The Irken birthing facilities looked like nothing else in the entire Empire. A huge square building looking planet that had once been a free society, it held no windows, no lights, and only two exit docks. The first of which was the entrance for the rare visitor, the секунда being the exit for the smeets that were heading to the training center of their career choice. Ships continually left out of the second, small Voot Runners that could carry one adult Irken and five smeets. These ships arrived throughout the день and night, all with the Irken печать of approval smacked on the side. The only ship to arrive at the first gate in over ten years, however, bore the Imperial печать of the Almighty Tallest. The Runner hailed the facility, requesting permission to land, which was immediately granted. The rusting doors of the first gate creaked open to admit the Runner inside. The lights of this dock were hurriedly turned on, revealing a dusty and unused Космос that didn't even have attendants anymore. The Tallest emerged from their personal Runner without an audience, for which they were both immensely grateful of.
Although they had informed the Massive that they were heading out, they had failed to mention where it was they were going. As such, they didn't want anyone to know. This was a personal, social visit, not an inspection или evaluation. As there was to be no audience, there would be no recording of when it was they officially landed. This dock was rarely used. From the appearance of it, the recording systems usually installed in all Irken docks had been deactivated to conserve energy needed for the birthing facility itself. Without that или any Irkens themselves to record anything, the Tallest could arrive and disappear without anyone ever being able to find out where it was they'd vanished to. Due to the nature of this visit, they were glad of that seemingly unimportant detail. Thus why they had chosen to land at the first gate in the first place.
As the guards apparently scrambled to get down to the first dock, the Tallest helped each other out of the Runner in peace. Red was the first one down. He slipped out of the driver's сиденье, место, сиденья and onto the musky floor. After stretching out his back, he floated over to the passenger side where the door was whizzing up and into the back of the Runner. He held up his hands and eased Purple from the Runner to the floor, even though the hover belts they wore would have easily done the job for him. Both on the ground, they grinned at one another in a private joke they would never share. Breaking the grin, though, was Red. His smile melted into a much еще serious expression when he turned his head away. He surveyed the dismissal state of the docking area with slight annoyance.
" You'd think after everything, they would just keep this place tidy. Y'know, just in case," he sneered, idly waving his arm to the side to emphasis the scoop of the disrepair. Purple ignored the statement to look up at the impressively tall ceiling of the area, " Anyways. . . are Ты sure Ты want to do this, Purple?"
" I already told you, Red, yes,"
Despite being a strong statement, even Purple heard the shaky tone he used. He cleared his throat and attempted to say it differently. Unfortunately, his voice caught in his throat this time, rendering him embarrassed and unsure. Nervously, he moved his deeply purple orbs from that expectant face to stare at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at his dearest companion for much longer then a секунда these days. Rather, he continued to find something else to gather his attention. However, regardless of where he looked, he couldn't shake off the gaze of Red. He felt that heavy stare on his back then as he rubbed his neck and pointedly examined the light fixtures. Just as his name was whispered, though, there was a loud whizzing sound followed by hysterical calls.
Into the hanger rushed about twenty Irken guards and ten Irken facility monitors. Each one was holding a bag of some form of snack или a sugary drink, all of them screaming out 'my Tallest' at the loudest possible level. This monstrous crowd surrounded the two within секунды of the door opening. They didn't exactly push up against them, but they did get close enough that Red and Purple inched closer and closer until their shoulders were firmly pressed together. Their names were chanted amongst various Вопросы about accommodations, evaluations, schedules, and the like. A couple guards attempted to shield them from the barrage of lesser Irken, but nothing could drown out the increasingly loud exclaims. Whereas Purple covered his ears and told them all to be quiet, Red waved his arms until the roar of the crowd died down to a weak mumble. Eventually, all sound evaporated to just the constant rustling of packages being offered to the Tallest as tribute.
" Yes, yes. . . we thank Ты for your attention and your snacks," Red began, only to be cut off by an enormous roar of the Irkens trying to smother their leaders with food. Purple drew ever closer to Red, swatting at any that came too close for his comfort. Waving his hands to gather silence, Red tried again, " We have not come to stay. We are here for one reason and one reason alone. We ask that Ты shut up and just. . . do what we ask,"
" или else," Purple added on, if only for the effect it usually had on their subjects. His counterpart gave him a slow, bored look. He, however, didn't react. He just marveled at the array of confused или horrified expressions on the faces of the Irkens who had clearly heard the tales of their less then kind leaders.
" Yeah. . . или else. So. . . take us to the smeets!" Red announced, pointing off in the direction of the doors the crowd had come from. At once, there was a mad dash for the door as the guards tried to create a save path of travel and the monitors attempted to open the doors before anyone else could get the honor. While they tripped over one another, the Tallest hung back in mild amusement at the dramatic Показать of what the lesser Irkens considered to be loyalty. Once the doors were actually opened, the Tallest floated over, allowing the workers of this facility to lead the way.
The initial portion of the facility was devoted to numerous hallways that broke off in Болталка directions. This portion was the monitoring section, where the monitors worked. As computers took care of fertilizing, housing, and birthing the smeets, it seemed almost redundant for there to be facility monitors of any kind. However, they weren't there to monitors the smeets. They were to run the shipments of smeets leaving the facility and monitor the surroundings. As the Irken Empire was invading and conquering planets left and right, it was only natural to assume that some resistence would eventually rise up. A particular target for sabotage would naturally be the birthing facility. The monitors checked up on any and all spacecrafts in the immediate area as well as made sure that all the shipments of smeets made it to the correct training center safely. The guards, of course, were there for protection of both the birthing facility and its workers. This first portion thus held all the controls and screens and charts that the monitors needed to accurately keep track of everything they were supposed to be monitoring.
