#orij

  [1 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]  

This was how events had originally played out.  A group of Dorlun settlers founded a colony on an uninhabited world, which they named Dorlu Prime.  In time, they attracted the unwanted attention of the Tikosi, a reclusive, hostile species of aliens.  To help defend themselves against Tikosi raids, the Dorluns hired a trio of Saiyan mercenaries -- Orij, Kandai and Luffa.  But during the fifth year of the arrangement, the Dorlun colonists chose to cancel the contract.  The Tikosi attacked, and Dorlu Prime fell, but not before Luffa chose to intervene.  The weakest of the three Saiyans, she was unable to repel the invaders, and the Tikosi took her into captivity.   For months, they tormented her with their cruel experiments, until at last something snapped inside her, and she transformed into the Legendary Super Saiyan.  Over the next five years, Luffa blazed a path of destruction through the stars, establishing herself as the mightiest warrior in the galaxy.  Then she nearly met her end, attempting to unleash her full power to save the universe from a Saiyan cult.  But before she could breathe her last, Luffa was magically flung into the future, where she was recruited for the Time Patrol, a band of warriors pledged to defend history itself.   Finally, while she was defending the Time Patrol from their greatest enemy, the Demon God Demigra, he suddenly destroyed the Time Nest, and with it, all of history.

The next thing Luffa knew, she found herself back on Dorlu Prime, before the Tikosi destroyed the colony.  And just as she began to worry about living through that ordeal all over again, Orij and Kandai returned in their ship with very unexpected news.

"The Tikosi are dead," Orij said.  "I don't know how else to explain it to you."

For most of his time on Dorlu Prime, Orij lived aboard his ship.  He spent little time among the Dorluns, except for official business with their leader, Governor Coyto, and a few Dorlun advisers, such as their militia captain, Zatte.   For him, the Dorluns were just clients, with no more value than the currency they used to pay him.   Dorlu Prime was a convenient place to park his ship.  Luffa had felt the same way at first, but as the Saiyans spent more time on the planet, and as he kept leaving her behind while he went on patrols, she had started to warm up to the Dorluns without even realizing it.  And because she hadn't realized it, Luffa had failed to notice how indifferent Orij was to their fate.

Now, Luffa's twenty-four-year-old mind was somehow inhabiting her nineteen-year-old body, and she could see her father clearly for the first time in her life.  It wasn't just the Dorluns; he was indifferent to anyone except himself.  The stench of fear hung over him like a shroud.    It had always been there, but the younger Luffa had always been too amazed by his power level to notice the scent.   Once, Luffa had admired him for being the strongest man she had ever known.  Now, having lived as the Super Saiyan, she sensed his ki and found it truly pitiful in scope.

The problem was that Luffa's ki was, at the moment, even more pitiful than his.  At age nineteen, Luffa was no match for Kandai, and Orij was stronger than both of them put together, which made their hierarchy obvious.  As the Super Saiyan, Luffa had grown accustomed to throwing her weight around, and being as blunt and direct as she pleased.   Now, she had to defer to her father, and as she watched him being as blunt and direct as he pleased, she saw more of herself in him than she liked.

"How could they all die?" Luffa asked.

"We don't know," Orij said.  He had opened a ration-crate and tossed its pre-packaged utensils aside as he searched for his favorite ingredients.  "We ran across one of their ships.  It was adrift, so we boarded it.   The crew were all dead, looked like they turned on each other.  So we pulled their computer.  According to the logs, there was some sort of disaster on their home planet, and they were ordered to return home and render assistance.  Guess they didn't get very far.   So we had the coordinates for their homeworld, and we decided to check it out.   By the time we got there, everyone was dead.  Their cities were wrecked, bodies lying everywhere."

"Who could have done that?" Luffa asked.

"I'm not sure anyone did this," Orij said.  "It looked like an full-scale invasion, except we never found any alien corpses or offworlder weapons.  Nobody's that neat and tidy.   You just don't commit a genocide on that kind of scale without leaving some kind of trail."

"A fleet could have bombarded them from orbit," Luffa suggested, but Orij shook his head.

"That's what Kandai thought," Orij said, "but it doesn't fit.  A lot of the bodies had wounds from handheld weapons.    Blades, pistols, a few looked like they were beaten to death with whatever blunt object was handy.  Some heavy ordinance was involved, sure, but from what I saw, George  had been doing a lot of close-quarters fighting that day."

"Who's George?" Luffa asked.

"Huh?  Oh, that's just my pet nickname for the creeps," Orij said.   "No one knows any of their names, or if they even have names, so I started calling them all George.   The point is, if an outside force attacked them, then their enemy must have sent a ground force into every population center on the planet, slaughtered them all, then made sure not to leave anything behind.   Their dead, their equipment, they didn't even leave any footprints, and there's a lot of mud on that planet."

Luffa didn't need to be told.  She knew the Tikosi Hiveworld well enough.   Their cities contained advanced technology, but they used earthen structures to contain it all.  Their buildings looked like gigantic wasp nests.

"You're not suggesting that they killed themselves, are you?" Luffa asked.

"Why not?" Orij said with a shrug.  "Even if some enemy wiped them out on their planet, that still doesn't explain the Tikosi ghost ship we found.  The logs showed no one coming aboard before we got there."

"It's a trick," Luffa said.  "It has to be..."

"That's why I turned over our findings to the Dorluns," Orij said.   "I knew they wouldn't believe it either, but there's no point having us defend their planet when the threat is already neutralized.   If I have to, I'll take some of them to the Tikosi planet and let them see for themselves.  We'll continue as usual until they're satisfied, and then we'll go from there."

"You're going to leave?" Luffa asked.

"Unless they give me a good enough reason to stay," Orij said.   "To tell the truth, this planet still has its advantages as a base of operations.   It's conveniently located, but obscure enough to be discreet.  But I know these Dorluns well enough.  With their enemy out of the way, they'll start to see us as a potential threat, and they won't be too happy about us sticking around.  Besides, the Tikosi planet is practically uncharted, and there's no locals to get in my way...  I might just set up shop there instead."

"What about me?" Luffa asked.

"What about you?" Orij replied.  "You'd come along, of course.  Unless you've got other plans."

"I had some ideas," Luffa said.   "I just didn't expect us to pull out so soon.  I'd have think it over."

"Well you do that," Orij said.  "For now, we're just waiting for the Dorluns to decide how they want to play it, so you've got plenty of time to make up your mind."

"You'd let me go off on my own?" Luffa asked.

"You're old enough to take care of yourself," Orij said.  "Plenty of Saiyans your age out in the field.  As long as you don't pick any fights you can't win, you'd do well enough."

"Yes," Luffa said.  "I would."

She could see it now.  The terror in his eyes had always been there, thinly concealed behind a mask of arrogance.  But he still seemed different than Luffa had remembered.  He had been very domineering around her, but now it was like he was only acting that way to keep up appearances.   She hadn't picked up on it while the others were around, but now that she was alone with him, she understood exactly what he was afraid of.

As she turned to leave, he called out to her, and confirmed her suspicions.

"Luffa," he said.  "No hard feelings, right?  I mean, if you do go out on your own, I just want to know where we stand."

In the history Luffa remembered, Orij had betrayed her to the Tikosi.  He had been conducting secret negotiations with them during his so-called "patrols".   In return for his assistance, the Tikosi agreed to use their findings from studying Luffa to empower Orij.  In that world, Orij had told Luffa all of this himself.  He had recognized something exceptional in Luffa's mother, but he hadn't been strong enough to exploit her directly, so he abandoned her on the battlefield, and once he was certain his wife was dead, he plotted to uncover her secret through their daughter.

It had been a terrible shock to Luffa at the time, but now, it seemed painfully obvious.  He was afraid of her.   He always had been, and that fear had informed every decision he had ever made.  It was why he had killed Luffa's mother, it was why he left Luffa behind on a remote planet while he went on patrol.  It was all to keep Luffa contained until he could figure out what to do with her.  In the history Luffa knew, the Tikosi provided Orij with a seemingly perfect solution.   But in this world, the Tikosi were dead, and without them, Orij was lost.

