Dragon Ball: Governed

Chapter 24

"The Ultimate Soldier"

Not a lot of warriors of the Saiyan race could get there and tell somebody else that they had been living for over half a century. Many tended to die in battle and a great majority of those that died tended to die young, which explained why a great number of Saiyan soldiers were usually up in age - especially the mid-ranking soldiers; it took years for many of the past to be able to get enough power to be promoted, some even going bald and grey. However, with the new life-support system and the Super Saibaimen inventions, culture was changing ever so slightly.

The Saiyans who got to live for extended periods of time were either in two different fields: lower-class warriors or top ranking soldiers (the mid-class and elite). The lower-class ranking Saiyans never had to worry about leaving off world to do battle, so safety was a sure guarantee. The others were just alive due to power and experience.

King Vegeta was no different. He could remember when his facial hair was just growing just some years ago. Though now, he could see his own reflection through the edge of the shiny silver platter that his food rested on. His facial chops grew thicker and greyer as they connected with his goatee, which were also revealing his elder age. Some wrinkles were forming on his forehead as well. There was just no denying it.

Age was getting to him.

But he didn't let that stop him from growing in strength. The King deemed himself as the strongest warrior on Planet Vegeta and for a great while, he let himself get complacent which ultimately resulted in his own son surpassing him at a rather very young age. The realization that he had to take care of one final thing before handing down the crown pushed him to train, though.

The creaking sounds of his dining room door opening had caught his attention. Ail, his butler, had made himself seen prior to stepping to the side. "Prince Vegeta and Kuni, your majesty."

Vegeta III had a hard time holding himself from grinning every time he saw his son, who had very much grown. Despite the shorter height and lack of facial hair, Vegeta the fourth was the exact spitting image of his own father. No doubt, the royal blood-line was a very strong one, indeed.

Had he been on an empty stomach, Vegeta would have been holding himself from salivating at the mouth, but he ignored the enticing aroma of the food and simply sat himself down directly across from his father on the entire other end of the table. Kuni sat on the left side between both the prince and king of Planet Vegeta.

No longer than when Vegeta and Kuni took a seat, the king had broken the ice. "Kuni, I assume that matters regarding my audience with Cold have been scouted?"

The violet-haired woman nodded her head. "Indeed. I've managed to get a hold of the perfect setting for your get-together. It's an ice-planet named Koori." She then raised her hand, revealing a rectangular device in the palm of her hand. "And here is the detection blocker we have installed in your ship so that you won't be spotted moving on along to your destination when the time arises."

Vegeta IV already understood that his father was serious about having a meeting with Cold. He had been throwing around this idea for months but it hadn't been until recently that they got to serious work regarding this matter. Still, he had to know one thing: "How do you plan on getting Cold interested enough in meeting up with you on some strange land?" Prince Vegeta, of all his years being alive, had only heard of King Cold from the mouths of his peers. He knows his name and some of the heinous things he's done, yet he's never seen the man. Hell, he's only laid eyes on Freeza once in his life. "From what I gather, Freeza is very secretive. I also take it that his father, who you say to be retired now, prefers to sit back in the shadows."

"That is correct." He then grinned. "Despite the gap that is between Cold and I in power, our wisdom and knowledge holds the same." After leaning back in his chair while interlocking his fingers, he verbally reassured his son and Kuni. "I know the perfect way of getting Cold to come out of hiding. Vegeta then looked over to Kuni. "I'll need you to work on gathering the workers needed to plant the necessities on Planet Koori. You're dismissed."

Kuni slid her seat back prior to getting up and walking out. Prince Vegeta smirked subtle enough to where only Kuni could see. King Vegeta's brow cocked as to why Kuni scoffed with a bit of laughter while walking away, though he didn't question it. There were more important matters at hand.

Once the door behind them closed, Prince Vegeta leaned back in his chair much like his father did moments earlier. "After you take care of Cold, how do I know when I have the green light on Freeza?"

"Initially, I wanted both to be taken down within a short period time of one another, though that wasn't me thinking far too head. If you were to request an audience with Freeza soon after being coronated and me getting rid of Cold, then it would be all too conspicuous, would it not?"

"They would, yes," Prince Vegeta agreed.

"You'd need to wait a few years after. Three, at the very least but no less. But whenever you feel that you're ready, then so be it. A Saiyan does best by relying on their instinct."

