"You're in my spot."
-Dr. Sheldon Cooper, PhD. from the Big Bang Theory-
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Invader Zim. And who knew that scientists could be so fun? And no, I do not own the Big Bang Theory.
Chapter X: The Enemy
Zim woke-up to the sound of Dib floating around on his chair again. Gaz was already awake and was organizing their newly bought clothes into the closet. Zim yawned and got off the bed. He remembered that once they were already up that they should head on over to the port to meet up with the Taller. He walked over to Dib who was hovering near the balcony of their room, looking down at the bustling scenery below.
"Dib. The Taller contacted me just a while ago. We are to go to the port once we're all ready. Do you have any business which you wish to fulfil?"
"Not really. I already ate along with Gaz. You were still asleep so we didn't want to wake you." Dib got off from the chair and slumped onto the railings. "You hungry?"
"No. I am fine. So, are you ready to leave?" Zim turned to go back inside. "Yeah. Ask Gaz if she wants to come." Dib spun around as well and walked back in with his chair.
Zim walked over to behind Gaz an gave a hug from behind, his hands wrapped around her waist and reaching around to her belly.
"Good morning." he greeted her. "Good morning, too." she continued to arrange the clothes. "We're going to the port. Are you coming with us?" she shook her head. "No. I think I'll stay."
"Well, we better be going." Dib appeared, trying to ignore their affectionate display. "Okay. Let us be off!" Zim let go off Gaz and they walked out the door.
Zim and Dib took the transport and flew back to the port where Red was waiting for them.
"You're here. Excellent." Red turned around. "Let's get going." he led them to another transport that was waiting for them.
The transport travelled for a few good minutes before reaching its destination. It arrived at a large structure and from the outside one could see the Impendia docked into one of the many hangar bays that were cluttered about the large structure. Walking inside it, they found Purple at the entrance with a ledger. He was tapping it with a stylus.
"What's going on, Pur?" Red called out his partner. "We got word that the remnants of our Armada are on their way." he began tapping again.
"How many do we have?" Zim asked. "A good number. Not too much but not too little. That and there's the Vortian fleet." Purple handed the ledger to Red.
"And we're trying to get in touch with the Meekrob." Red scanned the ledger. "We need all the help we can get." Red and Purple floated along the corridor. "Follow us."
They all travelled down the corridor, Zim and Dib conversing as they went along.
"Hey Zim. I've been wondering why your weapons can't get through the enemy shields. You got any theories yourself?" Zim crossed his arms as he tried to think.
"I really have no idea. Irken laser weaponry is exceptionally powerful. And since most of our weapons were developed by the Vortians, they are without a doubt one of the finest pieces of equipment in the universe." Zim put his arms down to his sides. "The Massive was our most powerful ship, outfitted and created to conquer any planet. And yet its shields were nothing but paper to the enemy's blast." Zim's eyes slanted. "Whatever they possess is frightening and we need a way to overcome it." they turned a corner.
"Now that you tell me all that, I have an idea… but it's risky." Zim nodded, listening intently to what Dib had to say. "We need to capture an enemy ship."
Zim froze and stopped walking. "Capture! Are you insane! We can't even dent their shields." he complained. "I told you it was risky. But if we manage to get our hands on one, we can get a clue as to what kind of technology their packing. And by the looks of it, they do have more advanced stuff compared to us." Dib defended his idea. "We'll need a large force, though."
Zim saw the insanity in the whole plan but at the same time saw Dib's ingeniousness within it. Dib was very correct. The enemy technology was far more advanced and as for them, they had no clue as to what they were up against. Capturing an enemy vessel would prove very useful and could turn the tide of the war but they didn't have that many ships to spare. Not only that, if anything ever happened, they could be risking their forces to just get one enemy ship.
