Dragonball Z
Alter Age
Saiyans in Space
(Meanwhile)
(Somewhere in deep space)
Orbiting one of the countless stars making up the Messier 82 galaxy, millions of lightyears away from the Milky Way, a large orange planet could be found drifting through the vacuum. Guarded by a single moon, as well as a dozen other planets caught in the same gravitational well of the system's sun, the planetoid known as Quaren was currently serving as the base of operations for a very unpleasant host.
Down on the main continent, far away from the oceans and situated in the center of a large winding river running down from the mountains, sat an enormous metropolis the likes of which could not be found on Earth. Surrounded by a twenty story high, steel wall encompassing the entire perimeter of the megacity, a forest of thousands of spires and towers could be seen jutting out of the city streets. And positioned along every landscape face side of each of these buildings and skyscrapers, pointed the barrels of hundreds upon hundreds of laser cannons of all shapes and sizes.
Mounted turrets, anti-aircraft guns, anti-tank guns, long-range cannons, missile launchers, and a vast array of other futuristic weapons powered by cables were currently pointed in every direction away from the city. It was almost like someone had taken the defense designs for the metropolis and decided to go full ham with it, while at the same time attempting to break the record of how many guns they could fill the entire town with.
And better yet, while the entire layout of the metropolitan area made it look like some sort of huge military base, it was in fact the capital city of the planet. The brains behind this fiendish design of course lay with the warlord, who had taken over the capital and, by extension, the entire planet with his forces.
Speaking of which, standing along the very wall over the western gate of Quaren's capital city- surrounded by hundreds of armed soldiers dressed in full white and grey battle armors- dressed in red, princely robes decorated with elegant, golden trim and badges, and sporting an officer's cap of a matching design, was the main man himself. The olive-skinned, scaly face of a reptilian humanoid with big red eyes- the left of which was a cybernetic implant- could be seen gazing over the fields in front of him with a big grin on his face.
The reason for this was simple. He was happy. Joyous even. So overwhelmed by the sheer ingenuity and majesty of his city's defensive systems that he was practically overflowing with pride. The fact that he was the one that masterminded almost every facet of its birth that you could say that the city itself was his child.
And since almost every single person within his capital's walls had willingly joined his cause with the promise of conquering the entire system with his newly constructed super weapon, you could say he was at the height of his power.
The warlord chuckled to himself as one of his officer's- a warrior in white and grey armor with golden marking signifying him as a Colonel- scanned the surrounding desert landscape with his binoculars. "Magnificent, isn't it?!"
"Is what, sir?" the officer asked as he continued his reconnaissance.
"This! All of it!" the tall warlord exclaimed, at the same time throwing his arms out grandly- gesturing to both the city and the planet. "To think that we would have the entire world and system under our heel in such a short amount of time?! Now that the entire population has been enlisted into our cause, we can finally start making moves on the Planet Trade Organization's territories! The illustrious Cold Family Empire!"
Hearing this, the Colonel behind the full, face-visor styled helmet murmured in a half-interested manner. "I'm sure the men and women can't wait, sir."
"They'll see! They'll all see! Exactly how far a man's ambition and ingenuity can take his people!" the warlord exclaimed, lowering his arms and folding them under the red cape draping over his body. "With the anti-planetary cannon in our hands, we'll be able to traverse the entire cosmos, taking over planet after planet! Unchecked! Unopposed! And we'll do it all from here- right from our citadel of power! Our capital! The jewel of my new kingdom!"
"I'm positively brimming with anticipation, sir," the Colonel answered, practically half-listening to his leader's excited ramblings and exclamations of conquest.
"No one will be able to stop us. No one. Not even Frieza and his family." It was then a wide grin of excitement stretched over the warlord's lips as his cybernetic eye glinted brightly. "I wonder how many of his men the little tyrant will send to try and stop us. We've got so much firepower these walls are laser shielded. He can't take this capital… not in a million years." The mad leader then reached up and scratched his chin. "He'll probably send… uhh… fifty elite soldiers. The emperor will need at least that many. Or maybe even a hundred elite warriors- led by the Ginyu Force themselves! He'll never be able to take this fortress with less! Frieza will probably have to come down here with his whole damn army to bring us down himself! Hahaha!" The thought made the warlord cackle- a sense of total power and invincibility overtaking his mind.
From where he stood, he had every reason to believe that his army and his fortress were unbreakable.
That was until the Colonel beside him spoke up.
"I have a visual," the armored officer spoke.
Almost immediately the cyborg warlord's expression changed from cocky to alarm. "Frieza's Army?!"
"I think so," the Colonel answered.
"How many?! A THOUSAND?!"
"No."
The warlord glanced across at his subordinate quizzically. "Eighty?"
"No, sir."
The man's expression squinted, "What… fifty?"
"Less."
"… Forty? Come on, how many?!" the warlord asked while throwing his arms out exasperatedly.
The Colonel paused for a moment while still staring through his electronic binoculars. "One."
"WHAT?!" the warlord exclaimed in disbelief, before reaching over and grabbing the viewing piece off of his soldier. "Give me those!" He then slapped them over his eyes and peered through them, his gaze zooming in on the desert in front of him in an effort to locate the 'one' lone soldier that his officer had managed to spy through the clouds of dust billowing across the wasteland.
