Resurgence

by Nukus

A simple telescope malfunction leads to the awakening of an old Irken General with the true history of Irk's past......

1. Chapters 110

Resurgence

Zim was at his telescope, observing the progress of the other invaders. He observes that Blortch has been conquered.

Zim: Why is it so hard to conquer these pitiful Humans. Damn that Dib and his efforts against me. I should have had Earth taken months before Blortch fell!! (Clenching his fists and waving them in the air) With his rage he struck the control panel for the telescope and the scope's platform began to spin around uncontrollably. Zim dug his claws into the panel and was flopping around like a rag doll as Gir walk into the room.

Zim: GIR!! STOP THIS SCOPE!!!!!!

Gir: (with his stupid smile on his robotic face) OK! (He pushes a nearby button and the scope stops dead. Zim flies into the wall where the telescope's focus is being projected. Zim peels himself off the wall.)

Zim: (dazed) Thanks Gir..

Gir: NOOOOoooooo problem! (Gir leaves for another part of the base.)

The Irken dusts himself off and looks up at the displayed image. He notices a strange and mysterious looking object on the display screen.

Zim: COMPUTER! Zoom in on the object in the scope's view.

Computer: Zooming...

The screen zooms in on the object, magnifying it. Zim stares good and hard at it. It looks like an asteroid but with some sort of Irken machinery sticking out of it. The insufficient lighting of space degrades his ability to identify exactly what the machinery is.

Zim: Computer, is it possible to scan the machinery?

Computer: Attempting to scan...Because of range, the scan is limited. The only information that can be determined is that it is of Irken origin.

Zim: Strange, I've never seen such Irken technology. What is its location and heading?

Computer: It is located in Earth's star system. It is in an orbit that will bring it within the vicinity of earth.

Zim: I shall intercept it and investigate. (His pak sprouts a radio) GIR! Prepare the Voot for departure.

Gir: WEEEEE!

Zim takes the nearby elevator to the hanger section of his house. The engines were humming in the small ship. Gir was in the cockpit of the Voot, contently eating a muffin and humming to himself. Zim enters the cockpit and begins to enter the coordinates of the last known heading of the pod. The roof of the house opened and the Voot flew off into space, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Dib was observing the Voot's take off from the roof of his house.

Dib: Zim... He's up to something...

Dib leaves his roof and heads into his room through the nearby window.

Zim: Ok Gir, time to investigate this pod.. The tallest will be pleased to find that I recovered Irken technology..I better retrieve it soon. or that Dib monkey may find it and use it to his own ends...

The Voot flew at top speed. Zim was determined to get to the pod before anyone, human or alien could. Irken technology should stay within the Irken Empire. After dodging some high earth satellites and passing the Moon, The small cruiser was free of the Earth's gravitational pull. A small screen flashed in control panel. It informed the piloting Invader that the pod was near. Gir bounced around, enjoying the weightless environment and humming the doom song. Zim, ignoring Gir's distracting ways, readjusted the ships course to intercept the pod.

Gir: OOoooOooOoOoo I sees it!!! Its right there! (Gir points somewhere into the blackness of space. Zim can't tell where exactly it is and begins to press his face against the glass of the cockpit to get a better look.)

The Voot flew closer to the pod and it finally came into view. It was half buried in space debris. From the machinery visible, it seemed ancient. Zim finally was able to get a good look at the pod. He studied it and his antennae perked up in curiosity. He pushed a few buttons on a nearby terminal and the Voot scanned the pod thoroughly. A green beam coursed over the pod vertically and horizontally. It displayed the mind-boggling results onto the screen. Zim's red alien eyes analyzed the data displayed.

Zim: It is definalty Irken in origin, but its so anicient, the scan indicates that it's almost 3000 years old. I need to bring to back to the lab. Gir! (Gir stops dead his eyes turn red and he begins to act like a normal Sir unit)

Gir: Yes Sir! (He salutes Zim)

Zim: Take a tow cable out to the pod and rig it for being towed back to base.

Gir: Yes Sir! (He salutes again)

Gir exited the Voot, using his jets to propel him towards the pod. He carried with him a cable with a device on the end of it. Upon reaching a certain distance from the pod, he activated the device. Many smaller cables exited the box-like device and wrapped them around the pod. The box beeped to indicate the wrapping was secure around the ancient Irken craft. Gir then re-entered the Voot and Zim was on his way back to the base.

The next day dawned, robotic arms in the lab mostly cleaned off the rock and debris on the pod during the night. Zim was just waking up from his sleep cycle as he made his way to the lab where the pod was laying on the ground. Zim was finally able to look at the pod closely. From his observations it seemed like it was hollow and something may be inside.

Zim: Computer, is it possible to open the pod?

Computer: Yes, opening..

The pod hissed and a cloud of orange colored gas exited all sides of the pod. The top slowly opened and as the gas cleared Zim was amazed at what he saw.

Zim backed away from the pod. Confused and somewhat fearful of what he saw. Inside the pod lay an Irken, dressed in a robe of some sort. From the looks of him though, the Irken appeared only to be slightly older than Zim. Looking down the length of the pod the Irken's body was rather long. This child of Irk was obviously tall. Zim drew closer to the pod. He examined the still body in front of him. He looked at the green face and noticed something about the right eye of the Irken, it wasn't there. There were scars around the eye socket; it seemed as thought his eye was gouged out by something with rather nasty claws. The Irken lay still in almost a death-like sleep. Examining the inside of the pod, Zim noticed some writing on the inside of the pod door that opened.

Zim: Computer, analyze this writing on the inside of the pod.

Computer: Analyzing.(A beam shot out from the ceiling and scanned the writing.).It is written in Irken Script of the Tallest Berk's reign. The text reads: Nukus.

Zim: Nukus? What data do you have on him?

Computer: Serching..Nukus, once the grand general of the all the Irken Armed Forces under the rule of Tallest Berk. He was removed from his command for defying the Tallest and sentenced to and eternity in suspended animation. Details as to why are inaccessible.

Zim: A deifier of a tallest? I have just released a Deifier of a tallest??!? The almighty tallest will kill me for sure! Quick, Computer! Close the pod!! Reseal him!!(Zim's voice had a hint of fear in it)

Computer: The pod systems have shut down. They can't be reactivated.

Zim: I must rectify this situation. I know! I'll just kill him..

An arm came out of Zim's pack handing him a small blaster pistol. Zim took aim at Nukus' head and was about to fire until...

Computer: Intruder alert!! Intruder Alert!!

The intruder alarm went off and stopped Zim from firing his shot. There could be only one person that could even attempt to infiltrate Zim's base. Dib.

Zim: DAMN THAT HUMAN!! Always showing up at the wrong time. I'll finish this deed of the empire later.

The arm from Zim's pack showed itself once more and retrieved the blaster. Zim walked to a nearby elevator and told the computer to take him to the area of intrusion. The elevator sped off, heading towards the main room of Zim's house. In the midst of all the noise from the alarm the sleeping Irken's antennae twitched a bit and then straightened up. They scanned the room for signs of life. Zim was in the upper floors of the base, dealing with Dib, and Gir was off doing who knows what. That left the lab rather empty. Nukus' one eye opened and he observed his surroundings. He was somewhat startled to be inside a room. The last thing he saw before being put into the pod was the sky of planet Irk above him. He tried to move, this caused pain course throughout his stiff body. A few thousand years of being completely still seemed to takes its toll on his flesh. He wanted to sit up, but he couldn't find the strength. His body from antennae to toe was completely numb. So he lay there in the pod, examining the environment around him with his remaining eye. The lab looked foreign to him, and yet the style of Irken engineering that he knew of was still embodied in the walls.

The numbness in his arms faded and he could move them once again. Pain surged from the scars around his right eye. Using his newly freed arms he clutched the area where his right eye had been. The hollow socket was filled with a small wad of fabric. He removed the wad of fabric, wincing a bit from the pain. Despite being in his suspended state for so long, the scars around his empty socket still seemed fresh. He hovered the wad over his left eye, examined it and tossed it aside. He lay there for what seemed like an hour. Slowly, more of his body regained its sense of feeling and he was finally able to pull himself up to a sitting position. Nukus scanned the area, searching for whoever released him.

He heard a crash above him, and a grate fell a few feet away from the pod. Down from the hole in the ceiling dropped Dib. The creature in front of him startled Nukus. He had never seen a human before. Dib stared at Nukus, and focused his eyes on the empty socket that was once the Irkens eye. He was lost for words and instead made a disgusted looking face.

Nukus: (He noticed Dib was staring at his scared face.) You know, it is not polite to stare at one's disabilities. (His eye narrowed.)

Dib: Sorry..I was.HEY! (Dib realized he was talking to an alien. He had a camera with him and snapped a shot of Nukus.) HAHA! Proof! Finally Proof of alien life!

Nukus: (Somewhat blinded from the flash, he rubbed his eye. He began to speak in an irritated tone.) I assume that you are not the one that freed me from my prison.

Dib: (His sense of victory seemed to escape his body.) Huh? So wait, you're not working for Zim?

Nukus: Who is this Zim you speak of?

The nearby elevator floated down from the ceiling carrying Zim with it. He saw Dib standing there, but did not notice Nukus sitting on the edge of the pod.

Zim: You cannot escape ZIM human stink monkey!

Dib: I've won this time Zim!(He held up the camera, waving it around.)

Dib reached into his pocket and pulled out a small water gun.

Dib: Stand back Zim, I have water and I'm not afraid to use it.

Dib smirked , relished in his own genius. He pointed the water gun at Zim, spraying some water around the Irken's feet. Zim backed away from the puddle and Dib ran to the elevator and flew up into the upper levels of the base.

Zim: (Clenched his teeth and his fists.)Gahhh! DAMN THAT VILE HUMAN! Now I must infiltrate his house before he reports me to the Earth authorities.

Nukus, having observed the entire thing, spoke to his fellow Irken.

