Atreus , NOTES

Jump Drives. A theorized, though never fully explored, advanced alternative to the methods of faster than light travel used by the inhabitants of the Galaxy today. The theory behind it all stems from a skill used by many martial artists of all species across centuries - Instant Transmission. Yardrats and ki users who learned this skill from them were able to access a dimension different from hyperspace, the so-called "Teleportation Zone", where time doesn't pass and moving even a little bit can cause you to be located many kilometers away. In practice, it results in the ever so familiar appearance of teleportation. Instant movement.

It had already been scientifically proven that machines, such as androids, with artificial ki are able to replicate the techniques used by live martial artists without additional drawbacks. There is no reason for Instant Transmission to be any different - and if an android can use this technique, surely, a spaceship with an artificial ki generator installed would be able to replicate the same effect? That's what a Jump Drive would be. Imagine, a fleet of teleporting battleships. All that would be needed for them to navigate is a network of similar artificial ki generators as "ki signatures" for the battleships to lock onto. Not only would this give the developers of such a technology an unprecedented advantage in military logistics, able to get supplies and soldiers wherever they are needed in an instant, but it would also be an unbeatable advantage on the battlefield. Jump Drive vessels could freely teleport around the battlefield at will, reinforce needed areas of the front, move from one flank to the other or to the heat of battle before the enemy has a chance to blink, or just create easy encirclements by teleporting behind the opposing fleet. It would revolutionize warfare, and the Galactic Empire chose to champion that revolution.

Under the Emperor's orders, Jump Drive technology is far too vital to the interests of the Galactic Empire to be developed on Mitra or Abbayor. As such, the research team of about 150 assorted scientists of various species boarded a spaceship procured by Polaris and took to interstellar space, far from the prying eyes of any other faction, where they could work in peace. To make sure that no space pirate or foreign agent dares to infiltrate the spaceship, the Emperor himself boarded the vessel, overseeing the research operation and serving as security at the same time.

Unfortunately, as it turns out, even these precautions were not enough to deter intruders from breaking in. As Polaris stood on the bridge, hands placed behind his back and eyes staring into the endless pitch black darkness, one of the Ultramarines operating the vessel, more specifically, reviewing the security cameras, suddenly stepped back and turned his head towards his Emperor, speaking:

"Your Majesty, you may want to look at this."

Polaris raised his eyebrow and walked up to the array of screens, and the Ultramarine scrolled back the footage on a few of the recordings. A mysterious man in black and blue armor was speeding through the corridors of the spaceship, neither a scientist nor an Ultramarine, and he was making his was towards the engine department, quickly. There was only one explanation for this, it was an intruder.

Ordered by who? The uniform did not look Saiyan, Earthling or Frieza Force. If there was any insignia on it, it was hard to notice. But it may as well be the local milkman as far as Polaris is concerned, he was in an experimental research vessel and that was grounds for execution.

"I'm raising the alarm-" a nearby Ultramarine spoke, about to press a large red button on the side of the wall, but the Emperor's hand motion stopped him.

"This is a single person, in advanced battle armor, infiltrating the ship and heading straight to the engine room, which can only mean that he is confident enough in his strength to take on this entire ship all by himself. Raising the alarm will only push him to extreme measures, for example, destroying the spaceship entirely."

Polaris turned away from the security footage, instead moving his focus towards the rest of the soldiers on the ship's bridge.

"Inform the scientists in the engine room via radio message. Spread out across the ship and slow down his advance. I'm going to confront this madman myself."

It's been a while since Polaris has stepped in to get his hands dirty. The last time was what, Commander Taro back in the Battle of the Queen's Haven? The Emperor had been training a lot since then, and the strain of that training was still permeating through his body - but even if he might not show his full combat capacity today, there is no reason why he wouldn't be able to defeat this armored man all by himself.

As he ran through room after room, aiming to reach the engine room before the intruder did, Polaris found a way to try to slow his soon-to-be opponent down. That is, through a telepathic message:

"If you value your life even a tiny bit, I'd advise you to turn around and leave the same way you arrived."

Make them think.

