#despye

[30 October, 233 Before Age. Interstellar Space.]

After much soul searching, Wampaaan'riix decided to travel into Federation space. His homeworld of Yetitan wasn't a member of that interstellar alliance, but he felt an obligation to its founder, the Super Saiyan Luffa. Before she had become the Federatrix, even before she became the Legendary Super Saiyan, she had made the very un-Saiyan decision to spare his life, a debt he could never truly repay.

From what he could tell by the news coverage, the Federation had become a target of a large band of Saiyans who objected to Luffa for her "un-Saiyan" characteristics. She had been joined by a second large gathering of Saiyans, who only seemed to tolerate her as long as she helped them fight the first group. And so, the Federation had become the battleground for a Saiyan civil war. This was what urged him to journey into the war zone. It galled him to think that such a noble and honorable Saiyan should be so thoroughly despised by her own kind. Though a proud warrior, he doubted that he could be of much help against such powerful enemies, but Luffa had shown him that there was honor to be found in other things besides mere combat.

The others had contacted him on Yetitan, mostly to fill him in on what was going on, or to ask for his advice on difficult matters. He was never sure what to tell them. It seemed wrong for him to offer suggestions while so far removed from the situation. Sometimes it seemed that it didn't matter, as if they only wanted him to listen, but it still bothered him. And so, after discussing it with his family, and making the ritual preparations for a potential battle, he loaded up his small cruiser and left Yetitan, bound for the Federation border.

The hardest part was convincing his son Dewbaaac'nogg not to join him. The boy had become a fine young man, in spite of his irreverent tone and his hero worship of Luffa, but he had his own warrior's path to follow, and Wampaaan'riix didn't want to distract from that. Perhaps if there was a chance of them getting to fight alongside Luffa against a horde of enemy troops, then he might have reconsidered, but she was so far beyond Yetitan power that the two of them would only get in her way.

The second hardest part of his journey lay at the end. Wampaaan'riix wasn't sure how much trouble it would be to actually enter Federation space once he arrived. His working plan was to try to contact the Yetitan Embassy on Woshad, or to simply hail Luffa's star-yacht and rely on her authority to clear the way. All he knew for sure was that he didn't dare to cross over without permission. Their fleet would assume he was a Saiyan invasion craft and blast his ship to atoms at first sight.

And yet, when he did arrive at the border, he found the situation surprisingly peaceful. A border patrol spotted him on their long-range sensors and contacted him. After a brief-but-thorough verification of his credentials, they escorted him to Woshad. The planet's defenses were on high alert, but he found nothing to indicate a war. His attempts to contact Luffa's ship failed, and just when he began to wonder what had happened to her, he received a response, an encoded transmission from Dr. Topsas through the Federation subspace network.

"I've decided to join you," Wampaaan'riix told him. "Give me your coordinates, and I can rendezvous with Luffa."

"I rather doubt that," Topsas replied. "You may join the rest of us on Planet Despye if you like, but Luffa and her ship have left Federation space."

Beneath the shaggy white hair that covered his face, Wampaaan'riix's jaw dropped.

*******

[31 October, 233 Before Age. Despye.]

Miqann was Despye's sixteenth-largest city. It boasted one of the few restaurants on the planet that specialized in Bigreenese cuisine and al fresco dining. There, Wampaaan'riix found Dr. Topsas, who brought him up to date on the war.

"I should have come here sooner," he grumbled. "Not that she needed much help with her counterstrike, from the sound of things. But at least I could have wished her well."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wampaaan'riix," said Dotz, who sat with them. She was a humanoid fortuneteller dressed in flowing purple clothes and beaded ornaments. "If I had forseen your arrival, I could have told Luffa about it before she left, and she might have waited for you."

"Dotz, we just met an hour ago and you've already apologized to me four times," Wampaaan'riix said. "Let me assure you, I'm not so easily offended."

"Sorry," Dotz said.

"Perhaps Luffa did expect you to come here," Dr. Topsas suggested, "and she hastened her departure accordingly. You know how she despises long goodbyes."

"Maybe so," Wampaaan'riix said. "I take it she just dumped the three of you on this planet and sped off without a word."

"Just the two of us," Dotz said. "Zatte went with her."

"What?!" Wampaaan'riix said, nearly shouting.

"Sorry," Dotz said again.

"Come now, Wampaaan'riix, you cannot be overly surprised to hear this," Topsas said as he sipped from a mug of hot cider. "You know how devoted Ms. Zatte is to Luffa's cause. She's more like a disciple than a wife to her sometimes."

"She's still her wife, doctor," Wampaaan'riix muttered. "I left both of mine on Yetitan, and I wasn't even planning to fight anyone. With all respect to Zatte's combat prowess, she'd be completely outclassed in a battle like the one you described."

"I am quite sure that point was brought up," Topsas said. "But even if Luffa didn't want her to come along, I suspect Zatte would have sneaked back on board the ship anyway. In marriage, one must bow to the inevitable, but I suppose you know this twice as well as the rest of us."

Wampaaan'riix gave a knowing grunt in reply.

"Um, well I've never been married," Dotz said, "but... well, I think it's romantic. They make a nice couple. Even when they're arguing you can tell how much they care about each other." She poked at her half-eaten dessert for a moment before adding: "I'm sort of, you know... well, it's nice that they've got the ship to themselves. I always felt like I was in the way all the time."

"In the way?" Dr. Topsas's pedipalps began to move in a certain way, though no humanoid was likely to interpret his body language with much success. "My dear, nothing could be further from the truth. They've always spoken very highly of you."

"Well, yes," Dotz said, "but... I'm sure they were just being polite."

"'Polite', my foot," Wampaaan'riix said. "Zatte told me about how much you helped out with ship's operations. She said you even piloted the thing a few times."

"Only because there wasn't anyone else who could do it," Dotz said. "They were busy sometimes, and--"

"And you were helping," Topsas insisted. "To say nothing of your psychic predictions. That alone has made an enormous impact on this war."

"And Topsas told me you helped him sort the drugs in the yacht's sickbay," Wampaaan'riix added.

"Well, it wasn't that difficult," she said. "Anyone could have done that, he just needed an extra set of, um, hands."

Topsas was cradling his beverage in two hands, and he now raised three more over the edge of the table. "On the contrary, Ms. Dotz, I've worked with a number of interns who have trouble keeping up with me. You ought to go into nursing, assuming the fortunetelling business should out of favor."

"Well... but... thank you," Dotz finally said, after struggling to find a response. "I'm sorry, I don't take compliments very well. I just... I take my abilities as a given sometimes. Luffa kept praising me for predicting when the Jindan cult would strike next, but she was the one who had to go there and fight those battles. To me, it might as well have already happened."

"Zatte also told me you were trying to enhance your ability," Wampaaan'riix said. "I didn't know seeing the future was something that could be improved."

She shifted in her chair somewhat awkwardly. "I, um, I didn't know either. But I've had a blind spot when it comes to Luffa's personal future. Something always blocks me when I try to see what happens to her specifically. That's why I don't know what will happen at Nagaoka. There won't be any more Saiyan attacks here for a long time to come, but I don't know if that's because she'll win or lose. I've been trying to fix that, and I'm made some headway, but not when it comes to her future."

"Then it's no mystery why Luffa respects you so much," Wampaaan'riix said as he took a sip from his stein. "She's the most driven person I know, and she finds inspiration from the drive of others. It's like she feeds off of it."

"That's nice of you to say," Dotz said. "But really, I was just trying my best to fill the gap left behind by Keda."

"Keda?" Topsas asked.

"I... I never knew her, but it didn't take long for me to see how important she was to all of you," Dotz said. "I'm sure having me around instead of her was painful, and... well, I wanted to do what I could to make that easier. I know I could never replace her, though. She was like a little sister to them."

"Yes, she was," Topsas said wistfully. "It's been... Ninth Eye, it's been almost three years now since Keda died, hasn't it? I still find it hard to believe that she's really gone."

"What happened to her?" Dotz asked.

"An enemy tried to destroy the people of Planet Extraliga," Wampaaan'riix explained, somewhat reluctantly. "While Luffa fought him, Zatte attempted to disarm his weapon, and when she was injured, Keda sacrificed herself to save her, and everyone else on Extraliga."

"Oh," was all Dotz could think of to say.

"It was very difficult for them," Topsas said. "And for their marriage. I recommended a counselor for them, though I don't know if they actually made much use of him. I think Luffa's crusade against King Rehval and his cult has helped. Or perhaps it merely provides a convenient distraction."

"I should have been there," Wamaaan'riix said. "On Extraliga. Even if I couldn't have helped... better to have died in Keda's place..."

He leaned back as well as he could in his chair. The chairs at this establishment were barely designed to accommodate his nine-foot-tall frame, and he didn't want to test their limits, in spite of his mood. "I envy you, Dotz. And you too, Doctor. At least you've been able to help Luffa in these past few months. All I have is my strength, which might as well be nothing against the kinds of battles she's been in."

"One does what one can," Topsas said. "Luffa has always spoken of you with great esteem."

"I thought it was so simple," he said as he stared off to his left. "I wanted to go out in the universe and test my abilities in real combat. Then I ended up meeting the strongest warrior in all of creation. After that, nothing seemed quite so cut and dried anymore. No matter how strong I get, no matter what I may achieve, there will always be some stone left unturned. Some path not taken. I can fight alongside Luffa, like Zatte's doing now, or I could die a hero like Keda, or I can stay at home and see to my family, but never all at once. No matter what I choose, I'll have to leave something undone. It'll never feel like enough."

"Would you really want it to be enough?" Topsas asked. "I've seen how frustrated Luffa has become, whenever she thought that she had reached the limit of her abilities, or that there were no new challenges to overcome. Imagine if you could do it all, Wampaaan'riix, or that you had already done it all, many years ago. What would there be left for you?"

"You're right," Wampaaan'riix said. "I've always known that was the way of things, but I feel as though I've only begun to understand that. When I was younger, I didn't consider that there would be some failures that couldn't be undone, or opportunities that could never be chosen once they were past. Or debts that could never be repaid."

"I know what you mean," Dotz said. She seemed relieved to have some common ground with the hairy giant. "Luffa saved my life too. Well, maybe not my life, but I'd still be in a coma if not for her. Wait, she did save your life, didn't she? I can't remember if you already told me that or not."

"We were opponents in a deathmatch tournament," Wampaaan'riix explained. "Luffa wouldn't transform for another several months, but she was already far more powerful than any Saiyan I had encountered before. She basically toyed with me, just to test her abilities. Then she read my mind, just to see if she could."

"You mean she didn't always have that ability?" Dotz asked.

"No," Wampaaan'riix said. "Later she admitted to me that she had no idea what she was doing. She had advanced so rapidly in such a short time. She would get badly hurt in each round of the tournament, and Dr. Topsas here would heal her wounds so she could fight again. When a Saiyan recovers from near-fatal injuries, their battle power increases dramatically. So by the time she had advanced to our match, she had gone through several cycles of this. Her senses were so keen that she could tell what I was going to do just from sensing the way I used my ki. So she thought if she got close enough to touch me that she could see through my entire fighting style. And it worked, except she also saw my memories and emotions. She experienced for herself my fear of dying, and the regrets I had in what I thought were my final moments, and so she decided to let me live. Then the tournament organizers tried to have us both executed."

"Mercy was against the rules, you see," Dr. Topsas interjected.

"And so Luffa had to fight them and shut down their operation," Wampaaan'riix explained. "She was offended at the idea that they would try to stop her from sparing me."

"Huh," Dotz said. She rubbed her thumb under her lower lip as she digested this story. "Well then... when you put it that way, I guess you sort of saved me too."

"Eh?" Wampaaan'riix asked.

"Well, um, it's just that, Luffa used her telepathic powers to bring me out of the coma," Dotz said. "But she only knew she had that power because of her fight with you. So if it hadn't been for you, she probably wouldn't have even tried to help me."

"I... I suppose you're right," Wampaaan'riix said.

