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There was a period of a few weeks where the Queen's condition appeared to equilibrate--or perhaps (Radditz thought in less charitable moments) she had finally gotten as pale as humans with blood still running through their bodies could get. Aside from her pallor, neither Vegeta nor Radditz could detect any of the other symptoms that put both on alert in the first place. If anything, the fast-approaching Earthlings put the Queen in a very upbeat mood. She began to work long hours with her engineers, "clearing her schedule," as she said, but also obviously inspired by her current project, one that required frequent contact with her father. Vegeta gradually relaxed his vigilance, thinking that whatever uncomfortable plot his spouse had been hatching abandoned, while Radditz was able to honestly tell Mrs. Briefs that he could observe nothing about her daughter's condition or behavior that alarmed him.
Had either Radditz or Vegeta himself been privy to even one of the daily consultations between Chi-chi and Bulma, they would have been considerably more concerned.
"Bulma, these persistent dizzy spells are not good!"
"Better than all that throwing up you did when you were pregnant with Gohan," said Bulma, deliberately trying to keep the tone light. "Besides, it's not as if I'm actually fainting or anything. I just grab hold of something and I'm fine in three seconds."
Chi-chi was not letting her off that easily. "Are you still taking naps in the afternoon?" the other woman demanded.
Bulma nodded. She had convinced Vegeta that her tiredness was similar to altitude sickness by playing on his fears about the inadequecy of Earth technology, suggesting that her human metabolism was still going through a period of adjustment to the different gravity stresses the harness could not completely compensate for. While it nearly saddled her with another extended stay in the Imperial wing, it also gave her husband a concrete reason for her periodic bouts of weariness. And she had to admit the mid-afternoon rest made juggling her workload and the demands of being Queen easier to handle.
Chi-chi did not like terms like 'workload' or 'demands.' "You had better slow down, take it easy. The medical team keeps telling you to lie down with your feet up. Do it."
"Oh, right. I finally have Vegeta convinced nothing's wrong with me that the occasional nap and some time in the sun won't cure, then I take to my bed for a couple of weeks. That'll keep him off my back."
"You don't want to lose this baby, do you?"
"No. Of course not. Especially not after what it's put me through!"
"Then you need to not over-tax yourself. The doctors have gone through my medical records and compared symptoms. They think what happened to both of us is a leaching of nutrients by the baby's Saiyan metabolism. I'm much stronger than the average person, so it took a couple of months for me to get seriously run down. You... well, you're you, not me. Don't exasperate your condition by deliberately wearing yourself out."
"Chi-chi, I'll slow down as soon as you get here with the medical team and we can convince Vegeta and the Saiyans that tanks are not where babies come from. I promise. But I have to get this one thing done before you guys get here, and it's almost finished. Believe me," Bulma assured her friend, "it's something you'll thank me for."
Konny remarked, "You're in a good mood."
Chishan stood in front of the mirror in their bedroom making careful last-minute adjustments to the pure-black armor, tugging at his arm and thigh bands to ensure they were positioned as prescribed by regulations. And whistling through his teeth. Tunelessly. There's something I wish I'd known about before my tournament, thought Konny.
He glanced over his shoulder at her, his gaze impersonal. "There's a function in Engineering today," he told her.
"The Queen's little demonstration? Oh, let me get the buffing cloth. You'll want armor that outshines all the other Elites, won't you?"
His brows drew down. Then he turned back to the mirror. "Don't be an idiot. Several dignitaries will be there, not just the Queen. Nappa, for instance." His expression took on a savage cast that would have surprised Bulma had she seen it. "I am not ready to challenge him yet," he told Konny. "But I will enjoy not having to bow to him. Almost as much as I will enjoy killing him, when it is time."
She shrugged. "Get over yourself. You would have to deal with your other siblings, especially your sister, first," she reminded her mate. "Ki-wise, she's likely to outrank you, eventually."
Chishan snorted. "In a pig's eye. Besides, she threw away any shot she had at being Commander when she decided she was bonded, eh? It will have to be me, now."
