Three Square Meals Ch. 109

The white battlecruiser crept through space like a stalking Siberian tiger, moving ever closer to the herd of unsuspecting ochre-hued prey. The giant blue star at the heart of the Pi Sagittarii system cast its cool light over the closing ship, making it seem like night was falling on that wintry scene, the huge insectoid ships huddling together for warmth in the frozen dusk. Sections of the Invictus' armoured hull slid back, revealing a formidable array of heavy weaponry, but the broad barrels currently lay inert, as if trying not to scare away their jittery quarry. At the same time, broad doors at both the prow and amidships began to peel open, allowing the deadly vessels inside to launch into space.

John stood beside Faye in the Raptor's cockpit, watching through the crystal-clear canopy as the gunship glided clear of the battlecruiser's hull. His view of the Kirrix fleet was both impressive and daunting, the disturbingly alien spacecraft looming over his tiny 40-metre-long vessel. Each drone carrier looked eerily similar to a termite queen, albeit a monstrous mechanical reproduction of one, the bulbous segmented hull covered in yellowish-brown armour plating.

The Raptor was running on low power to keep the sensor profile at a bare minimum, which meant that most of the computer panels and consoles in the cockpit were currently dark. Even though it was impossible for the Kirrix to hear him, John couldn't help lowering his voice, speaking to his petite pilot in a hushed whisper. "Looks like Calara was right... I just see drone carriers out there."

"They're in protective high-orbit above the hive ships," Faye replied quietly, matching his volume. "We're picking up a mass of sensor contacts on Carolus III directly below this position."

John did a quick count of the enormous Kirrix capital ships. "I make it 32 carriers... they must have sent a huge number of hive ships."

"As soon as we initiate the active scan of the closest drone carrier, I'll power up the Invictus' sensor array and get you an accurate count," she offered helpfully.

He nodded in acknowledgement. "Okay, take us down, Faye."

She banked the gunship hard to port and the nose dipped towards the planet below, the view from the cockpit a beautiful vista of clear blues and verdant greens.

"It looks so serene," Faye marvelled, big luminous eyes drinking in the spectacular sight.

John knew that appearances could be very deceiving. He could well imagine the horrors being inflicted on the civilian population of Carolus III, but he couldn't bring himself to ruin the moment for Faye. Very soon he'd be immersed in that nightmare and he found himself desperate to cling to the false sense of tranquillity for just a few moments longer.

***

Calara sat motionless in the Combat Bridge, watching as the Invictus coasted into position at the outer limit of scanning range. Faye engaged their retro-thrusters and they flickered in short bursts to bring them to a halt.

"Initiating active scan!" the purple sprite called out in warning, darting an anxious glance at the Latina. "Shall I power up all our systems?"

"Not yet," Calara replied, eyes fixed on the holographic representation of Carolus III and the swarm of sensor contacts lurking nearby. "It might still take them a minute to locate us..."

The seconds ticked by as the Invictus' sensors penetrated the Kirrix drone carrier's hull, detecting spikes in energy signatures and picking up teeming numbers of organic life. Faye stood by quietly, analysing every bit of data that returned, looking for very specific readings in that dense volume of information.

"No Terran life so far..." she murmured, brow furrowing with concentration.

Suddenly the engines at the rear of the drone carrier roared with an orange flame and the ochre capital ship began to pivot in their direction.

"Shields up!" Calara ordered, her hand moving in a blur over her Tactical Console as she brought all the guns online.

Faye blinked and the battlecruiser's shields surged into existence, appearing as a bright green oval around the ship on the damage control display. The Combat Bridge seemed to blaze into life as she activated all the ship's systems, consoles lighting up around them. "Ten more seconds to complete the scan!"

Calara gripped the two weapon controls, the smooth ergonomic contours designed to be a perfect fit for her hands. Lining up the targeting reticle on the nose of the ugly alien ship, she squeezed the trigger on the right, activating the Nova Lances. Vast amounts of energy were poured into the potent weapons, but with the new Zero-Point Regulators easing the power drain, there wasn't so much as a flicker in the brightly illuminated Bridge. A seething nimbus of incandescent light gathered on the prow, gradually building in intensity as the seconds ticked by.

