Decided to have a crack at writing another story and seeing if it gets any traction.
In this case, the story is taking the character of Tyber - a Saiyan character from the game Dragon Ball Fusions who is also a Galactic Patrolman - and treating him as a canon character. In the game, he is described as having eyes and words that sound scary, but he does have a strong sense of justice and a desire to vanquish evil.
As such, I'll be giving him his own backstory, leading to him leaving Planet Vegeta and how he joined the GP, before showing how his presence alters the story during and after his eventual meeting with Goku and the Z-Fighters.
So, here goes. As with my previous story, be prepared for a decent amount of text...
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- Tyber's story would begin in Age 725; a turbulent time for the Saiyans as they were at war with the native inhabitants of Planet Plant - the Tuffles - and had been for the better part of five years.
Tyber was raised by his mother Jicama - who had needed to physically give birth to him as the "luxury" of nursing capsules would not be available until years later, although his mother was more interested in getting back to the battlefield as soon as possible; wanting to join her partner Fenn in sharing the glory of victory over the Tuffles – Tyber himself been an “accident” following a particularly noteworthy victory that his parents had played a part in.
(For his parent's name puns, Jicama is based off the Mexican vegetable of the same name while Fenn is based off "Fennel").
- While Tyber would indeed inherit the Saiyan's enjoyment of fighting that was instinctual to most as he grew up, he possessed a higher level of intelligence than the typical Saiyan; displaying an analytical mind for which he would observe and interpret situations to find the best solution.
However, in terms of personality, he was less aggressive than his fellow Saiyans and also possessed a more caring attitude - a trait most Saiyans either didn't possess or actively chose to ignore due to their status as warriors, with Tyber showing a moralistic dislike of people getting the "short end of the stick" for no justifiable reason. These two factors led him to question the story about the Tuffles that he had been taught to him; that been that they treated the Saiyans like slaves, forced them to live in squalor and were discriminatory towards them in other ways. While some of it seemed believable, Tyber was left to question whether it was entirely one-sided or just a story to remove the Saiyan's own actions in contributing to the conflict.
What made it more troubling for Tyber was that the Saiyans didn't appear to simply be trying to force the Tuffles to surrender, but actively attempting to destroy them. Every day and night was the sound of explosions, guns and artillery firing...and the sounds of shouts and screams - a creepy melody that left Tyber unable to sleep properly many a time.
- He was five years old on that final night in Age 730 when, for the first time in 100 years, the full moon appeared - giving the Saiyans the ability to become Great Apes. With this advantage given to them, the army of Oozarus quickly turned the tables on their diminutive enemies and wiped them out completely.
While the majority of the Saiyans celebrated their victory and the official renaming of their world from "Planet Plant" to "Planet Vegeta" after their King, this end result left Tyber with mixed emotions. On the one hand, with everything had been taught about the Tuffles and how they had wronged the Saiyans, it sounded fair enough to justify some of the Saiyan's actions. However, his mind couldn't help but question what he had been taught, with him reasoning that surely every one of the Tuffles didn't think that way.
When all was said and done, were all their deaths necessary? Couldn't they have taken down the Tuffle's leadership and discuss a new peace treaty that would benefit both sides in the future?
In any case, what was done was done now, with Tyber watching later when the Saiyans were approached by the Arcosians to conquer a new world for them - this in exchange for armour, technology and vehicles, along with the knowledge of how to build, use and maintain them; something the Saiyans were indeed capable of doing as they had used a spaceship to get to Planet Plant in the first place and they were fast learners.
- Things got arguably better and worse, however, when it was revealed that the Arcosians had initially been sent to check how well the Saiyans could do the job, with their employer - the "Galactic Emperor" King Cold - arriving on Planet Vegeta in Age 731 alongside many of his men to annex Planet Vegeta and the Saiyans into his Empire. King Cold explained that he would be "employing" them to conquer other worlds for his Empire, or to outright cleanse certain worlds of their inhabitants so the world be be cleaned up and sold to whoever would pay for it.
