Three Square Meals Ch. 134

John looked at his blonde matriarch and raised an eyebrow. "Was this your idea?"

"First I've heard of it," Alyssa replied, smiling at the dusky-hued beauty. "I can't wait to find out what's going on in her pretty little head, but we haven't bonded... yet."

He turned back to Jehanna. "Alright... get geared up."

"I'm an excellent shot! And I've had combat experience!" she blurted out, before pausing in the middle of her counter-argument with a startled expression on her face. "Really?!"

"You already proved you can handle yourself in a firefight. You've also grown a fair bit since I started feeding you, so you should be able to wear a Paragon suit without it being uncomfortable."

Jehanna glanced down at her stretched shirt, which was struggling to contain her significantly enhanced bust. When she looked up again, the former reporter grinned in delight.

"I meant in height, but you're definitely filling out everywhere," he clarified, his gaze sweeping over her impressive new curves. Making eye-contact with Jehanna again, he continued, "I know you're an excellent shot with a pistol. Have you had any training with rifles?"

"I've used shotguns for clay pigeon shooting, but that's it," she admitted with a rueful frown.

"Alright, no problem. You can use the pistol Dana gave you for now, it's still more powerful than a Gatling Laser. I'll ask Sakura to train you how to use a Tachyon rifle after the battle."

After nodding eagerly, Jehanna hesitated and gave him a curious look. "I thought I'd have my work cut out for me trying to convince you. Why did you agree so quickly?"

John gently stroked her cheek, an ambivalent expression on his face. "The next time we fight, we'll probably be up against Thralls. I want you to get some combat experience fighting alongside the girls before we face anything like that."

That thought shocked Jehanna, but she rallied immediately. "I thought we'd be taking on the Brimorians for the foreseeable future... I didn't anticipate facing a Progenitor army so soon."

"Rahn seemed convinced that we'd be facing an imminent attack. I might not like him, but I do respect my father's instinct for self-preservation; it's probably wise to assume he was correct."

Alyssa brushed her fingers against John's hand. "We better hurry. We're closing on Kinta and we need to allocate the girls to combat teams."

"I'll go grab my pistol!" Jehanna exclaimed, rushing out of the bedroom.

She nearly collided with Calara in her haste, the Latina nimbly stepping aside just in time to let her pass. They exchanged brief smiles, then the brunette hurried across the bedroom towards the express grav-tubes. Seeing Calara garbed in a form-fitting jumpsuit reminded John and Alyssa why they'd made their way to the bedroom in the first place. They entered the walk-in-wardrobe, where they quickly dressed in identical clothing to the Latina.

Alyssa unhooked a second jumpsuit from the clothing rails, then gave John a quick kiss. "I'll help Jehanna get geared up. See you down there."

Placing his hands on the gentle curve of her hips, John stopped her pulling away. "Am I doing the right thing letting Jehanna fight with us?"

The blonde looked up at him, an ambivalent expression on her beautiful face. "You surprised me by agreeing so fast. You're normally very cautious about making sure the girls are fully trained before you expose them to combat."

"You think it's a mistake?" he asked with a frown.

She shook her head. "It's an unfortunate necessity. You were right earlier; Jehanna needs to get used to fighting as part of our team and combat with Brimorian marines is a good place to get some practice. Going up against a Thrall army will be way more dangerous... and if we're fighting a Progenitor at the same time, it'll be a fucking nightmare. I wouldn't want to throw a rookie into that shitstorm."

"Exactly. We'll have our hands full just trying to keep everyone alive," he agreed, his frown deepening.

They both heard running footsteps coming in their direction and turned to see Jehanna skid to a halt in the doorway, her holstered pistol clasped in her hands.

"I left my shield belt behind," she said, walking into the room. "I assume I won't need it?"

"That's right; the Paragon suits have much stronger shields," Alyssa replied, turning to beckon the dusky-hued beauty into the room. "I've got this jumpsuit for you. It's the most comfortable thing to wear under full body armour."

John returned Jehanna's smile as he left her to get changed, then walked across the bedroom to the express grav-tubes. Dropping down to the Armoury, he donned a Paragon suit, then retrieved his sword and a Tachyon Rifle from the weapon racks. He loaded the Tachyon rifle as he walked down the ramp into the Combat Bridge, the ammo count cycling up to 50 when the magazine was slotted into place. The rest of the girls were already there and prepared for battle, each of them turning to greet John with a nod as he arrived.

