Three Square Meals Ch. 121

*Run! They're coming!*

Rachel grimaced and broke into a sprint, running as lightly as she could to minimise the sound of her footfalls. Behind her, she could hear raucous laughter, the sounds of hilarity getting louder and closer.

*Left now!*

She skidded around the corner and rushed into someone's waiting arms, her pounding heart threatening to leap out of her chest. Rachel's flash of panic ebbed away as she saw blue skin and white hair, Tashana giving her a reassuring hug.

"Shh, you're safe now," the Maliri whispered soothingly in her ear.

Rachel relaxed in the twin's embrace and hugged her back. She glanced over Tashana's shoulder and saw Irillith at the other end of the corridor facing the armoury door, a soft violet light shining on the reinforced doorway. "What's she doing?"

"The door's locked. Rill's breaking in..." Tashana replied, unable to keep the worry from her voice.

***

Irillith stared at the access node security gate, a flicker of fear making her hands tremble. This was only an internal security node, it wasn't like she was attempting to penetrate the black dreadnought's external gateway... but still, the Maliri had never felt more apprehensive about a hack. There were many factors contributing to her nervousness. There was the sullen darkness of the ship's network, with its sinister crimson glow that cast its pall over everything, but worst of all was the forbidding presence that loomed overhead.

She glanced up at the massive onyx sentinel and watched the security program hover above the silvery paths that lead to other nodes, patrolling the data network for intruders. Irillith had no pressing desire to find out what the function "Neutralise hostiles" did first hand, but aside from being eviscerated by a rampaging security program, a mistake here would alert the system that intruders were roaming the ship.

Approaching the portal, Irillith grimaced when she saw the hexagonal shield protecting it. There was a small window within that protective screen where one of the hex-tiles was missing, but as she watched, the window closed again after only a few seconds. Blinking in surprise, she waited for it to reopen, then a flicker caught her eye as it reappeared at another point in the shield. She counted ten seconds before the access port shifted position again, drastically reducing the time she'd have to analyse and hack the node.

After a fearful glance at the departing sentinel, she set up a data probe, tentatively making contact with the hex shield. Information began spooling through her interpreter as she looked for a way of breaking the electronic defences. The code was dizzyingly complex and she found herself disappearing down long logic chains full of security contingencies. Irillith grimaced as she realised just how much time it was going to take her to analyse and find a way of breaking through the portal, unless she resorted to shattering it and no doubt triggering the alarm.

She paced back and forth, trying to think of a better way... some alternate means of circumventing the shield. Then in a flash of insight, she realised she didn't need to break the barrier, just find out how the access port was randomly realigned. Irillith delved into the code again and grinned when she found the relevant algorithm. She didn't even need to know how it worked, only that it did, so she setup a mirror subroutine and copied the code fragment to use as the basis for her hacking routine.

Initiating her program, she tapped into the node wall itself, her data probe revealing information about the gate. Irillith paid no attention to that for the moment, her gaze was locked on the access port in the hex shield and she held her breath when she reached the count of ten. The portal shifted and the double-pronged data probe shifted with it, maintaining her connection to the node.

Movement in her peripheral vision drew Irillith's attention. She looked to the right and felt her heart skip a beat as the data sentinel turned and bore down on her position. Eyes wide with fright, she realised that piggybacking her code on the moving gateway must have triggered some kind of checksum discrepancy and called the security program to investigate. She threw herself into the hack, knowing she had only seconds to act, and set up a dozen analysers to look for vulnerabilities in the node security. The data sentinel was approaching rapidly and she could almost feel its merciless gaze sweeping her way.

One of the analysers flashed green as it identified the access subroutine and Irillith hurriedly issued the command to open the portal. After all the effort of breaking in, the door security state was just a simple Boolean switch, signifying active or inactive. Irillith dismissed her programs to remove all trace of her presence and flipped the switch, then hurtled back towards her body, fleeing from the cyber-realm. Her consciousness slammed back into her physical form and Irillith wavered unsteadily, then leaned against the wall as she panted for breath.

"What happened?!" Tashana whispered, shocked to see her sister looking so ruffled. "Are you alright?"

Irillith nodded, then wiped the perspiration from her brow. "I unlocked the security door... but I'm not sure if I tripped an alarm."

