The park was too dark, too quiet. Everything felt dark and quiet without him. She was sure that it was only the imprint acting up again but she couldn't help but feel a hole where something important used to be. For months she'd break into a frantic, panicked search for something but she could never remember what it was or where she'd left it. No matter where she looked or what she did, she always found herself looking in the sky for the lost part of her. She knew it was him, but she didn't want to believe it.

Tonight she was looking among the stars for her lost master, sitting on a bench in that park she always went through when he ordered her out on some midnight snack run. Everything hurt. Everything always hurt now. She spotted a slowly moving shooting star among the stray twinkles and made a wish. It was a foolish human tradition, wishing on stars. Half the time they were helicopters and airplanes, and no meteor could answer to a child's whims. But still she prayed. She asked only to feel normal again, to go home and not feel empty. To work and not feel the overwhelmingly cold presence of no one beside her. At least, she asked, you could at least let me believe he's gone.

Suddenly a new, hot emotion flooded her body. Anger. How dare he make her hurt? It was just like him, that self-centered egomaniac. He would have drunk this up. If he was here he would only stroke his ego and soak up her pain like praise. It's not like she wanted to care; she was built to. If she ever saw that idiot she'd kill him. She huffed and prepared to leave when she realized that the star was getting bigger. Closer. That was no shooting star.

That was a crashing ship.

She suddenly felt a blazing heat shoot over her head and crash somewhere in the wooded area behind her. A rush of hot blood revived her corpse and sent her flying in the direction of the ship. Her distress and emotional interference were disrupting her holo disguise, but she could care less. Tripping, running, and stumbling into the clearing where the cruiser had fallen. The scene was a flaming, smoking mess. It wasn't the heat that seared her, though; it was the open top. The ship was empty.

Then she was angry again. Somebody sent this to remind her that he was gone and that she was weak. She was built to serve one and now they were gone. If I ever see that moron alive I really will kill him, she thought. I'll wring his stupid neck and throw his PAK into a garbage disposal.

"Has Invader Flobee's lieutenant arrived yet?" Tallest Red inquired through a mouthful of doughnut. He didn't even turn away from the control screen as he asked the team of scientists behind him.

"Y-yes, My Tallest. Lieutenant Invader Q-95 has arrived safely to the planet." A nervous Irken replied. He was promptly hit on the side of the head, because he was clearly too short to be speaking so casually to the Almighty Tallest.

"How about Larb and Skutch? What did they get again?" he replied.

"Lieutenant Invaders M-18 and S-40 have also landed safely and reported back." answered a taller, more worthy scientist.

"What about Zim? Who did he get?" chortled Tallest Purple. Tallest Red began to laugh with him; they'd planned to send the crappiest lieutenant to him. It was the same lowbrow humor they'd used when giving him that rustbucket of a SIR unit, but then again Zim wasn't really the image of sophisticated humor.

The Tallest were distracted by the sudden clamour of the group behind them. They sounded panicked, which quickly set Purple on edge. He wasn't the greatest under pressure, but he was pretty tall. "What are all you whispering about back there?" Red asked in annoyance, glancing back.

To his surprise, the head scientist looked angry. "Where's that irking shipment drone idiot? Get him in here immediately." she whispered-yelled, barely concealing her rage. When she noticed Red looking back at her she immediately cleared her throat and fixed her posture. "My Tallest, it appears there's been a… a mistake."

Purple had gone from anxious to ticked off in a matter of seconds. "What do you mean, a mistake?"

"Do you remember the top experiment? P-34?"

"Yes of course I remember P-34, it was top of its class," Purple retorted, clearly offended. "It was supposed to go to Invader Skutch…" All at once the green paled in his face as he looked back to his co-ruler. Red rose off the couch and towered over the inferiorly sized Irkens.

"Where is P-34, Min?"

The head scientist smiled nervously and tugged at her triangular collar. "I-I am getting the shipment drone in now, My Tallest, to bring the records-" A widely built, slightly greasy Irken in a red shipment department uniform came rushing in the doorway with a screen under his arm. He froze in place when he saw Tallest Red leering, and very quickly he wiggled his antennae in salute before nervously half-jogging over to the group. Red impatiently snatched the screen away and scrolled through the files, earning the shipment drone's nervous whimper.

