Post by Doctor Kouda on May 24, 2015 7:29:09 GMT
[This is a shop/zeni thread. My tier 1 shop is basically a clinic where Kouda gives out his service. In each of the chapters, Kouda uses his lab/clinic to heal people. It jumps around different settings and time periods but that's what is consistent in each of the three chapters. Also the present time parts are in southern islands of Namek that's why its here.]
Chapter 1: The Young Assassin
[1 day before arrival on Namek]
Kouda stared outward at the passing stars. The ship was speeding past countless planets, their glowing hues disappearing out of sight. He had goals he was racing to. They were the reasons he continued to breathe or else he would have sedated himself long ago. This was a last chance to make things right.
With his claws behind his back, Kouda turned to look at Pah’mazhan who was in stasis within his tank, healing. He walked over to the bio-android and placed a claw on the glass pane of the bioandroid’s tank. With the hands he created, the hands he stared at within the tank, he would conquer his ambitions. Pah’mazhan was a tool, a catalyst, an ultimate weapon born from compilations of Kouda’s life work. He had told himself this many times. He was aware of the insanity that would befall creators who became attached to their projects. Although Pah’mazhan was covered in a suit of steel, Kouda knew he was not an android. He was not a robot without emotions. He did not appear to be what he seemed. Pah’mazhan was an implied accident that Kouda had realized into this world and like other lifeforms, he would have his own thoughts. Tools had a known purpose. As much as Kouda wanted to convince himself otherwise, Pah’mazhan was not a tool. Kouda’s sentiment towards his creation was troubling him in his dreams. When Kouda had first confronted Pah’mazhan alone for the first time, the bioandroid saved a datachip from the burning lab and returned it to Kouda. The chip contained the research that was responsible for Pah’mazhan’s being. It was the chip that someone from the past gave to Kouda as a memento. That person…did they intend for Pah’mazhan to be this. Kouda and his paramour were working to free and restore their people and the design of bioandroid was a project that they had started.
“Was this what you wanted? he spoke out loud, anger and confusion lingering on his words.
He’s a weapon. My life’s work, everything I fought for and researched, has led to a weapon to kill for me.
No, there was something more than just that. There had to be. “
He would not be the father of death.
He looked up at the glass pane separating himself and Pah’mazhan. All he could see was his own reflection the longer he stared at it. Memories of younger days began to flood out of his heart.
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[45 years ago]
The ancient candles required to be lit yet again. As was the young Kouda’s daily duty. He obediently skittered to each candle in the temple’s grand chamber and passed the fire from the torch to each one. Like all orphaned Ee’s hatchlings, Kouda was sent to one of the many Temples of Ee, the chief deity of his people. The young Ee’s, garbed in dark green rags and unkempt coral colored hair, had been disciplined for years to enjoy the meditative work that the Temple asked of him.
As the candles were finished being lit, the large chitin doors of the temple croaked open. In came a much elderly Ee’s. He had a stern expression on his face. The young Kouda could not tell if it was a sign of fatigue or dread. The man was a sage, a master priest of the Temple, and like all sages Kouda encountered, he bowed in respect.
“Master Rella” Kouda spoke from his bowed position, “I finished lighting the candles.”
“I can see that…there is something I must speak to you about. An arcosian arrived here today. He came asking for you. They say that you have come of age.”
“Coming of age for what?”
“That is for them to decide,” Master Rella replied, he seemed to be struggling with his words.
“You told me I was to become a sage. Is that what they want?”
“No! They think a healthy Ee’s has more use than to be a sage. They want you for their own purposes.”
The young Kouda was startled by the wise sage’s outburst. He had always been a calm man but today had put him in distress.
“You will kill for them,” the sage finally uttered. The temple was deathly quiet.
“And if I refuse? They can’t force me to – to –to murder someone because they want me to”
“They asked me to give them the healthiest orphan in our temple walls or else…they will destroy the temple and everyone in it.”
The young Kouda’s eyes widened as tears began to swell. He shook his head in denial.
“No! They can’t do this to us!”
The sage rushed over to the stressed child and wrapped his arms around him. He had been the closest person Kouda had to a father.
“You are my son. No matter what they force you to do. No matter what you choose to do. I will forgive you.”
Several tears began to rain upon the dusty temple floor.
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It had been nearly 7 years since that day, the young Kouda had changed much since. The rigorous training that the Arcosians required him to do made his body leaner and stronger. His once childish unkempt hair, had been trimmed into the traditional war Mohawk that combat Ee’s tend to have. His time forced on the frigid wastelands of Arcose had stained a cold aura on his body. His blood was naturally very cold and the once hopeful expression on his face was now the image of a bitter ghost.
During the first steps of his training, Kouda excelled in channeling his ki thanks to the meditative practices that the Temple of Ee had installed in him. It was for this reason, the Arcosian Empire chose the temple orphans for their covert Ee’s warriors. The training was designed to break Kouda or to at least desensitize him. It was hard to keep concentration when you were using your ki to inflict pain on others. Kouda’s spent many days in sadistic exercises, torturing prisoners with his ki attacks in order to practice his focus while attacking.
After the recruits had been trained to fight and were disciplined, the arcosians trapped them in a tundra land where it was walled off by a force barrier. They were to survive in the tundra with limited supplies while Arcosian soldiers hunted for them daily. If they were able to survive by evading the stronger enemies, then the surviving Ee’s and Litts would be purposed for covert operations. Kouda was one of the few that had survived the hellish year. Immediately after, he had been assigned to spy on the colonies of the Arcose sector and any planets that were under the control of the empire.
When a colonial politician was suspected of creating a coup in order to raise his family to the Arcosian throne, Kouda was tasked with ending his life. He stood above the sleeping chamber of the ambitious ambassador. Blood dripped from Kouda’s right claw over the gaping hole in the corpse’s chest. The rivals of this ambassador applauded Kouda and found ways to meet with him directly in order for the young Kouda to serve their own personal interests. In return, Kouda killed for them on the promise that his friends in politics would relinquish his assigned job of being an assassin.
With each job, Kouda killed more furiously, more violently. When he finally was able to be decommissioned from the Empire’s discreet services, Kouda was a darker man. He had changed too much to return to the Temple of Ee to become a sage. Even Sage Rellar had passed away while Kouda was in service. Nothing would change if he himself became a sage. With a trail of blood behind him, Kouda would work towards his next step. To change the society that put him in such a predicament. Tired of blood on his hand, Kouda would use policy to enact change. He had made enough connections with politicians from his darker days. With enough support and charisma, Kouda rose from a small time politician based in outer rim colonies to a High Councilor in the Ee’s Representative Court on Planet Arcose. High Councilor Kouda would make sure the Empire heard his rage.
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Chapter 2: The Mad Councilor
[1 Day before Namek Arrival]
Kouda rubbed his face in a jaded manner as he faded back into reality, away from older memories. Namek was drawing near and soon they would be landing. The elderly Kouda looked at the dormant face of Pah’mazhan, his creation. A notification arose on his wrist communicator. There was a Messenger waiting outside his lab. He had nearly forgotten about a prior arrangement.
He walked over to the control panel by the door and disabled the security systems and opened the door. Standing at the door was a Messenger, garbed in crimson and black. Buried beneath the hood, was the scruffy face of an aging human female. She appeared middle-aged and her brown hair was appearing to gray from what Kouda could tell.
“Tabega, welcome. Please come in.”
The eyes of the Messenger darted from side to side as if she were contemplating. She finally entered the room and set a small bag on the table.
Kouda peered at it from the corner of his eye but the messenger had noticed.
“It’s just what you asked me to bring” she spoke quietly to reassure him.
Kouda nodded and sighed.
“I believe you.”
They both knew what was on their minds. The incident on Avalon. Three messengers were sent to destroy a person of interest on the island on orders that Kouda did not approve of. Their lives were wasted for no purpose whatsoever. All in a redundant ball of flame that had caused more trouble than help. It bothered Kouda deeply. Perhaps the messengers were beginning to understand that.
Tabega pulled down the bag to reveal a strange set of ceramic earth containers. There was one large one and a set of smaller ones. Their designs had perfect sage rings spiraling towards the tip of the halp-sphere body. She placed one of them on Kouda’s side of the table. Inside the large container appeared to be a large amount of water.
