Three Square Meals Ch. 128

"61 runes..." Alyssa murmured, tracing golden hexagons around each in turn until they formed an interlocking pattern. "One primary in the centre, then expanding rings in multiples of six, forming a precise geometric shape."

"I hadn't noticed that before," John admitted, leaning closer to study the pattern she had just highlighted.

"The numbers in each ring tipped me off," she replied with a shrug. "So what's next?"

"Once you've learned the alphabet, then you can combine the runes into phrases... like the one I mentioned for Spirit Walking. Some are relatively simple... like casting a lightning bolt. Others I can't figure out at all. Irillith's ability to jump into the Cyber Realm is a perfect example; I'm sure it's a variation of Spirit Walking, but there's not exactly a rune for computers."

"I feel drawn to this one..." Alyssa murmured, gesturing to a rune made up of concentric squares, before touching another next to it that looked like ephemeral waves. "And this one."

"Those runes represent Force and the Mind. The first is the key rune for Telekinesis, the second is used for-"

"Telepathy!" she interjected excitedly, before turning to look at him. "Am I right?"

"Almost as if you read my mind," he replied with an affectionate smile.

Alyssa laughed and turned to examine the runic alphabet again. "Amazing... this makes so much more sense now. Do you remember Edraele telling us about people having an instinctive affinity for different powers?"

"Yes, I remember. Her mother was drawn to fire, as was Tashana, and Irillith to electricity..."

"Exactly! Well I find both Telekinesis and Telepathy easy to use... and look!" she pointed to the adjacent runic hexagons. "They're right next to each other!"

*I have a similar affinity; those abilities have always come naturally to me,* Edraele said quietly, lost in thought. *Decades ago I tried experimenting with conjuring eldritch fire, but all my efforts were an abject failure.*

"Oh, wait a sec, I just thought of something! Valada was like us too!" Alyssa exclaimed, her eyes lighting up as she twisted to look at John. "I remember she floated a cup over to herself in that video!"

*Perhaps I inherited that affinity from my great grandmother?* Edraele suggested. *Valada must have already been capable of Telepathy after being Mael'nerak's matriarch. Expanding her abilities to also include Telekinesis for physical protection would be a logical step.*

"Shouldn't that mean Tashana and Irillith would be drawn to them too if they were inherited?" John asked his matriarchs. "That's not the case though; they were actually attuned to fire and electricity... I just enhanced their natural talents."

"Maybe it just skipped a generation, like with Edraele's pyromaniac mother?" Alyssa suggested.

"Maybe," he agreed, having no way of proving the theory. "They certainly fit the same pattern of being attuned to a particular Kyth'faren rune."

Alyssa stared at the collection of runes, then eagerly pointed to two more. "Look, cold and air are both connected too!"

"Sakura..." John said at the same time as the blonde, both thinking about her abilities.

"Where are the runes for all the crazy shit Dana can do?" she asked eagerly, her curiosity piqued.

John hesitated, then shook his head. "There aren't any..."

"What do you mean?" Alyssa asked with a frown.

He gave her a helpless shrug. "They don't exist. She shouldn't be able to just form singularities like that... I haven't got a clue how she does it."

"But you gave her the ability!"

"Yeah... back when Athena was telling me to just make it up as I went along. I honestly have no idea what rune Dana might be attuned with... nothing fits."

Alyssa thought about it for a moment. "I suppose it doesn't really matter how she can use those abilities, the important thing is that she can."

*John... why are you so strong with Telekinesis, but struggle with Telepathy?* Edraele asked, sounding just as intrigued.

"Unfortunately, I don't know the answer to that either," he replied, frowning with frustration.

"I think I know!" Alyssa blurted out, her eyes wide. "I bet your guide locked you out from certain runes!"

John grimaced. "That sounds like just the kind of thing that bastard would do."

"Yeah... but you've been steadily unlocking them as you reclaim more of your mind," she insisted, a triumphant gleam in her eyes. "You should try experimenting with as many as you can and see what's still missing!"

"That's actually a great idea," he said, rubbing his chin as he considered it. Turning his attention back to the eager blonde, he stroked her cum-packed stomach. "But for now, let's focus on you. First of all, I want you to memorise the runic alphabet and practice forming each rune, so you can-"

Alyssa waved her hand and a hexagonal pattern popped into existence... showing an exact copy of the entire Kyth'faren runic alphabet he'd laboriously created. "Done! Okay, what next?"

