So I've taken a bit of a hiatus doing multi-part fics. This one has been on my mind for a good long while and not only did I find myself on another Invader Zim kick, but I also found myself being somewhat bored so I decided to pick this up and run with it. It is a story about the Tallests, before they were the Tallests. Hell, before they were even friends. Just a speculative look at how things could've been.
There's not going to be any slashing in this story, sorry to disappoint you right off the bat. Practically all information given about Irk and the Irken way of life is all pure speculation. Um, I think that's all I have to say for now. Drop me a line and tell me how I'm doing, huh? Like I said, it's been a while so I may be a bit rusty.
Complex
1. Head Hitting
Virgo
1. An entity made up of three or more interrelated components.
2. A group of individual structures known or believed to be anatomically,
embryologically, or physiologically related.
3. A group of related, often repressed memories, thoughts, and impulses that
compel characteristic or habitual patterns of feelings,
thought, and behavior.
In one of the outlying northern spirals of the galaxy lay a fairly small binary system known as the Benti System. The system and the planet Benti-5- more commonly known as Devastis –was famous for housing the Irken Invader Academy. Devastis, a planet covered entirely with machinery and deep pockets of steaming liquid used as the planet's prime source of power, sat at the edge of the system and was the main training facility of the Academy. The other four planets sitting between it and its two suns were used for further training.
Benti-1 was a desert planet where the potential Invaders spent a week attempting to survive. The second planet was covered in mountain ranges and sharp crevices and there a month was spent tracking and hiding as classmates were pitted against each other. Benti-3 was lush with jungle and time there was spent in navigating through the thick terrain. The fourth planet revolved so close to Devastis that it could almost be considered a moon and was the only one off limits to students. Because there were as many as eight Invader courses going on at a time (each course held an entire vat- anywhere between five hundred to eight hundred Irken), the actual Instructors and other personnel lived on the fourth planet which was once jokingly called the Condo and has been called that ever since.
Despite the vast number of population that dotted each planet, rumor and gossip still spread quickly around the system. Some, depending on how outrageous, would reach most of the actual Armada before the Irken in question made it to the fleet.
One such rumor was of an Irken still in the process of completing the Academy. Rumored called his intellect and cunning as the greatest seen in hundreds of years, he was said to be as ruthless as the 23rd Almighty Tallest who had single handedly brought almost an entire quadrant under Irken control. He was called Red and his ability was proven just by his sheer size.
Irkens were manufactured, processed in vats on the moons of their home planet. The packs on their backs translated brainpower, skill and strength into size and Red towered over his fellow classmates by more than a head all ready. And he was only 30 standard years old.
Red didn't mind the rumors, felt no need to prove himself worthy of the praise. He went through his courses with a certain satisfaction as the crowd would part around him. He had top marks and his prospects were boundless and he still only completed half of the training. He had heard that his instructors were debating to accelerate him to a higher class- an unheard of thought in the academy.
It was one of the those debates that he was listening in on now, resting safely in the bunks (he had jury-rigged a listening device out of some scraps he hoarded together). The academy's chairman, Ley, was apparently on the far side of the room, his raspy voice barely audible through the device.
"Red certainly is talented, I agree-"
"He's far ahead of the others in his class. They're just holding him back."
Red nodded to himself. He liked his instructor, a former Invader herself, known as Dera. She'd challenge him, giving him harder material and tasks on the down-low. She always pushed to have him accelerated and it was beginning to sound like the resistance was giving in.
"You need to let him reach his full potential. Having him sit back while the rest of his class struggle is only going to hurt him. He could be one of the greatest Invader we've ever had!"
"If we accelerate Red," a new voice said and Red scowled- it was one of the secondary chairmen- Tenai, the one that most adamantly rejected the idea of moving him up, "then we'd have to accelerate Purple as well, you understand."
Red blinked in the silent dark. Purple? Who in the stars was that? Hunching over his receiver, Red tried to will them to elucidate.
"Purple." The name seemed to leave an unpleasant taste in Instructor Dera's mouth.
Chairman Ley seemed vaguely amused at her tone. "His instructor is also asking to have him moved up. You don't seem pleased."
