Three Square Meals Ch. 110

Alyssa knelt on the bed next to the twins and reached out to clasp their hands. "Okay, here's what I think we should do..."

The Maliri girls listened as Alyssa outlined her plan, growing more shocked by the moment.

John just gaped at the blonde, his eyes widening in horrified disbelief. "You're out of your mind!" he balked.

"But John, this'll help her, I promise!" Alyssa protested, wringing her hands together plaintively.

He rolled off the bed and shook his head. "I can't believe you even suggested it... absolutely not!"

Alyssa watched helplessly as John strode out of the bedroom, visibly shaken by her proposal.

***

The Maliri assassin padded onto the Bridge of the Galaena Serine, her cobalt-blue eyes drawn to the golden-armoured figure standing at its centre. The House Valaden Fleet Commander stared at a holographic Empire Map, Lilyana focusing intently on the swathe of stars overlaid in orange, designating the systems owned by the Trankaran Republic. Lilyana's fleet was shown as a gold icon emblazoned with the crossed blades of House Valaden, the Maliri forces penetrating deep into Trankaran territory.

"You called for me, Fleet Commander?" Almari asked, approaching the older woman.

"I did. My thanks for your prompt arrival," Lilyana replied, turning to smile at her. She gestured at the green flight path linking their fleet to the Republic's capital. "We are less than a day from Trankara. Please could you inform Queen Edraele that we've finally picked up a Trankaran Comm Beacon on our long-range sensors and that I'm about to make contact."

*That's wonderful news!* Edraele exclaimed, sounding elated as the assassin relayed the message. *Please attempt to speak directly to Queen Niskera, she'll be greatly relieved to hear from you.*

Lilyana nodded as she listened to her Matriarch's telepathic voice. Turning to look at the Galaena Serine's Communications Officer, she raised her golden helmet. "Initiate secure comms, I want a direct line to the Trankaran Queen."

***

Fleet Warden Thandrun paced back and forth in the Campaign Room on Trankara, frowning as he glanced at the holographic map that floated above the command table. "Are you certain, my Queen?"

Niskera gave him a reassuring smile. "I received word from Alyssa less than five minutes ago that their arrival is imminent. Have faith, Thandrun. The Great Protector has never failed to deliver on his promises... and he has promised us support from the Maliri."

The Fleet Warden's slab-like features split into a look of embarrassment. "Please forgive me, my Queen. I'm behaving like a flustered acolyte on his first posting."

She walked over to him and cupped his blocky face with a glowing hand. "There is nothing to forgive, Thandrun. Your concern for our people is a testimony to your strength of character and your dedication to the Republic."

There was a look of awe in his amber eyes as he gazed down at her. "By the Great Maker, Niskera... a few inspiring words from you and I feel like I could wrestle a Kirrix juggernaut!"

"I would pity the beast, for its death would be an inevitability," she said, her tone both solemn and sincere.

The Fleet Warden puffed up his chest with pride, then chuckled at his response and smiled at her fondly.

Niskera returned his smile, then suddenly tilted her head to one side, listening to Alyssa's flustered voice as it echoed through her mind. *Edraele will be speaking to you through Lilyana. She knows everything that's going on... just ask if you need updates on anything specific.*

Queen Niskera knew she couldn't reply directly to her Matriarch, only having an empathetic connection to the blonde Terran. Instead, she focused on feelings of confusion and concern, knowing that Alyssa would feel those emotions.

*Everything's fine with the Maliri, but things are just a bit... tense... with John and me right now,* Alyssa apologised, sounding distracted.

A comms rune flashed on the control panel and the Fleet Warden's slab-like features were flooded with relief. "We're being hailed by a Maliri warfleet! They're here at last!"

Niskera closed her eyes and tilted her face upward as she said a silent prayer of thanks.

The holo-screen flickered, displaying twin curved blades as the call was put through. A moment later, a golden-armoured woman appeared, sparkling jewels adorning her ostentatious, figure-hugging suit. The faceplate of her helmet was opaque, revealing no hint of the blue-skinned, white-haired Maliri that Niskera knew would be concealed inside.

"My name is Queen Niskera," she announced, greeting the slender woman with a deep bow. "I wish to offer you the warmest of welcomes to Trankaran Space."