Beyond the monitors' section, there were the housing units for all the newborn smeets that were awaiting their scheduled dates of departure. These smeets were дана their primary lessons in Irken society via their Paks, as well as had their information logged into the Super Computer's database for registry purposes. After those numerous rooms there was the секунда exit where the smeets left this place and headed out into the Irken Empire. The секунда dock was vast and brightly lit, crowded with Irken and smeets much like a rush час moment near Foodcourtia. Guards ushered smeets with the correct time cards onto the right ship to be herded to Militaria, Foodcourtia, Conventia, and numerous other training sites. The Tallest realized quite quickly that this was where they were being herded when they noticed all the group housing units passing by. They could make out the roar of the Voot Runners heading out into Космос over the increasing noise of guards shouting out the code numbers for ships heading out in the Далее shift. Hearing that, Purple stopped so suddenly that Red smacked into him. Their guides slowed to a stop as some smeet wailed that he had Остаться в живых his time card.
" No, no, no! We don't want to see the new smeets! We want to see the unborn smeets!" Purple shouted to be heard over the sounds of the секунда dock. The guards and monitors all exchanged worried, bewildered looks for a lot longer then they probably should have. Purple gave them a dark glare, " Well? The unborn smeets? How 'bout it?"
" Right this way, my Tallest!" a voice in the crowd exclaimed before the entire group shifted direction back towards the monitors' portion of the birthing facility. Red let out an exhausted type of sigh, pushing his knuckles into his forehead. The two leaders were dragged/pushed the way they had come until they reached a hover platform at the base of the vast majority of the birthing facility.
This massive amount of Космос was used for the sole purpose of furthering their race at an obscene rate of production. To that end, the entire thing was a large square tower that rose up hundreds of feet and stretched out nearly just as wide. The whole Космос was empty except for several metal claws that took care of installing the Paks into the backs of the newborn smeets. Lining the walls, however, were countless glass tubes numbering in the millions. Each one had an Irken face on the end that would light up happy and green when the child inside was fully developed, ready to get on with their existence. Every couple of minutes, one или еще of those tubes lit up, causing the claws to rise up to them and remove them from the rows. The tube was opened, a smeet would tumble out onto the ground, then they received an electric shock to start their mind, and a Pak was installed into their spines. As soon as the tube was disposed of, another one was shoved into the empty Космос to begin the incubation of the Далее Irken on the list. A couple guards stood idly by the doors the Tallest were lead through. These guards saluted before moving the new smeets to a housing unit to await further instruction. The entire process took approximately two and a half months to complete from the first moment of incubation to the moment the smeet arrived at their new training center. There was no way for the Tallest to know exactly how many smeets were born every day. Judging by the rate at which they were being removed, however, they could guess in was in the hundreds, if not thousands.
While Purple stared up at the unimaginable amount of Irken fetuses, Red shooed their entourage back to their stations both for the safety of the facility and for some much desired solitude. When they were alone, the Tallest stepped onto the hover platform. Up they went, past all the tubes with their blank или fresh green smilie faces. As soon as they were out of ear shot of everyone down below, Red turned back to his companion. Purple was looking at all the tubes they were passing. He pretended he didn't feel that heavy gaze on his back again. He couldn't pretend for long, though. Once the platform reached the вверх and began to круг all the tubes, Red repeated his earlier question.
" Are Ты sure Ты wanna do this? This could be the end of your career, y'know," Red informed him for what must of been the millionth time since that morning. There was a pause in which Purple didn't say anything. He just idly looked on at the tubes that were drifting by as though he could tell what kind of smeet lay within each one.
" It doesn't have to be," he finally answered, stopping the platform in front of one of the newly added tubes. Purple pulled a cord from his own Pak and plugged it into a port located on the inside of the smilie face's base. The information regarding the genetic makeup of the smeet in Вопрос appeared on a screen he pulled from the cord, " This one's gonna have оранжевый eyes. I don't like orange,"
" Purple," Red сказал(-а) in a stern voice that forced the other to look at him. He placed a hand on Purple's wrist, observing the stress and uncertainty that had flooded the face of his fellow Tallest, " Before Ты find something Ты want, I need Ты to tell me that you're sure about this. This doesn't have to be the end of your career, but we both know it probably will be. Are Ты ready for this? We haven't been the Tallest for all that long. Do Ты wanna wait? At least until Impending Doom Two is over with?"
This time, the pause had еще to do with thought rather then the desire to avoid the topic at hand. Purple closed his eyes slowly as he tried to gauge what he wanted. If he decided to follow Red's lead and walk away, he could make up some Болталка excuse for wanting to see the unborn smeets. He could return to the Massive and ignore the Вопросы as to where and why they had left. He could continue being one of the Almighty leaders of the great Irken race. He could lead his Empire to victory in Impending Doom Two. He could rule over the entire universe within a matter of years. He could stay the Tallest and become an all powerful dictator of the whole of the universe. As sweet as that sounded, however, there was an empty longing that had filled up his thoughts since the very end of Impending Doom One. There was a hole that had no method of being filled except in the way he was researching now. As much as he wanted to be the Tallest, there was something he wanted that much more.
Purple wanted a smeet.
