"Irken Elite squadron to Vort Square four ." CB instructed as the little piece on the holographic, multi-layer board moved per his instruction. "That fells your Massive and destroys your Armada. " The tiny pieces on Zim's side of the board began exploding. "That means I claim victory. "
"No no! Zim still has pieces on the board! Your victory is built on lies!" Zim pointed an accusatory finger at the AI sitting across from him.
"Wait... so is it chess or battleship?" Dib was watching the game from a floating chair in the back, seemingly enthralled by Zim's genius.
"I think it's a fictional game." Lor (or Clark? Zim was not sure what he was being called now) commented from the floor beside Dib.
"No, it isn't. It's an Irken game!"
"One the Master made up ." CB added, quite unhelpfully. " It fuses five-dimensional chess and Earth battleship with Irken military jargon. The rules are always changing, but I believe I am getting accustomed to it ."
"Silence CB! A new rule has been constructed. The victor MUST be Irken!" Zim tried to distract the AI from his explanations as well create a sure way of winning.
"But I am Irken ."
"No, you are a computer."
"An Irken computer ."
"A mostly Irken computer. It does not count." Zim was not ready to accept this loss. CB stood up and walked out of the room. Zim, Dib, and Lor looking after him. Zim was briefly annoyed that his AI could not be graceful in its defeat. However, CB returned; his entrance announced with a loud, high pitched, electronic scream as he sat back down, placing GIR in front of him. He leaned over, whispering something to the SIR who listened, tongue out, eyes closed.
"I DO THE VORT THINGY AND MAKE YOUR SHIP EXPLODE !" He reiterated CB's battle plan that had bested their Irken boss. Zim's scarlet eyes narrowed.
"Well played, CB. Well played." This was an unexpected turn of events. "Very well, you have earned your prize of getting to keep an eye on GIR for the rest of the trip!"
"But I have been watching him the whole time- " CB began to object as GIR grabbed to his solid form (Zim had helped CB fix the body Q had destroyed).
"I WAS THE PRIZE ALL ALONG !"
"Well then you should have lost." Zim retorted with a smirk. In the end, he was still the real winner and that was all that mattered. GIR was rubbing his face against CB's helmet grabbing onto the synthetic strands of blue hair.
"I thought we were playing to NOT watch GIR !" CB tried to pry the defective robot off of him. "Master please I have been watching him for four months . I need some sort of break. He was not even supposed to come on this trip! " The Massive was quite a distance from Earth, and even if they had taken an Irken ship (they had not, but Skoodge's cruiser was in the docking bay of this rather large Syndicate vessel) it would have been several months before reaching their destination.
"You don't need breaks," Zim reminded him, "you're a robot."
"I need breaks from him ." CB now had a small stuffed pig balanced precariously on his head and GIR was kicking his feet in laughing fits- still clinging with one arm to CB's face.
"Well then maybe you shouldn't try to take over a Syndicate Star Ship when you are specifically told not to." Skoodge, who had been quietly observing in the doorway, finally spoke up. Zim had sensed him enter, but was distracted by more urgent matters.
"I wanted to be the space ship. They would not let me. That is not fair. " CB huffed. Zim admitted his Control Brain experiment had a very distinct lack of self-control. He had a habit of taking over any technology that was convenient to him. Zim wasn't sure if this was normal behavior for the Control Brains back on Irk, but he was willing to attribute the desire to CB's (unsavory) origins as well as just the fact that he was young.
"It is plenty fair." Zim wasn't really sure if it was fair or not but he wanted the argument to be over. "Now take GIR to go... do something not here."
"I WANNA MAKE TACOS! "
"You do not even eat. " CB knew that this did not matter as he had pointed it out in the past, and still he got the same reaction where the SIR burst into a high-pitched wail and began flailing on the ground. Zim gave his Control Brain an annoyed look (as did every other organic creature in the room) as CB let out a heavy, defeated sigh. " Fine ."
"YAAAAY IT'S TACO TUESDAY! "
"It is Thursday. " CB got to his feet and was immediately dragged away by GIR toward the ship cafeteria.
"TAAAAACOOOO TUUUUESDAAAAAAY~ "
"I almost feel sorry for him." Lor looked empathetically after the two robots. "I know he tried to take over our ship but maybe we can let him off the hook."
"He'll be fine." Zim waved off the concern. His antenna lifted as he felt the vibration of the ship's overhead paging system activate. It was frustrating to keep in contact on such a large ship. It was not as large or impressive as the Massive, of course. But it was a hefty, multi-level monstrosity with sleeping quarters, a mess hall, a bridge, and even a small prison.
