War of the Quadrants
Chapter 1: A Random But Necessary Marriage
The raven-haired woman walked nervously into the large, dome shaped room as she checked again and again that the message had been right and read correctly with her own two, dark-brown eyes. She opened the door earnestly and approached the desk, which sheltered behind it another woman, kneeling away from the visitor to retrieve a fallen pen. "Madam President, two Saiyan space pods are asking permission to land."
The figure now standing in front of the desk seemed to stiffen before whirling around. "SAIYAN space pods? SAIYAN?" she repeated, giving a few good hard blinks with her cerulean eyes.
"Yes. They say they have urgent news regarding the north quadrants and have a proposition." The news bearer adjusted her dark red dress as bit, unable to keep from fidgeting at the rare events occurring.
"What do they have about the northern quadrants?" the president snapped suddenly, eager to get her hands on any information about her rival quadrants.
"They wouldn't tell me. They said they'd only speak to you directly. BUT they DID slip something about a 'northern hemisphere'."
"A northern hemisphere…" the president repeated slowly. That was only possible if… the northwest and northeast quadrants made an alliance? If the Saiyans were daring enough to come alone in two space pods, unarmed, they must've realized only a southern hemisphere would be able to take a northern one.
But Saiyans? At her door? They were hundreds of times stronger than either Earthlings or Namekians. Few humans on Earth learned to master the energy in their bodies and form ki blasts like every Saiyan in Vegetasei could. Had it not been for Vegetasei's stalemate with Tuffle and the highly superior technology of Earth, the humans would've been long eradicated by the Saiyans. Luckily Vegeta XV was smart enough to realize that Earth and Namek kept Arlia and Liblya at bay so that the Saiyans and Atrosians could focus on the two Tuffle planets.
Now that she thought about it, the 'northern hemisphere' was smart to make the alliance. Though it was supposedly a 'War of the Quadrants', the two northern hemispheres had never had a serious dispute like those between Vegetasei and Tuffle. It had always been northeast vs. southeast, northwest vs. southwest. But Earth also had to worry about its eastern enemy as well as its northern counterpart, giving Earth the feeling of being surrounded. Had it not been for Namekian lack of necessity for food, a good ¾ of the human population would have succumbed to starvation during the historic Five Year Siege by Liblya and Arlia.
The war had gone on so long that no one truly knew who had started it or how it began. It was a mystery who attacked who first or who declared war on who before an 'all quadrants for themselves' broke loose. She groaned in annoyance as she replayed the known history over and over in her head. This war was devastating to all the planets involved. There was once a time when it was all about beating others to the punch of strength and power, using the excuse of 'defense' to grow in such magnitude. Each planet's energy was focused into its specialty. Vegetasei focused on becoming the strongest, Earth, Atrosia, Liblya and Tuffle strained to become the most technologically advanced, and the Nameks and Arlians tried to beat each other out. After all, they had to be prepared for an attack. But once the attacks started, the 'growth period' only served to make the war much more devastating than any could have possibly imagined.
Army after army fell to alien hands, each of the four planets loosing tremendously in the bargain. Each planet had lost a considerable amount of its population to the military, and each military had lost most viciously at one point or another, leaving the planets scratching at the other's eyes and on edge for new information about its enemies. Northwest, southwest, northeast, southeast…. Why couldn't they have just named it the goddamned North, South, East and West? This whole hemisphere business would actually make it a lot easier for the historians to write down. She supposed if it had been just NSEW, then the two hemispheres would've been "northeast" and "southwest," which would've STILL been very tedious to deal with.
"Madam?"
Jogged from her thoughts, the blue haired leader redirected the same color eyes to her trusted and befriended secretary and advisor.
"I'm sorry, Chi-Chi. It's just that their arrival caught me a little off guard." She stopped for a moment, falling down into her chair as she gave an aggravated cry. "Alright," she agreed, seeing no other action to take. "Go ahead and let them in. Bring them to this room."
"To your personal room?" Chi gaped, unable to hold her surprise.
"Yes. I have the feeling that the discussion will be of the highest priority and security, otherwise they wouldn't have come in the flesh."
"I understand. Well I'll take care of it. Don't worry, Bulma."
The President sighed as her best friend left the room. She barely had time to close her eyes and mentally prepare herself for the Saiyans before the door burst open and two angry people stormed inside, followed by an uneasy and uncomfortable looking person.
"Bulma, I'm sorry," Chi-Chi huffed with an annoyed expression after the smaller Saiyan who had burst in first. "Apparently they got fed up with waiting and landed without permission."
