A/N: Sorry for the wait on this one. I was hoping to get it out for either Christmas or New Year's, but then my grandfather died. Between having to fly out to LA for the memorial (it was supposed to be a cremation and ash-scattering, but California's got some weird laws on when you can do that), and the emotional gut punch from the whole thing, I didn't have the time or motivation to write. So, it took me a while to get back to this story.
Anyway, time for another big, important chapter, folks. First off, it's a big milestone — not only because it's where we hit the double-digits on the chapter count, but because with this chapter, we have surpassed 100,000 words in total. While this was already (by far) the longest story I've ever written, this raises me to a whole other tier. So, very exciting.
Furthermore, this chapter also helps further along the overall story arc for this season, not to mention bringing in the last core cast member (again, for this season at least). It'll still be awhile before we get any real momentum on all that, but this chapter will help set the stage for it.
I'm also proud to announce that The New Adventures of Invader Zim now has its own TV Tropes page! Go on, check it out and contribute, please.
Well, enough rambling and advertising. On with the show!
Last time, on The New Adventures of Invader Zim: Dib experimented with a spell that allowed him to enter the dreams of others, using it on his team and enemies. At least until Norlock forced him to realize that what he was doing was immoral, thus making him abandon his use of the spell.
But enough about that. Now we turn our gaze elsewhere in the universe, to the activities of other Irkens.
Disclaimer: The canon characters belong to Jhonen Vasquez, Nickelodeon, and Oni Press. The OCs and the plot are all I own.
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The New Adventures of Invader Zim
Season 1
Episode 10: Tenn's Mission of Doom
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The Massive drifted through space, surrounded by the other ships of the Armada. Onboard the planetoid-sized ship, the Tallest sat stretched out on their reclining thrones, staring out at the empty expanse of space visible through the bridge's viewscreen. It had been a while since they'd had anything to do, as no Invaders had completed their conquests and necessitated an Organic Sweep since Invader Slacks had finally conquered the Large-Nostrilled People of Boodie-Nen several weeks earlier, and they'd converted the planet into a fueling station.
"I'm bored," Purple moaned.
"I heard you the first ten times," Red snapped, glaring at his co-leader.
"But there's nothing going on!" Purple continued to whine, "There's nothing to blow up, no Invaders have checked in lately… I think I'd even settle for one of Zim's stupid messages."
"Are you serious?" Red asked, suddenly concerned for Purple's mental state.
"Hey, if nothing else, they're usually good for a laugh," Purple responded with a shrug, "Especially those times when he blows himself up by accident."
Red laughed at that. "Okay, yeah, I'll admit sometimes we can wring something worthwhile out of that annoying little Defect. Especially ever since we agreed to this whole set up with Tak. The way his face stretches out when he's yelling about her is hilarious."
"Except when he starts screeching," Purple said.
"Well, obviously," Red commented with an eye roll, "That would be annoying even if it wasn't Zim."
The conversation lulled there for a moment, as a Table-Headed Service Drone brought them a fresh round of snacks. As they stuffed their faces, Red paused, scratching at his chin in thought.
"Hmm, you know what? Maybe we can use Zim to liven things up a bit around here," he said after a moment.
"Whaddya mean?" Purple asked, around a mouthful of cheese fries.
"Since he's always so eager to please, I say we call him up, give him some bogus assignment that's bound to cause him pain, and make him record the whole thing for us," Red explained.
"Ha, I love it!" Purple said, "Ooh! How about we send him to Sylvestra and tell him to try and capture a Snarl Beast?"
"Hmm, that could work. Let's go with it," Red said, nodding in agreement, before turning to a nearby technician, "Establish a connection with Zim's base on Earth."
"Yes, my Tallest," the technician replied, before fiddling with the controls on his console. A moment later, the viewscreen switched to static, before resolving into the image of one of Zim's labs.
"Zim! We have an important mission that only you-"
"He's not here," a familiar voice cut Red off. Both Tallest blinked in surprise, before actually registering the image on the screen. Zim was, in fact, nowhere to be seen, the only person visible being Norlock, who was standing off to the side, more focus on examining one of the containment tubes than on the Tallest.
"Where is he?" Red asked, mood souring at his fun being so abruptly preempted.
"He left on his ship saying something about a 'space mall'," Norlock said, still inspecting the tube, but pausing for a moment to actually look at the screen and arch an eyebrow, "Is that really a thing, by the way?"
"Of course it is," Purple said, "Where else are people supposed to get military-grade weapons at a discount?"
"…Of course, how foolish of me not to realize that," Norlock replied dryly, turning back to what had previously been holding his attention, "By the way, do you know if Zim is still using this guy for anything?"
The person in question that Norlock was referencing was the young boy floating in the containment tube. While the kid probably had other features of note, the only things anyone looking really noticed was A) the disturbingly large smile on his face and B) the large drill-like object, topped with a smiley face, sticking out of his skull. Those were kind of hard to overlook.
"I'm… So… Happy!" the kid exclaimed, whole face twitching while the implant in his skull sparked.
"Ugh, never mind, that's too freaky," Norlock muttered, before turning back fully to the Tallest, "Anyway, did you want Zim for something?"
"Meh, it's not important," Purple said dismissively, grabbing another handful of fries, "We were just going to send him off on a dangerous snipe hunt and laugh while he was getting hurt on it."
Norlock's eyebrows shot up at that. He stared at the Tallest for a moment, before shaking his head in disgust.
"Really? I thought, given your willingness to go along with this competitive set up with Tak, that you'd start appreciating Zim's talent a bit more," he commented.
"We appreciate that he's good for a laugh," Purple said, stuffing his mouth.
"Look, we agreed to let Zim and Tak fight each other for control of Earth because we thought it'd be entertaining," Red said, sipping at a soda, "That doesn't mean we have to like him."
"Hmph," Norlock muttered noncommittally, "Still, if nothing else, I figured you'd give him a little bit of leeway after he found that Meekrob ship."
