Three Square Meals Ch. 121

***

The elevator doors slid open and Calara nodded, giving them the all clear. Alyssa and the twins swept into the corridor, turned left and set a brisk pace as they headed towards the interrogation chambers. Fortunately, there was no sign of Larn'kelnar's thralls, who had responded to the intruder alarm and headed for the armouries.

Helene glanced at Jessica who was walking beside her, the pensive young woman jumping at shadows. "We'll find John soon... then everything will be okay," she whispered, giving the brunette a reassuring smile. "It won't be long until you're back in Rahn'hagon's arms."

Jessica darted a grateful look at the aquatic girl, which turned to curiosity a moment later. "Helene..." she began hesitantly. "Would you tell me about... my son?"

"Of course," Helene replied, her tone warm and friendly. "What do you want to know?"

She looked troubled and murmured, "Whatever you can tell me... I know nothing about him."

"John's the most amazing man I've ever met!" Helene gushed, looking dreamy eyed.

"I feel the same way about Rahn..." Jessica said, her smile broadening.

Helene nodded, her expression full of adoration. "John's got such a good heart! I was devastated when I lost my baby six years ago and there were complications that meant I wasn't able to have children any more. When I met your son last month, he offered to heal me and didn't ask for anything in return, he just wanted me to be happy! I managed to persuade John to take me with him... and it's a decision I've never once regretted."

Jessica listened with interest, a flicker of maternal pride in her eyes as Helene talked about being healed by John. There was no mistaking just how much that had meant to the teal-skinned beauty, everything about her radiating joy.

Calara glanced around the aquatic girl to make eye contact with Jessica. "When John turned eighteen, he followed in your footsteps and joined the Terran Federation military. He served with distinction in the Navy as a marine officer, was promoted up to Commander and earned the Stellar Cluster. After he retired, he worked as a trader for over a decade, until his Progenitor abilities manifested eight months ago when he met Alyssa." Her brown eyes shone with pride as she continued, "Since then, he's been promoted up to Admiral and John's the only man in the history of the Federation to ever earn a second Stellar Cluster."

Looking stunned, Jessica gasped, "My son... an Admiral?!"

Calara nodded slowly. "John's also a member of High Command and is close friends with the Fleet Admiral. We've fought to save Terra from annihilation twice, once by a Progenitor AI and the other by a Kintark invasion. We also turned back a Kirrix invasion, prevented the Ashanath from being devoured by the Drakkar, and unified the Trankaran Republic before saving them from the Kirrix. Billions of people owe him their lives..."

Jessica blinked in astonishment, then looked at Calara again with an appraising eye. "Is that where you met him? In the military?"

The Latina shook her head. "The corvette I was serving on was captured by pirates. Despite being outnumbered 50 to 1, John stormed their ship with Alyssa, then saved me from being tortured to death and healed my injuries. You should be very proud of him... your son's the bravest man I've ever met."

"He freed me from gang slavery and saved my life," Dana quietly interjected, before Jessica could reply. "My face was all fucked up from an explosion when I was little, but John fixed all that too. He's totally awesome... I'd do anything for him."

"I would've been killed as well if not for John," Rachel chimed in a moment later. "He stopped the Kintark from destroying Port Medea and rescued me and hundreds of others. John and the girls needed a medic, so they asked me to become part of their crew. He put so much effort into explaining how I'd be changed if I decided to join them and made sure that being with him was what I really wanted. We talked about it for days, with him constantly checking to see that I hadn't changed my mind, before he was finally willing to make a permanent connection with me. I think it was seeing his concern... how he really cared... that made me fall so deeply in love with him."

Jessica had been listening intently, a soft smile on her face as she listened to the girls declaring their love and devotion to John. However, hearing Rachel talk about the lengths that he'd gone to, in making sure that the tawny-haired girl really wanted to become his thrall, made her pause and look a little unsettled.

"John terrified me when we first met a few months ago," Tashana admitted quietly, sounding more than a little embarrassed. "The Maliri have all sorts of legends about Mael'nerak, the first Progenitor who claimed my people, so I thought I knew exactly who and what John was. I even tried to kill him... but he showed me nothing but compassion and kindness in return. I'd been tortured for years, broken in mind, body, and spirit... but somehow John brought me back from the brink." She turned to look Jessica in the eye. "I'd die for your son without a moment's hesitation... I owe him everything."

