Chapter 12: Blue

Blue held his head high as he marched down the halls to his quarters, shorter Irken's getting out of his way by dodging down adjoining halls. Not surprising, given that his antennae were up straight, the tips shivering in fury while his uncovered hands were fists, his shoulders stiff as he marched. And those that didn't immediately run away, refused to look up at him which probably meant that the whole ship already knew … that Dimm had stolen command from him.

In fact, his advisors probably had already been informed that he was out in the halls, heading for his quarters.

Blue had decided that he wouldn't acknowledge anyone during his walk of shame. He was going to his rooms, throwing back a sugar drink, and then purposely setting his sleep mode timer to something ridiculous. His pak would probably state he was overusing his sleep mode, but he didn't care. Not one bit.

Irk. He wished Zim was here. Even if it had led to pak aches and angry whispers about keeping it together, he knew that Zim was on his side. Plus, Zim would have never allowed Dimm to take commandeer the ship. In fact, Blue didn't think he could look Zim in the eye when his co-tallest finally came back. This whole debacle was probably just proof that Zim was the better Tallest.

Blue was just soft, a backup Tallest.

Feeling his antennae struggle to stay straight and not droop in a depressive manner for everyone to see, Blue picked up the pace. He had already seen one or two tallers speak into their pak communicators, probably reporting that they had found their Tallest. Thankfully, no one had followed after him and he had lost his two medic stalkers in the elevator when he forced it into an emergency stop. Said medics would be forced to find another way to the sector he was in. It was petty but satisfying. If only he could do the same thing to everyone.

Turning the corner, trying not to look like he was ready to run down the hall and lock himself in his rooms like an upset smeet, Blue stalled when he saw a lone figure standing before a decorative red door: Zim's door. Their chambers were right next to each other after all.

Said figure turned his huge cyan eyes toward Blue, a smile automatically forming on his face. Gir quickly readjusted the inner-tube around his waist, a snorkel falling out of his mouth as he yelled, "Hi, Mary! Have you seen Master? I was going to ask if he wanted to swim in the cheese vaults."

Ah, Gir. His master had been gone for a few stellar days and now he finally notices. Regardless, seeing the malfunctioning SIR unit immediately calmed Blue's nerves. For one, it meant that Gir hadn't been damaged in the attack, and at least someone was on his side ... even if they were crazy. Blue was sure there was some irony to that but didn't want to think too deeply about it.

Coming forward, feeling grounded, Blue squatted so he was closer to the little SIR's height. He then patted the smiling bot on the head before adding, "Zim went on a trip for a while. Sorry, Gir."

The little bot immediately stopped smiling, a look of betrayal forming on his face while big tears started forming.

"But," quickly added Blue. "He asked me to keep an eye on you while he was gone. So, how about we go to my room instead? I'll give you a cupcake."

Gir seemed to dwell on it before excitedly saying, "Okay!"

He then squealed in true Gir fashion, ran around Blue's legs while crying out that he was almost nakee, and then preceded to run right towards the bedroom door. The door barely slid open in time so that a Gir sized indent wasn't left behind.

Besides himself, Blue gathered a forlorn grin and followed after. He didn't know how much time he had before an advisor or medic came to gawk at him, but he was sure that he had enough time to give Gir a cupcake. He, personally, was too upset to eat even though his pak was now sending warnings to him.

He ignored it, knowing the lower his energy, the longer he would be allowed to sleep.

So, fishing a cupcake from the snacks and sweet pile that was prepared in his quarters, Blue watched Gir swallow the thing whole before exhaustedly making his way to his sleeping berth. He sat there a moment, watching Gir precede to crawl onto the snack table and eat the rest of the cupcakes. The little bot seemed ready to devour the whole snack table when he stalled, his optics going wide. He dropped to the floor and then, surprisingly emotionally sensitive sometimes for a damaged SIR unit, and crawled up onto the bed next to him.

