Planet Vegeta.
Home to the barbaric Saiyan warriors, ruthless beasts of death whose name echoes across all corners of the universe. From the Northern Galaxy to the Southern quadrant, from the Western reaches to the far East, thousands upon thousands of planets tremble in fear at the mention of their name. The Saiyans have earned a formidable reputation as galactic conquerors, painting the lands red with the blood of their enemies and selling what's left to the highest bidder. For years, they have worked tirelessly under the watchful eye of the enigmatic King Cold of the Planet Trade Organization, but that all changed the day he stepped down from the throne and let his son take the reins.
The icy tyrant, Lord Freeza.
Under Freeza's thrall, the Saiyans expanded his borders further than they had been under his father's regime and with greater results too. By the end of first year as emperor, the Freeza Force became a common household name. And the Saiyans reaped the benefits of their battles, growing stronger with every unit's brush against death and returning home with a higher battle power level than when they left.
It was for this very reason that Freeza had begun to fear the Saiyans.
Instructing his agents to research and explore the Saiyan culture and heritage, what they brought back to him unnerved the emperor. Ancient legends of a being beyond mortal power, achieved once every thousand years and capable of matching against the Hakaishin themselves: the legendary Super Saiyan.
Freeza prided himself on being one of the few beings in the universe to deal directly with Beerus the Destroyer, the temperamental Hakaishin capable of eradicating him on the spot with a snap of his fingers. His father had warned him against defying the Hakaishin, lest he subject himself to a fate worse than death itself. Freeza had scoffed at such silly notions until meeting Beerus for himself and realizing the gap in power between him and the feline god. It enabled him to scramble to a place of power among the mortal realm, to position himself in a position of power and leverage against the disenfranchised commonfolk of the universe. It was that very reason that his father allowed him to succeed in his place as ruler of the PTO.
And so, the mere thought that one of these Saiyan brutes, these ape-like monsters, possessing a power to dwarf that of his own?
...no. He would not let that stand.
"Send out the order to all Saiyans," he ordered Zarbon, his dutiful lieutenant, as he stared out into the star-lit abyss of space. "Whether they'd be in battle, trapped behind enemy lines, or on their way towards some wayward rock. Tell them to return back to Planet Vegeta as their top priority. Failure to comply would be quite unwise, don't you agree?"
"Aye, sire," Zarbon simpered, bowing to his lordship and taking off with a whirl of his cape.
Alone in his throne room, Freeza closed his eyes... and opened them back up with a smile.
"Super Saiyan. What a ridiculous myth."
The order went out as soon as the command left Freeza's mouth. When the emperor demanded something, it became paramount to see it carried out, less they risk facing the consequences that come with it.
Within hours, all Freeza Force outposts began broadcasting Freeza's command to return back to Vegeta, earning the ire and confusion from many Saiyan squad units. The few bold enough to rebel against the emperor's wishes would be marked by intelligence agents and relayed back to high command. Zarbon would scoff at the few that disobey Freeza's orders, half stunned and half amused at their arrogance in defying his master's wishes. He almost wishes he could journey out to exterminate the insubordinate monkeys himself, but alas, orders kept him by Lord Freeza's side.
He'll just have to settle with the reports from Dodoria and the Ginyu Force in their clean-up operations.
Strangely, only one squad seems to escape the ire of his lordship, that being the Saiyan squad under the command of Prince Vegeta, the monkey brat of King Vegeta III. For some reason, when Zarbon reported the child's disobedience to Lord Freeza, his lordship had audibly guffawed at the reveal.
"Oho, the fires of youth are a strange thing indeed," Freeza chuckled. "If the young prince desires to continue his wanton rampage, then so be it. Let him have his fun. It'll be ever the more satisfying to see the fallout of such naivete."
"As you say, my lord," Zarbon replied, careful with his wording to not overstep his lordship's strange request.
Amid the tens of thousands of Saiyans returning back to Planet Vegeta, only one pod had the audacity to leave the surface in this strange time. Secretly commissioned from the palace halls of King Vegeta III, the pod left under the cover of night and became a speck in the grand void of outer space, avoiding detection from the Freeza Force scanners by what seems to be luck itself.
Watching the pod disappear into the night sky, King Vegeta observed with a diligence unfounded on the often brash and reckless monarch. Once he was certain that the pod had left the planet's atmosphere, he nodded to himself and returned back into the halls of his palace.
"One loose end to deal with," he murmured to himself. A habit he had been developing as of late. "With the Prince off-world and all remaining warriors returning home, the time to strike against Freeza is nigh. Time for the Saiyans to reclaim the destiny that has been robbed from us!"
