Removing the Earthling's scabbard, Mehat locked the metal cuffs around her wrists and tested the chains that bound her to the wall. 'Ironic how the oldest methods of restraint work best,' he thought, tossing the scabbard to the other side of the pod. He'd considered shutting her in the suspended animation chamber, but he wanted to talk with her first, make sure she understood and accepted her new mission before presenting her to her new ruler.

Sitting at the cramped console, he set the autopilot. He wasn't used to piloting these things, and it was far easier to let the computer land the pod. He turned and looked at the Earthling again. She sure didn't look like she could kill a shape-shifter, but Mehat had long understood the danger of underestimating seemingly innocuous beings. He wished she would wake up. Then he could debrief her and shut her in the suspended animation chamber for the duration of the trip. The pod was small enough that having her in the main chamber crowded it quite a bit, and Mehat didn't like close quarters.

A grunt, then a faint groan came from the limp figure on the floor. Takira rolled her head back, opening her eyes to thin slits, just enough to see her kidnapper. Her head was pounding, and her limbs felt like lead.

"Good, you're awake," said Mehat. "Let me explain your mission--"

"Wait," she interrupted, her voice a thin scratchy whisper. "Where are we, and just who the hell are you?" Mehat snorted.

"Feisty little bitch, aren't you? I'm Mehat, and we are headed for Abeter. The trip will take a while; when I'm done talking to you, you will be put in suspended animation for the rest of the journey. There are only enough supplies on this ship for one.

"Now, whatever you thought you were doing on that miserable little planet, forget it. You've got a new purpose now. You will work for Lord Degradu. If you were able to defeat Mordrig, you could be very useful to Degradu's cause."

"What cause is that?" she rasped.

"I'm not at liberty to tell you. Degradu himself will give you the details when we arrive. If you perform well for him, I think you'll find him quite generous." Mehat leered. "I had no idea you would be female. That may work to your advantage: Degradu is looking for a wife. Play your cards right, girl, and you can live out your days in comfort."

"And if I don't?" she challenged, lifting her head. Mehat glared.

"You don't seem to know how good you've got it. This is not your decision. I didn't tell you so you could think about it; I told you so you could get used to the idea." Takira didn't answer. She tugged at the chains. Mehat smirked.

"Think you're going to break free? Those are a lot stronger than they look, and certainly they're stronger than you, in your condition. If it'll make you feel better, though, go ahead and try." He sat back, smiling. They were so much fun to watch when they struggled.

Takira gathered herself into a crouch(the chains were bolted too low to the wall for her to stand)and clenched her fists, powering up while at the same time cloaking her ki. It was difficult, but she didn't want her captor to know what was coming. The energy build inside her; she felt as though it might blow her apart, and then with a roar, she let it surface. Her eyes were closed, and she felt, rather than saw, the transformation.

Opening her eyes, she saw Mehat still slouched in his chair, trying to look unconcerned. He held up the instrument he'd used to stun her.

"I wouldn't do anything rash if I were you. I can knock you out in a heartbeat, and I don't think you want that. Imagine waking up feeling more hellish than you do now. I'm just trying to save you some trouble, girl, you can't break those chains anyhow.

"How we go about the next step is entirely up to you. You can behave, come out of that form, and enter suspended animation quietly. You can fight and get knocked senseless again and shoved into the chamber, or you can keep giving me that look and I'll just leave you to starve until you're more docile. Which is it going to be?" Takira stared at him, nearly shaking with rage, then with a heavy sigh, resumed her normal appearance.

"That's better," Mehat grunted. He began to unlock the cuffs with one hand, while the other held the stunner at her neck. "I know what you're thinking," he growled. "Don't try it. It's not worth your while." The second cuff fell to the floor, clattering loudly in the tense silence. Mehat led Takira to the chamber. He would have to step away for her to enter. Slowly, he drew back, removing the stunner from her throat.

