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Fandom Dragon Ball: Odyssey of Power (Main Thread)

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ChoShadow

That One Fear In My Enemy's Eyes
(((This RP has reached completion in basic design and is open to character submissions!! Please leave me a "hello" in the OOC before submitting though. I consider it a general courtesy to communicate before just jumping into someone's RP.)))

(((Thank you! :D)))
 
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T'was a warm Summer's day in Valkyom, the capital city being named after the planet Herself. A beautiful blue sky overhead, green grasses swaying gingerly in the wind. Birds and small animals flittering and skittering too and fro in a cacophony of territorial disputes and foraging rights. Through the vast open plains outside the main city meandered a herd of fearsome, multi-tongued beasts known as Krell Solus were foraging and drinking water by a river running through the area. Despite their appearance, the Krell Solus were herbivores who fed primarily on roots and whatever berries they could scrape from berry bushes and sometimes fruit trees.

All in all, a very calm, peaceful day.

That was, of course, until a little girl no more than three years old came flying in from out of nowhere and raced past the Krell Solus causing them to scatter in all directions before reforming the herd a short distance away near a hill. The child flew a wide arc around before catching up to the herd and floated gingerly above them, smiling and giggling the whole way, as she watched them canter about below.

However... As she kept her eyes down, she was unaware of a presence which had appeared ahead of her. And within moments she felt two large soft objects smush against her head causing her to release a soft "Oof!"

Looking up, she beheld the face and calm, confident smile of her mother, Nomiya, floating with her arms crossed as she wagged a finger at the child.

"Miki. What are you doing to those poor beasts?"

"I wanna see them wun (run) mommy!" Miki replied urgently.

Nomiya floated closer and gently wrapped her right arm around Miki while supporting her bum and legs with her left. The child, though still somewhat disheartened, proceeded to sit calmly in her mother's embrace and lay against her large chest, resting her head against the top of her breasts near her collar bone.

"Well, if you really want them to run..."

Nomiya floated along above them quietly, Miki clutched against her chest. Then, Nomiya let out a grunt and a concussive burst of Ki emerged from her body and struck the ground causing a tiny tremor. Though non-harmful to anything below, it got the Krell's attention in an instant and they immediately broke into sprints in all directions.

Miki proceeded to giggle gleefully in her mother's arms as she raced across the skies catching up to each individual in turn before setting her daughter free to try and do the same. Miki floated unsteadily for a moment, still trying to get the hang of flight, and once stable she raced ahead trying to follow the herd leader. Nomiya flew along behind Miki, smiling and shaking her head happily as she watched her daughter play.

Though not intended to be malicious in nature, Miki flew up on the creatures one by one and pinched their hind quarters. This made them jump and start running faster, which made the tiny child laugh giddily and wriggle her fists in front of her chest before catching up to the beast and sitting on its back, holding onto one of its scales to stay on board as it ran around trying to escape the little hitchhiker it picked up. Jumping off the creature, Miki flew to the next and repeated the process. And before long, she began to fly alongside them and smile up at them, hoping against hope to see them smile back to show they were having as much fun as she was.

Eventually, though, all things come to an end. Nomiya called to Miki, ending the festivities, and the child flew back to her mother's gentle embrace where a kiss was placed against her forehead and a hand on her back as she flew the child back home.

Their house was very modest, and located at the edge of the city. Walking through the front door and into the entry way, Nomiya set Miki down who promptly trotted off to sit in the living room and finish some doodles she'd started earlier in the day. Nomiya, meanwhile, sat down on the sofa and turned on the television monitor to see what news had come up, if any. The days had been quiet lately. No calls from Graceful Storm had come through on her Scouter which sat nearby on a small table.

"... reports say a storm system is moving through, but should either just miss the city or pass by in a matter of two to three hours at worst. Areas of the city marked in red are expected to lose power temporarily until the storm clears, given its highly electrical nature. Calm skies expected in the coming days and-" Nomiya switched the channel to one of zen scenery as she heaved a sigh and stretched her arms out above her head, her elbows cracking lightly as she laid herself down and closed her eyes.

"Mommy!"

"Yes, my little animal chaser?"

Miki held up a doodle of Nomiya and Commander Korvaiis.

"Here! I dwew (drew) this for you!"

Nomiya opened her eyes and looked at the doodle as she held it up with a smile.

"You really think the Commander is scary, don't you?" She asked with a chuckle.

Miki nodded feverishly.

"Commanduh Korwaiis (Korvaiis) is scawy (scary). He aways (always) looks angwy (angry)!"

Nomiya set the doodle down next to her Scouter and scooped up Miki, laying her down on her stomach and chest.

"He looks scary, but he's a nice man little one. Don't worry. Mommy wouldn't be in his Group if she didn't think he was a good man."

Miki seemed convinced, and settled down against her mother and soon fell asleep with a loving hand stroking her back and hair. Nomiya looked to her Scouter just in time to see a communication come through. She put it on her head, tapped the button, and received a message which read:

Nomiya. Please report to Commander Korvaiis by no later than 1030 hours tomorrow morning. An urgent request has come in from a client and will require almost immediate deployment following a meeting with you. Over.

Nomiya arched an eyebrow as she whispered back into her Scouter so it would read her speech, translate it to text, and send it back.

"Why does it matter that I meet the Commander? Is this a client that has a history with me or my family?" She asked.

The Scouter read her speech, translated it to text, and sent it off. She received a response in less than a minute with one cryptic word: Yes.

Nomiya replied affirmatively, putting her Scouter back on the table as she continued to rub Miki's back and stroke her hair.

"Just when I was thinking about requesting some vacation time too... Oh well. Maybe after we take care of this we can go visit a lush and vibrant world like Planet Sigma 76-B. I think we deserve some girl time." She whispered, kissing Miki's head and laying her head down to rest her eyes.
 
The following morning, Nomiya and Miki made their way to Graceful Storm's primary base of operation. It was high in the frigid mountains outside the city, and with Miki not being a fan of the cold she was bundled up like a snow-bunny and ready to face the elements. Her mother, who did like the cold, dressed in her traditional armor which consisted of an armored torso piece and durable, high-grade elastic fabric for her legs along with a similar material for her boots. This fabric was there in the event she ever needed to transform into an Ozaru, which, to date, had never happened.

Upon arrival, the bundled bundle of energy hopped out of her mother's arms and trotted about the base's exterior while her mother went inside to speak to the Commander.

The primary base of operations was a rather small building which served as Commander Korvaiis' secondary home. It had a chamber for him to stay, a meeting room, a gallery/war room, and a kitchen/dining room. Other than that, it wasn't really the whole Group's place to stay. With over 600 members, they wouldn't be able to fit more than 1/10th of them in here.

She knocked on the Commander's door, and received a stern "Enter!"

Stepping through the door, she greeted her Commander with a salute.

"You wished to see me, Commander?"

"Yes, Nomiya. Please sit down."


Doing so, she sat with her back straight and chin up, meeting his gaze.

"What's this about?"

The Commander slid a document across the table.

"We received this yesterday morning. You tell me what you see."

Noiya took a moment to read through the document, and her brow arched.

"It's a ransom letter. A carefully written one."

The Commander nodded.

"What else?"

"It involves my great uncle. Or so it claims."

"Why is it just a claim?"

"Because there isn't a rejuvenation chamber in the universe which can restore a disintegrated head."

"I take it you were there?"

"I was. He fought well, and died honorably in battle... If not somewhat unceremoniously."

"Then what do we make of this?"

"Whoever wrote this knows my family well enough to point out that I at least had a great uncle. But otherwise they're either misinformed about which of my family still lives or they're bluffing and hoping that I'll come to them for one reason or another. My family has its share of enemies in the universe, as you know."

"Mm. That's true. As do many of our families. But Nomiya, I have to be frank that I don't like this ransom letter. If it is meant to draw you out then I insist that you take at least Bacho and Kain with you. They should be able to keep you safe without giving it away."

"Kain huh?"

"I know you're not fond of him, but he's one of our best Stealth operatives. And he's a professional. He'll do his job, or he'll face me when he returns. And he knows it."

"Very well then. I'll contact them. When do I leave?"

"Almost immediately. They've already been briefed and need only your word to join you at the launch pad. And remember, this is off-the-books. You'll be under the guise of a service departure where you will meet the ransomers. Do what you must to end this peacefully. If you can't, eliminate them."

"Copy. And what aobut Miki?"

"I'll take her to Yora's place. She'll be safe an happy there until you return."

"Thank you. She'll be happy to see Sasha again too, I'm sure."


With that, Nomiya rose with a salute to Commander Korvaiis and departed the facility. She gave Miki a big hug and kiss, as well as plenty of nuzzling and blowing against her cheek, which Miki absolutely loved. Leaving her with the Commander, she flew off towards the city and an absurdly large building known as The Dock. With a maximum capacity of 100,000 occupants, it was ideal for launching dozens of Groups at once if need be. Typically launches consisted of between six and ten at any given time within a five minute period.

Nomiya met her Sergeant, Serge, and requested permission for Bacho and Kain to join her on an off-the-books departure by order of Commander Korvaiis. After confirming with the Commander via his Scouter, Serve gave permission to launch a service pod, max capacity of ten occupants. Thanking her Sergeant with a salute, she departed for the launch bay and waited for her service pod to arrive. As soon as it did, she tapped her Scouter.

"Bacho, Kain. This is Nomiya. Meet me at Launch Bay 4 in two minutes. We're cleared for service departure."

"Copy."
Came their simultaneous reply.

And so the wait began.
 
On board the ship, Nomiya sat quietly in the lead pilot's seat as she set the vessel to auto-pilot with Kain and Bacho sitting behind her.

... An eerie silence permeated the air around them before Bacho rose and exited the bridge to go sit in his quarters as Kain kept his (narrowed) eyes fixed on Nomiya's head.

