Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Invader Zim.
Chapter Seven: The Game's Afoot! - The Return of Mim
Tah happily hummed a tune as she strolled along the corridors of the Massive, despite the fact her investigation seemed to have screeched to a complete standstill. The report on Yir had been amazingly uninformative - detailing a highly accomplished admiral who resigned at the height of his career to take up with some foreign woman. There was nothing incredibly unusual about that and there was nothing to deduce from it. However, the workout she'd taken yesterday had done a world of good. All she had to do was wait until that afternoon for the information the Hive was gathering for her. She glanced out of a window and looked at the Armada's ships prepping for that morning's battle. She hoped Clay would come out of the battle uninjured. The joining would be in just three more days, and she had to remember to stop by the tailor to get a formal uniform.
She wanted to see Purple, but she guessed that he was busy with the upcoming attack. Besides, she didn't think she had the authorization to just drop by. He was a Tallest, and therefore he surely had important things to do. For a moment, she thought she felt somebody pass by, but she supposed it was her imagination because there was no one in the hall. She sighed and scratched her neck, feeling something entangled itself in her claw. She held up a long, fine hair that had managed to land on her. She cocked one brow. How did a hair get on the Massive? She tightened her claws around it and headed for the Information Hive. Tzen greeted her at the door and asked in his mellow voice, "What can I do for you? What can I do?"
She held up the hair. "I found this on me and I was wondering if you could identify it. .It's a hair." She delicately handed the thin thread to her former boss and he took it to his work station. He laid it down on his desk and reached in his drawers. After a moment he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small light and let its blue luminescence envelope the hair. The device began to beep and he switched it off.
"Hmm." he said as he rubbed his chin. "It can't identify the species this is from." He began to examine the light. "That's never happened before. Wonder if it's broken." He carefully lifted the hair and placed it into an airtight container. "I'll store it in the back room and see if I can't identify it. How's the investigation?"
Tah shrugged. "I'm doing what I can. Will those reports be in this afternoon?"
"Yes, they should be. All the information needed for Umber has been gathered, so that'll quicken things up."
"Thanks, chief. See you around." She smiled at the old Irken and walked into the hall. She shivered as she felt something brush past her, but again there was nothing. There was nothing there, so Tah just shook her head and continued on. That is, before she heard someone chuckling from behind her. She turned around and spoke to the nothingness. "Where are you?" she demanded. "Is anybody there?" There was silence yet again. Blinking her weary eyes, Tah began to walk backwards down the corridor. Although she told herself she was just imagining things, she still had an intense urge to head to some public place - maybe the dining hall. She was about to turn around and march in that direction when something heavy slammed against her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She quickly regained stood, but her arm throbbed with pain. She glanced about anxiously. No one was to be seen, but her sensitive antennae could feel another's presence. "You have some sort of holographic invisibility thing, don't you?" She was answered by another blow. Without further thought, Tah jumped up and began running wildly, knowing that someone was close behind.
She didn't even know where she was running. All she was aware of was the shadow that loomed behind her, the invisible threat that was matching her every step. People were giving her strange looks, but she didn't bother with them. She dove right and left, into random hallways she'd never seen. Her breath was growing short and she needed a place to hide. She skidded into the nearest room and shut the door, praying that she'd locked her adversary out. She turned and sat on the floor, her back to the wall, and panted for a moment. She looked around, noticing she was in a large square room, its walls decorated with a number of short range weapons. There was another door at the other side of the room, and she hefted herself up to see if it was locked. She stepped toward it, but froze when she felt someone beside her. She was again thrown down, and a person materialized before her.
"Mim! I thought you left! You're - you're going to try to kill me!" She backed away and fought to stand. Her old roommate was standing there, dressed in black and grinning like a demon.
