Three Square Meals

John watched the last of the prisoners file out of the dreadnought and into the morning sunshine, their hands raised to shade their eyes against the brightness. Nearly a thousand Terrans had gathered outside the crashed Kirrix capital ship, appearing shocked and relieved that the worst of their ordeal was now over.

His eyes were drawn to a statuesque woman approaching him, her white armour sparkling in the sunlight as she weaved her way through the crowd of Terran civilians. She paused for the twentieth time to smile and nod as she was surrounded by grateful prisoners, not wanting to offend them by brushing off their earnest thanks, despite her mounting frustration. The black lioness holographs on her pauldrons flickered as people patted her on the shoulder, the Carolus citizens who had escaped from the Hive Queen's clutches eager to personally meet their saviour.

Sakura frowned at John when she finally reached his side. "Why did you have to go and tell everybody that it was me that grounded the dreadnought? I can't go ten paces without somebody trying to hug me!"

He reached over and gently removed her Paragon helmet, then leaned down to give her a tender kiss. "Who says I had anything to do with it?" he asked with a playful smile. "Maybe they all just think you're adorable? I know I certainly do."

She blushed furiously and bit her lower lip, then gave him a shy smile in return.

John brushed his armoured finger against her cheek. "Truthfully, one of the men thanked me and asked which Lionesses were involved in his rescue. I just mentioned your name and how to tell you apart from the other girls." His eyes flicked to the black lionesses floating above her shoulder pads, then he gave her a broad grin. "You can blame Alyssa for the vivid description of the Saviour of Unity City braving danger in her Valkyrie and single-handedly taking down the dreadnought against impossible odds."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why on Terra did she do that?"

"You saw how grateful those people were for saving their lives," he quietly replied, meeting her curious gaze. "How did that feel? Knowing that you helped rescue them?"

She hesitated, a self-conscious smile appearing on her beautiful face.

John gave her a knowing look, then turned to watch Alyssa levitating the remains of the Hive Queen into the Raptor's rear loading bay. He put his arm around the Asian girl and asked, "How did you get on with your sweep of the ship?"

Sakura glanced back at the dreadnought. "The four of you did a thorough job slaughtering your way to the nest. There were a few stragglers, no more than a hundred or so, but it's all clear now."

"Nice work, honey," he said, his gaze lifting to the Invictus which floated like a protective angel over the city of Reitberg. Brilliant azure beams lanced down, destroying the wrecked hive ships now that all the civilians had been evacuated. "We'll be handing over to the Terran forces soon; I want them to be able to concentrate on aiding infested citizens, not fighting off Kirrix troops."

*John, sorry to interrupt,* Alyssa said, after waiting for a lull in the conversation. *We're being hailed by Admiral Zelig. His fleet will be dropping out of hyper-warp in two minutes... he wanted a word.*

*Can you ask Calara to patch him through to my suit?* he asked, raising his Paragon helmet.

*Will do!* Alyssa cheerfully replied.

Sakura's hand darted out to catch his wrist, then she leaned in and gave him a soulful kiss. "Thank you," she whispered, her brown eyes gazing at him lovingly. "It felt good... saving those people."

"We'll talk later," he said, pleased to see her uplifted mood. "Better get back to the Valkyrie before Faye wrecks it."

The Asian girl laughed and waved goodbye before bounding over to her waiting mech, Faye popping the cockpit door open for her.

John donned his helmet, then glanced at the comms interface built into the HUD, the retinal scanners reacting and accepting the flashing call. He started walking towards the Raptor as a holo image of the Terran Federation logo appeared in the top right. A few seconds later, the winged sword was replaced by a bearded man wearing an admiral's uniform.

"It's good to see you, Admiral Zelig," John said, greeting him with a smile.

"Likewise, Admiral Blake," the older officer replied. He hesitated then added, "Can we forego rank?"

"Of course, Nathan. I assume you're calling for a status update?" John asked as he approached the rear of the gunship. Crowds of civilians had gathered there to watch their rescuers depart and he saluted the grateful citizens as they waved goodbye.

Zelig leaned forward, his expression full of worry. "We haven't picked up any vessels at the outer edge of the Pi Sagittarii system, so I'm assuming that after we jump in, we'll have a grace period before we have to engage the Kirrix. How large a force are we facing?"

