something's wrong.
Zarbon
was silent a few moments, keeping his thoughts to himself.
You are aware that you are
up for a promotion?
Promotion? For what?
Zarbon
smiled, and this time spoke aloud.
"Promotions
here are not based simply on accomplishments and merit, though that can be a
great part of it. But those who are strong, especially skilled fighters, tend
to be promoted. The stronger you are, the higher you promotion. And, you are a match for me," he finished.
"So,
I'll be a commander?" Krista wasn't sure she was ready for such
responsibility. Zarbon laughed.
Lieutenant more likely, he thought. You've got quite a few
rungs on the ladder to go before you reach my level, though your power level
may warrant it. Don't worry, Sergeant. If I'm right, and I usually am, then
you'll have your time of command soon enough.
I don't think I'm ready for
anything like that just yet. I'll stick to being a soldier, thanks.
As you wish, he thought in amusement. He turned and left, hearing Krista pick up
again, as usual, her song.
"Soshite
tsukaete We believe you,
Ichiman
boroto no We believe you.
Chikara
o ageru yo Natural Forces.
Minna
soba ni iru kara ne.
Daichimo
mori mo. Kusa mo ki mo.
Daijoubu
we believe you…"*
Frieza
watched his elite squad with a great deal of patience. They were going through
their new introduction routine. These performances always drew a crowd and this
time was no different. Somewhere around seventy men had clustered around the
area to watch. Zarbon was standing next to him, carefully registering no
expression on his face.
The
squad continued with their introduction, seemingly indifferent to the grins and
muffled squeaks of laughter that permeated the crowd. Krista wandered up and
frowned.
What is this debacle? She asked with some amusement. Zarbon's own flittered back to her.
Good word for it. This is
how the Ginyu Force operates. They are ridiculous when they first introduce
themselves. It's an embarrassment, really. It reflects on all of us. But that's
only to throw their opponents off guard. They then don't live long enough to be
put back on their guard.
She
grinned and continued to watch the introduction. The small one with orange skin
and white hair-quite handsome, she noted, looked directly into her eyes and an
image filled her mind, one that made her flush hotly. She quickly turned and
walked to the other side of the room and sat.
What's wrong, Sergeant?
That…nevermind.
Krista….
Well, that orange one…he
looked at me. Krista flushed harder as she recounted in her
mind the image which had been sent to her by him. She looked and saw Zarbon fix
dark eyes on him.
That's Jeice. A so-called
ladies man. It appears the Ginyu may be gearing up to continue where Dodoria
left off.
Krista
paled. W-wh-wh-what??
Don't worry, He thought firmly. An image from Zarbon began to form in her mind, his
putting his arms around her and holding her close but it was snuffed out before
she could even really register it had existed. I won't let anything like that happen again. I swear to you.
Krista
found herself oddly touched by his words.
I-I believe you, she thought. But how do
you intend to stop them? Aren't they Frieza's elite force?
There is a reason why I'm second in command,
Sergeant, Zarbon thought, not bothering to hide his pride. I'm not
concerned, I can handle Jeice-or any of the others, for that matter.
Krista
smiled a bit and wandered back over to watch the almost humiliating spectacle
of the Ginyu's routine.
He
was surprised by the success of his idea. Perhaps adding the girl to his force
hadn't such a bad idea after all. There had been no more reports such as the
one he'd received concerning Dodoria. She seemed to be making friends among the
crew and her work was certainly above par.
I think you've really done it this time, he
thought to himself. He grinned and went back to his other activities.
