Three Square Meals Ch. 130

Maria's mouth fell open in shock as she stared at the gleaming vehicle.

"Maria... it's a Luxura special edition," Jack said in a hushed voice. "These things cost what... 200 grand?!"

"Worth every credit," Sakura said with a broad smile.

"Actually, that was a Luxura special edition," Dana said, pointing to a pile of parts stacked in the corner of the room. She patted the roof of the car with a proud grin. "This is a Luxura awesome edition!"

Calara put her arms around her parents and guided them over to the beautiful sedan. "Tell them about the upgrade package, Sparks."

Dana opened the door to the luxury car and pressed her hand to the control panel, which flashed green as it recognised her. "It's registered to your DNA obviously. I stripped out the crappy drive system and anti-grav cyclics, then installed top-of-the range tech. I cranked up the top speed from 300 to 800, but you've also got a null-inertia gyroscope fitted, so you could pull a 10G turn and not even feel it. There's a pair of optical-tracking Tachyon Cannons mounted in the bonnet, which means you just have to point this beast at the target and POW! No more bad guys."

Jack and Maria stared at her dumbfounded, but they weren't the only ones shocked by the priceless gift of radically-advanced technology. Both Maria's bodyguards were stunned as they listened to Dana's exuberant description of the vehicles capabilities, barely able to believe that the redhead wasn't making wild exaggerations. Commander Grayson was equally shocked by the hover-car but her attention flicked to the exotic bevy of stunning beauties lined up around the Cargo Bay. She was well-versed in the commonly encountered alien species, yet Helene, the twins, and the quintet of catgirls were all a big mystery to her.

Brushing her fingers across the glistening bodywork, Calara continued the presentation. "We plated this vehicle in twenty-shaped Crystal Alyssium... the same armour we use on the Invictus. You could withstand a Beam Laser salvo from a dreadnought and not singe the paintwork. Not much beyond a Singularity Driver barrage will even put a dent in it."

"It's primary purpose is a mobile security bunker," Sakura quietly explained, standing beside the car. "If you're under attack, then just seek shelter inside. You should be able to safely escape from, or eliminate, any hostile threat. Of course, we also installed a state-of-the-art communications system capable of broadcasting to the Tau Ceti Comms Beacon, so you can call Lynette directly for help in an emergency."

Dana leapt up and said eagerly, "Oh, I almost forgot! White is just the default colour; have you got a favourite, Maria? Pick anything you want."

She blinked in astonishment, still reeling from the shock at the astronomical price of the gift. "Yellow... like a warm sunrise."

The eager redhead gestured towards the hover-sedan with a theatrical flourish. "John, if you'd care to do the honours..."

He walked over and placed his hand on the bonnet, then closed his eyes as he gathered his will. First picturing a gorgeous summer sunrise, John quickly changed his mind, then focused on a rich yellow hue and projected it through the Crystal Alyssium. The gasps from his guests told him it was working and when he opened his eyes, the hover-sedan was now a gorgeous golden yellow.

John glanced at Alyssa, his eyes sweeping over her voluminous blonde mane. "Good choice. That's one of my favourite colours too."

"It's so beautiful," Maria murmured, reaching out to touch the car with a trembling hand. "I... I'm lost for words. Thank you just seems so inadequate..."

"Now you know how I feel," Sakura said with a shy smile. "Thank you, Maria. Thank you, Jack."

They both embraced her, with Jack grinning at his natural daughter and pulling Calara into the group hug.

"Can I get in there too?" Dana asked with an impish grin.

The Nymphs held back, but the rest of the girls all took turns in embracing Calara, Sakura, and her parents. John was standing next to Alyssa and he saw a wobble in her otherwise flawless posture. He put his arm around her to steady his matriarch, guessing by the ecstatic expression on Sakura's face that she'd found a new state of serenity... and Alyssa was feeling it.

When he glanced back at Maria, he saw that she was walking towards them with Jack at her side.

"I've always hated goodbyes," she said, looking at the couple with sincere regret. "Calara explained that this was just a fleeting visit and that you have people to save on Olympus."

"I'm afraid so," John said, nodding in confirmation. "We'd love to spend more time with you, but duty calls..."

"Will you be returning here soon?" Maria asked hopefully.

