With how large The Ark was, it wasn’t like we couldn’t bring ships with us. Though, we had to only choose the smallest ships, just large enough to fit inside the massive ship’s hangars. Still, it was enough. Especially since when we had left REECE, we hadn’t had much in the hangar. They literally had done the bare minimum. Well, except in the food and supplies department.

Which meant, the ship was filled to the brim with pirates. Bringing the shup from a skeleton crew to a fully functioning warship. I didn’t realize what that had meant, but seeing Helmsman on the bridge confidently giving out orders, with Uriel even following his orders, I knew this would work out.

Jumo by jump we made our way towards the front. By our calculations, and through the news we picked up on our way there, we would likely arrive just before the final battle. If anything, Wang seemed to be waiting for us to arrive. A smart move on his part, but was it just that?

With CHET joining up with DEPP’s remnant forces, Wang likely found himself completely outnumbered. Or at the very least matched. I highly doubted he was a military genius, not like Helmsman had proved himself to be. What Wang did have was access to a team of God level pilots, led by Xiao himself.

Though powerful, they couldn’t completely change a battlefield on their own. Not when they had to worry after the rest of the fleet. The closer we got, the more details we received and the more we understood how the conflict had grown and evolved. At first, they abused their superior forces to hit DEPP hard points. Effortlessly tearing them apart and making swissed cheese out of the DEPP supply lines. Allowing them to swoop in and claim system after system.

Only, once they got large enough, their little rebellion hit their first real obstacle. It wasn’t an easy win. Once they had enough land, they stalled. Their superior units were used to support the failing lines. Mass conscriptions took place. Ships were built and assembled at record pace. Making an army of minutemen. Soldiers that had minimal to no real training to fight against DEPP’s trained soldiers.

It was, clearly a massacre. Of course, I only got the shortened version. Helmsman was almost constantly locked away reading through reports with Uriel and Navigator. The situation was looking grim, but I trusted Helmsman to win the day.

In the end, it made me happy to be back. To be able to kick back and delegate. Letting others handle problems I didn’t or couldn’t do. If it was just me, I’d likely do something stupid. Hell, at first I planned to simply have Helmsman stay back and operate the fleet in our absence.

He insisted on joining, and had others take up his place. After all, he hadn’t been sitting on his laurels, no, he’d been training and improving the members of the fleet. Training up people to either take his place if something happened, or to allow the fleet to expand.

It was funny, seeing how his preparations were preparing for the inevitable, as if he knew without a doubt that I would in fact make an empire eventually. He had seemed so assured that I would do so, and when asked, he merely shrugged and said, “I had a feeling that when you came back, you wouldn’t be satisfied with good enough.”

And he was right.

Still… it wasn’t like I was resting either. I couldn’t afford it. My time was limited. We had only so long before the final battle. Devi was making preparations for us to visit the Demon Realm. Whatever that entailed… And I was actively training and teaching.

Making sure that all the children unlocked their forms. A surprisingly simple affair. Not a single one of them managed to copy Latus and his legendary form. Some became Evil Saiyans, after me, others became Super Saiyan God’s still more chose to follow Radda and achieve Super Saiyan 4.

I didn’t think any of the Saiyan teens would be able to achieve Super Saiyan, not in the upcoming fights, but without a doubt, they would achieve it during the fight with the Majin. It was a certainty that I could feel in my bones.

Every moment not spent training or prepping them for what was to come and beyond… Was spent thinking about my sister, and… Baron. And everything that led up to this. Baron’s death was still on my mind.

Flashes of memories, our meetings, our every encounter replayed in my mind. How we met, and when I sold the data from The Pyramid to him… The dinner date, the few times we talked over comms, and when I met the pirate lords…

Admittedly, it wasn’t much. And I was likely forgetting meetings, but… Baron was an icon. The lead for an old western. Though, he held that image under his veneer of leadership. The way he carried himself made him come off as royalty, but under that was man, a man that desired nothing more than the simple.

Ironic, really. Or was it? I wasn’t sure. What I did know, was that our meeting was likely not fate or chance but planned. Likely, the moment The Seer had focused on me, or even slightly became aware of my presence, others had as well, mainly Michael’s mother.

