While Kazak remained outside in frustration, Dib was clearly enjoying himself. Evidence of a genuine alien conspiracy theory, multiple even. What little information he could glean from spying on Zim didn't hold a candle to the trove of data at his disposal now. The hierarchy of the Empire. The branches of its military and navy. The officers and leaders in those positions. The worlds they had conquered. The allies they had betrayed. Zim's involvement began to take shape slowly. Grimm's attempt to kill his way to becoming the Tallest; Commander Vult, General Vaukt, and Byte all going about forming a revolution within the Irken Empire; the Empire's own web of lies unraveled by Processing Center 07 and the evidence within. Conspiracy upon conspiracy upon conspiracy. A tangling web of lies, deceit, mass murder, strategic assassinations. The Empire was built on a mound of corpses and lies that never should have been exposed. All this when humans, comparatively, were still using sailing ships and oil lamps.
Tak, more to occupy her hands and mind while Dib proved himself useful in saving herself time, stood at the workbench repairing GiR. Her experience with modifying and fixing MiMi made it smeet's play at best, but realizing how very little went into the creation of the odd mechanical construct was horrifyingly fascinating. The absolute bare minimum for what could be passed off as artificial intelligence was granted but through some means, managed to give it the equivalent of an attention-defficit disorder, accidentially or otherwise.
Focused on fixing GiR kept her thoughts from wandering. Kazak's arrival, the claims of Zim's involvement in some masterful plan to overthrow the reigning leadership of the Empire for personal gain, and the unit of the man that sent her on her way unimpeded deeply involved and a thread's breath away from open rebellion to the Empire…and somehow, someway, it all tied back to the short, annoying, idiodic Invader incarcerated a few scant meters away.
More to distract himself than anything, Kazak ventured off towards the abandoned property, cloaking once he hopped over a broken section of fence to prevent any prying eyes from spotting him. Even if there were no neighbors for miles, it paid to be cautious. The ranch house itself was in a dilapidated state but the walls still held. The roof had several holes in it, who knew for how long. The door gave way at a simple push.
Inside, various personal effects scattered about, the dank smell of mildew, it appeared that whoever lived here before left everything behind when they departed for some reason or another. Nobody was inside for ages, as apparent from his own footprints in a layer of dust on the hardwood floor. Perhaps this property could be useful? But that was for another time. If Tak could help him and the Commander, they'd need to work together.
His search on the second floor yielded an empty safe, left wide open but an odd sound as he stepped on one of the floor boards. He paused, tapped on them with his foot, loose? Turning off his cloak for a moment, the sniper opened the floorboards, revealing a wooden crate. He withdrew it with the help of the suit. Clearly a substantial weight. Prying the top of the case off, it revealed tins of cartridges. Whatever this 'M2 Ball' was.
Cartridges but no weapons? Curious…he replaced the crate and the floorboards before going to a window and looking outside. A barn, several outbuildings, worthy of later examination. At least to him the property looked promising. For the moment, after finishing his sweep of the house, he reactivated his cloak and went back to the shuttle.
"Any progress yet?" The sniper asked as he uncloaked and walked inside.
What greeted him near the terminal Dib remained fixated on was a makeshift flowchart of organized chaos. A pushpin board holding scraps of paper with the scriblings of an excited adolescent boy accompanied by printouts of various documents with highlighted and circled bits of vital information.
"Nonstop since you left." Tak commented, making minute adjustments within GiR's casing through its chest access hatch. "Before you ask, yes, I removed it's weapons already."
"Good, I won't have to worry about trying to find a way to melt it then." Kazak paused as he went back to his previous seat. "The property nearby's abandoned, who knows for how long. Lots of personal effects but nobody's been there in ages. Found ammo tins under one of the floorboards. Plenty of other buildings I didn't look in yet; I think this could make a pretty decent base of sorts."
"Potentially. That is dependent upon this intelligence he is disseminating." She gestured to Dib's furious work.
"Okay, okay, okay…wow…uhh…" Dib muttered to himself, sitting back from the keyboard. "...your Irken Elite, what do they do again?"
"As the name implies, elite shock troopers. Typically the first wave of most conventional military engagements. Shock-and-awe tactics to uproot and displace defenders." Tak explained from her own experiences and knowledge.
"Right, and Invaders like you-"
"I'm not an Invader. Not officially."
"Well, like he said, you do everything Zim does but not…stupidly. Scarily, actually. Sounds like an Invader to me."
"Semantics, Dib…what's the point you are getting to?" Tak tiredly spoke, turning away from her work on GiR, closing the access hatch on its chest.
"Right, well…Invaders typically came from the Irken Elite or Special Operations, which I see referred to as Spec Ops for short a lot. Get this: Zim, Burgg, Red, Purple, and Grimm all came from the same unit of Irken Elite a really long time ago."
He paused, sliding off of the stool to his board with a pointer to his flowchart.
"Signifigance outside of Zim being an Invader? Burgg, Warmaster. Highest military official in the Empire. Answers only to the Almighty Tallest, Red and Purple. Grimm, Supreme Commander of the Irken Elite, answers directly to Burgg."
"Nearly all of the Empire's decision-making officials served together prior." Tak summarized. "I knew of Zim's association with the Tallest, but not the Warmaster or the Supreme Commander…how does this tie into these audacious claims of Grimm seeking to crown himself Tallest by cutting down the competition in the most literal sense?"
"As Kaz said earlier and what's on this dataslate. He's done this before in the past through Zim. Whether Zim is aware or not is irrelevant, but his actions indirectly helped further Grimm's agenda. Tallest Miyuki and Spork…yes, Spork, one after the other, same fate, common denominator? Killed by a creature released by Zim on two separate occasions. Why was it released? Grimm passed down official orders of great interstellar concern and the creature was needed to preserve Empire stability, knowing full and well Zim could not contain it by himself."
