In the distance, she spotted the sprawling ruins of the ancient villages that Saiyans used to inhabit so long ago. Mud huts constructed by the first Saiyans who survived their journey from the stars and the resulting war against the Tuffles. Now, the dwellings laid long forgotten.
There! She spotted a lone spherical attack ball in the village center where Bardock was waiting for her.
She landed in front of him, out of breath from the exertion of energy and the adrenaline of knowing these may be her home world's last moments.
"You're late." Bardock said urgently with a twinge of annoyance.
"I... know." Gine said between gulps of breath. "Wasn't sure if... I'd stumble across someone looking for us... Plus it's been a while since I had to... fly that fast."
"Right. Forgot you were still too weak to get anywhere in a hurry." He said as if matter-of-factly.
She was slightly hurt by his words. Even after all their bonding he was still as prejudiced against her weakness as everyone else. But she pushed that aside, there were bigger things happening now.
Then Gine realized something when she looked around.
"Where's Raditz?" She asked, her maternal instincts kicking in.
"I'm not sure." Bardock answered. "I sent a message to him letting him know about Kakarot's departure, but couldn't risk telling him everything if Frieza was listening in. But I haven't seen or heard from him in a while anyways. Last I checked he was still with Prince Vegeta's crew. He may be with him now or somewhere else on the planet."
A cold pit opened in Gine's stomach. He couldn't find their eldest son while just about to launch their youngest?!
"Should we at least go look for him?!" Panic and anger rising in her voice.
"We don't have time for that!" Bardock countered. "Frieza could blow this planet up any minute now. We have to at least save Kakarot while we can or else we'll all die!"
Gine wanted to protest but knew Bardock was right, no matter how powerful her motherly love for her other child was. The planet was far too big to search for Raditz in such a short time, and if they die looking for him then they would have wasted a chance to save at least one of their children. For all they know, if Frieza was truly intent on killing all Saiyans, Raditz may be dead already.
It felt like Gine's heart was being ripped out of her chest at that thought. But she couldn't ignore the reality that was happening right now. No matter how horrible this was.
No, as wrong as this was, they had no choice but to try and save one of her children while they could.
Gine turned downcast as she mentally shoved her despair for Raditz aside and tried to focus on the task at hand. Nothing else mattered now, not if the world was going to end.
"Is it ready?" She gestured towards the pod.
"Almost." Said Bardock without missing a beat, for he too had moved past Raditz's survival. Gine was hurt by his callousness over his own son missing but now was not the time for dwelling on it.
Gine walked towards the open hatch of the pod with Bardock, a holographic screen hovered over the spacecraft's main seat.
"It was already programmed with a planet for Kakarot." He said, then typed in a few more commands, then the screen showed readouts and coordinates blurring.
"I didn't want to send him there in case Frieza's men went searching for him, if they go by this particular pod leaving to its preprogrammed destination."
He tapped on the screen again, a map of certain star systems for infiltration being displayed.
"So, I've been searching for other parts of the galaxy to send him to. Somewhere Frieza's forces haven't conquered yet or have no interest in."
He tapped the screen again, more sectors popping up but none of them were to Bardock's liking.
Gine looked at the star maps. They all formed grids within the four quadrants of the spiral galaxy, most of them highlighted in the lower half that marked the extent of the Planet Trade Organization. The fringes of the highlighted areas and blank ones marked where Frieza's forces were focusing on in their conquest or have already taken. All of them were frontline worlds, and Kakarot would be found there immediately so those were out of the equation. They had to search farther and farther, but there weren't that many to count on even as they zoomed out.
Even the most isolated systems at very edge of the galaxy or near the core were no good. They have been extensively mapped and were under consideration by Frieza to see if they are worth taking in order to consolidate his empire's borders. They will certainly detect Kakarot there too and kill him if Frieza was that intent on wiping out all of the Saiyans.