No Time to Waste

"You want him? Why?"

Lard Nar was sure he recognized the voice of whoever was speaking in the hallway. He froze for a moment, debating on whether or not he should turn around and walk away... but there was no point in avoiding the Irken since they would run into each other eventually.

As he rounded the corner, he saw Bann using the communicator from his PAK.

The Irken seemed to be completely involved with his conversation and unaware of anything else.

Bann rubbed his temples and let out a sigh. "I'm not loyal to you anymore, so you're going to have to convince me that bringing him to you is going to benefit me somehow."

Bringing him...? What did Bann mean by that?

Maybe this wasn't a conversation he should be overhearing...

Lard Nar took a couple steps back so that he was being hidden by the wall.

He didn't trust Bann. The Irken was likely plotting something...

His arms were full. He'd found clothes for Sevai and a couple pieces of fruit.

The Invader was obviously nervous being in an unfamiliar environment. Hopefully having these things would calm him a little.

He had members from the Resisty who reacted similarly when they first joined: nervous and uncertain. Fortunately he usually knew what to say to ease some of their concerns... though he also had to be somewhat realistic as well.

Hopefully he would be able to help Sevai too.

"I might be able to get some information out of him," the caller remarked.

Bann's antennae fell back, and he scowled.

"How is that going to benefit me exactly?"

"Do you really need to ask? I thought you were a smart guy."

The voice on the other end of the transmission sounded mocking.

It was familiar... that voice... it must belong to the Tallest.

"Even though you're outside of the Irken system, you know you have a better chance of you surviving if the rest of us stay alive," Irk's leader retorted. "Like it or not, you currently have an Irken body."

"Explain to me exactly how giving you Sevai going to keep everyone alive..." Bann continued to scowl as he spoke. "Even if he has secret information, he'll never tell you or anyone else about it."

"I can get him to talk. I've done it before."

Lard Nar tensed when he heard this threat.

The Tallest would torture Sevai without giving it a second thought.

Bann sighed again and rubbed his temples.

"Yeah? And if you did that I would get in trouble with Laes."

"I really don't understand why you treat that Vortian as your Taller, but whatever, it's your messed up PAK. All I'm saying is if Sevai isn't doing anything useful on Vort right now, why not bring him to me? Even if there's a small chance he'll spill something, it's better than nothing."

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because he's still recovering from almost dying?"

"He died actually, so it's more like he's recovering from actually dying, but the only reason he's not dead or imprisoned right now is because I saved him. He owes me and he knows it."

Sevai actually died...? Lard Nar frowned. The Tallest was probably exaggerating... there was no way Sevai would've recovered if that had really happened... unless the Tallest resuscitated him... but that was impossible...

He dismissed that idea immediately.

Recently meeting with the Tallest, without his usual intense feelings of hostility, made him realize a few things about the Irken's current leader...

Thanks to Zim's interference, the Tallest had taken that title (and all of the responsibility that came with it) much too soon. There hadn't been a lot of time for the Irken to ease into Irk's most important leadership role, and the previous Tallest's information hadn't been added to the Control Brains...

All of the knowledge Miyuki gained during her reign should have been added to the collective, but it wasn't, and she'd been the Tallest for a long time.

Not only was Irk's leader very inexperienced, but he was young too. Rather than attending important meetings or making an effort to maintain friendly planetary relationships, he appeared to be more interested in using Irk's armada (that Miyuki had expanded into something vast and nearly unbeatable) to blow up anything and everything.

The Tallest was spontaneous, rash, and very self-centred... the lack of experience only made these traits worse.

Of course this was no excuse for their horrible behaviour, but it did offer some kind of explanation.

Maybe he was just looking for an excuse to justify wanting to help the Irkens...

Bann was quiet for a few moments. Then he spoke: "I'll ask him... I'll remind him he owes you... but if he refuses to cooperate with me, that's the end of it."

"Fine..." the Tallest agreed, not sounding very pleased. "Just so we're clear, I liked you more before you started your creepy body-snatching thing."

"You were trying to kill Laes," Bann reminded him. "I wouldn't have taken control of your PAK if you weren't impaling him."

"If your PAK wasn't so defective, you wouldn't've cared I was impaling him."

Bann stared at the screen of his communicator for a while. He ran a hand between his antennae and looked up at the ceiling.

The call must have ended.

"I know you've been listening," he said without bothering to turn around. "So, what do you think I should do?"

Bann had been feigning his unawareness. Of course he would do that.

Lard Nar stepped out from around the corner.

"It hardly matters what I think. You've already made up your mind."

Their eyes met briefly. Lard Nar was the first to look away; he held the objects in his arms closer as he walked past the Irken.

"Wait."

He heard the Irken's boot steps drawing close behind him. Then he felt Bann's hand come down on his shoulder. He was being held in place...

His heart started beating more quickly. He could feel it pounding heavily in his chest.

"What do you want?" Lard Nar questioned without bothering to look at the Irken.

If he turned around now, Bann would probably see fear in his expression... he didn't want that.

"Look... I know we don't have a very good... anything..." Bann spoke. He paused for a moment before continuing, "I was a real jerk to you and your friends... but there's something I really need your help with..."

Lard Nar breathed a sigh. They'd already had this conversation didn't they?

"I'm listening..."

"The Invaders want you to trade our hostage for Laes," Bann told him.

Why would they want him to do the trade...? The Invaders had treated him as a hostile entity not very long ago. It seemed strange that they would suddenly have a change of heart, even after seeing his memories.

