Age of the Empire

The First Tale of Shukumei: Ghosts From the Past
Chapter 7

Everyone was silent as the ship they had been held captive on for three days faded into the distance. They had known that they were free the moment their ship left the hangar, but it seemed like it wasn't real until the larger ship was no longer in view. Cheers rose up, a great sound that nearly shook the ship with its intensity. Vegeta released a breath that he had no idea he was holding and collapsed into the nearest chair.

It was then that he noticed the usually stoic Bardock's behavior. The older man was grinning widely and there was a twinkle in his dark eyes. As a matter of fact, he was starting to scare the prince.

"Are you... okay?" he asked, both eyebrows raised so high that they were nearly even with his widow's peak.

"We're going to Chikyuu!" he said with barely suppressed excitement. By that time, the other Saiya-jin had begun to crowd around him in curiosity. He rolled their eyes at them. "You guys don't get it, do you? Chikyuu's the blue planet I've been Seeing."

"You've seen it in visions?!" Vegeta stood and stood before him, annoyance clear on his face. "When were you going to tell me about it, Bardock? I'm your prince; I have a right to know!"

A calm smile was his only answer. "Actually, boy, you are our king." He chuckled as the color drained from his face as Vegeta realized the full import of what he had done on Furiza's ship. "You were so focused on us getting away that you've completely forgotten about the Sending."

Reverent silence descended upon them. The Sending was a Saiya-jin tradition that dated back as far as anyone could remember. In order for a prince to gain the throne, he had to murder his father and send his soul to Hell. Most of the time it was one of the hardest things a prince ever had to accomplish in his lifetime, but a few kings had been as weary as the previous king had been and put up no fight.

"On the ship, I killed him," Vegeta whispered. Before he had been ruling in name only because Bardock had been the true leader. Now, the lives of dozens were placed into his care. 'Can I do this? Can I take care of my people without fucking up?'

"You've done fine so far, Vegeta." Bardock recognized the fear and panic in his eyes; many young Saiya-jin placed into a position of power often looked the exact same way. "Leadership is in your blood, boy. You'll know what to do."

Abruptly changing the subject to give the new king time to regain his composure, he started on his visions. "You all know that I saw Furiza blow up our planet, correct?" He received nods. "I had another vision that I told no one of. On the Day of Sorrow my second son, Kakarotto, was born. He was sent to a planet in the middle of nowhere and I've been looking for him ever since. The planet Zaabon spoke of, Chikyuu, is the very same one he was sent to. I know it! Don't you see?"

"Don't we see what?" Outou asked, the confusion on his face mirrored by many others. "All I know is that your son is supposed to kill the one who nearly destroyed our race. That's all you've ever told us."

"This is no coincidence, people. We're ensnared in the sticky web of Fate." The lingering smile on his face faded. "We can't control our destines, something up there is doing it for us."

Nanka frowned in worry. "I hope that planet you saw Kakarotto and Furiza fight on wasn't Chikyuu. We shouldn't be anywhere near them when it happens. It can't be safe."

Bardock rolled his eyes at him. "You're probably the only one here that wouldn't want to see that battle. Wouldn't you want to be there to see our people avenged?"

"I like my limbs where they are, thank you very much." He shuddered at the thought of Furiza attacking him. The nightmare would come true if he ever found out where they were. Turning away from the others, Nanka went to his place at the communications console.

***

The next day found Vegeta staring out the viewport in his private room. For some reason he couldn't place, he felt uneasy about leaving Furiza alive. How long would it take him to discover their absence? What would he do to find them again?

The door slid upward and he didn't bother to look behind him. He knew there was only one person that would enter without knocking. "What do you want Bardock?"

He didn't speak until Vegeta felt the slight dip in the bed that meant Bardock had sat down. "This is the strangest thing you've ever done since the time you thought you were God."

Vegeta turned to face him, eyebrow high on his face. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't remember?" he chuckled. "You were nine years old and I think you'd accidentally slipped and fallen coming out of the shower."


"Fear me, you lowlife bastards! Bow before your lord and master!"

The Saiya-jin in the mess hall looked at the young boy dressed in a white bed sheet that pooled at his feet and erupted into laughter. Eyes narrowed, he carefully climbed up onto the nearest table, knocking several dishes to the floor, and pointed his index finger around the room. "I am God," he said in a low voice filled with anger, "and you will respect me!"

"What are you on, boy?" Bardock asked with an amused smile on his face. "Whatever it is, you need to stop using."

