Liberty's Center, New Saiyan Empire
January 7, A762
"You're anxious, Turles. You should go on a mission and loosen up," Shive said. The hole in the command center wasn't fixed, but at least a tarp had been put over it, and it was no longer blowing wind directly in.
"I can't leave you, we're still vulnerable here. One attack, a lucky sniper, and you're done for," Turles said. Shive stopped looking at the datapad, and looked over to Turles.
"You're not my bodyguard, Turles, anything short of Cold himself, I'm capable of protecting myself," Shive said.
"Well, what if there's a naval attack. We're vulnerable here,the base shields aren't fully repaired! You'll need all the help you can get," Turles insisted. Shive set the datapad down.
"Turles? This is very unlike the man who escaped from prison, led a hijacking of the most powerful vessel in the universe, and then brought it to fight Freeza. You're walking grooves into the floor and building energy. You're going to drive yourself mad in the very place you were tortured. You need to get back into the field. You need to fight something, clear your head," Shive insisted, "I'm getting restless, too, approving requests all day."
"I don't like the idea of leaving you alone," Turles said. Shive smiled.
"Then don't. There's plenty of operations for us to do. We can pick a second-in-command to make these decisions for the Empire, and show the universe why Saiyans left them in awe. We'll pick a planet, and we'll conquer it together, as a pair," Shive said, "You'll feel better getting away from this place and doing what you're good at."
Turles nodded, "I suppose you're right. Do you have one picked out?"
Shive grinned, "I've had my eye on one."
"Then let's do it. Can we take a shuttle instead of attack pods, though? I'd rather not be that uncomfortable," Turles said.
"We don't have enough attack pods to spare for planetary assault anyway. We'll take a shuttle, some support personnel. Trust me, it's much better having a dedicated cook than eating whatever alien you last killed," Shive assured him.
"Stewart Shive!" an underling knocked on the door. There was no chime for the underling to use, because there wasn't a door. They really needed to get this place fixed.
"Yes, Yeoman?"
"Forgive my intrusion, sir, but Vegeta has just arrived with companions."
"Very well, we'll go and receive them," Shive said, dismissing the underling, who scampered off. Shive moved the tarp aside, and saw the peculiar ship that had landed on the spacedock. He jumped out of the hole, with Turles just behind, and they landed before the ship. Meys, Vegeta, and two Earthlings had exited. Shive looked to Meys, unsure of what his long-time companion's reaction was going to be.
"SHIVE!" Meys shouted, grinning ear to ear. He wrapped his arms around the thinner Saiyan and squeezed him in a hug, "It's been way too long!"
Meys put Shive down, not noticing the soldiers brandishing weapons at him for daring to touch the regent. Meys slapped Shive on the shoulder, "I knew I should have insisted you come with us to Earth with Brussa. Maybe then we'd have actually killed the Namekian, hah! Glad we didn't, he's a good friend now. And you! You must be Turles! I've heard a bit about you, c'mere!"
Before Turles could object, Meys re-adjusted the other Saiyan's back with a hug.
"Wow, Gine wasn't kidding when she said you looked like Bardock and Kakarot! Wow that is uncanny! It is so good to meet you!" Meys said.
"You, too, uh, Meys. Shive's told me a bit about you, as well," Turles said.
"Well, whatever you need, I'm there, Turles. We're strongest together," Meys vowed. Turles smiled, and punched him on the arm.
"I'll hold you to that."
"And who are your Earthling friends?" Shive asked. Yamcha offered his hand.
"I'm Yamcha, warrior of Earth. I've been training Meys and Vegeta," Yamcha said. Shive shook his hand, though Turles was confused by the gesture.
"Good to meet you. And you?" Shive turned to the woman.
"I'm Tights Brief. I'm the brains of the operation," she said. Shive made an audible sigh of relief.
"Good, someone with a plan. Please tell me it's a good one," Shive said.
"We're going to break into Cold Planet 255."
Shive gave a less relieved sigh, "All right, let's hear it, then. Come inside, I hate the wind out here."
XXX
The only thing more baffling than two Saiyans eating is four; Tights and Yamcha were already used to it, but Shive made it a point to eat among the rest of the soldiers in the base's cafeteria. The slaughter that was their feast left all those who witnessed it baffled and wondering where they stored it all, especially since Turles and Shive ate like this every day.
After the meal, as there was no point talking to a Saiyan while they ate, Tights gave the briefing to Shive and Turles in the command center. Vegeta gave a demonstration of the new armor.
"This would take more time to manufacture, but that's perhaps to our advantage. We don't have the numbers of our enemies, so we don't need to build as many as quickly. It means fewer suits that take longer with the same amount of material but offer better protection. With how few fabricators we have, it's preferable to aim for quality over quantity. We'll begin developing these immediately. Thank you, Vegeta."