"This matter is IMPORTANT and requires IMMEDIATE attention! I suppose from my little slip up you've figured out why we've come. The rumors say you're a smart woman," the Saiyan all but shouted to Bulma, completely ignoring Chi-Chi.
Hearing such authority come out of the smaller Saiyan caused Bulma to give him a good look over. From first glance she knew he was undeniably handsome, even with his cold eyes and rigid jaw, not to mention his mouth, which seemed to forever be locked in either a scowl or a smirk. He was wearing an interesting set of armor, consisting of red spandex underneath white and golden edged armor plating. A dark blue, almost black, cape flowed behind him, though there was a blood red side that went against his back. There was a crest embodied on his left breastplate that Bulma assumed to be the crest of Vegetasei. His hands and feet were covered in perfectly white gloves and boots, though his boots were gold tipped. Looking absolutely regal, she briefly wondered if he was the king and why the king would come in person. Surely the northern alliance wouldn't worry him so much that he would rush over to Earth…
"He must not have told his people yet and couldn't have anyone sent here," Bulma reasoned.
"You're right. I haven't," his voice echoed in her head, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. She'd heard rumors of the Saiyan's powerful mental abilities, but never knew them to be true. Until this point, she'd never met a Saiyan and yet within one minute of a couple barging through her door, most of the whispers about them were being slowly eradicated from her mind.
They certainly didn't look savage, disregarding their royal appearance and the impenetrable scowl on the must-be king. The stories of their size must've been greatly exaggerated as well, for the bigger Saiyan was probably almost 6 feet tall: not the fifteen feet the common population labeled them as. And the cliché that all Saiyans were brutal was clearly mistaken, for the larger Saiyan wore a look of nervousness: far from the look of a blood-thirsty were-monkey.
"You're right. I did figure it out. But before we get down to business with details, I think an introduction is in order. You obviously know I am President Bulma Briefs. This here is my trusted advisor: Chi-Chi Kaung. And unless Saiyan elites are more grandeur than I thought, you are King Vegeta."
A little taken aback at being talked to so boldly and like and equal, Vegeta nodded. "This is my royal guard and companion: Kakorott Son."
"Alright. So how do you know an alliance between Tuffle and Leblya has been made? Who married who?'
"How did you know it was Liblya?" Kakorott interrupted, a little suspicious.
"Arlians are not humanoid, nor are they compatible with Tuffles. Leblya is one of the major power points of the northwest quadrant, meaning it would be ideal for an alliance," Bulma explained simply, earning a nod of approval from Vegeta.
"Correct. It was Prince Stalenen from Leblya and Princess Doema from Tuffle."
"Ah. Hesfra is too old?" Bulma mused.
"Correct again, it seems," Vegeta approved. It was his turn to give her a good look over. Wearing a nice dark blue dress that matched her hair and eye coloring nicely. The straps were professional yet fitting. The dress fell down to her knees, curing outward a bit that seemed to almost twirl if she moved. Yes. She would do.
"So what is your proposal?" Bulma asked in an interested manner, though she figured she already knew the gist of it. She didn't even realize what a calculating look over the Saiyan was giving her.
"You've probably figured out that the only way to match a northern hemisphere is to create a southern one. So how about it? Earth, Namek, Vegetasei, and Atrosia working together."
At the mention of the other planets, Bulma frowned deeply. "I cannot speak for Namek and the other small planets in our quadrant, and I sure as hell don't think you're also representing Atrosia."
To her surprise, he let out a mighty guffaw, which seemed to equally surprised Kakorott as his mouth dropped open. "You're absolutely right, woman. But think for a moment of what would happen if the people of your section found out about the north hemisphere. It would be much better received if they knew you had counter-acted by forming the southern one with Vegetasei."
He drove a very strong point. Though the people did not exactly love the southeastern quadrant, they would easily recognize the dangers of going against the north alone.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Bulma admitted with a nod to Vegeta's offer. "So what's our plan? Oh wait. Let me get us a table."
Wondering how long it was going to take for her to call someone to retrieve a table, Kakorott and Vegeta were surprised to see her take out a little capsule, click the top, and throw it in an empty space to reveal a table with chairs.
Giving a prolonged blink, Vegeta slowly sat at the table, following suit of Bulma and Chi-Chi. Chi had a laptop, preparing it to record the conference.