He didn't want this smeet to be his heir as Tallest. He didn't want this smeet to be trained like the smeets who belonged to Назад Tallests. That wasn't it. Purple desired this smeet for the sole reason of wanting to have a baby in which to raise as his very own. He couldn't say where this overwhelming need to raise a babe had come from. He just remembered waking up one morning and realizing that he wished he was awakening to the sound of some tiny Irken calling out 'Mother Pur'. There was an underlying factor, he knew. After years of struggling to get to the top, Purple had pushed away nearly everyone who had ever needed him, save for Red. Of course, Red didn't need him per se. He was incredibly independent. Unfortunately, Purple had always known that he was needy and desperate to care for people. He had longed to be Tallest partly for the ability to do his race proud. During those long years bringing the Irken Empire to the size and strength it was now, he had suppressed many of those protective and nurturing urges. Then, out of the blue, towards the end of Impending Doom One, Purple had gotten a rude awakening to his еще maternal side.
An Irken Elite Invader had gotten pregnant.
Suddenly, Purple's world was turned upside down. He saw that poor child, barely older then a smeet, desperate and longing of answers. That child who begged his Tallest for a way out of the condemned fate of what he was had struck a cord within the Tallest. He heard those pleads and that maternal center that had previously ruled his life was alive. He desired a smeet of his own, something to focus that care and Любовь on. He wanted a chance to hold a tiny Irken and raise it in his own likeness. He wanted to hear some smeet calling out his name, see a babe running around the Massive. That Invader had дана birth in secret. The smeet had been a tiny girl with розовый eyes, curly antennae, and her father's sense of direction. She had clung to her mother for the first few weeks of her life. Watching the two, Purple had found himself intensely jealous. Once the little girl had been handed over to the Irken military for training, her mother had somewhat disappeared from the charts. That Invader had gracefully bowed out of the limelight, leaving Purple alone and longing.
For years, he had harbored that desire of his. The Обои he wanted to see played out like a cruel joke when he tried to block out the urges lingering inside his head. He attempted to adopt young Irkens by taking them under his wing during training. The feeling that they were his, however, quickly faded each time. In time, he could barely focus on the mission at hand. His depression worsened until the night Red had confronted him about it. He had been noticing Purple's seemingly distant attitude for a while. He demanded to know what was wrong. Knowing that the jig was up, Purple had confessed his desires. He wanted a smeet of his very own, one to care for and raise as his babe.
As expected, Red had been stunned into silence. He, of course, had never even considered adopting a smeet for any reason, not even as an heir. When Purple explained his feelings, though, he saw that he was winning Red over to the idea. He pleaded and begged then, for permission to seek out an unborn smeet to become his child. At first, Red had been reluctant. He hadn't been keen to the idea of raising a smeet, no matter the noble reasoning behind it. Purple hadn't been gentle или subtle in his persistence. In due time, Red conceded. He agreed to this plan, although he warned Purple of the impending consequences to taking a smeet from the birthing facility and raising it as his own. They weren't entirely unforseen consequences.
After all, Irkens did not raise their own child. They hadn't in centuries. The birthing facility created new smeets and the training centers taught them everything about Irken society, including their career paths. To become a parental Irken meant all sorts of things in their race's society. The first and foremost didn't apply to Purple, so he wouldn't have to deal with the problematic fear that came from being able to conceive smeets naturally. However, he would have to face the ridicule of caring for a babe, which was often times considered a high sign of weakness. There was a possibility that his people would not serve under someone they saw as weak. This could easily be the end of his career as one of the Tallest. Aside from that, though, were the difficulties that faced any parental Irken. Their society did not cater to the needs of someone rearing children. He would have to program everything himself, perhaps even teach them. That или surrender his smeet to the training centers of Irk, which he wasn't sure he could ever bring himself to do. He would be literally giving up whatever life he had или could have in order to care for this smeet. He couldn't imagine what the ordeal would be like. There would be public shame, dishonorable discharge, and unfathomable difficulties. The Вопрос of whether he truly wanted to do this was an understandable and valid one. The answer, however, was one he already knew.
" I'm sure," Purple stated in a stern, sure voice with a firm nod of his head. He didn't want there to be a single doubt about his final decision. The risks were great, but they could never compare to that empty feeling that had been preoccupying his mind lately. Red looked at him briefly, then swallowed hard. He gave a nod of his own, accepting that this was the last time they would ever discuss this. They were going through with this, no matter the outcome later.
" Alright. . ." Red muttered, looking out at the various tubes while the platform circled the giant birthing facility. They came to a halting stop in front of one of the newly instated tubes with a fresh little smeet inside. He pointed at it with a half shrug, " What about that one? Looks good and. . . juicy?"
" Yeah. . . juicy. . ." he mumbled under his breath as he took out the same cord from before. He inserted it into the port behind the dim smilie face. Looking at the chart of information that piled onto his screen, Purple made a face. He pulled the cord out with a snapping pop, " No. Definitely not. This one's going to have short antennae. I hate short antennae. Makes their heads look deformed. Ты know. . . all. . . . whatever,"
" Yeah. Whatever," Red gave a knowing nod as he rolled his eyes in frustration. Purple ignored the look as he positioned the platform to go on to the Далее possible smeet. They dropped several levels before arriving at a tiny looking fetus. Purple stuck his cord in and checked all the information. Once again, he complained about the smeet's eye color; orange. Red felt his eyelids growing heavy as the platform moved on, " This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?"