"So... What's the plan?"

"We meet the loser who thinks he can fool me with this ransom of my dead uncle, diffuse the situation if possible, and if not..."


Kain smiled.

"I like the trail off there."

"I know it's your favorite activity."

"Yes. But it's yours too, unless you'd forgotten."


Nomiya rapidly spun in her chair.

"It is NOT... My favorite thing." She growled.

"It was before a certain little chubby cheeked nuisance came into-"

Nomiya's hand slammed into his mouth, throwing him and his chair backwards onto the floor.

"The fuck was that?!"

Nomiya stood over his chest, squatting down with her eyes wide, teeth bared, and a hard grip on his chest armor.

"Don't you EVER insult my daughter again. If you do..."

Her free hand opened in front of his nose, and a small bead of Ki emerged letting off extreme heat that slowly burned the flesh at the tip causing him to turn his head away. The bead of Ki then disappeared, and Nomiya pulled him closer.

"Have I made myself clear?"

Kain grunted in response, glancing away as Nomiya dropped him to the floor and returned to her seat.

"Go to your quarters and stay there until I call for you."

Kain rose and exited the room quietly as Nomiya's aura slowly and unconsciously flowed out around her. Clenched fists rested on her thighs and her feet pressed firmly into the floor as her brow twitched. She took several deep breaths before her power came under control and her shoulders relaxed while she leaned back in her seat. Her eyes closed as she took another deep breath accompanied by the soft hum of the ship's engines.
 
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Touchdown...

The bay doors opened, and Nomiya stood with Bacho behind her. A short distance away stood a gaggle of alien humanoids not terribly dissimilar to the Saiyans. Their skin bore a reddish hue, slightly stockier arms and legs thus making them shorter in stature, but Nomiya's Scouter immediately picked up their power levels. The weakest among them had a power of around 1,800 while the strongest, the one in the lead who was presumably the one who wrote the ransom letter, had a power exceeding 26,000.

Nomiya's power was 12,450, less than half of his. However, Bacho's power level of 24,000, coupled with his long and gruesome experience in battle, would be more than a match for him if a battle broke out. Kain's power was around 15,000, and while stronger than Nomiya by raw power he was more geared towards stealth-based assassinations which is why he was still waiting inside the ship.

"Welcome, Saiyans. You're Nomiya, I presume?"

Nomiya approached in silence, glaring him down the entire way.

"I'll take that as a "yes." Very well. Then let's get down to business, shall we?"

Silence.

"Fine. I'll do the talking. We have your uncle in our base, and we were planning on killing him at first opportunity. However, we realized early enough that to do so would be a waste given how valuable he is to your family back on your home planet."

Silence.

"Strong silent type? Fine. So, what's your uncle's life worth?"

"What's the demand?"

"Twelve million Credits."

"No."

"Oh? You're going to try and negotiate down?"

"No. I'm simply saying "no" to your demand."

"You do realize that he dies if you don't meet my demand or provide an acceptable offer, right?"

"Of course I do."

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple.

"So you're okay with your uncle dying?"

"Of course."

"Then... Hmph. Very well," he said, looking over his shoulder. "Bring him."

Two minutes later, a Saiyan was brought before the leader and thrown to his knees. Nomiya's Scouter returned a power level of 28, his body scratched, bruised, and bloody. And it didn't take long for him to fall forward to the ground on his stomach.

"Any final words for your uncle?"

Nomiya looked up.

"No."

"Well," he said on a snarl. "A typical cold blooded Saiyan to the end, I see. Fine then!"

An orb of energy appeared in his palm, growing in size to around a meter in diameter.

"Hold on."

The orb shrunk to nothing.

"Hmph. Second thoughts?"

"No. I just needed to buy a moment of time."

"What?"

A small beam suddenly erupted to life behind them, piercing the lead's upper left chest causing him to cough up blood and drop to his knees while Bacho and Nomiya launched forward at full power and began their assault.

The lead was hers.

Nomiya's right hand opened, and a tiny ball of Ki emerged from the center of her palm. As her hand landed on his face, fingers gripping his forehead and her thumb his jaw, the Ki ball slammed into his flesh causing it to practically melt on the spot. Shrieking at the top of his lungs, or lung, rather, he grabbed her wrist and attempted to rip her hand free. But Nomiya's grip remained firm, and his rapidly fading power level had already made him too weak to stop her.

Using her free hand she blasted a hole through the center of another of his men's stomachs. Continuing through, the blast ripped through the thigh of another behind him. With both falling to the ground grabbing where their bodies were annihilated, Nomiya's eyes slid to the right as a boot appeared in her field of view. Before she could move, it slammed into her face causing her to fly backwards and let go of the lead's now half melted face. His lifeless body fell to the ground, and Nomiya's assailant revealed themselves to be none other than Kain himself.

"You bastard! What the fuck are you doing?!"

A fist came her way, with Nomiya just barely being able to stop it with both hands before passing it to the side and slamming an elbow into his stomach. Coughing up some saliva, Kain smiled and kicked Nomiya down into the dirt.

"Sorry, Nomiya. But your time with chubby cheeks has made you soft. You're not fit to be a part of Graceful Storm anymore."

"I told you..."


Kain slammed a boot into Nomiya's face once again pushing her deeper into the ground and into a crater caused by the impact of his boot. Raising his boot, he slammed it down into her again. And again. And again.

"Hahahahahaa!! What are you going to do, huh?"

Grabbing her ankle, he whirled her around before throwing her down into the ground head first.

"Your time's up, bitch!"

He lifted her up and slammed her into the ground again, harder this time. But as he lifted again he failed to notice Nomiya's aura beginning to appear around her body.

"Enjoy your time in hell, Nomiya."

Throwing her down and flying into the air, he caught a glimpse of Bacho, still preoccupied with the other humanoids while fighting desperately to reach Nomiya and help her.

"Ha! Sorry Bacho. But you know as well as I do that this is for the best. That little abomination has already caused enough damage to our Group's reputation!"

Aiming his hands at Nomiya, he prepared his strongest technique.

"Farewell, you pathetic nuisance!"

Ki gathered in abundance in his hands before launching a tremendous beam in Nomiya's direction.

"Nomiya!! Look out!!" Bacho shouted.

Down on the ground, Nomiya's body continued to glow subtly with her red aura as the blast struck dead on causing a massive explosion. Bacho froze at the sight just long enough to receive a stab wound in the lower left side of his abdomen. Pulling the weapon free, he blasted the last of the creatures away before flying up to Kain, attempting a wild kick which Kain easily dodged using his superior speed.

"Bacho, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill you, you traitor!"

"Huh..."

Bacho's attacks came rapidly and aggressive spurts, but Kain's superior speed continued to allow him the room to dodge by a hair's breadth wasting as little energy as possible. Bacho, meanwhile, was starting to fatigue. He was a Tank, and not meant for extended combat so much as absorbing the blows of stronger enemies to give units like Kain and Nomiya room to attack. But he'd never trained to fight against his own.

"Look Bacho. Think about all the damage that little runt has done to our Group's reputation! We're a laughing stock that she's actually considered part of it! Technically, she's not even supposed to be a member because only those who've completed training can join the ranks! And always through official recognition by the Corps!"

"Silence! You've no authority here! Nomiya and Miki are part of our Group whether you like it or not!"

"Fine... We were always friends Bacho. But now it's time I put an end to this. I can't have you blabbing to the Commander about Nomiya's death now can I?"

Kain put some distance between the two and began charging a sneak attack. Gathering his energy into his fingers, but not allowing it to escape his body, he prepared a surgical strike to use against Bacho as he flew towards him. As Bacho launched his attack, Kain slipped beneath it and planted his fingertips against the stab wound Bacho had received, and let fly. The beam cut clean through to the other side, exiting Bacho's lower back and flying into the skies above before disappearing from view.

Bacho froze mid-air, gripping his wound as blood seeped between his fingers.

"I warned you Bacho. You've always trusted me before, so why not now?"

"Y-you... (Cough)... Nomiya's one of our own... We never attack our own... Ever!..."

"(Sigh)... Well Bacho, it's been nice knowing you."

Kain brought up a hand to charge another Ki blast, but stopped when his Scouter, and Bacho's, started letting off an emergency warning as a new power level was discovered. Looking around to pinpoint the source, Kain stopped as it said the power was right there in front of him. But he didn't see anything.

However, as Kain looked at Bacho he noticed the Tank was looking down... Towards Nomiya's grave site.

Kain turned and looked down rapidly. And there, in the crater where Nomiya's corpse should have been, stood the woman herself. Her armor was half torn away across the chest, partially exposing her left breast. But she obviously didn't notice or care. With numerous cuts, bruises, and old scars from battles long past now exposed, and her red aura surging quietly around her, Nomiya looked almost like a demonic witch from old fairy tales. Her eyes were pure white as blood trickled from her forehead between them, accompanied by soft growls with every breath she took.

"Wh-what IS this? Power Level... 15,780... Impossible!! She's never gone above 12,450, and she's reached her Genetic Limit!!"

Nomiya's aura, previously a soft flowing shimmer around her figure, erupted into a massive inferno accompanied by a shriek of rage.

"Gah!... Power Level... 18... 19... 20... No!!... 23... 25,000, and climbing!!"

Bacho could hardly believe his eyes. Nomiya's power exploding like this was something he'd never seen before. Was she always this powerful and just hiding it? No. That couldn't be! The doctors in the Group confirmed she'd reached her Genetic Limit. So what was going on?!

Finally, Nomiya's power hit a ceiling, resting comfortably at 28,640.

Kain was speechless, and Nomiya looked up as her pupils slowly faded into existence once again.

"I told you..." She softly growled.

