wChapter Twenty-Four: Back to Business
Clarice stared through the hologram at the blue, slug-like, yet elegantly robed creature on the other side, her patience beginning to wane somewhat. Her elbows were propped up on the top of the desk that she sat behind, her fingers interlaced and supporting her chin.
The creature jumped slightly as one of Clarice's crossed legs began to bounce up and down, the long, thin heel of her boot tapping against the floor.
He looked at her face through the hologram between them to try and find an indication of why the sudden movement had begun, but her visage was blank, simply staring at him.
Deciding that it would be in the best interest of staying alive to hurry, Majil's eyes re-focused themselves on the hologram. He hated having to deal with saiyans; not only were they cold and ruthless, they were always so damn impatient!
Clarice turned her seat to face the gigantic window behind her and looked out longingly at the castle's flawlessly manicured grounds. It was mid-morning and both of the planet's suns were beaming spectacularly amongst the fluffy white clouds in the sky.
She watched with envy as a flock of giant birds flew across the horizon, occasionally dipping down and splashing through the water of the ocean that lay beyond. She turned back to the desk, sighing; if she continued to stare out the window, she would risk serious depression.
"Would you like to browse another glaxy?" asked Clarice boredly, causing him to jump again. He was relieved to see that she was no longer staring at him, but resting her cheek on one fist and checking the nails of the other hand, her eyes half-lidded.
He shook his head as one of his three pudgy fingers reached up and poked the side of the hologram, causing the display to zoom to a different planet. A long list of facts floated down the side of the display beside the planet.
"Bambara Twelve," began Clarice, somewhat monotonely. "As with all planets, this one has it's pros and cons." She reached up and poked another side of the hologram, causing the display to zoom in dramatically on the planet's landscape. Suddenly a beautiful, paradise-like vision appeared. The display changed every few moments, taking different views from around the planet.
Majil gasped and leaned forward, observing the beautiful waterfalls, rainforests, and beaches with awe.
"Obviously, the pros are that the species living there, as opposed to others, have learned to live in peace with their environment, and so the planet is completely unspoiled. The natural resources there are practically unlimited."
Clarice sighed, then continued. "The only con, unfortunately, is that I don't belive your particular species could possibly survive there."
"What?" asked Majil, tearing his eyes away from the display. "Why not?"
"Well.. your species is quite a strange one," began Clarice, trying to phrase her words in a manner that would not insult the king of the Maari and begin an intergalactic war. Though the Maari were not very strong, they had many allies that were potentially dangerous to the Saiyans. The Saiyans also depended on the Maari in some areas of technolgy. "You do not adapt well to environments that vary too widely from your own, and well..."
She pressed a button that brought her to the planetary databse, then brought up a magnified picture of one particular planet. She then split the screen so that pictures of both Bambara Twelve and the second planet were side-by-side.
"You're planet's environment is much different." She motioned toward the display.
Majil looked at the display to find that the second planet was his own. He frowned, causing his large, blue, bespeckaled face to to stretch unnaturally. His antennae drooped somewhat.
"I see..." he said thoughtfully.
Clarice nodded and sighed inwardly with relief. Though what she had said about the Maar's inability to adapt was true, she had also tried to discourage him from purchasing Bamabara Twelve because the Saiyans carried a small alliance with the inhabitants of the planet, the Bogar, and so they couldn't destroy them, which would have been standard procedure if Majil had decided to buy the planet. Thanks to their ability to work with a planet's ecosphere, they were the chief authority on Vejitasei when it cam to agriculture. This, however, put them under close scrutiny because of how closely they worked with the Saiyan food supply.
Clarice was about to suggest a more hospitable planet when a panel in her desk raised, revealing a small, flat screen. She scowled as the face appeared. What now?
"Commander, his majesty would like to see you."
Clarice rolled her eyes, but nodded in response. The screen went blank and the panel sunk back down into the desk, where the edges merged with the surface seamlessly.
"Please excuse me," said Clarice, a small, apologetic smile on her face. She pushed her chair out and stood up. "It seems that the King would like to speak to me. You may continue to browse through the directory until you've made a decision."
Majil nodded and directed the display to another galaxy and began browsing the planets there.
Clarice walked around her desk and headed toward the door, making sure not to touch Majil's robes, which flowed down from his chair and out into the middle of the marble floor, and making explicitly sure not to step in the trail of slime that the giant slug had left behind. She grabbed the doorknob and turned to give Majil one last look before walking out into the hallway and closing the door behind her.
She walked briskly toward the large staircase to the castle's highest tower, glad to be out of the all-too boring presence of Majil, but still dreading what the King could possibly want.