He looked at it in surprise then shook his head in admiration. "Alright, smarty pants. I'll show you some runic phrases I've learned and we can test what comes naturally to you."

"Bring it on!" she gushed, cracking her knuckles.

***

Valeria stood on the Bridge, studying the holographic System Map, which displayed the four freighters that were docked with her master's dreadnought. The huge freight-haulers had begun the docking operation four hours ago, transferring across their priceless cargo to the terrifying warship. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the console beside her, then glanced across to the other side of the map as a flash of movement caught her eye.

Several more freighters jumped into the system, dropping out of hyper-warp on the edge of the gravity well. The new arrivals joined a long procession of merchant shipping all flying directly towards the homeworld, delivering the raw materials necessary to mount the latest invasion. Each vessel carried hundreds of tonnes of black ore in their cargo holds, mined in the far-flung reaches of the Empire and brought to Gahl'kalgor's Throne World, where it would replace the Imperial Palace's exhausted mineral reserves.

As the minutes ticked by, the docked haulage ships began to peel away from the dreadnought, their cargo transfer complete. Eventually there was just one solitary vessel left, the blocky freighter like an ugly eyesore attached to the sleek and sinister Galkiran command ship. Valeria's slender fingers tapped out a grim beat, anger and frustration rising in equal measure.

She glowered at the freighter and snapped, "Hail those sluggards!"

"Yes, Matriarch," the thrall at the Comms Station replied obediently.

The call went through within seconds, almost as if the freighter expected to be contacted. The holographic face of the red-skinned thrall captain appeared, the woman cringing in fear.

"Tell me, Captain Bayre..." Valeria said in an unnaturally calm voice. "Do you grow weary of having skin? Because you are moments away from having it flayed from every inch of your body."

"Please forgive me, Matriarch," Bayre begged, terror in her eyes. "One of the pallet operators made a mistake and accidentally reversed into a wall. The anti-grav motor was damaged and we had to transfer the cargo onto-"

"A mistake?!" Valeria snarled incredulously, cutting off the frightened thrall. "What's the name of this cretin?"

"She's just a trainee cargo operator. It was a simple accident and the cargo transfer is nearly complete..."

"Give me her name, Bayre," Valeria demanded, her tone turning glacial. "And the name of the imbecile that allowed a trainee anywhere near cargo personally ordered by Gahl'kalgor."

Bayre's shoulders slumped and she said in a hushed voice, "Lierina... and Sionia."

Valeria closed her eyes, seeking out the Galkiran females in her vast network of thralls. It took a split-second to find them, now that she knew their names, and the matriarch could sense the fear pouring off both of the petrified fools. Reaching forth with her will, she drained them of every last mote of psychic energy, snuffing their lives out in a flare of agony.

"I should hold you personally responsible for their incompetence," Valeria said, glaring at the cowed captain. "Another mistake like that will be your last, Bayre."

"I-I understand," the freighter captain stammered with relief. "Thank you for your mercy, Matriarch!"

"You have ten minutes to complete the cargo transfer. For your own sake, don't be late."

Before Captain Bayre could reply, Valeria shut down the communication channel, an unsettled quiet descending on the Bridge. She stared at the freighter, silently urging them to hurry up and not delay their departure any further. Seven minutes and thirteen seconds later, the Galkiran freighter disengaged docking clamps and separated from the dreadnought's hull, retro-thrusters burning bright to put as much distance between them as possible.

Now that the cargo vessels were clear of the dreadnought, a formation of four Subjugator-class cruisers manoeuvred into position. Dwarfed by the sheer scale of the enormous Progenitor command vessel, the quartet of 500-metre-long warships were nearly swallowed up by the vast black superstructure as they nestled into alcoves in the hull. Docking clamps extended, locking the thrall cruisers in place and preparing them for their imminent departure.

*My Lord... the cargo transfer is complete,* Valeria quietly informed her master.

*Order the jump,* Gahl'kalgor demanded, his tone cold and impersonal.

Valeria turned to the Chief Engineer. "Initiate the Wormhole Generator."