"Are you sads? Do you need a hug?" asked Gir, arms outstretched.

Generally, Blue would never give in to such a thing. Hugging really wasn't an Irken characteristic. Most Irkens were emotionally constipated on the best of days, but Blue kept finding himself to be defective in more and more ways. So why not have a hug?

Leaning over, he embraced the little bot. With how small the SIR was, it felt more like he was encasing the robot. He stayed that way regardless, his mind trying to grasp at all his failing thoughts.

"Its okay, Mary," said Gir from his cocooned hug. "I forget things all the time too."

Pulling away, Blue gave Gir a confused look, his antennae flat against his head. How did the SIR know what was wrong? The mech could have overheard one of the advisors he supposed, but he doubted it. The little bot didn't pay attention at the best of times.

A feeling of dread suddenly flared in Blue's spooch … this wasn't the first time he had started remembering things, was it?

Swallowing, hoping he was wrong, the Tallest carefully sat up and asked, "Do I forget things often?"

Those big cyan optics stared up at him, seemingly boring into his very soul before the small robot answered, "I don't know." He then squealed, ran around Blue three times, and then immediately collapsed into a sleeping ball on his bed. Eyes blinking, his nerves jumbled by the whole Gir experience, Blue petted the SIR for a moment. He really needed to speak with Zim and then punch him in the face. The order really wasn't relevant, but he had to know if he had been having memory lapses this whole time.

Just how long had he been defective and not noticed?

Why hadn't anyone noticed?

Looking down at Gir, the answer hit him like a sledgehammer. Despite how Zim sometimes acted, his co-Tallest was nostalgic. He had kept Gir after all and Blue was certain that old voot cruiser from Zim's invading days was somewhere on the Massive. Zim liked keeping broken things … including him apparently. Zim had been hiding all of Blue's deficiencies for stellar years, hadn't he?

Sighing, not knowing if he should be thankful or spiteful of Zim, Blue plugged his pak into the charger and pulled his legs up onto his bed while kicking off his boots. He then balled around the little SIR as if he was a stuffed toy and initiated sleep mode. He set it for the longest time possible. He just didn't want to deal with anything for a few stellar hours.

And with that thought, Blue fell into blackness, his mind barely in sleep mode when the door to his suite beeped. It beeped a few times until there was a murmur about clearance form the Control Brains. Then, almost bitterly, the door slid open with a sharp click.

Advisor Dimm, looking slightly flush as if he had rushed across the entire ship, entered. His stride was long and hurried like he was irritated and tired of this game. His tone was already floating across the room as he spoke, "Tallest Blue, I apologize if I upset you on the bridge, but you cannot just abandon your royal guard and advisors at such a critical time. There could still be humans on the ship and what if ..."

Dimm stalled, his robes swaying as he stood there looking at the empty main room. A second later, two winded medics stumbled in, both flustered about having to take the long route to the Tallest's rooms.

Immediately, Dimm turned his cold ire on the Head Medic, "I thought you said he was heading to his quarters."

Gasping, Lepo waved an arm, "He did."

An argument was likely about to break out, Lepo already in a rotten mood and Dimm resentful that he still hadn't found his Tallest, when a shhhhhh noise filled the room. Immediately, the two Irkens turned toward a darkened room: Tallest Blue's sleeping quarters. A pair of cyan optics was watching them and right next to the little SIR was the soft glow of a charging pak.

Yet, before either Irken could enter the room, Gir shooshed them again, his words strangely haunting, "Shhhhh, you don't want to wake Dibs. He's is trying to sleep."

For a moment, the two Irkens stood there, antennae raised in confusion until Kot asked dumbly, "What's a Dib?"

…

That word, "Dib," still echoed in Advisor Dimm's head when he finally left Tallest Blue's quarters. Head Healer Lepo had assured him that Tallest Blue was just in sleep mode and would come out of it when his body and pak were rested. It was best not to force his Tallest awake after such a stressful day.

