Disclaimer: Dragon Ball does not belong to me. The series and its characters are owned by Akira Toriyama.

The Legacy

Chapter V

Royal Blood

The conquest mission stopped. The war stopped, and the squads were ordered to abort the mission until further notice.

Everyone stopped at the order. The highest priority was to protect the departure of the queen and the princes of the planet. No one could approach them; no act of war could occur until their ship left the attacked world.

No reasons or justifications were given. The alarm was clear and almost at the same time for everyone. The Scouters were activated from the main ship so that no one was left uninformed. The main thing was to help the immediate exit of the queen's ship.

After leaving the planet, rumors soon spread like a powerful virus: "The queen was seriously injured," "They tried to assassinate the queen" "They tried to assassinate the prince" "Betrayal! They tried to assassinate the king." "But the king was not coming on this mission." "There was a revolt and the king was killed in Vegetasei; that's why the queen and the princes returned so urgently."

Everything was speculated. Since the queen would be punished upon her return for having the minor prince's soldier as a lover until King Vegeta had been wounded in an attempted putsch. Everything possible and even the impossible happened that day just because the queen had to leave the planet.

Quiet would soon return when the order was given to return to the attack; they had to be focused on exterminating and conquering; however, the whispers thanks to the Scouters did not stop at all. Something severe and fundamental must have happened for a conquest mission to prevent.

Only a couple of soldiers knew the truth. They were present at the time of the misfortune and were in charge of giving notice to the queen's ship where her men were. They were ordered to say nothing and ensure their silence; the queen in person went with the soldiers on the spaceship.

Everything went very fast. The crew had to protect Koora until the moment of boarding the ship, it was a matter of life and death to leave the planet, and everything had to happen in the utmost secrecy. What had just happened could not reach anyone's ears, not even King Vegeta. Since it had been hidden from him, it was better that he not find out since at least they would lose their minds because of such disloyalty, but it was about the queen, and the men who accompanied her on her ship offered her blind loyalty, and if she gave that order, the king would not find out.

Koora had few men in charge of her, but they would be able to lay down their lives for her if necessary.

The ship could not be directed towards Vegetasei. They were too many days of travel, and they did not have the time in their favor to do it.

"What is the closest hospital planet?" She almost yelled as she asked. It was the queen. Composure and coolness must be her signature. Now the only thing on her mind was despair. She couldn't control her body or the tremor in her voice. She paced back and forth in the command room, aware that she would fall to the ground in shock if she stopped her path.

"Three days, her majesty, we've set our course." The ship's pilot had left two of her men maneuvering the ship so he could be with the queen and answer her questions.

"No! That's too much. We don't have that much time." She was pacing back and forth. She wouldn't stop for the world. Her body had turned on autopilot, so her mind worked one hundred percent.

"But her majesty, that's the best place, and the doctors are already treating the prince."

"I told you no! I'm not putting the prince's life at risk. There must be another planet closer with the same technology."

"There is a planet, your majesty, but it does not belong to the king."

Koora knew right away which it was. "Change course there."

"They will not receive us. So we are in dispute with this Empire, and we also appropriate three of their planets."

"I don't care. Let's go there. Take care to contact this Empire for me and tell them what happened and, if necessary, offer them back their planets and three others in the form of redress." She glanced sideways at Bardock for a second, who, like her, had his hands and chest filled with other people's blood. Royal blood. "The planets that they want, and if they want more, it will be so, but they must receive us."

"As ordered. With the ship at full speed, we will be in a day."

Koora began to feel his body again and how she was shivering. Her eyes felt watery, and her heart was about to explode, but she wouldn't stop. If she had to be on the move all day like this, it would be to make the best decisions.

She went out the door to walk down the hall to try to calm herself down. But, unfortunately, the lack of air was becoming more and more noticeable.

Bardock went after her.

"They are not going to welcome us, and it is better to risk ourselves to the other planet. So with this trip, we just drift away." Only he could say things to her face.

"They will."

"I was in the conquest of one of those planets. Trust me, they are not going to receive us."

"If I have to kill them all to receive us, I'll do it!" She stopped in front of her bedroom door, losing her balance a bit. Bardock wanted to help her, but she wouldn't let him, having to lean against the wall.

"You should rest. Wipe off that blood."

"This blood should be mine, not his." She was about to cry, but she didn't blink.

"I will keep you informed. Any news I will come immediately to inform you."

In the same place that she was, she took off her armor and bloodstained gloves, throwing them to the ground.

"I'm not going to rest. I can't. You go change that armor, please" Koora entered her room, leaving him alone in the hallway.

(...)

Koora couldn't believe it when they agreed to receive them so quickly. They did not ask for anything in return as soon as they learned that the child was in danger. Even so, she had the promised planets released. It was the only way for the king to owe nothing to anyone, but she would be in debt her whole life.

In the hands of her enemies was the life of the prince. The doctors who kept him stable accompanied him and four trusted soldiers who would not leave him alone.

By now, the king should have heard the news, but she didn't care. She didn't care if he retaliated against her. She was in charge, and this was the best decision she could make.

They took the prince to the private facilities inside the palace, just as big as in Vegetasei. Still, the whole place was more careful in decoration, entirely to the rough and cold stone that abounded on his planet.

Before collapsing, Koora spoke to the queen of the planet Norboos. She thanked her and assured her that her men would behave. They just wanted the prince to be okay, and as soon as he recovered, they would leave. The other woman only wished her son would hold out, not to mention how her planets were taken from her and her people killed.

After that, Koora locked herself in the room that was set up for her. She wouldn't come out until she heard that her son was okay.

(...)

"How is he?"