"No," she said simply with her usual monosyllabic way. Tah didn't believe her as she inched closer, wielding her old standard-issue spear. The thought of running toward one of the doors in hopes of escape never reached her mind. She was too preoccupied with the thought of getting away from the former guard. She circled around the room, never letting her sight off Mim. Her back hit the wall and she gasped with fright. A shiver ran down her spine, and her hands clutched the wall wildly before her fingers touched an intricately carved piece of wood. She momentarily tore her gaze away from the dangerous figure before her and looked at the most beautiful Reshma she'd ever seen. A well-polished curved blade stretched along its length, recently sharpened and very deadly. She couldn't help but wonder at the convenience as she grabbed the weapon off the wall and held it with both hands. She had no time to prepare herself as Mim lunged at her with her spear. Tah yelped and hopped away, the sharp end of Mim's weapon lightly grazing her arm, cutting her sleeve.
"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me!" Tah tried to get in stance to use her weapon, but it was impossible with her opponent relentlessly swinging that spear at her. She'd practiced with the Reshma for years, but had never actually had to fight with it. She began to understand why it was such a difficult skill to master. She ran around the room, using her blade as a shield against the flurry of oncoming attacks.
"Can't destroy the package - " said Mim in her throaty voice. She lunged and placed the full force of her body in another swing, aimed at Tah's torso. It was deflected, but the powerful hit caused the frightened former researcher to stumble. " - but that doesn't mean I can't have fun."
"What did I ever do to you?" yelled Tah as she frantically ran to the other side of the room. She wondered if she'd be better off without the Reshma - she'd managed to beat up Montoy fairly well. However, Montoy didn't have a long, sharpened spear. Tah kept her weapon and swung its heavy blade at Mim. Tah unconsciously back herself into a corner and trembled as Mim walked toward her with an air of supreme confidence. She was beginning to loose her nerve, but she had the presence of mind to duck as the blunt end of Mim's spear swung over her head. She made a huge leap and was able to get back to the center of the room.
"What are you doing in my training room!" growled an angry voice. A door slid closed and Tah turned to see Red, glaring at the two of them. He pointed at her. "You're using my Reshma!" She didn't have time to reply, as Mim took advantage of the distraction to slam her spear against her already injured arm. She held the Reshma up and tried to arc it toward Mim, but the guard easily stepped out of the way. Now Red could see the danger of the situation. He squared his shoulders and pushed a hidden button. His robes transformed around him, forming a red armored battle suit. His feet touched the ground and he stalked toward Tah, shoving her onto the ground. The Reshma fell from her hands and he caught it before it could hit the ground. He immediately turned the weapon in a graceful swing, hitting Mim's spear with a resounding clang. Tah watched with widening eyes as she huddled herself against the wall. She could see Red was far more skilled than she at the Reshma as he twisted his lithe body around in what seemed to be an elegant yet deadly dance with the weapon. His stokes were fast and precise as he manipulated the blade into swirling arcs. Mim hardly had a chance as she fell into a defensive mode. Her spear was thrust out of her hand and landed several feet away. She hadn't time to retrieve it before she was pinned to the far wall, the blade of the ancient weapon barely touching her throat.
"That's Mim!" Tah heard herself shrieking. "That's Mim!"
Red's eyes narrowed as he looked into the expressionless face of the former guard. "Get some guards to take her away," he instructed calmly, his voice slightly underlined with danger. Tah automatically stood at his command and went to the control panel at the door. In just a few moments a number of well-armed men entered. They all stood at attention, but their eyes were wide at the sight of their leader holding down their recent coworker. "Take her to the high security detainment center!" he hissed. They didn't question him, but took hold of the prisoner and carried her away. She didn't resist, but rather teased Tah with a grim smirk as she disappeared from view.
Tah looked toward Red. She'd never seen his battle suit before, and she had to admit it made him into a rather intimidating figure. Having been attacked once more had drained her energy, and all she could do was blankly watch as Red approached her with a serious face. He looked down at her, and she wondered what he was going to say. Was he angry? She shrieked as one of his long arms came around her in a friendly hug. "You suck!" he exclaimed in an unexpectantly cheery tone. "I mean, you really suck! I've never seen anybody so bad at using the Reshma!" He released her and gingerly placed the weapon back in its place.
