Planet to Planet
Chapter One
The planet was a dark lifeless color, but against an ebon background and behind a red-tinted window Toma immediately mistook it for violet. He thought of it to be a bizarre color for a planet; the only colors he ever saw on a planet were maroon, azure, and a vivid orange with a much lighter hue of each respective color to represent the gases. Purple just seemed awkward for his tastes, but he knew that he could not control the natural paint of a planet.
Another peculiar thing about this planet was that it appeared to have no atmosphere. There were no swirling clouds. Toma was quite certain, however, that there was an atmosphere. Why would a large trade federation have any of its command centers on a planet with no oxygen? It was ridiculous when more than half of its members could not breathe without air!
The planet was quickly expanding in the window as the tiny ship glided closer and closer to it. Toma slumped back into his chair and let out a breath of relief. Almost there. He was nervous because he anticipated the reactions of the people down on that planet. Oh, he knew that he should be confident when he took that single step out of the pod to show those Trade members that he wasn't afraid of returning. He was not afraid that he risked his own life as well as his comrades' lives merely by their arrival. But would he be able to hide the umbrage he had toward Freeza once he came face-to-face with him?
"You don't need to worry about that now," he reminded himself quietly. The sub-leader sighed again, and then leaned forward so his elbows rested on his knees. His head relaxed on his palms while he stared out the window. "Just wait until the time comes."
Toma noticed the three spacepods in front of his and lifted a corner of his mouth up into his cheek. Somehow it made him feel better to see all of them in a single window. After he noticed the one in the lead, his spirits brightened with the knowledge that Celipa was still alive. Something was telling him that she was, no matter how bad her injuries were the last time he saw her and no matter how long it had been since then. Funny thing though, since it has only been a standard day since they lifted off Meatsei. And even then, she reassured him and the others that she would survive the trip.
He didn't believe in miracles, but he did know that something happened to her to allow her to live as long as she did. He wasn't sure exactly what, but he had a really strong feeling it was whatever-it-was-that-had-them-resurrected's doings.
Resurrected. That was what he and the others were. Toma never knew in his entire lifetime that such things were even possible, for the thought of revival had never even entered his mind once during his first lifetime. So when he awoke on Meatsei, he merely thought that he fell unconscious after he talked to Bardock, but after seeing the other three alive and well when he caught up with them told him that he really did die. There was only one valid reason for that: he knew for sure that at least Panboukin had been killed.
A strong vibration interrupted his thoughts, and he sat upright and shook his head in irritation. Yes, for sure there was an atmosphere. There just weren’t any clouds to show for it. Too bad the spacepod was a little old; if it had been more active then maybe the ride would be smoother.
Not so long after, the pod was going along efficiently as it descended towards the earth. As the pod continued downward, Toma suddenly felt another pull of anxiety at his leg. The time was almost near for him and the others to face a new and anticipated challenge.
The first sound Panboukin expected to hear once he stepped out of the spacepod was at least some slurred chatter coming from the headquarter building. Instead, his ears met nothing. Nothing except for two other automatic doors that had opened after his, and even after that he still heard nothing. The vicinity was utterly quiet. The little critters made no noise, but they were probably killed out right away. There was no breeze. It was like he was in a sound-resistant room, and he did not find that a pleasing feeling.
He stole a glimpse of the sky and saw that it was perfectly clear. Too clear, actually. He could see many stars and planets and moons without the aid of a telescope or squinting his eyes. He felt like he was on a rock planet. But he wasn't on a rock planet; there were many trees and plants growing as well as lakes and streams sprinkling the terrain. Who would ever think that landing pads would be right next to such scenery and yet a good distance away from the command center?
When Panboukin's eyes met the design of the headquarters, he saw practically nothing new. Each section of the building had dome-shaped roofs and rounded lofty towers with dark windows dotted in an aligned format on them. The only real difference he saw between Vegetasei's building structures and this planet's building structure was the beaks near the top of the towers. Otherwise, the building seemed perfectly normal to him.
Panboukin grunted as he walked over to the spacepod right next to his: Celipa's. He was not happy to see that it had not opened yet. It also discouraged him greatly, and he wondered if Celipa had told them that she would be fine during the journey just so they wouldn't worry about her so much. He knew for sure that she could not be tired at all; she had acquired plenty of rest while she was unconscious. At least, she didn't sound tired or weak the last time he talked to her. Could that have been a little play as well?
"She had better not be dead," he warned his two companions when he caught up with them. Totepo stood solemnly at the edge of the landing pad with his arms folded. Toma knelt next to the ship, and his eyes peered through the window to make sure that she was still alive. Panboukin stood a couple feet away from the older man, his threatening glare locked onto Toma.
"She's not," Toma assured them. He turned his head towards them with a small smirk. "Just sleeping. Good thing, too, so I won't have to deal with her struggling when I take her in."
"You're going to do it?" Panboukin questioned. He tried his best not to show amusement. But he failed. Miserably. He couldn't help but to sneer, "May I ask why?"
Toma knew that Panboukin was trying to taunt him and did not appreciate it. He narrowed his flaming eyes, but went ahead and answered the question.
"I owe her," he snarled, syncopating each syllable. He stood up and turned his back towards the other two Saiya-jin. The pod was met with a defiant stare that was barking at it to open up.
Panboukin held back his snickers with pursed lips. He always assumed, and he assumed that Toma had stronger feelings for Celipa than anyone else he had ever known --even more than he did for Bardock. He never told Toma before, but he already knew that the sub-leader suspected that he was poking fun at the fact that many people accused both Celipa and Toma of being a couple in the past. Luckily, Celipa had no clue of the rumors that had gone around on Vegetasei. She wasn't dense, but she never noticed Panboukin's jeers that was directed towards the two of them.
