Chapter 4

Breaking and Entering

Shockwaves rocked the hull of Bardocks' pod as the others around him were targeted and destroyed. As part of the first wave his mission was simple, to seek out and disable all anti-aircraft batteries in the area, allowing subsequent waves to land unmolested. As it turned out, the rygeans' targeting systems were just as advanced as their weapons. At the present rate the there wouldn't be much left of the first wave by the time they made planet-fall.

As the sky of Rygal VII blossomed with the fiery explosions of the invading craft,

Bardock kept his eyes fixed on the altitude gauge in front of him. Steadily the numbers ticked away, but not fast enough for his liking. As far as he was concerned, the sooner this ride was over, the better. He checked his squads status...all still alive. But when he checked on the rest of the wave he saw that fewer than half remained.

At three-thousand feet the AA fire began to thin noticeably. By fifteen-hundred the guns had ceased firing. It was a moonless night as several hundred of the pods made it to the surface, smashing through buildings like meteors.

Impact craters dotted the landscape when the invaders emerged from their pods. Some took to the air, their rage made manifest by the auras that burned around them, raining destruction on everything in sight with blasts of energy.

Bardock surveyed his surroundings. Despite knowing that their target was the rygean capitol city, he was momentarily awestruck by the massive skyscrapers that rose around him like pillars holding up the sky. He also noted that the city was obviously in a state of emergency. Every street was deserted, warning lights flashed, and sirens wailed.

Checking his scouter, Bardock saw that the rest of his crew were already en route. Once regrouped they locked in their scouters onto the nearest AA battery and began moving toward it. The five saiyans skimmed the ground in a loose wedge formation and were closing in on their target as a feeling of unease started creeping up on them. Tora, Bardocks closest friend and second in command, was first to break the silence.

"Hey Bardock…"

"What is it?"

"We've been down here long enough, so where the hell are these guys?"

"Yeah, I thought we were supposed to have a real fight on our hands. Are they just gonna let us trash the place or what?" interrupted Shugesh.

Bardocks eyes darted from side to side, "I doubt that. They've probably got a pretty good idea of what we're up to; it's only a matter of time before they hit back. They're just waiting for the right moment.

Moments before reaching their objective a large power level appeared on their scouters, quickly diverging into five separate signals. Fasha, whose eyesight was keenest, spotted a second squad a little more than half a kilometer ahead. "C'mon, if we don't hurry up there won't be any left for us!" Saiyan females were just as competent in a fight as the men, and had a tenacity all their own. Fasha was no exception.

Putting on a burst of speed she quickly pulled ahead of the others before anyone could stop her. She'd nearly reached the other squad when a barrage of narrow energy beams streamed from a nearby building. Two members of the other squad were killed instantly, the rest scattered. Phasing in and out of sight, the second squad dodged the strobing beams of energy, left with no time to counter attack. Fasha had stopped short when the ambush had been sprung. Raising a hand she unleashed an energy wave and blasted away the side of the building just as Bardock and the others caught up to her.

Bardock appreciated the thrill of the hunt, but wanted to put Fasha in a recovery ward for breaking rank. That would have to wait, however, as a more pressing matter came to hand. Though the fire from the rygeans particle weapons had ceased, the assailants had not been killed.

Through the flames and smoking debris, small points of red light could be seen rising from the rubble. Black figures with glowing eyes stepped out from the ruined building, they're faces were featureless. Twelve in total stood before them. The saiyans collectively activated their scouters to assess their opponents, but the only readings any of them got were of their comrades. Borgos moved closer to Tora, knitting his brows.

"My scouter's not picking up anything from them."

"Neither is mine."

"What's the deal? Every living thing has some energy, not matter how weak they are."

Bardock turned his head slightly, keeping his eyes on the black figures. "That's the problem, they're not alive."

"What?"

"All our intelligence says the rygeans are weak. There's no way they'd have been able to keep up with the others' movements with the kind of power levels we detected from orbit. No…these things are synthetic."

"You mean they're machines?"

"Yeah, so be careful. We don't know what they're capable of yet, but you can be sure they're fast."

Bardock assumed a offensive stance and the others followed suit. He was about to charge when the machine-soldiers came at the saiyans with incredible speed. Before they had time to think, the eight saiyan warriors were engaged in a vicious battle. Bardock and the other squad leader fought two foes at once, everyone else had their hands full with just one.

Each fighter was on the defensive, furiously moving their limbs to block and deflect the machines' blows. Borgos roared as he grabbed one of his opponents arms, spinning round and hurling it into one of it's counterparts. His enemy recovered before he could move in for the kill and counterattacked, delivering a powerful kick to his chest. Borgos was sent flying into a distant building, smashing through the wall like a cannonball. In the blink of an eye he was rocketing back toward his foe and the melee resumed.

Fasha and Tora were fighting together, switching between opponents in an attempt to throw them off balance. The two saiyans moved in concert, Toras' strength a perfect counterpoint to Fashas' speed. Bardock was both the best fighter and most powerful of the group. As the battle progressed his energy began to rise.

He took to the air hoping to leave his adversaries below and blast them from above, but was immediately pursued. The machine-warriors grabbed Bardock, pinning his arms against his sides. He registered a strange sensation a moment before agonizing pain tore through his body. The sound of his screaming split the air as high voltage currents surged through him, flooding his mind with animal rage. His energy level spiked, creating a shockwave; the force of which sent the machines careening into the buildings on either side of him. As they crashed into the walls Bardock threw out his arms, unleashing two massive blasts of energy, destroying his foes.

