It Came From Outer Space (Mira-Charma13 and Dip)

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 14, 2017

"Ehh..." Zim shrugged his shoulders. "I wasn't really sleeping much anyway. I was trying to sleep, but I couldn't stay asleep. I kept waking up over and over again." He pouted at the happily snoozing SIR unit snuggled up against the human's side. GIR could fall asleep anywhere and at any time. Zim recalled finding him asleep and snoring on the roof of his Earth house a long time ago, and that wasn't even the most unusual place he found him! The oven, a public park, a dumpster, and underneath a random mobile home in a trailer park were other spots where Zim discovered GIR fast asleep.

"It may have something to do with the fact that I usually prefer to recharge," the Tallest mused. "Zim is a very busy Irken. Sleep is a luxury. But nowadays, whenever I try...I just can't sleep for long periods of time."

He did scowl in an instant when the human so gently poked fun at his fuzzy pink robe. He let out a huff of irritation and fussily smoothed the plush material out. "You're just jealous of Zim's oh-so-comfortable and oh-so-fuzzy robe," he accused flatly, just a hint of playfulness in his voice. It really was the most comfortable thing he had ever had the pleasure of wearing! A small and selfish part of him wished he could just wear this amazing thing all the time and forgo the pointy Almighty Tallest armor.

"Do you want one?" he asked out of the blue after calming down some, his antennae bouncing curiously. "Zim can have one made."

Those final words from the Dib were more than enough for Zim. He sniffed loudly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Zim will stay, then. He can't sleep well without GIR and Minimoose by his side, anyway. And they seem like they're intent on sticking around." He hovered a bit closer, studying the haphazard sleeping area the human constructed for himself on the floor. "Are you going to stay put there? Or would you prefer to share the bed?" Zim pulled a strange and unusual face. "I don't mind sharing a bed. But I do tend to roll around and kick when I finally do manage to fall asleep, so allow me to apologize in advance if I kick you. Repeatedly."

He had to share close quarters with Skoodge during their Academy days. They shared a common room together, along with Red and Purple, and there were two cramped bunk rooms. Skoodge and Zim were stuck with the smaller one because they were both puny, and despite their own small size it was cramped enough that when they both opted to sleep, perhaps in preparation for a big test, they were often forced to sleep back to back.

Poor Skoodge usually woke up with massive bruises all over his back from Zim's incessant kicking.

The Tallest hovered slowly toward the unoccupied bed and took a seat on the edge, swinging one of his legs back and forth. He made no comment of it...but this was probably the very first time the human would ever get a good look at his feet. Zim always made a point of keeping his feet covered around others--it was apparently an Irken quirk, as many other Irkens hated to expose their feet and hands to other creatures. Zim's feet were large with big curled toes with sharp tips at the end. Each foot had a smaller toe resembling a dog's dewclaw on the inward-facing side of the foot.

Oddly enough...they resembled the feet and talons of a bird of prey, or perhaps even a velociraptor. Irkens also had sharp-tipped fingers, and just like their feet there were no actual nails or claws. The sharp tips were built in to the end of their toes and fingers. The anatomy was starkly different from that of a human and suggested that long ago in ancient times, Irkens were a carnivorous species that hunted for their food with their bare hands and feet.

"We can put some Earth movie and television-things on in the background, if you'd like." Zim met the human's gaze evenly. "I doubt I'll be able to hunker down and sleep now. And...you won't be able to either, yes?"

"It wasn't?" Rhapsody seemed surprised, but delighted all the same. "Well, that's nice to hear. Ordinarily I'll get roasted if anyone catches me singing in my spare time. How can a species that enjoys music so much be so critical of one of their own making such music? It's mind-boggling to me!"

There was a brief spell of silence before the violet-eyed Irken stood back up, brushing her stark white attire free of any unwelcome tagalongs. "We should get back to work, I suppose." She didn't sound enthusiastic about it. While she was decent when it came to working as a Medic, it wasn't truly her passion...so she didn't actually enjoy the work. "Unless you'd rather get something to eat first." That sounded like a much better idea in her opinion.[/hr]

Dip · Jan 14, 2017

Unlike Zim, once Dib found himself asleep, he stayed asleep for as long as possible. He slept like a rock in a hard place, and woke up only to the sound of loud alarms and wicked jostling (usually delivered by his sister up until late). Currently, Dib sets two alarms in the morning to play at the same exact time. Both of the sounds are different, but they're similar bell sounds. If those didn't wake him up, nothing would.

Dib shook his head when the other insisted that Dib was merely jealous of his robe, and sighed happily. All of that action had really done a toll on him physically. He was tired, but not ready to fall into a peaceful slumber, like the robot's near and on himself. He was ready to spring into action, but his muscles were begging him for a little bit of peace.

Dib glanced at Zim when he offered to have a robe made, and he shook his head once more. Unlike most humans, Dib didn't quite sleep in organized bedroom attire. Dib had, at one point, slept in matching pajamas for quite sometime, but he slowly grew out of it as his paranormal investigations became more and more demanding. He would rather be caught dead than sleep in sweatpants or regular jeans, but he was guilty of sleeping in a shirt that he would wear the next day.

Dib was wearing an all-black hoodie with two red semi-circles, that looked to resemble eyes. The words, 'Half Moth, Half Man, All Friend' were written in the same red writing. It had been a Secret Santa gift that he had gotten earlier that same year. Dib had the idea of holding a Swollen Eyeball Secret Santa, but he had failed to realize that he drew his own name for a gift, and when he delivered the present to be exchanged, it made it's trip all the way back to his house. Under that was just a pair of blue and black checkered boxers and white socks.

"I don't want one." He wasn't annoyed that the other had asked in the slightest, he was just not interested. Within the three months of being aboard the Massive, he learned to expect that the other would often try to spoil the human. Dib had gotten better at dancing around these kind of questions, and he had almost perfected the art of doing so without leaving Zim confused or angry.

Dib looked about his current situation, and figured that he was trapped. "I don't think I could move if I tried." With GIR on one side and Minimoose on top of him, he was trapped. "You can sleep on my bed if you want. I'm fine down here." The Irken comforter that he was given was still placed on the bed, and Dib had made use of the blankets he had toted from Earth. It wasn't that he didn't like the blanket, it was just that he was partial to his own.

Dib watched as the other took a seat on his bed, and he wondered if Zim was at all uncomfortable inside his room. Dib had managed to make it more comfortable, and he managed to make it more like his room that used to be on Earth. Earth posters lined most of the walls, and small piles of books and notebooks littered the floor. His desk was full to the brim of task-related objects and very sloppy Irken notes. Dib had never allowed Zim into his room, let alone his house, on Earth, but now things were different.

"I can't sleep," Dib knew for a fact that he wouldn't be able to knowingly fall asleep. Unexpectedly passing out was a possibility, but closing his eyes and laying dormant was not an option right now. Dib looked on the ground for a short second, and found his phone. "You like Human music, right?" Dib asked, as he winced at the bright light that was immited from his phone. He lowered the brightness drastically, and scrolled through his songs.

Dib flickered through a few songs quickly, unsure of what he or Zim wanted to listen to. After about five times of constant skipping, Dib settled on a small audio file that he had managed to record quite some time ago. "I remember this..." Dib chuckled to himself, and looked up at Zim. "Back on Earth," He started quietly. "I hid outside of your base for like, twelve hours one time, and just recorded all of the sounds outside of your base. You were working on something, but I forgot what it was."

The sound started with a simple cricket noise. Dib had recorded it in the spring time, when the bugs were immerging from hibernation and ready to face the world again. He had placed his phone in the grass near the 'house', and let the whole thing record. "I was going to delete it, but I never got around to it." Dib sighed, as he listened to the bugs chirping quietly in the background. He wondered if Zim ever got homesick.

Well, Bohemian knew the answer to Rhapsody's question. It was because music was useless, and was only there for leisure and served no other purpose but to distract and to calm others down. He never said that out loud, of course, but he knew that Rhapsody had to know that. Bohemian nodded silently, looking down at himself to inspect for any imperfections much like Rhapsody.

"I could eat," Bohemian agreed. Bohemian was a big eater, but often got one usual meal. He didn't like to be adventurous and explore when it came to eating, so he simply stuck with a soda, a large bundle of fries, a helping of nachos and something that resembled an Earthling Hot-Pocket.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 14, 2017

Zim grunted and squinted one of his large eyes at Dib, apparently skeptical about the human not being able to move. GIR was easy enough to move--just a short series of taps and he would scoot over out of habit, as it was a tactic Zim used to move him when he was in the way. But Minimoose was like a rock. Once he got comfortable he would often outright refuse to move, even putting up resistance and throwing a fit of whines and squeaks if Zim tried to move him forcibly.

"...Very well," he agreed at last, throwing his legs up onto the bed and settling down to rest. He already knew that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep--not only because his body was still tense and on high alert, but because he was in an unfamiliar yet oddly nostalgic space. He remembered what Dib's old room on planet Earth looked like. Though Dib himself never invited him into the room, he did a fair bit of snooping with his Dib android the one time he chose to use it. Of course, Dib had no way of knowing this.

"Mm-hm," was the weary Tallet's simple response concerning human music. He did have quite the affinity for Earth music and had many different songs on hand in his own quarters. "Music is nice. It may be the wiser choice in this situation. Any sort of movie or television program would surely wake GIR and Minimoose." When those two fell asleep it was best to keep them asleep. When they were fast asleep like so they couldn't cause any of their usual mayhem and Zim didn't have to keep a wary eye on them.

The sudden sound of bugs chirping was unexpected--Zim's antennae shot straight up and he propped himself up on the human's bed with his thin elbows, looking puzzled. The explanation the human offered was both amusing and intriguing. Slowly, the Irken leader settled back down onto the bed. He settled for a cozy position on his side facing Dib, his body curled ever so slightly and his arms tucked up underneath his head.

The Earth sounds were admittedly relaxing, and even though Zim had too much of that infectious Irken pride to admit it his body language gave it away. His large magenta eyes were half-closed and his antennae twitched, bounced, and quirked with every new noise that emitted from the Earth beast's cellular device.

He had the same thoughts as Dib, wondering if the human was homesick for his mother planet. That was...unfortunate, to say the least. Planet Earth was an isolated planet in the far reaches of the Known Universe--a spot where even the most well-seasoned of space travelers rarely ventured. Zim faintly wondered if it would disturb the human to know that he never, ever got homesick for his own mother planet. He despised Irk. It was a cold and empty planet full of people he hated and places that only served to bring back bad memories for him.

Zim sighed, his eyes now closed. "...You aren't homesick, are you, Dib?" Though he still made a point of sounding somewhat insulting, as per usual, his voice was far too soft to actually sound unpleasant. He also left off an insulting suffix from the human's name. "Zim mentioned before that planet Earth is difficult to visit. It is so very far away from everything else. Perhaps someday, once the war with the Meekrob has ended and we have ample funds to do so, Zim will construct a Warp Drive just outside the Milky Way Galaxy for you."

There was a brief pause before Zim spoke again, this time in a much softer voice. "...Want to talk about your nightmare?" He sounded awfully hesitant. Talking about other peoples' problems and trying to comfort them in the process...that wasn't something Zim did. Ever. Emotional mumbo jumbo was not his forte!

"...Really?" Rhapsody blinked, surprise flashing in her violet eyes. She would have expected Bohemian to immediately want to head back to the work he took such pride in. "Okay, then. We'll go to the Cafeteria." She folded her arms behind her back, flashing her partner the most devilish and playful of smirks. "Care to lead the way, oh great Head Surgeon?" Though she could be impish and did occasionally like to poke fun at the Irken she spent so much time with, this Medic in training didn't have a truly bad bone in her entire body.

It was no wonder why she failed to click or fit in with the other Irkens in the Armada. Irkens reveled in violence. They craved i! Personal disputes were often settled with violence, between males, females, and even a male and a female! That was one good thing about Irkenkind that wasn't always true with other species, Rhapsody supposed. Males and females were equal in every single way.[/hr]

Dip · Jan 14, 2017

If Dib really wanted to move GIR, he knew he could have. He didn't really want to move the SIR unit out of respect, and only because he felt it would be rude to do so. He knew that if he vocalized this, Zim would scoff and tell him that he could move him if he did please. GIR was just so nice! GIR would gladly scoot off to the side if the human so wanted, but it was still the principal of the matter.

But Dib mostly feared moving the Minimoose on his lap. The computer foretold of the destruction that could come with just a simple command, and Dib didn't want to die that day. He feared the moose, and he hoped that he would never witness the impending moose-y doom that would come if there was ever an attack on the Massive.

Dib watched as the other got himself comfortable, and did so himself. He reclined back a bit, his back now hitting the large window that showed off the impressive view of space. Dib wanted to kick his legs up on the small pile of blankets that he had been previously reclining on, but he would much rather sit with his legs criss-cross than move the sleeping moose on his lap. Dip slowly took his oculars off of his face, and played with them in his hands.

Dib faintly wondered what would happen if he managed to lose his glasses on the Massive. Perhaps Dib would just be crafted a new pair? Perhaps Zim would offer him a surgery to fix his sight. A chill ran down his spine as he imaged the new Head Surgeon Bohemian hard at work on his eyes. Dib would probably opt for a new pair of the same glasses. His glasses were apart of him, and without his glasses, who would he be? Blind, admittedly, but who else?

Dib was a little worried that perhaps the cricket and cicada sounds were less than appropriate, but soon the Irken relaxed, and so did Dib. The human thought back to all those years ago, when he had decided to record outside of Zim's base. He tried to remember why he was there... was he working on something? Had something happened at Skool to prompt the recording of the base? Maybe it was Dib trying to collect more evidence for the TruthShrieker forums, or maybe for the Swollen Eyeball Network.

