"Take that," I said to the circuit-board as it hummed back to life, now correctly primed to route power through itself as the electricity was flicked back on elsewhere. I let the pin-sized sphere of energy I'd created to give myself light to work with die out, grabbed the tool I'd brought into the maintenance shaft with me and started shimmying back to where I'd come in.
It was one of many such channels within the ship, a long squared out duct recessed into the ceiling above Goten's room. Hardly wider than my shoulders, but just enough so for me to move around in, making repairs much easier than having to rip the whole thing out to get at it. Goten himself was waiting outside, having turned the local power off and on for me while I worked.
We'd been in space for about two weeks. Living aboard the ship had long-since started to feel routine, and all things considered most of us got along well at this point—we trained together more often than not (though Daikon and I had never sparred, we had reached the level of occasionally exchanging brief words if we were in the same room). Today was the day we had projected as our last of travel, and true enough, we were now less than an hour away from Terracotta.
Scooting back to the one open panel, I got up close enough to see into the room below where my friend walked up, meeting my eyes with his.
"Did it work?" he asked.
"Yep. Temperature adjustment for your bedroom restored," I replied.
"Thank goodness it won't be slightly colder than the rest of the ship anymore on potentially my last day in here." He raised an eyebrow. "You gonna come down from there? You're covered in mechanical grease."
"Hmm. Nah. It's kind of nice in here. Very comfortable," I drawled, crossing my forearms on the edge in front of me and resting my chin on them.
Goten grinned. "I guess you'd think so. That's gotta be the tightest place you've ever been, huh?" Then he laughed at me, so I stuck my arm out and dropped the tool I'd been holding onto his head. He squawked in pain while still unable to stop chuckling at himself, as per usual.
"Move," I said before he obliged. I grabbed the edge of the opening with my hands and, after sliding my upper body out without letting go, pulled my legs through and swung them to give momentum as I released, doing a single backflip in the air until I landed on my feet.
"Bravo. You're really athletic for a mere lowly mechanic," he said as I bent down to scoop the nearby tool off the floor. Then, I went and grabbed the panel I'd leaned against the wall and levitated up to replace it over the opening.
"If you're working with a crew of Saiyans who could break your legs during a casual sparring bout, it would be stupid for a lowly mechanic to not know some self-defence. And I hear one of said crew might be the Prince of All Saiyans. Very dangerous person, you know," I said to Goten.
"I bet he's not so bad. Strikes me as the type who's a hopeless romantic or something equally sappy, deep down."
I squinted at him over my shoulder and landed on the ground. "Oh really? You know what else might strike you?"
Goten quickly leapt away and ducked through the exit as I loosely swung my arm at him, again laughing as I found myself smiling while following him into the hallway.
"Don't touch me, don't touch! You're covered in gross shit!" he said, avoiding the next hand I stuck out to smear over whatever part of him I could reach.
"Oh come on, give your best friend a hug before you hurt his hopelessly sappy feelings," I mocked.
"Go take a shower, you schmuck!"
"Alright, alright," I relented.
After I'd left him in peace, following a quick stop by my room to grab a change of clothes, I went and took my sweet time cleaning off (in what was actually an encompassing mist bath rather than a traditional shower), making sure to get all the grease out of my hair. Once I finished, dried off and redressed, figuring we didn't have long left until we reached our destination, I made my way to the control room.
When I entered, the others were already there. Ravi was leaning over the back of the captain's seat that Daikon was sitting in for whatever reason. Goten was in one of the adjacent chairs and Bardock stood gazing out the window. Through it, there was a rapidly approaching, turquoise-hued sphere dead ahead, splotched with swirls of brown and white.
"It's... kind of blue and green," I said, walking closer to the window to get a better look next to Bardock.
"It's no Planet Vegeta, that's for sure, though we can take from that what we will," he replied.
"Is this what you saw in your visions?" I asked.
"I won't confirm that until we're close enough to see beyond the atmosphere, but I will say our chances this is a match are pretty high."