As soon as he finished that sentence, Norlock was surprised by the reaction it elicited from both Tallest. Purple began choking on his mouthful of fries, while Red spat out his soda hard enough that it sprayed all over the viewscreen.
"WHAT?!" Red screamed as he regained his breath, while Purple continued to sputter, "What Meekrob ship?!"
"The one he found buried in some mountains near here a couple of weeks ago," Norlock replied, confused, "Did you not know about that? Given how excited he was about it, I would have thought he'd told you."
"He was going to," the Computer chimed in, "But then he decided that since the ship blew up without him getting anything from it, he'd be wasting the Tallest's time, and they would be disappointed in him, so he didn't make the report."
"Still, wouldn't Tak at least… oh, no, wait, she'd probably be operating under the same logic, wouldn't she?" Norlock mused.
"I'd assume so," the Computer replied.
"Oh, that figures," Red muttered angrily, "The one time there's actually something interesting to hear from that mud ball, and neither of those two bother to report it."
"How could they not report something like this?!" Purple shrieked, causing several nearby technicians to wince at the volume, "This is huge! We've never been able to get ahold of Meekrob technology before, and Zim and what's-her-face blow it up without getting any of it? That's just freaking great!"
"Calm down before bust your 'spooch," Red said, rolling his eyes.
"If you're so interested in this technology, why don't you just go to the source?" Norlock asked, "I mean, infiltrating and invading planets seems to be your species' whole thing. Just send an Invader to wherever the Meekrob are from and have them grab some tech for you?"
"We already tried that," Purple said, "We sent Invader Tenn to Meekrob, but, uh, we're pretty sure she's dead."
"Pretty sure?" Norlock asked, eyebrow arched in confusion.
"Yeah, funny story," Red laughed awkwardly, "There was a shipping mistake, and a bunch of defective SIR units we meant for Zim went to her instead. Last we saw of her, they were blowing up her base."
"And you haven't been able to get in touch with her since?"
Norlock's question was greeted by total silence, as the Tallest sat there, staring at him. As this dragged on for several minutes, Norlock was sure he could here a cricket chirping somewhere.
"Have… have you even tried to contact her since then?" Norlock asked, hesitantly.
"Er, have we?" Purple asked, turning to Red.
"Why would we?" Red countered, "We saw her base getting blown up, why shouldn't we have just assumed she was dead?"
"Still, that's just lazy," Norlock said, "Would it have really been that hard to call every now and then?"
"What are you, her caretaker?" Red snapped, irritated at being called out on this. He sulked for a moment, before saying, "Well, okay, maybe you've got a point. If nothing else, we really should try and figure out what a Meekrob ship was doing on a backwater dump like Earth."
"There you go. Be proactive," Norlock said, "Speaking of which, I suppose I'll have to find my meal elsewhere. Good night."
With that, Norlock turned away, and the viewscreen went to static for a moment, before returning to the exterior view of the ship.
"You know, that guy's good for a laugh, but he's just so damn smug," Purple muttered sourly.
Red didn't voice his agreement, but instead turned to the same technician and said, "You! Try and establish contact with Invader Tenn on planet Meekrob."
"Yes, my Tallest," the technician replied, "It might take some time, but if we can lock onto the source of the distress beacon-"
"What distress beacon?" Red asked, blinking.
"T-the one we've been getting from Meekrob for the past year, my Tallest," the technician said, surprised.
"What? Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?!" Purple demanded.
"My Tallest, I told you about it when we first detected it, and have been reminding you for months," the technician protested, "You kept telling me you were busy and it could wait."
The Tallest stared at him for a moment, turned to share a look with each other, and then turned back to the technician.
"Throw him out the airlock!" Purple commanded.
"Wait, wha-AH!" the technician barely had a chance to process what was happening, before guards swarmed in from nowhere and grabbed him, dragging him kicking and screaming out of the room. The Tallest watched him go, until he disappeared down the corridor, followed a moment later by the sound of an opening door and rushing air. Only then did they turn back to the rest of the bridge crew, who were all looking on with looks ranging from shock to resignation.
"What are you all looking at? Get back to work!" Purple commanded. The technicians did as ordered, turning back to their consoles.
"Now then," Red said, "Like I said. Someone get in touch with Invader Tenn on Meekrob. And no backtalk this time!"
With that, the technicians' hands began flying across their controls, and the Tallest leaned back in their chairs, waiting for the signal to connect.
Planet Meekrob, Badlands, A Short Time Later
Planet Meekrob was, by most species' definitions, a hazardous wasteland. Aside from the great crystalline cities that were scattered here and there around the planet, it was nothing but barren deserted wastes and acidic oceans, both inhabited by vicious, hardened animals. Thanks to evolving into an energy-based lifeform, the Meekrob themselves were not bothered by any of this, and in fact saw it as an advantage — anyone foolish enough to try and invade their world would have to deal with natural defenses long before any actual combat was joined.
However, this also meant that, as a species, they were extremely overconfident in their ability to protect their world from outsiders. Something that Invader Tenn was very much aware of and thankful for as she slowly crept down a canyon of jagged rocks and crystal protrusions, wearing a camouflage cloak.
It had been about a year since her mission to infiltrate Meekrob had ended in a catastrophic failure. She still had no idea why she had been sent a contingent of insanely defective SIR units, but she cursed the fact that she had for every day since. The Irk-damned things had nearly completely destroyed her base, ruining months of work by exposing her to the Meekrob who had come to investigate the disturbance. She'd barely managed to flee with her life, escaping into the wilderness.
"Good thing being hyper-evolved also seems to make them hyper-lazy," Tenn muttered with a humorless laugh, reflecting on how the Meekrob hadn't bothered keeping up the pursuit. She could only assume that they, in their high and mighty belief in their own superiority, had decided that there was no need to hunt her down themselves, when she would surely perish due to the elements or the various predators inhabiting the badlands.
"RAAAHHH!"