Vegeta IV nodded his head. Now, being a grown man, he felt that he could be somewhat more open with his father. They never shared the battlefield together, but they sure as hell did a lot of interacting over the past 11 years thanks to Kuni. "While I can't say that I've ever been emotional over the thought of you dying, I can admit that I've found a new respect for you, father. To be willing to sacrifice yourself for the greater good of the Saiyan race is th-"

"The actions of a true King," his father finished. "To be willing to sacrifice one's self for the greater good of one's own race is the action of a true king, my son." He pointed his finger over to his eldest born. "Perhaps one day, when at my age, you will understand." Vegeta sipped on a bit of wine and spoke once more after. "That is why it's best to make sure the first thing you do is form an heir after becoming King. You never know when your fate will be sealed. We're all ticking time bombs in this Universe."

This evoked some chuckles from the prince. "Seems to me all those silent moments in the throne room have been the catalyst of you thinking so much that you can't help but loop words of wisdom with the tongue."

"Wisdom comes with age, son." He then stood up from his chair. "Come here."

Prince Vegeta cocked his brow, though he didn't verbally question his father's words. Typically, King Vegeta only asked him to come so that they could talk but in this instance, they were already talking with one another. Though reluctant, the young man removed himself from his seat and walked over to the man who took part in conceiving him.

When father and son were just mere yards away from physical contact with each other, King Vegeta placed his hand on the shoulders of his first-born. "When Tarble was born, I was ecstatic to see that he had just as much innate potential as you did when you were first appointed to me. But since he's failed me, all I've had was you to cherish. As much as I would love for Tarble to be taking your place in the deposition of Freeza, I couldn't be more proud of you. At least one of my sons have been able to come through for me."

Prince Vegeta couldn't help but smile. His time of becoming King was closing in, he could feel it; it was just a matter of time. "The name Vegeta is a strong name to live up to. Failure is out of the question."

"Your attitude is exactly why you'll grow to become a Super Saiyan one day. You've broken barriers that no other Saiyan has been able to. A power-level of 30,000 is nothing to laugh about on and I can see you aiming to grow stronger as the years move on. Never stop excelling; never stop training. You're the epitome of what a Saiyan is. Do you comprehend what I'm telling you, son?"

"Yes, father. Of course."

They were on course of taking back what rightfully belonged to them: the Universe.

The world that had been conquered just moments ago was once a beautiful sight. Its skies were made up of all sorts of colors into one and the stars twinkled like no other. Despite the lack of water there, the physical appearance of the buildings there amongst other things was just gorgeous.

Until a certain someone touched down.

Raditz, while sitting down on a rock, had been munching on the decapitated parts of his victims, all of whom were burned to a crisp. The 21 year old Saiyan had grown insanely tall and his hair was just as long as it had always been, down to his very calves. The man was more so sitting on his hair than he was sitting on the rock itself.

All of these assignments are getting easier and easier as time goes on. During his times as a young boy, he was always accompanied by some other companion; maybe it'd be Abo and Kado, or Appule and Kiwi. However, most of the time, it was with Kiwi or Appule. The both of them were fine in battle, though they tended to be wreckless and often acted very passive aggressive toward him. As often as Raditz asked to work alongside Dodoria and Zarbon, it would never be seen through. Raditz figured he'd have an easier time fighting with them since they tended to be so amicable whenever he came around. However, whenever Raditz was with Kiwi, he had came upon the toughest missions. It was a good thing though because Raditz had been placed in situations which only made him stronger. He even had a giant scar on his chest to show as proof of being on death's doorstep once. No longer fearing the unknown that came with the afterlife, Raditz toughened up because of it.

It had been just a few years ago when he decided that it'd be best for him to go on solo missions, just so that he could have some further form of excitement.

Pipi

His head jerked up and his eyes locked onto a ship approaching. Without a doubt, the ship belonged to one of ships of Freeza's subordinates. "Who might this be?" The man spat out the last piece of meat he chewed on and wiped his mouth before getting back up on his two feet.

Raditz had been wondering all sorts of things. Freeza would typically have lower-class subordinates of the Freeza Force land on conquered planets in order to clean up all the bodies that had been set to lie down. He knew for a fact that they weren't to come so soon, so he couldn't help but wonder what the hell was going on.

