I do not own DBZ
A/N I am sorry for the late update. I meant to get this chapter out sooner, but found myself nit picking. No excuses though. Next chapter should be out in about three days. Read and Review please.
A Father's FateThe Story of Bardock
Across the darkness of space six white lines streaked past, leaving an eery white line etched in the infinity. All the lines slowly turned towards a single destination, allowing the momentum to carry them to a massive round object that spun ever so slowly. As the group of objects slowed, the ball shape became visible. The jagged lines that followed slowly dissipated, leaving no trace, except one.
As the pods neared the station, all were identified as Saiyan. For a moment the operator hesitated, then sent out landing directions. Watching warily, the operator slowly turned on the communications relay and voiced the newly developed issue to his higher command. Everyone on the landing platform stood wary, mentally weighing the options.
"If we harbor the Saiyans, we are doomed. If we turn them down, they may kill us anyway," the commander of the station said to nobody in particular.
"What if we let the Saiyans do what they need, and forget they were ever here? I mean what Frieza doesn't know won't kill us," a subordinate said. He watched his commanders face for a few more seconds then quickly turned back to his station, regretting speaking up.
"Well, I suppose. But, if Frieza finds out about this, it won't be just me going down. You all understand the risks. Are we all agreed?" the commander asked, still not completely sure. As he surveyed the room, everyone seemed to be accept it. "Very well, let them land. Send a team out to see what they want, and hurry them along."
"Well, that took long enough. They know who we are, without a doubt. I think we should just hurry up and get done." Bardock said over his scouter. He looked around, putting in the final destination of his pod. As it landed, Bardock opened the door and stepped out, wondering how the atmosphere around the platform existed. Get it together, no time for useless thoughts.
Everyone gathered around Bardock, looking around questioningly. Bardock waited patiently for a crew member of the fueling station to run out and greet them. After a moment the Saiyans started to walk towards the only visible door. As they got to it, Toma pressed a button on a speaker, making an obnoxious beep.
"What do you want?" a gruff voice responded.
"We were hoping to have a word with you. We only want to take up a few minutes of your time," Toma replied, looking bored. He looked over at Matra, then to Borgos. As they waited, the doors slid open, revealing a dark red hallway, lit at the end. Shrugging, Bardock entered first. After a quick second of shifty glances, everyone else entered.
As Bardock approached a door, it opened, revealing a large antechamber. Computers lined the walls, and work stations covered most of the room. Every person in the room had their eyes on Bardock and the others as they entered. Bardock looked around momentarily then climbed a nearby set of stairs, towards what looked like the operational manager of the facility.
"You want the room next to me. The Colonel has a proposition for you," said the middle aged man at the top desk, pointing at the nearby door. Bardock looked up at it and nodded. As the rest were passing, the man from the desk stopped Borgos.
"I don't think they hate us. Look at their faces, they are just concerned. Hell, I'd be concerned if I was hiding something from the universe's most terrible being. Anyway, I just think that they might not be 'aligned' fully with Frieza. We may be able to start the seed here," Toma spoke quietly, walking next to Bardock.
Bardock turned, looking Toma fully in the face, considering. "Who could do it? I mean, who among us is persuasive enough to make someone turn against something like Frieza." the Saiyan responded. "It won't be possible without their help though. We need everything we can get,"
Toma nodded, as the final door opened, leading into a small room with a desk in it. Behind the desk sat a young man, not a day over twenty five. As the Saiyans entered, the man stood up to greet them. He extended his hand towards Bardock who in turn shook it.
"Salutations, Saiyans. I am Colonel Grail, commander of this station." The young man said, sitting down.
"I am Bardock, and this is Fasha, Toma, Matra and Toi Ze," Bardock said, pointing towards Fasha, and pointing to everyone else in kind. The Colonel nodded, gesturing for them to sit down. As they made themselves comfortable, Grail pulled out a file from his desk and slid it over towards Toma.
"This is what just happened, us landing and being identified. Why are you showing me this?" Toma demanded.
"Showing you what?" the Colonel asked, a slight smirk on his face. As it dawned on them, a grin flickered on their faces. Toma nodded and ripped the file into pieces.
"Now, I want to speak too frankly, I hate Frieza. I hate him a lot. You may have conquered us, Saiyans, but you were just as afraid. I can't blame you. I can do something much better. I can help you. Maybe you haven't noticed, but one of your ships is bugged." Bardock looked up and nodded. "What you probably didn't know is that it is filled with explosives too. In a matter of minutes, it will go off, damaging the station."
