"So what do they want?" I ask Vegeta as he cuts the communication link with our prospective clients. Nappa glares at me for speaking 'out of place', as he would put it. It really pisses Nappa off that I don't show 'proper' respect at all times. I smirk at him as Vegeta deigns to answer me.
"They want the second planet in the Deitona system," he informs us with a smile.
Nappa gasps a little, surprising me. He can be a pain in the arse at times with his insistence on trying to maintain the formalities that were customary among the high-bred warriors of Vegetasei; but he is of that class, and as such is a powerful opponent. What is it that concerns him about this planet in particular?
"What's the matter, Nappa? Starting to feel your age? You can always skip this one out if it's too much for you!" I taunt him, baiting him to give me the information I require. I almost laugh as he obliges. How predictable.
"Kisama!" He fumes at me, his whole face - including that bald head of his - turning as red as a tomato. Vegeta looks on, amused. "The inhabitants of that planet are far stronger than most - almost as strong as Saiyajin!"
I shrug carelessly. "So we'll have a bit of a challenge. It's about time, too. Most of the places we've acquired have barely shown any resistance at all."
Nappa scowls at me, oh so scary. "Say that again when you're down on your knees begging for help, Radditz - I'll come and kill you myself!"
"Wait until after we've taken the planet," Vegeta interjects, "or I'll kill you both!
I shut my mouth at that. If Vegeta thinks that it'll take all of us, then I might just be in trouble... because both he and Nappa are far stronger than I am. This could well be my last battle we're talking about. I'm no fool. With so few of us left, what future is there for our race? All we have is the present - and I for one intend to make that last for as long as possible! I have no fear of death - after all, I deal it out every day - but I'm in no hurry to meet my own, either. If I do get into trouble on that planet, then I'll die. It's that simple.
I don't want to die.
I remember waiting for my parents to come back from their missions, back when I was a brat, getting beaten up by the other, stronger brats. My mother especially. She'd come back, and no matter what shape either of us was in she'd make me fight until I passed out cold for the night. The next day she would tell me of her battles, of her moves, explaining exactly why each was made.
'Only the strong survive,' she'd say. 'Only the strong - and the smart. Unless you make the most of both your body and your mind, you'll never be any more than the rest of the low-class brats - and low-class warriors are expendable, Radditz. Remember that.'
Mother's one regrettable weakness was her attachment to us, her family. It killed her in the end; she received a fatal wound while protecting father. She died as she lived, though - a true warrior. I will always remember her for that. It's a better death than father had, sitting on a planet that just happened to get hit by an asteroid. What a stupid way to die.
I don't intend to die a stupid death, but if I can't make it alone... There are only the three of us - no, wait! Thinking of mother prompts my memory of her last little contribution to life - my little brother, taken from her womb and placed in a tank before she went off on that mission…
Kakarotto…
Four of us. I smile.
"How soon do they want the rock?" I ask. Vegeta shrugs.
"There are a few other planets I had in mind to cleanse first. What difference does it make?" His eyes are hard and challenging.
"I'd like to go get my little brother," I say the words, outwardly calm. "He was sent to a planet named Earth just before Vegetasei was destroyed." It was the last bit of news I ever heard from my father, the message was incomplete, having been cut off mid-transmission. They had only just sent him off when the planet was destroyed.
My little brother was very lucky then. I hope he still is - despite what Nappa says, luck can decide the fate of a battle.
"Earth?" Nappa is scornful as he looks up the data on the planet my brother was sent to take over. "What a pathetic power rating its inhabitants have. Your brother must have had a truly pitiful rating at birth to be set such a demeaning task as overcoming those weaklings!"
I shrug, holding back my anger, and turn to our Prince instead. "We have a buyer for that planet, don't we?"
He nods briefly, then waves one hand in a dismissive manner. "We do. Go ahead and get your brother, if he's still alive. If he lives through the mission he may join us."
Indeed. Then we'd have a proper Saiyajin team to serve Freeza, just as before Vegetasei was blown to pieces; and there would be someone else with us who is weaker than the two high-class warriors.
I bow to Vegeta before entering my capsule, setting Earth as its destination. Soon enough I'll see my brother, and I will judge whether or not he can be useful to us. No matter what his power level is, even if he is as weak as Nappa suggested, he will be one more warrior in our fight, one more person to take our opponents' attention - and perhaps even some of their lives.
Perhaps he even inherited mother's little weakness; that could be very useful indeed - to me.
Isn't that what family are for?
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