Three Square Meals Ch. 145

Athena turned away and bit her lip.

John reached out and gently turned her back to face him. "Talk to me, honey. What's wrong?"

Her expression was conflicted, but it was easy to see her regret. "My presence in Alyssa's mind is preventing her from reaching her true potential. You know how much you've flourished since absorbing your guide... and now I've become that same millstone around her neck."

"That's not true!" John protested, but even as he denied it, he knew it was the truth. "What about maintaining this sub-plane? Being able to come here every night has kept me safe from being dragged into Xar'aziuth's nightmares."

She gave him a sad smile. "Alyssa is more than capable of maintaining this place by herself. If she had full access to her mental capabilities, replacing me as caretaker of this sub-plane would take so little effort as to be unnoticeable for her."

"I'll have to take your word for that... but we both care a great deal about you, Athena. The nights I've spent with you here have been wonderful. I love you, I hope you know that."

Athena gave him a tender kiss. "I do know... you make me feel that every time I see you. But sentimentality won't help you win the Progenitor War. Sometimes, sacrifices will be necessary to secure victory."

"I think you're wrong," he said, stubbornly shaking his head. "Besides... you didn't see what Alyssa did to that city on Kythshara. The last thing she needs right now is more power!"

She smiled sadly at his attempt to lighten the mood. "John, you're the only one of us with the strength to overcome the effects of a psychic inhibitor. As long as I exist, Alyssa will never be powerful enough to do the same. Sooner or later, my continued presence in her mind will place all of you in jeopardy."

John lay back on the bed and drew the radiant girl into his arms. "We'll figure out something. Don't worry."

Athena let out a forlorn sigh of resignation and settled down with her head on his shoulder. Despite her concerns, being embraced by him was so comforting that she couldn't help drifting off to sleep. John stroked her back until she settled, then stared up at the ceiling, his mind racing after the awkward discussion.

The thought of losing Athena was horrible, but John was loathe to admit that she had made some valid points. As much as he hated even thinking about it, he knew that Alyssa would be far stronger if she absorbed her guide and had a unified mind. After all the trials and tribulations he'd been through with his own guide, the tremendous relief he felt at having shed that dead weight was undeniable.

The only dispassionate counter argument he could think of to Athena's logical points, was that the radiant girl in his arms had proved her worth so many times in the past. Athena had just saved Irillith from an irreversible descent into madness, and that alone absolutely justified her existence in his eyes. The fact that she'd also been learning new psychic abilities to teach Alyssa was another surprising boon, but he wasn't sure he could convince Athena that discovering such knowledge balanced the scales with raw psychic strength.

He leaned down to kiss the top of her head, feeling a surge of sympathy for the despondent girl. She spent the majority of her time isolated on the Astral Plane, with John's night-time visits her only regular company. He knew she conversed with Alyssa as well, but was that enough interaction for her to lead a stimulating life? John couldn't help worrying that he was being selfish in trying to prolong her existence, if her life in the Astral was making her miserable, especially when she seemed so resigned to her fate.

With those troubling thoughts in his mind, he eventually succumbed to sleep himself.

***

"They're so beautiful..." Helene murmured, gazing in awe at the exquisite sculptures on display.

The huge room was dedicated solely to an exhibition of astonishingly lifelike statues, each one depicting attractive women in various domestic scenes. It was easy to identify the subjects as Maliri, with their statuesque figures and gracefully pointed ears.

"The attention to detail is remarkable... I've never seen anything like it," Jehanna said in awe, staring at a statue of a thrall cradling a baby in her arms. The immortalised Maliri's face shone with love as she gazed down at the giggling infant, capturing the maternal moment perfectly. "Whoever made them was incredibly talented. Do you think Mael'nerak was the sculptor?"

"No... it was Valada," Alyssa said softly, removing a gauntlet and gently brushing her fingers along the statue's arm. "I can feel her spirit everywhere in here. There's a profound sense of love and contentment... but she was yearning for more."

"She wanted to have a baby," Helene said with certainty, glancing at the blonde matriarch for confirmation. "I'm more drawn to this statue than any of the others... and I don't think that's just because I feel the same way."

Alyssa nodded as she slid her fingers back into her gauntlet. "Mael'nerak finally gave her that wish as a parting gift."

