Chapter 2
***
Acting Comlink Officer Tep had no answer to the Almighty Tallest's query.
"My Tallest Red, I do not know what you're talking about," he gulped.
"We traced the beacon to where we sent Zim... Earth... and found nothing. A scan of the tracer we placed in his back pod cannot be traced. He is nowhere to be found. We have reason to believe he's dead."
"No disrespect, my Tallest, but I thought that was a good thing," Tep said carefully.
"It is. Our last scan of him was over the area. Then the tracer lost connection. We'd like to promote you, Tep, for the death of Zim."
But I didn't kill him, Tep thought; aloud he said, "I'd be honored to take the promotion, m'Tallest."
"You're in command of squads 03/2001 and 01/2002, Admiral. Carry on."
"Thank you, m'Tallest." Newly ranked Admiral Tep bowed to Purple and Red, and then marched back to his squads to comply with orders.
Two new squads to command.
***
The crowd stopped speaking.
A black-clad Human in graying armor snarled, and with thick Old Corellian accent, snarled, "YOU will help?" He hissed his words, and then said, "You cannot."
Ztivroh silenced the sudden uproar with a raise of his fat hands. "Let the foolish thing speak!"
"But he's Irken!" the Human continued.
Ztivroh roared. "You let the Irken in!"
The Human snarled. "I did no such thing!"
"You're the door guard!" Ztivroh shot back, then called for his guard, Ztarthgil, to throw the door guard into the nexu pit.
Following Ztivroh's orders, Ztarthgil shoved the Human guard over the trapdoor, and the guard began to protest. The Irken said nothing, just watched as the Human's flooring was pulled out from under him, and as soon as he had gotten his bearings down in the pit, he was raked across the face with a swipe of the nexu's paw.
The Irken watched. "You're a Human, and I hate Humans," he spoke to the guard, who was the nexu's newest meal. Then, to the rest of the crowd, he said, "I refuse to work with Humans. If there are any Humans in the crowd, speak."
Naturally, none of the other Humans spoke.
"Alright."
Ztivroh watched. "Yes?" he questioned. "You said you'd help. And yet you're Irken, and we're fighting Irkens."
"I hate Irkens, too. They hated me, and exiled me, and tried to get rid of me. I brought my-ah-I believe in this place you call it a 'droid,' and I've started an underground resistance on-"
Despite his doubts (who hasn't heard of a droid?), Ztivroh took a sudden belief to the Irken's story. "Slow down," Ztivroh said. "Your name?"
"Zim."
***
Acting Comlink Officer Tep had no answer to the Almighty Tallest's query.
"My Tallest Red, I do not know what you're talking about," he gulped.
"We traced the beacon to where we sent Zim... Earth... and found nothing. A scan of the tracer we placed in his back pod cannot be traced. He is nowhere to be found. We have reason to believe he's dead."
"No disrespect, my Tallest, but I thought that was a good thing," Tep said carefully.
"It is. Our last scan of him was over the area. Then the tracer lost connection. We'd like to promote you, Tep, for the death of Zim."
But I didn't kill him, Tep thought; aloud he said, "I'd be honored to take the promotion, m'Tallest."
"You're in command of squads 03/2001 and 01/2002, Admiral. Carry on."
"Thank you, m'Tallest." Newly ranked Admiral Tep bowed to Purple and Red, and then marched back to his squads to comply with orders.
Two new squads to command.
***
The crowd stopped speaking.
A black-clad Human in graying armor snarled, and with thick Old Corellian accent, snarled, "YOU will help?" He hissed his words, and then said, "You cannot."
Ztivroh silenced the sudden uproar with a raise of his fat hands. "Let the foolish thing speak!"
"But he's Irken!" the Human continued.
Ztivroh roared. "You let the Irken in!"
The Human snarled. "I did no such thing!"
"You're the door guard!" Ztivroh shot back, then called for his guard, Ztarthgil, to throw the door guard into the nexu pit.
Following Ztivroh's orders, Ztarthgil shoved the Human guard over the trapdoor, and the guard began to protest. The Irken said nothing, just watched as the Human's flooring was pulled out from under him, and as soon as he had gotten his bearings down in the pit, he was raked across the face with a swipe of the nexu's paw.
The Irken watched. "You're a Human, and I hate Humans," he spoke to the guard, who was the nexu's newest meal. Then, to the rest of the crowd, he said, "I refuse to work with Humans. If there are any Humans in the crowd, speak."
Naturally, none of the other Humans spoke.
"Alright."
Ztivroh watched. "Yes?" he questioned. "You said you'd help. And yet you're Irken, and we're fighting Irkens."
"I hate Irkens, too. They hated me, and exiled me, and tried to get rid of me. I brought my-ah-I believe in this place you call it a 'droid,' and I've started an underground resistance on-"
Despite his doubts (who hasn't heard of a droid?), Ztivroh took a sudden belief to the Irken's story. "Slow down," Ztivroh said. "Your name?"
"Zim."