Bulma had hidden herself in the engine room after Vegeta's aborted seduction of her.  She hadn't wanted to go back to the lab; even though she knew he was gone from the room, she simply felt uncomfortable there at the moment.  And playing around with the engines was something she always found soothing, even though she knew she couldn't take them apart at the moment.

A beeping alerted her that someone was entering the ship, and she turned on a monitor to see Goku and his son climbing the hatchway.  She smiled, realizing this meant they were ready to go.  She didn't want anyone else knowing about her spy cameras all over the ship yet, so she pressed a button and every monitor flipped itself around, disappearing and looking like just ordinary parts of the engine room.  She smiled smugly.  She liked having secrets, especially from that irritating Saiyajin prince.  Let him wonder how she knew Goku was back.  She wasn't going to tell him.

She made her way up to the bridge and sat down in the pilot's seat, flipping a switch to turn on the announcement intercom for the ship.

"Everyone needs to strap in now, we're about to take off.  I would recommend coming up to the bridge and getting into the chairs designed for lift-off.  It will be your best chance of avoiding unwanted broken limbs from the sudden G-forces!  You have ten minutes to get up here, and then if you're not here, if you're turned into a pancake or jelly it will be your own fault!"

She said that last with a mischievous grin.  She had no intention of hurting anyone on the ship, but she wasn't about to let anyone know that.  As she continued to flip switches and warm up the engines, the various members of the crew began to clamber in.  She wasn't surprised that Gohan and Goku were first to arrive; the entrance to the ship was closest to the bridge, so they hadn't had far to go.  Kuririn and Yamcha also didn't take very long.  They had been in the mess hall, which wasn't very far, either.

The two aliens took longer, and didn't look happy about the interruption.  They were both bedraggled, their uniforms torn in spots, and several fresh bruises on their faces and bodies.  Bulma arched a brow but didn't say anything.  It was obvious Radditz had taken the worse beating, but neither of them looked to be in very good shape.  She wondered how they intended to fight Freeza if they insisted on beating each other to a pulp before they got there.

"You'd better strap in," she ordered peremptorily, gesturing to a dozen cushioned seats scattered throughout the bridge.  "The acceleration to escape Earth's gravity is going to be pretty strong.  I don't want any of you becoming pancakes."

Vegeta exchanged a look with Radditz.  It was another one of those silent communications between the two men they had perfected over the years; they did not even need to speak telepathically anymore in certain situations.  It was one of the reasons Vegeta and Radditz worked well together.

"Heaven forbid we all get squashed," Vegeta remarked dryly, strapping himself in.  "It would ruin the furniture, would it not?"  He caught Radditz' grin out of the corner of his eye.  The two Saiyajin warriors could take any G force Bulma's ship could put out.  Even if the two of them had not been traveling the galaxy this way for years and had developed a tolerance for this kind of strain on their bodies, the sudden force that would be exerted on them would still have little or no effect. On their homeworld of Vegeta-sei, the planet's natural gravity was ten times that of Earth's.  Planets like Chikyuu that had less gravity simply made it easier for them to move, and gave them an advantage over the natives if their opponents were much slower fighters than they were.

"Oh, heaven forbid," Bulma muttered irritably, then almost as soon as everyone had buckled in, she ignited the engines.

The engines roared to life, and the roof of the building they were in slowly slid away to show open sky.  As soon as it was completely open, Bulma pressed a button in a small handgrip she held, and with a roar and a sudden lurch, the ship shot upward.

Radditz and Vegeta were not surprised by the pressure on their bodies caused by the acceleration, but the others were not as prepared.  Goku wasn't really all that affected by it either.  His training the past year on Kaio's planet had acclimated him to high gravities.  He felt it, but it wasn't all that much higher than what he had grown used to.  Gohan whimpered, not in pain, but in surprise, and he allowed himself to be pressed against the cushioned seat.  It didn't hurt him, but he wasn't comfortable with it either.  Yamcha and Kuririn were also uncomfortable, but neither of them - other than being unable to move their bodies from where they were pressed against the seats - were really all that discomforted.

It was Bulma who was in bad shape.  The handgrip had fallen to the floor, making a slight dent in the panels of the flooring, as her hands were pressed into the grips of her seat.  She was completely pinned to the chair, and was almost in pain.  She had known what to expect, but to actually *experience* it was completely different.  She simply hadn't had the training to be able to deal with it.

A small whimper escaped her throat as the ship continued to rise into the atmosphere, slowly gaining speed as it gained altitude.  As the nose of the ship reached the atmospheric barrier, they saw a fiery glow around the windows.  Then suddenly they were free from the planet and hurtling into space.

The sudden release of pressure was a relief to everyone, almost making them feel weightless.  The Earth's greatest warriors all moved gingerly, smiling at each other when they could once again move without difficulty.  Bulma, however, hadn't escaped so easily.

The blue-haired scientist whimpered as she lifted one arm and leaned to the ground to pick up the handgrip.  Every bone in her body felt bruised, like she had been tossed around by a giant, or like someone had played basketball with her, using her as the ball.  She whimpered as the strain she had experienced caused her muscle to bruise, and she froze, not really wanting to move and make it feel worse.