So Dimm left his discussion with the Tallest for another time. Instead, he headed to the communication array, the connections far more stable now that repairs were occurring all over the ship.

The connection seemed to beep forever until the Control Brain Intermediary, Advisor Karl Rove, answered. Karl Rove raised one of his antennae in question before he sighed and groused tiredly, "Well that was fast, Advisor Dimm. I doubt you have found Tallest Zim in the time since I last spoke to you. So I take it that this has to do with Tallest Blue and his handling of the Control Brains' decree."

Dimm nodded, stating simply, "Yes, I allowed him to read the decree personally. I have taken temporary control over the Massive and we are heading back to Irk now. We should be there in a few stellar days. I'll have the pilots send an exact estimate and the route being taken."

The intermediate hummed, tapping his chin as if in thought before he continued, "I couldn't help but notice that you skipped over how Tallest Blue handled the decree? I know if it was Tallest Zim half of the ship's crew would have probably been spaced. So how did our dear Tallest Blue handle it?"

Sighing, figuring Karl Rove already had an informant on the ship, Dimm groused, "No one died over it though the Tallest was very upset. He disappeared for a few stellar minutes but has since returned to his chambers and is in sleep mode. The Head Medic is watching over him."

Smiling, probably because Dimm had passed his test, the purple-clad advisor continued, "Well, that is good news, I suppose. The Control Brains were worried that he would become irrational, but it seems that the Blocker wasn't used to press off violent tendencies."

Dimm twitched, his claws becoming fists. Blockers that were solely used to block violent tendencies were usually only used on extreme criminals. A type of prison inside their own pak if you will. Irk didn't see the point of having detention areas for their own kind when the Control Brains could just have such urges blocked if the pak wasn't completely erased.

Straightening, Dimm groused, "So the decree was a test? That might have been helpful to know, especially if you think Tallest Blue is a criminal."

Karl Rove snorted, waving a claw as if that was a joke, a picture of the fired Blocker popped up in the corner of the communication, "No, no, no. We never thought that. This Blocker is of fine quality, heavy-duty even, but it isn't one of the Control Brains. From the data we have received, this was hand made and received constant maintenance."

Dimm nodded in agreement before adding, "So you think its Tallest Zim's handy work?"

"Most likely," said Karl Rove, adding, "Which is why you will send some of the Massive's support ships to look for him. I don't care if you have to pull Invaders to help search. The Control Brains want answers, especially since that Blocker's likely too damaged to release any viable data."

"So," added Dimm, a sort of glee starting to form in his gut. "They are blaming Tallest Zim for this?"

Karl Rove's poker face released nothing, the advisor's tone stern as he added, "The Control Brains never assume. Tallest Zim has answers and they want them. Now find him."

The on-planet advisor then hung up, leaving Dimm to dwell on what was left unsaid about Tallest Zim. Beside himself, Dimm smiled with a slight sense of merriment.

Merriment...

Merriment …

Merriment …

Merriment was the word. No, perhaps contentment? Dib honestly didn't know what to label the feeling as, but it had snuck up on him in the last few weeks. The constant lessons, training, and preparations had pushed his sorrow about Earth backstage. He wasn't exactly happy, but he wasn't miserable either, especially when sparring. He greatly enjoyed sparring with Sizz-Lorr even though he rarely won against the older Irken.

Honestly, he had originally hated it. It reminded him of fighting Zim and losing Earth anyway. Plus, Sizz-Lorr's hits were like a truck. Dib might have been taller than him, but the fry-cook definitely outclassed him when it came to sheer mass. But unlike Zim, Sizz-Loor knew when to back off and hold his punches. He knew when to pat Dib on the back and tell him he was a good soldier even though he was floored and bleeding.

Honestly, he kind of looked up to Sizz-Lorr (excluding the height thing). He couldn't recall the last time anyone believed in him.

Had anyone ever believed in him?

