Chapter 8
Migration Patterns
"Unh..." Brussi squinted her stinging eyes as sweat dripped down her brows. A long handled tool was clenched between her teeth. The plastic tasted of slimy oil and old grime, but she didn't want to lose the instrument in the tangle of wires and component pieces that littered the cramped space. The sharp smell of ozone filled the stuffy air as electric sparks sizzled. She tugged on two loose wires, twisting them together with her fingers.
Zap zap zap! Energy arched out of the thin, insulated metal threads and burned her fingertips. More sparks flew into the air as a nearby conduit shorted out. The odor of ozone increased dramatically.
"Chae!" Brussi scrambled backwards as hot blue sparks rained down on her exposed skin. She scooted along the metal floor until she was out of the crawl space under one of the command panels. She cursed again as she stood and flung the tool at the broken panel. The instrument struck the surface with a loud clank, then bounced off onto the floor, rolling along until it came to rest in front of the cockpit entrance.
"How are the repairs going, Brussi?" Mai asked as she stood in the doorway. She raised a hand, levitating the tool off the floor so she wouldn't need to bend down. Her legs were still weak from her injury. They would be all right in another half day but she had grown tired of laying down in bed.
Brussi turned and scowled at Mai. The Namek's face was perfectly serious except for the slight wrinkle at the corners of her eyes. Brussi wiped her brow with her forearm. She noted her friend had changed her clothes. Mai wore a long sleeved white robe with a light blue belt and a rose vest. Traditional garb, she guessed, though she didn't see the need for so much encumbering fabric or that thing wrapped around Mai's neck. Her nose twitched as an awful smell trickled past her nostrils.
Mai's eyes widened a little, a strange expression on her face. She pointed to the top of the Saiyan's head. "Brussi, I think your hair is smoking!"
"What?" Brussi's hands flew up and patted her hair. The awful smell increased as she rubbed. The older woman turned and glared at her reflection in one of the dark view screens. Thin wisps of smoke were indeed coming off some of the spikes. She rubbed and patted more vigorously until the streamers ceased.
Mai covered her mouth with a hand. Brussi's worried frown was clearly displayed in her reflection. The Saiyan was silent as she ran her fingers through the damaged locks, tilting her head one way, then the other, searching for any more signs of smoldering.
Mai averted her eyes, allowing her friend to assess the harm done in private. She was sure Brussi would be embarrassed if she was watched. After a moment, she asked, "Where are we headed?"
Brussi abandoned her task, she faced Mai again and crossed her arms. "I have us set on a course for Vegetasei. We should get there soon if this piece of junk doesn't short out it's engines."
"That's your people's home world, isn't it?" Mai asked as she looked at her friend. She wasn't quite sure how comfortable she was with the idea of a planet full of people like Brussi.
Her friend nodded curtly, then grinned. She leaned back against the edge of the command panel. "We'll be able to see the great Wasabi Coliseum. My father was descended from the warrior it's named for. That legend fought and killed a thousand enemies in one day."
"Uh... that's... something," Mai managed to comment. She fiddled with the hems of her sleeves, trying to think of more to say, but Brussi continued.
"They hold tournaments there. Great battles, one on one, teams, free for alls! My parents told me of the honor a warrior can get from winning! A lot of the soldiers will enter if they aren't off-world..."
The Saiyan's words trailed off. A flicker of confusion and concern crossed her face. Then she shrugged, turning back to the panel. "If we're lucky enough, we might even see King Vegeta himself at one of the events."
Mai wondered what it was that had dampened the bright enthusiasm in her friend's eyes. Perhaps she's afraid she won't be strong enough to enter? She chewed on the thought but decided not to ask. Brussi was surely feeling a mix of excitement and doubt about going to a planet she had never known. Mai was feeling a little of the same about returning to her own people's home world.
Mai stepped slowly into the cockpit, aiming for the nearest pilot chair. She concentrated on keeping her legs steady. Brussi didn't move to help but she did shift slightly as her friend made her way.