"Never to insult my daughter!!" She shrieked.

In the blink of an eye Nomiya had disappeared from view and appeared in front of Kain. Slamming a fist into the side of his jaw, snapping the bone at the hinge on the spot, she sent Kain flying before immediately giving chase. Upon reaching him, she thrust a spearhand into his stomach, piercing his armor. Digging into the attack, Nomiya's hand pierced his flesh and pushed her fingers through and past his stomach muscles. As she pushed forward further, her hand erupted from his back with a chunk of his spinal chord clenched in her fist.

Kain's mind was overwhelmed by pain, though he could no longer feel what happened beneath the wound. His legs went limp, and Nomiya half pulled her arm free of him before unleashing a large Ki blast through his body, separating it into two halves, upper and lower which then fell gracelessly to he ground. Nomiya then let her aura flare, forcing the blood to fly off her body as she took a deep breath to clam herself... But her power didn't decrease.

Bacho slowly floated up to Nomiya, observing the 28,640 power level she now boasted.

"N-Nomiya... How?"

Nomiya turned towards Bacho slowly, her face soft with a warm smile.

"I don't know..."

"Then, since when?"

She shook her head.

"The only thing I know for certain is that my power began rising not long after Miki was born. But as for what triggered it, I couldn't even begin to tell you."

"I see... Well, I think we're done here. Let's gather that Saiyan and head home. We could both use the rest."

She nodded, helping him fly down to grab the other Saiyan and board their ship for a return trip home. Along the way, they all received a rest in the ship's on-board rejuvenation chamber. Following this, Nomiya's power saw a roughly 6% increase to 30,350. Fairly standard for a post-intense battle recovery. Nomiya repressed her power, dropping it until it hit 12,450 as was her expected maximum. Upon Bacho's inquiry as to why she hid her power, Miki chuckled.

"Believe it or not, it's more comfortable for me to keep it suppressed like this."

Bacho was curious, but went along with it and promised not to inform anyone. Nomiya would tell the others when she was ready. But for now, she had only one thing on her mind... Going home and getting a big hug from Miki.
 
Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

The constant and even beeping of the heart monitor played on a loop in the background as Nomiya lay perfectly still on the medical table, a single doctor and nurse leaning over her while taking a blood sample from her arm.

"Let me know the results, please."

"Yes, doctor." The nurse replied before trotting off to analyze the sample.

"So, Nomiya. How do you feel?"

"Fine."

"No irregular fatigue or muscle tightness anywhere?"

"No."

"No irregular occurrences with your Ki?"

"None that I'm aware of."

"Okay. That's good, then."


"Doctor, the results are positive. She's hit her Genetic Limit."

"And yet her power continues to grow after battle... Fascinating."

"You don't know why?"

"I haven't the faintest. Please scan that blood sample again. This time, though, look for anything that's out of the ordinary, no matter how small."


"Yes, doctor." She replied, scampering off again to analyze the blood.

"You said that this continual increase in power began to occur after the birth of your daughter, correct?"

"That's right."

"Interesting. But you don't know why it happened?"

"No more than you do."


He chuckled.

"Fair enough."

"Any theories?"

"None that are worth mentioning."


Nomiya nodded.

"Can I move now?"

"Hmm? Oh, yes. Sorry. Feel free to sit up and move about. You can disconnect the heart monitor as well."


Nomiya say upright and unhooked the device as the doctor shut the monitor off to silence the tone which resulted. A few minutes later, the nurse came back.

"Anything?"

"Yes, doctor. There was something new in her blood I've never seen before. It looked almost like a red blood cell at first, but after closer inspection it was an entirely new kind of cell."

"Show me."

Together they all went to the electron microscopes to see the tiny little bugger up close, and they shared a collected soft gasp of interest.

"Fascinating... A new kind of cell. One not attacked by your white blood cells and not attacking your red blood cells like a virus or other infection does."

"So I'm not sick, then."

"No, but still. This warrants further study. We'll continue monitoring this new cell's behavior and inform you of our findings once we have more information."

"Thanks Yarol. Keep this quiet, please."

"Of course, Nomiya. You know me."

"Indeed so, my friend. Be well, and inform me if and only if you figure out what this cell is for. If you don't, then just destroy the sample and forget you ever saw it."

"Copy that, miss Vanguard."


Nomiya chuckled and slapped his shoulder before leaving the building to fly home. When she arrived, Nomiya was playing in the yard with a few large insects that were fluttering about before flying over to hug her mother.

"Did you have fun, sweetie?"

"Mhmm! Miki had loads of fun! Can we play now?"

"Of course we can... I hope you've gotten faster sweetheart. Because if you haven't, mommy's going to tickle you into submission!"

"Eeeeeeek!!"


Miki flew off at top speed with Nomiya in hot pursuit, staying just a little ways behind while steadily catching up only to "fall behind" again to Miki's great delight. The two played well into the twilight hours before Miki was put to sleep for the night and Nomiya stayed awake on the outer patio hoping that Yarol would get back to her sooner than later about that new cell he discovered in her body.
 
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The soft breathing of her daughter against her neck forced a smile to spread across her lips. Stroking the tiny girl's back soft as could be, Nomiya lay on the grass under the fading twilight sun just outside her home. Having eventually caught up to and tickled Miki to the point of tears, Nomiya managed to tucker the girl out in no time.

"Looks like mommy still has more energy than you, huh sweetheart?" She whispered, kissing the tiny girl's forehead.

Miki, still in her sleep, brushed her head as if itching a tickle, much to Nomiya's delight.

Scooping her daughter up in her arms, she silently flew back to the house and to Miki's room to put her down for the night. Tucking her in and kissing her cheek, Nomiya returned to the living room to watch the sun finish setting beyond the horizon.

"I wonder if Yarol found out what that-"

Beep Beep! Beep Beep!

Right on cue.

Grabbing her Scouter, Nomiya put it on her head and tapped the comms button.

"Nomiya."

"Nomiya, this is Yarol. We've made a rather interesting discovery about that cell. Please come as soon as possible."

"Roger. On my way."


Quietly, Nomiya closed down the house and flew to the medical center at the edge of the city where Yarol was waiting for her.

"Yarol."

"Nomiya. This way."


Entering the facility, he led her back to the same room she had her blood drawn in. Nurses were gathered around the computer monitors and each one focused on their individual task of keeping an eye on the cells drawn from Nomiya's body.

"Take a look. Notice anything?"

"... One of those monitors has information about my life listed on it."

"Indeed. We did some digging into your history both prior to, during, and after the birth of your daughter. And we discovered something remarkably coincidental to the point where it can hardly be considered a coincidence anymore."

"And that is...?"

"Your blood was sampled just before the birth of your daughter, and no such cells existed. However, within three months of the birthing you were back in the field. And during one such battle you were injured by a puncture through the left clavicle. Your blood was taken and analyzed for potential bacteria, and indeed the doctors found something. But it wasn't a bacteria..."


A new image appeared on the monitor, right next to a live feed of the cells drawn from her blood just yesterday.

"Notice anything... Familiar?"

"It's the cell."

"Correct." At first it was thought to be an infection and you were given antibiotics to fight the infection. The next blood sample was taken only two weeks later, and was found to be clear of the so-called infection. And the reason showed us something interesting."


Another new data table was brought up.

"During this time period of recovery, your daughter was kept in a secure location where she'd be safe from any potential spread of infection via contact with you. And it was during this time that your blood was drawn and shown to be clear of the infection. But as soon as you were cleared to return home and you reunited with your daughter, your next blood test showed the infection had returned. And in greater numbers. Do you remember?"

"Yes. I was quarantined for three months to clear the infection. When it was over, I was placed on a watch for six more months before I was allowed to pick up Miki again and go home."

"Correct. So do you see the correlation?"

"It's Miki. She's the reason these cells have begun appearing, isn't she? Is she infected?"

"No. This isn't an infection, Nomiya. There is nothing malign about the cells themselves. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Take a look."


Nomiya glued her eyes to the screen as new data was displayed.

"Look. This is your DNA. And this-" A specific set of strands were highlighted, "Is where your Genetic Limit is located."

The nurses all turned their heads towards the doctor's screen.

"Under normal circumstances, this is what it should look like." A new image of differently arranged strands appeared next to the image of Nomiya's DNA. "See the difference? This is what all Saiyan DNA looks like, more or less, from birth until death. But you. Your DNA is changing. Evolving, if you will. And it's all thanks to the presence of those cells."

"So what does this mean?"

"It means, Nomiya, that you are the first Saiyan in history to overcome her Genetic Limit. And this means, in short, that your ability to increase in power is now theoretically unlimited."

"Un-... Limited."

"Yes. But Nomiya, you must be careful. This is uncharted territory for a Saiyan, and there's no telling what this could mean for you in the future."

"Yeah... Got it."


Nomiya returned home in shock, laying down in her bed and staring at the ceiling wondering what in the world this meant and how it would affect her going forward. And Miki... She found herself meandering to Miki's room and staring at her daughter with only one thought on her mind.

"Do you have these cells as well, sweetheart?"

... Only time would tell.
 
A bead of sweat dripped slowly and lazily down the flesh of her cheek and jaw from her temple as she sat in her chair across from Commander Korvaiis and both of his Sub-Commanders, Kalia and Jerin.

"Nomiya. Perhaps you could explain something for us about your ship's log on the return trip from the ransom mission?" Korvaiis began.

Nomiya subtly swallowed a lump growing in her throat.

"Your ship's log indicates that yourself, Bacho, and Kain departed. Sometime during the battle a power level of roughly 28,000 appeared and wiped Kain out before disappearing. By then the only ones left were yourself, Bacho, and a handful of the kidnappers remained on the ship's power readouts." Kalia stated.

"And another thing. Unless the ship's power readers were malfunctioning, it was your power that spiked to 28,000." Jerin added.

