Three Square Meals Ch. 089

"Either of you could be right," John said, stroking their hair and smiling at them.

"Perhaps we better share then, just to be sure," Irillith murmured, copying her sister and kissing his chest. They flicked excited glances at each other and began to trail soft kisses down his torso.

They'd made a compelling argument and John saw no reason to disagree...

***

Murphy adjusted the straps on his flight suit to make sure it was comfortable and pulled on his helmet as he approached the massive Claymore 'fighter'. Rather than a lifting canopy like the Rapiers, there was an airlock mounted in the side of the vessel, allowing him easy access to the spacious cockpit. Sliding into the comfortable pilot's seat, he attached the straps of his flight suit to the standard locking mechanisms on the chair.

He hit the big green button on the console to begin the power-up routine and as the engines rumbled to life, he went through the standard safety checks. Despite the size difference of the ship, the control interface was remarkably similar to a standard fighter and he fell into that familiar routine, following the normal startup checklist.

A light flashed on his console and a soft chime filled the air, alerting him to an incoming hail. He swiped his hand across the interface and Captain Lewis smiled at him in greeting. "Let me know when you're ready to launch. I've cleared our test flight with Zeus traffic control."

Murphy nodded distractedly, his hands moving on auto-pilot as he activated a variety of displays showing the local system map, power output and... "What the hell?!" he exclaimed waving his hand over the readout to refresh it. He gave the Captain a rueful frown. "Sorry, Gator, this Claymore's malfunctioning. My power readouts are broken and I can't fly with them out of action, it's against regs."

"It isn't broken," Captain Lewis said calmly.

Murphy frowned and refreshed the readout again. "Nah, this is completely screwed. I'm seeing at least ten times the power output than my Rapier's old plant and my Mk III had recently been upgraded!"

The Captain smiled at him knowingly. "Like I said, that's not broken; the Claymore's equipped with a state-of-the-art power plant. It's Ashanath tech... a gift from the Lion."

Staring at the display in astonishment, Murphy's hand froze over the console as he glanced at the weapon loadout. "A fucking Gauss Cannon!" he blurted out in shock. He'd been expecting to see the six Gatling Lasers and had forgotten about the maw of the heavy calibre weapon built into the gunship's hull.

"All that power's there for a reason," his old instructor said with a chuckle, making Murphy feel like he was back in the Academy. "You've got shields now as well... You can see the shield status on the damage control display."

Murphy shook his head in amazement, bringing up damage control. Sure enough, he saw an image of the Claymore but it was swathed in bright green. The Rapiers had been too small to mount Shield Generators, a problem faced by fighters in all the major Galactic Empires. Well, apart from the Brimorians, but fortunately those creepy bastards kept themselves well clear of the Terran Federation.

"Alright, I'm all set," he replied, taking a casual grip on the flightstick.

All that power, the shields, and the impressive weapon loadout was all well and good, but a ship this bulky probably handled like a bomber... There was a good reason the poor suckers flying those deathtraps had such a low life expectancy.

"Okay, I'll link up with you out in the black. Take it easy now, Leprechaun," Gator warned him. "You need to be caref-."

Murphy rolled his eyes and grinned at the holographic image of his Captain as he cut him off. "It's basically a gunship, Gator!" he scoffed, grabbing the throttle and jamming it forward. "How fast can it be..."

Whatever cautionary words Captain Lewis said in reply were drowned out by the roar of the huge engines as the Claymore roared down the launch tube. The massive thrust pinned Murphy to his seat as his ship blasted out of the Zeus and into space.

"Holy Fuck!" Murphy screamed, eyes like saucers as he desperately pulled back on the throttle.

He stared at the speed indicator in amazement. Even at half-thrust he was travelling at his old Rapier's maximum velocity. Pulling back on the stick to avoid a squadron of destroyers, he could feel the g-force pressing down on him as the nose of the Claymore lifted effortlessly. The turn rate was astonishing, leaving him staring slack-jawed at the readouts.

"Trankaran engines and retro-thrusters, another present from the Lion," Captain Lewis said with a wry smile. "I hope you enjoyed that little stunt, they'll slap you with a fine for exceeding acceptable launch-tube escape velocity."

"Hell, that was worth it!" Murphy exclaimed, a wild grin on his face. He pushed the throttle forward and banked the Claymore around to form up on Gator's wing. "I fucking love this fighter!"

