"Did you really need to bring the kid?" Klarb scoffed in annoyance, gesturing to the understandably excited young man roaming about their assigned area. "Who even gave him clearance? This is a top-secret military base, not a smeet center."

"Hey, I'm not a kid!" Dib defended, attention broken from the countless wonderments of science and technology scattered about. "I'm like a foot and a half taller than you…and what's a "smeet"?"

The resident researcher rolled his eyes with a scoff.

"Our term for adolescent…and you, Junior, are several decades younger than me, too. Seriously, who let you in here and why? Was it to piss me off?"

"Sure, let's go with that." Agent Adams announced on-approach with a smirk. "C'mon, spaceman, you know who this kid is, don't you?"

"All you humans look the same to me. Smelly, filthy, myriad of fluids, too many orifices, and body hair." The Irken scientist shuddered with a dismissive wave.

"Will you calm the fuck down?" Kazak, clad in his Vortian armor, walked around the lab with a lit cigar, taking a puff of it. "Not like he's any of the typical idiots on this planet, he's actually pretty damn smart."

"See you still haven't learned the art of sarcasm…". Klarb muttered with a tired sigh, turning away from his work to the recent arrivals. "Of course I know who he is. Son of the smartest human alive. Walking around on one of the most secure military sites on this planet unsupervised? Question remains as to why this little field trip is parading through my lab. What do you want? What do you need?"

"The kid wants to look around, see what you got. He's seen my Vortian armor, he's seen Vaukt's own designed power armor, he's curious to see what a former science drone is able to come up with." The sniper stopped near a table. A balance scale with a strange looking orb on one end, serving as the weight, began to glow, unbeknownst to the sniper.

"Besides, this is property of the United States government…just like your grass-green ass is." Adams crassly commented with a chuckle. "Also need an update on where we're at with exosolar transportation for our team."

"Ship's done, still working on cryogenic stasis for you short-lived lot. Space is big, did you know that?"

"Don't be a smartass, Kla-…what's that?"

The Irken's brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and annoyance.

"What's what?"

"That." Adams reiterated with emphasis, pointing to the source of light emanating near Kazak on the table. "Another one of your failed science experiments wasting taxpayer dollars?"

"As if your government needs help with tha-". Klarb began, turning around to stop in his tracks at the sight of the illuminated device. An immediate change or tone matched his surprised expression. "…most interesting."

"What's interesting?" Dib queried, attention snapping to the device in question. "That glowing thing?"

"Yes…honestly forgot about that piece." Klarb commented, stepping closer with renewed interest. "I've been using it as a paperweight and I have never seen it lit up like that before."

Kazak turned to look at what the two were staring at. "It sure wasn't doing that before I walked over here."

"Back up a bit." Burdak made his way over, watching the device, the dutiful assistant was most curious himself. As Kazak backed away from the device he watched the glow die and the orb returning to its previous idle state. "...Now that's what I remember. I assumed it was just a paperweight or something we could use on a balance scale. I haven't seen it do that since we first laid eyes on it."

"Well that's certainly weird." Kazak came back over, the glow returning as he did.

"You said that armor's Vortian, yes?"

"Yup, made on their secret space station where they found a bunch of alien technology and reverse engineered it. Myself, Ohnmatu, the Ghost Scribe types, the armor all derived from the same tech source."

Upon hearing the origin of Kazak's armor, Klarb eagerly rushed towards the supposed paperweight of mysterious origin. Snatching it up, he held it closer to the armored man. The shorter the distance between the item and Kazak, the more intense the azure-hued illumination cast.

"Been a long time since I've seen you this excited about something." Adams commented on observation of Klarb's behavior.

"I…am struggling to find the words. This-this-this is huge."

"Why?"

"This artifact was found here on Earth. Some archeological dig decades ago. Doesn't matter. What matters is that the tech in his suit was reverse-engineered from another source…"

"What source, Klarb? Out with it. Quit being dramatic." The human agent huffed.

"According to our recently-departed Vortian guests? The universe's largest technological discovery in the past millennia. Their own version of this place, in space, built atop and in a floating relic of unknown origin…and the two pieces are interacting with one another."

