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Post by Ochra on Nov 20, 2018 5:16:14 GMT -6
Something had to be done. This much Ochra knew.
It hadn't proven difficult at all to slip away from the others. He sometimes felt they forgot he even existed half the time. Not that it bothered him too much. He had spent much of his life travelling by himself. Working with others wasn't something Ochra did often anyway. Why should this be any different?
But what he did know was that something had to be done, now! The Fleet's top brass were in disarray, and some of their strongest even gone. And yet, Vegeta still sat in the hands of the Fleet, while the rest of the saiyans were just sitting around on Namek. They were no closer to gathering the dragon balls. Everything just seemed to have stalled. Ever since coming here, all Ochra had done that was the least bit constructive was meeting with Oboe, as well as help train some of the youth. But nothing that would help against the Fleet. He was just sitting here, idle. A waste in his opinion.
He walked through the number of pods that had brought them here, looking out for his own. It didn't take long. He could recognize it anywhere. It wouldn't be much trouble. nobody would miss him if he headed out. Hell, they probably wouldn't even notice he was gone. H had left a message for Oboe, thanking him for his help, and if the Namekian wanted to join him, he was more than welcome. He remembered there was a Namekian colony on Vegeta, maybe the Namekian elder would be interested. He didn't know. All Ochra knew was that he was going to be alone for a while.
He approached his pod, pressing the switch to open the hatch. It was time for Ochra to do what he had planned to do from the beginning.
Take back Vegeta.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 21, 2018 8:42:26 GMT -6
“Before you become an enemy of the state, I’ll remind you that leaving a battlefront is technically desertion.” Kalabas dropped on the ground, the ripples in the air around him slowly subsiding as his aura cleared. “That is, unless you have express orders to do so. Orders that you, no doubt, were waiting to receive. Well, wait no longer.” He took a small booklet and a pen from his pocket, flicking through the pages until he found the one belonging to the hybrid before him. “You are going offworld, I assume? And alone, no less…” He scribbled something down but didn’t stray his gaze too far from the pod with its door askew. “You are no fool, Ochra, and so I am certain you’ll remember to notify whoever needs to be notified the next time you decide to leave.”
He ripped the page with a flowery gesture, holding it out between his index and middle finger. “If you are, as I imagine, going to Vegeta, and I sincerely hope you are, I insist that you follow protocol and keep your every act recorded. Paper or digital, it matters not, although I am quite fond of the former... Establish a base, if need be, rally insurgents wherever they can be found, you know what to do.”
He shut the book, his duty was done. “But I must ask, sub rosa, why are you leaving?”
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Post by Ochra on Nov 21, 2018 15:06:36 GMT -6
Ochra paused as he heard a voice, glancing over his shoulder as he saw none other than Kalabas approach him, a notepad in his hand. So, he was going to become a deserter by heading to Vegeta huh? "If you call this a battlefront." Ochra replied, "There really isn't anyone else left here to fight." He turned to Kalabas, listening to the saiyan noble talk.
"All we're doing here is stalling. All the while, Vegeta still sits in occupied hands. The Fleet has been severely weakened. This is our chance to go down and free our world. Yet Vocado and the others seem to only be concerned about finding the dragon balls, a search that is taking much longer than necessary mind you."He crossed his arms. "I'm not just going to sit here, standing idle while our planet suffers, nor will I wait for orders to do so. If going to liberate our world will make me a criminal, well, so be it. All I care about is our world's freedom."
He let his arms fall to his side, watching Kalabas. "Now, the question is, what do you plan to do about it? Are you going to try and stop me?"
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 21, 2018 16:21:55 GMT -6
Oh, so he was going to Vegeta. Kalabas sighed, “Curb your bravado, did you hear a word of what I just said?” He took the man’s hand and slapped the crumpled laissez-passer on his palm, closing their fingers over it. “No, friend, what I am giving you is a clearance... a parting gift, even, although a very selfish one. For all intents and purposes, we are on a frontline, and your sudden absence here would take me an ungodly amount of paperwork to explain. This way you will be spared from answering to the court-martial… and I from the trouble of seeing one of the most saiyan-hearted warriors I know hanging by the neck.”
He took a step back, allowing his comrade some breathing space. “In other words, no, I have no intention to stop you; verily, if it weren’t for my administrative role and the responsibilities that come with it, my pod would be next to yours. It is true what you say, the Fleet’s power is not the insurmountable horror that it was at the time of the Fall of Vegeta, and while the search for the Dragon Balls is no fool’s errand, to muster all of our troops here goes against everything I was taught... Alas, the good judgement of a Duke is ever dwarfed by the ego of a King.”