"And Luffa wouldn't have gotten to that level at all if it hadn't been for you, Doctor," Dotz added. "You've helped me a lot, but that's another one I owe you."

"Think nothing of it," Topsas said. "I was merely plying my trade that day. Just another shift of putting people back together again."

"It's more than just that," Wampaaan'riix said. "Luffa really admires you, Doctor."

"That's right," Dotz said. "I guess you've really been working hard to heal her quickly for all of these battles. I think lately, she's only been worried about getting hurt because of how much extra work it'll take you to fix her up."

Topsas took another sip of his cider and made a motion that might have been an arachnoid version of a shrug. "That little mammal is my nemesis, you know. Always daring me to find new ways to mend her wounds. I could write a book on Saiyan medicine after all these years. Or I could, except I'll likely be too busy operating on her when she returns from Nagaoka."

"You're like a father to her, Doctor," Wampaaan'riix said. "You know that, don't you?"

"I gave her away at her wedding," Topsas said. "At her request. The thought had occurred to me."

"Hmph. Just making sure."

"Well you may take this as confirmation," Topsas said. One of his eight hands reached into the pocket of the sweater that covered most of his cephalothorax, and he withdrew a datapad. "It seems Luffa has decided to play this surrogate child role to the hilt, and meddle in my affairs. She's arranged a transport to take me back to my home planet."

"Your son already tried that, didn't he?" Wampaaan'riix asked.

"Yes, and I missed the transport because I chose to focus on Luffa's care," Topsas said. "She must have found out about this, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Or her own feet, I should say. I believe her exact words were: 'If you're not on that ship when it leaves, Doc, I'll kick you all the way there myself.'"

"Are things bad with your family, Doctor?" Dotz asked.

"Not at all," he said, somewhat surprised by the question. "I would have made my way home eventually. I fully intended to go back very soon, after things had settled down here. But no one has the patience for a fellow to make his own itinerary. At least this will improve Luffa's reputation among my brood."

"Well, I'm sorry to see you go," Dotz said. "But I think it's for the best. You've done so much for the Federation and these people just by looking after Luffa. When do you leave?"

"Not for another three weeks," Topsas said. "That should give time for Luffa to return, or at least send word. I for one, do not mind long farewells."

"Heh. You remember how she left us on Bigreen?" Wampaaan'riix asked.

"Naturally," Topsas said. "That was why I chose this restaurant to meet. Very much like the one we used to eat at, isn't it?"

"What happened on Bigreen?" Dotz asked.

"Luffa saved the planet from an evil wizard," Wampaaan'riix said. "As it turned out, it was the same evil wizard who menaced the planet a thousand years before. 'Hamon,' I think his name was."

"Hamey," Topsas corrected.

"Right, that was it," Wampaaan'riix said. "He was no match for Luffa, except she refused to fight him in her transformed state. She was still getting used to it, and thought the form was unnatural. Her ancestor, Chanisp, defeated Hamey the first time, and she wanted to win the same way. Then she found out that Chanisp had been Super Saiyan like her. Once she came to terms with that, she made short work of Hamey."

"Then that Janso fellow approached her about a mercenary job on Gwarthos, and she couldn't wait to get back on the move," Topsas said. "A few awkward 'thank you's', and she was off. But it was comforting to see her so enthusiastic again."

"Yes," Wampaaan'riix said. "I was tempted to join her, but I got more than my fair share of action from that battle with Hamey. I knew if I tagged along, I'd be reduced to a spectator."

"I think she would have enjoyed having you along, for what it's worth," Topsas said.

"Maybe so, but at least Keda had something to do, even if it was just managing her finances," Wampaaan'riix said. "No, I'm a warrior, and Luffa has that market cornered. I'll pay my respects to her when the battle on Nagaoka is over, but then I'll head back to Yetitan, where I belong."

"I just hope all of you stay in touch," Dotz said. She looked down at her plate and went back to poking at her dessert. "It's sad to see you all go your separate ways, even if it's to be with your families. You're so much like a family with each other."

"Surely you mean to say 'we', Ms. Dotz," Topsas said. "You're as much an accessory to this madness as the rest of us."

"That's right," Wampaaan'riix said. "You don't get off that easily."

She looked up at them both, and started tugging at the edges of her shawl with her free hand. "Me? Oh, no," she said. "I could never be... the rest of you, and Keda... I mean, I'd like to think of you all as friends--if that's okay--but--"

"Ms. Dotz, you really must cease this one-sided rivalry you have with Keda. She was a dear friend and will be sorely missed, but that is hardly an obstacle for you to overcome. I have 47 sons and daughters, for example. Keda was very much like a sister to Luffa and Zatte, and you have been as well."

"Really?" Dotz asked. "I mean, I'm so much older than they are, and..."

"Then you're an older sister," Wampaaan'riix said. "Hells, Zatte even said as much to me during a subspace call. They were both only children growing up, and their mothers died when they were young. They almost didn't know what to make of you at first, but it didn't take them long to enjoy having you around."

"I apologize," Topsas said. "Perhaps I should have mentioned this to you some time ago. I just assumed that you knew how they appreciated you. Listening to the three of you chatter like Camelian pelicans, it seemed like you all understood."

Dotz was overwhelmed. "I just... I'm sorry, maybe I did know, but I didn't want to believe it. Didn't, ah, want to get my hopes up, in case I had the wrong idea."

"And Luffa calls me modest," Topsas groaned. "Nonetheless, I'm sure they'll be pleased to have you back on board when they return, if that's what you want. And Wampaaan'riix and I may drop in on you from time to time."

"I'm not so sure," Dotz said. "I mean, you've all been so kind to me, and I'll never forget it, but, um... I don't know that I'm meant to stay in this situation. I feel like I need to move along, like the two of you are about to do. The only trouble is, um, I'm not sure what I need to do with myself next."

"You had a life before Luffa rescued you," Wampaaan'riix said. "It's only sensible that you return to that."

"No," Dotz said. "Fortunetelling was a job, not a life. The only family I had was my mother, and she passed on a long time ago. There's nothing waiting for me back home, not really. Besides, I'm not sure I'd want to go back to telling fortunes, not after all of this. It seems too small somehow."

"Then perhaps this is an opportunity," Topsas suggested. "You stand at a crossroads in life. And before you say it, let me promise you that one is never too old to travel a new path. Trust one who knows from experience."

She raised her fork and opened her mouth, as if to argue, then stopped, and smiled instead. "Okay, maybe you're right. I've been thinking a lot about what Luffa said at the Federation Council meeting we went to. She killed that general for saying all those terrible things, but... well, I'm not sure that was the best way to deal with that. I think Luffa wants to help out people who've been mistreated or marginalized, but if she uses too much violence to do it, it could spark a backlash. And her opponents can't fight back against her, so they'll take it out on the people she wants to help. If, uh, that makes any sense."

"It makes sense to me," Topsas said. "Your abilities are nonviolent, so perhaps you can find a different way."

"Well, the problem is, I'm not sure if I can or not," Dotz said. "My clairvoyance has improved a lot since I met Luffa, but I still feel like there's a lot of work I need to do. I'm not sure if it's right for me to just try to dive into anything without a plan."

"Then perhaps it would be best if you spent some more time with Luffa and Zatte before striking out on your own," Topsas said. "I'm sure we'll all meet again someday, and by then you'll tell us all about how you managed to untangle this particular knot."

"No," Dotz said after a long pause. "I'm sorry, but I don't think so. I'd need to get out my cards, do a proper reading to make sure, but... this place, the two of you. The vibrations feel very... solitary to me. I don't think the three of us will ever see each other again."

An awkward silence followed this declaration. Suddenly, they each became very aware of their surroundings. The rustle of the breeze through the bushes surrounding the tables. The clinks and scrapes of dishes and flatware from the other diners. A Bigreenese waiter chatting with a customer several yards away.

"I'm sorry," Dotz said. "I, uh, have a way of sucking the life out of a party sometimes. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything."

"Why don't you come with me?"

Dotz looked over to Wampaaan'riix, who was now extending his massive hand towards her. "Excuse me?" Dotz said.

"I'm inviting you to come back to Yetitan with me," he said. "It's a very cold planet. Most humanoids find it too cold for their liking, but our language has a hundred words for 'cozy', so I think we could make your stay comfortable. And my son would be thrilled to meet another one of the Super Saiyan's comrades."

Once more, Dotz was too amazed for words. "You... I... You mean, live on your home planet. To stay?"

"Not forever, but for a while at least," he said. The fur on his lower face ruffled in such a way to indicate a smile underneath. "My culture has a very honored tradition of self-development, Dotz. I know it mainly from a martial arts perspective, but you may find our ways useful for honing your mind, or your spirit, or whatever else it is you use to see into the future."

"I... well, why not?" she said. With a newfound confidence, she placed her hand in his. "At least it gives me a place to start."

"You wouldn't be trying to cheat fate, would you, Wampaaan'riix?" Topsas asked. "If Dotz is correct, then perhaps it's a ill-advised for us to try to stick together any longer than necessary."

"Not at all, doctor," he said. "I owe a debt to Luffa that I can never repay. So maybe the answer isn't to save her life, but to help someone else instead. And if that lets Dotz help others in turn, then so much the better. If you and I may never see each other again, then so be it, but I only just met Dotz. If this is the only chance for me to get to know her, then I'd like to make the most of it. Besides..."

"Yes?" Topsas asked.

Wampaaan'riix chuckled. "I, for one, enjoy long goodbyes."

[October 25, 233 Before Age. Despye.]

"The shipyard has a few surface-to-orbit cannons. Here, here... and here."

From inside his cell, Guwar pointed at various spots on a map printed from his ship's database. It had always been his plan to share this information with Luffa once he reached Federation space. He hadn't really considered how that handover would work. In hindsight, he supposed that it had been naive to think that he would just tell Luffa what she needed to know and that would be that. They didn't trust him, not completely. And so he was confined to a holding cell while a blue-skinned alien interrogated him over and over.

"Good," she said as she scribbled notes onto a pad. "What sort of ships do they have in the yard?"

He sighed before answering. "Mainly surplus Camelian cruisers, a few privately owned mercenary craft, all stolen, of course. There's some freighters for covert ops and troop transports, but most of those were already deployed. Our warriors would take them to various star systems and then hijack other ships, then take those into Federation space. That's how we managed to avoid being traced back. But you already knew that from the last four times I answered this question."

"Just seeing if you can keep your story straight, Guwar," she said. He didn't know her name, or even what planet she came from. He didn't think she was very strong-- not by Saiyan standards, anyway. But then, he wasn't very strong himself anymore.

"Tell me about the Jindan formula," she said. For a moment he thought she might have read his mind, but he knew this was impossible. It probably wasn't a coincidence either. She kept asking about the same things over and over, expecting to catch him in some lie.

"Trismegistus created it," he groaned as he explained it again. "The rest of the galaxy knows him as the Saiyan King Rehval, but you have to get to a certain rank in the cult before he reveals that to you. Some Saiyans can't handle the truth, so he wipes their memory and makes them repeat the indoctrination until they can accept it."

"Not what I asked," she said.

"I'm just trying to keep this interesting," he said. He got up from his seat in the cell and paced around a bit before sitting back down. Her chair didn't look that much more comfortable than his, but hers had a thin layer of cushioning that he envied.

The alien put her pen to her lower lip. "Oh, it's already pretty interesting, Guwar. Keep talking."

"The Jindan potion makes Saiyans stronger. Something about tapping into a wellspring of energy from the earth, and using it to supplement the life energy in the body. Rehval makes this potion and you drink it." As he mimicked the act of putting a goblet to his lips, he paused as he recalled the rush of ecstasy he felt as he received the power. In that moment, he had felt like he could do anything. It seemed like a hundred years ago.

"Is that how you get the Mindworm?" she asked.

"No, that's a different procedure," he said as he tapped the side of his head. "Your mistress already knows about the Mindworm."

"Mistress?"

"Well, you work for her, don't you? Like, her butler or something."

She laughed quietly and jotted something down in her notes. "Butler, right. Okay."

