Three Square Meals Ch. 126

"Make yourself at home," she called out to him over her shoulder. "It'll probably take me ten minutes or so to design the kind of pressure furnace we need for this."

He nodded and turned to glance around her Workshop, curious to see if Dana had been working on anything new. As he wandered through the Mass Fabricators, he spotted the bulky frames she'd used to support the maintenance bots when they were being built. He sighed as he remembered the trio of robots they'd rescued this morning and how heartbroken they'd been when he told them about Faye. She could never have imagined that her wonderful gift of self-awareness for her fellow robots, would lead to them suffering such devastating grief.

Leaning his head against the cool metallic framework, he wondered how he was ever going to get over losing the cheerful purple sprite. Faye had integrated herself into almost every aspect of their lives... and everything aboard the Invictus reminded him of her. As much as he adored all the other girls, he wasn't sure if losing any of them could have left such a gaping hole behind.

John turned and walked over to one of the storage containers, quietly removing the lid and checking it contained the Crystal Alyssium he needed. Drawing away a small globule of liquid metal, he reshaped it a dozen times, then fashioned it into a disc large enough to fit in the palm of his hand. Picturing Faye's adorable face in his mind, he remembered the way she used to look at Dana, her cupid-bow lips lifting into the affectionate smile that she reserved for her best friend.

"What number was that one, Faye?" he murmured under his breath, as he recreated her image in the malleable metal.

The next step was to add a bloom of purple that spread out to colour her elfin features. He paused, then gestured towards the disc, adding the finishing touch; a couple of tiny Progenitor runes to her eyes that illuminated them with a soft inner glow. Staring at the sculpture for a long moment, he traced a finger across her cheek. The rendition was perfect. She looked so alive and full of life that he had to close his eyes and turn away, the image too painful a reminder of what he'd lost.

He felt a pair of hands touch his. "John... is that for me?"

Looking at Dana, he nodded mutely, handing her the portrait.

She cupped it in her hand and stared at the face of her friend. A tear rolled down her cheek to splash on Faye, and for a moment it looked like the fallen Lioness was sharing in their grief.

"Irillith's got to bring her back... she's just got to," Dana sobbed, leaning into John's chest as he wrapped his arms around her.

"I know... she's trying, honey," he whispered in her ear, almost wishing he didn't know just how impossibly hard that was going to be.

They stood together for a long while in that tender embrace, supporting each other in their grief.

John finally felt a cool hand caressing his arm and turned to look at his Nymph matriarch in surprise, having been too distracted to hear her approach. "Hi, Jade."

"Hello, Master... hello, Dana," she said softly, hugging the melancholy pair. Looking at each of them with concern, she continued, "You know how much Faye loved you both; she wouldn't want to see you in pain like this."

"I know... but everything keeps reminding me of her," he said, with a sad sigh.

Dana nodded, resting her head against his chest. "Faye was just so awesome... I miss her all the time."

"Try to focus on the good memories, not on how much you miss her," Jade said, gently stroking their backs. "Leave the pain and grief behind on Arcadia. Faye wouldn't want you to be carrying that with you."

They nodded, doing their best to follow the Nymph's advice.

"I'm surprised you didn't bring Helene down here," John said looking curiously at his matriarch.

"She could make you feel better, but it hurts her to see you upset," Jade explained, sympathy in her emerald eyes. "Alyssa and I didn't think you'd want to start her evening that way."

"You're right, that wouldn't be fair to her at all," he said, inhaling deeply then blowing out his breath. Smiling at Dana he continued, "We can't stand around here crying all day, we've got an engagement ring to make. How long until the Mass Fabricator batch is finished?"

Dana blushed and looked embarrassed. "I actually haven't finished the design yet. I saw you looking sad, so I came over to check you were okay... then I realised what you were working on." She took one last glance at the portrait of Faye, then carefully slipped it into her pocket. "I love it by the way, thank you."

He kissed the tip of her nose then released her from his embrace. "You're welcome."

The redhead smiled and walked back to the podium. "Give me a few more minutes and I'll be done. We'll have to kill a bit of time while we wait for all the parts to be made."

"Aren't you making the ring out of Crystal Alyssium?" Jade asked in confusion, looking at the delicate band encircling her finger.

