Dragonball M, Chapter 4: Kidnapping! Invasion! A new Threat Strikes First!

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

It wasn't long before they saw the Castle.

OOC: Is the Queen still nearby, or did she move to another location? Is anyone else nearby? Otherwise, Dash will just continue to meet back up with Etrina.

She’s mostly busy at the moment.

[Tami]

She’s mostly busy at the moment.

As she and the baby dragon entered the area closest to the Castle, she saw people scurrying around, but no one that she recognized. This was for the best, since the baby needed something to eat.

Making her final notes, Etrina placed the ingot on the table and briefly eyes it. She wasn't familiar with a material of this nature.....but perhaps Inanna could, afterall she had a particular attunement to metal. She would need to make a note to have the Oni give a appraisal of the material when she was available again.

Sitting back in her chair, Etrina sighed and scratched her ears again....awkwardly pausing, then running her fingers over the top.

"....Hmm.." The Mage murmured, either her fingers were off from touching too many artifacts and drinking too many vials(one being too many)......or her ears were a bit off....

Pushing the thought aside for a moment, Etrina looked to the completed evaluation(mostly) and pondered the next more important point....she had promised something that could be gifted to Cyanna, but what.

As Dash entered the room, as soon as she saw Etrina, she knew something had happened. "Hey, Etrina, you know how you kept tellin me about how dangerous magic could be? You didn't do something dangerous, did you?"

[MrSandman]

As she and the baby dragon entered the area closest to the Castle, she saw people scurrying around, but no one that she recognized. This was for the best, since the baby needed something to eat.



As Dash entered the room, as soon as she saw Etrina, she knew something had happened. "Hey, Etrina, you know how you kept tellin me about how dangerous magic could be? You didn't do something dangerous, did you?"

"Huh....what? Of course not." Etrina lied as naturally as she breathed. "Actually I was waiting for you, I've finished reviewing the items we have in here to the best of my ability...and while some merit further study it all seems relatively harmless to use. I'm trying to determine what the best gift for Cyanna would be now..."

[Miburo]

As he approached the Admiral, Captain Ulysses began accessing the gathered realtime data as it refreshed.

"We've practically mapped out the whole thing, visually speaking, anyway," he replied, "After whatever that was that shot out of the atmosphere into the sun, other than..."

Trailing off, he briefly used his free hand to motion towards the flattened urban wasteland that seemed to stretch to the smoking horizon around them.

"...it's still viable. Though, uh, other than fields and workshops, there seems to be a strange lack of industrial infrastructure anywhere on this planet."

His single eye peered at Held. They both knew they had the means to get off-world and into the wider universe, which meant the energy needed to fuel such an endeavour came from a previously unestablished source.

One unlike any known on the Galactic marketplace. They had to act fast if they wanted an exclusive deal.

"I guess it would make sense to try and help them gain some manner of self-sufficiency, once the aid effort is more established." Held replied, considering the Captain's information, reading the space between the lines. "Assuming they want our help, it would be far easier to learn from us, than to try and reinvent the wheel on their own...."

He sighed. He thought things looked positively antiquated when he first arrived, and Nevin implied as much, but Uylsess made it abundantly clear just how limited the people were on this planet, technologically speaking.

"If I had to guess, Auroc was worried if they had they advanced far enough, they would be able to more readily defy him, or even flee to the point he actively suppressed all activity...Or he was so egotistical he simply didn't care for the plight of his people."

After all, they're certainly not what you would consider backwater by any means, but this place makes Earth look like the pinnacle of technological advancement.

"At any rate, we've also mapped out the route here in an encrypted log. Send word to the Federation, and they can be there within a day, if that's how you want to play it."

Standard protocol, really, though truth be told the Navigator did not think the head office had to deal with an unknown quantity in quite some time. All the commercial laneways for space freight they needed were already mapped out. Yet they hadn't counted on undiscovered civilizations in uncharted space.

"Let's play it slow, for now." Held replied, "I'll have to make a report proclaiming the road leading here from Baradur to be under Nevadian control, for obvious reasons, But I'm not especially inclined to make that declaration to extend to Reshlan space...Or, at least the area where they started shooting death beams at us."

