AN: Sorry for extremely short first chapter, but the rest will be longer, promise! It was also fairly violent...the rest will be better.
"Another murder," a female Irken mused. Her gloved hand brushed over the surface of the info pad she tightly clutched. Her bright pink eyes scanned over the screen, wide and worried, as if the killed was right behind her. That was only partly true, the killer was near her but in front, the killer would also never dream of hurting her.
The killer herself was an Irken as well, with black eyes and antennae which had the tips shredded into three fringes. She watched her friend with wary eyes, contemplating what to say.
"Yan!" the other suddenly yelled, snapping the killer out of her thoughts.
"Yeah?" Yan quickly said, trying to disguise the fact that she had been startled.
"I said, who do you think it is?"
"Oh, uh, I don't really know. Why do you care so much Yaya? They're just murders." Yan let her gaze drift to the table the two sat at. Yaya's mouth opened, but quickly shut. She guessed she should be used to this, Yan always had odd ideas and was especially touchy about the killer. The thoughts crossed her mind that Yan might be the killer herself, but she quickly dismissed the thought. Yan was odd, but not that crazy.
"Well, I think it's a Defective." Yan tensed and looked at Yaya. "Some people are saying it's some sort of rebel, but come on. You and I both know how crazy they are. Remember that incident with the birthing facilities? We're lucky we were born before that happened." Yan simply nodded and looked back at the table. The two were suddenly interrupted by a beeping noise. Yaya looked down at the info pad and sighed. "Break is over. Come on." She slid out of the booth they had been sitting in and Yan quickly followed. They then exited the restaurant, and entered the busy streets.
Irken training was hard, no one would object to that. Smeets would be trained almost immediately after hatching, and continue that training till maturity. Even then there would still be hardships. Soldier, there was war (there was always war). Pilot, still war. Tallest, leading the entire Empire. Even as a frycook you had to answer to the FryLord, and that was definitely not fun.
Yan and Yaya were ten years old (Irken years of course) so they had been allowed out of the underground facilities and now were beginning to branch out and decide what they were going to be. Of course, the Control Brains had a say in what they were, with all their assessments of abilities and personalities. Yaya had been told she would provide the most for the Empire as an Advisor or Pilot so she had gone with Pilot since it was "more exciting." Yan hadn't been told anything. She never had been. The Control Brains either ignored her, or had no connection with her because she was Defective. Yan was going to go with the latter.
The two finally reached their destination, a shipping bay. Every area of training was off planet. After all, how could you train so many Irkens on one planet? Each ship in the bay had a different destination, a different planet. Yaya's was of course with those aspiring to become pilots or navigators. She would probably be graduating to military training in a few years, since she wanted to fight in the armada (and pilot the Massive if she could).
The trainees gathered outside their designated ship before training began, to converse and what not, so Yaya waved goodbye to Yan and hurried off. Yan watched her go, but hung to the edge of the bay. Other trainees rushed past her, ignoring her for the most part. They all ran off to their group, but she stayed away from them all. She would have gladly joined them, but she just couldn't. She had somehow managed to slip out of the tight grasp of the Control Brains after they had been let out of the underground area so she wouldn't be missed. That was good, since as soon as Yaya left, Yan's secret life began.
The training ship's engines started up, creating a loud noise that shook the entire bay. No one seemed to notice beyond knowing that training was beginning. The trainees made their way into the ships, quieting down and trying to look as organized as possible. Yan turned and began to leave, not wanting anyone to wander by and see her. Of course, as she made her way into the deeper cities of Irk she would have to be careful. She was short compared to the adults. It was because of her age, but they wouldn't know that, and since all Irkens her age should have been in training they wouldn't expect it. Any Irken that short didn't receive any respect, that was just how the system worked, and they also usually were picked on by those who were wouldn't expect any less, and even though she could easily beat someone in a fight it was best for one to not break out on the streets. It would bring to much attention to her, and her PAK.
As Yan reached one of the more busy cities on the home planet, she was careful to keep her antennae and head low. She walked close to the edge of the streets, dodging those she could and not stopping when she couldn't. She had somewhere to be, and she couldn't be stopped for a fight or even to apologize. She eventually made it to the more abandoned area of the city, where aliens who were anything but Irkens slithered around and eyed any intruder with an accusing eye, as if it was their fault they were forced to live here instead of their home planet. Yan had come here many times, so they mostly ignored her.
