Chapter 8: Soldiers of Doomsday
An air of excitement filled the Massive's hangar bay, as the throngs of spectators waited. Word had gotten around that a shuttle bearing the famed Invader Larb was arriving today, and thousands of off-duty soldiers, orderlies, and technicians had turned out to see him. A platoon of Elites stood apart from the eager onlookers, and within was a delegation of generals and bureaucrats. It was a small square of order in a sea of churning crowds. As it was, the grounds looked like someone had kicked an anthill.
The Invaders were at the back, standing against the wall leading to their barracks. Although they knew Larb better than anyone, none of them saw any reason to force themselves to the front; this was as much a ceremony of welcome as it was an informal rally for the masses. They had broken off into their cliques, huddling together conspiratorially, and were now waiting with all the rest. None of them had brought their SIR units with them; while none were as uncontrollable as GIR, this occasion simply did not warrant their presence, and so they had been left in the Invaders' quarters. Zim still had yet to see his friends' different SIRs, though he had heard so often about them.
Zim, Skoodge, Skutch, and Tenn stood closest to the door, directly behind the officers and their guards, though a press of spectators had slowly seeped in between the two groups. Tenn had suggested this so that they could be the first ones to greet Larb once all formalities had been dispensed with. Skutch leaned against the wall to Zim's left, while on his right Skoodge and Tenn were whispering to each other, their heads bent together and their eyes never leaving the block of officials before them. To the group's left were Invaders Spleen and Chin, standing apart from all others. Zim stared at the ever shifting mobs, his eyes flickering back and forth. "This is chaos," he stated bluntly, rousing Skutch from his nonchalant reverie.
"Oh come off it, Zim," he said amiably. "They're just excited to see the Hero of Vort." Zim shook his head with disgust.
"I am happy to see Larb, but this is folly," he spat. There was a thin perimeter of Grunts try to keep the mobs from pressing in and obstructing the landing area. Skutch eyed up the hangar, taking it all in for a moment. Then he leaned towards his friend, smiling slyly.
"So on a scale of one to ten," he teased "how jealous are you?"
Zim didn't even look away from the discord before him. "I merely wonder if all this pomp is necessary," he said curtly. Skutch laughed.
"So… a seven? Eight?" Zim turned to glower at his friend.
"Seven," he said with finality, eliciting further chuckles. The door groaned open to their right, drawing their gaze. Two Invaders stepped out and began to walk across them; dour Grapa and sad-eyed Flobee. As they walked by, Grapa's gaze flickered over to the two of them, who both inclined their heads to their fellow Invaders. He threw a salute and kept walking. He made his way over to Spleen and Chin, who stepped in to greet him and Flobee.
Craning his head to the right, Skutch waved for Skoodge and Tenn's attention. "Spot anything interesting?" he asked. The female Irken wrinkled her face, obviously not impressed with their findings. The portly Invader shook his head as well.
"I don't recognize any of these officials," Skoodge said hesitantly. Zim snorted.
"A delegation of unknowns. This sham is how they greet a hero such as Larb. Perhaps we should be glad we were spared this," he said.
"Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that," Tenn said, patting him on the shoulder.
"Try to be happy, for Larb at least," implored Skoodge. Zim bit back a biting retort when he saw the concern written on his friend's fat face. Get ahold of yourself, they're right, he told himself. You owe that to Larb. Once this folly is over, things will be better.
"You're right, I'm sorry" he sighed. His friends looked relieved, and Skutch rested a hand on his shoulder.
"Larb might love this sort of stuff, but he's always been there for us too," he said, his voice devoid of his usual jests. "And who knows? Maybe we'll all be getting recognized soon." Zim nodded at his words. Theories as to why they had been brought together were running wild among the Invaders, most of them being utter nonsense. Some fool was even saying that the Tallest were going to execute them all and start from scratch. That's comedy gold, right there, Zim thought with irritation. The fool had best hope I don't find their identity. He had been about to ask his comrades for the seventh time when Larb's ship would be arriving, when he noticed that the hubbub in the hangar had died down considerably. Looking up at the entrance, he could see why.
