Three Square Meals Ch. 117

Alyssa nodded, watching as Sakura sat cross-legged, her almond-shaped eyes closing as she tried to clear her mind. Her breathing deepened, large breasts rising and falling at a measured pace as she fell into a Zen-like trance. As soon as she reopened her eyes, Alyssa threw their connection wide open and poured a solid stream of psychic energy into her.

Sakura gasped, her eyes gleaming with a glacial chill as her body thrummed with power. She looked up at Alyssa and saw dazzling columns of energy arcing away into the distance. All but two were channelled back into Alyssa's corporeal form, with one surging into Sakura herself. The last remaining one crackled with the sheer volume of power it contained, the connection streaking far off to the horizon.

*Found it!* Sakura exclaimed, her face lighting up with a mixture of joy and relief.

Alyssa made a beckoning gesture and levitated Sakura off the ground and into her arms. *Okay, you show me the way, I'll get us there...*

Sakura turned and pointed, her finger following the incandescent trail. *That way!*

They soared into the air and set off in pursuit, the strange nebulous matter that made up the Astral Plane flashing by in a blur. To Sakura, they seemed to be flying faster and faster, but it was impossible to truly gauge their progress as they crossed the featureless expanse. She caught sight of swirling fogbanks in the distance, but they were gone as quickly as she spotted them.

*Was that what I thought it was?*

Alyssa gave her a curt nod. *Venturing out into the Astral is dangerous... Those things are everywhere and they can track you down if you start throwing around enough psychic power.*

They flew in silence after that, covering vast distances in the blink of an eye. Then, just like that, they were there; Alyssa spotted a bright emerald glow on the horizon, adjacent to a sinister black haze. She raced up to the hulking form of the ancient hive queen, her blue eyes widening at the smoky veil covering that repulsive insectoid. John's body was there too, as was Jade's, the pair staring at the Kirrix monster.

Sakura clad her lithe figure in a Paragon suit, a pair of sparkling white ninjato appearing in her gauntleted fists. Before Alyssa could say a word, the Asian girl charged towards the blackened shroud, an unnerving crack splitting the air as her twin swords were shrouded with hoar frost. Sakura plunged her frozen blades into the darkness, ripping a tortured howl of pain from the guide, made all the more unnerving as it cried out with John's voice.

A shadowy fist materialised out of the shroud and slammed into Sakura, sending her sailing backwards, her breastplate cratered with the impact. Alyssa barely had time to react, summoning a glowing hexagonal shield just in time to prevent shadowy tentacles from piercing her chest. They recoiled from the white barrier, then writhed in the air before lashing out again and again, cracking hexagons with every strike.

Alyssa created a wall of telekinetic blades, the swords and axes slashing through the sinuous hazy tentacles and making the flailing tips fade away. Just as she was sighing with relief, a murky wave surged out of the shroud and crashed over her weapons, making them dissolve before her eyes. An incorporeal spear lashed out an instant later, slamming into her shield and punching through, the tip plunging into her thigh. Screaming with pain, she reinforced her psychic shield, the repaired hexagons shearing the savage spear in half.

As Alyssa wavered unsteadily on her feet, Sakura charged back into the fray, moving with supernatural speed. She whirled around the shadowy mass, wind whistling as she slashed and stabbed with her swords in a furious flurry of blows. Another fist lashed out, but she skidded under it, then vaulted into the air to dodge a second hazy limb that tried to smash her to the ground.

*Alyssa, be careful!* Sakura cautioned her, performing a pirouette as she landed. She swiped out with her ninjato to chop through a forest of tentacles racing to snare her. *John's guide isn't messing around. Those fists hit like a truck!*

Alyssa limped backwards and hurled glowing javelins at their foe. They impacted against a shady hexagon shield and shattered the barrier, but it was replaced again an instant later. *He was nowhere near this strong before!*

*Behind you!* Sakura cried out in warning.

A huge four-armed creature formed of insubstantial black clouds wrapped its arms around Alyssa, holding her tight. She was protected by her hex shield, but that didn't prevent her from being held captive in that herculean grip. An ominous grey nimbus of light began to glow in the darkness, Alyssa's eyes widening in shock when she recognised it for what it was. She tapped her fists together, swathing both in a blazing aura as more energy rolled down her arms to her hands. Instead of lashing out at their opponent with her fist beams, Alyssa blasted the shadowy creature that was successfully restraining her.

