They cheered Mameko on as she ran by with her head thrown back, laughing like a child. But this game was far from childish. She was 23 years old; an adult and she was in heat.
     Seven Saiyajin men raced after her, shoving each other out of the way. Two men fell, punching and kicking each other. The others raced on. Mameko looked back over her shoulder and grinned. The selection was finally to her liking. She was sure her top choice would win. She turned and back pedaled.
     "Come on! I can only take one of you!!!" she goaded them.
     As if in a dance, the men turned on each other. It only took a few minutes. The one who wanted her the most; the most powerful male stood panting, victorious over the unconscious bodies of his competitors. He wiped blood from his mouth and looked at his prize.
     "You're Mameko, right?"
     She nodded. "And you're mine, Bardock!" she laughed and leapt into his arms. They flew off to a secluded spot in the forest and copulated.

     The sun was low in the sky when Mameko awoke. Much to her surprise, he was still there. His muscular arms were wrapped around her. He was fast asleep. Her desire to leave faded away like a cloud as she watched him breathe. She reached up and touched his face and the deep scar that crossed his cheek. His eyes flicked open.
     "You're still here...?" he asked.
     "I should go."
     "I didn't say I wanted you too..."
     "We both have things to do, officers to report to."
     "Screw 'em."
     She grinned. "This may sound strange, but... will I see you again?"
     "Not so strange." He stroked her hair. "I want to see you again too. How 'bout tomorrow?"
     She nodded, and was surprised again when he kissed her before leaving. She felt tingly and anxious as she watched him disappear and lifted into the air herself.

*
     As the months went by, Mameko's belly began to grow round with the child she and Bardock had created. Her missions had tapered down to just a conquest a month. Next month they would stop altogether in preparation for her child's birth. Mameko had studied history and language as a child, but Furiza had commissioned the entire Saiyajin race into his Planet Trade Army. Many of the old traditions were fading.
     Tensions on Vegeta-sei were high. It seemed every day, Furiza took a little more of their freedom away. First it was their infrastructure. All communications on the planet were controlled by the Planet Trade. Now it was their traditions and culture. Those who were wary of the tyrant's aim knew what this was supposed to do; turn the Saiyajin into nothing more than Furiza's foot soldiers.
     Despite the laws, Bardock and Mameko decided to bond. Without ceremony and in seclusion, they went through the mysterious Saiyajin ritual which mated them for life.

     Bardock returned from a distant conquest half way through her pregnancy and found Mameko. They spent the afternoon in the city, trying to pretend that they weren't illegally bonded.
     "Why is it that I can't stand to be without you?" Mameko asked as they walked down the street.
     "It's called love," he whispered. "It doesn't always feel so great. I feel like that when I'm on my way home."
     "I get so worried!" she clutched his arm. "I'm always so afraid that you won't come home!"
     Bardock stopped and offered her a seat on a window ledge. He sat down beside her. "I always think that I may not come home. That way, when I do, I'm pleasantly surprised."
     Mameko sighed. "So when you leave me every time, you think that you won't see me ever again...?"
     "And I'm pleasantly surprised every time." He smiled and secretly squeezed her hand.
     Both of them were startled as a woman ran past, screaming her head off. Following her like thunder was a small group of men. The couple laughed nervously.
     "HEY!" an orange skinned soldier with white hair and a thick accent cried and pointed at Bardock. "Why aren't you running?"
     Bardock blinked.
     "Aren't you supposed to chase after that whore like the monkey you are?"
     Bardock growled, but Mameko held on to his arm. With her heart in her throat, she could almost see the future. 'Oh no... please just go away... please...' she thought.
     "You're bonded, aren't you?!" he barked. "You DO know that's illegal, don't you?"
     Bardock stood. "Mameko, run. Get out of here..." he hissed.
     "No. I stay with you."
     "Go!"
     "No!"
     A small group of Furiza's soldiers had gathered. The short, orange man pointed his finger at them. "These two need to be taken into custody. They've bonded and broken Furiza's law."
     Bardock growled and yelled for Mameko to run one more time before charging the group and trying his best to fight them. She cursed her helplessness and watched as he was beaten into unconsciousness. They dragged him off in one direction and her off in another.