Vegeta nodded, "We also have a means of training that will push your warriors further and harder: Gravity chambers. It's done wonders for the three of us. Do we have the plans for them to share?"
Tights nodded, "I can send you something. They're expensive, though, and extremely dangerous if used improperly."
"You also need a certain kind of training to really use them to begin with. Without the right conditioning, it's just going to get people hurt," Yamcha pointed out.
"Any advantage we can use, we'll take," Shive said, "We have plenty of defectors, but few of them are quality warriors. Most of those are either still loyal to King Cold, or died in the Battle of Namek."
"They're all mercenaries anyway," Turles said with poison, "They won't be worth the food it would take to feed them. We want real warriors."
"When we bust this prison, hopefully, you'll get all the warriors you need," Yamcha said, "What do you think?"
Shive shook his head, "It's-"
"Completely insane," Turles interrupted, "You're risking your entire operation, and ours, with this kind of stunt, even if we can pull it off."
"But it's exactly the kind of victory we need. In a war of attrition, we lose with Cold, every time. Unless we can get Kakarot to take out King Cold, too, their empire is too much. Even if they fail to kill me and Turles, I will not be Regent of a single dead world," Shive said.
"If there wasn't a bounty on all Saiyans, I'd offer to take your place, Yamcha. I actually have a reputation they'd respect," Turles said. He cocked his head, thinking, "Though…"
"...What?" Yamcha said, unsettled by Turles's gaze.
"You're a little short…"
"Trust me, I'm not short."
"...And a little thin. But with some creative prosthetics and cybernetics…" Turles stroked his chin.
"What are you thinking, Turles?" Shive asked.
"One of my Crusher Corps was a cyborg named Cacao. He's a well-known, ruthless bounty hunter. Instead of creating a new identity for Yamcha here, we fake Cacao's return with a new cybernetic body. We stage a public battle between Cacao and myself, where he defeats me, showing the Freeza Force there is no good will between us. Then, Cacao resurfaces, having captured Meys and Vegeta with your friend Lemo. Cacao is a powerful warrior on his own right, more powerful than Nappa was before the Earth fiasco. It would only make sense that, with upgrades, he'd be even more powerful," Turles explained, "The Freeza Force is much more likely to buy that story than some random new face."
"I can make a suit that would fit the bill for that," Tight said, "Would take a while, and you'd basically be sealed inside until we're done. But it'd be fashionable and functional, as it were."
"I don't like the sound of that, but I think you're right," Yamcha admitted.
"With these credits, we'll be able to purchase enough materials to build the fleet we'd need to distract and extract you and anyone else you can bust out of that prison," Shive said.
"Sounds like we have a plan. There's only one piece we've got left to agree," Meys said.
XXX
"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"
"Come on, Lemo, we need you on this!" Meys pleaded.
"I've had enough of the Freeza Force and all this fighting! Fleur's egg just hatched. Gohan named it Icarus. It needs me! I'm trying to retire here, Meys!"
"Icarus? Who taught him that word?"
"Evidently it means something else here. I wasn't going to tell him. Besides, your plan is completely insane. We'd just get ourselves killed."
"You know what else was insane? Blowing up Freeza's ship to smuggle out the Dragon Balls and fake your death. You're used to crazy, Lemo."
"Which is why I'm aiming for retirement rather than getting myself killed on some harebrained mission you Saiyans cooked up while bonking your heads together in the middle of space!"
"You mean us Saiyans who are scarce in number, on the brink of extinction, and in desperate need of your help? The same Saiyans who have a lost member trapped in that prison?"
Lemo grunted, "You didn't mention who you were busting out. I thought it was for that foolish rebellion of yours!"
"Yep. Vegeta's little brother. You know, he's only a little older than Kakarot, Gohan's father. He's a sweet young man, from what I understand. Doesn't really have the heart of a conqueror, always just liked making friends. A little stubborn, liked finding out how to solve problems his way, you know the type. He'd really like it on Earth, you know? Real peaceful, friendly people," Meys said. Lemo grinded his teeth.
"All right fine but after this no more favors! I'm done with Saiyans, done with the Freeza Force, and done with you!" Lemo snapped.
"All right. We won't need you for a couple weeks anyway, so take the ship with the modified gravity chamber we asked Dr. Briefs to make, okay?" Meys said, waving.
"Hmph! Fine! Piccolo, here, your turn to talk to the lugs!" Lemo said, shoving the camera over to Piccolo. Meys gave way to Yamcha.
"Yeah, what is it? I'm in the middle of training, so this had better be good."
"Hey, Piccolo! We, uh, we've kind of hit the limits of what we can do with the gravity chamber here, so we tried to switch to meditation, but it hasn't been going very well, especially with Vegeta. Do you have any pointers?" Yamcha asked. Piccolo grunted.