Startled by the Maliri's sincere declaration, she looked around the group. "Did he save all of your lives?"

Irillith nodded and gave her a wry smile. "I was a stone-cold bitch to him at first, but he gradually won me over. I tried to kill him too, but he forgave me and saved my life."

Jade nuzzled Jessica with her huge feline head and made the brunette jump in fright.

Alyssa turned to look her way. "Don't worry, she'd never hurt you. John saved Jade as well... and her four Nymph sisters."

When the huge tiger began a rumbling purr, Jessica relaxed and settled down again, ruffling Jade's furry ears much to the Nymph's delight.

Giving her a warm smile, Alyssa said, "Each and every one of us owe our lives to John, but he's always been very careful to make sure we wanted to be with him before recruiting any of us. We love him because he's a wonderful person, not because of any sense of obligation or coercion."

"I can see how much you all care about him," Jessica said quietly. Her expression turned sorrowful as she continued, "I never meant to hurt John before... it's just that... I love Rahn so much, it's hard to even think about anyone else..."

Her face fell as she began to realise exactly what she'd lost.

Slowing her pace, Alyssa fell into step beside Jessica and put a comforting arm around her shoulder. "John's always been desperate to find out what happened to his mother. He was thrilled to discover you were still alive on Arcadia and overjoyed at finally getting a chance to meet you... so it broke his heart when you didn't feel the same way. Just give him a little time to get over the shock and disappointment... I'm sure everything will be okay."

"I can't believe I just stopped... caring... about my son... and my parents..." Jessica whispered, her expression etched in grief.

"I'm sorry," Alyssa said earnestly, sympathising with the brunette for her loss... and apologising for quite deliberately unlocking those feelings in her.

Further conversation came to a halt as the girls felt an oppressive weight settle on their minds.

"What was that?!" Helene gasped with a shudder of revulsion.

Dana grimaced at the unpleasant sensation. "That asshole is keeping John prisoner, so he'd have to shut down his powers somehow. It must be another psychic dampening device."

"We're really close to the interrogation chambers," Alyssa agreed, nodding towards a huge doorway ahead of them. Her heart fluttered as she added, "John should be in there..."

They quickened their pace, striding down the black corridor until they reached the reinforced security door. Alyssa nodded to Irillith, who stepped forward, her violet eyes glowing. The Maliri hacker blew apart the portal barrier and unlocked the door, moving swiftly to exit the cyber-realm afterwards before any of the black sentinels could close on her position.

"I thought you were worried about Progenitor security being a nightmare?" Dana asked, as the glow faded from Irillith's eyes.

"It is..." the Maliri replied with a shiver, tapping the rune to open the door. "But their security systems are all designed to repel external hacking attempts. I don't need to travel their data network because I'm just hacking a node directly... I bet they never thought anyone would ever dare to hack them from inside the ship."

The door slid apart, revealing the cavernous interior of the interrogation chamber. Alyssa spotted John instantly, his white armour making him shine like a beacon amidst the oppressive darkness of his prison.

"John!" she exclaimed, sprinting over to him.

"Hey, beautiful," he said with a smile. "Fancy seeing you here..."

Alyssa flung her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I was so scared... I didn't even want to think what might be happening to you!"

"It wasn't so bad. I just had a little chat with Larn'kelnar..." John winced at her exuberant embrace as it sent a twinge of pain stabbing through his chest. He pulled back to look her in the eyes. "When he threw the Raptor out into space, I thought I'd lost you... How did you survive?"

"It was Jade, she was amazing!" she replied with a grin. "Let's just say the girls are much more intimately familiar with our resident Nymph,"

Jade bounded over, shifting into her humanoid Nymph shape. "Master!" she cried out in joy, joining in the embrace.

"Hi gorgeous," he replied, unable to stop smiling despite their predicament. He glanced around the group, grinning at the joyful girls. "It's so good to see all of you." His happy expression turned into alarm. "Where's Sakura?!"

"Being brave and drawing Larn'kelnar's attention away from here," Calara explained as she removed her helmet. She stepped closer to give him a loving kiss. "You have no idea how good it is to see you..."

"Yeah, I do actually," he replied, with an affectionate smile.