"...resulting in assassinations by proxy through a useful idiot." Tak commented, taken back by how it all fit together. It made too much sense, shaking her head in disbelief. "That seems too coincidental. Too convenient for Zim to not be aware of his actions."
"I would agree normally, but this Grimm…I think there is far more to it than he lets on. The history here, the interactions, his decisions…he behaves differently than the rest of them. Acts differently."
Tak, sharp as a vibroblade, picked up on his insinuations.
"Defective."
"Potentially, but he masks it well and uses it to his advantage. Explains how he's obtained the clout to match his station…but he knew Zim was so blindly loyal, so blindly arrogant, and so blindly stupid…he could weaponize him into achieving his goals."
"That doesn't explain Tallest Red and Purple…or Warmaster Burgg."
"Your people give offices of authority and rank by height, right? I've overheard them making fun of Zim's height constantly spying on him…Grimm's plans have been foiled more than once by growth spurts and inches or fractions thereof, he's not able to wear your crown as Tallest."
"Growth spurts are spot on." Kazak spoke up from his seat. "Grimm was the tallest when those assassinations took place. One moment he's next in line for the title; the next he's pushed out of the side by Red and Purple being of equal height and Burgg beating him out by a couple of inches. Second in line now rather than being the man for the job."
"Exactly. The conversation with Skrem confirms all of this. Tallest Red and Purple sent Zim here and that threw a wrench into Grimm's schemes. Zim can't indirectly assassinate them if he's at the edge of the known universe, right?"
"Correct…meaning should he wish to pursue his plans, he'd need a new operative to initiate and enact them that could get close to the Tallest as Zim could before. Another Invader." The purple-eyed Irken realized, taken back momentarily as it all began to settle in.
"I haven't started to get into his side of things." Dib gestured to Kazak and the angle Vult was playing at. "...but Grimm must be getting desperate if he's seeking Zim's help knowing how far away he is and what it would require to bring him back into known Imperial space. I would assume based on this information it's due to his strategic fumblings at Vort and Vylat. Burgg and Xilch of Internal Affairs are not happy with him and both could make his life miserable."
"Slate him for deactivation, most likely."
"Deactivation? Like executing him?"
"No. Deactivation as in complete deletion." Tak corrected darkly. "You've monitored Zim, you know of our PAKs. Without them, it is a shell of flesh and bone. Nothing more. We are the PAK. Data. Deactivation is a deletion of that data from the network we are connected to. A cessation of existence from the universe itself."
"That's…horrible."
"It is."
"Which is where the faction the Commander's in comes into play once you get to it." Kazak nodded. "We've…taken a plunge as it was. We've already lost Volx in combat. She's never coming back." The sniper sighed. "If I paint the wall with Zim's brains, he'd just go back into the system. Personality data gets cycled through, he comes out again in another twenty years or so…maybe less if Grimm keeps mulching troops like he has. New PAK, new Irken, but at its core it's still Zim but without any of the memories or anything from previous lives. Rather horrible existence if you ask me. Why we want to put an end to it, General Vaukt included. What comes after though is anyone's guess right now."
The sniper rubbed his chin in thought. "Maybe Grimm's aware of our plotting as well. He's certainly fumbled strategically, but I wouldn't put it past him if he's gotten where he is by his plots so far."
"He's gotten where he is by height. As we all have and do." Tak sardonically reasoned, realizing the implications of it all now as the weight of dejection and bitter resentment slowly began to settle in. "What he wants, he cannot have being shorter than our leaders. If there are no leaders taller than him, he becomes the leader by default."
"Most of this…upheavel seems recent. Very recent, like last few decades or so recent." Dib deduced, studying his findings. "Coincides with Tallest Miyuki's death."
"Tallest Miyuki was fair. Kind, even." Tak observed. "Our people largely kept to themselves, built alliances, and protected our own interests with occasional force projection to ensure neighboring peers didn't get any bright ideas. After Miyuki and Spork…"
"Unnecessary conquest. The blunders of the first Impending Doom…my demotion from Lieutenant to First Sergeant because I survived Vort and rescued other SpecOps from behind the lines…and used a Vortian shuttle to make our escape." Kazak spoke bitterly. "But we had a realization that it doesn't have to be this way. That we could do something about it. What was stolen from us without us even knowing it…"
Dib sighed, awkwardly scratching the back of his head.
"I...I'm just a kid. All of this stuff sounds like the plot to a movie to me but human history is not pretty in the slightest either…but just what I've scratched the surface on, I'm shocked all of you aren't marching on your leaders and burning them alive for what they've done or continued to knowingly perpetuate."
Tak stood silent in deep thought before speaking again.
"...all my life, I wanted to be an Invader. The best of the best. The finest example of military prowess the Empire has to offer…only to come to find out it's a..lie. All of it. The false sense of superiority. The fabricated history. The buried past…"
"Yes, but you can do something about it." The human boy encouraged, impassioned. "Just like him, he's doing something about it. Trying to anyway. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't, but he's trying. That's all you can do is try, right?"
"Live on our feet or die on our knees." Kazak nodded as he got up and made his way over to Tak. "I know which one I'd rather do. But maybe you could still be an Invader, our Invader. Positive the Commander's got Skrem from Hel by this point…going to let him steal all the glory or do you want your name going in if we win this? That or we die together as friends who tried to do the right thing."
Tak remained silent. Her gaze forlorn and distant. The realization a majority of her life had been wasted, chasing hollow dreams and false aspirations for motivations not of her own doing. To please her superiors who cared little of her life and accomplishments. Who permitted the Zims of the Empire to their duties and stations while the competent were punished for the mistakes of others.
"Tak?" Dib, equal measures cautious and concerns, attempted to garner her dejected attention.
"I…need to be alone for a while." She finally announced with a shaky exhale.
No sooner than the words left her mouth, she turned about to leave the vessel the same manner they had arrived. Awkward seconds of silence passed in her wake before Dib turned to Kazak.
"Is she going to be alright? It's like something…broke inside her."
