Turn the Tables: Chapter Uno

  "Believe me, I can fight alongside the Crawlers!" yelled Modd, an overzealous rebel and close friend of Tark. The two were positioned behind some burned rubble and awaited orders to charge. In the meantime, however, they were required to provide fire over for the Crawlers, six-legged Irken tanks, as they, along with several other ground and air vehicles, moved toward the Empire's Army.

  "Are you crazy? If you run out, not only will you get yourself killed, but you'll also give me away and it'll mean one less gun for the Crawlers, and you know we need as much firepower as we can get!" cried Tark.

  "But the general is right there!" Modd said and kept his eyes on the Army's general across the field, "I can just run out and hit him, then they'll have to retreat and we'll win this one!"

  "No! We do our job right now, nothing else!" Suddenly, a nearby Crawler exploded from enemy fire. Tark crouched behind the rubble and shielded his eyes from the bright blast.

  'Now!' Modd thought, and he bolted forth, right through the smoke and toward the general his eyes locked on upon. As he ran more Crawlers blew up and a few rebel ships that looked like Spittle Runners fell from the sky, black smoke trailing them. The Crawlers stopped, and began to turn around. At the same time, several rebel ships overhead also turned around. Through his radio Tark heard Reemaja's voice, "Retreat, we're losing too many, they have the advantage, retreat, I repeat, retreat." she ordered. 'Not again' Tark thought, they haven't won one battle yet, and he was beginning to doubt they'd ever be able to overthrow the empire. He began to run when he realized Modd was gone. He turned around to see his friend continuing to advance towards the Empire's Army. 'Damnit' he thought.

   ~*~

  "Sir, we have them on the run, what are our orders?” asked Jaka, the commander of the frontline division. General Kiba waved his hand, “Let them go, it’s no use wasting ammo on a bunch of cowards.” Something in the field below caught his attention, “What is that?” Jaka pulled his visor down over his eyes and spotted a lone rebel running toward them. “It’s just a-” the rebel fired his semi-automatic while sweeping it left and right. Several men and women in the front were hit and doubled over to the ground. The soldiers behind them dropped to the ground and readied their weapons. Instinctively, General Kiba barked, “KILL IT!”

  The soldiers responded immediately, but just before the rebel’s body was pumped of plasma-hot pulse energy bullets, he fired his own last few bullets in the direction of the general. One struck the general in the arm, the rest grazed his shoulder. He clutched his arm and cringed in pain. The shooting ceased now that the rebel had fallen. He became reduced to a pile of scorched flesh and bone in a puddle of glistening blood. Commander Jaka came to Kiba’s aid and ordered a nearby soldier to call for a medic.

   ~*~

  Tark couldn’t move, appalled at his best friend’s death. Even at his distance, the gore was clearly visible. Someone came up from behind him and grabbed his arm.

  “C’mon, we gotta get out of here.” They said.

  Tark remained still; he witnessed the bloodiest death he had ever seen, and the fact that that was Modd made him numb all over.

  “Damnit, Tark, if we don’t move it, we’ll end up just like him too!” his comrade barked. Tark turned around and began to walk away. The fellow soldier tugged his arm harder and forced him to run. Together they caught up with the rest of the rebels.

   ~*~

  “Once again the rebels retreated, my sirs.” General Kiba reported, his arm bandaged, “They lost a majority of their pathetic light armored Crawlers and several men, where on the other hand, I only lost about fifty men and some two hundred were injured. I assure you this matter will be resolved and those traitors will no longer exist by the time you arrive home, my Tallest.”

  “Thank you for the update, General Kiba.” Stated Red. The general saluted and the screen went blank. Red sighed. Invader Tenn was recently rescued from planet Meekrob and Operation Impending Doom II resumed. There were only three invaders left who hadn’t finished their jobs and the fleet waited for their call. However, the Resisty was gaining more and more allies by the day, and both Red and Pur knew that the last thing the Resisty needed to know about was the rebellion back home on Irk.

  Purple cursed and mumbled, “Cancel the invasions.”

  “What? What are you afraid the other invaders will be captured like Tenn was?” Red said, surprised.

  “No, I’ve been thinking about this ever since it started and even though our armies always end up winning, I think it’s been going on longer than it should.”

  “You mean the rebellion? Pppfff! Are you seriously worried about those idiots? Pur, they’re just being die-hard pains, you’re letting it get to you.”

  “Well, what about us? If we can annihilate an entire planet in a matter of minutes, why have we done nothing to stop those rebels? They’ve been fighting for about three years now, and they just don’t stop. Did you hear anything about finishing them off from any of the military officers?”

  “Yeah-”

  “NO!” Purple snapped, “They are letting them recover and strike again and again, over and over! I think it’s time we abort the last invasions, issue a recall, and head back home to finally kick those rebels’ asses!” Pur calmed down and added, “Remember how strong the Resisty was standing up against us during Tenn’s rescue?”

  Red remembered.

  “Imagine if they found out about this? Who knows what could happen? I’m surprised they haven’t found out yet, but I don’t want to let this go on any longer and risk that chance of them finding out.”
Red pointed to an officer and ordered a recall.

~*~

  Zim and Skooge were in Zim’s lab, preparing for Zim’s most diabolical plan yet when the main monitor flashed on and the Tallest appeared. The two rushed up to the screen. Without realizing Zim’s presence, Red said, “Invader Skooge, we are issuing a recall and require that you report back to the fleet immediately.”

  Suddenly a familiar and irritating voice cried out, “Why not me, my Tallest? Why can’t Zim come back? Is Zim not an invader too?”

  Red paused; he looked to his co-Tallest for help. Purple exclaimed, “Because all the other invaders suck!”

  Skooge looked hurt and confused. Red added, “Y-yeah. The other invaders aren’t doing great jobs and…uh...”

  “And you’re doing an excellent job so you stay. Seriously, stay where you are, your empire needs you to stay put.” Purple said coldly and Red snickered.

  Skooge was about to cry, “An existence evaluation?”

  “No,” Red said sternly, “just get back here now.” The screen went black again. Zim looked at Skooge with pride, knowing he was better. Skooge walked away to pack his things. His S.I.R. unit readied his ship.

  “That was a close call.” Red commented. Purple didn’t hear him. Besides the rebellion at home, the Resisty getting stronger every day, and the lives of Invader Skooge, Grappa, and Larb at risk, something else was bothering him. He didn’t know what, but there was and eerie feeling that made him feel insecure and uneasy while on the Massive…