"Speaking of which," Tenn said with a wince, at the sound of a shrieking roar calling from nearby, and the accompanying stomp of approaching footsteps. Scrambling towards a nearby outcropping of crystal, Tenn climbed on top of it and threw herself flat against its surface, pulling the cloak entirely over herself. Thanks to the color and texture of the material, she now looked like nothing more than a slightly irregular growth of the crystal. Additionally, it also dampened her heat signature, so as long as she stayed perfectly still, the creature now entering the canyon wouldn't see her.
Standing a dozen feet tall at its highest, it was a four-legged crustacean, with two additional limbs extending from the front of its body, ending in massive pincers. Sitting dead center in the front of its body was a gaping maw of razor sharp teeth, framed by a set of mandibles and a pair of bulbous eyestalks. The mandibles clicked as the eyestalks roamed over the canyon, but seeing nothing after several moments, it moved on.
Tenn breathed a sigh of relief as the creature — a Scuttling Flesh-Render, as the Meekrob had so unimaginatively named it — disappeared around the bend at the far side of the canyon. She'd had several close calls with these creatures and other such predators, until she'd realized most hunted by heat. After that, all she'd needed to do was piece together the cloak from what materials she'd had on hand, and now she could mostly get away scot free.
Once the Flesh-Render was out of sight, Tenn got back to her feet and continued making her way down the canyon. A few minutes later, she arrived at her destination, a tunnel leading into the canyon wall. Traveling down it, she soon reached a large blast door. Tapping a code into the access pad, she stepped back and let the security system scan her; once it confirmed her identity, the door slid open with a groaning screech, letting Tenn enter.
"Home sweet hole in the ground," she muttered bitterly, taking in the small, crowded cavern. She'd set up this emergency bunker when she'd first arrived on Meekrob, just in case. And it had come in handy once she'd had to flee what was left of her main base. She'd laid low here, until she felt it was safe to return to what was left of the main facility and recover whatever had survived both the SIR rampage and the resulting Meekrob attack.
Which, unfortunately, also included the remains of the SIRs themselves, Tenn noted with a slight twitch, looking over the storage container in the corner of the chamber. She hadn't actually wanted to grab what was left of those Irk-forsaken things, but in order to survive she'd needed every scrap of technology she could get her hands on.
Of course, she hadn't counted on the remains somehow reactivating and piecing themselves back together. And judging by the shaking of the container and repeated banging against its locked and chained doors, they were still just as insane and destructive as before.
Tenn shook off her apprehension at being anywhere remotely close to the SIR units, and, taking off her cloak and draping it over a chair, moved down a nearby tunnel into another, slightly bigger room. It was a makeshift hanger, housing her personal ship, a heavily modified Spittle Runner that looked more like a scaled down Shuvver. Or rather, what was left of it, as it had been among her equipment that had been completely trashed. She'd been spending months scavenging the remains of her old base, hoping she could piece together a workable makeshift repair job to get the ship operational enough to get offworld and back to Irken controlled space.
Sighing, Tenn took out the bag of scrap and computer components that she'd retrieved on this latest trip. Sorting through it to find anything especially relevant, she picked out a few circuitboards, and set to work installing them into the nearly completely restored control console of the ship. As she did, hands virtually working on autopilot, she once again let her mind drift, to ponder just how in the six hells of Vort she ended up here.
For Irk's sake, she had graduated the top of her class for both the Elite-qualifying and Invader-qualifying tests. The Control Brains themselves had said that she was the best Invader in three generations, and they were not known for false praise. There was a reason that the Tallest had picked her, out of all the options at their disposal, to infiltrate Meekrob and mine that age old enemy's secrets for the Empire's use.
Sure, it had been a little disappointing that results were so slow, even more so when Skoodge, of all Irkens — who was a nice enough guy, but such a tool — was the first Invader to actually conquer his assigned planet. But she simply reassured herself with the fact that her problems were entirely due to how secure the Meekrob cities were. It wasn't for nothing, after all, that the Meekrob had become so complacent, with the important parts of their world so well protected. That was why she'd requested the Megadoomer, so that she could infiltrate in a way that left her heavily-armed, just in case.
And that was where everything had gone wrong, wasn't it? Somehow, instead of one of the most powerful, state of the art war machines at the Armada's disposal, she'd ended up with an uncontrollable horde of rampaging nightmares. And now, here she was, living in a literal hole, with almost nothing to show for it all except the fact that she was still alive. At this rate, even if she escaped the planet successfully, she'd probably just be demoted and exiled to some far corner of the Empire, and be remembered only as the worst Invader in Irken history!
…Okay, so she was exaggerating a little. There was no way she'd ever be considered worse than Zim. But still, her chance at earning the reputation she deserved was heading down the drain, and she didn't see any way out of this whole mess.
It was at that moment that fate smiled on Tenn for the first time in far too long. For just as she finished installing the components, a beeping sound suddenly emerged from the control room. Eyes widening, Tenn dropped her tools as her head snapped around to look in that direction in shock, hope blooming in her squeedlyspooch.
That was the sound of the communications console receiving an incoming transmission. That meant that her emergency beacon had finally been detected. She was saved!
Tenn practically fell over her own feet as she scrambled across the room back into the main chamber, nearly slamming into the comm console in her haste. She then took a moment to compose herself; it was one thing to freak out in the middle of your base being destroyed by rampaging lunatic machines, and a whole other thing to do it when in a totally secure situation. She was still an Invader, damn it, she wasn't going talk to the Tallest in anything less than a professional manner.
Face slipping into a mask of collected calm, Tenn hit the activation button on the console. And as the Tallest appeared on the screen, she snapped the crispest salute she could.
"My Tallest," she said, bowing slightly, "I cannot express enough my relief to finally be speaking to you again."
"Invader Tenn, it's good to see you alive as well," Red responded, neutrally.
"Yeah, and you're not even maimed or anything," Purple added, "I guess you're pretty good at this, huh?"
