Definition of Pride
By Moonraker One
Chapter Eight - Horrifying Precision
This was IT.
All the week or so of training and preparation came down to this one teeth-clenching finale. It was this battle that would be the deciding factor of Goku's tenure as king. If he came this far, only to fail, it would be curtains for him. On the opposite end of the scale, if this was in fact a wondrous victory for the newly-revived Saiyan empire, he would more than likely be the single best king of all time. His generals each had their orders, and even the individual soldiers knew what to do. Naturally, there would be soldiers who were gripers, and there were also soldiers who had no faith in Goku because he wasn't a Vegeta, but that wouldn't matter. Everyone was above such pathetic labels and concepts, even the former prince himself. Kelt had his troops stationed on the outer area of the Cardarian solar system, waiting for the right moment. For him, the right moment was the moment where the radar went down.
"Does everyone have an idea as to where they're supposed to be?" Kelt asked over his scouter. His troops were so sure of the fact that they were that they didn't need to respond him. He smiled as he sat in the leader's chair on the main deck of his warship. Each Saiyan warship contained enough room for at least a million soldiers, and his was full almost to capacity. Kelietya, his daughter and fellow general, was stationed on the southwestern side. She'd wait for her dad to give his signal so that she could destroy their secondary defenses. She'd quickly take care of the outlying defense guns and cannons stationed on various battle stations and moons surrounding Planet Cardaria. The reason she had to be out of there quickly is because they'd surely attract the attention of the Cardarian silver bullet: the Dark Moon. Bulma knew the inners and outers of the planet-shaped station, and even she was fearful of what it was fully capable of. Never before had a space station had such sheer destructive force.
It seemed like an eternity. Every twenty-four hours, the "C" Cardarian planet did a full radar sweep of the entire main solar system, and if Kelt even farted inside the system during the sweep, he'd have the full force of the remaining Cardarian troops on him before he could excuse himself. He'd have to wait the full twelve minutes that the sweep took. Waiting, as he could tell, was far better than the alternative; if their equipment could scan faster, they'd scan more frequently. Kelt, also was impressed; he'd have gone for the throat of the Cardarian military. Goku, on the other hand, went straight for the balls FIRST then the throat. It was impressive.
"NOW!" shouted Kelt into his scouter once it was reported that the scan had finished. Thank god he'd forgotten to press the button to send out the message, for just at that moment, a face appeared on his scouter. It was the face of an enemy, and Kelt could see in the background that he was being fired upon as he was fleeing.
"Wait!" screamed Colediac. "It isn't over! They're delaying it a few more seconds to throw you off!"
"Why should I trust you?" Kelt boomed. "You're the enemy."
Colediac smiled; this monkey wasn't as retarded as Cold made their species out to be. Or, even if he was, he certainly was skilled in the art of war. "You have no basis on which to trust me," replied Colediac. "It is your decision, however."
The lieutenant turned to Kelt. "He doesn't appear to be lying, sir," reassured the lieutenant. "Our more advanced scanners indicate that they haven't shut it off yet. They've only lowered the radiation so we who sense ki can't feel it."
"No," Kelt replied. "He's lying. I'll admit it's a hell of a show they're putting on."
"Sir!" protested the commissioned officer. "Our scanners indicate…"
"I KNOW what the scanners indicate!" Kelt boomed. "It's a lie! Send the message to proceed with the attack!"
It was one hell of a gutsy call, and even the Saiyan lie detector himself wasn't positive of his choice when he gave the call. He very well could have screwed it all up right there. However, as his warships passed through the enemy territory, he had made the right call after all. It impressed his subordinates that he should know that their scanners were misreporting it. His primary warship landed on one of four moons that provided power to the shield. Keeping the cloaking device at full, he relayed a secret message to all his troops with his scouter. He knew that precision here was crucial; he had to make sure all moon stations were destroyed simultaneously. If one was destroyed before another, it would give them away to the enemy.
"We are all facing the plants providing the energy, correct?" his subordinates all agreed to his statement. "I will count to three. When I reach three, fire full-powered main cannons at the tip of the plant. The resulting energy disruption will destroy the plant, and the shield on enemy home planet as well."
The subordinates piloting the other warships poised themselves, and waited for the final countdown.
"One," began Kelt, "two. May the Dai Kaioshin's mercy be with us, THREE!"
"Sir!" a commander said to King Cold. "Our defense shield has fallen!"
King Cold thrust his huge frame from his throne, and stared in utter confusion at the screen. "All four moon stations destroyed at once!?" he shrieked. "Monkeys! My cousin's son should have dealt with them!" He had no idea that his cousin's son was as hastily defeated as he was. It was also, to him, quite embarrassing; His cousin, the cocky, arrogant King Cold defeated with little or no effort from a Saiyan. The Saiyan was a SUPER Saiyan, but was a monkey none the less.
"I told you, you bastard," Colediac said, bursting into the chamber of war. "They'd be the downfall of us. You haven't even lasted as long as your cousin did." Cold was tired of this idiot who was constantly bickering with him; he blasted a neat hole in between Colediac's eyes.
