Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Barracks ❯ Part 34 ( Chapter 34 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z – it belongs to its respective owners. This fan fiction is not a commercial project, and I am not making any money from writing it.
Warnings: Alternate Universe. Yaoi (male x male). Goten x Trunks and vice versa. Other pairings.
A/N: Starcut’s crew members:

1.Captain
2.Backup Captain
3.Master Sergeant
4.Navigator  - (Adriel)
5.Communications Specialist - (Sildara)
6.Programmer - (Rokunda)
7.Gunnery Sergeant - (Monteira Fawa)
8.Arms Specialist – (Hazel)
9.Arms Specialist – (Mandro)
10.Flight Officer - (Reyn Dueri)
11.Flight Officer - (Jadenas Ealt)
12.Head Engineer - (Nohail Ofura)
13.Maintenance Technician – (Mirun)
14.Maintenance Technician
15.Doctor - (Tamahi)
16.Medic - (Yereli)
17.Head Cook
18.Cook
19.Soldier - (Edesha)
20.Goten

Barracks

by chayron (lttomb@yahoo.com), beta-read by quatreofdoom

Part 34

The soft beeping in the medical room became more frequent when Goten opened his eyes. He was alone, lying on the operating table. It took him about a minute to realize that the beeping was actually his heart rate. Confused, he stared at the monitor next to the operating table. He turned his head at the sound of the door opening.

“Oh, you’re up,” Tamahi said.

“Umm… Yeah?”

“How do you feel?”

“Mmm… Fine?”

“Good, good.”

Goten sat up and watched the doctor walk to his desk and shuffle through the papers on it. He was obviously looking for something, and soon became so engrossed in his hunt that he completely forgot Goten.

“Why am I here?”

“We decided to keep watch on you. Well, just in case you got worse,” Tamahi said without even looking at him, his hands pushing the papers this way and that.

Goten stared at the doctor’s back. A cloud of questions arose out of the mist in his head. He remembered that he had been taking a shower. Then there was a flash of Reyn’s face floating around. It was a mystery to him what happened in the middle. He couldn’t remember how he had reached the medical room either.

“What did actually happen?”

The doctor turned around. He seemed to finally realize what was amiss. “You don’t remember? Well, it’s not unusual. You had a mild concussion. We decided to keep you here for the night.”

“Errr…” Goten touched his head with his hands, groped around, and soon felt a lump on his forehead. “Huh. How did I get this?”

Tamahi leaned on his desk and scratched his chin thoughtfully. “You know, I didn’t actually understand. They were rather incoherent.”

“Who?”

“Adriel and Reyn. Were babbling something about the showers and the hot water cistern.”

Goten tapped the bump on his forehead. “Mmm… Can’t remember a thing. I was showering and th-” he trailed off in sudden realization. “Ah.”

“Remembered?”

“There was somebody in the showers. I kind of… Somebody attacked me?”

Tamahi gave him a disbelieving look. “Attacked? So this… He hit you on the forehead? Who? What for?”

“Uhh… I don’t know.” Goten rubbed at his face. “Everything’s kind of hazy.”

Both of them started at the howl of alarms suddenly blaring through the entire ship. The loudspeakers clicked into life: “A state of preparedness. I repeat: a state of preparedness.”

The third-class rolled off the operating table. “Hah,” he said once his feet hit the ground and the white sheet fluttered off him and pooled on the floor. “I’m naked.”

“Your uniform is in that cabinet. Move! Go gather your armor from the weapon store!”

“What’s going on?” Goten asked, nearly tearing the cabinet door off its hinges. He grabbed the clothes from the inside and started dressing.

“No idea. Try the meeting hall and follow the announcements. I’m staying here,” Tamahi shouted before bolting through the door and to the weapon store.

A few seconds later, the medic stormed into the room. He was already wearing his armor. He took a look at Goten, then dropped into one of the chairs welded to the floor and belted himself in.

“What’s happening?”

“It seems there’s some trouble with a passing ship.”

“What kind of trouble?” Goten asked, pulling his trousers on and belting them.

“The hell if I know!”