He shrugged and decided there was no point in prying. "The Mindworm attacks anyone who tries to probe our minds. It protects his secrets. And it's permanent. The Jindan Power, he can take that away whenever he wants. He withdrew it from me while I was on my way here. The catch is, he takes some of my own power with it. Like he's collecting interest."

"So you end up weaker than you were before you started," she said. "I thought I sensed something weird about your ki."

"You can sense my ki?" he asked. He suddenly felt very exposed. Her left eye, the one that wasn't covered by the patch, seemed much more intrusive as she stared into his cell.

"Oh, I can sense more than that, Guwar," she said. "Ki, temperature, heart rate. Why do you think I'm doing this interrogation instead of her? I mean, she's got better things to do, but besides that."

"You're what, then? Some sort of lie detector?"

"Not exactly," she said. "Let's just say I've learned how to interpret a Saiyan's pulse. But enough about me. Tell me about the Nagaoka system again. You said Rehval's on the second of four planets, right?"

"No, I said there was only one planet. Nice try."

She smiled and glanced down at her notes.

"This is a waste of time!" he said. "I already told you everything you needed to know. I thought Luffa would be halfway to Nagaoka now. The longer she waits--"

"You let us worry about that, Guwar," she said. "All you have to do is answer my questions."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, but I probably won't answer."

"Can Luffa defeat him? I mean, she's the Super Saiyan, but is that enough?"

The alien looked up at him with a serious expression. "She's more than enough, Guwar. But you already knew that, didn't you? Otherwise, why else would you risk everything to come here?"

"I... I'm just hedging my bets," he said. "The universe has gotten too hot for Saiyans lately. It's all coming down between Luffa and Rehval, and anyone who doesn't pick a side will get caught in the middle. Rehval's insane, so there's only one other choice."

"You're lying," she said. "If all you cared about was saving your own skin, you'd have taken your ship as far away from here as you could go. Rehval's got you worried. Not just about yourself, but for everyone."

"You can tell all that from my body heat?" Guwar scoffed.

"No, I can tell from your answers," she said. "You're in a big hurry for us to stop this guy, even though he's already punished you for turning against him. And you keep talking about how all the Saiyans will be doomed unless she saves them. You've seen the light, Guwar. Just like I have."

There was nothing he could say about that. He wanted to tell her she was wrong, or that he didn't believe her, but the truth was that he wanted her to be right, at least as far as Luffa being able to win. So instead of saying anything, he just turned and faced away from her, but only for as long as it took for him to pace the length of his cell. She was still there when he turned around.

"Let's move on to those spears you guys always use," she said. "What's the deal with those?"

*******

While Zatte questioned Guwar on Luffa's ship, Luffa herself was briefing the Federation Council, along with its top military commanders, on their planned counterattack. Despye prided itself on the image of a pastorial, agrarian society, but it was also home to a powerful military-industrial complex. Prester Ganzut wore a simple pair of pink overalls and often carried a ceremonial pitchfork when conducting political business. He even smelled of hay, suggesting that he had always just stepped in from tending his fields, though Luffa suspected that he used some sort of farm-scented cologne. The more she got to know the man, the less and less he seemed like a simple man of the land. Watching him host the Federation's leaders in a heavily armored amphitheater only made it that much clearer to which world he belonged.

"Federation observatories have confirmed the presence of a star system in the coordinates you gave us," Marshall Booth said as he addressed the delegates. Luffa didn't care much for him either, but at least his red military uniform told no lies about his agenda. "We don't want to send scout ships, since it might tip our hand, but we've managed to verify just about everything else that Guwar has told us so far. He even told us about an upcoming raid, and gave us the codes to disable their ships. We defeated them easily."

"It's a little too good to be true, isn't it?" asked Emir Plair of Porpozit. He was an ophidian being with thin legs and arms, and a forked tongue that darted out of his mouth every so often. "We've been fighting these cultists for months, with no end in sight, and suddenly this defector shows up on our doorstep and tells us everything we need to win?"

"Attacking Nagaoka won't be a walk in the park, Emir," Luffa said. She uncrossed her legs and leaned forward in her chair. "I intend to personally kill every Saiyan on its surface, but we'll need a whole fleet to surround the planet so no one escapes. And we'll need a second fleet to guard the first one from any counterattack. Rehval won't go down without a fight, and Guwar tells me that his Jindan powers are strongest there."

"We ought to contact him first, shouldn't we?" asked Jett Farthing, Leader-1 of Kiqs IV. He looked like a pile of tentacles stuffed into a blue robe. "Once he finds out that we know where his lair is, he might be open to negotiations."

"He's not interested in negotiations," Luffa snarled. "I tried playing nice with him before, and he lured me into a deathtrap. Drang Dedruhn still hasn't recovered from that charmed necklace he gave her. I won't underestimate him again. Besides, why would any of you want to talk peace with that bastard, after everything he's done to your people?"

"Yes, the element of surprise is vital to this offensive," Booth added. "Even if the cult knows that we have Guwar, they won't know when we'll strike, or how our attack will be carried out. We may not get a second chance at this."

"Rehval seems to take that planet pretty seriously, but he'll abandon it if he thinks he's cornered," Luffa said. "Don't forget about those rock-creatures he's been manifesting on your planets. If he can control those things from another star system, then he probably has some way to escape Nagaoka in an emergency." She punched her open palm as she spoke. "That's why we've got to hit him hard and fast, and from all sides. If we catch him off-guard, we can disrupt his contingency plans before he has a chance to use them."

"Seems t'me that's exactly what he'd want you to try, darlin'," said Prester Ganzut. "You take a fleet all the way out to Nagaoka, and leave our homestead vulnerable to his next attack. If I were him, I'd already be on my way here, leading my own fleet into battle while yours heads to an empty planet."

"We thought of that," Luffa said through clenched teeth. Her tail moved in such a way that would have made her growing irritation very obvious to anyone who understood Saiyan body language. But to the aliens delegates of the council, she simply appeared to be slightly anxious to get underway. "The entire Saiyan Free Company will be going with me to Nagaoka, along with the third and sixth fleet from the Federation Navy. Booth will be taking the ninth fleet to the Gelbo System, about halfway between Nagaoka and here. The rest of our forces will remain in Federation space to deal with any new invaders. From Gelbo, Booth can coordinate with both fronts, and deploy reinforcements wherever they're needed."

"Will the remaining fleets be enough to protect us?" asked Saith Reinar of Rastraw II. Her exoskeleton clicked and the gold bangles on her six limbs clinked as she trembled with anxiety. "We've all seen what those Saiyans can do once they reach the surface of an inhabited world--!"

"Which is precisely why we must intercept and destroy incoming ships before that happens," Booth said. "I have already issued new shelter orders for civilian populations, and local defense forces have been mobilized for--"

"None of that will mean anything if a band of these Saiyan fanatics get past your fleet!" said of Bort Samsa of Drakkenfilt. His body was covered in a thick layer of symbiotic moss, which made his form difficult to make out. "They've managed to do it time and time again during this war, even with all of our forces on the defensive! And now you want to send troops to Gelbo!?"

Booth didn't have a tail, although Luffa could imagine what it might have looked like if he had one. "We have to take the offensive," he insisted. "If we adopt a siege mentality, then the enemy will simply wear us down."

"Hold on a moment," said of Chet Vil, President of Boiperpei. He spoke slowly, more deliberately than the others. While they seemed more terrified of the risks, he talked as though giving a speech to his caninoid constituents back home. "In these unprecedented times, it's clear that there's a great deal at stake. And I think that what we should be focusing on is finding a way to attack the enemy and defend our territory at the same time, without dividing our brave fighting forces. It could be very beneficial to the Federation. Why, just think of what we might accomplish, not only in this war, but in future conflicts."

"You're an idiot," Luffa said. "I only came here to brief you all on my plans, so that you could prepare your people for what might happen if anything goes wrong. I'm not interested in suggestions, especially nonsense. You're up, Dotz."

Nearby, Dotz rose from her chair and gingerly waved to the councilors, then clasped her hands together for a moment, before fidgeting with the purple shawl that hung around her neck and shoulders.

"We've been briefed about your psychic, Madam Federatrix," said Tak-Tik of Kopey. "And we know that her predictions are no guarantee of success."

"Dotz can see the future a lot more clearly than anyone else in this room," Luffa said with a smile. "And she's accurately predicted every Jindan attack inside of Federation space. The only reason we've taken as many losses as we have is because we couldn't always keep up with the invasions, but she always knew where they would show up, and when. Tell them what you told me, Dotz."

"W-well," she began. "I've been trying to improve my abilities lately, for the war effort and all. When Luffa told me about this attack on Nagaoka, she asked me to find out if the prisoner she captured was telling the truth about it. I saw a battle taking place there. Very terrible, but I can't tell anything specific about it. So there must be something there worth fighting over."

There was a rumble of murmurs from the council, and Luffa gestured for Dotz to continue.

"As for the Federation, um, well I'm sorry, but I don't really see any fighting inside your territory, not with Saiyan invaders anyway. Other enemies are harder for me to forsee, unless you have one in mind that you want me to look out for."

"I can't be sure of Dotz' maximum limit," Luffa explained, "but she's forecast battles a month before I fought them. The accuracy gets kind of fuzzy further out than that, but it won't take more than two weeks for the fleet to reach Nagaoka. Dotz says the cult won't make a move while we're gone, and that's good enough for me. Even if something did happen, you'll have Booth's group one week away at Gelbo."

"Convenient, ain't it?" asked Prester Ganzut. "That the enemy'd suddenly stop attacking us like that, for no good reason."

Luffa turned to look at him with an eager gleam in her eye. "Oh, I'll give them a reason to stop attacking, Prester," she said. "They won't attack the Federation because they'll all be dead after I finish attacking them. Or maybe they'll win, and you all can negotiate a settlement over my dead body. Either way, the war will be over, which only confirms that Nagaoka is where the last battle will be fought."

"And we should accept this as fact? Based on the words of this... this confidence man?"

Luffa shot a dirty look at a woman who now stood up from the group. "Do you have a problem, General Bailgrad?"

The general made a self-satisfied smirk as she peered over her glasses to look down at Luffa on the floor. "Not with you, Madam Federatrix, but I have a duty to object to the quality of your advisors. It's shameful enough that our entire defense is centered around 'psychic' visions, however accurate they may be."

"Dotz's prophecies are legitimate, General," Luffa growled. "I wouldn't have consulted with her if I didn't believe in her abilities."

"It's not a question of ability," Bailgrad replied. "It's a matter of allegiance, of competency. How can you trust someone who's not even a Federation citizen, who has no stake in this war? Why, just look at him."

"What?!" Luffa snapped.

"Really, Luffa, I'd like to think that women have made some genuine progress in this society. You're a role model, and it's very damaging to your cause when you humor such infantile notions that biology can be circumvented, simply by dressing up like my grandmother. How can we even take seriously a prophet who doesn't know whether he's a--"

As Bailgrad spoke, Luffa stretched out her hand, and quickly twisted her wrist, pointing her index and middle fingers toward the ceiling. As she did, the general suddenly exploded where she stood. Everyone around her cried out in terror, and yet, the force of the blast was directed upward, the energy so carefully controlled, that the people nearest to Bailgrad felt only a stiff breeze. As for the general herself, nothing remained but her shoes, and a plume of smoke that rose up from them.

"I'll only say this once," Luffa said. "Dotz has saved countless lives in this war. She has my complete confidence. If any of you dare to insult her like that again, I will slaughter you without hesitation. Now. Does anyone else have anything to say?"

No one did. And so Luffa adjourned the meeting, and gestured for Dotz to follow her back to her ship.

"Y-you didn't have to do that," Dotz finally said.

Before Luffa could reply, she noticed Prester Ganzut running after them from the corridor.

"Luffa, wait!"

"The meeting is adjourned, Prester," Luffa said coldly.

"Beggin' your pardon," he said, "but you know it ain't that simple. That wasn't some buck private you just destroyed. Bailgrad's got a lot of friends on Despye. Lot of pull in the rest of the Federation too, f'r that matter."