Nukus: There is no need to worry. I'm sure you can get the large headed creature later.

Zim: Hahahah! That is true. For I am Z ... Hey wait a minute. You're awake.

Zim was surprised that he did not notice Nukus sitting there.

Nukus: Yes I am. You are the one that released me?

Zim: Yes. I and I must kill you for it. (His pak once again hands him the blaster.)

Nukus, observing the weapon in Zim's hand, raises both of his arms in a defensive manner, although he remains calm while doing so.

Nukus: Why must you kill me? I have done nothing to you.

Zim: You are a betrayer! You betrayed Berk and The Irken Empire!(He raised his head bit, feeling righteous in his accusation.)

Nukus, upon hearing the name Berk stood up quickly to his full height, he dwarfed Zim by comparison. He stared into Zim's crimson eyes and fire seemed to emanate from his own. He spoke in a harsh manner, as though he had been mortally insulted.

Nukus: I betrayed NOONE! BERK WAS THE BETRAYER! HE BETRAYED HIS FLESH! (His rate of breathing increased, and had a menacing look in his eye.)

Zim now saw how tall Nukus was compared to him. He backed off a bit, somewhat fearful. He dropped his blaster, and an arm came out of his pak and quickly snatched the blaster off the ground. Seeing the fear he instilled in Zim, Nukus regained his composure and sat down.

Nukus: (He breathed heavily a bit, and then calmed himself.) I apologize for that outburst, it was uncalled for.

Zim: (He readjusted himself as well. He rubbed his head a bit, trying to find an excuse for his accusation.) Well, according to the history files you did.

Nukus: History? Have I been out that long? (He thought to himself a bit.) How long did the war last after I was sentenced?

Zim: War? What war?

Nukus: The Irken Civil war of course..has there been more?

Zim: Are you insane? All those centuries in suspended animation has rotted your brain meats. There was never an Irken Civil war.

Nukus was flabbergasted at the very notion that such a violent and bloody war could not be in Irken history. He stared coldly at Zim.

Nukus: You must be joking. There is no conceivable reason why ANYONE should not know of the sacrifices made during that war.

Zim just stared at Nukus, not understanding what he meant.

Zim: What proof do you have that it did happen?

Nukus: This. (He tapped his non-existent eye. Zim received a good hard look at the hollow socket. He cringed a bit; imagining the pain Nukus must have endured.)

Zim: Well, that isn't the best proof you know.

Nukus: (He ascertained his situation.) I suppose you're right. (He gave a small sigh.)

Zim: Yes, yes I am. (Zim's antennae perk up; he realizes that it is time for him to report to the tallest.)I must take my leave of you Nukus, I have to report in to the tallest on my current status with my mission.

Nukus: Very well. I ask that you do not mention me. If you aide me in keeping my awakening a secret, I shall help you with your mission, you have my word as an Irken on it.

Zim thought this over for a minute. Nukus was labeled betrayer according to the databanks, but the one-eyed Irken seemed harmless enough, an Irken's word is his bond. Regardless of his betrayal, he still was a military general and must have been a good one to reach such a high status. His aide could prove invaluable. Zim decided to keep Nukus a secret for now, at least until he found out more about his past. Zim left for the communications room.

Nukus was left alone in the lab once again. He took this opportunity to walk around and stretch his legs. He stumbled a bit, having not walked in 3 millennia. He grabbed a hold of the pod, and used it to hold himself up as he walked around it. The skill of walking returned to him after a few laps around the pod and he proceeded to learn more about the lab. Enveloped in curiosity, he examined ever piece of machinery, every tool and every computer screen he could find. The advances made in Irken technology amazed him.

Zim made his way to the communications chamber. Constant variations of his report to the Tallest repeated in his brain meats. He started up the communication device and the Tallest came on screen.

Purple: What is it now Zim?

Zim: My tallest. I am merely making my daily report. Zim bows then readies himself for his report. He looks at the two Tallests and something about them seems different. He shakes off the feeling and continues to give his report on human activities and possible weaknesses that could be exploited. The two tallest simply ignore Zim's ramblings as usual., munching on various snacks. He signed out and headed back to the lab. Nukus was up and about when Zim entered. There was something about Nukus though, similar to what had bugged Zim about the Tallest. He shook it off yet again. Nukus saw him and approached the small Irken with a smile on his face.

Nukus: I must applaud your advances.(He was holding a small vision enhancing device. Peering through it with his one eye.) Only Irkens could research and create such potent technology.

Zim: Well of course! I have made some.. special modifications to our already superior technology. Take this standard issue guidance chip for example. (Zim picked up a computer chip from the nearby workbench.) Normally it can only store 1 million destinations and calculate a route to them 100 at a time. But I.. ZIM! Have modified it to store 1.05 million destinations and calculate 115 at a time!

Nukus: Fascinating! I only wish we had such technology during the war. It would have made it quicker.(Nukus appeared to sadden a bit.) and cleaner.. much cleaner.

Zim: Ah yes, this civil war. Not that this is an admission that it existed... but what was it like? (Zim seemed to fill with a sort of patriotic spirit and stood like a soldier in front of an inspirational general. Well.. that was the situation.) Was it filled with HONOR and GLORY!!!!?? Ah yes I can see it now, me standing atop a hill, holding the Empire's flag surrounded by the dismembered bodies of my enemi..

Nukus interrupted Zim with a sharp tone in his voice.

Nukus: You have never seen or been in real combat.

Zim: How are you so sure? I battle the Dib monkey every day!

Nukus: I mean real combat, weapons , comrades, death..

Zim: Well.no.but.

Nukus: I once thought as you do now, when I was young and ignorant to the ways of the world. I wanted to join the military when I was young. It was a family tradition of sorts. My father was an officer in the armada, as well as my mother and my 2 siblings. Since the emergence of the Irken race there was a member of my family in some sort of branch of military. We had gained quite the reputation and that made me eager to join up and make a name for myself. I had never seen real combat then, and I now dread the day I joined..

Nukus went into deep thought. He tried to hold back his memories of battles come and gone. He was not ready to tell Zim the truth. By now, Zim was waiting for more of the story and was awaiting more from Nukus.

Nukus: I cannot continue at the moment my friend. I need to learn some things in order to explain it better to you.

Zim: (In a somewhat annoyed tone.) Fine. I have things to attend to anyway rather than listen to your stories.

Nukus: May I have access to your computer's database? I will need to catch up on Irken affairs.

Zim: Yes, fine. There is so much data you will be there for another 3 thousand years shifting through it all.

Nukus: Well not quite. I still have this. (Nukus lifted the sleeve on the long robe he was wearing. In the upper part of his arm was a small port. It resembled a computer port. Zim examined it for a minute.) It is an output for connecting to a ship's computer. It feeds information directly to my brain meats. I was issued it when I was in the Armada. If you have a similar connecting cable, I can re-learn Irken knowledge in a few days.

Zim: It appears similar to the cabling used in Gir's electronic brain. GIR!! Where are you!!

Gir walked in, sucking on a chocolate bubblegum Freezie. He saw Nukus and pointed to his missing eye.

Gir: OOOoooO His eye is missing! Can I touch it? (Gir approached Nukus, his robotic arm outstretched ready to poke the Irken's empty eye socket. With each step taken, Freezie matter dropped to the floor from the little robot's mouth.)

Nukus: I see robotics have not improved much over the years.

Zim: NO GIR! Come here!

Gir: Awwwwww.

Gir went to Zim. Zim opened the top of his sidekick's head and began to rummage around the electronics. All the while, Gir was still sucking on the Freezie. Zim finally found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small cord, looked at it a bit then closed the lid on Gir. Gir still functioned as he usually did. He handed the cord to Nukus.

Zim: Here, this should allow you to interface with the computer. It is no pak filled with the whole of Irken knowledge. But I guess it will work for you. Come Gir! We must rain some doom onto the Dib creature..

He and Gir left for other parts of the base. Nukus plugged himself into the nearby computer and began to re-learn what he already knew. Days had passed. Nukus stayed in the lab plugged to the computer. He sat in a trance-like state, eye closed and alien hands folded. Information of all kinds was funneled into his brain meats. He scanned over Zim's reports on human behavior learning of the planet he was on. He also was able to access the primitive human global network known as the Internet. It was filled with a majority of human knowledge. Nukus was especially interested in the two great human wars know as WW1 and WW2. They resembled the Irken Civil War in certain ways. The combat condition known as Shell Shock had similar symptoms to the Irken condition known as Battle Cowardice. Humans, he thought, were quite similar to Irkens. He made sure to learn of all the new Irken innovations as well. He briefly touched a few subjects, but he concentrated on major ones. Science, wars, planets, known space, weapons, biology, robotics and the one thing he concentrated closely. history. He found that his way of life, his world was gone. Irkens were now grown in tubes. They were genetically altered for one purpose. conquest. Families and natural Irken birth were things of the past, and rarely practiced. Almost every Irken aided the military in some way or another. Everything connected to putting resources towards Operation Impending Doom 2. Amidst all this information and detailed recordings, the Civil War was nowhere to be found. Berk's name was littered over the time period of the war however. He was hailed as the greatest Tallest of all time. He began the notion of galactic conquest in the eyes of the Irken people. The fact that it was the right of the Irken people to rise and take what is rightfully theirs was Berk's greatest achievement. It was he who started the Genetic engineering, and production of the Irken race to fill the military with "perfect" soldiers for the large-scale conquest operation. It disgusted Nukus to view this. He knew Berk's true ways. A paranoid genocidal dictator was the true description of Berk. Any Irken suspected of the smallest amount of rejection to Berk was hunted down and murdered. It was these horrid actions of Berk that initiated the war. Nukus switched to a different subject..Biology and robotics he thought would take his mind off of the hideous memories of Berk. Searching through the database he found that he could construct an artificial eye to fill his empty socket. He had all the tools and parts necessary in Zim's lab to construct one. A small project such as that was a welcome break from four straight days of information assimilation. He disconnected himself from the computer and hastily grabbed all the tools required. The first thing he learned was the complete layout of Zim's base, as well as its capabilities. He fetched the vision-enhancing device he looked at a few days earlier. He pondered about integrating it into his new eye. It was quite an advantage to be able to peer through walls. Having checked over the materials he acquired, the project began. Sparks flew around and cast flashes of light on the lab walls as the old Irken welded pieces together. Nukus was hard at work when Zim entered.

