Three Square Meals Ch. 077

Tsarra blushed and brought her hand up to her head, running her fingers through her hair self-consciously. She met Edraele's encouraging, open gaze and replied softly, "I was thinking of growing it long, like yours."

"You'll look stunning," Edraele said earnestly, before her full mouth turned up into a knowing smile. "I'm sure John would love that."

Tsarra was quiet for a moment before suddenly blurting out, "Will he be back soon?"

Edraele suppressed her worries for John and her daughters, knowing full well the dire predicament they currently found themselves in. She smiled at her guest and replied, "He's busy saving the galaxy at the moment, but I know he plans to return here as soon as he's able to." She studied the young woman's face and having seen Ioelena with a similar expression of longing, she added leadingly, "Why do you ask, Tsarra?"

"I haven't had a chance to thank him yet for saving my life," she replied, hands twisting together anxiously. "He'd already left by the time I'd woken up, after I'd..." Her voice trailed off, her hand instinctively moving to her stomach.

Smiling at her, Edraele leaned forward and whispered conspiratorially, "Can I let you in on a little secret?"

Looking at her with big eyes, Tsarra nodded but stayed quiet, listening attentively. You could have heard a pin drop in the silence that settled in the room.

"Alyssa and I are John's Matriarchs and he lets us read his mind," Edraele confided in the young woman, with particular emphasis on the title to indicate the different meaning. She smiled playfully as she added, "When he met you, he thought you were an exceptionally beautiful girl. I know he wants to meet with you again."

"Really?!" Tsarra gasped, her face lighting up with delight. She managed to compose herself and added in a much more reserved manner, "I'd like that very much."

Edraele studied the House Perfaren Matriarch for a moment then said sympathetically, "After the unfortunate events that befell your mother and sisters, I believe you are all that remains of your noble House?"

Nodding in response, Tsarra faltered as she replied, "I know I should be focusing on securing the lineage of my House." She winced as she glanced at Edraele and whispered, "But the prized border males can be so obnoxious!"

"It is very important to maintain your family line," Edraele agreed, her tone sympathetic. Inching forward, she held out her slender hand towards Tsarra's midriff and looked into her eyes as she quietly asked permission to touch her, "May I?"

Holding her breath as she stared at her Matriarch, Tsarra slowly nodded, then gasped as Edraele gently caressed her slim abdomen.

"Can I ask you a favour?" Edraele asked as she gazed into the younger woman's dark-green eyes.

"Anything..." Tsarra finally breathed.

Edraele's hand moved down a little so that she was stroking Tsarra's lower belly and she murmured, "Would you consider holding off on pursuing one of the border males for a little while?" She smiled at the entranced girl and added in a hushed voice, "But only do so if you might be interested in a match with John instead. You'll find interacting with him to be a far more satisfying experience."

Tsarra could hardly believe her pointed ears and she let out a low moan of arousal as Edraele's delicate fingers lovingly caressed her fertile belly.

***

"What are these irritating little maggots doing?!" Grand Overlord Vekrok snarled in frustration as his Dreadnought was jerked out of hyper-warp once more. "They're only delaying the inevitable!"

This was the eleventh such interruption, each one dumping his armada into normal space and halting their relentless march towards Ashana. Every interruption only delayed his forces for a handful of minutes at least until the infuriating Ashanath cruiser was hunted down and destroyed. However, the incessant violent shaking as they were dragged out of hyper-warp was starting to give him a pounding headache.

He clenched onto his throne to keep himself stable, his weighty right paw clamping down on Itigrut's skull. Unfortunately, his power-assisted gauntlet crushed the skull like an eggshell, causing it to shatter in a cascade of bone fragments. Looking down at the remnants of his prized trophy in horror, Vekrok's hefty jaw twisted as he roared in incandescent fury.

Lurching from his throne, he thumped the Command Interface and bellowed, "I WANT THOSE FUCKERS DEAD! ALL SHIPS HUNT THEM DOWN!"

His armada of Drakkar ships surged forward as his furious orders were broadcast to every spacecraft in the vast warband. The Ashanath cruiser simply turned tail and ran, just as the other ten had before it. Drakkar ships were equipped with a multitude of engines and the horde of vessels were faster than the fleeing silvery vessel. It was blotted from sight on the map by the dozens of purple beams that lashed into its circular form, the shields overloaded in an instant. Skewered by those throbbing lances of energy, one of them slashed through the power core, triggering a reactor meltdown that blew the Ashanath ship into a million pieces.

