Three Square Meals

A chunk of masonry tumbled down the side of a huge pile of rubble, the fleeting movement in the silent wasteland instantly drawing Rachel's attention. Dana's black hole had sucked away all the dust that had been kicked up when Alyssa flattened the city block, which gave the brunette a crystal-clear view of the emerging automaton. She aimed her Tachyon rifle at the floundering thrall, centring the crosshairs on its dusty chestplate as it finally managed to break free of the demolished building.

Despite being buried under thousands of tons of debris, this wasn't the first robotic trooper that had survived the devastation. It had taken a couple of minutes for the first to appear, then several more had torn themselves free of the shattered ruins. Fortunately for the brunette, they'd emerged individually rather than as a group, so it had been easy to pick them off one at a time.

Rachel was about to squeeze the trigger, when the synthetic soldier seemed to freeze, its arms and legs locking in position. The robot pitched over to land on its face, then lay perfectly still, its limbs held in the same awkward pose. She zoomed in using her Paragon suit's HUD and searched for any sign of moment, but it was completely rigid, almost as if rigor mortis had set in.

*Incoming friendlies!*

When she heard Alyssa's telepathic voice, Rachel slid down the Raptor's wing and rushed over to meet her friends as they hurried towards the crash site. Alyssa and Helene were both unscathed, but the third girl in the group drew her full attention. Irillith was unconscious and being carried by floating telekinetic hands, her armour covered in a patchwork of impact craters. The white plating had turned almost black with scorch marks, indicating she'd been shot from all directions.

"How badly is she hurt?" Rachel asked with concern as she ran up to check on Irillith.

"She's taken a few nasty hits, but I don't think any are life threatening," Alyssa explained, while carefully placing the wounded Maliri on the ground. "Can I leave her with you? Dana's been hurt too and I thought it would be easier to bring everyone here, rather than try to take all of you down to them."

"Go... I'll take care of her," the young Doctor agreed, shooing her matriarch away.

Alyssa turned to face Helene. "Stay here with Rachel for a minute. I'll be right back."

Her teal-hued companion nodded. "Okay, see you soon."

Activating flight mode, Alyssa launched herself into the air, borne aloft by her Paragon suit's thrusters. From her elevated vantage point, she did a quick visual sweep of the ground, looking for any sign of more robotic troops. A squad of synthetic thralls caught her eye as she swooped overhead and Alyssa craned her neck around to watch them as she soared towards the temple. They were gathered behind the closest mound of rubble and looked like they'd been preparing to launch an attack, but all five had tipped over, legs and arms pointing stiffly towards the sky.

*What happened with that last robot?* she asked the brunette. *I heard your thoughts; it sounded like it suddenly fell over?*

*It just locked up... like it had malfunctioned,* Rachel replied.

*Hmm, interesting... and how's Irillith?*

*I've just finished scanning her. The inner layer of Irillith's armour saved her life; she suffered several moderate gunshot wounds and was badly bruised from being hit at close-range. I'm just healing those injuries now and she'll be fully recovered by the time she awakens.*

*What about the effects of the Mists?* Alyssa asked with concern. *Any long term damage?*

*There was significant trauma to her amygdala from massive overstimulation, which tracks with the autopsy reports we retrieved from Valada's archive.* There was a brief pause, then Rachel added hesitantly, *Irillith's brain activity seems relatively normal now though... it's almost as if she's having a relaxing afternoon nap, not teetering on the edge of insanity. Based on her level of exposure, she should be hyperactive and raving incoherently at this stage.*

*Helene managed to calm Irillith down and put her to sleep. Have a chat with her, she might be able to explain exactly what she did.*

*Alright, will do.*

Alyssa had nearly reached the pyramid and from her position flying high above the ground, she could see the shocking extent of the destruction Dana had unleashed. An enormous sinkhole had opened up in the ground to the north and swallowed the huge building almost in its entirety. The black hole had sucked in the bulk of the ancient edifice, gouging a massive pit in the surface of Kythshara.

Descending into the gaping hole, Alyssa could see open tunnels in the side of the crevasse, the passageways exposed by the inexorable pull of the singularity. Hundreds of tons of rock had been torn from the cliff face, exposing the subterranean base and making it look like gleaming fossils embedded in the cavern's flanks. Some of those corridors had been partially ripped away and Alyssa saw more Mael'nerak murals, like those on the wall that had briefly blocked her rescue of Irillith.