The ship carrying Larb had arrived. It was a Herald-class shuttle, a sleek, blade-like ship designed for carrying important personnel and keeping them as comfortable as possible. It was 40 meters long, and sloped downward at the end so the pilots could see. Painted in red on the nose was the stylized Irken face that served as the insignia for the Empire. The rest of its hull was a subdued purple in color. A single laser turret sat on top of it, and at its rear was a bank of six thrusters, rotating slightly to compensate for any number of factors.
As the shuttle alighted down upon the floor in the middle of the bay, Tenn leaned in towards Zim. "The Tallest should've been here by now, right?" she asked incredulously. He shrugged.
"I would have thought so. At the very least the Supreme Commander should be here, like he was for us," he said slowly. What are they playing at?
"Maybe they were satisfied with putting on this 'folly' for him," Skutch offered. The others didn't laugh, and even Skutch's voice sounded strained. You've got us all on the edge of our seats, Larb, Zim realized. The voice of the crowd had fallen almost silent, and he noted that the other groups of Invaders seemed utterly absorbed in the landing shuttle as well.
Four thickset landing claws slid forth from inside the shuttle, and it gently landed, propped up on the four metallic legs. A door on the side of the hull slid open, and slowly a ramp descended. With a clang it hit the floor and stopped. All eyes were on the shuttle, or on the various viewscreens around the hangar.
And then Larb stepped out of the shuttle.
The crowd roared to life immediately, screaming its approval with thousands of lungs. Zim's eyes drifted up to a viewscreen, where he saw Larb's face break into a massive smile as he waved to the onlookers. Larb does indeed love being the hero, he thought. He noted that the other Invaders were applauding, but all of them were more reserved in their celebration than the crowds all around them.
The atmosphere of the hangar brought his mind back to his early days, to the massive military rallies on Devastis during his training, and upon Irk in the days leading up to Impending Doom One. Thousands upon thousands of Irken troops of all stripes had crowded the streets for the Tallests' latest speech; Grunts behaving much like the mobs present here on the Massive, bellowing Elites beating and cutting themselves in their fury, and at the forefront the Invaders, a silent detachment of the deadliest soldiers in the Empire. He had stood there side by side with his friends and all the others, his head held high with pride in his race and his leaders. It had taken all his willpower not to scream to the heavens and prostrate himself before the Tallest on that day.
As the hero proceeded down the ramp of his shuttle, the block of officials walked out to the cleared area to meet him. Larb shook hands with the generals and bureaucrats, smiling and chatting amiably. The crowd's cheers had died down a bit, being replaced with the dull roar of a thousand conversations. Some were dispersing, back to their stations or quarters or some other part of the ship.
Skutch punched Zim lightly on the shoulder, saying "Now was that so bad?" Skoodge and Tenn chuckled at how embarrassed Zim looked.
"I am happy for Larb!" he insisted. "Still, it could have been better," he added. Skutch held up his hands in mock exasperation as Tenn and Skoodge continued to laugh.
"Come on, let's see if we can talk to him now," offered Skoodge, and they started forward. The crowd had indeed thinned out before the delegation.
They barely made it ten steps when a large set of double doors to their right shot open. The sound of marching could be heard, and five Elites stepped over the threshold in lockstep, their rifles pointed upwards. A second rank was right behind them, and the crowd's background noise now buzzed with confusion. Zim gaped at the sigil emblazoned on their chests; the Irken insignia, split half red and half purple. He vaguely heard gasps from some of the onlookers as the same realization dawned upon them.
He heard Tenn say "Shit," as the Tallest floated in behind the fifth rank of Elites.
"I think we m-" Skutch started to say, but the ecstatic screaming of the spectators, far louder than they had been for Larb, cut off the rest of his sentence. Behind the Tallest was a stream of Elites, none of whom were bearing their personal sign, rushing all around to hold back the press of onlookers. The adoring crewmen didn't seem to mind as they continued to cheer wildly for the twin leaders of the Irken Empire.
