For the Sake of Cooperation
The next thing he knew he was sitting on the ground, sore, shaken, but relatively ok.
He felt his arms and his head. There was definitely going to be some scratches and bruising, but nothing felt broken at least.
That was the last time he would willingly go inside a hole, crack, or small cave for quite a while though... after that experience, he was pretty sure he was frightened of small spaces.
"Now you can teleport, right?" The Tallest asked scowling down at him with his arms crossed.
"You just saved my life..." Laes remarked in surprise, running a hand down his face.
It felt good to breathe normally again.
He reached for his device, but it wasn't there.
Oh... so that's what those crunching sounds were.
Also there was some kind of blood probably. It felt like blood. He wasn't going to look.
Lard Nar was crouching beside him, and he was probably looking.
The ex-captain still had a homing beacon so they weren't stuck.
"Don't remind me," the Tallest grumbled. "You know, I used to think Vortians were smart... but I'm really starting to doubt that thanks to you." His antennae flicked forward.
Suddenly Laes felt a very strange sensation. It was kind of like weightlessness, then nothingness, there was dark and light both and he wondered if he might not be having a seizure.
Then he found himself on board the Invader's vessel with Lard Nar steadying him as he tried to stand. That was a very strange teleportation... it hadn't felt like that before...
"You appear to be injured," Sevai noted as he stepped towards them.
The Invader was still holding onto his cane, but his ability to walk seemed to be improving.
Laes covered his injury with his hands, in a very not subtle way, and forced a smile.
"I'm fine," he spoke. "It was just a small accident."
"How did this accident happen?"
"..." that was kind of an embarrassing question to answer... but if he kept quiet the Irkens would probably get blamed for it.
"I didn't realize the ground moves and I got myself stuck!" he blurted before he could overthink his words.
Sevai stared at him for a moment.
"I see..." his eyes narrowed. It sounded like he wasn't completely convinced.
"I was really stuck," Laes insisted. Then he pointed at his head. "You can look at my memories."
The Invader promptly shook his head. Then he explained: "our readings indicated there was some abnormal ground activity. What you just explained to me matches our data, so there is no reason for me to scan your thoughts at this time."
"Oh..."
So the Invaders knew about the shifting ground?
A warning would have been kind of nice then...
"And how did the injury on your forehead occur?" Sevai asked Lard Nar.
The former captain touched his forehead. The blood was already mostly dry.
"The Tallest and I were attempting to settle our past disagreements," he replied.
That was a very diplomatic way of putting it...
"I see... well, I'm pleased both of you returned in one piece," Sevai told them, and at that moment it really seemed like the Invader hadn't expected them to return which was a little unnerving. "Does this mean the Irkens are willing to cooperate?"
"Well... kind of..." Laes replied.
There were probably too many conditions... but the Tallest was very stubborn.
Hopefully Sevai would be a little more flexible...
"The Tallest has a few conditions."
"Can Laes please receive some medical treatment before we continue this discussion?" Lard Nar interjected.
Sevai looked Laes up and down before dipping his head in a shameful manner.
"My apologies. Of course medical aide will be provided."
"I'm fine," Laes attempted to protest, but he was already getting ushered away by some unseen force.
Had they been in a lab the whole time, or did he teleport again?
There was a different Invader standing nearby, wearing the shiny metallic looking clothing the Invaders seemed to like wearing. The long coat and the writing utensils in the Invader's hand suggested this person was another scientist who was here to oversee whatever was going to happen.
He was still feeling anxious enough to faint, so hopefully it wouldn't be anything too painful or frightening.
Whatever machine he just past through instantly healed all of his injuries. The Invader jotted a few things down before glancing over at him with a disinterested look on its face.
"It appears your injuries were indeed minor," the Invader informed him.
"Yeah... rocks..." Laes mumbled a half-hearted sort of explanation.
"Crushing injuries are difficult to repair, so please refrain from whatever frivolous activities that caused your injuries in the future."
"Ah... yeah..." Laes agreed.
Then when he blinked he found himself standing in front of Sevai again.
It only took a moment for him to realize the stark difference between him and the other Invader.
Sevai looked much thinner and paler than the other guy did. Also the bruises around Sevai's antennae were still very noticeable. His wings were out while all of the other Invaders kept their hidden... but that was because Sevai couldn't use any technology.
