Here's Chapter 146! Thanks so much to Rawrzx3 and Galit Kravchuk for the reviews on chapter 145!
Disclaimer: I do not own DBZ or any of its characters, Akira Toriyama does!
...
Training room/Turles' ship:
Turles avoided a ki-blast from Gartoas and a nasty kick from Gohan as he simultaneously deflected a golden ring of ki thrown by Kosho.
"All that and he flits by without a hair out of place, " Galanaz observed with apparent admiration in her voice.
Daiz rolled his eyes. Surely his fellow Kabochan hadn't been snared by the Saiyan pirate's allure to women too; that would be be just too much to take.
"You find the commander appealing, huh?" the former royal hoped his annoyance wasn't evident in his voice.
"No!" was the unexpected reply. He also didn't miss the vehemence in how the word was uttered.
"You're the rare woman that doesn't!" Daiz countered in sudden surprise.
"I do admire his fighting skill but to my opinion he's more a beast than man. If that tail wrapped around me... it would make my skin crawl, " the pale-skinned female stated.
For a just moment Daiz felt he needed to defend his commander over the remark from his crewmate. But then he had to accept that she had the right to decide how she regarded the volatile Saiyan. To be truthful it was rather refreshing to find a woman that wasn't spellbound by Turles.
"So, what's the story with the boy and Turles? I understand the dark-haired human is his mother. Did things take a sour turn with her and Turles?" Galanaz queried.
"I think Chi-Chi would gnaw open her own wrists before she got involved with Turles. Besides, Turles is not Gohan's father!"
"You don't say? Hmm, Gohan's a dead ringer for Turles, " the female pirate mused.
"That may be the case but Turles would almost pass for a twin to Gohan's actual father. Turles defeated him in battle and by Saiyan tradition doing so made Turles responsible for the child."
Galanaz gave Daiz an incredulous look, "Huh? You mean to tell me that Turles killed Gohan's father and now he's the parental figure? That's utterly barbaric!"
Daiz wasn't about to go into the particulars of the relationship between Gohan and Turles.
"Apparently Saiyans see things differently."
Galanaz was totally aghast, "That poor child!"
...
Planet Dasquiros:
"I thought I had found a perfect bride for my son but our planet's very existence was threatened if I allowed a marriage to proceed! " King Danthus snapped.
What the hell could the infamous Turles want with some insignificant minor noble? He had not only terrorized the heir to the throne of Dasquiros with the promise of a most agonizing demise; but the detested brigand had assured its monarch that he would personally eradicate every life form on the planet leaving Dasquiros itself as nothing more than an empty space in the cosmos.
Alibus, the royal adviser sighed as he was informed of the terrifying threats from a heartless Saiyan.
"I'm afraid we have no choice in the matter, Your Majesty. It would be wise to pay heed to the warning from Turles. It does boggle the mind as to what purpose he would have an objection to your son's initially intended. But whatever vile plans that evil creature is concocting, the welfare of your son and our world must come before some easily replaced female."
"I suppose you are right, Alibus. There are surely more delightful young ladies in the galaxy than one that has been cursed to catch the eye of that demon Turles for whatever reason , " the ruler of Dasquiros mused.
'Kami help that unfortunate girl!' King Danthus thought with a shudder.
...
Bridge on Turles' ship:
Daiz stared glumly into space, Gartoas looked at him and snorted as he rolled his eyes. The Kabochan no longer made it a habit to toss one-liners at the burly Kardanagan's expense. His usual jovial mood appeared to have evaporated. It served him right for getting tangled up with that Earth female. Maybe now he'd realize women were not to be trusted.
Turles observed the former prince as well. He had hoped his second-in-command's interest in the blue-haired female was a passing fancy that would fade quickly. But the somber figure now in place of the once quick-witted jokester made it all too clear that Bulma's rejection had truly affected Daiz.
Their own relationship was an odd one. Either would defend the other with their life due to a bond that had formed over the course of years. Only once had they ever been at each other's throats. Turles had directly been the cause of the conflict between them. The Saiyan pirate gave a long sigh as he felt something completely alien to him...guilt.
"Perhaps if I had allowed Zailora to renew ties with you...you would not be in your present state, Daiz. And with no connection to me, Zailora might still be alive."
Daiz snapped his head around in utter disbelief at his commander's words.
"Wait, Commander, you think you're the reason Salzar killed Zailora? You've been carrying this notion around all this time?"
Turles snarled as his face flushed. Gartoas gave Daiz a warning glance. Both of them knew how Turles felt about discussing emotional matters.
The second-in-command of the Saiyan's ship spoke again doing his best to choose his words carefully.
"Salzar would have destroyed all of us if he'd had the opportunity. Zailora was simply a victim of his pure evil nature. You were never to blame for her death.I honestly cared for Zailora but if we were truly meant to be then nothing would have separated us. I can only hope that someday a woman will look at me as Zailora looked at you, I may have had her affection for a time but her love belonged to YOU!"
Gartoas sucked in his breath as Daiz had blatantly addressed Turles without using a honorific title while doing so. Not only that but he brought up situations best not discussed when it came to Turles. There was a very real chance that the deserter of Frieza's forces would explode into a killing rage.
The Kardanagan watched in utter disbelief as his crewmate silently left the bridge with Turles standing with his head bowed making no effort to prevent his exit or reprimand Daiz in the least.
The Kabochan's words seem to echo in Turles' mind.
'I can only hope that someday a woman will look at me...' the black and silver armored warrior's head suddenly snapped up.
Turles had seen THAT look in a woman's eyes. How could Daiz have missed it?
A wicked grin suddenly lit the face of the Saiyan pirate. He had toyed with the notion before when he ended the possibility of a certain marriage taking place; now he was definitely going through with it!
Gartoa bit his lip at the sudden change in the space buccaneer's demeanor.
'Ah, Kami help us! What deviltry's e' plannin' now?" the former bandit wondered.
...
Aboard Turles' ship:
"Now Ah done heard et' all! Ya gonna play matchmaker in yer' old age, commander?" Gartoas chortled.
"Do YOU want to grow OLDER or cease to exist?" Turles hissed.
"Beggin' yer pardon, Master Turles!" the beefy pirate added quickly.
Turles would arrange a "chance" meeting between two unsuspecting souls. What occurred from there would be up to them...
...
Until the next chapter!
daughterofrisingsun
.