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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

The Jusge nods.

“I will read and prepare myself accordingly.”

She nodded. "Good luck on your quest to restore your humanity." With that said, she departed from the Geofront, then Capsule Corp.

Once a deadly assassin with a misguided sense of justice, The Judge endeavored to make himself a valuable ally. Or, so it seemed. He may have turned to their side, but he still murdered half their friends. That wasn't something that could just be forgotten simply because he saw the light. Still, it was possible for even the worse offenders to turn away from their wicked ways and join the good fight. After all, she was one of those.

She cut through the air, a single point of energy in her sights. There was still a bit of investigating left to do and she wanted help with it. Ochazuke, Zaofan, Etrina, and possibly Blizzar if he was around. Those three or four should have sufficed. If she ran into anyone else, they could come as well. With all that in mind, she pinged those four on their comms. "If you have some time, I request you all meet me on the Lookout. I have new information you'll want to hear." There was a great deal she wanted to speak about. As busy as she had been the last several months, she wished she had brought some of it to their attention sooner, but her personal duties took precedent at the time.

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

"If you don't let go, you'll find yourself dragged into oblivion alongside me, you realize?"

Totoma said nothing in response. He knew that was true--that voyavoda's very essence was fading--but... but he didn't want to let go. Yeah, he'd intended to kill him, but that was much different than this. He could anchor him with his own hozon, piddling as it was... maybe talk to the Dark King, who'd certainly be able to do something. Voyavoda had fought the Brother to a standstill, surely he would be...

...no, while that was probably possible, Voyavoda would not agree to such a thing. Totoma knew him, and... and.

He sighed. "I'm... I'm sorry. It's useless for me to say at this point, but I didn't want this at all."

Voyavoda regarded him with a judging expression for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm far too old to hold grudges, and my 'death' was not a bad one. I am, however, worried about you."

"Yeah... yeah, I'll let you... let you go before I get dragged down with you. I--"

"Not that."

"Eh?"

"I'm glad you've got some sense of self-preservation, but that's not what I was speaking of," said Voyavoda, 'walking' over to Totoma, if such an action could said to be possible in this endless bright white expanse they found themselves in--the border between existence and non-existence. In all likelihood, all of what they were experiencing was simply a visual aide to help their minds understand what was happening.

Voyavoda placed a hand on Totoma's shoulder. "The one regret I have, the... one thing tying me to this world is the worry that you'll remain lost. Totoma, you need to wake up... remember who you truly are."

Who he truly was? He was the original, and that... imposter...

Sudden pain shot through his being as a brief, fragmented, but intense memory resurfaced.

Searing light; overwhelming pain; then, darkness... and the visage of the Dark King stepping forth from the shadows. His expression, normally so calm, even kind... grandfatherly, even, was one of abject rage, all directed at him. Feelings of being trapped and utterly alone bubbled up within Totoma, and he felt utterly alone. Had he made a mistake? Was this what awaited him after death?

Though you have staved off the inevitable, I yet have use for you.

"Totoma?"

He took a moment to compose himself before speaking. "I... there was a flash of something--a memory. Bright light, pain, darkness, and the Dark King... what was that?"

Was what he believed about himself--that he was the original Totoma and that the current one was a mere pretender--a lie? A delusion? No, no, it definitely wasn't... why, even though it was brief, he could remember training and interacting with the others before that bitch Kami ripped him out of...

...

There was no recollection. None, not even emotional. But he knew that's what happen, the Dark King had told him... so.

Totoma's eyes widened as the realization set in. The Dark King had told him what had "happened" and he had simply believed him, simply blaming his non-existent memory on being ripped from his mind.

"...that expression. You've realized it, haven't you? You were deceived."

Totoma's gaze dropped, and his response was terse. "Yes."

He had been deceived, but... maybe, just maybe, it had been for a good reason? Maybe he'd just needed something to ground him, to keep him focused and insulted from... whatever trauma had befell him. The Dark King, besides that, had been nothing but kind to him... maybe that sense of hollowness in his words was just...

Voyavoda's form wavered, his expression shifting to one of intense concentration. "I... Totoma, I don't have much time remaining. Soon, I will fade completely. Before I do... take these words to heart. Don't let false perceptions of your past shackle you.. discover the truth, embrace it, and, when the time comes..." He placed a finger to Totoma's heart. "...let that flame I've given you burn bright and give you the chance to build a future of your own making."

"Voya..." Deep within him, one of the first genuine emotions he'd felt in a long time bubbled up--the sorrow of parting. That uncomfortable heavy feeling welled up within his chest. Voya's body was almost completely translucent now, and he would soon be nothing more than a memory... and it was his fault.

The old soldier smiled, turned, and looked out into the great white expanse. "It's about time..."

Totoma choked back tears, that uncomfortable, yet genuine feeling of sorrow at once hated and cherished. "...yeah. Thanks for everything... grandpa." He released the spiritual and mental bond between them, and Voyavoda's image began to recede from him. There was a sense of... snapback was the best way he could describe it, and then he found himself back in Vaikuntha, in the burned, scarred part of it Voyavoda and the Brother's battle had inflicted upon it.

Totoma closed his eyes and tried to center himself. At first, his first instinct was to simply suppress and ignore what he was feeling, but that... no, that was a mistake. He hovered there, invisible to all but the keenest senses, and examined what he was feeling.

In the service to someone that had lied to him--for unknown but possibly nefarious reasons--he had gotten a man whom he remembered as a kind, patient, and truly grandfatherly individual indirectly... killed. And in doing so, he... oh. His mother had always considered Voyavoda her father, so she was probably feeling despondent.