He tried to stalk down the table toward the man, but tripped on the bottom of his sheet and fell flat on his face. The laughter only grew louder when, in his attempt to rise, his foot slipped in a mound of mashed potatoes and he slid down the rest of the long table and landed on the floor. Tears were running down numerous faces until Bardock squatted down beside the boy and noticed that he was unconscious. Picking him up, he carried him back to his room and laid him on the bed.

Examining his skull, Bardock found not one but *two* bumps. Something had to have happened to make the prince delusional and he figured that a knock to the head was it. "You better be normal when you wake up, Vegeta. I don't want the others to rupture something from laughing so hard."


He laughed at the memory. "Before you woke up, I made everyone promise not to ever bring it up again."

"That's the reason why everyone seemed to be laughing at me that week!" He punched him in the arm. "You should have told me. I have the right to know just how bad a fool I made of myself."

Bardock nodded but the smirk didn't leave his face. "Are you out of your mood, now?"

"When will he find us, Bardock?" He interrupted the older man before he could respond. "You and I both know that he eventually will."

"Hopefully it'll be after we get to Chikyuu. I don't want to get into a fight with Furiza, but especially not in space." He almost couldn't stop the tremor from going through his body. "None of us could survive something like that."

Vegeta rose to his feet. "It's alright to be afraid, Bardock. Everyone else is as well."

"Including you?"

"*Especially* me," he corrected. "C'mon, we should be close to Xelos."

Five minutes later they were descending through the atmosphere and landing at the space port. Xelos was a planet that many travelers found themselves on for many reasons. The Saiya-jin were there to purchase supplies. Zaabon hadn't told them how long it was going to take to reach Chikyuu so Vegeta wanted to be prepared.

"Give me stats, Outou," Vegeta ordered as he reached the bridge.

"Xelos is a Class A planet with various terrain. The atmosphere is mostly comprised of nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide with amounts of 25.80%, 72.19%, 2%, and 0.01%. Its native inhabitants are called Xelian and the global population is approximately seven-hundred million. Average battle power is 275.53."

"Not bad," the king commented. "Nanka, have you contacted the other ships and let them know that they are to land as well?"

"Yes, my king. They will meet us on the tarmac."

The four ships were left on the apron and a fee was negotiated upon. Although they didn't have much currency (especially of the unit that was accepted on Xelos), they were willing to pay. It wouldn't be wise to have a planet of so many people angry at them.

Once everyone was gathered together, Vegeta divided them into groups and appointed them tasks. Some would purchase the food, others would see to the maintenance and refueling of the ships, while still more would search for information. There were few people here who had heard of their race since Xelos hadn't ever been targeted for real estate. After consulting with Bardock, Vegeta told them to meet up at a bar about half-a-mile away from the spaceport in three hours. The older man had an idea up his sleeve and was going to try his best to make it work.

"You know we don't have the money to pay for this," Vegeta said as he and Bardock went on their way by themselves. "Do you actually think they'll let us rent a room for free?"

He snorted. "Of course not, boy. I have an offer they can't refuse." A single eyebrow rose in waiting. "Either the owner allows us to borrow that room or we'll kill his family."

"Ah, a good threat always does the trick."

"Who said anything about a threat?"

They spent the entire time watching the street performers and sampling the food. A festival to one of their gods was occurring and wine flowed freely throughout the city. Vegeta had four large cups of the sweet, fruity liquid before Bardock made him leave the area.

"If you haven't forgotten, I am the king," he said in a voice that was only slightly slurred. "I can do what I want."

"King or not you're still my kid," Bardock gave him the sternest look that he was capable of, "and when I say no, I mean no!"

This was the first time someone stopped him from doing something stupid because it was for his own good. The realization that Bardock actually cared about him made warmth flow throughout his body. Later on, when he was sober, it would be blamed on the wine. "I love you, man!" he cried and hugged the startled soldier. Bardock awkwardly patted him on the back and carefully pried him loose.

"That's it, no more alcoholic beverages. You get weird when you're drunk."

A goofy smile appeared on the king's face. "Sure, Papa. Whatever you say."

Eyes wide in shock, he grabbed his shoulders. "What did you call me?!"

"You're my papa, aren't you?" Confusion shone in his dark eyes. "I wasn't supposed to call you that?"

"Only if you want to, Vegeta." He tried to stop the huge grin from spreading across his face, but it was a lost cause from the beginning. "You'll be the first to ever call me that."

"There are two kinds of family: those you're bound to by blood and those you're bound to by choice. Oftentimes the latter bond is the strongest." That said, his attention wavered and he spotted more free food, running off to devour it. Bardock stood there and watched him for a moment, pondering on how wise he had become. Eventually shrugging, he went off in the opposite direction to secure a room for the celebration.