They finally arrived at a pair of metal doors that automatically opened when the Taller approached it. Inside the room was weapons research laboratory. From here and there, there were Vortians, Plookeshians and Irkens running about with chemicals, ores, documents and all sorts of doodads. There were even a few Meekrob that floated around the room. Zim was not fazed by this scenery as since he had become the Tallest, he was already exposed to such things. Din on the other hand was absolutely astounded, his jaw hanging below him. Dib had never witnessed such a feat, seeing all this technology made him giddy all over. He was like a kid who was thrown into a play pen with all sorts of new fangled toys to fiddle with.
They walked further and passed all the machinery to a laboratory that was where the supervisors for the whole place stayed. Inside was Lard Nar along with Dok. They were both looking at blueprints for the Impendia and what seemed to look like a few other ships.
"You're here. Well, we can start now." Lard Nar walked spun in his chair to face a board behind him. Dok pressed a button and a projection displayed on the board.
"Now, as you can see, preparations are well underway." Lard Nar turned to face them. "The Impendia, as Dok says, is nearly outfitted and should be combat ready quite soon." Lard Nar reached for his communicator and touched it lightly. "Send them in."
The door opened and in walked a pair of Plookeshians and Meekrob. "These are the representatives from the other races." Lard Nar gestured to them. "They are willing to assist us."
"We have come here today to accept an alliance with the Irken empire." one of the Meekrob said out. "Yeah. So do we." one of the Plookeeshians said quite happily.
Zim stood from his chair and walked over to them and shook their hands. "I thank you for joining us. I am sure it will benefit all of you as well." Zim nodded to them.
"Actually… they have a huge reason why they want to join, Zim." Red told him. "They were attacked." Zim turned to face him. "Huh!" Purple filled in for Red. "After Irk fell, they were attacked."
"Yes. We got word that Irk was attacked." the other Meekrob said. "We thought this as a faulty transmission. Of course, you have a race that can defend itself."
The other Plookeeshian spoke this time. "As for us, we just got attacked out of nowhere." he threw his robotic arms into the air. "BAM! We evacuated quickly enough to everyone safely off the planet." Lard Nar spoke out. "That's when they came to us. It happened only a day or so before you got here, Tallest of Irk." Red approached a computer port near the wall. "And they brought this with them." Red was holding a disc, displaying it to all of them. Zim pointed at it. "What is inside that disc?" Red's eyes turned serious. "A recorded message from the enemy."
Red placed the disk in and the computer quickly loaded the data. After a few seconds, the recording began to play.
"What are you! Who are you! Identify yourselves!" an unknown voice said. There was a screen displayed in the video. On it was a large metallic being. It had no eyes, no features on its face at all. It looked like a lifeless doll, an automaton.
"WE HAVE NO NAME. WE DO NOT TRIFLE OURSELVES WITH SUCH TRIVIAL MATTERS. WE ARE AS WE ARE." the voice came from the metallic being on the screen.
"What is the meaning of this! How dare you attack us! We will respond with such force that you wish you never even moved!"
"STAND DOWN. YOU WILL BE INVADED. ANY FORM OF RESISTANCE WILL BE MET WITH AN EQUAL SHOW OF FORCE."
"We won't stand down! Who do you think you are! You come all the way here, attack us and expect us to just sit by and let you take our planet! Arrogant scum!" the voice was absolutely furious.
"WE SAY AGAIN. STAND DOWN." the cold, unfeeling voice said once again.
"Like you, they tried their best to defend themselves but to no avail." Lard Nar paused the video. "Now, listen to the end part." he let the video play on.
"WE HAVE NO QUALMS ABOUT DESTROYING YOU COMPLETELY. STAND DOWN AND ACCEPT UNIVERSAL DOMINATION OR BE PUT TO EXTINCTION."
The video ended at that statement. Both Zim and Dib couldn't believe what they had just heard. They had finally learned what their foes had wanted all along.
Universal domination.
Whoopdeedoo! FINALLY! Chapter 10! I can't believe I got this far! Anyway, this is where the whole story begins to take an action-y twist to it, although there will be greater romance! Hehehe! Look forward to the next one some more. As usual R&R!
Raruku out~