His mate regarded him with barely-concealed scorn. "Take her lesson to heart, fool. Your devotion to the Queen has not gone unremarked."
"Feh," growled Chishan after a minute. "I should hope my duty to my Queen would be noticed, woman. Indeed, apparently it was," he added, proudly. "No doubt it had something to do with the promotion."
"Oh, no doubt," agreed Konny, coldly. "Be realistic, Chishan. Being Captain doesn't make you a noble. You'll have to get permission to challenge. How likely is it that the King would permit you to become leader of the House of Nappasei? Nappa will eventually produce offspring that is high-born and untainted, and that will be that."
Chishan gave a final, unnecessary brush of his fingertips to the shoulder guards before turning away from the mirror, fixing her with a hard stare. "Talent and skill count more than birth or genetics these days. Hadn't you noticed? The times are changing, woman," he said. "Change with them or perish."
The engineering compound was a large, block-like building tacked on to one of the palace's outer wings. The interior was thickly shielded, with movable partitions that could be adjusted for the strains of testing warp engine designs or to create room for the Queen's multitude of half-completed robots. Before Bulma's arrival, the engineering slaves toiled in obscurity and terror, knowing that a malfunctioning circuit in any Saiyan-used contraption would mean the summary execution of their entire family, sometimes their entire planet, whether or not the defect was actually their fault or the result of manufacturer error or ill-chosen replacement materials.
Things changed with Bulma's coming. Working hours decreased, the engineers were actually paid and paid well, and no one had been executed in months. The Queen took responsibility for everything produced by her department. No one was going to risk the King's wrath by suggesting she should be in any way chastised for her workers' errors--especially since she was usually able to trace the true problem with the malfunction to factors outside the engineering compound itself. All of Vejiitasei's technical industries were hastily upgrading manufacturing and inspection procedures within weeks of the Queen's arrival.
And before Bulma, the information that the King himself was coming to the compound would have been cause for dread. As it was, most of the engineers were very, very nervous about the entire situation. But Bulma was excited, darting here and there with an energy she had not displayed since going toe-to-toe with Vegeta over the freedom of her workers, and her enthusiasm was infectious. When the second most powerful entity on the planet walked into the room the workers paused out of a long-ingrained caution, but as he stood for a moment in the entryway casually casting his gaze about the room they gradually relaxed. He was not here for them.
"Zarbon!" The Queen waved toward the entrance. Engineers that glanced that way saw the King's liaison pause for a moment as he tracked her voice, finally looking up to see her on the catwalk next to the large, clear containment chamber. He left the ground, slowly rising until he was at eye level with her. "Come to check everything out?"
"Well, this is the first time in several weeks you've let anyone in here, including the King," he remarked dryly. "I've lost track of the number of times I've pulled Vegeta away from the windows and the halls surrounding your department."
"I told him he has to stay out, but he's been trying to steal a peek," said the Queen, giggling. "Isn't that sweet? Normally he isn't curious about anything."
One slender green brow went up. "Every now and again," Zarbon said to her, "you are alarmingly like your mother." The Queen blinked at him in puzzlement. "What, precisely, are you expecting Vegeta to do once he gets in here? I have not one but two Captains bugging me about security issues."
The Queen motioned him into the containment unit, taking him over to the small, multi-faceted cylinder that floated to one side. Her hands moved as she talked to the liaison, making cupping and tossing gestures as she explained the machine's function. Zarbon pursed his lips. "That's...interesting," he said. "And you're using Vegeta to test it? Maybe you want to start with a lower power level. There are plenty of Domestic and Palace Guards around."
"Oh, pshaw. Vegeta's always saying he's the best. If I have the best, I might as well use it, right?"
Zarbon smiled at her, a rueful twist to his lips. "I can't argue with that, although--" There was an insistent beeping from his scouter. The alien tapped the side of the scouter, then shook his head. "Why is it everything happens at once?" he sighed. "I have to take this transmission; I've been waiting for it for literally weeks. I'll tell Chishan and Radditz to expect some fireworks," he promised the Queen as he left the chamber.
