Truce
Zim balanced a wooden pencil heedlessly between his two gloved index fingers, not paying the slightest bit of attention to Ms. Bitters agonizingly dull science lecture. Bored out of his mind, he tried his best to make the wooden utensil appear as weightless as possible, tilting it more in one direction when it would dip on the other. Sometimes he even wondered why he bothered showing up to what the humans referred to as skool. He'd experienced enough of it to know that despite it passing itself off as a learning institution, it didn't provide any useful information for a conquering invader. Most of the time, the instructor blabbered on about how doomed they all were, or how dreary they could expect their adult lives to be. And every time he listened, he felt like he was on the verge on insanity.
Today's topic was no different: insects; or more precisely, ant colonies. He watched as Ms. Bitters as she took a step backward from the medium sized glass structure that was resting on her desk. Inside of it were dozens of tiny ants that scurried about, each performing an individual task needed for survival. Some of the ants were red as opposed to black, and both were fighting aggressively over territory while the others simply went about their work.
She turned away from the flask and pointed to the crudely drawn chart on the chalk board behind her. "So you see students, the soldier ants will horribly annihilate their rival counterparts in a brutal battle to the death, similar to the corporate nightmare that is the backbone of our economy. But occasionally when an orphaned ant loses its queen, it is absorbed into the new colony instead of killed."
The rest of the class carefully followed the yardstick their teacher was using as a pointing tool as she explained the lesson. They seemed somewhat interested in the topic, but it also could have been the fear of the yardstick slamming down onto their desks at any given moment.
Tuning out the lecture entirely, Zim tilted his head to stare up at the poorly maintained vinyl ceiling above. His mind wondered as he traced the various cracks and infinite number of little black dots. It was interesting how such a tiny creature could carry up to fifty times its own weight, but everything else about it was stupid and pointless. For a moment he thought about using such a discovery to his advantage, supersizing the ants and using them to destroy the city. But then he remembered his disastrous attempt with the class hamster and quickly dismissed the idea.
As his thoughts swirled circuitously, it suddenly occurred to him that it had been months since he last contacted The Tallest. As expected of all invaders, he was supposed to report in regularly with regular updates on his progress, but contacting them without an idea to present was equally embarrassing. Surely must be growing impatient.
He leaned back in the chair and shut his eyes, desperately trying to conjure up a new way to enslave humanity. All of his previous attempts had ended in failure, and he was having trouble coming up with anything fresh. He tried to convince himself that it was just a minor setback, that he had just been too busy with other things to come up anything worthwhile, but the real truth was he was simply running out of ideas.
Before he could get too carried away, he felt his chair leg from under him give out with a snap. Eyes widening, he felt it collapse beneath him, and with a yelp, crashed to the classroom floor with a thud.
The commotion was loud enough to draw the attention from the rest of the class, and they turned to look over at him curiously. Body aching, he avoided their puzzled stares and quickly gathered himself up while taking a moment to ensure his disguise was still in place. He straightened his posture and glared across the room at the one student whom he knew was, without a doubt, responsible.
Dib.
His sworn enemy and the one to blame for constantly foiling all of his well-thought-out plans, innocently twiddled his thumbs and whistled away while looking up at the ceiling. Zim glared at him angrily. The incident had been just another pathetic attempt by the human to put unwanted attention on the proud invader, and it was almost insulting how the boy had the arrogance to play it off as if it was nothing.
Hopping up on his desk, he prepared to shout a threat of impending doom, but the teacher abruptly cut him short.
"Zim! That's the fifth disturbance this year," Ms. Bitters barked, swatting the yardstick toward him. "One more outburst like that and you lose your desk for the rest of the school year."
Deciding it was best not to argue, Zim backed down, giving his signature military salute. "Yes. Ms. Bitters." He picked his chair back up and quickly repaired it with some duct tape he kept stashed away in his desk before sending Dib a death glare. It wasn't the first time his nemesis had picked on him, and it wouldn't be the last. He would just have to come up with something far more ingenious to get him back later on.
Dib, on the other side of the room, smirked joyfully. He was fully enjoying Zim's torment, and proud of his minor accomplishment, snickered quietly. It had been nothing more than a childish prank, but he still found it oddly satisfying. Ever since his arrival on Earth, the Irken had done nothing but make his life difficult and he felt inclined to return the favor. He had tried endlessly to expose Zim to the world, but every attempt seemed to fall short. Zim always managed to get away, and if he was going to deal with the alien's world domination schemes on a daily basis, then at least he was going to have some fun with it.
