Gohan cursed softly under his breath as he fiddled with the controls. Not only was the regional scanner malfunctioning but he could no longer establish contact with Earth. 'This is why Dr. Briefs wanted to test it first.' With a forceful sigh, he turned to face Goten and Trunks.

"Well, it looks like we won't be getting either system back anytime soon. The problem is, I don't know how long it's been malfunctioning. We may have just lost Takira, or we've been tracking a nonexistent ship for days. There's no way to tell."

"It's also possible that her ship is still there and the scanner just refuses to pick it up," Trunks pointed out. "Why don't we land and get our bearings. We don't know who Degradu is, but maybe we'll find someone who knows him or Mehat and can help us." Gohan nodded.

"Okay, guys." He looked at the main screen. "There's our nearest planet; let's hope they're friendly. We'll land away from habitation just to be sure." He took the controls while Trunks paced silently around the room.

"Sit down, Trunks; you're making me nervous," chided Goten. "We can't be that far from her destination." Trunks gave him a bleak look but nonetheless took a seat, strapping himself in as the ship began the violent shaking that signaled entry to the planet's atmosphere.

Once on the ground, they waited for a beep from the computer that indicated a breathable atmosphere. 'We'd better hope that's not malfunctioning, too,' Goten thought to himself as they opened the hatch. As it turned out, the air was quite breathable, and the gravity was only a few times that of Earth's. They stepped out cautiously, taking in their surroundings, and spotted a smoking pod a short distance away. Abruptly the hatch flew open and a perturbed-looking Roc spilled out onto the ground.

"Damn useless guidance system, can't even get me within a mile of the palace, stupid little piece of shit," he growled, picking himself up. Suddenly he noticed the visitors, and fell into a defensive stance.

"Who are you and why have you come here?" Gohan stepped forward.

"We're looking for information on a Roc named Mehat."

"Mehat?" Dolmit sputtered. "He's dead!"

"We know. We need to know about the one he worked for."

"Fespa? What about him; he's dead, too!"

"Who's Fespa? The one we seek is named Degradu." Dolmit gasped. Degradu was Lord Denatu's brother, and just as ruthless. If he were involved in all this--

"What makes you think Mehat was working for Degradu? He was a member of my ship's crew and died on board."

"What are you talking about? He arrived on Earth a few weeks ago in a small pod, kidnapped our friend and left. She killed him, but not before finding out that he worked for a being named Degradu. You've obviously heard of him. What can you tell us?"

"Earth? What in the--the escape pod!" Dolmit exclaimed. "Fespa was in charge of powerplant! That son of a bitch; Fespa reported him dead!" The half-Saiyans listened, confused, to the Roc's ranting. He paused and looked them over carefully, stopping at Trunks, eyes wide.

"You! You were the one on Earth when Shael and I came to find Koretz! You were with the girl; where is she? Did Shael send you, is that why you've come?"

"Shael? Nobody sent us. We're trying to find Takira, the girl you saw with me on Earth. The pod she's in is taking her to someone named Degradu. Now, who is he?" Dolmit shook his head slowly.

"The whole situation has suddenly gotten a lot more complicated. I'd better take you to see King Deoge."

"Not before you tell us all you know about Degradu and what he'd want with Takira," Trunks uttered stonily. Dolmit glanced around anxiously, obviously desperate to deliver this news to Deoge in the relative safety of the palace, but one look at the three before him told him to do as they asked. Dolmit closed his eyes briefly as he struggled to recall the details of the story.

"The shape-shifters have not always been such a determinedly violent race. They used their skills as an advantage in battle, but the sorts of mission Mordrig undertook were unheard of. As King Cold's empire stretched over this part of the galaxy, the shape-shifters sought to keep a low profile. The most powerful of the race was a soldier named Proteas. He had--an unusual thirst for vengeance, even for a warrior. He saw King Cold's reign over Abeter as an insult to him and his entire race, and vowed that one day, a shape-shifter would rule where the Changelings once had. He quickly rose to power, gathering support by any means necessary.

