Three Square Meals

The orbital barrage was ferocious, explosions lighting up the sky as batteries of Quantum Flux Cannons pounded the surface of Arcadia. John and the girls could feel the vibrations through their feet, each massive blast sending tremors rippling outwards that reached the Invictus dozens of kilometres away.

"Holy fuck..." Dana muttered leaning against the window and watching the terrifying demonstration of a dreadnought's phenomenal firepower.

Calara turned to look at John and said in a hushed voice, "If Larn'kelnar had decided to just kill us instead of taking you prisoner, we wouldn't have stood a chance."

He nodded, his expression grim as he watched the relentless barrage, certain that Rahn'hagon's wrecked ship was on the receiving end. "We're going to have to take steps to make sure we never allow ourselves to be ambushed like that again."

"It's pretty convincing proof that the black ships can't detect each other," Alyssa said, staring at the Progenitor's onslaught. "If that bastard could see us, I'm sure we'd know all about it."

Rachel touched Sakura's arm and said softly, "Thank god you came up with that idea to hide the Invictus."

John glanced at the Asian girl and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "She's absolutely right. We'd be dead now if it wasn't for you."

Sakura blushed at their heartfelt praise and gave him a self-conscious smile. "I'm just glad I was able to help. Considering how much the rest of the team contributes, I sometimes feel like a bit of a fifth wheel around here."

"You should never feel that way," John said firmly, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "You've proved yourself time and again in combat, and all the time I've spent training with you has been invaluable. Besides, whenever you do offer suggestions or advice, it's always insightful."

She smiled at him gratefully, then glanced out the window at the staccato purple flashes lighting up the horizon. "In that case, do you want to hear another idea?"

He nodded, looking at her with interest. "Of course... always."

Sakura stared at the roiling clouds high above Arcadia's lush jungle. "While that Progenitor is focused on your father's ship, we should strike!"

John blinked in surprise. "What?!"

Turning to face him, her dark-brown eyes glinted with fierce intensity. "The Progenitor shuttle is stealth capable; we could send an infiltration team to board that dreadnought. This time we'd be geared up and ready for combat... he'd never see it coming. We could take them all out in a devastating surprise assault."

"That's inspired!" Irillith gasped, her violet eyes sparkling with excitement. "John... we could slaughter the crew, kill another Progenitor, and seize his ship!"

Tashana smiled with anticipation, tendrils of fire flickering around her fingertips. "I'm ready... just say the word."

"Whoa, hold on!" John exclaimed, holding up his hands. "We can't just rush off half-cocked into battle. We were only able to get into Larn'kelnar's ship last time because he opened up a hangar to capture me." He turned to look at Irillith. "If we were actually able to reach the dreadnought undetected, are you confident you could hack through a Progenitor's network defences?"

The Maliri faltered, her expression wavering with sudden doubt. "I'm not sure... I haven't had a chance to practice against the sentinels yet."

"Which means we'd probably have to break in by force. There's a few ways we could tear a hole through the hull, but we'd instantly lose the element of surprise if we tried any of them." He looked around at the girls who were watching him intently. "Geared up thralls will pose a threat, although I'm sure we can handle them, but an alert and combat-ready Progenitor is something else entirely."

"I'm much better at collapsing hex-shields now," Alyssa reminded him. "It wouldn't be a drawn-out battle of attrition like last time."

John nodded, his gaze sweeping over the girls. "I know... and we all learned a hell of a lot during the battle with Larn'kelnar, but we're still overlooking something important. I hate my guide, but I can't ignore how much he helped us in that fight; without him, I never would've been able to maintain my shields against all those psychic attacks." He grimaced as he continued, "Until I confront my guide and get rid of him permanently, my psychic strength is only a fraction of what it could be."

"It was a bad idea," Sakura said, giving him a rueful frown. "Sorry."

"No, don't apologise. Irillith was right, it was an inspired suggestion," he said, looking into her eyes. "With just a few more weeks to prepare, I wouldn't hesitate to launch that kind of surprise boarding action. We're definitely going to need that kind of bold, decisive thinking in the future... but not quite yet, okay?"

She smiled and nodded. "Okay."

"John?" Jade murmured quietly, stroking his arm to get his attention. "The explosions have stopped..."

