Three Square Meals Ch. 113

Faye nodded again, but firmly this time. "I should never have reacted that way; I was behaving like a spoilt little girl." Smiling at the group, she continued, "I'm surrounded by wonderful friends, who have given me so many incredible gifts. I can touch... I can feel... those are things that I never thought possible only a few short months ago. I think it's time I grow up and accept that I am what I am. I'm a synthetic girl... but that just means I can love all of you 24 hours a day with no downtime!"

"Ah Faye, you're awesome," Dana said with tears in her eyes, enfolding her petite friend in a warm hug.

Irillith brushed her fingers through Faye's long purple hair. "When we do eventually retire, I promise I'll try to find a way to make your wish come true... even if it takes me decades to do it."

Faye let out a happy sigh and pulled the Maliri girl into the embrace. "I love you, Creator. Thank you."

They all joined in the group hug, feeling greatly relieved to see Faye back to her old self again.

John caught her eye and asked, "Are you sure you're okay now?"

She nodded, a self-conscious smile spreading across her face. "I am... and I can't apologise enough for worrying all of you like that."

"Is that smile number 57?" he asked with a grin, leaning in to kiss her cupid-bow lips.

Faye giggled and shook her head. "Number 39. It was my 'embarrassed' smile, but I might change the title to 'I was being an idiot' as a reminder."

"Don't be so hard on yourself," John said, gently stroking her cheek. "I think it's wonderful that you have hopes and dreams like that, I'm only sorry that you ended up being disappointed."

Alyssa gave Faye a rueful frown. "I wish I'd realised earlier that you had all this on your mind. You're one of the girls and it's my job to look after you, but I guess having telepathy with the others made me a bit complacent. It was lucky that John knew you well enough to figure out something was wrong."

"Yeah, you just need to talk to us next time!" Dana insisted, nuzzling into Faye's purple hair. "Seeing you get so upset sucked ass."

"Alright, I promise I'll speak to you if I'm troubled by anything else," Faye said earnestly.

"Good girl," John said, nodding his approval.

She grinned at him, then her eyes drifted anxiously to the door. "I've wasted more than enough of your time already... the rest of the girls must be wondering what's happening!"

Alyssa waved away her concerns as she rose from the bed. "They're fine... they were all worried about you, so I've been keeping everyone updated."

John stood as well, then offered Faye a hand. "You coming, honey? The bedroom isn't the same without you watching over us, perched in your chair."

She took his hand and gave him a grateful smile. "I'd love to join you."

They left Faye's room and walked down the corridor to the Captain's quarters. The girls were waiting for them on the bed and even the Nymphs were watching the doorway with concern, their verdant faces lighting up when Faye skipped into the room beside John. She was soon surrounded by glowing, pulsing Nymphs, who fawned all over her like a long-lost sister. Faye giggled happily at their enthusiastic display of affection, almost disappearing from sight as she was engulfed by the much taller green women.

"Have you got catnip in your pockets, Faye?" Rachel asked with amusement.

"She's made some friends for life," Jade said, fondly watching her fellow Nymphs. "If she keeps feeding them like that, we'll probably have to make her an honorary Lenarran."

The Nymphs reluctantly let Faye go, so that Sakura, Calara, and Jade could each take a turn embracing her.

"Thanks all of you," the purple sprite gushed when she was finally free. "I've never felt so loved!"

She sat in the high-backed leather chair and flashed a joyful smile at John as he took his usual place on the bed. The girls fanned out in a semi-circle around him, but there wasn't enough room for the four Nymphs to comfortably fit into the line-up. They glanced at Jade for direction and she gave them an indulgent smile as she patted the middle of the bed. Curling up together, her sisters traced the bands of light pulsing outwards from each other's stomachs, knowing they meant that John was making them all stronger.

He watched them for a moment, enjoying the active connection he felt with each Nymph, before turning to look at Rachel. "Okay, over to you, honey. Did you find out anything interesting with the autopsies?"

She nodded, her grey glinting with anticipation. "Faye, could you start the holo-presentation please?"

The purple sprite blinked and a second later, an image of a Hive Queen flashed into existence, the holograph floating above the bed.