Vegeta watched as the Earth warriors got their bearings.  Yamcha seemed to be having difficulty getting his legs to work right, and it caused him to totter about for a few moments before he could stand without wobbling. Goku and Gohan seemed to not have any problems at all when they stood up to join in conversation with Yamcha, who was intent on holding Kuririn still. The young monk was having problems regaining his balance as well.  If Kuririn took more than a few steps he had this horrible habit of leaning to the left.  And of course Yamcha couldn't help but tease him about not having 'space legs.'

The Saiyajin Prince turned his attention to Bulma in time to see her wince in pain. A scowl settled across his features when it occurred to him that her body had not had the kind of discipline that the others' had had, and she would be suffering the most.

Before he even knew what he was doing, he got to his feet and made his way to Bulma, then picked up the item that she had dropped earlier and handed it to her. Vegeta was not surprised to see her hand was shaking.

"Baka," he said in a low tone, trying not to draw attention to her.  "How badly are you hurt?"  Vegeta would not have been surprised to learn she had broken bones from the force alone.

Bulma glared at him, refusing to thank him for retrieving the ignition grip.  "What are you talking about?  Who said anything about me being hurt?  Why would I be hurt from that?  I'm perfectly fine!  Not that *you* care!"

"You face tells me you are in pain, woman.  I know that expression well."  Vegeta glared at her for a moment. "Can you even move without flinching?"

Bulma glared at him, embarrassed that he had noticed.  "Why do you care, anyway?" she snapped at him.  "As long as I can pilot the ship, it shouldn't matter to you, should it?  That's all I'm here for, right?"

Vegeta snorted. "My concern for you, woman, is that if you are in pain, you cannot think properly."  Without warning her what he was about to do, he reached down and undid the straps of the harness she was still wearing and lifted her out of the seat.

Vegeta scowled when her heard her indrawn breath of pain as he settled her against his chest. "Tell me where the medical lab is again, woman. You need to make sure you did no damage to yourself other than a few pulled muscles."

"I *showed* you the medical bay earlier!" she snapped at him irritably.  "But of course that meant nothing to you!  Although I'm *certain* you remember where the mess hall is, don't you?  The dining area," she clarified, when her Earth term meant nothing to him.  "The medical wing is right next to it.  Which is convenient for when Goku decides to overeat and get himself sick, the pig."

Bulma was surprised by the sheer acidity of her comments, but refused to allow that to show in her expression.  If she had thought about it, she would have realized she was snapping at them out of a combination of embarrassment and pain.  She was hurting so she was lashing out, even though the targets didn't deserve her admonishments.

"Saiyajin," Vegeta began almost conversationally as he carried her by the surprised Earth warriors, "eat until we are full.  We do not overeat. It is true we eat more than any race in existence, but that is due to high metabolisms.  So there is really no way to eat until we get sick.  When we are not hungry we do not eat."  He made his way carefully down the hallway, trying not to jostle her too much, and reached the door to the medical bay a few minutes later.  "You will have to tell me how to read this, I am not familiar with your language."

Bulma wasn't sure what to make of him.  Despite her waspishness, Vegeta seemed unruffled.  He wasn't cowed like Yamcha always had been, and he wasn't oblivious like Goku.  He seemed to understand her in an odd sort of way, and it was vaguely disconcerting.

She was trying very hard not to analyze the strange sensations she was experiencing as he carried her in his arms, so close to his body.  He had taken his armor off some time ago and was only wearing his spandex bodysuit, which left nothing to the imagination.  It hugged every curve, every corded muscle....  She could feel those hard muscles pressed against her own form, the heat of his body boring into hers.  Even though she felt bruised and sore, she was starting to become aroused, and desperately didn't want to be.  She was determined not to allow it to show, however.  No matter what she felt, she would never let him see it.  She was unaware that he was quite able to smell her arousal, and no matter what she tried to show or not show, he already knew.

"I can do it," she insisted, reluctantly sliding out of his arms.  She winced as she moved gingerly over to one of the medical beds, and turned on the scanner before lying down.  She looked up at the monitors on the wall, noting what they said about her condition.  If she were injured, the scanners would show it, although she had no idea what she would be able to do about it if she were critically injured.

Vegeta let her go without protesting. He cocked his head as he watched her limp to the table, and glanced at the monitor that apparently gave her details about her injuries.  Vegeta noticed her attraction to him despite the fact that she was obviously in a substantial amount of pain. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards in a smirk at this bit of information.  If she had been Saiyajin, she would not have let her injuries stop her, and would have simply taken what she wanted.

"So," he spoke up, drawing her eyes to his, "how bad is it?"

Bulma glared at him from where she lay on the medical table, then swung her legs gingerly over the side of the table and dropped carefully to the floor.

"I'll live," she replied acerbically.  "A few strained muscles, a few bruises, nothing that won't heal in a day or so.  I'll just have to take it easy while they heal.  Not that it matters all that much.  It's not like there's a lot on this ship I could strain myself with."  She ignored the fact that she often strained herself when doing research, and there was plenty for her to work on with the information from Vegeta's and Radditz' space pods, which she'd had transported to the ship during the night.

"Now, if we're done reassuring you of my continued survival, are you willing to leave me alone now?"  She was suddenly aware that the two of them were alone again, something she had been hoping to avoid. It was a big ship; surely she could avoid him the entire trip?  But not if they got into situations like this.  She had to get rid of him, and soon, before he managed to do to her what he had done the last time.

