The Saiya-jin War

Chapter 1: Ties of Loyalty

"Another Saiyan? Here. On this planet." Vegeta eyed the stranger skeptically, his gaze straying back towards his drink.

"Yess!" the reptilian-like alien hissed, glancing around nervously. Saiyans did not have a welcome reputation on this planet.

"I'd call you a liar, if I hadn't already been fed the same story. What's it to you?"

"Nothing, but I think it sshould be ssomething to you - if he'ss a friend of your'ss, he'll be needing your help. There'ss a bounty on Ssaiyans 'round here, ya know. I jusst want to ssee you and the trouble you bring gone. We don't want any trouble here."

Vegeta shrugged dismissively, but drew a coin from his pocket and tossed it down onto the counter to pay for his drink. "I'll look into it. You'd better hope you're telling me the truth." His voice was nonchalant, unconcerned, but there were daggers in the look he fixated on the squirming alien.

"Yess, yess, it'ss the truth! Jusst hurry! And get out!"

It was a risky business - not all Saiyans could be trusted in this time of war. But after years of searching the known galaxy, this was the first true encounter he'd had with another of his race. To say the least, his interest was perked. It was worth the risk involved.

And so he found himself heading to the location given to him, unknowingly coming to Radditz' aid. As he drew closer, he could dimly begin to sense the presence of a familiar power level; familiar not so he recognized the signature, but he was certain that it belonged to another saying. "So, the baka was telling the truth," he mused absently to himself. But the signal was failing, the power dropping - and all this was clearly sensed without the aid of his scouter. Scouters had been a well-cherished tool of Freeza's mercenaries, and though his own was still nestled carefully in his ship, he often left it behind - it was too obviously an association with Freeza himself. And there were many peoples out there who would delight in paying retribution to one they considered in the tyrant's service.

Soon, Vegeta came within viewing range of the battle scene. He swept the area with a careful gaze, noting the ring of aliens surrounding the Saiyan and the back-up parties waiting eagerly at their heels. Judging by the bodies strewn about the dirt, it had already been one hell of a fight - the Saiyan was certainly holding his own. But judging by the dramatic decline in his power level, he wasn't going to last out against such odds for much longer. Slowly, Vegeta felt the long burning embers of anger stirring within him. How dare this alien trash attack a Saiyan warrior! How dare they fight with such dishonor?! Well, they wouldn't have their prey - he'd see to that!

Carefully, Vegeta landed the tiny pod a good distance from the fight, trotting up on silent feet until he stood on a little knoll just overlooking the field of battle. Quickly, the Saiyan prince powered up, eyes smoldering with a furious malice as a cruel smile began to play about the edge of his mouth. "All hail the brave warriors!" he called out suddenly, his sharp voice cutting through the sounds of the fight. "Tell me how it takes thirty-five warriors to best one! And tell me how the one is winning?" 

The enemy force turned, startled as they gazed up at the newcomer. "Wait .. never mind, you don't have enough time to!" His grin broadening, he swept out his hand before him and shot an energy blast down onto them. He didn't catch them all in that single shot, but the rest were significantly cowed. They turned about to flee, not daring to face him with their diminished numbers, but the Saiyan didn't halt until each one lay dead on the barren field.

Smirking to himself, Vegeta turned to eye the warrior lying not far off. Slowly, he headed towards him, never releasing the other from the weight of his calculating stare. He could see that the other warrior was conscious, but fading fast. But Vegeta wasn't about to rescue an enemy. There were enough of those as it was. 

"It would appear the afterlife isn't ready for you yet!" he called out softly, in his native tongue. "Who are you, and just how were you dumb enough to find yourself in this predicament, eh? Speak, I command it!"

Radditz had heard more than seen the other pod land nearby. Briefly he felt despair - what, were they getting reinforcements? He already knew he didn't stand a chance as it was; there were simply too many, and he'd been injured too badly. He wasn't going to last much longer, but damn it, he'd take as many of them out with him as he could!

He was about to turn and attack this new menace, when suddenly he saw several of the aliens around him vaporized. That voice! He realized almost instantly that the other arrival was a Saiyan. Another Saiyan? One of the scouts sent out before him to find Vegeta that had disappeared, or...?

When the warrior came into view, Radditz looked up at him where he hovered in the air. The hair, the stance, even the face was unmistakable. The only pictures he'd ever had of the young Prince had been when he was only a child; no one knew for certain what he looked like as an adult, but Radditz had seen - they'd all seen - pictures and holograms of the previous King. He was surprised at the King's stature - Vegeta's father had been one of the largest Saiyans on Vegeta-sei, and the new King was smaller than most - but Radditz wasn't concerned about that. There could be no question of who hovered above the battered warrior - the uncrowned King of Vegeta-sei.

Radditz stared up at Vegeta, too exhausted to even take flight and join the other Saiyan, and then slowly crumpled to his knees on the ground. He smirked sardonically; he was inadvertently bowing to his King, although not through any deliberate desire to do so. He wished it had been different. He wanted to kneel before his King and swear his loyalty to him, to offer him his arm and his life, but that was apparently not to be.

As he collapsed to the ground, bleeding from innumerable wounds, he couldn't help feeling a vague satisfaction. He'd failed, yes, but in a way he'd succeeded. He may have died out here in the cold reaches of space without taking Vegeta home, but at least he'd found him, which was more than the scouts sent before him had managed. And if he could get enough energy to tell Vegeta what he had to, then maybe he hadn't failed after all.

He heard Vegeta speaking over him, and opened his eyes as much as they could, peering up at Vegeta through the blood beginning to cake over his eyes. "Your... Majesty. Looking... for... you. Need... to come... home." He gasped then, suppressing the pain as much as he could, but he sensed he might be dying. It was possible that every rib was broken, and he had no idea how many internal injuries he had. He could heal from almost everything, but all these injuries combined, he sensed they were mortal. And if Vegeta only had that pod anymore, if he'd lost the battleship that Radditz knew he'd left the planet with originally, then there would be no regeneration tank for him to use.

"Your... Majesty. My... ship. Information... about... you. Get it. Destroy... my ship... or take... information. Don't leave it. Or others... may... find... you." Radditz replied in Saiyago, the same language that the King had used with him, and hoped that the King understood him. He'd been tracking the King for so long, he had so much information on Vegeta's habits and haunts by now, he knew that if the wrong person found that ship, it could be disastrous. It was all in Saiyago, and there weren't many that understood the language of the Saiya-jin, but if the wrong person got it to Freeza.....

Radditz didn't want to think about it. He hoped the King understood him, as he closed his eyes, expecting the end would be soon.

