"We're ready to begin with Operation Resist. We can now move into phase one, and once the new recruits have completed training, we can prepare for phase two," Lard Nar declared ceremoniously, as if he were talking to a large crowd. He eagerly slammed his hands onto the table, grinning excitedly. "So Zim, this is where you come in. We need you to tell us where exactly on Irk the Control Brains are located, what their defenses are, their history. Basically, just- any intel you think will be useful."

Zim suddenly felt suffocated by the expectant stares being thrown his way. Piercing eyes all settled on him- it made him rather uncomfortable. He used to love being the center of attention- but not like this. He anxiously fidgeted with the hem of his uniform. "The Control Brains are everywhere- they're computer programs. They're made up of the downloaded minds of some of the greatest Irkens that ever lived. But if you destroy the "home base", so to speak, then they can't spread anywhere else."

"Describe this home base to us," Atra said.

"It's a place called the Control Center, I went there once for my sentence when I was banished to Foodcourtia. I don't know the exact coordinates, but I can lead you there."

Atra nodded, typing almost vigorously into her laptop. "We could probably track down the exact location with this new information. When did the Control Brains take power?"

"Zim is not sure exactly when, I was not alive then. But… some rumors say that the Control Brains have been here since the beginning of our people, and others suggest that the Control Brains took power about seven hundred years ago."

"The latter is probably more likely," Atra concluded. "What about the first Tallest? When did they take power?"

Zim frowned, narrowing his eyes. "Zim told you, Atra-drone, that he was not alive then! How should I know?"

He froze when he felt a small gloved hand sliding along the base of his PAK. "Your PAK, I imagine, has all of Irk's history downloaded into it. So, either your PAK is so damaged that you've lost that information… or, the more likely story… you're hiding something."

Zim jumped out of his seat, scurrying over to the other side of the table and leaning against it, chest heaving. "W-When did you get here?!"

The curls in Infera's hair-like tentacles bounced playfully as she laughed. "About five minutes ago. So Zim, care to share with the class? We're ever so curious."

Zim felt the inquiring eyes on him again and cursed under his breath, regaining his composure as he took a breath to steady himself. "First of all, never touch Zim again. Secondly, Zim is not hiding anything. I most likely don't have access to that information because… I was never an elite. Therefore I had no business knowing about why or how the Tallests were our leaders- they just were. The less we knew, the less we were able to question, I suppose."

"And why do you imagine that the elites were trusted with this information?" Atra asked.

"Because they're the Tallers- defectives typically aren't tall. Therefore if they were tall, their loyalty was considered to be unquestionable," Zim explained. "Zim… truly doesn't know who was Tallest at the time."

"It's okay," Lard Nar reassured him. "We need to focus on the present anyhow. So I want you to start from the moment you met the two current Tallests. Tell us everything you know, start to finish."

Zim met Lard Nar's eyes briefly, and through those tinted goggles, he saw a hint of something he couldn't quite define in his eyes. He then looked down at his lap, idly tracing patterns onto his black leggings.

"Very well. We met in the academy, around a hundred years ago…"

"I was young then, just barely out of smeethood, and I was studying to be a scientist."

"Zim, are you going to be there for Tallest Miyuki's entry ceremony?"

Zim waved him off. "Not now Skoodge, Zim is busy. I'm finishing up the biostructure for a destructive creature for my final project. The commander will be very impressed with Zim, I just know it! I'll be upgraded to soldier status in no time!" Zim looked up from his tablet, shooting a confused look at Skoodge. "What are you doing for yours?"

"Oh, uh… I'm working on a super weapon of sorts… Zim, are you sure you want to miss the ceremony? Everyone's gonna be there, even the commander."

"I have no interest. I'd rather plan for when I'm Tallest instead, thanks."

Skoodge gasped, magenta eyes widening. "For when you're Tallest?! Z-Zim, no offense but you're shorter than everyone in the academy… even me…"

Zim faltered, his cheeks flushing a bright violet. He dropped his tablet pen in his panic, blush worsening as he struggled to come up with an excuse. He knew his current height was abysmal for an Irken his age. "T-That's nonsense! I-I just haven't hit my growth spurt yet, that's all. Ugh, whatever. You can go to the ceremony if you wish, but Zim has other things to worry about."

Skoodge nodded shakily. "R-Right, well, if you change your mind, you know where to find me. See ya later Zim."

Entry ceremonies for the Tallest were optional, but funerals were mandatory.

Irkens didn't mourn for their Tallests, rather they saluted their fallen leader and paid their respects. They didn't weep or sob or comfort each other. It was a quiet, somber affair- perhaps there was even a hint of melancholy to it all.