"Weren't they together for thousands of years?" Jehanna asked, frowning in confusion. "Why did he wait until he was about to leave before getting her pregnant?"

"I don't know," the blonde admitted. "They never discussed it in here at least and this statue is a pretty big hint at what Valada wanted. I'm not sure if it was a taboo subject between them."

*We just found a series of art studios,* Rachel informed her a moment later. *There are sculptors tools up here and a bust of Mael'nerak, so this must be where Valada made all those statues. I'm pretty sure she was also the artist who made all the paintings Tashana found; there's an area dedicated to creating landscapes with several in progress.*

"So she was a gifted sculptor and a gifted artist?" Jehanna marvelled, shaking her head in admiration. "I wish I had an artistic flair. I'd struggle to draw anything better than a bunch of stick figures and you can forget about making sculptures. I had trouble even making a bowl that didn't fall to pieces in pottery class."

"Valada was his muse," Alyssa said softly, her gaze returning to the exquisite statue of a mother and her baby. She studied the gentle curves and imagined coaxing those alluring shapes out of the hard unyielding marble. "I don't think she was born with those talents. I know I wasn't."

Jehanna turned to look at her in surprise. "Really? Could you make something like this?"

Alyssa gave her an enigmatic smile. "I think John got a bit carried away during our first few months together. Anyway, let's keep going, we need to finish exploring this floor."

Helene and Jehanna exchanged a startled glance as Alyssa glided out of the gallery.

"I heard that," she called back playfully over her shoulder.

***

*We've cleared the west wing. There were plenty of lounges, dining rooms, kitchens, and servants quarters... but no Command Centre,* Calara updated her girlfriend with a worried frown. *What if it's hidden deep underground like the bunker under Saelihn Immanthe? We'll need to wait until John gets back before we can investigate, which means wasting another half a day... and there's still no guarantee we'll be able to break in!*

*This palace serves a different purpose than Saelihn Immanthe,* Alyssa replied, her voice calm and soothing. *I think Mael'nerak built that bunker to keep Valada safe when he was no longer there to protect her. The major threat after he was gone would be from a roaming Progenitor. If Rahn'hagon had managed to drive Mael'nerak back to his throne world, there would've been no point hiding in a bunker. We know John's father used a Quantum Annihilator on other Gaia class worlds in Maliri territory, so Kythshara would've been doomed.*

*Yeah, you're right,* the Latina conceded, as she followed the twins back to the Great Hall. *I'm just worried we haven't found anything yet. We're so close to getting our hands on Larn'kelnar's fleets and with those ships we can actually defend the Maliri. If we can't find the Hyper-Warp gate and if Dana can't build an alternative to the Soulforge, its going to be a massacre.*

*I know... everything's hanging in the balance at the moment,* Alyssa agreed, sharing her girlfriend's concerns. *I hate feeling like we've got no chance before we even start the Progenitor War... but we'll find a way to even the odds.*

Tashana walked up to an impressive set of double doors on the east side of the hall and they slid apart as she approached.

"Now this looks very interesting..." she murmured, striding ahead purposefully.

Calara hurried to catch up and followed Irillith through the doors, then looked up in wonder at the impressive room beyond. It was another grand hallway, but this one featured murals along the opposing walls, each one celebrating Mael'nerak's victory over another Progenitor.

"There's scores of them..." Irillith said, her gaze flicking from one side to the other.

"Sixty-two in total!" Tashana called back as she crossed the room, turning in circles to try to take in everything at once.

Calara paused to study a photo-realistic image of a Progenitor dreadnought under ferocious bombardment. As she stared at the immense black warship in fascination, the tiny stone tiles rippled under her gaze and coalesced into another picture, then the dreadnought was being ripped apart by a terrible explosion. The Progenitors brutal death had been graphically immortalised for millennia.

"This is so exciting! I can't believe we're actually here!" Tashana gushed, her eyes sparkling like glittering amethysts.

Irillith glanced at her sister with a puzzled frown. "Why are you so thrilled about these murals when you had nothing but bad things to say about the ones under the pyramid?"

"Those were fake... merely a ruse," the archaeologist explained, holding her hands out as she pirouetted. "But these are authentic! This palace dates back to Mael'nerak's conquest of the Achonin and everything about this feels right! He's building a narrative, flaunting his victories as proof of his power!"

