Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Mountains Among the Stars

​Months bled into a relentless, high-octane blur of deep-space patrols, narrow escapes, and brutal skirmishes against the darkest corners of the cosmos.

​The transition from Middle Commander to General Commander hadn't just come with a fancier badge and a sharper, reinforced black uniform; it came with absolute autonomy. I was no longer chained to routine bureaucratic red tape or forced to log every minor patrol vector. I had the authority to move freely across sectors, requisition advanced interstellar vessels, and take whatever classified detours I pleased.

​Yet, through all the promotions and hazardous sector sweeps, I still kept Jaco by my side. Partly because his frantic, neurotic commentary was a mildly entertaining anchor to reality, but mostly because having a registered Galactic Patrol vessel gave our movements a convenient, official cover as we hunted down the universe-shaking artifacts I had bullied out of Zuno.

​Now, standing on the observation deck of our newly upgraded patrol cruiser, I looked out through the reinforced viewport at the breathtaking, terrifying emptiness of deep space.

​"I still don't understand why a General Commander needs to personally survey the Zero-Crest asteroid cluster," Jaco whined from the pilot's seat, his fingers hammering frantically against the navigation console as he adjusted our trajectory. "We’re completely off the grid, Krillin! No patrol routes, no backup, and we're drifting right into the dead zone between Universe 6 and 7. If the commander-in-chief finds out we’re joyriding out here, my career—and your fancy new jacket—are going to be space dust!"

​"Relax, Jaco," I replied smoothly, leaning my weight against the bulkhead, my arms crossed over my chest as the dark, jagged silhouette of an ancient cosmic graveyard drifted into view. "Think of this as a special reconnaissance directive. Highly classified. You're making history, and you don't even know it."

​Jaco let out a high-pitched, stressful squeak, shooting a skeptical glance back through his yellow visor. "History? More like a suicide mission! Look at those coordinates! Nothing lives out here except space debris, rogue anomalies, and things that haven't seen a living soul in millions of years."

​He wasn't entirely wrong. The Zero-Crest cluster was a haunting expanse of shattered planetary remnants, floating like the broken bones of a forgotten titan in the dark ocean between realms. But according to Zuno’s exact words, hidden somewhere deep within this drifting wasteland was our very first target:

​A Super Dragon Ball.

​The ship’s proximity alarm let out a low, rhythmic ping, cutting through the tense atmosphere of the cockpit.

​Ping. Ping. Ping.

​"We're entering the primary debris field," Jaco muttered, his hands gripping the controls so tightly his knuckles turned pale. "Dropping shields to minimum to avoid sensor static. If we clip one of these asteroids, our hull is going to crack like an eggshell."

​"Steady, Jaco. Bring us around that largest fragment on the starboard bow," I instructed, my voice unwavering.

​As the ship glided past a massive, continent-sized chunk of ancient planetary rock, the external floodlights sliced through the pitch-black void, illuminating a sight that made even my breath hitch in my throat.

​Drifting silently in the center of a ring of pulverized space dust was a sphere of incomprehensible, jaw-dropping scale.

​It was a glowing, golden orb, etched with a distinct red star right at its center, radiating a subtle, majestic pulse of divine energy that could be felt even through the hull of the ship.

​Jaco slammed on the brakes, staring through the viewport with his mouth hanging wide open, his visor fogging up slightly from his hyperventilating breath.

​"By... by the stars..." Jaco whispered, his voice trembling with a mixture of awe and absolute terror. "What... what is that thing?! It's... it's the size of an entire moon!"

​"Not a moon, Jaco," I said softly, a slow, triumphant grin spreading across my face as I stared at the colossal orb. "That is a Super Dragon Ball."

​"A Dragon Ball?!" Jaco shrieked, nearly launching himself out of his pilot's seat. "Are you out of your mind?! Earth has Dragon Balls that fit in the palm of your hand! You can put them in a backpack! How on earth are we supposed to carry something the size of a celestial body?! Do you expect me to tow a planetary boulder behind this patrol ship?!"

​He was right. Standing there in the cold silence of space, the logistical reality of what I had set out to do finally hit me like a freight train.

​The Super Dragon Balls weren't magical trinkets you tossed into a pouch. They were planetary-scale monoliths, each one spanning thousands of kilometers across, scattered across two entirely different universes. In the original timeline, gathering these colossal spheres required specialized, continent-sized transport cubes engineered by gods and supreme beings.

​How the hell am I supposed to gather these things? a small, logical voice echoed in the back of my mind.

​I stood in absolute silence for a moment, staring out at the glowing golden giant floating in the abyss. The memory of my old life—weak, constantly terrified, getting blasted through stone walls while waiting for Goku to save the day—flashed behind my eyes. I remembered the heavy, suffocating panic of waking up in a short, bald body, knowing that world-ending deities and immortal monsters were waiting just around the corner.

​I let out a slow, deliberate breath, feeling the dense, refined ki humming beneath the heavy fabric of my Galactic Patrol commander's jacket.

​I didn't come all this way, break my limits in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and hustle my way to General Commander just to stop at a logistical hurdle.

​"Who said anything about towing it, Jaco?" I muttered, a fierce spark burning in my eyes.

​Jaco blinked, turning his head slowly to look up at me, a look of sheer horror dawning on his face. "Wait. Don't tell me..."

​"Stay right here," I commanded, my voice carrying a sudden, unshakeable weight that left no room for argument.

​Before Jaco could scream another objection, I reached out, hit the manual hatch release, and stepped directly out into the airlock.

​The heavy inner door sealed shut behind me. The vacuum of deep space surrounded me instantly. But thanks to the wish I had locked in with Shenron back on Earth before my training, the absence of oxygen didn't register as suffocation; my lungs expanded naturally, adapting to the cosmic void without missing a beat.

​The outer hatch slid open.

​A wall of absolute, freezing silence hit me, accompanied by the breathtaking, terrifying majesty of the cosmos. Stars stretched out into infinity like a blanket of crushed diamonds, and right before me, dwarfing my physical form into microscopic insignificance, hovered the massive, golden Super Dragon Ball.

​I pushed off the edge of the airlock, my boots leaving the metal deck as I shot forward into the void, leaving a sharp trail of white ki in my wake.

​Wind didn't exist out here, but the sheer momentum of my flight propelled me straight toward the colossal golden sphere. As I drew closer, the red star etched into its surface grew larger than a mountain range, pulsing with an ancient, divine warmth.

​I slowed my descent, coming to a complete stop right against the towering, golden curve of the artifact. I reached out, pressing my gloved palm flat against its smooth, impervious surface.

​A surge of raw, cosmic energy rippled through my arm, vibrating straight down to my core. It was heavy, ancient, and immensely powerful—enough to rewrite reality itself.

​Back inside the ship, I could see Jaco pressing his face desperately against the viewport, waving his arms frantically and mouthing words I couldn't hear through the vacuum, looking like a panicked alien fish trapped in a bowl.

​I couldn't help a quiet, confident smile.

​"One down," I whispered into the quiet void of space, feeling the unyielding power of my new existence hum through my veins. "Six more to go. Let's see what else the universe has waiting for me."