The Updated Version
Why was everything so bright...?
Laes cringed. A light was shining in his face.
He fainted again hadn't he...? Of course he would faint again just to prove himself wrong about getting better at not fainting.
"You should have manually disconnected him from the hologram machine," a very stern female voice spoke.
"I apologize..." Sevai's voice was much more quiet and tentative. "I did not take the necessary..."
"You've been making a lot of mistakes lately," the female voice cut him off. "Are you sure you're capable of speaking with the Irkens?"
She sounded very familiar...
Laes groaned and covered his eyes as he rolled onto his side and curled closer to himself.
"Too much light..." he whimpered.
Then he felt a hand on his arm. It was a smaller hand... Vortian sized probably?
"Are you feeling better?" Lard Nar asked him. He recognized his former cellmate's voice instantly.
"Yeah," Laes responded as he uncurled himself and brought his hands away from his face.
He slowly opened his eyes, and he saw Lard Nar standing beside the cot or whatever he was currently laying on.
"It looks like I fainted again..." he managed a smile. At least it didn't feel like he'd smacked his head on anything too hard.
"Would you like something to drink?" Sevai offered.
The dark circles under his eyes hadn't faded at all...
"You are not allowed to speak," Delarla stated in a low tone. She was angry.
There was a heaviness in the air...
Laes propped himself up, and he looked at Delarla for a moment before switching his attention to Sevai.
"A drink would be good right now, thanks."
Sevai dipped his head in response before turning to leave.
It looked like he wasn't using his cane right now. Maybe Sevai was feeling better? He was moving more carefully, but he wasn't limping or staggering or anything.
Laes wanted to ask why Delarla was being so hard on Sevai... but he couldn't. For some reason when he thought about confronting the angry female Invader, his tongue felt heavy and his thoughts became fuzzy.
"He needs to be on Vort," Lard Nar insisted as he let go of Laes' arm and faced the female Invader. "He'll be able to recover much faster in a familiar environment."
"We will return him when we're finished dealing with the Irkens," she stated, crossing her arms as she glowered down at Lard Nar. "For now he must stay on board our ship."
"Then I'll also be staying."
Laes watched them silently. He should probably have an opinion about all of this, but he was still feeling a bit groggy from his recent fainting spell.
"I won't allow it. You were only brought here to assist in waking the other Vortian," Delarla remarked in a very blunt manner.
"His name is Laes, and I'm not going to leave him alone with you," Lard Nar told her, tightening his hands into fists.
The former leader of the Resisty had talked back to the Tallest after being tortured. It wasn't surprising he would choose to voice his concerns like this.
Delarla's mouth pincer things opened and closed as she continued glaring at Lard Nar.
"If you do anything to hinder us, I will turn you both into experimental fodder."
That didn't sound pleasant... Laes wrapped his arms around himself as he started to shiver a little.
Was it cold in here? No... this was a fear response.
Sevai cleared his throat as he entered the room, holding a tray of cups filled with what Laes assumed was some kind of tea.
He walked in between Lard Nar and Delarla while reaching for one of the cups. He gave one to Laes who accepted it with a (hopefully) polite nod.
"I know you don't want me to speak Delarla..." Sevai began as he took another full cup and offered it to Lard Nar. "But I ask that you please allow me to handle the communication between us and the Vortian representatives."
Representatives? Laes glanced at Lard Nar. Had the former leader of the Resisty become a representative too?
That was great! Maybe he could get out of being one then.
Delarla and Sevai locked eyes for a moment. Then Sevai dipped his head and offered the last cup to her.
She eyed it with disdain before turning away from him.
"You are on your last warning... if anything else goes wrong on your watch, you know what will happen."
"Yes..." Sevai answered, keeping his head lowered. "I understand..."
She strode out of the room much to Laes' relief. He breathed a sigh as he clutched the cup in his hands tightly.
"She seems a little... tense?" he spoke, glancing over at Sevai who hadn't moved at all.
"We all are..." Sevai admitted, lifting his gaze. He took the last cup on the tray and sipped it.
"You don't look very tense."