Calara slipped her arms around her mother from behind and rested her chin on her shoulder. "I don't think so, mom... not for at least a couple of weeks. You know what we're facing next."

Maria kissed her daughter on the cheek and looked at John. "Keep my girls safe for me, John. Please."

"I will... I promise," he agreed without reservation. "And... thank you for listening to me earlier."

"Any time," she replied, the warmth of her smile reflected in her eyes.

Jack offered John his hand and they shook firmly. Words weren't necessary; both men understood each other now, the look exchanged between them communicating volumes.

Calara gave her parents a farewell hug while the Maliri twins left the cargo bay. Once they were safely out of sight, Dana raised the huge doors, revealing the umbilical linking the Invictus to the Epiphron. Jack was eager to drive the new car across to the hangar opposite, while Viv accompanied Maria and her bodyguards over to the Federation battlecruiser. When their guests had safely disembarked, John and the girls waved goodbye as the Cargo Bay doors slowly descended and blocked them from view.

"Good visit?" John asked Calara, wrapping his arms around the brunette.

She turned to snuggle into his embrace. "The best."

"Yeah, I can't argue with you there," he agreed, stroking her luxurious chestnut mane. John beckoned to Sakura and she eagerly joined them. "The car was a brilliant idea, honey. I'd have paid triple for peace of mind that they'll be safe, so let me cover the-"

Sakura held up a hand to interrupt him and shook her head. "No, it was my gift to her. I wanted to thank Maria for her kindness."

"I understand," he said with an amiable shrug.

Calara bit her lip, then shared a coy smile with Sakura. "John... how would you like to spend some time with a couple of horny sisters?"

He saw the same hunger in Sakura's hooded gaze and pulled them both closer. "I'd like that a lot."

"So would I," Alyssa said, hugging the girls from behind. "But it won't take long for us to reach Olympus and I'm afraid Jehanna's going to need lots of TLC."

They all turned to look at her in alarm.

"Why? What happened?" John blurted out.

A flash of regret crossed Alyssa's beautiful face. "Basically, the opposite of what just happened with Jack and Maria."

John's brow furrowed in confusion. "But I thought everything was okay between Jehanna and her parents? She seemed so confident she had everything under control on our call earlier."

The blonde let out a heavy sigh and explained how Jehanna's conversation with her conservative parents had gone badly wrong. She told them how Ramesh Elani was now convinced that his daughter was dishonouring Calara by having an affair with John, and that her mother was appalled to learn that Jehanna was sleeping with both of them.

"We have to call them and explain!" Calara protested, aghast that she was the inadvertent cause of their estrangement.

"And say what exactly?" Alyssa asked, raising an eyebrow. "Hey, Ramesh! Actually, I'm not fucking your daughter... but John is and I don't mind?"

Sakura winced and Calara groaned in frustration. "Ah crap... You're right, this is a mess."

"Mmmhmm," Alyssa agreed, equally perplexed. "We need to handle this very carefully... and we'll need Jehanna's guidance. I'm not familiar with the cultural intricacies of her family's background, so we can't make any moves to help without discussing them with her first."

"Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?" John asked, frowning with disapproval.

"There was nothing you could do to help and you were dealing with enough already," Alyssa explained, not shying away from making eye contact with him. "I spoke to Jehanna again to calm her down and if she'd called back wanting to speak to you, I would have let you know. Lynette is looking after her at the moment and when we arrive at Olympus, we'll be able to take over."

"But we were only planning on staying there for a couple of hours," John protested.

Alyssa nodded. "I know."

"Surely you aren't suggesting we just drop in on her parents unannounced?" he asked, looking at her in confusion. "We won't reach Olympus until after ten and rushing to resolve this in the middle of the night is bound to be a disaster. Not unless Helene intervenes... and I really don't feel comfortable using her abilities that way."

"I didn't think you would," Alyssa replied, her tone neutral.

The rest of the girls had gathered around, drawn in by the worried looks and pensive discussion.

Rachel's grey eyes carefully appraised the blonde matriarch. "You want to take Jehanna with us."

Alyssa saw no reason to deny it. "Yes."

All eyes turned to John, who paused to seriously consider that option. "Alright... I'll talk to her."

