Going Native: Smell of Home (ch.16) (Patreon)

"I agree wholeheartedly, Lord Frieza!" Captain Ginyu exclaimed, but his voice was distant even as it rang out in my ear. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the awe-inspiring display of power. Planet Sereall drifted apart, neatly cut in half as what remained of the defensive fleet struggled to recover from what just happened. I couldn't blame them -- I couldn't imagine how they were feeling after getting hit like that out of nowhere. 

"But there's so much left," Lord Frieza noted casually, his attention focused on the ships left. A mere fraction of what protected the planet before. A few hundred ships out of the thousands before. The defensive platforms were gone, destroyed by either Lord Frieza cutting them in half, the ensuing explosions or half of the planet hit them. What was meant to be one of the most vicious and costly battles this galaxy had ever seen was reduced to a cakewalk. Mopping up what was left after the opening salvo. The Reach wasn’t able to fire off a single shot before their crushing defeat. 

Lord Frieza let out a small discontent sigh, "perhaps I should have powered up a bit more? I wanted it to look effortless for the cameras, but if they see just how much is left over…" effortless. That word rang around in my skull like a bell. Effortless. Destroying a planet, wiping out entire fleets and armies by lifting his finger...it was effortless to him. 

"I don't think they'll notice what is left, Lord Frieza," I heard myself say, unable to look away from the wreckage. Like a wake in the ocean, I could see exactly where Lord Frieza's attack went. "I...what I see when I look at this is…" I didn't have words. I could stand here for a thousand years and I wouldn't be able to come close to describing what I saw first hand. "What I see is proof that you have no equals. I-I can't imagine anyone ever being stronger than you." 

Lord Frieza let out a deep laugh, "flattery is so much better when you know it's spoken with honesty.” He said, sounding pleased. “Regardless, Blueberry, would you please be so kind to tell the fleet to mop up what’s left? We can just edit the video to make it look like I got them all at once.” Whoever he was speaking to must have gave him a response because he smiled as he leaned back into his chair. 

Not a moment later the fleet began to move out. Frieza’s ship stayed where it was, letting the formation of thousands of ships wash over us. The advance was almost seamless, the formation perfectly organized despite the incredible size of it. Flagships spearheaded the formation, capital ships and assault ships protecting their flanks and serving as back up. As I watched, hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of drones fighters were being released from the carriers. 

The Reach realized what was happening, and whoever was in charge seemed to have a good head on their shoulders, unfortunately. Instead of trying to go down in a blaze of glory, the one remaining flagship of one of their fleets angled away. The others followed its example, quickly turning away before they seemed to stretch like a rubber band. When the back snapped to the front, the fleet was gone. 

“Cowards,” Vegeta spat, speaking up for the first time since we arrived on Frieza’s ship. His arms were crossed, but even his tone betrayed the astonishment he still felt. It was impossible to shake off the awe that everyone here felt at such overwhelming power. I knew that was true for me. A planet had been cut in half. 

“Don’t judge them too harshly, Vegeta,” Captain Ginyu chided. “It’s to be expected that anyone would flee from Lord Frieza! Look at it this way -- now we get the pleasure of hunting them down!”

“Well said, Ginyu,” Lord Frieza said. “Now we begin the fun part. Blueberry, begin the plan.” Lord Frieza ordered and, within a few seconds, I saw several ships begin to break off from the formation getting some distance before they jumped off into hyperspace. that...I didn’t even think about that. Sereall was a shield world meant to protect the Reach’s soft underbelly. It was hardly the only one, but it would be the first to fall. 

I recalled that map of known Reach planets that King Vegeta had shown me years ago. They worked almost as a honeycomb, protecting the insides of them from harm, but once you breached one, there was an entire pocket of unprotected planets. Depending on clusters, that could be hundreds of planets. Or more.

And we just busted through a shield world without using any strength. The Frieza-force was going to spread out, claiming planets with ease until we hit another shield world. It would be a flat out lie to call the Reach’s military broken by this defeat, but we had them on the backfoot now, more so that I could have imagined. 

“Ginyu,” Lord Frieza said, glancing at the large stark white alien, “I want your team headhunting. You have your list of targets.”

“We’ll depart at once!” Captain Ginyu proclaimed, snapping off a picture-perfect salute that looked so at odds with his appearance. “Bardock! Fall in line, there’s work to be done!” Captain Ginyu started to walk towards the door, making Bardock stiffen. 

