Chapter Text
Bulma held her breath as she heard the heavy, thudding foot steps around the corner.
Clunk, clink, clunk.
The hard boots of the soldier thudded across the metal flooring as he crept closer. This would be her only hiding place. She had to hurry. In a few seconds, the soldier was going to spot her, here desperately trying to hack into their systems in an attempt at opening a secured door.
Silently, she cursed Jaco for all that he was worth...
A day earlier...
“Bulma! My favourite Earthling that I don’t entirely hate.”
One sunny day, a familiar round ship the Briefs hadn’t seen in years landed at the Capsule Corp. Out jumped a short purple guy she knew all too well.
“Jaco! Gosh, I haven’t seen you in years!” She ran up to him, grabbing his wrists excitedly. “How’s space??”
Jaco gave her a dumb stare. “Eh.. Space is... Good? I suppose?” He gazed around quickly, as if to make sure no one was listening in, before whispering; “Listen, I’m actually on a top secret and highly dangerous observation mission in the very-near galactic neighborhood. Say, you haven’t seen small, round white spacecrafts entering your atmosphere lately?”
“Uhh... Not that I’ve seen...” Bulma scratched her head in confusion.
“Right. I forget you’re still a child, you probably don’t surveillance the skies like your old man, huh??” Jaco mumbled, entirely oblivious to the other imminent threat that was suddenly fuming next to him, before continuing, “Well, I’m gonna go ask him. Fix my ship while I do, alright?? There’s a tiny puncture in my oxygen tank and something’s rather iffy with the ship’s software. It keeps glitching. Okay, thanks Bulma! No one can fix it quite like you~!” He gave her a wave and hurried inside, leaving Bulma to boil and seethe.
“You.... YOU JERK!!!” She screamed after him, but either he didn’t hear or he (cleverly so) ignored the incoming storm of the dangerous young woman.
Bulma had half a mind to ignore the ship and go back to her own business, but something about repairing a real alien spacecraft once more, awoke that natural excitement and curiosity inside her. After heading inside for some equipment, she's armed with a small scanner of her own invention, a wrench and a screwdriver set, as she starts her repairs. Climbing into his ship, she begins inspecting the apparently punctured oxygen tank underneath the control desk.
“Ugh... Has his ship always been this tiny??” She grumbled, feeling sharp edges stabbing into her soft flesh from every angle. “I mean, I get it, he’s a tiny little alien guy and I’ve grown quite a bit since last time I was in here but still...! I feel fat!”
She closes her eyes in despair for a moment, feeling a loud sob escape her lips as she tries to reach the tank underneath.
“Oh come on, just... Ugh! Just a bit... further...!”
As she stretched, she flung a leg out, trying to kick herself further in underneath the tiny compartment. What she didn’t realize is that she’s kicked onto a joystick in the driver’s seat, accidentally pushing it back until it breaks clear off.
SNAP! CLICK!
“Uh oh...” She manages to say just as the ship rumbles and boosts up its engines.
“STORED COORDINATES FOUND. ACTIVATING AUTO-PILOT. INITIATING LAUNCH SEQUENCE.”
The ship’s voice rung out around her and she scrambled back out from underneath the desk, just in time to see the protective glass dome close over her.
“HUH?! No, no, no, NO!! This is bad! This is really bad!! How do I cancel the launch??” After scrambling into the alien keyboard in front of her to no avail, she could feel the ship slowly ascend off the ground. Panic grabbed her suddenly, and she hammered wildly on the glass.
“JACO! JACO, HELP!! YOUR STUPID SHIP IS GONNA LAUNCH ME INTO SPACE! JACOOOO!!! AHHHH!!”
She screams as the ship jets straight up, promptly leaving the Earth’s atmosphere and carrying her off into the vast darkness of space...
...
In hindsight, she felt impressed at how long the ship lasted before it started malfunctioning. First she realized what Jaco meant by “glitchy software” as everything kept flickering and the ship’s binary kept resetting whatever changes she tried making. She couldn’t for the life of her cancel the operation, and as soon as the ship went into light speed, she knew she was in big trouble.