Vegeta grinned at her. "Only a few pulled muscles?  That is reassuring.  I hope this proves that you should train a little.  If you don't, this will happen to you again the moment we set down on Namek, and again when we leave."  The warrior was well aware she wanted him to leave, but he was not in a hurry to go anywhere.

Bulma glared at him, tapping a foot on the ground impatiently as she crossed her arms over her chest.  "Whatever," she snarled at him.  "I won't be able to until the muscles heal anyway.  And in the meantime, I have work to do, and I don't need you hovering over me.  So if you'll excuse me...?"

One eyebrow quirked upward. "Yes, you do have some work to do.  But I am afraid it involves me."  He leaned towards her so his face was positioned right next to her ear and lowered his voice a few octaves, letting it become deeper and huskier. "You promised to teach me, woman."

The thought that instantly came to mind at his suggestion brought an immediate blush to her cheeks.  She shoved it aside, convinced that couldn't have been what he meant.  "What are you talking about?" she snapped, more irritably than she had intended.  "What was I supposed to teach you?"

"You promised me a few things, actually," Vegeta whispered, his breath warm against her ear. "But right now what I want is for you to teach me how to read your language."

She ignored the sensations shooting through her belly as she pulled away from him with a shrug.  "Oh.  Well, that shouldn't be too difficult," she dismissed.  "At least if you have any intelligence.  All right, come on.  I'll show you the library."

She led him down a corridor, taking him to an elevator that was hidden in a wall, and as the door slid shut she pressed a button on the panel.  "I suppose this is the first thing I should teach you.  These symbols are numbers - one through three."  She pointed to each button as she counted.  "I've already taken you on a tour of the ship, so I'll just tell you which button goes where.  The first floor is the engine room, the second floor has the ship's cargo hold and my research labs, and the third floor is the living quarters and the bridge.  I've already shown you those areas, so I don't need to show them to you again.  But I suppose I need to take you to the library.  That's on the second floor.  Come on, let me show you."

They went down one flight on the lift, and halfway down a corridor Bulma led them into a room with about a dozen computers.  "All right, we'll begin our lessons here."  She looked at him thoughtfully.  "I don't suppose 'See Spot run' would be appropriate, would it?" she murmured distractedly.

Vegeta quirked a brow, not knowing what the "See spot run" reference was to, and offered a suggestion. "How about showing me basic words that I will need on this ship. Numbers and your planet's letter system."  He shrugged when she glanced over at him. "This is not the first language I have had to learn in a hurry."

Bulma frowned at him, then nodded.  Yes, since he already knew how to read and write another language it would be much simpler.  Their languages were basically the same; all she had to teach him was the alphabet itself.  "That should be easy enough."

She gestured him to a seat, then sat next to him and turned on the closest computer.  As they went though, she showed him the alphabet and numbering system and explained their logic.  She was surprised at how quickly he learned - apparently he *had* done this before, because it didn't take him very long to pick things up.  She wasn't about to let him know how surprised she was by this, but she couldn't help feeling pleased that he was more intelligent than Goku was.

Without realizing it, Vegeta found himself actually enjoying his learning experience. He was finding that Bulma's claims of being a genius were entirely accurate.  She had an intriguing way of teaching, making learning her native tongue easier, but he found his thoughts wandering when he noticed how she kept squirming in her seat.  Vegeta leaned back in his chair, a smirk on his face as she stopped and looked back at him, curious when he became silent.

"Perhaps you should go soak in the bath awhile, woman.  It will work wonders on loosening up those sore muscles of yours."  Vegeta shifted forward once again, bringing himself almost nose to nose with her. "And maybe if you ask really nice, I'll rub your back for you.  Or anything else you would like."

Bulma blinked in surprise.  His first words had her confused - he was being nice to her for a change?  And then with his next sentence her face turned to a scowl of displeasure.  Of course.  He was only offering her a chance to relax if *he* could get something out of it.  She was far too familiar with hentais like Roshi to be unaware of what was on his mind.

"No thanks!" she snapped irritably, placing her hands on his chest and pushing away from him.  "I'm fine on my own.  If you think you're done with the lesson, that's fine with me!"

She stood up, bristling with irritation.  She was absolutely certain he was only behaving this way towards her because she was the only female available.  She was also sure he simply enjoyed baiting her; although why he did she had no idea.  She was positive he wasn't attracted to her.  He had made that quite clear when he had first met her, expressing contempt for someone as weak as she was, with the comment that he didn't think she was the slightest bit desirable.  Even if she hadn't believed his words then, his expression had conveyed his feelings beautifully.

It was ironic that she would find herself so attracted to someone who only enjoyed tormenting her.  Perhaps it was because he could sense her attraction towards him; he wanted to toy with her, make her want him, just to leave her frustrated.  She had had enough of that with Yamcha, even if he hadn't done it deliberately; she wasn't going to allow Vegeta that pleasure as well.

"Go find your friend and blow something up!  Just make sure you confine your damage to the training areas, and not blow up the ship!"