Vekrok pointed an armoured finger at his latest navigator and growled, "Get us back into hyper-warp. I will erase this pathetic species from existence!"

***

John worked methodically, pouring more of the diminishing sphere of crystal Alyssium into each of the body plates that would armour the mech's torso and limbs. He had gathered sufficient experience at shaping to be able to form the armoured plates directly onto the mech, so Rachel followed after him, sealing them into place with crystalline mag-locked bolts.

They were about half way through when Irillith arrived in the Launch Bay, a satisfied grin on her face. "Hello everyone!" she greeted them cheerfully.

"Hello to you too!" John said, returning her greeting with a warm smile. Taking in her happy grin, he added, "You look like you've got good news?"

She glided over to him, nodding as she replied, "I finished the targeting HUD upgrade in the Paragon armour!" She looked up at Rachel who was perched on the back of the mech's right leg and continued, "Just upload any autopsy results in the format we discussed, and any vulnerabilities you identify will be highlighted on targets of that species."

"That's really excellent work, honey. Thank you," John said, smiling at Irillith appreciatively. He glanced up at Rachel and added, "Same goes for you, beautiful! That was a great idea!"

The brunette grinned and saluted him with the multi-tool. Looking down at Irillith, she waved the sophisticated device and asked, "Do you fancy grabbing one of these and helping lock down the armour? I'm struggling to keep up with John."

Dana whistled from up on the gantry, drawing all eyes to her as she tossed a spare multi-tool to the Maliri girl. Irillith caught it easily enough and Dana winked at her, saying, "Thanks! I owe you one!"

John watched Irillith clamber up the mech to begin working on the plates on its left leg, then turned his attention back to the rotating orb of Crystal Alyssium. He had to work on the arm plates now and on a whim, he decided to try forming both sets of plates at the same time. He remembered how Alyssa had shaped six plates at a time for the Invictus, but he decided to start small and just work on two. Focusing intently on drawing out twin streams of the liquid metal, he began to create a pair of identical plates which would be affixed to each of the mechs biceps. He couldn't help groaning with the strain, his head throbbing as he worked.

*That's penta-shaped crystal Alyssium,* his blonde Matriarch warned him immediately. She channelled a quick burst of psychic energy over to him to help alleviate the strain, then continued, *Good effort, but you're not quite ready for shaping more than one of those at a time.*

He finished the psychic craftsmanship, letting both plates clatter on the floor as he reached up with a hand to massage his temple. *How the hell did you manage six at once?* he muttered, filled with a new sense of appreciation for Alyssa's psychic potency.

*They were only quad-shaped, and it gets much harder the more times the metal's been reshaped,* Alyssa reminded him gently, but he could tell she was just being modest. Her tone turned playful as she continued, *Besides, I've had a shitload of practice at making armour for the Invictus! If I go to hell, I'll be doomed to shape armour plates for eternity!*

John laughed at that and replied, *You better work hard at being a good girl then, hadn't you?*

*Oh yes, definitely,* she purred in agreement. *Speaking of which, I've finished the second Photon Laser barrel for the Raptor. I'll give Jade a hand assembling them both, then we'll go and install them. Faye tells me her bots have removed all the relevant armour plating, I'll just need to pull out the old Beam Lasers.*

*Sounds like you're making superb progress! Well done, honey,* he praised her, smiling when he felt the happy surge of pride from Alyssa after his encouraging words.

***

Sakura sat next to Tashana in the Briefing Room, nodding approvingly as her attentive student recited back her advice on squad tactics.

"And I should watch my spacing, being careful not to group up too close to any of the rest of my fireteam, to avoid presenting tempting targets for area weapons like grenades," Tashana concluded, a smile forming on her face when she saw Sakura looking pleased.

"Yeah, you're getting it," Sakura said with a wide smile on her face, patting the Maliri girl on her azure shoulder. She looked thoughtful for a moment before she added, "Also watch out for target fixation: it's very easy to just blaze away at your target, focusing solely on putting them down. Always keep an eye on your surroundings and stay wary for danger."

"Sounds like sensible advice," Tashana agreed, trying to remember that along with the dozens of other rules and guidance that the Asian girl had encouraged her to memorise.