Vegeta knelt slowly before the beaten warrior, running his eyes carefully over the other Saiyan's most glaring wounds. <'Your Majesty'?> The words echoed in the prince's mind as he ran a gloved hand lightly over the fighter's side, noting the broken ribs. <What was that supposed to mean? I have no claim to that title unless ... unless my father is dead.> 

Vegeta froze for a moment, studying the other male's face carefully. He wasn't anyone that Vegeta could put a name to. <My father is not dead,> he reassured himself firmly. <We look a lot alike, the king and I, and this soldier is near dead and probably disillusioned.> Indeed, Radditz' breathing had grown so shallow by this point that Vegeta found himself searching doubtfully for a pulse. In truth, he was surprised when he found one.

"Not bad for a third class warrior," he noted aloud, noting the barely recognizable insignia on the tattered uniform. "But your stubbornness alone won't sustain you for much longer. You have loyally served your empire until your last, if you really were sent to find me, and should be left to die in honor upon the battlefield. But, my stubborn Goliath, I'm not through with your services yet." 

Vegeta stood and slowly scanned the surrounding plains, until his searching gaze alighted on Radditz' ship. "Vegeta-sei could use another warrior much sooner then the afterlife could," he mused grimly to himself.

Carefully, Vegeta pulled Radditz from the ground and slung him over one shoulder, taking to the air. The Saiyan prince had never claimed to know anything about healing, but that ship parked out there on the prairie was a B-Class War Bird and should as such contain a regeneration tank. That, at least, he knew something about.

True to his prediction, after struggling a moment with the door's password encoded lock - ultimately blowing up the lock panel with a muttered curse and shoving his way inside - he found the regen. system in the back. With considerable more success then he'd experienced with the door, Vegeta brought the system off of stand-by and powered up the energy cells. A few minutes later and Radditz was safely inside.

Vegeta made one quick check of the vital monitors - it was a good thing he hadn't gone straight for his own ship; he doubted very much that the warrior would have made it - he settled in the captain's chair to wait.

Radditz drifted in and out of consciousness - more in than out - as Vegeta got him to the tank. The small part of his mind that could form coherent thought was vaguely struck with how odd it was for his liege to be tending to him this way. It was he that should be saving his King's life, not the other way around.

That same part of him wondered why the King would have bothered. He was nothing, only a low-class warrior, no one that the King, under normal circumstances, would have had anything to do with. Another tiny part of him replied sardonically that the circumstances were far from normal; they were far from Saiyajin space, and Vegeta was alone, without a single ally. Radditz knew this for a fact, because he too was without allies. Most races didn't welcome strangers, and those that did, rarely welcomed Saiyans. Radditz knew that was partially their own fault - Saiyans weren't known for tact or diplomacy, but would get violent at even the mildest insult - but it was mostly Freeza's. Much of their reputation was due to their previous 'employment' as Freeza's world purgers, and then later was due to Freeza's rather clever manipulation of propaganda.

