Making an Entrance

Every Emperor should see their throne before they claim it, no?

After her training today, Zuci had a sudden bolt of lightning strike her mind with a new idea. She'd never actually seen the throne she's coveted since childhood, and she believed the King to be out as of now. She had lowered her power level as low as she possibly could and put her skills to the test, sneaking past guards and ducking around in ways she'd normally never do. Eventually, she came upon the largest room in the castle and deemed it to be her objective.

She had barely just rounded the hall and poked her head in when she suddenly saw some others there first. There was a man- Certainly not an elite, but that was a good thing in her eyes, prostrating himself. Hm? Zuci looked over his frame, seeing a woman in the seat that would soon belong to her. Her power level... It didn't feel like she was going to lengths to keep it suppressed- Was she that weak? And it didn't seem like she had a tail, either- A Tuffle?

...

Zuci stayed hidden behind the wall, leaning against it while poking her head out. She was rather curious to see what exactly was happening, and it's not like she had enough of a personal connection to this place to feel some sort of responsibility about making sure no trouble was afoot. Instead of going out and forcing them to talk, she'd just...see how this played out. Though, if anything did happen, she'd likely step in... Probably... Maybe. Wait, that man- Was that...?

"She's here for a very simple reason: to test our security."

Vocado stepped out from behind the throne, revealing himself from a pathway hidden in the wall. His royal purple cape billowing behind him as he appeared with slow, deliberate steps. Leaning against the throne, he glanced down at Maesi, and winked. The minuscule amount of reports from guards in the area had tipped him off that something was amiss, but the mention of a Shredder Corp insignia being used as clearance was a clue to what precisely that might've been.

"Our little Tuffle friend here was tasked with trying to skulk about the palace, and report back to me with her success. It seems she needn't do so, considering she made it all the way here without incident."

That was a bold lie, of course, but none of them would doubt the voracity of the claim. She held a badge of authority after all! Even if Cato's name was on it. Stepping past the throne, his hands clasped together behind his back, he regarded the two Saiyans before him, and clocked the slightest hint of Ki just outside the room as potentially important.

"I should send the both of you to the saiba pits just for your reactions. Seriously; this little runt, the Queen? I'm astonished that I heard those words escape your pathetic maw." His gaze turned to Pars next. "Should I commend you for noticing she's a Tuffle? At least you had the forward thinking to ask her a question if nothing else."

Shaking his head, Vocado brought his hands out in front of him, knuckles cracking ominously. "Should I dare ask what the two of you fools decided to come to the throne room for?"

Glancing back at Maesi, he nodded toward her. "You and I ought to have a nice long chat with Cato once we're through here. Lots to discuss."

---

Pars paused for a moment, raising a brow. He had to think, mull over whether he should get angry, or laugh. He'd never been referred to as 'minion' in all his life. Most aboard the battle station had more sense than to admonish the nobility. And to go further, she was obviously lying. Being a Warden... he'd learned long ago to pick out the untruth and deceit in one's words. Especially when it was so obvious. She settled down quickly after that, seeming uncomfortable. Perhaps knowing she was caught. He cracked a smile, and opened his mouth to speak... Then he noticed a new arrival appear from behind her.

Immediately, he whiffed the stench of distrust. Maybe it was just his nature to be cynical of everything... but his gut instinct told him that this 'security' business was just a small fib. Especially after the blonde affirmed it. He didn't care to voice this, however—Whoever this was had their reasons for protecting the... Tuffle? What a strange word. He sounded it out in his head—Pars took a wild guess that maybe they were one of the new Servant Species. Maybe this particular one was the man's personal thrall? That would clear things up, he thought. 

And that would also make the newcomer a Noble. Unless things worked differently now, in the reborn kingdom. Unlikely, he mused. Then, something entirely expected happened. He and this other fellow were reprimanded. Him less so, but still! He sighed inwardly.

Rigamarole

He had the feeling that this man was lumping him together with Maric... despite what he said, but he set those feelings aside. Vocado cracked his knuckles, and Pars grinned. The prospect of fighting always excited him, but he knew the chance was fairly low—Especially here, in this particular room. "bAW HAHAHAHA" A deep, rumbling laughter broke through his lips, and he threw his head back for a moment.

After he recovered, he noted that the other saiyan had spoken. Said something about gods and whatnot. He did think on that other thing for a bit... Why would a tuffle in the throneroom be treason? They're servants, aren't they? Shaking his head, he spoke up briefly. "No good in killing Thralls, not if you don't have to. Better to work their butts off instead," He explained, nodding once to himself. The sacrifice talk was strange, but he chose to ignore it. Another entered the chamber, perhaps drawn by the voices within. He faintly recalled seeing this one outside briefly.

She seemed cheerful, not the type who would be loitering all day outside the throne room. Zuci lambasted Maric, and again, Pars found himself confused. Is she not a saiyan? He wondered briefly. Conquering and enslaving were par for the course! Tradition! Surely things hadn't changed so much... Pars noticed she was waving his way, and returned awkwardly with a low pass of his hand. He turned away as she spoke, then immediately reversed himself. "... Are you nobility?" He asked softly, judgementally, leering harshly, and biting his tongue as he finished. Of course not, He thought harshly. He wished he hadn't brought it up—Already he could feel that it might become some point of confrontation, if this woman took it badly. He was quickly recalling his purpose now, and just wanted to be done with it. He'd fight whoever he had to fight after! He'd figure out why people spoke of all these strange things, after!...

