Three Square Meals Ch. 134

"Are you deliberately trying my patience?" Athgiloi scowled ominously, revealing rows of needle-like teeth. "Do you believe that I am some mere underling that you can keep waiting?"

"Please forgive me, Deep Lord!" Kaelotegh gasped, bowing his head in supplication. "Your timing is unfortunate... we have commenced battle with the Kintark."

Athgiloi's fins stiffened, his eyes narrowing in anger. "I know that, you imbecile! Cease fire immediately! Empress Tamolith has begged me to accept the unconditional surrender of the Kintark Empire!"

Kaelotegh looked up at his leader in confusion. "But... I thought you wanted to see her broken and humiliated?"

The Deep Lord blinked and didn't reply for a moment.

"I have changed my plans," Athgiloi suddenly announced, puffing out his chest. "I will soon be arriving in the Kinta system... to personally accept the Empress' capitulation."

"You're coming here?!" Kaelotegh exclaimed, stunned that the Deep Lord would leave Enclave territory.

"Yes... so I order you to stop shooting at the Kintark!" the Brimorian leader demanded imperiously.

The Shoal Master bobbed his head and rushed to issue the command over the fleet interface to cease all fire on the retreating Kintark forces. He then commanded the battleships surrounding Kinta to end the orbital bombardment.

"We have ceased all fire, Deep Lord."

"Very good..." Athgiloi nodded with satisfaction. "Now... err... I want you to give me a full status report on your fleets."

Kaelotegh began to dutifully describe the gruelling approach to Kinta, making sure to place all the blame for their losses squarely on the incompetence of Shoal-Commander Libtegh. Athgiloi nodded as he listened, seemingly unfazed by the horrific casualties the Brimorians had sustained. As Kaelotegh neared the end of his report, he noticed an unusual flicker pass across Athgiloi's face, the Deep Lord grimacing as his scaly skin seemed to convulse. The Shoal Master stared at the Brimorian leader in horrified revulsion as what looked like rippling waves undulated over his body.

"I'm sorry, Master!" Athgiloi groaned, his mouth twisting into a hideous snarl. "I can't hold it!"

The Deep Lord was suddenly obscured by a verdant haze, which shimmered for a second, then coalesced into what looked like a green-skinned Terran female.

"Hello!" Jade said with a sunny smile, waving at the holo-screen. "Thanks for letting me distract you."

Kaelotegh gaped at the grinning girl, stunned that she'd somehow been pretending to be Deep Lord Athgiloi. Shaking off the shock, he closed the comms channel with a furious snarl, then barked across the Bridge, "Commence firing on the Kintark!"

The Wave-squire manning the Tactical Station looked at him in bewilderment. "But... they're no longer in range, Shoal Master."

He stared up at the holographic map and scowled when he saw that the Kintark fleets were now positioned safely out of range of the Brimorian forces. A sensor contact on the periphery of the system drew his attention and he squinted at the mysterious object. It was leaping closer in skipping jumps and moving far faster than any spacecraft should be capable of travelling.

"What in the depths is that?!" he exclaimed, pointing towards the ominous blip on the Sector Map.

***

"Are you alright, honey?" John asked, turning on the lights in the commander's quarters. "That looked... uncomfortable."

The Nymph shivered with revulsion, goosebumps prickling her flesh. "I tried to hold onto Athgiloi's shape for as long as I could, but knowing how grotesque you found his appearance, it became too much to bear."

"I'm sorry... I didn't realise that would be so difficult for you," he apologised drawing her into a hug. "You did brilliantly though. You managed to keep the Brimorians distracted for at least ten minutes."

John brushed his fingers through her mane of dark hair and was surprised to see that Jade had reverted to her old form instead of the new catgirl one.

She looked up at him and smiled. "This is the first shape you chose for me and the one I'm most comfortable with. It will always hold a special place in my heart, Master."

*John, we're approaching the Kinta system!* Alyssa called out in warning.

He clasped Jade's hand and they entered the express grav-tubes, then dropped down to the armoury. As they hurried down the ramp into the Combat Bridge, John glanced at the holographic map in the centre of the room. The Battle of Kinta had come to an abrupt halt, and without all the shooting and explosions, it was much easier to see what the hundreds of warships were doing. The Kintark fleets were largely intact, rescued from destruction by Jade's subterfuge, and were now waiting just outside engagement range of the Brimorian forces.

