Chapter 14
Infiltrate
In the dead of space, the Voot traveled pass the stars. Some time has also past since they left that empty planet; roughly two days. Not too much has happen since then. Gir has been keeping Dib busy, and the other way around for that matter, poking him and playing with his black hair and the bottom rim of his coat. It's been driving the human nuts.
Zim and Rogue haven't said too much to each other either. Zim would often mumble something under his breath, but Rogue was practically dead the whole time. After two days, Zim finally started to see that.
"…Aren't you excited?" Zim suddenly asked.
"What??" Rogue jumped a little. That was pretty much the only thing she had said since they left the planet. "…You say something?"
"I said, aren't you excited?" Zim repeated.
"…Sure I am." She said, but it was in an empty tone. Zim looked at her funny. "…What how?"
"You don't look it…" Zim said before returning to the controls.
Too much has been riding on the female Irken's mind for the past few days. She was still uncomfortable about the sensation she's been feeling toward Zim, which he is still obvious to know. But that was not the only thing bugging her.
There was still a chance that what they want to do could backfire or worst. No one had ever dared to face the Tallest in a battle of invader and/or Irken rights, if that was it was all about anymore. No, it was for payback, for all the lies both she and Zim have been through and are just finding out. And who knows how many Irkens of any class or job have had this same thought or realization, but have not been around to announce it.
"…Tallest can get away with it…" Rogue said in a low voice.
"What was that?" Zim said, turning his head toward her.
Rogue just looked back at him; debating weather she should repeat that. "…I was just thinking…when one is lucky enough to become a Tallest, they can do whatever they want, right?"
"The…laws of higher classes do promote that. …So?" Zim said.
"Then what does that mean to us?" Rogue said. Zim didn't understand. "…I'm saying that who ever becomes Tallest, can do anything they wish, weather it's for the good of the Empire or not! I know that the control brains are used to "help" the Tallest in whatever way possible, but…do the control brains even know what the Tallest do behind their backs?"
Zim's face changed a bit to that thought. In the Irken race, The Tallest and the control brains that control nearly all the major functions in and all around Irk, are the highest classes in their Empire. In a sense, "Tallest" is merely a title to the one lucky Irken that doesn't have to worry about anything while the control brains do all the work. But that one would still have to have "some" duties, most of which that must first have to be consulted with a control brain, to insure that it is ok to go with. That is the law.
"…They could be breaking that law!" Zim said with widen eyes.
"Exactly." Rogue said. "I don't think I've ever even seen the Tallest go to the control brains while I was around them. Rarely, maybe…"
"Then we have to let the control brains know if this! They must know!" Zim said.
"But what about the Massive? We were going there, right?" Rogue said. "…Wait…"
"What?" Zim said.
"If I remember right, I heard there is a room in the Massive where the Tallest can go and get in touch with the Main Control Brain that is back on Irk!"
"REALLY?!" Zim said with an eager tone in his voice. "Then what you're saying is…"
"We get into the Massive, we find that room and speak with the Control Brain herself." Rogue explained, displaying a little grin on her face.
"BRILLIENT!!" Zim said with a mad smirk. "Now all that leaves is sneaking onto the ship!"
"…I think I might know a way…" Rogue said with a plotting expression.
At that tiny moment, the "affection" feeling Rogue had felt before slowly but surely began to come back. But she didn't feel sick this time, she was rather used to it now. She looked back up at Zim, now with a wide grin across his face. His overzealous confident attitude seemed to be coming back.
All Rogue could do right then was smile. She didn't know why she wanted to smile, but it happened…
"Region warning; Approaching EXTREMELY large Irken vessel." The Voot's panel suddenly announced. "Identified as the MASSIVE, repeat, the MASSIVE."
Without a doubt, just about a half-mile away from their view, the two Irkens could clearly see the Massive itself gliding through space.
"There it is…" Zim said.
"HIII!!" Gir suddenly popped up the back with his loud greeting. Right behind the little robot was Dib, wide eyed and jaw drop. It was the first time he got to see his enemy's leader's ship.
"WOOOOW!" Dib said.
"…Oh yeah…we forgot about you…" Rogue said, good feeling gone. She got out of her chair and grabbed the ogle-eyed human by the back of his trench coat. She dragged him to the back of the Voot and closed the metal door behind her.
There was a crash sound followed by a series of thuds and yells, most likely Dib's. After a few moments of this, Rogue emerged from the back alone and walked back to her seat. She wore a little grin on his face.
"Taken care of." She said to Zim.
"Perfect. Now, what was your plan to infiltrate the Massive?" Zim asked. Outside the mighty Irken spaceship crept closer to their smaller, pint-sized craft.
"Ok, listen close…" Rogue started.
Inside the cockpit of the Massive, the row of crew-Irkens were tending to the main controls when an incoming transmission buzzed onto the center screen.
"Come in Massive…buzz this is Irken Rogue reporting. buzz I have returned from my previous mission by orders of the Almighty Tallest. buzz Requesting permission to broad. Repeat, permission to board."
