Three Square Meals Ch. 066

He glanced at the girls, and murmured, "We better keep quiet for this next part. I'd rather surprise them than the other way around."

*Sure, that's no problem,* Alyssa agreed. *Just communicate with me telepathically, and I'll pass on your orders.*

With a nod of confirmation, they edged down the tunnel, moving at a slower pace now to stay quiet. The layer of sulphur dust actually helped here as it muffled the sound of any footfalls, allowing them to creep silently down the tunnel, while still maintaining a reasonable speed. The booted Terran footprints were more distinct now, the clear indentations no longer obscured by the shambling gait of hundreds of Kintark prisoners, and by the crisp outlines, it looked like a group had moved this way recently.

The tunnel travelled down relentlessly, sinking them ever deeper into the fiery heart of the volcano. His eyes were drawn to that red warning light in his HUD again, and he watched the temperature rise as they progressed further. Soon the reason for that sudden spike in temperature became abundantly clear, and they could see a familiar flickering orange glow on the walls below them.

*More lava I bet,* Alyssa guessed, throwing him a quick glance as she walked at his side.

It only took another dozen steps to confirm her guess, and as they followed the passage out onto a broad causeway, they all gaped at the spectacular scene before them. They were standing on a tall rocky bridge, made of black igneous rock, which curved around to the right into the middle of a vast lake of lava. Magma bubbled and swirled, with the occasional geyser of superheated molten rock blasting upwards in that bright infernal sea. The colours were incredibly vivid, running from searing orange to a deep brooding crimson, and none of them had ever seen anything that was quite so beautiful and deadly at the same time.

Over on the far side of the bridge, thrusting up from the searing lake, was a gigantic basalt pillar that had broken off near the base. The upper section had toppled over, forming a stone ramp up to a high gallery that ran along the other side of the immense cavern. It looked like there were columns around the edge of the flat plateau on top of the sheared base, and between those rocky protrusions John spotted the flicker of movement.

After turning off low-light amplification, they set off again, and followed the bridge of volcanic rock that led to the broken pillar. It took nearly five minutes to cross the long causeway, and when they neared the other end, John began to realise the sheer scale of the gigantic pillar that was their destination. The bridge began to rise into a gentle ramp, and when they reached the top, he nearly faltered at the sight of what lay ahead of them.

The base of the pillar had actually been heavily worked by skilled stonemasons, and the rocky outcroppings turned out to be deftly sculpted statues. The stone figures portrayed dozens of Kintark bowing and kneeling reverently, all of them facing towards the centre of the rocky promontory. Over on an enormous stone dais lay Tamolith, the Consort, revelling in the heat from the lava, and in the adoration of her devoted slaves. All around the podium, the fresh batch of prisoners were on their knees, arms raised as they worshipped the mighty draconic presence in their midst.

John felt a shiver of fear run down his spine as a pair of huge serpentine eyes settled on him, and the dragon smiled, baring rows of, long, razor-sharp teeth. "Ah, more Terrans come to bask in my glorious presence. How wonderful!" Tamolith rumbled, her deep sonorous voice easily carrying across the hundred metres between them.

Now that they were up on the edge of the column, John had a good view of the back of the basalt plateau. A half-dozen red-scaled dragon whelps cavorted around, playing chase with each other, or sat gnawing bones from the disturbingly large pile in the centre of their nest.

Tamolith saw where his attention was drawn, and her deep voice carried a mother's pride as she said, "They're growing so big and strong now. They'll be mighty indeed, just like their sire!" The dragon eyed him curiously again, and under that unblinking scrutiny, John was suddenly reminded of Jade's analogy about a cat playing with a mouse. Tamolith smiled at him; a toothy, terrifying sight, and she added in a base rumble, "Come now, who are you, mysterious Terran?"

He cleared his throat, which felt quite dry all of a sudden, and activating his Paragon suit's external speakers, he replied, "My name's John Blake, but I'm not a Terran."

"Really? You are a intriguing little thing, aren't you..." Tamolith marvelled. She extended a foot-long claw, and began idly carving a deep furrow through the rock as she asked, "And what pray tell are you then?"

John hesitated, unsure which way to proceed. He had no real desire to reveal who and what he really was to this red-scaled behemoth, but with over a hundred Terran prisoners surrounding Tamolith, he didn't want to start a fight either.

