Three Square Meals Ch. 145

"Is that the Unclaimed Wastes?" Calara asked in a hushed voice, pointing to an area near the bottom left of the map. "Those stars are teeming with habitable planets."

Irillith pressed another icon and a massive swathe of territory was re-painted a familiar earthy tan, the colour an exact match with the Achonin refinery's ancient hull. "The Achonin Empire... and all the star systems under their control."

They all watched in subdued silence as the procession of maps showcased the downfall of the alien empire. Mael'nerak's territory expanded until it reached the Achonin, then the blanket of blue seemed to recoil, pulling back from dozens of adjacent systems. The next time it crept forward, areas held by the Achonin seemed to gutter out and die, the inhabitable planets in orbit going dark.

"And just like that, they're gone," Tashana said, her tone bleak. "Billions of Achonin snuffed out of existence, their entire species driven to extinction."

"That was horrifying," Calara said with an involuntary shudder. She glanced over to the right, then pursed her lips speculatively. "Is there any mention of the Kirrix?"

Irillith started trawling through the various filters available, then nodded in confirmation and pressed several icons. The maps expanded outwards and right on the periphery, they could see an ochre-hued cluster containing hundreds of star systems. As Mael'nerak engaged the Achonin, the Kirrix were also driven back from the inexorable tide of blue. The amount of territory lost was staggering and the trio could only imagine the death toll the Kirrix had suffered.

"The Progenitor Beast strikes," Irillith said, raising an eyebrow. "It's no wonder the Kirrix are so terrified of John and Alyssa."

"Can you show me maps from the War of the Heavens?" Calara requested.

"Let me just search for the relevant data," the Maliri murmured, staring intently at the index of archived records.

While she was studying the files, Tashana leaned over and tapped another icon on the runic interface.

"What's does all that represent?" Calara asked, staring at the maps in fascination as sweeping lines connected the star systems under Mael'nerak's control.

Above the lines were tabulated data, with long lists written in elegant Maliri script.

"The filter said logistics overview," Tashana explained, pointing at the planet orbiting a star where they currently stood. "That's Kythshara... and most of the ore generated by the empire is being ferried back here."

"For the Soulforge!" Calara remarked, her eyes widening with excitement.

"Let's just see what happens when we apply that filter to the new maps," the Maliri said, turning to wink at the Latina.

"And we can track down exactly where Mael'nerak moved his Soulforge," Calara concluded, breaking into a grin. "That's very clever, Tashana, well done!"

Tashana smiled at her friend's effusive praise. "Thank you."

"Alright, I've selected a range of maps taken from the last entries," Irillith said, glancing up at the holo-screens as the new images appeared.

On the leftmost image, everything in sight was now coloured blue. It was like a surging ocean had drowned everything in sight, leaving only a tiny strip of sandy beach.

"So this was Maliri territory at the peak of Mael'nerak's power," Calara said, her eyes flicking to the ochre-hued cluster of stars far away on the right. "This confirms what the Kirrix told us. He annihilated their empire, but didn't bother to finish them off. Can you zoom out any further? I'd like to include the star systems owned by the Vulkat."

Irillith scrolled through hundreds of filters, then broke into a smile. "It looks like he knew they were there."

When she activated the filter, the expanse of stars that was now known as the Desolation of the Vulkat was highlighted. Their territory was set back from the edge of Maliri Space, the area where the Brimorian Enclave lurked an effective buffer between them.

"But he left them alone," Tashana observed, looking thoughtful. "I wonder if he spared them because he'd had a change of heart?"

"Can you apply the logistics filter please?" Calara requested, barely able to contain her excitement.

Irillith nodded and the spidery web reappeared, but this time, its epicentre had shifted far from Kythshara.

"Wait... isn't that Trankaran territory?" the brunette asked with a worried frown.

Tashana nodded, her expression turning sombre. "He must have moved the Soulforge to the source of all his ore. Trankaran does mean Miner in ancient Maliri."

"Oh no..." Irillith said, her face a picture of dismay. "Look over there!"

They quickly shifted their attention to one of the maps near the end of the war, which showed a scarlet wedge driven deep into Mael'nerak's territory. The interlopers had driven back the Kirrix even further, but Rahn'hagons rampage had also demolished almost the entirety of the Trankaran worlds... including the new location of the Soulforge. Every planet in that star system had been completely obliterated.