The thrall gave her a curt nod and activated the primed device. A shimmering black portal crackled into existence beyond the dreadnought's bow, terrifying amounts of power harnessed to rip a tear in the fabric of space. Swirling around the ship, the wormhole yawned over the bow and progressed along the length of the vessel until it enveloped the stern, catapulting them across the galaxy.

Clenching onto her station, Valeria fought down waves of debilitating nausea, determined not to show any weakness in front of the crew. She breathed through her nose until she had her roiling stomach under control, the disorientation slowly fading. It was nearly a thousand years since her first journey through an artificial wormhole and Valeria still found it just as unpleasant as ever.

Glancing at the Tactical Map, she saw that they had emerged in the same spot they had left only a day before, a short distance from the construction site. Thousands of thralls in spacesuits laboured over the black object, the small arc of a gigantic wheel starting to take shape as the engineers connected the interlocking pieces. A huge support vessel was overseeing the work, providing a base of operations for the Galkiran women who would be assembling the Hyper-Warp Gate. The construction teams were also protected by a garrison of cruisers, the four new arrivals disengaging from the dreadnought to add to their ranks.

Valeria tore her gaze away from the frenetic activity on the holographic map. "Hail the tugs, unload the next set of gate fragments."

The Bridge crew hurried to follow her orders, opening the dreadnought's cargo bay doors and summoning the attending tugs. A dozen of the squat spacecraft were soon on their way, ready to retrieve the precious cargo of components newly built in the Galkiran Soulforge.

*Attend me, Matriarch,* Gahl'kalgor ordered imperiously.

Valeria started towards the reinforced doors leading from the Bridge before she even thought to ask where he was located. *My Lord...* she began, careful not to antagonise him. *Where are you presently?*

*The Trophy Room...*

Suppressing a shudder, Valeria left the Command Deck behind, the rapid click of her heeled boots echoing down the corridor. Joining one of the dreadnought's main access ways, she saw a dozen thralls hurrying about their duties, all of whom bowed to her deferentially as she strode past. The Galkiran matriarch allowed herself a smile of satisfaction despite her urgency. Making an example of Jilatha had been a stark reminder to the crew that Valeria could extinguish them on a whim... a brutal lesson in respect that would keep Gahl'kalgor's minions in line. Of all the indignities she was forced to endure, disrespect from the chattel was not one she would ever tolerate.

Distracted as she was, the journey to the Trophy Room seemed to be over in the blink of an eye, and Valeria paused outside the forbidding black door to collect herself. Taking a deep breath, she tapped the rune on the wall, the portal before her splitting apart into serrated segments that peeled back into the frame. The crimson light that pervaded the dreadnought took on an even more sinister hue in this dreadful place, casting its scarlet pall over a row of cryogenic chambers.

Gahl'kalgor was there, standing tall and imposing, his handsome features still taking her breath away after all these years. He didn't acknowledge her presence, his attention focused on the macabre trophies lining the wall. Unlike the billions of Galkirans he ruled over with an iron fist, her master did not share their distinctive crimson skin and coal-black hair. His noble features had a far lighter, bronzed complexion, and his hair was the colour of a beautiful sandy beach, making him all the more exotic and alluring.

"Ah, Fahl'barhak... you really were a thorn in my side," he said, studying the ravaged corpse that stared back at him with one lifeless, bloodshot eye. A gloating grin twisted Gahl'kalgor's handsome features into an unpleasant expression. "Gutting you was so satisfying..."

"It was a glorious victory, my Lord," Valeria gushed, slowly walking towards him.

"I know," her master responded, his tone smug and condescending. He stood silently for a long moment, remembering every cut and slash in that brutal duel. "Two centuries of constant warfare to grind him down... then to see him weakened and broken at the end like that, a pathetic shadow of the proud and arrogant fool that dared to attack me. Glorious indeed..."

Valeria tried not to look at the hideous row of dismembered cadavers. Each and every one was a Progenitor that Gahl'kalgor had bested in his long and bloody career, trophies taken during a millennia of constant warfare. It was not their horrific disfiguring injuries that left her so unsettled... but the fact that each and every one looked so like her beloved master.

"Would you like me to pleasure you while you savour your victories, my Lord?" she whispered, her tone soft and seductive.

Aside from the obvious enjoyment servicing her master would bring, facing away from the grisly trophies would be a very welcome relief.

Gahl'kalgor turned to look at her, an unfamiliar expression on his face. If Valeria didn't know better, she could have sworn she might have seen a flicker of appreciation in his eyes.

