Going Native: Sounds of the Soul (ch. 43) (Patreon)

"What have I created?" Narra softly asked herself as bile rose in the back of her throat, the atrocious spell that she crafted solely took shape before her eyes. Just over a dozen of her sisters sat in a circle, their hands interlocked as their lips moved, uttering the words of a spell. Ancient words, the spoken word of their home planet, and she mangled them. Twisting those beautiful, breathtaking words, into something hideous. Something that went against their very nature… the words, the spell, the only word Narra could think to describe it was evil. 

The cage glowed brightly overhead, a bright segmented gold. But to her eyes, the sky carried a green tinge. Her people's runes were inscribed into each satellite, forming a secondary cage, but its purpose was far more sinister. The satellites prevented any thought of retreat or reinforcements, but the cage she had crafted under the orders of Prince Tarble? It prevented souls of the departed from leaving this plane of existence. From finding peace in the afterlife. From moving on. 

A cage to disrupt the natural cycle of life and death. 

A child had thought of this hellish, vile spell. And she had no choice but to obey. Only now, looking at what her deeds had wrought, and knowing that the worst had yet to come, Narra felt despair grip her heart. 

Souls of the dead drifted downward towards the green flame that hovered above her sisters. A green flame without warmth or heat. A flame as cold as death itself. The tormented souls of the departed screamed their anguish, their confusion, fear, and anger -- the sounds of their horror was almost enough to deafen her to the sounds of war. Simply because the souls of the departed, their spirits were drawn to the flame. And once they grew too close, the flame claimed them, using their immortal soul as kindling to power the spell. 

They screamed in pain, the screeching sound piercing her eardrums, but all the same, Narra maintained her part of the spell unflinchingly. Even as thousands of souls were lost for eternity, forever denied their afterlife, and used much like a log for a fire. Enemy and ally alike were claimed by the ever-growing flame, and if there had to be a silver lining it was that most were in a state of madness from their recent deaths. 

Narra swallowed thickly, pretending that she was braver than she was. And all the while she wondered what Mother, the previous Night Mother, would say if she could see her now. Nothing good, Narra imagined. "Prince Tarble, the spell is ready," Narra informed the Prince. A six-year-old child. 

Months later and she still didn't understand how a spell meant to destroy evil failed to harm the Saiyans. 

"Good. Withdrawing to base now. Have your people set up the shield," Prince Tarble ordered, his voice terrifyingly calm. The Wrath State, a state that drove most of the users mad with rage, and this recent depravity weren’t enough to make the Prince waver. Not even close. 

"At once," Narra heard herself say as the moment of truth came. She stared into the green flame, and she could swear she saw demented faces in the flames staring hatefully back at her. Worse, if they were, Narra couldn't blame them. Her sisters slowed their chanting, maintaining the spell and pretended that they couldn't see or hear what they had done. Narra opened her mouth to say something, anything, but the words wouldn't come. 

Their Mother, the previous Night Mother, would have known what to say. But, as much as she might wish otherwise, Narra wasn't her. 

Instead, in silence, Narra held out her hands, cupping them as if to dip them into a stream for water and reached out with her magic to the horrifying flame. Her lips moved, muttering the ancient spell, and the flame shrunk, condensing as it floated over to her hands. Yet, even still, the souls of the departed rushed to the flame, seeking the relief of the afterlife, only to find eternal destruction instead. Narra turned away from her sisters, feeling their gazes and their judgment on her back as Narra walked forward to the defensive lines. 

Frieza-force troops dug themselves in well, using the cover and peeking up to deliver death to the enemy. Destruction lit up the sky as their fliers and anti-air machinery prevented Reach weapons of mass destruction from wiping out their small pocket. Narra lacked the gift of hearing souls speak like Nakka had, but she could feel the lives slipping away all around her. Hundreds, if not thousands every second. An exaggeration, Narra hoped, but she feared that it was the truth. 