The Namek settled into the captain's seat and sighed a little. She would be glad when her healing was done. She hoped Brussi wouldn't mind if she stuck to the ship or whatever housing they got for another day. No sense in stressing her body any more than necessary.
There was another worry on her mind, anyway. She still felt guilty for leaving behind the others, even Dorei. Especially Dorei. The woman had not been fatally injured but her wounds would keep her from being desirable as a harem woman. And Mai didn't think there would be much the Buki-jin could do after so long as a pampered slave. The others had simply been too frightened of her after she had attacked to agree to leave.
Mai rubbed her face wearily. She didn't know what solution would suit best. She just didn't like the thought of leaving them there. If only they could do something. She tapped a finger against her lips.
"Brussi... about the others..."
The other woman tensed and ground her teeth. "Not again, brat. They made their choice."
"But we can't leave them to..."
"Gah!" Brussi threw her hands into the air. She turned away, staring at the ruined command panel she had been working on. A soft beep beep interrupted whatever she might have said. A green light began to flicker on the console in front of Mai. She leaned a bit to see what it was. Brussi grinned, grateful for the distraction, and came over beside the chair.
"It's the vicinity indicator," she explained. The Saiyan moved to the other side of Mai and pressed a few of the nearby buttons. She couldn't quite control the small tremor in her hand. She felt a surge of excitement, her stomach twisted and danced. Casting a quick glance at Mai, she smiled and said, "We're in sight of Vegetasei now."
Mai's expression remained pensive, though she smiled weakly. She was sorry she couldn't quite feel happy about the situation.
Brussi gave Mai a thoughtful look. The Namek wasn't going to let go of what happened at the seraglio. The younger woman had explained in a hushed, somewhat shamed, voice about Dorei's attack and her own response. Brussi hadn't known Mai could fight like that. The details had been sketchy, Mai said that it seemed more like a dream or a nightmare, distant and vague, rather than a memory.
Brussi shook her head slightly, there was something she could suggest, though she wasn't sure if Mai would accept it. "You're so worried about those others, well here's your best bet to help them. Saiyans love a good challenge and those Doku-jin would certainly make some worthy opponents. We can recruit some of the warriors and-"
The comment was cut short. A monitor snapped on, showing a span of dark space littered with thousands of stars. A cloud of orange and red dust stretched across the screen.
Mai looked at Brussi questioningly. The Saiyan's brows drew together. She tapped a few buttons on the command panel, sure that the computer had made a mistake. The empty view shown couldn't be their destination.
The computer insisted that the coordinates were correct and that the monitor was displaying that area of space.
"Feh." Brussi pounded her knuckles on the panel. She glared at the console. "The computer must be malfunctioning."
Mai clasped her hands in her lap to keep them from trembling. The idea of being lost in space wasn't too appealing. "Did we come at the wrong part of the planet's orbit?"
"Hmm..." Brussi pressed a few more buttons, trying to coax more information out of the computer. She had wondered if the short battle with the guard ships had damaged the memory stores. Aside from a few glitches when the computer reverted to Aisu-jin again, there hadn't been any indication of something serious.
"I don't know," she conceded. "I'm going to cross-reference with the main files. Maybe it's just the navigation system."
The computer display began to scroll through the information available about the planet. People, customs, language, weather, culture. None of it she was interested in. She skipped over those, her eyes skimming for the coordinates that she needed. She was about to advance the list when a notation caught her attention.
Mai watched as Brussi pressed her palms flat on the command panel. The Saiyan was still frowning, but now she became utterly still, not even drawing a breath for a several seconds. Her face smoothed a little, though it did not soften. Instead, a new hardness settled into her features. Her profile seemed to be carved out of flesh colored stone.
Brussi straightened slowly. She turned and began to walk around the chair Mai was sitting in. Towards the exit.
"Brussi, what is it?" Mai questioned. But her friend didn't respond, didn't look at her, as if she didn't exist. Mai peered into Brussi's dark eyes and shivered a little. She had seen the woman angry, happy, sad, confused, bloodthirsty... in any number of emotional states.
But her eyes held something different now. A kind of stark frigidity that locked away all feelings, hiding them.