"Hah! Not anymore, she doesn't," Luffa said with a smirk.

"Consarn it, I'm serious, Luffa!" Ganzut said. He wore the pink overalls of a simple Despyan farmer, but he was as much a career politician as the rest of them. His snowy white hair and leathery skin only meant that he had been doing it longer than most. There was a time, not so long ago, when she found him and others like him to be somewhat amusing.

"So am I," Luffa said. "I protect all of you people by choice, and somehow you think I'm just going to sit quietly and lick your boots while you disrespect my comrades? Think again, Prester."

"I know what you're capable of, ma'am," he said. "And personally, I think Bailgrad deserved what she got. Not much of a general if she couldn't see the tactical flaws in pissin' you off."

"She wasn't a general at all," Luffa said. "Just another pencil pusher behind a desk, handed a title she was never qualified to hold. Just like all of those 'friends' on Despye you were warning me about, Prester. Now that I think about it, maybe someone needs to clean things up on this planet of yours."

He chuckled for a moment, and then his eyes went wide as he realized she wasn't joking. For a split second, his arm reached out, as if he meant to grab her by the shoulder. Perhaps this was how he was used to scolding other women of Luffa's size and stature, but he thought better of it, and kept his hands to himself.

"It don't work that way!" he said, almost pleadingly. "Can't you see that? I thought you woulda learned by now how complicated this stuff is. The government only works when it keeps enough of the people in line. Sometimes that means making compromises, darlin'. You scratch someone's back so they'll scratch yours later. You learn to eat slop and like the taste, because not all of us can break a mountain in two, or shoot lasers out of our hands. It's all a popularity contest, and--" he paused to glance at Dotz-- "beggin' your friend's pardon, there's a lot of rotten ideas out there that are a lot more popular than you are."

"Is there a point to all of this, Prester?" Luffa asked.

"Dagnabbit, I'm tryin' to tell you that if you keep throwin' your weight around, there won't be any Federation left to run! You probably don't look at the polls, but folks ain't as keen on you as they used to be. Some of 'em think you're a troublemaker, and there's plenty others who say you started this whole war, just so your Saiyan buddies could take over. Nobody can stop you, but if you push them too far, a bunch of 'em will die trying, and they'll ruin everything else while they're at it. So just... just back off a hair, is all I'm sayin'."

"Is that all? Fine. Here's what I say."

She grabbed Ganzut by the front of his pink overalls, and lifted him off his feet with one hand. Dotz gasped at the sight of this, but knew better than to interfere. To Ganzut's credit, he didn't panic, though it was clear from his expression that he would have much rather stayed on the ground.

"You probably think I don't keep up with current events much," Luffa said as she stared into his eyes. "I'm so busy fighting your wars, or looking for my own battles, so you figure you can do as you please while my back is turned. That's what got Bailgrad killed, Prester. She got so complacent, so used to thinking she was untouchable, that she forgot how to behave when I was right in front of her."

Ganzut tried to talk, but there really wasn't anything he could say at this point, so he ended up just making a series of nonverbal grunts. Luffa smiled.

"The fact is, I have been paying attention to what goes on in the Federation. The deal was that all of you kings and ministers and presidents would work together and keep things running smoothly while I protected you. And you've done a halfway decent job, but there's plenty of corruption and inequality in the system. Humanoids like Dotz don't get the respect they deserve. The outbreak of space cholera on Fedender is being completely mishandled. Some third-rate celebrity has been stirring up a campaign to harass Ichthyoids on Eetie, based on some laughable conspiracy! Oh, and one of your own department heads has been withholding technical services to farmers with malfunctioning equipment. Are you going to tell me to back off from that, Prester?"

"W-we're workin' on that!" Ganzut said.

Luffa dropped him to the floor. "Work harder," she said. "Because when I get back from Nagaoka, I may just decide to take matters into my own hands. And you might not like the way I solve problems. I won't be very popular by the time I get done, but that's never mattered much to me before."

She turned and left with Dotz. Ganzut gathered himself from the floor, coughing and struggling to catch his breath.

*******

"What did he say then?"

"Nothing. What could he say? He probably thought if he argued with me anymore, I'd kill him like I killed Bailgrad."

"Would you?" Zatte asked.

"Nah, he's not such a bad guy," Luffa said. "He's in a difficult position, or at least what he thinks is difficult. I killed Bailgrad because she was an embarrassment. She owed her life to Dotz's predictions. A little courtesy is a small price to pay."

After the conference, Luffa had returned to her ship, which she and Zatte prepared for the long trip to Nagaoka. Together, they took inventory of the supplies in the cargo bay.

"Is that what's next for us?" Zatte asked as she checked the expiration date on a crate of flour. "After we settle things on Nagaoka, I mean. I was starting to think you were planning to leave the Federation for good."

"Oh, I thought about it," Luffa said. "Trouble is, there's nothing else out there for me. I started this alliance to make things simpler for me while I hunted down Kandai. Ever since then it's been more trouble than it's worth, but there's no bigger battles out there for me to find. I might as well stay put and hope the competition comes to me."

"You don't think Nagaoka will be big enough for you?" Zatte asked.

"To tell you the truth, it doesn't matter much anymore. I... maybe this won't make any sense, but I'm sick of this war. When it started, it seemed like a proper challenge, but I've just been fighting variations of the same battle over and over again. The only real issue is keeping my injuries under control, and making sure we get to the next planet in time. It's more about time management than combat. The enemy knows they can't match my power, so they're just trying to wear me down, so what could they hope to do when they're on the defensive?"

"They might have a secret weapon or two," Zatte offered. "Something Guwar doesn't know about."

"Thanks for trying to cheer me up, but I think they would have used something like that by now," Luffa said. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. When this is over, there probably won't be any new fights for a while, and I think I'm okay with that. I think I'd rather wait for something big to show up instead of trying to force it. I just have to keep busy in the meantime."

"So this social justice campaign is your new hobby?"

Luffa lifted a tank of potable water to read the lot number on the bottom. "I'm not looking forward to it, if that's what you mean. I just know there's a lot of people like Ganzut who feel like they're stuck, and to me it doesn't seem all that hard to get them unstuck. There must be something I can do, and I'm not afraid to bust some heads to make it happen."

"Well I think it's perfect," Zatte said. "It might take you a while to get the hang of it, but with your power, there's no limit to the good you might do for people. Not to mention all the other Saiyans."

"What about them?" Luffa asked.

"Well, with Rehval defeated, they'll have to recognize you for what you are, right?"

Luffa put down the tank and shook her head. "You're a dreamer, Zattie. You ought to know by now how stubborn my people are."

"Seltiss is starting to see it," Zatte said. "And Guwar too. They won't admit it, but I can tell. They wanted Rehval or someone like him to prove you wrong, but now that they see him for what he really is..."

"I can see it now," Luffa said. "'And that's the story, children, of how Old Luffa got all the Saiyans to start planting trees and lobby for fairer transportation laws.'"

"Hey, don't sell yourself short," Zatte said. "You can do anything you set your mind to. And don't worry about getting bored. Trouble usually finds you sooner or later."

"Hah! I hadn't thought of it that way," Luffa said. "Maybe it won't be so bad after all."

[14 November 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

Zatte was a Dorlun, born with a unique ability to manipulate energy. She mostly used this for bending light and other radiation around her body, to make herself invisible, or for deflecting ki to protect herself or to hide her own power level from those who could sense it. She had accompanied her wife, Luffa, the Legendary Super Saiyan, on what she considered to be a holy mission to Nagaoka. Luffa had sworn to destroy the planet, and the wicked Saiyan cultists who lurked beneath the thick grey clouds of the Nagaokan atmosphere.

Mostly, Zatte's job was to keep the ship running and coordinate with Luffa's attack fleet. And she was more than happy to do this. This was Luffa's epic story, and Zatte was simply honored to be a part of it. The Dorlun culture prioritized survival, and the Dorlun religion commanded its people to stay alive so that they might eventually find a worthy cause to support. Zatte believed that Luffa was her cause, a pivotal figure destined to change the course of history, what the Dorluns called xan-nil'Dor. Zatte's life had become a swirling mass of contradictions since she realized Luffa's importance. It was hard to balance out all her roles-- loving spouse, devoted disciple, martial arts student, sensible advisor, down-to-earth sidekick-- but now those roles seemed to have finally converged into one. As Zatte stood on the bridge of Luffa's yacht and watched Nagaoka, she felt a serenity in her heart that told her that everything had worked out for the best. Luffa would triumph, and the universe would prosper. All Zatte had to do was follow her beloved the rest of the way.

And then the bombardment failed. Every ship in the fleet fired conventional weapons on the planet, and nothing happened. It was like some enormous force field surrounded the entire planet, but Zatte couldn't locate a power source on the surface big enough to support such a technology. She had never heard of a force field big enough to shield an entire planet, but she knew such a device had to run on something.

Undaunted, Luffa went to the cargo bay to fire on the planet herself. As the Super Saiyan, Luffa's power was greater than any other Saiyan in the universe, greater than the firepower of the entire fleet. For a moment, Zatte felt reassured. Nagaoka would be destroyed in an instant, and its secrets would die with it. From the bridge, Zatte could sense her bride's immense ki energy building. On the viewscreen, she could see the lance of golden energy streaking out to the planet.

And then the energy faded away, only for the planet to split it up and shoot it all back from a hundred different directions. Even if there was a force field big enough and strong enough to do this, there was too much cohesion in the reflected energy. It should have just diffused evenly, leaving little more than a harmless wave of radiation. To split a beam into dozens of smaller beams was something more like Zatte's own innate ability, but how could anything achieve this on a planetary scale? It was impossible, unless...

Her mind raced with horrified speculations, but soon the answer appeared before her as she watched the clouds on Nagaoka shift and swirl until they formed the image of a man's face. She instantly recognized it as the likeness of King Rehval III, the Saiyan monarch who abandoned his kingdom to start his bizarre alchemical cult on Nagaoka.

And then, as the lips of the cloud-image began to move, Zatte could hear his voice in her mind. "Hello, Luffa. I'm so glad that you've finally arrived. Now, at last, we can put all of this to an end."

Saiyans all had a low-level telepathic ability. Over a limited range, they could send their thoughts to other beings, like a sort of mental walkie-talkie, although they lacked more advanced mind-reading powers. Luffa could read minds, but only by making physical contact. In this case, it seemed like Rehval was projecting his thoughts across a much larger range, not just addressing Luffa, but anyone nearby. Zatte began to wonder if the entire fleet could hear this.

"I'm sure you remember Pozet," Rehval began, and Zatte's heart sank. She remembered Pozet well. Zatte had killed that horrible creature aboard this very ship. It had tried to prevent her from rescuing Luffa on planet Pflaume. It should have marked the end of that nightmare, it looked like Rehval wasn't finished with it yet.

"Homuncular synthesis is one of the greatest tests of an alchemist's skills. Many of the greatest alchemists die without ever achieving it. I actually pulled it off on my first try, but I didn't feel like I had truly mastered the technique until I created Pozet using folicle samples from your wife. She's an amazing woman, really. My compliments."

Zatte forced herself to look away from the viewscreen and get back to the computers on the bridge. The energy bursts from the planet hadn't been aimed at anything in particular, but a number of ships had been hit anyway. She needed to contact the fleet commanders and get them to back off from Nagaoka before something else happened.

"I created Pozet to act as that serial killer," Rehval explained, "which I used to lure you to my trap on Pflaume City, but she was also a peace offering if you changed your mind and decided to see things my way instead. I thought we could join forces, Luffa. I thought there would be no limit to the things we could achieve together, but you rejected my gift and you spurned my friendship, and now you've come here to destroy me. Fortunately, Pozet served a purpose for that scenario too."

"No," Zatte murmured to herself. "No, no, no..."

"I made three of her, Luffa," he said. "One to present to you, the second to act as my 'serial killer'. You and your lovely bride made short work of them, but the third Pozet I used for my research. I was fascinated with the energy manipulation powers, you see. Imagine what a Saiyan could do with that sort of ability! Imagine what I could do with it, the greatest Saiyan of all!"

