Three Square Meals Ch. 047

Edraele leaned forward and said sincerely, "I promise you, I had no involvement in this. I would never have sanctioned genocide!" She then turned to look at Irillith, and said sternly, "We need to discuss this later. I want to find out who gave you these orders, and if this was you acting alone, there will be consequences."

Irillith was standing behind John and Alyssa, so they didn't see her stare at her mother at open-mouthed shock. She managed to smother her strangled protest, and stood there fuming.

Alyssa's voice sounded impressed as her thoughts appeared in John's mind, *I'd believe every word Edraele says if it wasn't for Ceraden's warning.*

John glanced at her and replied, *She's incredibly convincing. Is there any chance she could be telling the truth, and Ceraden was the one lying to us?*

*He's your friend, so only you can make that call,* Alyssa replied apologetically. *I'm more inclined to believe him though, for what it's worth.*

John glanced at Edraele, who sat watching him, her face full of concern. As a show of good faith, he took a tentative sip of the wine, and found it to be quite delicious. She smiled at him, and nodded in gratitude for the trust he was placing with her. Gazing into the Maliri Matriarch's eyes, he tried to get the measure of the woman, and all he could see there was openness. He marvelled at her guile, if she was every bit the woman Ceraden had described.

Making a decision, he asked, "Alright, what do you need us to do?"

Edraele smiled at him and replied, "I require your assistance with a delicate matter. Some months ago, I made a deal with the Trankaran Ambassador, via agents working for me on Geniya Space Station. I paid him handsomely for schematics on the Trankaran engine technology, but he reneged on the deal after taking the initial down payment of half-a-billion credits.

My sources tell me that there is some... trouble, in Trankaran Space at the moment, so it's possible that the Ambassador has fallen foul of some mishap, rather than deliberately attempting to rob me. In any case, he has disappeared without a trace, along with my money."

John studied her curiously for a moment before saying, "So you want me to find the Ambassador and get your money back?"

She shook her head, saying, "In all honesty, I'm not interested in credits. My House is very wealthy, so I would not have sold you Maliri laser weapon technology regardless of how much money you offered. Favours on the other hand, can be priceless. For reasons that should be quite apparent, I am unwilling to send a Maliri vessel across Terran Space, just to investigate what happened with the Trankarans. I therefore want you to acquire their engine technology instead, and return it to me here at Valaden. If you do so, I will refit your ship with Maliri weaponry at no charge."

John raised an eyebrow and said in surprise, "You'll upgrade all my laser weapons for free?"

Edraele nodded firmly. "You have my word. My shipyards will perform a complete refit. If you wish to make use of the Trankaran engine technology for your own ship as well, consider that an additional benefit of the mission. You might have to pay the difference on the original transaction, the remaining balance of which is four hundred million credits. I don't care how you acquire the schematics however, so if you can acquire them by other means, that is your prerogative. There are a few caveats however."

Looking at her warily, John asked, "Such as?"

She looked him in the eye and said sternly, "You must not, under any circumstances, allow Maliri weapon tech to fall into the hands of the Terran Federation or any other species. I know what you are, Mael'nerak, and know your kind jealously guard their technology like no other, so this should be no hardship for you."

John leaned forward in his seat and said warily, "You say you know of my kind. What do you know exactly?"

Edraele smiled at him coyly and said, "We will have plenty of time for such discussions when you successfully return from the Trankarans, and your ship is being refitted. I promise that I will tell you at length, about anything you wish to know of the Maliri, and everything we know of your kind, Mael'nerak. For the moment however, I will need your sworn vow that you will not let others acquire our weaponry."

John nodded and said solemnly, "That seems reasonable. I therefore swear that I will keep your laser technology for my personal use only."

Satisfied with his sincerity, she smiled at him approvingly, then said, "My second condition to this deal, is that I wish to send an observer with you. As proof of my commitment to this transaction, I will send my only daughter, Irillith, to accompany you and assist with the retrieval."

"Now hold on a minu-" John began, balking at the idea.