"I mean, we might run into each other sometime," Orij went on.  "You could make things difficult for me if you wanted to.  I'd hate to find out the hard way you had some sort of beef."

"I should be asking you that, Father," she finally said with a smile.  "I mean, you're a lot stronger than I am.  You could kill me without much trouble, right?"

"Of course!" he said, just a little too quickly to sound as sure as he wanted it to sound.  "Of course I could.  That's not the point.  You could still cause me a lot of headaches out there if we wound up on opposing sides."

She couldn't help but remember the moment when she decapitated him.  She had replaced her boots a number of times, but somehow, she could still imagine finding his dried blood soaked in the laces.

"I have no quarrel with you," she said.  "So far.  You raised me well enough.  As long as you don't cause me any trouble going forward, I won't cause any for you.  How's that?"

She left before he could answer.   There was nothing more to be said.  She could have confronted him about the day he left her mother to die, but she couldn't see how that would accomplish anything.  It was enough to know that he feared her, and without the Tikosi, there was nothing he would dare to do about it.

*******

The only trouble now was that Luffa had no idea what to do next.   It was a relief to know the Tikosi were eliminated, but it made no sense, and she wasn't sure she could investigate the matter on her own.  What frustrated her the most was that there was no one she could really talk to about these matters.   More than anything, Luffa wanted to spend as much time as she could with Zatte, but in this time period, she was like a different person.  There was no way to connect with her, not without revealing a lot of details about a future which Zatte had yet to experience.

On the other hand, her husband, Kandai, was more than interested in her company, much to Luffa's annoyance.   At the time, Luffa had loved him more than anything in the universe.  Now, she remembered those emotions and felt embarrassed to have had them.  Their relationship had been one-sided and hollow.   While she had played the role of a dutiful wife, he had simply gone along with it, enjoying their time together, but always prepared to abandon her if necessary.

"You've barely spoken to me since I got back," Kandai said.  While she performed a medical scan on herself in their quarters, he lay on their bed with his hands behind his head, staring up at the ceiling.

"I've had a lot on my mind," Luffa said.   "With the Tikosi out of the way, everything changes."

"Sure, but I didn't think you'd change," Kandai said.   "You always stuff me full of food and then lead me back here for... well, you know."

Luffa did know.  "When did you get so mushy, anyway?" she asked.  Among Saiyans, it was an easy deflection.   They knew the ways of romance and intimacy, but admitting it to one another, even in private, was a difficult experience.  If she made it difficult enough, Kandai would back off, if only to preserve his own ego.

"I just thought you'd want to talk," Kandai said.  "You're usually so interested in what happened out there, and you always had something to gab about that happened here..."

"You're right," Luffa said.  "I forgot about that."

"You forgot?" Kandai asked.

The truth was that Luffa couldn't tell Kandai about life in the Dorlun colony because she couldn't remember whatever had happened during his last patrol.  It wasn't as though she had lost her memory of those events, but it was all five-year-old memories.  It was easier to say nothing, and Luffa had gotten used to keeping things to herself during those five years that she had lived through but Kandai had not.

Had the trauma changed her that much?  Luffa had always assumed that she was mostly the same person all along.  The ordeal with the Tikosi and her career as the Super Saiyan had been life-changing experiences, but she hadn't really thought about how they had affected her personality.   Kandai's betrayal had made her cynical, and the destruction of the colony had left her distant to all but a very small circle of friends.   Now that she considered it, the Luffa of Dorlu Prime was very different from the one who had lived in Toki Toki City.

And yet, some things had not changed.  Kandai's scent was as familiar as ever.  She had loved him once.  On some level, she was tempted to experience that all over again, but it seemed wrong to indulge in such a thing when Kandai had no idea what had happened to her.

"I've been thinking of going off on my own," Luffa finally said.   "Get out from under Father's shadow."

"Are you kidding?" Kandai asked.  "He's the strongest one on the team.   We need him out there."

"No we don't," Luffa said.  "If anything, he's holding us back.  I'm stuck on this rock, and if you run into any real trouble you can depend on him to handle it for you.  We'll never get any stronger that way."

"Who needs to get stronger?" Kandai asked.  "We just need solid work and nothing to jeopardize it.  I know how much you like the stories of the old heroes, Luffa, but that doesn't mean you have to become one yourself."

"The point of those stories is that we need to push ourselves beyond our own limits," Luffa said.  "So we can rise to meet the challenges ahead, just like they did in their day.  The Tikosi weren't going to be pushovers, you know.  Weren't you worried about facing them someday?"

"Not really," Kandai said.  "Your old man was planning to make a deal with them one of these days.  He never would tell me any details, but he seemed to think we could settle things without having to fight a major ground battle on the colony.  Good thing, too, because this place is a kill box."

"A deal?" Luffa asked.  "He never told you anything about it?"

"No," Kandai said.  "Said I'd just blab the whole thing to you, and then the blue people would hear about it and that would spoil the whole thing.   So he kept me in the dark.  Why?  Did he say anything to you about it?"

"No, he didn't."

"Well, now that the Tikosi are all dead, something has him spooked, and I'm pretty sure it's not losing this Dorlun contract.  He probably had something big lined up, and now that they're dead he can't collect."

This was a surprise.  She knew Kandai had gone along with her father's plan to betray her to the Tikosi, but she never bothered to ask what Kandai knew and when he had known it.   Apparently, Orij had kept him in the dark until after the Tikosi had taken her prisoner, and then he explained the rest.  By then, Kandai would have gone along with his plan, either to save his own skin, or to reap his own share of the rewards from the Tikosi research.

But in this world, this altered history, Orij's scheme was undone before it could begin, and Kandai knew nothing of it.  He would never know, not unless Orij decided to tell him.  Luffa could tell him, but he would have no reason to believe it was true.

She shut off the medical scanner and set it back in its cabinet.  The scan was only on parts of her head and arms, but the results were clear enough to confirm what she wanted to know without going over the rest of her body.  There was no evidence of any of the past injuries Luffa had sustained between the ages of twenty and twenty-four.  This was obvious to her just by looking, but the evidence now went more than skin deep.  Her physician, Dr. Topsas, had performed surgery on her from time to time, and he had left microscopic burns on some of her tissues to mark his past work. It was a sort of signature, to let other doctors know that he had worked on a body part before.   Luffa had found the practice curious, but she could respect the arachnoid's professional pride.  But now, in her nineteen year old body, those marks were absent.

"Luffa," Kandai said, "are you sick or something?  Is that why you're acting so weird tonight?  Did one of those Dorluns get in a lucky shot?"

"Huh?   No, I... I've just been feeling a little off lately," Luffa said.   "Thought I should run a scan to make sure it wasn't anything serious."

"You ask me," Kandai said, "you probably just wore yourself out again.  You push too hard, you know that?   Always trying to do everything.  Hunting out in the wilderness, dragging your kills back here and cooking meals for the whole colony, and training on your own and with the Dorluns.  You need to slow down."

He patted the side of the bed and gestured for her to join him.  "Look, if you don't feel up for... it... well, fine, but at least lie down and relax.  Or are you going to pace around all night?"

Luffa tried to find some excuse, but couldn't.  She had been pacing in a tight circle the whole time she had been scanning herself, and she still was.  Whatever had happened to her, she couldn't explain it to anyone else, which meant she had to keep up appearances, which meant sleeping in her own bed with her husband.  As she flopped onto the mattress beside him, she tried not to look too frustrated about it.

"Now," Kandai said as he scooted closer to her.  "Tell me about your plan to go off on your own."

"Why bother?" Luffa asked.  "I can tell you hate the idea."

"No, I'm just not sold on it," he said.  "Not yet.  And even if you can't convince me, there's no harm in talking it over, so talk already."

