Flesh and Blood

"Finally..." Veena sighed as she wiped her forehead.

She'd been focusing on her project for most of the day. She hadn't stopped to eat anything, and now it was almost the middle of the night.

Lard Nar reminded her to eat something a few hours ago, well aware of the irony, but she hadn't budged from the computer.

She was already completely devoted to this project.

It must be fun for her to have a challenge like this. At least she wasn't constantly complaining about being bored like she had been when she briefly joined the Resisty.

"Do you have some good news?" Lard Nar questioned, approaching her from behind.

He looked over her shoulder at the computer screen and quickly read through several lines of coding.

"I've recoded the Irken's basic learning functions, so he'll be able to retain whatever information his senses give him..." she explained without looking away from the screen. "I had to input his language... reconnect his need to eat with the desire to actually do so... erase the command to attack non-reprogrammed Irkens...his primary and refined motor functions were all intact, that saved me a lot of time, but his personality drives were completely empty."

She sighed, rubbed her temples, then leaned forward so her face was closer to the screen.

"I don't know how much information an Irken's biological brain retains, so I don't know if this is a permanent condition. If it is I can always write in a personality."

Coding a personality would probably take her a few days at least... it was much easier to copy a personality and apply it to something else...

Vort used to have technology like that. They probably would again very soon now that there were a number of labs and research stations up and running.

The cafeteria section of what was once the Irken's giant prison system was now a large fully operational lab/community centre.

There was a power generating facility, a communication centre, and housing units now, as well as a couple more labs, a few factories (mostly to do with food production), a ship manufacturing facility, a water purification centre, and something Vort has neglected for quiet a long time... parks... with real trees and fauna that had once been native to Vort.

The Invaders had rebuilt a good portion of their planet, but there were still some buildings that needed to be constructed still.

Other Vortians were working on that.

"Would you say he's ready for the first trial run?" he asked her.

She looked over her shoulder at him.

"His loyalty program was completely replaced to only recognize Invaders... I wasn't sure if I should return his loyalty to his Tallest or his planet considering what happened to Vort, so I switched it to include all Vortians instead."

Lard Nar scowled a little. "All Vortians?" He repeated.

Her eyes narrowed. She was giving him that look... the one she always gave him when she was ready to fight him about one thing or another.

"What are you implying?" she questioned.

He doubted she would make the Irkens loyal to anyone but herself, but he didn't want to get into an argument about it right now.

"That's probably for the best..." Lard Nar offered.

"That's what I thought," Veena smiled as she typed something in. Then she stood up from her chair and unhooked the computer's cable from the Irken's PAK.. "Let's wake him and see what happens."

"How are you planning to wake him?" Lard Nar asked, watching as she bent down close to the Irken's head.

"Hey you, wake up!" she exclaimed loudly, thwacking him in the shoulder.

Of course she would choose that method... hopefully the Irken's first response wouldn't be to attack her.

The Irken's antennae twitched and his eyes blinked open before he sat up and clutched his head.

"Do you remember your name?" she questioned, standing up straight and crossing her arms.

The Irken shook his head no.

"Do you know where you are right now?"

Again he shook his head no.

"What do you remember?"

The Irken frowned. "Nothing..."

"Give me a bit more credit," Veena sighed. Then she scowled. "You understand words don't you?"

"Why does it feel like I got beat up...?" The Irken asked, looking down at himself. His antennae flattened. "What am I supposed to be doing...?"

"All you need to worry about right now is recovering from your injuries," Lard Nar informed him, using a much calmer tone of voice.

Irkens weren't known to listen to non-Irkens, but hopefully this soldier would.

"I'm injured...?" the Irken questioned, meeting Lard Nar's gaze. "Is that why I can't remember anything?"

"Yes... that's why..."

There was no point in explaining everything to him right now... the other Irkens would do that soon enough.

"His PAK seems to be functioning alright..." Veena noted, rubbing her chin. "I think I can safely move on to the next stage of this project."

She glanced towards Ryter who was watching a small group of orphaned Vortlings.

Lard Nar watched the former guard for a short while. He was talking and laughing so easily with the young Vortians...

Negi had been the one to convince the other Vortian children that the former prison guard was friendly.

