#agent callus

[frogs-and-oscar-brainrot]

Manifesting Kallus in Ahsoka's series 🙏

[junkoftheart]

by the light of Lothal’s moons

[rancoeur-the-unfortunate]

Pills (Chapter 27)

(This kinda goes without saying but both Raz and Wer, as well as the Murthen race, were created by me (technically so are the Doctor and Agent Callus but they were made specifically for this story so I don't count them as OCs). I was getting kinda tired of just using the Vort people so I used a race I created a long time ago when I was like 10. I promise this story won't shift focus to them. Also here are a few pictures of Raz in case my descriptive terms weren't good enough. Wer is pretty much the same only pink and has dragonfly wings.)

Agent Callus knew his mom would kill him if she found out about this. But right now he didn't see any reason to care. This was for the betterment of mankind, so what if he snuck out at an ungodly hour, during a thunderstorm, on a skool night, to meet a stranger he met online. He needed to get this data to the Swollen Eyeball and he knew he could trust Agent Grub Grub.

The teenager sat near his window sill and watched the rain droplets flow down the glass, waiting for him mom to fall asleep so he could sneak out. He already had the evidence he was going to give the SEN packed up and a meeting spot with Agent Grub Grub already arranged. He was excited, to say the least. He was finally going to expose Zim for the alien he was and manage to complete the one task Dib couldn't.

Ok so maybe Agent Callus was going a bit too far with this whole rivalry thing. If he was being honest with himself, he never technically met Dib. Everything he knew about the teen was either from rumors from his fellow classmates or stories told by other members of the SEN. Others to him all the time the Dib was crazy or unhinged in some way. That he was only seeking attention from others that he couldn't get from his dad. But to Callus he was something of a role model, someone he could look up to. Nobody except Callus had noticed, Dib was trying to save the world.

But now, Callus wasn't so sure. Dib spent a whole week hiding with Zim; talking, laying in the grass, catching fireflies of all things. Was Dib working with Zim now?

Agent Callus shook his head and tried to not think about it. Dib couldn't prove to the world that Zim was an alien, so he was going to succeed where Dib had failed. Despite the fact of how god damn nervous he was.

The agent looked down at his watched and noted the time, his mom had to be asleep by now. Caleb took a deep breath and began to open his window while being as quiet as a church mouse. Once open he threw his bag out into the grass and then began to climb out himself. He opened his umbrella and grabbed his bag after he shut his window. Now that he was out Callus looked to the street and began to head down the road towards his meeting spot.

Dib was watching the rain from his kitchen window, it was Gaz's turn with the TV and he didn't feel like sleeping at the moment. Too many things to think about at the moment.

His train of thought quickly derailed though he Gaz's voice nearly knocked him out of his seat.

"You know you never got me that video."

"What video?" Dib gave his sister a curious look from the kitchen.

His sister was hanging on the back of the couch upside-down, her legs resting on the front of the couch. She was playing on her new console whilst facing him.

"And you're not even using the TV!"

"It's my background noise and I'm talking about the video you promised both me AND the ship. You know the one of Zim spasming out or something on withdrawal or whatever."

"Oh... yeah." Dib scratched the back of his head, a little uncomfortable. To be honest, he was so freaked out and drenched with worry at the time that he didn't even think to record Zim. Not that he could if he did. Zim may have been his worst enemy but the idea of recording him during his most vunerable and terrifying moment. During which Dib was actually worried that Zim would die.

"I ah, didn't get it." Dib looked away.

"Whatever, but you know there's only one thing that'll make up for this." Gaz offered.

"You're kidding! It's pouring out there!" Dib exclaimed, exasperated.

"Yeah, so you better get a move on before the streets flood."

Dib let out a long tired sigh.

"Can't it wait till tomorrow?"

Gaz looked up from her game at him with a look that Dib knew promised death.

Dib sighed again and got up. "Alright! Fine, I'll go."

Gaz nodded and looked back to her game. "Dad left us some spending money on the counter."

Dib rolled his eyes and grabbed said money and slid on a raincoat and boots. "I don't understand why Bloaty's doesn't deliver anymore." He whined as he grabbed an umbrella.

"Pretty sure Zim's robot thing had something to do with it."

"I'd believe that." Dib chuckled to himself in a small moment of mirth before opening the door and looking back to Gaz.

"How am I going to pay back the ship though?"

Gaz only shrugged, not really caring.

Dib rolled his eyes and shut the door behind him.

When the two Irkens found themselves out of the cave, Skoodge couldn't stop looking at the egg in his hands. He could clearly see through the blue translucent shell and to the little Murthlet inside. She was curled up in the fetal position her eyes shut tight. It was kind of like a smeet in an incubation chamber.