The third-class left Yereli glued to his chair and ran towards the armory. Tamahi was nearly done with putting on his armor and helped Goten to find his fit. Once done, Goten ran to the meeting hall, and the doctor returned to the medical room. The alarm had stopped ringing, but red lamps were blinking all around the ship. Four men who didn’t need to be at their posts were already there, sitting in the chairs, watching the screen on the wall. The metallic shield had also been lifted to reveal the front view from the ship. The blue transparent glow indicated that Starcut’s shields were up. A tiny dot was seen in the distance.

Goten made his way past the head engineer, one of the maintenance technicians, and the kitchen personnel. All of them were wearing armor and were armed, which made Goten realize that he hadn’t taken any gun for himself. The cook still looked pale and out of it. It was dead silent in the hall. Their foreheads were glistening with sweat, eyes fixed on the screen which showed the magnified view of some ship. The third-class guessed this vessel was the cause of the current tension. Goten felt his legs were becoming leaden.

“Whose party was sent to Morning Moon?” the head engineer asked the men.

“I think it was Reyn’s.”

The head engineer brushed at his damp forehead with his sleeve. There was a spark of relief in his eyes. He muttered something unintelligible under his breath. The chef chuckled.

“What’s going on?” Goten asked, belting himself to one of the chairs close to the other crew members. The name of the ship his crew mates had gone to wasn’t familiar, and he hoped that this wasn’t going to turn into what he had seen in the dream.

“Just before their connection broke off,” the chef started explaining, “Reyn’s team seemed to have found something illegal on that ship.”

“And?” Goten asked.

“And nothing. The line went flat.”

“Maybe they plan on keeping our guys hostage?” the maintenance technician offered.

“Wouldn’t it be simpler to just try shooting our ship down?” the cook wondered.

Goten shook his head. “Not really. Once our shields are up, it’s practically impossible to penetrate them. KIF models are like a fortress, old but tough.” Absentmindedly, he motioned at the ship on the screen. “ZIRs are very fast, but in order to be so, they are very light and small, meaning they had to economize on everything else. Unless it’s custom-made, which I doubt, its weaponry is average, and its shields wouldn’t hold against our direct attacks for too long. Its best course of action would be to get out of our shooting range as soon as possible.”

The head engineer eyed the third-class. The youth seemed to be quite knowledgeable about spaceships, especially keeping in mind he was a complete novice to space traveling. This was becoming more and more curious.

The chef asked, “Are they trying to get away?”

Nohail shook his head. “No. They are keeping the same speed and course. We are moving after them while keeping our distance.”

The screen on the wall blackened, then Sildara’s head appeared. “We still haven’t received any news from our team. There is no news from Morning Moon either.”

“How long have they been there?” Goten asked. “I mean since we lost the connection.”

“For more than half an hour.”

Goten shook his head in dismay. “Too long. Listen, can you check this ZIR more thoroughly? I have a feeling that it’s not really Morning Moon.”

“Yeah, I did that already. Your suspicions are right. It does seem that it’s ZIR 361. There’s a 95% chance that its real name is Domera. I’ve already contacted other patrolling ships. Two are on their way. It will take time though. Up to twenty-four hours.”

The head engineer let out a row of curses.

Goten’s eyebrows rose. “So it’s the pirate ship we were ordered to attack on sight, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And you hadn’t checked it more thoroughly before sending our guys onboard?”

From the screen, Sildara glared at the third-class. “Do you know anything about how disguising software works?”

“Not a thing.”

“Then shut your mouth.”

The screen went blank at the same time as Goten raised his hands, giving up. The third-class dropped his hands on his thighs with a slap and sighed.

“Hey, at least let us see the damn ship!” the maintenance technician shouted at the static screen. “Hey, Sildara! Turn it back on, don’t be an ass! Sildara!”

Goten scratched the back of his head. “He can’t hear you. Sorry.”

“Just great.”

The third-class turned his head towards the glass to stare at the dot far away. Not so far away anymore, in fact. It was getting closer. He wondered if it was Starcut moving towards it, or if the other ship was moving towards them. Goten figured it was the former: if there had been no demands and no threats, then it was only natural that Starcut was moving closer to it. In silence, they watched the ship.