Was this truly just? The Dark King claimed to want to create a world without pain or suffering, but was this really the way to do it? By lying and...

No, that was simply shifting blame. Lies or not, the decision to follow the Dark King's orders had been his. Thoughtless obedience, ignoring and suppressing just how bad a lot of the tasks the Dark King had assigned him had made him feel. Maybe the end result would be worth it, looking at the big picture, but the seeds of doubt in the righteousness of the Dark King's goal--or at least his methods--had been planted.

He could ignore them and continue on, a thoughtless pawn... or seek the truth and either turn away from what was perhaps a false path or, if things held up to scrutiny, follow it with greater resolve. It would probably be painful, but, hey, he was used to pain, wasn't he? Nothing he couldn't handle.

But where to seek the truth?

"Jeez, what a battle that was, eh?" came a voice to his side. Totoma glanced over his should to find a... human looking at him? Or the image of a human? Something seemed off about him... was he perhaps the same 'type' of being as him, or at least something similar?"

Normally, he would have attacked and not thought about it any further, but this time.

"Who are you?"

The man smiled widely. "Me? Ah, ya know... just a... friend, looking to point confused travelers towards where they need to be? You can call me... Bajie."

"Bajie. Okay then, Bajie... fine. You don't seem like a threat, so what do you want?"

"As I said... just here to point you towards a truth or two."

"..."

"What? Is that so weird?"

Totoma sighed. He had the feeling he was being messed with, to some extent... but he'd play along. "Okay, fine. Point me in the right direction... Bajie."

Bajie. Huh... like Zhu Bajie, the leader of the Zhu clan 2,000 years ago. He felt familiar, somehow, but Totoma simply could not place where he'd met the man before.

"Earth. On Earth, there is the sight of a great battle... relatively recent one, too. Mmm, 'bout... 7 or 8 years ago?" Bajie chuckled. "Okay, not super-recent, but it's recent from my perspective. Kind of lose track of time when you're a spir--"

"Get to the point."

"Right, right... anyway, head there... spend some time taking in the scenery. Meditate, think... relax. Was pretty blasted right after the battle, but now... well, you can see the scars, but I bet it's recovered enough to have a sort of 'nature in recovery' feel, ya know?"

"Okay, sounds good. Where is it?"

"Why, on Earth."

"Earth is a big place, idiot," said Totoma, getting visibly annoyed with Bajie's vague bullshit. "I need specifics. I can teleport to Earth--I can go anywhere I've been before in a flash--but I need to know what to look for."

Bajie's smile faded to a neutral expression as he regarded Totoma. "...go anywhere you've been before? That makes things easy. Dig deep and just go. You'll end up there, trust me."

What in the hell kind of answer was that?! Totoma charged forth, intending to grab Bajie... only to grab nothing as the man's form disappeared, leaving only his echoing laughter. It wasn't malicious, but it sure as hell felt... teasing, almost?

Ugh, so annoying... this Bajie got under his skin easily, but considering his mental state, that was not surprising. Still, he had nothing better to do than follow this stupid lead, so he closed his eyes, looked inward, and waited.

That weird, unsettling feeling of crossing between two points in space came over him, and when he opened his eyes, he was... not in Vaikuntha anymore. The place defnitely felt like Earth, and the area definitely looked like a past battlefield. Scarred, but with nature reclaiming the battered landscape, slowly but surely.



"...okay, this is... very weird." Given how his teleportation technique worked, he would not have been able to do that unless... unless he'd already been here before. But he couldn't remember ever stepping foot here. So... why?

Gentle breeze blowing through his hair, an unsettling feeling came over him yet again. This one was more... dread than sorrow, but there was some of the latter. A single thought bubbled up from deep, deep within his subconscious.

This is where I died.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Mostly they seem to be traders, merchants, barkers, peddlers, and various buyers and purveyors of wares. The market is massive, and it takes Praxat hours before she finds a clue. She is directed to a small tent near a large foundry and blacksmith area.

Praxat goes into the small tent.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat goes into the small tent.

Inside waits an old Intodian, older than any Praxat had ever seen before. He was about two feet shorter than her, smoking a pipe, and slowly wiping down a piece of metal.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Barlon Bedlam and Brutus Bedlam, one of the Bear and the other of Bedlam Wrestling, sparred vigorously under the watchful eye of Samson Balon and his daughter, Marron.

The two brothers are nearly an even match, Barlon the more skilled but Brutus the stronger, his style of wrestling making grappling a real threat to his more skilled brother. In the background, cheering, are Brutus’ children.


A third joined in, a distinctly darker figure, and Chou started sparring against the two men.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Inside waits an old Intodian, older than any Praxat had ever seen before. He was about two feet shorter than her, smoking a pipe, and slowly wiping down a piece of metal.

"Ah, hello my name is Praxat Luue. I'm the Granddaughter of Araxat Mcfrog. I'm from the planet Qaceria, and I came here to see my grandmother's people and family," Praxat said.

[KingofPie]

"So wait...." Sasheem sneered. "All those losers you've brought with you bought the same schtick! All gloom and doom about their lot in life so they turn to you to remake the whole universe to make things right?"

Xuan Wu laughed in turn, "You say that as if you aren't the same as them. What is your lot in life, but to be kicked back down the mountain every time you reach the peak...but you are correct in some way. The warriors I've chosen all held strong, bitter emotions, powerful enough to resonate strongly across space and time! That is why I sought them out, why I sought you out! Fossul's entire tribe was obliterated by Rex in Earth's ancient past!" Xuan Wu continued, speaking of the human who wore strange animal skin. "He doesn't even seek change, he merely wants to grow strong enough to grasp his chance at revenge."

