Cyan blue eyes attentively stared at monitors, periodically shifting to the cold blackness outside the window. A healthy twelve hours passed before a sound broke the silence. Then, without warning, control panel indicators beeped, indicating something near. The blue eyes shot to the window, and in another second, the robot was running out the cockpit door, towards the residential hallway.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"We're here!"

The door swished open long enough for Ruza's tousled head of red hair to emerge from the covers. "Go away!" she screamed, chucking a pillow at Gir's head.

He dodged it and continued down the hall. He poked his head into the second doorway. "We're here!"

"Get out! Get out of the room of Zim!"

Another crash. This continued until everyone had been dragged to the cockpit and were staring into the distance, not yet comprehending their arrival.

"Hey," Zim pointed, as if he just now saw the sizable cluster of fuchsia ships. "We are here."

"Wait," Ruza chuckled uneasily. "...We're going up against that?"

"...Well," Dwicky attempted to rationalize the situation. "You...not all of them..."

"How are we going to steal his Cruiser back without being seen by 'all of them'?" Hannah challenged.

"We'll figure it out when we get there, okay?!" He snapped. "For now, everyone remember our plan."

While the others were talking, Dib subtly edged toward the entrance, and slipped surreptitiously out.

"I remember our months of lessons about space," Ruza shook her head. "But the only thing I remember about our plan was it involved a cloaking device."

"Right!" The counselor pointed, beaming. "This ship has a cloaking device. With all the Armada ships out there, another signature won't be noticed: not if we encode it so it looks like one of theirs. Then, we just dock on the Massive, re-confiscate Zim's ship, and get the heck out!"

"What if they're suspicious of why one of their ships is docking without clearance?" Hannah questioned.

"...Augh. Do you have to undermine everything I say?"

"No, Dwicky! I'm trying to make sure we don't get blown to pieces!"

"You want to make the plans?" He shoved a stack of sketched, playbook-esque diagrams against her chest. Her arms flew up to catch them. "Make the plans! Great Earth, Hannah, you're impossible, all of the time!" He stormed out of the room.


Dib sat and rolled his chair up to the monitor in his room. He didn't have much time before the Armada would sense their presence and probably capture them of their own volition. But if Dib had something to offer in return when they sent a transmission- if they sent a transmission- the humans would stand a small, slightly better chance of escaping. It didn't matter if they called or not: he was taking care of the problem right now. He'd make them an offer they couldn't refuse- even being leaders of an alien dictatorship who didn't negotiate. Because that was just how freaking awesome Dib was.

The others wouldn't see it coming, but they would thank him. Dib watched the Irken insignia appear on his screen, and marveled at the fact that he'd actually gotten through. A satisfied, even conniving, grin spread across his face. Get ready to pay for everything, Zim.


Lard Nar breathed deeply and exhaled, observing the Resisty's flagship bridge. "It's a good day to be a rebel, isn't it, Smack?"

"Yes, sir..." The Paetin responded. His eyes, however, were on the distant armada. "...They look powerful, don't they?"

Snork, a Vortian and the Resisty's second-in-command, gave him a borderline wary look. "What are you on about now, huh? Today's the day we stop them! Look around you, if you have the neck muscles: we're surrounded by fighters at least ten times their strength."

"I know that," Smack replied quietly. "I was just saying-"

"You're not honestly rethinking now of all times? Third in command, rethinking? Today?" Snork couldn't decide if he wanted to laugh or possibly strangle his inferior.

"Of course not!" The other returned, more heatedly. The pair started to attract a few glances from the rest of the bridge workers. Smack impulsively brushed some unseen dirt from the front of his uniform. "You know my allegiance is unwavering. There's a difference between concern and lack of conviction, Snork."

"There's also a difference between allegiance and compliance," Lard Nar returned pointedly, slowly, allowing an uncomfortable silence to pervade the air before continuing, raising his voice to address the bridge. "Now! We're going in, everyone! We're going to cripple their flagship the way we should have done years ago! I want the siege team at the ready, I want the raid team prepared to breach the pods, and the remaining insurgents, go where necessity demands! Everyone, to your posts- let's go!"

The waiting population of the bridge flew into action. Papers printed, personal weapons strapped on, all while the pink tumor in the glass frame metastasized.

"Sir."

Lard Nar willingly kept his tone flat. "What now, Smack?"

"There's a Plookesian signature a few miles off, over..."

He was stopped by the degrading looks both Snork and Lard Nar cast down at him. The Commander gathered his sentiments, none of them friendly, for a few moments before speaking plainly. "...If you think we have time for more of your concerned, paranoid antics, you'd better leave my bridge, right now. I don't care if they get in the way, Smack," he cut the third off again as he opened his mouth. "I don't care if they blow up. I don't care if they're cloaked or if they're not- if we run into them, we're taking them out because this is more important than your little speeches about the value of life." His voice dropped an octave as he stared menacingly into Smack's triangular, red eyes. "Smack, your planet was taken over long ago, but you helped take it back from Flobee. Keep that in your mind today. For Paetin, and Vort: for all of them. We didn't take our worlds back for nothing: we're going to free the universe. Now go monitor the raid team so we don't all starve."

The Paetin stared back, hints of both defiance and intimidation etched in his face, before nodding and walking away.