Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Invader Zim.
Chapter Two: Getting Used to the Massive.
Tah looked at herself in the mirror, making sure her new uniform fit. It was usually difficult for her to find cloths because she was so tall. She turned around and stretched her arms out, but everything seemed to be in order. She glanced over to her roommate's bed, which was unoccupied and made. Mim hadn't been kidding when she said she wouldn't be in the room much - she hadn't been in when Tah finally lumbered to bed and had been gone by the time she woke up. She really wasn't sure her roommate had been there at all. She glanced at herself one last time before heading out and marching over to the Hive.
When she arrived the work stations that were so quiet the day before were engulfed in a cacophony of confusion. Some of her coworkers argued with eachother while others just stared desperately at her monitors. Tzen was busy trying to calm everybody down and explain the situation. "It's okay, everybody," he said in his lazy voice. "It's okay. We'll just copy everything out on data disks and deliver it all by hand. It's okay." Tah was confused and she decided to ask Tzen. He turned and smiled at her when she tapped him on the shoulder.
"What's going on?"
"There's a computer glitch and none of the information is being sent properly. A maintenance crew is supposed to come, but the last time we had a problem like this it wasn't fixed until the end of the day. It's really not that big of a deal, but they're so unaccustomed to it. They don't like the idea of wasting their time by delivering their reports by hand. They'll settle down in a moment. they just arrived and the news is still new to them." Tah nodded and sat down at her seat to begin her work. As Tzen had predicted, the others soon calmed down and began quietly researching and typing as they had the day before. Once Tah had enough information she stood and picked up a pile of data disks - each containing the answer to a different request. She flipped through them to see where she had to go. One belonged to the head cook, one to another chief mechanic, one to one of the admirals, another admiral. she stopped when she saw some information meant for Tallest Purple. She gulped, and realized she didn't have the clearance to see most of these people. She walked over to Tzen and interrupted him from his work. "What's the matter?"
"I can't deliver these."
"What? Why not?" Tzen scratched his head, not understanding the dilemma.
"I don't have the clearance to see some of these people. there are admirals and even." she lowered her voice, "There's information for Tallest Purple AND Tallest Red in here."
Tzen gave her a surprisingly hearty laugh. "Is that all? Well, we can fix that." He shuffled under his desk where there was apparently a drawer. He pulled out an authorization card and a pad with a map of the higher restriction levels of the ship. "I should have given this to you yesterday, but I forgot." He shrugged his flabby shoulders. "Whoops."
Tah took her authorization card and map and headed out of the room. It felt good to take a break and stretch her legs. She flipped through her disks and tried to figure out which person was closest, and raised her eyebrow when she saw Admiral Queue's name. She wondered if she'd see Mim but realized that she probably didn't want to. She decided to get that delivery done first and walked strait into the restricted area. As she wandered around she noticed that the halls grew wider and the uniforms more decorated. She looked down to take another glance at her map when something hard hit her head. She nearly fell over before she was prodded away by something sharp. "Who goes there?" demanded a growling voice. Tah blinked as she saw Mim glaring at her with almost predatorial ferocity.
"You know who I am! I live in the same room as you!" She was seriously starting to believe something was wrong with her roommate.
"What is your business!" Mim continued to point her sharp weapon at Tah's unprotected stomach.
Tah fumbled with her disks and handed the one belonging to Admiral Queue to the guard. "I just needed to deliver this, that's all!" She couldn't hide the panic from her voice. Mim snatched the disk away and placed it in her pocket.
"Very well," she said coldly. "I will make sure the admiral gets the information. Carry on." Tah walked away, but again could feel Mim's eyes following her. She rushed down the hall, and actually ran for a while before she regained her senses. She looked around and realized she had gotten herself completely lost. She was level-headed and didn't worry too much. She pulled out her map and was about to get her location when she began to hear something beautiful down the hall. Chords of music were drifting by, played on some stringed instrument. Tah looked about, and seeing no one was around, followed the sound to an open door. She couldn't help but peek inside, and her eyes met the most lavish room she'd ever seen. Everything was large and plush, from the drapery at the window to the carpeting to the couch. Even the bookshelves that lined the wall seemed to have an air of elegance about them. At the far end of the room was a tall Irken with his back turned, playing a lovely harped instrument. It was very rare, but Tah knew its name - the K'dor. It was an ancient Irken device only played by the most noble of Irkens. She closed her eyes for a moment, hiding behind the wall while listening to the heavenly sounds. The song was unfamiliar to her, but she was fascinated by its melody. The player began to softly hum as he played, and then began to mouth some words.
"La tith va Huk'ra, ser gra ich fra." he sang softly. "De shoo rafra metak lei." Tah recognized the words as ancient, and her curiosity as to the identity of the player increased. She intended to listen to the entire song before leaving to find her next delivery when she breathed in some dust and coughed. She held her hands to her mouth in horror as the music stopped and a very irritated voice emanated from the room. "Hey!"
