Interstellar Departure

That was more like it. Nuclear-level attacks were no joke. Pleased with the destruction he had caused, Roland continued shouting down at them. His Scouter translated his words directly into the universal language.

"Hand over your spaceship at once, or I can't guarantee my next attack won't hit your city."

"Sir, we really don't have any spaceships here." A Mapa officer said with a pained expression, trembling.

Roland narrowed his eyes, a cold glint flashing in them. "You don't?"

The officer's face turned pale as he stared at Roland in terror. "W-We do, but it's only a cargo ship. We Mapa People rarely interact with those from other planets, so there aren't any advanced ships in a small city like this."

"A cargo ship will do. Can it travel between stars?"

The other man replied bitterly, "It can."

"Good." Roland kept his expression impassive, though he was already rejoicing inside. As long as it could travel between stars, that was enough. He had long wanted to escape Frieza's surveillance.

"Do you have any Scouters?"

Perhaps he had given up hope, because the officer answered more readily this time. "Our Scouters aren't very accurate."

"Bring me one, and take me to inspect the ship you mentioned. Don't try anything clever. You know what will happen if you do. Your people may have powerful weapons, but I doubt this city has any. I can destroy it completely before your reinforcements arrive."

The Mapa officer looked utterly defeated. "Please, follow me."

Led by the officer, Roland arrived in front of a medium-sized ship. It was over thirty meters long and eight meters tall, with an oval shape. Since it was used for cargo, it had an enormous hold.

"Sir, this is the ship. It's the only one here capable of interstellar travel."

Roland was satisfied at a glance. The ship's design and performance didn't matter to him; he only needed a way off the planet. "Remove all the ship's tracking functions. I don't like being monitored."

The officer said, "The ship's systems are all controlled by its central computer. You can choose to turn off the tracking function."

After getting a general idea of the ship's capabilities and taking a basic Scouter from the officer, Roland waved the Mapa People away. He boarded the ship and started up its operating system. With the central computer's help, the cargo ship soon lifted into the air.

Then, amid the Mapa officer's sighs, it quickly left the Mapa city.

As it happened, the Mapa People were lucky. If the Saiyan who had landed on Planet Mapa had been someone else, they would probably have already begun a merciless slaughter.

Of course, Roland himself had no idea whether Frieza would send someone else after he left, in order to eliminate the Saiyan threat.

The ship sped along and, in the blink of an eye, returned to the place where Roland had first landed on Planet Mapa.

The milky-white Spherical Spacepod still lay embedded in the crater in the dry riverbed. The climate here was arid, so even after being left out in the open for over a month, the pod was only lightly coated in dust. Its interior remained undamaged.

Roland copied all the planetary data from the Spherical Spacepod, including Earth's coordinates, and transferred everything to the cargo ship. The work took up most of the day.

As evening fell, stars began to appear in the quiet night sky.

Roland lay back contentedly on the flat ground, which looked like the African savanna. A bonfire burned beside him, with a freshly caught beast roasting over it. He had a ship, food, and the location of his next destination. All that remained was one final round of preparations before he could escape Frieza's pursuit.

Thinking about it, life was full of hope. The sense of urgency he had felt upon arriving in the Dragon Ball world and learning he was on Planet Vegeta had finally faded.

"This cargo ship has a huge hold. It can carry a lot of food. I'll gather supplies tomorrow and fill every bit of that space."

As he planned, Roland jumped onto the top of the ship and leaned back, supporting himself with both hands.

He lifted his head to gaze at the stars. Across the boundless sea of stars, the Milky Way streamed from northeast to southwest like a gauzy veil. Countless stars glittered and sparkled, scattered across the night sky, shining like diamonds.

"Beautiful!"

Roland smiled and lay down on the cargo ship. Before long, he had fallen asleep.

The next day.

The sun shone brightly, and the weather was pleasant.

Warm sunlight fell on him, and its gentle heat gradually woke Roland. After a quick breakfast, he began gathering enough food. He flew back and forth across the grasslands, carrying beasts several times larger than himself on every trip.

Luckily, there was no one else around. Otherwise, his incredible strength would have left them stunned.

After a busy stretch, the spacious cargo hold was packed with edible meat and vegetables. He stored them in separate compartments, and made sure to stock plenty of drinking water as well. Clapping his hands, Roland happily surveyed his work, then pressed a button to have the central computer regulate the temperature inside.

Once everything was ready, Roland took a deep breath and looked at the spacecraft from Planet Vegeta with a complicated expression. He fired an energy blast into it, and it was completely destroyed with a boom. Then he crushed the Scouter in his hand.

This was his way of breaking with Planet Vegeta.

No one would be able to find him now.

In the cargo ship's cockpit, Roland confidently gave the computer an order. "Ship, take off immediately and head for the destination—Earth."

"Beep!"

"Command accepted. Retrieving coordinates for 'Earth' from the database. Coordinates confirmed. Beginning flight mission."

"Destination: Earth, Solar System, southern region of the North Galaxy. Estimated travel time: six months."

"Shall we depart?"

"Depart!"

After issuing the order with great confidence, Roland leaned back in his seat and looked straight ahead.

The ship rose slowly, then shot through Planet Mapa's atmosphere. A powerful downward force suddenly pressed against him. The next moment, the blue planet of Planet Mapa began to recede into the distance.

A little later, its hazy outline vanished from sight.

A smile appeared at the corner of Roland's mouth as he looked forward to his journey to Earth.

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