This story uses the Saiyan race of DBZ fame, but does not use any of its main characters or plot lines. Hence, I am posting this chapter in SciFi rather than Celebrity. It can be called fan fiction. I hope you like it. Give me comments and feedback on your way out.
Measures of weight, time and length have been converted to human units. In case you haven't seen DBZ, Saiyans look like humans, but are infinitely more powerful.
DISCLAIMER
- Note that the alien races shown here are barbaric and cruel. The things they are implied to have done have not been watered down. Not a fluffy read ahead, in case you expected that.
* *
A mighty wind buffeted the surface of the desolate rocky planet. The four visitors stood in silence, drinking in the landscape around them. Over the far horizon, they could see a star. It peeked out, casting a mauve hue over the spires rising from the surface.
"So what do you make of it?" said the unusually dark Daxos to his fellow squad member. His dim eyes betrayed no emotion.
"Tough to say," replied the slightly fairer Xharo. "The place looks of no use. Maybe the inhabitants will be better."
They turned to face their leader. Fasha looked around once, then once more. Her battle weary eyes saw nothing redeeming about it. The other three stood at rapt attention, awaiting her order. They had no loyalty towards her, Saiyans never do. Fear was always a bigger motivator.
"Split up and see if there is anything worth salvaging on this rock."
Immediately, the three subordinates flew off in different directions at terrific speeds leaving Fasha to her own thoughts. She went and sat on a smooth boulder nearby, thinking about her next step. Part of her wished they would not find any useful life forms here. If they found any, they would not survive long at the hands of their new masters.
Her eyes drifted over the Eastern sky. The stars shown clearly on the black cosmos. This sight was always a source of wonder, even though she had been to some of the farthest corners of the universe.
A small dome of white light appeared to her East. It was followed by several larger explosions, ending in one so powerful, it lit up the ground for an instant. She did not even bat an eyelid at the dazzling inferno or the plume of smoke.
She had seen it all and more. In her opinion, she had seen too much.
A while later, all three returned to her. Xharo looked tired from his exertions.
"Find anything?"
"Nothing, my lady," said Daxos. "The only race on this planet seems to be a shambling species that is too slow and clumsy for any work."
"Yes, my lady," Xharo jumped in excitedly. "I got some good workout eliminating one of their settlements."
All eyes turned to the third subordinate in the squad. Cassimir had a suggestion.
"Can't we make it into a frontier outpost?"
"No. We have enough outposts for this quadrant," said Fasha firmly, knowing fully well what her statement meant for the planet. She had a duty to effectively see that this part of space was explored. Individual planets were pittance compared to the greater plan.
The others nodded obediently. All of them would have killed her and taken her place without a second thought. The only problem was that her power level was over a million times higher than all of theirs combined... and that was when she wasn't powered up for battle.
All four of them flew back in silence to their spacecraft hovering in the sky. The hatch opened on cue, letting them in.
"What shall we do, my lady?" Cassimir asked.
"You know what has to be done," she said evenly. "Decide who amongst the three of you will do it."
Fasha left them to their task and walked to the upper level, sinking into her chair. The planet loomed overhead, its time drawing near. She watched through the cameras as Xharo was designated to put the worthless chunk of stone out of existence. He held his palms together and his face contorted with intense concentration. He was focusing his energy into a ball in the palm of his hand.
She watched as the blue mass of pure energy crept outside the doors and grew. He had been working on his technique. It was about as large as the spaceship now, a brilliant blue mass of power.
"Fire it already," urged Cassimir. He nodded and his creation hurtled towards the surface of the planet. She watched its progress through her glass panel.
It reduced to a shiny spot, before making impact with the ground. There was a minor eruption at first, which multiplied at an alarming rate. Visible fissures ran through the entire surface, lit up by the sudden influx of energy.
Fasha turned the chair around. This was a sight she had seen too often. The planet ignited in a spectacular manner. The brightness lit up the interior of the spacecraft for a few moments, subsiding into nothingness, like the planet itself. She glanced over her shoulder to see empty space where a planet just stood.
One more species had been put out of their misery. This time, she did not even get to see them.