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Indeed, Red was correct in his assumption. The hours dragged on as the hover platform circled the birthing facility repeatedly. Every new smeet was rejected due to some unappealing physical trait ranging from eye color to antennae size to eye size to length of fingers. After that, the Tallest examined the other smeets that were practically new. Unfortunately, these ones came complete with a projection of height as well as head size and torso length. These were rejected faster then the first batch. The older the smeets, though, the quicker the rejection. The еще information that was complied about the smeets, the less appealing them seemed to the choosy Purple. He refused to have any smeet slated for menial labor или Еда service. He didn't like the projected appearances of nearly eighty percent. He wasn't keen on the skill level on others. There was an issue with just about every single smeet in the facility. The only ones that escaped the scrunched up face and shake of head, in fact, were the ones that Purple deemed too old to be raised by him. Just like that, then, they were standing on the hover platform exactly where they had started. They were at the bottom of the tubes, slowly floating upwards, without a single chosen smeet to pick from.
Glaring to the side, Red rubbed his knuckles over his forehead in a vain attempt to soothe his growing headache. Beside him, Purple frowned deeply at the tubes that went by. Disappointment was beginning to make it's way over his dark eyes. That was the least of Red's worries, though. They had been gone for nearly an entire день already, and it appeared that they were no closer to reaching their goal then whence they had arrived. The frustration he was feeling was only the вверх of the iceberg of emotions swirling through his mind. When they arrived at the first tubes they had examined, Red reached out and placed a hand on Purple's shoulder with a grip that was ten times tighter then he meant for it to be. That gathered him the attention he wanted, though.
" Look. . . Purple. . . I understand that this is important. . . but if Ты want a smeet, you'll have to pick one," Red sneered in a cold voice. The tone seemed to mean nothing to the other Irken, although the statement itself made Purple drop his head a fraction of an inch. He chewed on his cheek, searching for the words. Red didn't need an apology, so he didn't give him a chance to attempt one should he feel the need, " Just. . . find one that Ты like and we'll take it home,"
" I. . . but I don't like any of them. I really should like it. I want to like it. How can I like it if I already dislike it?" he whined in a pitiful voice. His counterpart rolled his eyes without bothering to hide the action. Purple pouted for a second, then let out a low sigh, " I don't know, Red. . ."
" Don't know? What? I thought Ты wanted to do this. Have Ты changed your mind already?" he questioned as the other Tallest shook his head idly. There was a slight pause that made Red turn to face Purple. He looked at that furrowed brow and those heavy eyes that appeared to be Остаться в живых in thought. For a moment, he wasn't sure what was going on behind those purple orbs. The feeling was a rarity and not a welcomed one. Before he could repeat his questions, though, Purple raised up his eyes. He cast a longing glance at the tubes, then flicked his antennae weakly.
" Doesn't this feel. . . kinda. . . cold?" Purple whispered in a voice that didn't sound like him in the slightest. There was an edge to his feminine voice, a sort of biting cut that was nearly physical it was so viable. The look that crossed his face was Далее to disgust, his hand waving hesitantly as though dismissing the birthing facility in it's entirety. Nothing Red could say could ever express his shock at that sort of attitude to what most considered one of the greatest achievements of their race.
" Cold, Purple?"
" Yeah. . . like. . . wrong? With this whole. . . picking and choosing smeets? I mean. . . it's alright when it's for our empire. . . but. . . for an actual smeety babe? I. . . I don't like it," he restated, shaking his head roughly and quickly. Red felt his mouth dropping open at that, " I. . . don't want to. . . have a smeet like this,"
" Ooookay. . . well, if Ты don't like picking and choosing, then we'll just take the Далее tube to be put up without checking anything. How's that? Completely random," Red suggested, waving his hand in the direction of a tube whose face had just lit up bright green. The metal arm reached up and plucked it so the smeet could begin it's life. Within a couple minutes, there would be a new tube inserted into it's place. Yet, Purple shook his head again, his face becoming еще and еще stern.
" Too random. I don't want just any smeet. I want one destined for greatness. I want a smeet that looks like me, acts like me. . . one whose part of me," Purple explained, pushing a button on the controls so that the hover platform began to descend. His counterpart gave him a wild look, his reddish eyes widening as what was being сказал(-а) dawned on him. Purple gravely nodded, turning his back to the tubes full of smeets, " I want to father my own smeet,"
" But. . . Purple. . . no one's supposed to know. . ." Red hissed under his breath, moving in closer. He pressed his mouth to Purple's cheek so no one could overhear them. He doubted if there was anyone Храбрая сердцем или bold enough to listen in on the Tallest, but he refused to take a chance with this topic, " We can't just. . . it's unforgivable. . . after everything he's been through. . . after what happened to him on Foodcourtia. . . that's asking too much, even of him. . . besides. . . he's undercover. . . we can't just blow that for him. . . think of all the others who would Показать up. . . he could be raped. . . who knows what else,"
" I understand. . . but, Red. . . think about it," Purple stopped the platform as he turned his mouth to his companion's cheek in a similar fashion. He was дана a penetrating stare, " He's safe. . . everyone hates him. . . no one but us would ever know what he is. We sent him all the way out there to protect him. He owes us a favor. Please. . . I really want this, Red. . ."
There was a steady pause that filled the platform. Red looked at Purple, Чтение his every motion for the answer he ought to give. The other Tallest begged him with his entire body. The worst, though, were his eyes. Those darkly purple pools threatened to drown Red in their desperate desires. He saw how much this meant to him, how badly he longed to fulfill this goal of his. He saw that grief like longing and he knew he was going to give in. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he attempted to stop him. He was no match for Purple's eyes. Like he always did, then, Red nodded and gave in. He rubbed his knuckles along his eyelids as the other clapped his hands and grinned that childishly pleased smile of a spoiled child having gotten a new present. Touching the controls, Red continued their descent to the base of the platform. He knew they were going to have to stock up on snacks before they left, so he hailed the guards as they headed back down. Purple was all smiles while Red was all worry as they landed.
