Author's notes: Hello again. I do read over all the reviews I get, and I've noticed a few people seem to want to play whack-a-mole with Purple's face. So thank you for giving me a reason to say 'whack-a-mole.' Heh heh.

Anyway, here's another chapter. Updates will remain as they are. Extremely sporadic.

Helping Grahl

It took eight days for him to finish organizing the snack chamber. He wondered if the Tallests would notice the Irken symbols he'd slipped in to show his displeasure. This was the reason why Ral had been so watchful, but Grahl either didn't notice the display or he just didn't say anything about it.

The small Irken always stood by the doors as though he was there to make sure Lard Nar didn't leave. Of course the Vortian left multiple times during his task without getting stopped. There wasn't much Grahl could do to stop him, and the Irken seemed to know this.

"Well I'm done," Lard Nar spoke through the quiet. It had become less uneasy now that he knew Grahl simply didn't talk much.

The Irken took a quick look around and nodded once to show his approval.

"Then I'll be leaving," Lard Nar said, walking past the sullen and rather ineffective 'guard.'

Much to his surprise, Grahl followed him out into the hallway and continued to stay a few steps behind as he made his way to the elevator platform.

"What are you doing?" Lard Nar asked without bothering to look at the Irken.

"I-I haven't been dismissed yet sir..."

Lard Nar sighed. "So you're going to keep following me then?"

"Tallest Purple took over as my commander... b-but he said it was up to you to dismiss me..."

"Why would he do that?" Lard Nar asked frowning.

"I-I don't know sir..."

"Ok...You can go then," Lard Nar told him, stepping onto the platform. The Irken stopped walking and kept his eyes lowered as the elevator rose. He didn't move at all.

Lard Nar tried really hard to leave, but he couldn't do it. Instead he took the platform back down and studied the quiet Irken with his arms crossed. "I have a quick question for you," he began. The Irken didn't move. "What are you supposed to do now?"

"I-I'm not sure... the Control Brains coded me... but none of the programs worked..."

"What were you doing before you started your "guarding" assignment?"

Grahl rubbed one of his wrists nervously. "I-I was kept as a-a spare sir..."

"A spare?" Lard Nar enquired, hoping to urge the Irken to keep talking.

"Y-yes.. my Pak d-doesn't store information very well... I don't have the skills to be anything... so... I-I'm a spare."

"I don't think I'quite understand what you mean by that..."

"I-If my Pak was hooked up... it would say nothing... like it was blank... so I can't be anything else sir... there is no data storage... the... the only thing my Pak was able to keep was m-my personality... and of course the vital functions of life..."

"And words it seems..."

"Not at first... but yes... now I have words..."

"And this can't be fixed?"

"I don't know sir... my Tallests told me I was a burden on the Empire... I-I should feel lucky they've kept me alive this long."

"Call me Lard Nar," the former captain insisted. "And I'm sure there are plenty of Vortians that would know a thing or two about fixing an Irken's Pak. If you want I can call one of them up."

Grahl slowly shook his head. "Thank you sir... but I've already accepted..."

"I insist," Lard Nar spoke taking him forcefully by the arm and hauling him onto the elevator platform. "And since you have nothing else to do, you can continue to guard me why not."

"I don't have any monies sir..."

"That shouldn't be a problem for you. Vort is Irken property now."

"Yes but... the guards... and what w-would the Tallest say?"

There was only one way to find out the answer to that question.

"You want to do what?" Purple asked, pausing from his current activity. He had been drifting through the hallway drinking a slushie when the Vortian approached him and boldly made the request.

"I said I want to contact one of my former partners."

"Hrm... well on my end, that has 'bad idea' written all over it," Purple told the former captain.

"I wouldn't be asking if you hadn't left Grahl with a malfunctioning Pak," Lard Nar insisted, gesturing at the Irken who was watching from a 'safe' distance away.

"He's not worth the trouble," Purple stated shrugging his shoulders. "He can be replaced easily enough, especially since he has no skills. I mean he isn't even coded as anything. All he does is stand around... actually, I think Red was talking about turning him into a living billboard sign."

Grahl winced when he heard what his leaders planned to do with him. Malfunctioning or not, he still wanted to be useful to the Empire...

"You've got to be kidding me," Lard Nar spoke through clenched teeth. How the Tallests could be so uncaring towards their own people was beyond him.

"Nope, I'm serious," Purple remarked before taking another slurp of his slushie. "Besides, you'd probably end up stabbing me in the back. Who knows what you'll start planning if I let you talk to other Vortians."

Lard Nar couldn't deny the possibility of that happening.

"So... that's a no on two accounts slave, unless you have a good argument for me."

Again with the slave comment. Lard Nar breathed a sigh. "My argument requires a measure of sympathy, and since you have none, I guess I'm finished here."

The corner of Purple's mouth twitched. "Oh, and saving you was me being all tyrannical and evil then?"

Sometimes Lard Nar forgot the purple Tallest had saved his life; especially when he was getting ordered around and zapped by the stupid metal collar around his neck.

"I find it hard to be grateful in this kind of circumstance," Lard Nar told him, motioning to the collar. He turned to Grahl who was watching them nervously. The Irken kept his eyes fixated on the ground as he fiddled with his hands.

"Tell me who you want to contact," Purple said.

Lard Nar returned his level stare to the Tallest. "You call him Prisoner 777."