A smaller blast from the lower level indicated her crew of three had reduced by one. Not at all uncommon, considering how Saiyans would kill their own families if they perceived them to be a threat. Gender did not matter, all that mattered was power and those who had it.
She descended to see the mess. Cassimir and Daxos stood over the prone body of Xharo, who had spent all of his energy dispensing with the planet, giving the other two a perfect opportunity.
"We never liked him much, my lady," Daxos admitted, his palm ready to land the final strike.
She eyed them with a look of utter disinterest.
"Go ahead," she said, climbing back up. "Finish it off."
Gleefully, Daxos flung a small white burst of energy at the limp form, disintegrating it in a flash. All that remained was a burn mark on the metal floor.
"That's that," he said, retiring to his compartment.
Fasha started the engines back towards her home planet. They had come and wiped another chuck of space out of existence because they deemed it unnecessary. It had been ages since anyone had given the Saiyans a decent contest. They came in and destroyed with wanton impunity.
Destruction was in their blood. The urge to see the universe burn around them was too powerful to fight. The intergalactic scourge left a trail of vanished civilizations in their wake. The lucky ones got to disappear, others were made into slaves. Some were slaves for the Saiyans, some for the highest bidder.
Rumour had it that some of these bidders were even more sadistic than the Saiyans. Not as powerful, but with a creative appetite for torture exceeding what the battle hardened Saiyans had seen.
She knew. She had often had to use their own methods on them for the entertainment of others. After all, easy explosive destruction can get monotonous.
The craft left a blazing tail, careening through space towards the home planet. Fasha wanted to sleep the rest of the journey, but she knew that the moment her eyes closed, she would see a slew of scenes of battles she had won. The pleading eyes of those she defeated, the grand civilizations she had demolished... they all came back to her in vivid colour.
And when they did, she felt a curious feeling no other Saiyan felt. It had no name. None that she knew of yet anyway.
* *
The sliding panel covering the entry to the space port opened at their arrival. The ramp extended out for the ship to land. Technicians ran in all directions, clearing the way. The afterburners flamed, heralding their approach. Some of them looked on in awe at the sleek design on the ship, making contact with the landing bay. It roared forward, coming to a gradual halt about halfway through the length.
There was a glimmer of light from inside as the hatch doors on the underside of the craft opened. The slender, yet formidable figure of Fasha levitated down. Her dark hair billowed in the wind and her eyes looked at her familiar surroundings with a feeling of disdain.
Everybody stood at attention, trembling with fear. Saiyans only needed the slightest excuse to kill. Ones like her were even more frightening. Fasha wasn't a being they could begin to comprehend. She was a radically efficient killing machine, with exploits which others spoke of only in rumours.
She, for her part, ignored the rows of trembling underlings. It was a long and tiresome journey and she needed something to brighten her mood. Reaching the elevator, she walked in casually, scaring the poor crowd of Saiyans travelling with her. They rushed out at the next level, preferring to use the stairs.
The elevator doors closed. She sighed at the fearsome reputation that preceded her. Saiyans did not kill under two circumstances. Firstly, if the other constituted no threat and could be made into an obedient follower, secondly if the other was more powerful. It was a fact that virtually nobody on her planet constituted a threat to her.
Yet, she felt this uneasiness with the mass slaughter her kind revelled in.
"Hypocrite," she muttered at herself, knowing how many bodies she had on her own list. It was all for a greater good. It gave them their steady supply of slaves to keep or give to others at a price. Sometimes, even whole planets could be sold, if the request was such.
The bigger question was, why couldn't she feel the same arrogant pride and sadistic rush of satisfaction at doing her duty?
The doors opened. Eager entrants stopped cold in their tracks when they saw who they would be sharing elevator space with. It continued uninterrupted till it reached the top level. She stepped out and walked straight towards the large entrance in front.
It was an area for recreation, the only kind of non-destructive recreation they knew. Tables lined the perimeter of the room, filled with other victorious Saiyans boasting about their latest conquests. The whole room went deathly still on her arrival. She did not even acknowledge the presence of her fellow warriors, instead going to the counter on the far side and pulling a glass towards herself telekinetically.
"What's the special today?" she asked the petrified man on the other side.
"Arcosian blood," he replied fearfully.
She tilted her head to the side and her lips split into a curious smile.