Guiltily Tah showed herself, walking into the room. She looked at the player and gasped as he faced her. She bowed her head and wiggled her antennae. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "My Tallest, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Tallest Purple looked her over, no longer seeming angry but very interested. "So," he said, noticing her uniform, "you work at the Hive."
He hovered over to her, and Tah felt odd having to look up at someone's face. She was as tall as his chin, and it was very rare for her to stand next to someone taller than she. "Y-yes, Sir," she said nervously. She'd never seen either of her leaders in person before, and as she began to realize his position she became more and more nerved up. "I have some information for you." She began to flip through the data chips until she reached his. She handed it out to him with a shaky hand and he took it. She turned her back to leave, but he stopped her.
"Wait up a moment. You have a lot of those, and your superior probably doesn't expect you for a while. Come in." She turned and stepped back into the room. "You are the one at the library that recited Uk'shreen La Teth, aren't you?" All she could do was nod. "Yes, I thought I recognized you."
"I didn't see you there, Sir."
"No, I came in after you began. Then you ran off before I could congratulate you. You did well, soldier."
Tah was very hot under the collar, and didn't know what to do. To be congratulated personally by one of the Tallest was a magnificent honor. Luckily she was saved by another person walking into the room. "Hey!" he said, "It's time to go listen to the. who's this person?"
Tah lifted her bowed head and looked up only to see her other leader, Tallest Red. Purple explained to him. "The Hive is broken again. I think this one is new here. Are you?"
"Yes, Sir." She fumbled through the chips until she found the one for Tallest Red. She held it out to him and said in a shaky voice. "This one is for you."
Tallest Red took the chip and stuffed it in one of his pockets. "Great. Now let's go. The Invaders are going to call and I ordered us some curly fries." Tah couldn't help but grin as she saw Purple's antennae perk up at the mention of curly fries. She had heard he liked them and now she knew even these awe-inspiring figures were still Irken.
She took her cue to leave. "My Tallest!" she said as she quickly marched out of the room. She looked on her map, and knowing where she had just been was able to figure out where she was. She was near the Prime Admiral's chambers, and she figured that since she'd just seen the Tallest seeing him would be nothing at all. She rounded the corner and found his door shut. She was about to press the sensor when she heard an angry voice from inside.
"I don't care what you have to do, just do it! Understand me?" She figured that he was in the middle of a transmission and waited until she was sure all was silent before she pressed the sensor, letting him know someone was there. "What is it now?" she heard him grumble as the door hissed open. Before her stood an Irken who stood up to her chest and had the most alarming shade of orangey red eyes. She quickly held out his information chip, nearly paralyzed by his piercing glare. He looked at it, snatched it away, and shut the door again. She slowly backed away and decided to get done with her deliveries as quickly as possible.
After a long day of compiling data and delivering it, Tah was ready to relax. Again, she didn't want to go back to her room unless she really had to because she was afraid to run into her roommate. Dak wasn't going to be off for a few more hours so she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She was considering going back to the library when somebody small bumped into her. "Hey," said someone from below, "Watch where you're going!" Tah looked down to see Clay, and in the back of her mind she realized that the marauder really wasn't all that much taller then Dak. She considered mentioning it, but something about Clay's nature made her decide against. Instead she just looked down at her with what she was sure was a stupid expression. "Oh! It's you! Look, I'm going to the Entertainment Center. Let's hurry before that squat gets off of work." She took Tah's hand and began to pull.
"The Entertainment Center? What? I don't want to go to the Entertainment Center!" Tah wasn't used to the noisy atmosphere of those places and always ended up standing uncomfortably at the edge of the room watching the other Irkens dance. She tried to resist, but Clay had a death grip on her glove. Realizing she had nothing better to do, she reluctantly followed the marauder.
As they entered the Entertainment Center Tah was almost blinded by the darkness. She stood still as her dark maroon eyes adjusted. Monotonous, pounding music filled her body as Clay led her to the bar. Smoke filled the room, illuminated by decorative red lasers, and if she wasn't in such a cramped, small room she would have half expected the Tallest to make an entrance. As she looked around everyone and seemed to wear the same uniform as her aggressive friend. She looked down at Clay and asked, "Do you marauders ever do any work?" She had to yell due to the noise.
Clay gave a lopsided grin. "Aside from training, no, not really. We're pretty much set until the Armada needs some ground troops." She ordered a drink and began gulping it down. "I'm telling you, being a marauder is the life!" She lifted her drink at Tah and took another sip. Tah just leaned on the bar and watched, beginning to feel a headache coming on. She was the tallest person in the room, as was usually the case, and she could feel all the males eyeing her. She grimaced as a half-drunken marauder began to swagger in her direction. She rolled her eyes as he sidled up next to her, as he only reached her waist. She wondered how he'd physically manage to make a move if he were so inclined. She turned away from him, towards Clay, hoping to make her non-interest clear.
"The messaging system was broken at the Hive today," she complained, trying to make conversation. "We had to personally deliver all the information. I spent half my day wandering around in the restricted area."