“Again, I must thank you” the frail old human woman smiled as she grabbed hot stones from her bag. They appeared quite hot as she needed to pick them up using a cloth of some kind.
“There’s no need for that. You’re here now,” Kouda quickly replied, watching the old human wobble as she tried to make him a beverage.
She dropped the hot polished stones into the large container of liquid causing a large funnel of steam to rise from its opening. Kouda recalled the first time they had met.
[1 year before]
During the aftermath of the Blue Banner Army’s assault on West Capitol, revolutionaries began forming back alley meetings. Pah’mazhan had long ago stumbled into one of these meetings and suggested Kouda view it for himself. He was glad that he took up Pah’mazhan’s suggestion that day. He went on a dark night to the ruined outskirts of West Capitol. Kouda had been trained to understand the secret methods coups like these used to communicate to their members where meetings were. Kouda found clues in graffiti around the city and the way certain items were displayed on streets and shop display windows. Kouda was eventually led to a maze of alleys by the shipping district. Blending in with a local group of zooanthropes, Kouda followed the excited whispers to an abandoned warehouse. There, the local people would take turn shouting on a stage about the tragedies they have suffered from the Blue Banner’s attack. Family killed by debris, paranoia of artificial intelligence, local government being dismantled. These were the common outcries. Kouda smirked as the crowd would roar in rage and agreement as each presenter related with the crowd. During most of their presentations, the speakers would plead to the crowd to donate to their effort to get medical help for the injured from the attack. He had a long history in diplomacy. He was confident that he would accomplish what he sought after that night. When the announcer clapped and helped Kouda on stage, he had caught the attention of the warehouse’s crowd.
“I’ve heard many stories tonight. All of them have moved me deeply. This is what you get when you try to put a suit of armor around the world. This is what happens when have hands of iron turning the wheels of the world. This warehouse will shelter us. It will hear what we need to say, the burdens in our hearts. But if we’re going to do something about it, we need to leave its walls. The time is coming. These machines must pay for what they have done. This is certain.”
People began murmuring in agreement. Perhaps they had seen enough death in the past days. Conflict may not be appealing.
“We need to rebuild first. Heal our wounded. Tend to our grieving. Help one another. That is why I implore you to bring me to your wounded. And bring them to my people. We can heal them. It can be done quickly. All I ask is your trust. My people are the best doctors in the galaxy.”
“And who are your people?” someone cried from the crowd.
“Our kind are known as Ee’s or Litts. We have traveled very far. We are currently on earth for reasons of refuge. My people were conquered by a tyrannical empire. It seems we have stumbled into another situation like ours.”
Several questions began rising from the crowd but common ones were when and where would Kouda’s team be able to heal their friends and family.
“As soon as possible. Bring them to this warehouse. I ask the healthy to leave and make room for the patients. If they’d like, they can help us by carrying supplies from our base to this warehouse or providing security outside. I will leave now but please have this warehouse ready when my people return.”
The members of the meeting unanimously agreed to the aid. Some offered Kouda a ride in their earth vehicles. After finding a few volunteers with heavy duty vehicles to carry supplies and people, Kouda rode off into the desert to retrieve his fellow Ee’s scientists and their equipment. They returned to the factory to find it very organized. The revolutionaries had been very efficient in creating a proper and safe environment. They spent several days working on dozens of patients. They managed to save every person. One person in particular was a purple haired human female who had a slag of metal impaling her pleural cavity. An old human female called Tabega who claimed to be the patient’s relative pleaded for Kouda to save her. She was very desperate to the point that Kouda was afraid she’d go in shock. When the long nights of healing West Capitol’s injured was over, Kouda and his team began packing their equipment. Extremely grateful, some people asked to come with Kouda and the Ee’s.
“I’m afraid our intents are darker than they seem. Take my warning now and forget you ever met us.”
Many of the revolutionaries left the area with the healed loved ones. Those that stayed seem to be adamant about coming with Kouda.
“We’re not saviors. We’re not liberators. We helped you now but I’m afraid we have our own goals. Stand in our way after this and we will have to kill all of you.”
More left. But those that stayed had dark expressions on their face. It was a path that they were set on embarking.
All would prove useful. Kouda grinned. All had gone according to plan.
[1 Day before Namek Arrival]
In time, Kouda began finding several contacts throughout Earth such as professional spies and assassins. After they had absorbed the assets of other syndicates, ex-members of the freshly disbanded crime organizations began
“What is this drink called?” Kouda asked curiously as Tabega stirred a couple of leaves into the container.
“It’s called Fourth Creek Tea. It’s a specialty. Ghidra will tell you that she knows how to make it as well.”
“Ah, yes. Ghidra.” Kouda thought about the purple haired Ghidra. Her fiancé and all her known family had been killed during the battle of West Capitol. Ghidra and her deceased fiance’s grandmother (Tabega) were all that survived.
“I always wondered. Why did you become a doctor? Were you forced into it?” Tabega inquired as she poured the hot tea into Kouda’s cup.
Kouda stared into his ‘tea’ and then back at the naïve human.
“No.”
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[16 years ago]
High Councilor Kouda stepped into the court with the other representatives. Twice a year, they would deliver a proposal to the Arcosian Imperial Court. They were usually denied unless they were petty enough. Kouda’s fellow councilors glanced at one another as Kouda sat in his chair.
“I have very powerful friends under my belt,” one of the councilors mentioned towards Kouda.
Kouda glared at him and remained silent. Such threats were standard now during these special proposal meetings. They had tried many times to banish Kouda from their council but under law, Kouda’s constituents kept him in power.
“Your threats fall short, Mozza” Kouda barked back, “nothing will stop me today”
The councilors murmured to one another.
“You lack the council votes. Do what you will, it won’t make a difference. Have some dignity and follow the plan and you’ll keep your seat,” Mozza replied coyly.
Kouda grunted.
It was because of Kouda’s unwavering views that his constituents kept voting to keep him as high councilor. He had been warned many times at these proposal meetings for his remarks to the Arcosian arbitrator and it was well known that Kouda was on the brink of getting the Arcosian royalty’s attention and possibly angry.
As the meeting began, a hologram displaying a robed arcosian stood in the center of the room. He was simply known as the arbitrator.
“You will begin in order,” the arbitrator spoke in a cold and impatient order. Each councilor took turns proposing several petty squabbles such as changing the temperature in the power plant facilities one degree less or asking to cultivate a barren piece of land in a faraway colony planet. Kouda yawned as he waited his turn. The arbitrator seemed just as bored as he was. He finally turned to Kouda.
“Well, well, well, what does ‘bloodthirsty’ councilor want this time?”
The arbitrator hinted at Kouda’s past career as an assassin as a stab at him. Kouda stood up from his chair.
“I want you to lift your boot off of my people. I want you to become more independent. Find your own scientists. Learn how to operate your own healing tanks and ships. Your dependence on my people has drained us far enough. I will not sit here while you keep us pretending that we have any say in what happens to our people. This tyranny has gone far enough.”
The other councilors remained dead silent as the Arbitrator craned his head towards Kouda.
“Your people live…because we allow you to,” the arcosian hissed at Kouda, “with one fell swoop, we could have finished off the rest of your weak fleet. Be grateful for our mercy, scum. You, Kouda, live because I will watch to see how your councilors pick you apart. As for you, councilors, your fellow member has been very rude. As a representative of your people, Kouda’s actions has made me decide that none of your requests will be fulfilled. Learn from this. Do what you will with the fool.”
The hologram disappeared. The councilors turned to look at Kouda with faces of anger. Guards were called in to escort Kouda out of the building and officially removed from the High Council. Immediately after, a campaign was launched to smear Kouda’s name in order to calm those that had supported him. The campaign claimed that Kouda had endangered everyone’s lives and that his recklessness was a shame to their race. In time Kouda’s support seem to dwindle and his more moderate replacement made sure that Kouda and his policies would soon become irrelevant. Lost and hopeless, Kouda was prepared to take his own life. In his moment of anger and despair, a fiery apparition came before him. Kouda was startled and stepped back.
“What- what are you?!”
“More like who, my dear friend. Learn to respect a lord. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Caesar Dominatus. I am a being of the other world.”
