"Talking"
'Thinking'
Stressed
To be feared was to have respect, but how could respect form if people were too scared to know you. He sighed and his antennae lowered as he listened to Dok speak. Dok had a way of words; he could use words to make sin seem like a virtue. Zig believed that he could even talk soldiers into self-destructing just for the purpose of pleasing himself. A fist slammed on the table and his brass eyes turned back to the meeting. It consisted of Dok, himself, Dez, and two royal advisers, along with two generals of the military elite. Dez silently sat next to Zig as he watched the meeting. Zig could tell that the guard was amused by the situation. It should have angered Zig, but he didn't care.
"How could it get past the finest military?" Dok growled out.
"Sir, it knows our defenses," the first general protested.
"Those in the Military Elite and Invader class know our defenses," Dok gritted out.
Zig turned his eyes to Dok and saw he still wore the same black goggles. His lack of antennae set him apart in the room. He was as Tall as Dez, about five foot seven. Zig himself was only an inch from being taller than them.
"How did it escape?" Dok questioned, the anger was just below the surface.
"It has technology that allows it to breach any of our barriers," the first adviser careful spoke.
"How did it gain this?" Dok carefully asked. Zig knew that he would one day be in that chair. Asking, demanding that his will be done. He closed his brass eyes; he didn't want to be chained to that position. It would please him more to be an Invader, to be able to explore the universe that way.
"We do not know," the second adviser spoke.
"If I may speak," the second general sighed.
"You may."
"It is possible that it could be Irken," the second general finished.
"Irken?" Dok questioned as his goggles seemed to darken.
"It knows our defenses…has technology to breach our barriers," the second general defended.
Zig frowned and began to draw circles on the table. He was the one that had just been attacked, not them. The claw marks in his armor proved that. His brass eyes turned to them and he wondered why they kept calling her an "it." His eyes widened a bit and he began to grin. They didn't know that his assassin was a female.
"She," Zig simply said.
They looked to them and he knew that he had their attention, not that he wanted it. He cracked his fingers and looked to them again.
"What was that?" Dok questioned as his forehead wrinkled.
"The assassin, your 'it'…is a she," Zig answered as he held his face still.
"What led you to this?" The second adviser questioned.
"She spoke to me before she really attacked me," Zig answered.
The two generals looked at each other in unease and the advisers seemed disturbed. Dok weaved his fingers together and leaned on the table. Dez went rigid and turned his careful sangria gaze to Dok. Dok smirked once he noticed Dez's gaze.
"She spoke?" The first general questioned. "That's a waste."
"What were her words?" The first adviser questioned.
"Future Tallest Zig, you are to be deactivated," Zig softly repeated.
"Her voice was feminine? Were than any other signs that led you to believe this?" The second adviser pried.
"No, just her voice," Zig assured.
Dok leaned back and he tilted his head to the side as he began to think. Zig carefully watched him and knew if he had antennae, they would be twitching in thought. The generals and advisers had remained silent for fear of interrupting anything. Dez had turned his gaze to the window with no real care. Dok's chuckled grabbed their attention and they knew he had something planned. He always was a quick thinker, quick but not careless.
"The barriers will not protect us if she knows our technology, but this threat is bigger than a mere assassination attempt," Dok began, but the grin remained. "If she can breach our defenses and barriers than so can others."
It was the truth and it caused the room to go silent. There was a threat to the Irken Empire, the first real threat in fourteen years. Dez pushed his seat out and stood, he looked to Zig and saluted before he left. Without a real Tallest, he couldn't be punished. Dok couldn't take the position because the Empire wouldn't accept the crazed scientist. He had a long history that would always follow him. Dez was another that couldn't take the position, but for other reasons. The Irken had suddenly appeared within the Empire at this strange height. The Empire couldn't trust him. They watched him go and Dok glared at on the way out. Zig sighed wondering how he would get back to his room now.
Dez glared at each Irken he passed in the halls. They quickly looked away from him as he stepped upon a metal platform. It began to descend and he watched the levels pass with a sigh. He couldn't understand the fuss over a simple assassin. Dok had never been worked up against the rising resistance or the assassins that came at Zig. Dez felt his eyes darkly narrow at the thought. He knew the real reason why Dok wouldn't accept the "Almighty Tallest" title. It was the same reason why every other tall Irken backed away from the throne. Dok didn't want to risk his life with the rising resistance. He had made Zig a primary target; a puppet.