'I hope that it's not another assassination mission...' she thought, frowning deeply. She simply flew up the stairs, which was somewhat breaking the rules in the castle, but she didn't care. Sitting down for so long with almost no movement had caused her legs to fall asleep.
Landing on the very edge of the top step to make it look as if she'd been walking in case anyone saw her, Clarice began walking the last few meters to the King's quarters. She turned a corner and faced the guards that stood on either side of the double doors. Without a word, they both leaned toward the middle of the doors and pulled them all the way open, then closed them behind Clarice as she walked inside.
The massive space that was the King's quarters was somewhat dim, the thick, red drapes having been pulled over most of the tall, arched windows. Clarice walked toward one side of the room, the sound of her boots echoing on the stone floor.
She walked passed one of the massive stone columns and was somewhat startled when a figure appeared on the other side of it.
"A lot... has changed," he muttered, staring out of one of the few open windows.
"Vegeta?" inquired Clarice, pleasantly surprised. She had thought that it was King Vegeta that had wanted to speak to her, not the Prince. She frowned when she realised that he seemed disappointed.
"What? You expected us to freeze in time because you weren't here?" Clarice asked, crossing her arms.
He looked up at her, a "Don't mess with me" look on his face. He crossed his arms as well as he leaned against the column, one foot on the ground and another propped up beneath him against the column.
"Look," she began, looking down at the floor, "I'm sorry-"
She became silent as a powerful ki filled the air. Vegeta tensed and looked up, lifting himself from the column and standing erectly. Clarice gave him a questioning look.
::You mean it was your father who ordered me here?::
Vegeta nodded.
Scowling, Clarice uncrossed her arms and held her hands behind her back.
King Vegeta walked into the room from the balcony, having just apparently flown in from another location. The bright double-sunlight behind him shrouding his face in shadow, causing him to look even more menacing than usual.
The automated doors closed behind him, causing the room to darken once again.
Both Vegeta and Clarice saluted him, putting their hands over their hearts and bowing their heads, though people of lesser rank would have had to kneel. The King nodded in greeting and turned to look out of a window adjacent to where they were standing, observing a construction project on another tower. He began speaking.
"Commander, as you were told yesterday, I will be unable to attend the treaty proceedings with Byron Seven, and so the Prince will have to attend the ceremony and ultimately approve the document. My objective was to go over the plans with him yesterday, but as you know the festivities lasted longer than previously gathered." He paused to stare at her. "I would like you to inform him of the current situation so that he will be able to handle whatever arises." He turned to look at his son. Clarice could here a deep grumbling in his throat.
"His transport will be ready at seven. Make sure that he's ready."
With that, he turned and walked out of the room, his cape whipping about behind him. Clarice turned and looked at Vegeta, whose eyes were shut tightly. She could see the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching. She suddenly felt sorry for wishing the planet back; she could not have not known that the King would try to find his son, and suddenly memories of their bouts came rushing back to her. Even now, King Vegeta did not show any love, or even respect for his son, after not having seen him in decades. Through the entire conversation he hadn't even addressed him, as if he weren't there.
"Vegeta, I'm-" Clarice's speech was cut short as Vegeta held his hand up to silence her.
"Commander, I will go over the plans with you later on. I need to... leave."
He left just as abruptly as his father did, though in the opposite direction. He walked to the balcony and took off into the air, a brilliant streak of gold following him.
Sighing, Clarice turned and walked back through the double doors and rounded the corner, flying past the stairs once more.
"Tsk tsk tsk... someone's being a bad girl..." came a voice from behind her. Clarice turned to see Dryphus standing in a divet between a statue and a column. She was suddenly reminded that Dryphus had the day off as she walked out into the middle of the hallway not in her official armor, but in plainclothes. "You know that flying inside the castle is against the rules unless it's an emergency."
"What are you doing here? Don't you have the day off?" asked Clarice, plucking the collar of Dryphus' shirt playfully.
"Yeah, but the humans-"
"Only one of them is entirely human," corrected Clarice.
"Fine," drawled Dryphus exaggeratedly, "The Earthlings-" -she paused to see whether or not Clarice would interrupt her again - "are starting to bother me. I need something to keep them busy."
She stared at Clarice expectantly.
Clarice thought for a moment, then said slowly, "You could take them to Station Square..."
"Oh! Great, I can leave them there for the rest of the day-"
She quieted as Clarice glared at her.
"You can't leave them," said Clarice incredulously, as if it were obvious (which it was).
"Look, I'll give them a phone or something, okay? They'll be safe with the S.S.A.S.S. around, anyway."
