#dotz

[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."