One of the Irkens at the controls replied swiftly. "Affirmative. Please enter through ship bay 5."
"Roger, over and out." Rogue said.
As the cybrog worked her way into the Massive, far in the back room of their ship, Zim and Gir hid inside one of the empty metal boxes.
"Gir! Stay still!" Zim said as his SIR couldn't stop moving around. It was a bit of a tight fit in there. "Once inside, we must wait till Rogue gives the word before we can move out. Understand that, Gir?"
"I wants me a moose!" He squealed.
"QUIET!!" Zim yelled.
Just outside their hiding place laid Dib, out cold.
Rogue entered the Tallest's command ship and landed onto to platform in ship bay 5 as told too. Before going outside, she went back to see how the "cargo" were doing.
"Hey Zim?" She lifted the top of the box. Zim and Gir were staring back at her.
"Now?" He asked. Gir was ready to burst.
"No, not quite. I have to report to the Tallest first before anything else, so just stay here for a little longer, alright?" She then closed the lid again and exited her ship.
Out on the spaceship loading bay, other Irkens were stopping to see that Rogue had finally returned. Some waved; others stepped back, thinking she was going explode with anger or something. Rogue just shook her head to this. 'I hate it when they think I'm gonna 'do' something.' She thought. Then again, she was going to do something, but first, the Tallest.
She walked into a small elevator which took her closer to the Tallest's clamber. It took about five more minutes of on foot before she got to their doors. She pressed her hand on the wall of the entrance and the doors slid open.
"Um? Who's that?" Purple's voice echoed out. "…Oooh, it's you!"
Rogue set foot into their quarters. Red was there as well, of course. Purple faced her wearing what Rogue knew was a fake grin.
"So, you finally return." He said.
Rogue had to bring herself to doing a salute to them. It was the first time it made her insides turn.
"So tell us, Rogue…" Red started. "Was the mission a success?"
"Yes." She said, doing her best not to blow her act. "The one you call Zim has been dealt with…"
"You killed him?" Purple asked, suddenly sounding excited.
"…Yes." Rogue forced out.
"WHOO-HOO!!" Purple cheered. Red smiled from ear to ear.
"Finally!" Red whispered under his breath, but Rogue heard it.
A nauseous, sick feeling abruptly overtook her as she watched the taller Irkens celebrate. It was a mix of rage and disgust. If she could do or say anything right there and now, she wouldn't have any problem doing so. But she knew she still had to wait and continue with this performance.
"Ah…so, that's great news, Rogue." Red said. "You're dismissed."
"…Yes, my Tallest…" She couldn't wait to get out of there. She turned for the door and left. When the doors closed behind her, she stopped and reflected on just how stupid they really were.
"…Our leaders are not at all what many think…" She thought out loud. She continued back to the spaceship bay.
Meanwhile, back on the Voot, Zim was beginning to wonder where Rogue was. He and Gir were still hiding on the box, but it was starting to get a little cramped.
"…Where is she!?" He said, making sure not to get too loud. He could hear other Irkens walking around outside, which was making him even more tense. If someone other then Rogue was to come in and find them, it'll ruin everything.
Just then, Zim heard footsteps. He stopped moving, and breathing to see if he can tell if it was Rogue, or someone else. He held down his SIR and waited…
"…Zim? It's me."
Zim exhaled and whipped open the top. It was Rogue.
"Finally!" He said. Gir just smiled.
"Alright, put this on." Rogue tossed Zim a guard uniform.
"Eh? Where did you get this?" Zim looked the clothes over.
"Never mind that, just get it on." Rogue said.
Zim slipped the suit on over his normal clothes, but there was a problem. "…It's won't work."
"What?" Rogue said.
"It's too big." He said. The bottom part and the sleeves were hitting the floor.
"…" Rogue wanted to say it was because he was too short, but now wasn't the time. "…Then stand on top of Gir."
Zim glanced over at the robot. "Gir, hold still." He got up on top the SIR's head and then put the uniform on over him. With the height boost, Zim looked more like a guard.
"That's better." Rogue said.
"YAAH!" Gir squealed. Zim nearly lost his balance.
"GIR!" Zim shouted. "Now, you just have to walk right, got that?"
"OK!" He answered from under the outfit.
"I hope this works…" Rogue said to herself.
Meanwhile at the Massive's main control room…
"Hey, I've heard that cybrog is back on the ship." One of the many communications officers said to another.
"Oh really? I wonder where she ran off too this time." The other replied.
The doors suddenly opened as Red and Purple came floating into the room. Everyone shut up and waited for the Tallest to take their seat in the center of the bridge.
"Awaiting orders, my Tallest." The head of the bridge team said.
"Set course of the next planet on the invader list." Red said. The Irkens did so and the Massive picked up it speed.
"Hey! A slurpie over here!" Purple called out.
"Same here." Red said.
After exiting the Voot, Rogue and an undercover Zim and Gir made their way through the hallways from the parking bay. Gir's walking took some time to perfect; he was nearly throwing his Master off when ever he took a step. After they got their balance, they went ahead with the infiltration.
