Tak tapped her fingers together nervously. The proposal was intriguing to the say the least. She sat at the table with Zim, Skoodge, Bob, Tenn and Sizz-lor, all Irken defectors and mostly ex-Invaders. They'd received several propositions like this one before and always denied them, but lately it was beginning to look like a good idea…
She shook her head. "What would Vem think of us now..?" She thought out loud. Zim growled. "True. Vem was our friend, even closer than that. I'm sure he'd be against the offer." He agreed. The others slowly nodded agreement. "Still," Sizz-lor ventured, "he's been dead awhile… a lot has changed in ten years." This put everyone back into deep thought.
Tak thought back to the debate with Dib and Gaz she had been apart of a few hours ago. Tak and Zim had explained about the offers and about the situation on Irk, but Dib and Gaz had surprisingly agreed on the matter: solve the problems on Earth first and don't negotiate with terrorists. Tak sighed. It wasn't terrorists they were dealing with though; it was a second empire attempting to bring back the glory days of strict rule, scientific advancement, and simple, straightforward society and government.
What was worse was the fact much of Earth's problems stemmed directly from the Irken Empire's collapse and their attempt to rise again. A lot of Irken Imperials hated to see the Tallest surrender and hated the SIR unit that was in charge of the planet. Above all they hated the embarrassment of losing and the pacifism. So, many of them took the defeat personally and moved to Earth to overthrow the planet that overthrew their empire.
Needless to say, Earth has never had a history of stability. The Battle for Earth was probably the only thing that brought the world to general peace and that only lasted a few years. Now was yet another eternal state of war in Man's history. So, what to do?
"I think we should pay Irk a visit." Tenn stated, "Just to hear them out, of course." Tak narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion. Tenn had been an Irken Invader for several years before getting a bad order of SIR units and having to be rescued by Zim and Skoodge. After that, the Tallest pretty much treated her as just another grunt, regardless of Invader status. Eventually, infuriated by the lack of respect and dignity given to her, she took Skoodge's offer to join the Resisty. Tak, probably out of a sense of either jealousy or catty, conflicting nature, always suspected Tenn of harboring desires of being a respected Irken militant. Her supremacist attitude she sometimes admitted didn't help either.
Before Tak could question her motives, Tenn's mate, Bob, spoke up in agreement. Tak rolled her eyes at the unsurprising gesture. The two had met up in the Resisty, as Tak had been told, in a typical lowly table-drone meets ex-Invader elitist sort of thing. Typical romance story. Ever since, they always seemed to agree on everything, much to Tak's chagrin.
"I say Tenn's got the right idea on this. Might as well hear them out, and I mean, it'd be nice to see our homeworld again." Bob explained. Tak and Zim looked up in surprise from their thoughts. Taking their kids to a war-torn planet? Then again, Earth was no better. Plus, they'd be guests and delegates, treated well and well-guarded.
The two shook their heads to clear out their simultaneous thought. "It's obvious they'd try to kill us if we disagree. It's too much of a tactical risk and we're too involved in the Earthling hierarchy." Tak stated. Skoodge shrugged. "I don't know… Might be nice. We don't even know these people that took power; they could be kind-hearted souls for all we know." He explained. Zim scratched his head. "Actually, I think it would do Diz and Vem good to show them the planet of our heritage… Earth can handle itself without us for a few days." He agreed.
Tak gaped at him. "Firstly, Vem is my son." She hissed and Zim cleared his throat nervously, "Secondly, this planet is in borderline anarchy! And thirdly and lastly, how would Dib and Gaz react to this? They'd freak out, Zim!" Zim narrowed his eyes at Tak. "Listen, Tak," he shot back, "it's only for a few weeks! Who are you to deny your son a chance to see your homeworld? To see our glorious heritage built there?"
Tak grew silent for a moment, her eyes still narrowed threateningly and filled with a slight tinge of disgust. "There is no glory there. Only a history of oppression and war and death." Zim shook his head. "And is this planet any different?" He asked quietly. Tak looked away from Zim and the room stayed silent.
After awhile Zim spoke up. "Alright, then we'll put it to a vote. All for visiting Irk and seeing what this new regime is like," raising his voice, he added, "with a proper contingent of bodyguards, of course, raise your hand." Skoodge, Sizz-lor, Zim, Bob and Tenn all raised their hands. "And all against?" Zim asked softly. Tak raised her hand and glared at Zim.
"Alright, we'll go. But we're only taking the kids if Dib and Gaz agree." She spat. Zim smirked and matched her glare. "Deal." Was the last word on the subject.
Chapter 3 Completed, please R&R
Well, sorry for the few-days wait and the short (exceptionally short) chapter; I've been hanging out with friends and having a hard time figuring out how this one should go. Eventually I decided it'd be short and kind of vague, just because people 'love' to be left in the dark and kept guessing.