She reached an alley between two run down buildings, with wires that had once been sparking with life and information running down the sides, only occasionally sparking. She went in, running a hand over the wall as she did. She smiled as she approached a curled up figure.
"Have any luck recruiting?" she asked. The figure sat up and looked at her. It's eyes, obviously meant for brighter areas, blinked in the darkness. Yan reached to the wall and pressed a small button. A light, which had been hooked up to the button by small wires that somehow still functioned, blinked on. The creature she had spoken to was revealed, a Vortian. He had light blue skin, a trait rare among the species as they usually possessed purple. He also had green eyes but they were hide by goggles that were a bit too large for his head.
"No," the Vortian said, shrugging. "Everyone around here is too scared for something like this." Yan eyed the flag pinned on one of the alley walls. A typical Irken flag, black with the Irken insignia in red. The red symbol had been crossed out with black paint.
"Well, you're taking on the Empire. No one's going to be raising their hand instantly. Did you get my...?" The Vortian sighed and nodded. He reached behind him and drew out a small black and red computer chip. Yan eagerly reached over and grabbed it. "This'll slow it down?" she asked, fingering the circuitry.
"Yeah," the Vortian replied, "but I don't know why you don't just let it happen. I think it would be better than living like you do."
"I'm not dying yet," Yan growled, looked at the Vortian with narrowed eyes. "You know I'm not ready."
"Fine," the Vortian sighed, "Do you want me to install it for you?"
"Duh," Yan said, her smile returning. She sat down and turned so her back was to the Vortian. She handed the chip back to him. "And hurry up with it."
"Hey, it's kind of hard to do anything with one hand." The Vortian clicked a button on Yan's PAK and it slid open to reveal the mechanics.
"You said it would grow back," Yan said, rolling her eyes.
"It will, but it takes a long time. Operation Impending Doom is going to be over before your damage is healed. Yan turned her head to see his left hand, where the hand had been cut off at the wrist. He was installing the chip with just his right.
"I already said I was sorry," Yan mumbled, "It's sort of your fault too. You don't sneak up on someone from a dark alley and try to grab them, especially when you've never met before. It was a defensive reflex."
It was the Vortian's turn to roll his eyes. "Cutting someone's hand off with a sword isn't a reflex."
"Yes it is. It's mine."
"Whatever. I'm done."
"What?"
"With the chip. It's installed now. It should seal up the crack for a while."
"Could I see?" Yan asked tentatively. The Vortian sighed.
"All right." He grabbed the metal semi-circle and pulled. There was a loud zapping noise followed by a sucking noise as the PAK was pried free. The wires that attached it to Yan's spine slithered into the PAK. The Vortian shuddered as he eyed the PAK's back, which was practically drenched in Yan's green blood. "Remind me again why yours is so disgusting," he said.
"It was put on wrong, that's why I'm a Defective, remember?" Yan turned around and took her PAK from the Vortian.
"It's still gross." The Vortian watched as Yan placed the PAK on the ground and reopened it. Mechanics blinked back at her. Each one had a slight green tinge, and the Vortian guessed she hadn't gotten all the blood off when she had cleaned it last. Yan reached in, fearless of the blood, and moved wires around till the she got to the back. There was the new chip, it sat at the very back, glowing dim red. Yan ran a hand over it then lifted her head to the Vortian.
"Will it stop all of it?" she asked.
"Maybe not all," the Vortian admitted, "but it will slow down the stream. It will break as soon as it gets too wet though, and that might make it all worse."
"Good enough," Yan said. She closed the PAK and held it out for the Vortian to reattach. She then turned and waited till the life clock slowly ticcking away in her brain stopped and reset. "Thanks," she said, standing. "I've gotta go now." She hurried to leave the alley but before she could she was stopped by the Vortian's voice.
"You don't have to do it again. You don't have to give in to the urge."
"Yes I do," was Yan's reply. "If I don't do it out of my own will, then I'll end up hurting my friends. I told you I've sworn not to, so I have to stand by that swear." She turned her head and looked at the Vortian. Her black eyes, he noticed, were beginning to lose the shine and become almost dull. He realized suddenly that it wasn't fatigue or sadness, but pure insanity burning behind those eyes. "I'll see you tomorrow," was all she said before running off.
AN: So hopefully you enjoyed this chapter more. I wanted to try and show you what Yan's social life is like, in the next chapter we'll get into her REAL secret life. Oh, and the Vortian (in case you didn't know) is Lard Nar. He just hasn't told Yan his name yet XD