"I'm going to need a scouter or a remote control to open this thing up," Toma stated glumly.
Panboukin knew that they had wasted enough time already. The longer that they waited, the better chance for Celipa to pass away. "We don't have the time for that," he said, still unable to hide his arrogance. Toma did volunteer to take her in, after all. That only opened new doors of fun. "Looks like you're going to have to wake her up."
Toma turned sideways so that he could easily glance back and forth between the pod and the two Saiya-jin, his face transformed into a look of aggravation. He tried to come up with a good comeback, but Panboukin knew him well enough that he wouldn't be able to, especially in a situation such as this.
He never had been so right.
"Damn it," Toma growled. He turned back to the female inhabited ship in accusation. "I guess I have no choice."
"One thing though, Toma," Panboukin warned. "Don't try to wake her up the way you tried with me back on Meatsei. That would just make things worse." He glanced at Totepo, who had been extremely quiet all this time, with a gleam in his eye. "I almost feel sorry for him."
Totepo exhaled slightly, a smirk almost creeping up on his face. Panboukin didn't have to admit that this situation was getting very interesting and humorous, for Totepo knew it as well. At least, it was interesting and humorous for those not in Toma's situation.
But when Celipa finally woke up, it became ugly for all of them.
It was a very strange-looking ship, and very small as well. The nose of the alien craft was almost triangular, the tip of it cut off so the front end was flat. At the base of the triangle was a crescent with two pod shaped structures on each end. Underneath the pod windows were four small holes, the upper two halfway outside, the bottom two all the way inside. Like any normal spaceship, the very back of the ship had two large cylinders jetting out. Those, of course, were the engines.
This was the ship Senchuu. It was owned by a group of six Pairetos, three Butsudo-jin and three Roisei-jin.
The Pairetos were infamous throughout the entire galaxy as scavengers, thieves, grave robbers. But most of all, they were pirates. Any specific types of piracy they were skilled at? Yes. Space, land, and air.
That was why they were galactic outlaws.
The last thing that Totepo expected this place to be was abandoned.
It was very apparent that it had been deserted a long time ago. Moth-eaten fabric was draped around every object. Once inanimate cobwebs that were hanging down from the ceiling and corners of the walls were now swaying with the movements of the Saiya-jin's walk. The air was very stale as the dust danced gracefully in it. The odor of old and moldy was never a good thing to smell.
The original plan had been to get Celipa to the medical facilities as quickly as possible and let the doctors take over for them. Afterwards they would just do whatever came up, let it be questions to answer, questions to ask, a meeting with some of the elites to discuss about the background of the Saiya-jin; it really didn't matter. Just as long as answers came along. Now that this place had no signs of recent activity, there was a "slight" change in plans.
Toma still decided to take on the responsibility of getting Celipa to a healing tank. Of course he was going to make sure it worked first, but either way Totepo suspected it would be futile to even attempt to get her in. Celipa already insisted plentiful times that she was perfectly fine. She even tried to prove her point by standing without any bodies to lean on, but her expression of pain was quite evident. She was outvoted, much to her dismay.
Panboukin chose to see if any of the armor was still durable and check to make sure that none of the clothes had decayed. He was doing it partly for Celipa, who was in a desperate need of a new set of clothes, but he mainly wanted to do it for the entire crew. Especially since everyone except Toma's skin had been irritated by the shattered breastplates. Besides, they still needed to look their best for wherever they were to head to after this planet.
Totepo was left with the decision of the next planet to go to and call as their new home. Not only that, but he had to find out whatever information he could about how the Planet Trade broke down, how long it happened, and what happened to Vegetasei and the Saiya-jin. It was from that information he was going to determine where they could go. Oh, perhaps only this headquarters had been abandoned; there was rumored to be at least over seventy more bases. Nonetheless, all the bases should have the same information locked into their banks. However, Totepo's main concern was that the computers in this base still worked.
Everyone was a bit weary about separating again, considering what had happened on Meatsei. Toma assured everyone that he'd stay with Celipa in the medical room to prevent too much of a separation. Although Celipa didn't look very happy with that, she knew she had no choice. Luckily Panboukin agreed to find the scouters so that the crew could keep in contact with each other. They should be in the wardrobe anyway. According to Totepo's logic, if the scouters still worked, the computers should as well. Therefore, Totepo was not to be left out, for he could be easily located.
He finally reached a closed door during his walk, and he immediately knew that this was the control room. It was on the uppermost level of the entire headquarters and at the end of the corridor, so there was really nothing else it could be. He found the button to open them and wiped away the dust. Perhaps it will work if it wasn't clogged up as much.
The doors squeaked open. It was worse than nails on a chalkboard, but at least it opened. It was this fact that brightened up Totepo's spirits that the computers worked as well.
He took a step inside and immediately coughed. Dry, sour air. It was worse in this room than it was out in the hall. He knew the reason for that though. More of the fresh air from outside was able to enter, but in here everything seemed to be just about sealed. The computer consoles and tables were covered with blankets, much like the objects of the rest of the building. They weren't moldy, but there was a thin layer of dust upon them. Therefore, Totepo was even more reassured that the computers would work.
But since when were the Planet Trade members so thoughtful? If they knew they weren't coming back, then why did they bother to care for the computers?
Well, any information about that may be provided in the files. It truly didn't matter, though.
Totepo lifted one of the sheets from the consoles carefully as to not let any irritating particles land into the system. After he threw it behind his back, he stared at the keys with bemusement. He had not a clue which button did what. He didn't want to waste too much time, so he placed a finger on a random button --specifically, a red key near the top that was not sticking out.
Everything turned on. The computers, the lights, everything. Totepo exhaled a breath of relief; not all was for loss anymore. Then he set out to do what Saiya-jin hate to do the most.
Research.