When the Saiyan world was discovered seven years ago, it was reported that every scouting ship was blown out of the sky despite the lack of advanced weaponry from the inhabits.
There were ruins of civilisation, but the Saiyans lived in tribe-like communities out with the desolated cities.

King Cold that ran the military back then, so he visited the Saiyans personally. The race of Monkeys as he called them, soon learned the submit or die options that most of the empire knelt before.
From then on, the Saiyan world was rebuilt into a functioning outpost. The Saiyan people were conscripted into uniform and given tasks best suited to their skills.

Because Granate only ran a scouting ship and was getting on in years himself, he recruited Garagus to act as his muscle after his original copilot went missing in action, but two years later Garagus asked for Rhuba to join too, due to some family issues on their homeworld.
It didn't take long to get used to Garagus and Rhuba's alien quirks. One 'good' thing about the ever expanding empire, you get a taste of diverse behaviours from both advanced and primitive races. For better or worse.

"We'll be docking Freeza base three nine one, in one hour!" Granate's voice came from the speakers throughout the ship, which included the room where the Saiyan's slept.

"He's such a pain in the ass," Rhuba whispered with her head resting on Garagus's chiselled chest.

"Want to get up?" Asked Garagus without so much as opening an eye.

"No." She yawned.

Garagus would like nothing more than to stay in bed with her. But he promised Granate that efficiency wouldn't drop with the inclusion of Rhuba, and he kept that promise.
"Come on." He sighed, patting her on the behind as he sat up and brought his feet to the cold metal floor.

"I'm still sleepy." Rhuba quickly snuggled up under the quilt again, but hearing the shower running in the next room and knowing that Garagus was readying himself to start working made her feel guilty for staying in bed, so she kicked the quilt off and let the room's cold air begin to wake her.
She then flattened out, stretching every part of her body from her fingers down to her shoulders, hips to toes, neck to the tip of her tail. Her bones clicked here and there, but now that she felt ready she threw on one of his long tops before skipping out of the room towards the galley.
It only made sense for her to eat while he bathes and then to swap over.

She put a pot of water over the stove then plopped a food capsule in after it began to boil. It used to be a point of fascination watching the tiny pill fluff out into an all in one loaf meal, large enough to feed for four people.
Once it was ready, she drained the remaining water and began eating it by hand.
It had a dough-like texture when she bit into it, filling her mouth with steam each time. The flavours they came in were varied, but she'd come to expect the watered-down taste of what was promised.
Still, it satisfied her hunger and kept her strong, which was all she cared about.

When she was done eating, she refilled the pot and stuck another capsule inside for Garagus, who entered the galley in full uniform just as the food was reaching maximum absorption.
"Just in time." Rhuba turned the heat off before leaving Garagus alone to eat while she went off to get ready herself.

Like Rhuba, Garagus picked the roasting hot loaf by hand and ate it on his way to the bridge to find Granate at his station and was working away as he programmed their docking.

The station was already in sight but still far away, and even this far out there was a speed restriction. Anything going too fast on approach has tens of laser turrets focused on it and failure to respond means certain death.

By the time Rhuba was out the shower and dressed in uniform, the ship was just about ready to dock.
Although there wasn't much point in taking her post this close to landing, she sat herself down anyway and checked the comms.
"We've got a new mission. A new world was conquered twelve days ago. We're to survey and report back its worth."

"After we refuel." Granate called back to her.

Without needing a command, Garagus began programming in a course from his monitor.
"Destination?" He asked.

"Kanassa, no sorry…" After reading the new name, Rhuba rolled her eyes. "Freeza Planet Four One Nine."

Even Granate felt the names were getting ridiculous. Under King Cold, newly conquered planets kept their names. But ever since his son, Lord Freeza took over, every new planet brought to heel was assigned a number.
Not that the Saiyans could claim any better. Their homeworld was named after an equally egocentric ruler just a year before King Cold stood foot on their soil.

"I miss home." Rhuba sighed as she thought about how simple things were. She longed for the time when the biggest worry was of Garagus's family discovering their coupling.

"Belts," Granate ordered when they were about to enter the artificial gravity generated by the station.
Rhuba clipped her self in and held onto the handlebars around the computer. The ship felt like it had suddenly rolled over onto its nose.
"that was rough."