"That's one nasty bitch," Dana muttered, her eyes flicking over the long spikes and claws covering its exoskeleton. "But it's weird she's such a badass... aren't psychic aliens supposed to be eggheads with puny bodies?"

"Just because Mael'nerak designed the Ashanath that way, it's not a rule that has to be adhered to by all species. The higher-tier Kirrix all seem to be physically imposing specimens," the brunette replied, shaking her head. "I currently have two theories as to their origins. The first is that the Hive Queens evolved to become powerful combatants that fought each other for dominance over a hive... until the species developed the psychic capabilities to form the Hive Mind. After that, the Hive Queens almost certainly started working together for the good of the species as a whole."

"Did that happen naturally?" John asked, staring at the malevolent creature.

She glanced at him, an ambivalent expression on her face. "Are you asking if a Progenitor changed the Kirrix? If so, then the answer is no... I've found no signs that a Progenitor tampered with their DNA; none of the usual genetic markers are there, let alone a third helix. As for someone else? Perhaps... which leads me to my second theory."

Now he was intrigued. "Someone else modified them?"

Rachel gave him a troubled look. "I have no definitive proof... but I'm beginning to suspect that's what might have happened. The Kirrix have always struck me as a strange species; they just don't fit with the natural evolution of any genus we've previously encountered."

"What do you mean?" he asked curiously.

She paused for a moment to think how best to describe her theory. "Do you remember the autopsy I performed on the Kirrix drone?"

Dana pouted. "How could I forget? You scared the crap out of me on the way down to Khalgron!"

Rachel winked at her, then continued, "As I previously discovered, a Kirrix drone only has rudimentary vocal chords and they also don't appear to use pheromones for communication. Those were the first things that made me suspect they might be capable of telepathy... but the Kirrix can't have always been psychic. That led me to wonder how the species communicated prior to reaching that higher-stage of evolutionary development. There's no sign that their vocal chords or antenna devolved or atrophied through lack of use and I could see no evidence of degeneration in their genetic code."

"In layman's terms please, Doctor Voss," John requested with a smile.

"I think the Kirrix might be an artificially created species," she said bluntly. "Created by whom and for what purpose I have no way of knowing..."

"The Hive Mind is very, very old," Alyssa interjected, looking thoughtful. "They predate the fight between Mael'nerak and Ranagon by thousands of years."

"Maybe they were made by The Achonin?" Tashana suggested, fascinated by the surprising turn in the conversation. "They had a highly-advanced civilisation, at least until they were wiped out by Mael'nerak. The Achonin might have been capable of genetic manipulation..."

"If it was them, they were very subtle in the changes made to the Kirrix DNA. You can't miss a Progenitor's tweaks when you know what you're looking for, but the Kirrix genetic code appears to be entirely natural."

John considered that for a moment, then shrugged. "We've got no real way of confirming the origins of their species, so let's just move on for now. What did you find out about the Hive Queen's physiology?"

Rachel glanced at Faye and the image shifted, showing detailed diagrams of insectoid body parts. "The Hive Queen has a set of relatively simple vocal chords, which are capable of emitting shrieks but certainly not sophisticated enough to allow conversation. She does come equipped with a hugely enlarged amygdala, which dwarfs any we've seen so far... It might be a coincidence, but I suspect that organ is responsible for the Hive Queen's impressive psychic capabilities."

Pointing at the rear of the monstrous creature, she continued, "The Hive Queen also possesses an ovipositor which she uses to insert eggs into hosts. I dissected the eggs contained in the eggsack and rather than the drones which the Hive Lords lay, those eggs contain the full range of upper-tier Kirrix."

"Broodmothers, Hive Lords, and Juggernauts?" John asked, trying to remember all the different types of Kirrix.

She nodded in confirmation. "Yes, as well as the Nest Guardians."

"If she spawns all that shit, what lays the eggs that turn into Hive Queens?" Dana muttered, grimacing at the insectoid monstrosity with distaste.

"Excellent point," Rachel replied, smiling at her girlfriend. "Again, there are two possibilities. The first is that Hive Queens can create more of themselves, but those eggs are likely to be a lot rarer, probably triggered by pheromones under certain circumstances. The second possibility is that there's something else we haven't encountered yet, which is at a higher-tier in the Kirrix lifecycle and creates the Hive Queens."

