Chapter 9: Family Matters
Loud impacts can be heard echoing off the halls of Dodoria's mother ship's training hall. Two figures can be seen in flashes, engaging in intense clashes before moving away. As the figures continue to clash, two other soldiers are fascinatingly spectating the bout.
"Wow, they're still going, huh? Wonder if Geisha's finally met her match here," the taller one chuckles. "Nah, we both know that's not true. I mean, she might not be knocking him down for the count, but he's doing nothing to her either, and she doesn't have that fancy healing he does." The shorter one said while shaking his head.
"Fair, but I mean, she seems like she's enjoying herself. After all, no one wants to spar with her since she can't pull a punch for the life of her." He said, wincing while rubbing his scarred neck. "Yeah, that's probably why the boss sent the new guy to "train" with her." The other man said, using air quotes. "Well, let's leave the monsters alone and head out; I'm getting bored." "Yeah, me too. Let's bounce." The two soldiers left the training hall while Kai and Geisha remained locked in combat.
'This lady is nuts.' Kai groaned internally, feeling his energy getting low. 'All of her blows are aimed at vitals, and while I don't think I have those anymore, it still hurts something fierce. If it weren't for my regen, I'd be dead in a second.' His thoughts ran a mile a minute, and as he was going to request a break, his "trainer" rushed him once more. Her cold and expressionless face was the last thing he saw before he was turned into a pink mist for the second time in his life.
-
'I don't think I'll ever get used to this.' Kai thought as his consciousness dispersed between the fine particles that make up his body. His mind slowed, and complex thoughts became more difficult after a few moments. That same familiar pink smoke began swirling back into a singular point as Kai's body slowly began to take shape again. He appeared sprawled out on the ground, no worse for wear, but with his energy extremely low.
"Same time tomorrow," Geisha's cold, indifferent voice sounded out before she turned and left the training hall. Kai could not get a read on his new mentor. She barely spoke and seemed content with absolutely thrashing him during every session. Other soldiers seemed to be afraid of her, and with how violent she was during combat, it made sense. 'I wonder if she is like this with other trainees.' Kai thought as he hauled himself up.
The training hall he was in was a large room with a slightly raised ring for sparring. Surrounding that were various machines and devices for physical training and target practice. 'It's a shame they don't have any gravity chambers or weights I could use.' Kai complained internally. One downside of knowing the best ways to train was frustration when they weren't available.
He moved past all the training equipment and moved to a large green-tinted mirror near the exit. Kai fiddled with the controls for a moment before a yellow circle appeared surrounding his reflection. Numbers counted up until settling on a value.
1100.
Kai grinned upon seeing that number. He had been on Dodoria's ship for nearly a month at this point, and his training had been going extremely well. Geisha might be nearly killing him, but the results speak for themselves. 'I should be nearing Raditz's level soon; come to think of it Dodoria did mention wanting me to work with the Saiyan trio. Maybe I can see if they are done with whatever mission they were sent to.'
In his time here, Kai has mostly kept to himself. It's hard to want to foster relationships when you know everyone here is complicit in practical war crimes. Not to mention the inevitable betrayal that will happen the second he has a good opportunity and has milked them for all they're worth.
Just as Kai left the gym, a soldier he recognized ran up to him. It was one of Dodoria's assistants, "Kai, the boss wants a meeting ASAP; get to his chambers immediately." The soldier barked his orders and scurried off to do who knows what. 'Finally,' Kai thought, 'Maybe he will actually assign me somewhere interesting. I should be about at an average soldier's power at this point. If I'm sent out in a squad, I could probably absorb the entire squad if I played it right.' Since Kai wasn't sure how much time he had, the only option was to increase his strength frantically. 'If the three Saiyans are all together, I should have at least a year until Vegeta and Nappa arrive on Earth at worst. But it will probably take me just as long to get there if I take a pod so I have even less time than that.' Kai pondered his course of action while heading to Dodoria's chambers.
'Let's see what Dodoria has in mind before I make any concrete plans. If he sends me out with a squad, I could multiply my power a couple of times. The only issue is making it believable, but I could always just say we were ambushed, and I survived due to my regeneration. It would only work once or twice though before they'll know it was me.' Kai was deep in thought as he arrived at his door. He knocked once and then entered.
Dodoria looked very nervous as Kai walked in. A sheen of sweat could be seen on his skin. "Kid! Just the person I wanted to see. You ready for your assignment, right?" Dodoria practically blurted out. Kai nodded hesitantly, unsure what was up with him. Seeing his hesitation, Dodoria sighed and sunk into his chair.
"Look, this is just between us, but we are in deep shit. That no-name soldier you killed has some family in high places, and they are on their way to investigate what happened! So I'm sending you off with Vegeta and Nappa on their next task."Dodoria explained. 'And since if you're here, they might link it to the false report I filed,' He thought to himself.
Kai stared at Dodoria in shock. 'Someone above Dodoria? It couldn't be Frieza since I doubt there is any relation there, but who else?' Kai thought to himself before asking. "Who is it?" Dodoria looked conflicted for a moment before responding. "His name is Burter, and he is a member of the Ginyu Force. They may not be direct members of our army, but Frieza respects them, so if he finds out, we are both screwed!" Dodoria looked more panicked.
"Damnit, I thought I could get ahead of Zarbon with this play, but it's just blowing up in my face. Hopefully, Burter won't follow the brat if he is with Frieza's pet," he mumbled to himself. Kai looked at the nervous wreck of a man and understood his position. 'Burter should be able to wipe the floor with Dodoria, so of course he is worried. But what the hell is my luck? The first person I absorb has ties to someone like Burter?' Kai almost cursed aloud.
"What is the mission?" Kai asked, feeling his anxiety rise. Dodoria laughed slightly, "What else would it be? You'll be going to some planet to prepare it for resale. You'll meet them in a few days, so be prepared. Now get outta here." Dodoria looked slightly less stressed, knowing that this was over with. Kai quickly left the room and began to return to his assigned quarters. It was a small dorm with a bed and some small storage space.
Sitting on his bed, Kai began to think about the immediate future. 'While this is unexpected, it isn't all bad. I was already wanting to meet up with Vegeta to hitch a ride to Earth. This is a good opportunity for me. I just have to ignore the blue-speed demon that might want me dead now.'
Kai settled into a comfortable position on his bed and began meditating. He had made a small amount of progress towards sensing ki since he arrived, and he felt like tonight was the night he finally figured it out. Focusing on his inner energy, Kai began to extend a field of energy around himself. At first, it wobbled and fluctuated, nearly completely collapsing at points, but eventually, it began to stabilize and hold its shape. He extended this field further and further slowly testing the limits.
The first person he felt lit up his new sense like wildfire in the night. 'Dodoria, no doubt about it.' Kai thought as he tried to view the smaller energy sources surrounding him. As he adjusted his ki sense, others began peaking through. Each aura was similar but unique. Like seeing one person's face in a crowd, he could tell them apart, but it took some focus. As he dialed this new sight in even further, he found a cluster of two other smaller power sources near the medbay.
'And those must be Vegeta and Nappa.' Kai realized. They were the two next most powerful after Dodoria and far eclipsed his own strength. Remembering Vegeta's treatment of Nappa, Kai became acutely aware of the gap in power.