He was abruptly cut off by Irillith's shocked gasp, before she cried out in horror, "You can't be serious, Mother! I won't do it!" She whirled and stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Edraele smiled at him apologetically, and said, "As you are no doubt aware, Irillith can be a little high spirited. She is extremely gifted at hacking however, one of our best and brightest. She will prove to be a valuable asset in tracking down, and acquiring the Trankaran engine technology. Simply having her hack a Trankaran data node will provide you many answers, unless you already have someone aboard your vessel with that skillset?"

John shot a worried glance in Alyssa's direction, and she looked equally perturbed as she stared back at him.

*I've got a bad feeling about this,* Alyssa said ominously, her thoughts echoing in his mind.

*You and me both,* he agreed vehemently.

He turned to look at the Maliri Matriarch, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry Edraele, I just can't agree to this. Irillith has bad blood with us already, so sending her with us is going to cause no end of friction. There must be someone else you could send in her place?"

She shook her head sadly, and said, "I'm afraid I have to insist that it be her. As a direct blood relative, she is the only one I can trust wholeheartedly, to complete this mission and not betray me."

Alyssa took the opportunity of the brief lull in the conversation to say, "Judging by her reaction, Irillith didn't seem overjoyed at the thought of coming with us. She might not agree, whatever we decide."

Edraele shook her head gently and smiled as she said confidently, "Irillith will do what is best for her House. I'm certain I will have no trouble convincing her to accompany you. I am not unsympathetic to your objections however, so I wish to give you this," and she produced a small black cylindrical object. She reached out and placed it on the table in front of John. "View that at your own leisure. I promise it will make her more cooperative."

John looked worried and he said, "I would like to discuss this with Alyssa. Would you give me a few minutes to make this decision, please?"

Edraele nodded courteously and said, "Please feel free to remain here. I will return in ten minutes."

She rose from her chair gracefully, and glided over to a set of doors on the far side of the room. The doors swung open for her as she approached, and she turned and smiled warmly at them before she left the room.

John turned to face Alyssa, and could immediately see the deeply troubled expression on her face. "So, what do you think?" he asked her jovially. *We probably ought to maintain the appearance we're discussing this verbally,* he added telepathically.

She looked back at him, and said amiably, "It's certainly a lot to think about." She then added, *Having Irillith aboard the Invictus for weeks? That's not going to end well.*

They maintained innocuous light hearted discussion for the sake of appearances, knowing full-well that they were bound to be monitored by security cameras and audio sensors. Meanwhile the actual discussion was conducted telepathically.

*Have you kept the girls updated?* John asked her.

She nodded, and replied, *Of course. I've been giving them all a running commentary of what's been going on. I haven't made the bond with Rachel yet, so she's been passing on her thoughts and replies to the other girls for me.*

He watched her expression as he asked, *So what's their verdict?*

Alyssa smiled at him and replied, *Dana says, and I quote, 'I don't want that crazy bitch on my ship!' She seems to have quite strong views on the matter.*

John returned her smile, then asked, *What about the others?*

Alyssa looked thoughtful, and replied, *Calara doesn't like the idea. She's angry at Irillith, because I got hurt going up against the Fulmanax. Rachel thinks we should accept, though, which caused a heated discussion with Dana.*

*Does she?* John asked in surprise, *Why's that?*

Alyssa replied carefully, *Because with Irillith aboard our ship, she thinks getting hold of a female Maliri DNA sample will be very easy. She thinks that will tell her a lot more about the Progenitor modifications to their species, and she's eager to find out what she can. She also mentioned that with Irillith being Edraele's daughter, she will probably share the 'Eldritch bloodline' that Ceraden mentioned. She might be able to find out more about Maliri psychic abilities.*

John frowned as he thought back on all his interactions with the caustic Maliri woman, and said, *I don't remember seeing Irillith using any psychic powers.*

Alyssa paused for a few seconds, looking away into the distance, before replying, *Rachel says, 'It's possible her abilities haven't manifested themselves yet, or that the Eldritch bloodline might have skipped a generation'.* The blonde girl then raised an eyebrow and added, *Irillith also might have been making an effort to keep them hidden from us.*

John thought this over for a while, but eventually came to the conclusion that he had no way of knowing one way or another, not with this little information to go on. *Alright then, how about Jade?* he asked her.

