Chapter 4: Stowaways
It had been three weeks since Vanessa had left earth's orbit. Things had gone fine the first week. Sure the first day had been a little rough, but the excitement of being up in space for the first time had covered up any feelings of loneliness or fear one would normally have. By the middle of the second week, things were still going well. Now it was almost the end of her third week, and the invigorating feeling was starting to wane.
Vanessa pushed away from the controls and leaned backed against her cushy pilot chair. She yawned and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. For the past 3 hours straight Vanessa had been performing systems checks on the ship. She was tired. She glanced down at her watch which was set at Tokyo time. It was four in the morning back home. Everyone was probably sleeping right now, but more than likely they would be up and about in another three or four hours. She wondered what everyone would be doing today.Vanessa stood up abruptly and shook her head. "No, I'm not going to think about that. All it does is make me feel lonely and I'm not."
She stretched and glanced out the cockpit window into space, the endless vacuum of complete and everlasting darkness. She blinked her eyes. "Snap.I'm not going to do that either. I think I need some coffee." She left the cockpit and walked through the empty corridor towards the kitchen. She touched the keypad on the wall, and the automatic doors swooshed open. She stepped inside the kitchen and looked around. It was very clean, almost like it had never been used. She stared at the empty chairs and table that were bolted to the floor. It sure would have been nice to walk in here and be greeted by other.she rolled her eyes. "Get over it, Vanessa. Nobody else is here. For Dende's sake, child, just accept the fact you're on your own again!" Frustrated, she walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a coffee capsule. She clicked it then tossed it onto the counter. For a time, she just stood there watching the steam rise from the cup. Am I.lonely? She picked up the cup and stared at her quivering reflection. What's wrong with me? I never get lonely.never.at least.not since.She jerked her head up. No, I'm not going to think about that. She leaned against the counter and sipped the steamy brown liquid. She stared blankly across the kitchen. Still it would be nice if someone was here. She sighed in frustration and dumped the contents of the cup into the garbage receptacle, otherwise known as the sink. She set the cup on the counter, she'd take care of it later, and walked out of the kitchen. She stopped just outside the door. She debated whether she should go back to the cockpit or to her sleeping quarters. She still had a bit of work to get done. "O, the heck with it. I'll do it later." She trudged off to her room to get some sleep.
She tapped keypad on the wall and, again, the doors swished open. She ignored the unoccupied bunks and headed straight for her own, the lower one on the left side of the room. She collapsed on her bed face first and nuzzled her Hello Kitty pillow for comfort.
Why hadn't anyone contacted her? She had been sending transmissions everyday but received no responses. All her systems checks showed that the communications equipment was working fine. Did this mean no one was sending her any transmissions. This was very bad because, if a malfunction or problem occurred that was too big for her to handle, she was screwed. Besides that, as much as she hated to admit it, she was getting kind of lonely up here all by herself.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I thought I'd be ok. I mean.I've been alone for almost my entire life. Why wouldn't I be ok now?" She let out a long sigh. "Maybe I shouldn't have requested that this be a solo mission." She turned over on her back and stared up at the underside of the top bunk. "Man.I almost wish I had let chibi Trunks and Goten come with me." BAM!
"OUCH!"
"URASEI, BAKA!"
Vanessa gasped and sat straight up. What on earth, or in space, was that?! She was supposed to be alone on this ship. Who or WHAT the heck was that?! Vanessa jumped out of bed and back away from the door. Whoever had made those noises was out in the hall. It had sounded like it had been more than one person. Were they waiting for me to fall asleep and then they'd come in here and. Vanessa snatched the gun she kept holstered to her side. Bulma had insisted that she have some sort of weapon with her. It was a modified stun gun. It could shoot up to thirty feet away. Luckily, Vanessa had taken the time to strap it to herself instead of leaving it packed away in the storage compartment. It would not have done her much good now. I still don't know how much good it will do me if they have real guns. What if they don't even need weapons? She remembered piccolo. There were really aliens out there and many different kinds. Heck, even her boyfriend was an alien. Vanessa blinked. Did I just call Trunks my boyfriend? "O, who cares if you did?" She said out loud. "The point is he isn't here to blast these creeps away for you. You have to do it yourself." She listened for more noise. Nothing. She had two options. She could lock the door and sit in here while Mr. "Ouch" and "Shut up, idiot" took over the ship. Option 2, drive them out by force. She glanced down at the stun gun. "Gee, I feel so confident. Well, it works in New York" She touched her cheek, the one Trunks had kissed. "Hope my luck hasn't run out yet." She focused on the door. Her breath quickened and her heart started pound. Ok. I'm going in.