"Then why don't we just get rid of it? If Frieza thinks we died, so much the better." Toi asked, looking slightly annoyed.
"I have to cover my end as well. If the explosion damages the station, we can say you died in the explosion, while trying to get in here. Meanwhile, you can use our ship. We'll say it was destroyed, or lost in space. Something, anyway, we should hurry up," Grail said.
"Why should we believe you?" Toma growled.
"We'll give you provisions for two months. Plus, credits for more later. We want to do as much damage to Frieza as possible, and you're the weapon. It may sound like we are using you, and we are, but it works for you too," Grail said.
"I don't know why we should trust you, but it seems you are sincere. The plan is mostly solid. That is the problem though, isn't it. Nobody trusts anybody, no peace is ever made. None is needed with tyranny, but that age is over!" Bardock bristled.
"Chill out, Bardock. This war is going to take years. You know it and I know it, everyone knows that Frieza won't go down quietly. We need help," Toma said evenly.
"You're right. I know you are, but I don't want to accept help. Ah, but what choice do I have. Colonel, we accept," Bardock conceded. The two leaders shook hands and stood up. As they did, a young man ran in and stood at attention.
"Private, escort these men to the Harbinger. I'm giving them full access to everything on board," Grail ordered, not looking up from his desk.
"Colonel, may I ask one thing? None of us know how to fly a ship outside of our pods. So, is there a command crew that would be willing to join the fight against Frieza?" Bardock inquired.
"I don't know if anyone will agree to such a blatantly dangerous mission, but I know they will follow orders until the end. I will have to discuss that with my men. We have exactly two minutes until you need to leave," Grail spoke calmly. He looked around for a second then pressed a button near a microphone. "Attention all crew. Attention all crew. This is Colonel Grail speaking. All those looking for vengeance towards Frieza come to the Command Room. The mission is dangerous, and there is no guarantee of survival. This will be the first, and possibly last action against Frieza this station will make, you have one minute to get here."
Immediately the buzzer was heard, and several people shuffled inside as the door slid open. Borgos and the man at the desk outside the room came in. The man from the desk saluted the Colonel and waited for the return salute before putting his hand down.
"One of five seats taken now. Gentlemen, and lady, this is Roerce. A fair pilot in his own right, although not formally trained. Good for an auxiliary place. Who are you?" Grail posed, looking at the next person to enter the room.
"Chichumi, sir. Me and my brothers, Chuu and Michuu, will accept the mission, no matter the risk, sir!" the aviator said.
"Do your brothers agree as well? Where are they?" Grail replied.
"Sir, they are preparing our gear, sir,"
"Well, that's four down. We could really use a pilot," mumbled Grail. As if on cue, a woman in a flight jacket walked through the door. Her name tag read: Chloe.
"Sir, Chief Petty Officer Munez reporting," the woman said.
"Perfect. Ok, we have less than a minute. You five, should you accept it, are going to escort the Saiyans where ever they need to go. You will follow their orders after leaving this station. In no way are you allowed to make contact with family until you are safely out of range of the station and off of the Harbinger. You five are the command crew, a meek skeleton crew of the ship." Grail said with authority in his voice.
"This will be a very dangerous mission. We are waging war on Frieza. We'll go into depth at an appropriate time. Back out now, because we are leaving." Bardock barked. He waited for someone to leave, but none did. Looking at Grail, Bardock's eyes asked the question.
"Private, go now," Grail ordered the young man, stunning him for mere seconds. As the recruit regained himself, he marched out of the door, the crew of eleven, the army that dared, followed. The private wandered through a series of narrow passageways, meeting up with Chichumi's brothers. Eventually they came to a large dome. As the private came through the doorway, an explosion sounded, ripping away at the wall.
As everyone sprinted towards the ship, parts of the dome collapsed, falling around the ship. As Bardock passed the side of it, he saw the words Harbinger: Bringer of Fate. Appropriate. Bardock stood at the ramp, waiting for everyone to get on board. The crumbling ceiling rumbled once, sprinkling dust on Bardock's hair. As he looked up, an enormous piece fell down, jagged and thick. On its path, Bardock blew it up with a beam, watching with a certain satisfaction that the area over his ship was safe. After the last member climbed up the ramp, Bardock started up.