Gently, Narra floated upward, distantly aware of how her sisters took up positions and hummed a familiar chant. She couldn't hear it over the death, destruction, and screams, but Narra could hear it with her heart. A symbol, the written language of the planet, marked around them in green flames before those symbols stretched outward, connecting the other sisters. Within a short moment, a perfect circle marked the encampment. 

Narra looked outward at the sky, finding a speck in the distance that was Prince Tarble. He raced towards the encampment, forced to fight at a distance to unleash his true might. A thought pulled at her, urging her to drop the flame. To make the Prince pay for what he was making her do. So that he would suffer the same fate he intended to inflict on… billions. 

Yet, her hands refused to drop the small flame. Fear paralyzed her. Queen Teach was more monstrous than Prince Tarble by half and would take sadistic pleasure in killing Nakka and the rest of her sisters in recompense. But, beyond the fear was doubt. 

Prince Tarble possessed a quiet and sad inner voice according to Nakka. She had expected an angry and cruel one. It made her doubt that despite how senselessly evil he acted that there was something underneath that was… not evil. 

"Drop it," Prince Tarble ordered, his voice causing a cold shiver raced down her spine. Narra closed her eyes for a brief second, aware of how every member of the Frieza-force fell back behind the circle her sisters formed. Despite every teaching, every moral, and every thought screaming at her to do the opposite, Narra dropped the flame. It fell to the ground, but the small drop it should have been was instead a massive tidal wave of green fire. 

The tidal wave surged forward, spilling in every direction except for where it met the protection runes her sisters made. Narra forced herself to open her eyes, to sear the image of the magical fire washing over the Reach defensive lines. The body was unharmed, simply falling over like a puppet with its strings cut. But Narra watched as hundreds, then thousands of souls were consumed by the hungry fire, making it swell and expand until even the Scarabs that flew in the air were consumed. Within moments, the tidal wave of soul-devouring fire was all Narra could see in every direction. 

The planet surface would be scourged of all life, their soul consumed and destroyed. Until only three pockets that were their army remained. 

"Looks like the spell was effective," Prince Tarble noted as he flew near. It was something about that sentence that made the unforgivable sin settle into place. Perhaps it was the praising tone or just the confirmation that it had worked. 

Narra… had just killed… billions. 

The plan had been to draw the Reach forces to the surface, so her spell could wipe out as many as possible at once. Prince Tarble had theorized that there were as many as twenty-five billion soldiers on the planet. If his most hopeful estimate was correct… then her spell destroyed the souls of five billion Reach soldiers. A number so inconceivably large that Narra struggled to comprehend it. 

Bile rose in the back of her throat but she tried to swallow it down. She couldn't show weakness. Not in front of the Prince. 

"You're crying," Prince Tarble observed, and it was only then was Narra aware of the tears that raced down her cheeks.

She had to remain strong. Unflinching. Worthy of Prince Tarble's respect because if she lost it then Nakka could suffer. Her sisters could suffer. 

"I… have… defiled everything," Narra heard herself speak, her voice thick with emotion. "Every teaching passed down from countless generations, everything that was ever taught to me. I…” Narra trailed off, knowing that she should stop. “How can I ever face my ancestors after this? What will they think of me?”

Prince Tarble was silent, and as the tidal wave of fire washed over the helpless Reach, there was a moment of celebration as the troops below savored the triumph delivered to them. “I don’t have a clue what your ancestors would say, but… they weren’t here. They weren’t in the situation you were in and they didn’t have to make the choices you did. If they can’t understand that, then what are their opinions worth?”

He was trying to reassure her. Poorly. Clumsily because he didn’t know what he spoke of, but he was trying. 

“I am the Night Mother of my people, a title passed down since our home planet named our race. My sisters… my daughters are meant to look to me for guidance,” Narra told him. Wanting him to understand the unforgivable sin that he had made her commit. “And I am meant to commune with the spirits of our Grand Night Mothers. This spell, the greatest kindness that they could show me was eternal banishment from the family. I’ve destroyed the souls of sapient people… and had my s- daughters help.”

