Sometimes when Vejita slept, he dreamt of gunfire.

When the snowy February days settled over the main Capsule Corporation compound, he would almost feel like he was back in the midst of starry nothing, the nearest sellable planet creeping into view.

He was 10. Gehttar was 15 times the size of Earth and 73% more valuable. A small militia had been deployed to ensure a quick and thorough
eradication of the sentient race. They had advanced weaponry to match the Cold Empire, but technology was nothing new. Vejita's hunger for war and destruction as a young warrior seemed to amuse Lord Freeza, who was determined to find the one planet that would finally break him.

It was a disaster as soon as they'd hit atmo. Ion Cannons eliminated the first stream of single manned pods. Had they no reason to recharge, they would have all been lazily plucked from the sky.

Landing wasn't any smoother. The locals had no reserve in approaching the ships and spearing the raiding party through their heads before they even undocked the entry port.

He remembers the resounding crash and thump of a Positron-Bursting Arrow imbedding itself into the man sized headrest. But Vejita
wasn't yet a man at that age, he was pure hell-spawn.

Two days later, half the remaining militia was ensconced in a hastily made trench. He mostly remembers Raddits' laughing face. The moron.

"Young Prince, how does the weather fair you today?" From above darted Nappa followed by a hail of grey, green, and gold.

"The rain's certainly lifting, is it not?" retorted Nappa, his hearty laugh booming louder than the Patient Grenades detonating.
Only a teenager, Raddits joined the esoteric humor with his own young laugh.

A pausing silence appeared. The Cold Empire forces took a moment to share equally silent looks of questioning. Slowly, a few soldiers peered
over the trench wall to asses the field. The soldier next to Nappa was suddenly missing his head from the bridge of his nose and up. All three Saiya-jins watched his body teeter backwards into the dust of the trench.

At his collapse, Nappa threw a ration at Vejita. "Eat up, Young Prince. The Full Moon approaches this night in a pair of hours." He pointed up at the sky as if to assure the moon really was coming from above to reach them.

"I suggest some rest as well," he added, "you know how lack of sleep can shorten time as Oozaru." With that he charged an attack and fired a Ki blast from his mouth.

His back against the trench wall, Vejita took a sighing look towards the night whose stars where usurped by the twinkling of passing fire. He
closed his eyes upon the scene, content at what would await him upon awaking. If he was lucky, he would open his eyes directly to the moon, ready to unlock the dormant power within him.

"Great stars Nappa," he heard Raddits exclaim as he jumped from the trench towards the hurdling fire. "I could smell that one from over there."
Without even looking, Vejita could see Raddits' finger pointing at his previous location, a wry smile mocking his elder.

When Vejita closed his eyes now, the open starry night breathing in from sliding glass doors, the complacent winter silence set calmly about the
grounds, lush bedding and crisp cotton blankets immediately surrounding him, he couldn't help but wonder which part of his life was really the dream. ~