So he waited.

Two battle powers around 20,000. Raditz smiled. "So some old friends have decided to show up." Without second guessing his action, the long-haired warrior shot off into the distance.

"What the hell?"

Zarbon's head was upward, his eyes going over virtually every single aspect of the planet that they had just landed on. He knew for a fact that something was wrong. Prior to heading toward any planet, he always made sure that the world was scouted. For any mission he was personally assigned, Zarbon checked the average climate, power-level, and overall makeup of the world. Though it had been some months since he got a good look at the planet they were supposed to go to, he could just tell that this wasn't it.

Zarbon turned around to face Dodoria, who was rubbing his big head as he chewed on a thick chocolate bar. He was all nonchalant about the atmosphere of this world, despite having seen the planet that they were supposed to be conquering anyhow. Seeing him looking all casually unconcerned just elicited a silent sneer from the green pretty boy.

"Dodoria, did you put in the right coordinates?"

Dodoria chumped down on the piece of chocolate before he responded. Zarbon crossed his arms and began tapping his foot but the pink fat brute couldn't care less. Sometimes he got a kick out of aggravating Zarbon. He could have answered right after swallowing down the last piece but he started to lick his fingers instead.

"Dodoria…" Zarbon repeated his name.

"Yeah, of course! You know I never mess up, Zarbon."

"That's because you're never the one to set the coordinates," the skinnier soldier answered as he began to ascend off the ground. He then entered the ship, landing right into the pilot room. Zarbon immediately went to checking over the coordinates that were set. Upon reading it and looking over a few others, he lowered his head and let out an exasperated sigh.

Dodoria rubbed his head and just waited. He used his scouter to try and detect for potential life-forms, but to no avail. He hadn't gotten a single reading. "What the hell's going on? These are the newest versions of scouters so how in the…?" He continued to click and click the device, only to get the same result.

But Zarbon's booming voice had side-tracked him.

"We're supposed to be on Planet Chip! You've brought us to Planet DIP!" The green-haired man shot from the ship and down right into Dodoria's face. "Just how in the oblivion could you get that wrong, Dodoria?"

Dodoria looked at his fingers while raising his hand and let his mouth open wide. "Oh…"

Zarbon's eyes narrowed. "Oh, what?"

"One of my fingers must have slipped when I put in the coordinates. There was this big, juicy burge-"

"Okay," Zarbon turned around, flipping his braid as he did. He had to restrain himself from slapping Dodoria in the face, so Zarbon took a deep breath and started to waive his hand around his chiseled face. "Woosah...Woosah…"

"Hey, there's no big deal. We just have to be out and about for another three months. Then we can head back to HQ."

And that was the problem. Zarbon had something particularly planned after their assignment, but he had to delay it because of this buffoon.

"Seems like somebody messed up proper protocol."

Dodoria and Zarbon both turned around. The voice they heard speaking had a sense of familiarity, though they were unable to pinpoint it. Lo and behold, when they saw Raditz for the first time in what felt like years, they finally understood why. The person they could remember as a kid had grown drastically. He stood taller than both Dodoria and Zarbon with a very bulky figure.

Raditz was officially a grown man.

"Raditz!?" Dodoria asked.

"In the flesh."

Zarbon smiled. Despite all three of them being so close to Freeza, they had rarely been around at the same time ever since Raditz decided to take on solo missions. For a while, he even figured that the long-haired Saiyan had died since he was never mentioned all that much. "Long time no see," Zarbon greeted. "I take it Planet Dip was your assignment?"

""Yes," Raditz confirmed.

"Hold up," Dodoria began waving both his arms side to side. "Time-out." He pointed at the Saiyan. "How did you sneak up on us undetected?"

Raditz crossed his arms. As much as I'd love to tell these fools that I learned a thing or two from Ginyu, I can't go around making them more jealous than they probably are, despite how much they may hide their envy. "Don't know," the man shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe your devices are busted."

"No, no way," Dodoria denied. "We just got these new models a few weeks ago!"

"Well, I wouldn't know," Raditz told Dodoria. Noticing how quiet Zarbon was, he placed his attention over to the pretty boy. "So you came to the wrong planet, huh?"

"Right." Zarbon walked over by his pink peer and patted him on the shoulder. "But that fault isn't mine."

