IZ-Commando Scars part 1

[Devastis; capital; infirmary]

Ram: Well, you're injuries should be gone now; you're ready to return to the field.

Zim: (nods silently)

Ram: Something wrong?

Zim: I....it's nothing. (gets up and leaves)

Xorg: (enters the room) Well, he finally off on his own again.

Ram: Maybe so, but something tells me he's not 100%.

Xorg: (snorts) Since when has he been 100%?

Ram: (says nothing)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Observation room]

Zim: You really got to me back on Scourgon, you know that?

Skoodge: I was only speaking the truth.

Zim: Um...you're not......you know?

Skoodge: (chuckles) I know what you're thinking; no, I'm not that way. I see you more like a brother, truthfully.

Zim: (shrugs) So, are you going back to Earth?

Skoodge: I intend to bring Gretchen here, but I don't plan to stay. We're needed here more than Earth.

Spork: (enters the room with Tak and Mimi) I thought I'd find you here. You two better get to the training room; it never hurts to stay in shape in case the commandos attack again.

Tak: Which they will, sooner or later.

Mimi: (nods)

Zim: (walks out of the room with Skoodge not far behind)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Scourgon; prisoner storage area]

Kaine: To what do I owe the visit, Skrag?

Skrag: (enters the room and stands in front of Kaine's cell) You do know why I'm leaving you alive, correct?

Kaine: I'm more curious why you haven't killed me.

Skrag: The reason is simple: I want you to see what it's like to lose everything. So I have decided to place you in suspended animation and dispose of you once the armada is gone.

Kaine: You're not wowing me with your tactics.

Skrag: (chuckles) Don't worry; (throws a switch) you will be.

(Kaine's chamber is filled with gas, causing him to be knocked out)

Skrag: Good bye for now, defective. (leaves the room) It's time to formulate a plan to end the Irken Armada once and for all. (stops) I know you're there, Bone.

Bone: (appears) How is it you know where I am?

Skrag: Whether I can see you or not, I know when I'm being watched.

Bone: I see; well, the troops are ready whenever you are.

Skrag: Excellent; the time is drawing near for us to make the next move. When it happens, be ready.

Bone: Yes sir.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[Devastis; observation deck]

Ram: (stares off into the distance)

(the door opens behind him)

Ram: (turns around to see Tak standing in the doorway) What do you want?

Tak: I.....I'm sorry about Jeena.

Ram: (sighs) Thanks, but it doesn't matter; I can rebuild her.

Tak: How?

Ram: (pulls out a disk) I made this before she went back in time; it holds all of her memories.

Tak: And I'm guessing everything else is child's play for you?

Ram: (raises an eyebrow) If you mean it's not a challenge for me, you're right. (sighs) Then again, it brings up memories I've tried to forget.

Zim: (walks out with Gaz) Forget what?

Ram: Memories of the past that leave scars that can never leave; I try to forget, but all in vain. (closes his eyes) You wouldn't understand; you haven't been in the universe as long as I have.

Tak: How long have you existed?

Ram: I was a mere ten Irken years old when Miyuki took control. You and Zim were hatched sometime later. I was entering my 30s when Miyuki came to me to begin construction of the commandos.

Gaz: Um...how old is Zim? He never told me.

Zim: In Irken years, I am around 16 and a half. In human years.....I lost count.

Ram: My first project was to help with the Massive; my contribution was the propulsion systems which could allow the ship to reach subsonic speed.

Zim: You also built Gir.

Ram: Indeed I did; he was one of five I had built for a public demonstration.

Zim: This failed, seeing how Gir never obeys me.

Ram: Correct; the malfunction was a programming error in the emotions chip.

Tak: Why didn't you fix it?

Ram: I tried to, and at first it worked. But after awhile, the unit became self-aware and deemed its designated owner defective.

Zim: (eyes widen)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

Gir: Your methods are stupid! Your progress has been stupid! Your intelligence is stupid! For the sake of the mission, you must be terminated!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Zim: So that's why he attacked me when I tried to make him more loyal.

Ram: Exactly; the unit attempted to hack into the Control Brain and take over. How I wasn't destroyed for that is a miracle in itself. Eventually, I found a system that allowed the 5200 series to obey commands, but by the time I did, my project was ordered to be scrapped.

Tak: So what happened to the other units?

Ram: The one that went rogue was locked in stasis and fired into space. The others were sent to Dirt to be scrapped. How Zim got a hold of Gir is beyond my belief.

Gaz: Skoodge said the Tallest fished him out of the trashcan and filled his head with pocket lint and loose change.

Ram: So I've been told. As I said, how I was let off the hook in the end was a miracle.

Tak: You were talking about the commandos earlier; how did the project continue?

Ram: The basic designs for two commandos were finished, when my partner and I were given awful news.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

Xorg: Once these super-soldiers are ready, treason will become a thing of the past.

(Spork enters the room)

Ram: Who are you?

Spork: I am the new Tallest, and I'm here to shut down your project.

Xorg: What? Why?

Spork: You're essentially doing the Control Brains' job, and that is not allowed. Therefore, you are ordered to terminate your project, or I will haul you two in front of the Control Brains for it.

Xorg: But it's too far into development now; we can't...

Spork: DO AS I COMMAND!!!

Xorg: (scowls and walks out of the building)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Ram: We didn't know it then, but it wouldn't be the end of our project.