“Why are you here then?! I wish to be alone!”
The demon known as Caeser shook his head as he circled around Kouda.
“I can sense desperation. And you seem like you’re about to lose all hope. Now tell me, what would you say if I offered you a chance to destroy your enemies. A deal, if you will.”
Kouda stared at the extended hand of the demon.
“Do I look like a fool to you? I don’t trust in magic.”
“What do you trust in then, Kouda Zeddar?”
“Only our own will.”
“And what you make of it. We will meet again. Think about my offer,” the demon vanished in a wisp of flames.
Kouda was left on the floor pondering about what had happened. Was there still something that Kouda could do? He was not strong enough to take on the Arcosians and he had failed to change policy through diplomacy. He had to find something that he could trust. Perhaps this is what the demon meant. If there was something that Kouda could rely on, it was his own wisdom. Sage Rella had taught him that. That night, Kouda meditated under the dark sky of night.
The next day, Kouda was assigned to begin his new work managing the healing tanks. At first it seemed that he was outcasted still thanks to the smear campaign of his name but when the guards weren’t looking, one of the lead doctors came to Kouda while he booped away at an old model of a healing tank.
“There are others that still believe in the cause” the old doctor whispered.
Kouda pretended not to listen as he wasn’t sure if this was a trick or not. He knew that spies don’t normally do this sort of bait tactic but he couldn’t be too sure.
“My name is Zer Toca. You can trust me,” the old Ee’s persisted.
“Why should I?”
“Because I helped to keep you on your council seat. I’ve been working on projects to prepare for whatever your words would have brought. I was preparing. There are others like me. Here in this very facility. It doesn’t look like much but that’s because we’re always being watched.”
“These projects…what did you have in mind?”
“Artificially induced mutation.”
“…”
“I’ve had…bleak results. My team and I are trying out several ideas. When we’re not being watched, of course.”
“Show me.”
The two waited for when a “blindspot” would occur in the guards’ patrol. When it appeared safe, Zer Toca showed Kouda a small datapad with various charts displaying the results.
“This is our latest work,” Zer Toca said with a hint of old pride.
Kouda winced, “I don’t understand this entirely.”
Zer Toca pointed to the pad, “I will teach you. It will look natural to the guards since we’re supposed to be teaching you how to work and fix the healing tanks.”
“I want to learn. I want to help you. This…your work. It has potential for our cause.”
The old Ee’s looked at Kouda with a faint glimpse of hope in his brittle eyes.
“Let me show you the team.”
Kouda and Zer Toca walked into another room where the healing liquids were being stored and pumped into different rooms. An orange Ee’s was tapping away at a data pad along with several others. Zer Toca introduced Kouda to the orange Ee’s.
“This is Gream. She recently transferred over from a cybernetics lab in Kanassa on my request. Unbeknownst to the authorities, she is the brightest in our kind in androids and biointegration.”
Gream and Kouda glanced at one another and turned away to whatever originally had their attention.
Zer Toca continued to introduce Kouda to various people who were secretly working on revolutionary projects. As their time window was beginning to dwindle, Zer Toca pulled Kouda to the side.
“My age is beginning to kill me. You will outlive me. I need to know that someone will continue our work, our cause. I need doctors that will see this to the end”
“I can’t do this as I am now. I’ll have to train under you. For years until I can fully understand all of this. Only then can I fulfill your request.”
Gream appeared from behind one of the liquid tanks.
“I can teach you. I’ll show you what I know if you still truly believe in what we’re fighting for.”
Kouda nodded at her, their eyes locked.
“There are the embers of a fire that's gone out, but I can still feel the heat on my skin. This mess we're in, well you and I, maybe you and I, we can still make it right.”
Zer Toca interrupted the two.
“There is the problem of the increased security on our facilities. Things were bad enough before but with you here, we’ll have no privacy to work”
“At the heart of the planet there is a building that looks down over all there is. When I worked as a spy, I accessed its mainframe to collect surveillance from around the planet. If I could sabotage a circuit and put in a placeholder, you’ll have to worry less about looking over your shoulder,” Kouda replied.
“Miraculous. Then it seems we can train you”
“I’m ready. We have work to do” Kouda said wrapping himself in a red labcoat.
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[1 Day before Arrival on Namek]
The fumes from the tea splashed on to Kouda’s face as his mind phased back into reality.
“Do you like it?” Tabega asked, producing a small smile.
“Yes…yes! This is a very interesting beverage. I’d like it if you could show me how to make it.”
“Oh I believe my granddaughter knows how to do it best”
Tabega called in a young woman garbed in the red Messenger shroud. Her purple hair seem to be spilling out of the hood.
“Oh god, you’re talking to him” she grumbled.
“Don’t be rude, Ghidra, Mr. Kouda wants us to show him how to make some tea.”
“Seriously? Do you aliens even drink this sort of thing? Whatever I’ll show you” Ghidra said reaching over to grab the ingredients.
As they began explaining to Kouda how to make their family signature drink, the good doctor glanced at the window view of space and then at Pah’mazhan.
He missed his dead friends.
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Chapter 3: The Good Doctor
[3 Days after Arrival on Namek (Present Day)]
Kouda gasped as the respirator was removed from his face within the healing chamber. He began coughing out blood and blue liquid. His battle with the human Bing had caused heavy internal damage. When his vision became clear again, he saw that there were several Messengers, Ee’s, and Litts in front of the tank. They seemed to be worried.
“What are you doing in here?” Kouda breathed out heavily, he seemed annoyed and ashamed. His defeat had taken a toll on him.
The crowd returned Kouda’s expression of annoyance. They felt as if they shouldn’t explain their reason to him.
Kouda grumbled as a pair of scientists helped him slip into clothes. He limped over to a wall while Pah’mazhan hushed the visitors out into the hallway. Kouda laid his claws on the rail in front of the wide window as he hung his head.
“Before you start, I know, I made a mistake”
He felt the armored hand of Pah’mazhan land on his shoulder in a show of support. Pah’mazhan remained silent until he turned sharply towards the door. As he walked, he raised his right arm out which magnetically attracted his plasma sword to his gauntlet. The sword hilt flew across the room and land firmly in his grasp. With a flick of his wrist, a geyser of plasma shot out from the hilt.
“I’ll be training,” the bioandroid said before disappearing into the corridor.
Kouda was then alone in the lab. Thinking about his bout with Bing.
“Argh! If I stay here, I’ll go insane. No…there’s still work to do.”
Kouda limped into his small personal hangar where his pod chair was waiting. He climbed in and opened the bay doors. A mini hologram of the planet’s globe arose from the podchair’s control panel. Kouda pointed his finger at the island region of the southern hemisphere of Namek’s globe. Somewhere far from everyone.
As the pod-chair shot out of the Golden Fox at a blurring speed, Kouda began feeling dizzy. He leaned over the pod-chair and vomited into the air. His view began to spin as he slumped in his chair and faded from his consciousness.
When Kouda awoke, he was staring into the eyes of a very intelligent looking frog with antennas. Its eyes seemed to be telling Kouda something that unnerved him. Kouda pushed the frog away from his snout. He began to realize that his pod was grounded and being pushed. Kouda leaned over his chair and saw that there were namekian men pushing the chair with Kouda in it towards a village. It seemed that he reached his destination.
The namekians looked up to see that Kouda had awaken.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Kouda hissed.
Confused, the namekians pointed at the site of his pods landing.
“There was a blast over there a few hours ago. When we came to look at what happened, we found you there in your ball chair. We couldn’t release the harness that tied you to your chair so we tried to bring you and your thing to our village.”
“Well, um, yes. That seems correct. Yes, carry on,” Kouda said turning back to look at the approaching village. As the namekians helped pushed the pod chair, Kouda secretly pressed buttons on the control panel. He released the harness and ran a diagnostic on the chair’s damage. The damn thing was too busted to move. “This won’t do…” Kouda knew he would have to call in his mobile workstation, a prototype vehicle that he was currently working with the other Ee’s. Thankfully, the chair’s signal transmitter was still functional. Kouda relayed his coordinates to his mobile workstation. The autopilot on the workstation would activate causing the vehicle to go to Kouda’s position. It would be several hours or days until then.