"This is why you all should have followed my training regimen instead of splitting it up when we were preparing for the Saiyans!"
"Well, we have time now. C'mon, it's for a good cause, we're busting out a bunch of innocent people out of prison! Freeza and his father kept all kinds of innocent people trapped!"
"I didn't say I wouldn't help, just that you should know all this already!" Piccolo snapped.
"Sounds like someone's skipped meditation today," Yamcha teased.
"Yes, because you insisted on calling me! Now pay attention!"
XXX
Liberty's Center, New Saiyan Empire
January 24, A763
Weeks of preparation and design had gone into the plan at this point. Shive and Turles had been caught up on 100x Gravity training, and all five of the warriors were getting used to meditation. Saiyans were not particularly skilled at sitting still and clearing their mind for extended periods of time; they were prone to either getting restless and wandering off, or straight up falling asleep. Still, there was a lot to be said about their determination to get stronger.
Shive and Turles were clearly grateful to have physical activity. Shive had been restless in a command role, and Turles had been building anxiety since the Battle of Namek. Training was an odd concept to Saiyans, as they relied on standard drills and fighting to activate Zenkai boosts. The idea that a warrior could push themselves to greater power and greater heights was a notion that had been disregarded by King Cold, and actively suppressed by the upper classes of the old Saiyan caste system.
Yet even Yamcha, who wasn't even a Saiyan, was comparable to Vegeta in power. When Yamcha wasn't training or meditating, he was introducing baseball to the New Saiyan Empire, which had quickly been adopted as a means of team-building, strategy and, yes, even training. He and Puar were constantly introducing new ideas to the base to improve morale. Puar in particular was beloved by all, and the shapeshifting cat was never one to turn down getting pets.
With an outlet for his energy, Shive became an even more active commander, using what he'd learned from the others to further the power of what passed for elites. He had a genuine joy for leadership and strategy, even if the finer points frustrated him. He recognized the value of non-combatant leaders, though, and was not beneath shoving a task he wasn't interest in on someone else.
Vegeta wouldn't say it, but he was grateful to be around Saiyans. He maintained his haughtiness, but despite his bad attitude, he was rarely alone. Meditation was most difficult for him, as he kept being disrupted by intrusive thoughts he couldn't shake, and he grew frustrated with the limitations of their current gravity chamber to push him further. The delays and preparation also compounded his frustration as he continued to worry about his brother.
Turles was the one who benefitted the most from the training and the arrival of more Saiyans. As he'd always been directed by the Freeza Force before, he had limited experience with other Saiyans. Being around more than just Shive allowed for his real personality to shine. He had always worked in a team, but there was something different about training and working with other Saiyans which brought the most in him. He was honest with himself and others above all else, and always ready to jump back in so long as he had company.
Meys was always affable. No matter what, he always seemed to be able to make time for everyone else, unless it conflicted with whatever Tights wanted. He had quickly fallen into a role as a teacher for the Empire's troops, teaching what he'd learned to sharpen their minds and bodies. He gained their respect by never asking them to do anything he wouldn't do, usually by doing it first to illustrate.
Despite anxiety when she realized she was being trusted with sensitive tasks and information, Tights became an unofficial second-in-command to Shive. She had a pulse on everything that was going on, and a decent understanding of everything that needed to be known. In particular, she excelled in writing broadcast and propaganda to garner support in the war effort, especially since King Cold himself had yet to make an appearance on the battlefield.
When Lemo finally arrived near the end of the month with the modified ship, the Saiyans were excited to use the gravity chamber. Lemo, however, had thoughts on its use.
"I hate to say it, but if the plan is for Yamcha as Cacao to defeat Turles, then there should be an actual power disparity when you have your 'match.' There can't be any suspicion that there could be any sort of foul play. Same goes for Meys and Vegeta. I know you can hide your power levels, but we have to consider the risks of our operation being blown open because someone keen catches one of you holding back," Lemo explained.
This did not go over well.
Vegeta and Turles both threatened to kill Lemo for even suggesting it. Shive declared that, as the regent of the Empire, it was his duty to be the strongest in the galaxy. Meys just begged. Tights found a way to resolve the argument in a way nobody liked.
"Listen, these chambers are important for more than just the five of you. I'm not saying it's not important for you all to get stronger to defeat Cold. But they're also important to train your elites, too. We're basically ready to move forward with the plan. We don't have time for the extra gravity training. We should leave it to the engineers for now, and move forward. We've already delayed so much already," Tights said.
"The moment we've escaped," Vegeta said.
"The moment," Tights agreed, "Let's go save your brother. Turles? Hope you're ready to get your ass kicked."
