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Three days later. Frieza’s ship. Chestra rubbed her neck contentedly. It felt good to have that collar off her neck. Frieza had been further impressed with her telekinetic powers. Chestra could move meteors with her mind, and she had actually demonstrated that to him. Of course, part of Egimari had been damaged in the process, but since that planet would later be cleared, it didn’t bother her at all. In fact, she had even told Frieza that she would gladly help clear Egimari, if he wanted her to. Frieza told her that he would consider letting her do it. She liked her small quarters. They were small and Spartan, but it was the first time in her life that she had her own personal space in a long time. She had a small, narrow bed with a plain dresser and table and closet. To her, it was the closest thing to heaven. No chains, no collars, only the required armor flanks and boots. Chestra looked out into the starry universe from her tiny porthole in her room. Not bad, not bad at all. Her burns had healed quickly, thanks to Frieza’s rejuvenation tanks, which healed any injury within a matter of hours. She also was pleased to know that her whip cuts were gone too. In another day or two, she would be training under her new trainer, Zarbon. She would train for two years, and she would start clearing planets with an experienced officer in one year. If she passed her final evaluation, she would be inducted officially as one of Frieza’s fighters, and she would have to pledge loyalty permanently to him. The final evaluation would be of her having to fight Zarbon, then Dodoria. She would have to last thirty minutes with both of them without giving in to defeat. If she passed, all would be well. If she failed, there would be only one thing—death. That last part did not faze her too much; she had been through much worst, and she knew confidently that she would pass. There was a knock on her door. Very few had ever granted her that small courtesy before of knocking before they entered her private space—it was as private as anything could be under Frieza. Well it was almost private, for Chestra would have a roommate. The roommate had not yet arrived. Chestra went to the door and opened it. She saw a strange alligator-woman standing there with navy blue scales and bright yellow eyes. She had two powerful, agile, flexible tails and large reptilian feet. The female lizard-creature looked stern and forbidding. Chestra nodded to her humbly, for the lizard wore the armor and cape of a Top Elite officer, same as Zarbon and Dodoria did. She was shocked to learn that this woman was a Rybanese warrior, a warrior from a planet where she had been a slave on. She thought that the Hycanese people had destroyed all of the Rybanese. “Hello,” she addressed the officer politely. “Hey,” the officer addressed her gruffly, “You must be Chestra. I am Commander Jaden.” “Hello, Commander Jaden,” Chestra said. “Are you training me too?” “Not for right now. Zarbon will be your trainer only, as far as I know. I just came out of curiosity. I don’t normally bother with other officers’ recruits, but I was bored, so I figured I find out what Zarbon had in store for him.” Chestra laughed. “I didn’t think it was possible to be bored under Frieza!” Jaden shared her laughter, and it was rare for Jaden to laugh, ever. “Anything’s possible under Frieza, even boredom! You can get bored between assignments sometimes, but the extra time is the only free time that you probably will have. I haven’t been bored much of late, however, until now. I’m currently training a couple of Saiyan brats, and that Prince Vegeta is enough to keep anyone on their toes! I only have time now because that brat and his two pals, Nappa and Raditz, have been sent off to clear planet Astoria. I never thought that Lord Frieza would send kids there, for Shalila Chloe and her people are tough, but that’s his prerogative. I’m supposed to take Prince Vegeta’s sister, Princess Journa, with me to clear Sugaran in a couple of weeks. That planet won’t be much of a challenge, for no one is that strong there, and none of them have an IQ higher than a rock’s.” Chestra asked softly, “How long have you been working here?” Jaden grew quiet then. “A good while. How old did Zarbon say you were—eighteen? I’ve been here since I was twelve; I’m thirty now, as of yesterday.” “Happy birthday.” “Thank you,” Jaden told her. “It’s also the anniversary of my working for Frieza.” “How do you like it?” Jaden looked a little sad then. “I am alive and in a top position. It works. Look, kid, it’s been nice talking to you, but I’ve got to run. If you want to meet the other