Pausing at the ramp, John waited for the twins as they landed and jogged over to join him. "They had 32 drone carriers, 16 hive ships, and a dreadnought."

"My God, a dreadnought!" Zelig exclaimed, his brow furrowing in alarm. "I'm not sure we've got enough firepower to engage a hostile force of that size! I only have ten battleships in my fleet..."

John smiled warmly at the Maliri girls and slipped his arms around their waists as they walked up the ramp together. "We took care of it, don't worry."

The admiral's eyes widened. "You brought down the dreadnought?!"

"Calara swept the system clear, you're free to begin the relief effort," John replied, nodding to Dana, who grinned at him and slapped her hand down on the button to close the rear ramp.

"Wait... you actually managed to run off a Kirrix force of that size?!" Zelig exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

John glanced at Rachel who was crouching next to the decapitated head of a nest guardian, her expression one of intense professional curiosity as she took some preliminary scans. "No, we destroyed their entire fleet. There might be a handful of Kirrix troopers loose in the city, but the vast majority were clustered around the hive ships. We took them out when we freed the prisoners."

Zelig looked stunned, then he frowned sceptically. "I'm sorry, John. I don't want to make it sound like I'm accusing you of lying, but I find all this very hard to believe."

The twins removed their helmets and started to pull away, but John held them close, shaking his head. "You'll see for yourself in about thirty seconds," he said to the admiral with a wry smile. "In any case, we're pulling out. Alyssa confronted the entity ruling the Kirrix and believes that the entire invasion force is now in full retreat, so we might have to change our plan to rush to Menganus IV. I'll discuss it with the girls and keep you informed."

Leaning back in his seat, Zelig was quiet for a long moment before raising an eyebrow. "Do you still want me to stick to our original strategy and liberate Tasmaris Prime?"

"Yes please," John replied with a nod. "If Alyssa is right, the Kirrix will probably attempt to flee with whatever civilians they've managed to capture so far. You might want to plot an intercept course with that in mind. Actually, I'll ask Alyssa to transmit one to you; her navigation skills are exceptional... she'll be able to reduce your flight time by a couple of hours."

A warning chime echoed around the admiral's Ready Room and he turned to study the Tactical Map as his fleet jumped into the system. John couldn't help smiling when Zelig's mouth dropped open in shock, finally seeing for himself the vast sea of debris that was all that remained of the Kirrix fleet.

"But it's just one ship... how is that even possible..." he whispered in awe, his eyes like saucers.

"To be fair, she's had a few upgrades," John said dryly.

Zelig inhaled deeply, then blew out his breath. "It seems I should have had more faith in you, Lion. As you appear to have wiped out the Kirrix to a drone, I'll send down the relief teams unescorted. The bulk of our medical staff are located on the carriers, so we'll deploy dropships and transports, then lay in a course for Tasmaris Prime."

John gave him a grateful look. "Excellent, thank you for the cooperation. If there's any new developments, I'll let you know."

"You've saved a huge number of lives here, John. I might not necessarily agree with some of your methods, but please don't feel that I don't appreciate the magnitude of the debt the Terran Federation owes you for your service." The admiral paused then saluted him respectfully.

"I'd return the salute, but we're speaking via helmet cam," John said with a smile. "Thank you, Nathan."

They nodded to each other and ended the call. John reached up to remove his Paragon helmet and saw the twins watching him expectantly as he pulled it from his head. Both girls looked pensive and even if Alyssa hadn't forewarned him about the incident on the hive ship, he would've known something was bothering them.

Tashana winced and quietly confessed, "I'm sorry about my Paragon suit; I promise it looks a lot worse than it is. None of the shots actually penetrated the armour."

He glanced down at the scores of impact craters marring the white plates, his eyebrows climbing in surprise. "I'm sorry, I hadn't even noticed. My only defence is that I was mid-conversation with Admiral Zelig when you arrived."

Irillith shook her head and said softly, "Shan... that's not why he wants to speak to you."

John nodded, pulling them closer. "She's right... I'd like to discuss what happened on the hive ship with both of you. I was thinking we could get together after the debrief."

"Me too?" Irillith asked in surprise.

He gazed into her angular violet eyes and saw the flicker of guilt there. "Yes, you too."

She turned away, unable to meet his sympathetic gaze. "Okay..."

