Chapter 1- Shadows on the Horizon.

Meh....Again this is my first story, and obviously a lot harder than I first thought. So sorry it took so long to upload.

"Talking"

Thinking

Disclaimer; I own nothing. Do not sue.

Vegeta found himself dangling precariously on the edge of his own consciousness, fighting against the forces that so desperately wanted to wake him at this obscene hour of the morning. Why was it whenever he was allowed time to bond with his mate something urgent and absolutely needing of his attention was suddenly discovered? If he weren't above such things he would've calmly ordered the trespasser to get the fuck away from his chambers and come back when normal Saiyans were awake.

Slowly, reluctantly, he opened his eyes, taking in the blurred vision of his bedchambers. The room he actually slept in was kept similar to that of a den. No windows or even pictures adorned the walls, which were painted a soothing maroon. The only other things in it were the bed and a small chest that sat at its base. The bed itself was monstrous, taking up over half of the tiny room on its own. Vegeta speculated that it was probably overkill… Probably? The craftsmen had to assemble the damn thing in here to make it fit. One of the few frivolous things he owned, Vegeta never regretted having it made. He and his mate used it very well.

Another knock, loud and obnoxious, sounded through the room.

"Your Majesty? There is an urgent matter needing of your attention," Vegeta rolled his eyes. Naturally. ,"are you awake?" The messenger sounded scatterbrained, but he would know better than to enter the personal bedchambers of the king and queen without permission. Doing so would sentence him to death, instantly.

"Uhm..Hel-,"

"Yes, I'm awake, what is it?!" Vegeta barked irritably, running a hand through his wild hair "S-sire, General Nappa has requested an audience with you in the c-communications room as soon as possible."

His face contorted in a frown and he let out a deep sigh.

"What for?"

"Excuse me…My liege?" The servant was tripping over his words, highly intimidated by the king.

"You woke me at The Kais'-know-when to tell me that the general wants to have a nice chat? Well….What does he want!?"

"I am sorry my lord, I didn't ask."

"Then the only thing you are doing now is wasting my time?"

"A thousand apologies my lord, I did not think-,"

"No you didn't think! Now leave and await me outside in the commons before I decide to open up your position in the castle!"

"Yes my lord! I am sor-,"

"Go."

"Of course, sire, I just-,"

"NOW!!"

There was the faint sound of a Saiyan kicking out super speed and then sweet silence filled the room.

"You almost made him piss himself you know…" A soft female voice spoke beside him. "You should be nicer…It's early for him too."

Throwing a glare at the closed door the king of all Saiyans sat up in his bed. Suppressing a yawn he turned to gaze upon his mate with a small smile, admiring her with such scrutiny as was his privilege.

"Why? It's not my fault he took the job. Besides I can be difficult early in the morning if I damn well want to."

Odessa was still tucked against his side, one arm slung lazily over her stomach. She had a small, mischievous smile on her lips as she sat up. The blankets fell away from her naked form to pool at her waist, causing Vegeta to subconsciously shiver. Damn her, she was always getting under his skin, even when she didn't say a thing.

Despite how easily Odessa managed to push his buttons, Vegeta was lucky. Saiyan females were rare, something in their race's genetic code that was a constant nuisance. It was also a biological fact that couples reproduced more….effectively when they were physically and emotionally linked. Because of this, saiyans boys and girls are introduced to one another at a young age to establish strong bonds that would, inevitably, last a life time. However, the connection wasn't guaranteed, nor was a mate. The former King, Vegeta the 18th, had been one such unlucky case. The only female contact he'd had was with a volunteer who had stepped forward to help bring about an heir to the thrown. Upon the prince's birth, she had been dismissed. The king had been distraught, and eventually grew old a bitter and lonely soul.

His mate wrapped her arms around his torso, gently pressing against his bare back. Their tails intertwined in a subconscious display of physical affection.

"You know, if you had stared at me like that too much longer you would've had a very hard time getting to your meeting with Nappa." She purred in his ear. Vegeta suppressed the shiver that ran down his spine.

"You keep doing that and I might decide I don't care…"

Soft laughter, more seductive than she realized. "Now, dear husband, think about our cub. You don't want to tire me out do you?"

