Going Native: Taste of Peace (Patreon)

“What’s with the new ship?” Leek asked, settling into the pilot seat. Bardock stood behind him, with me behind both of them, unsure what I should be doing. Exploring the ship ran the risk of running into the other four saiyans on board, so I awkwardly followed Bardock around because he was the only one familiar to me. “This ship is meant for platoons.”

Bardock cracked a smile as the ship lifted off the ground with a low hum that was barely audible. “It’s easier to just give us a new ship than installing a half dozen healing pods into our old one.” 

“A half dozen?” Leek blurted, turning around. I kept an ear open to their conversation as I walked forward, taking a seat in the other chair as I stared out the front window. We rapidly traveled through thick clouds, busting through them until everything grew darker as we entered the stratosphere...I was seeing the curvature of planet Vegeta.

It didn’t really look like how I remembered earth. The landmasses were all wrong, the color was lighter, cyan rather than royal blue. The polar ice caps were also much larger while the clouds swirled in incredible patterns. 

“Yeah. Had to use some leverage, but I convinced King Vegeta that we were worth it.” Bardock explained, sounding proud of himself. Leek let out a low whistle, going through a series of checks, getting a ping in response. The planet shifted from view, giving way to an inky blackness that was only broken up by countless small pricks of light that almost seemed to twinkle in the darkness. Those pricks of light blurred, stretching into lines that I recognized as slipping into hyperspeed. 

“You convinced King Vegeta that low-class saiyans were worth six healing tanks? You’ve worked miracles before Bardock, but this one might take the cake.” Leek praised, then raising an eyebrow to give Bardock a pointed look. “So, why do we need healing tanks all of a sudden? Frieza can call it what he wants, but this mission isn't that much different than any other.”

Bardock scoffed, “if you don’t think the Reach is ready for something like this, then you’re an idiot. The natives are trash, but I’ll bet my tail if there aren’t scarabs stationed there.” He explained, earning a nod from Leek as I continued to stare at the lines of light. Even still, I perked up at the mention of the Reach’s greatest weapon. A machine scarab that attaches itself to a host, granting them increased strength, durability and transformative abilities at the cost of their free will.

“Yeah, but scarabs don’t get much stronger than 40,000 pl, and I doubt one of those are going to be stuck as a peacekeeping force.” Leek dismissed, jinxing us and probably dooming us to death. Ignoring that, I spared him a glance at how he could dismiss such a stupidly huge power level. King Vegeta was the strongest saiyan in history and he was barely over ten thousand-

“We’re going Ozoru?” I asked, earning a nod from Bardock. The ace in the hole for saiyans, by absorbing enough blutz waves we could transform into a giant ape that was roughly ten times stronger our base power. Apparently no one bothered exploring that quirk of evolution since I didn’t understand how that made any sense, but I wasn’t complaining. 

He nodded, “As soon as we touch down. Rockoroad is a small planet with only a couple hundred million population. We need to hit them fast, overwhelm their defenses, slaughter the natives, then get out before the Reach can react.” It sounded like a solid plan, though if the fact that Bardock went out of his way to get healing pods, it seemed that he didn’t expect things to go to plan. “It has plenty of moons though, always one in the sky at any given time, so it’ll be best if we break off into pairs.”

Multiple moons. It was little wonder why King Vegeta, or more likely Lord Frieza, chose this planet for the opening move. On the other hand, it also made it the obvious choice. Thus the healing tanks. 

“Sounds good to me. We’ll arrive in a few weeks, so we can hammer out the little stuff on the way. Or you can sleep through it like usual,” Leek said, turning away from the command center. Bardock gave an unrepentant shrug in response. 

“I’ll catch up with everyone since I’ve been babysitting for so long. And grab some food,” with that, Bardock walked out of the cockpit. I watched him go, torn between following him and continuing to stare out at the great void known as space. 

Leek let out a breath, “he’s wound pretty tight. Guess he’s more worried about the mission than I thought.” Then he looked at me, throwing on a smile, “but don’t worry about that. With Bardock leading us, everything will be just fine.”

I stared at him for a moment, not quite sure how to respond. Were...we just going to pretend that he hadn’t left me to die like ten minutes ago? Because he straight up left me to die to save his own life about ten minutes ago.

“We were sent to die,” I summarized my thoughts on the situation. Maybe not with the exact intention of killing us, but we weren’t expected to come back. The Reach and Trade Organization were standing nose to nose, each waiting for the other to take the first swing. We were that punch to bloody the Reach’s nose, but why let that blow land if you knew it was coming? 

Leek gave me a look that I saw out of the corner of his eye before giving a shrug. “Yeah, pretty much,” he agreed easily enough. “But, like I said, Bardock will lead us through this and we’ll all go back home great big heroes. It’s what he does.”