Zatte looked up at the viewscreen and clutched at the fabric of her shirt over her heart. She didn't know exactly what all of this meant, not yet. She didn't know how Rehval had become so powerful, or what he planned to do with that power, but she knew that it would be something terrible.

And worst of all, he had used her to make it all possible.

*******

[14 November 233 Before Age. Despye.]

Prester Ganzut paced in a tight circle around his office in the capital city of Despye. There had been no word from the Federation fleet they had sent to Nagaoka. He didn't expect to hear anything, since they were avoiding communications to prevent anyone from learning of their counterattack. He would only receive word when the battle was over, and by his reckoning, the fleet would have just arrived in the Nagaoka system. A cold pitcher of iced tea was waiting for him at his desk, slowly soaking the wood with condensation. Every time the pitcher caught his eye as he walked around the room, he told himself that he would drink it later, but he never got around to it.

Nothing would be the same when this was over. Even if Luffa won the battle, she had all but promised to bring sweeping changes to the Federation when she returned. He had no idea how drastic those "changes" would be, and she probably had no idea herself, which was what made her so dangerous. Even if it all went perfectly, he doubted that her plans would bode well for his career.

As he mulled over his political prospects, the ground began to shake under his feet. He wasn't sure what to do about an earthquake, as this part of the planet had never had one before. Just as he decided to take cover under his desk, two of his security detail rushed into the office and escorted him to an emergency transport. This was standard procedure during an attack on the city, but he couldn't hear any air-raid sirens or any other sounds he had come to associate with a battle.

The way to the transport was underground, connected to his building by a tunnel, but before they could reach it, they found the entire entrance smashed into rubble. A large column of earth was rising out of the ground, and the tunnel entrance simply had the misfortune of being located in its path. So too, was the ceiling above them, and the upper floors of the building.

His security team managed to get him outdoors, and they even evacuated most of the other people inside, but as Prester Ganzut watched the Despye Executive Hall being impaled by a giant column of rock and dirt, he was certain that there had to have been causalities. Angrily, he demanded an explanation for what was happening, even though he doubted that anyone else had one to offer.

Then the great tower of earth began to shape itself, like clay in the hands of an invisible sculptor, and Ganzut suddenly knew.

"The cultists!" he gasped as the column finally took the form of a man. He had heard of this taking place on other planets, but Luffa had always been there to stop them before they could do any real harm. But Luffa was at Nagaoka, supposedly fighting the cultists, wasn't she? If so, then she wasn't fighting them hard enough for Prester Ganzut's liking.

"Prester Ganzut, I presume!" the earthen giant said aloud. It looked right at him, and Ganzut's blood ran cold. "Good day to you, sir. I'm King Rehval III, also known as Trismegistus. Well, this is an avatar of me, anyway. My followers planted it here so that I could talk to you when the time was right."

"This can't be!" Ganzut said. "You... can't be here! Luffa's fortuneteller, she told us there wasn't gonna be any more attacks from you Jindan Saiyans!"

"Fortuneteller?" Rehval asked. By now, the avatar was so detailed that Ganzut could see the look of surprise in its "eyes". "Well, now, that does explain a few things. I expected her to defeat my warriors, but I could never understand how she always seemed to know exactly when and where to find them. Such a resourceful woman. Well, Luffa's fortuneteller was right, Prester. There will be no more attacks on your territory. Right now, my avatars are rising up on planets all over the Federation, but they aren't going to fight. They'll just be standing by, awaiting your unconditional surrender!"

"Surrender?" Ganzut asked. "Are you sayin' you already defeated her at Nagaoka?!"

"Prester, you don't understand!" Rehval said with a laugh. "I don't need to defeat Luffa, anymore than I have to attack you. As of today, I've become invincible, and Luffa? Well, she's simply no longer relevant!"

*******

[14 November 233 Before Age. Chai I.]

A similar scene was playing out on the grounds of the Imperial Palace on Chai I, seat of the Camelian Empire.

"The war with the Federation was never about conquest or revenge, your Majesty," the rock-Rehval explained to Zinenz 15, the Emperor of Camelia, who had been playing cricket on horseback when the avatar rose up from the field.

"It was a diversion," Rehval continued. "Luffa had to stay put inside her own territory to defend it from my warriors, while the rest of you watched from the sidelines, believing that I was only interested in the Federation. All the while, my agents were traveling to your planets in secret, and pouring a special potion into the soil of your planets."

"All of them?" Zinenz 15 asked with some skepticism in his voice. His mount was very nervous in the shadow of the earthen giant, but the emperor did his best to stand his ground.

"Enough of them," Rehval replied. "The figure that stands before you know is more than powerful enough to destroy Chai I with ease. I can't destroy every planet in your empire so quickly, but I can threaten enough of the important ones to throw Eternal Camelia into turmoil."

*******

[14 November 233 Before Age. Festid III.]

"Unless we submit to you, is that what you're saying?" asked General Zinfandel asked.

"Precisely," said the rock-Rehval that had manifested on Festid's capital city. "You cannot defeat this giant creature that stands before you, General. The potion that animates it was already absorbed into the very matter that makes up your planet. You might destroy this physical form you see, but another will rise out of the ground to replace it, again and again, for as long as I see fit. Luffa has the power to break the spell, but your armies simply don't have what it takes. You'd only destroy yourselves in the attempt."

"Or we could simply take the fight to you, Your Majesty," Zinfandel suggested. "Killing you on this planet, you mentioned, Nagaoka, would surely disrupt your control over this thing you have created."

"Indeed it would, General, which is why I've taken measures to protect myself," Rehval explained. "Even now, my stronghold is under attack by a Federation fleet, led by Luffa herself. The entire planet is impervious to her strongest techniques. Even if she could find a way to reach the surface, she would have to fight through tens of thousands of my followers. Each of them has been empowered by my Jindan potion. Luffa struggled to defeat twenty of my warriors at a time. How can she hope to beat them all at once?"

*******

[14 November 233 Before Age. Goldwall.]

"This planet has seen enough tyrants, Rehval. I won't allow it to be dominated by another, no matter how powerful."

These were the defiant words of M'ranga, formerly known as Ensign Liberty, now the Kami of Planet Goldwall. Being a goddess was still new to her, and her performance of the role was highly unorthodox. When the giant Saiyan-thing emerged from the dirt, she descended from her Heavenly Lookout and met him directly, rather than watch passively from a distance. The gods of the higher realms might not have approved of this hands-on approach, but Ensign Liberty was a revolutionary, and to her the divine hierarchy was just another power structure to be questioned whenever possible. Likewise, she saw King Rehval as simply another bully.

"I respect your position, Your Grace," the rock-Rehval said. It knelt before her in a mocking show of respect, and kept angling its ear closer to M'ranga as if straining to hear such a tiny creature. "For the time being, I'll allow you to indulge in whatever comfortable slogans you like. Devastating your planet right now wouldn't accomplish anything. I don't want to make an example of Goldwall, but if it comes to that, I'd prefer to have witnesses to see it happening."

"Then wh--?" M'ranga began to ask, but then the earthen giant rose to his full height and looked away from her.

"I only produced these giant avatars because I wanted to inform you all of what was happening," Rehval said. "The Age of Trismegistus has begun, but it hasn't really reached you just yet. For now, this is mostly just to prove a point to Luffa, but once I've finished discussing it with her, I visit all of your worlds again, and I'll explain exactly what it is I expect from each of you."

M'ranga continued speaking after that, delivering a fiery speech about freedom and the irrepressible spirit of sentient beings, but if the rock-Rehval could hear her, it gave no response whatsoever.

*******

[14 November 233 Before Age. Nagaoka.]

"It's amazing, truly amazing," Rehval said as he bathed in the glowing red liquid that filled his sunken bathtub. It was a public section of his compound, and his followers were encouraged to enter and watch him soak. Some fell prostrate at the edge of the bath and worshiped him, while a parade of attendants added scented oils and other chemicals to the liquid as he soaked in it. Behind him, Treekul lounged on a mat and massaged his neck and shoulders.

"Tell me about it, boss," Treekul said. The hair on her head was over two inches long.

"I'm everywhere at once now," he said. "Not literally, but but I might as well be everywhere. I'm talking to a thousand people at once right now. I can see them, Treekul. They all look so outraged, so envious of what I've become."

"I'm sure Luffa looks pretty ticked off right about now," Treekul said with a smile.

"Oh, I can't see her," Rehval said. "But I can see her ship, and all the other ships she brought along. They're just hanging there in space like little toys. And beyond them, the stars, my kingdom. My laboratory. The very clouds have become my eyes, Treekul. I can see it all as easily as I see you."

He looked back at her, and raised one of his hands to caress her cheek. She pulled back at the sight of the crimson fluid still dripping from his fingertips.

"Oh, it's harmless, I promise," he said. "I've been drinking different potions and rubbing ointments into my skin for weeks to prepare myself for this. Without all those treatments, all of this would be useless, like stewing in melted candlewax."

"That's what you said about this lotion, too," Treekul replied. She held up her hand to show the oily film she had been rubbing into his shoulders. "And you talked me into that, but let's just say I'd like to know more before I jump in there with you. How did you pull all of this off?"

"It's like I told you from the beginning, my Apprentice," Rehval said. "The energy of living things is what gives rise to ki. Saiyans have more of it than most, but it never seems to be enough, and there's more than one way to get it. There's untapped power within the very planets themselves. My namesake, the original Trismegistus, found ways to study that geomantic energy, but he lacked the vision to do anything with it. I named myself Trismegistus to honor the fulfillment of his discoveries."

"I thought you took that name to claim supremacy over all other alchemists," Treekul asked. "You know, 'Look at me, I'm the best.'"

"Well, that too," Rehval said with a satisfied smirk. "I can have more than one reason."

"Yeah, I guess you can have anything you want now," she said as she went back to rubbing his shoulders. One of the attendants handed him a crystal sifter of wine, and he sampled the bouquet with relish.

"I had more than one reason for keeping you here, too," he added. "Of course, I couldn't let you just tell outsiders about this place. Not until I had its defenses prepared, anyway. It took some doing to incorporate Pozet's abilities into my link with the planet's geology. But besides that, I needed someone I could talk to. Someone removed from the Saiyans, who could appreciate everything I put into this plan."

She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Well, it's not like there's anywhere else for me to escape to, is there?" she asked. "You've practically conquered the whole universe, so I might as well stay here where all the magic happens."

"Exactly," he said. "Admit it, you didn't think any Saiyan was capable of this sort of genius. We're all nothing but brutish warriors to you."

"I gotta admit, I have been rethinking a lot of old attitudes since I got here," Treekul said.

"The whole universe has looked down their nose at the Saiyan species," Rehval said. "And rightfully so, because many of us believe in the same stereotypes. I tried to reverse that perception, to play the dignified statesman, an ambassador of goodwill from the Saiyans to the rest of the galaxy, but I knew they didn't really believe me. They thought I was a curiosity, or an aberration. Sooner or later, they expected me to revert to type. What those haughty princes and emperors didn't understand was that I was counting on them to underestimate us."

He raised his glass to toast the worshipers at the opposite end of the bath, then drank. "That was how my flock was able to seed so many worlds in such a short span of time. No one thinks of a Saiyan using stealth. They expect us to crash onto a planet's surface and run wild, pillaging everything in sight. No one imagines a Saiyan infiltrating a group of tourists, or a work crew. No one is on guard against a Saiyan stepping out of sight and pouring a vial of liquid into the soil near a government building. And even if that Saiyan were spotted, no one would understand what he was doing. They wouldn't even know he was a Saiyan, not without a tail to give him away."

Treekul gestured at everyone else in the room. "That's why you had everyone lop off their tails?" she asked. "So they'd be sneakier?"

"More than that," Rehval said. "I did it to prove that we no longer need the tails, that we're so much more without them. Look at Nagaoka. Surrounded by clouds, its moonlight is useless here. Even if you had a tail, on another planet it wouldn't be good for more than a day or two. But I've channeled the geomantic currents of this solar system. The planet's relationship to the moon serves me at all times, without a tail. That's progress, Treekul. Why would anyone want to escape from that?"