Tenn nearly let her facade slip at the casual dismissal of her skills (everything she'd had to do to survive, and she was just "pretty good"?) and pressed ahead. There were more important things to focus on, after all.
"Yes, my Tallest, it's been difficult, but I've survived," she replied, "I'm just glad to once again be able to speak to someone. There must have been something wrong with the distress beacon I set up if you're only now finally receiving the signal."
"Er, right," Red said, chuckling nervously, "We just got your signal right now, actually."
"We did?" Purple asked, earning him a sharp elbow to the side, "Ow! Uh, I mean, yeah, we just got it. Your equipment must have just been messed up by all those rampaging SIRs."
Tenn's eye twitched, both at the reminder of the disaster that put her in this situation, and the clear implication the Tallest were giving that they had received her distress call beforehand, but had apparently not cared until now. Still, she reminded herself as she took a calming breath, if they had been brushing her off for all this time, there must have been a reason for them to reestablish communication now. Best to find out what it was.
"But in any case, my Tallest, you'll be happy to know that after months of hard work, I've nearly managed to restore my ship to operational status. Soon I'll be able to escape this planet and return to the Empire," she said, leading them on. Now, they'd be prompted to explain whatever reason they had for contacting her, without her having to come out and ask it of them, which would have been an audacious demand, all things considered.
"What? You just want to give up and leave?" Purple asked, frowning, "That doesn't sound much like an Invader to me."
"…With all due respect, my Tallest, I am in no condition to continue the mission here," Tenn responded, now working very hard to keep her temper in check, "I'm living on scraps, I don't have the resources to conquer this planet. And the only reason the Meekrob haven't hunted me down and killed me is because they're complacent enough to think the environment will do it for them. This mission is a wash, there is no reason for me to stay here."
"We can discuss your standing as an Invader later," Red said, cutting off whatever Purple was going to say in response to that, "But, if you are planning to abandon the planet, we have one last task for you to accomplish first."
"What task?" Tenn asked hesitantly. While she didn't exactly want an excuse to stay on Meekrob any longer than she had to now that she was almost free, this could be a chance to regain some of the esteem that the failure of her mission would have no doubt cost her. And besides, it wasn't like any sane Irken would or could refuse an order from the Tallest.
"Well, that's kind of a funny story," Red said, "Well, I say funny, but it involves Zim, so it's really more annoying than anything else."
Tenn's mouth twitched in disgust slightly at the mention of Zim's name. She'd been one of the lucky few (namely her, Skoodge, and Larb) who had been lucky enough to escape that idiotic Defective's misguided destruction of Impending Doom One, so her personal opinion of him was even lower than in most of the Empire. Honestly, if he was involved in whatever this new assignment was, she wasn't sure that the benefits would be worth the risks.
"So, the short version is that Zim found a crashed Meekrob ship buried on Earth," Red continued, only to be interrupted by Purple.
"And then he blew it up before he could get anything good out of it!" the violet-eyed Tallest complained.
"Of course he did," Tenn grumbled, "He blows up everything. I'm surprised he hasn't blown himself up yet. But what was a Meekrob ship doing on a backwater mud ball of a planet in the middle of nowhere?"
"We don't know, and that's what we need to find out," Red said, firm voice making it clear that this wasn't a request. Noting this, Tenn squared her shoulders and nodded her agreement.
"As you command, my Tallest," she said, "I'll recover whatever information I can find and report back as soon as possible."
"See that you do," Red said.
"'Cause if you don't, then you'll definitely be a failure!" Purple added.
"Thank you, Pur, for stating the obvious," Red commented dryly.
"Well, you were being too subtle!" Purple snapped back, as the transmission cut out, the screen going to static for a moment before shutting off. Tenn watched it for a moment, then sighed and buried her face in her hands.
"How the flirk am I supposed to do this?!" she exclaimed. She'd barely been clinging on all this time, and now she was supposed to somehow carry out an infiltration of the Meekrob (who, it should not be forgotten, knew she was on the planet) and track down information on a ship that had somehow ended up on a planet on the other side of the galaxy. Which, given the Meekrob's longstanding isolationism, must have happened centuries ago, meaning the information would be buried deep in the Meekrob's networks.
Well, no one ever said that being an Invader was supposed to be easy, she supposed. Taking a steadying breath, she brought the rest of her computers online and started making plans.
Outskirts Of The Meekrob Capital, The Following Day
The Meekrob's capital city had no name other than that, merely "The Capital". Looking down at it from where she was standing on the edge of a cliff, Tenn thought that it might just deserve the title.
The city sat dead center in the middle of a caldera, the volcano beneath having long since gone dead. The city itself was a massive, sprawling network of interconnected crystals, spread out in geometric circles, the great archways connecting various portions giving the entire complex a pinwheel-like appearance when seen from overhead. And at the center of it all was a gigantic single spire, towering high over every other structure, and generating a pulsing beam of light into the sky, where it spread out into a dome that covered most of the sky around the caldera.
Tenn knew, from previous covert experimentation, that this protective barrier prevented anything more solid than air from passing through. It was simultaneously a perfect example of the Meekrob's skills, and the arrogance that came from it — an impenetrable defense from all airborne attack meant that any invasion or infiltration would have to be done on the ground, and the Meekrob were utterly convinced no one could surviving making their way through the badlands.
And yet, here Tenn was, past the barrier and overlooking the Capital itself. She allowed herself to stroke her ego for a moment over that fact, and then got back to the job at hand. Pulling her camouflage cloak over herself, she deployed her PAK legs and lightly hopped over the edge, the legs catching the cliff face and skittering down, slowing her fall. Hopefully, anyone who happened to look in her direction in the next few moments would merely think they were seeing a boulder fall.
Nearing the bottom of the cliff, Tenn increased the PAK legs' hold on the rock face, sparks flying from the friction as the legs slowed her descent even faster. Just before reaching the ground, she leapt away from the cliff face and landed in a roll as the PAK legs retracted, breaking the remaining velocity from the fall.