“Back with Lord Freza years ago, when he had drawn a lottery, do you think that the previous Night Mother would have done anything differently if she was here instead of you?” Prince Tarble asked, cutting right her greatest worry. The question that she asked herself constantly. 

“I don’t know,” Narra admitted quietly. 

“I can’t say that I knew her, but I’m guessing that she would have given the same answer if I asked her that question. Everyone always thinks that the person that they looked up to always has the answers,” Prince Tarble said, floating beside her. And Narra couldn’t help but wonder who Prince Tarble had once looked up to. “But they don’t. They never do. Just like how they hide that from us, we hide that from others until it's time for someone else to fill the shoes.”

“In the end, you can only do what you can manage. You make the best with what you got. And if that’s not enough for your ancestors, then it’s not enough. Can’t do anything about that. What you can do is find a way to bare it. To find reasons to make it worth it,” Prince Tarble finished. Narra managed to tear her gaze away to look at Prince Tarble. 

His visor blocked her vision of his eyes, but looking at him…

He was six years old. A child. Even by his own people, he was a child. Yet he commanded armies and…

It sounded like he was telling her something that he had told himself at some point. 

Quite and sad. 

“Thank you, Prince Tarble,” Narra thanked him honestly. It… wasn’t enough to make her forgive him for so thoroughly drenching her hands with blood and sin, or for bringing Nakka to this battlefield, but… Narra was glad that he wasn’t an unfeeling monster. Unlike his mother.

Prince Tarble glanced at her, his eyes hidden by the red visor. For a moment, Narra feared that he had somehow heard her innermost thoughts, but that thought was quickly dismissed when Prince Tarble let out a small sigh. "I'm the one that ordered this. That means the responsibility is mine. Your hands, and your daughters, are clean." 

Before Narra could argue the point, Prince Tarble turned around and flew down to the ground. Ending the conversation precisely so she couldn't argue the point. Narra let out a quiet sigh as she turned to look out at the sea of fire that now surrounded them and soon it would cover the entire world. 

Her hands felt anything but clean. 

…

"Are we ready for the second stage?" Prince Tarble asked, prompting Technician to look up from the streams of data. The satellites served several purposes beyond being a cage. Each one was a labor of love and a combination of robotics and sorcery. Technician never understood the desire to procreate beyond the need to ensure the passing down of beneficial genes, but now he had over a thousand children in the atmosphere. It put things in perspective. 

"The first stage outstripped our best estimates. It seems that you are more of a threat to the Reach than you believed, Prince Tarble," Technician informed, passing a data packet to his student for him to see for himself. It was hard to believe that a child could merit such a response from the Reach, but Technician was glad for it. 

He had seen what the Reach did to worlds it took over firsthand. For every citizen of the Reach that was killed was another given mercy. Even if they didn't understand it. 

"Eight billion," Prince Tarble muttered to himself, likely factoring in the reduced number of hostiles into his plans. It was a welcomed surprise. And a confirmed one given that each satellite gave them a live feed of the planet's surface. Billions of Reach soldiers just washed away in a sea of fire. Technician's heart belonged to science but there was a special spot within it for magic. "Keep the exact total away from Narra. She seems to be struggling with the number that was killed." 

"As you wish," Technician agreed. Not all species were blessed with a mind that prioritized logic over emotion. Or instincts that craved war. "As for phase two, the wave is nearing complete coverage of the planet. The satellites have done their job well. It is incomplete, but we have a deep scan of the planet's structure." 

To prove his words, Technician held up a hand and an incomplete hologram of the Shield World. It was beautiful, in a way. Everything natural about the planet had been stripped away and shaped into what the Reach envisioned. It was all metal, synthetic hard plastics, and technology. Despite what Technician thought of the Reach -- when they stepped away from the distasteful scarab design, they created tasteful and elegant works of art. It was only a shame that the deep ground scanners built into the satellites were unable to get a complete scan of the planet. 