Bardock looked down at me, most of his face hidden behind a featureless black mask. Slowly, he placed a hand on the top of my head, “take care of the team for me.” He ordered- requested. 

“I will,” I confirmed as seriously as I could. I...was team leader now. I was responsible for Tora, Fasha, Shugesh and Brogo’s lives now. Bardock must have seen how serious I was taking the responsibility because he patted me on the head once before retracting his hand. He started to move to follow Captain Ginyu, I watched him walk away. “Bardock? Don’t die.”

I heard him laugh through the scouter, “I won’t.” He said without looking back, jumping off the ship to follow Captain Ginyu as they left Frieza’s ship behind. I watched him fly away, feeling...tense, for a lack of a better word. I...don’t know if I was ever going to see him again. 

“How touching,” Lord Frieza said, sounding more than a little amused. That made me realize that we were still on open coms. I glanced over at Vegeta to see him glaring at me, forcing me to quickly look away. Just because he and Bardock didn’t like each other didn’t mean I had to hate him too. “But, that brings me to you, Tarble. Your squad is being resigned.”

I stood at attention as Lord Frieza continued. “Your squad is being assigned to a General Teach,” Lord Frieza said, getting a blink of surprise from me. Teach, as in my mother? She was a general? “Gather up your team and head to these coordinates-” A ship was marked on my scouter. “-and do be quick about it. You’re about to get very busy.”

“At once, Lord Frieza,” I said, trying to copy Captain Ginyu’s perfect salute. I heard him chuckle before I turned towards the ship, recognizing the dismissal that it was. I turned towards Vegeta to see that he wasn’t glaring at me anymore at least. 

I held out a fist. Vegeta looked down at it, curious, but he seemed to understand what to do. He tapped his fist against mine, giving me a small nod. 

“Don’t die, little brother.” He said lowly. I found myself smirking at the familiar words. 

“I won’t,” I told him, making a promise to him, to myself and to Lord Frieza. He wanted me to become the face of the Saiyan race. I couldn’t do that if I was dead. 

“Good luck,” Lord Frieza said as I went to leave the ship. He waved goodbye, a small grin on his face. “I expect great things from you Tarble. Don’t let me down.” I could practically feel his expectations weighing down on me as I based jumped off then ship. 

“I won’t let you down,” I swore, and, with that, I blasted off towards the new ship that would serve as our transport since Leek was gone. Letting out a low breath, I glanced back at Vegeta to see that he was staying with Lord Frieza as the platform slowly lowered until they were gone from view. 

It took a second to gather my thoughts -- it felt like everything had changed in the span of a few minutes. I steeled myself, bracing for a lot of questions that I didn’t have the answer to before I hit my coms button. “Everyone, meet me at this location. We’ve been reassigned,” I said in my most authoritative voice. 

“Sure thing, but did you see what Frieza did?” Tora asked, sounding like he was in the middle of stuffing his face. A half dozen things nearly jumped out of my mouth, torn between gushing about what I saw and blurting out that I was team captain now. I had absolutely no idea how he would take it. Tora was vice-captain for years, I couldn’t imagine that he would just be okay with me jumping over him like that. Even if Lord Frieza gave the order himself. 

“Yeah, I did,” I confirmed, “I’ll tell you all about it when we get on the ship. We have to hurry up before they leave us behind.” I said, killing the mike and letting out a breath. Alright, what did I say when they showed up? How would Bardock break the news that he was in charge now when he was eight-...four years old. 

There was no easy way to break the news, was there? No point in thinking about it anymore, all I could do now was to be blunt. 

I flew towards the fleet, approaching an airlock on the flagship. The Flagship was one liberated from an alien species. They looked...a lot like what I imagined a Saiyan spaceship would look like if we built our own. A giant brick with guns slapped on every possible angle, and instead of floaters, it had giant thrusters on the back. 

The airlock slid open, letting me step inside before it decompressed and I could enter the ship properly. Inside was a furry alien that was hunched over, it used its second pair of arms underneath the first set as another pair of legs. “Greetings,” it said in a heavily modulated voice. “Welcome. Follow.”

“I’ll wait here for my team,” I dismissed, updating my current location for my team. The furry thing shifted its oversized fists on the ground from its second pair of arms, displeased with that. 