Alyssa frowned and said hesitantly, "The Hive Mind only seemed to be made up of Hive Queens. There were roughly a hundred or so in their astral construct, but I didn't see any other type of Kirrix creature there."

"You dragged a hundred of those things into Athena's castle?" John asked, staring at the ferocious beast.

The blonde shook her head. "Maybe half that amount? A bunch of them escaped from the Astral Plane while I was busy shifting their palace to my fortress."

Calara gave her lover a look of admiration. "I wouldn't want to face one of those hideous things, let alone fifty of them!"

"They were so shocked when I barged into the palace, most of them had no idea what was happening," Alyssa admitted with a wry smile. "Once I dragged them into my pocket plane, I just had to slap them around a bit to make them start listening."

"Do you think the Hive Mind will actually stick to the terms of your agreement?" Sakura asked, her almond-shaped eyes narrowing.

"They were pretty terrified when I was through with them," the blonde replied, with no small amount of satisfaction. "I don't think they'd want to risk pissing me off a second time."

"Good," Dana said with an angry scowl. "After what those assholes did to the colonists, they needed some serious payback. I don't think I'll ever forget the looks on those peoples' faces... they were just destroyed."

John reached over to squeeze her hand, then looked around the group. "We rescued over 55,000 Brecken's World colonists from the Kirrix, but just as importantly, all of you did an outstanding job taking care of those people after we evacuated them. The last thing I wanted was another repeat of the suicides on Carolus III and I think you managed to help those people find some light at the end of the tunnel."

"Making Helene a projecting empath was inspired," Rachel said, making eye-contact with John. "I could heal their bodies, but many of those people were deeply traumatised and it was wonderful seeing Helene ease their suffering."

"She was amazing," Tashana quickly agreed. The Maliri pyrokinetic sounded wistful as she continued, "I actually found myself getting envious of the way she was able to raise people's spirits wherever she went. It was inspiring to see her bring so much comfort and positivity back into their lives."

"Where is Helene?" Calara asked, having noticed that she was the only girl missing.

"I told her about the Abandoned's overpopulation problem," John said, with a heavy sigh. "That's why she isn't here now. She's got a lot to think about at the moment."

"She needed to know that they couldn't keep going as they have been," Calara said, stroking his forearm. "How did she take it?"

"Horrified at first, but she's a resilient girl and recovered very quickly," John replied, with no small amount of admiration. "She's finally understanding just how much things will have to change for the Abandoned when we free them from the Brimorians."

"We'll keep a close eye on her and make sure she's okay," Alyssa said, giving him a reassuring smile.

John acknowledged that with a grateful nod, then turned to Rachel again. "We got a bit sidetracked, honey. Please continue with your briefing."

The brunette glanced up at the hologram. "We've already covered all the most important points of interest. In terms of combat capabilities, Hive Queens are incredibly strong and equipped with a pair of lethal scythe-like claws, which they also appear to be able to imbue with psychic energy. She was covered in an extremely resilient carapace that's even tougher than Juggernaut armour." She glanced at Dana and added, "I've saved you some plated sections in case you want to study them in greater detail."

"Yeah, I'll check them out... thanks!" the redhead enthusiastically replied.

Rachel's grey eyes flicked to the purple sprite sitting in the leather chair. "Faye, could you display the data on the Nest Guardian please."

A moment later the Hive Queen disappeared, to be replaced by the red-carapaced exoskeleton of a Nest Guardian.

Alyssa flinched involuntarily, a hand drifting to her abdomen where she'd been impaled on a long claw blade. "Those fuckers were incredibly fast and strong, and the spike it stuck me with hurt like hell. They must be powerful psychics to be running all those abilities at the same time."

Rachel shook her head. "Actually, I don't believe they have any psychic capabilities at all, the amygdala-like organ in the brain is not much larger than a standard drone's. The musculature in their arms and legs is incredibly dense though, giving them explosive speed and strength."

"The bastard that stabbed me was definitely using a psychically-charged blade," Alyssa said adamantly. "It was covered in some kind of creepy yellow energy."

"I can't prove this based on the autopsy results, but I believe the Hive Queen was enhancing their weapons as well as shielding the Nest Guardians." Rachel said, before looking at John. "Have you ever tried encasing another blade in elemental energy? One that you aren't holding?"