"...We all deal with this news in our own way. You try being cheery after realizing your entire life is a lie and an abomination. I'll give it a couple minutes before I try talking to her." The sniper sighed. "This…really isn't my department at all. I'm more of a lone operative and…social stuff isn't my strong suit, but she's important to the Commander. If Vult thinks she's important to whatever this is, I'm going to try."
"That's the guy in charge of the team you're on, right?" Dib sequestered, referring to his notes. "You and the others who are doing this Byte guy's bidding? Well, maybe not bidding, but he's the originator of it."
"Yeah…Byte, the same guy we first met on Irk in the form of an artificial construct…that's us, and yeah, Vult's our team leader."
"...and the connection with Tak she almost killed Vult…but he let her go…to come here?"
"He did…just…let her go on her way, rather than send her back to Dirt like the Tallest wanted for her. I'm not up on all the details. That happened before I joined the team."
Dib, adjusting his notes, attention drifted to the barriered cell where Zim resided. By now, he had given up on posturing and taunting his captors. His mood not unlike Tak's for different reasons, he sat at the center of the room, knees to his chest and arms folded atop them with his head resting in them.
"...and what about Zim? I'm on the outside looking in on all of this…I don't think he knew he was being used by Grimm. A useful idiot is what I would call him. Wrong place, wrong time, wrong person levels of manipulation."
Hesitation. Consideration.
"...it's weird, I've spent the past couple of years trying to stop him from carrying out his plans to prepare Earth to be conquered…and now I find out it was never going to happen. He was here as a punishment…I almost feel bad for him."
"I lost too many people, I'm bitter about what happened." He paused to look at the pawn on the board. "He really is stupider than the rumors let on…I can't be mad at him entirely but who he works for and what he's done. He really is the definition of a useful idiot. But we didn't know about that either, not until recently. Skrem blew the lid on that for us."
Then a realization.
"Fuck." Kazak ran out of the shuttle, looking around for Tak.
Evening had given into night with the moon high overhead. The same moon Dib so proudly spoke of humans managing to reach only to be ridiculed. His search for Tak took him around his own vessel, the appropriated human vehicle, and around the clearing. Nothing. Where had she gone? Her ship?
The sniper made his way to Tak's ship, finding an open hatch and poking his head inside.
"Tak, you here?"
Startled from her own thoughts, she visibly jumped in the pilot's seat in the cockpit. A quick swipe of the back of her sleeve across her face and deep breath to regain her composure followed.
"Yes. I'm here. What is it? What happened?"
Kazak made his way inside and over to her, cramped as it was. "I thought I should check on you. Hit me how loyal you were to the Empire compared to some bitter, jaded bastard like me."
"I'm fine." She shortly answered, intentionally avoiding his gaze despite her drawn up posture. "A lot to take in is all."
"Yeah…" He did his best to try and make himself comfortable next to her. "I'm just glad you haven't…reacted like Tuu did." Fumbling as he was, he was at least trying. "Not the easiest news to hear."
Her brow furrowed, confused as she was annoyed at his insistence to invade her personal space in tight quarters.
"Who? What did he do?"
"Tuu was the marksman on Vult's team, one of the original members. He figured the rest of us were defective and…he went above Vult's head, right to General Vaukt, and tried to turn us all in. Hope to get an IIA report in on us. After that those of us who were free of the connection decided he had to go…got him transferred out." He shook his head. "A shame too, I partially liked the guy. He appreciated the craft within the scout snipers after seeing it for himself."
She huffed, shaking her head.
"...I nearly kill the man and he sends me on my way…gets the approval of the team to send a liability elsewhere instead of trying up a loose end…I don't think his PAK is wired right." She morbidly joked. "...but he is of the belief things need to be different and is willing to risk everything to make an attempt at it…even if that means defying the natural order of the Empire."
"...What we have isn't the natural order…and…were any of us? We've been through Praxxus, or we've been poked and prodded in some way, and now here we are, all wronged by the Empire in some way and we want to make things right…" He paused and lowered his head. "If there's anyone on the team who isn't wired right, I think I'm it, above anyone else. Walking bad luck for important missions and after all this sordid business is done…" He stopped to shake his head.
"Vult didn't have to let me come out this way, let Aero take my job on Red Team, let me have this armor…didn't have to let me do any of that. He knows what he's doing, as good a man as they come and someone I can honestly consider a friend. He gave me something I'm more suited for and…well as frustrating as it is so far I'm grateful for it. But I'm no Invader and I've been going about all this like a soldier, not like you would."
Another pause as he rubbed his eyes. "All of us dealt with this differently. This realization, what we saw in that processing center, talking with Calla… aside from Tuu, we all came to the decision that we needed to do something, rebel, bring an end to this. I know I'm a rambling idiot and this…whole sort of social interaction isn't something I'm good at, but…what's going through your mind? I don't know how to help aside from telling you what I know. But I'm the one who was most eager to rebel out of the team."
"Denial." She opened soundly, gathering her thoughts thereafter. "...denial that everything I've done up until now has mattered or made a difference. My loyal service, my steadfast adherence and belief of the Empire and its superiority even after Zim's meddling before my Invader final exam and the Control Brains levied jugement to wait until the next available phase of testing. Denial that my begrudging acceptance of this and "temporary" posting to Dirt as a Janitorial Drone wasn't a sick joke."
She swallowed hard, fists clenched until they trembled before her in anger.
"...denial so obsessively strong I risked life and limb to reach the ends of the universe to steal a fake mission from a fake Invader in the off chance I would be noticed and granted what I have rightfully earned…and now…denial that to which I've dedicated my life to is something worth preserving."
A fresh set of tears silently rolled down her cheeks, violet eyes roiling with rage.
It really is hard taking it in that your entire life was a lie…everything a lie from hatch day to the revelations of Krad's regime on Devos and the rotten Republic that spawned the Empire. She'd be wronged by the Empire, worse than he ever was. The most loyal will either fall the hardest and come out from under it or recoil back into the familiarity of the lies they were told. Tak seemed to be the former instead of following the latter path Tuu did. He didn't say a word in response but he held out his hand to her, suited as he still was. It seemed to him she needed someone to confide in right now.