As they floated towards Larb and the other delegates, acknowledging and waving to their subordinates as they went, Tallest Red's gaze fell on Zim. The Invader's heart leapt into his mouth as he threw the sharpest salute of his life. A ghost of a smile passed over Red's face, and he raised one of his armored hands in greetings before looking away. Zim was stupefied.
He felt someone elbow him in his side and he looked down to see Tenn beaming up at him. Over her shoulder he saw Skoodge nodding sagely. "I told you everything would be alright with them," he said. Skutch stepped between him and Tenn, throwing his arms around their shoulders.
"You know, if we hurry," he said jokingly, "we can get out before they start talking."
Tallest Red's voice boomed out across the hangar, amplified through speakers throughout the bay. "My loyal-"
"And good looking!" cut in Tallest Purple.
"-crew," finished Red, over the canned laughter of the spectators. "Today, one of the Empire's finest sons has returned to us on the Massive."
"The Empire thanks you for your service throughout the years of Operation Impending Doom Two," said Purple. He held up a single talon, as if in warning, and continued. "But this is far from over." Indeed, thought Zim.
"Indeed," said Red. "But we are winning. We have smashed the fleets placed before our mighty Armada, and we will continue to do so!"
"You are the crew of the deadliest ship in the mightiest fleet in the galaxy," said Purple, and the crew cheered for a moment. "Do your duty, and we shall take our place as the masters of the Milky Way."
Red raised a hand, palm facing upwards "Soon we leave Lortak. Once more we fly to battle, and to crush the enemy," he finished, clenching his gauntlets into a fist. Good, he thought grimly. A chance for glory, by Irk.
"The path has been set," said Purple, and Red nodded in accord. The crowd cheered, and the Tallest smiled and waved. Once more the crowds began to disperse. Zim looked over at Skutch, and raised an incredulous eyebrow.
"Now was that so bad?" he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Skutch laughed.
"They're usually long winded, bombastic things," he said. He nodded towards the Tallest, who were now conversing with Larb. "What do you suppose they're saying to him?"
"No way of telling," said Zim, though he would have given a great deal to know. So he and his friends stood by, waiting. The Tallest soon turned and floated away, taking their procession with them. By this time, most of the crowd was gone, and although scores of Irkens were still idling about, the relative quiet was oddly relaxing.
Larb looked away from the departing Tallest, and his gaze fell upon the four of them. For a second he looked stunned, and then he broke into a run, as did they. Laughing with joy the five of them all embraced and started talking at the same time until the Larb raised his hands, asking them for quiet. Zim noticed that he stood perhaps a couple inches taller than himself. Larb's face was as plain as the day Zim had met him, but his eyes seemed to hold a great weight behind them.
"It's so good to see you all," he said as they settled down, with the same massive smile that he had worn when the crowds were cheering for him. "It's been too long," he said wistfully.
"Likewise," said Zim. The others voiced their affirmation. "So, how was Galastrix?"
"It was nothing out of the ordinary," he said, although there was something in his eyes that Zim couldn't identify. "I was attached to some crazy Elites, and we helped take the Royal Palace's gates before being relieved. Then I came back here."
Skutch and Tenn began to ask him details of the engagements, but Zim didn't hear any of it, as his mind furiously combed over his friend's words. Came back here. Not called, but came back. I wonder…
"Larb, I don't suppose you know why we are here?" he asked. The others stopped and looked at him.
The newly arrived Invader hesitated, and said "I can't say." Tenn shifted uncomfortably, Skutch raised an eyebrow, and Skoodge was looking back and forth at all of them, as though he was seeking guidance on what to do. Zim just stared levelly at Larb, arms crossed, before speaking up again.
"What did the Tallest say to you?" he asked. Larb sighed, and his smile melted off his face.
"I can't say," he said sadly. Zim's jaw tightened. Skutch cleared his throat.