The fact they don't have a space fairing culture makes this difficult. We'll likely have to negotiate the borders when they advance, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

He laughed, patting his new friend on the back.

"I mean, if we're going to go the route of annexing every race we come into contact with, we might as well grow tails and send out resume's to the Saiyan Empire."

He laughed one last time, admiring his own humor. "We've always given a choice, even if the alternative is simpler."

"...well, that was easy."

Setting down one of the large hovering crates, the Captain released the cargo. The Diplomacy Package, as they named it, contained the foundational essentials for aid relief of a Type I civilization. Medicine, widespread and largely universal across species, ration portions - though who could say if palates were compatible with Nevadian tastes. Rolling out the heavy clinking of a stout, amber bottle, Ulysses gripped it aloft between his long, pale fingers before Held.

"By the way, funny you should mention the top brass on the colony planet," he said, pulling the oak-aged distillation away for a moment "before you close to deal, there's something I'd like to know."

Opening up a second transport, the Threshling Triad of Baradur, bound in restraints, were greeted by the sight of their ruined homeworld. The Silver Knight Canin sat so still that, but for his fogging breath, he was no more animate than a suit of armour on display. The High Priestess Cin let out a long wail the moment she saw the burning sky.

And conspicuously silent was the Herald of Auroc, Lord Markus Blacktongue.

"I kept them around, as ordered, but it's more than they deserve," the Captain said, "anybody going to hold them accountable?"

The Nevadian gripped the bottle graciously, examining it as the various crates hovered, going hither and thither. "And here I was thinking you'd never relax."

He prepared to open the bottle, before the high pitched wailing of Cin caused him to wince.

"...Good Grief. I can't open the bottle here, she'd kill the ambiance....I like to drink to victory, not to the lamentations of women."

He placed the bottle on a table to his side, the wailing of the priestess causing him to miss her fervent praise of Auroc by comparison.

"Well...That's a tricky subject, isn't it? I mean--"

Nevin walks over, several Knights beside her, and narrows her eyes.

“The leaders of Baradur, yes?”

The Nevadian turned to see the Queen, not especially happy to see the member's of Auroc's missionary group.

"Oh, Your Majesty." He bowed slightly in her direction.

Oof. Well....That doesn't bode well for them.

"...I was wondering the best way to broach this topic, but I thought it could wait until later..." Held replied, laughing nervously at the Queen's sudden intervention, "After all....These guys are in the very meaning of a precarious position."

The Nevadian rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought.

"But, since you're already present, I suppose we might as well get a feel for the situation we find ourselves in."

Well, I guess it's to be expected this would come up sooner or later.

"On the one hand, they technically count as prisoners of war." He explained, his gaze dropping down to the contents of a data pad, signing his approval on something or other "And while I'm loathe to be blunt, I can't technically just release them back to what was a few hours ago considered the enemy..."

He sighed, the options still going over in his head as he rifled through the tomes of bureaucracy burned into his mind.

"Admittedly, the enemy leader was technically overthrown, and I guess I can argue intervention was a necessity given what Auroc was trying.....But I would need you to formally declare a cessation of hostilities on behalf of your empire before I can simply release them."

He sighed. "I'd like to just say 'all that is well that ends well' but my people are rather....Serious, about this sort of thing, especially given...."

He glanced at Blacktongue and his Ilk.

"Higher ups in the Threshling Empire were fairly explicit about their intentions."

A casual laugh escaped the Nevadians lips, not overly concerned about the terms requested.

"Not that any of that should be too much to ask, I hope? I don't think a declaration of not planning to enslave my people is a deal breaker."

Then again, I guess it's not impossible to maybe just write this day off as the results of an especially fruitful negotiation, but given that Auroc is dead, good luck convincing anyone I didn't just cover-up a coup...

"So, I'll take the liberty of assuming that won't be a problem....."

His gaze focused on the High Priestess, her despair made manifest, and plastered upon her face for all to see.

"But....What exactly would you do with this lot anyways?"

[Tami]

"Huh....what? Of course not." Etrina lied as naturally as she breathed. "Actually I was waiting for you, I've finished reviewing the items we have in here to the best of my ability...and while some merit further study it all seems relatively harmless to use. I'm trying to determine what the best gift for Cyanna would be now..."