"Are you feeling better?" Sevai asked, sounding genuinely interested in the answer.
"I'm fine," Laes repeated. He knew he was openly staring at the Invader at this point, but he seemed unable to make himself stop. "But... Are you feeling ok?"
The Invader hesitated, and his eyes widened a little in surprise. "I..." he seemed to catch himself before he could answer because the next thing he said was, "you're changing the subject..."
Sevai's tired black eyes met his.
"Now please tell me the conditions the Tallest would like me to follow."
"Ok..." Laes agreed as he glanced at Lard Nar who gave him an encouraging nod.
"But you're not going to like them..."
Lard Nar was teleported back to the other ship first.
Laes was a bit concerned being alone on a space vessel full of Invaders, but he really wasn't in a position to argue about it.
Sevai explained the Invaders were going to begin repairing the damages caused by the horrible prison food they'd been eating...
His former cellmate hadn't spent a whole lot of time in prison, and even when Lard Nar was in prison he hardly ate anything.
Maybe they needed him for something else then... hopefully it wasn't for something experimental...
The Invaders had left him alone in this small, nearly empty room, for over an hour.
It was probably a closet... there was only a couple of interesting looking gadgets lying on top of a shelf he couldn't reach unless he stacked something up to reach it... and he wasn't feeling curious enough to do that right now.
Instead he opted to sit on the floor and wait patiently for Sevai to return.
The doors had disappeared shortly after the Invader left, and he couldn't hear anything on the outside at all.
Maybe he was being imprisoned for something again... did he do something offensive?
The doors suddenly appeared, and they glided open. Sevai stepped inside using his cane to help him walk although he didn't seem to be leaning on it very much anymore.
He stopped just short of stepping on Laes who'd been sitting much too close to the doors.
Laes scrambled to his feet, and he moved backwards to give himself more space.
"I apologize... speaking with my superiors took longer than I was anticipating..." Sevai told him with a small tired smile. "But it seems they are willing to have me speak personally with the Tallest... all of his conditions will be met..."
"So you're sending me back to tell him right now?" he asked, rubbing the back of his head as he lowered his gaze to the floor.
He was going to have to mentally prepare himself for all of the merciless teasing he was going to be subjected to... why did he have to get himself almost crushed to death the last time?
"If you believe you're feeling well enough to do so, then yes," Sevai responded.
There was something he'd been wondering about during Sevai's absence.
Why wasn't Kachori getting more involved? She was the leader of the expedition wasn't she...?
He might as well ask about it before speaking with the Tallest again.
"So... Sevai... why are you meeting with the counsel, the Tallest, and me, instead of Kachori doing that?"
If there was a better way to ask that question, he wished he would have done it that way instead...
"Kachori is a muama," Sevai said without offering any further explanation.
Laes tilted his head. He was too curious not to ask about it.
"What's a muama?"
Sevai sighed and closed his eyes as he leaned against the doorway.
"It's what we call a high ranking female with a child."
"Oh."
"After a female successfully has one child, she is normally able to have many more... this is why the counsel will not allow her to risk her personal safety by meeting with the Tallest."
"But she's leading an expedition far away from your home planet... and you're fighting with the Irkens," Laes noted.
Both of these things sounded awfully risky to him.
"Isn't that kind of... well... dangerous?"
"Kachori can be rather stubborn..." He placed a hand on the side of his face. "She gave them an ultimatum, and they accepted... however I cannot share with you anymore than this."
"The Tallest was wondering who you are," Laes admitted after suddenly remembering. "What should I tell him if he asks me again? Are you Kachori's representative or an ambassador of your planet maybe?"
"My people have named me the one who will speak with the Tallest..." Sevai's large black eyes opened, and he looked down at Laes as his arm dropped to his side. "I suppose calling me their representative would be an accurate enough description." He paused for a moment before asking, "are there any other concerns you wish to share with me before I send you to meet with the Tallest?"
"Um..." Laes glanced around the small room, trying to think of something else to say before returning his gaze to the Invader.
Of course he had a number of concerns, but he didn't want to voice them.
"No?"
"Then please follow me."
His body wasn't used to this much teleporting, or maybe it was the kind of teleporting the Invaders were using that was the problem.
Slowly he picked himself up off the ground and dusted off his hands.