Now all of them seemed happy being close to Ryter...

"What are you planning to do?" he asked Veena.

"If I can copy some of the data from another Irken's PAK and transfer it to this one, I think it will help him recall some of his prior experiences," she answered him with a knowing smirk. "I'm assuming guards and soldiers have fairly similar experiences since their professions are similar."

Veena was completely invested in this... Lard Nar dragged a hand down his face. There was no stopping her when she became passionate about something.

"You need to ask him first," Lard Nar reminded her, just in case she was starting to think about kidnapping the guy.

"Can you ask him instead?" she questioned.

"Why...?"

She motioned to the confused Irken who was silently watching them.

"I need to keep an eye on this guy and run a few tests to make sure his body and PAK are in sync," she answered, dropping her hand back down. "I also need to see if his memory drives will properly retain the information I give him."

Lard Nar raised an invisible brow. Did she really need him to ask for her...?

"Look at this guy," she nodded at her Irken subject. "He's confused. He doesn't know what happened to him or what's going on. I can't just leave him like this."

"You're really bad at pretending to be compassionate..." he told her as he turned towards Ryter. He was already prepared to help her since she was the only one trying to help the reprogrammed Irkens.

"And you're even worse at pretending not to be," she countered.

The former guard appeared to be trying to gather all of the children together, but a couple of them seemed to think it was a game and were running away from the Irken.

"I think I'm going to need your help for this Negi..." Ryter admitted as he held where his prosthetic connected with his leg.

"Ryter," Lard Nar spoke while approaching the former prison guard.

The Irken's antennae perked up, and he turned to regard Lard Nar with a smile.

"Yes?" he responded.

He stopped in front of the former guard who was watching him curiously now.

The Invaders wanted all of the Irkens enslaved... he sucked in a breath. There was no reason to be scared of the Irkens... none of them were currently looking to hurt him.

"Veena needs your help," Lard Nar told him.

Just then Negi decided he wanted to be picked up, so he began trying to climb the Irken.

Ryter bent down and lifted the young Vortian off the ground. He held the Vort-child in his arms.

"I see..." he glanced over his shoulder at the other young Vortians.

A few of them were standing there quietly watching while a couple others were running around laughing since they still thought Ryter was trying to catch them.

"I'd like to help you... but can it wait until I get these guys into bed?"

Lard Nar nodded.

He felt very tense when speaking with Ryter since he was one of the guards who'd tortured both him and Laes. Fortunately he was able to keep his composure.

"Thanks. I'll be there as soon as I can," the Irken assured him.

"Do you need help?"

Ryter shook his head no.

"I've got it. Thanks."

"You know you can ask for help if you need it."

Did Ryter just flinch...? Lard Nar wasn't sure if he imagined that reaction or not. Maybe his leg was hurting him more than he was letting on?

"I can handle it... really..." Ryter responded. His voice sounded a bit strained and his smile faltered. "I know I haven't been programmed to care for children... and I also know these guys are going to need actual caretakers... but I can't see myself returning to what I used to do before..."

He held Negi closer.

Ryter was worrying about the future... Irkens probably didn't do that very often, but his home planet had been conquered, and he was currently on a non-Irken planet caring for non-Irken children... and he was enjoying it.

Anyone who watched him even for a little while could see he enjoyed being with the young Vortians.

"You're doing fine," Lard Nar told him, offering a half-smile. "None of us are really programmed how to raise children...it's something we learn through experience..."

He added: "and I don't think any of us want you to return to what you used to do before."

"I appreciate you saying that," Ryter admitted, lowering his head a little. Then the two children who'd been running around decided to latch onto his legs. "Well. They've caught me, so it's time for bed."

Ryter led the children towards the sleeping section which was now in an actual room rather than a broken down hallway.

Lard Nar watched him go.

The Irken was definitely limping, but Ryter wasn't reacting like he was in much pain.

The communication facility wasn't very far away, and he'd already received word that they'd been able to "fix" all of the communication lines so their transmissions could connect well beyond their galaxy. He just needed to walk over there and access the ultarian wave signal to see if his companions were alive or not.

His hands started trembling. He clenched them into tight fists.

What if they were all dead...? What if Shloonktapooxis and Ixane were...?