He raised his hand to his head and ran his three fingers along his temple. A soft throb drew him away from his deep thoughts and he froze. There were no walls to hold him still as the platform descended into a lower lab of Irk. The platform jerked and he knew that it came to a stop. He fumbled off of it and fell to the floor. His hands quickly snapped in front of him and stoppedthe painful impact. Dez lowered himself to the floor and let his head lay against the metal. The lights on his PAK flashed and he gritted his teeth. The pain vanished and he pushed himself to his feet. His boots scrapped against the floor as he traveled down the winding hall.
"Stupid scientist," Dez mumbled. "Have to be so far."
Dez came to a door and knocked a few times. It quickly slid open and he felt someone grab his arm. He didn't struggle as he was pulled into the room. Dez looked at the Irken and scowled. He let the short crimson eyed Irken led him to a table. Dez jumped upon the metal table and lay on his stomach. He closed his eyes as he felt his vision blur.
"You are over due for your checkup," the other Irken scolded.
Dez snorted and let his gaze wander to the other Irken. He heard the snap of rubber and knew that the Irken had put on gloves. Dez sighed and noticed that smaller Irkenpick up a pair of tweezers.
"I was busy protecting the future Tallest," Dez responded with a scowl.
"You will be no good if you can't function," the crimson-eyed Irken scolded.
"You know Mun, I sometimes really don't want to function," Dez muttered.
Mun had already opened the PAK. He stared down at the wiring and sighed. Mun took the tweezers and began to tweak a few of the wires and circuits. The rubber gloves squeaked with each movement. His antennae lowered with a bit of frustration.
"It has never been about what you want," Mun replied as he frowned. "It has always been about actions…no matter if you wanted it or not."
"I just wish I had a clue," Dez grumbled as he moved his arms and rested his chin on them.
Mun deeply chuckled and reached for a small chip that sat on a tray. Dez didn't even wince as Mun removed one chip and replaced it. He couldn't feel the work upon his PAK, but he could feel when something was rearranged. It affected his mind.
"If half the universe had clue…it might actually thrive," Mun replied as Dez smirked.
"At least the universe knows its origin," Dez sighed as he felt Mun shut the PAK.
"I once told a friend of mine when he was very young that if you keep looking to the past you'll never see the future," Mun recited as he smirked. His friend had indeed seen the future.
"I just hate missing time," Dez explained as his lights on his PAK flashed.
"How can you hate what you have never known?" Mun questioned as he pulled off a glove. It snapped within the air.
Dez gaze at the wall and frowned. He had never known his past and that was the reason he couldn't be Tallest. Mun had introduced him to the Empire quiet suddenly. He had known everything, but his identity. It was a mystery that haunted him sometimes, but most of the time he forgot about it as wandered the halls with Zig.
"I feel like I'm missing something, and Dez never misses anything," Dez firmly replied as he looked to Mun.
Mun looked to him and said, "You're Irken…you shouldn't miss anything."
Dez frowned and pushed himself off the table. He blinked and found that his vision was normal. Dez cracked his neck and grinned when no pain came to him. He glanced over and down his shoulder at Mun. Mun simply sighed and shook his head. Dez was defect in his own right, but that made him more Irken than most. Mun smirked and saw shadow of a memory before he scowled.
"Thanks for the chip Mun," Dez thanked as he began to walk off.
"Same time, two days or else you'll fry!" Mun shouted as Dez ran out of the room.
"I'll be back!"
Mun sighed and leaned against a small counter. He could hear Dez's voice echoing down the halls and he sighed again. His crimson eyes closed and he dropped his gloves to the floor. He crossed one arm over his chest as he let his other hand cover his face. He opened one eye and peaked at the chip that lay in the tray. There would be nothing else besides that chip
"Why do I have to be so…nice?" Mun questioned. He knew had gone farther than before. Hiding a PAKless Irken was one thing, but going against the Empire was another thing. Mun reached out and crushed the chip in the palm of his hand.