When the scopes on his device managed to locate the single lifeform registering on the scanner, the warlord was able to enhance his view of the individual's location and hone in on him. Upon tracking him to a small hill elevated in the middle of the ocean of earth, the ruler of the planet and the solar system saw a lone, adult male with blue skin, blonde hair, wearing purple spandex and white chest armor with a single accented shoulder, standing out in the open. The sight of the person staring back at him from his spot caused the warlord to lower the binoculars and cock an eyebrow in confusion- having no idea who it was or what he was looking at.
Having made his presence known, Salza- his left hand held up and pressing the scanning button of his scouter- was just in the process of doing a complete scan of the metropolis in front of him. Upon seeing the numbers being calculated on his screen stop, giving him an accurate readout of the force currently huddled up behind the wall, the Captain of the squad chuckled in amusement.
"How nice of all of them to gather in one location. Makes this job so much easier," Salza remarked cheerfully, his scouter getting a layout of all the weapons visible on the spires turning and pointing in his direction. Upon hearing all the metallic buildings click and clank as the cannons were locked and loaded, the completely calm commander then pressed the button on his scouter again, deactivated the scanner, and then turned his gaze skywards. At that moment, a new number appeared- this time in a set of three. "Alright, Neiz. Coordinates have been locked and targets marked. Bring the rain."
"Yes, sir," the man's amphibian teammate squawked back over the comm.
Almost a second after is squad mate's response, there was a loud thunderclap overhead, which almost instantly drew the warlord and his entire forces' attention skywards. When their eyes turned to the clouds drifting above them, they saw a shockwave fill the sky before a sleek, white space vessel in the shape of a leaf blade with viewing ports along its hull jumped out of hyperspace directly above the city.
Safe inside the cover of clouds, the large corvette then slowed its flight to a crawl, allowing its third hangar door beneath its body to slide open. The moment the bay was exposed, four small figures suddenly dropped out and began plummeting towards the city. The moment the group HALO jumped from the ship's undercarriage, their craft then fired up its engines and flew on- leaving the airspace and allowing the cargo it'd released to continue plummeting towards the fortress.
As the four jumpers dove through the layer of clouds, the group spaced out their formation- revealing themselves to be none other than Neiz, Dore, Myra, and Gohan- all suited up with scouters locked onto their target below. After falling for several stories and reaching a suitable height, the group then threw their arms and legs out, gave a quick burst of ki, and stopped themselves mid fall.
Able to see every single structure and landmark clearly from their altitude, the group then righted themselves, cocked their hands back, and charged.
Myra then grinned when she marked out all of her targets. "Okay, boys! Let them have it!"
The moment she gave the order, all four airborne members of Cooler's Armored Squadron unleashed hell- unleashing a rain of energy blasts down upon the city. In a matter of seconds the entire sky above the metropolis became filled with brilliant streaks of hot, golden light, as the four members of the elite attack squadron began rapid fire destroying and leveling every single major structure and complex in sight.
Explosions and fireballs quickly began erupting all around the fortress capital, as one after the other entire blocks, bunkers and superstructures were battered by the barrage of attacks and sent cascading to the ground in a shower of molten metal and rubble. Though the barrage seemed completely random from the perspective of Salza on the ground, the group's attacks were all targeted and accurate. First the blasts took out the anti-air defenses. Then they started working on the ground forces, taking down each tower and spire with surgical precision.
The enormous army of hundreds of thousands of troopers scattered throughout the megacity all began ducking for cover, their screams of terror being drowned out by the deafening rumbling of explosions and the unending rain of energy lasts cascading down on them from the clouds. Though the forces attempted to aim all of their cannons and weapons on the four warriors hovering in the sky, the members of the squadron simply took them out, incinerating every single one of their weapons with pinpoint accurate attacks.
As the entire city was engulfed in an inferno and all of their major batteries were taken out, Neiz, Dore, Myra and Gohan continued firing- softening up their target as much as they could. Once they were sure that every major turret and emplacement had been wiped out, the four of them stopped, allowing the last of the explosions to ring out and the flames caused by the collapsed and decimated buildings to belch into the air.
Seeing smoke starting to billow up from the center of the city, the four floating fighters smirked down at their handiwork, with Gohan looking especially jazzed up at being able to join in on such a sporadic bombing attack.
Dore chuckled at that sight of the partially leveled city and the fires he could see raging below. "Attention to detail. That's why we're the best. Am I right?" the man asked while glancing across at his compatriots.
"You said it." With the ground mostly cleared, Neiz then turned to his companions and grinned broadly. "Alright. You all know the objective. Find the main weapon under the city, destroy it… but don't damage the countryside outside of those walls. Let's clean up this mess." His eyes then focused in on Gohan, who he saw glance in his direction. "Kid, you take point."
The raven haired youngster smiled and nodded. "Yes, sir." Powering up so that his white aura sprang around him, the child then shot down towards the ground, closely followed by Myra and Dore, and then Neiz.
When he saw his companions begin diving towards the city from a distance, the patiently observing Salza smirked before, with a quick power up as well, shot up into the sky and towards the burning community. Quickly falling into their formation as the group descended through the clouds of smoke and embers, the group then splashed down in the town square. Performing textbook super hero landings, the five of them landed in a defensive circle with their backs turned to one another. Once they'd touched down, they then stood up, where they soon found themselves confronted by a legion of soldiers- who had managed to pick themselves up and survive the barrage that heralded the group's landing.
As the enemy soldiers quickly formed up and trained blasters on the squad of five soldiers, one of the captains at the front- his armor cracked and charred in places- shouted across at them. "Who… who the hell are you guys?!"
