Three Square Meals Ch. 101

"Where's Jehanna?!" Jade rumbled at the scientist.

He pointed at the floating destroyer. "Weber's got all the prisoners aboard."

The Nymph narrowed her draconic eyes as she glared at the escaping vessel.

"You must let me study you!" Friedrich begged her as he reached out with pleading hands. "I just want to perform some experiments on you and your sisters, we could learn so much!"

"I've seen what you do with your experiments," Jade snarled with disgust. "I'll never let you near them!"

She ignored him and slammed her shoulder into the other door, ramming it open with a crash. With the gap wide enough for her body, she hauled herself through the partially open door, desperate to be reunited with her sisters. Friedrich reached out in wonder, brushing his fingers against the scaled leg of this mythical creature made flesh. Jade shuddered with revulsion at his touch and whipped her heavy tail around, slapping him in the chest and sent him cartwheeling down the corridor. The ferocious impact broke most of his ribs and when the professor skidded into a crumpled heap on the floor, he could only let out a feeble groan of agony. His every breath felt like torture, then he began to choke up blood, his punctured lungs hemorrhaging badly.

"Stop right there!" a projected voice boomed at Jade as she rushed across the gantry towards her sisters. "If you try to stop us leaving, we'll blast the Nymphs!"

Jade put her meaty draconic forearm around the four catgirls, shielding them with her body. "Go then... flee while you can," she roared at the grey ship.

The outer hangar doors started to open, gliding backwards smoothly, the mechanism recently repaired and restored. She could just make out the shining light of stars through the shimmering atmospheric shield covering the hangar doors.

*John, Admiral Weber's fleeing!* Jade called out in warning. *There's a hangar at the rear of the base!*

***

Jehanna watched the external camera feed in astonishment as the dark-green dragon bounded across the gantry then curled herself around the four catgirls. She knew Jade could shapeshift but had no idea the Nymph could turn into anything so massive and powerful. The hangar doors had opened fully now and the AI destroyer began to sink downwards.

"Shall I take Miss Elani down to the Brig, Admiral?" Sergeant Green asked Weber, gesturing towards the TFNN reporter with his stun pistol.

"No, I want her close by in case Blake tries anything..." Weber muttered, giving Jehanna a dark look.

"Hangar doors open, taking us out," the helmsman informed him.

Weber turned back to the holographic footage of the dragon and glared at Jade and the Nymphs in hatred. The thought of them changing form into Erika and fucking Blake wearing his beloved's face made him feel sick to the stomach. Eyes narrowing, he snapped at his Tactical Officer, "Take them out... Kill them all!"

Jehanna felt her heart lurch and she stifled a cry of anguish at the thought of losing the lovely kind-hearted Nymph. Lunging for the Admiral, she caught her captors completely by surprise, and yanked the pistol from the holster at his waist. She whirled around and pointed it at Green's shocked face then squeezed the trigger... only to hear a harmless click.

Weber turned around and punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor. "Fucking bitch..." he muttered, grabbing the pistol from her limp fingers. He glanced up at the shocked sergeant and sneered, "Lucky for you I hadn't reloaded..."

Jehanna groaned, her cheek throbbing with pain where he'd struck her. She could only look on in horror as the Tactical Officer aimed the destroyer's weapons at Jade and opened fire. Gauss Cannons opened up, pumping heavy slugs at the dragon, the first punching a hole straight through her folded wing, the second and third slamming into her flank. Jade roared as the rounds blasted into her side, penetrating through her dragonscale hide and tearing a vicious crater in her side.

***

"Jade!" Alyssa gasped, as Faye raced the Raptor around the broken remnants of Ganymede. "Weber's ship is shooting at her!"

They all saw the gaping hole in the opposite side of the asteroid, flashes of light making it easy to pick out on the shadowed flank that faced away from the sun. As the Raptor loomed overhead, they all saw the grey destroyer firing broadsides at the huge green dragon on the adjacent gantry. Jade wasn't fighting back, she was taking the hits to shield a small group of figures with her body.

"No! Jade!" John cried out in alarm, clenching his fists in anger. He bolted from the cockpit, running for the grav-tube.

Dana groaned and clutched her head, wobbling unsteadily on her feet. "That's a Thrall ship! A Tormentor-class destroyer!" she gasped, hanging onto Rachel.

"Faye, drop the forward loading ramp and take us closer!" Alyssa ordered, eyes narrowing as she raised her hand towards the enemy ship.