Vegeta managed to hide a smirk.  He really should not try so hard to annoy her, but there something about the woman that had him wanting to make her angry.  It was not, he assured himself, the way her face flushed and her eyes flashed when she was annoyed with him.  It might have the fact that no one had ever dared argue with him.  Bulma did not seem intimidated by him in the least, which was definitely a point in her favor. Vegeta did not want her afraid of him. For what he had in mind, her being comfortable in his presence was absolutely crucial.

"Are you sure, woman?" he asked, inclining his head to the side. "I have been informed I am good with my hands."

Bulma flushed, as immediately images came to mind about where those hands would be.  Ruthlessly she shoved those thoughts out of her head.  Hadn't she decided a year ago she no longer wanted a boyfriend?  Yamcha had shown her she just wasn't desirable to a man.  Vegeta was obviously toying with her.  He knew how attractive he was, and he must suspect she was attracted to him.  He was using that to torment her, to make her want him more.  For what reason she had no idea; perhaps it was some sort of sadism, or perhaps he just liked the power he had over her.  Maybe he felt that if he did this, he could control her in some manner.  Well, if that was his plan, she had no intention of allowing him to win.

"I'll bet you're good with your hands - when it comes to killing people, that is.  Since I don't feel like having you kill anyone at the moment, you can just keep your hands to yourself!"

Vegeta arched an eyebrow at her. "I am good at killing people, woman.  I have been doing so since I was a child."  The smirk Vegeta gave her as he ran his gaze slowly over her body spoke volumes.  "But I have no intention to kill you with these hands.  Quite the opposite."

Vegeta stood up, moving with a grace that bespoke his royal heritage, and closed the distance between them with one stride.  He stood close to her deliberately, not close enough that their bodies were touching but still so near they could feel each other's body heat.  He leaned towards her to run both of his hands up her arms to her shoulders, to cup her face between his palms.  He felt a certain amount of male smugness when he felt her shiver in response to his caress.

"Want me to prove it?" he asked, as he stared into her eyes.

Bulma shivered as she stared at him, drawn like a moth to a flame.  Then the simile rose to her mind, and she jerked her face away, startled.  This moth had *no* intention of being burned by his flame, not if she could help it.  She pulled away from him so swiftly he hadn't had a chance to react, even if he had been expecting her to resist him.  In two strides she was across the room, her hand on the doorknob.  She glanced back at him briefly with a baleful glare.

"I didn't give you permission to touch me," she hissed at him, trying to smother the odd sensations that were bubbling up from her stomach, shooting tingles of electricity down her spine and to the tips of her fingers and toes.  "Just stay away from me, Vegeta.  I don't want you to touch me."

With those words, she stepped out of the room and slammed the door behind her.  Without giving him a chance to respond, she tore down the hallway, heading towards her lower laboratory.  It wasn't the one he had found her at earlier, and she hadn't included this one in her tour earlier that day, so she didn't think he would find her there.  Not unless he had that strange way of sensing people that her friends had.

::Why can't he leave me alone?:: she thought miserably, as she slumped down at the desk in the lab.  ::I'm not hurting him.  Why does he have to do this to me?  What have I ever done to him to deserve it?::

Trying to shove the thoughts aside, she turned on the computer and began running some simulations.  Hopefully they would keep her mind off a certain seductive prince.  It didn't occur to her that Vegeta had managed to get her mind off Yamcha, and for the first time in a year she wasn't moping about how the love of her life no longer wanted her.

A loud crash could be heard as Vegeta punched the wall. Even though the Saiyajin Prince held back the amount of force he used, the wall vibrated from the impact of his fist connecting with it.

::Damn her!:: Vegeta cursed.  He knew Bulma wanted him; he could smell the arousal coming off her in waves.  But for some reason the Saiyajin Prince could not begin to understand, she kept turning him down.

Vegeta had no idea why her rejection hurt so much.  Even though he suspected the truth, he was not about to admit it to anyone, especially not himself.  The warrior made his way to the capsule room with the intention of mediating. He was sure that if cleared his mind, he would be able to figure out a way to get the woman to offer herself.  Even if she fought it.  She had challenged him to win her, making the prince even more determined to get her to approach him.