He felt tired... heavy... but he could do this.
He had to at least give the Irkens a chance to speak with the Invaders. That was his goal right now.
Sucking in a breath, he peered into the darkness surrounding him.
Where was he exactly...? Had the Irkens moved further underground? If he'd been transported through a ton of rock just now then it was no wonder he was feeling a bit drained... but he also didn't know anything about Invader technology.
Hopefully the ground didn't move around down here... that'd be bad... oh no... he shouldn't have thought about it.
Stay calm... just keep breathing...
He took a step forward and bumped into a wall. Just how close were the walls right now...?
Maybe it was a good thing he couldn't see them...
His eyes would never be able to adjust to this kind of pitch blackness.
He felt the wall before taking a step back. There was another one...
Oh galre. He wasn't going to end up trapped again was he?
A heavy weight settled in his chest as he struggled to keep his breathing under control. He needed to fight the urge to curl up into a ball and cry.
This wasn't a good time or place to start panicking...
Then he heard voices coming from somewhere far away. He swallowed the lump in his throat and started moving along the wall.
The voices were fading... was he going the wrong direction or were the Irkens moving somewhere else?
"Hello?" he tried calling, but there was no answer.
It took a while before he heard talking again, but as soon as he did he hurried in the direction he thought it was coming from.
As he turned a corner, the voices stopped.
He could hear boot-steps, but they halted somewhere up ahead.
Laes carefully continued forward. "I um... I need to speak with the Tallest," he tried.
"It's the Vortian," someone commented.
"Why are you wandering around in the lower tunnels?" another guy asked.
"Well... uh... I can't see anything..." Laes admitted, and he heard someone approaching..
One of them grabbed his wrist and started hauling him down the dark... tunnel. It was probably another tunnel. Not a crack.
He could hear the other one following behind them.
After a few more twists and turns he saw a faint glow up ahead. He could see the Irken in front of him and the stone walls on either side of them widened into a large cavern.
There were lit torches hanging on the walls.
The Tallest was sitting on a stone platform on the opposite end of where he'd entered the cavern, watching his followers busy themselves with a variety of tasks Laes wasn't paying attention to.
The Tallest's eyes were glowing red in the soft light of the torches, and his red armour was reflecting the light of the flames. He was leaning forward against his hand which was pressed against the side of his face. He smirked when he noticed Laes approaching.
"That was fast," the Tallest commented.
It hadn't really seemed that fast... but he'd been locked in some kind of storage facility for a while, so maybe time just felt slower because he didn't have anything to do in there.
Come to think of it... the Tallest had locked him in a closet too.
The Invaders and the Irkens really were similar, even if neither side wanted to admit it.
"Sevai said he'll meet all of your conditions."
The Tallest frowned. "Wow... that's really suspicious."
"Isn't it a good thing?" Laes tried.
He really didn't want their conversation to turn into another argument.
"Under normal circumstances maybe, but not when your enemy doesn't have any power behind the negotiations," the Tallest insisted.
"I don't really understand..."
The Tallest let out a sigh as he lowered his hand and sat up straighter.
"Trying to explain war to you would be like you trying to explain your advanced scientific theories to me."
"Lard Nar would understand the fighting stuff better..." Laes admitted, rubbing the back of his head as he glanced at one of the soldiers passing by.
The armoured Irken's red eyes narrowed at him. He was probably uncomfortable having a non-Irken so close to his Tallest.
The Irkens were trapped inside an unstable planet-sized rock. They weren't exactly surrounded, but the Invader's technology made any hope of escaping or fighting back nearly impossible.
"It looks like he decided to skip out this time," the Tallest noted.
"Yeah... um... I think he went back to Vort... because I'm not fainting as much as I used to..." he managed a smile as his attention returned to Irk's leader. "I used to faint a lot, but it seems to be getting better lately..."
One of the Tallest's antennae twitched. "Is your fainting some kind of a medical thing or something?"
"Ah... I... probably...?" Laes responded in uncertainty. He gripped his former bad arm close to his body. "It wasn't really a big deal until the last few years of specific studies in my learning institution..." He sighed as he rubbed a hand down the side of his face. "So many missed deadlines..."
Although the stress of studying and eventually regular work paled in comparison to the stress of being imprisoned and constantly threatened with and experiencing bodily harm... he wouldn't mention that though.
