Chapter 5
Red Eye
Vegeta had been monitoring the progress of the first wave, and one squad in particular, from the bridge of the Bloodlust.
"How many of the guns have they taken out General?"
"Nine." replied Nappa.
"Hmph. They're even slower than I thought they'd be. Perhaps we should go relieve them of their burden."
"We might as well, most of them are dead anyway. I doubt they'll get much further." Turning to a nearby member of the crew he said, "Prepare all pods for launch."
Once Vegeta had sealed the hatch of his pod he pulled up a holographic display, cycling through the various feeds being sent from the scouters of squad leaders who were still alive on the planets' surface. He kept switching between several soldiers, all of whom seemed to be facing the same problem. They had been engaged by what appeared to be warriors in black.
The prince found himself momentarily perplexed when he checked the power readouts of the rygean fighters, there was nothing detected. This quandary was soon solved however, when he stopped to watch the feed from Bardocks' scouter. After seeing Bardocks' adversaries ripped apart he knew what they were up against. He also found himself surprised at the man's power. He's not too bad when he gets fired up.
The outer doors to the pod bays opened, revealing the inky blackness of space and the light of the Rygal VIIs' cities glowing brightly. As he continued to observe the invasion he understood that the rygeans' technology was even more advanced than previously believed. Looks like I might actually break a sweat.
A smaller screen appeared in the pods' display. Nappa had opened a com-channel. Vegeta accepted the link, and the image large saiyans' brutal face snapped onto the screen. "Lord Vegeta, we will be launching momentarily." Vegeta gave a curt nod, and the com-channel closed.
A sudden burst of acceleration caused Vegetas' stomach to lurch as his pod, and the others, were propelled from the carrier. He continued to observe the teams' planetside, and watched as Bardock destroyed his target mere seconds before the remaining guns opened fire. The arrogant youth paid little attention to the strobing lights as several pods around him exploded. He knew beyond doubt that destiny had much greater things in store for him than to die so mundanely.
Red flames began to flare up around his pod as it entered the planets' atmosphere. On his display he saw Bardocks' squad, and the others that remained, surrounded by droves of the rygean fighting machines. Vegeta found himself amused by Bardocks' predicament. I think I'll just have a little chat with my over-bold friend. He opened a channel to Bardock's scouter, "Well well, still alive low-level? I have to admit I'm impressed. Don't think you're going to have all the fun though, you're about to see what it looks like when a saiyan elite takes the stage."
Through the round window of his craft, Vegeta could see a ring of scorched ground and burning, broken buildings. The aftermath of Bardocks' attack. From his altitude, it looked as though the entire area were swarming with insects, all moving to the center. The movement ceased however, and seconds later shots from the machines' particle rifles answered in challenge to the saiyan assault. Vegeta altered his course for the heart of the machines' ranks.
A particle beam passed through Vegetas' pod, and nearly his face, causing several warnings to pop-up on his display. Sparks crackled from the hole behind him, and an electrical fire had started, filling the cabin with smoke within moments. Cool and detached, Vegeta raised his palm and blasted the door off.
Leaning out the front of the plummeting craft, smoke billowing out the gaping hole he'd created, Vegeta felt the wind whipping at his face as he surveyed the scene beneath him. Channeling his power, he became engulfed in blue-white flames as his aura ignited. As he neared the ground, the prince unleashed his energy, the force of which tore his pod to pieces.
Immediately he set to work, his arms pumping like pistons, delivering a rapid fire barrage of energy blasts that came down like a hailstorm of death. He laughed as the machine were scattered or destroyed. Other pods shot past him, striking the ground seconds afterward.
Like all saiyans, Vegeta reveled in the thrill of battle. After his initial salvo he raced to the ground, kicking, punching, ripping, and smashing everything he could reach. He heard a booming, guttural laugh that could only be Nappa in the vicinity as he too joined in the slaughter. Vegeta, along with the rest of the saiyans, tore through the rygean force without mercy, their shouts, yells, and mad laughter punctuated by the occasional explosion.
Things seemed to be going well for the saiyans, and it appeared as though the city would be taken in a short time, when a faint roaring sound was heard. Craning their necks, the saiyans caught glimpses of light among the passing clouds. More of the synthetics were dropping in from the air.