Sakura sat back in her chair, appearing thoughtful as she said, "I think that's about it. You'll learn a lot with experience, and I'm sure John and Alyssa will give you advice too." She suddenly thought of something, and sprang lithely from her chair. "Oops! I better teach you this bit so Alyssa doesn't have to explain it mid-combat!"

Watching her curiously, Tashana asked, "What do you mean?"

Smiling at her student, Sakura replied, "Okay, well you remember how Alyssa is a telepath? When she's with a group of us, then she coordinates our fire to make sure we aren't wasting any shots." Walking over to stand by Tashana's side, she explained, "We use the numbers on a clock face to call out positioning, and it'll always be from your point of view. I've no idea how she does it with five or more of us at once, but I've seen it in action. It's absolutely lethal."

"Could you give me an example, please?" Tashana asked. She smiled apologetically and added, "I've grown up using digital chronometers, but I am familiar the reference. I've heard Terrans use the term before."

"Oh right! From Terran holo-vids?" Sakura asked, smiling when Tashana nodded. Pointing directly in front of them both she continued, "It's pretty easy: straight ahead is 'twelve' then 'one' is thirty-degrees to your right. The numbers go up with each thirty-degree increment until you're all the way up to twelve."

"Okay, that's seems easy enough to follow," Tashana replied, looking relieved.

Sakura raised a cautionary finger and said, "She also calls out high or low for targets at different elevations." Turning Tashana in her chair so she was facing away from the table, Sakura darted backwards, and added, "Let's do a quick practice. Just call out the position of my fist. Are you ready?"

Grinning at her eager trainer, Tashana said, "Sure, go ahead!"

Sakura dodged around, holding out a fist to different heights and positions with Tashana calling out the correct instructions. She picked it up easily and earned herself a high-five when she got all ten correct.

*Now let's try it for real,* Alyssa said, her telepathic voice caressing Tashana's mind and making her jump.

Tashana looked at Sakura in surprise and got a wink in response, letting her know the Asian girl was in on the next step of training. Sakura stood back with her arms folded across her chest, and said, "Just point to the targets as Alyssa calls them out."

No sooner had Tashana nodded, then Alyssa began issuing commands in a firm, authoritative voice, *Twelve-low, three-high, seven-low, four-low, five, two, ten-high...* The list of instructions became a steady stream, with the Maliri girl quickly pointing out the various directions and elevations.

Sakura grinned at her when she was finished and said, "Perfect! Well done."

*You did brilliantly,* Alyssa agreed, sounding pleased. *I'll give you more detailed instructions where necessary, but those are the basics.*

"So I'm combat ready now?" Tashana asked, looking hopeful.

Nodding enthusiastically, Sakura replied, "You're all set!"

***

The Drakkar dreadnought began to shake violently as the sudden appearance of a gravity well right before their fleet brought them to another juddering halt. Grand Overlord Vekrok's flagship lurched out of hyper-warp, along with hundreds of vessels in his furious entourage.

Rubbing at his throbbing head with both sets of hands, he growled out an order under his breath, "Kill those thrice-damned fuckers..." Vekrok had found that bellowing in rage was aggravating his headache.

The armada of incensed Drakkar powered up to full speed, the thrust from their massive engines flaring a bright orange as they propelled their vessels forward. The thirteenth Ashanath cruiser to interdict the armada quickly spun around, the silvery disc attempting to flee from the ravaging horde that descended on it.

***

With almost all of its systems powered down, the Ashanath destroyer hung silently in the velvety field of space. Essentially invisible to the Drakkar's sensors, it watched events unfold from a safe distance, using passive sensors to pick up a general positioning of the malevolent invasion fleet.

Leader Barthean watched sombrely as the cruiser carrying the Gravity-Well Generator fled from the rampant Drakkar ships. There was only the bare minimum of crew aboard the retreating vessel, but it was still heartbreaking to know that such brave souls were about to sacrifice themselves for the Ashanath Collective.

His own crew watched the Holographic tactical map in silence, all eyes on the single vessel as it was chased down by hundreds. Seconds ticked by as the horde crept ever closer to the fleeing ship until the lead pursuers were within striking range of their harried target. The Ashanath cruiser didn't last long, perhaps another seven seconds before it winked out on the map, but every second was of vital importance.