Thank you, father, Kelietya thought as she prepared to launch her invasion. She smiled as she sat in her seat; what was about to happen was what she'd dreamed of for centuries. She had the privilege of living to see the fall of the evil Cardarian Empire. She pressed the button on her scouter.
"My men," she announced, "invade! Destroy all defense cannons and guns, making sure to be quick about it!"
Silently, invisibly, at least a dozen ships entered the enemy territory and dispersed, targeting a specific section of the system's defenses. The defense cannons were armed and firing, but could not target the much faster, incredibly well-cloaked Saiyan warships. Even the blasts that were connecting were doing damage that was comparatively minor. By contrast, the Saiyan troops were causing far more damage to the enemy's cannons. Sometimes, the defenses were easy to spot, visible on mini-stations and barren moons. Other times, the moons and stations were either guarded well or the moons forested. In such cases, the entire station or moon would be vaporized. In the entire five-minute destroying of the enemy defenses, only a single ship took severe damage. Even then, none had died, only gotten injured.
The terrible Cardarians had been crippled. Their defenses smashed. It was all conducted with horribly accurate and swift precision. One ship struck, and another would strike exactly after the other. Also, there was not a single missed shot. If this type of strategy could've been implemented before, Kelietya would have done it and had no need for Goku and his allies at all. Now, it was time for the terrible aspect of it; Saiyans would have to be put on the chopping block, fully at the mercy of the enemy, protected only by the swift enactment of fellow forces. Metano didn't like it, but Goku was the king, and his plan was a great one.
"Damn!" shouted Cold at his secondary officer. "We've got to enact the Dark Moon!"
His secondary officer smiled menacingly. "You mean we get to stick it to those pieces of crap?!"
Cold had an evil grin spread from ear to ear. "You bet!" he shouted. "Today, we reclaim ourselves! It seems history repeats itself."
Metano realized from reconnaissance that something unspeakable was about to happen. Apparently, the data intercepted by Bulma was only part of the data. Metano learned, from a reliable source, that the Cardarians had predicted the interception of that message. There was one horrible feature of the Dark Moon other than its planet-annihilating power. If it gathered enough power, it could more than easily go through hyperspace just like a smaller ship. His face reached a look of utter shock as he stood up. "By the order of Kaioshin!" he shrieked. "Officer! Open an emergency secure line to King Kakarot!"
The commissioned officer raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong!"
"Planet Saiya is at risk!"
Goku was eagerly watching the screen until a sudden message shot through the speakers.
"King Kakarot, sir!" Metano's urgent voice shouted. "The Dark Moon has the ability to enter hyperspace! Planet Saiya is at immediate risk!"
"Oh NO!" Goku shouted. Soldiers began freaking out.
Metano, who was watching in horror as the Dark Moon was activated. The gigantic, lumbering station suddenly vanished into the darkness of hyperspace. No wonder the war had gone on so smoothly; they had little chance of winning from the start. He ordered his subordinate to immediately head back to home system, but realized the evil station would still reach the home planet before them. For only the second time in the mighty Saiyan's life, he wiped tears from his eyes. He could sense doom coming.
Chakuri hugged her husband. "What'll we do!?" she screeched, losing her cool.
Goku stood up with a stone-faced angry look. "We give an example of Saiyan pride," he replied. "If you want to help, follow me." He then tore off running. It took him a few seconds, but he was already out of the complex and was out in the open area of the main courtyard.
"It's time," replied General Melunoluk, leader of the Cardarian Dark Moon battle station. "Today, Frieza's destructive force has been captured in a space station. We shall destroy the Planet Saiya and all of our foes once and for all!" The station positioned itself, and began the slow task of charging up. It would take a few minutes, but they had no time to launch a ship-wise counterattack. Such would take too long and do too little.
Goku flew up high in the Saiyan sky. He was up near the upper atmosphere, where he could see the evil space station. He thrust his arms high into the air. "My fellow Saiyans!" he shouted into his scouter. "I want all of you to give me your energy so that I may use it to destroy this evil space station! Only with your help can I do this!" He closed his eyes, and waited. At first, nothing happened. Then, as if a dam had been shattered, a flood of sheer power compressed itself into the form of a sphere. Goku was planning to use the Genki Dama. In a very short period of time, a gigantic ball formed over Goku's head. "To hell with you all!" he screamed in the direction of the enemy ship. "GENKI DAMA!" He launched the sphere with all his might.
"FIRE!" screamed Melunoluk. The Dark Moon's main cannon fired a massive, thin beam of energy. When the mighty ball reached it, the laser was being repelled; this made Goku happy. Then, to his dismay, the laser pushed it back rapidly.
"NOOO!" bellowed Goku, charging up a Kamehameha. "Ka…Me…Ha…Me…HA!"
He thrust forward his mighty wave, which actually helped push back the ball at the ship, but he realized it was too little. Unable to face defeat, he charged up to his apex—Super Saiyan Four—in the blink of an eye, and poured all his ki into his Kamehameha. He felt the life drain out of him, but it would be for a wonderful cause. If he indeed died here he'd die a hero.
