Author's Notes: The title for this chapter is accurate.
Bureaucracy at it's Finest
Laes was grateful to be out of the medical room.
His fingers and legs tingled a bit from whatever drugs were still in his system, but he could walk without being in a lot of pain. The cuts on his arms were gone too, and he was wearing some kind of shiny blue and purple uniform that was just a tad too big.
Sevai was sitting at a sleek looking silver table with the floating writing thing currently in his hands.
The other two Invaders had been called away somewhere, leaving Sevai alone with him in this small sitting room.
There were couches and tables with shapes and colours very different from either Vortian or Irken designs. The lights were also much dimmer in this room, but he could definitely still see everything.
His hands trembled as he held onto the cup of warm liquid Sevai had offered him. He was still nervous. This was a foreign place, and he was under the watch of a potentially hostile Invader.
What if he said something rude or offensive? How would the Invaders react?
With their advance technology he would probably be disintegrated into nothing before he had time to blink.
"I just have a few questions for you," Sevai began.
The Invader was smiling. He had sharp looking teeth and sharp looking mandibles in the corners of his mouth.
Sevai was clothed in a shiny silver uniform with a black belt full of small round button looking things. He was also wearing something that sort of resembled a lab-coat except it was a vibrant metallic blue rather than a colourless white.
"Y-Yeah," Laes responded, glancing down at his cup.
It was probably rude to stare like that. He needed to be more careful.
"How are you feeling right now?"
"I'm fine," Laes responded without giving himself any time to actually think about it.
"There's no pain?"
"Umm..." He didn't think so? "No. I'm fine."
He wanted to ask if he could go home now, but he was too anxious to actually ask that because that might be a rude question... he really was overthinking too much, but that was probably better than not thinking at all.
"Do you have any concerns about the treatment?"
"Well... um... the paralysis..." Laes responded clenching his cup tighter in an effort to stop his hands from shaking.
He took a small sip since he hadn't drank any yet. It tasted sweet. He was pretty sure he liked whatever this drink was.
His mind was scrambling to figure out what the Invaders considered acceptable behaviour. He didn't know very much about them, so he was acting like he would have in front of Tallest Miyuki or someone else of high importance...
"It's temporary and it shouldn't leave any lasting side effects," Sevai assured him. "We did it for your safety and ours. If you had moved during the procedure you could have seriously injured yourself. We are also unaware of our subject's temperaments when they are first brought to us, and our policies state that no one is to take unnecessary risks."
"You were reading my thoughts right?" He questioned, sitting up a little straighter.
"It's standard procedure," Sevai explained. He was writing on the tablet thing. "It's how we determine our subject's temperament. Depending on what we find we may have to extend the paralysis. Your thoughts lacked hostility, or any kind of threatening position, so you were released from the toxin early."
Should he bring up the Irkens?
It might be a touchy subject...
He should still say something. He had to.
"So... the Irkens... why are you reprogramming them?"
There. Now it was too late to stop himself from asking that question.
Sevai blinked. He looked from Laes to his tablet before placing it and his writing utensil down on the table. He clasped his hands together and rested them on the table as he looked into Laes' eyes.
"A long time ago my people came to this part of the universe looking to improve our lives. We decided that the best way to advance ourselves was to experiment on lesser races: ones that had yet to learn space-travel and operated on a more primitive level of understanding.
Back then there was a lot of talk about how much technology we should use on ourselves. There were debates and a lot of political drama going on at that time.
It was decided that our first experiment would be to attach computers to living creatures. We believed this technology would make them smarter, stronger, and more capable as we were hoping to be.
If the experiment was successful then we would have begun attaching technology to our own bodies."
He moved his hand over his torso and his opposite arm and some silvery technology appeared. He removed the device on his arm and held it out for Laes to see.
"As you can see, after the Irken experiment failed we decided technology should not become a permanent part of ourselves."
He gestured to his head-piece and the various other interesting looking devices on his person.
"Everything I'm wearing can be removed."
He placed the device back on his arm and motioned again.
All of his technology disappeared.
It looked like he wasn't wearing any technology at all.
"We thought computers would make the Irkens more predictable and obedient. We made sure the devices controlling them couldn't be removed. Removing them would cause instant death. They were bound to us with a very strong loyalty program... but mistakes happen," he paused for a brief moment, then continued.