"Sorry…" Garagus tried to stabilise the descent onto the designated landing strip with Granate mostly supervising. "How are you doing?" Glancing back to Rhuba, he saw her holding to her workstation for dear life, all the while fighting against the chair she was sat on.

When the ship finally landed, there was a breath of relief among the three of them.
"Stick to planets," Granate advised his navigator as he got up and pulled his own chest armour on to complete his uniform. "Alright, put your tails away and try to look presentable."

After the ship powered down, Garagus and Rhuba stood to fasten their tails snug around their waists before disembarking behind their captain.
The dock has a strong smell of fuel and steel for Granate, but the Saiyans behind him only smelled food. Not the soggy loaves they endure on missions, but real freshly prepared, mouth watering dishes.

Since this was a Freeza station, there was no need to watch over their shoulders as if it were an unknown planet with potential threats. So protecting their captain was less of a priority.
"How long before we need to leave?" Garagus asked, keeping his hand out to stop Rhuba darting ahead.

"Two hours to ready the ship… so we'll be leaving in five."

Garagus nodded, dropped his arm and he and Rhuba took off towards the higher levels where the cantine was located.
The station was built in layers, each with open sides so races that could fly as well as small vessels could come and go as they please.

"I love feeling this light." Rhuba chimed as her feet touched down on the platform above the dock.
All planets they visit have different gravity strengths, but pretty much all of them have been weaker than their homeworld. Even the station felt floaty to them. So Rhuba could practically fly around the base with just a few controlled jumps and by emitting some of her own power to slow her landing.
Garagus had other ideas. He was much more adept at controlling his flight, and so was able to swoop in from behind and lift off with her in his arms to carry her to the counter selling whatever it was they were both smelling.

"Show off." She said with a snide look.

"I'll teach you anytime."

"I can't fly!" She urged while holding onto him just before his foot finally hit the floor.

Garagus has been able to levitate off the ground since before they left home. Weak gravity only makes it easier for him to do so.
A skill he's not alone with. Over a quarter of the entire Saiyan race can fly as he does.
But since Rhuba never learned at a young age nor was she around many people who could fly, it became ingrained in her head that she'll never learn to herself.
But Garagus often carries her as he goes, so she finds the thrill of flying in his arms far more exciting than the constant frustration of failure with every futile attempt.

After a quick, albeit not very light breakfast, Rhuba looked at different races of aliens sitting at surrounding tables. She was wondering if there were any fellow Saiyans around. But spotting tails or jet black Saiyan hair among all the different body shapes and sizes was hard enough, not to mention that some of them were wearing helmets. Instead, she was looking for stacks of dishes at small tables.
But their's were the only towering stacks of ten or more bowls each.
"Are we the only Saiyans here?"

Garagus looked up from his bowl to glance at all the humanoids. Base 391 wasn't so far out of the way that their people wouldn't frequent this station and after a long trip in space, you could bet any money that the Saiyan's first protocol would be food.
"Maybe they're on assuagement." He suggested before slurping up more of his noodles.

"Maybe…" Rhuba stepped from their table to take over a vacant computer station. Sometimes messages are sent to specific ships, but the terminals at the stations have listings of all tasks sent down by Lord Freeza.
If the Saiyans are off doing something, Rhuba was curious to know where her people were.
"oh…" A smile stretched across her face. She excitedly closed down the screen before dashing back to her table. "We're going home!" She squeaked to Garagus, shaking his arm to rouse him from his seat. "A week ago all Saiyan pods were recalled to Vegeta until further notice."

"What for?"

"I don't care!" Rhuba ran a step away before turning on the spot. "You get the ship ready, I'll find Granate."

"We're refuelling." Garagus groaned as he lifted another dumpling into his mouth.

Rhuba made a disappointed face but came back to the table anyway. Five hours isn't too long when compared to the months they've spent bouncing from base to planet to base and planet. "Maybe I should send mum a message?" She wondered out loud, but the terminal she was just at was now taken by someone else. "never mind..."

Garagus mumbled someone before his mouth was entirely empty of food. "I-, I wonder if Cressin is still annoyed that I took you" He said with a coy but nervous look.

Rhuba smiled at him with her face still resting in her hands.
Back before the planet was taken over, Garagus had to live with Rhuba and her mother as they avoided the internal conflicts of their world. Although Garagus was an Alpha Saiyan, he respected the den wasn't his and never overstepped his bounds with Cressin or her daughter.