Zim, oddly enough, found himself with a tight feeling in his chest throughout the proceedings. He couldn't define what the feeling was, but it didn't feel good. He kept trying to will it away but it only seemed to get worse every time. So in order to keep himself occupied, he leaned over and whispered to his classmate- who was, truth be told, his only friend. "Skoodge, who do you think will be Tallest next? Zim thinks it'll be one of those two from our class- uh, what were their names again?"

"Zim, stop talking!" Skoodge snapped in a hushed whisper. "I can't be seen communicating with you!"

"Eh? Why not?!"

"Because, you're the reason Tallest Miyuki is… is no more! They think you're a traitor!"

"I'm the reason?!" Zim laughed, loud and uncaring, as if the very idea were ridiculous. "Please! You act as if I meant for that creature to attack my Tallest."

"They think you did, Zim! They're treating you like a traitor, and if I'm seen associating with you, I'll be viewed as a traitor too!"

Traitor? Zim? Ludicrous. Zim was the last possible Irken who could ever be viewed as a traitor. He loved his Empire, he worshiped his Tallest, and he would die before he'd ever commit an act of betrayal against his home planet. Well, whatever. If Skoodge didn't want to associate with him anymore, then fine. It's not like he needed him anyway- Irkens needed no one, not even each other.

It was likely now that either Red or Purple were next in line. After Spork's untimely demise it was only a matter of time before one of them took power- and they knew it too. Still, that didn't throw Zim off- not one bit. Every Irken wanted to be in the Tallest's good graces- and when either Red or Purple took the throne, Zim wanted to be right by their side- maybe even second in command. A prelude to when he himself would eventually take control of Irk.

"You know Zim," Red commented idly, "when I become Tallest, you're not gonna be able to hang around me like this anymore."

Zim dismissively waved a hand, chuckling to himself. "Eh? Nonsense! That's silliness, really! Of course Zim will still be around."

"Hold on, when you become Tallest?" Purple inquired incredulously. "I think you mean, when I become Tallest."

Red jumped to his feet, suddenly alarmed. "Huh? No way, you haven't gotten taller than me, have you?"

Purple paused, clearly flustered by Red's accusation. "Well… no, but still! It's gonna happen soon, and I'll be crowned as Tallest! But don't worry, I'll still have you as my second in command~" he teased.

"Hey, I thought I was supposed to be the second in command!"

Two pairs of eyes, one set violet and the other crimson, whipped around to glare dangerously at him. "Shut up Zim," their voices snapped simultaneously.

Zim watched in reluctant silence as the two continued to bicker, and he found himself, for the first time, feeling somewhat out of place. Strange. Never had he felt this way on his own home planet, in front of his own comrades. But in that moment, he realized that he had never felt more alone, and he suddenly wished he was back in the academy classrooms chattering away with Skoodge about nothing.

"…Zim? Zim! Hey, snap out of it!"

Zim blinked, the present world coming back into view as reality crashed into him again. That's right. He wasn't on Irk anymore. He wasn't on Earth anymore. He was… here, out in the middle of space, with this ragtag, no-good group of soldiers who didn't even have an ounce of meaning to their names.

And he was one of them. By Irk, he was one of them.

"That's very good Zim," Atra noted, smiling brightly. "We now have a more solid understanding of the two current Tallests, thanks to you."

Lard Nar marched over to where Zim was sitting, smirking proudly. He placed a hand on his shoulder and jabbed his index finger into the Irken's chest. "When we capture them, Zim, we want you to do the interrogation."

"M-Me? You want… Zim to… torture the Tallests?"

"It would not be torture," Atra corrected. "More like… a means to an end. But no, that is not the primary objective. We are not asking you to hurt them, rather we are asking you to obtain information through… whatever means are necessary."

"…Isn't that the same as torture?"

Atra sighed, clearly growing frustrated, as if she genuinely couldn't understand his hangup. "Zim, I understand that they were once your leaders-"

"It's not about that."

"Then what is it about?"

"Really Zim, it shouldn't be a problem for you," Meosori commented idly from across the room. "An Irken torturing some poor lad really isn't that unheard of."

Zim opened his mouth to argue, but Infera cut him off before he could fight back. She slung an arm around Meosori's neck, pulling him into an awkward side hug. "Anyway, what this big lug here is trying to say Zim, is that we're not asking you to hurt them intentionally."

"We know full well that we're asking too much already," Vythani continued. "But we believe that you are the only one among us that the Tallest will speak to, as another Irken. We are asking not out of choice, but out of necessity."

Zim looked up to meet all their curious eyes- and found that feeling of suffocation returning. How could he even consider agreeing to something like this? How could he possibly let himself do this?

