DISCLAIMER: GT/DBZ/BD are not mine. Elai Jena, and Zharia are however.

Pronunciations: Zharia; Ja-Ree-Ya. Elai Jena; E-Lay Jenna.

SEE BOTTOM FOR REASONS WHY I HAVEN'T UPDATED!

Ship-Wrecked

Elai considered all her possibilities for a brief moment. Maybe running away was a bad idea. Maybe they'd catch her. Looking at Zharia, who was controlling the jet, she thought it was all ok. Safe and well, however was not the correct term in this case. No matter where Elai went, trouble was sure to follow. Trouble should have been her middle name. Sure knows she was in enough of it. If they caught her she'd never see the likes of day again. Or Zharia for that matter. Zha was all that mattered at this point. That and finding out her real identity.

She was tired of being razzed by the other officers. "Why do you like Zharia?" or "You're a human on an alien planet, let's call you fish from now on!" She hated being stronger then most men. She had to put her foot down. Hard. She decided that she had a life to live, a name to live up to, and heaven knows, time to kill. Planet earth would be her best bet. Something was there she needed to find, and she was determined to find it. Even if it cost her life. She was getting agitated. Throwing her hands down flat on to the table, Zharia looked back at her.

"Is everything ok, Elai?" he asked. His silver hair was glinting in the surface light of the cabin. It had a slight green tint to it, since the lights were green. "You look pale. Do you need anything, are you ok?"

She looked up with a tear running down her face, leaving 'snail-tracks' behind it. "I'm fine. You need to concentrate on flying. I want us out of any danger as soon as possible!" Brushing beneath her eyes she considered it high time she let the dam break. They would ex-communicate her if she were crying on the surface, but now she was alone. Now it was ok.

She had gone to her cabin on the ship, and fallen to sleep. She needed it; so many things were riding on her, so many things she couldn't solve. She knew that something needed to be fixed, and something needed to be found, but other then that she was completely at a loss. She knew that the picture was her family, because she had no family on the planet, but who were the other people? Surely they weren't family. Too many questions and so little time to find answers!

As she was beginning to fall asleep, an alert went off. There was a high pitched wail, and a flashing red light as warning. Something was getting close. Or they were coming in on something. She got up, and threw open the door running bare-foot down the cold metal corridor. After finally reaching her destination, she threw open the door, and stared point-blank at Zharia. The control panel was also flashing green in various spots. Zharia had some technical-know-how, but his smarts on planes were limited. He continued to press various buttons, when eventually the alarm went off. Letting out a sigh of relief, he went back to the control, and Elai rest a hand on his shoulder.

"What was that, Zharia?" she whispered.

"I'm not sure, but I think they're cloaking themselves. They're still there. We took some damage to the side of the left engine, so we need to make a crash landing on the next planet. I believe its Halli. I could be wrong, though." His silver eyes began to well up, as though he wanted to cry, but Elai wouldn't say anything.

She casually lifted her hand, and buckled herself into a seat ready, and braced, for the worse. They screamed into the atmosphere with a burning engine behind them. She was watching through the window, as Zharia tried desperately to land on what little he had left. They crashed on the ground with great impact, knocking both unconscious for the time being. The last thing Elai saw before they crashed was Zharia's eyes in front of hers as he held her tight at the impact.

Zharia was sprawled on the ground under the engine, as he was fixing it. She watched him with curious eyes wondering how he got the parts, and what he was doing. As if she were born with a natural curiosity, she ventured forward, and asked him.

"I got them from the capsule I was carrying. They're shipped in from Earth. Dad gave me a few to use for the war. I learned to fix jets on earth though. A nice young woman with aqua hair showed me. She had beautiful blue eyes too. I think she works for a place called 'Capsule Corp.'"

She looked down at him. He was covered in grease, and she giggled. "What?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. You just never struck me as a boy who got down on his knees to fix a problem."

He smiled at her and stood up walking over to embrace her. She noticed he had a cast on his left arm. He also had a large bruise on his back. He was working on the jet without his shirt, which only made him look sexy. She ran her fingers over the bruise and he winced.

"Why did you protect me at last minute?" she asked suddenly.

"I have no reason to go to earth. Only to see you there. You know enough about jets to get there, so if I died, then it wouldn't be a major loss. If you did then I'd be screwed, because you're usually the one who bails me out of imminent danger. That and you have a reason to be there. I get a sudden inkling that you're meant to be there. As if there wasn't a danger in the galaxy that could stop you."

She blushed, and looked at him. The sun was setting in the distance, casting a red radiance to his silver hair. She pushed aside any thoughts of him she had of being an ass after she decided to leave him behind. He glanced at her then went back to work.

"So," he asked rather loudly as to make certain he was heard over the clinking of metal to metal. "Are you feeling any better this morning?"

"Yes. Rather, I was. Why do you ask?" she asked trying not to cry.

"You seemed out of it yesterday. When we were going down, I heard you whisper 'I love you, momma' and you blacked out. You were crying for hours last night, too, and I was beginning to wonder if I should have asked earlier."

"No," she replied rather easily. "I'm fine."

"Good," he snapped suddenly. "We're staying here tonight." He walked up the steps to the jet and looked at the control panel. As he punched in numbers, she was articulating her thoughts. She heard the engines roar to life, and jumped at the sudden sound.

"Engine's running. I need to run some tests on other major equipment, and check for damage." He shouted at her. She looked at him, and whispered her consent, before running back to her room. He looked back at her shocked beyond words. Maybe he scared her, he thought.

Something about her was different. Ever since that one night…he shook it off. It couldn't have been. He continued to run tests throughout the day, and checking for damages as well. Finding nothing major wrong, he informed her they'd leave tomorrow morning. She was pale again, but he didn't ask why. It was more her business, then his.

The next morning, she was still asleep, so he contacted Earth. A man answered the line to the video phone, and handed it over to a blue haired woman. He had recognized her as Bulma, the beautiful mother of Bra. She was the one who taught him how to repair jets.

"Zharia! Nice to hear from you again!" she shouted.

"Yes, Bulma, you too!" he glanced down a moment at his watch. She'd be getting up any moment now, so he'd have to hurry. "Look, we should be landing on your planet in a few days. Three, four tops. Also, since you're a certified doctor, I need you to check the woman with me, she's sick."

Bulma nodded. "Where are you now?"

"Fifth planet, three systems in, I believe its Halli. I'm not certain however."

"Three days it is. Call before hand, I'll have my son and daughter meet you at your landing sight." She replied and logged off.

"Yes ma'am." He whispered, and went to wake Elai. "Just who are you, Elai? And what is it you're looking for?" he asked himself. The girl he'd known all his life was gone. She transformed. She was no longerstrong-in-your-face Elai; she was Gentle, Fragile Elai. And he was alive to protect her.

Be prepared for a shock in chapter 3. That's all I have to say.

Sorry I haven't updated in so long, I ran out of ideas. My brother's been helping me with what's left, but since he hasn't been doing much work, I've kind of let my mind go once more. I was about to give up all hope in this one, untill I had a dream the other night. As always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and PLEASE read and review. I want to know my reader's haven't abandon me before I'll update.

Kaity