"It's your troop I'm worried about…" Rhuba sighed. "Maybe we should split up when we get home."

Garagus chocked on his meal. "What?"

"Just until we leave again, I mean." Rhuba hid her face behind an empty cup as she pretended to drink from it. "that way you can see your troop again"

As much as she wants to go home and this recall is a fantastic excuse for Granate to take them there, it also meant All the Alphas would be there too, although now they're calling themselves 'Saiyan Elites'.
The truth is Rhuba was scared of them. It was no secret Garagus's troop disapproved of their time together, and going home means there's a chance she'll run into them.

"I'll be worried if I'm not with you," Garagus told her. "After last time, I don't want you alone."
However long they'll have on their homeworld, Garagus honestly didn't mind if it was spent with Rhuba and her mother as he and Cressin were very close, so catching up with her would be nice for them both.

After eating, the pair went for a wander to the training hall, where soldiers can practice combat. But in actuality, it's more of a room where they settle grudges or show off.
Rhuba and Garagus stood on the stalls, watching as the two teams ducked in and out of cover while firing their weapons at each opening the enemy presented.

The blaster rifles used in these arenas are painful to be hit by, but usually don't result in a permanent injury. The general rule is if you're willing to keep fighting after being hit, you're allowed to. It's a test of endurance as well as accuracy and tactics.

Rhuba watched with anticipation as she saw someone about to be snuck up on.
The man with his guard down took a hard kick to the back of the legs before falling in the dirt and being blasted in the chest.
Perfectly legal tactic. The guy on the ground was actually being heckled for being a weakling.

"Get up and fight!" Rhuba called down.
Her voice caught the attention of the one who shot the man, and while he was distracted, two blasts caught both his arm and head.

"idiot." Garagus sighed before looking elsewhere.
Although there was a shootout happening, some soldiers had taken to hand to hand combat, while still using their rifles as blunt weapons.
As a mass force, they're maybe effective. But one sharp blow to the gut each would take them out. Garagus had suffered worse in practice fights with Rhuba, so watching them get hurt in what was essentially a game was just starting to annoy him now.

"Incoming," Rhuba warned and before Garagus had even looked up, she'd deflected a laser blast back into the arena.

"Nice block."

"Thank you," Rhuba grinned proudly before turning back to the match. "How long before we should head back to the ship?"

Garagus flipped open his scouter and placed it on his head to cover both his left eye and ear. It switched on and began marking potential threats based on their physical exertion, but also displayed the time.
"The ship will be ready now, but it's still up to Granate if he wants to head off sooner than we planned."

"Let's go ask him then."

"Right," Garagus was just about to switch the scouter off, but it started blinking, as a new set of numbers began to rise to levels he hadn't seen before. "Hold on…"

He leaned over the barrier and saw that two new contenders were entering the arena.
Both of them were different races to anything Garagus or Rhuba had seen before.

The taller of the pair was a blue-skinned, red-eyed alien that looked to be around nine feet tall, while the other, shorter fellow around Rhuba's hight had red skin and flowing white hair.

"All of you, shape Up, or get Out!" Called the tall blue alien, while the shorter red-skinned person with flowing white hair waited for his line to speak.
"Anyone wanting to prove their skill..."
"Or spend time in the infirmary..."
"Come and test your might, Against the Red Magma…!"
"And the Blue Hurricane…!"
"Jeice!"
"Burter!"

Rhuba and Garagus were slack-jawed, watching the pair dance into what could laughably be called a 'fighting pose' before loudly announcing; "Ginyu Force!"

There was a pause for a moment.
Some soldiers moved out of the arena taking their injured friends with them, while others reloaded their rifles.

"Okay, we'll stay two more minutes," Rhuba said with an intrigued grin as she came back beside Garagus. If she got to see those clowns get wasted, she could spare the time. But Garagus was looking at his scouter still. Their power levels weren't a laughing matter.

The Ginyu team hopped to their starting positions in one leap while the once opposing two teams all rallied to the opposite side of the arena. Some starting in the air, others taking low vantage points.

"Three…Two…One…Start!" Called the stand-in referee.

The team of many charged and fired their rifles on the unarmed duo.
The red one, Jeice, leapt into the sky to evade the attack while the blue one, Burter, swooped low before completely vanishing.