Sevai held his cup out as he brought the tray down.
"This is my fifth cup today... and I will likely drink another before meeting with the Tallest."
His attention turned to Lard Nar.
"I apologize for involving you in our personal affairs... however... I'm afraid I must ask that you return to Vort for now..."
Lard Nar's hardened expression softened.
"I understand your peoples' need for security, but Laes is a very good friend of mine..."
"You don't need to worry..." Laes tried to console his former cellmate. "I faint all the time. This was just another one of those times."
Lard Nar let out a small sigh. "I know you do... but it still worries me when it happens..."
"Yes, but I think we both know that the real problem is Sevai's tea addiction," Laes joked as he eyed the Invader.
"There are no addictive properties in this tea," Sevai responded, glancing into his cup.
"That's your fifth cup Sevai."
"I'm not dependent on my consumption of it."
"When is the last time you went a day without drinking any?" Laes asked with a cheeky smile.
Teasing, joking around, this was normal for him. This is how he usually coped with stress... unless he was cowering.
"..." the Invader became quiet for a few moments. Then he responded, "I suppose it has been a while... but there are no negative side effects. All it does is relax the body, but not enough to cause any kind of impairment. There is nothing to be concerned about."
Laes took another sip. It was sweeter than before, probably because there was no medicine in it this time.
Also... it sounded like Sevai was taking his playful teasing seriously...
Why did he keep trying to joke with the Invader when it really seemed like Invaders didn't joke at all?
He should really say something to straighten out this misunderstanding.
His thoughts were still a bit fuzzy though, and the tea really was relaxing. He kind of wanted to roll over and go back to sleep.
"You look tired," Lard Nar noted as he studied the Invader. "Is everything ok?"
"My fatigue has nothing to do with my tea consumption," Sevai quickly explained.
He wasn't drinking it anymore. He kept looking into his cup then looking away as though he was feeling troubled.
"Would you feel more comfortable if I refrained from drinking it...?" the Invader questioned.
"I was joking," Laes remarked. "I'm not bothered by how much tea you drink. Honest."
He watched as Sevai breathed a sigh and offered a smile.
"That's relieving to hear..." Sevai admitted in a soft tone. "I don't always need to consume a lot of tea... but if I had to refrain... the process of meeting with the Irkens would become much more difficult for me..."
"We're guests here..." Lard Nar reminded him.
Sevai's reaction was a bit confusing... They weren't in charge of anything, so they really shouldn't be able to dictate what an Invader can or cannot do.
"Yes... which is why I need to accommodate you both," Sevai reasoned before taking a small sip from his cup. "Our technology and our culture can be overwhelming, and even frightening for most people... of course your kind has much more intelligence than we were anticipating, and you both have preexisting knowledge of my kind... still, I do no wish to overwhelm or frighten you."
"Yeah um... the way you uh... raise your offspring is a bit..." Laes began, but then he decided he really didn't want to have any of those images in his mind, so he stopped.
Sevai sighed. "We have no choice... we've tried many other methods, but our offspring always die unless they are able to grow inside a living host..."
"You can't grow them inside yourselves...?" Laes questioned.
It was something he'd been thinking about for a while now. There were dozens of species that carried their own young inside their bodies. Vortians were one of them.
"It is possible... however... the process requires as little medical intervention as possible. As the hosts have a very high mortality rate, it wouldn't help our population growth to do it this way... the number of adults is required to be larger than the number of our young so that our society doesn't collapse and the offspring are properly taught... besides this, we often have a mutual exchange with races who are willing to sacrifice a few of their people in order to receive something from us. This has pushed our advancement further since we can only offer what others don't already have."
"Did... did your people ever try it...? Growing them inside themselves?"
Why was he even asking this question...?
"Yes. A long time ago. It took us a long time to recover... even now our numbers are not what they once were..." Sevai admitted softly.
"How many of you are left?" Lard Nar asked.
Sevai winced. He stared down into his cup.
"My apologies... I cannot say..."
"Vort's population was on the decline too, even before the Irkens invaded," Laes admitted.
He took another sip of his drink.