Leek’s unwavering faith in Bardock reassured me somewhat, but it just moved my worries in a different direction. King Vegeta had to have approved me going on this suicide mission… Suddenly, my interest in the final frontier vanished. I hopped out of my chair, ignoring Leek’s questions about where I was going. 

The door slid shut behind me, only then did I ponder the question. Where was I going? Should I find Bardock and follow him like a lost duck? No, he was with his squad mates and I didn’t...people very well. Well, if everyone was in the cafeteria, then the rest of the ship should be empty. If there was a time to explore, then it would be now. 

My feet moved of their own will, taking me down hallways with an ever so slight bend to them that followed the saucer shape all the while I tried not to think about anything. The ship seemed bigger on the inside than it did before, and broken into four big sections marked by a large bulkhead door, which were broken up into smaller sections. Despite appearances, it struck me as a ship for battle rather than a transport. 

I heard the sounds of laughter echoing down the hall, coming from the direction of the cafeteria. Stepping down a hallway that would lead me away from it, I kept walking occasionally popping my head into rooms just to see what they were. I found a barracks, cargo hold, medical room, an engine room filled with so many complicated machinery it would probably explode if I touched anything and-

My thoughts were interrupted when I nearly ran face first into a wall that came out of nowhere. Backing up, I saw that it wasn’t a wall but a woman. She was taller than me by over two feet, but I noticed that she was noticeably shorter than the average saiyan. She wore a dark pink unitard that left her thighs and shoulders bare. Above it was Frieza-force armor, though with only one strap. On one of her legs was a light yellow leg warmer with knee guards over it. 

“Heh, there you are you little tyke,” she greeted, smiling as she leaned over, her golden earrings bouncing lightly. “I was looking all over the place for you.”

Stumbling back, she caught me by rubbing the top of my head hard enough that I’m sure I was sporting a bald spot. “Why?” I asked, trying to move her hand away, only for it to not budge. A casual reminder of just how much stronger everyone else was. 

Thankfully, she took the hint and withdrew. “Because, for now, we’re squadmates.” She answered like that was some kind of explanation. I waited for her to continue, but when it was clear that she wouldn’t, I responded. 

“So?” I asked with a tilt of my head, frowning in confusion. What did that have to do with anything? The saiyan woman just smirked in response, seemingly used to the question.

“We aren’t like most squads. Bardock kept preaching about teamwork for ages before any of us took it seriously,” she said, placing a hand on my shoulder and leading me forward. After a moment of hesitation, I let her. “Covering the other's weakness, supporting them when they’re in a bad spot and so on. I thought it was nonsense for awhile too, even when I was obeying his orders.”

That sounded...weird. Not bad, just really weird. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that a squad of saiyans were five individuals that just happened to be fighting on the same planet at the same time. It sounded like Bardock took it a step further. 

“And look at us now. The strongest of the low-class saiyans,” She continued, leading me closer to the source of all the laughter. Now it was clear where she was going with all of this. I seized up, earning a chuckle from her as she just picked me up. “Stop being so anti-social, sheesh. Suck it up and have some fun. It’ll be good for you.”

I tried to fly out of her grasp, only for my clothes to betray me by stretching. When that didn’t work, she yanked me back before grabbing me by the tail. “Urgh,” I groaned, swatting at her hands weakly. 

“Huh, tough little guy, ain’t ya?” She commented, “Shugesh doesn't put that much fight when his tail gets pulled.” A growl escaped my throat as I grabbed her hand, trying to pry her fingers off of my tail. However, it was too little too late. She brought us to the cafeteria, stepping through the threshold. 

Looking up, I saw the other saiyans, including Leek, sitting at a large table with a veritable mountain of food stacked on top of it. Bardock and the one dressed in blue armor were knocking back mugs of alcohol, the other two were stuffing their faces, though at very different paces. The one with a bowl haircut shoved food into his mouth every other second while the other with three scars marked on his forehead bothered to chew. 

The one in blue noticed us first. “Fasha? Where did you get off to?” He asked, wiping his mouth of a dark green liquid. 

Fasha held me up as an answer, bringing Bowl-Hair’s attention to me. He paused stuffing his face, a scowl crossing his features. “Why’d you bring the kid? I’m sure Bardock has seen enough of ‘em.”

“Shut it Shugesh,” Fasha responded, striding into the room with easy confidence. She dropped me into an empty chair next to the saiyan with the blue armor, who spared me a look. I met his stare, not sure what I was supposed to be doing. Whatever I did, it was apparently the right thing because he held his hand out. 

I shook it, noting that my hand was comically small in comparison. 

“Bardock has told be quite a bit about you, Tarble. Nice to finally meet you. I’m Tora, vice-captain to these idiots.” Tora introduced himself with a surprisingly easy going grin. It really didn’t match his large size or stern face. 