" To Earth then. . . I just knew this was going to be a long day," Red mumbled as the platform touched the floor of the birthing facility.
Although they had informed the Massive that they were heading out, they had failed to mention where it was they were going. As such, they didn't want anyone to know. This was a personal, social visit, not an inspection или evaluation. As there was to be no audience, there would be no recording of when it was they officially landed. This dock was rarely used. From the appearance of it, the recording systems usually installed in all Irken docks had been deactivated to conserve energy needed for the birthing facility itself. Without that или any Irkens themselves to record anything, the Tallest could arrive and disappear without anyone ever being able to find out where it was they'd vanished to. Due to the nature of this visit, they were glad of that seemingly unimportant detail. Thus why they had chosen to land at the first gate in the first place.
As the guards apparently scrambled to get down to the first dock, the Tallest helped each other out of the Runner in peace. Red was the first one down. He slipped out of the driver's сиденье, место, сиденья and onto the musky floor. After stretching out his back, he floated over to the passenger side where the door was whizzing up and into the back of the Runner. He held up his hands and eased Purple from the Runner to the floor, even though the hover belts they wore would have easily done the job for him. Both on the ground, they grinned at one another in a private joke they would never share. Breaking the grin, though, was Red. His smile melted into a much еще serious expression when he turned his head away. He surveyed the dismissal state of the docking area with slight annoyance.
" You'd think after everything, they would just keep this place tidy. Y'know, just in case," he sneered, idly waving his arm to the side to emphasis the scoop of the disrepair. Purple ignored the statement to look up at the impressively tall ceiling of the area, " Anyways. . . are Ты sure Ты want to do this, Purple?"
" I already told you, Red, yes,"
Despite being a strong statement, even Purple heard the shaky tone he used. He cleared his throat and attempted to say it differently. Unfortunately, his voice caught in his throat this time, rendering him embarrassed and unsure. Nervously, he moved his deeply purple orbs from that expectant face to stare at the ground. He couldn't bring himself to look at his dearest companion for much longer then a секунда these days. Rather, he continued to find something else to gather his attention. However, regardless of where he looked, he couldn't shake off the gaze of Red. He felt that heavy stare on his back then as he rubbed his neck and pointedly examined the light fixtures. Just as his name was whispered, though, there was a loud whizzing sound followed by hysterical calls.
Into the hanger rushed about twenty Irken guards and ten Irken facility monitors. Each one was holding a bag of some form of snack или a sugary drink, all of them screaming out 'my Tallest' at the loudest possible level. This monstrous crowd surrounded the two within секунды of the door opening. They didn't exactly push up against them, but they did get close enough that Red and Purple inched closer and closer until their shoulders were firmly pressed together. Their names were chanted amongst various Вопросы about accommodations, evaluations, schedules, and the like. A couple guards attempted to shield them from the barrage of lesser Irken, but nothing could drown out the increasingly loud exclaims. Whereas Purple covered his ears and told them all to be quiet, Red waved his arms until the roar of the crowd died down to a weak mumble. Eventually, all sound evaporated to just the constant rustling of packages being offered to the Tallest as tribute.
" Yes, yes. . . we thank Ты for your attention and your snacks," Red began, only to be cut off by an enormous roar of the Irkens trying to smother their leaders with food. Purple drew ever closer to Red, swatting at any that came too close for his comfort. Waving his hands to gather silence, Red tried again, " We have not come to stay. We are here for one reason and one reason alone. We ask that Ты shut up and just. . . do what we ask,"
" или else," Purple added on, if only for the effect it usually had on their subjects. His counterpart gave him a slow, bored look. He, however, didn't react. He just marveled at the array of confused или horrified expressions on the faces of the Irkens who had clearly heard the tales of their less then kind leaders.
" Yeah. . . или else. So. . . take us to the smeets!" Red announced, pointing off in the direction of the doors the crowd had come from. At once, there was a mad dash for the door as the guards tried to create a save path of travel and the monitors attempted to open the doors before anyone else could get the honor. While they tripped over one another, the Tallest hung back in mild amusement at the dramatic Показать of what the lesser Irkens considered to be loyalty. Once the doors were actually opened, the Tallest floated over, allowing the workers of this facility to lead the way.
The initial portion of the facility was devoted to numerous hallways that broke off in Болталка directions. This portion was the monitoring section, where the monitors worked. As computers took care of fertilizing, housing, and birthing the smeets, it seemed almost redundant for there to be facility monitors of any kind. However, they weren't there to monitors the smeets. They were to run the shipments of smeets leaving the facility and monitor the surroundings. As the Irken Empire was invading and conquering planets left and right, it was only natural to assume that some resistence would eventually rise up. A particular target for sabotage would naturally be the birthing facility. The monitors checked up on any and all spacecrafts in the immediate area as well as made sure that all the shipments of smeets made it to the correct training center safely. The guards, of course, were there for protection of both the birthing facility and its workers. This first portion thus held all the controls and screens and charts that the monitors needed to accurately keep track of everything they were supposed to be monitoring.