Vegeta hadn't said much after he'd carried Radditz to the ship, so Radditz didn't know what he had in mind. It didn't matter though; Radditz would let Vegeta know how much Vegeta-sei needed him, and then Radditz would be at the King's service in whatever way Vegeta had in mind. Vegeta-sei and the King had Radditz' loyalty until death, and to him the two were inseparable. It was the way he had been raised, what his father had taught him to believe.

~~~*~~~

"Father, where are we going?" The young Saiyan was already taller than his father, even though he had barely reached adulthood, but he was still in awe of him. There was something about his father that simply commanded respect.

"Be quiet, Radditz. You'll learn soon enough." Despite the gruffness of his words and tone, Bardock wasn't angry or even annoyed with his son. His thoughts were elsewhere, troubled, as he led the young man through the maze of corridors.

It was strange; they could hear fighting off in the distance, but whenever the sounds of battle seemed to get nearer, Bardock would pause a moment, then take another route, leading them away from the sounds of fighting. Radditz was confused about this. His father wasn't a coward, so what was he doing? Why were they avoiding the fights? And where were they going?

Radditz remained silent as his father took them through the empty halls. He was a little surprised that his father seemed so familiar with the imperial palace; he had no idea that Bardock had ever even been here. He was, after all, only a third-class warrior; what business could he have had in the royal palace?

He was shocked then when Bardock pushed open what appeared to be just another door in another empty corridor, and opened it to reveal the imperial throne room. They'd entered it from a side door, one apparently used by servants and the royal family and their attendants, not the main huge doors in the front that were used by petitioners and visitors. In the back of Radditz mind it occurred to him to wonder how his father could have known how to even find that door, how he knew where they were, but he didn't really have time to pursue that thought.

The enormous Saiyan already in the room swirled into a combat stance, his short shock of black hair waving less rigidly than the hair of most Saiyans. The Lord-General glared at the two of them, his eyes narrowed as they strayed to the third-class insignia on his and his father's armour, but oddly enough Radditz had the impression that he wasn't immediately going to attack. It was almost as though he knew Bardock, although Radditz had no idea how that could be.

Bardock didn't seem to be under any confusion however. He growled once at Nappa, and waved a hand in the air dismissively. "You know who I am," he snarled at the larger Saiyan. "Knock it off, Nappa."

Radditz was stunned at the familiarity with which Bardock had addressed Nappa. None of the usual gestures of respect that a third-class Saiyan would normally offer someone of his stature, nor any mention of his title. Nappa didn't seem surprised by his address to him, however, nor did he seem offended. In fact, the larger Saiyan relaxed slightly as he stood up, turning away from the door, exposing his back to Bardock in a way that indicated trust. Radditz was too shocked by too many surprises in a row to feel any more shocked here. He simply stared at the tableau in front of him, his mind no longer attempting to make sense of anything.

"Bardock," Nappa snarled back. "What are you doing here?"

"You know what I'm doing here!" Bardock's growl was forceful, angrier than Radditz would have expected. "He was my friend as well!"

Nappa didn't reply, and Radditz was puzzled. Friends? What was his father talking about?

"We were blood brothers," Bardock continued. "It is my right to be here!"

"You are out of line, third-class!" Nappa shouted, turning on him, his eyes snapping with fire.

"And that makes no difference!" Bardock snapped back, just as hotly. "The oath he and I shared goes beyond class! You know this!"

Radditz knew what his father was talking about then. Some Saiyans made bonds with friends that went beyond that of brothers; they shared blood, binding themselves to each other. But it was rare, and Radditz had no clue what his father was talking about. Who was his father blood brothers with? Nappa? It didn't seem like that was what Bardock meant, but....

Nappa simply growled in reply and turned away. Bardock stepped forward. "Where is he?" he insisted harshly. "Where is the King? I am here to protect him as well. It's my duty, and my right!"

Nappa spun back towards him. "HE'S DEAD!" he roared at them, rage apparently consuming him. "Freeza killed him! He is DEAD!"

Radditz couldn't move. The king was dead? But why... how? It was impossible; the king couldn't be dead! He was... he was the king! The strongest of all of them! It was... impossible!

Grief flickered briefly over Bardock's countenance, before his face settled back into its usual scowl. He didn't seem surprised by the revelation. "I don't mean the king, I mean the prince. The heir. The uncrowned king."

Radditz saw grief blaze deeply in Nappa's eyes, before the larger Saiyan straightened up, looking past them, his eyes narrowing. "He's gone," he muttered almost sullenly.

For the first time since they arrived, Bardock showed surprise. "Gone?" he exclaimed. "No, this is not... I did not foresee him being killed!"

Nappa's eyes narrowed suspiciously. He was well aware of Bardock's visions. Unfortunately, sometimes those visions came too late for them to do anything about them, and sometimes they weren't clear enough to work with. "I don't know if he's dead, I just know he's gone. He's nowhere on the planet. What did you see?" he demanded.

Bardock frowned, deliberating. "I'm not sure. But the Prince, he should be alive. He's crucial to all of this. We will need him...." He was silent for several minutes, during which time Radditz could hear Nappa's heavy breathing fill the silence. Then Bardock continued. "But not, perhaps, yet. He may be safer where he is, away from this. But we will eventually need to bring him back."

The two older Saiyans shared a long and thoughtful look, while Radditz watched them uncomfortably. He still didn't know why his father had dragged him here. He felt out of place, like there was something going on between these two men to which he'd never been privy, and had the feeling he shouldn't have been made aware.

"We will need a leader," Bardock stated. "The King is dead, the Prince is gone. And the Prince is only a child - we would need a leader to get us through this."

Nappa watched Bardock silently, before finally replying. "I am not a leader," he admitted grudgingly. "But you are. Third class though you are...." He winced. "Your power level is far beyond third class, higher than most elites. But they won't accept you as a leader. Not a third-class warrior."

Nappa shook his head then. "I will take the regency in the Prince's absence. You will lead an elite squad of fighters, the strongest Saiyan warriors on the planet. Find the strongest, regardless of class...." He looked over at Radditz, who continued to stand watching them uncomfortably. "And the boy?" he asked, acknowledging Radditz' presence for the first time.

Bardock merely grunted. "He is my son. He shows potential." There was a significance to the look he shared with Nappa, but Radditz didn't understand it. "He is fourteen; he has been in the armies for two years now. But I would like to submit him for special training."

Radditz was startled. Special training? What did his father mean?

Nappa made no sound or indication of acknowledgement, he just continued to study Radditz a moment longer. Then he shrugged and turned away, apparently dismissing him. Radditz wondered what the significance of all of that was. What special training? Why did Bardock want to talk to Nappa about it? What was going on?

"So he is acceptable?" Bardock insisted, not having received an answer from Nappa.

Nappa growled softly. "Just do it, third-class! He'll be the only third class in the training, but go ahead, if you insist! But don't complain if he gets his head bashed in every day, or if he doesn't survive it!"

Bardock simply gave a wolfish grin. "I survived it, did I not?" he asked enigmatically, then signaled to Radditz and headed back to the door.

As he reached the door he turned back to Nappa. "We will have to send someone to search for the Prince," he commented, as though reminding Nappa of something.

The Lord-General simply grunted in reply.

Bardock continued. "But we should possibly wait. We don't want our enemies knowing that the Prince isn't here. If they know he's out there, they'll be searching for him as well. Right now he's young, vulnerable."

Once again, Nappa didn't respond.

"Perhaps," Bardock continued, looking sly, "the Prince will be... indisposed for a while. He will be heavily guarded in his chambers, where he will be in seclusion for a long while. So if Freeza should just happen to send any assassins, the Prince will be heavily guarded and protected....."

The look Nappa gave Bardock was thoughtful, no longer hostile. It was as though obliquely the lower class warrior had helped him decide what to do, helped him make a difficult decision.

"Perhaps," he agreed reluctantly. "The Prince is young, and was overcome by rage. He wanted to go after Freeza, but we're forcing him to stay in his chambers. He is not happy about it...." 

~~~*~~~

Radditz felt his mind drifting back to the present again. He remembered that scene as vividly as if it had just occurred; it was the first time he had realized how close his father had been to many of the elite warriors. He had never had the faintest idea....

His eyes opened briefly, seeing past the translucent blue liquid. He saw the Saiyan King - the present one - sitting impatiently at the console of his ship, waiting. Radditz could feel his injuries healing, the bones and tissues knitting themselves together. It took him several seconds to feel a jolt of surprise. He was in his ship; Vegeta had brought him here. The King had carried him here and put him in the regeneration tank to save his life. Why? It made no sense to him.

Confused, Radditz tried to make sense of it, but his body had other ideas. He was too badly injured; the liquid in the tank forced him back into a deep slumber, allowing his body to mend itself. Against his will, he found himself heading back into the deep abyss as he slowly healed.

Vegeta remained sprawled in the captain's chair, one foot braced on the seat alongside of him and the other swinging impatiently, the worn heel of his boot scrapping the floor in a steady, grinding rhythm. One elbow was propped up on the low armrest, chin cupped in his hand as gloved fingers drummed agitatedly against the curve of his jaw line. Patience had never been one of the Prince's virtues... he could never figure out justifying the lost time waiting caused. Action, quick, decisive action had always seemed a far better alternative. Then again, there existed such situations as these where there was no other option but to wait - ah well, it didn't mean he had to like it.

As he sat there, he amused himself by keeping a close scrutiny on the other warrior's face. Radditz was obviously dreaming, or at least caught within the firm hold of a vivid memory. The rough planes of his face shifted into a wide variety of emotions in quick succession, dark eyes opening halfway at times as he just brushed the surface of consciousness. <Wonder what he's thinking,> Vegeta mused idly, obsidian gaze sliding towards the gauge on the side of the tank for the thousandth time. <Finally. He's just about ready to come out of there ...> In one quick motion that seemed in direct defiance of his languid pose, Vegeta was on his feet and striding towards the Regen. tank. He stood before it for the last few moments, arms crossed and head tilted to the side in bemused consideration. Eventually, a low beep announced the end of the healing process, and Vegeta keyed in the command to drain the access liquid.

It took a moment to get Radditz out of the tank, lowering him gingerly to the floor of the ship and onto a large blanket that had been hanging beside the equipment for just such a purpose. That completed, he crouched easily beside the prone warrior, one arm draped carelessly over a bent knee as the fingers of his other hand assured himself of the strong pulse pulsating through the warrior's veins. "Welcome back," he greeted dryly when Radditz' eyes slowly opened.

