I don't own Invader Zim okay? I know I haven't updated this as soon as I'd have liked, other projects got my mind, so sue me. Anyway, enough if this A/N, on with the fic!
Tak lay back on her bunk, thinking about what was going on. Other than Tenn developing a weird fascination with romance novels. She had access to very valuable information for the mission and ways to get much more. It would not be hard for her to get into the rest of the computers and databases at Membrane Labs with this. She could only assume that Professor Membrane was one of the top users so any traces that would be found wouldn't be that suspicious, and that was if she used the laptop that Tenn had stolen. However she knew that eventually the Tallest would get frustrated. Not only were they lightyears from the things that they had loved in a de facto exile after managing to piss off the whole Empire and putting this mission on as a farce to either come back with favor or to kill off four of the most infamously pitiful Invaders or at least so called Invaders and be able to say they served the Empire that way. "Idiots. The whole freaking planet..." She said as she rolled over and saw Tenn. Well Tenn can be obnoxious sometimes but not an idiot Tak noticed she was reading that "Cold War Intrigue" novel she had checked out from the library and laughed slightly. I know that is not for studying the planet or whatever you want to call it to me... but hey, when you are at your job, you are good at it. Tak almost fell asleep when a call was heard over the intercom.
"INVADERS! MAIN BAY PRONTO!" Red called over the intercom.
"OW!" Tak yelled as she got up, hit her head on the ceiling above her bunk and noticed Tenn fall face first on her novel.
"Just what does he want?" Tenn asked as she marked the place she was reading. "I had gotten to a pretty damn good scene in Berlin there..."
"Ummmmmm...okay... what do you mean by good?" Tak asked. "Like an action filled spy duel?" Being at least trained as an Invader, espionage was something she had known about, even if humans would't be doing it with death lasers.
"Well... I guess one could call it that..." Tenn said a slight blush rising on her cheeks.
"Okay so not literally so I don't want to know any more." Tak shuddered. They headed to the main hall of the base where Red and Purple were waiting where Skoodge was standing at their feet and Zim was tied up to a pole. "Just what is this all about?" She sighed.
"You're lucky we need you Tak or you'd have been shot out of the airlock a long way ago for your attitude lady." Red said.
"Yeah, only Tenn is the one with a legitimate complaint towards the Empire. I mean we have a lot on Meekrob from her that we could use one day." Purple said as Tak growled under her breath, fists clenched in range. It wasn't her fault she couldn't get out to take the idiot responsible was strapped to one of the poles over there and she couldn't do a thing to him unless she wanted the Tallest to harm her. Even on this mission, she was still being blocked on every turn by members of the system that placed her on Dirt to begin with. Even the fact that some gardeners called the dirt of this planet 'earth' kind of stuck under her skin. It's like she never even escaped that fate.
"I am so sorry for my insolence my Tallest..." Tak said laying the saccharine tone on think hoping they wouldn't notice she was sassing them. They usually did not as any form of flattery was seen as complements to them. They seemed to lack the ability to detect sarcasm.
"That's better." Red smiled.
"Why is Zim tied up there?" Tenn asked looking over at him.
"He was being annoying." Red said as if it was obvious.
"He's always annoying." Tak growled.
"Well he was being more so trying to show off his new disguise. Glasses, a scarf and a hat. That's it. Looked really stupid." Purple said.
"I'll say and while humans are not the brightest of the species out there, I think they would notice something wrong with Zim if he went out of here in that disguise." Tak sighed.
"Exactly." Red said. "Now the purpose of this meeting is to tally our progress so far. It was been about a week since we had landed and I want to know what you had found out. Especially you two," He looked at Tak and Tenn. "You've been doing lots of research and observation lately and we need to know what you have found."
Tenn stepped forward. "I have scanned the books of human knowledge that I had scanned from the library. It is quite big and there are many books and since the place is not open all the time, nor to keep up appearances of a young college aged woman I do have to leave from time to time and it is good for the equipment for me to give it a break as some of the pages are old and faded. I will upload them to the database here tomorrow afternoon."
"Good. I guess..." Purple said. "Tak?"
She gulped, knowing she didn't want to tell everything that Dib had told her but she had to give them something to make them think she was making progress on the mission. "I have been studying human social interactions and have caught the charm of a young man whose father has access to Earth's top technology." Tenn look horrified at Tak, but Tak continued knowing just what to say to the Tallest to get them off her case. "But I have yet to get into the systems. He simply did not know his father's lab's security. But he told me where to start and I found his father's log in page but there was no information there."
"Well it's something." Red said. "And I guess it will take longer to get human social interactions better than just their knowledge." he admitted in slight defeat. "Good work you two."
"Phewwww..."Tak sighed.
"What was that?" Purple asked.
"Just tired. Keeping young human males on the cusp of manhood happy is exhausting work." Tak said and at this implication, Purple and Red shuddered and ignored her.
"See my romance novels taught you something..." Tenn smirked.
"Shut up." Tak sighed.
"Well we have had Skoodge and Zim..." Red looked over at Zim's smile. "Mainly Skoodge work on the outside of the base so that if any humans come by they will think this is nothing more than a cabin or house in the woods."
"If you call that a disguise..." Tak sighed.
"What was that Tak?" Red asked.
"Nothing. Nothing at all my Tallest." Tak said as she smiled back at Red.
