The Game Plan

The General’s boots dug into the dirt like anchors, as he bared the brunt of the doctor’s surprise assault. His face stung and then it ran hot, as he reached a hand to stroke the afflicted area. He was hardly hurt, but he was quite disgusted. How could this lowly doctor lay even a finger on the mighty General Brokka? First the tiny Commander with all of her empty rhetoric rebelled against his authority, and he had to end her in the most undignified of ways, and now this… the biggest joke of all. Brokka dug his fingers into his bare flesh, he wasn’t aware of it but he caused blood to gush from his weathered skin and ripple down his cheek. He grimaced, his eyes meticulously scanned the small but daring warrior in front of him and his mind searched the endless ways in which he could cause the doctor excruciating agony. He would yet pay for this embarrassment.

Brokka readied his fists and bared his gnawing teeth, his aura exploded around his being in a purple frenzy. The noise of static churning and building flooded the surrounding area as his energy continued to climb. His scouter suddenly blipped to life as he prepared himself to crush Kale, and the reading read an unbelievable 100,000 plus from the doctor. That was impossible, such a weakling couldn’t generate more power than a Commander, this was outrageous. Then the scouter blipped again and this time it read the approaching power level of another Saiyan. To the left of the General was a scantily clad soldier who shouted out in a fury.

“What the fuck is going on!?” The soldier foolishly announced, alerting Brokka to his troubling presence on the battlefield.

I’ll crush this insect first, and then I’ll ruin the doctor. The General bound towards the newly arrived soldier with devastating speed. As the fool flung a pathetic flurry of ki blasts his way, he made short work of them, deflecting them with a single hand. Then, when he was in reaching distance, he gripped the fool by the shaggy crimson hair and drove his head down into the sharp end of his knee. The collision of bone on bone resonated with a loud crunch, something appeared to break, and a gush of blood sprayed in particle form in the air around them. Wasting no time, Brokka then raised his left first and buried it directly into the soldier’s cheek. The brute force forced the intruder hurtling almost a kilometre away from the battlefield, and an explosion of earth erupted in the distance breaking his fall.

“Fool.” Brokka spat, his face harbouring a sour expression. Quickly he turned towards the doctor who was already hot on his tail. “And I’ll bury you next.”

“Don’t count on it!” Kale retorted as he came within reaching distance of the General.

The doctor continued the same routine, throwing a myriad of rudimentary punches and kicks at Brokka, but this time the General cut them short and circumvented Kale’s attacks, burying his fist directly into his face. The force behind his attack sent the doctor hurtling metres away from Brokka, this time his feet buried into the ground as he grabbed for his face. He was a persistent dog however, as already he was attempting a third wave of assault on the General, but it was all in vein. Brokka dived into the air and quickly descended upon the doctor, his leg extended and met Kale’s ribs with incredible force. His combatant cried out with a muffled screech and hurtled face first towards the floor. The dirt plumed, as the doctor knelt in the rubble. His armour was now awash with an ash colour from his collision with gravel, soon the General would turn his face a similar shade.

As Brokka sauntered confidently towards the little bastard, he heard him speak out again however. He was a terribly persistent fool.

“Now I know how Celeria managed to get so many hits in on you.” Kale glared into Brokka from his position on the ground. “You’re not all that after all.” He grinned, teasingly before slowly climbing to his feet. Brokka would enjoy serving this one his own intestines…

“Now I know how Celeria managed to get so many hits in on you.” Kale stared into Brokka’s eyes, unwaveringly as he spoke, then he grinned, “You’re not all that after all.” Maybe he wasn’t thinking straight, he was intentionally antagonising an opponent that was (he looked to his scouter for an energy reading) roughly three times stronger than him! The doctor would have been deceiving himself if he didn’t admit to overwhelming sensations of apprehension that were trying to draw him from the battlefield to safety, but there was much more riding on this than his own survival now.

As Kale climbed to his feet, he readied himself again. He specifically remembered how Celeria had taught him to move in their training sessions, and he assumed the most defensive position possible. The General was an opponent that could utilise brute force to meet his own ends, and therefore Kale couldn’t combat this juggernaut with strength on strength, he had to be more tactical.

Brokka grinned in response to the doctor and spoke, “She’s that important to you that you’d risk your own life for her? You’d choose her over greater power? Pathetic and worthless. This colony will be crushed without real leadership, and I WILL take the reigns.” Brokka charged forward on foot, he readied his fists in front of him and brutalised Kale’s chest with several devastating jabs that did far more damage than they should have. The doctor crashed to the ground again, his defence had been brought to tatters in moments. Brokka was simply too fast and too strong. Kale moaned and croaked as he lay flat in the rubble. His eyes managed to focus on Brokka again, who this time held a pulsating ki orb in his palm. This was going to really, really smart.

Kale needed to buy himself time, he looked to his right and into the distance. He saw the rubble that had been created from Brokka’s attack on Espara, he needed the lieutenant eminently. Together they stood a semblance of a chance… Thinking on his feet, the doctor spoke to buy time.

“I will always choose her over you.” Again, Kale clambered to stand. He managed to climb to his knees before stopping to break. “ALWAYS.” He reiterated, malice for Brokka filling in his eyes. “Hell, I’ll choose anyone here over you General, because like any real Saiyan, I still have my pride and I know what I’m fighting for.” Finally Kale climbed to his feet uneasily, he was drained, but he still had a mile to travel. “Tell me, General, what are you fighting for?” The doctor cupped his hands at his side and his aura burst to life around him. His power level climbed again as he readied his most potent attack.

Come on, remember your training… focus and calm.

“I AM the Saiyan race. And I fight only for one thing, to better it. And you, and your pathetic Commander are the weakest links.” Brokka visibly ground his teeth and grimaced at Kale, he was preparing his own attack. “TAKE THIS!!!”

A powerful energy beam fired from both of Brokka’s cupped hands in a glowing white hue. It was mammoth in size and no doubt packed the same kind of punch. Kale had little time to react, but had stalled long enough to execute his greatest attack. He placed his hands in front of him and his transparent energy ran an electric purple. He screamed out the name of his attack as the colossal blast collided with the General’s own. “GALICK GUN!!!”

The two blasts met in the centre of the battlefield with a thunderous explosion. The ground disintegrated around them and opened up like a cavernous wound. Electricity freely sparked from the collision, and stray bolts of ki sprung from the singularity of the blasts and threatened to burn anybody who got close. Kale screamed at the height of his lungs and unleashed everything he had. His entire power level was packed into this single blast, and hopefully it would be enough to prevent Brokka’s onslaught long enough for Espara to get back in the ring.