"I don't know the student personally but…"
"It's not often that Devastis is able to host two such promising Invaders, is it?"
"No, sir."
"It certainly wouldn't be fair to bend rules for one and not the other, would it?"
"Not as such, no, sir."
"But you don't seem too happy, Instructor Dera."
"I've just heard some… things about Purple, sir."
"His stubbornness, perhaps? The way he doesn't get along with his classmates or the fact that he only cares about himself? Those are traits that we're trying to encourage. Not outright, of course, but Invaders don't have room to be sentimental or merciful."
"No, sir."
"Asides from that, Red isn't well known for playing nice with others, either."
"No, sir."
"So I'm assuming this is just your being biased?"
Red could hear a foot scuffling on the floor. Instructor Dera tended to be fidgety when uncomfortable. "I suppose I am a bit, sir. I've been training him for the past quarter century. I tend to be a bit attached to good students after a time."
Secondary Chairman Tenai spoke again. "If we should chose to accelerate the two, they should be placed in the same class. They could provide challenge for each other. It would certainly cause a stir in the gambling pool."
Red narrowed his eyes as Chairman Ley chuckled. "Could you imagine how high the stakes would go on who came out on top?" He said. "They might wind up bankrupting the empire!"
Dera's voice held thinly veiled accusation. "Are you proposing to move them up just for a bet?"
The chairman hummed thoughtfully. "It would be entertaining, yes. Besides, I'm sure the Almighty Tallest Flitch would consider the top graduate to be his successor. With such a prestigious reward, surely your feel your student is more then capable, are you not, Instructor?"
Red heard Instructor Dera move herself to full height- almost his height –and say, "He's far more than capable, Chairman Ley."
It took another week before Red's acceleration was officially set and the day after he was moved in with a class five years ahead of his. Some of his new classmates actually came close to his own size.
They glared at him as he entered, some polishing their armor, others taking care of tears in their uniforms from one of the many battle simulations they went through. The instructor, a wiry thing called Tet, pointed him to a bunk in the back and said he would start training with the rest of the class in the following day. One of the secondary instructors came out at that point, hustling the class into full uniform and out of the squad bay with little time and loud decibels.
Red stayed behind, putting his things away and setting his bunk up.
The door opened again and Red stood up as another Irken student was directed toward him. His antennae twitched in surprise and then angrily when he realized this guy was actually TALLER then him (less then an inch, but taller nonetheless)!
Without a word, he set his stuff up quickly- ignoring Red's glare –and then laid out on Red's bunk and prepared to catch a nap.
Bristling, Red leaned over him. "That bunk is mine."
"Good for you."
"That means," he growled, "get. Out."
One eye opened and glared back, unimpressed. "Make me."
Purple eyes. Red frowned. Irken's eye color changed as their personalities grew and colors would coincide with their most prominent trait. Purple indicated stubbornness. His eyes were a very dark purple. Red could use all his guile and intellect he wanted, but someone that stubborn wouldn't move unless they felt like it. He probably wouldn't give it up even with a fight.
Snarling to himself, Red set up the higher bunk. He wasn't giving up, of course, he was going to finish this battle on his own time.
When the rest of the class came back from their impromptu run through the obstacle course, Instructor Tet introduced the two new additions- Red and Purple –and set them to study their knowledge until they formed up for the evening meal.
Red, leaning against the footlockers, cast a sideways look at his bunkmate. So this was Purple, huh? He didn't speak much; in fact, he didn't do much asides from glare at everyone else and move with an incredible air of conceit about him.
He hated Purple. Viscously. Screw the betting pool, screw being the Tallest's successor (not really, that's a really nice incentive), if he let someone with Purple's bad attitude outscore him, Red would shot himself in the head.
Grinding his teeth together, Red focused his attention on his monitor- despite the fact that he'd read through it enough to practically memorize the sentences. Not only were Invaders supposed to be knowledgeable about some of the great battles and invasions in Irken history, they were to be well versed in the creation of their race.