Calara gasped, her heart sinking. "Rahn'hagon blew it to pieces!"

"No wonder Mael'nerak was forced to sacrifice himself to stop the war," Irillith said, her expression bleak. "The Maliri were doomed at that point. It was only a matter of time before they'd be worn down by attrition."

Calara staggered backwards, then sat down unsteadily on the top step.

Tashana knelt beside her. "Are you okay?"

"After all that speculation about Mael'nerak upgrading his Soulforge, I really started to believe..." she said glumly. "Now all we can do is pray that Dana can come up with her own solution."

The Maliri leaned in to give her a supportive hug. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine how much pressure you're under trying to plan for this war."

"I'll be alright. This was just... very disappointing," Calara said, resting her head on Tashana's shoulder.

Irillith was quiet as the two embraced, leaving her sister to console the forlorn Tactical Officer.

After a couple of minutes, she leaned over and tapped Calara on the shoulder. "Would you like some good news to cheer you up?"

The Latina nodded and accepted Tashana's hand to stand up. "Definitely. What is it?"

"Mael'nerak's Hyper-Warp Gate," the Maliri replied, directing her attention to the solitary map of a very familiar nebula. "It's right here, in the Mists of Loralar. The Gate's been cloaked, but I found it's precise location, the access codes to activate it... everything."

"Fuck yeah!" Calara crowed, then she leaned over and gave her a fierce kiss. "You're totally awesome!"

Tashana giggled at her sister's startled expression, then a warm smile spread across Irillith's face when she saw how tremendously relieved Calara was.

*That's not good news, it's fantastic news!* Alyssa gushed, sounding as relieved as her girlfriend. *Now head back to the Grand Hall. We've got a hell of a lot of work to do and only 17 hours until John returns. We need to get everything done before then, so we can leave immediately... Larn'kelnar's fleets aren't going to loot themselves!*

Calara and the twins all laughed, their eyes lighting up with anticipation. The trio bounded down the steps to the throne, then they jogged back to their waiting matriarch.

***

Edraele glided through the golden halls of Genthalas, a security detachment clearing their path to the docking bay. Beside her, Luna fidgeted with excitement, her usual unflappable composure nowhere to be seen. The Maliri Queen did her best to suppress a playful smile, knowing exactly why her bodyguard had been reduced to a bundle of nerves. Unfortunately, the temptation to tease her proved too hard to resist.

*Calm yourself, Luna,* she purred, glancing at her lover.

*I'm trying...* Luna said plaintively, biting her lower lip.

*I know how difficult it is when you miss him this much,* Edraele said, her tone sympathetic and understanding. *But in just a few minutes you'll be in bed together, with John deep inside you... and an endless night of ecstasy awaits.*

The perfectly poised assassin darted a shocked glance at her girlfriend, the momentary distraction causing Luna to trip over her own feet. She stumbled and quickly righted herself, then blushed furiously when the guards glanced at her in surprise.

*Edraele!* she hissed in protest.

*I'm sorry, my love,* the Maliri Queen said earnestly. *Please forgive me for tormenting you. I promise I'll make it up to you later tonight.*

Luna stifled a laugh, but she couldn't help breaking into a grin. *Alright, you're forgiven. I'm so excited to see him, I can barely contain myself!*

*I know exactly how you feel,* Edraele agreed, although she had another reason to be thankful to see John.

His recent excursion to Kythshara had been pure torture, with John and the girls getting into one deadly predicament after another. Being cut off from him when he was ambushed by the massive robotic centaur had left Edraele's heart pounding in her chest, terrified that something dreadful might have happened to him.

Lost in her own troubled thoughts, Edraele suddenly felt Luna slip a hand into her own and interlace their fingers together. When she glanced at the assassin, Luna was looking back with sympathy in her yellow-eyed gaze.

*Thank you,* Edraele said gratefully.

Luna gave her fingers a comforting squeeze before slowly releasing her hand. They walked together in silence the rest of the way, but both Maliri were now feeling more collected. The door to the docking bay spiralled open, revealing a solitary golden-hulled vessel parked inside. There was a pair of Maliri officers gathered outside the shuttle, who were watching as a floating gurney was carefully guided out of the spacecraft.

"Good evening, Fleet Commander Nymaleth," Edraele said politely to the House Ghilwen officer. "It's nice to meet you in person, Fleet Commander Aemira."