About ten minutes later, the screen buzzed to show Sildara’s head and then blanked out again. The screeching sound of static followed. Goten covered his ears to protect them from the deafening noise.

“Turn it off!” the head engineer yelled to the chef, who sat closest to the terminal.

“Starcut, this is Reyn Dueri. Starcut, this is Reyn. Do you read me?”

Everyone in the meeting hall froze, and Goten moved his hands away from his ears so as not to miss a word.

“Yes, Reyn, we can hear you loud and clear.”

“We have a situation here. Can you get me Adriel, or better yet, both Adriel and Rokunda?”

“Sure.”

“Reyn, report your situation.”

This was the captain’s voice.

“The situation is that this damn ship is on autopilot, Captain. I am not qualified to pilot ZIRs. Hell, I can’t understand what half of these switches are. I can’t access their terminal either. Rokunda, how long will it take to break through their security?”

“Havsh yush the USBsh ish gaivsh yush?”

“Yeah, I already stuck it into their main terminal. It seems to be doing something.”

“Gudsh. Faivsh oursh.”

“Five hours?” Reyn’s voice took an edge. “That’s… Well, okay. Adriel, be ready to overtake control of the ship in five hours.”

“Understood.”

There was more screeching static, then the sounds of steps broke through. It seemed that the flight officer was walking somewhere. Besides Reyn’s steps and his rhythmical breathing, they couldn’t hear any other sounds.

“What’s your status, Reyn?”

“Everything’s under control, Captain. We took over the ship,” the flight officer reported. “Well, will take over as soon as we can pilot this bitch.”

The meeting hall was filled with relieved exhalations. Goten heard Sildara’s relieved groan followed by Adriel’s exultant whoop. It was a weight off the third-class’s shoulders as well.

“Roger that. Need backup?”

“No, but you can send the medical team in. There are wounded here.”

“On whose side?”

“The enemy’s”

“Can you give me a detailed report, Reyn?”

“Yes, Captain. It seems they knew that all patrols had been informed about them. They allowed us onboard because they thought we’d open fire otherwise. They wanted hostages. There’s a lot of stolen equipment onboard. A large shipment of guns too, just like the reports were saying.” Reyn’s voice was losing its anxious edge with every word. Soon he started to sound like his usual self. “I’m pretty sure this is the same Domera that just recently attacked a carrier. The crew was mainly made up of Nondrens. About fifteen.”

“Casualties?”

“None on our side. Three pirates are seriously wounded, others dead.”

“Roger that. We’ve contacted other patrolling ships. Two of them are headed our way. We are sending the medical team now. They will reach you in fifteen minutes. Be prepared.”

“Roger that. Damn, Edesha, don’t touch that! What happened to your arm?”

“Probably broken. Nothing serious.”

“And yet we also need medical help,” Reyn said.

“Roger that.”

“Say, Reyn, will they let us keep any of these guns?”

“If you ask them, they won’t. But if you quickly stash some of them away in our shuttle, it’s a different matter. Take that one and that, and th-”

“Reyn, this is an open line,” Sildara warned.

“Damn. Just joking. Hahaha. Was very funny, wasn’t it? Haha. A great joke. Put that down. End of report. Edesha, leave it! Out.”

When the line returned to static, Goten found himself grinning in relief. The lights flickered and the red alarm lamps died out, the ship returning to its common routine.

When the state of preparedness was cancelled, the technical team went to the runway to send Jadenas and the medical team off to Domera, aka Morning Moon. They returned half an hour later with the three injured pirates. Goten didn’t miss his chance to observe and gawk at everything his crew mates were doing. He followed the pirates into the medical room and to the operating table he had woken up on just a little less than an hour ago.

Just as Reyn had said, the three Nondren pirates were seriously wounded. Tamahi and Yereli started operating on one of them at once. Goten had stayed and was curiously observing the process. The patient’s ribs had been broken, pushed inside, puncturing his lungs and obstructing the heart’s functions as well. Once Tamahi removed the dressing he had previously put on the open wound, a gargling, choked breathing was heard. The Nondren was gasping for air, his face a shade of purple. It was surprising that he hadn’t suffocated by this time. Tamahi pushed some kind of tubes in between the Nondren's ribs. At that point, Goten became lightheaded and quickly left the room.