"That's unsafe," Kakorott informed Chi, catching wind of what she was doing. He took out a spare scouter from who-knows-where and handed it to her. "I've disconnected this one so no one can access it, but it will still pick up our conversation."
"Oh, thank you," Chi-Chi muttered gratefully as she fumbled to put the scouter on correctly.
"Very good, Kakorott. Now it is common knowledge that Namekians are equal in strength to the Arlians and that Earth is a bit higher in technology to Leblya, making it about 4/5 that of Tuffle technology. Is this true?" After a nod from an engrossed Bulma and Chi-Chi, Vegeta continued.
"Now there are certain aspects of your technology that Atrosia can fill, meaning that after a combination, you may be more advanced than the Tuffles by a small amount. However, the two Tuffle planets have better and a larger supply of resources, specifically metals. This means that to win, you will still need the fighting support of the Saiyans.
"I've had an idea in mind for some time about a machine that will allow the person in it to train at a higher set gravity. The Atrosians have no been able to completely master and mass produce it properly, but I am sure you can. If we allow all the south planets to train in these machines, we may have a decisive advantage. The Nameks will be able to overpower the Arlians for sure. Another point will be that with Earth and Atrosia's combined technology, Atrosia should easily take on Leblya. That leaves the two Tuffle planets to Earth and Vegetasei."
Bulma slowly took his plan in, giving Vegeta an admired look and smiled. "I see you've planned this out well. And yes, we've already created a gravity room like the one you described. Our military has been using it to no avail. I was to have a meeting with Guru, the leader of the Nameks, to discuss shipment to his world. But I see now that it would be equally, if not more, useful in Saiyan hands."
"But I have one simple problem with this. If we do conquer the north, then what will happen after the war? With our collaboration with Atrosia, they will be able to match us, and with Saiyan help your two worlds will easily be able to overpower our quadrant."
Vegeta couldn't help but smirk. She had the keen senses and pick-ups he'd expected of her. "I see the distrust between our forefathers has continued. But I have a simple solution."
"Oh?" Bulma asked, completely and clearly intrigued. Kakkorot and Chi- Chi exchanged glances, equally interested but having an idea of where he was going.
"You need assurance that Vegetasei will not betray Earth. A clear cut insurance. That is why you, President Briefs, must become my queen and bear my heir."
There was a moment's pause before Chi-Chi, who had been tipping her chair forward anxiously, finally succumbed to gravity and fell unfashionably off. Bulma barely registered Chi's fall, her thoughts completely focused on the words she'd just heard. Actually… it was more of a demand than a suggestion.
Chi-Chi, still more surprised about Vegeta's demand than her fall, ungracefully slapped her hand on the table and pulled herself up. Had Kakorott not been equally as shocked and actually noticed her fall, he most likely would've assisted her. Vegeta, having fully expected the reactions, looked at Bulma expectantly for agreement.
"I… I see," she whispered, looking down at the wooden table in hard concentration. Here, a man she'd just met, of a species she was supposedly at war with, was requesting that she marry him to save both of their planets.
She was absolutely dumbfounded at what to say. She's always hoped… no… she'd always KNOWN, that she would marry for love and happiness. Yet here, a man she'd quite literally met ten minutes ago, just asked for her hand in marriage. No… he'd suggested, if even that.
Her mind reeled at the thought of her possible future. What would it be like to be queen of Vegetasei? Would he make her live there? Would he let her keep her responsibility to Earth? Or would he force her away to claim her as his own?
More importantly, how would he treat her?
She glanced up at him, attempting to find the answer by the expression on his face. He looked so… unemotional. He just stared at her, waiting impatiently for her answer, but with a half smirk that seemed to imply he knew what her answer had to be. She couldn't help but shoot him an annoyed face, but lowered her eyes again as she desperately weighed her options.
He could be lying. He could just be deceiving her into marrying him so he could kill her off and claim Earth. But the look on his face… the feeling she got from him. The northern hemisphere was no joke. If he truly was the king, which she was almost sure he was, then he wouldn't have risked coming here with only one other Saiyan if there was not a real threat. And if he had more ships, their censors would've picked them up a solar system away.
Would their marriage really be that beneficial? It would ensure the Earth's safety if she bore an heir for him. He did not have a queen yet and Saiyans were too honorable to go around having children with anyone. So he had to marry someone higher up, which she fit into. She didn't even know the 'down sides' yet. But regardless of the downsides, they couldn't possibly outweigh keeping her planet safe, could they?