*******

"Aren't you forgetting something, dad?" Seltiss asked from the bridge of the SFC's command ship. It was unnerving to stare into the eyes of his image on Nagaoka's surface, but she fixed her gaze anyway, determined to show her resolve.

"Ah, Seltiss," Rehval said telepathically. "I hear you've kept busy while I've been away. I'll admit, I was somewhat surprised when I found out you had joined forces with Luffa."

"You were surprised? I thought you were dead," Seltiss shouted. "Or that you had gone totally freakazoid after you evacuated Planet Saiya! Then this cult shows up and I thought some lame-o wizard was trying to enslave us all! Turns out it was you all along."

"Then you should be relieved," Rehval said. "The Saiyans are in no danger from me. The Jindan power is a way for them to become stronger, and a way to make myself stronger in return. That's how I've made all of this possible. By merging my spirit with the planet, and drawing power from my followers, I--"

"You've empowered yourself," said Xibuyas, who stood beside Seltiss on the bridge. "But only yourself, from what I can see. You say you have rock-avatars on a thousand key planets, ready to destroy them if anyone defies you. The only way to stop them is to destroy Nagaoka, which you've made indestructible. That's not like you, Your Majesty. You always taught Princess Seltiss and me that wielding power was a much more subtle art."

"Yeah," Seltiss added. "It's a scalpel, not a club. That's what you always told us. Its like a strategic game. You make one move at a time, building your position until you can win."

On the viewscreen of Seltiss' ship, the clouds on Nagaoka chuckled in time with Rehval's telepathic laugh. "Don't you understand, children? It was a game, but it's over now! I've won! I wielded the scalpel, since long before you were born, and now the surgery is finished! The game is over, and this is the end of history. Whatever happens from now on will be decided by my power, and mine alone. This was always the point, Seltiss. It was always about securing the future of the Saiyans at the top of the universal food chain. Everything before today was a means to an end."

"But you've forgotten something, dad!" Seltiss insisted. "Whatever this creepy future is you've envisioned for the Saiyans, it can't outlive you! Who's going to maintain all of this when you're gone? You need heirs for that, and right now you haven't got any!"

She was trembling now, and Xibuyas nearly reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, until he thought better of it. He knew this was something she had wanted to say to her father for a long time, and now that the moment was finally here, she was building confidence in her words. Seltiss pointed her thumb at herself, then poked her own chest with it, deforming the logo of whatever musical act was featured on her 7000-credit t-shirt.

"I know about your eugenics plans, dad," Seltiss said. "You told me about it often enough. The genetic profiling, the incubation chambers, that was only just the beginning. You wanted to breed a stronger generation of Saiyans, and you wanted your descendants to be the strongest of each new generation, right? That's why you needed Xibuyas! He was your special project to make an ultimate Saiyan, but you needed me to bear his offspring, so they would share your bloodline!

"Well guess what? Xibuyas and I aren't playing along anymore. You may need us, but we sure don't need you, not anymore! So even if you are invincible, your new era won't even last another century... unless!"

Her lips curled into a triumphant smile, like a high-stakes gambler on the brink of winning the pot. Xibuyas couldn't help but smile himself. He didn't understand her fashion sense, or why she insisted on dyeing her black hair pink, or how she could possibly think Luffa was "cool." Xibuyas only knew that he admired this girl more than he could possibly express.

"We can work something out, father," Seltiss said. "You'll have to agree to share power, and grant certain concessions to my Saiyan followers. They have their pride, you know. They're not about to start bowing down to you like some sort of graven image, not when they came to me to get away from your bogus brand of order."

The cloud-image of Rehval seemed genuinely impressed by her bold demands. "Concessions," he said, as though trying the word on for size. "Interesting, Seltiss. Suppose I agree to your terms. What do I get from you in return?"

Seltiss relaxed slightly. "When we're older, Xibuyas and I will produce those heirs you want," she said. "And the two of us can take over your rule when you... well you know... die. And I can talk the Free Companions into a working relationship with you. They can act as enforcers, since you and yours are probably, like, stuck on that planet for the long term right?"

Xibuyas chuckled quietly. Luffa and her Federation fleet would be furious over this, but what could they possibly do about it? She had them over a barrel. As powerful as Rehval had become, she was the one person in the universe who had something he wanted. He watched Rehval's face on the atmosphere of Nagaoka, curious to see how he would react.

The face in the clouds simply laughed.

"Seltiss, Seltiss, Seltiss," he said as the cloud-image shook its "head". "I'm impressed with how far you've come. I really am. Organizing this Free Company of yours, building a coalition against me, well I knew you would try it, but I honestly wasn't sure how well you would succeed. You really are my twenty-seventh greatest creation."

"You... you knew I would turn against you?" Seltiss asked.

"I raised you, my dear. Sent you to all those private schools to teach you political theory. I chose those programs because I knew they would fill your head with ideas about taking bold steps to secure power, and how important it is for leaders to take initiative. I wanted you to grow up looking for ways to seize power from me wherever you could. At first, it was just so you would be a worthy successor if something ever happened to me. But when I abandoned Saiya, I knew you might start gathering all of my enemies together. Every Saiyan who would oppose my rule, all united under one banner. And how thoughtful of you to deliver them to my doorstep!"

"You wanted me to do this?" Seltiss gasped.

"Either this, or maybe you'd get them all killed in a war you couldn't win. Or they'd abandon you in disgust and recognize my power as the only one that works. But this! Oh, you've made me very proud. Your sisters were never capable of this kind of leadership, Seltiss. That's why I chose you to be the one who bore Xibuyas' children. It had to be you."

"Well it won't be!" Seltiss shouted. "I'm not your puppet, dad! I don't care how powerful you are, I'm not going to play along with your sick plans!"

She began to stamp her feet on the deck, not quite hard enough to smash the deckplate apart, but enough for everyone on the bridge to feel the rumble.

"We won't do it!" Seltiss insisted. "You can send your goons to chase us all over the galaxy, but you'll never get your heir! And Xibuyas can beat those rock monsters of yours. Luffa's already shown us how! So unless you plan to die of old age on that planet of yours, you'd better--"

Rehval started to laugh again.

"Seltiss, do you really think you were ever that important to my plans?" Rehval asked. "Would I really let a spoiled teenager out of my sight if I actually depended on her cooperation?"

"You knew you couldn't stop me, so you didn't try!" Seltiss protested. "That's why you didn't send your men to stop me from rescuing Xibuyas from Pflaume--"

"I let you have Xibuyas," Rehval said, "because I had no further use for him. He failed to defeat Luffa, and I knew he wouldn't bother me too much while he was with you, so I abandoned him. Just like I abandoned you when I had no further need of you."

The cloud image shifted, forming a planet-sized monochrome photograph of a cryonics laboratory. A scientist could be seen handling frozen embryos.

"I wanted grandchildren through you and Xibuyas," Rehval expained, but I never needed your cooperation to get them. I took genetic samples from both of you when you were small children, and sent them to a facility that specializes in genetic engineering projects. It's on Planet Bliff in the Nullon Sector. I'm telling you this because one of my avatars is already on the planet, ready to protect it in case one of you tries to interfere with my business there."

Seltiss was horrified. "You... you what?"

The image in the clouds shifted into a wider view of Rehval, soaking in his alchemical bath, surrounded by his faithful. "I saw great potential in both of you, but I had to see what you could do in practice, and I didn't want to risk losing your genomes if you got yourselves killed. You see, Seltiss, I want a line of descendants, but not as heirs. No, I needed you to produce a line of enforcers. Saiyans of royal blood who would go out and handle provincial matters in my new kingdom. You would be the matriarch of that line, and I think you'd be very good at that work. But your sons and daughters will fill the role just as well. I wanted you to cooperate, I really did, but I only needed one thing from you, and..." he paused to chuckle, "I already have it."

In the cloud-image, Rehval clapped his hands together with great enthusiasm. "As for my death, I wouldn't mark your calendars anytime soon. I'm not just bonded with the energy of this planet. I am the planet now. Its vast geomantic energies are mine to control, like the ki of my Saiyan body. The process has merged us in a way that I can't quite put into words, but I think I'll have plenty of time to figure that out. We Saiyans think of planets as things that are fairly easy to destroy, but Nagaoka is now a planet that can defend itself. Or rather, myself. And we think of Saiyans as creatures with a finite lifespan, but I've become so much more than that now. How long does the moon live in the sky? Well now I am the moon. I am the sky. I am the planet. So now that we've got that straightened out, let's talk about the concessions you can make for me, my daughter."

Xibuyas saw Seltiss trembling again, but this time it wasn't out of anxiety or excitement. Now, it was despair. He couldn't help but share it. He wanted to call Rehval's bluff, to say that it was impossible for him to do the things he was claiming. And yet, he knew he owed his life to Rehval's alchemical skills, and he had fought the rock-Rehval creatures before. As for Nagaoka, he could sense the strange power of this planet, and he had already seen how ineffective their weapons were against it.

"Every Saiyan who partakes in the Jindan potion has given me a portion of their energy," Rehval began. "Every Saiyan who does not, will be considered an enemy of the state. You, Seltiss, my daughter, will bring your followers to the surface of Nagaoka, and they will join me. Any who refuse, well, that's fine. I can destroy you here and now, or my followers can hunt you down later. I know there are other Saiyans out there who haven't taken sides yet. I'd like your help in finding them, Seltiss. But I don't need your help, and honestly, I don't mind taking my time. Those other Saiyans are no threat to me."

*******

Aboard Luffa's star-yacht, Luffa and Guwar watched Rehval from the open door in the cargo bay. The force field that maintained the bay's atmosphere offered a perfect view overlooking Nagaoka, and Rehval's telepathy relayed everything he had said to Seltiss.

"I'll go ahead and offer an invitation to Luffa as well," Rehval said. "No harm in that, since I know she won't accept it, but I would suggest that you consider the alternative, Luffa. You can't defeat me here. Even if you reached the surface, you'd never stand a chance against my armies. You can defeat my avatars, true, but you'd have to get to them first, and it'll take you weeks to get back to your precious Federation. If I were you, I wouldn't bother. I'll command my avatars to destroy any planet at the first sign of your approach. The Federation will surrender to me, immediately, I think. And you... well, I guess you can roam the stars, Luffa. No inhabited planet in the universe will dare accept you, not if it means incurring my divine wrath. I suppose you can find some remote world to settle on, or just fly your star-yacht as far as you can go until it runs out of fuel.

"I'm willing to let Guwar return the fold as well. Yes, I can sense you aboard Luffa's ship, Guwar. You were part of my plan, after all. I knew my scheme would make no sense without an understanding of what I intended to do with this planet. That was why I took you into my 'confidence', Guwar. I knew your faith in me would falter, and that you would go running to the only person you thought was strong enough to stop me. Hopefully, you see just how wrong you were to doubt."

It horrified Guwar to hear Rehval speak to him directly. He hadn't wanted to come along on this mission at all, and he had hoped the cult wouldn't learn of his presence on Luffa's ship. But now, Rehval had seen him, and.... forgiven him?

"I hope you appreciate my revenge, Luffa," Rehval went on. "I sacrificed so many of my favorite things when I tried to kill you on Pflaume City. And then I had to give up my kingdom on Planet Saiya. Well now I've taken away the thing that matters most to you, Mrs. 'Super Saiyan'. I've taken away your relevance. I've become more powerful than you now, and that makes your power meaningless. Now you can slither under a rock, the way I only seemed to do when I left Saiya. The difference is that I came here to achieve an even greater glory! While all you can do is decide how you want to die. Have fun making up your mind, woman."

Here, the telepathic words of Rehval Trismegistus came to an end. Luffa didn't move as she watched the clouds resume their natural patterns. She didn't move when Guwar approached her.

"I guess that's it then," he said with a sigh. "He played us all. Nothing left to do but head down there and accept d--"

Luffa powered down, her gleaming yellow hair resuming its natural black color. She turned and shot Guwar a murderous glare. "I'm going to kill them," she said. "Every last one of them."