Come on Lieutenant, tag yourself back in! The doctor thought as both beams struggled for supremacy.

It had been some time since anybody had gotten some good hits on Espara like that, this guy was strong. His scouter was reading nearly three times his strength. Espara was trapped in a crater under a mountain of boulders and rocks, he smiled beneath the mountain, through bloodied teeth. He didn't know if he and Kale could beat this guy, but he was sure going to try, and he was going to have fun doing it. An aura of ki erupted around Espara, everything smaller than a boulder disintegrated, and anything bigger simply broke into chunks. Espara stood, wiping the trail of blood from his mouth, he craned his neck and rolled his shoulders. He one reserved his surroundings. Nothing but wreckage and piles of bodies. That was one way of weeding out the weak.

Espara noticed that Kale was stalling for time, he took the opportunity to power up his attack. Espara lifted his right hand straight into the air, a ball of ki slowly building from the tip of his finger. The ki absorbing energy from around him into a great spherical mass. Kale and Brokka were locked in a battle, a stream of two attacks fighting against one another. It was now or never.

Espara levitated and threw the ball of energy toward Brokka, the great mass gave off a misty purple aura as it hurtled through the air, a deep purple and black twisting into one another at its core.

Ikolo gasped and shuddered as her eyes opened again. She felt like she'd had an oozaru dropped right atop her. She ached, she burned, her blood was molten lava and her skin was fire. At least that was how it felt. She was acutely aware of everything but the noise. Her ears seemed like they were stuffed full of cotton that went all the way to her brain. She was aware of the air on her skin, hot and burning. The jagged edges of the rubble bit into her back like the teeth of the planet chewing her up slowly as she shifted off the commander. Her breath was stifling as she choked on dust, amber eyes stared up at the deep expanse of the sky. She rolled back onto her side and came face to face with the unconscious commander. Commander! The commander's face pierced the haze of her groggy thoughts and shot the girl through with clarity.

She had to get the commander to safety. Everyone else was fighting but the commander would die if she was left out here without treatment and such right? RIGHT! She knew what she had to do. She had none of the training but she was sure she could figure something out! Cryostasis. Yes! The pods, she just had to manage to drag the larger woman there despite all her aching bones and burning joints. She had to get her somewhere safe. The cryostasis chambers would provide a good start if she could just get to them. Where were they? Ikolo knew enough of fights to keep her head down when they happened if she wasn't to be involved. Carefully she lifted her head out of the dirt sending a small cascade of rocks and gravel tumbling from her wild tangles.

Golden eyes surveyed the area slowly. Blood, death, fighting, energy everywhere. Was this her people? Were these the warriors of the saiyan race she had heard so much of? It was brutal to watch but she couldn't let herself get caught up in the fighting now, she had to protect the commander. Her priority, everyone's priority, was safety and defense. The commander couldn't fight, there were too many injured and dead to move alone. She could only do this. She must, she was the only one here that could. Everyone else was fighting or running.

She scowled darkly as she observed the carnage. She had to figure out where she was. She'd wandered the colony enough to know the layout pretty well. Let's see... She had been in the commons area, meandering toward her room in the barracks when everything had started going to hell. If she'd taken to the left and kept that way she'd have wandered nearer the med bay. Was that right? No, couldn't be could it? Screw it, she couldn't stay here any longer, thinking would get them both killed here if they stayed.

She grabbed Celeria by her elbows and hauled her up to wrap the commander's arms around her shoulders and crossed them over her front, gripping her by the elbows to maintain the leverage she'd need to drag the taller woman on her back. Her tail wrapped the commander's waist securely and she heaved herself forward on bare feet. The sharper rocks gashed her feet a bit as she went but she had to push on. She stumbled and caught her balance quickly. One thing, one single thing Ikolo had prided herself with was her ability to keep balance. She would not fall no matter what this travesty threw her way. She would fall when she lost consciousness again, not before! She'd passed out once already, there was no telling when that was or how much time had actually passed since her world had fallen into blackness.

She pressed forward and ducked behind the remains of a wall with the commander in tow on her back. A single familiar face passed by her and her hand burst from the shadows to snatch Grape up and drag him into the cover of the ruin with her. "Grape!" She picked him up and used a less dusty bit of her underskirt to dab at his forehead. "Doctor? Nurse? Mister Grape? Please wake up. I need you, we need you. The commander is in trouble. Please wake up..." Tears pricked at her eyes finally, the shock was beginning to turn into horror. It was too much to watch. It was far too bloody and 'the world outside' as her mother had described it seemed so much more real now.

She could carry the commander on her back but she couldn't get Grape to wake up. What had happened to him. It looked like he'd just been knocked cold but she wasn't a doctor, she didn't know for sure or even at a glance. She leaned the commander against the wall and brushed her hair from her face. "Don't worry Commander, I'll do everything I can." She smiled through the tears and choked on a sob as she turned back to Grape and laid an ear to his chest. A heartbeat, good. He wasn't breathing much though.

She tilted his head back and steeled herself. She'd seen Auntie Aza do it a few times for practice. She'd even taught Iko the basics of resuscitation. She'd said Ikolo would need that grain of knowledge someday in her line of work. Maybe she was right. Here went nothing! She clamped the doctor's assistant's nose shut and sucked in a deep breath to blow it into his lungs. She filled them once, and began to press on his sternum as she vaguely remembered. Once, twice, three times. She repeated the process, her lips pressing to Grape's in an effort to ensure he was alright.

There were worse ways to wake up she was sure somewhere in the back of her mind. It could be the commander he sputtered back into awareness for. At the first sign of reaction she sat him upright and kept him close. "Mr. Grape! The commander, she needs our help. Please. Please help me! Dr. Kale is- was... I don't know. I haven't seen him! We have to get the commander to safety. Last I saw Dr. Kale he was getting his tail knocked awful hard. The cryostasis, is it close enough we can suspend the commander until she can be treated? We have to hurry!"

Her words came out tearfully and rushed as she hugged the other saiyan sobbing. She needed guidance; to heck with her aching bones, to heck with her burning skin, to heck with everything else! They had to get the commander to safety so she could recover! "Please, she's wounded too badly." She was glad Grape was okay, the colony wouldn't seem right without him. The commander needed him now as much as Ikolo did and he was all that she had to anchor her, the only other person to whom she could look for assistance or counsel. He was all she had to keep from losing herself to indecision and fear. She let him go and slid back to situate the commander on her back again, they had to go. Now or Never.

