misterbrief | 6th Taunt

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6th Taunt | Video

[It's been a few days since Father's Day. And he got a really nice surprise from his daughter that he never thought possible. Bulla training and honing her skills and power, it really meant something to him; so he's flipping his journal open now since Luceti played a large part of it. He's not even angry this time.]

It's come to my attention that a good number of you had a hand in the gift I received over the weekend. I will say I'm impressed- the lot of you have done the impossible with my daughter Bulla and it most certainly paid off. So for that...[His voice trails off, since saying these sorts of things isn't exactly natural to him.] For that I am grateful. I know a good portion of the time we are safe inside this barrier, but you must understand that I worry for her safety regardless.

So I suppose this is the part where I ask something else not so specific. The gift I received was for your Earthling holiday Father's Day. I've never put much stock in such things, but this last weekend certainly has changed my mind about it a little. Is this something you also observe in your own worlds? And if so, what is it that you've done or would do that you would consider worthy of your father?

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[Cliff thunked his glass down onto the wooden bar and looked at Vegeta without any jest.]

Actually. It was the part about the pink blob destroying things. You were serious?

No, I very much enjoy joking around about the fate of the universe. Of course I was serious. The darned thing regenerated and- [As serious as Cliff is being now, he's more than positive he'd at least giggle at the candy thing. That part was embarrassing enough so he thinks he'll just leave that out for the time being-] and had a good amount of the same level of energy attacks that you saw out on the draft. Except there was no restraint with that freak. He'd blow up the planet and himself, regenerate, then move to the next.

[The level of gravity in Vegeta's tone called to mind the Executioners and their Proclaimers that were flooding his galaxy, bringing with them wave upon wave of destruction under orders of something beyond their ability to understand. The energy output of the creatures' attacks threw every sensor reading out of whack, and there was no way to stop them in their world...

A more religious man would have described it as divine wrath. Cliff just saw it as someone else that needed punching-- even if that someone else was on a different plane entirely.]

...but, it sounds like you stopped him.

[Genuinely curious about the 'how'. Being reminded of planetary deletion was a helluva thing.]

...We did. Barely, but we did. [He gets another drink, and he has to down that too. Even through that hard expression the creases of a battle-worn life show as he thinks about it again, something that really hasn't crossed his mind in years. Vegeta sits in silence, but breaks it with a crack of his neck.]

We were rewarded for our efforts with a fifteen-year long peace. I'd say it was well deserved considering the track record we were keeping before. If you're lucky you'll see the same after you take care of those irritating problems you've got back at home.

[Cliff ordered another himself, but took his at a slower pace. He was far from his limit, but he preferred to stay that way.]

Fifteen years, huh? Yeah, that is a fine reward. [It was something that Cliff could only hope for, when the madness was resolved and his memories finally synced with Fayt's. He knew that there was a peaceful end but...

He chuckled softly.]

Heh. I hope you're right about it being the same for me. These problems are pretty petty when compared to your's, but I'm not one to just watch something I don't like go down. So long as the Federation keeps up this..agh, this Imperialist thing, it's gonna last a while.

[Provided that there was still a Federation when all was said and done. These talks with Vegeta got Cliff wondering about whether his situation really was more similar to the Saiyan's than he realized.]

As I've already told you in the past, it's going to last a while until something or someone dismantles it. And since you've given me the idea that it's not possible yet, you're just going to have to deal with it and bide your time until the perfect opportunity arises.

We didn't see the liberation of our universe for over two centuries. So don't be surprised if you don't live to see the end of it. [Vegeta doesn't know how dangerous the Federation was, but it sounded a lot like the Planet Trade Organization, except in how it was run.]

[Two centuries. If he remembered his history classes right, two hundred years tended to be close to the breaking point for any static civilization whether it was a republic or an empire. Klausians, like himself, have only been active on the intergalactic level for around a hundred or so, and the Federation has been putting pressure on the government to join since the outset. It wasn't terrible-- yet. Recent events threw their actions and war into stark perspective, but he had no idea how the resolution would look.