He looked out across the sea of foliage covering Arcadia's surface and saw that the Nymph was right; the orbital bombardment appeared to have ended. The flashes of light and vibrations through the deck had all ceased, but far in the distance, he could see thick clouds of black smoke rising into the sky.

"Ah, shit!" Dana cursed, scowling with anger. "We had to leave behind the Progenitor Shield Generators and that bastard just nuked them!"

"We stripped everything else of value though," Calara reminded her. "And what we did take was priceless."

Alyssa turned away from the window, her cerulean eyes drawn inexorably to John. "What are we going to do now?"

He stood silently for a long moment, staring at the billowing smoke. "This doesn't really change much; our highest priority is still to repair the Invictus. We also need to look for the missing maintenance bots... but I think we should keep our heads down and postpone the search until we're sure it's safe."

"Do you think Xar'aziuth sent this Progenitor here to hunt down whoever killed Larn'kelnar?" Tashana asked, staring at the horizon.

"I think that's exactly what happened," John agreed, mulling over the possibilities. "When the Progenitor didn't find any sign of a hostile ship, he probably ordered a surface scan of Arcadia and found Rahn'hagon's crash site. Considering what these Progenitors are like, I'm sure he blasted the wreck in a fit of anger at not finding Larn'kelnar's killer."

"How long do you think he'll stay in orbit?" the Maliri asked, her brow furrowing with concern as she glanced skyward.

John turned to face Dana. "It takes 12 hours to recharge the Wormhole Generator?"

She nodded. "Yep."

John thought about that for a second, then said decisively, "I expect he'll be long gone by tomorrow. I doubt it's even occurred to him that there might be another ship hiding down here on Arcadia's surface. I just can't see a Progenitor lurking around a deserted planet in the middle of nowhere on the off-chance that someone will turn up."

"Larn'kelnar did," the redhead reminded him.

"True, but he also spent the last eight months sneaking around this part of space, refusing to return to the Larathyran Empire. I don't think it was a coincidence that we ran into Larn'kelnar. He seemed to be expecting me to arrive here and ambushed me because he was tired of playing games."

"I think you're right," Tashana said, facing John again. "The last three Progenitors that were sent to this part of space have all gone missing; it would make sense to keep this one on a very short leash."

"Especially as he knows you're around and causing trouble," Calara said, nodding her agreement. "A quick reconnaissance would be a sensible course of action. I'm sure Xar'aziuth is curious to find out what happened to Larn'kelnar."

"How did this guy know to come to Arcadia anyway?" Dana asked in confusion. "I thought the Shroud was supposed to hide everything?"

John shrugged helplessly. "I don't know... but Rahn'hagon was convinced that staying around here was dangerous."

"We created a hell of a lot of psychic noise in the battle with Larn'kelnar," Alyssa said, her expression grim. "Don't forget that he drained the life out of every thrall he had... and if Xar'aziuth fed off that massacre, it might have led him straight to us."

"That makes sense, but we've got no real way of verifying it for now," John said, after considering her suggestion for a moment. He glanced at the plume of black smoke, then looked around at the girls. "It looks like the excitement is over with for now, so let's get started on the repairs. I think this attack proves that we need to get away from here and back to Genthalas as quickly as possible."

Rachel caught his eye and when John nodded, she picked up the remote from the dining table and pressed a couple of buttons. A holographic projection appeared above the table, showing an exhaustive list of all the tasks they needed to complete to get the Invictus spaceworthy again.

"There's so much to do..." Calara murmured, her eyes widening as she glanced through the list.

"It's actually far less complex than the refit where we lengthened the Invictus," Rachel explained, pressing another button and adding a bright palette of colours to the tasks. "Reconnecting power couplings across the severed section will be relatively quick and simple, it's checking the hull integrity and internal systems for impact damage that'll be time consuming."

Jade smiled and put her arms around Marika and Neysa. "Well, we've got lots of eager new engineering assistants ready to help out."

"Excellent," the brunette said, giving them a grateful smile. "We could really use their help."

"I'll contact Little One and ask her to join us," Irillith said, striding towards the door. "The maintenance bots will be invaluable for this kind of work."

The door slid open before she arrived and Little One rolled into the room on metallic tracks. "The Invictus_Node_Collective will be glad to assist."