He nodded dumbly whether from the fact he'd woken up to a kiss of life or the fact that she was crying or just plain shock from everything happening all at once. He collected himself and nodded 'of course'. He stumbled up woozily as Ikolo hefted the commander's weight again. He reached to help carry the unconscious Celeria and Ikolo let him slide one of her arms around his shoulders to distribute Celeria between them. "Ah, through here. What about you? How bad off are you?" Ikolo scowled darkly and kept her bloodied feet moving. "I can wait, the commander comes first." Grape nodded at that as if accepting the words on face value.

They came around a few corners and through a few doors along the way, Ikolo had lost track of anything but her own shuffling feet. He let go of the commander and Ikolo kept her held up right as best she could while her knees felt like jelly and he pressed the plate to open the door. They stumbled through with the commander's arms around their shoulders and Ikolo helped him heave her as carefully as possible into an empty and functioning tube, functioning was important after all, and Grape began to seal it. His fingers danced across the controls adjusting and preparing for the freezing process.

Ikolo stood back and finally slumped onto the floor with her head in her hands. What now? The commander would be safe right? Right... What about everyone else? She felt a fist of ice gripping her heart. ESPARA! She wanted to cry again but her tears simply had run out already. He was out there, he was fighting and she was here, saving the commander for whatever good it did.

“GALICK GUN!!!” The grunt doctor had managed to spring something completely unexpected on the General. He had executed one of the most powerful finishing attacks ever devised by a Saiyan mind. The Galick Gun technique had been mastered and utilised by the most weathered of Saiyan warrior masters, amongst which were the Royal Family, namely King Vegeta himself. Brokka huffed with bemused confusion and continued his own ki assault. The blasts met in a singularity and tore away the earth around them. Granted, Brokka was surprised by Kale’s ability to hold his own against such an attack for so long, but this game was about to come to an end.

The General was tired of allowing his enemies to gain more and more ground. He was ready to crush all resistance and take this colony for himself. The Saiyan race would rise higher than ever before, and it would do so under his command. He would relocate, and he would use his forces to find the Tree of Might, and finally he would dominate the entire galaxy as the true emperor. First the tiny Commander, the doctor, and whoever else stood up to his reign, and finally Freeza. They would all burn, and he would watch the flesh melt from their insignificant bones. He couldn’t help it, but suddenly a rampant cackling escaped his curling lips, Brokka roared dark amusement as his blast began to overpower the mighty Galick Gun technique. Yes, the doctor had surprised him by executing such a legendary power, but he lacked the true power to do the attack justice.

Just a few moments now, and everything would be won. Brokka could see the pain etching its way to Kale’s face, he could see exhaustion beginning to set in, and most of all he could see the fear of defeat hiding behind those wavering eyes. Before he could crush the doctor however, the General’s scouter blipped again, and before he knew it a large blast was upon him.

That fool is still alive! Damn it all. He thought, as he released a hand from his blast, halving its power to deflect the coming ki assault. As the second fools blast reached Brokka, he managed to nullify its power. His aura exploded around his body and with the force of his will, the ki ball stopped and rippled, until finally it shrank to nothing.

“This game is over.” He turned back to Kale, and with a single hand he unleashed the brunt of his energy. His glowing white blast overpowered the Galick Gun technique and he watched the doctor explode in a frenzy of white and purple. Smoke rose from the cataclysm, and the distinct smell of smouldering carried in the wind. “And now for the little warrior who tried to surprise me.”

Brokka disappeared into thin air, and the winds remained still. Then quickly he reappeared directly in front of the second fool. As he re-materialised he dove his forehead directly into the crimson haired warrior’s skull. Then he raised his hand and flattened his palm, using the back of his hand to relentless slap the fool repeatedly. Smack after smack the General watched as the bastard’s face became pulpy and red. Finally he released his hand and allowed his five fingers to ignite with five small balls of ki. He effortlessly released them and they stuck to the crimson haired fool and singed his armour and skin. Then he dove his flat palm into the soldier’s chest, and watched him collide with the rubble once again. This was child‘s play.

And here he was again, on his back in the jagged rubble, with smouldering burns congealing his blood, and the sensation of agony threatening to render him immobile. He’d tried damn it, he’d given it everything he had. The Galick Gun had been his last failsafe against General Brokka, but not even that had been enough. What hope did they have now if Kale couldn’t get back up and do something? Celeria was…? CELERIA! As Kale lay stringently on his back, he peered through his wary eyes at the area in which the Commander had been unconscious. She was GONE! She couldn’t have moved herself, surely? Somebody had to have taken her and relocated her. Perhaps it was Grape or Keyla, and maybe they were giving her the medical treatment she needed? The doctor silently hoped, the Commander had to stay alive, and maybe if they were lucky she could rejoin the battle.

Kale fought to move his paralytic hand and as he clenched it to make a fist, he screamed out in agony. He was bloodied from head to toe, the General’s blast had caused internal and external bleeding, and he had fractured his ribs in several places. He was even sure one of his legs was broken, but there was only one way to find out.

In the background he heard a further commotion, it must have been Espara and Brokka battling, it was bound to end in one way. Just how had the General accumulated so much power anyway? It was entirely unfathomable to think that he had such an amazing power level when he had been on planet Vegeta all of those years ago. Kale thought on this as he managed to pull himself to his feet once again. He screeched and bit down on his lower lip as his legs supported his full weight. His fangs drew blood from his lips as he gritted down, and he tasted the familiar copper zest of his own blood. He had virtually nothing left, if he gave it everything now it would be in a last ditched attempt to help Espara. He could die if he went too far even, but he supposed that would happen if he did nothing anyway.

Here he was, a doctor of the last surviving Saiyan colony, facing an elite General as if he were a seasoned warrior. If my dad could see me now, he’d take back giving me that nurses outfit as a ‘gift’ for my acceptance into the Medical Corp, instead of that Saiyan armour I had wanted.  He smiled to himself and an ounce of laughter escaped his lips. Even in this, the probable end of his life, he found it in himself to laugh. He’d never imagined he would go out this way, but then he’d never imagined he’d meet a Saiyan who wore ribbons and had plush teddy bears either, fate was funny like that.

“Just one more round Kale, come on. One more.” His limp voice managed a halfway shout as he allowed his ki to gently flood around him. Hia aura warmed his numb body, its roar filled him with a sense of strength. This was the final hurtle, it was now or never. He jumped forward and began to fly, his speed grew and grew as he used the dregs of his remaining power.

