Val kicked out her ankle in the med bay, annoyed by the stupid chain clamped to it. She wanted to leave the med bay, especially now, but as punishment for the destruction of the scouters, she was to be chained up in the med bay by day, and locked in her rooms at night. The scouter, the only working one remaining on the planet, in her pocket stayed there powered off and hidden. Everyone else was under the impression she had destroyed them all before she ran off, which helped her keep it safe, and keep the two remaining villages with the two remaining dragon balls safe, at least for now. It also would give her the chance to get away and find the Great Elder, if she could manage to escape again...
She grumbled, feeling her back stiff from the bandages Appule had put on there for her to heal before he was sent out to track down one of the other villages. She was cleaning out the newer tank, trying to ignore the conversation of the two other of Frieza's men, gossiping while running dissecting and running experiments on the body of a dead Namekian on the other side of the room. She did not know the brother they were experimenting on, but she did her best to ignore what they were doing, but was not much able to block their vulgar conversation about the women each of them had enjoyed in their own conquests throughout the years. Their graphic words made her want to cover her ears. It was nothing like what her mother and then later, Asa had taught her about ago when it came to relations between spouses and lovers. She felt sick to her stomach to hear of the way one of the men had bragged about his treatment of a prostitute from Planet Frieza 79 and how he wished to return there once their stint on Namek was over.
A sudden rush came into the room, thankfully making the two other men shut up. Val stood up, looking to see what the commotion was. She felt the chain on her ankle jerk, making her grumble in annoyance. She saw Zarbon come rushing into the room with an unconscious and injured Vegeta of all people on his back. Appule came running in not far behind him, kicking the other two men out of the med bay by telling them to run their experiments later. He had not told her to leave though, so she stayed put. She backed away from the three of them, watching the scene play out before her, listening to the two of them talk as if she was not there at all. Zarbon had fought Vegeta, nearly killing him, but he managed to survive. He went back for him when Appule discovered Vegeta had destroyed a village and hidden away another dragon ball. He could not be allowed to die, nor escape until that sixth dragon ball was recovered. She bit her lip, watching them gossip about something so much more interesting as they placed Vegeta into the newer tank she just cleaned rather than the older one that was finnicky; the one that nearly drowned someone last time they were in it without a minder to watch over them. Appule set the timer on the newer tank so it would give Vegeta enough time on the tank to heal up, but not completely. That way he would not die, but would not have much of a fighting chance when he would be taken to Frieza to be interrogated. It was best to watch those who were in the tank in case something adverse happened to them, but usually the tanks would either wake up the occupant and drain when they were either fully healed or when the timer went off. Few on the ship knew how the machines worked and how to maintain them. She knew she knew more than Appule did with them, that was certain.
She watched Zarbon leave, looking a lot more relieved than when he came into the room. Appule looked from Vegeta in the tank and then down at her. She looked up at him, trying to look innocent enough not to allow the plan forming in her head to be given away. "Watch him," he ordered her, cocking his head towards the tank.
"Fine," she answered, trying to sound annoyed by the order. Tank occupants, be they the newer or older models, needed a minder just in case of accidental drowning, or the tank malfunctioned, or the person awoke in a panic and damaged it. She huffed, crossing her arms over her chest to settle in for the boring task, feeling the bandages pull on her back. She sat down next to the tank, kicking her foot with the chain attached to it, showing she was not going to be going anywhere anytime soon. She was going to alone at least, but hated that she was going to be stuck with her own thoughts, her own grief for the Namekians she both knew and did not know who had been murdered. She felt a funny sickness rising under her rib cage at the thought of the slow slaughter of yet another peaceful race.
Appule seemed pleased with that, leaving the med bay, with her now alone with a dead Namekian stored in the freezer and a live Saiyan stored in the tank. She stood up, going on her tip toes to look inside the tank. She studied Vegeta, seeing him still asleep, but still terribly stubborn looking. She saw a part reflection of her own stare back at her from the tank as she watched him. He had a dragon ball hidden away, from a village he had slaughtered. On one hand, she hated him, hearing he killed off another village, more of what could be considered her brothers in the term would fit. On the other hand, if he had one dragon ball, even just one, that meant Frieza could never have his wish for immortality fulfilled.
Val looked down at the controls on the tank, trying to keep her breathing steady. She flicked a button, just one button that she knew about, but Appule might not know about. It would make the timer readjust itself if the person in the tank needed longer to recover than the original timer said.
She sat herself back down, settling herself down to wait and watch over the lesser of two evils. "Take all the time you need," she whispered at the tank.