And so Luffa did.  She couldn't tell him what was really on her mind, and so she weaved a tale about possible mercenary ventures based on things she had actually done as a Super Saiyan.  She had to scale down the details to keep it realistic, and occasionally it didn't sound like a sensible business strategy, but it was enough to keep Kandai interested for an hour or two.   As they talked, they occasionally shifted positions in the bed, until eventually she had snuggled up beside him, resting her head between his chest and his shoulder.

It finally hit her that it really was just like the old days, talking to Kandai before falling asleep.  The aroma of his body odor, their quarters, the dust they had tracked in from the settlement.  It was all so real.   Without realizing it, Luffa had finally gotten used to being back here. And for a moment, it was almost like the last five years of her life had never happened at all.

Almost.

*******

[2 February, 238 Before Age. Dorlu Prime.]  

Luffa awoke early the next morning and ventured out into the wilderness.  She didn't know what else to do with herself, and it made sense to fall back into her old routines.  Hunting for breakfast would be a productive use of the time, at least.

She met Zatte on her way out of the settlement.  She was dressed in grey combat fatigues, inspecting the perimeter defenses.   It was still surreal to see her right eye without a patch over it, and her red hair wound up in a bun just above the base of her neck.

"Heading out for more dinosaurs?" Zatte asked.

"Yeah," Luffa said.

"You okay?" Zatte asked.  "You're usually more excited than this when you're about to kill something."

"Oh.  Well..."

Zatte shook her head.  "Don't worry about it, I know how you feel.  This news about the Tikosi has the whole colony reeling.   It's a huge relief, but it's so sudden, you know?  No one knows what to think."

"You don't know the half of it," Luffa muttered.

Zatte pointed her thumb at the turret she had been checking.  "I'm not even sure why I'm looking at this stuff.  Military discipline, I guess, but now I'm wondering if we'll even need to use it.  What are you grinning about?"

Luffa hadn't noticed she was smiling until Zatte pointed it out.  "Oh, nothing," she quickly said.  "Just... thinking about the taste of a fresh kill."  The truth was that she had been remembering how diligent Zatte had been aboard their star-yacht, the Emerald Eye.  For much of their marriage, it had just been the two of them on board, and Zatte had practically run the entire ship by herself, checking and re-checking key systems with the same rigid discipline she once used at the colony perimeter.

"Hey," Zatte said.  "You mind if I join you out there?"

"Join me?" Luffa asked.

"Sure, it'll be like old times," Zatte said.  She held up a small satchel containing a logbook and some tools.  "I just need a second to put this away, and I'll be right with you."

Luffa couldn't think of a reason to say no, and so,  a few minutes later, they were running through the plain, leaving a cloud of dust in their wake like the tail of a comet.

"You think Governor Coyto will disband the militia?" Luffa asked.

"I hope not," Zatte said.  "The Tikosi were our only known threat, but there could be others in the future.  For all we know, whatever killed them might decide to come after us."

"My father told me the Tikosi killed each other," Luffa said.

"That's what he told us too," Zatte said, "but I find that hard to believe."

"Then what do you think it was?" Luffa asked.

"I'd like to think it was one of their enemies," Zatte said.  "They've attacked other species in this sector.  Our intel says they do horrible things to their prisoners.  There's reports that say they use their victims' bodies as cannon fodder.  They lay special eggs inside them and the hatchling can control the host like a suit of armor."

"Yeah?" Luffa said.

"Well, I don't know if it's all true -- I hope it's mostly rumors and propaganda -- but if any of it is true, then they must be completely indifferent to mercy.  Well, you can only push people so far.   And I think they pushed the wrong person, someone who could push back.  Someone powerful enough to make them regret what they'd done."

"Interesting," Luffa said.   "But if that's true, do you think someone like that would target the Dorluns next?  If I had that kind of muscle, I'd go look for better sport."

"I hope you're right," Zatte said, "but I can't take that for granted.  And if you Saiyans leave the planet, the militia will be our only defense against the unknown."

They came to a stop near a stream.  The local fauna had been known to come to this spot to drink, and Luffa and Zatte took cover in some tall grass and waited.

"Smell anything?" Zatte asked.

"No," Luffa said.  "But the ones worth killing are usually smart enough to stay downwind."

"It would be nice," Zatte said, "to actually go to the Tikosi planet and see things for myself."

"You think my father's hiding something?" Luffa asked.

"It's not that.  I want to confirm his report, sure, but I also want to investigate further.  All he and Kandai really did was to make sure they were all dead.  Now that we know where their homeworld is, we can learn more about them."

"I could probably arrange that," Luffa offered.  "I've been thinking about parting ways with my father.   Once I have my own transportation lined up, I could take you to their planet and we could poke around."

"You'd do that?" Zatte asked.

"I'd like to see for myself," Luffa said.  "If you're right about someone destroying them, that might be worth my attention."

"I don't know," Zatte said.  "Being stuck on a ship with you and Kandai?"

"Who said anything about Kandai?" Luffa asked.

"You said you wanted to go independent from Orij," Zatte said.  "I just assumed your husband was going with you."

"He hasn't decided yet," Luffa said.

"Well then--"

"To be honest, I'm not sure I want him."

"You'd cut him out too?" Zatte asked, incredulous.

"Why not?" Luffa asked.  "There's plenty of opportunities out there."

"Maybe so," Zatte said, "but you two just got married.  You were always so eager to see him when he came back from the field."

Luffa shrugged.  "Let's just say I'm rethinking how I feel about things," she said.   "Kandai's strong, but he's too averse to risk.   Likes to play it safe."

"What's wrong with that?" Zatte asked.  "You can't collect your fee if you get yourself killed."

"You know what I'm talking about," Luffa insisted.  "Otherwise, you Dorluns never would have settled on this planet at all.  You would have found some place safe to go, instead of making a stand and hiring mercenaries to help you defend your claim."

"We have our reasons for staying here, if that's what you mean," Zatte said.  "Our kind value survival above all, but that doesn't mean we can just run and hide at the first sign of adversity."

"Exactly," Luffa said.  "There's a balance to it.  Don't bite off more than you can chew, but that doesn't mean you should spend your whole life drinking mother's milk.  If he can't understand that, I'm better off without him."

"Maybe so," Zatte said, but "I'm surprised to hear you say it.  You're so devoted to him, and he and your dad... Well, they're are all the family you have."

"I can handle myself," Luffa said.  "If I need a partner at all, I'd want someone I can work with.  Someone like you."

"Me?"

"Sure, you're responsible, cool under fire.  You've got a knack for assessing a situation."

"Are you offering me a job, Luffa?"

"Why not?" Luffa said.  "If the Tikosi really are gone, there may not be much work left here for you."

"Then I'd just have to find something else to do," Zatte said.  "This is my home.  I can't just pack up and leave because I'm bored."

"The other Dorluns could manage without you," Luffa said.

"They could," Zatte said, "and I might be able to manage without them, but that's not the point.   We Dorluns have an obligation to support one another.  After all these years working with us, I thought you'd understand that."

"Come on, you're not the least bit interested in going out into space?" Luffa asked.  "You used to ask me about it all the time."

"Of course I'm interested in the wider universe," Zatte said.  "And if I didn't have responsibilities, I might go wandering around out there like you Saiyans.  But I've got a duty here.  No, a trip out to the Tikosi planet will just have to do.  Maybe a supply run when the time comes, but with any luck we won't need one for a few years."

"Oh," Luffa said.

"Well don't take it so hard," Zatte said.  "I'm flattered you'd ask, and it's tempting, I won't deny that.  You really think I could succeed out there?"

"I know you would," Luffa said.  For Luffa, it was beyond confidence; she had already seen Zatte do it.

"I'd probably drive you crazy, though," Zatte said.  "The two of us, stuck on some ship together in the middle of nowhere."

"That doesn't sound so bad to me," Luffa said.  The truth was, she couldn't imagine anything happier.  "We're out here alone right now, and it's not so bad, is it?"

"That's true," Zatte said.  "You're right, it has been a while.  I guess I forgot how much I enjoyed tooling around out here like this."