"John, they've restarted the orbital bombardment," Calara informed him, turning to point at the battleships in orbit around the Kintark homeworld. She shot an admiring glance at the Nymph who was slipping on her summer dress. "You saved thousands of lives, Jade... well done."

Jade smiled and tipped an imaginary hat at the Latina. "No problem."

Glancing up at the Tactical Map, John watched the Invictus race towards the outer edge of the Kinta system. The holographic depiction of the white battlecruiser flickered intermittently as the navigation computer struggled to track its incredible speed.

"Are you going to do a drive by with a hyper-warp bow wave?" John asked the blonde sitting beside him in her XO chair.

Alyssa pouted and shook her head. "I'd love to, but I can't risk flying that close to the planet's gravity well."

John drew his runesword from the back of his Command Chair, then sheathed it across his back. "Alright... ground team with me. We'll head for the surface as soon as the Invictus drops out of hyper-warp."

Dana, Rachel, Tashana, Sakura, and Jehanna rose from their seats, the teams already decided telepathically while John watched Jade masquerading as Athgiloi.

Sakura was out of her chair first and made a beeline towards him. "I appreciate the offer to join you, John... but you don't really need me at your side for this one. I can do more good in the Valkyrie."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking into her almond-shaped eyes with concern.

She nodded earnestly. "I am."

They exchanged a smile, then the Asian girl activated her psychic speed and bolted towards the grav-tubes.

That left Calara, Irillith, and Leylira manning the Invictus, with Helene, Neysa, and Marika observing. John glanced at their novice pilot, the tiger-striped catgirl tightly gripping the flight controls. As if she could sense John watching her, Leylira turned and gave him a wistful smile as she waved goodbye.

*Leylira's been training hard for this, Master,* Jade said soothingly, patting his arm. *I wouldn't have recommended her if I didn't think she was ready.*

He returned Leylira's wave, then picked up his Paragon helmet from the Command Chair. "Let's go, everyone."

Jade and Betrixa accompanied the ground team as they descended to the Secondary Hangar, the two Nymphs on duty as pilot and co-pilot for the Raptor. They bounded ahead to prep the gunship for takeoff and were already up in the cockpit by the time John reached the loading ramp. He followed the rest of the girls into the Raptor, then stood beside them in the forward loading area as they waited for Alyssa.

John glanced at Jehanna, who was nervously double-checking her laser pistol. "Are you okay there, honey? Do you remember the plan?"

"Stick with Dana and Rachel, and help them sweep the Brimorians from the palace," Jehanna replied, doing her best to sound calm and confident. "Alyssa and Tashana will be clearing the grounds outside, and you're heading directly to Tamolith."

Dana nudged the reporter with an elbow and grinned. "Congrats... you're on the best team."

Tashana frowned in mock confusion. "Wait... so she's joining me and Alyssa?"

The redhead laughed and rolled her eyes. "You wish!"

"Don't worry. We'll take good care of you," Rachel said, slipping an arm around the dusky-hued girl and giving her a reassuring smile.

John nodded to her gratefully, then focused on Jehanna again. "Check your targets. The palace will be full of Kintark civilians and we don't want to hit any friendlies."

Dana's smile wavered and she quietly asked, "Are they really our friends? The Kintark killed a hell of a lot of Terrans... and we killed a shitload of them."

"I honestly don't know what kind of reception we'll get," John admitted, turning to look at each of the girls in turn. "I never had any trouble dealing with the Kintark before the war. Baledranax and Larn'kelnar were responsible for all the problems, and they're both dead now. Treat the Kintark as friends... but watch your backs, just in case."

*John, we're entering the Kinta system,* Alyssa informed him. *Do you want to say anything to the Brimorians?*

*It'd be rude not to,* John replied, turning and heading up to the Raptor's cockpit.

***

Shoal Master Kaelotegh stared at the unknown contact as it barrelled towards the Kinta system, wondering what it could possibly be. When the red icon finally got close enough for his flagship's sensors to identify it, he was shocked when the symbol was replaced by a white Terran Federation battlecruiser.

"That's impossible..." the Wave-squire at tactical gasped, shaking his head in denial. "No Terran ship can move that fast!"

The transponder code identified the vessel as the Invictus and Kaelotegh's eyes widened in recognition. He was about to bark orders at his fleets to make defensive preparations, when he noticed that the white ship didn't drop out of hyper-warp at the periphery of the system.

