Episode Summary: After Gaz's betrayal the team scrambles to recover, and try to make sense of it all. Meanwhile the traitorous Cadet Tak has a new minion, and who it turns out to be will send the Renegades into a world of madness!
Author's Notes: Per SaintHeartwing request more Irken rebels are about to get involved! Again, SaintHeartwing sorry I took so long to get around to answering your requests but as I told you before all these episodes are written way in advance.
So, if any of you feel your ideas or request have gone ignored that's not the case. Since I'm episodes ahead I have to place them in parts I haven't started yet.
Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this bomb shell! And ask that you please review. Your input does make all the difference.
Yours Truly, RoxieDivine :)
Episode 20- The Evil Girlfriend of Doom2 (Part 1)
(Five Years Ago,…)
[Location: Planet Irk!]
All her life she had known nothing but pain…
And all her life she had been told that she deserved such pain!
Mia's antenna twitched in obvious fear as she peered around the corner and into the dark and empty hallway before her. They should not be here, but they had to know the truth, they had to know without a doubt that their existence truly was a crime.
That's right Mia was a defective!
The Irken Female hissed as that word entered her mind, she had been labeled as a defective only months after she had become a soldier of the Irken Elite! But even though she knew she was a defective, she still didn't understand why?
Was it really because she made one minor mistake?
No that couldn't be right, others in her peer group had made countless mistakes, and they never found themselves ensnarled in restraints, and cut into. Mia allowed her hand to run along the scar that decorated her emerald green face. This madness had started about a decade ago, and somehow had managed to stay a secret to the main Irken populous despite all her efforts to do otherwise.
10 years ago, the number of defectives had reached an all new high, Because of this the Tallest had declared that for now on Defectives would not be simply deactivated once discovered. No, instead they would be carried off to a lab in the dead of night, dragged out of their sleeping quarters, and tied up to a lab table while a Computer Brain would cut into them and tried to figure out why!
Why were they defective!
Mia shivered as she allowed herself to remember those horrible days of being trapped against a cold metal dissection table, as a machine cut into her and ran test on her body. Only to sow her back up to be cut back into the next day.
How many times had she begged for death?
Every second!
How many times had the brain said that there were no defects discovered?
Every single day it came to that conclusion!
Every single day the brain would find nothing!
And that got her thinking, if the brain could find no fault in her, then why was she still here?
Why was she a defective?
Could it really be because of one slipup?
No, others made plenty, so how come she didn't get as many chances as them?
What made you a defective?
Mia was determined to find out, and that is why she was here, why they were here.
After 3 years of constant torture; Mia had managed to escape that hell known as Lab #223, and she had freed several other defectives as well; there was 50 of them in all. Sadly though, 12 died just trying to get out. Several others died due to the weakness the experimentations had caused. And then even more died due to missions just like this one, and she knew several would die today.
'I might die today.' The thought brought no fear, in fact it brought peace; her every move brought her pain. Heck, it was a miracle that she had survived this long, seven years of freedom, and somehow she had managed to fight through the pain.
She was one of the lucky ones, at least that is what her comrades would tell her. She did not share their beliefs.
Mia shook the thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. It was her job to keep watch for the enemy. She couldn't let them get the slip on them, for today they would learn the truth.
Today, they would learn what it truly meant to be defective.
And where were they exactly?
The Irken populous only knew it as the Sanctuary; the home of the main brains! Three gigantic machines, which held the 'souls' of the original three Amons; Justice, Tradition, and Wisdom. These three machines, better known as the Control Brains, regulated and shaped Irken society.
However, as more planets were conquered, transformed, and cleansed for the use of the Irken people it became more difficult to judge a guilty party, or evaluate a cadet when they were stationed on a conquered world lightyears away. So new portable Computer Brains or CBs were installed allowing the original 3 Control Brains to control them at will. Of course, they weren't nearly as advanced as the originals but, it made it, so they had complete control over every sprawling corner of the Empire.
The CB's were responsible for population control, construction, battle plans, food supplies, punishment of the guilty, trials for the supposed innocent, and the Smeet Hatcheries. Every aspect of Irken life went through them.
CBs were also complicated machines that required constant tune ups and updates in order to function properly. There was a special team of elite Irk scientists and engineers whose sole job was to travel wherever their assigned Control Brain was and keep it running like clockwork.
For centuries, the Irken people had lived under the rule of machines. They were trained from hatching to revere and fear these beings that had created their society, even more so than their Tallest. For it was them that made the final word of every law the Tallest or the Top twelve would ever suggest. And it was them that decided your role in the Irken society, or whether you even belonged in it at all!