"All due respect, Sub-Commander Jerin. How can you be sure it was my power?"

"Nomiya... Seriously?"


"Because before it began to skyrocket, it rose to and held at 12,450... In other words, your maximum power."

"I suppose you could call it coincidence, but we don't believe in those Nomiya. You should know that about us by now."

"Mmm..."

"Nomiya. If your power has risen to 28,000, or potentially even higher as a result of your healing post-battle on that world, then your power has approached or crossed the threshold into Elite territory... Do I need to tell you what that means?"

"That my rank is changing?"

"Hardly."


The others scoffed.

"It means, Nomiya, that you have been lying to your superiors about your Genetic Limitation and respective max power level. This is a serious offense which not only will result in your expulsion from Graceful Storm, but potentially result in your being outcast from our Home World."

Nomiya took a short breath.

"All due respect, Commander. I haven't lied about anything."

"Then you admit your power?"

"I admit to my power level exceeding my limitations. I have hit my Genetic Limit. Just ask the doctors. All of my blood tests come back positive every time."


"Is that so?" Jerin inquired.

"It is. Call Yarol. He's the one who's been reporting them."

"We did. And after bringing him in and giving him a little pressure, he admitted to falsifying the reports about your Genetic Limit on your request."

"He WHAT?!" She screamed, standing rapidly and knocking her chair to the ground.

The others stood up across from her.

"Nomiya. Do you have a defense for this?"

"He told me my blood confirmed I've reached my Genetic Limit! He confirmed that there are new cells in my bloodstream which have mutated my DNA and seemingly overwritten it despite it still technically being there! I've done NOTHING wrong!!"


"... I see." Kalia stated calmly.

"So that's what you've been hiding, is it?"

Nomiya blinked.

"What?"

"We spoke to him, and he confirmed what you say about your genetic limit. Nothing more. We let him be on his way afterwards."

"So then..."


"We had our suspicions about you and your power for some time. And we decided it was time once and for all to confirm them."

"So we fabricated the story of Yarol's admission to see if it stoked the fires in your heart and made you admit to something deeper. Sometimes even the best can succumb to pressure when their world as they know it is facing a crisis such as being outcast."

"... Y-you..."

"Nomiya. You're correct in saying you've done nothing wrong... Technically speaking. But hiding this information from us was a mistake. And one which I'm afraid you must pay for."


"Henceforth, Nomiya, your status as a soldier in Graceful Storm is suspended. As long as you set foot in this base of operation or on Graceful Storm's mothership, you will do so only under escort by a Lieutenant. You will take to the battlefield only following direct orders from one of the three of us. And you will be limited to only one hour's time at our training facilities."

"..."

Nomiya's fists clenched at her sides.

"Nomiya. If your power truly is over 28,000 as per the readouts, then we also must report this to Central Command. Your power must be recorded and given notice that it's only going to continue growing... And once that report reaches the ears of the King..."

"Even we don't know what will happen then. But if your power is given the chance to approach or surpass that of the King he will likely have you executed to protect his throne and right to rule."

"So you're going to serve me up to the hungry hounds, then?"

"No, Nomiya. We're going to do our jobs. What comes afterwards is beyond our control."


"We wish you no ill will, Nomiya. But you must have known there'd be consequences to hiding your power. The King is paranoid as it is, and the fact you've hidden your growth this far will only make him think you did so to buy time until you were strong enough to defeat and overthrow him. It's his paranoia that will likely lead to your execution. Not any wish of ours."

"That's of little comfort!!" She screamed.

"Nomiya. Calm yourself. If the King orders your execution then the three of us will speak on your behalf. If we cannot succeed in quelling the King's paranoia, we can at least use that opportunity to buy you time to escape."

"Escape? To where?"

"We don't know. Anywhere other than here."


"This is all uncharted territory Nomiya. Had you come to us about your power earlier on when this first began we might have been able to come up with a better strategy or excuse for your power increases while they were still minimal. But now, with your power more than having doubled after supposedly hitting your Genetic Limit, there's no way we can protect you from what's going to happen whether it pans out as we fear or not."

"Take some time to rest, Nomiya. The reports won't make it in for a couple days at least. You have until we send word to you about further development to think about what you want to do."

"So my suspension?"

"A formality, really. Observing protocol."

"Right..."

"I'm sorry, Nomiya."


"You should go home and be with Miki. The two of you will have a lot to talk about."

"... Yeah..."

A few minutes later, Nomiya flew home with a half-glazed over expression. It had all happened so fast... Damn the Commanders. Their intelligence and instincts for what's going on in their Group were impeccable to say the least. That's what made them so effective. But still... That's also why Nomiya now faced being outcast from her home world and being forced to try and find/build a new life somewhere out in the universe with Miki on an unfamiliar planet.

This sucked, to put it nicely.
 
The day had arrived, and sooner than expected. Nomiya had received a summons to the Royal Hall, judgement zone for Saiyans brought before the King. Miki had already been informed of the situation by Nomiya, and while she wasn't happy about the idea of leaving all her friends in Graceful Storm behind, she couldn't deny her mother when she said it was their only option.

In the Hall, Nomiya now knelt before the King while the Commander and Sub-Commanders stood nearby, arms crossed, and sweating mildly as they kept their eyes on the King who sat on his Throne of Judgement with his eyes closed.

"... Your power reached its limit several years ago. And yet here you kneel with more than twice your original power." The King began.

Commander Korvaiis swallowed a lump in his throat.

"What have you to say about this affront?" The King asked, opening his eyes.

"All due respect, your Majesty, it's no affront."

Korvaiis winced.

"Not an affront, you say?" The King replied softly.

"An affront is an action taken or words exchanged which cause outrage. But my power is what yours and all other Saiyan power is: A product of my time in battle and my Saiyan biology kicking in after intense encounters. That's no affront. Not to you. And not to the Saiyan Race."

"You believe so, do you?"

"If it is an affront to you, then you can blame your own paranoia that someone stronger than you will try to dethrone you."


Everyone's eyes widened.

"I hold no interest in your throne, your Majesty. I care only about raising my daughter and continuing to serve Graceful Storm as a soldier like I've done since I joined. Regardless of how powerful I become, I don't intend to make any changes to my life style."

The King's eyes closed slowly, his lower lip quivering as his hands gripped his throne and cracked the stone arms beneath the pressure of his fingers.

"So you dare to presume that you have caused no affront?"

"If I have caused an affront, I can only presume it's you being over sensitive about the potential my power brings to the table and the idea in your head, and your head alone, that it's a threat to your rule."

"Hmph..."


Korvaiis' hands gripped his arms as he struggled to maintain his footing. Nomiya was going to be assaulted by the King if she didn't stop running her mouth about his paranoia. And he didn't know if he would be able to stop the man if he did decide to attack.

The King stood from his throne, opening his eyes and glaring at Nomiya.

"Your 'potential', as you call it, does present a threat to my rule. And no matter what words you offer to quell my anger at your insolence... They won't work."

"I will say once again, your Majesty: I have no interest in the throne."

"LIAR!!"


In the blink of an eye the King disappeared and reappeared before Nomiya, gripping her by the hair and hoisting her up into the air followed by a hard punch to her stomach knocking the wind from her lungs. Erupting from her mouth came a small spurt of blood mixed with saliva which spattered across the King's chest armor. He growled as he held her aloft, digging his fist in and twisting it.

"You expect me to believe that you've been secretly building your power with no intention of overthrowing me? Of taking the Saiyan Race all for yourself?!"

Nomiya coughed, again spattering his chest armor with saliva mixed with a tiny bit of blood.

"I just want... To raise my daughter..."

BAM!!

His fist again drilled into her stomach causing a larger volume of blood and a smaller volume of saliva to erupt from her mouth as she coughed up all the air she had left in her lungs.

"You MISERABLE!!....... You truly won't stop with the lies!? Very well! Then you shall get what you deserve! Death by my hand!!"

The King opened his hand and his aura erupted to life around him. An orb of red KI appeared in his palm pressing against Nomiya's chest. The Commander and Sub-Commanders all powered up in preparation to save Nomiya... But paused upon a most amazing sight.

Nomiya's fingers were wrapped around the King's wrist as he held her hair, and were glowing brightly. The King's Ki ball dissipated rapidly as he began screaming and grabbing at his wrist attempting to rip her hands free of his arm. Steam began emerging from the arm as the King continued fighting to free himself, but Nomiya's grip would not release. Blood began to emerge, dripping from his arm to the floor beneath them as he shrieked in agony.

"What's... Happening?" Sub-Commander Kalia asked.

"No idea." Sub-Commander Jerin replied.

Commander Korvaiis blinked, looking closely at the arm and Nomiya's glowing fingers.

"Wait! Wasn't she-?"

The King's shrieks reached a feverish pitch as he pulled away from Nomiya and ripped free his arm... Or what was left of it. A stump with smoldering flesh and muscle sinew from the middle of the forearm was all that remained. The rest was... In Nomiya's grip. The hand, wrist, and half the forearm was tossed to the floor as Nomiya coughed to clear her lungs and growled at the King.

"I care nothing for your throne, your Majesty. But you may consider this my resignation from the Saiyan Planet Raid Corps. Now get to the Rejuvenation Chamber and they may yet be able to save the arm and reattach it without permanent damage."

Nomiya powered up and flew up through the ceiling, racing towards home and the ship she'd prepared to take her and Miki to a remote planet far beyond the jurisdiction of the SPRC called Earth.

With any luck, she'd be able to launch before the King was able to give any orders of pursuit.
 
Two full hours had passed since the incident, and Korvaiis sat back in his chair with both Sub-Commander Jerin and Kalia seated across from him.

"Commander, what the hell happened?" Jerin asked.