Radditz felt the cold of the air, drying the liquid on his skin, before he opened his eyes to the light around him. It took another few seconds for his eyes to focus enough to get passed the blurred vision that was often associated with first exiting a regeneration tank. His first thought was confusion - he was alive? He had thought he had died on that planet.... No, wait. He remembered the King - Vegeta - carrying him and putting him into the tank, saving his life.

Startled, he turned his face towards the smaller Saiyan who even now had his hand on Radditz' neck, apparently assuring himself that the older Saiyan was still amongst the living. Radditz stared into the young King's face for a moment, before placing both arms on the floor in front of him and prostrating himself before the King. He normally wouldn't have bowed quite so low, but the fact that Vegeta himself was kneeling made Radditz feel uncomfortable with anything less.

"Your Majesty," he began, and then stopped in confusion. Although he'd been trained in the protocol of addressing royalty - it had been assumed, after all, that he would eventually find the King - he'd never actually been in the presence of any. At least, no royalty that a Saiyan would acknowledge, since they didn't recognize the sovereignty of any other species than their own.

"Your Majesty, my life is in your hands," Radditz began, suddenly feeling that it wasn't just words he was repeating, that he truly meant it. He would give his life for this Saiyan, especially now that Vegeta had saved his own. "I bear a message from the government of Vegeta-sei for you."

"Enough of that," Vegeta said uneasily, gesturing for the other Saiyan to sit up again. He supposed it was all well and proper, but he had never been very comfortable with formalities. "I accept your pledge, and your services. But there's certainly no need to grovel there like a worm." Almost as an after-thought, he added, "And don't call me 'your majesty' - while my father still lives, that is a title that belongs to him alone."

A pause, and then, "Just what is your name, anyway? And with whom were you fighting? Why? How long have you been looking for me? And just who, exactly, sent you?" The list of questions came in quick succession, a flood finally released as a result of his growing impatience. It had been so long since he'd had any credible information about Vegeta-sei; Frieza's men controlled all broadcasts, which of course were jaded heavily with the nonsense propaganda depicting Frieza as the conqueror of the mighty Saiyans, savior of the universe. No one seemed to remember that their 'champion' was the instigator of the Saiyan reign of terror in the first place.

Radditz hesitated as he sat up and looked at Vegeta directly in the eyes. It didn't occur to either of the two Saiyans to even worry about Radditz' nudity; taboos like that simply didn't exist in their culture. Radditz wasn't sure how to respond to Vegeta. It had never occurred to him that Vegeta wouldn't know of his father's death. Although Radditz now remembered his initial shock at the news, it had been so long - over twenty years - and the knowledge was simply part of him now. That Vegeta wouldn't know...!

"Your Majesty...." Radditz hesitated again, then decided to drop the formality from his speech, other than the title. That was one thing he couldn't lose, for whatever reason. He realized he was going to have to be blunt with Vegeta, and hope that everything would work itself out. "Your Majesty, you are the King. Your father is dead. I'm sorry, it happened a long time ago, when you... at the time that you disappeared. We didn't know what had happened to you, where you'd gone.... Those in command told no one you were missing, they didn't want to endanger your life. I was the only other that knew of it."

His face saddened slightly, but the emotion vanished almost instantly and his next words were spoken with pride. "I am Radditz, son of Bardock. Nappa has been Regent of Vegeta-sei in your absence. Nappa and the others in command decided to tell no one of your absence. The punishment for even mentioning your absence has been severe. And even those that figured it out would never have said anything. No Saiyan would have allowed an enemy to learn that you were vulnerable and possibly expose you to Freeza."

There was hatred in Radditz' eyes and his face hardened, showing his Saiyan heritage. Then he took a breath and relaxed slightly. "Nappa has sent out several scouts over the past twenty years to find you and bring you home. He has only sent out one at a time for fear of their mission being discovered. Each time the scouts have disappeared after a few years and all data on you was lost. I have been looking for you myself for eight years, longer than any of the previous scouts survived. We've only hoped that each time a scout was lost that the data was destroyed before an enemy could find it. As mine would have been destroyed if I don't key in a code in my ship once every few days. We can risk a single Saiyan's life... but not yours. You're too important to us."

Radditz lowered his head, a concession to bowing since it was obvious that Vegeta didn't want him to bow lower. "You are the King, Vegeta. Vegeta-sei needs its King. I was sent to bring you home... or if you can't return home immediately, to help you and put myself at your disposal. I offer you my life," he put a hand on his sternum, "my heart," he put his hand over his heart, " my loyalty," he touched his forehead, "and my strength," he clasped both of his arms, "to do with as you will."

He did the formal words and gestures carefully, letting Vegeta know that he meant them in every respect. One reason he had been chosen for this mission was because his father knew he would offer his loyalty to Vegeta unconditionally, and not just because he was expected to. Radditz didn't know, of course, that this was why Bardock had chosen him, because although he admired and respected his father more than almost anyone else, he had never really understood him.

Radditz didn't know how seriously Vegeta might take his oath, but whether he accepted it or not, Radditz offered it freely and without reservation. He just didn't know if Vegeta would want the loyalty of a third-class warrior, even if he were more powerful than most first-class warriors. But most Saiyans never bothered checking his power levels once they saw his third-class insignia, and Radditz didn't know if Vegeta was any different.

Vegeta wasn't looking at him. His gaze was fixated at some unseen point over Radditz' shoulder, his right hand clenched so tightly that ragged fingernails indented the calloused skin of his palm even through the gloves he wore. Deep onyx eyes lacked the clarity to be considered even remotely focused, but the ghosts of resurfacing memories lurked in the shadows of his face plain enough. 

"I should have been expecting this," he spoke up at last, his voice cold enough to evoke a shudder beneath the full glare of a summer sun. And indeed a slight tremor shook him before he pulled himself away from his brooding thoughts and returned his gaze to the warrior before him. A slight smile toyed about the edges of the prince's mouth, never touching the black ice of his level gaze. "I wouldn't have been summoned back were it not so, so you must be telling the truth. But I cannot return home. Not yet. Not empty-handed."

Rising to his feet, with the lithe, thoughtless grace only warriors seemed to master, Vegeta cocked his head to the side and looked down on Radditz, considering. A long moment of thoughtful silence stretched between them. At last, Vegeta said quietly, "I accept your pledge, soldier." Another smile, the only hint to whatever hidden thoughts ran through the prince's mind, and he held out a hand to help Radditz to his feet. Far from a gesture of aid, it was perhaps the closest thing to comradeship Vegeta would ever offer.

Radditz' had never been good at keeping his expression impassive, and his surprise at his monarch's hand towards him was readily apparent. He was not about to insult his king by refusing his offer, however, despite the fact that he was about twice as large in mass as the smaller Saiyan. He took Vegeta's hand, lifting himself to his feet, and gazed down at Vegeta as he crossed his arms over his chest in warrior fashion.