*Surprisingly, she's all for it. She thinks that one way or another, having Irillith aboard is bound to reveal more about what the Maliri know about the Progenitors. She hopes that they might know more about Nymphs too, but she's mainly focused on helping you find out the answers you're looking for,* she replied with an affectionate smile.

John smiled himself, touched at Jade's dedication, and then looked over at Alyssa. He stared into her bright cerulean eyes, and said, *So that's two for, and two against. What about you?*

She took a deep breath and replied, *I think it's a risky move. We treat the Invictus as our home, with everyone completely uninhibited, and free to do whatever they like. Suddenly introducing an outsider to that is going to cause... complications. We're all going to have to be a lot more guarded and reserved, which is going to be uncomfortable.

Irillith is also extremely unpleasant, so I can see that causing all sorts of problems too. She's also scared of you, and scared people can be unpredictable and dangerous. Just to give you fair warning, I'll take steps if she puts you in danger.*

John was shocked at her tone, and saw a steely determination in Alyssa's expression that he'd never seen before. *What are you saying exactly?* he asked her cautiously.

Alyssa's eyes narrowed and she replied, *I won't let anyone harm my family. I'll do whatever needs to be done to protect all of you.*

Looking at her in surprise, he nodded as he said tentatively, *That sounds like a strong 'No' to me.*

She tilted her head and studied him for a moment before replying, *Actually, I think Jade and Rachel make more convincing arguments, as Dana and Calara are just reacting out of anger. There's still a lot we could learn from Irillith even without her help. Then if we make the unlikely assumption that Edraele isn't lying, we could potentially upgrade our weapons for free, and get our engines upgraded cheaply, or for free as well. It's a big gamble, but potentially there's a huge payoff.*

John nodded and said, *And we're going to Trankaran Space next anyway.* He paused before he continued, *Even that seems oddly coincidental, though. Going by experience, coincidences tend to turn out to be anything but.*

Alyssa nodded, and shrugged helplessly, agreeing with him, but unable to offer any other insight.

*Can you warn Dana to take steps to make the Invictus more secure,* John said firmly. *We don't want Irillith snooping around and stealing all the tech we've acquired.*

*Of course,* Alyssa agreed. *I'll have her start on it immediately.*

Edraele re-entered the room, and smiled at them as she asked, "Do you need more time to discuss this, or have you made your decision?"

Alyssa and John rose from their chair, and he replied, "I've decided to accept your offer. We'll acquire the Trankaran engine schematics for you, in exchange for the weapon upgrades on the ship."

She beamed a bright smile at him, and glided down the steps to join them. "Wonderful!" she exclaimed joyfully. "I promise you won't regret this decision, and I look forward to us both benefiting from working together like this."

Edraele held out her slender blue hand, and he shook it to seal their agreement, feeling a firm strength in her handshake. They looked into one another's eyes, and nodded as they reached an understanding, before finally releasing each other's hands.

"Our guide over here seems to have stormed off," he said wryly. "Would you be able to provide transportation back to the Spaceport for us?"

Edraele smiled, and replied, "I'm sorry for the way my daughter reacted, and for the trouble she's put you through already. I've already sent for someone to escort you back to your ship, and Irillith will meet you there shortly. I'll speak to her beforehand and make sure she won't cause you any trouble on your journey."

"Thank you," John replied succinctly. "I'll keep her safe while she's aboard my ship."

The Maliri Matriarch smiled at him gratefully, then walked over to the table with the ornate decanter, filled with the purple coloured wine. "Your driver should be here momentarily," she informed them, and then gestured towards the decanter, "But please feel free to help yourself to more wine while you wait."

John looked thoughtful for a moment and said, "There was one other thing I wanted to ask about. I was curious about provisioning my ship with some Maliri food supplies. We tried your people's cuisine on Geniya Space Station, and really enjoyed it."

Edraele smiled and listened attentively, but as they stood there making polite conversation, Alyssa felt a strange throbbing sensation behind her eyes. She closed them, and brought up a hand to rub at the bridge of her nose, fearing the onset of a nasty headache. When she opened her bright blue eyes once more, she was astonished when she saw a bright, glowing aura emanating from the blue-skinned woman.

