Episode Four
'First Steps'
The Capsule Corp. cafeteria was practically an interview room, Trunks thought as he and his mother greeted Master Roshi and three others being led in by Basil and Thyme.
"It's only been ten minutes," He told Master Roshi, "you got back much faster than I expected."
"When you get to my age you learn a few shortcuts!" Master Roshi said.
"He sent us to find them." Thyme said dryly. "They'd already signed up so we just had to call their names."
"Spoilers, Thyme!" Basil giggled, and Master Roshi chuckled.
"Guess the secret's out! Well then Trunks, let me introduce you!"
"Yes, please." Trunks said, and smiled warmly to hide his nervousness as Master Roshi introduced him to the three warriors he'd brought back with him.
He was introduced to each in turn by the ancient Master, Anavill a stocky young woman in her teens with spiky brown hair and brown eyes behind thick glasses. She wore a pink t-shirt under a off white tank top and matching shorts, Trunks wouldn't have expected her to be a martial artist at first glance but he supposed most people probably thought the same about him.
Well we cant all run around in martial arts gis, or Saiyan battle armor. Trunks thought.
The second warrior was a slimmer woman with pink hair and a sharp looking black and pink jumpsuit. Her skin had an exceptionally pink hue to it as well, and Trunks couldn't help wondering if that was somehow artificial. She had stylish pink framed sunglasses with black lenses that hid her eyes though Trunks wouldn't have been surprised if they were pink too. Master Roshi said her name was Pastel.
Where Anavill could have been any youth walking down the street Pastel looked like some sort of a stunt driver and Trunks wasn't surprised to learn that that was, in fact, exactly what she was.
"It actually saved me from the Androids once if you can believe it," She'd told him, "flipped my car and had to roll to safety to get away from them. Blew up the car, guess they figured I was still in it because they didn't bother to keep looking."
Maybe she can help pilot the space ship if things work out, Trunks thought to himself.
The last one, Schip, was maybe fourteen or fifteen. His outfit was a ragged and torn school jacket and pants that were clearly from a different school's uniform. He had dusky brown skin and a lean look to him and unkempt curly black hair. He looked as if he'd been on the wrong end of a beating fairly recently, but Trunks understood that impromptu sparring sessions had been common among the visiting martial artists.
Though it would turn out Master Roshi said, "Saw him in a brawl with three older boys. Took the hits like a brick wall, the ones he didn't dodge anyway, but never trained a day in his life."
It wasn't too unusual for a martial artists to be able to handle a superior number of opponents, but Trunks thought, this kid doesn't look like he's eaten in over a week, if he could still take a hit in this condition and with no training . . .
Master Roshi told him, "You'll find more, but I think they're going to be a good start for you."
"Well then I'm glad to meet you." Trunks told them, and bowed slightly. "Did Master Roshi tell you what we're expecting?"
"We filled them in." Basil piped in helpfully.
"You want us to devote our lives to protecting mankind?" Anavill asked for clarification and Trunks nodded.
"And in exchange you'll teach us your techniques, right?" Pastel added with a cocked eyebrow.
"That's right." Trunks said, though he didn't add that he'd be teaching them his techniques so that they could be the defenders of humanity, not in exchange for it.
"Is it true you can fly?" Anavill asked with something approaching urgency.
Trunks blushed, "Uh . . . well yes."
"Then I'm in!" Anavill and Schip said simultaneously. Pastel smirked and brushed some strands of pink hair away from her dark sunglasses.
"Can you show us how to use those light blasts you two were doing this morning? Like the Androids used to do?"
"That's the goal." Trunks told her.
"Then I'm in too." Pastel said.
Trunks nodded with relief and his smile became a little more genuine. He turned to Basil and Thyme who were regarding the newcomers with a certain degree of reluctance. "In that case can you two show our new recruits to their accommodations?"
"I suppose if there's nothing more important for us to do." Thyme sighed.
"Like science stuff." Basil added, though Trunks could tell she was joking.
Thyme might have been too, but he was far too deadpan for Trunks to ever be certain, and the two engineers were still fairly new additions to Capsule Corp., Trunks wasn't really used to them yet.
"I'll owe you both." He offered, just in case they really did feel slighted.
"Owe us what?" Thyme asked, looking suddenly interested.
"Our paychecks I expect." Basil quipped.
"You're getting paid?" Thyme mumbled as the group headed off.
"You mean that's it? Interview over, we've got the job?" Pastel asked in surprise.