"Basically he's saying that this armor and the paperweight are from the same technological source. Whatever this is, it recognizes Kazak's armor as something of its own," Burdak summarized.

"Whoa…". Dib spoke in awe, realizing the implication.

"Bullshit." Adams scoffed, unconvinced.

"No bullshit. The odds of this are astronomical, yes, but not improbable. There is such a thing as coincidence." Klarb countered, his train of thought thrown off as the human adolescent reached for the glowing artifact. "No, don't!"

"Don't wh-". The young man queried, his curious digits making contact with the "paperweight".

No sooner than skin touched its exterior, a bright flash nearly blinded all of them. Dib dropped it in surprise, clattering across the desktop. The metallic cube, appearing solid, suddenly shifted and contoured from six even sides to a fractal display of geometric twists, turns, and eventually locking to a stop. An array of bright dots projected in a three-dimensional, holographic field.

Kazak blinked in surprise, "Now that is even stranger. Didn't do that when Klarb touched it."

Dib, rapidly blinking to clear his vision, saw the projection. "What is that? Some kind of map? What of?"

Burdak was the first to look over the holographic display. "Most curious…an array of points projected into the shape of a sphere…a planetary map of some kind by the looks of it."

"Planetary map? What planet? Earth?" Dib rapidly-fired off questions, equal measures eager as he was hesitant to pick the now-activated device back up after the unexpected reaction.

"Assuming this is supposed to be Earth…that appears to be the southernmost pole of the planet's magnetosphere. Ant-ark-tic-ka? Yes, Antarctica." Burdak continued, contemplatively scratching his chin. "Nothing but ice there though, correct?"

"Officially?" Adams inquired, garnering their undivided attention. "Yes, nothing but snow and ice…unofficially there are several research stations dotted throughout the continent for ventures other than the scientific variety…nothing like this though."

"Dib, poke that red dot," Kazak asked of the young human. "You opened the thing, maybe you can manipulate the map and see what that flashing red dot is?"

The young man looked to him with apprehension.

"S-should I though? We-we-we don't even know what this thing is! What if it's some kind of weapon?"

"All the more reason to find out." The adult agent concluded with a gesture to the projecting device. "Even if it is and it turns out to be a bad idea, we'll probably not live long enough to regret the decision."

"How deliciously morbid…but not incorrect." Klarb concluded, all but salivating at the prospect. "Perhaps it is some sort of weapon that may yet help the coalition defeat the Empire."

"Only one way to find out." Adams nodded, looking back to Dib. "Floor's yours, kid. Make history or doom us all, go for it."

"Right…no pressure at all." He sighed shakily, swallowing his nerves before reaching for the illuminated projection of the planetary map. "Here goes nothing…"

His fingertip tapped the crimson, flashing point of the interface. From the point appeared a dialog box and a series of scrolling lines of indecipherable characters. The alphabet of some unknown language, ancient as it was extraterrestrial in origin…but oddly familiar.

"Any idea what that says?" Burdak scratched his head at the characters once they became visible. "I have no idea what the hell that says."

The sniper withdrew his goggles that came with the armor and donned it. It was a longshot of a chance, but could Vortian software pick up what this is and translate it? He sighed when the results produced nothing.

"Yeah, I got nothing. Might be derived tech but the Vortians definitely didn't build a translator for ancient, dead language."

Klarb studied the data in silent contemplation.

"I know that look." Burdak commented, seeing the lead scientist's expression. "You've a hypothesis, don't you?"

"...it's coordinates."

"How can you tell?"

"Look at the format. There are repeating sigils, runes, letters, whatever they're called in this dead language…my leading guess would be numbers."

"Makes sense if this is some scan or map of Earth." Adams added with a shrug.

"Which would place this location nearly atop the planet's southern pole in the heart of Antarctica."

"Hostile climate to instruments and people alike. Isolated, frozen wasteland for thousands of miles in every direction…perfect place to hide something from prying eyes." The human man observed, looking at the gathering. "...how do you little green men fare in the cold?"