This information caught Clay's attention. "Really? I think I'd be shoved out an airlock if I came within ten feet of the restricted area. I bet you got to see the admirals and all sorts of important people. How come you get all the luck?"
"I was just delivering the stuff they'd requested. I hope I don't have to do it again, I almost got beaten up by my own roommate."
"Who's your roommate? I would have thought you'd be hanging around with her. I'd be with mine, but she requested a different room for some reason." She shrugged and took another gulp from her drink. "Don't know what was wrong with her, but it's nice having my own room."
Tah really laughed for the first time since she'd gone on board the Massive at the thought of what it must be like to live with Clay. She figured she would have asked for another room too. Her mind then turned back to Mim. "She's so weird," she began. "She's a guard for Admiral Queue, and I guess it's gotten to her head or something. When I was going to deliver something to him, she whacked me over the head and demanded that I tell her who I was, as if I hadn't slept in the same room with her the night before. She's never there, and she's always so mean." Tah let her eyes wander out among the sea of writhing dancers, figuring that a good three fourths of them must be marauders. She'd been working so hard, and she wondered what it would be like to have so much free time. But then again, she didn't want to have to go into hand-to-hand battle every time the Armada attacked a planet. She supposed the marauders, despite their cocky nature, probably deserved to enjoy themselves while they could.
Clay finished her drink and set it down on the bar. "Sounds like a real bitch," she commented casually. "Let's dance."
Tah shook her head. "No, I don't think." she heard the drunken marauder next to her clear his throat. "Sure, why not." She followed Clay out to the dance floor, feeling very strange with her head towering over everyone else's, and mimicked their movements. She felt very uncomfortable, and was beginning to think heading back to the bar or making an excuse to leave altogether might be fun when Clay yanked on her arm, causing Tah to double over as the pink-eyed marauder tried to speak to her over the music.
"What's with Shorty, anyway? He's always running away from me when I try to talk to him."
Tah wondered why Clay would even mention Dak. She thought she hated him. "He's kinda shy," she said, straining to speak loud enough to be heard. "Besides, you keep making fun of him. Of course he's going to try to avoid you!"
Clay seemed displeased and said defensively, "The squat needs to be shaken up a little! Don't blame me if he can't take a little verbal abuse! That's still no excuse to run away!"
"Run away?" Just then a message probe flew through the doorway of the Entertainment Center and bounced against Tah's unsuspecting head. She caught the round, black device and tried to listen to its message, but the music was too loud. She excused herself and walked out of the noisy room, relived for some precious silence. She glanced back down at the black probe.
It repeated in a recorded voice, "Message for Tah. Message for Tah." She pushed a small button on it, letting it identify her finger print. "You are summoned to the transmission room for an audience with the Almighty Tallest. Come immediately!" The ball jumped out of Tah's hand and buzzed away, apparently with some other message to deliver.
"An audience? I wonder what they've got to say to a grunt like you?" Tah turned around to see Clay with her usually brash expression.
"Well, I won't know 'till I get there."
"Well, you'd better go. I can see you're a lucky one." Clay raised her claws in goodbye and made her way back into the smoky Entertainment Center. Tah quickly maneuvered her way toward the transmission room at the front of the Massive. She wondered why they'd want to speak with a researcher of all people and her curiosity began to mount. She wondered if she'd done something terribly wrong earlier that day when she'd been making her deliveries, but she couldn't think of what it could be. The door hissed open and she found herself in the transmission room where the Tallest received all their calls. They were sitting on their two curved thrones before the monitor, apparently waiting. She marched up to a guard, who promptly identified her and led her in.
"Ah, Tah, I see you've arrived," said Tallest Purple, claws steepled together.
"Yes, my Tallest." She did her best to stand as strait as possible as she wiggled her antennae in salute.
Tallest Red nodded and began. "You are a researcher at the Hive?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Yes. The Massive will be arriving at Divastis soon so the Armada can pick up some new recruits before we continue the invasion. There is going to be a sort of thing to rally the troops before we leave. We've scheduled a number of different kinds of performances for the soldiers in a sort of . eating. dancing. thing!"
Purple rolled his violet eyes. ". A banquet?"
Red ignored him. ".And since you seem to have a firm grasp on the ancient tongue, we'd like you to perform a ballad or something."
Tah didn't know whether to be honored or terrified. To be standing in front of her leaders like this, let alone be asked to do a particular favor by them, was more than she could ever imagine as a soldier. However, performing would mean going before a gigantic crowd of rowdy soldiers who probably would have no interest in what she'd be reciting. She envisioned herself getting booed off the stage, shrouded in humiliation. "Yes, Sirs!"
Tallest Red leaned on one arm, as if he were bored. "Yes, soldier. Now, have you ever been to Divastis before?"
"Yes, Sir. I graduated from the Invader Academy less than two years ago."
This information took both the Tallest by surprise. Red's face contorted in confusion while Purple leaned forward in his throne and asked in unbelieving tones. "You were trained as an Invader?"
"Yes, my Tallest. However, I was not selected to be part of the invasion."
"But how did you get the job in the Hive? Shouldn't you be overqualified for that? List your credentials!"
