Episode 6: The Ghosts of Your Past (Part 2)
(148 years ago: The Great Mentor Assigning!)
"Cadets this is the greatest moment of your young lives!"
Cadet Zim tried his best to withhold his excitement as the Almighty Tallest Miyuki addressed him and the other Worthy Cadets.
"You are the brightest, and most gifted of all our people. You are the blessed few that may one day have the great honor, and responsibility of leading our race." Tallest Miyuki continued. "And today you shall move on to the next step of your training. Standing just outside of this room is the greatest and most intelligent, high-ranking members of our society. And today five of them will choose one of you to take under their wing. To accept this great honor is to tell the entire Irken race that this is the individual that you will one day succeed." Tallest Miyuki smiled meeting each of the Cadet's eyes. "So choose wisely young ones, and remember, all of our people hold a place in our society; and no role is greater than the rest. Even the Janitory Drones are of value, for if one falls we all fall with them; a true leader understands this."
"My Tallest they are ready." A Service Drone spoke as he stepped into the room.
"Very well bring them in." Tallest Miyuki ordered.
Several high ranking Irken soldiers filed in, but Cadet Zim was only interested in one.
He was taller than the average Irken; just an inch shorter than Tallest Miyuki. His shoulders and back whereas straightly a lined as the stars during the equinox. His demeanor was serious, and he wore his Irken uniform with a since of pride and statue.
General Kazar, commander of the Irken Armada…
Ever since Zim decided that he wanted Red and Purple to become the Tallest, he had dreamed of succeeding General Kazar and becoming the next commander of the Irken Armada and its fleets; but he wasn't the only one who wanted it!
Cadet Zim tried to stand up straighter in hopes of appearing taller, but it was hopeless! Even after 11 years of existence he was still smaller than the average Irken of 11 years. The other cadets towered at least 2 feet over him now, and it was easy for him to be overlooked. He tried to keep his spirits high, but it wasn't easy.
'I'll be lucky if I'm even chosen at all!' he thought.
A Female Irken soldier stepped forward, Zim recognized her from his training simulations. Commander Diaz was a fleet commander; one of the many that served under General Kazar's command.
Commander Diaz stepped forward stopping in front of Cadet Nine.
Zim wasn't surprised, Commander Diaz was extremely bias, and only favored female soldiers. Her entire fleet, Sector A: was nothing, but female Irken personnel. And since Cadet Nine was the only Worthy female cadet; she'd have to do.
Several higher-ranking members stepped forward, but none of them stopped in front of Zim.
'I should have known better than to even hope I'd be chosen!' he thought to himself as he held back tears. 'I mean look at me, I'm not worthy; no, I'm nothing but a joke. I don't belong here!'
Tallest Miyuki stepped forward stopping in front of Cadets Red and Purple. "I have decided to take you both under my wing." She told them. "But know this; no more than one Worthy One from every class has ever survived the change. And should you both survive long enough to see the final stage of the transformation; you should know that any of your peers can also reach the final stage; and challenge you for this role. So, hear me when I say this decision does not make you the Tallest."
Cadet Red bowed respectively "We understand, this decision is not set in stone."
"We are honored that you would choose to guide us down this blessed path." Purple said bowing as well.
Cadet Zim smiled; he was happy for them both. Cadets Red and Purple were meant for this role, all of the remaining Worthy Cadets thought so. And Zim doubted that anyone of them would challenge the two if they ever got lucky enough to reach the final stage.
"If" being the key word!
From what they had been told only a small percentage of the Worthy Ones ever reached the final transformation. The other percentage either dies or stops growing. Once they stop growing the transformation is complete. Many Worthy Ones just stop growing, leaving themselves caught in-between the two breeds that divided their people. These special and strong few were known as the Tallers; and once their training was complete they'd take over the task of the most top-ranking members of the Irken Military.
The Top Twelve as they were commonly called!
The Top Twelve consisted of eight fleet commanders, who usually took command over a fleet of at least 2,000 and some odd Irken soldiers. These commander's and their fleets reported to the General of the Armada; who reported to the last remaining three of the top 12.
Of course, Zim knew that the last remaining 3 of the top twelve usually consisted of the Tallest, their future successor, and finally a Taller who showed great promise in reaching the final change. For example, Miyuki was the Tallest, and her next in line was Taller Spork; who happened to be the leading officer of her royal guard. With that said this left cadets Red and Purple sharing the role as the taller who showed promise in becoming the next leader, or leaders of the Irken race!
This meant cadets Red and Purple where now the third most powerful Irkens in the entire Irken Empire.
Zim smiled at the thought, they deserved this role, sure they picked on him from time to time, but deep down he knew they cared; and he had the scar on his left antenna to prove it! 'They could have left me to die out there, but they didn't. They came back to save me, and that's why they're the obvious choice!'
Still Zim was finding it hard not to groan in disappointment, there were only two of them left; himself and Koi! And they both wanted to succeed General Kazar!