"Well do you know when we might find out?" he asked. Skoodge nodded, curiosity written on his pudgy features. Larb's relief was palpable.
"Tomorrow. You'll find out tomorrow," he said. "I'm… I'm sorry. But I can't tell you anymore. The Tallest…" he broke off, and looked utterly helpless, before Tenn stepped in.
Placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, she said "It's okay Larb, we understand." As she said this she turned and her gaze fell squarely on Zim. Her face didn't betray any emotions, but the look was all he needed. Get over yourself, it screamed. He nodded.
Skoodge was smiling again, gesturing back towards the Invaders' barracks. "Come on, guys. Let's show Larb to his quarters," he said excitedly. The others agreed, but Larb hesitated once again.
"I have to… the Tallest want to see me," he said softly. Once again, Zim exchanged glances with the others. Skoodge looked disappointed and Tenn was perplexed, but Skutch looked resigned. He gave Larb a clap on the back and jerked a thumb towards the large double doors the Tallest had come and gone through.
"Well, there's nothing for it. Better not keep them waiting," he said. "We'll see you when things are done, yeah?" Larb smiled sadly, gratitude written plainly on his plain face.
"Yeah, that'll be nice," he said. He sounded exhausted. "Thanks guys. I'm really sorry about…"
"Don't worry about it," Zim interrupted. It's only a secret for one day, just move on, he thought. "We're happy for you. You're a hero to the Empire."
"Yeah," Skoodge added. "If it's top secret, maybe we don't want to know. You might have to kill us." He smiled at his weak attempt at humor.
"Anyways," said Tenn, "you should get going. We'll see you at the barracks."
"Alright, that sounds nice," said Larb as he walked off. He turned and waved to his four stalwart friends, who waved back, and silently watched him head off to report to the Almighty Tallest. It was Tenn who spoke first, and the female Invader's voice was fraught with concern.
"He seems so worn out," she said. "It's like he's walking to his own execution." Zim felt a chill pass down his spine, and shook his head. Skutch and Skoodge remained silent, lost in thought, so he filled the void with his thoughts.
"He does not like having to keep this from us, that much is obvious," he said. "What is curious is what they specifically need him for when all the Invaders are present." Skoodge looked up.
"Larb is skilled, and known to the people of the Empire," he offered. The others nodded, but Zim was still thinking.
"He was deployed onto a battlefield, the same as the rest of you."
"That he was," said Skutch, his eyes lighting up. "Even Larb wasn't spared the menial assignments." Tenn cut in.
"You think he knows why we are being assigned so," she said, looking at Zim. It was not a question. He nodded grimly.
"And he knows what the future holds for us Invaders," he said. "We must hope it is better than such poor uses of our skills." He glanced around the hangar bay, and said, "Come, we should go."
The others followed, but nothing was said between them as they retired, and indeed Zim barely registered that the others had split up to go to their rooms. He entered his small room of white and red to find GIR sleeping on his bed, curled up in a ball at the base. Shucking off his uniform until he was wearing naught but the black bodysuit beneath it, he pulled the covers over him from under GIR. The little robot gave an extravagant yawn before rolling off the bed. He hit the floor with a mighty clang. Zim peered over to find that he was somehow still asleep in spite of the impact.
Shaking his head in disbelief, Zim closed his eyes, and after a few hours of suppressing his paranoid thoughts about the next day's revelations, drifted off into sleep.
The next day had come, and true to Larb's words the Invaders had been summoned en masse to the Tallests' war room. Sitting above the bridge, the war room was dimly lit, and few ever got to see it. Such were the privileges one got for being the best of the best. A massive holographic table sat in the middle. It wasn't currently operating, but Zim could guess that it bore an immensely detailed map of the galaxy down to a planetary level. The seats the Invaders were occupying were arranged like the skool's lecture hall, with terraced rows of seats, although it wasn't as large as that dusty old place. He and his friends had taken their seats on the left side in the second row. He fidgeted as GIR climbed over and through his and his friends' legs. Skutch was amused to no end by the defective robot and Skoodge just grinned and bore it, though Tenn was beginning to look annoyed. His friends had brought their SIRs with them as well, and he found himself sizing them up a great deal.
