Human Hospitality
by pureleaf
Chapter 25
Let It Burn
Vegeta awoke after six hours, shivering and clammy with sweat. The ship was freezing. Vegeta turned on the dish heater and spent several minutes with his face inches away from its grille.
He changed into another set of thermal clothing, sweatpants, and sweatshirt. With his ki raised high enough that he could almost totally ignore the cold, Vegeta checked his position and sighed with relief when he discovered he was just over eighteen hours away from one of Frieza's private planets.
What the planet's real name was, Vegeta had no idea. It was known only as 00-2A. He'd gone to one of the private planets just once, when he was about twelve years old, under the impression he was actually being invited to rest and recuperate after a gruelling purge mission that had left him with a broken tibia and fractured wrist by the time it was all over. Instead, after spending just enough time in a regeneration tank at a medical station to be considered fit for service again and a quick meal, he took off to the planet, spending close to three months in stasis, only to discover upon landing that he was only asked to visit the planet in order to pick up several hard disks of information and deliver them to the central station on Planet 79, his unofficial "home planet" while on shore leave.
Vegeta could feel his anger growing at the recollection of that incident. His ki spiked and in turn his body temperature rose enough to make him start sweating.
"Eighteen hours. I just need to do another eighteen hours of this. It's no colder in here than in one of Frieza's prison cells. I have food and blankets. I'll be fine."
Thirty minutes later, shivering and with the dish heater turned off again to save power, he called Bulma.
"Hey there," Bulma answered on the second tone, sitting at her lab's workbench, "you holding up alright?" Her hair had been scraped back into a tight bun, a small screwdriver in one slender hand and a pair of magnifying lenses sat perched on the end of her nose. She's been working on something, thought Vegeta, I just wonder what.
"Just the slightest chill in here," Vegeta smirked, "I have a question for you."
"Shoot."
"With this lack of power on-board and now the cold temperature, is there anything I should consider before making a landing? I'm a little more than seventeen hours away."
"Hmm," Bulma leaned back in her chair, "turn on your taps and keep them on, even if nothing comes out. Your fresh water supply is probably freezing up and I'd rather not have you call back to tell me a pipe burst or something."
"Understood. Anything else?"
"Not that I can think of. Your landing might be a bit shaky, so make sure you've secured everything inside the ship. As I said before, expect to spend some time on whatever planet you're going to. Do you think it'll be safe there?"
"Nothing I can't handle, assuming there's actually anyone on the planet. All the sentient lifeforms were eliminated decades ago before Frieza built his hideous vacation house there."
"Oh, you're familiar with this place. That's good to hear. We'll have to cut this short, Vegeta, in the interest of conserving power on-board the ship..." Bulma brought her hand over the disconnect button.
"Then good-bye." Vegeta disconnected first.
Back on Earth, Bulma cursed when she realized Vegeta had beat her to the punch. Man, is he ever going to get an earful from me when he gets back, she thought, going dead silent for months on end, only to call when he's in trouble. What a jackass!
Vegeta cycled between dozing and watching his progress towards 00-2A on the central computer. He'd turned on the taps as Bulma told him to, and no water came out. His bottled water was freezing up and his food rations wouldn't warm-up in their packet in such extreme conditions.
Finally, he felt himself entering planet's atmosphere and the familiar, welcome glow produced by the heat of his descent made the corners of his mouth curl up with pleasure. The ship groaned from the sudden temperature change as it fell towards the ground and Vegeta's innards felt like a mass of tight knots as he heard the gears for the landing pads start to turn and the ship's collection of legs extended out. He fastened the safety harness across his chest and hips, shut his eyes, and concentrated on relaxing as he came in for a landing.
Like Bulma had warned him, it wasn't the softest of landings. He bounced up in the seat and the harness caught him hard enough to make him grunt and tense up, making the slam back into the seat just a bit more uncomfortable.
Vegeta was slow to unfasten his harness and open the doors. He peered out the port window, its layer of ice melted away during the descent towards the planet, and his large eyes turned into slits at the sight of radiant daylight.
The door was slow to open, some of its mechanisms still returning to a normal functioning temperature, and in the background Vegeta could hear the faucet in the kitchenette start to drip. Daylight flooded the interior of the ship as the door opened, causing the Saiyan to cover his stinging eyes with his hands and snarl as he waited for his vision to adjust. After so long in the dark and cold, returning to warmth and light was almost too overwhelming for Vegeta.
After close to ten minutes, Vegeta rose from his seat, splayed fingers still partially covering his eyes, and he took the staircase down and walked into the light.
Fresh, unpolluted air filled Vegeta's lungs and it was enough to make his heart race with excitement. He turned his head up towards the planet's warm sun, eyes still shut, and stretched his arms out, expanding his chest to allow for even deeper breaths. The Saiyan's skin was practically tingling, whether it be from pleasure or his skin burning Vegeta did not know nor did he care.
When he finally opened his eyes and found his vision had adjusted to the light, he discovered he'd landed roughly two hundred meters from a freshwater lake. Around him was lush foliage, bright flowers, and towering trees as tall as the skyscrapers he'd seen on Earth.
Vegeta pulled off his sweat-drenched clothing and spent several hours laying lakeside, letting his skin and hair grow hot underneath the sunlight and even contentedly dozing off a few times. When he finally felt like moving again, he returned to the ship and found the kitchen faucet running. He checked the bathroom and found the sink and shower were running normally again, along with the toilet.
With the water back on, Vegeta took a long shower before going into the kitchenette to eat two packages of rations. Belly full and skin clean, Vegeta changed into a pair of running shorts and went to the pilot's chair to call Bulma.