Nymaleth was a long-serving officer, who had been Fleet Commander for Aradrea Ghilwen before the elder matriarch was replaced by her daughter. Her hair was snowy white, but still short, having only met John briefly on the Encaren Valar.

She bowed respectfully and replied, "Good evening to you, Queen Edraele."

Aemira was brand new to the role and this was her first official visit to Genthalas. The recently promoted commander of the House Waephyra fleets turning to face her monarch, then gaped at Edraele's luxurious mane in fascination. Suddenly realising that she was staring open-mouthed at the most feared matriarch in the entire Protectorate, Aemira turned a pale blue, her eyes widening in consternation.

"Don't be alarmed. I took no offence, Aemira," the Maliri Queen said with an indulgent smile.

Before the House Waephyra officer could muster an apology, a sleek black shuttle glided into the hanger, appearing as if from nowhere. With its lustreless hull it seemed to just loom out of the blackness of space, the sinister vessel triggering an instinctive feeling of disquiet in the unsettled Maliri. The shuttle barely made a whisper as it touched down, then the door opened, and it was like a bright ray of sunshine had banished the darkness.

"Baen'thelas..." Nymaleth whispered under her breath, gazing at him in awe.

Aemira wasn't able to speak, she just whimpered with ardent desire.

"Edraele! Luna!" John exclaimed with a broad grin, striding over to pull the beaming Maliri into his arms. "I wasn't expecting you to meet me in the hangar."

He gave them both a kiss, leaving Edraele glowing, while Luna tried her best not to seem flustered.

"Welcome home, John," Edraele said, raising his left hand to her lips. "You seem quite determined to drive me out of my mind with worry."

John cupped her cheek and stroked it with his newly regenerated thumb. "The mission to Kythshara was one disaster after another. I'm really sorry I upset you, Edraele."

"You're safe now and that's all that matters," she said earnestly.

"Hello Edraele, hi Luna!" Jade said brightly as she walked over to join them.

Jade's breasts looked enormous, swollen a dozen cup sizes beyond any woman present. If Edraele hadn't overheard the Nymph making love to John for the tail-end of their flight, she would have still been in no doubt what the verdant girl had been up to with her master. She gave the Maliri a glorious smile as they returned her cheerful greeting.

"It's great to see you again, Nymaleth," John said, acknowledging the Fleet Commander with a respectful nod. "You too, Aemira."

They did their best to form a courteous reply, but they were too starstruck by his presence.

He stepped much closer to them both and gently took their hands. "I'm very grateful to you both for the way you handled the situation with Vestele Waephyra. As Fleet Commanders to your respective Houses, I'd be honoured to get to know you better... but unfortunately this is only a brief visit to Genthalas. Would you like to spend an evening together when we have the time?"

Nymaleth and Aemira both nodded enthusiastically, not trusting themselves to speak.

"Wonderful. I'll look forward to it," he said with a warm smile. Glancing to his right, John continued, "Now, can anyone give me a quick summary of Vestele's injuries?"

The swooning medic by her gurney cleared her throat and managed to respond to his request. "Matriarch Waephyra was too severely injured to be immersed in cryo-stasis and would not have survived the process. She suffered massive blood loss from multiple gunshots to her back. The laser burns cauterised the external wounds, but she bled internally from a collapsed lung and ruptured spleen. I managed to stabilise her injuries and completed a transfusion, but she's still extremely weak and her blood pressure is falling."

"It sounds like you did an excellent job," John said, giving her an approving smile. "You kept Vestele alive... that was the main thing."

"Ah... Lord Baen'thelas," the medic faltered. "There is something else you should know. It took several minutes for me to reach the matriarch and by the time I arrived, her heart had stopped beating. I was able to restart it... but the blood loss was so severe, by the time I had completed the surgery and the transfusion, her heart stopped three more times. I fear that her injuries might have caused permanent damage to her brain."

"Thanks for letting me know," he said gratefully, before darting a glance at Jade.

The Nymph stepped closer and gently slipped two fingers between the comatose matriarch's lips. Several things then happened at once, all of which shocked the onlookers except Edraele and Luna. Jade's breasts began to shrink, while Vestele's stomach expanded at the same rate. As soon as John felt the connection being re-established with the mortally wounded matriarch, his eyes started to glow an enchanting blue and he began to heal her horrific wounds.