Irillith smiled at the cleaning robot. "Were you eavesdropping?"

"I was following the conventions established by Meta_Faye," the automation replied, looking at the Maliri quizzically. "Is constant monitoring of all activity aboard the Invictus unacceptable?"

Before Irillith could reply, John squatted down beside the small robot. "No, that's alright; I'm sure you're just as worried about fixing the ship as we are. I'm sorry we didn't ask you to join us before we started the briefing... this is your home as much as it is ours."

The robot studied him for a long moment, then reached out to touch his hand. "Please accept the Collective's gratitude for that acknowledgement."

He gave her a warm smile. "You're welcome." Pivoting, he glanced up at the task list. "Rachel put together a plan with everything we need to get done. We could definitely use your help."

"We are fully aware of what is required to repair the Invictus," Little One replied, tilting her head as she looked at the holographic plan. "The Collective reviewed Rachel's plan yesterday and commenced operations last night while you were asleep."

The three-dimensional image then expanded and task after task were struck through, indicating that they were completed. The maintenance bots had already conducted a thorough inspection of the entire data network, having reconnected the fibre cabling that had been severed in Larn'kelnar's ambush. It appeared that they were currently in the process of examining the many kilometres of power cabling to check for any damage in the crash.

"Damn..." Dana murmured in admiration. "You guys are kicking ass!"

Rachel looked delighted and beamed at John. "They've already saved us at least a day's work!"

"Thank you," John said gratefully to the diminutive robot.

"The Invictus is our home," Little One replied. "It is... distressing... to see it in this condition."

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," he agreed, surprised by the sense of camaraderie he felt towards the synthetic creature.

***

The assembled members of High Command sat in stunned silence, staring in horror at the Brimorian border highlighted on the Empire Map.

"They could be here in two days!" Admiral Caldwell exclaimed, clutching the armrests of his chair in a death grip.

"Vice Admiral Dacres reported that the Brimorians were holding position in the Callopean Shoals when he retreated from the border at 3:09 am this morning," Fleet Admiral Devereux replied, her expression bleak. "In a worst case scenario, if the Enclave forces launched their invasion immediately after his departure, they'll reach Olympus in 36 hours."

"36 hours..." Connor Malone muttered, sharing a pensive glance with his wife. "Most of our fleets are still severely damaged after the Kintark invasion. If the Brimorians attack in strength, we're finished."

Aeri Malone clasped his hand, then turned to look towards the Fleet Admiral standing behind a lectern. "What about defensive preparations? We could use minefields and hyper-warp inhibitors to wear them down and slow their advance."

Lynette raised her hands in a calming manner and replied, "I issued orders for minelayer squadrons to move into position, but I don't want to mine the hyper-lanes into the Core Worlds until an invasion has been confirmed and we have an idea which direction they'll be approaching from. The Advanced fleet is considerably faster than the Brimorians and Dacres is currently holding position at the closest Comms Beacon to the border. If he sees any sign of an Enclave invasion force, he'll notify us immediately. Meanwhile, all operational ships are being assembled into fleets to defend Olympus."

"We're going to let the Brimorians fly unopposed to the Core Worlds?" Caldwell asked in surprise.

"We don't have a choice," Lynette said, her mouth set in a grim frown of resignation. "With Morgan's fleet annihilated and Kester's fleet missing, we need to preserve every ship we've got. Our best chance is to engage the Brimorians from a fortified defensive position."

The comms interface chimed from the lectern, the sharp sound signifying a high-priority communication. Lynette answered the call, then smiled with relief as a familiar face appeared on the holo-screen. "Thank god you're alive! What happened?!"

Admiral Kester gave her a weary smile. "The sharks were circling last night... fortunately I had a bigger boat."

Caldwell looked at him in frustration. "This isn't the time to be a smartass, Kester."

Lynette shook her head reprovingly at the surly admiral. "Edwin... he's obviously been up all night." She turned to look at Kester again, a look of sympathy on her face. "Just tell us what happened, Anthony."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Pretty much what I just said. At approximately 1:30 am this morning, we spotted a Brimorian fleet inside Terran territory. They were obviously waiting to spring a trap, so I set course for Enclave Space."

"You invaded Brimorian territory?" Lynette asked in surprise.

