Post by Zerori on Apr 23, 2016 21:58:10 GMT
The trip from Vegeta to Namek was… surprisingly enough undisturbed and unfettered by course interruptions. That fact should have been calmed the captain aboard. Alas, it merely left the saiyaness hybrid to brood undisturbed. And so, from the moment she stepped from the landing ramp, Courgette and words still echoing within her head, she’d stolen herself away into her private quarters.
Strict orders to not be disturbed, for any reason.
For a while, the crew hadn’t even left the planet until they’d gotten the orders to leave for… their original destination.
And it was with a few regretful sighs and salutations that the crew set a course. It seemed that with the second return to Vegeta, their exploits regaled to the saiyans that met with them the last time by her ‘hostages’, quite a few of the crew that meant to maintain their distance actually got quite… attached. While Zerori was out and about causing trouble – it seemed a bit of indirect mutiny was afoot.
Yet, even as this was a very real possibility, Zerori was far off in her own world.
Inside the private quarters located just inside the Bridge, all the lights were lowered to almost zero luminosity. From the table just in view of the door, to the sofa off to the left side and the bed just beyond that in the corner, the only illumination that could be seen was the occasional flash of a small pin of light. The darkness of space, speckled with stars as they passed by at an incredible speed was all the movement that could be seen in the room.
Sitting along the soft cushions of the sofa, arms lain against the top casually and one leg crossed at the knee on top of the other, was the brooding captain of the ship. Her head was tilted in a way that she could see the stars pass by, incontrovertibly in deep thought.
Zerori was… unable to shake a deep, disturbing thought in her mind. It was simple, yet also ridiculous in how… impossible it was!
Gazing at the stars, Zerori’s irate expression continued to sour. “Son of a bitch…”
Bing Gan, protector of Earth (and apparently Kanassa) had perished three weeks ago on said latter planet. They weren’t enemies, allies in fact, but not quite… friends – or did she even make friends any more?
It was the decision she had made to not pass up an opportunity for power. In her mind, she half expected the God of Earth to actually kill the Queen – thus preventing the success of her mission. There was no contract but the honor of a deal. And… despite the unfortunate fact that he had indeed perished – Zucceta held up her end of the deal.
Should I have asked for more? Zerori rhetorically mused to herself, I should have! I should have made that accursed child take a backseat and forced my hand. That… damn Queen. Yet, even as she lamented her own shortcomings the fact still remained that she had reached a power higher than she could hope to erase… and further, that she (herself) had chosen this path.
But if she could take it back… Would she have taken it back?
Closing her eyes briefly, she would move her head over to look at the table just in front of the door. There, sloppily placed within a frame, was a picture that held more sentimental value than the saiyaness would care to admit. It would be a small girl smiling widely in the eye of the camera, held by Zerori in a typical ‘selfie’ posture as she leaned down to the young girls’ height. On her face was the warmest smile Zerori remembered ever making. Her eyes shone with a love and adoration that she’d never quite felt for anything since... her time with her father. In the back drop of the forest where she and Ari had first met, she remembered that they had returned that day to get the rest of Ari’s things…
It was the day she had officially taken Ari as a ward, becoming something of a guardian for her.
Swallowing, her jaw tense, Zerori closed her eyes once more to try and banish the imagery of their happier times.
Once more, her desire was resolved. She was doing this for her. That was all that mattered…
~-~-~-~
In was some time later, while the crew was just starting to get tired and change shifts, that the door to Zerori’s quarters hissed open. Looking over, like deer in headlights, the bridge crew watched with baited breath as their captain emerged from the darkness. Squinting her eyes at how bright the lights were just outside of her room, Zerori grimaced with a hiss, “The hell are doing, keepin’ these on so bright?”
For a moment, none of them were certain who would speak first until the farthest male spoke up, “I-It’s because we’re still on duty, Captain.”
“Go to bed. All of you,” She reminded tersely, crossing her arms and daring any to undermine her odd orders.
“B-But-” It was another, a zoanthrope female this time, that begged to differ.