"Would Dib Membrane report to the bridge?" The Captain's voice filled the air. Dib looked up.
"What do they need?" He was quick to respond. (Sure, when the Captain needed him to do something, he was alert and eager- but when Zim wanted things done sudden Dib couldn't hear him). "Maybe they need something repaired."
"Would you know how to do that?" Lor looked a bit skeptical. "I mean the instructions are in Tangean."
"I'd figure it out." Dib shrugged as the two began to head toward the bridge. Zim decided to follow, more out of curiosity than any real desire to help. They had to take a hover pad to the bridge like it was some sort of floating military base rather than a real transportation vessel. As they arrived, the Captain was in her seat, surrounded by various members of the Syndicate. Most were Tangean, the same blue skinned, red headed race as the Captain herself but there were other races scattered throughout. The Romulan (Conrad? Conner? Zim was bad with names overall but it was the one that had burst into his house and demanded they plan a rescue) was standing in as her First Officer now.
"Mister Membrane," She looked tired, her index finger and thumb pinching the bridge of her nose as she whirled around in the floating captain's chair to face the group. "For the love of all in our great Syndicate: PLEASE call your parents."
"Wh... what?" Dib looked taken aback by the request. "No way. They'll be fine. They know I'm doing a study abroad."
"They have called our satellite station no fewer than twelve times."
"Why though?"
"I..." the Captain took a deep breath. "I don't know that. But if you don't return their calls, I will fail you with such great ferocity that you will be repeating my class until you die."
Dib looked unconvinced by her threat. "Do you know how unethical that is?"
"Do I look like I care?"
"I..." Dib opened his mouth, surveying the Captain's expression and posture. "No, not really." He gave a defeated little shrug. "Fine, I'll call home." He pulled out a communicator the Syndicate had given him, one capable of communicating with cellular devices back on Earth. There was a moment before the call was answered by none other than the constantly angry Dib-Sister.
"Hey nerd." She didn't even look up from her game.
"Gaz! Why the hell are Dad and Moira calling us!? You were supposed to keep them off my back! I'm on a very important space mission for an Intergalactic Government!" Dib launched into a rant, the other human not even acknowledging she had heard him. Zim was never sure why Dib entrusted important missions to the purple haired fiend. They had about the same likelihood of being accomplished as when Zim gave tasks to GIR: only where GIR left things incomplete due to his incompetence; Gaz ignored tasks because of her deep, underlying apathy.
"Yeah, I thought about doing that for like... a minuet. But then I realized I didn't care. You have an alibi, use that."
"Hey Gaz!" Clark peeked into screen, waving.
"Hey Dib's boyfriend."
"GAZ!" Dib's face tuned an odd color. "What do mom and dad want!? What is so important that they are calling a hundred times."
"You called her mom."
"Fuck- Moira. What do they want?"
"Don't be a dick, you used to want dad to take interest in what you did."
"That was before everything became top secret!" Dib was getting defensive and Zim was getting bored. "J-just tell me what they want."
"Ask them yourself. DIB CALLED!" The sudden increase in volume made everyone on the bridge, save for the Captain, jump. There was a flurry of steps before the image was shifted onto the two scientists that were Dib's "parents". The addition of the, tall, slender, red-haired woman to the Membrane house had been more recent. Zim was indifferent to her at first. But her constant activity (coming in and leaving at all hours; somehow convincing the Dib's father to be home more) had made infiltrating the house more difficult- despite Zim's superior Irken intellect.
For that reason, he did not like her. She was also the cause of increased interest and vigilance in regards to the Dib-smelly and his involvement in all of Zim's plots and plans. If it were not for the fact that humans were innately inferior and, therefore stupid, Zim might have found himself jealous of Dib's increased bond with his family unit.
"Junior!" The woman looked relieved.
"Hello son!" The man's face was mostly obscured by his coat and goggles, but he seemed excited. "You received our calls at last! How is your study abroad on the moon?"
"Great. But I told you communications would be limited. You really didn't need to keep calling." Dib sighed.
"Nonsense! We can fix the communications. We can make them better! Your mother has done moon-work before without a problem!" Dr. Membrane looked annoyed by Dib's suggestion.
"Wait..." Dib blinked. "What? I thought you were a geneticist." He gave a skeptical look to the pale faced woman who looked briefly away.
"It's... complicated. Look you have been gone for so long and we were worried." She seemed to be ignoring Dib's point.
"Yeah well, it's a study abroad on the moon. You know, studying stars and space. I am an astrophysics major."
"I just feel like there should have been some sort of permission slip or something..."