"You seem fun," He paused, looking at Vocado. "I'd challenge you, here and now for your words... but alas," Pars made a mock gesture with his offhand. "I have obligations," Taking a quick breath, Pars prepared his most bored and normal 'noble' voice. "You asked me my purpose? Bring me your king. I am Pars Thornbrash, of Battlestation Knutts! I have oaths to speak,"

Maesi pointed at Zuci, the instant she sensed someone ready to defender.

"Yeah! What she said!" she blurted out, before she fully processed the rest of her comment. "Except, you know--the whole better than part. I'm pretty sure if you look at this concretely, the infrastructure in the Lychee--"

She trailed off. There was a time and a place, and this probably wasn't the time. It definitely wasn't the place.

"Anyways, all I mean to say is--murdering someone in the throne room is bad for, you know, the Gods. The Gods don't like it when you do that. They probably view the throne room as some kind of sacred territory, and for all we know, they might be watching this very moment. Do you want to desecrate their temple? I don't!"

She looked up to Pars, flashing him a rather disapproving look upon his mention of 'thralls.' She managed to hold her tongue, but that didn't stop her from emitting an overly-loud huff of derision, before her attention fell back upon Zuci,

"I think you should go for it," she said, managing to recover an upbeat tone despite the thoroughly dangerous atmosphere. "I don't know anything about that Tauros guy, but I bet you'd look better in the throne than he does. So, you know..! Work hard, do a lot of push-ups, typical Saiyan... stuff..! I bet the crown would fit nice, too!"

She offered a thumbs-up, but she had the sneaking suspicion her encouragement might not have been the most inspiring thing she'd ever said. Either way, she lingered where Vocado had held her, opting not to try escaping out the back exit. Yet, anyway.

"Anyways, I'm not actually Queen Amara. She's not even the Queen now anyways. But you still shouldn't try to kill me. I'm here on official business, for real. I'm here to study the healing tanks that've been set up for the snobby noble types around here, so that I can replicate the technology in some the shoddier medical wards out in the Radditsu District!"

"Of course, we should have just used Tuffle designs, but..."

She trailed off again.

"Oh! I'm here on orders--well, more like a request--from a Saiyan! She's kind of a bitch, though. I wouldn't recommend talking to her."

---

...Oh no, was this another situation of a Saiyan who wasn't caught up with the times? A visible sweat mark fell from Zuci's brow at the mention of Tuffle 'thralls'; maybe she didn't need to correct this one, seeing as how he sensed her noble spirit through speech alone. ...Ah, never mind, she loved correcting people!

"Thralls? You must have just moved here. The Tuffles are...partners? Comrades? ...People who exist with us on the same planet in a manner where neither blatantly rules the other. Yes, that." Zuci sighed, not being used to having to come up with something like that on the spot. "And no reason to force them to do anything; we all have the same goal of better living, after all. Oh, and forced labor equals less productivity. ...I read a lot. Ah, and I am not nobility, but thank you for recognizing my greatness as such! Most of the actual nobles are stuck-up little whiners, while I-"

Before she could go off on a rant about how great she was, there was a very noticeable power spike that caught her attention. General, hm? She met him the same day she saw that powerful yellow glow, and he seemed like someone worthy enough of her respect. She quieted down to let him speak, admittedly looking just a tad sheepish when her role in Hatchi City was brought up.

"R-Right. Hmph, as far as I could tell most of us were too stupid to recognize a Saiyan in their Great Ape transformation to their regular selves. Well... Thank you for not punishing me." She said begrudgingly, putting her hands on her hips and looking away with a pout. Hatchi City was a bit of a sore point for her, even if it did open her eyes to just how large the gap was between her and a Super Saiyan. Out of the corner of her eye, she gave the man another look of quiet determination.

"And I will ascend, to be clear. I was born to command, not to follow. Perhaps one day I'll be calling upon my general to aid me when it comes down to it?" She said with an honest smile, hoping to show she wanted to be on amicable terms with the man.

And now back to the Tuffle in the room. She listened to what she had to say with earnest intent, even nodding her head a few times as she spoke. "A moment? Forgive me, I should have specified in strength- I've long since thought the Tuffles have far exceeded the Saiyans when it comes to matters like architecture and the like."

Hah! Zuci was beginning to like this Tuffle- Of course, it would be easy for just about anyone to get on her good side with a few honest compliments, especially when it came to matters of the throne. Zuci folded her arms and tilted her head up slightly, a catlike grin adorning her face. 

"Why thank you! And you barbarians think so little of this woman when she is clearly so enlightened? And willing to work on improving her healing tanks? Shame on you swine!" She scowled at most of the men in the room, obviously excluding Vocado. "If anyone gives you a hard time in this city, let me know and I will crush them into dust! Including this 'bitch' you speak of, of course!"

And including the man she'd very much like to hurt right now leaving the throne room. She cast a lazy glance towards Maric as he left of his own accord. Hmph- She wouldn't go there to face him, but soon she imagined locking horns with him... In the meantime...

"So!" Zuci clapped her hands together, awkwardly casting her gaze towards all other occupants. "Like I said, I came here to size up the throne and nothing more, but now I find myself among a very intelligent Tuffle, a Saiyan general, and another Saiyan who doesn't seem to know the all-too recent history of our people! Can I stay and listen? This is so much more entertaining than whatever goes on over at the mercenary outposts or the training areas. ...Speaking of, most of your soldiers suck. Be meaner to them, they deserve it." Zuci aimed that last part at Vocado, an earnest suggestion rather than a mean criticism.