Twin clouds of dust, smoke, and flaming debris enveloped Bardock for a moment before he descended with incredible speed to the fight below. Rocketing toward Tora and Fasha, he dropped behind the enemies they fought. Grabbing them by the backs of their heads as he landed, he smashed them face first into the ground, crushing their skulls.

Before Tora and Fasha realized what had happened Bardock had blown past them in a blur, his aura burning sapphire. Moving faster than his comrades' eyes could see, he destroyed the machines one by one with ruthless efficiency. In moments, the synthetic warriors were reduced to scrap and molten slag.

The other squad leader had destroyed one of the attackers, while the others retreated at the sight of the enraged Bardock. The second squads' leader sent them a parting give in the form of a narrow beam of energy, piercing two of the fleeing machines.

Bardock stood amid the wreckage of his fury, chest heaving, his aura still blazing. Tora took a step closer, "Bardock, you alright?" Bardock raised his head, exhaling deeply as the energy surrounding him dissipated. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. Better than these bastards anyhow." he kicked at the shattered remains at his feet as he spoke.

Shugesh grunted as he emerged from a pile of rubble. "How's about we get a move on before more of those things…" Shugesh was cut off by the sound of trampling feet. Hundreds of the synthetic soldiers were pouring into the streets from the direction of the AA battery. The three other saiyans joined up with Bardock and his crew.

Their leader strode up to Bardock. "Get to the guns while we take care of these toy soldiers." Tora looked at the man in disbelief, "Are you insane!? They'll tear you apart!" The other squad leader shrugged, "We'd be dead already if it weren't for you guys. Consider it returning the favor." Tora shook his head, "You can't be…" "Tora!" Bardock snapped. "They know what they're doing." Bardock checked his scouter for his target. Before taking to the air he turned to look at the man. "What's your name?" The man glanced up and smirked. "Kakarot." "Kakarot, huh? Well, I'll have to remember that. I'd wish you luck, but I don't think this is turning out to be your day."

Kakarot glanced up to meet Bardocks' gaze. "Never had much use for luck anyhow."

Bardock looked into the night sky, "Let's go." The five saiyans took to the air, shooting straight up. Below they heard the rising cries of Kakarot and his two remaining squad mates as they gathered their energy. Bardock could see their power levels increasing on his scouter.

A thunderous blast, accompanied by brilliant light, rocked the ground beneath as Kakarot and his crew unleashed everything they had. When the blast subsided the three signal were gone, along with scores of the machines. They had given Bardock and his crew the time they needed to escape, and continue the mission.

It took only a few moments for the battery to come into sight. "Alright, this is it!" Bardock declared. "When I give the word I want you all to rain down hell on these things, I've got the gun." They flew on for several more seconds, "Screw this up, and the second wave isn't coming, then we're dead. Go!" As the squad split, the ground beneath became roiling sea of flame as the saiyans focused their power into waves of pure destructive energy.

Particle beams strobed through the air in answer, but even the rygeans' targeting systems couldn't lock onto such small objects at that altitude. Closing in on the towering AA battery, Bardock put on a sudden burst of speed. Checking his scouter for the weapons' power core, he pulled back his right arm, readying his best attack. Focusing his energy into a pulsing blue sphere, he hurled it at the gun like a javelin, watching it race through the air. From the ground it looked as though a comet was falling from the sky.

Time seemed to stand still for Bardock in the moment just before his attack collided with its' mark, then…impact. First blue, then red, flames erupted from the tower like a volcano. Upon detonation, the reactor core sent out a massive shockwave followed by a wall of flame, leveling everything for a half-kilometer.

He only allowed himself a moment of satisfaction before consulting his scouter again. Twelve of the eighteen AA guns had been eliminated, time to call in the party crashers. Descending into the midst of the destruction they had wrought, the saiyans activated their beacons, signaling the other waves to begin their drops.

Borgos laughed as he gave Bardock a congratulatory slap on the back, nearly knocking him over. "Not a bad shot, you'll be as good as I am soon!" Fasha rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Yeah Borgos, you're a real inspiration to us all." For several minutes Tora and Bardock stared through the shattered and burning landscape about them. Shugesh took a seat on the carbonized husk of a fallen synthetic soldier.

"I wouldn't relax yet if I were you." said Tora. Shugesh stretched, yawning, "And why's that?" "Because…" Bardock interuppted, "Things are about to get ugly."

Through the smoke and burning ruins, beyond the perimeter of the desolation, countless points of glowing red light could be seen in every direction. They were surrounded. Shugesh shook his head as he stood. "Don't these guys know when they're beat?" Bardock chuckled, "Evidently they're not getting the message; so I guess we'll just have to beat some more sense into their thick heads."

The red lights began to move, drawing nearer with frightening speed. Bardock yelled, his aura blazing anew despite his weariness, the rest of his crew followed suit. Preparing themselves for the coming onslaught they gathered their energies, waiting for the machines to get in close to take out as many as they could in one final blast.

Just as the saiyans were about to lunge at their enemies, Bardock received a signal on his scouter. "Well well, still alive low-level? I have to admit I'm impressed. Don't think you're going to have all the fun though, you're about to see what it looks like when a saiyan elite takes the stage." Bardock laughed out loud at the sound of Prince Vegetas' voice, "Never thought I'd be happy to hear from that little punk." He turned his attention back to the advancing machines." All right you pieces of junk, c'mon!"

The black night sky became suffused with a fiery glow as thousands more of the spherical drop-pods punched through the atmosphere. All but a handful of the synthetics halted to turn their weapons skyward.

A wicked grin played across Bardocks' face. This, is gonna be fun.