After several awkward minutes, the strong namekians finished pushing the pod chair into the village. The villagers had been watching their progress from afar throughout the day as they did their daily chores.
They all finally gathered around Kouda’s pod chair as he was now close.
A stout village elder approached Kouda.
“Hello, friend. My name is Tuner. I welcome you to Nail Island. It may seem small but there is a rich history to this island.”
“I’m not here for that,” Kouda said in a woozy tone, his body wobbling back and forth.
“Ah, yes. You seem very tired. Perhaps you seek shelter and rest. You certainly don’t look like you’re from here. You must be weary from your travels”
“Your people will be more than weary after they’ve gone through my experiments *cough* You’ll see…. *cough*”
“Experiments? What do you mean?”
“Research. Valuable research that I and my associates require. Something that you can give us.”
“Its wisdom you seek, eh? How about we talk about it more over some fresh food? You seem sickly”
“I’m fine! Give me your people or I’ll-“
Kouda vomited over the chair as the villagers gasped. Kouda’s eyes rolled back as he became unconscious again. Kouda woke up again within a bed as several Namekian healers. Their primitive medicines were laughable at best but Kouda was in no position to speak. The bedrest had helped him enough. He stood up and saw that his red cloak was gone. At a table in the center of the hut, was Tuner he sat smiling with a bowl of breads and seeds in front of him.
“You took my clothes?” Kouda grumbled, as anger began to stir within him. He tried hard to remain calm. He was standing naked in the room.
“They were dirty. Relax. Today was laundry day for our village. They threw your garb in the water to wash with the others. It’ll be return to you clean and dry” Tuner then walked towards a chest where he pulled out a purple namekian garb. It was identical to the clothes many of the villagers Kouda had seen were wearing.
“Here try this on.”
Kouda was beginning to say something but then held his tongue as he reluctantly pulled the purple garb over his body.
Its texture was the softest fabric Kouda had ever felt. The shoulder pads that gave the robe structure were the perfect weight for balancing. Kouda admired the sleeves as he smiled.
“Thank you. This is an interesting shroud, I will admit that.”
“Not a problem. That old garb doesn’t fit me anymore. Not since my youth. Those were prouder days. Now I sit here and watch the days go by as I eat them away” Tuner laughed as chomped a loaf of bread as he watched the namekian children play outside with a small blue slime creature that seemed to be their pet.
“I should repay you,” Kouda murmured. He looked around the room and saw various cooking ingredients and tools, “hmmm”
Finding several clay pots and different herbal ingredients, Kouda attempted to make tea like how Tabega and Ghidra had showed him.
Tuner watched curiously as Kouda assembled the pieces. Heating the cup of water and herb with his own ki, Kouda inspected the Earthbased drink. It looked like how the humans prepared the drink. He placed the drink in front of Tuner who guzzled the tea down.
“Now that is an interesting drink. What is it?”
“There is a planet called Earth where the people make this drink. I believe it’s supposed to represent a token of gratitude. Consider the debt for your hospitality paid.”
Tuner laughed, placing the cup down.
“Well said, friend. Now you mentioned you were here for something. Research you said?”
“Ah yes, I nearly had forgotten…”
“Don’t fret about it. It happens to people our age often, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems so,” Kouda agreed half heartily, he often forgot about how old he actually was.
“Sometimes we get so caught up in what we do that we forget to ask ourselves why we do it. That’s how I see it. Life just seems to be flying over us,” Tuner added. The blue slime creature-pet crawled into the room. It left a mucus trail where it crawled that the children were following for amusement. They walked into the room looking up at the two elders. A child pointed at Kouda, startling him.
“Hey, that thing outside is yours right, stranger?”
Kouda set his cup down and walked out of the hut. Looming above the village appeared to be a large mechanical crab. Its shadow covered the hut. His workstation had arrived.
“Does this have something to do with your research?” Tuner asked, poking his head out the threshold of his hut.
“No…well yes, it can. This is my mobile lab. It’s just a prototype so it’ll be much better and bigger when its done. You see hasn’t even been painted yet.”
“Well it certainly is impressive. So what do you need us to for your research?”
“My people are completing a databank of different species around the universe. We’d like to collect some samples and run some tests. I’d need to collect some bodily samples such as blood, bone marrow, spinal fluid, my list goes on and on. I would run a few simulations afterward. Possibly run more simulations with altered patients”
“It sounds painful and harmful,” Tuner said, his smile finally gone.
“Yes. Yes it is” Kouda frowned, “but I need the data. My people need the data.”
“Is there no another way?”
“There might be but it would prove to be less efficient and my colleagues are unsure that it will give accurate results.”
“What do you think?”
“It’s worth a try…but I will need several tissue samples. I assure you the process will be far less dangerous than the previous method.”
“Before we do this for you, I must ask of a favor. A nearby village has been ridden by disease. It seems very deadly. For fear of ourselves catching it, I advise the village to stray from there. We send supplies to their village on small rafts but we’re not sure if they’re even alive still.”
Kouda grabbed the respirator from his pod chair and strapped it on his face. He spread his bird like wings and flew towards the top of the mechanical crab. “I’ll see what I can do. Await for my return and have your people ready for the sampling.”
Kouda climbed down the hatch of the C.R.A.B. into is interior. The inside was a large room equipped with all the objects that could be found in any of the Golden Fox’s labs. Hopefully, it would be outfitted enough for whatever Kouda would encounter. The good doctor went to the lever controls and moved the C.R.A.B. to the direction the elder had pointed him to. The legs of the mechanical crab lab whirred to life and began crawling above the coastal waters of the island.
As the village approached, Kouda could see that it appeared barren. He hopped out of the C.R.A.B. and carefully stepped through the village. He could hear coughing and wheezing as he got closer to the huts. Inside the round Namekian buildings, he found bed ridden Namekians, barely alive. Drool and syrup like purple blood slowly slid from their gaping mouths. Kouda pressed his claw against their forehead. As he predicted. He positioned their bodies to safer positions so that the drool was less likely to clog their airways. Kouda pulled out a tack and took several blood drops and placed the samples on a paper that turned a certain color based on which positive results it collected. They were under a dangerous immune reaction from what Kouda could tell. Kouda pulled out several extremely large syringes from his bag which caused the Namekians to gargle in panic. Too weak to move, they could not push away the syringes as Kouda went to each one remove the fluid from certain internal pathways. Shortly after, they appeared to be breathing fine. Kouda then attempted to feed each of the namekians anticoagulants.
Kouda carried a sick namekian in his arms to the C.R.A.B. Inside, he checked the patient’s body by placing him in a glass tube. As Kouda predicted they had eaten something very poisonous which resulted in their body’s extreme response. Judging from the stench of vomit in the village, it wasn’t a far-fetched diagnosis. It seemed that the village might have tried eating the strange blue slime creatures that were native to this region. The same kind of creature that the children were playing with in Nail Village. After the test was finished, Kouda returned the namekian to his respective hut.
“Rest easy. I will tell Nail Village it is safe to send aid. Until then, try not to eat or drink anything from here. I will return with food and supplies.”
Minutes later, Kouda returned with the promised supplies and left them in each of the huts. They should be fine, Kouda thought.
When he returned to Nail Village, Tuner and the rest of the villagers were waiting for his arrival. The C.R.A.B. lowered the building-pod close to the ground so that the villagers could enter. Hours went by as Kouda went through the tedious process of extracting living tissue from each Namekian and preserving the samples.
“I think that should do it. Thank you” Kouda said to Tuner when he had finished.
“I should thank you. Our neighboring village would be dead if not for you. I’m sure they’ll be very grateful when they return to full health. Now if you don’t mind, I will head over there with the rest of the villagers to aid them. It was a pleasure meeting you….” Tuner said, realizing he never knew what Kouda’s name was.
“Kouda. Doctor Kouda.”
“Well met, Doctor Kouda” Tuner smiled before waddling away.
The elderly Kouda turned to see them sail across the water on rafts towards the other island. He was now alone in their village. He grabbed the toolkit from the C.R.A.B. and replaced the melted fuse in his pod chair. He climbed in the pod chair and pressed the activation body. The chair began ascending from the dirt and into the air. It was ready to fly again. Kouda pressed a command on his chair that sent coordinates to the C.R.A.B.’s autopilot program for it to begin returning to the ship. Kouda would not follow it for now. He floated off in a different direction seeking solitude. His chair floated above the islands as he silently lost himself in thoughts and memories.