"About as well as you do, you bald monkey." Klarb chided back with a huff. "If you think I'm going on some wild narthakk chase-"

"Not you. We need you here working on the exosolar projects…no…our own resident dynamic duo." Adams clarified, looking to Kazak and Dib. "Since Klarb's paperweight likes both of you so much, makes sense to send the two of you to check this out."

"What?" Dib blinked.

"It's that or I take it up the chain of command and a bunch of bureaucratic assholes find out about a potential superweapon on the planet that's up for grabs and we find ourselves embroiled in another global conflict to claim it. This is the lesser evil of the two…'sides, when was the last time you took your sweetheart somewhere nice, Marshal? The frozen wasteland might be her thing." Adams chuckled.

Kazak shook his head, "Yeah I don't think Tak would be particularly fond of freezing her ass off in the ass end of nowhere. I suppose the boy genius and I here could always go poking around, see if we find anything. This suit will more than keep me comfortable in those freezing temperatures."

"I may as well come too," Burdak shrugged.

"Really?"

"Well you guys need some sort of scientist to possibly document a few things. No offense, but you soldier types aren't exactly known for your intellect."

"You know I was SpecOps, not Elite, right?"

"Yeah, I know, and you haven't seen any of this tech outside your suit either. I'd like to have a look around."

Dib's visage twisted into one of apprehension before speaking.

"I'd have to get…permission for a trip like this. We might be gone for a while, won't we?"

"More than likely. Spaceflight or not, the search might take some time." Adams realized, making note of the matter to address later. "I'll draft something official-looking up as a permission slip for a field trip for your old man to sign. Either way, we need you on this one. I can play nice and make it look like a school thing or we can just kidnap you. Your call."

"...fair point. Guess we need to go pack then?"

"Dress warm. Layers are your friend."

"So I taught him in Montana. Come on, kid. I'm already dressed for the occasion." Kazak led Dib out as Burdak ran to grab himself some cold weather clothing and pack for the trip.

The short jaunt back to the ranch returned the departing explorers-to-be to familiar surroundings. Per their usual protocol repeatedly encouraged by the likes of Agent Adams and his people, any extraterrestrial activity outside in the open needed to be conducted while disguised. Despite their remote location, no unnecessary risks to be taken. As far as the average person could tell, nothing was foul or out of the ordinary. Only a strange, eccentric, dysfunctional "family" and their farm.

Unfortunately, not all of their guests, wanted or otherwise, were considered average.

"Just so I am understanding you correctly…" Tak began, tiredly pinching the bridge of her false nose in disguise. "...you are going…where again?"

"Antarctica." Dib responded, amidst packing for the trip from the equipment and gear they had to offer.

"The southernmost continent of this world."

"Yes."

"The frozen one."

"Yep."

"Why?"

"...because Klarb's paperweight told us to?"

"...is this some sort of prank, Dib? I don't do pranks."

"It's not a prank, I swear!" He defended, fishing the item in question from his inside coat pocket to show her. "Kaz and the others were there with me, look!"

Kazak nodded, the man just having come back to grab a rucksack with food and supplies. "It's true. This thing is apparently derived from the same tech on Kyozist station, the same tech they reverse engineered to make these muscle suits and their associated tech. It recognized the tech but Dib was the one to open it. It gave us coordinates to Antarctica, something's there at the South Pole. We were going to take my Vortian stealth shuttle and go have a look with Dib and Burdak."

The Irken lab assistant, lacking his own holographic disguise, was already disguised in winter clothes that covered up everything important. "Yeah, frozen expedition to go find some strange tech."

"Agent Adams said I needed to willingly go or they were going to kidnap me and make me go anyway."

"Of course he did…" Tak sighed, running a palm down her features in exasperation before looking to Kazak. "You haven't forgotten about the war for our freedom and survival raging half a universe away, have you? We don't have the time or resources to go on scavenger hunts."

"And what are we doing around here other than watching the two idiots and sitting on our hands?" Kazak shrugged, "What's an on-planet scavenger hunt for some similar tech that the Vortians already know how to look at and reverse engineer?"