"Pomegranate is a Tuffle who holds deep bitter feelings over the self-destructive path her people have wrought. She seeks to change the cascade of events that led them towards their own downfall!" the monk continued, referring to his sharpshooting subordinate.

"And lemme guess...Jagam was pissed off he talked such a big game and was sent packin' so badly, right?"

"..."

"..."

"...W-who?"

"The cheese guy! Jagam! You know the cheese guy!" Sasheem reminded.

"Ah, of course, well...." Xuan Wu shrugged. "Dr. St-Aadia thought it would be an amusing experiment to revive one who bore such a hatred as he. Speaking of whom, St-Aadia also seeks vengeance. For centuries he had been wronged by the very organization that seeks to put a stop to my plans and only through my intervention will he get to make things right."

***

"Little over than centuries ago, the four of you made the decision to become an Elite Fighting Force within the Galaxy Police," Dr. Cast began to explain. "You underwent the Katchin-Cyberization progress to become the warriors you are today. But you were not the only ones to take that operation. You had with you two brothers, one older and one younger who took it upon themselves to volunteer for the sake of justice as well."

"We...what?" P-Sta questioned. "It's only ever been the four of us, professor! Surely, you know this!"

"Hmm, yes well...the GP does like it's little lies from time to time doesn't it," St-Aadia interrupted. "When you were frozen for centuries, your memories were tampered with. Out of all of you, I was the first to awaken and test out my capabilities. You should've seen it, the power I held in my hands. I was dangerous. A weapon to be used should any prove too dangerous. Perhaps trivial nowadays given the forces that regularly war in our universe but for GP back then...what a triumph. The living weapon with planet destroying capabilities."

"Planet Destroying?! What would we need that for back then?" P-Cee inquired.

"To wage wars, no....to WIN them," St-Aadia corrected himself. "As remains the case today, there existed planets whose very nature was to house criminals and breed lawlessness. Should those ever get to be organized enough to prove a major threat to the galaxy, the Galaxy Police could be forced to neutralize. And so they were...before any ship flew into the field of battle....I decimated two whole worlds on orders from the chief at the time."

"This was not a decision without controversy among the GP. Many were opposed to such actions, disgusted that their organization could cause so much decimation..." he continued as N-Ten stepped forward to interrupt.

"This isn't possible...the GP has always favored apprehending criminals unless forced to otherwise, including during wartime!" she cried out.

"An amusing lie! If that were the case, why would your precious allies, the M-Fighters be tolerated so? Now silence, sisters, brothers! Let me finish my tale...I was put on trial....and enjoy it as I did, I was merely following orders!" St-Aadia grimaced. "Imagine, that! The only one on trial for this heinous crime, yet I did nothing but act upon the directions given to me to the letter; Ensure there are no survivors. Naturally, I sought to murder everyone in the counsel room on sight, but....Dr. Cast. Our dear adoptive father, held a killswitch!" St-Aadia pointed accusingly. "The tech in my body shut down. You four came to my aid and were carried off. Crying how I wasn't capable of such things, fools! You always were to clean to understand how the galaxy actually worked. What justice truly means."

"They feared what I could do if I were once again reactivated. Even in the pitiful state they left me in, my mind was as sharp as ever. So they ripped me apart like some model kit. Placed me in storage with other failed weapons, locked and thrown away on an offsite facility, managed by AI in the cold of space. Meanwhile, they began to fear you too....fear what you could do. But Dr. Cast fought for you for, never for me! You simply had to make due with being placed in cryo. Having your mind implanted with happy little memories where your watchful older brother didn't exist! While you had centuries of restful sleep, I still functioned! Mind awake but broken and useless for CENTURIES alone!"

"That's not true, St-Aadia," Cast closed his eyes and sighed. "There are some holes in your tale as well. Things which you cannot recall. My mind was wiped too, until Durive restored it recently. I did not wish for you to become a weapon, no. That was your own desire. ...but that does not make what the GP did right."

"LIAR! But...you are right about one thing. The GP isn't right! They never are! And you!" St-Aadia pointed accusingly at Durive who sat on Dr. Cast's shoulder, smashing popcorn into his mouthless face, which harmless bounced down to the floor. "You're the one who made the call to release my dear siblings. Don't think I don't know your secret! What you really are!"

Durive responded by holding up a foam finger flipping the bird.

"There's one thing you mentioned that I don't recall being brought up in your little sob story...brother," X-Bo sighed, after a long moment of silence. "You said we had another brother. A younger one that I presume our memories were also wiped of. Where is he?"

"Ah, St-Eam. A miracle of technology in his own right, but a mere boy," St-Aadia laughed. "He was like me! A weapon. Too young to understand his true power, he too was shipped off and dismantled. Perhaps, if I'm feeling generous, I will restore him once this universe is made anew!"

"Again, you have been misinformed," Dr. Cast shook his head. "Perhaps only by your own bitterness, you assumed such a thing. But St-Eam was frozen. And he's also..."

"Right here!" a young voice spoke up, before dashing forward and socking Bio-Jagam in the jaw. A small figure, decked in a similar uniform to the Katchin-Squadron, but in a shining black and silver armor smiled cheekily at his mutated foe. The cheddar/Saiyan/Threshling hybrid hurdled back, liquifying as he slammed into an escalator in the back of the mall.