Unfortunately, their teacher did not share in his particular sense of humor.
"Dib!"
Dib felt the fairs on the back on his next stand up, flinching in response.
"Since you also seem to have trouble paying attention, I am assigning the two of you as lab partners for the school science project! Now get to work!"
Dib stopped chuckling and shot his arms out in protest. "Aw come on! But he's an alien!"
Taking Dib's accusations as everyday nonsense, Ms. Bitters hissed and cast her infamously dark shadow over him. Feeling defeated, Dib slumped forward and rested his chin on his hand. "Yes ma'am."
The rest of the school day went on as usual, and after the final bell rang, Zim found himself angrily marching back to his base muttering to himself about how he hated to be forced to work with his arch enemy.
"And can you believe that!? Me!? Zim!? Ordered to work with that FILTHY Dib creature!"
He ranted to some random poor, unsuspecting kid following him out of sheer confusion. Not realizing the kid had made a run for it long ago, Zim entering the living room of his base and angrily slammed the door behind him. "The thought of such a concept makes me sick! Me! Working with that horrible stink beast! Horrible!"
Grunting in frustration he scanned the room. Gir was sitting on the couch as usual, watching TV with the remote in hand. "HIYA MASTER!" he screeched in his high pitched metallic voice. "YOU WANNA WATCH THE SCARY MONKEY SHOW WITH ME?"
Zim glared at the robot. "No Gir. No horrible monkey today." He threw one of his arms in the air for dramatic effect. "There is much work that needs to be done! I need a new plan to destroy the humans, and I must do it before the Dib bothers me about some idiotic science fair project! I have recently uncovered the humans' irrational obsession with tacos, and if I can control these tacos...I CONTROL THE WORLD. I just need to-"
He stopped when he realized Gir had squeaked his way up to him. He was sitting at his feet with his tongue out, eagerly awaiting to hear the rest.
Zim sighed. Anything involving food always managed to catch the SIR unit's attention. He looked down at the robot apprehensively, not wanting to hint at the fact the SIR unit was being turned down. "Er, I mean... I need you UP HERE Gir! Collecting...INFORMATION! On um...as many taco commercials as possible! Do you understand?"
Excited, Gir clapped his tiny hands together in joy, "YAY! I'M GONNA EAT SOOOOO MANY TACOS!" And with a quick salute, he ran back to watch TV.
Zim sighed in relief and continued on to one of his hidden elevators that would take him down into the base. He was well aware that with a plan involving tacos, Gir's assistance would probably be more of a hindrance. He proceeded to work on his plan alone.
Many hours later
Working tirelessly into the night, Zim managed to complete most of the preparations for his coming plan. Not requiring sleep, he often used the late hours to his advantage while Dib and the majority of the other humans were resting. What primal creatures, he thought to himself, needing to sleep nearly a third of their lives. How pathetic.
He struggled to slip into the silly taco costume he had stolen from an unsuspecting teen outside Crazy Taco and after zipping it up, he approached the main communication monitor. He waved his hand over the control panel and the large black screen above him to flickered to life.
"Computer! Contact the Tallest!" he shouted vigorously.
The robotic voice groaned in response. "But sir, they never answer. Are you sure you want to-"
"I am your master and you will contact them to obey me! Now!"
The computer let out a sigh as it often did and did as it was commanded. Zim stared at the blank screen in anticipation, hoping to see his leaders appear any minute. He continued to wait patiently, well past the time any sane person would have given up. Finally, after twenty minutes of constant ringing, a connection was established.
"Yes, what is it now Zim?"
Zim felt his excitement rise as his leaders appeared on screen. From the looks of it, he seemed to have interrupted some sort of binge snacking period due to the litter around the floor. Behind the Tallest were empty candy wrappers and chip bags while empty soda cups were scattered here and there, and on the sides of the screen he could see even some of the crew members munching happily on donuts.
"My Tallest! I am reporting in to inform you of my latest and most ingenious plan to rid this planet of the humans! It's my most brilliant plan ever, if I do say so myself.""
The tallest groaned in an exhausted tone.
