#shenia

[16 June, 234 Before Age.  Planet Shenia]

The military of Planet Shenia was formidable, much more so than would be expected for a planet considered insignificant by the major galactic powers.  Centuries ago, Shenia was a client state of the Camelian Empire, and used as a buffer against a rival power, the Qophean Khanate.  Decades later, the balance of power shifted, and the border moved, and Camelia withdrew from Shenia.  But the people of Shenia had not forgotten their vigilance against foreign invasion.  Their armies were well-trained and well-armed, and rumors of their ki techniques were enough to frighten away would-be raiders.  One of Shenia's national holidays celebrated a time when they defended their world against a Saiyan invader, and prevailed.

This time, however, Shenia was visited by two Saiyans, and the outcome was not as favorable.  A week later, the entire Shenian parliament was captured, and they quickly surrendered.  Over the next several days, a ransom payment was assembled to pay the Saiyans to leave the planet peacefully.  A portion of this was converted into a sort of expense account, which the Saiyans used to pay for meals and souvenirs while they enjoyed Shenia's nightlife.

"Look at this," Seltiss asked as she twirled around in a dress she had just purchased.  The price tags still dangled from the hem as she showed it off.  "I thought it was sequins, but it's actually some kind of fiber optic technology, so when the lighting changes..."

The discotheque's lighting included a number of lasers and other devices to shine an array of colors onto the patrons.  Seltiss was sticking close to the bar, but she stepped just slightly to one side so a passing strobe light could flash onto her clothes.  Her dress refracted and shifted the frequency of this light, producing a vivid pattern of oranges and violets.

Sitting at the bar, Xibuyas could only stare and nod awkwardly.  To everyone else in the club, they were just unusual-looking humanoid, not so different from the Shenians themselves.  To the bartender serving them meals, they were just a couple of rowdy adolescents.  But to Xibuyas, the teenage girl standing before him was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.  The dress had nothing to do with it.

"It's nice," he muttered, and then he looked away to take another piece of fish from his bowl.  

"Everything's so colorful here," Seltiss said.  “Not like Planet Saiya at all.  Dad would flip out if he saw me wearing anything but royal blue.  And the academy on Protef is even worse, if you can believe it.  Four options in their dress code, and all four are drab earth tones.  And they wondered why I dropped out."

Xibuyas said nothing.  For what it was worth, he liked her school uniforms, with their pleated skirts and the crisp sharp lines of their starched suit jackets.  They made her look very cosmopolitan, unlike the handful of other Saiyan females he had encountered in his young life.  Most of them were caregivers or teachers, middling warriors who only attended to his upbringing because they lacked the talent to do anything important on their own.  

Seltiss was different.  His instructors and King Rehval had told him that he would be married to her when they were of age, and he had absorbed this information like any other dry fact they had taught him.  But Seltiss herself was so much more than a princess of the Saiyans.  She was smart and funny and mischievous, and completely unafraid of anything.  She was the only Saiyan he knew who routinely disobeyed the king.  

And she really liked him.  She wasn't just using him for his power, the way her father did.  His power was important to her plans, true, but she spent time with him, and complimented him, and told him things that she never told anyone else.

"What's eating you, Xibuyas?" she asked.  "Don't tell me you're still sore about your fight with Luffa."

He didn't know how to answer that, so he changed the subject.  "Would your father still let us marry, Seltiss?  I failed him, and he knows not that I survived that battle.    I doubt that he would be relieved to find that I survived."

"Oh, is that all?" Seltiss said.  She approached him and patted his cheek, causing him to wince with embarrassment.  "Take it easy, Xibuyas.  Public displays of affection are normal for most civilizations.  You don't have to be so stuffy all the time."

But he did.  It helped him stay focused, especially around her.    King Rehval had great plans for him.  He was destined to become the king of the Saiyans, and through Seltiss, King Xibuyas' descendants would rule their people through centuries of prosperity.  It was a glorious opportunity, and he found it much less overwhelming when he used formal speech, and carried himself like he mighty warrior he was expected to be.  A mask of false pride to hide the cracks in his confidence.