"Aw c'mOBLBLBLBLBON!" Bio-Jagam gurgled, reforming himself as his cheesy body began to gum up the works of the escalator, getting it stuck. "I didBLBLBLBLBLBLBn't even get any lines in this one!"

[Monstrous Bird of Qin, Ou Ki]

This is where I died.

It was a chilling thought, but that is what this battlefield, its scars still visible to all but the dullest of individuals, evoked in him. It certainly wasn't a statement arrived at by logic or reasoning; no, rather it was a revelation born out of a deep, subconscious emotional recollection. It... was not a pleasant feeling, to put it bluntly.

His first instinct was to return to the Dark King's realm and simply continue on as he had... mindlessly following orders in the pursuit of reclaiming his stolen life. But with the Dark King's deception looming large in his mind, how could he do that now. He couldn't... not without some soul-searching, at least.

Damn it... all this because he'd decided to fight--more like get his ass kicked--by Voyavoda. Should have just left him alone. Then he'd... he'd still exist.

Sighing, Totoma sat down where he'd appeared and closed his eyes. Meditation often revealed hidden truths about oneself or even the wider universe--or so martial gurus and mystics claimed--so that was a good place to start. He stead his breathing. Not that he needed to, of course, being a psychic lifeform, but he could mimic and focus on it, at least. Would be easier to get into the right state of mind for, uh... self-examination.

~~~

Totoma spent months there, meditating and just... exploring, trying to jog any sort of memory. Unfortunately, no further revelations or memories were forthcoming, and while he was patient to an extent, he soon found himself becoming incredibly frustrated. And the area was just so. damn. boring.

There was a village nearby that he scryed, but Totoma kept his distance. It probably didn't have any relation to him, and getting involved with... mortals only brought unnecessary pain.

Eventually, he felt something unexpected... the sudden re-appearance of his fake's ki, elsewhere on the planet. He'd noticed his body lying in repose in Vaikuntha for some reason, so, presumably, he'd finally woken up and exited that dimension. And, despite presumably being unconscious for quite some time, his power was... incredible, there was no other way to put it, even though he hated his usurper.

So, he's learned how to draw out my body's power better.

Focusing on his double with his psionic powers, he connected to his double's vision and... watched. He saw the... amicable, friendly interactions with the few others gathered there. That purebred Sarada and human... Zaofan. The latter seemed both angry and happy to see the other Totoma... and he felt intense, seething envy at the sight.

That thief, living his life, with his body... those should be his friends!

Old habits die hard... but eventually the knowledge of the Dark King's deception reasserted itself and tempered that envy and rage... no, it was... it was entirely possible that those feelings were false, just born out of a demon's manipulations. Regardless, the sense of longing for that... camaraderie and belonging was overwhelming. Even if he wasn't actually Totoma, he felt like he was, and seeing this..

Sigh

His other departed the lookout and flew home, wearing a stupid grin the entire way. He watched as his... his family. His kids, Karine, parents, even in-laws came out to happily and tearfully greet the imposter. Karine did slap him for being gone for so long, at least... but her anger was short-lived, and the scene returned to one that made that sense of yearning, of loss all the more intense. Before he became mired in those negative feelings, he cut off the connection.

I... even if I am Totoma and get my body back... would... would it really be right?

While it was faint, he could pick up on his other's emotional state. Even if he was a fake, those feelings he felt... ultimately, they were the result of the last six or seven years of living as Totoma. And beyond that... as far as he could tell, his 'fake' believed he was the real deal.

...

He hated him. Despised him. Loathed him, but...

If he just killed him and took his place, without telling the others, then... wouldn't that make him the fake, in some ways? And if he did tell them, then... to them, he'd be the villain, having come in, killed their friend and loved one, and then donned his skin.

While no revelations about his past had surfaced, one about his future donned upon him:

As painful as it was to admit, the life he'd known was no longer his to return to.

His raisen d'etre fading, he was left with but a single question:

What now?

[grampagen]

"Right now, such a thing is beyond us. But, suppose Jinzi Pantaloon, President of Earth made it official?"

The chef sucked wind and held his breath for a moment to collect his thoughts. True, Capsule Corp had their eye on this marvel for some time, but for the means to reach it. In fact, Ochazuke had mentioned the coordinates was from a Capsule employee, hadn't he?

"...Analysis, Assimilation, and Emulation huh?" Zaofan said ponderously as he recovered, "this may be a bit controversial, but along with our usual panel of experts, there'll be someone else who might be helpful with the analysis. See, I've been getting to know a guy, and he's been coming around to a less judgmental point of view these days.."

Besides, they all knew Jinzi Pantaloon had been searching for any excuse to step outside of the office.

Month 2

Once suspended dreams in the mind of a genius, soon the future locked in his thoughts would be given a solid foundation predicated on a single line to hold them in place, one step ahead of that a geostationary point as the Earth turned.

It all began with raising a reinforced graphene tether into orbit.

Thanks to its ability to deconstruct and synthesize material guided by a sublime machine-intelligence algorithm, what was once merely theoretical was now animated by the power of the Big Ghetti Star. Add the mind of a technocratic President of Earth guiding the interfacing of the Android, Adam, suddenly Jinzi Pantaloon was able to ability to rapidly accelerate the entire body of scientific theory. With a whim he could go immediately from concept to prototype, and with the planetoid's combination of energy and manufacturing resources, its expanse in high orbit provided contained, fertile testing grounds supplemented by the learning capabilities of its sophisticated machine-mind, and so it was that the stage was set to produce one breakthrough after the other.