Tah straitened and gave the information in a practiced manner - this question was not an unusual one while under the Irken Empire. "Sirs! I graduated with honors from the Soldier Academy specializing in engineering and was accepted at the Invader Academy, where I again received honors studying weapons technologies. I've served an internship as a mechanic on the I.S.C. Taco, and having finished that assignment was sent here as a researcher."
Purple glanced over at Red, who was grinning at some private joke. ".The I.S.C. Taco?" He shook his head and brought his attention back to Tah. "You've obviously been misplaced by the Control Brain. You have advanced military training. You'll stay in your position until we can find another researcher, but then you'll be transferred to a more appropriate position."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."
Red looked Tah over and mused, "She's tall and qualified. I wonder why you weren't selected as an Invader. Soldier, what are you weapon proficiencies?"
"Sir! I have 98.6 percent accuracy with the laser. I am trained in basic hand to hand combat and have studied the workings of larger battle mechs, such as the Megadoomer. I am also trained in the use of the Reshma." It was difficult for Tah not to smile about her accomplishments. The Reshma was an ancient bladed Irken weapon, wielded with both hands and exceedingly deadly. Also, exceedingly hard to master. Her back tightened with pleasure and excitement as Tallest Red gave a slight grunt of approval.
Red looked over to Purple. "We should have her make a demonstration with the Reshma!"
"She's already reciting a ballad."
"But that's boring. The soldiers would like the Reshma demonstration a lot more!"
"No, I want her to recite the ballad!" Purple was now visibly annoyed at his counterpart, who slunk down in his chair moodily.
"Fine, fine, she'll read the stupid poem. Don't blame me when all the soldiers fall asleep. The point is that she should have been an Invader. The Control Brain must have messed up on that too! We need somebody to take a look at it."
Purple nodded in agreement with his friend before addressing Tah. "You will be given a formal uniform for the night. It will be delivered to your room tomorrow evening. Please contact the Massive tailors if it doesn't fit."
"Thank you, my Tallest!" Tah wiggled her antennae and marched out of the room, more than exhilarated. She looked to see the time, and realized she was late to meet Dak at the dining hall. Although he'd more than understand her lateness, she rushed to meet him. She found him sitting alone, poking at his food. She rushed over and sat across from him. She was about the let the news of her latest interview with the Tallest spill out of her mouth when her friend looked up at her. His light lavender eyes were wide with anxiety and he looked as if he were about to cry. "What's wrong, my Huk'ra?"
"I'm being stalked by that marauder!" he exclaimed with a look of total dismay. "She's following me around and always wants to talk to me and tease me. She practically mauled someone who tried to get her to leave me alone! I don't know what I'm going to do. I keep trying to hide from her, but she's too good at finding me!"
Tah remembered the conversation she'd had with Clay outside of the Entertainment Center. "She mentioned something like that to me. Maybe you shouldn't avoid her."
"What do you mean?" Dak frowned down at his untouched food. "She's trying to make my life miserable."
Tah leaned forward so she could look deeper into Dak's face. "She's not the kind of person that's easy to avoid. I gave up a long time ago, and I swear she gets better. She was just complaining to me how you always ran away from her."
"That's because I am running away! She's scary! She's a marauder! She could rip my throat out in a single move!" Dak waved his arms excitedly. "I think she hates me and I just don't know what to do."
Tah placed an arm on the tiny Irken's shoulder. "I'm sure you two will work something out. If it makes you feel better, she won't have as much time to bug you once the Armada starts its next round of attacking planets. She'll be fighting most of the time, and if she's not doing that, I'm sure she'll be pretty worn out. She's just having her fun while she can."
Dak nodded and began to eat his food. "How do you like your job? It isn't what you expected to be doing."
Tah shrugged. "I don't think I'll be doing it for long. I just got back from going before the Almighty Tallest and they think I've been misplaced. They said I'd be getting another job after we pick up another researcher. I don't know when that's going to be, though."
Dak looked up in surprise. "You were summoned to go before the Tallest?" His glum face brightened. "That's an honor! Why did they want to see you?" He leaned forward and swung his short legs back and forth in anticipation.
His enthusiasm made Tah smile. "Tallest Purple overheard me reciting an ancient ballad in the library. The Massive is picking up some fresh soldiers from Divastis and a small show is going to be put on for them. They did something like that when I graduated, but the Tallest weren't there because the Armada was out in deep space at the time. They want me to go and recite a ballad for the troops. How neat is that? In the process of all this they figured out that I'd been to the Invader Academy and that's how the whole job thing got started."
Dak's lavender eyes were wide with interest. "Wow. You're being singled out, Tah. That's more than an honor. Your hard work is starting to pay off. I wish I'd learned the language."
"You're talented without it. Just think how far you've come. You're one of the very few who have the illustrious distinction of working on the Massive. And at your height, that's a real accomplishment. More important than performing at some lousy dinner." She winked one eye at her friend and laughed.
Chapter Two: Getting Used to the Massive.