unfortunates—um, recruits—I suggest you go downstairs to the recruits lounge.” “Commander Jaden, wait!” Chestra cried. “What is wrong?” “I’ve got to go. See you around!” Jaden abruptly left the room, and the door lowered again between them. Chestra would later learn that Jaden did not normally have a reputation for politeness or courtesy. Chestra brushed her long waist-length hair (which had grown back quickly) with her slender fingers before she left her room. Chestra loved how her hair was always parted down the middle, with one side ruby red, and other side emerald-green. She liked how shiny and soft it was now; when she had been under worse conditions, she had not been able to take care of it properly. She had used the small bottle of shampoo that had come with the tiny grooming kit that most recruits received. She did not go to the recruits’ lounge right away, as Jaden suggested; instead, she marched straight to Zarbon’s quarters. Outside Zarbon’s luxurious quarters, he was standing out in the corridors talking to Dodoria and Dodoria’s new recruit, Diamonique. Chestra stood behind a palm tree, as she observed Zarbon. Zarbon was very handsome; she loved his hair and his pale green skin. She thought his ball-like earrings suited him; it made him look like a prince. What am I thinking? Have I lost my mind completely? I had no plans to take a mate! I never really wanted a man to touch me. Get a grip, Chestra; he is your trainer, not your potential lover. And what would a Top Elite officer of Frieza want with a mere slave girl like you anyway? He is probably royalty, or at least of a noble class. Chestra tried to shake her head free of her growing feelings about Zarbon. She barely knew the man, and already he had stirred something in her. Someone like Zarbon probably already had a mate. Chestra, uncertain of her true origins, dared to long after him. She did not even know what planet or race she was descended from, for she had been a slave since she had been a baby. What chances would she have with Zarbon? She decided to try to put Zarbon out of her mind and focus on Dodoria’s recruit, Diamonique. Diamonique was a beautiful girl about Chestra’s age; she resembled a human (none of Frieza’s minions knew what a human looked like) with ice-blue and sliver-streaked hair and black diamond eyes with long, thick lashes. Diamonique had perfect peaches-and-ice skin with a tiny pointed nose and diamond fingernails and toenails. She was five-foot-nine inches tall, slender and graceful. She’s the sort of woman that Zarbon would want. You can tell she comes from good breeding and class. Chestra noticed Diamonique openly flirting with Zarbon, running her diamond-encrusted fingers along his chest and laughing. Chestra was relieved to hear that Diamonique had a terrible laugh; Diamonique’s laugh was harsh and condescending even when she tried to make it light and merry. Diamonique looked Chestra’s way, for the palm tree did not hide Chestra well. Diamonique’s cold black gem eyes bore right into Chestra; the ice-haired woman was hoping to intimidate her into leaving. Diamonique already did not like Chestra, and she could sense Chestra’s interest in Zarbon. Diamonique was indifferently fond of her trainer, Dodoria, but she envied Chestra for being Zarbon’s recruit. She gave Chestra a cold, hard look. Chestra glared back at her; she instantly disliked Diamonique. That blue-haired girl was going to be trouble. Chestra had met Diamonique’s type before, and she was wise enough to know that she would have to watch her own back whenever she sensed Diamonique’s energy on her new scouter. Chestra knew Diamonique’s type well enough to know that Diamonique would try to harm her at the first viable opportunity. Zarbon abruptly turned away from the seductive Diamonique, and he strolled over to Chestra. “Chestra,” he purred, “how are you adjusting to life here?” “Very well,” Chestra told him honestly. “I like it much better here; I consider this a step up.” Diamonique cooed to Chestra in an icy-sweet voice that Chestra would come to hate immediately, “I suppose it would be for someone who has spent her life as a slave, pleasuring various men, being someone’s mistress every time. But you don’t need to worry about that here, Chestra, darling, for it unlikely that anyone here would consider taking you as their paramour, my dear.” She smiled amiably at Chestra, as if she had said the kindest thing. “Diamonique…” Zarbon began warningly. He turned to Dodoria. “Dodoria, it is your job to restrain your recruit’s tongue.” Dodoria told Diamonique sternly, “That will be enough, Diamonique.” Chestra’s green eyes flickered, but she kept a bold, bright smile. “I’m