"Our next victim is called Baen'thelas," he declared, his lips curling up into a wicked smile.

"He will soon be another trophy for your collection, my Lord," she purred, responding without a second thought. Valeria suddenly paused and looked at him in confusion, the name of their adversary disturbingly different from the titles promising destruction and woe. "The Righter of Wrongs? What kind of peculiar name is that?"

"I know... hilarious, isn't it?"

Her master chuckled, the sound of his deep baritone laughter like music to Valeria's pointed ears... all the more precious for its extreme rarity. She looked at him in astonishment, then broke out into delighted laughter of her own, Gahl'kalgor's mirth proving quite contagious. Her joy was euphoric and left her breathless, being able to share this moment with her master the highlight of over nine centuries of servitude.

The row of silent corpses looked on, their faces twisted and mangled, mouths open as if also reacting with equal amusement. Valeria turned and smiled at them, their ghastly visages no longer quite so horrifying. As they stared back with long-dead eyes, the laughter died on her lips.

Baen'thelas... there was something strangely unsettling about that name.

Valeria had the sudden disquieting feeling that if those butchered Progenitors were still alive, they really would be laughing... but for very different reasons. She felt a shiver run down her spine and quickly turned away from them, unable to shake the eerie sensation that they were mocking her with their unblinking gaze.

"Come, Valeria," Gahl'kalgor said, grasping her by the hand. "I feel like celebrating my upcoming victory."

She nodded her acquiescence and followed him from the Trophy Room, but couldn't help throwing a pensive glance over her shoulder as they departed.

***

Alyssa sagged backwards and slumped in John's arms, rubbing at her weary eyes. "That's it... I'm done. I think I'm going cross-eyed!"

He eased back himself, repositioning them so that the blonde was lying beside him on the oval bed. "I'm not surprised. Four hours of non-stop rune summoning would be enough to give anyone a migraine."

She had her eyes closed now, protecting them from the glare of the overhead lights. "I'm going to just rest here for a bit. I'll go and see Sparks later..."

"I'm proud of you, beautiful," he said with admiration, propping himself up with one elbow and looking down on her. "You worked incredibly hard today. We covered far more than I ever expected we would."

"We still didn't get to the really good stuff," she complained, massaging her temples. "There's all sorts of abilities I wanted to analyse and study; like my energy beam... how does that work?"

"Shh... get some rest now," he said with an indulgent smile. "We'll schedule another lesson when we have some more free time."

"When you're not busy topping up sexy catgirls you mean?" she asked with a grin.

He stroked her now-svelte stomach and nodded. "Did it help, being loaded up beforehand?"

Her blue eyes flicked open and she looked up at him. "It made a huge difference. As soon as I'd finished absorbing all your cum, it felt like my mind was being dragged down by an impossibly heavy weight."

"Probably a combination of physical exhaustion and mental fatigue after so much power usage," he said, nodding thoughtfully. "We'll make sure you're properly prepared again before the next session."

"Thanks for taking the time to teach me," she said softly. "You were really patient and I learned so much."

"Me too," he admitted with a wry smile. "You've got a truly exceptional mind, honey. You were able to notice things that I'd missed or just taken for granted."

"We're a good team," she murmured, cuddling into him. "Always have been..."

John gave her a tender kiss and enjoyed watching her relax in his arms. It was lovely to see how completely Alyssa trusted him, the young woman knowing she was perfectly safe with him there to watch over her.

"I'm not going to get much rest with you mooning over me. Your thoughts are way too distracting," she grumbled, cracking open an eye. "Go get dressed, then give the twins the fucking they deserve."

"Delightfully put as usual," he said with a chuckle. He pulled the covers up and tucked her in. "Get some rest, beautiful... you really earned it."

Alyssa blew him a kiss, then sagged back on the bed, drowsiness claiming her almost immediately.

John turned to check on Helene, who sat up, blinking owlishly at him.

"I'm awake!" she blurted out, rubbing the sleep from her eyes after being telepathically prodded by Alyssa.

He put a finger to his lips and glanced at the snoozing blonde. Helene nodded her understanding, then accepted his hand and accompanied him into the walk-in-wardrobe.

"Sorry if that was boring," he apologised, leading her over to his section of the massive closet.