Realizing that they were being addressed, Salza grinned at the soldiers standing around him- all the while the rest of his team remained perfectly defensive and ready for action. "We're the instruments of justice- here to cleanse this world of the virus that has taken over and corrupted its people." The moment he said this, the captain and the rest of his squad then struck the same three poses in sequence. The first a one-legged stand with a knee and arm raised and one arm over the chest. The second a sideways lunge with both arms pointed to their right. And lastly the exact same fighting pose, with one fist held back at temple level and the other extended in front of them- their fingers curled into claws. "Surrender now, villains!" Salza shouted, while then straightening both hands into chopping positions. "For we are here!"
"The best of the best!" Dore shouted while jumping on the spot and assuming a grappling stance.
"The enforcers of righteousness!" Myra shouted, while stepping into a sideways stance with her hands extended in a graceful, tai chi like fighting pose.
"The protectors of truth!" Neiz followed up while swapping from orthodox to southpaw and tucking both hands at his sides in a heartbeat.
"The guardians of all that is good!" Gohan finished, curling one hand in front while sliding a foot out and drawing back his right hand into a stance reminiscent of his father's Nanlongquan (Southern Dragon Fist). "We are-"
"Cooler's Armored Squadron!" the entire group chanted at once, imagining epic music swelling in the background as one of the burning buildings nearby suddenly exploded and sent a shower of rubble and fire cascading all around them. It was a heroic moment that would've only ever been seen in cinema, in which the entire group stood back to back, locked in their trademark fighting poses, and facing down the barrels of a hundred enemy guns.
It was glorious. But most importantly to Salza and his crew- it looked cool.
While the soldiers at first looked completely and utterly stunned by the impromptu dance choreography the group unexpectedly performed, after seeing the embers of the burning buildings finish falling around them, the wounded captain with the white rifle raised his weapon and shouted.
"KILL THEM!" the man bellowed, before he and the rest of his troops opened fire.
Undeterred by the barrage of laser bolts shooting towards them, the five members of the Armored Squadron grinned before, with a resounding shockwave and a blast of wind, they rocketed forward. Dodging or deflecting the initial wave of blaster fire, the group tore into the platoons of soldiers surrounding them and began beating them down in droves.
More explosions and thunderclaps started echoing around the city, as in five separate directions the team of elite warriors began cutting through all the enemy troops lying in their path.
Salza cut through swaths of soldiers with the energy blades on his arms.
Neiz bounced between dozens of men and women at once at blitzing speed- taking them out in an instant.
Dore smashed his way through walls and still-standing defensive platforms with barely any effort, at the same time dropping enemies to the ground one after the other without slowing down.
Myra danced between squads of men, wiping them out with strikes from a red energy whip that she conjured out of the air.
And Gohan, in typical, eager Saiyan fashion, barreled through rivers of troops at a furious pace, grinning and growling all the while. He hammered, punched, kicked, kneed, and smashed his way through every turret and soldier that stood in his way, all of whom were determined to gun him down and put an end to his life. However, as he deflected and dodged every single shot fired his way, the excited, fast-moving child fought on, completely enthralled at the various obstacles and challenges surrounding him.
This was the kind of fighting he'd been waiting for. This was the kind of conflict he'd been dreaming about.
The action. The destruction. The rush. It was all so much fun!
In that moment, as he punched down a big, beefy soldier in armor and blasted a sniper hiding in a nearby building immediately afterwards, Gohan knew right then and there that this was where he belonged! This was what he was born to do!
And he couldn't have been any happier!
With his teammates Myra and Dore also coming over to join him and help fight off a new wave of troops that came pouring out onto the streets from several hidden bunkers, Gohan knew he'd found his calling. And he kept at it until the remaining army defending the city surrendered and their warlord of a leader was brought down, all within the span of an hour.
(Over the next few months)
That very first mission where he and his team brought down the fortified capital city on the planetoid Quaren, marked the first of many more expeditions and assignments Gohan would eventually go on as a member of Cooler's Armored Squadron. What's more, not only were the next dozen jobs even more exciting and eventful than the first one, but as time went on the boy not only grew smarter and stronger, but also became more and more informed of the wider universe around him.
It was like the parts of his life that he'd been previously missing- those feelings of emptiness and a need to explore, to grow and to learn- was being filled by this new life that he'd adopted. You could say that he'd been enlisted into it against his own free will. But the truth of the matter was that Gohan had wanted to become a part of it, because he was curious to see what else the wider world and the space around him had to offer.
He just hadn't been able to put these subconscious thoughts into words. Now he could.
Following their conquest of the planet Quaren, in which Gohan and his team were able to vanquish the warlord Gunnird and destroy the planet-busting superweapon he had hidden beneath his citadel, the group immediately contacted Emperor Cooler about the success of their mission. Upon informing their leader of their accomplishment, the man congratulated all of them for a job well done, particularly the young half-Saiyan, who had been the one to locate the super weapon beneath the city's main spire, confirm its location, and destroy it- with the assistance of Myra and Salza of course.
Learning about the boy's stellar success during that job was more than enough for the leader of the Cooler Force to give the team the green light to go for the next job. And from then on, the workload for the members of Cooler's Armored Squadron quadrupled overnight.
In the months that came and went, the elite group set out on various planet scouting expeditions and battle assignments.
In the outer rims of the galaxies they explored, the group discovered whole new worlds and planets that could be sold on the planetary trade market, and immediately staked their claims over each and every one they encountered. They destroyed barren moons, space debris, and celestial bodies that were threatening to damage other habitable planetoids inside of the systems they were orbiting. And furthermore, aside from visiting existing and old worlds, they also inspected new planetoids that were just being formed around new, young stars. These little adventures to what would otherwise be known as frontier spaces proved to be the most peaceful excursions the group had on their list, which allowed the team plenty of downtime to rest between their more hectic, action-filled assignments.