Zim: What are you doing?

Nukus stopped. He turned towards the invader to give his explanation.

Nukus: I am building myself a new eye. I grow weary of having no depth perception. I'm sure you would do the same in my situation.

Zim: Perhaps. I take it that you are done browsing Irken knowledge.

Nukus: The general concepts of it yes..and I am quite disgusted by it.

Zim: (Sounding offended) Well I'll have you know that the Irken Empire is much greater now that it ever was!

Nukus: In your eyes yes, that is true. But in my eyes..

Zim: eye.

Nukus: Ahem.. Eye, it is much worse. So many things are gone. Where's the peace? The joy of exploration? The families? The freedom? It appears that every Irken is a slave to this Operation Impending Doom 2. You are grown into captivity, and must dedicate your life to aiding the military and its conquests. All you know is war.

Zim: Yea, this coming from the General with the family history of being in the armed forces..

Nukus: Yes, but we knew what peace was. Just because you are in the military does not mean you are at war. My family members would serve 2 months in the service then be home for a month before returning to active duty. It worked in shifts so everyone could see each other once in a while. Family and love gave us a reason to defend Irk. Where is love in your world?

Zim: Love? That it just a pitiful human emotion! Irkens don't love! We are too concerned with galactic conquest to bother with such insignificant things. (He waved off the statement.)

Nukus: (Gave a sigh, and began working on his eye again. ) You poor smeet. You never knew the concept of love. I pity you. Love is such a wonderful thing. Its one of the reasons I stayed within the military. It is one of the reasons why I was the best of the best and raised in the ranks. I had a beautiful wife, Mora. I met her in the early parts of my military career. After basic training I was put into the Irken Intelligence Corp. I did something similar to what you are doing now Zim, information gatheing. My mission was to scout planets marked for colonization. I had to report of any life forms that would hamper such efforts. Then I would leave and others would decide what to do. I mostly worked alone. However, on one mission I was given a partner. (Nukus paused for a moment, staring into space. The image of his wife circled his brain meats.) She had this color of blue in her eyes. it just melted your heart. It was love at first site. The entire mission was set on an uninhabited planet, so we were alone together the entire time. We were joined in the traditional Irken love ceremony. What theses humans call a wedding. (He smiled a bit, remembering the ceremony.) I was transferred out of the IIC after that mission and was moved to be an officer in the Armada. In the armada I could spend more time with my beloved. Tours of duty were shorter there because of the small size of the armada. Although.during the time all that happened, the outer rim of the empire was planning to secede.

Zim was holding onto Nukus' every word at this point. There was some truth into what Nukus was saying Zim thought. It was in his silver Eye, as plain as the Dib having an oversized head.

Zim: Why the outer rim? What reason did they have for betraying the rest of the empire?

Nukus: I'm getting to that. I have to show you the layout of the empire as it existed. I made a map on your computer.

Nukus pushed some buttons on the control panel and a map of a drastically different looking Irken empire appeared on screen. Irk was in the center of the spherical empire. A red zone that extended out from Irk showed the empire's borders. Planets were scattered everywhere within the ring of red. On the very edge of the empire sat many planets in a ring around the empire. Nukus highlighted these.

Nukus: The tallest before Berk was a great leader. Zoa was her name I believe. She was worried about invasion from other empires and races. So she instituted the First line of defense. Every one of these outer rim planets was fortified extensively. She had production facilities for ships and weapons constructed on these planets so they could fight off any incoming invasion without having supplies flown in from the inner empire. It provided supplies on the spot in the event invaders penetrate Irken space. It was a sound defense plan I must say.

Zim: But...

Nukus: But she didn't take into account Berk's reign. After she died, mysteriously I might add, Berk came to power. Paranoid that the outer worlds were too powerful he sent his own trusted commanders there to look over operations. It really displeased the forces on each planet. The original commanders were good, and I mean very good. They had all the skills necessary to run the fortress planets rather efficiently. When Berk's commanders took over they did not know how to run things at all. I remember one incident where one of them diverted too much power from a reactor stabilizer to test fire defensive cannons that had no need to be tested. The old commanders knew it. The troops stationed there knew it. Even the civilians knew it. The reactor went critical and detonated; the radiation killed many innocent Irkens. Similar types on incidents happened as well on other planets. Berk wanted the cannons test fired much, much more frequently that Zoa did. Sometimes they were fired several times a day and running up to 200% the normal power usage. Also , needed supplies where diverted to the wrong places. Especially food.

Zim: Well I'm sure the great Berk fixed any mishaps. ----------------------------------------

Nukus: That is where you are wrong my friend. Berk did nothing. Its as almost like he wanted it to happen. Then, another mishap on these planets here (He pointed to a small cluster of planets in the middle of the empire.) really started to irritate the outer rim. These planets were the major food producers of the empire. Berk wanted them to increase production and sent more of his people there to see that it was carried out. Yet again their incompetence lead to a huge cut in production and famine spread throughout the empire. Any food being produced was funneled to the inner planets, leaving the outer rim to starve. The outer rim was not pleased at all. Pirates that lived in the outer rim frequently raided food transports and were hailed as heroes on their Rim planets. Returning to the starving people with loads of pirated food, the rim was barely surviving. Berk retaliated due to the pirating, sanctioning any and all supplies heading to the Rim. There were others in the empire who began to question Berk's ways. Leaving our brethren to starve in space is not acceptable in the old Irken ways. Berk did not care. Rumors about removing him from power and putting in a better tallest started to spread. Berk's paranoia kicked in and then the purges came.

Zim: Purges?

Nukus: Yes. Berk began to "remove" his opponents. Anyone that voiced their opinions against him where declared deceivers of the public and executed. Oddly enough many people agreed with Berk and his ways. They cited that Berk's ways kept order and that the Rim had way too much power and was not responsible enough to hold our defenses. They were considered foreigners to the rest of the empire because of their distance from the center. The farther from Irk you were, the less Irken many considered you. Eventually the Rim was fed up and decided to leave the empire. They closed their planets and all of their military defenses turned from invaders to the empire, to the empire itself. Berk did not like this one bit. He feared an attack from the Separationists to remove him from power so he called up the Irken military to take back the fortified planets.

Zim: And that is where you come in?

Nukus: Well not yet. I didn't agree with Berk's ways at the time but, Irk was home and it had to be defended from anyone. Then, the official day of the war started when a Separationist ships entered orbit over this planet, Reserchia. (He pointed to a planet on the map. It was near the new border between the old Irken Empire and the new Outer Rim Empire.) It was a planet that was used for research and development. It contained the best labs in the empire as well as the most advanced technology. They claimed it was an Outer Rim planet and belonged to them, others begged to differ. The very population on the planet was divided some wanted to secede others didn't. I don't know for sure who struck first, but it was a blow that started the war. The Separationist armada provided fire support and war supplies to the sympathizers on the planet and the Empire's armada did so for the other side. (He paused for a moment, and a small smile appeared on his green face.) My daughter Zera was born on that day. How ironic that such beautiful smeet was born on the day a war began.

Zim: So do you come in now?

Nukus: Yes I do actually. My first ship, the CanRan, or CR for short, was a small gunship that was used in the space battle over Reserchia. The armada on both sides was rather small, nothing like what exists now. Warships were never really needed till the civil war, as far as we knew no wars were eminent invasions, so there was no point in wasting resources on war ships. This left us with several small gunships, cruisers and modified transports. Later in the war, more advanced ships can into play. I'll explain that later. The CR was a fast ship. It wasn't well armed but its speed more than made up for it. There were constant skirmishes between the 2 small armadas. I was a wingman in a small flight group. We made bombing runs on the larger ships. Initially we attacked any section of a ship. Any hit was considered a good hit. No coordination whatsoever existed on either side. It was one of very few space battles in Irken history, so no tactics were ever developed. I soon proved myself above the rest when I organized the attacks. We attacked certain weak points in construction of the ships. It would cause the ship to split at the seams and break into thousands of fragments before the reactor even went critical. I rose in the ranks quickly and became a wing leader myself. I gained quite the reputation too. It was almost.. fun.

Zim seemed impressed by Nukus' tactics. He wished that he could have been there when the war started. Conquering lesser species was an easy task for Irkens he thought. But to fight one as smart, and talented as you, there was a challenge worthy of Invader Zim.

Zim: (Zim had a sense of glee in his eyes.) I wish I was there. To rain some Doom upon them..

Nukus: Yes, I thought that way as well. (Nukus seemed to return to his saddened state as once before. ) It is easy to kill a faceless opponent. However, if you stare into its eyes, holding its life in your hands.seeing, smelling and even tasting its fear, it's a much different story. I did not know of the true war. The small orbital skirmishes were nothing compared to the first huge ground battle. The battle of Trid.

Nukus pointed to another planet between Irk and the Outer Rim. Zim recognized the planet immediately.

Zim: That's planet Dirt! There's nothing there but a graveyard of machines and. umm dirt.stuff.

Nukus: What do you think made it that way?

Zim was lost for words on that comment. Nukus continued.

Nukus: Till that battle I had not experienced the horror of ground battle. I had stayed in the orbital battles, successively completing my missions and rising steadily in the ranks. By the time Trid happened, the war had raged for almost a year. Reserchia was reclaimed by the Old Empire after some cunning orbital tactics. (That statement of Nukus was filled with self pride.) The research that was being conducted there helped in the development of the Devastator, Berk's flagship, as well as my command ship, the Mimic. Most of the bigger weapon developments came from there.

