Hello and welcome to my humble little DBZ story. This story has been floating about in my head for many years, and it's just recently I've decided to put words to paper. I originally posted a story along the same lines under a different username, but I was never pleased with it so now it sits abandoned in cyberspace.

Please enjoy and leave a review!

Crash and Burn

Prologue

"Dropping to sub-luminous speeds in fifteen." The smooth, deep male voice of her pilot rumbled through the internal communications system. Blinking and sitting straighter in her captain's chair she pulled herself out of her boredom-induced haze.

"Good." She sounded abrupt, official, militaristic. Swiveling in her chair she faced the screen. Threads of multicoloured light streamed outwards from the center of the viewer, casting eerie rainbow shadows across the bridge.

"Coming out of super-luminal in five, four, three, two, one. Dampeners firing an—" Just as the rainbow light was fading to show a small blue planet, the pilot's voice was cut off in a spit of static as the entire ship jolted sharply.

Before she could even utter a yelp of surprise, she was flung out of her seat, toppling head over heel toward the screen. It shattered on impact, her body hitting with enough force to send her rebounding. In a shower of glass she smashed to the floor, the air long since knocked from her lungs. "Wha—what happened?" She gasped from beneath the broken viewer, slivers of glass coating with blood as it dripped from her.

"Debris field!" He yelled through the comm, frantic as klaxons blared and red lights pulsed.

"But there's nothing charted her-"

"Engines failing! Losing systems across the grid. I have to put us down!" After a short, desperate clamber she stumbled back into her chair. Smoke began seeping into the room as power conduits sizzled and burnt.

"Find a good landing zone. Away from populated areas." She said with a strained voice. Without the view screen she was left blind.

"Already on it. There's a good spot on the northern hemisphere. Adjusting course." The ship groaned and banked to the side. The floor vibrated violently as the vessel entered the first layer of the atmosphere. If she could see the exterior, she'd see the broad metal nose begin to glow red as torrents of flame shot across the hull. "Brace for impact! This is gonna hurt." The pilot warned, voice taut.

She did as she was told, sinking her fingers into the arm of her shaking chair, feet firmly planted, ready to absorb the impact.

But the crash was too sudden, too strong. Again she was tossed, flailing, into the head of the bridge. The crack of her skull against the bulkhead brought darkness to the corners of her vision and she moaned. Above her the walls buckled and ruptured as the ship crashed into the small blue planet. She attempted to climb to her feet as the metal around her screeched and collapsed. After only a few steps she was crushed to the ground by a section of the broken ceiling. White pain shot up through her shoulder and a strangled cry erupted through her gritting teeth.

Around her the ship reduced itself to shrapnel and debris, but it quieted as the downed vessel lost its momentum and came to a halt.

"Sularon?" She asked, voice strained in pain. Black crept into her sight as the warmth of blood spread over her chest.

"Main power, offline. Life support, offline. Hull fractures detected. Emergency shutdown initiated." The voice of the pilot was far away as the last of her vision receded into blackness and she drifted away into unconsciousness.

Her head was killing her and she could taste the metallic tang of blood on her lips. A groan erupted from her throat as she tried to roll onto her back, but it was reduced to a breathless gasp as pain seared its way across her body.

"Morning," He said, voice sounding tinny and faint. "Still in one piece?" Her body was shaking and she looked down at the source of her agony. A slim piece of jagged metal punctured through her shoulder, pinning her face down against the floor. Fingers gingerly touched the fresh wound and then the metal responsible for it.

"Ah!" She yelped as she braced her free arm against the offending debris and heaved. The pain was unfathomable and it made her yearn for the peace of unconsciousness. She almost gave into the blackness again, but the wet sound of blood on metal forced her to concentrate. With a loud cry and a thunderous clang she was free, blood oozing freely from the hole in her shoulder.

"How bad is it?" Sularon asked, voice deep with concern.

"I'll survive." She said through gritted teeth. "How long was I out?" She grimaced at the blood coating her torso.

"Not long. Ten minutes or so." He sounded pained.

"Are you alright?" She forced herself into a sitting position despite the darkness in her vision. Smoke left the air hazy and thick and it stunk of burning metal and ozone.

"Not really. I can't see and...I'm numb. I can't feel anything." The pilot sounded much more calm than she would have expected. "The impact crippled us. Hull fractures reported in most sections. Half of the tail is gone, and the right engine is somewhere three miles behind us." Sularon's voice cut out momentarily.

"Can we put out a distress beacon?" The wound in her shoulder pumped out fresh blood as she pulled herself to her unsteady feet, ducking under the cloud of smoke. She choked on a breath and covered her face with her elbow, stumbling through the debris to reach a clearer area.

"Communications are offline." The pilot's voice grew quieter the longer he spoke. "I'm going to be gone soon…"

"Sularon? Focus for a few more seconds." She said, sounding slightly more frantic. Walking took a lot more effort than she was prepared for, and she staggered through the doorway.

"I'll...I'll try. I don't have much left."

"I'm coming to get you. I'll be there soon." The corridor was dim and full of debris, making walking more difficult than it already was. The walls were crumpled and whole sections of floor had caved way.

"Xeex, I can't...oh...no." His weak voice went silent. She yelled his name to the ceiling, waiting for a reply. But the only the fizzling crackle of fire and whining scream of metal answered.

If you like it so far, please let me know by leaving a review. The next chapter will be up in a few days, so keep checking back. Cheers!