After a moment he collided with the General who stood atop a toppled Espara who was under a pile or rubble. He swung a fist but Brokka dodged effortlessly. Then both combatants disappeared from sight entirely. Kale was running on empty but all of his energy went into this final assault. He travelled at super speed, trading the General blow for blow on a vibration faster than the normal eye could see.

The two re-materialised in midair for a split second, Brokka punched Kale in the face, then they disappeared again. The earth rumbled as the air exploded in periodicals of a few seconds, then they reappeared again, and Kale unsuccessfully swung a flying kick at the General. The two combatants kept fighting at super speed, reappearing and disappearing, travelling from one end of the colony to the other until finally one opponent lost steam. For the final time they reappeared in midair, but this time the doctor fell limply to the floor and smashed against the gravel. Brokka quickly followed him, cleanly landing on his feet and gripping him by the throat.

The General held Kale at eye height, and as the doctor choked he saw Espara on his right. As he looked to the left however, he saw a surprising sight. Was that… Ikolo and Grape with an unconscious Commander? YES IT WAS! And they appeared to be leading her into the cryo-chamber. What was going on? Kale had managed to fight his final breath in this battle, he couldn’t physically battle anymore, but he could still buy time.

“You know, I’d say it’s awfully suspicious that a pen pushing General like you has so much power.” He teasing, croaking his words as Brokka’s fist squeezed harder.

“And you’ll never know how I did it. How I became the ultimate Saiyan… Shame your worthless existence will end here, with this equally worthless rock. I’m saving Freeza the work, you don’t deserve a quick death.” Said the General coldly.

“T-Then why don… don’t you humour me, huh General? Where’d all this come from? You don’t expect me to believe you were doing secret push-ups in your luxury quarters, do you?” Brokka squeezed again and Kale coughed a haze of blood. Gods it hurt, but he had to buy more time.

“Your final wish is to know the secret of my power huh? Fine, I’ll let you in on the secret, if only to crush your tiny soul further.” Brokka grinned, blood stained his front teeth. It wasn’t his blood however, it was Kale’s… nasty stuff. “The fruit you saw me eating when you foolishly woke me, it was fruit from the legendary Tree of Might. That’s right, it’s not a legend after all, and only I had the foresight to see that. Where do you think I disappeared to during the end, when Freeza was more than definitely planning to crush the planet Vegeta? I went in search of a myth, and I found it and all of its unlimited power.”

The doctor gasped, the Tree of Might was a children’s story, no fruit really had the essence of ki, it was just ludicrous! But then, the results spoke for themselves, here Brokka was, stronger than any Saiyan Kale had ever seen. But where was the tree hiding?

“Some complications have occurred along the way, yes. The original tree was destroyed by a traitorous defector. But the seeds from the last few pieces of fruit remained, and I have one such seed here.” Brokka reached for a brown pebble-like object from below his breast plate. It must have come from the fruit he had been consuming, if only Kale could get hold of that. “Now all I need is to find out how to grow this thing. I hear it’s not like a normal tree, so I’ll need an army of subordinates…”

“…Us.” Kale spat in response.

“You really are a doctor..” The General mocked, as he tightened his grip for the final time.

“S-So what then General? You grow a nice little garden and live happily ever after? It-It wouldn’t be enough, you’ll always want more, you’re just a tyrant like Freeza.” Kale glowered at Brokka, and looked in Ikolo’s direction for a final time. She was finally inside the chamber. Hopefully she had achieved what she had set out to do. He’d bought her all the time he could muster, he could do nothing more now.

“Then doctor, I fulfil our people’s prophecy. And with the unlimited power of the Tree of Might I will become…”

Oh no… not this crap again. Kale agonisingly thought, knowing what was about to come and rolling his eyes for a final time.

“…A Super Saiyan! " Brokka laughed manically, before he finished. “And then Freeza finally dies, and the universe is mine, under a new Saiyan Empire.”

Kale gave a half smile, as he saw Espara drawing in, and he knew Ikolo was planning something. He spoke his final words to the General. “With all due respect General, the cliché of telling an enemy your plans is the oldest in the book, did you REALLY fall for that? You‘re way too easy to distract.” And with a final grin, the doctor lost consciousness, his senses dulled and he fell into blackness. Brokka stood in surprise for what was to come…

Espara again picked himself from the ground, he couldn't stop grinning though. This is why he always trained so hard, pushed himself to breaking point and beyond it, that way the pain in battle could be overlooked. Espara had some cracked ribs, and maybe one or two broken ones, but you couldn't tell by looking at him. Espara stood tall, arms at his sides, as he took a deep breath.

'Where the hell is Nich?' He thought as he looked around at the destruction that lay before him, Espara hadn't expected his last attack to kill the general, but he hadn't expected his Death Ball to have been brushed off by him so easily.

Espara still had no idea why they were fighting though, was this general so bad? He hadn't seen him before. What had caused this fight in the first place? Espara couldn't really dwell on it now though, as he was in the heat of battle already, and Espara was not ready to die like the other bodies littered around him. He was not weak. He was not one of them.

Another Saiyan had approached, slowly, cautiously, he obviously knew who the general was, Espara would have taken the same approach had he known. He saw the Saiyan power up his attack, so Espara did the same. Attacking from both sides of the general at once may fair better than their previous attempts.

Espara watched as the Saiyan powered up his Earth Cutting Row attack, an attack that he and Espara seemed to share. Espara therefore opted for his Omega Blaster. Espara firmly planted his feet in the ground while he power up his attack, a small orb of raw power forming. Espara waited for the other Saiyan to launch his attack, so they could launch them in unison. As the Saiyan launched his attack, Espara threw the giant sphere of energy toward the general. Espara was swept back as the sphere left him, a gust of air brushed against his and ruffled his hair. Espara shot blast after blast of ki at the sphere as fast as he could, he wouldn't let up until the sphere reached the general. The sphere absorbed the blasts of ki and grew larger, and more deadly with every blast that it absorbed.

The General had considered ending the crimson haired one’s life instantly. But that was far too counterproductive to his cause. He wanted to extract everything he possibly could from the colony whilst the opportunity still remained. Yes, they were rebelling against him now, but he would certainly be able to mould some of them, at least. He was persuasive when he wanted to be, and he was cunning, something their previous Commander had severely lacked. As Brokka looked upon the pathetic warrior stewing in his own juices, he became aware of a rustling behind him.

