5 years after Orion joined the Cooler Force.
"You've got to be kidding me..." I hear Salza groan as he reads the report.
"Let me guess. Tato?" Cooler asked with an expression of pure annoyance.
"Tato..." Salza confirmed with the same level of exasperation. Neiz, Dore, and I, who were also listening to Salza's report, all sighed deeply. All of us were completely done with this planet. Even my patience, which I would like to think is higher than most, was beginning to finally run thin with these stubborn idiots. Let me explain. Tato was, originally, just some other planet we had conquered. Sure, it's not what I would call a fun time, but work is work, especially if the punishment for failure to do that work is death. It was the same as any other job: Cooler sent a few of his men, usually me and someone else and maybe a few minions depending on the difficulty of the mission, we would arrive, fight some dudes, they surrender, and I try to convince Cooler to keep the people alive due to them having some sort of use. That was the daily cycle I had found myself in. Tato wasn't supposed to be the exception to this. After the first week of being conquered, we suddenly get a report from our workers there that the people of Tato have somehow gotten weapons and supplies and are now rebelling again. Naturally, Cooler sent us to put a stop to that immediately, which we did with relative ease. After it was done, we confiscated their weapons and technology they used to fight back, and went back to normalcy. I had thought that was the end. Other planets had hidden weapons and supplies and tried to break free from Cooler or Frieza's grip, only to fail. Usually that's a one time thing. Tato was not a one time thing. The same thing happened again a few days later, and then again, and again, and again. It started to feel like a passtime, and everyone was starting to get sick of it.
Salza, Dore, and Neir had tried to kill all of the people rebelling multiple times, but I was lucky enough to somehow talk them out of it. If only the Tatoinians were the same. I have NEVER met an entire group of people so damn stubborn! It was like an entire race of Vegeta's, pride and everything! I have had the 'good fortune' of being a part of every group sent to quell the rebellion, and everytime I beg them to stop for their own safety, and everytime I get told to piss off. Maybe they will never listen to me, but I have to try. I won't let them die if I can help it. I've managed to convince Cooler to spare all of the people of the planets we've taken over thus far, and I'm not about to start failing now. But with each one of these insurgencies, Cooler gets more and more fed up, and for once I can completely understand where he's coming from. This is stupid and annoying for more than one reason. How do these people keep getting all their weapons and supplies even after we take everything they have and thoroughly search the entirety of their planet? And to make matters worse, the planet is mainly desert. The only reason Cooler decided to conquer the damn planet in the first place was because it had a large trading hub on it and had developed very useful technology to gather resources not easily found on desert planets. But we had the technology now, along with many other centralized trading hubs on other better planets. Cooler is at his limit, and I don't know when he'll snap. This problem needs to end now, or I'll have all of the Tatoinian's blood on my hands.
"Urg..." Cooler groaned while sliding his hand down his face. "Orion, Neiz, you know what to do."
"Yes, Lord Cooler." The two of them said as we immediately left to head to our favorite planet. This was going to be a long day.
"This has been surprisingly easy." I heard Neiz say as we began to pack up our equipment.
"Neiz, why the hell did you say that?" I asked with an angered look.
"What? It has, hasn't it? Usually, we have to fight a dozen troops before they surrender, and this planet has been giving us problems for months now." He replied. I sighed. This is exactly why I can't stand missions with just me and Neiz. We had completed the mission, as per usual, and we had collected all of the weapons and supplies they had gotten somehow. I, once again, for probably the 30th time now, tried to convince these people to PLEASE stop trying to rebel against a guy who could literally kill them all with just a glare or just by pointing his finger at them. Once again, I got the same response as before, but a lot more cruder this time around. How uncivilized...
I sigh as I finish loading the ship. It wasn't a hard mission, but just from what it was, I found myself mentally drained. I was tired, I was annoyed, and most of all, extremely hot and uncomfortable. God I hate desert planets. It was hot, dry, and there was sand EVERYWHERE. In my armor, shoes, the ship, everywhere! It would be fine with some other desert planets, since some have cities that have adapted to the environment and have technology to make living there more comfortable. This was not one of those. They lived in pure desert. No improvements, no comforts. I just wanted to go back to base and not return here.
