It's almost been a month since I've updated. I know it's not the longest I've taken to update a fic, but it is quite a while. I did mention I'd spend less time in the computer.
The reason this chapter it's for two reasons: first, I want to save the spicy stuff for the next one, which will for the first time in the fic (and maybe only time) that Purple and Tenn's perspectives will mix. Secondly, I've learned that lenght is not really important in a story, but the quality. I will try to make not to write too short chapters, but I won't make them as long either. I will make a balance and stop when I feel the chapter is ready.
Enjoy!
Shades of Purple
Chapter 29- Into The Crocodile's Jaws
Tenn raised her lekku. What did he just say?
"What?" she heard the kryvtor snicker from behind.
"Let go of my wife and take me in her place," Purple repeated. "Think about it, lizard. She actually means nothing to the Irken Empire. If you do kill her, I can always find another wife." Geeze, how nice of him! "I, on the other hand, am the Almighty Tallest. If you take me, you can be sure that my co-Tallest will give you whatever you ask in exchange for my safe return."
Silence. Tenn couldn't see her captor's face, but she could tell the kryvtor was considering the offer. "So, you're willing to become a Sobrekt war prisoner in exchange for your mate's release?"
"I am."
"M-My Tallest, don't!"
"Quiet, all of you," Purple growled, glancing back at the guards. "I am in the middle of a negotiation.
"I have a better idea, you Tallest!"
Tenn saw the Meekrob changing shape. Before she could warn Purple, everything went black.
…
Tenn, please wake up! Tenn!
Her lekku twitched. Her head was throbbing with pain. What happened? Her limbs (and surprisingly, her arms) slowly recovered mobility as she stirred awake.
"Tenn! Thank Irk, you're alright!" a pair of arms wrapped around her.
"Purple…?"
"Don't worry, Tenn, I'm here."
"Wha…?" As Tenn recovered her senses, she noticed they weren't in the departure bay anymore. They were in a sort of cell. "Where are we?"
Purple's expression turned grim. "We're in the spittle runner's detention brig."
"Wait, what? The detention…?" Tenn blinked, rubbing her forehead. "What happened?"
"The Meekrob took me by surprise. He knocked me out before I could defend myself. When I next awoke, I was in here."
"I tried to tell you, but the kryvtor-"
"I know, my dear. Let's just not dwell on it." Purple helped her to her feet and had her sit down on the 'bed.' "How are you feeling?"
"Physically, I'm fine, but you can't say the same for my pride." Tenn murmured bitterly. "I can't believe it: taken hostage and knocked out like a Disney damsel in distress." She looked up at Purple. "And it's all your fault!"
That caught Purple off-guard. "My fault?!"
"If you hadn't immobilized my arms or blocked my PAK-weapons, I would have been able to fight that kryvtor back!"
"Well, sorry if I didn't feel like I could trust you! Besides, it's not like I could predict that this would happen!"
"You do realize the trouble we're in, don't you?! We're Sobrekt war prisoners! And I think you know what they do to their captives…!" Tenn's voice trailed off as the image of Dren being torn apart by indokuros flashed in her mind.
"Don't worry, I don't think our 'hosts' will lose their only trump card," Purple assured. "We just need to avoid giving them a reason to harm us."
The doors to the detention brig opened. Tenn was abruptly pulled behind her husband before she could protest. The kryvtor and the meek rob from before stopped right in front of the cell, followed by two burly Sobrekt holding spears with plasma blades. The Invader felt a shiver down her spine.
"Time to go, your Tallest." The kryvtor said.
"We're not going anywhere, lizard." Purple hissed.
"I beg to differ, Irken. In case you haven't noticed, you're at our mercy." the Meekrob sneered. "You better behave and come quietly unless you want to experience Sobrekt persuasion methods first-hand." The guards momentarily made emphasis by making their spears cackler with electricity.
"And before you even think of trying to use your PAK-weapons, I installed a virus that renders them useless while you two were unconscious," the kryvtor said. She glanced at Tenn. "Though it turns out, it wasn't much necessary with you since most of your gadgets were already disabled." Tenn shot her husband a frown. "Move along!"
Purple seemed ready to try and bolt out to fight even without his PAK-weapons, but in the end, he merely clenched his fists before grabbing Tenn's hand tightly and gently beckoning her to stay close to him.
The Sobrekt escorted them towards the ship's entrance. Tenn realized it had been connected to another spaceship via a boarding tunnel. This explained where the two guards had come from.
