Zucchini and Celery [Zuqetta]

Within the safety of a massive ships bridge, the voice of a man would speak out, "Captain, our scanners of picked up movement approaching from South to South-East." The man would state; an Arcosian in a white and red uniform, same as the other crew members who performed various tasks upon the ship.

"What!? The hell is someone doin' way out here???" Zuqetta would exclaim as she lounge upon her captains chair; fiddling through the data on her scouter as she spoke, "Ignore it, probably a bear, or some kinda monster. I dunno, none of our business." She'd state, focusing on her device.

"Captain... judging by their pace and tracked path, they'll be upon our ship within the hour." The man would insist, giving a sigh at Zuqetta's lax response.

"Hmmmmm..." Zuqetta would groan, "Well, we're cloaked, right?" She'd ask as she folded her scouter and stored it away within her waist cloak, "Maybe they'll think we're a big ol' snowy mountain and change their path?"

"While we may be cloaked, I must remind you captain that any undue stress to the hull will not only immediately uncloak us, but could damage the system... it would be costly." He would explain, clearing his throat, "Cutting into your food budget even."

Zuqetta would leap up from her chair before moving quickly to the railing that overlooked the rest of the bridge from on high. A serious expression had come to her face and she now realized that no threat should ever go ignored! Whomever or whatever this located thing was, they would need to be dealt with; as such, Zuqetta took to immediately making preparations for the encounter.

"Shivvz! Continue tracking the mark, deploy a unit of drones and see if you can get me a visual!" Zuqetta would order before tapping the communicator upon her chest, "Russel, I'm coming to the lower deck, prepare some suitable attire and open the match hatch." She'd continue before ending the communication and addressing the helm, "Move to yellow alert, station fou- no, five on guard duty outside the ship with bi-hourly rotations and have the defenses manned at all times!"

With that, Zuqetta would turn about in a slightly dramatic fashion and exit the bridge; with her crew agreeing in unison with a hearty and strong 'yessir!', all except Shivvz, the Arcosian man, who would merely shake his head and give another sigh.

The order had been given, and the crew would begin their assigned tasks; within moments, a squadron of drones would be released from the ship and would hone in on Celerous location. The drones were entirely black, and roughly three meters tall and a meter wide. A typical squadron of drones numbered ten, and they flew through the snowstorm with ease; echoing an eerie mechanical sound as they did so. Within only a few short minutes, the drones would be upon Celerous as he trekked through the snow; surrounding him at a distance as they began to scan him. The drones each gave off a small battle power of only around five hundred, but were each armed with scanners, mini-lasers, cameras, and speakers.

SPOILER: Click to show

{---> Click for Drone Reference! <---}

"DESIST." The Drone nearest to Celerous would suddenly speak, "DESIST." It would say again; clearly it was the only word the drone could say. The drones each had their mini lasers charged and at the ready; though these were actually only deterrents, it's not like anyone unfamiliar with them would know that, besides, they still stung quite a bit!

"Don't ya think this is a little bit... cutesy?" Zuqetta would protest quietly with an embarrassed expression, "I mean, nothin' wrong with it! Just... not sure it matches my style, ya know?" She'd state before being pushed along towards the hanger doors of her ship by a rather short, elderly Shruumian.

"Now, now, I'll not have that! You look absolutely lovely, dear!" The Shruumian, Madam Maitake would say firmly, "You need to stay properly dressed or you're liable to catch a cold! When you return, I'll be sure to have a nice warm pot of soup ready for you, okay?" Madam Maitake would insist, "Now have fun, and don't stay out too late!"

Zuqetta would give a heavy sigh as she exited the hatch near the hanger doors and proceeded to take flight through the blizzard; keeping her scouter on her face for convenience. "Why I ever let that kitty cat talk me inta hiring that old lady, I'll NEVER know..." She groaned as she clicked her scouter with her glove and began to track the locations of the drones, "Shivvz, got an image for me?" She'd ask through the scouters communicator.

"Sorry Captain, damn blizzard is interfering with the signal; we could lower the cloak to enhance it, but..." Shivvz would respond.

