The Massive sprinted towards the Irken-Sirian boundary. Laron agreed to meet them at the rendezvous point, the Still Moon, and they would make for the planet Siria from there. Purple leaned back in his chair at his desk and shut his eyes. He was thankful no reports from the Invaders had come in today, especially from Zim. There was already too much on his mind.

The Tulok they were going to meet would be closely guarded and watched. Laron had assured it. The knowledge the Tulok possessed would be very valuable to both Irk and Siria. Purple knew it was an offer that could not be easily turned down. The Irkens and the Sirians would take as much information as they could from the source without letting their guard down. However, Purple felt completely on edge even though they had yet to cross the Irken-Sirian border.

"Hey,"

Purple jumped slightly. He jerked his head up and glared at Red who was staring at him with an odd look. Purple turned away and tried to make himself relax.

"You sure are jumpy today," Red said. "Are you nervous about the meeting with that Tulok or something?"

Purple shook his head. "No." He didn't know why he was keeping everything from Red. He knew the crimson Tallest would surely understand, eventually, if he tried to believe it.

"Then why are you acting so…weird?"

Purple caught sight of a bright pink and orange nebula outside his window. He sighed. "I don't know."

-

"We've never been out this way before. Where are we going anyway?"

Silu looked down at his son, his silver eyes shining. "We picked up on a distress signal. It seems to be coming from an Irken military supply vessel. We're simply going to investigate."

Len nodded at gazed out the wide front viewing window. The stars stretched out before them. Throughout the five years that Len had spent with Tallest Silu, he had traveled to many different systems in the Irken Empire. He taught himself to recognize certain star formations and clusters. He learned which were suns and which were planets. He learned which ones were galaxies that were so far off they looked like regular stars. The only star he could recognize in this area was Ailen, the star that marked the "northeast" edge of the empire.

Throughout those five years, Len had grown considerably. He was a lot taller now. His shoulders were past Silu's waist. He just didn't feel himself grow physically. He felt his mind was becoming more mature as well.

Turning to the right, Len saw the Brez Nebula glowing bright in pink vivid hues. He had seen many nebulas and supernovas that were all kinds of colors and shapes but he thought this was one of the most beautiful. Len was living the dream that he and Mek had dreamt so many years ago. He hoped he was making Mek proud.

"Sir, we're picking up something on the scanner. It appears to be directly ahead of us," one of the co-ops announced.

"See if you can lock onto it," the Tallest responded.

Len strained his eyes towards the vast open space in front of him. He thought he saw a small glimmer in the distance. As their ship continued onward, he saw the familiar shape of an Irken supply runner. It was heavily damaged and looked as if the bolts in its hull were the only things holding it together.

"Dad, look!" Len said, pointing out the window.

Tallest Silu turned in the direction Len was indicating. The silver orbs narrowed and he gave out the order. "Scan the area for survivors. Any escape pods may still be close by."

As soon as Silu finished his sentence, there was a bright flash that lit up the entire control room. The crippled runner disappeared in a burst of blue fire. Len shielded his eyes, gritting his teeth as they were stung by the light. When he opened them again, small specks danced across his field of vision. He blinked several times until the fake stars went away. He felt his weight shift backward as their ship was rocked by the energy wave from the explosion. He caught his footing once more and stood straight.

"Officer, can you tell if that explosion was caused by engine failure?" the Tallest asked as he also found his balance again.

"We're trying, sir. There's too much interference hitting our instruments."

"What about survivors?"

"We picked up no signs of life in the surrounding area. No escape pods."

"I don't like this." Len tilted his head up at Silu. His father had a dangerous look on his face. "Pilot, turn the ship around."

"Dad, what is it?" Len asked but Silu didn't answer him. He kept his gaze fixed out the window as if he was staring at something that only he could see. Len felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"Incoming projectile!" an officer yelled.

"Shields up! Brace yourselves!" Silu shouted, grasping Len tightly around the shoulder and pulling him close. Len felt his body go rigid as he waited for the impact. The ship shook violently as the missile collided with the deflector shield. Silu kept Len from falling and guided him to the railing around the command platform. Len held on tightly as the ship went still again. He kept his hands on the rail looking around alarmed.

"My Tallest! That shot came out of nowhere!"

"No! They have a cloaking device! Quick, calculate the angle at which the missile hit! We have to know from which way they're coming at us!" Silu ordered. He remained close to Len.

"Another shot has been fired! It's coming from the opposite direction!"

The next impact rattled the ship more severely than the last. Silu regained his composure and growled. "We're either being circled or there's more than one."

"Sir! What about the Guard? They're still surrounding our ship!"

"If they start firing in random directions then our attacker will know we're confused. Tell them to stay close and do not engage until I say so!"

Another blast, this time from the rear. Len did his best to stay in one spot, clutching the railing with all his strength. He heard a sparking sound from somewhere nearby. He opened his eyes to see a control panel burst into flames.

"Sir, they're breaking through our shields! It will take only a few more hits for it to give way!"
Len held on for his life as the ship was rocked again. It was by chance that he looked up at the window, towards the nebula, where he thought he saw something move. It was as if the nebula's colors were being disturbed by invisible ripples of water. It was only for a split second but he saw something dark and metallic pass in front of the Brez Nebula.

"They're over there…Dad! They're over there!"
Silu turned to Len, then to the window, his eyes scanning the view before him.

"They're in front of the nebula! I saw them!" Len exclaimed, looking up at the Tallest. Silu knew it would be their chance.

They've fired at us from the sides and the rear but not from the front. That's their next move. "Tell the Guard to wait for the next blast, then fire directly ahead of us!"