"My sisters survived!" Jade gushed, looking up at John with wonder. "I can still feel their emotions!"

The surge of relief John felt took his breath away. "I thought we'd lost them..." he murmured, swallowing around the lump in his throat. "Honey... I can't tell you how happy I am."

"You're hurt," Rachel said with concern, examining his cracked breastplate. She gently caressed his cheek. "We need to get you out of here so I can heal you. My abilities are being blocked in this room."

He nodded his agreement, then glanced across the interrogation chamber at the black device emitting a purple glow. "Larn'kelnar called it an Eldritch inhibitor. He's strong enough that he can still use psychic powers even with it activated."

"I'll take care of it," Tashana replied, levelling her pistols at the device and opening fire.

Twin streams of tachyon bolts flew across the room, but instead of striking the ominous black device, they impacted off a shield that seemed to appear out of nowhere. The grey hexagons held strong, the barrier effortlessly blocking the shots.

Dana frowned at Alyssa. "Still think it was a good idea to melt down my Tachyon rifle? Some runic penetrators would have taken that fucker out, no problem!"

"Yes, you told me so..." the blonde conceded, rolling her eyes. "Alright, all of you, start shooting. Let's see if we can overwhelm it."

Alyssa's twin Reaper Cannons opened up, pouring a hail of tachyon bolts at the shield. The rest of the girls opened fire too, hammering the barrier with purple energy particles.

John called out to Dana over the screech of gunfire, "Sparks! Any chance you can get me out of here?"

She glanced up at the thick black manacles holding John's arms and legs in place, then sighed as she recognised the similarities in design to his sword grip. "Goddamn... this place has been a hell of a hit to my ego." The redhead glanced around, checking the nearby table. "There should be some kind of control device to unlock them... did you see Larn'kelnar handle anything?"

John shook his head. "No, nothing..."

***

Stepping clear of the alcove in his bedroom, Larn'kelnar rolled his shoulders, reacquainting himself with the weight of the body armour. His black battle gear had spent centuries lying unused in his quarters, but now he was being compelled to wear it for the second time in only a week. He clipped a black device to his belt, then slid his left forearm through the metallic straps on the back of his glinting shield, locking it securely in place. Reaching for his Eldritch Focus, he picked up the black rod, intricate purple runes starting to glow along its length.

"You look magnificent, my Lord," Ailanthia whispered, gazing at him starry-eyed.

"This won't take long," he said, giving her a reassuring smile despite feeling a flicker of anxiety. "I'll catch whoever dared to invade my ship and make them suffer for what they've done..."

She nodded, her faith in him unshakeable. "Who do you think it is?"

Larn'kelnar paused to consider her question. He knew that Blake and Rahn'hagon were both still restrained, but it was possible that either of them could have been feigning incapacitation by the Eldritch Inhibitor. The destruction in the barracks could only have been the work of a potent pyrokinetic, and as for the twisted nightmare in the armoury... he'd never seen anything like it. A Progenitor of Rahn'hagon's age and experience certainly could have been responsible, but why choose to stir up trouble now after being held captive for a week?

The thought that Blake was secretly causing mayhem while pretending to be restrained, seemed utterly preposterous. Larn'kelnar had seen the stunned look on his captive's face, when Blake realised psychic powers could still be used within a dampening field if one possessed sufficient strength. Either Blake was the most adept liar that Larn'kelnar had ever met, or he genuinely didn't know how the device functioned. It beggared belief that he could be so ignorant about so many fundamental things, all of which he should have known instinctively...

Just as Larn'kelnar was about to answer Ailanthia's question, he felt a salvo of tachyon impacts against the psychic shield he'd erected in Blake's interrogation chamber. The flurry of hits ramped up a few seconds later, the hex-barrier coming under sustained attack.

"Blake!" he hissed, eyes narrowing in fury.

Ailanthia looked at him in shock. "He tricked us?!"

"No. Someone's firing tachyon bolts at the hex barrier I created in his interrogation chamber." Larn'kelnar shook his head as he headed for the door, his eyes glinting with anticipation. "They've saved me the effort of tracking them down... perhaps I should go and thank them?"

"Please be careful, Larn!" she called out, nerves fluttering in her stomach.