"Speakin of Cyanna, do you realize that you look somewhat Chromakai? Ah mean, your ears, your eyes, you kind of look like one of Meagan and Jinzi's kids." She then looked at the baby dragon, "Hey, Etrina, can you feed the kid again? He looks kind of hungry."

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

She finds she cannot siphon a piece off. Perhaps she is simply not used to leylanic energy yet, or the raw amount of power unleashed after Auroc’s taint was removed and everything was renewed is simply too...wild...to take a piece of.

Well, it'd make what she was planning on doing a tad bit harder... but at the very least the energy was safe from outside meddling for awhile at least. "Think I'm done here, was a nice little trip all things considered."

Leaving things mostly the way they'd been before her arrival; Inanna IT'd back the way she'd come.

[grampagen]

A path...

He wouldn't exactly say he had chosen a path, rather that the path he had been forced upon had opened out into a vast expanse. The possibilities were endless, but with it came to the dilemma of uncertainty. He was not Charco and attempting to pick up where the boy had left off would be living a lie.

But wasn't that what he was already doing? Using his mannerisms to Ochazuke and using his name out of convenience?

All of these memories and experiences, yet he felt like a mere child hoping for some wisdom from another.

"This is uncharted territory for me, Ochazuke," He began, letting the facade of "Charco" droop a bit, "My "birth" might have been planned by angels and dragons, but what I do with this life is ultimately my own now... even if I don't have a cause to fight for."

A small chuckle escaped Ochazuke, as he lowered his head for a moment.

"No cause to fight for, and yet here you are, already chasing after the next battle."

Some things never change.

The expenditures of the early combat had weighed heavily on Ochazuke, and for a long second he let his heavy eyelids fall. When he opened them again, he examined the gestalt being before him in its totalitly, subtley examining the myriad souls within him with Kyokushin Keihatsu as he spoke.

"A thousand lost generations stretching to the beginning of your line live on in you. Their knowledge and experience, that is what...Charco...wanted."

Even though his face was familiar, spoken by this small admission, Ochazuke had separated this creature that wore his face from the boy he had known. Reborn or otherwise in this hybrid state, he would never return to what he was, for he'd already died years ago.

"But his path has come to an end." Slowly, the martial artist stood to his feet.

Some things never change, and the loss still gnawed at him from within, and as he saw horn and claw and scale adorning the figure before him, he paused to swallow his loathing before continuing his interrogation.

"You saw what the pursuit of strength and vain conquest leads to. Bloodlust, gluttony, avarice, each to an end in of themselves, even Hell itself had no room for one so loathsome as Rex, his existence was punishment enough." he said.

"As much as I want to believe you somehow carry on his will, Charco wanted to bring back Koryu-ryu, until Rex exploited his ambition. Yet he made his final choice on his terms, and you must do the same. Can you do any less than to defy such savage instincts as him?"

[Tami]

"Speakin of Cyanna, do you realize that you look somewhat Chromakai? Ah mean, your ears, your eyes, you kind of look like one of Meagan and Jinzi's kids." She then looked at the baby dragon, "Hey, Etrina, can you feed the kid again? He looks kind of hungry."

Dash, moving in closer, "Any thoughts on what you think would be on Cyanna's level? Any suggestions?"

[Yun Lao]

A small chuckle escaped Ochazuke, as he lowered his head for a moment.

"No cause to fight for, and yet here you are, already chasing after the next battle."

Some things never change.

The expenditures of the early combat had weighed heavily on Ochazuke, and for a long second he let his heavy eyelids fall. When he opened them again, he examined the gestalt being before him in its totalitly, subtley examining the myriad souls within him with Kyokushin Keihatsu as he spoke.

"A thousand lost generations stretching to the beginning of your line live on in you. Their knowledge and experience, that is what...Charco...wanted."

Even though his face was familiar, spoken by this small admission, Ochazuke had separated this creature that wore his face from the boy he had known. Reborn or otherwise in this hybrid state, he would never return to what he was, for he'd already died years ago.

"But his path has come to an end." Slowly, the martial artist stood to his feet.

Some things never change, and the loss still gnawed at him from within, and as he saw horn and claw and scale adorning the figure before him, he paused to swallow his loathing before continuing his interrogation.

