"Captain?"

Lard Nar jumped, clearly startled. He whirled around in his chair, and in an attempt to compose himself he straightened out his uniform and cleared his throat. "Ahem. Dib! You should be off preparing- we're getting ready to begin the mission in a couple of hours. What are you doing here?"

"About that… there's uh.. something I want to ask you."

Lard Nar had never seen the boy this concerned before. "...Go on…"

"Is it… do you have communicators that could access other planets, by any chance?"

The serious expression that had fell across his face immediately lifted, a bright grin replacing the grim frown he had been wearing before. "Of course- every communication device on this ship is designed for interplanetary communication. Why?"

Dib averted his gaze, lightly kicking at the ground with his foot. "Well, see… I have a family back home, on Earth… and I was hoping I could talk to them."

The captain's mouth pressed into a thin, hard line as his eyes narrowed. "That's the thing- we can only establish connections with other devices that are compatible- I am not sure that anything on Earth would be compatible with our technology. Er… no offense."

Dib barely managed to hold back a snicker. "None taken, but… I have been told that I'm a pretty good hacker." He flexed his fingers, smirking slightly. "Can I… try it out with one of the computers?"

Lard Nar blinked, his eyes wide and round as saucers, even beneath those goggles he wore- Dib had never seen him without them. "S-Sure… here, you can use mine… I'll change the language settings to English, too." With a few clicks and taps of fingers against keys, Dib was finally able to recognize the text on the rather alien looking computer.

"Thanks. Hopefully I won't be long."

He had hacked into Zim's computer before- and Irkens were one of the most advanced races when it came to their technology. Surely this couldn't be much harder, right? With a crack of his knuckles, Dib proceeded to familiarize himself with the alien interface. It surprisingly wasn't that difficult to navigate- though he imagined that it helped that it was now translated to English. He set to work quickly, searching through database after database of information until he found what he was looking for.

"I just need to find a signal strong enough to lock onto, and if I can crack the code… yes! I'm in!"

"Wow," Lard Nar mumbled from behind him, astonished, "you really are good. Perhaps you'll take Infera's spot as top hacker."

He ignored the lighthearted quip. "Now, if I can just pinpoint my house…"

"Do you always talk to yourself while you work?" Lard Nar questioned curiously.

"Sorry. It's a habit," Dib replied apathetically with a small shrug. He didn't even bother to look at the captain to respond to him as his fingers flew across the keys at a rather impressive speed. "And… got it! Wow, talk about perfect timing! Gaz is on her laptop right now. I just have to get into her web camera…"

For a few moments, only the sounds of furious typing filled the air before finally a fuzzy image began displaying onscreen. "Gaz? Gaz!" The image slowly started to become clearer the more Dib typed. She had her laptop sitting idly on her bed beside her as she tapped away at her phone- was she playing a mobile game? God, if she was playing a game then he'd never be able to get her attention.

Dib waved his hand in front of the camera. "Gaz, it's me! Hello? Can you hear me?"

No response.

"Shit, the audio's no good… gimme a sec."

Another series of clicks emanated from the keyboard before a faint whirring sound could be heard as the distorted audio slowly started coming in clearer and clearer. "Is my volume up? Okay, good. Gaz! It's me, it's Dib! You can hear me right?"

Gaz abruptly dropped her phone onto her lap, her eyes going wide with shock before she spotted the source of the voice. "Dib?! What the- how the hell are you-"

Dib smiled sheepishly. "It's uh… don't worry about it. This connection is flimsy, so… I don't have long. How uh… how are things?"

Gaz seemed to settle back into a more comfortable position. She moved her laptop so it was sitting on her lap. "We're fine. Dad's worried sick about you."

"Is dad there right now?"

"No, he's back at the lab… he's been pulling double shifts for the past month… I don't know how he's still alive."

Dib chuckled. He had to admit, he'd missed his sister's quips and sense of humor. "Right. How long have I been gone?"

"About a month," she answered. "Why? Do they not have clocks in space?"

Dib gave her a sour look. "Ha-ha. No, I just wanted to make sure I haven't been gone for too long. Listen, Gaz, I… we're getting ready to go on our first mission, and… it's gonna be dangerous. And I don't want to give you the whole 'I'm gonna die tomorrow' speech, but… I just want you to know…" Dib trailed off, struggling to find the right words to say. He had never been good at goodbyes.