"Where are these coordinates? This isn't planet Vort. Give me this invader!" he roared, throwing the small screen down to one of the Irkens below the platform. He turned back to the drone with malice. Purple was up now too, hanging threateningly over them all. "You'd better get P-34 back right now."

"I-I'm so sorry My Tallest, I can't turn the shipment bot around, it's too far to change its coordinates from here-"

"Then go and get it you tiny moron. These lieutenant experiments are precious cargo, we can't afford an enemy getting ahold of it and making more,"

"All the packages should have arrived by now, P-34's probably already began imprinting at the very least," a scientist mumbled to himself, clearly engulfed in a panic. "If someone gets it and doesn't use it right-"

"Look, it's mostly Irken, it's not just gonna go nuts when it hits the ground. You remember P-34, it's smart and mostly docile. We just… have to be careful and get it back before it imprints, okay?" the small scientist from before gently patted his panicked friend's PAK.

"Uh, My Tallest, we've found the invader at the planet that the coordinates go to," called a worker from below. The Tallest turned their fuming heads to the screen, their jaws slackened with surprise. On the screen was a picture of an all-too familiar invader.

"You have got to be kidding me."

"Intruder-" the computer began warn, and the tiny Irken excitedly scrambled from the couch to the door. He knew the Tallest would be sending his lieutenant invader soon, but the distance from the Massive's location delayed the arrival substantially. Many invaders had already gotten theirs, he had noticed, and had conquered their planets somehow with their clearly inferior skills. He opened the door, and to his surprise and excitement, his package had arrived. The long metal tube was sitting on his doorstep, and he used all his strength to pull it inside.

His antennae twitched with excitement as he hurriedly signed the digital form on the front and the small screen changed to a cartoon with a play button. Sufficiently distracted, Zim pressed play and GIR wandered into the room and began to watch the video from a distance. A cheesy yet cheery tune emanated from the tiny screen as a cartoonish Irken scientist popped up in the corner.

"Hello lucky invader! Your dedication, accomplishment, and sufficient progress have led you to this moment! You will be receiving your lieutenant invader, which is an honor that only the invaders with the most difficult of planets receive."

A cartoon invader with his lieutenant appeared behind the scientist. "Your lieutenant invader will remove many of the stresses that plagued you before, and you may now fully focus on conquering and leading the invasion and organic sweep of the filthy beings on your planet. Lieutenants will prepare your food, protect you, patrol your borders, do your experiments, build for you, and have been specially prepared to fit your height and needs." The invader smiled triumphantly over a conquered planet with his lieutenant standing obediently by his side.

The invader was now on a battlefield, wounded with only his lieutenant and a monster towering over him. "Operation Impending Doom II is different in that your lieutenants have been genetically modified to wield do the work and hold the strength of sixty lieutenants that will protect you at all costs and have been trained extensively in strategy, battle, medical care, science, survival, and stealth." The lieutenant transformed into a tall, leering, dark figure that scared the monster away, and then proceeded to heal his master. The invader, once healed, gave an excited hooray and plunked his Irken flag into the soil. Not bad at all, Zim thought. I could use a trusted companion- preferably one that can keep up with my incredible intellect.

"You have been issued Lieutenant Invader [P-34], or [Petra]. Here is its accomplishments and history."

With that, the video cut off and a list was displayed on screen. Top of its class, strongest, bravest, most intelligent... "This is perfect for me!" Zim cried, quickly pressing accept. To his disappointment, though, the capsule did not open. It only provided him with another video. Zim grumbled and pressed play again. The lieutenant was by himself now, and the scientist was standing next to him.

"Because of the incredible abilities we've given your lieutenant, they consume a lot of energy, fast! Without a proper source of energy and access to resources, your lieutenant could die!" The little Irken on screen fell over, dead. "If you allow this to happen, you will be terminated for lack of responsibility and deemed unfit to conquer." The invader walked in, shocked, and then immediately fell over. Although comical in nature, Zim could still feel a cold shiver of fear run through him. Surely this thing would be self sufficient enough to care for itself?

"So please, be careful and look after [P-34], or else! Happy invading, soldiers!" The video closed out, and finally, the capsule split apart to reveal a long glass tube. In it was a floating Irken, suspended in cryogenic sleep gel. She appeared to be female, judging by her long lashes and curled antennae, and not an ugly one either. She had the lieutenant brand on her forehead, put on her by the school to make lieutenants recognizable. Her skin was a rather pleasing shade of muted celery green, but lots of ugly scars ran the lengths of her arms. Zim was wondering what could have possibly caused this when GIR gave an obnoxious giggle from behind him.