And it just had to be him of all people…the loner, the one who recoils from this sort of thing. But who else could she turn to? Certainly not Zim and Dib was a human. The only one who could do would be another Irken who at least partially understood her pain.
The irony of consolement from the man earlier in the day that had been trading blows and fully intended to personally eradicate on principle was not lost on her. That didn't change her eagerness to all but throw herself into his offered arm. A tight embrace of some semblance of familiarity. Unlike her contemporaries, she was well-reserached. She knew why he offered and its intention…and how badly she required it then and there in her most vulnerable moment.
He hadn't expected the embrace but wrapped his arm around Tak all the same. "Thanks for not doing me in earlier too. Looking like I do, you'd have every right to." He stopped to shake his head and divert some of his more morbid thoughts. "I'm also definitely not going anywhere for a while…so I guess I'm here as long as you need me to be."
Clinging to him, cheek pressed to the cool material of his chest plate, she remained fixated on a corner of the cockpit.
"That's good…because you have a lot to learn about causing chaos from within if you hope to survive what is coming next. Thankfully for you, there is a resident expert willing to lend her knowledge."
She sat back with a weary swallow, struggling to eek the smallest of smiles.
"...and the moronic ball of chaotic stupid that Zim is can be used both ways. We need him alive. Temper yourself."
"So much for digging a well in the basement of that ranch house and throwing Zim in there." Kazak attempted some humor. "Though I think we could use that property if we could fix it up, maybe forge some ownership paperwork for it in…whatever passes for the local bureaucracy. But I'm getting ahead of myself…we really should go check on the two of them, lest Dib find out what the radio is and ends up calling Vaukt or Vult."
"You are. We have fundamentals to cover first. Chief among them is not standing out like a slorrbeast in heat among the local populace…but you're right." She sighed, releasing him with the intent of leaving her ship and getting back to work. "...and thank you. Despite what you think of yourself, you're one of integrity and mean well…but patience and due diligence could stand to benefit you."
He heard the same from Aero before, he was sure of it. But hearing it from someone outside the team struck a bit differently. "...Thanks." He followed her out of her ship and headed back to his own. Had to make sure Zim didn't somehow tunnel through steel or that Dib wasn't touching anything he wasn't supposed to.
Dib was most definitely touching something he shouldn't have been. The video screen flickered in static before images started coming through. It was none other than Commander Vult himself. Alongside him, bringing in a couple mugs of bean water, was Hesa, partially dressed with a black tank top on instead of her uniform jacket. Apparently he had reached the Shadow Strikers when it was morning in their location.
Hesa sipped her mug of Vortian bean juice, looking back at the screen. "Hold on a second. He may have been gone a long while but I'm pretty sure you're not Kazak at all."
Dib blinked, surprised he managed to press the right button to accept the incoming call on the first try. Honestly, he had hoped to have accidentally hang up. He was committed now.
"Uhh…no. No, I am not." He answered awkwardly. "B-but I know him! Met him today, actually." The boy quickly added.
"So…just who in the-" she paused and saw Zim behind the barrier in the corner of the screen. "By Irk is that who I think it is?" She turned to face Vult. "You're seeing this, right?"
Vult, seated next to Hesa, his expression beyond unamused at this apparent lack of security protocols, hid his contempt behind the rim of his mug briefly before setting his drink down.
"I am. You are an Ee-arthinoid, yes?"
"...Earthling, yes."
"Identify yourself."
"Uhh…Dib. Dib Membrane."
"Why are you accessing unauthorized channels on an alien spacecraft, Dib?"
"The…call was ringing and I picked up?"
Vult, never tearing his annoyed gaze from the boy, took another drink of his mug.
"Go find Kazak. Now."
"DIB!" Both Kazak and Tak sounded off in unison from the door into the shuttle.
"Sounds like Kazak found him." Hesa smirked before taking a drink herself.
Both the Irken walked over, glaring daggers at him. Tak was the first to reach him, unkindly grabbing him by the upper arm to drag him off-screen.
"Wha- Ow! Hey!"
"What was the one thing I told you?!"
"Don't touch anything?"
"...and what did you do?!"
"...touch something?"
"Go sit down. Now. I will glue you to the seat if you touch something else." She threatened, moving to rejoin Kazak.
"I was going to ask if you had the situation in hand, Kazak…I see that it isn't." The Commander summarized on the other end of the connection. "Tak, I see you made it to Ee-art-"
"Earth," She corrected, having been corrected herself by none other than their human guest. "...and I did…and before you tear into Kazak, it was my idea to bring the human aboard."
Vult's brow arched questioningly at this revelation. Kazak had zero interaction or prior knowledge save for a name of Tak…yet here they were, side-by-side, and she defending him.
"Well, I suppose it would be unfair to reprimand him for something he didn't authorize then." Vult concluded logically. "...I'm going to assume he's made you aware of his presence and why Zim is in his custody?"
"Extremely…I…we fought earlier. After consideration, I heard him out."
"Very interesting side effect of also neutralizing Zim's base of operations doing so." The sniper scratched the back of his head. "We…have a better understanding between each other now."
"How much better an understanding?" Vult pointedly asked in cryptic fashion.
"Crystal clarity beyond a shadow of a doubt understanding, Commander." Tak chimed in. "I know of his mission and motivations…and it has been brought to my attention what you and your team are planning."
"Is that a problem?"
"...Not at this point in time, no."
"Will it become one?"
"After what I have been made aware of today…no. It won't be."
"Good to hear…so what's the story with the human? Why is he on your ship? Why does he have free reign?"
"I went to go talk to Tak on her ship…you know how it is with the news hitting us all differently. Dib is apparently a Zim expert, for lack of a better term."
"Zim Expert? So he speaks idiot?" Hesa asked
"Apparently."