What frustrated him was that he couldn't even use royal address with Seltiss, because she had commanded him not to.    "Princess Seltiss was never here," she had explained.  "As far as the universe knows, we're just two anonymous Saiyan raiders."  

It hadn't really been a command.  More like instructions for her plan.  He loved that about her too.  Seltiss respected him, and what little regal bearing she had, she dropped it completely with him.  He didn't know if that was because she loved him back, or because she saw him as a fellow royal due to their engagement.

"Why don't we get some air?" Seltiss offered.  "You don't look like you're in the mood to dance."

He sighed with relief.  Sometimes she seemed to understand him better than he knew himself.  After a few minutes to settle their bill, they walked outside together, though Seltiss stubbornly held onto his arm the whole way.

*******

The night air helped improve his disposition a little, and getting away from the crowd made a bigger difference than he would have expected.  Normally, he craved every moment alone with Seltiss that he could get, but things were different now.

"So what's up, Xibuyas?" Seltiss asked as they flew.  "You can tell me."

"It's difficult to put into words, your h-- er, Seltiss," he said.

"Good catch," Seltiss said.  "You were great the other day, you know that?  The way you tore through the Shenian fleet..."

"I could have done it faster," he said.

"Don't be so hard on yourself," she said.  "You're the strongest Saiyan alive!  The strongest Saiyan who ever lived, I bet."

"I wasn't stronger than Luffa," he grumbled.

"Well, she's not really a Saiyan, right?" Seltiss replied.

"That is what your father always told me," Xibuyas said.  "Suppose... well, what if he was... wrong?"

"You think she's really one of us?" Seltiss asked.

"I don't know," Xibuyas said.  "But she... seemed Saiyan enough.  I don't mean her eyes and hair, but the way she moved.  Her scent and the sound of her voice.  It was much easier to believe her a fraud before I faced her in battle."

"Okay, but what difference does it make if she’s a Saiyan or not?" Seltiss asked.  "She's still an enemy of the crown, the one you'll be wearing one of these days."

"You're so certain of that," Xibuyas said.  "Your father has other heirs to choose from.   One of your sisters, or perhaps he'll have another child in the future."

"You forget how stubborn my dad can be," Seltiss said.  "He likes to pretend that he's flexible, but once he makes up his mind, he's pretty much locked in."  She pointed at herself and smiled.  "You're not his only pet project, you know."

They landed on the beach of an island that happened to catch Seltiss's fancy, and she took off her boots so she could feel the sand between her toes as they walked.  

"My father had it all worked out since before I was born," she explained.  "He used some special system to test Saiyan women, then he picked one that would give him the best heir.  That was my mother.  He tinkered with me the whole time I was in the incubation tank.  I couldn't tell you what he did, but it was all for the sake of making me his ideal successor.  That's what I've been hearing my whole life.  My sisters are just Plan B.    I'm the one he put the most work into.  He made me smarter than all of them.  Don't ask me how."

She suddenly drew back her fist and tried to punch him in the jaw, but he blocked it with his open palm.  Seltiss grinned and shook her head.

"I'm not very strong, but dad doesn't seem worried about that.  My children will be stronger, he tells me, as long as their father has the right genes.  That's where you come in, tough guy."

"I never even knew my parents,"  Xibuyas said.  "King Rehval told me I was gifted with a strong bloodline, but he still used his potions to make me even stronger."

"You must have something about you," Seltiss said.  "Otherwise, he wouldn't be marrying you off with me.  Don't you see,  Xibuyas?  I know you’re grateful to him and all, but in the end, he needs us more than we need him."

She threw her arms around his neck, and for a brief, nerve-wracking moment, he thought that she might kiss him.  She only smiled instead, and he wasn’t sure if he was relieved or disappointed.