Tak: How?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

Xorg: Now we're forced to work under an Almighty Tallest duo.

Ram: Indeed, they're idiots to say the least.

(monitor beeps for an incoming call)

Ram: (pushes the button) Who is it?

Miyuki: It's me, boys.

Xorg: (eyes widen) But you died.

Miyuki: That monster puked me up not long after eating me. It seems I have been outranked by the morons who are now the tallest, and I must return to power. Are you two still up for building my super-soldiers?

Xorg: (salutes) We are willing to serve you until we die.

Miyuki: Excellent; you will present the project to the new tallest, but do not give them any details. This plan must be kept secret no matter what.

Ram: You can rely on us, mistress.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Tak: You should've known what you were getting in.

Ram: You're right; but then again, I had no way of knowing.

Spork: (enters the room) You're speaking of the past, am I right?

Ram: (nods) I am about to finish for now.

Tak: Please continue; this is interesting.

Gaz: (plays her game, but pauses out of curiosity)

Ram: Very well then.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

Ram: (enters the room) What are you doing?

Xorg: Miyuki contacted me earlier; we need to speed up production, so I'm using the PAK of Tallest Spork for the third commando.

Ram: Wait, how did it survive.......on second thought, I don't want to know.

Xorg: Also, I found this floating in space. (reveals the body of Invader Larb on a table) Seems he offended the tallest and they punished him for it.

Ram: Shouldn't we use clean PAKS for the commandos?

Xorg: The commando programming is cutting edge; it'll never stop working. I assure you.

Ram: (sighs) This is wrong; we're killing an innocent soldier just to satisfy a former leader who everyone thinks is dead.

Xorg: Are you saying we should stop?

Ram: Maybe we should; building soldiers is one thing, but I will not stand here and let you use a valuable invader as a test rat.

Xorg: You dare insult the order of Miyuki? I thought we would do this together.

Ram: Well, I can't work with you on this; you're betraying our own kind out of loyalty to a dead tallest.

Xorg: (slashes Ram's face) Get out of here; you're not brave enough to work with me.

Ram: Fine then, I'm leaving. (turns for the door) I hope you get what you deserve. (leaves)

Xorg: Oh, believe me; I will.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Ram: Well, that's pretty much the end of my story.

Gaz: Your past sounds like something from a video game.

Ram: Well, no one's ever put it that way before, but thank you.

Tak: How you managed to survive without losing your mind is beyond me.

Ram: (nods) I've thought about that myself; I'm at a loss myself, even to this day.

Gaz: Then what about your arm? (points to Ram's metal hand)

Ram: Oh that. (sighs) I'd rather not talk about it.

Gaz: (grabs Ram) Spill it!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

(Ram is dragged onto the Resisty ship)

Lard Nar: Well, well; what have we hear?

Blob alien: It's another member of the Irken race.

Ram: But I'm...

Spleenk: Shut up, Irken scum; you'll talk when we want you to.

Ixane: I say we rip him apart and send his remains to the tallest in a box.

Three-headed alien: I say we eat him.

(the Blob alien pukes)

Lard Nar: No, clearly those ideas are too disgusting.

Ram: I'm telling you, I don't work with the armada anymore.

(the Resisty members laugh)

Lard Nar: Enough. (turns to Ram) If what you're saying is true, then I guess we'll let you go.

Ram: (sighs in relief) Thanks.

Lard Nar: Of course, there's one condition. (pulls out a saw) We're leaving our mark. (chops off Ram's right hand above the wrist)

Ram: (winces in pain) What matter? It'll grow back eventually.

Blob alien: Not after this. (spits on the stump) My race's saliva is incredibly acidic; your arm won't be growing back anytime soon.

Ram: (clutches his burning arm) Who are you?

Lard Nar: We are the Resisty, and soon we will destroy the Irken Empire.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Tak: Is that what really happened? It's disgusting

Ram: It burned for three days. (holds up his metal hand) I had this contraption made when I stopped at a medical outpost station. (sighs) It's served me well for all this time, but I can still remember the burns.

Tak: One more question; you said you let yourself lose your memory. Why's that?

Ram: Well apparently, I discovered I was suffering from PAK degeneration; all the functions slowly died one by one. Now all my PAK can do is sustain me; I've tried to replace my PAK, but to do that, I'd need to be completely reformatted.

Tak: Meaning?

Gaz: He'd be deleted, like memory being erased.

Ram: I can see you're quite the technology expert.

Gaz: Whatever. (leaves playing her game)

Spork: Well, I think it's time to return to work, but remember; you are very important to the armada, one way or another.

Ram: Thank you sir.

(everyone leaves except Ram and Zim; Xorg enters the room)

Xorg: What's going on here?

Ram: I was telling how the commandos were built.

Zim: Speaking of which, how did you come back?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[FLASHBACK]

Skull: (flies down and looks through the remains of Xorg's PAK) Ah, here we go. (pulls out a disk) You will become quite useful, my friend.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

[END OF FLASHBACK]

Xorg: And that's what happened.

Zim: One more thing; you said Miyuki never gave you a name. Why's that?

Xorg: I was part of a secret project she was working on; she was growing her own small army to serve her alone. I was the only one to survive. She dubbed me "Irken X" and put me to work as a scientist. I will reveal nothing else (leaves)

Zim: (leaves as well)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX