Three Square Meals Ch. 47

"Are you alri-," he started to ask in concern, just as Alyssa suddenly let out a strangled cry.

He whirled to face her, and just managed to catch her as she toppled over, her eyes rolled back in her head. "Alyssa!" he called out to her urgently, scooping her up in his arms, but he could see she was unconscious.

John looked up at Edraele suspiciously, anger surging within him, but one look at her left him shocked. Her face was distorted in a dreadful mask of pain, and she staggered from the room, almost falling as she lurched away. He looked down at Alyssa with concern, who was completely comatose, her head lolling against his chest where he carried her in his arms.

As he tried to decide what to do, the door behind them opened, and a slender Maliri woman entered the room. She looked at him with wide eyes for a moment, before controlling herself and nodding to him politely.

"Matriarch Valaden sent for me to escort you back to your ship," she said politely, looking curiously at the blonde girl he was carrying.

John tried to calm himself, and he smiled at the Maliri woman, then said off-handedly, "A little too much Tialanth wine for my friend here. We're ready to head back to our ship."

The Maliri nodded, then turned and walked back out of the door she had just come through. John followed after her, while glancing down at Alyssa with worry.

***

Edraele staggered back to her bedroom, and collapsed on her bed, fumbling blindly for the medication that she kept by her bedside. She pressed the dispenser to her temple, then clicked the button, and almost instantly the familiar soothing waves of pain-relief cascaded over her. She lay perfectly still, not wanting to move a muscle until the medication had run its course. Finally the throbbing pain in her head abated, and she winced as she sat up, able to think once more.

Her mother had warned her about what could happen if a spirit walk was ended like that, and like a fool, she had rolled her eyes at the words of caution. She had immediately been punished at length for her disrespectful gesture, but it seemed her mother's predictions of searing pain had not been overstated in the slightest. Still, that had been the only course available to her at the time, with agony being far preferable to obliteration.

She shivered as she recalled the sheer amount of raw power that girl had commanded, feeling real fear for the first time in more decades than she cared to count. Edraele thought back to Irillith's desperate words of caution, and with disturbing clarity, now began to realise just what might have frightened her daughter so badly. Still, there were much more important things at stake now, and after that little encounter she was more resolved than ever.

Taking a deep breath, Edraele climbed off the bed and walked out of the room and into her study. She sat in the large chair behind her desk, and leaned over to press a button on the comm interface, contacting her daughter.

"Irillith, I want to see you in my study. Now," she demanded, in a tone that promised dire consequences for refusal.

Edraele ended the call before Irillith could reply, and leaned back in her chair, turning it to stare distractedly out the window. For the first time in well over a century, she felt a slight pang of regret over her actions. If she hadn't had Tashana banished, she might have been able to offer some valuable insight into this current predicament. The fleeting feeling disappeared as quickly as it had arrived, and she turned to face the door with grim resolve. She could hear Irillith approaching her study, and it was now time to impress upon her daughter the consequences of not obeying her will on this matter. The door swung open slowly, and Irillith stepped fearfully into the room.

"Good, you're here at last," Edraele said ominously, with a sinister smile. "We need to discuss how you will obey my will on this matter, or experience more pain than you ever thought possible..."

***

As journeys usually do, the trip back home to the Invictus seemed to be much faster than the ride to the palace. The Maliri guide stopped her hover-car right outside the Spaceport terminal, just as John had requested. He gathered Alyssa in his arms, and carried her with him as he climbed out of the vehicle, thanking the blue-skinned woman as he departed.

Alyssa was still unresponsive, so he lifted his left arm, while being careful not to disturb her, and nudged the comm button on his watch with his nose. A hologram of Calara's face appeared at an odd angle, perpendicular to him while he walked with Alyssa in his arms.

"John? What's happening?" she asked him in alarm. "Our link with Alyssa was cut off abruptly."

"I'm nearly back at the ship," he replied quietly. "I don't know what happened, but Alyssa is unconscious."

He could see her concerned face looking around for him, but she nodded and said, "Get back as fast as you can!"

John walked briskly past the Maliri guards, and their helmets turned to follow him as he hurried along. A minute later he entered the docking bay that housed the Invictus, and he sighed with relief when he saw the familiar shape of the assault cruiser before him. The airlock door was already open, and he spotted concerned faces looking his way as he jogged over the last hundred metres to join them.

As soon as he was inside, Calara placed her hand on the DNA reader and closed the airlock door, which spiralled shut behind him. "What happened this time?" The Latina asked worriedly.

"I'm not sure." John replied in frustration. "Something happened to Alyssa and Edraele at the same time."

The other girls were all gathered them too, and Rachel stepped forward with the Medi-scanner in hand. She held it near to Alyssa's head and checked her vital signs, but the information she received back looked promising.