“Follow. General. Order.” It said, the modular voice unable to convey it, but I’m guessing it was pissed. Slowly, I took off my mask and tossed it to the side and faced the alien. I’ve never seen one of its kind, so out of curiosity, I tapped down on my scouter. 8000.

“I’m staying here,” I stated forcefully, crossing my arms. Again, it shifted, frustrated by refusal. This time, it huffed in annoyance, thumping the metal floors hard enough that its fists formed a dent. 

“Saiyan. Follow. Now. Order.” It snapped at me. I couldn’t hear the tone, but its body language screamed that it wasn’t a request at this point. I felt the familiar feeling of my blood surging through my veins, carrying a current of electricity through me that made every hair stand on end. There was only one word that could describe it: excitement. 

Fighting scarabs...well...it got old, after a while. And this alien here was almost as strong as me. 

“No,” I said, unable to stop the small grin tugging at my lips. “I don’t think I will.”

It’s upper arm lashed out at me in a blur, but I had all the time in the world to dodge it. Sidestepping the punch, I darted forward as I aimed for center mass. Delivering a punch to its sternum, it's Frieza-force armor cracked like glass before the alien shot backward. It slowed itself, using it's extra set of arms and legs tear a long line down the hallway before it came to a stop some distance away.

"Kar'slag. Will. Enjoy. This." It bit out, straightening as it lowered a hand that covered where I struck. My knuckles throbbed as I strode towards it. Kar'slag seemed to be made of sterner stuff than I expected. Underneath the broken armor, there was no sign of any damage. 

"Not as much as I will. I have some time until my team arrives, so you have a couple more minutes to live. I suggest you make the most of them," I said, walking towards it. Another thing that scarabs failed at. Unless they were new, they couldn't banter at all. In my spars with the team, trash-talking was half the fun. 

"No. Great. Monkey. For. Saiyan," it pointed out as it moved to meet me halfway. When we neared, it pushed itself onto its legs, standing tall as it lashed out with it's larger underarms. A fist the size of my head rushed towards me, but it was slow. So slow. Did he really have a power level of 8000? I could have dodged that attack before my latest power jump. 

Fucking under it with ease, I spun out of the way of another punch from its upper arm as I leaped towards its head. Rearing back, I slammed my fist into the side of its head. It's body jerked to the side, punching through the first door on the airlock and warping the outer door enough that the seam cracked open ever so slightly. Instantly, the brightly lite hallway was plunged into a deep red as air began to escape through the crack. 

Kar'slag made a low growling sound as it pushed itself off the door, making the crack that much bigger. Again, it showed no damage from the punch or being exposed to the vacuum of space. 

"Ah, so you're one of those types," I realized, feeling cheated. A scouter picked up battle power but not all battle power was created equal. Just because it had a pl of 8000 didn't mean that it could fly, shoot ki blasts or anything of that nature. As it approached, the rushing wind that was rapidly dwindling as the hallway was sealed off, I realized what that 8000 PL was coming from. Durability. 

It was slow. It was strong, probably. I couldn't tell if it was able to shoot ki blasts since I doubt it would for the same reasons I wasn't -- I didn't want to blow up the ship. Even still, all it had going for it was that it could take a punch. Blaster shots probably wouldn't do much to it, plasma might singe its fur, but that was it. 

"What a letdown," I mused, darting forward, moving at speeds that I doubt it could even see before I slammed my knee into its face. It shot backward, hitting the airlock doors hard enough that they bent outwards completely. The alien flailed around for a moment, trying to guide itself back in, but it was too late. I stared at it for a moment, tilting my head as I watched its upper hands go to its neck as it began to suffocate. Then, with a sigh, I flew forward and grabbed the alien by the scruff of its neck. 

"Welcoming party?" Tora observed, one eyebrow raised as the rest of the team followed me back into the ship. 

"Not the fun kind," I said, approaching one of the bulkhead doors. Dropping the suffocating alien, I grabbed the seal of the door and forced it open. Air rushed out, nearly knocking the dying alien away, but once everyone was clear, I let the door close. In an instant, the air went still and the large alien dropped to the floor in a heap, sinking down air greedily. 