The demonstration of the Queen's new device (whatever it was) was the single biggest event in the capitol since the tournament for the King's Guards nearly eight weeks earlier. While the Saiyan nobility regarded any new machine with indifference, the alien ambassadors and dignitaries that populated the capitol clambered to be part of the audience. The first of the Capsule Corporation's factories had gone on line just a couple of weeks earlier, and already the capsule technology largely ignored by the general Saiyan populace was in great demand on other planets of the Empire. There was an air of anticipation as entities from around the Empire entered the massive, largely empty building and found their seats. Most tried to stand up when the Queen raced by, but she waved them down. "Last minute adjustments," she called out as she got into an open lift that took her to a catwalk almost a story over head. "Just relax, folks! The show starts in a few minutes."
One could usually tell how 'official' the Queen considered an event by how much glitter her clothes had. This, decided Chishan from his post near the entrance, was not a formal affair by her standards despite the impressive turnout of interested aliens. She was wearing gray from neck to ankles, a soft-looking ribbed top with plain gray pants and a gray version of her ever-present gravity device. She disappeared from view within a large, darkly opaque domed structure. Murmuring, her audience settled back into their seats, to leap to their feet again when the King, flanked by Nappa and a few Ministers, strode into the building. Chishan fell in beside his father, then nearly trod on the King's heels when Vegeta stopped in his tracks, grimacing at the expanse of empty space and kneeling subjects. "Where is she?" he demanded.
No one dared answer the King unless he addressed them directly, although a few brave souls raised hesitant gazes to the dark construct overhead. The King fixed narrowed eyes on it, nodded briefly to himself, then there was a 'swoosh' of air and Vegeta hovered next to it, arms crossed with fingers rapping against a bicep. His head dipped slightly. Apparently he was looking at something not visible from the audience, something amusing from the smirk that suddenly pressed against his mouth. "Hey!" came the Queen's echoing voice from inside. "You're peeking again, Vegeta!"
"And what do I see? A floating tin can," marveled Vegeta. "The ingenuity of scientists is ever amazing."
There was a sigh. The opaque walls of the chamber flashed once before becoming transparent. The Queen could be seen inside, hands on hips, tapping her foot. Red streamers twined from one of her hands. "I was going to put a ribbon on it since it's a present, but never mind," she said, crossly. She opened her fingers, letting the bright strips twist to the floor.
The King regarded the ribbons with a quizzical tilt of his head. He softly touched down on the catwalk, walking through an unseen entrance to direct his scornful gaze to the object that hovered behind his wife. "And what am I expected to do with this 'present?'"
"It's a training aid," Bulma explained. "You're so much stronger than anyone else around here, I thought I'd try to come up with something that could still be a challenge for you."
"You created a device that has ki?" Vegeta viewed the contraption facing him with open skepticism. "Don't be absurd, woman. Scientists have been trying to isolate that for generations. The closest anyone has come are the bio-organic constructs used by Cold's trainers. There is no way to mechanically create ki, Bulma."
"How you warriors actually generate ki is beyond mere scientists," the Queen said, a note of arch humor in her words. "Still, ki is just energy once it's manifested, Vegeta. All we had to do was work out the energy's frequency waves. Fortunately my father's engineers had reams of material on you, from the time you charged up in the gravity chamber on Earth, remember? Go ahead, try it," she coaxed. Then a wicked grin lit up her face, and her voice took on a taunting edge. "'Fraid my little contraption will show you up?"
Looking bored, the King raised his right hand, two lifted fingers spread wide in a 'V.' A small ball of ki energy coalesced into existence between them.
The Queen flung her palms outward. "Hey, I'm not shielded! Wait for me to get out of here!" She skirted her husband and stepped out, touching something on the construct's side to seal it. Walking to the end of the catwalk, she took up a station near a bank of machinery. She paused for a second, one hand going to the back of a chair.
"Well?" demanded Vegeta.