As Zatte was speaking, Luffa caught the scent of one of Dorlu Prime's more delicious reptiles.   "I've got something," she said.  "Headed right for us."

The grasses on the other side of the stream were taller than Luffa and Zatte combined.   The dinosaur that emerged from them was a carnivore, dried blood caked on the edges of its mouth from its last meal.  It lumbered toward the water and lowered its head to drink, and Luffa planted her hands on the ground to prepare herself.

"You're going to jump it?" Zatte asked.

"No," Luffa said after a moment to consider her next move.   "I'll distract it.  You take the shot."

"Me?  All I've got is my sidearm," Zatte said.

"That'll be enough," Luffa assured her.  She held up her finger and pointed at the side of her head.  "Aim for the head, and you should have enough power in that pop gun of yours to take it down."

"At this range?  Maybe if was standing still, but while it's moving?"

"You can do it," Luffa said.  "I'm sure of it."

And without waiting for her to argue the matter further, Luffa darted out of their hiding place and scurried towards her prey.  The dinosaur reared back with surprise when it saw her coming, and then it snapped its jaws and made threatening noises when she kept moving closer.

Luffa shuffled from one side to the next, then, just as the animal became irritated enough to lunge after her, she leaped into the air and flew over his head.

"That's it," she said under her breath.  "Keep watching me..."

And then, almost right when Luffa expected it, a bolt of green plasma shot out from the grass, striking the dinosaur's skull and bursting out the other side.  It stumbled forward, then collapsed into a heap, dying before it even hit the ground.

Luffa glanced back to find Zatte standing up from the grass.  "How was that?" she asked with a proud smile.

It was perfect.   Better than perfect.   During their marriage in the near future, they had used such tactics on battlefields across the galaxy.   Luffa had thought that those days were long gone, never to return again.  But now... now.

"Hey, are you crying?" Zatte asked as Luffa landed beside her.  "Did I do something wrong, because I didn't think Saiyans could get allergies... huh?"

Without thinking, Luffa simply reached out and embraced her.  The familiar Dorlun scent was like heaven in her nostrils.  The smell of ionized metal from the hot barrel of her pistol only made the aroma that much more powerful.   Caught up in the emotion of it all, Luffa couldn't help but kiss her.

For a moment, all was right with the universe.  She had her beloved wife in her arms again, and this time she would let nothing come between them. Not the Tikosi, not the Saiyans, and not the Time Patrol.  And as Luffa wept with joy, the moment suddenly came to an end.

Zatte pushed her away.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Zatte asked, more bewildered than upset, but the awkward smile on her face was one of confusion rather than affection.

It was like a splash of cold water on Luffa's face.  She blinked twice, and finally forced herself to see Zatte as she was, rather than the older version Luffa had longed for.

"I'm... sorry," Luffa said.  "I got... I lost my head there."

"Don't apologize for my sake," Zatte said.  "You're a good kisser.  I just didn't think you did that sort of thing.   You get flustered just talking about Kandai, and you two are married."

"I..."  Luffa suddenly felt extremely self-conscious.  Zatte was right, Saiyans were normally very private with their displays of affection.   What she had just done made all the sense in the world for a Saiyan and her wife, but for a Saiyan and a professional acquaintance, it was completely salacious.

"Wow," Zatte said, still reeling from the experience.  "You, uh... yeah.  I didn't think you were interested in aliens, either.    Or, you know..."

"I shouldn't have done that," Luffa said.  "I wasn't thinking."

"It's okay," Zatte said.  "Well, unless Kandai finds out.  Maybe we should just keep this between us."

"I'd appreciate that," Luffa said.  She could tell she was blushing.  Her insides felt like they were boiling with embarrassment.  The fact that Zatte could tell that for herself only made it worse.

"It'd probably be better if we weren't seen coming back to the settlement together, then," Zatte said.  "And you probably need some time to prepare this kill, so why I don't I go on ahead?"

"Good idea," Luffa said.  She quickly looked back at the carcass.  She had practically forgotten about it until Zatte mentioned it.  "I'll... uh... I'll give you a few minutes' head start."

Zatte stepped beside her and put her hand on Luffa's shoulder as they looked at the dinosaur together.  "Well, I'd better get moving.  And Luffa?"

She leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek.  Luffa nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Let's do this again some time," Zatte said before running off in the direction of the colony.

Luffa put her hand to her cheek and watched her go.  She turned her wide-eyed stare back to the dinosaur, but even thought she was looking right at it, she did not see it.

*******

The rest of the morning went very smoothly.  Luffa brought the dinosaur back to the settlement, where she cooked it and prepared lunch for the entire colony.  Her father did not leave his quarters, telling anyone who asked that he wished to be alone "to think".  Kandai spent some time among the Dorluns, but he was too busy answering questions about the Tikosi to spend much time around Luffa.

Zatte had organized another training drill for the militia that afternoon, and Luffa had agreed to participate, though she found it awkward how much more cheery Zatte was while speaking to her.  Luffa noticed a certain sway in her walk as she left.   It was more like the Zatte she remembered from her marriage, though not exactly.

"Gonna clobber them again?" Kandai asked as Luffa watched Zatte leave.  He was holding a plate loaded with grilled dinosaur meat.

"Yeah," Luffa said, hoping Kandai hadn't picked up anything in Zatte's body language.

"What's the point?" Kandai asked.  "There's no one left for them to fight."

"Zatte's worried some other threat might show up," Luffa said.  "Besides, if they want to spar with me, let them.  I don't need an excuse."

"Oh, I get it," Kandai said.   He picked up a piece of meat and tore off a bite with his teeth.  "She likes you."

Luffa's blood ran cold.  "What?  It's not like that--"

"Sure it is," Kandai said as he chewed.   "You're practically family to these people.  Of course Zatte wants another lesson from you.  She's probably learned more about combat readiness from you than she would in a dozen military schools."

"Oh," Luffa said.  "Well, there is that."

"You know, half of them probably have a crush on you," he said, elbowing her in the ribs.

"Heh... Shut up..." Luffa chuckled mirthlessly.

"I can't blame them," Kandai said.   "You know your way around a kitchen, that's for sure.   Well, I should probably check on Orij.  Good luck with your 'match', Luffa.  I hope they don't hurt you too badly!"

Luffa feigned a laugh as he left.   When she had finished cleaning up, she withdrew to her quarters, but not the room she shared with Kandai.   Instead, she went to the small cabin in the Dorlun settlement, where she lived while Orij and Kandai were off in space.

"What the hell am I doing?" she asked herself as she closed the door.

She was trapped in the past, but the past had changed.  Initially, Luffa had considered letting events play out until she could decide what to do next, but there were too many changes, and pretending to be herself at nineteen was turning out to be much harder than she had expected.

"So what now?" she muttered as she paced around the room.  "If this is a time anomaly, I can't do much about it, not while I'm cut off from the Time Patrol.  And if I'm stuck here... do I just make the most of it?   How do I even know what that is?"

In spite of her indecision, she had already begun making plans.  Get away from Orij before he could find another opportunity to betray her, make certain the Dorluns would be safe, and use her knowledge of the next five years of galactic history to build a successful career.  She had even given some thought to her combat training, and while she wasn't sure she could ever achieve Super Saiyan again, she knew she could get a lot stronger while making the attempt.

In her current predicament, Luffa couldn't help but make plans.  And yet, she couldn't shake the fear that this was all a dream, or a trick, or some near-death experience.  Until she knew for certain, she could never rest easy, no matter how well she prepared herself for this world.  But how could she ever be sure?

And as she pondered this dilemma, she noticed something glowing in the corner.  One of the storage cabinets was ajar, and when Luffa could not remember having anything in the apartment like this, she went to take a closer look, and knelt down to open the cabinet.

There, she found a scroll, like the one that had brought her to this place

"The Scroll of Eternity?" Luffa asked as she reached for the parchment.   "Then... this is all--"

"I wouldn't be too hasty, if I were you."