The shields he gave them might not have held out. They could all be dead...

Tears flooded his vision. He needed to know for sure... he knew he did or he would never stop wondering.

"Laes... if we make it out of this... I'm going to make you run laps every morning... for the rest of your life..." Bann breathed as he ran down a narrow corridor.

The Irken was carrying him under one of his arms like a sack of Gronger beans.

He managed to keep up with the two Irkens for a little while, but he still didn't have their kind of stamina.

At least he improved since the prison. He'd never been very fit actually, so keeping up with Irkens (any Irkens) even for a few minutes was a huge improvement.

"It sounds like you're planning to live close to me or something... which is kind of creepy..." He told Bann.

They didn't really have time to be joking like this, but that didn't seem to be stopping them at all.

The Tallest was ahead of them since he was currently using his PAK torches to cut through the sealed passageways.

Bann was using his PAK's force field to protect them from the ship's security which had already tried numerous times to vaporize them... at least that's what those bright flashes of light looked like they were trying to do.

"Even if I don't... every morning..." Bann promised. "And... I'll make you take... shooting lessons... or self-defense courses... something..."

"I'm an engineer, not a soldier," Laes reminded him.

Then he realized Darden used to say stuff like that sometimes. If he let himself start remembering the dead soldier he would probably start crying, and that would be the least helpful thing he could do.

The Tallest had taken down several Invaders, but Laes was pretty sure they were all still alive since they seemed to disappear a lot... teleportation probably.

Some of them had been invisible and pretty much soundless, so they might be holograms.

It hadn't taken the Tallest very long to figure out how to fight them by using his force field and relying on his antennae to sense their movements.

Plus Irk's leader seemed to have the advantage when it came to close-combat, and most of the hallways weren't overly spacious.

"It's in there," Bann spoke, pointing to what appeared to be a dead end ahead. "That's... the other lab..."

"They have a lot of labs..." Laes commented.

The Tallest continued forward with his PAK torches out.

Bann stood back as Irk's leader cut through the metal material, making an opening large enough for them to squeeze through.

"This doesn't look like a lab," Irk's leader remarked, placing a hand on his hip as he looked up at a strange fleshy looking partially transparent thing that was hanging from a couple tubes in the ceiling.

"What is that thing?"

"That's a sleeping chamber..." Bann responded closing his eyes and rubbing his temples. "Shlit... the lab must be on the other side of this room then..."

"A sleeping chamber?" Laes repeated as Bann lowered him onto the floor. "Sevai was using a regular bed."

They didn't have much further to go, so he didn't have to worry about keeping up with the Irkens anymore... hopefully.

"He changed his room to better suit your tastes," Bann explained, striding past them towards the far wall. "Let's go."

Suddenly he froze. His eyes flickered.

Then he let out a loud groan and collapsed to his knees, clutching his head.

"Bann!?" Laes exclaimed, rushing to the Irken's side. He placed a hand on Bann's shoulder. "What's wrong?"

Bann shoved him away. His antennae flattened against his head as he groaned again and fell face-down.

"Shlit... dlamn it..." he muttered. "Stay away from me..."

The Tallest grabbed Laes by his horns and tossed him aside just as Bann jumped to his feet. The Irken soldier lunged at Irk's leader; his metal limbs springing from his PAK.

They clashed. Metal appendages struck metal appendages. There were sparks.

Laes scrambled behind the strange flesh sack thing and covered his head.

He trembled as he listened to the scraping and clanging sounds.

What was wrong with Bann...? Why was the Irken soldier suddenly attacking them?

The Invaders were probably using some kind of mind altering thing like they'd done to him and Lard Nar... or a mind control. But Irkens relied on their PAKs more than their brains didn't they...?

What the Invaders did had somehow gotten through the soldier's force field and was currently affecting his PAK probably.

Whatever it was hadn't impacted the Tallest at all though, so it must have something to do with Bann's ability to access their network.

If Bann was acting as a virus in their network, then someone must have found a way to successfully block him and maybe even alter some of his programming... like some kind of anti-virus maybe?

They had found a way to remotely infect Bann with an anti-virus!

"Bann!" He shouted. "You have to fight it!"

He heard more loud clanging followed by a crash.