Korvaiis shook his head slowly.

"Nomiya did something to the King to take his arm off. Her power is less than half of his, but she did that kind of damage?"

Korvaiis nodded.

"It shouldn't be possible. Even if she was concentrating every ounce of Ki she had into her fingers it shouldn't have been enough to break the King's grip, let alone take his arm off."

Again, Korvaiis nodded.

"No theories, Commander?"

He took in a deep breath.

"One." He replied flatly.

Both Sub-Commanders leaned in.

"Nomiya told me once she was experimenting with a new technique that focuses on the heat element of Ki. Because, as you both know, Ki blasts are the result of us concentrating our electrical potential to superheat the air at a given point of focus into a burst of plasma. Normally the air around our blasts, thanks to the laws of thermodynamics, sucks the enough heat from it to the point where it's just hot to the touch. But it's nowhere near hot enough to melt flesh... Not in the way we use it."

"But you believe Nomiya has found a way to focus the heat to such a degree that it can melt flesh?"

He nodded.

"She's been at it for almost a full year now... I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if what we saw today was the culmination of her studies and effort. It was a very small and focused demonstration. Probably the best she can manage right now. But it's a result all the same."

"Incredible." Jerin commented.

"Indeed. Nomiya continues to impress despite her modest history."

"But how can she focus the heat element so much that she can actually melt flesh, muscle, and bone to pull the King's arm off like that?"

"Saiyan flesh has a melting point of roughly 175 degrees Celsius. The average Ki blast is only around 95 degrees Celsius once it's been launched thanks to the air around it sucking heat from it. Very hot, but very manageable to block or tank if need be. But there have been studies of Ki blasts being charged within the confines of the user's hands reaching temperatures of up to 300 degrees Celsius before being unleashed, at which point its heat rapidly deteriorates as it gets farther from the user. So much so that by the time it's only a few meters away it's already lost over 60% of its thermal energy to the surrounding air."

"So you believe that Nomiya has managed to find a way to concentrate those kinds of temperatures into her fingers?"

"You saw the proof not two hours ago that she has."

"Yes, but I want to know how she did it."

"As do I. Even the most powerful Ki blasts on record don't go much further than 300 degrees Celsius. And while that's a fair amount above the melting point of Saiyan flesh, even at those temperatures it wouldn't melt our flesh as quickly as we saw with Nomiya and the King today."

"So you're saying that her fingers were even hotter than 300 degrees?"

"I believe so. Much, much hotter. A conservative estimate would be closer to 400 degrees Celsius. If not more."

"How the f-... Nevermind. It's Nomiya. When has she not shocked everyone with what she can do when she puts her mind to it?"

Korvaiis smiled and a single brief nod.

"Sir, I just received a note from one of our men." Kalia said.

She tapped her Scouter, and a message began to slowly scroll across it.

"Sub-Commander Kalia, this is Sergeant Faro. I'm at Nomiya's home, and her ship has already been destroyed. There's no sign of either her or Miki, and my Scouter hasn't picked up their power levels either."

"This is Commander Korvaiis. Thank you Sergeant. Do me a favor and look at the ship and send the visual to us."

"Of course, sir."

The Scouter flipped to a live image of Nomiya's now damaged ship, blasted from the side and laying down in a heap of smoldering metallic rubble.

"Hmm... Blasted from the side. Someone got to her before she could escape the planet."

"It would see so, sir. What should we do?"

"Nothing. Leave her be for now. Thank you Sergeant. Keep looking, understand?"

"Yes, sir!"

The Scouter visual came to an end.

"Why did you ask if he understood, sir?" Jerin asked.

Korvaiis turned his Scouter off, and gestured for them to do the same. Only when they complied did he lean forward on the table.

"It's a silent code between myself and all of the Sergeants to make it look like they're doing as ordered so that anyone listening in on our communications believes we're following orders... But I have no intention of finding or capturing Nomiya as the King ordered."

"Why not, sir? No matter how much we like her and Miki, she took the King's arm off."

"Yes. And rightfully so in self defense. I won't abide the King's paranoia about her wanting his throne or pretend that he was in the right to do what he did."

"A dangerous game to play, sir."

"But one I play very well, thank you."

"No arguments, sir. Just a concern."

"I know. Thanks."

"What should we do then?" Kalia asked.

"For now, we pretend to continue searching for Nomiya. But if we find her it's our job as her Group to help her get off world as quickly and quietly as possible. The King can't be allowed to find her and exact his paranoid designs."

"Sir, if I may ask... Why are you so adamant about protecting her?"

"Call me crazy if you like, but the revelation that Nomiya has overcome her Genetic Limit leads me to believe that she's the key to the Saiyan Race's evolution."

"Our evolution, you say?"

"Mm. She's overcome her Genetic Limit. Something no other Saiyan in history has done. If we can learn to understand why, then perhaps our race and enjoy a new period of growth like none we've ever seen before."

"I hear you, sir. But even if she was able to do that there's no guarantee that the rest of us can. Nomiya's always been... Unique."

"True. But I'm willing to put my faith in her."

"Fair enough, sir. I sure wouldn't mind being able to overcome my Genetic Limit if we figure it out."

"Indeed. But first we need to make sure that she survives long enough to help us do that."

"Yes, sir!"

"Yes, sir!"
 
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Deep within the ring shaped layers of Xana’s vessel its comm suite crackled to life. “Attention! Unidentified Vessel! This is Valkyom airspace control! Please identify yourself immediately! Please idle your engines and do not come any closer till given clearance to do so!”

Xana’s dark lips curled into a smile on her pale face. The interior lighting of her compact cruiser was set to moody, presently transitioning from red to blue, and it reflected off the thin layer of gloss she’d set to amuse herself during the past few days of travel after her recent goose chase came to an end. She depressed send button on the comms set. As with her lips, the pitch black nail was painted to a glossy sheen. Something to do besides lingering on recent loss, pain, and failure where concerned the affair of the red skinned bandits she had mistakenly stumbled into business with.

“Confirmed, idling engines and sending IFF response. I am visiting Valkyom on business the Graceful Storm may consider an ongoing concern. Please send either landing coordinates or a detachment to rendezvous with us in orbit. This vessel is registered under the protection of the Palida Frost Demon Clan, with one passenger. My cargo is solely forensic specimens, general and medical purposed equipment, and personal effects.”

Xana pressed a couple more buttons, pulling up her credentials and manifest and transmitting them on the data channel to confirm what she was saying.

“Data received. One moment please.”

A minute passed as airspace control compared verbal and non-verbal information. Control transmitted again. “Meandering Stream, credentials accepted. Welcome to Valkyom, Xana Palida. Please follow the path provided to the designated coordinates. Please remain aboard your vessel until customs clears you to come landside.”

“Understood. Setting course. See you soon.”

Xana set the flight plan on her autopilot. The ship shuddered as it descended from orbit into the atmosphere, the saucer slowly rotating to evenly distribute the friction. This soon passed, and Xana noted a vibrant and attractive environment as she passed over a thick, widespread wilderness towards a larger, silvery city which still barely cut a swathe from it. She’d heard that Saiyans had a history of being irresponsibly destructive in their conquests. Perhaps their destructive tendencies were overstated. Or perhaps a long time had passed since Valkyom had passed into their hands and as ever healed all wounds.

She would have to take some time to explore from ground level, but first came the business which had brought her here. There was the matter of the red skinned aliens that had behaved maliciously towards both herself and them. There was the matter of the remains of one of their cohort she’d discovered when she found the red skinned aliens had been killed. There was also the matter of the cadaver she had repaired to the point of functioning heart and lungs at the behest of the red skinned aliens before their betrayal. She had yet to see if her procedure had restored higher brain functions as well. Had she known the circumstances she would not have performed the procedure since she did not have consent from living will or next of kin. Since she performed the procedure, however, she may have returned a kinsman to them presumed dead. Whatever the outcome, she hoped to refine these uncontrolled circumstances to improve her business as well as increase her standing and prestige within the Palida family.

There is more than one way to conquer a world.

She rubbed the half of her “mask” the bandit leader had struck her in, cracking the surface. It had already been weakened by her father in childhood. Already weakened, it had been injured easily enough again. If the same thing happened too many more times she might have to consider modification rather than simple healing. Perhaps she’d beautify further by conducting Kintsugi or some such with the crack. She chuckled to herself at the self-referential joke. No, she wouldn’t do that, that’d be more vain than simply repairing the harm and likely more painful than the broken cheekbone. Plus, imagine the nerve damage she’d likely have to repair later.

A Saiyan in armor floated by the port window to her right and gave it a gentle knock. She turned, giving a smile and a wave. He gestured for her to go down to the hatch to let him in. She nodded. She rose from her pilot chair and descended the gravity stabilized ring. She passed through the cargo bay to the airlock. She opened the outer hatch, equalized pressure, closed it, then opened the inner hatch. Her customs officer stepped through, muscular and of average height, hair styled in a crew cut. She crossed her arms in front of her chest, tail twitching tentatively.

“Welcome aboard. I don’t see an air or environment scanner of any kind.”

“Welcome to Valkyom.” He tapped the button on the side of his green-lens scouter. It beeped and chittered as it examined her power level. “I’ve got everything I need here. 20,000? A little higher than me but isn’t that a bit on the low side for a Frost Demon?”

She shrugged. “Suits me. I thought your king had a power level around four times mine. Why don’t you?”

He chuckled. “Fair enough.” He tapped the button on the side of his scouter a couple of more times, turning the device and his head in a few different directions, before getting a buzzer that sounded like a negative. “Well, nothing seems to be amiss here. I can clear you to come landside. You mentioned something to do with an ongoing concern for the Graceful Storm?”