The Queen clicked a few buttons. "Go for it," she said.
With a bare flick, the King lobbed the sphere toward the hovering metallic cylinder. It connected solidly. Sparks and streaks of electrical discharge flared, striking the side of the chamber, casting brief bright shards of light against the faces of the watchers. The King crossed his arms, contemptuously.
Then one hand shot directly in front of his face, palm out, cupped against a small ki sphere that flew from the center of the sparks back at him. The electrical storm cleared. The undamaged robot beeped, rotated, and assumed a new hovering altitude.
The King looked less bored. He glanced out the clear chamber at the Queen, brows slightly raised. "It really does have ki? I'm not getting any power reading from it. You?" he demanded of his Captain. Chishan's scouter was feeding him null symbols. He shook his head.
"It doesn't create ki," the Queen said, "but it reflects back energy directed at it, theoretically with equal force."
Bringing his other hand up, Vegeta covered the ki sphere for a second. His fingers pulled apart, infusing the glowing ball with more energy until it nearly doubled in diameter. He thrust both hands away from his body, flinging the ki orb at the cylindrical robot. There was another sparking storm of electrical energy. The sphere spit back at him. Vegeta snapped out one hand. Streaming plasma ripped from the flat palm. There was a point of contact, then a light flash blanketed the chamber, throwing weird shifting shadows around the testing area as a series of ki explosions boomed dully.
When everyone could see again, the King was standing still with one hand out, his fluttering cloak just settling back around his body, one corner of his mouth starting to turn up. Meters away, the robot beeped, rotated, and took up another position.
The Queen watched from her post across the room, an expression of open indulgence on her visage. "What do you think?"
"Heh," the King said. His feet slid apart, his knees bent. Vegeta began to growl, the aura about him intensifying. Both hands went over head, then thrust toward the robot. "Hee-YAH!"
Turning his head to avoid another ocular overload, Chishan glanced up toward Bulma and was suddenly struck by the Queen's posture. She still had one hand on the edge of a chair's back, as she had since the start of the demonstration, but the arm was now flexed with tension. It seemed as if she were suddenly striving to hold herself up. She doesn't look so good, Chishan thought. He slid a peek toward the Queen's Captain. Radditz was watching the demonstration, but one of his lieutenants was also looking at the Queen, lines of concern creasing his forehead before he inclined his head toward Radditz and said something in a low voice. Radditz whipped around.
Which was when the chamber containing the King exploded.
Chishan was on the edges of the main directional thrust of the blast, but it still dealt him a staggering blow that nearly drove him to his knees before he could right himself. There was the cracking sounds of stone ripping apart, the screams of suddenly-airborne individuals.
Vegeta was standing in the middle of the blasted remains of the testing chamber, the royal cape in tatters on his shoulders, the royal armor pockmarked with gouges from pelting debris, the royal face alive with the joy of destruction. The filtered light from Vejiitasei's suns fell across the strong planes of his face as he grinned ferally at the hole he just blasted through the side of the engineering building. Plaster, pebbles and clear, sharp shards of the containment unit were still falling around him.
And, at the catwalk's opposite end, the Queen was in a slow-motion collapse, her arm braced against the back of the chair as if determined to retain her feet, but the rest of her body dragging down despite her struggles. The Queen's Guards were in motion, starting to streak from their various stations towards her, completely ignoring the King; likewise, the King's Guards were beginning converge on Vegeta, almost hiding him from view, forming an envelope of protection that blocked his access to the rest of the engineering department.
Chishan, the Captain of the King's Guard, stood frozen, not sure where his duty called him--to the Queen, who was in obvious distress, or to the King, who, while battered, seemed more irritated at the press of Guards than injured by the unexpected explosion. He started toward the King, but skidded to a halt when Vegeta's gaze locked to his.
What do I need you for, baka?
"To the Queen," Chishan said tersely to the Guards near him.