Then the minor engine problems began. She had no problem fixing them, but when her oxygen levels suddenly plummeted from a leakage, there was only a matter of time before she would run out. Luckily for her, the set coordinates brought her close to whatever Jaco had been looking for.
The ship’s radar blared suddenly, lights darkening in the small cockpit.
“TARGET AQUIRED. INITIATING STEALTH PROTOCOL NUMBER SIX-ZERO-FIVE-FIVE-NINE.”
The ship went dark, only tiny LEDs blinking softly as it approached its “target”. Bulma held her breath, noticing the large ship suddenly approaching above her.
“Oh my god, now what?? Can we just go home to Earth? I’m too young and beautiful to die like this!”
The ship rotates and locks itself quietly to the belly of the large ship. She hears a soft humming noise, before a round hole opens underneath her, exposing what had happened. It had sliced straight through the other ship, seemingly to give her an entrance in. A faint, blue force field shimmered over it to protect everyone from the vacuum of space right outside.
Bulma trots back and forth impatiently, wondering what to do...
So, I can’t go back... The ship’s condition is no good... At least I have air now, but... Arghh, I can’t just stay here! I wanna go home! ....maybe, this ship has an engine room with spare parts I could use to fix it? Maybe the crew is even friendly? Maybe...
Jaco’s words suddenly rings through her mind:
“I’m actually on a top secret and highly dangerous observation mission in the near galactic neighbourhood. Say, you haven’t seen small, round white spacecrafts entering your atmosphere lately?”
She freezes, typing hastily through her ship’s computer. The screen comes back with a visual scan of the ship she's now lodged onto and she spins the holo-image floating in front of her. She zooms in on the bottom of the ship, not too far from her own... White, round objects pokes out at the bottom.
Escape pods?
Could that be what Jaco talked about...? Dread overtakes her.
Aghh! Do I really have to do this?? I’m not a secret agent! Or a fighter! Or a... galactic police officer...? If only Tights was here! She’d know what to do!
She grabs her hair in frustration, considering every other possible way out. There was none. If she wanted out, she’d have to fix her ship. But odds were everyone onboard this ship were dangerous criminals...
Okay... Okay... Hey! At least I have my trusty gun with me! And some emergency capsules still in my pocket! Oh! And maybe if I bring my bypass scanner with me... Could come in handy?
Feeling at least a little bit more confident, she took a deep breath before climbing down.
The first thing that greets her was vertigo, as this ship’s artificial gravity pulled her back down through the hole. She was climbing through a floor, she realizes, clumsily trying to wrap her legs and arms over the edge to hoist herself up. Suddenly up was down, and down was up and she gazes around, feeling nauseous and miserable.
Well onboard, she realizes she's inside a large cargo room, well-hidden behind large and small crates of all sizes. This must have been a pre-planned spot to infiltrate the ship, as it was an entirely perfect starting point. She gets to work, opening a few crates, hoping to already find tools or spare parts, but to her disappointment, they only contain peculiar-looking armors. She holds it up, inspecting it. It felt sturdy, but light. Bulky, but flexible. They all had weird, pointy shoulder tips.
While sneaking around the cargo hold, she spots more than one soldier wearing the same stuff. A plan forms in her mind and she smirks.
She finally emerges from her hiding place, now fully dressed in armor. Like this she could easily blend in and look for a maintenance room or some form of workshop.
It works on the first couple of soldiers she meets. Hiding her long blue hair inside a black piece of cloth to blend in better, she walks stiffly past the crew along her way, barely nodding at them as they pass her.
... This one however, looked mean. She had snuck a peek at him from around a corner. He didn’t look much older than herself. Long, spiky black hair standing straight up, his piercing gaze boring into anyone who dared get in his way. A small device on his face with a red glass would light up here and there, judged by where he looked. He seemed furious, and the inexplainable dangerous aura surrounding him gave her the creeps.
She had tried avoiding him, scuttling further into the ship, but no matter which way she went, he seemed to take the same path, constantly approaching behind her. She urged forward, staying ahead of him. That was, until the corridor ended in front of a large door. Making a quick choice, she fumbled with the ID scanner on the wall next to it in a desperate attempt at opening it before he caught up to her.
