Three Square Meals Ch. 089

Be the cat, don't be the mouse...

If only it were that easy.

*John, I'm sorry to interrupt,* Alyssa said quietly. *I think you should come and see this...*

She sounded deeply unsettled and to hear such a reaction from the stoic blonde had him sitting bolt upright in his chair. *What's the matter?* he asked in alarm.

*Come down to the firing range, you need to see this for yourself...* she replied.

John lurched from the chair and half-jogged towards the door. *The firing range? Did Dana finish the upgrades to the Justice Laser already?!*

Her troubled thoughts reached him a moment later. *It's been two hours... You were lost in thought and I didn't want to disturb you.*

The door swished open and John strode purposefully across the Bridge, nodding to Faye as she waved at him. He stepped into the red anti-gravity field, wishing that it worked just as fast as the express versions. He leapt out onto Deck Seven, his impatience at his slow descent stirring him into a jog down the corridor. Slapping his hand on the button next to the door into the Firing Range, he heard the high-pitched sound of laser fire, blue flashes from inside the range illuminating the wall next to him.

His eyes widened as he recognised that distinctive sound and he burst into the room, turning to stare at the girls standing in front of the lanes. Alyssa, Dana, and Tashana all stood to one side, their attention riveted to the fourth girl in the room.

Irillith was wearing a full suit of Paragon armour and holding a sleek, elegant... cannon. Her left hand was extended, supporting the big underslung gun by holding a grip half way down its frame, while her right hand held the trigger grip at her waist. It was a triple-barrelled weapon, one eerily similar to scores more John had psychically shaped for the Invictus.

A target dummy popped up and Irillith smoothly pivoted, a stream of blazing blue laser bolts screaming downrange and scything the dummy in half. Another appeared, then another, and she mowed them all down mercilessly. John walked closer, his eyes wide in shock. Irillith's face was frozen in concentration, her expression grim as she strafed the cascade of laser bolts through her targets. The azure laser fire lit up her features, making her sky-blue skin seem strangely cold and uncompromising.

He felt a sudden thrill of... satisfaction? Or was it elation? Whatever it was, seeing an armoured Maliri girl wielding this kind of Pulse Cannon variant sent a shiver up his spine.

*You feel it too...* Alyssa murmured, stepping closer and slipping her hand into his.

John glanced at her and Alyssa suddenly seemed small and scared, like a child realising they were dabbling with something they should have left well alone.

He knew exactly how she felt.