Human Hospitality

by scoutergreen

Chapter 62

Standoff

When Vegeta woke several hours later, he took a moment to remember where he was before rising out of bed, which was little more than a low cot with a foam pad and extra blankets to layer on top of the pad. The room itself was pretty sparse and bare; Vegeta had a narrow bed, small desk, and a single chair to work with. The only window was a port window, which looked out into a lonely expanse of space and distant planets. He pulled his clothing back on and made his way back to the main area of the small station, discovering the kitchen lit up, appliances gleaming, and the air dead silent.

The Saiyan found something simmering away in a large electrical pan, removed the cover, and took a reluctant taste. Whatever it was, it was damn good; thin cuts of meat and cut bones with marrow exposed bubbled away in a savoury broth. Vegeta scavenged for a bowl and a spoon, served himself, took a bottle of juice from behind the bar, and took a seat in a booth.

Three bowls into his delicious breakfast, Malar passed through the small restaurant and went into the kitchen, eyes avoiding the Saiyan and her hands filthy with grease and face shiny with sweat. Unimpressed with this snub, Vegeta took a final sip of the broth before entering the kitchen. He found Malar scrubbing her hands and arms underneath a spray of hot water.

"Hey," he folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the counter, "what's the deal with ignoring me?"

"Huh?" Malar pulled her hands away from the water and turned off the taps, "where have you been?"

"In a booth... eating," Vegeta rolled his eyes, "where the fuck have you been?"

Malar had turned the water back on, rinsing her face with cool water and washing the back of her neck. "In the guts of that ship," she began, "I think I figured out the major issue, but now it's just getting things back to normal that I need to figure out! Hey, are you able to make outgoing calls through that big command centre?"

She fetched a bowl and spoon, served herself, and signalled for Vegeta to follow her out to his booth. Vegeta decided to find a bigger bowl, took his fourth serving, and followed her.

"Yeah. Incoming and outgoing. It doesn't connect so well with PTO lines of communication, but I just rig a scouter into one of the computer's input ports and can make a reasonably good connection."

"It certainly is a beautiful ship... but... look, Vegeta, some of your electrical panels look like they're fried. Did you pass through an electrical or magnetic storm or something? Because I can't figure out how you managed to sustain that kind of damage. The central computer is, well, I don't even know what kinda' language that thing is programmed to run, but it sounds really weird and I don't understand anything! Do you have any idea what it's saying?"

Vegeta nodded. "It's one of the Earthling languages. The humans do not communicate in any dialect of the galactic standard. Not even the really, ahem, exotic dialects..."

Malar set down her spoon. "Oh, I know that one! Ha! What kind of backwater planet did you find? One of their languages? Like they have multiple languages? A planet of rubes, if you ask me. Do these people trade with other intelligent lifeforms whatsoever?"

"No. They're just beginning to develop orbiting space stations and exploring their solar system and beyond. The human who built my ship is a most unusual Earthling. So you aren't wrong about Earth being totally backwater and full of rubes," Vegeta shrugged, "but one of them managed to build a ship that interests you."

"Fair point," Malar smirked, "but I'm surprised to hear you defending these Earthlings like that."

The Saiyan growled low in his throat and had another spoonful of meat.

"So... any idea how your ship got so messed up? How long have you been having issues?"

After taking a long sip of juice, Vegeta cleared his throat and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "You aren't going to believe me, but it all started when my ship suddenly landed on a strange planet that I'd never seen or heard of before..."

Voice and face especially animated as he regaled Malar with the story of his epic battle against the harsh elements of the mystery planet he awoke on, Vegeta spared no detail, even recalling how he'd been so desperate that he'd started to silently pray for some kind of miracle.

"...and then, there was this hot burst of golden light, and in that moment, I was golden. I became a relentless brute in a most refined form. My strength grew a thousandfold, and even the clouds parted under the great weight of my new-found power!"

Malar's mouth hung open and her eyes were wide with shock and disbelief.

"I saved myself and the ship, and when there was time to spare and a cleared sky, I managed to get the ship off the ground and back into space. Although there were issues with the ship from the moment I awoke on the planet, somehow I was able to resume travel. First, I stopped off at a small station that had no mechanic, and then I found you..."

The stunned mechanic said nothing for many minutes. Finally, with a scrap of meat being ground between her molars, she spoke: "You were dreaming."

"I was not! It was far too tangible to be anything but a fully conscious moment. Never have I had a dream where I felt such... it was an experience."

Malar wasn't convinced. "Drugs."

"No! Well, maybe it was a dream..."

Malar smiled and finished her bowl of meat and marrow. "So, how about you help me out with that computer?"

"Thought you were all pissed off at me," Vegeta rolled his eyes and his upper lip curled into a sneer.

"Oh, I am," Malar scraped her spoon against her bowl, "I think you're a total asshole, but I do need an assistant for this repair. And even though I'm pissed at you right now, you're still my friend!"

"Huh," Vegeta's left eyebrow rose slightly, "alright, then. Take me to my ship."

Bulma's eyes snapped open and she rolled over to check the time on her mobile phone.

12:58 AM

She forced herself to get up, pulled on her housecoat, and waited for it to begin. A minute later, the beginning gurgles of Trunks' nightly crying session came through the baby monitor. She groaned, pocketed the monitor, and went to his nursery. If things went well, he would fall asleep again at two thirty in the morning and sleep until six or seven.

