Three Square Meals Ch. 093

Irillith tapped a finger against her chin and brought up an administration portal in the holo-panel. "I can set up a VI to start searching through Valada's notes and recordings for keywords. Is there anything specific you want me to look for?"

John leaned back in his chair, trying to think of phrases that might have been used. "Perhaps try looking for references to the Astral Plane or Spirit Walking, as well as 'monsters', 'eldritch', 'ancient', 'psychic'... oh and anything about nightmares or dreams too."

"Sure, that won't be any problem at all," she replied, bringing up a ghostly holographic keyboard, her fingers dancing over the keys.

Tashana placed a hand on John's arm to draw his attention. "Where would you like to start? I think the most relevant data will be from the training facility I uncovered..."

"Shall we work from the beginning, just to be thorough?" he suggested. "You can talk us through your initial findings in the palace on Valaden, then we can continue on through your dig sites and look at everything in the order you discovered it."

"Are you sure?" Tashana asked, clearly thrilled at being able to discuss her work in such detail. She faltered, then glanced at John then Irillith. "It'll take quite a bit of time to go through it all..."

"We don't want to miss any clues," John said, giving her a reassuring smile. "Besides, I'd be fascinated to hear you talk about something you're so passionate about."

"And I can make up for lost time," Irillith said, looking at her sister affectionately. "Your work always was interesting, I was just being stubborn and petty not paying more attention years ago."

Tashana beamed at them in delight and swiped across the first folder, bringing up pictures onto their matching displays. "I first thought there might be more to the Mael'nerak story when I discovered this frieze in the old catacombs underneath the palace!

The picture was of an elaborately sculpted piece of masonry depicting a dozen naked Maliri women kneeling before a man on a throne. The male figure was clearly taller and stockier than a Maliri male should have been, with meticulous attention to detail on his face and robed physique.

"I remember you showing me this..." Irillith said quietly, leaning forward and staring at the picture. "He looks very like you, John; that's why I thought you were Mael'nerak when we met on Geniya station."

As John stared at the goateed and robed figure on the throne, Tashana continued, "Finding this artefact suddenly made me think that there must be much more to the ancient stories about the Mael'nerak. Why would an adult sculptor create such an elaborate piece about a nursery story and specifically add a sexual undertone to the sculpture with the nude women?"

John raised an eyebrow. "You'd be surprised what Terrans get up to..."

Tashana nodded and said, "I knew that Terran stonemasons sometimes depicted your ancient gods as being bigger than normal mortals, to show their elevated status. Mael'nerak is shown here as about the same size as a well-built Terran, which makes him larger than a Maliri male... but Mael'nerak was never revered like that in our culture. Even if he was, I would still have expected him to be shown as much more like a Maliri in build."

"That wasn't quite what I meant, but you make a good point," John said, nodding his understanding. "Whoever made this piece obviously looked at Mael'nerak in a flattering light; he's not being portrayed as a villain in his bearing or posture."

"Exactly!" she said, then gestured to the prone girls worshipping him. "But those girls are also clearly shown to be enthralled by him. So, with my curiosity piqued, I started searching for any other works referencing Mael'nerak." She brought up a second set of images. "My first dig was near an abandoned settlement called Sylmalume. Let me show you what I found there..."

Eight hours later, after spending the entire day scrutinising the Mael'nerak research, John, Tashana, and Irillith relaxed in bed, the twins snuggling into John as they caressed each other's curved bellies.

"I can't believe we didn't find a thing," Irillith murmured, clearly disappointed.

Tashana gave her a helpless shrug. "I know my research pretty thoroughly, I didn't think I'd seen anything on the Astral monsters before."

John stroked their backs and said, "Don't get disheartened, we knew it was going to be a lot of work. We've still got Valada's notes and all the findings from that facility to go over. If there is anything, that's bound to be our best chance of discovering it."

Irillith brightened as she glanced across John's chest at her twin. "How about your research notes from your digs in the Trankaran Republic? I couldn't find that data when I was setting up the VI. Perhaps something in there might be valuable?"

Tashana looked at her in surprise, then her expression softened. "No, there was nothing useful there I'm afraid..."