A broad grin of pride stretched over his face as he remembered the news they'd received only the night before. Odessa was with child, and a chemical test had revealed that the child's expected gender was male. Vegeta couldn't have been happier, although he would never reveal that he had secretly hoped for a son. The royal blood line had been graced with purely male heirs for the last three generations. It made his inner pride swell at the thought of continuing the legacy that had been laid by his father, however bitter it had been.

When Vegeta didn't respond for a second she wondered if she'd offended him. Suddenly Odessa found herself being tossed gently over her mate's shoulders and then landing beneath him. Vegeta pinned her hands over her head and was smiling down at her mischievously.

"Oh...I think the baby will understand."

"Fuck! What is taking them so long?!"

Nappa paced furiously around the communications room, causing the few subordinates who had worked through the night to shift uncomfortably as he burst out swearing . It had been nearly an hour since he'd sent his messenger to find the king, and not a word had been sent back. The giant of a Saiyan glared into space, clenching his teeth in irritation.

The military general of the Saiyan planet wasn't an outwardly patient...or talkative…or friendly…or; well he was about as socially accomplished as a hermit when it came right down to it. He would have preferred training for a month on no sleep to being confined to the communications room with the weakest portion of their race. Ever since being promoted to his current rank, Nappa had been forced to interact more openly with the public, something he despised. Social gatherings in any form were not exactly his strong point, but King Vegeta had been adamant that he at least make some attempt to gain the loyalty of the men he would be commanding…. Damnit.

Soldiers were easier to deal with than the social elite. No word games were necessary on the battle field. Vegeta had chosen him based on skill, not diplomacy, so as practice Nappa was assigned to oversee activity in different sectors of the castle to try and associate with other Saiyans. It was aggravating, but he would not defy orders. So, instead of dwelling on his would-be incarceration, he focused on the task at hand, preparing to tell Vegeta about the transmission they had received this morning.

The communications room was set up in a giant cylindrical pattern. The rounded walls were lined with computer screens, each one depicting a different set of charts or maps for the corresponding technician to decipher. Nappa stared at one of these said maps contemptuously, muttering to himself. The young Saiyan he was hovering over was deeply focused on the screen, translating the rest of a coded message that was being transmitted to the planet at that very moment.

" Bastard…What does he want with us?" He growled to himself, though the youth didn't seem to hear him.

"And what seems to be the problem, Nappa? I can't wait to hear why you woke me at this hour. I'm simplybursting with anticipation."

Anyone else would have fallen over themselves to address the king and queen, who were standing directly behind him, Glancing over his shoulder, he met Vegeta's eye, conveying his frustration in volumes to one of the two people he cared to communicate with on a level above glaring. The king took in his body language and allowed himself a discrete smile.

"That good, hmm?"

Odessa was staring at the screen, translating in her head. Slowly, as the message became clear, her brow furrowed in an unhealthy mixture of confusion and anxiety. It was such a dark contrast from just an hour before that Vegeta's smile faltered. Suddenly, he straightened his back and took the joviality out of his demeanor, as if sensing the urgency in the room.

"Well, what is it?"

Nappa folded his arms over his broad chest, glancing down at the young saiyan at the console. The boy fumbled for his head set and immediately began to pull charts and graphs onto his screen.

"Sire, approximately four hours ago our probing satellites picked up a signal from a merchant vessel heading towards the planetary rings. It was within a day's journey of Vegeta-Sai's surface."

Vegeta frowned at Nappa, clearly unimpressed by this dire information. Odessa, on the other hand, nodded for the tech to continue.

"What's a trade ship doing so far out of the shipping lanes?" She asked, a nasty feeling rising in her throat. The boy rubbed his eye from lack of sleep but kept on punching buttons, pulling more information up for them.

"Those were my thoughts exactly. I did a cross scan of the ship's energy and…well the last recorded reading we captured was well over one million." His fingers swept over the keys in front of him, bringing the numbers up on the screen. Several images of white hot energy signals flashed over it until suddenly it went blank.

The tech's hands were trembling ever so slightly as he pressed a few final buttons and a jumbled message appeared on the screen. Odessa let out an involuntary gasp as realization set in. Her training in the tech field had been what led her to the palace in the first place.