Luffa whirled around and raised her hands to fight, but when she saw the man who was speaking, she discovered that her apartment was gone.  In its place was a dark purple expanse, like twilight on some alien world.   There, standing before her, was Demigra, holding his hands out in a peaceful, welcoming gesture.

"Easy now, Luffa," he said.  His voice was supposed to be gentle and friendly, but there was no hiding the unctuous tone.   "I only came to check in on you.  So tell me, how are you enjoying your second lease on life?"

[24 December, 238 Before Age: Tikosi Hiveworld]

The Tikosi Hiveworld wasn't much to look at from orbit.  The surface was mostly barren wilderness, covered in ruddy brown clay.  Long ago, the Tikosi had discovered a means to synthesize nutritional materials, and they reasoned that all other life on their world was thus obsolete.  The forests and grasses were either driven to extinction by Tikosi industry, or they were deliberately eliminated to prevent them from becoming a possible threat.  

Orij always thought about that whenever he landed here.  The Tikosi were xenophobes, devoted solely to the preservation and advancement of their civilization.  They divided the universe into threats and resources.  When their native ecosystem ceased to be a resource to them, they deemed it a mortal enemy.  Trees unsettled them, so it wasn't hard to guess how they felt about a Saiyan warrior using their planet as a base of operations.  

The only notable features on the surface were large, mound-shaped clusters.  These were Tikosi cities, all interconnected by underground tunnels.  Orij steered his craft for a particular mound on the edge of a particular cluster.  He re-entered his access codes and circled around while he waited for Tikosi airspace controllers to approve his flight plan.  It was ridiculous.  The Tikosi had already received his access codes when he first entered the system.  They would have opened fire on him before he ever reached the atmosphere otherwise.  But they relied on computer programs to handle their vast and complex protocols, and the programs required a second authorization to land.  

At last, his clearance was granted, and he brought his ship down on a large platform next to his apartment.  He deboarded and unloaded a massive crate from the hold, which he carried with one hand up to his doorstep.  Setting it down, he entered the apartment and found a Tikosi envoy waiting for him.  

"Well, fancy seeing you here, George," he said dryly.  

The Tikosi had no names in the conventional sense.  They were a eusocial hive, a sapient version of ants or bees.  Each Tikosi individual was capable of independent thought, but they all devoted themselves to the same agenda, which was the good of their collective.  Accordingly, they preferred to think of themselves by their current function, rather than a permanent designation.  The envoy class were Tikosi specialized for contact with other species.  A xenophobic culture had little need for a diplomatic corps, but they did come in handy from time to time.  

This Tikosi thought of itself as simply "envoy", although it could just as easily be reassigned to a worker or soldier class as needed.  In such a case, hormone treatments would enhance its strength to suit its new duties.  Only the king and queen of the Tikosi were permitted to breed, and so only they were given the royal jelly which allowed Tikosi physiology to express sexual dimorphism.  Were either of them to be killed unexpectedly, this envoy in Orij's home was as likely as any other Tikosi to serve as a replacement.  It would be given royal jelly and converted to whichever gender was needed.  

Orij preferred to call the envoy "George" because he called all of the Tikosi "George".  They didn't object, and he found that it helped conceal just how much he had found out about them.  The Tikosi saw him as a resource, so they tolerated his presence on their planet, but only for the time being.  They day would come when he would outlive his usefulness to them, and he didn't want them to know he had been studying them in secret to be ready for their betrayal.  

"Saiyan Orij, what is your current status?" George asked.  

"Never felt better," Orij said proudly.  He puffed up his chest and pounded it with his fist.  But not too hard.  He had just purchased a gilded breastplate during his recent travels, and he didn't want to ruin the craftsmanship.  

"Your business has been successful?" George asked.  

"Very successful," Orij replied.  He walked into the kitchen and opened a bottle of wine.  "I've been making quite a name for myself, thanks to the powers you've given me.  People in this part of the galaxy are beginning to notice that I'm more than just a garden variety Saiyan.  Before long, word should spread to other Saiyans, and that's when I'll be able to make my move."

"My superiors demand confirmation that you have not been traced to these coordinates," George said.

"Your superiors..." Orij groaned.  "We go through this same song and dance every time I come back here."  

He filled his glass and gulped it down, getting wine on the sides of his face.  Then he set the glass down on the counter and poured himself another.  

"No, George, I have 'not been traced to these coordinates,'" he said with derision.  "In point of fact, every being I run into is very happy to see me leave.  They don't care where I go, and they certainly don't want to follow me and find out."  

"Very well," George said, indifferent to Orij's annoyance.  

"Now you didn't come all this way just to ask me a routine question," Orij said, downing another glassful.  "C'mon, out with it."

"There has been a complication with the research," George announced.  

"Luffa finally dropped dead, eh?" Orij said.  "Gotta admit, I'm impressed she lasted this long.  Makes a father proud."

"No," George said.  "The specimen still lives.  However her power no longer increases at the predicted rate."

Orij fought an impulse to spit out his next mouthful of wine, and swallowed it only with considerable difficulty.  "Let me back up a bit, George.  I turned that daughter of mine over to your people, so that your scientists could study Saiyan powers.  Specifically, you were interested in how we get stronger after recovering from critical injury.”

"Correct," George said.  

"So you've been putting her through all kinds of torment, bringing her to the brink of death, only to restore her health.  Now she's still on those drugs you came up with to keep her bedridden, right?"

"Correct," George said.  "She is no danger to anyone in her present condition."

"Well that is a relief," Orij snorted.  "Because you've probably turned her into the strongest Saiyan alive by now.  If she could stand up, she'd probably tear this whole planet in half.  I should know, because you've been analyzing the changes in her body, and you've found ways to artificially induce those changes in mine.  And I'm grateful, by the way, but I don't see how it helps you people any."

"The scientists report that their Saiyan-to-Saiyan experiments provide information on basic principles," George explained.  "In time, perhaps decades from now, the Tikosi may find ways to adapt these principles for our own genetic structure, as opposed to your mammalian physiology."  

Orij raised his glass and tilted it slightly.  "I'll drink to that," he said.  And he did.  "I guess I'm not seeing the problem, George.  Are your people really so surprised to find that Luffa has limits?   It's time to pull the plug."  

"We refuse to abandon our research," George insisted.  "The specimen is too valuable to destroy."

"Well then, what do you want from me?" Orij asked.

"Our scientists wish to measure your current strength," George explained.  "We suspect that the specimen has grown stronger than you, which means that we have been unable to isolate the final step in her power increase."

Orij grunted.  "Fine.  I was going to cool my heels here for a while anyway.  I suppose I can play along with your tests, but this sounds like a waste of time to me.  Your 'specimen' is burned out, and you can't bring yourselves to admit it."

Truthfully it was Orij who was in denial.  The Tikosi knew their business, and they had no motive to lie.  There was a part of him which he preferred to ignore, one that had regretted leaving his only offspring in the clutches of these creatures.  At the time, he had salved his conscience by telling himself that Luffa would die relatively quickly.  

But she had survived, lingering in constant pain with only spite and shame to occupy her thoughts.  He had miscalculated badly.  His daughter must have been hardier than he had ever imagined.  Either that, or the Tikosi scientific corps was much better at manipulating Saiyan physiology than he had expected.    Perhaps he had underestimated both.

Any of these possibilities frightened the mighty Saiyan.  His enhanced power made him a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy, but he owed it all to the Tikosi, and what they could give, they might learn to take away. 

And if George was right, if Luffa truly had surpassed him over the course of her ordeal, then...!

No, it was ridiculous.  No matter how powerful Luffa became, she was carefully medicated at all times.  What good was unprecedented strength if she couldn't lift a finger to use it?

Unless... she became even more powerful.  So powerful that the Tikosi's precautions might not be enough to contain her.  But that was impossible!  Surely there had to be some sort of limit to...

Orij poured himself another drink.

"When do you want me to show up for testing?" he said, though not quite as casually as he hoped.  

George produced a datapad from his satchel and began tapping the surface with his segmented digits.  "The  science class must first consult with the scheduling computers for the most efficient..."