He could hear her frantic thoughts. She knew it from the expression he was giving her. Impatient and patient at the same time: almost refraining from saying something to make her hurry up. He was suffocating her with his penetrating eyes, almost boring down into her innermost debates and battles about his proposition. But the battle had already been won.
"This is ridiculous," she growled to herself mentally, unable to hold back her scowl. If the north quadrant was right, then there'd be no way. The first tactical move they would make would be to crush her quadrant and then move on to Vegetasei. If she didn't… they would lose. There was no other choice. Could there be another alternative? Even if there was, time was short.
She would have to do it. She would have marry King Vegeta of Vegetasei. She didn't care what happened to her. This would keep Earth safe. This might end the war. She might yet be able to see the battle of the universe end within her lifetime. Her generation would always have a place in history. And she would have a place in the books as Earth's president and Vegetasei's Queen… And he would need to take her to Vegetasei to have her been crowned. And certainly by the time they arrived there, she would find out if this was a hoax or not. Usually she didn't claim herself to be a good judge of character or such, but the feeling she got from 'the king' gave her no doubts about his words or his proposal. There would be no questioning his word…
How long had they been sitting there in silence? Chi-Chi, who had by now taken her seat, was looking sadly at what seemed like an interesting spot on the table, and Kakkorot could not seem to contain his uneasiness at the situation.
"Very well." She stared at the table, not wanting to avert her eyes towards Vegeta's direction by accident.
"Bulma, no!" Chi-Chi screeched, standing abruptly though just settling in her chair. She pounded her fist on the table, not getting as much as a blink from Bulma. "You promised me! You said you would marry for happiness, not for political reasons!" she pleaded forcefully.
"Chi-Chi, I understand why you're upset-"
"You're President, not the queen! Please… there's got to be another way. If we-"
"Chi-Chi," Bulma cut in softly, staring blankly ahead, though her tone immediately silenced her long time friend. "Nothing would make me happier than seeing an end to this war. Not even marrying a man I choose. I understand that." Bulma looked to Chi-Chi, eyes quivering. "I should have made you understand that when I made that promise."
Chi-Chi sagged defeated and sat back in her chair. The mode only lasting for a bit as she accepted the statement, she smiled at Bulma and Vegeta before chirping, "So when's the wedding?"
Eye twitching at Chi-Chi's sudden change in mood, Vegeta managed to grumble out, "Today."
"Today?" the other three exclaimed, Vegeta never ceasing to amaze them.
"Yes. The north and south hemisphere's will be forged the same month. History will not classify us as slow to take action. So," Vegeta mused, attention turning to Bulma. "Any lovers or courtiers that you need to bid farewell before we leave?"
"Of course not! What do you take me for?" she snapped. "Wait… leave?"
"For Vegetasei."
"But we can't make it back today!" Kakorott exclaimed. "It took us two weeks just to get here!"
"Relax Kakorott. We can take the president's ship," Vegeta explained, smirking as Bulma's face dropped considerably.
"How did you find out about that?" she whispered lowly.
"It's Atrosia's job to find out about our rival planets. And its our business to get it out of them," Vegeta elaborated slyly. "Project EWT was it called? You meant it to be a prototype, but your calculations were so well done that there was no need for a second ship. I was very impressed by your work as a physicist. It's also said that you found a code to transfer matter to energy and back again while keeping the desired form. I always thought they were rumors until I saw this," Vegeta said slickly, knocking his hand on the table.
"I thought the same of your mental abilities," Bulma admitted with a smile. "So yes. I'll capsulate your pods and we'll take my ship to Vegetasei, but we're not doing anything until we're legally married HERE first!" she demanded simply.
Vegeta, with every passing second assuring him of his good choice, couldn't refrain a half smile. One of the reasons she was regarded so highly was because of her love for her people and her fierce determination to stick to her customs. So she wanted to be married on Earth first, did she? Well that wasn't too much of a problem. At least she agreed to the union.
With a nod, he stood abruptly. "Lead the way."
"You mean… right this moment?"
"Of course. The sooner we get married here, the more likely we can leave in time and make it back to Vegetasei today."
"Ok. Well the fastest thing is to just call a priest here. And I know one who can get here pretty fast. Chi-Chi? You wouldn't mind would you? I need to go over it with Vegeta."
"Of course! No problem."
With a busy air about her, Chi bustled out the room.
"Okay. If I tell him to speed things up, then all you have to do is say 'I do' after he asks 'Do you, Vegeta… um... son of Vegeta, take Bulma Briefs to be your lawfully wedded wife?'. Got it?"