Zerori looked at her, eye brow raised, “You’re… really going to argue with me?” Her tone was dangerous and filled with surprised aggressiveness. Waiting for a response, which did not come thankfully, Zerori gave barely noticeable nod before she gestured to wave them all out. “Go.”
They moved sluggishly toward the door, much too slowly for her tastes but Zerori wasn’t going to let that get to her, and once all had left via the lift she let out a bedraggled sigh. Walking over to the captain’s chair, she sat in it briefly to lean over and look at a panel at her left hand.
Sure enough, the course was steady and they would arrive in a few hours. Pressing a few commands in, she stood up from the chair and also made her way over to the lift. She had last minute training to do and was behind in it already. Walking in the lift, arm crossed, Zerori left the ship to its own devices.
Auto-pilot could handle it.
~-~-~-~
Without the saiyans to help her with the gravity like last time, it was a genuine worry that she wouldn’t be as into the work she had to do. However, once inside with armor taken off to the wayside, she could feel the familiar jitters as her hands ghosted over the controls. She’d maxed out the machines capabilities already so now it was just a matter of mastering her power in that same gravity. As the sound of the pressure started to wind down like a bass, she swallowed deeply and tensed her body in preparation.
And yet still, she felt herself smash into the floor to one knee and let out a howl of pain.
“By the gods-!” She snarled, blood dripping onto the floor from her mouth. She must have bitten his tongue or lip because one of her fangs also felt damn near chipped.
Still at the console, Zerori staggered as she tried to pull herself to her feet. Slacking – she’d done it. And now she was regretting it more deeply than any other decision she’d made and that… was saying something right now. Once back to her feet, she could feel a throbbing at the knee that landed against the floor. It hurt so badly she was almost on the verge of crying and her best assumption… was that she must have shattered it. Fuck, that’s… gonna inhibit this a LOT!
Taking a few deep breaths as her body would allow, Zerori would close her eyes tightly and – throwing caution to the wind – slammed her foot into the ground.
No pain, no gain.
And so, she spent the next three or so hours there – pushing her body to exhaustion. She didn’t remember how many times she’d fallen and thought that was it – that was the end. It was only through bittersweet thoughts and a rage she wasn’t sure she knew originated anymore that made her push herself back up. All she could think of was that she was tired… tired of waiting, tired of distractions and tired of trying to make it all work.
When this was all over, she was going to retire. Become fat. Fuck training. Fuck relationships. She liked her confectionaries and didn’t have any reason to hate on them just because she had a chip on her shoulder the size of the Titanic.
Tantrum come and passed, when the last hour came and went she managed to shut the chamber off.
Door hissing open, with a very thick and burn-smelling steam billowing out from it, the saiyaness could be seen holding onto the frame before hobbling out carefully. Everyone was asleep (or were supposed to be sleeping) so if any were awake to see her in such a state, Gods save their soul when I’m done with them… She thought with a sadistic amusement, trying to lift her own spirits ever so slightly as she made her way to the medical room. A few moments to lick her wounds and try to heal this shattered thing before going to sleep for the last leg of the trip.
As the door to the Medical Room opened, Zerori would look up to see a brief disturbing visage before it disappeared.
Towering over her, a familiar head of white hair was balding and had plates of metal in various areas on his face. An arm made of metal on his right with the lack of an arm on his left – while his entire midsection was absent of skin, organs and bones. Held together by a metallic spine.
Jarred from the brief image, Zerori’s eyes widened and she stared ahead of her like she’d quite honestly seen a ghost. Her heart beat in her chest at the speed of hummingbird and her mouth ran dry.
“What… the fuck-?” She hissed softly, the memory of the chilling figure fading from her memory. Adrenaline that was kicked into her system started to fall and her breath came suddenly in the form of a gasp. “Oh, hell no,” She whispered before bringing her arms around her calm herself. It was cold.
Trying to dismiss it, she continued on her way down the halls toward the lift. She was ready to fall into the sheets and dismiss the world until they arrived. Everyone would need the energy for whatever they might encounter…
Boarding the lift, she would turn around…
-To once again see the figure in front of her, this time his bottom jaw absent and with only one eye to stare down at her. A red beam of light staring at her in place of his working eye.
