Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction ❯ Variations of Fate ❯ Changes ( Chapter 15 )
Bulma groaned as she looked in the mirror. "I look so..."
"Erudite?" came Savoya's suggestion from the suite's kitchen where she was eating a late breakfast. She was peering past the couch and over a cup of juice at Bulma, who turned to glare at her. Savoya merely chuckled in reply. "Well, you do. You look very erudite every day, but the overalls and grease smudges don't generally make you look smarter than you look ... without grease and overalls. But the simple yet functional design of those lab clothes completely finishes the look."
"It's just...I'm not much into uniforms, you know?" said Bulma looking at herself yet again in the mirror, fighting for the words through which to express her thoughts. "I mean...It's just...I'm not a...uniform-wearing sort of person." She sighed and pulled back her blue hair, securing it at her nape. She brushed her hands off on her front and walked towards the kitchen.
"You look very confident," Savoya said offhand (and around a suspiciously not-so-Saiyan omelette).
"I generally do try to stay confident, at least on the outside," Bulma said with a laugh, "It's much, much easier to do in formless clothes--" she motioned to the uniform, "--than in my usual tank and those overalls I've had since I was fourteen."
"Mmm. Yes, not gaining too much unwarranted attention is always a nice thing."
"You'd better believe it. Next male of any species who whistles at me is as good as castrated. Eunuchs are less easily distracted...but...anyhow. I don't think there will be any comments made on this," Bulma said, slathering jelly onto a piece of toast. "It's not like I mind the attention, per se, but it's just...it's tedious and there are certain people I DON'T want looking at me, if you know what I mean. But, they shouldn't now."
Savoya eyed Bulma a moment and caught herself just short of shaking her head. She didn't agree. Bulma would turn heads anywhere she went, even if she was wearing a million layers of clothing. Though...Savoya shook her head to keep her mind from wandering along any other tangents.
"Well, I hope you're right. You were given your aptitude test scores along with your uniform this morning, correct."
"Yes," said Bulma before biting into her toast.
"How did you fair on that particular task?"
"Well enough. I could have done with a few points higher...but I'm only a few points below the all-time highest score. Not a terrible trade off, I'd say," Bulma laughed slightly, "But, today I'm to be showed around the labs and I'm to demonstrate my knowledge of the equipment based on the reading I did yesterday."
"Wow."
"Yeah, I have a full day ahead of me. And then tomorrow I'm going to start work with the department head...you know, the woman who works directly under the Director of Science in the training department. The Director's getting to be kind of old."
Savoya snorted. "I should think so. He's my grandfather's uncle!"
Bulma eyed Savoya. "Grandfather's UNCLE?"
"Yeah, Saiyans live a good long while," Savoya commented nonchalantly, waving her hand at Bulma. "It's nothing to worry about or anything. He's just ... old."
"Huh. So you know him?"
"Of course! He was a warrior at one time, after all...but, well, he decided he liked learning better than fighting, though for a while he was still a strong and devastating training partner. Could take you out in something like three steps. He actually trained the King when the King was a boy. He was his tutor in all subjects, including fighting."
Bulma blinked at Savoya. "Wow. All-around talented sort of guy?"
"Ayup. He was. Now he's just an old geezer," Savoya related, frowning thoughtfully, "Though, he at least remembers my birthday...which is more than I can say for my grandfather..." Savoya went off into a spacey la-la-land of thoughts.
Bulma stared at her friend and finally snapped her fingers in front of the Saiyan's nose. Savoya jumped.
"You spaced out a minute."
"Oh, sorry. I was just thinking."
Bulma chuckled, "Leave the thinking to me. Go land some bruises on Sukena's face for me? Oh! That reminds me! I still can't believe Melopa beat her."
Savoya snorted, barely managing not to squirt juice out of her nose. "Melopa's a lot happier, that's for sure. She's always been one of the nicer girls, but she does tend to have a chip on her shoulder. Revenge is a sweet, sweet thing."
Bulma smirked. "It can be. Anyhow I'd best be going. I'll see you around later?"
Savoya nodded and waved after her roommate as the girl departed.
Elsewhere about the palace, Ava was once more cleaning and disinfecting the grotesque suite in which Sukena resided. Three rooms down, four more to go once she finished this one! Ava wasn't quite sure she'd really finish by the time Prince Vegeta arrived, but ... hopefully she'd have most of it done. She wasn't looking forward to the punishment if something did happen...