"Will you be quiet already? We can't have you ruining anything so soon after she's arrived," Zim was surprised at how easily she came before it. Guess it didn't make much of a difference what you called her. GIR, in reply, only giggled some more and pointed back to the tube. Zim whipped his head around when he heard a small tap on the glass, and found a rather large pair of heather purple eyes focused on him. He, in a slight overreaction, screamed and leapt back. It was only after he'd stared a few moments that he noticed that she was pointing to something. A handle with a button near the edge of the glass.

Zim slowly reached over and pulled the handle. When he found it didn't open, he tried pressing the button and pulling, which worked. The cryo gel drained from the tube and into large pontoon like attachments on the side. Once the tube was empty, she pushed open the door and saluted Zim with a perfect posture. "Greetings, Invader Skutch. I am P-34, or if you prefer, I will answer to Petra. I am here to protect and serve you in any way possible, sir!"

Zim was pleased with her military style; however, one thing nagged at him. "I am not Invader Skutch, lieutenant. I am the mighty ZIM and I'm surprised you didn't know on sight,"

Petra was taken aback- she thought they'd mixed up the photos. He definitely didn't look like Invader Skutch. She did a quick scan with her ocular implants and determined that he was, in fact, Invader Zim. This was very wrong. "My deepest apologies Invader Zim, but I am assigned to Invader Skutch. Is this not planet Tetrox?"

Zim let out a laugh. Tetrox was inhabited by hyper intelligent ape-like creatures, and the inhabitants of Earth… they were more ape-like than hyper intelligent. "No, this is planet Earth and you were the lieutenant that I was sent. I expect you to keep up with me," he declared. "Computer, take the containment tube down to the lair and find a spot for it."

P-34 was more than nervous. She had to call management- this could be disastrous for everyone involved. "Sir, I'm going to contact the Tallest about… my arrival." From the files she'd read, she knew Invader Zim was a quick-to-anger egomaniac. Referring to her arrival as an accident could set him off somehow.

"I was just about to send in my daily report- come along, Petra." Zim called to her as he stepped into the trash can in the kitchen and disappeared. P-34 was once more surprised as he used her slang name. She wasn't used to it at all- no one ever called her that at the academy, not even her few friends. To make up for the second she'd spent in shock, P-34 jumped down the bin and onto a small floating elevator floor. No, Petra got into the elevator. It would be a name she'd have to get used to on this mission.

As they descended into the "lair" as Zim called it, Petra sometimes spotted him standing below her in the reflections of pipes. The makeup and layout of this "Earth" is so strange and primitive, she thought. Before dropping off her shipment tube on Invader Zim's doorstep, the drone had done a sweep of the planet and loaded the external appearance and common behaviors onto her PAK. All the people were so… oblivious. Petra was awoken from her thoughts as the ground disappeared, and the wide expanse of labs and control panels opened up before her. Most importantly, she spied the main computer to call the Tallest on.

Zim, reaching the floor first, immediately strode off to the computer she'd identified, with Petra not too far behind. She reached just as he finished asking the computer to place the call and almost immediately the call went up. It was surprising how quickly they pulled the call through, considering they were getting calls all the time and there was often a waiting list, but perhaps they'd put Zim as an invader. Or they thought he was so pathetic and loved to laugh at him so much, they put him on the priority list. Probably the latter.

"My Tallest!" Zim exclaimed, tilting his head and wiggling his antennae. Petra, being out of the frame, only watched on.

"Zim! Did you receive your lieutenant yet?" The Tallest appeared anxious, disheveled even. It was very odd to see them so much in a panic, especially since they really only appeared to care about humiliating smallers and eating all the sugar that would fit in their hands at one time.

"Yes, My Tallest! Lieutenant Petr- ah, P-34 has arrived," he stumbled, almost using her slang name. Zim gave her a small head nod and Petra sprang into action, quickly coming into frame and doing an Irken salute.

"My Tallest."

"Ah, yes, P-34. We've been looking for you. You were assigned to Invader Skutch, correct? On Tetrox?" Petra breathed a sigh of relief. Thank Tallest, she would be going to the correct Invader after all. Zim, however, seemed concerned. Was this not his lieutenant, gifted to him for his outstanding progress in conquering Earth?