Chapter 1: The Young Assassin
[1 day before arrival on Namek]
Kouda stared outward at the passing stars. The ship was speeding past countless planets, their glowing hues disappearing out of sight. He had goals he was racing to. They were the reasons he continued to breathe or else he would have sedated himself long ago. This was a last chance to make things right.
With his claws behind his back, Kouda turned to look at Pah’mazhan who was in stasis within his tank, healing. He walked over to the bio-android and placed a claw on the glass pane of the bioandroid’s tank. With the hands he created, the hands he stared at within the tank, he would conquer his ambitions. Pah’mazhan was a tool, a catalyst, an ultimate weapon born from compilations of Kouda’s life work. He had told himself this many times. He was aware of the insanity that would befall creators who became attached to their projects. Although Pah’mazhan was covered in a suit of steel, Kouda knew he was not an android. He was not a robot without emotions. He did not appear to be what he seemed. Pah’mazhan was an implied accident that Kouda had realized into this world and like other lifeforms, he would have his own thoughts. Tools had a known purpose. As much as Kouda wanted to convince himself otherwise, Pah’mazhan was not a tool. Kouda’s sentiment towards his creation was troubling him in his dreams. When Kouda had first confronted Pah’mazhan alone for the first time, the bioandroid saved a datachip from the burning lab and returned it to Kouda. The chip contained the research that was responsible for Pah’mazhan’s being. It was the chip that someone from the past gave to Kouda as a memento. That person…did they intend for Pah’mazhan to be this. Kouda and his paramour were working to free and restore their people and the design of bioandroid was a project that they had started.
“Was this what you wanted? he spoke out loud, anger and confusion lingering on his words.
He’s a weapon. My life’s work, everything I fought for and researched, has led to a weapon to kill for me.
No, there was something more than just that. There had to be. “
He would not be the father of death.
He looked up at the glass pane separating himself and Pah’mazhan. All he could see was his own reflection the longer he stared at it. Memories of younger days began to flood out of his heart.
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[45 years ago]
The ancient candles required to be lit yet again. As was the young Kouda’s daily duty. He obediently skittered to each candle in the temple’s grand chamber and passed the fire from the torch to each one. Like all orphaned Ee’s hatchlings, Kouda was sent to one of the many Temples of Ee, the chief deity of his people. The young Ee’s, garbed in dark green rags and unkempt coral colored hair, had been disciplined for years to enjoy the meditative work that the Temple asked of him.
As the candles were finished being lit, the large chitin doors of the temple croaked open. In came a much elderly Ee’s. He had a stern expression on his face. The young Kouda could not tell if it was a sign of fatigue or dread. The man was a sage, a master priest of the Temple, and like all sages Kouda encountered, he bowed in respect.
“Master Rella” Kouda spoke from his bowed position, “I finished lighting the candles.”
“I can see that…there is something I must speak to you about. An arcosian arrived here today. He came asking for you. They say that you have come of age.”
“Coming of age for what?”
“That is for them to decide,” Master Rella replied, he seemed to be struggling with his words.
“You told me I was to become a sage. Is that what they want?”
“No! They think a healthy Ee’s has more use than to be a sage. They want you for their own purposes.”
The young Kouda was startled by the wise sage’s outburst. He had always been a calm man but today had put him in distress.
“You will kill for them,” the sage finally uttered. The temple was deathly quiet.
“And if I refuse? They can’t force me to – to –to murder someone because they want me to”
“They asked me to give them the healthiest orphan in our temple walls or else…they will destroy the temple and everyone in it.”
The young Kouda’s eyes widened as tears began to swell. He shook his head in denial.
“No! They can’t do this to us!”
The sage rushed over to the stressed child and wrapped his arms around him. He had been the closest person Kouda had to a father.
“You are my son. No matter what they force you to do. No matter what you choose to do. I will forgive you.”
Several tears began to rain upon the dusty temple floor.
----------------------------------
It had been nearly 7 years since that day, the young Kouda had changed much since. The rigorous training that the Arcosians required him to do made his body leaner and stronger. His once childish unkempt hair, had been trimmed into the traditional war Mohawk that combat Ee’s tend to have. His time forced on the frigid wastelands of Arcose had stained a cold aura on his body. His blood was naturally very cold and the once hopeful expression on his face was now the image of a bitter ghost.
During the first steps of his training, Kouda excelled in channeling his ki thanks to the meditative practices that the Temple of Ee had installed in him. It was for this reason, the Arcosian Empire chose the temple orphans for their covert Ee’s warriors. The training was designed to break Kouda or to at least desensitize him. It was hard to keep concentration when you were using your ki to inflict pain on others. Kouda’s spent many days in sadistic exercises, torturing prisoners with his ki attacks in order to practice his focus while attacking.
After the recruits had been trained to fight and were disciplined, the arcosians trapped them in a tundra land where it was walled off by a force barrier. They were to survive in the tundra with limited supplies while Arcosian soldiers hunted for them daily. If they were able to survive by evading the stronger enemies, then the surviving Ee’s and Litts would be purposed for covert operations. Kouda was one of the few that had survived the hellish year. Immediately after, he had been assigned to spy on the colonies of the Arcose sector and any planets that were under the control of the empire.
When a colonial politician was suspected of creating a coup in order to raise his family to the Arcosian throne, Kouda was tasked with ending his life. He stood above the sleeping chamber of the ambitious ambassador. Blood dripped from Kouda’s right claw over the gaping hole in the corpse’s chest. The rivals of this ambassador applauded Kouda and found ways to meet with him directly in order for the young Kouda to serve their own personal interests. In return, Kouda killed for them on the promise that his friends in politics would relinquish his assigned job of being an assassin.
With each job, Kouda killed more furiously, more violently. When he finally was able to be decommissioned from the Empire’s discreet services, Kouda was a darker man. He had changed too much to return to the Temple of Ee to become a sage. Even Sage Rellar had passed away while Kouda was in service. Nothing would change if he himself became a sage. With a trail of blood behind him, Kouda would work towards his next step. To change the society that put him in such a predicament. Tired of blood on his hand, Kouda would use policy to enact change. He had made enough connections with politicians from his darker days. With enough support and charisma, Kouda rose from a small time politician based in outer rim colonies to a High Councilor in the Ee’s Representative Court on Planet Arcose. High Councilor Kouda would make sure the Empire heard his rage.
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Chapter 2: The Mad Councilor
[1 Day before Namek Arrival]
Kouda rubbed his face in a jaded manner as he faded back into reality, away from older memories. Namek was drawing near and soon they would be landing. The elderly Kouda looked at the dormant face of Pah’mazhan, his creation. A notification arose on his wrist communicator. There was a Messenger waiting outside his lab. He had nearly forgotten about a prior arrangement.
He walked over to the control panel by the door and disabled the security systems and opened the door. Standing at the door was a Messenger, garbed in crimson and black. Buried beneath the hood, was the scruffy face of an aging human female. She appeared middle-aged and her brown hair was appearing to gray from what Kouda could tell.
“Tabega, welcome. Please come in.”
The eyes of the Messenger darted from side to side as if she were contemplating. She finally entered the room and set a small bag on the table.
Kouda peered at it from the corner of his eye but the messenger had noticed.
“It’s just what you asked me to bring” she spoke quietly to reassure him.
Kouda nodded and sighed.
“I believe you.”
They both knew what was on their minds. The incident on Avalon. Three messengers were sent to destroy a person of interest on the island on orders that Kouda did not approve of. Their lives were wasted for no purpose whatsoever. All in a redundant ball of flame that had caused more trouble than help. It bothered Kouda deeply. Perhaps the messengers were beginning to understand that.
Tabega pulled down the bag to reveal a strange set of ceramic earth containers. There was one large one and a set of smaller ones. Their designs had perfect sage rings spiraling towards the tip of the halp-sphere body. She placed one of them on Kouda’s side of the table. Inside the large container appeared to be a large amount of water.
“Again, I must thank you” the frail old human woman smiled as she grabbed hot stones from her bag. They appeared quite hot as she needed to pick them up using a cloth of some kind.