Capsule Technologies' Space Elevator, built in partnership with the Thousand Wings Foundation, was at last a success. Based on an artificial island aligned upon the equator, 25000 miles up through the atmosphere it revolutionaized the transport of materials from surface to space. Without the need to burn tonnes of fuel just to get up there at a consistent rate, the movement from Earth to Orbit quickened at an unprecedented pace, for the real work began when the second elevator was raised.

With the Space Elevators acting as suspended counterweights as the world turned, the Big Ghetti Star next had the arduous task of building the Orbital Ring suspended over the Docking Stations at their axes. Once the Big Ghetti Star had subsumed within its satellite corpus the material lingering in the atmosphere filled with the various sources space debris accumulated through the years - be it from the various offworld attacks to the Grinthorn administration's state-sanctioned surveillance drones over the worldwide nation, augmented from the summit-mandated technologies from the GP that had been left defunct in orbit - soon the networking was rebuilt from the ground up, made state-of-the-art, and operational to coordinate the next expansion.

The Geofront beneath Capsule Corp had been a proof of concept, a contained habitat that could sustain a population; Now they upscaled across the circumference of the Earth. With the repurposed space detritus and mined material from the nearby asteroid belt, the Big Ghetti Star created a great ring of metal and mineral surrounded the Earth. Tilted at an angle to simulate the day-night cycle of terrestrial rotation, the nanite-constructed habitation's structure was laid, and the building blocks of life harvested from the comet were deposited in a closed-system. The result was a self-sustaining livable habitat where humans could live indefinitely upon.

If mankind were to ascend to the stars, it would have to be done gradually. Time they did not have. Two months into the year, and Ochazuke and Zaofan were constantly aware that the prophesied end which was looming and swore they would never be caught off guard again. If that meant fighting the battles forever so that those below them could live, how far would they be willing to go to assert their place that humanity could live?

[grampagen]

Month 3:

Of course, with new ground broken always comes a vigilant fear, and for every one part of hope and wonder driving people to reach for more comes in equal measure two parts guarded skepticism that hinders what it can grasp. The works of Big Ghetti Star brought great trepidation over how it could be weaponized. Moreover, when the base of operations for the Second Orbital Elevator holding the whole planetary ring project in place had been declassified, Ochazuke took it upon himself to move to discuss terms.

While Jinzi Pantaloon had always been a steadfast ally, even he could not be everywhere at once, and as he was delegating tasks in the design of humanity's future, Ochazuke's stewardship of the project caught other actors moving against it. In particular it had caught the attentions of the General of the World Government's Armed Forces, Turbot Troutman. President Grinthorn abdicated after some thirty years at the top, and while Jinzi Pantaloon had been in his pocket as far as public works, what would a wunderkind peacenik like him understand about vigilance? Capsules had revolutionized logistics and supply chains, set standardization for mobilization. Yet now that this meeting had been called, they were supposed to hear a pitch from two people. A vagabond fighting man...and with him Commander Kenshiko of the Red Raiders.

"When Pantaloon told me he'd figured out the next plateau for logistics engineering I knew it was too good to be true."

Surrounded by an armed escort into the black and neon of the conference room Ochazuke came dressed in a white suit, the Capsule brand Jinzi insisted he had fitted. Behind him, arraigned in olive drab jacket, a scarlet beret, and a dozen red dots from the gunmen on her head and heart was his silent partner. The World Military panel sat over them from their podium in judgment, but it was Troutman's voice that was the loudest.

"The president's briefed us, so I'll cut straight to the point, son. He's like a kid with a new toy. The way he weilds it so cavalierly, even for what he's ordered as public works, we can't let that into enemy hands," Troutman began, then turned his view contemptuously to the side. "You, on the other hand...you've got a lot of nerve coming here after what you pulled. A discovery of a lifetime and you think we'll hand it over to you? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow your head off right now?"

"Because you've been so busy shooting at your own people for so long that you haven't prepared for whats coming?"

"That's enough," Ochazuke said, and she relented for a moment as he spoke.

"Let me be clear, General. First, you couldn't do it if you tried. There is a threshold where ki-adepts go that the untrained cannot reach with conventional arms...in other words, what we wield is a force-multiplier you'd ought to recognize," he said, "At the same time, we need each other. This is not the plaything of the World Government, but it is as you said, it should be an asset held in common to Earth. And yet, whether you find it fit to admit it, we've been drawn into a conflict greater than the Earth's grudges. we cannot waste time fighting each other."

"I've read your report," the General replied. "Frankly, I find its credibility strained at best. But we deal in precision, not fictive nonsense for a power grab, and what I see up there is ground to gain, or lose. The World Military thanks you for bringing your discovery to Earth, but you're not qualified to handle this even with your elitism. And if you hand it over to the Red Raiders, what sort of **** will we be in when they turn around on us?"

"And what will you do with it, declare war on the universe?" Ochazuke said, "It was precisely because of our allies offworld in the Nevadian Federation that we came to possess it and our allies on the planet that it stands."

"If it's for the sovereignty of the Earth, we'll beat them to the punch. But my point, Mr. Ochazuke, is that the chain of command is a meritocracy, and you lack anything of the sort."

Kenshiko slowly pulled the red beret from her head, calmy stuffing it below her shoulder mark and neatly unfolding the aviators.

"Really turned the tables on that one, Troutman," she said mockingly. "This man and his allies has taken the fight to our enemies, forcing such a complete and preemptive route that you never noticed the fallout from the war until he brought it to our attention. That alone speaks to his credentials. But you...let me ask you something, chickenhawk. Can you tell me what happened on the Putao Island chain?"