"Yes, that is correct. I had thought that I had arrived on the incorrect planet, but seeing as I was in a cryo sleep I couldn't alert the shipment drone," Petra explained. "If I may ask, my Tallest, when will I be sent to the appropriate planet?" They did not reply, but instead gave each other a worried glance and looked back at the group of Irkens behind them. The head scientist Min, who Petra knew, piped in.

"P-34, are you aware of whether you have imprinted or not?"

"...Imprinted?"

"Yes."

Petra had no idea what they were talking about. She'd sometimes heard the term in passing, but it was never something they taught or spoke to anyone about. "My apologies, but I am afraid I don't know what you're talking about. Could you explain?"

Min looked very uncomfortable, like a smeet admitting that they had taken a sweet that wasn't theirs. Or maybe like someone telling a secret that shouldn't have been kept hidden in the first place. "Oh. Well. Ahem. You were likely not told, because it was never deemed necessary to teach, but upon exiting cryogenic sleep the first Irken you see will become your… master, for lack of a better word."

"Well of course, the first Irken we see will be our invader. What does this have to do with 'imprinting'?"

"Ah, no, you are not understanding. Your PAK is programmed to accept the first Irken it meets to be your master. This ensures loyalty and is supposed to improve your relationship by attaching strong feelings of concern for their well being and an extreme protectiveness. Are you aware of whether you have imprinted or not?" Min repeated, speaking as though she was running out of time. "Screw it, send a PAK scanner through and have it tell me what the Irk is going on over there!" she exclaimed at someone below the platform.

The Navigators below did as she said and a metal cord lowered from the ceiling and attached to her PAK. A very jarring, cold, uncomfortable sensation spread throughout Petra's whole being as the cord rooted around through her memories. After about a minute the coil retracted and the scientist let out a prolonged groan. She quickly regained her composure and gave an innocent grin to the esteemed leaders. "It's already…"

The Tallest let out a frustrated groan in unison, quite unhappy with this latest development. Zim was rather pleased with himself, having had his lieutenant become attached or whatever so quickly. It was yet another display of his immeasurable and incredible invader skills. Petra was, as she had been doing since she woke up, having a small brain aneurysm because this never ending rollercoaster of events. Tallest Red sent a spine chilling glare out of the screen, and it was almost as uncomfortable as having her PAK rooted through. He finally released a resigned sigh and rubbed his temples.

"Okay, Zim. Just, uh, don't call us for the next few days. We have… a thing. An important one. Make written reports on the status of you and the lieutenant everyday and send them in. Every detail regarding P-34, actually. We'll call you first."

With that, the screen shot off to black, and Petra felt as though a large, imposing presence now left the lab crushingly empty. It was just her and her new invader. There was protocol for this to follow, and besides, now she had to go read up on imprinting and her new invader. From what she had already seen Petra knew that this mission was going to be a long, grueling one.

"Go, lieutenant. I'm busy with some experiments today- Computer, light a path to where you put the containment tube. Get yourself in uniform and I'll call for you if I require any assistance." Zim ordered haughtily. Outwardly he was cold and casual, but inside he was jubilant. He sounded so much like a leader- this wretched planet would kneel before the power of ZIM very soon, he could feel it. Especially that Dib.

Petra automatically performed the arm salute used for all officials except the Tallest, and departed. She followed winding hallways with a light strip on the wall, finally leading her to her containment tube. The computer had placed it in what seemed like it was supposed to be her room. The thought of having her own room was overwhelming all of a sudden. Back at the academy students were tightly packed into barracks, simulating war-like conditions, and there was always someone (teacher or student) within an arm's reach. She hadn't expected to have a space at all, let alone one where she would be by herself.

It was a welcome surprise, though, and she smiled slightly to herself as she reached out to retrieve her uniform from the one storage pontoon on the side of her cryo tube. It was a blessing that she didn't have to wear the standard uniform like all the invaders. It was the academy uniform, and the obnoxious sleeves were as much an annoyance as they were an eyesore. They didn't suit Petra well at all, and she had no idea how some of her friends even managed to look decent in them.