Rachel and Tashana exchanged a worried glance.

The Maliri hacker grimaced. "I know... I'm sorry I can't be 100% certain. Their data network is terrifyingly complex; I escaped as soon as I could."

Jade ran around the corner and skidded to a halt. "Alyssa said there might be a problem?"

Irillith nodded, darting a glance at the reinforced door. "We should check to see if we can access the armoury..."

Still wearing her Larathyran disguise, Jade strode up to the control panel, then turned and gestured for her companions to move out of sight. When they had darted over to the wall behind her, she pressed the access rune and the door split apart, letting her peer inside.

"I can't see anyone..." she murmured, cautiously padding into the huge armoury.

Rachel and the twins followed her inside, gaping at row after row of weapon racks full of black Reaper cannons. There were other weapons too, from small deadly-looking pistols to carbine-sized rifles, all finished in the same sinister black metal.

*Get out now!* Alyssa shouted, her cry of alarm ringing in their ears.

The girls obeyed her instantly, retreating out of the armoury and ducking around the corner. A white blur flashed past them and they heard a quiet thud a moment later.

Sakura reappeared at the doorway. "There was a quartermaster heading this way; she heard the door opening and would have discovered you. Calara predicted she'd set off an alarm, so I had to take her out. It's safe to come in now."

Rachel followed Jade into the armoury and spotted the decapitated thrall at the end of the weapon racks, her head a dozen feet away from her body.

Tashana was about to join them, but the sound of multiple footsteps from behind them made her freeze. She glanced back down the corridor in alarm. "There's a group running this way!"

*It's just us, don't worry,* Alyssa said soothingly.

Calara led Helene, Jessica, Dana, and Alyssa around the corner, her eyes glowing as she ran.

"I thought we were sneaking here one at a time?" Rachel whispered, looking at the five of them in surprise.

"Circumstances changed," Alyssa replied, taking the brunette's hand and pulling her into the armoury.

"We needed to move fast," Calara explained, shaking her head and rubbing at her eyes as the glow faded. She touched a glyph on the wall and closed the door behind them. "We're close to the barracks... the longer we spent lurking in the corridors outside, the more likely it was we'd be discovered. In thirty seconds, a group of thralls will walk past that door and would've found you in the corridor outside. I could've tried hiding you in side-passages, but the thralls were going to split up... it would've been a nightmare trying to avoid detection."

"Did I trip an alarm in their data network?" Irillith asked anxiously.

The Latina hesitated then shrugged. "I don't think so, but I'm not certain. I can only see about a minute into the future and we're safe for now... but if a silent alarm has been triggered and thralls are massing in the second armoury, I wouldn't know until it was too late."

Dana groaned and clutched at her head. "Sonofabitch... did I rip off everything?!"

They turned to look at the redhead and found her at the end of the weapon racks, staring into the next section of the armoury. The girls ran over to see what new piece of technology had upset the Grand Engineering Overlord.

"Well I'll be damned..." Sakura muttered, shaking her head in amazement.

Ahead of them were ten armour-equipping frames set in the middle of the room, robotic arms poised and ready with black metal plating held in their grip. The design was slightly different to the equipping frames on the Invictus, in that these devices were placed away from the wall, but otherwise, the similarities were uncanny.

Dana strode over to the closest and stepped into the armoured boots. As if reacting to her presence, the arms swung down to position the armour plates over her body, enclosing her in a full battle suit. The fit was perfect, designed for the statuesque dimensions of a thrall, a body shape they all matched exactly.

"Get geared up girls," Alyssa said, glancing up at the frames. She glanced at Jessica and gave her an encouraging smile. "You too please. It'll be easier to protect you if you're wearing armour."

Jessica looked up at the intimidating device with trepidation. "How does it work?"

"Watch them..." the blonde replied, her eyes following the girls.

They stepped into the black boots, then looked up as the equipping frames swung into action, encasing them in armour. The only exceptions were Jade, Sakura -who was still wearing her Paragon suit-, and Alyssa, who stared pensively at the black plating.

"We look like bad guys now," Calara protested, staring at her friends with a frown. "I much prefer the white..."