A host of them got there at once, Negin and Tamane dancing around Bulma in distress, forbidden by law and custom to touch her, Radditz ignoring both to unhook the arm hung across the chair's back, bracing her seemingly-boneless body against his as he knelt on the floor. "Where are you hit?" he demanded urgently.
Chishan glanced around. There was scattered debris, but not near the Queen. The main force of the blast had been in the other direction. "The gravity belt?" he wondered. "Did it overload?" Chishan could hear his father, shouting about an assassination attempt, demanding the immediate execution of the engineers. The Queen's head moved weakly, a negative. "No executions," Radditz said sharply to Tamane. "Rein him in until we find out what's going on." Tamane nodded, levitated, sped off toward sounds of screaming.
Over the cacophony came the King's voice, shouting down those around him. "If you motherless morons don't get the hell out of my way--!" There was another explosion of ki; Chishan turned his head to see some of his Elites flying backwards on the expanding edge of discharged energy. Great, more openings. I wonder if there are any Elites left on the planet that meet the height requirement?More whirs of ki energy from the other direction; Tamane and Nappa were facing off, Nappa now screaming about traitors in their midst as Tamane stood, braced and charging up, between him and the cowering engineers. "Get to the Commander," Chishan ordered some of his nearby guards. "Stop him." Two warriors obeyed without question; two more paused, hesitant gazes going to the Commander, clearly trying to work out who outranked whom. "Move it!" Chishan snapped at the laggards.
Then a forceful blast of air threw most of them off their feet, and Vegeta stood by the side of his Queen, scowling. "A nice toy," he said, "but you need to upgrade the chamber's shielding."
"Obviously," breathed the Queen on a bare thread of sound.
Vegeta's eyes widened as he looked down at her, as if suddenly realizing she had not been simply knocked over. She was an alarming sight; the pale skin had an ashy blue tone to it, and her lips were bloodless, disturbingly beige. "She wasn't struck," said Radditz. "I don't know..."
"Get your hands off my mate," rasped Vegeta, a low growl.
The Queen's Captain looked at the King, his gaze slitted. Then he stood, the frail body enfolded in his arms, carefully passing her to Vegeta. "She's not injured, my King," he said. "Something else is wrong."
"Your grasp of the evident is astounding," snarled Vegeta. He took a moment to look into his wife's face, to shift her body more firmly against his. Fluttering eyelashes hid the brilliant eyes; a visible pulse beat wildly in her throat.
Chishan, concerned, moved forward, but found his path blocked by one of his own lieutenants. "What the hell do you mean, deserting the King!?" Lord Shiruko screamed at him, his shoulder-length hair puffed out, his face vivid with fury. "What else one could expect from a low-life commoner like yourself!" In the headlock of three high-ki Guards, two of them Queen's Guards, Nappa was nodding scowling agreement.
"I would hope," said the King, coldly, as he strode by with the Queen's limp form in his arms, "that my Captain would be able to discern when I required his aid and possess the bare intelligence to stay out of my way when I did not. Clearly I made the correct choice." He stepped off the catwalk, flying over the still chaotic scene. There was a glance back as he paused in the entryway. "You know machinery?" Chishan paused -- Is that a trick question? -- but nodded. The King jerked his chin toward the smoldering remains of the containment chamber. "Check that. Determine if any treachery occurred here. What happens to the engineers will wait on your report."
I should go with you. No response. "Sire," said Chishan in formal acknowledgment to Vegeta's back. He glanced around the room, finding all eyes on him. For one grim moment, he wished the late Captain Zorn here to handle the situation. But Zorn, of course, had been with the King on the fatal night of Vegeta's challenge. Which meant this was now his responsibility.
Folding his arms, he looked first toward Shiruko. "You. Since you are so convinced that the Foreseen One needs the assistance of mere Elites, follow the King. Perhaps you can shoo away homicidal petitioners or swat traitorous mosquitoes." Shiruko went first red, then nearly as white as the Queen. He stalked out, one shoulder guard brushing dangerously close to that of his Captain's as he passed.
