Three Square Meals Ch. 116

Perl nodded and said quietly, "Alyssa, Sparks, and the three of us are the only survivors from Karron. The lessons were just an excuse... they wanted to make sure we had enough cash to make a good life for ourselves. Alyssa paid us 200,000 credits, Tony."

He gaped at her in disbelief, his mouth falling open in shock. Losing his balance, he fell off the back of the bench.

"Tony!" Perl called out in surprise, rushing to his side.

"Are you okay?!" Kelli gasped, falling to her knees.

He laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Babe, you've got it made! You and Perl won't even have to work with that kinda money!" His delight for the pair faded into a melancholy expression. "Shit... I'm like a deadweight to you two now... You should go to the Core, you could fit in there, no problem."

Perl shook her head. "No way! We're not going anywhere without you. Besides, it's our money... we're a team now."

Kelli gave him a fierce kiss. "Plus, you've got to keep us safe... you promised Alyssa."

Perl nodded, tousling his hair as she smiled at him. "Now we're loaded, we can use some of the cash to get a really nice home. We'd offer to pay you for protection, but we're hoping you'll let us pay you in trade..."

Tony looked up at them in astonishment, then smiled fondly. "Alright, sounds like a fair deal."

"Really?" Kelli asked, snuggling into him. "We're talking about a really long contract..."

"It'll last a good 70, maybe 80 years..." Perl agreed, giving him a tender kiss.

"Deputy Anthony Phoenix gives you his word," Tony said embracing them both. "I love you."

They melted in his arms, giving him loving kisses and murmuring how much they loved him too.

***

Gaenna Baelora meandered across the arboretum, lost in memories of the past. She approached one of the many benches scattered through the leafy park, then on a whim stopped to sit on the lush carpet of grass. Brushing her fingers over the soft green blades, she smiled a wistful smile, remembering the last time she'd done such a thing, over a century ago. The border male she had chosen to father her children had been a handsome rogue with a whimsical heart. Filarion always insisted that their trysts on Genwynn included at least one passionate encounter in one of the trading station's parks and Gaenna was sure that each resulted in the conception of her five daughters.

She lay back and gazed up at the transparent crystal dome that curved high-overhead, remembering the intoxicating pleasures they'd shared together. How she'd longed for him after returning to her homeworld, but as the years rolled on and the pressures of her role as matriarch increased, Gaenna had gradually let that part of her die. However, the conversation with Edraele had gently fanned those desires back to life and she felt a flutter in her belly as her thoughts turned to Baen'thelas.

John was a taller, heavier-set man than Filarion had been, and she found herself fantasising about the broad muscles in his chest and arms. Her thoughts lingered on his powerful, dominating presence... and a dark blush filled her cheeks as she knew she would submit to his every whim, just as she had found herself doing with Filarion. Lifting one of her hands, she examined her dry skin, seeing the faint lines that revealed the onset of age. How she longed to regain the lithe suppleness of youth, a gift that she would give anything for... do anything for.

Her hands smoothed down the front of her dress and she idly stroked her stomach, remembering what it had been like being pregnant with each of her girls. A smile lifted her lips, and she knew that waiting two decades as Edraele had suggested would pass in the blink of an eye. She would spend that time endearing herself to Baen'thelas, doing whatever it took to make sure he was as eager to sire an heir with her, as she was desperate to carry it.

Gaenna smiled as she decided to start preparing for John's return to Genthalas. After losing herself in thought for a while, she glanced at the holographic chronometer on her wrist and was shocked to realise she'd spent hours daydreaming about the future. Sitting up again, she glanced around self-consciously, but was relieved that this area of the park had remained deserted. She felt a little stiff getting up again after lying on the hard ground for so long, but in a matter of weeks, those aches and pains would be banished from her aging body as it was flush with the vigour of youth once again.

Returning to her quarters, she brushed past the guards and swept inside, heading straight for her office. Sinking into the ornate seat behind her desk, she activated the comms interface and initiated a call to her palace on Baelora. The connection took a moment to go through as the signal was bounced between the comms beacons and Gaenna glanced at her reflection in the mirror on the wall opposite. Her fingers instinctively went to her short snowy-white hair and she sat up straighter, imagining how she would look when it had grown out into a thick mane like Edraele's.