Mai shifted her gaze to the computer display. She scanned the information and quickly found what had caused her friend's behavior. Beside the label "Current Status" were the words "Race: Exterminated, Planet: Destroyed."
Mai gasped softly and pushed out of the chair. Her shaky legs threatened to fold beneath her but she kept them moving until she caught up Brussi. She placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. The Saiyan jerked away, continuing out the door.
The portal closed behind her with a gentle swoosh.
Mai dropped her hand to her side. Oh Brussi... She felt a wave of sorrow for her friend. Tears pricked her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she sent a prayer for guidance and healing to the gods. She knew she possessed no magic that could comfort this hurt. All she could do was wait for Brussi to emerge from her mental shell.
A trickle of dread worked its way into Mai's heart as she stood there. Neither of them had thought to check for information on their people. It had been foolish, perhaps, considering how long ago their parents had contact with others of their kind. Brussi's parents had been captured young and served several years as slaves. Even after they had managed to escape, they had lived on an isolated planet for over a decade. Her own mother, Rea, had spent several hundred years on a foreign world.
What had been the fate of her own species? Mai turned back towards the command panels. She bit her lip, not certain she wanted to pull that secret from the computer. A part of her argued she could find out later. Not now, not yet. But another voice chided her for her cowardice.
The corner of her mouth lifted in an involuntary smile. Funny how the voice that berated her for lack of courage sounded a lot like Brussi. She sighed and stepped over to the panel. Her fingers tapped in the code to bring up any information on Nameksei. Her eyes read the screen slowly, savoring the words that invoked her inherited memories and stalled her from seeing the words she dreaded.
But she couldn't put off the reality of them.
Mai closed her eyes and shut the file. Her fingers moved down to grip the edge of the command panel. Then she gradually sank to her knees.
The Namek leaned her forehead between her hands. The tears that hadn't flowed earlier did now, in silent rivulets. Her heart thumped and squeezed inside her chest. Every breath was laced with quiet sadness. Yearning curled itself inside her stomach, like a child lost from its parent, reaching out for every memory and trying to find its way home again. The beauty of the phantom sky, land and water lanced through her.
Mai stayed like that for a long time. She let the old images wash over her, bringing with them a bittersweet ache. She tried to feel grateful that she had them, that at least she could carry inside the knowledge of how they had lived. But it left an emptiness as well that couldn't be filled.
Finally, the memories faded into the back of her mind. She didn't try to stifle the hollow pangs in her heart. Rising from the floor, she gently wiped away the remains of her tears.
The door to the cockpit opened. Mai locked gazes with Brussi, glimpsing for a second the raw pain in those onyx eyes. She wondered if her friend saw the same in hers. Brussi's expression quickly became shuttered, a cold mask that showed no emotion.
The woman walked briskly over to the main command panel. Nimble fingers began to tap in instructions.
"I hope your planet is up for some visitors, brat," Brussi said. Her voice was roughened, huskier than normal.
Mai looked down at the floor. She replied quietly, "We can't go there, Brussi."
"Why not?" snapped Brussi. She glanced up, her lips curled in anger.
"My planet was... like yours..." Mai couldn't push the words from her throat. They lodged there, refusing to emerge and tightening the passage.
Brussi returned her attention to the panel display. She called up the file on Nameksei. She read the information presented to her. Her shoulders hunched, shaking a bit. Then she threw back her head and laughed. The sound was bitter and humorless, rebounding off the walls around them.
Mai's hands curled into fists. Her jaw clenched and her eyeridges drew together in a harsh expression. But she kept her gaze riveted to the deck.
"...some joke... some cosmic joke..." Brussi choked out. She pointed to Mai, not seeming to notice the other was fixedly staring down. "And worse for you. What kind of universe allows a race of near pacifists be destroyed?"
A silent snarl drew Mai's lips back, revealing her fangs. The laughter and words shredded what little control she had over her own emotions. Her knuckles turned a chalky green.
Brussi laughed again. She placed her hands on her hips and kept chuckling. "At least Saiyans earned their trip to Hell! Do you know how?"