"He led a singularly unsuccessful rebellion, and was killed along with all his supporters. The only legacy he left behind lay with his two sons: Denatu and Degradu. Denatu was still fairly young when Proteas died, so Degradu seized power. For many years, he saw submission as his only option, and pledged his allegiance to King Cold. Abeter was left undisturbed, and in the meantime, Degradu's chief advisor, Mordrig, developed a scheme he felt could revitalize their race. He had discovered that by ingesting one's enemy, not only were their appearance and fighting skills absorbed, but for a period of approximately twenty hours, their memories as well."

Dolmit sighed. "Every race has some form of weakness, and every member of that race is keenly aware of it. Mordrig's strategy was to attack long enough to swallow some part of his enemy and then retreat to write out everything he could dredge from these memories. In this way, he could find ways to defeat previously invincible races, and expand his repertoire to the point that he could employ nearly every known fighting style.

"He became too involved with his new project. With visions of greatness, he broke away from Degradu and sought his own destiny. That was a little over a year ago. Without Mordrig's support, Degradu was forced to give the throne over to his brother. Denatu has ruled ever since, and now has his eye on his father's dream: universal conquest. Our king, Deoge, has been trying to work out a deal with Denatu, that our planet--this planet--might be spared. Relations became very strained following Mordrig's attack on our planet. Denatu, fearing that Mordrig would cause trouble, promised Geo safety if we would send our soldiers to seek and destroy Mordrig. That was what brought Koretz to your planet.

"From what you've told me, I can guess what else happened: Fespa and his assistant, Mehat, had been employed by Degradu to retrieve the one who killed Mordrig. Fespa arranged a fault in powerplant that 'accidentally' released one of the escape pods, with Mehat inside."

"Then why did it take Mehat so long to get to us?" asked Gohan.

"Escape pods are not extremely fast or maneuverable. He would have arrived on your planet long after Koretz as it was, and he probably landed far from your location. Whatever his reasons, his timing couldn't be worse. Shael will arrive at your planet soon, only to be sent back. He has some of our strongest fighters with him, and we need them here!" He shook his fists in helpless frustration.

"How far from here is Abeter?" Trunks asked.

"Not far. First, though, you must come with me. If you want to save your friend, come speak with King Deoge. With his permission, I can contact Denatu and inform him of his brother's activities. He will be able to intervene far more effectively than any of you."

"We'll come," said Gohan, "but the moment we're through with your king we leave for Abeter. I don't trust Denatu as anything but the lesser of two evils."

"Let's go, then. There's no time to waste." The four took to the air, Dolmit leading the way to Geo's crumbling fortress.

*****

Azher stood motionless, hardly daring to breathe. He'd prepared himself for Denatu's reaction to the disturbing news--but Denatu seemed loathe to react. Not by so much as a twitch did he reveal what he must have been thinking. He blinked slowly, almost sleepily, but when he spoke, his voice cut like a knife.

"I can no longer tolerate this interference. No blood is so thick for me to allow this sort of insult. Degradu will not cross me again." He glanced at Azher. "You may inform your king that I shall dispose of this problem." Azher nodded dumbly, and in a sudden blur, Denatu was gone. On shaky legs, Azher returned to his console, relating the ominous message to Dolmit.

"Go ahead and tell the Earthlings, too; I'm sure they'll want to know."

"If so, they'll have to find out for themselves; they're long gone now."

*****

Degradu leaped to his feet as the strange woman burst into the room. Her gaze fell on him and her eyes narrowed.

"Are you Degradu?" she asked warily. He nodded, straightening and struggling to resume his air of authority.

"You are Takira? We lost communications with you; what happened?"

"Technical difficulty," she muttered. Glancing around, Degradu noticed she was alone.

"Where is your escort?"

"Dead." Degradu grinned; yes, she would do nicely. With a cordial gesture, he directed her to his private room. Her manner was casual enough, but her eyes never stopped moving. Stepping inside, he shut the door behind him.

"You may sit down, if you like."

"I'll stand. What's this mission?"

"Well, let me give you a little background--"

"I'm not interested in background. What's the job?"

