Three Square Meals Ch. 090

Opening his eyes again, he declared, "She's not hurt, but something's definitely happening to her..." He turned to look at Alyssa his voice taut with worry. "How long until we arrive in the Alpha Tauri system?"

Her beautiful blue eyes met his, her alarm quite evident. "Eleven minutes!"

Only John and Jade were still nude, the rest of the girls having dressed in form-fitting jumpsuits. He climbed off the bed and darted to the bathroom. "Alright, get down to the Combat Bridge! I'll meet you there!"

He dived into the shower, establishing a new personal best for his fastest shower ever. When he jogged back into the bedroom thirty seconds later, he found one of his jumpsuits lying on the bed. Dressing quickly, he paused only to give Jade a fleeting kiss and pull the covers up around her shoulders, before dashing into the express grav-tube.

"Alright, Commander, let's see what we're up against," he called down to Calara, as he jogged down the ramp into the Combat Bridge.

She already had the holographic map in place, giving him his first glimpse of the Alpha Tauri system. Aldebaran - as the star was more commonly known - was a giant orange star, surrounded by seven planets scattered throughout the system. Four of the planets were gas giants, ranging in colour from a ghostly-pale blue to a rich dark purple. There were a string of asteroid belts, two small grey barren planets, and Khalgron, their destination.

Remarkably similar to Terra, Khalgron sported a range of climates from fierce deserts to snow-capped mountains. John could see the world's obvious appeal to Niskera, trying as she had to accommodate the distinctive habitats of so many different species. Khalgron provided everything from murky swamps to deciduous forests, catering to all the delegates from the minor empires.

Surrounding the planet was a sight that made him freeze on his way to his seat. "Fuck me! How many capital ships have the Kirrix got?!" he blurted out in shock.

"Their ships don't follow Terran Federation standard classifications," Calara replied, appearing poised and centred as she turned in her Tactical Chair to stare at the map. "The largest vessels are their drone carriers at fifteen-hundred-metres. They carry the swarms of Kirrix drone craft, but also wield the biggest guns in their fleet. This data was taken before the Trankaran forces were destroyed, so the Kirrix might have lost some vessels in that assault."

"How many?" he asked again, his eyes fixed on the dense sprawl of ugly vessels, reminding him of a swarm of malevolent, ochre-coloured insects.

Calara's expression was grim as she replied quietly, "At least twenty-five."

John's brow furrowed deeply but he chose not to comment. Instead he waved a hand at the other mass of vessels in the Kirrix fleet. "What about the rest?"

"There's thirty hive ships and a screen of seventy or more smaller vessels, ranging from picket ships to support craft," Calara informed him in a neutral, professional manner.

"Thirty hive ships as well!" Dana balked, staring at the nine-hundred-metre-long ships. "All fully loaded with neutron beams? Like that fucking monster we fought last time?!"

Nodding calmly, Calara replied, "That's correct."

Rachel paled and darted a worried glance at the Latina. "You'll be outnumbered one-hundred-and-twenty-five to one!"

John slowly sank in his seat and his gaze settled on Calara. "Alright, Commander, I'm sure you've come up with a plan. Let's hear it."

"It's simple really," she replied confidently, clicking a button on her console to also bring up a view of the planet. "There's one primary inhabited area on Khalgron, a city called Mulbharum. The Kirrix hive ships will have landed there to deploy their ground forces and capture all the civilians."

"For impregnation by those Hive Lords?" Alyssa asked, her face twisting in revulsion.

Calara glanced at the blonde and nodded, her expression grim. She looked back at the Planetary Map and continued, "The Chancellor and the delegates retreated to a fortress, located several miles outside the city in this mountain range."

The holographic image zoomed in closer, focusing on the Northern end of the biggest continent and shifting perspectives to show a three-dimensional topographic picture of the terrain. The densely layered Trankaran city was highlighted in green and it was adjoined by an unwavering red line, which travelled through what appeared to be caverns. It ended in what was clearly their destination, a fortress hidden deep underneath the foothills of a forbidding mountain range.

"What's that?" Sakura asked, pointing at the crimson trail linking the fortress to the city.

"It's an underground rail system," Calara explained. "That cavern area is actually the quarry where the Trankarans mined all the stone they needed for the city. When most of the construction was finished, they built a fortress at the far end of the quarry. The background notes Thandrun provided were extensive."