The corridor outside was completely empty save for millions of dust particles floating through the air. The door to the living quarters whooshed open; no one came out. Vanessa jumped through the door, did an awkward roll, jump to her feet, and slammed her back into the opposite wall. She turned from left to right, checking that the hall was empty. It was. She sighed and relaxed a bit. "Man, I must have looked so incredibly dorky just now." She heard someone chuckle to her right. "Who's there?" She thought she heard someone say "O, crap" She didn't hear any sounds of movement, though. She began to move cautiously down the hall. She was moving towards the cockpit. Of course, once they're in the cockpit they would basically have total control. She kept moving forward listening for any other sounds. Nothing. Suddenly, she felt something drop down behind her, almost like it had fallen from the ceiling. There came a high pitched screech that almost stopped Vanessa's heart. She screamed at the top of her lungs and jump forward. At the same time, she whirled around and started firing the stun gun wildly. This wasn't a very good idea. Suddenly whirling around had caused her to loose her balance, jumping forward made her trip over her own feet, and, of course, wildly firing any kind of gun is never a very good idea. Vanessa fell back and slammed the back of her head on to the ground. She lay there dazed waiting for the intruders to attack her now that her guard was down. She could feel her mind slipping. I guess must have hit my head pretty hard. She tried to hold on long enough to at least see what the aliens looked like. They were coming towards her now. They're very small, almost like children. Wait.the taller one..is that.lavender hair? Vanessa blacked out.
So what did ya think? Let me know with a review. O, here are the translations
Urasei - shut up Baka - idiot
It had been three weeks since Vanessa had left earth's orbit. Things had gone fine the first week. Sure the first day had been a little rough, but the excitement of being up in space for the first time had covered up any feelings of loneliness or fear one would normally have. By the middle of the second week, things were still going well. Now it was almost the end of her third week, and the invigorating feeling was starting to wane.
Vanessa pushed away from the controls and leaned backed against her cushy pilot chair. She yawned and rubbed the sleepiness out of her eyes. For the past 3 hours straight Vanessa had been performing systems checks on the ship. She was tired. She glanced down at her watch which was set at Tokyo time. It was four in the morning back home. Everyone was probably sleeping right now, but more than likely they would be up and about in another three or four hours. She wondered what everyone would be doing today.Vanessa stood up abruptly and shook her head. "No, I'm not going to think about that. All it does is make me feel lonely and I'm not."
She stretched and glanced out the cockpit window into space, the endless vacuum of complete and everlasting darkness. She blinked her eyes. "Snap.I'm not going to do that either. I think I need some coffee." She left the cockpit and walked through the empty corridor towards the kitchen. She touched the keypad on the wall, and the automatic doors swooshed open. She stepped inside the kitchen and looked around. It was very clean, almost like it had never been used. She stared at the empty chairs and table that were bolted to the floor. It sure would have been nice to walk in here and be greeted by other.she rolled her eyes. "Get over it, Vanessa. Nobody else is here. For Dende's sake, child, just accept the fact you're on your own again!" Frustrated, she walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a coffee capsule. She clicked it then tossed it onto the counter. For a time, she just stood there watching the steam rise from the cup. Am I.lonely? She picked up the cup and stared at her quivering reflection. What's wrong with me? I never get lonely.never.at least.not since.She jerked her head up. No, I'm not going to think about that. She leaned against the counter and sipped the steamy brown liquid. She stared blankly across the kitchen. Still it would be nice if someone was here. She sighed in frustration and dumped the contents of the cup into the garbage receptacle, otherwise known as the sink. She set the cup on the counter, she'd take care of it later, and walked out of the kitchen. She stopped just outside the door. She debated whether she should go back to the cockpit or to her sleeping quarters. She still had a bit of work to get done. "O, the heck with it. I'll do it later." She trudged off to her room to get some sleep.
