A/N: And hello, everyone, it's me again with a new update! And wow, this one certainly took some time. Sorry about that, but, life, am I right? Anyway, I hope you all are ready to see some new events happen for our plucky little Irken and his robot sidekick in this chapter!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Invader Zim or Star Wars: The Clone Wars!
A Wonky Flight Test!
Monday morning rolled around, and Zim had just finished getting ready for the day. He was dressed in his usual invader outfit and was currently doing some work on his space vehicle, the Voot Cruiser. After much self-reflection and thinking on his past interactions with them, he's come to realize that he was never an invader to begin with. And in spite of his best efforts, he never would be. The Tallest probably didn't even know that there was any life in a primitive solar system like this one and had most likely been hoping for Zim to die by being pulled into the gravitational field of a star and burning up in it. But that plan backfired when Zim discovered the planet Earth, and even more so when he accepted Jesus into his heart and was saved.
Still, that didn't mean that he was going to sit on his laurels and waste away. He made productive use of his time by selling wooden carvings to people after discovering that he had a real talent for wood carving. It was actually quite the productive business venture. Even Dib's father and sister commissioned a couple of wood carvings from Zim. Professor Membrane got a wooden microscope that actually worked, and Gaz received a wooden piglet that she thought was absolutely adorable. Much to Dib's ever-growing ire.
Not only did this allow Zim to live life on earth comfortably, but he was also able to fund his newfound project.
Deep space exploration!
He knows that there's more to the galaxy than what the Irken armada has discovered over the centuries, and he's determined to find it. So he's been setting aside money from his sales in order to fund these explorations. But in order to even explore deep space, he needed to seriously overhaul his Voot Cruiser. It took him six months to get to Earth the first time around, and he'd rather not have to deal with Gir's short attention span for that long ever again if he can help it! Nothing against his little robot sidekick, but his playful and innocent nature can really grate on someone's nerves.
"Okay, so this goes here… recalibrate this… and, there! That should do it!" Zim said as he finished up his work.
Getting out from under the space craft, Zim retracted the extra tools he was using into his PAK and removed his goggles as he smiled with pride at his vehicle.
"With the new hyperdrive system I've installed into the Voot Cruiser, I should be able to reach speeds that will allow me to reach far off planets and solar systems in mere days rather than whole months! All that's left to do now is to go up into space and test it out." Zim said.
He quickly grabbed a microphone and told Gir to come to the flight deck, which the little robot did quickly with a taco in hand. As per usual. I told him to get in the cruiser so that they could fly out to a little ways past Earth's atmosphere and begin testing. Gir's eyes flashed red as he responded with 'Yes, my master!' and climbed into the vehicle with Zim. They quickly flew off and ou past the moon where they remained for a moment.
"Alright, this should be far enough for the first test. Computer, run a system diagnostics scan of the Voot Cruiser and report new hyperdrive status!" Zim ordered.
The computer beeped and flashed as it scanned all of the systems of the Voot Cruiser in order to check for any problems that Zim might have missed. After a few minutes, the results were in, and were most satisfactory.
"Scans complete. Systems optimal. New hyperdrive unit functioning at optimal capacity. No anomalies detected." The computer said in its usual bored monotone.
"Excellent. Time for the first test." Zim said.
He hummed as he thought about what their first destination should be and decided not to go someplace too far from the Earth just in case they needed to head back quickly. And he certainly wasn't going to chance any encounters with the Irken military by going to any of the planets that have, unfortunately, been conquered by the invaders that the armada sent. He's not taking the risk of getting caught and sent back to Foodcourtia as an exile again!
He shuddered to imagine going back to such a life...
"Okay Gir, for our first test of the hyperdrive, let's set the coordinates for the planet Saturn." Zim instructed.
Gir's optics briefly flashed red as he saluted before returning to normal as he started typing in the coordinates for Saturn… when it happened.
That damn loose wire in Gir's processor started acting up again and caused Gir to malfunction! Which caused him to act even more hyper than usual!
"I GONNA PUSH ALL THE BUTTONS!" screamed Gir.
And like that, Gir started pushing every single button in the Voot Cruiser which caused it to start doing a bunch of random stuff all at once! Blinking headlights, the cockpit opening and closing repeatedly, honking the horn, and zooming around frontwards, backwards, and sideways! It was a total mess! Zim tried to stop his little robot sidekick, knowing full well that something bad could happen if he wasn't stopped, but it was too late. Gir had input a random coordinates into the hyperdrive, and the Voot Cruiser zoomed off in a flash of white light!
Zim and Gir screamed at the top of their lungs as the ship moved faster than ever before! So fast, in fact, that they were both being squashed into their seats from the G-forces! Zim tried to reach up and stop the ship, but he couldn't keep his arm up for longer than half a second before it was sent back to the wall. This trip lasted for about ten more seconds before the Voot Cruiser came to an abrupt stop and caused Zim and Gir to smack into the canopy. The Irken groaned as he got up and put his eyeball, which had popped out of its socket, back into place.
"Where are we now?" Zim asked as he shook the cobwebs from his mind.
And his jaw immediately fell to the ground upon seeing the planet that they were at now. Even from above the planet's atmosphere, Zim could tell that it was a highly advanced world with great technological might. It kind of reminded Zim of New York City or Las Vegas back on Earth, only planet sized. Zim stared for a bit longer before saying something that aptly described the situation.
"I've got a feeling that we're not in the Milky Way Galaxy anymore, Gir."
"We're not?" Gir asked, having recovered from nearly being turned into a metal pancake.
"No. I don't recognize this planet or these coordinates. Computer, begin scan of this new planet and find us a suitable place to land. I have many questions about this new planet, and I just know that someone down there has the answers." Zim instructed.
"Understood! Scanning now!" The computer replied.
And as it scanned the planet, Zim didn't realize that greater forces were at work here, and that this was no simple technological malfunction on Gir's part. Our little Irken hero was destined to bring about a new age. And that journey to do so begins at this very planet.
The planet Coruscant!
***To Be Continued…***
Ending A/N: A little on the short side, but I'm pleased with how this chapter to the story turned out. I've been wanting to update this story for the longest time, and now I finally have. Just what is it that awaits Zim as he makes his way to Coruscant? Check out next chapter to find out!