"Uh . . . yeah." Trunks said, feeling a little surprised in return. "I mean since Master Roshi is vouching for you and all."
"Oh my gosh, I need to tell my mom!" Anavill cried, but she said it so quickly it sounded more like a single word than a full sentence.
Their excitement made him smile again. "Once you've been showed around take the rest of the day to tell anyone you need to, I'll talk to you all this evening. I'm glad you're all here." He told them. Basil and Thyme led the small group out, Master Roshi went along too leaving Trunks and his mother alone in the cafeteria.
"They sure don't look like the old team." His mother commented.
"I won't disagree there, but at least they're eager." Trunks said. He lowered his gaze and mumbled, "I hope I don't disappoint them."
"It's going to be all right, Trunks." His mother reassured him.
"How can you be so sure?" Trunks asked.
"Because I'm a mother." She answered and he couldn't help but frown at that.
"Okay. I was hoping for something a little more concrete than that."
"When you're a parent you'll understand." Bulma said, patting his shoulder gently.
"I feel like a parent," Trunks admitted. "Three fighters already, two of them even younger than me and none of them is even as strong as Master Roshi. There are no Dragon Balls, if I get these people killed . . ."
"There's no reason to think that'll happen, Trunks."His mother told him. "But you know you can't let any of them sense these doubts in you."
Trunks leaned against a nearby wall and said, "If it were just me I wouldn't be worried, you know."
"I know." Bulma nodded, "But there could come a day when you need the help. And don't count them out just because they're not as strong as Master Roshi. He might not look like it, but he's pretty strong for an old geezer, and they haven't even begun to train under you two yet."
Trunks forced an insincere smile and said, "Yeah . . . I know."
His mother clearly wasn't fooled but she let the matter drop, at least for the time being. "We'll see what sort of additions you get when the tournaments are done. You just make sure you've got the confidence to lead them. Remember, you're the Golden Warrior, you're the savior of this world Trunks."
"Yeah . . ." He said.
But I'm not Goku, the young warrior thought to himself. I'm not Father . . . if someone or something as strong as Perfect Cell shows up . . .
Did Goku ever feel this sort of doubt? Had Gohan?
"The day's still young," His mother said, finishing her second cup of coffee, "try and cheer up, sweetie. I'll be down in the lab if you need me."
Trunks nodded. "I'll do my best mom, thanks. I think I'll just take a quick fly to clear my head."
"Good idea," Bulma told him, then smiled, "Make sure and let everyone see you do it, you saw how quickly the power of flight got those other two on your side."
Trunks smiled, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't need to show off to get fighters to join him.
Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z
The Command Model Arcosian ship was divided into three decks. The lowest deck contained the ship's engines and landing legs when in flight, the second deck contained crew quarters, cleanliness facilities, and a lounge to keep the crew of up to a hundred occupied in their off hours. The crew quarters on ships like theirs were usually rather spartan owing to the need to house a large number of troops in a relatively small space and general disinterest in the living conditions for said crew.
The crew quarters were designed to squeeze twenty soldiers into a single room with an only slightly larger room attached for two lower officers to share with only the captain having a properly sized private cabin. There were four crew cabins, four officer rooms, the lounge, the Captain's cabin and what was referred to as the "guest suite."
There was no brig because the PTO didn't take prisoners but the "guest suite" was where new recruits could be safely kept until they learned their place in the universe. It wasn't very large or comfortable, barely large enough to contain the five Iwatians.
But that was partially due to their size. In any event with only half the maximum crew for their long journey Captain Kalt's vessel had slightly more comfortable quarters and while the Lieutenants still shared rooms—or two of them did, Cereza's former roommate would be enjoying solitude until they reached Alpha Station and took on a replacement—the other two officer's quarters had been set aside for the Commander and Karuto to have their own personal quarters as befitted Arcosian officers.
The top deck contained the bridge and control room, the sickbay, the galley and a training room, which is where the Commander and his elites spent most of their time.
The Commander entered the training room and smiled approvingly at his five teammates already going through their drills, but was actually surprised to see Karuto there as well.
The older Arcosian youth found the youngster to be a bit of a nuisance and hadn't thought too highly of him. They were cousins separated by several years and the Commander had initially judged Karuto too childish to be on a long voyage like theirs.
And over the months in space Karuto had done nothing to change his opinion, though this was certainly a surprise. The Commander had never seen Karuto actually attempt to practice his drills. On the contrary he hadn't even realized Karuto knew the basics.
"Commander!" Ayappa said, snapping to attention and saluting him. The others followed suit a little sluggishly.