"But that's what you always say," replied Purple with a mouth full of chips. "And you're in a taco suit."
Zim glanced down at his costume briefly before lifting his head proudly. "Yes, well, you see that is all part of the plan. First I will use this suit as a disguise to sneak into the human taco base. Then, once I have successfully infiltrated their defenses, I will-"
Hearing snickering, he opened his eyes. He was confused to find his leaders giggling at him, but knowing how great he was, his ego quickly took over. "Why yes, thank you. I AM a master of comedy. Now if you direct your attention to this taco."
Red and Purple's laughter only increased as Zim explained his plan. Eventually, the rest of the crew began bursting aloud along with them. Perturbed, he ended the demonstration, staring back at them in confusion.
Surely the costume had been humorous, but the core of my presentation wasn't intended to be comical.
"My Tallest?" he asked perplexed. "I don't understand. What is it that you find so amusing?"
Both leaders struggled to catch their breath and rested their arms on the rails to keep their balance. Red faced him after wiping a tear away. "You really still haven't figured it out yet have you?"
Zim stared at him puzzled. "Eh? Whatever do you mean my Tallest?"
The red-eyed Irken sighed. "Look Zim, that 'mission' that we assigned to you to? It was a fake. Your invader status was never reinstated and we gave you that assignment hoping you would disappear somewhere in the far end of the universe. We were hoping you would disappear and just leave us alone."
"Oh, and to never be heard from again!" added Purple happily. "Don't forget to be never heard from again!"
Zim stared at the two of them speechless. It was a few good minutes before he forced a maniacal laugh. "Hahahaha. Good one my Tallest! I will have to come up with something equally whimsical for my next report. Now, as I was saying-"
"Were serious Zim," Red interrupted with a stern tone.
Zim's smile disappeared. "I...I don't understand."
His leader sighed again and brought his two long claws to rest on his forehead. "Look, you're not really an invader Zim. You haven't been one since your re-encoding to food service drone. We just gave you this mission to get rid of you. You're just too dangerous to keep around."
"And stupid! Don't forget stupid!"
Red ignored his comrade. "Since Foodcourtia couldn't seem to hold you, we sent you on a mission to the far ends of the universe to get rid of you. We never expected you'd actually find a place! It was funny at first, but now it's just become tiresome. From this point on, consider yourself grounded and exiled. You will be banned from all communications and forbidden to set foot on any Irken owned planets. If you break these terms, well...you get the idea."
"Yeah and don't call us anymore!" shouted Purple.
And with that, the transmission went blank.
Zim stared vacantly at the empty screen as he processed the information. Exiled? No. It can't be. Surely the Tallest were joking.
Denial overtaking him, he frantically waved his hand across the control panel to reconnect the call. "My Tallest! My Tallest? Surely this is a mistake!" Failing to get through, he resorted to pounding his fist against the bioscanner. "My Tallest! My Tallest? My Tallest!"
Still no answer.
Defeated, Zim sunk back in his command seat. A lie? Had it really all been a lie? It didn't make any sense. Like any good invader, he had dedicated his entire life to serving the Irken Empire. The Tallest wouldn't abandon him so easily. His mission couldn't possibly have been a complete lie could it?
Despite hearing the news directly from the source, his mind still struggled to fully process it. He sorted through past endeavors, hoping to find any moment that might have given him a clue or hint that this was real. First there was the Great Assigning. He had to admit, he HAD found it odd that the Tallest hadn't given him a specific assignment, but since they had assured him his mission was secret, he'd blindly accepted it. And then there was his SIR unit, or GIR as they had called it. Instead of helping him with his plans, the little robot seemed more interested in food and television than taking over the world. And then there was the general lack of communication from his leaders. As an invader, he was required to give frequent updates on his progress, but out of the hundreds of times he had tried contacting them, they only seemed to answer when it was convenient.
Slowly, he felt the reality of the situation begin to sink in. His mission, his SIR unit, the general disregard for any of his ideas. It was all starting to make sense. His leaders didn't care about him. As far as they were concerned, he was better off dead. This entire time, he had simply been a side show for their amusement, a clown for entertainment whenever they got bored, and he had just been too stupid to put the pieces together. Was he really considered that much of a threat to his own kind? His own people would rather have him exiled than working as a fast-food drone?
He wasn't sure which was more humiliating.