Chishan next regarded his father, nodding at the Elites trying to contain him. With obvious relief they released him. Nappa was immediately in his face. "Chishan, what the hell are you doing? Dammit, I should have killed the whore that spawned you before she dropped you in the tank--!"
The younger man pulled back slightly, the level gaze impersonal. "Commander. You may control the Armed Forces, but the Palace is my domain. When you are on Royal grounds, you answer to me. Do not forget your place again."
Nappa's jaw dropped. Chishan turned his back on the blustering tirade before it began, completely tuning his father out, looking toward the engineers Tamane stood over protectively. "Which of you is in charge here?"
After a pause, a rail-thin, mucusy-looking green-spotted individual stepped to the front. Someone is regretting it didn't take the Queen's compensation package and run, thought Chishan with a thread of amusement. He looked at the destroyed containment center and felt his eyes widen. Floating serenely in the midst of the still-smoking debris was Bulma's little ki-reflecting robot, passively awaiting its next challenger. Damn, she's good. "Don't be afraid. You have the Queen's protection," Chishan said gently to the head engineer. "Tell me about your contraption. And let me see the technical read-outs for the containment chamber."
"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Lord Freeza," Zarbon said to his former master.
The transmitted image on the large screen in the palace's main communications center raised a languid hand, dismissing the apology. "I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to get back to you," Freeza said. "There was a rather nasty little situation in one of the outer nebulae that required my attention before I could possibly give your request the consideration it deserved. And I'm very sorry to have to do this, since it is the first official request you've made in your new capacity with the Saiyans, but I must decline. I really can't have Saiyan scouts running around my Father's space, Zarbon. No matter how benign their intent, it would make the King -- uneasy. The borders are difficult to maintain as it is, what with planets in the buffer zone constantly defecting to one side or another."
Zarbon gave a brief nod. The answer was what he expected. "Thank you, Lord Freeza. I'll pass the reply on to Chieftain Nira. She will be disappointed, of course, "
Freeza's black lips curved. "Of course. One can only have empathy for a mother searching for her lost son. Yet uncharted space can be so treacherous, even for Saiyans. Please convey the sympathy of the Cold clan to the chieftain."
Oh, that will make Nira go through the roof, thought Zarbon in amusement. "I will, Lord Freeza," he replied.
"I trust the rest of your new duties are a touch more challenging, Zarbon."
"Dealing with the Saiyans is a constant challenge, Lord Freeza," said Zarbon sardonically. "It's what keeps me here."
"That and your oath to the Saiyan King. Where is your master, Zarbon? Since this is a semi-official call, it would be rude of me not to speak with him."
"The King is attending a demonstration of some new technology the Queen has designed."
"Really? Anything we need to alert our ambassadors about?"
Zarbon grinned. "If it were, I could not tell you, Lord Freeza. As it happens, though, I believe one of your ambassadors is attending the demonstration even as we speak. The Queen is testing a new device, one she hopes will reflect ki. I have my doubts, but she is very good at this sort of thing."
"Reflects... That's very dangerous technology, surely," said Freeza after a pause. "Wasn't there a time you faced something like that--?"
"On Rigel Seven, yes. Although I suppose that was more along the lines of ki-piercing. Very effective even against opponents with high fighting powers. Vegeta would just shrug a weapon like that off now, of course."
"Would he?" murmured Freeza. "I must read the reports from my ambassadors to Vejiitasei more often."
Zarbon smiled faintly. Vegeta's jump in ki would certainly intrigue Freeza, who was always interested in above-average warriors. It's a pity Vegeta is royalty, really; I think he would enjoy the life of a mercenary more than the life of a King. "In any case, what we faced on Rigel Seven were weapons. Bulma doesn't 'do' weapons, as she puts it. This is a training aid so that Vegeta blasts fewer warriors during training sessions. Obviously I'm hoping it's as effective as she thinks it will be," he added, ruefully.
"I know that Vegeta created some sort of technical department for his bride, but I assumed she...dabbled in something. Yet I should have realized the presence of someone new was behind the startling reports out of that region: improvements in ship designs, a radical new method of transporting cargo..."
