Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters on Invader Zim.
Chapter 4
Jania slowly wandered the streets of the city, checking the addresses of each building. She stopped in front of a large, gray warehouse-looking building. It was much more primitive than Jania would have expected…she walked inside and was thoroughly impressed. While the exterior of the building was as mundane as the rest of the city, the inside was a brilliant display of Irken technology. All the tubes were strait and everything was in perfect order. It made a stark contrast in Jania's mind when she compared it to the unorganized tangle that was Zim's base. She could only imagine the glory of Tak's former base which had to perform the gigantic task of draining the magma from the Earth's core. Her compatriot stood on a platform that hovered towards her. "Good for you!" she called out. "You are one resourceful Irken."
"I've had to be." Tak jumped off the platform and approached her counterpart. "Have you a good excuse for being here?"
"I've joined Debate Club. I can be gone every day after skool, and Dib won't suspect a thing." Jania smiled proudly at her cunning.
"Perfect." She turned around and motioned towards her excellent base. "This will be our point of operations. My resources are yours."
"Excellent!" Jania rummaged around in her pocket. "First thing is first – we need to decode this data." She held out a silvery disk.
"What is this? Tak? What's going on!" Both Jania and Tak turned to see Dib. "Sorry, Jania. You were weirding my sister out too much and she made me promise to follow you today. Man, was she ever right!" He looked around the base in awe.
"You filthy Earthling!" growled Tak.
Jania shrugged. "Nevermind. It doesn't matter if he knows. If anything, I bet he'd be willing to help. I'm going to go decode this data. Tak, just go ahead and answer all his questions." She jumped up onto the platform Tak had rode in on and left the two alone.
"Wait…you're taking orders from her?"
Tak shook her head. "No, Dib. It's more like we're partners…only she's got the upper hand. This is her mission, really. She has more information then she's willing to tell me, so I've no choice but to do what she thinks best."
Dib's eyes opened wide behind his glasses. "Mission? Is she an alien too?" He was mentally kicking himself for not noticing before. Why had he been so dumb?
"Well, she isn't a human, it that's what you're asking. Here, if I'm going to talk to you let's find a place to sit. Standing around like this is tedious." She began to lead Dib through the base.
"So she is an alien! Ah ha! Is she an Irken like you and Zim? Don't tell me she's trying to take over the Earth! Is that you're plan?"
"No, Dib. This mission of hers is far more important than the enslavement of this world. I can't tell you if she is an Irken or not. I don't think it probable."
"Wait. You don't know what she is?" They reached a corner of the warehouse that had a bunch of computer equipment, a number of monitors, and a few seats. He sat in one seat while Tak placed herself in another.
"Jania, this mysterious girl who appeared at your doorstep, is a mystery to everyone – even to me. She has a number of disguises. Just as she wears a human disguise when she's with you, if she's alone with me she changes to an Irken form. I don't know which her real body is, but whatever it is she's very good at hiding it. I believe she's been on the run…"
A thrill of excitement chilled Dib's veins. "Is she some sort of outlaw?"
"I couldn't say, she keeps her past so hidden. But, that's enough of that. I don't know anything about her."
"Why are you working with her? What's in it for you?"
Tak laughed. "Oh, there are too many angles to count. First of all, I suppose you could call her a 'friend' of mine. She helped me escape from the planet Dirt, and even gave me a few supplied to start out with. My coming here would have been impossible if it hadn't been for her. Also, her mission is of great interest to me. When she approached me, there was no way I could turn her down."
"What is this mission?"
Tak crossed her arms. "I haven't all the details, she's just told me enough to get me involved. You see," she swiveled her chair toward one of the monitors and activated it. On the screen was a picture of a humanoid white fleshed creature with huge, bat-like ears and no eyes. It's exceedingly large mouth was riddled with long, needle-like fangs. "This is a Karmite, one of a race of creatures who live on the other side of the universe from Irk. Like Irkens, they are a warrior race. However, they are far more ruthless and less acceptable in the galactic society. It's true that Irkens are out for conquest. We take over planets and enslave or kill the inhabitance, but this is all considered conventional warfare. Karmites aren't just out for conquest. It's true that they hunger for the land of other races, but they also thirst for their blood. They are homicidal cannibals who love to hear the screams of their victims. Thankfully, they have an incredibly low population. But this makes them cunning. They have already captured a few planets in their own sector, but they dream of one day toppling the governments of all major star systems. There are so few of them and are so far away, but they are so dangerous that the Tallest have ordered any Irken who sees one to kill upon sight. Hardly anyone has seen one, of course. They are practically myth to a number of our people. However, Jania's business has apparently taken her to their galaxy, and her mission somehow involves them. Any involvement with these filthy creatures will be taken note of by the Tallest. This is my chance!" She banged her fist on the controls and the vision of the Karmite vanished. "If I can somehow help her to reduce the threat of these … disgusting things … they will have no choice but to acknowledge my value." She swiveled her chair back to face an astonished Dib.