Her sister frowned in confusion. "But you were there for over a decade! You must have found something." She paused for a second, looking thoughtful. "What about your time in the Unclaimed Wastes? Maybe there was something there that might help us? Were you researching Mael'nerak's genocide of the Achonin?"

Tashana let out a heavy sigh and glanced up at John. "I hate there being secrets between us..."

"Secrets, what do you mean?" Irillith asked, looking concerned.

John stroked Irillith's shoulder soothingly as he gave Tashana a worried look. "Are you sure? You're strong enough to break the barrier, but... it's going to be rough."

"Barrier?" Irillith asked in confusion. "You two aren't making any sense."

Tashana gave John a firm nod, then sat up and moved around him so that she lie down next to her twin. Taking Irillith's hands into her own, she gazed into those anxious violet eyes and said gently, "I've kept things from you, big sister. You helped too, giving John permission so that he could shield your mind to help make me better. It worked, but I don't want there to be any barriers between us now... they're holding us back."

"I helped?" Irillith asked, frowning as she glanced up at John, then focusing on her twin again.

"Shh, just relax and everything will be fine," Tashana murmured, her eyes starting to glow with a soft inner radiance. "Now I've bonded with Alyssa, we can bond too, but there's something in the way... a mental barrier that's stopping us."

"I want that so much!" Irillith gasped, her angular eyes flashing with excitement. "How do we get rid of the barrier?"

The glow in Tashana's eyes flared, then was mirrored in her sister's a second later. "There... now open your mind to me."

Irillith looked elated, a gloriously happy smile on her face as she threw herself into the bond with her twin, baring her soul. Tashana did likewise and Irillith gasped in wonder...then let out a anguished cry of horror. Her face twisted in shock as she realised the terrible truth of what had really happened to Tashana.

What she had done to her twin.

"No... no, no, NO!" Irillith sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks as she stared aghast at her sister. She relived every moment of Tashana's torment; starting with that excruciating agony of betrayal, when Irillith framed her and engineered her banishment. "How could I do that to you?!"

Irillith trembled with anguish, racked with deep sobs, finally getting a glimpse of the horrendous catalogue of brutality Tashana had endured. Brutal gang rapes, whippings, torture, even her sister's face being permanently mutilated... and through it all, feelings of terror, shame, and despair. The only thing that had given Tashana the strength to survive through her hideous ordeal had been her blazing hatred for her twin.

"I forgive you... that's all behind us now," Tashana murmured, giving her a tender kiss.

"I'm a monster..." Irillith sobbed wretchedly, writhing in anguish as she witnessed all the terrible things that had happened to her twin in the Unclaimed Wastes.

"No! You're different now, thanks to John. So is Edraele... and so am I," Tashana insisted, pulling her twin closer. "You can feel everything... but forget the past, focus on what I'm feeling right now."

Irillith heaved a ragged breath and did as her sister asked, trying to ignore the horrific memories and concentrating on Tashana lying on the bed beside her. She gasped again, then melted into Tashana's arms, a look of wonder on her face.

"We started as one and we'll always be a part of each other," Tashana murmured, gazing into her sister's stunned eyes. "I love every part of you, Irillith. Join with me again..."

John watched as Irillith calmed, the two girls staring lovingly into each other's eyes, a soft nimbus of violet light linking them together.

*Holy shit!* Alyssa exclaimed, her shocked voice ringing through his thoughts.

***

There was deathly silence in the meeting room as the movie on the holo-screen ended, the final shot showing John walking through a teeming throng of Trankarans. The solemn respect and sincere gratitude on their slab-like features was quite apparent to the Terran audience in the room.

Jehanna Elani's beautiful face appeared on the screen a moment later and she slowly shook her head as she glanced at her fellow anchor. "This is the fifth time I've watched it and I'm still moved..."

Bill Armstrong nodded, a genuine look of awe on his face. "I have a newfound respect for the incredible servicemen and women in our armed forces, Jehanna."

"I'm sure the Trankarans feel the same way," she replied, with a warm smile. "It makes me feel proud that the Terran Federation was able to help our friends and allies in their time of need."

"Can someone shut that bitch off!" Admiral Weber snapped, glowering at the screen.