The Tallest squinted an eye at him.
"And you never went to a medical facility for that?"
Why didn't he get it checked out when it started becoming a problem? He'd been too busy studying at first. Engineering classes weren't exactly easy... there had been a lot of tests to pass.
After that he started working right away...
"There was no time?" he offered.
"If you really wanted it fixed, you would have made time to do it."
"It would have taken an entire afternoon just to see someone..." Laes remarked, and he finally decided to try sitting next to the Tallest.
He heaved himself up onto the rock and then quickly turn around and sat up straight. He couldn't help feeling a bit proud that he hadn't done any awkward scrambling or flailing.
"And who knows how invasive and expensive the treatment would've been or how much work I would have missed."
That was the real problem... missing work. Vortians loved working more than most things, and he wasn't an exception to that.
"Your Invader friends would probably fix it for free," the Tallest commented.
"... Sevai offered..." Laes admitted. "But I'm already used to it..."
"You talk about that guy a lot," the Tallest stated, changing the topic. "Is he important or something?"
"He said calling him a representative was close enough.. so..."
The Tallest's antennae pressed flat against his head.
Was the Irkens' leader angry? He wasn't frowning or anything, but he could still be angry.
"What do you think about them?" the Tallest asked.
Laes was a bit surprised the Tallest was asking his opinion on something. He forgot to speak for a little while.
Then he remembered he should be thinking of an answer. Then he answered.
"Sevai is the most friendly and hospitable Invader I've met... most of them are kind of..."
How did Kachori put it?
"Emotionally distant," he remembered. "But Sevai is willing to listen, and he's answered a lot of my questions."
Of course the Invader has also dodged a few questions too, but that was probably pretty normal for them.
It was obvious the scientist was keeping a few secrets... He couldn't say he fully trusted Sevai, but so far the Invader seemed to be at least trying to help.
His eyes widened when he suddenly remembered what the counsel said. Sevai's family had experimented on and altered the Irkens into cyborgs in the first place...
Oh shoot. Why did he have to remember that right now? This was the worst possible time to remember.
"It looks like you want to say something else," the Tallest noted as he shifted a bit on the rock.
"It's uh... no. I don't really want to say anything..." Laes responded, shaking his head.
The Tallest narrowed an eye at him. "Really?"
"It's not super important... I think... so there's really no point in talking about it..."
If he mentioned Sevai's connection to the Invaders who tortured and maimed the Irkens in the past, he was going to get everyone killed probably. He just hoped the Tallest wouldn't push him to answer...
Suddenly he wasn't feeling very good. He grasped the side of his head and squeezed his eyes shut.
He could cause Sevai's death and the Irken's extinction if he wasn't careful. He really didn't need to be thinking those kinds of thoughts right now... or ever.
His eyes blinked open and he glanced up at the Tallest.
"Ok..." the Tallest gave him a strange look before turning away. "Do you know why Purple was on Foodcourtia? Did he say anything to you?"
Red and Purple looked almost identical. They were probably brothers. Twins. Although Irken society didn't seem to recognize family ties at all.
It had been a while since he'd spoken to the other Tallest. Laes tapped his chin in thought.
"I think he said he was hungry?"
Was that really all he could think of? The Purple Tallest was probably there for more than just that... the rebels on that planet had recently blown up an Irken restaurant, but the other Tallest hadn't mentioned it.
Still, it seemed like the most likely reason the other Tallest had gone there.
"Did he say anything else?" Red pressed.
At least the Tallest didn't seem very interested in the secret Laes was desperately trying to keep. He would have likely spilled every bit of information if he was pressured long enough.
He was trying to remember what else they talked about...
"He um... he told me not to give up on my freedom when I asked for a ride back to Vort..." he took another moment to wrack his brain for anything else. "He also said something like... uh... you two think alike... or something."
The Tallest's eyes narrowed. Then he sighed and he leaned against his hand again.
"We used to think the same way about almost everything... we were programmed to be that way... but then we started arguing a lot. The last time I talked to him we were arguing..."
"So... he did...?" Laes prompted, hoping the Tallest would understand without him actually saying the word "die."
If he said it he might anger Irk's leader, and he was trying very hard not to do that.