I reached out to sense for life forms ahead. At this distance, the planet simply felt like one large mass of activity, but it was activity nonetheless. I idly thumbed the now-capsuled sword hanging on my necklace.
"Anything else I should know?" I inquired.
"Not yet."
I glanced at the captain's seat, where Daikon and Ravi were, and then when it clicked that the former looked like he was going to be landing the ship for us I stared at them until I got both their attention.
"Is he going to be landing the ship? I thought you said he didn't know how to fly it," I queried aloud.
"I do. A little bit. Ravi's been trying to teach me, but like I said," Daikon enunciated, giving a glare to the woman in question, "she thinks now would be a superb time for me to practice."
"It's fine. I'm right here and can take over when I need to," Ravi said.
"That time we were on Planet Vasol, you crashed us through three of their ceremonial statues. Three, and they weren't even in a row. Excuse me if I don't have absolute confidence in your driving either."
"That was on purpose. You need to start slowing down, by the way."
"On purpose my ass," muttered Daikon as Ravi leaned around and put her right hand over his where it gripped the throttle, steadying our speed.
"Like this," she said, and his face flushed a little.
"That reminds me," Bardock said from where he now leaned against a section of dashboard, facing the group. "Don't tell anyone you two are deserters."
"I wasn't exactly planning on broadcasting it to the entire goddamn planet," Daikon said disdainfully.
"Yes, but I mean that warning seriously. Think about it. Even being on... agreeable terms with Trunks won't do much good. It'll reflect badly on him and you would still be seen as traitors to your race, even more poignantly so in a time where we are being wiped out."
"Reflect badly?" I questioned aloud while mulling it over in my head. "I see what you're getting at, but I'm sure most of the other Saiyans would be capable of understanding if I pardoned any deserters willing to cooperate. Especially in this situation."
"Once a traitor, always a traitor. If a couple of drifters were genuinely willing to help you, and not just seek your protection, then they'd declare their loyalty like everyone else. That's how the people will see it."
"If I'm the prince, then don't I define whom I'm willing to accept when it comes to loyalty?" I fired back.
"You being clement opens the door for anyone to think that if they cross you, you won't do anything about it," Bardock said. He shifted to glare at Ravi intently. "Therefore, it's in your own best interests, and ours, to act as if he is your superior. Do what he tells you, try to address him as his title and don't let any foolish sense of pride get in the way."
I held my tongue and let Bardock continue.
"Considering the thus-far unknown whereabouts of you and your father in the minds of the survivors, I'd imagine most of them have presumed you're dead. Returning with a platoon of fighters at your back is going to be quite the shock for some."
"I guess we'll find out," I said.
"We're about to enter the atmosphere. I'm running a diagnostic on the conditions and signs of activity," Ravi interjected, tapping on the screen in front of her and her companion.
I walked over, Bardock following, and leaned in to get a look at the readout. Some preliminary results were coming in already, along with basic information the ship already had in its database. The planet had a high water and oxygen content, and as we began to enter the atmosphere the number settled and the terrain mapping function gave us an idea of the surface below. Vegetation—lots and lots of it. No industrialized parts anywhere in sight and no indicators of electrical communication. The view out the window was nothing but nearing clouds.
As we began to pass through the white blanket, Ravi helped level our vessel out and fiddled with some of the controls. I felt the artificial gravity come off and everything became a bit lighter, a contrast to the heavier setting we left the ship at.
Moving forwards and descending, the cloud formation abruptly disappeared and we came into a clear belt of sunlight. The terrain below was still too far and we were still moving too fast, but... it was endless. Endless hills and valleys of what appeared to be aqua coloured trees,, and the light glimmering off them almost made it look like an ocean. Peeking through were rust-coloured tracts of bare landscape and the sky was the same crystal blue as Earth.
"Wow," Goten said. "It's kind of like Earth, but—kind of not."
"So the world Kakarot was sent to looks like this?" Bardock said.
"Not this empty of activity, but yeah. Somewhat."