She zoomed in on the shattered maze as she floated past, studying a section of the wall that had been torn open. Inside were robotic figures slumped in haphazard piles, their weapons still clenched in their mechanical grip. With the question of what had ambushed Irillith finally answered, she dropped lower, searching for John and the girls.

The shoulder lamps from her suit reflected off glinting shapes in the darkness, shapes which quickly became identifiable as her missing friends. Alyssa dropped the final distance and fell into John's arms, hugging him fiercely.

"I knew it was a big mistake letting you go running off alone!" she declared half-seriously, despite her beaming grin of relief.

"You were right," he admitted, hugging her back.

Pulling off her helmet, she gave him a heated kiss before turning to smile at Tashana. "I'm so glad you're okay. We got to Irillith just in time and I think she's going to be alright."

"Thank you," the Maliri said, the worried look on her face starting to ease.

"How's Sparks?" the blonde asked, crouching beside her friend.

"She's still unconscious, but her pulse is steady and she's breathing okay," John replied, kneeling down to scoop the redhead up into his arms.

Alyssa made a quick gesture and a dozen telekinetic hands surrounded them. "I know your Paragon suits are wrecked; I'll just carry you back to Rachel."

He nodded his assent, then they rose into the air beside Alyssa. John and Tashana were quiet as they soared skyward, their gaze sweeping over the walls of the massive room that Dana had emptied so efficiently. They both noticed the exposed tunnels as they ascended, with John in particular staring at the concealed machinery in fascination.

"The walls were able to rotate and altered the layout of the corridors," Alyssa explained, seeing his quizzical expression. "There were also robot thralls hidden inside."

John frowned in confusion. "I looked through the walls, but I didn't notice them at all."

"Mael'nerak had to have anticipated you doing that. He probably had the robots stored in pieces until it was time to attack, so a Progenitor wouldn't recognise them as a threat."

"He basically turned Kythshara into a lethal Progenitor trap," he stated, turning to look at the blonde for her opinion.

"Yeah, it seems painfully obvious now," she agreed with a strained smile. "Mael'nerak must have created the Mists to keep thralls out and force a Progenitor to investigate on his own. If they're all as arrogant as Larn'kelnar turned out to be, they'd never have suspected they could be in any danger, not until it was way too late. Everything about this place was designed to lure in, then isolate and eliminate an invading Progenitor."

"He would have got me too," John admitted, feeling grudging respect towards the man who had formerly claimed the Maliri. "If it hadn't been for Tashana and Sparks, I never would've survived."

"I know," Alyssa said quietly, reaching out to touch his bare arm as if needing the physical contact to reassure herself that he was okay.

Tashana sucked in her breath when she saw the extent of the devastation that had befallen the city.

"Did the black hole trigger an earthquake?" she asked, gaping at the demolished buildings in dismay.

"Err no... not exactly," Alyssa said, looking shifty. "The AI sent a second wave of robot thralls to kill us and they used the buildings as cover. Irillith needed me, so I couldn't afford to waste time shooting it out with them; it was quicker to just flatten all the buildings they were hiding in."

Looking conflicted, Tashana reluctantly nodded as she stared at the scenes of devastation.

"You sound confident that there was an AI involved," John noted, as they soared towards the crash site.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Dana was right," Alyssa agreed, glancing at the unconscious redhead. "A few robots managed to survive the buildings being demolished, then they broke free of the rubble and tried to attack Rachel. She gunned them all down, except the last one, which locked up and froze before she could shoot it. I found a few more that had also been deactivated and it looked like it happened to the whole group at the same time."

John nodded in understanding. "If they were operating individually, like the Collective, then they would've kept on fighting until we destroyed them all."

"Which means Mael'nerak left an AI to maintain this city, control all these robot troops, and spring the trap on an invading Progenitor," she interjected, jumping to the logical conclusion. "When the AI failed to kill you with that monster robot, it tried to blow you up by overloading the reactor."

"But we stopped that explosion, leaving it with nothing else to throw at us." John paused for a moment before glancing at Alyssa. "You think it destroyed itself rather than risk being captured?"

