#qondoging

[21 Feruary 233 Before Age.   Planet Qondoging.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"I know, but--!"

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Um... when is that, again?"  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Vengeance Cannon," she said with a grin.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*******

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dotz dropped her roll immediately, and nodded.    

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"There's no signal," she said.

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

"How long until Despye?" Luffa asked.

"Three hours," Zatte said.

"You said that before!" Luffa snapped.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What is it?" Luffa asked.

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

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

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

"What reinforcements?" Luffa asked

*******

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

"Saiyans?!" Luffa shouted.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*******

[2 March 233 Before Age.   Despye.]

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

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

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

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

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

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

"You're kidding," Zatte said.    

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

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

"Quiet," Luffa muttered.  

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"Who the hell are you?" Luffa asked.  

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