"Don't do that again!" yelled Tah, referring to his sudden hug. "You scared the living - " she then remembered his rank. "Sir! I mean, you - you startled me."
Red laughed at her formal speech. "You touched me! You're talking like that after you touched me? What? Didn't you mean it?" He acted as if he hadn't forced her hand on his cheek. His cloths returned to normal and he hovered next to her. "Let's get some nachos!"
"What?" yelled Tah, aghast. "Shouldn't we question her or something? I mean, she's right here! Right now! She has to know what's going on!" She began heading for the door until a strong hand stopped her.
"Let her get to her cell first! Gya! Besides, Purple and I want an update on your investigation. You've been leaving us in the dark." He wagged a claw at her, his voice playfully menacing.
"But, what about the invasion?"
Red shrugged. "We've already addressed the troops. What more can we do? Purple's dead set on reviewing some policies and you're my ticket out!" He pushed her in the direction of the door. "Get a move on, soldier!" She had no choice but to obey.
They headed to a room Tah'd never seen before. It was more informal then the rest of the ship, sporting a couch and a larch window that looked out on the glorious stars. It was also empty, except for Purple hunched over a table. He was absorbed in his work, brow furrowed as he chewed on a pen and looked over a number of electronic pads. Tah couldn't help but think how inexorably sexy he was when he was concentrating like that, but then she drove those thoughts away. He was her friend, and perhaps a bit more, but he was still a Tallest. She pounded that reminder in her head as she entered the room. Purple finally noticed them and turned around. "Tah?" he said, truly surprised. "Is something wrong?"
Red casually rested a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I thought it would be a good time to catch up on the investigation."
Purple stood and crossed his arms, trying to look annoyed but not quite succeeding. "You just want to get out of reviewing these! Why do I have to do all the work?" He began to gather the pads in a neat pile as Red directed Tah to sit.
"Want a soda or something?" Red didn't wait for an answer as he hovered toward a cooler. Tah looked around and realized there weren't any minions about. She looked back to Red as he started to chuckle to himself as he rummaged through the cooler. "Hey Tah, why don't you tell Pur about the fight?"
"Fight?" Purple quickly examined Tah, who he realized was beginning to develop some very nasty looking bruises. Her sleeve was torn and she was gingerly rubbing her arm. He hovered over to examine her more closely. "What happened?"
Tah smiled at his concern and took a big breath. "Mim returned. I don't know what she was trying to do, but she and I fought until Tallest Red showed up."
Red hovered by and handed everyone a drink. "Just Red now," he reminded severely. "And you should have seen her! Wooo, it's a good thing she didn't demonstrate in front of the graduates - she was terrible! She was trying to use my Reshma." He sniffed, as if his Reshma was far too good for her. Tah grinned and took a sip from her drink.
Purple took a seat next to Tah. "Are you alright?" He lightly touched her arm. "What did she do?"
"She attacked me again. It's a good thing Red came by and took her out, because I think she was fixing to take off with me again. Either that or bludgeon me to death." She shook her head, bringing one hand up as if she had a headache. "I guess it has something to do with my investigation. Someone must think I know too much."
A determined expression passed by Purple's face. He turned to Red. "Do we have her?"
Red took a long gulp from his soda. "She's being roughed up as we speak!" He lifted his can in celebration.
Purple nodded and looked back at Tah, his worried expression returning. "We should give you some protection. A guard or something - " He drank from his soda.
Tah nodded. "Sounds good to me." She looked back to the door where she'd entered and a shiver ran down her spine as she remembered being stalked in the halls. She frowned at the floor and let out a depressed sigh. Both the Tallest noticed.
"You know, Tah," said Purple slowly, "You can let someone else take over the investigation. I think Red would agree that you've gone through quite enough." He glanced toward his co-Tallest, who nodded vigorously.