Mai didn't answer. Her eyes stayed gazing at the floor. Anger burned up her stomach and chest.
"Of course you don't know," Brussi answered her own question. She crossed her arms and turned away, the bitter snickers abruptly stopped. Her voice continued, cold, "I never told you. I don't know why. It's not something I feel guilt over. Heh, must've been some misguided attempt at not shocking your peaceful nature."
Brussi paused a moment, then resumed, "We were destroyers for hire. A creature named Frieza ran a business called the Planet Trade. He paid us to go to planets that someone wanted to buy and clear out the natives. We didn't need much encouragement, since Saiyans will take any excuse to fight."
The woman stopped again. She faced Mai and let her arms drop. Walking up to the Namek, she added in the same cold tone, "It seems karma caught up with us since it was Frieza who destroyed my people. I won't say, though, that I don't wish I could take his head as a trophy for it."
Mai remained silent, unmoving. Her fists stayed clenched and her head bowed. The only sound for moments was the hum of the ship's equipment mingled with the breathing of the two women.
Suddenly, Brussi grabbed Mai's shoulder and shook her hard. "Are you just going to stand there like a statue?"
Mai raised her fisted hand. She lightly thumped the flat of it on Brussi's shoulder guard. She looked up, revealing her tear streaked face. Her soft voice said, "If you're waiting for me to damn you for your people's wrongs, I can't."
Brussi released Mai with another shake. She didn't know if that was what she had been wanting or not and the confusion showed. She said in an uncertain tone, "I would have joined them."
Mai shrugged slightly. Lowering her hand, she said, "But you can't. And I don't think you would do such things on your own."
Brussi bristled at that, not sure if Mai was commenting on her strength or courage or both. Then she pushed aside the offense, deciding the Namek didn't have the mind to consider what sorts of things could be insulting to a warrior. She crossed her arms again and stated, "Eh. It doesn't matter at the moment. We have to figure out where we go from here. I've seen enough of this piece of junk to know I don't want to live in it."
The younger woman searched through her inherited knowledge, looking for anything that might be useful in chosing a new home. Unfortunately, the data was inadequate for that purpose. There didn't seem to be much to recommend one place over another.
Brussi, meanwhile, had wandered back over to the command panel. She was tapping her forefinger on the surface, mouth thinned in thought. Lines of information scrolled by on the display she studied. After a short time, she pushed away from it. She looked at Mai, her eyes glittered with fury.
"I don't know where you want to go," the Saiyan commented in a steady voice, "but I've made my decision."
Mai was almost afraid to ask. Her friend had that strange, hungry look that had appeared back when the warrior had attacked those rebel guards in the hall. "Where will you go?"
"I'm going to find that bastard Frieza," Brussi bit out. "He's going to pay for what he's done!"
The Namek twisted her fingers into the hem of her sleeves. She didn't like the sound of that plan. If Frieza was powerful enough to destroy both Vegetasei and Nameksei... how could one lone fighter defeat him?
Brussi scowled as Mai's thoughts were well expressed on her face. "You aren't going to talke me out of this, Mai, so forget trying!"
Mai shook her head to placate her friend. She struggled with her own decision. She wasn't well suited for any sort of revenge, with no fighting skills despite the one occurrence. Also, she didn't think Nameks were the sort to condone that sort of thing. Fight to protect, yes, but vengeance?
Gods, the time I need someone to advise me... thought Mai. She glanced at her friend. The Saiyan was waiting, not entirely patiently. Mai sighed and asked, wondering if she was going crazy, "Where did he go?"
Surprise flit across Brussi's face, quickly followed by a smirk. "The dates on the files are scrambled. It seems the fight we got into did damage some of the memory stores. But the last recorded destination was a planet called Chikyuusei."
Mai took a deep breath, strengthening her resolve. She couldn't back down now. "Then I guess we're going to Chikyuusei."
Brussi laughed, this time in true humor. Coming to her friend, she slapped Mai on the back of her shoulder. Her face showed that cold, nearly evil expression. "Frieza better watch his ass!"