"Seriously?!" Dana blurted out, looking at him wide-eyed in surprise. "I thought you were encouraging Jehanna to enjoy her career?"

"I am, but we can't fix an estrangement with her parents overnight," he replied, with a helpless shrug. "And I'm not leaving her heartbroken and alone for weeks."

The redhead eagerly rubbed her hands together. "So we've basically got two weeks to convince Jehanna to stay?"

John shook his head. "Please don't put any pressure on her. She's already torn about what to do and now she's going through all this with her parents as well. I just want all of you to be helpful and supportive... which goes without saying as you always are anyway."

Dana's gaze softened and she nodded. "Alright, I'll just help look after her."

The rest of the girls murmured their agreement.

"Thank you," John said, acknowledging them with a grateful smile. "Jehanna's a lovely girl and I'm sure she'd fit right in with the crew... but her circumstances are a bit different from the rest of you and I want her to choose this life for herself."

"We understand, John," Calara said quietly. "You can trust us to make her feel at home."

He cupped her face and stroked her cheek as she nuzzled into his hand. "I know."

Pre-empting John's next question, Alyssa said, "The twins are already up on the Bridge and we're leaving the gravity well. I'll head up there and lay in a course so we get to Olympus as fast as possible."

"Thanks, honey. I'd like to speak to Lynette, Charles, and Lina tonight; are they available?"

"They'll be waiting for us," she replied over her shoulder as she headed for the exit. "Lynette's desperate to discuss the Lina situation too."

He nodded thoughtfully, still unsure how to tackle this potential minefield of a conversation.

"If you'll excuse me, I'd like to get ready for our arrival," Rachel said to John, before glancing at Sakura. "Are you free to accompany me?"

"Of course," the Asian girl readily agreed. "I'll get geared up and protect you while you're on station."

The rest of the group began to disperse, but John caught Calara's hand before she'd moved a step. "Could you please help look after Jehanna while I talk to Charles and Lynette?" he asked politely.

"Me?" she asked in surprise. "Surely I'm the last person you'd want to console her."

"No, not at all. I think you're a perfect example of a Lioness who's managed to still keep a strong bond with her family despite being an integral part of the crew."

"In that case, I'll be glad to assist in any way I can."

"I'll help as well," Dana volunteered.

John shook his head and hugged the redhead. "Actually, I need your help with something else entirely..."

***

"What do you mean, the combat footage is corrupted?!" Admiral Laurence Walker demanded incredulously. "I thought black box recordings were supposed to be infallible!"

"That's just it, Sir," the flustered technician replied, turning away from the holo-screen to stare at the file he'd downloaded from the salvage archive that morning. "I've never seen anything like it. The data stream was fine while the Claymore was docked, but everything after Commander Walker launched is just... gone. I've tried every analysis tool we have available here, but I can't fix it."

The admiral grimaced in frustration. "Alright, forget about that one then, it's useless. What about the black boxes from the rest of the fighters in his wing? Have those been retrieved yet?"

The technician searched through the long list of salvaged wrecks. "Yes, it looks like two more were recovered yesterday."

There was a strained silence, then Admiral Walker snapped impatiently, "Well? What's on them?"

"That's weird..." The technician's beetle-like eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I can't access those recordings. They've been locked... pending investigation."

"An investigation? What kind of investigation?" the admiral asked with an indignant frown.

"Laurence, we need to go!" his wife called out from the hallway. "Visiting hours end at eleven!"

He turned to shout back over his shoulder. "I'll just be a minute!"

"You said you'd be a minute, half-an-hour ago!" Harriet snapped, growing increasingly irate.

"God-damnit," Laurence cursed under his breath. Turning back to the technician aboard the Hera, he continued, "I want to see battle footage taken from any wreck in the area where Commander Walker's Claymore was discovered."

There were a succession of low beeps and the technician shook his head. "I'm trying, Sir... they've all been locked. I can't even access the recording from HCJ-C-1482 now."

"Keep looking," Admiral Walker ordered sternly. "There must be some footage of his Claymore in action and it's imperative that we secure it."

"Will do, Sir," the technician replied, unable to suppress an exasperated sigh.

Admiral Walker ended the call with a scowl, shutting down the comms channel. He strode out of his office, then jogged down the sweeping staircase to join his fuming wife.

