Responses: animefairi: Yup! That's exactly what would happen if the Invaders sent Veena. Total peace talk annihilation.
Invader Johnny: Vort's population had been decreasing for a while, but their conflict with the Irkens didn't help at all.
Notes: The Tallest is finally going to make an appearance after a lengthy absence.
Confronting the Irkens
Laes swallowed the lump in his throat and squeezed his trembling hands into fists.
This really shouldn't be that big of deal... right?
He'd spoken to the Tallest a few times before, and the majority of those interactions had gone pretty well.. of course he'd also gotten impaled once... and right now the Tallest was cornered and probably desperate and... oh Galre... why did Sevai think sending him and Lard Nar here was a good idea?
He glanced at the other Vortian who looked calm despite their potentially life threatening situation.
The Tallest hated Lard Nar... none of this was a good idea. He should beg Sevai to transport them out of here right now... only he was pretty sure the technology he and Lard Nar were wearing didn't work like that.
Then he heard boot-steps... lots and lots of boot-steps... and suddenly he felt like a stupid fool who'd thrown a rock into the mouth of a Xethlith cave...
He peered into the darkness around him and stepped closer to Lard Nar who remained unmoving.
Laes grabbed the other Vortian's arm for support in a desperate bid to keep himself from cowering.
Holding his breath, he watched as the Irkens emerged from the shadows.
There were a hundred of them... or maybe more?
It was too dark to tell the exact numbers, plus his mind was totally panicked.
There were a lot of them though, and now he was being grabbed and dragged.
It was kind of a relief when he was thrown down on his face. At least he wasn't being dragged anymore...
He spat the dirt out of his mouth before he could swallow any.
Next time he'd really try to remember to close his mouth before he landed... assuming there would be a next time.
This might be the last time.
"You really have some nerve, you know that?" The Tallest stated as he approached the two fallen Vortians.
Laes moved to his hands and knees as he looked up at Irk's leader.
The Tallest's armour was battered and broken in some places, but his shoulder plates had a few long sharp white teeth sticking out from them. Irk's leader seemed to have attached a couple of these teeth to his arm guards as well.
That was kind of strange... Irkens didn't usually like wearing organic things like teeth or skin or anything... usually they considered that kind of thing gross.
Oh shoot... his mind was trying to wander off again. He needed to stay focused.
"We uh... want to talk?" Laes spoke, and he managed an uneasy smile.
The Tallest's crimson eyes narrowed at him.
"I know both of you came from an Invader's vessel," he informed them as his antennae flattened. "If you've come here to suggest I surrender, I will kill you both right now."
"No no, of course not, no," Laes hurriedly spoke as he raised his hands up defensively.
He glanced at Lard Nar who was kneeling not too far away.
So far the Irkens didn't seem to be too focused on the former leader of the Resisty which was definitely a good thing.
There were a few guards standing close by, and Laes had a sinking feeling that if either of them tried to stand they would instantly be knocked down again.
This whole scenario felt a lot like right before they crashed on that jungle planet... They'd been forced to kneel like this... a Resisty guy whose name he was forgetting even died from getting beaten to death.
The Tallest had been the one to beat that guy to death too... cripes. What an awful time to remember that...
"Not surrendering," Laes couldn't make himself look at the Tallest's face right now, so his eyes remained focused on the Irken leader's chest plate. "Just like... um... well..."
How should he put it...?
"We're here to negotiate a deal with you," Lard Nar thankfully interrupted his incoherent mumblings.
"Yes," Laes agreed, nodding. "The Invaders have this thing where they can't outright kill their enemies if their enemies have a common ally," he explained hopefully not as quickly and rambling as he'd been doing so far.
He was pretty sure he was still talking much too fast, and he was too focused on what he needed to say to remember to remind himself to speak up, except for right now.