(869 words)

Atreus , NOTES

This mystery intruder was not spineless, it seems. Immediately after Polaris's mental ultimatum, the man responded with an ultimatum of his own - either the Emperor evacuates this entire ship and lets them battle one on one for the fate of the Jump Drive in the engine room, without anyone interfering, or, if Polaris does not follow his wishes, this ship can say goodbye.

Clever little rat. Thinking he can put Polaris in such a gambit where he has no option but to fight him alone. That gambit was simple, but worked just fine, and the Frost Demon could applaud this mystery for it - of course, whether it was worth it to challenge the Emperor himself to a one on one bout is a different story entirely. Polaris decided to be this man's fairy god mother and fulfill his suicide wish regardless, however - after closing the psionic link with the intruder, he opened an another one with the ship's staff, speaking:

"Change of plans, ladies and gentlemen. I want you all to retreat to the ship's emergency escape shuttles. Don't leave yet, though - create the illusion of departure and await further orders."

As for the intruder himself...

---

The dark, empty and sprawling engine room, evacuated of the last of its workers mere seconds before Heimdall stepped into it and began to wait, suddenly went dark, all the buzzing machinery, lighting and even the main engine suddenly turning off in the span of a few seconds. A figure immersed stepped forward from one of the many steel bridges leading to the experimental reactor, dropping the mask of the shade as it did so and revealing its face.

A completely suppressed power level burst to life in a millisecond, almost equaling that of the armored Earthling.



As he walked towards Heimdall, slowly, with a slight frown on his face hiding imperceptible fury, Polaris grabbed onto the handle of the Sword of Greenskull, hanging on his back, pulling the weapon out. The power of the legendary ancient blade seeped into the Frost Demon's body - it wasn't exactly the Mighty Fro-Man transformation, all it gave off was a thin blue aura, but it was enough. After all, with so many brittle, experimental and expensive objects around them, he could not afford to go straight into his Fifth Form, which he still struggled to control, so this was the next best bet.

"The suicide rate of my Empire is currently clocking in at 11.9 per one hundred thousand inhabitants." the Frost Demon muttered, eyes locked onto Heimdall. "And you've chosen to become a part of that statistic."

There's no more time to waste. Polaris was confident in his chances... but he could also tell that this was not someone you can just mess around. The only two reasons why this armored warrior would ever wish to challenge the Emperor to a one on one duel was either being actually suicidal or believing to be strong enough to succeed. And it's always good to assume the worst.

The Frost Demon suddenly lunged at Heimdall, swinging the Sword of Greenskull forward and then continuing with a barrage of slashes and cuts with the mighty weapon. While this was happening, energy blasts suddenly burst and opened fire from around the room - not from blasters or third parties, however. Those were hovering spheres of ki set up by the Emperor at the last seconds to serve as energy sentries and turn the battlefield into a yet another advantage of his.

(534 words)

Atreus , NOTES

Polaris's sudden combination of energy sentry barrages and a flurry of slashes with the Sword of Greenskull was met by an unwavering defense. Whoever this 'Heimdall' was, they certainly weren't a newcomer to martial arts - using refined reflexes, finesse and plenty of luck to block, dodge and deflect all of the attacks heading their way, and responded with a barrage of their own. A sudden barrage from bullet turrets at point blank range, followed by a sudden energy blade slash which caught the Emperor off-guard and struck his chestplate, blowing him away and leaving a slight singe on his bio-suit.

Polaris stopped with a harsh slide across the steel floor of the bridge, taking a few seconds to catch his breath and search for an opening, to try to make a second offensive. How did he not block that sword slash, when it was so simple?.. Maybe he needs a lot more experience in close quarters combat, then.

"You'll be there wherever I turn? Wherever I expand my Empire? You and what army?" the Emperor replied to Heimdall's comment, snickering. "This isn't a universe where a single man in a suit can play hero and destroy entire nations with just their guts and divine intervention. I've seen way too many of such 'heroes' believe otherwise."

"Or would you like to prove me wrong? Whose orders are you following?"

Polaris didn't bother to wait for an answer, however - this was a perfect opening for a counter-attack. The energy sentries stationed across the room opened fire yet again, and the Frost Demon lunged toward, aiming to strike at Heimdall with a series of powerful blows with the Sword of Greenskull. Chip away that defense of his, get him exhausted. He should be nothing without his suit.