Fleet Admiral Buckingham paused the recording, then looked around at the four Admirals seated at the meeting table. "Comments?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"I had no idea how powerful his ground forces were," Edwin Caldwell murmured, looking shocked at the scenes he'd just watched. "He only had four lionesses with him when he rescued the Chancellor... It would've taken us an entire battalion of troops to face that many Kirrix and we would've taken significant losses. I didn't see a scratch on any of those girls by the end of that battle and they were fighting non-stop for hours!"

"That's why any attempts to seize the Invictus are doomed to failure," Lynette Devereux said, throwing a pointed glance at Admiral Weber. "Any strike forces we sent in wouldn't stand a chance."

Weber frowned but couldn't argue with the carnage he'd just witnessed with his own eyes. "You're right... Now it is far too late, we should've struck when I said!" Turning to look at the Fleet Admiral, he continued, "His ship's been upgraded yet again! It's even stronger than it was at Regulus... There must've been a score of Kirrix capital ships in that fleet and he annihilated every last one of them!"

"Could we even match the Invictus in an open battle?" Buckingham asked Caldwell, a hint of fear in his voice.

Caldwell didn't hesitate when he shook his head. "With their speed and firepower? They could pick any fleet apart with those Nova Lances and Singularity Drivers and we'd be powerless to stop them. Our only chance would be to lure them into a trap, then fight in a pre-prepared battlefield. Even then I'm not convinced we'd be successful."

"How the hell did he get his hands on the Singularity Driver schematics?" Buckingham muttered, rubbing his hand across his brow.

Mishra leaned back in her chair and said thoughtfully, "There were reports of him having a pet AI at Regulus and they did capture Lynton's dreadnought. Perhaps they acquired the weapon plans from the Thor?"

The Fleet Admiral sighed and nodded. "That does seem the most likely option." He looked at the four Admirals. "Anything else?"

"John Blake is obviously aware of our rejection of the Trankaran's request for aid," Jayanti Mishra observed, glancing at Jehanna's frozen image. "Her line at the end there seemed like an obvious reference to that decision."

"Oh, really?" Admiral Weber said sarcastically, before rolling his eyes. "She's his mouthpiece... TFNN has been running constant pro-Lion features for weeks."

"To be fair, I suppose it could have been a lot worse..." Edwin said quietly.

"How?!" Weber demanded, looking incredulous. "That combat footage makes him look like some kind of action holo-movie star! His popularity is going to go through the roof!"

Devereux shared a glance with Caldwell and nodded. "If John was really trying to cause trouble, he could've gone public about us turning our backs on the Trankarans. Just imagine how that would've made us look, especially with him riding in to save the day!"

"Exactly," Caldwell agreed.

Buckingham's eyes narrowed and he said in a cold voice, "It was clearly a barbed dig at High Command... and I refuse to be lectured to by John Blake. You know as well as I do that we've been fighting off the Kirrix all along the border. It'd be madness to strip forces from territory under attack, just to send them on a reckless jaunt into Trankaran Space!"

The Admirals went quiet, darting glances at each other, all well aware of the escalation of Kirrix probing attacks on the outer rim of the Terran Federation.

With a heavy sigh of frustration, Buckingham leaned back in his chair. "All this combat footage really does is confirm something we already suspected: we can't openly fight John Blake. That leaves us with our contingency plans... so what's your current progress there? Have you found anything from digging into his background?"

Weber frowned, then said, "I followed up on the survivors from the Unclaimed Wastes; you know the ones, they popped up in a TFNN fluff piece for Blake."

"The rescued slaves from the Underworld?" Mishra asked, leaning forward with interest. "What did they say?"

Snorting in frustration, Weber growled, "If there's any dirt there, no-one's talking. We tried bribery, some intimidation... we got nothing. They wouldn't say a bad word about him."

"He rescued them from slavery," Devereux said quietly. "Did you really expect anything else?"

"Alright, what about you?" Weber challenged her. "If it's that easy, I'm sure you found all the dirt on your pet Lion!"

Devereux reached into her pocket and put a holo-projector on the table. "I did find something actually..." She pressed a button on the small device and a holographic picture of a scrawny young woman appeared, her short blonde hair lank and greasy.

"Who's that?" Caldwell asked, studying the woman curiously.

"Alyssa Marant," Devereux replied with a smile. "My team searched back through the calls logged to John's old ship, the Fool's Gold. Six months ago, he made a call to GALSEC and ran a background check against her ID. Ladies and gentlemen, meet John Blake's first lioness."