'Looks like this is gonna work after all…' Rogue thought. They passed other Irkens who didn't seem to notice the "guard's" peculiar, wobbling walk.
"Rogue? Just where is this Control Brain communication room?" Zim asked in a low tone voice.
"I heard it's towards the back of the ship. We're halfway there." She answered. Just then, Rogue stopped in her tracks. Gir bumped into her and Zim nearly fell over once again.
"Gir! Watch it!" Zim snapped.
"Quiet!" Rogue said. Right ahead of them stood numerous, partially blocking their path. Rogue signaled Zim and Gir to move over behind the corner of the hallway.
"This is a problem…" She whispered to them. "I bet there are so many guards there because that leads to the room. I should have thought about that…"
"Now what?" Zim asked. Gir peeked through the clothes underneath waiting to see what Rogue had in mind.
Plotting, the cybrog looked around at their current location. She spotted one of the air vents in the wall. "We can sneak in through there."
Zim and Gir looked up. "You sure that will work?" Zim asked with a raised brow.
"Why not?" Rogue deployed her metal legs and opened the vent way. Zim and Gir ditched the guard disguise and followed her in.
It was a lot dimmer in the vents then outside. Gir automatically switched on the light in his eyes to illuminate things. The three resumed on.
"We have to be really quiet from now on." Rogue whispered. "Watch your step."
"…Something smells funny!" Gir pronounced. Zim slapped his hand over the SIR's mouth. Rogue stopped and took a short whiff herself.
"…Fuel. We're hear the fuel tanks." Rogue said. "…The tanks are right next to the Control Brain room??"
Back at the main control room…
"We'll be at the next planet within a few hours my Tallest." One of the Irkens at the controls stated.
"Great, carry on." Purple said laying back sipping on his slurpie. Next to him, Red took a swallow of his beverage and then set it down.
"…Has anyone seen or heard from Rogue lately?" He suddenly asked.
Purple looked at him funny. "Why? She's already reported to us."
The other Tallest had a pondering face on. "…I just had a weird feeling all of the sudden…"
"So?" Purple said.
Red stood up to make an announcement. "Hey! Tell all guards on the ship to keep an eye out for Rogue. When you find her, let us know."
Zim, Gir and Rogue just passed the tank room and were nearing their destination. They went by a few more vent openings and saw that there were indeed a lot more Irkens walking around in the area.
"How do we know there won't be any guards inside the communication room?" Zim asked.
"If there is, I'll take care of it." Rogue answered.
Just then, the announcement Red requested boomed through all the speakers on the ship.
"Attention! All Irken hands! Be on the lookout for Rogue. Repeat, all Irken hands! Be on the lookout for Rogue."
The Irkens stopped in their tracks. "Did you hear that?" Zim whispered.
Rogue bit her lower lip. "…Could the Tallest have sensed that something's up? We're got to hurry!"
They hustled pass even more armed Irkens, making their current situation a tad more tense. Zim started to get anxious; sweating nervously. Rogue too was the same, but was doing her best to hide it. Gir was sensing a little danger, for once in his life anyway.
They finally made it; right below them was the Control Brain's communication's room, and lucky for them, nobody was in there.
Rogue kicked open the vent cover and they dropped down to the floor. The extent of the area was above the size of Zim's living room. Right at the center was a panel where the Tallest can connect to the Main Control Brain that resided on Irk.
"Let's get to work." Zim said.
"Hang on a sec…" Rogue walked over to the door leading to the hallways where all the guards were walking around. She placed her hands on the door's electric lock. Her gems glowed softly before the lock sparked and buzzed.
"…What did you just do?" Zim asked with a puzzled stare.
"I disabled the door so no one can get in through it. It will buy us some time." She walked over to the middle panel. "Here we go."
Using the same method she used before on Zim's computer, Rogue hooked herself up to the panel's internal wires. In front of them a hologram screen appeared with the two eyed Irken symbol on it. A computer voice then said to them, "Please enter three part access code now."
"A code? I would think they could automatically connect through their PAKs…" Zim mentioned.
"Me too…" Rogue said. "But it still doesn't mean I can't get through…" She began punching in buttons on her arm. Zim watched her work but she was going so fast his eyes couldn't keep up. On the screen numbers and irken letters flashed by at lightning speed.
"…This doesn't make sense!" Rogue suddenly stated.
"What doesn't? What's wrong?" Zim looked at the holoscreen and only saw the Irken symbol again.
"I've tried everything but I can't crack this last one." Rogue said pushing some more buttons. "All the other firewalls and lockout programs before this one were just like anything else I've got through, but this one protection encode just doesn't want to break. I've tried every single trick, nothing's happening…"
"Have you ever seen something like it?" Zim asked.
"…No, this…this is new." Rogue lowered her arm and took a breather. "It must be brand new program; something made JUST for Main Control Brain. If I tried to figure it out, they might find out about us first and then it would all over."
Zim slammed his fist on the wall. "UGH! We're so close!"
Rogue crossed her arms and thought hard. "… … … …Maybe…"
"Maaaybe?" Gir said. He's been watching the screen the whole time; it's been keeping him busy.
