#general lekvar

[duhragonball]

[FIC] Luffa: The Legendary Super Saiyan (61/?)

Disclaimer: This story features characters and concepts based on Dragon Ball, which is a trademark of Bird Studio/Shueisha and Toei Animation.   This is an unauthorized work, and no profit is being made on this work by me. This story is copyright of me. Download if you like, but please don’t archive it without my permission. Don’t be shy.

Continuity Note: About 1000 years before the events of Dragon Ball Z.

Previous chapters conveniently available here.

[24 November 236 Before Age.  Extraliga.]

The distance from one end of the galaxy to the other was vast, almost too great to contemplate.  Light travels 186,000 miles per second.  A beam of light emanating from the planet Wist would take tens of thousands of years to reach the planet Extraliga on the opposite side.

Compared to this immense timescale, the ability to travel the same distance by starship in only six weeks would normally come as a relief for anyone planning a trip.  For the Shockmaster, it was still far too long.  He had waited centuries, and while he was willing to wait a little longer, he bristled at each delay that had been put in his path.

The answer to everything lay on Extraliga.  He had learned this long ago, but the shortsighted leaders of Ancient Wist forbade him to go.  Fearing that he might defy them, they waited for him to commit a trivial offense and used it as a pretext to seal him away for thousands of years.  They feared his plans, but what they feared even more was an uncertain future without his immense power to protect them.  If the day ever came when their successors truly needed him, they would be able to release him from his confinement.

But they never did, and instead he awoke to find himself in a decrepit society built upon the ruins of the one he knew.  The culture he had sworn to protect was long dead, but this was a blessing in disguise.  For now there was no one to stop him from bringing about its resurrection.

His initial efforts had been clumsy.  Disgusted with the people of "Goldwall", who had inherited the planet during his long slumber, he had tried to forcibly assimilate them into a replica of the world he remembered.  They had readily embraced this at first, but he had found the results deeply unsatisfying.  No matter how hard the Goldwallish tried, they would never truly become the culture he once cherished.

Impatiently, he had accelerated his plans to invade Extraliga, opening a long-forgotten wormhole to deploy his forces in a matter of minutes instead of weeks.  The Goldwallish had many wondrous Wistian devices to support the war effort, but they had long since forgotten their true purpose, and thought of them as mere relics.  With the Shockmaster’s knowledge, the way to Extraliga became clear and swift.  He had wanted to go there himself right away, but forced himself to wait.  There was no telling how much Extraliga had changed in his absence, and so he had used his troops to gauge their resistance while he consolidated his power on Wist.

The Super Saiyan had proven to be the greatest obstacle.  In a matter of days, she had neutralized his invasion force, sealed the wormhole, and launched a counterattack against him.  Her motives were ridiculously confused, but ultimately unimportant.  Despite the damage she had inflicted upon Wist’s military and civilian infrastructure, he had defeated her with ease, and forced her to retreat in shame.  She had set back his cause, but only by a few months, and this was a small price to pay for the knowledge he had gained.

This time, he had been forced to assemble an invasion fleet, largely comprised of hired ships crewed by mercenaries.  Without the wormhole, he had been required to make the six week trek by stardrive to Extraliga, where his forces had needed to fight their way past the orbital defenses to reach the surface.  The Extraligans had been ready this time, and they had been backed by the power of their Federation allies.

Now, as he strode across the plains of Extraliga’s eastern continent, surrounded by a legion of his troops, he concluded that it was better this way.  The first invasion had bypassed most of these problems, and even though failed, it had still revealed enough information about Extraliga’s weaknesses to prove that a second, more conventional invasion would succeed.  If the Shockmaster had joined the first invasion, he could have cut the Super Saiyan’s counterattack short, but she might have sealed the wormhole and destroyed the planet out of spite.