"So the deal is this: I've figured out that I can get this thing back to normal if I re-wire your damaged electrical panels and we manage to give that damn computer a hard reboot. Whatever power source the ship runs on works beautifully, so the ship is technically functional... just... difficult to pilot given its computerized design. It really is a beautiful ship. I'd love to talk to the Earthling to built this!" Malar sat cross-legged on her platform and soldered together wires that connected into a panel.

Vegeta had sat with her an hour, handing her tools and holding onto nuts and bolts as she worked on his ship. She had the stereo on in the background and frequently sang along to songs in a language he could not understand in a rather tuneless voice.

How the mechanic had figured out what the issue was, Vegeta had no idea, but he trusted her expertise.

"So you need me to get the computer up and running normally once you've rebooted it, huh?"

"Pretty much. You're also a useful, um, helper. But right now you can make us some hot tea, because I'm thirsty and need a break! There's a sink and hot-plate in the back."

Vegeta's cheeks and neck went red with anger. "Are you suggesting I become some sort of... tea boy?!"

"Hey!" Malar did not look up from her collection of copper and various metal wires, "I'm already in the middle of something here, and my hands are covered in oil and gunk! You want grease in your tea, huh?"

Grumbling, Vegeta went to the back of Malar's huge shop to prepare some tea. He found a hot plate, stainless steel kettle, a large pot and several chipped cups, and jars of loose leaf herbs. As the water boiled, Vegeta curiously sniffed the contents of each jar until he found one that resembled the chamomile flower tea the elder female Briefs had once prepared after he'd complained of an upset stomach.

As the tisane infused with boiling water, Vegeta sat still for several minutes and tried to take stock of what was happening. What if Malar couldn't fix his ship and the computer failed to reboot? Would he be stuck on her station until he could procure a ship fast enough to bring him back to Earth in reasonable time?

Do I even want to return to Earth, he asked himself as he started to pour the tea into a large mug for Malar. As he went to fill his own cup, a deafening bang pierced the air and Vegeta dropped to the ground, instincts taking over.

He heard a blood curdling scream and knew Malar was in trouble. After giving himself five seconds to wait out another explosion, Vegeta pushed himself up onto his feet and tore through the shop to find Malar laying in a heap on the ground, surrounded by a half dozen heavily armed men, their weapons trained on her.

Vegeta swallowed a lump in his throat when he realized they were wearing life support packs and heavily insulated suits, giving them the ability to survive in outer space.

"Where's the money, bitch? Give us everything of value, or we blow out the windows!" A deep voice came hissing through the helmet of one of the men, and Vegeta decided they must have been the ring leader.

"Hey!" Vegeta snarled, slowly advancing on the men, his eyes wide and glimmering with manic energy, "what do you want here? Get away from her!"

"We want the money, food, and all tools of value on this station! Who the fuck are you?"

Vegeta moved fast enough to vanish for a split second before reappearing behind one of the smaller armed men, grabbing on hard to his helmet and jerking his head hard enough to snap his neck. He let go and allowed the pirate to drop to the ground.

The men did not seem particularly moved. Vegeta cleared his throat and decided to give them a verbal warning, just this once: "I am Vegeta, the prince of Saiyans, and you are trespassing here. This is a closed station. I strongly suggest you get away from the woman and leave now, or you will all meet the same fate as your comrade."

Malar stirred on the ground and cried in agony. Vegeta spotted a wet, dark red spot growing across her left side, soaking through her shirt, and he knew he had to move fast. When one of the armed men stepped on Malar's stomach and started to apply pressure, the Saiyan snarled and lunged forward, tackling the pirate and crushing their windpipe with an elbow.

As Vegeta killed the second of the six pirates, he did not notice one of the armed men firing his weapon into one of his ship's port windows until his victim had stopped twitching. The window shattered, and Vegeta felt his blood run ice cold.

As the Saiyan rose to his feet, anger swelling, one of the men shot at him. Vegeta deflected the pulse of energy, only realizing the error of his way when it too hit his ship, damaging the exterior wall.

"We're not kidding, asshole! We'll blow all the fucking windows out, and you and the bitch will be sucked out into outer space and die instantly! Now, where is the money?!"

"I will not give you pricks the pleasure of damaging this station or threatening us. This is your final warning: leave now or die!"

The men laughed behind their helmets. One trained his weapon on Malar's head, one trained his weapon on Vegeta, and two trained their weapons on a very large window.

"What's it gonna be, princie? The money, or the bitch?"

Vegeta looked over at Malar, who looked up at Vegeta and silently mouthed something. The energy was draining rapidly from her eyes. The spot of blood on her shirt had morphed into a puddle of blood on the floor beneath her.

I'll be damned if she dies too, he thought, feeling the hot burst of energy rip through his body as he ascended to a Super Saiyan state. His vision sharpened and Vegeta jumped high into the air, watching with amazement as three pulses of energy discharged from the barrels of the weapons the pirates wielded in what felt like super slow motion.

He took the three pulses of energy head-on, seemingly absorbing the energy into a protective force field he could not recall throwing up, and then he noticed a fourth burst of energy discharging from a weapon, heading towards the large window with terrifying speed.

The pirates below only saw a streak of golden light flit around the window before they were slammed by a wave of invisible energy. Each was dead before they hit the ground, and as their helmets smacked against the hard floor, Vegeta returned to Malar and knelt by her side, desperately searching for a pulse.

"V-V-V... 'geta..." Malar gasped, "you're... golden..."

Her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp. Her breathing grew slower, chest barely rising when she inhaled. Vegeta found a weak pulse, his fingertips pressed against the side of her neck, and he knew the battle was only half over.