::Soon, woman, I'll have you making a bid for me,:: Vegeta mused as he settled himself on the floor of the huge empty room. ::As soon as I figure out how.::

~~~*~~~

Yamcha wasn't sure if he should join in Radditz' laughter at the current situation or cry in frustration. Vegeta had somehow managed to convince Goku that he now knew enough of the language to figure out how to operate the food processors. And Goku, being his usual clueless self, let him.  This had been a mistake. Right now, the group of them were standing around watching Vegeta fiddling with the controls and producing products that could in no way be classified as food. Radditz was laughing outright at his prince. As for Yamcha and Kuririn, there was no way in hell they were about to inform him of what a mess he was making.

Unfortunately, the amusement of watching Vegeta get frustrated was not worth the hunger they would experience if they didn't get something to eat. Yamcha sighed and bowed his head in defeat. ::Only one thing to do.  I have to call Bulma, and man, she is going to be pissed.:: He made his way to the videophone, stepping over the piles of inedible food, and paged Bulma.

Even though Yamcha hadn't known where Bulma was on the ship, the computer had.  As soon as he had requested a connection with her, the videophone in her laboratory chimed for her attention.

Bulma hadn't accomplished much that afternoon.  Despite her attempts to do something useful, her mind - and her body - was still with Vegeta.  Every time she thought of him - which she seemed to every second - it gave her strange feelings.  She would grow warmer in strange places, or her fingers and lips would tingle.  Sometimes she would get a strange funny tingling sensation in her belly... or lower.  A few times she felt her whole body clenching up in anticipation of his touch, and she would become frustrated that he wasn't there to ease it.

When she heard the videophone she blinked in surprise, then suddenly realized how late it was, and how very little she had managed to do.  With a sigh she flipped the monitor on.  "Yes?" she asked wearily, and then frowned.  Since the monitor was angled for privacy, she couldn't see the chaos in the dining hall near Yamcha, but she did hear strange cursing and laughter.  She had no idea what was going on, and wondered if she really wanted to know.

"Bulma... er..." Yamcha put his hand to his head and smiled sheepishly. It was a kind of smile that Bulma knew from experience, and immediately set off warning bells. Whatever Yamcha wanted to tell her, Bulma knew that it wasn't going to be pleasant. "There's kinda a crisis here.  You really need to come up here and solve this..." Yamcha paused as he heard another loud curse and heard several plates shatter. "Dilemma."

"Huh?"  Bulma blinked, trying to figure out what was going on.  "Yamcha... what's going on?" she asked him, an edge of suspicion in her voice.

"Um, I think maybe you should just come up here in a hurry. I don't think that Vegeta will listen to us." Yamcha flinched from the steel in her gaze as she glared at him. "Please?"

"Yamcha...."  Bulma tapped her foot impatiently on the floor as she crossed her arms over her chest in irritation.  "Are you going to tell me what's going on?  Or do I have to come up there and pull it out your ears?"

"Maybe you should just come up. You have to see it to believe it." Yamcha hedged, wincing at another round of laughter from Radditz.

Bulma frowned, listening to the noise in the background.  Normally it wouldn't filter through the vid-phones - they were designed to filter out background noise - but this was definitely getting through.  "Maybe I had better.  But if I do, someone's going to pay!" she warned.

She flipped the switch without waiting for a reply, and scowled for a moment at the empty screen.  "Computer, where are the others?"

The monotone voice of the computer replied quietly.  "Yamcha, Kuririn, Vegeta, Radditz, Goku, and Gohan are currently in the dining room."

What the hell were they doing up there?  Without another hesitation, she left her lab and headed upstairs to the dining room.  When she opened the door, she couldn't stifle a cry of dismay.

"What ARE you idiots DOING?!?" she yelled sharply, moving forward with a scowl.  The floor was strewn with disgusting mixtures from Vegeta's failed attempts at creating dinner.  "What IS this?  What have you idiots been trying to do?"

Yamcha, Goku and Kuririn all exchanged looks and backed up a few steps. Experience had taught the men that when Bulma used that tone of voice and had that particular look in her eyes, they all knew they were not going to enjoy the next couple of minutes. And from the look of challenge in Vegeta's expression, things were not going to go well.

Yamcha took a deep breath and tried to buffer the impending storm. "Well, Vegeta was having difficulties with the food replicator, and..." Yamcha tried a charming smile, while trying desperately to ignore the scowl Vegeta was sending in his direction. "It kind of got out of hand."

Radditz began his laughter anew, ignoring Vegeta's irritated expression.  He knew he would pay for his mirth later, but he was simply enjoying his prince's discomfiture too much.  It was rare that he saw Vegeta in a situation where he was this embarrassed, when it wasn't actually humiliating them in front of enemies who would use it to their detriment.  He could enjoy the humor of this without feeling like he was betraying his prince, despite the fact that Vegeta wouldn't feel the same way.

Bulma's scowl only got angrier.  "Why the hell were you allowing this buffoon to access the controls, anyway?  He wouldn't know how to use them!"

"Well, Bulma, he said you were teaching him our language..." Kuririn protested weakly.

Bulma turned a baleful glare towards him.  "Teaching, yes.  Taught, no.  He has only *started* to learn our language, and certainly not enough to know how to program these!  I swear!  I leave you men alone for a minute...!"

Without waiting for them to stop her, she picked her way over the mess on the floor, then opened a control panel on the wall.  She pressed a few buttons in a complicated pattern that none of the men were able to remember, and within seconds a dozen robots appeared out of previously unnoticed panels on the walls.  The tiny half-foot tall robots swept over the floor, vacuuming and scrubbing the area where the mess had been.  Within a minute, nothing was left of the disaster.  Bulma closed the panel, and then turned to the men with a scowl.