Beyond the monitors' section, there were the housing units for all the newborn smeets that were awaiting their scheduled dates of departure. These smeets were дана their primary lessons in Irken society via their Paks, as well as had their information logged into the Super Computer's database for registry purposes. After those numerous rooms there was the секунда exit where the smeets left this place and headed out into the Irken Empire. The секунда dock was vast and brightly lit, crowded with Irken and smeets much like a rush час moment near Foodcourtia. Guards ushered smeets with the correct time cards onto the right ship to be herded to Militaria, Foodcourtia, Conventia, and numerous other training sites. The Tallest realized quite quickly that this was where they were being herded when they noticed all the group housing units passing by. They could make out the roar of the Voot Runners heading out into Космос over the increasing noise of guards shouting out the code numbers for ships heading out in the Далее shift. Hearing that, Purple stopped so suddenly that Red smacked into him. Their guides slowed to a stop as some smeet wailed that he had Остаться в живых his time card.
" No, no, no! We don't want to see the new smeets! We want to see the unborn smeets!" Purple shouted to be heard over the sounds of the секунда dock. The guards and monitors all exchanged worried, bewildered looks for a lot longer then they probably should have. Purple gave them a dark glare, " Well? The unborn smeets? How 'bout it?"
" Right this way, my Tallest!" a voice in the crowd exclaimed before the entire group shifted direction back towards the monitors' portion of the birthing facility. Red let out an exhausted type of sigh, pushing his knuckles into his forehead. The two leaders were dragged/pushed the way they had come until they reached a hover platform at the base of the vast majority of the birthing facility.
This massive amount of Космос was used for the sole purpose of furthering their race at an obscene rate of production. To that end, the entire thing was a large square tower that rose up hundreds of feet and stretched out nearly just as wide. The whole Космос was empty except for several metal claws that took care of installing the Paks into the backs of the newborn smeets. Lining the walls, however, were countless glass tubes numbering in the millions. Each one had an Irken face on the end that would light up happy and green when the child inside was fully developed, ready to get on with their existence. Every couple of minutes, one или еще of those tubes lit up, causing the claws to rise up to them and remove them from the rows. The tube was opened, a smeet would tumble out onto the ground, then they received an electric shock to start their mind, and a Pak was installed into their spines. As soon as the tube was disposed of, another one was shoved into the empty Космос to begin the incubation of the Далее Irken on the list. A couple guards stood idly by the doors the Tallest were lead through. These guards saluted before moving the new smeets to a housing unit to await further instruction. The entire process took approximately two and a half months to complete from the first moment of incubation to the moment the smeet arrived at their new training center. There was no way for the Tallest to know exactly how many smeets were born every day. Judging by the rate at which they were being removed, however, they could guess in was in the hundreds, if not thousands.
While Purple stared up at the unimaginable amount of Irken fetuses, Red shooed their entourage back to their stations both for the safety of the facility and for some much desired solitude. When they were alone, the Tallest stepped onto the hover platform. Up they went, past all the tubes with their blank или fresh green smilie faces. As soon as they were out of ear shot of everyone down below, Red turned back to his companion. Purple was looking at all the tubes they were passing. He pretended he didn't feel that heavy gaze on his back again. He couldn't pretend for long, though. Once the platform reached the вверх and began to круг all the tubes, Red repeated his earlier question.
" Are Ты sure Ты wanna do this? This could be the end of your career, y'know," Red informed him for what must of been the millionth time since that morning. There was a pause in which Purple didn't say anything. He just idly looked on at the tubes that were drifting by as though he could tell what kind of smeet lay within each one.
" It doesn't have to be," he finally answered, stopping the platform in front of one of the newly added tubes. Purple pulled a cord from his own Pak and plugged it into a port located on the inside of the smilie face's base. The information regarding the genetic makeup of the smeet in Вопрос appeared on a screen he pulled from the cord, " This one's gonna have оранжевый eyes. I don't like orange,"
" Purple," Red сказал(-а) in a stern voice that forced the other to look at him. He placed a hand on Purple's wrist, observing the stress and uncertainty that had flooded the face of his fellow Tallest, " Before Ты find something Ты want, I need Ты to tell me that you're sure about this. This doesn't have to be the end of your career, but we both know it probably will be. Are Ты ready for this? We haven't been the Tallest for all that long. Do Ты wanna wait? At least until Impending Doom Two is over with?"
This time, the pause had еще to do with thought rather then the desire to avoid the topic at hand. Purple closed his eyes slowly as he tried to gauge what he wanted. If he decided to follow Red's lead and walk away, he could make up some Болталка excuse for wanting to see the unborn smeets. He could return to the Massive and ignore the Вопросы as to where and why they had left. He could continue being one of the Almighty leaders of the great Irken race. He could lead his Empire to victory in Impending Doom Two. He could rule over the entire universe within a matter of years. He could stay the Tallest and become an all powerful dictator of the whole of the universe. As sweet as that sounded, however, there was an empty longing that had filled up his thoughts since the very end of Impending Doom One. There was a hole that had no method of being filled except in the way he was researching now. As much as he wanted to be the Tallest, there was something he wanted that much more.
Purple wanted a smeet.
He didn't want this smeet to be his heir as Tallest. He didn't want this smeet to be trained like the smeets who belonged to Назад Tallests. That wasn't it. Purple desired this smeet for the sole reason of wanting to have a baby in which to raise as his very own. He couldn't say where this overwhelming need to raise a babe had come from. He just remembered waking up one morning and realizing that he wished he was awakening to the sound of some tiny Irken calling out 'Mother Pur'. There was an underlying factor, he knew. After years of struggling to get to the top, Purple had pushed away nearly everyone who had ever needed him, save for Red. Of course, Red didn't need him per se. He was incredibly independent. Unfortunately, Purple had always known that he was needy and desperate to care for people. He had longed to be Tallest partly for the ability to do his race proud. During those long years bringing the Irken Empire to the size and strength it was now, he had suppressed many of those protective and nurturing urges. Then, out of the blue, towards the end of Impending Doom One, Purple had gotten a rude awakening to his еще maternal side.