A snort and a curt nod from his was the answer.
"Right. Now… Kakorott and Chi-Chi can be our witnesses. Then we have to sign a paper and we'll be officially married."
"Wonderful," Vegeta replied sarcastically. "The faster the better."
She looked at him carefully. This was so surreal, marrying him on a whim like this. Maybe this was all a dream and she'd wake up soon.
"You can at least pretend to be concerned about something that will affect the rest of both our lives," Bulma scolded with a small frown.
"I should've told you that I'm not one to leap with emotion. Expect nothing of the sort from me," Vegeta growled with finality in the sneer he shot at her.
"I don't care whether or not you're Romeo!" she snapped, earning a questioning look from Vegeta of who this 'Romeo' must be. "I'm just saying you can try to act a bit more serious about this. More KING-like."
"I AM serious about EVERYTHING I do. This is a political marriage, not one for you pleasure!" he barked in response, causing her eyes to narrow and brows to furrow.
"I AM AWARE OF OUR SITUATION!" she screamed, unable to contain herself. "It's just that when I agreed to this marriage, I had no idea I'd be marrying a JACKASS!"
The meaning of 'jackass' finally registering, he looked just about ready to kill. Next, he seemed to be in deep thought. Then he was just outright laughing.
"I'm glad YOU'RE the president," he chuckled. "Not only do you put up a semi-decent fight, but you can amuse me as well."
Before she could realize that was a slick compliment from him, she was snarling and gnashing at him. Had Chi-Chi not come back into the room at the right moment and held her back, it was certain that Bulma would have foolishly tried to tackle Vegeta, who by now was guffawing like he'd never guffawed before.
"This is the bride and groom?" a voice exclaimed in shock and slight amusement from the doorway. The room seemed to freeze as they all eyed the priest standing in the doorway.
"Unfortunately, yes," Kakorott sighed.
"I see."
"Wow. You're here already?" Bulma questioned in shock and disbelief, suddenly calm and sagging loosely by the armpits in Chi-Chi's hold. "That was fast." This had to be some sort of crazy fiction story.
"That's good, because time is imperative," Vegeta reminded them.
"So I've heard," the priest mused. "The two witnesses can sign this…" he explained, gesturing to a folder of papers he'd placed on the table as he entered. "also in there is the paper the bride and groom will sign later. A political marriage, eh President Briefs?"
She nodded and smiled weakly at him.
"Such a shame. A lot of men will be disappointed to hear of that. But onwards," the priest moved on, catching the death glare Vegeta was sending him. The two moved up in front of him, both standing rather impatiently. "Do you, um… Vegeta, son of Vegeta?- take Bulma Briefs to be your lawfully wedded wife?"
"I do," he grunted dully.
"Do you , Bulma Briefs, take King Vegeta to be your lawfully wedded husband?"
"I cannot fucking believe this. Is that really all we need to do to get married? (sigh) Let's see… negative: he's a jackass and an arrogant prick. Positive: Our marriage will create the south hemisphere and will ensure that Vegetasei doesn't turn on Earth so long as I pop out a kid. Bonus points: He's rather good looking. ;D"
"I'm glad you recognize my 'good looks'," she heard him inform her mentally with a suppressed chuckle.
Blushing furiously as she tore her gaze from his smoldering amusement, she managed to squeak "I do." Then she mentally reminded herself to get used to his mental capabilities.
"Then with the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now… er…" Taking note of the warning glare Bulma was sending him, the priest immediately realized it was directed at him. He quickly corrected himself, finishing with, "…. Sign these papers! Yes. HERE!" He promptly snatched up the documents in question and proceeded to shove them in the new couple's faces.
"Thank you, Krillin," Bulma thanked softly as she bent down to sign the papers, smiling as though she were looking at him. "I'm sorry I rushed you so much."
"Ah, it's nothing!" Krillin assured, putting on a goofy grin and scratching the back of his head. "I'm just sorry it wasn't me!" They both shared a hearty laugh together before noticing the death glare Vegeta was sending both of them. After abruptly setting down, Bulma handed the paper to her husband.
"So you folks leaving for Vegetasei today? I assume that's why you were in such a-"
"How did you know we're Saiyan?" Kakorott cut in.
"Well the tails are a dead giveaway, but if I hadn't noticed that I still would've known by your power levels," Krillin explained with a shrug.
"What?" Vegeta snapped, immediately coming into the conversation. "You can detect power levels? But I thought you were a priest."
