Three Square Meals Ch. 126

He was still staggered by her complete disregard for his authority. As his matriarch, Jessica should be following his commands immediately and without question, but somehow the brunette had been able to resist his order without batting an eyelid. The only time he'd previously had to enforce that absolute control, was when he'd sent Jessica to Terra while she was pregnant with John. Despite how upsetting she found the thought of them being separated, she had obeyed him back then, which meant her newfound resistance was a recent development.

Rahn'hagon desperately wanted to spirit walk into her subconscious to investigate further, but doing so would require close proximity and there would be no hiding his use of psychic powers. The last thing he wanted to do was further provoke Jessica's ire, as each hate-filled glare from the brunette made him feel like his heart was being torn from his chest. That meant he had to try to repair their relationship without using his abilities... but he didn't know where to even start. Rahn'hagon had no experience at dealing with furious females, having spent thousands of years being worshipped by a succession of doting matriarchs and networks of enraptured thralls.

Kalestria had been his first matriarch, joining Rahn'hagon when he began his ascension. She helped him establish the Randarai Empire, before being slain by his first Progenitor adversary at the climax of a close-fought battle. Despite hundreds of years of her catering to his every desire, he'd felt nothing when she died, quickly replacing her with another Randarian female. Her successor, Ikesha, had been his servant for far longer, overseeing countless victories in millennia of constant warfare until she was obliterated by Mael'nerak's suicidal strike in the Niryean Rift.

Rahn'hagon paused for a second, shocked by an unfamiliar stab of guilt. In his interminably long lifetime, no one had been more dedicated to him than Ikesha, but he'd never mourned her passing in all the time since her death. He could still remember her gazing at him with nothing but adoration, emotions he'd never respected or reciprocated. In return for her faithful service, he'd used her selfishly for thousands of years, then forgotten about her like some meaningless acquaintance.

Feeling even worse, he sank lower in his seat, ashamed of the way he'd treated his matriarchs. Jessica's tirades had spelled out exactly what she thought about him now and all the different ways he'd wronged her. The estrangement from her parents had not been deliberate, only an accidental consequence of Jessica being with him... but in truth he'd never even given her previous life a second thought.

It was difficult to empathise with Jessica's relationship to her parents, having never met his own mother and father. However, for a brief moment in time, Rahn'hagon had known what it was like to be a proud father; feelings that had been as surprising as they were enjoyable. He rubbed a hand over his face, knowing the disastrous meeting with John was also high on the list of Jessica's grievances. Unfortunately, Rahn'hagon knew that reconciling with the bitter brunette would be child's play compared to restoring friendly relations with his furious son.

Compounding his matriarchal woes, he now found himself banished from John's territory. He dared not risk provoking his son's wrath by trespassing, as incineration by that ancient runeblade was a distinct possibility should they ever meet again. Leaving the protective embrace of the Shroud was out of the question, or he'd deliver himself directly into Xar'aziuth's clutches. That meant being faced with an unenviable future of drifting like a nomad through the stars, skirting around the periphery of his son's territory... until the impending onslaught of Progenitors wiped John and the Maliri from existence.

Rahn'hagon briefly considered claiming a seed race for himself and aiding his son in the upcoming fight, but the odds of success were astronomically small. It would take him at least a century to recruit enough thralls to regain his old levels of power, but the massed ranks of Xar'aziuth's underlings would annihilate him long before then. As he considered just how long it would take to prepare for a fight of that magnitude, a nagging thought flitted through his mind.

The ease with which John had hurled him across a room was a shocking demonstration that his son was certainly not lacking in power. John had nowhere near the necessary time to recruit enough thralls for that level of strength, a fact confirmed by his son, who claimed that he only had a thousand thralls in his network. Such a pitiful number would make little to no difference, but there was no denying just how powerful John had become. It was becoming very clear that his son had approached his Progenitor legacy in a radically new way, with spectacular results. Establishing multiple matriarchs, gifting psychic abilities to his Terran thralls and... Alyssa... whatever she was, were all conundrums that Rahn'hagon desperately wished he had answers to.

"I want to go back."