Tah glared at him for a moment, but then softened her expression and shook her head. "As an Irken, my devotion lies with my Tallest. I don't want to stop - I want to find out who shot at you. I know they'll try to get you again." She faced Red. "Shall I give you a full report of my findings? Now that I've thought things over, I've realized that I was incomplete in my first report of the situation." She didn't wait for a reply. Instead she folded her hands together and began to rattle off her analysis. "While I was captured at the base, Montoy told me that they only wanted to kill Purple. They figure one shaken Tallest would be easier to defeat in a coup and figured Purple would be an easier target. They were amassing what seemed to be a fleet, although it seemed rather pathetic. However, there's no telling what all this 'Yir' person has. Montoy said that he never came to the base for long periods of time, so he must have other hideouts." She scratched her head. "I took a look at the report on Admiral Yir, but there didn't seem to be anything in there to suggest he would do all this. It seems as if he were exceptionally loyal until he ran off with that woman. What was she, a Jodulan?"
Both the Tallest nodded with dismay, but Red seemed especially angry. "We were at war with them at the time. He deserted his post to join the enemy! He was a prime example of an Irken soldier! Strategies he designed are taught at the Academies!"
Tah wondered why Red was so upset. Certainly a deserter of the former admiral's caliber was disturbing, but it had all happened long before he became a Tallest - perhaps before he was old enough to join the Marauder Academy. There was no way he could have known Yir, but he seemed to take it personally. "Er, Yir would be very old right now, so I wonder if he's got the energy to begin a plot to overthrow the Empire. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't some other mind behind all this. However, if that's the case this person has not revealed himself. It certainly couldn't be Bri - he was obviously just another grunt, some sort of coordinator in charge of communications." She sighed. "I really don't have any leads until I review the information I ordered from the Hive. I need to talk with Mim - maybe she'll tell me something useful. I should interrogate Tark too -" She began to stand, but stopped when Red frowned at her. She sat back down and sent him a questioning glance.
"We haven't had our nachos yet!"
Chapter Seven: The Game's Afoot! - The Return of Mim
Tah happily hummed a tune as she strolled along the corridors of the Massive, despite the fact her investigation seemed to have screeched to a complete standstill. The report on Yir had been amazingly uninformative - detailing a highly accomplished admiral who resigned at the height of his career to take up with some foreign woman. There was nothing incredibly unusual about that and there was nothing to deduce from it. However, the workout she'd taken yesterday had done a world of good. All she had to do was wait until that afternoon for the information the Hive was gathering for her. She glanced out of a window and looked at the Armada's ships prepping for that morning's battle. She hoped Clay would come out of the battle uninjured. The joining would be in just three more days, and she had to remember to stop by the tailor to get a formal uniform.
She wanted to see Purple, but she guessed that he was busy with the upcoming attack. Besides, she didn't think she had the authorization to just drop by. He was a Tallest, and therefore he surely had important things to do. For a moment, she thought she felt somebody pass by, but she supposed it was her imagination because there was no one in the hall. She sighed and scratched her neck, feeling something entangled itself in her claw. She held up a long, fine hair that had managed to land on her. She cocked one brow. How did a hair get on the Massive? She tightened her claws around it and headed for the Information Hive. Tzen greeted her at the door and asked in his mellow voice, "What can I do for you? What can I do?"
She held up the hair. "I found this on me and I was wondering if you could identify it. .It's a hair." She delicately handed the thin thread to her former boss and he took it to his work station. He laid it down on his desk and reached in his drawers. After a moment he found what he was looking for. He pulled out a small light and let its blue luminescence envelope the hair. The device began to beep and he switched it off.
"Hmm." he said as he rubbed his chin. "It can't identify the species this is from." He began to examine the light. "That's never happened before. Wonder if it's broken." He carefully lifted the hair and placed it into an airtight container. "I'll store it in the back room and see if I can't identify it. How's the investigation?"
Tah shrugged. "I'm doing what I can. Will those reports be in this afternoon?"
"Yes, they should be. All the information needed for Umber has been gathered, so that'll quicken things up."