Zim: (Zim noticed Nukus was straying off topic.)The battle.

Nukus: Yes the battle. Well I was given orders from higher ups to head the main ground attack. My orbital tactics made me more than qualified. Also, my height had increased a bit as well since enlisting. So I was made ground force commander of a few transports full of troops. The Separationist forces had fortified the planet extremely well with anti ship cannons on the surface. It was up to ground forces to land and disable these cannons before any occupation could work. A huge plan was devised, an invasion on a massive scale. Millions of troops where readied and set upon transports destined for a battle on a scale never before conceived. It was here that the true face of war reared its hideous head. The plan was simple, larger ships would distract the ground cannons fire as transports flooded a landing zone with troops. I was on a primary transport, one of the first to land. It had at least 25 troop divisions crammed on one ship. Trying to land was the first obstacle. The canons were well mounted and rather powerful. Their constant fire shredded the space above them. Their green blsts lite up the skys like a green colored sun. When we descended, it was like diving into a pit of green colored death. Ships were falling out of orbit left and right, crashing into the planet causing huge explosions that could be seen from my transport as it entered the planet's atmosphere. When our ship finally made it down we were greeted to a barrage of fire from the defensive artillery. The ship itself was armored and acted as a firebase, covering most of our soldiers from the hail of fire. We had to make a temporary blast shelters while dodging constant fire from that dammed artillery. While setting up those shelters, small skirmishes from long range were going on. No one could see the opposite site of the carter riddled field, but blats of energy kept emanating from the other side. After some shoddy shelters were set up, we were preparing for an offensive against a small outpost near our shelters. From that enemy outpost, we could setup a long range attack on the anti- ship cannons that were mounted upon some mountains in the distance. Suddenly a well placed shot hit our area, while we were outside preparing. (He stopped once again, staring into the eye he was creating. He held it in his hand and just stared at it.) My second in command was blown apart right before my eyes. (His hand holding the partially built eye began to shake.) His.his.eye landed in my hand...the nerves still attached to the remains of his. brain meats. Others that were around him also met the same cruel fate. Their. body parts where splattered everywhere. I didn't realize then, but I was covered in their blood. The explosion sprayed it on me. (He dropped the mechanical eye onto the work bench and just stared at his shaking hand.) I never saw the hideous goring of bodies before. That moment was forever burned into my soul. I became. filled with hate. Vengeance echoed in my brain meats. I wanted blood, the blood of those that killed such good Irkens. I picked up a nearby weapon and gave a rallying call to those around me. Thousands flocked and over our communicators I ordered an immediate offensive against the outpost. Thousands of troops reported in and readied themselves for their horrid fates. I gave the order. We hopped over our shabbily built defensive wall using our spider legs, and charged at full speed towards the outpost that we were planning on attacking. Explosions threw dirt up into the air like geysers. Sometimes the artillery would hit our advancing line, and instead of a geyser of dirt, a geyser of blood and body parts flew into the air. It only fueled my rage.

He clenched his shaking hand, closing his eye tightly as the battle replayed itself inside his brain meats. Zim once again was filled with glee. An Honor filled battle, fighting for fallen comrades. It appealed to Zim, he liked the idea of it and kept listening intently, imagining himself leading the advancing charge.

Nukus: We reached the outpost. and caught the forces there completely by surprise. Blasters exchanged fire. When the ammunition ran out, we engaged in close combat. (He suddenly stood up and began to motion the fight. Zim watched in amusement.) I was issued and energy blade because of my status and I used it well. I. I .slaughtered them. ALL of them. They were not Irkens! They.. They.. were ANIMALS! (He began to make slashing motions very harshly. He was breathing very heavily and yelling a battle cry with each slash he made. He then stopped and was shaking and breathing really deeply.) When the skirmish was over I looked around me. more bodies. so many.. bodies. They lay about, guts and blood spattered everywhere! The air was rank with the blissful putrescence of death. More blood was on me than before. It dripped from my uniform and my energy blade, and I liked it. I liked it a lot. To the point where I was blind as to what . atrocities.I had just committed. I noticed something. The soulless eyes of the bodies stared at me! They Accused ME! I betrayed my flesh.. I.I. actually did it. I took an Irken life. I butchered someone's friend, brother..sister.. father..mo...mo (His voice quivered.) mother. Not once, not twice..but again (With each word he made a firm slashing motion with his arm) and again.. and AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! (He dropped to his knees and then collapsed on all fours. Zim rushed to him to help him up and he uttered under very lowly under heavy breathing. ) I was regarded as a hero. I was no hero. I was death incarnate at that moment. The worst part of it all was. I actually enjoyed it. I loved it.I practically bathed in their blood, Irken blood and found it pleasing. I relished the slaughter.and I even wanted more. the soulless eyes kept accusing me. telling me the truth that I kept refusing... I was no longer a true Irken from that moment on. I became what I hated, what caused me to start the charge in the first place. A murderer, a betrayer of my flesh.

On the massive, the 2 Tallests were doing their usual thing. They lounged around on the bridge, on their command couch, stuffing their faces with snacks. They were rejoicing over the recently conquered Blortch, and felt rather drunk with power.

Red: You know Purple, (His mouth was full of chips.) it just doesn't get any better than this.

Purple: Yeah, that is true. (He showed a grin on his face, relishing the comforts of power.) The Empire practically runs itself. All we have to do is just sit back and watch it expand, and take the credit.

A communications technician turned to them.

Tech: Sirs! We have an incoming message from the Control Brain on Irk. It requires an immediate audience with both of you. It states that it is of utmost importance.

Purple: Bah! Damned control brains. They always need us to do their dirty work. (He opened a bag of chips and began gorging himself.)

Red: Yes well, that specific control brain never summoned us before. Maybe it's important. (He stood up and turned to the technician.) Soldier! Instruct the armada to hold its position. Plot us a course to Irk and step on it.

Purple: Woaw. Ya think that's a bit drastic? I mean we are leaving the armada in the middle to go see a dammed rusty control brain?

Red: Eh. We just took out Blortch, the armada can handle itself. Besides, it feels like forever since we were home. Tech, to Irk!

Tech: Yes sir!

The Massive broke out of the armada's formation and headed back towards Irk, Its engines running at full thrust. Red sat down with a thud on the command couch.

Red: So what do you think it wants? I mean to pull us all the way back to Irk at this time. Something has to be wrong.

Purple: Eh? Who cares? That Control Brain is probably malfunctioning. It has been in operation for what? 3000 years?

Red: Yea something like that. It was the first Control Brain created, to handle all the lesser affairs on Irk that we now don't have to worry about.

Purple: Thanks for that. Imagine, If it were didn't have those control brains; we would be catering to civilians, solving their problems. (He shuddered a bit.) Instead we are planning galactic conquest. I'm tired after all this commotion; I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get there.

Purple left the bridge and Red stayed, staring into space. Something troubled him about this summons. He knew Purple wouldn't care but he had to find out what it was that Control Brain wanted an audience with them for. He left the bridge for the secure archives chamber in the Massive. In chamber was a huge screen and thousands of stacks of computer memory modules plugged into the main database. All these files contained Irken knowledge that was meant for the eyes of the Tallest only. He sat down at the control panel and began searching for information about that one Control Brain. It was a rather odd one. Some of the thing it suggested was just rather strange. It always had a team of group of scientists doing some sort of genetic and biomechanics research. Although it did help the empire in various ways, it was still odd that it concentrated just on those fields. Like it was developing something specific. He remembered that when Purple and himself came to power, it stated something about possible uprisings on planets in the former Outer Rim of the empire a few times. It suggested that the Irkens there should be under close watch for they might try and overthrow the current Tallest. Purple thought it was a joke. Red took it more seriously. Why would a Control Brain suggest something like that? The Civil War was thousands of years ago. The screen flashed with Red's results. They were old documents about the Civil War. Red and Purple knew the history of the war well. They were the only Irkens that were supposed to know about it. Every tallest since Berk was given full information about the war to ensure that precautions would be taken so it would not happen again. To the rest of the empire however, it was removed form all databanks. Only in that restricted archive on the Massive did the information exist about how the Irken race almost destroyed itself. If the public were to know about it, it may give them ideas to rebel. A small communication screen flashed on. It was a tech officer.

Tech: Sir, I'm sorry to bother you but we have reached Orbit over Irk.

Red: Alright then. Prepare the transport.

Tech: Yes Sir.

Red got up from his seat. He took one last look at the screen then shut it off. He went to wake up Purple. Hovering down the corridor to Purple's sleeping chamber, he pondered the happenings of the war. He felt as though everything that Berk did was necessary. Order must be maintained, regardless of the cost. If the Irken empire as it was today used the ideals of the Old empire, galactic conquest would not happen. There would be so many divisions in the empire as to weather or not Irkens should enslave other races. Or if it would be worth the risk, or some other reason that the general educated free minded public would make to stop Operation Impending Doom 2. It just would not work. Too many resources were needed for the operation and Red could not have half the empire not contributing to it just because they felt bad for other races. He arrived at Purple's sleeping quarters. It was a lavish room, much like his own. A huge bed, varieties of Irken art scattered about. A giant view screen that can receive every channel of entertainment from Irk was on the wall in front of Purple's couch. Purple was his bed, snoring loudly and cuddled into a fetal type position. Red walked over to the side of the bed to wake the sleeping co-tallest.

Red: Purple! Purple! Wake UP!!

Purple: (Drowsy)Huh what?

Red: LASERS!

With that word a small laser came out of no where and hit purple in the eye. He woke up screaming in a bit of pain. He grabbed his head and rolled out of the bed hitting the floor with a loud thud. Red laughed hysterically.

Purple: (Rubbed his eye.) I HATE IT when you do that!!

Red: O lighten up, I woke ya up didn't I? Come on, we are at Irk. Let's go find out what this brain wants.