"Uhh…Tak?" Dib spoke up from his stool off-screen much to her annoyance. "Can I-"
"I am busy talking, Dib." She spoke through grit teeth. "What is it?"
"Bring him over. Just get it from the source so neither of you can conjure wild stories about it." Vult decided, waiting until his request was fulfilled as the young man was brought back before the monitor once more.
"Uhh…hi again…Commander? Commander Vult?"
"You're pretty sharp. How'd you know that?"
"Uhhhh…" He nervously eyed the two Irken at his flanks.
"They touch you, they'll have problems with me." Vult made clear. "Did they give you access to information?"
"Yes. A terminal. Tak even bought me snacks."
"Did she now? That was thoughtful of her."
"It was…but I know about all of this…conspiracy stuff now. How your idiot rulers have evil idiots trying to usurp them."
"...and you determined all of that on your own?"
"Mostly. I asked a few questions about cultural stuff because, y'know, aliens."
"Of course…so I will ask again…why was he allowed aboard and what purpose does he serve? You let an alien CHILD be aware of the internal political strife of arguably the universe's most powerful empire."
"I-" Kazak started before sighing. "I'm really bad at this interrogation thing. I tried confronting Zim directly about it before. He just gives me a stupid look. Like…like he genuinely believes he did nothing wrong and that he was just being a good little loyal best boy instead of following Grimm's plots exactly."
Tak could no longer remain quiet as Kazak crumbled under the pressure of his commanding officer.
"Dib witnessed our altercation at Zim's base. My choices were to leave no witnesses or take him with us. I chose not to kill a child, species irrelevant."
"Compassion…from an Invader. That's a new one." Vult muttered, legitimately surprised before sampling his drink.
"I'm not an Invader. Not now, not ever." Tak surprisingly defended in light of recent events. "...Dib is a highly intelligent example of his species, however primitive they may be. His father arguably the most intelligent human currently alive on this planet. His experience in protecting his home from Zim makes him the resident expert on dealing with him. My decision to bring him along. My choice."
"You said you brought me so you wouldn't have to kill me."
"That is technically correct, yes."
"...and that I would have followed you anyway."
She sighed.
"...also correct."
"I guess you could say we…ended up teaming up in a way after our initial confrontation." Kazak added. "If it weren't for her I probably would've beaten Zim senseless trying to get answers out of him."
"So, what's he done to be a Zim expert?" Hesa asked.
"Kid told me he has his own passive camouflage suit and was able to eavesdrop on his conversations with Red and Purple. Also stole items from Zim's base and was able to make a translator out of a mix of his own and Imperial technology." Kazak went over to retrieve the device to show to Vult.
"Really, now?"
"It's really rough still. First examples I've had of this Vortian stuff in these files. Struggling to get it to work with those." Dib admitted as Vult looked at the device through the screen curiously.
"I'm led to believe Tak's claim of you being the son of the smartest human alive isn't so far-fetched…speaking of…his father know where he is? You two do realize parents tend to fret about their offspring if they go missing, yes?"
"Doubt he's even noticed I left…" Dib muttered dejectedly.
"It was on the to-do list. Things have only now settled down after Zim was…acquired and the truth came out." Tak admitted.
"Yeah…there's a general store some way up the road with these coin operated phones on the outside of the building. I might take him that way and let him make a phone call if it's of any great concern."
"Why would I use a pay phone?"
"To call your father, weren't you listening?" Tak queried with a sneer.
The young man reached into his inner pocket, procuring a small, rectangular, thin box with a screen and a number pad below it.
"I have a cell phone right here."
"And how's your signal strength?" Kazak asked.
Furrowing his brow, Dib brought the phone up to access it. A bold "NO SIGNAL" up in the corner where the strength bars were located loomed back at him.
"...oh."
"We'll take care of it shortly…and turn that off while you're here, signal or no signal." Tak issued, getting him to begrudgingly accept her commands.
"I won't fault you two too harshly, all things considered…but being that sloppy with more capable adults, primitive or not, will get you into a lot of trouble and you're far from help." Vult warned of their shortcomings.
"Yeah…the last thing we want is a massive force of them bearing down on us. Be more trouble than it's worth." Kazak started and paused. "What's our current intentions with Zim now that we've eliminated him from the equation? If Grimm hears from the Tallest that he stopped reporting, he might get desperate, wouldn't he? Am I just playing prison guard until further notice?"
"Maybe he's better off a permanently denied asset to Grimm?" Hesa mused at the thought.
Kazak quickly drew his machine pistol. "No need to tell me twice."
Tak was quick to grab his wrist and force his weapon back into its holster unkindly.
"Or…as I said earlier if you were listening, turn him into our own asset." She reiterated, releasing Kazak's wrist.
"I take it you have a plan to go along with that suggestion?" Vult countered the not-Invader.
"A definitive plan of action? No, but I see potential. Zim has single-handedly nearly caused the collapse of the Empire on more than one occasion, unintentionally or otherwise. That magnitude of chaos can benefit in derailing whatever the Supreme Commander has planned."
"Or an unmitigated disaster forcing damage control and distraction from our activities if allowed to run amok."
"Precisely. I know this comes as a surprise…but I think this is the first time in that ankle-biter's life that he is wanted and needed for something." Tak concluded, looking over her shoulder at the morose Invader behind bars and barrier alike. "...the obstacle in that is convincing him his actions are for the good of the Empire and the Tallest will be pleased with him when he is obviously wreaking havoc for them."
"That would involve needing to convince him that the real traitors are within the Empire and not…us." Kazak huffed in frustration with his weapon being holstered. "But how?"
"Well, Grimm hasn't made any definitive moves yet." Hesa began, "I'm sure he'll move against Burgg, Red, and Purple at some point."
"So if he kills Red and Purple or otherwise deposes them…" Kazak's gears started turning in his head. "But, wait, if Zim is loyal to the Tallest, wouldn't he just suddenly obey Grimm if he's now the Tallest?"
