Three Square Meals Ch. 143

John slipped his arm around her shoulders. "Are you feeling alright? Is this anxiety from the Mists?"

She turned to give him a self-conscious smile. "No, just my time as a smuggler. In that profession you had to be wary of law enforcement, crime lords, double-crossing clients, your own crew... it's not paranoia when everyone's out to get you."

"The offer's still open to remove those memories," John said, looking at her with sympathy.

Tashana considered it for a moment. "Not right now... but later maybe? When the war is over, I think I'd like to put all that behind me. As terrible as my time in the Unclaimed Wastes was, I learned some sneaky tricks that might come in useful against the Progenitors."

"Just let me know whenever you feel ready."

They turned back to the view, watching and waiting for any sign of Kythshara.

"We're getting close to the outer ring of defences," Alyssa warned her fellow matriarch. "I've plotted a course that should take us through one of the gaps Valada identified in the turret grid."

"It seems a bit sloppy leaving holes in the defences," Dana said with a frown. "I thought Mael'nerak was supposed to be super smart?"

"The area these gun emplacements are covering is vast," Alyssa explained. "There's just way too much space to cover at this distance from the planet unless he built tens-of-thousands of turrets. This is like an outer layer of defences intended to slow down invaders and make them cautious; it's the inner rings that Calara's really worried about."

Everyone was feeling on edge as the Raptor continued onwards, but it had nothing to do with the aura from the Mists. They all knew that dozens of gun turrets might already be tracking their approach, ready to open fire with lethal weapons that were designed to eviscerate powerful thrall ships. Their suspicions were confirmed when the pilot's console chimed and an icon flashed on the comms interface.

"Incoming hail," Alyssa said, reaching over to acknowledge the call.

A deep baritone voice rang out around the cockpit. "El Nareith hae'em dargonath."

"What did he say?" Dana asked in a hushed voice.

"The light in the darkness," Tashana translated, before glancing at John. "Is this some kind of riddle?"

"Maybe if we answer correctly, we can deactivate Kythshara's defences?" Irillith said hopefully.

"Hold here for a second, Jade," John said, patting her on the shoulder.

She did as he requested, bringing the Raptor to a halt.

"Any idea how we should respond?" John asked, looking around at the girls.

"Maybe he's referring to the Shroud?" Dana suggested. "As far as we know, this is the only area in the galaxy that isn't ruled by Xar'aziuth."

"Even if that is the correct answer, it's highly unlikely that Mael'nerak referred to it as 'The Shroud'," Irillith said, looking sceptical. "A direct translation into ancient Maliri would be 'Ta'mariksha' but he could've called it anything."

"What about Valada?" Alyssa said, staring out into the nebula. "We know Mael'nerak loved her and she had a dramatic impact on his life."

John nodded thoughtfully. "True... and it's highly unlikely that an invading Progenitor would know the name of Mael'nerak's matriarch." He glanced around at the girls and continued, "Have you got any other suggestions? If not, then I think we should go with Alyssa's."

Nobody volunteered any other ideas, so John activated the comms interface and sent out a system-wide broadcast. "Valada," he declared solemnly.

They waited for a couple of minutes but there was no other response.

"Shall I proceed, Master?" Jade asked, waiting for his permission to continue.

"Go ahead. We can't afford to waste any more time."

She powered up the engines and the Raptor surged forward, heading towards the heart of the nebula. They had only resumed flying for thirty seconds, when there was a sudden flicker from the System Map, the sensors finally close enough to an object to detect it.

"Debris..." Irillith muttered, staring intently at the shattered remnants of a spacecraft. "It's a Maliri destroyer."

"One of Great Grandmother's scouts," Tashana added, moving closer to the cockpit canopy to get a better look.

"Damn..." Dana said quietly, shocked by the extent of the destruction. "Those poor bastards were torn to pieces!"

The wreck looked like it had been hit by scores of beams, each one burning straight through the hull.

"Stay over to the port side," Alyssa advised their Nymph pilot. "We don't want to get anywhere near that turret."

Jade made the course correction and they passed more obliterated hulks as they proceeded in-system. Each vessel had been blown to pieces the moment they were within range of a gun emplacement, giving the Raptor's crew a macabre way of detecting a nearby turret whenever they drew near to its position. The final graves of those brave Maliri allowed them to serve their people for a final time and Tashana bowed her head with respect to each one they passed.