"You saw what the pursuit of strength and vain conquest leads to. Bloodlust, gluttony, avarice, each to an end in of themselves, even Hell itself had no room for one so loathsome as Rex, his existence was punishment enough." he said.

"As much as I want to believe you somehow carry on his will, Charco wanted to bring back Koryu-ryu, until Rex exploited his ambition. Yet he made his final choice on his terms, and you must do the same. Can you do any less than to defy such savage instincts as him?"

"Huh... yeah... I think I remember that."

Charco, inspired by Penhuoqi, had sought to do something good with the troubled school. It seemed quaint compared to everything he had experienced, but there was something appealing in its simplicity.

"... there might be something there. Not sure how successful a school ran by a dinosaur man would be, though."

Still, it was something.

"We just gotta take care of a few people first before then..."

[grampagen]

"Huh... yeah... I think I remember that."

Charco, inspired by Penhuoqi, had sought to do something good with the troubled school. It seemed quaint compared to everything he had experienced, but there was something appealing in its simplicity.

"... there might be something there. Not sure how successful a school ran by a dinosaur man would be, though."

Still, it was something.

"We just gotta take care of a few people first before then..."

"Cheh. Do not misunderstand me. You are not Charco, boy. His ambitions died with him."

Truly an enigma, the naive mind of this creature. Completely without much in the way of preconception...besides simply being.

"And yet, the burdens of successorship pass to you. In so far as this matter, I know it well."

How often had he sought the ancestral arts of his own lineage? A hundred thousand years or more, all they had were atrefacts and phantoms, a poor substitute for a living mentorship. Tirelessly had he searched to hear the voices of those long since passed...

Will this one truly be the last?

"You'll find little resolution to your quandary if you don't recover your strength.There is food from the relief effort within," he said. "Assuredly we will find your foe, a challenge to test your mettle, in time. Until then..."

Turning, he began to pace back where the way he'd came. These beginning moments had enormous potential within them.

"...there will be a round of fresh introductions to make, won't there?"

[Yun Lao]

"Cheh. Do not misunderstand me. You are not Charco, boy. His ambitions died with him."

Truly an enigma, the naive mind of this creature. Completely without much in the way of preconception...besides simply being.

"And yet, the burdens of successorship pass to you. In so far as this matter, I know it well."

How often had he sought the ancestral arts of his own lineage? A hundred thousand years or more, all they had were atrefacts and phantoms, a poor substitute for a living mentorship. Tirelessly had he searched to hear the voices of those long since passed...

Will this one truly be the last?

"You'll find little resolution to your quandary if you don't recover your strength.There is food from the relief effort within," he said. "Assuredly we will find your foe, a challenge to test your mettle, in time. Until then..."

Turning, he began to pace back where the way he'd came. These beginning moments had enormous potential within them.

"...there will be a round of fresh introductions to make, won't there?"

He shrugged, hands held up in surrender "My bad. He makes up a large portion of me."

Ochazuke had always been the perceptive and sentimental when it came to Charco, so he should have expected this. At the very least he wasn't being treated like Rex with outright hostility.

"Yeah... I guess I do. Eva met up with me shortly before you, but that's been it so far."

He could only imagine what the saiyan would think of this. It was doubtful Inanna's reaction would be anything else than the standard considering she had did something similar, but Sarada's... he had no idea if she would rage or greet him.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

She’s outside still.

OT: Outside the Castle? Oh okay I see the Queen is busy got it.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

She’s outside still.

( Hmm, so she's not in the castle, Okay, I just have to find someone else to show my blueprints to.) Praxat said. Praxat then looks for a Threshling to show her blueprints.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

She looked at the screen and saw the humanoid plant creature. Interesting. Seems to be in the middle of a desert.

"I do." She took a moment to prepare the ten thousand credits, then nodded at the two Majin. I just need a location. Finding a massive plant creature in the middle of a desert shouldn't be hard at all. Her only concern was if this creature was but one of an entire race. If it was, that was going to make her search much more difficult.

"I'm ready."

Op nods, takes the money, and A’me walks back to his screen. A few key strokes, a few muttered words in an unknown language, and the screen flickers to that of a tall building. It flicks again, revealing a familiar visage, sitting on a rock and playing a hanging melody.