While Goten said a few more words, I touched Ravi's shoulder. "Are we not getting any signs of civilization in range?" I asked. Even if there only wound up being a small group of survivors on Terracotta, there still ought to be some trace of their presence. A scouter signal, a marked power level, something.
She shook her head. I reached out to sense through the planet's mass of life, further than the ship would be technologically capable of. It all seemed the same, just the plants and possibly whatever animals were down there too, except –
"Hold on. Incoming," Ravi said at the same moment that a blip started pulsing on the screen in front of her and I felt a group of energies rocketing towards us at high speed.
"Wait, what? What is that?" Daikon replied.
"Which direction is that coming from?" Bardock cut in.
"Ahead. There's six of them," I said.
"What should we do?" Daikon spoke again. "Ravi, they're headed right for the ship."
"I'll drive," the woman replied, and the pair switched places.
"Everyone, chill. If we came here expecting Saiyans, then it's probably Saiyans," Goten said.
"And if they see a strange ship, they'll probably be tempted to blow it the fuck to pieces rather than risk it being an enemy!" said Daikon.
"No. Even if we were in a PTO issued ship, which we're not, they have no way of knowing if it might be other survivors inside. It wouldn't be rational for them to attack until they were sure," I said.
"Doesn't mean they won't try to take the ship down and ask questions later! Consider me shocked, Your Highness, that after all the repairs you've done you're willing to risk them bashing the hull full of fuckin' craters," he replied.
"We don't know their intentions or how wary they'll be," Bardock said. "We should meet them outside so as not to risk damage to the -"
The argument ceased when a dull metallic thud struck out as a figure landed on the prow of the ship.
The figure's dark hair lashed in the belting air currents despite their body holding still. Then, after a moment they began walking, moving straight for the windshield.
"Can he see us?" I said after prodding Ravi.
"No. It's dark from the other side. He'd have to be very close," she replied.
When the figure was but a few steps from us, it was clear he was indeed a Saiyan. He was wearing some combination of a gi-like outfit and a few light pieces of armour, and his hair was bound into mid-length dreadlocks. A scouter rested over his eye, and he smirked slightly at whatever vague shapes he saw of us through the window and in a knowing motion, he set his palm against the glass.
He mouthed a few words and then, bringing his other hand up to chest level, summoned a bright ball of ki to it and drew his arm back.
Ravi yanked the steering and accelerator levers and the entire vessel violently groaned sideways, sweeping the Saiyan right off the ship's exterior and unceremoniously dumping every loose item in the control room against the wall, including the people.
Bardock and Goten had both struck the far side of the room, though the former had somewhat shielded the latter from the impact, but Goten fell down as soon as the ship's orientation started tilting back to normal. Daikon had hit the arm of Ravi's chair and fallen into her lap and she'd managed to catch me by my shirt, herself unmoved.
Then everything was tilting again as the ship banked hard in a u-arc in the other direction. I saw a pair of ki balls whiz by out the window, narrowly missing us as I grabbed onto the captain's chair to keep myself from tumbling the opposite way.
"You asshole!" Daikon gasped, sounding winded as he half clung and half slapped at Ravi. "Turn the grav back on before you kill us!"
"Hey! I'm going to get outside and deal with these guys! Just tell her to keep trying to avoid sustaining any damage!" I said before darting away, catching the exit's door frame when the next bit of turbulence rocked the ship.
"I'll be right behind you!" I thought I heard Goten say as I began stumbling through the hallway, headed for where I knew the nearest emergency escape hatch to be.
I didn't have to go far—which I quickly became grateful for, as the Ravi wasn't limiting her manoeuvring to just left and right. I would've fallen face-first had it not been at the moment that I leapt up to grab hold of the hatch.
I curled in so that my boots were braced on the ceiling, one hand on the rotation wheel and my other holding on to the recess to help keep myself in place. I gave the wheel a few firm turns, hearing the pressure release before the hatch hissed open. Hot, humid air rushed in and I pushed myself through the gap, out into the open blue beyond.