Rahn'hagon jerked in his chair, whipping his head around to stare at his matriarch in surprise. He'd been so absorbed in his thoughts, he never even heard her approach.

"Jess, how wonderful to see you!" he exclaimed, giving her a hopeful smile.

Jessica narrowed her eyes, glaring at him with tightly-suppressed anger.

His smile faded and he gave her a pained look. "I don't think that returning there would be a wise-"

"I don't want to hear any excuses," the brunette interrupted, a dangerous edge to her voice. "Take me back to Arcadia... now."

He found himself torn between his desperation to avoid an encounter with a hostile Progenitor and the desire to reconcile with his matriarch.

"Alright..." he said quietly, not wanting to provoke her further. "Give me a moment to prepare the Wormhole Generator."

Jessica crossed her arms in front of her chest and just stared at him, her cold expression not showing any sign of thawing.

Rahn'hagon activated the jump matrix, assigning an exit point that was a safe distance from any planetary bodies. The initiators fired, creating a swirling vortex in front of the dreadnought, which gradually swept over the black Progenitor vessel. He felt a lurching sensation in his stomach as they were transported across the galaxy, covering hundreds of light years in a matter of seconds.

He heard a retching sound and glanced at Jessica with concern. "Are you alright?"

The brunette was leaning heavily against a console, her face pale. "I forgot how bad that was last time..."

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you," he apologised, rising from his seat to comfort her. "It takes time, but your body will eventually adjust to the gravitational distortion."

She waved him away when he approached, a flurry of emotions crossing her features. "Just get us to Arcadia."

Rahn'hagon paused with his hand outstretched towards her, then reluctantly turned back to helm control and engaged the dreadnought's engines, taking them in-system. There were no signs of Thrall vessels which might have accompanied a Progenitor into the shroud, giving him a modicum of relief that his brothers weren't openly invading this quadrant of the galaxy. They could still be lurking in the inky darkness, hidden by a cloaking device, but then so was he... and Rahn'hagon had no intention of giving away his position. The black dreadnought cruised closer to the beautiful green world, until finally holding position in high orbit above Arcadia.

"We're here," he told his matriarch, stating the obvious in an attempt to initiate conversation.

"Where's John's ship?" she asked, hurrying over to the window to stare at the planet. "Is he safe?"

Rahn'hagon began a sensor sweep of the world below, searching for wrecks on Arcadia's surface. "There's no sign of his vessel... but I have found evidence of an orbital bombardment."

Jessica looked at him with fear in her eyes as she walked to the command chair. "Was his ship destroyed?!"

He hit a rune to display the lush forests of Arcadia and the vast series of craters that the Quantum Flux Cannon barrage had left behind. Focusing on one of the chunks of blasted hull, he zoomed in the image... filling the holo-screen with a close up of black Progenitor armour plating.

"No, it was ours..."

She gasped, staring in horror at the devastation wrought on the planet's surface. "Rahn... our home!"

"I'm sorry, Jess," he said quietly, putting his arm around her shoulders. The pangs of loss were surprisingly painful as he added, "I know how hard you worked on those vegetable gardens."

Jessica heard the forlorn edge to his voice and remembered the many hours they'd spent toiling together under the hot sun. They were memories of happy times with the man she loved... which just didn't fit with the image of Rahn'hagon as an uncaring monster, no matter how hard she tried to convince herself.

"You lived on that ship for thousands of years," she murmured, looking up at him with sympathy. "It must be heartbreaking to lose your home..."

He let out a heavy sigh. "It was only really a home for the last forty years. You living there made it special."

She hugged him, then looked up at him with tears in her eyes. "Why did you do it, Rahn? You destroyed my old life... you broke my parents' hearts. They died alone, thinking I never cared about them. Why would you do that to me?"

"I never meant to hurt you," he replied quietly. "My kind have no concept of family... at least, not as you know it. I never knew my parents... in all likelihood, my father was probably one of the Progenitors I killed many thousands of years ago. I didn't realise that taking you away from your old life... from your parents... would be so traumatic."

"I don't even know who I am anymore..." she whispered, looking lost and alone. "You changed my mind and body so much, I'm not even the same person. Why didn't you warn me this would happen?"

