CHAPTER 89: A Recipe for Revenge

Concealed artfully amidst a meteor shower, nine spherical pods descended towards the planet Earth. Within the lead pod sat a rather short man, muscular and with spiked black hair. His dark black cape was draped about his body, brushing against his body armor of the same color, and a silver crown adorned his head. A furry tail was wrapped about his waist. Eleven years ago, he had been Prince of the Saiyajin; now, he was King.

[Wake up, King Vegeta,] said the space pod's generic computer voice. [Destination is in range. Confirming target identity: Chikyuu-sei. Native label is 'Earth'. Populated by race of Saiyajin-like beings, known as humans. Fighting prowess is minimal.]

"Scan the planet for power levels," Vegeta demanded of the space pod. "Set range to over ten thousand."

[Confirmed. Scanning... Complete. Please refer to left monitor.]

Vegeta's gaze drifted in that direction. The results surprised him...

FOUND:
Power 5,000,000 - Saiyajin
Power 4,750,000 - Saiyajin
Power 4,300,000 - Saiyajin
Power 5,500,000 - Saiyajin
Power 75,000,000 - Namek-sei-jin
Power 1,150,000 - Human
Power 955,000 - Human
Power 800,000 - Human
Power 150,000 - Human
Power 71,000,000 - Squid
Power 2,500,000 - (unable to compute; race unknown)
Power 2,000,000 - (unable to compute; race unknown)
Power 1,000,000 - (unable to compute; race unknown)

"Impressive," Vegeta murmured as he switched off the monitor. "It appears that the humans are ready for us after all... But those unknown levels..."

[Alert: Atmosphere has been cleared. Brace for impact.]

Torn from his pondering, Vegeta gripped the edges of his seat as the space pod smashed into the ground at high speed, followed by the other eight. Rough landing... but no matter how rough the landing had been, King Vegeta was now on Earth.

-----

Egrini, Middle Etel of Lahnus, watched as nine beings emerged from the recently-arrived space pods. The dark-haired lass lifted her chin to meet the surprisingly humanlike aliens.

Three of the visitors approached slowly. The first was a short man in black armor, a black cape, and a silver circlet contrasting with his spiny black hair. Behind him and to the right was a tall, lean man with a narrow face, adorned in ornate armor of pearl-white and with a blue cape falling from his gold shoulder-plates. His black hair was parted down the middle, falling in descending spikes to either side, and his expression was severe. Lastly, behind and to the left of the short man came an eight-foot hulk in plain brown clothing. The giant's hair was long and unrestrained, falling to cover his left eye, and an intricate tattoo was emblazoned on his right cheek.

Egrini's eyes met those of the hulk, and he nodded faintly in recognition. The young lass suppressed a smirk.

The short man stepped forward. "Woman!" he barked in a harsh voice. "You will tell me where to find the leader of this world."

"I will not," Egrini responded simply.

"You will, or you will die."

Egrini had made her decision already. "Then I die," she said, hiding the anxiety in her voice. She knew what would happen... but it had to be done to preserve the secrecy of her people.

"Kill her, Letus," the short man ordered.

His face a mask of false determination, Letus took two steps forward. As clearly as if he had spoken, Egrini heard his words in her mind, even as the giant warrior gathered a ki blast in his right hand: "I didn't want to do this, my kinswoman. I will, however, remember your noble sacrifice."

And without further ado, Letus let fly with a massive beam of white. The beam slammed into Egrini, but she felt no pain as her body was slowly incinerated.

-----

Kirue sat upon the edge of her bed, her slim body still garbed in a pink nightgown as she gazed at the rugged face of Erut Yar on the viewscreen before her. Erut wasn't exactly the first face she wanted to see in the morning; the big man was brutish and ugly, with only a bit of blue hair at his temples. His azure tattoo encircled his right eye in intricate designs, indicating the warrior rank of Yar.

"I'm sorry to wake you so early, Supreme Tal," Erut rumbled the apology to his slender blonde superior. "But this is urgent. Egrini Middle Etel do Lahnus has been killed."

THAT got Kirue's attention. Her angular eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed. "Who killed her?" she demanded, unconsciously raising a hand to adjust her short blonde hair.

Erut shrugged; the action caused the 'CHOCOLATE STARFISH AND THE HOT DOG FLAVORED WATER' logo on his shirt to ripple. "Apparently, it was Letus, our Saiyajin, on orders from some Saiyajin I don't recognize."

Kirue scowled deeply. "We will NOT allow Egrini's death to go unpunished," she declared quietly. "Get Raileta and Zul. Send Banira to mobilize the Lahnus Team. It's time to wipe the Saiyajins off of this planet."

"Yes, Supreme Tal." Erut's face vanished.

Kirue switched off the viewer, then flopped back down on her bed to stare at the ceiling light. One of her people hadn't been killed for twenty years - before Kirue's rise to the rank of Supreme Tal of Atlantis' tattered remnants. However, the death of a member of a dying race was not something to be taken lightly.

The Saiyajins would be punished.