John sheathed his runesword behind the Command Chair, then stood before the holographic map to study the Battle of Kinta. There was a swirling mass of sensor contacts near the homeworld, with the two alien fleets locked in a ferocious firefight. Everywhere he looked, solid beams of yellow light contrasted with staccato bursts of green plasma bolts, the salvos punctuated by bright explosions. Swarms of fighters fought deadly dogfights around the lumbering capital ships, locked together in a desperate struggle to establish strike craft supremacy.

"What's the status, Captain Fernandez?" he asked as he sat down, unable to get a clear picture of the chaotic battlefield.

Calara turned her tactical chair to face him, a worried frown on her face. "The situation is dire for the Kintark. The Brimorians are still bombarding the capital and the Kintark fleets have launched a suicidal charge to try to stop them."

"They've got no chance of defeating the Brimorians?"

The brunette shook her head. "The Kintark started off badly outnumbered and the Brimorians are cutting them to pieces as they rush to stop the planetary siege. The Enclave forces are holding position, so the Kintark will inflict some serious damage when they do finally get to point-blank range... but not enough to win. Even with a dozen Brimorian battleships staying out of the battle to continue bombarding Kinta, the Enclave fleets still have enough firepower to wipe out the Kintark forces."

"We're nearly in comms range... can we contact the Kintark fleet commander and tell him to withdraw?" John asked, staring at the battlecarrier in the centre of the Imperial fleets.

Calara's frown deepened. "If High Prelate Zorlin disengages, then all the Brimorians ships fighting him will rejoin the bombardment. We'll be able to save the Kintark fleets, but the civilians on Kinta will pay a heavy price."

"How long until we arrive?" John asked tersely, walking over to his command chair.

He activated a second holographic map that showed the Invictus rocketing across the sector towards the Kintark homeworld.

"We're fifteen minutes away," she explained, looking up at the tactical map with concern. "If you want to save the Kintark fleets, we need to contact Zorlin immediately and order a retreat before they get too heavily engaged with the Brimorians."

John ground his teeth in frustration as he stared at the alien fleets locked in savage combat. "If the Kintark lose those warships, the Empire's going to be left completely defenceless for years... but I'm not willing to sacrifice civilian lives." He turned to lock eyes with Calara. "Can you think of any way we can save both?"

She hesitated, weighing up the possibilities. "If I micro-manage the battle, I might be able to claw my way to a narrow Kintark victory... but there won't be much left of their fleets afterwards. Unfortunately, I haven't got the time or assets in-system to come up with any special surprises."

"What about diplomatic options?"

"The Kintark could offer to surrender... but if the Brimorians are willing to commit atrocities against civilians, they'll probably just destroy the defensive fleets. Alternatively, we could contact the Brimorians and try to scare them away from the homeworld, although I'm not sure they'd believe just how destructive the Invictus is now."

"The Brimorian Commander must be high-ranked enough to know what happened at the Battle of Terra?" John asked with a frown.

Calara gave him a helpless shrug. "Even if he has seen video of us in action, he might not believe we're a threat to a force his size. The Invictus had a lot less firepower back then and we took a real beating in that fight. Our final option would've been to ask Edraele to threaten the Deep Pool and force a ceasefire... but we just knocked out the last Brimorian comms beacon. There's no way Deep Lord Athgiloi can contact the invasion fleet to order them to stop the bombardment."

John froze as an idea suddenly came to him. He turned to look across the Combat Bridge at Jade, who heard what he was thinking... then wrinkled her nose and frowned with distaste.

***

Tamolith head-butted the doors to the Imperial suite, the doors slamming into the walls with an almighty crash. She rushed inside, her long claws gouging deep furrows out of the heavy stone floor in her desperation to be reunited with her brood of whelps.

Etheiss was closest to the entrance and she trotted out of the anteroom. "Mother, will you please tell Tondax to stop being so annoying! He won't give me a moment's peace."

"Where's Zulkayr?!" Tamolith snapped, her long serpentine neck craning around to search for her eldest son.

Her eldest daughter frowned at the Empress' abrupt tone. "Oh, I think he's outside somewhere..." Etheiss looked indignant as she continued, "Zulkayr promised to help me look after the little ones, but he's always spending time with Ruvith and Ondyrth!"

Tamolith shot a fearful look towards the veranda that led to the palace roof. "Fetch Tondax and your sisters! Meet me in the Imperial archives!"

"But, mother..."

"Do it now, Etheiss! I don't have time to argue!" Tamolith barked, her eyes blazing with anger.

