Three Square Meals Ch. 121

His captor's frustrated expression shifted into curiosity. "Would you mind if I asked you a question, John?"

John was quiet for a moment as he tried to steady his breathing. "Sure, if you'll answer one of mine."

Grinning at his reply, the Progenitor exclaimed, "I knew you'd make this entertaining!"

"I try my best..."

Larn'kelnar chuckled, then leaned forward and asked intently, "Why have you spent the last six months sailing around in that pathetic embarrassment of a ship?"

"How did you know I've owned the Invictus for six months?" John asked in surprise.

"I don't think you're abiding by the rules," Larn'kelnar said with a smile, wagging a finger at him. "You can't counter one of my questions with one of your own..."

Grimacing in irritation, John said impatiently, "It was the best ship I could afford at the time. I've been upgrading it with new tech ever since."

Bemused and unsatisfied by his reply, Larn'kelnar took another sip of his wine. "And now I shall answer your question. We first met six months ago... or were in the same system at least. It was in Ashanath Space... when I was dealing with those hideous four-armed abominations you call the Drakkar."

"You saw us..." John muttered in surprise.

"Is that a question?" The Progenitor asked, raising an eyebrow. When John shook his head, Larn'kelnar's eyes narrowed. "Why haven't you subjugated the Maliri yet? You've claimed them, yet you've made no effort to amass a legion of thralls..."

"The Maliri suffered under Mael'nerak's rule and I wanted to save them from self-inflicted extinction. I've been trying to liberate the Maliri, not subjugate them," John replied firmly.

Larn'kelnar snorted with laughter. "Alright, I must admit that was very amusing." When John didn't react, his adversary stared at him in disbelief. "You're not joking, are you?"

"No, not at all," John replied, with a smile. "Now, I believe that was two questions..."

Larn'kelnar was about to object, then his mouth twisted into a wry smile. "Alright, proceed..."

"What are you doing here? Why are you pitting all the major civilisations against each other? Your ship is vastly more powerful than an entire Maliri fleet; you could just steamroll your way through anything these empires could throw at you!"

Larn'kelnar smiled and folded his arms across his chest. "Now we get to the real meat of this discussion. I could give you evasive answers to your questions and we could drag this out interminably, or I could be straightforward... which would you prefer?"

"Is that your question?" John asked, with a strained smile. When the other Progenitor didn't dignify that with a response, John looked him in the eye. "What do you want in exchange?"

After inclining his head in acknowledgement, Larn'kelnar toyed with his goblet. "I'm over 9000 years old... I've seen a lot of strange things in my time, but I find you to be a true enigma. Answer my questions honestly and in good faith, then I'll show you the same courtesy."

John shrugged. "Alright... it's not like I've got anything to hide."

Studying him curiously for a long moment, Larn'kelnar asked, "Why haven't you built a Soul Forge and constructed your ship? You should be commanding a dreadnought befitting your stature... not that ugly barge I just obliterated."

"I've no idea what a Soul Forge is, let alone how to build one..."

Larn'kelnar looked disappointed and shook his head. "And I thought we were going to be honest with one another..."

"I told you the truth. Whether you choose to believe me or not, is entirely up to you," John replied with a nonchalant shrug.

The Progenitor looked at him incredulously. "You can't expect me to believe that? How do you expect to construct your thrall fleets without a Soul Forge?"

"In a shipyard?" John replied, looking puzzled.

Glaring at him suspiciously, Larn'kelnar tried a different tack. "How many Maliri thralls have you acquired?"

"Recruiting has been a bit difficult; it seems like every time I go back to Maliri Space, I have to rush off again to deal with some disaster you've created," John replied with a wry smile. He tallied up all the engineers and military officers he'd recruited on Genthalas. "I don't like to think of them as thralls... but roughly a thousand?"

Shaking his head, the Progenitor's face tensed. "You're lying... that's impossible."

John looked at him curiously. "I'm being completely honest with you. Why do you think I'm lying?"

"Because I watched the Battle of Terra!" Larn'kelnar snapped, revealing his damning proof of John's duplicity. "I saw your mastery of Pyrokinesis, Electrokinesis, and Telekinesis! There's no way you could have summoned a fire vortex, created a thunderstorm of that magnitude, or ripped the engines off those battlecarriers with only a thousand thralls... the very idea is preposterous!"

"Well, that's all I've had a chance to recruit so far. I've got just over a thousand white-haired Maliri," John replied, spreading his hands helplessly, although the gesture lost its impact with his arms restrained above his head.

Despite John's outwardly calm demeanour, he hadn't missed that important revelation in his opponent's heated outburst. Larn'kelnar seemed to believe John was solely responsible for Tashana's pyrotechnics and Alyssa's telekinetic assault on the Kintark command ships, so it was no wonder the girls had been ignored in the hangar. He was expecting more indignant questions about thrall numbers, but Larn'kelnar suddenly lunged forward, startling John with his intensity.

"What do you know about this... change to white hair?" he asked, his piercing stare searching John's face.

"All the Maliri who are connected to me have changed hair colour from black to white," John replied, meeting that probing gaze. "I've seen video files dating back to when Mael'nerak ruled them at least 40,000 years ago... the Maliri changed for him too."

Larn'kelnar stepped back, his eyes darting from side-to-side, apparently lost in thought. "Could they be more potent here?" he muttered under his breath.

"As opposed to where?" John replied in confusion.

Eyeing him suspiciously again, Larn'kelnar suddenly looked startled. "You really have no idea, do you?"

John was sure he looked as bewildered as he felt. "About what?"

Raising his arms in the air, Larn'kelnar turned, a broad grin on his face. "This place... this glorious little corner of the galaxy... They can't control us here!"

***

Sakura frowned at the unfamiliar glyph on the wall, then glanced up the maintenance tube. The rest of the girls were following her down the ladder and she had an impressive view of Calara's pert bottom from this angle.

"Dana! How much further?" she whispered, looking for the redhead.

Leaning back from the ladder, Dana made eye-contact with the Asian girl. "Two more levels... The rune should look like two vertical bars on top of a... squiggle." She made a wavy symbol in the air with her finger.

Sakura nodded, then descended down the tube and glanced at the next illuminated rune, which looked like three intersecting diamonds. The glyph on the level below matched Dana's description, so she stepped onto the small platform and waited for the others to climb down. Calara took one glance at the size of the platform and kept descending, making room for the others.

"I need Dana and Jade," the assassin whispered, glancing up at her friends.

*On their way,* Alyssa informed her telepathically. A moment later the redhead and Nymph floated down in the blonde's telekinetic grip.

Sakura helped them onto the platform then asked quietly, "How do we get to the closest armoury?"

*Turn right from the elevators, cross an intersection, then take the next left... the armoury should be on the right,* Alyssa said, recounting the directions she'd gleaned from Yalera's memory.

Dana listened to the blonde, then compared the route to the black ship schematics she'd learned weeks ago. Shaking her head, she said in a hushed voice, "The barracks isn't far from here, so there'll be a shitload of thralls about. I reckon we should steer well clear of the elevators..."

Sakura nodded her agreement. "Have you got a better route?"

"Yeah, I think so. There's a second entrance on the opposite side, which should keep us well clear of the thralls. Turn right out of here, then take a left, cross over four intersections then take the next left, straight over another intersection and the armoury will be on the left."

"Do you feel up for a scouting mission?" Sakura asked Jade, looking into Yalera's magenta eyes.

The disguised Nymph hesitated before replying, "I'm happy to kill every thrall in sight, but I don't think there's enough room for me to shapeshift into a dragon..."

Sakura stifled a laugh. "Not that kind of scouting mission... the reconnaissance kind."

Jade's eyes twinkled. "Just checking..."

Dana held her fingers over the rune. "Ready?"

When Jade nodded, the redhead activated the concealed maintenance hatch and the wall section slid aside. The Nymph strode out, looking confident and completely at home aboard the ship. She glanced to the left, then turned right, following Dana's instructions on how to find the armoury.

*There's a pair of thralls talking together at the intersection on the left,* Jade said to Alyssa as she strolled along the corridor.

She neared the next crossroads then turned left, walking along the gloomily lit passageways. The intersection was clear in either direction, but when she neared the subsequent one, animated conversation reached her pointed ears.

"I heard from Tarietia that we'll be going home any time now," one thrall said quietly to another.

"You should know better than to believe her soothsaying... she said the same thing three weeks ago!" her companion hissed, sneering with contempt.

"No, I think it might be true this time. She was there when Larn'kelnar captured his adversary!" the first Larathyran thrall said in a hushed voice. "Fah'kresh squad destroyed a gunship and our Lord spaced the few thralls that survived!"