"All the more reason to keep them alive." Vult reasoned, mulling over the propositions laid before him. "I'm led to believe Zim isn't the only useful idiot in all of this. So long as they are alive and in power, Grimm's hands are tied. Nothing overt or obvious can be done without notice on his behalf."
Tak blinked, confused.
"I was under the impression you and your lot were turning against the Empire with the intent of overthrowing the Tallest….why do they need to be kept alive?"
"Misdirection. Area denial, in simplest military terms. Grimm is unable to advance his intentions so long as they're alive. The tallest reign supreme. Red and Purple are winners of the test of the tape measurer. Until we are in a more favorable position to take action, keeping them alive and in power is a priority."
Tak's scheming birthed another plan on the spot.
"What if Zim were to take action to "benefit the Almighty Tallest" and "win their favor" that happens to give Grimm further burdens and distractions?"
"In what sense?"
"Falsified orders with the official seal of the Tallest. I know your team can forge that. Not as if Zim is smart enough to check their authenticity. If the Tallest command him, he acts."
"You're talking siccing Zim on Grim?" Kazak looked at Tak with a look of confusion.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. Think about it. Zim's meddling amidst Impending Doom I forced its cancellation and his banishment to Foodcourtia as punishment. A single Invader ground universal conquest to a halt by being at the right place at the wrong time. I doubt he would directly assault fellow Irken if commanded, but there are other ways to coax him into acting."
"No different than what Spec Ops would do. Target the most vulnerable points to maximize effective damage." Vult added, considering Tak's reasoning briefly before looking to Hesa beside him. "Go fetch Skrem. Double-time."
"You got it." Hesa got up from her seat and quickly ran out the door to go find Skrem wherever he was in the ship.
"This is one long trip. Back to known Imperial space. Think it's worth the risk? I mean if Grimm acts while Zim's en route for whatever reason it greatly complicates matters." Kazak was mulling over situations in his head where this could go wrong.
"All the more reason why preemptive action is needed." Tak countered, waiting for Vult's request of Skrem to be fulfilled. "Worst-case scenario, you've wasted Zim's time. Something lacking value cannot be wasted, now can it?"
"No, not at all."
Hesa came back in and took her seat next to Vult. The armored Invader walked into view and stood nearby. He looked at the screen, seeing Kazak for the first time and of course a violet eyed would have been Invader.
"Well, well, do my eyes deceive me? One of the top scoring members of Invader Class Five who missed her final exam thanks to that power outage?"
Tak sighed as she forced a prideful mask.
"Yes, it is I…and you yourself a celebrity among Invaders. Have you been briefed already or do you need a rundown?"
"Hesa said you need to distract Zim with some falsified orders from the Tallest. Something to implicate Grimm as a traitor. That sound about right?"
"More or less, yes. Vult raised a valid point in asset denial. So long as Tallest Red and Purple are alive and in power, Grimm can do nothing worthwhile outside of his sphere of authority without notice. Zim, as you are aware, is fanatically loyal to the Tallest and will do anything to please them. He is also stupid enough to not verify if orders were falsified or not. The challenge would be ensuring the off-chance he doesn't attempt to contact them regarding his orders for whatever reason."
"Nothing interference and signal jamming can't fix." Vult summarized, taking a drink from his mug. "...I like the creative input but the common denominator of Zim and attempting to control him in our favor concerns me. That destructive potential can equally backfire on us."
"I'd almost be keen to keep him locked down here until we need him." Kazak shrugged. "Seems like a massive risk that could blow up in all our faces. I don't know if it's worth the risk but then again once we might actually need him it'll be too late to do anything with him. I'd almost rather be stuck playing prison warden than potentially risk outing the fact that there's a conspiracy going on right under their feet."
"Really?" Hesa asked before taking a sip herself. "You watch the idiot? Your grasp on sanity might unwravel entirely."
"Better that than having Xilch sniffing around where she shouldn't, right? You know she will if there's the possibility of a conspiracy."
"So what's your suggestion?" Skrem wondered. "Order him under the command of yourself or Tak? Falsify some Invader papers for her?"
"Depends on what she thinks. I'm just the sniper here."
"Things tend to go awry, break, or explode around Zim. Sometimes all three at once." Tak huffed. "Law of probability dictates it'll be a matter of time before it happens to us the more time we spend near him. Doubly so attempting to control him in any manner. He already assumes Kazak is a traitor, which is technically correct, and knows I am not an Invader, which is also technically correct. He will seek to escape and get word to the Tallest and then more serious problems will awry from it."
Vult sat studiously for a moment, mulling over his thoughts before speaking again.
"Why not a combination of the two?"
"Meaning?" Tak's brow arched questioningly.
"Falsify orders from the Tallest stating that you and Kazak are there to assist him with preparing Earth for conquest. Convince him it was a big misunderstanding. Typos or some other nonsense in how it was to be handled. Cut him loose to return to whatever it is he does, jam his communications off-world, and observe him. No word will reach the Tallest and Grimm cannot contact him. He stays occupied and out of everyone's way while serving as a distraction at the same time."
"...unfortunate you were programmed a soldier, Vult…you'd have made a fine Invader." Tak mused with a smirk.
"I prefer my mud and trenches over the tasting of the Tallest's c'hurtas."
"He just has an innate grasp of things that for someone like me is just…foreign. I can do a decent job in building a great sniper unit with someone like-minded but this has never been my forte."
"Give me a few minutes and I'll have your falsified orders. I can easily make it look like those imbeciles wrote it too." Skrem grinned and immediately got to work on a holographic display on his left arm.
"There's an abandoned property not far from where I put the ship down. Nobody's been there for who knows how long." Kazak began with some of his long term ideas, "Now that we're going to have a closer eye on this nitwit and have him more effectively under our thumbs, would now be a good time to establish a long term base of operations out here? I think this location would be suitable after I do a good bit of fixing it up and we falsify some local documents to make its occupation look legitimate. Beats sleeping in the back of a shuttle and who knows how long I'm stuck here."