Mia remembered a fellow cadet, Rae who took his final exam and was awaiting to be told which role he'd take in the empire. Only to be labeled Defective from the get-go!
And unlike Mia he was blameless!
He had done nothing wrong!
So, what made him defective?
Surely there had to be something, and yet the Tallest had never given them a clear definition of the word.
'That all changes today!' She thought. 'For today we will hack into the main 3 Control Brains and discover the truth about the defectives!'
Yes, today they would learn why they had to suffer, and if it was all indeed for the best of the empire then they would gladly take their own lives for the good of their people! But until they had solid proof they would fight on!
There is a sound of static from her communicator, Mia checks it. "Taz is everything alright?" She asked her comrade hopefully.
"I am fine." His voice answered.
Another voice cut into the transmission.
"Are you in position?" it snapped. "Because if you aren't—"
"Oh, shut up. I'm nearly there. Don't start with me ." Taz hissed back, antenna perked for any disturbances as he crept along the dimly lit corridor. It was empty, but for the occasional hidden camera. It was a place he'd been a billion times before it seemed.
"Cool it Chen!" Mia ordered. "Everything is fine, we've come in and out of this place for weeks testing the security. No soldiers should be here for the next 20 minutes. That is plenty of time to do this." She assured her comrade.
"But he is so slow." Chen complained.
Taz shook his head, and tried to tune out their conversation, and focus on the task at hand. For he was the one that would actually hack the Control Brains. Having been a Control Brain Engineer himself, Taz was their best choice for the job. However, Chen was right; he was slow. This was because of the fact that his left leg was mechanical, and did not bend properly at the joint.
His real leg had been cut into during experimentation, and by the time the Brain went to sow it back up the limb had lost too much blood to save. Taz remembered how Mia had to carry him to safety when they escaped, because he only had the one good leg. Chen had said to leave him, heck he had told her to leave him; but Mia could not.
For three years they had laid beside each other in that lab, for three years they had given each other the will to face the next day, and Mia refused to leave him behind!
Taz shook the memory away and focused on the hallway before him.
The hall was clean except for the rather obnoxious cherry soda stain in the middle of the hallway. He had remembered when that happened, it was back when he had a normal Irken life; back when he wasn't defective! A Co-worker had knocked into another, and had spilled the liquid on the carpet. Of course, they'd tried to remove it, to no avail. The only other option would've been ripping up the carpet and that was just stupid.
So, it stayed there, reminding him of a time when the world wasn't so cruel. Mocking him with the fact that other's lives remained the same while his was falling apart! Taz shivered slightly, he half expected the lights above his head to flicker ominously as he walked to his destination. For someone to jump out and scream "Ah-hah! Caught you!"
But, he was allowed to be here, in fact he was one of the ten Irkens who had full access to this place besides the Tallest. And yet his Spooch beat like it was going to hop out of his chest. He found it strange that his bio signature was still allowed to step foot in here, after all he was a defective now, but perhaps the Tallest never expected any of them to escape.
"Are you there NOW?" Chen snapped.
Taz cringed, glaring at the nearest camera. "Will you stop? I'm going."
"Well, you don't look like you're doing anything but, staring at the wall like a dull witted idiot. What part of 'Urgent, Life or death situation' do you not comprehend?"
Taz made a quick insulting gesture at the camera before shuffling up to the giant door at the end of the hallway. Chen was on the security level of the Sanctuary, watching the surveillance monitories. Which meant she could see for herself that he wasn't there yet. Why she always gave him a hard time he'd never know. Taking a deep, steadying breath he typed in his special identification code, waited for the door to swoosh open and walked inside, his heels making too much noise. "Nothing. I mean, I understand it all, thank you very much. I didn't vote for myself. You could've gone just as easily."
Of course, Chen could have gone, this was her profession too, but she had no field experience like Taz did. No, she was dubbed defective straight out of the Academy, just like Rae. So, in order to lessen their chances of getting caught Taz was their best bet.
Taz looked around the room, and gave a sigh of relief, it was the same as it always was; three giant Pak like machines, all beeping and humming nearly noiselessly in the giant room. These three were connected to every other Control Brain in the Empire. Aside from the brains, numerous tools were scattered around the room. Along with miscellaneous inventions, holo tapes, souvenirs from planets they had been flown to for a new Brain's installation.
"You know why I couldn't." Chen said, her voice softer now.