Purple picked himself off the ground and Red helped him up, chuckling lightly. Purple rubbed his hurting eye a bit, giving a bad look towards Red. Both exited the room, gliding over the floor with their hover packs. They made their way down the corridors of the Massive towards the teleportation room. Purple was distracted with his thoughts, staring off into nothing and whistling lightly. Red was still concerned about the summons. There was something still bugging him about it.

They arrived at the teleportation room and were zapped down to the surface of Irk. They appeared in a teleportation station within a fortress complex on Irk. They were met with a small contingent of guards to escort them to the control brain chamber. They traversed the halls of the fortress. The walls were militaristic and lifeless, no extravagance like in the Massive. They arrived at an elevator; the doors to it were made with heavy thick metal to protect the elevator from intruders. Security cameras watched the entrance. Both tallests walked up to a small control panel embedded in the wall next to the elevator. A beam scanner both of them and the heavy doors opened. The two leaders entered alone, the doors closing behind them. The elevator was a large flat slab of metal. No walls were around it, just the long shaft leading into an abyss. The elevator began to descend. The deeper it went the older the walls of the shaft looked. Soon metal was replaced with an Irken form of concrete. Purple noticed the change right away.

Purple: What the? Since when did we start using liquid rock to fortify anything? This section of this place must be centuries old.

Red: This complex was built before metal was a standard fortification material. They just added a layer on top of the fortress every time they upgraded it. Purple: This place seems so fortified that they would not be able to just deconstruct it and rebuild it. They would have to level it completely by using all the firepower in the armada. Only then they would be able to upgrade it to modern standards.

Red: Yea. This place is a relic alright, built back in the Civil War days. 3000 years and it could still take a large amount of punishment.

Purple: The Civil war. That means Berk must have built this place. He's my hero ya know. The way he dealt with those traitorous Outer Rim yokels. It just works for me. It rumored that the place were they interrogated prisoners is somewhere down here, Near Berk's private bunker. I would hate to be the poor sap that crossed him. (He laughed a bit, and Red joined in as well.)

They finally reached the bottom of the shaft. Another set of heavy metal blast doors were in front of them. The doors crawled open. Both Irken leaders stepped out and were greeted by some guards in the hallway. The guards escorted the tallests down the hallway, cameras watched their every move. They were lead into a small room with another control panel. The guards left them and waited in the hallway. They approached the panel and were scanned from head to toe. The wall in front of them split open leading into the control brain chamber. The tallests entered the dark chamber. The huge doors that were walls closed tightly behind them. The ceiling of the chamber was covered with tubes and cables. All sorts of devices were scatterd about the chamber that looked foreign even to the Tallests. They were always on top of all technological developments, so they were quite intrigued at these strange devices surrounding the control brain. They approached the Control brain, its many green eyes staring into them.

Purple: Ok so what's the big deal? Why did you drag all the way here?

On the screen attached to the brain, a list of words streamed across the screen. This control brain never spoke. It always displayed its messages through typing on screens. No one knew why. It just didn't.

Brain Screen: There is a pod of great significance at this location. (A small map was shown of a location in Irken space.) It is required immediately to complete vital research. Have it retrieved and brought here.

Red: WHAT? That's it? A lousy pod? You dragged us here for this? Well FORGET IT! (He turned to leave.)

Purple: Wait Red! (Red stopped, turned around arms folded. He was obviously annoyed. Purple turned to the Control Brain.) What research is this for?

Brain Screen: It is needed to finish the current genetics update project.

Purple: That looks like a large amount of space to cover for a pod. We will send 3 ships to look for it.

Brain Screen: Three is not enough. Send more.

Purple: They will do fine.

Brain Screen: They will not, send the armada to search for it. Now.

With that statement the 2 tallests stared at each other in disbelief. A control brain just gave an order to the tallests. That was defiantly not acceptable.

Purple: Send the Armada??? NOW? Who do you think you are? WE are the Tallests Here WE give the orders! Not you!

Red: (Also spoke in an annoyed tone.) That's right!

They both turned and began to leave. The brain's many green eyes turned a deep crimson red. The many cables from the ceiling suddenly dropped and snaked around the two Tallests entangling them rather tightly. The cables brought both Tallests right up to the cluster of red eyes. Something strange them happened. The Control Brain spoke.

Control Brain: You will so as I say, or you shall suffer a fate worse than those that attempted to betray me. (The voice was very harsh and evil sounding. The tubes squeezed the two leaders tighter. With each syllable spoken, the eyes pulsed.)

Purple: You can't do this! GUA..(A cable was shoved into his mouth and muffled the scream.)

Control Brain: For that outburst, you must be punished.

The tubes unrapped from Purple. He fell to the floor where more tubes held him down face first. An arm from the ceiling descended and removed Purple's pak. The brain spoke in a carefree tone now.

Control Brain: Did you know that the very air in this chamber is deadly to Irkens? It can cause a very painful and torturous death. Your organs slowly melt away, and your skin burns like a raging fire. It is ... a most dreadful thing to go through. That is, if you don't have a filtered respirator.much like the one in your paks.

Red just stared in horror at what was happening. Purple just lay there struggling as the poisonous air began to act on him. His insides began to burn and his skin smoked a bit as though he was splashed with water. Red was suspended over his co-tallest, forced to watch him suffer. He tried to close his eyes, but the lids where held open my some mechanical hands. Purple was slowly and agonizingly dying. His organs were degrading into nothing.

Control Brain: See how he suffers? Do you wish to join him?

Red was somewhat confused by the question. But he muttered a single word in a very low voice.

Red: No.

Control brain: Good. Now order the armada to change course. (A tube covered Purple's mouth to muffle his screaming of agony.)

The cables let Red down. He went to a nearby communications panel and on screen on Irken's face appeared.

Irken: What orders Sir?

Red: (He sighed a bit.) Take the armada to these coordinates. (He typed them in.) The Massive will meet you there. Search for a pod. Retrieve it and bring it to the control brain chamber on Irk. It is a task of the highest priority.

Irken: (He was a bit confused by the orders, but followed them regardless.) Yes sir.

The screen went blank. Purple's pak was put onto his back once again. The pak's regenerative capabilities quickly brought Purple back to his normal self. The cables released him and he was panting heavily, finally breathing filtered air. He stared at the Control Brain, in total disbelief of what happened.

Purple: What are you? (He said in a quivering voice.)

Control Brain: That need not concern you. Do not return without the pod. Any attempt to shut me down will result in a most unpleasant accident resulting in your lengthy and quite painful deaths.

With that said, both the Tallests rushed out of the chamber. The guards standing outside were in disbelief and what they saw. They both looked as though they had seen a ghost. They were a pale shade of green and had fear in their eyes.

Purple: Back to your posts! (He yelled at the guards. They scattered.)

Red: Can you believe what just happened? Was it real?

Purple: If it weren't for the pain I would think I just dreamed that.

Red: Well we better do what it asks. I'm too tall to die.

Zim helped Nukus up and into the seat at the workbench. Nukus was still a bit shaky from reliving his memories, but he soon calmed down. Zim was still thinking that battle was filled with honor and glory. Nukus did make a small impression on Zim's brain meats however.

Nukus: (Regaining his composure again he continued his tale.) The first time you experienced what I did, it is so treacherous and horrible. It is mind you, but after a while, the thunderous explosions drown out the voices in your head telling you it is so. Your mind becomes preoccupied with selfish survival. You forget the crime you are committing. You, in essence, become used to killing your brethren and begin to think nothing of it. It is a horrible condition that happened to me after that day. After that first slaughter, I continued to fight as though nothing had happened. I shame myself for being so blind. It continued through most of the war as well, until I was removed by Berk, it was then I could finally see the atrocities I had done.

Nukus continued his work on his eye. The sparks from the welding flashed light across the lab once again. Zim was still curious about the war however. Even if it was not real, it was a good story none the less. The old Irken really piqued his interest in it.

Zim: Yes, that whole betraying Berk thing. What happened?. Tell Me!

Nukus: This is much later in the war, about 15 years maybe 20. Time seemed irrelevant and days passed quickly. The only thing that kept me going was talking to my wife and daughter every week or so. (He set down the tool he was using, and held his head in his hands.)I can't even remember little Zera's age when it happened.I had been with her in person so few times. The war required me out on the field; I rarely got a chance to see my beloved or my precious Zera. (Nukus went back to work, suppressing more memories that he felt not ready to share.) Ahem.Many planets were ravaged by the war by then. Some completely destroyed, forming small asteroid belts in some systems. We had secured a few Outer Rim planets, only by completely wiping out anything and everything on them and rebuilding from scratch. At that time I was in the Grand General position. I answered only to Berk. My height had grown much during the war, I was almost Tallest. IF Berk had died control of the empire would go to me. One of the reasons why I believe he was just waiting to sentence me. He couldn't just do it outright though; too many of our soldiers supported my efforts for a cleaner war. They did not want to kill off all our brethren either. My efficient tactics were well liked.and if I was simply tossed aside for no reason, Berk feared that many of our troops would either stop fighting or even defect.

Zim: Ahem. the sentencing.

Nukus: Ah yes. right. Well I was on Berk's newly built flagship, Devastator, coordinating an orbital conflict over This planet here (He pointed the map once again.), Flob. I would have been commanding from my ship, the Mimic, but an early battle had damaged it and it was at Reserchia for its.(He smikred a bit.) unique repairs.

Zim: Heh? (Zim gave an inquisitive grunt.)

