Shades of Purple

Warfare 101

The following weeks were very stressful for Tenn. No matter how many times she said she was okay, it seemed like it didn't go through anyone's lekku. Whenever she was out of bed, she was accompanied by Irken elites, which her husband assigned to be her bodyguards; she could sense the gazes of doleful sympathy coming from all over wherever she went; Some bold shorter ones would ask if she was feeling okay. It seemed like the news about her miscarriage had already spread out. She hated it. They seemed to have forgotten that she was the Conqueror of Meekrob, not some porcelain doll that must be put on a display case. More than once, she snapped at whoever asked her if she was okay.

Some would squeal in delight when she graced them with her presence. She heard excited whispers and a new nickname: Berserker's Bane. If conquering Meekrob is a great feat, apparently defeating a Sobrekt Berserker single-handedly is even better. Tenn found herself more tolerant of this group of admirers, but she'd still snap at them every now and then. The only difference was that they fainted out of sheer excitement instead of cowering in fear.

She overheard the soldiers and Elites talking about a war. Apparently, Tallest Purple declared war to Sobr for sending those assassins into the Massive and nearly killing her, but overall for killing his unborn smeet. Part of her was touched that he would go that far for her, but the more rational part of her thought it was a reckless and outright stupid thing to do: the lizards had a grim reputation regarding warfare. For them, it isn't just a way to assert dominance over other species; it's their way of life. It wouldn't surprise her if they were the ones to make the first strike. 

Days later, this proved to be accurate as the Sobrekt attacked Agricultia, the planet that provided rations for the Armada, and put it under siege. She tried to learn more, but the files involving the war were classified and she had no access to them. Guess Tallest Purple didn't want her to get involved.

Speaking of Tallest Purple, she didn't see him much, as he spent most of the time on the bridge dealing with the war. Sometimes when he came to bed, she noticed drops of purple blood on his robes, undoubtedly a Sobrekt's (probably from the two kryvtors who were unfortunate enough to be captured alive). But on a few occasions when she did see him, he was exceptionally tender and caring. A few times he even brought her snacks to bed or stayed with her until she fell asleep, insisting that he'd be there for her if she needed him. Was this another of his tricks so she'd agree to bear another smeet as soon as she recovered? Or were these attentions genuine? Whatever his motives, she couldn't deny that she was glad for the considerations. 

She hasn't been getting too much sleep ever since her encounter with the Sobrekt. Whenever she tried, flashes of the battle and images of the Berserker's psychotic eyes haunted her to the point her PAK had to awaken her with a small jolt. The medics said it was an episode of PTSD caused by the stress of that event plus the added stress caused by the miscarriage; a few modifications that would decrease the activity in the part of her organic brain that inhibited dreaming were made to her PAK. Hopefully, it would make the nightmares less recurring.

Her calls with Ilk became more frequent since beginning of the war. It was perhaps the only time of the day she looked forward to. They were continually changing frequencies and channels to avoid being intercepted by the Sobrekt, who were probably tracing communications all around Sobr. Ilk had to delay the task of obtaining the Sobrekt mother cell To avoid raising suspicions; instead, she focused on hacking the Sobrekt's data banks to give the Empire leads on the their next move. Tenn was impressed Ilk's her patience and wariness; something rookie Invaders usually lacked in their rush to be the first to complete their missions. Not Ilk; she carefully bid her time and waited for the right moment to strike.