"We decided to build a 'super computer' to monitor and adjust the Irkens' behaviour. A few of the Irkens were programmed incorrectly, and they rebelled along side the ones who hadn't yet been experimented on."
He shook his head, and his smile faded.
"There were only a small number of us conducting experiments on the Irkens' at the time. They easily overpowered us with the weapons we had given them."
He lowered his gaze.
"We lost control. Everyone involved in that project was killed. Our people decided to give themselves some time to mourn the tragedy before returning to correct our mistake, but by then we had other problems to deal with, and the Irken project was pushed aside.
It was only recently we started hearing reports about the mess they were making in this galaxy. Because it was our ancestors' fault the Irkens are currently such a big problem, it's only fair that we be the ones to correct it."
"But they're people too..." Laes protested weakly. His voice was barely above a whisper. Where did it go? Cripes. He tried to raise his voice a little."They've got their own thoughts and feelings... and even though a lot of those thoughts and feelings aren't very good, destroying everything about them seems wrong to me..."
He let go of his cup and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat.
"You are only saying that because of this device, correct?" Sevai questioned as he reached into one of his pockets.
He pulled out the hologram device and placed it on the table.
"This is a piece of our technology. I'm not sure how you obtained it, but since this belongs to us, I will be taking it back."
"It's not yours," Laes insisted. He gripped his arm and chewed his lower lip. Then he spoke: "Bann gave it to me. He told me he got it from the Bludonians."
"Ah... Bludon... then it is no surprise you have it."
"You can't take it," Laes remarked, squaring his shoulders.
He might not be able to fight very well, but he was definitely going to argue about this. Even if Sevai decided to zap him dead (hopefully it would be fast) he couldn't give Bann up without a fight... even if the fight was very brief and completely one-sided.
"This isn't an Irken," Sevai stated, picking up the hologram piece. "This is an incomplete copy of an Irken's memories and personality. It has even begun to degrade."
"I don't care what you call him..." Laes said, and he wrapped his arms around himself. "To me he's Bann. He will always be Bann."
Sevai let out a sigh as he sat back in his chair. "I can't say I understand the sentimentality of other beings very well..." he admitted. "But since this piece of technology is our property, despite someone giving it to you..." He paused. "I will trade you something for it."
"I'm not interested in..." Laes tried to speak, but Sevai cut him off.
"Please do not be so quick to decide your answer," Sevai scolded him. "I haven't yet shown you what I'm offering."
It was difficult to read Sevai's expression since his antennae didn't seem to move as much as Irkens' did. He didn't seem to frown either, although Laes had noticed the Invader's eyes narrow occasionally.
That was probably frowning.
Sevai could definitely smile though. His mandibles didn't seem to interfere very much with that.
"I need to keep this device," Sevai spoke, and he held it up again. "But the data inside of it is unnecessary. I don't require it, so you may keep it. Of course it will need to be transferred to something else; something you can take with you. That is what I am offering."
"I can take Bann with me?" Laes questioned, trying not to sound or look too hopeful.
He could leave too? The Invaders weren't going to keep him here? He almost couldn't believe it. The Invaders seemed to be treating him almost like an equal which was much better than being treated as food.
"You may take the memory and personality files on this device," Sevai corrected him. He stuck it in a pocket in his uniform. "However, I will have to transfer all of the data first, so it will take a little time."
Laes took another sip from his cup. The sweet taste was kind of refreshing.
He finally felt like he could relax a little.
"You are acquainted with the Irkens' leader, correct?" Sevai asked.
Laes tensed, and he clenched the cup tighter in his hands.
"Yes..." he admitted in a small unsure voice.
Even if he was able to lie properly, the Invader had already seen his thoughts... or heard them? He wasn't too sure how that worked. In any case it was no use denying the strange association he had with the Tallest since he'd been thinking about it before.
"We have taken control of Irk and Devastis, and we have begun to restructure their control systems, however a large number of Irkens managed to escape."
"Yeah um... that's pretty much what he said too," Laes admitted.
He dropped his gaze to the table and began nervously biting his lip much too hard. He could taste blood.
Sevai offered a smile.
"We're not the bad guys here Laes... the Irkens are a product we created. They are our responsibility. All we are trying to do is correct our mistake in allowing them the freedom to destroy other peoples' civilizations."