Each thought that crossed his mind dragged him deeper and deeper into a pit of despair. Denial eventually giving way to anger, he dug his claws deep into the cheap, flimsy fabric of his taco suit. He pulled hard, creating a violent rip that tore open the flimsy fabric. He cast it from his body and forcefully tossed it aside, feeling the blood rage rising in his body.
How can they do this to me! ME?! The great invader ZIM!
Anger boiling, he grabbed the nearest object he could find, which in this case, happened to be some metallic wires running along the wall. He grabbed hold of the metal tubes and yanked them out as hard as he could. They let out a series of sparks as the components became disconnected with their lines, and then he hurled them aggressively as he could across the room.
Breathing heavily, he had expected the quick outburst to calm him down, but it wasn't enough. Rage fuming, he thrashed about the room, ripping out any mechanical parts and destroying anything he could get his claws on.
I'm an invader! A member of the Irken elite! They can't just cast me aside like I'm nothing!
He ripped out wires and tore apart consoles, taking out every bit of anger on his surroundings that he could. When the communications bay was thoroughly destroyed, he continued on to the lab, smashed his metallic PAK's claws into a nearby test tube chamber. He didn't even bother taking a step back as the glass shattered, the semi-clear liquid pouring all over the floor. Swinging a wrench he found on the floor, he bashed a nearby computer console. Electric parks flew out from the dashboard and traveled across the fresh spillage, causing various explosions around the nearby electronics. He continued to thrash and break everything in sight until the lab was nearly destroyed, but suddenly the computer's robotic voice rudely interrupted him.
Sir, there is someone at the door.
Breathing heavily, Zim whipped his head around to glance at the monitor. "I don't care who it is! Let the robo-parents handle it!"
Sir, they are still installing their upgrades.
He fumed angrily. "Fine. Bring up the display on the monitor!"
Zim watched as one of the monitors floated into view. It was Dib, and he was outside at his front door where the sun had risen to approximately mid-morning.
Zim growled in annoyance. Out of all the things to bother him now, it had to be that filthy nuisance. "Computer! Let the filthy dirt child in!" he barked, making his way toward the elevator. He balled his claws into fists and his voice lowered to a dark growl. "I'll take care of that bothersome human myself."
Dib pounded the front door repeatedly, demanding the Irken to open up. "I know you're in there Zim! And I'm not leaving until we talk about this stupid science project thing! My grades aren't going to slip because of you!" He continued banging when he didn't hear a respond. "You hear me space boy!? I want to discuss a tru- huh?"
To his surprise, the door finally swung open automatically. He stared at it confused. "Huh? What the-?"
Gir, who was still watching tv, greeted the familiar boy from the couch. "HIYA MARY! YOU HERE TO PLAY WITH MY MASTER?"
"Uh, not exactly," Dib answered. Curiously, he took a few steps inside. "Listen Zim, if this is some kind of trap, I'm not falling for it!" he shouted cautiously at the ceiling. "You got that Irken scum!? You better show yourself before I run and get the nearest news crew to expose your base!"
He waited for something to happen in retaliation, but there was no response. Puzzled, Dib turned his attention toward the tiny robot. "Hey, where is your master? Is he even home?"
Gir stood up excitedly from the couch. "He sure is!"
He stared at the robot for a moment, waiting for him to follow up with Zim's location. But Gir simply stared back at him with a big goofy grin plastered on his face. Dib sighed. "Can you take me to him?"
"Okie dokie!"
Gir approached the wall that concealed the hidden elevator. He stopped a few feet away. Dib watched in amazement as the hatch opened, revealing a circular, floating platform. He had seen it only once or twice before when he and Zim had battled it out as nanobots, but it was still cool to see it again up close.
Dismissing the memory, he stepped onto the platform.
The elevator eventually came to a stop, and the two of them stepped off to main portion of the underground base. Dib followed Gir as they passed through a set of sliding doors and down an open hallway. He stared out at the components around them in awe. As always, the technological wonders that lined the walls captured his attention, and he silently cursed himself for not bringing his camera.
They ventured deeper into the base and he began to notice some of the components started to appear scattered and broken, almost as if someone had torn them up intentionally. Dib began to feel a bit uneasy. Ever since the whole germs fiasco, Zim never let his base get so disorganized. Granted most of the repairs the base managed to complete by itself, but in the handful of times he'd successfully broken in, everything had been so neat and tidy. It was unusual to find it in such disarray.
