Chapter 5

Jack and Barry felt the ground shake violently, equipment falling and shattering all around them. They stooped to examine the damaged articles on the floor when they heard Medea shriek their names as she bolted out the air lock. Not pausing for a moment of contemplation, they ran after her, noting the massive glow ahead.

Medea could see embers spread across the landscape like red-hot ashes dislodged from a newly discarded cigarette. She slowed her pace as the crushed pod came into view. Sidestepping various bits of broken glass and mangled metallic substances, she waved a hand in front of her face, trying to see better through the lingering smoke.

She knelt down beside the small craft, assessing the damage. A strange vivid red symbol adorned one of its panels. She ran a fingertip along the foreign material, feeling the tiny cracks and dents. She stood up, looking around. The craft itself was completely demolished, but there was no one inside. Taking a deep breath and clearing her senses, she set out to search for the remains of its pilot, eyes damp.

Lifting up various bits of the ship, she moved in a circle around the vessel. As she reached the back side of it, shadowed and littered with slightly less debris, something caught her eye. She ran over, falling lightly beside the body. She covered her mouth with her hands, choking slightly. A child?

Gently she propped his back up with one hand, placing her other hand at his mouth. She let out a sigh of relief. She could feel his breath lightly on her wrist. A tiny bit shallow, but it was there. She looked him over for serious injuries as Jack and Barry approached.

They paused for a minute, hunched over, catching their breath. They eyed the alien in Medea's arms curiously. She smiled up at them. "Its ok, he's alive."

"What is he?" Jack asked, kneeling for a closer look. Barry was looking wide eyed at the remains of the pod.

"Get rid of it!" He shouted suddenly. Medea and Jack shot him questioning looks. Barry pointed to the red symbol on the panel. "That's the Irken sign! I saw it in that electric journal, and on the various scraps of crafts covering the ground to the south side of the base." He looked down at the small form she was cradling. "Don't give it a chance to destroy anything else!"

Jack stood up, looking down at the alien, stroking his chin.

Medea looked at them both, shocked. "It's a child!"

"We can't be sure of that..." Jack looked from Medea's large eyes to Barry's narrowed ones. "Would you let a kid out here alone?" he asked Medea.

"There might be more of them on the way." Barry noted.

"Not if they saw what happened to this one. Still..." Jack looked into Medea's eyes. "We shouldn't take another chance. The last one cost us dearly." He looked at Barry and nodded. Barry stepped up, arms crossed.

"Leave it there, Medea. Hopefully it will die on its own..."

Medea stood up, the small figure in her arms. She glared at them both. "If either one of you so much as touches him, I will personally see to your demise." She turned on her heel and left, walking back to the ship.

Barry looked like he was going to scream. Jack just laughed.

"Women..." He headed back to their vessel, motioning for Barry to follow.

"But, Jack! The dangers of keeping that thing around..."

"I really don't think there's anything left to be ruined..."

"Still, those creatures. They're heartless!"

"You know this from firsthand experience?"

Barry looked over at Jack, annoyed. "You read the journal. They're drones. Probably raised by machines of some-sort. Trained to annihilate. I doubt that thing even has mother..."

Jack smirked. "Looks like he does now."

Barry gave up trying to convince his companion of the risk he was partaking in. He resolved to keep a very close watch on the latest addition to their crew.

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Zim felt like he had been bludgeoned with bricks. He groaned, trying to sit up. He was pushed gently back down to the bed, a cool palm on his forehead. He opened one eye, trying to recall where he was. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could make out a form leaning over him, dark cascade of hair, eyes wide with concern.

"Gaz?" he inquired shakily. The hand pulled away rapidly in surprise. He opened the other eye, forcing himself to focus. He jolted upright at what he saw.

"You shouldn't move yet, little one." She said, sounding quite taken aback, but looking worried.

She had the same face, Zim noticed. A little thinner, perhaps. And her eyes were a deep blue rather than brown. But the large, long-lashed eyes, delicate mouth, and pointy chin were the same. Her hair was a slightly different hue of purple, and longer, coming past her lower back...

Zim looked at her. "You're Gaz's mother," he said. She brought the back of her hand to her mouth, A tear slid down her cheek.

She was alive...He thought of how happy Gaz would be.

The door opened. He looked over, seeing two men enter the room. They walked over to the bed.

"What's going on?" Jack asked, seeing the tears in Medea's eyes. She wiped them away with a finger. She put her hands on Zim's shoulders, turning him to face her companions.

"He knows my Gazzy."

They both raised an eyebrow.

"How?" Barry asked, looking nonplussed. If this creature had set foot on the Earth...

Zim returned the evil stare. "She needed help finding her mother."

Medea looked down at the top of the Irken's head, eyes glistening.

"Where is she?"

He turned to face her. "Just outside this planet's atmosphere. We figured there was something dangerous about landing here."

Barry looked surprised. Then suspicious. "How did you locate us?"

Zim smirked. "Unlike your inferior earth technology, my ship and base have the capacity to locate any vessel."

"You've been to Earth?"

"Yes. It is...." He stopped mid sentence. What was he doing? These humans had seen him without his disguise. And the one questioning him looked exactly like the type who'd perform an autopsy. He cringed.

"What? Something horrible you're not telling us? What have you done to the Earth?!"

"Nothing." That wasn't completely true, but he wasn't about to spill out his secret mission.

"What were you doing on Earth?!" Zim didn't reply, just glared darkly at the human. Barry stepped closer, inches from Zim's face. "If you've done anything..." he fumed.

Medea wrapped her arms around Zim protectively, giving Barry a dirty look. Jack placed a hand on Barry's shoulder, pulling him away.

"Back off man. He's helping Medea's little girl, remember?"

"Yes, but for what purpose?"

Zim didn't reply.