The Maliri inclined her head respectfully. "I am Fleet Commander Lilyana of House Valaden. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Queen Niskera."

"Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your timely aid, Fleet Commander," Niskera said earnestly.

Lilyana hesitated, then said with regret, "My apologies for the delay in our arrival. We were forced to make a detour to assist the Terran Federation in repelling a Kintark Invasion." There was a hint of a smile in her voice as she added, "And they were nowhere near as gracious or grateful a host."

"I understand that your intervention saved many millions of lives... I could never begrudge such an act of benevolence," Niskera said, shaking her head. "When you arrive at Trankara, I would be honoured if you would meet me in person... there are many things I would like to discuss with you."

After a momentary pause, the Fleet Commander nodded. "If Queen Edraele were here, she would insist that I meet our honoured allies in person. It is with great pleasure that I accept your kind invitation."

"I long to meet with Queen Edraele in the not-too distant future," the Glowing Queen said, with a warm smile.

"I know she feels the same way about you, Queen Niskera." Lilyana turned to look off-screen for a moment, briefly nodding to her Communications Officer.

A soft chime echoed around the Trankaran Campaign Room and the runes on the control panel flashed. Thandrun looked at the comms interface, his expression turning joyful. "New tech schematics, my Queen!"

"Those are a gift from John Blake," Lilyana explained, relaxing in her Command Chair. "The shield generators are Brimorian technology which we acquired after the Battle of Terra. The second schematic is for advanced heatsinks, the best that the Kintark were able to develop."

Thandrun celebrated by smacking a fist into his open palm, the sound like a crash of boulders. "By the Great Protector! These will make an enormous difference to the effectiveness of our fleets!"

"I'm glad they meet with your approval," the Maliri Commander said a hint of amusement in her voice at the Fleet Warden's jubilant reaction. "We salvaged three of the new shield generators from Kintark capital ships and I would like to upgrade my battleships as soon as possible. If there's any way you could build shield generators sized for cruiser-class vessels in preparation for our arrival, I'd greatly appreciate it. We could upgrade my entire fleet immediately, then move to engage the Kirrix in no less than a day."

Niskera nodded, her smile widening. "Your goal is to protect Trankaran citizens; how could we refuse such a reasonable request? Our Star Forges are in full production... send us a list of all the components you require and we shall ensure you have whatever you need by the time you arrive at Trankara."

Some of the tension eased from Lilyana's shoulders. "As I said before... the most gracious of hosts."

After a moment's hesitation, Niskera asked, "I was wondering if you might have heard news from Admiral John Blake?"

Lilyana tilted her head to one side as if listening attentively. "He just liberated the first of the Terran colonies invaded by the Kirrix and is moving to engage the forces besieging another. He would have liked to have assisted in the liberation of Trankaran worlds, but the Terran forces are ill-equipped to deal with the scale of the Kirrix invasion."

"When next I speak with him, I will tell him that we never expected his personal intervention and are already grateful for everything he has done for us," Niskera replied, knowing that Edraele would pass this message directly on to John. "Our own forces are undergoing rapid refits and the first of our upgraded fleets has been dispatched to harass the Kirrix vanguard."

"The coordination of our forces against the Kirrix would be a wise topic of discussion," Lilyana suggested, sounding thoughtful. "Our objective is to save as many Trankaran lives as possible and I'm quite certain that your knowledge of the besieged systems will prove to be invaluable."

"Alas, I am no strategist," Niskera said, before glancing at the hulking Trankaran at her side. "Fortunately, Fleet Warden Thandrun is very gifted in that regard. I know he will be eager to attend the meeting to discuss the campaign with you in person."

"I'll compile as much data as possible regarding the conquered systems and what we know of the Kirrix fleet dispositions," Thandrun volunteered, studying the slender Maliri. "You will not be lacking for information on your opponents, that I can promise you."

"Our meeting should be a fascinating one," Lilyana said, her tone warm and friendly. "I find myself looking forward to it with great enthusiasm."

The Trankarans shared a smile, then Niskera said, "As do we, Fleet Commander... very much so."

***

Dana stared at the partially-completed set of tech schematics slowly rotating in the air, a look of intense concentration on her beautiful face. The Engineering Bay door slid open and she glanced back to see John stride through, his expression deeply troubled.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked with concern.

