Zirk was a soldier of incredible strength. He rivaled all other Irkens in hand to hand combat during his training years. Though he was no legend on the battle field, he was a sort of commodity among the other Irken soldiers. His brothers in arms were fiercely loyal to him as he was to the Empire, as all Irkens were to their Tallest. Zirk, however, would never know the taste of victory or the gleaming pride in the eyes of his Tallest as his platoon received badges of great honor in battle. The life of an Irken out stood the test of time when compared to the life of a human. But like in all wars there were casualties and not even the great Irken race, with their superior technology and genetics, could escape the wrathful hands of death.
The young soldier, barely past his smeet years, had seen a great many things in his life. Miracles, tragedies, and everything in between. Zirk had been bred to be a fighter. Since the day he was hatched from the incubating tube and his pak attached, Zirk's purpose was to stand as a brother among his fellow soldiers. His respect, much like his pride, ran deep for his kin. For what was the worth of a lowly soldier? Their duty was to protect and serve. To die for their Empire was an honor. And though Zirk knew he would one day perish in battle he never once felt an ounce of animosity towards his people or to their beloved leader. The Tallest were wise, though sometimes cruel and just plain nutty at times, their focus was always on the growth of their race. The fight for survival was strong within them for they lived within a dangerous and star glinted world that went on for eons and eons. The universe was still unknown. Funny, isn't it? Where we humans think aliens destroy to satiate their desire for power, the reality was that the Irkens conquered and fought viscously for life.
As Zirk was shot down point blank by the enemy, the beautifully dark memories of faces he knew flashed in his mind. His race had long since tossed the practice of emotions but as he fell to the cold and unforgiving terrain, his squeedly spooch somersaulted. His organ felt funny. A sort of warmth spread through his chest and crept up slowly until it reached his eyes. Was this what the humans had called love? It was a foreign feeling. He knew devotion but never so strong an emotion as love. The beautiful green face of Tak flashed before his eyes as the world began to fade.
The acidic burning in his chest where he had been shot was oozing alien blood. Life drained from him one agonizing second at a time. He had very little time left and his brothers and sisters were too busy fighting for their lives to notice he had been taken down. Even as he lay breathless on the ground with his weapon just out of reach he continued to spout orders to his platoon. He wasn't even sure they were still around.
"Battle stance alpha three!" A familiar feminine voice rang like bells. "Fire on my command! One... two... NOW!"
The thunderous plow of lazers filled his ears and drowned out the last of her words he would ever hear. Just within his blurry sight he saw her. They had advanced. Good. He and his men had done their job.
Tak had always been such a lovely creature. She was strong like her male counter parts with an intelligence he could only admire from afar. Irkens did not love. They could not allow such frivolous things get in the way of their pride. And yet as he lay there dying, Zirk wished he could reach out and touch her face. Even smudged in dirt with a single rad line following the length of her cheek, it looked soft. He wondered if it felt as warm as it had when he held her hand. The moment was brief but a memory scorched in his brain for all times. He would never forget just how perfect it felt to have her fingers laced in his as he pulled her up from the crashing ship and onto the safety platform of his own ship. Like a knight in those human fairy tales he had stormed the earth's atmosphere in an attempt to catch Tak before she fatally crashed into the ocean. That battle had been lost. And yet the stirring feeling of success had overwhelmed him and his grief to the loss. She was alive. That was all that mattered.
It had taken Zirk a fairly decent amount of time to realize just what was wrong with him. He had defected. What had been stamped out of his people centuries ago was now rearing it's seductive face. He wanted to love. He pretended not to but really he did. There was no future for him to begin with so anything more was just a fantasy. And Tak? She was an invader. Above his rank. Even if he could somehow manage to spend more time with her, she would never accept him. And what would she think of love?
Zirk's eyes fluttered down as the life faded from his eyes. A sort of numbness became to over come his body. His beloved Tak was still shouting orders and not once noticed him. Just as it had always been. He loved her from afar and Tak would never know. A smile crept across his lips. He spoke to her though she couldn't hear it. His voice was raspy and so very, very quiet. He wished her luck in the rest of the battle. He wished her many happy years of life filled with honor. He spoke of the future he had once imagined and reached to the enter of his squeedly spooch for the words he craved to tell her. Three simple words slipped past his lips as he took his final breath. His very last image of her was just as she turned in his direction. Her eyes never once fell on him directly but the look of strength in her beautiful eyes filled him with pride. He loved a female stronger and smarter than he in every way. What an honor.