"…I know," she answered. "It's fine. You go off and… do your thing. Just… don't get killed while you're in space. That's… a stupid way to die."

He smirked slightly. Personally, he thought dying a heroic death in space wasn't that bad. "Right. Be careful, okay? And one more thing…"

"Yeah?"

"Watch out for dad, okay?"

"…Sure. I will."

"Alright. Well… bye."

Gaz rolled her eyes before waving goodbye right as Dib cut off the connection.

"Your sister certainly is… a character," Lard Nar noted.

"Yeah… that's one way to put it."

Gaz huffed as she shut her laptop, preparing to return to her game to take her mind off of… that. She knew that he wasn't intending to give her the "I'm gonna die tomorrow" speech, but that was sure as hell what it sounded like. Frankly, she wasn't in the mood to hear it. She had always thought that maybe Dib would get himself killed one day messing around with Zim. She was surprised that he managed to get through that conversation without mentioning him.

However, before she could get comfortable again, she was interrupted by a pounding on the door. Figuring it was just her father, Gaz trudged down the stairs and to the front door, yanking it open.

"Hey dad, Dib called, he's doing… okay…"

Her voice died in her throat when she saw who was on the other side of the door.

"Sir, all soldiers are in place and are awaiting your command," Atra stated with a salute.

"Good, good." He clicked the button on his earpiece. "Infera, come in. The status of your hacking team?"

"Everyone is in place and awaiting further orders, sir."

"Good. We're closing in on the Massive- Atra, enable Stealth Mode for the ship."

"On it, captain." Atra quickly scurried over to the controls. "Stealth Mode has been enabled."

"Good. Set the ship to autopilot and slow down the speed. Operation Resist… is officially a go! Infera, move out now! Fleet squad, you are on standby until I tell you otherwise. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir!"

"My Tallest!" The Irken elite bowed her head respectfully, wiggling her antennae in salute. "I apologize for interrupting your evening meal, but I bring you urgent news."

"Always during a meal," Purple muttered with an irritated huff, dropping his fork. "What is it?"

"It's… there is an abnormality in our security status."

Red nearly choked on his drink. "An abnormality?! Has there been a security breech?!"

The soldier shook her head. "Wha- no! No, it is nothing to be too worried about, my Tallest. We are already working to resolve the issue. It's just that we noticed some strange data patterns in the system, and we wanted to alert you just to be safe."

"Understood." Purple nodded firmly. "Keep uh… monitoring the situation, soldier. Now be gone with you!"

She saluted one more time before quickly and quietly exiting the room, the door sliding closed behind her. Red eyed his co-leader with a suspicious glare. "What was that all about?"

Purple shrugged carelessly. "Dunno, but she said they're working on it, so-"

"No, I mean, with you. You just rushed her out of here! Don't you want to hear her out?"

"Not really, besides, they have the situation under control. Nothing gets past our firewalls anyway. Hey, let's order more drinks!"

Red sighed before calling in a service drone to get them refills. He had to admit, having a meal like this without an interruption for once would be pretty nice.

"It's been years since we've done this," Purple said with an almost dreamy sigh.

Red quirked an antenna curiously. "Done what? We have meals together all the time."

"No, I mean, it's been a while since we've had drinks together," he clarified, taking a sip from his glass. "Not since inauguration night."

"Now that was a party," Red said in agreement, grinning slightly. "Why don't we ever have parties like that anymore?"

"Guess we just got busy, you know, being the Tallest and all. There is some stuff we have to take care of."

Since becoming Tallest, there was one thing they had both come to accept, and it was that despite all the perks that came with being an all-powerful leader, there were some things they didn't have any control over it. But they didn't complain- they got whatever they want, when they wanted it. Who could complain over a few small technicalities? "We should do it again sometime," Red suggested. "Have another big party like that just because we can."

"Agreed," Purple acquiesced as he downed the rest of his drink.

As if on cue, the service drone walked in with their refills. Just as he was about to set their glasses down onto the table, the same soldier from earlier came bursting through the door, clearly panicked.

"My Tallest! There's been a security breech!"

Red abruptly stood up. "I thought you said you were handling it!"

"We were, but things got out of control and we-"

Red held up a hand to cease her rambling. "Ugh, okay, just- stop with the excuses! Get it under control!"

Purple stood up as well, his drink forgotten. "Hey, where are you going?!"