She screamed as the Guide's eldritch beam smashed into her shield, hurling her backwards with the sheer power it contained. *Sakura! Help!* Alyssa cried out, throwing everything she had into strengthening her protective barrier, but the hexagons were blackening and warping faster than she could repair them.

Sakura hadn't been idle and the whistling winds turned into an arctic tornado, jagged shards of ice slashing into the murky gloom as it whipped around in a howling vortex. She took a deep breath then dived in front of the beam pummelling Alyssa, blocking the throbbing column of energy with her own hex shield.

Alyssa watched wide-eyed in horror as the beam slashed through Sakura's shield and hit the girl in the left arm, vaporising the limb in a sizzling burst of raw power. Sakura screamed in agony as she was tossed through the air, clutching at the glowing stump of her shoulder. Alyssa's eyes blazed with fury as she channelled a huge amount of psychic power, the eldritch tendrils coiling around her arms rushing to gather at her fists. She struck back against the guide with her own beam of pure energy, making him hiss with fury as he was driven to the defensive.

*I'm getting low on energy, Edraele!* she snarled, pouring her reserves into the destructive lance of power.

*I'll give you everything I've got left!* the Maliri matriarch promised, pouring waves of energy into the blonde.

Alyssa's eyes flared brighter and she intensified the beam, blasting through the Guide's shield and hitting his insubstantial form. He shrieked with the pain, then slammed down a solid wall of shadow, deflecting her attack.

*Alyssa! The fog... it's coming!* Sakura gasped through clenched teeth.

Whipping her head around, Alyssa's eyes widened with fright as she saw the misty cloudbanks surge closer, gargantuan shapes lurking in the obscuring swirls.

*You accursed bitch!* the Guide howled with frustration, then his insubstantial black form raced back into John's body.

John lurched out of the hive queen, looking dazed as he reappeared. He saw Alyssa and grinned at her in delight, then his eyes fell on Sakura and his expression turned to horror.

*Get back in your body!* Alyssa screamed at him, casting a fearful look behind her. *Move!*

He followed her frightened stare and saw the incoming fog. *Oh shit!*

Alyssa rushed to Sakura's side and scooped up the grievously wounded girl. She watched John dive back into his physical form and, secure in the knowledge that he had escaped, she finally let herself be snapped back to her own body, carrying her injured companion with her. They sailed over the Astral Plane, leaving the fog far behind, until they arrived back where they'd started. Alyssa carefully helped Sakura slide back into her body and when she was satisfied that the Asian girl had ended her Spirit Walk, she let herself be pulled into her own physical form.

"My arm..." Sakura whimpered, staring at the blackened limb in horror.

*Rachel, we need you! Sakura's badly hurt!* Alyssa called out in alarm, holding the trembling girl in a comforting embrace. "Don't worry, gorgeous. Help's coming..."

*Is Sakura alright?* John asked, his voice filled with anguish.

Alyssa was silent for a long moment, her urge to protect John's feelings clashing with her anger at the unnecessary injury. *Your guide vaporised her arm... the injury was real when we got out...*

John groaned, overwhelmed with guilt. *Oh God... this was all my fault...*

*No more Astral trips, John... please,* Alyssa begged him as she gently rocked Sakura. *We could've lost her...*

*I'm so sorry... please tell her that,* he pleaded with his blonde matriarch.

Alyssa brushed Sakura's raven hair from her face and looked into her pain-filled eyes. *You can apologise to her yourself this evening...*

Rachel burst into the Officers' Lounge, her grey eyes sweeping the room until she spotted the girls on the sofa. Rushing over to join them, she gasped when she saw Sakura's mutilated limb. "Oh no... what happened?!"

"John's guide... he blasted her arm with an energy beam," Alyssa explained, stroking Sakura's back.

Kneeling beside them, Rachel's eyes began to glow as she enveloped her friend in a misty healing aura. She frowned as she studied the blackened arm, murmuring, "It's not like a normal wound... this is going to take a lot of energy to heal..."

"Do it... I'll give you everything I can," Alyssa replied, drawing all the remaining energy she'd been given by Edraele and channelling it to Rachel.

Sakura groaned as the brunette regenerated her limb, feeling sensation slowly returning as the doctor brought the necrotic flesh back to life. It took a few minutes of careful work to give Sakura's arm a healthy golden hue and by the time she was done, sweat was pouring off Rachel's brow.