Tenn's unit was a heavily-modified, vicious little thing that she had nicknamed RAZE. Where GIR was cylindrical and rounded, RAZE was triangular and sharp. His body was whip thin, and his fingers tapered into needle-like points. The SIR's elbows had short, vicious spines emerging from them, and hiss feet bore two talons. GIR's head was a flat topped cylinder, but RAZE's head sloped back and into yet another blade. RAZE was also the only one of the three others who had a mouth rather than a simple vocabulator. His highlights were in fiery orange, and his narrowed eyes glared at the denizens of the war room as he squatted at the female Invader's feet.
Skutch called his unit CRAG, which was a rather fitting name in Zim's eyes. He was tall for a SIR, coming up to Zim's waist, and was very solidly built. He was far bulkier than RAZE or GIRl; a human might have said he was a 'brick house'. His highlights were a very dark green, like the leaves of a forest. He stood motionless by Skutch, though his eyes were wide open, and seemed to be analyzing every Invader as they entered the war room.
Skoodge's SIR was called CHIPZ and he was the most normal of the bunch. His torso was slightly thicker than GIR's, and he only had two clamp-like fingers, but he appeared to be standard apart from that. His highlights were light maroon, and his wide eyes gazed about the room with curiosity.
The friends were quiet today, as were most of the other Invaders. Whispers could be heard here and there, but most were absorbed in their thoughts as they pondered why they had all been called back together. Finally, Skoodge leaned over and asked the question that had been nagging them all. "Where's Larb?"
"Might be that he's just running a little late," said Skutch. The normally carefree Invader was affecting a bored tone, but Zim could see how tense his muscles were. He had also worn a holstered blaster pistol to the war room. Tenn was similarly armed, and was wearing her brace of knives to boot. Surely they don't think the Tallest mean us harm? Zim wasn't so sure with the way they were holding themselves today. Damnation, I should have come armed as well.
"There is little chance of that," said Zim. Skutch sighed.
"I know that, Zim," he said. Tenn and Skoodge turned to regard them.
"He knows why we're here. He's definitely going to be with the Tallest when this starts," the female Invader said. Skoodge looked uneasy. At the corner of Zim's vision, GIR was staring at RAZE, who ignored him. The defective SIR's awkward posture showed how little experience he had with his own kind.
"Well, that's probably good for him," he said, his optimism shining through the tense atmosphere of the war room.
Zim ignored him and looked at his fellow Invaders. Counting his comrades, there were twenty two of them in total. They were in there casual uniforms today; red uniforms with pink collars and sleeves, and black pants. Their PAKs were all modified to a degree, and no two were the same. Despite being out of their combat gear, he noticed that over half of them were armed like Skutch and Tenn. Grapa and his clique were seated on the opposite side of the first row of seats. Despite Chin's superior height over him, and all the other Invaders for that matter, Grapa was clearly the leader of the group, who sat around him and hung on his every word. Other groups were seated here and there; El, Zee and Gooch reclined near the back, Kim fidgeted next to Slacks and Nen, and Krunk and Groot furiously whispered to one another.
The largest band consisted of Tim, Koot, Skoo, Pesto, Sklud and Slant. The six had cockily placed themselves in the front and center of the seating, although they had only earned it by arriving first. These six were the newest of the bunch; all the others had been Invaders before Impending Doom One, but these six had been selected to fill out the ranks as they dwindled in the years between that failure and Impending Doom Two. They had thus far failed to distinguish themselves in any way, but still acted as if they were the new breed of Invaders who would replace the old guard of Impending Doom One. Zim was not overly fond of his fellows from the old days, but he respected them. He had no such respect for the six upstarts.