Giving a painful gasp, she backed up against the wall of the lift and threw a hand out on instinct. At full strength, though weakened by her intense training, a spiral of flames jettisoned from her fingers and scorched the figure. Or so… she thought. It passed through him, like he wasn’t really there, and blacked the metal walls outside the lift and even melted through some of walls. Alarms went off, an aftereffect of the damage, and she just stared… absolutely terrified by what persisted in front of her. “No…”
Zerori… You betrayed us all… Came the harrowing voice of the man that died that day on Kanassa. It was distinctly disappointing.
And she knew he was disappointed in her…
“You died,” She insisted, hissing softly as if saying it louder would make it untrue.
For a solid moment that seemed to stretch on for forever, he said nothing. Until finally he spoke, yet his mouth that he didn’t have did not move. I won’t truly die… until you know…
He wouldn’t do this to her, “No! NO! You died and this isn’t you!” She was panicked now, bordering on almost deranged as she bellowed, “I made my choice and you knew… you KNEW I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way. You knew this, Bing!”
“-tain!” A faint voice was heard. Blinking at the sudden voice, the figure of the male was gone yet an almost barely visible outline could be seen. By now she was gasping for breath and her eyes were staring without seeing, grasping at the wall so much that her fingertips were a good two centimeters dug into the metal. Coming up to stand a few feet from the door of the lift was a few crew members that were situated in the rooms she’d melted the walls for.
As they doted upon her, asking questions and trying to desperately calm her frenzied state. It took a few minutes, and she ignored answering any of the questions asked, but she was able to regain some composure. It had shaken her intensely, maybe even traumatized her a bit by how disconcerting the visage was.
She wasn’t superstitious… but childlike fears weren’t entirely dispelled.
Sleep was needed… in the morning, on the surface, she would be fine. Her resolve wasn’t shaken.
-is what she told herself.
~-~-~-~
The next morning she’d slept through the landing. Slept through the dreams as best she could and slept through the infernal pounding at her door until the saiyaness could handle no more. “I’m UP!” She demanded from her place on the floor.
Hardly dressed, Zerori didn’t know when she’d fallen from the convolution of blankets and pillows she’d fisted and thrashed about upon. Leaning up with a tired groan, she grasped at the table nearby and gave an ‘oof!’ when it toppled over and fell over as a side effect. “Damn it…”
“Captain, we’re ready to depart on the planet’s surface. We need you at the ready,” It was Kringe… of course they’re tell him to come get her.
“I’ll-shit. I’ll be right there!” She called, knocking her head into the table before getting back to her feet. In a matter of five minutes she was waving her hand over the circuit on her arm and running a hand through her hair to detangle it.
As the door opened, revealing the waiting brenchian male along the wall, she would simply ignore his presence in lieu of just stalking down the hall toward the exit bay. Following her, he just couldn’t leave well enough alone and caught up to walk next to her.
“So what happened last night?”
“Nothing, obviously,” She replied, quickly and tersely.
“You can’t keep lying to herself about what happened,” He insisted, his bushy eye brows knitting into his brow as he spoke. “Why did you-?”
Before he could finish, Zerori stopped in mid step and slammed an arm up towards his throat. Forcing him to the wall, she would snarl in his face, “And where the fuck were you to tell me this, eh?” Face to face, she noticed that he was genuinely surprised by her aggressive reaction. “Don’t follow me like a goddamn puppy and tell me what I don’t want to hear.”
He got some balls, then, “Would you have listened either way?!” He yelled, even as his life was dangerously close to ending. He knew she hated him.
“No, because it was my goddamn decision! I even told you not to follow me!”
“You could have died and I-”
She couldn’t take this anymore and let go of him, stopping him midsentence before grabbing his collar and jacket and throwing him down the hall. Thrown head first, he would spiral in the air before landing and sliding along the floor on his back. Giving a grunt of pain, he would try and get back to his feet despite the throbbing at his sides and neck.