An Irken Elite Invader had gotten pregnant.
Suddenly, Purple's world was turned upside down. He saw that poor child, barely older then a smeet, desperate and longing of answers. That child who begged his Tallest for a way out of the condemned fate of what he was had struck a cord within the Tallest. He heard those pleads and that maternal center that had previously ruled his life was alive. He desired a smeet of his own, something to focus that care and Любовь on. He wanted a chance to hold a tiny Irken and raise it in his own likeness. He wanted to hear some smeet calling out his name, see a babe running around the Massive. That Invader had дана birth in secret. The smeet had been a tiny girl with розовый eyes, curly antennae, and her father's sense of direction. She had clung to her mother for the first few weeks of her life. Watching the two, Purple had found himself intensely jealous. Once the little girl had been handed over to the Irken military for training, her mother had somewhat disappeared from the charts. That Invader had gracefully bowed out of the limelight, leaving Purple alone and longing.
For years, he had harbored that desire of his. The Обои he wanted to see played out like a cruel joke when he tried to block out the urges lingering inside his head. He attempted to adopt young Irkens by taking them under his wing during training. The feeling that they were his, however, quickly faded each time. In time, he could barely focus on the mission at hand. His depression worsened until the night Red had confronted him about it. He had been noticing Purple's seemingly distant attitude for a while. He demanded to know what was wrong. Knowing that the jig was up, Purple had confessed his desires. He wanted a smeet of his very own, one to care for and raise as his babe.
As expected, Red had been stunned into silence. He, of course, had never even considered adopting a smeet for any reason, not even as an heir. When Purple explained his feelings, though, he saw that he was winning Red over to the idea. He pleaded and begged then, for permission to seek out an unborn smeet to become his child. At first, Red had been reluctant. He hadn't been keen to the idea of raising a smeet, no matter the noble reasoning behind it. Purple hadn't been gentle или subtle in his persistence. In due time, Red conceded. He agreed to this plan, although he warned Purple of the impending consequences to taking a smeet from the birthing facility and raising it as his own. They weren't entirely unforseen consequences.
After all, Irkens did not raise their own child. They hadn't in centuries. The birthing facility created new smeets and the training centers taught them everything about Irken society, including their career paths. To become a parental Irken meant all sorts of things in their race's society. The first and foremost didn't apply to Purple, so he wouldn't have to deal with the problematic fear that came from being able to conceive smeets naturally. However, he would have to face the ridicule of caring for a babe, which was often times considered a high sign of weakness. There was a possibility that his people would not serve under someone they saw as weak. This could easily be the end of his career as one of the Tallest. Aside from that, though, were the difficulties that faced any parental Irken. Their society did not cater to the needs of someone rearing children. He would have to program everything himself, perhaps even teach them. That или surrender his smeet to the training centers of Irk, which he wasn't sure he could ever bring himself to do. He would be literally giving up whatever life he had или could have in order to care for this smeet. He couldn't imagine what the ordeal would be like. There would be public shame, dishonorable discharge, and unfathomable difficulties. The Вопрос of whether he truly wanted to do this was an understandable and valid one. The answer, however, was one he already knew.
" I'm sure," Purple stated in a stern, sure voice with a firm nod of his head. He didn't want there to be a single doubt about his final decision. The risks were great, but they could never compare to that empty feeling that had been preoccupying his mind lately. Red looked at him briefly, then swallowed hard. He gave a nod of his own, accepting that this was the last time they would ever discuss this. They were going through with this, no matter the outcome later.
" Alright. . ." Red muttered, looking out at the various tubes while the platform circled the giant birthing facility. They came to a halting stop in front of one of the newly instated tubes with a fresh little smeet inside. He pointed at it with a half shrug, " What about that one? Looks good and. . . juicy?"
" Yeah. . . juicy. . ." he mumbled under his breath as he took out the same cord from before. He inserted it into the port behind the dim smilie face. Looking at the chart of information that piled onto his screen, Purple made a face. He pulled the cord out with a snapping pop, " No. Definitely not. This one's going to have short antennae. I hate short antennae. Makes their heads look deformed. Ты know. . . all. . . . whatever,"
" Yeah. Whatever," Red gave a knowing nod as he rolled his eyes in frustration. Purple ignored the look as he positioned the platform to go on to the Далее possible smeet. They dropped several levels before arriving at a tiny looking fetus. Purple stuck his cord in and checked all the information. Once again, he complained about the smeet's eye color; orange. Red felt his eyelids growing heavy as the platform moved on, " This is gonna be a long day, isn't it?"
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Indeed, Red was correct in his assumption. The hours dragged on as the hover platform circled the birthing facility repeatedly. Every new smeet was rejected due to some unappealing physical trait ranging from eye color to antennae size to eye size to length of fingers. After that, the Tallest examined the other smeets that were practically new. Unfortunately, these ones came complete with a projection of height as well as head size and torso length. These were rejected faster then the first batch. The older the smeets, though, the quicker the rejection. The еще information that was complied about the smeets, the less appealing them seemed to the choosy Purple. He refused to have any smeet slated for menial labor или Еда service. He didn't like the projected appearances of nearly eighty percent. He wasn't keen on the skill level on others. There was an issue with just about every single smeet in the facility. The only ones that escaped the scrunched up face and shake of head, in fact, were the ones that Purple deemed too old to be raised by him. Just like that, then, they were standing on the hover platform exactly where they had started. They were at the bottom of the tubes, slowly floating upwards, without a single chosen smeet to pick from.