As he pressed the button to close the hatch, he turned to watch it. Bardock watched in horror as a small rock fell from the rounding wall, towards the private that led them to the ship. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion, the rubble, the young man looking up, Bardock raising his hand. As time seemed to shift again, everything sped up, leaving a wicked shriek in the air. Everyone seemed to just appear at the doorway, and Bardock felt as though he couldn't face them yet.
"Get back, we are leaving. The port's going do explode, we only have a few seconds. Command crew, get to your stations," Bardock growled, cursing the kid's stupidity. No, not stupid. Obedient to a fault. Walking towards the bridge, he watched the stars being to move. Everything became hazy for a moment, stretching and skewing for a moment. As soon as it started, it stopped, leaving the Saiyans disoriented.
"Saiyan! The entire station was destroyed in the blast! The antechamber may have survived, but the spin has stopped, they are all dead or dying," the man known as Chuu growled, his face contorted in rage.
"Nobody could have guessed the bomb would have been that big!" Roerce interjected, cutting off Chuu's line of thought. "Grail knew the risk. He would have died to bring an end to Frieza."
"I had fu-," Chuu was cut off as Toi punched Chuu directly in the gut, forcing the air out of his lungs.
"Bardock is an honorable man. Grail is an honorable man. You may not speak down of them. Ever." Toi said, backing away. He looked towards Bardock for a second, then continued towards the back of the ship, taking a turn and leaving sight.
"Chuu, I'm sorry. I didn't realize the bomb was that powerful. I'm not going to say Grail knew what he was getting into. He has no idea. Nobody has the scope to realize what Frieza really is. This is just the most recent slaughter in Frieza's deplorable life. Chichumi, Michuu, Chloe, Roerce, I really am sorry. I vow that Frieza will fall," Bardock said, sorrow written on his features. He looked to everyone on the bridge and then looked out the window. A moment later he turned back, all business.
"Where are we heading?" Chloe asked.
"Frieza thinks we are dead, so we might as well continue towards Tanzia. You know this ship, right?" Bardock paused for a response. As Chloe nodded, he continued, "Is there any place for us to spar? Or at least workout?"
"Um... yes, I suppose. It would be a bad idea to use any energy, but yeah, there's a room in the back, usually used for storage. If you move the supplies to an empty room, I think that would be good enough," she replied. Bardock merely nodded and walked away.
"Lord Frieza! Station Alpha Alpha Gamma has been destroyed by a multistage bomb. Lord, the Saiyans were there, at the time of explosion." A green man with a snout said, through his helmet.
"Excellent! Every one of the nuisances are gone, haha except for our little prince. He dares not turn against me. He is turning nicely," a raspy, high pitched voice spoke, making everyone turn away.
"Milord, there was a small blip just before the station was completely eradicated. Perhaps the core rupturing." the first man quivered.
"Check it out!"
Bardock walked down a hallway on the ship, trying to figure out just how big the ship is. As Bardock walked past a third or fourth doorway, Fasha walked out next to him.
"Bardock, I'm worried." Fasha said, truthfully.
"Honestly, I am too. I have no idea how we are going to take on Frieza's endless armies. Let alone Frieza, basically the lord of this section of the galaxy. I have heard rumors, terrible rumors. That Frieza has never shown more than ten percent of his total power," Bardock responded, looking out a window.
"How can we win? There are so many factors working against us. So many factors to comprehend. If there's any truth to these rumors, Frieza's power must be over a million! Bardock, what can we do?" Fasha sobbed, hugging Bardock close. He looked down and put his arm around her.
"Fasha, I will not let Frieza harm you. He will not take another life, we will never bow to him, ever. If there's anything a Saiyan maintains, it's his pride!" Bardock slowly spoke louder, reaching a deep growl. "Nightmares never last, eventually you wake up and they're gone. There is nothing to fear," He finished, looking confident, radiating it. As he looked Fasha in the face, she felt safe.
Reaching up to his scouter, Bardock heard a crackle, then heard Toma's voice. "Bardock, the destination is in, so me and Borgos are going to look for anything that could track the ship. Hurry up and clean the storage room, we need to get some exercise,"
"Yeah, yeah," was the reply heard before the click that designated the conversation was over. "Fasha, want to spar? It will help get your mind off what's next."
"Yes, definitely. I need to get around this and blow off some steam."
"Help me move the boxes out of the storage room," Bardock grinned, walking into the room. Fasha followed, and for a while they moved boxes out and into a room at the end of the hallway. Eventually, they had the room devoid of anything that wasn't bolted down. As the room was cleared, Bardock looked around, examining the room. It was a large egg shaped room with support beams around the outside. When they first arrived there were shelves around the room, but each one was taken down and taken apart, left with the supplies.
