Strange New World, That Has Such Creatures In It

Hints of Trouble Ahead Chapter 2

A thick asteroid belt formed the thickest ring of a starless gas giant. Thousands of miles wide and deep, it formed a silent wall in space, lightless and lifeless. Lasers blasted through the darkness of space, blowing asteroids apart. Chunks of exploded rocks struck the hull of the Raider Six with hollow thunks that echoed throughout the ship. Seated in the cockpit, Trunks kept his eyes on his targeting screen, firing at green x's on a darker green background. Beside him, Goten ignored his computer and fired at the asteroids he could see through the main screen.

Behind them, Gohan clung to Piccolo, hiding his face in his mentor's cape. Piccolo would've scolded him for it if he hadn't been squeezed by the strongest fighter in the universe. Another shower of broken asteroids hit the hull and Gohan shuddered.

"Cool," Goten said. "It's like a videogame but without music."

"No music," Trunks said, blasting another asteroid. The ship tilted to the right as he dodged one that slipped by, then righted again. "I have to hear if any of those rocks punch through the hull."

Gohan groaned. With a sigh, Piccolo pulled his arm out of Gohan's grip and hugged him close. "Relax," he said. "This ship is heavy on defense, remember?"

"Not that," Gohan said. "Stomach--"

"Whoa, big one," Trunks said. "Hang on!"

An asteroid larger than the ship zoomed past the view screen as Trunks pushed the ship down and forward, ducking around and coming back up to narrowly avoid another one. The gravity lurched around, throwing anything not tethered around, until it tugged it all back down again. Pencils and empty cups hit the floor and Piccolo's chest turban drooped over his eyes.

With his eyes closed shut, Gohan unbuckled his safety harness and made a blind dash for the bathroom, one hand pressed over his mouth. Piccolo watched him go, then glared at the two pilots. "Can't you fly straight?"

"Sorry," Trunks said. "But we have to go through this field and I have to dodge these rocks."

"Only a few more minutes now," Goten said.

Piccolo growled and walked back after Gohan. As he walked out, he passed by Goku, who sat in a back corner. The cockpit lights didn't reach him, leaving him in the dim red glow of a few buttons and blinking read outs. He sat with his arms folded, his legs crossed and stretched out in front of him. When an explosion lit the screen bright white for a moment and drew a triumphant whoop from Goten, he didn't give any signs of noticing. He didn't look at anything but the back of the chair in front of him, and even that he seemed to stare through.

"We're out of it," Trunks said, looking back. "Should be clear sailing from here on in."

Goku looked up. "How long?"

"A couple more weeks," Trunks said. "It should pop up on our sensors in half that."

Goku nodded once and looked down again. The Raider Six shot off along the rim of the red giant and deeper into empty space.

*

The castle halls echoed with footsteps as Saiyans went back and forth, some flying out the windows on errands, others flying in. Most gathered fruits and wild roots from the nearby groves, bringing back basketfuls without leaving a dent in the amount still on the trees. As Vegeta walked down the hall, he grabbed a deep purple verka root from a basket and bit into it. He paused as the juices filled his mouth. Just as sweet and crunchy as his dreams.

"Kigeta truly works miracles," he whispered. "A real dragon god, not like Shenron or Porunga."

"Little brother!"