"They continue to operate on him," Bardock replied as he entered the room set up for the queen. He hadn't heard Koora's question, she barely moved her lips when she spoke, but he supposed he would ask him that.

"The… the doctors..." As she had thought, as she stood still, her entire body and mind froze.

Bardock walked over to her bed, stepping in front of her. This time he didn't know what she was asking.

"The doctors…"

"He is with our best doctors and those offered by the queen of this planet." She didn't know what else to say or do. He had never seen her like this; despite years of sharing solid emotions of all kinds, this was the first time that she was off.

That made him remember Gine, in the fear that her eyes show at the possibility that Radditz and Kakarrot will embark on missions.

He pictured Gine in Koora in an attempt to figure out what to do, but his mind went blank. He did not know how to deal with these situations.

It was enough for her that he was by her side.

She wanted to ask him for a hug, and he thought about hugging her; however, they remained silent and did not move.

(...)

Was it an attack? Or bad luck? Any possibility was likely, and she had no head for analysis. All she could think about was her child in her arms and staining herself with her blood. The boy was shivering with shock or pain. And when he tried to speak instead of words, blood came out of his mouth. Other things were happening around her, and she was only able to look at her child.

It was already two days since they arrived on the planet, and unfortunately, everything remained the same.

The door to her room opened, and she did nothing to look or ask who he was. They could try to kill her, and she would do nothing.

But no one wanted to harm her, quite the opposite. The boy had been quiet and scared in his room inside the ship all this time, waiting for someone to tell him something, but after his brother's accident, he had become more invisible than usual.

"May I come in, Mom?"

"Yes, Tarble, come in." The most powerful woman of her race was reduced to a weary ghost. She hadn't experienced something like this before, and she didn't know if she would come out of it. Everything would depend on Vegeta's evolution and after Bardock's last visit informing the prince's advance, she continued on a path of thick fog without knowing what to do or where to go.

The boy approached his mother, who was sitting on the side of the bed, with her feet on the floor. She was in that same position from the moment she entered her new room. She had not slept or eaten while waiting for recent news.

"Is Vegeta going to be okay?"

"Yes, son... Vegeta will be fine," she whispered, stroking the boy's head without looking at him. Suddenly the very idea of killing again caused her total rejection.

She could see the blood of her son on her hands despite being wiped off. He smelled her and felt fresh on her, and if she looked at Tarble, she was sure she would see the blood of her eldest son on him.

So many years of training, callousness, enjoyment through fighting and death, and in these moments of mental numbness, she might be able to recall the exact number of planets conquered and killed. It was as if she was about to die, but instead of watching her entire life pass before her eyes, she only saw the blood spilled, and it was not her who died.

It was her son Vegeta.

Everything she believed in was no longer natural but just a sham from one moment to the next. The feeling that washed over her was new and overwhelming.

In her life, she had seen friends, family, and colleagues of all ages die. She had murdered entire families, children and now just imagining it made her sick entirely. All of this made her hideously open her eyes, questioning her whole damn life and the purpose of her planet.

They were so sunk in shit and blood that they couldn't see it, living in it, proud and with no intention of changing things.

No one would ever change anything, and she would be brilliant; she knew she couldn't without a bloodbath either.

Blood, more blood. All blood. Her life is summed up in one disgusting word.

She felt her son's hand on her leg, but she didn't look at him. She was not capable. She couldn't do anything else other than think in the mist and try not to cry.

If her son were saved or not, nothing would ever be the same in his life.

After leaving Tarble out of his mother's room, Bardock returned to the room where Vegeta continued to be intervened by the doctors of both planets. Every time the worst was believed to have happened, a new emergency arose within the child's body, having to operate urgently.

It was incredible how much that brat's body could bear, but hey, he wasn't a normal kid. He was the prince of his planet, much more potent than many grown men, and if it weren't Koora's son, it would even be a pleasure if the conceited bastard died. He was sure that only his mother and brother would miss him if he were to pass away.

By mandate of the queen, he was her representative. Therefore, what he said should be taken as if she were speaking, and it was for the best. Despite the great hospitality of the Norbians, they were not to see the queen in such a vulnerable state. They had an image to maintain, and it would remain that way.

He no longer looked at the doctors trying to save the prince's life. Instead, something he let go of through the hustle and bustle occupied his mind, giving himself time to process.

He was present when it all happened. He was an eyewitness, and something was wrong. Koora wouldn't be able to remember it from the shock, and he wouldn't bother her with it. He had nothing concrete and would not risk saying something to someone.

Something was missing.

He looked around, thinking, remembering.

No, something was not missing.

Someone was missing.

With a determined step, he left the palace. He hadn't seen him in two days since they landed. That didn't go with him; he should be on top, teasing, yelling, harassing anyone who approached the prince. He should be trying to talk to the queen and threatening to kill anyone other than Saiyajins despite Koora's order.

He was not stupid. He had no proof, but he wouldn't just sit around as nothing had happened.

He made it to the private patio for take-off. Where was the real ship being guarded by Saiyajin soldiers and the planet itself. He entered without delay, growing angry as he approached the room.

There was only one reason why he wasn't there, and he would kill him just to know the truth. Koora had communicated his discomfort with this mission, it was still too early for Tarble, but he thought it was a mother's objection and evident pressure from the king to fulfill his mandate. It was so clear now, and coupled with his unusual demeanor; it was a thing to watch out for.

"This was for Tarble!" He roared as he entered Nappa's small room.

Indeed the man was in his room, unarmored and apparently drunk and extremely troubled because he did not attempt to defend himself when Bardock grabbed him by the neck and raised him against the wall.

"Answer it, Nappa! This attack was for Tarble!"

To be continued...