Chapter 3.
What Comes Next.
Garagus felt tiny after seeing the power Freeza commanded at his fingertips, like a blade of grass standing before a blazing forest.
There was no doubt in his mind that he and Rhuba only live due to sheer luck alone.
They would have died had Rhuba got the recall message any sooner, and arriving too late may have caused them to misunderstand what happened.
They might have thought it was an accident, because for what reason would Freeza have to destroy a planet of loyal soldiers?
But why doesn't matter anymore. The fact remains that Freeza, for whatever reason, sought to commit genocide.
Garagus and Rhuba are the only Saiyans left, as far as the crew knew, and for the time being there was an unspoken understanding that it would be safest to accept that as fact.
To go searching for answers, asking questions to Freeza's men, it'll only be a matter of time before Garagus and Rhuba find themselves standing powerless before the tyrannical Freeza.
And that's only assuming he sought fit to do it in person. It's far more likely he'll send someone else to kill any surviving Saiyans.
"How is she?"
"Same as yesterday," Garagus threw the ice-cold protein loaf in the food disposal and went to clean the dishes. "She's still not talking either. She just… stares out the window" It was crushing him to see Rhuba so absent. He felt so useless.
Granate went to make some tea for himself and Garagus. Since Rhuba was unresponsive, Garagus had been picking up their 'slack', despite that there had been no shifts since the event.
The ship was on autopilot and the comms were off, but Garagus would make tasks for himself.
Doing nothing made him anxious, but right now Granate needed him to listen.
When he returned to his seat he invited Garagus over, but the Saiyan was staring blankly at the one dish he'd taken into Rhuba with his hands stuck in motion to clean the already spotless plate.
"Garagus." Granate called.
"Agh… shit…" He and Rhuba need to remind themselves to be gentle with almost everything they touch. But after zoning out and being lost in the horrific moment once again, hearing his captain's voice startled Garagus and his thumb dented the metal plate.
"We have plenty others." Granate reminded him. "Garagus, it's time we talk about what we're going to do."
"Right" Garagus nodded as he took a seat. He looked ready for orders but again, there was a distance to his eyes like he wasn't all there.
"Rel-…" About to say 'relax', Granate decided to give a more realistic suggestion. "you need to focus."
"I am focused," Garagus objected. "Tell me what to do and I'll do it."
"Are you able to fly the ship right now?"
Garagus said nothing as he stood up and marched out of the galley to take the helm.
"I haven't told you where to!" Granate called to him. "Garagus!"
Both teas in hand, he followed the Saiyan through to the bridge. Garagus was just about to reset the autopilot for a new destination when Granate sat in the co-seat. "The location is saved under Home."
"Hmm," Garagus paid little thought to it while he programmed it in, but once the ship engaged he'd heard the destination in his head enough to question it. "We're going to your world?" Garagus thought maybe he was just worried, that maybe Granate is thinking he could warn his people before it's too late.
"Not we," Granate said giving him a look. "You know how to fly the ship. Your only mission is getting yourselves safe. So, just leave me with my people and find a world Far from Freeza space to hide."
Garagus was at a loss for words. For years he'd worked under Granate, flying through space and learning the trade. But he wasn't certain he or Rhuba could run the ship on their own, more importantly, this would make him a deserter.
"Would Freeza go looking for you?"
"Doubt it," Granate said with an almost smug tone. "My last copilot went home too. Freeza doesn't look for 'lost' scouts. We're the most expendable part of his force"
Garagus was told the person he replaced last was missing in action. But Granate knew this whole time he'd just left.
"Garagus. I planned to get a replacement so I could sneak away and enjoy what's left of my life. You Saiyans were supposed to be primitive, rowdy, obnoxious," Granate looked over his shoulder as if Rhuba were standing there. "Why did I have to get stuck with you two. A pair of ass holes would have been easy to ditch. But there I went and made friends." He sounded like he was disappointed.
Garagus was stuck between very conflicting messages. "I… I can't captain this ship. Rhuba's no pilot."
"You'll have to do what I did when teaching you then."
"Can't you come with us? I don't even know where to go."
Granate made a face before gesturing to himself, specifically his appearance.
"I've got blue scales, and a head shaped like a fruit…" Or so people often inform him when they think they're clever. "And you've got…" He looked Garagus up and down, wondering where to even begin. "The random patches of hair on your heads and eyes, the tails… There is there's no planet I'm aware of where the three of us can comfortably coexist in with the locals. One or both of us are going to be freaks. You don't need that sort of attention. What you Need, is to get yourself and Rhuba to someplace safe. That's it. That's all you need to do now."
