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One year later... Chestra had just turned twenty; she had been working for Frieza for almost two years now. She and Zarbon were still together, happy as ever, as happy as they could be under Frieza's reign, and they had been trying to conceive a child. Dr. Katsen had told her that it was possible for her to conceive, and that she and Zarbon were reproductively compatible together, but so far, Chestra and Zarbon had been unable to create any offspring between them. Both of them were surprised that Frieza had no objections to them having children; Frieza was well known to be particular about which of his minions were permitted to produce offspring. He always feared that his minions would one day produce a child stronger than he was, and he had put "no-procreation" orders on certain warriors of powerful races, such as the Saiyans, forbidding them from producing children ever. Chestra, who was on her way to see Jaden in the training rooms, reflected on Dr. Katsen's recent advice: wait and think more before having children. He had bluntly told her that maybe her inability to conceive was the result of fate. She remembered their last conversation just before she left his office. "Officer Chestra, are you and Head Commander Zarbon absolutely certain that you two want to have children?" "I love children, Dr. Katsen, and I have always dreamed of having a few little ones of my own. I'd love to have a little boy who looks just like Zarbon." Dr. Katsen had sighed sadly at Chestra's happy words. "Officer Chestra, let me ask you an honest question: are you completely happy working for and serving Lord Frieza?" "I've been in worse situations in my lifetime, Dr. Katsen." "I won't go to Lord Frieza about this conversation, if that is what concerns you, Officer." Chestra had sighed herself. "Very well, Dr. Katsen. No, I don't always like destroying lives needlessly, but my life could have turned out to be worse. Here in Frieza's forces, I have the man I love and good friends, plus a comfortable position and a decent place to eat and sleep. This life is luxurious to someone who has lived as a slave for most of her life, and I have been on planets and in situations where I was starved or beaten because I refused a man's advances or rebelled. I am fortunate not to have been raped during that time. I am not thrilled to still be doing Lord Frieza's dirty work, but other than that, I am content with my present situation." Dr. Katsen had to ask another question, as Chestra had sat in front of his huge, dark, imposing desk. He had said, "If Lord Frieza were to give you the option of leaving his forces, would you take it?" Chestra said honestly, "I-I don't know, Doctor. I wouldn't want to leave Zarbon or Jaden, and besides, where would I go? I don't have a home planet to go to, nor do I even know what race or races I am descended from. Lord Frieza's army is the closest thing to a home and family that I have had since being sent away from planet Ghetti. It's not as if Lord Frieza would ever grant me that freedom to leave anyway, so the point is moot." Dr. Katsen had grown quiet then. Finally, he spoke again, "Let me ask you this, Officer: would you want your child to be doing what you are doing now-clearing entire planets of their populations or executing so-called 'troublemakers' at Lord Frieza's command. Do you want any child of yours following in your footsteps?" He had became quiet, as had Chestra, and he sat back in his gray leather chair, allowing Chestra a few moments to think. Chestra had closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if she was falling asleep, but she wasn't. She thought carefully about Dr. Katsen's words, thinking how she would truly feel to see any child of hers and Zarbon growing up to becoming a killer like his or her parents. Finally, she had opened her pale green eyes, and tears had been dangling near the rims. She had whispered chokingly, "No. I don't want my child living the life Zarbon and I are living now." Dr. Katsen had nodded, and he finally had said calmly, "So, do you think that it would be fair to bring a child into this sort of world?" Chestra had shaken her head, and then she had fallen upon Dr. Katsen's desktop and wept bitterly for several minutes, with her entire body shaking. Dr. Katsen had patted her head comfortingly, as if she had been a little girl. When she had calmed down, Dr. Katsen had continued: "Do you wish for my honest opinion, Officer?" Chestra could only nod. "I think that you and Head Commander Zarbon should think very carefully before you two think of having children, if you don't wish for them to live the life that you two are living now. I cannot control whether you two have children or not, but I can strongly advise against it at this time. I