“There’s no need for that. You’re here now,” Kouda quickly replied, watching the old human wobble as she tried to make him a beverage.
She dropped the hot polished stones into the large container of liquid causing a large funnel of steam to rise from its opening. Kouda recalled the first time they had met.
[1 year before]
During the aftermath of the Blue Banner Army’s assault on West Capitol, revolutionaries began forming back alley meetings. Pah’mazhan had long ago stumbled into one of these meetings and suggested Kouda view it for himself. He was glad that he took up Pah’mazhan’s suggestion that day. He went on a dark night to the ruined outskirts of West Capitol. Kouda had been trained to understand the secret methods coups like these used to communicate to their members where meetings were. Kouda found clues in graffiti around the city and the way certain items were displayed on streets and shop display windows. Kouda was eventually led to a maze of alleys by the shipping district. Blending in with a local group of zooanthropes, Kouda followed the excited whispers to an abandoned warehouse. There, the local people would take turn shouting on a stage about the tragedies they have suffered from the Blue Banner’s attack. Family killed by debris, paranoia of artificial intelligence, local government being dismantled. These were the common outcries. Kouda smirked as the crowd would roar in rage and agreement as each presenter related with the crowd. During most of their presentations, the speakers would plead to the crowd to donate to their effort to get medical help for the injured from the attack. He had a long history in diplomacy. He was confident that he would accomplish what he sought after that night. When the announcer clapped and helped Kouda on stage, he had caught the attention of the warehouse’s crowd.
“I’ve heard many stories tonight. All of them have moved me deeply. This is what you get when you try to put a suit of armor around the world. This is what happens when have hands of iron turning the wheels of the world. This warehouse will shelter us. It will hear what we need to say, the burdens in our hearts. But if we’re going to do something about it, we need to leave its walls. The time is coming. These machines must pay for what they have done. This is certain.”
People began murmuring in agreement. Perhaps they had seen enough death in the past days. Conflict may not be appealing.
“We need to rebuild first. Heal our wounded. Tend to our grieving. Help one another. That is why I implore you to bring me to your wounded. And bring them to my people. We can heal them. It can be done quickly. All I ask is your trust. My people are the best doctors in the galaxy.”
“And who are your people?” someone cried from the crowd.
“Our kind are known as Ee’s or Litts. We have traveled very far. We are currently on earth for reasons of refuge. My people were conquered by a tyrannical empire. It seems we have stumbled into another situation like ours.”
Several questions began rising from the crowd but common ones were when and where would Kouda’s team be able to heal their friends and family.
“As soon as possible. Bring them to this warehouse. I ask the healthy to leave and make room for the patients. If they’d like, they can help us by carrying supplies from our base to this warehouse or providing security outside. I will leave now but please have this warehouse ready when my people return.”
The members of the meeting unanimously agreed to the aid. Some offered Kouda a ride in their earth vehicles. After finding a few volunteers with heavy duty vehicles to carry supplies and people, Kouda rode off into the desert to retrieve his fellow Ee’s scientists and their equipment. They returned to the factory to find it very organized. The revolutionaries had been very efficient in creating a proper and safe environment. They spent several days working on dozens of patients. They managed to save every person. One person in particular was a purple haired human female who had a slag of metal impaling her pleural cavity. An old human female called Tabega who claimed to be the patient’s relative pleaded for Kouda to save her. She was very desperate to the point that Kouda was afraid she’d go in shock. When the long nights of healing West Capitol’s injured was over, Kouda and his team began packing their equipment. Extremely grateful, some people asked to come with Kouda and the Ee’s.
“I’m afraid our intents are darker than they seem. Take my warning now and forget you ever met us.”
Many of the revolutionaries left the area with the healed loved ones. Those that stayed seem to be adamant about coming with Kouda.
“We’re not saviors. We’re not liberators. We helped you now but I’m afraid we have our own goals. Stand in our way after this and we will have to kill all of you.”
More left. But those that stayed had dark expressions on their face. It was a path that they were set on embarking.
All would prove useful. Kouda grinned. All had gone according to plan.
[1 Day before Namek Arrival]
In time, Kouda began finding several contacts throughout Earth such as professional spies and assassins. After they had absorbed the assets of other syndicates, ex-members of the freshly disbanded crime organizations began
“What is this drink called?” Kouda asked curiously as Tabega stirred a couple of leaves into the container.
“It’s called Fourth Creek Tea. It’s a specialty. Ghidra will tell you that she knows how to make it as well.”
“Ah, yes. Ghidra.” Kouda thought about the purple haired Ghidra. Her fiancé and all her known family had been killed during the battle of West Capitol. Ghidra and her deceased fiance’s grandmother (Tabega) were all that survived.
“I always wondered. Why did you become a doctor? Were you forced into it?” Tabega inquired as she poured the hot tea into Kouda’s cup.
Kouda stared into his ‘tea’ and then back at the naïve human.
“No.”
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[16 years ago]
High Councilor Kouda stepped into the court with the other representatives. Twice a year, they would deliver a proposal to the Arcosian Imperial Court. They were usually denied unless they were petty enough. Kouda’s fellow councilors glanced at one another as Kouda sat in his chair.
“I have very powerful friends under my belt,” one of the councilors mentioned towards Kouda.
Kouda glared at him and remained silent. Such threats were standard now during these special proposal meetings. They had tried many times to banish Kouda from their council but under law, Kouda’s constituents kept him in power.
“Your threats fall short, Mozza” Kouda barked back, “nothing will stop me today”
The councilors murmured to one another.
“You lack the council votes. Do what you will, it won’t make a difference. Have some dignity and follow the plan and you’ll keep your seat,” Mozza replied coyly.
Kouda grunted.
It was because of Kouda’s unwavering views that his constituents kept voting to keep him as high councilor. He had been warned many times at these proposal meetings for his remarks to the Arcosian arbitrator and it was well known that Kouda was on the brink of getting the Arcosian royalty’s attention and possibly angry.
As the meeting began, a hologram displaying a robed arcosian stood in the center of the room. He was simply known as the arbitrator.
“You will begin in order,” the arbitrator spoke in a cold and impatient order. Each councilor took turns proposing several petty squabbles such as changing the temperature in the power plant facilities one degree less or asking to cultivate a barren piece of land in a faraway colony planet. Kouda yawned as he waited his turn. The arbitrator seemed just as bored as he was. He finally turned to Kouda.
“Well, well, well, what does ‘bloodthirsty’ councilor want this time?”
The arbitrator hinted at Kouda’s past career as an assassin as a stab at him. Kouda stood up from his chair.
“I want you to lift your boot off of my people. I want you to become more independent. Find your own scientists. Learn how to operate your own healing tanks and ships. Your dependence on my people has drained us far enough. I will not sit here while you keep us pretending that we have any say in what happens to our people. This tyranny has gone far enough.”
The other councilors remained dead silent as the Arbitrator craned his head towards Kouda.
“Your people live…because we allow you to,” the arcosian hissed at Kouda, “with one fell swoop, we could have finished off the rest of your weak fleet. Be grateful for our mercy, scum. You, Kouda, live because I will watch to see how your councilors pick you apart. As for you, councilors, your fellow member has been very rude. As a representative of your people, Kouda’s actions has made me decide that none of your requests will be fulfilled. Learn from this. Do what you will with the fool.”
The hologram disappeared. The councilors turned to look at Kouda with faces of anger. Guards were called in to escort Kouda out of the building and officially removed from the High Council. Immediately after, a campaign was launched to smear Kouda’s name in order to calm those that had supported him. The campaign claimed that Kouda had endangered everyone’s lives and that his recklessness was a shame to their race. In time Kouda’s support seem to dwindle and his more moderate replacement made sure that Kouda and his policies would soon become irrelevant. Lost and hopeless, Kouda was prepared to take his own life. In his moment of anger and despair, a fiery apparition came before him. Kouda was startled and stepped back.
“What- what are you?!”
“More like who, my dear friend. Learn to respect a lord. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Caesar Dominatus. I am a being of the other world.”
“Why are you here then?! I wish to be alone!”
The demon known as Caeser shook his head as he circled around Kouda.
“I can sense desperation. And you seem like you’re about to lose all hope. Now tell me, what would you say if I offered you a chance to destroy your enemies. A deal, if you will.”