Growing your hair long like that had been considered taboo for millennia; as good as announcing to the world that you were an immoral slut. Yet Edraele and the Young Matriarchs wore their hair long with obvious pride... and Gaenna had seen the smouldering looks they discreetly darted at Baen'thelas when he'd attended the Council of Matriarchs. A sultry smile appeared on her face... yes, she'd be as debauched for him as a woman could be for a man.

"Yes, mother? You called?" her daughter asked with a hint of impatience.

Gaenna's reverie was shattered by that dulcet voice and she wondered how long she'd been gazing at her reflection in the mirror. It must have been a considerable amount of time for her eldest offspring to dare take that tone with her.

Ignoring the provocation, Gaenna replied, "I have some urgent tasks for you to complete. First and foremost, I want you to send the entirety of the House Baelora fleet to Genthalas to begin the refitting process."

Her daughter looked startled and quickly protested, "But what of your plans to hold a portion in reserve to protect our homeworld?"

Gaenna waved a hand dismissively. "I've changed my mind. Ships from House Loraleth are being dispatched to protect our border with the Brimorians; we can rely on Kali Loraleth to protect our territory."

That announcement was met with shocked silence, which the distracted House Baelora Matriarch took for mute acceptance of her orders.

"The second item of business is to begin shipping Vrysandral Spice to Genthalas," she declared in a matter of fact tone.

If she'd been startled before, her daughter looked absolutely stunned now. "You want to trade some of our spice with Edraele Valaden?!"

"Not some, ALL of it," Gaenna insisted, her voice firm. "House Valaden is to be our exclusive trading partner from now on."

Her daughter's golden eyes were like saucers as she gaped at her mother. "What could Edraele possibly have offered that you'd even consider sharing our most precious resource?!"

Gaenna's gaze flicked back to the mirror and she said softly, "A glorious prize... one worth paying nearly any price." She smiled distractedly at her daughter. "That will be all. Oh... and thank you for your assistance, Sarinia."

With that the House Baelora Matriarch ended the call and devoted her full concentration to her reflection. She imagined herself standing proudly at Baen'thelas' side, elegant and beautiful in the full bloom of youth, a glorious white mane of hair flowing down her back... and her hands cradling her gravid belly. Gaenna couldn't help grinning in triumph; it would all be hers, starting in a matter of weeks!

***

Aboard the Sylmenor class heavy carrier, Flight Commander Krisalei jogged towards the trio of interceptors, with Lorathyra and Torvanna keeping pace beside her. She paused on the gantry overlooking their deadly strike craft and turned to face her fellow pilots. "Remember to fly with caution, ladies. We might have new shields, but as Torvanna proved, we are far from invulnerable."

Torvanna rolled her eyes. "You're just jealous! I scored the highest kill-count ever recorded in the Elauthin Kelrona's simulators!"

"Yes, but then you got yourself killed going head-to-head with three wings of drone craft!" Lorathyra protested indignantly. "And we died trying to save you!"

Krisalei gave Torvanna a stern frown. "We're under direct orders from Baen'thelas to preserve our forces. What happens in a simulation is one thing, but I better not see that kind of recklessness against the Kirrix. Is that understood?"

Nodding and looking contrite, Torvanna said, "Yes, Flight Commander." She hesitated for a moment, then reached out to touch her leader's golden vambrace. "I would never put you at risk in a real battle, Krisalei."

Smiling at her wingmate, Krisalei patted her on the arm. "I must admit, it was interesting to find out exactly what our interceptors are capable of... and what is beyond them." She looked at each of the women in turn and continued, "Good luck and may Baen'thelas watch over us."

Torvanna and Lorathyra bowed respectfully, then they grinned and ran for their ships, sprinting along the crystal gantries that stretched out over each sleek fighter. Krisalei found herself doing the same, the anticipation of an upcoming battle sending a thrill through her body. She grabbed the overhead rail at the end of the gantry, then swung herself into the chute that dropped down to the cockpit. Anti-gravity fields slowed her descent and she slid smoothly into the padded pilot's chair.

Tapping a sequence of icons on her console, the insertion chute pivoted to one side and the crystal canopy levered shut, forming an atmospheric seal with a quiet hiss. Krisalei reached for her helmet and pulled it over her head, feeling the exhilarating thrum of the Nievath Interceptor's engines as power was routed to all the ship's subsystems.

