The first step

"You have your scouter?" A woman asked.

"Yes mother." Answered a small child. A small Saiyan child, Targos. At the age of five he was finally chosen to clear a planet for the pto. His mother stood before him, her arms and face covered in tattoos. She was a relatively tall woman, garbed in more traditional animal hide, rather than the armour that was fast becoming commonplace among his people.

"Good, and you're wearing your armour. Hmm... Oh, do you have your nutrient bars?" She asked him.

"Uh..." He turned and dug inside of a pouch at his hip, rummaging around he found a grey wrapped bar. He took it out and showed it to her. "Yes mommy."

"Good boy!" She crowed. "They may not taste good or be all that filling but it will keep you going, besides, if you get hungry you can eat a few of the planets inhabitants."

He nodded his head, taking a long look at her, she had tan skin, and her arms were wrapped in swirling tattoos, it was a custom among his tribe that as you grew older, more tattoos would be added. A few short months ago he had received his very first tattoos, the two red markings along his cheeks, signaling the beginning of his growth.

Her hair was short and spikey, just like his, however her tail, now wrapped around her waist, looked smooth to the touch. His own tail twitched back and forth excitedly behind him, he was finally going to leave the planet, he would make her so proud. He noticed her eyeing his tail and was about to ask what was wrong when she crouched down to his level.

"Let me see your tail sweetie." She said.

He nodded and moved it so it was laying in the palm of her hand. He jumped when she grasped it lightly. She began looping it around his waist. "A real warrior doesn't let their tail move about freely, they keep it around their waist, so it can't get grabbed." She patted his now looped tail gently.

He nodded again. "Yes mommy."

She stood up and waited while he grabbed his things, the new armour he wore was a lot more stuffy than his leather hides, but his mother told him it would keep him safe so he was determined to get used to wearing it. They walked to a waiting platform, one of those space pod things she told him about was waiting there.

She helped him climb in, buckling him into restraints and situating an oxygen mask onto his face. "This is going to put you to sleep, ok? That way the journey goes faster." She pointed to a latch at the top of the pod. "This is an emergency release, use it if your door gets stuck." She moved her hand to a small screen with an inset keyboard. "This is the navigational computer, it will tell you where you're going and how to get there, now, I preprogramed it for you but soon you'll have to do it your self from now on."

He nodded. This was exciting. He watched her smile one last time before she hit a button next to the door. The hatch began closing as she moved away, and finally with a hiss it was air tight. He very faintly heard from outside as the pod powered up and began lifting off the ground "Do your best!"

He couldn't help but smile. There was a strange smell in his mask as the gasses went to work and put him to sleep, his last thoughts were that this was the beginning of his great journey.

It was also the last time he saw his mother alive.