"They are unable to scan more than four thousand miles down. But, given the consistency of the scan, the reason seems to be Reach induced rather than a failing on the satellites," Technician explained, looking at the perfect orb that served as the planet's outer core. Surrounding it was a near-perfect segmented crust and mantle. Exactly what Prince Tarble predicted -- the Shield World was designed for war and the Reach cared about as much for their soldiers as Lord Frieza did, so they wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice portions of their army to bleed the invading force. 

An algorithm detected a pattern. There needed to be one to maintain the structure of the planet to prevent it from collapsing in on itself. Supports marked as segments of the planet, each leading down to the outer core that blocked them from scanning further. 

"I'm highlighting the targeted coordinates," Technician said as red pinpricks began to mark the planet's surface. There were only a handful, but with a plant the size of Antiople, it was more than enough. "The lasers are being moved into position via satellites now," he continued. They would be using an inverse of the plan that they used on Rench -- instead of using lasers to drill a hole out of a planet core, they would use the same lasers to drill a hole into the planet's core. 

"Good. They'll either respond in mass, which is unlikely given the magic spell, or they'll have to watch as their defenses are rendered useless," Prince Tarble noted, looking at the red dots. Each marked a main support, but there were several blue dots that marked where a drill could connect a significant portion of the segmented mantle, rendering the Reach's main plan to bleed the invaders further useless. "They'll be forced to think on their feet and react. What happens next depends on what kind of commander is in charge of the place." 

"A commander that earned their position due to nepotism rather than merit, u suspect," Technician remarked. A most confusing trait that seemed all too common with other species -- placing their young in positions where ability mattered most regardless of if they were qualified or not. 

"Hm," Prince Tarble acknowledged, sounding torn between hoping that was the case for the lives of his soldiers and desiring the opposite due to his desire for a challenge. As physical challenges began to dry up due to the Prince's increasing physical strength, he turned to mental challenges more often. A battle of tactics was what he desired, but not one he would likely find with the Reach. "Be ready for anything. Hope for the best and prepare for the worst." 

Technician nodded, seeing the wisdom in the words. "The drilling will begin now," he informed, pressing a button one the satellites above were in place. As they began their work, Technician looked out at the sea of green fire that surrounded them. "This tactic is unlikely to work again," he stated. 

The Reach was unprepared for sorcery, much less it being used so… effectively. They would learn to take precautions to prevent this happening again.

"It will a few more times," Prince Tarble refuted. "The satellites prevent any contact off-world, and we'll be killing them to the last. The only way the Reach will learn what happened here is through spies in the Frieza-force. I'm sure that they have at least one and they’ll leak what happened here to the Reach. But if we hit several targets immediately then they won’t have time to prepare.”

Technician paused, looking over at Prince Tarble as he considered what he just said. The idea that there was a spy in the Frieza-force was hardly unsurprising. Most species held no loyalty towards Frieza or the Trade Organization, and fewer held any desire to be at war. The Frieza-force was comprised of slaves. It would be shocking if there weren’t any spies from those that thought that they would get a better deal if they went with the Reach. 

They wouldn’t. They would be trading one brand of slavery for another.

“We… will be hitting Shield Worlds… won’t we?” Technician hazarded a guess. To make the most of the tactic that had proven its effectiveness, it would be best to hit hard targets before the Reach ruined the tactic. 

Prince Tarble offered a sharp smile, telling Technician that he had guessed right. That explained why Prince Tarble had coordinated with other fleets -- three to be precise. Three separate fleets and four Shield Worlds and a small timeframe that they would be hit. And each fleet carried an army that would pad out their numbers when Queen Teach’s army inevitably took losses. 

That was… rather frightening plan. Daring, unorthodox, and dangerous. Fitting for Prince Tarble. 