"At least, he needs us until we give him a litter of grandchildren," she said.  "So in the meantime, we're pretty much free to do whatever we please."

"And this is what pleases you?" he asked.  “Invading a backwater planet and playing tourist?”

"I studied military tactics for a semester," Seltiss said.  "This is the first time I've gotten to put it into practice.  I always wanted to conquer my own planet, but I was hoping you'd enjoy it.  You've been so depressed ever since the battle on Pflaume."

This time she really did lean in to kiss him, and he backed away from her, a little more forcefully than he would have liked.

"Xibuyas, what's wrong?" Seltiss asked.  "What happened between you and Luffa?"

"Nothing!" he lied.  The look in her dark brown eyes told him that his response was a mistake.  Seltiss was the smartest person he knew, with the possible exception of her father.  And she knew him much better than her father.

"There can't be any secrets between us," she said.  "It's just you and me against the galaxy, remember?  Dad isn't going to look out for us beyond his own needs, and the rest of the universe thinks we're a couple of brainless savages."

"I know," he said quietly.  That was exactly why he didn't want to tell her.  

"Whatever it is," we'll deal with it together," Seltiss assured him.  "I'm the brains of this outfit, remember?"

For a long monent, he struggled with his indecision, and then he finally mumbled:  "Very well.  The truth is that..."

But before he could say another word, the ground beneath them exploded.

"Saiyans!" a voice cried out.  "I never expected to find creeps like you on Shenia, but I guess I could use the workout!"

When the dust settled, they could finally see their visitor hovering twenty feet above them.  It was an alien, insectoid in appearance, though its lower body resembled the tail of a massive serpent.  

"Where did you come from?"  Seltiss asked.  Before she could get an answer, Xibuyas stepped in front of her.

"Careful," he warned her.  "it's stronger than it looks."

"Smart boy," the alien said.  "And to answer the female's question, my name is Clondique.  You might call me a superhero.  I'm kind if a big deal in this sector."

"I've never heard of you," Seltiss said.

Clondique shrugged all four of  her shoulders.  "I knew that publicist was a waste of money.  Well, take my word for it, I was a major player in this part of the galaxy.  Came to Shenia for my third metamorphosis, wanted someplace nice and peaceful while I chilled out for eighty years, and I wake up to find the whole planet's been conquered?  By a couple of kids?"

"I'm more than a match for a talking eyesore like you," Xibuyas replied.  "If it's a fight you crave, I'll--"

He took two steps toward Clondique, and then Seltiss called out to him.

"Hold it, Xibuyas!" she said.  "I'll handle her myself."

"What?" Xibuyas asked.

But she had already removed her dress, revealing the pink leotard she normally wore in combat situations.  She looked up at Clondique and smiled.

"You may be stronger than me, but I'm as much a Saiyan as you are," she said.  "This guy wants a workout, and so do I."

"Your boyfriend is right, kid," Clondique said.   "You shouldn't take me so lightly."

"Prove it," Seltiss demanded.

*******

Clondique's power was substantial, but this wasn't Seltiss' main concern.  She knew Xibuyas would step in if she appeared to be in any real danger.  The real challenge was getting him to open up to her, and she believed she could accomplish that through battle.  

She and Xibuyas were the same age, though the chronology of their young lives was distorted by her father's use of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber.  It allowed beings to enter another dimension where time flowed at a faster rate.  On different occasions, King Rehval had sent Seltiss into the Chamber to focus her studies, and to hone her combat skills with different instructors.    Xibuyas, on the other hand, had spent most of his life inside the Chamber.  He had been a baby when Seltiss first met him three years ago, but each time she saw him after that, he was always a little bit taller, and a great deal stronger.  Her father saw him as little more than a breeding stock, but he also wanted to use him as an enforcer.  More than four-fifths of his life had been devoted solely to mastering the art of war.

And so, as Seltiss charged after Clondique and exchanged blows with the alien, it was with the hope that she could reach him in a language Xibuyas would understand better than words.

