Three Square Meals Ch. 120

"Arcadia..." he murmured under his breath.

Alyssa stood beside him and slipped her hand into his. "The crew of the Cora probably couldn't believe their eyes when they found an untouched paradise out here."

"It is beautiful... but it was hiding a deadly secret," he said, his expression turning grim. "Any sign of ships in-system?"

"Nothing," Faye replied, hopping up onto his console. "If the Kirrix ever visited, they left without a trace."

"Arcadia wouldn't have interested them," Alyssa said, gazing at the planet. "They prefer arid worlds like Kirr-Inax."

John slowly sank into his Command Chair. "Take us in, Jade..."

The Nymph had been ignoring the planet, her eyes locked on John ever since he stepped out of the grav-tube. She nodded, then turned to face her station and ramped up power to the engines. The Invictus responded immediately, engines flaring and propelling them forward as the ship picked up speed. The Bridge was quiet, with none of the usual light-hearted banter as they approached the planet. All the girls sensed what a momentous occasion this was for John, with him finally getting a chance to visit the world where his parents had met forty-one years earlier. For all any of them knew, his parents could still be there... and the thought of meeting an actual living Progenitor was mind-blowing.

Helene could feel the nervous tension pouring off John and she gently stroked his shoulder. "Are you alright?" she whispered, her concern for him overriding her reticence about breaking the silence.

He glanced up at her and nodded, his mouth twisting into an anxious smile. "I've waited my entire life to be here... now I finally am, I'm struggling to believe it's real."

"We've all got your back," Alyssa said quietly, squatting beside him and looking into his eyes. "Anything you need... just ask."

John nodded to her in gratitude, then Arcadia's magnetic allure drew his gaze once again.

The Invictus approached the planet, with Jade bringing the white battlecruiser into high orbit.

Dana darted a quick glance back at John. "I'll start scanning for the black ship..."

He leaned forward to get a better look as the System Map switched to the Planetary view. Aside from the poles, which were covered in rolling grassland, the majority of the land masses were covered in lush jungle, the world very much a tropical paradise. If Arcadia had been in Terran Federation territory, the first word of its existence would have triggered a stampede of eager colonists.

Tashana suddenly sat bolt upright. "I just thought of something! We know from the Nexus files that Arcadia used to be one of Mael'nerak's worlds... but the Ashanath never handed this planet over to the Terran Federation! There might be thrall sites down there!"

"No sign of any settlements so far," Dana muttered, staring at the ongoing scan results. "But there's so much jungle down there, I guess it's possible they might be hidden."

"I have the coordinates for the Cora's original landing site," Calara volunteered, her fingers tapping on her console. A glowing red X appeared on the largest continent, in an area forested with lighter jungle. "Unfortunately, Captain Ebner's logs didn't contain coordinates for the Black ship."

"He probably forgot, what with the panic after they found Jessica," Rachel said, staring at the map.

Calara nodded in agreement as she looked up at John. "Your mother had been missing for months when they finally found her. After she fought with the crew, they found out she was pregnant and under the thrall of an advanced alien lifeform... I'm not surprised they fled."

"It sounds like the plot to a horror holo-movie," Tashana murmured, staring at the planet in fascination. Realising she'd said that out loud, she winced and darted an apologetic glance at John.

He waved away her apology. "The crew were betrayed and murdered... it fits."

"I can't find the black ship!" Dana blurted out in surprise. "I've finished a thorough magnetic scan of that continent, but I'm not picking up anything other than subterranean mineral deposits."

"Could your father have repaired his ship and left?" Alyssa suggested, turning to look at John. "It has been 40 years..."

"That ship was a wreck," Calara said dubiously. "It had sustained massive damage, from both the initial explosion in the Niryean Rift, then the crash landing on Arcadia; I'd be amazed if he managed to rebuild it."

"Would you like me to help with a visual search?" Faye volunteered.

Dana gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Faye. You start looking to the south of that landing site, I'll check to the north."

Calara paused for a moment, then turned back to her console and began tapping on icons. "I've got the pictures the Cora's crew took of the ship... perhaps I can identify some landmarks..."

"John..." Sakura said, getting his attention. "The black ship might be cloaked. If so, that would explain why the Cora missed it on the initial scans and we can't detect it either."