The squadron was also dispatched by their emperor on political missions to already occupied worlds within the ruler's territory, where the squad went either in pairs or as a unit to inquire about the resources and supplies that the populations under their emperor's banner were producing for the Cooler Force. As an added instruction, the group also visited these worlds with the intent of collecting reports on the condition of the world for their emperor, as well as the status of the communities dwelling on each one. For a majority of the sovereign systems they inspected, the governments and vassals presiding over them passed with flying colors.
Then there were the conflicts the squad needed to quell.
Like in any other well-designed machine, there were cogs that needed replacing, fixing, turning, or removal. Hindsight of course was twenty-twenty, and the elite fighters of Cooler's Armored Squadron received the jobs of handling these cogs in spades.
Pirates raided their emperor's borders.
Mercenaries attacked villages and cities.
Rebels built strongholds on the edges of multiple systems, which they would then use as bases of operation to attack cargo shipments and communities under the PTO's control.
And dangerous, semi-sentient monsters of unknown origins and species would suddenly appear and ravage various settlements- terrifying the inhabitants.
Salza and his team were frequently sent to all of the places suffering from these problems in order to protect the civilians and stop the rogue groups from attacking their planets. The battles that they waged ranged from small to major- where the squad executed interceptions in space, aerial battles within the atmosphere above planets and small moons, or full-on ground assaults, where they took their fights directly to the enemy. In the six months they spent participating in these many tours, there were very few times where the group needed to sneak in or slip through anywhere. But whenever the situation did call for stealth, it was usually the most experienced crew members that were sent in first.
Gohan would tag along on a couple of these outings to observe how they were done. After getting a good feel for them and seeing how these stealth-based jobs were executed, he was then sent on several scouting assignments of his own, which he was able to complete well and within his own terms.
For the team, there was plenty of action to be had and there was plenty of adventures to be shared. From planetoids, to space stations, to uncharted nebulas, there was just so much to see and do around the cosmos. And it wasn't just limited to the worlds scattered across all of space either.
(Three months after Quaren)
In the time that Gohan had spent wandering the Comet- their group's newly established headquarters and mobile home- and hanging out with the elite team of soldiers he'd come to view as his teachers and friends, the demi-Saiyan was able to learn a great deal about both them and the new space they were living in.
While the ship appeared big and impressive from the outside, all of the modifications and design elements on the surface didn't even come close to revealing the rooms and facilities that were held within.
The bridge itself was the busiest location on the vessel- not only containing the largest window for the captain and crew to see out of, but towards the back and away from the main viewing deck, there sat a large, circular, hologram table where the members of Cooler's elite squad would frequently gather around, view transmissions from their emperor, and go over the information of their next missions.
Every time there was a job, the team would assemble here and review it. This made this room the most important and used area of the Comet.
Then there were the others. Along the main hallway that looped around the entire craft, which provided access to every part of the brand new ship, there were dozens of rooms and chambers that served different functions. The biggest one was the hangar. Not only did it have two main doors on the left and right side of the vessel, which could allow smaller ships and supply carriers to dock within the Comet, it also had a third door below, which could open and allow the members of Cooler's squadron to drop in on an enemy's territory whenever the captain- Shira- steered the corvette over a target zone. The hangar also featured a holding rack for multiple Attack Balls and escape pods, which the squadron could use either for emergencies or to go on individual scouting missions away from the ship. This meant that the vessel could be left alone in one location while the team could widen their search patterns to certain areas of space.
Beyond the hangar, the engine rooms and the supply rooms, the ship also had a mess hall- where the squad and ship's staff would go to eat- a medical room containing two healing pods, a bar for rest and recreation, and bunk rooms reserved for each active member of the team, including several extra ones for passengers. These extra additions and allowances meant that the squad of powerful warriors didn't need to have shared spaces, and could finally sleep in their own chambers with their own personal possessions on display, which they'd managed to collect from every world they'd visited.
Gohan had surprisingly amassed quite the collection of stuff and put it on display in his chambers, including small computers, trinkets, and interesting souvenirs and prizes he was able to find on the planets they stopped at.
There was also the washroom facilities and, towards the front of the ship behind another supply room, there was also a small training room. It was in this place the members of the squad could work out and get some extra training in, which the hybrid frequented quite a lot with Myra to build up on his skills and techniques. It was a pretty convenient little setup to have and allowed for the elite squad members to relax and burn off some stress during moments of levity.
On this particular day though, Gohan had decided to hang out with Myra in the bar. Sitting by the main viewing port that stared out into space, the pair sat across from one another at a small table- with the demi-Saiyan sitting cross-legged and the Hera leaning forward in a more normal position. Both of them had their armors removed and were only wearing their spandex uniforms, meaning that while the boy appeared more normally dressed, the blue-skinned beauty looked as though she was going to the gym- due to the fact she had a tight tank top and bloomers.
The game that they were currently playing though didn't involve any physical moving on their parts. It was actually a little board game that the adolescent had bought on one of the sovereign worlds they'd visited. From what Gohan was able to make of it, the game was very much like Othello. However, it had a very alien name to it that differentiated it from the one that originated from Earth.
Since it played practically the same way, the boy was able to pick it up almost instantaneously. This was made apparent after the boy flipped over the last black disk, leaving the entire board covered in white pieces- ending with him as the dominant winner. Once he was certain all of them had been turned over, the child beamed back up at his Hera opponent, who he could see was staring down at the board with a rather disbelieving look on her pretty face.