That wasn't their biology's fault though... Vortians were very capable of having children, but many of them chose to focus on their studies and then on their careers instead.
"Yes... and because of our meddling, your people are much worse off than before," Sevai concluded, and his eyes narrowed a little.
"Sevai."
Delarla was standing in the doorway.
Sevai cringed and slowly turned towards her.
"Yes Delarla?" He managed a small smile.
"Stop wasting our time with your useless discussions. You need to have both Vortians where they need to be. Now."
"Of course..." he dipped his head in acknowledgement. "However, please remember we are working together with the Vortians... not subjugating them..." he sucked in a breath. "As such, I require a little more time to speak with them so that I may explain things to them properly."
"They may not be our food anymore, but they are also not our equals."
"I am aware of this..."
"Then stop wasting our time speaking with them and have them follow our protocols or I will dismiss you and take over communications myself."
Sevai bit his lower lip and kept his head bowed until she left.
He held his cup of tea closer to his body since his hands were shaking. He took a few slow deep breaths before lifting his head and regarding the two quiet Vortians.
"She is under the most stress... please excuse her..." He finished the rest of his tea, and then he started to leave the room.
"I think I have something that will put both of your minds at ease... I will return shortly."
Laes scootched over when Lard Nar moved to climb onto the cot.
His former cellmate placed his cup of tea down on the floor since he needed both of his hands to do this.
The cup was still full. He hardly had any.
Then he sat on the edge of the mattress, facing the door.
"So how are things going on Vort?" Laes asked, and Lard Nar turned his head to meet his gaze.
"Everything is going very well..." he admitted. "The Invaders kept their promise to help us restore the planet. The prison is gone and many of our old buildings have been rebuilt. Almost everyone has received treatment for their organ degeneration... apparently a large group of our children were located on another planet and are being transported back to Vort."
"Wow... all of that sounds really good."
Lard Nar nodded in agreement.
He was tense though. Was he thinking about something he didn't want to say?
"Is something wrong?" Laes questioned, tilting his head..
"They put up buildings in seconds... 50 story buildings... towers... they looked exactly the same as they did before..."
"They've read our minds, so it's not that surprising."
"Laes... if they wanted to they could reverse everything... if they don't get their way... if we stop cooperating..." he let out a sigh and rubbed the side of his face. "I've tried contacting the Resisty, but none of the communication systems are long ranged... we can only communicate with others on our planet."
Laes' eyes widened with realization. The Invaders could tell them anything they wanted about what was going on in the galaxy, and the Vortians wouldn't know any different.
"We don't know anything about Bludon, Meekrob, or Plookesia... not to mention the planets Vort was allied with..."
Lard Nar was trembling now.
Laes placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. The shock of seeing Vort destroyed in that virtual reality world the Irkens made must still plaguing the ex-rebel's mind.
"It's going to be ok," Laes reassured him, patting him on the shoulder. "I'm sure there's already a number of Vortians getting the long range communications to work behind the Invaders' backs."
Lard Nar smiled. "You're probably right about that."
They stopped talking when they heard footsteps approaching. Both of them turned to the open door, and Sevai entered with a familiar Irken following behind him.
"Darden?" Laes questioned, and for a moment he felt hope that Darden hadn't actually died.
The Invaders were mistaken. How else could Darden be here?
Maybe they used the reintegrater gun on the Irken's PAK?
Laes moved to the edge of the cot and carefully lowered himself to the floor. Then he let go of the mattress.
His legs didn't buckle, they also didn't feel wobbly or anything so he was probably fine.
The Irken soldier stepped past Sevai and stood in front of Laes. Darden was wearing a shiny grey uniform that had a tinge of blue in it, though his black gloves and boots looked the same.
"You're close," the Irken soldier replied, offering him a smile. "This body belongs to Darden, but my programming isn't his."
Laes blinked. The Irken looked and sounded just like Darden. If it wasn't him, then there was only one other person it could be...
"Bann?"
"My name is Bandeven, but you can call me "Ban" if you like," the Irken soldier spoke.
"A lot of his data was missing, so I used your memories to fill in some of the gaps," Sevai explained.