Nukus: (Sensing Zim's curiosity about the ship, he pulled up a screen of it that he had made along with the map in such a likely event.) The Mimic was a prototype. It had experimental Hologram projectors mounted around the entire hull.(He pointed to various parts of the ship.) This gave it the ability to disguise itself as other ships, asteroids even the occasional small moon. Full cloaking technology did not exist, so this was the next best thing. We scared away many ship by displaying ourselves as the Devastator.(He realized he was straying off topic again.) Anyway, I was on Berk's ship coordinating our efforts. We were winning the orbital fight and Flob's inhabitants began a mass exodus of the planet. Transports were scarce for them so several thousand Irkens were stuffed into them at a time. Using the devastator's new scanning system I was able to tell our ships in orbit which ships contained civilians and gave them strict orders not to attack them. I always allowed the enemies to retreat with out being hunted down. I was trying to save lives. as you know. Unfortunately that day.. Berk was on the ship as well overseeing the battle from his throne room he had built on the ship. He never liked my clean tactics. And the fact that I was allowing the civilians to escape enraged him. He burst into the bridge and ordered me to fire upon the transports. I refused. Almost all of the transports were away except one.. it was filled with the smeets of one of the main cities on the planet. Berk wanted it destroyed. At that point he was fed up with me. My constant ways of allowing the separatists to escape instead of wiping them out had really angered him on occasion. This was the last straw. He stood at the door to the bridge, fire raging in his eyes. I knew that he was done with me at that moment. He ran at me at his full speed, giving me a blow right to the face that threw me across the bridge. He was rather powerful. The research he had put into genetics and genetic manipulation was used to abnormally increase his strength. He was constantly looking for a way to cheat death so he could live on. He even had the notion of making himself Immortal, so he could rule the empire for all time. I got up, my face throbbed with pain. This was it, the final showdown between him and me, the lives of thousands of innocent smeets hung in the balance. His guards advanced on me, but he ordered them to stand off. He should have just killed me. I didn't know why he wanted to fight me. It's possible he felt it was a test of his strength. I was known as a hero after all. The battle of Trid put me in the eyes of the Irken public. The stories I have heard told about my deeds made me out to be some kind of super Irken. I've heard that one time I killed 150 troops using melee weapons only while dragging 4 injured of our own to a medical station. Many stories were true, but then again some were just outlandish.

Zim: Your straying off topic again...

Nukus: I'm sorry, there is so much to tell. Anyway where was I.. Ah yes. .. I had to kill Berk, to strike him down with every last ounce of my strength and will. If he survived this fight those smeets would be surely be killed. If I survived, I would be Tallest, and could finally end this war that have ravaged so many planets and killed millions of Irkens. The time had come. Berk threw off his ornate cloak, and stood poised to attack me once again. I stood ready this time, waiting to counter his next blow. The bridge crew was dead silent, watching and waiting as well. He did not attack though; he stood there, staring at me his eyes narrow. He was examining me, plotting his attack. I did something then that I now regret, I charged at him. My energy blade sprang to life and extended as I charged. I went straight for his black heart. He had his one of his own blades as well, on an emitter attached to his arm, much like mine. He activated his and crossed it in a defensive manner, deflecting my blade. We locked there for a second face to face. Sparks of energy flew around from the clashing blades and lit up the bridge. I pushed away and began attacking. He countered every blow I made quickly. We danced around the bridge striking at each other; occasional clashes threw sparks of energy around and lit up the bridge with every hit. When Berk went on the offensive, I hopped and jumped about like. a hopping... jumping .thing. I countered one blow, striking his blade emitter. His blade fluttered a bit, flashing on and off. I tripped him , using all my strength to throw him to the ground. I pinned him, my blade at his neck, and his flashing blade was at mine. A long stare ensued, and his blade finally died out. He smirked and said "You wouldn't kill and unarmed Irken would you." I responded. "You are not Irken." At that point one of his guards finally stepped in and shot at me. I raised my arm to protect myself from the shot; I used my right arm. the one with the emitter on it. The shot hit the emitter. My blade flickered then died as well. Berk took the opportunity to attack, and .(Nukus sneered a bit.) gouged out my eye.

Zim let out a disgusted grunt.

Nukus: He threw me off. I landed a short distance away, clutching my eye, blood spewing everywhere. The pain was tremendous. I saw that Berk had gotten up, I tried to as well, but I soon realized His guards were holding me down. I struggled, but it was no use. "Pick him up... I want him to see this." ordered Berk. They picked me up, and had me face the window out into space. The transport was still in view. Berk walked to the weapons control panel and ordered the tech there aside. Reluctantly, the tech moved after being threatened by that dammed monster. I tried again to escape the grasp of his guards and I failed again. "Now watch what happens to traitors of My Empire." He pushed a few buttons.. and the Devastator fired on the smeet transport, destroying it instantly. (Nukus' voice became very low, merely a murmur. He was filled with shame and sadness.) My eyes finally opened at that point. I realized what I had done. I finally accepted what those soulless eyes on Trid kept telling me. I failed my troops, my planet, my wife.my daughter. my very genetic code. I failed them all. My very existence was failure. I allowed that. that Vile Basterd to kill all those. sweet, innocent smeets. (He turned to Zim, and just stared a shallow soulless stare into Zim's soul. Zim felt somewhat cold from it.) It was my fault.. Their pure, innocent, blood is on my hands. (He looked at his hands; the image of blood dripping from them came to him.) They didn't even get a chance in life Zim, not one chance, and it was my fault for being too weak. (Nukus' head drooped, shaking slowly left and right. He heaved a low sigh and continued.) After that, a sharp pain hit me in the back of my head. One of the guards had hit me with the end of his blaster and knocked me out. I awoke a few days later, in a cell on the devastator. My head ached, and my freshly gouged eye was still ripe with pain and oozing blood a bit. The cell was well lit, and consisted of only a bed molded into the wall of the cell. An energy field that surrounded metal bars blocked anyway out of the cell. I sat there for what seemed like an eternity, contemplating my entire life, from start to its impending end. I especially thought of my beloved and my precious. They were stained with my failure as well. I had brought shame upon them. How could I even look at them ever again?

Gir had been listening in on the story as well.

Gir: Its easy to look at someone!! It goes like dis!!

He jumped onto Zim's head and pressed his face to Zim's. Nukus chuckled a bit, amused by the robot's antics. Zim ran around the lab attempting to pry Gir off his face. He finally succeeded and Gir ran off.

Nukus: Quite the character that robot is.

Zim: Yes well, He was issued to me directly from the tallest. He is advanced equipment. Anyway continue.

Nukus: I see. Well, After a day or so, Berk finally came into the holding chamber to gloat. I remember it vividly.

*** Begin wavy flashback sequence...Of doom.***

Berk approached the cell's energy bars. He stared at Nukus who was sitting on the bed molded into the wall, staring at the ground with his head in his hands. Berk smirked, his eyes narrowing. He kept replaying his victory over and over in his mind. It was a perfect setup he thought. The way the fight played out, it made Nukus look like he attempted to assassinate the Tallest. It was the perfect crime Berk needed to be rid of the general. There was a slight problem however. Because of Nukus' high status in the eyes of the Irken people, they may grant him a trial. This would hamper Berk's effort to get rid of his general quickly.

Berk(Thinking to himself.): If I had a public display where Nukus admitted his guilt, I could move right to execution, provided execution was a proper punishment. Killing someone is a rather nice thing to do. Just a swift shot. and they are gone, free from suffering. It was too easy... too good. Pain needs to be dragged out, so they feel the remorse of their actions. Death is too good of a thing for Nukus. He shall suffer like the traitors. He dare defy my orders to eliminate all those wretched separatists. Then he thinks he can kill me and take control. HA! That fool. If he only knew of my true plans he would have tried to kill me years ago. Regardless, how do I get him to admit his guilt in front of Irk? His mind is too strong for psionic manipulation. Hmm, but his wife and daughter.(His smirk increased with a devilish sneer.)He will do anything to not let harm come to them. He would kill himself probably. We can't have that.no. He must suffer, even if I have to kill that wench of his in front of his face and then threaten that smeet with the same fate.

Berk(Talking to Nukus): My how the mighty have fallen, Eh general?(His voice was cheerful.)

Nukus still had his head down facing the floor. He said nothing.

Berk: You know you committed a crime. You attempted to kill the tallest. Tsk Tsk Tsk. That is death you know. No rotting in an asteroid prison for you.

Nukus looked up; blood still oozing from the scab that once was his eye. He analyzed his predicament. Berk hit first, so it couldn't be an attempt on the life of a tallest. The imprisoned Irken just stared at the Tallest, still feeling his defeat grind what was left of his soul. A thought crossed his mind though. A court called forth from the people could still override Berk's decision, if the general contested the accusation.

Nukus: The people won't stand for this Berk. I will contest it, and the truth will be brought out. They will not like the fact that YOU(He points at Berk.) killed a transport full of innocent smeets. They may even choose to put you on trial. (Nukus smiled feeling a small victory despite his huge loss.) The old ways are still practiced, a tallest does not have ultimate power when compared to the will of the Irken people.

Berk: (He seemed calm for such an important fact.) But, what smeets are you talking about? The scanners did not pick any up. The ship I fired upon was a warship attacking the devastator. (He chuckled a bit, relishing his forged argument.)

Nukus: (The smile was wiped from his face. He became agitated.)You LIE!

Berk: Hahaha(He laughed in away that gave off a sense victory and evil.) I can say whatever I wish. You forget, I control everything! Right now the scanner logs are being changed to show that transport as a warship, the crew on the bridge has made some .agreements to keep their mouths shut and any ships witnessing the event have become... casualties... of war. Hahahah!(He relished his ingenious abilities of covering up the truth.) And as for you, you won't do or say a thing.

Nukus: I will tell everyone of your atrocity. (Nukus glared at Berk, and some rage pent up inside him.)

Berk: Oh are you? Well sure go ahead and tell them. Why don't you start with.. your little daughter. Zera was it?

Nukus suddenly realized what Berk meant. A look of surprise and fear came upon the general. He was shocked that he didn't even consider the consequences of what speaking the truth would do. He couldn't let anything happen to little Zera, he had done enough to her by taking part in this war. Defeated, and angered at both Berk and himself, he sighed and went back to looking at the ground. Berk noticed this as a swift victory over Nukus.