"I hadn't intended to remain on Earth long after taking over the idiot's mission…but plans have changed, it appears." Tak sighed, still struggling to cope with the reality of the matter. "...suppose this is better than Planet Dirt, if only slightly."
"Unlike the Tallest, I and the others will appreciate your efforts there." Vult reasoned, seeking to boost her morale. "We may very well need a fallback location should things go awry. The edge of the known universe is an ideal location as any to hide. Do what you must to maintain your cover of "helping" Zim, as well as not attracting unwanted attention to yourselves."
"Yeah, we've had several crash courses in that already." She tiredly spoke, glancing to Kazak. "It's a learning process. I may be able to let him go in public by himself if he keeps making progress."
Vult huffed in bemusement, smirking as he looked to Kazak.
"I realize you have free reign over most of your activities and behavior there, as intended, but do listen to Tak. She is the expert in infiltration and subterfuge. You may learn a thing or two."
"Like how she doesn't like esoteric and exotic fashion?" He…actually tried to joke. First in a very long while for him. "She really is proving real helpful though. My skills in stealth go for crossing an active war zone, not trying to infiltrate in a place like this. I think between her and I we'll make…something of a half functioning madman out of me yet."
The terminal dinged, Skrem's handiwork already done.
"And there you go, my good chums, falsified orders as if they came from the very mouths of Red and Purple themselves. Surely he'll believe them. Just…get your jammers in place first, will you?"
"Yeah that's the idea. May need to borrow Tak's ship to do that real quick and put a couple on the moon and a third here, don't want this doofus wondering why I went to this planet's one moon."
"I can take care of that." Tak offered, gesturing to Dib seated nearby, awkwardly eavesdropping. "Can you look after him or do I need to take him with me?"
"Take me where? To the moon?" He perked up, excited at the prospect.
"Yes, your moon, through the cold vacuum of space where explosive decompression is inches away." She sarcastically responded, rolling her eyes. "I'm not taking you into space. It's too dangerous."
"I thought you guys said you were masters of interstellar travel though. Should be like a trip to the grocery store for you, right?" He countered, much to her dismay.
Tak paused, closing her eyes to give them a rub of frustration before her hand fell to her side.
"...fine, let's go." She relented, looking to Kazak as Dib hurriedly slid off the chair to leave with her. "We'll be right back. Try not to kill Zim while we're gone. It would defeat the purpose."
Kazak pulled out several VDF issue jammers, dumping two of them on Dib to carry. "Be a gentleman and carry those for the lady now would you?" He set the third one on the workbench nearby, sitting down on a bench and taking out another smoke. "I'll set up the third in the barn once you two get back."
"Sounds good. Dib!"
"Coming!" The human boy hurried after Tak, arms laden with a pair of advanced-looking pieces of communication equipment.
Within a matter of moments, the pair were aboard Tak's smaller vessel and taking off. Streaking across the evening sky until gaining altitude and disappearing from view entirely.
Wait, right, the call was still going.
Kazak went back over to the panel with his unlit cigarette. "How much stuff did I miss in the past six months? Nothing major happened, right?"
"Vaukt has Vylat and Orenk on his side…and apparently even a portion of Mirage is on our side now but that comes with…complications." Hesa explained.
"What complications?
"Tuu."
Kazak seemed dumbfounded. "Seriously? Tuu is in…whatever this Mirage team is? Doesn't the General think that's risky?"
"Wasn't his decision. Amka, Mirage's commanding officer, selected him. The same as I had did for the rest of you. He knew of our performance by reputation and wanted an expert. He got one." Vult explained. "Thus far they have done exactly as tasked and assigned by the General. Whatever is to happen within Mirage is none of my concern. I have my hands full as-is."
Kazak nodded. "Now, not to be a pessimist but I have some genuine speculation. Vaukt is obviously fighting to the same end we are. We all want to end the Empire, that's a given. It seems like he's amassing quite a force of allies. Not to say it but-"
"You think the General's going to try to assert dominance over the movement, don't you?" Skrem asked, still present in the room.
"...Yeah, how'd you guess?"
"I'm an Invader, it's what I do to think of situations like this. My firmest estimate from what I know of him, he's loyal to his men. The Commander bought him into the cause, he should defer a good deal to the Commander, so long as he sees he's being considered and heard out. If I know anything about the guy, he'd rather our ideal be a meritocracy run by the veterans."
"Really familiar with him, aren't you?"
"Hard not to be when you're one of the best in the branch."
"I'm sure Vaukt and I are going to have words at-length in the future when the time is right over all of it." Vult added to the conversation. "I have nothing but respect for the man, but it has been a concern of mine as of lately as well. We all have our own ideals and visions for the future. We all believe our way to be the best way. Whether he intends it or not, his aspirations are formulating around a cult-of-personality…not unlike the likes of Grimm. The road to ruination is paved with good intentions, after all."
"Popular as he is, we definitely don't need our own Grimm." Hesa mused before sipping on her mug.
"Yeah…he's one of the best higher ups I ever served under. Hopefully this all pans out. Anything else you guys need from me in the meantime?"
Kazak leaned back in his seat and enjoyed his smoke, eying the Invader from time to time. He really did look pathetic and dejected. Either his bravado ran out for the moment or maybe he realized he's not getting out of this easily…No he's not that smart. Simply waiting for that barrier to come down so he can attempt his superiority again.
"That bridge will be crossed when we arrive at it. Much needs to happen first before that is a remote possibility. Focus on taking our next step tomorrow, not years from now." The Commander concluded, setting his empty cup down beside him. "...you seem distracted, Kazak. What's on your mind?"
"Nothing…just that you heard the rumors of Zim, right? The guy's genuinely stupider than the rumors let on." That was at least the most immediate thing as he took a drag on his smoke. He watched Skrem leave after getting a message that Green Team needed him yet again, leaving just Vult and Hesa once more. "...The other is that I didn't realize just how out of my league this sort of infiltration thing is. This armor is something else and cloak mode is just swell but I feel like some idiot in a dark cave with a flashlight and no batteries."