"I've never had a reason to. Sakura is the only other person that favours melee combat and she uses Cryokinesis on her ninjato," he explained, glancing at the Asian girl. "It's something we should try practicing sometime."

Sakura glanced at the Crystal Alyssium bedposts flanking her and made a gesture with both hands. There was a cracking sound and frost swirled around the pillars, icy tendrils creeping upwards as she dropped the temperature further. "Seems straightforward enough," she said with a satisfied smile.

"Show off," Tashana teased her with a grin. She opened her hand and a couple of flame sprites leapt towards the pillars, cavorting around them like pole dancers as their fiery bodies banished the glacial cold.

"I really need to learn how to create hex-shields," Rachel said, watching the psychic display in fascination. Turning back to face John and Alyssa, she continued, "If I can learn to project shields like the Hive Queen can, that could be incredibly useful. I'd be able to shield anyone too injured to protect themselves, or even use them to defend civilians from harm."

"You'll get no argument from me," John said, giving her an encouraging smile.

"It would be a great way of helping you get stronger," Alyssa agreed. "You've grown in leaps and bounds with your healing, but you can't exactly practice when we aren't in combat." She hesitated, darting a speculative look at John.

"Nope, absolutely not," he said, holding his hand palm up to halt all further discussion. "You are not deliberately injuring yourselves just to let Rachel practice healing you."

She laughed and nudged him with an elbow. "I knew you were going to say that."

"In this case, I'm delighted to be so predictable," he said wryly, before looking at Rachel, his expression turning sombre. "You learning to create shields is an excellent idea, but we all need to start taking psychic training very seriously. The Hive Queen caught us completely unprepared... that whole encounter could have ended extremely badly."

Alyssa's smile died and she was forced to nod her agreement. "That's the closest call I've had so far."

Putting his arm around her, John grimaced as he admitted, "And I was seconds away from being obliterated... So let's try not to leave ourselves so exposed again."

Irillith frowned, a worried look on her face. "I feel like we should be spending the rest of the afternoon on psychic training. Are you sure you want to spend a couple of hours preparing a Maliri banquet?"

John met her anxious gave with a firm nod. "Absolutely. Despite what I just said, I want all of you to forget about training, and research, and everything else this evening. We spent the whole of yesterday fighting two major battles with the Kirrix then rescuing thousands of devastated colonists; you all need a break."

Calara caught his eye and said quietly, "I need to talk to you after the meeting."

"Of course," he agreed, ignoring Alyssa's disapproving frown. Turning to look at the rest of the group, he continued, "Just to give you an idea of what I'm planning for the coming few days, our next port of call will be Karron. If the Kirrix are abiding to the agreement Alyssa made with them, they'll probably be unloading colonists when we arrive. We'll treat all the infested, then head to Valia Gate and Menganus IV, where the Kirrix should have safely returned the colonists to their settlements. The people on Menganus IV won't have much time left, so we'll have to move fast to treat them before the eggs start hatching."

"So gross..." Dana muttered, her lip curling with distaste.

John sighed and nodded. "I know, but hopefully this should be the last time we have to treat infested colonists. I'm not going to lie, I think the Kirrix are a bunch of disgusting, murderous parasites and I'm itching to slaughter them all... but it's probably for the best if we just quarantine them instead. As long as they stay in Kirrix Space and stop abducting colonists, we'll leave them alone. Who knows, they might even find some kind of solution to their problem with the Shroud."

"What's our plan after Menganus IV?" Dana asked, a glint of anticipation in her sky-blue eyes. "Back to Genthalas for a major refit? Just imagine the Invictus armed with a quad-battery of Quantum Flux Cannons!"

"I remember what the Legacy did to that Drakkar dreadnought..." Calara murmured, her voice filled with longing. "The destruction we could reap with four of those cannons..."

"I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little while longer," John said, sharing a long look with Alyssa before facing the girls. "I think it's time we searched for Arcadia."

"Your parents..." Dana whispered, gazing at him with wide eyes.

John let out a heavy sigh as he nodded. "I think I'm getting close to the point where I can confront my guide, but before I do that, I need answers about my parents to finally get some closure. I want to know what happened to Jessica Blake and find out once and for all who my father was."