Skoodge couldn't help but feel sad at that thought. Irkens were already pretty developed mentally as smeets. But Skoodge had a feeling the same couldn't be said for Murthlets. This was a defenseless creature and he was snatching it for his own personal gain.

Skoodge ran his hand across the side of the shell. It was hard yet squishy, like a thick gelatin. It was moist to the touch as well but was becoming increasingly less so.

"I swear if we are the cause of this child's death-!" Skoodge glared to the Doctor.

"Don't even finish that threat Skoodge. Because I guarantee if that Murthlet dies we wouldn't even make it out of this planet's moon orbit." The Doctor spoke so casually about this whole situation that it was starting to really unnerve Skoodge.

"Are we leaving or not?" Skoodge jumped at the sudden voice and turned around to see Raz now wearing what appeared to be a suit. It was skin tight and covered only her chest, and legs. Her arms and neck had small skintight covers over the area where her gills were. Her body was also covered in bright blue tubes that connected all of the pieces of the suit together. On her back was a water tank filled to the top and on her legs were braces, most likely to help her walk on land. On her first set of shoulders and knees were arm and kneecaps.

       She turned her glare to Skoodge and threw something to him. He caught it and looked it over, it looked like a knapsack of some kind. It also had those blue wires sewing into it.

"Put her in that." She gestured her head to the egg before turning to the doctor.

Skoodge quickly did as the Murthen said and pulled the straps over his shoulders so the egg was resting on his chest.

"That bag will keep her moist for at most 3 Murth rotations." Raz practically spat those words.

"Then I suggest we get a move on then, yuhi." The Doctor returned, his cocky yet calculating stare never left the Murthen as he gestured towards their ship.

Skoodge could sense the tension from a mile away and instinctively placed a hand over the egg in worry. If a fight were to break out between the two, Skoodge wouldn't have the ability to help nor hide. He just hoped they would get those weapons soon enough so he could return this child back to her mothers and save Zim.

He also wanted to get to that ship sooner rather than later so he could take his hazard suit off.

Once they reached the ship the Doctor sat Raz in a chair and strapped her to it; her first set of arms chained above her while her second set was strapped to the arms of the chair. Leaving Skoodge to have to sit beside her because that was the only seat left, while the Doctor moved to the cockpit and began to start up the ship.

"Try anything yuhi and the egg will be tossed into space." He threatened once more before they took off.

Raz never stopped glaring at the back of his chair with the malice only a threatened mother could have.

Skoodge fiddled with hands for a second trying to avoid looking at her, feeling incredibly guilty.

Bleech at the time was on the other side of the planet and Murth was huge so the trip could take awhile.

"So uh the Doctor keeps calling you yuhi, what does that mean? Ifyoudon'tmindmeaskingofcourse!" Skoodge blurted out but instantly shrank in his seat when Raz cast her glare down him. He didn't know what it was but something about those dark, glassy eyes unnerved him terribly.

"It's a Murthen slur." She moved to adjust her sitting position. "It means mud dweller or crippled fish."

"You're crippled?" Skoodge asked.

"No, the insult isn't that literal. It just means I'm a lower class. He's referring to me being a foot soldier in the Murthen army." She spoke with bitterness but then paused.

"Hey, while we're tapping into each other's personal business. What's a stompy guy like you doing with a tall scumbag like him. I thought Irkens were segregated according to height or something."

"Yeah, we're uh trying to stop that..." Skoodge scratched at the back of his head nervously.

"By kidnapping eggs?" Raz almost looked curious before turning away.

"No no of course not!" Skoodge shook his hands wildly. "I had no idea the Doctor was going to do any of this!"

Raz cast one more glance at him, a judgemental one. "Really? What did you expect him to do?"

"I-" Skoodge cut himself off as he thought about that. In reality, he had no answers and he knew that Raz knew he knew that.

The Murthen looked away once more and Skoodge sat there in shame and silence.

It took Skoodge nearly 30 minutes to work up the courage to look up at her once more.

"So um... have you thought of any names?" Skoodge tried to make polite conversation. Maybe if he got on her good side he might survive if she chose to betray them.

"My son's name is Lur, the one you are holding is Mur." Raz explained, but this time didn't face him.

"Oh? How old are they?"

This time Raz looked at him but for the first time with fondness and not anger.

"Mur is 3 months and 2 days old and Lur is 3 months 2 and a half days. I had complications laying that one." She almost smiled as she looked to her egg. Her hand closest to him reached for the little Murthlet.

Skoodge's cardiac spooch twisted at the sight. Raz was clearly distraught about her Murthlet being torn from her and was trying to hide her fear. Gently he removed the straps from the sack and moved the egg to her hand.