Sighing with relief, Sakura raised herself off the sofa and flexed her rejuvenated hand, then gratefully hugged the brunette. "You're amazing, Rach. Thank you."

Rachel slumped into her arms and let out a weary laugh. "I was about to say: 'any time'... but please, don't get hurt like that again."

"Alright, I'll try not to," Sakura said with an affectionate smile. Her happy expression faded as she turned back to look at Alyssa. "John's guide... he was so powerful..."

"I know," Alyssa said, and there was no mistaking the worry in her voice. She pulled Sakura into a hug and gently kissed her cheek. "Thanks for sacrificing yourself for me. You saved my life."

Sakura pulled back a little to look into those troubled blue eyes. "Any time."

Rachel laughed and shook her head in resignation as she joined their loving embrace.

***

Admiral Charles Harris leaned against the railing and looked out at the Terran Federation battleship. From his vantage point up on the maintenance gantry overlooking the drydock, he had a spectacular view of the warship undergoing a refit. Grey titanium plating had been removed from the Nereus' hull, exposing the massive shield generators that powered the battleship's defensive fields. Engineers were guiding cranes into position, magnetic clamps swinging down to attach to the enormous ship components.

"My apologies for the delay, gentlemen," Henry Voss said, turning to face the naval officers standing beside him on the gantry. "The fabrication methods used by the Brimorians meant we had to completely redesign our Shield Generator manufacturing facilities. I've had teams of technicians running shifts around the clock to bring our production plants up to the new design specifications as quickly as possible. We're running at full capacity now, so refit of the advanced fleet should be completed in a matter of days."

Charles nodded, giving him a look of understanding. "That's excellent news, Henry. I appreciate how difficult it must be, adapting to new technology at this kind of pace."

"How soon until my fleet is fully upgraded, Mr. Voss?" Vice Admiral Dacres asked, tearing his eyes away from his command ship.

Henry turned to look at his suited advisors and raised an eyebrow. "Precise estimates if you please."

One of the harried Orbital Galactica executives glanced at his holo-reader. "We have all our engineers on standby and are preparing the fleet for the installation of the new Shield Generators. We're just waiting for the first batch of deliveries, which are scheduled to arrive by 1:00 pm this afternoon. Our current estimate is 43 hours to upgrade the ten battleships and 37 hours to refit the twenty cruisers."

"80 hours? So just over three days?" Dacres pressed, darting a glance at Charles.

The corporate executive shook his head. "No, Sir. Battleship-class Shield Generators are on a separate production line to the cruiser variants. Those estimates run concurrently, so the entire fleet should be fully upgraded in 43 hours... assuming no unforeseen delays with subsequent shipments."

"There won't be any," Henry Voss interjected, his tone stern.

"Of course, Sir... I misspoke," the executive quickly apologised.

Dacres nodded his approval. "43 hours... impressive."

Henry looked pleased and turned to Charles. "I'm bringing more facilities online to cope with the surge in demand. I'll have revised refit estimates for the rest of the fleets sent to you this evening."

"Thank you, Henry," Charles said, with an appreciative smile. "I look forward to seeing the reports."

Inclining his head politely to the naval officers, Henry Voss turned on his heel and strode back along the gantry, with his coterie of advisors hurrying to catch up. "Get in contact with the CEO of Transhaul Consortium!" he barked at his minions. "Tell him that if they can't meet our delivery deadlines, I'm looking elsewhere!"

"He's very effective, but I'm glad he's not my boss," Dacres said quietly as he watched the executives rushing to follow Henry Voss' long list of orders.

"I don't envy them either," Charles said, watching the sycophantic advisors with amusement. "But they're probably on ten times our salary, so don't feel too sorry for them."

Dacres smiled and shook his head. "I doubt they'll live long enough to enjoy spending it; that kind of stress is a heart-attack waiting to happen." He glanced at the Nereus. "So... 43 hours until she's ready for action; I'll recall my personnel so we're ready for immediate departure."

Charles nodded, then turned to look through the huge open gateway at the end of the docking bay. The view of space around Olympus was breathtaking, with multiple Terran Federation fleets hanging motionless in formation, awaiting their turn to be refitted.

"When you head to the Brimorian border, I have a special delivery to take with you for Admiral Morgan," he said, his eyes drawn to the massive green-hulled dreadnought that towered over the surrounding vessels.