"You have something?!" Zim asked eagerly.
"I might." Rogue answered. "The wall is highly protective. I can't break through it, but I might be able to go AROUND it."
"AROUND it??" Zim was lost again.
"By starting from where I left off, I could access other lesser programs of the mainframe til I find a "hole" that I can sneak though. It might not work, depending on just how big the program is. …What do you think?"
Zim thought about it. "…I'm not sure what you mean by this "hole", but if this is what it's going to take………do it!"
"…Right." Rogue began their last ditch plan. If this didn't work, nothing else will. Starting from where she couldn't get in, she launched her discoding programs through out all other CPUs thoughout the Irken mainframes. To show she was breaking through them, the screen above showed little computer walls being smashed through one by one. Thus far, she has busted about twenty different programs without any sign of getting to the Control Brain in sight.
"…Rogue? Anything yet?" Zim asked in a slight worried tone. She shook her head. Zim was starting to grow more and more anxious with ever minute that ticked by.
"This is my favorite show!" Gir said, still watching the holoscreen.
"No, this looks like a bunch of random outdated files…" Rogue repled. "Half of these look like their misplaced too…" At that moment something caught the Irken's eye that made her paused her hacking all together. Zim shot his head towards her noticing she just stopped.
"Why did you stop?!" He went over and looked at the screen. There was an old file with the words "TOP SECERT" labeled across it. "…Rogue, explain!" Zim shouted.
"…This file. ...Look at the name…" Rogue said pointing to the screen. The words read in bold Irken lettering, "Project ROGUE".
"…This is nothing! We have more important things to do!" Zim answered loudly.
Without speaking, Rogue went ahead and opened the file.
"Rogue! What did I just say?!" Zim shouted. She began to read what was in the record outloud as if no one else was in the room. It looked as if half the file was corrupted and lost most of its content, but what was left still seemed to interest Rogue.
"…Irken Empire Year number TR10168. The war between the Irken race and a ruthless race of sentient beings known as "Shadows" continued to go on with no end in sight. By order and leadership of Almighty Tallest Teal, a vital task was carried out to stop the enemy once and for all and to insure the future of the Irken race.
The ROGUE Project (PROJECT ROGUE); the development of a highly skilled, highly powerful Irken warrior capable of destroying the enemy went underway; hidden from the enemy."
Corrupted Area
"Irken Empire Year number TR10180.5. Irken numbers continue to decrease as the ROGUE Project is finally completed. Tallest Teal rightfully named the newest hope for the Empire…"
Rogue stopped. Zim, who was listening to the whole thing, looked up at the screen to see the name of this Irken."
"…Rogue." He read outloud. The rest of the file was lost.
"…I can't believe this…" The female Irken suddenly uttered.
Zim still wasn't total sure why Rogue was acting this way. He read over the file again and looked at Rogue. He noticed the date of the events; way before his time.
"…Teal…Tallest Teal?" He spoke outloud. "Who is this Teal?"
"I…" Rogue displayed a blank stare. "…Her name sounds familiar to me…"
"Impossible!" Zim said. "Every single Tallest that has ruled has their name and history imprinted into the PAKs of every Irken! It's how we KNOW our past leaders and their actions. How can you say you KNOW this Teal when she clearly isn't real?"
"…You don't know anything…" Her tone grew flat and kind of lifeless. Zim cocked a brow. "…I never really told anyone this…so feel special." She said; her voice suddenly sounding a tad sarcastic. "I don't recall anything of the first…large portion of my life. The earliest memory I have is meeting with the current Tallest, but ever since I've had a funny feeling that something wasn't right…"
"Again, that's impossible." Zim interpreted. "All memories are-"
"Stored in PAKs?! Guess what?! I CAN'T REMEMBER! Nothing!!" Rogue yelled. Zim's eyes expanded. Rogue continued, "…I've been told I'm just another soldier but now I know that's another lie. …This file proves it. The year TR10180.5 rings a bell to me. …I think that has to be the year I was activated. Between that and meeting the Tallest for the first time…nothing."
Zim was surprised to hear all that. All Irkens should be able to remember the moment they were activated, like he does. But that still didn't answer the question about the female Tallest mentioned in the file.
"…Well…got anything to say now?" Rogue asked.
"…Um……no…" Zim answered. He didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, loudspeakers all over the Massive erupted with Purple's voice.
"ATTENTION ALL HANDS ON SHIP!!"
Zim and Rogue jumped at the sound, being too deep in their current revelation.
"No…they found out about us?!" Rogue said. She jumped up and unhooked her self. The holoscreen vanished away. "We've got to get out of here!"
Purple's voice continued on the speakers. "Be on the look out for…a huge…bugged eyed…BIG head creature running around the middle levels!! GET RID OF IT!! Uugh, it's so ugly!!"
"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG!!"
A small random explosion from somewhere on the ship followed that last announcement. Zim and Rogue stood there dumbfounded. They know who screamed that familiar statement. In unison, they shouted,
"…DIB!!"