Despite the ominous order to return home, the mood on Planet Vegeta was a joyous one. It had been many years since a gathering like this had happened with their kind, not since the days of the Tuffle conflict. Many brothels were visited and overturned, many bars were drained dry by the first night, and many, many Saiyans wound up in dead in the streets from infighting and small egos. Overall, a typical Saiyan reception enjoyed by all.
As the weeks dragged on, and the numbers of Saiyans returning became fewer, representatives from the royal palace were dispatched to the homes of every middle-caste and low-class Saiyan warrior a worth of salt in the eyes of the Elite branch. Offers were made and nobody refused an order from the king, especially when it came to the matter at hand.
The death of Freeza. And the restoration of the Saiyan Empire to its peak of power.
Soon, the streets became barren. The cheers and drunken shouts of Saiyans died down, replaced by an eerie silence weighing down on everyone, especially those of the low-class. What they lack in terms of battle power, they made up for it with keen observant skills and what they're seeing now is the calm before a storm.
In the palace halls, preparations are made, and plans are set in motion. The king's guardsmen have barricaded the outside world from entering and a small entourage of Elite warriors travel with the king to meet with the galactic emperor aboard his flagship.
"Once we get aboard Freeza's ship, send word to all soldiers to be prepared," King Vegeta instructs his second-in-command. "We won't have another chance at this. Either we strike Freeza while he's unsuspecting of us, or we die here."
"At your command, my liege."
Satisfied, King Vegeta boards the PTO shuttle that will take him towards his destiny.
In a small butcher's shop on the outskirts of the capital, a Saiyan woman keeps herself busy by tending to the latest supply of raw meat in the backrooms. Despite her relatively low battle power level and her squeamishness towards fighting, she wields the blade with an experience that would make many twice her size raise an eyebrow at. Then again, being the wife of one of the strongest low-class fighters would give you some thickness to you.
Gine, wife of the Saiyan warrior Bardock, sighed and placed her knife down on the stovetop next to her. It had been many months since she'd last heard from Bardock and his squad, and with the recent upheavals of Saiyans returning home, she had yet to hear word from him or their eldest son, Raditz. Raditz, she knew was accompanying the child prince, Vegeta IV, somewhere in the Western Galaxy. Bardock had been incommunicado since a mission to the Eastern Galaxy.
Ever since, it's been her and her youngest son, Kakarrot, on-world.
Stepping out of the room, she enters a small nursery where her precious son lies sleeping in his incubation pod, blissfully unaware of the plights unfolding all around him.
"Look at you, Kakarrot," Gine whispered, a tender smile on her face. "You're getting bigger every day. And that hair... you're the splitting image of your father."
She places a hand on the incubation pod, giving Kakarrot a look of warmth and maternal love.
[Choose An Age for Kakarrot]
[] Newborn. It has only been several weeks since Gine gave birth to her second child, and he is still developing inside the incubation chamber.
[] Infant. Two years have passed since Gine gave birth to her second child, and he is close to being initiated into the Saiyan Infiltration Program.
Behind her, the rustling of curtains catches her attention, and she turns around, instantly on guard. No one should be allowed back her without permission. Despite her low battle power level, she will still fight whoever this intruder is with all her might.
However, the form who enters the room is someone she's all too familiar with. One whose name she gasps out with shock.
"Bardock!"
[Choose An Origin for Bardock]
[] Bardock, the low-class warrior... who steps into the room with worn but polished battle armor, ready for combat. His face is locked into an intense glare until it softens when he looks into Gine's eyes.
"Gine," he tells her, his voice low but gentle. "Gather Kakarrot. We need to get out of here, I don't trust whatever Freeza's up too."
Reward: Bardock (Super) develops a loving relationship with Gine, one that is unheard of in Saiyan society. He holds belief in Gine's abilities, despite her power level, and has faith that she can handle herself. ???
Drawback: Bardock and Gine's relationship draws ire and scorn from Saiyan society. ???
[] Bardock, the low-class warrior... who stumbles into the room covered in blood and his armor in ruin. His face is tight with pain and paranoia, eyes seeing through her and fixating on Kakarrot.
"Gine," he growls, forcing himself to remain standing. "Get Kakarrot. Freeza's betrayed us and we don't have much time!"
Reward: Bardock (Z) is reputable among all classes of Saiyan society for being a heartless warrior, renowned for his ruthlessness and uncaring nature. ???
Drawback: Bardock and Gine's relationship is all but non-existent, only here to create Saiyan children. ???
QM Note's: Mortarium lasts for three hours, and voting process will last for another six hours after it.