Raz, in turn, rubbed the shell with her webbed hands and smiled contentedly.

Skoodge looked down in thought for a second then looked back to Raz.

"Raz I swear no matter what happens, I'll make sure you make it back to your nest safely with Mur." He promised.

Raz looked at him almost gratefully. "For both yours and my sake I hope you're right." Raz sighed and sat back in her seat pulling her hand away from the egg. Skoodge nodded and zipped the knapsack and slip the straps back on.

The rain had only gotten worse as the storm progressed through the night. Agent Callus tried to not let it bother him but his small one person umbrella was hardly cutting it. He sighed as he stopped at the bus stop to head to Bloaty's. The meeting location was hardly ideal but Callus WAS meeting someone he met online and having a few people nearby couldn't hurt.

He was about to pull out his phone and play some games when he was interrupted by a familiar face.

"Hey, Caleb." Dib greeted as he stood beside him at the stop.

'How the hell does he know my name?' Callus thought to himself.

"Oh um hi Dib." The younger of the two stumbled.

"Where are you going so late?" Dib smiled gently, making small talk.

"Oh um, Bloaty's. I'm kinda meeting someone." Callus tried to keep his cool but in his head, he was freaking out. This was the first time, Dib and he actually had a real conversation.

"Heh, so am I. Heading to Bloaty's that is. Gaz is forcing me to get her pizza." Dib chuckled to himself.

"But doesn't Bloaty's deliver?"

"Not anymore." Dib chuckled a for a second and looked away.

The two sat in silence for a few minutes before the bus they had been waiting for, drove near, and stopped for them.

Dib stepped on first and dropped his bus fare in the payment box. Callus had to stop and almost smacked himself for his stupidity. He had completely forgotten about the bus fare. He looked away in embarrassment and was about to walk the rest of the way when he was stopped by Dib.

"Hey, where you going?"

"Oh um, I forgot my bus fare." Caleb spoke nervously.

"Don't worry about it I'll pay for you." Dib smiled.

Agent Callus couldn't help but smile back as he got on.

"Thanks, man. I owe ya one."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a problem." Dib shook it off as the two sat down. Aside from a few other teens and an old lady in the back, they were the only two on the bus.

The two sat in silence but on the inside, Callus was having a mental breakdown. He was going to talking to agent GubGrub to talk ABOUT Dib! Now how was he going to do that?!

'Alright, calm down. All he did was pay for your bus fare. You are trying to take care of a potential threat!'

Yeah, a threat, definitely.

Callus sighed and looked out the window to the rainy street. Dib wasn't a bad or insane person. He was just trying to save humanity from an evil space alien. But now Callus wasn't so sure. Maybe Zim had been brainwashing Dib? All the more reason to report Dib to the Swollen Eye.

"Hey, Caleb you alright?"

Dib's voice cut him from his thoughts.

"Wa-huh?"

"We're here, dude." Dib was standing and gesturing to the restaurant with his head.

"Oh, sorry. Thanks." Callus shot upwards and the two walked off the bus.

The two opened their umbrellas, and of course Callus' was complete crap. Dib smiled and moved his much bigger umbrella over and cover the two of them. Callus smiled back nervously and nodded as the two began to walk to Bloaty's.

'Dib is oddly sociable today and nice?'

Callus looked away for a bit debating on that question before looking back to Dib.

"Hey, Dib. If uh you don't mind my asking. You seem I don't know more... friendly today. Is there some good news?" Callus tried his best to word the question without seeming like an asshole, but he had a feeling that he failed.

Dib gave him an odd look before shrugging and nodding. "Eh, that's fair." Dib closed his umbrella as they entered the restaurant.

"I guess. Life's been good to me lately."

He continued forward to the counter to order his food, leaving Callus by the door. Callus glanced around and spotted agent GubGrub in a corner booth, obviously waiting for him. Caleb looked back to Dib for a moment before sighing and heading towards that corner. He slid a piece of paper towards the older man, saying he was agent Callus of the SEN.

GubGrub read it over before handing Callus a paper saying he was agent GubGrub of the SEN. They both then ate their respective papers. To both hide evidence and prove they both know the code of this meeting.

Callus then sat down in the seat across from the older man and nodded.

"So you ready to make your case on Dib's valuation."

Callus bit his tongue for a moment and nodded.

"Then let's begin."

(2876 words :D)

[star-wars-forever]

[geekygirlexperience]

Protect Agent Kallus at all costs

[rancoeur-the-unfortunate]

Pills (Chapter 24)

(5178 freaking words!!!!!!!!)

Michelle Baker smiled as she finished setting the up table for dinner. That smile, however, soon faded when she looked in the direction of her son's room. He didn't come out when she called out that dinner was done and she was starting to worry again. She hummed softly as she approached her son's door and knocked softly.