“It’s too soon to say anything yet. We have to make sure we don’t die here, after all,” Prince Tarble pointed out as he looked out at the sea of flames that slowly began to recede from the shield the magic users had crafted. In the distance, Technician saw a bright red drilling laser that would relatively slowly chew through the planet’s supports until they reached the core. 

Then, as if to prove his words, a bright blue pillar of plasma pushed back the red laser until it slammed into the satellites above. They didn’t suffer a scratch thanks to the runes, but whatever had pushed back the drilling laser was powerful. Something moved out of the hole that was being drilled, but Technician’s eyes couldn’t make out what it was. 

“You’re new!” Prince Tarble breathed, an undeniable edge of excitement in his tone before he blasted off through the barrier before Technician could say a word. He swallowed a small worried breath, realizing that eyes were on him. 

“Continue as you were. Prince Tarble shall deal with the anomaly. This is not the time to be sitting around,” Technician called out, stepping into his role. After all, without Prince Tarble, the 501st was hardly helpless. It was time that the Reach learned that. 

…

I blasted through the barrier, my heart racing in my chest. Despite knowing I should hope for the opposite, I had harbored a hope that the Shield World would offer something new. Something different. Some kind of emergency button that they kept in reserve for this exact kind of situation. I knew I shouldn’t be so excited but I’ve fought nothing but Scarabs for my entire life, so anything was a great improvement. 

The Scarab floated in midair, its jetpack keeping it afloat. It almost looked like a normal scarab, but it looked just different enough to tell me that it was a normal Scarab. The build was slender, an oddly shaped helmet that covered its face that slopes back. At its wrists were blades that jutted outward. Most notably was the armor itself, the segmented look of it marked with faint blue vents rather than seamless liquid metal. 

The Scarab, because it clearly was still a Scarab, looked over at me, twisting in midair to face me. “Prince Tarble of Planet Vegeta,” It stated, shifting into a combat stance as I slowed to a stop. Beneath us was a sea of fire that would destroy our souls if we so much dipped a toe in it, adding a level of danger to the fight that I hadn’t realized that I missed until it was gone. 

“What are you?” I asked, figuring that I should at least get its name. If it was a new type of Scarab then I would end up seeing it again eventually. Though, the fact that it had a blue coloring didn’t inspire me with a lot of hope for a good fight. My scouter was reading a ten thousand power level, which wasn’t bad for a scout class Scarab, while my ki sense was picking up a fairly weak presence. 

“Your end,” The Scarab informed before its vents flared to life. I heard the crack of electricity and in a fraction of a second, it crossed the distance between us, moving at speeds that it seemed to be little more than a blur to my eyes. Instinct prevented its words from becoming true. Ki blades sprung from my hands, blocking the blades that rushed towards my neck. 

Gathering up ki at the tip of my foot, I flipped backward, slamming a ki slash against the Scarabs armor while I thrust my hands to the side, driving the blades away while I drove the Scarab back. It reacted well, the metal shifting around its hands to become blasters that I deftly blocked. 

“Good luck with that,” I shot back at it, twisting in the air to dodge a slash that raced by me in a blur. It was fast. Incredibly fast. The sleek design, the thrusters -- it was built for speed. My blood hummed in my veins, the power of the Wrath State surging as I clashed blades with the new kind of scarab. The Reach was specializing the Scarabs now. Maybe Vegeta was right about the Reach specializing one to kill us?

It was selfish and idiotic giving the situation but a smile tugged at my lips as I sent a ki blast at the Scarab, only for it to turn on a dime, twisting out of the way as it rushed towards me. Already I was having more fun than I was fighting a hundred Scarabs. I rushed to meet the scarab halfway, dodging a slash meant to bisect me, then a plasma beam aimed at my heart. 

Its speed was its advantage, but the tech -- the plasma lasers, the missiles and the like, they cost the Scarab valuable seconds to prime. A slight delay, but enough of one that I effortlessly dodged around a stream of plasma, the heat barely bothering me at all, as I closed in on the Scarab, pushing the offensive. 