advise soldiers in your situation every day against having children, and that is because many soldiers, particularly ones that have been bought as slaves or forced as involuntary recruits to work for Lord Frieza, do not wish for their children to serve our master. I do not blame them, or you. I know that you and Head Commander Zarbon understandably want to complete your lives with children, and I believe that you both would have made good parents under different circumstances. In this circumstance, I strongly urge against parenthood for you two." "Think about it, Officer; what if any child of yours and Head Commander Zarbon's grows up to become more powerful than Lord Frieza? Lord Frieza would automatically consider that innocent creature to be a threat to his reign, and he would likely have him or her destroyed. Also, what if one day, your child decides not to follow in your and Head Commander Zarbon's footsteps? Would Lord Frieza permit your child to make that decision? And what if your child one day refused to follow Lord Frieza's orders or displeased him or her so greatly as for Lord Frieza to beat or possibly kill him or her? Would you and your mate be able to live with those possibilities?" Chestra had shaken her ruby-and-emerald head no. With tears still in her eyes, she whispered, "I-I believe that you right, Doctor. I wanted to be a mother so badly though, and now it can never happen. I wanted to give any children that I had the happy childhood and youth that has been denied me most of my life." Dr. Katsen had nodded understandingly. "Officer Chestra," he had said gently, "don't despair too much; not even Lord Frieza can live forever, and he is over fifty years old." "By the time he dies, even if he does, it will surely be too late for me," Chestra had whispered again. "He will outlive all of us, Doctor. It is almost as if he's immortal." "Not even Lord Frieza's race is immortal, Officer. And remember that you are not the only one under Lord Frieza's command who would not mourn his death. There are many in your situation who would rather not work for him." Chestra had looked at Dr. Katsen carefully, realizing that he was right. Dr. Katsen resembled a dark brown walrus with a huge cat's head; he also had long tusks and humanoid-like muscular arms and hands. She remembered that Jaden had told her that Dr. Katsen himself had not come to Frieza voluntarily; he had been an established doctor on planet Nebulae where Frieza had found him. Frieza had cleared all of Nebulae himself, but he had spared Dr. Katsen because of his vast medical knowledge and skills. Planet Nebulae, along with planet Astoria, had been reputed for its superb medical knowledge and cures for millions of diseases and treatments for diseases throughout the universe. Some of the Nebulai had been rumored to be fortunate enough to escape to planet Astoria and pass their superior medical knowledge on to the Astorians, but that rumor had never been confirmed. The Nebulai had been a wise, but not a physically strong race, and they had been helpless against Frieza. Dr. Katsen, one of only fifteen Nebulai people still alive in the Cold Empire, had been working for Frieza for twenty-five years, and once he had reluctantly pledged loyalty to Frieza to survive, his bondage had been a benign one. He had never approved of the things that Frieza would do or have done, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do to stop Frieza from doing what Frieza did best-take innocent lives and ruin or terrorize the ones that he allowed to exist. Chestra had pitied Dr. Katsen, as well as herself, and with a sad face, she had quietly thanked him, promising to think seriously about what he said, and left. Now she was near the doorway to leading to the training rooms where Jaden was training Prince Vegeta and Princess Journa of the Saiyan race. She wandered into a dimly lit room where thirteen-year-old Vegeta was pummeling Jaden's face and body with his small, but powerful fists, hoping to damage her, even kill her. The short little prince was merciless with his assaults on Jaden, but Jaden was more than holding up her end of the training session. She rapidly sent Vegeta to the floor with one punch to his angular young face, and Vegeta promptly jumped back up to land his fist into her jaw. Finally Jaden swiped the Saiyan prince away with her meaty arm, and she said, "Enough for this part of the session!" Vegeta growled, "I will decide when I've had enough! I'm not finished with you yet, woman!" Whirling on him, Jaden snarled angrily, "What did I tell you about addressing me as 'woman', young man? What are you supposed to address me by?" Vegeta sulked and cut his eyes at Jaden, but he grumbled, "Commander Jaden." Fifteen-year-old Journa, who was standing nearby, glared heavily at Jaden