"Honey, are you ok? I haven't seen you since yesterday."

"I'm fine mom. Go away. I'll be down to get dinner in a bit." Her son called from within his room.

"Sweetie you haven't seen the sun in days. Are you sure you don't want to come out?" Michelle asked. She was a frail woman, a single mother with a single introverted child. She leaned against the door with a sigh.

"Yes, mom! Now leave me alone."

"Caleb ple-" She was cut off by her son's shriek.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"

The woman sighed once more and gave up as she turned to walk back to the kitchen. This was a common occurrence with her boy, he just didn't have the time to eat with his mom anymore. That's when the door behind her opened and out came her little boy. Of course, he wasn't really little but in her eyes, he would forever remain her little Caleb.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you mom. I've just been a little stressed lately." Agent Callus fiddled with his fingers, despite his attitude he really did love his mom and forcing her to eat with herself didn't sit well with him.

"Oh, honey." She knelt and pulled her son in a hug.

Callus held onto his mother and relaxed into her embrace. He couldn't remember the last time he hugged his mom like this. It wasn't like he meant to, it's just that all this Zim stuff, he just kept getting tied up and he knew he made his mom worry.

Ever since his dad died passed away, Callus was all she had left and only seeing him now and again made her more worrisome and Callus didn't want that.

"I love you, mom."

Callus' mom smiled and ran her fingers through her son's hair, gently playing with the ebony curls. "I love you too." With that, she waited until he let go first before releasing him from her embrace, you never know how much a child needs a hug.

She stood and the two headed for the kitchen for dinner. It felt nice to eat with her son. He could be fussy and distant sometimes, but no force in the galaxy could ever stop her from loving her boy.

"Are you going to help?" Dib turned his head to face Zim while taking down the tent.

"I am," Zim answered from his crouched position in the grass. He had been there since Dib woke up and refused to show Dib what he was doing.

Dib rolled his eyes and began to pack the tent into his backpack. He made sure to clear the campsite of any trash they may have left behind. We don't litter in this house! Once he was sure everything was packed up, Dib stood up and approached Zim to see what he had been doing.

"Alright Zim, we got to go. I texted dad and told him I'd be home by 6."

Zim huffed and stood, up to finally show Dib what he was working on.

It... was a flower crown, made up of wildflowers of varying colors.

"It's not done." Zim hissed. "But since you're so adamant about leaving, you'll just have to receive it at the beta stage." The alien then snapped his fingers and pointed down.

It took Dib a bit to realize Zim had wanted him to kneel. He did so with a slight blush on his face and watched as Zim placed the crown lightly on his head.

Zim clasped his hands together and smiled at the site. His human, kneeling before him where a crown of flowers from his planet.

"Can I stand up now?" Dib almost chuckled at the site.

"You may."

Dib stood and made sure not to jostle his crown, partly because he knew if it fell off he wouldn't hear the end of it; but also because he kind of liked it.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes."

With that the two turned and left the campsite, walking down the path they took before. Zim throughout the walk kept his gaze on Dib. He couldn't help but feel a strange connection towards him. One he had not felt for anyone in a long time. Slowly his gaze moved from the human's face, down his arm, and to his hand. Zim looked at his own hand for a moment before quickly snatching Dib's and looked ahead.

Dib turned his head to face Zim in surprise but the alien refused to make eye contact. The teenager smiled a bit and turned to look forward and let the two of them fall into a peaceful silence.

2 hours into the trip, and Zim decided to break the silence.

"Dib-human?"

"Yeah, Zim?"

"I uh... Zim wanted to thank you for taking me on this 'camping' thing. I really enjoyed it." Zim refused to look at the human as he spoke.

"Oh? You're welcome, Zim. Yeah, I had a nice time too." The human couldn't help but giggle internally at the Irken's sudden shyness.

"Do you think the skool and your swollen eye thingy has forgotten about my pills?"

"Zim, the entire skool Populus has the attention span equivalent to that of a goldfish. They've probably forgotten that you even existed by now. Also, I hacked into the skool's webpage and deleted your name on the skool's victims list, so you won't have to worry about being targeted. The Swollen Eyeball, however, is another story." Dib's thumb brushed over Zim's hand almost in reassurance.

"Hey, if you could just remove names off the list, how come you never removed your own."

"I have, several times. But someone just keeps putting me back up. I just gave up over time."

"Huh. So what are we going to do about the Eyeball?"

"I'll think of something, don't worry." He tossed Zim a small smile, Zim returned it, and both of them went back to their comfortable silence.

The Doctor stood alone in one of the labs, Skoodge was off running some errand while he worked. He had been testing some chemicals to use for his collars. He'd been down there for days and was getting somewhere with this batch and he wasn't going to stop now.