I slashed at it with my ki blades, following with my momentum to sail over its head as it blocked the slash. The protrusions that stuck out over its shoulders launched themselves at me, trying to impale me, but that was a tactic that I was used to. It responded to me trying to get behind it by pivoting, one of the vents on its jetpack and legs shifted, allowing for a rapid spin that allowed it to block my strike to its Scarab. 

Beyond both of us, the laser resumed drilling into the planet’s surface. I stretched my awareness as we fought, wary of another Scarab like the one I fought. Only for nothing to come as the drilling continued, chipping away at the Shield World’s defenses. A theory entered my mind as I blocked a slash that I returned with a kick to the chest hard enough that I learned something about the Scarab -- in response to physical blows, the armor inflated slightly. 

“You’re a prototype,” I accused the Scarab, pressing the attack. My hands moved in blurs, blocking, slashing, and reacting to the Scarab’s movement. Despite its speed, it didn’t take me long to get a feel for the flow of the fight. It attacked in simple but wild patterns.

“I am death,” The Prototype responded and if it wouldn’t have cost me my head, I would have rolled my eyes. 

“You’re an idiot,” I answered, batting its blades to the side before one of my ki blades condensed into a ki attack. I launched it at Prototype, making it spin. It corrected the course a split second later, lashing out with a blade on its wrist to drive me away while a blaster that I hadn’t seen before formed on its hand. 

My lips thinned as I reacted, knocking the offending arm away just as it activated. The air shimmered, rings forming that grew narrower as they neared a small tip of the blaster. A wave-based blaster. Probably didn’t want to get hit by that. 

Prototype tried to react, but I was already in position and I was just too close for it to back off quickly. I swiped down with a hand, my ki blade cutting the Scarab’s arm off at the elbow, making it scream in agony. The arm fell down, quickly lost in a sea of flames. The green fire below grew thicker as it poured into the hole that the drills were forming. I had underestimated how potent that they would be.

Just like how I overestimated Prototype. 

“I’m guessing that you’re the commander of this Shield World?” I asked, not giving Prototype a moment of reprieve. The ki blades around my hands faded, letting me curl my hands into fists that I drove into Prototypes gut, folding it like a piece of paper. As it folded, I flipped back and drove a knee into its face. “You slapped on a prototype scarab, came here to kill me in single combat, and be a great big hero while ignoring the AI?” 

The fact that it was here betrayed that it was being piloted by an idiot. I was still in contact with the other two groups of the 501st, all of which were still alive. Meaning that it had targeted me. Which was dumb. I might be the most powerful person on the planet, but I couldn’t take a Shield World on my own. 

I was willing to be all my rations that the AI in the scarab told the pilot to target the soft targets, the 501st to undercut the invasion. I could fight it, but most of the 501st couldn’t. And the fact that the AI hadn’t simply taken control of the host suggested that the host was important enough that the scarab couldn’t overrule the host. 

Prototype was tellingly silent, glaring up at me as the nanites of the armor surged to recreate a false arm, deadening the nerves so it wasn’t screaming anymore. 

“Shame. The prototype had promise,” I said, darting forward to finish the fight. In response, the pieces of the scarab that jutted out of its back broke off, becoming four turrets as Prototype suddenly broke off, rushing towards the hole that it had come out of. Only to find it filled with fire. I twisted out of the way of the turrets that coordinated through the air, somehow managing to keep up with my speeds. 

They bombarded me with small blasts of plasma around the size of my fist, only the color was off. A blood-red rather than a cool blue like most plasmablasts. That told me that I didn’t want to get hit by it, forcing me to dodge as I closed in on Prototype. Ki formed in my hands as I flew upward towards the segmented sky that was a golden red to my view. The turrets blasted at me from below, the red plasma racing by me. 