"I was ordained one," Krillin revealed with a nod. "But I'm actually in the military now. I train soldiers on how to form and use ki energy." With that, he held his palm up and formed a ki ball in it as proof.
"I see," Vegeta hissed, eyes narrowing. He took this opportunity to really look 'the priest' over. He was rather short, probably about the size of a Saiyan child. He obviously shaved and waxed his head, for his hairless top was gleaming unnaturally. He was wearing some sort of orange gi with a strange symbol on the front. It was probably the symbol of his regiment or something. His regiment in the Earth army… making him the enemy. However, as he turned to Bulma his face softened, if only a little. The Earth military was no longer his enemy, no matter how little of a threat to him they were in the first place. He would have to remember that.
He fought back a sigh as he quickly barked, "We need to leave. Go pack your things. You have five minutes." Rolling her eyes, Bulma realized she had no right to complain since she could, indeed, pack everything in five minutes with her capsules.
"In case I haven't told you all," Bulma started as she walked over to her closet and started to throw all the clothes into a pile, "This is my personal room."
"Good. Then I can help you pack so you don't waste time," Vegeta sneered, moving over to the closet breaking off the bar that all the hangers were on. He threw the whole bar, clothes and all, into her 'pile' and looked at her expectantly to capsulate it.
"Thank you…. Dear….." she hissed sarcastically as she moved over to her clothes and started to pile them in a box she'd grabbed. "Would you move my desk over here too? I'll include everything in the same capsule," she ordered Vegeta, going back over to the closet to put her shoes in a separate box.
Had he not been in a hurry, he would not have complied with her demands. But unfortunately, he was in a VERY big hurry to get back to Vegetasei. He had left without warning. The people would be wondering what had become of their king. He really didn't know why he'd left so… compulsively. That day, he'd done a lot of spontaneous things. Like his generous promotion to Kakorott and Bardock. What had come over him? Gods… he should've kept better control. Even though he HAD been crowned King the day before.
"Chi-Chi, where are you going?" Bulma's voice interrupted his thoughts, snapping him back to Earth.
"I'm going to pack."
"… pack?" Bulma repeated, dumbfounded.
"Of course! I'm coming with you!" she exclaimed as if it were obvious and final.
"Is… is that okay?" Bulma asked, looking to Vegeta. Normally she would DEMAND that he allow her friend to come. But… he was taking them to his home planet. There's no telling what they would find there or if this was even all a hoax. She didn't want to put Chi-Chi in unnecessary danger…
"As long as she keeps her harpy mouth shut when I'm around then fine," Vegeta negotiated, setting the desk down with a thud next to the clothes. "And you don't need the clothes. You'll have everything you need at the palace."
"I figured that, but I still wanted to bring some of my Earth clothing," Bulma reasoned, finally placing everything in a single capsule. Chi-Chi, who had stormed out of the room after Vegeta's approval of her journey with them, also returned with a single capsule.
"Would you mind putting this in your pack? I forgot to get one with a lock on it and I'm afraid it'll open while it's in my pocket or something."
"Sure, Chi."
"Are we ready?" Vegeta cut in, irritated, as he started to walk out the door. "It's been five minutes!"
"Bye Krillin. Thanks for everything. I'm sure I'll see you again someday! Oh, and about our 'visitors,' please keep it hush hush for now. I decided that once Vegeta and I are married on Vegetasei as well, I'll announce the marriage and why it happened."
"You're the president!" Krillin agreed with a happy, half-sad nod. "Yes, we'll see each other again." Chi-Chi also gave him a friendly goodbye smile as they all left.
They followed Bulma to the launch bay, taking in the grandeur hallways that decorated the building. Bulma couldn't hold back a sigh as she hurried through the maze of hallways. It would probably be a while until she set foot in the building again: the Administrative Headquarters. It wasn't exactly a fancy name for the building with the President living it in, but she liked it. The interior was adorned in historic painting and figures and sculptures. The Earth crest was boldly displayed on the dark blue tapestries that flowed from the walls. Blue was an important color to Earth. It became somewhat of a favorite color that represented it, considering that most of the planet was dark blue water. She didn't like to think that her coloring had been a great factor in her election of president, also considering that her father was the president before her, but she knew that no matter how she or her counterpart had campaigned, the subconscious thought of the people could not be swayed.