General Kazar stepped forward in deep thought; he could sense that both of the remaining cadets had the potential to reach the final transformation. Yes, surely both of them was worthy of succeeding him; but which one was more worthy.
His eyes fell on Cadet Koi, he could tell just by looking at him, that the cadet was self-centered and self-absorbed. This Cadet cared for nothing but himself, but he also could see that great power was hidden deep inside him. He had the potential to become a future Tallest, and to be known as the Irken who molded their new leader would renew his status among the Irken ranks.
General Kazar allowed his eyes to fall on Zim, the cadet was staring at the floor now, and he was obviously fighting back tears. Kazar knew that he shouldn't give the sapling the time of day, and simply dismiss him; but something stopped him.
He had heard many things about this one! Cadet Zim, the smallest Amon in Irken History, and yet somehow contained in that small body was one of the most intelligent minds in the Irken Empire! He heard Cadet Zim beat the top score of the Military hand to hand combat simulation on his first try after receiving only one demonstration.
Oh yes, the cadet had the potential that much was true. He heard that Cadet Zim was known to draw blueprints in his spare time, blueprints of inventions that he had designed himself; inventions that could improve the Irken race and bring them into the next era of technology. Yes, the boy was gifted, there was no doubting it! And yesterday's events with the hog beast proved his bravery. But his size spelled out an almost certain demise. If Cadet Zim were to reach the final stage he would be too weak to survive.
It was obvious that Cadet Koi was the better choice; General Kazar stepped forward and stopped in front of Cadet Koi.
Cadet Zim couldn't stop the tear from falling down his face, he had worked so hard, but no matter what he did it was never enough.
His shoulders fell as he heard them begin to walk away….
Suddenly a feeling he had never felt before washed over him, in all his eleven years of existence he had never felt this. The feeling was so alien to him that it was hard to describe, he was angry, but it was unlike any anger he had ever felt before.
"No!" he growled. "You will not walk away from me!"
General Kazar stops "Excuse me?" he turns expecting to see a crying and broken overgrown Smeet, but his eyes widen as they were met with a very different sight then what he had expected; a very different sight indeed!
"I have worked too hard for this!" Cadet Zim growled his eyes glowing as red as a dying sun, his lips curled up revealing his razor-sharp teeth. "All my life I've had to work twice as hard as everyone else! I've had to fight to get where I am today, you hear me; I am a fighter!" Zim yelled. "So, don't you dare turn your back on me like I'm some weak pathetic; sapling!"
"You dare speak to me in this way!" General Kazar growled his eyes glowing as well. The fact that one as young as Cadet Zim could show signs of the final transformation was unheard of, it was far too early; he was much too young! It was at this moment that he realized that Zim had the potential to become a powerful being.
'A being I would not wish to have as my foe!' General Kazar admitted to himself.
"Fine if you think you're so worthy then I shall give you a chance to prove your worth. I will take you as my pupal."
"Really, that's fantastic!" Cadet Zim exclaimed his eyes and the rest of his featured immediately returned to normal. "Thank you sir I will not let you down." Cadet Zim bowed.
"Don't think this is a free ride it is Cadet Koi that was chosen first! But I have decided to take both of you under my wing, I will teach you both everything I know and in the end, the last one standing will be my successor."
Cadet Zim's and Cadet Koi's eyes locked with one another as an unspoken truth filled the air.
And the truth was simple…
There were two of them and only one opening.
Only one of them would win it all!
'It's gonna be me!' Zim vowed. 'Someway, somehow I'm gonna beat you Koi, I'm gonna beat you or die trying. I swear and an Irken never breaks a promise…EVER!'
(Present Day: First period)
"Mr. Campbell… MR. CAMPBELL!"
Joseph jumped as he was dawned out of his daydream by a screaming Mrs. Bean. "Ma'am yes ma'am!" he exclaimed getting to his feet and bowing, respectively.
Several of the Irken cadets around him snickered.
"Well Mr. Campbell if you're done daydreaming perhaps you could tell me where the galaxy Andromeda gets its name from." Mrs. Bean snapped.
Joseph bit his lip and straightened up. "Yes Ma'am, the galaxy: Andromeda gets its name from the area of the sky in which it appears, the constellation of Andromeda. It's also the closest and largest galaxy to the Milky Way."
"Thank you now sit down and the next time you go off to daydream land you will not be let off so easily!" Mrs. Bean snapped.
"Yes Ma'am." Joseph said with a bow and sat back down.
Cadet Scamooch smiled widely as he watched his target sit back down. 'He seems to be off his game today.' He realized.
Joseph did his best to withhold a hiss, that headache was back again, but this time he couldn't use the serum. If he was going to be strong enough to take down the Tallest, he was going to have to let the change take its toll. It was a scary thought, but it was the only chance they had.
Joseph jumped as the bell rang around him.
"A bit jumpy today are we Campbell?" Cadet Scamooch teased.
"A little bit." Joseph admitted as he gathered his books.
"So, did you ever replace that last job of yours yet?" the cadet asked as he followed his target out of the classroom.