Whatever it was, it seemed to have come in handy after all. If someone were to tell Dib six years ago that Zim offered Dib a job in good spirit, Dib would have promptly raised hell and argued up a storm. Even after three months, it was hard for the other to understand what kind of change of heart the alien had gone through. What had broken someone so badly that made them want to seek out someone from an entirely different species?

Dib hesitated before he answered the question. "... Maybe." Dib started. He wasn't not homesick, but he also didn't grieve for Earth. He didn't long for the dirt, or the fauna and flora, or even his sister or father all that much. He could call them anytime he wanted! "I might be. I dunno. " Maybe he missed seeing other humans face-to-face. Maybe he missed seeing someone as pink as he was.

Though the offer of a Warp Drive was very generous, he didn't think that would be entirely useful to anyone besides Dib. "No, it's fine. I don't miss Earth that much, but I just feel like..." Dib turned to look at Zim. "I think I feel kinda like you did on Earth, y'know? Like, I just got thrown into this new and strange culture, with all of these weird and strange customs, and if I do something wrong I'll offend someone, or like, people will know that I'm an outsider. Or something." Dib shrugged as he turned away from the Irken. "I dunno. It sounds dumb. I just feel really... by myself."

Even on Earth, Zim had Minimoose and GIR. On the Massive, Dib had his glasses and his trenchcoat.

Dib looked back at the Irken as he asked if Dib wanted to talk about his dream. Dib wanted to just start spewing his feelings right at that moment, but he hesitated just like the alien being in front of him. Would his dream offend Zim somehow? He could see it happening, but... if Zim wanted to hear about his dream, surely he was ready to listen, right? Dib placed his glasses off to the side.

"Do you want to hear about it?" Dib asked, talking quietly above the cricket noises. "You were in it. You, and GIR, and Skoodge, and... a few others."

If Rhapsody would have asked any other time if Bohemian wanted to get some food, he would have promptly declined. While no one could foretell the future in the Medical wing, it had been slow for quite some time that day, and if anyone would need any immediate medical assistance, Bohemian would be paged instantly via his PAK. It had been some time since he had eaten, and he was hungry as all get.

While Bohemian had gotten used to his new partner's playfull attitude, they were both still on duty and both still had to be professional. "Head Surgeon would do just fine, Rhapsody. Save the 'Oh Great' for after your done working." Bohemian stated curtly, but he couldn't help himself from smirking.

The Head Surgeon pulled out a Tablet from one of his pockets in his coat, and clocked both himself and Rhapsody out with a touch of a button. He rearranged schedules, and soon installed six more medics to work while Bohemian and Rhapsody took their lunch break. The medical wing was relativly empty, save for a few busy bees shuffling paperwork and attending to some short-term patients.

Just as the Trainee had requested, Bohemian led the way.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 14, 2017

For a weapon of potentially catastrophic mass destruction, Minimoose certainly didn't seem threatening now. He was all curled up in a ball and had settled into the human's lap as a comfortable lump, snoozing contently. It sounded like he was snoring...and, amusingly enough, it resembled the snoring of a dog with a pushed-in face--much like a pug or a bulldog. For the most part he preferred to spend his time in Zim's room, plopped down in front of the television or rolled up in a messy cocoon of pink and black blankets. When he did venture out, he was always with GIR and Zim.

He loved to sit on Zim's lap. Zim was fond of rolling around dramatically in his chair in the Bridge during calls with the little moose in his lap, stroking him methodically like some immensely evil supervillain. The image was ruined somewhat by the ever-cheerful GIR, who preferred to perch on his master's shoulder or head while Minimoose was there.

A nonchalant humming sound escaped the relaxed Tallest when his proposed Warp Drive idea was quickly shot down. He didn't mind too much, he supposed. An antenna quirked when it caught the faint sounds of the human shifting to turn and look at him, and Zim opted to do the same. One large eye squinted as the Earth creature spoke. He didn't interrupt him, as he was eager to hear what he had to say on the matter, but he did chuckle softly when the other stopped talking.

"This is an entirely different situation, Dib-human. You are not trying to be something that you're not. Zim was..." He paused and took a deep breath. Right. He was never truly an Invader at all. "Zim had to pretend to be a human monster. And it wasn't a simple thing to do, as our cultures are vastly different. Every day I had to fear my true identity being uncovered. I didn't really care about offending your people, of course--I never wanted to be friendly with any humans...I just had to seem normal. ...But..."

He pulled an odd face. "While I can understand feeling like an outsider, I cannot sympathize with your feeling of being alone." The Irken's expression was deathly calm as he went on. "I...I never felt lonely back then. I had GIR and I had Minimoose...and I had the Almighty Tallest on speed dial just in case." That must have been just fantastic for Red and Purple, getting constant calls from someone they utterly despised. "That was enough for Zim. I didn't need anything else. As long as I was doing good work for my mighty Empire, that was enough for me."

Zim avoided eye contact now, his jaw clenched tightly as he peered out into the vast expanse of space through the window. "But...it is different now. Everything changed for Zim after...after that encounter with the former Tallest. And now..." He lifted one hand, studying his fingers with apparently rapt interest. "...Now simply doing good work for the Irken Empire does nothing for me anymore. I don't feel accomplished when we claim territory for the Irken Empire. I don't feel like I've done anything spectacular when we blow something up, or win a battle against the Meekrob. It's like..."

The Irken monarch squinted, struggling to find the right words. "...Something broke in Zim that day. Something that...maybe cannot be fixed. And now, instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment and feeling proud to be Irken...I just feel..." Zim suddenly bristled with alarm, glancing around suspiciously as if he expected a hundred different Irkens to suddenly pop up and listen in on the conversation. "...Different," he finished lamely.

He couldn't do it. Even after all of this time, he couldn't approach the topic of being Defective on his own. The last time he discussed it even briefly was with Skoodge, and Skoodge had to start the conversation.

Zim instantly latched on to the change in subject, trying desperately to shake off the remaining shivers of revulsion and shame that still surged through his body and his PAK. He was initially just a little bit amused when he heard that the Dib was dreaming about him, but that amusement quickly changed to concern as he kept talking. Even so, there was very little hesitation on Zim's part. "Go on, Earth monster. Spit it out. You'll feel better if you talk about it." He tried to echo what GIR always said to him, but he couldn't match GIR's pleasant beside manner at all.

Rhapsody chuckled, waiting patiently for her superior to clock them both out of work. "Working all the time isn't healthy. It's good to have a few moments where you can just sit back, relax, and have a bit of fun. I think I'd lose my mind if I worked all the time." The violet-eyed Medic wasn't the most hardworking of employees. She did work hard whenever she was physically on call and there was a patient to deal with, but during down time when she was supposed to be filing paperwork and the like she was always doing something else. Like reading fictional novels on her work tablet--that was another thing the Control Brains looked down on...writing fictional things for a living--or browsing the Irken Database to look at works of art.

The way to the Cafeteria was packed full of Irkens. In fact, there were very few non-Irkens out today. Rhapsody only counted three of them, and they were all Vortian Scientists from down below heading off for their lunch break. Unlike most other Irkens Rhapsody was actually fond of Vortians. They operated on a 'treat others with respect unless they mistreat you--in that case, give them the cold shoulder' basis. Rhapsody was always friendly towards them, so they were always genial in return.

"I wonder if Jazz is here," she commented under her breath as they walked through the Cafeteria archway. "I think you've been on probation for long enough. You're probably sick of me by now, so...if we can catch him, maybe he'll let you go through the ceremony and become a full-fledged member."[/hr]

Dip · Jan 14, 2017

The alien was entirely correct when he said that the human's circumstances were different, and Dib knew that, as well. Certainly, Zim felt alien among the masses of alien life forms on Earth? If Dib were any other brand of alien-- Meekrob, Vortian, or hell, he's seen a few Screwheads running around the Massive, performing shipping processes or taking off with a latest bundle of goods! If Dib wasn't so entirely outnumbered, or if there was just a single extra human running about, he wouldn't feel half as strange in his current situation.

But even on Earth, Zim was visited (ambushed, maybe... almost killed!) by Tak, and there was always familiar aliens moving through Earth and passing by. There was absolutely no possibility that another human would come aboard the Massive. Dib didn't even have a fighting chance! The human listened to what the Irken had to say, and he nodded absently.

Dib chuckled near the end of Zim's little shpeal. "Fitting in must have been hard when Earth's Best Paranormal Investigator always ousted you." Dib thumb his chest at his title, looking rather smug. Dib watched as the other moved his position, looking far off into the distance. He watched him when he talked, although the Irken looked rather fuzzy without the use of Dib's glasses.

Dib continued to nod. "... You've changed." Dib commented. "But they're good changes, y'know? Like... you don't try to kill me every time I see you. I don't try to kill you! Both--Both are good things..." Despite Zim's circumstances, he turned out... well, for the most part, functioning. That's what anyone could hope to end up after their entire world crashes down on them, right?

Dib followed Zim's instructions, and decided to change the subject. Maybe he would feel better if he talked about it, but Dib felt that he would just feel embarrassed. He was able to talk freely about his terrors with his father or sister, but that was because he never dreamed about them. He always dreamed about monsters and creatures tearing him limb to limb, but that was just between him and the cryptids! He never had to worry about Gaz turning into a vicious bug-eyed creature who wanted to watch Dib's head explode in space.

Dib took a breath, and started quietly. "It started with us on the Ring Cutter, and we were leaving Earth." He started. "Remember how we all talked on the way up to Neptune? We were all quiet for a long time, until you said that I needed to be vaccinated. It was like that the entire time up there-- just like the trip, but some things were different, or not there at all." Dib shook his head. "I dunno. But we got off of the Ring Cutter and I was put in that Transport-Gurney-Carrying-Device-Thingy, like before, and we went into the Massive."

Dib paused. This was where it made the human uncomfortable. "Instead of the Medical Wing, though, you pushed me to this giant theater with about a million Irken's in the seats-- you, Skoodge, and GIR were in the front row. I don't know how I ended up on stage, but it was just me up there for a while... Then, the Surgeons and the Medics and some Trainees appeared on stage, and they kind of... blocked the exits, and everything." Dib slowly continued, unsure how he should start the next phrase. "And then... Serloz came onto the stage, and it looked like you-- like someone gave him my medical information, because he read it off to everyone in the theater.

"I tried looking for you three in the crowd, but you all... changed. GIR was in his Duty Mode, and Skoodge looked like he had just got out of a battle, and you..." Dib looked up to see the former Invader as best as he could without his glasses. "You changed into this... monster. Like, you were nothing like you are now-- You had giant bug-eyes, and giant-sharp claws, and fangs, and huge antennae, and--and you had the blood sample I collected, and it almost looked like you were drinking it, and--" Dib stopped himself before he got carried away with the silly details.

"...But after Serloz got done reading the medical information, him and all of the medics and staff, grabbed with--with their PAK legs, and..." Dib paused, feeling his voice crack because of the constant talking. "They lifted me up into the air, and then the ceiling opened up, and they were going to throw me in space--" Dib paused, shaking his head and raising an arm to cover his old wounds. "It sounds so stupid when I say it out loud, but I felt like they were stabbing me with those needles all over again. I looked out into the crowd, and all of the Irkens turned into those monsters, and I just... felt so alone, and vulnerable...

"I looked, and I saw you, and you were... smiling. The Medics threw me into space, and then I couldn't breathe, and all I could hear was this crazy-weird-maniacal laughter coming from..." Coming from Zim? Dib felt like he had targetted the Irken enough for one dream, he left out that detail. "From somewhere... And then I woke up, but I... Heh, I fell asleep in front of the window, and I thought that I was actually... Y'know, I thought the dream was real, and I thought I was in space..."

Dib thumbed the newly-replaced door. "And when you tore down the door to get in here, I wasn't wearing my glasses, and I thought... I thought you were Serloz, and you were going to..." Dib shrugged, looking off to the side. "Yeah... it was just a bad dream..."

Bohemian didn't quite enjoy relaxing as much as his parole officer did. Why would Bohemian want a break from his favorite thing in the universe? What was wrong with working all the time when he loved it so much? Becoming a Medic was his life-long passion, and it was the thing he was best at. Becoming Head Surgeon was his dream, and working all day and all night was a dream come true!

While Bohemian never went out of his way to be friendly with anyone who wasn't an Irken, he was never outright rude to any non-Irken. Sure, he gave the judgemental eye, but he never acted on his ill intentions, unlike some members of his race that he knew.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 15, 2017

Predictably, Zim scoffed and rolled his eyes when Dib called himself Earth's Best Paranormal Investigator. While he didn't doubt the truth of those words in the slightest he wasn't about to let the human know that he actually believed them. He did grumble and grunt when the other confirmed that he'd changed, but argued that the changes were good. "Sure, sure." A sour undertone tainted his voice. "Those are good changes. But those are the only good changes. The rest..." An unpleasant scowl curled his lips. "The rest Zim would gladly do without."

He didn't elaborate. This was something he didn't like to discuss with anyone except for GIR, who completely understood his problems. Perhaps one day he would feel comfortable enough around the Dib to have a detailed discussion concerning his own deeply-rooted troubles, but for now...the two of them were still on ground far too shaky for Zim to trust. They weren't enemies any longer, but they weren't exactly friends either. Until that day came when they could both call each other 'friend' without hesitation...Zim would maintain his silence on the matter.

The Irken leader listened to Dib's detailed description of his dream, occasionally interjecting for a brief second with his own thoughts but not daring to interrupt the Earth creature mid-sentence. "A theater?" One of his antennae quirked, angling in a completely different direction than usual. "Mm...the Auditorium may be a similar thing."

On the left side of the Massive was a large theater-esque room with a stage for the Almighty Tallest, balcony seats for higher-ranking Irkens, and standing room for everyone else. This room was used for making official announcements to the crew of the Massive. It was also utilized whenever the Armada arrived at a newly-conquered planet, either to announce and observe an Organic Sweep or to discuss planet conversion options with the Planetary Conversion Team.

