Ch. 98: Ginyu Arrives

"I told you to dig, you maggots! How can any of you expect me to believe that you're great enough to join one of the four empty spots on the illustrious Ginyu Force if you can't even hold a shovel right?!" Ginyu shouted at his 'recruits' as they dug a hole in the ground right outside Frieza's spaceship.

"Wait, four!?" Jeice's eyes bugged out as he realized that meant that Ginyu was kicking him off the squad.

"Shut up. You abandoned your team." Ginyu shut him down coldly. In his eyes, dying in battle was honorable. Running from a battle that you couldn't win was smart. But leaving your team behind to fight an enemy that you didn't think you could beat? That was basically killing them yourself. Ginyu absolutely hated that.

"But Cap'n!" Jeice pleaded, but Ginyu shut him up with a glare. Unable to stand the Captain's steely gaze, Jeice watched as the 'recruits' buried all seven Dragon Balls and filled up the hole. 

"Alright, Jeice. You're going to take me to Vegeta and his little band. You'll watch me kill them, easily, then you'll come back here to stand by until I choose a suitable punishment for you. You're just lucky that I'm not going to ask Lord Frieza to think up a punishment for you instead." Ginyu ordered Jeice.

"Yes, Cap'n! But..."

"Shut up, Jeice." Ginyu stopped Jeice before his former squad member could try to beg for his spot on the Ginyu Force back, ice still in his tone. He hated losing talent, but Jeice wasn't fit to be a part of his crew anymore. Reminding him of that would only serve to make him angrier at the man.

"As for you men." Ginyu turned his attention to the 'recruits' that were congratulating themselves on their successful burying of the Dragon Balls. "I assume that this has already been deeply ingrained into the cores of your beings, but those Dragon Balls that you just buried are Lord Frieza's private property. If even a single handful of dirt is removed or messed with in any way, you will be paying with a lot more suffering than just your own lives. Remember that." Ginyu threatened menacingly. The 'recruits' closest to the spot that they'd buried the Dragon Balls in immediately stepped back in fear.

"I am going to go strike the fear of god into Vegeta, and bring him back here so that Lord Frieza can administer his punishment himself. In the meantime, I expect you each to come up with a pose that really speaks from your heart! If you pass my strict requirements, you will be temporarily allowed into the Ginyu Force." Ginyu told them. Some of the men pumped their fists in glee at the opportunity, but then Ginyu added something else. "Only until I find someone better suited to be on my team. Anybody who fails will be killed on the spot. Do your best, men!"

At that, Ginyu motioned for Jeice to leave. He could easily find the spot with his scouter, but he was essentially just keeping an eye on Jeice at this point. The young ex-Force member knew full well the terror that awaits someone who fails their team, after all.

...

"Jeice. There's no moon up there." The first comment that Ginyu had when they got within sight of the source of the half-dozen or so scouter readings had to do with the fake moon that Jeice had told him was going to be in the sky. That technique was why Jeice had left his comrades to die, after all. It being gone made him even angrier.

"Cap'n... I think it... prob'ly disappeared? Time limit or the like?" Jeice wondered aloud, looking around for it. He wouldn't find it, though. Shay had popped it like a balloon, after all.

"It doesn't matter at this point." Ginyu shook his head. Six power levels. None high enough to be Burter or Recoome. Something in Ginyu's gut told him that none of those readings were Guldo's either. They were just too... stable. Finally, stopping in the sky, Ginyu looked down at the scenes below. Closest to him, Vegeta was looking up at him with horror and rage in his eyes, as a green-skinned Namek attempted to help him stand, and was instead punched in the face. 

Gritting his teeth, Ginyu noticed the crater that Vegeta was crawling out of. Though Vegeta had clearly been heavily injured, and was holding one arm as if it was either broken, or close enough to be useless anyway, the red-haired tank of a man lying face down inside the crater was clearly doing a lot worse. 

Recoome's battle armor was gone, and his under-armor had been shredded to the point where they barely qualified as pants. His body was covered from head-to-toe in minor cuts and scrapes. He'd clearly had a tough, knock-out fight with Vegeta, but all of that minor stuff was obviously superficial. Recoome only had one actually bad injury, the one that had killed him. His spine had been literally gouged out by a blast to the back.

"Recoome..." Ginyu's fist shook with rage. He'd annihilated Vegeta, just like a good soldier... only to be killed by a cowardly blast to the back. 

The shameful displays of his mens' battles' outcomes didn't end with Recoome, though.

"Burter..." Burter was lying face-down in a crater as well, blood pooling around his mouth. As Jeice had put it, it looked like he'd been 'swatted down like a fly.' Four Saiyan-looking people, including Nappa, were standing near the corpse, watching Ginyu with fear, feeling his power.

"Where is Guldo?" Ginyu asked Jeice.

"I don't know... He was fighting the girl... over there." Jeice pointed. At a nearby island with a huge crater in the center. Since the girl was clearly alive, that outcome was clear as day, too.

"Guldo... Not even a body. I'll avenge you, my friends." Ginyu swore aloud. "I SWEAR I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU!"