for talking to her brother that way, but dared not do anything else. "Good. You do know how to use that brain after all. Now you and your sister spar with each other for twenty minutes, and then we'll have our ki-blasting portion of the section. Don't blow up the room like you two did last time." "Whatever," Vegeta told her saucily, but Jaden ignored him. She left the two royal siblings to spar with each other, with Vegeta mumbling under his breath about how one day he would rule the universe, and even Jaden would have to bow down to him then. The Rybanese warrior snorted at hearing these words. She had heard Chestra enter, and she came over to her closest friend on the other side of the room. She glanced back at her students occasionally to ensure that Vegeta was not killing his sister. Vegeta was her best pupil ever, despite his attitude and impertinence, and Jaden was proud of him, even though she would never admit it openly. She knew that Vegeta disliked her, but then whom did Vegeta really like? Jaden tolerated most of his insults and smart remarks because she knew that Vegeta, along with Journa, had a secret and grudging respect for her. She had never called them monkeys or put them down because they were of the Saiyan race, and she had been one of the few of Frieza's minions who had given them condolences on the deaths of their family and people on planet Vegeta. Vegeta, Nappa, and Raditz had failed to clear planet Astoria and capture Princess Tayla of Chloe, and to this day, both still existed and flourished. Frieza had been greatly displeased and angered when he had found out these things, and so he had taken Journa and Vegeta away from their father as a punishment. And as a horrific bonus, Dodoria had heartlessly killed Saiyan Queen Muriella with one mouth blast, right in front of her children and husband. Some time later, Frieza had destroyed planet Vegeta many months ago with one finger, but to this day, young Vegeta and Journa thought that a meteor had destroyed their home planet. There were times when Jaden, who knew the truth, had been sorely tempted to tell the kids otherwise, but she knew that doing so would be risking their lives and hers. The truth would be a risk to their lives because Vegeta and Journa would be foolish enough right now to try to rebel against Frieza, and it would be a risk to Jaden's life because Frieza would destroy her then and there. The Rybanese Top Elite officer quietly watched her two students fighting with only a flicker of pity on her unexpressive face. Chestra stood nearby watching them fight, with Vegeta winning successfully against his older sister. Chestra pitied the children for losing their entire race and way of life, and part of her wanted to reach out to them, even though Jaden warned her that they would not accept sympathy or pity from anyone. Journa might have, but Vegeta would have put her down for doing so. "How are they handling things?" Chestra asked Jaden finally. "As Saiyans would," Jaden told her. "They don't let their grief or pain show; if they're hurting, they hide it very well. They know how to move on. They're focused entirely on their training now, and that's good. It keeps their mind off of things. As a matter of fact, Vegeta is-hey, boy, don't you dare blow up that ceiling! I don't care if your sister did just blast you from up there! Lord Frieza would have all of our tails, and I'd have to hear his mouth for a week, like I had to when you accidentally blew up half of his office two weeks ago!" "Fine then," Vegeta told her smoothly, and he proceeded to blow up a couple of stone benches instead. Jaden put her face in her hands and sighed. Chestra permitted herself a mild chuckle. "He's only thirteen, and he's already a handful," Chestra said ruefully. "More like a hundred handfuls," Jaden quipped. "He takes up most of my free time now, what little I do have. He's just a kid, but I believe that he may already be ready for his Mid-Evaluation." "Already? But he's just a child!" Jaden smirked. "Don't tell him that; the last person who told him spent a few days in the regeneration tanks...I was hoping he'd wind up in the morgue." "Why's that?" "The culprit was Balair. Dodoria had to yank Vegeta off of him; I was disappointed Vegeta didn't kill Bali, but at least the boy broke his tail." "I see." "Maybe one day he will," Jaden said, a bit hopefully. "My goal is to one day have a student who will become stronger than Frieza himself, and I believe that Vegeta may be the one who fills that role." "You know," Chestra pointed out, "that if Vegeta ever reaches that point, he could wind up destroying every one with authority above him, including you. He is a very angry young man, one who will definitely seek revenge against those he feels are oppressing him. Doesn't it worry you