To her amazement, a ghostly image of the Maliri Matriarch seemed to separate from her body, and glided purposefully towards them. Alyssa watched the image in fascination, and saw Edraele's incorporeal form drift over to John's side, while a glowing, wavering white thread tethered her back to her physical form. The blonde girl did a double-take when she glanced at her lover, as he seemed to be wearing a brightly gleaming golden crown on his head.

Edraele's shimmering form walked around John, staring up at the crown intently, and she appeared to be scrutinising every inch of it as she circled him. She reached up tentatively, and her ethereal fingers brushed over the surface of the crown, tracing mysterious patterns as she seemed to be searching for something.

Alyssa felt a strange instinctive surge within herself, and she focused on that feeling, drawing it out. She experienced a bizarre tugging sensation, and lurching forward, stumbled a couple of steps as she was caught momentarily off-balance. When she turned to look back, she was stunned to see her own face staring right back at her. She raised a tentative hand, reaching out to touch her body, and to her astonishment, she could see right through her eerily transparent fingers. She gaped as she looked down at the ghostly spirit-form she now found herself in, and noticed the same white tether linking herself back to her body.

Once she had recovered from the initial shock, she turned her attention back to Edraele again, who was looking increasingly frustrated as she continued examining John's resplendent glowing crown. Alyssa walked over to the Maliri woman's incorporeal form, and reached out herself, curious to see if she could touch the ghostly apparition. When her finger's brushed Edraele's shoulder, there was a bright spark that tingled on her fingertips, with a sensation much like static electricity.

Edraele was suddenly and instantly aware of Alyssa's presence, and she glanced in her direction, looking her up and down as if sizing up an opponent. She grimaced with annoyance, then turned back towards her examination of John, ignoring the inquisitive blonde girl once more.

With that initial touch and spark, Alyssa now instinctively knew what Edraele was trying to do in her spirit form. She was probing John's mind-shield for cracks and weaknesses. Alyssa's eyes widened in alarm, and she reached out her hand again, intending to pull the Maliri woman away from him. Her ghostly fingers connected with Edraele's shoulder, and she tugged, attempting to turn her.

Edraele snarled with anger, and whirled to face Alyssa, infuriated that this Terran girl kept interrupting her efforts to break the Mael'nerak's mental shield. Edraele's eyes glowed a bright purple, and before Alyssa knew what hit her, she felt a stinging smack across her face, that sent her reeling backwards and sprawling to the floor. The Maliri Matriarch sneered at her in contempt, and then turned her attention back to John, dismissing the Terran girl as inconsequential.

Alyssa felt white hot anger surging within her, pooling in her stomach, and then throbbing as it pulsed outwards, running down her arms to her hands. The lights in the room flickered and dimmed as she rose smoothly to her feet, her fingers shrouded in a brilliant nimbus of power. She stalked towards Edraele with a murderous rage building within her, and crackling surges of psychic energy cascaded down her arms to gather at her fingertips. This woman was attempting to break into John's mind, and now she dared to strike at her?! It was time for her to pay for her presumption.

Edraele felt a cold surge of dread creeping up her spine, and her every sense screamed at her that she was in mortal danger. She slowly turned, a look of creeping horror on her face as she did so. She could saw vast amounts of power roiling around the Terran woman's hands, and she stared at Alyssa with terrified eyes. Seconds away from oblivion, she did the only thing she could think of to escape from this terrifying nightmare masquerading as a naive little girl. Despite knowing the risks, she acted in pure desperation, and blasted out a psychic null-zone centred on herself.

The Maliri Matriarch was snapped back into the protective embrace of her body, her spirit form slamming into her physical form in a split-second. She staggered back a step, and clutched at her head as waves of agony stabbed into her mind. Despite her decades of psionic activity, she had never had to abruptly sever a spirit walk before, and she reeled with the incredible pain and disorientation.

John had just finished asking Edraele about possibly acquiring some Maliri food to restock the Invictus, and she appeared to be mulling over his request, nodding distractedly. The lights in the room suddenly flickered and dimmed, and he glanced about, amazed that the Maliri would be experiencing any kind of power outage. A few seconds later, the Maliri Matriarch lurched back a step, her face contorted in agony, her hands reaching for her head as though she were suffering a terrible migraine.