Disclaimer: All Dragonball Z characters etc belongs to Akira Toriyama.

A/N: IMPORTANT! This fanfiction has no Buu, or Cell in it ppl!! No offense but I CAN'T STAND THEM! Even though Freeza's a dick, he's still the greatest DBZ bad guy ever in my opinion. Anyways I've always loved the Namek Saga, however I always thought more could have been done with it. It had such fantastic characters (Zarbon, Ginyu Force) but they didn't have much of a role to play.

Plus, I always wanted Vegeta and Bulma to get together in the Namek Saga too cos she was so feisty and he was so ...COOL! Not a grumpy old man like he is now *gets beaten up by Veggie fans* O_o Erkwell, anyways, this fic focuses mainly on Bulma, Vegeta, Zarbon, the Ginyu Force (Jeice: YEAH!!) and generally all the characters in the Namek Saga and the trials they come up against amidst the War of Worlds.

Sorry for the long A/N but I always think it's good to let readers know exactly what they're in for ^_~

*~* Journey Through the Stars *~*

Prologue

It was year 52 of the Great Ice-jin Empire's ruling, and Vegeta-sei was dead.

And along with it the entire Saiya-jin race, save for a pitiable handful of survivors. It had not been the first powerful and technologically advanced -to some extent- kingdom to fall at the feet of the vengeful Ice-jin tyrants.

In this 'glorious' Ice-jin Empire, one family ruled on high above all others. Although this powerful and influential family was extraordinarily large and contained many prestigious members, three names continuously hovered inside everyone's mind: the very King Cold himself, and his two sons, Prince Freeza and Cooler. It was not the Cold family which held the Galaxy in the palm of its hand rather than these three tyrants.

King Cold, of course had his favourite. His youngest son Freeza had proved ruthless and impetuous in his youth. Sly and intelligent, Freeza soon took charge of his father's duties and swept across the Galaxy, raping and pillaging the seeds from the soil, spreading devastation across every unfortunate quadrant of space he travelled through, thus gaining the name 'The Frozen Shadow'. With his manipulative father by his side and a figure of power beyond imagination, this 'Frozen Shadow' was at the peak of prosperity and achievement.

However, Freeza wished for more.

One fateful day, the cold Prince realised something. True, there was not a creature in the entire universe which could defeat his awesome power, but there was still one thing which could cease his reign of terror over the galaxy: his own mortality. This thought did not merely frighten him, it terrified him beyond belief. So year after year the power-hungry Prince Freeza searched for a cure to his cursed mortality.

But unbeknownst to him, another shadow lurked in Freeza's own doorway. Cooler had lost his father's attention the very day his younger sibling Freeza had been born. He had come to loathe and despise his younger brother for all his fortune and triumphs. However, Cooler had cunning and something else which his younger brother and naïve father lacked; patience.

The young Prince knew all too well of Freeza's quest for immortality. He also knew how his dear brother planned to achieve his golden, everlasting life: The seven mythical Golden Spheres of the Lost Planet of Namek-sei which would grant any wish to the individual who brought them together.

A ridiculous myth or not, Cooler would use his one good virtue to his advantage, biding his time, collecting power until one day he would strike with the strength of a thousand armies. If these rumoured Golden Spheres truly existed, the power they held would belong to him too and the Galaxy would come under a new reign of order; his order.

But what neither Prince knew was that on a lowly planet, far from the merciless Ice-jin Empire, a small group of three also planned on searching out these legendary Golden Spheres of Namek-sei. These three creatures, two Human and one young Demi-Saiyan, would play a great role in the spectacular events that were to come.

And thus, our story begins.

~*~ @ ~*~

He could barely hear their voices,

"He's using life support!!"

"This is bad, take him to the treatment center now!"

The last thing he heard was the faint whoosh of the Saiyan pod's door as it opened. A rush of hot, humid air surrounded him, making every crusted, bloody gash covering his body sting with venom.

And then his vision turned black as the starless sky above.

~~~~~~~

Beep-beep-beep

The robotic, monotone voice filled the small treatment room where the healing tanks were situated:
'Conditions stabilised. Increase nutrients in underwater environment. Control subject recovery at rapid rate'

The treatment centre was like all others on this small conquered planet which had long ago lost its original name and had instead been branded with a new title: Freeza Planet No. 79.

As the stout, alien Doctor waddled into the dimly lit medical room, he grimaced and heaved a heavy sigh. This place always had an eerie, disturbing feel to it. The single fluorescent strip-light glued to the ceiling, flickered rhythmically above his head. Immediately his expert fingers began to fly across the control panel.

Although the doctor had been stationed on this dreary planet for a good part of his life, he had never gotten used to the smell of the room. The walls were painted a particularly detestable mustard yellow in colour, but still, were marginally clean. However, there were always those unexplainable marks which stained the walls here and there; stains of which no-one could ever or even wanted to remove. These rusty brown smudges were a harsh reminder of the violence and bloodshed which came with the powerful but ruthless 'Ice-jin Empire' the good Doctor had unwittingly joined.

He snorted indignantly. The day he had joined Lord Freeza's so-called Empire was the day his life had become a hollow pit; meaningless and utterly pointless. All his life he strove to become a great doctor so he could go on to save hundreds of lives. In the end he found himself saving the lives of the very creatures who destroyed his world and countless others.

The good doctor shook his head sadly and turned to his unconscious patient who floated silently before him in the healing tanks; Prince Vegeta, the young Saiyan who had recently returned from a vicious battle on a far off planet. His counterpart, Nappa, had not made it back alive, or so it seemed. The good Doctor smiled gently. Ever since Vegeta had been a child he had cared for him. He had to admit that he was quite relieved the Saiyan Prince was still alive. He was the very last of his interesting race after all

When at last Vegeta awoke, he opened his eyes to a green, watery world. It took him a few minutes to realise where he was. His body felt weightless as he floated numbly in the healing tank. All of sudden, pictures of his defeat against the lowly 3rd. class saiyan Kakarott flashed through his mind. Vegeta grit his teeth and growled furiously, tiny bubbles of air bursting free from his oxygen mask. Kakarott Once I've healed, I swear I'll rip your heart out... no one makes a fool of me. Vegeta's onyx eyes flashed wildly, every vein flowing through his body boiling with rage and fury.

"Careful, warrior. You are not yet healed." came a low, gravelly voice from outside the healing tank. Vegeta raised his eyes to meet the stout little beaked doctor. "You are doing well. Be patient, let the tank heal you."

Vegeta managed an irritated grunt before letting his sleepy eyes close, and the darkness take hold of him again. Once he was healed, he would take his revenge

~*~ @ ~*~

A/N: Just wanted to say this fic is entirely dedicated to all authors & random fans of The Ginyu Force and Zarbon! This fic's for you Tabby J Skylark, Crazed Zarbon Otaku, Demon Queen, Sawnya, ginyu chic, Jameta of the Darkness, Zarbon's lover, Son Rhandi... *continues rambling*
Jeice: _ *drags Starkiller away*