When King Vegeta and many of the Saiyans attempted to kick the Emperor off their planet as they recognized that this was another "slave master", however, King Cold - along with his minions Zarbon, Dodoria, Cui and the Ginyu Force - easily beat them and King Vegeta down without breaking a sweat.
However, King Cold wasn't angry at this, as he'd seen and repelled plenty of futile attempts to resist his annexations before; all it did was effectively reinforce his title of "The Supreme Being" and prove that it wasn't just 'sound and fury that signified nothing'. Afterwards, King Cold would make "arrangements" with King Vegeta to provide the Saiyans with more technology (along with the knowledge for using/maintaining it) and to allow Cold Force personnel to occupy the planet in order to assist the Saiyans and "oversee their activities". With no way of backing out of this, King Vegeta was forced to agree and the Saiyans became part of King Cold's Empire.
These changes just made Tyber feel internally disgusted; it seeming now that the Saiyans would be actively going out to conquer/destroy other civilizations and murder innocent people just to make a profit for King Cold - having thrown off the supposed chains of one oppressor just to have another slap on a chain that would be much harder to break.
- With these changes put in place, a new class system was established to determine the strength of Saiyans - with Elites, Mid-Class and Low-Class combatants who were decided based on their power levels, aggression and initiative to fight. Those below a certain power or who lacked in aggression and/or initiative to fight would be trained instead as either scientists or engineers, while youngsters would become "Infiltration Babies" and be sent to try and conquer a weak planet. During Tyber's test, he indeed proved that he had a decent power level of around 2000 and the initiative to fight, but with lower aggression levels than normal.
When the higher-ups contemplated on whether or not he should enter the military as the aggression he lacked could cause issues, Tyber made the choice for them and surprised everyone when he requested to be an engineer. Rather than point out his own reluctance to kill innocents, he instead worded his reasons differently - stating that he preferred to work with his hands in a way other than just punching things really hard, while echoing the higher-up's fears about him potentially been a hindrance to any team that he was placed with due to his lack of aggression.
- Although taken aback at his choice to not join the military, it was granted and Tyber was assigned to be taught as an engineer. However, his parents both chastised him for this choice as they had wanted him to become a warrior; believing that his way of thinking things through would have proven useful as a tactician on the battlefield and that this decision made their family bloodline look bad.
Tyber, however, held firm in his decision - angrily pointing out the hypocrisy of his parent's "concern" and "pride in their bloodline" as they'd treated him like an annoyance during the Saiyan-Tuffle War when they just wanted to go out and fight; also making it clear that he refused to take part in the decimation/extinction of entire civilizations just for King Cold's gain.
After some time, any contact Tyber had with his family became non-existent - Jicama and Fenn regarding him with contempt and having outright barred him from their home, with the other Engineers having to set up the young Saiyan with a different place to stay. For Tyber, his split with his parents was painful despite his attempts to hide it - his mother's last words, indeed said to hurt him, had been as follows:
Jicama: “You had the potential to be a proud Saiyan warrior...now you're a disgrace and a failure. You may tell yourself otherwise, but it's what you'll always be”.
(Yeah, Tyber's parents certainly ain't like Vegeta or Goku's parents; when their expectations weren't fulfilled, there was little hesitation in kicking their kid to the kerb).
- Years passed, with Tyber working his job as an engineer for the various technology the Saiyans used, all while learning about the various changes and goings on in and around their world now it was part of the Empire.
This ranged from official stuff like the Saiyans getting their Scout-Scopes replaced with new technology based on the Scouters the Tuffles had used and King Cold's son Frieza taking over the reigns of the Empire as his father was retiring (the Cold Force getting renamed as a result), to rumours like King Vegeta exiling the son of Colonel Paragus for some reason; this one having weight to it as Paragus was spotted stealing a ship and with one of their Engineers - Beets - getting unintentionally dragged along for the ride before never coming back.
Outside of work, Tyber had been training whenever he could - sometimes on his own but other times (in exchange for some of his pay) with an elderly female Saiyan named Stabba; her been a skilled Kenpo user who had retired after the Saiyan-Tuffle war but who had plenty of energy left in her. Thanks to these teachings, Tyber was able to grow stronger; having grown disillusioned with his life on Planet Vegeta and wanting to train in order to better defend himself, for he intended to enter a life of self-exile when he had come of age - away from the metaphorical grasp of Frieza and King Cold.