"No, I've been preoccupied." Again, Joseph answered honestly.
"You've seemed to be out of it for a while now." Cadet Scamooch seemed to agree.
Joseph froze. "You've noticed?"
"That you've been acting sick or something?" Cadet Scamooch asked. "Yeah I've noticed. What's wrong? Headache?"
Joseph couldn't help the dread that sunk in. If Scamooch noticed then so had everyone else, and if the instructors recognized his symptoms for what they really were, his cover could be blown. "Yeah I guess that's what I get for working two jobs, going to school, and somehow manage to raise my brother and get my homework done." He said stopping at his locker to drop off his first period textbook.
"You know he's only holding you back." Cadet Scamooch told him.
Joseph rolled his eyes. "My brother is my only family, you Irkens wouldn't understand!"
"Your right I don't." Cadet Scamooch admitted. "Why sacrifice for him?"
"Because he's my own flesh and blood. Don't you Irkens feel anything besides greed and the need to cause pain? Don't you long for something besides conquest?" He already knew the answer to his question, but still he could not stop himself from asking.
"No, we don't." Cadet Scamooch snapped. "And only a weakling would say they do."
Joseph watched him walk away with a heavy feeling in his chest.
There it was…
The answer he knew was coming.
'How am I supposed to save them from the Tallest when I can't even save them from themselves?'
It was a haunting question, sure he changed, but then again he was defective! Could he really say that non-defective Irkens could actually feel the things he did? After all, Tak only agreed to help because she knew what monsters the Tallest really were. But that didn't mean she'd stop wanting to be an Invader or abandon the teachings she had grown up to know.
No, it only meant she wanted someone else in charge.
Someone who didn't kill their own in cold blood.
And she was crazy to think that someone could be him.
Joseph sighed and picked up his books for second period before heading towards the check-in line.
Today just couldn't go by fast enough!
(Back with Josh)
Amazement…
That was the only word that could be used to describe Josh's emotions as he poured over the book about the Worthy Ones.
He knew it was a big risk to be caught with the book at school, but he couldn't put it down. How many years had be chased Zim down for answers about the Irken race?
7 years, and back then he thought he knew everything there was to know, but now he realized he hadn't even began to scratch the surface.
For example, there was not one but two types of Irken; the Shews: who were basically mutts. And the Amons: who were the purest breed of Irken! And the fact that they stayed locked up in a tiny room for the first 10 years of his life blew his mind! No wonder Zim never understood the child like the wonder of his fellow classmates.
It was because he never had what humans consider a healthy childhood!
And the fact that you had to be a worthy one to become a Tallest amazed him even more. However, it also filled his mind with many questions. Why could they become Tallest and not Shews? Was it just a monarchy thing or did Amons possess something that Shews did not?
And why keep their race so heavily divided for so long? When so many intelligent races like them had learned to eliminate their differences in order to make their race as a whole stronger.
Was there really a need for the segregation?
Oh, how he wished he could ask Zim about this, but if Zim found out about the book and the risk he took to steal it. He'd scowl at him for it, take away the book, and tell him absolutely nothing!
Josh shook his head; this was important though. If they could convince the Shews of what the Tallest had done to their future leaders, then the Irken threat would be weakened. They would destroy themselves.
The war would be over!
So why didn't Zim want the resistance to know about the worthy Ones.
"There are some things about my people that you wouldn't understand!" those had been Zim's words, and for some reason they burned an everlasting impression in his mind. What was there to understand? Zim couldn't have meant the segregation of the two races, after all the human race had its own bouts with segregation.
So, what was it? What was Zim keeping from them that they wouldn't possibly understand?
Suddenly the Tardy bell rang all around him, and Josh was forced to hide the book away so no one would get the chance to question it. But the moment it was out of sight was the moment he wanted to read it all the more.
"So, worm what's been up with that brother of yours?" a voice asked.
Josh looked up to see his daily tormentor. "I wish I knew sir." He said to Cadet Scamooch as he sat down.
"Really I thought family told each other everything?" Cadet Scamooch gave his usual mocking tone.
"Joey doesn't like having people worry about him. He wants to be the one that fixes the problems, not cause them." Josh answered as he began the morning bell ringer.
"So, he leaves you completely in the dark about his illness." Cadet Scamooch asked.
"Illness?" Josh froze. "He told you about that."
"No, he just seems off his game." Cadet Scamooch said lightly.
'If he notices Zim's strange behavior then everyone must see it too!'
"He's zoning out in class now too; you should really try and figure out what's going on?" The cadet went on.
"Why so you can beat the answer out of me later?" Josh snapped.
Cadet Scamooch smiled. "And the other Cadets call you a stupid monkey boy."
"Really you Irkens are so uncreative!" Josh said with a roll of his eyes and finished the bell ringer.
Cadet Scamooch chuckled it would seem the Campbell brothers weren't as tightly knit as they'd like him to believe.
Perhaps he could use this to his advantage…
-To Be Continued