Boy oh boy, my apologies for the delay. I hit a roadblock. That's been happening alot lately, and I won't say that it won't happen again because it probably will. But whatever! Here's chapter two, read it and enjoy!

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Chapter two / Border patrol

The three jumped into their ship, bags of various sorts of alien fast-food still in their hands. Spleenk started the engine as his two comrades urged him to hurry up, get them off this planet, get away. The ship zoomed off of the ground and into the sky, as a group of Irkens-- all with food stuck to their heads-- shook their fists at the sky that the Resisty members had taken off into.

"Whoo!" Spleenk exclaimed as his panic was replaced by exhilaration, "That was cool!"

"That was pointlessly dangerous," Lard Nar grumbled before pulling a fried Vort-dog out of his paper bag and chewing on it.

"Aw, you can't tell me throwing slydoodeedoos at Irkens isn't fun!" Shloonktapooxis insisted, "And they're not chasing us! We're in the clear!"

Lard Nar looked out the window, watching signs go past as they exited official Foodcourtian airspace. "Regardless. We've got a job to do, we can't go risking getting killed before we even get to Vort."

"But you were doin' it too, Cap'n!" Shlooktapooxis chirped, "You threw a plooka at that big fat Irken guy!"

Lard Nar nearly choked on his food. They saw that! "That was an accident!"

"An accident with really good aim!" Spleenk laughed, "Aw, don't worry about it, boss. We didn't get killed, so whatever!"

The captain rolled his eyes, not so much because he was annoyed, but to make his comrades think he was. After all, he couldn't encourage their reckless behavior, hilarious though it may have been. "Yes. Well. We ought to head over to Vort now-- no detours this time. Okay?"

"No problem, Captain!" Spleenk enthusiastically hit some buttons on the small ship's console, then slammed his foot down on the ship's equivalent of a gas pedal. The ship's engine vibrated in a way that would have indicated it was making a roaring sort of noise that couldn't be heard in the vacuum of space, and the stars began to shoot past as the ship's speed exceeded that of light. The three alien rebels were off to their leader's home.

It wasn't long before the blurs of stars they were passing began to look familiar to the little grey freedom fighter, and the ship slowed to cruising speed as they entered orbit around the Vortian parent star.

"What's the plan, Cap'n?" Shloonktapooxis questioned cheerily, "We gonna run in there and bust some heads!"

"No," Lard Nar replied simply.

"So... what're we doin'?" Shloonktapooxis asked again.

"I don't know," Said the leader. "I hadn't really thought this out."

"I know!" Claimed Spleenk, "I have an idea!"

And so Spleenk explained his plan to his two comrades as their ship hurtled its way across space and toward the Vortian home planet.

It wasn't long before they reached the security perimeter surrounding Planet Vort. The ship slowed to a halt, its retrorockets canceling out the forward motion of the craft. An Irken vehicle pulled up next to the Resisty members' ship, and was greeted on the video feed by a four-armed green alien with a suspiciously fake-looking mustache.

"Hi there, Irken master!" Spleenk greeted, holding his mustache up with one hand. "We are totally not rebels against your empire, so how's about you let us in, eh?"

The Irken on their end of the feed, an alien that was large with what they couldn't tell was muscle or fat, frowned and grunted. "No non-Irkens are allowed onto this planet."

"C'mooon!" Shloonktapooxis cried, popping out on screen from the backseat, wearing a fake mustache under each eye, "We promise not to break anyone out!"

More Irken border-patrol vehicles began to approach. The Irken guard didn't seem like he was going to give in. "Turn around before we vaporize you, short things."

"We ought to turn around," Lard Nar whispered from under the seat. He had to stay hidden, as any Vortian trying to return to Vort would be shot on sight.

"Ah, right," Spleenk agreed, still looking at the Irken, "We'll be on our way."

Their dinky little ship turned around, fired its rockets, and scooted away.

Lard Nar climbed out from under the seat. "I should have known that wouldn't work! Why do I keep listening to you?"

Spleenk shrugged. "I dunno, I kinda thought I was on a roll today before that last one."

Lard Nar let out a harsh sigh. "We need to regroup and come up with a better plan."

Spleenk looked to the dashboard. "Might as well get some fuel too, boss, we're nearly out."

"Oh, man," Lard Nar mumbled annoyedly, "Gas prices in Irken territories is murder."

"Oh-emm-gee!" Shloonktapooxis cried, his fake moustaches wiggling with the movement of his face as he talked, "Convenience-store taquitos! Let's go!"

Spleenk turned the ship to another direction, and sped along the vacuum of space, looking for a refueling station. Soon enough they found one, a small station attached to a lopsided asteroid. They set the ship down, and Shloonktapooxis and Spleenk both ventured indoors to use the restroom as their fearless leader refilled the ion engine's plasma tank.

Lard Nar tapped his foot as the tank filled, watching in irritation as the price gauge went up. He wondered if he could get away with leaving without paying.

An Irken ship landed in the parking lot a few meters away from where Lard Nar stood. He watched the ship carefully through its reflection on his ship, trying to act nonchalant so as not to bring attention to himself-- he didn't know how well known his face was among Irkens and thus didn't want to risk being noticed for fear they might remember him as the rebel leader he was.

The Irkens that had been in the ship-- four of them, the maximum capacity for a small cruiser like that-- all hopped out. Lard Nar could hear them chattering about snackfoods and toilet breaks, and it was when they had all gone inside that he noticed something.

The engine on the Irken vehicle was still running.

Lard Nar turned and stared at the ship, which looked to him almost like a golden chariot sent by the Vortian gods themselves.

Shloonktapooxis and Spleenk returned from their pit stop. Spleenk noticed the plasma tank was near to overflowing, and removed the refilling hose. "Boss, you nearly overfilled the tank!"

"I did?" Lard Nar asked absentmindedly, looking at his two subordinates. "That's not important now. Look," He pointed to the Irken ship.

"Sweet ride!" Exclaimed Shloonktapooxis, "Who do ya' think it belongs to?"

"It's Irken," Lard Nar stated, "And the key is still in the ignition."

Spleenk's small eyes widened. "Boss, we'd be obliterated if the Irkens caught us stealing one of their ships!"

"Who's to say they'll catch us?" Lard Nar asked deviously, "Come on! We aren't going to be intimidated into giving up this opportunity! With that ship, they'll assume we're Irkens! We can fly right through the security on Vort-- and any other planet we might need to infiltrate! Let's go, men!"

The Resisty leader proceeded to dash over to the Irken ship and jump into the cockpit. Shloonktapooxis let out a loud "Whoo!" and followed suit. Spleenk, fearing the consequences though he knew what a good plan this was, glanced about warily before he, too, entered the ship.

And off they went, into the universe with a new ship and a false identity.