Berk: See? You won't say a thing. I was right. As a matter of fact I can tell you something that you will be saying. When I accuse you of attempted assassination you will say that you are guilty of such a... (Somehow his smile got even bigger.) heinous crime.

Nukus perked his head up, and his teeth were clenched in anger. He was about to speak but Berk cut him off.

Berk: You know, I've heard stories about your wife's fabulous cooking. Perhaps when I go visit your daughter maybe she can make a nice meal? Eh?(He gave a fiendish wink towards Nukus.)

Nukus filled with rage, he got up and ran towards the bars, grabbing them tightly, digging his claws into them. He struggled against the pain to pull them apart. As he did , the energy around the bars fluctuated, throwing sparks all around and lighting up the holding chamber. Berk laughed at Nukus' attempt to bend the bars. Soon the pain was too much. The enraged Irken stopped his futile attempt and fell to the floor.

Nukus: (Panting from the effects of the adrenaline rush, He muttered in a harsh and low voice.) If you harm either of them I'll.

Berk: (Berk stopped laughing and gave out a serious tone.)You will what? Look at you! You pathetic excuse for an Irken! You are half dead, stuck in a cell. In 2 days you are going to be standing public trial on Irk. I'm going to make sure everyone in My Empire watches your trial. By the time I'm done listing your crimes to them, even your wife and daughter will resent you and wish for your death

Berk turned to leave, laughing in awe of his evil plan. He walked towards the door when he got there he took one more look at Nukus and muttered one word under his breath. "Pathetic." He left, his ornate cloak gliding behind him. Nukus lay there on the floor, smoke emanating form his hands. No visible scars were present on them, but the burning pain was still there. Nukus pulled himself back on the bed and fell asleep, hoping this was all just a nightmare.

Nukus' dreams were filled with images of his wife and daughter, stuck In the middle of the battle of Trid. Mora was holding the little smeet in her arms as troops stormed around her. She was calling out for her husband to save her. Nukus kept running in the direction of the call while dodging various troops and explosions. He was almost to her, his arm outstretched ready to grab her and Zera and take them somewhere safe. From the smoke, explosions and screams of the battlefield, Berk emerged between Nukus and his helpless family. Nukus didn't care, all that he wanted to do was reach his family. He kept running but his body simply would not move forward. He tried to run faster and harder, still to no avail. The dictator laughed at Nukus and his feeble attempts to reach his wife. Then the wail of an incoming shell filled the air, a sound Nukus knew all to well. Nukus could actually move toward Mora now and he grabbed her hand just as the shell hit the ground. Nukus woke up in a cold sweat. He was still in the cell on the devastator. He was startled by the bizarre dream. He sat up, wiping his brow with his sleeve. Upon doing so, he noticed that he was no longer in uniform. His uniform had been removed, and he was now dressed in a simple convict's robe. His eye had been cleaned up quite a bit by a medical technician. The remains of his eye were removed leaving an empty eye socket packed with a gauze fabric to absorb blood. In the robe, Nukus felt somewhat relieved and at peace. He finally wore something that he felt appropriate, given his realization of the "atrocities" that he had committed. He must have been "cleaned up" for the public trial while he was sleeping.

Having woken up a bit, he resumed the sitting position that he maintained earlier. He did not know how long he was sleeping, it gnawed at him. How long did he have until the trial? Was it still a day away or maybe a few hours? His question would soon be answered. Soon 2 guards burst into the room, dragging behind them a battered Irken. They dragged him towards Nukus' cell. One of them let go of the prisoner, and approached the control panel for the cell. He tapped a few buttons and the energy around the bars stopped for a moment. The second guard pulled out his weapon with his free hand and pointed it at Nukus. The first guard opened the cell door from the control panel and quickly tossed the beaten Irken inside. He then closed the door quickly and turned the energy flow back on. Both guards turned and left the holding chamber. The new Irken moaned in pain, he lay on the floor obvious beaten in order to get information out of him. He looked familiar to Nukus. The general got up and went to check on his new cellmate. It was a short Irken, and somewhat plump. He was in bad shape. One of his antennas was broken, bruises covered his entire body. He was bleeding from many sores and cuts as well. Nukus turned him around, to lay him on his back. He then immediately recognized who it was. It was Skot, the Mimic's head engineer. Nukus grew concerned quickly for Skot's condition; he picked up the small Irken and lay him on the bed. He looked over the injuries his friend had sustained. He concluded that the short Irken would be fine with some rest.

Nukus: Skot! Skoty!! Wake up! How did you get here?!

The weary engineer opened an eye, the other was puffed closed from the beating. He was disoriented and his vision was blurred. He looked up to see a figure standing over him.

Skot: That voice.General?? Is that ..you?

Nukus: (He felt somewhat relived that Skot remembered him.) YES! What happened to you? Where is the rest of the crew? Where is the Mimic??

Skot: I have a message for you Sir.(His head was swaying around, he was trying to hold it steady.) Stop moving around the room general. I can't see you, you keep moving.

Nukus: I'm not moving you're just disoriented. What is this message you have?

Skot: Its from commander Mosher, he.. he..oh what did he say.(He was beginning to fade into unconsciousness.)

Mosher was Nukus' second in command on the Mimic. He was a very well educated and loyal Irken. Nukus considered him a close friend as well as a good commander. It was rumored that he was quite the womanizer as well.

Nukus: What did he say Skoty??

Skot: I just can't do it general. I don't. have. the power.

Nukus: Damn it Skoty!! It must be important.

Skot: He said. Mimic's locator code. was. home.

Skot finally passed out, drool and blood coming out of his mouth.

Nukus: Skoty! Skoty!!

Nukus shook the engineer a bit, but to no avail. He was stuck in the peaceful bliss of unconsciousness.

Nukus(Thinking to himself): Was he sent here to just give me that message? The crew must have found out about my predicament and perhaps.. No they wouldn't stand a chance against the Devastator. I would not go with them even if they could free me. I can't fathom the horror that would happen to Mora and Zera if I escaped. Locator code..perhaps they want me to find them. But how? I am going to be executed soon anyway. There is no escaping my death now. They must know something that I do not.



Nukus' thoughts were interrupted by Berk entering the room. The dictator appeared quite content and had a small smirk on his face. His gloating began rather quickly.

Berk: I hope you rested well; the day of your reckoning has arrived. Too bad your little friend there won't be awake to see it. My men can be very.tiring.

Nukus sneered a bit as his anger built up once again.

Berk: Although I must give you some credit, your crew is very loyal to you. Your engineer has yet to tell us anything about the whereabouts of the Mimic. I'm sure, given some time; he will crack much like others who dare to deny me information. Regardless, are you ready to meet your fate?

Nukus: You will not get away with this Berk. Others will come for your blood.

Berk: Ha! Spoken like a martyr. Too bad you won't be one.

Nukus: What? You are not going to execute me? (Nukus was slightly confused. He was sure death was his punishment for attempting to kill Berk.)

Berk: Of course not!(He laughed a bit.) I cannot just kill you. there is no fun in that. No, you attempted to kill me. I can't just give you the benefit of no suffering. It would be too .nice of me.

Nukus was fearful of what Berk had in mind. It would obviously be something that extremely painful. He stared at Berk, saying nothing. Berk began to pace back and forth in front of cell.

Berk: I'm sure that in that mind of yours, your questioning..What does he have in store for me? (Berk smiled another devilish smile.) Well, I could not tell you, and let your mind fester of the endless possibilities of punishment, up until I announce it. But that will shock you, it wont give you time to think about it, to realize how bad it truly is. Decisions..

Berk stopped pacing. He had his arms folded and was staring at the wall in deep thought. Nukus was indeed burning with all the possible notions of punishment as Berk had said. He tried not to show any expression that would show fear. Berk turned to Nukus. He noticed that Nukus seemed unphased by the whole situation.

Berk: All of this, and only a stone cold expression. You were always one to maintain your composure even in the most stressing situations. Well, I'm going to tell you of your fate. You are to be placed into a pod that will put you into suspended animation. After that, you will be launched into space where you will drift for all eternity.

Nukus' expression broke when he heard of Berk's plan. Berk was cut short by and outburst of laughter from Nukus.

Nukus: That's it??!! That's all you could think of?!?! It's the dumbest punishment I have ever heard of!!

Berk became rather annoyed. He maintained his composure despite being laughed at. He was rather adept at controlling his emotions.

Berk: Yes, well, I'm sure you will find out exactly how bad it. will be. You will not be laughing then.

Berk turned and left the chamber. Guards entered the room and approached the cell. Once again, a guard approached the control panel and deactivated the energy flow in the bars. They opened the door and they shackled the laughing general in constricting metal cuffs. He did not struggle. He did contain the laughter though and finally saw that his time had come. He swallowed the laughter and went silently with the guards. Berk stood outside the door, watching as Nukus was brought down the corridor to be loaded onto a transport.

Berk(thinking to himself): Nukus is a such a fool. He threw away such a good life for the lives of a few paltry smeets and traitors. To think, I once respected him. That delicious slaughter on Trid really made me see his potential. 37 Irkens died at his blade alone in a matter of minutes. It takes a certain type of Irken to kill so many in close combat. I wonder if he even realized that one of the females he killed was with egg. With that kind of excellent ruthlessness he could have been my co-tallest. Pity he let a small thing like conscience get in the way.