"That's why they had Zim destroy Irk's alliance with Vort..." Laes fidgeted as he tried to focus. "So if our planets were allied again, they'd be forced to reassess their plans... they might stop attacking your people..."
"That sounds like a made up solution," the Tallest remarked. "Or a temporary ceasefire at best."
"It would buy you some time," Lard Nar spoke.
Laes looked over and was a bit surprised to see the other Vortian wasn't shying away from making eye-contact with Irk's leader.
"No one is expecting it to do more than that, which is why it couldn't hurt for you to have a few non-Irken supporters."
The Tallest narrowed an eye at the former leader of the Resisty. Did Irk's leader only recognize Lard Nar just now?
"And why are you here exactly?"
"I'm here because I disagree with the Invaders forcibly reprogramming Irkens," Lard Nar responded without any hesitation.
The Tallest stared at him for a moment.
"I thought your little rebel group was all about destroying our Empire."
Lard Nar's eyes remained locked with the Tallest's.
"The Resisty was formed to resist the Irken Machine and to keep ourselves from becoming your slaves... I never wished for Irk's destruction and neither did Shl..." the ex-rebel leader stopped himself before he could say Shloonktapooxis' name.
"The other captain," he corrected himself.
"Are you talking about the guy I beat to death for almost making that ship explode?"
"No..." Lard Nar visibly stiffened. "That was a different person..."
Tallest Red pointed an accusingly at the ex-Resisty leader.
"He was willing to sacrifice you and everyone else to kill Purple," The Tallest reminded him as he lowered his arm back down to his side. "And you want me to believe that your crazy rebel group thing isn't crazy?"
Lard Nar squared his shoulders as he rose to his feet. He wasn't going to back down from this argument.
Laes glanced around at the guards who were watching them closely, but no one moved to strike the former leader of the Resisty.
Slowly, Laes risked rising to his feet while dusting off his hands.
"The people who'd been displaced by your hostile takeovers needed a place to go... that was how the Resisty was originally formed... then when our numbers started growing, we thought that we might be able to help our friends and families who were still being enslaved... but different people had different ideas on how we should go about doing that...
I knew killing you two wouldn't do very much because I knew more about Irken society than anyone else, but there were those who thought killing both of you would end the war."
Lard Nar continued to glare up at the Tallest.
"So it's not really crazy that someone who was cornered and desperate decided to risk everything to kill your comrade."
Laes covered his face with his hand. Did Lard Nar really have to say "kill" so many times?
"Was your group connected to the rebels on Foodcourtia?" The Tallest questioned the former leader of the Resisty in a very direct manner.
Lard Nar hesitated for a moment. He was probably trying to determine how much information he should give the Tallest, if any at all.
"A few of our members left to join the rebel movement there some time ago... We didn't have much contact with them afterwards."
Red smirked. It was kind of a creepy smirk.
"Those guys really ticked me off..." he remarked."Are you telling me you knew about their stupid movement this whole time?"
The Tallest was definitely getting more angry judging by his deep scowl and clenched hands. His voice sounded threatening too... almost like he was growling but not quite.
"Yes I did..." Lard Nar responded, and he didn't even flinch when the Tallest's metal limb shot out and nearly stabbed him in the forehead.
A small stream of blood trickled down his face, but he remained standing. He hadn't moved at all.
"You have a reason to hate me, and I'm not saying your reason is wrong... but I want you to know that not everyone in the Resisty wants to see your race wiped out. With the circumstances being what they are, I'm sure there are some who would even be willing to help you."
The Tallest let out a laugh and shook his head as he recalled his metal appendage back into his PAK.
"The Resisty would? Really? Uh huh." His eyes narrowed. "I'm not buying it."
"Ok um, regardless of that, you should really ally yourself with Vort again," Laes interjected, and he placed himself between the Tallest and Lard Nar before another argument could start.
His heart was pounding in his chest.
Lard Nar had almost died just now. The Tallest nearly killed the other Vortian right there.