"From now on, you two are NOT to try to make any food, do you understand?  Not until you have learned the language completely!  Kami, even Goku couldn't have made this much of a mess!  If I didn't know better, I would almost think you were *trying* to make a mess!"

Vegeta was, for the first time in his life, extremely embarrassed. This was just the type of situation he normally tried to avoid.  It was somewhat of a relief to realize that at least this would not come back to haunt him by way of Freeza's minions. But he would not let Bulma have the last word on the subject. "If you wish, woman. I suppose I will just have to get you to prepare my meals for me from now on," he remarked dryly.

Bulma paused, taken aback.  Then she glared at him, her eyes narrowing.  "Only until you can read our language properly.  Fortunately, none of that food you created will go to waste.  It will all get recycled back into the synthesizers and broken down into its chemical components, just like anything else."

Bulma nudged Vegeta out of the way, then moved to the control panel of the replicator.  Once again her hands moved so fast they had difficulty following.  "Let's see... how about some pizza, and hamburgers, and sushi, and kimshi, some mou goo gai pan, some pasta, and how about a little paella?"  She glanced at Goku, who was beginning to drool from hunger.  "And lots and lots of rice," she said with a sigh, realizing that would be the only thing that would fill her friend up sufficiently.

The doors to the replicators opened, and in each one there was some sort of food.  Before the men could move towards it and devour it without ceremony or even any courtesy, several robots - considerably larger than the cleaning robots from before - shoved them ungently out of the way and removed the food, moving it towards several of the tables in the room.  Bulma's fingers flew over the control panel as food continued to appear in each of the replicators, the robots scurrying back and forth between the replicators and the tables, each time heavily laden with plates of food.

"Do you think that will be enough?" Bulma asked critically, as she eyed the two tables covered with food.  She glanced at her friends.  "Well, if it's not, we can always make more.  So, gentlemen, let's eat!" she announced, beaming at them proudly.

Goku and the Earth humans wasted very little time going to the table. The two dug into the food with an enthusiasm that even had Vegeta arching an eyebrow at him. It did not surprise him that Goku was such a ravenous eater, but Yamcha's eating habits were a bit surprising. He seemed to eat just as quickly and almost as much as the Saiyajin warrior.

The Saiyajin Prince turned his head slightly to see that Radditz still had a world-class grin on his face that spoke volumes. The glare Vegeta fixed on the other Saiyajin male merely increased the size of the grin. ::You are going to pay for this later,:: he silently informed his companion as he sat down and began his meal.  Radditz returned his gaze with an innocent smile, and then promptly looked away, as though unworried.

"Man, Bulma you never ceased to surprise me," Yamcha informed her as he shoveled food in his mouth. "This stuff is getting better than the homemade meals Ranchi used to make. You could use that as the advertisement to sell the new models."  Yamcha grinned at her. "Should I worry that you are becoming domestic?"

Bulma paused in her eating.  "I'm not going to sell these, you know," she informed him.  "At least not this model.  All replicators that are going to eventually go to market will have very specific programming, and all upgrades will have to go through Capsule Corp.  I don't want to risk anyone using these things to make biological weapons or something."  She shuddered, and then gave Vegeta a bland glance.  "Although you might have come pretty close to that, even without trying."

Yamcha looked as if he were going to comment on the current situation, then changed his mind. Just knowing that Vegeta was fixing a glare on him was enough to keep quiet about Vegeta's lack of cooking skills. "Weapons? Bulma, it's a food replicator. You can't order a gun and have it pop out at you." He scratched the back of his head. "Can you?"

Bulma gave Yamcha a piercing look, and then spoke slowly, as though explaining to a slow child.  "Yamcha.  These replicators can duplicate anything organic.  *Anything*.  That includes bacteria, viruses, and molds.  That means they could be used to replicate - or even create - something so toxic to humans that we wouldn't have a cure.  Yes, it can be used to create a weapon, just not the sort of weapon you're assuming.  And that's something I will never allow."

Radditz gagged at her words.  A biological weapon wasn't something he had ever considered.  He glanced at the replicators, and then gave her a long, speculative look.  This human woman was well aware of the possibilities of her invention, and apparently had some method of insuring it couldn't be used that way.  "I take it these devices aren't available to the public?" he queried, a brow arching curiously.

Bulma's gaze drifted to him.  "No, not currently.  I won't release them until I'm assured that they can't be reprogrammed.  I have a few prototypes that I'm considering releasing - they have a few thousand food types programmed in, and a safety mechanism that will cause the circuitry to melt if anyone ever tries to reprogram it either remotely or by opening it.  I'll have a backdoor so I can replace or reprogram them with updates, but those updates will have to have a Capsule Corp signature, or they'll fry the circuitry as well.  At least, that's the plan.  It's not completely working yet, so they aren't on the market at this time."

Vegeta's soft chuckle drifted over the table as several pairs of eyes looked over at him with varying expressions. "I can see why Freeza would be interested in your family, woman. Someone like you working for him would be an incredible asset."

"Somehow, I don't think Bulma would work for him willingly," Yamcha ventured. "Not after what you told us, anyways."

Vegeta snorted. "That lizard wouldn't care. He would simply find a way to convince her.  Or force her."

"Convince? Now why don't I like the sound of that?" Kuririn said, sounding dubious.