The battlecruiser was a stationary target and when the Kirrix opened fire with a salvo from their forward Neutron Beam battery, they hit with all ten weapons. The fire converged at a single point, sickly green columns of energy lashing the Invictus' shields. However, instead of rippling waves of light appearing in that shimmering dome, there was merely a slight undulation, the beam weapons robbed of much of their strength.

Glancing at the shield status display, Calara couldn't help smiling with relief when she saw they had only dropped to 98%. The Brimorian Shield Generators made a dramatic difference in muting the effectiveness of enemy firepower and the newly installed shield matrix had almost doubled their previous shield capacity.

"It's clear!" Faye called out as the scan completed, her expression brightening with relief. "No Terrans aboard!"

Calara squeezed the trigger on her weapons control for a second time, unleashing the roiling orb of crackling energy that throbbed at the front of the ship. A brilliant beam of light struck the nose of the drone carrier, causing its shields to buckle in a blinding flash, completely overwhelming them with phenomenal firepower. The column then melted through armour and superstructure with impunity, taking only seconds to bore a 100m-wide tunnel through the length of the insectoid capital ship. When the Nova lance beam flickered out a few moments later, the alien vessel had been turned into a hollow tube, the interior glowing an angry orange from the heat of the blast.

She looked wide-eyed at the holographic targeting grid, studying the firing arcs of her weapons which had been redrawn since the upgrade. The cones for the Nova Lances still stretched out to triple the effective range of a standard Terran Beam Laser, but the new Tachyon Lances weren't far behind at double the length, despite the weapons only being a third of the size. The rest of the Kirrix fleet had begun to respond to their presence and Calara watched as the nearest drone carriers turned to engage, their attack vector bringing them into the overlapping fire arcs of the Tachyon Lances.

"Nothing like a live fire test on a battlefield," she said with a wry smile, before glancing at Faye. "Can you show me cam footage of the forward starboard Tachyon Lance on the topdeck please?"

"Here you go," Faye replied, walking down from the Command Podium to join the Latina. She projected the video on a holo-screen in front of the Tactical Console, showing the graceful barrel of the brand-new weapon as it swung to face the enemy ship.

Calara lined up her shot, then pressed a button on the grip with her index finger, watching in fascination as light pulsed along the fluted length of the Tachyon Lance. A shimmering blue globe rapidly expanded in front of the muzzle, then blazed out in a dazzling sapphire spear of light. It was like watching the gathering of power for a Nova Lance, but the transition from the build-up of energy into the firing action was one fluid motion, with only a second delay before the beam was unleashed. It was elegant and beautiful to behold, driving home the fact that this was weapon technology created by a true master of the destructive arts, not the crude imitation she'd grown accustomed to.

The tightly focused beam slammed into the closest drone carrier's shields, causing enormous waves to undulate around the ship until the azure lance winked out a second later. Calara added another beam, then a third, pouring more deadly energy into the shuddering defensive field until the fifth Tachyon Lance melted away the last of its strength.

"Double the firepower and twice the range of a Photon Laser," Calara marvelled, darting a jubilant grin at Faye. "Just imagine what the Nova Lances would be like if we upgraded them with that tech!"

The purple sprite nodded, luminous eyes wide. "Do you think Dana could actually make something like that?"

"I'll have to discuss it with her, but knowing our illustrious Chief Engineer, she's probably had some ideas already," the Latina said thoughtfully, as she lined up the broad muzzles of the Singularity Drivers with the now shieldless drone carrier.

Calara hit the thumb button on her left weapon control and launched a stream of hyper-accelerated slugs at the frantically turning capital ship. The rounds screamed across space, leaving faint blue trails of tachyon particles in their wake as they smashed into the port side of the vulnerable Kirrix vessel. It shuddered as though punched in the gut, a huge detonation erupting midway down its length. Shards of lacerated ochre armour were hurled out in a broad arc, the flames from the explosion and clouds of debris barely having a chance to disperse before the next Singularity Driver slug pulverised the weakened superstructure.

The rain of shells continued to slam into the stricken capital ship, battering it repeatedly and turning the initial blast crater into a yawning crevasse. Lights flickered out as a power regulator was blown to pieces, the drone carrier juddering in its death throes. Calara's fifth shot finished off the Kirrix behemoth, the thunderous impact rupturing its power core. Uncontrolled shafts of energy exploded outwards, piercing the hull in a dozen places, before a secondary detonation completely obliterated the ship in a huge blast wave.

