22

A little overwhelmed by all the attention he received when he got off the hovercraft, the Saiyan Prince set his mouth in a grim line and headed straight for the command tent. Inside was Mr. Popo, Master Roshi, Bardock, his brother Turles, and a bald Saiyan that he wasn't expecting for a few days. "Nappa? What are you doing here?" Vegeta snapped as he dropped his pack under the table. "Morning, Vegeta! Me and Bardock caught a flight out last night." The mountain of a Saiyan greeted brightly, before his voice turned authoritative, "You're not going on the front lines, my Prince. Not until we can figure out what's happening."

Struggling to contain his anger, Vegeta crossed his arms and glared at the men and Saiyans before him, "I'm not sure if you all are aware or not, but I've taken command of Region 13 from that sorry excuse of a Saiyan. That makes me in charge of this war, so update me. Why aren't we within the Capital outskirts by now?" "Because of this." Roshi sighed, pushing a button on a holo-device. It showed a group of men sneaking around, they were suddenly swarmed by a living black cloud as their screams played through the speakers. When the black cloud finally lifted, the men's bones clattered to the ground.

"We found that fire worked on killing those things, but only after we lost three teams to 'em. And that's not counting the other teams we've lost because of different attacks like these." Turles growled, frustrated by how slowly everything was going. Thoughtfully tapping his chin as he hummed, the flame-haired teen wondered, "Can we scan the ground? Back in 12, Dr. Briefs made something similar to help locate new coal seams or find trapped survivors after a tunnel collapse." The adults looked at the teenager strangely before turning to his guardian, who raised his hands, "Hey, I've been here for five hours. I didn't know this," he waved a hand over the video that was replaying, "was what you needed help with 'til a second ago."

Rolling his coal black eyes, Vegeta turned and found the communication setup, hoping he got who he was looking for. A broad-chested bald man with what looked to be a pale child with a pained face on his shoulders appeared on the screen, "Can I ask why you're calling us so late, Vegeta?" "Just shut up and listen, Triclops." Vegeta hissed, "I need you to get with my Mate's father and build a new device like the one he made for the mines in 12. The wider the range, the better off we'll be. And I want it built by this time tomorrow."

Chiaotzu excitedly smacked Tienshinhan's head, her voice oddly bubbly, "Tien! Show him. Show him now!" Focusing her beaming grin on the screen, the tiny woman explained, "I had overheard some people talking about what Freeza had told them to make while I was a captive. Mutts and other traps meant to kill with hidden triggers. So I told Tien about it and Dr. Briefs overheard us. The three of us have been working on it for weeks…" "But it's still not ready." Tienshinhan sighed, "It has a range of maybe ten feet in all directions. Nowhere near large enough for it to be of any use to the men."

"So give it to Bulma." Vegeta said casually, as if it was the most common thing in the world. Both geniuses looked dumbfounded at the Prince's suggestion before exclaiming in unison, "Why didn't I think of that?!" Because you're too caught up in your own world… Vegeta grumbled within his mind as he ground out, "I don't care. Just get the Woman in on it and tell her I want it by this time tomorrow. Work through the night if you have too, just get it done." Then the transmission was cut.

Exasperatedly sliding a hand down his sharp, angler face, the teen sighed, "Hold off on sending out any more scouting parties until we get this tech. There's no sense in losing so many men that we won't have enough to take the Capital before we even get inside it." Bardock glanced up and down Vegeta, "Are you sure that your Mate can do what her father and the two best electrical and explosive engineers in Ee-arth couldn't?" Vegeta couldn't help the bark of laughter that escaped at that question, "My Mate made binoculars with night vision and heat signature technology when she was five. A little ground scanning device should be no problem."

'There's a… …problem…' What now? I'm in the middle of planning our attack strategy. 'I can't… …seem to… …get the… …handheld's range… …above fifty… yards.' Then fifty yards will have to do. 'I've got… …my radar… …on a… …hovercraft heading… …to you… …tonight.' Your radar? What are you talking about Woman? 'It's attached… …hovercraft radar… …it flies… …over the… …Capital and… …picks up… …on hidden… …traps underground.' You truly are an amazing Woman, Bulma. 'I try... Listen, radar… …has enough… …for one… …pass. So… use wisely.' Of course. I've got to get back to what I'm doing. 'Love you…' I love you too, Bulma.