"It was Admiralty business, Harriet," he said, holding up a hand to forestall further complaint.

She clenched her jaw in tightly-suppressed anger and followed him out to the hover-sedan in silence. Laurence opened the car door for his wife, closing it behind her when she was safely inside. He walked around to the other side of the vehicle, then nodded to the chauffeur when he was seated. Moments later, the sedan lifted off from the sweeping drive at the front of the Walker residence, and headed for the Unity City Medical Institute.

They soared over immaculate boulevards and beautifully landscaped gardens, the district solely for the homes of the privileged elite who ruled the Terran Federation. Although Harriet Walker hadn't said a word since they'd left their residence, her husband could feel the waves of anger radiating off her as the hover-sedan ate up the miles to their destination.

"I told you I wanted to be on time this evening," Harriet finally hissed under her breath.

He chose not to respond and stared out the window, hoping to avoid a fight.

"You're always making us late for everything," she grumbled.

Harriet clicked her long manicured nails against her purse, the percussion grating on his nerves.

"When you insisted on 'making a quick call', I knew this would happen... I just knew it. I told you it was important, but did you listen? No."

"Why?! What was so goddamn important?!" he finally snapped, his temper flaring.

Harriet glared at him and shot an embarrassed glance at the driver. "Keep your voice down, Laurence!"

Admiral Walker stared at her in stony silence, not trusting himself to speak for fear of yelling.

"I told you before, but I knew you weren't listening," she whispered, darting another sidelong look at the chauffeur to make sure he wasn't eavesdropping. "I'm worried about Annabelle. She was so upset at the hospital last night and she finally opened up with me. She said... well... that she and Thomas had been having problems."

"What kind of problems?" he muttered, not remotely interested in the details of a lover's tiff.

"She said that Thomas just stopped calling her... and she hadn't been able to reach him for over a week before the battle," Harriet said quietly.

"Uh huh," Laurence grunted, barely paying attention.

"And Annabelle told me that Mason called her and said some terrible things. He said that Thomas had been unfaithful to her!"

Laurence snorted derisively. "Impossible."

"I know... they've always been so in love," Harriet whispered, nodding her agreement.

"No, it's simply not possible..." he insisted, then abruptly let his voice trail away, knowing better than to finish that sentence.

"That's what I told Annabelle!" Harriet agreed, blithely unaware of the real reason for her husband's conviction. "Thomas thinks that girl hangs the moon; he's always been besotted with her."

Laurence chose not to comment. His wife was right of course... but hopefully she would drop the subject if he didn't engage in this uncomfortable conversation.

"I told Annabelle that it all must be some horrible misunderstanding. When Thomas wakes up again, everything will be fine... apart from her poor brother dying in that dreadful Brimorian ambush." Harriet shook her head sorrowfully. "I spoke to Natalie this afternoon; she's absolutely devastated as you can imagine. Mason was such a polite, handsome boy... it breaks my heart to think what happened to him."

The hover-sedan began to lose altitude, making a smooth descent as they approached the Medical Institute.

"We're here... at last," Laurence grunted, shifting impatiently in his seat.

"I can't see Annabelle outside," Harriet murmured anxiously, leaning forward to look around the driver's headrest. "I hope she hasn't been waiting here on her own for too long."

The hover-sedan glided to a halt in the drop-off zone outside the medical facility and Laurence got out first to open the door for Harriet. She smiled gratefully, then hooked her arm around his, playing the part of the devoted Admiralty trophy wife to a tee as they strode into the hospital. Walking straight through the reception area, they made their way towards the neurology department, where their son still lay unresponsive in a coma. As they neared Thomas Walker's private room, Harriet spotted her son's fiancée in a waiting area outside, tears rolling down her pretty face.

"Annabelle!" she called out, an undercurrent of fear in her voice.

Laurence knew why his wife sounded so afraid. Harriet was wondering why the young blonde wasn't at her usual post beside Thomas and what dreadful news might have reduced her to tears.

"Oh, Harriet!" Annabelle gasped, lurching up from her chair. "They won't let me in to see Tommy!"

Admiral Walker stared down the corridor at the two armoured soldiers standing guard at the entrance to his son's hospital room. Their presence filled him with a dreadful sense of foreboding that sent a shiver down his spine.