Three Square Meals Ch. 115

The enormous insect lowered its head and charged at the drones, using its upper set of clawed limbs to protect its face. It descended on the front row of troops, hacking and maiming them with its scythe-like claws, gouts of green ichor splattering all around the room. The hive lord cried out in agony as it was shot dozens of times, lashing out at its tormentors in an attempt to stop the hail of neutron fire.

The hideous creature eventually toppled to the deck, surrounded by the mutilated remnants of the scores of soldiers it had dismembered. It tried to drag itself across the floor towards the next group of drones, but they shot it again and again... blasting chunks out of the Kirrix leader as it writhed on the metal deck in torment. Eventually it shuddered and went still, the hideously ravaged corpse leaking sticky green blood that spread out in a growing pool.

Lucyna exchanged uncomprehending glances with her stunned companions, not one of them expecting the Kirrix to have turned on each other like that. Seeing the cruel beast that assaulted her suffer an agonising and protracted death sent a dark thrill through her body, but that elation was tempered by disbelief that her saviours were more Kirrix. She watched the insectoid invaders in utter bewilderment as the drone squads began releasing colonists and herding them out of the chamber.

~~~

Having seen everything she needed, Alyssa withdrew from the governor's mind and returned to her own body. She opened her eyes to find Lucyna and Rachel staring at her in anticipation.

Glancing at the brunette, Alyssa nodded. "Just what we expected. The Kirrix fought each other and the victors boarded the hive ship... they rescued the colonists and returned them to Valia Gate."

Rachel placed her hand on her matriarch's shoulder and said softly, "You saved them, Alyssa. If the fleet scattered to evade pursuit, it's highly unlikely we would have had time to chase down all the hive ships before the eggs started hatching. Even if we managed to reach a few of the Valia Gate colonists in time, rushing after them would have meant abandoning all hope of rescuing those from Menganus IV. If it wasn't for the Kirrix civil war, most of these people would have died."

Lucyna's eyes widened and she asked in a hushed voice, "Civil war?! What do you mean?"

Those troubled cerulean eyes flicked back to the governor. "It's a long story, but basically the Kirrix pissed me off, so I had a little chat with them, girl to Hive Mind. I threatened to blast the fuck out of their homeworld as payback for their invasion, so now half their fleets are desperately trying to return all the colonists they abducted... that's why they gunned down the hive lord that captured you and brought you back home."

The older woman gaped at her in astonishment for a moment, but she could tell the blonde was telling her the truth. She put her arms around Alyssa and hugged her tight. "Thank you... so much," she said in a choked voice that was thick with emotion.

"I'm sorry we were too late to save the children," Alyssa whispered, unable to keep the anguish from her voice. "But don't worry about Theo... he'll be okay."

Lucyna pulled back, wild hope in her eyes as her gaze flicked between the blonde and brunette. "You two can really help him?"

Alyssa shook her head, but gave the older woman a reassuring smile. "No, but we're not the only girls with gifts..."

***

Dana plugged the power coupling into the base of the Tachyon Cannon, then squatted down beside it to make sure the two-metre-long weapon was locked to the tripod. Glancing down the barrel, she made a couple of adjustments, ensuring that it was pointed squarely at the thick sheet of Crystal Alyssium. With everything prepared, she bounded up the steps to the Engineer's Podium and darted over to the central console. Slowly ramping up the energy she was feeding into the weapon, the redhead studied the fluctuating holographic charts, checking for any anomalies in the power gain.

"How's it looking?" John asked, turning his attention away from the sparkling white gunframe he was shaping.

She didn't take her eyes away from the energy readouts but gave him a thumbs up. "We're all in the green and looking good."

There was a low and ominous thrum in the workshop which had John eyeing the Tachyon Cannon warily. "Are you sure about shooting that thing in here? Wouldn't the firing range be more sensible?"

"Nah, this is way quicker... I'd normally test all the components separately, but doing it like this, I can check the heat dissipation rates and energy containment in the focusing chamber all in one go." Dana threw John a set of noise-dampening ear protectors and added, "Here, put these on."

Jade looked up from her work on assembling another of the elegant weapons and shook her head, declining the set Dana offered her. "I'll be fine, don't worry."

Dana shrugged and turned back to the console, pulling on a pair of tinted glasses. "Okay, here we go!"