"I win again," Gohan chuckled, at the same time holding out his hand, turning it over and wagging his fingers. "Pay up."
Myra blinked as she stared at the battlefield incredulously. "Five minutes… holy shit." She then looked up at the child and gave him an amused grin. "What are you? Some kind of strategy monster?"
The child chuckled at that comment while sticking his tongue out playfully. "Well… the last group of pirates we came across threw a few similar comments my way while I was beating them up, but I didn't really care much for them."
The teenage girl chuckled at the same time. "I'll bet." The Hera then raised her hands and grinned coyly at the boy. "Since you totally cleaned me out, do you think I could pay you back some other way?"
Scrunching his face up thoughtfully for a moment, the cheeky hybrid smiled. "How about another round of sparring in the gravity chamber later?"
Expecting this much from her Saiyan teammate and friend, Myra grinned. "We'll see."
At around this time, as the pair were about to relax over their sixth game of the day, the squadron leader Salza suddenly wandered over to their seats. Having previously been enjoying a drink at the bar and flirting with the one girl crew member on the other side in a manner that involved talking only about himself and how great he was, the captain then peered over Myra's shoulder to see what she and Gohan were up to.
When he noticed the game, the blond smiled. "Ah. Keback. A game involving strategy, tactics, and observation. I haven't played this one in a while." He then smirked and looked away. "Mostly because everyone I ever went up against back on the ship ended up losing and there was no one else left who could challenge me."
"Really?" Gohan asked, at the same time gazing up at the captain in amazement. Seeing the man nod caused the child to blink. "Wow. Did you ever play against Cooler-sama? I mean… does he usually play these kinds of games… or is he too busy with his planet-selling stuff?"
"Oh… I played against the young lord a couple of times," Salza replied, before then grinning back at the young man. "The last time he called me in for a game of Keback, I ended up edging him out by one game. I'm probably the only person who has ever won against the young emperor at anything… though it's not really something I should go bragging about." He then sniffed at the end while sticking his nose up in the air.
While Myra shook her head at the man's cocky expression, Gohan simply smiled up at him. "That must make you the best player in the entire galaxy then."
"Well… it's true I don't lose very often. I am, of course, a genius and a prodigy, with a sharp eye and an even sharper intellect," Salza responded, while also looking down at the boy proudly.
Upon staring up at her captain for a moment and then glancing between him and Gohan a couple of times, Myra's thoughtful expression then became one of mischief as she slowly stood up out of her chair. "Hey. Salza. How about you have a couple of rounds against the little man?"
The blond warrior blinked in surprise and pointed at himself with his hand, "Me?"
"Yeah. Gohan-kun has been taking me to town all afternoon with no signs of slowing down. I figured that since he's been doing so well against me, a new opponent with actual Keback experience and a keen mind for tactics could probably show him a few tricks," the orange-haired tomboy said, stepping aside and clapping her superior in the shoulder. "You are the best, after all."
Feeling his pride stroked by his companion's coaxing, the blue-skinned Brench smirked back at the woman, took a swig from his red drink, before then sliding into the seat that the adolescent had been using. "Very well. Since you put it like that." He then clapped his hand against his leg and smirked across at Gohan, whose expression he saw transform into one of glee. "I'll be your next opponent."
Practically bouncing in his seat, the grinning child with messy black hair and bright eyes nodded. "Okay!"
"You can do it, captain!" Myra chuckled, slapping her hands atop Salza's shoulders while standing directly behind him. The grin she had was very catlike as she watched Gohan pick up the board and pour all of the pieces off of it to the side. "Show this young upstart what you can do! Don't hold anything back!"
"Please," Salza scoffed while watching the boy across from his fix up the pile after setting the board down. "I won't even have to use a fraction of my brain power to outwit this little rascal." He then nodded to the child. "What color do you want?"
Gohan smiled. "I'll be white again."
"Very well," Salza replied, before reaching over and grabbing a disk. "Let us begin."
OOO
(Ten minutes later)
Gohan smiled down at the board proudly as he saw all sixty four white disks looking back at him. When he glanced up at where Salza was sitting, not only did he see a completely deadpanned expression on his face as he glared down at the board, but the boy also saw Myra standing directly behind the captain and trying to hold in fits of laughter.
Upon allowing his victory over the leader to sink in, the four-year-old youngster sitting cross-legged on the chair hopped up and down excitedly. "So, so? Want to play again, sir?"
Salza, eye twitching as he eyed the board, then glanced back up at Gohan and sneered. "Alright, monkey boy. You're on!" He then wordlessly picked up the board and dumped all of the pieces off with a loud clatter, which only caused Gohan to grin and Myra to almost fall over while holding back laughter.
While the captain begrudgingly challenged the remarkably smart and quick-witted child to another round of Keback, across the bar and over at another table- one that was completely different in design from the stools and desks set up around the rest of the room- another two members of the crew were engaged in their own game of wits. The players turned out to be Dore and the ship's gorgeous pilot Shira. While the former had removed his helmet and was sporting a tasteful black wife beater top, the female officer with orange skin and long, red hair was still dressed in her black one piece uniform and custom RIT armor with half-cut, accented shoulder pads.
The two of them were scratching their heads over a game that was completely different from the board that Salza and Gohan were fussing over. This one was being played over a black and white checkered, circular board, in which a collection of hologram aliens of different species were facing off against one another across the empty battlefield. With the fantastical characters on the board glaring daggers across at one another and wielding all sorts of unusual weapons, both Dore and Shira were taking a moment to think about their next move.