Looking worried, Sakura's attention was squarely on the city. "I know you want me to keep the extraction point clear, but do you really want me to go up against thirty hive ships?!"

"Don't worry, I'm not planning on sending you on a suicide mission," Calara replied, giving the Asian girl a reassuring smile. "According to Thandrun's schematics, there's a concealed emergency access tunnel in the hills above the fortress. You and Faye will just need to keep a low energy profile and land near the tunnel entrance. Once you drop off the ground team, they can head underground, rescue Niskera and the delegates then evacuate. You shouldn't need to fight anything."

"Which just leaves the little matter of a fleet of twenty-five drone carriers," Irillith noted, arching an eyebrow as she glanced at the Latina. "Are you really intending to go toe-to-toe with all those capital ships?"

"We won't have to," Calara said, a wicked grin on her face. "The Nova Lances and the Singularity Drivers greatly exceed the range of their neutron beams. I can clear that entire fleet in twenty-five minutes without getting close enough for them to fire a single shot! The Invictus has the speed and agility to steer well clear of any attempts by the drone carriers to catch us."

"What about the actual drones?" Faye asked inquisitively. "They might be able to catch up to us."

The Latina didn't look perturbed in the slightest. "Considering the strength of the Invictus' defence grid, as soon as any strike craft close to medium range, they'll be obliterated in seconds."

"I hope they come after us! I'd like some target practice with the upgraded Pulse Cannons!" Faye exclaimed with a bright smile on her face. Suddenly she frowned and darted an anxious glance at John. "Oops! Was I supposed to pretend that I wasn't looking forward to shooting organics?"

He smiled at her and shook his head. "I don't think you offended anyone. Perhaps later we could have a chat about the appropriate timing for gallows humour though, okay?"

She winked at him in return. "Sure!"

After waiting for them to finish, Calara continued her briefing. "Even if the drone carriers have any gun batteries with long enough range to reach the Invictus, it's extremely unlikely they'll be able to hit us." She darted John a worried glance. "Or at least, that was the plan until Jade was incapacitated..."

He was quiet for a moment, then shared a meaningful look with Alyssa. "It's a solid plan, but we need a pilot. Feel like taking the Invictus for a spin?"

She frowned, glancing back at the holographic image of the underground fortress. "I heard your conversation with Niskera and that Sub-Warden... it sounded like they were facing some brutal combat. I don't like the idea of not being there to support you, especially as the girls aren't pre-loaded."

"Rachel will be there to help with any healing. Faye and Dana are good pilots, but you and Jade are the best we've got. With Jade out of action, you'll be able to make the biggest difference up here," John said, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Okay, it does makes sense," Alyssa grudgingly agreed. Her eyes flicked over to Dana. "I think you should take Sparks with you though, or you'll be a girl down on your team otherwise. I'll be keeping the Invictus out of range of the Kirrix, so she won't have much to do up here in terms of damage control."

John turned to look at the redhead. "How about it, Dana? Feel like coming on a bug hunt?"

"You bet your ass I do!" she exclaimed, looking thrilled. "I can't wait to see the Pulse Cannon and Quantum rifles fuck up the Kirrix!"

"Alright, let's get geared up," John said, rising from the Command Chair. He looked at Alyssa and Calara, his tone firm as he added, "I want you both in body armour too, just in case."

Calara nodded obediently, darting him a quick smile as she got up from her seat.

Alyssa heard the next question in John's mind and answered it pre-emptively. "We'll be hitting the Alpha Tauri system in two minutes, forty-three seconds."

John caught Rachel's eye as she headed for the ramp. "Can you brief us on the autopsy results when we're in the Raptor?"

"Great minds think alike," she replied, a hint of a smile on her beautiful face.

They all moved swiftly now, rushing up the loading ramp to the equipping frames and suiting-up in Paragon body armour. Sakura was the first to get ready, grabbing her ninjato, a rifle, and some ammo, then dashing for the express grav-tube.

"Take care out there, Sakura!" John called after her.

She turned and waved at him, unable to suppress her grin as she stepped back into the red anti-gravity field. Turning back to his own equipment, John picked up the combat webbing that the Maliri twins had loaded with ten-millimetre caseless ammo and five high-explosive grenades. He pulled the webbing on, double-checking the locations of the most conveniently accessible magazines, before buckling on a holster and slotting in a Quantum pistol. Reaching for his crystal Alyssium sword, he held it against the magnetic sheath on his back. As soon as it was secure, he picked up a Quantum rifle and performed a safety check.