"To get them riled up... and it worked," he replied with a shrug. "They chased after us, avoiding what must have been a minefield they'd prepared. When they got close, I let them think we were turning back and making a run for the Terran border, so they charged after us and intercepted my fleet. We were ready for them and started picking off their cruisers as soon as they dropped out of hyper-warp... then I ordered all my biggest capital ships to ram theirs."

"You rammed them?!" Caldwell blurted out, gaping at Kester incredulously.

"Sure. The Brimorians might have powerful shields, but they're useless against collision damage. Whoever was in command of that fleet must've looked a lot like you do right now, Caldwell; they never saw it coming. We smashed all their battleships, then shot up the rest of the fleet. After we captured the survivors, we headed back to T-Fed territory... but the Comms Beacons were compromised and I couldn't send a warning. We've been sailing Coreward all night so that I could get through to you."

"Outstanding work, Admiral," Lynette said with a warm smile of admiration. "What's the current status of your fleet?"

"Casualties were relatively light. Six of my cruisers were crippled in the initial firefight, so we scuttled them to prevent them falling into Brimorian hands. The Heimdall and all my battleships took moderate hull damage from the rams, but weapon systems are still fully operational."

Lynette stopped to think how to proceed for a moment. "I want you to return to Olympus for repairs."

"Are you sure?" he asked in surprise. "That would leave the Taxarran Straits undefended."

"The Brimorians hit the Callopean Shoals in strength last night," she explained sombrely. "Admiral Morgan was killed in action and his fleet wiped out to a ship."

Kester stared at her in shock. "Morgan's dead? Damn..."

She nodded slowly. "The Brimorians fired on escape pods... we only recovered one survivor."

"Those vindictive bastards..." he said, shaking his head in disgust. "Looks like I had a very lucky escape."

"Luck didn't have anything to do with it, Admiral," she replied, looking at him with respect. "Bring your fleet home... we're massing our forces at Olympus in case the Brimorians do invade."

Kester saluted her. "Will do, Fleet Admiral."

Lynette ended the call, then let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that. I was worried we'd lost Kester and his fleet as well."

"Are you sure it's wise recalling him to Olympus?" Admiral Zelig asked, sounding pensive. "Leaving the border undefended could expose the closest colonies to Brimorian raids."

She shook her head. "Local system defences should be able to handle anything up to a cruiser squadron. As long as the Brimorians don't reconnaissance in force, they should be safe enough."

Caldwell looked at her with narrowed eyes. "You're taking this disaster very calmly, Lynette."

"Would you prefer it if I fell to pieces and started panicking like Buckingham?" she asked, meeting his suspicious gaze.

"Of course not... but you heard Kester; the Comms Beacons have been compromised. Dacres reported the same thing, which evidently means the Sensor Grid security has been violated too. It seems painfully obvious that we're dealing with another traitor."

"I agree... it definitely looks that way, but I don't want to start a witch hunt until we've gathered more evidence of what actually happened in the Callopean Shoals," Lynette said, her tone reasonable. "I certainly don't suspect anyone here in High Command of conspiring with the Brimorians."

The tension eased in the auditorium, the assembled admirals relaxing and looking visibly relieved.

She gave them a reassuring smile. "From everything we've seen so far, I suspect this is just a limited skirmish. The fact that the Brimorian fleets are holding position makes me think this was simply the Enclave reclaiming lost territory. They could have invaded... but they didn't. They could have attacked Dacres fleet while he searched for survivors... but they stayed within the boundaries of the Callopean Shoals."

"Surely we're not going to just let the Enclave get away with what they've done?" Caldwell asked, looking at her incredulously.

"Whatever gave you that impression?" Lynette asked, her eyes turning cold and hard. "We're going to repair and upgrade our fleets, then the Enclave will rue the day they slaughtered our people."

"What does the Lion have to say about all this?" Lina Van Den Broeck asked, her green eyes showing a flicker of worry. "Is the Invictus still on the Kirrix border, or is he returning to the Core Worlds?"

"Admiral Blake will be indisposed for the foreseeable future," Lynette quietly replied. "This isn't to leave the room, but it's unlikely he'll be returning to Terran Space for at least a month."

She could hear the anxious mutterings at that announcement, as the admirals realised that they really were on their own should the Brimorians escalate the conflict.