Vegeta smirked at him. "Oh, I don't think you would want hear the details. You might get sick. And it's not very good manners to vomit at the dinner table."

"Now, you!" Bulma glared at him.  "I am *trying* to eat here!  Or I was!  That's not the sort of talk that allows someone to keep her appetite!"  She turned her nose up at him, determined to ignore him.

Radditz grinned at her actions.  The more he saw of her, the more convinced he was that she was perfect for his prince, even if Vegeta wasn't willing to admit it.  He noticed the two humans seemed fairly confused by their interplay, and was puzzled.  Couldn't they smell the arousal on both of the others?  Couldn't they sense the sexual tension between them?  But the more he studied the humans, the more he realized they were completely oblivious.

He glanced at his brother and grimaced.  Maybe it was a Chikyuu thing, not a human one.  Kakarotto hadn't even slowed his ravening down throughout the entire conversation.  Gohan had hesitated at one point, but then apparently training took over and he continued to follow his father's lead, as though sensing that if he didn't, he might not get enough to eat.  And with the way Kakarotto was eating, it seemed likely that under most circumstances that would probably be true.

His gaze drifted back to Yamcha, and his expression hardened.  He was frustrated by this one.  He didn't understand Chikyuu taboos and customs so wasn't sure how to proceed with him.  The human warrior hadn't exactly rejected him yet, but he hadn't accepted him either.  Until he did either, Radditz was left in a state of limbo, and that wasn't something he particularly enjoyed.

He wasn't really used to not being accepted right away, either.  Most individuals that he expressed an interest in tended to reciprocate; he was strong, powerful, and not displeasing to look at.  There were those who wouldn't have found him attractive, but he rarely found those individuals attractive as well, so it had never been an issue.  But he had never encountered someone who was so completely oblivious, or who gave such mixed signals.

::I should show him what he's missing,:: he thought with a smug grin.  ::Maybe I can arrange that.::

"Bulma."  He turned to Bulma with a friendly smile.  "Does this ship have a bathing room?"

Bulma looked at him in confusion.  "Each of the rooms has a bathroom, of course.  With a private shower and restroom."

Radditz frowned.  "No, I mean a bathing room.  One with hot water to loosen your muscles, where you sit with your comrades and discuss the day's battles."  He said the words automatically, realizing immediately afterwards that it wouldn't mean much to her.

Bulma blinked in surprise.  "Oh!  You mean like a Jacuzzi!" she said, smiling in sudden understanding.  "It has hot water and jets which massage you.  We have some of those in the capsules, of different sizes.  Did you want to use one or something?"

Radditz smiled.  He didn't understand the word she used, but it sounded like she knew what he had been talking about.  "Do you have one that would fit..." he glanced around at all of them, "all seven of us?  It might be a nice way to relax and to... get to know each other."  He had other things on his mind, of course, but he wasn't about to let her know about those.

Bulma's smile brightened.  "Of course!  That's a great idea!  Maybe after dinner we could do that."  She looked at Goku in distaste.  "But I want Goku to take a shower *before* going in the Jacuzzi.  He's a mess already!"

Goku paused in his eating only briefly when his name was mentioned. His mind registered the word 'bath', though, and now that his stomach was satisfied, he realized it would not be such a bad idea. "Sure, Bulma," he agreed easily. "I'll meet you there in a little bit." The others watched as Goku ruffled his son's hair affectionately before he left the room.

Yamcha squirmed in his seat. The look Radditz was giving him was making him a little uneasy. Though the suggestion seemed innocent enough, the baseball player had this terrible feeling Radditz was up to something. ::Since when do Saiyajin want to get to know anyone?:: But since he was not going to be accused of being a coward, Yamcha plastered a smiled on his face and agreed quietly.

Vegeta sat back in his chair and watched Bulma's facial expressions. "When you are ready, so am I." He smirked at her when she glanced at him. He was well aware she could take the statement the wrong way. Yet judging by the expression on her face, he was sure she hadn't chosen the one he was implying.

Bulma frowned, suddenly remembering Vegeta.  Did she really want to get in a hot tub with this man?  But no, they wouldn't be alone - her friends would be with them, as well as Radditz.  Surely he wouldn't try anything with everyone else around.  If he did, she would just pretend that she and Yamcha were still a couple.  Surely her friend would allow her that, if only to protect her.

And there was a part of her that was curious about what Vegeta would look like in a bathing suit.  What sort would he wear?  She could picture him wearing a pair of really tight speedos that showed off his physique....

She was unaware that her pulse was quickening and her temperature was elevating, as she stared at Vegeta, somehow seeing him without his bodysuit on anymore.

Radditz nearly choked on his next bite.  The woman's pheromones were overpowering; she was so aroused it had become absolutely impossible to ignore it.  He glanced at Vegeta and could tell his prince was sensing the same thing; the feral, almost predatory look on his face showed that he was ready to move for the kill.  Yet Radditz sensed somehow that if he went too fast, it would frighten Bulma.  She might be ready to mate with him, but she didn't *know* she was ready to mate yet.  And getting her so she knew it was going to be the trick.

It was also quite apparent that the two humans in the room were completely oblivious to this, just as they had been oblivious to the exchange before.  Were they really that unable to sense the hormones the female was releasing?  How could their species have survived if that was the case?  Or was it just these two?  Was that why he was having so much trouble with Yamcha, because the man was the only one of his species incapable of sensing someone's attraction?

Radditz was unaware of the growl that was beginning to issue from his throat.  It was soft, but slowly gaining in intensity as his frustration continued to grow.