Getting to her feet, Tenn activated her optical implants and did a quick long distance scan of the city now that it was in range. Judging by the roving blobs of energy moving about, there weren't any Meekrob near her at the moment, and there was a mostly clear path towards her target location, the central spire. Still, best not to take any chances.
Reaching into her PAK, Tenn pulled out a coronet-shaped device. Placing it on her head, she hit the activation switch. Beams of light shot out from the device and surrounded Tenn, and a moment later she was covered with the holographic appearance of a standard Meekrob. The disguise also hid her legs as empty air, so except for under very close scrutiny, it would appear as if she were just another Meekrob floating around.
Taking yet another steadying breath, Tenn began slowly making her way into the city.
XXXXXXX
To her relief, Tenn found that her holographic disguise seemed to be working perfectly. She had passed several actual Meekrob floating through the city, and none had given her a second glance. Now she was standing right outside the central spire, the nerve center of the Meekrob's civilization, and there was nothing stopping her from just walking in. Though she'd been planning such a reconnaissance move for months while she'd externally observed the city, she'd never had a chance to prior to this. It was actually pretty thrilling.
"Focus," she mentally scolded herself, "Now's not the time to get giddy over how well I'm doing. Get the job done first."
Tenn continued walking forward into the spire's entryway, which slid open automatically as it sensed her approaching. She couldn't help but smirk at this; it was just another display of the Meekrob's complacent arrogance. This deep in their so well protected territory, of course they weren't bothering with further security measures. After all, who could possibly get this far?
Shaking off the smug satisfaction of proving the Meekrob wrong, Tenn walked through the open doorway, pausing for a moment to plant a small, crystalline bauble on the wall right next to the doors, as she had been doing periodically throughout the city. A little insurance policy, just in case…
Walking further down the entrance hall, Tenn reached a convergence point, numerous other hallways and corridors snaking out at almost every possible angle, to curve around and through the entirety of the spire. Typical Meekrob architecture, actually, maximizing the use of internal space. Frankly, it gave Tenn a headache just thinking about it, she thought with a shake of her head as she walked up to a column in the middle of the room, covered in Meekrob writing.
Quickly translating the writing, Tenn saw they were, as she suspected, instructions to aid one in finding their way around the spire. Looking it over, she finally found what she was looking for, a section marked "Central Records Archive". If there was anything on this mystery ship anywhere, it would be in there.
Quickly translating the directions and committing them to memory, Tenn began the rather arduous and winding journey up the spire.
XXXXXXX
Quite some time later, Tenn found herself outside a doorway in an otherwise empty corridor. Once again, it opened automatically as it sensed her approach, and just like with the spire's main entrance, Tenn paused to place a small crystal on the wall right next to the door on her way through. That being done, she continued walking forward, entering the actual records room proper. As she took it all in, she couldn't help but let out a whistle of appreciation.
She was standing on a platform that ended in a raised console. Beyond that, row after row of crystal columns stretched out through the cavernous room, well beyond her range of sight, even with her optical implants enhancing it. Assuming that these were all information storage crystals, that meant that she was looking at a truly monumental amount of knowledge and information. On any other day, Tenn would have tried to download as much of this treasure trove as possible to take with her, but she wasn't anywhere near prepared for that kind of data theft. She'd have to settle for what she'd come for; getting greedy would get her caught.
Approaching the console, Tenn placed her hologram-covered hands over the symbols carved into the crystal, which lit up in response. The entire console followed suit, a beam of light emerging from the console's flat top, soon coalescing into a holographic image of a Meekrob.
"Hello, and welcome to the Central Records Archive," the holographic AI greeted cheerfully, "How may I help you today?"
"I'm seeking information on a ship that was launched some time in the last several centuries, that would have ended up somewhere on the galactic Outer Rim," Tenn said, while inwardly cursing that the Tallest hadn't been able to provide her with more information. Now, she realized, she'd probably spend hours, if not days, cross-referencing files in hopes of finding anything relevant…
"Result found," the AI suddenly said.
"What?" Tenn asked, blinking in confusion at this unexpected turn, "That fast? I was expecting more of a wait."
"Only one ship left Meekrob in the direction of the Outer Rim within the targeted timeframe," the AI replied, "And that was automated transport vessel BBJH-3958, which was containing the contents of Project Domination."
"What is this 'Project Domination'?" Tenn asked, confused by the name. It sounded rather overtly hostile for something made by the Meekrob — giving things obvious names was an Irken trait, thank you very much.
In response to Tenn's query, another holograph came up, an oblong sphere that Tenn recognized as the Meekrob symbol for a video file.
"The footage contained in this file should answer all questions relevant to the nature of Project Domination," the AI said. Tenn nodded absently in thanks, and then reached out to tap the video icon. After she did, the AI's avatar disappeared, and the icon expanded outward in a swarm of pixels, which soon resolved into a holographic tableau — a circular chamber with a depressed center, several Meekrob floating around the upper lip of the depression. Most were gathered in groups off to the sides, observing the proceedings; several more were floating above a raised platform at the head of the room, with a couple more floating in guard positions in front of them. And in the center of the pit-like depression in the floor floated a lone Meekrob, contained within a beam of light being projected from the ceiling. And surprisingly, this beam was a harsh scarlet, rather than the standard blue-white of all things Meekrob.
It didn't take Tenn long to realize what she was looking at. This was clearly a trial of some sort — the Meekrob trapped in the center was the defendant, the group overlooking him a tribunal, and the ones off to the side no doubt merely bystanders came to make spectator sport of the event. Now quite curious, Tenn angled her antennae forward as the video began playing.
"This gathering of the Judicial Tribunal is called to order," one of the guard Meekrob, apparently a bailiff, announced, "The honorable First Councilor Ha'chem presiding."
"Scientist Ch'rell," the Meekrob in the middle of the central group, clearly the First Councilor, said, "You stand accused of having violated the central tenets of Meekrob law and society. How do you plead?"
"I have done nothing but seek to ensure that our people maintain their rightful place in the universe," the prisoner, Ch'rell, said in response.