Lard Nar shifted the objects he was carrying so he could hold them with one arm. He picked the Irken's hand off of his shoulder then glanced up at Bann's face.

The Irken had a troubled expression... his antennae were lowered and he was frowning.

"Did they say why...?" he questioned.

"They think you'll be more trust worthy than me and a ship full of Irkens," Bann responded.

"But why me specifically?"

There were plenty of other Vortians who would do it... Laes' parents would have been the most obvious choice...

"If you want me to be completely honest with you... it's probably a trap. You were a rebel that gained enough support to cause the Empire some trouble, so they might see you as a threat too..." He paused for a moment. "Or maybe it's because you know the Bludonians," Bann shrugged. "I really don't understand what those parasites are thinking."

Did the Invaders see his crew as a threat...? Is that why he hadn't been able to contact them no matter how hard he tried?

"If handing Sevai over to the Tallest will keep the Irkens from interfering with my plans, then I don't mind doing it," Bann admitted.

"Laes wouldn't be happy with that..."

"Laes could be getting his brain removed right now for all we know."

Why didn't he think of that possibility...? They needed to get to Laes as quickly as possible, and the only one who could guide them through the negotiations was Sevai.

The Invader would have to go with Bann regardless whether or not the Tallest got involved.

"Then we should go right now..." he relented.

"It sounds like things have become quite complicated," Sevai spoke as he pulled on his pants that Lard Nar brought.

He still had his belt as well. Most of his people wore belts that had small glowing circles encompassing them. These glowing circles were purely for aesthetics and served no other purpose.

The Irken already explained what was going on... but there was something unsettling about the situation.

His people had never imprisoned a foreign entity in their prison before... it was also very unusual they were willing to negotiate for the release of a prisoner... the counsel also hadn't sent anymore ships from their home world to provide military support for their remaining expedition ship... perhaps it had even been recalled to their planet?

Sevai pulled on the long white lab coat he'd been given. It was definitely much larger than the ones the Vortians were wearing.

Perhaps they were anticipating different species joining them in their labs since Vort's partnerships with other planets had only been interrupted by the Irken Invasion and not officially broken.

At least that was what Lard Nar had told him previously.

"I wish I could offer you an explanation, but the counsel appears to be acting abnormally towards this matter..."

"What would they normally do in this situation?" the Irken virus pressed.

The anomaly was standing near the entrance with his arms folded over his chest. His antennae were lowered and he was frowning.

"Your race is very advance, but your population is small. I thought they would be using more AI technology," the false Irken commented.

Sevai stared at him for a moment before dropping his gaze.

"I cannot say..." he said, and he cringed when the Irken virus started towards him.

Lard Nar stepped in-between him and the failed project.

"Bann, don't," the Vortian warned as he placed a hand on the handle of his gun.

The failed project stopped and raised his hands.

"Sorry, but we don't have time for his excuses."

Bann paused for a moment. Then he offered a smile and placed a hand on his hip while lowering the other one harmlessly to his side.

"Normally they would send in a fleet of ships operated by artificial intelligence technology to wipe out the Irkens wouldn't they? But they're not. So that means they either don't consider the remaining Irkens a threat, which is something I don't believe, or they're being held back by their own stupid policies."

"If our expedition ships are compromised... destroying or securing them would be our first priority..." Sevai admitted.

"Even so, that could be done with AI run ships..."

"You have shown an ability to compromise our ships, so the counsel is likely acting more cautiously in that regard."

A sudden realization struck him just then... perhaps the counsel had taken Laes because of the Vortian's connection with the Irken virus. It was possible they had planned to use Laes to threaten and even manipulate the failed project.

If they were willing to release Laes however, they hadn't been successful.

The Irken virus was probably too unpredictable for them to use their Vortian hostage effectively...

"I'm willing to cooperate with you in having Laes returned to Vort," Sevai assured him.

If it wasn't for his mistake, Laes wouldn't be imprisoned right now... Diu wouldn't be injured... and Kachori wouldn't have lost her position to Delarla... if there was a way for him to help correct the wrongs that were caused due to his carelessness, then he would do it without hesitation.

"However... I'm uncertain how much assistance I'll be able to provide given the recent circumstances..."

His people wanted him either dead or imprisoned. He had no platform to stand on... all he could do was provide some words of advice on how to address the one who was currently in charge of the expedition.

More than likely it would be Delarla making the exchange... before he was expelled from their main expedition ship, she had been the one who'd taken charge.

She wasn't the easiest person to negotiate with, but hopefully her desire to have Kosiker returned would be enough.

"We should leave now," the Irken virus was smiling, but it wasn't a typical smile.

The failed project turned and began walking towards the exit.

Lard Nar sighed and shook his head.

"Sorry... you should've been able to rest longer."

"I'm fine," Sevai reassured the Vortian.

The pain he felt in his body was minor, so he'd be able to ignore it.

"The sooner you are able to secure Laes, the less complications there will be..." He glanced quickly at Bann, who was already half way across the lab, before dropping his gaze. "I am not completely sure what happens inside the prison, but I've been led to believe it's nothing pleasant..."

Random facts and speculations: For a quick moment there, Bann was worried Lard Nar might not help him because of their past conflicts, but they're both on the same page about helping Laes so that wasn't really an issue.

As far as the Jackers go, they're sans planet and also minus a lot of people, so we'll see if they can figure out how to proceed. Fortunately for them, Red has more numbers and more of a plan.