- One of the more interesting developments for Tyber from his time as an engineer came from whenever he was sent out to gather food for lunch; him and his fellow engineers having developed a taste for the meat served at a particular meat distribution centre. The one responsible for the cooking of this food that the engineers had come to enjoy was a female Saiyan named Gine - whose husband Bardock had been making waves in his own right by been promoted from Low-class to Mid-class; a rarity in their society. Additionally, Tyber genuinely respected Gine; having learned of her originally been a part of Bardock's squad but who retired to become a cook as she wasn't good at the job. Needless to say, she hadn't killed a single person while she was part of the team, with it been complimented by the fact that she simply had a nice personality and sweet demeanor of her own - with her smile alone enough to brighten up the day. On bad or tough days, this was something Tyber could appreciate, so he took extra care to be polite around her (along with been polite to Bardock and their son Raditz if they were around) when ordering the meat for himself and his fellow Saiyans.
- On one of the days in Age 736 when he was ordering the meat to go and waiting for it to cook, however, that Tyber noticed a commotion outside. Taking a look, he noticed a group of Saiyan children bullying Raditz, who at this point was three years old and looked like he didn't know how to handle the situation. Out of respect for Gine and also due to his empathic nature of hating to see nice/decent people getting treated badly, Tyber went to Raditz's aid and was more than capable of beating the rest of the gang away before checking on the long-haired child; Gine also thanking him for his help.
Following this incident and with Raditz been a kinder soul (having not been corrupted by the influence of Frieza, Vegeta and Nappa at this point), Tyber approached him and made the suggestion of them training together; the older of the two wanting to help Gine's son grow stronger and gain some more confidence so he'd be better able to cope with the bullies or other threats in the future; giving his reason when asked as him not liking to see good people get abused and/or negatively influenced by bad people.
Raditz was initially reluctant as training wasn't something he enjoyed and he doubted that this 'engineer' could teach him much that was useful. However, after another incident with the bullies in which they cruelly crushed the beetles he was playing with, Raditz changed his mind and agreed to train with Tyber.
- What followed was the two meeting up to train together in different ways - with Tyber teaching Raditz about controlling Ki, showing him how to fly, practicing various combat styles on the ground (and later in the air) and with the pair even training Raditz's tail so it couldn't be used against him. This last part of the training was something Raditz really didn't like due to it been particularly painful, but once the tail training was completed and he no longer felt any pain in his tail when it was grabbed, he was definitely pleased with the result.
Sure enough, Raditz's confidence would grow significantly - with him and Tyber even working together on their own variations of a two-handed energy wave attack; Raditz dubbing his the "Double Sunday" while Tyber named his version the "Twin Cannon". Gine and Bardock had been keeping an eye on the training sessions and also noticed this more positive change in their eldest child, especially when Raditz would indeed see off the bullies on his own the next time that they bothered him; Gine genuinely thanking Tyber for his help and with Raditz even showing Tyber his younger brother Kakarot - who was currently growing in a nursing capsule. Bardock himself also gave Tyber his thanks for helping Raditz, albeit in his own short and "straight to the point" way of talking.
- In Age 737, however, things would change. A more confident and stronger Raditz was selected to join Nappa, Prince Vegeta and two other Saiyans on a mission; Tyber been there to wave him off as his pod rocketed off into the sky. While he didn't like seeing Saiyans heading off to do the missions for Frieza, he at this point had accepted that nothing he could do was going to alter that; no point in wasting energy by complaining about something you couldn't change.
Sometime afterwards, Frieza gave the unusual order for all the Saiyans to return to Planet Vegeta for no notable reason, while Frieza's men began inquiring about the legends of the "Super Saiyan" and, to a lesser extent, the "Super Saiyan God" among the populace - with the Saiyans left pondering what was going on. Another weird event that occurred around this time was that someone had broken into the storage unit where the Saiyan Pods were kept and one had been stolen.