C’mon, c’mon!
She hammers rapidly into the display and her handheld computer, trying to bypass its binaries. As she types in the last bypass code, she freezes. It had suddenly gotten frighteningly quiet. As the door opens with a low shwoosh, she peeks carefully around the corner again, surprisingly spotting no one there.
“He’s... He’s gone.” She chuckles nervously, feeling relieved but also confused. She could swear she had heard him just now, right here.
Must be a secret passage somewhere in this hall, she concludes, and as she turns back, stares right into those very same piercing eyes she had been fleeing from. She lets out a startled scream, nearly falling, but the man grabs hard onto the collar of her armor, holding her in place.
“What are you playing at, soldier??” He snarls, inspecting her carefully.
“I-...I...!” Bulma stutters, with no clue what to say. “Where in the world did you come from?? How did you do that?!” She manages to yelp out in a tiny voice.
“I could ask you the same...” He spits, his black eyes flickering between her and the open door. He was not much taller than her, though his spiky hair certainly made him appear so. But what he lacked in height, did not make him any less intimidating - far from it.
“How did you open that door?? You are not clarified to enter that.”
“Uhh...” Bulma was sweating. “I dunno, uh, Sir. It was like that when I got here. Maybe a malfunction.”
“You expect me to believe that?? What are you even doing in this part of the ship? This area is for superiors only.”
“Oh!” She lets out a nervous laugh. “I’m sorry. I must have gotten lost. Was looking for the little ladies room. Heh! My bad. Uh, Sir.”
He inspects her face scrutinizing, never letting go of her collar. Noticing her hand hiding behind her back, he yanks it around, making her yelp. Wrenching the scanner out of her grip, he stares at it.
“What...is this?”
“Oh, I...uh...” She trails off, unsure how to answer.
Not waiting for one, he pushes her inside the open door, making her scream in protest. Covering her mouth, he pulls her in and up against a nearby wall.
The room inside is large and dark. Dozens of small LEDs shimmers and buzzes not far from them, underneath what seemingly looks like an enormous windshield. His whole body is pressed against hers to stop her from kicking and punching him and he was still covering her mouth. If only she could grab her gun...
Noticing a blue strand of her hair dangling in front of her face, he looks at it for a second. With one swift movement, he tugs off her headwear, revealing her long blue hair tumbling out and over her shoulders.
“I don’t remember anyone with your description. You’re not a soldier, are you??” He peers at her, his voice soft and dangerous.
Bulma leaves her jaw wide-open, clueless of what to reply. She was busted, and seemingly by one of the more dangerous and smarter ones.
With one click at the device on his face, it lights up even brighter here in the dark, illuminating his face in a creepy red light. The device made a series of beeping noises before it halted abruptly.
“Who...” He starts, his voice growing into a scary raspy growl as he spoke. “Who the hell are you, and where did you come from?!”
“I... I’m just a recruit. A nobod-” Bulma starts, trembling terribly.
“No point in lying to me, woman!” He snaps. “The scouter has no identification on you, and your power level is far inferior to my own, let alone incomparable to the weakest of my men.”
She could feel her frustration slowly replace her fear. How annoying is that scanner of his!
“You rude jerk! Let go of me!” She snaps back, squirming against his strong grip.
He looks taken aback by this sudden change of character.
“You are holding the richest, smartest and most beautiful woman on my planet! I demand to be treated with respect! If you hurt or disrespect me, you’ll have my whole planet on your back! I’m their princess after all.” Her nose shoots up arrogantly, hoping her lie will intimidate him.
“Is that so...?” His eyes twinkles dangerously, a smirk playing on his lips.
“Correct!” She huffs. “I’m a princess! Now will you stop manhandling me and let go??”
“Hmm... No.” He says simply, grinning and tightening his grip on her armor.
“I am Vegeta, the prince of all Saiyans. Royal blood doesn’t scare me. It runs through my veins, after all...”
To be continued...