Baron had worked with her, which meant everything that had happened was planned. Likely even me being sent to The Pyramid was planned to an extent. With the short mission that led us to eventually heading off to that particular mission and everything that happened afterwards…

How much was planned? How much was providence? I wasn’t sure. But, it didn’t make me sick to my stomach. It didn’t make me angry. If anything, it made me happy. Happy that those plans had let me meet so many amazing people. People who all stood up for their beliefs. Icons, heroes born in the wrong era.

No matter what happens, what the future holds. I wouldn’t wish for anything in my past to be changed. I am, who I am because of what happened back then. I am the collection of all my deeds. The sins, the lives I’ve taken, along with the people I had met, the friendships formed. All bonds that I will carry with me to the very end.

I wonder, if originally, if Baron had wished to recruit me, sensing the same hunger he had felt. We had clicked and back then, I would have likely joined his plan without much issue. Had he only spoken up. Though, I wonder why he didn’t?

No… I know exactly why he never did. He wanted to see me spread my wings. He wanted to see where I went. If I fell, if I had ever stumbled or lost my way. I was certain he would be there to urge me on. Because, even if he had his desire, He also had another desire, a desire that my crew felt, and just about anyone did.

They wanted to see me rise to my heights. Wanted to see where I would go. How far I could go. It was an instinct. No, it was something else… I noticed, ever since Aspa had unlocked his new transformation. A form we all collectively had simply called his Beast transformation.

The way he had looked at me changed. And not just because of our newly reformed bond. It wasn’t just the look of a father looking at his daughter. No, it was a look I knew all too well. A look that old me, that he knew. Knew who I was, what made me special. That he knew that I wasn’t entirely truthful with who I said I was.

I could see that look in his eyes when he looked at Vega and I. I could feel it in my bones. Not just that, but it didn’t help that I felt my spirit and soul crying out. His own newly ignited soul would cry back. Resonating with my own in a way nobody else’s ever had.

It felt familiar, and it made me realize something. Something I had suspected, but never truly understood until now.

What was it that made me special? Why was I, different? Someone could claim, it was because I was a Saiyan, but that wasn’t true. Not anymore. Not when I was surrounded by a new generation of Saiyan. I wasn’t really special, and in some ways, Vega proved it, though, she did show me what it was that made me special.

I had thought, originally, that what made me special wasn’t truly special. But seeing Aspa, feeling his burning soul resonating with me, I realized just how wrong I was. It made me think, realize something. Everyone is born with a boon and bane. A gift and a curse.

So what then was the curse that the Saiyan race had? The answer was obvious. It was so obvious, and I had never realized it. The simplest answer would be sloth, but that was an oversimplification. The Saiyan race loved to fight. They lived to challenge themselves, and yet, why had they so easily submitted under Frieza?

The answer? Because it was easy. None of them could have fought Frieza in a fight, they saw Frieza as unbeatable, as far too strong for them to handle. So, they all too eagerly bent the knee. Perhaps their king at the time, King Vegeta had a plan to overthrow Frieza, but whatever plan he had was bound to fail. Even if Frieza hadn’t blown up the planet, I don’t think King Vegeta’s plan would have ever worked.

The Saiyan race had unlimited potential, and yet, they had no desire to claim that potential and make it their own power. Instead, they simply aimed for what was easy. Even knowing they grew stronger when brought to the brink, why did they not spar and train amongst themselves? The answer was easy, because it was hard.

Not only that, but truthfully, the Saiyan race lacks something else. Something humanity has in spades. Greed. Hunger. A kind of hunger that only the weak possess. I think of the Hare and the Tortoise. The Saiyan race is so secure in their power that they could never understand what it means to be weak. They could never understand what it truly means to suffer.

When faced with trials, humans push forward. Endlessly. Without tiring. Without stopping. A burning fire that constantly seeks more. They would take up a fruitless task. Constantly pushing a rock up a hill, only for it to be undone the next day. Endlessly, without end. Believing that next time would be different. That someday, they would break the unending cycle.

So then, was it not funny? It made me want to laugh. A Saiyan could easily break the endless cycle if they chose to. No, if they simply pushed themselves. Only, after perhaps the third try, they would quit. Believing it to be impossible, something they simply couldn’t achieve.

They could never accomplish what humanity could. The very idea of humanity reaching the stars with their limited power would have confused and shocked the Saiyan race. Of being able to shoot nukes and other such things, weapons of such mass destruction that most Saiyan would hesitate to face.