“You okay?” Jadenas asked at the sight of Goten’s ashen face. He watched the youngest crew member lean against the wall next to the door.

Goten took in a few deep breaths before answering. ”I think my career as a doctor is doomed in advance.”

“Ah. They are operating on him? Don’t sweat it. I got sick the first time I observed them.”

Goten leaned against the wall for a few more minutes, then felt he was getting better. “What are you doing here?”

The pilot motioned at the door Goten was leaning next to. “I’m keeping watch. It’s three pirates inside, after all. Nondrens at that.”

“Umm… Shouldn’t you be inside, then?”

“Well, yeah, I was ordered to. But you were there.” He chuckled when Goten’s eyebrows curved up. “As I said, I’d only add to the mess, and they are nearly dead anyway; even Yereli can take all of them on.”

“I see. So how is it on Morning Moon?”

Jadenas shrugged. “It’s fine. Hazel and Mirun have finally managed to extinguish the fire in the kitchens. Edesha has gotten his arm tended to and has already looted all the bodies. Reyn has somehow managed to convince him they shouldn’t touch any of the equipment, though.”

“I know Reyn sometimes does things just for the hell of it, but I didn’t think Edesha had it in him… He seems rather…”

“Mmm? He’s a die-hard type. It’s only between us, but his salary isn’t high, and what’s the use of being a soldier if there are no spoils of victory?”

“True. That aside, what did actually happen once Reyn and his team set their feet on Morning Moon?”

“Do you think I did nothing, only wagged my tongue, once I touched down? Those three half-dead bastards didn’t get up and walk to my shuttle on their own, you know. We’ll have to wait for Reyn’s written report. As usual, Hazel will be the first to write his, but his reports are rather hard to stomach. He tends to concentrate and ramble on about technical details.”

“But that’s good, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, if you’re interested in what kind of armor the enemy was wearing, how many holes were in it and by what kind of gun they were made, what kind of guns they were wielding, and what the velocity and power of the laser beam which nearly hit Hazel in the head were. Mark my word, you will find all the descriptions of every gun he had ever set his eyes on once on Morning Moon.”

“Well, at least his brother must find his reports engrossing.”

“He does! I’m certain they write those reports only for each other to read!”

“Like love letters.”

Jadenas eyed Goten suspiciously. “You know, I think they kinda are.”

“You’re jealous!”

“I’m not! It’s just…”

Goten wasn’t certain whether he wanted to laugh or try to comfort the flight officer. The very idea that he was amused made him feel somewhat guilty. He liked Jadenas and he was a good guy, but wasn’t this what this kind of relationship eventually brought? It was fun at first, but once feelings got involved, it would churn out more and more jealousy, misunderstandings and, sooner or later, hate. That much was painfully clear, even for Goten. Saiyans didn’t share easily, whether it was food, loot, or sex partners.

The third-class wondered if he was doing what Reyn had warned him about – thinking that Jadenas was a pushover. He was really of the impression that the twins were somehow using the flight officer. He did realize, however, that the reason for that was, very likely, the fact that there were two of them. This caused his feeling of imbalance in that particular relationship. When he dug even deeper, he could see that this particular feeling of imbalance was caused by his own conservative views.

“A credit for your thoughts,” Jadenas said to Goten, who had been standing motionless, seemingly sunk in contemplation.

“I was thinking that I’m a complete country bumpkin.”

“Huh.” Jadenas laughed. He ruffled Goten’s hair playfully. “Well, you are, but a good sort of bumpkin.”

The third-class gave him a sheepish glance from under his arm. He suddenly thought that it would be a good idea to go and check whether he was needed in the kitchen before things became any more embarrassing.

The chef nagged at Goten for not showing up earlier, which the third-class accepted as inevitable; he had forgotten all about his duties, due to unexpectedly waking up in the medical bay and then being sidetracked by the attack on his crew members. He sincerely apologized and hoped the chef wouldn’t complain to the captain or someone else.