"The sooner we can get back to restock the better..." the second grumbled. "Did you know we used up the last of our laptalesh tea yesterday?"

The other nodded bleakly. "Starting my morning without a cup of lapt leaves me jittery all day." She noticed Jade listening and nodded in her direction. "Yalera... joining us for a game of Bathelnal tonight?"

"Even an offer to warm Larn'kelnar's bed wouldn't keep me away!" Jade bantered, smiling at the thralls before continuing onwards.

The Larathyrans gaped at her in surprise, then burst into laughter.

"As if you'd turn him down..." the closest thrall smirked, rolling her eyes.

"Just imagine what it must be like for Ailanthia..." her companion murmured with a wistful smile. "Being his bedmate every night..."

Jade left the starry-eyed thralls behind and walked swiftly along the corridor.

*You can understand them!* Alyssa exclaimed in astonishment.

*Yes. They're speaking ancient Maliri...* Jade replied, as she checked the next intersection. *Be careful here... lots of thralls to the left.*

Alyssa sounded distracted as she said, *I'm just discussing it with Rachel... Perhaps all thrall races speak that same base language?*

*The thrall species are seeded for the benefit of a neophyte Progenitor; if they couldn't understand him, it would make claiming and subjugating them much more difficult,* Jade replied, turning left and heading down the last corridor. *I can see the armoury door... it's undefended.*

*Wait... how did you know about neophyte Progenitors?* Alyssa asked in surprise. *You sounded so certain!*

Jade stopped by the junction and frowned. *I'm not sure... I just know it works that way.* She glanced down the adjoining corridors. *I've arrived. The route should be clear, but watch when you're leaving and take special care at the third intersection... there's at least a dozen thralls in the corridor outside the barracks.*

There was a long pause, then Alyssa said, *When this is over, we need to have a long chat, Jade.*

***

"They can't control us?" John asked in a hushed voice.

Larn'kelnar's face twisted with indignant fury. "They used me as their puppet, made me dance to their tune!" His eyes glinted with triumph. "But not anymore... here I'm free of their cursed interference!"

"Who did? Who are you talking about?" John persisted, desperate to know the answer.

"They plague our dreams... force us to submit to their dominion and do their bidding..." Larn'kelnar replied, a haunted look in his eyes. He studied John and saw the sudden dread appear on his face. "You know who I speak of..."

"The Astral monsters... the mists..." John muttered, brow furrowed in confusion. "But they're still able to attack us here... I've fought them at least a dozen times... in my dreams and on trips into the Astral Plane."

The other Progenitor looked stunned. "You go there willingly? Are you insane?!"

"Well, it usually ends in disaster, but I've had no choice a couple of times..." John replied, trailing off when he saw Larn'kelnar's shocked expression.

"You're attempting to deceive me... this is all some kind of trick," Larn'kelnar snarled, eyes glinting with suspicion.

"I'm telling you the truth," John insisted. "I don't know anything about them... just that I kept getting dragged into the nightmare plane whenever I recruit a girl and-"

Face screwing up confusion, Larn'kelnar balked, "You've been confronting them whenever you take a thrall?!"

"Not by choice, just under certain circumstances..."

Larn'kelnar's patience snapped. "More lies!" He marched over to the table and pointed at John's sword. "What is this blade? I've never seen anything quite like it, but it feels ancient... what are you hiding from me, Blake?!"

"I made it accidentally," John replied, before wincing when he realised how ridiculous that sounded.

"A relentless barrage of falsehoods!" Larn'kelnar snarled, grabbing the hilt of John's sword, then hissing and snatching his fingers back when blue flames scorched his hand.

His goblet clattered on the floor, spilling blood-red wine across the deck, but John ignored it and stayed focused on his adversary. Larn'kelnar stared at his blackened palm in stunned disbelief, the sudden flash of searing pain having shocked him to the core. There was deathly silence in the room as they both watched his burned hand slowly heal.

"You're playing a very dangerous game..." Larn'kelnar muttered, his voice dripping menace as he glared at his prisoner once more. "I will get the answers I seek out of you. If you persist with your refusal to cooperate, your stay aboard my ship will get most... unpleasant."

John shook his head and said with weary resignation, "You know what? Go fuck yourself."