"What?" Guwar asked. "Whoa, wait, you heard what he said! You saw what happened when you fired on the planet. There's nothing anyone can do! Let's just be glad that he's being graceful enough to let us join him. I mean, I've been there before, you know. The cult's not so bad, once you get used to it--"

There was a loud "crack" as Luffa swatted her hand across Guwar's head. Guwar himself didn't hear it, as the force of the blow killed him a split second before the sound arrived at his ears. The last thing to go through his mind was the right side of his skull. For a brief, horrific moment, his dead body remained standing, and then it finally collapsed, as though remembering what it was supposed to do.

Luffa turned and walked out of the bay.

[21 Feruary 233 Before Age.   Planet Qondoging.]

Ryba Booth's tactical data reported Saiyan activity in and around twenty-five star systems.   By the time Luffa's star-yacht reached Federation space, she had received new reports that increased that estimate to thirty-two.    Five systems had reported Saiyans actually landing on the planet's surface.   Unable to help more than one world at a time, Luffa simply chose the closest planet where Saiyans were confirmed to be on the surface.

She was still recuperating from her last encounter with Trimegistus' Saiyan marauders.    It was clear to her now that the six warriors she had faced on Lubegev were not just a test of Luffa's measure, but a diversion to keep her out of Federation space long enough for the main invasion force to make their move.   Trismegistus had done something to enhance these Saiyans' powers, making them far stronger than any normal Saiyan ought to be.    Individually, they were still no match for Luffa's Super Saiyan powers, but a group of them could present a serious challenge.   Luffa estimated that a dozen of them, trained to coordinate their attacks, might be enough to overwhelm her.  

She doubted that her enemy would risk sending that many of his troops to a single world.   In such an extreme situation, Luffa could destroy the entire planet from orbit, or the Federation fleet could carpet bomb the entire surface, effectively achieving the same result.    The destruction would be horrific, to say nothing for the loss of life, but a defending force might consider it a justifiable course of action, as it would end one world to preserve many others.    Judging from the breadth of the invasion, Trismegistus' plan seemed to be to wear Luffa down by forcing her to travel from planet to planet, fighting just enough Saiyans to make things difficult for her.   Destroying planets wouldn't accomplish anything, as it would only kill a few enemy troops per world.   Destroying every planet the Saiyans attacked would simply be doing their work for them.   No, the goal seemed to be to force Luffa to run an interstellar gauntlet, fighting Saiyan after Saiyan until she succumbed to injury or exhaustion.  

She had to admit that Trismegistus understood the Saiyan heart very well.   She was sorely tempted to take this situation as a challenge of her power and endurance.   She suspected that most Saiyans would feel the same way, albeit on a smaller scale.   Trismegistus had laid out his strategy brilliantly, counting on Luffa's weaknesses to complete the trap he had laid.   However, he had underestimated her, like so many of her past enemies had done.    As a Super Saiyan, Luffa had fought battles most ordinary Saiyans could barely imagine, let alone experience.   Luffa had already faced gauntlets of warriors before.    Not long before becoming a Super Saiyan, she had battled the Tikosi hordes on Dorlu Prime, and they had slowly worn her down.   She had long regretted that defeat, and had spent years thinking of ways to handle that scenario differently.    She had tested them on the battlefield, daring large armies to fight her while she held back her power to make things more interesting.  Entire theaters of war had served as laboratories for her tactical experiments.    Trismegistus had laid down a challenge of endurance, but Luffa chose to see it as a challenge of innovation.  

As her star-yacht entered the Qondoging System, she stood in the cargo bay and smiled eagerly.   Beside her, Luffa's wife Zatte held her right hand and watched her nervously.  

"I don't know if I can do this," the Dorlun said.  

"Maybe you can't," Luffa said.   "But I think we can, working together."  

"But the entire ship!" Zatte objected.    "And you--!"

"This is Plan A.   If it doesn't work, Plan B is I bail out and fight the Saiyans hand to hand," Luffa said bluntly.   She pointed to the bandages on her arms and under her black sleeveless shirt.    "I'll win, but they'll make me pay for it, just like those last six I killed."

"I know, but--!"

"This is your chance, Zattie," Luffa said.  "You pull this off and you'll be helping my cause and keeping me healthy for the next battle.   That's what you've always wanted to do for me, right?"

"Yes, but if I screw it up--!" Zatte argued.

"You won't screw it up," Luffa replied.   "I'm a xan'nil-Dor, aren't I?   It can't be a dumb idea if I came up with it, right?"

"Providence deemed you important, Luffa," Zatte said with an anxious smile.   "They never said you were smart."

"Which is exactly why they sent you to cover my back," Luffa said.    "Your Dorlun pride should be burning in your veins right now."

"Not exactly," Zatte said, "but I love it when you talk that way."

Luffa grinned and tapped the communicator mounted in her left ear.   "Cargo bay to bridge," she called.   "How are we doing?"

"Um, okay... I think?"  The uncertainty in Dotz's voice was palpable.   "We're, uh, approaching the planet pretty fast."

"Great, Dotz," Luffa said.   "You sound like you're already getting the hang of it."

"Well, that's nice of you to say," Dotz said, "but, um, you only showed me how to use this thing half an hour ago.   Are you sure you want me to do this?   I'm a fortuneteller, not a pilot."

"I've got no choice," Luffa said, "I need Zatte here with me, and Doc's on standby in case we get hurt."

"Right," she said.   "Well, I'm happy to help, but..."

"You've got this, Dotz," Luffa said.   "It's a simple maneuver.   All you have to do is keep us from hitting  the ground, and pull up when the time is right."

"Um... when is that, again?"  

"You're the fortuneteller.    You tell me," Luffa said.    

"That's not how it works," Dotz said.

"Just joking," Luffa said.   "You'll know."

Luffa used her ki senses to decide when to begin.   The entire planet's collective life energy was easy to pick up as a great distance.   It was when she could pick up the individual Saiyan powers on the planet that she signalled for Zatte to begin.   The Dorlun held onto Luffa's hand and used her other to hold onto a power conduit they had pulled out from the wall of the cargo bay.   Then she applied her unique ability to manipulate energy.    Zatte typically used this talent for camouflage and sabotage.    She had never concealed anything nearly as large as a spacecraft, but Luffa had convinced her it was time to try.   It was a simple matter of bending electromagnetic radiation, refracting it around the entire ship instead of allowing it to bounce off its surface.   But this was just the beginning.   Zatte also had to diffuse the radiation emitting from the ship itself.    The heat from the engines, the illumination from its running lights, and the ki of its occupants.  It was a tricky operation, and Luffa planned to make it even trickier.

As they entered the planet's atmosphere, Zatte's focus began to waver.   "The heat," she said with a grimace.    "I'm having trouble dispersing it all."

"No worries," Luffa said.  "They haven't spotted us yet, and you're about to get a little help..."

She transformed into her Super Saiyan mode.    As Luffa's hair stood on end and her eyes glowed green, Zatte only clenched her teeth more tightly as she struggled to cope with this new energy.  

"Use it!" Luffa said.   "Take whatever you need."

"It's... too much!" Zatte said.   "I can't borrow your energy and use it to hide the rest of it all at once!"

She didn't have to.   Luffa had learned to hide some of her own ki in a fashion resembling Zatte's ability.    The only trouble was that neither of them could hide all of it at once.   But if they worked together, with Zatte borrowing some of Luffa's power to apply to the task, then maybe...

"I've... got it!" Zatte said.   "But I can't hold it."

Even as she said it, Luffa could sense the Saiyans taking flight, moving to intercept their ship.    Only they had no idea it was a ship at all.   Zatte's cloaking field wasn't absolute, but it was enough to confuse anyone who had detected them.    The Saiyans had detected their approach, but they weren't closing in to attack; they were keeping their distance to investigate.    They didn't know what the star-yacht was, but they were probably certain that it wasn't a Super Saiyan.  

There were five of them, and when the first three approached from the aft of the yacht, Luffa tapped the control for the bay door.   Before it had finished opening, she had acquired her targets.  

"Vengeance Cannon," she said with a grin.  

At this moment, Zatte's cloak could have collapsed altogether and it would make no difference.    From the perspective of the three Saiyans, they would only be able to see an indistinct blur in the sky, and sense an indeterminate power level.    And then, they would see beams of crimson light shooting out of the blur, one after another, aimed straight for their hearts.   The first one Luffa hit died instantly, followed by the second one an instant later.    The third Saiyan might have had just enough time to realize they were under attack, but Luffa's aim was too sure and her attack too quick for him to react.  

As for the remaining two Saiyans, they had approached the star-yacht from the fore, where Luffa wouldn't be able to attack them without firing through her own ship.   They didn't know they were under attack until they sensed the deaths of their three comrades, but once they knew what was happening, they moved closer to blast the yacht with their own ki beams.   On the bridge, Dotz was alerted to their approach, and so she did what any novice pilot would do in such a situation.    Panicking, she followed the only instruction she was given, and pulled the ship upward as sharply as she possibly could.    The Saiyans were confused by the sudden course change, and as they chased after the blur as it rose into the upper atmosphere, they found themselves making the same mistake as the first three.    Luffa picked them off with two more shots, and the liberation of Qondoging was complete.  

Luffa shut the bay doors and caught Zatte before she could drop to her knees.  

"Nice work everyone," Luffa said as she tapped her earpiece.    

"I nearly blew it," Zatte said between exhausted gasps.   "How do you handle all that power?"

"You did fine," Luffa said.   "With a little more practice, I bet you could keep this whole ship invisible for hours..."

"Just... help me get to sickbay," Zatte said wearily.    

Luffa smiled proudly as she helped to her feet and led her out of the cargo bay.    Once she had turned Zatte over to Doctor Topsas, she went to the bridge and set course for the next planet.  

*******

[1 March, 233 Before Age.   Interstellar Space.]

Over the next several days, Luffa's unorthodox tactics had proven effective.   With each planet she liberated, the Federation fleet was able to regroup and consolidate their gains.   She had staged counterattacks on three worlds now, and on each one she had managed to use the element of surprise to kill the Saiyans without sustaining any new wounds.   As they moved on to the fourth planet, Dr. Topsas was more concerned with the injuries Luffa already had from the battle on Lubegev.  

"You said you were going to rest between missions, little mammal," Topsas grumbled.  

"I am resting, Doc," Luffa said.   She handed him a plate of fried gizzards, still wearing the oven mitts she had used while preparing them in the ship's kitchen.   "Oh, I forgot your sauce, let me go get that real quick--"

"As much as I enjoy your cooking," he protested, "it won't do you any good to keep running back and forth on the ship."    

Luffa waved her salad tongs around the bridge, gesturing to Zatte at the navigation console, and Dotz at a tactical station.    "That's bunk, doc," she said.   "You all deserve a good meal after the work you've put in.    You guys have done really well these last couple of days.   I mean, I was confident, sure, but I'm still impressed.   Dotz hasn't even been in a battle before, but she's handled the ship better than I could have imagined."

"Really?" Dotz asked, looking up from her plate.

"Hey!  Don't fill up on bread, okay?" Luffa scolded.    "I've got baked tubers coming up, but the toppings aren't ready to come out of the oven."

Dotz dropped her roll immediately, and nodded.    

"Luffa, Dr. Topsas is right," Zatte said.    "I can get my own salad, and the ship can pilot itself long enough for me to run down to the kitchen for you.    Just take a seat and--"

"Like hell," Luffa said.   "If I put you in charge, you'll just slap some sandwiches in the microwave and call it good."

"What's wrong with sandwiches?" Zatte asked.

Luffa sighed and patted her on the head.   "You poor aliens are so backward when it comes to food," she said.   "It's probably because you eat so little.   You're full before you can really take the time to appreciate what you're putting in your stomachs."

Zatte looked over to Topsas and rolled her eye.   "I burned one sandwich," she said as she held up her index finger.   "Two years ago.   One sandwich, and I'm banned from the kitchen."