::Radditz;:: Vegeta sent silently. ::Be still.:: He was somewhat relieved when his warning was listened to. Radditz stopped growling but he was still holding his body tense. It was a frustration Vegeta could understand.

The Saiyajin Prince was more than ready to take Bulma up on the signals her body was sending, but after the incident in her lab earlier, he decided he was going to get her to come to him. He knew she wanted him, but whether or not she was willing to admit it was going to be another matter entirely.

Yamcha stood up, completely oblivious to the tension in the air. "Do you want me to go and set up, Bulma? Or do you want to?"

Bulma blinked, startled out of her reverie, and she blushed when she realized what she had been thinking.  She didn't want to think of Vegeta like that!  Of course, he did have a very nice body, but she wasn't interested in him that way!  She wasn't interested in any man that way anymore, she was determined about that.  No more broken heart for her, no way.

"You do it," she said.  "I'll go get ready.  Just make sure it's big enough for all of us.  I'm sure you can find one that is."  Without waiting for a reply, she waved at all of them and left the room.

Get ready?  Radditz arched a brow at her retreating back.  What did you need to do to get ready for a bath?  But he couldn't wait to see what the female looked like unclothed.  She might be off-limits to him currently, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to look.  So far Vegeta hadn't objected to that much, and Radditz was definitely willing to get an eyeful of the delicately beautiful woman.

Too bad Vegeta was so possessive of her.  Radditz eyed his monarch skeptically.  This was the first female they had encountered that Vegeta wasn't willing to share with him.  For the time being Radditz didn't mind; the scarred human had his attention currently.  But it might have been nice to sample a little of each.  Well, recriminations weren't Radditz' strong suit, and instead he decided to simply anticipate the delights that were going to be before him shortly.

Kuririn sighed.  "I suppose I should get ready as well," he said glumly.  He wasn't really sure that the whole Jacuzzi thing was a good idea, but he wasn't about to be left out.  "I'll see you guys in a while."  He left the room as well, leaving the Saiyajin - and Yamcha - alone to finish up their meal.

Yamcha made his way down to the spare room lost in thought. He really had no idea why this idea bothered him so much. It could have been the predatory look that Radditz was giving him as he left the room.

It took longer than Yamcha thought locate the capsule that contained the Jacuzzi. He was surprised to see so many of them in the first place, but Bulma did like to be prepared even if it meant she would have gone a bit overboard.

Yamcha had just set up the Jacuzzi when Kuririn walked in. "Hey, Kuririn, just in time! The water is great!"

Kuririn didn't look very enthusiastic as he waved in greeting to Yamcha.  "Yeah, I'm here.  Hey, I can finish heating the water up, if you want to go get your suit on," he offered.  He himself was wearing a pair of black shorts that were a little tight.  He hadn't expected to go 'swimming' on this ship - it wasn't exactly a pleasure cruise, after all - so he was just wearing a pair of his workout shorts.

"Thanks, Kuririn! I appreciate that." Yamcha patted Kuririn on the shoulder on the way out the door, and headed to his room. When he got there he discovered something similar to what Kuririn had experienced; he had not thought to bring swimwear with him. But after several minutes of searching his wardrobe he found a pair of blue bike shorts he usually wore for practicing. He figured they could serve for the time being.

He came back a few minutes later, towel wrapped around his shoulders and smiling at Kuririn. "No one else is here yet?"

Kuririn shrugged.  He hadn't yet gotten into the water; he wasn't really wasn't all that eager to do so.  "Naw.  Goku had to take a shower.  And you know Bulma.  She's probably putting on make-up just to get into the water."

"I have to put on make-up to do *what*?!?"  Bulma's sharp accusation cracked across the room, and Kuririn winced.

"Sorry, Bulma," he muttered, looking abashed.  "Guess it didn't take you that long after all."

"Hmph."  Bulma wasn't about to tell him that she had considered putting make-up on, but realized that not only would it run in the water, but it would look like she was trying too hard.  And she wasn't trying... was she?  No, she wasn't.  She didn't want to attract anyone's attention.  Except maybe Yamcha's, and she knew there was no hope there anymore.

She stepped forward, putting her towel on a convenient shelf, then slipped her robe off her shoulders.  Kuririn's  and Yamcha's reactions to the tiny bathing suit she wore justified the money she had spent on it; both men's jaws were practically on the floor, and she thought she could almost see Kuririn drooling.  Perhaps she wasn't so unattractive after all, if they could react like that.

She wasn't going to let them see how pleased she was by their reactions.  Instead she schooled her face into a semblance of irritation.  "Don't stare!" she snapped at Kuririn.  "It's not polite!  Move aside!  I want to get in!"

Ignoring the two men, she strutted up the short steps to the tub, and slowly stepped inside.  The almost scalding heat of the tub made her move slowly, adjusting her own temperature to the heat of the water.

She sighed blissfully.  This was exactly what she needed after the stress from the past twenty-four hours.  A nice hot relaxing bath, ridding her mind of the cares of the world....

Both of the Z warriors climbed in after her. Yamcha managed to repress a smile as he watched Kuririn try to school his features into something that did not resemble a gaping carp. After his initial shock of seeing Bulma bare that much skin, Yamcha accepted it easily.

He had seen her in less, he recalled, when he had peeked in the van that had been carrying her, a younger Goku, and Oolong in their first adventure. Yamcha had only had been looking in the van in the first place to see if he could find the child who had beaten him, and steal the dragonballs from them. But no, he had been greeted with the sight of a naked Bulma in the shower. Yamcha barely managed to stifle a chuckle at the memory of how embarrassed he had been, as he leaned back in the tub and relaxed.

END PART 12