A soft sorrowful murmur echoed through the mind-cluster on the Bridge, the crew's telepathic voices lifted in a mournful lament. Amidst that cry for those slain heroes, Leader Bartean's voice was firm, as he gave the order. That same order was repeated amongst scores of watching Ashanath vessels, the fleet of hidden ships having spent the last ten hours preparing for this moment.

"Activate the mines."

The Ashanath minefield consisted of thousands of cloaked magnetic mines, the dense field prepared exactly as Calara had requested, in the precise coordinates she had specified. The suicidal cruisers had served two purposes. Firstly, they bought the Ashanath another forty-two minutes, every moment of which allowed the minelayers more time to drop their deadly cargo. The second purpose was to enrage the easily antagonised Drakkar. Just as she'd predicted, the furious horde chased the Ashanath cruiser right into that baited trap and fully half of the rampaging fleet was enveloped in that ominous cloud when they finally destroyed the fleeing cruiser.

***

Grand Overlord Vekrok waved three weary hands at his navigator and grunted, "Get us into hyper-"

He never finished the sentence, his mouth hanging open in shock as a huge red explosion flared on the tactical map. Then another one, and yet another, in a rippling cascade that bloomed across vast swathes of his armada. Magnetic mines were drifting into the fleet of hapless ships, drawn inexorably towards the metallic hulls of the Drakkar vessels.

A colossal Drakkar battleship - well over a kilometre long - was just powering up its FTL drive, when the first magnetic mine struck its hull. The contact triggered the device, and the explosion blasted a cavernous hole through the bow of the menacing black-hulled leviathan. The ship trembled with the impact, a hundred-meter-wide blast crater torn through the front of the crippled vessel. Unfortunately for the terrified Drakkar crew, that was only the first mine that would strike the ship that day.

The second bumped into the lower right engine, the detonation shattering the blocky rear section of the ship and sending shards of debris over a wide arc. A secondary explosion tore free another damaged engine, sending the battleship listing to port, just as another mine descended on the missile batteries atop the doomed behemoth. The silvery sphere looked innocuous enough, until it made contact with the armoured topdeck and a colossal explosion ripped into the warship, the blast triggering the scores of missiles which retorted with their own detonations. One searing blast after another cored out the once-mighty ship, ten thousand Drakkar dying over the span of nine seconds.

Similar stories unfolded throughout the rest of the lead elements of Vekrok's forces, and he rose from his throne in stunned disbelief as half his ships were obliterated in a terrible act of pure destruction. His slower dreadnought remained unscathed, but the same could not be said for the ships that had led the charge after the Ashanath cruiser.

"No..." he mumbled, his bulging black eyes frozen in horror, transfixed by the utter carnage unleashed on his forces.

***

Alyssa eased the second of the ten-metre-long Photon Lasers into the Raptor's shoulder mount, being careful to align the power feed couplings with the modulators on the weapon.

"That's perfect," Jade said, giving Alyssa a broad grin. "I'll start locking it into place."

She nodded in reply, then turned her attention to Faye's bots, who were busy slotting the crystal Alyssium panels back into place over the first Photon Laser they had installed. "We're making good progress," she said, as she watched the smiling automatons working at a furious pace.

Faye nodded, smiling with a hint of maternal pride as her four boys quickly and efficiently bolted the armour plating back onto the hull. "We should finish the upgrade with about twenty minutes left to spare," she agreed, noting two slight imperfections in the robot's positioning of the panel. The armoured plate still slotted in with a barely audible click, but that wasn't the point - she would have to correct their programming immediately.

Alyssa turned to her and said, "You've been a tremendous help today, you should feel proud of yourself." She smiled as she added, "We would've had no chance of getting all this work completed if it wasn't for you. We'd have been forced to choose between the Sonic Cannons or finishing Dana's mech and then the Raptor upgrade was all your idea."

The purple sprite blushed with the praise but she looked delighted nonetheless. Faye returned the blonde's smile and suggested, "I was thinking it might be a good idea to build more maintenance bots, perhaps bringing the number up to at least ten. That way I can be interacting with you, watching the Bridge, and still directly monitoring ten of the bots to make sure their work is perfect."

"You're just full of good ideas, aren't you, cutie?" Alyssa said, laughing as she nodded her agreement. She glanced at the grinning AI and added teasingly, "I don't think John will object. He's had a change of heart of late and seems to thoroughly enjoy synthetic company. I can't imagine how that happened..."