Chapter Thirteen

Comfort

The troops were to be sent out immediately. Every able-bodied soldier available was to pack his bags and prepare for boarding. Zarbon issued the command as soon as he walked out of Frieza's chambers, and he estimated that they'd leave at 0600 hours the day after next, leaving him little time to get packed and prepare the ships.

His boots clicked at a rapid pace as he marched down the hallway, underlings whirling aside to avoid his path. Bulma, Lord Frieza had told him, was to remain behind until she finished the gravitational chamber, then she could bring the technology out with her. In fact, she was considered a rather vital part of the plan, as many of the soldiers under Lord Frieza's command were much weaker than the average Namekian soldier, and it was imperative that they be brought up to par.

Zarbon knocked smartly on the door. "Bulma, it's me. May I come in?" At first, he didn't hear an answer, and he knocked again. "Bulma?" This time, he heard some muffled sound emitting from the room, and he punched the combination in before bursting into the room.

It was dark when he entered. He could see Bulma's shadow outlined on the bed and he slowly made his way forward. "Are you okay, darling?" he asked her gently as he patted her back. She immediately moved to cry on his shoulder, and Zarbon was taken aback. "What happened?"

"Vegeta," she sobbed, but she could get no further in her sentence. Mentally, the green alien gritted his teeth. The stupid ape was at it again.

"What did he do to you?" Zarbon pressed, alarmed. "Did he say anything to hurt you?" Bulma was crying too hard to voice her answer, but she vigorously shook her head no, and Zarbon let out a sigh of relief. "Hush, then. There's no need to worry." Bulma found her way into his arms for a hug, and he held her just like he did when she was a child. "You're confused," he said silkily, patting her on the shoulder. "After all, seeing him again was very trying for you. You'd best forget about him."

"Did you kill his friends?" she sobbed so abruptly, he didn't know if he had heard it at all.

"I'm sorry?"

She was still sniffling, but Bulma had a better handle of her emotions now. She pushed out of his hug and made an act of wiping away her tears as she said, "Did you… were you the one that told Lord Frieza that Vegeta's friends were planning to escape?"

Zarbon stiffened for a moment, and Bulma even stopped sniffing, waiting for him to answer. His palm suddenly crashed across her face, catching her off-guard. Even though he drew back his strength so as not to kill her, she collapsed to the floor with a shriek. "Don't you dare mention his name in the same breath as Lord Frieza's!" Zarbon shouted at her. "He is a traitorous ape who deserves worse than death! He killed your parents, Bulma, and don't you ever forget that."

She cried to him, "I haven't," again and again, and his anger subsided. However, just as he was about to leave her to herself, she pushed herself up with her hands, and her blue eyes were as hard as their sapphire color would imply. "I also haven't forgotten one other thing, Zarbon: he let me live."

She lashed her foot out in the dark and Zarbon, amazingly, was forced to stumble backwards until he felt something cool latch around his ankle, stopping him in his tracks. "What is this?" he began worriedly, struggling to move. Bulma leapt to her feet and began pounding away at the control panel inside the room. "It's a ki dampener," she muttered over the soft beeping of the keys. "You're going to stay here for a bit. I'm setting the computer to release you right before the ship takes off.

"You knew about the command?"

"Frieza sent another foot soldier to tell me," she grinned as she finished the computer entry. "And don't bother trying to free yourself, you'll never be able to hack into this computer."

Sputtering, Zarbon growled, "Where are you going?"

"Me?" she replied, all innocence. "I've got some errands to run."

"Goku, report to the doctor's office," a voice crackled over the intercom. The young Saiyan, who was asleep only moments before, was now hurriedly pulling on his boots and out the door before the announcement even finished. Although it was surprisingly early, Goku understood that Vegeta was healed by now.

He raced down the hallway, dodging the other soldiers with all the grace of a fighter, and he arrived at the office door within a moment's time. H'limke was waiting when Goku opened the door.

"Is he ready? Can I see him?"

"Almost, Goku," the doctor said with an affectionate smile, but it soon disappeared as H'limke sighed. "I called you here a bit early to say that I will be going with the troops to Namek, as will Vegeta."

"What about me?"

"You're staying behind, Goku. Lord Frieza only asked for his able-bodied soldiers, and you have never even been fully trained." Before Goku could beg, H'limke checked his watch. "Vegeta should be ready by now. He healed at a tremendous rate. Come along, Goku."

The doctor led the younger Saiyan down the hall, past the blindingly white doorways illuminated by cheap lighting. "Did you know," H'limke said over his shoulder, "a Saiyan naturally gets stronger every time he is hurt? His body heals itself rapidly, but his cells also strengthen when they're done." Goku frowned, as if trying to grasp exactly what H'limke meant.

"You mean that if someone hurts me, I get stronger after I heal?"

"Exactly. And the more you get hurt, the more strength you'll gain."

Goku grinned, then, and began dwelling on his body's natural strength than his inability to fight, which was Garnet's intention. He knew that if Goku was determined to learn how to fight, sneaking onto the ship to Namek would be no problem for him, and that was the last thing the doctor wanted.

"Vegeta should be ready about now," the doctor said as he pushed open a pair of doors at the end of the hallway. Sure enough, the healing chamber was buzzing as the greenish fluid drained from the inside. "You'll have to help him back to the room and make sure he gets plenty of sleep."

"Sure thing." Goku helped H'limke open the door and pull Vegeta to his feet. They dressed him as quickly as they could, and Goku was soon helping the prince to his room. He allowed Vegeta to simply collapse on the couch as soon as they entered, and left him to sleep while he went to pack for him.

It was three in the morning. The ships for Namek would be leaving in a few hours, but Bulma was in her personal laboratory, the doors barricaded so she would be uninterrupted. There was just one last glitch she couldn't figure out, and she tapped the hammer impatiently in her palm as she stared at the batch of wires and screws before her.

Nervously, she set the controls to two-times gravity and bit her lip. This was the best she could do—if it didn't work, there was nothing left to try. With one deep breath, she pushed the button.

Immediately, she felt as if her body had been filled with lead. Her knees buckled; her head drooped. Bulma even had trouble keeping her eyelids open. But, despite the strength it took, she burst into a wide grin. "It works! Yes!" It took all her strength to reset the machine, but she couldn't have been happier. She was humming when she shrank the space pod into its dino cap.

"Bulma?" a voice called out from behind her.

"Goku, I'm over here!" His familiar face peeked at her from behind a pile of boxes. "What's up?"

"I was heading back to my room, but I saw your light was on, so I thought I'd say hello."

She smiled at him, but her eyes flickered when she remembered what she had set out to do. "Where's Vegeta right now?"

"Vegeta? Uh, he's on the ship, I think."

"Why would he be there?" She pocketed the dino cap and began to walk through her lab, Goku trailing behind.

"He's one of the soldiers."

Bulma immediately stiffened. "He's on his way to Namek?"

"In three hours, yeah. I just said good-bye to him."

"But he can't go!" she exclaimed, and when she whirled to face Goku, he was surprised to see tears on her face. "I have to tell him I'm sorry! I have to tell him the truth!"

"Um, I'm confused."

She ignored him as she rushed to the lab door. "Come on, we need to hurry!" she barked as she threw on her servant cloak. Bulma also tossed one to Goku, who warily donned it himself. "We need to get on that ship before it leaves."