"Bulma's a genius," said Zarbon without responding, directly, to Freeza's veiled request for confirmation of his 'reports.' "I mean, on a galactic level, Freeza. She and her father both seem to have a way of taking something mechanical and immediately improving it, of taking a theory and translating it into practical application. They're the sort who only come along once every few generations. She would have been completely wasted on that backwards world of hers."
"Indeed? How fortuitous Vegeta decided against purging her little planet and brought her the galactic audience she deserves."
In the midst of polite agreement, Zarbon paused. There was a distant rumbling. Zarbon felt a slight tremor under his feet. Almost immediately the communication officers and techs in the room began darting about. Zarbon gazed at the rush of symbols crossing the lens of his scouter, brows raising slightly. "I'm sorry to cut this short," he said, his cool voice even, "but it appears that I am now required elsewhere."
There was another lazy wave from Freeza. "My dear friend, of course. I'm sure your new role keeps you very busy." The broad, horned head inclined graciously. Zarbon bowed without haste, one hand over his breast, as he viewed the conflicting reports crowding his scouter's viewer with a dread he did not display. I hope no ambassadors were killed. This looks like it could be a major diplomatic mess! I knew she should have started with a lower ki warrior. But she's like Vegeta; it's hard to tell her anything. Straightening, he waited until the very last pixel faded from the screen before sprinting out of the communication center, heading for the military compound where some of the reports now placed Vegeta.
For a few minutes after the transmission ended, Freeza remained in front of the screen, gently swirling the red liquid in his goblet, studying it intently without raising the wine to his lips. Dodoria glanced over at Yuzun. Yuzun's return gaze was troubled. The expression quickly became veiled as Freeza raised his head.
"I was inclined," mused Freeza to his lieutenants, his absent tone telling them he was really commenting to himself, "to leave Vegeta alone now that he is King. Oh, a petty insurrection here, diplomatic snafus there--just enough to keep him too busy to meddle with our sector of space. I would have preferred that one with his power never became Vejiitasei's ruler in the first place, of course; but now that he is, his demise would cause chaos in the region. Without a treaty, we have no claim to Saiyan space; the collapse of their Empire would start a scrabble for territory that might destabilize our own borders. Yet I find the thought that the ... Earth? ... the Earth woman is more than just some toy to amuse him...disturbing. More disturbing than that--if the genius Zarbon claims for her family was passed from father to daughter, then it may be heritable and not some fluke of circumstance or environment. I do not care for the idea of a future Saiyan ruler with the sort of genius Zarbon describes as 'galactic.'" Freeza stood, and stepped away from his hover-car. "I will need to consult my father on this," he said.
Everything was fuzzy. Her vision, her hearing, her thoughts. She was warm, but not comfortable. Her cheek was smashed against something hard. Armor? Vegeta... "My engineers," she muttered.
Her husband's voice came from a distance, hard to understand, not reassuring, something about shutting up? Don't hurt anyone, she tried to say, but the words got stuck between her brain and her mouth. The strain of trying to force them out was too much for her. She was nearly unconscious when Vegeta landed on the steps of the military compound and raced inside.
Even though there were a few minutes warning, the techs were still scrambling when the King burst in with the Earth woman in his arms. The King took in the room with one quick scan and leaped, landing smoothly on one knee next to the closest unoccupied tank. The tech there gulped but moved forward. "My King," she said, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice.
"Where...?" the alien murmured, looking around, her eyes creased nearly closed as if she were having difficulty focusing.
The King demanded tersely, "Is the tank ready?"
The tech nodded, reaching down to take the alien from him, but it was as if the Earth woman had been jolted by an electric shock. "You're not putting us in that thing!" she screamed, thrashing against the King's grip--or trying to.
The tech stopped, drawing back, the royal imperative suddenly reminding her she had almost laid hands on the Queen. There was a protocol for emergencies involving the King, but what did one do for the King's mate?
"Get the tank ready!" the King snapped, controlling the Queen's struggles easily.
