Shades of Purple

Warfare 101

It was during one of those private transmissions that Ilk showed her a prototype of a cold ray that shot out highly-pressurized streams of ice-cream, thirty per minute. Her demonstration left the test subject, a frill-neck, unconscious on the ground with a lower cardiac frequency and in a deep hibernation state.

"How much time did it take you to make it?" Tenn asked, genuinely interested.

"This prototype took me two hours." Ilk explained, holding the cannon-like rifle in her hands. "I have to work out some issues, though; The ice cream melts and becomes warmer in a short time, which in turn could lead to the subject awakening before time. I'm trying to find a way to keep it in a perpetually frozen state."

"Well, from what I hear, hyoomans invented it as a snack, not a weapon." Tenn chuckled. "But you'll figure it out."

"Did the onion smoke bombs work?"

"They worked perfectly. The Tallest already sent your schematics and the remaining prototypes to the engineers for mass production. That's sure to give the Sobrekt a hard time," Tenn sighed. "The only bad thing is that they had to call Zim to obtain the onions."

"He's not that bad! You just have to learn how to communicate with him." That's because you weren't even born when he messed things up, Tenn thought. "So how is it going over there?"

"Boring," Tenn admitted. "Tallest Purple insists on treating me like a porcelain doll ever since the attack. I can't even go to the cafeteria to get nachos without an escort! I mean, come on, it's not like another assassin will spring out of nowhere, right?"

"He's just worried about you. The Sobrekt did almost kill you, I guess that Uncle Pur wants someone close in case your internal injuries haven't properly healed yet."

Tenn shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, so any plans to conquer your planet yet?"

This time, it was Ilk who shifted uncomfortably. "More or less. I'm trying to find one involving the mother cell that won't kill the population."

"You're an Invader, Ilk. Your job is to conquer the planet, not care for the natives."

"I know, but... Sobrekt are excellent genetic engineers. I think our scientists would benefit greatly if they were to work together. Besides, dad and Uncle Pur are always saying it'd be nice to have indokuros working for the Empire." It was the first time Tenn ever heard of an Invader who didn't want to wipe out or enslave the population of an enemy planet, especially the Sobrekt. 

"In that case, you should find a way to have them surrender and make them bend to your will. Put them in a situation in which they will have no choice but to accept whatever term you wish to impose on them."

Ilk was thoughtful for a few moments." I need to polish the kinks a bit more. Hey, Tenn, I promised dad and uncle Pur I'd personally inform them of the Sobrekt's next strategies. Hopefully, they won't ask if I have a plan already.

"There's no rush in your case. A month wasn't enough for me back on Meekrob; in planets such as these, the Control Brains and the Tallest don't care about how quickly you finish the mission. They want you to stay alive long enough to complete it." She wasn't sure if Ilk's expression was confused or perplexed. 

"I wanted to ask you..." Ilk took a deep breath. "Think you and mom could join me in a multi-transmission?"

Multi-transmission? It did sound tempting. Tenn wished to know more about the status of the war and Lena's cool head might come in handy if the Tallest react the way she imagined they would.