Well… more like Shira was waiting for her opponent to take his turn, as the female lieutenant currently had her foe on the back foot.
"You okay?" the redhead asked with a cheeky grin.
The green Beppa-seijin inhaled sharply while rubbing his bottom jaw with his hand. "I'm fine," he answered shortly. After a few seconds, he then reached forward and prepared to press one of the buttons on the side of the circular, alien chessboard.
Shira, seeing where his hand was going, nodded. "Yes. Do it. You want to make that move. You want to make that move," she repeated, gently encouraging the elite warrior to press the button needed to get his piece into action. A few seconds of waiting later, she saw the warrior engage the switch, which caused the blue Frieza-look-a-like on the board to float forward and land in the center square. "You made that move. Okay." She then reached down and pressed a button on her side, which caused the large, golden Oozaru creature on her end of the board to stomp forward to the same center square, grab Dore's Frieza avatar, and pick it up. "I guess I'll just have to destroy that little guy."
Jaw dropping, Dore then watched in complete dismay as the big, golden monkey shook the tiny Frieza like a ragdoll a couple of times, before then brutally slamming him into the ground, killing him. The squeals and sound effects generated from the board's speakers made the kill seem all too real, with Shira watching with incredible satisfaction as her piece managed to secure the middle ground.
"Heh. Somehow I never get bored of winning," she said, at the same time seeing her Oozaru bang its chest in a very primal manner.
"RAGH! DAMN IT!" Dore cursed, swinging his arm across at the hologram pieces and striking the electronic board. When his arm skidded over the platform and caused the machine to rattle and spark, the alien saw all the characters shimmer yet remain perfectly in place, which caused him to recoil in alarm.
The pilot Shira shook her head in amusement at the man's reaction. "Dude. You can't wipe them off. They're holograms."
Apparently Salza wasn't the only one being taken to school that afternoon.
Spending time on the Comet, interacting with his teammates, taking to them, and observing them, allowed Gohan to find out more about them, their histories, and their respective characters. He also got to find out more about the other soldiers tagging along with them too, including the main engineer and the pilot, Shira- who the boy also took a strong liking to due to her personality, intelligence and knowledge of the wider galaxies.
More importantly of course, the time he spent with his squad mates on mission and during their free time allowed the boy to not only develop a greater understanding of their individual personalities and interests, but also their physical capabilities and talents.
Though the four members of Cooler's Armored Squadron were clearly weaker than their leader- Emperor Cooler- Salza and his crew were still by far and away the strongest and most versatile soldiers on the force. And while each of them were strong individually and more than capable of fighting on their own, they were undoubtedly at their most powerful when they were working as a team. As a group they were able to cover the individual weaknesses of the other members and allow their respective strengths to become more prominent.
You could argue that this was true in the case of any group of people. But it was especially true in the case of Cooler's Armored Squadron. They all fought at different distances with different ranges of power- despite the fact they could all synchronize their movements really well- used unique approaches to combat, and were each proficient in some sort of distinctive energy manipulation.
Dore was a man built like a tank, who possessed a great deal of striking and grappling power, and liked to get up-close and personal with his opponents. Specializing in takedowns, clinching, and throwing techniques- the man could generate concussive shockwaves by merely stomping his feet, level entire areas of land with a basic body slam, and kill a person with a single toss. Based on what Gohan was able to learn from him, the Beppa-seijin was a big, beefy meathead who adored wrestling and working out- as demonstrated by his skills on the battlefield and sessions in the training room. Despite all of that however, the warrior's energetic, tough-guy attitude and delinquent personality was something that the demi-Saiyan quickly grew to admire and enjoy, and he was able to have a lot of fun training with the alien.
What was interesting though was, despite being physically the toughest member in the squad, Dore was still the weakest- and based on how the others teased him on a regular basis, it was by a pretty noticeable margin too.
Neiz was a short to medium-range fighter, specializing in speed, dodging, and swarming attacks over guard breaking and brute strength. In terms of combat capabilities, he was the complete opposite of Dore. Aside from being the quickest member of the team, he also possessed the most unorthodox style of fighting Gohan could remember ever encountering. The amphibian could distort his body to avoid different types of attacks- including retracting his head, arms and legs- showcasing a very flexible bone and organ structure. He also had a ridiculous amount of reach with his punches and kicks due to his height, and could even conjoint his limbs to slip punches through a person's guard. He was also the proprietor of the flashiest attacks in the entire group, as the Zalt-seijin could effortlessly change the element of his energy from neutral to electrical- allowing him to stun lock multiple enemies at once or decimate entire landscapes with a shower of lightning. By utilizing the element in conjunction with his own body, he could also increase his already insane speed, allowing him to whiz about the battlefield and prevent any attacks from making contact with him.
This was something Gohan found out for himself the hard way during his sparring matches with the amphibian… an experience that he quickly learned to adapt from.
Due to being the most normal acting member of the group, the hybrid was able to get along with Neiz really well. All appearances to the contrary, the amphibian was a very decent and pleasant person to speak with, and he was able to find out about the guy's family, and that he was in fact one of the strongest people to come from his race. While Dore's attitude could be somewhat insufferable for the others, the Zalt-seijin seemed to help balance it out, same as with their sole female team member.
