Three Square Meals Ch. 132

"The microwave transssducer from a hyper-pulssse generator... the regulator coilsss from a power core..." Zorlin scanned down the list, shaking his head in astonishment as he studied the schematics in more detail. "Will cobbling together piecesss from all thessse random devicesss actually work?"

Sub-Prelate Jartak frowned, his scaly brow creased with worry. "Our finessst ssscientissstsss have been poring over the ssschematicsss sssince they arrived thisss morning. At firssst they disssmisssed the idea asss preposssterousss... but after intensssive ssstudy, they changed their mindsss. It ssseemsss imposssible to believe, High Prelate, but I have been asssured that thessse EMP misssilesss will work asss promisssed."

"It isss galling to think that we had the meansss necesssary to field weaponsss with thessse capabilitiesss all along..." Zorlin muttered, shaking his head sorrowfully.

"Yesss... but we lacked the mad geniusss to build them," Jartak whispered, turning to stare at the first rows of completed missiles.

Zorlin joined him in studying the stockpile of ordnance. "How sssoon will it be before you dissspatch the firssst delivery of EMP misssilesss to the fleet?"

"They were delivered an hour ago, High Prelate," Jartak replied, standing taller with pride. "We are currently preparing our sssecond batch of warheadsss."

The Kintark senior officer walked over to the closest missile and ran a scaly claw over its iridescent green housing. For the first time since the Brimorian forces had invaded the Empire, he felt a flicker of hope for their salvation.

***

It was raining outside the Unity City Medical institute, the droplets hitting the glass of the hospital window and gathering into rivulets that streamed down the surface. They matched the tears that rolled down Tom's cheek as he grieved for his friends and crewmates aboard the Janus, the heavy ache in his chest threatening to crush his heart. Hours had passed since the ISD Colonel had informed him of the terrible fate of Admiral Morgan's fleet... hours spent alone in mourning.

He couldn't stop thinking about Mason... his best friend... as close to him as a brother. Tom balked at the idea that he was gone, finding it impossible to believe that he could be dead. He'd spent his entire life with Mason, the inseparable pair backing each other up for 24 years.

A relentless onslaught of memories flashed through his mind, chronicling their lives together. Playing with toy spaceships as children... the treehouse fort they'd built in Tom's back garden... riding bikes along the leafy boulevards in the Admiralty residential districts on Terra. The long years at school, always insisting on being on the same team for any sports, the endless hours spent studying together for their exams. Their joy at both being first and second ranked in their year, knowing they'd managed to secure prestigious places in the Terran Federation Officer Academy.

Through it all, Mason's sister always seemed to be with them, the third member of their loyal little band. Anna never wanted to be left out from her older brother's games, following the two boys around like a lost puppy until they relented and let her join in. She was the heart to Tom's spirit and Mason's intellect... binding them together in a fast friendship that had lasted two decades without so much as a squabble. Anna had grown from a mildly annoying little pigtailed girl, into a daring tomboyish teenager, before developing into the stunningly beautiful blonde that had captured Tom's heart.

Thoughts of Anna filled him with hopeless despair, knowing just how devastated she must be at the loss of her beloved brother. Tom longed to be with her, to support his fiancée when she needed him the most. It felt like he was failing her being apart like this, piling crushing layers of guilt onto suffocating layers of grief.

As he thought about the two siblings, odd flickers of strange emotions sliced into his mourning. The pain of loss he was suffering was sharply undercut by different kinds of pain... feelings of betrayal that just didn't make any sense. He recoiled from those disturbing thoughts, shying away from the murky flashes of memories lurking just out of reach.

Tom rubbed both hands across his face, desperately trying to cope with the loss of so many other friends and colleagues. Studious Chen on Tactical, Ivan and Alex the rambunctious engineers, supportive Captain Bexley... all good men and people he'd sorely miss. Then there was Beth... oh God, Beth!

He pictured Beth's smiling face, her kind eyes gazing at him with that familiar intensity. He'd known her for years, ever since a nervous Mason had introduced his new girlfriend to the other musketeers, the new couple accompanying Tom and Anna on a double-date. As Tom thought about the sweet-natured girl, he suddenly had a flashback of her lying beside him, her beautiful chestnut hair spread out across a pillow.