"Nah, ain't gonna take me long ta get there! Just keep the guards on duty until I give the all clear!" She'd respond before blasting off at a much faster speed through the skies.

It only took moments for Zuqetta to travel the same distance that the drones had previously taken minutes to traverse. Considering no alerts had been given to a drones destruction, she labored a guess that she was dealing with an intelligent being and not some monster. As she arrived, she took notice of the man that the drones had circled; taking a deep breath as she felt his strangely familiar energy. Was he from around here? He had a strange vibe, but she couldn't quite place why; though, it hardly seemed to matter for the time being. The man had his hands up in a traditional sense of surrender, so he likely wasn't any form of threat; as Zuqetta came down from above, the constant DRONING of the machines chanting 'DESIST' was not at all lost on her.

"Stand down!" Zuqetta would order, causing the drones to stow their mini lasers and rush to Zuqetta's side, circling her instead and she floated down softly, "You there, the heck you doin' all the way up here?" She'd question rather aggressively, before taking a quick moment; raising her hand before her to stop the man from speaking before correcting herself, "Sorry, sorry; my name's Zuqetta, you're in a dangerous area. Mind if I ask who you are and why you're here?" She would request properly; with the drones STILL chanting 'DESIST' insistently, "GRRRR, Go back to the ship damn it!!" She'd order, causing the drones to fly off into the distant; their chanting of 'DESIST' steadily becoming smothered by the howling winds of the growing blizzard.

With the drones gone, she could question the man before her properly; though, her questions had already been asked, all she had to do was maintain her composure. A rather difficult task due to her current attire, a relic of the past, and a style she had very much NEVER intended to wear again. A long white jacket adorned her form, with pink fluff around the hood, collar, cuffs, and lower hem. The front was styled shut with buttons while the back had a massive pink bow the rested above the fitted slot that allowed her tail to be exposed. She wore matching pink boots also styled with pink tufts of fluff, and black thermal leggings; with her gloves being of a similar thermal design, keeping her incredibly warm... despite the fact that her mana veil actually made her immune to extreme temperatures... 'WHY am I wearing this again!?' She'd think to herself as she slowly became a bit flustered waiting for Celerous's response.

SPOILER: Click to show

{--> Click for Zuq's Current Outfit! <--}

It was a style she considered MUCH too cutesy for her current self, but there was no stopping Madam Maitake when it came to taking care of Captain and Crew...

"Nice ta meetcha, Cel-" Zuqetta would begin, hesitating for the briefest of moments as she tilted her head and examined the man, "-erous... Hm, you're a farmer? Guess you live pretty far south from here then, huh?" Zuqetta would remark as her curiosity piqued; finding Celerous's name oddly comfortable to say.

Most humans had weird names like Jack, or Bob, or something else strange like that; no rhyme or reason to the name, it was just some stray word. Saiyan names however held a history and similarity to them; and while Zuqetta wasn't exactly a historian on the subject, she'd grown up with such names in her live since the day she was born, it'd have been strange of her NOT to notice such familiarity. As she examined him, she saw no tail, and his energy didn't seem entirely like her own... what was he? Confusion over took her for a moment, but Celerous had made his intentions clear, while also asking questions of his own; standing around in the snow certainly wasn't going to do anyone any favors, she Zuqetta decided to ignore the strange feeling for the moment.

"Bit annoying ta have a conversation while the storm howls, don'tcha agree?" Zuqetta would remark as she reached into her pocket and removed a what would at first appear to be a make-up kit; only to open the kit to reveal an assortment of capsules within, "C'mon, if you're cool with it, why don't ya take a quick break from your journey and we can talk!" She'd say with a smug grin as she removed one of the capsules from the kit, clicked it, and tossed it behind her.

With a satisfying 'poof!', the capsule would explode into a cloud of smoke and reveal a small hut; one large enough for a singular individual to stay in comfortably. Zuqetta would walk towards the hut, giving a welcoming wave for Celerous to join her; the storm above was only worsening for the time, and at least the hut would be warm and was decently furnished with food. Upon entering, Zuqetta would immediately make her way to the kitchen to acquire said food; sure, Madam Maitake discouraged too many snacks between meals, but surely the old cat would recommend keeping up one's strength in the cold!