"Okay. Now over the next phase of the mission, I want you and Tenn to keep what you are doing up. Make sure you can get some good information out of that boy's father. If he is a top scientist as you claim Tak then he will have access to all sorts of information that we will need. But we will need to find out what resources this planet has as well. If we are flying all the way across the galaxy to take it on this completely specialized and super duper team..." Red said looking at Zim, Skoodge, Tak and Tenn. Zim and Skoodge looked overjoyed at being addressed like that but Tak and Tenn hid their scoffs at the title. They sensed they were being used. "Then we will need a lot to bring back to Irk. This is a planet that is hardly been explored before and the only reports we have are from the Greys who are notorious for vandalizing and experimenting with the local wildlife."
"So why don't we ask them what they know?" Tak sassed.
"Maybe you should do that Tak." Red said, getting annoyed with their attitude. But last time I read one of their crop circles it was nothing but 'Fuck You' in their language and don't get them started on what they know on the wildlife from Earth. They mess with it, fuse it to others and explore butts more than any race rightfully should. And that's if you get one that is willing to talk to you."
"Point taken." Tak said. Although they talked about things like that on Mysterious Mysteries. Wonder what Dib thinks about that theory. I don't think he'd be too thrilled but who knows.. Tak wondered. However with that wonder she realized it was not to get information about the mission but to pick his brain about what he thought about it.
"Anyway, to search for resources, we will need Skoodge and ..." Red shuddered. "Zim..."
"I will serve my Tallest to the best of my ability sirs! I will not let you down!" Zim tried to salute from his tied up position on the post.
"That'll be a first..." Purple nudged Red laughing.
"And Tak, Tenn, just keep doing what you are doing but I want progress reports. We can't send Skoodge to his death because he was denied vital information." Red said.
"What about Zim?" Tenn asked.
"Meh." Purple sighed, moving his claw up and down to show he really didn't care either way what happened to Zim.
"Well we will start in the morning on this part of the mission. Zim and Skoodge will go into the woods and see if there is anything there we can use. Dismissed." Red said as they headed to their separate bunks.
Tak headed back in silence, stewing over how Red had treated her. Like nothing. Like she wasn't as skilled as she was and like she was like some loser like Zim who had technically become an Invader but was reencoded. However he had still somehow passed the test and she wasn't even given a chance to take it because of issues not her fault. Her academy grades would have shown otherwise. She looked over at Tenn who had much a similar issue. She did everything right and was good at her job and proved to be a most valuable Invader. Until once again, something beyond her control had taken all she had worked for and the titles she had earned before that away from her. While she did have valuable access to things that would help the Irkens immensely in their mission, she could become a double agent easily. She had someone who knew a lot and could use the information that she could give them. If she could help Dib to convince his father to look at this then she could help humanity and pay back Irk for how they did her in kind. Once back in their bunks, Tenn picked up her book and began reading at the sordid part. Noticing her eyes grow large and greedy as she savored every word on the page, Tak sighed. She got up and smacked Tenn upside the head.
"Ow! What was that for?" Tenn said.
"I need your full attention and a yaoi romance novel at the 'good part'" Tak said with air quotes. "is not having your full attention."
"I'm thinking of using Dib." Tak said.
"In bed, for Irk or what?" Tenn said.
"One. Lay off all romance novels as they are filling your head with gross stuff. Two, after how Red treated me in there, you think I want to help Irk?" Tak said.
"True. So how are you using Dib?" Tenn said.
"Through his father. I will show him the Irken technology we have and how it works. Use what we know to help the humans get to a respectable level of technology." Tak said.
"They should be farther ahead than they are." Tenn pulled out a history book of the 1800s. Looking at progression from 1800 to 1899 they had made great strides. Similar ones from 1900 to 1999. But after 2000 it all seems to stagnate. Why? I don't know."
"Greed. Humans are about as greedy as Irkens can be." Tak said.
"But you could open up so many new markets with this new technology and humans can be very entrepreneurial. Hell they made Health Care a business. They need water but they sell it in bottles at stores that are nothing but tap water. They are on our level with scuzzy businesses so they would find something to do with things like this. And they really don't care about consequences of their actions either. They'd want this." Tenn said. "So it seems counterintuitive to sedate your greed by being happy with as big a dud of technology as humans have now."
"But many are easily manipulated. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't see through Zim's dumb disguise." Tak sighed. "But back to what I was saying. I will hand our technology over to Dib and hand it to his father as well."
Tenn looked at Tak with concern. "This may mean exposing you are an alien to him. Are you ready?"
"What's the worst that can happen? Nothing I can't handle. Besides I know what they have and can fight back. But there is only one thing I know," She sighed sitting on the floor looking over at Tenn.
"Which is?" Tenn asked, sitting at Tak's level.
"I can't keep this up." Tak said.
"No, you can't." Tenn said hugging Tak. "But can I meet Dib first? As you sister you said I was?"
"Sure. Just don't talk about some of the weird stuff you read in those books." Tak said looking at the romance novels.
"No promises. But I'll try." Tenn smiled.
So how was that? Good? Bad? Short? Long? Let me know in a review. I honestly don't have too much to say in this A/N other than it is too freaking hot and humid for there to be no good sized cooling storms in the forecast so to wrap this one up, I'll say remember to read (well you just did) and to review. Ciao for now,
otherrealmwriter
aka
Realm.