"I will, but we also need a high-pressure furnace to grow a synthetic sapphire," John explained, before darting a glance at Dana. "That's right, isn't it, Sparks?"

"Yep. We need to apply shitloads of pressure and heat; that'll crush the corundum until it turns into a gemstone. It's a bit like how a naturally occurring sapphire would be formed by a volcano," the redhead replied, studying a three-dimensional schematic. "If we get the corundum mix just right and set the furnace settings correctly, we should get a jewel that's an exact match for Helene's eyes."

Jade turned to look at John and raised an eyebrow. "Why are you making a machine to do that?"

He looked at her in confusion, then followed her pointed gaze towards Dana. Blinking in surprise, he blurted out, "Sparks... black holes create lots of pressure, don't they?"

She turned to give him an indulgent smile. "Yeah, but it's not like we can just toss a lump of ore into one and make a sapphire."

"Why not give it a try?" John suggested. "You can create the pressure... and Tashana can create the heat."

Dana's mouth fell open and she looked at him incredulously. "What? You're kidding, right? I wouldn't have a clue how to control it to that degree!"

"Someone was telling me recently that we should rely more on our instincts," he said, putting an arm around Jade's waist.

"Yeah... but my instincts are falling about laughing at this dumb idea," Dana muttered, shaking her head.

*Tashana's on her way,* Alyssa informed them all.

Rolling her eyes, Dana stomped down the steps to the ore container that John had filled with corundum mined from Arcadia. She studied the misshapen chunk of minerals, the colour varying from a yellowish brown to flecked grey.

"Hack me off about... a tenth of this would you?" she requested, jerking her thumb towards the ore.

John walked over to join her and levitated the lumpen mineral from the container. Turning it to get a good idea of its size, he made a chopping motion with his hand and a telekinetic arc slashed through the chunk of Corundum Aluminium Oxide. "Is that enough?"

Dana picked up the piece that clattered onto the deck. "Perfect, thanks."

Her eyes began to glow as she stared into its structure, determining the exact mineral composition. She looked lost in thought as she calculated the ratios, then left the chunk on her workbench and moved to several other mineral containers to retrieve their contents. Using her multitool, Dana collected tiny samples of each element, then brought them back to add to the pile.

"There... those are the exact minerals in the precise proportions we need," she replied, eyeing the football-sized mound.

The door slid open and Tashana rushed into the Engineering Bay. "Hey everyone!" she said cheerfully. "Alyssa said you need my assistance to make the jewel for Helene's engagement ring? Thanks for asking me to help... this is so exciting!"

Dana shook her head at the Maliri's exuberance. "We're going to need extremely precise temperatures if this is going to work. Do you know how hot you can conjure fire?"

"Sorry, I've got no idea," Tashana replied with a helpless shrug.

Tapping a finger on her chin, Dana suddenly brightened. "We could use the thermocouple from a flux heat-exchanger to measure it. Give me a second and I'll hook one up!"

She darted over to a pile of components and found what she was looking for, then bolted it onto one of the empty construction frames so that it was suspended in the air.

"Okay, go for it," she said, turning to beckon the Maliri pyrokinetic over to the device.

When John and Dana had moved back to give her plenty of room, Tashana held out her hand and a flame burst into life, twisting and turning on her palm as it took on female form. The fiery sprite began to dance, gyrating slowly, its moves seductive and alluring.

"Wow, 1000 degrees right out of the gate!" Dana marvelled, glancing at the temperature reading on an engineering console.

"Hotter?" Tashana asked with an eager smile.

The redhead nodded. "We need 2044 degrees to melt corundum. Crank it up and I'll tell you when to stop."

Focusing on the fiery sprite, Tashana concentrated her will and poured more energy into her conjuration. The elemental increased her tempo, hips rolling as she turned in a circle. She paused facing John, her hands gliding over her curves to cup her amber breasts, before turning and glancing at him over a tiny shoulder.

"1600..." Dana muttered.

The sprite dropped to her knees and arched her back, her fiery form flickering as the flames intensified. She kicked up a leg, and span on her side, her scarlet mane blazing as she moved.

"1900... just a bit more."

Pivoting again, the elemental began thrusting her hips, her hands running over her body as if writhing in passion.

"Okay stop!" Dana blurted out, waving a hand at the Maliri. "2050 degrees... Can you remember that exact temperature?"