"Close the door behind ya if ya don't mind!" Zuqetta would happily exclaim from within the hut as she took a seat by the low table to enjoy her snack; two beef wellington's, improperly placed together within bread, with three kinds of melted cheeses, and and exorbitant amount of black and red ground pepper.

Spicy foods were her favorite~!

The man had accepted the offer and made his way within; though Zuqetta was certain she had sensed a tinge of hesitancy from him. She shrugged it off, she'd already met plenty who were overly wary of Saiyan's in the past; if anything, this only served to tell her that this man might not have been a Saiyan like she thought he was. He asked his question once more, this time a bit reworded; and Zuqetta would quick to answer, even as she enjoyed her snack.

"Not really~!" Zuqetta would immediately respond as she dug into her sandwich rather happily; her tail flicking about excitedly as she at, "Just another job! Cool thing about Earth though, this frozen area is perfect for my ship!" She would remark, leaving out the fact that it was an Arcosian designed vessel, "I can't go inta too much detail, but the job we're doin' takes some time and is potentially dangerous. Heh, sorry about the drones by the way. They're annoying, but mostly harmless, they wouldn't have attacked unless you attacked first." She'd would explain with a grin, "Ta answer that previous question, I made 'em myself! Scout Probe, or SP-1 for short!" She'd say confidently, before quickly losing the confidence as she thought about how unremarkable they actually were.

She had no need to explain all the details, she'd simply wished to have been able to encapsulate OW-1's essence. Sadly, not only could she not get the design down while maintaining functionality; but the drones, as Celerous had already seen, were rather stupid. Zuqetta would give a quick minor pout as her mind became distracted with how to better improve the drones; but save for disassembling OW-1, at the moment it didn't seem possible.

"So, the heck are these Northern Lights you were goin' on about?" Zuqetta would ask; her tail curling curiously into the shape of a question mark subtly behind her, "Can't really see much through the storm and clouds, yeah? I mean, I guess it'll die down eventually, but-" She'd continue; now already half-way through her sandwich before having a sudden realization, "Oh damn it! Sorry, would ya like some?" She'd offer, placing the other half of her sandwich down upon a plate and passing it over towards Celerous before grabbing a couple chilled Fruit Punch Hetap's from the cooler.

Another realization had occurred in Zuqetta's mind; appetite! She'd never met a Saiyan who didn't like to eat; depending on this mans response, her suspicious would sway one way or the other. To be subjected to the elements the way he was, SURELY he would be hungry, hungry enough to eat a zebra as the Earth expression went! Was that the expression? Hardly mattered, what mattered now was whether he'd accept the offering of food; and whether he'd still be hungry afterwards!

The plan succeeded! Celerous had taken the bait and scarfed down the offered meal, and then-! ...nothing? He requested noting more, and merely went on to explain the way the Northern Lights worked; answering Zuqetta's question rather politely and even going on to mention how he didn't know too much about it. It gave Zuqetta pause, perhaps her senses were simply on the fritz due to lack of food; but more than likely, this guy wasn't a Saiyan, just a rather unique Earthling. It bothered her to be so confused by her own senses, so she decided to simply come out an say it.

"You said you were a farmer right? Live down south? Were you born here, are you from Earth?" She'd state rather suddenly and blatantly, "Just so ya know, I'm not! Heh, I'm from off world, a place called Plant." She'd explain as she fished for information from the man; doing well to leave out explicit details in a purposeful manner.

Her scouter would chime softly as a digital message was received; ironically enough, it was about Plant. Her information network had finally gotten back to her, but she would ignore the message for the moment; it'd have been a bit rude to distract herself while she was entertaining a guest. Removing the scouter, she'd place it within her pocket to focus on the conversation; she'd leave the device active however in case her crew needed to contact her.

"Ya seem ta know a good deal about this worlds little secrets, so I can only assume you're from Earth." Zuqetta would explain in an attempt to alleviate any worry Celerous might have had that she was attempting to interrogate him, "I don't think I've ever seen anything like what ya described back on Plant, so we probably don't have nothing like that. The sun just... kinda bakes everything there, hehe." She'd finish a bit awkwardly; feeling a tinge of jealousy toward the mysterious event Celerous described is planet to have.