Tora looked down at me for a moment while Shugesh and Borgos started poking at the alien. He took off his mask to show a serious expression that told me what he was going to say next before he could form the words. "Tarble, where is Bardock?" 

The question was nearly lost underneath the blaring warning that blasted over the intercom, but I heard it all the same. Fasha leveled a look at me while Shugesh and Borgos stopped poking the alien as it finally got some air back into its lungs. 

“Did Frieza kill him?” Fasha questioned, her expression promising a bloody response if that was the case. I was quick to shake my head, putting that idea out of her mind. The last thing I needed right now was the team flying off to attack Lord Frieza in a stupid attempt of vengeance. 

“No, Bardock is alive...he’s just…” I trailed off, knowing that there was no easy way to say this. “He’s not on the team anymore. He’s apart of the Ginyu-force now.” I explained, making Tora’s eyes go wide before he and Fasha shared a pointed look. 

“Bardock is apart of the Ginyu squad? Really? How’d that happen?” Shugesh questioned, frowning at me. 

I gave a small shrug, “It was Lord Frieza’s idea. He tried to reward Bardock for being the employee of the year for a bunch of years, and Bardock asked for more work. Lord Frieza laughed then called in Captain Ginyu -- did you know he’s a huge chalky white saiyan-like alien now? -- they talked about posing for a little bit, then Captain Ginyu accepted him on the team.” 

Tora’s serious expression deepened while Fasha let out a small sigh as she scratched at the side of her head. “Well, I guess we should be happy for him. At least we won’t have to worry about the prince trying to execute him every time they’re in the same room,” Fasha commented.

“I bet he’s going to have some pretty good fights coming his way. The Ginyu squad are high-risk targets only.” Shugesh muttered, looking up at the speaker when the alarm finally turned off. Then he turned his attention to Tora, punching him in the shoulder with a grin on his face. “Congrats on the promotion, captain Tora.” 

Right. This got a thousand times more awkward. Thanks, Shugesh. 

“Actually,” I interjected, my voice sounding impossibly loud in the silent hallways. The team turned their gaze to me, the rest of them about to congratulate Tora for his promotion that wasn’t coming. A promotion that was stolen from him. “Lord Frieza put me in charge of the team. I’m the captain now.”

There really weren’t words to describe the next few seconds of pure awkwardness. Tora stared down at me, Shugesh paused mid punch with a grin frozen on his face. Fasha couldn’t look more shocked if revealed that I had a scarab attached to my back. Borgos...was in the back doing his own thing as he continued to poke at the recovering alien. 

“Uhhh,” Tora was the first to break the horribly awkward silence, sharing another glance with Fasha. “Tarble, I’m not sure…” 

“Lord Frieza wants me to be the face of the Saiyan race,” I blurted as Tora trailed off. “He wants me to be like Bardock -- whenever people think of Saiyans, he wants them to think of me first. So...we’re going to be going on a lot of mission. Like, a lot of missions.” Most of those missions were going to be high risk. We won’t just be on the frontlines, we’ll be spearheading the frontlines. 

“But…” I trailed off, looking up at Tora and Fasha’s grave expressions. “I’m going to need your help to make sure that we all survive. The war...after seeing Lord Frieza destroy a planet and entire fleets with a flick of the wrist...the Reach is going to get desperate. They’re going to pull out all the stops. This war was just kicked up a dozen notches.”

I turned my attention to Fasha, then Shugesh, the Borgos, “if we’re going to survive this war, then we need to work together.” I finished lamely, hearing Tora blow out a small breath as he looked away, running a hand through his short hair. 

Fasha offered me a half-smirk as she took a step over, placing a hand on top of my head much like Bardock had done earlier. “Well, can’t argue with Lord Frieza, little Super Saiyan.” She said, her voice a little tight as she goodnaturedly messed with my hair. I couldn’t see Tora’s expression, but I did see him cross his arms. 

“We can talk about this later,” Tora said, his tone flat enough that it told me everything I needed to know about how he was feeling about this. “Let’s just meet up with our new command and get settled in.” Tora...ordered before he started walking down the hallway. Fasha moved after him, letting go of the top of my head. 

Shugesh gave me a pat as he walked by while Borgo stayed behind with me for a few moments. I looked over at him to see that he was looking at me. I could never tell what the stoic saiyan was thinking most of the time, and this was no exception. After a few seconds, he offered me a small nod before he started walking. 