"We aren't much different..." Laes spoke, wiping what he hoped wasn't blood from the edge of his mouth.
He needed to stop chewing his lip. His teeth were much too sharp for that.
"My people I mean... up until a little while ago we were making weapons for the Irkens to use. We were helping them."
"Yes, but we have already corrected that problem."
"By using Zim?"
"He believed himself to be one of us, so it didn't take much convincing to have him listen to our suggestions."
They really had used Zim... all of the destruction the infamous Irken caused was to cripple and weaken the Irken Empire... the conflict between Irk and Vort was started by the Invaders.
Killing Tallest Miyuki must have been a part of their plan since she had been a strong and successful leader... but hold on... didn't Darden say he'd seen one of the soldiers who was currently on Vort get eaten? Did that mean the former Tallest could still be alive too?
"... were you guys controlling the worms?" he questioned even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.
"Saying we were "controlling" the worms might be too optimistic," Sevai admitted. "The worms were useful in helping us corner the Irkens, but they are still unpredictable. Even with our technology, manipulating a large mass of them for an extended length of time proved too unreliable. This is why we decided to cull them."
"So the civilizations the worms destroyed... that wasn't on purpose?"
"A part of the herd broke away from our control," Sevai explained. "The destruction that happened as a result was very unfortunate, and yes, unintentional."
"Oh..."
"No matter how much a society advances, mistakes will still happen," Sevai concluded. "I apologize that your civilization was wrecked because of our lack of foresight in dealing with the Irkens, and I assure you we are currently taking the necessary steps to correct the issue."
"I..." Laes hesitated as he brought his cup closer. He held it under his chin. His hands weren't shaking as badly, but his heart was beating pretty fast.
"I still don't understand... my people and the Irkens... your people shaped the way we are now, and both Irkens and Vortians have made some pretty awful decisions. Why are you saying you'll help us when you're planning to hunt down and alter the Irkens?"
Were they going to change the Vortians somehow too? Maybe everyone was going to end up brainwashed.
"Laes," Sevai began. He was still smiling at least. That was probably a good sign.
"Irkens are considered violent and brutish creatures, even outside of my peoples' standards. Their programming has made them that way. Vortians on the other-hand aren't nearly as violent. Instead your people decided to focus on gathering knowledge and working towards creating a better place in the universe for yourselves. This exactly what my people did long ago..."
Laes met his gaze for a moment before hurriedly glancing back down at his cup. He took a quick sip. It was already beginning to cool.
"Your people are not like the Irkens. You haven't been made into machines. Instead you were given our DNA. In this way Vortians are more like our children while Irkens are a race based off of a failed experiment. They are failures, defectives, that is all."
"Your children...?" Laes questioned.
Did he hear Sevai right? Vortians were like children to the Invaders?
"There are mixed views about it, but this is how I personally feel," Sevai answered him honestly.
"This idea came after reviewing your peoples' technological achievements. Vortians have a lot to offer this part of the universe, and I wish to observe what choices your people will make in the future..."
He paused for a moment before continuing.
"Of course I likely will not be given that opportunity, but whether I am here to observe your kind or not, I am hopeful Vortians will continue to advance themselves."
"I guess we better stop getting conquered then," Laes managed to joke.
"It would help with your advancement, yes," Sevai responded with the same smile. "Now Laes... I was hoping you could help me with finding the Tallest..."
"Sorry, but I still don't agree with what you're doing to the Irkens," Laes said, feeling a little more bold now. "Yes they're violent and opinionated and moody... they focus almost completely on their military and they don't have any problems with conquering other races but... how can you say what they were doing was different than what you did to them... or what you're doing to them now?"
"I have to admit I was not expecting a Vortian to have this level of sympathy and understanding for a race that enslaved them..."
"Well... I can't speak for everyone..." Laes admitted somewhat ruefully.
He knew there were Vortians who'd been hurt much worse by the invasion than he was.
Lard Nar was one of them.
"But I really don't see a point in hurting the Irkens for hurting us... violence seems to create more violence... at least from what I've seen... and this whole thing started when your people decided to use the Irkens however you wanted to in the past... how is doing that now going to solve anything? You hurt them, so they hurt you. Now you've come here to hurt them again... I... I know I'm not as advanced as your people are, but I'm not seeing how this isn't history repeating its self..."