"I need all of you at the top of your game," Luffa said.  "I'm healing up well enough, but that'll go out the window if one of you gets sluggish from malnourishment."

"Uh, Luffa?" Dotz said as she noticed a blinking light at her workstation.   "I'm new at this, but I'm pretty sure we're getting a priority communication.   It's from a Rear Admiral Barone.   Should I patch it through?"

"Finally," Luffa said.   "We haven't heard from any fleet commanders since we entered Federation territory.    I was starting to think they had all been killed in the initial attack."

The video was blurry, and the audio distorted, but Luffa could see and hear well enough to tell that it was not Admiral Barone.

"Marshal Booth," Luffa said.   "You've looked better."

"Luffa...." Booth said, though only some of his words managed to come through.   "...d to see... joined the party."

"I'm headed to your end of the front," Luff replied.    "Busting some Saiyan heads along the way.   What's your status?"

"Saiyans... kind of jamming device," Booth said.   "They know.... coordinate our defense... Doing everything they can... disrupt communications."

Luffa turned back to Zatte.   "How long would it take to rendezvous with him?"

Zatte checked her readouts before answering.    "Three hours," she said.   "Luffa, I'm showing other ships on the long range sensors.   Booth's going to have some company out there."

"Marshal!" Luffa called to him.   "What's your status?   How many ships are with you?"

"...had ten to start with.    My flagship destr... Saiyans first attacked.    Made it to... Barone's ship.   Only one left in the wing," Booth said.   There was a long pause of static, during which Booth's lips continued to move, and then: "Repeat: I'll be linking up with the Sixth Fleet.... three days."

"Dotz," Luffa said.   "Can you tell if those other ships are on our side?"

"I'm sorry," Dotz said.   "At this range all I've got are energy signatures.   It could be anybody."

"Booth!" Luffa shouted, though she knew raising her voice would do nothing to improve the clarity of their transmission.    "You've got possible hostiles converging on your position!   Can you defend yourself?"

"Oh, you noticed?" Booth said with a smile.    "We've been... draw them away from.... System.     Already Saiyans attacking the planet now, but... 're being contained.     The ships following me were sent to help them turn the tide, so we had to give...  better target.   I volunteered.     No one else around, after all."

"Marshal, that won't work!" Luffa shouted.    "There's too many of them!   Even if your ship's undamaged, they'd still pick you off, and they'll head right back to join their friends on the planet!    You'll be sacrificing yourself for nothing!"

"Don't count us out yet," Booth said.   "... few surprises in store for them--"

"It's no good!" Luffa shouted in to the communicator.  "I can't reach you in time!  You've got to pull out of there!"

There was no reply.  Only a brief segment of audio that might have been Booth's voice, but could have just as easily been static.  Zatte looked up from the communications console and shook her head.  

"There's no signal," she said.

Luffa slammed her fist down on the armrest of her chair, and the force was so great that it broke off.

"How long until Despye?" Luffa asked.

"Three hours," Zatte said.

"You said that before!" Luffa snapped.

"Two hours and fifty-one minutes," Zatte said.  "And thirty-four seconds, for all the difference it makes!"

"I'm going to the engine room," Luffa said.

"Luffa that won't do any good!" Zatte said.  

"Nothing! Will! Do! Any! Good!"  Luffa shouted.  

As Dotz listened to them argue, she began to feel very helpless.   Even if there was a way to save Booth, Dotz doubted that she would be able to contribute much to the effort.   Luffa had healed her mind from an attack by the same Saiyans she was currently warring against.   Dotz felt obligated to return Luffa's kindness somehow, but she was completely out of her element.  Dotz was a fortune-teller, not a soldier, and she had only done as well as she had on the bridge because the controls happened to be user-friendly.  

And so, rather than succumb to despair, Dotz fell back on her natural talents, and turned her thoughts inward.   There was a small crystal which hung from a simple necklace underneath her purple shawl.   Dotz focused on it, and meditated on its spiritual vibrations.   She asked for nothing, for this was not a prayer to a higher power, but an exploration of a different plane of existence.   On occasion, she sometimes found what she was looking for.   Very often, the results left more questions than answers, but she almost always came away with something, even if it was merely a renewed perspective.    

To her surprise, things became much clearer than she expected.   It was like tumblers falling into place on some incomprehensible combination lock.   Luffa had no discernible future, that much remained true, but she could see glimpses of destiny surrounding the Saiyan.    There was Zatte, and there was Doctor Topsas, and others she did not know, and... Booth.    She could sense his cynical opportunism, his longing for worldly power.  He would not achieve it, at least not yet.    There were triumphs ahead in his lifeline, though she could not tell if they were great enough to satisfy him...

And then she felt a hand on her shoulder, and Dotz found herself back in reality.

"Listen to me!" Zatte shouted back.  "If we push the engines, we'll only gain a few minutes at most, but we run the risk of breaking down before we get there!  We'd be stranded in interstellar space."

"Those people are going to die!" Luffa said.  She pointed to the viewscreen, though there was only the distorted star field ahead of them.  "The Saiyans aren't going to just stand around and wait for me to fight them.  They'll start sacking the planet, and then--!"

"Are you all right, Ms. Dotz?" Topsas asked.  

She looked to her left to see the arachnoid physician standing beside her.    She had seen premonitions of him before meeting him.    Those premonitions had frightened her at the time, for he looked very much like a monster to her.    But once she had met him, she had found him very gentle and unassuming, despite his penchant for sarcasm.

"I'm... yes, I'm fine, Doctor," she said.    "Just... just woolgathering, that's all."

But it was more than that.  She was certain that Marshal Booth was in no immediate danger, though she couldn't explain how he would survive.   Dotz wasn't sure if it was a good idea to say anything.    Luffa had enough to worry about, and Booth's personal safety didn't necessarily mean that the planet he was fighting for would be protected.  

"I know," Zatte said to Luffa  "A lot of people are going to suffer, but there's nothing we can do to stop it.  The best thing right now is to prepare for the worst.  I can contact commercial ships in the sector.  We can organize a relief operation to take over once you've cleared out the enemy."

"I... Okay, do it," Luffa said.  "And you'd better get in touch with the Federation Council while you're at it.  If Booth's dead, they'll need to appoint his successor."

"Good idea," Zatte said.  "Listen, I know it's tough for you to sit this out.  I don't like it either but-- Wait."

"What is it?" Luffa asked.

Zatte didn't answer right away, as she stared down at the console to make certain of the readouts that displayed on the screen.    "I'm getting reports in from Despye.  Booth is still alive.    He's winning!"

"How?" Luffa asked.  "He only had five ships."

"Not anymore," Zatte said.  "It looks like he's gotten some reinforcements."

"What reinforcements?" Luffa asked

*******

Two hours and fifty-one minutes later, Luffa got her answer from Booth in person.   She was not happy to hear it.    

"Saiyans?!" Luffa shouted.

"You seem surprised by this," Marshall Booth said.  In the ready room of his command ship, he leaned back in his chair and steepled his fingers.  The look on his face was one of a man who was very pleased with himself.

"We're fighting the Saiyans, Booth!" Luffa groaned.  

"I'm aware of that," Booth said.  He casually pointed at Luffa's furry tail and added: "I'm also aware that we have one Saiyan fighting on our side.  Why should it shock you that I would enlist the help of others?"

"You can't trust them, Marshall!" Luffa protested.    The irony of this was delicious.   He wondered if this mutual loathing was a common trait among the Saiyan race.    It would explain their hostile tendencies.

"I don't need trust, Madam Federatrix," Booth replied.  "What I need is a defensive line broad enough to cover our border.  As strong as you are, you can't be everywhere at once.  Our Saiyan allies may not be as  strong as our Saiyan enemies, but they make up for it in numbers and starships.  They can at least defend Federation worlds long enough for you to arrive and relieve them."

She knew he was right, but that didn't stop her from pacing angrily around his ready room.    Normally, Booth never would have provoked Luffa so brazenly, but he had just survived a very intense battle.     His Saiyan allies had turned the tide, to be sure, but experience had taught him that victory could be even more dangerous than defeat.     Even now, he could hear the repair crews just outside, working tirelessly to put his bridge back together.   Maybe it was the adrenaline rush, but he couldn't resist taunting Luffa with his success.    You're not so indispensable after all, are you?   I won the day without you, even if I needed your cousins to do it.

"What's to stop them from pillaging the same worlds you want them to protect?!" Luffa demanded.  He wondered if it had actually taken her this long to think of that point.   He had asked himself this question from the moment the Saiyans offered to help.  

"Self-preservation," Booth said.  "The Federation may need their help, but we're far from helpless.  If we have to fight them, we certainly can.  Given the choice, I'd prefer to fight the Saiyans who aren't empowered by this cult."

"This is a mistake, Marshall," Luffa grumbled.   "These Saiyans you've called in, they will betray you.  It's only a matter of time."

"The why don't you speak with their leader?" Booth asked.  "I was going to meet with their flagship soon anyway.  You may as well join us.   I haven't been aboard your ship in years.    Maybe you'd like to have us over for dinner."

"Fine," Luffa said.    "You look like you could use a decent meal, anyway, Marshall."

He smiled.   Booth would have preferred to let the Saiyans deal with each other without putting himself between them, but it couldn't be helped.    At least they would behave a little better with some food in front of them.

*******

[2 March 233 Before Age.   Despye.]

"Are we under-dressed?"  Zatte asked.   "I feel like we're under-dressed for this."

"Well we're not," Luffa grumbled as they stood at the open entranceway of their star-yacht.    Luffa was dressed in her usual black sleeveless shirt and baggy yellow pants.   She had changed her bandages this morning, but this was the only modification she had made to her attire.   As for Zatte, she was still wearing the grey leggings and white T-shirt she had been wearing for most of the day.    

"I mean, this is a diplomatic visit, right?" Zatte said.   "I know they're Saiyans, and they don't have much use for protocol, but they did help us out.   I feel like we should show some respect--"

"I'm making them a pot roast," Luffa said.   "That's more than they deserve.    Would you let go of my arm?"

Zatte backed away from her.   "Sorry.   Listen, if you'd rather not have me around for this, I totally understand.    I'd prefer to stay out of sight anyway--"

"You're here," Luffa said, "because I want you where I can see you.    You're not going anywhere near my kitchen while I'm messing with these fools."

"You're kidding," Zatte said.    

"I don't joke when it comes to pot roast," Luffa said.   "You should know that by now."

"I burned one sandwich..." Zatte groaned.    

"Quiet," Luffa muttered.  

Marshall Booth had arrived at the docking bay, and walked up the ramp leading into the ship.    "Madam Federatrix," he said.    

"Marshall," Luffa replied.   "Where's the Saiyan?"

"On her way," Booth said.     He stood on the deck and clasped his hands behind his back.    As he rocked back and forth on his heels, he glanced around, as though admiring the ship's interior.    "Will your... companion... be joining us?"

Zatte's species was secretive by nature, preferring to share little with outsiders unless needed.     As such, she had never been formally introduced to Booth, by name, or as Luffa's wife.   The women saw no reason to change that policy now, in spite of the awkwardness it created.    

"I made plenty for everyone," Luffa said brusquely.    

"Splendid," Booth said.   "Ah, I think that's her now."  

Zatte craned her head to get a better look through the entrance of the ship.    When she finally spotted the Saiyan, she asked "That's who you've been dealing with?   She's just a kid!"

Luffa watched the teenage Saiyan walk up the entrance ramp.   There was some polish to the way she moved, as though the girl were planning to run for office some day.   Her blue uniform lent her an air of gravitas, but she couldn't quite shake off the appearance of a child.    The bright pink dye she wore in her hair didn't help matters, nor did the wad of gum she was chewing.    As she entered the ship, she couldn't help but look around in every direction, taking it all in with wide-eyed fascination.   At last, she looked at Luffa and asked: "Permission to come aboard, Madam Federatrix?"

"Who the hell are you?" Luffa asked.  

"Wow, rude," the girl said.  "That's okay, I can drop the pleasantries.    I'm Seltiss, daughter of King Rehval III.    Princess of the Saiyans."