Dana and Calara darted broad grins at one another, thoughts of finding an operational Progenitor cloaking device forefront in their minds as they rushed to resume their search.

"I've got some hills in the background," the Latina said, her eyes flicking from one picture to the other. "Low elevation... maybe 200 metres. The visible section is maybe... two kilometres long?"

"Adding a topographical filter," Dana muttered, her eyes sweeping over the terrain.

"There! I've found it!" Faye called out in triumph a few moments later. "In that valley!"

She zoomed in the Planetary Map, highlighting a section far to the south west of the Cora's landing site. Centred in a circular section of lowland was the battered remnants of a Progenitor dreadnought. The sinister black ship loomed up above the leafy canopy like some twisted nightmarish beast, prowling through the jungle in search of prey.

"That's not a valley," Tashana said, shaking her head. "Look... it's an impact crater."

Now that she'd pointed it out, they could all clearly see the raised circumference of the massive crater, highlighted by the topographical lines on the map. When the stricken ship had smashed into the surface, the catastrophic blast had devastated the local terrain. In the thousands of years since that dreadful event, Arcadia's jungle had reclaimed the area, obscuring the terrible scar on the face of the planet.

"That must've been one hell of a crash," Dana said in a hushed voice. "How the fuck did your dad survive that?"

"Maybe we can ask him..." John said quietly, staring at the wreck.

Faye continued to zoom in on the ship, giving them an incredibly detailed view of the crashed vessel. The front half was completely obscured, but whether that was due to being buried or totally destroyed, it was impossible to tell with all the foliage. The black hull had ugly rents all along its length and with the rear half jutting up into the air, they had a clear view of the engine housing at the stern. Two of the four huge engines had been ripped clear, although it was impossible to tell whether it was Mael'nerak's gambit or the crash had caused the most damage.

Dana groaned and clutched at her head. "Here we go..." she muttered, screwing her eyes shut.

"Are you in pain?" Rachel asked, half-rising from her seat.

She waved her away. "Nah, it just feels really fucking weird... like you're desperately trying to remember someone's name and it's on the tip of your tongue. It's so frustrating..."

Feverish with anticipation, Calara gushed, "What schematics did you discover?!" When John raised an eyebrow, she blushed. "I was concerned too, but Dana did say she was okay..."

The redhead slumped back in her chair and looked like she was staring at the wall, her eyes darting back and forth. "Goddamn..."

"What did you find?" John asked, getting caught up with the excitement.

"A Progenitor engine array," she whispered, shaking her head in awe. "The thrust ratio is totally insane... their ships must be a hell of a lot heavier than I thought."

John nodded, her conclusion feeling instinctively correct. "Do you want to go and write up the schematics?"

"No way!" Dana darted a hungry look at the ominous black vessel. "Let's get down there and see what other cool shit we can find!"

"Are you able to scan the ship?"

She shook her head. "Our sensors can't penetrate the hull and we're not picking up anything on the scans. I think Sakura's right... it must be cloaked."

"How do you want to play this?" Alyssa asked, squeezing his hand.

"We better take the Raptor... that jungle looks too dense to land the Invictus," John said, studying the map. "Besides, I'd feel much happier if we had some big guns providing cover."

"I'm coming with you," Alyssa stated firmly, as she heard him pondering who to take down to the surface.

He turned to look at her pensive face. "Are you sure? Remember what happened last time you went into a black ship..."

"There's no way you're leaving me behind, John," she replied, her cerulean eyes narrowing. "Besides, we might be able to learn what happened from the psychic echoes... and if all gets too much, I'll just wait outside."

John brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek. "Okay. I want you there too."

The tension eased from her shoulders and she gave him a quick kiss. "That's settled then."

"I'll stay and pilot the Invictus," Jade volunteered, much to his surprise.

He glanced across the Bridge at the Nymph and gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, honey. I wasn't sure there'd be enough room for dragon-Jade inside the ship."

"I know," she replied, her expression one of rueful resignation. "I'll stay and look after the girls up here."

John looked around at the crew. "I want Calara, Faye, and Helene to stay with Jade and the Nymphs aboard the Invictus. I'll take Alyssa, Dana, Rachel, Sakura, and the twins with me on the Raptor."