They’re like mice is a maze, they never give up. He thought, slightly amused by yet another warrior’s efforts to stifle him. He never looked in fool’s direction, and he kept his eyes on the crimson haired idiot the whole time. His scouter however informed him of a coming attack, it’s power output was quite large, for a low class dog. Brokka’s senses picked up everything, his ears heard the acute cutting of the air, and they sensed the sizzling of the ki attack. At the last moment he turned on the balls of his feet, drudging his boots even further into the dirt. It was the Earth Cutting Row technique, how foolish this one was. He obviously hadn’t been watching earlier when the General had publicly shamed the Commander with the same power. Brokka quickly outstretched his hand and white smouldering ki erupted from his finger tips like a blade. He’d decided to fight fire with an inferno.

“Hah!” He sharply shouted as he unleashed his own superior Earth Cutting Row. His own attack made quick work of the spiky haired opponent’s, causing it to dissipate in thin air. Then the ki blade travelled further, and with perfect control the General sliced what he had intended to slice. The sizzling ki soared through the spiky haired ones breastplate, then it lopped off the shoulder pads, and finally it diced the torso area. As his own attack fizzled away, Brokka casually grinned as the fool’s armour fell away before him. Now he was naked, in nothing but a black jumpsuit. Now he looked like nothing but a clown.

“Mine was bigger.” The General taunted, referring to the superior size and strength of his Earth Cutting Row technique over Mokra’s pitiful display of power.

Brokka then quickly disappeared into thin air, utilising his super speed. He travelled at a whole new G-force as he re-materialised behind Mokra, just in time to be met by the crimson haired one’s Omega Blaster attack. The energy resonated a green hue and was indeed impressive. Even in his position as General, Brokka had never encountered such a technique, although he did wonder how it would react to the bare flesh. With a flat palm, the General summoned a great deal of strength and pushed the spiky haired semi-naked one into the coming blast. And in a split second his vision was washed by an all encompassing emerald explosion. That had to burn, in fact Brokka smelt the smouldering perfectly.

He was unflinching the whole time, until the light dulled and he saw Mokra had taken the fury of his companions blast. Then the General simply raised his hand and unleashed a single quick but powerful ki blast that collided with the crimson haired one’s face. Now they were both immobilised.

It was time for his final ultimatum. “You will submit, or you will be destroyed. I am not above slaughtering you all for your subordination.” He placed both of his hands firmly at his side and paced back and forth, his eyes scanned the entire colony, half of it was up in smoke. “I need willing troops, men and women alike who will dedicate themselves to the true Saiyan cause. I demand the obedience of you all, in the search of the great Tree of Might. Unlimited power awaits those who would follow and serve me, for before them lies a future empire where they will be treated as lords of the entire universe. Serve me now and be an engineer of the Saiyan Empire. So formidable will we be, that Freeza and anyone who would dare stand against us will be annihilated.”

Brokka walked away from the struggling soldiers who had tried to oppose him, and he continued. “Obedience or death. That is what I am offering.” He remained silent, as did the surrounding colony. They seemingly had no intention of submitting to his greater judgement, they had already been indoctrinated by their tiny commanding officer. Such a shame, but perhaps he could still make use of her mess of a dwindling body. Of course, he could destroy them all now, he could use the colony spacecraft and leave orbit, then he could destroy the world with a single blast. But Freeza was coming, and such an act would make the overlord uneasy. He’d no doubt suspect the Saiyan race had fled once again, and he’d search relentlessly. What Brokka needed was for Freeza and anyone who would oppose him to be entirely ignorant of his growing strength, and he needed a significant enough distraction to do this.

He grinned, meticulously. This world was destined to be bait for Freeza, and the fools that remained here would quench the overlord’s thirsts significantly enough for him to cease searching for more Saiyans. Brokka would leave them here to die at Freeza’s hands, and he would take the pods, yes the pods of those yet to be indoctrinated by Celeria. Hell, he’d take the small Commander herself and have her submit before him. This band of Saiyan warriors -no matter how small- would be his elite squadron, trained for complete obedience under the General. He didn’t need many, a Saiyan Empire was a Saiyan Empire even if just one Saiyan sat at the top of it.

Brokka took to the air and looked down on the spot Celeria had collapsed in. She was gone. He frowned with contempt, and his eyes scanned the area. His scouter picked up nothing significant, other than a few isolated low level powers straying from the rest of the colony. This also happened to be in the direction of the cryo-chamber, how convenient he thought. The General made use of his super speed again and de-materialised into the air, before reappearing in the chamber once again.

“Well, well… the runts of the litter.” He joked, as he set his sight on a medical officer and a rather frumpish and ugly looking Saiyan female. “And is that… Oh, how crafty.” He grinned, seeing the tiny Commander slung over the frumpish one’s shoulders. They were planning on freezing Celeria to prevent immediate death, then no doubt healing her when they were free of the battle zone. Brokka paced forward and as the medical officer tried to fend him off, he back handed the fool in the face, sending his body flying through the wall and out into the open of the colony. The General huffed in bemusement and grabbed the frumpish female by the throat. She instantly dropped the unconscious Commander to the floor, and interestingly enough, Brokka noticed that Celeria’s wound was simply gone. Healing could not have occurred so fast… this was unexpected.

The General held the ugly looking female at eye level, and stared into her terrified pupils. She seemed to recoil in his grasp, but he held too tightly for her to even think about escaping. He smiled and whispered “Boo.” The he brought the frumpish one’s head towards him and sharply drove his skull into her own. She was instantly compromised, and blood spewed from a gash in her forehead. He threw her to one side side and picked up the healed Commander. She was still unconscious and he carried her towards the cryo-tube. She couldn’t fight him whilst she was in here, and he’d need to keep the bitch quiet for the coming journey. As he held her, he pondered on how she’d healed so fast, what did she have up her sleeve now?

“Get up off of the floor kid, that’s for the rats and the interns.” Zeltra’s voice was as familiar as ever. It was confident and feminine all rolled into one. Kale looked up at her from the floor, he remembered being pushed over by fleeting group of soldiers. His vision was in a haze but he could make out her familiar turquoise skin and emerald green flowing hair. She gripped him by the hand, her touch was warm and soothing, it simmered all of his worries instantly.

“I am an intern.” He replied meagrely, his voice lacking in the same confidence she had.

She easily lifted the young Saiyan to his feet and met him at eye height. She smiled playfully and replied in the same manner. “Well then we won’t tell anyone that you’re standing up when you shouldn’t be.” Kale never laughed nor did he crack a smile, he just looked at Zeltra blankly. “What? They don’t have jokes where you come from?” She looked down at his tail, but her smile never subsided. “Oh, that’ll explain everything. That must be your stick-in-the-mud.” She nodded in the direction of his tail, he looked down and raised an eyebrow puzzlingly.

“I’m a Saiyan, we all have these…” He replied, as coldly as a Saiyan would.