I'm shaken out of my thoughts by Neiz, who had placed his hand on my shoulder and was giving me a wide smile. Neiz was actually the nicest member of the Force, which was a pleasant surprise. Sure he was rough at times and seemed to enjoy toying with the people we conquer, but he seems to care about the members of the force. He doesn't seem to be holding up appearances like other soldiers I've seen, which made it easy to talk with the reptile man.
"So what are your plans after we get back to the base?" Neiz asked me. "Training with Salza again?"
"Yeah. It's always good to get stronger while I can. My Sword of Mars skill could always be improved, and Cooler seems to encourage my training. Besides, it's sort of fun." I said.
"That's a Saiyan for ya." Neiz said with a chuckle.
"What about you?"
"I'm probably gonna get Dore to pay me back the credits he owes me."
"Oh yeah! Doesn't he owe you like 100 credits?"
"Yeah! He lost it fair and square when we made bets on who would die in our favorite tv game show, Wheel of Death! He still hasn't paid me back, so I'm gonna-" He was cut off by an explosion that rocked our ship. "What the hell!?"
"Oh no..." I groaned as I looked out the ship's window. "So I've got good news and bad news. What do you want to hear first?"
"Bad please."
"That rebellion we stopped is back and they have their hands on Frieza Force tech that they hide from us."
"So what's the good news?"
"Our ship is fine because their aim is worse than a stormtrooper's."
"A what?"
"I mean Appule's." I corrected it.
"Oh really? That's pretty good."
"Also, they're still no match for us, even with this tech."
"Should we kill them now? Please? We've spared them like a hundred times now! I know you hate killing, but this is ridiculous!"
"And I'd still rather not. I'd rather find out how they got their hands on Frieza Force tech before we do anything."
"Good point. We can kill them after that!"
"No disintegrations!" I told him.
"Grr...! Why does Cooler always leave you in charge when Salza isn't here?" I heard Neiz grumble. It was a strange thing. I was still relatively new compared to everyone else, but Cooler tends to put me in command when Salza isn't assigned with me. I don't really know why, I'm just an average Saiyan soldier after all.
"Don't complain. Let's hurry up and put a stop to this before Cooler gets fed up and blows up the planet and us with it." I said. Neiz nodded and we flew out of the ship, quickly putting an end to rebellion. Once we had disarmed and/or incapacitated them all, we finally took a breath of relief as we found the one who seemed to be the leader. I had seen him a couple of times, usually when I tried to get them to submit, but he would always start an argument. I think his name was Wan or something. I walked up to him and frowned. "Hey Wan." The cloaked young, purple skinned humanoid alien looked back and grimaced.
"Don't talk to me, scum!" He barked back. I groaned. Here we go...
"Look, just tell us where you got the weapons and we'll get off the planet. Of course, you all would still be under Cooler Force control, naturally." I told them as I always did. "If you don't comply I can't guarantee your safety in the future."
"We'll never be safe if people like Frieza and Cooler are ruling over us!"
"But if you prove yourselves useful, you'll survive."
"Never! You may have convinced other planets that slavery is ok, but we'll never submit!" I groan once again. This is getting old. I created my Sword of Mars and pointed it at him.
"Then perhaps I should end your life right here right now." I said in a dark tone.
"Y-You wouldn't...! You've never killed any of us, even while fighting us!"
"But I am a Saiyan. Do you really want to test to see if I'm bluffing?" I asked in a sweetly sick tone. He trembled before biting his lip in frustration and grabbed his beard in frustration.
"Fine. I'll tell you how we got the weapons."
"Good." I said as I let the Sword of Mars dissipate. Threatening and bluffing, my ace in the hole when civilized discussions don't work. While it's definitely not my preferred method of convincing someone to submit, being one of Cooler's men and a Saiyan on top of that do make intimidation easy, even if I'm just a big softy. Better me than someone like Neiz, who might actually kill them if they stupidly decline. Wan gave me the location of all their hidden weapons and supplies they had gotten from a spy inside the Frieza Force, who was Wan's brother, Obi. He had stolen the weapons and was helping supply the entire rebellion. Guess that explains why they've kept rebellion this entire time and how they kept getting the resources to build all their weapons. Though judging from how Wan was talking, it seemed like this was their last chance to win back their freedom. Obi was found out a week ago and without him, the rebellion was as good as dead. Neiz and I sighed a breath of relief upon hearing that. Thank Gami-Kai, this whole ordeal is over. After confiscating all of the stolen weapons and technology, Neiz and I finally leave the planet and head back to the base.