He started up the burner under the flash and watched the liquid inside, bubble. He watched as the liquid inside went from green to blue. He turned off the burner and pulled the flask off. He began pouring the liquid only to see it had turned solid. He growled and set the beaker down. This happened, more or less each time. The liquid either evaporated, burned to a crisp, solidified, became corrosive or poisonous, etc. Despite how close he knew he was he just could figure it out, and despite his patience, he felt as though he was going to lose it.

He sighed and reached into his safe and pulled out another syringe and began starting the process over again, making more adjustments this time. Everything was going ok at first. He set it on the burner once more, only for the liquid to turn red this time and solidify. The Doctor growled and threw the flask at the wall and watch it shatter. Just in time for Skoodge to walk in a shriek at the projectile to shatter right beside him. The little Irken was carrying a tray with one of the Doctor's cans on it as well as a small snack for Skoodge.

"Um, Doctor?"

"Yes? What is it?" The Doctor kept his gaze on the chemicals, both hands on either side of the table as he leaned over it.

"I got dinner." The short Irken stumbled as he walked in, trying to avoid the glass on the floor. He set the tray on the table once he was close enough.

"Thank you, Skoodge." The Doctor took the can and quickly opened to take a sip.

"Trouble in the lab again?" Skoodge tried to make small talk.

"You don't know the half of it." The Doctor snarled, not at Skodge but at his situation.

"Don't let it get to you." Skoodge offered a small smile. Don't him wrong, Skoodge hated this Irken, but if he appeared friendly he also appeared harmless. That's how he got the privilege of free-roaming the Massive. While the Doctor sent him on his 'errands', Skoodge was mapping the place out.

The Doctor avoided his gaze. "I just don't get what I'm doing wrong."

"Well, what are you trying to do?"

The Doctor eyed him for a bit as if contemplating whether or not to tell his assistant.

"You that...green stuff that causes my body to swell at times?"

"Yes, what about it?"

"I am trying to create a neutralizer. Something to stop the cells from multiplying as fast as they do." The Doctor took another sip of his drink.

"Why don't you just remove the stuff? I'm sure you could come up with some sort of cure for whatever this thing is."

The Doctor chuckled and shook his head. "I wish it was that simple, my stumpy friend."

"Well, I can't help if I don't understand the problem." Skoodge crossed his arms in a pout.

The good Doctor paused once more then sighed. "Alright, you win. Follow me." He made a motion with his hand for Skoodge to follow him and began to head towards a deeper part of the lab; apart Skoodge was forbidden to go near.

Skoodge smirked internally and followed the Doctor's lead. This was perfect! A chance to learn about the Doctor's main weakness. Maybe even find a way to exploit his main weakness. Heh if Zim could see him now. Zim...

Well, that killed his mood.

Skoodge soon found himself following the Doctor into a pitch-black room, the darkness only being spat by florescent green tubes that were literally everywhere. Long pillars of the stuff rose to the ceiling lined a path for the two to follow.

Did the Doctor produce all of this?

At the end of the path was a door which led them to an even smaller room. This room was so dusty it was almost hard to breathe. In the center of the room was an only vidscreen with a box full of slugs beside it.

"What is this Doctor?"

"My curse. If you truly want to know the extent of my 'problem' then you need to know the origin of it." The Doctor grabbed the first slug from the box and motioned for Skoodge to sit down as he plugged it in.

The old Vidscreen lit up and a black and white commercial played.

A disembodied voice spoke while pictures of sick Irkens were being displayed.

"Tired of those pesky illnesses? Are you feeling like you might just give up on life altogether?"

A cartoon picture of an Irken with a face twisted in agony as he was removing his Pac was displayed.

"Bent antennae? Crusty eyeballs? Chapped hands? Well not anymore! Thanks to our amazing Tallest Zewya and ever knowable Control Brains we now have a cure for any kind of infection, virus, or disease you could ever hope to encounter."

Pictures of said problems were being displayed and when the names of the past Tallest and Control Brains their pictures were shone respectively. Zewya had long antennae that went past her shoulders, her left eye was crunched a bit, and from what Skoodge could see in the black and white picture she at least a foot on the current Tallest in regards to her height.

The next picture was in color surprisingly enough. It was a jar labeled 'The Doctor' it a fancy label and dark purple lid. It was also filled with that green stuff inside the Doctor.

"Introducing the new wonder cure! The Doctor! This little miracle can fix any old wound, scar, and as said before any and all kinds of diseases!" The cheery voice spoke as videos played of injured or sick Irkens rubbing that stuff on themselves and like magic all of their wounds were healed within minutes.

"Got an itch or rash? The good old Doctor works on that too!"