"Wasn't that the point of the last ones as well?" Irillith asked in confusion.

"No, they were just bait for a trap," her sister replied dismissively, as she set off towards the double doors on the far side of the hallway. "I bet I know what's through here!"

"Hey, wait for us!" Calara called out, jogging after the exuberant Maliri.

By the time she caught up with Tashana, the ecstatic archaeologist had reached the imposing set of doors, which dutifully swung open to admit them.

"Mael'nerak's throne room..." Tashana whispered reverently, staring in awe at the regal throne that dominated the majestic chamber. "He ruled over his entire empire from here."

Calara felt a shiver run down her spine as she followed the twins in hushed silence. She knew this palace was at least sixty-thousand years old and for the first time since stepping foot on Kythshara, she could actually feel it. This place felt ancient, like it was carrying the colossal weight of all those years, the pivotal moments of history seeping into its very foundations.

***

"Alyssa, there's someone up ahead!" Jehanna whispered urgently.

Her blonde matriarch was listening intently to Calara and the twins thoughts, so she hadn't been paying as close attention to her surroundings.

*Use telepathy. It's much clearer and faster in combat, and we can't be overheard,* she said to her two companions. Raising her rifle, she moved forward to flank the dusky-hued scout. *Helene, stay back. Show me where, Jehanna.*

*Just over there,* the reporter replied, gesturing to an open doorway on the right. *You see the reflection in the mirror?*

Alyssa's eyes flicked in that direction and she immediately saw the humanoid figure that Jehanna had spotted. It's back was towards them, just visible around what looked like an ornate bed frame that rose up to the ceiling.

*Hold position here and protect Helene,* she ordered, before moving forward at a quick walk.

A flick of her fingers snapped a hex shield into existence and a pair of telekinetic limbs took the Tachyon Rifle from her grasp. Now that her hands were free, Alyssa held them ready to unleash her psychic abilities on any hostile threat. Moving into position by the door, she swung around and prepared to fire, then laughed when she saw what was inside.

*What is it?* Jehanna asked, burning with curiosity.

Alyssa stepped back and gestured inside. "Come and see for yourself. At least we have an answer for why the palace is so spotlessly clean."

Trotting up to join her, Jehanna peeked into the adjoining room, then relaxed when she saw the mop-like device in the figure's hand. The automaton's head had drooped and it appeared to be leaning against a dresser. "It's just a robot maid. Has it been shut down?"

"It sure looks like it. The cleaning bots must have been controlled by the same AI that attacked us with synthetic thralls," Alyssa replied, dismissing her psychic shield. *Sparks, we found a deactivated cleaning bot. If you want to check it out, it's on the first floor, east wing, second corridor on the left, fourth room on the right.*

There was no answer from her friend for a moment, Dana's thoughts a jumbled maelstrom of joy and jubilation. Rachel was in a similar state of euphoria and equally incoherent, leaving Sakura to provide answers as to what had got them so excited. Alyssa's eyes widened when she listened to the Asian girl's thoughts and felt a surge of elation herself.

*We found it! Mael'nerak's lab... it's still intact!*

***

"It looks just like it did in the Nexus files..." Sakura marvelled, cautiously leading the way through the enormous laboratory. "That was forty-thousand years ago and it's still exactly the same."

"We actually found it!" Dana gushed, bouncing up and down in her excitement. She could see workbenches in the distance, as well as walls of intricate tools. "Holy fuck, I can't believe it! This is where Mael'nerak must've built Faye!"

Rachel walked across to the rows of cloning vats and tentatively brushed her fingers across a smoky crystal tube.

"This was the crucible of life for all of Mael'nerak's creations," she whispered, feeling overcome by the sheer magnitude of the events that had transpired in that room... events that had shaped the future of their quadrant of the galaxy. "The Trankarans, the Ashanath, humanity... even the Drakkar... they all originate here."

Her fingers trembled with excitement as she felt a thrill course through her body. She was literally holding the building blocks of creation in her hands and the sense of scientific euphoria was intoxicating.

Dana darted after Sakura, then skidded to a halt as she stared off into the corner of the lab. There was no mistaking the hexagonal indentation on the floor where Nexus had once been located. Unfortunately, that was all that remained of the radically advanced artificial intelligence, which had once threatened to destroy Terra.

