Mortal Kombat Saiyan

Coming of Age

"You want us to what?" Riekhan asked as General Kona reiterated, "Help me in freeing Queen Sheeva."

"Why? What could she be imprisoned for?" Jade asked as General Kona began to explain the story of Sheeva's imprisonment.

"As you all know, Sheeva was our queen for years after Gorbak's death. Under her rule, the shokan began to flourish, but some didn't like her rule. They disliked Sheeva's calm approach and how she didn't follow with the traditions the royal family had set. They were all longing for conquest and war, but Queen Sheeva tried to temper their zeal. The shokan are warriors, but at the same time, warriors don't constantly need to conquer and warmonger. That was Queen Sheeva's belief." General Kona explained as the group could now see that Sheeva had actually ruled well.

"Sheeva sounds like a good ruler, but that still doesn't explain why she's imprisoned." Kung Lao said.

"When prince Goro and Shao Kahn returned to life, they quickly took control of the shokan and deposed Queen Sheeva. She's been imprisoned ever since and over half of the shokan population couldn't wait to be back under the thumb of Shao Kahn." Kona explained to the group.

"That sounds like the shokan. Always waiting to follow the nearest conqueror." Jade said while shaking her head in disappointment at the predictable nature of most shokan warriors.

"Yes. Queen Sheeva called out their bloodthirsty tendencies, but it didn't stop them." Kona said as Liu Kang then asked, "So what made you want to free her so badly? Do you plan to turn away from Shao Kahn?"

"After serving under queen Sheeva and prince Goro as their general, I've seen firsthand the difference between the two. Goro bends over backwards to fulfill every single request from Shao Kahn without hesitation. It's like he can't wait to do what the emperor orders him. Then he has us, my soldiers do his dirty work that ends with their deaths. Then when they die, they are mocked relentlessly by him for being 'weak'. He dares to call MY soldiers weak for dying a warrior's death when he himself was killed before!" Kona said as he seethed with anger when thinking about the prince's rapid abuse of power since he returned to the throne.

The group could understand Kona's anger now. It came from a place of frustration and for Kona, enough was enough. With that, Ermac asked, "Are you the only one who plans to rebel? Or are there other like-minded shokan who share your opinion?"

"There are hundreds." Kona answered as he then tried to convince the group to aid him by saying, "If you all help in freeing Queen Sheeva, my warriors and I will aid you in marching on Shao Kahn's coliseum."

Jade, Riekhan, Ermac, Liu Kang and Kung Lao all looked between each-other and started to like the sound of that idea. If the 5 of them weren't enough to guarantee Kitana's rescue, a battalion of Shokan warriors backing them would only help. Riekhan spoke up to the general and asked, "Where is she being held?"

Underneath the coliseum, Kitana woke up and felt groggy. She looked around to see that she was in the coliseum beast pen. "About time you finally woke up, sister." A very bored Mileena said as she was standing outside the cell.

Kitana sighed in vexation at the sound of her sister's voice. Mileena then quickly explained before Kitana could ask, "If you're wondering what's going on, you're being held here until dawn."

"Let me guess. I'm going to be executed at the coliseum, aren't I? Your 'father' is just waiting for an audience." Kitana said, sounding almost bored at Shao Kahn's predictable nature for grand showcases.

"Doesn't that bring back memories, sister?" Mileena asked.

"Bad ones that I'd rather not remember." Kitana answered, not sharing Mileena's enthusiasm for her own execution.