"I will speak with him about it," Purple decided. That was the closest Lard Nar was going to get to communicating with anyone on Vort. The former captain nodded in agreement. He hadn't actually expected Purple to bend this much to his request anyway.

The Tallest returned to the control room, and Lard Nar continued to wander through the hallways with Grahl trailing behind.

"Sometimes you just have to ask and find out," Lard Nar said to the Irken who nodded quietly in reply. The former captain glanced back at him. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No... I just... I've never seen someone... who was able to talk... so well... I mean... with the Tallest..." Grahl admitted.

"Well I am a slave; I can't get much lower than that, and my tolerance for pain is only going to increase with each shock he gives me," Lard Nar reasoned.

"But... he could kill you..." Grahl reminded the Vortian.

"If he was going to kill me, he would have done it by now."

"And... torture...?"

"I've been through it already... I think. I don't really remember... besides, if he was going to torture me," more than he already is, he was tempted to add, "he would have done that by now too."

"Wow..." Grahl's eyes widened a little. "I-I wish I had your confidence sir..."

Lard Nar wondered if he would have as much confidence as he did if he could remember everything that happened to him. He shook his head. Musing about it wasn't going to help him now. "You'll probably feel more confident when your Pak is fixed."

"I-I hope so..." Grahl murmured.

"You better go," Lard Nar suddenly told him. He'd spotted another Irken staring at him and Grahl. Of course it could be explained away as some sort of assignment, but the former captain thought it would be best for Grahl if they weren't seen together, especially since the timid Irken happened to be following a Vortian slave around like a lost animal.

"I'll meet with you outside of Purple's room in three cycles to let you know the verdict."

"Y-Yes sir..." Grahl replied as he turned around and began walking away.

"Well?" Lard Nar pressed. Purple yawned as the door slid shut behind him. He produced the designs, which were on digital tablets, from behind his back and held them out for the Vortian.

"Piece of cake," Purple replied. "Only... there is a thirty nine percent chance of fatality and a sixty seven percent chance of irreversible motor or personality damage."

"Hmm..." Lard Nar took the tablets, studying both the statistics and the designs for the Irken Pak. "There is something to erase the current data... then replacing it with the non-corrupted programming, but isn't there a way just to erase the corrupted data so Grahl won't lose who he is?"

Purple held up his hands in mock-defence. "I just gave you what the other Vortian gave me. I don't know anything about our Paks, other than we need them to live, and they can hold weapons and stuff."

They both became quiet for a moment. Lard Nar continued to read what he had over and over again while Purple watched. The Tallest folded his hands behind his back, waiting for the opportune time to speak.

"Is there any reason you want to help Grahl specifically?" he asked after a while.

Lard Nar kept quiet, so Purple continued to ponder out-loud. "I mean it is pretty sudden, and he is one of your enemies isn't he? Helk, we're all your enemies."

"Look Purple," Lard Nar spoke, forcing his words out. "Attacking and killing someone who is readily willing to kill you is much different than accidentally killing someone who happened to be an idiot, but who was still a living breathing creature."

Purple blinked. "So this is more about Ral then? Why?"

"I don't know," Lard Nar sighed. "Maybe being your slave is slowly driving me crazy."

There was a knock at the door. Lard Nar went to answer it, expecting it to be Grahl.

He was surprised to see a different Irken standing there instead.

"Um... is Tallest Purple...?" the Irken began, looking around the hallway nervously.

"Right here," Purple responded, coming up from behind Lard Nar and muffling another yawn.

"One of your guards was beaten quite badly sir... I think his name is Grahl? He told me he had been doing an assignment for you before he passed out."

Lard Nar was frozen. He couldn't believe it.

"Yeah, he was guarding this guy," Purple remarked, nodding at Lard Nar. "I think I dismissed him not long ago. Why was he beaten?"

"Yes... well... one of the soldiers did it... and now... I believe he is dying sir."

"But why was Grahl beaten?"

"Because one of the food service drones saw him with the Vortian... and when Red overheard this he got... well... pretty angry. He ordered one of his soldiers to beat Grahl."

Purple let out a sigh and held his forehead. "Even though HE was the one who originally assigned Grahl? His logic makes no sense to me."

"That concludes my report sir."

"Thanks... whoever you are. You're dismissed."The Irken saluted his Tallest before turning around and walking down the hall. The door slid shut, and Purple glanced down at Lard Nar.

"You sure are quiet," Purple commented. "Don't worry about it. One more dead drone doesn't really make a difference."

Lard Nar allowed his tense muscles to relax. He hated this place. He really did.

Purple studied the Vortian for a moment before letting out another sigh. "He isn't dead yet."

"There is no medical facility on board this ship..." Lard Nar muttered. "He might as well be dead since he won't be getting any treatment."

Purple reflected over this and made a thoughtful 'hnn' sound. "Well... I'll track him down anyway. You stay here and wait for me to come back. If Red is in one of his moods, no one will be safe, especially the short ones."

"What if he attacks you again?" Lard Nar questioned.

"Why? You worried?" Purple asked in a cheeky manner as he left the room.

"That brat..." Lard Nar growled as he continued to stare at the close door. He wasn't supposed to leave the room. It could be dangerous. Was Purple comparing him to a smeet!? He could defend himself just fine.

At least... that's what he wanted to believe.

Author's Notes: Ah Red. He's going off the deep end because of a Vortian. He didn't even remember assigning Grahl. Oops. Also, Lard Nar has a bit of stockholm syndrome going on. So there you go.