The adults all had a raised eyebrow as Vegeta opened his eyes up again, causing him to snap, "What?" "You were talking to your Mate again, weren't you?" Bardock said as more of a statement than an actual question. Waving his hand, Vegeta dismissed their worry, "The Woman was giving me an update on our radars. She's got the range of the handheld ones up to fifty yards and somehow had time to build one that attaches to a hovercraft for a sweep over the whole Capital. But the big radar will only have enough power for one pass, so we'll have to wait for a perfect opportunity to use it."

Master Roshi remained impassive behind his red shades, "And what does a 'perfect opportunity' look like, young Prince?" "A day or so before we launch our attack. That way we have a chance to study the map and they don't much time to place new traps." Vegeta stated, "Everything should be leaving 13 tonight and be in our hands by morning." Mr. Popo, who was dressed in a red vest with a matching belt that held up his white pants and had a white turban on his head, stared blankly at the young Saiyan, sounding bored when he asked, "Are we waiting on your weak Mate or are we going to attack before her arrival?"

Glaring at the dark-skinned man, the Prince growled low and threateningly, "If you ever call my Woman weak again, you won't live long enough to regret it, Black Man." "Call me that again and you won't be alive to carry out your petty threat." The scary man shot back, still sounding bored as if all this was beneath him. Expertly changing the topic to avoid a fight, Nappa stated, "I take it you have a plan, Vegeta?" "Of course I have a plan." Vegeta huffed, allowing the shift in conversation, "Divide the warriors up into squads of ten. Each captain will be given a handheld to protect their team. I want no more than two squads together on a single block to allow for easy movement should they run into Freeza Force mooks. Of course, our goal is to take Freeza's mansion, which just so happens to be in the middle of the Capital."

Turles was pacing in the background, snappily interjecting into the conversation, "But that still doesn't tell us when we're attacking, Vegeta. The longer we have to wait, the more agitated the everyone's getting." Snarling at the aggravated Saiyan, the teen leaned heavily on the table holding a map of the Capital, "I know! Just… give me time to figure it out." "Time is one thing you don't have, Vegeta." Nappa replied softly. Everyone was shocked when the volatile Saiyan merely sighed and lowered his head to the table, whispering so quietly that even the other Saiyans struggled to hear him, "I know… I've got a week, at best, before I start losing it…" For real this time…

Confidently raising his head as if he had never spoken of his weakness, Vegeta's deep, gravelly voice rumbled, "Two days. Tell the men they have two days after the tech arrives to rest before we march on the Capital. Because the next time I see my Mate, I want to welcome Her home with Freeza under my boot." Bardock and his younger brother bowed their heads, "As you wish, my Prince." One by one, the leaders left the command tent, until only the young Prince and his guardian remained.

Nappa cautiously approached the teen, "Are you ok, Vegeta? You just seem… off." "Of course I'm 'off' Nappa! I just went from spending nearly a week in close contact with my Mate to being miles away from Her!" Vegeta bellowed, fighting to hold back his tears as he quietened down, "I can't do this… Not without Her." Wrapping his tiny charge, compared to him anyway, in his massive arms, the bald Saiyan held the distraught teen close, soothing, "Yes, you can, Vegeta. I felt that way after Caulifla died. But you know what kept me going?"

Vegeta stayed silent, so Nappa continued, "You. You kept both me and your father, my King, going after our Mates died. The only way that you can get through the loneliness you're experiencing right now is to focus on a goal. So what's your goal, Vegeta?" "Killing Freeza." His voice was muffled by Nappa's chest, but Vegeta knew that the other Saiyan heard him. Chuckling at the simple goal that hadn't changed in almost eighteen years, the bald mountain of pure muscle said, "Then let's do it. I'll be behind you all the way, my Prince."