She tapped the big red button in the centre of the console and light raced along the beautifully sculpted barrel, gathering as a nimbus of energy at the muzzle. There was a dazzling burst of flashes an instant later, accompanied by a staccato screech as the cannon began to fire. The stream of tachyon pulses hammered into the armour plating, causing the capacitor next to it to start smoking. A moment later it burst into flames and the volley of pulsed beams burned through the Crystal Alyssium, then started blasting the rear wall of the Engineering Bay.

"Shit!" Dana yelped, stabbing her thumb down on the console to turn off the cannon.

A fire alarm went off and that section of the workshop was encased in shimmering force fields, stifling the supply of oxygen to the fire. The blaze quickly guttered out and died, leaving a blackened charred mess where the capacitor used to be and a scorched hole in the centre of the armour plate... as well as the rear wall.

"That was deca-shaped wasn't it?" John asked, shooting a worried glance at the redhead.

She nodded as she walked down from the engineering podium, grimacing at the acrid smell of the smoke. "I should have hooked up a much more powerful capacitor..." Her face lit up with a bright smile. "But on the other hand, these Tachyon Cannons are fucking awesome!"

He nodded his agreement. "That they are. I've finished shaping the last components, so as soon as Jade's finished assembling it, we're all ready."

Dana waited beside the cannon while being careful to stay clear of the shimmering heat pouring off the flux heat-exchangers built into the barrel. Judging that it had cooled sufficiently, she unhooked the power coupling and turned to look at John. "Could you carry this over to the loading lift? The maintenance bots should have installed the other four by now."

"Sure," he agreed, walking over to scoop up the weapon and cradling it in his arms. It felt pleasantly warm to the touch as he carried it to the chevron-marked lift.

Jade reached for another piece of the Crystal Alyssium gunframe and began slotting it into place. "I'll bring this down myself when I've finished and meet you in the Raptor."

"Are you sure?" he asked, glancing back at the Nymph. "I can come back for it."

She shook her head and smiled. "No, it's fine. You still need to get your gear and supplies for the trip, but I'm ready to go."

"You're not bringing anything with you?" he asked in surprise.

Jade grinned and shook her head. "I expect I'll be staying aboard the Raptor for the entire mission, which means clothing is entirely optional." Her emerald eyes glinted as she gave him a hungry look. "And you'll be supplying me everything else I need... Master."

Dana groaned and looked up at him with big pleading eyes. "Are you really sure you don't need your trusty Chief Engineer on this one?"

He propped the Tachyon Cannon on the floor, then reached out to cup her face in both hands. "When you've finished taking care of the Valia Gate colonists, you'll just be killing time aboard the Invictus until you catch up with us. I'd like you to work on one of the technologies we've discussed, like the Psi Communicator, the Quantum Flux Cannon variant, or cracking the secret of the black progenitor armour. If you can complete one of those outstanding research projects... I'll come up with a suitable reward."

"I want a whole day!" she exclaimed, feverish with excitement. "Just me... your sex toy for an entire day!"

John lowered a hand to her stomach and nodded as he slowly caressed her trim waist. "Alright, it's a deal. Make a major breakthrough and I'll use you shamelessly for 24 hours."

"Holy fuck..." Dana whispered, going weak at the knees. "Oh, it's on..."

He smiled and leaned down for a kiss, pausing an inch from her bee-stung lips. "Are you really sure? You'll need the rest of the week to recover when I'm finished with you..."

She let out a breathy moan. "I get what you're doing; you're trying to make me so horny I can't concentrate..."

"Why would you think that? I really hope you win. I plan to keep you stuffed full of so much cum, you'll look like you're 9 months pregnant... all day..."

Dana whimpered and leaned against the guardrail for support. "Oh God..."

John kissed the tip of her nose, then straightened and waved goodbye to Jade. "See you down there, honey."

She returned his wave then the loading lift dropped through the floor, the accelerated anti-grav system bringing them down to the Cargo Bay at startling speed. John scooped up the Tachyon Cannon and strolled towards the double doors, turning and walking backwards so he could look at his redheaded companion.

"Aren't you coming, Sparks?" he asked airily.

Shaking herself out of her daze, she left the lift and jogged to catch up a wild grin on her beautiful face. "You're so bad..."