Calara wasn't paying any more attention though, as her eyes were now locked on the weapon loadout display. The five Tachyon Lances she had fired were all rapidly cooling, flux heat-exchangers chilling the glowing barrels and dissipating the excess heat. The red bars shrank as the temperature dropped, until the weapons in the display flashed green, signifying that they could be fired again.

"And a ten second cooldown," she noted with delight, her smile widening. "I could kiss Dana!"

***

Sakura watched the weapon test in fascination and she hailed the Invictus as the second ship was methodically annihilated. "Hey, leave some for me," she said cheerfully, as Calara's holographic face appeared before her.

The Latina laughed and glanced at the System Map. "Don't worry, I left you a couple."

The rest of the Kirrix fleet had turned their way, thirty vengeful drone carriers disgorging a furious swarm of tiny drone ships. They quickly formed into attack wings, then peeled away and raced towards the stationary battlecruiser.

"I think I'll stay inside your defence grid," the Asian girl said warily, eyeing the hundreds of strike craft pouring out of the carriers. "I don't fancy being chased around by hordes of angry fighters."

"Don't worry, I'll keep you safe!" Faye exclaimed, appearing as a separate hologram. "I've got most of my avatars manning the Invictus' Pulse Cannons!"

Sakura gave her a grateful smile. "Thanks, Faye."

She closed her eyes, focusing her will inward as she reached for the glacial cold that resided deep within her soul. The delicious chill took her breath away, sending a shiver down her spine as she tapped into her psychic gift. It was getting easier to channel her powers and Sakura's eyes glowed with a fierce light as she encased the four barrels of the Valkyrie's shoulder-mounted Tachyon Lances with ice, motes of frost swirling around the weapons.

"Take the ones on our port flank," Calara said, studying the map. "But let me know when you need fire support."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she aimed the targeting reticle at one of the pivoting drone carriers, the zoom function automatically activating as her target was at extreme range. She clenched her trigger fingers and opened fire with her quad guns, four dazzling shafts of light arcing out to hit the Kirrix vessel in the flank. Instead of the beams petering out after a second of sustained fire, those sapphire columns kept a continuous stream of devastating energy focused on the enemy ship, the eldritch cold keeping the barrels from overheating.

It took another second to completely strip the shields, then the blue spears of light struck the ochre hull and pierced straight through, spitting the capital ship like a stuck pig. Sakura tilted her hands back and the Valkyrie's sensitive controls responded, lifting the Tachyon Lance barrels and neatly slicing the Kirrix ship into two chunks. Lights on the front half guttered out and died, leaving it a darkened tomb, the only illumination coming from that glowing line of incision. The bank of engines were still on full thrust and the rear section smashed the front aside, barrelling wildly out of control. Sakura glanced at the Valkyrie's weapon loadout display and saw that the Tachyon Lances were ready to fire again, less than three seconds after eviscerating the drone carrier.

"I think I've got it under control," she said with a grin, twisting her torso so the mech turned to face the next closing capital ship.

***

The Raptor descended through Carolus III's upper atmosphere, hurtling by wispy cirrus clouds as it raced towards the city below.

Faye darted a worried glance at John as she brought up a holographic map of the planet's surface, an urban area known as Reitberg centred on the projection. Reitberg had a well-developed city centre surrounded by suburbs, but it was the Kirrix invasion force that drew John's attention. Ringing the populated areas were sixteen hive ships, the ugliness of the sinister alien vessels reflecting their vile purpose. However, the really disturbing sight was the massive ochre-coloured dreadnought which cast an ominous shadow over the Terran city below.

"What the hell is that thing?" John asked pensively, eyes narrowing as he stared at the enormous Kirrix capital ship.

"I've no idea, John. We only just picked it up with our active sensors," Faye replied, activating another holo display displaying the unique insectoid ship. "Calara's never seen anything like it either!"

He pulled off his Paragon helmet and peered closer at the three-dimensional depiction of the colossal Kirrix vessel. It was nearly two kilometres in length, with rounded segments running the length of its distinctly alien design. There were long vanes sticking out from the forward section that looked vaguely like antenna and four strange iridescent panels swept out from the central hull reminding John of diaphanous wings.