Zim listened closely as the human went on, his antennae perked upward. It wasn't unheard of for the Irkens to make a spectacle out of a prisoner of war or a newly-acquired slave or something, but that was more of a Red and Purple thing than a Zim thing. Zim found the process of humiliating a new prisoner or slave very boring. He only went through the process when an important prisoner was captured, and it also doubled as intense questioning so it wasn't all for show.

He couldn't see the logic in the human's statement given what he already knew, but he could understand where the fear stemmed from. He faintly recalled the many nightmares that struck him back on planet Earth about being captured by the enemy and dissected...

Zim immediately burst out into that familiar mean-spirited laughter he was known for back on planet Earth. "Zim? Drink your filthy Earth blood? Pah!" His laughter ended with a strange combination of a snicker and a snort. "You know what that would do to Zim, yes? You still have traces of polluted Earth water in your system--that won't cleanse or purify itself for at least a full Earth year. Drinking such a thing would have catastrophic effects on Zim's insides!"

Thankfully enough he did calm down when Dib kept talking. He didn't interrupt again and waited until the Earth creature stopped speaking to finally say something. A childlike pout curled his lips and his antennae pressed down on the top of his hairless head. "You mistook the almighty Zim for Serloz?" were the first words that came out of his mouth. He actually sounded offended. "How rude! Zim is much better-looking! Ah, but..." His pout turned into a less prominent frown. "I suppose you couldn't see properly without your ocular lenses..."

He was still a bit irritable that he was actually mistaken for that idiotic little traitor, though. It was definitely a blow to his pride.

"Well, you don't have to worry about anything like that happening." Zim raised one hand again, wiggling his two long fingers and his much smaller thumb. "One, Zim would never toss someone who is still living out into space. That is just...wrong. He would have to slaughter the offender first, of course! Two..." His antennae bounced. "If Zim wanted someone dead, he would do it himself. He wouldn't rely on the Medics to do it for him. And three..."

He wiggled his little thumb as prominently as he could. Something unknown flashed in those magenta eyes. "Why would I bother tossing one of the only creatures that has ever mattered to me into space after I spent six Earth months traveling to some far-flung area of the Known Universe just to fetch him? Hm? Your fears are unfounded. So you can forget about your little nightmare now."

GIR suddenly snickered from beside Dib. He must have woken up partway into Zim's explanation and was now giggling up a storm. Unbeknownst to Dib, that was probably the closest his master would ever get to saying that he liked him in any way, shape, or form.

The audio file kept playing in the background. The distinctive noise of a car whizzing past brought back more nostalgic memories. Zim stared off into space, watching idly as a small green planet passed by in the distance. "Sometimes Zim wonders what his life would be like now if he...well..." He cleared his throat and pointedly avoided making any eye contact with Dib. "...If he chose not to leave Earth," he finished as quietly as he could. "The Tallest exiled me after learning I overheard their conversation. They warned me not to come back to Irk or they would use deadly force to eliminate me. So..."

Zim shrugged his shoulders. "In theory, I could have stayed on planet Earth for the rest of my days. I wonder what things would be like now if I chose to stay." A mischievous glint flashed in the Tallest's large eyes. "I think we would still be trying to annihilate each other."

Rhapsody led the way to the buffet tables, grabbing a tray for herself and her superior. She made a beeline for the Meekrob dishes, which were for the most part avoided by other Irkens. She split her attention between gathering food and searching for Jazz. This was about the time most PIT members came down from the Planetarium for their breaks, so she was hoping she would be able to catch Jazz alone...or, at the very least, with some of the IR members that also worked for the PIT.

It didn't take all that long for her to spot him once he wandered into the cafteria--after all, he stuck out like a sore thumb. He was surrounded by PIT members, and thankfully they all doubled as members of the IR. They eventually parted ways to gather food. Rhapsody waited patiently for the last PIT member to leave Jazz's side before approaching him. "Hello, Jazz! Here for lunch?" "Hm?" The tall Irken peered over his shoulder and glanced downward. "Hello there, Rhapsody." He squinted warily in Bohemian's direction. "Head Surgeon."

"Want to, um...sit with us?" Because of his height, Jazz could sit on any of the three tiers he wanted. Bohemian had the same privileges because he was the Head Surgeon. Rhapsody had her choice of the first or second tiers. Jazz hummed under his breath. "Is it about your charge there?" he guessed with ease. She nodded brightly. The blue-eyed Irken, still piling his tray full of food, contemplated the offer for a moment. "Sure," he agreed, shrugging one shoulder. "We should sit on the second tier. It's less crowded than the first."[/hr]

Dip · Jan 15, 2017

Dib did listened to the comment that the Irken had to say about his dream, and a few of them earned a chuckle or two from the human. Dib had agreed to the theater being more of an 'auditorium' for Zim's sake, but he didn't really understand what qualified something as a theater and what qualified something to be an auditorium. He assumed that the phrase was interchangeable, but he didn't bother correcting himself.

Dib could only that he didn't roll his eyes hard enough for them to fall out of his head. One thing that would never change was the laughter that came from the Irken monarch. It was as loud, as wheezy, and as rude as it had been on Earth all those years ago. It was almost refreshing to hear it, but it didn't refresh Dib enough to let that comment about blood pass him by. He understood what happened to Irkens when they were exposed to impurities, thank you very much! He had used chemical weapons before, duh.

It was more of the principal. There was some kind of symbolism that came with the blood, but let's throw symbolism out the window, why don't we? It's impossible for dreams to be fictitious in the very least! Dib kept this to himself, mostly because it didn't bug him enough for him to vocalize, but it was the principal of the matter.

Dib watched as the Irken curled his lips, or lack thereof, into something that resembled a pout, and Dib gave a tired smirk. "Better looking?" Dib hissed quietly. "That's a stretch," Dib joked silently. Maybe it was too soon to make jokes in regards to the former Head Surgeon, Dib thought to himself. Just saying that gave him chills. Those needle wounds were still fresh, he told himself. Maybe make jokes about that when the sight of medical equipment didn't churn his stomach to bits.

He had been in them Medical wing one other time on his time on the Massive, and that was to do a check-up to make sure that everything had healed properly, and to make sure that the vaccinations were properly administered, despite the situation in which they were delivered. Dib had managed to luck out when it came to medical situations, because all of this vaccines were delivered and working properly! If he had to thank Serloz for anything, it was getting his shots done.... despite the way they were given.

Dib could see that Zim didn't love being compared to the traitorous Irken, but he couldn't help it.

Dib watched lackadaisically as the Tallest prattled on and on about how Dib needn't worry about the technicalities of his dream. He had to admit, knowing that Zim would never toss him into the unforgiving void of space was somehow comforting, but you could only be comforted so much by the thought of Zim tossing his lifeless body out into space, as opposed to his life-full body. He had always been fond of space-funerals, but being ejected into the void of space by a bundle of alien creatures was less sensitive than being surrounded by loved ones.

Dib knowing that Zim would kill him with his bare hands was, somehow... more comforting than it should be. It seemed as if the hatchet they had was, as far as Dib was concerned, almost entirely unearthed. If Zim needed to, he would just kill Dib. Whole the thought of his untimely death at the hands of the Irken was never a good thought, he would prefer it be between an old rival than some stranger.

The human, while he mused the third option momentarily, stopped dead in his tracks when he realized what the Irken had said. Why would I bother tossing one of the only creatures that has ever mattered to me into space? Dib... mattered to someone? He looked at the alien quizzically. Surely, he didn't mean it, right? Right? Dib, at that turn of phrase, felt butterflies emerge from his stomach. Dib mattered to someone... Dib turned away from his old nemesis, and suddenly found the pile of books near himself more interesting.

It was quiet for a while as the ambient Earth sounds played quietly. Dib could hardly wrap the idea that he mattered to someone around in his head. He didn't understand why he mattered to Zim, but he didn't ask. Was it because Dib was the only one who could see him for what he really was? Was it because Dib felt much like an outsider among Zim's people, as Zim felt among the humans? The flood of thoughts racked his brain as he pondered the idea of meaning something to the Irken besides an old nemesis.

Dib looked back at the Irken when he spoke about life on Earth, and Dib was pulled from his thoughts into those of musings. Dib thought it over to himself, and laughed gently as he other spoke about their continued rivalry. "You wouldn't stand a change. You were like, what? Four feet tall? I'd smash you like the alien worm-thing you are." Dib thought about their difference, and only saw himself grow taller as the Irken stayed the same. He paused for a moment before he continued. "...I was so mad when you left." Dib admitted slowly and quietly. When Zim had first approached him all those months before, he had stated rather bluntly that the human was angry, and Dib denied it as fast as possible.

But the truth of the matter was that Dib was angry with him. Very angry with him.

"The day that you left, I just finished this super cool piece of spyware, and I worked so hard on it and everything. This thing was really cool-- it had lazars, and recording equipment, and-- er, well, I was about to plant it in your yard that day, but when I went to your base, you were..." Gone seemed to simple of a word to use. "You weren't there."

The human continued. " I was mostly mad that you felt before I could expose you and make myself famous, but I took you being gone as a personal victory. Like, 'woo-hoo!'" Dib made the motions of cheering. " 'Zim's gone! Earth is saved! Dib won!! Dib's the best! Raw, raw, yay!!!' But, after a while... I started telling myself that this was some kind of plan, and you were just testing me to see if I would give up on stopping you." Dib had never told this to anyone, and didn't know how he felt about telling Zim.

"So I just kinda... pretended you were still on Earth." Dib shrugged. "I told myself that you never left, but you were just hiding, waiting to strike. So I waited for you... I waited for three years, until I just... gave up on you." Dib admitted, almost looking ashamed and embarrassed. "I spent so long going after you, you kinda... became... I dunno, you were almost part of me." He laughed nervously as he spoke. "I'd wake up, and think, 'what diabolical scheme is Zim working on today?' But you were long gone, and I was just too scared to admit that I was..." Alone? Forgotten? Insane?

He stopped, and didn't bother to finish his sentence.

Bohemian took the tray happily, and watched as the questionable Trainee headed straight for the Meekrob dishes. He raised his antennae questionable, but didn't pay a second's more attention to the Irken. He headed for his usual buffet line, and began collecting the food he most often got. Rhapsody always seemed to head towards the strange Meekrob food, and Bohemian couldn't for the life of him understand why. He had never tried the food before, sure, but why would he? He loved his routine!

As he collected his snacks, he found himself humming the nonsensical tune that Rhapsody had sung not too long ago. He stopped suddenly when he received a few passing stares and, collected the rest of his food silently. As soon as he had collected the rest of his items, he headed back towards the Trainee he had spent so much time with.

He watched as the PIT leader squinted in his direction, and did nothing in return. He didn't like the fact that the taller Irken was sitting with them, but if it meant that he could finish this silly probation he was on, he was all for it. "Commander." The Head Surgeon regarded.

He had no qualms about sitting on the second tier. He had made use of the third as often as he possibly could, simply because he was now able to! It was a right of passage, and he had hollowed out his own private spot. Well, he did, before Rhapsody was thrown into the picture.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 15, 2017

When it came to night terrors and fears and the like, Zim tended to be more a realist. If it couldn't happen in real life, then what was the point in worrying about it? The many vivid nightmares he had were often somewhat realistic in nature. The realism was less defined before his own emotional floodgates were forcibly opened by the two former Tallest. He would often dream of situations that could happen, but the situations would happen in unbelievable ways and in improbable places...and the colors were often brighter and more eye-catching than usual.

Nowadays his nightmares were much darker in nature and a great deal more realistic. Zim had the occasional horrific nightmare about Red and Purple breaking out of prison and seeking him out to exact some brutal and gruesome revenge. Those sorts of dreams typically ended with him being tortured, kept as a slave for the rest of his days, or even killed. It was a viable fear. Red was a resourceful Irken. Zim had the two of them contained in the most secure prison on planet Irk, but they were always pushing boundaries there. Red attempted to escape often with his less-resourceful partner in tow, but thus far all of his attempts were promptly thwarted.

Another recurring nightmare involved the Control Brains. Zim would always wake up in restraints with a number of Irkens, including Skooge, Red, and Purple dragging him to a Control Brain. The Control Brain would snake its ominous humming wires into his PAK and slowly all of his sense would fade. His vision gradually turned to static and his hearing dulled until all he could hear was the maniacal laughing of his Irken peers in the background.

Every once in a while a nightmare about being captured by humans managed to sneak itself past the other negative thoughts. Those were rare oddities now, though.

The Tallest snorted haughtily when Dib insulted his appearance. Compared to other Irkens, Zim thought he was fairly attractive. Irkens were known for being attractive creatures, but sadly enough for anyone looking for a quick fling they were also universally uninterested in any form of romantic encounter--emotional or physical. Their cute appearances were also quite deceiving. Sure, they were small and could be extremely cute...but they were bloodthirsty killing machines with an unhealthy amount of arrogance and bravado. Most would sooner crush other creatures with a bed than join them in bed.

Not that Zim got many looks from other Irkens despite his own good looks. A pariah was still a pariah, no matter how nicely it cleaned up.

The Irken leader appreciated the silence and settled back further onto the strange bed, sighing quietly and closing his eyes to immerse himself in the familiar ambient sounds. Earth sounds were unnaturally relaxing. Even after all of this time, Zim had no idea why the ambient sounds of planet Earth made him feel so good inside. Maybe...it was because the ambient sounds of his own mother planet were cold and unfeeling. Clanking. Grinding. Gears turning. Pistons pumping. Ships whizzing by in the sky. The only organic sounds came from the Irkens themselves as they walked from place to place. There was no rain or snow. No wind. No thunder or lightning.

Zim avoided his mother planet at all costs. Perhaps, somewhere deep down, he did actually have a soft spot for planet Earth. But the Dib couldn't find out, or the human would never let him live it down!

