Insurrection

Chapter 1

(Author's Notes: This story takes place after the death of Kold and Frieza, it disregards the Koola movie as the events described in it do not fit in with the standard dbz timeline.   Koola exists in this fic, but he is not dead.)

The tiny scout ship zipped through the blackness of space.  Pinpoints of lights reflected brilliantly in the black cockpit window.    There was no sound in the vacuum, but the silence was not a peaceful one.  It was an ominous silence, one that promised death to whoever entered unprepared.  But within the cramped, tooth-shaped, craft, death was the least of Coles worries.   His ship, The Coal, had been ferrying people with bounties on their heads for years.  It was a risky trade and The Coal bore the scars of many a space battle.  However, in all his years, Cole had never been to such a strange pick up site.  Normally, his clients found desolate, out of the way worlds as departure points, but he had never had one choose a planet as obscure as this.  The star system wasn't even on the charts.

The cockpit door slid open and in stepped in his client's associate, a short Saiyan by the name of Raisa.  She was, unless the rumors were true (a rare scenario), the last of her kind.  Cole had only spent about two weeks in her company and if her behavior was any reflection on that of her race, he did not wonder why.  She was hotheaded, belligerent, and prone to fits of violence.  She had wound up at the heart of a brawl on almost every planet they landed on.  The late Lord Frieza was not one to tolerate such brazenly independent behavior; perhaps if they had just turned it down a notch the race would still be prominent.  Not that it really mattered, it was all in the past and Cole was never one to dwell on the past.  Regardless of her impetuous behavior she was the only one who knew where his client was supposed to be picked up, and thus vitally important.  Cole didn't look back as she entered the already cramped cockpit, he knew that she would say whatever she had to say without being prompted.  Sure enough she did,  "That's it over there," she said pointing to the planet that he was approaching.

"I know," he responded, irritably, "where did you think I was going."

She pretended not to here him, shrugging her small shoulders and, after running a gloved hand through her long chocolate hair. "I'm not sure where he is exactly, there are no maps of this place so it was kinda hard for him to specify."

"Don't worry," he said, glancing at the readings on his scanners, "other than microbial life, he is the only one on this giant snowball."

Raisa chuckled behind him. "What's so funny," he asked as he guided his ship through the planet's minimal atmosphere.

"You wouldn't understand the irony and I really don't feel like explaining," she sighed as if he were a child.  Ordinarily he would have jumped on something like that, but spending two weeks with this smarter than thou nonsense going on almost constantly had numbed him to these verbal jabs.  Cole just put his head down and guided them through the clouds, and down across the icy terrain.  Not long had passed before they were within sight of his mysterious client.  The man in question was a tall humanoid covered almost entirely in robes and blankets.  He stood with his back to the fierce wind, his snow-covered cloths flapping in the icy gale.  In his arms he nursed a worn and tattered satchel.  Cole pushed his black locks back from his face, his brown eyes widened as he saw the man.  It took some considerable strength of will to remain standing like that in the middle of a storm of this magnitude.  Cole buttoned his coat tightly about him as he landed his craft.  Moments later he emerged from the vessel, his bronze skin contrasting with the pallid snow.  He trudged forward, his long, black hair flailing wildly in breeze.   He cupped his hands and called out to the man, "Raisa and I have come to pick you up!"

The man turned towards him, slowly shambling through the knee-high snow towards The Coal, Cole reached out a hand, helping him to board the starship.  "Thank you," he gasped as he staggered into the ships passenger compartment.  The Coal was a modified SSF-Starscout, its armor had been stripped down and the engines had been upgraded, the cargo compartment had been largely converted into a living room like passenger center.  It could comfortably fit seven and was full of sofas and chairs.  A well-stocked refrigerator stood in the corner.  There was a bathroom with a small shower and toilet.  All in all it was a pretty comfortable place. 

"Where do you need to go sir," asked Cole as he lay the tall, thin man down on a sofa.

"Koola 82," croaked the old-timer.

"That might not be the best of ideas sir," said Cole delicately, had the cold weather made this guy crazy, "You are after all, number one on Koola's most wanted list."

"Do as he says," snarled Raisa behind him.  Cole grumbled and proceeded to the cockpit where he shed his coat and guided the ship out of the planet.  Why did he not like the way this mission was turning out, something felt wrong.  He grinned, still the money was quite a mitigating factor.  Soon they were back in the cold, unforgiving vacuum of space.  It would take roughly a week to get to the planet, that left with a lot of time on his hands.  A smile spread across his face, he would start with getting some sleep.