Turning around, a Spiral Buster formed in my hands as I looked down at Prototype. The alien in the scarab seemed to understand the mistake that it had made. Looked like Technician was right on the money -- the commander of the Shield World was someone that had the position by virtue of their family. A rookie that thought he could take me out and save the day. 

And, judging by the panicked movements it made as it attempted to flee from me, it realized it was about to die for that mistake. So would everyone else on the Shield World. 

"Spiral Buster!" I shouted, firing off the attack. The turrets that followed me were enveloped in the blast, reduced to nothing as the ki attack raced towards Prototype. It dodged out of the way with deft ease, proving its mobility even if it was being piloted by an idiot with delusions of grandeur. My attack slammed into the ground behind it, causing the green flames to explode upward as the sea was disrupted. 

It realized a moment too late that was the plan all along. The green fire surged upward, giving Prototype just enough time to look behind it to watch as the fire splashed over the scarab. As the fire enveloped the scarab, I watched as it's soul was ripped free of its body -- the corpse slimed over in death while the soul seemed to dissolve in the flames. 

Then the fire fell back to the ground, and both the soul and the corpse were lost. I stared at the sea for a brief moment, the cogs moving in my head before my gaze shifted to my hand. 

"I need magic resistance," I decided. Narra had just proven how thoroughly dangerous magic could be. How it just ignored my strength and speed, and all it would take was dipping in a toe to destroy my soul. The Reach focused on tech but that wasn't true for everyone. I needed some kind of resistance, or countermeasure if I ever fought a magic-user who could do something like this. 

But, that was a problem for another day. I looked out over the horizon, seeing a few mining lasers drilling in the distance. "The Scarab is down," I informed through my scouter, feeling more than a little disappointed at the quality of my enemy. Mostly because I had let my hopes soar. I had hoped for a fight that would push me to my limits, that would force me to dig deep and, as Elery was fond of saying, go even further beyond. 

Simply because it felt like I hadn't been pushed to that limit in years. 

"We may have a situation," Technician informed, making me look over at the small spot where the flames refused to touch. "I've discovered what the core of the planet is. I expected it to be some sort of production facility, but that isn’t the case. It's… a bomb. A very large bomb." 

I blinked. "How big of a yield?" I questioned, looking over at one of the mining lasers. It was tempting to just let the Reach blow themselves up, but Lord Frieza wanted worlds intact. Not only that, but the Shield World’s that I planned to take would also make an excellent staging ground for further invasions. 

"It will destroy the immediate solar system," Technician noted with more than a little worry in his tone. That was enough to make me start feeling nervous. "The bomb systems are isolated so I'm unable to remotely hack them, but due emergency procedures, I can tell that the bomb has been activated and there's a count down. We have less than five minutes." 

I'm guessing by killing Prototype, I had kick-started the timer. That was mildly annoying. 

"Can we disarm it?" I asked, noting how one drilling laser stopped, having hit the surface of the bomb. 

"Uncertain. The only way to find out would be to directly interface with the bomb's systems," Technician informed, making me frown as I flew over a large hole in the ground that the sea of fire flowed into. 

"I'll-" I started, preparing a bubble shield to protect me from the green flames, only to cut myself off when I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Narra and Technician flew towards me, a slight smile on Technician's face told me that he knew exactly what I was about to try to do. 

"You have made sufficient progress, but disarming a Reach bomb of this magnitude is beyond you. I will disarm the bomb," Technician informed, not leaving any room for argument. Not that there was any time for it. I glanced over at Narra, wondering what her presence was for since there were other flyers. She answered the unspoken question with action instead of words. 

Green flames coated her hands before they shifted to a pale gold color. She reached out towards us, and the pale gold fire washed over the two of us. I had to fight back my instinct to dodge after what seeing that fire could do, but trust was a two-way street. If Narra and the 501st were going to trust me with their lives, then I should try to return that trust. 