That...went about as well as I thought it would. Who in their right mind wanted to be lead by a child? Maybe if I was in charge of a new squad, but the team knew me for pretty much my entire life. 

“This is going to suck,” I concluded, sparing the fallen alien one last glance before I started following the team that I was supposed to lead. 

…

Eventually, we made our way to the command center after a long while. And getting directions from a passing by alien. Since our new commanding officer wasn’t trying to get in touch with us through our scouters, I’m guessing that our presence wasn’t urgently needed. All the while I pondered just how exactly I was supposed to start leading the team when...well, they didn’t want me to. 

When we arrived, it didn’t take long to spot our new general. Queen Teach commanded attention as she held an alien by the throat, lifting the small creature a few feet off the ground as she prepared a ki attack with one hand. I could only see her back, but she seemed unchanged since the last time I saw her.

“I’m not sure you understand how things work here, admiral. I tell you where to fly the ship. You fly the ship there. That’s it. No backtalk, or questions. You do exactly what I say when I say it, and the only time you can ignore my orders is when Frieza himself tells you otherwise,” she snarled, holding up some kind of teddy bear looking alien. 

“B-but-” it squeaked in an admittedly adorable voice, only to be cut off when Queen Teach shook the alien hard enough that it’s white cloak that marked it as an admiral fell to the floor. 

“What did I just say about arguing?” Queen Teach asked, sounding more exasperated than angry. “Let’s try this again. I want the next words out of your mouth to be ‘yes ma’am, we’ll set course for Rench.’ Is that clear?” 

The teddy bear looking alien swallowed thickly, making a choking sound as its little legs kicked out, hitting empty air. It looked over at us, somehow finding my gaze despite being surrounded by much larger saiyans. Its eyes went so wide they could have fallen out of its head, its face morphing into an expression of pure panic. 

“M-more Saiyans?!” It cried with so much despair that it was almost funny. That made Queen Teach turn around to face us-

I blinked, realizing that something about her had changed. Her face was still the same, her tank top armor revealing muscled arms while her navy blue under armor clung to her legs. The white armor that was emblazoned with the royal families crest over her heart -- all of it was nearly identical to the last time I saw her back on planet Vegeta on her throne. 

“Uh, did you eat too much?” I questioned, looking at the small bump on her stomach. It wasn’t really big, but it was definitely noticeable. 

“Nah, I’m...what’s the words again? Hey, admiral, what’s the word when you’re carrying a kid inside of you instead of a gestation tank?” Queen Teach asked the admiral still in her grip. I blinked slowly at that, not sure what she was talking about. A kid...what?

“Pregnant! You’re pregnant!” The admiral wailed trying to escape her grip. It threw its head back and let out a small cry as it tugged at her hand that was firmly latched around its throat. 

“Right. That. I’m pregnant,” Queen Teach informed as she walked over to me. Tora failed to get out of the way fast enough, so she tossed the admiral at him. She was pregnant? Like, actually pregnant? Why? Why would she be carrying a child when she could have the fertilized egg gestation in a tank? 

“I gotta admit,” Queen Teach said, reaching down and picking me up so that I was eye level with her. I just stared at her with wide eyes, unsure what in the hell was happening right now. “When I first saw you right out of the tank, I’d figure I’d never see you again. Vegeta -- the big one -- he was going to shoot you off at some planet. Then, when he put you in that room to fight saibamen, I gave you a week at best before you got yourself killed.” 

She smiled ever so slightly, clocking her head as her eyes seemed to look at me like she was seeing me for the first time. “But you survived it. You came out of that room stronger than any kid your age had any right to be. Then you went to Rockoroad -- a suicide mission for a squad of mid-classes, and you didn’t just survive it, but you won glory there.”

Uh...this...was...kinda weirding me out. Just a little bit. I couldn’t bring myself to look away as her smile grew. 

"Now, you've killed a Green Lantern," she finished before she brought me in. She wrapped her arms around me so I was pressed against her chest, her cheek pressed against mine. Queen Teach let out a content breath as I shot a panicked look over at Tora, wondering what in the hell was going on. This was the same woman who had completely written me off back when I got out of the tank, who hadn't been bothered by the idea of me dying at all? 