TBC………
Infiltrate
In the dead of space, the Voot traveled pass the stars. Some time has also past since they left that empty planet; roughly two days. Not too much has happen since then. Gir has been keeping Dib busy, and the other way around for that matter, poking him and playing with his black hair and the bottom rim of his coat. It's been driving the human nuts.
Zim and Rogue haven't said too much to each other either. Zim would often mumble something under his breath, but Rogue was practically dead the whole time. After two days, Zim finally started to see that.
"…Aren't you excited?" Zim suddenly asked.
"What??" Rogue jumped a little. That was pretty much the only thing she had said since they left the planet. "…You say something?"
"I said, aren't you excited?" Zim repeated.
"…Sure I am." She said, but it was in an empty tone. Zim looked at her funny. "…What how?"
"You don't look it…" Zim said before returning to the controls.
Too much has been riding on the female Irken's mind for the past few days. She was still uncomfortable about the sensation she's been feeling toward Zim, which he is still obvious to know. But that was not the only thing bugging her.
There was still a chance that what they want to do could backfire or worst. No one had ever dared to face the Tallest in a battle of invader and/or Irken rights, if that was it was all about anymore. No, it was for payback, for all the lies both she and Zim have been through and are just finding out. And who knows how many Irkens of any class or job have had this same thought or realization, but have not been around to announce it.
"…Tallest can get away with it…" Rogue said in a low voice.
"What was that?" Zim said, turning his head toward her.
Rogue just looked back at him; debating weather she should repeat that. "…I was just thinking…when one is lucky enough to become a Tallest, they can do whatever they want, right?"
"The…laws of higher classes do promote that. …So?" Zim said.
"Then what does that mean to us?" Rogue said. Zim didn't understand. "…I'm saying that who ever becomes Tallest, can do anything they wish, weather it's for the good of the Empire or not! I know that the control brains are used to "help" the Tallest in whatever way possible, but…do the control brains even know what the Tallest do behind their backs?"
Zim's face changed a bit to that thought. In the Irken race, The Tallest and the control brains that control nearly all the major functions in and all around Irk, are the highest classes in their Empire. In a sense, "Tallest" is merely a title to the one lucky Irken that doesn't have to worry about anything while the control brains do all the work. But that one would still have to have "some" duties, most of which that must first have to be consulted with a control brain, to insure that it is ok to go with. That is the law.
"…They could be breaking that law!" Zim said with widen eyes.
"Exactly." Rogue said. "I don't think I've ever even seen the Tallest go to the control brains while I was around them. Rarely, maybe…"
"Then we have to let the control brains know if this! They must know!" Zim said.
"But what about the Massive? We were going there, right?" Rogue said. "…Wait…"
"What?" Zim said.
"If I remember right, I heard there is a room in the Massive where the Tallest can go and get in touch with the Main Control Brain that is back on Irk!"
"REALLY?!" Zim said with an eager tone in his voice. "Then what you're saying is…"
"We get into the Massive, we find that room and speak with the Control Brain herself." Rogue explained, displaying a little grin on her face.
"BRILLIENT!!" Zim said with a mad smirk. "Now all that leaves is sneaking onto the ship!"
"…I think I might know a way…" Rogue said with a plotting expression.
At that tiny moment, the "affection" feeling Rogue had felt before slowly but surely began to come back. But she didn't feel sick this time, she was rather used to it now. She looked back up at Zim, now with a wide grin across his face. His overzealous confident attitude seemed to be coming back.
All Rogue could do right then was smile. She didn't know why she wanted to smile, but it happened…
"Region warning; Approaching EXTREMELY large Irken vessel." The Voot's panel suddenly announced. "Identified as the MASSIVE, repeat, the MASSIVE."
Without a doubt, just about a half-mile away from their view, the two Irkens could clearly see the Massive itself gliding through space.
"There it is…" Zim said.
"HIII!!" Gir suddenly popped up the back with his loud greeting. Right behind the little robot was Dib, wide eyed and jaw drop. It was the first time he got to see his enemy's leader's ship.
"WOOOOW!" Dib said.
"…Oh yeah…we forgot about you…" Rogue said, good feeling gone. She got out of her chair and grabbed the ogle-eyed human by the back of his trench coat. She dragged him to the back of the Voot and closed the metal door behind her.
There was a crash sound followed by a series of thuds and yells, most likely Dib's. After a few moments of this, Rogue emerged from the back alone and walked back to her seat. She wore a little grin on his face.
"Taken care of." She said to Zim.
"Perfect. Now, what was your plan to infiltrate the Massive?" Zim asked. Outside the mighty Irken spaceship crept closer to their smaller, pint-sized craft.
"Ok, listen close…" Rogue started.
Inside the cockpit of the Massive, the row of crew-Irkens were tending to the main controls when an incoming transmission buzzed onto the center screen.
"Come in Massive…buzz this is Irken Rogue reporting. buzz I have returned from my previous mission by orders of the Almighty Tallest. buzz Requesting permission to broad. Repeat, permission to board."
One of the Irkens at the controls replied swiftly. "Affirmative. Please enter through ship bay 5."