“Nice to meet you?” I echoed, this going very differently than the first time Bardock and I talked. My eyes darted to my...caretaker…to see him idly watching the interaction as he drank his alcohol. He cocked an eyebrow when our eyes met as if to ask me what I was looking at, so I quickly looked away, my gaze landing on one of the other saiyans. 

They landed on the saiyan with the three scars across his forehead, that stood out that much more because of his darker skin tone. And the fact that he was bald on the top of his head, with the sides fanning out almost parallel. He was probably the tallest of the group and the widest. 

He met my gaze silently, chewing on a slab of meat, only to pause for a long second. I went stiff on reflex, ready to bolt out of my chair for a fight, even if it could only end one way. Instead, he ripped the slab of meat in half like it was a piece of paper, grease and fat flying everywhere before he tossed the other half to me. After catching it with minimal fumbling, I gave him a questioning look and got a sage nod in return before he continued with his own meal. 

Right. That was...good? Either way, I got something to eat without having to fight tooth and nail for it, so there was that. 

Finally, my gaze landed on the last member of Bardock’s squad. A man more heavyset that muscular, his face round with chubby cheeks, a half-grown thin mustache stretching down his lips. He wasn’t looking at me in favor of shoveling more food into his mouth by the handful. I knew about manners, so they were clearly a thing, but Shugesh seemed like he couldn’t care less about them. 

While I was looking at them all, Tora continued leading the conversation that we had apparently interrupted. “As I was saying, the scarabs are broken up into tiers-” He started, only to pause when he looked at me. I gave him a questioning look, wondering why, but Bardock supplied the answer he was looking for. 

“He learned all about the Reach in the tank. Actually, Tarble, you give the briefing since you probably know more about the Reach than any of us.” Bardock ordered the complement left forgotten in the horror of being put on the spot. 

“Uh,” I started intelligently, shifting in my seat as I felt all eyes go onto me. The knowledge downloaded into my brain, always so quick to surface, vanished without a trace. “Okay?” I tried, the awkward silence stretching on and on, leaving me to break it. “Right.”

Where did I start? Tora mentioned something about tiers...right. As good of a place as any. “Um, the scrabs have numerous tiers; blue and green are typically used as scouts, while red and black are used as vanguard units.” I started, quoting what I learned word for word. “Additionally, there are special class units that have been observed in recent years, likely created out of anticipation of war with Lord Frieza-”

Shugesh let out a snort, bring me up short. When he met my look, he scowled, “quite it with the boring details. Get to the good stuff.” He ordered, making heat raise to my face. 

“Er, right.” Losing my train of thought, it took me a moment to skip to the parts he wanted to know. “Scouts typically have a power level that maxes out at 10,000, but are typically lower depending on the model. The Vanguard units are a lot stronger. Like, a lot stronger. Most average out at 40,000, with more advanced models coming out, so that is likely to increase.”

This was going... not horribly. “But there have been rumors about other models being put into production in the hopes of countering Lord Frieza. A support class scarab’s existence has been confirmed, but thats all we know about it so far. Then there is a purple scarab, only we don’t know anything about its function or role. The intel we have suggests its power level could be as high as...100,000.”

Leek let out a low whistle, “didn’t know about them.” He commented through a mouthful of food. 

“Doesn’t matter though since we're going Ozoru.” Fasha dismisses with a shrug over her shoulders. 

“Don’t have a choice, more like it,” Tora muttered more to himself than anyone else, sounding exasperated. Fasha just dismissed his words with another shrug while she spotted a lopsided grin. 

“Tarble,” Bardock got my attention. “Don’t sit there sucking on your thumb. Continue.” He ordered, making the short-lived conversation fall short. I shifted in my seat, having thought my part was done. What was with him? I knew he wanted me dead, making me go on a suicide mission that was wildly out of my league, was proof of that, even if I didn’t know why. Did he just enjoy watching me suffer?

“Uh?” I hesitated, wondering what else would be useful and they would actually care about. I doubt they would be interested in Reach politics, or a recent primitive species that they uplifted. What did they want to hear? “Um-”

“Wouldya stop humming and hawing?” Shugesh grumbled through a mouthful of food. “Just spit it out already.” He didn’t sound mad, but I felt my face turn bright red, which only made my embarrassment that much worse because now it was obvious that I was embarrassed. 

I almost said um again, though I managed to stop myself by being incredibly aware of the word. The tension becoming increasingly unbearable, I latched onto the first thing that came to mind. “If this planet is the obvious first target, then wouldn’t it make sense if they were ready for us going Ozoru?” 

Tora straightened, giving me a sharp look. “What do you mean by that?” He asked, not sounding surprised exactly, but taken off guard. I didn’t miss the look he shared with Bardock either. 

