Chapter Two
The sound of assault pods tearing through the atmosphere drew Dosetsu from his trance. It'd been several days since his trip to the outpost, and his newly acquired resolve towards training had yet to wane. The Saiyan struck the air casually a few times, before increasing his pace, sending an eye-bending flurry of punches to his left. A series of kicks followed, which were then accompanied by an arc of light released from his palm. Dosetsu drew in a breath, exhaling slowly. He felt good, but all he was really doing was flexing. He wouldn't gain much strength battling against his imagination.
The Saiyan had chosen the edge of a lake near the capital for his training. It gave him an opportunity to cool off afterwards, which he needed more often than not. Where his training was an emotionless task, watching the flow of traffic in and out of the capital was enough to rile him. Assault pods came and went, as did trade caravans from other hubs on the far sides of the planet. The Saiyan ran a hand through his hair; dark and unkept.
"Nice view at least," he thought aloud, reclaiming his battle armor from where he'd left it on the beach. He slipped it over his head and down past his shoulders, letting the armor fit itself to his body. Black combat leggings covered his legs, with standard issue boots to go with them. He wore no shirt beneath the armor, but he did have greaves to protect his fists. His greaves and boots matched the color scheme of his armor, which was primarily black with yellow trim.
Dosetsu admired the image of himself on the surface of the lake for a moment. It'd been roughly five years since his banishment, and it showed in his reflection. The Saiyan wasn't a boy anymore, he was a warrior.
"Albeit not an elite," he said sternly, crouching to retrieve his scouter. The device, a grayish angle with a green lense, lit up as the Saiyan brought it to his face.
"Huh..?"
It'd been years since the last time he'd intercepted a transmission. The PTO constantly altered the frequency that their scouters operated on, for security reasons, so it made sense for him to stop receiving chatter. Yet here his scouter was, a message received icon pulsing in the corner of it's display. Dosetsu hurriedly attached the device to his face and tapped the receive switch on it's side, bringing the message icon to the center of his screen. The icon began to expand as the message opened, but the expansion was interrupted by a sudden error message.
Red text appeared on the screen, detailing the error as an artificial logic malfunction. Dosetsu interpreted the message somewhat differently, reading it as 'pile of shit scouter decides to quit working at the worst moment'. The Saiyan tore the device from his face and began to close his hand around it, but thought better.
"I won't be able to replace you if I crush you…" He muttered through clenched teeth, placing the scouter back on his face. I'll just have to get it repaired, he thought, rising into the air. Dosetsu cast a glance towards the outpost, but knew instantly that no one there would help him. The Planet Trade Organization, along with its' affiliates, put great stock in the records of former employees. A blemish as sizeable as his own wouldn't be overlooked.
"That leaves… one."
Dosetsu recalled a contact he'd had from his time as a planet acquisition agent. After missions, Saiyans were debriefed, and depending on the outcome of the mission, were either dealt new equipment, or left to their own devices. Having had a relatively small amount of success, the Saiyan had become accustomed to getting repairs or replacements from equipment dealers that weren't officially recognized by the PTO.
His contact was a Kabochian man who'd been involved in smaller planet trade businesses prior to the PTOs' influence spreading to his own world. He went by the name Sirch, and had made a name for himself as an underground arms and equipment dealer. Dosetsu had always pointed out that making a name as an underground dealer defeated the purpose of being underground, but Sirch just laughed him out the door with a repaired scouter. The Saiyan chuckled at the memory as he propelled himself across the lake and towards the capital.
Night had fallen by the time Dosetsu had decided to leave, but the sky still stood ablaze with the glow of the city. Cargo ships formed lines as they found their way into the storage district, each having to stop at sky terminals that took stock of the goods being shipped in and out of the city. This gave the Saiyan the perfect opportunity to hide himself in the undercarriage compartment of a ship. He'd considered just walking through the primary gates, but security was vastly more stringent there.
Dosetsu felt a bit like a Tuffle, hiding within the confines of the ship, but he knew better than to beat himself up over that. There was a difference between being a warrior, and being a fool and trying to fight the Vegetan Capitals' security force. Later, he promised himself. For now, he had no intention of dying.