"I'm going to go see what's going on for myself," Red answered simply. "You coming?"

"Uh… I guess?"

The soldier threw her hands up as if to stop them. "My Tallest, with all due respect, for your safety, I must ask that you both remain here. The Massive will be placed on lockdown immediately for your protection."

"Thanks for the concern, but we'll be fine. We need to see what's going on."

"Please my Tallest, I must insist! It's not safe!"

"This is a direct order- uh… what's your name?"

"Min, sir."

"Min!" Red pointed a clawed finger down at her, his eyes narrowing into a heated stare. "This is a direct order from your Tallest- you will allow us to assess the situation ourselves and decide the next course of action, even if it puts us in danger. Do I make myself clear?"

"C-Crystal clear!" Min sputtered. "Right this way, sirs!"

Zim sat impatiently within the cockpit of the battle cruiser, tapping his foot against the interior. Who knows how long this could take? Even with a team of hackers, getting the security system down would be no easy task, especially with Irken-

"They're in! Okay, Zim, on my command, you'll take off and lead the others to the rear entrance of the ship. Get ready."

Well. He guessed he spoke too soon. "Understood. I'm remaining on standby for the time being."

Zim watched as the ships from the other squad slowly came into view, approaching the Massive. Just how many people had Lard Nar roped into this suicide mission? There had to be hundreds- possibly even thousands of ships, swarming around the Massive and firing away. Lard Nar had mentioned that he'd garnered some support over the past few years, but he'd never imagined that it was on a level like this. Who knew so many people had the guts to go against the Irken Empire? It was almost admirable.

At least, it would've been, if he weren't one of them. How confusing it must be for the others, to see an Irken fighting alongside them. Oh, if they only knew.

"Zim, you're up! Go now, while there's still an opening!"

Zim was spurred into action as he reached for his microphone. "Alright, the lot of you, follow me! We're heading in."

Underneath the hoard of tiny battle cruisers gathered around the Massive, there was a small opening near the rear entrance, right next to the docking station. Zim swiftly led his ship into the docking area, the others following closely behind him. Once their ships were all safely landed, Zim hopped out of his ship and motioned for the others to do the same.

"Shit," Fruo muttered in a breathy voice, gaping as he took in his surroundings. "What's with you guys and this fuckton of ships?"

"This is just a small portion of them," Zim said dismissively. "Believe me, there are tons more on Irk and Devastis, and that's not even counting-"

Fruo held up a hand. "Alright, enough bragging. So, Zim, you know your leaders better than anyone. Where could they be?"

"If I had to guess, I'd say either the dining hall or the control room. But… this isn't going to be as simple as walking into a room. The security systems are down right now. Everyone is panicked and on high alert. This is actually… the worst possible time to be here..."

"Zim, relax," Dei said reassuringly, placing her hand on his shoulder. "It's better than just going in with no proper plan. Now we should get going, who knows how long Dib and the others can keep this up."

"Quick question, how are we supposed to uh… detain the Tallest?" one of the other soldiers, Darli, asked with a raised hand.

Zim gestured to the two pairs of handcuffs attached to his belt-loop. "These. They're known as Vortian Sleepercuffs. Impossible to get out of, or so they say. I could probably get out of them, but-"

"Alright, got it. Let's go."

"Wait, how about we split up into teams?" Fruo suggested. "You know, to cover more ground. There's ten of us here. Five of us can go look for the Tallest, the other five can keep watch, cover your backs, at least until the other squads get here. Then whenever you find the Tallest, give a signal, then we all meet back here."

"No," Darli refused, shaking his head. "We are better off sticking together. Nothing good comes from splitting up."

Fruo narrowed his eyes as he approached the Heirian with slow steps. "In case you haven't noticed, we're a little low on time here. We don't have the luxury to stay together."

"And what if we lose someone?" Darli retorted, stepping forward into the Enian's face. "What would you say then?"

"This is war, we're gonna lose people whether we like it or not, so suck it up, and for fuck's sake, try to stay alive!"

"Enough!" Zim bellowed. "I won't tolerate petty arguments on my squad, got it? Darli is right. In this scenario, nothing good will come if we split up. We'll just end up getting captured like that. Even if it slows us down, we have to stay together. Is that understood?"

Fruo and the others reluctantly nodded their heads.

"Good. Now let's move."