Tora just gave me a helpless shrug in response, looking just as bewildered as I felt. Fasha just gave a shrug, while Shugesh and Borgos were out of view. This was beyond weird. She was...hugging me. I wasn’t a member of the royal family yet -- did Vegeta not tell her that I refused the offer? I don’t think she knew. 

Oh. And here I thought the most awkward moment of the day was telling my team that a toddler was now leading them into battle. 

“I’m so proud of you my little Super Saiyan,” Queen Teach muttered into my ear. If I could bring myself to say that I wasn’t acknowledged as her son yet, then I couldn’t now. Every thought in my head came to a screeching halt, blue-screening as I felt her hug me even tighter until the plating of my armor threatened to crack. 

“G-general T-Teach,” the stuffed animal admiral spoke up after a moment, fear clear in its voice. Queen Teach turned on the small alien, wherever she looked, I saw an alien flinch and look away. Since Queen Teach was holding me so tight, I couldn't look around to see the expression on the admirals face, but I could see the amused expressions of my team. This was...fantastic. 

So, not only was I a child to them but a mama's boy as well. Just...great…

"Queen General Teach, to you," Queen Teach snapped at the admiral, her voice a lot harsher than it was just a second ago. "And you have your orders, admiral. Plot the course for planet Rench. I'm not going to ask again." 

"We can't!" The admiral suicidally argued back, "Rench is the most fortified system in this sector! We don't have the strength to take it, much less hold it! We'll be surrounded on all sides if they block our FTL transport." 

I frowned in thought, piecing together thinking through what I was hearing. The upper brass of the Frieza-force didn’t tend to be cowards, but the stuffed animal seemed pretty panicked about the idea of going to Rench. That much was obvious, but the biggest question was why Queen Teach wanted to go there so badly.

I made eye contact with Tora, to see him watching the exchange with a bored expression until he met my gaze. He broke eye contact first, glancing at Shugesh -- I could only imagine what he was thinking when he saw me like this, being held in my mother’s arms like a baby. This...I needed to show him that I was serious about this. I needed to show my entire team that I wasn’t some kid. 

I needed to show them that I was a leader. 

“What’s on Rench?” I asked, gently pushing away from Queen Teach, but her grip was firm. She gave me enough room that I could join the conversation, but she still held me. I glanced at her, trying to carry myself with an authoritative air that Bardock managed so easily, but I think my efforts were undercut when Queen Teach pinched one of my cheeks. 

“Rench is one of the Reach’s major manufacturing planets,” Queen Teach explained as she began to gently rock back and forth, her tone going back to a soft, gentle tone as she spoke to me. “And their nearest shipyard -- that fleet is probably docked there to get patched up and to regroup.”

“Exactly!” The stuffed animal cried, “it’s deep inside Reach controlled space! We won’t have any backup, and what was left of their fleet was untouched! They outnumber us without attacking one of the most fortified planets in this sector!” It cried, making a good argument, but it sounded hollow when its voice was filled with so much fear. 

I frowned in thought, mulling that over. “How major of a manufacturer are we talking about?” The Reach had entire planets dedicated to the sole purpose of making stuff. Weapons, tanks, robots, scarabs, and ships. Anything and everything that the Reach needed to wage war. I could barely picture it -- a machine world that’s sole purpose was to make instruments of war. 

“It supplied nearly fifteen percent of war materials for this front alone,” Queen Teach...cooed, smiling at me as she supplied my answer. That didn’t sound like a lot, but each front was absolutely massive. Hundreds of worlds, supplying munitions for tens of millions of soldiers, if not hundreds of millions. Fifteen percent of that was a lot, no matter how you looked at it. 

That was a prize too good to pass up. “We should hit it,” I spoke up, backing Queen Teach. “The Reach couldn’t have expected us to get passed Sereall untouched, so they’re going to be reeling from the losses they suffered here. They’re on the back foot. Hitting one of the biggest manufacturers for this front is going to hamstring them.”

It would force more stress onto other manufacturing planets, and I knew first hand how much being out of supplies sucked when I spent a few years behind enemy lines. Only the lack of supplies would affect tens of millions -- soldiers wouldn’t have ammo, or transportation, or have parts to repair anything. Destroying Rench would cause a shortage for the entire front, and that was too tempting. 