Nappa scoffed, "Don't they get it yet? It doesn't matter how many of these tin cans they throw at us, we'll just keep crushing them." The hulking warrior directed an energy wave towards one of the machines. When the light from the blast subsided, however, the machine was unharmed. For a brief moment a red sphere of energy could be seen encapsulating the artificial soldier, it had erected a shield to protect itself from the blast.
Vegeta, who was near at hand, tried his luck at destroying the new machine, but his was no better. He approached Nappa, "I guess we're going to have to do this the old fashioned way."
While the saiyans were content to await the machines' arrival, the machines wasted no time in opening fire on the invading saiyans. Soon the air became thick with particle beams, making it impossible for all of the saiyans to evade them. When the machines got close to the ground, retro rockets fired from recessed apertures about their bodies. Upon landing what met the eyes of Nappa, Vegeta, and the others was an unexpected sight indeed.
Standing nearly three meters high, the new machine variant was considerably taller than the standard version deployed thus far. More unusual were it's four arms, two of which held blazing energy blades, and their singular round eyes. Scores of the enhanced drones dropped onto the battlefield as hundreds more of the standard models rushed in on foot.
The new synthetics lunged at the saiyans with incredible speed. Vegeta saw three of his comrades cut in half with a single strike before barely managing to avoid the same fate. The tide of the battle turned quickly as the cyclopean machines tore into the saiyan invasion. Energy blasts were of no avail against their shields, and taking to the air was too dangerous with the smaller machines particle rifles in play. And where it took four or five of the saiyans to destroy one of the machines, it took only one machine to inflict a dozen casualties within moments. Vegeta and the rest quickly found themselves being forced into the center of the battlefield, herded like cattle.
As the charred wreckage of the once towering artillery tower lay still burning about them, the saiyans numbers were being whittled down. Vegeta threw out energy waves in vain when he noticed something. The machines had to stop moving when their shields went up, and that gave him an idea.
As one of the machines rushed him he raised his hands above his head and created a powerful orb. But instead of releasing it, he left it suspended it in mid-air as he moved as fast as he could, phasing out of sight. Appearing in front of the synthetic warrior, he crouched, simultaneously summoning the orb to him. Before the drone could strike it stopped to raise its' shield, with Vegeta inside. The young saiyan prince bellowed savagely as he unleashed his energy, blasting his foe into pieces.
Vegeta was able to destroy three more of the machines in this fashion, always changing where he appeared before striking. But as he prepared to attack his fifth, the drones adapted. When he appeared next to the machine this time, it did not raise its' shield. Instead, it discarded its' energy blades, and Vegeta felt cold hands grip his head like a vise. In a flash the drone twisted him around, directly into the path of his own attack.
Searing pain fired across Vegetas' synapses as the orb collided, scorching his body armor and burning the back of his neck. The one-eyed synthetic, still grasping Vegetas' head with one pair of hands, delivering several sharp blows to his mid-section with the other. Then grabbing his wrists it jerked his arms outward, trying to tear his arms off.
Blood gushed from Vegetas' mouth as he screamed. Nappa, even larger than the machines the saiyans now fought, rushed to the prince's aid, but was brought down by a particle beam through his chest. Excruciating torment flooded Vegetas' mind as his shoulders dislocated, but in the moment before being dismembered he was saved.
Three particle beams flashed, piercing the machines' shield and then it's head, legs, and torso. A vicious yell erupted from a behind as the drones' shield dissipated. The energy blades it had cast aside were raked down its' sides, slicing off all four arms. A tall saiyan appeared behind Vegeta as he fell unconscious and carried him off, while two others picked up Nappa.
Vegata awoke from the fresh pain of having his shoulders put back in their sockets. The sounds of battle still surrounded him in a cacophony of screams, shouts, explosions, and the wet smack of blood-soaked flesh being pummeled. Vegeta opened his eyes, his vision was blurred, "How long was I out?" A vaguely familiar voice replied, "Only a minute, though you'll probably wish you hadn't woken up at all."
Vegetas' vision was clearing. He found himself in a deep ditch, Nappa laid at his side with his body armor removed and his chest bandaged. Five others were in the ditch with them, including the man who had spoken. Vegeta recognized him immediately as the mouthy low class warrior from the Bloodlust, Bardock.