"...At least show them around first so that they don't get lost," said Clrice, forwning,
Dryphus nodded and looked around, as if having forgotten where she was. "So," she began again, "what were you doing up in the King's tower?"
"He wanted to give me an assignment," sighed Clarice. "I'm to brief the Prince on the situation with Byron Seven." She paused, looking confused, then added as more of a question to herself than to Dryphus, "But I wonder why he would have me go all the way up to his office just to tell me that...."
"Maybe he just wanted to see you," said Dryphus, shrugging. A smile threatened to form on her face as she battled to hold down the ascending muscles in her cheeks.
Clarice glared at her. "He didn't just want to see me," she spat. "That's ridiculous!"
Dryphus rolled her eyes and gave a loud sigh of exasperation.
"Don't act so NAIVE, Clarice!" she cried in disbelief. "You know-" She dropped her voice to a whisper as Clarice "shushed" her loudly, reminding her that anyone could be listening to them - "You know that he wanted you to be Queen!"
Clarice automatically averted her eyes to one of the arched windows, a scowl on her face.
"I'd rather like to forget that, actually," she said quietly.
DUN DUN DUN.... So what's this about King Vegeta wanting Clarice to be the Queen? How will the Briefs' fair in Station Square? (Ha, that rhymed. ) Is Vegeta mad at Clarice for wishing the planet back? Is that slug still in Clarice's office?
Find out as we continue THE LEGENDS OF CHAOS!!!
P.S.See how quickly this chapter came out? It was only a couple of days after the other one! (Believe me, usually, it would have taken like a week. ) This is mostly thanks to the MASSIVE amount of reviews from Majin Maljita, whom I CANNOT thank enough. Those reviews just hyped me up sooooooo much! Honestly, I was absolutely in shock when I came to FF.net and saw "57 Reviews" written beneath my story summary, when the last time it was only 38, so Thanks again, girl. Now everybody, follow her lead! You don't have to leave a review for EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, but plz review as much as possible. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
P.P.S. I dunno if you guys would like to, but could you check out my other story, "Shiver"? I just want to know how much people are into it. There are like six chapters and only five reviews. I want to get like fifteen before I continue writing it. I would really appreciate it if you guys read it and left some reviews (and who knows, you might even end up liking it). Otherwise I think that I might take it down.
Arigatou, Valerie
Clarice stared through the hologram at the blue, slug-like, yet elegantly robed creature on the other side, her patience beginning to wane somewhat. Her elbows were propped up on the top of the desk that she sat behind, her fingers interlaced and supporting her chin.
The creature jumped slightly as one of Clarice's crossed legs began to bounce up and down, the long, thin heel of her boot tapping against the floor.
He looked at her face through the hologram between them to try and find an indication of why the sudden movement had begun, but her visage was blank, simply staring at him.
Deciding that it would be in the best interest of staying alive to hurry, Majil's eyes re-focused themselves on the hologram. He hated having to deal with saiyans; not only were they cold and ruthless, they were always so damn impatient!
Clarice turned her seat to face the gigantic window behind her and looked out longingly at the castle's flawlessly manicured grounds. It was mid-morning and both of the planet's suns were beaming spectacularly amongst the fluffy white clouds in the sky.
She watched with envy as a flock of giant birds flew across the horizon, occasionally dipping down and splashing through the water of the ocean that lay beyond. She turned back to the desk, sighing; if she continued to stare out the window, she would risk serious depression.
"Would you like to browse another glaxy?" asked Clarice boredly, causing him to jump again. He was relieved to see that she was no longer staring at him, but resting her cheek on one fist and checking the nails of the other hand, her eyes half-lidded.
He shook his head as one of his three pudgy fingers reached up and poked the side of the hologram, causing the display to zoom to a different planet. A long list of facts floated down the side of the display beside the planet.
"Bambara Twelve," began Clarice, somewhat monotonely. "As with all planets, this one has it's pros and cons." She reached up and poked another side of the hologram, causing the display to zoom in dramatically on the planet's landscape. Suddenly a beautiful, paradise-like vision appeared. The display changed every few moments, taking different views from around the planet.
Majil gasped and leaned forward, observing the beautiful waterfalls, rainforests, and beaches with awe.
"Obviously, the pros are that the species living there, as opposed to others, have learned to live in peace with their environment, and so the planet is completely unspoiled. The natural resources there are practically unlimited."
Clarice sighed, then continued. "The only con, unfortunately, is that I don't belive your particular species could possibly survive there."
"What?" asked Majil, tearing his eyes away from the display. "Why not?"