The saiyan scratched his neck, unsure whether he should ask for a favour or not. “But before you go... Podcratter Fortress, have you heard of it?”
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Post by Ochra on Nov 23, 2018 9:17:35 GMT -6
So, Kalabas wasn't here to stop him. If anything, he was just making sure Ochra's absence wouldn't cause any problems for anyone. "Trust me, I've done next to nothing since I got here. I doubt anyone else would even notice I was gone." Still, it was good to hear that others were of the same mind as himself. Vegeta had to be taken back, first and foremost. This search for the Dragon Balls was just giving the Fleet time to regain their strength. Besides, Ochra had heard some of the things that had been done for this search, and needless to say, he wasn't too thrilled with it all.
Then Kalabas asked him a question that caused him to raise an eyebrow. "Podcratter Fortress? Can't say I've heard of it. Why?"
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 23, 2018 21:32:59 GMT -6
Certain that his innards wouldn’t be displaced by one of Ochra’s fearsome punches, Kalabas relaxed, returned the pen and the booklet to his pocket, and turned off the recorder sown in the fabric with practiced stealth. Now all he had to do was write down a transcript, file it, and keep it around until his comrade did justice to his word or betrayed the Kingdom’s trust. “I may put on airs, Ochra, but the truth is that I am an extremely sentimental chap… Podcratter Fortress was where I was born, and for much of my late childhood, raised. It is a place that I hold dear, that citadel over the mountains.” He looked wistful and homesick, it had been so long since he had his ancestral home of obsidian roofs and marble pillars... “It is also the seat of power of the Duchy of Strongbone, the one symbol that would cement my claim as undeniable before the Council of Clans…” He paused. “I must reconquer Podcratter, alone, what better way to begin my legend? But if someone were to probe its defences, to tell me all they could without raising alarm… So this is my demand. Capture a soldier stationed there, through whatever means obtain any relevant information, and relay it to me.”
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Post by Ochra on Nov 26, 2018 12:17:50 GMT -6
Ochra quietly nodded. He figured the place held some importance to Kalabas, and though he was a little surprised that he only wanted him to scout out the place, he could understand why the noble wanted to take the place back himself. Ochra himself often wondered what had happened to his own family, and his family home. It would be one of the first things he would do once he came back to Vegeta.
"I'll take a look around. But I'll be honest, if I can drive the fleet off of Vegeta myself, I'll gladly do so. I don't care if it breaks orders or anything like that. Vegeta's wellbeing is my top priority." He just wanted Kalabas to know how this was going down. Vegeta was going to be saved, and he wasn't going to let ego get in the way.
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Post by Kalaboo on Nov 29, 2018 9:01:59 GMT -6
Kalabas’ face remained neutral, unfazed by what he perceived as challenge in Ochra’s voice. He tried but failed to be aggrieved, while there were certainly more complacent people he could lord over his comrade was blessed with a brutal honesty that assured Kalabas that his words were unambiguous and true to heart. As a strategist by profession and a schemer from birth the Duke was glad to have someone he could trust with some plans, but not all. “You are a ‘freespirit’, that is troubling.”, he said, “Orders are orders, Ochra, they are meant to be carried out. Failing them is one thing, but incurring in insubordination is just counterproductive… even if one has the best, purest, most selfless intentions… Fight with heart and soul, for all other things trust your brain.”
With nothing else to say and an ever-nearing appointment about to take place, Kalabas decided to say his goodbyes. “I have a plan, friend, that will benefit the Kingdom greatly. I need you to do this one thing and nothing else, it should really take no effort for someone of your kin. Farewell.” With a nod and jump, the saiyan flew away.
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Post by Ochra on Nov 29, 2018 12:00:16 GMT -6
Orders. Kalabas needed to remember that Ochra would have gone to Vegeta to do this even without the noble's 'blessing'. He was only just doing this to save himself some paper work. As he spoke about how orders should be carried out, Ochra kept his eyes firmly on the noble in front of him. "That depends on the others." The mindset of 'I was only following orders' had led to acts ranging from questionable to downright deplorable. When Kalabas then mentioned a plan, well, that brought up some suspicion in Ochra. Nobles, plans, and the idea that it would benefit the kingdom, rarely mixed well. A reason why Ochra kept himself separate from the rest of the nobility on Vegeta and left in the first place.
As Kalabas left, Ochra turned to his pod. He would head to Vegeta. He would work to liberate it. But at the same time, he had to be careful. The Fleet was one thing, but what was going to happen once the planet was liberated?
Before long, Kalabas' pod was shooting up into the sky, heading off towards his home world.
End
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