***

John stepped out of the grav-tube onto the Command Deck, smiling at Alyssa as she gave him a cheerful wave. As he approached the Command Podium, he glanced around for Faye, surprised to see she wasn't sitting on his console.

"Where's our resident purple pixie?" he asked, taking a seat in his Command Chair.

Alyssa smiled and handed him a plate with a bacon sandwich that smelled absolutely divine. "I told her I'd keep an eye on the Bridge. Faye's overseeing the maintenance bots at the moment with all her avatars; they're busy building new heatsinks for the defence grid. When we stop to have a chat with the Trankarans, she's going to upgrade all the Pulse Cannons for us."

"As our flame-haired tech genius would say: 'Faye really is fucking awesome!'," John said with a grin, before taking a big bite of the sandwich. He groaned in delight, savouring the perfectly grilled bacon. Swallowing down that first mouthful, he raised an eyebrow as she glanced at the blonde. "Was this Calara's handiwork?"

"Actually, I thought I'd take care of my man this morning," Alyssa replied, looking pleased by his reaction to the breakfast she'd lovingly prepared. "Consider it my way of saying thank you, for services enthusiastically rendered last night."

He laughed and took another bite, letting out a happy sigh as he chewed. As amazing as this sandwich was, he was actually feeling a bit thir-.

"Here you go," she said, handing him a mug full of hot coffee.

John looked at her in surprise for a moment, then smiled gratefully. "You're just a golden-haired telepathic angel, aren't you?"

"I arrived straight from heaven, to reward you for being such a good boy," Alyssa deadpanned, the sparkle in her bright blue eyes the only thing giving her away.

"I'm fairly sure the things you like getting up to wouldn't be considered acceptable angelic behaviour..." John said, arching an eyebrow.

Before Alyssa could reply, there was a soft chime from her console and a light flashed on the comm interface. She leaned forward in her seat and glanced at the caller ID, before looking at John in surprise. "We're being hailed by an Admiral Kester aboard the Heimdall."

John frowned and shook his head. "The name doesn't ring any bells. I thought Charles introduced me to most of the Admiralty."

Her hands darted over the console and the sector map sprang into life in the centre of the bridge. The holographic image cast a soft blue light over the Command Deck, showing the long border between the Terran Federation and the Trankaran Republic. They were far over to the 'right' of the holographic map, a long way from Port Megara. Sure enough, a short distance from the line demarking the border, they saw a substantial fleet of ships, led by a huge vessel tagged by its transponder code as the 'Shield of Heimdall'.

"Must be a dreadnought," Alyssa said thoughtfully. "It follows the same kind of naming convention."

"But what's a Terran Federation border fleet doing all the way out here?" John mused out loud. "We're way off the beaten track." He finished off the last of his bacon sandwich and hid the plate behind the console before taking a big sip of coffee. "Okay, put him through."

Alyssa swiped her fingers across the name and the holographic viewscreen flickered to life, displaying a secure channel logo. That faded a few moments later and a smartly dressed Terran officer appeared on the screen, his epaulets and rank insignia identifying him as an Admiral. The sharp glimmer of intelligence was quite apparent in the brown eyes that studied them.

"Ah, we meet at last, Vice Admiral Blake," the officer said, inclining his head politely. "As I'm sure you can well imagine, your reputation precedes you. My name's Admiral Anthony Kester, I command the Federation forces along the Trankaran border."

"I didn't think we'd met before, Admiral Kester," John replied, saluting the smartly uniformed man.

The Admiral smiled as he shrugged helplessly. "I would've loved to have attended that little soiree in your honour on Terra, but you know how it is... duty calls."

"What duty brings you all the way out here?" John asked, before narrowing his eyes cautiously. "I've heard there's been problems with the Kirrix..."

Kester nodded grimly. "Got it in one. Something big's happening in Trankaran Space. We've been repelling Kirrix incursions originating from inside the Trankaran Republic!"

John shared a worried glance with Alyssa before turning back to look at the Admiral. "Have you spoken to the Trankarans? We made contact with Fleet Warden Thandrun a couple of days ago... We're on our way to meet him."