“Indeed.” Xana uncrossed her arms and turned, tail lifting and moving to the side to avoid obstructing the path of the Saiyan. She gestured towards the stasis pods in the cargo bay beyond and on queue light levels raised to allow him to see the contents. “My apologies for the gruesome show, but I appear to have had similarly distasteful dealings with these red skinned humanoids to some of your own kin, as well as recovered the corpse of one of yours that was slain...or what’s left of it, in any case.”

The customs officer walked past her and crouched next to the tank containing Saiyan remains. He adjusted his scouter, mystified. “Well, I suppose the family will be grateful for the return of their slain. Why the rest of the macabre cargo, though?”

Xana sighed. “The matter isn’t closed. The red skinned aliens attempted to ransom another of your kinsmen back to his family. By all rights, the captive shouldn’t have been alive. Without explaining their intentions, they convinced a doctor to see to it the captive was for all intents and purposes alive. They then cheated the doctor and stole the finished product without rendering payment.”

The Saiyan stood and turned, raising an eyebrow. “And what does that have to do with you?”

“I am that doctor.”

The Saiyan scowled slightly, chewing the inside of his cheek as he contemplated the appropriate response. He held down the button on his scouter till it cycled to comms.

“Give me Sub-Commander Jerin. Tell him we have some kind of alien doctor visiting as a material witness in his ransom case. She brought several pieces of evidence he might find of interest too.”

He appeared to listen as he received a response. His eyes widened a little, he gulped, and nodded. “Well then, best of luck. I’ll see her to the destination.” The customs officer regained his composure. “The commander and sub-commander of Graceful Storm are currently busy. I’ve been instructed to escort you to the base. We’ll transport your evidence as needed later.”

“So it’s safe to leave my ship open and unattended here?”

“Completely. You may well be a foreign delegate. Please follow me.”

That she most certainly was not. Even joking about as much was liable to get her into trouble with the members of her family that more so resembled what the Saiyan described in terms of Frost Demon power. Xana was going to correct him but he was already opening the the ship hatch on both sides. With a whoosh, the pressure equalized. The Saiyan began flying at speed, and Xana was now struggling to keep up with him.

She did so, her light-red contrail catching up with his deep blue one. She stretched both arms behind herself, then set them at her side. “You move fast.” She smiled at him. “Are you an Assassin by trade?”

He smiled back. “No Ma’am, I’m a Blitzer. A classic error, though. So what’s the difference between a Medic and a Doctor if we’re trading questions?”

She laughed. “About four years in my case. It can take longer depending how applied you are and where you train, though.”

They passed over a lush, verdant plain filled with some sort cattle animals that Xana didn’t recognize. She also spotted a girl she presumed to be of primary school age playing amongst them. Xana waved. The child appeared to notice and wave back.

“This really is a lovely planet. You Saiyans seem to be unfairly demonized.”

“Thank You. We’ve arrived.”

They touched down inside of an obvious military outpost. She mentally identified the command post, the armory and the barracks. She got a few glances from personnel passing by at leisure or on business. Some polite, some curious, some disapproving, some disdain. She smiled, following her liaison to what appeared to be a briefing room. She took a seat.

“Please wait here. Our superiors are currently dealing with an emergency but will be with you as soon as possible. Can I get you anything?”

“Just some tea if you have any.” He nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him.
 
Seated in his quarters, Commander Korvaiis leaned back in his chair and sighed.

"So far so good..."

A moment later, a knock came to his door.

"Enter!"

"Sir, I bring news of the situation." Sub-Commander Jerin proclaimed.

"Don't keep me in suspense."

"The King has repressed all information concerning the incident. His arm is being tended to by the best doctors in the palace and should be reattached by the end of the day."

Korvaiis nodded, and turned his Scouter off while gesturing for Jerin to do the same. He did so.

"Any news regarding Nomiya?"

"Yes, sir. We dispatched Hakon to find her."

"Hakon hey? He's our best Assassin, isn't he?"

"Yes, sir. At least he is now that Kain's dead."

"So what news?"

"Well... He found her."

"Did he now?"

"Yes, sir. However, in confidence, he informed me that his official reports indicate 'nothing conclusive' about his search."

"Good."

"So, what's ne-."

"Pardon, Sub-Commander Jerin. You have a visitor."

"A what?"

"A visitor. A Frost Demon, to be precise. She has news of the ransom incident."

"I see. Take her to the Meeting Room. I'll be there momentarily."

"Yes, sir!"

The messenger departed, leaving Jerin to give Korvaiis a salute.

"Please excuse me, sir. I must see to this Frost Demon's claims."

"Of course. Be sure to write me a full report on what you find."

"Yes, sir."

A few minutes later, he entered the Meeting Room to find the Frost Demon waiting for him.

"Greetings. I am Sub-Commander Jerin of Graceful Storm. You have information on the ransom incident, I hear?" He asked, taking a seat across from her.
 
Xana waited patiently in the meeting room. Five minutes after her greeter had left a stout Saiyan woman arrived with a tray. On it were a steaming kettle, a square plate of curled strips of something dried, and cup shaped like a small bowl. She said nothing as she set down the beverage but did glance up at her from beneath her short bob with a disapproving stare. The Frost Demon smiled and thanked her. She gently lifted one of the lengths between two fingers and inspected it. The texture and composition were a bit different from what she was expecting. She poured out some of the hot water in the cup and dropped in the tea. It dissolved partly, quickly releasing a rich, earthy odor. Lifting the cup, she sniffed it. The odor was also unexpected, but not unpleasant. She took a sip, the taste just as much so.

Mushroom tea…

She did not know Saiyans cultivated such a thing, but then again she couldn’t possibly be an expert on all cultures any more so than she could an expert on all biology. She knew most about a wide variety of humanoid and even non-humanoid sapient lifeforms and the myriad of environmental factors which affected them. Mushroom tea was not unheard of, comprising a common staple in some cultures, a delicacy in others. Sometimes psychoactive, sometimes not. Sometimes a ritual offering, sometimes a casual dining item. The present situation seemed semi-formal, as if there was a time of day or certain kind of company in which you were supposed to enjoy the beverage. It did not appear to be intended as a psychoactive primer, hence it being a merely semi-formal offering. Still, whether by virtue of chemicals in the herb or the simple warmth of the water, Xana found herself more relaxed than she’d been since being attacked in her clinic several days ago.

She found herself staring at a video screen displaying some kind of nature montage. Most of the images seemed to be of Valkyom or a similar planet, though this was interspersed with exotic habitats that couldn’t possibly be here, as well as desolate, cratered surfaces of moons and worlds with sparse or non-existent atmospheres. She reminisced about time spent together with her family in childhood. She could’ve sworn she had collected pretty rocks on one the lifeless orbs displayed across three of the pictures framed, winning an informal contest among those her own age. The memory went back to a fuzzy time she could barely recall, from before it was concluded her power would remain stunted in comparison to many of them. Before her father injuring her while trying to plumb the depths of her physical potential.

Why was she thinking of these things? Perhaps there was some psychoactive element to the tea, whether accidental or ritual. The sub-commander entering startled her out of her reverie, however. Her expression briefly shifted to one of surprise then a polite smile.

"Greetings. I am Sub-Commander Jerin of Graceful Storm. You have information on the ransom incident, I hear?"

She rose briefly and bowed politely before returning to her seat. “Hello, I am Xana Palida, a Sanguinus physician. It’s good to finally see you. Yes, Sir. As you may be aware I am the proprietor of a private medical practice a few dozen light years over. I perform all manner of procedures, from vaccination, to surgery, to genetic modification, to restorative procedures too complex to be performed by an automated healing tank alone.”

She pulled a small holographic projector from a pouch on the belt at her waist, sliding it to the middle of the table. She depressed a small button of it, displaying coordinates of the relevant system, the moon she resided on, and some snapshots of the race that primarily lived there, of which the bandits she and the Saiyans had slain had been the only ones to cause any trouble.

“My practice has been a mostly quiet affair. Usually, any miscreant behavior can be handled with some stern words, a sedative, and an amiable friend or relative of the patient. However, a couple of weeks ago a group with relatively higher power levels than the general population brought in a Saiyan case with severe head wounds and part of the original brain tissue missing."

She nodded to the projector, and it switched to another slide. This was of the Saiyan in question, prior to the procedure

“Humpty Dumpty, to be vulgarly whimsical,” she looked from the hologram to his eyes and back, not sure if the reference scanned, “and they requested I put him back together again. I warned them that even if the procedure was successful he may never regain higher brain function, and in the best case scenario would be an amnesiac with severe PTSD. They would not relent, however, and though reluctant payed half up front to return in one week with more.”

She switched to a display of the same Saiyan in a restorative tank instead of a stasis pod, post-procedure, with stats to the side.

“The entire job was to be for 2 million credits. I put the initial 1 million towards plant and material. The pod is an expensive import I was only able to acquire because I know the designer. I probably couldn’t have done it without it. I went through about ten pounds of donor gray and white matter before I was able to put the brain back together. Never did brain surgery on a Saiyan before.” She laughed. “Never did that much brain surgery at all prior to your kinsman, to be perfectly honest. It got done, though, and before long I had a stable body with good vitals and a real possibility for a full recovery.”

She switched pictures again, this time to the damage to the interior of her lab, followed by the damaged medical pod she had recovered halfway to intercepting the bandits. “As you no doubt guessed, they weren’t willing to pay anything more when they came back. I wasn’t willing to return the healed patient without them at least taking out some form of credit through a reputable insurance or union. I don’t need to be paid straight away, but I do need to be paid, I’m not a charity. We exchanged words, and they decided to rob me. I killed one of them, but they succeeded in escaping with my patient and pod. I pursued them, recovering what was left of the pod halfway to intercepting them. I arrived to find them dealt with, and after parsing the evidence realized what I had been a party to and determined they had been killed by members of your cohort.”