Zeltra chortled, “Yes, I’m a senior doctor at this academy, I know all about you little monkeys!” She joked, but he never would have known it back then. As she walked off down the dimply lit hallway, the young Saiyan followed in her shadow, he watched as her long flowing cape billowed from behind.

“You! You’re going to teach me…?” He said with surprise in his tone.

“And you, you’re going to learn…” She retorted, continuing to traverse the dark hallways.

“I’m Kale.” The young Saiyan announced suddenly, rushing to step in front of the senior doctor. He extended a whole arm to shake hers. Instead she reached for his shoulder and pattered it with an open palm. At the time he’d thought it was patronising, but only now did he see the affection in it.

“And I’m Zeltra.” She stroked his shoulder firmly, he had felt infantilised. “But, you can call me Doctor Zeltra, just like everybody else.” She smiled, before moving off, and leaving Kale in her shadow once again. “It was nice to meet you stick-in-the-mud. First class is tomorrow at sunrise. Oh, and do be early won’t you? I hear the PTO soldiers string the unpunctual medical interns up by the underwear off the landing platform.”

“I’m Kale, m-my name’s Kale…” But it was too late, she had already faded into the darkness of the hallway.

The doctor stirred in his unconscious mind, every orifice of his being called out to surrender to the darkness. Every fibre of him was bruised and exhausted, he was a wreck. His memories blended with his dreams, and he saw visions of the past as clearly as the day he had lived them. He remembered Zeltra, even though he’d tried not to for so very long. Her face, her voice, her words etched themselves at his unconscious mind. He smiled inside, but he also ached at the thought of her.

None of this was real, he was reliving… her, but she wasn’t here, not anymore. Something had happened to him to place him in this dark recess of his mind. He’d-

Kale’s breath burst from him as his groggy throat fought for oxygen. He wheezed for life and every bit of him ached in devastating pain. He gritted his teeth and clenched his eyes shut as a reactionary impulse, but it did no good. He felt like he was dying, and maybe he was, but now he remembered everything, it was all because of Brokka. The General had gone on a rampage, and he had cut a path through the entire colony, Kale had tried to stop him, but even with his increased power level he had stood no chance. As the doctor looked around, he saw nothing but a red haze, and felt nothing but agony. His scouter blipped and he heard explosions and fighting, but he could hardly do anything about it.

In his sorry state he simply thought to himself. How is it that I always seem to wake up with my face in the rubble?

Espara watched as the Saiyan's attack was both stopped and countered by the general. The Saiyan's clothes were cleanly cut from his body, and Espara's attack was still gathering velocity. Espara had given the attack his all, and now the Saiyan was going to feel the full brunt of it. The Saiyan from the bar was now his attacks new victim. Espara had never used this attack on a fellow Saiyan before, let alone a nearly naked Saiyan. Espara wondered what would happen to the Saiyan's skin whilst it was engulfed by the energy of his attack, he guessed he would soon find out.

Espara felt a great force against his face, it nearly knocked him unconscious, it certainly knocked him from the air. Maybe he wouldn't see what was about to happen to that Saiyan's nearly naked skin after all. He plummeted to the ground, impacting against it greatly. A plume of smoke, and an explosion of rocks, and he was again surrounded by rubble. He would have liked to have gotten to his feet and attacked again, but there was no point. The general had years of training on him, as well as some magic tree.

Espara raised himself, using his right fist to help steady his battered body as he slowly climbed to his feet. He once again looked at Brokka, into his face, into his eyes. He had never seen such power. No, there was no point in fighting him. Not yet. Espara had reached his current limit, and he could not yet surpass it.

"I need willing troops, men and women alike who will dedicate themselves to the true Saiyan cause. I demand the obedience of you all, in the search of the great Tree of Might. Unlimited power awaits those who would follow and serve me, for before them lies a future empire where they will be treated as lords of the entire universe. Serve me now and be an engineer of the Saiyan Empire. So formidable will we be, that Freeza and anyone who would dare stand against us will be annihilated.”

This is what Espara had wanted, what he had dreamed of all his life. Unlimited power. A lord of the universe. A god amongst men. Espara could raise his family name, his family's name would be known throughout the galaxies. Espara tore his eyes from him, and looked around. This was a tempting offer, surely there was somebody on this colony who no longer wished to serve beneath Celeria?

Espara stayed silent though. This was not the way he wanted to achieve his goal. This general did not seem quite right. Espara could see it in his eyes, something inside the general seemed to have snapped.

And in that moment, amongst the death and bodies that littered the ground around him, the destruction of the colony, the barely conscious survivors, as Espara clutched his side, feeling the bones of his cracked and broken ribs. He laughed. Silently. He laughed to himself. In that moment, Espara had figured it all out. He had planned his future, and how he would go about it.

Mokra smirked with a bit of arrogance, when Espara decided to help him in taking down the general. Although some other saiyans had been taken down, some still stood tall. Mokra didn't see the potential of every saiyan. Mostly, he didn't even want to. He preferred to wait to fight them to see their true power. That was the real challenge that fell on most saiyans. The General wouldn't know what hit him by the time Mokra's blast probably cut him in half. It would be fun to see Brokka get cut in half, and then be blasted to ashes by Espara's amazingly powerful blast.

Mokra's smirk quickly turned into a shot of confusion, when the general made his move. Looking down on his blast being disintegrated, Mokra could only hope he would live to fight another day, and that the general's attack wouldn't cut his chest open. Or Worst, cut him in half. He was in the least, surprised to see his armor getting destroyed. He enjoyed his armor, and the look on his face changed into an even angrier tone. He didn't like losing things, as he was very attached to everything that was his. And this Brokka fellow was really starting to piss off Mokra. More than he already had.
 
Mokra felt an extreme amount of pain, which couldn't only have been administered from losing his armor. Checking his torso, Mokra could only try to bare what he caught sight off. Something that would handicap him. Severely. Any saiyan that lost any member of its own body, would usually be doomed. And now, Mokra no longer had an arm. His arm fell on the ground, as Mokra felt the blood fall, from his now, cut open sleeve. A very bad consequence indeed.

"We're ready to go. Now son, don't be scared about being in front of him. Freeza is not gonna hurt you. Even if he tried, I would never let him. I'd destroy him in a blink. Of course I can destroy him, I just don't want to. I'm making King Vegeta happy.” Mokra heard one of his many moments with his father. That time, he was gonna be taken to see Frieza. Not talk, or be talked to. Just see the tyrant that would one day murder his kind. A great deal of affection existed between father and son, but the father was gone. Was Mokra gonna meet up with him?