Taz could almost picture her face as it instantly sobered, dark purple eyes dimming and yet still burning with that internal fire of determination he'd always admired. The brains didn't acknowledged him, as it knew his PAK signature. Taz walked right up to the far left Machine, which he knew was Justice or the Present or CB 1; in charge of Communications, surveillance, treaties, and alliances.
"Yeah, yeah." He hissed; his non-existent brow furrowed as shaky claws moved to work. The brains never stirred from their 'hibernation' which they always went into at the end of the day to process all the new information. "You're scared you'll trip something up." The nervous Irken worked swiftly, his hands, even while shaky, sure, and experienced. This was what he was good at; Control Brains. From his hatching he'd known what he was meant to do.
Now, he was doing the exact opposite. At least for a little while.
It was unheard of, a violation of a Control Brain. And certainly, worth a death sentence of painful deactivation in front of the entire Empire. And even if the very thought of that made Taz want to throw up the delicious doughnuts he'd managed to shove down this morning, he knew that if he didn't do this…he would never be able to live with himself. Or look at any of his comrades ever again.
They had to know why their existence was a crime, they could not suffer for no reason, not any longer. And he for one could not blame them, for he felt the same way; they all did.
So, pulling a final wire inside the main breaker of Justice, the green lights of the giant Pak went dark. Blowing out a lot of air, he swept over to the next one; Wisdom, the Future, CB 2; in charge of schematics for all Irken tech, main battle tactics, helping decide what laws to put into effect and how to enforce them. "Lights down on CB 1; releasing control on cameras." Taz said forcing his communicator to stay on so both his hands could stay free, as he worked and talked to his comrades.
Taz's fingers flew as they quickly repeated the process with Wisdom, eyes narrowed in concentration. The machine's blue lights flickered once, and then turned off completely. "CB 2; lights out." He said.
"Good work Taz." Mia praised.
Taz knew that things were going well, Very well. Better than they had dared to imagine. He had expected to at least have triggered an alarm by now. His dark pink eyes flickered to the final control brain. Tradition, the Past, CB 3; in charge of Prisoner records, Law Accounts, deactivating defectives, harvesting information, smeeting training programs, tallest electoral and historical records.
It was the most unpleasant Brain that Taz had ever had the displeasure to work on. It often barked commands and spoke down to them more than the other two did. Grimacing from the shiver of nervousness that was working its way up his spine, he stepped forward and opened the control box, preparing to complete his task at last. This time his hands were steady even though inside he was anything but.
"How are you coming along, Taz?" Mia asked.
He grunted, hands flying as fast as he could, disconnecting wires, throwing switches, typing in the necessary codes…"Almost…"
"IRKEN CBT TAZ. PAK #989237556. STATE YOUR BUSINESS." Tradition boomed in a voice of age and command.
"What was that?" Mia hissed.
"I-it's awake." Taz whispered back, petrified.
"Well, turn it off!"
"RESPON—" Tradition began.
Taz tugged the final wire out, sending the red lights into darkness. From his communicator he heard Mia's sigh of relief, along with the tap-tap of keys on a keyboard. "It's out. CB 3 gone. But I probably triggered an alarm." He informed Mia. "Do you want me to abort?"
There is a pause.
"No Taz. Just hook up your PAK real quick and get the answer we need, then get out of there."
He nodded even though he knew that she couldn't see him. Setting his tools down, He hooked his PAK up into the Brain, searching it for the answer he seeked. He knew Tradition had to hold the answer, after all defectives was its specialty.
He searched, and searched, and searched…
Nothing!
He was confused. How could the Brain who was in charge of deactivating Defectives not have the answer? Suddenly the Brain hums back to life, he wasn't sure how it managed; he could only assume the brain had some backup power stored with itself. "PAK #989237556 I see that you are searching my data banks." It said. "What is it that you are searching for?"
"Why." Taz asked simply.
"Question does not compute…" Tradition told him.
"Why am I defective?" Taz shouted, making his question clearer.
"Question does not compute…" Tradition repeated.
"What is wrong with me?" Taz cried.
"Nothing." Tradition told him.
NOTHING!
The answer threw him a curve.
"What do you mean? I'm defective there has to be something wrong with me!" Taz cried. "What is it?"
"Question does not compute…" Tradition repeated once more.
"What is it that you don't understand?" Taz hissed.
"What is defective?" Tradition asked.
It was like the air was seized from his body; how did Tradition not know what defective was? Tradition was in charge of everything that was defective, how did it not know what it was?
In less…
Taz's blue eyes widen as the realization hit him.
Unfortunately, it is already too late for him.
"Freeze!"
Episode 20- The Evil Girlfriend of Doom2 (Part1) END!