I do not own DBZ,

A Prince had to have some luxuries in life - even Princes that were subjects to another being. Vegeta's favourite perk was making people who were afraid of him be around him. Not because he enjoyed the fear itself but he enjoyed what it represented and it often helped him to accept his situation. It hurt his pride that he was not yet the master of his own fate, and that fear he felt from others was a comfort to him, and a balm for his pain.
'Fear' was another word for recognition by his standards, and that recognition helped him to remember what he was, what his people were and why he did what he had done for so long now.
The Saiyan race were the mightiest warriors in the universe – they were second to none in ambition and skill save for Freiza.
But of course, Freiza was an individual and one solitary case weighed against the rest of the universe did not make him the rule it made him the exception to the rule, but not for long!

Though the Saiyans were the strongest race in the universe their species had been all but wiped out by an asteroid that had destroyed their home planet. This was story told to the remaining Saiyans by none other than Frieza himself, and who were they to question it?
Well, the fact that they were taking the word of their employer – who just happened to be in the area at the time and apparently didn't see fit to save his best employees from this tragedy was a little suspicious.
and then there was that coincidental fact that Freiza was in the business of wiping out entire species to make way for other beings that he preferred, and his regard for the Saiyans had never been very high to begin with despite their best efforts.

No, Vegeta knew it was more than just a freak accident that had led to his species near extinction. There was a personal edge to it, Freiza could have stopped it but he hadn't.
So that begged the question why?
But Vegeta knew why - there was a state of being that only a Saiyan could reach – the Legendary 'Super Saiyan' rumoured to be even stronger than Frieza!
That was why he'd wanted the Saiyan's reduced to but a handful of men – he'd wanted to stop this legend from being achieved – but fool that he was, he'd left the child destined to become that very legend alive!
From his birth he'd been raised to believe that he would one day attain this status - it was his birth right by blood as much as his royal status and his name was.
So let that fool boast and brag, let him saunter and sit on his laurels. Vegeta would one day cast him down and then the universe would see its true ruler come to power!
The fear he saw in others who were near him was a reminder of the fear that Frieza must also feel deep down inside his cold heart for the Prince of Saiyans.
That same fear was the reminder to him that there was a great destiny waiting for him in the future no matter what he had to do whilst he attained the strength to become what he was born to be; his destiny was to become the Legendary Super Saiyan and nothing, not even Freiza, would stop him!
It was his destiny…

He brought himself to reality as he panted hard and tried to relax into a meditative state. He could feel his power growing within him even as he focussed on harnessing it within his body, he could feel its heat and its might building up beneath his chest like a living animal trying to escape him. With every thump of his beating heart and every pant of effort that escaped his set jaw the feeling intensified until he felt it in every muscle in his body.
It was an elating sensation that made him feel like he was floating, every muscle seemed incredibly tough and heavy but at the same time he felt as light as the air he breathed.

It was disorientating and left him with an out of body sensation at first, but then he focussed his mind and all at once everything returned to normal and his senses came back to him. He concentrated on just keeping himself at that level until his whole universe was comprised of his body and his breathing – all of it level and even, all of it in harmony...
He closed his eyes and willed his essence to rise, to release the beast within himself and let his nature free...
In an instant it all changed – his body heat began to rise quickly and steam rose from his body as sweat was superheated by the rising temperature he was creating from within himself, with his eyes shut tight and his brows knotted he fought to keep it controlled and at a higher but manageable level – if he raised it too high then he'd cause himself harm, maybe even pass out from the strain of it!

