Shades of Purple

The Massive

The position of Tallest is perhaps the most desired one in the whole Irken Empire. Every single Irken, be it the youngest smeet with enough understanding to know the importance of the role, or the tallest general  with sols of experience in battle tactics and warfare. The power, wealth, being able to do whatever you want, whenever you want, the free snacking, and many other privileges brought by the rank. All Irkens often dreamed of having a massive growth spurt and surpassing the current Tallest in height,  or at the very least equal them, which meant they'd automatically be promoted to Tallest and join them in the lap of luxury.

However, great privileges often come with greater responsibilities hand-by-hand. The weight of the entire Empire rests upon the Tallest's shoulders. It is their duty to make sure it remains as powerful and mighty as ever, so they couldn't afford to make any mistakes. Those who fail didn't last very long. They must keep a perpetual image of strength and perfection. 

Never falter. 

Never show weakness. 

Never, for one second, doubt themselves. The respect of the masses depends on this.

Then there's the issue with the Control Brains. They are the ones to take big decisions while the Tallest merely display them to the public. They aren't  that close-minded, they can be reasoned with; but whenever they make a verdict, under no circumstances could it be changed. In a sense, the Tallest are bound and gagged to the Control Brains' decisions; they had given them power and could just as easily strip it away.

As Purple noted (bitterly, if he may add), sometimes he found being a Tallest was... inconvenient. When duty calls, it calls. Because of this, he didn't have as much time to spend with his beautiful Tenn as he would have liked. Now that the final results had arrived, the next Great Assigning was to take place next week; this, in turn, means that they had to depart for Conventia ASAP.

Then again, perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing. He and Tenn would be stuck on the Massive together with little to no place where she could run off to avoid him, and they'd have to share bedchambers. He just couldn't wait to see her face when she figured it out; there was something about her that made her look cute when upset.

"You don't really live here much, do you?" 

Purple was brought out of his thoughts. Tenn had asked him a question in a blunt, dry tone, but he caught the tiny hint of curiosity in it. He chuckled. 

"Not really."

"That's sad."

"Frankly, I prefer flying around the universe in the Massive than being stuck here without doing anything. It gets boring after some time."

"You don't give that impression."

"Trust me, Tenn; there are lots of things you are yet to learn about me if only you'd get to know me better." Tenn grunted and stepped further away from him. Purple sighed. Guess she was still sore about last night's little 'prank'. 

Before he could think of something else to talk about the doors to the hangar opened and Lena stepped out. Uh-oh. Lekku stiff. Eyes cold. Hands clenched into fists. Rouge's head, or even his lekku, weren't sticking out. It could only mean one thing. His suspicions were confirmed when Red followed suit seconds later, looking like he hadn't had a good night. 

"Come on, Lena, let's talk about this...!"

"I don't want to hear it, Red!" Lena snapped back as she stepped into the zhook cruiser that would take them to the Massive. Red sighed.

"She's still mad at you, isn't she?"

"Oh, no, we're fine! Everything's good, everything's color blue!"