Her thoughts came back to the moment at hand as she realized they were turning into the launch bay, more specifically HER launch bay. It held one of her most prized possessions: her beautiful baby Blue Dragon. And she'd built it by herself, and ONLY herself! It was a cliché name, but she loved the massive ship anyway. It held everything a president could ever want: guest quarters, her own personal quarters, a kitchen, several bathrooms, and of course the WT engine was always handy in getting around the universe at fast speeds. It also had the most advance defensive and offensive mechanisms, created by her of course.
She smiled as she gladly appraised herself for the paint job. It was a dark blue with black waves, giving the appearance of waves crashing to whomever the ship was heading to. From a ship viewing a side profile, they would only see a black blur, barely detectable in the dark vastness of space, if the Blue Dragon were going at a ridiculously fast speed.
"I've already had a few of my men capsulate your pods. They're on the ship," Bulma explained, saving Vegeta the trouble of asking.
She watched as everyone boarded, her new husband looking slightly impressed but determined to hide it. Kakorott looked rather odd, and Bulma briefly wondered what was wrong with him until his stomach growled loudly. Hiding a snicker, she quickly clambered aboard as well and pointed him in the direction of the kitchen.
She headed in the direction of the CIC, which doubled as the bridge, and quickly punched in the headings for Vegetasei. Making sure to have the ship send an alert if anything were going to be in the way between the two planets, she collapsed in her chair and turned to the viewing window. She'd watched it numerous times, but still liked to view the two beacons sticking out in front of the ship each release a bright red beam that met a ways away. She grinned at her own brilliance as a rift started to open, sucking the ship into the wormhole. The ship rumbled a bit, making Bulma feel a bit nervous about the dampeners she'd installed, but she quickly suppressed the fears. She'd done this numerous times. There was no need to doubt her own ingenuity!
"How long until we arrive?" Vegeta demanded, popping up behind her and looking in slight awe at the interior of the wormhole.
"About an hour."
"How are you keeping the wormhole stable?" Vegeta asked he sat in the chair next to her. Giving him a glance, she realized how absolutely exhausted he looked.
"What do you mean?" she countered, not feeling like answering his question in complete detail.
"If one side of the wormhole is broken off, then the whole wormhole is broken and we will all be dematerialized," Vegeta stated expertly.
"I'm impressed. Obviously you've done your homework. But the ship works slightly different than that. As it travels through, there are two beacons on the back that keep the wormhole open behind it, allowing the wormhole left behind to close without affecting the rest of the connection."
"Ah I see," Vegeta stated with a nod. "The Atrosians have the ability to create the wormhole in the same manner as you, but we do not use it in fear that someone will follow us through on the other side."
"Exactly. But with the two beacons the original entry point is closed. Someone would have to be waiting for us to pass and quickly jump in at the point of the two beacons, so there is still a possibility of that happening. It's not likely though." She closed her eyes and slouched in her seat in a futile attempt to rest. With a groan, Bulma realized that it wasn't the time to fall asleep and forced her posture straight again, snapping her eyes back open.
Vegeta watched as she struggled with her sleepiness. He'd known the second he saw her that he would follow through with his plan to marry the woman. And his thoughts had only been confirmed as he saw the quick wit and sharp tongue she displayed. The whole trip to Earth he'd been trying to work a way around marrying the president yet still giving Earth some kind of insurance, but once he arrived he figured, 'Why run from a good thing?'
Chi-Chi yelled in annoyance as Kakarott practically ravaged the refrigerator, leaving in his wake a large and disgusting mess. The trail to the table of ketchup was undeniably his as he sat there, table covered with plates of food, shamelessly stuffing his face.
"KAKOROTT!" she screeched, picking up a random frying pan and whacking him over the head with it. She figured that as a Saiyan, it wouldn't hurt him too much or give him brain damaged.
Nearly chocking on his food, he managed to squeeze out a, "What?" before spitting out a chicken bone.
"If you wanted something to eat you should have asked me! There is no need for you to be completely destroying the only kitchen on the ship!" She couldn't believe he'd managed to create such a disaster. The kitchen was 20 by 20 feet, and yet it seemed that every inch was covered in ketchup, mayonnaise, soda or mustard.
"I'm sorry! I couldn't figure out how to open them and they kind of exploded!"
"Kakorott? What is going on here?" Vegeta barked, walking into the room and floating over the mess to avoid his white boots being tainted by the yellow, black, or red spatters on the floor.
"Oh Vegeta! You're here!" Kakorott exclaimed, rushing over to him with a Coke in his hand. "You've got to try this! It's almost like Saiyan beer, but it doesn't get you drunk!"