No longer of a mind to care anymore, Zerori stalked towards him at speed walk. Once she got him, watching as he looked up at her in surprise, she pulled a leg back and let loose kick that snapped his head to side. It wouldn’t kill him… unfortunately. But thankfully, he would just fall asleep… yeah, that’s what she was going to call it.
“Fuckin’ dumbass,” Walking away from the unconscious warrior, she would continue on her way to the landing bay. Someone would find him and they’d know what to do, hopefully.
Once there, a handful of the crew waiting for her, she would stop just before the doors would open.
“Captain…”
“Open them. We’ve wasted enough time,” It was a simple order.
Giving a nod, a tall brenchian male would move to the wall next to the bay doors and press a large button to open them. As they hissed, the top of the doors falling down towards the ground, giving way to a fairly bright and lush green sky, Zerori would stand resolute in dwindling patience.
When it was almost to the ground, she would notice something appear suddenly. A outcropping of white hair, followed by a terrifyingly familiar set of metal plates had her swallowing a sudden gasp.
No…
No.
You won’t… destroy… this planet like the last one… His voice echoed, staring at her immovably as the ramp finally landed on the ground.
Staring back, her heartbeat accelerating at the return of the chilling visage of the robotic form, Zerori struggled to breathe. Looking at her, the crew member that opened the doors would look back and notice her sudden paleness. “M-M’am?”
Leave… and never return. He would continue to haunt her.
“No, you… you can’t tell me what to do,” She whispered, her voice breaking apart.
“Captain, what’s happening? What are you talking about?” By this point, unable to follow the hallucination their captain was happening, the helmeted crew would look amongst each other in confusion.
Staring at what was left of the God that haunted her, she swallowed and blinked. Once again, like a sure enough curse… he was gone from her vision. Blinking a few more times to make sure, she then raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.
I can’t… let this affect me… She tried to assure herself, yet even as she thought about it she couldn’t get her legs to move down the ramp.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zerori let her hand fall to her sides and looked up at the ground she’d yet to take her first steps upon.
She needed to do this…
Ari was waiting for her…
“Captain?”
“…Pack up.”
“What?”
“…We’re going back.”
She needed to know.
~-~-~-~
[Landing... and Departing back for Vegeta. Times 150 gravity.]
Strict orders to not be disturbed, for any reason.
For a while, the crew hadn’t even left the planet until they’d gotten the orders to leave for… their original destination.
And it was with a few regretful sighs and salutations that the crew set a course. It seemed that with the second return to Vegeta, their exploits regaled to the saiyans that met with them the last time by her ‘hostages’, quite a few of the crew that meant to maintain their distance actually got quite… attached. While Zerori was out and about causing trouble – it seemed a bit of indirect mutiny was afoot.
Yet, even as this was a very real possibility, Zerori was far off in her own world.
Inside the private quarters located just inside the Bridge, all the lights were lowered to almost zero luminosity. From the table just in view of the door, to the sofa off to the left side and the bed just beyond that in the corner, the only illumination that could be seen was the occasional flash of a small pin of light. The darkness of space, speckled with stars as they passed by at an incredible speed was all the movement that could be seen in the room.
Sitting along the soft cushions of the sofa, arms lain against the top casually and one leg crossed at the knee on top of the other, was the brooding captain of the ship. Her head was tilted in a way that she could see the stars pass by, incontrovertibly in deep thought.
Zerori was… unable to shake a deep, disturbing thought in her mind. It was simple, yet also ridiculous in how… impossible it was!
Gazing at the stars, Zerori’s irate expression continued to sour. “Son of a bitch…”
Bing Gan, protector of Earth (and apparently Kanassa) had perished three weeks ago on said latter planet. They weren’t enemies, allies in fact, but not quite… friends – or did she even make friends any more?
It was the decision she had made to not pass up an opportunity for power. In her mind, she half expected the God of Earth to actually kill the Queen – thus preventing the success of her mission. There was no contract but the honor of a deal. And… despite the unfortunate fact that he had indeed perished – Zucceta held up her end of the deal.