This way, she had been humiliated well in advance, and the news of her defeat had reverberated through Extraliga’s other defenders.  The Federation’s warriors still fought against his, determined to prevent him from establishing a beachhead on the planet.  But they refused to confront the Shockmaster directly, knowing that he was too powerful for even their mightiest ally.  The best they could manage was to harass his forces on other parts of the planet, leaving him free to move at will.

"Alpha Company reports they have pacified the capital," his aide said as they toured the camp his men were setting up.  He had promoted Tigon after the failure of the first invasion.  He had also promised her as a bodyslave to one of the mercenary captains, a self-styled “General” Lekvar, as part of his fee, though she didn’t know that yet.  For the time being, she had served as a proficient, albeit reluctant--executor.  With the powers he had bestowed her, she had recruited the troops and coordinated the ships and suppressed dissent on Wist.  But she still resented his neglect of the Wistian civilian population, and her usefulness to his cause was nearing an end.  Still, she would be difficult to replace.

"WHAT OF THE FLEET IN ORBIT?" he asked, his deep, rasping voice booming from seemingly everywhere at once.

Tigon shook her head.  "Two more of our ships were destroyed by the unknown surface weapon," she said.  "One of them was the ship we ordered to track down the weapon and disable it."

He clenched his fists, but made no other response.  Extraliga had surface-to-orbit plasma cannons all over the globe, but his forces knew where they were and how to avoid their fire or destroy them.  Indeed at least half of these weapons had already been neutralized.  But the Extraligans had added something new to their arsenal since the last invasion.  It was at least twice as powerful as the usual cannons, and apparently mobile.  Whatever it was, it seemed to move across the planet faster than his ships could react, like a sniper moving through tree cover as he picked off soldiers in a clearing.

This had proven to be a disruption to his plans, but it also supported his assessment of the Extraligans’ flagging morale.  Whatever this weapon was, they didn’t dare turn it upon the Shockmaster himself, and so all they could do was pick off a few of his ships.

But the ships, like Tigon, were expendable.  Extraliga was simply delaying the inevitable.

"HAS THERE BEEN ANY INTELLIGENCE ON THE SUPER SAIYAN?" he asked.

On this matter, Tigon had to rush over to another officer to ask for an update on enemy communications.  He crossed his arms while he waited for the answer, but it made little difference.  Luffa was a potential obstacle to his plans, but only a minor one, and he had already taken her into account.

Weeks ago, his spies had reported that the Super Saiyan had gone into seclusion on some far-off planet in the galactic core.  Knowing the Saiyans, she was either training to avenge her defeat at his hands, or she had abandoned the Federation in utter despair.  The Saiyans thought themselves to be proud and mighty warriors, but in truth they were brutish dullards with fragile egos.  Deal them even the slightest setback and they would flee to find a battle they could win more easily.

Luffa was a sign of the times.  In the days of Ancient Wist, Saiyans were understood to be nothing more than beasts and craven mercenaries.    Today, the galaxy practically worshiped one of them as some sort of folk hero, as if she actually stood for anything besides her own base appetites.  They relied on her to broker alliances and settle their petty disputes simply because she was immensely strong.

That would all come to an end very soon.  Once his business on Extraliga was finished, Wist would be restored to its former glory, and there would be a great power to lead the galaxy once again.

"No reports of Saiyan activity of any kind in this sector, My Partner," Tigon announced.

He chuckled with approval.  It was as he expected.  He didn’t know the exact location of the Super Saiyan’s lair, but it hardly mattered.  The center of the galaxy was at least three weeks away from Extraliga.  Even if she found the courage to challenge him again, by the time she finally arrived it would be far too late.

The only real threat to his plan now was that his enemies might attempt to destroy Extraliga rather than allow it to be conquered.  The Federation starfleet had sufficient combined firepower to scour the planet's biosphere, but such a concerted effort would leave them vulnerable to his own ships.  A warrior far weaker than Luffa could still have enough ki energy to destroy a planet, but an interloper that strong would instantly detected by the Shockmaster’s own ki senses.  Since arriving on the surface, the only significant power levels he had sensed were his own, and those of his strongest allies.