Clondique's chitinous fists managed to connect with her a few times, though Seltiss managed to recover and back away before taking too much of a beating.  She responded with a hail of energy bullets from the palm of her right hand, but Clondique was able to avoid them with astonishing ease.  

She had her suspicions about what was bothering the boy, and with some clever manipulation, she was sure she could trick him into revealing enough information for her to figure the rest out without him even realizing it.  But that would defeat the point, which was to convince him that he should confide in her no matter what.  

"Hold still, you little--!" Clondique griped as she chased after her through the air.  Seltiss had no intention of standing her ground until she knew exactly what she was up against.  Until then, she danced around Clondique, a avoiding her offense as well as she could, and only fighting back when it was safe to do so.

The message she wanted to send was this: I'm a Saiyan warrior like you.  We share the same passions, the same longing for combat.    Xibuyas already knew this, but Seltiss liked to remind him from time to time.  Besides, she really did enjoy fighting, even if Clondique might not have been her first choice for an opponent.

The alien swung her tail at Seltiss and for a split-second, Seltiss thought she had successfully avoided the strike.   Then she sensed the ki energy welling up in Clondique's body, and Seltiss had to dodge again, barely escaping a volley of ki blasts from Clondique's hands.   Then the tail swiped at her again, and Seltiss found herself regretting that most of her combat training had been with humanoid sparring partners.  

After a few minutes, Seltiss decided she had enough of Clondique's measure to risk striking back, only to find that she had miscalculated.  Clondique could block with two hands, fight with two more, and use the tail either way.  This would only be a minor challenge if the two of them were evenly matched, but Seltiss was beginning to notice that Clondique's power level had been steadily rising as they fought.    The alien had been holding back, or perhaps she just needed time to warm up.

Seltiss resorted to an explosive wave, more out of a growing sense of desperation than any calculated plan.  She preferred to stick to a script, and while she had planned to look vulnerable against Clondique, she was turning out to be more vulnerable than she had expected.  Pink ki energy blasted out from the young Saiyan's body in all directions, just as Clondique tried to catch her between her fists and her serpentine tail.  Seltiss didn't expect it to stop Clondique, but it would at least guarantee some breathing room for--

And then Clondique grabbed her anyway.

"Cute trick," Clondique said.   Using one pair of arms, she locked Seltiss in a full nelson, and she used her lower arms to grab hold of Seltiss' ankles.   Seltiss wondered why Clondique hadn't used her tail instead, and then Clondique curled it forward until the tip of her tail was aimed at Seltiss' head, and it began to glow. 

"You bit off more than you could chew, kiddo," Clondique said.  "Happens to everybody, sooner or later."

Seltiss struggled against Clondique's grip, but it was no use.  It was only now, at this close range, that she could sense just how strong the alien really was.   She wasn't entirely sure if even Xibuyas could win.

Clondique's tail glowed brighter.  "This won't kill you," the alien explained, "although when you wake up, you'll probably wish it had.   Energy venom packs a hell of a hangover, but I can't risk you trying something stupid while I tackle your boyfriend down there."

Suddenly, Seltiss' morale brightened considerably.  "It'll take more than your puny attack to kill a Saiyan!" she shouted defiantly.  

"Didn't you hear me?" Clondique asked.   "I just said I'm not going to kill you."

Seltiss struggled against Clondique's grip, though she knew it was pointless.  "Even if you could destroy me, Xibuyas would avenge me!" she shouted.  

"What is your damage, kid?" Clondique asked.  "The fight's over.  You think that yokel down there can save you?  I can tell he's no match for--"

Without warning, Xibuyas transformed.   Seltiss didn't really know what to call it.  His aura glowed bright yellow, and his hair stood up.  His eyes glowed solid white, and his muscles seemed to expand a little.  Seltiss had never seen the Legendary Super Saiyan in action before, but from what she had heard, Xibuyas' power increase bore some resemblance to Luffa's other form...