Tashana glanced at her sister with concern as she heard her troubled thoughts, then faced John and said, "We weren't in any danger when I got the flashbacks and it was a very unique set of circumstances that set me off. Please don't feel like you need to keep me from combat."

John reached up to gently caress her cheek. "I don't have any concerns about the way either of you handle yourselves in a fight, you were both incredible today." He gave her a supportive smile and continued, "I'd just like to talk it through with you. Perhaps we can find some way to help you put all those horrible memories behind you?"

The Maliri girl considered it for a moment, then gave him a rueful look. "We have shied away from my past, haven't we? I know I've been in no hurry to relive it."

"If it's too painful we can drop it," John said, his tone soothing. "But you're not the fragile, traumatised young woman I met a few months ago. You're mentally strong now... powerful even, and I think it'll make a considerable difference."

Tashana glowed as he praised her, then leaned in to give him a tender kiss. "Thank you. You're right, the memories aren't anywhere near as troubling as they used to be. We'll definitely talk later."

Dana let out a wistful sigh, drawing their attention.

"What's the matter, Sparks?" John asked in concern. "Everything okay?"

"I almost wish you hadn't fixed my target-fixation problem. I could use a good 'talking to' right now," she replied, giving him a look filled with longing.

He frowned in confusion. "We can discuss it if you want, but I don't think it's an issue any more. You were adaptable, resourceful, situationally aware... hell, you even saved Alyssa's life!"

Rachel laughed and straightened up from her examination of the Kirrix Guardian. "She's using 'talking to' as a euphemism for you screwing her brains out."

John blinked in surprise. "Wait.. what?"

The brunette sauntered over to him and brushed a fingertip across his breastplate, her look turning coy. "We all know that our deep and meaningful conversations usually end up with us having phenomenal sex..."

He blushed bright red with embarrassment. "I'm not that bad!"

"Don't be embarrassed," Tashana murmured, giving him a smouldering look under her long lashes. "I never feel more loved than after a good 'talking to' with you."

Irillith's cheeks flushed as she trembled with anticipation. "Are gravity cuffs going to be involved in our 'talk'?"

They all giggled at his flustered expression, John not sure whether he should protest or be flattered.

Alyssa chose that moment to march into the cargo area. "Hey! What's going on here?!" she demanded, her face like thunder. "You all know it's my job to tease him to distraction!"

The laughter intensified with Alyssa joining in too and John rolled his eyes at the girls, giving them all a lopsided smile.

***

On the Bridge of the cruiser Indomitable, Captain Flintlock stared at the holographic representation of the spaceship graveyard in orbit around Carolus III. His fingers moved to his command console, highlighting one of the wrecks and zooming in. The image of the drone carrier expanded, revealing the catastrophic damage that had ripped apart the capital ship. A massive rift had been blasted through the vessel from bow to stern, vaporising a hundred-metre channel through the entire length of the lifeless hulk.

He turned to his right and exchanged a look with Commander Richards, who stood silently beside him on the Command Podium. The marine officer did well to hide it, but Flintlock could tell that Richards was just as stunned as he was by the utter devastation unleashed on the Kirrix forces.

Glancing back at the white battlecruiser that raced across the system to the jump point, he said quietly, "I remember being shocked when they crippled a lone hive ship. That was only six months ago..."

Richards slowly nodded, then tapped an icon on the console, images from the city of Reitberg appearing on a holographic representation of Carolus III's surface. Thick black smoke billowed into the air from the seventeen wrecks surrounding the city and he moved his finger across the panel, selecting one for closer inspection. The image zoomed in closer to the ground, showing hundreds of blackened insectoid corpses sprawled across the plaza, their bodies horribly contorted in their final death throes. He flicked between the crash sites, revealing more massacres without the loss of a single civilian amongst the carnage.

"I joked with Blake, asking if they were planning to win the war against the Kintark single-handed... then they did," he said, an edge of bewilderment to his voice. He turned to watch the Invictus as it leapt into hyper-warp, disappearing in a swirl of blue tachyon particles. "Do you think they're going to take out the Kirrix next?"

Flintlock studied the apocalyptic scenes. "A few months ago, I would have laughed if you'd asked me that. Now? I honestly don't know..."