She cast a wary glance through the doorway across the room, looking through it into the newly-cleaned central room where Sukena now sat, sulking, or better yet: "licking her wounds." Ava turned her head away and back to her cleaning, holding back the chuckle that arose in her throat.
She frowned after a moment. The punishment would be worse now with Sukena's wounded pride if she didn't finish in time.
Ava sighed and went back to her work, a bit more diligently this time. She'd brought bins to store all the mess Sukena had managed. It was time to put them to more use.
She wandered through the central room and nabbed the cart holding the bins, rolling the currently lightweight load into the room she was cleaning. She unloaded the bins, opened them, and set them about the room, tossing in papers and disks and clothes and other miscellaneous items. She'd organize them later.
Bulma breathed a sigh of relief as her instructor wandered away, down the nearby aisle. She had just finished her part-by-part explication of uses on the last piece of equipment in the laboratory and now sat down in front of one of the screens to look at engineering schematics, something she personally preferred as it were.
Sure, she could explain the use of and use the equipment she'd just explained, but the pure inventing, the math and the engineering, the design, was really more her thing. It appealed more to her inquisitive side, as well as the side that ... well, had more pride than necessary.
Not that that stopped her from getting smudged in grease.
She cleared her throat and squinted more closely at the screen. Hmm. Interesting.
Schematics for a better physical training facility.
Click.
Schematics for a better ship.
Click.
Schematics for her security system. Ha!
Click.
Schematics for improvements on her security system. The nerve!
Click-click-click, all the way back to the schematics for a better training facility. Now, this could certainly be interesting.
"What exactly was that assignment, again," Bulma murmured under her breath. Her nose wrinkled up as she tried to remember the exact instructions.
"Pick from the schematics on your terminal and enhance them," came an amused female voice. Bulma jumped, nearly out of skin and chair, and turned to look at the woman, a mature Saiyan female graying at temples and the tip of her tail.
"Director Ruvari! Please, excuse my insolence!"
Ruvari laughed nonchalantly, dismissing Bulma's statement with a wave of her hand. Companionably she rolled a chair over and straddled it, facing Bulma and smiling in a friendly manner. "Really, darling, as though I would mind. We haven't had someone with your ability enter training since the Department Head entered his! And note this, would you, that that occurred well over a hundred of your Chikyuu years ago."
"Oh?" said Bulma, an eyebrow hitching upwards as she favored the woman with a curious look.
"Of course. And, you knocked me out of second with your test scores. Truly amazing," the woman said with a genuinely amused and pleased smile, "Despite your species, it's quite likely either our current King Vegeta or our future King Vegeta will employ you as science director after either the current one or myself. Personally, I'd rather stay a departmental head. I more enjoy training than directing, truthfully."
Bulma nodded, chewing thoughfully on her lower lip a moment before asking: "Director Suhyo is getting fairly old, isn't he?"
"Mmm...yes, even by Saiyan reckoning, though his health is in fine order otherwise," replied Ruvari, "I'm going to see about moving you upward in status about here."
Bulma gaped, "But...I've only just begun training!"
"Yes, but you've already engineered and installed a security system far better than what anyone else here," Ruvari paused to motion disdainfully about the cubicle-filled room, "could have managed. We need you heading design teams, not learning work you've created or fixed, or attempted improvements on a system that works perfectly the way it is. We have more important projects to manage than another overhaul on the security system."
Ruvari motioned with a flick of her hand at the monitor in front of Bulma. Bulma simply blinked at Ruvari and then shook her head to release herself from the momentary daze. "So, do you still want me to look over one of these...?"
"Yes...At least, for the next few days until I've spoken with Director Suhyo to place you where you'd be most needed. Meanwhile, you can split your time between looking over any of those schematics OR work on some brainstorming of your own. I've already talked to the head in this section of the laboratory, giving him express instructions to let you do EITHER of the two. If he doesn't, let me know. I don't have time for anyone interfering with training or the science department's greater agenda," said Ruvari, pausing to look about, eyes narrowing at a certain infraction upon the code-of-conduct for the computation lab. "And now, darling, I've got to get going. Will speak to you later, of course."
And the woman sauntered down the line of cubicles to bark orders out to a data analyst sleeping on the job.
Bulma returned her attention to her monitor. So...physical training facility. She began to type in ideas.
"Everything is in order, Majesty. Those who are to come to the banquet have been notified," Salrud said from his position on the ground, prostrate before his sovereign and not daring to look at the man.