Satisfied with his gear, he nodded in gratitude to Irillith and Tashana, then reached out to catch Calara by the hand as she started walking down the ramp to the Combat Bridge. "Thanks for the briefing. You did a very thorough job, just as I've come to expect."

She smiled at his praise, but he could see the worry in her eyes as she said, "Be careful down there, okay? If you get into trouble, you'll be a long way below ground. We won't be able to provide any fire support..."

Alyssa joined the two of them, her Paragon helmet in her hands. "We both want a kiss goodbye before you're going anywhere, mister," she said sternly, glancing at the brunette who pulled off her helmet.

John shouldered his rifle and removed his own helmet, then gave each of them a tender kiss. "Take care you two. I'm handing over my ship without a scratch on it, I expect it returned in the same condition."

Alyssa rubbed noses with him. "We'll do our best."

He pulled his helmet back on and said, "Let me know if there's any change in Jade's condition."

"Will do," Alyssa agreed, watching him as he strode across to the grav-tube. She smiled as he turned to wave goodbye, but he could see the deep-seated worry in her eyes.

Dana, Rachel, and the twins were already jogging across the hangar towards the Raptor when John stepped out of the grav-tube. His stomach lurched after the rapid descent, but he did his best to ignore it as he returned Faye's friendly wave from the gunship's cockpit. He loped after the girls, finally catching up to them when they entered the cockpit. While Faye's primary avatar powered up the Raptor, the four armoured girls took their seats, repositioning their equipment and making final checks. John chose to stand, since the gleaming sword strapped to his back made sitting awkward.

Tapping the side of her helmet, Dana said, "Jade hooked up tiny cams to all our Paragon suits. They started recording as soon as we powered them up. I bet when we're done and she checks out this footage, Jehanna will be begging you to fuck her brains out!"

"Much obliged, Chief Engineer," John said dryly, nodding his approval.

She winked in return. "She's smoking hot! Me and Rachel really want to fuck her too!"

Laughing, he turned to look at the brunette, who smiled but made no effort to disagree with her girlfriend. There was an eager sparkle to her grey eyes and she was clearly waiting for his go ahead to present her findings. "Whenever you're ready, Doctor," John said with an encouraging smile.

She nodded and said to their diminutive purple pilot, "Can you start my holo-projection please, Faye?"

An instant later a holographic image of a battle-ready Kirrix marine appeared in a flash, right in the centre of the cockpit. Its arms were raised menacingly as it loomed over the girls, while its serrated mandibles looked like they were about to take a vicious bite out of its prey. The disturbing sight of the six-limbed soldier made Dana jump and she flinched away from the holo-projection.

"You scared the crap out of me!" she protested, elbowing her girlfriend in the ribs.

"I took a bit of artistic license posing the image. I just wanted to make it look more life-like," Rachel explained, laughing at Dana's indignant pout.

The redhead narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Yeah, right..."

"What did you find out about it?" John asked, staring at the alien soldier's big compound eyes.

Rachel gestured towards the insectoid soldier and launched into her autopsy findings. "The Kirrix drone is a highly-evolved species of arthropod. Their natural habitat would be an arid planet, but they seem well adapted to survive in most other forms of eco-system. They've developed a tough exoskeleton, making them naturally far more resilient than a Terran soldier. This specimen was also wearing a close-fitting suit of carapace body armour and Dana informed me that the combination of the two would be enough to prevent harm from a hollow-point round fired from a standard rifle."

The image changed to show a series of red lines superimposed over the Kirrix marine. "The drone has a relatively simple central nervous system, with its brain linked to the ganglia that runs through its thorax and abdomen. Pain receptors seem limited, so I suspect a Kirrix soldier would be able to continue fighting even after sustaining crippling injuries that would incapacitate a Terran."

"Any vulnerable areas?" John asked, studying the Kirrix marine with an appraising eye.

Rachel nodded, with Faye zooming in on the vulnerable locations. "Shots to the chest that destroy the nerve cluster located there will immobilise them. A headshot that destroys the brain will instantly kill them. Actually, while I'm on that subject, I found something fascinating when I was examining the second drone's cranium."