Speaking of which, while being the only girl on the group, Myra was something else altogether. She was a smart, mid to long-range warrior, who had a very graceful fighting style emphasizing counter attacking and pressure point striking in place of raw power and aggression- though she could still hit quite hard whenever the situation called for it. To coincide with her elegant form of combat, she was also incredibly observant and clever. She could practically dissect any attack and technique she saw in a matter of minutes, and as soon as she figured out how things worked, she would then do everything she could to efficiently exploit their weaknesses. This showed that she was a very tactical and technical minded fighter. Like her teammates, she could manipulate her energy in a very unique way by altering the compound and chemical structure of her ki. This allowed her to form various shapes and weapons out of it, including lances, whips, ropes, and a translucent bubble field that could stop an enemy's or an attack's movements in their tracks.
She was also the calmest and most soothing presence on the team, despite being a real tomboy out in public. Gohan loved hanging out with her the most, as she gave him a lot of encouragement for his development, chatted with him day and night, and provided various stimulating activities to do in his off time. The Hera was also a great source of wisdom, providing the demi-Saiyan with all the information he needed to function and survive in the Cooler Force. Hell, she'd even stepped up to defend him multiple times from big alien soldiers that wanted to pick on him back on the ship.
Those brutes quickly learned not to mess with him, as not only was Gohan stronger than them, but he was also in the company of the most infamous group in the cosmos.
Then finally there was Salza- the leader of their ragtag force of justice. Though smug, clever, and most of the time very full of himself, the man was not to be underestimated. In terms of martial arts, while the Brench could handle himself at all ranges- he was most comfortable at mid to long-range. He had a very versatile skillset- being able to fire multiple beams from all his fingers at once, create homing blasts that could track their targets, and launch clusters of energy disks with a single swipe of his hand. He also had a very unique ability of being able to compress and sharpen his ki, which could generate slicing blades around his hands and legs, and even around his entire body to protect himself from oncoming attacks. On top of having a very keen mind for strategy, Salza was clearly the smartest out of all his teammates, which was made notable by the fact that he was proficient in over 7000 languages and could cook up attack plans on the fly with very little prep time.
Spending time with him allowed Gohan to see why he was made captain of the squad. The guy was a prodigy and a genius in almost every facet of military life. He had a very clean and gentlemanly fighting style, in which he favored facing his foes head on and challenged them to fair and honorable duels, and had a very interesting bravado. However, despite his proper approaches to combat, the man was also capable of stealth take downs and assassinations, just like the rest of his compatriots.
Working together and utilizing their respective traits, every member of the squadron was able to teach Gohan the skills he needed to fight and survive on the battlefield, with each one helping the child to build his techniques and grow over the months he had to spend with them.
And thanks to all the days the boy spent cruising about the stars with the team on the ship, the bonds he developed and the friendships the hybrid had built grew stronger and stronger with every journey.
Though the true strength of it remained completely unknown to him, it wasn't until one fateful mission across one of the many Messier galaxy clusters, where the skills and grit of the newest member of Cooler's Armored Squadron would truly be tested.
(Five months after Quaren)
(Galaxy Messier 81)
A loud alarm sounding out across the Comet's bridge quickly drew the attention of all the personnel who were currently present on the main deck. While the pilot Shira remained at the helm of the vessel directly in front of the glass dome and keeping an eye on their ship's trajectory, Gohan and Neiz- who had been standing beside her and watching the whirlwind of hyperspace whipping past them in a brilliant array of blue and white clouds- quickly turned away from the sill and marched down the walkway between the bridge's two communication crew pits.
As they walked along the metal path, the petty officer soldier in the pit on their left straightened up in her seat and addressed the two elite warriors of the squadron walking past her post. "Incoming transmission from Lord Cooler's capital ship! It's the emperor!"
"Patch him through," Neiz replied, earning an affirmative nod from the soldier while he and Gohan kept right on marching.
Stepping off the walkway and arriving at the hologram table centered towards the rear of the bridge, both the Zalt-seijin and the half-Saiyan were shortly joined by Dore and Salza entering from the hall, while Myra was already present. When the five of them gathered up around the large, electronic platform that was already showing them a map of the star system their ship was cutting through, the female Hera jabbed a few buttons on the panel in front of her and spoke up.
"Projecting the feed now," the adolescent spoke, her eyes glancing up at the hologram as the chart faded. "Standby."
Moments after the star charts faded, a new hologram soon jumped up over the table, which projected the full body of their renowned and powerful leader, Cooler. The moment the alien prince's form appeared over the table, towering over them like a statue on a pedestal, the group of five squad members immediately dropped to one knee around the table and bowed to the lord. With their heads lowered and eyes closed, it was clear that even when not physically present in the room, they were sure to give the man the respect he deserved.
"Sire," the five warriors all greeted in unison.
Seeing his uniformed elite bowing in front of him, the alien tyrant with his arms behind his back and tail swishing behind him nodded, before then swinging a hand forward. "At ease." His instruction crackling over the receiver, the team quickly stood up and looked up at their ruler, who they then saw glance around at them. "I trust you are all well rested." His gaze then set upon Gohan, who he saw was standing in front of him alongside Neiz. The moment Cooler's eyes fell upon him, the child stiffened. "And how goes our newest recruit?"
Sensing the question directed at him, the half-Saiyan youngster puffed his chest out and smiled, "Fitter and stronger than ever, sir."
Giving the youngster a hard look for a moment, the initially serious-looking emperor then had a smile tug across his dark lips, before he then honored the child with a nod. "I heard from Salza and Myra about the job you did on Florax 12. Good work. That was a high profile target. Not an easy planet to take." Hearing this praise being directed towards the hybrid initially stunned Dore and the others. But that bewilderment was not to last, for as soon as Cooler gave that small congratulations, his expression once again steeled. "Have you reached CP-179 of M81 yet?"