Raditz chuckled. "Well, where are you two headed? Maybe we can round this one up together and take them out as a team - like old times."

Dodoria looked over to Zarbon, who reciprocated the same look of uncertainty. From Raditz's perspective, it was as if they were speaking with another telepathically since their mouths hadn't moved not a single millimeter. He just waited for a response.

"We ain't too sure," Dodoria replied. "We're afraid that you may not be up to par."

Raditz scoffed. "You're kidding…"

Zarbon clicked the scouter over his left eye so that he could get a proper reading of Raditz's power-level. "You hold a battle power of 6,500, Raditz. The inhabitants of Planet Chip hold certain weapons that even surpass you in power. You can't come with us."

"Just sixty five hundred?" Dodoria rubbed his head. "The last time we saw him, the boy had a power-level of just five thousand."

"Right...and that was years ago," Zarbon pointed out.

"That's odd because your power was always jumping high after every mission for a while," Dodoria pointed out.

These fools really trust in their scouters far too much. If I were to show them my true power right now, there's no telling how they'd react. The need to show off was beginning to eat at Raditz, though being around Freeza for over the past decade taught him self restraint in a lot of ways. This circumstance was no different. He had to play his role for the time being. "So what? You forget that I can transform?"

"They have no moon and we don't look forward to having some rampaging beast fighting alongside us," Zarbon replied curtly. "The people of Planet Chip have valuable assets that must not be destroyed anyway and we doubt you'd have a hard time keeping things speck and clean while under the form of a hundred foot ape."

Raditz had to hide a growl. Dodoria and Zarbon had tagged Raditz along many times, even when Raditz was weaker than those he had fought. Just what in the hell was holding them back this time? This was a great opportunity to finish their conquest much earlier than perhaps planned. Could it be they were afraid of splitting the profit? No, Raditz was already going to make his own for conquering Planet Dip. So what was it?

"You're Lord Freeza's favorite pet," Dodoria told Raditz. "We doubt Freeza would like for us to tag you along on a mission that you wouldn't be able to last on."

Raditz just stood there as the other two walked by and shoulder brushed him as they did. The Saiyan was beginning to grow hot in the face. He wanted to turn around and kill them right then and there, but he knew better.

Freeza's pet, huh? Is that all they really think of me as? Some fool who's just behind him every single day? I follow orders just as they do so what is it that makes me any different? Raditz turned around to see the ship gradually taking off. After a few seconds of watching, it just rocketed out, travelling at hundreds of millions of miles per hour.

Raditz remained there, thinking long and hard. Why the comment? He already knew that they envied him in some fashion, so what was the problem truly?

Freeza's pet...too weak. But they've raved on about my potential many times in the past.

And as if an epiphany came upon him, a light bulb also formed atop Raditz's head. He turned back around to look ahead of him with his eyes wide. "So that's it, huh!? They fear me becoming strong enough to take their positions! They think I'm supposed to be a pet that's never going to amount to anything, eh?" Raditz started to cackle lowly before his laughter turned into that of a hysterical one - a laugh that would cause those defenseless to tremble in fear before passing out. After Raditz carried on for half a minute, he began to calm down.

He clenched his fist and tensed his body. The vascularity in the man's body became visible as veins started to pop up in his arms and around his face. The ground beneath him started to shake and rocks all broke in pieces as they were being lifted off the ground.

So they fear me being strong enough to rise through the ranks and making them all go forgotten! They think I've reached a limit, in where I've supposedly gone stagnant! But no! Raditz then calmed down. The rocks had dropped and the shaking had immediately came to a stop. "Little do those fools know that even Recoome can't stand to me. The battles I've been in has made me grow stronger more and more! The only person within the Freeza Force that can best me right now is Ginyu…" Raditz raised his closed fist. His entire arm was trembling, out of sheer joy. A wide smile came across his face. "Maybe I should show them all; I have what it takes to be the one who commands Freeza's entire army. If that's what it takes to prove a point...then so be it."

Raditz opened his now reddened hands and began to pull out a pad. With the click of a few buttons, his attack pod shot directly into his direction. "I just need to figure out how I'm going to get Dodoria, and Zarbon out of the way first."

Raditz ascended off the ground a bit before entering the open, circular ship.

"Lord Freeza doesn't have any idea that I am the ultimate soldier. But he'll see soon enough."