GIR rubbed his eyes blearily and glanced between the human and his master. He yawned widely and carefully got to his feet, swaying back and forth--he was still half-asleep. He tottered unsteadily toward the bed and climbed up onto it, making a beeline for his curled-up master. The little SIR wiggled into a comfortable spot in Zim's arms, sighing happily and quickly falling back asleep. Dib's side was nice and cozy, but apparently Zim was still much higher on the comfort list...which was both amusing and disturbing.

Zim snorted in response to the human's accusation. "I would have still altered my height, you know, to fit in with the other filthy Earth beasts." Surely it would have been suspicious if everyone kept growing except for him? Zim already prepared for that possibility an age and a half ago, long before he uncovered the truth about his false mission. It was why he was able to increase his height and race back to Irk so quickly in the first place!

A thick antenna quirked in Dib's direction as he continued in that much softer voice. It didn't surprise him in the slightest that his sudden departure invoked both anger and relief--anger because the battle was left unfinished and relief because the threat was no more. It was surprising, however, to learn that the Earth creature hung on to the belief that he was still cooking up some convoluted plan to conquer planet Earth in the background for so very long.

It suddenly occurred to Zim that maybe he wasn't the only one who missed his old nemesis.

"...Lonely?"

Large magenta eyes honed in on the human's form. Minimoose stirred somewhat in his lap, but didn't wake up. Zim averted his gaze, trying his best not to let the typical awkwardness that saturated their interactions seep into this exchange. "I understand. Zim was the same. But..." His antennae drooped. "It took me a long time to come to terms with that. I thought that if I exacted my sweet revenge on the Tallest that I would feel infinitely better! And for a time...I did. But..."

He sniffed, reaching down to pat GIR on the head--the tiny robot purred appreciatively. "...But it didn't last," he finished as simply as he could. "I reconnected with Skoodge and that was nice. For a while I felt much like my old self again. Just like before, it didn't last. Zim...struggled for a long time. I began to realize that I was alone in a sea of strangers. These people, my people...were vastly different from what I remembered. I viewed the world in a much kinder light before my...incident with the former Tallest. I did not feel welcome. I wasn't welcome. And I am still not welcome to this day."

Zim stretched his limbs out, the sharp-tipped talons of his feet flexing with the movement. "But now that the Dib is here..." he revealed this with a fair bit of hesitation, "...Zim feels...well, not alone anymore. He feels welcome and...and happy again. If that makes sense." His expression soured. "I hope it does. Because I'm not repeating it."

There was a brief spell of silence before the wiry Tallest turned slightly to meet Dib's gaze head-on. "Zim is sorry for leaving you all alone." He spoke with a fair bit of reluctance and unease, as if he feared this statement might be taken the wrong way. "I should have offered to take you with me six Earth years ago. Because..." He fiddled with his fingers. GIR gave him a thumbs up, as if he was encouraging him. "...Because..." He spoke in a steadier voice now. "You deserve better than that stupid ball of dirt. You are better. Planet Earth was undeserving of your brilliance. It did not appreciate you. So...Zim figured that your brilliance would be put to much better use in a place where it could flourish and came back for you. But not just for that..." Zim's antennae bounced slightly. "Zim needs the Dib to function properly. And the Dib needs Zim to function properly. We are two halves of a whole, yes? We work better when we are together, even if we are working against each other."

Jazz waited patiently for Rhapsody to fill her tray with dishes that focused more on plants and sweet stuff rather than the hearty meaty meals he'd chosen for himself. Once she was ready he led the way to the nearest circle. Rhapsody was the one who moved the circle to the second tier, which was crowded on one side and sparsely dotted with Irkens and a single Vortian on the other side. Jazz chose the most isolated table on the entire tier and a took a seat. By the time Rhapsody chose her seat and settled in Jazz was already eating.

She didn't wait for him to stop chewing before she spoke. "So..." "So?" Jazz echoed after swallowing a mouthful of food. Rhapsody wrung her hands together. "It's been two and a half months. That's more than enough time for a probationary period, right?" Jazz hummed, stirring his helping of a Vortian stew. The Medic-in-training watched curiously as the PIT Commander lifted several spoonfuls to his mouth before he even bothered answering. "What do you think?" he asked, looking her straight in the eye. "Um..." Rhapsody spared a brief glance at the Head Surgeon. "He's very...Irken," she admitted. Judging by the look on Jazz's face, being very Irken was an undesirable trait for a Resistance member.

"But..." Her entire face lit up. "I think he's a lot like you." Jazz outright laughed, nearly choking on a mouthful of soup. "Like me?" He sounded incredulous. "How?" "Well...!" Rhapsody often puffed up like a small animal trying to appear threatening when she was angry. "He's dedicated to his work, which he happens to be very good at. He wants the best for the Irken Empire, though your individual versions of the best are probably different. And most importantly..." She nodded sagely. "Even though he acts cold and unpleasant, he's actually very nice."

Jazz shrugged his shoulders, avoiding eye contact, but didn't say anything. He maintained his silence for a long time before turning his attention to Bohemian, dipping his Irken burrito into his Vortian soup. "Why do you want to join the Irken Resistance?" He didn't sound convinced that the Head Surgeon's reasons for wanting to join the IR weren't selfish reasons...but at the same time, Rhapsody still had faith in him. That had to mean something, right?[/hr]

Dip · Jan 16, 2017

It was hard for the human to think that Zim was attractive because Dib hardly had anyone to compare Zim to! Tak had come along, and Dib had seen the former Tallests on a few occasions, but they all seemed entirely similar to each other, despite height as a dividing factor. They all were green, all had antennae, all had the same teeth and eyes. Being on the Massive hardly changed anything about that, except that there were just more green little men running around.

While he could admit that the Tallest was a lot more symmetrical than a lot of Irkens-- some having scars, strange antennae, or even whole limbs missing!-- they all looked the same to him. All were run of the mill, save for a few glaring differences such as eye color and antennae length. A few of them sported different head shapes and body types, but for the most part, Dib would say that they all averaged about the same when it came to attractiveness.

Dib had to say that on a human scale, he was average, too. He had certainly met better-looking people than himself, but he had seen people who were a lot worse. Dib had his fair share of acne, his fair share of bad haircuts, and his fair share of bad wardrobe choices (you'd be surprised at the horrible things that could happen when someone wore the same combination of clothing their entire life). Personally, Dib thought he was pretty handsome, despite his rather large head.

While Dib wasn't entirely homesick for his 'mother planet', he did miss the sounds of birds in the morning and the sounds of bugs in the night. It was so quiet in space. It was true, what they said. In space, no one can hear you scream. Sound doesn't travel through a vacuum, and space was like a Hoover. He wouldn't have to worry about sounds, though. Earthlings liked the sounds of their own planet very much, and Dib could look online anywhere and listen to ambient sounds of humans doing human activities.

Dib watched as the robotic software tottled up and heaved his way to his master. Dib wasn't offended by it at all-- he still had Minimoose! Sweet, soft, destructive, cataclysmic, evil, deadly Minimoose. Dib adjusted himself into a more comfortable position once his side was free, and moved a pillow behind his back. Once he was properly adjusted, he rubbed eyes slowly. They felt heavy from his previous crying, but he didn't want to go to sleep quite yet.

Absently, Dib played back the previous conversation in his head. Why would I bother tossing one of the only creatures that have ever mattered to me into space? The more he talked about it, the more butterflies it wrought. This phrase only brought confusion, among many other emotions, to the table. Well, that explained why Zim had been acting rather strange for the past few months, but... Friends mattered to eachother, right? Then why was it so weird?

...They were friends, right? Was that what they finally were? Was their hatchet finally buried? Was the knife finally let go? Dib could hardly tell what their relationship was. Dib was sure that he was ready to consider Zim a friend, but he didn't know how to be friendly with him. Irkens were strange, but then again, Zim wasn't the spitting image of an Irken, himself. From what Dib could piece together about Irken friendship was that it was violent. And that was just a horrible attempt at understanding it-- all Irkens were violent with each other!

Dib was caught off guard when the Irken finished his sentence for him. "...Yeah." He agreed. "I... was lonely." That word seemed to fit rather well, but it felt almost inappropriate to use. Dib had Gaz, and his Dad, so he clearly wasn't alone in that respect. He had the Swollen Eyeball Network, so he was still surrounded by people. It was a strange kind of loneliness that came from a lack of understanding. It seemed that Zim was the only being to understand the importance of a mission, and he was the only being who seemed to be legitimately invested in stopping Dib's mission to humanity.

Without that motivation, Dib had nothing to grapple to, so he floundered. So maybe the human was lonely after all.

Dib listened to the Irken speak, and he did so investedly. He listened to the irken monarch spoke about his feelings the lasts six years, and he could relate to the alien. Always looking for that one thing that once brought so much happiness and motivation. To Zim, that was his Invader status and his mission. To Dib, well... that was Zim. Din occupied himself with things, much like the Irken did. Dib repaired any and all Irken equipment, but then he soon destroyed it and turned his back to space as a whole.

The human watched as the Irken stretched, and spoke about Dib's presents aboard the Massive. "It does make sense." Dib started quietly. "I-I don't think I've felt his happy before since... well, ever, I think." Dib shrugged. Another fleet of butterflies invaded his stomach as he spoke about his feelings to the alien. He never thought he would be on speaking terms with the creature, let alone speaking about emotions. But it was the truth! He would never have that kind of opportunity on Earth! Well, he would have, but not at all on this level.

The silence was well-timed, because Dib had nothing more to say on that matter. He ran a hand through his hair, which probably looked like a mess because of all the thrashing he had done just a while ago. The hum of cars passing by filled the air as the ambiance of Earth made it's debut. Dib saw the figure move, and Dib joined in to face the Irken.

The human made a face as the other apologized for not offering to take Dib with him. He was going to tell the Irken flat out that he would have said no, thinking that the entire thing would have been a death-trap waiting to happen. Just him and Zim in the void of space, sharing the same cockpit? Yeah, right! Dib watched as the robot gave the Irken a thumbs up as he nervously spoke.

Dib's jaw dropped a little, like he was going to say something, but didn't have the courage to. "I..." He finally managed to speak, thought it was a pathetic feat. The human turned his head, finding the books interesting once more. The way Zim said it seemed so... simple. That was the root of the problem. As it seemed that Dib meant something to the alien, in turn, the alien was important to the human. Existence was pain without the extraterrestrial to raise hell in his life.

He had wondered why the Irken had gone back to Earth for him specifically, but there was his answer. The Irken couldn't function properly without his nemesis. Dib worked so hard to get into the PIT, studying his Map day and night. He worked so hard understanding the Irken language that he had even made an extension of the program Zim offered on his laptop! The human boy would have never done something like that for... anyone. Only Zim.

"I think..." Dib started. "I think I like being your friend more than being your enemy." He stated, bravely, before it turned into a playful shrug. "I mean, I'll miss foiling your evil schemes, but..." Dib made a small motion with his arms, as if he was trying to motion at everything in his room. "I like this a liiittle more than gunning you down Just a little." The 'this' he was talking about was mostly the sitting and talking. While he used to absolutely hate being in the same room as the other, this was a good change... He liked this.

Bohemian followed the two Irkens closely, wishing that he could just take his food and eat somewhere more... secluded. Secluded, as in solo. As a regular Medic, he always tended to eat his foods within his small office, among the mountains and mountains of paperwork. After being promoted to Head Medic, he still ate alone, but alone in plain sight.

He ate at his own table on the third floor, and he usually only got two bites in before he was paged back to the Medical Wing for this, that, or other other thing. Being a Surgeon was tough work, and he dared to say that it was the hardest thing an Irken could do! Stepping out of their own comfort zone was something Irkens hardly ever did, but Bohemian did it every day when it came to new patients, new members coming aboard the Massive, or even new species such as the human!

Bohemian settled into a spot near Rhapsody, but about two seats away. He enjoyed his privacy, and valued distance, but he still hovered near enough to the conversation. He was mostly avoiding the talk due to the taller Irken at the table. Bohemian took a large bite of his junk food, and listened to the others closely.

Rhapsody had mentioned that perhaps it was time that Bohemian was removed from probation, and while he was happy... He couldn't help but feel a little like Rhapsody wanted to get rid of him. He didn't dare vocalize this, and continued to eat quickly as the two spoke.

He did have some things to say at certain points, but kept his mouth shut. What was so bad about being Irken? Bohemian quite liked being Irken. Bohemian did nothing during the silence, but plan out his next course of action. Bohemian watched (and tried not to make a face... seriously, who in their right mind would ruin a good Irken burrito by dunking it in that disgusting Vortian broth?) and soon spoke as soon as the other Irken had stated his question.

"It's simple, really, I want to join the Irken Resistance so I don't have to watch my people kill themselves." Bohemian said quietly, as if he didn't want another Irken to overhear their conversation. "From a medical standpoint, I don't believe that the Irken race could possibly control the entire universe and be successful and self-sustaining. We can't trade goods and services with aliens that we exterminate. I feel that I am in a position of high enough power that I may be able to illustrate this point with not the Tallest, but... The Tallest's companion."

The Irken had spent plenty of time thinking this through. He had thought it up some time after his last check-up with the human. "The Tallest would listen to the human before anyone else. The Tallest... Well, I've never seen him speak to an Irken the way he does to the human, to say the least. The human comes from a people who are majority peace-loving, so... " Bohemian gestured with his hands, as if the others knew what he was getting at. He knew Jazz was no idiot, and he had to of come up with that idea. "The human loves space so much. The human talks so avidly about alien beings, imagine what the human companion could to do the Defective Tallest if he mentioned one or two planets he enjoyed...? The human wouldn't stop there, and I can hold my life to that."