"I'm a Progenitor," he finally revealed, a part of him curious to see if the Kintark ruling caste knew anything of his kind. "My species ruled this part of the galaxy over ten-thousand-years ago."

The dragon's eyes flashed with excitement, and she rose to her full thirty-foot height, towering over him as she stared down in fascination. He instantly regretted his words, as seeing this vast creature become animated was a truly terrifying sight.

"The Emperor mentioned that he'd been in contact with another of your kind," she said, a fierce acquisitive gleam in those huge orbs. "He claimed that he was a fellow immortal, just like my kind. Is that true, John Blake?"

"Yes, my species is immortal," he confirmed for her, suppressing his urge to flee from her fearsome visage. He couldn't help noticing that she spoke normally, rather than with the slithering speech of the regular Kintark.

Tamolith's shimmering eyes blinked twice, betraying her keen interest. Her expression grew sly, as she asked, "So what brings you to my humble abode, tiny Progenitor? Are you here to make offers of support for galactic conquest as well? If so, your compatriot beat you to the punch by several months."

*Holy shit! That bastard's working with the Kintark too?!* Alyssa blurted out.

John managed to keep the shock from showing on his face, and he glanced at Alyssa and sent her a startled thought, *He's stirring up trouble all over the goddamn place!*

Turning back to the dragon, he replied, "I'm actually here for these Terran prisoners. One of my women is related to a captive of yours, and I'd like to negotiate their release."

Tamolith looked disappointed, and her lips curled back, revealing enormous canines as she lamented, "How terribly mundane. I was hoping for something to alleviate my boredom, but negotiating for prisoners is hardly going to be stimulating."

John gazed up at the colossal beast, and said, "I don't know, it might still be. What sort of thing would you be interested in? Perhaps we can come to some kind of arrangement?"

That sharp glint of excitement was back in the dragon's eyes again, and she turned her long scaled neck back to look at the high gallery that ran the far width of cavern. Certain that she wasn't going to be overheard, she stepped forward, closing the gap, and John had to desperately fight down the urge to raise his Punisher rifle and unload on the ferocious predator. Tamolith lowered her head until it was level with his, and he couldn't help but be transfixed by the two-foot-wide eyes that had locked their gaze on him.

"There might be something you could do for me, John Blake," she rasped, but her deep throaty voice was much quieter now. Her lips curled back in a viscous grin as she continued, "My mate, Kindralax, has served his purpose, and given me my precious darlings. In truth, I find him tedious to live with now. He chafes at being banished to this backwater world, and he's become a dreadful bore. I'd like you to... deal with him... for me."

"You want me to kill your mate?" John asked her in shock.

Her head bobbed slightly as she replied, "That's correct tiny one. Pitting you against him would answer a question that's been plaguing me of late."

John stared into those huge, vertical-slitted pupils, and asked, "What question is that?"

Tamolith looked troubled, and replied, "Why the question of our immortality, of course. Progenitors claim to be immortal, and we dragons surely are too. I'm not strong enough to challenge Kindralax myself to put his immortality to the test, but as fate would have it..."

"I arrived instead," John noted wryly.

She quirked an eyebrow in amusement, and said, "Yes, quite so."

John feigned the pretence that he was mulling the proposition over, but in actual fact he was delighted. This way he'd avoid a fight with Tamolith while she was surrounded by prisoners, and they'd be able to rescue them safely, without worrying that they'd be caught in the crossfire. It also avoided the question of what to do with her whelps, as even though they were over eight feet long and no doubt lethal in their own right, they were still essentially children. Last and by no means least, they planned to fight Kindralax anyway, and by doing a favour for Tamolith, he might be able to gain some influence amongst a faction of the ruling caste of the Kintark Empire.

*I'm pleased you're considering the political angle,* Edraele thought to him, taking John by surprise. She sounded more worried now though, as she added, *But are you sure you can't make some other kind of bargain with Tamolith, and then spirit the prisoners away from under this Kindralax's nose? I heard your thoughts about her, and she's over sixty-feet-long, yet this Kindralax must be even bigger? Facing something like that isn't a wise move, John.*

*We've got no choice, Edraele,* he replied without any doubt in his mind. *There's hundreds of Terran prisoners here, and it's going to take us hours to evacuate them on the Raptor. We can't risk doing that with some kind of rampaging dragon attacking us.*

*Alright, but please be careful,* she begged him, sounding very worried.

He sent her a confident telepathic grin, and said offhandedly, *We'll be fine, there's no need to worry.* However, her apprehensive silence told him that Edraele wasn't convinced by his bravado.

The whole telepathic conversation lasted mere seconds, so Tamolith was completely oblivious when he answered her a moment later. "Alright, we'll do it," he told her in a firm voice.

The massive reptile leaned back and grinned at him, which was quite a terrifying sight. "I take back what I said earlier," she purred, her long scaly tail lashing with eager anticipation. "There was nothing mundane about these negotiations!"

John smiled at her and said, "If we do this for you, I'd like all the Terran prisoners safely handed over to me for extraction."

"You can trust me, John Blake," Tamolith replied, an ambiguous sparkle in her shining eyes.

It was his turn to fix her with a steely stare, and he was deadly serious as he said, "I'm relieved to hear it. I'm not someone you want to cross, Tamolith."

She recoiled slightly, looking a little annoyed, and asked, "Is that a threat?"

"Consider it helpful advice, from one immortal to another," he replied, not releasing her from his unblinking stare.

Tamolith stared back at him as long as she could, then bowed her head and averted her eyes, unable to maintain the eye contact any longer. She nodded, and sounded a little unsettled as she said, "I swear I won't betray our bargain. If you vanquish Kindralax, you may take any Terran on Xen-Nuchek away with you, without any interference from me."

"Excellent," John replied, then glanced over at the bowing prisoners, his gaze settling on Mateo. He looked back at Tamolith, and asked, "How long will your... influence... over them last for?"

"A few days," she replied in her throaty rumble. "When they aren't able to bask in my magnificence any longer, the effect will gradually wear off. I'll ask them to follow you in my stead and I'm certain you won't have any problems leading them away."

He bowed his head to her, and said, "We'll be back shortly. A pleasure to meet you, Tamolith."

The dragon dipped her head in return, watching him with burning curiosity, although it was now tempered with a slight edge of fear. John beckoned to Alyssa, Dana, and Rachel, who had fanned out during the conversation and were clutching their weapons tightly. They moved away from the statues they'd been planning to use as cover, falling into step behind him as he strode purposefully across the basalt platform without a backwards glance at the prisoners.

Rachel had been studying them however, and she murmured into the comm, "The prisoners look to be in reasonable shape. Aside from the heat in here, the air quality isn't quite as bad as it was in the sulphur mine." She turned to look over her shoulder at Tamolith as they walked away, then let out a wistful sigh as she added, "I wonder if she'd let me examine her? Her species is absolutely breathtaking."

Dana smirked as she replied in a quiet voice, "I wouldn't hold your breath, babes. I don't think I've ever met another creature quite so up themselves before." She paused then, and added with a smile, "Alright, maybe Irillith, before John spunked the bitch out of her."

The Dragon Whelps all stared at them with big eyes, their curiosity peaked by the unexpected visitors to their lair. John found all the attention a little unsettling, and as he studiously ignored them, he spotted a long flash of silver at the back of their nest. He glanced that way without trying to be too obvious about it, and he was startled to see a broad black console set into all the basalt, the silvery edges to the vid-screens having caught his eye.

In this fiery setting, which could have come straight from an epic fantasy holo-vid, the long console was a stark reminder for him that this dragon was very much connected with the modern world. Seeing the twenty-eight century technology suddenly made him wonder what kind of a ship could possibly haul around something on their scale. Considering Tamolith's ego, he didn't imagine she'd be happy about riding in a cargo bay of some bulk-freighter. He mused that the Kintark probably started building custom vessels, as soon as they started all the genetic tampering that had led to the creation of these vast creatures.

They were nearing the far edge of the plateau, where the rest of the gigantic pillar was now lying on its side, wedged between the base and the far wall. It formed a very long stone ramp, which was pitted and scored by hundreds of claw marks that had left long furrows in the rock. The angle of incline wasn't too steep, so they had a fairly sedate climb ahead of them to reach the gallery that overlooked the fiery lake.

"Why not just use flight mode?" Dana asked him, as they worked their way up the pillar.

John shook his head, and replied, "Let's keep that one close to our chest for the moment, I've no idea if we're being watched by Kindralax, but I'm sure Tamolith hasn't stopped staring."

Alyssa looked back at the attentive red dragon, then replied, "Yeah, she's keeping an eye on us alright."

It didn't take too long to finish their climb, and they stepped off the broken pillar onto a flat platform cut into the rock. It made up a wide ledge that swept along this end of the cavern, offering spectacular views over the huge field of lava, with Tamolith's podium right in the centre. After stopping to appreciate the incredible vista before them, they made steady progress along the ledge, heading towards the other end. It didn't take long for them to make out a dark, gaping hole that led away into darkness, and what John could only assume was Kindralax's lair.

He re-activated his low-light imaging, which soon sketched the edges of the tunnel as it stretched away into the darkness. "Here Be Dragons," he muttered under his breath as he started forward, his Punisher rifle held at the ready.

***

*What's happening down there?* Calara thought to her blonde lover, still regretting not being a part of their rescue party.

Alyssa's voice was soothing as she replied, *We found Mateo, and he looks good. John made a deal, and we'll be looking to evacuate your brother in a little while.*

*What aren't you telling me? A deal with who?* Calara asked, sounding even more worried.

*Shh, don't get upset, we're all fine,* Alyssa replied. Her voice was playfully teasing as she added, *Your White Knight just confronted a big red dragon. I know how much you get off on all that, you would have loved it!*

Calara didn't sound amused though, and she replied, *You guys made a deal with a dragon? Tamolith I assume?*

*Yeah, we're off to slay her mate. She wants to test his immortality apparently,* Alyssa replied in disgust, finding the whole idea abhorrent. The thought of betraying John was so alien to her, it had left her with nothing but contempt for the massive female dragon.

*You can't make a deal with dragons, they're completely untrustworthy,* the Latina warned her.

Alyssa laughed, and replied, *These aren't something from a swords and sorcery tale, honey. They're genetically engineered overgrown lizards made by the Kintark Empire, I think the normal rules for dragons don't apply.* After a brief pause, she added, *I better go, I need to concentrate. We're hunting Kindralax and he's a badass from all accounts.*

*Alright, be careful! I love you,* Calara thought to the psychic blonde.

*Love you too, gorgeous,* Alyssa replied, but she sounded distracted now as she concentrated on preparing herself for the upcoming fight.

Calara let out a sigh, feeling frustrated that she wasn't able to help out. She glanced up at the Tactical Map, and watched the last stages of the Terran and Kintark fleet engagement in the Zeta-Draconis system. The Kintark forces had numerical superiority, and the Terran ships included a number of carriers which were no good at this kind of point-blank brawling. The few strike craft they had launched had ended up being savaged by the overlapping point-defence nets from the tight formations of Kintark ships. All in all, the battle hadn't gone well for the traitor vessels, not well at all.

She watched impassively as the massive Kintark battleship, the Bershan'tok, duelled with the Terran battleship, the Phobos. The shimmering-green Kintark behemoth opened fire with a broadside from its broad banks of Plasma Cannons, while launching volleys of missiles into the flank of the stricken Terran vessel. Bright green explosions from the Plasma Missiles left gaping, burning holes in the grey Titanium plating, the Phobos' shields having burned out what seemed like hours ago. The Phobos returned fire, but they could only use their Beam Laser batteries, as the Bershan'tok still had shields, weakened as they were. The Phobos' banks of Missiles and Heavy Cannons were therefore left dormant, impotent in the face of a shielded enemy.

Commodore Wheeler had focused on eliminating the supporting Kintark cruisers first, hoping to rout the opposing fleet when their losses grew too great. Unfortunately for him, he'd made a grave miscalculation, and High Prelate Tedaktu had no intention of running from the battle. His favourite nephew had been killed in the very first cruiser destroyed by the Phobos, and he'd sworn a blood oath to slay the treacherous Terrans. His battleship, the Bershan'tok, had studiouosly ignored the rest of the Terran fleet, leaving them to his supporting ships to fight, while he focused all his firepower on the Terran battleship.

The entire starboard side of the Phobos was ablaze now, fel-green plasma fires raging out of control, as more plasma bolts punched deeper into the superstructure of the huge ship. A Terran battleship had a crew of nearly two-thousand, and Calara knew she was sitting back and watching them die. She thought about intervening on their behalf for a moment, but she suddenly remembered watching the black box recordings from the battle that had seen the end of the heroic Commodore Walker. Seeing these traitors sent to hell in a burning plasma pyre seemed strangely fitting, so she stayed her hand and watched their well-deserved fate.