It might be a road to peace, lit by the dreams of people like himself and paved with the determination of the generations to come. It might be such a fragmented mess that anarchy reigned.

He couldn't even hazard a guess about the outcome.]

Given how history goes, I'd be surprised if I did see some progress. But, that's no reason not to try. I don't want them [Fayt and Maria] to clean up any of my messes. It'll be hard-- being popular has some big drawbacks.

[He downs another drink and shrugs.] The only progress we saw was quickly disposed of when it was discovered. [There was a certain underlying tone of bitterness in that sentence.] Our victory came out of the blue. Perhaps the same will become of your own universe. Just don't leave yourself as a mess on the ground to be cleaned up and I'm sure it will be just fine.

I've found that being 'popular' has more merits than drawbacks. But, it entirely depends on what sort of popular you're getting at. I won't say I suffered much being as well-known as I was. In fact it was quite satisfying. There's a certain amount of pleasure in watching ants quiver in your presence. Heh, but those were the old days.

Aah-- The 'popular' I'm talking is less the 'shake in your boots' kind and more the 'hey, why hasn't this guy shut up' kind. [He sipped from his glass, mulling things over.]

It just kinda happened by a process of elimination too. They were annoyed enough and Quark was convenient enough.

[He lifted his shoulders in a shrug and took another sip. Their worlds really were pretty different.]

Sounds like you didn't destroy enough of the enemy for them to realize exactly who they were dealing with. [He's drinking more, which is probably really bad for him at this point. He might be telling Cliff things that might not paint such a good portrait of the Saiyan Prince. And there was a lot of negatives to the guy. But then, Cliff did see Vegeta's ruthlessness during the draft. He thinks about that, before continuing on.]

Kill enough of them off and they'll learn not to cross paths with you. But that's not your style, now is it? You'd rather leave them alive! Well. Heh. [He downs yet another drink.] Why exactly is that anyway? Do you think they'll change?

[Cliff had indeed seen the depths of Vegeta's ruthlessness, and wasn't terribly surprised by the turn in the conversation. Prior ones on this topic had danced around the same themes, but he had never seen Vegeta speak so passionately about it.]

It's politics. [He drank more, feeling the familiar lucidity that a few beers gives a man.] You don't just go around killing people-- that'll be a good way to get yourself on the galaxy's top ten most wanted list.

Perhaps you should just blow up their entire base of operations. Let's see them rebuild from that. Make sure all their leaders are inside when you do it, then take control of the situation from there. It'll make for a good fireworks show, wouldn't you say? [He downs another drink. He'd lost count of how many he's had already, but it takes a lot to get a Saiyan drunk. He's getting there, though.]

Then who's list are you going to be on after that anyhow? Maybe the galaxy's top ten most feared. It's a much better list to be on.

[As tempting as it was to close the tab on a Vegeta at that point, Cliff wasn't reckless enough to mess with a drunk Saiyan. There was no telling what would happen...

Besides. He wasn't drunk enough to be that crazy. Talking politics was crazy enough.]

...Lissen. I think we're talkin' at two different things here. Blowing things up is just gonna make anarchy. I thought we went through this already.

[Their ideas, while similar, were tempered by wildly different methods of action and a basic moral compass. As much as the bureaucrats pissed him off, Cliff knew that they were a necessary part of the puzzle. You can't fix a thing if you burn everything to the ground. Then you just have a mess.]

[He shrugs. He knows that.] Not if you take over yourself. I've found monarchy to work quite well. Throwing out the unworthy and taking the lead sounds like a perfect plan to me. Wipe the slate clean. If you don't like how it's done, do it yourself.

...

[Cliff stared at Vegeta, eyes hard, and downed the rest of his glass.]

I ain't that kinda man. If I wanted authority, I'd have taken it by now. But any system that's ruled by just one opinionated guy is liable to fail, and it doesn't take a historian to know that.