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 17, 2017

"It is difficult to admit, yes?" Zim gazed out almost longingly into space. Apparently he wasn't quite as desensitized to the sight of outer space as he claimed to be. It still fascinated him to this day, though most likely not to the degree that it enthralled the Dib-human. "Zim was lonely, but not alone. Zim had GIR and Minimoose and Skoodge and all of his Irken subordinates...so he was not alone. But he was still lonely. I shouldn't have been! Becoming the Almighty Tallest...I've dreamed of holding that lofty position ever since I was a smeet! But when I acquired that position..."

Zim let loose a heavy sigh. "I expected to feel proud, and I did. I expected to feel happy...and...I wasn't. I wasn't happy."

Those magenta eyes dropped to the ground. They glimmered with shame, as if he felt it was shameful to admit that becoming the Tallest was not enough to make him happy. "I should have been happy. I exacted my revenge on those who wronged me. But...even then...I couldn't bring myself to kill them despite my own anger. I threw them in prison--in a place where I could just forget about their existence and move on. But I can't move on. Because something changed in Zim. Something is different. And I cannot go back to the way I was no matter how hard I try."

The enthusiastic, oblivious, and proud Irken Invader that Dib chased so fervently during his childhood...was, for the most part, gone. And now...there was an empty shell of an Irken left. Damage had surely been done, was it really permanent damage?

"But now..." Zim's antennae bounced. "The Dib is here. And Zim doesn't feel quite so lonely anymore. So, in turn...he is also..." He cringed, as if he admitting this was a serious blow to his swelling ego. "...He is also happy. Much happier than he used to be, anyway." Skoodge and GIR could both attest to that fact. Before the Armada spirited Dib away from planet Earth, Zim was a miserable creature. Constantly sour and irritable. Snippy and generally unpleasant. He was much calmer now. Definitely in a better mood most of the time.

Zim knew that Dib wouldn't have agreed to come with him then. Several times, through his own rage and grief, he contemplated taking his Voot Cruiser straight to the human's place of dwelling, hovering outside the window, and knocking on it to get his attention. Though he wasn't about to admit this to the Earth beast, he also seriously considered outright kidnapping him and dragging him along on a journey through space. But the limited size of his Voot Cruiser would have made that obscenely difficult, so he decided against it at the last minute and instead chose to leave without saying a word.

But...somehow, he partially blamed himself for his current condition and for those six long Earth years of suffering. If he would have just whisked the Dib away then...perhaps things would be different now. Or...if he chose to stay rather than leave, which he also seriously considered, maybe the both of them would be happy and healthy today.

He did swivel his head around when the Earth creature admitted that he preferred being friends over being mortal enemies. His antennae rose to their full height, the cricked tips angling forward. He maintained this surprised expression for several long seconds...

...before it morphed into something else altogether. His antennae drooped, but twitched curiously as they did so. He immediately broke eye contact to stare without blinking at space passing by outside. He pulled nervously at his own fingers. Perhaps most surprising was the brief, but very noticeable color change around his cheek area--from a light jade green to a darker green that resembled the color of Earth grass. It was gone within a second, but that was long enough for GIR to catch it. The little SIR cackled deviously. Zim covered his mouth with one hand, irritation etched on every inch of his face.

"...That is nice to know," he finally admitted after a spell of silence. "Zim likes violence and mayhem and blowing things up, but I suppose I could restrain myself if that means we can be...friendly." The word tasted foreign on his serpentine tongue. "I don't know much about your humanoid form of friendship. I studied it extensively all those Earth years ago, but I remember only a few important details." He squinted off into the distance. "Spending time together, talking, eating food together, and playing Earth games together seemed important to friends."

He suddenly paused and then stretched his mouth wide open to yawn. Even from this distance his square-shaped zipper-patterned teeth looked as sharp as razor blades. "Irken friendship is violent, playful, and mischievous in nature. Irkens push their closest friends around and insult them left and right, but it is just for show. A no holds barred fistfight could easily transform into a pillow fight, and vice versa." Red and Purple were fond of pillow fights. He recalled many an evening trying to do homework in their shared dormitory in the Academy over the sounds of the two of them brawling with plush pillows. "Irkens choose their friends carefully," the Tallest continued. "So carefully, in fact, that it can take many Irk years to make even one friend."

Friendship wasn't something Irkens took lightly. They could chat and be friendly with acquaintances, sure...but true Irken friends were easy to spot. They were always with each other when they could be and often pushed each other around and insulted each other. Red and Purple were a perfect example. Skoodge and Zim were another example, though they clearly weren't as close as the former Almighty Tallest.

The two Resistance members listened closely to what the Head Surgeon had to say. Rhapsody seemed satisfied by his answer and she appeared to be deep in thought, apparently wondering just how easily they could manipulate the Tallest through his Earth creature companion. Jazz twirled a fork around in his hands, looking unimpressed at best. He'd already considered the possibility of using the strange alien creature to their advantage, but hadn't considered the possibility of using Bohemian himself to manipulate the Earth creature.

"Would the human listen to anything you had to say, though?" His antennae bounced. "He's still not fully recovered from his incident with the past Head Surgeon, physically or mentally. He interacted with you once, when you tended to his wounds. If you wanted to build a rapport with him..." The sapphire-eyed Irken took a hearty bite of his burrito before speaking again. "Why not request that the Almighty Tallest bring him along to his monthly check-ups for a check-up of his own?"

The Tallest was required to undergo a medical evaluation every month to check for ailments, physical injuries, or mental health issues. Zim loathed being poked and prodded by medical staff, but this was something he simply couldn't worm his way out of. The human was an unusual beast. His people did not normally travel through space--for the most part they were a sedentary species. Space travel could easily be negatively affecting the Earth creature's health...and that would be a valid excuse for requesting his presence for a monthly check-up alongside the Tallest.

Jazz and Rhapsody shared a glance and were silent for a while. They both enjoyed their meal in the silence. Rhapsody kept a close eye on Jazz, eagerly awaiting his approval on the matter. Eventually the towering PIT Commander sighed, moving some food around on his tray. "...Very well. We can accept you into our fold. But..." Rhapsody cut off the excited squeal she wanted to release. Jazz stared Bohemian down, refusing to even blink. "If I find out that your intentions are not pure or honest..." his gaze hardened considerably, "...I shall strangle you with your own PAK legs. Is this implicitly understood?"

Rhapsody supposed that was fair. She didn't believe that Bohemian would betray them, but if he did he had to pay the consequences--even if she wasn't a fan of the violence. Jazz shoveled a bit more food into his mouth before speaking again. "Rhapsody will guide you to our meeting spot tonight. We will brand you with the official Irken Resistance mark in a place of your choosing." He studied his gloved fingers idly. "You will not tell anyone where you are going, nor will you reveal the location of our meeting place or reveal the identities of any Irkens who attend this meeting." His eyes narrowed dangerously. "Or there will be consequences."[/hr]

Dip · Jan 17, 2017

It was hard to admit to loneliness. It was very hard, which was why Dib had never done it out loud. He had tried on multiple occasions to talk about his feelings with someone-- anyone, really!-- but it was just so hard to find someone who truly understood, let alone express his own emotions. He was deemed insane, weird, crazy, but on the Massive... he was understood and accepted.

Dib was lonely, but not alone. So was Zim. That prospect was somehow very comforting to the human, to know and to understand that the two enemies had a common foe: loneliness and isolation. As a young child, he often wondered if Zim got homesick, or even felt alone among the sea of pink fleshy monsters, but it seemed that it did happen.

The human listened and continued to do so for quite some time, not saying anything.

He wished he could say he understood what Zim went through when it came time to deal with his former Tallests. He wished that he could understand being exiled to an entirely different planet. One thing he did understand was being outcasted from society, and being different, and being unhappy with the circumstances that he was placed in. Dib knew he had reasons to be happy, but he never was.

As the Irken spoke about the lonliness that he no longer suffered, Dib smiled slightly. It was a strange feeling, to be the cause of someone's happiness. He wouldn't deny that Zim had made Dib happy in the past. He happily chased Zim about the town he lived in, happily ruined every single one of his schemes, happily broke into his base and stole from him... But now, it seemed that Zim himself made the human happy.

Was this friendship? Dib had never really had friends before-- well, he had no one that he could call a friend. He had Tak once, but that soon turned out to be a ploy used to install Earth's destruction. Why did Dib tend to make friends with people who wanted to take over Earth? Was it a common theme with him, to just be attracted to alien life-forms hell-bent of mass chaos? While Dib was surprised, he didn't much care at the time.

Earth was beautiful, but it was someone else's beauty now.

Dib watched as the Irken changed his demeanor quickly at the phrase 'friend'. Did Dib offend the monarch somehow? He watched with squinted eyes as the Irken seemed to almost... change hue. Maybe it was the pale light of the stars, or the sounds that came from the human's phone, but he dared to say that he had somehow embarrassed the Irken by calling him a friend. Dib watched as the Tallest covered the cackling software's mouth, and he chuckled softly as he saw the faintest hint of irritation stretch across his green face.

The silence was deafening, and it left Dib fearful. Were they friends? Was it safe to assume their friendship? Surely, it had to be. Why would I bother tossing one of the only creatures that have ever mattered to me into space? Two halves made a whole, but only when both sides admitted to being wholly together, right? Dib had done his part in accepting that there could be friendships formed with life beyond the stars, but could Zim?

Dib waited, picking and pulling at his own fingers. He stopped when the Irken spoke, and it calmed his nervousness instantly. Dib smirked and turned to the Irken. "You can restrain yourself all you want, Zim, but I'm going to blow you up so good. " Dib teased. He was sure he had said something along the lines of that at least once or seventeen times on Earth, so why stop there? While the human knew he would never actually have a chance to blow Zim up, it was still fun to threaten the excitable Irken, wasn't it?

Dib nodded when Zim mentioend the human forms of friendship. He faintly recalled Zim's old best friend Keef, and faintly wondered if they ate together and had sleepovers. Dib could absolutely for a fact confirm that this could not have happened in a million years, even if it was part of a plan or not. Zim sleeping at a human's room willingly?! Zim sleeping in Dib's room was a different kind of willingness, almost like a duty. Zim was to keep guard from any more nightmares, but... it almost seemed like Zim liked it in his room a little too much for the Irken to just keep guard.

"That's basically right." Dib shrugged. "I never really did any of that stuff on Earth, anyway." He has seen the TV show 'Friends', and that's what they did all the time, so Zim must be right. "Sleeping over is what friends do," Dib added, but Zim covered all of the important stuff. Could the human consider this a sleepover, or an obligation? Well, it was a sleepover in Dib's heart, nonetheless.

Dib listened to the other talk about the Irken form of friendships, and Dib could see that Zim was no stranger to insulting the Human. 'Dib-Thing', 'Dib-Stink', 'Stink-Boy', 'Earth-Beast'. "Do you want to get in a fist-fight?" Dib asked, looking down at his own hand. He would be able to beat the shit out of the Irken-- well, as much as possible, until he was swiftly disarmed by his PAK legs-- but he doubted he'd be able to like when he was a kid. "I can punch you, if you really want."

He was so much quicker on his feet as a child. Maybe because he didn't have three extra feet above him. He was so small and nimble, he could jump from his window all the way to the ground, and sprint to his garage in three seconds flat! If he tried doing that now, he would surely break something.

Bohemian, as much as he hated to admit it, agreed with Jazz. He did have a point. Maybe monthy check-ups on the human would do him good. The human had oculars, so that clearly meant he had a disability with his eyesight. He had taken it upon himself to (painstakingly) translate one of the human text books that the human in question had brought from Earth, and he did learn a bit more about the anatomy of humans.

Transitioning from one gravity field to another is tricky to the human body. It affects their spatial orientation, head-eye and hand-eye coordination, balance, locomotion, and they're likely to experience motion sickness. Disgusting. This didn't even touch on what Bohemian had learned about the human body when it was exposed to high levels of radiation! A special suit would have to be required, no doubt.

While Bohemian had been faced every day with intimidation tactics-- "Help me or I'll kill you.", "Make me feel better, or I'll hurt you just as bad.", "I swear to Irk, if you mess up, I'll mess you up.", etc-- he felt that there was some actual profound truth behind Jazz's words. "Understood."

Though Bohemian didn't take too kindly to the idea of being branded, it was what he had to do. He would obey...

For the time being.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 18, 2017

Maybe someday Zim would speak in more detail to Dib about the complicated relationship between himself and the two former Tallest, Red and Purple. Even now, after all of those Earth years, the invisible wounds were still red, raw, and painful to the touch. Though he was close with Dib, he wasn't quite close enough. They had six Earth years to grow apart, and though they were now friendlier toward each other than they ever had been Zim still felt that there was work to be done--progress to be made.

And, well...he didn't want to ruin this moment between the two of them with more talk of those traitors. This moment felt special, somehow.

Zim's experiences with friendship were just as meager and not very meaningful. On planet Earth he had Keef, but that was just a ploy to make the other humans believe he had a friend. Having a friend was considered to be normal, and he strove to be normal at all costs! Well, lucky him--he chose a bona fide stalker to be his fake friend. That little idiot just wouldn't leave him alone no matter what he did! Thankfully enough he was able to put a stop to it...but not without wasting some of his precious Irken technology.

On the other end of the friendship spectrum were Skoodge, GIR, and Minimoose. GIR and Minimoose were his servants. For a long time Zim considered them to be useful tools and nothing more. It wasn't until some time passed that the relationship changed between him and GIR. Minimoose was more enigmatic and didn't always communicate properly with his master, so he was more like an intelligent pet than anything else. But GIR...meant a lot to Zim. A lot more than he ever let on. Without GIR around...Zim would have almost certainly self-destructed by now.

Skoodge was a long-time friend. Skoodge followed Zim around like a little lost puppy from when they were smeets to far into their Academy years. Zim's companionship gave Skoodge the confidence he once had as an Invader, and now he had the confidence to run the Council of the Tallest despite his own meager height. But even so, they weren't particularly close. Sure, they insulted each other left and right...but they never got physically aggressive with each other. That was a telling sign for Irken friends.