Wiping some blood from his mouth as he stumbled back to his feet and into a fight stance, Dib recalled that one person had believed in him. Zim. Zim still believed in him. He honestly didn't know how to feel about it. Were they friends? Frenemies? Were Irkens even allowed to have friends?

"That's enough for today, smeet," said Sizz-Lorr as he dropped his own attack stance, coming forward and patting a panting Dib on the shoulder. "You're holding yourself more and more like an Irken every day now, and your pak usage is commendable. You still favor starting off on your right fist which leaves you a bit open, but that's just a habit you'll have to break in time."

Rolling his shoulder as it ached from an earlier attack, Dib straightened up and followed Sizz-Lorr off the training mat. "I'll keep an eye out for that. Thanks for the break. If I read another digipad on the service of the Tallest, I was going to find the nearest building and throw myself off it."

The bulky Irken huffed, grumbling, "And I'd bring you back from the dead just to beat your skinny back side. I've put a lot of work into you smeet."

Dib chuckled, his laugh dying in his throat as the door to the base suddenly slammed open, an irritated Tak entering the main room. She immediately stomped into the room and threw her goggles on the floor with a bark of rage. Then, still enraged, she wrestled out of her janitorial uniform and stomped violently on it, a puff of dust forming wherever she stomped.

"I can take no more of this! I don't deserve to be a service drone!" she hissed, "I am made for greater things than this! I am not a fool or dimwitted. I nearly conquered Earth all on my own. I will not remain on this filthy planet and be mocked anymore."

The two sweaty Irkens stared at her for a moment before Dib tried to joke, "Bad day at the office?"

Tak turned her head so fast Dib took a step back, the female forcing her ire onto the two Irkens in the base, "Don't mock me Dib or you will pay for it."

Dib put his hands up in surrender while Sizz-Lorr stepped forward, putting out a hand, "Don't take it out on the smeet, Tak. We all hate our assignments. That's why we are all here after all."

Tak glared for a moment before her antennae fell down, the irkenette hissing, "I just hate this planet, especially now that I'm trapped on it will Zim. Tell me, is Dib ready to infiltrate the Massive yet? All of this is for nothing if we can't get our informant stationed."

Folding his arms, his feet gaining a wide stance, Sizz-Lorr defended his student when he noticed the fall of Dib's antennae, "I thought you said to take our time. He is educated in the general information and his accent is barely notable, but if he's stuck there for a large length of time, I want him to be able to integrate seamlessly. I'm not risking him if I don't have to. He's not ready."

Tak glared at him, her voice coming out as a pained whisper, "You are not his imeel. Stop babying him."

Sizz-Lorr glared at that and was about to voice his opinion on the matter when Tak continued, "Besides, we might not have a lot of time left. Zim keeps being seen in public. Someone that tall just doesn't gallivant around planet Dirt without people noticing. And, sooner or later, they are going to send someone to look into it."

Sizz-Lorr and Dib both groaned before Sizz-Lorr groused, "We can't chain him to his work desk … he keeps escaping."

"Well, he needs to stop being seen then," grumbled the femme as she pulled at her too short-sleeves, her wrists showing. "Either way, we should start treating Dib like he is going to have to leave any day now. So please tell me you at least memorized your background."

"Of course," said Dib. "I was a pilot station on -"

"And a name?" she interrupted, everyone knowing he didn't want to give up his human name. "That needs to be programmed in before you leave, Dib. No more holding it off. Earth is gone. And please don't say its something daft like Deb. I'm sure that's a girl name for one, and -"

"Blue," said Dib, standing up straight, his words soft, "It's going to be Blue. Just like the Earth was a blue planet. My home planet might be gone, but I'm not. Even if I am the only one, I will remember it."

The two Irkens stared at him for a moment before Tak smiled, "Nice to meet you Blue. Now let's get to work."

XXX

Paw07: Not a terribly exciting chapter, but we got to see Gir and Sizz-Lorr. So I'm good with that. :p