"We're reaching the limit the scouts were able to penetrate," Alyssa said, squinting into the purple gloom. "No ships returned from exploring any closer than this."

Less than thirty seconds passed before a strobing white light lit up the cockpit. The shield status display registered hits a second later and the protective barrier began to drop at an alarming rate.

"Evasive manoeuvres!" John ordered, tightly gripping the back of Jade's chair.

"On it, Master!" she replied, slamming the flight stick to the left and pushing it forward.

The Raptor performed a diving barrel roll, which the Nymph smoothly corrected as she brought the gunship back towards their destination. She flipped and spun the nimble assault craft, making it perform a chaotic dance to avoid the deadly incoming fire.

Dana rushed over to the canopy to get a better look at whatever was shooting at them. "They must be using some kind of rapid fire weapon in a fast tracking turret! It hits like a fucking truck!"

"John... take a look at this!" Alyssa exclaimed, pointing towards the holographic map.

He could see the beams thrumming past the Raptor, their wake crisscrossed by a forest of white columns. With the gunship's incredible speed combined with Jade's supernatural agility, Mael'nerak's defences found it impossible to keep up with her chaotic manoeuvres. She performed the intricate ballet for the next several minutes, long enough to pull away from the turret that had initially fired on them. Just when they had cleared its field of fire, a second turret renewed the barrage, forcing Jade to frantically evade more beam volleys.

"Nice flying!" John said with admiration, rubbing the Nymph's shoulder when they cleared the second emplacement. He glanced at the shields that had regenerated to a pale green. "You can ease off on the dodging now, at least until we come under attack again."

"I guess the answer wasn't Valada," Irillith noted glumly.

Jade returned them to the original flight path, which would lead directly to Kythshara's projected location. Their rapid progress was interrupted once again as another turret opened fire, with the Nymph reacting immediately and avoiding the worst of the initial salvo. She ducked and weaved, making the Raptor an impossible target, as they steadily proceeded towards the second orbital path around the star.

"There it is!" Tashana blurted out, pointing excitedly at the canopy as the gunship yawed wildly to starboard. With the Raptor's nose flipping around in response to Jade's wild dodging, the field of stars whirled past in a dizzying blur. "I definitely saw Kythshara!"

John and the girls were all on the lookout for the elusive planet now, but they saw only fleeting glimpses of a green world as it flashed past the window. When they were finally clear of the turret's field of fire, Jade straightened out the Raptor and ramped up its engines, rushing onwards towards their destination. Kythshara was now directly in front of them, growing larger by the second as they closed the distance. The planet had a mystical feel to it, the verdant paradise like a gleaming emerald presented on a rich purple cloth.

"It looks so beautiful," Helene whispered, staring at the planet in wonder.

"I can't believe we actually found Mael'nerak's homeworld," Tashana said reverently. "Do you remember much about living there, Jade?"

There was no answer from the Nymph, so Tashana turned to see Jade's reaction to setting eyes on her home for the first time in over 10,000 years.

"Jade!" she gasped, rushing over to their stricken pilot. "John, something's wrong with her!"

The Nymph's features were contorted in a silent scream of anguish, her body frozen in place with her eyes locked in terror on Kythshara.

John darted around the pilot's chair to see for himself, and recoiled in shock at the dreadful expression on her face. "She must have reacted to the Mists! You need to shield her, Helene! Now!"

Helene's eyes glowed with a soft teal light as she reached out to her friend. "I don't think it's the Mists," she said fearfully, after hastily checking her on the Astral. "Nothing's changed... the psychic ocean isn't even trying to wear her down!"

The cockpit lit up with another staccato pulse of bright light, signifying that the Raptor had reached the final line of defences positioned around Kythshara. Their shields were hammered by energy beams, the dazzling white light immediately followed by a succession of bright colours, as the gunship's shield status dropped from green to orange in a matter of seconds.

Tashana reacted first, lunging for Jade's hands to yank back the joystick and avoid the incoming fire. To her surprise she couldn't move those lithe green limbs even a millimetre, the Nymph's fingers clenched in a death grip around the Raptor's flight controls.

"She's much too strong! I can't budge them!" she cried out in alarm. "John, you're the only one that's stronger than her!"

He reached for Jade's hands and hesitated, darting a worried glance at the paralysed Nymph. "If I use too much force, I'll break her arms!"