Red lights flashed and the aliens aboard the ship began to panic. A screen floated into view of the leader and he watched as something was beamed aboard his ship. His goggled eyes narrowed as he watched the screen go blank.
"It's going to get us!"
His goggled green eyes widened and he turned them to the one panicking at the controls. He looked at the alien who was waving his arms around madly. His small emerald eyes filled with fear. The leader grinned and his pointed teeth hung over the gray skin of his lip. He stood up and his oddly shaped feet held him as his two horns flexed forward and fell back into place.
"Why are you panicking?" He questioned.
"Lard Nar," his attention turned to the alien cloaked in violet. Her blue eyes were narrowed. "The main hall has been breached."
"Beta!" Lard Nar shouted to the cloaked alien. "Activate the barriers to keep the bridge secured!"
"We're going to die!"
"Spleenk!" Lard Nar shouted. "Silence!"
The bridge went silent and they heard it, the sound of metal grinding against metal. Lard Nar quickly turned around in his floating seat to gaze at the door. The lights flickered and they knew that the barrier was being tested.
"Maybe it's a pirate monkey!"
Lard Nar turned his gaze to the floating cone and sighed. There was a hopeful appearance on his plum colored face. He really wondered where Shloonktapooxis came up with these comments. The grinding stopped and the lights went back to normal. Spleenk was the first one to stop cowering behind the controls.
"Maybe it's gone," Spleenk mumbled.
The metal bars of the vent above them came crashing to the floor. Spleenk and another few aliens dodged the falling metal. Lard Nar winced at the noise and they all turned their eyes to the vent. He began to smirk and calmly sat back down in his chair as he watched. A sleek black figure fell from the vent. It landed gracefully on the thin edge of the controls. The crew backed away as they stared at the figure. It was covered completely in black, leaving a sense of darkness. It jumped from the controls and stood to its full height, which wasn't very tall. She was probably about five feet with an extra five inches. It was taller than them, but still not that tall to the Irkens. Her fingers cracked and the blades appeared at her fingertips.
"Seize her!" Lard Nar ordered.
Mechanical arms dropped from the ceiling and snatched at her. He could tell she had to concentrate because of the mask she wore. She jumped into the air and landed upon one of the arms. The blades quickly cut into the bare wires and it fell to the floor useless. She jumped and landed upon Shloonktapooxis. He began to panic and she jumped from him and closer to Lard Nar. Purple vomit interrupted her path and she shifted her weight to the side. Her eyes moved to the small floating platform in the air. Spleenk held a green blob on his head that had just finished puking. She crouched low and lunged for him. Her hands grasped him and hit the blob away while she pulled him to the ground.
She quickly held the claws on her left hand at his face and her right hand grasped Spleenk around the neck. Everyone went still has she held the alien captive. Applause filled the air and her black visor shined as she turned her gaze to the Vortian in the chair. The remaining crew on the bridge glanced from the black clad figure to the Lard Nar in confusion. Spleenk watched as the claws simply vanished and she released him. The crew's eyes widened as she lowered to one knee at Lard Nar's feet. Her hands were on her knee and her face was tilted up at the ruler.
"I don't get it," Spleenk mumbled as he rubbed his throat.
Lard Nar looked to the figure before his goggled eyes turned to his crew. They were looking to each other for answers. The ship's alarmturned off leaving the bridge with silence.
"If we are to go up against the Irkens we must be prepared!" Lard Nar firmly spoke.
"What is that?" Beta questioned as her azure eyes moved to kneeling figure.
"This is the first member of the Resisty to gain a small victory for us," Lard Nar proudly said.
"It attacking us is so not cool," Shloonktapooxis loudly spoke.
"I believe it is a she," Lard Nar pointed out.
The figure stood up without a word. They could easily see that whatever was hidden behind the visor was taking them in. She twisted and looked at those behind the controls and those on the dais. Her form than turned back to Lard Nar.
"Why haven't we seen her before?" Beta questioned.
"She has spent most of her time on Irk gathering information," Lard Nar explained.
"She's a pirate monkey!" Her face turned toward Shloonktapooxis and she shook her head.
Spleenk was the first one to walk closest to her. He still kept a distance and froze as her black gaze turned toward him. She made no move to attack him, but he was still wary after the incident. Her head tilted forward in a small nod and he smiled.