They all acknowledged his orders with a nod and Dana did a celebratory fist pump.

When John rose from his seat, his grim expression drew their attention. "We're not just looting a deserted ship for Progenitor tech. We have no idea who might be down there or what kind of welcome we're going to get. We might be about to meet Mael'nerak... or Ranagon... and they're both Progenitors who've had thousands of years of combat experience. You've all seen what I can do, but I've got my guide dragging me down and I'm effectively fighting with one arm tied behind my back. There's no knowing what either of them might be capable of..."

"Do you really think you might come to blows with your own father?" Helene asked, looking at him wide-eyed.

"I don't know, that's what worries me," he replied, his brow furrowing. "If this does end up in a battle, we'll be facing an opponent that's vastly more powerful than anyone we've ever gone up against before."

"John... maybe I should come with you after all?" Jade blurted out anxiously, rising from her chair. "I can definitely fit down corridors in tiger form..."

He paused to consider it, his concern for the Nymph's safety warring with his knowledge of just how powerful she'd become in combat. He'd seen Jade shrug off sustained broadsides by a destroyer... at the very least, she'd be able to help protect the girls from harm.

"I checked the ship's visible hard points," Dana said, glancing at the image of the black vessel. "All the external guns were torn from the hull... the Invictus shouldn't be in any danger."

Sakura nodded her agreement. "I think it's a sensible precaution leaving Calara to man the guns, but it might be wise to bring Jade. Faye can pilot the Invictus if we do need ground support."

John locked eyes with the worried Nymph and nodded. "Okay, Jade, you're coming too."

She smiled at him in relief, then bounded across the Bridge to join the rest of the girls as they left their Stations.

Faye hopped off John's console to stand beside him. "Please be careful, John," she said, reaching out to touch his arm.

"You too," he said, leaning down to give her a reassuring kiss. He glanced over at Calara who was hugging Alyssa. "Calara, I want you to hold position above the ship and be ready in case we need to call in a barrage."

She nodded, brown eyes filled with worry. "I know you need me up here, but I wish I was coming with you."

Alyssa kissed her cheek and caught her anxious gaze. "Dingy black corridors, murky red lighting... I doubt you'll be missing much."

Calara's laughter sounded strained. "True... I forgot how depressing those ships are."

John walked over to give the Latina a kiss and exchanged a lingering hug with her before stepping away. Alyssa joined him and they waved goodbye to Calara and Faye as they descended in the grav-tube with the rest of the ground team. The girls were quiet as they walked along the Deck Two corridor towards their bedroom, where they took the express grav-tube down to the armoury overlooking the Combat Bridge.

The room was soon filled with the sound of rippling clicks as John and six of the girls donned their Paragon suits in the armour-equipping frames. Jade waited patiently as they stepped clear and approached the weapon racks, gearing themselves up for battle.

"Oh, I've got a present for you!" Dana said to Tashana, darting over to the closest weapon rack. She picked up a brace of double-barrelled pistols. "Here you go."

The Maliri pistoleer admired the gleaming white handguns, noting their sleek new design. "Tachyon pistols?"

"Got it in one," the redhead said with an eager grin. "Not quite the stopping power of a Tachyon rifle, but you've got the same fire rate. The lower barrel fires runic penetrators, same as the rifles."

"Excellent... thank you," Tashana said with a grin, twirling the pistols before catching them and slotting them into her holsters.

The rest of the girls took a Tachyon rifle, with Sakura sheathing her ninjato on her back. Alyssa watched John reach for his glowing runesword, the Progenitor glyphs etched into the blade still throbbing with untapped power.

John sheathed it across his back, the magnetic fields holding it in place. He noticed the blonde's avid attention and looked at her curiously. "What is it?"

"Maybe I need something like that to focus my powers," she murmured, lost in thought.

"You want to make your own sword?!" he exclaimed, looking at her in astonishment.

Alyssa wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, not a sword... something else. I'll discuss it with Athena and see what she suggests."

John walked with her to the express grav-tube. "What runes do you know so far?"

"Just those magnification runes I used against the Kirrix," she said, smiling as she nudged him with an elbow. "I blame my fellow Progenitor for not teaching me any new ones!"