Tah looked at herself in the mirror, making sure her new uniform fit. It was usually difficult for her to find cloths because she was so tall. She turned around and stretched her arms out, but everything seemed to be in order. She glanced over to her roommate's bed, which was unoccupied and made. Mim hadn't been kidding when she said she wouldn't be in the room much - she hadn't been in when Tah finally lumbered to bed and had been gone by the time she woke up. She really wasn't sure her roommate had been there at all. She glanced at herself one last time before heading out and marching over to the Hive.
When she arrived the work stations that were so quiet the day before were engulfed in a cacophony of confusion. Some of her coworkers argued with eachother while others just stared desperately at her monitors. Tzen was busy trying to calm everybody down and explain the situation. "It's okay, everybody," he said in his lazy voice. "It's okay. We'll just copy everything out on data disks and deliver it all by hand. It's okay." Tah was confused and she decided to ask Tzen. He turned and smiled at her when she tapped him on the shoulder.
"What's going on?"
"There's a computer glitch and none of the information is being sent properly. A maintenance crew is supposed to come, but the last time we had a problem like this it wasn't fixed until the end of the day. It's really not that big of a deal, but they're so unaccustomed to it. They don't like the idea of wasting their time by delivering their reports by hand. They'll settle down in a moment. they just arrived and the news is still new to them." Tah nodded and sat down at her seat to begin her work. As Tzen had predicted, the others soon calmed down and began quietly researching and typing as they had the day before. Once Tah had enough information she stood and picked up a pile of data disks - each containing the answer to a different request. She flipped through them to see where she had to go. One belonged to the head cook, one to another chief mechanic, one to one of the admirals, another admiral. she stopped when she saw some information meant for Tallest Purple. She gulped, and realized she didn't have the clearance to see most of these people. She walked over to Tzen and interrupted him from his work. "What's the matter?"
"I can't deliver these."
"What? Why not?" Tzen scratched his head, not understanding the dilemma.
"I don't have the clearance to see some of these people. there are admirals and even." she lowered her voice, "There's information for Tallest Purple AND Tallest Red in here."
Tzen gave her a surprisingly hearty laugh. "Is that all? Well, we can fix that." He shuffled under his desk where there was apparently a drawer. He pulled out an authorization card and a pad with a map of the higher restriction levels of the ship. "I should have given this to you yesterday, but I forgot." He shrugged his flabby shoulders. "Whoops."
Tah took her authorization card and map and headed out of the room. It felt good to take a break and stretch her legs. She flipped through her disks and tried to figure out which person was closest, and raised her eyebrow when she saw Admiral Queue's name. She wondered if she'd see Mim but realized that she probably didn't want to. She decided to get that delivery done first and walked strait into the restricted area. As she wandered around she noticed that the halls grew wider and the uniforms more decorated. She looked down to take another glance at her map when something hard hit her head. She nearly fell over before she was prodded away by something sharp. "Who goes there?" demanded a growling voice. Tah blinked as she saw Mim glaring at her with almost predatorial ferocity.
"You know who I am! I live in the same room as you!" She was seriously starting to believe something was wrong with her roommate.
"What is your business!" Mim continued to point her sharp weapon at Tah's unprotected stomach.
Tah fumbled with her disks and handed the one belonging to Admiral Queue to the guard. "I just needed to deliver this, that's all!" She couldn't hide the panic from her voice. Mim snatched the disk away and placed it in her pocket.
"Very well," she said coldly. "I will make sure the admiral gets the information. Carry on." Tah walked away, but again could feel Mim's eyes following her. She rushed down the hall, and actually ran for a while before she regained her senses. She looked around and realized she had gotten herself completely lost. She was level-headed and didn't worry too much. She pulled out her map and was about to get her location when she began to hear something beautiful down the hall. Chords of music were drifting by, played on some stringed instrument. Tah looked about, and seeing no one was around, followed the sound to an open door. She couldn't help but peek inside, and her eyes met the most lavish room she'd ever seen. Everything was large and plush, from the drapery at the window to the carpeting to the couch. Even the bookshelves that lined the wall seemed to have an air of elegance about them. At the far end of the room was a tall Irken with his back turned, playing a lovely harped instrument. It was very rare, but Tah knew its name - the K'dor. It was an ancient Irken device only played by the most noble of Irkens. She closed her eyes for a moment, hiding behind the wall while listening to the heavenly sounds. The song was unfamiliar to her, but she was fascinated by its melody. The player began to softly hum as he played, and then began to mouth some words.
"La tith va Huk'ra, ser gra ich fra." he sang softly. "De shoo rafra metak lei." Tah recognized the words as ancient, and her curiosity as to the identity of the player increased. She intended to listen to the entire song before leaving to find her next delivery when she breathed in some dust and coughed. She held her hands to her mouth in horror as the music stopped and a very irritated voice emanated from the room. "Hey!"
Guiltily Tah showed herself, walking into the room. She looked at the player and gasped as he faced her. She bowed her head and wiggled her antennae. "I'm sorry," she apologized. "My Tallest, I didn't mean to interrupt."