Kouda stared at the extended hand of the demon.
“Do I look like a fool to you? I don’t trust in magic.”
“What do you trust in then, Kouda Zeddar?”
“Only our own will.”
“And what you make of it. We will meet again. Think about my offer,” the demon vanished in a wisp of flames.
Kouda was left on the floor pondering about what had happened. Was there still something that Kouda could do? He was not strong enough to take on the Arcosians and he had failed to change policy through diplomacy. He had to find something that he could trust. Perhaps this is what the demon meant. If there was something that Kouda could rely on, it was his own wisdom. Sage Rella had taught him that. That night, Kouda meditated under the dark sky of night.
The next day, Kouda was assigned to begin his new work managing the healing tanks. At first it seemed that he was outcasted still thanks to the smear campaign of his name but when the guards weren’t looking, one of the lead doctors came to Kouda while he booped away at an old model of a healing tank.
“There are others that still believe in the cause” the old doctor whispered.
Kouda pretended not to listen as he wasn’t sure if this was a trick or not. He knew that spies don’t normally do this sort of bait tactic but he couldn’t be too sure.
“My name is Zer Toca. You can trust me,” the old Ee’s persisted.
“Why should I?”
“Because I helped to keep you on your council seat. I’ve been working on projects to prepare for whatever your words would have brought. I was preparing. There are others like me. Here in this very facility. It doesn’t look like much but that’s because we’re always being watched.”
“These projects…what did you have in mind?”
“Artificially induced mutation.”
“…”
“I’ve had…bleak results. My team and I are trying out several ideas. When we’re not being watched, of course.”
“Show me.”
The two waited for when a “blindspot” would occur in the guards’ patrol. When it appeared safe, Zer Toca showed Kouda a small datapad with various charts displaying the results.
“This is our latest work,” Zer Toca said with a hint of old pride.
Kouda winced, “I don’t understand this entirely.”
Zer Toca pointed to the pad, “I will teach you. It will look natural to the guards since we’re supposed to be teaching you how to work and fix the healing tanks.”
“I want to learn. I want to help you. This…your work. It has potential for our cause.”
The old Ee’s looked at Kouda with a faint glimpse of hope in his brittle eyes.
“Let me show you the team.”
Kouda and Zer Toca walked into another room where the healing liquids were being stored and pumped into different rooms. An orange Ee’s was tapping away at a data pad along with several others. Zer Toca introduced Kouda to the orange Ee’s.
“This is Gream. She recently transferred over from a cybernetics lab in Kanassa on my request. Unbeknownst to the authorities, she is the brightest in our kind in androids and biointegration.”
Gream and Kouda glanced at one another and turned away to whatever originally had their attention.
Zer Toca continued to introduce Kouda to various people who were secretly working on revolutionary projects. As their time window was beginning to dwindle, Zer Toca pulled Kouda to the side.
“My age is beginning to kill me. You will outlive me. I need to know that someone will continue our work, our cause. I need doctors that will see this to the end”
“I can’t do this as I am now. I’ll have to train under you. For years until I can fully understand all of this. Only then can I fulfill your request.”
Gream appeared from behind one of the liquid tanks.
“I can teach you. I’ll show you what I know if you still truly believe in what we’re fighting for.”
Kouda nodded at her, their eyes locked.
“There are the embers of a fire that's gone out, but I can still feel the heat on my skin. This mess we're in, well you and I, maybe you and I, we can still make it right.”
Zer Toca interrupted the two.
“There is the problem of the increased security on our facilities. Things were bad enough before but with you here, we’ll have no privacy to work”
“At the heart of the planet there is a building that looks down over all there is. When I worked as a spy, I accessed its mainframe to collect surveillance from around the planet. If I could sabotage a circuit and put in a placeholder, you’ll have to worry less about looking over your shoulder,” Kouda replied.
“Miraculous. Then it seems we can train you”
“I’m ready. We have work to do” Kouda said wrapping himself in a red labcoat.
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[1 Day before Arrival on Namek]
The fumes from the tea splashed on to Kouda’s face as his mind phased back into reality.
“Do you like it?” Tabega asked, producing a small smile.
“Yes…yes! This is a very interesting beverage. I’d like it if you could show me how to make it.”
“Oh I believe my granddaughter knows how to do it best”
Tabega called in a young woman garbed in the red Messenger shroud. Her purple hair seem to be spilling out of the hood.
“Oh god, you’re talking to him” she grumbled.
“Don’t be rude, Ghidra, Mr. Kouda wants us to show him how to make some tea.”
“Seriously? Do you aliens even drink this sort of thing? Whatever I’ll show you” Ghidra said reaching over to grab the ingredients.
As they began explaining to Kouda how to make their family signature drink, the good doctor glanced at the window view of space and then at Pah’mazhan.
He missed his dead friends.
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Chapter 3: The Good Doctor
[3 Days after Arrival on Namek (Present Day)]
Kouda gasped as the respirator was removed from his face within the healing chamber. He began coughing out blood and blue liquid. His battle with the human Bing had caused heavy internal damage. When his vision became clear again, he saw that there were several Messengers, Ee’s, and Litts in front of the tank. They seemed to be worried.
“What are you doing in here?” Kouda breathed out heavily, he seemed annoyed and ashamed. His defeat had taken a toll on him.
The crowd returned Kouda’s expression of annoyance. They felt as if they shouldn’t explain their reason to him.
Kouda grumbled as a pair of scientists helped him slip into clothes. He limped over to a wall while Pah’mazhan hushed the visitors out into the hallway. Kouda laid his claws on the rail in front of the wide window as he hung his head.
“Before you start, I know, I made a mistake”
He felt the armored hand of Pah’mazhan land on his shoulder in a show of support. Pah’mazhan remained silent until he turned sharply towards the door. As he walked, he raised his right arm out which magnetically attracted his plasma sword to his gauntlet. The sword hilt flew across the room and land firmly in his grasp. With a flick of his wrist, a geyser of plasma shot out from the hilt.
“I’ll be training,” the bioandroid said before disappearing into the corridor.
Kouda was then alone in the lab. Thinking about his bout with Bing.
“Argh! If I stay here, I’ll go insane. No…there’s still work to do.”
Kouda limped into his small personal hangar where his pod chair was waiting. He climbed in and opened the bay doors. A mini hologram of the planet’s globe arose from the podchair’s control panel. Kouda pointed his finger at the island region of the southern hemisphere of Namek’s globe. Somewhere far from everyone.
As the pod-chair shot out of the Golden Fox at a blurring speed, Kouda began feeling dizzy. He leaned over the pod-chair and vomited into the air. His view began to spin as he slumped in his chair and faded from his consciousness.
When Kouda awoke, he was staring into the eyes of a very intelligent looking frog with antennas. Its eyes seemed to be telling Kouda something that unnerved him. Kouda pushed the frog away from his snout. He began to realize that his pod was grounded and being pushed. Kouda leaned over his chair and saw that there were namekian men pushing the chair with Kouda in it towards a village. It seemed that he reached his destination.
The namekians looked up to see that Kouda had awaken.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Kouda hissed.
Confused, the namekians pointed at the site of his pods landing.
“There was a blast over there a few hours ago. When we came to look at what happened, we found you there in your ball chair. We couldn’t release the harness that tied you to your chair so we tried to bring you and your thing to our village.”
“Well, um, yes. That seems correct. Yes, carry on,” Kouda said turning back to look at the approaching village. As the namekians helped pushed the pod chair, Kouda secretly pressed buttons on the control panel. He released the harness and ran a diagnostic on the chair’s damage. The damn thing was too busted to move. “This won’t do…” Kouda knew he would have to call in his mobile workstation, a prototype vehicle that he was currently working with the other Ee’s. Thankfully, the chair’s signal transmitter was still functional. Kouda relayed his coordinates to his mobile workstation. The autopilot on the workstation would activate causing the vehicle to go to Kouda’s position. It would be several hours or days until then.
After several awkward minutes, the strong namekians finished pushing the pod chair into the village. The villagers had been watching their progress from afar throughout the day as they did their daily chores.
They all finally gathered around Kouda’s pod chair as he was now close.
A stout village elder approached Kouda.