Espara's blast would only come to worsen the situation, as Mokra would be in an even worst spot. Mokra was thrown towards the omega blast, with an immense amount of strength. Mokra's blood was carried out of his open wound, as he grew closer to the incoming attack. As he hit the the blast that could very well kill him, Mokra had a flashback about his brother's demise. He wasn't there, but he could only imagine his brother was disintegrated by Frieza's blast. The way he thought he was about to die then.

For a minute, Mokra truly believed the end had come. After so many missions, assignments, battles, Mokra would die because of one of his own kind. Disgusting. Much to his surprise, he fell flat on the ground. His clothes had been nearly completely ripped off, and were only covering his lower waist, and crotch. Now he felt naked.

Mokra's body laid on the ground, in a complete bloodshed. A loud breathing could be heard, as Mokra's heart was still beating. His scouter had been broken, his bones had been damaged. But he was glad his spirit would remain the same. No matter how much punishment he'd get. Now I know I'm not join-... Mokra's own though was interrupted by the need to cough blood. 


That actually helped him sit down, although he sat up very slowly. His bones seemed like they were on fire. Mokra cleared some rubble of his arm, as the dust fell off. He coughed again, spilling blood on his hand. His only remaining hand. No matter how long Mokra tried to stand up, he simply couldn't. He collapsed, and quickly fell into unconsciousness.

Everything was a haze of scents and shadows. Faint traces of sounds. She felt breathing was suddenly easier, and then something small and soft fall over her. The next thing she knew, she was dragged. To where? By whom? She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids would not obey. She heard muffled explosions in the distance. What was going on?

Cold. She was cold. Lying on something cold. Footsteps in the distance, a grunt and a weak scream. Two thuds. Was she next? She tried her best to move, but her body remained disobedient.

Suddenly, she felt herself picked up off the ground. She felt the warmth of something, of someone. Someone who held her firmly and securely, with apparent care. For some reason, it filled her with reassurance. The battle, she remembered, the battle with the general. Was it over? Who defeated him? Was it Kale?

The warmth of whoever was holding her seeped into her, strengthening her. She was confused, but grateful. Still, she had to wake up. She had no confirmation the battle was over. They might still need her out there. She raised her hand weakly and rested it on the neck of the man who carried her, lifting herself up slightly. With considerable effort, she opened her eyes.

The haze cleared enough to reveal charcoal-grey hair. Celeria's gut wrenched. As her eyes traced back, they met with Brokka's ardent glare. Her face instantly contorted into a grimace between shock and disgust.

Every nerve in her body urged her to move, but her limbs remained limp. There she was, in the arms of the madman and she could do nothing but look on. Her features tensed in rage, she tried to scream but no sound came out past her clenched teeth. Her blood boiled as he smirked at her, softly setting her into some kind of pod. She recognized it soon enough, he was setting her into a cryo-pod. But what would he do with her there? He said something to her, but Celeria could not make it out. After closing the hatch down upon her, he left.

After he had gone, Celeria raged and despaired in her mind for what seemed like eternity. It was then that she beheld the face of little Ikolo above the pod. What was she doing - Celeria's eyes widened. The pod suddenly opened, she recognized the hissing noise of the hydraulic seal. Then, she felt herself hauled out of the pod and dragged behind a fallen armature. Through a crack in the metal, Celeria had a clear view of the pod - her pod, which Ikolo now entered. In an instant, Celeria figured it all out.

Brokka had intended to take her somewhere and here was little Ikolo, sacrificing herself by taking Celeria's place. The girl was insane, she raged, wishing it was possible to get Ikolo out of there by willing it so. Soon, there were more footsteps. Brokka had returned and picked up the pod, hauling it away. Celeria tried to cry out once more, but everything went black.

“Why so sentimental?” Brokka glared down at a dumfounded Celeria who momentarily regained consciousness. Her eyes dilated at the sight of his familiar face, no doubt she feared him deeply. The thought of her panic brought a malignant grin to the General’s face. What a fool she had been, this tiny Commander. How she had lived disillusioned by her own thoughts of grandeur. Had she really believed that she was King Vegeta’s elect? Was she simply naïve enough to buy the idea that she was the new leader of the Saiyan race? Brokka’s grin lingered, and he stroked his thumb firmly over the Commander’s lower lip. Her skin was dry and it was pulpy with swollen blood vessels and damaged tissues. She was weak, pathetic even, but she could indeed become strong. With the right conditioning, and the right leader, this tiny Commander could become a powerful puppet.

The General lowered Celeria into the cryo-tube and punched the switch that closed the container door and began the freezing process. It would take some time, her body would not be entirely frozen for a few minutes yet. Now however, came the planning phase. Brokka was aware that many of the weaklings on this runt filled colony had been too deeply indoctrinated by their loyalty and subservience to the puppet-king Vegeta. And as a result, they viewed the General as nothing but an enemy. It was to be expected however, as the great tactician that all generals were, Brokka had anticipated that he may have to sacrifice the entire colony to achieve his goal of universal domination.

There were others however, other Saiyans untouched by Celeria’s poison. These Saiyans were in this large chamber, cryogenically frozen, and waiting for their leader to awaken them. He would take a contingency for himself. Not a large one, simply thirteen pods, including Celeria’s. They would learn the truth, they would be told of King Vegeta’s cowardice, and how the General had ransacked this colony to save the frozen warriors from Freeza’s wrath. He was not in the business of deception, his pride would prevail over the falsification of facts. He was confident that he could simply lead this small unit with his authority, an his steel fist.

Brokka left the chamber and glanced across the great expanse of the ruined colony. Yes, more than half of the structures were still in tact, but the infrastructure was ruined. These fools would never be able to recover in time for a confrontation with Freeza, they were the ultimate scapegoats for the General. Brokka glanced  towards his right and saw the in tact colony saucer. It was standard PTO design and therefore fit for his purposes. He would be able to travel the galaxy with a relatively small footprint, and here he could store his thirteen warriors.

One by one he took them, never lingering for too long. It didn’t matter who they were or what they looked like, as long as they had the vital component, Saiyan blood. He transferred each pod without confrontation, from chamber to saucer.  He sauntered even, travelling the colony as if it were a simple walk in the park. All resistance had been crushed, he truly was a force to be reckoned with.