More videos of Irkens rubbing the jelly-like substance over themselves, and being cured of their problems.

"The Doctor cures and heals all, so what are you waiting for? Head on down to your local medical planet and get yourself a jar today!" The commercial cut off with the jar as its last picture and then it cut to black.

Skoodge looked to the Doctor with an understandably confused expression. Skoodge opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.

"I'll answer your questions once we get through these."

Skoodge closed his mouth and watched as the screen as the Doctor unplugged the slug and plugged in another.

This time instead of a commercial, there was an Irken in a lab coat with a nametag that read Dr. Weder. He sat at a desk with his hands folded in front of him, very formal. His desk had the typical stack of papers on one side and computer on the other. The doctor himself had bright blue eyes and antennae that rested at his shoulders. When he talked, Skoodge could see the guy was had a few capped teeth. Skoodge also noticed in the corner of his eye the Doctor was glaring at the Irken on the vidscreen.

"Hello, my Tallest." He dipped his head.

"My name is Dr. Tue Weder. I am the head scientist and researcher of project Delivering, Operations, Critical, Traumatic, Of, Resources or Doctor for short. I am making this video to document the process and eventual success of the project. We have just received your smeet donations and will begin testing as soon as possible. Once the tests begin we will start injecting the smeets with chemical [redacted]" Dr. Weder's voice was cut off by static. "...at different stages of their lives and with different amounts to see how much they can take. Once more I would like to thank you for this chance to take Irken medication to the next step. I promise not to let you down."

The Doctor pulled out the slug and pugging in another, this one was labeled 'Subject 1'. Whilst Skoodge's mind only filled with more questions.

The beginning of the video showed a picture of a smeet still in its incubation chamber. It had to be at 50% completion. It had antennae and legs but its arms were just nubs and it hadn't opened its eyes yet. Underneath the picture was the label 'Subject 1'. The disembodied voice of Dr. Weder accompanied the picture.

"Day 2# Subject 1 has been receiving chemical [redacted] for the past 2 days. It is looking healthy and is growing normally aside from that there is currently nothing to report. There is currently [redacted] subjects in our care currently, we plan to test each one with different amounts and at different stages of their life. I will continue to make updates on this one."

"Day 7# Subject 1 has begun showing signs of negative effects from chemical [redacted]."

A picture was displayed of the previous Irken but it was different. The color was off, instead of green, the smeet had turned yellow and had small lumps all over its body.

"As of now, we have yet to figure out why the growths have started appearing on Subject 1's skin. We have no reason to believe that these growths will cease and it is highly unlikely that the smeet will survive its emergence. We have decided to terminate it, hopefully, the autopsy will reveal the cause of these growths."

The next clip was of Dr. Weder, he was at his desk and was holding a stack of papers in his hands.

"Day 8# the autopsy reports just came in. It appears that chemical [redacted] did not agree with Subject 1's blood cells and its body tried to expel it. Causing the change in skin and eye color. As for the growths we have yet to find the origin of them. We will soon begin testing on subjects 2 and 3."

The video ended and like before the Doctor removed the slug and plugged in the next one labeled 'Subject 2 and Subject 3'.

Right away a new picture was displayed of two smeets in two separate incubators. The one on the left was at 70% while the one on the right was at 30%.

"Day 10# we have begun giving the subjects doses of chemical [redacted]. They both are receiving the same amount and have thus far shown 0 signs of change. We think that the results of Subject 1 are the result of subject 1's age. If we try to infuse chemical [redacted] with Irken DNA early on or later on maybe the blood cells will more susceptible to fusion."

The picture cut to black and then another picture of the smeets appeared. The one on the left had turned white with cuts and bruises all over its skin. The right side of its skull had completely caved in. It could have been more than 82%. The one on the right was looking a lot better compared to the other. It kept its green complexion and only had a few minor lumps on its body. It looked like it was at 50% now.

"Day 19# Subject 2 has died." The voice showed no remorse. "Chemical [redacted] had completely attacked the subject's immune and skeletal system. The autopsy reports tell us no more then what we already guessed. It appears that chemical [redacted] bonds better with younger cells as shown with Subject 3s growth. We think that if we start a little earlier say maybe 5% we might be able to create the being we're looking for. We will continue to study Subject 3 as it grows and hopefully, we can keep it alive long enough to emerge. Afterward, maybe we can finally figure out what's causing the bumps to form."

The next picture was of Subject 3 now at 78%. Its skin was bumpy but otherwise appeared healthy.

"Day 25# the subject appears to be bonding well with chemical [redacted] and with only a week left until emergence we're crossing our fingers."

The picture disappeared and was replaced with a video of Dr. Weder. He was at his desk like before still holding a stack of papers.