John made eye contact with her as he strode up the illuminated steps to the Engineering Podium. "Sparks, I know you and the girls discuss everything together."

She blushed and nodded. "Want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Good," she muttered, making her feelings on the matter quite clear. The redhead glanced back at the tech schematics. "How about being my engineering assistant instead?"

"Do I have to call you Grand Engineering Overlord?" John asked, darting a smile at her.

She bumped hips with him. "I'll give you a pass, but just this once."

He laughed, feeling better already. "Do you need me to shape any parts for you?"

Dana shook her head. "No, not yet. I'm still at the initial design stage right now."

"What exactly are you working on?" he asked, looking up at the rotating schematics.

"I thought I'd start R&D on a new rifle," Dana replied, waving a hand at the floating holographic image. "Those hex-shields blocking Reaper Cannon fire really pissed me off, so I'm working on an upgrade."

"I've never really watched you do this before," he said, looking on with interest. "What've you come up with so far?"

"Well, we acquired the new Tachyon Lance tech, so I was investigating the viability of miniaturising it for a rifle," she replied, sounding slightly hesitant as she glanced back at her preliminary work.

He stroked her back and smiled, "Not as easy as you thought?"

Dana frowned and gave him a shrug. "I figured that shooting continuous beams from a rifle wouldn't be very practical, at least not compared to blasting spaceships... so I'm a bit stuck for the moment." Her lips quirked into a playful smile. "Have you got any bright ideas?"

"You want me to tell you what I want in a rifle?" he asked sceptically.

Her expression brightened. "Well I didn't mean it quite like that, but yeah, okay!"

"Alright, I guess I could suggest a few things." John rubbed his chin for a moment as he mulled it over. "I've seen the Tachyon Lances in action, and you're right, having to wait a second before firing a constant beam isn't worth it. It's not like we're trying to melt our way through dozens of metres of superstructure. How about making them shoot in short bursts? A bit like the Pulse Cannons..."

Dana's eyes widened, and she inhaled sharply. "Pulsed Tachyon Lances! Yeah, that's a great idea!"

She whirled around and her slender fingers began to dance over the console. Two additional holographs appeared, showing an expanded view of a Tachyon Lance schematic and another of a Photon Laser. Sections of each weapon were highlighted from the images, Dana's hands working on both schematics simultaneously. John watched in fascination as the firing mechanism in the central screen began to incorporate elements from both, going through hundreds of iterations of new designs as Dana rapidly modified and discarded each prototype. Progenitor runes scrolled below at an incredible rate, moving far too quickly for him to read.

She glanced at John, a fierce gleam in her eyes. "What else?"

"How about making it double-barrelled, like the old Punisher rifles?" he suggested.

"No problem!" she agreed, nodding exuberantly. "You want a grenade launcher again?"

John shook his head. "We should be able to easily handle groups of lightly-armoured enemies with laser fire. What we really need is something to deal with very heavily protected opponents."

"Holy shit! You're a genius!" she gushed, gazing at him with newfound respect. "An underslung barrel for Runic Penetrators... That'd be fucking awesome!"

He wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that, but the jubilant redhead seemed delighted by his suggestion. "Any chance we could have a fully-fledged prototype in three hours?"

"Challenge accepted!" Dana exclaimed with a gleeful grin, cracking her knuckles. "Now, on with the show!"

John watched her for a while, losing track of time as he enjoyed seeing Dana so thoroughly engrossed in her work. The new rifle quickly took shape, with the redhead refining her design of the focusing chamber dozens of times until it met her exacting standards.

"Faye?" Dana called out, glancing up at one of the hidden cameras. "Please run a simulation using the thermal output projections I've compiled. I'd like you to test-fire the rifle 200,000 times and check for barrel stress."

The purple sprite popped into existence, sitting on the adjacent console. "Will do! Would you like me to run additional simulations to test burst fire and full auto modes?"

"Definitely!" the redhead enthused. "I've analysed the data on the energy requirements and if I incorporate a zero-point regulator, we'll have more than enough power. Could you have your boys bring up a couple of Quantum rifles please? I'll just swipe the Power Cores from them."

"They're on their way!"