The Arcosian nodded and said, "Carry on, you guys know better than to be that formal with me."
"Well . . . I mean in front of other officers . . ."Prage shrugged, eyes darting towards Karuto.
The Commander laughed, "Oh is that it? Don't worry, he's a kid."
The squad chuckled slightly and returned to their training routine, the Commander approached Damson, and the armored saurian answered his unasked question in a low whisper, "He was here practicing even before we got here, Chief."
"How's he doing?"
"He's fine, power level is a bit runty for one of your kind if you don't mind my saying."
He did mind a bit, but only because Karuto was his cousin, "He's only a child, he'll get stronger."
"Of course." Damson said with a clack of his beak. "Was only calling it like it is, Chief."
The young Arcosian gave the much larger alien a light punch to the forearm since he couldn't reach his shoulder and walked over to his smaller cousin with arms clasped behind his back trying to look imposing and official. The others continued or went back to their drills but he knew they'd be watching them from the sides of their eyes.
"Karuto. I didn't know you even knew what this room was for." The Commander said.
"Of course I know!" Karuto said, "Genora gave me the tour months ago, Chillax!"
"Of course. And it took you months to find the place, huh?" The Commander teased.
Karuto ignored him and kept practicing for a moment before finally answering, "I should have been here more, but papa gave me so much study work."
"I'll bet. But that's all finished now?"
"Um . . . well I mean I still have more studies . . . but they're boring and I wanted to do this instead."
"What brought on this sudden interest in the martial?" Chillax asked, "I assumed you'd be the egg head type."
Karuto made an angry face, like Kalt he didn't have a visible mouth but his large purple eyes were expressive. "I can't disappoint Uncle!"
"Who cares about him?" The Commander scoffed. "You should be more worried about disappointing yourself."
"I can't disappoint me, I already think I'm great!" Karuto said, stopping his drills to cock his head to the side quizzically at Chillax.
The Commander rolled his red eyes and said, "Fine, but you won't get stronger from training if you do it for the wrong reasons. If it's just to make Uncle Kalt happy you're wasting your time. You've got to do it because you want to be better."
"It's just . . . it wasn't fair, you know." Karuto said.
"What wasn't fair?" Chillax asked.
"Cereza. I just want to be good enough not to end up like Cereza." Karuto told him.
"You are literally nine times stronger than Cereza was." Chillax said, "Besides if Uncle were ever desperate enough to send you into battle he'd send you with me to make sure you came back."
"Would you make sure I come back?" Karuto asked.
"What kind of question is that?" The Commander scoffed.
"You don't like me." Karuto pointed out. It surprised the older Arcosian, but he really couldn't argue with it so he just shrugged.
"You're family. I'd make sure."
"Well I'd make sure you come back too." Karuto said and went back to his drills.
"I'm literally six and a half times stronger than you." Chillax teased.
"Yeah, but you're family. I'd make sure." Karuto said.
The Commander shook his head and turned back to his squad, "All right then, double effort team. If the brat shows you up it'll be laps around the next planet."
Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z=Z
The grassy garden field around the Capsule Corporation was filled with martial artists, some of them sparring most of them gathered in groups and discussing the day's events.
Rhyce hadn't imagined there could be so many strong fighters in the world. She and her older brother Gurein had been the best fighters in their home village and if the Androids had ever found them they would have tried to fight them, but neither of them had ever seen the sort of power the golden warrior or the old man had displayed.
They stood with a group of martial artists near the place where the stone had been before it was blasted arguing over how the blasts could have been achieved.
"Explosives set up beforehand." One fighter said, "it proves nothing."
"Why would they lie about it?" Another asked.
"To make us think we're inferior of course!" Yet another voice chimed in and the first fighter nodded in agreement.
"Maybe that kid's the golden warrior everyone talks about, maybe he isn't, but if one of us nameless nobodies had beat him today?"
"What?" Rhyce ventured to asked.
The first speaker didn't really seem to have an answer to elaborate, maybe she'd hoped that everyone would just agree with her. She was very thin and tall, unlike Rhyce who was fairly short and while slim at the waist still a little thick in the limbs. That woman had pasty pale skin, not like Rhyce and Gurein's brown skin tone and her hair was black where theirs was more of a light gray.
Finally the third fighter answered, "It'd prove they're frauds. There's no way one guy took down both those Androids. You might not have ever seen them, but I was in Pepper City relief effort, I saw the destruction those things were capable of leaving in their wake."