(294 words)

Atreus , NOTES

Heimdall's new batch of retorts was, to put it frankly, putting Polaris on the verge of laughing, although he did his best to not show it and only let out a grin. This man was tapping every single beat of a generic hero facing off against who he believes to be the villain of the week.

Let's see. Speaking about what is right or wrong, check.

Calling out to his friends, check.

'Don't make me laugh', check.

Declaring that the person leagues above him in strength and stature will never be able to stop him and his friends - check and check.

Why was this so funny to him? Well, it was because Polaris had himself immersed deep in similar rhetoric for years before becoming the Emperor of the Galaxy. The people of the Galactic Patrol loved his generic good boy personality and he gave the public exactly that. So now ending up on the other side of the iron curtain, seeing such a hero stand before him, decry him as a villain who has no chance against the power of heroism, was ironic. Nostalgic. Funny.

As Polaris moved the blade of the Sword of Greenskull from joint to joint to deflect all of Heimdall's incoming strikes, moving with refined reflexes just as expected from a fighter of this caliber, the Frost Demon's face contorted to a smirk. Even if none of his opponent's hit landed, they were still pushing him back, even if bit by bit - and this push was finalized by Polaris suddenly sliding back, stopping a few meters away from Heimdall and thus getting out of close combat range.

There was a lot of information to unpack.

"So your allegiance is with Gadon's rebellion, then. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed. Here I thought you serve the Dominion, the Crusher Corps... or anything that isn't a doomed cause."

Polaris's eyes remained locked with the armored warrior's head visor, where he assumed the armor wielder's eyes are supposed to be. Why not engage in a little bit of psychological warfare? It's fun, and it gives him an opportunity to recover a little bit of stamina before the next batch of attacks.

"What will that army of yours reveal to the Galaxy about me, hmm? I could genocide an entire species and the stability of my empire wouldn't budge an inch. My soldiers are instilled with perfect loyalty and my citizens know only what I want them to know. Your little underground radio stations are either jammed or hunted without remorse. Your 'army' is stuck in Earthling territory and resembles more of a refugee horde than an organized force. So what's this panacea to all your troubles and problems that you are hiding from me?"

That second to last comment was actually something to think about. Who was Heimdall? He couldn't be any of the Galactic Patrolmen who broke with the regime and fled to Pepper. The only three Patrolmen Polaris knew who could be strong enough didn't qualify to be the ones wearing this suit. Gadon was dead. Murowski was a hands-off fighter and was not the type to challenge the Emperor all by herself. Audrey was female while this suit's wielder was clearly male, and she wasn't the type to fight with a sword either.

Hold on. There were Earthlings supporting Gadon's insurgents during the Battle of Planet Pepper, right? Polaris could tell that from the footage of the battle he received. And this person was clearly a veteran of that battle, yet not a member of the Patrol insurgents...

But were there any Earthlings so powerful that they could try to challenge the Emperor himself?

He'll have to investigate.

"At this point, there is no force in the Galaxy which can challenge the First Galactic Empire. The Dominion is faltering under the combined Imperial and Kabochan advance. The Frieza Force has disbanded. The Crusher Corps has cooperated with the Empire time and time again, as early as the Battle of Planet Pepper, and they will always respect the highest bidder. Earth is trying to remain neutral in the conflict. Without anyone's support, your rebellion is nothing more than a stubborn holdout denying that the situation has developed against them. The best you and your lot can do is put down their weapons, surrender and hope for my mercy - because the other option is inevitable, pointless death."

"Not for you, of course. An inevitable, pointless death is the only choice you have left. It's a shame, really - the Empire could have used the skills of someone like you."

(761 words)

Atreus , NOTES

Heimdall, unsurprisingly, did not waver yet again, managing to find enough fight in him to give back a retort before going on an offensive yet again. The retort was once again some heroic drivel which Polaris might be less frustrated by had he not repeated similar lines over and over during his tenure as a Galactic Patrolman himself. The incoming attacks, however, were nothing to scoff at. The Earthling, or at least Polaris presumed him to be so, was fighting with the same finesse and reflexes as always, avoiding all of Polaris's blows and blocks to slash across the Emperor's body several times. It wasn't enough to punch through his bio-armor, at least not yet, but it was some early warning signs that this battle might not be going the war Polaris would want it to go.