"You are searching for something in particular?" he asked Vegeta curiously. Then he flushed slightly, realizing he should never have questioned his king. His father had drilled him carefully in proper deference to those in command - whether they be superior officers or royalty - but he'd also been trained as all Saiyan warriors were; to believe that Saiyans were superior to all other races in the galaxy. To that effect, for the last eight years of his semi-exile, he'd been away from anyone that outranked him, and his natural Saiyan arrogance and independence had asserted itself.

"Gomen nasai," he mumbled in apology. "I should not have questioned you, my king. But my ship is equipped with the latest technology - at least as of eight years ago - and I receive regular transmissions from Vegeta-sei. If I or my ship's computers can be of any assistance to you, we are at your disposal."

Vegeta waved off the apology with a curt gesture - he had never had any patience with the political games of deference the royal court was intrigued with, and so many years away from Vegeta-sei had given him even less appreciation for that sort of empty formality. Whether genuine or not, the prince was not about to allow his companion to waste time with such nonsense, and he wasn't above ordering the other Saiyan to treat him as an equal, even while the thought of that oxymoron twisted his expression into a faint grimace.

"I may be a prince - a king - but I don't know everything, and I'm certainly not above being questioned. If I could solve this problem out of my own extensive knowledge, don't you think I would have by now?" His voice snapped with healthy impatience and sarcasm as he raised an eyebrow at the other warrior. "Never mind, forget all of that - we have more important matters at hand. Tell me - Radditz, was it? - have you ever heard of something called the dragonballs? Supposedly, there are seven of them, and when combined they have the power to grant wishes. Such a thing would be of incomparable use to us now, but I haven't the damnedest idea where they are. And by this point, I am more then open to suggestions." He made a slightly theatrical gesture towards the computers. "Any ideas?"

"I have...." Radditz blinked. Something about that sounded familiar. "I don't know, Your Majesty. That sounds a little familiar. I'm not sure...." He frowned, trying to place the information, and instinctively started to pace. There had never been much room in his own ship for pacing, so his strides by habit were shorter than his normal steps.

"We should check my computers," he murmured thoughtfully. "Some information might be in there. But...." He frowned. He didn't think the information would be there. He thought he might have seen or heard it from somewhere else. But where exactly... escaped him. He paced a few minutes longer, still thinking. He knew there was something he should be remembering about it, but couldn't for the life of him place it.

He turned to the computers, entering the passwords. He gestured to Vegeta as he did so, having him move closer, letting him see the passwords as he entered them. They were, of course, in Saiyago - words that both Saiyans would remember easily, words from their historical stories and legends, words that non-Saiyans would be unlikely to know.

Radditz began a search through the computer once he had it running. Saiyans in general weren't overly fond of computers and associated technology and science, except where it would be useful to them. Radditz was no different. Although more intelligent than most Saiyans - as the son of Bardock that was somewhat inevitable - he still preferred the action of fighting to trying to resolve something through research. Still, he'd learned that it was a necessity on occasion, and if he hadn't become as proficient as he had, he would not have been able to track Vegeta as successfully as he'd done.

But despite his attempts, he found no mention of dragonballs anywhere in the files he searched. "Maybe it's somewhere else," he growled in disgust and impatience. Quickly he set a search program, but it could take hours before it would uncover results. Radditz leaned back, then glanced up at the smaller Saiyan standing behind him. He frowned at Vegeta as he stood up and finally got dressed in the armor Vegeta had removed from him earlier.

"You have your own ship, Your Majesty, do you not? Nappa said that yours was the most advanced model of the time, a prototype warship that was quite advanced. I have information on these computers, but your ship is more powerful than my own. Perhaps we should move my ship into yours. It should fit into one of the hangars, from what I've seen of the schematics of your ship. Unless you've managed to acquire ships for those hangars already...."

Radditz' superiors had been under the impression that although the warship had been fully outfitted, at least a few of the six hangars should be empty. They hadn't been sure exactly how many sub-fighters it might have had already; they believed it had at least one, but not more than three. With the confusion of the battle, however, it had been difficult to keep track of everything, and no one could be certain what Vegeta might have accumulated since then, as well.

Radditz knew that Vegeta had to have flown down to the surface of the planet in one of the smaller fits on the ship; the warship itself wouldn't have been able to land, not without sophisticated and extremely large docking ports. A ship of that size simply couldn't land without docking equipment So the ship had to have at least one of the small fighter ships on board and in working order. Plus he could never have landed the warship on any inhabited planets, not without being extremely noticeable. Radditz knew that the ship had highly sophisticated cloaking technology, and suspected that was at least partially how Vegeta had managed to elude capture all these years.

"If there's room, we might want to add my ship to yours. With us taking turns at your helm, we can travel twice as fast as you would alone. And I'm fairly good at using a turret, as well as dog-fighting in my own ship."

Vegeta shrugged one shoulder in an offhand sort of way. "I suppose it would make matters easier to manage. Never understood why they thought I needed such a large craft anyway - I certainly have enough trouble operating the damn thing on my own, and a war ship meant to be manned by a crew of thirteen at the least is useless - or might as well be - with just the two of us. Too much nonsense about royal protocol and not enough common sense was what it was, I'm sure." He snorted, rolling his eyes. "Vegeta-sei might do better to remember it was royal protocol in the first place that got everyone into this mess with Frieza. Superstitious old customs. When I get back to the kingdom, Frieza's dictatorship isn't the only thing that's going to change. If I get back." He laughed bitterly and turned towards the main hatch. "Continue your search - I'm going to tow you back to my ship, for all the good it's going to do us."

Not long after and Radditz' craft was docked in hanger bay number three, alongside Vegeta's own shuttle craft. A simple prying open of a fuse hatch and some lucky guessing on the nature of the wires coiled throughout the ship's interior had their computer systems linked together and sharing information. While the search continued to process, Vegeta led Radditz through the great Saiyan craft to the main bridge. 

"It has a great navigation system - state of the art, near as I can tell - and a surprising library of intergalactic maps and star charts," Vegeta explained as they walked down a particularly long corridor, footsteps echoing hollowly, "But otherwise the information data is worthless. Plentiful enough, I suppose, but damned inaccurate." His face twisted in faint disgust. "Did you know that our beloved Vegeta-sei government changes any history it finds displeasing? All reports of defeat, of failure, completely changed or wiped from the memory banks altogether? No, I suppose you don't - not many do. I figured it out for myself, and only because our forefathers of more recent years did such a half-assed job of it. Not surprising that it isn't common knowledge - information like this is dangerous. Extremely dangerous." 

He glanced sideways at the taller figure beside him. "Some might even call it treason for me to reveal such vital information to a mere third-class warrior. But I see little reason to worry about it now. All it ever was was a propaganda technique. A technique that just might have destroyed our entire race.

