Intimidation

Prince Vegeta walked his usual pace behind the King. He hated going on inspections with his father. It was boring, tedious, and the last place he wanted to be.

"It's the responsibility of the king to know everything is running smoothly," King Vegeta lectured his young son whenever he complained about the mundane aspects of ruling a planet. "One weak link in a chain jeopardizes the entire unit. Being a king is more than just fighting and ordering people around. If that's all you want out of life, then be an Elite Commander instead of their king." The king's threat would always be followed with the prince's humble apology, sincere or not.

The prince would rather be training. Impressing his teachers with his rapidly increasing strength and ability was like a drug to him. Intimidating others an obsession. The more the others cowered before him - whether due to his royal status or natural-born power - the more he expected, demanded and craved it.

"Welcome Your Majesty, King Vegeta...Your Royal Highness, Prince Vegeta," the hospital staff recited in unison, each bowing low enough so their heads were properly below that of the young prince.

"Rise and report," the king ordered courteously.

The prince forced himself not to roll his eyes or sigh at the monotony of each department trying to impress their king and make their position more valuable than all others. It was the same all over the kingdom. Their obvious flattery to win their ruler's approval turned his stomach. When he took over a king, he planned to rule out of fear, not being kissed up to.

Their tour paused next to the nursery window. While King Vegeta spoke with the technicians, the prince glared at the helpless infants through the glass. These would be the future Saiyan warriors he would rule over. These would be the ones he would command respect from for fear of divine retribution from their new king. Each black-haired baby looked back at him with a mixture of curiosity and awe in their tiny eyes. Except one.

"Hey!" Prince Vegeta called out, tapping on the glass with one gloved finger. "Be quiet when royalty is present!"

"I humbly apologize, Your Majesty...Your Highness," the technician added as almost an afterthought. The prince sneered at him, but his attention was already focused back on the king. "That one hasn't stopped crying since he took his first breath. They've tried everything in an attempt to soothe him, but nothing has worked so far. We requested an early mission launching for him since the noise bothers the others."

As if on cue, another child added their voice to the first and Prince Vegeta gritted his teeth against the assault on his ears. "Shut up!" he shouted through the window, giving a solid rap on the glass with one knuckle. The second child was startled into silence by either the sharp noise or the harsh tone, but the first only paused to take in a breath before continuing his insistent crying.

"Didn't you hear me?" the young prince yelled. He banged his fist so hard on the thick glass, a web of cracks fanned out from the impact. " I ordered you to shut up!"

"Hold your temper, son," the king admonished. With one large hand on his son's shoulder, the king pulled him gently away from the shattered window. "You may be able to scare an infant, but you can't force them to obey with intimidation."

"He'll obey me...one day," Vegeta vowed.