"If we're talking about flames, embers, energy, then I advise you to look into your own suit." the Frost Demon muttered, deflecting the last of Heimdall's blows and going on an offensive himself, swinging the Sword of Greenskull forward and relentlessly attacking the armored Earthling. Polaris's power level was steadily rising and his ki reserves were recovering ever since the small break to have an intimidation match. "It's a fine piece of technology to be able to stand up against someone of my caliber. Probably eats its battery faster than a hungry Majin, too. And yet you've only put minor scratches on me so far - I wouldn't be so confident in your position right now."

Get inside their head. Make them second-guess themselves. Get them to slip up. The three principles of psychological warfare.

(271 words)

Atreus , NOTES

Ohhh, Heimdall didn't like that, didn't like that at all. While previously the armored Earthling was somewhat composed, if a bit too stereotypically heroic, now he suddenly started swearing, cursing, decrying Polaris as a moron and a tyrant. This was followed by a professionally executed barrage of attacks, a combination of physical strikes and energy blasts. Bringing the deflected Sword of Greenskull back into his hand with his psychic powers, Polaris blocked and nullified as much of the damage as he could, but in the end, he still ended up being pushed back and left with a series of painful bruises and cuts across his skin.

"Of course you're holding back, I'm at least sure of that," the Frost Demon muttered in response to Heimdall's boast. "If you weren't, I'd have thought you actually were suicidal."

Still, this battle is not going the way he planned. It's turning into a war of attrition which Polaris was not trained for. And this suit most likely allows Heimdall to breathe in space, so simply destroying this ship, no matter how expensive it would be, is not an option...

Using his psychic powers, Polaris reached out to the Ultramarines, scientists and ship staff gathered near the escape pods of the ship.

"I want one or more of you to get back to the ship's bridge and send all of the information we have stored back to Mitra. Any blueprints, design details, and especially security camera footage. And quickly. I give you, at most, a few minutes."

Half a dozen voices instantly responded to him, some shocked, others asking on his well being, some more saying that they'll do as requested. Polaris closed the telepathic link and moved his focus back to Heimdall, immediately lunging forward yet again to send a barrage of sword slashes the Earthling's way.

(305 words)

Atreus , NOTES

The dual energy blast released by Heimdall sent shockwaves across the entire spaceship. Windows shattered across the entire engine room, even the prototype in the center got blown back by the sheer pressure released, and a cloud of dust formed where Polaris once stood. For a few moments, it appeared as if victory had been assured.

Suddenly, however, the explosions ringing across the spaceship came to a screeching halt, while a thick purple aura began to permeate across the walls and floor of the engine room, and soon, the entire spaceship. The cloud of dust dissipated, revealing a somewhat wounded, bleeding Polaris, his right hand still holding the Sword of Greenskull, and his left clenched, glowing brightly and stretched to the side.

As it turns out, an energy shield had been placed upon the spaceship, keeping its structure stable for the time being - a duct tape solution to a spaceship exploding, but a solution nonetheless.

"Fighting against villains who think that self-destruction is the way to go had been one of hobbies in the Galactic Patrol, you know." the Frost Demon muttered, using the blade of his sword to carefully remove a drop of blood running across his chin.

I don't know how long this energy shield will last, and it's been a long time since I've tried to put one on something this big, but assuming that my soldiers are running towards the bridge like hell, as much as fifteen seconds might be enough.

Of course, this is assuming that this battle can last fifteen seconds. My left arm is now out of the fight and my energy reserves are depleting. And this son of an Arlian whore doesn't even know the meaning of the word 'exhaustion'. Or, I'm sure that's what he would tell me if I were to ask.

Let's see, which attack would waste the most of Heimdall's time? Oh, I know.

The blade of the Sword of Greenskull suddenly began to glow, taking on a thick purple aura, moments before Polaris suddenly swung it across the air, releasing a barrage of energy javelins aiming to impale the armored Earthling, or at least stick into his armor.

(362 words)