***

The Maliri fleet dropped out of hyper-warp at the outer edge of the Beta Cygni system, a swathe of blue tachyon particles dispersing from their golden hulls as they returned to normal space. Fleet Commander Lilyana stared at the System Map, her focus on the fifth orbital track around the star. Theg Haldrim was a huge volcanic world with an extensive ring system; the dense disc of rock and ice particles was all that remained of a large moon torn apart by the planet's formidable gravitational pull.

Long-range sensors had picked up a cluster of vessels in high-orbit above Theg Haldrim, each appearing as an ominous red glyph on the three-dimensional tactical holograph. Now that Lilyana's command ship, the Galaena Serina, had dropped into the system, the sensors were able to identify the classification of those vessels.

"Ten drone carriers," Lilyana muttered, rising from her Command Chair and striding over to the map to take a closer look. "And ten hive ships landed on the surface..."

"A sizeable force," Almari agreed, darting a glance at her fellow assassin.

Ilyana had drawn her blade and was examining the keen edge. "But are they friend or foe?"

The Fleet Commander's eyes narrowed as she studied the huge ochre vessels. "Can you ask Edraele if the Kirrix have ever transferred hosts to their drone carriers? There's little point in closing for an active scan of those vessels if the Trankarans aren't going to be there."

There was a brief pause, then the Maliri Matriarch answered Lilyana directly. *No, the colonists are always kept on the hive ships for infestation by the Hive Lords. The only exception John has encountered was on a Kirrix dreadnought.*

Nodding as she made a decision, Lilyana returned to her chair and activated the fleet command interface. "Launch interceptor wings. We need reconnaissance on those hive ship landing sites; I want to know if the Kirrix are returning colonists or capturing more..."

***

Krisalei clenched her flightstick in a tight grip, feeling the tension build as she waited for the command to launch. Her Neivath Interceptor hovered above the flight deck, suspended by an anti-gravity field as it was poised to leap into battle.

*Stay safe, favoured of Baen'thelas,* Edraele whispered in her mind, the gentle voice accompanied by a loving telepathic caress.

Taking a deep breath, Krisalei forced herself to relax, loosening her fingers on the flight controls.

"Alre'nyast wing, you are cleared for launch!" the Flight Controller snapped in her ear, as the lights above the launch tube flicked from red to green.

Krisalei eased the throttle forward and the powerful Trankaran engines blazed to life, hurling the Maliri interceptor down the deployment tunnel. The arched passageway flashed past in a blur, then her strike craft rocketed out of the Elauthin Kelrona, the gleaming golden interior of the carrier replaced by the vast blackness of space. She glanced at her tactical display and icons for her two wingmates swept in to cover her rear, their interceptors creating a neat arrowhead formation.

Looking out through the canopy, she could see scores of strike craft forming up into wings, the squadrons from her carrier preparing themselves for combat. The Elauthin Kelrona was one of six heavy carriers in the fleet, with the massive capital ships bringing up the rear of the battle group. Ahead of her, Krisalei could see the cruisers and destroyers assembling into a defensive screen, set some distance behind the Shandrass class battleships at their forefront. Huge engines on the rear of those enormous vessels blazed to life and the vanguard of their fleet set course for Theg Haldrim.

There was a soft chime and the Flight Controller's voice resonated in the cockpit. "All wings, orders dispatched."

Krisalei glanced at the holographic panel that displayed the mission goals and saw that her primary objective had been updated. "Lorathyra, Torvanna, we're going to approach orbital five from an oblique and reconnoitre the Kirrix surface forces."

"Affirmative."

"Following your lead."

Pushing the throttle to maximum, her interceptor leapt forward, the acceleration pushing Krisalei back in her seat. She smiled as she relished the sheer power of the new engines, doubling the strike craft's previous top speed. The trio of interceptors dipped below a destroyer, then raced past a cruiser, the orange light from the star glinting off its golden hull. Krisalei yawed her ship to starboard and the fighter wing charged between two Maliri battleships at the front of the formation. The Galaena Serine was to her left, the Iolas Aethyra to her right, both of those mighty warships covered in a terrifying excess of Beam Laser batteries.

"The Kirrix are launching drones," Torvanna called out in warning, her voice edged with excitement.

"Hold your fire unless fired upon," Krisalei immediately cautioned her. "We're under orders not to initiate combat until we can ascertain the Kirrix's motives."