"It would explain why all the robot thralls suddenly stopped working."

"Makes sense," he said with a sigh of regret. John looked down at the teenager in his arms. "What a waste... we could've learned so much. Dana's going to be upset."

"Yeah, I know," Alyssa said sadly, as she guided them down towards the wrecked Raptor.

Helene was standing watch on top of the gunship and she greeted them with a cheerful wave as they descended. Rachel rose to her feet and stood beside her patient while waiting for John and the girls to land.

"Oh no..." Tashana gasped, staring in shock at her sister's horrifically battered armour.

As soon as she landed, the Maliri archaeologist sprinted over to kneel beside her twin.

"I'm so sorry..." she sobbed, her distraught gaze sweeping over the blood-spattered rents in Irillith's armour. "I should never have left you!"

John crouched down and carefully laid Dana on the floor as Rachel hurried over to check on her girlfriend.

"How badly hurt is she?" he asked the worried doctor.

The redhead was already enveloped in a grey mist as Rachel quickly diagnosed her condition. "Physical exhaustion and extreme mental fatigue..." she murmured, searching for any signs of permanent damage to Dana's brain. "It looks like a typical case of psychic over-exertion, but it was probably exacerbated by her exposure to the Mists."

Alyssa squatted down beside them. "I fed her as much power as I dared to help maintain that black hole. Sparks didn't show any signs of distress until she collapsed right at the end. Is she going to be alright?"

Rachel nodded. "I think so. I've healed her as much as I safely can... but now she just needs to rest."

John slipped a comforting arm around Tashana's shoulder as the Maliri wept tears of regret. "What about Irillith?"

"She's absolutely fine now," the brunette replied, her voice gentle and reassuring. "Irillith was wounded several times, but I've healed all her injuries."

"What about her mind?" Tashana asked, brushing the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. "How badly was she affected by the Mists? Irillith started to have a breakdown before she fled..."

"I was expecting her mental state to have severely deteriorated, but your sister couldn't be healthier." Raising a hand to forestall any further questions, the youthful doctor continued, "I can't claim any credit for restoring Irillith's sanity; that was all Helene's remarkable handiwork."

The teal-hued mermaid slid down the Raptor's wing to join them, and smiled self-consciously when she heard Rachel's glowing praise.

"Thank you for saving her!" Tashana blurted out, throwing her arms around the Abandoned girl and giving her a profoundly grateful hug.

"All I did was stop Irillith from being washed away," Helene explained, returning the embrace. "The Mists had really worn her down; she just needed some help to rebuild what she'd lost."

Tashana looked bewildered by her explanation, but quickly recovered and gave her friend a gentle kiss. "Whatever you did... thank you."

John straightened up and glanced at Jade's frozen form through the cockpit window. "How about Jade? Did you figure out what happened to her?"

Rachel hesitated and looked at him with a worried frown. "I performed a diagnostic check to see if I could identify what might've triggered such an extreme reaction. Physically, Jade seemed to be fine... until I looked at her crystal heart."

"Why? What's wrong with it?!" he asked sharply.

"It's been... activated... for want of a better word," Rachel explained, choosing her words carefully. "The Achonin glyphs appear to have engaged now; they're glowing and have started to shift position around the crystal."

"Can we reverse the process and shut them down?"

She gave him a look of helpless frustration. "I'd love to... but I have no idea how they work. I can't decipher Achonin script and I don't know what the intention was behind the glyphs."

Alyssa stood beside John and gently clasped his hand. "I want to help Jade as much as you do, but we're not going to achieve anything by standing around in the street. Calara's asking permission to enter the system and land the Invictus on Kythshara. When they get here, we can bring Jade aboard and Rachel can give her a thorough examination in the Medical Bay."

"Are you absolutely sure the orbital defences have been deactivated?" he asked with concern.

"No, but we do know the Mists have been shut down, so the girls can enter the system safely. Calara suggested a cautious approach towards one of the known gun emplacements. If it is still active, she can engage it with the Invictus' full complement of guns at maximum range. If the turret starts to overwhelm her shields, she'll retreat and wait for them to regenerate before trying again. It might take some time, but she's confident that she can use brute force to safely clear a path to Kythshara."

John considered it for a moment, his gaze turning skyward.