Freezing in shock, he remembered the way her green eyes gazed at him, filled with... love? He clutched at his head in alarm as snippets of disjointed conversations flashed through his mind, the words too terrible to contemplate.

"He proposed... but I turned him down."

"It was always about you, Tom..."

"Mace has gone totally crazy..."

"You were fucking her behind my back for months!"

"She was heartbroken when I told her what you did!"

"I found Anna's car at Davenport's apartment... she was there all night..."

Tom lurched bolt upright, his strangled cry of horror echoing around the hospital room. The memories were like a flood, revealing in vivid detail those awful weeks leading up to the Brimorian ambush. He remembered... he remembered it all...

***

Jehanna stood in front of the mirror in her quarters and studied her reflection. The worry lines and bags under her eyes had vanished, her coffee-coloured skin now flawlessly smooth with a lovely healthy glow to it. If she didn't know better, Jehanna would've sworn that she'd just spent an hour with the makeup team, making herself look impeccable for the camera.

Other than the remarkable condition of her skin, she felt no different from before, although her freshly-laundered clothes did feel a little tighter. She glanced down at her cleavage and cupped her breasts, trying to gauge if they'd grown in size. It was surreal to think that she was on the cusp of a transformation into a breathtaking Amazonian beauty and the dusky-hued girl felt a thrill of anticipation course through her body at the prospect.

She had always been an attractive woman, drawing male attention since she was a teenager, so that side of the Change was nothing new. It was the thought of becoming an equal to the other Lionesses that Jehanna found so exhilarating. She'd followed John Blake's exploits from the start, when he first made a name for himself stopping a band of pirates trading slaves with the Kirrix. His acts of heroism were wonderfully refreshing, especially after covering hundreds of stories about dreadful acts committed by the dregs of humanity. Jehanna never dreamed that she might actually become a part of his legendary crew, but here she was, only a few days away from that reality.

The thought of living on nothing but John's cum for several days was deliciously kinky and Jehanna got wet just thinking about it. She ran her fingertips over her flat tummy, a naughty smile appearing on her face. Tashana had topped her up a couple of hours earlier and the prominent bulge in Jehanna's stomach had only just disappeared, her body eagerly absorbing her boyfriend's load. She still had a few reservations about abandoning her old life, but every hour Jehanna spent aboard the Invictus convinced her that she was making the right decision.

Walking over to her desk, she activated the comms interface and called the TFNN building on Terra. The corporate logo appeared a few seconds later and she waited patiently for the Editor-in-Chief of the news organisation to answer the call. Avery Gibson's features coalesced together in a flurry of pixels, a huge grin splashed over his normally-dour face.

"Jehanna!" he exclaimed, delighted to see her. "I've just been reviewing your latest exclusive... it's absolute dynamite!"

"Hey, Chief," she replied, greeting him with a bright smile. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Liked it?!" he snorted and shook his head. "It was sensational! The Lion of the Federation brings the ringleaders behind the Olympus terrorist attack to justice... the public are going to just lap this up! How did you embed the list of crimes each of those bastards committed into the feed? Being able to click on each of them and find out what they did before they were executed was inspired!"

"I had a little help with that," she confessed, before looking at him with concern. "It's not too gratuitous? I included a gore-free edit for you to broadcast before the watershed, so you can use that instead, if the other crosses the line."

"The public's baying for blood after we ran your sympathy piece with the grieving families... this is going to be ratings gold!" Avery exclaimed, waving away her concerns. He hesitated, unreadable emotions in his eyes. "Jehanna, I also had a look at the clips of raw footage you included..."

She nodded and answered his unspoken question. "It was genuine, Avery... all of it."

"Goddamn," he muttered under his breath, turning a shade paler. "Are they... what you were looking for?"

Jehanna locked eyes with him and nodded again, confirming that the ferocious tigers and terrifying dragon were in fact Nymphs.

"Thank you for showing me." He took a moment to compose himself. "I deleted those files after I'd seen them, as you requested."

"Great... thanks," she said, feeling a sudden flutter of nerves as she thought about the real reason behind her call.

Avery noticed her fidgeting nervously and fell back into his angry editor persona. "Alright, Miss Elani... spit it out! What's got you so jittery?"

