Alien A**holes (Tallest x reader)

55. Heavy Toll

It's been difficult. For both me and my Irken friends.

As it turns out, I relied on the Species Requirement Chamber a lot more than I realised, yanking me into the reality that I really missed having it. It was convenient, kept our food and drink options open, entertained us, and gave us so much aid when we needed it.

Lately, most of the food I had to consume was either of Irken or Syncoran origins. That wasn't necessarily an issue. I had grown used to Irken food in the past months and Syncora had some of the most delicious food I had ever eaten. But there was only so much in our supply and the repetitiveness of each meal was making me feel more and more sickly as time went on.

We needed to stock up on food. Preferably new foods, that I can realistically consume and not grow tired of.

Which is why I was sat on the arm of Reds chair in the cockpit, watching him redirect our course to a nearby planet for supplies. His piloting skills were impressive.

I suppose I had never really acknowledge it until I began to watch him in action, But Red was actually very skilled when it came to flying as he proved countless times on this journey. I suspected he could even keep up with Spunk if they ever decided to race.

"Where did you learn to fly?" I hummed, leaning over the back of his chair whilst he automatically pushed a couple of buttons and shifted the position of the wheel.

"Elite Training, Squadron 11. The Pilots Course." He spoke, the response snappy and official sounding. "I was one of the top pilots before I became tallest."

"Of course you were" I hummed in amusement, smugly watching him shoot a glare my way.

"Yes. Well... It doesn't matter now. I'm so used to being shoufferred everywhere that I'm not half as good as I used to be." He hummed, avoiding eye contact and adjusting his hand awkwardly on the wheel.

He hesitated as he shifted, what I assumed to be, gears and tapped his other hand against the steering absentmindedly.

"Did you miss it? Or would you prefer to be Shoufferred around like royalty again?"

He hummed, his gaze drifting in thought as he mulled over the answer, carefully flicking between the pros and cons in his head.

"A bit of both. I do enjoy flying, but as Tallest there was so much to do and think about that the idea of flying myself everywhere would've taken a toll eventually. I suppose it depends on the situation." He finally looked my way again, seeming certain of the way he worded his analysis.

In turn, I nodded, recalling times when I would go to work and be annoyed I had to drive home after a stressful day. Or times when driving a certain distance didn't feel worth the trouble. Guess it was a universal feeling.

"You ever piloted a vessel like this?" Red prompted, curious.

"Not really. Space ships aren't exactly common on Earth. We have vehicles but most of them are grounded." I mused, leaning against the chair a little more. "I guess the closest I got to flying a ship like this was when Spunk showed me the training simulator on the massive"

I smiled sadly at the memory.

Things seemed so much easier back then. I wasn't constantly on the run. My friends were safe. The tallest hated me and I hated them. It all just made sense.

But now all I can do is wish things stayed that simple. Why can't it be that simple?

The control brains are evil. It sounds simple but it's the start of all these complications. Escaping them is complicated and my friends are in danger because of them.