that one day Vegeta may turn on you and kill you?" "Somewhat," Jaden admitted. "But it's a chance I'm more than willing to take. No, Chestra, I don't like the fact that Vegeta may one day wipe me out along with Frieza, Zarbon, and Dodoria. (Yes, Chestra, he does not like Zarbon, and he's threatened him in the past.) But if he does become more powerful than all of us and uses that power, I will have done my job." "Even if it means losing your life?" "If Frieza and Dodo and Bali are destroyed along with me, the loss of my life will be worth it." Chestra felt saddened by Jaden's cryptic remarks, and she looked down on the floor. She was disturbed at these times when Jaden showed little regard for her own life. To Chestra, life was precious and worth taking care of, and it sorrowed her to hear her closest friend vaguely refer to her own death wish. Chestra suddenly wanted to cry at Jaden's occasional lack of a will to live. A tear dangled on the corner of her mint-tinted eye, and observant Jaden immediately noticed. "Don't get sentimental and sad on me. I'm being realistic, okay? Don't start the waterworks," Jaden scolded her. "I'm not trying to get myself killed; if I had truly wanted to die right away, I would have already killed myself. But I am a warrior, a Rybanese warrior, one of Frieza's Top Elite Officers, and anyone in my position must always be prepared to die." "I don't like that you feel that you have no reason to live," Chestra rebuked her. "I want to see you happy...to have someone to love, to have something worthwhile, to be doing something worthwhile. I'd like to see us both one day doing something good, something other than taking lives in Frieza's name." Jaden permitted herself a grim smile, as she watched Vegeta hit Journa in the back of her head. Journa, as plucky as her brother, but not as strong, recovered quickly, turned around and slammed her fist into his nose, causing him to bleed. Vegeta growled ferociously and flung himself on his sister, who barely managed to hold him off with her fists. Journa had few curves, was small-breasted, and she was stocky, muscular, and taller than Vegeta; there were very few feminine features about her, except for her long eyelashes and short, red hair. Her face was the female version of Vegeta's, with all of his sharp, angular features. She had been reputed to be the strongest female Saiyan on planet Vegeta before planet Vegeta was destroyed. Although her brother far outshone her in fighting technique and brute strength, Journa was more than worthy enough to be one of Vegeta's comrades and sparring partners. Jaden had once heard King Vegeta express his hopes that Journa would become the first female Super Saiyan. The Rybanese warrior, like most of Frieza's soldiers, believed the Super Saiyan legend to be nothing more than a myth, but seeing Journa and Vegeta evenly fight each other gave her a bit of hope that they would someday become more than just "Frieza's lackeys." It also secretly pleased Jaden to know that both Saiyan children fervently hated Frieza, although she scolded them for making disparaging remarks about their despised master. Their hatred of the cruel tyrant too gave Jaden hope. She told Chestra finally, "I doubt that it will be my generation that will get to be as lucky as to do something other than Frieza's dirty work. Zarbon, Dodoria, Balair, the Ginyu Force, and I will probably die serving Frieza, and then Frieza will forget us the minute that we are sent to the morgue. I don't like taking his abuse and orders any more than many people here do, but there is nothing else left for me out there. I have no family, no friends outside of his army, and not even a home planet to return to. I'm too old to change much, Chestra. But it may not be too late for you." "You, Vegeta, and Journa are close enough in age to be in the same generation, and it may be you three who will be the ones fortunate enough to find life beyond Frieza's reign of terror. Don't get me wrong; none of you stand a chance against him now, and it will be many years before any of you ever will. But you're still young enough to train hard enough..." Jaden's voice trailed off, and finally deciding that she was getting too "sentimental" for her own good, abruptly cut herself short. She turned from her friend to shout orders at Vegeta and Journa, "Vegeta, Journa, time's up! Time for lunch! We'll resume training again within one hour. And I expect you both to shower before you two get back; I'm not working with any stinky brats." "Like you smell so sweet yourself," Vegeta retorted. "I haven't known you to smell like any of Frieza's rose gardens lately." "That's enough out of you!" Jaden barked. "You should consider yourself thankful that it's me that you have to answer to and not Dodo or Bali; they would rip out