Deal or No Deal
It took three days to erase all of the Invader programming and replace it with mostly Irken programming... of course there was a little Vortian programming mixed in since Veena was adamant the Irkens shouldn't be allowed to return to their collective minded conquer the galaxy way of thinking...
Laes was pretty sure the Tallest could probably have someone correct whatever Veena did or didn't do though.
Luckily for him most of his memories were gradually coming back on their own... he could remember his mother, father, sister, brother by law, and his niece. He remembered bits and pieces of the horrible jungle planet... and he even remembered Ryter was the one who cut off his hand, and the terrible virtual reality stuff.
Why couldn't he have permanently forgotten those things...? It was no wonder Lard Nar told him he didn't have to remember everything. Yikes.
He also remembered Lard Nar pretty well now, both as his quiet and tortured cellmate and as the former leader of the Resisty who was a lot more capable than he probably wanted to be.
He still couldn't remember anything about the Invaders though. He also couldn't recall any interactions he had with Bandeval.
Lard Nar told him that the select combination of Invader and Irken technology had caused the former guard to become some kind of strange digital virus. All Bandeval had to do to get information, or take control of a piece of technology, was to login to certain networks with his PAK.
This worked on Vortian technology too, which made Veena a bit obsessed with finding a way to fully secure her operating system.
She built a lot of digital blockades specifically to keep the Irken virus out.
They'd been testing each other ever since... it was...well... it was something anyway...
"Hey Bandeval," Laes raised a hand, hoping to gain the Irken's attention as he passed by him in the hallway.
The Irken's eyes met his for a moment. Then Bandeval looked straight ahead as he continued by.
Laes lowered his hand back down and turned quickly to watch the Irken round the corner.
Why wouldn't Bandeval talk to him...? Having a conversation or two might trigger his memory a little.
It was worth a try wasn't it? The Irken didn't really need to avoid him this much, did he?
Before he could let himself think of anything else, he hurried after Bandeval.
"Bandeval!" He called as he started running. He turned the corner."Bandev-oof!"
He fell backwards after accidentally running into something.
Blinking, he looked up at Bandeval who was staring down at him, frowning.
The Irken virus crossed his arms and heaved a sigh.
"What is it?"
Laes rubbed the back of his head and offered a rueful smile.
"Sorry... I uh... shouldn't have been running in the halls... but um..."
What should he ask exactly? Why won't you talk to me? What happened to make you avoid me? Are we really friends?
He tapped his fingers together and lowered his head.
"I guess... we met in prison right?"
That's what Lard Nar mentioned anyway, and that did make the most sense.
Irkens didn't really spend much time on Vort before the invasion.
Zim had been an exception to that rule... a really horrible destructive regretful exception.
"Yes," Bandeval responded. "Anything else?"
"So um... why are you avoiding me if... we uh... we were friends?" he asked, and he continued tapping all of his fingers together nervously.
"..." the Irken didn't say anything for a while, and Laes was sure Bandeval was probably just going to leave again.
Bandeval let out another sigh. He unfolded his arms and he dragged a hand down his face.
"I should have taken the time to fully explain how the Invaders' teleporters worked..." He dropped his hand back to his side. "You ended up with the Invaders, so you were probably thinking you could talk to them to try to save the Irkens through diplomacy...so you accidentally willed yourself to their counsel."
"I did...?" Laes questioned blinking.
He would add that to the list of things he still couldn't remember.
Bandeval clenched his hands into fists. "It's my fault you ended up there and lost your memory..." He sighed and relaxed his hands. "I'm sorry."
"Oh, well, that's alright," Laes decided to try to encourage him. "It's mostly back now anyway..."
"You don't remember anything about the Invaders," Bandeval told him.
"Yeah, but Lard Nar already told me a bit about Sevai, and even if those memories don't come back, Veena can always try her information swap... though I guess it's more like copying someone else's memories and implanting them in my brain..." he smiled. "It would be like watching a movie in my mind, or at least that's what she told me."
Bandeval became quiet again. Laes watched him for a while, trying to read his expression, but he couldn't.
"What else have they told you about me?" Bandeval asked. He sounded worried maybe?
"Ryter said you were young and inexperienced when you worked at the prison."
Bandeval smirked. "He would say that." His expression became more stern. "Has Lard Nar said anything?"
"He said you were a guard at the prison... but he won't tell me anything else."
"I see..." Bann closed his eyes. "I guess I've avoided telling you for long enough..."
"Avoided telling me what?"
"About myself..." his smile returned. It looked kind of... different though... like it wasn't an actual smile. "I'm a pretty terrible guy..."
"Are you a terrible guy, or did you just make a few terrible choices maybe?" Laes questioned.
"I'm a terrible guy who's made a lot of terrible choices actually," Bandeval informed him.
Then Bandeval began recounting every horrible thing he'd done since he was stationed on Vort. Laes tried to listen without showing the Irken how terrible he thought everything was, but he was sure his expressions gave away his thoughts pretty clearly.
