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Hello, hello! Welcome back to chapter 10. I honestly can't believe we're already on chapter 10; it seems like we just started! This chapter will be delving back into politics, somewhat, so be warned.
Tension was high in the royal hall of Noxisis, fear palpable as the king paced in agitation. He was quiet in his strides, but the guards present felt no comfort. A deadly fury lay just below the surface, waiting for even the smallest provocation in order to be justified. Many guards and servants had been swiftly punished for failing to read the signs, their attempts at appeasement proving to be their downfall. No one would dare say it out loud, but their king was a loose cannon with an itchy trigger. Prone to drastic mood shifts and lacking in basic kindness, it was so imperative that new recruits be trained as quickly as possible.
Luckily, all of the shifts currently in place were taken by more experienced individuals, including the one trying not to quake under his superior's gaze as he stood before him.
"How can there be nothing?!"
"M-my apologies, Your Highness," he spoke shakily, "but it appears that...tr-tracking on the ship was disabled."
"He had to have made a call, or a stop, or something!"
The king turned away from him in disgust, an angered yell filling the room. Suddenly, he stopped and the tension of his body was gone as he stood thoughtfully. Without turning back around, he lifted a hand.
"Very well. I suppose we'll have to do this the hard way then...you're dismissed- return to your regular duties."
He didn't bother to see his salute and departure, moving purposefully toward his throne. He dropped into it, more than content to take up its entire space as he slouched and rested his head against his fist.
He was glad his father wasn't here to witness this...it was an embarrassment! The nerve, the disrespect! Given, his consort was never truly compliant with him, but this was completely unheard of! It was no problem of his if the Irken never accepted his role; he was his regardless. To be undermined so blatantly...
In hindsight, he really should have suspected something was amiss; his spouse had been substantially less troublesome the last few months. He'd come closer to being the partner he so rightfully deserved from the start; less argumentative, less inclined to mingle with their servants or even the commoners on their rare ventures into the city...not quite subservient, but also not strong enough to stand on his own. He figured out a long time ago that Zim would never be perfect, but he almost liked that about him. He was fierce and defiant and, on top of that, undeniably beautiful. His nature was so outside of the norm in his culture that it excited him. He liked the challenge that came with being married to him, but not quite as much as he liked being the one to put him in his place.
It was a shame, really. He had no doubt that any children they produced would be fine examples to their cause. That was why he'd been ecstatic to find Zim had fallen pregnant the first time. It hadn't been long after their wedding that he'd begun looking a tad worse for wear, even collapsing during one of their official banquets. What awful timing...how humiliating! One visit from their resident medical technician had proved him to be expecting. Of course, the Irken was less than pleased with the announcement. Near hysterics, even! At the time, he'd been unaware at how fickle his spouse's biology was...neither of his pregnancies had seen past a quarter of the general gestation time. Useless...
"Itlum," he muttered to his servant.
She straightened, "Yes, Your Majesty?"
"Contact Irk."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
After a few seconds and various beeps from her data pad, a holographic platform appeared. As they waited for the connection, she bowed her head and held the device out to him on open palms. He balanced it half-heartedly on the tips of his fingers, not bothering to remove the annoyed look on his face. The screen flickered before the Control Brains came into view.
"King Iserai," the largest one bellowed, "to what do we owe the pleasure?"
"It's hardly a pleasure. I'm calling to inquire about my consort."
A pause, a beep.
"Irken Zim, yes...is something the matter?"
Iserai hummed, "Nothing major...well, except for the fact that he's suddenly disappeared. I was actually hoping he'd have fled to Irk, but I suppose not..."
"'Disappeared'?" another, a female, shot in.
"Yes, as in he's nowhere to be found." he growled, pointed teeth gleaming.
"Surely, there's been some mistake-"
"No mistake. He gone as is one of my ships- connect the dots, won't you? In any case, and as unfortunate as it is, the treaty has been broken and I have no choice but to go to war with your planet. Consider this my formal declaration."
The Control Brains seemed taken aback by this and he was sure that if they had faces, they would be hilarious. The middle one chimed in once more.
"Now hold on-"
"The time for that is over, I'm afraid. These past weeks I've given him enough time to return on his own and I've exhausted my resources. It would also be the case that I'm fresh out of witnesses. I'm sure you understand!"
"Your Highness, with do respect, the Irken Empire has a farther reach between the galaxies than Noxisis. Perhaps, if he were to be returned...?"
"I would rescind my declaration? Perhaps...however, I'm hardly a patient man."
"A bounty will be set at once. Rest assured, he will be found."
He smirked, "Just so long as he's brought back safely. I, meaning you, would hate for something to befall him."
"Of...course. He shall be returned to you alive and well."
"Excellent! Very well, Control Brains, I will hold my declaration for 12 cycles. 12. See to it that he's returned by that time, after all..." he smiled, "it is in your best interest."
He didn't wait for a response before hanging up.
"That will be 80 monies, please."
"Ouch," Tak exclaimed "A bit steep, but I suppose..."
She stood still as the tender scanned her bio-chip. After a moment, the girl's face tightened.
"I'm sorry, but it seems you've been declined."
"What!? That can't be, I could have sworn I-"
"Please move along, miss. I'm afraid you're holding up the line."
With a quick glance behind, Tak noted several annoyed expressions pointed her way. She growled, mumbling under her breath as she walked away from the stand. It wasn't a far trek back to her ship. She could already see Mimi looking at her from the window. It didn't have the same kick or style as her old ship, but she couldn't say she was unhappy with it. One good thing that had come out of her assignment on planet Dirt was the spare parts she'd had unlimited access to, but this...well, she'd just bought it off some peddler after her escape pod ran out of fuel. Whatever monies she made doing side jobs usually went toward its improvement...which reminded her-
"What?!" she exclaimed.
No wonder she couldn't pay for anything; there wasn't a single cent left! She was sure she had at least something to get by until her next job...guess she'd be working overtime tonight. Just as she was about to shut off her shuttle screen, a notification popped up with a loud *bing!*
"A bounty?" she muttered.
Her violet eyes skimmed over the details. A fugitive from Noxisis, huh? Poor sap. They were a bunch of hostiles, the lot of them. Very valuable, wanted alive, blah, blah, blah! She read over the small paragraph of text, her eyes eventually catching on the very generous reward amount and a...picture.
"You've got to be kidding..."
The screen turned green as she quickly hit 'accept'.
I honestly didn't expect to get another chapter our so soon, but I'll do anything for you guys. Plus, finding a way to finally incorporate Tak excited me to no end. As always, thank you so much for reading and I shall meet you all again in the next chapter!