It took a few precious seconds to orient myself in the sky. The ship thundered on past me like a dark behemoth until I was free of its wake and the sun beamed on me freely. I had to squint for a moment to adjust before looking around, trying to spot the –
A ki attack blazed in at my side and I swerved to avoid it just as its heat began to singe me. It was large, large like the blasts that came from the PTO weapons we'd encountered back on SE-3, and as I locked onto my attacker I confirmed that was indeed what they were holding.
Behind the weapon was a petite blonde woman with a set, determined expression, but it quickly morphed to fear when she fired again and I dodged the second attack as easily as the first, dashing forward around it. Of the six auras present, hers was by far the weakest, yet she was still armed so I chose to incapacitate her first.
She didn't even have a chance to escape before I was able to seize her forearm, my hand fitting around it so easily I could've broken it by flexing. She dropped the weapon, setting it spinning through the empty air below us but used her free arm to whip out a much smaller blaster and fire it point-blank.
"Ha!" she sounded immediately before the laser hit my chest and bounced right off. The woman froze.
"Oh," she said, then she looked up at my face. "Please don't hit me, I'm not even a fighter and if you're going to hit me anyway please just break my arm or something instead and I swear I won't do anything and... I... uh... oh. Oh gods. You're—you can't possibly be..."
Another attack came from behind me at my shoulder. I raised my arm and deflected the blast, the sparks dissolving around me as a voice spoke.
"I'd suggest you unhand her, stranger," it said.
I turned and focused on its owner, the same man from the window a few minutes ago. The other four people I'd sensed drew in, flanking his sides, leading me to believe he was the one in charge. On his left was a greying older man with facial hair and a stout woman with burn scars on her face. On his right was a lean, fair-skinned man and what looked like an adolescent boy. Each one of them had black hair and a brown, furry tail wrapped around their waistlines, and a power level much more substantial than average.
Survivors.
"You know, I was hoping you wouldn't surrender without at least a bit of fight, but I can't say I expected it," the leader continued, crossing his large arms. I could faintly see the digits on his scouter rolling as he cocked his head at me. "But you can't be the only warrior. There ought to be five of you, no? After so rudely jarring me off your ship, I expected more than one of you to have the balls to come face me!"
I released the woman, quickly glancing to confirm that she too had a tail.
"I came out here to see you for myself first," I said, "and to talk to you."
"Talk? About what? I can't tell where you're from by looking at you, stranger, but it matters not. You're trespassing on my planet and now that you've seen us, I'm afraid I can't allow you to leave," the leader replied.
"Your planet? This is the safe haven for the surviving Saiyans, isn't it?"
The man paused, then pressed a finger to his chin. "Oh! How presumptuous of me. Allow me to introduce myself."
He swept his arm out in an introductory bow. "My name is Yarrow. And I," he said with a flair, "am the King of All Saiyans. Now..." He stood up straight again. "Who the hell are you?"
"Funny you should say that. You see, my father's name is King Vegeta, and my name is Trunks. I'm the firstborn Prince of Saiyans, and seeing as I'm not dead and you're not my father, that makes you... not king."
Yarrow pursed his lips, stared at me for a moment, then laughed as he spoke. "Nice try. But if you were going to pretend to be the prince, you ought to have gotten your facts straight first. Aside from the fact that he was killed defending Planet Vegeta from an usurper, everyone knows he fights with a sword. And his hair is supposed to be blue."
"Blue? Really? I think you need to get your facts straight," I said, clicking the capsule off my necklace and hitting the button. Yarrow stopped laughing when the sword appeared and I caught it with two hands, simultaneously swinging the scabbard over my shoulder and drawing the blade into the air with a metallic rasp.
"Hmph. Alright, so you aren't as foolhardy as you seem. However, it'll take more than just show if you want me to back down." The man unfurled his arms and unclenched his fists at his sides.
"If you say you're the Prince of Saiyans," he said, twin spheres of ki glowing in his palms, "then prove it."
A/N: Hello 2019, I'm hella late to the party but yes, I am still alive.