The dragonling cringed, lowering her neck in supplication. "I'm sorry, mother."

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Tamolith padded across the chamber to nuzzle her daughter. "I apologise for speaking sharply, my precious darling. Please hurry and do as I ask... our family is in danger."

Etheiss' eyes widened in alarm and she quickly nodded. Tamolith rushed out to the veranda, the booming thumps of her heavy clawed feet echoing loudly around the suite.

After fearfully watching her mother leave, Etheiss hurried back through the anteroom to the nursery, her claws scrabbling across the floor. "Tondax, Damopha, Chysenteil... where are you?"

A scaly red shape ambushed her from beside the doorway, the impact sending Etheiss tumbling to the ground with a startled hiss.

"Hah! Got you!" Tondax declared in triumph, before turning to grin at his youngest sister. "Beat that!"

Damopha grudgingly nodded. "Alright, that was pretty good..."

Etheiss clambered to her feet and snorted with irritation. "Stop messing around!"

Chysenteil laughed as she bounded over. "You're just mad that he got you!"

"No, I'm not!" Etheiss said indignantly. She lowered her voice and continued dramatically, "Mother said that we're in danger! We need to meet her and Zulkayr in the archives!"

The three younger dragonlings froze and looked at her in wide-eyed surprise.

"Come on... we need to hurry!" their sister declared, beckoning them towards the door.

***

High Prelate Zorlin darted a worried glance at his Chief Engineer as the Breklan'tohok's shields were blasted again and again by volleys of Brimorian particle beams. "What'sss our ssshield ssstatusss?!"

"Twelve percent, High Prelate!" the harried officer replied, his eyes wide with alarm. "We can't withssstand thisss volume of firepower!"

"Better usss than them," Zorlin muttered under his breath, his eyes snapping back to the holographic map and the battered lead elements of the Kintark fleet.

As soon as the Breklan'tohok had come within range of the Brimorians, the enemy had switched targets to start firing on his flagship. Not all of the Enclave forces were close enough to join in the ferocious onslaught... and that was the sole reason Zorlin's battlecarrier hadn't already been blown to pieces. While his flagship's shields were now on the verge of collapse, the Brimorians had inadvertently granted a temporary reprieve to the beleaguered cruisers at the vanguard of the Kintark battle formation. The Breklan'tohok was by far the largest and toughest vessel in the system, but no ship could withstand concentrated fire from three hostile war fleets.

The question plaguing Zorlin was whether he should continue forging ahead, knowing that his battlecarrier would surely be doomed. However, if he stayed with the fleet and acted as a magnet for incoming fire, dozens of cruisers would be spared destruction. Those ships were all equipped with the new EMP missiles and if they could get close enough, the cruisers would inflict terrible retribution on their foes. With grim resignation, Zorlin made his choice... but before he could issue the fateful order to maintain their reckless charge, an excited shout from the Bridge Pit drew his attention.

"High Prelate, we're being hailed!" the comms office called out, half-rising from his seat. "It'sss a Terran ssship... the Invictusss!"

"Put Admiral Blake through immediately!" Zorlin exclaimed, his heart skipping a beat.

Rather than the Lion of the Federation appearing on the holo-screen, he saw a young Terran female wearing white armour.

"High Prelate Zorlin! I'm so glad you're still alive!" she said in a rush.

The Kintark Commander looked at her in confusion, then replied, "Thank you. May I ssspeak to Admiral Blake?"

"I'm afraid he's indisposed at the moment," the brunette replied, shaking her head. Her brown eyes flicked away from the camera, the woman's concentration obviously elsewhere. "Now, I want you to order all your forces to cease fire and pull back from Kinta... then hold position just out of range and get ready to intercept the Brimorians when they try to escape."

Zorlin stared at her incredulously. "Are thessse ordersss from the Lion?!"

"No, they're from me," she answered, focusing on the Kintark leader again.

"And who might you be?" Zorlin asked, his eyes narrowing at the young woman's audacity.

"Oh, I forgot we haven't been formally introduced. My name's Captain Calara Fernandez and I'm one of Admiral Blake's Lionesses. You've been following my defensive plans to harass the Brimorian armada and slow their approach to Kinta." Calara's face fell as she added, "It looks like I was only able to disable half their forces... I'm so sorry I couldn't prevent the rest from reaching you before we arrived."

The High Prelate's jaw dropped in shock as he gaped at the architect of the Brimorian's misfortune.