At the end of his story, Bandeval turned away. "You really don't want to be associated with a guy like me... that's why you forgot about me."
The Irken virus started to leave, so Laes grabbed his hand to stop him.
"I forgot you because some advanced alien jerks decided to dig around in my brain, not because I hate you," Laes lightly chided him.
Bandeval wrenched his arm away, easily breaking Laes' hold.
"You really shouldn't be around me..." Bandeval frowned as he turned his back. "I don't even know what I am anymore."
That was the last thing Bandeval said before continuing down the hallway.
Laes sighed and rubbed his forehead. Bandeval couldn't tell him what he could or couldn't do, and while he really really disliked that the Irken virus had gotten some of Lard Nar's friends killed, he couldn't bring himself to actually hate the Irken virus himself.
Bandeval was willing to die for him so... it was kind of hard to hate someone who was willing to do that...
He hated that Bandeval seemed to not care about killing people though...
Lard Nar would be angry right...? Should he keep avoiding Bandeval?
He gripped the sides of his head.
Things were definitely easier when he didn't remember anything...
A few Vortian workers turned the corner and stared at him as they slowly walked by.
Oh shoot... he looked like he was having a mental break down right now didn't he?
Laes dropped his hands away from his head and hurried around the corner.
He took a few deep breaths then walked back towards the work station he left so he could... do something he couldn't remember anymore because his brain was running around too much.
–
The Invaders weren't attacking... why?
Him and his people had recovered the Massive without any resistance right after Irk fell, but he didn't think it would be a wise decision to keep driving it around since it was known as the most important ship in the Armada.
It was much more powerful than what they were currently using: the former flagship which was a piece of junk he'd salvaged from planet Dirt.
The Invaders likely expected him to stay on the better equipped flag-ship. The Massive had tons of storage (for snacks mostly) and it had the best force-fields and weapons monies could buy.
It was the best equipped ship he had for war... which was why he wasn't on it. That would be too predictable.
He was currently commanding people from the Big instead. At least for now. He was already thinking about changing his mind when he realized exactly how outdated everything was... even the colours were gross.
Red scowled at the large map of the galaxy that was being displayed on the screen in the centre of the control room. He placed groups of his followers all over the map in order to monitor the Invader's movements and also so his forces wouldn't be wiped out from a single full blown assault...
A call had come in not long ago, alerting him that the Invader's ship had recently been joined by another... that information was only a little troubling. He hadn't tested how much fire power each of those ships had, and Sevai wasn't about to tell him either.
The Empire might have fallen, but the remnants weren't about to quietly accept defeat.
One of the Control Brains was fully functional and was currently operating from one of their bases.
The fight wasn't over yet... although he couldn't get any of his hidden bases to do anything right now without them possibly getting annihilated.
It was kind of like playing "whack-a-rat person," only he and the other Irkens were the rat people.
"You have been staring at that map for quite a while..." Sevai commented.
Red glanced at him. "I kind of have a lot on my mind right now actually, so could you be quiet?"
The Invader flinched and lowered his head. "Yes... of course... I apologize..."
"If you're bored, go watch TV or something," Red remarked, waving him away.
He sighed inwardly. Purple hadn't been interested in battle strategies either.
"Sir," one of the technicians spoke.
Red turned to her with a scowl. "What?"
"We're receiving a transmission from planet Meekrob..."
He still had Bludon on hold as well... he was a bit curious to see how long they would wait before dropping the call, but he knew answering was probably the better idea.
The Bludons were one of the few people in the galaxy that were considered neutral. If they were contacting him, that likely meant they were in contact with the Invaders as well.
Hobo 1 and planet Galgarek were likely also waiting for a reply from the attempted transmissions they sent yesterday. They were allies though. It made sense for them to be contacting him.
He'd only just reestablished communications with Galgarek too... they were the ones who rounded up slaves after a conquest generally... when the Armada was too busy to do it.
Now it seemed even planets that hadn't been allied with the Empire were starting to contact him. Those ones were probably just trying to lure him and his people into direct combat with the Invaders, those cheeky blastards.
He rubbed his temples. "Go ahead and accept it."
He was flying the Big very close to Meekrob's space borders. That's likely why they were calling.
If he didn't respond they'd start shooting immediately, but if he answered he'd have time to get his soldiers into an offensive position.
A glowing blob of energy appeared on the main monitor, replacing the map.
"You're flying too close to our borders Irkens," the Meekrob insisted in its strange ethereal voice. "Move your ships further away or we'll open fire."
"We're not even in your territory, so why don't you shut your mouth hole and mind your own business?" Red stated, and his antennae fell in annoyance.
Now that his people were weak and vulnerable it wasn't surprising others were pushing them around a bit. It was expected, but it was still annoying.
"You're close enough. Move or we'll blast your ship to pieces."
"Tallest..." Sevai spoke quietly from where he was standing. It was easy enough to ignore him though.
Red's eyes narrowed at the irritating ball of energy on the screen.
"If you want to lose a few of your ships over a pointless boundary issue, then go ahead. Attack us."
Sevai stepped closer to him. "Tallest... can't we move? There's no need for any unnecessary casualties..."
"Wait... isn't that an Invader?" The Meekrob sounded interested now.
"How would you know that?" Red questioned; his eyes narrowing at the energy creature.
"That's none of your business," was the Meekrob's cheeky retort. "Since you've taken one of them prisoner, I have no choice but to detain your ship and imprison you."
"May I interject?" Sevai spoke; his voice was louder and more stern than what Red would have expected.
Well whatever. His soldiers were already prepared to start manually firing at any approaching vessel. Also a few of them were standing at the exit hatches, ready to face the Meekrob in a more close range altercation.
"You seem to have mistaken our intentions... we are only trying to pass by your territory, we are not planning to start an altercation."
"Besides that, if you blow up my vessel you'll be blowing up this guy," Red stated motioning to Sevai. "And that'll get you into huge trouble with the rest of them."
This was a bluff of course. The news of the Invader's hatred for Sevai probably hadn't been spread around yet. He was counting on that.
The Meekrob went quiet... which was creepy because this one didn't have a visible face so it was impossible to tell what it was thinking. "Fine... pass by quickly."
The screen went to black and Red nearly laughed. That actually worked! But it wouldn't work a second time.
"Thanks to you I won't have to destroy the Meekrob's border patrol today," he said as he approached Sevai who took an uneasy step backwards.
"I apologize for speaking without your permission," he hurriedly spoke, lowering his head.
This guy was almost always looking at the ground.
"Right... you did speak without my permission..." the Tallest tapped his chin. "What should I do about that hm? Should I cut your tongue out? Stab you in the throat or..." he smirked and shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I don't care."
Sevai touched his neck as he backed himself against the wall. His eyes were wide and frightened.
"I said I don't care. Stop acting like a frightened smeet."
Maybe he'd taken the joke a little too far... but seriously, Sevai was way too sensitive.
"Yes..." Sevai brought his hand back down. "My apologies..."
They were currently on their way to Slegura which was a moon orbiting Galgerek. After meeting with his allies here, he would take the long way to sector 22 before meeting with the Jackers again.
The Jackers were the ones who were actively perusing the Invaders' ships, though with the Invader's advanced cloaking technology, this was a frustrating impossible thing to do.
Spreading people across the galaxy and waiting for them to appear seemed to be the best strategy for now. They just needed more people.
"Sir, there's an incoming transmission from base 4," one of his technicians told him.
"Is it urgent?"
"Well... no... it wasn't marked as urgent but..."
"Hold that transmission and put Bludon back on the screen. Then tell the soldiers to stand down."
"Yes sir," two technicians responded in unison.
He still needed Bandeval to update him on the reprogramming situation on Vort too. He sighed as he returned to his chair. Things were a lot less complicated when he was just conquering planets and blowing stuff up.
He turned to Sevai who was slowly moving away from the wall.
"Go get me a drink," he told the Invader who froze as soon as he realized he was being addressed.
"What kind of drink would you like?" Sevai asked.
"Whatever they got in the break room."
As Sevai was leaving, the transmission from Bludon came through. The signal wasn't very strong, so there would likely be a bit of a delay.
"What do you guys want?" Red questioned.
The two Bludonians on the screen didn't say anything for a while. "The Invaders wish to seek an audience with you," they finally said.
"Why would they want that?"
Again there was a long pause. This delay was going to drive him crazy...
"They wish to obtain the prisoner you took. In exchange they will return all of your activated smeets."
Heh. The Invaders probably got some flack from people for stealing, holding onto, and reprogramming "Irken children."
Non-Irkens were usually much more concerned with their own offspring than his people were with theirs. Losing smeets wasn't a big deal when you could just make more of them...
How many engineers did he have working on the construction of a smeet factory? Fortunately the Control Brain he activated had those blueprints.
There must be another reason besides them pretending to look compassionate to the rest of the galaxy.
Red rubbed his chin. Really, they could just blow up either of his ships right now right...?
Drawing them in with the Massive was a better idea since it could probably take a few hits before exploding...
The Big was slightly faster than the Massive, but its shields weren't nearly as strong.
"If they want Sevai back, they're going to have to give me a whole lot more than just smeets," he informed the Bludonians.
It took a few moments for their expressions to change. They looked surprised.
"Then perhaps you'd be willing to meet with us so we can discuss this further?"
"I'm really not interested. Tell them it's not going to happen." He gestured for his communication officers to cut the transmission.
It was strange... with their advanced technology, the Invaders should be able to track his ship easily enough... so why weren't they attacking him?
Maybe they assumed Sevai had given away something to make them vulnerable... but didn't they erase his memories?
Or maybe this vulnerability was something he could discover for himself by keeping Sevai around.
He smirked to himself.
He'd just gotten another idea, and it was really going to tick those arrogant parasites off.
Random note: Veena is going to have the best self-made computer security after all of Bann's hacking.