Kaelotegh watched in astonishment as the Invictus tore through the system directly towards his forces, seemingly unfazed by the system's gravity well. It continued inbound without a moment's hesitation, the holographic depiction of the Invictus leaping forward in unsettling jumps. It was almost as if the sinister warship was so hungry for battle, it was breaking all rules of physics in its haste to engage his forces.

His communications officer turned to face Kaelotegh. "They've just sent out a system-wide broadcast, Shoal Master!"

"Show me!" Kaelotegh demanded, lurching out of his command chair as he stared up at the holo-screen.

Admiral John Blake's face appeared before him, the legendary Terran officer wearing white combat armour with his helmet tucked under one arm. Kaelotegh paid scant attention to the Lion's battle suit though, as he was transfixed by the man's eyes. Cold and hard, they reminded him of a Megacaradon's terrifying gaze just before it tore apart its helpless prey.

"Brimorian war criminals," John Blake began, glaring intently at the screen. "Cease all fire against the Kintark, power down your vessels, and surrender to be tried for the atrocities you have committed. Any ships in violation of these instructions will be destroyed."

There was a deathly silence on the bridge of the Retribution from the Depths, with the crew unsure whether they should be terrified or amused by his threats. Shoal Master Kaelotegh shared their feelings. Admiral Blake was in command of one solitary vessel and was facing over 500 elite Brimorian warships. The man was either totally insane, or... the alternative was too ludicrous to contemplate; that the Invictus could actually be a danger to three reinforced battle groups. The idea was preposterous.

Kaelotegh had seen combat footage that showed the Invictus playing a pivotal role in the Battle of Terra, which he'd assumed at the time was Federation propaganda. The white battlecruiser had supposedly destroyed scores of Kintark ships, but had sustained significant damage in the process. If the footage was to be believed, the Lion was a formidable opponent, but hardly unbeatable. Years of training were telling Kaelotegh that Blake was either bluffing or a deranged lunatic... but he couldn't shake the unsettling doubts that the Invictus' astounding speed had raised in his mind.

He glanced at his communications officer, who nodded in confirmation that a comms channel had been opened with the Invictus.

"You have no jurisdiction here, Admiral Blake," Kaelotegh replied, hiding his doubts with a sneer. "The Terran Federation is not allied with the Kintark Empire, nor has it formally declared war against the Brimorian Enclave. Your bold threats are just a desperate bluff."

"I'm not here on behalf of the Terran Federation. I am simply informing you that any vessel that doesn't power down and surrender will be destroyed."

Kaelotegh opened his mouth to respond, but the screen went blank as Blake abruptly ended the call. He bristled at the indignity, then a knowing smile appeared on his face. All the arrogant grandstanding from the Lion of the Federation was just bluster, designed to unsettle the Brimorians into thinking he could actually back up his fanciful threats.

The Invictus roared closer, then when it looked like it would charge straight into the Brimorian forces, it dropped out of hyper-warp and came to an abrupt halt. Well outside of particle beam range, its engines powered up and the battlecruiser executed a smooth turn, so that it was flying parallel to the Enclave forces. There was a bright flash of light from the Invictus' topdeck and a blue beam lanced out to strike a Brimorian cruiser at the front of their formation.

The two ships were connected by that column of energy for several seconds, the pulsing sapphire blast stripping away 80% of the Enclave cruiser's enhanced shields in a single shot. Kaelotegh was stunned at the power the weapon possessed, but even more unsettling was its massive range, nearly twice that of a Brimorian Particle Beam. The Invictus would be able to slowly pick off his forces without fear of retaliation, leaving him no choice but to chase down the Terran warship.

He opened the fleet command interface and had just ordered all his strike craft to intercept this new enemy, when a second blue energy beam struck the almost shieldless cruiser. The protective field withered under the onslaught and seemed to collapse almost instantly, then the tachyon beam scythed into the bow of the Enclave vessel. The dazzling shaft of energy cored straight through the entire length of the Brimorian ship and blew apart the engines when it emerged at the stern.

Kaelotegh felt fear gripping his chest as he realised the Invictus had twice the long-range firepower he'd previously assumed. In the video he'd seen, the ship only had one of those incredibly destructive beams, not two! That was when the holographic map seemed to explode with azure light, leaving the Shoal Master blinking owlishly against the glare.

He looked on in horror as another eighteen energy beams lashed out to strike the cruiser group. The beams were being fired in pairs and utterly obliterating each cruiser they converged on, destroying nine more vessels in a matter of seconds. The Invictus then performed a languid roll and opened fire with a second horrific broadside, eviscerating ten cruisers from another group with the port gun batteries.