The sleepy Tallest grunted when Dib claimed he was going to blow him up. GIR instantly began to snicker. Magenta eyes turned briefly to the human's own pair of eyes. "You wish, Earth beast," was his dry retort. GIR's snickers rapidly morphed into hysterical giggles. Of course, Zim totally failed to understand what could have possibly been so funny to his robotic servant.

The Irken leader hummed thoughtfully. "I never understood the point of 'sleeping over,'" he admitted readily. "Is it to facilitate the safe and secure feeling of having a communal den?" What was so enjoyable about sharing a room and sleeping in the same space? He had to suffer through that with Skoodge all throughout their Academy years, and it was not fun in any way, shape, or form. Well, not for Skoodge anyway--Zim kicked like a wild stallion whenever he chose to lay down and rest, which was often during those stressful Academy years.

"Sleepovers are fun!" GIR declared promptly. "'Cause you get lots of snacks and fizzy drinks and plop your behinds down in front of a TV to watch TV and movies and play video games!" "Oh." Zim's antennae bounced. "That does sound like fun!" GIR suddenly whined, tugging on his master's delightfully fuzzy pink bathrobe. "I wanna watch WWE sometime," he complained, flashing Zim those infamously difficult to resist puppy-dog eyes. "I wanna see mah favorite wrassler!" The Irken made a popping sound with his lips and glanced guiltily in Dib's direction.

"...Eh-heh..." A sheepish smile curled his lips. "Fun fact, human..." He shrugged his shoulders. "GIR and I do enjoy a bit of Earth entertainment. Zim likes music and some Earth programming. One thing we have in common is that we enjoy your amusing Earth wrestling programs. It is violent and dramatic and funny and...entertaining." Apparently, Zim didn't despise Earth nearly as much as he claimed to. Maybe he would have been happier staying put on Earth after all.

His antennae quirked in Dib's direction and an impish expression crawled its way onto his face. "You don't want to get into a fistfight with Zim. Not in public, anyway." The space between his eyes and his mouth, where the invisible membrane that was his Irken nose resided, wrinkled with disdain. "Striking the Almighty Tallest is considered to be a capital offense, and even if Zim welcomed the attack others would not be pleased. In private, however..." Zim cracked his tiny knuckles. "Zim would be honored to duel with the Dib." His eyes narrowed and a playful smirk stretched across his face. "And promptly beat him down, of course."

GIR made a whooping sound and jumped up, looking excited. "Hit him with a chair!" he hollered cheerfully. Zim chuckled and eased the happy robot back down onto the blankets.

Zim himself longed for the day when he could run and jump with the best of them. Now he was slow and lumbering due to his height. He could only really move quickly with his hover belt on or PAK legs out, and if those were broken or disabled...he would be in real trouble in a serious situation.

"All right, then." Jazz shoved the remainder of his burrito into his mouth, chewing and swallowing the section in record time, before addressing Rhapsody. "It's going to be difficult to separate the Tallest and his Earth creature companion long enough for the Head Surgeon to speak candidly with him. Therefore, I suggest that you whisk the Tallest away for his bi-monthly x-ray when the time comes and keep him occupied for a while." Rhapsody nodded firmly, though she wasn't looking forward to it. The more time Zim spent in the Medical Wing, the less amicable he became to even the friendliest of Medics.

There was a short period of silence, during which Rhapsody finished her meal. Jazz was only halfway finished when he spoke up again. "I suppose this means your probationary period is over," he reminded Bohemian. "But Rhapsody will still be keeping a close eye on you. It won't have to be constant like it was before, though."

Rhapsody frowned. "Really? But I kind of liked the constant companionship," she revealed as nonchalantly as possible. Jazz just rolled his eyes and smiled. He couldn't possibly understand what that Irken saw in Bohemian.[/hr]

Dip · Jan 18, 2017

Dib was probably the least-qualified person to explain a sleepover to someone. He had some, but they were reserved only for his sister or members of the Swollen Eyeball (those sleepovers were just Dib falling asleep in front of the webcam during long meetings and such. These kinds of sleepovers happened quite a bit, embarrassingly enough). The human never needed to, as Zim put it, "facilitate the safe and secure feeling of having a communal den". His sleepovers with Gaz usually involved Dib sleeping on the floor and waking up at noon, with leftover pizza for breakfast.

Dib was glad that GIR was more seasoned in the art of sleeping over than the human. "The main goal in a sleepover is to not sleep at all." Dib put it bluntly. All-night marathons of your favorite movies, plus all the junk foods and soda you could find in your house resulted in very little to no sleep whatsoever. While Dib had played some of Gaz's games before, he was never good at them. He was more skilled in the art of little apps that you play on your phone.

Dib sucked at Mortal Combat, but he could play one mean game of Candy Crush. While Black Ops would fail him every time, Tetris was there to save and provide for him. He sometimes wished that he could best his sister in a video-game of her choosing, but sadly, the gaming life wasn't for him. He didn't understand how someone could be confined to one room and be content to that, when there was a whole galaxy that they don't even know about! Entire species, people, beings, life forms and everything!! It was mind-boggling how someone could be so happy by Mario Kart alone.

Dib snorted when the Irken software mentioned WWE. Seriously? World Wrestling Entertainment, AKA The Fakest Wrestling EVER? The match duration, main moves, finishing moves, and outcome are ALL predetermined! The major events of a match are planned and discussed beforehand, and so is the outcome. Some major events are definitely planned; for instance, someone might interfere in a match just as the bad guy. The duration of the match is also predetermined, and the time is kept by the referee. If you time the matches on, say, WWE, you might notice that there are, broadly, 5-, 15-, and 25-minute matches.

Dib wanted to tell them humanities greatest secret, but... He couldn't bring himself to break GIR's heart, and he knew that telling him Wrestlemania is just a bunch of sweaty buff actors would do it. "We can watch WWE, if you want." The big flat-screen in his room would serve as a disgusting port to all of the blood and sweat that World Wrestling had to offer. Dib hadn't even turned on his TV to watch anything, save for one time he connected his monitor to the screen so he could view the Swollen Eyeball Network in a large and impressing manner.

Why would he need to watch TV if he had all of space right next to him?!

While Dib was a skeptic when it came to WWE, he could admit that it was something good to watch when he was filled with rage. It was entertaining, he could give it that much, but he never really went out of his way to watch it. He could see Zim watching the wrestlers, and wondering how they could fight eachother to a pulp and still fight off another ten or so guys!

Dib rolled his eyes when the other claimed that he could beat him into a swift pulp. He looked around the room absently, and found a stray wooden pencil. "See this?" Dib asked, as he raised the pencil into the air. "This is you-- more importantly, your spine. And see this?" Dib raised his hand, curling his fingers ever so slightly. "This is Dib Membrane, the best Paranormal Investigator to ever grace Planet Earth and the Galaxy." Dib wrapped his other hand around the pencil, and spoke again. "This is what Dib Membrane, Paranormal Investigator Extraordinaire, will do to your spine."

Dib swiftly broke the pencil. It was a dumb idea, in his defense, because that was his last pencil.

"I'll fight you any day of the week!" That was a lie, but he figured that once he got onto more equal terms with the alien-- such as PAK verses PAK and so forth-- he would be ready to take the Tallest on. He placed the pencil to the side of him and chuckled softly and sighing. He turned his head to the side, and gazed lazily out the window.

He thought back to his younger self, experiencing the view from Tak's ship for the first time. He never thought he would go into space, but lo-and-behold, he managed to do what no human had ever done before. He wondered if the Irken ever had an expirence with space like Dib had. He imagined a small smeet getting all wide-eyed and excited at their first look in space. He wondered if the Irken children got overwhelmed like Dib did, like an overstimulated puppy feasting on a chocolate cake.

Dib turned back to the alien, and spoke quietly. "I don't think I ever thanked you for coming back for me." He started. "So... thank you."

That was all Dib had to say on the matter.

Bohemian pulled his own tablet from his coat, and began tapping on it to assign Rhapsody someone to assist in an ex-ray. He would have gladly offered, but he needed to keep the two separate. He decided to assign Rhapsody with the Irken who had so graciously taken over for her all of those months ago-- Joverse. The young Irken had developed some skill within the short period of three months, and he felt that Rhapsody could help with the process.

He updated the schedule, and included the newly formed partnership.

Bohemian had the utmost faith that this plan would go on without a hitch, but he knew he had to be double careful. The human was a sensitive species, that bruised easily and had weak eyesight. Not to mention, this human had a highly possessive Irken behind him. He would have to make sure that he involved the most care in carrying out his check-up with the Earth creature.

Bohemian didn't much care that Rhapsody would continue to hover about him. For an Irken that was entirely possessive of his private space, he had grown fond of the former Trainee. Bohemian said nothing about the comment on the constant companionship, but... it made him feel good to be wanted. He tapped away at his tablet as he ate at his food.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 18, 2017

"It's this way! Down here."

Rhapsody was not the sneakiest of Irkens. She was still young and had very little skill when it came to anything involving stealth or combat. All of those years she spent in the Academy did nothing to turn her into an Irken soldier. She was clumsy. She didn't watch her back. She was more focused on the destination than she was on getting there without being detected. It wasn't a desirable trait for a rebel such as herself, but at least she had Bohemian here to pick up the slack for her.

The path she took was convoluted at best. She insisted to Bohemian that they leave for the meeting a half hour in advance, and this was why. Irken Resistance members took varying and branching paths to reach their predetermined meeting spot. They also made sure to take a slightly different path each day. Rhapsody's path today led them through crowded and deserted hallways, up and down elevators, and even through a science laboratory. It was a dizzying path that anyone tailing the two of them would scarcely be able to remember.

Eventually, though, their general destination became clear--it was the Engine Room at the very heart of the Massive. It was a place few Irkens ever set foot in. For the most part the engines, the ship's power core, and other important pieces of machinery were maintained remotely by Engineers in the Bridge and by the Massive's Computer AI, which also happened to be the Tallest's Personal Computer. The Head Engineer popped down for a weekly visit, but Jazz specifically timed IR meetings to bypass that visit. He also took care to make plans for a rapid emergency exit in case there was a mechanical malfunction and some Engineers were sent down to find the cause of the problem.

One of four hallways that housed doorways leading to the Engine Room was where Rhapsody ended up. She struggled with the heavy metal door, which was more than twice her size, but eventually managed to yank it open with the help of her PAK legs. The Medic-in-training politely held the door open for her superior, taking pride in the fact that she was able to open that door on her own. The Engine Room was hot and lacking in oxygen, though the air was still breathable. Rhapsody was forced to shimmy along some of the walls to avoid touching hot pipes and the like.

The containment chamber for the power core stood out amongst the various pipes and pumping pistons--a bright green metal sphere the size of an Irken Shuuver ship. It was the most precious mechanical part of the Massive. If the power core was disabled, the entire Massive would go dark...and it would leave the ship and the Tallest vulnerable to attack.

The violet-eyed Irken eventually paused and dropped down to take a ladder, motioning to Bohemian once there was enough room for him. "It's just down here. Hey, uh..." She sounded intrigued all of a sudden. "Have you given any thought as to where you want your brand to be? Mine is between the bottoms of my shoulders on my back. Jazz has one on the back of his neck. It looks like a regular black Irken Insignia in normal light...but in the right conditions, well...you'll see. So if you choose to get it in a place that's normally visible to everyone else, you're not going to get in trouble."

The ladder led to a metal catwalk underneath the machinery above, probably used for maintenance purposes. Right now, though, it played host to a different cast of characters. Directly underneath the power core containment chamber stood a group of mostly Irkens, though there were some non-Irkens there. Jazz stood tall and proud. He was the tallest Irken in the group. Quite a few of these Irken Resistance members and guests seemed to be from the Planetary Investigation Team--the team that Jazz led.

One notable familiar face from the PIT stood out in the crowd due to his own impressive height of five feet, five inches. Salsa was an Irken of many talents--a famous prodigy with one of the highest measured Intelligence Quotients in Irken history. His fire orange eyes were perfectly colored for this hot environment, though in actuality he seemed uncomfortable with the heat and kept pulling at the collar of his outfit (which resembled Jazz's but replaced the blue with orange). He stood out even more amongst the crowd because of his crooked right antenna--he was mostly deaf in this antenna--and the curled cricked tips of both antennae.

Standing beside him was a badly-scarred and dark-skinned female Vortian with striking lime green eyes. Her scarring and the stone-cold expression on her face made her seem twice as old as she actually was. This was another member of the PIT--the ever-enigmatic Loskora. Irkens tended to avoid her because of the rumors that floated around about how she was initially captured--apparently, she was one scary little Vortian.

Jazz noticed Rhapsody approaching with Bohemian in tow before anyone else and cleared his throat loudly, quickly bringing the other members to attention. When the deafening hum of conversation quieted down he addressed the group. "Before our meeting can commence there is another matter we need to attend to." He motioned to Bohemian with one sweeping motion of his arm--all eyes followed the movement. "I'm pleased to announce that the Head Surgeon on the Massive wishes to join our ranks."

He didn't sound pleased, nor did he look pleased.

"Decide amongst yourselves who should brand our new member. But first..." His antennae twitched. "I'd like our new member to address the group and introduce himself properly. So, if you would, Head Surgeon..."

The sapphire-eyed Irken took a step backward, nodding respectfully to Bohemian and giving him center stage. Rhapsody folded her arms behind her back, flashing her superior an encouraging grin.

Dip · Jan 19, 2017

If someone had asked Bohemian what he imaged his life to be like after he was named head surgeon, his answer would be: not this. Not running around the entire length of the Massive just to get to the humble Engine Room. Not following behind a former Trainee to a group of outcasts who planned to overthrow everything that the Irken people had spent so long to build!

This was not what he imagined doing as the Head Surgeon.