Eventually they passed through the entry way into the lab, and Dib gasped as the liquid from the containment tubes leaked out around his feet. He stepped back a bit, not wanting to get his boots in whatever liquid it may be. It was only then he noticed an angry, seething Irken stomping toward them.
"HIYA MASTER!" Gir shouted excitedly, bouncing up to him. "I brought the big headed kid here to play!"
Saying nothing, Zim ignored his minion and irately stepped forward.
Dib took another step back. "Uh...look Zim, I know you're mad about me breaking into your base and all, but that's not why I'm here. I came to talk to you about this whole science project thing."
Saying nothing, Zim continued to approach closer to the boy, his claws squeezed into fists. Dib held his ground, but eyed him curiously. "Did you hear me space boy? I said I just came to talk to y-"
Like a mallet striking the side of his face, Zim's fist forcefully collided against Dib's cheekbone. The unexpected blow caused him to lose his balance and he fell to the ground dazed and disoriented.
Head throbbing, Dib lifted his hand to caress his cheek. "Geez Zim," he winced, feeling a bruise already start to form. "What was that for?"
It had been a surprisingly hard hit, and he hadn't expected such a scrawny Irken to be so strong. He started to push himself up from the cold floor, but was assertively yanked his coat collar and slammed against a nearby wall.
"Enough of your lies human!" Zim shouted, holding him a few inches from the ground. "I demand to know the truth! What is the real reason you've come here!"
Still dazed and now utterly confused at the Irken's rage, Dib could only stare back as he tried to fight off the throbbing pain. All he had done was show up to Zim's front door and all of a sudden the alien wanted to beat the living tar out of him. It didn't make any sense. Sure they were enemies, but usually their fights broke out after an escalated argument, or when Dib stopped him from carrying out his plans. Zim never just attacked him out of the blue.
Realizing this time he may actually be in real danger, Dib quickly forced a hard kick to the alien's gut. Zim grunted and subconsciously released his grip, allowing Dib to break free. The human sprinted a few yards away to get to a safe distance, and then stopped to look back at his rival.
It was strange. Zim had never acted like this before. Even from the handful of times he'd broken into the Irken's base, he usually just chased him out. It seemed odd to be the target of a direct assault, especially one so aggressive. He wondered what could possibly have gotten the Irken so worked up.
Still curious about Zim's behavior, but knowing he may need a little extra protection, he slowly reached into his hidden coat pocket and pulled out what appeared to be a very jerry-rigged taser gun. Gaining a bit of confidence, Dib held his ground with the weapon. "Enough Zim! I don't know what's gotten into you, but I did not come here to fight. If you take one more step toward me, I swear I'll knock you unconscious and drag your body to the nearest biology center!"
Zim halted and glared at his rival in disgust. It wouldn't be the first time the human had threatened to knock him out and reveal his identity, but somehow he felt the threat was real. He could certainly try to call his bluff, but in his current state of affairs, he wasn't sure if he was willing to risk his luck.
"Very well," he replied, adjusting his posture so that he appeared upright. He let out an agitated growl. "What is it you want? I am very busy at the moment."
Dib lowered his weapon, but kept his guard up. "I came here to talk about the school project," he said, keeping a skeptical eye on the Irken. "You know, the one we were assigned to work on together?"
"Pfft. Your pitiful science project means nothing to me Earth beast. Why should I help you?"
"Well, you never DID repay me for helping you when we turned into Bologna," Dib pointed out. "Or I could just taze you now and turn you in if you'd rather have that."
Zim huffed, not taking the human's threat as seriously. "You dare threaten me!? I AM ZIM! Such pathetic Earth squabbles do not interest me in the least. Leave now human or I will destroy you with my amazing base of doom!"
Dib looked around the room briefly, noticing the collection of smoldering technology surrounding them. He held the taser back up with a smirk. "Nice try space boy, but there's no way you could destroy me with your base in this shape."
Zim uncrossed his arms and took a brief look around. It only then occurred to him just how much damage he had done. At this rate, the base may not even be able to repair itself, not without manual help anyway. Repairs could take weeks, or maybe even months.
