Three Square Meals Ch. 116

***

Like pods of dolphins hunting a giant shoal of mackerel, the Maliri interceptors raced back and forth, picking off juicy prey with impunity. The nature of a space dogfight meant that the sprawling melee was constantly shifting position, which was very fortunate considering the vast sea of ochre debris marking the engagement. The Kirrix swarm was systematically torn to pieces by the faster, more agile, and dramatically tougher Maliri vessels. The fact that each Nievath interceptor was toting at least six times the firepower of a drone craft, with double the effective range, made the engagement spectacularly one-sided.

Krisalei cut down a drone trying to evade her, then yawed to starboard to avoid its flaming remnants. There were now twice as many interceptors as drones, which meant the feeding frenzy had nearly drawn to a close. Her wing swept back towards the last of the swarm in a lazy curve, Pulse Cannon fire hitting the remaining Kirrix from all angles.

"Thirty-seven..." Torvanna said with a contented sigh. "Damn that was fun."

"Aeluva got that last one, you were trying to steal her kill," Lorathyra teased her wingmate.

"I started firing first!" Torvanna protested.

Lorathrya grinned at Krisalei, her eyes glinting with mischief. "Did you see that, Flight Commander? It looks like we need to divide Torvanna's kill-count in half, to factor in all her assists..."

Torvanna's eyes narrowed with indignant anger. "Assists?! How dare you!"

Krisalei stifled a laugh and held up her hand. "Quiet a moment..." She activated the comms interface to speak with Flight Control. "Requesting permission to begin surface operations?"

"Permission granted," the Flight Control operator replied, sounding as relieved that the battle was effectively over as Krisalei was herself. "Happy hunting, Flight Commander."

Pulling the nose of her interceptor around to face Theg Haldrim, Krisalei glanced at her shield status display and watched the strength continue to regenerate. It was currently a murky orange, having dipped as low as 16% before the swarm had been wiped out. She relaxed back in the padded pilot's chair, marvelling at the incredible increase in survivability her interceptor had received.

The golden crystal plating that covered her ship was very resilient despite its delicate appearance, but it was only able to withstand a few hits from strike craft weaponry before risking hull penetration. However, in this engagement, her interceptor's shields had been struck by at least 50 neutron bolts and she hadn't taken so much as a scratch to the hull. She'd been able to fly far more aggressively in the dogfight, shrugging off the occasional hits from the drones, in exchange for dramatically increasing her lethality.

*I'm so proud of you, favoured of Baen'thelas,* Edraele whispered, her caring voice echoing through the minds of the hundreds of white-haired Maliri in the fleet.

Krisalei smiled and said a silent prayer of thanks to the Protector. It was almost as if she could feel him watching over her and keeping her safe... and not just by securing this technology for the Maliri.

***

"All squadrons reporting in... no casualties, minimal damage sustained," the fleet strike craft coordinator announced, turning to grin at Lilyana.

The Fleet Commander allowed herself a smile of victory, having pulled off the complete annihilation of the insectoid menace without losing a single Maliri.

Almari faced her and bowed with respect. "You handled that battle with consummate professionalism. The Kirrix stood no chance at all... as was clearly your intent."

"We held an insurmountable technological advantage," Lilyana said, her eyes sweeping over the forlorn Kirrix wrecks. Her smile faded as she whispered, "Pray that we never find ourselves in their position."

Almari shared a nervous glance with Ilyana, but the pair of assassins remained silent.

*We must talk, Lilyana, after the battle is concluded,* Edraele murmured, an uncharacteristic tension in her voice.

The Fleet Commander looked Almari in the eye and asked quietly, "What of the hive ships? There must be thousands of Trankarans held captive aboard those vessels. Do we begin boarding operations to rescue them, bearing in mind the risk? It will be many days before the Trankaran fleets are able to reach Theg Haldrim..."

The assassin knew the question was not for her and after passing on the message to their Queen, she reached out to give Lilyana's hand a supportive squeeze.

*I'll consult John and ask for his orders.* Edraele replied, sounding lost in thought. She paused for a moment, then her voice was rich with warmth as she continued, *But first let me say that you have truly excelled yourself, Lilyana. It will be a huge relief to inform John that we've sustained no casualties in a fleet engagement of this size. Thank you.*

Touched by her Queen's sincerity, Lilyana finally relaxed. "You're welcome, Edraele," she whispered, her eyes flicking over the untouched wings of interceptors charging towards Theg Haldrim to sweep the streets clear of invaders. "I can honestly say that it was my pleasure."