Satisfied that there were no genuine threats to his victory, he decided that it was time to crush Extraliga’s resistance once and for all, beginning with the mysterious weapon that was harassing his fleet.

"CONTACT THE FLEET," he bellowed.  "ORDER ALL SHIPS OVER THIS CONTINENT TO ASSUME GEOSYNCHRONOUS ORBIT OVER THIS POSITION."

Tigon was confused at first, but when she realized what he was up to she nodded and went to relay the order.  There was no sense of triumph in her expression.  He could tell that she, like most of the Wistians under his command, no longer cared whether they won or lost the war, so long as it came to a swift end.  He also knew that he didn’t care how they felt about it, so long as they obeyed him.

The new deployment would put his ships at risk if the Federation fleet moved in to attack, but he knew they wouldn’t, because it would mean coming in range of the Shockmaster’s power, and he could pick off their ships just as their mystery weapon had been picking off his.  This way, he would either lure his opposition into a direct assault, or force them to back down.  Either way, the initiative would be his.

For an hour, the camp was quiet.  His troops continued their work and the ships overhead held their position.  Then a beam of light appeared from the eastern horizon.  It crossed the sky, moving ever upward, until a brilliant point of light appeared over the camp, like a newborn star.

*******

High above the Extraligan atmosphere, General Lekvar stood on the bridge of his flagship, the Saucy Sexhaver.  He crossed his arms, and tapped his finger impatiently against his elbow.  

This was taking too long.  Considering how anxious the Shockmaster had been to reach this planet, Lekvar had assumed that he would waste no time in conquering it with his invincible power. ��Instead, he was holding back, as if he needed the civilian population to survive for some reason.  An orbital bombardment would have taken the fight out of the Extraligans in a fraction of the time it had taken to soften up their defenses and land ground troops.  

At the very least, those ground troops could have done something about the surface-to-orbit weapon that had been sniping at the fleet since they arrived.  Instead, the Shockmaster was having them gather together over his position, as if that would solve anything.  Even if the Shockmaster could protect them from the ground, holding position left them vulnerable to some other attack.  

The worst part was that he had to take these orders from Tigon.  Lovely as it was to hear her voice, he preferred to save that pleasure for after the battle was over and the Shockmaster turned her over to him as payment.  He had plans for that woman, but first they would have to win the battle, and that didn't seem to be happening anytime soon.  

"General!" cried one of his officers from the tactical station.  "Incoming fire from the surface!"

"Take evasive--" Lekvar began to say, but before he could even finish his order, the entire bridge was engulfed in crimson flames.  A moment later, the entire ship exploded.  

*******

"WHAT WAS THAT?" the Shockmaster demanded.

Tigon rushed to the communications station, where she hurriedly conferred with the soldiers manning the sensor grids.  "Another ship destroyed!" she shouted, though this only confirmed the obvious.  "We’ve pinpointed the origin of that blast, but there’s no sign of any vehicle!"

He didn’t care about the details.  The Extraligans’ secret weapon could remain a secret as long as it was destroyed.  He was about to give orders to bombard the source of the attack, when suddenly a second beam of light fired up into the sky from out of the northwest. Once again, a point of light winked into existence and faded away.  Another starship destroyed.

"The mercenary ships overhead are breaking orbit," Tigon reported.  "We’ve pinpointed the source of the second attack but..."

"REPORT, TIGON," the Shockmaster commanded.

"It’s five miles from the position of the first attack," she said, struggling to contain her frustration.  "And there’s still no heat signature.  There’s no vehicle, no life signs... Even if something could move that fast... No.  No, there has to be two of them--!"

"ORDER BOMBARDMENTS ON BOTH POSITIONS," the Shockmaster commanded.   "TELL THE FLEET TO OPEN FIRE ON ANY SHIPS THAT ATTEMPT TO RETREAT."