"Acknowledged," her wingmate replied, before letting out a playful sigh. "But they're just asking for trouble. If you design ships that ugly, you deserve to get shot out of the sky!"

Krisalei glanced at the bulbous insectoid capital ships and her lip curled in revulsion; their hideous aesthetics were well-suited to the sickening parasitical species. "I couldn't agree more..."

Her wing peeled away from the Maliri fleet, accompanying nine others that had been given identical orders from Flight Control. They charged towards the planet, their course taking them wide of the Kirrix defensive forces. Drone craft attempted to close the distance, but the Maliri interceptors had a significant speed advantage and left the swarm of ochre fighters trailing in their wake.

Theg Haldrim was a lesson in sharp contrasts, with the bright ambers and reds of the bubbling lava lakes a glaring change from the dark mass of granite plateaus. As Krisalei approached upper orbit, she saw a beautiful cyan curve follow the horizon as the light from the star refracted off the planet's atmosphere. Her wing dived lower, heading towards the city of Negdratin and the Kirrix hive ship that had landed on the outskirts. Billowing contrails followed the interceptors as they roared through the sky, the Maliri craft sweeping over mountain ranges as they approached the Trankaran city.

Krisalei eased back on the throttle as they neared the outer edge of Negdratin, the blocky, grey, brutalist architecture making the curved, segmented Kirrix hive ship stand out like a bloated tick on a helpless beast's hide. She followed one of the main thoroughfares through the residential areas, using the apartment complexes as cover in case the hive ship should open fire. Activating external cameras, she rocketed over the plaza adjacent to the hive ship, which was crowded with Kirrix troops and long lines of Trankaran civilians. Both alien species looking up in surprise at the three golden-hulled fighters as they roared overhead.

"The Kirrix are herding them into that hive ship," Lorathyra announced a few seconds later, a hard edge to her voice.

An image flashed on Krisalei's comms interface and she swiped across to zoom in on the frozen image that her wingmate had highlighted. Kirrix troops were holding the Trankarans at gunpoint and it was obvious they were being forced to file into the yawning opening in the side of the insectoid hive ship. Despite the dire circumstances the civilians found themselves in, they stood straight-backed and calm, unlike the Kirrix who were stooping under the crushing weight of Theg Haldrim's fierce gravity.

Krisalei found herself moved by the plight of the noble rockmen and she swiped across the comms interface, opening a channel to Flight Control. "Kirrix are abducting colonists... Repeat, the Kirrix are valid targets! Permission to engage and suppress hostile forces?"

"Negative, Alre'nyast wing, you have been assigned a new primary objective."

Her cyan eyes darted to the holographic panel and rapidly scanned through her new orders.

"Can we start blasting them, Flight Commander?" Torvanna asked, making no effort to hide her eagerness.

Krisalei yanked back on her flightstick and shoved her throttle forward, launching the Nievath interceptor towards the stratosphere, a blazing orange plume stretching out behind her engines. "We're on guard duty, Tor. Have patience... you'll be able to slake your thirst for battle soon enough."

***

"Hold position," Fleet Commander Lilyana said curtly, eyes locked on the holographic tactical overlay.

She watched the firing arcs for the Nova Lances overlap one of the hulking Kirrix drone carriers, as retro-thrusters flared across the Galaena Serine's bow, bringing it coasting to a halt. The Iolas Aethyra and the Sylvis Daenala moved to flank the House Valaden flagship, each of the three battleships now pointing directly at their Kirrix opponents.

"I wonder what they're thinking," Ilyana mused, sheathing her sword as she gazed at the Kirrix fleet. "Our reputation must be staying their hand from attack..."

Almari raised an eyebrow. "Are they even aware that the Maliri are allied to Baen'thelas?"

"We've taken an extremely aggressive posture with the fleet... they must be expecting an imminent offensive." The Fleet Commander's eyes flicked to the bomber wings making steady progress towards Theg Haldrim. "I'm sure we'll provoke a reaction by threatening their hive ships."

The Kirrix fighters had all changed course and were converging on the neat rows of Maliri bombers that were sailing towards the Trankaran planet. Lurking behind the large golden strike craft were hundreds of Maliri interceptors arrayed in aggressive V formations, looking like a hail of arrows about to rain down on their enemies. Although the interceptors were much faster than the bombers, they were matching speeds with their allies and following at a discreet distance... while staying well-within Pulse Cannon range.