Tallest Purple looked her over, no longer seeming angry but very interested. "So," he said, noticing her uniform, "you work at the Hive."
He hovered over to her, and Tah felt odd having to look up at someone's face. She was as tall as his chin, and it was very rare for her to stand next to someone taller than she. "Y-yes, Sir," she said nervously. She'd never seen either of her leaders in person before, and as she began to realize his position she became more and more nerved up. "I have some information for you." She began to flip through the data chips until she reached his. She handed it out to him with a shaky hand and he took it. She turned her back to leave, but he stopped her.
"Wait up a moment. You have a lot of those, and your superior probably doesn't expect you for a while. Come in." She turned and stepped back into the room. "You are the one at the library that recited Uk'shreen La Teth, aren't you?" All she could do was nod. "Yes, I thought I recognized you."
"I didn't see you there, Sir."
"No, I came in after you began. Then you ran off before I could congratulate you. You did well, soldier."
Tah was very hot under the collar, and didn't know what to do. To be congratulated personally by one of the Tallest was a magnificent honor. Luckily she was saved by another person walking into the room. "Hey!" he said, "It's time to go listen to the. who's this person?"
Tah lifted her bowed head and looked up only to see her other leader, Tallest Red. Purple explained to him. "The Hive is broken again. I think this one is new here. Are you?"
"Yes, Sir." She fumbled through the chips until she found the one for Tallest Red. She held it out to him and said in a shaky voice. "This one is for you."
Tallest Red took the chip and stuffed it in one of his pockets. "Great. Now let's go. The Invaders are going to call and I ordered us some curly fries." Tah couldn't help but grin as she saw Purple's antennae perk up at the mention of curly fries. She had heard he liked them and now she knew even these awe-inspiring figures were still Irken.
She took her cue to leave. "My Tallest!" she said as she quickly marched out of the room. She looked on her map, and knowing where she had just been was able to figure out where she was. She was near the Prime Admiral's chambers, and she figured that since she'd just seen the Tallest seeing him would be nothing at all. She rounded the corner and found his door shut. She was about to press the sensor when she heard an angry voice from inside.
"I don't care what you have to do, just do it! Understand me?" She figured that he was in the middle of a transmission and waited until she was sure all was silent before she pressed the sensor, letting him know someone was there. "What is it now?" she heard him grumble as the door hissed open. Before her stood an Irken who stood up to her chest and had the most alarming shade of orangey red eyes. She quickly held out his information chip, nearly paralyzed by his piercing glare. He looked at it, snatched it away, and shut the door again. She slowly backed away and decided to get done with her deliveries as quickly as possible.
After a long day of compiling data and delivering it, Tah was ready to relax. Again, she didn't want to go back to her room unless she really had to because she was afraid to run into her roommate. Dak wasn't going to be off for a few more hours so she wasn't sure what she was going to do. She was considering going back to the library when somebody small bumped into her. "Hey," said someone from below, "Watch where you're going!" Tah looked down to see Clay, and in the back of her mind she realized that the marauder really wasn't all that much taller then Dak. She considered mentioning it, but something about Clay's nature made her decide against. Instead she just looked down at her with what she was sure was a stupid expression. "Oh! It's you! Look, I'm going to the Entertainment Center. Let's hurry before that squat gets off of work." She took Tah's hand and began to pull.
"The Entertainment Center? What? I don't want to go to the Entertainment Center!" Tah wasn't used to the noisy atmosphere of those places and always ended up standing uncomfortably at the edge of the room watching the other Irkens dance. She tried to resist, but Clay had a death grip on her glove. Realizing she had nothing better to do, she reluctantly followed the marauder.
As they entered the Entertainment Center Tah was almost blinded by the darkness. She stood still as her dark maroon eyes adjusted. Monotonous, pounding music filled her body as Clay led her to the bar. Smoke filled the room, illuminated by decorative red lasers, and if she wasn't in such a cramped, small room she would have half expected the Tallest to make an entrance. As she looked around everyone and seemed to wear the same uniform as her aggressive friend. She looked down at Clay and asked, "Do you marauders ever do any work?" She had to yell due to the noise.
Clay gave a lopsided grin. "Aside from training, no, not really. We're pretty much set until the Armada needs some ground troops." She ordered a drink and began gulping it down. "I'm telling you, being a marauder is the life!" She lifted her drink at Tah and took another sip. Tah just leaned on the bar and watched, beginning to feel a headache coming on. She was the tallest person in the room, as was usually the case, and she could feel all the males eyeing her. She grimaced as a half-drunken marauder began to swagger in her direction. She rolled her eyes as he sidled up next to her, as he only reached her waist. She wondered how he'd physically manage to make a move if he were so inclined. She turned away from him, towards Clay, hoping to make her non-interest clear.
"The messaging system was broken at the Hive today," she complained, trying to make conversation. "We had to personally deliver all the information. I spent half my day wandering around in the restricted area."