"Just step in. I'll take care of the rest." Takira nodded and prepared to enter, then whirled, feinting a kick at Mehat's head. He threw up an arm to deflect it and she aimed lower, cracking a few ribs as she connected. The stunner fell to the ground, and as Mehat reached for it, Takira stepped on his arm and kneed him in the face with her other leg. Suddenly his tail caught her in the back and she skidded across the floor, hitting the console with a solid thump.

"Careful," she chided. "You don't want to damage the ship, now do you?"

Mehat grimaced and picked up the stunner. His broken arm dangled at his side, sticking out at an odd angle. His breathing was labored as he tried to focus through the pain.

"You're beginning to be more trouble than you're worth, bitch. I'm under no obligation to bring you in alive." Takira stood, transformed again.

"Your mistake, then," she said. "You should have killed me or let me be. Now you'll pay for your lack of judgement." She saw fear in his eyes, not fear of what she would do to him, but fear of what she could do to the ship.

"I'd advise you not to rely on any of your fancy ki attacks; they'll tear this pod apart. It's just an escape pod, it's not built to withstand that much stress." She smiled grimly.

"What's your point? I don't care if I die, so long as I take you with me." She extended her arm, palm forward, and an eerie glow began to form around her hand. She fired and Mehat panicked.

"No!" He leaped for her, absorbing the blast completely and collapsing to the floor. Takira still glowed; she'd held a lot back from the attack. She walked towards him and he weakly lifted the stunner; she kicked it from his hand and grabbed his head. He was so badly wounded that it took little time to drain his power. 'Now how to keep it?' Takira pondered. With a sharp jerk, she broke his neck, dropping his lifeless body.

"That ought to do it," she muttered, grabbing his tail. With some effort, she managed to heave his corpse into the suspended animation chamber. After a little experimentation with the controls, the door shut and gasses began to hiss inside the chamber. 'Well, maybe it'll slow decomposition,' she thought. 'It would be a shame to die from the fumes as he rots.'

She explored the ship thoroughly, locating food, water, and latrine. Next she sat at the console, checking the regional scanner. She had a feeling she would soon have company.

*****

Dr. Briefs was enjoying a quiet cup of coffee with Scratch, when Trunks burst into the room, followed closely by Gohan and Goten. Briefs sipped his coffee.

"Afternoon, Trunks. What's the hurry?"

"We need a ship. Takira's been kidnapped." With an alarmed look at the three, Dr. Briefs rose and led them out back.

"This is the only one I have that's ready to go, but it hasn't been tested. I was going to take it to the moon and back a couple times before putting it to real use, but--"

"There's no time," Gohan interrupted. "Does it have supplies?"

"Oh, yeah, it's got enough water and dehydrated food to keep you three going for a month at least. Are you sure you need to leave now?" Goten and Trunks were already inside.

"Sorry for the rush, Dr. Briefs," Gohan apologized. "We'll explain later." He ran inside and shut the hatch. In a moment, all three were strapped in and ready for takeoff. Dr. Briefs appeared on their screen.

"Well, you're ready to go, I guess. Want me to count down?"

"Not really," Trunks said anxiously.

"Oh, all right, then, off you go." The ship shuddered and rattled as it lifted off. The violent turbulence lasted a few minutes more, then went still as they cleared Earth's atmosphere.

"Okay," said Gohan, "Let's find her." The regional scanner came online, cluttered with blips.

"No good," Goten muttered. "There are just too many Earth-based satellites."

"Except we can categorize them by trajectory," Gohan said hopefully, punching keys, "and it looks like--just one is actually leaving. The rest are orbiting." More clicking. "Yes! We're locked on! Now just hope that's the right ship."

"We could establish communications," Goten suggested.

"No," said Trunks. "If that's the ship, he may kill her if he finds out we're following. It's better to hang back and hope he doesn't notice us." Gohan nodded.

"Meanwhile," he offered, unstrapping himself from his chair, "maybe we should get in some training. Wherever he's taking her, there's no telling what we'll find." They rose and headed for the gravity room only to be stopped by a voice from the console.

"Identify yourself and your craft."

"Huh?" Trunks flipped a switch to complete the transmission. "Could you repeat that, please?"