Edraele took note of his bleak expression and stood close beside him. *How badly brain damaged is she?*

*It's bad,* he replied grimly. *She suffered massive damage to multiple areas. Her frontal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe were all starved of oxygen for at least ten minutes.*

*Can you heal her?*

*Yes... but I'm not sure how much of Vestele will be left. Twenty percent maybe?*

*Would it be easier to simply start afresh and rebuild her mind completely like you did with me?* Edraele asked, turning to face him and looking in his eyes.

John hesitated for a long moment before replying. *Even if we ignore the morality of just wiping her mind, it's not quite as simple as that. You still retained all your old memories... it was only your personality that was erased. Vestele will have lost some of her memories but not all of them... so even if I gave her a completely new personality, her memory of events could be horribly fragmented. If I wipe out everything, then she'll be left with a gaping hole in her mind... and I can't just create false memories out of nothing.*

She considered their options, then said decisively, *If you're quite certain that Vestele effectively died of her injuries, then rebuild her personality from a fresh slate. There's no point trying to guide her to redemption like we are with Emandra Holaris, if her mind is so crippled she can't understand what's happening, let alone atone for her crimes. As for the gaps in her memories... I'll take Vestele under my wing and help her through the recovery process. If it turns out that her memory is too shattered to be salvageable, we can discuss other solutions. Does that sound reasonable?*

He nodded, then turned to the medic. "I'm healing Vestele's wounds, but I don't know how severe the mental trauma will be when she awakes. Please could you accompany her to the nearest medical facility and monitor her condition for me? She should sleep for the next several hours, but if she wakes up, inform Edraele and try to keep her calm."

The medic couldn't help looking sceptical at the idea of the mortally wounded matriarch waking up, but she nodded obediently. "I will do so, Lord Baen'thelas."

"Thank you."

As John turned back to Edraele, Jade's five sisters emerged from the shuttle and walked over to join them.

Edraele smiled at the catgirls and said, "I heard that you were visiting us too. Would you like to join the Young Matriarchs this evening? They were all thrilled when I told them you'd be arriving with John."

Neysa stepped forward and nodded eagerly. "We'd all love to accompany John's mates. Thank you so much!"

The Maliri Queen gestured to her armed escort and five of them stepped forward. "These ladies are the Young Matriarchs' personal bodyguards. They'll guide you to their quarters."

The Nymphs looked overjoyed as they bounded after the former assassins, each of them elated to spend the night with one of the women carrying their master's unborn children.

"That was very thoughtful, Edraele," Jade said, coming forward to hug her fellow matriarch. "You couldn't have given them a more treasured gift."

"I like to think I've learned a few things about your species after listening to John all this time," Edraele replied, before leaning closer and gently nuzzling her cheek. *Will you join us tonight, sexy little Nymph?*

She giggled and nodded, flashing a lustful grin at John. *I'm glad you got lots of rest, Master. I have a feeling you're going to need plenty of energy.*

He slipped his arms around Edraele's and Luna's waists. "I'm going to need a bit of recovery time. Can you think of something exciting I can watch to keep me entertained until then?"

Jade grinned as the two horny Maliri practically dragged him towards the exit, and she followed after them with an extra spring in her step.

***

Lucyna Novitsky listened with wary interest as Stefan Vaughn addressed the assembled Governors. He'd built up a head of steam as he spoke with open animosity about the Terran Federation, daring to utter words that would be very dangerous if overheard by the wrong people.

"I know you all have your own personal grievances towards High Command after the way you've been treated over the years," Stefan said, looking around at his captivated audience. "I was just like you only a few months ago. I was angry that we've suffered decades of neglect in the Outer Rim, while the Admiralty focused all their resources and attention on their beloved Core Worlds. I was tearing my hair out with frustration as urgent requests to Colonial Administration were constantly delayed or ignored."

This prompted a lot of angry muttering, with disgruntled Governors nodding their agreement.

"But believe me when I tell you, nothing prepared me for how much I hate those bastards in High Command now! I had to watch helplessly as good friends... people I've known and loved all my life, were raped and killed by those hellspawned Kirrix!"

The room went quiet, sympathetic eyes flicking to the handful of seated Governors whose colonies had been besieged and ravaged by the alien invaders.