"I don't think we've got any choice, John," Alyssa added quietly. "The Raptor's wrecked and we're stuck here until help arrives."

"Alright, tell her to proceed... but be careful."

***

Jehanna paced nervously on the Combat Bridge, her gaze fixed on the holographic map of the nebula. "I don't know how you can stand all this waiting around. I've always hated stakeouts... but knowing John and the girls are in trouble makes it ten times worse!"

Calara and Sakura exchanged wry smiles.

"It comes with being part of the Bridge crew," Calara explained, turning her chair to watch the agitated reporter. "I worry every time they go into combat, but that doesn't actually help anyone. I just focus on performing my role to the best of my ability... it's the most effective way I can contribute to the success of the mission."

Sakura walked over to Jehanna and clasped her hand, forcing the dusky girl to stop. "Try to relax, Jehanna. I suspect the worst of the danger is over now."

She frowned and studied the former assassin. "I am trying. I don't know how you can stay so calm."

"I trust John to protect the girls and I know they'll do everything they can to protect him," the Asian girl explained. "You'll be coming with us on ground missions in the future, so you'll get to experience it for yourself. Don't worry, we'll be reunited with them soon."

With perfect timing, Alyssa's telepathic voice echoed through their minds. *John's approved the rescue plan. Head in-system, ladies.*

Calara sighed with relief and turned to the tiger-striped Nymph sitting in the pilot's chair. "Okay, take us in, Leylira. I'll modify the flight path so we head directly towards the closest gun emplacement."

"Affirmative, Captain Fernandez," she replied respectfully, turning the flight stick towards the heart of the star system and ramping up the throttle.

"Just Calara is fine," the Latina said, smiling at her pilot.

Jehanna gazed in fascination at the holographic map of the star system, watching as the model of the Invictus responded to Leylira's deft touch. The warship's six Trankaran engines blazed to life and the battlecruiser executed a smooth turn, pivoting around to enter the purple nebula. As they raced towards Kythshara, a glowing green flight path appeared, the route slightly altering their course towards the location of the closest turret.

"It won't be long before we're asked for the password that will let us approach the planet," Calara advised the Nymph. "When we receive the incoming hail, slow our approach until I tell you to stop. If we come under fire before then, make evasive manoeuvres and retreat to a safe distance."

Leylira nodded in compliance. "Alright, I understand."

The tiger-striped nymph had always been very gentle with Jehanna, but watching her now, she could see that Leylira was tensed and ready for action. There was an excited predatory gleam in her amber eyes, her senses heightened in anticipation of the coming battle.

Several anxious minutes ticked by as the Invictus proceeded deeper into the star system, with the crew watching the map for any sign of the ancient defence towers.

"I can see debris, Calara," Neysa called out in warning, as she pointed towards the system map.

There was a faint flicker at the edge of their sensor range, which had been significantly reduced with the interference of the nebula. As the Invictus drew closer, the signal data became clearer, and the debris was identified as the wreck of a Maliri destroyer.

"Get ready, Leylira," Calara said quietly, waiting for the hail.

Time seemed to drag as they waited, but the comms interface stayed silent.

"We've passed the point where the Raptor was contacted," Sakura said, keeping careful track of their progress. "Does that mean the defence grid is already on alert, or has the AI shutdown also deactivated the weapon emplacements?"

"Let's proceed onwards and find out," the Latina replied.

Calara zoomed in on the devastated remains of the destroyer as they drew level with the wreckage and studied the dozens of impact sites along its hull. She expanded her view of the holographic map, then tracked the vectors of those shots back to their source.

"Change course to heading 034 please, Leylira."

The Nymph banked the Invictus to starboard and proceeded onwards into the murky nebula.

"We should be picking up something on the sensors by now," Sakura muttered, her eyes narrowing with suspicion. "Do you think it's cloaked?"

"It's highly likely," Calara agreed. "Mael'nerak must have been incredibly familiar with that technology after having access to it for countless thousands of years. Constructing a cloaking device for a fixed weapon emplacement would be an easy task for him, I'd imagine."

Despite heading directly towards the suspected location of the turret, nothing appeared on the holographic map, their sensors unable to detect any trace of it. Calara was about to give up the search and set course for Kythshara, when Betrixa's excited squeak echoed around the Bridge.