"Thanks, chief. See you around." She smiled at the old Irken and walked into the hall. She shivered as she felt something brush past her, but again there was nothing. There was nothing there, so Tah just shook her head and continued on. That is, before she heard someone chuckling from behind her. She turned around and spoke to the nothingness. "Where are you?" she demanded. "Is anybody there?" There was silence yet again. Blinking her weary eyes, Tah began to walk backwards down the corridor. Although she told herself she was just imagining things, she still had an intense urge to head to some public place - maybe the dining hall. She was about to turn around and march in that direction when something heavy slammed against her shoulder, knocking her to the ground. She quickly regained stood, but her arm throbbed with pain. She glanced about anxiously. No one was to be seen, but her sensitive antennae could feel another's presence. "You have some sort of holographic invisibility thing, don't you?" She was answered by another blow. Without further thought, Tah jumped up and began running wildly, knowing that someone was close behind.
She didn't even know where she was running. All she was aware of was the shadow that loomed behind her, the invisible threat that was matching her every step. People were giving her strange looks, but she didn't bother with them. She dove right and left, into random hallways she'd never seen. Her breath was growing short and she needed a place to hide. She skidded into the nearest room and shut the door, praying that she'd locked her adversary out. She turned and sat on the floor, her back to the wall, and panted for a moment. She looked around, noticing she was in a large square room, its walls decorated with a number of short range weapons. There was another door at the other side of the room, and she hefted herself up to see if it was locked. She stepped toward it, but froze when she felt someone beside her. She was again thrown down, and a person materialized before her.
"Mim! I thought you left! You're - you're going to try to kill me!" She backed away and fought to stand. Her old roommate was standing there, dressed in black and grinning like a demon.
"No," she said simply with her usual monosyllabic way. Tah didn't believe her as she inched closer, wielding her old standard-issue spear. The thought of running toward one of the doors in hopes of escape never reached her mind. She was too preoccupied with the thought of getting away from the former guard. She circled around the room, never letting her sight off Mim. Her back hit the wall and she gasped with fright. A shiver ran down her spine, and her hands clutched the wall wildly before her fingers touched an intricately carved piece of wood. She momentarily tore her gaze away from the dangerous figure before her and looked at the most beautiful Reshma she'd ever seen. A well-polished curved blade stretched along its length, recently sharpened and very deadly. She couldn't help but wonder at the convenience as she grabbed the weapon off the wall and held it with both hands. She had no time to prepare herself as Mim lunged at her with her spear. Tah yelped and hopped away, the sharp end of Mim's weapon lightly grazing her arm, cutting her sleeve.
"I thought you said you weren't going to kill me!" Tah tried to get in stance to use her weapon, but it was impossible with her opponent relentlessly swinging that spear at her. She'd practiced with the Reshma for years, but had never actually had to fight with it. She began to understand why it was such a difficult skill to master. She ran around the room, using her blade as a shield against the flurry of oncoming attacks.
"Can't destroy the package - " said Mim in her throaty voice. She lunged and placed the full force of her body in another swing, aimed at Tah's torso. It was deflected, but the powerful hit caused the frightened former researcher to stumble. " - but that doesn't mean I can't have fun."
"What did I ever do to you?" yelled Tah as she frantically ran to the other side of the room. She wondered if she'd be better off without the Reshma - she'd managed to beat up Montoy fairly well. However, Montoy didn't have a long, sharpened spear. Tah kept her weapon and swung its heavy blade at Mim. Tah unconsciously back herself into a corner and trembled as Mim walked toward her with an air of supreme confidence. She was beginning to loose her nerve, but she had the presence of mind to duck as the blunt end of Mim's spear swung over her head. She made a huge leap and was able to get back to the center of the room.