"I probably signed one. Who knows?" Surprisingly, Dib's father interjected his own explanation. "I have so much paperwork and it is all boring and gets in the way of REAL science. So, I get robots to help handle all of that OSHA and liability stuff. BORING! All of it."
"You do hate your paperwork." She chuckled. "Anyway, your father and I sent you a little care package. I just don't trust you to do that much laundry- I'm sorry Junior but I-"
Dib cut her off. "I'm sorry what?"
"I don't trust you to do laundry. And I know Clark is there- for some... weird reason even though he's a med student. But I just thought you might want clean clothes."
"No no- go back." Dib shook his head. "Before that."
"We sent you a care package...?" Moira repeated herself more slowly.
"Care-HOW!? I'm on the moon ." Dib was not- in fact- on the moon. But the humans did not know this. But the Syndicate had set up a base on the moon for more of an observation area.
"Nothing is impossible with science, son. We simply sent a robot to bring it to you!" Membrane laughed dismissively. "We wanted to make sure it got there." There was a moment of silence as everyone in the ship looked at one another in complete bewilderment of what had just transpired. Instantly, Conner ran off, assumedly to make communications with the base. The Captain made a motion for Dib to mute the call.
"One second, guys." Dib quickly obeyed looking back at the Captain as the image temporarily froze. "I am so sorry."
"Why couldn't your parents have been dentists!?" She looked frustrated. "Carrius! Do you have communication with the moon base? See if you can have the package transported here. It has no organic material in it- I hope- the long range transporter should work."
"Yes Captain!" came the reply from down the hall.
"I really didn't think they would do this. I just..." Dib put a hand to his face, dragging it down slowly in exasperation. "Ever since my stepmom showed up in the picture my dad has been a lot more attentive, like he's trying to make up for lost time or something."
"Yes, well, I suppose we should have faked a permission slip. But we were in a rush." She relaxed back in her chair as Carrius came running back in. He handed Dib a rather large box. Zim could see the increased strength in the Romulan as he handed off a package with ease that made Dib nearly fall over with the weight. Lor simply took it with one hand and placed it at Dib's feet.
"Moon base says they are keeping the robot." Carrius reported. "Apparently it's tranquil and tells jokes."
"I'm going to un-pause the call." Dib cut off the conversation as he allowed the image projected from his communicator to play once more. "It's here." He showed the box to his parents who both cheered, most likely excited by the success of their robot.
"Open it!" Moira urged. "I left you something special."
"N... no I'm good. I'll open it later."
"Oh come on Junior I want to see what you think!" She urged.
"Really, I don't think-"
"You should see it son!" His father cut him off this time. With the father's urging combined with the mother's insistence, the Dib smelly was forced to open the box. He did so, pulling out a few layers of clothes and then...
"Mom, what the fuck?" Dib pulled out some sort of... well it looked like a pair of dice. (Zim knew what dice were from the time he and his ugly human companion had joined other flesh-beasts in a game of conquest and strategy. Zim thought the game was stupid as they were fighting 'imaginary' monsters and real weapons were 'uncalled for' and 'kind of terrifying). Except, these dice were floating above Dib's hand, coming apart and piecing themselves back together.
"Hyperspheres!" Moira looked thrilled. "I borrowed them from a friend- I mean I actually helped invent them with this friend but he was using them pretty much full time. No matter where you toss them, they will return. But be careful, they release a small gravitational charge on impact." Zim had to admit he wanted these now.
"I'm sorry, what the fuck kind of friend did you get them from- mom are these weapons ?"
"Not by definition no. Their just... gravitational spheres."
"MOM !"
"Well I wanted to make sure you were safe on the moon."
"Safe from what !? You're the ones telling me aliens aren't real science!"
"Moon monkeys, son." His dad spoke with the utmost confidence. "Moon monkeys."
"..." Dib's mouth was open but he seemed at an utter loss for words. He simply took a deep breath and placed the spheres gently back in the box. "Thank you." He said at last. "It was a very thoughtful gift. I appreciate that you were thinking of me."
"You called me mom~" the red-haired woman's mis-matched eyes were absolutely shining with happiness.
"Yeah... guess I did." Dib rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks guys. I'll... I'll call you when we get a chance next. Okay?"
"We love you, Junior!"
"Study hard! Learning on the field is the only way to get real experience!" Professor Membrane had an arm around his female companion and the line was disconnected. Dib was looking into the completely stunned face of the Captain.
"What was that about!?" She insisted.
"I... I have no idea." Dib looked at the ground.