She rubbed her arm uneasily, then gestured again. The holographic player went through images of the mortal remains she had recovered at the scene in their nullentropy tanks, the slain bandits and one slain Saiyan.

“The entirety of the ransom party has been accounted for, with a dead Saiyan in addition. The dead Saiyan is not my patient, however. I’m not entirely certain what may have happened. I suppose you might be able to shed some light on that.” She gestured one more time and the hologram player turned off. She leaned across the table to retrieve it, putting it back in her belt. “Ultimately, I came here to try to settle up whatever loose ends remain, though. I have a few insurance accounts and would be happy to exchange information if you can reciprocate. No doubt you have your own share of redtape and damages resulting from this matter, too.”

She focused on the sub-commander, relaxing in her chair as he digested what she'd shared.
 
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"2 million credits..." Jerin mused.

The continuation of her story brought back memories from many years ago.

Looking up into the liquid chambers of rejuvenation and preservation chambers surrounded by strange nurses and attendants frantically zipping too and fro as a young Jerin hid beneath a medical bed. Within the chambers lay the broken, battered, and often unrecognizable bodies of Saiyans and other aliens alike.

"We've got to keep that stasis chamber at the proper temperature! If it rises too far the subject's heart will start prematurely and they'll die!" One doctor yelled.

"Yes, doctor!" A nurse responded breathlessly.

Legs racing back and forth in front of the bed before his eyes causing a light breeze to gently caress his hair reminded him he was getting too close. He scooted back beneath the table, but it wasn't far enough. Another doctor happened to turn around at precisely the moment he pulled his hand back into the shadows, and a moment later the table was thrown to the side with the doctor and a couple nurses attempted to apprehend him as he fled for his life. Breaking through the doors into the hallways he passed the chambers holding other children his age which were being monitored in near-critical states. And on the outside of their chambers were three simple words:

Genetic Limitation Subject...

Jerin was brought back to the present by the mention of a dead Saiyan, followed by images of the corpse. He grimaced, making an "ugh" sound upon seeing them from different angles before they were taken away.

"No mistaking that outfit though. That was Kain. No doubt about it. But his face..."

Xana mentioned tying loose ends and having insurance accounts to help manage the red tape. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"Indeed. Our policies usually involve a lot of intricate negotiation and documentation exchanges, but in circumstances like these I'm grateful to say things are much simpler."

He opened his eyes and leaned forward, elbows on the table.

"The body you found belongs to one of our Assassin-class warriors. His name was Kain, and his death had been reported by those who went with him to that planet for the ransom as him having died in battle against those creatures... But looking at the remains..."

He shook his head.

"Anyway, that's a matter for myself and the Commander to deal with."

He heaved a sigh.

"In no shortage of boring and overly-complicated terms which were invented by nerds high on their own intelligence, Graceful Storm owes you a debt. And it falls to me, as the officer called to respond to this development, to determine the full extent of that debt and record it for our records. Please excuse me for just a few moments."

He stood up and tapped a nearby computer monitor which began recording the moment.

"Xana Palida, henceforth referred to as The Client, was owed a financial reimbursement for medical services rendered by an unidentified group of extra terrestrial beings, henceforth referred to as The Ransomers. Said Ransomers fled before final payment was disbursed, forcing the Client to give chase. Upon reaching her destination, the Client discovered that the Ransomers were already dead. Their deaths are on record as being caused by the hands of our very own Nomiya and Bacho. As such, the chance for reimbursement for the Client was robbed by Graceful Storm's unknowing interference in this transaction. As such, full responsibility for reimbursement now rests with Graceful Storm and will, following the end of this recording, be carried out. This is Sub-Commander Jerin, officially approving this transaction for our records."

A quick button tap, and the recording was ended.

"Follow me, miss Palida. I will guide you to our financial office where you will be paid in full for the balance owed you by the Ransomers."

He began leading her out of the room and down the hall.
 
“Ugh...No mistaking that outfit though. That was Kain. No doubt about it. But his face...”

A blush became visible along the hard surface of her facial “mask”, further illustrating that the membrane was more than armor or some other archaic function of exoskeleton. The cause, Sub-Commander Jerin’s reaction to the last of the images she’d included in her slideshow. This caused her to move all the more quickly in turning the hologram projector off and retrieving it. How dare she, this was a terrible lapse in bedside manner! Even in a military outfit such as this one, there were specific recovery teams often set aside for recovering and preparing the dead for presentation and burial. Usually outsiders, such as herself, if more so by personality than politics. Ranking officers were often conditioned to think of their subordinates more like objects than subjects, so as the better to rationalize their sacrifice. But even so…

She sighed, inclining her gaze for a moment “My apologies, Sub-Commander, I failed to consider you likely knew him in life, those images should have been submitted only to your morgue team. A doctor is nothing without her bedside manner, please forgive me.”

He leaned back, exhaling the grief and stress of listening to her account of recent events. They both needed a moment. Xana picked up the cup, poured some more hot water, and dissolved some more dried mushroom before sipping it. She was gazing at him, about to suggest he request a cup because it was quite relaxing and pleasant when he spoke again. It seemed she and the Saiyan had similar senses of timing.

"Indeed. Our policies usually involve a lot of intricate negotiation and documentation exchanges, but in circumstances like these I'm grateful to say things are much simpler."

She set the cup down. “Oh, that’s reassuring, Sub-Commander.”

He took a moment more to to provide a brief exposition on Kain’s misadventure before expounding. She didn’t mind, she’d taken quite a bit of his own time explaining her own small part in it. A member of the team that responded to the ransom notice, the Saiyan she had recovered was an assassin slain in the attempt to recover their comrade. The Frost Demon felt a lump in her stomach. They had traded a contributing member of their retinue for a patient as likely to wind up an invalid as make a long-term recovery. There was no mens rea on her part, and no reasonable way to reach the family prior to the procedure to determine if there was really consent, but…

...had I not operated this likely wouldn’t have happened.

It was hard to choke down the consequentialist argument. Nevertheless, there was no such thing as a universal database, legal framework, or even model of consent among societies and species in the universe. The universe brought her and other physicians their sick and injured so they could fix what ailed them. There were always limitations and losses. All medical academies took care to teach their students this, Sanguinus especially.

'There will always be blood on your hands', Xana recalled a professor sternly chiding her. A Namekian, barely withholding a sneer at her aghast response to a patient she’d assisted a surgeon in operating on, following violent injury on a nearby planet. 'We can’t really avoid it. I know you Frost Demons like to pretend you're gods, but no one really is...'

They didn’t make the wounds, he’d told her, they just tried to help after they happened. An attempt is made, a die is cast, like in some absurd game dreamed up by children sitting round a campfire or kitchen table. Grandpa Avalanche had once given her a similar speech, following another conquest. He didn’t start it, he just finished it. The alternatives were bad, so he tried to make them better. Circumstances did not permit that he should stop, and never would.

Xana took another sip of tea, relaxing a bit more as she listened to the Sub-Commander make a log entry through a computer display. Her eyes had shut slightly when he stated she would simply be reimbursed for the rest of her fee by the Graceful Storm, no further questions asked. She stood.

"Follow me, miss Palida. I will guide you to our financial office where you will be paid in full for the balance owed you by the Ransomers."

“Oh.” She set the cup down, and nodded. “Thank You, Sub-Commander, that is very generous. Tell me, though...” she began as they started down the hallway through more densely populated office space. “Whatever happened to my patient? I fixed the man, and can provide you a copy of all I showed you and more, particularly his brief medical records with me. However, he likely has a lengthy recovery ahead of him if he didn’t meet with yet another misadventure, heaven forbid. Having treated him initially I have an obligation to see his case through, whatever the end may prove to be.”

She idly coiled the tip of her tail in one hand while following the Sub-Commander through the offices of Graceful Storm. "Your organization no doubt has its share of qualified therapists, of course, and the patient no doubt has friends and family to support and ground him through recovery. Brain injury recovery can't be totally unknown, given the business."
 
Sub-Commander Jerin led Xana down the hall in silence. Despite her questions about her patient, his head and eyes remained fixed forward and on the path he walked. And within a few short minutes they arrived at the financial offices. Upon entering, he stepped to the side and bid her to approach the main desk.

"This is where I must take my leave, miss Xana. Simply approach the receptionist and she will do the rest."

He began to leave, but stopped when he was this close to closing the door. Stepping back through, he regarded her in pained silence for a moment longer before speaking.

"Forgive me. But I am not at liberty to discuss what happened to the Saiyan in question. His fate is above my pay grade. Good luck."

With that, he closed the door and was gone, leaving Xana to approach the desk in her own good time and inquire about her payment.
 
"Forgive me. But I am not at liberty to discuss what happened to the Saiyan in question. His fate is above my pay grade. Good luck."

Xana was taken aback a little. The sub-commanders dismissal of her professional and ethical concerns for her patient were as delayed as his direct assistance was abrupt in seeing to it she was remunerated. She was not unaccustomed to military discipline; she was left, however, with a sense of something being covered up.

“Of course,” she responded. “Thank you for your help. I’ll leave my records with your head of medicine after concluding business...”, she began to say, but Sub-Commander Jiren was already stepping out of the room, leaving her to the plucky woman at the desk. All smiles, she was a petite Saiyan wearing the same battle armor as the others but clearly no combatant, her black hair in a bob.

“Hi! Xana, right?”

Xana approached and nodded, tail twitching. “So you received the orders from Mr. Jiren, correct?”

The woman nodded. “Yes Ma’am. 1 million credits. Wow, must have been quite a job, huh?” She giggled. Xana couldn’t help but share the mirth a little herself, laughing from behind a hand.

“You wouldn’t believe the story if I told you, and I don’t think I’m authorized to. But yes, quite the chore indeed.”