He was a tall muscular guy, like Gurein. His head was shaved, and he wore a black gi with a symbol that she couldn't read.
"Frauds?" Rhyce scoffed. "I don't see any reason to suspect that."
"Well then I've got a bridge I'd love to sell you, sugar." The black haired woman said rudely, and some of the others in their crowd laughed but Rhyce took a challenging step towards her, fists clenched.
She hated being laughed at. She fell into a fighting stance and said, "Well if you think you're better than them you shouldn't have any trouble with me."
"Don't be barbaric." The woman scoffed, "You don't throw punches just because people don't agree with you. That's pathetic."
She didn't seem intimidated, just annoyed. Rhyce scowled, "Yeah well you don't doubt people just because of how they look," she retorted but she knew the other woman was right.
In her home village fighting to prove herself had been practically second nature to Rhyce, especially being the younger sister of the village's greatest fighter and the daughter of the greatest fighter before him. She'd always had to take on other fighters who thought that she'd be a good warm-up for some future fight with her brother, or who simply doubted the ability of such a small young woman. Their father had been the greatest fighter but he'd gone off to fight the androids years ago and never come back.
Luckily the Androids never found their village, but Rhyce knew that she and Gurein weren't as good as their father, and if he'd been killed by the Androids they would have been too. It was hard to think just one person could beat them, but Rhyce hoped it was true and she hoped she could learn from such a fighter.
"It's true that you shouldn't pick fights carelessly," Gurein spoke up, "and it's true that you shouldn't underestimate any fighter no matter how they appear. The only thing we can do is wait and observe, if this Trunks destroyed the Androids he'll be worth training under."
"If that's really what he's offering. Who would just give that kind of power away? And who knows what kind of hoops we'll have to jump through just for the chance at it." The black haired woman said, and Rhyce noticed she showed her brother greater respect, which naturally irritated her.
"As I said, we can only wait and observe." Gurein shrugged.
The conversation carried on in different directions and their large concentration broke up a bit. Rhyce was glad to see the taller scrawnier woman leave. She asked her brother, "Do you believe Trunks destroyed the Androids?"
"Yes." Gurein told her. "I believe it easily. Couldn't you feel the power that radiated from him before that light flash he used? It was the same as the power from that old man when he destroyed the rest of the boulder."
Rhyce nodded. She'd felt it, but she didn't want to say so in front of a crowd, they might think she was crazy. "Do you think he can teach us that?"
"If we're worthy, I think it's what he wants. Just as our father trained us to protect our village I think that this Trunks sees the whole Earth as his village, he wants help to protect it."
"That's a great deal of projection, big brother." Rhyce pointed out.
"I don't think so." Gurein said. "He had the same sort of air as father. He's a protector, and he's not cocky. He knows death can come for him as surely as it can come for anyone. What then? More years of fear and destruction like the ones we've passed under the Androids? And what if he needs help someday? You heard what he said, he wants to train students, but as you know not every student can or will take to every technique."
Rhyce frowned, but finally nodded her agreement. "Okay, I guess I can see that. Do you think we'll be able to train under him?"
"I don't know." Gurein answered. "Maybe he doesn't even want to train people, maybe he just wants the strongest fighters."
"But you just said-"
"Yes." Gurein said gently, "I think he wants to train warriors, perhaps he wants warriors already trained like that old man. Perhaps he's hoping for both. What I think we need to remember is that we are just two individuals in a large group of talented people. Even if we aren't good enough to train with the golden warrior we have a rare opportunity to learn what we can from maybe a hundred or more different fighters and maybe just as many styles. No matter what happens, little sister, this is a grand opportunity and I am grateful for it."
Rhyce smiled. "I guess when you put it like that I am too."
She imagined herself as a defender of Earth itself and thought that even if her brother was wrong and Trunks didn't think of all of Earth as his village she certainly could. If there was anything she'd learned from spending the past few days with such a large collection of people it was that no matter how dissimilar people seemed in the end they were all still people.
There was a roar of excitement and surprise from the gathered crowd when suddenly Trunks flew through the air away from the Capsule Corp. building, everyone who saw it was amazed and Rhyce was no exception. Still she couldn't help shouting just loudly enough for the scrawny woman from before to hear, "Gee, I wonder how he faked that!"
To Be Continued . . .
Next time on Dragon Ball COED . . . Capsule Corp. and Trunks receive an unexpected royal visitor, and a new student. Meanwhile, young Karuto learns that one of the Saiyans who attacked Planet Goulder in the past may have escaped.