***

John lay back on the bed as he listened to Edraele's battle report, with Felicity snuggled up against him, her hugely-swollen belly pressed against his flank. He ran his fingers through her soft blonde hair and smiled as the Nymph couldn't help purring in contentment.

"Change back to normal, honey," he said, planting a kiss on her forehead. "You should start absorbing that load."

She shimmered and shifted, her body darkening to a lustrous green. The pupils of Jade's catlike eyes were big round pools, the black discs almost completely eclipsing the emerald iris. "That was such a thrill, Master," she whispered, tilting up her head to kiss his jawline. "Thank you... I really needed it."

He shared a smile with her. "It was certainly... liberating."

Viridian lines began to pulse out from Jade's curved stomach and spread out over her body, their brilliant radiance leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. She shivered with excitement, then looked at him in surprise.

"Get some rest, my beautiful little Nymph... you earned it," he said with real affection, cupping her head and pressing it to his shoulder.

Jade nodded obediently and closed her eyes, the rumbling purrs continuing even after she fell asleep.

*... and the new shield generators made a massive difference to the survivability of our strike craft. All Kirrix fleet assets have been neutralised without us losing a single Maliri,* Edraele concluded with tremendous satisfaction.

*That's excellent news,* John said, breathing a sigh of relief. *Have all the Trankaran civilians been freed now?*

She hesitated before replying, *Bomber wings immobilised the hive ships and Kirrix forces within the city are being hunted down as we speak... but Lilyana hasn't committed ground forces to boarding actions yet. We can let the first Trankaran relief fleet handle the rescue operations, but they won't arrive at Theg Haldrim for several days.*

He understood the reason for her brief pause and mulled the decision over for a moment. *Order the ground operation please, Edraele. I already feel bad enough that I wasn't able to personally liberate the Trankaran worlds, we can't stand by and let more civilians be assaulted. Just... ask the Maliri to be cautious; you know how formidable those juggernauts are.*

*I'll inform Lilyana at once,* she replied, sounding pleased. *The Trankarans are already proving themselves to be stoic and resourceful allies. I'm glad we're in a position to alleviate the suffering of their citizens and hasten the liberation of their worlds in their time of direst need.*

*Alyssa, have you been keeping Niskera informed?* he asked his blonde matriarch.

*Ah, I thought you'd forgotten about me...* Alyssa teased him. *I couldn't help noticing how quickly you bedded a golden-haired temptress as soon as I let you out of my sight. You haven't got bored of me and started looking for a replacement already, have you?*

*Felicity is far too well-spoken, polite, and respectful,* John replied with a smile. *How would I ever manage without my blonde matriarch making fun of me every chance she gets?*

She laughed at his banter. *Ah, you love it. As for Niskera, I've been keeping her up to date. She's tremendously grateful, although I can't tell if that's directed at you, me, or the Maliri. Not being able to hold a telepathic conversation with her is incredibly inconvenient; I'll have to bond with her as soon as we get the opportunity.*

*I bonded with Tsarra earlier,* Edraele said with satisfaction. *Sharing minds with her was quite the experience.*

*She's a lovely girl,* John said, a fond smile on his face. *How's she doing?*

The Maliri Matriarch sighed happily. *Very well indeed. I was quite the love-drunk for a few hours afterwards...*

*Ah, I wondered why you didn't make any comments about Jade's offer earlier,* John said without thinking.

*What offer would that be, my Lord?* Edraele asked airily.

John flushed as he felt both his matriarchs' amusement over their empathic connection. *Moving swiftly on...* He paused for a moment, then continued in a far more serious tone, *Please ask Calara to start planning how to deal with a Thrall fleet. As Lilyana has so amply proven, being on the wrong end of a technology disadvantage is an unmitigated disaster waiting to happen. I'm worried that even if we can unlock all the major thrall tech, we won't have anywhere near enough time to fully upgrade the Maliri fleets. We need to develop tactics to deal with faster, stronger, and tougher forces.*

*Being the proactive girl that she is, Calara's already had some thoughts about that. I'll ask her to focus on it exclusively and give you an update in the next couple of days,* Alyssa quickly agreed.