Vegeta inspected the can suspiciously before glancing up at Kakorott. "Have your lips touched this can?"
With a frown, Kakorott nodded.
"Then mine will not," Vegeta declared with finality, pushing the can away from him. With a slight groan of annoyance, Kakorott rushed to the refrigerator and pulled out another one.
"Here!" With a judgmental look, he carefully opened and sipped a bit of the Coke. Eyes narrowed, he relaxed a bit as he felt the bubbles crackled and pop on his tongue.
"It's… okay," Vegeta halfway lied, taking the next sip as an opportunity to drain the can. Crushing the can, he effortlessly tossed it straight into the trash and returned to Bulma on the bridge.
"What happened?" Bulma asked in a bored manner.
"Just our goonies fighting over food. Kakorott is ranting about how Coke is the greatest thing that he's ever tasted and is practically consuming the entire 'six pack' or whatever that harpy called it."
Frowning at Vegeta's nicknames of 'goonies' and 'harpy' for Chi-Chi, she made a mental note to loosen him up during their marriage. Her eyes widened in shock as she slowly took in that they were, in fact married.
What about the… honeymoon? "Dear god…" Whenever he talked about 'bearing an heir', she hadn't really, actually, deeply thought about… how… they were going to 'bear an heir'. She glanced over at him. Sure he was handsome… okay… he was just plain damn hot…but…
But nothing. She was married to him. What better excuse was that? She grinned wickedly and quickly turned away from him as his head snapped in her direction.
What the hell was she looking at? Whatever. No matter. He was tired… really tired… He closed his eyes and slouched in his chair a bit. He would just rest his eyes. Yea… just rest his eyes…
Hell. He was safe on the ship for now.
……
"Vegeta?"
He kept his eyes closed but growled in annoyance as he heard his new mate's voice penetrate the wonderful dream he'd been having. It'd been a while since he'd had a dream… and now he forgot exactly what he'd been dreaming about.
"Vegeta. We're almost there." His eyes snapped open and he sat up in his chair a bit, rolling his neck and releasing a popping sound. Vegeta looked over to Bulma, who looked like she'd just woken up as well.
"Wow…" she whispered as she looked out the window. She stood up and walked towards the front, as if that would get her a better look. "Is… is that it?"
She had to remind herself to breath as she looked at the beautiful planet. Red… blood red… but in a beautiful way. Clouds swirled randomly to create a gloomy, strawberry like milkshake. As they came closer she could see the gigantic mountains that popped up in random places, one formation creating a beautiful spiral that seemed to lead into a gigantic city that she could see even from the depths of space.
"My god… that city is huge."
"That is Vegetasei, as in the city. It's where our palace is," Vegeta elaborated, also getting up from his chair to stand by her and point special areas out.
She halfway took it in as he explained a few things about the planet.
"What do you think?" he asked, a question that normally wouldn't come from him. But his pride wanted to hear her response as he smirked at the awe on her face.
"It's gorgeous," she replied softly and sincerely. They took their seats as the ship rumbled form entering the atmosphere.
"Why are they allowing us to land?" Bulma asked, realizing that no one tried to stop or contact the ship.
"The sensors can detect that Kakorott and I are onboard. And even if we did receive a confirmation request, Kakorott probably already took care of it."
The ship landed in the gigantic city, which grew larger as they entered deeper and deeper into it. With a thud the ship landed about ten yards from the enormous building that Bulma took as the palace.
"The gravity is high, woman, so I will need to escort you to the palace so my ki shield will protect you." She nodded in understanding as the ship finally landed. Seeing Kakorott and Chi-Chi enter the bridge, he quickly ordered, "Kakorott, escort the other Earthling so that she will not be affected by the high gravity. When we go inside the palace I'll have the settings lowered so that they don't need escorts anymore." With a nod from Kakorott, Vegeta decided it was time to leave.
As they walked out on the ramp, Vegeta extended his arm to her. "My Queen?" he beckoned with a half smirk, half taunting smile. Returning the smile warmly, she slipped her arm in lock with his as they marched proudly down to the palace.
Bulma couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed as a large crowd of Saiyans greeted them, cheering and parading as they saw their King walk off the ship. There were hundreds… no thousands of Saiyans roaring in allegiance to their king as he escorted Bulma down to the palace.
"These are your subjects, my queen," he reminded her with a grin as she looked around, dumbfounded at the massive crowd. "Welcome to Vegetasei."