"Well.. your species is quite a strange one," began Clarice, trying to phrase her words in a manner that would not insult the king of the Maari and begin an intergalactic war. Though the Maari were not very strong, they had many allies that were potentially dangerous to the Saiyans. The Saiyans also depended on the Maari in some areas of technolgy. "You do not adapt well to environments that vary too widely from your own, and well..."
She pressed a button that brought her to the planetary databse, then brought up a magnified picture of one particular planet. She then split the screen so that pictures of both Bambara Twelve and the second planet were side-by-side.
"You're planet's environment is much different." She motioned toward the display.
Majil looked at the display to find that the second planet was his own. He frowned, causing his large, blue, bespeckaled face to to stretch unnaturally. His antennae drooped somewhat.
"I see..." he said thoughtfully.
Clarice nodded and sighed inwardly with relief. Though what she had said about the Maar's inability to adapt was true, she had also tried to discourage him from purchasing Bamabara Twelve because the Saiyans carried a small alliance with the inhabitants of the planet, the Bogar, and so they couldn't destroy them, which would have been standard procedure if Majil had decided to buy the planet. Thanks to their ability to work with a planet's ecosphere, they were the chief authority on Vejitasei when it cam to agriculture. This, however, put them under close scrutiny because of how closely they worked with the Saiyan food supply.
Clarice was about to suggest a more hospitable planet when a panel in her desk raised, revealing a small, flat screen. She scowled as the face appeared. What now?
"Commander, his majesty would like to see you."
Clarice rolled her eyes, but nodded in response. The screen went blank and the panel sunk back down into the desk, where the edges merged with the surface seamlessly.
"Please excuse me," said Clarice, a small, apologetic smile on her face. She pushed her chair out and stood up. "It seems that the King would like to speak to me. You may continue to browse through the directory until you've made a decision."
Majil nodded and directed the display to another galaxy and began browsing the planets there.
Clarice walked around her desk and headed toward the door, making sure not to touch Majil's robes, which flowed down from his chair and out into the middle of the marble floor, and making explicitly sure not to step in the trail of slime that the giant slug had left behind. She grabbed the doorknob and turned to give Majil one last look before walking out into the hallway and closing the door behind her.
She walked briskly toward the large staircase to the castle's highest tower, glad to be out of the all-too boring presence of Majil, but still dreading what the King could possibly want.
'I hope that it's not another assassination mission...' she thought, frowning deeply. She simply flew up the stairs, which was somewhat breaking the rules in the castle, but she didn't care. Sitting down for so long with almost no movement had caused her legs to fall asleep.
Landing on the very edge of the top step to make it look as if she'd been walking in case anyone saw her, Clarice began walking the last few meters to the King's quarters. She turned a corner and faced the guards that stood on either side of the double doors. Without a word, they both leaned toward the middle of the doors and pulled them all the way open, then closed them behind Clarice as she walked inside.
The massive space that was the King's quarters was somewhat dim, the thick, red drapes having been pulled over most of the tall, arched windows. Clarice walked toward one side of the room, the sound of her boots echoing on the stone floor.
She walked passed one of the massive stone columns and was somewhat startled when a figure appeared on the other side of it.
"A lot... has changed," he muttered, staring out of one of the few open windows.
"Vegeta?" inquired Clarice, pleasantly surprised. She had thought that it was King Vegeta that had wanted to speak to her, not the Prince. She frowned when she realised that he seemed disappointed.
"What? You expected us to freeze in time because you weren't here?" Clarice asked, crossing her arms.
He looked up at her, a "Don't mess with me" look on his face. He crossed his arms as well as he leaned against the column, one foot on the ground and another propped up beneath him against the column.
"Look," she began, looking down at the floor, "I'm sorry-"
She became silent as a powerful ki filled the air. Vegeta tensed and looked up, lifting himself from the column and standing erectly. Clarice gave him a questioning look.
::You mean it was your father who ordered me here?::
Vegeta nodded.
Scowling, Clarice uncrossed her arms and held her hands behind her back.
King Vegeta walked into the room from the balcony, having just apparently flown in from another location. The bright double-sunlight behind him shrouding his face in shadow, causing him to look even more menacing than usual.
The automated doors closed behind him, causing the room to darken once again.
Both Vegeta and Clarice saluted him, putting their hands over their hearts and bowing their heads, though people of lesser rank would have had to kneel. The King nodded in greeting and turned to look out of a window adjacent to where they were standing, observing a construction project on another tower. He began speaking.
