The Blood Red Flag of Peace
An Invader Zim Fanfiction
By: DrLovekill
Rated M for strong language and severe battlefield violence
Someone once said "the cost of peace is war". Is either really necessary? Tak is now a lieutennant serving in the Irken war, loyal to her commanders, and the cause. But will her view change when she begins to question the validity of the war? There is an underlying plot here. Will you be able to see it? I think you will. I do not own any Invader Zim characters, except for a few original characters in this fic. I have based a few locations in this story on real places, and there is a real world allusion. If you are good enough to figure it out, kudos. Flame me if you want, love me if you agree. Read on.
Chapter 1: A Necessary Evil
"...you got the two biggest boys on the block
they're gonna fight sometime. Or maybe,
somebody just forgot what it was like."
-From Red Dawn
Plasma blasts exploded overhead, lighting the dark battlefield with a ghostly pale blue light. The thump of the plasma cannons from both sides of the field filled the air, shaking the ground with each round fired. Intermittent red rays from the new Irken type 4 heavy laser rifle, and yellow blasts from the personal assault weapons, and the ememy's rifles arced back and forth across the pitted and smoldering field. A plasma blast detonated over an Irken entrenchment, causing dirt to rain into the large ditch.
Tak cringed at the blast, squeezing her large purple eyes shut. She tried to shake at least some of the dirt off of her purple uniform. Turning, she inspected her unit, to see if any of the soldiers were wounded. A few cowered against the damp dirt walls, the rest crouched nervously. Another blast exploded nearby, and Tak resisted the urge to duck. She had to set an example for her unit.
"Private Bork," She yelled over the roar of battle. "Anything from HQ?"
"Nothing new, ma'am." The radio operator replied dutifully. "They still want us to move in in 0-5 minutes."
"Suicide." Tak muttered. "Tell them to concentrate fire on their center! We're the forward assault team, and unless we get their defenses weakened, we won't get halfway accross!"
"Yes ma'am! 0-5-9er, HQ, forward A-T commander requests fire on enemy's center. Over."
"Lieutennant," Corporal Snoog said, approaching in a stooping walk. "What are we doing, ma'am? The Tylaquians are too concentrated. We can't assault from this..." A close explosion made them both flinch for a moment. "...from this position. We'll be cut to pieces." Tak looked at him sternly.
"We're doing our jobs, private." Tak replied. "They'll weaken the Tylaquian defenses, and we'll take this city. That is our orders. To take Mazbad or die trying."
"Those orders are gonna get us all killed, ma'am!" Private Snoog argued. Tak grabbed him by the shirt, and slammed him against the dirt wall.
"Listen, private," She growled. "We don't question the orders. You question the orders, you question the Tallest. You question the Tallest, and it's treason. Patriotic order 471 says so! So we do our job, and we do another job, and another, and eventually, we go home with nice shiny medals pinned to our fucking shirts. Got it?"
"Y...yes ma'am."
"Okay, unit! Form up! Sgt. Skoodge, red team on right flank. Sgt. Aert, blue on left. We move in 2-0 minutes." The unit assembled. The Irken soldiers checked and double-checked their weapons. Tak paced up and down the trench, making sure all of the soldiers were ready. Her heart pounded in her chest. Fear that others would run screaming from, Tak now used to keep the adrenaline pumping through her. Battle was intense. She'd seen enough of it to know that. It was stressful as hell, but it also sharpened you, kept you alert. It was better than the stimulants she sometimes had to take to stay functional for days on end. She looked at her watch. It was time.
"Alpha Team!" She shouted, drawing her laser pistol from it's holster. "MOVE! MOVE! MOVE!" She lept from the trench with all of the strength and grace she trained so hard to keep. Her unit followed as she began running accross the scorched field. Glancing back, she saw the other units mobilized, the entire regiment making a V shape, with hers at the tip of the spear. Immediately, laser blasts filled the air around her team.
"Goddamnit!" She screamed as the beams shot past. "They were supposed to weaken the center! The fucking CENTER! Doubletime! Move men, MOVE!" A scream filled the air, and Tak looked over her shoulder to see private Snoog fall, hit fatally in the chest. Another soldier's head snapped back as a round caught him between the eyes. He fell to the ground, dead. "Shit!" Tak exclaimed. "They've got snipers!" A plasma blast whined through the air, taking out the entire unit to the left of Tak's in a horrendous explosion. Tak's unit was thrown to the ground.
"L.T.! Sgt. Aert yelled, crawling up. "It's no good, ma'am! Their fire is concentrated right on us!."
"Damn it!" Tak screamed, standing. "We're taking this city! Come on!" Her unit charged forward into the fire. A hundred yards to go. Another soldier fell dead. 80. Then 60. The radio operator went down. "Fuck." Tak panted. Her lungs burned from the running, and the smoke in the air. She ignored the pain, and kept running. "Sweep and clear!" She yelled as the unit entered the city. A Tylaquian soldier stood from behind a pile of rubble, wielding an outdated laser gun. Tak fired her pistol into the enemy soldier, and he went down firing wildly. A shot grazed Tak's shoulder. She instinctively ducked to the left. A shadowy form stood in a second floor window.
"Sniper!" Tak screamed. Sgt. Skoodge turned and fired his rifle. The dead Tylaquian fell from the window onto the street. The team moved tactically up the street, looking for more enemy positions. Tak hated urban combat. The enemy could be everywhere. Or nowhere. Either way, you wouldn't know it. Suddenly, a spherical metallic object rolled out of an opened door on one of the buildings. It stopped two feet from Tak.
"L.T. Grenade!" Sgt. Aert yelled, and before anyone could move, he lept face-down on top of the device. There was a muffled explosion, and Tak felt a warm liquid spatter her face. Three Tylaquians emerged from the building, but Tak's men fell to their knees and sprayed laser fire into the soldiers. At that moment, an Irken unit jogged up from the rear. The Lieutennant gave a salute to Tak, who returned it feebly.
"Lieutennant Tak," He said militantly. "We've been given orders to relieve you." Tak merely stared at the officer. "Are you okay, ma'am?"
"Yes." She said, sounding detached. "I'm fine. Thank you."
"We've done it." The lieutennant said proudly. "We've taken the city."
"Thank you." Tak repeated.
"The Tallest want to congratulate you in person for leading this assault. Your shuttle is standing by." Tak looked down at the destroyed body of Sgt. Aert. She slowly rubbed a black-gloved hand down the left side of her face, and looked at the crimson liquid that now coated her fingers.
"Make sure he gets back to Irk." Tak said sadly. She turned and walked away.
Got it, yet? What do my fans and new readers out there in cyberspace think thus far? I wanted to paint war realistically, and tried my bleedin' hardest to figure out what Tak would say and do. Hope it wasn't too OOC. Reviews, please.