When Tyber headed out to grab the usual meat for the Engineers on their lunch break, however, he found Gine by herself and looking a lot more distant and morose; her eyes red like she had been crying. Additionally, he noticed that the nursing capsule where Kakarot had been was now empty. It didn't take long for him to piece together in his mind what he saw in front of him with his knowledge about the missing pod - with it appearing that Kakarot had been sent away. However, if he had been sent as an infiltration baby, why not do it officially instead of outright stealing a pod and doing it in the middle of the night?
- Gine noticed Tyber's presence and - presumably out of kindness for how he had helped Raditz, along with the fact that he worked in the place where Bardock had stolen the pod from so might notice otherwise - invited him into the house to discuss a "secret" with him as the meat cooked.
Some time later, Tyber had been left shocked by what Gine had told him about Bardock's theory and why they had sent Kakarot to Earth, but it made a scary kind of sense; the Saiyans all been called home, the questions about the Super Saiyan legends, the cryptic words of the Heeters about a "meteor" dropping on their heads - it all could easily point to Frieza intending to get rid of them. Sadly, there was no proof to convince the higher-ups of anything malicious and there was nothing they could do against Frieza and his forces even if they did, as even all the Saiyans combined most likely couldn't take Frieza down; it was a lose-lose situation if Bardock was right.
While Gine didn't want to believe it either, she told Tyber that she and Bardock couldn't flee; Bardock's power level was approaching that of King Vegeta and, combined with his "fame" at rising through the ranks, it meant he'd be detected easily by the Frieza Force's scouters if he did "do a runner" - with Gine not wanting to leave without him. To Tyber, however, she told him it was best if he got off Planet Vegeta just in case.
- Promising to keep their secret, Tyber collected the cooked meats and left; internally in turmoil based on what he'd heard. Since no-one would believe him if he said about Frieza wanting to blow up the planet (due to it sounding crazy, his low-class rank and with the likely assumption that it was just the "imagination" of a twelve-year old) and with no other way to convince anyone else to abandon their world, all Tyber could do was speed up his own departure from the planet.
While security was upped since the theft, Tyber was able to work on a particular ship for the rest of the day - a two seater version that was in need of repairs after a rough mission - and get it ready to go. That night, he packed what he needed (including a scouter after disabling its microphone) and snuck back into the building, with him using his knowledge to deactivate the alarms.
After activating the ship he had repaired and then the launch pad, Tyber took off into the night - looking back at Planet Vegeta for the last time as he headed off into the stars before the security forces could stop him. Although there were plans to go after him, they were ended by Zarbon over a video call - him declaring it a waste of time and money to search the stars for a low-level engineer. Instead, Zarbon ordered that the Saiyans allow for everyone to return and to await Frieza's "instructions" once everyone was back.
- Bardock's fears would eventually play out, with Frieza indeed destroying Planet Vegeta and the majority of the Saiyans with it; sending a message to all survivors that it was a "meteor" that had destroyed their homeworld. On his mission with the Prince, Raditz was more shocked to learn about this and in particular Vegeta's apparent disinterest in the event or his younger sibling's situation.
When asked about his own brother, Raditz this time didn't copy Vegeta's disinterest and instead stated that he had received a message from his mother that Kakarot had been sent off-world, with him expressing hope that his brother would survive and grow strong, while he would grow stronger too for if/when they met again. To this, Nappa and the adults agreed that it was a good attitude to take considering what had happened, although Vegeta just scoffed at Raditz's optimism.
- Out in space, Tyber was jumping from planet; scavenging what he could. The confirmed destruction of his homeworld had left him with mixed thoughts and emotions, with a lot of other things to process as well.
However, there was a more obvious question at hand...with his world gone, his people nearly extinct and the Frieza Force likely keeping an eye out for him and other Saiyan survivors, what was he going to do, and where was he going to go?
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If this gets any feedback, I might do a Part 02 to this story - showing what Tyber gets up to after his escape and how he ends up eventually joining the Galactic Patrol properly.
In any case, I hope you like what you've read and I'm curious to see what you guys think.