"I don't have time to discuss imaginary campaigns."

"You know it better as the RevoCorp Refinery site. Like someone would just sign off on that for cash they don't need. It was air support on an amphibious island operation, very complicated, very messy, but your men showed up and lit it up, all for sitting on a well of ocean oil. I know, because was on the ground there, and the airlift that pulled the people out of your line of fire."

The panel darted back and forth muttering to each other. Troutman's face grew beet red.

"Or Knute Outpost? Heh, you didn't even see the Colonel coming. What was it like to get fucked by Damask in a pincer attack from below? I suppose it wouldn't be beyond you to strike losses from the record," she continued, "but on the question of the greater good...what were you doing during the Capital Invasion years ago? You talk a big game about taking the fight to the Xenos, so where were you? I hear you carted away the bodies after the hard work had been done for you by this man and his allies."

"We had our orders-"

"To do what, stand back as people die? No, **** that. You ever stand and hold them off to your last man? Did you ever give the order pull out of the losing end to fight another day? When was the last time you were even in a real firefight, WG? You think you could stand to it if either of us decided to light you up right now?"

Kenshiko reared up for a moment, and the panel twitched. With a impassive shrug, she folded her arms before her.

"For all your pretty stars and bars, you can't remember a goddamn thing about any of your campaigns. Feigned ignorance in covert ops is one thing, but this isn't part of your design. You don't know, because it was Pantaloon's predecessor. Maybe now you have some idea of what it's like to have your valour stolen from you."

Like ripping off gauze stuck to a wound, the General was exposed to an underlying world he was ill prepared for, and for the fear of what was to come, he had no choice but to concede.

"What will you have me do?"

"Like a living meritocracy, General," Ochazuke grumbled, "We have the fighting men, but you you have access to the logistics and the infrastructure to support and mobilize them. Understand, Commander Kenshiko is no longer your enemy. But if you still mistrust our would-be allies, perhaps consider them the vanguard, fighting for Earth."

Combined with the support of the World Government, they were united in two wings; conventional industrial manpower and training in the supernatural. The government's paranormal affairs division had a field day with the new paperwork, that the peace Ochazuke had brokered went unacknowledged.

Directly under the nose of the world government, in exchange for their service, Ochazuke had effectively deal for their new Commander a promise that had eluded them all this time: he had brought them a country to call their own, and from here they would fight to the death to defend it. They still had their cause, certainly, only they were merely moving to a higher arena, and this hardened group of veterans now had the chance to do what they wanted with zeal: fight for the Earth. For all else, this was what their battles had always been for.

[grampagen]

Month 3

If they were going to stand a fighting chance, it would not do for their small band of fighters. Humanity needed a Planetary Defense Force, one that could stand against the worst the stars above could muster. Unfortunately, through the ages it had been proven time and again that testy coalitions between Earth's nations had always been tenuous, even under a World Government unification initiative...and even more taxing from the orders of its martial masters.

For Ochazuke and Zaofan, however, the perils that faced their world were not something they could ignore. Whether from within or from beyond, they could not always depend on the Galactic Patrol or a chance visit from the Saiyans for salvation, nor the Guardian Evangeline to intervene in their fate if they were to truly stand on their own, for she had her own part to play in this. If humanity cannot stand on their own, then what is it she'd been protecting?

The remains of the Red Raiders had a head start. It had been nearly two years since Kenshiko had found the Phoenix and the Lion, and ever since that moment she'd trained the ranks up, from upstanding corpsmen to Willa Rautt herself. Now guarding the secrets that lay in the chamber beyond the heart of Vermillion, she managed to marshall a small reserve force of 3,000 veterans versed in the fundamentals of technique and martial spirit both, armed and ready to mobilize to and from the Orbital Ring via the Space Elevator at Charlie Base in a moment's notice.

For what's coming, it would not be enough, Ochazuke thought. But if the blood shed from this fist, the Successorship of Five be worth anything yet, from death there may yet be a chance for new life for the Ten.

First they addressed the masters who they could find in the more familiar disciples of the Ten where he could find them, chiefly those who had witnessed the final duel Ochzuke had against his old teacher, the Grand Master of the Crane. Among them were Samson Balon and Marron of the Dragon School; Barlon and Brutus Bedlam of the Bear Clan; Kamesennin Kuki and Eskrimato of the Turtle School, and Kenshiko, who had already taken tirelessly to her task.

Of course, the old ways were not wanting for notoriety. Word still spread slowly, but through their friends they had knowledge of other notable sects. From the eccentric Zhu Family, the remnants of the Ogatan Clan, and the reclusive Sorceror's Academy of whom the Stoltengardes were alumni, the initiative had a rocky start to addressing a widespread problem among the people of Earth; that contrary of the spectacle witnessed through the decades time and again...the population at large was resistant to the idea of ki - much less magic. They had no idea it was as real and natural a part of life as breathing, much less could be used to augment their standing, and so the two had to figure out how to make believers out of the shiftless and fearful.

They had to find ki adepts and train them up as quickly as possible.

Fortunately in Anvil City, his Kouhai, Aiko, had taken to the task in stride, and as the UCGL increased in popularity, people naturally became curious as to just how these people trained to become champions, and she handpicked those who could move on from a championship run; if they wanted to refine their abilities, they were referred personally from the Crane Master, and told to join Balon's academy, the Bedlam Brothers' gym, and others. Through a subtle reveal, gradually power of ki was slowly becoming less of a mystery, but because of the dedication involved it was scarcely more popular than a fad for many.