"Yeah, this is coming together nicely," Dana murmured, creating a separate set of diagrams with the dimensions for the barrel and the pieces that formed the elaborate gun frame. She glanced at John and continued, "While I'm working on the final touches, could you start shaping these parts in Crystal Alyssium please? I'll start up the Mass Fabricators and make the rest of the components we need."

John studied the different shapes on the holo-screen, committing them to memory. "Sure, I'll make a start straight away. You just want enough for two?"

She thought about it for a second. "I'll just make a couple of prototypes for us right now... we've only got a couple of hours left; we won't have enough time to assemble any more."

He walked over to the ore crates, lifting the lid with a wave of his hand. "While I'm here I might as well make the rest, then you can upgrade all the Quantum rifles when you're ready." John gestured towards the block of white ore that sparkled in the light, drawing off a stream of liquid metal. "How many times am I shaping this? Fifteen?"

Dana watched him use telekinesis on the crate without thinking about it. She smiled, but kept it to herself, not wanting to distract him from the task at hand. "Yes please, we need those barrels to be as strong as possible."

John went to work, shaping and reshaping the orb of metal. It was a comfortable, routine kind of action now, a bit like squeezing a stress ball with his mind. He let himself fall into a deep state of focus as he laboured on the Crystal Alyssium, appreciating the opportunity to keep his mind occupied and distracted from thoughts of Tashana...

***

Jehanna Elani walked along the corridors of Olympus Shipyard with her luggage floating beside her, the click of her four-inch heels drawing the attention of both men and women. She could feel their eyes lingering on her when she walked on by, people recognising her from her regular appearances on TFNN, as well as just openly admiring her stunning figure. There'd been a time years ago when she'd hungered for this kind of fame, her face now a familiar one to millions of people throughout the Terran Federation.

She smiled demurely at the bolder young officers who decided to try their luck in making conversation with her, but she was too distracted to enjoy their flattery. The trip back to Terra had been a very constructive one, wowing Avery with all the exclusives she'd put together during her time on the Invictus. He'd been so impressed with the astronomical viewing figures drawn in by the Lioness interviews and the new Fleet Admiral's public debut that he was left with no choice but to fully endorse her permanent posting to Olympus as Devereux's official Press Liaison.

Despite her recent slew of outstanding professional accomplishments, Jehanna found herself wishing that she was still aboard the Invictus with John and the girls. She had never felt anything like the exhilarating sense of freedom that she'd experienced there, having grown up in a conservative family where uninhibited behaviour was frowned upon. She couldn't help a nervous laugh slipping out when she imagined what her parents would make of her budding relationship with the Maliri twins.

Biting her lower lip, she felt herself flushing as she remembered everything she'd done with Irillith and Tashana. 'Budding relationship' was just a polite euphemism for saying that those gorgeous blue vixens had fucked the living hell out of her... and she'd loved every second of it. The foursome with John and the twins had been the highlight of her sexual experiences to date, the intensity of the mind-blowing orgasms making the lovers she'd had in the past seem hilariously inept by comparison. Yes, there was no doubt that a future with John offered her sexual fulfilment on an unprecedented scale, but was she really shallow enough to consider discarding the rest of her life for the promise of ecstasy on a daily basis?

A blushing young Lieutenant rushed to hold the elevator door for her, distracting Jehanna from her thoughts.

"Deck Six please," she requested, giving him an appreciative smile.

"Yes, Miss Elani!" he gasped, fumbling for the elevator buttons and accidentally hitting the button for Deck Seven. He looked absolutely mortified, reddening even further as he hurriedly hit the correct button next.

"I'm not in any hurry," she said, taking pity on the young man. Jehanna winked at him and continued, "Actually, I have to make a difficult call when I get back to my quarters; you've given me a thirty second reprieve."

"You're welcome," he murmured, looking absolutely smitten when he realised that the dusky-hued goddess also had a lovely personality.

Jehanna's thoughts drifted as they ascended through the decks and she smiled wistfully, knowing that a life with John promised much more than just phenomenal sex. There was also love, and not just from him, which was thrilling enough, but from each and every stunning girl he surrounded himself with. They were open and trusting and kind... all the time! It was like wandering into heaven and being astonished to discover that the beautiful angels waiting for her there were also lovely people.