Larn'kelnar's eyes widened in astonishment at his defiant tone. "What?!"

"You heard me... I'm sick of listening to you ranting about me lying. I answered all your questions truthfully, so now you answer mine... or at least stop your pathetic whining, you're giving me a headache."

The Progenitor looked like he'd been slapped, his shocked expression speaking volumes. John would have wagered everything he owned that no one had ever dared to speak to him like that before. Larn'kelnar moved in a blur, crossing the room in the blink of an eye and slamming his fist into John's stomach. The lion embossed chestplate cracked with the force of the impact and John was smashed back as much as the restraints would allow, the pain from the blow making him nauseous.

John slumped forward and spat out blood on the black decking. Looking up through the pain, he made eye-contact with Larn'kelnar who stood there seething, the Progenitor's muscles bunched in fury. John smiled, knowing he'd got under his opponent's skin and made him lose control. It wasn't much of a victory, but in his present circumstances, it was one he savoured despite the pain. Larn'kelnar's fists tightened as he recognised that too, then he made a visible effort to control his temper.

Drawing himself up, Larn'kelnar glared at John with icy fury. "You want to know what I'm doing here?" He let the question hang in the air for a long moment. "There's something... special... about this part of the galaxy that freed me from millennia of slavery. I have no intention of ever returning to my homeworld and risk being used by those monsters again."

"And all the wars you've instigated between the empires?" John asked quietly, trying not to grimace from the pain in his stomach. "Why not just bring a fleet of thrall ships to wipe everybody out? Or just destroy the empires yourself..."

Larn'kelnar's mouth twisted into a wicked smile. "Why? Because it amused me to dupe one preening fool after another into doing my bidding, then sit back and watch my hapless puppets tear each other apart. Besides, it was beneath me to personally slaughter this menagerie of abominations, so I encouraged those disgusting freaks to do it themselves. My time as the puppet master was most entertaining, but it's finally come to an end..." He studied John with cold eyes. "I was curious to see if you would ever shape the Maliri into anything resembling a challenge, but you've failed spectacularly in that regard."

John studied his Progenitor nemesis for a long moment. "So what now? What are you planning to do?"

"Just what I've done dozens of times before. Activate a hyper-warp gate, summon my fleets, then destroy everything in my path," Larn'kelnar replied, with a calculating smile. "I intend to purge this wonderful sanctuary of all the foul vermin that infest it... and establish the new Larathyran Empire on the ashes of your Maliri Protectorate!"

***

Calara placed her hand on Rachel's shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze. "Are you ready?"

The tawny-haired brunette took a deep breath, then nodded. "As much as I'll ever be..."

The Latina closed her eyes, then focused on Rachel as she activated her prescience. Calara watched as Rachel's future unfolded before her, the possibilities shifting as time rolled inexorably onwards. Leaving the maintenance alcove at any point in the next 12 seconds would mean she'd be spotted and Sakura would be forced to rush out and try to silence the thrall before she could alert Ailanthia. Seeing a window for escape, Calara gave the signal to her girlfriend.

*Go!* Alyssa said, patting the anxious doctor on her back.

Dana opened the wall-section and Rachel stepped out, turning right and walking at a hurried pace along the corridor.

*Not so fast... they've got sharp hearing...*

Rachel made an effort to slow down her pace and make less noise, then turned left and continued down the corridor. She walked as quickly as she dared, then froze when she saw a Larathyran in the distance.

*It's only Jade... keep going.*

Sighing with relief, the brunette strode along the black passageway, returning Jade's warm smile. She approached the first intersection and hesitated.

*Go!*

Rachel lurched forward, not even bothering to check down the corridors to the left or right and placing her fate completely in Calara's hands. She neared the second crossroads, feeling dreadfully exposed walking alone through the ship like this.

*Keep going...*

She crossed the next junction without incident, then relaxed as she drew closer to the waiting Nymph.

*Stop!*

Rachel jerked to a halt and Jade sprung into action, walking into the corridor on the left. Voices reached her ears, then faint laughter, and she couldn't help wondering what the Nymph was saying.

*Go... but quietly.*

She tiptoed forward, the voices getting louder. Rachel dared a glance to the left and saw the backs of four thralls, the quartet looking away from her towards Yalera's doppelganger, who was speaking to them animatedly. Creeping past the tunnel, Rachel kept to that same torturously slow pace as she walked away from the intersection.