Glaring to the side, Red rubbed his knuckles over his forehead in a vain attempt to soothe his growing headache. Beside him, Purple frowned deeply at the tubes that went by. Disappointment was beginning to make it's way over his dark eyes. That was the least of Red's worries, though. They had been gone for nearly an entire день already, and it appeared that they were no closer to reaching their goal then whence they had arrived. The frustration he was feeling was only the вверх of the iceberg of emotions swirling through his mind. When they arrived at the first tubes they had examined, Red reached out and placed a hand on Purple's shoulder with a grip that was ten times tighter then he meant for it to be. That gathered him the attention he wanted, though.
" Look. . . Purple. . . I understand that this is important. . . but if Ты want a smeet, you'll have to pick one," Red sneered in a cold voice. The tone seemed to mean nothing to the other Irken, although the statement itself made Purple drop his head a fraction of an inch. He chewed on his cheek, searching for the words. Red didn't need an apology, so he didn't give him a chance to attempt one should he feel the need, " Just. . . find one that Ты like and we'll take it home,"
" I. . . but I don't like any of them. I really should like it. I want to like it. How can I like it if I already dislike it?" he whined in a pitiful voice. His counterpart rolled his eyes without bothering to hide the action. Purple pouted for a second, then let out a low sigh, " I don't know, Red. . ."
" Don't know? What? I thought Ты wanted to do this. Have Ты changed your mind already?" he questioned as the other Tallest shook his head idly. There was a slight pause that made Red turn to face Purple. He looked at that furrowed brow and those heavy eyes that appeared to be Остаться в живых in thought. For a moment, he wasn't sure what was going on behind those purple orbs. The feeling was a rarity and not a welcomed one. Before he could repeat his questions, though, Purple raised up his eyes. He cast a longing glance at the tubes, then flicked his antennae weakly.
" Doesn't this feel. . . kinda. . . cold?" Purple whispered in a voice that didn't sound like him in the slightest. There was an edge to his feminine voice, a sort of biting cut that was nearly physical it was so viable. The look that crossed his face was Далее to disgust, his hand waving hesitantly as though dismissing the birthing facility in it's entirety. Nothing Red could say could ever express his shock at that sort of attitude to what most considered one of the greatest achievements of their race.
" Cold, Purple?"
" Yeah. . . like. . . wrong? With this whole. . . picking and choosing smeets? I mean. . . it's alright when it's for our empire. . . but. . . for an actual smeety babe? I. . . I don't like it," he restated, shaking his head roughly and quickly. Red felt his mouth dropping open at that, " I. . . don't want to. . . have a smeet like this,"
" Ooookay. . . well, if Ты don't like picking and choosing, then we'll just take the Далее tube to be put up without checking anything. How's that? Completely random," Red suggested, waving his hand in the direction of a tube whose face had just lit up bright green. The metal arm reached up and plucked it so the smeet could begin it's life. Within a couple minutes, there would be a new tube inserted into it's place. Yet, Purple shook his head again, his face becoming еще and еще stern.
" Too random. I don't want just any smeet. I want one destined for greatness. I want a smeet that looks like me, acts like me. . . one whose part of me," Purple explained, pushing a button on the controls so that the hover platform began to descend. His counterpart gave him a wild look, his reddish eyes widening as what was being сказал(-а) dawned on him. Purple gravely nodded, turning his back to the tubes full of smeets, " I want to father my own smeet,"
" But. . . Purple. . . no one's supposed to know. . ." Red hissed under his breath, moving in closer. He pressed his mouth to Purple's cheek so no one could overhear them. He doubted if there was anyone Храбрая сердцем или bold enough to listen in on the Tallest, but he refused to take a chance with this topic, " We can't just. . . it's unforgivable. . . after everything he's been through. . . after what happened to him on Foodcourtia. . . that's asking too much, even of him. . . besides. . . he's undercover. . . we can't just blow that for him. . . think of all the others who would Показать up. . . he could be raped. . . who knows what else,"
" I understand. . . but, Red. . . think about it," Purple stopped the platform as he turned his mouth to his companion's cheek in a similar fashion. He was дана a penetrating stare, " He's safe. . . everyone hates him. . . no one but us would ever know what he is. We sent him all the way out there to protect him. He owes us a favor. Please. . . I really want this, Red. . ."
There was a steady pause that filled the platform. Red looked at Purple, Чтение his every motion for the answer he ought to give. The other Tallest begged him with his entire body. The worst, though, were his eyes. Those darkly purple pools threatened to drown Red in their desperate desires. He saw how much this meant to him, how badly he longed to fulfill this goal of his. He saw that grief like longing and he knew he was going to give in. Honestly, he wasn't even sure why he attempted to stop him. He was no match for Purple's eyes. Like he always did, then, Red nodded and gave in. He rubbed his knuckles along his eyelids as the other clapped his hands and grinned that childishly pleased smile of a spoiled child having gotten a new present. Touching the controls, Red continued their descent to the base of the platform. He knew they were going to have to stock up on snacks before they left, so he hailed the guards as they headed back down. Purple was all smiles while Red was all worry as they landed.
" To Earth then. . . I just knew this was going to be a long day," Red mumbled as the platform touched the floor of the birthing facility.