After a quick check of the computer terminal in front of him, Salza spoke up. "We're just coming up on the planet now, sir."
"Good. Be sure to check the system thoroughly and report back as soon as you've given the area a full sweep. I want this entire problem done away with as soon as possible," Cooler stated, his tail swishing behind him in a clear show of urgency.
It was at that point that Myra, for the sake of the crew and her squad, decided to address the question lingering over all of their minds. "Exactly what are we expecting to find out here, sir?"
The alien ruler glanced across at the Hera with a hard stare. "A few weeks ago, a transmission from one of my scouting parties in the outer rim territories informed me that the populations on two of our colonial planets had suddenly up and disappeared. When the soldiers investigated the areas in search for survivors, they discovered that both worlds had been completely stripped bare of all life and resources. Based on what I was able gauge from their reports, it was like the planets had been sucked dry by some otherworldly force… leaving nothing but lumps of useless rock floating through space."
With Dore and Neiz sharing worried looks with one another, and Gohan and Myra doing the same, Salza then spoke up next. "Was it some kind of freak famine? Or a cosmic storm?"
"No signs of any celestial anomalies were discovered. Nor was there the presence of any viral outbreaks or climate changes on the planets' surfaces," Cooler replied, his gaze switching over to his team's captain as the fingers on his unfolded right hand fiddled impatiently. "All they reported was that the atmosphere and ground had been bled dry, and a massive, countrywide chasm had been left behind by whatever object had landed on those worlds."
Neiz, glancing at the star map in front of him, then looked back up at their ruler. "And… you suspect that whatever caused those colonies to disappear… is also responsible for this one dropping off the grid as well, sire?"
"That's right," Cooler answered, his eyes narrowing on the group and causing them all to straighten up. "Kikono noticed the pattern of decaying worlds resting along the galaxy's main hyperspace lane. I sent the scouts ahead to find out what it is, but none of them have reported back yet. Their scouters have stopped transmitting."
"Which means… the soldiers have either flown into a dead zone… or were killed by whatever turned those two worlds into dry, lifeless husks," Dore spoke, crossing his arms and scrunching his face up. "I don't like it."
"Your squad's mission is to find out the cause of these disappearances and to stop whatever is attacking my planets," Cooler stated, drawing the group's attention back up to him, allowing them to see the serious visage he was currently wearing. "If left unchecked, this phantom scourge drifting through the cosmos will likely cause more valuable planetoids to wither and die. I can't possibly make a profit off of a world that's already been used up." The prince then raised his hand and pointed straight at Salza. "Spare no effort. Destroy this thing… whatever or whoever it is."
Hearing his leader's command loud and clear, the blond captain lowered his head and placed a hand over his chest. "By your will, sire."
The moment Salza made his response, Cooler gave one last, terse nod before ending the transmission. The moment the hologram of his form vanished and once again became replaced by the star chart that was being shown before, a loud beeping from the front of the bridge drew the squad's attention towards the main window.
Seeing red lights blinking around the pilot's control panel, Shira promptly engaged the terminal in front of her, while the two crew members in the pits behind her station began running final calculations through their systems too. With the members of Cooler's Armored Squadron marching down the walkway to join the lieutenant at her post, the group made it in time to see the tunnel that was the hyperspace slipway begin slowing down around them, letting them know that they were approaching their destination.
"Coming up on CP-179, sirs," Shira called out, sensing the group of warriors stand alongside her with their eyes glued to the window. "Dropping out of hyperspace in three… two… one… now!"
There was a loud boom, followed by the brilliant tunnel of light dissipating all around them as the fast-moving Comet slowed its speed and deposited itself in a completely new system. With the blackness of the vacuum replacing the whirling vortex of hyper speed and new constellations of stars appearing all around them, the five, fully armored members of Cooler's elite squad watched with serious, hard expressions as their ship pulled into orbit around the small moon that they'd appeared alongside.
As the corvette slowly drifted around the celestial body and towards the other half where the sun could be seen glowing from over the curvature of the satellite, Gohan and his team expected to find an ordinary terrestrial world waiting for them. When their ship eventually came around, the group certainly saw a planet.
But the thing that they saw sticking out of the planet's atmosphere had all of their jaws drop. Even Shira, who was busy making sure their ship didn't collide with the moon, felt her eyes bug out at what she saw floating in the distance.
"Y-Yo…" Dore stuttered, his arms unfolding as he stepped closer to the glass. "Is it just me… or do you guys see a giant tree growing out of the side of that planet?"
Neiz was also stumped. "If you're seeing it… than so am I."
Of all the things Gohan had seen up until this point- dragons, aliens, other worlds, multi-headed creatures, space ships, planets exploding, moons colliding, ancient ruins on faraway worlds- this was perhaps the most surreal and bizarre thing he could remember ever laying eyes on. Though it seemed completely and utterly impossible, the hybrid could in fact see a giant fig of ridiculously colossal size and scale, jutting out of the clouds and into the lower thermosphere of a planet.
The damn thing had to be about the size of a small moon.
While all of her teammates were gaping at the unbelievable monstrosity poking out of the world like some tumor, Myra- managing to close her jaw long enough to stop her brain from falling out, then narrowed her eyes on the planetoid and the freakish flora it was currently hosting.
"I… have a bad feeling about this."
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: So… while the Z-fighters have Vegeta and Nappa to worry about, guess who Gohan has to worry about?