your tail for half the smart-mouthed things that you say to me. If you ever told them off like you tell me, you'd lose both the tail on your behind and the one in between your legs. Maybe Zarbon's right about you needing a lesson in etiquette." "Zarbon could use a few lessons in etiquette himself, especially on how to address someone who is royalty," Vegeta snapped, as he and Journa marched past Jaden and Chestra with as much dignity as possible, with their heads held high and their tails wrapped firmly around their trim waists. The two Saiyan children left the room without so much as a goodbye. "Are the little monkeys giving you grief again, Jaden?" Chestra nearly jumped five feet off the ground, and Jaden whipped around at the sound of Frieza's cool tone. Chestra slowly landed on the ground again; it had taken her many months to get used to Frieza coming up behind her like that. To this day, she still tensed slightly whenever Frieza came near, but most of the time, she managed to let it show. Keeping her manner steady, Jaden put a hand on Chestra's shoulder to calm her, as she addressed their liege in an even tone, "No more than usual, Lord Frieza." Frieza smirked. "You really should beat them more often when they speak to you the way that they do, Jaden. Anyway, it is Chestra that I have come to see. I have a couple of announcements that I would like to tell her personally." Chestra grew uneasy, and Frieza noticed her tense expression. "Relax, my dear," he said with a rare smile and chuckle. "You still act, as if I am going to make a pass at you. I told you that I wasn't going to interfere with your intimate relationship with Zarbon, or try to separate you two. It's been over a year and a half since that certain…incident between us. When are you going to relax around me?" Jaden quipped, "Lord Frieza, trying to relax around you is like trying to get Balair to see women as more than life-support systems for vaginas, or like trying to get Dodo to remove his lips from your tail for more than two nanoseconds, or like trying to get Ginyu to-" "I heard that remark about me, Jaden!" Dodoria growled, coming up behind Frieza. "Now we see where that monkey brat, Vegeta, gets his attitude from! No wonder he thinks that he can smart off to us-because you do it!" He loudly smacked his gum and began to chew it. With his mouth full, he said to Frieza, "Sire, personally, I think that I or Balair or Zarbon ought to take over the training of the monkeys 'cause apparently Vegeta and Journa are learning bad habits from Jaden." "Vegeta and Journa had those habits long before they were given to Jaden for training," Frieza told him, as his long ribbed tail lifted into the air, accidentally brushing against Dodoria's open mouth. "They are doing fine under Jaden, although Jaden could discipline them more-what is happening to my tail? Dodoria, why are you eating my tail?" "Mom mot, mire (I'm not, sire)," Dodoria told him with his mouth open-and holding Frieza's tail. Dodoria had been chewing his favorite kind of peanut-butter gum, which was so sticky that it was sometimes used as a substitute for glue, and the gum in his mouth had become stuck to his lips-and Frieza's tail. The tip of Frieza's tail was now fully wedged in Dodoria's huge mouth, and the more that Frieza tried to pull his tail out of Dodoria's mouth, the more the tail and gum stuck together. Dodoria vainly tried to yank Frieza's tail out of his mouth, but that only made things worse, for now the tip of Frieza's tail was coated with peanut-buttery gum, and now Dodoria's mouth was sealed shut around Frieza's tail. When Frieza gave his tail another yank, Dodoria unintentionally sank his teeth into the tip of Frieza's tail, so hard that Frieza screamed. "DODORIA! LET GO OF MY TAIL NOW!" Frieza roared. "YOU ARE FORBIDDEN EVER TO CHEW GUM AGAIN, DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME? EVER!" Dodoria foolishly tried to speak, but when he did, his teeth sank further into Frieza's tail, and Frieza screamed once again. Frieza hid a smile, and Frieza carefully smothered her laughter, as Frieza tried to once again pry his tail out of Dodoria's mouth, but only causing himself more pain. He finally screamed at Frieza and Frieza, "Help me, you two! What are you two standing there for? Get my tail out of his mouth!" Jaden laughed before she could stop herself, and Frieza screeched, "Frieza, I know that you're not laughing at this! Get over here and help me before I send you to the next dimension!" Still laughing uncontrollably, Jaden said, "Y-Yes, sire! Right away! C'mon, Chestra!" Before they went to help Frieza, they both exchanged sly, amused glances at each other and chuckled. It was moments like this that helped to make life under Frieza more bearable. "Jaden! Chestra!" "Coming, Lord Frieza!" |