"The changes occurred without conscious thought on my part," he said with regret. "I've lived a very long time and been intimate with countless Randarai females before you. They didn't change in appearance afterwards and were all overjoyed to be with me, so I never suspected there would be any adverse consequences to us being together."

Tears filled her eyes and Jessica pulled away. "I loved you so much. You had me convinced that I was special to you... that you loved me... but I'm just the latest in a long line of sex slaves."

"Jessica... I'm over 22,000 years old. In all that time, I've only ever loved one woman... and she's standing right here before me," he said earnestly, putting his arm around her again. "My last matriarch was a Randarai thrall who served me faithfully through eleven millennia of brutal warfare. Ikesha worshipped me with every fibre of her being, but I felt absolutely nothing for her. She deserved far better than to be treated with total indifference... but at the time I was Xar'aziuth's puppet and not in control of myself. I swear to you that I'm not the same man that I was back then."

She studied him with a terribly conflicted look on her face. "Part of me desperately wants to believe you... but then I remember what you did to John. You tried to kill our son, Rahn!"

Rahn'hagon's brow furrowed and it was his turn to look conflicted. "I regret that now, but I was not solely to blame for what happened..."

Jessica pointed an accusatory finger at his chest. "You started the fight after John saved us from Larn'kelnar! Why the hell would you attack him?!"

"He lied to me!" Rahn'hagon snarled, unable to rein in his temper any longer.

"And you think that justifies trying to kill him?!" Jessica balked, her own temper flaring. "Fuck off, Rahn! You totally overreacted and ruined any chance I had at building a relationship with my son!"

"Overreacted?!" he yelled back at her, fists clenched in fury. "How dare you judge me? You're barely sixty years old... try plotting your revenge for 10,000 years, then see how you react when everything you worked for falls to pieces in front of your eyes!"

"But that wasn't John's fault!" she protested, hands on hips.

"He tricked me into thinking he'd successfully defeated the Progenitors! I thought it was finally over after all this time... that I could finally settle down with you and live the rest of our lives without fear of reprisals. When I found out he'd been lying all along, I was furious... and I still am! Instead of defeating Xar'aziuth, John left us exposed and vulnerable!"

"That's bullshit!" Jessica snapped, shaking her head. "Alyssa was listening to everything you two were discussing. She said they never knew you wanted John to hunt down and kill all the Progenitors! How the fuck can you blame him for something he had no idea he was supposed to be doing?!"

Rahn'hagon grimaced with irritation. "But his guide confessed that he was lying-"

She glowered at him and interrupted, "What else did you expect him to do? He spent the last 40 years wondering why we abandoned him when he was just a baby! Rachel said that John was desperate for our approval; he had no idea what you'd been planning and just wanted you to be proud of him, Rahn!"

"He treated me like I was a fool! Even when he realised that I'd intended him to be my secret weapon against the Progenitors, he still said nothing!"

Jessica lashed out and slapped him.... hard.

Rahn'hagon looked at her in shock, his hand going to his cheek. "What was that for?!"

"What the fuck were you thinking, sending our son off to fight all the Progenitors alone?!" the brunette demanded, her maternal instincts kicking in. "I saw what Larn'kelnar was like... that bastard was terrifying!"

"Larn'kelnar was a petulant halfwit," Rahn'hagon snorted, his lip curling with contempt. "He'd been isolated under the Shroud for nearly a year and let his power decay while he played his ridiculous games. Trust me, he was a pale shadow of his twisted brethren."

"You mean the rest are even worse?!" Jessica blurted out incredulously.

"That's what I've been trying to make you understand," he said in exasperation. His voice took on a pleading edge as he continued, "Jessica, we have to get away from here and hide... I don't want you anywhere near the fighting when they invade!"

She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. "What about our son? John's not the kind of man to back down from a fight."

"Then he's a fool," Rahn'hagon said with weary resignation. "If he'd struck in secret, like I planned, he could have picked off the Progenitors one at a time without them knowing where he was attacking from. Now Xar'aziuth is enraged and knows John is hiding in the Shroud; it's only a matter of time before this place is overrun, the Maliri exterminated, and John butchered by a rampaging Progenitor. He stands no chance of defeating them."