"I'm... ah... going away for a while," she stammered. "For a couple of weeks... but it might be longer."

He slumped back in his chair, a flicker of sadness in his eyes. "Will you be coming back?"

That her boss would so quickly jump to that conclusion took her by surprise.

"I heard the rumours about you being a Lioness on the holo-net and you're calling me from the Invictus," Avery explained when he saw her shocked expression. "All those exclusives with the Lion of the Federation... I can't believe I never made the connection when it was staring me in the face. It shows I've lost my edge as an investigative reporter after being a desk jockey for all these years."

Jehanna hesitated for a moment, then admitted, "I'm staying with John for a few weeks while he travels to Kinta, then on to the Maliri Protectorate."

Avery let out a low whistle, a hungry gleam in his eyes. "Please tell me you're going to give me one last exclusive: TFNN reveals what the Maliri are hiding beneath their armour?"

She smiled and shook her head. "Afraid not." With a pensive frown, she continued, "I'm not sure if I'll be staying with John permanently, Chief. I haven't made a final decision yet."

Her boss gave her a knowing look and he said quietly, "Yes, you have. You wouldn't have even mentioned the possibility of leaving if there was any chance you were going to stay."

Jehanna realised he was right and swallowed around the sudden lump in her throat. "I loved working for you, Avery. Thanks for all the opportunities you gave me."

"I always knew you'd go far, Jehanna," he replied, looking at her affectionately. "Keep searching for the truth and light it up for the galaxy to see."

"I'm a crusader, it's what we do," she said softly, with a poignant smile. "Goodbye, Avery."

"Goodbye, Jehanna... I'm going to miss you," Avery replied, his voice catching as he looked away.

He ended the call, leaving her staring at the blank screen.

***

*Thanks for calling her, John,* Alyssa said gratefully. *She's not very happy with me at the moment.*

He eased back in the leather chair, his gaze fixed on the winged sword icon of the Terran Federation that floated above his desk. *That's alright. I've been meaning to call Lynette and find out how she's doing anyway.*

John watched as the Fleet Admiral's homely face appeared on the holo-screen, her true features concealed behind her holo-disguise. Her brow was furrowed with worry and he could see at a glance just how stressed she was.

"Hello, Lynette," he said with sympathy. "Irillith has secured the call, so we can speak freely. I hope this is a good time to talk?"

Her hazel eyes flashed with a host of emotions. "I'm not having a particularly good time at the moment, but by all means... let's talk."

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "Alyssa told me about the conversation she had with you earlier... regarding the colonies on the Outer Rim."

Lynette gave him a curt nod. "She made your position perfectly clear."

John grimaced at her reproachful tone. "I don't think she did."

"So you're not stabbing me in the back?" the brunette asked, looking deeply hurt. "You're not deliberately committing treason by supporting a rebellion against High Command? I thought we were friends, John! How could you betray me like this?!"

He leaned forward and said earnestly, "I'm not betraying you, Lynette, I promise!"

"But Alyssa told me that you've pledged military support to the rebel colonies! She warned me not to use the fleets to suppress the rebellion or you'd intervene! How else am I supposed to interpret that?" she snapped, her voice rising in indignation.

John held up his hands defensively. "Hey, hold on a second! I just don't want to see civilian cities subjected to an orbital bombardment. Surely you can't blame me for that?"

Lynette paused and shook her head. "No, but-"

Not giving her a chance to interrupt, John pressed onwards. "Alyssa's outlook towards the Terran Federation is different to mine... and while I don't necessarily agree with her, I do understand why she feels the way she does. You know her history, Lynette... and you must admit, she has very good reasons for feeling so much resentment towards the Federation."

Lynette was forced to nod in agreement. "What happened to her was horrible."

"Yes, and a lot of people on the Outer Rim feel the same way Alyssa does about High Command and the Terran Federation," John said gently.

"But I'm trying to improve things for those colonies!" Lynette protested. "A rebellion is the absolute worst thing they could possibly do. There's no logic to it... this isn't in their best interests at all!"

"Yes, but you can't expect these people to think logically right now. They're hurt and bitter and very, very angry. Put yourself in those Planetary Governors' shoes for a moment. What do you say to a man who was forced to watch his wife raped in front of him and his children butchered? A man who was then violated in a horrific way by monstrous aliens?"