"I-I… Zim can't…" He abruptly stood up. "I need… time."

Before anyone could stop him, he was gone, dashing out of the room like his life depended on it.

"I don't understand," Atra began with a huff as she paced back and forth around the room. "We explained the situation to him- why doesn't he see that this is our best course of action?! What more needs to be said? Why must he be so… so…"

"Calm down," Infera placed a hand on her shoulder to calm her and maybe stop her pacing- quite frankly, it was getting annoying, to hear her boots frantically clicking against the floor. "Calm down. I know that… that you may not really get it, but Zim is understandably having a hard time with this. He was loyal to his Tallest for years- it's not easy to just let go of that. This goes against everything he's ever been taught- you can't expect him to just go along with it."

"But he agreed to be a part of the rebellion! So why won't he just… rebel-!" Atra slammed her fist down against the table, breathing heavily, frustration welling up inside her. "Ugh, why are you even here anyway? Just a couple days ago you hated me!"

Infera, surprisingly, remained silent. No sarcastic comment or witty comeback. She remained stonefaced, unable to deny her accusations or come with a response to her questions.

Atra heaved a long sigh. "Haah… I'm sorry, I lost myself… what… what was that? I've never reacted to something so strongly… what did I-"

"It's called emotion- from the looks of it, it seems to me like Zim isn't the only one suffering from the effects of it." Infera seated herself in one of the spare chairs. "It's alright to experience emotion, I know that the Meekrob aren't exactly notorious for being the most emotional beings in the universe, but you don't have to be like them, you know. You're kind of a runaway-"

"Not by choice," Atra sharply interrupted. "I didn't want this… to be a traitor, to be a rebel. I didn't want to end up like this..! I just wanted… to bring home another victory for the Meekrob, to free those who have been taken by the Empire. That was what I fought for, for all this time, what my comrades fought for and I… I acted foolishly… and I got them all killed…"

"That's not true!" Infera shouted. "Just relax and tell me what happened. How long have you been hiding this? From the captain… from the others..?"

But Atra didn't even look at her- she didn't make any motion to acknowledge that she had heard her. "…My comrades, and the innocent Irken soldiers who were on my side… I killed them as well… the others… will never come back for me now..!"

"Their blood isn't on your hands. I'm sure you couldn't have known."

She shook her head. "…You don't understand. I'm a Meekrob, I'm supposed to see all foreseeable outcomes, and choose the one that best suits our goals. I ignored it- I ignored the best path and went on my own, and for that, my comrades paid the price."

"Y-You mean…" Infera paused, drawing in a deep shuddery breath, "you have future vision?"

"Not exactly. But it's… something similar, I… I can see potential futures, potential timelines. They're always changing based on the choices that I make, the choices that others make- even the tiniest of things can make the biggest of changes to a timeline," she explained.

"So in other words… you don't see what will happen… but what could happen?"

"…Yes, to put it simply."

"Well, that's really helpful."

"Regardless, it was my foolishness that caused all of this to happen. If I hadn't acted on my own, my comrades would still be alive, and perhaps by now the Meekrob would be one step closer to taking down the Empire. I… only set things back, by going off the right path…"

Infera smiled gently, reaching out to take her gloved hand. "But you went off the path because you thought it was the right thing to do, didn't you?"

"It doesn't matter what I thought was right or wrong!" Atra snapped. "The fact is that people are dead because of me! And if something happened to anyone on this crew because of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself, so… I won't stray from the path again. I'll continue to choose the right paths as they come to me."

"Atra-"

"I'm sorry, but my actions have already caused me to lose people I care about once. I won't allow myself to make the same mistake twice." She sighed. "This is why the Meekrob aren't supposed to have emotion… because if they do, they stray from the paths. Look at where my "emotions" got me… even me talking to you now is dangerous, Infera, because I'm starting to like you, and history will only repeat itself if I pursue more friendships. Again, I'm sorry, but I just… can't…"

Rather than leave the room with a sullen look like she was expecting, Infera roughly grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around so she was facing her. "The fuck kind of quitter talk is that?!"

Atra blinked slowly, eyes as wide as saucers. "I-Infera..?"

"I get it, okay, the whole "close yourself off to avoid getting hurt" thing, but what about the people around you, the people who like you and want to be a part of your life? Are you just gonna shut them down too because you're afraid of getting hurt?"

"That's not it-"

Infera's eyes narrowed sharply. "The hell it isn't! You're not worried about others getting hurt; you're just scared of being alone again. Well suck it up- cause you don't get to decide whether or not I want to befriend you. And I've decided- Atrana Astralle of the Meekrob Republic- that I want to be your friend. You can't do anything to stop me, either. So take your nonsense and shove it, because like it or not, we're friends now."