"There's no sign of physical trauma," Rachel told him with relief.

John nodded behind them and said, "Let's put her to bed. Jade, I think we'll need your help again."

***

Alyssa began to stir again only a few seconds after Jade's feeding fingers did their work. The Nymph quickly withdrew them as the blonde girl's eyelids began to flutter open, and as soon as they had cleared her lips, Alyssa coughed weakly.

"Fuck me, that's one hell of a hangover," she muttered, covering both eyes with her hands, and massaging her forehead.

Jade gently scooped her up in her dark green arms, before bringing a swollen nipple to Alyssa's lips. Alyssa began to suckle hungrily, staring up into Jade's emerald cat-like eyes, while the Nymph murmured to her softly. John and the girls were seated around them on the bed, and they breathed a collective sigh of relief when Alyssa eventually sat up with Jade's help, looking much better.

"What the hell happened?" John asked her.

She crawled over to join him, and he lay back on the bed so that she could rest her head on his shoulder and cuddle up next to him. Jade slipped around behind her, and began to rub her swollen belly soothingly.

Alyssa looked back over her shoulder at the green-skinned girl, and said gratefully, "That feels lovely, thank you."

Jade smiled at her indulgently, wrapping her friend in her arms as she gently caressed her rounded stomach. The others all moved in close as well, watching Alyssa closely as they waited for her answer.

The blonde girl let out a big sigh and said, "I'm not completely sure. I'm drawing a big blank on most of it."

"What do you remember?" John pressed her cautiously.

Alyssa hesitated for a moment as she tried to put her experience into words, and then replied, "Edraele kind of turned into a ghost. It was like her spirit pulled away from her body, and then she started examining your mind-shield. I saw what she did, so I sort of copied it, and did the same thing. Trust me when I tell you that being able to look through your own hand is fucking weird!"

John waited for her to continue while she lay there recalling the memory. He finally grew impatient and asked, "What happened after that?"

"Oh, sorry," she said apologetically. "After that it gets blurry. I remember reaching out to touch Edraele, and that after that, nothing."

"Do you think she did this to you?" John asked her with a dangerous edge to his voice.

Alyssa shrugged helplessly, and said, "I've no idea. What happened after I blacked out?"

Now it was John's turn to struggle to describe events, and he said tentatively, "The lights went out for a moment, and Edraele looked like someone had driven a red-hot spike through her head, then she fled from the room. You collapsed, and I managed to catch you before you hurt yourself in the fall. The Maliri driver turned up, and she drove us back here in a hover-car. I carried you back to the ship, and Jade topped you up."

"Do you think Edraele attacked you?" Calara asked Alyssa sounding worried.

Dana grinned and said proudly, "If she did, it looks like Alyssa kicked her ass too!"

Alyssa smiled at the both, and said, "It's entirely possible. I had a hell of a headache when I woke up, but that's all gone now." She glanced back at Jade, and then John, smiling at them both with gratitude.

With not much else they could really discuss on the matter, they all sat back, glancing at each other and shrugging.

John looked around at the girls and said, "Did you all hear about my decision to accept Edraele's offer?"

They all nodded at him, although Dana pouted, looking unamused.

"Cheer up Sparks," Alyssa said to the redhead. "If Irillith is too much of a bitch, I'll space her blue ass, and then you can check out her gear."

Dana giggled and looked much more cheerful, but John shot an alarmed glance in Alyssa's direction. She winked at him mischievously, and he felt somewhat relieved.

He suddenly frowned and looked at Jade apologetically. "No luck on the Maliri food supplies I'm afraid. I did ask, I promise, but then all this happened with Alyssa and Edraele, and she ran away before she gave me an answer."

The Nymph blew him a kiss, and smiled at him warmly, letting him know she appreciated him trying. "Perhaps we can stock up when we reach Geniya Trading Post instead?" she suggested enthusiastically.

John nodded and replied, "Ceraden's mysterious 'business trip' should be over by the time we reach Geniya again, so I'd like to check in on him anyway, make sure he's okay."

"I think we owe him another drink for that warning he gave us," Alyssa said earnestly. Then she grinned impishly and said, "Besides, he's very handsome, and I'm sure you girls would like to see him in the flesh."

John laughed as the girls giggled, and they smiled at each other, feeling hugely relieved that they seemed to have weathered their way through this latest crisis. He looked around at their beautiful, smiling faces, and just felt glad to be back home on his ship; his sanctuary, where everything felt so relaxed and happy.

Abruptly a soft chime echoed around the room, one that John recognised from a week before. It was the intercom by the airlock. He sat up and answered the call, and Irillith's scowling face filled the view screen.

"I'm here. Let's get this over with," she grimaced.