He had to admit, he was relatively excited about the idea of the meeting. He imagined a very formal-looking hidden room, with buttons and very obvious hiding spaces and exits, and ways to get around obstacles. He imaged a stockhold of weapons and an arsenal of ammo, not some overshadowed nook in the middle of the Ship! Bohemian was sure that he passed it about twelve times since he went adventuring with the Medic.

He wanted to kick and scream. He wanted to complain, and furthermore, he wanted to say goodbye to the entire mission he had set himself onto. But if Bohemian was good at anything, he was good at holding his tongue. Years of working with cranky patients, overly-zealous Nurses, and even Serloz have made his tongue sharp, but his voice very tender. He hardly ever spoke during a solo operation, and if he did speak it was only to request a medical tool.

If Bohemian wanted to be like any former Head Surgeon, it would definitely not be Serloz. Serloz was one of the most skilled surgeons that he had ever met, and he was passionate about his craft, but he had very... strange ways of doing things. He recalled one day, back in his early Trainee years, when he had accidently walked in on Serloz doing something very out of line with the medical equipment.

The Massive had supplies of sedatives that could be inhaled orally in a gaseous form. These were mostly reserved for non-Irken beings who were ill, because it seemed to have the opposite effect on Irken lifeforms. The suppressant would act as a stimulant, but it was only reserved for the ill. The gas would be leaked in through the Decontamination Chamber, and the operation would being after the patient was thoroughly sedated. With the help of Vortian engineering and Irken science, the sedatives soon became obsolete, but still kept around just in case there happened to be an emergency, and something went wrong.

One day, very briefly, he recalled seeing the Head Surgeon alone in his office, pressing a mask to his face that was attached to one of the many left-over gas tanks. Bohemian took it upon himself to check a few of the stored tanks, and noticed that almost every single one of them were either empty or close to it. Bohemian never said anything, which was a fatal flaw of holding one's tongue. What was he to do? The former Tallests Purple and Red loved Serloz to bits, and he was sure that if something was to happen to anyone in that situation, it would be Bohemian.

Bohemian watched as the other Irken struggled with the door, but he couldn't help but smirk. He entered the room, and instantly felt a hot wave hit him like a slap to the face. This was certainly not what he expected when it came to the Irken Resistance. He felt uncomfortable in the stuffy room, his lab coat sticking to him almost instantly. The Head Surgeon took a spot near to the Medic, and looked at the other as she asked where it was he would put his mark.

Putting it on the back of his neck would be a little too distracting, he supposed. He wanted to keep it somewhere where no one would see it, and no one would have the ability to see it. "On my chest." Bohemian pointed, right between where a pair of human lungs should end up. It would heal without anyone being the wiser. He knew that he wouldn't get in trouble, but it was still the principal of the thing. He had to be professional in a professional environment.

Among the crowd Bohemian could make out a few faces and names. Bohemian knew of both Salsa and Loskora, but he never bothered to get to know them personally. His life seemed to revolve around medicine, and they weren't within the medical realm all that much. Within the crowd, he could see another figure-- a Vortian, that he knew just about as well as the others. He recalled the Vortian-- Trillian-- to be one of the many Electricians running about the massive, but he seemed to hover mostly within the PIT unit.

And that was understandable, because there were plenty of foreign devices that needed to be analyzed, and it seemed that Trillian was the man for the job. Why he would see a purple face like that in a hot, stuffy, and humid place like this, he had no idea. He didn't want to know, really. All he cared about was getting out of there as fast as possible. He watched as Trillian lazily picked at his finger-nails, cleaning them of some foreign debris.

Bohemian watched as he called for order in subtle ways, and he was relieved. Maybe he could finally get this over with and get out of that stuffy hell-hole that was the center of the Massive. Bohemian watched as he was beckoned, and he looked over the growing crowd slowly. It didn't take an Einstien to realize that Jazz was the least bit thrilled, but the same thing could be said for the Head Surgeon.

Bohemian turned behind him to catch a glance at Rhapsody, and it seemed that she was his back. He... didn't know why this gave him comfort and courage, but it did. Bohemian took a few steps forward, and nodded among the crowd. "Hello." The Irken started simply enough. "I'm Bohemian, the Head Surgeon." That was good, right?

Something... big, was happening.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 19, 2017

Several Irkens exchanged glances when the Head Surgeon introduced himself so simply. Some were unimpressed by the lack of enthusiasm in his display. Others just looked amused. Only one member of the crowd even bothered to speak up.

"You call that a proper introduction?"

Salsa spoke softly, barely loud enough to be heard over the clanging, whirring, and other mechanical sounds that saturated the Engine Room, but somehow every member of the group managed to hear him. When Salsa spoke, others listened. The orange-eyed Irken was known for being blunt and brutally honest, always speaking his mind even when the situation wasn't appropriate. This lack of a filter switch in his brain often landed him in heaps of trouble with his superiors in the past and was the reason why he was never able to hold down a steady career until he met Jazz.

"That doesn't give us anything but your name and title," he stated matter-of-factly, never once raising his voice. That was a very Irken introduction. It was too plain and clean and...empty. "How are we supposed to trust you if that's how you make your first impression?" The female Vortian standing beside him made a humming nose in the bottom of her throat and reached out to lightly touch her Irken companion's arm. It was a warning she often gave Salsa when he was close to stepping out of line, which was a common occurrence of course. And it was also impeccably timed, given the expression on the face of their unanimously elected leader.

"That is how Jazz introduced himself to us." Loskora had a deep and heavily accented voice, yet somehow it was still soothing--much like the voice of a mother speaking to her child. "Initially, anyway. If I recall, it was some time before he opened up to any of us." Several members chuckled. Jazz rubbed the back of his neck, looking like he felt only slightly embarrassed about the whole thing. He was rather Irken himself...but because he came to terms with his own Defective nature very early on, he was also more comfortable showing the emotions he wasn't supposed to feel.

Rhapsody squinted impishly in the blue-eyed Irken's direction. "I thought he was a jerk when I first joined. And he kind of is--" "Hey..." "--but he's a nice jerk." Jazz sniffed loudly, shifting his weight from one foot to the other and shrugging his shoulders. "Sure, sure. I can be a jerk. All Irkens behave like intolerable jerks every once in a while. But at least I can admit it."

Irkens in general had a bad reputation of being too uptight and mean-spirited. They were also known for being arrogant little bullies. It was no wonder why they were often considered to be the scourge of the Known Universe.

"Moving on..." A few members of the crowd were still snickering under their breath. Jazz stole a sweeping glance over the crowd, his antennae perked up high. "Does anyone object to welcoming Head Surgeon Bohemian into our ranks? Furthermore, does anyone have serious reason to believe that he is only joining our ranks to expose us to the Control Brains?" The members of the group exchanged glances and murmurs. Jazz wasn't too worried about their mission being exposed to the Almighty Tallest. Zim did not have a great track record with the Control Brains and wasn't afraid to voice his disdain for them in public. The PIT Commander had a good, strong feeling that their Tallest would stand by them in secret if he uncovered their plot.

"Does being very suspicious count as a serious reason?" Salsa muttered, his arms folded tightly across his chest.

"No," Loskora retorted simply. "There is no concrete evidence."

"I can find evidence."

"No you can't."

"Yes I can. Give me time."

A sigh was all the prickly Irken received in return. Perhaps there was a reason why Jazz assigned her to Salsa's division. He was difficult to handle despite his brilliance and his loud and unrestrained mouth was troublesome at best. She was patient and quiet, and she could usually keep a tight leash on him.

"Are we in agreement, then?" A positive rumble emanated from the crowd. Jazz squinted suspiciously at the orange-eyed prodigy. "Salsa?" That disfigured antennae twitched wildly and a grunt escaped its owner. "Do what you want, Jazz. I don't approve, but I can't prove that he has corrupt intentions." He grumbled something to himself, which sounded quite a bit like 'Not righ now, anyway.' Jazz nodded sagely. Salsa never approved of anyone right away--the party in question always had to prove through hard work and loyalty that he or she was worthy enough to gain his respect. This time around, though, Jazz had his own suspicions. With both himself and the ever-observant Salsa keeping one eye trained on their new recruit, surely any funny business would be promptly spotted and dealt with...?

"It's settled, then." Jazz looked over the crowd. "Who wants to do the branding? I need two of you."

"I can do it!" Rhapsody stepped forward, looking confident. "Not by yourself." Jazz's antennae bounced with amusement. Rhapsody wasn't the most dexterous of Irkens, and one slip of her hand could seriously injure Bohemian. The blue-eyed Irken glanced over the crowd once again. "Trillian?" he called out, his gaze settling on the male Vortian. "You're better when it comes to handling machines. Why don't you help?"

Irkens branded living creatures with tattoos. The tattoo gun was relatively easy to use. It was temporarily mounted to the ground via magnetism, but required two users to operate--one to focus on doing the tattooing and another to make sure the gun stayed level.

Dip · Jan 20, 2017

Bohemian wished that he didn't take as much offense to the statement that the fire-y Irken said, but he couldn't help it. As a matter of fact, that was a proper introduction! It was to the point, entirely professional, and didn't spend time mucking around the topic. His name was Bohemian, and he was the Head Surgeon. What more could he possibly say?! That was as straight to the point as he could get! He could have ended it right at, 'My name is Bohemian.' What more were these people expecting?

A full-fledged autobiography?

Interests, hobbies, and favorite food?

Bohemian crossed his arms over himself. What more could he possibly want from Bohemian? What more was needed? What exactly was wrong with his introduction? Just because Bohemian didn't jump and smile and flap his arms about, did that mean that he was somehow untrustworthy? Perhaps playing a cheerful facade would have suited the situation far better than the bare-bones introduction that he did give.

Bohemian watched as the Vortian near the tall Irken spoke, defending his case even further. He would have to thank the other later, but... right then, Bohemian kept silent. Perhaps in time, he would open up much like Jazz seemed to have done. Bohemian wasn't thankful enough when the PIT leader changed the topic with two simple words: moving on.

Bohemian watched as the group seemed to agree that there was nothing wrong with Bohemian, and that calmed his frayed nerves slightly. He watched almost as closely as Jazz did, his antennae raising slightly as he looked over the sweaty, stuffy crowd. He heard the comment that was spoken by the Irken once more, and his antennae slowly fell close to his head.

Salsa couldn't find evidence. Not even if he tried. Bohemian hadn't done a single thing yet, and he had only plotted very seldomly. His shared time with Rhapsody had done very little to stop it, but he knew that he was safe. He almost implored Salsa to look for something on him. All of his files were in order, and not a single one was out of place whatsoever. He was confident that he was safe.

For now, at least...

Bohemian felt his heart almost drop when he heard that there wasn't a proper procedure for the branding. They just let random people do it? SERIOUSLY? Did they know how much bacteria was probably on the machine? How much damage could be done if someone hit a wrong button, or worse, bumped the machine?!

It seemed that his nightmare had come true when Rhapsody was the first one to shoot her hand up like a rocket. Bohemian paled. Absolutely not. No. No. No. NO. Rhapsody was easily one of the, if not, the clumsiest Medics on the Massive! Bohemian moved a hand to where he wanted his brand, and he could already feel it swell with pain. She was going to kill him. He feared for his own life at that moment, and he thanked his lucky stars when the PIT leader assigned someone else--

A Vortian.

Great.

Trillian looked up once his name was called, and flashed a playful grin. "Better? Well, I'm the best." He said, with an air of cockiness. Anyone who knew Trillian could tell that he didn't think that highly of himself. Infact, he was rather humble, but liked to play it big just for the hell of it. While it seemed that others made their opinions on the new Irken, it seemed that the Irken would have to prove himself.

Who's to say what this Irken is up to? Who's to say that the Head Surgeon was up to some dastardly plot? Who else but the Irken before him! Bohemian would win Trillian's affections with his acts, not his outward appearances. Trillian moved forward, slowly coming into contact with the Irken. He looked him over, noticing that he was only slightly smaller than himself. Trillian knew that the tattooing machine was rather intimidating, but seriously, this guy hung around large machines for fun!

"There's nothing to be worried about." Trillian spoke, almost like he knew the Head Surgeon would get rather cross if others knew his nervousness.

"I'm not worried." He answered quickly. He paused, before he spoke again. "... You do clean it properly, correct?" He started. "Before and after the procedure?" He was a stickler for perfection, and wanted nothing less than a sterile environment with a clean tool and no risk of infection.

Trillian rolled his eyes. "Well, duh. We've tattoo'd plenty of people. Only a few have gotten really sick from it." This earned Bohemian a playful smirk, but Bohemian was having none of it.

"Excuse me? I--"

"Calm down! I'm joking. What do you think we are? Of course the machine is cleaned." The Vortian shook his head, sighing slightly as he chuckled. "You need to let yourself have some fun once in a while."

Bohemian turned away from the Vortian, and found the ground very interesting. Very damp, yes, but interesting for the floor of the boiler room.

Mira-Charma13 · Jan 20, 2017

Jazz seemed amused by the Vortian's display. Loskora stood there in dogged silence, her arms crossed tightly over her chest. Salsa just raised his good antenna, leveling an unimpressed half-lidded gaze on his fellow PIT member. "Humble, aren't we?" he sneered, only half-serious. The orange-eyed Irken was perhaps the most socially inept creature standing there below the power core. He was also a bit too uptight for his own good and didn't take kindly to horseplay of any kind. In that sense he was incredibly Irken...but his distinct lack of respect for his superiors and his tendency to blurt out the truth at all times? That definitely wasn't Irken.

"If you want to clean it yourself, you can." Rhapsody chimed in as Trillian approached, hoping that her familiar voice would make this ordeal a little less unbearable. "No one really enjoys cleaning it anyway. It's kind of a medical procedure on its own...and we're the only two Medics here. So maybe that duty should be left to us."

