Where Do Your Loyalties Lie?

“Proximity warning, approaching inhabited planet. Planet is not found in the stellar database. Recommend planetary scanning to assess potential threat and value before landing.”

Tak strode onto the command deck of her Voot Cruiser, chuckling at the thought that the pitiful planet possessed any real 'threat.' The command deck was more like a command closet. It was perched at the front of the craft on the top level, separated from the rest of the ship. Tak sat in the pilot's seat and tapped a button on the arm rest. With a soft whirr  the seat rose a couple feet into the polycarbonate encompassed canopy. She gazed out the panoramic canopy at the unfamiliar constellations before settling on the slowly enlarging blue orb in the center of the black. Her stare narrowed in disgust at the rotating ball of filth, none to pleased at the memories of her last visit returning to her.

The ship beeped and the shipboard A.I asked if it should begin intercepting errant radio signals originating from the planet for any possibly useful information; Tak quickly declined, she already knew everything she needed to know. She double checked the estimated time of arrival and lowered her seat, exiting the command deck upon reaching the floor. Her ship was relatively small. There were five compartments in the ship and three decks. The top deck was the command deck and by far the smallest. Second deck was the living quarters and common area that served as a lounge and food preparation area. Third deck was the largest with the engine and weapons bay as well as a cargo containment space.

Tak slid down the ladder into the common area and the lights faded on, bathing the room in a soft purple hue. Purple was a soothing color to her and as ambient light it kept her sane. A square table sat in one corner of the room, booth style seats surrounding two sides. Counters, appliances and cupboards adorned the wall opposite of the table. Adjacent to the table was another ladder well to the third deck. There was a short hallway in the empty wall that accessed the living quarters. Tak's SIR unit, Mimi, was powered down and resting in its charging cradle; eyes black and looking like a round metallic trashcan at the end of the counter.

Bored, the green alien slid down the ladder and was dropped into an alcove that connected to a single hallway that ran fore and aft of the ship. The soothing purple glow faded on and filled the hallway as Tak dismounted the ladder. She entered the hallway and strode aft, towards the cargo bay. A solid, light-red metal door blocked her way but slid quietly aside when she fingered a round button in the center of it. Brighter purple lights faded on, filling the modest room, three times the size of the lounge area. Containers of all different sizes in neat formations filled the space. Rations, snacks, equipment, materials and weapons. Everything a girl would need to survive a hostile environment.

An empty tablet sized rectangle hung on the wall to her right. It was made of a solid maroon tube with hundreds of holes along the inside edge. Tak took it from its resting place and a holographic screen lit up inside. A roster of all her gear shimmered into existence on the display and Tak scrolled through it with simple motions of her finger inside the plane of the tube. She narrowed her eyes at the stacks of containers. Going through every one and verifying the contents against the manifest was tedious but necessary before beginning a mission. It would also perfectly kill the half days worth of travel left to Earth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Proximity alert: Thirty minutes until entering orbit of unknown planet. The captain's presence is required on the command deck to initiate orbiting sequence.” The computer droned  mechanically. Tak growled to herself and vowed to upgrade the ship's A.I to something more intelligent.

“That ball of dirt is called Earth, update your database!” She yelled to the ceiling, looking like a crazy person.

“Command received, updating unknown to Earth.”

Tak finished the last crate and sealed it. She sat hung the device back on it's cradle and made her way to the top deck in no particular hurry.

Her seat ascended into the cockpit and the previously small orb now engulfed the entire frontal view. Swirls of white cotton candy clouds covered the planet, massive oceans dominating the surface and giant slabs of land appearing as debris from space. Take smiled to herself, taking in the view. The planet may be inhabited by a species of dimwitted monkeys but it was beautiful as a planet. Years of traveling the stars and seeing dozens of worlds had given her an appreciation of planets not Irk.

Tak turned her attention to more pressing tasks, initiating the orbiting sequence and running several scans of the planet's atmosphere, security and white noise from the thousands of broadcast signals. Scans reported a lack of any sort of planetary defense network, still. The atmosphere was largely unchanged since her last unfortunate excursion other than some increased Human pollutants.