"Goddamn it! I was hoping that Mael'nerak might've built a replacement here," she muttered, grimacing in frustration.

"You weren't honestly expecting to find the AI that controlled Kyshara's defences in the palace?" Sakura asked with a puzzled frown. "Surely Mael'nerak would've kept that safely concealed to protect it from being tampered with. It was the lynchpin to his trap after all."

"Well yeah... when you put it like that, of course it's not going to be here," Dana muttered, blushing with embarrassment. "Hey, I wonder if the rest of this kit is still working?"

She turned and strolled over to the banks of inert machinery, studying them in fascination.

*Alyssa, can you ask the twins what the ancient Maliri symbol for a power button is?* the redhead asked, as her gaze flicked over the runic interface. *Nevermind... I'll figure it out.*

The golden halo around her pupils flared and she projected her will towards the ancient equipment. Although the computers were thousands of years old, the architecture was comfortably familiar; Terrans reverse-engineering Nexus had set humanity on a path first forged by Kyth'faren millions of years in the past.

*Sparks...* Alyssa said in warning. *What're you up to?*

Sakura glanced at the redhead in alarm as she reached towards the machinery. "Wait, Dana! John said to be extremely careful about activating anything!"

*Oops...* Dana said with a mischievous grin as she pressed down on one of the runes.

There was a dull rumble followed by an ominous hum, then lights flickered to life on the ancient computers. The glowing illumination spread like wildfire, dancing from machine to machine as devices that had stood inert for an ice age obediently powered up once again. A holo-screen appeared in a cascade of pixels, then another beside it, on and on until the glowing interfaces were floating above almost every machine in the room.

Rachel stepped back from the cloning vats in alarm as they burst into activity, doors sliding open as if in invitation. Once the initial shock wore off, she studied the machines with mounting excitement.

*Alyssa... I need Irillith,* she requested, her grey-eyed gaze lingering on the reams of Maliri text displayed on the nearest holo-screen. *We've got some translating to do...*

***

Tashana bit her lip as she slowly lowered herself onto the ornate high-backed throne. "Oh my goodness... I can't believe I'm sitting on Mael'nerak's throne!"

Irillith performed a sweeping bow. "I humbly request an audience, Tash'ana the Terrible."

Her sister laughed, and dismissed her with an imperious wave. "Begone thrall. I'm far too busy and important."

"I wonder if Mael'nerak granted audiences to the leaders of the Ashanath and Trankarans from here?" Calara mused, watching the twins having fun together.

Tashana shook her head. "From everything we've learned about Mael'nerak from those species, I think he saw them more as blindly obedient servants than distinct nations."

Irillith walked up the steps that led to the plinth, her sharp-eyed gaze fixed on the throne. "Jump off a second please, Shan."

"Okay," she reluctantly agreed and moved out of the way.

"Keep watch in case this triggers a trap," Irillith warned her companions, then leaned in to press a barely-visible rune on the side of the armrest.

A holo-interface flickered into view, soft light illuminating the regal throne. The Maliri hacker slipped into the seat and studied it carefully, then her nimble fingers danced over the runic interface, activating intriguing new functionality. One holo-screen became a bank of eighteen, then each panel in the three-by-six array began to display a host of new information.

"You really could run an empire from here," Calara marvelled, standing beside the throne and studying all the screens with great interest. "Can you find any maps of Mael'nerak's territory?"

"Sure... just give me a moment," Irillith said, opening up a new submenu and activating several new icons. "Hold on... thousands of records have been archived here. Would you like to see a selection from the oldest?"

Calara nodded. "Definitely."

The Maliri text vanished from all the screens and one by one, the holographic panels began to show stellar maps. Each star was depicted in its real colour and a stylised view showed all the planets in orbit within that system.

"What are those highlighted areas?" Calara murmured, entranced by the view.

Irillith tapped another icon and a single star was circled on every map. "That's Kythshara."

She tapped another and the highlighted area around the star shifted to a deep blue. "This is Mael'nerak's territory."

The selection of images showed the number of stars enveloped by the blue aura increasing rapidly as the Maliri expanded their control over the surrounding systems.