"While its brain was small and under-developed, the drone possessed a unique organ that I've not seen before. It's somewhat reminiscent of the Amygdala in a Terran brain, but much larger and more complex. I believe there's two possible reasons why that might be the case. The first is that the Kirrix drone has extremely advanced emotional intelligence, but I sincerely doubt that, considering its relatively small frontal lobe. That leads me to the second theory, which is much more alarming..."

"Drones like this must utilise a form of communication sophisticated enough that they can be trained to use equipment and operate spacecraft. Yet the Kirrix drone only has rudimentary vocal chords, so can't communicate by speech. While they do possess antenna, which some insectoid species use to detect pheromones, those appendages aren't refined enough to allow for complex communication. With no other obvious methods available, I believe this mystery organ allows the Kirrix to tap into some kind of hive-mind."

Tashana gave the insectoid soldier a wary glance. "You think this thing has some kind of innate psychic ability?!"

Rachel looked impressed. "Actually, yes, that's precisely what I'm suggesting."

John frowned and sounded dubious as he said, "Alyssa and I boarded one of their hive ships, but they didn't use any psychic abilities against us."

"They might not be able to manifest tangible powers in the way we can," the brunette replied carefully. "I suspect that this brain structure allows the higher-castes of Kirrix creatures to guide the actions of lower-caste creatures, but I've no way of determining how extensive that guidance is. It might be simple instructions, or as far reaching as being to directly control a drone like a puppet."

"So, what happens if we kill off the higher-caste creatures?" Tashana asked, narrowing her eyes. "Does that kill off all the soldiers too?"

Rachel hesitated for a second, pondering her question. "I'm afraid I can't confirm that. At the very least, there'll probably be some confusion as the drones suddenly lose the guidance from whatever creature's controlling them."

John studied the menacing alien and asked quietly, "If the Kirrix have psychic capabilities, do they have triple-helix DNA?"

"No, the Kirrix definitely weren't created by a Progenitor," the brunette replied, answering his unspoken question. "They share none of the distinctive genetic markers I've seen in all the species created by Mael'nerak. If I'm right, any psychic talents this race possesses evolved naturally."

Faye turned in the chair, her big luminous eyes peeking around the headrest. "Sorry to interrupt. I just wanted to let you know that we've dropped out of hyper-warp into the Alpha Tauri system. Alyssa brought the Invictus closer to Khalgron and we're holding position out of range of the Kirrix."

"That's okay, I've finished," Rachel said, smiling at the sprite.

"Head shots then chest shots," John mused, then placed a hand on Rachel's shoulder. "Thank you for the briefing, it was extremely useful information."

She inclined her head as she looked up at him. "You're welcome. If we can acquire the heads of any higher-tier Kirrix creatures, I might be able to tell you more."

"I'll keep my eyes open," John replied wryly, earning himself a smile from the brunette. Turning to look at their cute pilot he continued, "Can you show me the local Tactical Map, Faye?"

"Sure thing!" she replied, the holographic map replacing the Kirrix drone a second later. "This data was gathered by the Invictus' passive sensors."

John's eyes were drawn to the vast formation of Kirrix drone carriers gathered near the planet. They were surrounded by scores of picket ships and support vessels, but there was no sign of the hive ships.

Looking for the same missing vessels, Irillith murmured, "They must be planetside, just as Calara predicted..."

"Okay take us in, Faye," John said to the sprite. "Keep the energy profile as low as you can, we don't want to risk their capital ships spotting us."

"Will do!" Faye Primary replied cheerfully, her bright energetic manner a sharp contrast to the extreme care she was taking with the Raptor.

Through the cockpit window, John watched the gunship creep out of the hangar, the grey titanium walls replaced by the velvety black of the Alpha Tauri system.

As they cleared the Invictus' hangar doors, Alyssa's voice breezed into John's mind. *Sakura just launched too. She'll tail you down to the planet but she's going to stay off comms to avoid the Kirrix picking them up.* He heard the undercurrent of excitement in her telepathic voice as she added, *Enjoy the show!*

Walking to the front of the cockpit, John watched through the window as the Invictus crept forward, like a deadly predator stalking its prey across the tundra. The six massive Trankaran engines suddenly flared a brilliant orange, the huge battlecruiser leaping forward as it got ready to pounce, armour plating peeling back to reveal its teeth and claws. The vast arsenal they'd meticulously developed over the past several months came into view, with scores of turrets rising up ominously out of the hull.

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