The Invader wasn't carrying the tray or his cup of tea anymore. He must have put those away.
"His programming was also fragmented, so I replaced it with a more updated version."
"You reprogrammed him...?" Laes questioned, glancing up at Sevai.
The Invader nodded.
"Please try to understand... since you wanted him to leave with you I had no other choice..."
Laes' expression fell. His heart sank, and it felt like a rock had just settled in his stomach.
There was no Irken programming left inside Ban. The Bann he knew was gone.
"I'm sorry," Sevai apologized as he lowered his gaze to the floor. "But I am unable to place your feelings above the concerns of my people..."
Laes gave a quick nod; then he dipped his head to hide the tears threatening to overflow.
"I did everything I could do," Sevai continued. "There was no other solution..."
The Bann who used to laugh and joke with him in prison, the one who taught him how to survive on the jungle planet and quickly gave up and insisted he stay inside an Irken base instead... the Bann who died trying to save him only to come back as a strange digital manifestation of himself to offer encouragement and to save him from the Tallest...
Bann was gone. Erased. Reprogrammed into something else...
Lard Nar jumped down from the cot and stood beside him to offer his support.
"Please stop trying to explain why you did it..." Lard Nar told the Invader. "Nothing you tell him right now is going to make him feel any better..."
"I'm sorry..." Sevai apologized again.
"I-I'm fine," Laes stammered. He was trembling. He balled his hands into fists to keep them from shaking so badly.
"Why did you use Darden's body...?" he asked in a small voice.
"I thought you would prefer a familiar host rather than an unknown one..." Sevai explained to him in a matter of fact manner. "I apologize for being incorrect in my assumption..."
"Should I go?" Bandeven questioned, and Laes lifted his eyes to see the Irken soldier motioning towards the door.
"You can pass through doors?" Laes asked, completely and accidentally changing the subject.
"I have Invader programming, so doors aren't a problem," Ban responded.
"You can use whatever doors you like if you have Bandeven at your side," Sevai explained. "I thought this might make you feel more at ease..."
Laes had to start mourning Bann properly... even though the digital copy of Bann kept trying to tell him this, he'd been avoiding it. Even now he wanted to avoid it.
His mind kept thinking there must be a part of Bann somewhere inside this reprogrammed Irken. It wasn't completely impossible right?
"Will your people be ok with an Irken walking around the ship?" Lard Nar questioned.
The former rebel was always thinking of the bigger picture and worrying about others. It really was amazing how selfless the ex-leader of the Resisty could be, especially after all of the torture he'd experienced.
"I ran several tests and I had this project approved by one of my superiors..." Sevai told him. "If we're planning to continue reprogramming all of the Irkens we've captured, then we will need to start the activation trial which is what Bandeven is currently operating under..."
"What about the other reactivated Irkens...?" Lard Nar asked. "The ones you sent to Vort."
"The information inside their PAKs had been erased with the exception of their fighting instinct and the drive to be victorious over their enemies. We simply provided them with a target."
There were probably worse things that could have happened to Darden's corpse... Sevai was likely just trying to help him move on from Darden's death in a really bizarre and creepy way...
"Thanks..." Laes told Sevai. "I mean... I know Darden would hate it... but I'm glad you didn't just vaporize him..."
"I'm glad he didn't vaporize him too," Ban quipped.
Laes glanced quickly at Ban.
The Irken was still smiling. He had a personality... and some of that personality might even be Bann's.
This was going to take a lot of getting used to...
"Just um... could you please not reanimate anymore corpses...?" Laes asked, rubbing his former bad arm nervously. "It's kind of weird."
"I will keep that in mind," Sevai responded.
Laes looked at Lard Nar's who nodded at him.
Then Lard Nar's attention returned to Sevai.
"It's time for me to return to Vort," the former rebel decided.
Sevai breathed a sigh and lowered his head.
"Thank you... I really appreciate your cooperation."
Author's Notes: Don't let the Vortian faint without telling him how to properly work the hologram machine... yeah sure, ok then. That's totally possible.
Management, am I right?