Thinking of the gap in years brought a thought to the forefront of Zim's mind, which was churning with paranoid thoughts of what the Tallest could be planning. "Perhaps the Tallest plan to swell our ranks once more, like they did with them," he said, contemptuously flicking a finger in the direction of Tim, Koot, and the others. He realized that the others had been conversing without him, but they stopped to consider the interruption all the same.
"I had thought of that," Skutch admitted. "We've been really lucky, we haven't lost anybody, despite our class's… failure." The last word was still a bitter pill to swallow for the Invaders, but Skoodge picked up where the carefree Invader had left off.
"That might not be so bad," the portly Invader said. "Some new faces might be nice."
Tenn was about to speak when the doors slid open gracefully and silently, well maintained as they were. Every Invader in the room knew that, barring Larb, there were no more Invaders left to arrive. Apparently, all the others had reached the same conclusion as Zim and his friends, that Larb would be more involved in the briefing. As such, they all shot to their feet and threw a salute, right fist to left shoulder. It could only be the Tallest.
They were not mistaken.
The twin figures of the Almighty Tallest glided in like a pair of terrible deities. Red was deadly serious, his arms folded behind his back, while Purple bore an easygoing smile which in no way detracted from the unnerving aura surrounding them. The architects of the death of billions floated slowly before the holotable, Red on Zim's left and Purple on the right, and turned to regard the gathered Invaders, their finest killers. Such was the weight of the Tallests' presence that Zim barely registered the Supreme Commander on their heels.
What Zim did notice was Larb, walking almost abreast with Zark. A slight murmur spread throughout the Invaders, and he heard Tenn whisper "Oh, Irk help him." Red waved dismissively, and the Invaders sat down. Zark took his place behind the Tallest, to the left of Red, his arms folded across his chest. As ever, his face might have been carved from stone. Larb stood at his side. His awkward bearing gave Zim pause.
"He's not himself. He loves being the center of attention," he whispered. Skutch grunted, and Tenn's right hand began to stroke her throat, a habit of hers when she became worried. Skoodge was enraptured by his leaders' presence, and didn't seem to hear him. GIR was tugging on the bottom of his tunic, and Zim placed his left hand on the top of his head, warding off his question. "GIR, behave," he said out of the corner of his mouth. His minion's blue highlights flared red, and GIR actually sat down. Zim normally would have been shocked at this, but he was too focused on the coming briefing.
Tallest Purple broke the silence. "Invaders. You are the best of the best, the most superior specimens of our race, short of us. Long have you served as the advance scouts of our great Empire, risking your lives to infiltrate worlds before our advance so that they might fall all the easier once the Armada reaches them."
Red picked up. "You have been augmented to be the greatest warriors of the Armada, and are each able of taking down scores of the enemy with ease." That was a stinging reminder to Zim, for he had been absent when the Invaders had received their second augmentations. As it was, he languished with the impressive, albeit outdated Mark I Invader programs. "And recently, all of you proved it, with combat assignments across the battlefronts of Impending Doom Two." Zim's gaze flickered across his fellows, taking in their reactions. Even Skutch and Tenn seemed to take a grim pride in the menial missions they had been given in the interim. Assigning an Invader to routine combat was overkill, but they were damn proud of their performance in said overkill.
Purple resumed speaking. "These missions were not a proper use of your skills, and for that you have our sincerest apologies," he said, resting an armored hand on his chest, a look of genuine regret on his face. Zim's misgivings flooded out of him, and he harkened back to the days when he was excited to funnel reports back to the Massive, even if they were all about his failures. The Tallest know my worth, he thought. Things shall get better.
"You also have our apologies for the greatest failing of them all," said Red. "The Invader system."
The words hit the Invaders like a thunderbolt. Skutch's slouching posture went rigid as a board in an instant, Tenn's jaw dropped, and Skoodge mouthed the word "no" over and over. Zim couldn't believe his antennae. This isn't happening, he thought. This can't be happening. Dead silence reigned in the war room.