"What are you doing in my training room!" growled an angry voice. A door slid closed and Tah turned to see Red, glaring at the two of them. He pointed at her. "You're using my Reshma!" She didn't have time to reply, as Mim took advantage of the distraction to slam her spear against her already injured arm. She held the Reshma up and tried to arc it toward Mim, but the guard easily stepped out of the way. Now Red could see the danger of the situation. He squared his shoulders and pushed a hidden button. His robes transformed around him, forming a red armored battle suit. His feet touched the ground and he stalked toward Tah, shoving her onto the ground. The Reshma fell from her hands and he caught it before it could hit the ground. He immediately turned the weapon in a graceful swing, hitting Mim's spear with a resounding clang. Tah watched with widening eyes as she huddled herself against the wall. She could see Red was far more skilled than she at the Reshma as he twisted his lithe body around in what seemed to be an elegant yet deadly dance with the weapon. His stokes were fast and precise as he manipulated the blade into swirling arcs. Mim hardly had a chance as she fell into a defensive mode. Her spear was thrust out of her hand and landed several feet away. She hadn't time to retrieve it before she was pinned to the far wall, the blade of the ancient weapon barely touching her throat.
"That's Mim!" Tah heard herself shrieking. "That's Mim!"
Red's eyes narrowed as he looked into the expressionless face of the former guard. "Get some guards to take her away," he instructed calmly, his voice slightly underlined with danger. Tah automatically stood at his command and went to the control panel at the door. In just a few moments a number of well-armed men entered. They all stood at attention, but their eyes were wide at the sight of their leader holding down their recent coworker. "Take her to the high security detainment center!" he hissed. They didn't question him, but took hold of the prisoner and carried her away. She didn't resist, but rather teased Tah with a grim smirk as she disappeared from view.
Tah looked toward Red. She'd never seen his battle suit before, and she had to admit it made him into a rather intimidating figure. Having been attacked once more had drained her energy, and all she could do was blankly watch as Red approached her with a serious face. He looked down at her, and she wondered what he was going to say. Was he angry? She shrieked as one of his long arms came around her in a friendly hug. "You suck!" he exclaimed in an unexpectantly cheery tone. "I mean, you really suck! I've never seen anybody so bad at using the Reshma!" He released her and gingerly placed the weapon back in its place.
"Don't do that again!" yelled Tah, referring to his sudden hug. "You scared the living - " she then remembered his rank. "Sir! I mean, you - you startled me."
Red laughed at her formal speech. "You touched me! You're talking like that after you touched me? What? Didn't you mean it?" He acted as if he hadn't forced her hand on his cheek. His cloths returned to normal and he hovered next to her. "Let's get some nachos!"
"What?" yelled Tah, aghast. "Shouldn't we question her or something? I mean, she's right here! Right now! She has to know what's going on!" She began heading for the door until a strong hand stopped her.
"Let her get to her cell first! Gya! Besides, Purple and I want an update on your investigation. You've been leaving us in the dark." He wagged a claw at her, his voice playfully menacing.
"But, what about the invasion?"
Red shrugged. "We've already addressed the troops. What more can we do? Purple's dead set on reviewing some policies and you're my ticket out!" He pushed her in the direction of the door. "Get a move on, soldier!" She had no choice but to obey.
They headed to a room Tah'd never seen before. It was more informal then the rest of the ship, sporting a couch and a larch window that looked out on the glorious stars. It was also empty, except for Purple hunched over a table. He was absorbed in his work, brow furrowed as he chewed on a pen and looked over a number of electronic pads. Tah couldn't help but think how inexorably sexy he was when he was concentrating like that, but then she drove those thoughts away. He was her friend, and perhaps a bit more, but he was still a Tallest. She pounded that reminder in her head as she entered the room. Purple finally noticed them and turned around. "Tah?" he said, truly surprised. "Is something wrong?"
Red casually rested a clawed hand on her shoulder. "I thought it would be a good time to catch up on the investigation."
Purple stood and crossed his arms, trying to look annoyed but not quite succeeding. "You just want to get out of reviewing these! Why do I have to do all the work?" He began to gather the pads in a neat pile as Red directed Tah to sit.