Biting back a snarky reply, Fruo fell into line behind the others as they made their way out of the docking area and through the back entrance.

"It'll be alright Fruo," Dei whispered. "I've got your back."

Fruo smiled softly back at her. "I know you do, my dulcis."

"Human… help me…"

"Tak?" Gaz quirked a brow. "What are you doing here? Why are you all..."

The Irken was just barely holding herself together, clinging on by a thread. Her uniform was torn and tattered, one of her antenna bent awkwardly while the other sat limply on the side of her head. Light pink blood stained both her uniform and her jade skin. One of her eyes was swollen shut, a nasty purple bruise having formed right underneath it. From what Gaz could tell, the doorway was the only thing keeping her upright.

"A…Accident… ship crash… need help…"

"Uh huh…" No. No way. She wasn't like her brother- she didn't play around with aliens. "Why should I help you? If memory serves me correctly, you were trying to destroy the Earth last time you were here." And, if she also remembered correctly, Tak seemed to be a bit more competent than Zim. She may have actually succeeded.

Tak glared at her with her good eye, her vision becoming more and more blurred by the second. "Doesn't matter," she slurred. "Not here to hurt. Please… help me…"

Well, one thing was for sure, those injuries weren't fake. "Well, must be pretty bad if you're willing to go to a human for help. But let's say, hypothetically speaking, that I do decide to help you. I let you stay here, I don't call the government and tell them there's an alien in my house, and you recover. How can I know that you won't, you know, go ballistic and invade the planet?"

"…You don't," she finally answered after a moment of silence. "'M asking you… to help me. But if you won't… I'll find someone else."

"You will?" Gaz asked incredulously, referring to her battered state. "I don't think you'll get very far."

As if further proving her point, Tak slumped against the doorway, struggling to heave herself upright again.

"Fine. I'll help you out. But once you've recovered, you're out of here, got it? Whatever you do after that is none of my business. And just know that you're going to owe me big time for this."

"What… do you want..?" Tak choked out.

Gaz placed a hand on her chin thoughtfully. "For starters, I'd like it if you didn't go crazy and try to destroy the planet. Earth is off limits to you. I'll… figure out the rest later."

Tak made a noise akin to a snort. "Please… this rock isn't even… worth the effort anymore..."

Gaz had to admit, she was kind of impressed that she could keep up her attitude even in this state. "Then…" she stuck out her hand, "do we have a deal?"

Gaz was no fool. She knew all too well not to trust her- too much, anyhow. But from what she could tell, she appeared harmless. Even if she wanted to hurt Gaz, she wouldn't have been able to manage it in her current state. Besides, Tak didn't have a base anymore after her "father's" hot dog stand blew up. Assuming that she truly did crash here, she most likely didn't have the materials to exact a plan for world conquest.

Tak reached out to take her hand in a handshake, however before their hands could touch, she collapsed, falling forward. Before she could fall to the ground Gaz quickly caught her, allowing her to lean against her for support.

"Yeah, you're definitely going to owe me for this."

With that, Gaz heaved the Irken up, slipping an arm around her waist and wrapping Tak's limp arm around her neck. "Come on, you gotta walk a little bit. I can't carry you up the stairs."

Tak's working antenna quirked in response and her feet began moving ever so slightly, taking slow and cautious steps up the stairs. After a few agonizing minutes of having to wake Tak up again every 5 seconds, the two of them finally made it to Gaz's room, where she promptly plopped the Irken down onto her bed.

"Gross," Gaz grumbled, her face scrunching up in disgust, "you're gonna get your weird alien blood all over my bed."

If Tak heard her, she didn't say anything, as she was seemingly already asleep as soon as she hit the mattress. Gaz watched her curiously for a moment- she didn't have the same fascination with aliens that her brother had, but even she was a bit shocked to have an alien in her bed. And now that she had a chance to examine her, she found that her injuries really were quite gruesome. She was covered in every form of bruise, cut, and burn.

"Hey," she piped up again after a few moments of silence, "so… how exactly do I give an Irken first aid?"

No response.

"Fine," she huffed. "Guess I'll just… let you sleep… in my bed…"

So she was on the couch. It's not as though she could just have Tak stay in the living room anyway- her father would have a fit. She was without her disguise, and Gaz wasn't really keen on having Tak become her father's next experiment. Good thing he wasn't home much these days.

With a sigh, she reached for her GameSlave and headed back down to the living room.