-S-
Explosions rocked the Kanassan cityscape as great apes found their way across miles of steel and stone. Five apes in total had assaulted the planet, five being the standard size for a low class Saiyan squad. Their leader, Bardock, stood at the forefront of the battle, clearing swathes of Kanassajins who positioned themselves to defend. Belches of energy escaped the mouths of the apes, carving through skyscrapers and toppling towers. The strength of the native people simply stood no chance in the face of the Saiyans' power.
Night came and went, and the battle ended, the Saiyans clearing the planet, readying it for resale by the PTO. The group of warriors woke early the next morning, each having to find their way back to their landing site. The squad breakfasted on rations as they prepared for departure, bantering around a fire built on Kanassan corpses.
"The sonsa' bitches got me good," Panbukin grunted, rubbing at the wound he'd been dealt. It wasn't often a Saiyan was wounded in their great ape form. The others laughed, saved for Bardock who lay strewn on the ground, his hands tucked behind his head.
"I bet you remember that ones' face, hahaha..!" Celypa chuckled, her voice shrill but joking. Panbukin made a face at her before returning to coddling his scar.
Totapo, generally the least vocal of the group, chuckled as well, but reserved comment. Toma laughed aloud, glancing in Bardock's direction to see his reaction.
"Bardock! What's the matter with you? They leave a mark on you, too?"
Toma's face lit up as Bardock slung himself into a sitting position, a cheshire grin on his face. He eyed Panbukin for a moment, chortling quietly.
"It's a wonder you aren't more marked up, considering you eat half the natives we kill. You probably weighed down by all the bones in your stomach."
The group laughed again, Panbukin even joining in on the laughter. The fire crackled, and the group grinned at each other. Life as a planet acquisition agent was good, even if you had tested as a low class.
Debris shifting behind Bardock brought the laughter to a halt. The Saiyans peered at the pile of rubble, Toma opting to put his scouter to use. A series of beeps played from the scouters' speaker, before a reading appeared on the page.
"There's something in there, but it's pretty close to dead. Just leave it." He muttered. It didn't seem much fun to kick a dog that was already dead. The Saiyans turned away, having lost interest as the words left the man's mouth.
Bardock, though, kept staring at the spot where the rubble had shifted. They'd been laughing, and suddenly a completely alien sensation had hit the Saiyan. It'd felt as if a wave had crashed down on him, or as if he'd been hit with a gust of air. But he hadn't, had he? None of the others acted like anything strange had happened.
"What the hell..?" Bardock murmured, palming the back of his head.
The pile of rubble erupted as a Kanassajin shot from beneath it, clutching it's extended wrists as it gathered energy. It fired a ball of light towards the Saiyans, but Bardock deflected it with ease. The Kanassajin was haggard, with wounds littered over the entirety of it's body. The native wasn't long for this world.
"Nice try, ya' bastard." Bardock called out, facing his palm towards the Kanassajin.
"Wait! Bardock!"
The sound of his own name caused the warrior to flinch. How did this native know his name? What in the hell was going on? The Saiyan returned his attention to the Kanassajin, who was struggling to speak between labored breaths.
"We… knew that you would come…! We foresaw, and so we prepared, knowing that we would fall in the end!"
"What are you talking about?" Bardock growled, light appearing in the center of his palm. He didn't have time to listen to the ramblings of a dying native. He had a mess hall waiting for him back on Vegeta.
"We have the power of sight! We saw that you would come, and we saw what would occur after you left! Your race is-..." The alien faltered suddenly, as if confused. The Saiyan thanked whatever gods that had shut it up. Energy shot from his hand and engulfed the Kanassajin, tearing at the being's existence as it began to disintegrate.
"I-... I can't see! I can't see what will come! The future…" The Kanassajin cut off as the light from Bardock's attack consumed him, reducing his body to ash.
"Freak," The Saiyan grunted as he turned back to his crew. Their faces bore worried looks, but at the sight of Bardocks' sneer they were all forced to chuckle. The Saiyans' crew burst into laughter, before being silenced by their leader.
"Shut up. It's time to go home."