Yes, yes, I know. I'd never pegged you for that sort of man. You're far too laid back. You do realize that you're speaking out against a system that myself, a prince by my own birthright, was heavily involved in? But here, let me share a story with you. [But not before he takes another drink. Vegeta, you need to stop.]

As you can imagine, knowing my position it's pretty easy for you to assume my father was the king of our people. If you didn't already figure that out then perhaps you need to get that head of yours checked. He rallied my race and defeated our enemies, the Tuffles. And from there on afterward he became the ruler of our people, and quite successfully- our planet being named after him. He was feared and respected, and in turn did whatever he could that was in the interest of our race. And from what I understand Earth from my world has had a long line of royalty ruling it, and it is by far one of the most peaceful planets I've ever come across. So as far as I'm concerned it's completely possible. I've seen it work.

And besides, I'm sure that plenty of other systems have their own flaws. It just depends on if you have cowards or weaklings running it.

[Cliff ordered another drink himself, and threw caution to the breeze. Vegeta was a reasonable man to a degree, but there were some things that they just would never fully agree on.

This was one of them.

Cliff knocked his back and shook his head, feeling looser and freer now that the compounded effects were starting to hit him. He really needed to monitor his glasses himself.]

...I see your point, but that ain't always the case 'round where I'm from. There's more to the Federation than just Earth, yanno. Maybe someday they'll straighten up, but don't expect me to trust it so much. Try looking in the eyes of a little girl who just saw her mother spaced because the ship she was on ended up in the crossfire of a war that shouldn't even be happening sometime. Tell me what you think then.

[Only reasonable now that he actually, finally grew up. And even then...]

[He doesn't answer right away. He can't because he simply doesn't have sympathy. The hard look in his eyes might give that away, but for what reason, he doesn't explain. Because it sounded no different when he lost his own father and mother, his whole race to an event that he'd worked hard to try to prevent. Did everything asked of him and the word given to him taken back, killing them all anyway. Something, that once long ago, caused him to outright shed tears in front of others.]

[So he orders another drink instead, silently waiting patiently for it, and when he gets it he downs it quickly before he finally decides to speak back up.]

I think she either wallows in her own sorrow like a weak minded fool or she does something about it. If I were her I'd choose the latter.

[Cliff saw that look, the brief moment it lasted, and wondered if he had possibly taken a step too far. He knew the story well enough, but alcohol had a way of getting a man to say things that he normally wouldn't.

This was the cheif reason why he didn't let himself get too far into the cups. It tended to end badly.

But hearing Vegeta's responce earned a soft chuckle and a fond smile. Clearly, he wasn't just talking about any little girl...]

Oh. She did. She's become one of the top people on the Federation's blacklist, even if they don't know her by name.

You must know her by that look. And I've got a pretty good feeling I know who you're talking about. [The man is smart, and it's been more than once he's mentioned Maria to him, in one form or another.]

[It wouldn't be hard to guess the reasons for that either. It's a pity that the man in question was too oblivious to see the obvious.]

Well. She's pretty special in the galaxy. A strong young woman whose smart, capable, and willing to take risks.

And the captain of your ship, right? You keep talking about her. There's more to it than that, isn't there? [He didn't care if Cliff went into details or not, he's just pointing out the obvious to him.]

[He covered his confusion with a deep drink from his glass, although he simply couldn't hide the obvious fact anymore. The alcohol was doing it's work.]

I dunno what you're talking about. It ain't nothing that special...

[He just owed her his life. That's all.]

Right. [He knew perfectly well Maria was too young for Cliff, so his intent isn't toward a romantic one.] So what, because she's your boss now, that means you can't tell anyone you've adopted her? Is that what it is?

[His tone is accusatory but yet, teasing at the same time.]

...

[Cliff finished off his glass and slammed it down, slowly processing the nature of what Vegeta had just said.

It didn't quite work.]

...

What?

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