Again, she accepted his call after only a few rings, this time lounging on a couch with her hair loose and her shoulders bared in her loose sleep shirt.
"Good to see you made it. How did it go?" She imitated the Saiyan's wry smile and noticed the ship's interior was filled with sunlight. Must have landed somewhere good, she thought, if he's hanging out in there with the door wide open.
"Not the best landing," Vegeta found himself staring at her shoulders, "but not the worst I've ever had, believe me. You look good. I left the taps open like you said and the water's running again. Being able to take a proper shower again was nice."
"And you have a sunburn," Bulma retorted, "you must be somewhere gorgeous, huh? What's it like there?"
"Ah," Vegeta looked at his pink legs and arms and immediately wondered about the state of his face, "you're right. But it'll fade into a tan soon enough, I'm sure. Anyway, you said I have to spend a few days here so the power cells can recharge, correct?"
"At least you're listening now," Bulma fought to refrain from rolling her eyes.
The Saiyan could only respond with a dry, derisive laugh. "Aha, yeah. Listening now. How's Earth?"
The engineer imitated Vegeta's laugh. "Practically same old, same old. My dad and I are working on a new Capsule Corp ship, since you've decided to borrow the only other model. We're already discussing the installation of new, improved safety features, better water flow to the on-board shower like you suggested, and an emergency shut-off for the gravity simulator. To tell you the truth, Vegeta, your knowledge on space-travel and the technology out in space would really come in handy right now. Do you realize it's been more than ten months since you took off?"
The Saiyan's eyes widened and he added up all the days, coming up with the same number as Bulma. Almost an entire year had passed since he'd taken off, and he'd spent a fair chunk of it in total isolation. "I'll have to plan some sort of itinerary. Do me a favour and send me some photos of the night sky directly above your house- if I can get a look at the constellations from your point of view, it'll allow me to figure out where Earth is in its orbit around your sun and determine the direction... or directions, even, that I'll take in order to return to Earth in time."
Bulma's bright eyes were shining and wide. "You're... you really are gonna come back?"
"I said I would," Vegeta shrugged, "and if I said so, then I mean so."
"I honestly thought you had perhaps died after I didn't hear from you for months on end, Vegeta. Especially considering that little talk we had after you'd been wounded..." her voice shook, recalling their awful conversation.
"The wounds weren't so bad. I healed up just fine by myself. Anyway, I'm going to go. I'm hungry and sick of eating packaged rations."
"I'll send you those pictures as soon as possible. Vegeta, take care of yourself, wherever you've landed."
"Yeah," the Saiyan gave Bulma another little shrug before disconnecting.
The Saiyan watched the sun sink behind the trees and the sky quickly turned dark. Across the lake, he could spot a collection of lights and waited for them to move or spread out, but after ten minutes of watching and waiting he realized the lights would continue to remain static.
It's a building, he thought, it's probably one of Frieza's hideous vacation homes. He took the time to close the ship's door before taking off in the direction of the building, the worry that somebody might be there rumbling in his gut.
He flew slowly, checking the water and shores for any lights or figures that may have appeared. Nightbirds and insects sang in the distance, filling the hot night air with some strange chord that raised goose pimples on the Saiyan's bare arms as he approached the lights.
When he arrived at the source of the lights, Vegeta circled the massive spherical structure twice, peering inside windows and strolling across a huge deck, and he decided that there was nobody there. He fired a blast of energy at a wall of windows and went inside. It didn't take long for Vegeta to locate a large kitchen, and he easily located a massive collection of fine wines and liquor displayed in a climate-controlled walk-in cellar.
"Thank you for the provisions, Frieza!" Vegeta picked up random bottles of wine, returned to the kitchen, and started hurling bottles at the walls. Glass and dark wine splattered across white walls and marble floor, windows were shattered, and a particularly fine-looking tapestry on display in an adjacent dining room made by an unknown race (presumably long-dead by Freiza's order) was ruined in the process. He returned once more, taking wine that looked appealing, and continued through the house.
Everything was cold and white, like Vegeta came to expect. Rooms were sparsely furnished, some none at all, and aside from the tapestry that hung in the dining room there was no art to be seen, aside from the occasional set of black or purple columns placed near doorways.
"Hideous, all of it fucking hideous!" The Saiyan tipped over a glimmering black column and it crashed onto the floor, cracking into chunks. "No taste whatsoever!"
Finally, Vegeta came to a room featuring a row of four black seats set before a black desk with no seat behind it. The wall behind the desk had been replaced with a massive glass-covered fireplace, and when Vegeta noticed the tiny valves controlling the flow of natural gas, he had an idea.
Vegeta smashed open the wall cover, extinguished the pilot light located at the end of a thin copper pipe underneath a layer of glittering rocks, and turned on the gas so it started to fill the room. The Saiyan then threw another bottle of wine at a window to shatter it without resorting to ki and swiftly flew away from the building, his remaining two bottles tucked under his left arm.
Back on the other side of the lake, Vegeta concentrated, pointed two fingers at the building, and fired a thin, powerful beam of energy directly at it. Two seconds later, the building erupted into flames. Within three minutes, the fire was spreading so quickly and rising so high into night sky that Vegeta almost felt a little warmth reach his face. Five minutes later and Vegeta heard a small explosion and watched as the building was completely engulfed in flames.
Vegeta twisted the cork free from a bottle of wine and raised it in a silent toast. He grinned and took a long sip of warm, dark wine before taking a seat at the edge of the water.
To Be Continued