"I refuse to accept THIS!" shouted Melunoluk, jamming his fist down. "Lieutenant, hyperspace us out of here!" The lieutenant hastily pulled back the lever, throwing the ship into hyperspace, exiting the system.
Goku smiled as he plummeted lifelessly to the ground; they left, but they took the spirit bomb with them.
On the other end of the hyperspace jump, Melunoluk was happy to see that he had evaded destruction. I've only been set back a little bit, thought the evil general. Once this station's back at full power, they can kiss their home planet goodbye! Then, as his grin had spread itself as far as it could across his face, he saw something on the screen. That ball of ki that had been sent their way they had taken with them.
"Soldier!" cried Melunoluk. "Get us out of here! Hyperspace! Immediately!"
The soldier rapidly tapped away at the keypad, but nothing was happening. The soldier didn't notice it, but there was a visible wet spot at the crotch of his pants.
"S…Sir!" he cried helplessly. "The controls aren't responding! Two hyperspace jumps and the energy supply's drained!"
A message suddenly shot through to Melunoluk's scouter. "Die…" uttered a weak and weary Goku. "…and make sure to take all your friends with you!"
"NOOO!" screamed Melunoluk, right before a gigantic explosion rocked the entire station. The soldier at the main panel looked at the damage report screen; the ball of energy had ripped the core straight out of the ship, and penetrated the opposite side of the station. With a vast chunk of the ship's structural integrity gone, soldiers in posts near the hole were being sucked out into outer space. Much to the dismay of everyone on the ship, it began lurching uncontrollably into the one place closest to it—Planet Cardaria.
"I want to see the enemy's defeat," Goku said as he was carried back to his palace. "Take me to the war room first. I want to watch my enemies get destroyed."
Chakuri, who was aiding him back to the palace, smiled. "I'll patch it through to your scouter," she reassured him. She then pressed the button on his scouter twice, then pressed her own scouter button once. "General," she said into it. "Get all troops out of the vicinity of the Cardarian solar system, but direct a live video feed into King Kakarot's scouter."
In his scouter, he saw the Cardarian planet fading into the distance as his forces rapidly draw back from the planet. What he could see, however, was that the station had crashed into the home planet, and was tearing up the planet's structural integrity. Inside he said a prayer for the innocent people that would die. Then, a few seconds after the planet disappeared from view altogether, a bright flash followed by a loud rumbling explosion lit up the entire mini-screen. Once back inside his palace, he received the word from one of his commissioned officers that the destruction to the enemy home system had been absolute; everything that was once the Cardarian system was nothing but vapor and memory. All battle planets, all defenses, all mobile troop stations; everything that had been was now not. At least, he thought, the civilians had been taken by an swift, painless death.
There was no doubt now.
At this stage, there was absolutely no doubt as to who was the superior race, and to who had won. The Saiyans had fought, putting absolutely everything on the line. For the longest time, they had everything only by when they could take it, even down to their very existence. Now, now that a war had been ended on a positive note, a giant Cardarian boot of oppression had been lifted. No, actually, it had been forcefully blown off, taking the entire foot and person with it. Kelietya was the most grateful. Once her ships landed safely on Planet Saiya, she got down on her knees and thanked the upper Kaioshins that Goku had been given to them.
"I love you, Kakarot," said Chakuri, pressing her lips tightly and passionately against his.
He wanted to reply, but was unable due to her forceful kiss. Standing there, Goku—or rather, Kakarot—realized that for years he'd never had a need for Saiyan pride. Now, much to his surprise, the one thing he never gave a second thought was what won the war for him and his people. This, he sensed, was the true definition of pride; caring for something so bad, that even if you don't want to, you risk yourself. Having a beautiful, age-proof wife didn't hurt either. Kelietya stood with folded arms, looking on the happy, married couple. As she watched the make-out session, she wiped a tear from her eyes.
Happily married for twenty or so years, she thought. When'll I get something like that?
She shook her head and walked away. Not two steps in the opposite direction, someone in a hurry smashed right into her, knocking them both on their rears. She looked up at the person, and he looked up at her. Looking into each other's eyes, they saw something they liked in the other person, and felt a strange desire. Could it be love at first sight? No, they both believed such a thing couldn't exist. Both shook their head; No way I'm attracted to this person, they both thought at the same time. It was one of those thoughts that you know is a lie. Instinctively, they both stood up. He asked for her name.
"Oh," she said. "I'm Kelietya."
"I think you're beautiful," he replied. "And by the way, my name's Trunks. You know, Vegeta's son?"
---The End (for now)---
That's it for this story.
Oh, and thanks goes to FanManga artist Robin of Locksley for that wonderful drawing. I wonder, what did you have in mind when drawing that? I understand Piccolo, standing tall and muscular (I'm not gay) after an intense battle, but here's the part that confuses me;
WHY DOES HE HAVE VIDEL'S HEAD ON HIS BODY!?!?
Oh well. If anyone has stranger drawings (I'm NOT EVEN going to comment about that eighteen-buu fusion picture by EvilKidBuuGoddess), please let me see them someday!
P.S. Please read and review my other story that I'm working on. It is called, "I'm Not Your Daughter". It is about Bulma, and she learns her father's not her father…