Tashana nodded amiably. "Yes, that's no problem."

"How hot can you go?" John asked, giving the cavorting sprite a speculative look.

The Maliri grinned at him, then turned to focus on her fiery creation. Her brow furrowed with concentration and she started tapping into the angry blaze deep inside her. The elemental leapt to her feet, throwing her arms up dramatically. Spinning and kicking out with her slender leg, the sprite danced with increasing passion, her movements frantic and furious.

"3000... 4000... 7000!" Dana exclaimed, yelling to be heard over the roaring flames.

John flinched backwards, feeling the waves of heat pouring out from the blazing sprite, her form turning white hot as she leapt and cavorted across Tashana's palm. An instant later he was surrounded by a hex shield, instantly protecting him from the heat. He pulled Jade into his arms and stood closer to Dana, enveloping them both in his psychic barrier and shielding the girls from harm.

There was a strangled beep from the console display as the flux heat-exchanger melted, the Crystal Alyssium frame beside Tashana twisting and buckling.

"Stop!" Dana yelled, darting a worried glance at the blazing inferno.

"Oops, sorry!" Tashana said, wincing as she realised she was melting everything around her. She snapped her palm closed, instantly extinguishing the furious sprite. "I got a bit carried away there."

Dana glanced at the console and shook her head in disbelief. "12,379 degrees before you fried it.... fucking crazy!"

"You're not even singed," John said, staring at Tashana in fascination.

The Maliri hopped over the steaming deck plates and sauntered over to join them. "Nope, I feel fine."

"At that temperature, everything around you should have been incinerated. You must have been containing the heat somehow," Dana said with a frown. She glanced at the buckled titanium floor and added, "Or most of it anyway..."

"I wonder how that works exactly?" John mused, studying the untouched floor directly beneath where Tashana had been standing.

"Do you melt your runesword when you surround it with flames, Master?" Jade asked, playfully trailing her fingers along his arm to his hand.

He shook his head. "No... it's covered in fire but it doesn't actually affect the blade."

"Why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

John frowned in confusion. "Err... I'm not sure why exactly."

The Nymph gave him an indulgent smile. "Wouldn't it be tricky to fight with a melted sword? The eldritch flames don't affect your weapon because you will it to be so."

"It's as simple as that?" he asked, studying her curiously.

She nodded in confirmation. "As simple as that."

Dana couldn't help looking sceptical. "So you're saying I can regulate the precise pressure exerted by a black hole just by deciding what I want it to be?"

Tashana laughed and put her arm around the redhead. "You're already creating one just using your mind... why is that such a leap?"

"I don't know," Dana admitted, scratching her head. "I guess I never really put any thought into the ones I've created so far."

"Let's give it a try," John suggested, glancing at his hex barrier that was still in existence and dismissing it. He gestured towards the pile of minerals and turned his hand upwards, levitating the materials from the workbench. "We better move away from anything valuable, just in case."

The girls followed him over to an empty space in the Engineering Bay and he stopped with the collection of elements floating a few feet above the decking.

"Me first?" Tashana asked, glancing at Dana for direction.

"Yeah... melt it down so it's in a flux state, then maintain that temperature."

"2050 degrees coming up!" the Maliri exclaimed with an eager smile.

She gestured towards the hunk of minerals, engulfing it in a roiling orb of fire. The flames crackled and roared, heat pouring off the fiery globe as she raised the temperature.

Dana took a deep breath, then the golden coronas around her pupils flared, bathing the inferno in a shining radiance. A black sphere enveloped the conflagration, the light from the fire winking out.

"Did that cancel out your fire?" John asked, turning to look quizzically at the Maliri.

Tashana gritted her teeth but shook her head. "I'm still keeping it going... just."

John felt the unsettling pull of the pocket singularity, the gravity well tugging at him and everything else in the vicinity. Without even thinking about it, he summoned a telekinetic net and stretched it out in front of them, preventing anyone from being dragged closer.

"I don't know if I can control it..." Dana muttered with a grimace, as she stared at the jet-black orb.

Hugging her from behind, Jade said softly, "It is your creation, Dana... and yours to control as you see fit. Just think of it as another tool."