Irk's leader didn't have to move to kill them... his PAK could just decapitate them or stab them to death...
"It will give you some time at least. Time is good," Laes tried, forcing a smile and nodding.
"Even if I consider thinking about it, I would need to make the agreement with Vort's officials," the Tallest said as a matter of fact, and he seemed to relax a bit.
This was good... at least he didn't look ready to attack anyone anymore.
"And since we conquered it, no one currently has that kind of authority," Irk's leader concluded with a shrug.
"Well... actually... about that..." Laes began, rubbing the back of his head as he glanced at a nearby group of guards. "I um..." his gaze dropped to the ground. "I sort of became the official representative of Vort..."
He looked up at Irk's leader who stared at him wordlessly for a moment.
The Tallest pointed at him.
"You're the leader of Vort?" He asked in disbelief.
"Err...uh no... just um, representing...?" Laes responded, sounding just as confident as he felt, which was not at all. He rubbed one of his arms nervously. "It happened kind recently... like very recently..."
"Huh," the Tallest crossed his arms. "You never struck me as the type who could lead anyone honestly."
"Yeah, I know," Laes agreed, offering a small unsure smile. "It was a 'right place right time' kind of thing..."
"And I thought Zim was unnaturally lucky..." the Tallest muttered to himself. "At least his luck has an explanation... seriously, how did you survive this long?"
"Making an agreement with Laes is the same as making and agreement with Vort," Lard Nar interjected probably to keep the Tallest on topic. "You won't get another opportunity like this one."
"So you're asking me for an alliance out of pity then?" the Tallest questioned, sounding skeptical. He sighed and rubbed his temples. "How did you get the impression I would agree to something ridiculous like that?"
"I didn't," Lard Nar responded.
"I was hoping for a miracle actually..." Laes admitted, rubbing the back of his head in a nervous manner.
"It's not going to happen," the Irkens' leader declared.
"Oh..." Laes deflated a little.
This was the reaction he'd been expecting.
Actually, he'd expected a much more negative reaction, but then why did he feel so disappointed...?
The Tallest raised an invisible brow. "Is that really all you came here to do?"
Sevai told them unless the Tallest showed an interest in negotiating, the Invaders would move in and capture or kill every Irken here. He needed to tell Irk's leader this, even if it didn't do anything to change the Irkens' mind.
"Can we camp here?" Laes asked.
Then he realized he hadn't offered an explanation, so he quickly explained: "since you didn't agree, as soon as Lard Nar and I get transported off of this moon... planet, the Invaders will move in to capture you guys..."
He squared his shoulders and made himself keep eye-contact with the Tallest.
"So do you mind if we stay here for a while just so they won't do that?"
"Yes I mind," the Tallest instantly responded. "I mind a lot."
Why did the Irkens have to be so stubborn?
Laes wanted to bash his head against a wall, but that wouldn't be helpful... and it would hurt a lot, so he wasn't going to do that.
"Can we camp here anyway?" he tried, despite being grabbed by the solider who was standing behind him. He'd been so focused on this conversation he hadn't even heard the soldier approach...
"No," the Tallest responded.
Despite his abrupt answers, there didn't seem to be any malice in the Tallest's words or anger in his expression.
That's probably why Laes felt he could risk joking a little. "Please?"
"Nope. In fact, I'm banishing you both from this rock," The Tallest stated.
Wait... was he joking too? Or was he being serious? It was kind of hard to tell.
"Can we stay for just one day...?"
The Tallest's eyes narrowed at him.
"Half a day...?" he tried, offering a small uneasy smile.
"Soldiers, use our cannon thingy to launch these two into space," The Tallest said, gesturing to both Laes and Lard Nar.
Laes balked. Maybe he shouldn't have joked around so much... The soldiers were moving in on them.
Were they really going to die from imploding? Or freezing..? Burning? Suffocation? Why as he still thinking about it?