"Want a soda or something?" Red didn't wait for an answer as he hovered toward a cooler. Tah looked around and realized there weren't any minions about. She looked back to Red as he started to chuckle to himself as he rummaged through the cooler. "Hey Tah, why don't you tell Pur about the fight?"
"Fight?" Purple quickly examined Tah, who he realized was beginning to develop some very nasty looking bruises. Her sleeve was torn and she was gingerly rubbing her arm. He hovered over to examine her more closely. "What happened?"
Tah smiled at his concern and took a big breath. "Mim returned. I don't know what she was trying to do, but she and I fought until Tallest Red showed up."
Red hovered by and handed everyone a drink. "Just Red now," he reminded severely. "And you should have seen her! Wooo, it's a good thing she didn't demonstrate in front of the graduates - she was terrible! She was trying to use my Reshma." He sniffed, as if his Reshma was far too good for her. Tah grinned and took a sip from her drink.
Purple took a seat next to Tah. "Are you alright?" He lightly touched her arm. "What did she do?"
"She attacked me again. It's a good thing Red came by and took her out, because I think she was fixing to take off with me again. Either that or bludgeon me to death." She shook her head, bringing one hand up as if she had a headache. "I guess it has something to do with my investigation. Someone must think I know too much."
A determined expression passed by Purple's face. He turned to Red. "Do we have her?"
Red took a long gulp from his soda. "She's being roughed up as we speak!" He lifted his can in celebration.
Purple nodded and looked back at Tah, his worried expression returning. "We should give you some protection. A guard or something - " He drank from his soda.
Tah nodded. "Sounds good to me." She looked back to the door where she'd entered and a shiver ran down her spine as she remembered being stalked in the halls. She frowned at the floor and let out a depressed sigh. Both the Tallest noticed.
"You know, Tah," said Purple slowly, "You can let someone else take over the investigation. I think Red would agree that you've gone through quite enough." He glanced toward his co-Tallest, who nodded vigorously.
Tah glared at him for a moment, but then softened her expression and shook her head. "As an Irken, my devotion lies with my Tallest. I don't want to stop - I want to find out who shot at you. I know they'll try to get you again." She faced Red. "Shall I give you a full report of my findings? Now that I've thought things over, I've realized that I was incomplete in my first report of the situation." She didn't wait for a reply. Instead she folded her hands together and began to rattle off her analysis. "While I was captured at the base, Montoy told me that they only wanted to kill Purple. They figure one shaken Tallest would be easier to defeat in a coup and figured Purple would be an easier target. They were amassing what seemed to be a fleet, although it seemed rather pathetic. However, there's no telling what all this 'Yir' person has. Montoy said that he never came to the base for long periods of time, so he must have other hideouts." She scratched her head. "I took a look at the report on Admiral Yir, but there didn't seem to be anything in there to suggest he would do all this. It seems as if he were exceptionally loyal until he ran off with that woman. What was she, a Jodulan?"
Both the Tallest nodded with dismay, but Red seemed especially angry. "We were at war with them at the time. He deserted his post to join the enemy! He was a prime example of an Irken soldier! Strategies he designed are taught at the Academies!"
Tah wondered why Red was so upset. Certainly a deserter of the former admiral's caliber was disturbing, but it had all happened long before he became a Tallest - perhaps before he was old enough to join the Marauder Academy. There was no way he could have known Yir, but he seemed to take it personally. "Er, Yir would be very old right now, so I wonder if he's got the energy to begin a plot to overthrow the Empire. I'm beginning to wonder if there isn't some other mind behind all this. However, if that's the case this person has not revealed himself. It certainly couldn't be Bri - he was obviously just another grunt, some sort of coordinator in charge of communications." She sighed. "I really don't have any leads until I review the information I ordered from the Hive. I need to talk with Mim - maybe she'll tell me something useful. I should interrogate Tark too -" She began to stand, but stopped when Red frowned at her. She sat back down and sent him a questioning glance.
"We haven't had our nachos yet!"