Orij had never known any of the Georges to trail off in mid-sentence before.  "What is it?" he asked.  

"There is an intruder alert," the Tikosi said.  "An unidentified vessel has been found in Hangar 212K."

"I'm impressed," Orij scoffed.  "How did anyone manage to land on this rock without being shot down from orbit?  I can barely do it myself, and I'm authorized to be here."

"Investigation teams are being assembled to swarm the craft.  Computer crews are swarming all relevant programs and datalogs for diagnostics."  George sounded like he was giving a report to his superiors, but there was no one else in the room except for Orij.  Soon he ceased speaking altogether, and began clicking his manibles excitedly.

He had never seen a Tikosi this upset.  Even in battle, they had been perfectly calm in the face of death.  It seemed that they feared uncertainty more than extinction. Faced with an unknown element in the heart of their civilization, the Tikosi could only fall back on their extensive protocol.  Small talk with a Saiyan clearly wasn't included in those plans.  

Orij ignored the Tikosi, picked up his wine bottle and headed for his bedroom.  He expected that George would show himself out.  Before he could take a third step, he noticed a peculiar smell.   Sniffing at the air, he quickly realized that it had been coming from George.  

"This residence is to be quarantined for the duration of the emergency," George announced.  "Do not resist."

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Orij demanded.  "You think I had something to do with that alien ship?  I've been off-planet for days.  You people have been monitoring me ever since I came back."  

"Do not resist," George repeated.  

Around him, Orij heard the sounds of hundreds of Tikosi soldiers swarming outside his apartment.  He looked out a window and the view was obscured by several of their bodies.  They were literally covering the entire building, or so it seemed.  

Orij suspected that George's sudden odor was a signal of some kind.  It was all useless of course.  Orij was strong enough to fight his way back to his ship if he needed to.  But the Tikosi would simply shoot him down if he tried to leave the planet.  Whether the Tikosi truly suspected him was immaterial.  Their procedures would have them lock down any foreign being on the planet's surface until the situation was under control.  

And so he turned back to the kitchen, pulled out a second and third bottle of wine, and resumed his path to bed.  

*******

"They know we're here!"

Wampaaan'riix had been extremely impressed with Keda in the short time they had known each other.  Though only a child, she had been very calm and collected as she had led them through the tunnels to find Luffa.  She had done something to fool the Tikosi security systems, and while he did not understand her methods, her skill had been undeniable.  

But now, as alert lights blinked over the doors, and a faint odor wafted through the corridors, Keda sounded much, much more like the little girl she truly was.   He scooped her up in his massive white arms and ran for the laboratory chamber to fetch the doctor.  

"We're in trouble!" she stammered, still trying to maintain an air of command about the situation.  "My... my whole plan depended on staying hidden!  If they find the ship they'll disable it before--"

"Let us worry about ourselves first, Keda," the Yetitan said.  "We'll join the doctor and at least that will get us out of these corridors so they won't spot us right away."

Up to now, the two of them had been waiting in the hallway while Dr. Topsas examined Luffa.  He had been working on her for hours, and the laboratory chamber wasn’t very spacious, and so they had kept an eye on the corridors for any sign of trouble.   Wampaaan'riix found the open room and dove inside.  He released Keda, who quickly tapped in the keys on the doorjamb that would seal the room.  

"The Tikosi have detected us, doctor," Wampaaan'riix said.  

"Indeed?" Dr. Topsas muttered.  Luffa lay motionless on a large metal table which stood in the center of the room.  The arachnoid physician was perched over her in a bizarre pose.  Two of his limbs clutched the edge of the table, straddling Luffa's head.  A third reached up and gripped a nearby monitor station to balance himself.  The remaining five limbs swung about in every direction as he ministered to his patient.  To an uninformed observer, it might have looked like a scene from a horror story, with Dr. Topsas as a hideous monster hunched over his helpless prey.

"I think I can keep them from finding us for a while longer," Keda said.  She had already moved to a computer terminal and altered her shape to produce the segmented limbs the Tikosi used to operate it.  "This room is supposed to be locked anyway, and they won't bother looking if they don't expect us to be here.  I can send false signals to other parts of the city... decoys to throw them off our trail.  But I have to be careful.  Chances are they already suspect someone has tampered with their computer network."  

"How is she, doctor?" Wampaaan'riix asked.  He stood at the foot of the table and leaned over Luffa's body, mainly because the ceiling was too low for him to stand at full height.  

"Stable," Topsas explained.  Two of his eyes glanced up at Wampaaan'riix, while the other six remained fixated on his work.  "I’ve removed most of the implants and restraining devices.  There are a lot of superficial injuries, but on the whole she appears to be in excellent health.”

"Can you bring her around?” Wampaaan’riix asked.

Topsas was confused by the question.  “I suppose so, but why?  She has been through a terrible ordeal.  I’d much rather let her rest--”

“Doctor, they know we’re here,” Wampaaan’riix roared.  “Keda can buy us some time but we have to assume the worst.  Even if we can get back to the ship--”

“We can’t!” Keda called from her terminal.  “The hangar is crawling with security.”

“Even if we had a ship,” Wampaaan’riix amended, “they’d shoot us down before we reached orbit.   We’ll have to fight our way out, and Luffa’s our best hope of that.”

“I can’t be sure of her mental state,” Topsas warned.  “Based on the scar tissue I’ve found, the devices I’ve removed, the medication she’s been given... the trauma may have driven her insane.  She might not be able to tell friend from enemy.”

“I’ve been her enemy before,” Wampaaann’riix said.  “I’ll take my chances.”

*******

A squad of Tikosi security forces descended over the Research Complex from the northwest.  Their orders were to quarantine the facility until the intruders could be located.  Although the Saiyan located in the Complex was incapacitated, the Tikosi took no chances when it came to the security of their Hiveworld.  They would guard a helpless prisoner with the same numbers they used to battle an enemy army in the field. 

Without warning, the entire squad was pulverized in a flash of light. 

When the light faded, and the dust had cleared, half of the Research Complex had been reduced to rubble.  Luffa stood at the edge of what remained of the fifth floor, her outstretched palms still roiling with energy.   Dr. Topsas feared that she might be hyperventilating. 

“Luffa what are you doing?” Keda asked.  “They’ll find us for sure now!”

“There were Tikosi flying in from that direction,” Wampaaan’riix explained.  “I could sense their approach.  She must have decided it was an attack.  Maybe it was.”

Luffa lowered her head and clutched at tufts of her thick black hair.   Her eyes were shut tightly and her rapid breathing whistled through her clenched teeth. 

“We need to get out of the city,” Wampaaan’riix suggested.  “They’ll have a harder time finding us out in the wilderness, away from their technology.  Keda, is there anything out there we can use?”

“Not much,” she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.  “It’s pretty barren.  But I could sneak back into the city on my own and bring back supplies.  It’d at least give us a chance to plan our next move.”

Dr. Topsas approached Luffa cautiously, raising two of his limbs in a non-threatening gesture.  “You’re all right, Ms. Luffa.  Just take it easy.”

She turned to look at the doctor and she sank to her knees.  “How did you...?” she began to ask.  “Wait... Keda brought you here.... didn’t she?”

“It’s a long story,” Topsas said.  “How do you feel?”

Her eyes darted downward, as though checking to make sure her body was still where she had left it.  “What... what’d they do to me, doc?  I... I feel like... I don’t know.”  

“Your body isn’t used to being up and around again,” Topsas guessed. 

“No... I...”  She laid her hands on her lap and stared at them, curling her fingers like she had never seen them before. 

”Luffa, we need to go now,” Wampaaan’riix said.  “There are more Tikosi coming this way, and we--”

Her eyes snapped open and she whirled around to face him.  “No!” she shouted.  “No!”

She began to scream, and what remained of the building began to shake. 

“Doctor?” Wampaaan’riix called.

“Luffa I improre you to calm down!” Topsas said.   “We’ve got to--!”

But their pleas were cut off as Luffa thrust her palms to the floor and fired a ki blast beneath her.  In an instant, what little remained of the Complex came crashing down around them. 