"On second thought..." The soldiers paused when their Tallest began speaking again. "Use one of our ships to contact the Invaders." He waved them away. "Tell them to take these Vortians back."
One of the soldiers approached Laes from behind, snagged him by the arm, and began hauling him away.
Well, this meeting could have gone a lot better, but it also could have gone so much worse.
He looked up at the soldier. The Irken was frowning and his antennae were lowered... yet he didn't look like how most Irkens did when they were angry or annoyed.
What was that expression? Hurt? Disappointment? Concern? One of those maybe?
Instead of taking the time to properly think over what he should do next, Laes squirmed out of the Irken's grasp and ran like his life depended on it.
At this point it probably did... he was actually purposefully and blatantly defying the Tallest.
He saw a decent sized crack in the wall ahead and slipped right in.
This slowed him down plenty as it got tighter the further he went, but then it widened a little. He stopped to catch his breath and look back at the way he'd come in.
None of the guards or soldiers would be able to follow him. Their armour was too bulky.
An average sized Irken could though, easily.
At least now the Invaders wouldn't be able to kill or reprogram all the Irkens while he was in here... though now that he had time to think about it, he really wasn't prepared to spend a large amount of time inside a crack in the wall... also he'd just abandoned Lard Nar.
He was beginning to understand why Vortians weren't usually spontaneous. This was a terrible idea!
What off Vort was he doing!?
"Laes..."
When he heard the Tallest's voice he flinched. It sounded so close.
"Stop being a smeet about this and get out of there or I really will launch you out of our canon," the Tallest's voice echoed loudly in the close space.
Laes swallowed the lump in his throat and sucked in a shaky breath. Bad things were probably going to happen now, but this was the choice he made...
"I-I need you to agree to meet with Sevai," he insisted.
"Who is that, and why the helk would I want to meet with them?" The Tallest questioned.
Irk's leader sounded like he was reaching the limit of his patience.
"He's an Invader, but he's open to the idea of not having all of your people destroyed or reprogrammed," Laes explained. "He said if you didn't agree with any of my ideas he'd be willing to meet with you and maybe discuss a few of your concerns maybe...?"
There was a long and very drawn-out pause.
All Laes could hear was his quick shallow breaths.
"You realize we still have your friend in our custody," the Tallest reminded him.
Oh Galre... Laes bit his lower lip. Then he cleared his throat.
"Yes, I'm aware of that," he responded, hoping he didn't sound too concerned.
Even though both he and Lard Nar agreed that coming here was pretty much accepting death, he still didn't want the other Vortian to die.
His resolve was already crumbling. He needed to remind himself that Lard Nar could always use the device Sevai gave them to call the Invaders for assistance if he got into trouble.
"You also realize I hate him right?" The Tallest continued.
"Yeah," Laes knew where this was going...
How long would he be able to listen to Lard Nar's anguished screams before he surrendered?
The device would only alert Sevai to his location. It wouldn't actually teleport him anywhere... but they would come right? The Invaders wouldn't just leave them... would they...?
Apparently having an actual teleporter would be too suspicious which is why they were given the alert beacons instead.
"Then you better get out here or I'm going to-"
"Ok, whatever you're going to say is probably something really awful," Laes exhaled quickly.
He didn't want to hear the Tallest's threats because he knew Irk's leader would follow through with them.
"But we're just trying to help you... and both of us came here expecting to be killed or maimed horribly so... if you meet our expectations we aren't going to be surprised by it, just well... disappointed...?"
"I'm in no hurry to go anywhere," Lard Nar commented.
There was no hint of fear in his voice at all.. he sounded calm actually. How could he be calm?
The beacon was foreign technology. Neither of them knew exactly how long it would take for the Invaders to react to it... or even if they would react to it.
Why did he have to keep thinking that...?
"If torturing me will make you feel better about your current situation, go ahead."
If there was enough room to comfortably move around inside the crack, Laes would have smacked himself in the face.