"Leave her!" Alyssa shouted, as she dove for the co-pilot's seat. "I'll take over!"

A crimson flash illuminated the pilot's console as the shields were overwhelmed, then the Raptor juddered as it was struck by coruscating beams. There was a dull boom as the gunship was rocked by an explosion, the damage display lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"They took out our starboard Tachyon Cannon!" Dana reported, before rushing over to the canopy and peering outside. "We've lost the entire right wing!"

Alyssa's hands flew over her console. "Transferring flight control..."

She gripped the secondary joystick and shoved it forward and to the right, the retro-thrusters along the port flank flaring at full power to flip them into a dive. John glanced at the System Map and saw the next spray of shots go wide, unable to track the agile craft as it made the violent turn.

"Shit... we must've lost half the starboard retro-thrusters!" Alyssa snarled, her face twisted into a grimace of intense concentration.

"Just get us down to the planet!" John urged her. "We can't call in the Invictus until we knock out whatever's powering the Mists."

"I'm trying," she replied, desperately fighting the controls. "If I try to level us out with only half the thrusters, we'll be a sitting duck for that turret!"

John turned to Rachel, meeting her worried gaze. "Can you shield us? We just need long enough for Alyssa to change course and clear the turret's field of fire."

"Shield the Raptor?!" Rachel exclaimed, gaping at him incredulously. "But it's huge! I've never shielded anything that big before!"

"The principle's the same... just build it with more hexagons!" John urged her. "I'd try it myself but you're much better at making hex-barriers than me."

"Alright... let me just think about how to do this," she agreed, closing her eyes to concentrate.

"You don't need to write a thesis on it, babes!" Dana blurted out, looking at the damage status with mounting alarm. "I hate to pile on the pressure, but that explosion ruptured a fuel line to the manoeuvring thrusters. If I don't shut them down asap, they'll bleed us dry!"

"Can you repair it from here?" John asked, turning to face the redhead.

She blinked in surprise. "What, you mean psychically?"

"I've seen you do it before with the Invictus. This should be easy in comparison."

"Sparks uses shitloads of psychic energy doing that," Alyssa warned them, not taking her eyes off her instruments for a second. "You'll cut down on the amount of reserves we have for Helene."

John didn't hesitate and immediately replied, "Energy reserves won't do us much good if we get shot out of the sky. Do it, Sparks. Just repair the worst of the leaks; anything to reduce the fuel loss."

"A quick and dirty patch job... that used to be my specialty," she said with a strained smile. Her eyes began to glow with a gleaming golden light as she hurried over to the starboard wall.

"Okay, I'm ready," Rachel declared, taking a deep breath before holding out her arms. "I don't know how long I'm going to be able to hold this shield. It's going to require four-hundred times more hexagons to complete."

"Four-hundred hexagons!" Helene exclaimed. "That's a huge amount!"

The brunette shook her head as she focused her will. "No, you misunderstand. A standard spherical hex-shield has a one-metre radius and is constructed from 558 hexagons. To protect the Raptor, I'll need to create a shield with a twenty-metre radius... which will require 223,200 hexagons."

John stared at her in disbelief. "Goddamn... I had no idea. Alright, we'll figure something else out."

"I'm willing to try," Rachel said solemnly, her eyes shining with a smoky grey light. "Get ready to make your manoeuvres in ten seconds, Alyssa."

"Got it," the blonde agreed, tightening her grip on the flight controls.

The lights flickered as Rachel drew more power, her face showing the strain as she channelled all that eldritch energy into a massive hex barrier. "Now!"

Alyssa pulled back on the stick and levelled out the one-winged Raptor, the manoeuvre much slower to complete with so many damaged retro-thrusters. When the gunship was pointing towards Kythshara again, she shoved the throttle forward, accelerating the Raptor up to maximum thrust.

"Brace yourself," John warned Rachel. "Incoming fire!"

He watched the holographic map as the gun emplacement strafed its beams onto the rear of the fleeing Raptor. The gunship's sensors were unable to interpret Rachel's rotating hex barrier, but John could see the shots striking its curved surface, only for each dazzling blast to dissipate harmlessly.

"It's working!" Tashana exclaimed, grinning at the brunette. "You actually did it!"