The receptionist nodded again. “I can imagine. Well, if you have your insurance information on hand I can begin processing this invoice.”

Xana reached inside her pouch and pulled out a sleeve of clear plastoid cards, from which she took three. “Thank you. The one on top is the method of payment I’d prefer, but if you can’t...”

The woman looked over the top card and frowned. “I’m sorry dear we can’t conduct business through the Tuffle exchange, King’s law. This however...”

She separated her debit card from the others, the purple toned material being less transparent than the first one. “This though...Palida, huh? That’s a pretty name.”

Xana coiled her tail near her feet. “Oh, um...thank you. Yes, my account through the clan will do. How long will it take for it to post, Miss...”

She winked. “About 5 business days, since its an international transfer of an amount greater than 100K. And call me Tam.”

Xana smiled warmly. “Nice to meet you, Tam. I appreciate the speedy response by yourself and your organization.”

Tam ran all of the information through and had a receipt for Xana within five minutes. They bid each other fond farewells and the Frost Demon was preparing to leave with a warm, tingly feeling in her head when she encountered the Blitzer from before, leaning against the wall. He stood upright, and nodded, walking closer to stand in her path before speaking.

“Miss Palida. We met before. My name is Wabar. I’m about to fly to the opposite end of the continent for what I think is the best Street Janz on this planet. Would you like to join me?”

Xana felt her lip curl at the novelty. She was being asked out on a date. By a monkey!, one of her more arrogant and socially awkward relatives might have said. How could she refuse, though?

“Sure, why not. I’ve never had that before, but I’m pretty sure it’s edible for me. We’ll call it a date.”

He paled. “Um...sure, why not?” Seems it hadn't occurred to him he was basically asking the foreign girl out.

He flew due east and she followed, red contrail in pursuit of blue all over again. They didn’t speak during the brief flight, unlike before. Eventually, they came to a medium sized bazaar on a plateau overlooking a volcano, forest, and crescent shaped coastline. Here, Xana followed Wabar to a stall selling what appeared to be some sort of noodle dish with vegetables and a slice of half of an egg that looked to be the size of her entire palm.

Xana gave it a sniff. More earthy tone, but also quite a bit of spice. She was almost positive she’d get no negative reaction from this fare. She began eating sucking down the noodles while manipulating them with the miniature tongs they were provided with.

“Wow...I thought you Frost Demons subsist only off of water.”

She chewed what was in her mouth and laughed. “Oh no, that’s Namekians. We don’t need to eat as much as other races. Or breath as much. Or drink as much. But we do in fact subsist off of food, water and air the same as anyone. The price we pay is our infant mortality is high and birth rate is practically nonexistent.”

“Interesting...” Wabar ate a moutful himself, then continued. “My apologies, but my dragging you out here had two purposes. Do you know a Nomiya?”

That name did sound familiar. Xana nibbled on the large heft of egg while sifting her headspace. “That was the name of a relative in a ransom case I stumbled into. She was the one the red skinned humanoids tried to contact.”

“Very good. Yes, she was with the Graceful Storm. She’s a fugitive now, very dangerous. More dangerous than the red skins. Treason and murder. Much like the Sub-Commander I am not at liberty to go into specifics.”

Xana inserted the tongs into the mound of gray noodles, doing her best to keep a straight face.

“Why are you telling me, an outsider, this?”

Wabar locked eyes with the Frost Demon. “She may come to you, this Nomiya. If she does, my superiors would like that you contact us. Do not fight her. Don’t even turn her away.”

The Saiyan handed her a small holographic transponder. “Just something for you to think about. You’re alright and we’d hate for harm to come to you or yours. What you did for us was a really solid favor.”

Wabar set an empty bowl down on the counter. “I’ve got to go back to work. It was nice eating with you. Maybe we can eat together again another time.”

“Likewise...till we meet again.” The Saiyan flew off as Xana stared at the transponder. It was smaller than her own, a newer and more exotic model, bearing an insignia that was still Saiyan but separate from that of the Graceful Storm. She’d have to look it up later. Her own bowl was still half full. She stowed the transponder in her belt with her belongings before picking her noodles up and slowly finishing what remained. It was still warm and tasty, but the Blitzer had left her with additional food for thought that had left a lump in her stomach. Still, Frost Demons ate little as she said. There was no point in wasting a perfectly good meal.
 
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Jerin arrived back at base shortly after departing. Upon reaching the mess hall he spied the Commander who ushered him to a private meeting room a few doors down. Sitting across from his Commander, Jerin filled him in on what happened.

"I see... Good work."

"Sir, if I may ask. How long can we keep this up?"

"As long as we have to. I won't let Nomiya suffer the wrath of the King."

"... As you wish, sir."

"Do you have a problem with it, Jerin?"

"No, sir. I'm just anxious about the consequences of you protecting her. It would just take one person saying the wrong thing at the wrong time for the King to get word of your conspiracy."

"The worst he can do is strip me of my title and imprison me."

"That's not entirely what I meant, sir. But I understand."

"Good. Then I need you to do something for me."

"What's that, sir?"

"I need you to find her and give her something for me."

"Sir?"

... Thirty minutes later at an undisclosed location...

"Mommy, I'm tired."

"I know sweetheart. Just hold on a little longer. Mommy saw a ship come in. It should be a perfect place to find a bed for you to sleep in."

"Yay!"

"Shh, sweetheart. We need to keep quiet or we'll lose the game."

"Oh! Right. Sorry mommy."

"It's okay, my love."


Holding Miki close, she carefully made her way towards the new ship under cover of the trees and overhanging balconies of the launch bay's lower levels.
 
Xana flew back to her spaceship deep in thought after the conversation with Wabar. Red skinned humanoids...a robbery...a ransom...a murder...a fugitive Saiyan woman connected to all of it. The subject matter felt uneasy and heavy. She was not responsible for these events but her actions had definitely left their indelible mark.

Her red-pink aura flared then sputtered away as she touched down. She pressed the triple digits of her feet against the cold concrete of the tarmac, feeling little give. Still, it helped her stretch and strain away some of the stress of the day, which she didn’t want to bring back on the ship with her. Shaking her head she stepped on board. No sign of damage inside or out, but she could see that the cadavers she had brought with her had been removed. None of the other cargo had been touched, just the evidence she had already submitted to the Sub-Commander. She made her rounds about the ship before heading to the helm. Xana sank into the G-Couch then used a combination of biometrics, a mechanical transponder, and a passphrase to start up the ship. She began running diagnostics.

Much like she’d found at a glance, all appeared normal. The weight of the ship’s cargo was a bit less than when she’d arrived. Normal, given the absence of the cadavers and their containers she’d arrived with. She didn’t bother double checking the exact weight. Fuel and reaction mass was topped off since she’d arrived. She’d have to remember that. Graceful Storm or no, Valkyom had been a most satisfactory place to do business at. If the opportunity presented itself she would return, regardless of the cryptic conversation she’d had with Wabar. She pulled out the disc and rotated it again in her hands. She couldn’t be certain, but she was certain the symbol on it was some sort of family crest. Such as what some of her more well-heeled family members wore on capes and chestplates, or adorned unfurled tapestries and banners at affairs of state.

She would present it to a relative later to determine its origin and how best to respond to the Blitzer’s request. For now it was time to leave, however. She activated her vessel’s repulsors to lift out of the dock. She then initiated impulse thrust, her vessel beginning to rotate as it lifted through and out of Valkyom’s atmosphere. She sent a departure message and acknowledged and wished safe passage, as was customary nearly everywhere. She accelerated to maximum impulse, exiting orbit for deep space, before initiating space fold. She was now at relativistic speed, where the computer would take over. She exhaled, closing off visual displays before rising. She was now en route to her practice and would arrive within 2 standard days. She locked the controls and rose. She hadn’t slept since she’d found what had become of the red-skinned humanoids that had robbed and damaged her lab. Her race did not necessarily have the same sleep requirements of races such as the Saiyans, but they did sleep every handful of solar cycles if circumstances allowed it. Xana had been through a lot in the last few days and was exhausted.

The door to the ship’s boot hissed open when Xana approached it. She set a situation alarm. If there was a radar ping or similar event outside the ship, a spatial anomally, or movement aboard the ship (often a sure sign of decompression and related loss of ship integrity) she wanted to be awakened. She lay in the gel like material of the sleeping pod, letting it close intimately around her. She began to doze off, gazing at a picture of the moon she’d found that gemstone on in her adolescence. It was heavily distorted by the material of the sleeping pod.

“Goodnight, moon...” she murmured. Her eyes fluttered close and her breathing slowed. Her ship continued hurtling through the void of fold space in the direction of her private practice.
 
The ship had taken off suddenly, catching Nomiya and Miki off guard. The elder Saiyan clutched her child to her chest as she used the other hand to stabilize herself amidst the pipes and beams in the bowels of the vessel. Finally, as it breached the atmosphere and settled down.

"That was scary mommy."

"It' okay, sweetheart. We're safe." She whispered back.

Miki snuggled Nomiya's chest a bit tighter.

"It's cold." She whimpered quietly.

Nomiya smiled and wrapped her arms around Miki, holding her close and using as much surface area as she could to help warm her. She couldn't risk powering up, lest she alert any power sensors the ship possessed.

"Try not to think about it, sweetheart. Focus on mommy's breathing, and try to sleep."

Miki nodded and buried her face into her mother's shirt before slowly drifting off. Occasionally, she shivered a little. Nomiya shifted her arms a bit to help warm her up, but deep in the bowls of the vessel next to pipes and metal walls in the emptiness of space, it wasn't easy to keep warm with power levels suppressed like this.

"Hopefully this ship stops somewhere sooner than later... I'd rather not have to fight the owner." She whispered to herself.

Entropy. Entropy.
 

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