"Roger, over and out." Rogue said.
As the cybrog worked her way into the Massive, far in the back room of their ship, Zim and Gir hid inside one of the empty metal boxes.
"Gir! Stay still!" Zim said as his SIR couldn't stop moving around. It was a bit of a tight fit in there. "Once inside, we must wait till Rogue gives the word before we can move out. Understand that, Gir?"
"I wants me a moose!" He squealed.
"QUIET!!" Zim yelled.
Just outside their hiding place laid Dib, out cold.
Rogue entered the Tallest's command ship and landed onto to platform in ship bay 5 as told too. Before going outside, she went back to see how the "cargo" were doing.
"Hey Zim?" She lifted the top of the box. Zim and Gir were staring back at her.
"Now?" He asked. Gir was ready to burst.
"No, not quite. I have to report to the Tallest first before anything else, so just stay here for a little longer, alright?" She then closed the lid again and exited her ship.
Out on the spaceship loading bay, other Irkens were stopping to see that Rogue had finally returned. Some waved; others stepped back, thinking she was going explode with anger or something. Rogue just shook her head to this. 'I hate it when they think I'm gonna 'do' something.' She thought. Then again, she was going to do something, but first, the Tallest.
She walked into a small elevator which took her closer to the Tallest's clamber. It took about five more minutes of on foot before she got to their doors. She pressed her hand on the wall of the entrance and the doors slid open.
"Um? Who's that?" Purple's voice echoed out. "…Oooh, it's you!"
Rogue set foot into their quarters. Red was there as well, of course. Purple faced her wearing what Rogue knew was a fake grin.
"So, you finally return." He said.
Rogue had to bring herself to doing a salute to them. It was the first time it made her insides turn.
"So tell us, Rogue…" Red started. "Was the mission a success?"
"Yes." She said, doing her best not to blow her act. "The one you call Zim has been dealt with…"
"You killed him?" Purple asked, suddenly sounding excited.
"…Yes." Rogue forced out.
"WHOO-HOO!!" Purple cheered. Red smiled from ear to ear.
"Finally!" Red whispered under his breath, but Rogue heard it.
A nauseous, sick feeling abruptly overtook her as she watched the taller Irkens celebrate. It was a mix of rage and disgust. If she could do or say anything right there and now, she wouldn't have any problem doing so. But she knew she still had to wait and continue with this performance.
"Ah…so, that's great news, Rogue." Red said. "You're dismissed."
"…Yes, my Tallest…" She couldn't wait to get out of there. She turned for the door and left. When the doors closed behind her, she stopped and reflected on just how stupid they really were.
"…Our leaders are not at all what many think…" She thought out loud. She continued back to the spaceship bay.
Meanwhile, back on the Voot, Zim was beginning to wonder where Rogue was. He and Gir were still hiding on the box, but it was starting to get a little cramped.
"…Where is she!?" He said, making sure not to get too loud. He could hear other Irkens walking around outside, which was making him even more tense. If someone other then Rogue was to come in and find them, it'll ruin everything.
Just then, Zim heard footsteps. He stopped moving, and breathing to see if he can tell if it was Rogue, or someone else. He held down his SIR and waited…
"…Zim? It's me."
Zim exhaled and whipped open the top. It was Rogue.
"Finally!" He said. Gir just smiled.
"Alright, put this on." Rogue tossed Zim a guard uniform.
"Eh? Where did you get this?" Zim looked the clothes over.
"Never mind that, just get it on." Rogue said.
Zim slipped the suit on over his normal clothes, but there was a problem. "…It's won't work."
"What?" Rogue said.
"It's too big." He said. The bottom part and the sleeves were hitting the floor.
"…" Rogue wanted to say it was because he was too short, but now wasn't the time. "…Then stand on top of Gir."
Zim glanced over at the robot. "Gir, hold still." He got up on top the SIR's head and then put the uniform on over him. With the height boost, Zim looked more like a guard.
"That's better." Rogue said.
"YAAH!" Gir squealed. Zim nearly lost his balance.
"GIR!" Zim shouted. "Now, you just have to walk right, got that?"
"OK!" He answered from under the outfit.
"I hope this works…" Rogue said to herself.
Meanwhile at the Massive's main control room…
"Hey, I've heard that cybrog is back on the ship." One of the many communications officers said to another.
"Oh really? I wonder where she ran off too this time." The other replied.
The doors suddenly opened as Red and Purple came floating into the room. Everyone shut up and waited for the Tallest to take their seat in the center of the bridge.
"Awaiting orders, my Tallest." The head of the bridge team said.
"Set course of the next planet on the invader list." Red said. The Irkens did so and the Massive picked up it speed.
"Hey! A slurpie over here!" Purple called out.
"Same here." Red said.
After exiting the Voot, Rogue and an undercover Zim and Gir made their way through the hallways from the parking bay. Gir's walking took some time to perfect; he was nearly throwing his Master off when ever he took a step. After they got their balance, they went ahead with the infiltration.