"I said, identify yourself and your craft. While you're at it, explain why you're following me."

"Who are you?" There was a long pause.

"Well, Trunks, I asked first."

"What? How--Takira?!"

"Wow, first guess--congratulations."

"Where's the Roc?"

"My dear friend Mehat? He's in the suspended animation chamber."

"He went into suspended animation and let you have run of the pod?"

"Not exactly. I sort of--suspended his animation before I put him in the chamber."

"He's dead?"

"That, too."

"Well, then why are you still heading away from Earth?"

"Because the bastard locked on the autopilot and I can't override it; I've tried. All I can do is wait it out. So--what are you guys doing out here?"

"Following you, of course."

"Why?"

"Um--well, we'd planned to rescue you."

"How noble. Well, I appreciate it, but I still don't se the point, unless you want to meet Lord Degradu, too."

"Who?"

"To be honest, I don't know, either. Apparently he's got some mission for me. I daresay that's where the autopilot is taking me. If you guys truly have nothing better to do with your time, you can come, too, though I have no idea how long it's going to take. He's got enough food here for a couple months by my estimation, but the Roc reportedly have even more voracious appetites than the Saiyans."

"Well, we supposedly have enough for a month or so."

"Supposedly? You didn't check?"

"We were in kind of a hurry; we had to get out before you got too far away to track."

"You're locked on now?"

"Yes." There was a long pause. Takira then spoke, choosing her words carefully.

"Bear in mind that you still have the option of turning back. There's no definite way to tell how long this is going to take, or where we'll end up. I don't want you guys to starve to death, following me to some planet that would have executed you anyway."

"We can't abandon you!"

"Yes, you can; and the more I think about it, the more convinced I am that you should."

"What?!"

"Trunks, don't shout; the speakers here work just fine."

"I'm sorry, but what the hell are you talking about? We practically hijacked a ship to come here and save you, and now you're telling us to go home?"

"It's the most sensible option. Is Gohan with you?"

"Yes."

"Ask him; he'll tell you. He's always been a fairly logical guy. It's easy to get caught up in the excitement of a situation, Trunks, but sometimes you have to stand back and be objective." Trunks looked, disbelieving, at Gohan, who nodded silently, expression pained. Trunks braced on the console, his head hanging over the speaker. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Damn you, Takira," he whispered hoarsely. He stood a moment longer, the shoved away and strode out of the room. Gohan sighed and spoke softly to the console.

"Well, Takira, he's gone. I wouldn't have thought it possible, but you really pissed him off."

"You see my point, though."

"Yes, and so does he. I don't think he wanted to hear it from you, however."

"Well, since you followed me, I assumed you were bent on saving me; therefore, it fell to me to turn you back." She heaved a sigh. "I wish there were an easier way out of this. I just can't let you guys sacrifice yourselves for me. You've got family and friends that are no doubt worried sick and want you back."

"So do you," Goten murmured. Takira did not reply. Gohan spoke next.

"If you're sure of your decision, Takira, we'll go."

"Yes," she said weakly.

"Goodbye, then."

"Goodbye. Tell Trunks--tell him I'm sorry. He's done so much for me, he deserved a better farewell."

"We'll do that."

"Thank you." After a few muffled sounds, an abrupt click signaled the end of the transmission. Goten gave his brother a desperate look, and Gohan shrugged helplessly.

"I guess we're going home," he said quietly. "See if you can't find Trunks. I'm worried about him." Goten nodded and left, following the path Trunks had taken. Eventually he came upon a still figure, sitting in a corner of the living quarters, his head resting on his drawn-up knees. Goten approached cautiously.

"Trunks--"

"Not now."

"Trunks, Takira--"

"--can go to hell for all I care."

"She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry. She said you deserved better than you got from her."

For a long moment Trunks didn't speak; didn't move. At last he sighed.

"Goten, I need to be alone, and I've got nowhere to run. Please--"

"All right, I'll go." He went to leave, pausing in the doorway. "She didn't mean--"

"I don't want to hear about it." Shaking his head, Goten left Trunks in his solitude.