"By creating a superweapon?" One of the Meekrob flanking the First Councilor asked, instantly catching Tenn's full attention, "In what way does this creation of yours promote the Meekrob way of peaceful enlightenment?"
"Enlightenment?" Ch'rell asked with a snarl, "You mean stagnation! We have sequestered ourselves away, while the rest of the universe marches on without us. Already, primitives like the Irkens and Vortians advance to a point where they could potentially rival us. A few centuries more, and they could very well enslave us! Project Domination ensures our safety."
"We have studied your weapon in detail, Scientist Ch'rell," Ha'chem said in response, "It is not a defensive device. It is a tool of destruction and conquest. You would not have us use it to protect ourselves from enslavement, but rather to enact enslavement on others."
"But of course. How else can we ensure our safety but to eliminate threats before they even have the chance to threaten us?" Ch'rell sneered, "Besides which, is it not our right to conquer? We, who have evolved beyond the bonds of mortal flesh, we are the ultimate lifeforms. The universe is ours to rule by right!"
"Enough!" Ha'chem commanded, sounding enraged, "This hearing was meant to offer you a chance to earn clemency and absolution for your misguided ways, but it is clear you have lost yourself to madness. Yes, our people have reached the pinnacle of evolution, but that does not make us superior to other beings. Rather, it gives us a better understanding of the underlining harmony of the universe, and our responsibility to serve it. It saddens me that you have been blinded to this."
"You are the ones who are blind," Ch'rell hissed, "You doom our people's future."
"Perhaps," Ha'chem responded, having regained his composure, "But what will be, shall be. In the meantime, you are hereby sentenced. As you have not yet taken lives, yours shall not be forfeit. However, you will be locked away, never to be released, where you can do no further harm. And as for your weapon… I will say this to your credit. I do not know what you did while creating it, but we have been unable to find a way to destroy it. As such, we shall do the next best thing — in order to ensure no one is ever tempted to use its power, we shall place it on an automated ship and launch it towards the galactic rim. With any luck, it will drift all the way out of the galaxy and into dark space, to be lost forever."
As that final sentence was passed, the video ended, the holograms dissolving back into the AI's avatar. Tenn, meanwhile, was left stunned. A superweapon of some kind? That's what had crashed on Earth? And judging by what the Tallest had told her, Zim hadn't mentioned it, which meant he probably didn't know about it, so presumably it had been separated from the ship in the crash. Which was for the best, all things considered; considering what that idiot could do with a Frontline BattleMech, she didn't want to see what he could with something as dangerous as Project Domination sounded. Still, it would be a shame to leave something like that lying around…
"Do you require any other information?" the AI asked.
"Yes," Tenn replied, "I am assuming all transport vessel cargo containers have tracking transponders, correct?"
"Of course," the AI responded.
"Excellent," Tenn said, "Then I'll need the transponder code to Transport BBJH-3958, immediately."
"One moment," the AI said. A few moments later, a crystal emerged from the console, "Transponder code BBJH-3958 encoded."
Tenn eagerly reached for the crystal, but before she could grab it, she heard the door open behind her. Spinning around, she saw a trio of Meekrob float into the room, spreading out to block the doorway, while glaring her down.
"Uh, can I help you?" She asked, trying to sound non-threatening. Crap, why did they have to show up now?
"You have accessed restricted files without presenting proper security clearance," the lead Meekrob responded, "Explain yourself."
"What? No, there must be some confusion. I haven't accessed any restricted files," Tenn said, trying to figure out where she could have misstepped.
"Yes you did," the AI butted in unhelpfully, "All information regarding Project Domination is under the highest security blocks, to which you did not offer access codes. As such, I alerted security to your presence and actions."
"…Then why the flirk did you let me access all that data anyway?" Tenn demanded, incredulous.
"In viewing the data, you were prevented from leaving, thus giving security forces enough time to arrive and apprehend you," the AI replied, still sounding just as cheerful.
Damn, that was actual pretty clever. Perhaps Meekrob security wasn't as lacking as she'd been writing it off.
"Answer the question. Why are you…" the Meekrob began to ask again, only to trail off. He floated forward slightly, peering intently at Tenn, who began sweating nervously.
"You are wearing a hologram," the Meekrob said after a moment. And before Tenn could respond to that, he unleashed a wave of energy. As it washed over her, she winced in pain as the hologram projector sparked, and then shut off, exposing her to the Meekrob.
"The Irken Invader," one of the other Meekrob noted, "Impressive. Her survival in the badlands was decreed highly unlikely."
"Clearly we need to reconsider our algorithms for survival outside the cities," the third one commented.
"Enough," the leader of the three said sharply, glaring at them before turning back to Tenn, "You will come with us now, Irken. Try to resist and-"
Tenn didn't let him finish. Instead, her hand snapped up to snatch the now useless hologram projector off of her head, and she flung it towards the Meekrob. It flew through the air like a frisbee, smacking right into the leader. His form shimmered a bit from the impact, but other than that there was no reaction, other than the projector bouncing off the Meekrob and clattering to the floor. The trio looked down at the device in confusion for a moment, utterly taken off guard by this random act.
"What was that supposed to accomplish?" the lead Meekrob asked, looking up, only to find Tenn gone.
The second that the Meekrob had been distracted, Tenn had spun around and snatched the data crystal from the console. She then ran forward and jumped up onto the console, passing through the AI avatar's hologram as she launched herself forward. As she entered the open air above the record hall, she spun around, PAK legs deploying to grab the platform and halt her fall. And even as she did that, she deftly secured the crystal in her PAK, while in the same movement pulled out a thin metal tube, one end topped on a hinged switch. While the PAK legs stopped her fall, placing the whole platform between herself and the Meekrob, Tenn flipped the top off, exposing a large purple button.
"To answer your question," she called out, "That was just to distract you long enough for me to do this!"