***

Jade roared in pain as she was hit by another barrage of Gauss Cannon shells from the destroyer. She could have tried to dodge, or leap for the ship and start tearing it to pieces, but her sisters were so vulnerable and she knew that shielding them with her body was the only chance of saving them... and of saving her species from extinction. The Nymphs weren't afraid of her, but they seemed reluctant to move, having been ordered to stay there by Weber.

As the destroyer's guns reloaded for another salvo, Jade pushed the four Nymphs back, trying to usher them towards the open entrance. Unfortunately, the old saying about herding cats also proved true about catgirls, and they kept trying to slip around her forearms. Jade snarled in frustration and simply grasped two of the squirming Nymphs in each of her massive front claws, and lurched for the door.

***

"Yeah! Fucking die, you monstrosity!" Weber crowed, watching with glee as the dragon was battered by another salvo of Gauss Cannon shells. Jade's flanks were pockmarked with gaping craters, big chunks blasted out of her body. She collapsed on the gantry, her draconic form no longer able to stand; so she started crawling towards the hangar doors...

"Leave her alone!" Jehanna begged him.

Weber turned and sneered at her in disgust. "You're a traitor to your species, you filthy whore... what makes you think I'll listen to a word out of your mouth? Those mind-raping alien freaks are just the start! When I'm-"

The decking suddenly trembled, followed an instant later by the muffled shriek of metal, the dreadful noise repeating again and again. The Tactical Officer turned around and blurted out, "We've just lost all the Gauss Cannons on our port side!"

"How?" Weber snarled in frustration. "Power failure?"

The crewman shook his head, eyes wide in astonishment. "They were just ripped off the hull! I saw them go flying across the hangar!"

"Turn then!" Weber snapped at the helmsman, pointing a finger at the crumpled dragon that was trying to pull the Nymphs away from the gantry. "Finish that thing off with the starboard guns!"

The helmsman twisted the flightstick but nothing happened, the destroyer remaining stationary. "I can't turn, Sir!" he gasped, looking incredulously at the controls. Yanking back on the flightstick, then pushing forward, achieved the same results. "We've lost all control! We're not going anywhere!" Glancing at the damage control status, his eyes widened in alarm. "All the retro-thrusters... they're gone!"

"What do you mean gone?!" Weber blurted out, feeling a shiver of fear.

"They're missing... ripped off the ship somehow?!" the helmsman quailed, shaking his head helplessly.

They all stared at one another for a second, until one of the soldiers pointed a shaking finger at the external camera feeds. He sounded terrified as he whimpered, "Oh fuck... here they come!"

Everyone turned to look and saw the two imposing and instantly recognisable white vessels, the Raptor and the Invictus looming forebodingly above the hangar. Most of the white armoured figures were pouring out of the gunship and sailing towards the destroyer, but two peeled away, the thrusters on their back jetting them towards the battered dragon.

"Any last words, Weber?" Jehanna asked with a smile. She glanced back at Green and added with satisfaction, "I'm sorry, Sergeant. I'd say it's been nice knowing you, but that's really not true..."

He opened his mouth to reply, when the main lights flickered and went out, plunging them into darkness. A second later, the red emergency lighting powered up, limning the destroyer's bridge in a sinister crimson glow. There was a terrified silence on the Command Deck, Weber and his men darting frightened glances around the room.

They heard a woman's humourless laughter echoing around the bridge, heralding the dramatic appearance of Irillith's glowing likeness on the holo-screen. "You're mine now..." she gloated, a wicked grin on her face. Irillith's violet eyes darted to Jehanna, then narrowed in fury when she saw the bruises on her face and her cut lip. "Who hurt you?"

Jehanna glanced at Weber, then Sergeant Green, who met her accusatory look with one of growing horror.

"I-I was just following orders..." the soldier stammered as he started backing away.

Irillith's beautiful face twisted into a vicious smile as she pulled her glowing form out of the holo-screen. "I'm not," she whispered as she landed on the decking. "But first, let's dispatch the pawns, then I can give you my full attention..."

She gestured towards the Helmsman, who was struck by an arcing bolt of electricity from his station as he tried to rise from his seat. He screamed as he was fried, thrown across the Bridge by the shock.

Irillith made another impatient gesture towards the other two soldiers, blasting glowing holes through their chests and not giving them time to cry out before they died. Sergeant Green stumbled back a step, firing his pistol wildly at the ethereal spectre, and was terrified to see the shots sailing through to no effect.