[15 March, 238 Before Age]

Much of what happened next was a blur for Luffa.  She was dragged from the battlefield to a spaceship, then put in restraints.  She drifted in and out of consciousness, and whenever she was awake enough to realize she was being held prisoner, she struggled to break loose.

[19 March, 238 Before Age]

The main constant was a dull ache in her neck and hands.  Dimly, Luffa became aware that intravenous tubes had been implanted in them, and she realized that she was being drugged to keep her pacified for transport.  Gradually, she stopped her futile thrashing, and resolved to gather her strength for a better opportunity.

[23 March, 238 Before Age]

But the chance never came, and Luffa lost track of how long she had been in captivity.  When she had the strength and presence of mind to look around, she found her surroundings to be far too... clinical for a detention center.  She wondered if she had been receiving medical attention this whole time.  She dimly recalled intense pain, and wondered if the Tikosi had performed surgery on her without anesthesia.

[2 April , 238 Before Age]

More time passed, and Luffa eventually noticed that the restraints were no longer there.  She tried to move, but found herself too weak to do anything but turn her head.

Fear began to take root in her heart.  Had she been crippled during the battle somehow?  Had the Tikosi maimed her afterwards?  Was this some cruel retribution for all the casualties they had suffered at her hands?  And if they didn’t mean to kill her, then what would they do next?

Panicking, Luffa clenched her teeth and summoned her ki.  A faint white aura rippled around her body, but she could do nothing to make use of the power.  Her limbs simply wouldn’t do what she wanted.  She thought she felt her toes wiggle, and took cold comfort that she might one day recover from this ordeal, assuming the Tikosi permitted it.

[10 April, 238 Before Age]

A Tikosi entered the room and began checking instruments arranged along the walls.  Then it examined Luffa, making sure to check the IV ports on her hands and neck.  Luffa scowled at the insectoid creature as it looked at her face, but her defiance was little more than a mask for her terror.

"W-what..." she said, struggling to speak, "are you.... doing to me?"

The Tikosi made no reply.  It moved to a cabinet beyond Luffa’s field of view, but she could still hear it clicking and chattering as it worked.

"Won’t... tell me?" She paused to catch her breath.  "Just as... well.  I probably would-- wouldn’t like the... answer."

The Tikosi ignored her. Luffa wondered if it could even speak.  Perhaps the "envoy" she had spoken to was specially bred to do all the talking for his kind.

"Dunno... if y’can... understand me," she said.  "But you ought to... kill me... while you have... the chance.  Yer... only warning..."

She drifted off to sleep.

[9 May , 238 Before Age]

Luffa had lain awake for days.  She wasn’t sure how, except that the Tikosi were putting something in her bloodstream to prevent her from sleeping.

The result on her mind was a profound delirium.  Unable to move or escape into unconsciousness, her imagination ran wild.

She was on the platform in the Tikosi laboratory, but she also wasn’t.  Sometimes it seemed that the room was a featureless void, and she was running, constantly running.  At times, she would stumble and fall, only to realize that she had been laying motionless the entire time.

Sometimes she heard her father’s voice.  Then her mother’s.  She asked her to tell her a story of one of the great Saiyan heroes, the way she had done so many years ago.  But her mother only spoke of Luffa, and how she fought and lost a hopeless battle on a worthless planet.

She tried to ask her father to intervene.  She wanted to hear a story about Chanisp, better known as the Legendary Space Warrior.  But her father continued speaking as though he couldn’t hear her.  She found her voice had failed, but not when she spoke to her mother.

No, her mother simply refused to listen.  She went on and on about the Martyr of Dorlu Prime, the Forfeiture on Plutark VII, the Crippled Wretch in a Tikosi gulag.  Luffa, The Shame of All Saiyans, a cautionary tale for those weaklings who dared to reach beyond their grasp.

Luffa wanted to strangle her mother, if only to shut her up.  But she was already dead.  And Luffa was running again.  Then she tripped, and she realized she was laying helplessly on the platform.

[20 June, 238 Before Age]

The moon shone brightly upon her.  Luffa wondered how she had come to be outside. She had last remembered being sedated.  She still couldn’t move, and her neck and hands were still sore from the intravenous ports sticking out of them.

She couldn’t look away, even if she wanted to.  Her head was locked into place by some sort of brace.  There was a strange chill on her scalp as well.    But none of that mattered under the glow of the moonlight.

Her mother had once told her a legend, that a haughty moon goddess was offended that the Saiyan people admired her in the sky.  So she punished them with a curse on their tails.  From then on, any Saiyan who dared to glimpse at the full moon’s beauty would turn into a giant, vicious ape.  In his bestial rage, he would be unable to distinguish friend from foe, and slaughter all he held dear.

But the goddess’ curse had backfired, for she had failed to reckon with Saiyan pride.  Most beings would blanche at becoming a ferocious animal, but the Saiyans relished it.  For the giant ape was merely a manifestation of the savagery that already lurked in the Saiyan heart.  And so the Saiyans cherished the moon’s beauty even more than before, and their enemies came to despise the moonlight as an omen of doom.  The goddess tried to undo her handiwork, but she had made the Saiyans too powerful, and so she could only watch helplessly as they triumphed in her name.  In her shame, the goddess would try to hide behind the planet, where she could mourn her bloody legacy, and this was why the full moon turns red during an eclipse.

Now, Luffa murmured an ironic prayer of gratitude to the foolish moon goddess, for once again her divine error would prove to be a Saiyan’s deliverance.  Luffa’s eyes turned red, and her heart began to pound in her chest.  Whatever her captors had done to her, the oozaru form would surely overcome it.  Soon she would be five times her normal size, covered in shaggy brown hair, and ten times stronger than her normal self.  She could almost feel the saliva dripping from her simian jaws, and she could practically taste the innards of her first victim.

But nothing happened.  Her eyes burned in the glow of the moonlight, and her blood surged like a pounding surf, but she didn’t change.  It was like being trapped in a single moment, the instant between seeing the moon and actually transforming.

Then the moon vanished.  How?  Where had it gone?  Had it never been there at all?  Mercifully, her body settled itself once the stimulus had been removed.  Luffa’s hopes were shattered, but at least she wasn’t stuck in mid-transfornation.

Then the moon reappeared.  Luffa tried to shut her eyes, and it was then that she realized she couldn’t.  Something had fixed her eyelids open.  Her heart thundered inside her, and her vision went red, but once again, nothing else happened.

After a time, the moon--or its image-- vanished again, only to reappear.  Luffa grimaced in her torment.

After all these centuries, that damned moon goddess was finally having her revenge.

[31 July, 238 Before Age]

Luffa awoke to the sensation of an electric razor being rubbed over her scalp.  So that explained the chill sensation she had felt before.  

A Tikosi stood over her, weilding a scalpel.  She tried to move, but couldn't.  The Tikosi lowered the knife just above her field of vision, and began...

[1 September, 238 Before Age]

Luffa dreamed of war.  

The dream made little sense, but perhaps that was what made it so cathartic.  She was a Giant Ape, stomping across a burning city, while men threw spears at her in a pitiful attempt to stop her from destroying them.  Then she was burning, and she exploded with such force as to destroy the very world she stood upon.  

She was back in the ship she had lived on as a little girl, and she walked through the corridors to find her mother resting on a couch.  She knew this couldn't be real, and her mother was dead, and yet there she was.  Luffa struggled to think of what she should say, but then her mother sat up and reminded her that she still burned.  

"Why am I burning?" Luffa asked.  

"Because you do," her mother answered cryptically.  

"If I don't, who will?" Luffa reasoned.

"Now you're catching on," said no one in particular.  

She walked out the screen door and took flight.  When she found the citadel, she crash-landed into the top floor and strangled all of the soldiers inside.  Then she found the regent and forced him to beg for mercy.  He tried, but he couldn't, for he could no longer speak.  Luffa searched far and wide for his voice.  He was her enemy, but he deserved a chance to beg.  