The Tallest looked about, taking in the shocked expressions of the Invaders. Zark stood unmoving, but his eyes were moving as well. They fell on Zim and when he met the Supreme Commander's gaze they lingered there, frustratingly vague. Curse your face of unreadableness, Zark! His patience was fraying, but he forced down the urge to stand up and scream.
Purple began to speak again, and twenty two heads snapped to lock their eyes on him. His arms were raised in a placating gesture, and his tone was easygoing. "That is not to say that you are failures, my faithful Invaders. But the old ways are flawed." Palpable relief swept through the room, but unease remained. What does that even mean?
Red answered the question thundering through Zim's mind, and likely the minds of all the others. "A single warrior, no matter how puissant, has little chance of bringing a world down on their own," he said. He shook his head sadly. "Such is the way we have squandered your talents. You have fought valiantly against impossible odds, and some of you have even triumphed."
Purple nodded, smiling. "Skoodge, Grapa, El, Slacks… and Larb," he said, turning to the lonely Invader standing beside Zark. He beckoned with a large bionic talon, and Larb walked forward to stand before them, facing his peers. He looked very nervous.
Red spare Larb a glance, and continued. "There are far better uses for soldiers of your caliber," he said. "No more shall you be given impossible missions, or menial combat runs. You shall be the hands of the Empire, just as Armada Intelligence is the eyes and ears." Despite the thick tension of the briefing, Skutch managed to scoff at that. There was no love lost between the Invaders and the spies of the Armada.
"Henceforth," said Purple, "you shall have the most dangerous, most difficult, most important missions of the Empire given to you, on and off the battlefield. You will be the armored fist of the Tallest, to destroy our enemies where all else fails." Zim's gut tightened. Yes, he thought. Skutch bore a feral smile, Skoodge's wide eyes were sparkling, and Tenn looked pleased as punch.
"And Larb," said Red, resting a massive gauntlet on the smaller Irken's shoulder, "is to be your new commander, answerable only to myself and Tallest Purple." Larb looked like he was going to be sick. No mention of Zark? Zim looked at the Supreme Commander, to see his reaction. He was indeed staring at the newly-christened Invader commander, perhaps a little coolly, but that was all. Right, he thought, forgot who I was talking about.
Purple was speaking again. "You shall be reorganized into teams and individual operatives. Also, we have combed over the Empire and have pulled together some new recruits who are ready for augmentation. They will be assigned accordingly."
"In two days' time, Larb shall have assignments ready for you all," finished Red. He looked about, taking in the Invaders and their excitement. "This war is the start of a new era," he said quietly. "A new era of purity and progress. You are the greatest assets we have in this war."
"Nothing can stop an Invader," said Purple. "Nothing can stop you. And with this terrible power that flows through your limbs, that beats in your hearts, and that lurks in your minds, we will conquer!" he shouted. Big, toothy grins broke out amongst the Invaders. Impossible, thought Zim even as pride surged through him. Invaders do not lose themselves like this.
"The filth of this galaxy shall be wiped clean, replaced by the glory and beauty of IRK!" shouted Red, floating towards the Invaders. The air seemed to crackle with building fury. Impossible, Zim thought. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw GIR stand up, his head cocked as he watched the speech of the Tallest.
Purple joined Red and glided towards the spectators. "This is our destiny! This is what we were born to do!" He swept a hand across his chest. "One by one, the inferior weaklings of the galaxy shall fall!" Zim heard ragged panting and was shocked to see Skoodge breathing hard, his eyes blazing. Tenn growled further on, and Skutch's hands, balled into fists, were shaking. Impossible, he thought dimly, as visions of glory leapt unbidden into his mind's eye. In a single moment he caught glimpses of himself fighting across a dozen battlefields, before one stuck with him.
The largest city upon Earth, New York, was aflame around him. Artillery pounded the skyscrapers, and he could hear fighting further on down the streets. In the center of the intersection lay the severed head of the green sentinel of the city, a maiden representing freedom. He stood atop it, and at his feet was the broken body of Dib. How or why he was there didn't occur to Zim, but he was laughing, with a foot upon the large-head's chest. The vision was intoxicating, and he felt his limbs burning with adrenaline.