As Celerous spoke, Zuqetta would cross her arms and give an accepting nod; sure enough, the man was human... or so she thought! Immediately following his first remark, he would give away the issue that had been bugging her; his father was from Plant. Zuqetta's eyes would narrow as she gazed at the man with a serious expression. While he didn't explicitly say his father was a Saiyan, with all the other compiled evidence, it was easy enough to assume. Though she was reminded of her missing friend, Rensou; a Tuffle creation who merely had the appearance of a Saiyan. with Celerous, it was safer to say he was merely a half-breed like her own sister, Zerori.

"An Earthling and a Saiyan, hm?" Zuqetta would remark; taking careful consideration into her next words, "Sorry if I'm being nosy, but-" Zuqetta stopped herself; she felt an uncomfortable anger building in her that had no reason to be there.

The man had said he was born and raised on Earth, and had an Earthling mother; clearly he considered himself a human, especially with how how mentioned his father's origins. Still, it bothered her that the blood of a Saiyan pulsed through this... this, FARM BOY! Where was his tail even!? At least Zerori had a tail, the pride of the Saiyans! Was he born without it? Did someone remove it? Did HE remove it!? Her own tail twitched about in an agitated manner; she knew she had no business to be angry, but for some reason she simply couldn't help it. It was an irrational anger, and she had no idea what it was even being directed towards. She would clear her throat, popping open her can of Hetap and chugging the drink down with a hearty gasp for air at the end before continuing.

"Just, answer me this." She'd state firmly as she tried to control herself, "What are you? What do YOU call yourself? and most importantly, what do you WANT to be?" She'd finish, her eyes locked directly onto Celerous's own; staring him down with an intensity as she eagerly, but impatiently awaited his next response.

Celerous would give his answer, and with it, a brief moment of silence would fall upon the two; before suddenly, Zuqetta would break the silence with an uncontrollable hearty laugh. "Heh... HAHAHAAA!!! Wow, that's gotta be like, the most humble response ya coulda given!" Zuqetta would exclaim as she rolled backwards; performing a somersault as she jumped back to her feet, "You're a good guy, Cely~!" She'd continue with a sharp grin before taking a step back and clicking the communicator under her jacket to contact her crew.

"Captain? Have you detained the mark?" Shivvz would ask; responding immediately to the notification.

"Detain-nothin'! We're all clear, just a cool guy out here doin' some sight seein'!" Zuqetta would reply, "How much longer is this storm gonna last? We got some funny lights ta see!" She'd continue; her tail flicking about excitedly as she thought of what this strange Earthly event must be like.

"Uh- um, understood? The storm, let's see-" Shivvz would begin; undoubtedly confused by Zuqetta's response, "-seems to be a flash storm. It'll pick up n ferocity in the next few minutes, but will dissipate rather quickly." He'd explain, "And about our alert status, Captain?"

"Return ta green and let the SP-1's handle, well... their function, hehe. Anyways, I'm having a conversation here, so I'll contact ya later! Tell Madam Maitake we miiiight have a guest for soup later!" Zuqetta would finish before cutting off the communication upon receiving verification from Shivvz.

The communication was through a special device she wore, and so was capable of being heard by those around her; that being, Celerous. With her quick update to her crew finished, Zuqetta would return her attention to Celerous; her tail continuing to flick about playfully as she took her seat once more. Celerous was certainly a breath of fresh air compared to... well, almost everything and everyone she'd ever encountered! He was humble, seemed considerate, wasn't hyper fixated on his origins; he was just a regular guy who had lived a regular life, and just happened to be doing a regular thing, albeit in a not so regular way.

"I've been unfair!" Zuqetta would suddenly begin, "I keep askin' ya question after question, but I've hardly given ya the chance ta ask many questions of your own!" She'd state, "Looks like we've got a bit of time before the storm clears up, so, anything you're curious about yourself? Oh! And if it wasn't clear, hehe, I'm joinin' ya ta see those weird lights of yours!" She finished with a toothy grin as she eagerly awaited Celerous's potential questions.