"No," the Queen insisted. "No!"
And what did one do when faced with two rulers who were contradicting each other? The tech stared helplessly around the room, not finding the answer in the faces of her comrades. Unbidden the thought came--This is why we haven't had any Queens in a millennium...
With a rush of air, Zarbon was floating just off the tank's platform, his muscular arms folded. "Oy, Bulma," he said, concern marking his face. The platform hosting the tank was beginning to get crowded, in fact; the Queen's Guards were arriving, and several of them, including their Captain, were taking up posts on the platform's edges.
"Zarbon, don't let him put me in that thing!" the Queen pleaded with the King's liaison.
Zarbon's head cocked. He looked at her steadily but made neither response nor move. The Queen's Captain was beginning to look--dangerous, thought the tech, watching him nervously from the corner of her eyes as he scowled at the King. Would he attack the King if Vegeta insisted on putting the Chikyuu woman in the tank? Radditz wouldn't stand a chance, of course--but neither would she, since she didn't have nearly the ki to shield herself if an Elite and the King went after each other half-a-foot away from her.
The Queen was continuing to struggle weakly, but the initial burst of energy had passed. "Bulma," the King said in a trying-not-to-scream tone, "be reasonable. We probably won't even have to keep you in for more than an hour. Remember how quickly this worked with Radditz on Earth? It would have taken months for him to recover using your primitive Earth techniques."
"Human specs," she demanded in a whisper.
The tech suddenly found herself the focal point of several hard stares. "We don't have any," she admitted on a stammer.
"Then we'll use Saiyan ones!" the King snapped. "Humans aren't that different!"
"Here's one small point of difference." Zarbon's voice was clinical. "We never thought to install gravity controls within the military compound. You can't take off her gravity belt here, and you can't leave it on her in the tank. It'll short out."
The King hissed out a phrase obscene even by Saiyan standards. The Queen lifted heavy lids and chuckled weakly. "Tsk. You'll shock Zarbon." The King growled, one forked vein beginning to pound against his temple. "Vegeta," she said, "it's just...stress. Humans have that a lot. Too much work. Too much everything. And I missed my nap, didn't I? That's all I need. I'll rest for a while, then I'll be fine."
Deep creases formed between the King's brows. "I can't trust you, can I? Not even to take care of yourself. Feh. Rest, is it?" He spoke to his liaison, the words clipped. "I'm taking her to the Southern forest. The Palace there has been completely overhauled for gravity compliance. She can 'rest' away from all of...this."
"The Chikyuu ship is almost here." There was a note of protest in Zarbon's voice. "It's only about twenty hours away. The daughter of one of Earth's Kings is on board, Vegeta. You should be here to--"
"I don't care about the freakin' Earthlings!" screamed the King. He stood, holding the Queen in his arms. Although her eyes were open, she was disturbingly listless, her head falling limply against the shoulder guard of the King's armor. "When the Earthlings arrive," he snapped at Radditz, "bring them."
Radditz crossed his arms and replied, coldly, "The Queen's Guards go with the Queen."
There was a moment of taut silence. "Don't fight," the Queen murmured into the stillness.
The King snorted. "Fight with this? Don't be an idiot. Gather your Guards and have them meet us there," he told her Captain, his voice just as cold as his.
The Queen did stir then, or try to. "I do want my friends," she said, an insistent note in her thin voice.
"I'll make sure they are brought to the Southern palace," Radditz told her.
"You also have the meeting with the Adulsian delegation, and the Western Tribal--"
"Cancel everything," the King barked in Zarbon's face, "and follow me. I'll need you there, baka."
The alien remained floating for a moment after the King rushed out, fingers raised to his forehead working at a point between his brows. Then he sighed, squared his broad shoulders, lowered to ground level and fell in with the exiting Queen's guards.
The tech watched the exodus in unvarnished relief, feeling as if she had just had a closer escape than any planet-side Saiyan should ever experience.
| Read The Birth of the Super-Saiyan: Chapter Nine |
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