"Because we have come with more people and more ships..." Sevai responded. His eyes narrowed and his smile vanished. "We are not planning to lose to the Irkens."
The Invader sighed as he rested a hand on his cheek.
"Irkens have more in common with destructive robots than an actual race of people. They were made to serve us. All we are doing is helping them fulfill the purpose they were created for."
"But they never asked for that purpose, did they?" Laes questioned. "Irkens might have had a lot of other goals and stuff they were planning to do before your people came. They could have had a whole other purpose maybe... but you changed that."
"Well... I suppose you are entitled to your opinion, even if it is the wrong one..." Sevai decided.
"If a race of people more advanced than yours came and started capturing your people and turning them into robots, how would you feel about it?" Laes pressed. He was definitely frowning right now... he probably shouldn't be.
For some reason he was really was feeling more bold today. He stared down at his drink. There was no truth serum or anything in it was there?
"I suppose I would not be very thrilled about the prospect..." Sevai answered him.
"Would you accept servitude just because the race that altered yours was stronger and had better technology?"
"... I suppose not..."
"Then maybe the Irken's wanting to be free isn't that weird, right?"
"But would you really want such a wildly destructive..."
There was a loud tapping sound coming from what looked like large metal doors on the other side of the room. Sevai tapped the invisible technology near one of his eyes.
"Yes, what is it?" he asked. His antennae lowered slightly. "Alright. Bring him in..."
One of the doors opened, and Darden walked in with two Invaders following close behind him.
"Darden?" Laes questioned, sitting up straighter in his chair and nearly knocking the cup in his hands off the table. "Why are you here? Don't you know it's dangerous to be here!?"
Darden's crimson coloured eyes narrowed at the Vortian.
"I'm well aware of my situation, but I chose this for myself, so I won't complain."
"Why?" that was the only thing he could think to ask.
"I was ordered to protect you," Darden responded without giving it much thought. His antennae flattened. "Of course you're fine. You've managed to survive worse situations..."
"You need to get out of here Darden," Laes insisted, and he stood up from the table and dropped his cup. "The Invaders don't like your kind... you'll be in trouble if..."
Then he noticed what looked like bands around the Irken's wrists instead of the gloves he usually wore.
"I can't leave," Darden responded as a matter of fact.
"But..." Laes turned to Sevai who met his gaze.
"I can request he be held for research purposes, but that will only buy us a little time," Sevai told him.
Wait... what? Sevai sounded like he was taking his side.
There were sides?
He sighed and dragged a hand down his face.
There were always sides...
"Ok... Darden... just wait ok? I'm going to try talking to whoever is in charge... maybe they'll let you come back with me."
"That's great... that's just what I wanted," Darden responded without sounding the least bit amused.
Laes pointed at him. "Are you using sarcasm?"
"Yes."
Darden usually didn't joke very much.
"You're actually using sarcasm?" Laes questioned in disbelief. "I didn't think you knew how."
Darden wasn't someone who usually joked around. This was also a pretty serious situation. The former soldier really could be reprogrammed, yet instead of being serious like he usually was he was just being sarcastic.
The Irken turned to one of the Invaders behind him.
"You've shown me the annoying one, now where's Lard Nar being kept?"
Lard Nar was here too? Laes picked up his cup and placed it back on the table. The liquid had spilled all over the floor though, but there was nothing he could do about that right now.
"This way," one of the Invaders spoke, gesturing towards the open door.
Darden stepped passed the two Invaders as he walked out into the hallway. They followed after him.
Laes was about to give chase, but Sevai cleared his throat which caught his attention. He froze in mid-step before slowly turning to face the Invader he almost completely disregarded.
"We're not yet finished here," Sevai stated, gesturing to the seat Laes had abandoned.
"Yeah... I get that, but can I maybe answer more questions once I make sure my friends are ok?" Laes asked pointing towards the door which had just become a wall on its own.
Sevai shook his head. "I'm sorry... but everything must be done in order. Also I doubt the Irken will be allowed visitors once he is properly detained."
He wrote a few things down on his tablet.
"But it is interesting that the Irken willingly chose to come here despite being aware of the risks. I would think this would be grounds for more research into the matter... it seems that Irken was genuinely concerned about both yours and the other's well-being... we have yet to come across an Irken who showed these kinds of emotions towards anyone outside of their social structure before."