They dropped down to the Secondary Hanger, then John pulled her aside to let the girls pass. "I'm sorry. I know I said I'd train you after the hive queen fight on Carolus III, but it completely slipped my mind. I'll start teaching you everything I know about runecrafting when we get back to the Invictus."

They had both removed their Paragon helmets while they were talking, so Alyssa stepped closer to give him a reassuring kiss. "After everything we've had to deal with recently, I forgot too," she admitted with a grin.

"You need a vacation... all the girls do," John said with a sympathetic smile, brushing his gauntleted fingers through her long golden locks. "I really needed the last couple of days with Sparks and the Nymphs. Just being able to switch off for a while was such a relief."

She looked at him affectionately. "Two days off wasn't a proper break... that was just a naughty weekend. We'll investigate Arcadia, head back to Valaden, then leave the galaxy to take care of itself for a couple of weeks. I think we've earned a bit of time off."

"Right... Arcadia," John said, his brow furrowing again. He looked through the open hangar doors at the beautiful green world that waited below them, wondering what secrets they'd uncover there.

Alyssa glanced at the girls striding purposefully towards the Raptor and when they were out of earshot, she turned to John and whispered, "If we do find your parents, have you got any idea what you're going to actually say to them?"

John's expression deeply troubled. "I've asked myself that same thing for years. I just need some answers... it's the not knowing that's so painful."

She knew that there was one specific question that had tortured John for decades: why had his parents abandoned him on Terra?

"Come on, let's go find out," she said, with a supportive smile.

John nodded and they walked hand-in-gauntleted-hand over to the Raptor. As soon as they'd boarded, the loading ramp closed behind them and they heard the muted roar of retro-thrusters reverberating as the gunship lifted off the deck. After ascending in the grav-tube, they entered the cockpit, where the six girls accompanying them on the ground mission were waiting.

Jade was in the Pilot's Chair, flying them towards their destination, which loomed surprisingly large through the cockpit canopy. Hearing his surprised thoughts, the Nymph said over her shoulder, "Faye brought the Invictus down to optimal firing range. They're hovering at 5000 metres... at that range, Calara could shoot the fleas off a mangy dog's back."

The girls moved aside so that he could pass and John stood by the crystal canopy, staring transfixed at the battered onyx dreadnought as it got closer.

Faye popped into existence beside him in a purple flash. "Hey! I've been searching the vicinity for possible landing sites and I spotted several clearings quite close to the hull. I'll mark them on the planetary map for you."

"Thanks, honey," he said gratefully, glancing at the holographic image that floated above the console. After studying the map for a moment, he turned back to look through the window. "Jade, can you circle the wreck, I'd like to take a closer look."

"Sure," the Nymph agreed, banking the Raptor around as they descended.

The gunship performed a sweeping, low-altitude circling manoeuvre, letting him get a good look at the upraised rear of the black ship.

"That's an airlock!" Dana called out, pointing towards an oval shaped indentation in the hull near the ground. "I bet that's the one they used to get in and out of the ship. The rest would either be underground or too high up."

"You remembered that from the black ship schematics?" John asked, glancing at the redhead. "Do you know the full deck plans?"

She nodded to his first question, then grimaced and reluctantly shook her head to the second. "I know the rough layout, but not the location for everything... just where I can find the tech I already know how to build, like the Progenitor Power Cores. It's like a jigsaw puzzle with a bunch of blank spaces."

He returned his focus to the wreck. "We'll do a ship-wide search, clearing room by room..." he said quietly, with a pensive frown on his face as he wondered how long it would take to scour the wreck for any sign of his parents.

Dana leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" he asked, giving her a curious look.

"You're awesome, alright?" she told him earnestly. "You've got nothing to worry about. They'll be super proud of the man you've become."

Touched by her sincerity, he pulled her into a grateful hug.

They stood like that for a long moment, until Jade cleared her throat to get his attention. "I've completed a circuit around the site and checked Faye's clearings. I think one of them is actually a vegetable garden; I spotted what looks like rows of produce..."

John looked at her in surprise, then whirled around to look through the canopy again. "Hover above it! I want to take a closer look."

"On our way," she said, moving the flightstick and banking the Raptor in a sharp turn.