The canteen was buzzing during lunch. The medical team was present too, sharing the news about two recovering patients and one dead body. Goten was listening to the conversations closely, but nobody seemed to be discussing just how exactly Reyn’s team managed to overcome fifteen Nondrens. Even Jadenas had become defensive when he had asked him that. Goten was particularly curious about this fact.

All Nondrens were about the same strength and power. A Nondren was roughly equal to an average second-class Saiyan. There was always a greater chance for a Saiyan to win when faced with a Nondren though, as most Nondrens lacked quick reaction times and fighting skills. That didn’t explain how four Saiyans had dealt with about fifteen Nondrens. The third-class thought he knew the answer though. He hoped that now he would finally be able to corner Reyn.

From the steak on his plate, Reyn raised his eyes to give Goten an uncomprehending look. “What are you talking about? We acted according to a mind-blowing plan Edesha suggested. Bang! Crash! Thonk! Wham!” He held his thumbs up at Edesha. “Awesome plan, mate!”

Edesha looked at him through the rim of his mug. “Riiight.” His face was blue and black as if he had been run over by a tank. His right arm was in a sling. In comparison to that, except his burnt and ragged uniform and a few minor bruises, Reyn was almost without a scratch. And even then, Goten wasn’t certain if he got those during the fight on Morning Moon or during his and Reyn’s spars.

Goten crossed his arms over his chest. “So what was the plan?”

Reyn looked surprised. “I told you,” he said, starting to wave his hands about. “Wham! Crash! Bang! Two down! Thud! Kaboom! Whoosh! Five down! Bong! Zzzip! Slam! Ten do-”

Goten snorted. “Asshole.” He tried to hide his grin inside his mug but was unsuccessful. He tried to take a sip, but chortled instead, spraying the tea all over the mug and his face. He wiped at it with his sleeve. From across the table, Reyn was watching him with a grin on his face.

“And how have you been doing?” He motioned at Goten’s forehead. “Any headache?”

The third-class touched the painful lump on his brow. “Concerning that. What the heck happened? I am taking a shower and the next thing I know, I am in the medical room!”

“Hah. You don’t remember?”

Edesha sat completely still, watching with relief when Goten’s index finger zeroed in on Reyn. The flight officer at least had a fair chance to defend himself in case Goten went mental.

The third-class eyed Reyn suspiciously. “Was it you? I remember your face! What the hell did you do?”

“He says he remembers my face,” the flight officer said to Edesha, who snorted into his mug in mutual disbelief and hidden relief. Reyn looked back at Goten. “Well, you’d better.”

“Reyn!”

The flight officer gave him an innocent look. “Gods, Goten, would I ever do something like that to you?” he asked, pointing at the third-class’s bruised forehead.

Goten rolled his eyes. “Keeping in mind that you don’t exactly like me, yes, you would.”

Reyn studied him for a few moments. “Well, yes,” he said grimly, “our relationship is probably not as close as yours and Adriel’s.”

The third-class frowned at him. “What’s with that?”

Reyn thought about dragging it out some more, just to make Edesha squirm and to annoy Goten, but then felt that he was getting fed up with the whole thing. He felt tired and simply wanted to go to sleep. “Well, it must be pretty close for him to smack you on your ass while you were showering. And I hear you were so happy that you jumped two feet into the air and then whammed your head against the hot water cistern. So excited, you were!”

Goten stared at him. Reyn could nearly see him digesting the information. Then a dangerous grin stretched over the youth’s face. “Can you look after my meal?” he asked, leaning away from the table, already lifting his legs over the metallic bench. “It won’t take too long.”

Reyn grinned. “Sure.”

Edesha shook his head once Goten hurriedly left the canteen. He didn’t blame Reyn for telling on Adriel. It had been an accident, but even then he felt ashamed of himself for childishly sulking. At least the flight officer didn’t mention anything about him taking part in that stupid prank.

“Thanks.”

Reyn didn’t say anything, settling down on simply consuming his dinner. He more or less could guess why Edesha took part in it. The soldier was upset by Goten brushing him off. The youth hadn’t been subtle about it either, making his escape just before the culmination, which was thoughtless of him. Now Goten avoided even talking to him. Probably Adriel and Edesha were discussing Goten and then had an idea for payback. It turned out a bit differently than imagined.