"Please...?" he whimpered.

There was a very strange sound,then a splash. Laes' eyes flew opened and he jumped to his feet when some kind of liquid got on him.

He looked down at himself and saw the red on the floor.

It looked like blood. The liquid on him looked like blood too.

"Augh!" he exclaimed as he jumped and started brushing at it.

"Would you calm down already?" the Tallest's voice broke through his mind's state of panic.

Laes slowly turned to face the Tallest.

He held his arms away from his body since his clothes and his arms and everything was covered in hopefully not blood.

Had the Tallest killed Bann...? Was he covered in Bann's blood right now...?

He thought Irken blood was supposed to look pinker than that, but then he was also actively trying not to look at it.

The room started to spin and he lost his balance and fell to the floor. He was still awake, though the room was quickly darkening and the Tallest's voice was beginning to fade in and out.

"Look," the Tallest was crouching in front of him now, rubbing his fingers together.

There was blood on his fingers..? That wasn't helpful...

"It's not thick enough to be blood. It's some kind of oxygen rich liquid. It came out of that weird sleep-thing." He gestured to the 'sleeping chamber.'

Laes carefully pushed himself up off the floor. He raised his head and looked at the strange chamber.

Bann was inside of it glancing around with a puzzled expression on his face.

Whatever liquid that was seemed to have interrupted the remote program making Bann go crazy.

Slowly he rose to his feet. Then he reached out his hand and touched the warm translucent chamber.

It felt kind of like skin or something.

His hand passed through it and into the liquid stuff inside.

He jerked his hand out. That was really weird.

Bann emerged from the sleeping chamber dripping with the red liquid and with his PAK under one arm. He regarded the Tallest and dipped his head.

"Sorry about that..."

"Let's just go," Red decided, turning away. "You won't be able to keep your PAK off for long, and we can't stop whatever's driving you crazy."

Once the Tallest had sliced through the wall, they entered into the lab.

There were no Invaders in here... maybe they'd been evacuated?

Bann approached a computer and typed something into it.

His eyes narrowed at whatever appeared on the monitor.

"We're locked out..." he placed his PAK down beside the screen. "I'll need to use my PAK to hack into it... but I don't think I'll have enough time before..." his voice petered out.

"I can try...?" Laes offered as he approached the soldier.

Hacking wasn't really his specialty. Actually he was kind of bad at it.

But then the teleporter was brought up on its own... It started glowing.

Had they accidentally triggered an automatic response somehow...?

"I'll test it..." Bann offered as he stepped onto the platform.

"Nah, I'm too impatient for that," Red remarked, joining the Irken soldier. "Even if its a trap or whatever, staying here isn't going to be any better."

The Tallest did have a pretty good point.

Even so, Laes hesitated.

They were probably going to have to make a final stand... the other ship was probably filled with armed Invaders ready to attack them.

He tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry.

"Come on Laes," Bann pressed.

The Irken soldier couldn't be without his PAK for very long... and for some reason both Irkens were waiting for him.

Did the teleporter require will to work too? It probably did... so he just needed to will himself to the other ship that was probably heavily secured by now.

Laes carefully stepped onto the platform. He squeezed his eyes shut, but it was still too bright, and his insides felt a bit wobbly after.

He cracked open an eye and was surprised when he saw... a wall. He looked around. There were for walls and no windows or doors... he was captured right now wasn't he?

An open door suddenly appeared in front of him. An Invader was standing in the entrance.

"I hope you are ready to speak to the counsel in person..."

The counsel... but... didn't this mean he was on the Invader's home planet?

Oh no.

More Random Info: Laes isn't going to win any marathons that's for sure... also, the explanation about why Invaders have beds was mentioned briefly.

They don't normally have beds. Sevai just used the Vortians' memories to create a room they would be comfortable in, which included the bed.

Invaders actually sleep inside sleeping chambers. The outside of these mimics (or might actually be) flesh, and the inside is filled with not blood, but an oxygen rich liquid that greatly resembles it.

Invaders find these chambers far more comfortable and practical than beds. It's like being inside a living host after eating all of their organs. So peaceful.

Sevai correctly guessed that the Vortians would not appreciate being inside these chambers, thus the bed.