Garagus looked back towards his and Rhuba's room. Granate is giving him a ship to take her somewhere safe, all he has to do is remember everything he's been taught about running the ship, repairs, checking atmospheres, and of course, knowing where and how to find fuel.
The full tank of fuel they have can last years if they conserve and coast between directions, only it's going to be harder with just the two of them and the way Rhuba is it might just be him.
But for now…
"Destination set." Garagus turned the ship to face their new direction, then after enough thrust to lock their velocity, he shut off power to the engines.
Their speed will not drop, nor will their direction change while in space. The only issue is that the autopilot cannot take control while the engine is manually switched off, but it can warn the crew before arrival.
Sleeping through the alarm can mean 'landing' at light-speed, and not many are so enthusiastic about a destination that they're willing to arrive there in an atom vaporising crater.
It took a few days to arrive at Granate's homeworld. In that time it was just the men altering shifts of flying as Rhuba hadn't gotten out of bed once in that time. When it was time for Granate to leave, Garagus went beside Rhuba and sat her up by the shoulders to try and get her to drink something.
Rhuba's hand meekly took the cup and she had a few sips, same as ever.
"C'mon… All of it!" While Garagus held the cup to Rhuba's mouth, Granate watched with pity from the door.
He didn't like Garagus' harsh tone, but he knew it must be frustrating.
Rhuba was withering away in front of them, and the best Garagus could ever get from her was those few sips a day.
"what's the point?" Rhuba turned her head from the cup, causing some of the water to spill down her vest.
"Granate is leaving," Garagus looked up to see their captain standing out of uniform. "Say goodbye, Rhuba."
She looked over her shoulder to see Granate. The cold and empty look in her eyes was not how he wanted to remember the once energetic and sarky Saiyan, but at least she got up.
While she walked over to her captain, Granate tried to muster some condolences. "For what it's worth, I'm glad you two surv-"
Rhuba pushed the terminal to shut the door between them. Garagus was about to stand between her and the bed, and get her to say something to Granate. But he changed his mind, knowing that being rude to a friend wasn't her intention, she just didn't have the energy to be polite.
The whole, if you can't say something nice, approach.
"Granate is giving us the ship. We have a chance because of him."
"there's no point, Garagus…" Rhuba told him as she slumped onto the bed and ducked under the covers. "it's just us now."
Garagus wanted to tell her how he felt. That Cressin would have wanted her to be strong and keep going. That their whole race would want them to live on if for nothing else, to spite that bastard Freeza. But he left her with no words as he went to say his farewell to Granate.
"she's behaving so cowardly…" He muttered bitterly before standing at the airlock door.
The ramp was already leading toward the hash sandy terrain just out of view of the nearest town where Granate's family lived.
"Don't be hard on her," Granate told him. "You always told me Saiyans are meant to be strong, be battle-ready all the time."
"we are…" Garagus cursed under his breath. "But she's letting the memory of our people down."
"Indeed. In the few years your people spent traversing space under Cold and Freeza's rule, they gained quite the reputation throughout the galaxy," Granate reached out to take Garagus's arm. "But you're not cruel, or much anything like what you told me of your people"
Listening to this in silence was hurting his pride a little. He'd never harm Granate, but he could feel the hands of his family resting on his shoulder. Urging him to stand up for the Saiyans.
"If you were like the rest of your kind, you and Rhuba would most certainly have died."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You joined my crew knowing there wouldn't be much fighting involved. If you joined a team of Saiyans in those pods, you'd have gone home like the others." Granate looked out to the sunny dunes ahead of him. The heat entering the bridge was pouring sweat from Garagus, but he couldn't wait to feel the sand under his feet once more. "You and Rhuba are the Saiyans now. You can try to be what they were, or be who you are. It's your choice." He said with a smile before wishing them luck.
When Granate departed from his ship for the last time, the sound of the engines soon rang in his ears, and he watched the ship arc up overhead towards the blinding yellow sky.
He felt sad to also be losing two friends, but he stands by his belief that having them hide on his home would be impossible.
Neither of them can take the sun like he can and when Freeza's men found them, it would only be a matter of time before a team is sent to kill them.
What happens with the two Saiyans, is down to them now.