"Wait a minute, where are you taking us?!" Purple snapped, stopping abruptly.
"You didn't think we'd bring you to our mothership in this spittle runner, did you?" The Meekrob said. "We did our homework. The Imperial ships that carry you have tracking devices and many other security measures in case it's attacked by enemy forces. We're moving you into another vessel, then we're going back to the mothership."
Tenn was abruptly pushed from behind by the kryvtor. Purple protectively pulled her close as they were led into the other ship. Tenn quietly ran a quick scan with her ocular implants. Medium-sized Sobrekt stealth frigate. It's built to fly through enemy lines undetected, this makes it vulnerable to direct attacks.
They were taken to the holding cells in the back. Tenn had hoped they'd get separate cells, but she was pushed into the same one as Purple.
"Who do you work for?" Tenn asked.
"Don't worry, you'll meet her soon enough." the kryvtor said. "But for now, make yourselves comfortable!"
The sobrekt exploded into fits of laughter as they left the detention brig. The Meekrob stayed for a little longer, giving Tenn a deep, hateful glare before following suit.
Tenn took a look at their holding cell. It was quite big, though not bigger than the ones found in the Massive. The walls were a dark aqua-green, fitting Sobrekt décor, and the floor was more grayish mint green. There were two bunk beds with no pillows and a toilet. Tenn felt a shiver down her spine. Then again, Sobrekt still disposed of their bodies' necessary nutrients the 'old-fashioned way,' so it's not that surprising.
"That Meekrob certainly has it against you."
"Oh, really, captain obvious? Why do you think that is? The fact that I was the one who conquered his planet?" Tenn said matter-of-factly.
"What did you do to him in particular? I mean, it's pretty obvious this is on a more personal level."
"How curious, I don't seem to remember." Tenn narrowed her eyes. "I wonder why that is!"
"Okay, okay, I got the point!" Purple snapped unintentionally. He took a deep breath. "Tenn, right now, the last thing we need is to argue. You said it yourself, these lizards don't hold back when it comes to… persuasion." He stepped closer. Tenn would have stepped back, but there was a cold green wall behind her. He felt a shiver down her spine when he placed his hand on her abdomen. "For the smeet's sake, we have to keep arguments to a minimum and find a way to escape."
"Y-Yeah…" Tenn sidestepped away uncomfortably. "Any ideas?"
Purple chuckled sheepishly. "I was hoping you had one."
Tenn smacked her forehead.
Time certainly passes slowly when you're stuck in a cell. Tenn assumed the trip to the Sobrekt mothership lasted hours, but it had actually been about twenty minutes. She was awakened abruptly by their captors banging the wall outside the door. Purple had jumped and fallen out of his bed with a startled yell. Under other circumstances, it might have been funny.
This time, however, the two guards stepped inside and cuffed both her and Purple's hands behind their back. Tenn was close to delivering a kick right into her captor's jaws but managed to refrain from doing so. Additionally, one of the Sobrekt pressed a sort of metal muzzle over Purple's mouth: he tried to protest, but his cries and curses were muffled.
Tenn didn't know what came over her, but she tried to slip out of her captor's hold and lunge at the Sobrekt. The kryvtors holding her held her back, but she still kept thrashing about.
"How dare you muzzle my Tallest?!" she snarled.
She wasn't defending Purple, of course. She was merely standing up for Irken pride. After all, Irkens are far too cool and superior to be treated like beasts! Purple, though, seemed to think otherwise, judging by how he was looking at her.
"Keep your mouth shut, or you're getting one as well." The Meekrob sneered.
Tenn glared daggers at him but stopped thrashing nevertheless. She took a deep breath. Bear it for now, Tenn. You can make them pay later. Right now, the main concern is to make it out alive, so I can make them pay.
On their way to the bridge, they passed by many corridors and rooms. Tenn made sure to save the images in her PAK-memory to create a layout later. Hopefully, the lizards aren't fully aware of a PAK's functions.
She noted that most of the crew members were either Sobrekt or Kryvtors, but there were a few other species present as well. Tenn saw Vortians, Screwheads, Ixians, and other races who had been enslaved by the Irken Empire. Said people often spat at their feet or made faces, but they weren't allowed near her or Purple.
The bridge was almost half the size of the Massive's, and its predominant colors were dark shades of mint and blue-green. Its computers and machines were lined up with kryvtor technicians typing flashing buttons and consoles. A few heavily-armored Sobrekt stood guard next to the Captain's seat; Tenn couldn't see who sat there, as he had the chair turned on them.