Caldwell frowned and looked closer. "There must be some kind of mistake... that can't be right."

Devereux tapped another button and brought up a picture taken at the award ceremony of the statuesque blonde, as she beamed a glorious smile at the crowds. "It's definitely her. I had my team run comprehensive facial analysis against the two images. Her eyes are the closest match, although her irises are now brighter and clearer. The rest of her features are similar too, but with varying degrees of change."

Looking on in fascination, Mishra asked, "I suppose it shouldn't be that surprising; do you remember the radical change to Lynton? I'd love to know how these Progenitors do it..."

"Even a full body-sculpt job can't make that dramatic a difference," Edwin noted, nodding with similar interest.

Weber sneered in derision and waved his hand at the two images. "The public will never believe it! Going from that... to that?! Even if they do, big deal... So Alyssa started out as gutter trash from the rim; who gives a shit?" He snorted as he looked at the pictures. "You know the kind of following those lionesses have. If we release this to the public, Blake will have millions of women begging him to change them the same way!"

Devereux was about to snap a sharp retort, but Buckingham raised his hand and interjected. "He's right, we can't use this. It would be far too easy to spin the story into something positive for Blake... What else?"

"I've been investigating reports into a freighter rescue... the Calypso," Mishra said after a moment's hesitation. "The crew were all interviewed afterwards by the relief force that towed their ship to Port Heracles. There were claims that John saved them by ripping a cyborg pirate apart with his bare hands! I've seen pictures of the remains of the cyborg... it wasn't pretty."

Buckingham looked at her in confusion. "How does that help?"

She shrugged and said tentatively, "I thought maybe the brutality angle..."

Buckingham narrowed his eyes in anger. "It was a pirate for God's sake! Everyone wants them dead! If we release that, the public will love him even more!" He jabbed a finger at Jehanna's image on the holo-screen. "She'd be on the news within the hour crowing about the Lion bringing 'stern justice to the enemies of the good citizens of the Federation'!"

Mishra faltered and said quietly, "I'm trying, but-"

The Fleet Admiral slapped his hand down on the table. "We need real dirt on the man! I refuse to believe there's nothing in his past we can't twist to our advantage! If by some goddamn miracle he is a born-again saint, then look into all his associates; maybe we can tarnish him by association!"

The Admirals all nodded their agreement, darting anxious glances at one another.

"Alright, that's all for today," Buckingham said curtly, rising to his feet. "You're dismissed."

Mishra, Devereux, and Caldwell filed from the office, but Weber hung back. "A quick word, Sir?" he asked politely.

The Fleet Admiral nodded, walking across the office to his desk. "I hope you've got some good news for me, Carl."

A confident smile spread over Weber's face. "We tapped the TFNN hotline regarding information on the Nymphs. My strike teams tracked down the most reliable informants, rounded them up and interned them so we could find out what they know. We've started hunting down the aliens themselves."

"How many so far?" Buckingham asked, looking delighted.

"Two. I've had them sent to a secure facility," Weber said with a smile of satisfaction. "The extraction was covert, so there won't be any direct blowback from their previous owners. You'd be surprised who they were though... Such upstanding citizens keeping an alien sex-slave as a pet! They definitely won't want this going public."

Buckingham patted the Admiral on the shoulder, "Excellent work, Carl. Let me know who the previous owners were in your report would you?"

"Of course, Sir," Weber said with a grin.

"Just imagine replicating those Nymphs and turning them into shock troops..." Buckingham murmured, a triumphant gleam in his eyes. He smiled at Weber. "Even if we can't, it keeps them out of Blake's hands."

"He'll never find them," Weber agreed, looking confident.

The Fleet Admiral sat in his chair, then glanced up at his fellow officer. "Round up the rest of them, then begin the tests..."

"Yes, Sir," Weber replied with a sharp salute, before turning and walking from the office.

Buckingham steepled his fingers, a smile creeping onto his face as he imagined John Blake's confusion at the lack of response to his appeal. Turning and opening up the holo-interface on his desk, he scrolled down through hundreds of notifications until he paused, finding exactly what he was looking for. The post-dated security lockdown he'd placed on all the military records regarding Nymphs had been queried, the source none other than the Invictus itself.