Atra blinked slowly, her mouth hanging open slightly, astounded by Infera's speech. "H-How did you know… my full name..?"

"I did a little bit of digging- learned a lot about you, Ms. Astralle."

"But those files were encrypted! How did you-"

"I don't look it, but I'm one of the best hackers on my home planet, me. Fastest typer on this side of the galaxy too." She flexed her fingers, as if showing them off like muscles. "But there's still one thing that boggles my mind."

"And that is..?"

"Why haven't you told Zim and Dib everything yet? I mean, you did save their lives and all, but… you haven't told them anything about the Meekrob, about why you were even hiding out in the Empire in the first place. Don't you think they have a right to know?"

"Of course they do, I just… was afraid… of how they would react if they knew. Especially Zim- seeing as how he's still struggling with his feelings towards the Empire. I don't want to hinder his progress any. It just… never seemed like a good time, I suppose."

Infera nodded. "Mm… hey, I'm thirsty. Wanna go get some tea or something?"

Atra cocked her head to the side, confused. "Tea?"

"Yeah, it's an Earth beverage- I've been drinking a lot of it lately. I'd like- what's the Earth phrase? Oh yeah- tea and a chat."

"S-Sure," Atra replied hesitantly, following Infera out the door. "Tea and a chat. I can do that."

Weaponry training came and went- and although Dib was no pro by any means, he did know how to hold and fire just about any alien weapon one could think of. Meosori was relentless in his training sessions. One could say what they wanted about him, but no one could ever call him a bad instructor.

Zim had spent the entirety of the last training session bragging about how he earned a perfect score on the final exam- and Dib was determined to match him. But unfortunately, he'd had no such luck. He'd scored a point below a perfect score. One fucking point- and needless to say, he was fuming. He just hoped Zim wouldn't bother him about it at the moment, because quite frankly, he was still a bit peeved, to say the least.

They would get one day of reprieve, to relax and collect themselves before combat training began. Dib wasn't worried as much about combat- he'd been fighting Zim all his life, and while he may not know any fancy techniques, he knew how to hold his own in a fight.

"Although," Dib thought to himself as he looked down at his figure, "I could stand to put on some muscle."

Sure, Dib had grown tall like his father, but he was sorely lacking in the muscle department. His build was lanky and skinny, with just the slightest hint of lean muscle. He might need to build up his physical strength before he could even consider doing training of any kind.

"Ah, well. It's too late now. I just hope that Vythani guy or whatever knows what he's doing. He really doesn't seem like the fighting type-"

Dib's train of thought was interrupted when he ended up walking right into someone. Their tablet fell to the ground with a loud clang.

"I'm so sorry," Dib said as he reached down to grab the tablet. "I wasn't looking where I was going-" The words died on his tongue when he looked up and met the stranger's eyes. Speak of the devil.

"Hello Dib," he replied smoothly, reaching out to take the tablet from him. "And it's quite alright, no need to worry. I imagine you have a lot on your mind."

Their eyes locked and suddenly Dib felt like he couldn't look away. He had always found Vythani attractive, but this was something different. He found himself completely powerless, enraptured by the alien before him- and that had only ever happened once, with another certain green moronic Irken.

God, maybe Gaz was right- maybe he was a bit of a xenophile.

"U-Uh, yeah, I do… I guess I'm a little nervous about training tomorrow too…" he admitted, grinning sheepishly.

Vythani placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, smiling warmly. "Don't be. I'll have time to address all of your weaknesses personally, so by the end of these two weeks, I can guarantee you'll be a much better fighter."

He hadn't expected Vythani to be so sure of himself. Dib kind of had to admit that it was refreshing to meet an alien that was confident, but not overly full of himself, like another certain alien he knew. "Right. Uh, listen, I know I may not have much to offer to the team, since I'm a human and all, but… I'll do my best."

"Nonsense," Vythani insisted with a small frown. "Being human doesn't make you weak. Everyone was brought here for a reason. You will be treated no differently here."

Dib could only hope that that would continue to remain true.

"Anyway, I shouldn't keep you, I'm sure you're looking forward to your day off before training begins again- I'll leave you to it." And with that, Vythani nodded once before making his way down the hallway, Dib staring after him with a dazed expression. He couldn't understand what it was about him that intrigued him so much- it was strange, he didn't feel that way around any of the other people onboard this ship. Well, except… maybe for one other alien. And even then, it was a different feeling that he wasn't quite sure he could explain, even to himself.

Although, now that he thought about it… how was he going to spend his day off?