"Sweet mother of Vort, they actually did it!"
Purple let out a muffled groan. He had a 'not-you-again' look on his face. Tenn soon saw the reason why: the Resisty stood right next to the Captain's seat. What were they doing here?
"Hey, there's only one, though? Where's the red one?" the multi-armed Garokian asked.
"I said I'd bring the Tallest and his mate," the female kryvtor said.
"Oh."
"Hey, boss, they did in less than a day what we couldn't do in five cycles!"
"Shloonktapooxis!" The Vortian (she recognized him from wanted posters as Lard Nar) hissed, his cheeks green with embarrassment. Tenn chuckled.
The ship's Captain turned around in the seat. It was a female Sobrekt with dark green scales and lime green eyes. Tenn noticed her face was deeply scarred, and there was an Irken shock collar around her neck. She must have been a slave once, and a dangerous one. Those models were only used on 'troublemakers' or species who could pose a threat.
"Well, well, what do we have here?" the Sobrekt said in an icy voice, leaving her seat and coming to a stop right in front of them.
Tenn instinctively stepped back from the taller creature, much to her chagrin. Purple, on the other hand, raised his lekku in a threat posture. It was no use, however. Sobrekt are of the few species which are naturally taller even than the Tallest.
"The conqueror of Meekrob and the Almighty Tallest in the flesh. Well, who would have thought?" the Captain looked at Tenn's captor. "You did well, Kamora. Excellent job."
"Thank you, captain!" the lizard named Kamora saluted and stamped her tail.
The Captain looked down at Purple in the eye. "We meet again, your Tallest."
Purple gave her a confused look.
"Eh? You know each other?" Lard Nar inquired.
"You could say so, though it appears that my 'old friend' doesn't seem to remember me." the Sobrekt leaned closer to Purple, narrowing her eyes. "Zetronok. Rings a bell?"
Zetronok… It was a Vortian colony planet filled to the brim with lots of foreign species. Tenn had never been there, but according to the Empire's database, it was famous back in the day for its rich development in arts, music, and technology. It was one of the first planets targeted for Operation Impending Doom II, conquered by...
Wait a minute. Now that she recalled, Zetronok wasn't conquered by an Invader. It was brought down by Tallest Purple himself. She didn't know the details of why he chose to do so personally, but Tenn did hear that he subdued it by sending down bombs with a lethal disease that killed off seventy-five percent of the planet population. The remaining percent was enslaved and shipped off to different parts of the universe.
Judging by how Purple's cheeks had paled, she guessed he had remembered it.
"See this?" the Captain touched her shock collar. "It was put on my neck by your soldiers. I watched as my mate and my children succumbed to the virus you spread through the atmosphere. I could do nothing as I lost the eggs I was carrying in my reproductive sac due to forced labor.
Purple tried to say something. The Captain snapped her fingers to have the muzzle removed.
"Big deal, so what if there were casualties? That planet's ruler should have thought of that before telling me to pay tribute to ship my snacks through their planetary space!"
"Wha-? You destroyed Zetronok just because you didn't want to pay twenty extra monies?!" Tenn snapped.
"Hey, I'm the Tallest, I shouldn't have to pay any of that!"
"I still fail to understand how the Irken Empire is still standing with him as one of its leaders," the Captain murmured.
"Hey, take that back!"
"C-Captain Mizorant, I think we're going out of track."
"All in due time, Vortian," Mizorant said simply. Tenn felt a shiver down her spine as the sobrekt looked down at her. "Oh, by the way, Lady Tenn, I offer you my sincerest condolences over your miscarriage."
Tenn raised her lekku. How did she know about that? The issue was never made public knowledge.
"H-How do you know about that…?" Purple got ahead of her, his voice trembling.
Mizorant looked at Purple in the eye, her pupils gone to slits. The corners of her mouth twisted upwards in a cruel smile.
"Who do you think sent those attackers unto the Massive?"
Oh, no. The snake's out of the hole. I wonder how Purple will react. No, wait, I know how he's going to react. It's not going to be pretty.
And now we know why Mizorant has it against Purple in particular to the point she'd make go all the way to causing a war between her people and the Irken Empire just to get back at him. However, she's not outright evil; she's still a Sobrekt, which means she has a certain degree of honor in her scaly hide. You'll see what I mean eventually.
See you next time!