afraid, Diamonique, darling, that you are mistaken. I am still a virgin, believe it or not; I have managed to fend off many a lecherous creature’s advances, and some of them I have even killed. My various masters have used me to fight and kill, mostly. I was no one’s mistress. Were you, my dear?” Diamonique’s black gem eyes were hate-mad, but she still managed to maintain her cold-sweet voice. “I was never a slave, Chestra, darling. I came here voluntarily, of my own free will. Lord Frieza was holding a tournament of the universe’s greatest warriors, and I entered the tournament and won.” Dodoria added, “Lord Frieza likes to have intergalactic tournaments now and then to find new recruits—the voluntary ones.” “And the involuntary ones?” Chestra asked smoothly. “They are slaves, such as yourself, or people that we take prisoner and force them to work for us.” “And which one am I?” Zarbon smiled benevolently at her. “Normally slaves would have been listed as ‘involuntary recruits’, but since you came with us willingly enough, you are listed as ‘voluntary’. That is good, for voluntary recruits get better treatment here than the involuntary recruits do. It is best never to oppose Lord Frieza or his wishes on anything.” He looked at her deeply, admiringly, and Chestra felt shivers dance along her spine—pleasant shivers. Chestra had never truly had a long-term mate before; she had spent most of her life trying to fend off her masters’ unwanted advances, and most men turned her off. But she sensed that Zarbon could be different. I’ll have to wait and see, she thought amusedly to herself. She fully intended to get to know her new trainer well. Very well. Zarbon continued, his smooth voice interrupting Chestra’s thoughts, “Whom are you rooming with? I hear that you are one of the luckier recruits as in having a single roommate instead of being stuck in the barracks like most recruits are. Lord Frieza seemed to be unusually pleased to have you working for him, my dear.” Diamonique emitted an unladylike snort. She had Zarbon’s full attention until that freak-of-nature cat-woman with the red-and-green-hair (how ghastly!) showed up. This other girl—Chestra—was of undetermined heritage—what did this nobody slave girl have that she didn’t? Chestra smiled demurely, as she fished into her small satchel for her card, which she had not viewed yet. Diamonique suddenly remembered to her horror that she had to have a roommate herself, and she too had been one of the luckier recruits who would only have one roommate. She looked in her satchel for her card and shrieked with horror when she read the name. “I have to room with you?” she gasped aloud. Chestra looked at her card and read Diamonique’s name on it. “It looks like it,” she told the humanoid woman calmly. “I don’t believe this!” Diamonique hissed angrily. “I am Lady Diamonique of the Diamondian Tribe, the elite-class tribe of planet Gemstar, and I have to room with a slave girl of unknown origin! Chesty, or whatever your name is, do you even know whom or where you are descended from?” Chestra smiled as pleasantly as possible. She already did not like Diamonique, but the former slave girl did not believe in having any more enemies than necessary. She and Diamonique did not have to like each other, but they did not have to be adversaries. “It is Chestra, and I am sorry if the arrangement bothers you, Diamonique, but we may as well make the best of it and get along. Who knows? Maybe we will learn to like each other,” she told Diamonique politely. “Not in this millennium!” Diamonique hissed in rage. “I will go see Lord Frieza about this myself! I will remind him of what my uncle, the King of Gemstar and one of his greatest allies, has done for him! This is not over yet!” And with that, the Gemstarian warrior stalked off out of the corridors. Zarbon and Dodoria sighed. They already knew what a spoiled brat Diamonique was, and they also knew that Frieza would not comply with Diamonique’s request, or rather demand. The snobby girl would just have to make do with the rooming arrangements for now. Chestra kept her voice contrite. “I am sorry that I have caused this much trouble.” “Don’t worry about it,” Zarbon assured her. “Lord Frieza will set the spoiled girl straight. She is not any different than you.” “Except that she can poison people with her diamond nails and is the niece of an important ally of Frieza’s, but don’t let that faze you,” Dodoria chortled. “My little bratty recruit will get over it—or try to kill you.” He laughed at his lousy joke until Zarbon punched him in his ribs. “Just stay on her good side,” Dodoria wheezed. Chestra wondered if Diamonique even had a good side. |