Berk made his way to the transport as well. He was determined to carry out this sentence on Nukus. It was the only way he would be able to enact his plans. With Nukus dead, the people may panic because of the loss of such a popular war hero. With him imprisoned, he may escape and thwart Berk's up coming plans. This way, he is out of the way, but he is still "alive". It may be shown as mercy to the people on Berk's part. Nukus was already on the transport when Berk entered the dock. He made his way across the walkway and into the parked ship inside the ship bay of the Devastator. It was a small but lavish ship. It was Berk's personal transport ship. He entered and the door behind him closed. He ordered the pilot to begin the descent to Irk. Nukus was sitting in the lounge area behind the cockpit of the ship. He was shackled to the chair and guards were sitting around him. Berk sat down in a large throne type chair. He leaned back, in a relaxed position with his hands folded. Through his folded hands, he stared at Nukus, who was staring back at him. Nukus began to think about this "punishment" that Berk had come up with. The more he thought about it, the worse it was. Depending on the time frame he would wake from the suspended animation, it could be a punishment, or a blessing. If he were to wake in a million years, the Irken race could not exist. He would be completely and utterly alone. None of his kind would live. It would be an exile from which he could not escape from. Everyone and everything he would know would be gone completely, not even any descendents that he could associate with. Berk was right, Nukus wasn't laughing anymore. But then again, if the pod was immediately found, he could be released. A large rumble was heard as the transport disengaged from the docking clamp. It bobbed a bit as its anti-gravity engines sprung to life. The bay doors slowly groaned open, and the visage of Irk could be seen. The transport slowly exited the devastator. As it did, gunships appeared and surrounded it. It was Berk's elite guard escorting them down to the surface. They locked into a formation around the small ship. The transport began to slowly descend. Nukus and Berk were still staring, analyzing each other as though they were going to fight once again. The clouds parted around the ship as it tore through the upper atmosphere. The transport shook a bit with some turbulence; it broke the stare down between Berk and Nukus. Nukus turned away from Berk, and looked out the nearby window. The vast city that was planet Irk appeared below. Bustled with activity, the ground seemed alive with movement. It was the first time in almost 12 years that he had seen his home. Sky scraping buildings littered the entire area that he remembered was once a flat plain with small individual housing units. He saw the large flattened area that was the plaza for public spectacles. The plaza had a huge statue in the middle. It was almost s tall as a small sky scraper. The statue was of Tallest Irnok, the very first Tallest. It was he who united all the warring factions of Irk under one flag. Other tallests were depicted in smaller statues scattered about the plaza as well A landing platform was on one end of the plaza. The transport circled around the plaza descending towards the platform.

Nukus got a better look at all the citizens at this public event. The plaza was packed with Irkens. They were everywhere, in the streets, floating in ships, cluttered on top of the buildings surrounding the plaza. Floating view screens were scattered about as well, giving the attending public in the back a closer view of the platform. The transport hovered over the platform. The escorting gunships flew away. The ship's landing gear unfolded from the underbelly of the craft, and it set down upon the platform. Berk stood up.

Berk: Put on a good face Nukus, your public awaits you.

Berk turned and went for the door. It opened and as the light poured in, so did the thunderous cheering of the Irken public. Berk smiled and waved without a care in the world and he stepped out. He began to speak in a voice that did not seem to suite him. The voice of a politician. Every word he said was thundered across the plaza and throughout the floating cameras that transmitted the entire spectacle to the farthest reaches of the Empire.

Berk: My fellow Irkens! Today we celebrate a triumph over the evil that is treachery! (The crowd cheered. Berk waited for them the calm down a bit and he continued.)Our once beloved and trusted General Nukus has betrayed us! He is here now to stand public trial before you, the Great people that he has betrayed! In accordance with Old Irken law, set forth by the wise and honorable Irnok almost 5 thousand years ago, (He points to the statue.)Nukus shall be read his crimes by me. Should he decide to contest them, it shall go into investigation and drag out his guilt. If he chooses to accept his fate as a traitor, we shall move right to punishment!(The crowd roared with approval, even more so that before.)

As Berk droned on, new set of guards entered the transport. The new guards approached the ones that were now standing by Nukus. They had on uniforms that covered their faces with an ornate helmet. Guards were not supposed to be seen in public without some sort of formal dress. It wasn't proper at large public events such as this. Nukus thought nothing of it.

Elite Guard: Who are you guys? You are not supposed to be here.

New Guard: We are here to relieve you guys. We are properly dressed for this public spectacle. You guys are outfitted in combat armor, It wouldn't settle well with the people.

Elite Guard: Yes I heard about this stuff. Damn public regulations. Come on troops we are relieved.

The elite troops once guarding Nukus left out a back ramp that was out of public view. The new guards took position around Nukus. As soon as the last guard left, the tallest of the guards lifted off his helmet, it was Mosher. Nukus was completely caught off guard by this. It was not like Mosher to take such high risks without Nukus' consent. Another guard took off his helmet as well. It was the main gunner of the Mimic, Elrod. He was a rather lanky Irken. He was loyal but could be a bit caught up in the old Irken religious ways at times. He and Nukus did not see eye to eye on a few things but he was another of the Mimic's crew that Nukus considered a good friend. They udid he shackes to the chair and the general stood up.

Nukus: I take it you are not here to say goodbye.

Mosher: General, we are here to help you escape. We can't take you directly to the Mimic, or we risk exposing it. But we will get you.

Nukus was completely dumbfounded by what was happening. He was excited and glad that he could escape. But, he couldn't, or he would risk harm to his wife and daughter. He interrupted Mosher.

Nukus: I. I.... can't go with you Mosher.

Elrod: But sir! It is your only chance at escape. We can take this transport now, we have a pilot already in the cockpit ready to go!

Nukus: You don't get it. If I leave, Mora and Zera.I dare not think of what Berk would do to them. I cannot leave; I must stay here and face my sentence.

Elrod: Well you are at least going to plead not guilty.right?

The look on Nukus' face answered Elrod's question.

Mosher: Dammit Sir! We know you didn't do anything; we monitored the whole incident on the Devastator. While at dock on Reserchia we had one of the Techs hack the camera system on the Devestator so we could watch you in action. We have the proof! You can contest any accusation!

Nukus: Yes, but at what cost to my family. As much as it pains me to say this...I have to let Berk win.

Mosher: You are not thinking clearly! Your letting your feelings cloud you judgment!

He grabbed Nukus and shook him a bit, trying to get him to see the light of the situation. Nukus pushed him off, a bit agitated.

Nukus: They are all I have left Dammit! Besides, Berk has some idiots' punishment contrived for me anyway. He wants to place m in a pod and launch me into the space. You can just retrive the pod to free me. But, first get my family off Irk. That is my final order to you. Their safety matters heavily to me, and if you get the pod before they are out of Berk's reach, he will surely kill them.

Mosher hung his head in defeat. There was no convincing Nukus of any other way.

Mosher: Very well.sir.

Nukus: Good. Well then chaps, put on your good faces. We are the pawns of Berk for today.

Berk could be heard outside still chanting to the crowd. It was the time for Nukus to face the people.

Berk: And now, here he is! The one Irken you all have been waiting for! General Nukus!!

Mosher slowly exited the ship through the door that Berk had left through. Behind him Nukus followed and then Elrod behind him. The two crewmen were completely disguised in their Public guard uniforms. As soon as Nukus' feet hit the floor of the platform, the crowd began booing. He gave a sigh, and continued walking towards Berk. He turned and faced the crowd. The people that he had dedicated his life to serving now resented him. He felt alone and betrayed by the people. How could they be so fickle? But, he stood tall, accepting their hatred for him. It was not their fault; he had brought this upon himself for not being strong enough to kill Berk. He scanned the audience, having a glimmer of hope, and fear, that he would see his wife and daughter in the crowd. Berk raised his hands, calling for silence. The populace hushed quickly.

Berk: Nukus, you know the crimes placed against you. Now. How do you plead?

Berk had an insistent tone in his voice. He narrowed his eyes towards the general. Nukus stood silent for a moment. He knew what he had to say. But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Berk became rather annoyed.

Berk: The people await your answer..general.

Nukus felt defeated without a fight. He opened his mouth to finally eek out the word. He was interrupted by a small child's voice from the silent crowd.

Voice: He's innocent!

The crowd parted a bit, showing a young Irken female with blue eyes and short curly antennae. Next to the child was a taller female wearing a hood covering her head. She removed the hood and it was another female Irken, also with blue eyes and long curled antennae. It was Mora and little Zera. Berk showed a smile and chuckled a bit. He turned to Nukus who was riveted with happiness and fear.

Berk: Does the little one speak your answer?(The smile on his face grew even more fiendish.)

Nukus was caught at a dead end. Pleading innocent would result in the death of his family. Pleading guilty would only tarnish them more than they already were, and in public as well. But, it would save their lives.

Nukus: I plead..(He stared at his daughter. He muttered under his breath so no one could hear.)I pray for your forgiveness my child.(His now tall stance drooped and he hung his head. His voice grew louder now with his answer.)Guilty.

Berk: I didn't hear you quite well .

Nukus: Guilty. (He said it much louder now.)

Zera's face filled with shock. Nukus turned his head; he couldn't bear to look at her now.

Berk: You heard it straight from his mouth my people! Guilty as charged. We can now move to punishment!! ( Roaring with approval came from the fickle populace.)

The platform opened up, and rising from the hole appeared a pod, laying on a small rising launching mechanism. The path from the platform to Mora and Zera was still clear. Little Zera began to run towards the platform and towards her father.

Zera: Daddy!! Daddy!!!

Nukus looked up, seeing his daughter running towards the platform. He arms were outstretched and tears could be seen welling in her eyes. Guards in the crowd appeared and grabbed her. Nukus ran towards the edge of the platform but were stopped by Mosher and Elrod, playing their parts as guards. They were holding him back with all their strength. They desperately did not want to, but in order to keep their cover, they had to.

Nukus: Zera!! ZERA!!!

Mosher: (Whispering to Nukus as he is holding him.) We will get her general. You have my word.

With that, he stopped struggling and Mosher and Elrod brought him to the open pod. Berk had been watching with a large happy grin on his face, relishing Nukus' suffering. Nukus lied down in the pod, and Berk approached him.

Berk: Any last words?

Nukus: I will Kill you, even if it destroys me.

Berk: (Unaffected by the statement.) Goodbye General.

The pod closed. The firing mechanism positioned the pod upright, and within a few seconds it blasted off into space, followed by Berk's elite guard gunships.

***End wavy flashback sequence...of doom***

TO BE CONTINUED......