Zirk did not live to see the war won. When all was said and done all that was left was his name and a blood splattered badge. Many wept and mourned but it did not last. Life went on and the Empire was standing stronger than ever. He fulfilled his purpose to the Empire and forever his memory would remain seeded deep within the eyes of the next generation, as was the memory of all his fallen brethren.
Tak had defeated the enemy with surprising ease. She wa after all an invader and out powered her lower counter parts. The number of casualties were a bit high but all sacrifices were made in the name of the Empire. But what Tak refused to admit the moment she returned from the battle was the ache in her squeedly spooch at the loss of her... friend? She didn't have friends. Zirk was just another fighter she had the pleasure of bossing around. Then why, in the name of the Tallest, had her world come crashing down the moment she found him lifeless on the ground? None of the other soldiers whispered a word of it amongst themselves but the unspoken question remained among them. After over powering the enemy and ordering the immediate deaths of their POW's, Tak had found Zirk's smiling face no more than just a few feet from her. Hope had filled her but the joy was short lived when she realized he was not moving.
Her world had come crashing down in the blink of an eye. A cry tore through her that rivaled that of a lion's roar. She dropped beside him in an instant. Panic stricken and afraid, the female Irken struggled to breath life back into him. She screamed, cursed, and even begged. He wouldn't leave her. He just couldn't! But all her efforts were made in vain. He never opened his eyes again. She ignored the burning as a mixture of salt and water dribbled down her cheeks as she touched her forehead to his, her hand resting over his gaping wound. It was said through the grape vine that Tak had grown colder since then. Some say she finally snapped. And then there were others, the ones at the sight that dared not breath a word of it to the others, that knew exactly what had happened. Cold and calculating Tak had shed her Irken pride just as the females of her race had done eons ago when love still existed in their stone hardened squeedly spooches. She curled up beside Zirk, resting her head on his chest. She had taken his arm and wrapped it round her to feel the embrace of her...friend... one last time. Her fingers dug into his uniform as if clasping onto him would keep him with her. It hurt but she cried until the tears became only a numbing tingle. She could careless if the others watched her and instead focused only the enticing scent of his musk. She engraved the smell deep within her memory.
She snaked her fingers between his and kissed his dirtied knuckles. Destiny was as cruel as the wrath of any living being. What little joy she had secretly allowed herself to embrace had been ripped her in the blink of an eye. She hadn't said her goodbyes. What was left unsaid would remain as such for eternity. The organ in her chest slammed in her ribcage with rage. It hurt so unbearably so. Even as she accepted her trophies of honor by the Tallest himself. In a moment of great kindness the Tallest had presented her with a cloth wrapped item. Hesitantly she took it. From a first glance she recognized it as Zirk's favorite blanky. Within it was a stuffed human toy, a trophy Zirk had picked up from an escape gone wrong on earth, and other such trinkets Tak had given to him. He had collected and treasured them all.
She felt the pain boiling just below her prideful facade. The memory of his playful smile was etched into her brain for all time. Even the last peaceful grin on his face at the time of his death. She wrapped the items securely back into the blanket and hugged it to her. The Tallest regarded her with silence but the look of condolence shined in his eyes. After all the Tallest were wise. All Irkens knew the power of loyalty for it coursed in their veins like their life giving blood. The cloning process of all Irkens connected them all to each other on an unspoken level. They worked and lived as a single working unit. The loss of one was mourned by all, though not for long.
As Tak approached the stage where soldiers, techs, and invaders alike had gathered, she regarded them all with eyes of knowing. They were young. Perhaps younger than herself when she first became an invader. Another battle was approaching. Just a simple planet take over. But Tak and her fellow Invaders knew the word simple just wasn't the fitting word for it. For there would be losses, pain, and inevitably suffering of some kind. Tak loved her people about half as much as Zirk did, but nothing would stop her from honoring his memory by reaching out to the other soldiers and granting them the same words of wisdom Zirk had given to her so many years ago.
Tak spoke slowly and carefully to them. Only words could do so much before experience would solidify their meaning. She did her best to warn them of the potential dangers. She spoke energetically of victory as well. Each and every Irken present was reminded of the nobility of their sacrifice for their Empire.
Regret had no place in the world of battle. A new day under the victorious reign of the Irken Empire would assure their dominance in the universe and establish hope within the new generations of Irkens to come.