Inside Len was screaming to fire now but he had to trust his father. He had much more experience in this kind of thing. Len hoped it would end well.

The front shot came and before it even reached the command ship, the Guard fired back. Though the oncoming missile found its target, the Irkens' defensive move made impact with the invisible attacker. Blue and green waves of energy stretched out in circular motions as the shot beams hit the cloaked craft's shields. Silu called off the Guard's attack. They wouldn't break through that barrier alone. Meanwhile their own shields were gone, making the command vessel very vulnerable. Len stared as the oppressing ship was decloaked and menacingly stood its ground.

Another chill went up his spine. The ship was angular in shape and its hull was made from a dark metal. Len had seen one like it before. He had read about it somewhere in the library's military records. It was a Tulok design, a race, he learned, that was a bitter enemy to the empire. The record had said that they were gone from the galaxy but it seemed they had come back. Len only wondered what for.

"Where did they get that kind of technology?" Silu growled. "The Tulok have never had the ability to cloak their ships before."

The dagger-shaped ship remained still. Silu knew if they tried to run, it would fire. He knew making a move would result in the same thing. Running low on options, he turned to the communications officer. "Try to contact them. I want to know exactly what they want." Though he already had an idea what it was and he wasn't about to let them have it.

"They're not responding sir…wait, they've launched another attack!"

A barrage of missiles plowed through the Guard, obliterating nearly half of them, and barreled straight toward Silu's craft.

Len braced himself. Silu held him steady as the next wave came, nearly falling over. "What are they trying to do?" he growled. The remaining Guard cruisers engaged once more. The Tulok ship stayed where it was. Several beams of pink and white energy cut through the small fleet, destroying all but one. The damaged cruiser veered off to the side, dodging another blast. It slowly floated away from the battlefield, smoking and sparking.

The Tulok ship seemed to lose interest in the smaller craft as it once again unleashed a barrage of missiles and energy beams on the Irken command vessel.

"Pilot get us out of here!" Tallest Silu ordered. Len flinched from his harsh voice. He pilot did as best as he could to steer their ship away as it was hammered by bombs and lasers. The attack continued relentlessly.

A violent jerk and a loud explosion told Silu he was running out of time. The computer beeped frantically. It warned of fire in the engine room and indicated the main engines were severely damaged. He knew it wouldn't be long before the whole ship went. He new what he had to do. He grabbed Len tightly by the arm and ran with him. Len was forced to catch up as he was pulled out of the control room.

Silu took him down the long corridor and abruptly turned to the left. Len found himself in the escape pod bay. Another explosion rattled the ship and Len's antennae fell flat against his skull as a horrible screech of twisting metal echoed from somewhere down the hall. Silu opened the hatch to one of the pods and turned to his son. Len stared at him confused and frightened. Smoke started to creep down the corridors in dark plumes as the lighting blew out.

"Len,"

Len looked up at his father, worried.

"Len, you have to be brave, no matter what happens," he told him. Silu paused. "Even if I'm not there Len, you have to do the best you can."

Len gripped Silu's hand. "Wait! Dad! What's going on? You're not going to leave me by myself are you?"

Silu's strong eyes seemed to falter for a moment. "I can't go with you, Len," he said sadly. "You're going to have to be on your own for awhile."

Len held onto him as the ship shook once more. "Dad…please…don't do this…" Len pleaded.

"I know you're going to do well, son. I have complete faith in you."

"Dad…"

"I love you, Len."

Silu pushed him into the escape pod and shut the hatch before he could act. Silu pressed the emergency launch code on the control panel. With one last look at Len, Silu ran from the bay and back to the control room as the airlock doors shut closed.

Len was left with only the dim light emanating from the pod's cockpit. It began to vibrate as the boosters powered up. Instinctively, Len sat still in the pilot's seat and held on as the pod was jettisoned from the command ship.

Once he got his bearings straight, he looked out the small porthole. His father's ship was firing everything it had at the Tulok vessel, drawing their attention away from the escape pod. The black ship returned the assault, tearing through the other's defenses and cutting into its bulk.

Len cried out as several small explosions covered the red ship until finally one massive blast engulfed it in a ball of fire. The command ship and everyone on it was gone. Len let his forehead fall against the glass window, heavy tears rolling down his face. He sank to the floor crying, with his back against the wall and his knees drawn up to his chest. The alarm on the pod's computer caused him to left his head. He saw a large red blotch flashing on the radar monitor and suddenly fear overtook him. He looked back out the window and saw the Tulok ship coming straight at him. He stepped away from the window shaking. There was nowhere for him to go. His escape pod couldn't possibly outrun a fully powered battleship.

He searched the control, looking for something that would be of any help at all. The computer blared as the ship came within attack range. Len curled up in the pilot's chair. He knew he wouldn't survive this. Even if he was captured, they would most certainly kill him later on.

Len feared for his life. He remained absolutely still in the chair, waiting for the blow. He jumped as another alarm went off. Before he could see what it was for, the entire cockpit lit up in a bright light. He had to cover his eyes before he went blind. There was a jolt and then darkness as the light suddenly disappeared.

Len opened his eyes. The computer was silent and he couldn't hear the hum of the boosters. He peered out the window and the color went from his face as he realized he was onboard a ship. There was movement outside the escape pod and Len backed away from the window, staying as still and quiet as possible. His antennae twitched as he heard a buzzing sound around him. He gasped when he saw a dim blue light surround him and gradually glow brighter and brighter. A small yell escaped his throat as the light covered him completely. He felt the energy being drained from his body and he found himself falling into a deep sleep.