To find a ki adept was actually quite simple. It was, after all, a matter of the fighting spirit. But training this as a fixed quantity was not so easy. It was innate among many offworld warriors that fighting would be a manner of course. For the people of Earth, it was more an ongoing process of discovery. And so to discover and uncover, it was Ochazuke and Zaofan who personally trained many of them at the Dragon Temple. It was old hat for the former Crane who sought to remember himself as he mastered his own practice, but it was another step on the road to mastery for the Martial Chef. Too often he'd picked up the spatula and had just done a thing, that it was not so easy to speak about it, guide someone along. Commitment to the role of mentor, however, he seemed to find his legs, and with it further refined his own technique.

Those who passed muster and desired to do more were then referred to Commander Kenshiko of the Earth Defense Force...and she was much less kind to her recruits than the Masters were of their pupils. Particularly if novices overstepped their reach, or a particular group presumed their house was any better than another. So it came one day that she was evaluating a retinue of adepts who passed the threshold, but were troublesome for they refused to remove their weapons, and the Tiger Master had to see to it personally.

"Why shouldn't I have run of things? Going to soldier is so dull!" She was a pale, waifish blonde thing, tattoos streaking down her body from her left cheek to round her right leg. It seemed she hadn't quite decided whether to dress for the renaissance fair or for a night on the town, the way she carried herself and spoke shrilly. "After all, I heard you couldn't even defeat the First Lady!"

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, Recruit-" Kenshiko started, but the little waif's voice sang out like cutting glass, and the Commander grit her teeth.

"That's Callisto to you! Callisto of the Cutlass! I'm member of the Prestigious Order of the Knife. Perhaps you've heard of us, hmm? I understand you made the acquaintance of my esteemed cousin, Chris?"

...these fucking people...

"The title of the Knife passes on through the generations to one of us at a time. I'm the next-best candidate, because I always follow my family's words before all else! We have a saying," she said as she unsheathed her sword, "Once a Blade had been bared, it must cut-"

Her jaw snapped out of the socket the instant Kenshiko's elbow landed, and hanging limply there was only the sound of hoarse moaning through the blood and snot and tears that spattered loudly on the floor to a deathly silence. After picking up her teeth, she was thereafter known as Stacy Stiletto, and every Razor and Arming Sword suddenly got real quiet in the days after and took their training far more seriously than the vanities inked on their faces; model examples for their growing company.

High above in the Ringworld, the automated farming project had come to completion. Thanks to the acceleration of the invention cycle, synthesis of materials manufacturing was much faster. This would be a project that took decades, and now it was realized in months, and the Space Defense Force now had a garrison to marshall their might, conduct field tests, and keep watch over the planet. With the transportation of materials back and forth upon the orbital elevator, they were guarding the crucial steps towards the dawn of a new era for humanity: Space Exploration.

[grampagen]

Month 4

A maverick and eccentric, Jinzi Pantaloon was always a man ahead of his time. Soon, he would not be the only human being to have voyaged into space. On his own he'd encountered the Galactic Patrol, tested the frontier of the Saiyan Empire on a lark just because he could. Now that he was president, a head of state, a maverick's reputation wouldn't do. Harnessing the satellite's power, every place that was once broken could now be repaired, and the path ahead for their planet seemed fixed on a path that seemed to have no limits. Yet it could not fall into the hands of those who would envy such a thing. Earth had been on the receiving end of too many of these covetous first strikes. They were one world, standing apart in a realm of empires and vendettas among the stars. If they was a fight to be had, the more impulsive among them would turn it into another Star Forge. It would all be for naught. One planet against older and more tested civilizations. These were not numbers that produced an end sum in their favour.

"So troublesome," Zaofan said as the meat hit the pan and sizzled, "It's a great big universe out there, full of splintered peoples and divided factions."

"Why should that matter?"

Ochazuke thought long, steadfast to the road of survival in the disaster following how they found their way home. The Goddess of Creation was absent, and when he had talked to her she had no answer five years ago. Strive. For what? And the other half of the divine equation...who knows.

"If we're going to live through this, I have no doubt others feel the same."

It's what brought their group together in the first place. Beyond a shared strand of Fate, there was the alliance of convenience. What friendships they made, knowing they would not shed their blood in vain, or be forgotten?

"Only a few know we're here"

"If they can reach out to us, then we can pay back the favour. We'll have to find some means bring them together."

Therefore, on the surface of the Big Ghetti Star one twilight afternoon overlooking a strange horizon that held their blue world and its steely ring over its orbit, Zaofan had the idea to invite some old friends to dine in celebration.

"Mmf...this steak is delicious. And you said this was machine made?"

Without Captain Ulysses of the Navigator's Guild of the Nevadian Federation, they'd hardly have been able to reach the planetoid they dined upon, after all. In the half year they spent together on the Penelope searching for Baradur and Reshlan, his main regret was strange provisions he had no idea how to work with. This time, they were on his turf, and the man's hardened features softened as he ate.

"Synthesized." As in, from a matter replicator. Zaofan capsuled his usual retinue for a week-long stay, and the patterns in the meat once pattern-scanned, was uncannily close for something that effectively grew out of a dish. "Don't have the like in the Federation?"