Should I have asked for more? Zerori rhetorically mused to herself, I should have! I should have made that accursed child take a backseat and forced my hand. That… damn Queen. Yet, even as she lamented her own shortcomings the fact still remained that she had reached a power higher than she could hope to erase… and further, that she (herself) had chosen this path.
But if she could take it back… Would she have taken it back?
Closing her eyes briefly, she would move her head over to look at the table just in front of the door. There, sloppily placed within a frame, was a picture that held more sentimental value than the saiyaness would care to admit. It would be a small girl smiling widely in the eye of the camera, held by Zerori in a typical ‘selfie’ posture as she leaned down to the young girls’ height. On her face was the warmest smile Zerori remembered ever making. Her eyes shone with a love and adoration that she’d never quite felt for anything since... her time with her father. In the back drop of the forest where she and Ari had first met, she remembered that they had returned that day to get the rest of Ari’s things…
It was the day she had officially taken Ari as a ward, becoming something of a guardian for her.
Swallowing, her jaw tense, Zerori closed her eyes once more to try and banish the imagery of their happier times.
Once more, her desire was resolved. She was doing this for her. That was all that mattered…
~-~-~-~
In was some time later, while the crew was just starting to get tired and change shifts, that the door to Zerori’s quarters hissed open. Looking over, like deer in headlights, the bridge crew watched with baited breath as their captain emerged from the darkness. Squinting her eyes at how bright the lights were just outside of her room, Zerori grimaced with a hiss, “The hell are doing, keepin’ these on so bright?”
For a moment, none of them were certain who would speak first until the farthest male spoke up, “I-It’s because we’re still on duty, Captain.”
“Go to bed. All of you,” She reminded tersely, crossing her arms and daring any to undermine her odd orders.
“B-But-” It was another, a zoanthrope female this time, that begged to differ.
Zerori looked at her, eye brow raised, “You’re… really going to argue with me?” Her tone was dangerous and filled with surprised aggressiveness. Waiting for a response, which did not come thankfully, Zerori gave barely noticeable nod before she gestured to wave them all out. “Go.”
They moved sluggishly toward the door, much too slowly for her tastes but Zerori wasn’t going to let that get to her, and once all had left via the lift she let out a bedraggled sigh. Walking over to the captain’s chair, she sat in it briefly to lean over and look at a panel at her left hand.
Sure enough, the course was steady and they would arrive in a few hours. Pressing a few commands in, she stood up from the chair and also made her way over to the lift. She had last minute training to do and was behind in it already. Walking in the lift, arm crossed, Zerori left the ship to its own devices.
Auto-pilot could handle it.
~-~-~-~
Without the saiyans to help her with the gravity like last time, it was a genuine worry that she wouldn’t be as into the work she had to do. However, once inside with armor taken off to the wayside, she could feel the familiar jitters as her hands ghosted over the controls. She’d maxed out the machines capabilities already so now it was just a matter of mastering her power in that same gravity. As the sound of the pressure started to wind down like a bass, she swallowed deeply and tensed her body in preparation.
And yet still, she felt herself smash into the floor to one knee and let out a howl of pain.
“By the gods-!” She snarled, blood dripping onto the floor from her mouth. She must have bitten his tongue or lip because one of her fangs also felt damn near chipped.
Still at the console, Zerori staggered as she tried to pull herself to her feet. Slacking – she’d done it. And now she was regretting it more deeply than any other decision she’d made and that… was saying something right now. Once back to her feet, she could feel a throbbing at the knee that landed against the floor. It hurt so badly she was almost on the verge of crying and her best assumption… was that she must have shattered it. Fuck, that’s… gonna inhibit this a LOT!
Taking a few deep breaths as her body would allow, Zerori would close her eyes tightly and – throwing caution to the wind – slammed her foot into the ground.
No pain, no gain.
And so, she spent the next three or so hours there – pushing her body to exhaustion. She didn’t remember how many times she’d fallen and thought that was it – that was the end. It was only through bittersweet thoughts and a rage she wasn’t sure she knew originated anymore that made her push herself back up. All she could think of was that she was tired… tired of waiting, tired of distractions and tired of trying to make it all work.