"I informed you before that the Irken Resistance is split into two groups," Jazz elaborated idly from the distance, tapping out a few things on his work tablet. "One half travels with the Irken Armada. The other half is scattered about the Known Universe. There are many Medics in that other half simply because of how remote some of those locations are. The Massive already has a dedicated team of Medics...so we chose not to invite any of our Medic members here."

Though he was welcoming the Head Surgeon into their fold, he wasn't about to reveal the locations of these other Irken Resistance members just yet. New members were observed carefully for several weeks while they settled into the group and found their own place...just in case they had every intention of turning around and reporting all of them to the Control Brains. Bohemian would have limited access to the group's most precious information for a time. Besides...these were just mere weekly meetings between all members who were available. The most intensive meetings occurred elsewhere, once a month, and were reserved for the most senior members. Not that Bohemian needed to know anything about those meetings just yet.

Several members chuckled at the Vortian's teasing words, but no one said a word. Rhapsody nodded sagely, rubbing her chin in a thoughtful manner. "He does need to learn to let loose and have a bit of fun once in a while. He can be a little stuffy." She paused and then leaned forward, looking sheepish and apologetic. "Sorry...but, um...it's true."

In general, Irkens loved to horse around and have fun...in their free time, of course. When they were working or on the clock everything became deadly serious. There were a few that tended to be too serious even when they weren't working--Salsa was a prime example.

These Irkens were seen as being very Irken. Bohemian was likely to make the wrong impression if he didn't learn to let loose at some point.

"Well..." Jazz rolled his shoulders this way and that to work out some kinks. "That's enough chit-chat for now. Here you are, Trillian." The sapphire-eyed Irken pulled a small square out of his pocket, tapped a single button, and tossed it forward. It rapidly unfolded into a peculiar machine that immediately anchored itself to the floor. It was obviously a tattoo gun, but not the Irken kind. Irken tattoo guns were usually simple and could be operated by one person. This was a more powerful machine, and judging by the distinctive curled wires along the side it looked to be a stunning piece of Vortian technology.

"A hacked Vortian branding tool," he explained to Bohemian, one antenna twitching. "Built originally to brand livestock, but is actually rather a useful tool for us. It holds two different sorts of ink--universal black ink, which is what is normally utilized for Irken brands...and an invisible ink that will only reveal itself under the proper conditions. It was once used to brand livestock with the insignia of the species raising the livestock in question, but the invisible ink was used to identify the specific rancher under the right light. So...a brand within a brand. This will brand you with the proper Irken Insignia, but it will also brand you with the invisible ink."

"I can hold it!" Rhapsody declared confidently. "I've never used it before, so...I don't think I should be the one applying the brand. But I can keep everything steady!" She quickly moved forward and, with a bit of effort, lifted the machine from the floor. It seemed to pull back toward the ground as she hefted it to Trillian's side--it was magnetized.

"Step back," Loskora advised, doing just that. Other members of the group followed suit, putting some distance between themselves and the machine. Apparently, some of them were just as wary about Rhapsody being anywhere near the branding gun as Bohemian was. She had a good heart, that girl, and always strove to be helpful but physically...well, she was always tripping, dropping things, and losing her balance. It was no wonder that she failed miserably in all of her military classes back on the Academy.

Salsa sniffed loudly and leaned toward the scarred Vortian, squinting warily at the scene unfolding before them. "I require a second opinion." One of her curled goat-like appendages twitched to show that she was listening. Salsa's twisted antenna twitched in response. "What are our chances of blowing up the Massive if the beam from that branding device hits the power core's containment chamber?" Loskora hummed, glancing upward briefly. "...Medium," was her simple response. "Huh. How nice," he drawled in a dry voice. "I'm going to die out here in the bowels of space. And I haven't even had lunch yet."

"Be quiet, Sal."

Salsa gritted his teeth as several Irkens chuckled and Jazz grinned. "I told you not to call me that," he growled under his breath.

Dip · Jan 20, 2017

Trillian couldn't help but stretch a toothy smile tightly across his face when Salsa mentioned how very humble he was. He imagined the very same thing coming from Sal's mouth to another member of the PIT that he worked with: a very small Irken named Ceedid. Now, Trillian could stand most Irkens, and he had prided himself in being quite nice to most everyone he came into contact to, but Ceedid was just.... it was so hard to be nice to that Irken.

Ceedid's personality could be compared to an overstimulated puppy or a fat kid around an Earthen Snicker's bar. There was just so much inside the two-foot tall menace to Irken society. People thought Bohemian was Irken? Just wait till they met Ced! The small Irken was so loud, so brash, so bold, so annoying, and so.... fight-y. For someone his size, he seemed to get into more fights than anyone else the Vortian knew.

He recalled one that the new Human addition to the PIT team nearly lost it, ready to grab the small Irken by the antennae and take him for a joyride to fist-fight city. The human was lucky that Trillian was there to break up the fight, or else someone would be all bloodied and bruised, and no one would be happy about it.

Bohemian actually did take it upon himself to clean the machine, and he did so swiftly and with proper care. Part of him was upset with the crowd around him, but the other part was glad that there had been attentive watchers. Maybe if someone showed them how to properly clean the machine, they could start doing it for themselves! While Bohemian did hold his tongue at the comment that his other had made in regards to him 'calming down', he rolled his eyes.

Bohemian had to stop himself from calling against Rhapsody holding the machine, but at least she wasn't the one branding his skin. The Irken behind the machine wished desperately that this was a more private affair, but being a part of the IR was no longer a private operation. Trillian, at Bohemian's request, cleaned the area where the brand would be placed. Soon, though, Bohemian asked something that seemed almost entirely un-Irken. It seemed nervous!

"Will... Will this hurt?"

"Oh, yes," Trillian said matter of factly. "This will hurt a lot."

"Thanks." Bohemian sighed. "I needed to hear that." While that was quite a sarcastic remark, there seemed to be no hint of sarcasm in his voice, as if he was scared that the Vortian would lie to him. Soon the prepping turned into the full-on operation, and the operation went on as a success. The meeting, after such events, was uneventful at most, and even if it was, Bohemian didn't bother to listen.

It did hurt. It did hurt a lot.

Damogran is a planet that is approximately 2,500 light years from Irk on the fashionable Eastern Side of the Galaxy. However, it is hot, remote and almost entirely unheard of. Almost. The Irken Invader Tak hadn't been outcasted or exiled but sent on a mission to the extremely inconveniently arranged planet. Damogran consists of nothing but medium to large desert islands separated by very pretty but annoyingly wide stretches of ocean.

The planet wasn't even considered something of value to the Irken people until they discovered a very strange invention coming from the people who resided on the planet. It seemed as if the Damogran people were almost as if not more intelegent than the Vortian's that had assisted in helping the Irken empire. Tak didn't dare say that exact phrase, but she almost knew it to be true. The Damograns were very resourceful, and had all but mastered the art of space travel on a grand scheme of things.

The Damograns were very outrageous creatures to the Irken. They were a modge-podge of all of the planet's climates jumbled up into one, singular form. They were almost beautiful, and Tak examined them rather closely. They were entirely amphibious beings that Tak likened to an Earth creature called the Flying Fish. They were long, thin creatures with fin-like appendages starting from the center of their torso, and working their way up the length of their arm and up to their wrist-- much like a bird's wing. What was amazing about the appendages was that they could be used for both flying and swimming!

On their backs, she took note of their exoskeletons, that she identified as protection from Damongran's two suns and two moons. Other than their initial body form, they had rather large and beautiful-looking heads. Their eyes were large, and dual-lidded to help protect from both the sun and the water on the planet. It seemed that the male Damograns had rather intricate eye colors, while the females stayed with a dull gray color.

Tak had her work cut out of her and her cloaking devices, but she did all she could to blend in. The planet Damogran was selected specifically because of a very interesting invention that had been stolen quite some time ago. The Damograns hardly ever partook in the runabout that was space travel, and so they tried their hand at inventing a very wide-wanged teleportation system that harnessed the sheer randomness of the Universe. This was quite a difficult feat, but was done!

The Infinite Improbability Drive is a wonderful new method of crossing interstellar distances in a mere nothing'th of a second, without all that tedious mucking about in hyperspace. It was created by lucky chance of mixing and mangling wires together in hopes that something would happen and then developed into a governable form of propulsion. While the Irken empire and all it's glory knew all too well about the Infinite Improbability Drive, they had absolutely no interest in it whatsoever. It was far too... random to function properly!

As soon as the ship's drive reaches infinite Improbability, it passes through every conceivable point in every conceivable universe simultaneously. This meant bad, and good, news for the empire. There was a good probability that they would end up exactly where they needed to be, but there was also a good probability that they would end up in the center of a black hole. It was far too risky, but it wasn't risky in the slightest. The destination was just bad, but the side effects were worse!

Side effects of using the Infinite Improbability Drive include temporary (and sometimes permanent,) changes to the environment and morphological structure, hallucinations, and the calling into being of large marine mammals. An incredible range of highly improbable things can happen.

While Tak knew all of this to be true to the fullest extent, she knew that that kind of technology could be harness into something that the Irkens could use and use properly. While the idea of an Improbability Drive was out of the question, what about a Probability Drive? The randomness of travel would be eliminated, and so would the need for constructing shortcuts throughout the universe. The Massive and all of its kin ships could travel without the threat of attack!

While this was all the end goal, it seemed that Tak wasn't even able to demonstrate a proper beginning. The Irken Invader contacted her Tallest within the first week of arrival to report the news.

"My Tallest. I am contacting you to give you a proper status report of my mission. It seems that the Damograns inhabiting the planet may know my intentions... they are smarter than they look, and I am sure you understand how hard it is to outsmart an intelligent enemy. It seems that many of my cloaking devices are having a difficult time keeping up with the demanding environment, with nearly 85% of the planet being made entirely of water, and the rest of the planet being small desert-like islands.

"I have done every kind of system update, every single upgrade, and I have repaired my systems to it's fullest. I do not fear for my life or the integrity of my mission, but I fear... I fear that something big is about to happen, My Tallest.

"Till we meet again. I will send another status report, with more information on the planet Damogran, it's people, and the possibility of Damogran technology. Tak, signing off."

The mission continued as planned, and thoughts of complete and entire takeover were approaching on the horizon. While draining the sea was an option, that would hardly handicap the Damogran people whatsoever. She had considered blowing up both of the moons that orbited the planet, thus affecting the tides and destroying the sea wildlife and leaving the Damogran people to starve, she thought of some ways to conquer the planet, and keep the inhabitants of the planet intact.

They were still useful to her, as their technology seemed to surpass what she had initially thought. About a month after her first status report, she called for a second one to the Massive.

"My Tallest. I am contacting you to give you a proper status report of my mission. I am finalizing my plot to conquer the planet Damogran. The planet is orbited by two smaller satellite moons that affect the wildlife quite drastically. If I take out even one of the moons, this would cripple the Damogran people into submission. If that does not, I would still have the other moon at my disposal, if I so wish. I have to be careful about this plan, as you know, because I have recently identified some very interesting technology that I feel could be useful. I will analyze it further, and confirm their need.

"In regards to my cloaking devices. There are continual breakdowns occurring, so I have limited my involvement within the Damogran community. I doubt they notice my absences, but... They seem to be congregating a lot more than usual for their people. I have taken to performing most of my investigation during their time of rest, so I do not think that I am in dire need of assistance.

"I feel that my mission will be complete within the next month, at the latest. I will send another status report with the outcome of my plan, and what steps I can take to ensure the capturing of this planet. Till we meet again. Tak, signing off."

And as predicted, the mission was a complete success. While the Damogran people did have the technology to explore deep into space, it seemed that they did not have the technology to wage war with the Irken Invader. But it seemed that the Invader had gone back on her word, and didn't send a status report of the plan. Tak spent quite a few weeks organizing the populace, and establishing the smartest individuals to figure out the possibility of a Probability Drive. She had properly restrained the scientists to work, and she ordered the rest of the population to begin the laborious work of extracting common materials on the planet.

It was about three weeks after the successful capture of the planet when things did not seem to be flowing as smoothly. There had been many small riots, and those would be expected among a newly conquered planet, but... they grew more frequent, and larger in size. While Tak had all of the participants executed at once, there seemed to be more riots and uprisings than there were executions.

"My Tallest. I am contacting you to give you a proper status report of my mission. The planet Damogran was successfully conquered in the name of Irk, but I feel that I cannot suppress the uprisings alone. I believed that I may have severely underestimated their populations, or perhaps I underestimated their ability... The planet's capture is completed, the most intelligent of the scientists have been captured and secluded among themselves, and the rest have been sent to work on mining precious recourses for mother Irk.

"I am unsure if I need the Irken Armada, because the uprisings have been dissolved almost as soon as they spring up. It is the frequency that disturbed me... I request the possibility of a stand-by.

"Till we meet again. Tak, signing off."

Another few weeks pass, and it occurs to Tak that perhaps sending the Armada was quite a ridiculous request. The uprisings die down quickly, and things return quite as they should. Everything seemed to be in order, and now, it was just a matter of waiting.

At least, it was, until the Damogran Revolt occurred.

A frantic and bloodied Tak nearly attacked her command station as she called for attention as soon as possible.

She managed to get ahold of the Tallest, but no one would reply. She had called the Tallest almost four times before she sent a distress signal, hailing the Massive towards her location.

"INVADER TAK! THIS IS INVADER TAK ON PLANET DAMOGRAN! I-I AM UNDER ATTACK--MY TALLEST-- I NEED BACKUP, I REPEAT, I NEED BACKUP! My base, suprised-- Irken Battle-Bots are fending off the Revolt, but there are so many of them-- They have been congregating, plotting my demise since I have gotten here... My weapons--my arsenal will protect me, but my calls have gone unnoticed by the Tallest. Red alert-- Send the Armada! Send the Massive! Send-- SEND ANYONE, PLEASE, ANYONE!!"

It Came From Outer Space (Mira-Charma13 and Dip)

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |

The Almighty Tallest

| Noble Village Witch St. Maerius |