Dana pressed her thumb to the palm of her gauntlet and locked her suit with a quiet clunk. She looked down at her armour and grumbled, "At least my Kirrix-inspired version is more secure. This type only uses three latches per plated section... mine has a minimum of 27..."

"We'll just have to make do with these subpar versions for now," Irillith said to the redhead with an indulgent smile.

"Favourite twin..." Dana murmured, nudging Irillith with an elbow, although her answering smile was strained.

"The HUD is almost identical," Rachel marvelled, looking at the positioning of the runes. Although she didn't understand the Larathyran glyphs, a glance at the optical interface activated thermal imaging. "Same functions, same layout..."

As the girls fanned out to collect weapons, Calara paused and looked at Alyssa with a disapproving frown. "Why aren't you wearing armour?"

The blonde shook her head and stammered, "I-I can't... Being covered in that black plating... even the thought of it makes my skin crawl."

Sakura turned and patted Alyssa on the arm. "You can wear the Paragon suit. Can you help me take it off?"

"Wait!" Dana called out, darting over to a console. She studied it for a moment, then pressed a rune on the holo interface. "There you go... use the first equipping frame."

Sakura turned to look and saw that the previously used frames were not standing idle. After the girls had stepped clear, the robotic arms had swung up into the ceiling to retrieve plates for another suit, ready to armour the next thrall in line. Dana's console command had returned that suit of black body armour to the stocks, leaving the robotic arms empty and waiting.

The Asian girl left her ninjato propped up against a weapon rack and stepped into position in the equipping frame, glowing bootprint outlines making it clear where to stand. Sakura unlocked her Paragon suit, the action marked by familiar rippling clicks as the hooks unlatched, then she watched as the arms swung down and deftly removed her armour plating. As soon as she was unarmoured, Sakura moved along to the next frame in line, making room for the blonde. Alyssa stepped into the white Paragon boots and a few seconds later both girls were fully enclosed in armour.

"Thank you," Alyssa said with a sigh of relief, rippling clicks locking her into the suit.

Sakura smiled at her as she walked over to retrieve her swords. "If only one of us is going to look like a good girl, it should be you."

Calara reached for one of the black carbines and shook her head in amazement as she held the weapon. The grip felt like it had been custom-designed to perfectly fit her hand.

"You're not taking a Reaper Cannon?" Irillith asked, as she unhooked one of the underslung support weapons from the racks.

The Latina shook her head. "I've never fired one. I'll be more accurate with this."

Tashana spun a pair of evil-looking pistols around her fingers before nimbly catching them in both hands. "I was worried they'd only have Reaper Cannons..." She glanced at Dana. "What do these guns fire?"

"Tachyon bolts. They'll be effective against thrall shielding and armour," the redhead replied, reaching for a Reaper Cannon. "Although the pulsed tachyon beams from our rifles would've hit much harder."

Rachel smiled at her girlfriend. "See, that proves you've already started innovating beyond thrall technology."

Dana allowed herself a smile of professional pride. "Yeah, you're right!"

Sakura walked over to Alyssa and asked quietly, "So what's our plan now?"

"We head straight for the interrogation chambers; that's where Yalera thought John would be held prisoner," Alyssa replied, her cerulean eyes glowing with a fierce inner radiance.

Her gaze swept over the girls and she saw that Dana, Rachel, and Irillith were now toting Reaper Cannons, Calara held a carbine, Tashana was dual-wielding pistols, and Sakura held her ninjato in clenched fists. Helene and Jessica wore armour but weren't armed, and Jade was waiting patiently beside them in her thrall disguise.

Gesturing to a pair of Reaper Cannons, she lifted them off the weapon racks with two sets of glowing telekinetic hands. "Alright, let's go free John."

"Wait..." Sakura said, looking her in the eyes. "I've got a better idea..."

"A better idea than freeing him?" Tashana asked with a puzzled frown.

Alyssa went silent as she listened to the Asian girl's thoughts. "It's too dangerous..." she objected, shaking her head.

"You know it makes sense," Sakura said quietly. "With Larn'kelnar distracted, it'll be easier to break John out of prison."

Irillith rolled her eyes. "Enough with the cryptic conversations! What are you two planning?"