"Zorlin? We don't have time to delay," Calara declared, a firmer tone of authority stiffening her voice. "The Invictus will reach the Kinta system in twelve minutes and I'll deal with the Brimorians then... but I need you to withdraw immediately if we're going to stop them from bombarding your homeworld."

Doing his best to recover, Zorlin stammered, "I will order my forcesss to disssengage."

"Thank you, High Prelate," Calara said with a grateful smile. Her expression turned grim as she continued, "Just give us a few minutes... then you'll have your revenge."

***

Shoal Master Kaelotegh stared intently at the Kintark fleet as it made an abrupt turn, the green hulled vessels banking around to starboard. Even though they were still under heavy fire from the Brimorian fleets, the enemy vessels had stopped shooting back, their banks of Plasma Cannons ceasing all activity.

"What are you planning now, my cunning adversary?" the Brimorian leader hissed, his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

The Kintark battlecarrier at the centre of the formation was struck repeatedly by salvos of particle beams, its shields finally collapsing under the onslaught. The hull was then savaged by blistering energy streams, deep trenches gouged out of the iridescent armour plating in a dozen separate places. Despite the severe damage to the Breklan'tohok's armour, the enemy flagship managed to complete the turn with no major systems destroyed. The enormous capital ship arced around with the rest of the fleet, until there were rows of engines facing the Brimorians as the Kintark retreated.

"You're fleeing?!" Kaelotegh balked, gaping incredulously at the withdrawing defenders. Shaking his head in disbelief, his lip curled into a derisive smirk. "You think me a Cacaradon? One scent of blood in the water and I thrash in a feeding frenzy after my prey?"

The Kintark began to withdraw under sustained fire, leaving a score of shattered hulks in their wake, the destroyers and cruisers sacrificed in a futile and utterly ineffective attack. Kaelotegh stared at the alien forces as they fled from the Brimorian guns, scarcely able to believe what he was seeing. He'd come to fear and respect the devilishly sadistic mind that had tortured him every step of the way to Kinta, so he refused to accept that this pitiful effort to dislodge the Enclave forces could possibly have originated from the same gifted commander.

The fleet interface lit up with requests from Brimorian ship captains, each of them requesting permission to pursue the haggard Kintark fleets. Kaelotegh knew that the obvious course of action was to hound his demoralised enemy to destruction... but that was just what the Kintark commander would be expecting. Or perhaps this was another feint... and his sly opponent knew that Kaelotegh would hold position because he was suspecting a trap. Maybe the Brimorians had been set up like lorgefish to the slaughter, herded into the Kintark nets where they would be butchered at their leisure.

His claws drummed a frenetic beat on the console, with a second finger now double-tapping erratically as his hand trembled with the strain. Frozen with indecision, Kaelotegh stared at the interface... until he scowled in frustration and rebuffed all the requests to give chase. Glaring malevolently at the Kintark homeworld, he decided to order all three fleets to join the bombardment; at least that was a tangible way of punishing his elusive foe for their cowardice.

"Shoal Master, we're being hailed!" a Wave-squire announced, turning to look at his commander in shock.

"By the Kintark?" Kaelotegh muttered, feeling a flutter of anticipation in his guts.

The young Brimorian communications officer shook his head frantically. "It's Deep Lord Athgiloi!"

Kaelotegh's heart sank at the thought of speaking to the leader of the Deep Pool. Having to confess to his humiliations at the hands of the Kintark was a moment he'd been dreading for the last several hours. He suddenly paused, wary at the unexpected timing of the call... could this be another trick by his nemesis?

"Are the secure comms protocols authentic?" he asked, glaring at his underling. "This could be a Kintark ruse. Verify them."

"But... it's the Deep Lord!" the Wave-squire burbled fearfully. "I can't just-"

"Check them now!" Kaelotegh snapped, losing his already frayed temper.

The frightened comms team did as he asked, hurrying to verify the authenticity of the secure channel.

"The protocols are authentic, Shoal Master," the comms officer announced, his eyes wide with fright.

Kaelotegh cringed as he realised he'd kept the notoriously vindictive leader waiting for no reason. "Put him through..."

Deep Lord Athgiloi appeared on the holo-screen in all his magnificence. Larger and more imposing than any Brimorian Kaelotegh had ever known, the Deep Lord's muscular body was sheathed in shimmering teal scales, his fins a resplendent orange. The Leader of the Brimorian Enclave was bathed in bright light and the room behind him plunged into complete darkness, the sharp contrast making him even more intimidating.