Tigon swallowed hard, but gave no argument.  The Extraligan weapon--or weapons--was proving more nimble than he had expected, but his plan was still working.   With each shot, with each ship destroyed, his army could learn more and more, until at last they could force a decisive confrontation.  It would cost his fleet dearly, but the Shockmaster was willing to pay the price.  At least this way he had the mystery weapon’s attention focused on a single area, allowing his other forces to operate more freely elsewhere.

There was a third beam of light from the southeast, then two more in the west.  With each shot, another ship was destroyed.  Eventually, Tigon and her subordinates managed to determine the shooter was operating within a ten mile radius of the camp, though there was no obvious way to predict the location of the next shot.

And then, another shot was fired from a much steeper angle.  Everyone in the camp could hear it this time.  Tigon looked up from the sensor grid and said: "That came from less than five hundred yards away!"

Furious, the Shockmaster took flight, racing out into the general direction of the source of the blast.  With his speed, he didn’t need to know a precise location.  He could simply cover the entire area, or reduce it to a smoldering crater if necessary.  He didn’t expect to find the shooter.  Whatever it was, it was fast enough to have already moved on, but if he could catch a glimpse of it, or spot tracks or other clues, then it would surely--

He heard the weapon fire again, and this time the sound came from behind him.  He turned around in midair just in time to see the energy beam fading from view.

It had come from the middle of his own camp.

In a rage, the Shockmaster streaked back to the camp as fast as he could.  There was a cloud of debris billowing up from where the weapon had fired.  As he reached the site, he could see his soldiers mobilizing to defend themselves.

It didn’t make sense!  How could the enemy have gotten anywhere near the camp without being spotted?  Then, as he landed in the center of the camp, he realized his soldiers had seen the enemy, but hadn’t been able to react quickly enough.

Tigon was there to meet him.  The tall Wistian woman was still wearing her headset from the comm station, though it had been jostled loose and lay crooked on her head.    She was covered in dust, indicating she was nearby when the weapon had fired. 

"One person, wearing one of our uniforms!  Dressed like a technician--" she blurted out.  "By the time we knew what was going on, they had already disappeared into the crowd."

"FIND HIM, TIGON!" the Shockmaster demanded.

"I’ve already ordered the troops to battle stations," she said breathlessly.  "I’ll assemble a search team, and--"

"Don’t bother.  I'm right here."

They both turned to find one of the soldiers standing on top of a supply crate, brandishing a pipe.  She started banging it against the edge of the crate, as if trying to draw even more attention to herself than she already had.

"Stay where you are!" Tigon shouted.

The intruder laughed.  

Tigon leaped up to the crate to tackle the warrior.  Though the Shockmaster had empowered her with the merest fraction of his own might, she was still extremely formidable, and he found himself mildly impressed with how quickly she closed the distance to the enemy.  Her right hand was already extended to seize the pipe before the enemy could attempt to use it--

And then Tigon was suddenly thrown back again.  She went sailing through the camp like a shot-put until she crashed head-first into a barracks wall.

That was when the Shockmaster noticed the enemy’s tail.  She had swatted Tigon with it, and now it waved freely beside her left hip.  

The intruder crossed her arms and made a derisive snort.  "Any more flunkies you want to throw at me?" she asked.  "No?  Then let’s get on with it."

Before the Shockmaster could react, the intruder tensed up for a moment, and then a golden light burst forth from her body.  The helmet and visor that obscured her face flew off, revealing a head of glowing yellow hair.  The grey technician’s coverall she had used to sneak into the camp was torn to shreds, revealing a sleeveless black shirt and baggy yellow pants underneath.

To the Shockmaster’s ki senses, it was as if the woman had appeared out of thin air.  One moment she had possessed no ki at all, and in the next she was overflowing with it.