Her shoulders slumped and Lynette let out a despondent sigh. "I don't know, John... I don't know what I'd say."

"I didn't either," he admitted, sinking back in his chair. "Do you remember I went chasing after the Menganus IV colonists in the Raptor?"

"And besieged a Kirrix world to rescue them," she replied with a faint smile. "Yes, I remember."

"Before that, I was with the girls on Valia Gate, saving the colonists by destroying their egg infestations... and I couldn't handle it. The absolute devastation in their eyes was one of the worst things I've ever seen. I left Alyssa in charge of the relief operation and rushed off to Menganus IV... supposedly to check if the colonists had been safely returned. But I knew, Lynette... in my gut, I knew they wouldn't be there... and it gave me an excuse to take out my rage and frustration on the Kirrix to avenge those people."

"And the only outlet the colonists have to vent their anger... is High Command," Lynette said softly.

John nodded, pleased that she understood. "These people aren't thinking logically, they're lashing out at the government that was supposed to protect them from this nightmare." He gave her a sympathetic look and continued, "I'm not a diplomat... but you are, Lynette. Please try and find a peaceful solution for these people... they've suffered enough."

She gave him a look of contrition. "I'm sorry for lashing out at you, John. I just... don't know how to handle this. I've spent the last thirty years being conditioned to come down hard on rebellious colonies... and you've taken away the only tool I've been trained to use. Without the threat of military force to keep rogue colonies in line, I'm not sure how we can get through to them and make them listen to reason."

"I've got every confidence in you, Fleet Admiral," John said with an encouraging smile.

Lynette snorted with indignant laughter, then couldn't help smiling back at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence... even if you are leaving me to sort out this mess."

He frowned, giving her a guilty look. "I'd help if I could, but I'm juggling so much at the moment... I honestly can't manage anything else."

Her hazel eyes softened with compassion. "I know, John. Don't worry, you can leave this with me. It's a Terran Federation internal issue and you've got bigger fish to fry."

John chuckled. "Pun intended?"

"Absolutely," she agreed, giving him a lopsided grin.

He paused for a moment, then asked, "How's everything going with Charles? Has he been in touch?"

Lynette bit her lip and shook her head. "Not yet."

John drummed his fingers on his desk in frustration. "He's being a stubborn ass... the two of you are perfect together. I've known Charles for decades and you're basically his fantasy woman. Give him a few more days, he'll come round."

"What if he doesn't?" she asked, her face a mask of worry.

"One way or another, I'll make sure you're happy," John said, making eye-contact with her. "I've got your back... we all have."

Lynette gave him a grateful smile, looking far more relaxed. "Thanks, John. I really appreciate you calling me... it meant a lot."

"You're welcome... and feel free to badger Alyssa for help in finding a solution for the Outer Rim colonies. She stuck her nose into this mess, so it's only right that she helps you fix it."

The brunette laughed. "Alright, will do. Goodbye, John," she replied, saluting him respectfully.

"Bye, Lynette," he said, returning the salute and ending the call.

Her face disappeared in a swirl of pixels, leaving John staring at the Terran Federation insignia.

*I'm sorry, John,* Alyssa said, sounding genuinely contrite. *Thank you so much for calling her. I didn't know she was going to take it that personally.*

*Yes, but I would've known... and handled it differently,* he replied, not making any effort to hide his disappointment. *I give you a lot of latitude, Alyssa... but this is something you should've discussed with me first. Lynette's our friend... she's one of us... and because you let your resentment towards the Terran Federation cloud your judgement, she ended up feeling betrayed... by me.*

*I never meant to hurt her!* the blonde protested. *I was just trying to protect the colonists!*

*I understand that... and I know why you feel so strongly about the Outer Rim,* he replied. *But I have a responsibility towards Lynette, which means it's your job to assist her in every way you can. She's alone right now and I never want her to feel like she doesn't have our full support.*

*I'm really sorry, John!* Alyssa blurted out, on the verge of tears. *I promise I'll never let you down like that again!*

*Please make sure that you don't,* he muttered, gazing out the window.

A knock on the door to his Ready Room caught John by surprise as he wasn't expecting anyone.