*Thank you. Can you mention it to Dana too please? She might be able to provide technical solutions, rather than just relying on cunning traps and subterfuge.*

*Letting her know right now,* the blonde replied. There were a few seconds delay, then she added, *Sparks wants to know if the same deal still applies?*

John laughed quietly to himself, trying not to disturb Jade. *Yeah, if she can impress me, it'll count.*

*You sound a lot happier...* Alyssa said softly.

*I am. It feels good to be doing something,* he admitted, staring at the ceiling. *I hated that feeling of helplessness back on Valia Gate... all those people suffering and there was nothing I could do. Hopefully we're in with a shot of rescuing the Menganus IV colonists.*

*Keep fighting the good fight,* Alyssa said, blowing him a playful telepathic kiss.

*Oh and please pass on my love to my daughters...* Edraele said with artful innocence.

***

Dana hooked up the power couplings to the hyper-pulse generator, then connected her scanner's sensor probes to the control panel. As she started checking through the reams of data, she heard Alyssa's melodic laughter from up on top of the comms office.

*What's so funny?* she asked, glancing around the corner of the huge device to look for her friend.

*Nothing... just Edraele teasing John,* Alyssa replied, turning to wave at her.

Dana watched as the psychic blonde beckoned to a 30-meter-wide emitter dish, which floated through the air and neatly slotted into the waiting chassis. Once Alyssa was satisfied with the fit, she lifted the final emitter with an imperious gesture, the huge dish gliding smoothly through the air before she settled it into position. She made a twisting motion with both hands and power couplings rose from the ground like serpents obeying a snake-charmer, the black cables slotting into the comms array.

Dana had spent most of the last few hours fabricating all the parts needed and they were now in a rush to finish building the device before the last of the colonists were treated. The redhead wasn't alone in following the construction of the colony's new comms array. Thousands of people had gathered in the courtyard to watch in open-mouthed amazement, as Alyssa effortlessly assembled the huge communications device with a spectacular display of telekinetic mastery.

"I don't b-believe it..." Niklas stammered as he gaped at Alyssa.

"Yeah, it's pretty crazy..." Dana agreed with a smile, before returning her attention to the data readings. "I remember the first time I saw her using psychic powers, I totally freaked."

She noticed a dip in the energy flow through the synchroniser and frowned at the unexpected result. A golden glow appeared in Dana's eyes that matched the coronas around her pupils and she delved into the device with her mind. Projecting her consciousness through the hyper-pulse generator, she discovered hairline stress fractures snaking through the power modulator, probably caused by impact damage to the bow of the Invictus in the Battle of Terra. It took a few seconds to rearrange the sub-atomic structure, repairing fissures and strengthening the silver lattice.

Dana blinked a couple of times as she deactivated her psychic abilities, then glanced at the scanner and grinned. The dip had been reversed, now showing a performance spike that the device wouldn't have been able to achieve straight out of the factory. "There we go, all done."

"What? Already?!" Niklas exclaimed, turning to look at her in astonishment. "You can't have performed a full diagnostic, you've only been looking at it for a minute!"

She shrugged and gave him a playful wink. "I give you my personal guarantee it's in tip-top shape, but feel free to double-check if you don't believe me."

Disconnecting the sensor probes, she patted the stunned engineer on the arm and left him staring bewildered at the control panel. Dana bounded across the courtyard to join the governor, who appeared to be awestruck, gaping in astonishment at Alyssa. The blonde Lioness was shrouded in a white nimbus of light as she stepped off the roof of the comms office and floated through the air to land gracefully on the ground beside them.

"Too good for ladders now?" the redhead asked with a grin.

"Just giving my audience their money's worth," Alyssa replied, flicking a glance at the comms array. "Everything looking good?"

Dana nodded confidently. "Yep, we're all set. Full communications are restored." She jerked a thumb at the Invictus. "I've already got the Mass Fabricators churning out a replacement hyper-pulse generator, so I'll get cracking on my research. Send Calara up to my Workshop whenever she wants to have a chat."

"Thanks, Sparks," the blonde said with a grateful smile. "I'll see you inside."

The redhead gave the governor a cheerful grin, then turned and started for the Invictus.

Shaking off her daze, Luce called after her, "Thank you!"

Dana waved over her shoulder and continued jogging towards the white battlecruiser.

"Sorry, she's got a lot on her mind," Alyssa said, watching her friend rushing to get back to her research projects.