Knowing he lacked the upper hand, Zim relaxed his posture once again. "And how do you expect me to help you Earth stink? As you may have noticed, my base is currently in need of repair and from the look of things, it's going to be a long while before it's fully operational again."
Dib lowered the taser slightly, thinking on the matter. "Well, if you agree to help me with the project, then maybe I can help you repair parts of your base. We could use some my Dad's equipment to fix the damage."
Zim laughed maniacally. "Ha! That's a good one," he added, wiping a tear from his eye. " Why would I ever let YOU help repair MY base?"
Dib's face scrunched at the insult. "Look, I don't like this either, but I'd rather not let my grades slip if I can help it." He switched off the taser and shoved it back into his coat pocket. "Listen, I know it doesn't mean much to you, but if my dad found out that I failed a science project, I wouldn't just be the laughing stock of the school, I would be the laughing stock of the whole world. I can handle being called crazy, but not stupid. I'll help you repair the base as long as you help me with the project."
Zim eyed the boy suspiciously as he stepped forward and held his hand out. Dib gave a look of confusion.
"What? It's a handshake."
"Don't belittle me human! I know what it is!" He turned away to cross his arms. "May I remind you, the last time I returned that gesture, we both ended up as bologna meat!"
Dib took a step closer. "Look, you'll just have to trust me this time." He flipped over his hand to prove there was nothing there. "See? I didn't plan any tricks."
Zim scoffed. "I will never trust you stink beast. What kind of fool do you take me for?"
Dib rolled his eyes. "Okay, you don't have to trust me, but let's at least call this a truce. No trying to kill each other until the science fair is dealt with. Alright?"
Zim opened one eye to study the gesture presented in front of him. He paused for a moment.
If what his leaders had told him earlier was true, he would be forced to stay on Earth forever. He would need to gather supplies, salvage equipment, and work out some sort of purpose to keep himself preoccupied while he figured out some sort of plan. But without privileged resources, he would have to be more careful. If something went wrong, he could no longer flee at the first sign of trouble. And perhaps if he managed to take over this stupid pit hole of a planet, he could offer it to the Tallest in exchange for lifting his banishment.
He sneered at the idea. Perhaps, with the help of a gullible human, he would be able to gain some sort of advantage over the humans. He could use their own technology against them and while Dib was distracted with the science fair, he would grow to earn the boy's trust and hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the secrets of their kind. Or even better...their weaknesses. It was perfect!
He reached out and met Dib's hand in agreement. "Let's just get this over with, shall we Dib-human," he said, pretending to sound annoyed.
Dib caught on to the odd tone in his voice, but proceeded to shake on the deal anyway. If Zim had any funny business planned, he would just have to snuff it out before it became a problem. It wasn't like the Irken was great at hiding things. He would just have to keep a close eye in him to make sure anything out of the ordinary didn't go unnoticed.
"Deal."
Meanwhile:
A lone alien escape pod drifted slowly though the emptiness of space, battered and damaged beyond repair. It appeared to the average passerby as a common ball of space junk, and was overlooked by many as it cruised silently through space.
It had been several months since the Irken had contact with anyone, and the last thing she wanted was to waste valuable energy while they drifted through the emptiness. She had deliberately programmed her PAK to keep her in hibernation mode for most of the trip, not knowing when or where she would be picked up by a passing traveler. Together with her faithful SIR unit, they drifted aimlessly, hoping someone would stumble across what was left of their desecrated escape pod and grow curious enough to discover the injured inhabitants inside.
Recognizing the signature as Irken, a wondering scout eventually recovered the pod. Attaching it to his ship, he dragged it back to the Armada. Once they arrived, the female soldier was urgently rushed to the med bay and her SIR unit was taken elsewhere for repairs. The drones surrounding her worked tenaciously, ensuring that her PAK was repaired properly and hadn't suffered any major damage. When they finally completed their task, they triggered a switch to reawaken her.
REACTIVATING
Tak jolted involuntarily as the shock surged through her body. When she finally opened her eyes, she found herself in the medical bay, resting on what the humans would have referred to as a gurney. She sat up and rubbed her head in agony.
"Ugghh. Where am I?" She still felt sluggish, but the medical drones had done their work well, and her injuries were only minor. She looked over to the soldier standing patiently by her bed.