On the other hand, King Vegeta was looking down at the sycophantic little man and having a difficult time managing simultaneous disdain and amusement. In the end, amusement won though it was barely noticeable save for the twitch of the king's lips beneath his mustache. He cleared his throat, readopting a bland but stern expression. "I have a list of further invitees. Take this and notify the individuals."
Salrud stood, nodded to the king and brushed off his trousers, bowing as he (for once) stepped forward and gracefully accepted the datapad the king held out to him. "Yes, sire."
"Dismissed."
The grace dissipated as Salrud scurried on out of the throne chamber. King Vegeta returned to flipping through the security channels before settling to finish some of the more weighty work of his kingship.
The console read 'trade agreements.'
"How many more days am I stuck on this infernal ship?" Vegeta growled at Nappa as he paced across the not-so-expansive space of his personal quarters. Nappa sat in one of the chairs in the "lounge" area.
"Sire, one more day until we arrive home, or so Frieza says," Nappa intoned respectfully. The barest of cautious tones interwove within his words.
"Damn it," loudly swore Vegeta, though the torrent of more colorful expletives that flowed from his mouth could barely be heard.
Nappa said nothing and perhaps that was one of the wisest moments in his life.
The buzzer sounded. Bulma sighed as she pushed up from her spot on the couch and tucked a few stray strands behind her ears. A slave-messanger Bulma did not know stood at the door and handed her a datapad, bowing as he waited for her to accepted it.
Bulma blinked, "No need to bow. We're the same species."
The boy glanced up at her and blinked profusely back, his expression blank as though her species hardly mattered. He pressed the datapad into her hands, "This is an important message from the King Vegeta, lady."
"I'm not a 'lady,' but thank you for bringing this," Bulma said as she bowed her head in thanks. The boy scampered off before having to acknowledge the facts of Bulma's statements. With a shrug, Bulma turned; the door closed behind her but she lingered in the vestibule, reading the message pad. Her jaw dropped open.
"What does it say?"
Bulma nearly jumped at Savoya's question, but with a mixture of disdain and disbelief she eyeballed and reread the datapad clenched between her hands. She lifted her gaze, wide-eyed expression in tact, "...that King Vegeta has invited me to the Prince's welcome banquet..."
"That's because you are now a very important person here on Vegetasei!" Savoya squealed excitedly, something that seemed wholly uncharacteristic and frighteningly wrong coming from the Saiyan female. Nevertheless, Bulma was still too far in shock to make note or mention. Savoya snatched the datapad from Bulma's hands and squealed again, "Oooh! This is fantastic! It's even more personalized than most people's invitations! I mean, LISTEN: Miss Bulma Briefs, On behalf of the royal family, you have been cordially invited to the banquet in honor of the return of our Crown Prince. Your presence would greatly please His Royal Highness, King Vegeta as it has been many years since an individual as intellectually gifted as yourself has surfaced on Vegetasei. You are indeed to be a special guest and will be required to wear your best, most formal article to this event. We are fairly certain you have no articles of formal wear and as such I, Salrud, the King's secretarial advisor, have taken measures into my own hands. I will have your measurements sent to a specialist such as to create an outfit 'befitting your beauty and intellect' as requested by the King. King Vegeta also wishes to extend to you a surprise gift in return for your service these many years. Please attend. This shall be a special occasion on all accounts!"
Savoya finished with a flourish and then squealed excitedly, flailing around her hands and subsequently the datapad. "Bulma, this is fantastic! It's completely and totally personalized!"
Bulma blinked, "Yes, but...if it's Salrud sending out the invitations..."
"Salrud doesn't wipe his ass unless King Vegeta tells him it's okay to do so," Savoya snorted derisively, rolling her eyes for emphasis. "Honestly, King Vegeta probably gave him specific things to say in it and do. In otherwords, King Vegeta is having formal wear made for you! It'll be perfect! You'll be gorgeous!"
Bulma groaned, "Great, just what I need, more wolf-whistling."
Again Savoya snorted. "No, people will be on their best behavior. They'd rather not to face the King's wrath!"
Bulma frowned, "Well, I suppose it won't be such an issue."
"Good! We'll go together, then!" Savoya squealed, tossing the datapad back at Bulma before skipping merrily to the kitchen.
Bulma could do little but gape after her.
The Saiyan female was in a decidedly odd mood.