She tapped keypad on the wall and, again, the doors swished open. She ignored the unoccupied bunks and headed straight for her own, the lower one on the left side of the room. She collapsed on her bed face first and nuzzled her Hello Kitty pillow for comfort.
Why hadn't anyone contacted her? She had been sending transmissions everyday but received no responses. All her systems checks showed that the communications equipment was working fine. Did this mean no one was sending her any transmissions. This was very bad because, if a malfunction or problem occurred that was too big for her to handle, she was screwed. Besides that, as much as she hated to admit it, she was getting kind of lonely up here all by herself.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I thought I'd be ok. I mean.I've been alone for almost my entire life. Why wouldn't I be ok now?" She let out a long sigh. "Maybe I shouldn't have requested that this be a solo mission." She turned over on her back and stared up at the underside of the top bunk. "Man.I almost wish I had let chibi Trunks and Goten come with me." BAM!
"OUCH!"
"URASEI, BAKA!"
Vanessa gasped and sat straight up. What on earth, or in space, was that?! She was supposed to be alone on this ship. Who or WHAT the heck was that?! Vanessa jumped out of bed and back away from the door. Whoever had made those noises was out in the hall. It had sounded like it had been more than one person. Were they waiting for me to fall asleep and then they'd come in here and. Vanessa snatched the gun she kept holstered to her side. Bulma had insisted that she have some sort of weapon with her. It was a modified stun gun. It could shoot up to thirty feet away. Luckily, Vanessa had taken the time to strap it to herself instead of leaving it packed away in the storage compartment. It would not have done her much good now. I still don't know how much good it will do me if they have real guns. What if they don't even need weapons? She remembered piccolo. There were really aliens out there and many different kinds. Heck, even her boyfriend was an alien. Vanessa blinked. Did I just call Trunks my boyfriend? "O, who cares if you did?" She said out loud. "The point is he isn't here to blast these creeps away for you. You have to do it yourself." She listened for more noise. Nothing. She had two options. She could lock the door and sit in here while Mr. "Ouch" and "Shut up, idiot" took over the ship. Option 2, drive them out by force. She glanced down at the stun gun. "Gee, I feel so confident. Well, it works in New York" She touched her cheek, the one Trunks had kissed. "Hope my luck hasn't run out yet." She focused on the door. Her breath quickened and her heart started pound. Ok. I'm going in.
The corridor outside was completely empty save for millions of dust particles floating through the air. The door to the living quarters whooshed open; no one came out. Vanessa jumped through the door, did an awkward roll, jump to her feet, and slammed her back into the opposite wall. She turned from left to right, checking that the hall was empty. It was. She sighed and relaxed a bit. "Man, I must have looked so incredibly dorky just now." She heard someone chuckle to her right. "Who's there?" She thought she heard someone say "O, crap" She didn't hear any sounds of movement, though. She began to move cautiously down the hall. She was moving towards the cockpit. Of course, once they're in the cockpit they would basically have total control. She kept moving forward listening for any other sounds. Nothing. Suddenly, she felt something drop down behind her, almost like it had fallen from the ceiling. There came a high pitched screech that almost stopped Vanessa's heart. She screamed at the top of her lungs and jump forward. At the same time, she whirled around and started firing the stun gun wildly. This wasn't a very good idea. Suddenly whirling around had caused her to loose her balance, jumping forward made her trip over her own feet, and, of course, wildly firing any kind of gun is never a very good idea. Vanessa fell back and slammed the back of her head on to the ground. She lay there dazed waiting for the intruders to attack her now that her guard was down. She could feel her mind slipping. I guess must have hit my head pretty hard. She tried to hold on long enough to at least see what the aliens looked like. They were coming towards her now. They're very small, almost like children. Wait.the taller one..is that.lavender hair? Vanessa blacked out.
So what did ya think? Let me know with a review. O, here are the translations
Urasei - shut up Baka - idiot