Finally, he took the last pod. It was the pod of Celeria. She would be his greatest asset, although she did not acknowledge it yet. Yes she would rebel against him, but he would awaken her first. He would provide significant time to alter her mode of thought, until she served him loyally. Her crushed soul would be a testament to Brokka’s superiority and strength. This in a fashion was his final victory over the foolish King Vegeta, turning his elected champion into Brokka‘s own pawn. Finally, the General placed Celeria’s tube in the cargo hold of the ship. It was time. Here he was, the greatest Saiyan that ever was, and his soon-to-be team of thirteen Saiyan underlings. The Saiyan race was about to start anew, and the whole galaxy would fall at its feet.

The saucer blasted into space, it’s disk-like shaped ripped through the atmosphere of the planet and disappeared into the great expanse in mere moments. The future awaited.

When she next awoke, she was able to open her eyes comfortably. She breathed normally. Celeria slowly rose to a seated position and upon realizing she could move again, instantly sprung to her feet. As she walked through the cryo-bay, she noticed some pods were missing. Brokka had taken her people hostage, no doubt determined to submit them by force. Celeria raged silently. She comforted herself with the thought that no saiyan can be submitted by force and sarcastically wished Brokka luck at submitting that which is relentless. In her mind, however, she had already bid farewell to the soldiers within the missing pods.

She ran out of the cryo-chamber to the medbay where she saw the unconscious junior physician Grape. She approached to inspect his injuries but soon found he was only shaken up, as he soon snapped back to consciousness. Celeria got him on his feet and the two rushed out onto the battlefield. The battlefield had now looked more like a graveyard. While Grape rushed to the nearest wounded soldier, Celeria was stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her soldiers' bodies strewn across the ground. She was short for breath as she gazed wide-eyed at the terror before her.

"Commander, we need to look for survivors! We need to go, now!" - Grape yelled as he finished attending to the wounded soldier.

"We don't have enough healing tanks..." - Celeria spoke faintly, as if in a whisper, with a stupefied look on her face.

"We'll put the ones who are at death's door in the tanks, the rest will have to get by with first aid. There isn't much we can do for the dead." - Grape grunted. "Commander, I need you to go look for the ones whose wounds are most severe. I can't get them to the tanks as fast as you can."

"Grape!" - Keyla yelled from a distance. She was beat up, but well on her feet. The two then regrouped with lightly-wounded survivors to administer first aid to the others while Celeria went on her way to search for those who's only chance for survival was inside a rejuvenation tank. She tapped her scouter several times before she locked on a power-level that was nearly gone. Darting off the ground instantly, it did not take her long to reach the point of the signal. As she touched down near the body, she noticed it was Mokra. His armor had been burned off and his arm was cut clean off. Gently, Celeria picked him up and carried him all the way to the medical bay where she set him into a tank and initiated the procedure before going back to the field.

She had returned two more saiyans to the medbay and got them into the tanks securely. As she went around looking more, she came upon Espara who looked badly beaten up, but alive and seemingly able.

"Liutenant, I'm going to need your help rounding up the most severely wounded soldiers. If you find any, make sure to bring them to the medbay and put them inside a healing tank."

Without a word, Espara nodded and went on his way and Celeria continued her search. It was then that she beheld Kale, face down in the dirt. She ran towards him and knelt beside his unconscious body. She moved the hair from his face and noticed he was bloody and bruised all over. Cautiously, she picked him up in her arms and took into the air, carrying him to safety.

It took the survivors quite some time to round up and help the wounded. They had all spent hours in blood. It was everywhere. And the silence of the universe was replaced with a chorus of screams in pain. When Celeria had done her part helping the living, she lent a hand in burying the dead. The death toll was larger than expected, in his frenzy, the general had dispatched over a dozen saiyans. And then there were the ones he took. When the last grave had been covered with earth, Celeria gazed at the black sky above them. Her heart swelled with rage at the thought that all this horror was just a prequel to the demon at their doorstep.

Paralysis, from head to toe. Perhaps a spinal cord injury? No. It couldn’t be, the doctor still held sensation in his fingertips, even if they did burn in a pool of his own blood. There was numbness however, and breathing was difficult. He coughed frantically but felt no pain in his chest. Perhaps a punctured lung? It was hard to tell without the right medical equipment, even for a doctor. Eventually Kale’s ruined ears heard the roaring of engine cylinders, the scorching of engine flames warmed his face and his hands, and he momentarily felt comfort. He pried his eyes open and saw the colony vessel darting into the outer atmosphere. He had gone, the General had made it off of the colony in one piece. He’d won. Kale coughed once more, and even his wheezing sounded pathetic and defeated. He had wanted so much to stop him, and to save the remaining Saiyans, but he had lacked the strength. Celeria was right all along, they needed doctors, nurses, other administrative personnel, but what the colony truly needed most was strength. He vowed to himself in that silent and pathetic moment, that he a doctor and the son of a low-class warrior would become one of the most powerful Saiyan warriors imaginable. He owed that to the fallen.

Time passed in his bodily cage, and eventually help came. The doctor was too weak to open his eyes but felt himself being hoisted into a pair of powerful arms. The grip was familiar, it was no doubt the Commander. He would have smiled, but his muscles had since long surrendered. She was still alive, he never needed eyes to confirm that, his senses told him otherwise. She carried him for a while, in silence, as was expected of the Commander. Although so much had been lost, in that moment Kale sensed an aura of peace. Not everything was gone, and as long as Celeria remained, then he knew there was hope for the Saiyans yet. They’d somehow find the power they needed, and she’d forge the way. And eventually, with the right training and determination, the Saiyan race would be rid of Brokka and even Freeza. He smiled inside, he clung to the only thing they had left… hope.

Even more time passed and he found himself in the healing tank. Now he was on the receiving end of all of this medical attention. The healing fluids tingled, and he felt their rejuvenating essence. His eyes slowly crept open, and all the while, standing there in utter silence and strength was the Commander. Kale had little choice but to acknowledge everything he had previously been too blind to see. Commander Celeria, the last commanding officer of a dying race was a true leader. She more so than ever stood in Kale’s image with perfect clarity, opposed to the shadowy figures of Brokka and Freeza who led by tyranny and not by example. Now, finally, Kale smiled, he was in the right hands. And for once, the doctor could acknowledge that he simply didn’t know best.

((OOC: After such an epic storyline, how could I award the participants of this thread with anything other than top scores? Guys, this one was a hell of a lot of fun to write, and thank you all for your participation!

4,500 PL awarded per post.

Brokka: 11 posts x 4,500 - 49,500

Celeria: 10 posts x 4,500 = 45,000

Espara: 4 posts x 4,500 = 18,000

Ikolo: 2 posts x 4,500 = 9,000

Kale: 12 post x 4,500 = 54,000

Mokra: 2 posts x 4,500 = 9,000 ))