"You see, when I say our clever little historians were careless, I mean that they left some of the original documents along with the forgeries. Old documents, mind you - I imagine no one's felt the inclination to document our glorious history over the past few years! But it seems Frieza's had a hand in Vegeta-sei's affairs long before anyone knew, especially in our economy; inter-planet trade. The question is, why Vegeta-sei? I've been trying to patch together an explanation from the scattered reports I've found, but there's too many holes to find a satisfactory answer. I started looking into the whole matter out of boredom more so than anything else, but I can't help but think it might be important now. If we are unable to locate these dragon balls, we might just have to resort to defeating Frieza using his old games. If we can find out what Frieza found so valuable in Vegeta-sei besides its soldiers, and we can take it away from him, perhaps we might be able to gain a foothold back on the planet."

Radditz frowned, but didn't reply to Vegeta's tirade. His father had told him the same thing often enough, and then had shown him some of the real records of Vegeta-sei's history. Apparently there were people - mostly scientists like his father - that didn't believe the truth should be distorted just because it wasn't pleasant to remember. They had sometimes smuggled out texts and documents and files that contained the real truth before they were destroyed, and hid them in secret caches, so when necessary they could be consulted. And from some of Bardock's hints to Radditz, he suspected that the previous king - Vegeta's own father - had been one of those people that had believed this. Even as he'd followed his peoples' customs and erased the truth from the public, he'd kept those documents from being destroyed, and made sure they were saved and protected somewhere safe.

Radditz remained silent, not telling Vegeta that one of the places that had the real truth was his own ship's computers. His father had made sure there were two sets of data in the computer's stores - the real history, and the false one. He hesitated slightly. He wanted to say something to Vegeta, but something stopped him. He wasn't sure if it was a suspicion that the smaller warrior was testing his loyalty for some reason, or if it was simply the fact that he couldn't easily overcome his own training on remaining silent about it. ::I'll have to tell him soon. If I don't, and he finds out on his own, he'll never trust me.::

"Your Majesty...." he began, then hesitated again. Vegeta had stopped in mid-stride and turned to look at him, glaring at him expectantly. Radditz flushed in uncertainty. Despite Vegeta being only about half his mass, somehow the smaller Saiyan was more intimidating. Perhaps it was the fact that he was royalty and Radditz was merely a third-class soldier. Perhaps it was the fact that his power had to be at least ten times that of Radditz', maybe even higher. Perhaps it was just his supreme self-confidence and air of command. Whatever it was, it left Radditz feeling unsure of himself.

"Your Majesty, my commanding officer made sure that the data in my computers is the truth. He was aware of the... modifications to our historical data. If there's something in particular you're looking for, you may find it there. And as for Freeza...." He frowned. "There are theories, but it's difficult to separate fact from rumor. But if you need to access the information in my ship's databanks, they are at your disposal."

He knew that if Vegeta was testing him for whatever reason, that if he chose to delete the data from his computers feeling it was treasonous, Radditz wouldn't stop him. Vegeta was, no matter what, his king, and would have his loyalty no matter what he decided to do.

For a long moment, Vegeta simply studied the taller Saiyan, onyx eyes unreadable though the corner of his mouth twitched in a slight smile. After the pause, he turned on the heel of his boot and began walking again, not bothering to make sure the other warrior was following. They traveled on in silence for a while, Vegeta's head tilted slightly in thought. 

At last, allowing the bemused smile to steal across his expression, he chuckled dryly and said, "I cannot begin to tell you how encouraging it is to know there are still people of intelligence on Vegeta-sei! Frankly I'm surprised that Freeza hasn't routed out every last one of them and destroyed them. Though maybe he has," Vegeta winced faintly. "I haven't been able to communicate with them in some time ... something's gone wrong. Not surprising. But you've told me already that you've managed to maintain some semblance of contact with the planet surface...? As for the documents, I'd certainly like to look through them, but that can wait. We need to get out of here first. As I'm sure you're well aware of, the inhabitants of this pathetic excuse of a solar system aren't exactly comfortable with our presence. As sure as I am that the central government won't mind discovering a war-bird in their midst, I think it's time we move on."

Radditz nodded, and followed his monarch to the bridge of the ship. He sat down in the co-pilot's seat, his tail automatically winding its way into the slot designed for it in the seats. He watched the controls and Vegeta's moves carefully as they took off, determined to learn them as quickly as possible. He knew there might come a time when he'd have to control the ship without Vegeta around, and he'd have to know what he was doing. He was determined not to fail his king.

After they'd moved off, heading for a direction that Vegeta had decided was the next place on his list to search for more information about these mysterious 'dragonballs', Vegeta stood up, and Radditz immediately followed.

"Your Majesty, I will go and prepare us something to eat, if you wish. I can have something ready in an hour."

Vegeta waved a hand dismissively at the larger Saiyan, and Radditz bowed his head respectfully and moved off. He frowned when he exited the bridge, realizing that he didn't know where the galley was, and with a ship this size it could take him a while to try finding it. He almost turned back to ask Vegeta, then shrugged and headed off. He could go to his own ship first and check the computers there. Since they were currently patched into the computers of the warship, he should be able to find a set of warship's schematics. And it would be helpful to know the layout of the ship anyway; he'd need to be able to traverse it quickly in emergencies, so it wouldn't do to be unfamiliar with it. He'd also have to explore it thoroughly personally, but he could do that later.

He pulled up the layouts and scanned them quickly, memorizing the route to the galleys. As he started to stand up he hesitated a moment. He knew he should contact his father and let him know the progress of his search. At the least, he should let Bardock know that he had found the King, even if they weren't going to return to Vegeta-sei immediately.

He punched in the coordinates, using the next codeword to scramble the transmission. There was a reason they used Saiyago words for their scrambling codes - very few beings of other races knew Saiyago, and those that did wouldn't have any idea which word they were using each time, since it was always different and always went by a list that only a few knew. By the time they might be able to figure it out, the transmission would probably be over, and it wouldn't have any point. That and the fact that they spoke almost exclusively in Saiyago during these communications meant that most races wouldn't have any idea what they were saying. Saiyans had learned towards the beginning of this war to use the fact that Freeza's propaganda about Saiyans - how they were uncouth barbarians with nothing of value for anyone, that they had no knowledge worth learning - to their advantage. Until Freeza stopped fooling himself into believing that Saiyans were as stupid as he convinced everyone else, they would continue to underestimate their race.

The screen came to life, showing the flat blue screen that meant that his transmission was being intercepted and channeled through after being verified that it was indeed from him. Impatiently he felt the time ticking by as he waited for an image to appear. When his father's face came on, he noticed that the general had a frown.

"You are contacting me early, soldier. Is there a problem?"

