Chapter 2: The Armored Man

Some time has passed since Kai met Bangles and the others. After the initial greeting and his agreeing to join them on the next planet, not much has happened. A few crew members stuck up a conversation but quickly grew bored at speaking with an amnesiac. So Kai sits alone across from the only person he hasn't interacted with.

"He's staring at me," Kai thought to himself. The man wearing some kind of armor was seated opposite him and hadn't taken his eyes off Kai since he arrived. "This is kinda awkward…"

–

Armoured Man's POV

"What on earth is he?" he sat thinking to himself. "He isn't any alien race known to live within this system. We tend to keep track of any promising alien races with strong traits, like this young man's ability to survive in the vacuum of space, so just where did he come from?"

The man sighed and stopped studying the strange kid calling himself Kai.

"I should include this in my report. Come to think of it, we should be at Zabrak soon. I just hope these ancient ruins bear fruit this time. I really don't want to be the one to tell Lord Frieza this is another dud…" He grimaced to himself and then looked back at the kid. "I suppose I could try and rope this kid in and recruit him; it could win me some brownie points with the boss if this goes south."

–

Kai's POV

Noticing that the man seemed bored of staring at him, Kai felt much more relaxed. Having someone stare him down was getting really uncomfortable. But that armor seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place where it was from. Having a feeling of a lost memory may have been an improvement, but it was almost more annoying.

Having nothing else to do, Kai decided to ask Torque for information on Zabrak, the planet they were flying to. He stood up from his seat, giving one last glance to the odd armored man before walking over the the cock pit and sitting in a chair next to Torque.

"Hey Torque, I was curious about Zabrak. What's it like there? Kai asked.

"Well, it certainly has a rich history, but I won't bore you with all that. " laughed Torque. "It's mostly a mining planet these days, but some archaeologists have found some interesting ruins there, which would be fun to see." he seemed excited about the ruins.

"You should tell him about the beasts roaming the surface before you tell him that," Bangles interjected with a gruff tone." He doesn't want the kid to think he can wander the planet looking for adventure. That'll get him killed.

Torque looked at Bangles sheepishly, "Y-yeah, I was getting to that boss, haha." he stammered. "You should stick to the cities, Kai. Like Bangles said, the wilds can be very dangerous."

As Torque said this, a scoff could be heard coming from behind them. Kai turned, and to his surprise, it came from the armored main.

"Is it not dangerous?" Kai asked him.

"Not if you're properly trained, it's not. Listen, kid, if you want to get your memories back, you'll probably need to look around on Zabrak, and that doesn't happen without a bit of danger." the man looked to ensure he had Kai's attention. "But with some training, I'm sure you'd be able to explore to your heart's content. Find your memories and all that." the man knew it wasn't a great excuse, but this would let him scope the kid out and see if he was worth bringing back to the force. He'll just give him some basic training, and the kid'll feel indebted, and then he can invite him to the force for more training or cut him loose, no big deal.

Kai fell into thought. 'That does sound like it would be a good idea. Based on how he phrased it, it sounds like he will offer to train me. I don't see why I should refuse if it can help me remember something. It is a bit suspect, but I don't see what I have that he could want.'

"That would be great, but who am I gonna get to train me?" Kai asked.

The armored man smiled. 'So predictable,' he thought. "Well, I'd be willing to show you the ropes since I've got business in Zabrak anyway," he said. "Names Nuyal by the way."

Nuyal then pulled out a strange device and put it over his eye. He pressed a button on the side, and numbers and symbols flashed across the screen until settling on a number. After this, he put it back into his bag with no reaction.

Kai's eyes were locked on the device he had as he used it. That same strange sense of familiarity welled up inside him again. 'I know that from somewhere. I'm sure I've seen it before, but where?' he thought to himself.

"What was that?" Kai asked.

"Oh, just a small device to see what I am working with," Nuyal stated, not giving much away.

Torque, having seen the device, tightened his grip on his chair. He recognized the device that man used. He either stole it, or he's a member of the Frieza force, and he didn't know which was worse.'I understand why the captain had no choice but to let him on; those Frieza force thugs get violent when they don't get their way,' Torque thought.

As the ship continues to move through space, the planet Zabrak becomes visible to the pilot. It is a grey rocky looking planet seemingly covered in craters.

"Hey kid, take a look," Bangles gestured to planet Zabrak, "Ring any bells?"

Kai turned from Nuyal and looked towards the grey planet. Looking across the slate-like appearance with craters strewn about, nothing seemed familiar.

"Uh, no, I don't recognize it at all," Kai said disappointedly. His shoulders slumped down slightly as the hope he would recognize something was dashed. 'Damn, if I don't recognize the planet, what're the odds anything there will be familiar. Still, if this planet is dangerous, I will need some training for assurances.' Thinking in that vein, he asked, "How does this planet compare to planets you guys have been in the past?"

"In what way?" Torque asked, still sitting at his station helping pilot the ship.

"Like danger level, if I was strong enough to move around this planet unfettered, would I be able to do the same elsewhere?" Kai inquired. 'If this planet is decently dangerous like they said, I can use it as a good benchmark.' he thought.

"I'd rank it upper middle in terms of danger. Lack of civilization beyond mining towns leads to the wilds being largely left alone. That coupled with somewhat higher than average gravity and oxygen has led to strong wildlife." Bangles chimed in with his evaluation. He seemed to be quite knowledgeable about this planet.

Nuyal gave Bangles an appraising look and said, "I'd agree with his evaluation, but there are planets out there that make this place look like a vacation, so don't get too excited."

Kai nodded at their words and sat to think. 'Hopefully, I can handle the gravity. The gravity on the ship feels comfortable enough, and none of the workers seem worried about it. Well, if they can handle it I'm sure I can.'

As the group continued discussing this and that the ship moved closer and closer to Zabrak. They entered the atmosphere and began docking at the nearest mining town. When they landed, Nuyal looked at Kai.

"I'm going to be getting supplies and then heading into the wilderness. Before that, we can find a clear area so I can evaluate you and start some training. I can't have you slowing me down too much." Nuyal said flatly.

Kai looked a bit annoyed at the comment, but between his lack of memories and insecurity about his ability to survive, he didn't have much of a choice but to go with him.

"Lead the way then, Nuyal," Kai said, trying to mimic Nuyal's flat tone.

Nuyal ignored him and began leaving the ship. Passing the doors and walking down the ramp with ease. Kai turned back to the crew to say goodbye.

"Thanks for picking me up out there. I owe you guys one," he said sincerely. "I hope I meet you all again." he smiled.

"Kai, before you go," Torque approached him nervously. "Be careful of Nuyal, okay? His kind can't be trusted." He gave Kai one last look before getting back to work unloading the cargo.

Kai looked confused, 'His kind? What does he mean by that?' he thought. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned and began jogging after Nuyal. Upon passing through the doors, he tripped and fell to one knee. 'Shit!" he thought while grunting. 'This is just higher than average?' He looked forward and saw Nuyal strolling casually toward the town. 'I've got a lot of work to do,' Kai thought to himself.

Kai pushed himself up and, on shaky legs, began to follow Nuyal. One step at a time; he wasn't going to let something as small as a bit of gravity stop him from recovering his memories.