150,340

by Turles 9/2/2012, 12:43 am

150,340

Never before had the air around him felt so chilly. It made no sense that a room pockmarked by discharges of powerful heat could feel so cold, or so foreign. He'd seen battlefield after desolate battlefield, but nothing struck him as this mortifying. Across from him stood the single most powerful man he knew, who was now unequipping his scouter, pulling it off of his ear and refitting it to the size he figured Turles' head to be. This was going to be a learning experience for the former pirate, whether he felt he needed the lesson or not.

Trepidation was building within him, as he stood rooted to the spot. Turles had no idea why the man was undoing his scouter, and now checking it so matter of factly. Was he trying to protect it from harm? Did he really value his scouter that much? Or was he preparing to do something else with it? The Saiyan's eyes remained fixed upon his commander's piece of equipment, which was quickly tossed in his direction. It rolled through the air and directly into his hands, landing smoothly. The man had good aim, a bad sign for Turles. Then again, the fear was probably forcing him to think too deeply into the whole thing.

”What do you want me to do with this?” his words sounded snotty, snide. Yet the question was genuine, he had no idea what Commander Cobb wanted him to do with the scanner. He had no use for a scouter. He could sense power levels, and he could tell that Cobb's was massive. The man himself could sense power levels, which was beginning to make Turles wonder why exactly he carried a scouter. Often times, warriors developed an attachment to their trophies. Perhaps he had taken it off of a dead man, who had put up a struggle in battle?

“I want you to put it on, and scan my power level, Turles.” the statement's pacing was so swift he could have sworn a breeze had blown by. He wanted him to put the scouter on? Why the fuck would he need to do that? Regardless, the Saiyan kept his reservations to himself and brought the device to his ear. The lens color was red, almost crimson. It was polarized as well, one of the upper end models with a variety of features; clearly a perk of being in charge. He couldn't wait until he achieved a rank like Commander. Not because he coveted such positions within a military complex, no.

He wanted it for the swag that came along with it. He wanted the prizes and the perks, everything that accompanied such a place. As a low class warrior, everything he had ever obtained was taken from another fighter. The boots were the only thing issued to him by the military. He'd had his armor since he killed one of the landing squads that had come to claim him from his life of piracy. His gauntlets were actually made of a frost demon's armored hide, crafted by a professional. Of course, he ended up choking the man to death as payment, but that didn't weigh on his conscience.

The sound of drums filled his ears, or was that just his beating heart? The scouter fell into place on his skull, fitting flawlessly to the shape of his head. He chose not to question how the commander had known the measurements for his head, instead choosing to busy himself with the configuration of the device. By nature, scouters could measure the user's power level, as well as the levels of other warriors in the surrounding area. Generally, they had a range of about twenty miles on a good day. However, a design flaw did not allow them to check true powers.

Some warriors after all, could condense their strength in order to hide from a scouter. It was the man problem of the Saiyan Military. Any time they encountered a race which was capable of lowering it's power level, they were eventually forced to bust the planet. Well, they were if the race was powerful enough. They did not have the time to wage a guerilla war against an insurgent force. Nor did they have the time to play tag with an army that would not reveal itself to do battle. The only upside to planet busting was the fact that they didn't have to mire themselves down on some foreign world for very long.

Even the weaker Saiyans could bust a planet, if they concentrated their energy firmly enough. Hell, Turles could bust a planet, and he was just over eighty thousand at his peak level. His fingers worked along the ridge of the device on his ear, eye tracking the characters as they flung themselves across the screen. He'd been doing this for years now. Even before he was a member of the military he'd dealt with scouters. They came in handy when checking out what targets to hit and which to leave alone; as a pirate, that was an invaluable knowledge.

A gentle tone sounded in his ear as the device finished configuration. Quickly, he set it into 'SCAN' mode. Almost instantly, a list of targets scrolled their way down his HUD. Without hesitation, he picked the one labeled as Commander Cobb. It wasn't like he really wanted to check the power levels of anyone else on the station. Then again, he didn't really want to know the specifics of Cobb's power level either. He'd seen some pretty capable warriors in his day, and yet this man seemed to be able to trump all of them. Hell, he was way stronger than Turles himself. Still, wasn't like he was unbeatable, was it?