But if he did not raise it high enough then this would be a wasted session and pointless exercise because his body would never learn to cope with greater stress and achieve greater power unless it was tested and it learned to endure.
He sneaked a quick glance at the register on the wall… Yes! It was greater than before! The internal scouter that was monitoring him was registering a substantial increase in his power levels!
If he could just hold out a little bit longer…

He gritted his teeth and clenched his muscles tighter, willing them to hold out as he raised his power higher than he'd previously dared. The throbbing of the muscles struggling to maintain their cellular structure as he pushed pure energy through them was intense, his whole body tingled and the muscles knotted to the degree that it was getting painful to maintain his current level.
But still he endured – he had to! The pain of failure would only mean renewed effort – to fail now meant starting again later on and did he want to have to do this all over again later when he was so close to completion at this very moment?
No!
He let out a roar and opened his eyes as the power surged and his heart pounded. The blood rush made his head spin with dizziness and he almost lost his balance. He moved his legs out so he could crouch in a slight squat and he braced his arms into his thighs as his whole body trembled from the pressure he'd been putting it through.
He was past the limit! He'd done it! He held it but a second longer and then he released the power gladly with a push outwards from his chest that vented the power from his body with a blast of heat and air. The shockwave pounded the chamber he was training in and the metal walls shivered. A large dent formed in the wall before him and the scouter on the wall cracked and finally exploded with a puff of smoke.
Sirens and alarms beeped wildly from all around the room – it would certainly spoil the technicians day to fix all this but if he knew what was good for him then he'd still get to work quickly, Vegeta liked to train regularly and his regime had been getting stricter with all this recent inactivity.
He exhaled heavily as he wiped sweat from his brow and went to find something to eat… todays session had been worth it!

In the mess hall he sat alone, Raditz and Nappa were no doubt following his instructions to the letter in tearing up all the areas of interest in this place. Vegeta was being the model of what good behaviour was for a Saiyan; he was eating a lot without consideration if others wanted any of what he was having but he was only picking a fight if someone actually made a move to take his stuff or challenge him directly.
Saiyan culture seemed petty and childish to other species, and to a certain level it was but when violence literally solved every problem there was only so much room for social conduct and etiquette wasn't there?
It was all about how to spoke and behaved. Respect was everything but be too polite or crawly and you might be targeted for being weak or a creep, but be too coarse or boastful and you'd certainly get challenged for being an obnoxious prick who needed to be taken down a peg.

But still, there was a certain simple elegance to it all that made it pretty appealing and at least it was easy to understand unlike some weird cultures with their rules and airs and graces…
In Saiyan society the King got the best food, the best women and the best seat in the house. He got these things because he knew how to fight and win and because he was a winner then it was obvious why everyone should know better than to challenge him for the right to the things he enjoyed.
Of course, there were never any challengers in the time of Vegeta's father. Things had changed by then but the principles had stayed the same. Might made right.
Vegeta took a bite out of some unidentifiable piece of meat and munched on it for a bit when suddenly his earpiece chimed.
He swallowed his mouthful and pressed the button on the side to receive the call.

"What?" he asked in a bored manner as he took another bite of his meal.
"It's Nappa sir, good news! Those idiots you were talking to finally caved in and words come down from above. We've got an assignment!" his retainer said with enthusiasm, you could hear the satisfied smile he no doubt had on his face by his tone of voice.
Vegeta was pleased to hear it but he only grunted in acknowledgement "Well it's about time! Where's Raditz?"
Nappa was silent for a moment as he checked that and then he spoke again "Erm, I'll get him for you sir, shall we meet you at bay three?"
It was the closest launching site and the sensible choice for them to meet. "Fine. I'm going to finish my meal and then I'll see you both there. Don't keep me waiting – if you're late I'll leave you behind!"

He'd do no such thing of course, if his subordinates they had a mission before he did then it was only because the mission was hard enough that it required the three of them to perform it.
Vegeta didn't doubt he could manage by himself if he had to of course, he was an elite after all! But why not take the others along? Even if he was obviously the strongest Saiyan alive those two were still representatives of their race and it wouldn't hurt to put them through a little combat training to make them a little stronger.
Unlike himself his two subordinates didn't seem to train seriously and Vegeta believed that they were both long due a good work out.
The Prince hoped this mission would be worthwhile and his subordinates might actually gain some benefit from it; if things continued as they did then sooner or later they were going to come up against someone worth their time and those two might embarrass him and their race by getting beaten against an opponent they should have been able to handle if they'd actually put the effort in beforehand.

Please R&R, feedback is appreciated.