Obviously Lard Nar was still suicidal... why else would the leader of the Resisty taunt Irk's leader like that?
The Tallest didn't respond right away which was a bit worrying.
Irk's leader was probably thinking about all of the ways he was going to brutally maim them...
"Fine. Whatever," Irk's leader surprisingly relented. "Do what you want."
Laes exhaled. He'd accidentally forgotten to breathe.
The Tallest was being surprisingly lenient with them for some reason... maybe Irk's leader finally understood they were trying to help him.
"You'll have to come out of there eventually or you'll starve to death anyway," The Tallest concluded.
It sounded like he was going to let the whole situation go for now. That was a relief.
"I'll dehydrate first actually," Laes informed him in a joking manner. "So um... can you please meet with Sevai?"
"You know I'm not going to care when you die right?" The Tallest Told him. "I almost killed you not that long ago. You should remember that."
Laes gingerly felt the spot where the Tallest's metal limb had torn through his body. It was completely healed now... but it had been a horrible injury that would have crippled him for life if the Invaders hadn't decided to fix it.
Another lump formed in his throat. He was actually a little angry about that... why did it matter if these blorch-headed people were reprogrammed?
The Invaders would probably make them nicer... but the Irkens would be slaves, and he knew what that felt like now.
"Why don't you want to talk to Sevai?" he asked.
"Because there's no point in doing that," the Tallest stated as a matter of fact. "The Invaders are intent on reprogramming and killing us. Talking about it won't change anything."
"Even if you think it won't change anything, isn't it still worth giving it a try if there's a chance it might?" Laes questioned.
Being surrounded by rock and knowing the Tallest couldn't reach him was definitely making him bolder.
"Trying to talk to them is better than not trying. You guys can't stay here forever. You're cornered... and maybe just this once something can actually be resolved through diplomacy, but you won't know unless you try talking to them."
"Or maybe the Invaders sent you, someone I've talked to on a few occasions recently, hoping it will lower my guard so they can bust in here and capture us before we can make our last stand," the Tallest easily countered. "Did you ever think the Invaders might have sent you here for that reason, huh?"
"Well... no.." Laes admitted.
"Of course you didn't," the Tallest sighed. "You might think all I do is make selfish demands and order my followers to blow stuff up, but I know how wars and smaller conflicts work. There can be just as many mind-games and blatant manipulation tactics as there is fighting and death, and personally I'd rather die in a fiery explosion than be reprogrammed to do Ganre knows what.
Help secure their means of repopulation maybe? Just think about that for a minute..."
The Tallest wasn't clueless or stupid... he didn't have the same air of royalty or dignity that Tallest Miyuki had... but he was actually a more thoughtful leader than anyone on Vort had given him credit for.
"Well... maybe..." Laes was trying to think of a compromise. "What if you could meet with Sevai with all of your soldiers...?"
"With their level of technology, I doubt it would make a difference whether I brought one or a thousand soldiers."
"What if he had no technology on him at all...?"
"His spaceship thing would still be hovering around somewhere I'm sure."
"So no ships either?" Laes tried.
"You couldn't guarantee that."
"But if I could get Sevai to agree to all of your demands, would you at least consider meeting with him? You can make a list. Really."
The Tallest was quiet for a moment. "I don't know why an Invader would agree to that... but fine. If he agrees I guess I could maybe meet with him briefly," he finally relented.
Laes breathed a sigh of relief. It felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He wasn't going to have to die uselessly in this crack after all.
"I'll talk to Sevai and tell you if he agrees ok? If he doesn't... um... I'll still let you know..."
"Ok, but you have to get out of there first, otherwise you won't be telling anyone anything."
"Yes, I'll uh, be there in a second..." Laes said as he attempted to move back the way he'd come in.
At first this was working, but then suddenly it wasn't... he'd just come this way. Why couldn't he fit...?
He squirmed a bit but that didn't help.
