The Conquest of Biddir-9

Biddir-9.

The planet was comprised almost entirely of thick jungle, with some more temperate areas in what passed for its poles. It was hot, rainy, and full of oversized predators. The most dangerous of those predators were, surprisingly enough, the small ones: blood-sucking insects that carried a host of diseases. At least a dozen warlords had tried to capture the planet, and each had failed. The planet's inhabitants were hardy warriors, an amphibian species, almost frog-like to the eyes of an outsider. They were used to the terrain and immune to most of the diseases that had spelled disaster for many an invading army.

Despite its many strengths, Biddir-9 was technologically backward: the most their people had achieved to date was basic space-flight within their own solar system. A couple of space stations, and a host of unmanned probes. Nothing impressive. Those space stations had been the first to fall when Vocado Bonewood of the Shredder Corps arrived. That had been the easy part: the various peoples on the planet had never unified, and so they had deigned to keep their disparate space programs disarmed.

Backwards. At least, in Jujube's estimation.

"They'll be the highest power levels," she told her makeshift squadron. "Land two kilometres away from them and continue forward on foot."

A meagre ten soldiers made up Jujube's hastily-recruited Black Moon Brigade. Her unpopularity in Hatchi City after her treachery in the war had left her few allies, but there were at least a handful willing to join on a military adventure across the stars. In total, it made ten Tuffles: most armed with old-pattern arm blasters captured during the war, along with whatever armour they had scrounged up over the years. If Tuffle revanchism could stir the hearts of Hatchi City, then a quest to empower the Saiyan Kingdom was rather less impressive.

Yet, Jujube knew: if they won glory upon Biddir-9, it would be a step to swaying others to their cause. To her cause.

Those ten ships streaked across the horizon, visible to the countless Biddir as well as the horribly outnumbered Shredder Corps. It didn't take long for the inhabitants of the planets to respond with their own form of anti-air fire: ki blasts, fired en masse from their jungle canopies. Jujube's ship was tagged on the descent, but the accompany space-pods were small enough that they landed -- or rather, crashed -- without complication.

After putting out a fire aboard her ship, Jujube clambered out of her ship to join her newfound comrades. It was, perhaps, the first time Jujube had felt the way she did when she was conscripted into service: she was at war alongside her countrymen. It wasn't quite old times, but it would do. She nodded back to the opened hatch to her ship.

"Get the medicine off first. If the planet as bad as they say, the War Master will need a few shots for his troops."

---

Two kilometers away...

The fourth wave of attackers poured into the Saiyan lines, their numbers and ferocity making up for their comparatively lower battle power. The Biddir were masters at concealing their ki, but in practice most only ranged in the one to two thousand range. A formidable force, but nothing the Shredder Corps couldn't handle. Their armour was less sophisticated, comprised mostly of linked steel plates to cover their torsos and most of their vital organs, but they had a uniform training regimen -- and accordingly, uniform techniques.

They favoured spread attacks: bright red ki, split into two or three separate pieces to strike multiple targets at once. They were weaker attacks, consequently, but in large numbers it meant the Saiyans were faced with a constant barrage of blasts. Those wounds began to add up, and with the jungle's various diseases spreading through camp quickly, their position was a little less than advantageous.

Little did they know, help was on the way.

Ten undersized soldiers cut their way through the jungle, coming visible only as that fourth wave began to die down, repelled by return fire from the Saiyans. At their head was Jujube, the most considerable power of the group, while her followers guided a hover-vehicle along to ferry a cache of supplies. No doubt, it was an unexpected sight: but on this day, Saiyans and Tuffles would war together.