“He’ll find out anyway,” Reyn muttered. “I suggest you leg it before he comes back; he can be pretty fierce when he's pissed off.”

“Tell me about it,” Edesha said, standing up.

Reyn finished his steak and his coffee, pushed his dishes away and slumped over the table to wait for the third-class’s return. He realized he had fallen asleep when he felt someone poking him on his arm.

“Mrrm?” he hummed, raising his head and wiping at his face. “‘s you.”

“You don’t make a good guard,” Goten notified him, pulling his cold dinner closer to him and tearing into it with a ravenous appetite.

“I’m not supposed to; I’m a pilot.”

“So he left already.”

Reyn blinked at him sleepily. “Who? Ah, Edesha. Yes.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had been so tired. “He was rather afraid you’d tear his head off.”

“I wouldn’t have,” Goten said. He chewed and swallowed a piece of steak, then took a sip of his cool tea. “I do understand I kind of insulted his pride,” he continued. “I would have yelled a lot though.”

Yawning, the flight officer rubbed at his eyes. “Same fucking thing.” He shook his head.  “Going to sleep.”

“Tired? So what really happened on Morning Moon?”

Reyn groaned. “Just leave it alone, Goten. Or do you want to hear about Edesha’s great plan again?”

“I’ll read your report anyway.”

“Be my guest.”

Goten shrugged. “You can congratulate me.”

“Huh? On what?”

“I got three months of latrine duty.”

Reyn blinked at him. Then he grinned. “You punched him. On the captain’s bridge, in front of the captain.”

“Yup.”

“That’s nice. Looking forward to working with you.”

“I was already working with you, idiot,” Goten pointed out.

Reyn let out a long loud yawn. “You seriously can’t take those kinds of jokes, can you?” he said, standing up, gathering his dishes by almost blindly groping around on the table.

“I hate them.”

Goten instinctively leaned away when Reyn reached out for his face. He stared at the outstretched hand from the safe distance. He raised his eyes to meet the flight officer’s curious gaze.

“I just thought that you heal incredibly fast. The bruise I gave you has almost faded away. The lump on your forehead is also much better already since I saw it last. Why is that?”

“Uh. Dunno.” Goten squirmed under Reyn’s intent eyes. “It just is.” The third-class sniffed at the air. “What’s that smell?”

Reyn looked around, but they were alone in the kitchen. “Probably me. Been sweating like a pig.” He lifted his arm and sniffed at his armpit. He gagged. “Definitely me.” He groaned at the unpleasant discovery. “Will have to take a shower before bed…so sleepy.”

“Not you. Something’s…”

“Hmm…” Reyn looked under the table. “Ah, Mister Elite. Right at your feet.”

Not certain whether Reyn was making fun of him or telling the truth, Goten shifted sideways and bent down to look under the table. Two yellow eyes stared at him from the black muzzle. The third-class felt the urge to kick the animal.

“Why the hell is he following me around?”

“Mmm…he likes you?” Reyn offered. “Or maybe hates you. You never know with cats.” He yawned. “Oh, gods, I’m beat. Have fun.”

Goten watched the flight officer carry his plates towards the counter and leave them. The chef was already gone, meaning that Goten would have to wash them. Keeping in mind how tired Reyn was, it was also clear that Goten was going to clean the toilets alone. Not that he minded much.

One of the patrol ships arrived the next morning. As it was about to head back to Earth, it overtook control of Morning Moon aka Domera. Jadenas transported the Nondren who died during the operation back to his ship too, and then both Jadenas and Hazel, who were the last to stay on the pirate ship, returned to Starcut.

Even though everyone on Starcut was glad that they succeeded in getting rid of the pirate ship and their bodies, there was still the question of the two Nondrens recovering in the medical room. It wasn’t safe to transport them yet, thus it had been decided that they would stay on Starcut. This unnerved the crew as they couldn’t ki-cuff the patients yet, and the only security barrier between the medical room and the rest of the ship was the door.

