Saiyan Progeny (con't)
by: Omar K

Either due to eagerness or her rush to finish, Bulma apparently neglected to calculate the fuel it would take for a return trip. Bulma: "Oh, well. No reason to worry about that now, it will be a week and half before they arrive at their destination and I'll have plenty of time to come up with a solution. Besides, if they hadn't been in such a rush to leave I wouldn't have made a mistake in the first place, humph. That's right, it's their fault really." She yawned again, lay back down in her bed and fell quietly to sleep.
Three days into their journey their ship entered into orbit around a planet bearing a familiar name. After the destruction of their home world the Nameks finally had a planet to call home again and the Z fighters were here for a long overdue visit. New Namek just so happened to be on the way to their destination as well, so it wasn't much of a detour. The ship descended hastily towards planet's surface and to the surprise of the Nameks out popped many of their old friends. They were especially glad to see Piccolo. They were a bit uneasy around Vegeta at first, but if there's one thing Nameks excel at besides making dragon balls and coughing up eggs, it's forgiveness. Not long after the Z fighters' arrival they were all like a bunch of old school buddies reminiscing about the good old days. After spending the night on New Namek, which unlike old Namek does have a night, Piccolo expressed a desire to stay behind. Piccolo: "Goku. I think I'm going to stay a while. Ever since
the battle with Frieza the Nameks have been without any real means to protect themselves as all of their greatest warriors were killed by Frieza and his henchmen, and as for Nail, well he's a part of me now so I've taken it upon myself to remain and teach some of the children the art of fighting. That way, they won't be completely defenseless. Besides, I've missed too many family reunions as it is if you know what I mean. You guys can pick me up on the return trip." Goku: "I understand, but I think you're gonna miss one heck of show!" They said their farewells. Goku: "We'll see you all again soon." And with that all, save for Piccolo, climbed aboard the ship, blasted off and resumed their journey.
Back on Earth Bulma was busy attempting to solve the fuel problem, still not having told the Z fighters of their predicament in hopes that she might be able come up with something without them ever having to know she screwed up. She tried again and again to reevaluate their flight plan, hoping to find a more efficient route to minimize fuel consumption, but it began to seem more and more hopeless. Bulma: "It's hopeless. There's just no way to squeeze another kilometer out of the fuel they have. I'm just going to have come up with something else." Bulma then set out to formulate some other means of getting them home.
As Bulma struggled back on earth, the Z fighters were preparing for a struggle of their own. They were now a mere fifteen hours from their destination and Goku and Vegeta were going to spend every minute getting ready. Of course they weren't hoping that they would run into some overwhelmingly powerful tyrant like Frieza, but neither of them could argue that the allure of an all out life or death battle wasn't at least somewhat appealing. Goku: "No way, when I fought against Frieza in his final form the difference in power between us was much more than when I fought against Cell in his final form." Vegeta: "Whatever Kakarot, you're just lucky I didn't use my ultimate technique when I first came to earth looking for the dragon balls." Goku: "Ultimate technique?" Whoa... I wonder what that could be." Goku thought to himself. Goku: "What kind of technique are you..." Vegeta: "Enough! Let's go get some food." Goku: "Oh yeah! I'm starving. I forgot how hungry I was, but what kind of technique were you talking about?" Vegeta: "You're starting to piss me off Kakarot." Goku and Vegeta dispensed with the idle chitchat, ate lunch and headed straight for the gravity sparring chamber. While Trunks and Goten both loved sparring with one another, they were still kids, and like any kids their age they would rather sit around playing the latest video games any day of they week. Trunks tried to teach his dad how to play, but Vegeta would always get mad and blow up the TV or something, so now he just plays them with Goten. Gohan had already finished reading half the books in the library and could probably have read them all, but he wanted to be sure and leave some for the return trip. He put down the book he just finished and sat starring at the cockpit controls. His eyes passed back and forth over the array of brightly-lit controls and displays and just as he glanced passed a familiar green panel something caught his eye. Just then he had remembered thumbing through the Flight Manual for the ship, since Bulma had only given him a basic tutorial before they left and although she assured him everything was automated, he decided to get better acquainted with the ship's controls. He noticed the same green panel Bulma had called him about a week ago and he decided to run a few calculations. Gohan punched a few keys, still looking unconcerned at this point, and in no time the computer plotted their projected course on the monitor before him. Then, it struck home. Gohan: "We don't have enough fuel!"



to be continued...

Omar's Saiyan Progeny Artwork Page