This information caught Clay's attention. "Really? I think I'd be shoved out an airlock if I came within ten feet of the restricted area. I bet you got to see the admirals and all sorts of important people. How come you get all the luck?"
"I was just delivering the stuff they'd requested. I hope I don't have to do it again, I almost got beaten up by my own roommate."
"Who's your roommate? I would have thought you'd be hanging around with her. I'd be with mine, but she requested a different room for some reason." She shrugged and took another gulp from her drink. "Don't know what was wrong with her, but it's nice having my own room."
Tah really laughed for the first time since she'd gone on board the Massive at the thought of what it must be like to live with Clay. She figured she would have asked for another room too. Her mind then turned back to Mim. "She's so weird," she began. "She's a guard for Admiral Queue, and I guess it's gotten to her head or something. When I was going to deliver something to him, she whacked me over the head and demanded that I tell her who I was, as if I hadn't slept in the same room with her the night before. She's never there, and she's always so mean." Tah let her eyes wander out among the sea of writhing dancers, figuring that a good three fourths of them must be marauders. She'd been working so hard, and she wondered what it would be like to have so much free time. But then again, she didn't want to have to go into hand-to-hand battle every time the Armada attacked a planet. She supposed the marauders, despite their cocky nature, probably deserved to enjoy themselves while they could.
Clay finished her drink and set it down on the bar. "Sounds like a real bitch," she commented casually. "Let's dance."
Tah shook her head. "No, I don't think." she heard the drunken marauder next to her clear his throat. "Sure, why not." She followed Clay out to the dance floor, feeling very strange with her head towering over everyone else's, and mimicked their movements. She felt very uncomfortable, and was beginning to think heading back to the bar or making an excuse to leave altogether might be fun when Clay yanked on her arm, causing Tah to double over as the pink-eyed marauder tried to speak to her over the music.
"What's with Shorty, anyway? He's always running away from me when I try to talk to him."
Tah wondered why Clay would even mention Dak. She thought she hated him. "He's kinda shy," she said, straining to speak loud enough to be heard. "Besides, you keep making fun of him. Of course he's going to try to avoid you!"
Clay seemed displeased and said defensively, "The squat needs to be shaken up a little! Don't blame me if he can't take a little verbal abuse! That's still no excuse to run away!"
"Run away?" Just then a message probe flew through the doorway of the Entertainment Center and bounced against Tah's unsuspecting head. She caught the round, black device and tried to listen to its message, but the music was too loud. She excused herself and walked out of the noisy room, relived for some precious silence. She glanced back down at the black probe.
It repeated in a recorded voice, "Message for Tah. Message for Tah." She pushed a small button on it, letting it identify her finger print. "You are summoned to the transmission room for an audience with the Almighty Tallest. Come immediately!" The ball jumped out of Tah's hand and buzzed away, apparently with some other message to deliver.
"An audience? I wonder what they've got to say to a grunt like you?" Tah turned around to see Clay with her usually brash expression.
"Well, I won't know 'till I get there."
"Well, you'd better go. I can see you're a lucky one." Clay raised her claws in goodbye and made her way back into the smoky Entertainment Center. Tah quickly maneuvered her way toward the transmission room at the front of the Massive. She wondered why they'd want to speak with a researcher of all people and her curiosity began to mount. She wondered if she'd done something terribly wrong earlier that day when she'd been making her deliveries, but she couldn't think of what it could be. The door hissed open and she found herself in the transmission room where the Tallest received all their calls. They were sitting on their two curved thrones before the monitor, apparently waiting. She marched up to a guard, who promptly identified her and led her in.
"Ah, Tah, I see you've arrived," said Tallest Purple, claws steepled together.
"Yes, my Tallest." She did her best to stand as strait as possible as she wiggled her antennae in salute.
Tallest Red nodded and began. "You are a researcher at the Hive?"
"Yes, Sir."
"Yes. The Massive will be arriving at Divastis soon so the Armada can pick up some new recruits before we continue the invasion. There is going to be a sort of thing to rally the troops before we leave. We've scheduled a number of different kinds of performances for the soldiers in a sort of . eating. dancing. thing!"
Purple rolled his violet eyes. ". A banquet?"
Red ignored him. ".And since you seem to have a firm grasp on the ancient tongue, we'd like you to perform a ballad or something."
Tah didn't know whether to be honored or terrified. To be standing in front of her leaders like this, let alone be asked to do a particular favor by them, was more than she could ever imagine as a soldier. However, performing would mean going before a gigantic crowd of rowdy soldiers who probably would have no interest in what she'd be reciting. She envisioned herself getting booed off the stage, shrouded in humiliation. "Yes, Sirs!"
Tallest Red leaned on one arm, as if he were bored. "Yes, soldier. Now, have you ever been to Divastis before?"
"Yes, Sir. I graduated from the Invader Academy less than two years ago."
This information took both the Tallest by surprise. Red's face contorted in confusion while Purple leaned forward in his throne and asked in unbelieving tones. "You were trained as an Invader?"
"Yes, my Tallest. However, I was not selected to be part of the invasion."