Admiral Kester frowned, his eyebrows climbing in alarm. "I'd strongly discourage you from following that plan. I was maintaining a regular dialogue with Thandrun, but we lost contact with the Trankarans yesterday. Oh, and when I mentioned Kirrix incursions, I wasn't talking about the odd hive-ship sneaking across the border raiding for civilians. We've repelled fleets led by battleship-class Kirrix vessels!"

Pausing to consider that for a moment, John said in a sombre tone, "I appreciate the warning, Admiral. We'll keep our eyes open."

The older officer looked startled at John's calm reaction to news that would have terrified a regular cruiser captain. He stared intently at them for a few seconds, until a wry smile suddenly appeared on his face. "Apologies, Lion, I forgot who I was speaking with for a moment." He tipped his peaked hat and added, "I hope you have a pleasant journey. Please pass on my regards to the Fleet Warden. I always liked Thandrun... I hope you can rescue the Trankarans from whatever trouble they're in."

"Will do, Admiral," John replied, smiling back at him. "As I said before, thanks for the heads up."

"My pleasure, Lion," Admiral Kester replied, saluting him respectfully before ending the call.

Alyssa turned and grinned at John. "Why can't the rest of the Admiralty be like him? He was the first Admiral we've met that I genuinely liked!"

"Caldwell and Mishra seemed quite sensible," John said, thinking back to his meeting with the senior officers running the war with the Kintark Empire. He smiled and added, "Ah, but you didn't meet them, did you? I had Calara with me instead."

Alyssa nodded, then glanced across the Bridge at the Sector Map. "Well, I suppose we better keep our eyes peeled; we should reach the rendezvous point in an hour-and-a-half. What do you want to do if we run into Kirrix ships?" She shivered with revulsion, remembering their last encounter with the parasitic insectoid race.

"We'll just have to play it by ear. I'll stay up on the Bridge and we can make that call depending on what we come up against," John said cautiously, following her wary gaze to the glowing holographic map.

The Invictus hurtled across the border between the two empires without incident, leaving the Heimdall and the Terran forces far behind them as the sparkling white cruiser swept into Trankaran territory. This area of space was devoid of all life, with not a single active sensor contact appearing on the Invictus' long range sensors. After recently travelling through the bustling Terran core worlds, it was disquieting to see it so deserted.

It didn't take long before they encountered the debris fields. The first group of wrecks were a trio of Trankaran cruisers that had been involved in a devastating firefight. Trankaran ships had incredibly thick armour and the ravaged vessels had suffered hundreds of weapon hits before being overcome. The shattered wrecks made for ominous viewing, John and Alyssa sharing a look of concern.

"We better get Calara up here just in case," John said, staring at the derelict ships.

"She's on her way," Alyssa murmured quietly, her eyes fixed on the holographic map.

The Latina arrived within the minute, nodding to them both before jogging down the ramp to take her seat at Tactical. She glanced up at the images of the Trankaran cruisers, her eyes narrowing as she studied their lacerated hulls. "They were hit by a swarm of Kirrix Drones," she said soberly. "I recognise the patterning of impact craters from the battle footage taken during the last purge."

"The Kirrix use automated fighters?" Alyssa asked in surprise.

Calara shook her head. "No, their Drone ships are actually manned by living Kirrix. The fighters are small though and got mistaken for robotic drones. After that, the name just stuck."

They passed several asteroid belts, with dozens of what appeared to be abandoned Trankaran mining vessels drifting amongst the massive floating rocks. When they got closer, Calara focused their sensors on the bulky civilian ships and once they appeared in the Tactical View, it was easy to see the damage they'd sustained. The weapon hits were all focused on their engines, the Kirrix having disabled the mining vessels to prevent their escape.

"So the miners could be collected for infestation by the hive ships," John said, his expression bleak. "This is a lot worse than I thought. The Trankarans must have been completely overwhelmed!"

Calara checked the results of the sensor scans. "No life signs," she said, confirming his suspicions.

"Are you sure the Kirrix can use Trankarans for... infestation?" Alyssa asked, looking deeply unsettled. "Aren't their bodies too tough?"

The grim look on John's face spoke volumes. "The Kirrix can breed with just about any living creature. Even though the Trankarans are silicon based life-forms it doesn't make any difference. Kirrix grubs have razor-sharp teeth to chew their way out of a host... The Trankarans are very sturdy, but they can't survive that kind of internal damage."