"That must be what all the drone carriers in orbit are here to protect," he said, studying the unsettling Kirrix dreadnought. "We need to take it down, but we can't have it crashing on the city..."

*Sakura's volunteering to engage it,* Alyssa interrupted.

*Give her the go ahead,* he replied, before turning to look at Faye. "Sakura's going to take it out, but I want you to do an active scan while she's on the way... we need to know if there are Terrans aboard that dreadnought. Proceed with the combat drops around the perimeter and fire at will on any hive ships that we haven't engaged yet."

"Aye aye, Admiral!" she replied, giving him a sharp salute.

He smiled at her affectionately. "Carry on, Watch Commander."

She grinned at him and waved goodbye, then John strode through the cockpit door and stepped into the crimson glow of the grav-tube. Descending to the lower deck, he turned right down the short corridor which led into the rear cargo compartment. The girls were all waiting for him there, five of them fully geared in their Paragon armour, and Jade in her soft cotton dress.

"You all heard about the dreadnought?" he asked, as he walked over to join them.

As the girls nodded, Alyssa gave him a wry smile. "From your lips to their ears..."

"To our minds, surely?" Rachel corrected her with a frown. "You are keeping us informed by telepathy after all..."

Dana nudged her girlfriend with her elbow. "I think she was trying to be poetic, babes."

"Ah, I see," the brunette said, the twitch of her lips into a playful smile revealing that she'd been teasing their matriarch all along.

Alyssa rolled her eyes. "Yeah, they all know."

John hit the button to lower the rear landing ramp. "Watch for incoming fire from the dreadnought. We're probably too small to be tracked or targeted, but I don't want to take any chances. Faye's going to drop us around the perimeter, so we'll basically have three hive ships per team. Keep those vessels on the ground, rescue the colonists, kill all the Kirrix in sight. Any questions?"

They shook their heads, resolute expressions on their beautiful faces. He beckoned them closer for a group hug and they gathered together, touching gauntleted hands to his shoulders. With his active connection to the girls, he felt closer to them than ever, and he closed his eyes to relish that moment of peace before the coming storm.

"Any problems, call for backup immediately," he said firmly, turning to look at each of them in turn.

Faye appeared in a purple flash, her wings fluttering nervously. "We're approaching the first drop point... ten seconds!"

The rear ramp had swung fully open, so John made eye-contact with the twins and gave them a short nod. They peeled away, moving with confident strides to the gaping doorway. Faye levelled out the Raptor, bringing them in fast and low over the surface of Carolus III, fields and homesteads flashing by as they approached the outskirts of Reitberg. Spotting their Kirrix foe scuttling around the first hive ship like ants defending their colony, the Maliri sisters leapt out and were gone in a blink of an eye, plunging towards the enemy invaders.

Dana and Rachel moved into position next, checking each other's Reaper Cannons to make sure they were securely fastened to their Paragon suits.

"Ten seconds!" Faye called out again, watching her friends with a worried frown.

Dana turned to look at John. "Thank you for this. I promise I won't make you regret it."

"If Rachel pulls you out, no arguments," he sternly reminded her.

"Don't worry, I'll be okay." The redhead grinned at her lover. "We're going to be too busy saving people from bad guys to get freaked out."

Rachel shared a smile with Dana, then her grey eyes flicked to John, the brief look confirming that she knew his main priority. The pair turned and ran from the ramp, Dana's whoop of exhilaration cutting off as she dropped out of sight, the Raptor racing onwards.

Alyssa strolled over to the ramp next, looking calm and fearless. *I haven't forgotten... I'll keep you in the loop for everything. You'll be making all the command decisions.*

John felt his heart in his mouth as he saw the blonde standing there. She was about to make a solo combat drop into Kirrix occupied territory, outnumbered thousands to one. The sheer insanity of the situation he found himself in almost took his breath away. *Be careful!* he said urgently.

*I'm a Progenitor,* she said with a lopsided smile. *Total annihilation of our enemies is just another day on the job.*

She blew him a kiss, her eyes darting to Jade for an instant before she turned and ran, taking a swan dive off the lowered ramp. John rushed to the doorway, watching her white-armoured figure swooping down, already looking tiny and helpless compared to the mass of teeming ochre forces on the ground. He saw the thrusters on her back flare a golden yellow as she activated flight mode, Alyssa executing a graceful controlled dive towards the Kirrix hive ship below.