"IMPOSSIBLE," the Shockmaster said.  "I WOULD HAVE SENSED YOUR POWER BEFORE.  MY FLEET WOULD HAVE DETECTED THE SHIP THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE!"

She turned her head and spat.  "What’s impossible is that a Saiyan would be so cowardly to stay away from a good scrap like this," Luffa replied.  "You should have known I'd be here, Shockmaster, and that I’d be ready to finish you."

"YOU’RE NO MATCH FOR ME," he grumbled.   "AT BEST, YOU CAN ONLY DESTROY THE PLANET TO DENY MY PRIZE, BUT YOU FORFEITED THAT OPTION BY COMING HERE."

"Destroy the...?"  She was genuinely confused, and then she laughed.  "I get it now.  You think I’m desperate.  You think I’ll blow up Extraliga out of spite, is that it?"

She raised her hand and curled her fingers inward, beckoning him to come closer.  "Well if that's what you want to believe, go ahead.   Just try and stop me."

By now, every soldier in the camp had gathered around to see what was happening.  They had their weapons at the ready, but none of them had taken aim.  They knew they were no match for the Super Saiyan, and that it was up to the Shockmaster alone to deal with her.

He knew he could defeat her.  He had done it before, and even if she had become stronger, it would never be enough to overcome the summation of Ancient Wistian power that flowed through him.  She thought his confidence was based on prejudice against the Saiyan race, but it was actually faith in the Wistian civilization that had created him.  There was simply no doubt in his mind.

And yet she had managed to surprise him.  How did she arrive on Extraliga in time to confront his invasion?    How had she avoided detection until now?  Why hadn’t she destroyed the planet already?  It was the only way left for her to avenge her pride, or was it?

This had to be a diversion.    That was the only explanation.  She knew she couldn’t beat him, but if she could trick him into wasting time on another battle, one of her allies could execute some secret plan.  In that case, he needed to finish this quickly.

He summoned his power, and violet lightning began to circle his body.  With a thought, he took back the portion of the power he had given to Tigon.  He didn’t expect to need it, but the woman was no longer of any use to him now, and there was no point in taking chances.

"Yes, that’s it," Luffa growled.  The smile on her face grew wider as his power increased.  She was actually... pleased?  "Show me!" she screamed.  "Show me what you’ve got!"

At last, he decided he had powered up enough to knock her unconscious in a single blow.  He wouldn’t sully his honor by killing her.  One of the troops could see to that, or he could simply leave her to her fate.  Surely a second loss would break even her stubborn resolve.  He reached back his massive fist, and launched it at Luffa’s face.

She didn’t move.  She just followed his hand with her eyes, her face contorted into a twisted, eager smile.

NEXT: The Rematch.

[terulakimban]

hi this might be an odd question but can i ask what fillings you use in your hamantashen? theyre not exactly the same i dont think since my family is czech not Jewish, and i dont know if ours are associated with a holiday or not since my mother never made them (only my grandmother) but they remind me a lot of kolaczki

I’m pretty sure kolaczki are a related pastry, but they’re generally a different shape, to my understanding -hamentaschen are folded into triangles. For a bit of geographical context, my mom’s family is mostly from what’s now southeastern Lithuania and what was then ambiguously-vaguely-Poland-except-when-it-was-Russia, .  Poppyseed jam is traditional because of a couple of layers of Hebrew/Yiddish pun. (Poppyseed is mohn and ‘ha mohn,’ ‘the poppyseed’ sounds like ‘haman’ and it’s also a callback to manna). Lekvar, a sort of a prune jam/butter is really common, and I think is a tradition that started in Czechia after someone was set free after a false accusation of murder right before Purim. Mom always does some that are apricot, although I don’t know if that’s traditional or personal taste.  On the definitely-not-traditional but also I make them every year side, peach jam and raspberry jam, but those are because mom really likes making those kinds of jam and we’ve usually got a LOT on hand. A lot of people like to use chocolate chips as more of a modern thing.