The golden flames felt warm on my skin, a tingling sensation washing over me as we were enveloped by the flames. "This will protect you from my… my spell," she informed. I nodded, knowing that time was of the essence, and I wasted no time launching myself down into the sea of flames and the hole they flowed into. 

“501st, withdraw immediately. The planet could blow up any minute now,” I informed, speaking on general comms. I had contingencies for something like this, though I expected the Shield World to put up a stiffer of a fight to force us to withdraw. Magic was proving to be increasingly useful.

“What about you?” Fasha questioned while the others followed the order. 

“I’m going to deal with the bomb,” I informed before I killed the communication. 

It would be a lie to say that I didn’t consider that Narra was lying to me, trying to trick me into my death, but I plunged into the flames all the same. I expected to feel heat as the flames washed over me, Narra and Technician following behind me, but instead, I felt cold. And… it could just be my imagination as we raced towards the center of the planet, blasting through the sound barrier, but it felt like something was tugging at me in the flames. 

I wasn’t ashamed to admit that the tugging as if something was trying to grab me, spurred me to go that much faster. It took minutes for us to reach the bottom of the planet, even with the aid of Narra helping us clear jumps with her teleportation magic. 

“Two minutes left,” Technician warned as we touched down on the surface of the bomb. A smooth gray surface that looked untouched by the fire and the mining drill that carved a tunnel through the planet. I prepped a ki attack to drill my way through the bomb but paused when Technician took out a small device and placed it onto the bomb before a hologram appeared between his hands. “I can access the bombs systems from here.”

“That easy?” I asked, looking around us, only to see green fire. It couldn’t do anything to the metal that made up the planet, but it flowed into the holes that contained countless enemy soldiers. 

“Hacking is far less exciting than one would think,” Technician explained as the timer ticked down, speaking just as fast as his hands moved. “Did you think we would have to break into the core and access a main terminal, or something?” 

“Well…”

Technician chuckled while Narra prepared herself to open a portal for a quick escape if we couldn’t stop the planet from blowing. “Nothing so dramatic. Being able to interface with the systems is enough, and my toolkit that I uploaded into the Reach’s systems and being able to interact with the bombs systems is more than enough. The only real difficulty that I had was that the system was isolated.” 

I nodded, decided to trust his expertise on the subject. I didn’t know a single thing about hacking, much less how I would start, so if he said that’s all that he needed then I would believe him. 

“How are we looking?” I asked, each second feeling painfully slow, and the minutes felt like hours. 

“Oh?” Technician looked up, “I’ve already deactivated the bomb. Like I said, the only challenge was that the system was isolated.”

I whipped around, looking at Technician, who looked puzzled that I was surprised. The bomb was already deactivated? Just like that? No dramatic countdown with it stopping at the last minute? No sudden release of tension as the planet and the solar system was saved from annihilation? That was…

“Then what are you doing?” I asked, feeling… I don’t know what I was feeling. 

“I’m identifying the compartments filled with Reach soldiers and attempting to destroy them. Like you expected, the compartments are ready to be sacrificed once they have been lost, and they can be remotely activated. The tech that, ah… Junk Rat provided has been most useful,” Technician explained. Junk Rat was an alien of unknown origins that had an uncanny ability to make great things out of scrap. “I’m having a great deal of success. It’s unlikely I should get them all, however. Some will be left for you Prince Tarble.”

There was a teasing edge in his voice that I barely heard as I considered the news. 

The plan was a fantastic success, better than I could possibly hope for. We took a Shield World with minimum casualties and every step of the way, we were ten steps ahead of the enemy. I should be happy. I should be proud of a plan that went off without a hitch. One of the greatest roadblocks for the Frieza-force was just removed without any trouble. A great challenge surmounted with utter ease. 

And I was happy. I was proud. It was a great achievement against a target that Lord Frieza himself deemed a worthy target to destroy to announce his power to the universe. We conquered the planet with near ease. 

But… deep down, I felt robbed of a challenge that I had anticipated for years. 

I felt cheated.