"Pff. Of course we do. The difference is Nevadian game laws are more, how shall we say, mercenary, in the writ, and far more like poaching at the best of times. Surely you boys remember what happened on Nevada-Prime."

The chef immediately drooped, busying himself with turning the wine in his glass. Ochazuke only nod once and paused, acknowledging the matter and swiftly moving off from it.

"Still no word from Held, I take it?"

"It's the damndest thing. Even when he was up and about, he had a hard time letting himself be found. When he hired our company we logged everything through a discreet back channel, even before your Threshling campaign." Ulysses ran a potato slice through the pan sauce, and it split into broken, fluffy sections. "Now, every comm channel, device, not a reading. You're sure he's even alive?"

"I know he is."

"Well, suppose the wife stripped him before strapping him down...God willing she's taking care of him. Still, until he gets back, he'd instructed me to be your liaison to the Federation, and that means business."

As if on cue, Zaofan popped a cork.

"Digestif, Captain Prizzm?"

"I don't drink. Dulls the senses. Top up the boys"

What a strange thing for a Nevadian to say. Then again, they were all a little odd, and hardly average in their own manner among their people, who was to say Held was any different?

"Shame. The Big Ghetti Star has been increasingly efficient at replicating flavours, precisely because it synthesizes the very substance about it," Zaofan said as he poured cognac out for the Nevadian crewmen. Silence, and stifled bright remarks.

"I didn't take you for a bootlegger, Chef."

"I wouldn't call it that, exactly, just working with what I know," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "But you know, this is just a sampling of what we do on Earth. I think our worlds could learn a lot about each other, and maybe find new chemistries between the ingredients."

So it was, with a handshake deal, the Nevadian Navigators serving under the standard of the Unicorn Tribe began dispensing plans for a new technology to bring Earth from its floating solitude in this system into a direct connection with spacefaring civilizations. They called them Stargates, calculated, fixed points in folded space, and with the proper infrastructure on both ends, freight could reach the Big Ghetti Star, theoretically, to and from any point in the known universe. Combined with a hybridization of Nevadian spacecraft with those of Capsule Corp prototypes based off of the Coldlight and other GP loaners Jinzi had dissected, soon they were beginning to fly Nevadian to live Earthian.

The Big Ghetti Star now seemed to find a place standing opposite to the Earth as it orbited around the sun; the scope of the project demanded they not set off the planet with too many revelations at once, and when the Penelope made the maiden voyage through the BGS-1 Gate to Nevada-Prime, it was a silent celebration. The first great exchange of technologies and resources, was curtailed, however, when the Galactic Patrol came sniffing around with edicts and rules and regulations.

Their first violation of Intergalactic Bylaws. Not bad for a place that had its publicly recognized First Contact only some three years ago.

Yet therein was a problem. As welcoming as Zaofan was of any guest and curious to sample what strange alien cuisines they brought with them, Ochazuke firmly insisted that the GP's authority was not absolute here, and though they were a tremendous help, their touch-and-go approach left them subject to their oversight, and he was not about to let anybody build a garrison to point weapons at his world. Humanity being held to a body of authority outside of their grasp, well, they had enough of that for some ten thousand years.

However, when word somehow began to spread to the Nevadians and their trading partners that the BGS-1 Gate was guaranteed passage to a place where they could hang until the heat died down, the hospitality of one brother was strained, and by necessity the GP was needed to bring some order to the place, along with a handful of intrepid humans, ki-adept and otherwise, who studied and manned the planetoid come Space Station. Ulysses and Held never mentioned the somewhat libertine working ethos in the face of profit, and the GP were not about to budge on this, either. In the weeks to come, suddenly the Earth and its solar system found itself near and wide a fledgeling hub for intergalactic free trade, and an attractive prospect to settle. The one rule at the docking bays were that weapons of any guests were to be consolidated, and if the combat prowess of the humans patrolling the station were tested, it was very rarely with frequency soon after...though some might have even welcomed the challenge.

The changes had began to build a great deal of momentum, and there was a lot Ochazuke had been steadfast about in the face of their survival. Chief among them was the virtue of proving to the Universe itself that another way outside of natural law and right of conquest could work. Though the Creator herself scarcely seemed to believe in her ideals, only the strength to do what she deemed was necessary, insofar as this much, these mortal concerns, he dared to think he had this much in common with Asha'rah. While he had a fraction of her years, he had spent more of them awake to his circumstances, and now more than ever would he be tested.

[bruceleegreyhulk]

Praxat paces around the old Intoadian." I have seen my grandmother's people, and you're the oldest one I seen ever of my grandmother's kind. You must be filled with wisdom," Praxat said.

"So, tell me what you know about Araxat Mcfrog and the Mcfrog family?" Praxat said.

[Cleric of Hell’s Brigade]

Praxat paces around the old Intoadian." I have seen my grandmother's people, and you're the oldest one I seen ever of my grandmother's kind. You must be filled with wisdom," Praxat said.

"So, tell me what you know about Araxat Mcfrog and the Mcfrog family?" Praxat said.

He nods, slowly.

“Aye. I know the family. I am the last of it. The last McFrog here, at least. I was Araxat’s Uncle, her father’s brother.”

[bruceleegreyhulk]

He nods, slowly.

“Aye. I know the family. I am the last of it. The last McFrog here, at least. I was Araxat’s Uncle, her father’s brother.”

" I see. I'm Araxat's grandaughter, Well, one of her granddaughters. What I know about her is that she's a sociopath, but was she always like that?" Praxat said.

" Tell me a little bit about them and about you. Tell me about my grandmother's childhood," Araxat is alive, but she's imprisoned in a faraway place, where she belongs," Praxat said.