"I'm not going to abandon our son again," Jessica said stubbornly. "If you want to run away and hide that's fine... but drop me off on Terra first. I'll find a way to atone with John for what we did to him."

"Please listen to reason, Jess," he implored the brunette, desperate to make her understand the stakes. "There's nothing we can do to avert this disaster... and I don't want you to throw your life away for nothing. I know you hate me now, but I can't bear the thought of losing you!"

She stared at him for a long moment, until her stern expression turned to one of sadness. "I tried to hate you for what you've done, Rahn... but being apart from you for the last couple of days has been torture. I do still love you."

"You do?" he asked, his face brightening with hope.

Jessica nodded and leaned heavily against the nearest console. "I do... I just don't like you very much at the moment. You hurt my parents so badly and I should hate you for that, but the time we had together on Arcadia were the happiest years of my life."

"You know that hurting you or your parents wasn't intentional-"

"I know... and I haven't forgotten that I was the one that seduced you, so I'm at least partially to blame for what happened," she interrupted, forestalling him from repeating his excuses. "I dread to think what atrocities you committed when you were under Xar'aziuth's control... but I do believe that you aren't the same person you were before. That's the only reason I'm willing to give you another chance."

"Really?" he asked, smiling at her with relief. "I missed you so much, Jess... thank you!"

She held up her hand to stop him as he moved to embrace her. "Wait. There's one condition..."

Giving her a pained look, Rahn'hagon shook his head. "I know what you're going to ask, but John banished me from his territory. Even if there was some way to help our son, he'll kill me if I try to approach him. I saw death in his eyes, Jessica. He only granted me mercy because you interceded on my behalf, but there'll be no reprieve next time."

"Please, Rahn," Jessica said softly. "I've never asked you for anything, but this is important to me. He's my son and I hate myself for the appalling way I've treated him. If you really love me, help me try to make it up to our boy."

Rahn'hagon grimaced, torn between his love for the enchanting brunette and his own sense of self-preservation.

She gave him a coy smile and stepped closer, her hand moving to gently caress his quad through his trousers. "You must be so full, baby... If you help me, we can go back to exactly the way we were before. Wouldn't you like me to give you some relief?"

He couldn't help moaning at her seductive touch. "Jess... I don't think..."

"I've been craving your taste, my love," she whispered, planting fluttering kisses on his throat. "I've been so hungry... don't you want to fill me up? Feel my soft lips sucking on that big thick cock?"

Rahn'hagon nodded, his breathing laboured.

"Will you help me, Rahn?" she asked quietly, massaging his shaft in all the ways he liked.

With a helpless groan of resignation, he pulled her in for a fierce kiss. "Alright, you bewitching temptress... I'll help you."

Jessica's eyes gleamed in triumph, then she dropped to her knees without preamble, frantically unfastening his trousers. She hadn't been lying earlier... over the last two days, she'd desperately longed to feel his cock pulsing in her throat, feeding her a heavy meal.

"Don't waste any time," she insisted, grasping his hot length. "I need it as much as you!"

He nodded, staring feverishly into her eyes as he pushed the head of his cock against her lips. She opened them in welcome, then engulfed his entire length in one long smooth motion. Rahn'hagon thrust at her beautiful face, groaning in relief as she sucked hungrily like she was possessed. As pent up as he was, it didn't take long to reach an explosive climax and he held her with her nose pressed against his abdomen as he cried out with his release. Jessica moaned wantonly as he throbbed in her throat, his heavy load jetting into her stomach and quickly filling her up. Her eyes rolled back as she frantically rubbed herself, joining him in his release.

When he was finally done, Jessica let him slide out of her clutching throat, then gave him a languid smile as she stroked her cum-packed belly. "That was a huge load, Rahn... you must have been really backed up."

"Nine days..." he said with a grimace, pulling his trousers up.

"And thirteen hours..." they added at the same time, sharing a smile.

When Rahn'hagon offered her a hand, she straightened and eagerly leaned into his open arms. "It was awful being separated from you. I actually had to cook for myself!"

He chuckled and held her close, a hand gliding over her swollen curves. "I'm sorry, my love. I should have been there to feed you."