"Oh my God… This is incredible! But, why did you come here to Earth? Why is this your base of operations?"
Tak averted her gaze in thought. "I don't know why Jania has chosen this rock above all others. She could have a number of reasons. Perhaps it's because I have experience in the region, but she hardly needs my help to fit in. Perhaps she needs to hide and this is a convenient location. I don't know." She shook her head and looked back up and Dib.
"Well," offered her companion, shrugging his shoulders, "what about Zim?"
Tak suddenly jumped out of her chair, clenching her fists in frustration. "What about that worthless excuse for an Invader? I swear, after I'm done with this mission I'm going to come back and ruin his life! By then I'll have the power…the resources. That and I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on Mimi's memory unit."
The two looked over as Jania hovered in on a platform. She stepped off and smiled at the both of them. Dib tried to read her face to see what kind of information she had decoded, but her face was unreadable. He was compelled to ask, "Did you find anything important?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I have many more of these things – it's information I've stolen from the Karmites." She turned to Tak. "You've told him about them?" The Irken nodded. "Good, well then … just to let you know, it's probably going to be a while. I have a lot of stuff to look through. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I know what they're up to." She placed the disk back in her pocket. "Ready to go, Dib?"
Dib jumped up from his chair. "Jania! Please, let me help you! This is the most incredible thing I've ever heard of. Besides, these things could be a danger to Earth too!"
She tilted her head and smiled at him. "Come on, Tak! Admit it! He's so adorable!" She walked up and patted his head.
Dib was confused. "What? Adorable?" He wondered if she was making fun of him. "No! I really want to help!"
Tak glared at him. "There isn't much a human can do in this situation."
Jania placed a hand on the dejected human's shoulder. "If we need you, I'll make sure to let you know." He brightened and began to follow Jania out of the warehouse, but first he stopped to look back at Tak.
"Does this mean you'll be coming back to skool?"
Tak crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm afraid not, Dib. I don't have time to have fun torturing that idiot Zim. Jania has some things she wants me to do."
He turned back and started following Jania again. "Well, I'll see you around then. Just as long as you're not out to take over Earth…"
Chapter 4
Jania slowly wandered the streets of the city, checking the addresses of each building. She stopped in front of a large, gray warehouse-looking building. It was much more primitive than Jania would have expected…she walked inside and was thoroughly impressed. While the exterior of the building was as mundane as the rest of the city, the inside was a brilliant display of Irken technology. All the tubes were strait and everything was in perfect order. It made a stark contrast in Jania's mind when she compared it to the unorganized tangle that was Zim's base. She could only imagine the glory of Tak's former base which had to perform the gigantic task of draining the magma from the Earth's core. Her compatriot stood on a platform that hovered towards her. "Good for you!" she called out. "You are one resourceful Irken."
"I've had to be." Tak jumped off the platform and approached her counterpart. "Have you a good excuse for being here?"
"I've joined Debate Club. I can be gone every day after skool, and Dib won't suspect a thing." Jania smiled proudly at her cunning.
"Perfect." She turned around and motioned towards her excellent base. "This will be our point of operations. My resources are yours."
"Excellent!" Jania rummaged around in her pocket. "First thing is first – we need to decode this data." She held out a silvery disk.
"What is this? Tak? What's going on!" Both Jania and Tak turned to see Dib. "Sorry, Jania. You were weirding my sister out too much and she made me promise to follow you today. Man, was she ever right!" He looked around the base in awe.
"You filthy Earthling!" growled Tak.
Jania shrugged. "Nevermind. It doesn't matter if he knows. If anything, I bet he'd be willing to help. I'm going to go decode this data. Tak, just go ahead and answer all his questions." She jumped up onto the platform Tak had rode in on and left the two alone.
"Wait…you're taking orders from her?"
Tak shook her head. "No, Dib. It's more like we're partners…only she's got the upper hand. This is her mission, really. She has more information then she's willing to tell me, so I've no choice but to do what she thinks best."
Dib's eyes opened wide behind his glasses. "Mission? Is she an alien too?" He was mentally kicking himself for not noticing before. Why had he been so dumb?
"Well, she isn't a human, it that's what you're asking. Here, if I'm going to talk to you let's find a place to sit. Standing around like this is tedious." She began to lead Dib through the base.
"So she is an alien! Ah ha! Is she an Irken like you and Zim? Don't tell me she's trying to take over the Earth! Is that you're plan?"
