Bulma awoke slowly breathing in the stale, sterile air. She didn't want to open her eyes, for she knew when she did her dreams would wisp away like tendrils of smoke from a fire long extinguished. She had dreamt of the ocean again…the bitter salt spray that stung her eyes and danced along her skin, the gentle lapping of the waves against her feet, slowly pulling the gritty sand from beneath her toes, beckoning her further in…calling to her. With every breath, she was reminded just how far away she was from the ocean, any ocean.

Gently rolling out of bed, Bulma walked across the empty room to the wide bevelled window. The light of the distance stars illuminated her small living quarters, speckling her face with brilliant light. It was stunning. But in all of its beauty, she still felt hollow… aching for home, for the feeling of fresh earth beneath her bare feet, for the smell of hot oak, and wild pine. She longed to wander deep into the forests and lose herself. All she had with her here was a simple orchid on her bare table. It was a gift to remind her of home, but it had lost its flowers months before and despite her best efforts it refused to bloom again. So it sat there, slowly withering and wasting away. It reminded her of herself.

She was so far from everything she knew, so far from Earth. Her longing for home reverberated deep within her bones and threaten to curl her spine up, leaving her there folded up like a paper fan.

Taking another deep breath she pressed her face against the glass, it was so thick the icy, void of space had not cooled it. She didn't have time for homesickness. There was an entire quadrant of this galaxy that needed to be charted. She had a once in a lifetime opportunity, one she had fought hard to make a reality. She wasn't going to lose it now over sentiment. She activated the lights in her quarters and stripped her clothes off.

She told herself today was going to be a good day and nothing and no one was going to change that.

She was so very wrong.