"But how did you get the job in the Hive? Shouldn't you be overqualified for that? List your credentials!"
Tah straitened and gave the information in a practiced manner - this question was not an unusual one while under the Irken Empire. "Sirs! I graduated with honors from the Soldier Academy specializing in engineering and was accepted at the Invader Academy, where I again received honors studying weapons technologies. I've served an internship as a mechanic on the I.S.C. Taco, and having finished that assignment was sent here as a researcher."
Purple glanced over at Red, who was grinning at some private joke. ".The I.S.C. Taco?" He shook his head and brought his attention back to Tah. "You've obviously been misplaced by the Control Brain. You have advanced military training. You'll stay in your position until we can find another researcher, but then you'll be transferred to a more appropriate position."
"Yes, Sir. Thank you, Sir."
Red looked Tah over and mused, "She's tall and qualified. I wonder why you weren't selected as an Invader. Soldier, what are you weapon proficiencies?"
"Sir! I have 98.6 percent accuracy with the laser. I am trained in basic hand to hand combat and have studied the workings of larger battle mechs, such as the Megadoomer. I am also trained in the use of the Reshma." It was difficult for Tah not to smile about her accomplishments. The Reshma was an ancient bladed Irken weapon, wielded with both hands and exceedingly deadly. Also, exceedingly hard to master. Her back tightened with pleasure and excitement as Tallest Red gave a slight grunt of approval.
Red looked over to Purple. "We should have her make a demonstration with the Reshma!"
"She's already reciting a ballad."
"But that's boring. The soldiers would like the Reshma demonstration a lot more!"
"No, I want her to recite the ballad!" Purple was now visibly annoyed at his counterpart, who slunk down in his chair moodily.
"Fine, fine, she'll read the stupid poem. Don't blame me when all the soldiers fall asleep. The point is that she should have been an Invader. The Control Brain must have messed up on that too! We need somebody to take a look at it."
Purple nodded in agreement with his friend before addressing Tah. "You will be given a formal uniform for the night. It will be delivered to your room tomorrow evening. Please contact the Massive tailors if it doesn't fit."
"Thank you, my Tallest!" Tah wiggled her antennae and marched out of the room, more than exhilarated. She looked to see the time, and realized she was late to meet Dak at the dining hall. Although he'd more than understand her lateness, she rushed to meet him. She found him sitting alone, poking at his food. She rushed over and sat across from him. She was about the let the news of her latest interview with the Tallest spill out of her mouth when her friend looked up at her. His light lavender eyes were wide with anxiety and he looked as if he were about to cry. "What's wrong, my Huk'ra?"
"I'm being stalked by that marauder!" he exclaimed with a look of total dismay. "She's following me around and always wants to talk to me and tease me. She practically mauled someone who tried to get her to leave me alone! I don't know what I'm going to do. I keep trying to hide from her, but she's too good at finding me!"
Tah remembered the conversation she'd had with Clay outside of the Entertainment Center. "She mentioned something like that to me. Maybe you shouldn't avoid her."
"What do you mean?" Dak frowned down at his untouched food. "She's trying to make my life miserable."
Tah leaned forward so she could look deeper into Dak's face. "She's not the kind of person that's easy to avoid. I gave up a long time ago, and I swear she gets better. She was just complaining to me how you always ran away from her."
"That's because I am running away! She's scary! She's a marauder! She could rip my throat out in a single move!" Dak waved his arms excitedly. "I think she hates me and I just don't know what to do."
Tah placed an arm on the tiny Irken's shoulder. "I'm sure you two will work something out. If it makes you feel better, she won't have as much time to bug you once the Armada starts its next round of attacking planets. She'll be fighting most of the time, and if she's not doing that, I'm sure she'll be pretty worn out. She's just having her fun while she can."
Dak nodded and began to eat his food. "How do you like your job? It isn't what you expected to be doing."
Tah shrugged. "I don't think I'll be doing it for long. I just got back from going before the Almighty Tallest and they think I've been misplaced. They said I'd be getting another job after we pick up another researcher. I don't know when that's going to be, though."
Dak looked up in surprise. "You were summoned to go before the Tallest?" His glum face brightened. "That's an honor! Why did they want to see you?" He leaned forward and swung his short legs back and forth in anticipation.
His enthusiasm made Tah smile. "Tallest Purple overheard me reciting an ancient ballad in the library. The Massive is picking up some fresh soldiers from Divastis and a small show is going to be put on for them. They did something like that when I graduated, but the Tallest weren't there because the Armada was out in deep space at the time. They want me to go and recite a ballad for the troops. How neat is that? In the process of all this they figured out that I'd been to the Invader Academy and that's how the whole job thing got started."
Dak's lavender eyes were wide with interest. "Wow. You're being singled out, Tah. That's more than an honor. Your hard work is starting to pay off. I wish I'd learned the language."
"You're talented without it. Just think how far you've come. You're one of the very few who have the illustrious distinction of working on the Massive. And at your height, that's a real accomplishment. More important than performing at some lousy dinner." She winked one eye at her friend and laughed.