Rachel groaned with the effort, her hands trembling as she rebuilt hundreds of shattered hexagons every time they absorbed each beam. The barrier rotated as fast as she could spin it, always making sure that fresh tiles were facing the next salvo. Seconds ticked by as the Raptor roared towards Kythshara, the planet looming larger and larger until it encompassed the entire view from the canopy.

Beads of sweat appeared on Rachel's brow and she wavered unsteadily as she withstood the onslaught.

"She can't hold it much longer!" John warned Alyssa, poised to catch the Terran girl if needed.

"Just a few more seconds..." Alyssa muttered, darting a pensive glance at the system map.

They were now close enough to Kythshara for the inhibited sensors to finally locate the concealed planet, depicting Mael'nerak's home as a huge Gaia-class world. Energy signatures had been detected and cities were marked on the surface, a bright sprinkling of lights revealing their location on the hemisphere shrouded under nightfall. Amidst all those signs of civilisation, a dazzling light blazed like a beacon, marking a source of massive power usage.

Rachel's swaying became more pronounced, her arms drooping as if the effort to hold them up was beyond her flagging strength. She staggered back a step, then collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut, falling into John's waiting embrace as he scooped her up in his arms.

"Shit!" Alyssa cursed, tugging the flight stick to the side to trigger a spin.

The Raptor began the turn, but the gun emplacement was already locked onto the evading ship. As soon as Rachel's barrier collapsed, the next volley of beams struck the Raptor's stern, obliterating the tail and blasting the engines. The gunship lurched violently, the inertia dampeners doing their best to limit the effect on the passengers, but it couldn't prevent them from being knocked down by the impact.

Plunging into the upper atmosphere, the gunship spiralled out of control, flames and smoke trailing in its wake. Energy beams lanced down all around them, lighting up the cockpit with searing flashes as they continued their rapid descent.

"Right engine's gone... left is badly damaged!" Dana called out, staring up at the damage report in shock, the gold glow fading from her eyes. "We're down to 17% thrust!"

There was a lull in the barrage of beams, ending the frenetic light show and filling the cockpit with an ominous silence.

"Why isn't it finishing us off?" Irillith asked in a hushed voice, her eyes like saucers as she waited for the kill shot.

"We must've cleared max range," John replied, carefully lowering Rachel so she was resting on the deck. "Either that, or they stopped firing to avoid hitting anything on the ground."

"Rach! Dana blurted out, scrabbling across the deck to her unconscious girlfriend. "What the fuck happened?!"

Remembering that the redhead had been distracted with ship repairs at the time, John quickly explained, "She put herself under a huge strain trying to maintain that shield."

Alyssa glanced back at them over her shoulder. "She's okay, Sparks... just exhausted."

John crouched by the co-pilot's chair and looked up at Alyssa. "Can you still land the Raptor or has it taken too much damage?"

She grimaced and gave the scarlet damage status display a meaningful glance. "I don't know... we've been shot to hell. Even with a wing gone I should still be able to bring us down just using the thrusters, but the Raptor's handling like a brick!"

Alyssa fought valiantly to correct the death spiral, the retro-thrusters blazing away on the port side to bring the gunship back under control. Below them, Kythshara spun like a wheel, making anyone who looked at it feel dizzy. Gradually she managed to correct the rotation, but they were still dropping at an alarming rate.

Dana scrambled over to the console and started scrolling through the endless damage report. "Shit... this is bad. We lost the vertical stabiliser and most of the tail. 62% of our ailerons are gone and we lost all the retro-thrusters on the back third of the Raptor. The engine explosion must've also breached the cargo bay, because the rear of the gunship's been depressurised."

"We're dropping like a rock," Alyssa informed them. "We've got about three minutes before we make a very big crater on Kythshara!"

"Alright, what're our options?" John said, turning to get everyone's input as they regained their footing and quickly gathered around. "I'm thinking that if it's impossible to land the Raptor, we should abandon ship and use the Paragon suits to fly down."

"But what about Jade and Rachel?" Tashana asked, gesturing to their incapacitated crewmates.

"Rachel's fine, she's just exhausted," Alyssa called back over her shoulder. "But I don't know what happened to Jade."

John gently stroked the Nymph's dark hair. "Did you sense anything from her before she froze like this?"

"Nothing... nothing at all... but I was pretty distracted at the time," the blonde admitted, darting a worried look at her fellow matriarch. "Jade doesn't really get very emotional, so it's possible she was in distress but I missed the warning signs."