Luce chuckled and shook her head. "You don't ever have to apologise for that little girl, hell, same applies to any of you. You've done so much for all of us... unlike those bastards in High Command..."

Alyssa gave her a look of sympathy. "Fleet Admiral Devereux is sending a fleet full of supplies. They should be with you in a couple of weeks."

The governor's eyes narrowed with anger. "Fat lot of good that'll do all those poor kids who died... What the hell am I supposed to say to their parents? 'Sorry about little Johnny getting chopped up by the bugs. Here, have a nutri-bar!'..." Her hands clenched into fists as she snapped, "Those T-Fed assholes abandoned us when we needed them the most!"

"I really am sorry, Luce," Alyssa murmured, stepping closer and stroking the furious woman's arm. "I wish we could've got here in time to save them."

The older woman let out a heavy sigh and patted her hand. "None of this is your fault. You've been amazing... you all have. Where is the Lion anyway? I haven't seen him around for a while... I wanted to thank him personally for saving us."

"John went to Menganus IV to find out what happened to their colonists," Alyssa explained, already really missing him.

Luce gave her a knowing look. "He looked like he was struggling earlier. He's one of those restless types, isn't he? Always has to be doing something... or it eats him up inside."

Alyssa nodded, surprised by her perceptiveness. "It wasn't personal. He knew Rachel and Helene would be busy treating your people for most of the day, so he took a few Lionesses with him in the Raptor. They're currently tracking down the Kirrix fleet that abducted the colonists."

"Reminds me of my older brother, always rushing around to be in the thick of the action," Luce said, a flicker of sadness crossing her features. "Alex loved it in the military until he got retired after he busted up his knee. Settling down just wasn't in him... got lost in a bottle in the end."

Shaking her head, Alyssa said, "No, it's not like that with John. He really wants to settle down and raise a family. It's feeling helpless he can't stand; seeing all of you in pain, but not being able to do anything to help was wearing him down. I convinced him to go to Menganus IV just to give him a break, but now he's heading into Kirrix Space to hunt down the fleet."

Luce's eyes widened in alarm. "He's invading Kirrix Space? In a gunship?!"

Alyssa laughed nervously. "Well it's had a bunch of upgrades..." Her confident expression faltered and she started to look worried. "Shit! He's never going to be able to just scout out the Kirrix fleet then wait for us to get there..."

Luce felt a surge of sympathy for Alyssa, who suddenly looked very young and scared. She pulled her into a hug and rubbed her back. "Jeezus... here's me putting all my worries on your shoulders and you've got more than enough to deal with. Sorry darlin', you've been an absolute angel."

She turned to look at the crowd of colonists slowly dispersing, then her eyes drifted to the fully-operational comms array. Luce was about to continue speaking when she spotted her husband strolling down the Invictus' entry ramp and walking in their direction. Her breath caught when she saw Theo's confident strut, a broad grin lighting up his handsome face.

Alyssa felt her freeze and turned to follow the governor's gaze, watching as the older man strode their way. "He looks so different..."

Luce brushed the tears from her cheeks then pulled the blonde into a fierce hug. "I never thought I'd see him like that again! Thank you!"

"It was all Helene's doing," the blonde replied with a smile.

Theo walked over to join them. "There's my beautiful wife," he said, slipping his arm around her shoulders when the two women parted. "Sorry to interrupt, Luce. I just wanted to let you know that these fine ladies have finished treating all our people."

Luce gave him a tender kiss on the cheek, then turned to Alyssa. "You go on now, chase after your man. Don't hang around here anymore for our sake... you've done more than enough." She flicked a loving glance up at her husband, then looked into Alyssa's eyes and added, "Please tell Helene... thanks... but make it sound real good. You know how much I owe her."

"I'll pass on the message," Alyssa said with a smile. "Take care, Luce. Good luck to you and the colony."

She waved goodbye, then turned and sprinted for the Invictus.

"She took off like a jackrabbit!" Theo muttered in surprise. "Was it something I said?"

Luce slipped an arm around his waist and hugged him tight. "You're just too much man for a little girl like that. You must've scared her off with your raging machismo."

He laughed and puffed out his chest. "Sounds about right," he agreed, playing along. Darting his wife a seductive smile, he continued, "It's getting late. Everyone's already starting to drift off to bed, maybe we ought to follow their fine example..."