"We shall pick up the pieces of these slain giants, these filthy realms of the other races, and we shall make the galaxy a better place!" roared Red. "A PLACE WHERE IRK RULES ALL!" he screamed, throwing his hands wide. Behind him, Zim saw Zark. The Supreme Commander's fists were clenched at his sides, and he was panting as hard as Skoodge, as though he was fighting for control of his body. He growled as Skutch gave a harsh laugh beside him. GIR was now smiling up at him.
"INVADERS OF IRK, ARE YOU WITH US?!" cried Purple, looming before the six upstarts in the front.
Zim's discipline broke at that moment, and he stood up, bellowing "Yes!" He saw Grapa, Groot, Spleen and others on their feet as well, adding their voices to his, and in seconds twenty two Irken voices were howling their affirmation of loyalty to the Tallest and the Empire. GIR was screaming incoherently at his feet, beating his chest, and RAZE threw his head back, giving a wordless howl in a harsh, metallic tone. He could see Larb's face behind the Tallest, lit up with terrified excitement.
"LOOK TO YOUR ARMS!" shouted Red, raising one hand to the sky. "LOOK TO YOUR COMRADES!" he cried, raising the other. "FOR IN THE COMING DAYS, BY IRK, SHALL THEY BE TESTED!" The Invaders gave another wild cheer. Impossible, said a voice at the back of Zim's head, but he roared with his peers all the same.
"GIRD YOURSELVES FOR GLORY! FOR WAR!" howled Purple, and the Invaders swore they would. Watching as the Invaders writhed amongst themselves, telling their companions of the great deeds awaiting them, he threw both arms out for quiet. His voice suddenly soft, he said, "The path has been set." He bowed his head slightly, and the Tallest turned for the door, with Zark and Larb following behind.
The Invaders' eyes lit up, and as their leaders took their leave, the war room once more was filled with twenty two voices, chattering of their glories yet to come.
Author's notes: Hurray for plot! Also, I gotta say, not writing bombastic speeches for the Tallest has been killing me, so hopefully this one is good. Also, once again my schedule slipped. I'm really sorry about the one month wait. All I can say is I hope I do better.
So yeah, now the Invaders are basically spec ops. It's sort of like how the Armada is now really fucking huge, because scale wise, I think this is a more realistic use of the 'most superior' soldiers in the Empire. Also, if you didn't catch it, the whole 'Mark I Invader' augmentation deal is why there's such a difference between Zim's performance against Dib, and why Larb's able to mow down tons of enemy soldiers. How will this get fixed? Will it? Keep reading :p
On CHIPZ. Incidentally, that's semi-canon. Skoodge was going to end up living with Zim and being his partner of sorts, but the show got cancelled before that could happen. Anyways, 'Chipz' was going to be the name of Skoodge's SIR unit when this happened, and he would presumably play off of GIR, but we don't know anything else. RAZE and CRAG are my own original designs though. And yeah, Chipz (and Tak's MiMi, come to mention it) weren't full acronyms in the script, but that's how I'm writing SIR names.
Also, on the Invaders. We have a canon list of all the Invader names, and some of you might note that I'm missing a few. For various reasons, I took them out. Either they're impossible to take seriously like Stink, Dooky, Poot, and Sneakyonfoota (seriously, what the fuck) or because they don't really strike me as Irken-y names, like Lardnar (not that you guys couldn't keep up with two, but Lard Nar is a bit important to have someone with the exact name) and Alexovich (it's nice he's named after someone on the team, but it's obviously a human name). So I took them out. There will be Invaders replacing them and more besides, though, as the Tallest noted.
Chapter title comes from the song "Soldiers of Doomsday" by Winds of Plague. It's a rather accurate summation of the Invaders, at least from the view of other races, in my opinion.
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