The information in her PAK reminded her that humans find nudity to be offensive. Petra knew this, as it was her PAK, but it was still a little surprising to be reminded. I suppose it's fair enough, she thought. Humans still have reproductive organs hanging about. I'd certainly cover myself if I was in that situation, she thought in repulse. The simple idea of any Irken dangly bits was inefficient and disgusting- Petra would be sure to do everyone the courtesy of modesty if worst came to worst.

She pulled the black, toeless leggings on and pulled the high-collared shirt untucked. As she fastened her utility belt, she heard a soft clanking coming down the hallway. It was like the tiny footsteps of a small robot, and she was right. She automatically almost spoke to the small SIR unit as he lingered in her open, oblong doorway. Quickly shrugging off the ridiculous urge to be polite, Petra continued to do small tests on her utility belt and checking no cryogel found its way between her PAK and her back. If he wanted her files he could get it from the Control Brains' public access information depository.

To her surprise (and amusement), the unit split into a wide grin and she noticed for the first time his blue accents. He giggled again and ran up to her, initial timidity gone, and pulled on her shirt. "Do you have any tacos?"

Petra cringed slightly at the high pitched, unnaturally loud voice that spewed from the android. Clearly, this machine was malfunctioning and needed to be repaired. She mentally accessed the protocol for this situation and found that she needed to deal with it on her own. SIR units were one of the most ingenious Irken creations of all time. Every soldier was trained to be able to take it apart and put it back together in minutes, among other things. So, Petra scooped the tiny screeching bot in her arms and set him on a work table. There were lots of things to do, but they could wait. SIR units are an Irken's top soldier, after all.

After taking out her essential tools from her storage pontoon, Petra popped open the top of the SIR and poked around. It was rather strange- there was only really a guidance chip, behavioral monitor, various ports, and some trash inside. The guidance chip had been switched out for a modified version, and oddly, the behavioral monitor was set to only average. These were nearly factory settings, so it didn't at all explain the robot's actions. "SIR. Tell me what your name stands for." It was a standard question used to assess the functionality of damaged units.

"That's not my name, silly!"

"... What?" This had never happened before. Sometimes it would forget or misreport its acronym, but completely deleting any knowledge of its name and even replacing it was unheard of! "What is your name?"

The unit immediately jumped into duty mode and turned the normal red. "GIR, ma'am!"

Petra moved to continue, but got caught on the unit's words. "GIR? What does the G stand for?"

Gir faded back to the cool teal and dropped into a relaxed posture. "I don't know," he replied, a blithe smile crossing his face. Petra frowned. This issue ran deeper than she had thought- how long had the master allowed this to happen? Wait a minute, did she just call Invader Zim "the master"? I seriously need to read about this whole imprint thing.

Whatever was going on now, she didn't have time to deal with it. This was intended to be a quick fix, but this would clearly take some real work and there was only enough space in the schedule to accommodate some cleaning. That being sorted, she began pulling trash out of GIR's head and placing it to the side.

Suddenly, she noticed the unit deactivate and froze. In her hand, she held a candy wrapper. Slowly she dropped it back in and the little robot came back on. Mystified, Petra decided to place all of the trash back in his head and deal with this enigma at a later date. This was more than a complicated problem, GIR was practically a cryptid. Quickly writing out a report, Petra filed it away and sent the robot off. She would have detained it as to not bother the master (there it is again), but he might become upset if he had called out for his… GIR, and it didn't come running.

Well, at least now the preparations could begin. Let's see… she thought, contemplatively rubbing her bottom lip with her thumb. After initial landing, you were supposed to confer and receive instructions from your invader. Done. Send out a message to the tallest that your landing was successful. Well… they definitely got the message. After that you are to cleanse the entirety of the base as a show of humility to your invader and make preparations for your disguise and mission tomorrow. Oh. Petra had plans for the mission before, but seeing as she was no longer going to be on Tetrox, she had to formulate completely new ones. She let out a sigh and sat down on her work table. "Computer," she called out.

"Download the base layout and mission information." The computer let out a beep of approval and extended and mechanical arm that latched onto her PAK. She lazily allowed the information to pass through her brain without thinking too much about it until a recording shot through her head. She stopped it and played it in her mind once more, allowing the download to happen in the background. It appeared to be a recording of her master taken without his knowledge, and a funny one at that. He had knocked a chemical into his eye and it was beginning to boil inside his skull, causing him to run into things screaming. "Shouldn't this be… classified, or something?"

"Do you want to know?"

Petra thought about it carefully for a moment.

"Never mind."