Dacres saw what he was looking at and blinked in surprise. "You want me to take the Vengeance of Hera?"

"She's already equipped with Brimorian Shields and her Plasma Cannon batteries are all fitted with the best heatsinks the Kintark could make. Last week I ordered a new Tachyon drive, as well as Trankaran engines and retro-thrusters for her, and I've been reliably informed that the upgrades should be completed by tomorrow afternoon. The Hera took no damage in the battle, so she'll be combat-ready by the time your fleet is ready for departure."

"The first upgraded dreadnought... Morgan will be delighted," Dacres said, staring at the massive green-hulled warship. "As long as his fleet remembers it's not a Kintark vessel anymore!"

"They better not forget," Charles said, smiling at the other officer's joke. "She cost me nearly a billion credits. That's a lot of cash to pay for a gunnery hulk..."

***

Lieutenant Beth Andrews hurried along the corridor, following the signs towards the heavy carrier's Flight Deck. It was 9:50 am and this section of the Janus was bustling with flight crews, the pilots getting ready to launch on CAP duty and relieve the early morning shift. She followed the crews down to the gantries overlooking the Flight Deck itself, exchanging polite greetings with flirtatious pilots who recognised her from the bar.

Sleek Rapier fighters began to land in the docking area, ramps descending to bring them down to the maintenance bays by the launch tubes. She ignored those smaller craft, keeping an eye open for the latest design of strike craft that had been delivered to the fleet. It didn't take long for the Claymore gunships to return and she watched the first wave of bulkier vessels touch down on landing pads, then descend to the lower levels. Beth was looking for a specific ship and she squinted to read the tail codes as she searched for HCJ-C-1482.

It wasn't in the first wave, or the second, but her heart skipped a beat when she finally spotted the gunship with the matching tail code. She walked along the gantry, trying to see where the approaching Claymore would land, then jogged along the Flight Deck until she was waiting above the correct maintenance bay. The lift reached bay level and the airlock door in the side of the gunship spiralled open, the pilot clambering out and walking wearily across the wing. Another officer in a flightsuit strode over to speak to the man, patting him on the shoulder and smiling as they exchanged a few words.

The pilot removed his helmet and Beth watched Commander Tom Walker run his hand through his sandy brown hair. "Tom!" she called out, waiting impatiently at the top of the stairway.

He glanced up at the gantry as he walked in her direction and Beth's face fell when she saw how haggard he looked.

"Hi, Beth," Tom said, managing a strained smile. "I don't think you're authorised to be down here..."

"I spoke to Captain Bexley, he gave me permission," she said in a rush, hurrying down the steps to meet him half-way. "I really need to talk to you, Tom... in private."

"Can it wait until later?" he asked, rubbing a hand over his weary face. "I've just spent the last eight hours behind a flightstick..."

"Please, Tom," she said, placing a hand on his arm. "I've been trying to track you down for days... it seems like you're never in your room."

He sighed and nodded, following her up the steps. "We can talk in my quarters."

They walked along in silence for a few minutes as they headed towards the elevators.

Finally, Beth's curiosity got the better of her and she asked, "So you're training to be a fighter pilot now? I spoke to Chen and he said you'd transferred from the Bridge Crew, but you didn't tell him where..."

Tom tapped the button to call the elevator and leaned heavily against the wall. "Some stupid idea I had. It doesn't matter now... nothing does really."

It broke Beth's heart to see him so despondent. The bright, cheerful, handsome man who she'd secretly fallen in love with all those months ago was like a pale shadow of himself. She nibbled anxiously at her nail as they entered the elevator, riding up to the crew decks without further conversation. When the elevator doors opened, she followed him to his quarters, where Tom placed his hand on the DNA reader and slipped inside.

He placed his helmet on the desk, then flopped on the bed, rubbing his hands over his face. "I really need some rest... What's bothering you, Beth?"

She sat beside him on the bed and looked down at his bleak expression with sympathy. "I've never seen you like this before, Tom. Chen said you looked devastated... and I can see what he means. Did something happen between you and Anna?"

Tom's face flickered with pain and he turned away. "I don't want to talk about it."

Beth watched him anxiously for a long moment, then gently stroked his arm. "Please, Tommy. I just want to help." She paused, waiting for a reaction, then continued, "You don't need to go through this alone... If you want to talk about it, I'm here for-"