Chapter Text
'Showtime' the tall Irken thought to himself as he opened his big red eyes, his vision blocked by murky yellow green water, but he could still see the lab that housed his little tank that kept him alive and was meant to keep him in camotose.
It had been months since Immak had first opened his eyes and the only thought he had on his mind since was freedom. Now was his chance and he wasted no time climbing the smooth tube and moving the top out of his way before replacing it. He jumped down and let himself get used to the gravity that was programmed for The Massive. He wondered how long he had been in there, but he didn't dwell on it, because he had never felt better in his life.
He gazed at his old tank that had failed at keeping him and felt disgusted at the muck, in the reflection of the glass he saw another one that must have been right behind him. Immak slowly turned careful not to go too fast lest he draw the guardsmen.
Very carefully he shuffles between desks and chairs navigating by the glowing abandoned computer screens. He did not care about the trail of water that was dripping off him. Finally he got to the second tank. There floating weightless and blissfully was his mate. Beautiful skin that he knew was smooth beside the scant scars stretched across a lean and toned frame.
Immak presses his own green hand up against the glass as to connect with him, in hopes of rousing Tae from his slumber. Nothing happened. But that was fine. He would be back for his mate that was a guarantee.
"Never separate them." The Tallest Miyuki had ordered the cheifs in charge of his section of elites. "That's an order." She said with such fire that it made everyone's boots rattle as she walked away. She didn't specify, she didn't have to. She was talking about him and Tae, they had impressed her just like he knew they would. They had worked together as a team and with Tae's precision marksmanship and Immak's on the fly problem solving they were an unstoppable force that push through the excersise and gave her an incredible show displaying their individual strengths prefectly. And no one dared to disobey the Tallest. Immak had been smug for a week afterward.
"Never Separate them." He repeated in the now looking at Tae who seemed to be sleeping but he knew much better than that. He licked the glass of Tae's confines wishing that instead of glass it was the Irken's soft lips. It served as a seal to a promise that he would be back for him.
It didn't last long before he had to go. He knew the layout of The Massive like the back of his mate's hand and thanks to his waiting and observing he knew the activity better than when he was the Tallest.
He slipped naked through halls, his attenae perked listening for guardsmen. Twitching when he had heard the faint hovering of familiar tech. The Tallest robes. He slipped into the vent. He needed to escape but he was curious to know who adorned the robes now. Perhaps it was his first mistake as he peeked through the slates of the vents.
He didn't recognize the Irken who sat at the couch, but he recognized the other one. The one adorning the robes that he had claimed, looked like his mate. If he had not seen his mate just now in the stasis tank that contained him he would have believed it to be the real deal. The irken who sat on the couch had a tablet and with a couple of touches, the robot, leaned down just slightly to the unknown Irken and kissed his mate.
He knew it wasn't /his/ mate that it was some semi realistic pile of scrap metal made to look like Tae.
It infuriated him. That was his mate to claim, no one else's. He had to restrain himself from attacking the unknown irken.
Ideally he would have left by now.
He peered down from where he crawled up from to check that the hall was cleared before jumping back down.
His height and nakedness would be a dead giveaway to his identity at least here on The Massive and Irk, so he stuck to the shadows as he made his way to the emergency escape aircraft.
There was only one. Big enough to fit two. He felt a pang of guilt run through him. Ashamed that he had failed to bring his love. Logically he knew he couldn't have brought him in the state he was. Tae hadn't even opened his eyes in the stasis tank. As far as he knew that's what was keeping Tae alive right now.
He soundlessly jumped in the pod that lead to the escape voot. He wasn't sure where to go but he knew he couldn't stay here. He touched a button and brought up a map in a transparent screen and weighed his options. He needed a place scarce in population yet familiar enough to jog his blurry memories.
He located the perfect planet and set coordinates on autopilot. He hoped it was close enough, fore he could see the no-expense-spared luxury interior and items for what they really were.
Comfort before death.
That's why it was grand and full and probably costed more than it viability should. This was the Massive after all. If the Tallest was in trouble this bad. Well there would be no hope for Irk. There was enough fuel to get to safety in theory.
He took a deep breath and hit some buttons that ejected him in the vast vacuum of space away from the massive.
There would be no red lashing lights or sounding alarms.
As grand and luxurious as the escape voot was, it had been designed to be untraceable and stealthy. Peace before death he supposes. He does not plan on dying, dying was for those who had given up and outgrown their purpose. Red held none of those values. He had an empire to take control of and a promise to his mate to fulfill.