“Uh,” Shoot, I did it again. “We’re already assuming that there are scarabs, then they probably have other defenses built. Like, er, bombs on the moon to blow it up, or maybe a really big gun to shoot us when we’re in Ozoru form or some way to cut off our tails...or something.” I finished lamely, cringing on the inside a little. 

“This is weird,” Shugesh muttered just loud enough that everyone heard him. When I looked at him, he gave an unapologetic shrug. “I’m not the only one thinking it. Bardock, if you say the kid is ready then I’ll believe he’s ready, but that doesn't change it weird hearing a baby talk like that.”

My lips pressed together into a thin line, looking at the others to see if they agreed with them, only to find consensus. 

“You get used to it,” Bardock dismissed, ignoring my scowl in his direction. “But he’s right. We were already going to have to sneak our way planetside, but odds are we’re going to have to attack any military installation we can find as our opening move. With them out of the way, the civilian population will be defenseless. Same plan as before other than that -- hit them fast, hit hard, then get out before they can counter. 

“Sounds good to me,” Fasha spoke up for the rest of the squad. 

“What about the kid?” The one with the scars asked, shockingly gentle. It really, really, really didn’t match his face. At all. 

“I said not to worry about him, didn’t I?” Bardock answered with a dismissal shrug, grabbing a slab of meat. He sounded annoyed, pinning me with a look for a moment before it flickered over to Tora. “He’ll tag along with Tora’s group. Look after him for me.” 

I twitched, anger bubbling in my chest as I bit into my food to stop myself from saying something. I was being treated like a problem that he shoved onto someone else the first chance he got. It shouldn’t be surprising, but it was and it sucked. 

“Will do,” Tora agreed while Shugesh heaved a sigh. Bardock cocked an eyebrow in his direction while Fasha just sighed, rolling her eyes so hard there was a risk of them rolling out of her skull. 

“If we’re protecting the prince then we don’t get to fight the strong guys,” Shugesh muttered, giving me a sour look. “Can’t Borgos look after ‘em instead?” My next bite into my meal was harder than necessary, my teeth grinding the meat into nothing before swallowing it and my anger. 

“What?” Fasha sputtered, “no, just deal with it Shugesh.” She denied with a shake of her head while Borgos, the largest saiyan, simply ate in silence. 

“Why not? You’re the one with a soft spot for kids! We don’t need some deadweight princeling-”

“I’m not a prince!” I snapped at the larger man, feeling a vein throb in my forehead as I failed to swallow my anger. It came bubbling back to the surface, erupting and spilling out. Of all things, Shugesh didn't respond because he simply gave me a surprised look. 

Taking a deep breath, I set my jaw as I glared at him, then at the table as I put my realization into words. “If King Vegeta okayed me going on this mission then it means he’s written me off. Until I become an elite-class saiyan, I mean nothing to him and he won’t acknowledge me.”

I wasn’t supposed to feel anything about that. A saiyan warrior was meant to be proud, independent and utterly ruthless. Not being acknowledged by my parents shouldn’t matter to me. The only thing that should matter to me was reaching elite-class for my own sake, so everyone would acknowledge my strength. 

Should and shouldn’t didn’t matter, though. 

“Elite-class, huh?” Fasha said with a grin, throwing an arm over the back of her chair. “And I thought we were aiming big to make it to mid-class.”

“Speak for yourself. I’m sure Bardock is aiming for the-urk.” Shugesh started, only to be cut off with an elbow from Tora. The shorter saiyan shot him a sharp look, only to turn his gaze to me, his shock giving way to a sheepish expression. 

“That’s enough cutting up,” Bardock stated, quick to put an end to that conversation. I knew better than to ask, knowing I wouldn’t get an answer. Instead, I finished off my food, chewing thoughtfully on who Bardock could be gunning for. 

Could it be...Lord Frieza? I huffed at the thought. No, that was flat out impossible. Lord Frieza might as well be a god he was so much stronger than everyone else. His target must be much weaker. Perhaps...what would Bardock want...maybe…

The Ginyu Force? The elite of the elite, the most powerful and feared squad in the entire Frieza Force. Lead by captain Ginyu, who had a power level of over 100,000. He too was well out of reach for Bardock to hope to defeat, but the other members were nowhere near as strong. Most of them hovered around 50,000, which was still out of reach without going Ozoru, all except for their weakest member who had a power level of 10,000. 

That had to be it. Bardock wanted on the Ginyu force. Ambitious. 

“Now enough about that crap. Feels like it's been ages since we were all together. What did you knuckleheads get up to?” With that, Tora lead the way of explaining what they had been doing for the past three months, letting me eat in peace. I savored it while I could. 

War was on the horizon, after all.