Dana's eyelashes fluttered and the sphere contracted, applying more pressure inwards. John turned to watch her, but her expression didn't change as the minutes rolled on, her face a mask of concentration.

"Okay... ease off the heat," she murmured without opening her eyes.

Tashana nodded, lowering the temperature of her conflagration. While the minerals cooled, Dana kept up the pressure for several more minutes, before finally dismissing her black hole with a hollow-sounding whump.

John glanced at the redhead. "Is that it?"

She paused before giving him a hesitant shrug. "I honestly don't know. Why don't you take a look?"

He gestured the orb over, now condensed so that it was no larger than a marble. He could still feel it radiating some heat, so left it suspended in the air above his hand as he stared in fascination.

"The colour's an exact match," he marvelled, gazing at the exquisite baby-blue sapphire. As he turned it in the air, he paused and blinked in surprise. Suspended in the centre was a tiny white star, a nimbus surrounding the heart shape at the core of the gemstone. "Dana... did you do that?!"

She stood on tiptoe and peered at the rotating jewel. When she saw the addition, she darted a self-conscious smile at him. "I turned it into a star sapphire instead. Do you like it?"

"It's perfect!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a fierce hug.

The redhead grinned, then jerked a thumb towards her workbench. "I've got some cutting tools. I can shape the stone for you."

He studied the uncut jewel then shook his head. "We've gone this far just using psychic powers, I might as well finish it the same way. Can I take a look at your ring again?"

Dana nodded and started unbuckling her trousers. "Sure."

He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Your engagement ring."

She gave him an impish grin. "Ah, why didn't you say so?" Holding out her left hand for him to see the stone, she turned it from side to side so that he could get a good look at the Brilliant Cut sapphire adorning her ring.

Nodding, he focused on the newly created sapphire, his eyes narrowing in concentration. Pointing at it with a finger, he made a swiping motion and started to shave away slivers of the gemstone, carefully forming a rounded edge. Each telekinetic slice carved more facets in the precious stone, maximising the light reflecting through. When John was satisfied with his handiwork, the blue jewel sparkled magnificently, catching the eye with its brilliance. Next he gestured to a block of Crystal Alyssium and shaped the delicate band and setting for the gem. He hesitated for a moment, then proceeded to engrave it with ten Lionesses, an exact match for the rings he'd given to his matriarchs and the Invictus crew.

Jade rubbed his back in sympathy, but chose not to comment so as not to upset Dana.

"May I?" Tashana asked, reaching for the ring. After he nodded, she plucked it out of the air and examined it in fascination. "Amazing... we turned an ugly lump of rock into something so beautiful."

"And only using psychic powers," Dana reminded the Maliri girl. "I still can't believe that actually worked!"

"Do you think Helene will mind that it's not a natural sapphire?" John asked with a worried frown, as Tashana handed him the ring.

The three girls all laughed and shook their heads. "No!"

"When she finds out we made it for her, she's going to love it even more," Tashana said with a soft smile, giving him a hug.

*I've got Helene with me; we'll just be a few minutes,* Alyssa informed him, already sounding excited. *You should head up to the Observatory whenever you're ready.*

The grins appearing on his companions' faces let John know that Alyssa had told them too.

"Thanks so much for your help, ladies," he said gratefully, pulling the trio into a hug. "I couldn't have done that without you."

Dana looked thoughtful, having heard his earlier conversation with Helene via Alyssa. "It was an awesome team effort," she conceded with a smile. "I'm really glad I was able to help."

Jade slipped out of the embrace and clasped John's hand. "Come, Master," she said with eager impatience. "Helene awaits!"

***

Rahn'hagon slumped dejectedly in the command chair on the Bridge, staring with unseeing eyes out through the broad windows at the blank expanse of space before him. Ten thousand years ago, his legions had rampaged through this sector, slaughtering the hideously ugly rock-like creatures that resided here. Entire worlds had been obliterated in that catastrophic war, killing billions of ancient Trankarans with every terrifying blast of a Quantum Annihilator.

However, he was not thinking about millennia-old galactic conflicts... his present situation was far more fraught. It looked like Rahn'hagon was going to be facing another lonely night, sleeping by himself in Larn'kelnar's old bedroom. He'd tried to coax Jessica into another conversation earlier that afternoon, but she was still furious with him and had stormed off with an ear-blistering burst of profanities.