'Looks like this is gonna work after all…' Rogue thought. They passed other Irkens who didn't seem to notice the "guard's" peculiar, wobbling walk.
"Rogue? Just where is this Control Brain communication room?" Zim asked in a low tone voice.
"I heard it's towards the back of the ship. We're halfway there." She answered. Just then, Rogue stopped in her tracks. Gir bumped into her and Zim nearly fell over once again.
"Gir! Watch it!" Zim snapped.
"Quiet!" Rogue said. Right ahead of them stood numerous, partially blocking their path. Rogue signaled Zim and Gir to move over behind the corner of the hallway.
"This is a problem…" She whispered to them. "I bet there are so many guards there because that leads to the room. I should have thought about that…"
"Now what?" Zim asked. Gir peeked through the clothes underneath waiting to see what Rogue had in mind.
Plotting, the cybrog looked around at their current location. She spotted one of the air vents in the wall. "We can sneak in through there."
Zim and Gir looked up. "You sure that will work?" Zim asked with a raised brow.
"Why not?" Rogue deployed her metal legs and opened the vent way. Zim and Gir ditched the guard disguise and followed her in.
It was a lot dimmer in the vents then outside. Gir automatically switched on the light in his eyes to illuminate things. The three resumed on.
"We have to be really quiet from now on." Rogue whispered. "Watch your step."
"…Something smells funny!" Gir pronounced. Zim slapped his hand over the SIR's mouth. Rogue stopped and took a short whiff herself.
"…Fuel. We're hear the fuel tanks." Rogue said. "…The tanks are right next to the Control Brain room??"
Back at the main control room…
"We'll be at the next planet within a few hours my Tallest." One of the Irkens at the controls stated.
"Great, carry on." Purple said laying back sipping on his slurpie. Next to him, Red took a swallow of his beverage and then set it down.
"…Has anyone seen or heard from Rogue lately?" He suddenly asked.
Purple looked at him funny. "Why? She's already reported to us."
The other Tallest had a pondering face on. "…I just had a weird feeling all of the sudden…"
"So?" Purple said.
Red stood up to make an announcement. "Hey! Tell all guards on the ship to keep an eye out for Rogue. When you find her, let us know."
Zim, Gir and Rogue just passed the tank room and were nearing their destination. They went by a few more vent openings and saw that there were indeed a lot more Irkens walking around in the area.
"How do we know there won't be any guards inside the communication room?" Zim asked.
"If there is, I'll take care of it." Rogue answered.
Just then, the announcement Red requested boomed through all the speakers on the ship.
"Attention! All Irken hands! Be on the lookout for Rogue. Repeat, all Irken hands! Be on the lookout for Rogue."
The Irkens stopped in their tracks. "Did you hear that?" Zim whispered.
Rogue bit her lower lip. "…Could the Tallest have sensed that something's up? We're got to hurry!"
They hustled pass even more armed Irkens, making their current situation a tad more tense. Zim started to get anxious; sweating nervously. Rogue too was the same, but was doing her best to hide it. Gir was sensing a little danger, for once in his life anyway.
They finally made it; right below them was the Control Brain's communication's room, and lucky for them, nobody was in there.
Rogue kicked open the vent cover and they dropped down to the floor. The extent of the area was above the size of Zim's living room. Right at the center was a panel where the Tallest can connect to the Main Control Brain that resided on Irk.
"Let's get to work." Zim said.
"Hang on a sec…" Rogue walked over to the door leading to the hallways where all the guards were walking around. She placed her hands on the door's electric lock. Her gems glowed softly before the lock sparked and buzzed.
"…What did you just do?" Zim asked with a puzzled stare.
"I disabled the door so no one can get in through it. It will buy us some time." She walked over to the middle panel. "Here we go."
Using the same method she used before on Zim's computer, Rogue hooked herself up to the panel's internal wires. In front of them a hologram screen appeared with the two eyed Irken symbol on it. A computer voice then said to them, "Please enter three part access code now."
"A code? I would think they could automatically connect through their PAKs…" Zim mentioned.
"Me too…" Rogue said. "But it still doesn't mean I can't get through…" She began punching in buttons on her arm. Zim watched her work but she was going so fast his eyes couldn't keep up. On the screen numbers and irken letters flashed by at lightning speed.
"…This doesn't make sense!" Rogue suddenly stated.
"What doesn't? What's wrong?" Zim looked at the holoscreen and only saw the Irken symbol again.
"I've tried everything but I can't crack this last one." Rogue said pushing some more buttons. "All the other firewalls and lockout programs before this one were just like anything else I've got through, but this one protection encode just doesn't want to break. I've tried every single trick, nothing's happening…"
"Have you ever seen something like it?" Zim asked.
"…No, this…this is new." Rogue lowered her arm and took a breather. "It must be brand new program; something made JUST for Main Control Brain. If I tried to figure it out, they might find out about us first and then it would all over."
Zim slammed his fist on the wall. "UGH! We're so close!"
Rogue crossed her arms and thought hard. "… … … …Maybe…"
"Maaaybe?" Gir said. He's been watching the screen the whole time; it's been keeping him busy.