Weber scrambled back from Irillith, desperately trying to load his pistol. "Stay back you bitch!" he squawked as he lunged for Jehanna. "Or I'll, shoo-"

He never got to finish his threat as Irillith casually flicked her fingers in his direction, blue electricity arcing over his body and make him convulse as his muscles locked up. Weber toppled over to fall flat on his face, jerking uncontrollably as she hit him with a low-powered charge. "Alyssa wants a word with you," she said with a wry smile. "That means you're safe from me, but you'll soon wish I'd finished you..."

"What're you going to do?!" Green whispered as he backed into the wall, his hand trembling so badly he dropped his pistol.

Irillith raised a finger. "One second, I'll get to you in a moment. First I need to deal with the scum who dared to shoot my friend..."

The Tactical Officer tried to flee, but Irillith gestured in his direction, looping his neck and limbs in rings of sparking electricity. He twisted and writhed as he screamed in agony, the Maliri hacker slowly frying him to a crisp.

"Now, why don't we have a little chat about why it's not nice to hit women," Irillith purred as she stalked towards the sergeant.

***

John landed on the hull of the destroyer, his mag boots attaching him to the grey surface with a metallic click. He clomped over to the airlock, which opened by Irillith's command when he arrived, just as Alyssa and Tashana landed beside him.

*Jade?* he called out to the Nymph as he climbed into the airlock. *Answer me, honey... are you alright?*

There was a long pause and she sounded very weak as she whispered, *I'm so sorry, John... But I had to save them...*

He froze and looked across at the gantry in alarm. Jade had collapsed, her ravaged draconic body battered by over a dozen Gauss Cannon rounds. Rachel was kneeling beside her, while Dana paced back and forth, clearly very agitated.

*Jade!* he cried out to her in panic, fearing the worst.

Alyssa placed a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Rachel's tending to her. Jade's critically injured, but we got to her in time..."

"We didn't get here fast enough!" John disagreed, shaking his head.

She sighed, looking forlorn as she nodded her agreement.

*I'm sorry I disobeyed orders...* Jade whimpered, sounding deeply remorseful.

He was torn for a moment, then realised he couldn't do anything for the Nymph. *You needed to save your sisters, Jade, I understand. We'll talk later, just focus on healing for now...*

*Yes, Master,* she said softly, her voice very faint.

"Irillith's captured Weber and Jehanna's safe," Alyssa informed him, turning to look back at the ship.

"Let's deal with him, and rescue her," John agreed as he ducked inside the airlock, then stepped aside to let Tashana and Alyssa follow him into the destroyer.

The outer airlock sealed shut as soon as they were safely inside, then once the small room had re-pressurised, the inner door spiralled open. The two girls flanked John as he walked into the corridor, the ship eerily quiet.

Alyssa pointed along the corridor. "Up ahead and on the right, there's an elevator."

John studied her face with concern as they stepped inside the lift and started to ascend. "You're looking tired."

"It's been a very long morning," she said with a weary smile. "Everyone cut loose with the powers, so we're all just about tapped out..."

The lift door opened, giving them access to the Command Deck. John pulled off his Paragon helmet and immediately smelt the telltale aroma of roasted flesh, with several blackened corpses the source of the stink. Irillith's glowing silhouette was crouched beside Admiral Weber, who was sobbing in the corner of the Bridge, trying to stay as far away from her as possible. Finally, Jehanna stood in the centre of the room, hugging herself tightly, a look of anxious anticipation on her face as she stared towards the elevator.

"John!" she exclaimed as soon as he stepped out, rushing into his arms.

He dropped his Quantum rifle and wrapped her up in a warm embrace, or as warm as could be expected while wearing full combat armour. "I'm so glad you're safe," he said, stroking her back. "You've no idea how terrible I feel for getting you mixed up in all this..."

"I knew you'd rescue me," she sobbed, finally letting the wall shoring up her emotions crumble.

"I'm sorry we took so long," he said quietly. "We were in Maliri Space, then the Brimorian Enclave... I only found out you'd been captured late last night. We dropped everything to rush back here as fast as we could..."

Alyssa leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Hey, beautiful. We were all really worried about you..."

Tashana joined him in stroking Jehanna's back. "I'm so glad we got here in time. Are you alright?"

The dark-haired girl let out a shuddering sigh, then looked at them each in turn. "I was so scared, but I knew I just had to hang on for as long as I could."