"Day 52# Subject 3# expired 10 minutes after being administered a Pac. We think it's because chemical [redacted] hasn't had any time to get accustomed to the Pac. Unfortunately, we can't give the chemical anymore to adapt due to the increased mortality rate the older the subject gets. We tried administering chemical [redacted] to Subjects: 4, 5, 6, and 7, while they were in earlier stages of development and it seems like 35% is the 'hotspot' as the others have begun calling it. To clarify, when we administer the chemical before or after 35% the subjects usually die within their incubators or die minutes after receiving their Pacs. But if they start to receive the chemical at 35% their mortality rate minimalizes as we have observed from Subjects: 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12."

Pictures were displayed of each smeet as they were mentioned, all at individual states of growth.

"However, none of the subjects survived a day after emergence. But we think we have a solution to this problem. We'll take the DNA of one of the subjects, the one that lived the longest, and use it to create more subjects. These subjects will already be bonded to the chemical and hopefully, the chemical will play nice with the Pac and the chemicals it induces to keep the subject's body alive."

The video cut off. Skoodge jumped in his seat went the voice of the Doctor cut the still air like a knife.

"It didn't work, you know."

Skoodge turned to face him. The Doctor was leaning against the wall, arms crossed, and sipping his drink.

"The DNA wasn't bonded enough so they took the smeet that lived the longest and used that DNA to make more smeets." The Doctor walked back to the box and pulled out more slugs with different labels on them.

"Subjects: 13, 14, 15, 16, Subjects: 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 Subjects fucking: 34, 35, 36, 37." The Doctor was seething at this point.

"They got one to last up to two days after Subject 47. Subjects, that's all they were to them."

"W-what happened to the rest of the original smeets?" Skoodge squeaked out.

The Doctor turned with a harsh glare in his eyes. When had he taken his goggles off and were his eyes always green?

"What do you think?"

Skoodge looked away a little ashamed of himself.

The Doctor let out a harsh sigh before pulling out one final slug. The slug looked like it had been label once but the label had been heavily scratched out and replace with a white piece of tape that simply said REDACTED. The Doctor plugged it in and sat beside Skoodge to watch.

"Day 238# My Tallest I believe we have finally done it!" Dr. Weder was beaming as he appeared on screen.

"I believe we have finally succeeded project DOCTOR. Subject 237 shows great promise for this project. Not only did it survive its first week after emergence but it's also displaying some form of cognitive recognition. As we speak it can currently walk and babble like any other newborn smeet."

A new video appeared while the doctor's voice accompanied it. The video was of a smeet sitting on the floor wearing a hospital gown and had a tag that read 'S. 237 property of project DOCTOR' on its left antenna. Its skin was a healthy shade of green and its eyes were like emeralds. The smeet was playing with a rubber ball and seemed to be having the time of its life.

"The best news of all is that apart from the occasional mishap, the smeet has shown no signs of growing those growths that the other smeets had. Though that's not to say it's all pros. The subject like its shall we say 'relatives' can not properly digest Irken food and so we have come up with a concoction that carries nothing but the bare minimum. The subject seems to have been taking this well."

Skoodge found his eyes drifting the drink that the Doctor was holding and then looked back to the screen.

"We will continue to study the subject and hopefully with a bit more test and breeding, we'll finally be able to create the specimen we've been looking for and thanks to our previous findings we have finally figured out what has been causing the growths. The cells that mixed with chemical [redacted] multiply too fast and form cancerous growths over the body. With any luck, this will be bred out in a few generations' time."

The screen went black and for a moment Skoodge thought the video was over before the screen was lit up again with a video of Subject 237 in what looked like its room. The room was small but was enough for a smeet its size. It didn't have any windows but it had a bed and some toys. The smeet was currently on the floor stacking wooden blocks. It was chirping and clicking as smeets typically do. Once it used all of the blocks the smeet stood up and kicked the tower over and fell in a laughing fit. It was kind of cute until the smeet's right leg started shaking. Suddenly the smeet started to panic and scream in pain and worry. It cried not knowing what was wrong as its leg began to swell up. Doctors rushed in and tended to the smeet and tried to figure out what was wrong. Eventually, they decided to give the smeet a sedative so they could figure out what to do without a wailing smeet in the room. A small injection later and the smeet was out like a light. Meanwhile, its leg continued to swell. Eventually, the doctors decided to try and suction the stuff out like one would a growth. All they got in the syringes were plungers full of that green goo. Just Dr. Weder walked and inspected the syringes before smiling.

"I do believe that Tallest Zewya would be pleased to hear of this interesting development."