He stopped in the doorway and strode back to her, removing his helmet so he could lean down to give his matriarch a passionate kiss. When he pulled away from her soft lips, he looked deep into her lovely blue eyes. "There's nothing to worry about. Blake's an insect, he's not remotely strong enough to be a challenge."

Ailanthia caressed his cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," Larn'kelnar replied, then hesitated, surprised by his own sincerity.

Reluctantly, he turned away from her and walked towards the door, pausing for a final look at his beautiful matriarch. Ailanthia blew him a loving kiss, her other hand cradling her curved belly and the new life growing within. Pulling on his helmet, Larn'kelnar smiled at her before rushing away to end this insurrection aboard his flagship.

***

Calara blazed away with her rifle, the purple tachyon bolts hammering into the glowing grey surface. "It's no good, the shield's too strong!" she exclaimed in frustration.

"Keep going!" Alyssa replied. "Focus all fire on a single hexagon!"

The girls narrowed the focus of their salvo on the shield, aiming for the same points as Alyssa's twin Reaper Cannons. The only exception was Tashana, who carefully aimed one of her pistols at the manacles restraining John. The Maliri gunfighter squeezed the trigger and hit the black band with a burst of purple bolts, but when she ceased fire there wasn't a mark on them.

"Tachyon bolts aren't strong enough to even dent the damn things!" she cursed in frustration.

John nodded, looking up at the band encircling his wrist. "These restraints must be made from the same metal as the ship..."

"Jade, can you try to break John free?" Alyssa asked the Nymph, who was busy studying the black manacles.

"I think I'll need to shift into a dragon to be strong enough," Jade replied with a frown. "But I can't grow with the device blocking my powers..."

"I've got it! Sakura could cut through!" Alyssa suddenly exclaimed. "She managed to dent the Bridge doors with her swords..." Walking towards the prison door, she added, "I'll just get clear of the inhibitor field then I'll be able to contact her."

"Wait! Take the girls with you," John insisted, frowning in frustration at feeling so helpless.

Just as Alyssa neared the doorway, it peeled open, revealing a man clad in sinister black armour.

Larn'kelnar blinked in surprise to see a thrall standing right in front of him. When he saw her bronzed face, he was shocked to realise that she wasn't one of his Larathyrans and was actually a Terran woman wearing a white version of thrall armour. His eyes widened as he saw the squad of thralls firing at his psychic shield, the exotic variety of their skin tones identifying them as Blake's minions.

"Thralls?!" he balked, slashing his onyx sceptre through the air at the closest. "You should all be dead!"

The force projection slammed into Alyssa before she could react, sending her cartwheeling across the room. She hit the deck with a noisy metallic clatter and tumbled across the floor until she slid to a stop.

"How are any of you still alive?!" Larn'kelnar snapped indignantly, battering the group behind with a broad telekinetic blastwave.

They were lifted off the ground and flew through the air, before slamming into the wall and dropping in crumpled heaps.

Larn'kelnar strode across the room to square off against John. "What are your carnival of multicoloured freaks doing here, Blake? There's no way any of them should have survived!" he snarled, levelling his sceptre towards his prisoner. "And I saw what happened to my Barracks... was that your handiwork?!"

However, John had his eyes closed and didn't give the slightest flicker of acknowledgement that the outraged Progenitor was even speaking to him.

"Well?!" Larn'kelnar roared. "Answer me!"

***

John's heart had clenched in his chest when he saw Larn'kelnar in the doorway, then he was forced to watch helplessly as his captor smashed Alyssa across the room. He was desperate to protect the girls, but locked securely in place by black manacles, he could only look on in anguish as they were attacked. He couldn't even assist with his powers, what with them snuffed out by the psychic dampening field. Larn'kelnar had taken great pleasure in taunting him about the mismatch in their psychic strength, the Eldritch Inhibitor leaving John powerless, while the Progenitor was free to act unimpeded.

He cursed in frustration at not dealing with his guide weeks ago, a decision that had stunted the extent of his power and left him vulnerable to this predicament. Constant fighting for control of his own mind had enhanced John's mental strength, but nowhere near enough to compensate for the fracturing of his subconscious. The unfortunate reality of the situation, was that his guide monopolised a significant portion of his psychic abilities and had the power to fuel them. Until the impasse between them was resolved, John knew he was only half the man he should be...