"You have something?!" Zim asked eagerly.
"I might." Rogue answered. "The wall is highly protective. I can't break through it, but I might be able to go AROUND it."
"AROUND it??" Zim was lost again.
"By starting from where I left off, I could access other lesser programs of the mainframe til I find a "hole" that I can sneak though. It might not work, depending on just how big the program is. …What do you think?"
Zim thought about it. "…I'm not sure what you mean by this "hole", but if this is what it's going to take………do it!"
"…Right." Rogue began their last ditch plan. If this didn't work, nothing else will. Starting from where she couldn't get in, she launched her discoding programs through out all other CPUs thoughout the Irken mainframes. To show she was breaking through them, the screen above showed little computer walls being smashed through one by one. Thus far, she has busted about twenty different programs without any sign of getting to the Control Brain in sight.
"…Rogue? Anything yet?" Zim asked in a slight worried tone. She shook her head. Zim was starting to grow more and more anxious with ever minute that ticked by.
"This is my favorite show!" Gir said, still watching the holoscreen.
"No, this looks like a bunch of random outdated files…" Rogue repled. "Half of these look like their misplaced too…" At that moment something caught the Irken's eye that made her paused her hacking all together. Zim shot his head towards her noticing she just stopped.
"Why did you stop?!" He went over and looked at the screen. There was an old file with the words "TOP SECERT" labeled across it. "…Rogue, explain!" Zim shouted.
"…This file. ...Look at the name…" Rogue said pointing to the screen. The words read in bold Irken lettering, "Project ROGUE".
"…This is nothing! We have more important things to do!" Zim answered loudly.
Without speaking, Rogue went ahead and opened the file.
"Rogue! What did I just say?!" Zim shouted. She began to read what was in the record outloud as if no one else was in the room. It looked as if half the file was corrupted and lost most of its content, but what was left still seemed to interest Rogue.
"…Irken Empire Year number TR10168. The war between the Irken race and a ruthless race of sentient beings known as "Shadows" continued to go on with no end in sight. By order and leadership of Almighty Tallest Teal, a vital task was carried out to stop the enemy once and for all and to insure the future of the Irken race.
The ROGUE Project (PROJECT ROGUE); the development of a highly skilled, highly powerful Irken warrior capable of destroying the enemy went underway; hidden from the enemy."
Corrupted Area
"Irken Empire Year number TR10180.5. Irken numbers continue to decrease as the ROGUE Project is finally completed. Tallest Teal rightfully named the newest hope for the Empire…"
Rogue stopped. Zim, who was listening to the whole thing, looked up at the screen to see the name of this Irken."
"…Rogue." He read outloud. The rest of the file was lost.
"…I can't believe this…" The female Irken suddenly uttered.
Zim still wasn't total sure why Rogue was acting this way. He read over the file again and looked at Rogue. He noticed the date of the events; way before his time.
"…Teal…Tallest Teal?" He spoke outloud. "Who is this Teal?"
"I…" Rogue displayed a blank stare. "…Her name sounds familiar to me…"
"Impossible!" Zim said. "Every single Tallest that has ruled has their name and history imprinted into the PAKs of every Irken! It's how we KNOW our past leaders and their actions. How can you say you KNOW this Teal when she clearly isn't real?"
"…You don't know anything…" Her tone grew flat and kind of lifeless. Zim cocked a brow. "…I never really told anyone this…so feel special." She said; her voice suddenly sounding a tad sarcastic. "I don't recall anything of the first…large portion of my life. The earliest memory I have is meeting with the current Tallest, but ever since I've had a funny feeling that something wasn't right…"
"Again, that's impossible." Zim interpreted. "All memories are-"
"Stored in PAKs?! Guess what?! I CAN'T REMEMBER! Nothing!!" Rogue yelled. Zim's eyes expanded. Rogue continued, "…I've been told I'm just another soldier but now I know that's another lie. …This file proves it. The year TR10180.5 rings a bell to me. …I think that has to be the year I was activated. Between that and meeting the Tallest for the first time…nothing."
Zim was surprised to hear all that. All Irkens should be able to remember the moment they were activated, like he does. But that still didn't answer the question about the female Tallest mentioned in the file.
"…Well…got anything to say now?" Rogue asked.
"…Um……no…" Zim answered. He didn't know what to say.
Suddenly, loudspeakers all over the Massive erupted with Purple's voice.
"ATTENTION ALL HANDS ON SHIP!!"
Zim and Rogue jumped at the sound, being too deep in their current revelation.
"No…they found out about us?!" Rogue said. She jumped up and unhooked her self. The holoscreen vanished away. "We've got to get out of here!"
Purple's voice continued on the speakers. "Be on the look out for…a huge…bugged eyed…BIG head creature running around the middle levels!! GET RID OF IT!! Uugh, it's so ugly!!"
"MY HEAD'S NOT BIG!!"
A small random explosion from somewhere on the ship followed that last announcement. Zim and Rogue stood there dumbfounded. They know who screamed that familiar statement. In unison, they shouted,
"…DIB!!"
TBC………