"I'm Spleenk," he introduced with a smile. His smile began to fade made she made no move to greet him or introduce herself.
"Is she mute?" Beta questioned as her azure eyes moved to Lard Nar.
Lard Nar came from his thoughts with a depressed look. He sighed and replied, "She talks when she deems fit."
"How can we trust her?" Beta demanded. "She could be anIrken Spy!"
Lard Nar smirked and figured it best to keep most of this new member's history a secret. He had a feeling that Beta would react harshly to the information she had. Irkens had destroyed her people, the Omega.
"She is Cyborg, but not Irken," Lard Nar answered.
"She's a machine?" Spleenk questioned.
"Who controls this machine?" Beta questioned with anger in her eyes.
Lard Nar went to speak, but another voice cut it. It was soft, delicate to the ear and tired. Their eyes turned to Cyborg and watched as she massaged her material covered throat. Her hand lowered and they could feel her gaze upon them.
"I control myself," she firmly declared, as firmly as her unused voice would allow.
"She's machine with no emotions…she will turn on us like the Irkens!" Beta growled.
Her point had struck them hard. The Irkens were cyborgs that had turned on them. They had managed to destroy almost all their races in a short matter of time. The crew turned distrustful eyes towards the cyborg.
"It doesn't even have a name," Beta growled. Her azure eyes darkened with her growing anger.
"She has no name," Lard Nar replied.
"Everything has a name, how can she not?" Beta questioned.
"Xero," the cyborg softly whispered.
"What?" Beta questioned.
She pointed to herself and repeated, "Xero."
"There is a name," Lard Nar replied.
"Go to the medical bay," Lard Nar dismissed the figure dubbed as Zero.
She nodded and quickly vanished from the deck. The remaining crew blinked and listened to the door shut. It was like she had phased out of sight.
"Did anybody think that was cool?" Shloonktapooxis questioned.
"Is she safe?" Spleenk hesitantly questioned.
"She is the newest creation of a scientist I used to work with," Lard Nar revealed.
"I thought all scientist were imprisoned," Beta carefully said.
Lard Nar only grinned and shouted new coordinates. He was captain and knew what was best. His crew was concerned, but he had no reason to be. Things would fall into place and make everything right. He looked over his crew and sighed.
"I'll answer all questions in three hours," Lard Nar declared.
The hallways of his new ship were as cold as his determination to undermine the Irken Empire. The peace treaties late Tallest Zim had installed were a blessing in disguise. Those treaties had brought peace to the universe, and for once, the universe was one. It wasbeautiful, all the intelligent races able to live in peace without fear. He blinked and stared at the hallway. The machinery on the ceiling were the veins of the ship, they guided all power to each room. The vents filtered out most dangers to the air. The floors were a steel gray and the walls were a black. The doors were copper and numbered. The whole ship was numbered for easy access. The crew's quarters were held in the lower stomach of the ship and the doors were colored by gender and station. A yellow slash with a green slash across it meant that it was female engineers room.
Lard Nar came to a copper door with the number twenty-three upon it. He hesitated, but the door slid open and he stepped inside. His hoofed like feet made gentle clicks with each step. Xero was standing at the window gazing out into the darkness of space. He wondered what she was admiring or thinking about. She still hid herself behind her mask, but the black visor turned to him. Lard Nar nodded his head and she stepped back from the window before she moved to the metal table. She lay upon the table and crossed her arms underneath her head to prevent discomfort. Lard Nar stepped upon a step and a staircase to the table formed.
"Have you damaged yourself today?" Lard Nar questioned.
"No," was her quiet reply.
"Than what is the problem?" Lard Nar questioned.
"I believe my depth perception is off," Xero replied.
"Your demonstration upon the bridge appeared perfect," Lard Nar replied.
Xero calmly said, "I tested my new programming today in the Tallest Palace and found that my perception was off three inches from my intended target."
Lard Nar chuckled and replied, "I'll check your chips."
Xero relaxed as she felt him unzipping the shirt from the back. She could feel the sharp tips of his fingers as he quickly undid the support for her front. His fingers than began to prod around her back until he reached her neck. Lard Nar grimaced for her as his fingers dug into the flesh. He carefully liftedthe skinup and watched it evenly peel to her lower back. It was like peeling bacon from the wrapper. He dropped the piece of flesh down beside her with a nice plop.