"Finally that's over with!" Neiz said as he stretched his arms with a grin. "To think there was a spy in the Frieza Force."
"It certainly explains how they kept getting the resources to keep fighting in such a short amount of time." I sighed as I took out a water bottle and drank half of it in a single chug. "This whole situation was so tiring."
"It would have been easier to just kill them all." Neiz pointed out.
"And waste their potential? You must admit that they were rather crafty. We could use people like them." I explained. It was true though. Those people could prove useful. With the rebellions finally over, and a use for them now present, their survival is guaranteed.
"Hey, isn't that Cooler's personal ship?" Neiz's comment broke me out of my train of thought. I look out the ship's windshield and see what is definitely Cooler's ship.
"What's the boss doing here?" I asked. I had a pit in my stomach now. He's not one to personally oversee a mission unless it was important. Or perhaps... My eyes widened at the thought. "Neiz, floor it! We can't be anywhere near the planet!"
"W-Wait! You don't mean-"
"Just do it!" I ordered. Neiz did as I said and picked up the pace. As we were flying away from the planet, I spotted something on top of Cooler's ship. I trembled when I saw it. It looked like a small sun that was growing larger with each second. Cooler's Atomic Supernova. Once the ball began as large as an actual star, it was sent hurtling towards the planet. Neiz's eyes and mine were wide as we witnessed the planet's destruction right in front of us. As the planet turned red with the lava that was spilling out of it's crust and the planet's surface began to collapse in on itself, we got a call. Neiz picked up and we saw Cooler appear on the holographic screen.
"I imagine you both have seen what has happened to that planet you were just on?" Cooler asked us.
"Wh-Why...? Why did you do that? The rebellions were over, they could have been a useful resource for us. So why...? Why did you kill them like that...?" I asked, my voice trembling.
"While those people did show a useful side, being more resourceful and tenacious than other races, not to mention cunning; however, those people would have never submitted to us. They were a hindrance and an active problem." Cooler explained. "They did serve one final purpose though: they were a good example for you and every other member of the Cooler Force and the other planets under my rule. While you have done well in working for me, and have been right on occasion about a race's usefulness to me, you fail to realize when a race isn't useful. This should make it crystal clear that any problems will be dealt with accordingly, whether by your hands, or mine. Keep. That. In. Mind." Cooler said in an emotionless, uncaring, tone as he ended the call, letting us continue to watch the destruction. I was left speechless and sickened at the sight that was much too familiar to me. It hit too close to home. Even Neiz, who was just talking about killing the rebels was left with a horrified expression. It was all too sudden. We were just on that planet. Talking to those people, but now all of those people are gone, along with their world.
"...Oh my god..." Surprisingly, those words came from Neiz and not me. "Do you get it now, Orion? This is why it's better to kill a few then try to save them all." Neiz then sighed as he got the ship ready to take off again. "This is why people should listen to you and work for Cooler, and not against him." I lack the words to argue as I numbly fall to my seat. My mind was still trying to process everything. An immense sense of guilt came over me. If only I had done better at trying to convince them. If only I had done better. Tried harder. Now these people are all dead, and their blood is on my hands.
For the next 2 decades that I worked for Cooler, I would witness countless atrocities like this performed by Cooler. I watched helplessly as entire cities, races, and even planets fell victim to Cooler and his cruelty. So many people were brutalized before Cooler gave them the graze of death. And all the while, I just watched it all happen. Sure, some of my time with the Cooler Force was enjoyable, like training with Salza and getting to know the other members, but the memories of the horrors I was forced to witness Cooler perform will always haunt me. I will never be free of the guilt. Of the countless bodies that haunt my dreams and bloody my hands that were powerless to prevent any of it. That day was when I was reminded of what Cooler really was. Despite being more understanding, or even more professional than Frieza,
He is still a monster