"If I knew your parents could make weapons, I'd have had them arm you from the start." Surprisingly, she didn't seem mad. But that was probably because this was a mission to a (probably) dangerous alien warship and not an actual study session on the moon. "I thought it would be weird to ask but... I guess they're... just weird."
"No..." Dib sighed. "They... they are." He tried to lift the box but was struggling a bit just with the awkward shape and heavier weight. Zim could have assisted, but he didn't really care about helping. He would have done it to get a hand on those Hyperspheres, but he doubted he'd get away with nabbing them in full view of a Syndicate crew. Fortunately for Dib, Lor leaned down and lifted the box without even slowing down. "If it's all right with you, I think I'm going to take this and go to sleep for a while. I... I was already tired."
"Leave the Hyperspheres." The Captain stood, going over to the box, she swiped her hand through the solid metal of the crate as if nothing was there, wrapping her hand around the spheres and drawing them out in a swift, fluid motion. Dib's eyes widened for a moment, but he had seen this ability once or twice before. Zim had seen it a few times over the years. It was the Tangean ghosting power: The ability for a Tangean's body to permeate solid objects at the Tangean's discretion.
It wasn't that impressive. It had limitations- limitations that the Irkens had studied in full.
"O... kay...?" Dib blinked as the Captain examined the new weapons with interest, her large blue eyes taking in the subtle bounce of their unusual gravitation as they hovered just above her palm. Dib had clearly had enough. "Yeah... I'm out."
"I'm tired too." Lor seconded the need for rest. Zim often forgot that other species required time unconscious to replenish their energy, but it explained the need for sleeping quarters on a Syndicate ship versus an Irken vessel. Sleep was a luxury to his people. It could be done and it felt good to do so. But it wasn't a necessity.
"You are both dismissed." The Captain gestured with her free hand for the two to leave. Zim watched them leave before looking back to the woman in charge.
"Zim would like to hold the gravity spheres."
"Absolutely not." She spun the chair away from him back to the control panel before her. Zim shrugged. It was worth a shot. He quickly grew weary of watching Syndicate drones pushing buttons and decided to wander off the bridge back into the ship's underbelly. Skoodge was reading a news article on his reader in the mess hall. Zim decided to sit next to him, looking over to see Irken text reading: The Allmighty Tallest: Dictators? Or Drones ?
Zim scoffed in disgust.
"You're back." Skoodge, swiped the article away as Zim made a noise. "How was the affair on the bridge?"
"Stupid and irrelevant, like everything involving the human." Zim huffed. "I don't even know why he's here."
"Well he is a key witness to a possible attempt at intergalactic war." Skoodge looked oddly amused by the whole situation. "And I'm willing to think you are enjoying his company more than you like to admit." Zim's eyes narrowed, he wasn't about to let Skoodge divert the conversation away from the appalling article that Skoodge had the audacity to download.
"What were you reading?"
"Oh, just another Zeke article." Skoodge didn't seem to think anything of his actions.
"You read those? Willingly ? They're just sensationalism." Zim knew he had a tendency to be a bit blind to the political atmosphere of Irk. He was, as all Irkens should be, loyal to his Tallest. However, he had studied the techniques of the Invader just as Skoodge had- despite finding most of them to be too long and tedious. Zim understood that this 'Zeke' was creating controversy amongst the Irken populace. He was just surprised Skoodge, of all Irkens, was buying into it.
"Don't get your antennae in a twist, Zim. He raises some good points. That's all." Skoodge placed a gloved finger on Zim's forehead, poking him playfully. This just made the smaller Irken more indignant as he crossed his arms.
"You do not think the Tallest are drones, though." He gauged Skoodge's reaction as he spoke but the robust Irken was hard to read. He just shrugged.
"Things were not great back at home. I know you love Irk- I do too. But you can't look at everything with rose colored glasses."
Zim blinked. "Why would I wear those? My eyes are red. It would be redundant."
"It... it's a human expression..." Skoodge looked a tad perplexed by Zim's reaction. "Zim, you were on Earth longer than I was, by far. How did you not know that?"
"Earthlings say a lot of stupid things like that that mean something strange. I just got annoyed and gave up on it." Much to Zim's surprise, Skoodge laughed at his response.
"Yeah it is dumb." Skoodge admitted.
" Humans are dumb."
"They are." Skoodge conceded to Zim's insistence and it made the ex-Invader feel a little better. "I admire you for putting up with them as long as you have."
"Well..." Zim side glanced at his fellow Irken. "It helps to have another Irken around to witness all their stupidity."