"You are aboard the Massive," he answered in an authoritative tone. He was taller than her and had red eyes with a collar that rose above high his mouth. "A scout found the remains of your ship. You were brought here to the reactivation bay to repair your PAK and SIR unit. You have been ordered to report to the bridge once repairs are complete."
Tak felt her heart race. "The bridge? You mean the Tallest want to see me?"
After her recent failure, she was sure her leaders wouldn't be pleased with her. Would they send her back to Dirt? She wasn't sure, but she knew she couldn't handle going back to that slum infested wasteland of a planet. Dreading whatever punishment was coming her way, she hopped down from the cushioned platform.
The soldier nodded and carried his spear dictatorially. "Affirmative. Please follow me."
As commanded, she followed the soldier, and once they reached the bridge, he announced her arrival formally. He turned and exited once dismissed, and she watched in anticipation as the Tallest approached her.
Their expressions did not look pleased.
"Janitorial servant drone Tak." Tallest Red addressed her stiffly. "I see you have returned to us empty handed."
Tak winced at her degrading title. She had desperately tried to abandon that part of herself after Dirt, but she would never be able to outrun the encoding given by the control brains. None the less, she saluted respectfully. "Sirs! I apologize for my catastrophic failure back on Earth. I should have succeeded despite the obstacles placed before me."
"I'll say! You mucked the whole thing up!" exclaimed Tallest Purple. "And the snacks. Don't even get me started on the snacks!"
Red silenced his co-leader. "Despite your horrible failure, we admit your plan to take over Earth was rather...good. As it turns out, we have a new proposition for you."
Tak's antennae perked up. Red continued. "We recently broke the news to a former invader that he would be forbidden from returning to any known planet within our control. To put it simply, we need your assistance in containing him."
"But mostly to kill him," added Purple playfully.
Red waved a hand to hush him. "What he means is, we need someone to keep an eye on him. A REALLY close eye. He had been exiled to that stupid little planet called Earth. We would like you to make sure he stays there. Permanently."
Tak felt the bloodlust course through her veins. Zim? They want me to kill Zim?! She felt the excitement rush through her entire body. This was exactly the opportunity she had been hoping for! The chance to prove her worth to the Tallest!
"I understand my Tallest, and I am honored to receive such an assignment." She bowed to show her respects. "I do have one question though. Will I be allowed to kill him even if he doesn't try to leave?"
Red shrugged. "Well technically I have to answer no, but I think you get the idea." He began to pace around the bridge. "If you manage to succeed on this mission, then your status as a service drone will be removed and you will be reassigned as an invader. You will be given full elite privileges and when the time comes, be allowed first pick in Operation Impending Doom III." He stopped pacing and turned to face her. "So...can we count on you to complete this mission soldier?"
Tak stood erect and saluted. "Yes my leaders! You can count on me!"
"Good." Red took a step back and signaled for his co-leader to take the lead.
Purple approached her with a holographic information tablet. "You will find a new ship ready for you in the hangar. It's as assassins model, nothing special. It's designed to self destruct upon landing, so make sure to gather any necessary equipment before the countdown is initiated." He handed her the device. "There is also a complimentary acceleration unit installed so won't have to spend months of your time traveling there. Your SIR unit has also been repaired and will be in the hanger waiting for you. Now off you go." He flicked his claws forward to indicate her dismissal.
Tak studied the tablet and bowed again with the utmost respect. "Thank you my leaders. You will not regret this decision. I just have one more question."
"What's that?"
"How soon can I leave?"
Author's note: So what do you guys think? I've been brainstorming this idea for quite a while now and I finally feel I have the basis for a pretty good story. I had an old story with a similar opening called The Kinzak War way back in the day. It was relatively popular, but after rereading it so many years later, I decided I wasn't happy with it and ended up deleting it. I've been reading some other Zim stories that other authors have been re-writing and that inspired me to finally jolt down what's been rattling around in my head for quite some time. So thanks guys! Thanks for sticking around!
I know that a Zim movie is in the works and Zim is supposed to be officially told about his mission, but like I said, I had this idea for a long time and really wanted to get it out there. Personally, after seeing the animation style of the upcoming special, I don't know if I care much for it. In a way, maybe it's meant to be a new Zim style since so many years have passed since the original show. I don't know. Guess we'll all find out soon enough. Also, please don't forget to review! I always love me some good reviews! Till next time!