"There was also a message intercepted from another probe that was trying to ID the ship. We lost most of it to an encoded computer virus, but one thing did survive."

There was a pause, stifling in the cold silence of the room. Those saiyans that were working at other stations had all stopped to watch the exchange as soon as the royal couple had appeared.

"I am not in the mood for games, boy! Get on with it!"

The letters began rearranging themselves, forming the three words that had sent the messenger to his bedchambers urgently in the dead of night;

Khold Empire.

Frieza.

Odessa shook her head in disbelief.

"It couldn't be…"

Shudders and small exclamations sounded through the echoing room. Frieza had been part of heavy superstition for nearly a decade now. Apparently he and his unruly band of space pirates had single handedly overtaken a large section of the universe under the bloody banner of the Khold Empire. Despite speculation, however, no sources that they had could ever give definitive proof of the alleged demon's existence. So the spotty stories became ghost tales to frighten naughty cubs that didn't obey their parents.

That was…until now.

Vegeta stared them blankly for a moment before wiping a gloved hand over his face, heaving a sigh. Out of weariness or dread they couldn't tell. Then he wrapped an arm around his mate's waist almost protectively

"So, you're telling me that a merchant vessel carrying beings of unimaginable strength has somehow traversed the asteroid fields and gotten this close to our planet without detection. And…you believe it to be Frieza."

Nappa winced, recognizing the sour tone in the king's voice. He had prepared for a tough time trying to convince him of the imminent threat. Nappa had not believed the information himself upon first hearing it, but those readings didn't lie.

"My lord I realize this sound farfetched, but-"

"This is what you got me up for, a romp through your childish imaginings? If I didn't know better Nappa I'd say the folk lore has gone to your head. This is something I'd expect from a new recruit, not a seasoned warrior and certainly not my general!"

The king spun on the rest of the room, his voice booming through the echoing chamber.

"Listen to me, all of you. This Frieza is lie, a fairy tale monster, a frightening anecdote to tell our children before they go to bed. The Saiyan army is the mightiest in the galaxy, even if it is headed by a bunch of scared cubs. Whatever threat is on that ship will crumble before our strength as all others before it! I'll have no more of this hearsay is that clear?!"

What few of them could move nodded slowly and averted their eyes, not wishing to test him. The king's word was final. Only two pairs of eyes, one unreadable and the other filled with anger, stared back at him.

He stormed out of the room, walking determinedly down the hall, back to his quarters in a fury of mumbled curses. A few servants and the odd soldier stopped to bow to him as was custom, but he barely noticed. This was an outrage! What were supposed to be the greatest minds of their race were getting frightened over a bed time story! How pathetic. Vegeta made a note to have a chat with Nappa in private later.

Vegeta was so caught up in his own thoughts that he didn't see Odessa standing directly in front of him until a gloved hand pressed back against his chest gently, yet firm.

"Stop."

It was so easy for her, just a word and he obeyed. The king dearly hoped no one knew what sort of control his mate possessed. Dark eyes peered up at him, a tight frown of anger pursing her lips.

"That was uncalled for, they were just doing their jobs." She whispered, standing before him with her arms crossed over her chest.

Vegeta snorted and rolled his eyes, regarding her indignantly.

"Oh? And what is that? To spread false fears to the people about demon alien takeovers? And besides, if the message was encoded with a virus, then our computers must have translated it wrong. Frieza doesn't exist."

She glared at him, subtle enough to go unnoticed by others walking the halls. But to Vegeta…it spoke louder than any words ever could. She had felt something when that reading came over the screen. A feeling of impending doom, right down through her core. It terrified her.

Vegeta meant well, but he didn't seem to catch the look of pain on her face. Or if he did, he mistook it for something else.

"Alright…I shouldn't have blown up like that."

She felt him reach out and press his hand to her belly, fatherly pride swelling in his eyes again.

"But I don't want our son, the prince, to grow up on a world that is so consumed by fear. Even if this thing is Frieza, we will fight it standing tall as a united people, not running in circles with our tails between our legs."

I wish I could believe you….

A/N Again….Sorry it took so effin' long to get up. I had some trouble getting inspired to keep going. But! Thanks to my BFF HappyDancingPenguin for helping me get going! Also, thanks to the people who reviewed! It really means alot! See ya next time.