Radditz was used to the fact that Bardock - like many Saiyans - simply didn't have the patience for protocol. "I just wanted to let you know that my hunt has been successful. I've found the rabbit, sir, but there are complications."

"Has the rabbit escaped?" Bardock snapped swiftly.

"Not escaped...." Radditz pondered a moment. "The rabbit is looking for something, and I'm going to help him, sir."

Bardock frowned, considering. "Is it more important than capturing the rabbit and bringing it back?"

"The rabbit believes it will help everyone. And it is quite possible that it will."

Bardock drummed his fingers on the table for a while, looking even more impatient. "We need the rabbit back, Lieutenant. I would order you to return him....."

"Father," Radditz burst in, then flushed when he realized he'd slipped up. "Apologies, General Bardock. I forgot myself for a moment. He is searching for something, and I swear I've heard of it before, but I couldn't find it in the computer databanks."

Bardock didn't even acknowledge his son's slip of deference. "If you won't tell me what it is, I can't help you, Lieutenant. What is he looking for?"

Radditz hesitated a moment. "He's looking for something called 'dragonballs'. I could swear I've heard of them before, but I don't remember where."

Bardock stared at him, then gave a faint smirk that was almost a smile. "I'm not surprised that you've forgotten, because you heard about it when we were monitoring your brother. It was about twelve years ago. When Kakarot was a child he was searching for something called 'dragonballs', don't you remember? I don't know what they do, but he and several natives of that planet were looking for them together."

Radditz let out a breath. "THAT'S where I'd heard of them!" he exclaimed, then glanced back at his father. "Gomen, General Bardock. It was so long ago, I just hadn't remembered."

Bardock grunted dismissively. "You wouldn't have remembered it. He's searched for them several times after that time, I'm not sure why. If they found them once, I don't know why they would have to look for them again, unless they were stolen or something happened to them. I don't think he's looked for them in about five years or so, so I'm guessing your brother still has them or something. If you need them, you might want to talk to Kakarot."

"Kakarot!" Radditz whispered, his eyes narrowing. He hadn't seen his little brother since he'd been sent to purge a planet as an infant. "He's only a third-class weakling...."

Bardock gave a loud snort of derisive laughter. "Don't believe it, whelp! No son of mine has ever been a weakling! I falsified his tests as an infant to get him sent off-planet! The things I'd seen showed me that there was danger, and I sent him away to be safe." He frowned then. He had no idea if it had truly been necessary to do so. His visions had told him that he had needed to, but not why. He wasn't willing to tell his oldest son everything yet, however. Even Nappa and King Vegeta had been unaware of how Bardock had forged those tests, and the scarred Saiyan wanted to keep it that way. He knew that his son was aware of those visions, as Nappa and King Vegeta had been, but few others were, and he didn't really like explaining things to anyone. Technically he knew that doing something like that was treason, but it was highly unlikely that anyone would care.

"Your brother may be able to help you, if you can find him. He's a Saiyan; he should have the highest power level on the planet. I'm transmitting the coordinates of his planet - called Chikyuu - to you right now."

Radditz heard his computers humming, and realized that some data was being transmitted. He'd look into it later.

"Radditz...." Radditz looked up at the warning in his father's voice, and saw a stern caution in his eyes. "Your brother is stronger than you might believe. Like you, he should have the potential to become Elite class. Whether or not he's had the chance to realize that potential on a planet of weaklings like the one he's on is hard to tell. He has not been successful at purging that planet, however, so something must have happened to him. He may not remember who he is, or any of his programming. This may hamper you, but it may also work in your favor. Just remember that he IS your brother, and you may be able to use that." His voice softened slightly. "And be careful, for both of you. For all three of you."

Radditz could tell that Bardock was speaking to him now no longer as his commanding officer, but as his father. It made him feel more off-balance than he might have expected. In the twelve years between the start of the war and the time he was sent on this mission, his father had treated him as a son - and not as a lower ranking officer - perhaps a dozen times at the most. And in the past eight years since he'd begun the mission, Bardock had treated him almost purely as an officer under his command. It was a little unsettling having his father treat him as a son again, and not as simply another soldier in his command.

"Yes, Father," Radditz replied gruffly, nodding in recognition of that link between them. "I'll keep that in mind. I'll be careful." ::And I'll guard both of them with my life:: he thought to himself, but didn't say aloud.

Bardock's face shifted back into purely military mode. "I'm also transmitting to you what we've monitored about Kakarot, Lieutenant. There isn't much; there have been times that we haven't been able to gather data at all. You should be able to get some idea about him however. Hopefully it will be of some use to you."

Radditz inclined his head respectfully. "Thank you, General. I'll make sure to study it carefully." He suspected that the King might be interested as well, but he wasn't going to make any assumptions about that.

"Then if there's nothing more to report, you are dismissed, Lieutenant."

With a switch of a button the transmission was cut off. Radditz steepled his hands and leaned on his elbows on the console, staring unseeingly at the now blank console as he considered what his father had told him. He'd never thought much about his brother in the past twenty or so years. It had been only a few hours prior to the war breaking out that Kakarot had been sent as an infant to Earth. It had been so close that Radditz had felt outraged at the loss of Kakarot at the time. But his father had quickly squelched it, telling him that it had been for the best, only not explaining why. Now Radditz had *some* idea, that his father had arranged for his brother to be sent away. What he didn't know was why, and he thought his father might not be willing to tell him yet. He'd have to find a way to get it out of him. But he'd never been very good at that sort of thing, and his father was extremely good at keeping secrets. He might never be able to worm the information from his father.

After about a minute, Radditz' eyes strayed to the display of time on the console and then widened in alarm. Contacting his father had taken more time than he'd expected; he still had to go to the galley and prepare something, and at this point he had less than half an hour. He didn't like the idea of disappointing the king immediately after he'd come on board, so he hurriedly stood up, intent on heading out.

As he turned around, he stopped in surprise. There, leaning on the doorframe and looking for all the world like he'd been there for a long time, was the king himself. Radditz had no idea how long he'd been standing there, but the scowl on his face indicated that it might have been for a while. Radditz simply stared at him, not knowing quite what to say, and not sure what reaction Vegeta might have to the fact that he'd just contacted the Saiyan government without his permission.

For a moment the other Saiyan looked thoughtfully past him, in the vague vicinity of the now silent monitor, effectively blocking Radditz' exit. "Rabbit?" he echoed softly, arching an eyebrow as his onyx gaze swung back to face the taller Saiyan. "I had no idea your operation was so ... extensive. Nor that it was a family affair." 

