Chapter Seventeen, Part One

Cold wind wrapped his exposed skin, upper body bared to the sun. The rock beneath him was warm. Like him, it drank in the light, stored the energy within itself. Dan's chest expanded, a deep rush of air into his lungs.

Today was the vote for the senate representative, a forgone conclusion. May was in attendance, alongside Doom. Victor would be chosen and Dan would have a direct line into the inner workings of the Republic. He had planned to go as well, but his months of sparring had finally shown some deeper results.

A swift wind shifted the grass as Dan exhaled, a frigid gust that rustled the forest ahead. The connection between his mind, body, and the Ki that flowed between them was at a tipping point. Up until now, he'd done his best to mimic Goku's use of Ki. The results had been limited.

Dan let his Ki wander, mind focused on the smoothest paths and their connections. His body was different from the Saiyans, and certainly different from Goku's teachers. He had an abundance of life force, too much to convert wildly into Ki. He'd end up like Brolly, unable to contain his power.

"There…" Dan locked in on a single, continuous flow, the strongest, unobstructed path within his flow of Ki. He drew his wayward Ki inward, compressed into a river and bound into a continuous loop. He wasn't as powerful as Goku, but his Ki was smoother, more controlled.

A flutter of blue slipped over his body and into his eyes. It settled at the depths of his pupils, small pinpoints of light in the black. A smile spread from one corner of his mouth to the other as he rose from his meditative posture.

Once his kryptonian powers manifested fully, he could infuse his biological forcefield and other abilities with Ki to magnify their effects. For now, it would serve as a means of self protection. If he relied only on Venom, he may run into a problem the symbiote couldn't solve.

"What have you done…" Venom hissed in his ear. "There is energy infusing our body!"

"You'll be fine, just tap into my mind and copy what I'm doing," Dan tapped at his chest. "I've contained all my Ki within my body, see if you can do it too."

While Goku had more experience, Dan's knowledge about the progression of Dragon Ball's plot gave him a huge advantage. Ki had various forms, from mortal, to divine, and Dan was attempting to jump ahead. He doubted the compressed force within his body counted as Divine Ki, but it was a good start.

"Ahhhhh…" Venom sighed, a ripple of satisfaction that tickled Dan's mind. "We have done it… our power grows!"

Dan laughed and shook his head. The symbiotes' nature was too overpowered. Anything their host learned, they learned without any effort at all. Skills or genetic abilities, all could be taken as their own.

"Let's go, maybe we can catch the end of the meeting and congratulate Doom on his victory!"

A bit of effort drew enough Ki through his legs and out his feet. Dan rose to the sky in a rush of air, headed for the current capital of Garnib.

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"Please… we let them go, like you asked," A haggard Bith pleaded over the com. Warning claxons competed with his voice, a terrible symphony that brought a smile to Ultron's face. His newest drones, tentacled monstrosities large enough to be considered small fighters, dragged the slaver's vessel toward its doom .

"So sorry, little man, but you've put me in an awkward position," The A.I. broadcast a cheerful response. "I'm only allowed to kill slavers and pirates, so you can see how NOT killing you would be a problem!"

Ultron's ship opened its maw. Three kilometres wide at the head, the slate black vessel tapered down to a single kilometre across at its tail. A mechanical whale, ten kilometres long, consumed the Bith's transport. A cathartic sigh rattled from Ultron's speakers, pure joy at the destruction of life.

His belly was filled with freed slaves, noisy and afraid. It was time to dump another load, so he could continue his hunt. He'd seeded a half dozen, unreachable worlds. Tiny colonies of grateful slaves, supported by his domestic servant drones. The aggravation of caring for these biologicals was tempered by the fact that each one he saved was a chance to strangle the life from their captors.

Ultron's animalistic vessel recalled the last of its beastial drones and jumped into the phantom zone, headed for the depths of the galaxy.

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"Why can't I go to the vote," Anakin complained as Merlyn shoved a mountain of musty robes into his hands. "I want to go with Ms Vergere…"

"Stop your whining, boy," Merlyn rapped Anakin's blond head and urged the boy onward. "Dan-EL's guardian has found a most unusual world, and we're going to see it!"

The Wizard looked over every report that Ultron filled, since his master couldn't be bothered. The latest batch had included a number of worlds from the deep core, a cluster of space so dense that hyperspace travel was impossible.

"Does it have to be right now?" Anakin glared at his master from under the piled supplies. "You promised me a new spell after today's lesson… if we go now, you'll definitely put it off!"

"And if I do, you will learn patience!" Merlyn gripped his apprentice's shoulder and adjusted his hat. "Now hold your breath!"

A pop, followed by a terrible pull, and the Master and his begrudging pupil vanished for parts unknown.

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"Congratulations to Victor Von Doom, for his landslide victory here today!" The house speaker nodded his white-furred head in Doom's direction. "Now that the main event is completed, does anyone have any business to bring before the council?"

Dan watched from an upper balcony, one of the last places with seats. The vote had gone as planned, all in attendance cast their lot in with Doom after May's endorsement. Dan rose to his feet, then paused when a familiar voice chimed above the murmur of the crowd.

"I have something I'd like to discuss, if that's ok with the speaker?" May stood tall, an easy smile on her face as she addressed the crowd. The Bear-man waved and May continued. "Thank you, to everyone, for supporting our candidate, but this is only the beginning!"

She raised a small silver disc and projected an image of Garnib and its solar system. The three, lifeless worlds of Hultomo, Mastala, and Coomputu flashed a brilliant green.

"We've begun projects to terraform these three worlds into habitable planets, work that will take several years to finish!" May changed the projection to a stylized symbol for hope. "We at the House of EL hope to include all those who supported us here in future colonies, if they wish to participate."

Dan smiled as the display changed to a semi-deconstructed view of one of Ultron's service drones. May had mentioned these plans days ago, but Dan had thought she and Jor-EL would need more time to get the World Engines constructed. She probably pulled in Ultron to speed their efforts.

"If all goes well, within five years time, we will have three times the real estate, and a hundred times the resources." May shifted the focus to Coomputu, the furthest world from the sun. "Deep core analysis has revealed a huge amount of resources well below the surface. The kryptonian technology of the House of EL will make them available to all!"

Dan returned to his seat as the crowd's murmurs reached a peak. The existence of a viable resource world, hidden within their system, had grabbed the local's attention. May continued to narrate her pitch, while Dan drifted into his own thoughts.

Yet one more plan had been set in motion, this time a public relations boost. They would create a paradise in this system. World after world where none wanted for anything… the perfect example of how great it was to follow the banner of Krypton.

'Everything is going to plan…'