"Establishing a fallback position for our allies? Forging alliances and gathering strength to resist the inevitability of the Empire showing up in Earth's orbit? Anything other than doing the humans' bidding because they can't be bothered to? Need I go on?" She irritably retorted with exasperation. "...if the others were still here, this would be a non-issue. Leaving our position unguarded doesn't do us any favors."

"Am I a joke to you?" Vaukt, sitting at the kitchen table, asked as he puffed on his pipe.

"Was that rhetorical?" Zha queried with bemusement at his expense in good nature.

"I mean, yeah, you got the Generalissimo. Besides, what if this does end up helping the war effort somehow?"

"What if it doesn't? What if it is nothing more than one giant waste of time? What if all of you are lost and freeze to death?" She countered, masking her concern for his well-being.

"This suit will keep me from the freezing to death part. Besides, not the first time I've been in freezing temperatures. I'll be fine, really."

"I…don't have one of those though." Dib commented with a raised finger.

"We'll be fine." Burdak assured him with a pat of his shoulder. "Not like we're sleeping out on the ice or anything. Limit exposure time and stay near the ship, no big deal. Sooner we check this out, sooner we can move on with our lives. If it turns out to be nothing, we keep on as we were."

"And if it turns out to be something?" The young man pursued, pushing up his glasses.

"We'll deal with it then, no sense in speculating about it now."

Before any of them could voice further concern or doubt on the matter, a series of knocks against the heavy, aged front door rattled loudly in its wooden frame. Questioning gazes exchanged rapidly between the disguised aliens and Dib alike.

"Who is that?" Tak hissed, quickly ensuring they were all "in character". "How did they get past the motion detectors? Check the exterior feeds!"

"Were any of you even watching the systems?" Kazak quickly grabbed Burdak, herding him straight for the kitchen. Vaukt, with a holographic disguise as a Scot thanks to Tak's Invader kit, made his way to the door. It'd be up to the Generalissimo to stall whoever it was.

"Kaz, talk to me," Vaukt whispered.

Kaz remotely pulled up one of the exterior camera feeds and grimaced. "It's Dib's sister."

"Fuck," Vaukt muttered to himself before the man peered through the peephole. "Whadda ya want, lassie?"

The unexpected visitor in question on the other side of the door was undeniably Dib's relation. Even through the seemingly-permanent scowl twisting teenage features beneath a shoulder-length crop of violet-dyed hair. Her fashion sense followed similar trends to that of Tak's chosen disguise. Dark, moody, and disgruntled, she favored one striped stocking leg while tapping a thick-soled, scuffed boot opposite. A single, amber-brown eye heavily rimmed in eyeliner opened wider, peering back into what she perceived to be the peephole of the door as the voice came through.

"Where's Dib. I know he's here."

"How?!" The young man commented aloud in disbelief. "I never told her about this place!"

"Appears you aren't the only crafty one of your father's lineage," Tak muttered, attention snapping back to Vaukt. "Stall her. Rest of you, out the back, now."

"But-" Dib attempted.

"No buts, go."

The young man looked to Kazak with a shrug. Arguing with Tak was ill-advised under the best of circumstances. "So…off to Antarctica then?"

"Damn straight," Kazak pulled on his suit's mask and goggles and headed out the back.

Not needing to be told a second time, the gathering of extraterrestrials and their human acquaintance quickly shuffled deeper through the house, destined for the back door leading from the kitchen to outside.

"What's all the fuss 'bout?" Burdak inquired, glancing to the precession at his rear. "Said it's his sister, 'nother one of Membrane's crotch spawns, yeah?"

"You don't know my sister very well."

"Clearly, I barely know you. You that afraid of her?"

"Trust me, she's not the type you want to fuck around and find out with. I'm saying that as a damn SpecOps sniper. Girl's young but she gives me Rin vibes." The sniper activated his cloak mode and led the way to the barn. They'd take an alternate path underground, over to the stealth shuttle, and be on their way.