"Just trying to motivate my crew," he said, glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "Did it work?"

She met his gaze and nodded, a blaze of inspiration in her eyes. "I'm so fired up right now, I can't wait to get started!"

John tilted his head to one side as he checked off a list of the crew helping to treat the infested. "Alyssa, Calara, Rachel, Sakura, Faye, Helene, and Jade's four sisters... that should be enough to take care of the colonists. If you want to make a start on your research, I'm sure Alyssa will let you know if they need a hand."

Dana beamed a dazzling smile at him, flung her arms around his neck and gave him a sizzling kiss. "Have a safe flight... but don't wear yourself out having wild orgies with Jade and the twins, I want you ready for action!"

He laughed and nodded. "Okay, I'll try to restrain myself. Good luck."

She bounced back to the loading lift and gave him a cheerful wave, then ascended to her workshop in the blink of an eye.

*I hope losing Dana isn't going to put too much pressure on the rest of you?* John asked Alyssa as he left the Cargo Bay and crossed the corridor into the Secondary Hangar.

*No, we'll be fine,* his blonde matriarch replied. She sounded amused as she continued, *Nice job, by the way. I can't understand half the things buzzing around in Dana's head right now... but to say she's excited would be the understatement of the year. Oh and she's stopped pining after joining you on the Raptor, so I don't have to listen to that either which is a huge plus.*

He smiled as he approached the gunship. *Happy to be of service. Can you remind her to speak to the Karron survivors when she's calmed down a bit?*

*Will do,* Alyssa agreed.

There were two maintenance bots in the hangar, working on installing the Raptor's new Tachyon Cannons under Faye's watchful eye. The industrious automatons had removed all the Pulse Cannons from their turrets, installed three of the replacement weapons and were now attaching the power couplings to the fourth. The purple sprite turned to greet John with a joyful smile and hopped off the Raptor's wing. John's heart leapt into his throat for a second, but she floated down to join him, landing lightly on the floor.

"You had me worried for a moment there," he admitted wryly. "I forgot you could fly with your anti-grav system."

She looked up at him with big eyes. "What do you mean? I use pixie dust!"

He laughed and propped the Tachyon Cannon on the deck. "Of course, my mistake. So where do you want this?"

Faye turned and called up, "Thirteen, can you come down and grab this please?"

One of the maintenance bots stopped what it was doing and obediently glided down to join them, its inbuilt anti-grav chassis making the faintest of hums.

"Thanks," John said, holding out the Tachyon Cannon.

The robot saluted him, much to John's amusement, then cradled the weapon in its arms and floated up to the upper-spinal turret mount.

"Want me to keep you company while you get your gear?" Faye offered, sounding hopeful.

He nodded, putting his arm around her shoulders as they walked towards the express grav-tube. "There's the girl I know and love."

She slipped an arm around his waist and gave him a tight squeeze. John was surprised to feel her trembling as she hugged him and glanced down at her with concern. Faye's luminous eyes glistened with moisture and when she realised he was watching her, a dark purple bloom appeared in her cheeks.

"I'm going to really miss you," she said, a catch in her voice as they stepped into the grav-tube.

They rushed up to the armoury and John turned to face her. "I won't be gone long, probably no more than a day."

"I think that's the longest we'll have been apart since I've known you," she said softly. "I wish I had the range to at least send an avatar on the Raptor."

He brushed his fingers through her soft purple hair. "You'll have your hands full here. I'll be relying on you to help keep the girls safe while I'm away."

"But what about keeping you safe?" she asked with a worried frown.

"I'll have a big green dragon watching my back, I think I'll be fine," he replied with a playful smile.

"Jade is pretty formidable," Faye agreed, but the frown hadn't disappeared from her face. "But the Raptor is nowhere near as tough as the Invictus. Please don't put yourself at risk against Kirrix fleets!"

"I can't make any promises," he said, gently stroking her cheek. "We might need to intervene to save the colonists."

"Well can you promise to at least be careful?" she asked, a pleading look in her eyes.

He nodded and leaned down to kiss her. "I can do that."

When they parted, the couple floated up to his bedroom via the second set of grav-tubes and John strolled into the walk-in wardrobe.

"I've packed plenty of fresh provisions in the Raptor's kitchen," Faye informed him nervously, as she lingered by the door. "I also spoke to the twins and they've offered to take care of all the cooking."