"No, Dib. This mission of hers is far more important than the enslavement of this world. I can't tell you if she is an Irken or not. I don't think it probable."
"Wait. You don't know what she is?" They reached a corner of the warehouse that had a bunch of computer equipment, a number of monitors, and a few seats. He sat in one seat while Tak placed herself in another.
"Jania, this mysterious girl who appeared at your doorstep, is a mystery to everyone – even to me. She has a number of disguises. Just as she wears a human disguise when she's with you, if she's alone with me she changes to an Irken form. I don't know which her real body is, but whatever it is she's very good at hiding it. I believe she's been on the run…"
A thrill of excitement chilled Dib's veins. "Is she some sort of outlaw?"
"I couldn't say, she keeps her past so hidden. But, that's enough of that. I don't know anything about her."
"Why are you working with her? What's in it for you?"
Tak laughed. "Oh, there are too many angles to count. First of all, I suppose you could call her a 'friend' of mine. She helped me escape from the planet Dirt, and even gave me a few supplied to start out with. My coming here would have been impossible if it hadn't been for her. Also, her mission is of great interest to me. When she approached me, there was no way I could turn her down."
"What is this mission?"
Tak crossed her arms. "I haven't all the details, she's just told me enough to get me involved. You see," she swiveled her chair toward one of the monitors and activated it. On the screen was a picture of a humanoid white fleshed creature with huge, bat-like ears and no eyes. It's exceedingly large mouth was riddled with long, needle-like fangs. "This is a Karmite, one of a race of creatures who live on the other side of the universe from Irk. Like Irkens, they are a warrior race. However, they are far more ruthless and less acceptable in the galactic society. It's true that Irkens are out for conquest. We take over planets and enslave or kill the inhabitance, but this is all considered conventional warfare. Karmites aren't just out for conquest. It's true that they hunger for the land of other races, but they also thirst for their blood. They are homicidal cannibals who love to hear the screams of their victims. Thankfully, they have an incredibly low population. But this makes them cunning. They have already captured a few planets in their own sector, but they dream of one day toppling the governments of all major star systems. There are so few of them and are so far away, but they are so dangerous that the Tallest have ordered any Irken who sees one to kill upon sight. Hardly anyone has seen one, of course. They are practically myth to a number of our people. However, Jania's business has apparently taken her to their galaxy, and her mission somehow involves them. Any involvement with these filthy creatures will be taken note of by the Tallest. This is my chance!" She banged her fist on the controls and the vision of the Karmite vanished. "If I can somehow help her to reduce the threat of these … disgusting things … they will have no choice but to acknowledge my value." She swiveled her chair back to face an astonished Dib.
"Oh my God… This is incredible! But, why did you come here to Earth? Why is this your base of operations?"
Tak averted her gaze in thought. "I don't know why Jania has chosen this rock above all others. She could have a number of reasons. Perhaps it's because I have experience in the region, but she hardly needs my help to fit in. Perhaps she needs to hide and this is a convenient location. I don't know." She shook her head and looked back up and Dib.
"Well," offered her companion, shrugging his shoulders, "what about Zim?"
Tak suddenly jumped out of her chair, clenching her fists in frustration. "What about that worthless excuse for an Invader? I swear, after I'm done with this mission I'm going to come back and ruin his life! By then I'll have the power…the resources. That and I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on Mimi's memory unit."
The two looked over as Jania hovered in on a platform. She stepped off and smiled at the both of them. Dib tried to read her face to see what kind of information she had decoded, but her face was unreadable. He was compelled to ask, "Did you find anything important?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I have many more of these things – it's information I've stolen from the Karmites." She turned to Tak. "You've told him about them?" The Irken nodded. "Good, well then … just to let you know, it's probably going to be a while. I have a lot of stuff to look through. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I know what they're up to." She placed the disk back in her pocket. "Ready to go, Dib?"
Dib jumped up from his chair. "Jania! Please, let me help you! This is the most incredible thing I've ever heard of. Besides, these things could be a danger to Earth too!"
She tilted her head and smiled at him. "Come on, Tak! Admit it! He's so adorable!" She walked up and patted his head.
Dib was confused. "What? Adorable?" He wondered if she was making fun of him. "No! I really want to help!"
Tak glared at him. "There isn't much a human can do in this situation."
Jania placed a hand on the dejected human's shoulder. "If we need you, I'll make sure to let you know." He brightened and began to follow Jania out of the warehouse, but first he stopped to look back at Tak.
"Does this mean you'll be coming back to skool?"
Tak crossed her arms and looked away. "I'm afraid not, Dib. I don't have time to have fun torturing that idiot Zim. Jania has some things she wants me to do."
He turned back and started following Jania again. "Well, I'll see you around then. Just as long as you're not out to take over Earth…"