“I knew you’d see it my way, my little Super Saiyan!” Queen Teach...squealed...as she hugged me so tight I’m pretty sure I busted a rub. I paid that no mind in favor of staring down the admiral. It was already shaking its head, frustrated that I didn’t agree with it. 

“As you said, Rench is deep inside their controlled space. The very last thing they’re going to expect is for us to jump to it and kick their shit in again. Their guard will be down -- if we’re lucky, we can take out their feet during repairs, or when they’re out of formation in a surprise attack.” This was the very best time to do it. When they were at their weakest, and we were at our strongest. 

I saw the admiral shift at that, logic working much better than threats, so I continued. “And we don’t have to take it. If we wreck it enough to halt production, even for a little while, that’s good for the war effort. If that fleet really is the last major one in this sector, then the rest of the planets will fall easily.” 

It shifted, clearly mulling over my explanation. I think it was warming up to the idea, seeing the advantages I pointed out in a bold sneak attack. All the while Queen Teach made...noises...at me before she got fed up with waiting. With a hand, she fired off a ki blast that punched through the holodeck, just above the admirals head. 

“Just do it before I aim a little lower,” Queen Teach threatened in the same voice she used towards me, not even looking at the admiral. That seemed to do the trick, though because the admiral started to shake like a leaf as it nodded so quickly I thought it was going to give itself whiplash. 

“A-at once, Queen General Teach,” it stammered out before giving out the order to plot a course for Rench. It left the deck, pretending like it had to be on the other side of the room to do it, but everyone knew it was just avoiding Queen Teach. 

“Finally,” Queen Teach breathed a note of frustration in her voice a moment before her scouter beeped. I glanced at her to see a message had appeared on her scouter, earning a small, annoyed huff out of her. “And now I have to go make sure this kid in me isn't dying, or something.” She announced, which brought my attention back to the fact that Queen Teach was pregnant. 

Like, pregnant. Why would she be pregnant when she could have tossed the fertilized egg into a gestation tank? 

“Matillo!” Queen Teach yelled, making a large Saiyan appear out of thin air. Looking over, I saw it was a giant saiyan that was well out of his prime. His face was lined with wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, while the top of his head was bare except for a large X shaped scar on his scalp. Still, I knew exactly who this was. Matillo, a mid-class saiyan, but not just any mid-class. 

The man before me was at the very least a hundred years old, but the few history lessons downloaded into my brain suggested that he was much older. Much, much, much older...because there had been a Matillo back when King Vegeta the First defeated the truffles three hundred years ago. I don’t know if he was the same one, but the large saiyan in front of me seemed absolutely ancient. 

“My Queen,” Matillo drawled, looking down at me with flat black eyes. Queen Teach pushed me towards him, earning a blink of surprise from me as the possibly ancient Saiyan took me. 

“I’m assigning Table’s squad to your platoon. Take care of him for me,” she informed before she reached out and pinched my cheek again. “And we’ll catch up later, okay my little Super Saiyan? I have to do some check-ups real quick.” Then she leaned in and pressed her lips against my forehead, brushing a lock of hair to the side before she left the deck. 

Everyone on the command deck watched her leave -- most of the aliens feeling relieved but I felt nothing but confusion. What in the hell was that?! Why was she so…?!

My gaze drifted over to my team, my heart falling when I saw Fasha was trying her absolute best to not explode into uncontrolled laughter with her hands clasped over her mouth. Tora was just massaging his temples while Shugesh was chatting with Borgos. That was...rather...humiliating, all things considered. I mean, it was nice. She...it might just be because she thought I accepted my place in the royal family, but...she cared. 

I wasn’t expecting that. 

However, slowly, I craned my head back to look up at Matillo, who still held me with his hands underneath my arms. The elderly Saiyan looked down at me, his expression a blank mask. My face began to heat up -- this was the furthest thing from the first impression I wanted to give as the team leader. I was literally being held and passed around like I was a human baby. 

“Can...you please put me down…” I requested, feeling a little piece of myself die from sheer humiliation. 

“Of course, my Prince,” Matillo agreed, lowering me down to the floor before standing back up. I turned around to look at him and now, when I looked into his eyes, I was absolutely positive that I saw amusement in them. 

“...Thanks…” I muttered, glancing over at my team again. This time Fasha wasn’t able to contain her giggles because she threw her head back and started laughing. 

Yeah. Not the first impression that I wanted.