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"We attack at nightfall. Gohan, you take east, Goten, take west. Trunks, take south and Hakuto, take north. Serori and I will attack on two points from above. One of us will at least breach it. We have no choice. If we take out the Genetics Lab, the Talisians are screwed. It'll be easier to take the whole planet this way." "There's got to be another Lab somewhere," Trunks said thoughtfully. "This one is the most advanced. It's where they held us until we could fend for ourselves again," Serori replied. Mia listened thoughtfully. She sat cross-legged on the ground, leaning on her knees. Trunks stood protectively behind her, and Goten was sitting on the log to her right. Gohan was standing off to the left, deep in thought. Serori stood by Tomma, who was facing them. Goten looked away. He had so much shame to deal with right now. He'd betrayed Trunks, betrayed his wife back on Earth, and took advantage of Mia. She'd tried to pull away, but he made her stay. He'd forced everything upon her. She hadn't said anything to Trunks, and he was thankful. He didn't exactly want to tell him either. Trunks loved Mia so much, and Goten would hate to be the one to make him reject her. Maybe he had been longing for old times, when they were young and foolish. He'd had his time with Mia, and he had thought he loved her. Sometimes he thought he still did. But then they fell apart, and became nothing more than friends again. He stole a glance at Mia. She looked uneasy, like something was on her mind. Something big. Goten got a sinking feeling in his stomach. He didn't like her expression at all. He looked back at Tomma, trying to listen. The mission was much more important than what went on two nights ago. He had to put it out of his mind right now, and focus on what Tomma was saying. Gohan could sense the unease in the air, especially from Mia. She was unusually quiet today. Usually, she'd be all smiles at the thought of a battle. Now her smile was a slight frown, and her power level was lower than it usually was. He shook it off, thinking that Mia was probably having a bad day. She was. She felt like dirt, like scum. But she had other fears. When she had become pregnant with her second child, it had taken her two days to figure it out. She'd been able to feel a miniscule Ki source other than her own. You couldn't find it without really burrowing the mind into her Ki. But Mia had been burrowing, and she prayed that what she thought was true was just a false alarm. She thought she could feel another Ki source. 'What am I supposed to do?' she thought.
"Ri'ana!" "Sir?" "Get outfitted with some decent armor. The reports say that they attack either tonight or tomorrow. We need to be ready. Equip yourself with some dilute substances in case. That slacker Ix'bet is still prepping extra Genetic Chambers in case we score a Saiyan." "Yes, sir," was her obedient reply. She took off down the hall, and brushed her long silver hair back over her shoulders. She jogged down the hall when she saw Hi'tan. She waved, and he returned the favor. "Ready?" he asked. "No! I don't want to fight them! They know they can beat us, that's what bothers me the most. They're so damn confident in themselves. It pisses me off," she replied. "It doesn't help that Ka'ken is being paranoid and Ix'bet is just strange. They both freak me out." Ri'ana walked into the chemical area of the lab and began to take various syringes. Hi'tan followed, passing her some of the more lethal ones. "He is. Ix'bet I mean. The only reason he's still alive is because of this stupid war. If we weren't in so much trouble with the Saiyans, he'd be long dead," Hi'tan said as he shook his head, his long braids jingling slightly. "He's a good fighter, though." They arrived in the armory. Ri'ana found a decent enough chest piece, and then moved to the boot area. She was able to find a nice pair, and she slowly got suited up. Hi'tan already was, and he tapped his foot impatiently. "C'mon. I have to go check on Ix'bet. I'm not going alone." Ri'ana rolled her eyes, and the two made their way into the green-lit Lab where Ix'bet spent most of his days. They spied the outcast soldier, who was calmly setting up a Chamber. Hi'tan drew a breath. Ix'bet struck fear into other Talisians. It wasn't often one rebelled against what he was taught, and against every decent rule of their society. "Ix'bet, sir?" Hi'tan said quietly. The short-haired Talisian turned around and studied the young Warriors. "Does the General want my progress report?" he asked. Ix'bet was well aware of what the others thought of him, and he preferred it that way. He tried to keep his conversations short so he wouldn't make others uncomfortable. Hi'tan nodded. "Tell him that the seventh pod is almost ready." "But there are only six Warriors," Ri'ana reminded him. "Maybe. But I have a hunch. We might need it." Ix'bet smiled devilishly. "Alright. I'll be leaving now," Hi'tan said hesitantly. He and Ri'ana ran for the door. Once they were out of earshot, they looked at each other. "I told you he was strange," Ri'ana whispered.
Tasha executed a clean kick, but Sekkai ducked, crouching low to deliver her own blow. Tasha jumped, landed and punched. Sekkai easily danced out of the way, and teleported. She appeared in the sky above her granddaughter. "Grandmamma, no! You know I hate aerial battles!" Tasha protested. "I don't care. You should work on your weak points. Which is aerial battle." Tasha just put on a pouty face, and Sekkai sighed. She needed to anger or insult the girl to get her in the air. "If I were you, and if my brother Vegeta, who is only three years old, can beat me in an aerial battle, I'd be pretty embarrassed! You're ten years old and you're going to let a wimpy three-year-old kick the crap out of you? I'm ashamed." Sekkai's trick worked. Tasha clenched her fists and floated up to her grandmother. "Fine. I'll battle you in the air." Sekkai grinned at Tasha's anger. Tasha started by punching rapidly. Sekkai easily dodged. It was hard to keep Tasha's energy up, for the girl got tired easily. Sekkai had been working on the girl's stamina, and it was helping a little, but not much. She decided it was because Tasha had more human traits in her than Saiyan. It was Hakuto's son who loved to fight, and acted more like a true Saiyan than Tasha did. Sekkai launched her attack, and Tasha moved too slowly, and got pounded. Tasha yelped sharply as Sekkai's fist collided with her jaw. Tasha stumbled backwards in the air, and touched her lip gingerly to find blood. "You know," she commented, "My teacher is starting to think you abuse me or something. The kids at school think it's fun to count my bruises." "Don't complain Nashi," Sekkai snapped, using Tasha's Saiyan name. "You just have to move quicker." Vegeta watched from a distance. Nashi was improving, but not enough. He felt it was better for her to spar with Sekkai, because he'd probably beat the crap out of his Granddaughter when he didn't mean to or over-estimated her. Sekkai had been fighting for so long she knew exactly how to gauge her strength to only give sharp whips to motivate Nashi to fight. His Grandson, also named Vegeta in his honor, was a whole different situation. It was hard to stop him from fighting. Vegeta and Bulma were constantly in and out of parent-teacher meetings about their Grandson's violence in class and on the playground. And the boy was only in pre-school. He watched as Sekkai called a break, for Tasha's sake. Vegeta had noted something over the past years: Sekkai was very much like Hakuto was when they first met her. Sekkai was extremely elusive, often disappearing for days without explanation. Sekkai flexed her arm muscles. Her experiments to rejuvenate herself were not working at all. She was disappointed and angry, knowing that her plan didn't work. But she could use the rejuvenation tank for something else...and all she needed was a willing male.
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