John grinned as he pulled out a travel bag. "Thanks, mom."

Faye blushed and gave him a shy look. "I just want to make sure you're looked after."

He folded up some spare clothes and placed them in the bag. "Are you angling to be promoted to my fourth matriarch?"

She leaned against the doorframe and gazed away into the distance. "You mean spending all my time listening to your every thought, protecting you and making you stronger in combat, or searching for talented women for you to recruit?" With a wistful sigh, she looked at John again and smiled. "What makes you think I'd be interested in that?"

John sealed up the bag and walked over to join her. "You're doing most of that already, honey."

Faye frowned in confusion. "I am?"

He gathered her in his arms. "You might not have telepathy, but getting me talking about the things on my mind is invaluable. You also protect me and make us all stronger in combat with all the vital roles you take on, freeing up the other girls for special assignments."

"And recruiting beautiful women?" she prompted looking up at him in fascination.

"Have you forgotten that lovely brunette waitress on Gravitus? Claudine the veterinary student? I seem to recall you urging me to give her a full tummy..." he replied, stroking Faye's trim stomach.

Her eyelashes fluttered at his caress and she murmured, "Oh, I wish I'd encouraged you more now..."

"You suggested the idea then respected my wishes," he said approvingly. "My current matriarchs could learn a thing or two from you..."

*But where's the fun in that, handsome?* Alyssa teased him, a playful lilt to her voice.

*My personality is entirely your creation, so I take no responsibility for my wayward ways, my Lord,* Edraele said, sounding entirely too innocent.

*Mine is too,* Jade agreed, the very thought exciting her. *You must find rebellious women arousing for some inexplicable reason, Master.*

*Oh, it makes perfect sense,* Alyssa noted, her voice turning sultry. *Bad girls need to be punished when they're naughty...*

John blushed at their commentary, his embarrassed expression making Faye giggle.

"I take it Alyssa, Edraele, and Jade had a few interesting things to say about that?" she asked him with a knowing smile.

"See, you don't even need telepathy," he replied, pulling her in for a hug. "We better say our goodbyes now, before I put my armour on."

Faye wrapped her arms around him and stood on tiptoe to give him a toe-curling kiss. It was tender but filled with passion, conveying everything she wanted to say without words. They shared an intimate smile afterwards, with Faye letting out a happy sigh as she hooked her arm around his and accompanied him back through the bedroom where they descended to the Armoury.

John handed her the bag and approached his equipping frame, stepping into the boots and sliding his hands into his gauntlets. Activating the robotic arms with a touch of the thumb button, the armour plates were lowered into place and sealed with a rippling click. He collected his sword and a Tachyon Rifle from the weapon racks, then descended in the grav-tube with Faye at his side.

"See you soon!" the purple sprite exclaimed, handing him his luggage then blowing him a kiss goodbye.

He waved back at her then headed towards the Raptor, where the twins were already walking up the loading ramp. They were armed and armoured as well, carrying bags with the clothes they were taking along on the mission. Although John only anticipated being away from the Invictus for a day, perhaps two at most, their luggage was bulging with what looked like at least a weeks' worth of outfits.

*I should have told the twins to travel light,* he noted to Alyssa as he walked towards the gunship.

*They are travelling light,* she protested, making him chuckle.

John admired the Raptor as he walked around to the loading ramp, taking in the aggressive lines of the new Tachyon Cannons mounted in the turrets. Judging by the fire test, they should be strong enough to cause some serious damage to hive ships or drone carriers. The thought of engaging a Kirrix fleet in a solitary gunship was surreal to say the least, but there was no arguing with the hard reality of the firepower the Raptor was packing. After brushing his fingers along the twin Tachyon Cannons mounted in the chin turret, he strode up the ramp into the forward loading area, then entered the corridor through the door at the back.

There were familiar clicks and whirs coming from the armoury to his left and he found the twins there, removing their Paragon suits. After stepping out of the armour-equipping frames, they gave him coy glances and glided out of the room without saying a word, but the seductive sway of their hips spoke volumes. John smiled to himself as he stored his weapons on the racks, then removed his Lion armour in the larger equipping frame sized for him.

*I'm not getting a goodbye kiss?* John asked Alyssa, trying to hide his disappointment.