Goten was busy since early morning, helping to prepare breakfast, then washing the dishes. He had a break of two hours during which he mooched about, watching what his crew mates did. He also tried to find out whether Reyn had written his report, but it seemed that the flight officer was still asleep and nobody knew anything about any report. Hazel had returned to Starcut only an hour ago, thus it was obvious that he hadn’t written his either.

After lunch, Goten could be found in the showers, filling a bucket with lukewarm water. From the container on the side wall, he took the bottle of universal washing liquid. The gloves lay ready close to the bucket. Goten put them on while the water was flowing into the bucket.

Adriel’s head appeared in the doorway. The soft ping of the opening door didn’t attract Goten’s attention at all as the toilet and showers calmed down only in the evening. Carefully, not certain what reaction to expect, Adriel gave the third-class’s back a tentative look. The youngest crew member was squatting down in front of a bucket and seemed to be waiting for it to fill up.

He had intended to talk to Goten earlier, but there had been no time. Only now, when all of the patrolling ships left, was he freed from his post. He was relieved that, after conking his head like that, nothing bad happened to Goten (of that he had been assured when the guy’s punch knocked him off his feet).

When the third-class stood up and turned around, he was met by Adriel’s indecisive posture. He gave the navigator a questioning look.

“Well, I wanted to apologize. That was kind of…”

“I’m still thinking that maybe I should bash your boyfriend’s face in too.”

“I’m certain he’ll apologize as well.”

“He’d better,” Goten said, walking past him.

There was nothing else left for Adriel to do except to follow him to the toilets and then outside into the corridor. Goten was wearing gloves, but had left the bucket and the universal washing liquid in the showers.

“Where are you going?” Adriel asked curiously.

“I’m looking for Mr. Elite.”

“Huh? What for?”

“He stinks like hell.”

“Yeah, he sure does. And?”

“I’m going to wash him.”

Adriel’s brow rose while he stared at the third-class, wondering whether he was serious or kidding. “You’re serious,” he decided finally.

“Well, sure I am.”

“Did you tell Monteira?”

“No. I figured that if he were interested in washing his cat, he would have already done it ages ago.”

“You’re one hundred percent right, of course. Won’t you get into trouble?”

“For washing a pet? Oh, c’mon!”

“Mm… when you put it that way… Hey! Here he is!” He pointed at Mister Elite, standing in front of the door leading to Goten’s cabin. His yellow stare was firmly locked on the metal door, waiting for it to open at any second so that he could slip inside. After seeing Goten walk over, the cat meowed happily, certain that now he would be granted entry.

Goten sighed. “I don’t understand why he is so bent on getting into my cabin. And why he keeps following me in general. Ah.”

“What?”

“Reyn said you can change the code to my door. I wanted to ask you for some time but it keeps slipping my mind.”

A shit eating grin spread over Adriel’s face. “So you want to change the code, huh? So wanking off in the showers isn’t good enough anymore?”

Fire spread over the third-class’s face. “And whose fucking fault is that?” he hissed.

The navigator kept grinning. “So, wanking off it is.”

“What else could it be, you idiot!”

“The hell if I know! Maybe you have a hobby of dressing as a woman, eating kids, or maybe you like putting your underwear on your head and dancing around your chair!”

Goten glared at him. “I don’t think there would something wrong with me putting my underwear on my head and dancing around my chair,” he said matter-of-factly. “It would be my head, my underwear, and my chair!”

Adriel rolled his eyes. “Fine, fine. I’ll change the code. Yeesh!”

“Meow!”

Both men looked at the cat rubbing against Goten’s legs. He bent down to pick him up. The cat wriggled about, trying to get free, but then it became clear that he would only succeed in that if his claws came into play. As nothing bad was happening to him (yet), he decided to wait.

Mandro was heading to his room when he caught sight of the backs of two men. A black tail was waving from under one’s arm. He quickened his pace to catch up with them. After hearing what was up, he joined the trio.

“I don’t think cats like water,” Mandro warned when they stepped into the shower.

“That’s why I have the gloves,” Goten said, lifting his hands and the cat to show him. “I’ve seen the wooden planks under the washing-machine where he sharpens his claws. Those furrows in the wood look pretty serious to me.”