As the device began to whir and shake on his ear, the former pirate watched while the numbers climbed. Six digits; higher than Turles' strength indeed. It began with all zeros, moving up rapidly in place values until it could locate a fix. Originally, only the 'one' in the 'hundred-thousands' place moved. Then the 'ten-thousands' place shifted up to a healthy five, prompting a him to bite down firmly upon his gasp-ready tongue. He was almost twice Turles' power level! The dialing came to a stop at the number one hundred fifty thousand, three hundred and forty.

Yeah, so Cobb was pretty powerful. That wasn't to be doubted. Hell, it was fact now. He'd expected a high number, maybe over a hundred grand, but to be at a hundred fifty and some change? That was pretty damn impressive. It was said that the Captain of the Ginyu Force was only at about a hundred and twenty, and that was one of the strongest in the entire Planetary Trade Organization. Turles himself was at the same level as the Ginyu Force, if not slightly higher. Was he honestly to believe that the man before him contented himself with following the urges of another?

”A-- A hundred and fifty...?”, he couldn't contain it. Through gritted teeth, he grumbled forth the reading. He was supposed to train with this man? Weren't there other, more powerful Saiyans aboard the ship? Hell, why didn't he take Letaus to train with him? Nobody cared for or wanted Letaus. Letaus' father probably didn't even want Letaus. At least, no self respecting father would. The man was fool hardy enough to charge a high orbit ion cannon. Coincidentally, those were some of the only crafted weapons that could harm a Saiyan.

“Yeah, a hundred-fifty grand. Are you really surprised, Turles? You're usually so collected. Is that a bead of sweat dripping down your brow right now?”

The man's words were so taunting. He really figured himself powerful enough to trifle with him! Well, in truth, he more than fit the qualifications, and there was a bead of sweat dropping down his brow. He had never had to deal with a man this powerful before, not as an opponent. He'd seen a few in his travels across the stars, but to face off against one? He'd probably eat him alive. That was if he was lucky. If Turles was unlucky? Well, he'd be spending a few more days in the med-bay than he had originally or ever intended.

”Shut up! Did we come here to train or not?”, he couldn't show any fear, not to the man before him. While it was true that his limits were far below the man before him, he could still put up as good a fight as he could. Showing fear to a rabid dog only illustrated that it was free to force you down. Showing courage was often all that was required; for this test, he hoped it was true. On the surface, at least. Deep down? He was conflicted. This battle could prove the end of him, but didn't every Saiyan dream of a difficult struggle like this? Uphill battles were their specialty.

Energy swirled into existence around his feet, forcing the lights above him to flicker as he tried to draw in as much power as he could. At his maximum strength, he could maybe exceed a hundred thousand. Would that be enough to let him survive a battle so charged? He could only hope so. He'd never had to fight anyone quite so powerful as Commander Cobb, and he could only hope he never would in the future.

“You know, my last sparring partner was King Vegeta. The King takes an interest in those who prove themselves worthy of his time, Turles... so you should consider your self lucky. Not many warriors get to experience a power like mine, which forces the King to reveal his true strength. Are you ready to get this started?”, he asked as if he didn't already know the man's thoughts. Turles' mind was begging him to walk out of the room, to stow his pride and leave. His heart was rooting him to the spot. His body was inquiring as to it's own limits.

The black light that had begun amassing at his feet sprang to life around his body as the scouter's display faded. In truth, it was a white flash that was traced by a solid black outline, separating it from any regular glow. No other light he'd ever seen was so menacing as his own. While originally he'd taken that knowledge in stride, something felt foreboding about the confrontation that was about to take place. Would Cobb assume, because of his nature and appearance, that he had killed his squad mates? Suspicion had already been cast upon him.

The bed headed warrior could only grimace as he waited for his opponent to power up. While his resting power level was already far higher than Turles' own, surely he was going to power up. It was a sign of respect, acknowledgment that you were facing a warrior of your own caliber. Or was that not the case? While his stomach experienced the sensation equivalent to free fall, the Saiyan lowered himself into his stance. He was going to need to brace himself for as much of the impact as he could. Then again, weren't you supposed to let your body relax?

Or did tensing the muscles prepare them for damage? Shit. He had no idea. His mind was racing by him too fast to think of anything except for his impending tenderization.

”What the hell do you think I just asked you? Yeah, I'm ready!”, his words were tierce. He'd had enough talking and enough worrying. For once in his life, he didn't want to think anymore, he wanted to get the entire situation on and over with. By the way the commander dropped into his stance, it seemed he was finally willing to oblige. By the look on his face, it was evident that he wasn't going to be holding back just because Turles was under his command.

“Don't forget, Turles. If it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger... If.”

WC: 2,004