Suddenly, it dawned on Seltiss.  It had been right in front of her the whole time.  

But before she could give the matter any thought, Xibuyas had already launched himself at Clondique, and severed all four of the alien's arms, freeing Seltiss immediately.  

Clondique barely had time to register what was happening.   Her energy venom attack was still charging, and when her arms were injured, she instinctively fired, though Xibuyas swatted this bolt of ki aside with a wave of his hand.   With his other hand, he fired a ki blast of his own, which tore through Clondique's torso, killing her instantly.  

Seltiss found that Clondique's severed hands still had a powerful grip, but without any ki to amplify it, it took only a moment's exertion for Seltiss to shake them off her arms and legs.  When she looked up, she saw that the battle was already over.

Only Xibuyas wasn't finished.  

With a loud roar, he released all his pent-up aggression and directed it at Clondique's body.  The barrage of ki blasts was as relentless as it was pointless.  Clondique was already dead.  Within three seconds, the body was damaged beyond recognition.  Within five seconds, the remains of Clondique had been completely reduced to ash and vapor.    Xibuyas kept firing for another fifteen seconds after that.  Fortunately for everyone on Planet Shenia, he had angled his fire away from the planet, so that his blasts would head for outer space instead of damaging the planet, though Seltiss couldn't tell if that was a conscious decision or if it was just from the habits drilled into him from his combat training.

When he finally calmed down, Seltiss approached him.  She was cautious, but cheerful nonetheless.  Her plan had nearly backfired, but it had all worked out in the end.  

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"That filthy thing was going to kill you!" Xibuyas shouted.  He turned to face her, and as he reverted to his normal appearance, she could see tears in his eyes.

"I had the situation under control, babe."

"I never should have let you fight her alone!" he said.  "I almost got you killed, and then--!"

He didn't finish the thought, but she could guess the rest.  Whatever he was keeping from her, however heavy the burden, at least he had the option to share it with her.  But if she were killed, the  he would have no choice but to carry that weight alone, for whom else could he tell?

"Luffa," he finally said after a long pause.  

"What's she got to do with anything?" Seltiss asked innocently.  She had a pretty good idea by now, but she needed him to say it.

"She said... she said that she was my mother," Xibuyas replied.

Seltiss pretended to be shocked, though in truth she had suspected this ever since the battle on Pflaume.  Xibuyas was born around the same time Luffa became a Super Saiyan, and his powers had a certain similarity.  Besides, it made no sense for Luffa to have defeated Xibuyas without killing him.  She knew little about Luffa, but Seltiss couldn't believe that Luffa would show mercy to such an implacable enemy.

"Your mother?" she asked with a gasp.  

"I couldn't believe it at first," Xibuyas said.  "I still don't, but... What if it's true?  What if she truly is an alien?  That would make me..."

It would make him unworthy of her father's breeding plans.  That was the missing piece.   Seltiss had known from the beginning that King Rehval never would have bothered with Xibuyas as an heir without first confirming his bloodline.  But Xibuyas didn't know how thorough her father was about these things, and being an orphan probably caused him to question his self-esteem from time to time.  

Well, that was easy enough to fix.  Seltiss could explain it to him.  If Luffa really was his mother, it only proved that Luffa was a genuine Saiyan herself.  Her father must have known all this.  

And that could work to her advantage.  If Rehval's goal was to marry Luffa's bloodline with his own, then he needed Xibuyas even more than she had ever imagined.  By comparison, Seltiss was somewhat expendable--one of her sisters would do in a pinch--but Xibuyas... he was irreplaceable.  

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately before he could push her away.    To her surprise, he returned her embrace.  It made sense.  Before, he had been worried that he wasn't worthy to of her intimacy, but now that he had told her...

"It doesn't matter," she said when she finally pulled away from his lips.  "You and I, what we have, it's more important than family or pedigrees."