The command interface lit up with the faces of terrified captains asking for orders, the Enclave forces reeling as they watched this unstoppable enemy tear them apart.

"Shoal Master! Something's infiltrated my ship's systems!" Shoal-Commander Onghaich cried in alarm. "We're losing control!"

The battleship captain looked off-screen as one of his crew screamed out a warning, then his face twisted in a mask of terror before he was unceremoniously ripped away from the screen. Kaelotegh quailed in fear as he wondered what dreadful calamity had befallen Onghaich and he searched frantically for his battleship, the Inexorable Wrath of the Seas, that was positioned at the rear of the Brimorian formations. He saw warning icons flashing around the capital ship, which was now venting its atmosphere out into space... along with the entire crew.

Kaelotegh let out an eerie howl of despair, knowing that his devious enemy had tricked him one final time. The aborted attack by the Kintark had been designed to keep the Brimorians right where they wanted all along and now they'd unleashed a frenzied Megacaradon upon him. The Enclave armada was trapped between the Invictus and the planet behind them, leaving them no safe path to retreat.

Shoal Master Kaelotegh glared with hate-filled eyes at the Kintark flagship. If the Brimorians were doomed to die, he was going to take down the enemy commander with him.

"All ships, target the Breklan'tohok!" he screamed into the fleet interface, his frenzied cry edged with the dark tint of madness.

***

Jade shoved the throttle forward and the Raptor roared out of the hangar. She pushed the flightstick to the side and pulled back, bringing the gunship's nose around to point towards Kinta. Her co-pilot was transfixed by the Nymph's actions, Betrixa watching everything that her sister was doing with fascination.

"Leylira seems to be handling the Invictus without any problems," John said, peering through the cockpit window at the white battlecruiser.

"She'll be fine, Master," Jade said confidently, her eyes locked on the approaching waves of Brimorian fighters. "All she needs to do is point the Invictus wherever Calara tells her to go. With a little luck, they'll never be in range of the Brimorian guns."

The optical tracking system aimed the gunship's Tachyon Cannons at each of the strike craft Jade had selected. When she squeezed the trigger, the turreted guns opened up on the Brimorian ships, tracking them with impressive accuracy. Even though these fighters were protected by shields, the streams of tachyon bolts popped those defensive barriers like they were soap bubbles. Thin Brimorian armour plating stood no chance of deflecting the potent energy blasts and each successful hit blasted glowing holes through their hulls.

Dozens of ships were blown to pieces as the Raptor charged headlong towards them, but before the Brimorians could return fire, space around the gunship turned from black to blue. The Invictus had been following behind its smaller companion and Calara swept the sky clear with a storm of tachyon bolts from the battlecruiser's defence grid. Entire squadrons were blown to pieces as they were engulfed in that azure maelstrom, annihilating the entire Brimorian fighter presence in under a minute.

John glanced at the Tactical Map and frowned as he studied the Brimorian formations. They appeared to be breaking apart, with ships scattering in all directions. "Are they routing?"

Alyssa had joined them in the cockpit and she shook her head. "Calara thinks the Brimorian commander has lost control of his fleets. Some of their ships are retreating, some are holding position, but a small group is moving to engage the Kintark fleet. Sakura is asking permission to intercept them."

"Permission granted." John stared at the Enclave battleships directly ahead of him that were bombarding the planet's surface. "Those bastards are still firing on Kinta. Can you ask Calara to take them out?"

Alyssa shook her head. "They're floating directly above Kintark cities. If Calara blasts them out of the sky, they'll crash on the planet and kill even more civilians. Irillith's going to take care of it."

"Good," John said, nodding his approval. He glanced at the chaotic mass of Brimorian ships, seeing nothing but frantic evasive manoeuvres. "Have any of them actually powered down and surrendered?"

"Not one ship," Alyssa replied quietly. "I guess they didn't think they'd get much mercy from the Kintark."

Jade weaved the Raptor through the vanguard of the Brimorian armada... or what was left of it. Everywhere they looked, blue and purple plated warships had been systematically obliterated, fallen victim to Calara's deadly aim with the Invictus' Tachyon Lances. There were still a handful of surviving cruisers ahead of them, some of which even tried to fire on the Raptor, but Jade jinked the tiny gunship from side-to-side and effortlessly dodged the forest of particle beams.