When this was all over, she was going to retire. Become fat. Fuck training. Fuck relationships. She liked her confectionaries and didn’t have any reason to hate on them just because she had a chip on her shoulder the size of the Titanic.
Tantrum come and passed, when the last hour came and went she managed to shut the chamber off.
Door hissing open, with a very thick and burn-smelling steam billowing out from it, the saiyaness could be seen holding onto the frame before hobbling out carefully. Everyone was asleep (or were supposed to be sleeping) so if any were awake to see her in such a state, Gods save their soul when I’m done with them… She thought with a sadistic amusement, trying to lift her own spirits ever so slightly as she made her way to the medical room. A few moments to lick her wounds and try to heal this shattered thing before going to sleep for the last leg of the trip.
As the door to the Medical Room opened, Zerori would look up to see a brief disturbing visage before it disappeared.
Towering over her, a familiar head of white hair was balding and had plates of metal in various areas on his face. An arm made of metal on his right with the lack of an arm on his left – while his entire midsection was absent of skin, organs and bones. Held together by a metallic spine.
Jarred from the brief image, Zerori’s eyes widened and she stared ahead of her like she’d quite honestly seen a ghost. Her heart beat in her chest at the speed of hummingbird and her mouth ran dry.
“What… the fuck-?” She hissed softly, the memory of the chilling figure fading from her memory. Adrenaline that was kicked into her system started to fall and her breath came suddenly in the form of a gasp. “Oh, hell no,” She whispered before bringing her arms around her calm herself. It was cold.
Trying to dismiss it, she continued on her way down the halls toward the lift. She was ready to fall into the sheets and dismiss the world until they arrived. Everyone would need the energy for whatever they might encounter…
Boarding the lift, she would turn around…
-To once again see the figure in front of her, this time his bottom jaw absent and with only one eye to stare down at her. A red beam of light staring at her in place of his working eye.
Giving a painful gasp, she backed up against the wall of the lift and threw a hand out on instinct. At full strength, though weakened by her intense training, a spiral of flames jettisoned from her fingers and scorched the figure. Or so… she thought. It passed through him, like he wasn’t really there, and blacked the metal walls outside the lift and even melted through some of walls. Alarms went off, an aftereffect of the damage, and she just stared… absolutely terrified by what persisted in front of her. “No…”
Zerori… You betrayed us all… Came the harrowing voice of the man that died that day on Kanassa. It was distinctly disappointing.
And she knew he was disappointed in her…
“You died,” She insisted, hissing softly as if saying it louder would make it untrue.
For a solid moment that seemed to stretch on for forever, he said nothing. Until finally he spoke, yet his mouth that he didn’t have did not move. I won’t truly die… until you know…
He wouldn’t do this to her, “No! NO! You died and this isn’t you!” She was panicked now, bordering on almost deranged as she bellowed, “I made my choice and you knew… you KNEW I wasn’t going to let anything get in my way. You knew this, Bing!”
“-tain!” A faint voice was heard. Blinking at the sudden voice, the figure of the male was gone yet an almost barely visible outline could be seen. By now she was gasping for breath and her eyes were staring without seeing, grasping at the wall so much that her fingertips were a good two centimeters dug into the metal. Coming up to stand a few feet from the door of the lift was a few crew members that were situated in the rooms she’d melted the walls for.
As they doted upon her, asking questions and trying to desperately calm her frenzied state. It took a few minutes, and she ignored answering any of the questions asked, but she was able to regain some composure. It had shaken her intensely, maybe even traumatized her a bit by how disconcerting the visage was.
She wasn’t superstitious… but childlike fears weren’t entirely dispelled.
Sleep was needed… in the morning, on the surface, she would be fine. Her resolve wasn’t shaken.
-is what she told herself.
~-~-~-~
The next morning she’d slept through the landing. Slept through the dreams as best she could and slept through the infernal pounding at her door until the saiyaness could handle no more. “I’m UP!” She demanded from her place on the floor.