“Hello, friend. My name is Tuner. I welcome you to Nail Island. It may seem small but there is a rich history to this island.”
“I’m not here for that,” Kouda said in a woozy tone, his body wobbling back and forth.
“Ah, yes. You seem very tired. Perhaps you seek shelter and rest. You certainly don’t look like you’re from here. You must be weary from your travels”
“Your people will be more than weary after they’ve gone through my experiments *cough* You’ll see…. *cough*”
“Experiments? What do you mean?”
“Research. Valuable research that I and my associates require. Something that you can give us.”
“Its wisdom you seek, eh? How about we talk about it more over some fresh food? You seem sickly”
“I’m fine! Give me your people or I’ll-“
Kouda vomited over the chair as the villagers gasped. Kouda’s eyes rolled back as he became unconscious again. Kouda woke up again within a bed as several Namekian healers. Their primitive medicines were laughable at best but Kouda was in no position to speak. The bedrest had helped him enough. He stood up and saw that his red cloak was gone. At a table in the center of the hut, was Tuner he sat smiling with a bowl of breads and seeds in front of him.
“You took my clothes?” Kouda grumbled, as anger began to stir within him. He tried hard to remain calm. He was standing naked in the room.
“They were dirty. Relax. Today was laundry day for our village. They threw your garb in the water to wash with the others. It’ll be return to you clean and dry” Tuner then walked towards a chest where he pulled out a purple namekian garb. It was identical to the clothes many of the villagers Kouda had seen were wearing.
“Here try this on.”
Kouda was beginning to say something but then held his tongue as he reluctantly pulled the purple garb over his body.
Its texture was the softest fabric Kouda had ever felt. The shoulder pads that gave the robe structure were the perfect weight for balancing. Kouda admired the sleeves as he smiled.
“Thank you. This is an interesting shroud, I will admit that.”
“Not a problem. That old garb doesn’t fit me anymore. Not since my youth. Those were prouder days. Now I sit here and watch the days go by as I eat them away” Tuner laughed as chomped a loaf of bread as he watched the namekian children play outside with a small blue slime creature that seemed to be their pet.
“I should repay you,” Kouda murmured. He looked around the room and saw various cooking ingredients and tools, “hmmm”
Finding several clay pots and different herbal ingredients, Kouda attempted to make tea like how Tabega and Ghidra had showed him.
Tuner watched curiously as Kouda assembled the pieces. Heating the cup of water and herb with his own ki, Kouda inspected the Earthbased drink. It looked like how the humans prepared the drink. He placed the drink in front of Tuner who guzzled the tea down.
“Now that is an interesting drink. What is it?”
“There is a planet called Earth where the people make this drink. I believe it’s supposed to represent a token of gratitude. Consider the debt for your hospitality paid.”
Tuner laughed, placing the cup down.
“Well said, friend. Now you mentioned you were here for something. Research you said?”
“Ah yes, I nearly had forgotten…”
“Don’t fret about it. It happens to people our age often, doesn’t it?”
“Yes. It seems so,” Kouda agreed half heartily, he often forgot about how old he actually was.
“Sometimes we get so caught up in what we do that we forget to ask ourselves why we do it. That’s how I see it. Life just seems to be flying over us,” Tuner added. The blue slime creature-pet crawled into the room. It left a mucus trail where it crawled that the children were following for amusement. They walked into the room looking up at the two elders. A child pointed at Kouda, startling him.
“Hey, that thing outside is yours right, stranger?”
Kouda set his cup down and walked out of the hut. Looming above the village appeared to be a large mechanical crab. Its shadow covered the hut. His workstation had arrived.
“Does this have something to do with your research?” Tuner asked, poking his head out the threshold of his hut.
“No…well yes, it can. This is my mobile lab. It’s just a prototype so it’ll be much better and bigger when its done. You see hasn’t even been painted yet.”
“Well it certainly is impressive. So what do you need us to for your research?”
“My people are completing a databank of different species around the universe. We’d like to collect some samples and run some tests. I’d need to collect some bodily samples such as blood, bone marrow, spinal fluid, my list goes on and on. I would run a few simulations afterward. Possibly run more simulations with altered patients”
“It sounds painful and harmful,” Tuner said, his smile finally gone.
“Yes. Yes it is” Kouda frowned, “but I need the data. My people need the data.”
“Is there no another way?”
“There might be but it would prove to be less efficient and my colleagues are unsure that it will give accurate results.”
“What do you think?”
“It’s worth a try…but I will need several tissue samples. I assure you the process will be far less dangerous than the previous method.”
“Before we do this for you, I must ask of a favor. A nearby village has been ridden by disease. It seems very deadly. For fear of ourselves catching it, I advise the village to stray from there. We send supplies to their village on small rafts but we’re not sure if they’re even alive still.”
Kouda grabbed the respirator from his pod chair and strapped it on his face. He spread his bird like wings and flew towards the top of the mechanical crab. “I’ll see what I can do. Await for my return and have your people ready for the sampling.”
Kouda climbed down the hatch of the C.R.A.B. into is interior. The inside was a large room equipped with all the objects that could be found in any of the Golden Fox’s labs. Hopefully, it would be outfitted enough for whatever Kouda would encounter. The good doctor went to the lever controls and moved the C.R.A.B. to the direction the elder had pointed him to. The legs of the mechanical crab lab whirred to life and began crawling above the coastal waters of the island.
As the village approached, Kouda could see that it appeared barren. He hopped out of the C.R.A.B. and carefully stepped through the village. He could hear coughing and wheezing as he got closer to the huts. Inside the round Namekian buildings, he found bed ridden Namekians, barely alive. Drool and syrup like purple blood slowly slid from their gaping mouths. Kouda pressed his claw against their forehead. As he predicted. He positioned their bodies to safer positions so that the drool was less likely to clog their airways. Kouda pulled out a tack and took several blood drops and placed the samples on a paper that turned a certain color based on which positive results it collected. They were under a dangerous immune reaction from what Kouda could tell. Kouda pulled out several extremely large syringes from his bag which caused the Namekians to gargle in panic. Too weak to move, they could not push away the syringes as Kouda went to each one remove the fluid from certain internal pathways. Shortly after, they appeared to be breathing fine. Kouda then attempted to feed each of the namekians anticoagulants.
Kouda carried a sick namekian in his arms to the C.R.A.B. Inside, he checked the patient’s body by placing him in a glass tube. As Kouda predicted they had eaten something very poisonous which resulted in their body’s extreme response. Judging from the stench of vomit in the village, it wasn’t a far-fetched diagnosis. It seemed that the village might have tried eating the strange blue slime creatures that were native to this region. The same kind of creature that the children were playing with in Nail Village. After the test was finished, Kouda returned the namekian to his respective hut.
“Rest easy. I will tell Nail Village it is safe to send aid. Until then, try not to eat or drink anything from here. I will return with food and supplies.”
Minutes later, Kouda returned with the promised supplies and left them in each of the huts. They should be fine, Kouda thought.
When he returned to Nail Village, Tuner and the rest of the villagers were waiting for his arrival. The C.R.A.B. lowered the building-pod close to the ground so that the villagers could enter. Hours went by as Kouda went through the tedious process of extracting living tissue from each Namekian and preserving the samples.
“I think that should do it. Thank you” Kouda said to Tuner when he had finished.
“I should thank you. Our neighboring village would be dead if not for you. I’m sure they’ll be very grateful when they return to full health. Now if you don’t mind, I will head over there with the rest of the villagers to aid them. It was a pleasure meeting you….” Tuner said, realizing he never knew what Kouda’s name was.
“Kouda. Doctor Kouda.”
“Well met, Doctor Kouda” Tuner smiled before waddling away.
The elderly Kouda turned to see them sail across the water on rafts towards the other island. He was now alone in their village. He grabbed the toolkit from the C.R.A.B. and replaced the melted fuse in his pod chair. He climbed in the pod chair and pressed the activation body. The chair began ascending from the dirt and into the air. It was ready to fly again. Kouda pressed a command on his chair that sent coordinates to the C.R.A.B.’s autopilot program for it to begin returning to the ship. Kouda would not follow it for now. He floated off in a different direction seeking solitude. His chair floated above the islands as he silently lost himself in thoughts and memories.