"It is a different breed of monster compared to what you're accustomed to, that is certain." Vult began, considering his words carefully. "Your skillset is better suited to shoot your way out of problems or destroy opposition from afar…and now you are forced to integrate, blend in, and mimic those around you to achieve your goals unnoticed without harming a single individual in the process. I wish I could pretend to be omnipotent and claim I sent you to Earth intentionally to address these shortcomings but I'm not. It is fortunate Tak is there as I had hoped she would be."
"No kidding…" He leaned back once again, keeping an eye on Zim for a bit once more.
"Enjoying the relative solitude at least?" Hesa asked.
"...Actually yes. Get away, clear my head, the trip here was serene…" and then the sniper paused. "And that probably sounds awful to you two doesn't it?"
"Would be preferred to managing the madhouse these days." Vult muttered, sighing. "...you're smart enough to figure things out while you're there. You know what you have to do and what needs to be done. My only recommendation is to swallow your pride and take advantage of the resources at your disposal. Those resources being Tak. You two seem amicable enough now, but this is her specialty. She knows what she is talking about and does it well. Either of you end up captured by the humans or worse does us no good."
"Maybe you two should drag your asses out here for a little vacation. This place I found seems…quaint."
"Be careful, we might actually take you up on that." Hesa seemed to tease the solitary sniper.
"He's the one on the team I can easily confide in and…I like your sass." The sniper shook his head. "Don't worry about me though. Dying on this backwater is nowhere on my to do list if I have anything to say about it."
"Keep it that way. Aid, at a minimum, is six months out. Plan accordingly." Vult nodded, pausing briefly to choose his words. "And this…Dib-child. Be vigilant. Well-meaning or not, ignorance is just as deadly as recklessness. If involving him leads to your success in managing Zim, so be it."
"Yeah, I'll be making sure to keep a close eye on him…smart kid though. Kinda startin' to grow on me."
"You do that. Keep me posted on any new developments. I leave it in your capable hands. Vult out." He concluded, terminating the connection to leave Kazak isolated once again.
Kazak settled in to enjoy his smoke and keep an eye on the place. Being on his own wasn't quite the same as he remembered but it was still enjoyable. The hum of computer terminals, the creatures of this world making noise outside. It was all peaceful…there was a war going on far away but here it was quiet, relaxing even. Could almost forget a war was going on.
It wouldn't last too long. Dib and Tak returned within an hour. He watched the two walk inside, breaking him from his solitude in observation of the imprisoned Invader and his own thoughts. Dib seemed to have enjoyed himself. The sniper rose and made his way to the third jammer, grabbing it before leaning against a bulkhead.
"So how was our little Earthling's…first brief trip to space I take it?"
Before a single word left Tak's mouth, Dib rushed past her, grinning ear-to-ear.
"It was amazing! So easy and simple! It-it-it-"
"Alright, settle down." Tak gently interrupted, resisting a bemused smirk at how easily he was entertained before looking back to Kazak. "Communications jammers placed. Once your third one is up and running, Zim should be cut off from the rest of the universe…in theory. Your commanding officer have anything else of value or interest to offer while we were gone?"
"Namely asked for developments since I've been traveling here…and even if my autonomy is my own while I'm here, I should really listen to your advice since this is your speciality. It's like he said, my skillset is to eliminate from afar or shoot my way out of a situation, but I have to blend in and not do that here." The sniper cracked a smile. "Funny, just a while ago we were fighting and now we're both…relatively amicable. Also said we need to keep an eye on Dib. Ignorance can lead to recklessness and any reinforcements of ours are six months away."
"I'm not ignorant." The human defended, somewhat affronted.
"Not intentionally, no." Tak leveled. "He means your curiosity or lack of understanding getting the better of you. Such as answering the incoming call when neither of us were nearby. What if you had fired the ship's weapons…or initiated its self-destruct?"
"...don't touch anything?"
"Right." She turned back to Kazak. "...and all valid points. Just as I tell him not to touch anything, you need to not do anything until you understand the situation."
"So he's learning just like me?" Dib inquired, eliciting an unseen smirk from the female Irken.
"That is one way of looking at it, yes." She responded over her shoulder at him. "Both of you are learning together. Just like your education center."
"School?"
"Yes, the school."
"Yeah…my field of expertise is taking out enemy officers, leaders, whoever's in my crosshairs from a distance. I run into trouble, my training is to shoot first, escape, evade. Creative use of explosive traps…not the kind of skills you need for doing what Tak does. I'm the guy who'd come in after someone like her starts the fireworks of a planetary invasion under the Empire's doctrine."
"So you're like an army guy then? She's a secret agent?"
"In a sense. There is more to it, but that is an excellent summary." Tak offered.
"That's cool…terrifying, but cool. Before today, all I had to go off of about Zim and the Empire was…Zim and your stupid leaders…not sure how to feel about knowing there are competent, dangerous Irken now."
"I'll take that as a compliment," She huffed, glancing to Kazak briefly. "...and like I said earlier, I have no intention of harming you. Neither does Kazak. We gain nothing in doing so. In fact, you're quite valuable to us."
"Am I?" He practically glowed at the words of encouragement.
"Certainly. You're the resident expert on that one." Tak pointed to Zim. "...and the two of us have a lot to learn about your planet and customs if we're going to be here for any lengthy period of time."
"Yeah, it helps to have more insight of a native that's more friendly to us than trying to guess on the fly." He paused, "I really should go set this thing up in the barn of that nearby ranch." The sniper started making his way to the door of the shuttle, intent on doing just that.
"Can I come?!" Dib yelled, stopping Kazak in his tracks.
"Space wasn't enough huh? Sure, I guess." He set off for the barn, one human in tow. At least he wouldn't touch anything in the shuttle if he's with him.