Hardly dressed, Zerori didn’t know when she’d fallen from the convolution of blankets and pillows she’d fisted and thrashed about upon. Leaning up with a tired groan, she grasped at the table nearby and gave an ‘oof!’ when it toppled over and fell over as a side effect. “Damn it…”
“Captain, we’re ready to depart on the planet’s surface. We need you at the ready,” It was Kringe… of course they’re tell him to come get her.
“I’ll-shit. I’ll be right there!” She called, knocking her head into the table before getting back to her feet. In a matter of five minutes she was waving her hand over the circuit on her arm and running a hand through her hair to detangle it.
As the door opened, revealing the waiting brenchian male along the wall, she would simply ignore his presence in lieu of just stalking down the hall toward the exit bay. Following her, he just couldn’t leave well enough alone and caught up to walk next to her.
“So what happened last night?”
“Nothing, obviously,” She replied, quickly and tersely.
“You can’t keep lying to herself about what happened,” He insisted, his bushy eye brows knitting into his brow as he spoke. “Why did you-?”
Before he could finish, Zerori stopped in mid step and slammed an arm up towards his throat. Forcing him to the wall, she would snarl in his face, “And where the fuck were you to tell me this, eh?” Face to face, she noticed that he was genuinely surprised by her aggressive reaction. “Don’t follow me like a goddamn puppy and tell me what I don’t want to hear.”
He got some balls, then, “Would you have listened either way?!” He yelled, even as his life was dangerously close to ending. He knew she hated him.
“No, because it was my goddamn decision! I even told you not to follow me!”
“You could have died and I-”
She couldn’t take this anymore and let go of him, stopping him midsentence before grabbing his collar and jacket and throwing him down the hall. Thrown head first, he would spiral in the air before landing and sliding along the floor on his back. Giving a grunt of pain, he would try and get back to his feet despite the throbbing at his sides and neck.
No longer of a mind to care anymore, Zerori stalked towards him at speed walk. Once she got him, watching as he looked up at her in surprise, she pulled a leg back and let loose kick that snapped his head to side. It wouldn’t kill him… unfortunately. But thankfully, he would just fall asleep… yeah, that’s what she was going to call it.
“Fuckin’ dumbass,” Walking away from the unconscious warrior, she would continue on her way to the landing bay. Someone would find him and they’d know what to do, hopefully.
Once there, a handful of the crew waiting for her, she would stop just before the doors would open.
“Captain…”
“Open them. We’ve wasted enough time,” It was a simple order.
Giving a nod, a tall brenchian male would move to the wall next to the bay doors and press a large button to open them. As they hissed, the top of the doors falling down towards the ground, giving way to a fairly bright and lush green sky, Zerori would stand resolute in dwindling patience.
When it was almost to the ground, she would notice something appear suddenly. A outcropping of white hair, followed by a terrifyingly familiar set of metal plates had her swallowing a sudden gasp.
No…
No.
You won’t… destroy… this planet like the last one… His voice echoed, staring at her immovably as the ramp finally landed on the ground.
Staring back, her heartbeat accelerating at the return of the chilling visage of the robotic form, Zerori struggled to breathe. Looking at her, the crew member that opened the doors would look back and notice her sudden paleness. “M-M’am?”
Leave… and never return. He would continue to haunt her.
“No, you… you can’t tell me what to do,” She whispered, her voice breaking apart.
“Captain, what’s happening? What are you talking about?” By this point, unable to follow the hallucination their captain was happening, the helmeted crew would look amongst each other in confusion.
Staring at what was left of the God that haunted her, she swallowed and blinked. Once again, like a sure enough curse… he was gone from her vision. Blinking a few more times to make sure, she then raised a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose.
I can’t… let this affect me… She tried to assure herself, yet even as she thought about it she couldn’t get her legs to move down the ramp.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Zerori let her hand fall to her sides and looked up at the ground she’d yet to take her first steps upon.
She needed to do this…
Ari was waiting for her…
“Captain?”
“…Pack up.”
“What?”
“…We’re going back.”
She needed to know.
~-~-~-~
[Landing... and Departing back for Vegeta. Times 150 gravity.]