*
     Mameko's baby was born several months later. He was healthy and strong, but only registered as a third class Saiyajin warrior. She was a little disappointed, but her mood soon changed to hysteria as she realized that they were taking him away without even letting her see or name him. When she had been sedated, she was forced into a bunker with many other Saiyajin women. Their first mission was only two days away.
     Mameko regained her senses and couldn't help but cry as she lay on her cot. To her surprise, a hand touched her shoulder.
     "Hey, it's ok," a soft, high, woman's voice whispered.
     "No, it's not... I'll never see my baby or my mate again, I just know it!"
     "I understand." She smiled sadly. Mameko got the feeling that she had been through something similar. "My name's Beta. Who are you?"
     "Mameko." She wiped the tears from her eyes and sat up. "Thanks, Beta."
     "You better get some sleep."
     She nodded, but stayed sitting up for a while and tried to control her grief. She found that it was easier to think that it had all been a dream; that she had never know him and not just had his baby. But the pain, both physical and mental was far too strong to be forgotten.

*
     Mameko was scrubbing the bathroom with a very small brush late one afternoon when Beta ran in, grabbed her by the arm, dragged her into the nearest stall and closed the door behind her.
     "Oi, Mameko. I saw your mate!"
     "What!?" she hissed.
     "Bardock, right?"
     "Yes!"
     "He told me to tell you he loves you very much and that he's looking for your son!"
     "Thank you so much!" Mameko whispered. Her eyes were framed with black circles and the whites were bloodshot from lack of sleep. She clutched at her side. They had beaten her fairly severely the day she had arrived for crying.
     "How much more of this do you have to do?" Beta asked.
     "Too much," Mameko said and frowned. To her surprise, Beta began to remove her clothes.
     "Quick," she whispered. "Swap with me!" The two women were both of similar stature, and had short, brown hair. They could very well pass for the other to an undiscerning commanding officer.
     Mameko nodded and did as she said. Beta took her little brush and started working. Mameko went back out to the bunker and laid down on Beta's cot.
     Hours later, when she had finished the bathroom, Beta woke Mameko and swapped back her clothes.
     "Thank you so much," Mameko whispered. "Why are you so nice to me?"
     "I know what you're going through," she answered. "They killed my mate." She gave her that same sad smile and rolled over.
     "Thank you, Beta," Mameko whispered again. "Thank you."

*

     Bardock stepped out of the round space ship and stretched. He passed up going to the regen tanks again and wandered off towards the nearest bar.
     He got a drink and sat down at a table of men he knew. They were mostly talking about battles and fighting, easy enough to tune out. But one man looked downright devastated. On of his friends, a little further on the way to the land of the drunk asked him what was so wrong.
      "My sister, Beta got killed yesterday."
     Bardock choked on his drink. "Did you say Beta? As in the 53rd platoon, Beta?"
      "Yeah, the same. She was my sister." The young man down his drink and ordered another.
     Bardock jumped up and grabbed him. "Do you know where the 53rd's bunker is?!"
     "Uh... yeah! sheesh, Buddy! It's in section 12, the east-most row, in the middle!"
     He dropped him and dashed out the door.

     The bunker was empty. After a frantic search, he found what he truly did not want to find. On the front of one of the foot-lockers was hastily stenciled with the word 'Mameko' on it, right next to one marked 'Beta'.
     He wandered out into the yard and grabbed the first person he saw. "The 53rd..." he demanded. "What happened?!"
     "Slaughtered." the Saiyajin man shrugged. "They didn't have a prayer against those monsters, you ask me. They were just a bunch of girls and most of 'em detainees, not warriors."
     He threw the callous man to the ground in disgust and blasted off.
     His next mission was HIS last. He returned a changed man, cursed with the gift of foresight. He couldn't even stop when at last he found his son. In a frenzy, he tried to convince someone, anyone that the end was coming. It was too much, too late. Vegeta-sei was destroyed by a single finger on the hand of Furiza.

END

Next : Arrival

Aoi Kami Sarah

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