Their actually origin was unknown though the students read up on the two most popular sides of the debate:
One side speculated that the Irkens were originally created and born through procreation- as nearly all biological beings were. However (for reasons also highly debated on), they began the process of cloning and then genetically engineering their offspring. From there, as their technology grew, entire nurseries sprung up. Irken's didn't separate times by generations but by vats- each one vat separated by one year.
The other side said that an entirely different race engineered the Irkens to be their fighting force. But, eventually, their intelligence and bloodlust lead to their creators' destruction and paved the way to conquering the entire galaxy. This particular theory appealed to their love of battle and also explained how they had come to call the tiny, lifeless lump of rock known as Irk to be their home planet.
It was a small, unassuming planet around two equally unassuming systems in the Gamma Quadrant. Despite the two suns the planet revolved around (it did an odd figure eight around the two), Irk was so far away from the suns that it was almost always at freezing temperatures. Asides from that, the planet itself was so small that it held little gravity and even less atmosphere. But the Irken Empire called it home and few other alien races had ever seen the tiny planet for themselves.
Red thumbed through the pages, not really looking at what he was reading. He was hoping the curriculum this far into training was actually worthwhile. He jumped back a bit, nimble fingers against the handheld screen. He finally realized he was feeling on edge because someone was looking at him. He lifted his head to find Purple giving him that condescending look again.
"What?" He asked, defensive.
"Your eyes."
"What about them?"
"They got an orange tint to them." Conversation apparently beneath him, Purple turned back to his own studies. "It's weird."
Most Irks had red eyes, to coincide with their vicious, greedy nature. Orange- a rare trait –meant that they were more cunning then the rest of their brethren. Red snorted in response. He thought out all angles and would get his results anyway possible. He didn't think it made him any craftier, it was just natural.
Never the less, he didn't even think to wonder why Purple would look at him long enough to notice.
Red flopped onto the top bunk, too exhausted to battle for the bottom one tonight (the two fought over it constantly, using guile, cunning, and occasionally force for it). Below him, Purple was already snoring away. Almost a year had passed since they moved into a higher class and they left the rest of their classmates straggling behind them long ago- some times, like today, literally.
This particular obstacle course was over a mile long and when Red had beaten Purple's time by two seconds, the latter went through it again and shaved five seconds off of that. Which, of course, lead Red to try again and the two kept going through it over and over again until they: (1) broke the time record for that course, and (2) couldn't maintain their time and started cramping up.
Their competitiveness not only drove each other but some of the other students as well, their class boasting some of the tallest on the planet. The two themselves were breaking records left and right. Though Red scored constantly higher on the knowledge exams, Purple proved to be the stronger and quicker of the two. Whenever they spared in training, Red found himself on his ass far too many times for his liking.
But, calculating their scores in his head, it was impossible to figure out which one of them was in the lead. Red tapped a finger quietly on his bedding, trying to think of a way to secure his spot at the top. Try as he might, he couldn't think of ANY thing!
Frustrated, Red scooted to the edge of the bunk and peered down at his adversary, sprawled haphazardly below him. It was Purple's strength that was the main problem. Though his exam scores were only a point or two behind Red's, it was his physical prowess that made him the threat. If Purple got injured, there'd be no one to stand in-
He jerked that line of thought to a grinding halt.
Injury? Was he seriously thinking of sabotaging a fellow Irken? About HURTING a fellow Irken? If he were caught, he could be thrown out of the academy, maybe even tried for it. But Chairman Ley said that there were certain traits they were subtly trying to encourage. They might think it as another reason to have him be Tallest Flitch's successor. But could he do it? Could he do it and get AWAY with it?
So deep in his thoughts was he that Red wound up getting smacked in the face with a pillow.
"Knock it off." Purple growled. "I can't sleep with you being nosy like that."
Red grabbed the pillow and sneered. "Just making sure you didn't swallow your own tongue."
"Yeah. I'm sure you care. Gimme my pillow back."
For that, he decided to be a dick and threw the pillow across the squad bay before he lay back down. "Fetch."
"Bastard." Purple gave a weak punch to the area under Red's head but didn't get up himself. Too worn out to argue, the two snarled at each other a second longer before collapsing into sleep.