"Are you ready Bardock?" Fasha shouted from across the room, stretching out.
"Give me a second," replied Bardock, who in turn began stretching. As he finished, Fasha stood across from him smiling. "No ki," they both nodded. Bardock leapt forward, keeping his left side toward Fasha. Putting his hand between Fasha's, Bardock grabbed her collar and flung her towards the wall. She rebounded, pushing off the wall and hitting Bardock with a clothesline.
Bardock fell hard to the ground, hitting his head. Fasha jumped backwards, watching Bardock flip to his feet. Fasha ran forward, stopping and sliding forward with her elbow forward. Bardock put his arm up, deflecting Fasha's elbow. As she lost her balance, Bardock punched at her face, forcing Fasha to dodge, falling over. Bardock's fist continued forward, carrying his momentum, pulling him slightly off balance. Fasha shot out a leg, sweeping Bardock's legs out from under him. Bardock flipped backwards, landing on his palms and pushing off.
Fasha looked up as Bardock pushed off the ceiling, flying towards Fasha with his leg forward. Fasha blocked the leg with her arms in a cross shape. The impact pushed Fasha away, towards the wall. While Fasha slid, Bardock curled into a ball and flipped through the air, landing directly in front of Fasha who was caught off guard. Bardock took the opportunity to land a punch.
As Fasha recoiled, she shot a foot towards Bardock's head, knocking him away. Fasha pushed herself off the wall and spun around Bardock's fist, slamming a back hand into his cheek. As Bardock's head turned, he slammed Fasha's leg sideways, knocking them out from under her. As she fell, she shot her leg between Bardock's tripping him as well. As they fell in tandem, they flashed each other smiles. Right before they hit, both fighters slammed a hand down, causing them to spin away from each other.
The two faced off again, Fasha panting, Bardock merely taking a deep breath. Fasha noticed and smiled. He's taking it easy on me.Oh well, this is fun. Fasha rushed forward, throwing a haymaker at Bardock. He leaned back, planting a hand and swinging his feet out, tripping up Fasha. As she fell, she grabbed Bardock's legs, spinning him towards the wall. As he flew at the wall, he watched Fasha he smiled. Flipping up, he grabbed a part of the railing and hung for a second. Dropping down, he landed oddly.
As Bardock stood, his mind flashed white again. Toma and Borgos flashed by him, leaving a fading image on the horizon. As he stared at the falling sun, Fasha flashed by, leaving the same fading outline. Toi, Matra, Jubei, Jorbei all flew by, leaving Bardock confused. A bright light shone and all the outlines disappeared. Three more images flew past, one looked hauntingly familiar. Raditz! Again, a light flashed, and the outlines vanished. A final image slid by slowly. Me! That's me! Bardock waited for the image to fade, realizing that it wasn't himself he saw. Kakarrotto! What does this mean? Where is this?
Coming to, Bardock saw an instant before it hit, Fasha hit Bardock with a haymaker, sending him sailing. As he drifted through the air, Fasha axe handled him down. As he hit the ground, Fasha watched him closely.
"Ow," Bardock groaned, laying on his side.
"Bardock! I'm sorry! I thought you were just showboating, you stopped moving." a feminine voice came in from the side. Bardock looked up, realizing that last part wasn't a vision.
"I don't know what happened. I need to think it over." Bardock stammered, getting to his feet slowly. He walked out of the room and into an empty bedroom. He sat on the empty bunk, staring out into space. Trying to piece together the most recent vision he inadvertently leaned over. Suddenly his head was on something bony. He looked over, and realized Fasha sat down next to him.
"Bardock, what's wrong?" she asked gently. He sat upright and turned to face her. He looked into her eyes then sighed.
"Do you remember Kanassa? At the end of the mission, the thing that attacked me. He said he'd given me foresight. I think it came true. I keep seeing things I can't influence. I keep seeing things that might be, but might not be. Like a future I can change, things that might happen if a chain of events is done. None of the visions are clear, except one." Bardock stopped, looking away.
"Oh, Bardock," Fasha started.
"Fasha, let's just get some sleep, things will look better tomorrow. Come, sleep" Bardock said, laying down on the bunk. Fasha laid down next to him, looking into his face. He had his eyes closed, but she still looked. Within seconds Bardock slept and Fasha eventually turned and slept as well.