Shades of Purple

Out of Control

The war was the main topic of conversation wherever she went. After Ilk's latest report about the targeted planets, she heard Tallest Red and Purple had a debate with the generals and higher-ranking soldiers (which in their standards she imagined as a childish argument) about which planets were worth saving; Foodcourtia was a must, but they couldn't agree on the rest; Tallest Purple didn't talk much about the issue when he came home, but judging by the childish pout on his face, she could guess that he had lost the argument.

Weeks later, the Armada made a temporary stop on Devastis. The Control Brains required that the Tallest personally supervise the training of the newest soldiers, the development of the new weapons, and reinforce the orbital defenses. It makes sense; Devastis provides the Empire with all of its engineers, pilots, Elite soldiers, and Invaders. To lose it would mean a significant loss of troops and training facilities.

Tenn was dying to get off the Massive for a while, but to her utter disappointment, Tallest Purple forbid it. He didn't want her on the line of fire should the Sobrekt launch a surprise attack on the planet. She argued that there's no way to know if they'd attack that same day.

"Well, duh! Why do you think it's called a surprise attack, my dear?"

Tenn wanted to keep protesting, but she was wise enough to keep quiet about it. She wouldn't back down, but she wouldn't bring forth her husband's wrath either. Instead, Tenn waited until he went down to properly plan sneaking down to Devastis without anyone knowing. All she needed was a way to get rid of her escort; on Tallest Purple's orders, they couldn't leave her side and they were to inform him should something happen in his absence.

Her search took her to one of the smaller bars within the Massive. There are a few located in different spots inside the flagship, each meant for a particular height, a factor which additionally affected their design. The ones for smallers were dirty, overcrowded and with cheap sodas, while the bars built for tallers were spacious, comfortable and with a great variety of snacks and drinks.

Tenn found herself in one of the latter: the one closest to the bridge, frequented by the pilots, communications officers and the Tallest's bodyguards when not on duty. Even the Tallest themselves often came here to vent off, so this bar is kept fully stocked with all kinds of food, particularly their favorite ones. There's also lots of music and entertainment for its patrons. Tenn remembered one of her 'dates' with Tallest Purple; he invited her to have a drink and dance, and she met his more charismatic side that day. 

The former Invader sighed. There's no point in thinking what could have been if she had seen his intentions. Instead, she looked for somewhere to sit, followed by her two female escorts. Tenn ended up sitting right at the bar, which was mostly empty, in part because her 'companions' drove all males away. The bartender swiftly gave her what she asked for and left her until she'd call for another drink, eyeing the Elites warily. Tenn couldn't help but wonder if she'd be able to talk with Tallest Purple about his obsessive jealousy.

Tenn took a sip from her not-so-potent drink. She took a look at the bottle: Krazy Kobra. She wondered how they got their hands on this one; only the Poisonous Cobra People manufactured it. Had Skoodge sent a whole stack of it as an offering? Or maybe they got it in the black market. The label said it didn't have much alcohol, but from the taste she could tell it had a generous amount of venom. It wasn't deadly, but it could leave you in a severe drunken state if abused.

Tenn looked down at her glass, then glanced at her escort. A plan started to form in her mind; Irken Elites rarely have a chance to have fun after graduating, since they spend most of the time on the battlefield. All they needed was a little push; if she could get them to drink a bit of this beverage, she'd be able to sneak away.