"Well he's sure dead now..." Red ground his teeth and he sat up straight. "The rebels on Foodcourtia seriously injured him... he was pretty much dead then... and now the Invaders..."
He slid off of the rock.
"He wasn't even supposed to be there. He was supposed to be on the Massive," Red stated, rubbing his temples. "I don't know what he was thinking... why did he go to Foodcourtia? Why did he leave himself open to an attack like that...? I told him to stay put and he said he would."
A heavy pit settled in Laes' stomach. He wasn't sure why Purple was on Foodcourtia, but he knew why there weren't any soldiers around when the Tallest was attacked.
"I'm sorry..." Laes apologized, lowering his gaze.
He was probably going to get impaled again after he said what he was thinking, but he was going to say it anyway because of guilt.
"He told the guards to leave so we could talk more privately... then the rebels attacked..."
Laes squeezed his eyes shut, expecting one of the Tallest's PAK-legs to tear through him.
When there was no pain, he cracked open an eye and risked glancing up at the Tallest's face.
"He was trained as an elite soldier," Red remarked.
The Tallest's expression was blank which was a little unnerving.
"He knew better than to lower his guard like that. Even though he wasn't good at virtual fighting, his actual combat skills weren't bad."
The Tallest began walking towards one of the torches. He grabbed the torch and held it up as he started moving towards one of the tunnels.
"Thanks for the information... you should go back now."
Laes slid down the rock and hurried after him. Then he remembered he didn't have a homing beacon or a teleporter... how was he supposed to get back?
As soon as he thought this, he was enveloped by a bright light.
He felt sick. He stumbled forward and collapsed to the floor.
It was the shiny silver floor of the Invader's ship...
"Oh..." that was Sevai's voice.
Laes tried to push himself up, but he couldn't make his arms work properly.
Then he heard the clacking of Sevai's cane and his soft sounding footsteps.
A shadow fell over him as the clacking sounds stopped.
"Are you alright?" Sevai asked.
"I'm fine," Laes insisted as he rolled onto his back.
He took a moment to breathe. Why did breathing suddenly hurt? What happened?
Sevai was leaning over him with a concerned look on his face.
"You seem to be experiencing a side effect from overuse of the hologram machine."
"Hologram machine...?" Laes repeated, squinting.
The light was too bright. His eyes were hurting.
He winced. His head was hurting too.
"Yes... the platform you were standing on was linked to the hologram machine. It scans your body and uses your brain waves to operate a digital likeness of yourself in a separate location."
"But... you said no technology..."
"When I meet with the Tallest myself, I will be meeting him in person," Sevai assured him. "I thought using a hologram would be easier since only a simple message needed to be delivered and the Irkens have gone underground."
"How is using a hologram easier?" Laes questioned.
No matter how far a hologram was, it would need to keep its connection with whatever was producing the hologram. Obviously the Invaders had good range with their hologram machine since they seemed to have no trouble producing a hologram off planet and through many layers of sediment and other rock.
"It's supposed to be a quicker process," Sevai explained as he crouched down and placed his cane on the floor near his feet. "And one that requires less risk... since Delarla insisted on Lard Nar returning to Vort, you had no one to help you if something went wrong."
He offered his hand to Laes.
With some difficulty Laes managed to reach for it. His grip was very weak, and his whole arm was trembling.
At least he could still feel his limbs. That was comforting.
"The settings for the machine are for my kind..." Sevai continued to explain as he helped Laes to his feet. "Our body mass is greater... I knew there would be some ill effects, but I did not expect you to take so long in wanting to return. Desire is connected to the will which you need in order to control the hologram. I hope I'm making sense... I wanted to explain this all to you before having you use the machine, but I was told it wasn't necessary."
Laes' legs wobbled. He could barely stand, and he was pretty sure if he stopped clinging to Sevai he'd fall again.
"Perhaps we should scan you to make sure everything is functioning normally... did I explain your organs have recovered? Earlier when you were injured, our biological restoration machine healed you."
"Everything is kind of spinning," Laes admitted as he closed his eyes, allowing the familiar blackness overtake him as all of the sounds of the machinery faded away.
Some Notes: It seems like Tallest Red is playing nice right now because he wanted information on Purple who he was forced to leave behind on Irk when the Invaders invaded it.
Just a warning, this fic is actually a lot longer than I intended it to be. I'm sorry. I can't make it stop.