"In brief, I want you to kill my brother. There's a bit more than that, however." He stood a little closer. "I don't suppose Mehat mentioned that." Takira's expression grew colder.

"He did mention something."

"And?"

"I'd suggest you stick with your own species." Degradu smiled as his body began to change. A few moments later, a tall Saiyan warrior stood before Takira.

"What species is that?" he asked softly. "I am any race I want to be. Mordrig left me quite a repertoire."

"Mordrig?" she exclaimed in disgust. "He was working for you?!"

"Not at the time he came to Earth, no." Takira began to move slowly, circling Degradu.

"--and when he laid waste to an entire planet masquerading as Koretz? Was that on your orders?"

"Koretz? That was a while ago. At that point, yes, he was working for me. Why so upset? You're hardly an angel of mercy yourself; you've no right to criticize."

"I'm not angry that he murdered an entire race; but they were not the only ones to die that day." Degradu squinted suspiciously as she continued. "A Saiyan woman and her young son arrived looking for others of their kind, and found him instead."

"Ah, yes, now I remember. He killed them, as I recall. Why does this concern you?" Takira glared distrustfully at him.

"You couldn't begin to understand," she spat. "Suffice it to say that it does concern me, and because of that, I can no longer work for you."

"What?! That's the whole reason you came here!"

"It's the whole reason you brought me," she corrected acidly. "By yourself and through Mordrig you have brought me more pain that you could ever know. If I let you leave here alive you should consider it a blessing." Degradu advanced angrily.

"No one speaks to me that way, least of all you, woman! You're nothing but a hired thug; you're worthless! You are nothing compared to me!"

"Then why did you bring me here?" she hissed. "You want your brother dead. If you're so much more than I am, kill him yourself! Are you so weak that you can't kill one of your own race?" Degradu glowered, furious.

"Ability has little to do with it, bitch. My reasons are purely political. If I'm to win Denatu's supporters after his death, I can't have his blood on my hands. I had thought I was hiring a competent assassin, but apparently I was wrong." He looked Takira up and down, and sniffed critically. "Come to think of it, you probably couldn't kill him. You may have finished Mordrig, but his strength was barely a fraction of mine or my brother's."

"Then why did you bring me?" she repeated. "Why not sit back and wait for a more--worthy prospect?" Degradu sighed irritably.

"Denatu embarks soon on an ambitious mission that will gain him power, status, and the adulation of our people. I must eliminate him before he undertakes it. If I then pull it off, the glory will be mine and my leadership will be secured. I need to act now," he snarled, frustrated, "and for that, I need you." Abruptly his tone altered. "Please. Whatever you hold against Mordrig, set it aside for now. You can have anything you want, if you succeed."

"Anything?"

"Anything within my means. You could share my empire." He held out a hand to her. "You could rule at my side. Think of the power!" Takira backed away from him and spoke softly.

"I'll do it. I'll kill him, and then you will give me a ship, supplies, and free clearance to leave. When I'm through here, I return to Earth." Degradu grimaced and withdrew his hand, changing back to his original form.

"As you wish."

"Good. Now where may I find your brother? I want to get this over quickly."

"He's--"

"--right behind you, big brother."

Degradu froze, horror etched on his face. He bowed his head and spoke without turning to face the still figure behind him.

"What brings you here, Denatu? What business could the overlord of shape-shifters have with a fallen rebel?" His voice was cold, brittle.

"I understand you have gained possession of what was to be mine. I have come to reclaim it." He turned his emotionless gaze on Takira. "After I have disposed of Degradu, I shall deal with you." Lifting her chin defiantly, Takira glared at him.

"I'm no one's possession, bastard." He rewarded her with a frigid smile.

"That remains to be seen," he murmured smoothly. "First, however, I have an old dispute to settle--" Before he could finish Degradu spun and kicked him in the side, knocking Denatu into the wall. Takira leaped back as Denatu countered with a ki blast that blew the building apart. Coming to her senses beneath a heap of rubble, Takira look to see both shape-shifters hovering above her; face-to-face, hands spread claw-like, bodies rigid with deadly intent.

It seemed that her services were no longer needed.