Mandro grinned. “Well, you seem to be fully prepared.”

Goten had the cat, and there was the bucket filled with water in front of him, but he suddenly wasn’t so certain how to proceed. To wet Mr. Elite was going to be easy – he would just dunk him into the bucket repeatedly until he got wet. But how was he going to pour the shampoo on the cat and rub it into his fur? He would need one free hand for that and he didn’t want to risk it with these razor-sharp nails.

“Adriel, you will help me.”

“Okay.”

The cat was watching the bucket with an apprehensive look in his eyes. Mr. Elite’s tail was twitching nervously, and then the bucket filled his vision. He wanted out and fast.

Goten cursed loudly when all four of Mister Elite’s legs started climbing over him. The cat twisted and turned his claws, finding purchase on Goten’s arms unexpectedly easily. The third-class peeled the cat off him, grabbed his front paws into his left and hind legs into his right hand. Mister Elite could nearly bend in half so it wouldn’t be difficult to dunk him into the water.

“Should work,” Adriel said above Mr. Elite’s hissing and spitting protests. He opened the bottle of the universal washing liquid.

Holding the struggling cat, Goten looked at the scratches on his gloves. In some cases the claws went right through them. “I think if I ever decide to do this again, I’ll put on some armor.”

“A good idea,” Mandro agreed.

The soft ping of an opening door was heard in the showers, and soon Jadenas was standing behind their backs. “What the hell are you doing here?” He took a closer look. “Oh, shit. You serious?”

Goten didn’t have time to answer how serious he was because, at that point, Mr. Elite managed to free his front paws. Immediately, they dug into the third-class’s arm with unforgettable relish. Trying to take those paws away ploughed ten deep drenches in the third-class’s skin. Goten’s first instinct to the sudden pain was to power up, which, in order to avoid more bloodshed, he did.

Nobody was certain what happened after that. There was an explosion, a screeching roar and Goten was tossed backwards, while a smoking ball of puff whooshed forwards and into the wall. The ball flopped against it and then bounced away, rolled over on the floor a few times and accelerated in the direction of the door. It didn’t open and the screeching and smoking ball of fluff started bouncing around the toilets in circles.

Stupefied, Goten got to his shaky feet. His hair was pointing in all directions but mostly it was upright. A faint smoke was coiling from his hair upwards to the ceiling. He stared at the bouncing ball. It seemed as if bolts of electricity were coursing through it. Then the third-class’s attention was drawn to the floor next to him. Adriel was rolling around, faint with laughter. Mandro couldn’t even laugh, his mouth was open, tears rolling down his cheeks while he was smacking his palm against the wall repeatedly. Jadenas was squatting down, his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking.

Goten coughed spasmodically, then beat with his fist on his chest to relieve the tension. He felt as if he had just gotten electrocuted. He staggered towards the door and let the poor animal out. The cat shot through the door like a rocket.

“Hey, you…hahaha…idiot!” Adriel howled with laughter. “What will…hahaha…you do…haha…if Monteira sees…hahaha…him like that?”

Goten tensed. “Ummm…. Riiiight.” He walked into the corridor unsteadily, but there was no sign of Mister Elite. Lost, the third-class lingered at the door, then turned back in to the showers.

“Hahaha!” Adriel squealed, breathless. “I think I peed my pants!”

Goten coughed to clear his throat. Mandro was beating his head against the wall, seemingly about to suffocate from laughter, and the third-class turned to look at Jadenas, who seemed to be regaining his senses. “What the hell happened?”

The question made the flight officer break into giggles again. “Well,” he started explaining between his laughter, “cats’ fur can be electrified easily. And then you powered up and your electric fields clashed. Yeah, I think that’s what happened.”

“Umm… Won’t this harm the cat?”

Jadenas burst out laughing again. “Well, he seemed extremely lively, so probably he’s okay.”

Goten brushed his hand over his forehead. He winced when his fingers rubbed against the bruise there. So much for his attempt to wash Mr. Elite. He didn't believe he would try this again. At least not in the near future.

TBC
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