"Gashloog rescued a customer, and he died from his injuries..." Laes thought to himself, but then when he saw Sevai staring at him he realized he must have said it out loud.
"Who is Gashloog?"
"He was an Irken food-service worker..." Laes answered.
He glanced at the chair he'd been sitting in before... but he really didn't feel like sitting right now. He wanted to see Lard Nar and Darden. They could both be in trouble, so sitting and having an idle conversation while drinking something sweet didn't seem right.
"The customer wasn't Irken," he added.
"Yes, but their concern would have been adding monies to their economy to help further their Tallest's goals," Sevai reasoned. "Rescuing a customer would seem like a nice gesture, but their motives were likely to expand their influence and earn monies for their military. Having a loyal customer base would have benefited them with this. Nothing more."
Laes couldn't exactly disagree with that hypothesis... but wasn't every business like that?
"Ok..." Laes sighed, and he rubbed his temples.
He was starting to feel a bit tired. Arguing was tiring, and since when had he decided to defend the Irkens to the death anyway? He wanted to live too.
"Can I please go see Darden and Lard Nar now?"
Sevai hadn't moved from his chair. He looked down at his tablet before meeting Laes' impatient gaze.
"I need to ask you a few more questions."
"Alright... go ahead and ask," Laes spoke, and he managed a half smile.
It's not like he had a choice anyway...
Who would have thought the Invaders would be so bureaucratic...?
"How was your overall health prior to treatment?" Sevai asked, positioning his writing utensil to begin writing again.
"Um... ok I guess?" Laes responded.
"Has there ever been any abnormalities with your health?"
"I faint at the sight of blood or when I get really frightened, but that's not really a health thing," Laes replied, rubbing the back of his head as he glanced at the wall feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Our machines did pick up some unusual brain activity during the procedure..." Sevai admitted, and he looked up from his tablet. His eyes narrowed slightly. "Has this always been a problem?"
"As far as I can remember... yes..." Laes said, and he looked down at the floor.
This floor looked very clean. It might even be cleaner than the prison's was.
"I um... can't really remember a time I didn't faint like that..."
"Would you like this corrected?" Sevai asked.
Laes stiffen at the question.
If he'd been asked that before the invasion he probably would have said yes quite enthusiastically... but his strange fainting ability had saved him from some rather traumatic experiences lately... he didn't think he'd be totally sane anymore if he hadn't fainted all those times he did.
"No... I'm good," he answered.
He'd already given it enough thought.
Fainting was annoying and waking up in strange places, sometimes naked, was more than just a little unnerving... but at least he didn't have to remember getting his hand chopped off or seeing how badly Lard Nar's injuries had really been when the former captain had tried to kill himself... not to mention all of the times he was zapped and then fainted before he could get beaten too...
Apparently the Irkens didn't see any reason to beat unconscious prisoners usually. In that way he was very lucky.
"Are you sure?" Sevai questioned. He sounded curious. "We could fix this abnormality if you wish."
"I'm really ok with it..." Laes told him, raising his hands in defence. "Honest."
"Well alright..." Sevai spoke as his attention returned to the tablet. "What stage of life are you in?"
"Ah... sorry?" What did the Invader mean by 'stage of life?'
"New-born, young child, child, young adult, adult, elder, or grand elder?"
Laes blinked, unable to find any words for a moment. Then he pointed at himself.
"How old do you think I am?"
"Based on Chakri's observations of your people I would say... young adult."
"Well, ok, sure."
"Is that would you would classify yourself as?"
"I don't know," Laes admitted rubbing his cheek. "Vortians don't have that many stages."
"What are the stages your people recognize?"
"Vortling, school-age, working-age, the age where you've worked for a long time so you're able to teach other people how to do it, and retired age," he counted out on his fingers.
"Retired age is really close to dead... no one wants to be in the retired age, so a lot of the time my people will work until they die, unless they get an injury or illness that makes them retire. That doesn't happen very often anymore though since we've cured a lot of our illnesses and can use technology to compensate for injuries."
Sevai began writing quickly. He was smiling again too.
"This is very interesting," he said in a light-hearted tone. "So you recognize five stages of life... and it seems to be based around what you're able to do."