Night.

Night has been keeping eyes on the Saiyans, it seems.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

"I guess it would make sense to try and help them gain some manner of self-sufficiency, once the aid effort is more established." Held replied, considering the Captain's information, reading the space between the lines. "Assuming they want our help, it would be far easier to learn from us, than to try and reinvent the wheel on their own...."

He sighed. He thought things looked positively antiquated when he first arrived, and Nevin implied as much, but Uylsess made it abundantly clear just how limited the people were on this planet, technologically speaking.

"If I had to guess, Auroc was worried if they had they advanced far enough, they would be able to more readily defy him, or even flee to the point he actively suppressed all activity...Or he was so egotistical he simply didn't care for the plight of his people."

After all, they're certainly not what you would consider backwater by any means, but this place makes Earth look like the pinnacle of technological advancement.



"Let's play it slow, for now." Held replied, "I'll have to make a report proclaiming the road leading here from Baradur to be under Nevadian control, for obvious reasons, But I'm not especially inclined to make that declaration to extend to Reshlan space...Or, at least the area where they started shooting death beams at us."

The fact they don't have a space fairing culture makes this difficult. We'll likely have to negotiate the borders when they advance, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

He laughed, patting his new friend on the back.

"I mean, if we're going to go the route of annexing every race we come into contact with, we might as well grow tails and send out resume's to the Saiyan Empire."

He laughed one last time, admiring his own humor. "We've always given a choice, even if the alternative is simpler."




The Nevadian gripped the bottle graciously, examining it as the various crates hovered, going hither and thither. "And here I was thinking you'd never relax."

He prepared to open the bottle, before the high pitched wailing of Cin caused him to wince.

"...Good Grief. I can't open the bottle here, she'd kill the ambiance....I like to drink to victory, not to the lamentations of women."

He placed the bottle on a table to his side, the wailing of the priestess causing him to miss her fervent praise of Auroc by comparison.

"Well...That's a tricky subject, isn't it? I mean--"




The Nevadian turned to see the Queen, not especially happy to see the member's of Auroc's missionary group.

"Oh, Your Majesty." He bowed slightly in her direction.

Oof. Well....That doesn't bode well for them.

"...I was wondering the best way to broach this topic, but I thought it could wait until later..." Held replied, laughing nervously at the Queen's sudden intervention, "After all....These guys are in the very meaning of a precarious position."

The Nevadian rubbed the bridge of his nose in thought.

"But, since you're already present, I suppose we might as well get a feel for the situation we find ourselves in."

Well, I guess it's to be expected this would come up sooner or later.

"On the one hand, they technically count as prisoners of war." He explained, his gaze dropping down to the contents of a data pad, signing his approval on something or other "And while I'm loathe to be blunt, I can't technically just release them back to what was a few hours ago considered the enemy..."

He sighed, the options still going over in his head as he rifled through the tomes of bureaucracy burned into his mind.

"Admittedly, the enemy leader was technically overthrown, and I guess I can argue intervention was a necessity given what Auroc was trying.....But I would need you to formally declare a cessation of hostilities on behalf of your empire before I can simply release them."

He sighed. "I'd like to just say 'all that is well that ends well' but my people are rather....Serious, about this sort of thing, especially given...."

He glanced at Blacktongue and his Ilk.

"Higher ups in the Threshling Empire were fairly explicit about their intentions."

A casual laugh escaped the Nevadians lips, not overly concerned about the terms requested.

"Not that any of that should be too much to ask, I hope? I don't think a declaration of not planning to enslave my people is a deal breaker."

Then again, I guess it's not impossible to maybe just write this day off as the results of an especially fruitful negotiation, but given that Auroc is dead, good luck convincing anyone I didn't just cover-up a coup...

"So, I'll take the liberty of assuming that won't be a problem....."

His gaze focused on the High Priestess, her despair made manifest, and plastered upon her face for all to see.

"But....What exactly would you do with this lot anyways?"

“Nothing.”

She looks at Held.

“All hostilities are over. The ‘war’ is over. However, their crimes were committed outside of Reshlan, and Baradur does not belong to us in reality. As such, these three are not ours to judge, but the galaxies. I believe the GP have jurisdiction, then, yes?”