"where'd he…?" Rhuba only looked up when she heard grunts of pain.
The several airborne soldiers were systematically being whacked from the sky by a blue blur.

"Rhuba…" Garagus called her attention to the other.

Held in the hand of 'the Red Magma', was a vicious looking ball of concentrated energy.
"Crusher Ball!" Jeice announced before throwing it towards the masses on the ground level.

The eruption of dust and rocks was big and loud. Half the team was whipped out in a single blast.
The rest were disorientated but were one by one being picked off by either a kick or a chop from Jeice and Burter before the pair finally hopped to the centre to, once again, strike a pose for the audience.
"Captain Ginyu is recruiting for his High-Level Executive Class of Warriors!"
"Anyone who feels up for the toughest training of their life should report to either of us within the hour!"
"We got a lot of stations to visit, so find us at docking bay Four"
Again there was a pause before a finishing pose, and then they shot off through the main entrance to the arena, leaving a mess of injured and wheezing bodies behind.

"You should join," Garagus suggested.

"Not a chance," Rhuba replied.
The Ginyu team's skill in combat did impress both the Saiyans, but the flamboyant behaviour and dancing was a big put off, and going by how empty their signup station was as the Saiyans walked by, everyone else was put off joining too.

Despite having over an hour remaining, Granate was already aboard but was calibrating the engines.
"You're unusually early." He sighed without even looking back at them. "If you were looking for a place to be alone, go somewhere else"

"such an asshole," Rhuba chucked under her breath. "Actually, I checked a station terminal, all Saiyan pods have been recalled to the homeworld."

Pods are single person vessels meant for deploying soldiers while in stasis. Since Saiyans are usually raised to embrace new battles and fight until they drop, most of their race became soldiers under Freeza, and their absurd dietary needs make stasis the best way to transport them.
However, Rhuba and Garagus spent most of their life avoiding conflict. During the last great war of their planet, the two of them were still preteens, and Garagus was fated have been pulled along with his troop to join the battle.
That is, if not for Cressin.
Rhuba's mother knew the two were fond of each other and although she didn't like the attention it was getting her and Rhuba, Cressin sheltered Garagus as part of her troop to wait out the war.

"And you're thinking those orders are meant for All Saiyans?" Granate asked, finally looking up from his station.

Rhuba nodded. "There was no mention of why… only that failure to comply will be severely punished."

"Can't have that." Granate sighed as he shifted over to the copilot seat. "Freeza Planet four one nine, on hold… Planet Vegeta, set." He rose with with a wave and point of his finger, signalled for both of them to get in the seats. "I've still got a hundred and four more minutes of leave… I'm taking a nap." He yawned on his way to his quarters, leaving his crew to set the ship up for take-off.

Garagus was a little nervous, but with Rhuba beside him reading the numbers for takeoff and speed control, he felt confident that he could fly to their homeworld without Granate's guidance.
That said, it was comforting to know that he was just a button call away.

The engine powered up and after rolling back just fifteen decrees more than he meant to, the ship pivoted away from the station and took off into space. After a few moments to configure their course, Rhuba glanced at her console.

"At our current speed, we'll arrive in eight hundred thousand, seven hundred, and sixty-"
Garagus placed pushed the lever all the way forward the moment they cross the speed restriction zone, causing the ship to blast off at top speed.
The console recalculated.
"Sorry," Rhuba groaned giving him a nasty glare. "At our Current, speed... we'll be there in one hundred and forty hours… Stop your grinning!"

"No." Garagus's smile was staying. Flying the ship at light speeds was the part of the job he lived for.

With the ship in autopilot for the second day straight, the only station that needed manning was the comms, but since there was no immediate urgency, Rhuba had suspended herself upside-down from the ceiling handrail and was bending up to touch her toes.

"She's still going?" Granate asked as he came in from the Galley. He could tell Rhuba was working a sweat while Garagus stood by waiting with anticipation to see how far she could go.
"How many have you done?"

"I don't know…" Rhuba gasped. "lost count… my back's getting sore, though."

"Your back?" Garagus walked up with his hands out, ready to catch her as she prepared to drop.