She could have told him why it didn't matter, that it really was a non-issue, but she needed him to believe that she was being gracious instead of practical.  If Xibuyas really was indispensable to her father, then she needed to make herself indispensable to him.

"Seltiss--!" was all he could say.

"We'll figure something out," Seltiss said.  "If it turns out to be true, then we might be able to use it to our advantage, but it doesn't change what's between us.  Got it?"

"Of... of course, my lady," he stammered.  "You... you are the brains of this outfit, as you put it."

She smiled and kissed him again.  "Smart boy," she said.  "Now, let's go get some dinner, and then I want to go shopping one more time."

"Don't you have enough clothes already?" Xibuyas asked.

"Not for me, for you," Seltiss said.  "We're meeting the Prime Minister tomorrow to go over our ransom inventory, and I want you to look your best..."

*******

[17 June, 234 Before Age..  Planet Shenia.]

"You're welcome to check the manifest yourself, of course," the minister said.

The Prime Minister of Shenia had a rather spacious office, primarily to accommodate press events and conferences.  He rarely hosted diplomatic envoys, due to Shenia’s isolation from the rest of the galaxy, though there was enough furniture for about two dozen ambassadors.   In spite of this, Seltiss took a seat on the corner of his desk, while Xibuyas stood behind his chair, looming over him with a menacing glower.

"No need for that," Seltiss said.  She slapped the paperwork with the back of her hand and made a satisfied nod.  "This all looks to be in order.  You could forge a lot of these documents, but not the tonnage of the shipments themselves, and the ones Xibuyas and I spot-checked looked to be in order.  Besides, none of it's leaving Shenia anyway."

"I don't... what?" the minister asked.

"Xibuyas and I will just bury it in the desert.  Later on, we'll parcel it out to you and the other ministers as a reward for your compliance."

"Madam Saiyan, I don't understand," the minister said, trying to contain his growing panic.  "You said you would leave Shenia once we paid this ransom."

"That's what I want the rest of the galaxy to think," she explained.  "If anyone visits Shenia and sees the aftermath of our invasion, I want them to think it was a couple of Saiyan raiders who took off once they got their plunder.  That way, no one will know we're still here, ruling the planet in secret."

"But why?" the minister asked.  

"Because I need a base of operations," Seltiss said.  "And if I conquered a planet outright, certain parties might come along to try to stop me.  If my father knew I was here, doing this, he'd probably kill me.  Well maybe not kill me, but he'd totally flip out."

"This isn't what we agreed," the minister protested.

"Oh, it's close enough," Seltiss insisted.  "Xibuyas and I will keep a low profile.  Your government will still control the planet, but you'll be taking orders from us.  Don't worry, we'll try to stay out of your way.  I'd suggest a special task force to handle our needs, but if you'd rather meet with me directly, that's no problem."

The minister was sweating now.  "You can't just renege on our agreement!" he said.  "Our army can still fight--!"

"Oh, please," Seltiss said.  "Do you think I picked this place at random?  Your warriors gave us a good workout, but you Shenians are practical enough to know when you're beaten.  Xibuyas could have destroyed your entire military, but we need it to maintain this ruse of mine.  Your ancestors were realistic enough to cooperate with the Camelians, and you're sensible enough to cooperate with me."

"Then why didn't you just tell us all this when we asked for terms of surrender?" he asked.   "If you were so sure we'd capitulate, why bother having us assemble a ransom at all?"

"That's easy," Seltiss explained.  "I asked for the ransom to see if you'd actually follow my instructions."  She held up the manifest and waved it at him.  "This right here proves you're willing to play along, and that you're not foolish enough to try to call for help or rat me out to my father.  You know Xibuyas can destroy this planet, and it's worth putting up with us for a while to make sure that doesn't happen."

The minister lowered his head and groaned.  "What are you kids going to do with our planet?" he asked.

"Oh, not much, minister," Seltiss said.  "You've been gracious hosts to Xibuyas and me, so I thought we might invite over some friends..."