The solution lay in the thunders.  Only one remained, but if Luffa defeated it, she would burn forever.  It was a gamble she was willing to take.  Sometimes she was the thunder, fending off an upstart Saiyan.  It was important that she become the thunder without being the thunder.  It was a tricky operation to say the least.   Occasionally she noticed that none of it made any sense.

She landed at a small cottage in the wilderness and the Dorluns welcomed her home.  Luffa was pleased to see them, but she had to get to work on her memoirs of the battle.  She tried to write but every time she picked up a piece of paper it burst into flame.  

[19 October, 238 Before Age]

Luffa screamed.

*******

[23 November, 238 Before Age]

"There’s my little girl."

Luffa awoke to find herself surprisingly lucid.  She still had difficulty moving, but everything looked and felt more real than it had in these past.... days?

How long had it been?

She looked to her left to find the source of the voice, and saw Orij standing at her bedside.  If he was concerned at all about her predicament, he didn’t show it.

"F-father!" she gasped.

"I’m surprised you lasted this long, Luffa," Orij chuckled.  "The Tikosi tell me most of their test subjects die within weeks.  But then they’ve never done this sort of work on a pure-blooded Saiyan before."

"Work?" Luffa asked, dumbfounded. "How... did you get... here?  How’d you... find me?"

Orij laughed.  "I live here, girl.  For the time being, anyway.  This is the Tikosi’s home planet. Most people don’t even know they have one, and they like to keep it that way.  Makes a nice base of operations for a journeyman mercenary."

Luffa couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  "You... you... were working for... Tikosi all along."

"Oh, it’s not quite that simple," Orij said.  "Not that you need to know, but I suppose I have to tell someone about it.  Successful business ventures just aren’t as satisfying unless you can brag on ’em.    The Tikosi aren’t much on conversation, and Kandai left months ago."

He found a workstool and took a seat.

"Your mother always liked to tell stories.  It’s too bad she’s not around to tell this one, but I think I can wing it.  See, she was more than just a wife and mother, Luffa.  She was one of the best warriors I’d ever seen.  The problem was that she was too principled.  It happens to the best of Saiyans.  They do a tour on a few alien worlds, get to know the locals, and some of the morality starts to rub off on them.  When Revahl took over on Planet Saiya, she could have gotten a command in his army, but she didn’t like his style, so she became an expatriate instead.

"That’s how we met.  I don’t know if she ever told you.  I was refueling my ship on Bigreen, and no one on that stupid backwater can talk right, so I went looking for a conversation and found her.  I invited her to join my outfit and she became a merc.  Nine months later... well, you know how that turned out."

Luffa felt a chill running down her spine.  Whatever Orij’s business here was, she knew it wasn’t going to bode well for her.

"Of course, I never loved your mother.  A good lay, and a better fighter, but not much more than that.  She thought I shared her principled stand against King Revahl, but I didn’t.  I told you before, my only problem with his power is that it doesn’t belong to me.  I only became a merc so I could escape from his authority and do things my own way.  Your mom wanted to raise up a revolutionary army to overthrow the king.  Maybe you could have been part of that if she’d lived to see it.

"But I had other ideas.  See, I could buy into toppling Revahl, but it would only mean replacing his rule with your mother’s.  Same problem, different obstacle.  I wasn’t envious of your mother’s strength, mind you.  My only problem with it was that it wasn’t mine."

"Orij paused and rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  "Wait, I suppose that is envy after all.  Okay, fine.  So I envied your mother’s strength.  It just bugged me that some Saiyans get dealt a better hand at birth.  So I started looking for ways to shuffle the deck.  Long story short, I found the Tikosi."

Luffa was stunned.  It wasn’t just what her father was saying. It was how casually he said it.  Like this was perfectly understandable to anyone, and he expected Luffa to nod with approval.

"I didn’t contact them at first," Orij explained.  I wanted to do my homework, and build up enough funds to negotiate a fee.  But I found out that the Tikosi are very interested in genetic research.  Their hive uses eugenics to breed out defects, and they study other life forms to find ways to enhance their own species.  Kind of over my head, but I understood enough to get interested.  My plan was to betray your mother, turn her over to them, and then they could take her apart and see what made her tick.  Then they could duplicate that special something in me."

In spite of her weakness, Luffa clenched her teeth in rage.  "I’ll... kill you..." she muttered.  She wanted to say more, but she couldn’t manage.

Orij simply laughed.  "Well, as it turned out, I didn’t need your mother, because I had you.  By the time you were ten, I could tell you had potential to be an even stronger Saiyan than your mother.  Maybe it was because she was so insistent on training you.  Like she knew what to do for you, where my parents just left me to fend for myself.  Heh.  That’s a scary thought.  What if Saiyans relied on emotional attachments to get stronger?  Boy, that’d be rich.

"So I convinced her to take a job on Mandicore and arranged a little 'communication failure' so no one would show up to help her.  After that, I just had to make sure to cut off your progress so you wouldn’t become too strong for me to control.

"Why do you think we took that job on Dorlu Prime?  The Dorluns don’t have that much cash.  But their race has incredible survival traits that the Tikosi would find irresistable.  The Tikosi have other enemies, true, but Dorlu Prime was perfect because it was a barren world.  The perfect place to dump you, Luffa, while Kandai and I fought the Tikosi.

"Oh don’t look so surprised.  We did fight them at first.  Really.  They’re not very talkative, you see, so it was the only way for us to make an impression.  We even let them get close enough to launch a few raids on the planet itself, just so they could get an idea of your power.  But I made it clear to them that they wouldn’t actually get you or the Dorluns unless they dealt with me first.  I would have destroyed the colony before I let them take it by force.

"Once I won their respect, they were more receptive to my proposal.  I offered to abandon my defense of the colony and give them a Saiyan specimen to study.  In exchange, they agreed to apply whatever they learned to make me stronger."

He stood up, raised his fists, and increased his ki.  Luffa was horrified to see that he was far more powerful than he had been the last time they had spoken.

"Not bad, eh?"  he said.  "The Tikosi prefer to lay their eggs inside other species so their young can learn about them from the inside out.  But Saiyans aren’t compatible with that process.   So they have to study you the hard way.  For the same reason, a lot of the techniques the Tikosi use to transfer alien traits into their own genes don’t work with Saiyans.    But transferring traits from one Saiyan to another?  Oh, that’s easy.  They just never had a reason to try before I came along.  But don’t worry, they’ll still get plenty for their part.  They’ve learned a lot about energy manipulation from studying you.  I heard they spent a month inflicting fatal injuries on you, and then using regeneration therapy to bring you back from the brink of death.  Must have been hell for you, but that’s the only way they can learn about Saiyan powers."

Luffa was livid.  Her whole life had been a lie.  Everything she had worked and fought for had been a diversion so her miserable coward of a father could claim it for himself.  And there was nothing she could do.

"At least..." she gurgled.  "At least have...the decency to kill me," she said.  "You’ve got what you wanted."

Orij frowned.  "Don’t be stupid, girl.  I haven’t even started yet.  The Tikosi tell me they’ve barely scratched the surface with you.  This project we’ve arranged could last for years.  I’m already strong enough to raise an army to challenge King Revahl, but why stop there?  If the Tikosi can squeeze a little more power out for me by experimenting on you a while longer, then so be it.  Like I said, I’m amazed you lasted this long.  There’s no telling what more they can learn.  It’s true what they say.  Children really are a blessing!"

He laughed and turned his back on Luffa, leaving her to seethe in solitude.  She wanted him to stay, if only so he’d be close by if a miracle happened and she regained the use of her body.  Even if Orij was too strong to defeat, she would have preferred to die fighting.  At least she could try to take revenge...

But instead, he left her behind, and all she could do was shut her eyes tightly and try to ignore the bitter tears that ran down her face.

An hour later, a Tikosi scientist entered the room.  He wiped Luffa’s face, examined her IV ports, and then injected a potent venom extract into her bloodstream.  The pain it caused her left her in agony for the next three days.