"Yeah," Laes agreed. "There's no way for us to earn monies outside of working so... most of us just never stop."
"Was poverty or a lack of housing ever a problem on your planet?"
"Not really. There were too many work programs that had built in living facilities so..."
"And if someone chose not to enter these work programs?"
"Then there were study programs... things were pretty expensive on Vort, so if you didn't choose to either work or study then there wasn't much else... everyone was expected to work somewhere, some how, at least until retirement age, but then you try telling an older Vortian to stop working... I know my Granna didn't take that too well... gave the poor guy a concussion."
Even when he thought he might lose all of his limbs he still thought about ways he could continue working. Maybe his peoples' obsession with work was a bit too much.. then again, everyone wanted to be in the best professions. Very few Vortians desired to be a janitor or food-service worker, but those jobs were needed too.
"I'm guessing the work-program method was fairly successful?" Sevai questioned.
"Work is pretty much our whole identity so... yeah... even before Vortlings reach teaching age they know they will be expected to work in some kind of profession. No one wants to be jobless. Being asked to give up working is seen as a horrible punishment actually... even our prisons had work programs."
Weren't Irkens kind of like that too...? He looked over his shoulder at the closed silver doors. Maybe that's why Vortians and Irkens used to get along so well.
"I see... well... I suppose I should continue with these questions," Sevai brought the thing he'd been writing on closer and jotted down something. "Have you ever taken excess enhancers or inhibitors?"
"Back when I was a student I relied on energy drinks and energy pills a lot," Laes admitted.
How many questions were there, and what were they even for?
"I know some people took cognitive enhancers, but businesses often screen for those, so it wasn't recommended," he continued since Sevai was still looking at him expectantly.
Wait... did that pain suppressant medication he'd been taking recently count? It probably did.
"Do you currently use?"
"No, well, I just took some medicine for pain a little while ago because of that thing in my spine," Laes admitted, rubbing the back of his head and managing a partial smile.
As he got older he started realizing how important sleep was. It was too important to mess it up with energy substances.
"Are there any hereditary medical problems in your family?" Sevai continued.
"Um..." he had to think about that one for a moment.
"No?" he responded after a while. On second thought he decided to admit: "I actually don't know."
His parents never mentioned there being any issues in their family, and he never thought to ask about it.
"How many units are in your family?"
"It's just me and my parents."
"There's no significant other?"
"Ah... if you mean life partner, then no. I never..." his face suddenly felt warm.
These questions were pretty personal weren't they? Why was he still answering them? He needed to go find Lard Nar and Darden.
"Sorry but... can I go now?" he asked.
Sevai stood up with his tablet and writing utensil in his hand.
"You can't leave this room until you speak to Kachori," he informed him. "However, I will insist on an 'emergency meeting' with my colleagues, and with any luck I might be able to have them brought to this room."
"Kachori?" Laes repeated in confusion. "Who's that?"
"She is Chakri's mother and also the leader of this expedition."
"Ah..." well, he did tell Darden he would try to speak with the Invader's leader. He just wasn't expecting it to actually happen.
"Now I'm afraid I have to give you some bad news..." Sevai began, bringing up a hologram.
It looked like organs... they were organs... Vortian organs... was the Invader planning to eat them...? Or maybe he already had!?
The Invader motioned to a few of them. "These organs here are experiencing cell degeneration at an alarming rate... have you been regularly ingesting anything peculiar within the last 6 months?"
His organs were still there... that was good. But degeneration? What would cause...? Oh.
"Yes..." it was then his fears about the grey mush was realized... whatever the Irkens had been feeding them was slowly causing their organs to fail...
"We're going to have to do some procedures to correct that..."
"Those can wait though right...?"
"Yes, but I would not recommend avoiding medical attention for very long."
"I think everyone might have this kind of organ damage to be honest," Laes admitted.
"Oh..." Sevai's eyes narrowed, and he rubbed his chin. "I will request we look into that."
More Notes: The Invaders are using stages common among a few different races, and they kind of blended them altogether hoping to find a few common ones with Vortians.
Also this would be a great opportunity to ask what the prison food was actually made out of.. At this point though Laes might be too afraid to ask.
Thanks: I appreciate all of the reviews. Thanks for letting me know you're still reading despite my sporadic unexplained and often lengthy absences.