"Zim..." after a moment of silence, Skoodge spoke again, the smile slightly faded. "Look, are you sure you want to come with us to the actual Massive? You were banished... many, many times, but this last time... I know it's been hard..." Zim instinctively winced as Skoodge delicately circumvented his disconnection from the Collective.
"I need to know why." Zim replied flatly. His PAK was working in overdrive trying to quell in influx of emotions welling up inside him. "They never called me to tell me they were going to do it- just... one moment it's normal and the next I can't feel my fellow Irkens." He had not really talked about it much- not directly at least. Skoodge had been considerate about not asking. "It was complete isolation... you're the only Irken I know is still alive..."
"It'll be okay..." Skoodge placed a hand on his shoulder. Though Zim could not sense Skoodge's feeling through the Collective, he could see genuine concern in his expression and found it comforting. "Maybe... maybe there was a mistake..."
"Even if there wasn't; I just want to know ."
"That... that makes a lot of sense." Skoodge squeezed his shoulder, reassuring the outcast Irken. "I'm sorry for bringing it up."
"You had some right to know, I guess." Zim wasn't sure how he was supposed to feel. Honestly, he was just a little numb, talking about the incident in question. "That is why I made CB. I suppose I thought that if he got strong enough, he could overrule the decision and connect me back to everyone. Or... I would make my own Collective. But better."
"I would be a part of your Collective."
Zim looked up seeing Skoodge looking back to him. There was no sign of teasing or deception in his expression or his voice. The defect felt his cardiac-spooch race a little more. "Yes... well that is a last resort. It would be more work."
"Still, I bet you'd have a great Collective."
"Well obviously." Zim waved his hand dismissively. "Zim is amazing and thus a Collective run by Zim would be amazing." He cleared his throat, the numbness of his isolation melted away by a sudden, flustered feeling. "Where has CB run off to anyway?" Zim hopped to his feet.
"You left him with GIR..." Skoodge followed suit. "But... be honest with me... do you think he's actually taken over this ship?"
"I told him not to." Zim said firmly.
"Yeah, but do you think he did it anyway?"
"Absolutely." The two were now walking through one of the halls when something caught their eye. Standing in front of one of the doors in all his crimson-stained-colorless glory: was the Parasite. It had taken its bipedal, humanoid form once again. He wasn't aware of the two Irkens, deeply enthralled by the door before him. Zim immediately recognized the door to be that of the sleeping quarters.
"Shouldn't you be in the prison?" It was Skoodge who spoke. Now that the words were out loud, Q realized he was being watched. He looked over.
"You should be in prison!" Zim reiterated Skoodge's point when Q said nothing. "What do you have to say for yourself!?"
Nothing.
"Huh?" Zim demanded.
Still nothing. But three of Q's eyes blinked- not simultaneously.
"HUH!?"
"Zim?" Skoodge patted his arm.
"NOT NOW SKOODGE!" Zim raised up on his PAK legs getting in Q's face. "ZIM DEMANDS ANSWERS!"
"Zim you can't hear him." Skoodge gently pulled him back. The PAK legs withdrew, back into their metal housing as Zim blinked. "None of us can."
"Ah, yes, that's right."
"Come on" Skoodge gestured for Q to follow. "Get back in your cell before we call the Captain and get the security team involved. The Parasite followed, obviously not wanting to risk an altercation with Zim and Skoodge and their superior Irken abilities.
Skoodge took Q back to the prison barracks and opened the door, gesturing for him to go in. Q shrugged and walked back in.
"Hi Skoodge! Hi Zim!" A squeaky voice called from inside the cell greeting them both.
"Hello Tenn." Skoodge waved as the prisoner Irken poked her head out from behind the wall of her cell where she had been sitting out of view.
"Do you think we're almost there?" She placed her gloved hands to the bars. "It is pretty boring in here with only that Parasite."
"We visit." Skoodge protested.
"You do, but I'm ready to be cleared of all these crazy charges." She sighed sitting down.
"Don't worry Tenn," Zim dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand. "We will arrive and-" Whatever Zim had been planning to say was irrelevant because at that moment, the ship came to a smooth stop and the lighting swiftly changed to a brilliant white.
"All crew to bridge, all crew to bridge." The Captain was on the speakers in a moment. "We have reached our destination."
"We will arrive right now. As I said." Zim puffed out his chest a bit. "Because I'm brilliant."
The chapter for next week is going to be wild so I hope you guys are buckled in. I hope this chapter was fun! We got a little more Zim perspective and wed get to hear from the Membranes! Shout out to the Overwatch fans who understood the moon monkeys joke! The plot is really moving along now! 19 chapters in and we are just now sinking our teeth into the main plot!