She then pressed the button. A moment later, the small crystal she'd planted next to the room's door flashed and beeped… and then promptly exploded, the blast consuming the Meekrob and washing over the room, while simultaneously blowing a hole in the wall clear through to the hallway on the other side.
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Tenn had actually planted several more micro-bombs throughout the spire, not just on the main entrance and the doorway to the records room, but periodically in the various corridors she'd ascended upwards through. Now, Tenn having sent out the activation signal, they all detonated near simultaneously, explosions ripping through the interior of the massive building. And even as crystal shards rained down, and smoke filled the air, more explosions rang out, as the other micro-bombs Tenn had planted throughout the city on her way to the spire in the first place also exploded.
Meekrob swarmed about in rare panic as explosions tore through their most secure city. The strategically placed bombs blew apart support columns and foundations for buildings and arches, which promptly began collapsing. And due to the geometrically perfect layout of the city, this triggered a domino effect, as the collapsing buildings slammed into their neighbors, shattering them and sending them collapsing into their own neighbors, spreading the wave of destruction.
Meanwhile, back in the records room, Tenn scrambled back onto the platform, now cracked and scorched from the force of the explosion. Barely pausing to appreciate the cloud of swirling motes of light that was all that was left of the three Meekrob she'd just blown up, Tenn sprinted forward, running through the hole blown into the wall. Rushing out into the corridor, she began running towards the exit, PAK legs once again extended to help her move as fast as possible.
Her trip was made even faster courtesy of the new holes she'd just blown throughout the spire's interior, allowing her to drop down from level to level without having to make the whole complex trip through the maze of twisting corridors. There was still the matter of the Meekrob now flooding the hallways, trying to figure out what was going on, however. They made things a little more difficult, but thankfully they were all too disoriented from the bombs to actually provide much of a barricade.
Soon, Tenn was out of the spire altogether, fleeing through the chaos of the devastated city towards the cliff she'd entered the city from. It was not an easy run, as she had to run around and over wreckage from the buildings, dodging falling debris, and avoiding panicked Meekrob swarming through the air. However, she soon found herself safely at the cliff. But just as she began to climb, a ringing alarm sounded out behind her. Head snapping around to look over her shoulder, Tenn was greeted by the sight of a large group of Meekrob gathering in the air above the city, and after a moment's hesitance, began flying towards her. She'd never climb the cliff before they reached her. Not the traditional way, anyhow.
"Well, subtlety's out the window, anyway," Tenn said, quickly withdrawing her PAK legs and instead extending her jetpack. Jets flaring to life, Tenn zoomed upward, cresting the top of the cliff in a minute and then angling off to zoom towards her bunker. The Meekrob weren't far behind her, however, the swarm of them glowing even brighter as they began firing off beams of pure energy after the fleeing Invader.
Tenn zigged and zagged through the air, dodging as many of the energy beams as she could. But just as she reached the canyon, one managed to clip her, blowing off one of the jets and sending her careening towards the ground. Tenn took the impact as best as she could, curling up into a ball just before she hit the rocky floor of the canyon and rolling as she hit it, but she was left sprawled and disoriented against the side of a boulder.
Vision spinning and bleeding from a gash on her forehead, Tenn wasted precious moments trying to regain focus, before managing to climb back to her feet. Bracing herself against the boulder with one hand and clearing away the blood dripping down into her eyes, she looked up. The Meekrob were still high up in the air, but were swooping down, and would be on her in minutes. She needed a distraction if she was going to make it to the bunker.
"RAAAHHH!" A familiar roar echoed down the canyon, and Tenn's gaze snapped around to see the Scuttling Flesh-Render emerge from around the bend at the other end, slowly making its way in her direction, but not having seen her yet.
"…That'll work," Tenn said with a smirk. Working quickly, she whipped an emergency flare out of her PAK and ignited it. Shielding her eyes, she placed it securely atop the boulder, and then scrambled away towards a nearby crevice. Tucking herself into it, she whistled as sharply and loudly as she could in order to catch the Flesh-Render's attention, and then covered herself with the camouflage cloak.
Meanwhile, the Meekrob had descended on the canyon, and were now gathered around the flare.
"Why would she bother with an emergency flare?" one of them asked, "Could there be more Irkens here?"
"Unlikely," another commented, "Invaders tend to be sole operatives. There must be another purpose."
"Never mind the flare, it is irrelevant," the leader of the group stated firmly, "I saw the Invader heading this way. Find her quick-"
"RAAAHHH!"
All the Meekrob turned in the direction of the roar, seeing the Flesh-Render charging down the canyon towards them. The flare had caught its attention, and then it had seen the Meekrob floating around it. Its primitive mind didn't care that they didn't have any flesh to eat, it just saw other creatures, which meant food.
With speed and agility surprising for its size, the Flesh-Render quickly reached the Meekrob and jumped into the air as they attempted to flee by flight away from it. Pincer claws snapping out, it grabbed a Meekrob in each, squeezing tightly against their physical shells as it slammed back into the ground. It attempted to then eat them, but was distracted as the others started blasting it with energy beams, spilling pale blue blood from its new wounds while it flailed defensively at them in return.
While the two native species fought each other, Tenn quickly crawled out of the crevice and resumed running. Soon, she had reached the tunnel, and quickly sprinted down it towards the bunker entrance. The security system had just scanned her and started opening the blast door, when an energy beam slammed into her back, sending her sprawling to the floor, smoke rising from the hole burnt into her cloak.
Groaning, Tenn looked up to see a lone Meekrob floating above her, seemingly glaring despite the lack of a proper face.
"Excellent try, Irken," it said, "But your distraction with the Scuttling Flesh-Render did not hold us all, and the others are close behind me. Your mission is finished."
"Well, you're right about that part," Tenn replied, spitting a small, mixed blob of blood and spittle in the Meekrob's general direction, "I am absolutely done with this Irk-forsaken wretch of a planet."