Alyssa brushed a gauntleted hand over Jehanna's tummy. "If you'd been a fully-fledged Lioness, we'd have known straight away what had happened. We could've been here days ago..." She frowned at John as she hugged the dusky beauty. "No more messing around, you need to give this girl what she wants!"

John gave Jehanna a look filled with remorse and admitted, "She's right. I'm really sorry I made you wait." He frowned and continued, "Assuming you still want to join us? After everything you've just been through because of me, I can understand if you've changed your mind..."

"Are you joking?" Jehanna asked playfully, with a brave smile. "After everything I just went through, I finally qualify as a wounded little bird!"

Alyssa laughed and shook her head. "You've got far too much spirit; it'll take a lot more than this to bring you down." She smiled at Tashana, then they walked away to join Irillith.

John gently lifted Jehanna's chin and looked at the bruises and cuts she'd sustained. "Rachel's taking care of Jade right now, but I'll ask her to heal you as soon as she can."

Jehanna gazed up at him, her smoky brown eyes drawing him in. "I'd prefer it if you healed me..."

"First chance I get," he promised, leaning down to give her a very gentle kiss, being careful not to aggravate her cut lip.

She let out a happy sigh, then rested her head against his armoured chest. Spotting the deep rents across the embossed lion, she pulled back, her eyes widening when she saw the extent of the damage to his armour. "What happened to you?!" she exclaimed in alarm.

John gave her a wry smile. "I had a disagreement with the Kintark Emperor."

Jehanna traced her fingers along the deep furrows in the plating. "What about?" she murmured, shocked at how close the claws had come to taking his life.

"He wanted to conquer and enslave the Terran Federation. I convinced him that was a bad idea..." he replied, noticing the look of rapt fascination on the young woman's face. "Our fight was broadcast across the Kintark Empire and the Terran Federation, as part of his plans to break Terran morale; unfortunately, his plan backfired. We'll show you that footage later, as well as everything we recorded during the Kintark assault on the Citadel and the fleet engagements above Terra."

Despite everything she'd been through, Jehanna's instincts for an exclusive story couldn't be suppressed. "I can't believe I missed everything!" she exclaimed, pouting with frustration. "I was in the same system as the final showdown with the Kintark and I was stuck in a prison cell for the entire thing!"

A sharp gasp of surprise interrupted the conversation and drew their attention to Alyssa. Her cerulean eyes were glowing with an inner radiance and she turned to John as she blurted out, "Devereux's still alive! She's on this ship!"

"Where is she?!" John asked, stunned at the news.

Alyssa tilted her head to one side as she read Weber's mind. "Medical Bay... Deck Three." Her expression darkened as she added, "She's in critical condition... crippled..."

John clenched his jaw in anger as he glanced back at the Admiral, who was whimpering in terror, held powerless in Alyssa's telekinetic grip. "Have you found out everything he knows?"

The blonde nodded, the glow fading from her eyes. "I know everything this bastard has done." She glanced over her shoulder at John and her voice was chilling as she added, "Can I punish him now?"

After stooping down to pick up his rifle, John put his arm around Jehanna. "We'll head down to Deck Three. Join us when you're done."

Alyssa touched Weber's head and there was a brief flash of light, before she rose and walked away. "You might want to record this," she said offhandedly to Irillith, as she glided over to join John and the girls at the lift.

Irillith nodded, glancing down at Weber as he began to moan in fear, his anguished cries gradually getting louder and more desperate. By the time the elevator door slid closed, his terrified shrieks had reached a shrill intensity, those dreadful piercing screams sending a shiver down Jehanna's spine.

She glanced at Alyssa and whispered, "It sounds like he's facing the worst torments he could imagine..."

The blonde gave her a grim smile of satisfaction. "He is... Carl Weber's done a lot of bad things, and his worst nightmares are truly horrifying."

The elevator chimed and the doors opened onto Deck Three, with Alyssa taking the lead and turning right. They walked past several doors until she paused at a doorway and pulled out her Quantum pistol. John raised an eyebrow then lifted his rifle to his shoulder and stood by the doorframe.

*There's at least three bad guys in here...* she murmured, sharing a nod with him to confirm she was ready.

John tapped the button to open the door, then opened fire on the anxious special-forces soldier standing diagonally opposite the doorway. The hyper-accelerated bullet hit him in the torso then punched through the wall behind, the damage to the titanium plating clearly visible through the gaping tunnel blasted through the man's chest. Alyssa didn't hesitate in snapping off two rounds, taking out the shocked medics who gaped at her in terror.