"Doesn't it hurt?" He questioned.
"All nerve endings within the area are dead," Xero dutifully replied.
Lard Nar nodded even though she couldn't see the movement. He knew that he was supposed to be staring at white bone, but it wasn't. Her spine was no longer natural like it should be; the vertebral column had been replaced with a more durable and flexible vortian liquid. His eyes scanned the column and he knew that no work needed to be done in the cervical area. The scientist had connected everything within the thoracic region. He went to the third vertebrae and tapped it three times. A soft click was heard as it simply loosened. He reached inside and pulled the vertebrae loose. He held it to the light and pressed a button on the back of his goggles. He stared at the chip within it with a sigh.
"Nothing looks wrong," Lard Nar sighed.
"It's the programming," Xero replied.
Lard Nar sighed knowing that he wouldn't win on this one. He walked down the staircase and to the metal cabinets. He tossed the useless vertebrae to the floor and reached out to the cabinet. Once the handle was twisted a keypad appeared on the door. He punched in a random sequence of numbers. It vanished and the door clicked open. He reached inside and pulled out a small box. Lard Nar clicked it open and gazed at the different vertebrae within the box. They were each listed by region and then numbered. He dropped his hand into the thoracic area and counted them till he reached the third vertebrae. He took it from the box and placed everything back where it was.
"It was a matter of time before all my senses went," Xero spoke.
"I know," Lard Nar spoke.
He stood above her once again and clicked the vertebrae into place. She flexed the muscles within her back signaling that everything was fine. He quickly picked up the piece of flesh and placed it back over her spine. Lard Nar was amazed at how fast it mended with the surrounding flesh. He redid her support and zipped up her shirt. Xero sat up and reached out to pull the gloves off his hands. She tossed them to the floor and watched him.
"Everything functional?" Lard Nar questioned.
"Checking systems…everything is operational," Xero replied.
"Can't you just say 'fine', everything is fine?" Lard Nar questioned.
"That is not in my programming," Xero answered.
"Very well than," Lard Nar sighed as he descended the staircase. It dropped into the floor when he stepped off the last step.
Xero stood up and quickly cracked her back. Lard Nar watched as she walked over to the wall. She stood with a back to wall and touched it with the palm of her gloved hands. She quickly began to walk down the wall until her hands touched the floor. Xero than kicked her legs up into a handstand and than fell back to her feet. Lard Nar clicked his tongue and she tilted her head to the side.
"Do not let the crew see you until the meeting in three hours," Lard Nar ordered.
Xero nodded her head and answered, "As you wish."
Lard Nar blinked and when he opened his eyes she was gone. He blinked again and sighed. He began walking down the metal halls.
'At least there's no death threats,' Lard Nar thought as he kept his eyes open for Xero.
Author's Note:
I'm glad that everyone likes the idea. I wasn't sure about writing with mainly original characters as the main characters and that's why I held off on a Zig and Zag storyline. I have this phobia of original characters, especially when I write them. In my mind, I don't think Zig would be a good Irken Hitler because he just goes with the flow and is a bit spoiled in a childish manner, but Zag...her personality is still blank to me.
Reviewers- I usually never do this, but this is to recgonize reviewers who have reviewed faithfully from the beginning and those who are new. Without you, there would be no Xenoseries.
HeCallsMeHisChild- cuddles plushie I'm glad your interested, I'm going to stop by soon and read your 'Shattered Mind' fic.
Invader Johnny- Just assuring you that Mini-Moose will make an appearance
Nemzit- I'm sorry that you don't Zig and good luck to you once you reach August.
SetsuntaMew- thanks for reviewing
Gepetto- thanks for reviewing and I'll try to update often
Whippedcream- I left it to open for the whole imagination, thanks for reviewing
Amras Felagund- I had the same type of response. May the force be with you!
Unlikely-to-bear- I'm glad you could never tire, I could, but this is the only series that hasn't given me brain cramps
UtterlyPointless- thanks for reviewing
Invader Sideos- Your reviews always amuse me . I don't know who will have the good ol' tyrant blood.