Had he gained weight...? Maybe he shouldn't have eaten all that panna...
"Uh oh..." he mumbled to himself.
This wasn't good.
"Are you coming or what?" The Tallest questioned him impatiently.
"Is everything ok Laes?" Lard Nar asked, sounding concerned.
At least his former cellmate was ok. Lard Nar had been quiet for a while, and he'd been starting to wonder if the other Vortian was tied up or gagged or something.
Laes was trying to focus on keeping himself calm by breathing and trying to make himself magically shrink so he didn't respond right away.
"Laes?" Lard Nar called. "Did something happen?"
"I... I think I might be stuck probably...?" Laes admitted ruefully.
No matter how much he struggled he couldn't move anywhere.
"You're stuck?" The Tallest repeated.
Laes braced himself for all of the mocking and ridicule he was about to receive.
"Well these cracks aren't exactly stable," the Tallest told him. "Some of them disappear and others just kind of appear. I never really thought about it much, but I guess you're in one that's currently squeezing back together."
Why did the Tallest have to explain that to him? Just because he's a Vortian doesn't mean he wanted to know exactly how he was going to end up getting crushed to death!
He'd been trying really hard not to panic, but now he was totally panicking!
Then he heard the Tallest and probably every Irken in the vicinity laughing at him.
"Seriously, who decided you should be the leader huh?" the Tallest asked between his laughter. "Should I call Vort and tell them their leader is stuck in a hole? Hahaaaha."
Irkens thought death, or even the possibility of death, was funny... they would probably leave him in here to die for their amusement.
The walls felt like they were pressing in from all around him. It was getting harder to breathe. Every little movement he made only reminded him of how stuck he was.
Why did he have to pick such an embarrassing and painful way to die...? He should have just accepted being shot into space when he had the chance.
"So are you going to get yourself out of there, or are you waiting for me to do something?" The Tallest asked after the laughter died down.
"The mind is willing, but the body is completely immobile right now..." Laes remarked with a bit of forced humour in his tone.
Oh Vort... he was starting to feel sick.
"And what about you?" The Tallest asked. It sounded like he was speaking to someone else now. "Aren't you going to do anything?"
"Even if I could reach him, I doubt I'm strong enough to pull him out," Lard Nar admitted.
"Right..." The Tallest let out a sigh. "And neither of you thought to use those teleportation things you're wearing?"
There was a long pause. Laes had completely forgotten about those.
They weren't really teleportation devices though... they were homing beacons, or something like that.
Even so, if he could activate his then the Invaders would know where he was and they could probably teleport him out of here.
He reached for the device desperately, but his hands couldn't turn the right way and the device was already pinned between him and the wall. It was tucked securely under his shirt and out of is reach in this small cramped space.
"I-I can't reach it..." Laes stammered.
If Lard Nar activated his, the Invaders would locate him... but they might teleport the other Vortian away without trying to find him. They might even assume he'd been killed.
That's not how he wanted this day to end...
The Tallest sighed again.
"I can't believe this... You're a Vortian, and you really can't think your way out of a hole in the wall? Really?"
"It's really more of a crack than a hole..." Laes managed to joke a little.
Dying was really messing with his brain. None of this was funny. He shouldn't be joking... but if he didn't he'd probably spend his last moments bawling and he really didn't want to die that way.
Whenever he was scared like this he resorted to joking.
How did that even start...? Was it in grade school?
The stone was pressing into him. His ribs would probably start breaking soon, then he wouldn't be able to breathe.
He was going to choke to death because of a punctured lung for sure.
Oh Galre...
His vision started to blur. Well... at least he'd most likely be unconscious when he was finally crushed to death...
"You two, go get that stupid Vortian out of there."
Was the Tallest actually telling someone to help him...?
Laes didn't want to get his hopes up, but then he heard lasers firing and rocks breaking.
He shut his eyes when the dust picked up.