Richards nodded, his eyes flicking back to the images of the battlefield around one of the burning hive ships. Amidst a lake of green blood, dismembered insectoid bodies lay in gruesome piles, hacked apart in a frenzied orgy of destruction. "It doesn't seem so funny now. If Blake's planning to finish the job, I almost feel sorry for the poor bastards..."

***

Jade rushed into the rear loading area, a huge grin on her face as she locked eyes on John. "Master!" she exclaimed, running over and jumping into his arms.

He caught the excited Nymph just in time, whirling her around. "Jade! You're a sight for sore eyes. Everything okay?"

She pouted and looked at him sternly. "No! You had me so worried when the Hive Queen attacked you! I wish I'd been there to fight at your side."

Alyssa stroked Jade's back. "We could've really used your help."

John smiled and kissed the Nymph from her ear to her collarbone, until her pout turned into a warm smile. "She's right and I'm sorry I made you worry. I'm just glad you're safe."

The smooth whine of well-maintained hydraulics drew John's attention to the rear of the Raptor as the loading ramp began to descend, revealing the titanium-grey interior of the Invictus. Calara and Faye were waiting for them in the Secondary Hangar, accompanied by what appeared to be an honour guard of a dozen maintenance bots.

The purple sprite waved at them, bouncing up and down in her excitement. "Welcome home!"

John set the nude Nymph down on her feet and Jade flounced off to retrieve her dress. He strode down the ramp to greet the waiting girls, pulling them both into a hug. "It's great to be back."

Calara traced her fingers over the pitted surface of the embossed Lion on his breastplate. "The fight against the Hive Queen was terrifying..." She looked into his eyes, revealing a shadow of pain. "Thank you for saving her... I don't know what I would've done if..." her voice caught and trailed off.

"Baby, come here," Alyssa said, her voice tender and sympathetic as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "I'm so sorry I scared you..."

John left the girls to their loving embrace, turning his attention back to Faye. "How's Helene doing? I heard she snuck onto the Combat Bridge."

Her luminous eyes were filled with worry as she replied, "Did I do the right thing? I know we talked about her not being involved in the fighting; I hoped that by showing her what combat was really like, it would discourage her from taking that path."

"Don't worry, I agree with you," John said, but there was a tension in his eyes. "How was she afterwards?"

"Shocked... but I think she understands your reluctance now," Faye replied, her expression sombre. "She's been playing with the Nymphs in the Lagoon for the last hour. I've seen her zoning out a few times, but she doesn't seem to be too traumatised... I haven't seen her crying or anything like that."

"Good... that's the last thing I wanted," John said with relief.

"John, watch your back!" Rachel warned him as she strode down the ramp.

He stepped aside to make room for the team of maintenance bots, then watched as they carried the corpses of a Nest Guardian and the Hive Queen out of the gunship. The macabre procession headed out of the hangar, taking the Kirrix remains up to medical for later study.

Thick green blood oozed from the cadavers to drip onto the floor and a cluster of cleaning bots raced around to mop up the mess. One of them scrubbed frantically at a big globule of viscous goup, looking irritated as it worked to restore the hangar deck to its pristine state. Faye smiled fondly at the manic robot, brushing her fingers across its curved head. It froze for a moment, almost as if it was enjoying that brief contact, then continued its work at a sedate pace, efficiently mopping up the ooze. It rinsed out the sodden mop-head with a bio-degrading foam, then followed the sticky trail out into the corridor, soaking up the gore.

The purple sprite looked up at John, who was gazing away into the distance, lost in thought. "Are you going to go up and see Helene?"

He nodded, turning to smile at her. "I'll take a quick shower then check she's okay. Thank you for looking after her, Faye. I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure," she replied, before stepping over and giving him a tight hug. "I really am glad you're back. It was terrifying watching you getting blasted across the room and being stuck here, powerless to intervene." She glanced over at the doorway to check that the Latina had already gone, then whispered, "Calara was going out of her mind with worry! She wanted to bring the Invictus down to ground level and blast the top off the dreadnought so she could shoot the Hive Queen!"

John cupped her face and gently stroked her temple. "I don't always appreciate how hard it must be for you, watching the rest of us in combat. Thank you for looking after everyone."

She nuzzled into his hand, closing her eyes in bliss. "I love all of you. I'll always do whatever I can to keep you safe."