And then, for the second time in less than an hour, Tenn distracted a Meekrob by throwing something at them. In this case, it was her ruined cloak, which she pulled free with motions faster than the Meekrob expected from her with her wounds, and threw it so it fell to drape over the Meekrob. While the Meekrob struggled to remove the obstruction, Tenn half-ran half-rolled across the small distance separating her from the interior of the bunker; once inside, she reached up and slammed a hand against a switch on the wall, causing the blast door to slam shut and triggering the bunker's external defenses.
The Meekrob had just burned off the cloak, when a spinning laser turret descended from the ceiling and aimed right at him. He barely had a chance to register that, before it sprang to life, obliterating him. Then it turned its attention to the other end of the tunnel, where several more Meekrob had just appeared, the stream of energy driving them back.
Meanwhile, in the bunker proper, Tenn was quickly enacting evacuation protocols. After applying some emergency healing gel to her wounds, she went to her computer and started downloading all its data, everything she'd collected on the Meekrob during her time on their planet, onto a remote drive. That done, she placed the drive into her PAK next to the data crystal, and moved away from the computer as it started to spark and smoke, scuttling itself; Tenn very much doubted the Meekrob would find much use of Irken technology, but she wasn't going to risk leaving any for them, anyway.
Tenn was making her way towards the hanger, but paused as she passed the storage container holding the SIR units. Despite an instinctive twitch at being so close to them, a thought suddenly occurred to her. Smirking deviously, she reached out with a PAK leg and cut the chains holding its doors together and unlocked them, and then ran into the hanger, slamming another blast door behind her.
A few moments later, the exterior blast door lived up to its name as a hole was blasted in its center. The smoke cleared from this, revealing the crowd of Meekrob floating on the other side of the door, gathered around the melted slag that had been the laser turret. They then floated through the hole, into the bunker.
"Find the Irken," the leader said, "Do not let her escape… What?"
The Meekrob all stopped short at the sight that greeted them — a horde of Irken SIR Units running rampant over the interior of the bunker, wielding practically every weapon imaginable, and using them on each other and the other contents of the bunker. And when they noticed the Meekrob, they suddenly found themselves having new targets to play with.
In the hanger, Tenn couldn't help but laugh at the sounds of devastation and screams of pain echoing through the blast door from the other room. It was about time those useless things made up for the mess they'd caused her.
Shaking off the distraction, Tenn returned to the final preparations on her ship. She still wasn't sure it was completely ready for flight, but she didn't have much of a choice. It was time to leave.
Hopping in the cockpit and hitting the activation switch, Tenn let out a whoop of joy as everything lit up, the screens showing that everything was running within operational parameters, if only barely in some cases. But it didn't need to be perfect, it was good enough to get her out of there.
The engines flared to life, and the Spittle Runner took flight, zooming up the tunnel carved into the ceiling. As it neared the top, hidden doors slid open, and the ship shot through and into the sky, heading higher and higher.
Once she breached the atmosphere and hit orbit, Tenn allowed herself to finally relax, slumping back against her chair, simply allowing herself to bask in the relief of escaping Meekrob. And more to the point, doing so in such a way that guaranteed her reputation would be restored. Speaking of which…
Straightening out in the chair, Tenn leaned forward and activated the communications system. A screen popped up, in static for a moment, before resolving into a bridge view of the Massive, the Tallest floating there expectantly.
"My Tallest," Tenn saluted, "I am happy to announce my mission is accomplished."
"You found out what the deal was with that ship?" Purple asked, sipping from a soda.
"Oh, I did much more than that," Tenn said, holding up the data crystal, "That ship was containing some sort of superweapon created by a rogue Meekrob scientist, that the rest of them sent flying into space to try and get rid of it. It must have ended up on Earth by accident; regardless, this crystal contains the code for the ship's emergency transponder, which should lead us right to the weapon's cargo container once it's decoded."
"Excellent work, Invader Tenn," Red said, rubbing his hands together excitedly, "You'll be well rewarded for this."
"Thank you, my Tallest," Tenn said with a bow of her head, "Should I transmit the codes to you now, or wait to hand deliver it to you onboard the Massive?"
"Neither," Red replied, taking Tenn by surprise, "We can't risk something this sensitive being intercepted, and I don't want to wait for it any longer than we have to. That's why you're going to go to Earth and recover it personally."
"You… want me to work with Zim?" Tenn asked, wondering if the Tallest had lost their minds.
"Oh, flirk no," Red said with a scowl, "If you need help, work with Invader Tak."
"Who?" Tenn asked, blinking, "Oh, wait, I remember her. She was in my class on Devastis; she missed the Elite exams due to the blackout and got reassigned to Planet Dirt as a Janitorial Drone. I wasn't aware she'd been re-tested."
"She wasn't," Red said dismissively, waving a hand, "It's a long story, but basically, she's competing with Zim for control of Earth. She'll be available to help you."
"Wouldn't that be kinda giving her an unfair advantage?" Purple asked.
"Do you really care?" Red responded.
"No, but you know Zim's going to complain about it."
"Worth it," Red said, turning back to Tenn, "You have your orders, Invader. See to it."
"Yes, my Tallest," Tenn responded with another salute. As the communication was cut, however, she let a scowl cross her features. Great, just what she needed — being saddled with some washout, and probably having to deal with Zim on top of it.
"Still, it can't be any worse than this last assignment was," she muttered. Shaking off her misgivings about the new mission, Tenn put the data crystal away and fired up the hyperdrive. Minutes later, the Spittle Runner zoomed off, heading towards Earth.
The people on that little blue planet had no idea just how interesting things were about to get.
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End Episode 10
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A/N: And there we are. The next step in this season's overall story arc. Hope you all enjoy the reveal of what was on that ship, and the direction I'm taking this plot in.
BTW, fans of the 00's version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles might recognize the name of the rogue Meekrob scientist as the true name of the Utrom Shredder. That literally occurred to me as an add on just before I wrote that scene, and was too good a reference not to use it.
Next time: We shift the action back to Earth, and see what everyone else has been up to.
Until then, read and review!