The ship entered easily into orbit around the spinning planet on schedule and with minimal direct input. Tak watched the planet go by  dozens of miles below, waiting until her ship passed over a specific, familiar continent. The computer beeped and a scan reported an Irken station in orbit around the planet. Tak laughed at the incompetence of the Humans, amazed they had not discovered Zim's stupid space station after so many years. She was honestly surprised it was still in stable condition and well kept. Zim must have learned some competency over the years.

Tak perched her chin in her three-fingered palm and stared out at the unsuspecting planet. Great cumulonimbus clouds swirled in strange formations over the vast oceans. Mountains that scraped the sky down on the surface looked like diminutive anthills. Tiny gray patches represented sprawling Human metropolises while thousands of stars twinkled in the dark of Earth still in twilight. The planet looked like it was split between good and evil, light and dark, Alpha and Omega. The night and day cities mortal enemies locked in fierce conflict, vying to be Alpha. Tak had never witnessed a technological revolution. She idly wondered if the Humans would ever make the jump to become a space faring species. The structure they called the 'International Space Station' was a laughably sophomore effort.

Her interest piqued as a familiar continent rolled into view. A pang of sadness hit her squeedly-spooch. The past rushing through her synapses. She frowned.

“General location visible. Initiate scan for subject?” The computer queried plainly. Tak's long, curled antennae shot up.

“Initiate,” she said impatiently.

“Scanning.”

Tak sat up in her seat, checking the multiple holographic screens of results, eyes constantly darting back to the status screen of the current scan; by far the most important. If she could not find him her masterfully conceived plan would be rendered invalid. Plan B was much less cunning and not delightfully evil like her intended outcome. Being straight forward and going straight in for the kill was much less rewarding. Getting at your most hated being through someone close to them, destroying the target and crushing the middle man all in one moment. An devilish grin spread across her face. To use a Human phrase:

“Killing two birds with one stone,” Take said aloud, laughing manically, her shrill voice echoing through the empty ship. The computer interrupted her moment with an announcement.

“Human system scan complete. Security protocols were existent at best. Subject has been located.”

“Highlight the sector and pinpoint his location.” Tak commanded quickly, finger pointing in open air. Holographic windows winked on and off before a map expanded to fill the void. A highlighted city with a pulsing dot over a specific house, an address was listed next to it along with grid coordinates.

“So you've moved,” Tak mused. She rolled the curve of an antennae idly between two fingers. Another dot and set of coordinates winked into existence.

“Not very far, however.”

Tak released the captive antennae and diligently set to work. She hijacked an orbiting satellites broadcast signal and keyed her ship's computer to access the Human's 'Internet.' Still knowledgeable from her previous experience she found a website for obtaining residence. Deep cover was required for the successful outcome of her plan. First she required appearing more Human than ever before. She would live in a Human dwelling and do everything as they did. Only one requirement: she needed a garage to hide her ship.

She finished almost as quickly as she had started. A suitable dwelling, inexpensive but suitable enough to fit her masterfully crafted persona. An electronic mail account created, request sent to view the housing unit and she was ready to take the ship planet side. Her new homestead had fallen under the solar radiation, called 'light,' of the planet's scorching sun. Vast mountain ranges and swaths of flat land laid bare beneath the harsh rays. Embedding herself into Humanity may not be so detestable on such a beautiful planet.

The ship's engines roared to life, rumbling the ship towards Earth. Tak air typed commands and plotted the course to her new stomping grounds. Sensor jamming engaged, effectively making the ship invisible to simple Human radar, as soon as the ship punched through the atmosphere. Flames licked against the canopy, plasma forming and rolling against the glowing space frame. Shudders passed through the ships hull throughout the violent forced intrusion. The tremors passed away and the hull of the ship returned to it's normal dull purple hue. Active camouflaging engaged and the ship became effectively invisible. The camouflage was not infallible but against the Human's it essentially was.

“Now if only the Humans weren't so stupid this would be more exciting.” Tak sighed.