The assassin turned to face her. "Larn'kelnar is a Progenitor; we know he gains power from his thralls... but they can't give him psychic energy if they're dead. I suggest we destroy the armouries, wipe out the thralls in the barracks, then I'll roam the ship killing every thrall I can find. That should draw Larn'kelnar's attention to me, letting the rest of you free John."

"Now that's one hell of a plan..." Irillith purred, her expression twisting with feral anticipation.

Tashana's eyes lit up with a terrible inner fire. "I'll handle the barracks..."

Rachel looked at the Maliri twins with worry, then her gaze snapped to Sakura. "If you get into trouble, we won't be able help you! We can't just let you run off alone!"

"None of you could keep up..." Sakura replied, twirling her ninjato around her wrists.

The seconds dragged on as Alyssa considered it and she looked at the girls in turn, seeing looks of concern from Calara, Dana, and Rachel. By contrast, the twins were champing at the bit to get started, Jade shimmered in a green glow then reappeared as a huge armoured tiger, and Sakura met her matriarch's probing gaze with steely confidence.

"If you see any sign of Larn'kelnar, don't even think about confronting him..." Alyssa said sternly to the assassin.

Sakura nodded solemnly. "Good luck." She saluted the girls with a sword, then strode purposefully for the reinforced doors.

"Wait!" Alyssa called after her, running over to give the Asian girl a hug.

She was then embraced by the rest of the girls, who murmured pleas to take care and stay safe. After saying their goodbyes, Sakura slipped out through the door they'd used to enter the armoury.

Alyssa nodded to the twins, "Okay, let's do this. Sakura will start when you give the signal."

Tashana holstered her pistols and a cluster of flame sprites appeared on her upraised palms.

"How many thralls shall we invite to the barbecue, Shan?" Irillith asked her sister, a wicked smile on her face as she walked towards the double set of doors that adjoined the barracks.

"Everyone loves flame-grilled meat..." Tashana purred, the fiery elementals hopping off her hands and cavorting around her.

"I'll handle the armoury," Dana said quietly, before jerking a thumb towards the door Sakura had just departed through. "The rest of you better get clear..."

As Alyssa and the other girls headed towards the door, the golden coronas around Dana's pupils began to flare, the glow intensifying as she channelled her powers.

Irillith tapped the rune by the doorframe and the large set of doors leading into the barracks began to part, the serrated edges separating as the four quarters slid open. The thrall barracks was split into several open-plan areas, each one containing hundreds of bunks, a galley kitchen, and a lounge area for the thousand thralls that inhabited this section of the ship. Several of the closest thralls looked up when the armoury doors opened, their faces twisting with sudden hatred when they caught sight of the Maliri.

Both twins were tapping into their psychic powers now, their eyes blazing with violet light. Tashana unleashed her swarm of elementals, then watched them cartwheel into the room, the fiery female figures leaping and dancing as they formed a circle. The blaze intensified, the flame sprites moving faster and faster as they merged together into a spinning vortex of fire.

Leaping into the Cyber-realm, Irillith surged towards the nearest shielded node, a seething storm of lightning arcing down her arms to crackle around her fists. She aimed them at the sealed portal and a jagged bolt streaked out, blasting the hexagon shield into smithereens and instantly vaporising the portal. Flipping the mechanism, the reinforced doors on the opposite side of the huge room began to open, exposing the next section of the barracks, then the next... and the next.

Tashana drew both pistols and began snapping off shots at the thralls who had spotted them. One of the Larathyrans vaulted off her bed and charged at the twins, but a tachyon bolt hit her in the torso, the force of the impact hurling her backwards with a glowing crater in her chest. Meanwhile, Tashana's conflagration was roaring with an almost primal hunger, the spine-chilling cacophony accompanied by terrified screams as thralls were sucked into the inferno. The walls of fire expanded outwards, incinerating scores of Larathyrans and sweeping towards hundreds more.

Irillith withdrew from the data-network before the black sentinels could intercept her, the shrill peal of alarms ringing in her ears. Returning to her physical form, she aimed her Reaper Cannon across the barracks and began spraying a stream of purple tachyon bolts through the open doors. Thralls in the other sections were reacting quickly to the attack and sprinting for the opposite armoury, but those who attempted to enter were shot in the back, tachyon bolts blasting glowing holes through their bodies.

*Fall back!* Alyssa shouted in warning.