"Commander, as you were told yesterday, I will be unable to attend the treaty proceedings with Byron Seven, and so the Prince will have to attend the ceremony and ultimately approve the document. My objective was to go over the plans with him yesterday, but as you know the festivities lasted longer than previously gathered." He paused to stare at her. "I would like you to inform him of the current situation so that he will be able to handle whatever arises." He turned to look at his son. Clarice could here a deep grumbling in his throat.
"His transport will be ready at seven. Make sure that he's ready."
With that, he turned and walked out of the room, his cape whipping about behind him. Clarice turned and looked at Vegeta, whose eyes were shut tightly. She could see the muscles in his jaw clenching and unclenching. She suddenly felt sorry for wishing the planet back; she could not have not known that the King would try to find his son, and suddenly memories of their bouts came rushing back to her. Even now, King Vegeta did not show any love, or even respect for his son, after not having seen him in decades. Through the entire conversation he hadn't even addressed him, as if he weren't there.
"Vegeta, I'm-" Clarice's speech was cut short as Vegeta held his hand up to silence her.
"Commander, I will go over the plans with you later on. I need to... leave."
He left just as abruptly as his father did, though in the opposite direction. He walked to the balcony and took off into the air, a brilliant streak of gold following him.
Sighing, Clarice turned and walked back through the double doors and rounded the corner, flying past the stairs once more.
"Tsk tsk tsk... someone's being a bad girl..." came a voice from behind her. Clarice turned to see Dryphus standing in a divet between a statue and a column. She was suddenly reminded that Dryphus had the day off as she walked out into the middle of the hallway not in her official armor, but in plainclothes. "You know that flying inside the castle is against the rules unless it's an emergency."
"What are you doing here? Don't you have the day off?" asked Clarice, plucking the collar of Dryphus' shirt playfully.
"Yeah, but the humans-"
"Only one of them is entirely human," corrected Clarice.
"Fine," drawled Dryphus exaggeratedly, "The Earthlings-" -she paused to see whether or not Clarice would interrupt her again - "are starting to bother me. I need something to keep them busy."
She stared at Clarice expectantly.
Clarice thought for a moment, then said slowly, "You could take them to Station Square..."
"Oh! Great, I can leave them there for the rest of the day-"
She quieted as Clarice glared at her.
"You can't leave them," said Clarice incredulously, as if it were obvious (which it was).
"Look, I'll give them a phone or something, okay? They'll be safe with the S.S.A.S.S. around, anyway."
"...At least show them around first so that they don't get lost," said Clrice, forwning,
Dryphus nodded and looked around, as if having forgotten where she was. "So," she began again, "what were you doing up in the King's tower?"
"He wanted to give me an assignment," sighed Clarice. "I'm to brief the Prince on the situation with Byron Seven." She paused, looking confused, then added as more of a question to herself than to Dryphus, "But I wonder why he would have me go all the way up to his office just to tell me that...."
"Maybe he just wanted to see you," said Dryphus, shrugging. A smile threatened to form on her face as she battled to hold down the ascending muscles in her cheeks.
Clarice glared at her. "He didn't just want to see me," she spat. "That's ridiculous!"
Dryphus rolled her eyes and gave a loud sigh of exasperation.
"Don't act so NAIVE, Clarice!" she cried in disbelief. "You know-" She dropped her voice to a whisper as Clarice "shushed" her loudly, reminding her that anyone could be listening to them - "You know that he wanted you to be Queen!"
Clarice automatically averted her eyes to one of the arched windows, a scowl on her face.
"I'd rather like to forget that, actually," she said quietly.
DUN DUN DUN.... So what's this about King Vegeta wanting Clarice to be the Queen? How will the Briefs' fair in Station Square? (Ha, that rhymed. ) Is Vegeta mad at Clarice for wishing the planet back? Is that slug still in Clarice's office?
Find out as we continue THE LEGENDS OF CHAOS!!!
P.S.See how quickly this chapter came out? It was only a couple of days after the other one! (Believe me, usually, it would have taken like a week. ) This is mostly thanks to the MASSIVE amount of reviews from Majin Maljita, whom I CANNOT thank enough. Those reviews just hyped me up sooooooo much! Honestly, I was absolutely in shock when I came to FF.net and saw "57 Reviews" written beneath my story summary, when the last time it was only 38, so Thanks again, girl. Now everybody, follow her lead! You don't have to leave a review for EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER, but plz review as much as possible. It makes me feel so warm and fuzzy.
P.P.S. I dunno if you guys would like to, but could you check out my other story, "Shiver"? I just want to know how much people are into it. There are like six chapters and only five reviews. I want to get like fifteen before I continue writing it. I would really appreciate it if you guys read it and left some reviews (and who knows, you might even end up liking it). Otherwise I think that I might take it down.
Arigatou, Valerie