Calara pointed towards a large cluster of debris on the map. "That's why the Terran forces lost contact with the Trankarans! The Kirrix must be systematically destroying all the comm beacons to keep the Trankarans isolated."

John looked at her in surprise, wondering how she knew about the Trankarans being cut off.

Alyssa quickly explained, "I kept all the girls up to date during our conversation with Admiral Kester. It was easier than explaining it all again later."

Calara was lost in thought for a moment, her brow furrowed in confusion. "If the Trankarans have been overwhelmed, they must have been aware of how many Kirrix ships invading. I wonder why they didn't ask the Terran Federation for help?"

"Maybe they did... but High Command decided not to bother," Alyssa replied, her tone making her opinion of them abundantly clear.

"I can't believe High Command would just turn their back on the Trankarans!" Calara protested. "The Kirrix are a blight on all species!"

"Let's not jump to any hasty conclusions," John cautioned them both, leaning back in his chair. "We'll rendezvous with the Fleet Warden and find out the full story from Thandrun."

The two girls nodded, then focused on the Sector Map again, looking out for any signs of trouble. Despite John urging caution, he couldn't help wondering if Alyssa might have been right. If her hunch did turn out to be correct, then building any kind of intergalactic alliance might prove even more difficult than he'd originally thought. He was absorbed in his worries and lost track of time, until he was brought back to reality by Alyssa gently squeezing his hand.

*Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worry,* she thought to him, crouching down beside his Command Chair.

He looked into her bright blue eyes and slowly shook his head. *No need to apologise. With everything happening recently, the Trankarans being abandoned by the Terran Federation might well be a distinct possibility.*

She leaned in and kissed him, giving him a supportive smile. *We'll find out soon, we're approaching the Delta Corvus system. Calara spotted the Trankaran fleet on the long range scans.*

John looked across the Bridge at the Sector Map then blinked in shock at the sight. The Trankaran fleet had taken a hammering, their forces reduced to roughly half the previous numbers he'd seen during their last visit. The dark-red hulls of the remaining ships were scarred and pitted, providing stark evidence of the intensity of the combat that those vessels had faced.

Not that it was needed...

The massive battlecarrier flagship and its supporting cluster of six battleships were surrounded by a dense sea of debris, the aftermath of what must have been a ferocious battle. The wreckage of yellowish-brown insectoid-shaped ships numbered in the hundreds, with scores of broken Trankaran ships scattered throughout the carnage. Two enormous battleships had been brought down by the Kirrix, their broken but still-intact hulls standing like monolithic crimson tombstones, marking the final resting place of thousands of Trankarans. Dozens of bulky, rust-coloured Trankaran cruisers and destroyers were carefully picking through the wreckage, presumably searching for survivors.

"We must have missed the battle by a matter of hours," Calara said, her face filled with bitter regret. "If only we could have made it in time..."

"We couldn't have got here any faster," John said quietly. "As soon as Thandrun requested a meeting, we dropped everything and rushed to Trankaran Space."

Calara sighed and gave him a forlorn look. "It's just frustrating, knowing how much difference we could have made."

"The Trankarans' sensors aren't as powerful as ours, so they probably haven't seen us yet," Alyssa said, turning to look at John. "Should we hail them to let them know we're coming?"

He nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the scenes of destruction. "I doubt they're in the mood for any surprises right now. Let's give them plenty of notice that we're heading in-system."

Alyssa scrolled down the list of contacts in the comm interface and stopped at the personal contact details for Fleet Warden Thandrun. She swiped a slender finger across his name and they watched the holo-screen as the call attempted to connect. There was no answer for a minute, before text appeared on the screen, prompting to see if she'd like to leave a message.

"I'm not surprised he's busy," John said, darting a meaningful look at the battlefield, or more specifically the starship graveyard in the Delta Corvus system. "Trying hailing the Kerhom's Anvil instead. We can let the bridge crew know we're about to arrive."

She nodded, selecting the enormous battlecarrier and hailing them. This time her call was answered almost immediately, a granite-faced Trankaran appearing in the holo-screen as the comm channel opened up. The bulky alien looked haggard and upset, his blunt, slab-like features turned down into a mournful frown. He blinked in surprise when he saw who was calling, a faint smile appearing on his startled face.

"Welcome to Trankaran Space, Lion of the Federation! The Fleet Warden warned us to expect your imminent arrival," the Trankaran communication officer rumbled in his deep voice.