He smiled thinly. "I can appreciate your desire to follow orders, Lieutenant, but I will remind you of your oath and, if necessary, I'm not above pulling rank. We're not going home until we find something to take home, and there will be no farther discussion of the issue. And there will be no farther private communications without my knowledge, is that clear, soldier? I'd like to think I could trust your word; this job is hard enough as it is, and I do not need the further complications that having to watch my back for the unseen dagger wielded by a comrade would cause. But I will not tolerate setbacks. I trust you already understand how important this assignment is? Or perhaps you'd like to see your father chained and executed as a traitor by our glorious dictator, Lord Frieza?"

He arched an eyebrow. "Vegeta-sei needs her good soldiers right now, now more than ever. But I understand, perhaps better then anyone else, what it is like to feel the ghost of your father always hovering over your shoulder. Family ties are strong, Lieutenant, in the worst of times as they are in the best. But some bonds need to be stronger. Are you as good as your word, Radditz?" Those black onyx eyes bored hard into the other Saiyan, with the peculiar habit that the king had of looking down on others despite his shorter height. His expression was completely blank, but a dark fire burned in the depths of those eyes, a fire with the startling capability to seer directly to the bone.

For a moment Radditz panicked. Vegeta's threat to have his father executed struck too close to home. Despite the fact that on the surface Saiyajin families appeared dysfunctional and uncaring, the truth was that the Saiyajin simply had a different way of expressing affection for one another, and it often involved a kind of roughness that many races would view as abusive. Even so, his own upbringing would have been considered odd by Saiyajin standards. The truth was that Bardock had trained Radditz in a manner that even Radditz didn't recognize was unusual, with a very specific goal in mind.

Radditz realized that by impulsively contacting his father - even though he had been under orders to do so as soon as he had found the King - he had somehow jeopardized Vegeta's trust in him. He wondered how to regain that trust, and then realized that all he could do was simply be completely truthful with the king. If that couldn't regain his trust, then he didn't know what would, and he doubted that anything would.

He bowed his head slightly in chagrin. "Gomen, Your Majesty. I overstepped myself. But it was not a private communication, Your Majesty. I was reporting to my superiors, as were my pre-existing orders. But if it's your command, I will never do so again unless in your presence."

He hesitated, then took a deep breath. "Your Majesty, my previous orders won't conflict with yours. They can't. They are, in order of importance: Find you, protect you, obey you, return with you. Now that I have found you, I am at your disposal however you see fit. But our people consider this mission absolutely vital, and had I not communicated with them, they would have sent out another warrior within a week. I contacted my superiors to stop that. Your safety is still considered of the greatest importance to Vegeta-sei. Now that I have informed them that I have found you, my reports won't have to be regular. But General Bardock will expect me to report back at least occasionally, if only to let our people know that you are still alive. My survival is irrelevant; your survival is paramount. Whether you like it or not, you ARE our King, and we need you alive."

When Radditz finished, Vegeta simply glared at him for several minutes, making the larger Saiyan feel distinctly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure whether the more compact Saiyan believed him or not, or if Vegeta thought that he was lying in some manner. Radditz was once again unaware of how every thought and emotion was easily discerned upon his features. He had never been good at hiding his opinions or feelings, which was something that he was well aware had gotten him in trouble many times in the past.

"Your Majesty, if I may...." He turned slightly, and pressed a button on the console. They heard a whirring for half a minute, and then a small silvery disk ejected from it. Radditz handed this to Vegeta, holding it very carefully by the edges. "This is the information my father transmitted, that talks about the dragonballs. I thought you might want it." He pressed the button again, and another disk popped out, which he pocketed. "If we're both looking through the information, one of us is bound to find what you want," he explained apologetically, afraid that Vegeta might think he was trying to be secretive. "But if my father is right, and my brother has found these dragonballs you seek, then your quest might be over soon."

Vegeta took the disk, turning it speculatively in his hand before pocketing it as well. "Well, then, soldier, it appears we have some work to do." He grinned wryly. "And pray that this is the lead we're looking for. If not, we could be out here in the middle of nowhere for a damned long time. I don't know about you, but that's not terribly appealing to me. Come, then, we might as well get started."

Radditz followed behind Vegeta as they headed back towards the main portion of the ship. Radditz didn't say anything to Vegeta until they had entered the library of the warship; there were a dozen terminals around, more than the two of them could ever need or use. Once again, Radditz was struck with the sheer size of the ship, and the fact that it would be difficult for two people to run it by themselves, never mind a single person. Radditz wondered how Vegeta had managed it all these years. Surely he must have come up with some method of automating functions, to make it so he wasn't overwhelmed by the sheer enormity of the whole thing.

He suddenly had an image of the tiny Saiyan Prince been shoved into this ship all alone, forced to fend for himself and try to run this ship without any help whatsoever. That he'd had no companionship was bad enough; adding to it the fact that he'd had to learn how to run the ship by himself, with no teachers or anyone to help him out at all... Radditz couldn't even begin to imagine it. He once again felt enormous respect for the small man next to him, and his determination firmed to help him out in any manner, no matter what it cost him.

As Vegeta sat at one terminal, motioning Radditz to sit at another, the larger Saiyan suddenly felt a wave of weakness wash over him again. Then he remembered that he still hadn't eaten. It had been, he realized, over three quarters of a day since his last meal, and not only had he almost died during that time, but he had been put into one of the regeneration tanks. He remembered his father telling him once that the isolation chambers were fueled partially by a Saiyan's ki, so when you used one, you needed to eat almost immediately upon exiting. It didn't help the fact that he had already gone for almost half a day without food before he'd even been put into the chamber; it had been his hunger that had weakened him during that fight, and had helped lead to his injuries in the battle. He realized that if he didn't eat soon, in order for his ki to maintain itself, it would start eating away at his body and he would start to die.

"Excuse me, Your Majesty," Radditz said, standing up again. "But I think I had better get something to eat very soon. If you want to join me, I should have something ready in half an hour or so." He frowned, wondering what sort of supplies Vegeta had on board that ship. But he realized it didn't really matter. He wasn't the greatest cook in the world, but he didn't have to be; Saiyans could eat almost anything and it wouldn't bother them. They were primarily meat-eaters, and for the most part didn't really cook their food very much, if even at all.

Radditz remembered many occasions on which he had landed on a planet, killed the first creature he came across, and then ate it without waiting for the meat to cool down from the kill. When the meat was pre-killed, however, they preferred to cook it slightly, heating it so that it simulated a freshly made kill, but still with enough blood to appease their more basic instincts. It wasn't to say that they didn't enjoy exquisitely prepared dishes; they did, they simply neither required them, nor bothered to learn how to cook things that way themselves. That was what slaves were for, after all. A Saiyan warrior certainly didn't deign to learn a slave's art that way, and Vegeta would never expect him to.

"If I may be excused, Your Majesty," Radditz said formally, bowing slightly. "I will go and prepare us something to eat, if you wouldn't mind."