"yeah…" Rhuba slipped her feet out from the rails, leaving her hanging just by her tail until she was able to flip down, right side up onto the floor. She leaned back as far as she could until her spine clicked. "that's better. You ready?"

Garagus took a deep breath before going opposite to her on the bridge.
Granate knew to stay back, but he couldn't help but feel worried that they might break something.

Garagus stepped forward throwing a right punch at Rhuba's face, only narrowly missing after she sidestepped away, but he lifted his left knee as he spun around to boot her with his right.
Rhuba was able to block and grab his leg, but she was already quite exhausted after her exercises. But of course, this was what she wanted. She feels the best time to practice fighting was when she's physically spent, so her only option against this stronger opponent is to improve.
Garagus's eyes were locked on hers as they fought. He'd only ever brake his stare if she were taking the offensive, but otherwise, she was in his sights at all times.
She jumped up to kick him in the chin, but he battered his hands down on her foot before grabbing her by the hips and to slam her on the floor, pinning her in position.

Rhuba landed hard on her back, but after grabbing his arms, she pulled her legs up between his arms and pincered his neck between her calves and put as much tension on as she could.
Garagus's grip loosened as he tried to pull away and free his neck, but she didn't let go of him.
Her hands clung to his wrists just as hard as she was trying to choke the air from him.
Garagus shut his eyes, struggling to pull a breath in. He wheezed, jerking his head forward in a nod.

"Do you give up?" Rhuba gently let go with her legs. If he pulled way right that second, it would count as a forfeit, so she wasn't worried about him taking advantage of her mercy.

"ess, yes, I give in." He coughed.

Rhuba completely relaxed her body and the pair of them collapsed on the floor panting for breath, especially Garagus. All while Granate just looked at the pair of them as he sipped his tea.
"How is that fun for you?" He asked rhetorically but knew he was probably going to have an answer by the time he took his seat.

"It's just a game," Rhuba said as she rolled over onto her knees and began rolling the stiffness from her shoulder. "It feels good to fight."

"I thought you two avoided war?"

"Well yeah," Rhuba leant over Garagus as he still tried to recover on the floor "We like fighting each other. Not fighting our king's battles."

"Uh-huh," Garagus put his arm across her and threw her over onto her back again so he could sit up. "I actually met our king when I was ten. He was hard going."

As Rhuba got back up, her eyes drifted to his tail. Hearing him talk about what was done to him and the other Alpha children made her uneasy as a girl, but they were promised that their weakness would soon be nullified if they could endure until the end.
Now Garagus is almost entirely immune to the paralysing pain brought upon when someone grabs his tail. An act that if he'd employed during their sparring match, would have guaranteed a loss for Rhuba.

"I remember you crawling into our den, tail between your legs. All sad, but trying to be brave." Rhuba was pouting her bottom lip out to him, but she could feel the heat building behind his eyes.

"And I remember you, skinny little Rhuba that no one wanted to be around because you'd bruise from sneezing too hard."

"oh shut up," She was about to slap him with the back of her hand, but she felt something curl threateningly around her tail. "Don't…" She warned, looking at his menacing state as his finger and thumb held her tail in place.
Already she could blood rushing around the area he was holding. One press and she'd feel as though needles are sticking in every artery she has, making any and all resistance futile on her part.

Garagus would occasionally tease her with the threat of pinching her tail, but never actually followed through on it. Despite knowing this herself, the natural response from a Saiyan in this situation is to freeze up and Garagus enjoyed watching that bratty demeanour of Rhuba's be replaced with the pleading and submissive look she had on now.

"Right," Granate ordered Garagus to take the bridge for the nightshift and relived Rhuba until morning. "Get to."

Garagus gently released Rhuba and even offered a hand to get her back on her feet.
"send you with your tail between Your legs," He whispered to her.

"sleep with an eye open..." She whispered back wandered off to her room while Garagus took Granate's place at the helm.

Garagus looked in annoyance at the screens.
"Why do I need to be here? We're in autopilot," He asked before the captain had left.

"True, but I'm separating you both." Granate called back before disappearing off the bridge.

Garagus turned his seat back to the black void of endless space, as the view had been and will continue to be for many hours yet.
Although, Granate did leave his tea and it was still hot.
"it's mine now," Garagus sighed before taking a sip as he sat back to watch the stars ever so slowly come nearer.

Surviving Saiyans.
Chapter 1: Base 391.