Meanwhile.
Dalles’s figure appeared once again in the familiar command room.
Only, unlike before, the atmosphere in the command room this time was much more businesslike.
Dalles stood before Frieza and slightly bowed his head.
“Lord Frieza.”
“Mr.
Dalles, perfect timing.”
Frieza tapped his finger lightly against his armrest.
“I called you here today because I have a matter to entrust to you.”
Dalles’s back tensed slightly.
‘It’s finally here!’
‘What must come cannot be avoided!’
“Your subordinate is ready to serve at any time.”
Frieza leaned back in his chair, shifting into a more comfortable position.
“It has been some time since Mr.
Dalles joined the force.”
His tone relaxed, returning to its usual briskness.
“As for your daily performance, I am extremely satisfied in every aspect.”
“Therefore, I believe it is time to give Mr.
Dalles an opportunity to make an official contribution to the force.”
The tip of Frieza’s tail curled up, hovering in the air for a beat.
“This mission is rather special.”
“It is an A-Class promotion mission.”
“Upon completion, Mr.
Dalles will be directly promoted from B-Class to an A-Class designation.”
‘A-Class.’
Dalles quickly reviewed the force’s ranking system that Sarbo had previously explained.
An A-Class designation meant independent command authority, higher supply quotas, greater information access, and the clearance to access database ports locked behind red restrictions.
The coordinates for Earth and Namek could very well be hidden in there.
And Sarbo had also mentioned that to be promoted to A-Class, one’s file must record at least one military achievement personally approved by Frieza.
Frieza’s generosity never came for free.
A promotion mission that he personally arranged would absolutely not be easy.
Frieza watched Dalles’s reaction and tilted his head.
“What is it?
Are you not prepared yet?”
“I am simply overwhelmed by the honor,” Dalles replied, keeping his head bowed and his tone steady.
“It is a privilege to receive Lord Frieza’s recognition.”
“Ho ho ho—”
Frieza chuckled.
“Mr.
Dalles is too modest.
With your battle power, promoting to A-Class is absolutely no problem.
However, the force’s regulations were established back during the King Cold era, and even I cannot easily bypass them.”
After offering that brief explanation, Frieza lifted his chin and looked toward Sarbo.
Understanding the cue, Sarbo stepped forward.
He swiped his fingers across his data terminal twice, and the holographic projection shifted.
The dense star sector data and military deployment maps all faded away.
In their place appeared a planet.
The three-dimensional image slowly rotated in the center of the command room.
It was a blue-green sphere, its surface covered by vast expanses of land and ocean.
The atmosphere was clear, with stretching bands of clouds, and the glowing lights of cities distributed across the planet’s surface could be clearly seen.
This was not a desolate world.
Sarbo spoke up.
“Planet Caren.”
“Located in the Fourth Sector of the North Galaxy, coordinates N-4-2271.”
“A civilized planet that has achieved preliminary interstellar capabilities.
It possesses a unified planetary government and a comprehensive planetary defense system.”
Sarbo pushed up his glasses.
“The population exceeds three billion.”
Dalles’s expression remained unchanged.
‘Three billion people.’
‘A planetary defense system.’
‘Interstellar fleets.’
Sarbo’s voice continued to echo in the command room.
“The reason Planet Caren has become a target is that a client submitted a purchase request through the force’s commercial channels.”
The holographic projection switched scenes.
A commercial file emerged, with the specific amount redacted, but just the visible number of digits was absurdly high.
“The bid is exceptionally high.”
Sarbo lowered the terminal to his side.
“But Planet Caren’s government rejected all negotiations.”
Dalles glanced at the commercial file.
‘I see.’
According to the universe’s commercial rules, if a planet’s native government refused to sell, the transaction could not pass the Galactic Patrol’s audit.
The legal route was a dead end.
So this client needed the Frieza Force’s help.
Help with what?
It was simple.
Once the natives were gone, the planet would become ownerless.
The transfer of an ownerless planet did not require the signature of a native government.
Once the legal procedures were completed and the money was transferred, the deal would be done.
This was exactly the kind of dirty work Saiyans used to do.
They were essentially an outsourced black-ops branch.
Frieza watched Dalles’s reaction and smiled.
“Of course, such a trivial matter wouldn’t normally warrant my personal involvement.”
The tip of his tail tapped against the armrest.
“This client is an important partner of our force, and I promised to send my most outstanding personnel to handle it.”
“Naturally, such a highly difficult mission won’t be placed entirely on Mr.
Dalles’s shoulders alone.”
He extended a finger and wagged it in the air.
“The primary party responsible for planning this time is the Heeters, who are also veteran partners of the Frieza Force.
Mr.
Dalles simply needs to appropriately cooperate with their arrangements.”
‘The Heeters.’
Dalles felt a jolt of surprise.
In his memories of his past life…
The Heeters were an organization from a much later story arc.
Although he hadn’t read the specific plotlines, he had still heard of them.
‘To think I’d cross paths with them so soon?’
“I trust Mr.
Dalles won’t disappoint me, right?”
The last time he left the command room, Frieza had sent him off with this exact same phrase.
Dalles replied as usual.
“Rest assured, Lord Frieza.”
“Leave this matter to me.
It will be handled perfectly.”
The tip of Frieza’s tail dropped back onto the armrest.
“Ho ho ho—”
He chuckled, his signature elegant smile returning to his face.
“Excellent.
Then I leave it in your capable hands, Mr.
Dalles.”
He waved a hand at Sarbo.
“Mr.
Sarbo will brief Mr.
Dalles on the specific mission details and the coordination with the Heeters shortly.”
Sarbo nodded.
“Understood.”
…
The scene shifted to deep space.
A large spaceship was traveling at high speed through the sea of stars.
The hull’s paint job and lines made it look like a completely different vessel from before.
The streamlined hull featured a dark gray base paired with the Frieza Force’s standard dark purple stripes, with the force’s insignia painted on the side.
The Dalles.
Dalles had personally changed the name.
He didn’t want to use the name The Destroyer for a single day longer.
When the force’s logistics department learned that Dalles wouldn’t be using the standard single-occupant spherical spaceship, the officer in charge of coordination was visibly stunned.
Those small, spherical pods were standard equipment that the Frieza Force had used since the King Cold era.
They featured extremely compressed space and highly optimized speed—you went to sleep upon boarding and woke up upon arrival.
The standard issue for elite warriors.
They hadn’t expected a powerful warrior like Dalles to reject it.
Then again, large spaceships certainly had their advantages.
Training space, supply reserves, and tactical deployment areas—when executing long-term missions, these things were far more important than a few hours’ difference in travel speed.
The Frieza Force didn’t put up any obstacles regarding this.
Dalles had his own crew, his own ship, and executed missions in his own preferred manner; as long as the results met the standard, it was fine.
In this regard, Frieza was indeed a good boss.
Furthermore, the brothers Rez and Lakasse hadn’t been idle during this time.
Using the resources and technology provided by the Frieza Force, they had completely overhauled the ship from the inside out.
The power system was replaced with the force’s latest propulsion engines, while the shield generators, communication modules, and navigation systems were all upgraded to the force’s active-duty standards.