The video then cut to black again, this time of the smeet lying on a bed with tubes sticking out of all of its limbs. The poor thing looked extremely malnourished and would have a coughing fit every five seconds. It then looked at the camera and smiled as if recognizing the person behind the camera it weakly raised its hand to the Irken recording and a much bigger hand met it. Gently the hand caressed the side of the smeet's head, giving it just enough comfort to make the smeet forget where it was and all of its troubles. It squealed and held onto the hand like it was a lifeline. Suddenly a voice outside of view shouted at the cameraman.

"You're here to document the subject not play with it."

"Hey, he is a he, not an it" The cameraman snapped, most likely to the off-screen voice. Meanwhile, the smeet had fallen asleep, still clinging to the cameraman's hand.

"Back off it will ya! We got a job to do." Someone else said.

"Sorry." The cameraman said and gently pulled his hand away from the smeet.

Once more the screen cut to black and once more a new video played. It was a video of the smeet, he was looking much older now, probably an adolescent. He looked uncomfortable as he stood in front of the camera fully naked. He looked at someone beside him off-screen.

"Duwcter Wber, do I haf ta be naced?"

Someone spoke off-screen but it was too muffled for the camera to pick up. Whatever was said though visibly frightened the smeet and it flinched and went back to looking at the camera. He stayed there for a while, sometimes he'd get tired and sit on the floor for a bit before standing up again looking more visibly distressed and then finally whatever they were waiting for happened. Subject 237's arm started to shake and he soon began crying out in pain. He gripped his arm as it began to swell. Tears ran down the smeet's face as he looked into the camera as if calling for help.

The video then cut off. Then the last video on the slug played and just like before it was the smeet. He said in a chair wearing a hospital gown once more and sitting in a chair. His one, still swelling arm was strapped to the arm of the chair. There were monitors all around him and there was a long tube in his arm, suctioning out the liquid in his arm. The smeet looked exhausted and nearly fell over twice.

"Can I go to sweep now?" He asked someone off-screen. He must have gotten the answer he wanted because minutes after he laid his head down onto the other arm of the chair and fell asleep in what had to be the most uncomfortable sleeping position ever.

The Doctor then unplugged the slug and put it back.

"They discontinued the project a few months after that." The Doctor spoke offhandedly.

"Why?"

"Tallest Zewya died and the Control Brains had more important things to do at the time then foresee the project. So like most test subjects at the end of a project... I was to be terminated." The Doctor stared into the floor.

"Just like that. But one of the assistants, I think his name was Haeman, saved me. He started a fire in the lab and rescued me. I remember the day so vividly. Haeman was so kind to me. He was the reason why I had all of those toys. I am truly grateful for him, he raised him as his apprentice on another smaller planet. He taught me everything I know about medicine and chemicals. He snagged the recipe for my 'formula' before we left so he could feed me and for a while we were happy. Until one day we were found out. Haeman was on Irk, shopping when they grabbed him on the streets. He was recognized as one of the scientists from Project DOCTOR and they killed him. I was barely a teenager at that time. Haemen didn't want to name me, he said that would make it seem like he was my master. So I just named myself after the label on my tag, The Doctor. I ripped off that tag soon after hence my missing antennae." The good Doctor paused.

"That's when I decided to get back at the Control Brains. They were suffering from the sudden uprising of short Irkens and were looking for a quick and easy solution. So I gave them one."

"Y-you created the drugs?"

The Doctor directed his gaze to Skoodge.

"Yes. But I think you already knew that. After all, you were the second in command of the rebellion."

Skoodge gulped and immediately he tried to act ignorantly.

"W-hat are y-"

"Don't pull that with me Skoodge. I've known you long enough not to fall for that. Besides I knew you were off your meds the moment you got on this ship."

Skoodge gulped.

"But that doesn't matter. Because I have a proposition for you."

"Proposition?"

"Yes. We both want the same thing Skoodge. We both want to get rid of the Control Brains for what they did to us."

"Well, the Control Brains never would have wronged me in the first place if hadn't given them those pills." Skoodge glared.

"I needed to get them to trust me. Similar to you giving me fake sympathy so that you can figure out my weaknesses."

Skoodge went silent.

"Look, all I'm asking for is a truce. Help me take down the Control Brains."

"Why so you can rule Irk yourself?"

"We'll work out the details later. So what do you say?" The Doctor stook his hand out for Skoodge to shake.

"Partners?"

(Hello everyone! Thank you for reading thus far. In this chapter, I thought I'd focus a bit more on the side villain, some fluff, and of course our main villain. I read somewhere that the best way to give a character depth is to show a side of them that no one expects. I hope that shows for Agent Callus and the Doctor in this chapter. Thanks again for reading and have a fantastic day.)

[kea-photo]

some pics from star wars celebration

I had the best of times and about 2000+ pictures to go thru