Thinking back, Goku was lucky. Truly blessed to be taught by master’s that taught him the joy of training. The joy of gaining in power, but even then, he didn’t truly dedicate himself to training until he became a Super Saiyan. Changing him, making him aware that he must never relax. There was always another threat on the horizon. Something else to face off with.

In much the same way, without realizing it. Unconsciously, I had taught the same thing to my students, to those children. I had inspired them. Ignited in their soul a burning passion that would never die. A greed that would push them forevermore onward, no matter what form that took.

I imagine, in Saiyan history, those that pushed themselves, those who chose to against the grain grew to unimaginable heights. Becoming heroes, legends. So then, what would a generation of heroes mean for the Saiyan race? I had ignited their souls, passing on the flame of my spirit, a spirit held by humanity and made it theirs.

It made me wonder, just what kind of future was there for them? Could they carry those flames and pass them on? Would they jealously defend those flames? Would they too become like me in time, a burning sun, a star in the night sky guiding the way?

It made me think. It made me wonder. It made me, imagine. I wanted to see them grow up. I wanted to see the next generation, and the generation after. I wanted to see the Saiyan race grow and expand. I wanted to see what happened to them after I was gone.

Though, that wasn’t exactly possible, now, was it?

In a way, I was curious. Would they one day worship me? Build temples in my name? Name cities and planets after me. I plan to build an empire, but what happens after? Would the empire last? If so, how long? How long would it last after my end?

If I should leave, if I should die, what then? Would it collapse in a few short years. Would it stand for a few decades at most. Centuries? Millenia? I didn’t know. But it made me want to do my best. History was being written and I was the protagonist of those stories.

Well, so long as I kill the Majin. My life would likely be written in history. My name immortalized. Carried through whispers and spoken of in legends. It was obvious, it was clear. All eyes were on me.

Everyone looked up to me. Waiting for my next move. Waiting to see if I could do what I claimed. The upcoming fight with the remnants of DEPP and CHET were nothing more than a footnote. A side dish before the main meal.

It wasn’t really an important battle, but it was a part of the legend that I would become. The fight could go poorly, Wang’s fleet could get devastated. Our own ship could get wrecked, and yet, I knew in my heart the Saiyans would survive. Would continue to our eventual goal towards the Majin regardless of what happens ahead.

It wasn’t crucial, but… a good ending requires everything to be put into place. Every part needs to be played. Every instrument in the symphony needs to do its part without question.

In much the same way, I would continue to give my all. Right up until the end. We were an arrow in flight. The final bullet in the chamber, just waiting for its target.

And this? I thought. Once more on the bridge. Once more waiting for the final jump. The very moment we exited our jump to our destination. I knew, this battle, it wasn’t going to be special at all.

It took mere moments of us appearing for our comms to blare. Helmsman moved in a flurry. Two figures appeared on the screens. On the left was an older man. He looked worn and exhausted, and yet, I knew those eyes well. The old emperor, the founder of CHET, from what rumors we could pick up on route.

It made me wonder what happened to the Emperor, the one I had fought in the tournament, but I was guessing he had stayed behind and was working to rebuild CHET. The very CHET the old emperor had abandoned, though, I knew why. I could see it in his eyes. The look of an old beast, worn and tired. Fangs and teeth long dulled with age.

Yet, still, he held his head high. Speaking of his wish. A wish all beasts held. To die, not of old age surrounded by loved ones, but to die side by side with their brothers and sisters in arms. To die alongside those they had fought wars with. What stood arrayed before us wasn’t the majority of the CHET fleet like we had been led to believe had shown up. No.

What stood arrayed before was the best of the best. The veteran legions of CHET. Those that had fought constantly and had lived. Those that had lived their lives on the battlefield, and now wished to die on the battlefield. Knowing that they could never be satisfied with simply retiring or dying quietly.

It was stupid and yet, I couldn’t deny them. Though, I could tell at a glance that this wasn’t my fight. Not when Helmsman stood straighter and began to speak. Not even consulting with me about what he was saying. Not that I minded, he knew what needed to be done, and I had no desire to mire myself in a side quest.

Still, I glanced over to Wang. He had lost weight. Almost cutting a heroic figure, though… the slight bulge of his stomach told me that even during a rebellion he still had his love for food. Which was comforting, knowing that even when things change, some things remain the same.

In the end, I sighed and let myself fade into the background. Just waiting for the moment to be called.