John gave Irillith a moment alone with her sister, watching as she hugged her twin and whispered earnestly in her pointed ear. Tashana was unable to return the tender display of affection, still restrained as she was in the set of grav-cuffs, her legs parted and arms held aloft. Instead she simply leaned into her sister, eyes closed as she savoured the loving embrace.

He walked over to the twins and stroked the back of Tashana's head, brushing his fingers through her snowy-white mane. "I'm so proud of you," he said, smiling at her when she opened those enchanting violet eyes to gaze up at him. "You were incredibly brave."

"When the Bolon attacked me, I was absolutely terrified... but I don't have to be frightened of anything now," she said, a newfound confidence in her eyes. "You reminded me of that... and I won't forget it."

Reaching up to unlock the grav-cuff on her wrist, John nodded. "I can tell the difference... it's wonderful to see."

"Wait!" she called out, making him pause. Tashana gazed at him under her long lashes. "We haven't finished my therapy session yet..."

Knowing exactly what she had in mind, John cupped her face in his hands and said quietly, "I don't want you associating anything we do together with the horrors you experienced in your past."

Tashana shook her head. "It won't be like that." Glancing at Rachel, she added, "Can you explain for me?"

The brunette smiled supportively at the Maliri girl. "Tashana responded brilliantly to the lovely things you said to her, overcoming the traumatic memories from her past. If we give her some positive reinforcement, it will encourage her to instinctively adopt the same courageous approach if any more unpleasant memories are triggered in the future."

Alyssa nodded as she glided over to join them, giving Tashana a loving smile. "We need to positively reinforce her brains out..."

The rest of the girls emerged from the shadows, gathering around them and waiting for John's verdict.

Turning to face him, Alyssa studied John with her piercing cerulean eyes. *The terrible things Tashana went through left her with deep mental scars, but we're going to do the exact opposite. We'll wrap her up in so much love she'll carry it with her forever.* She placed a reassuring hand on his arm. *I'm going to spirit link into her mind... if there's even a hint of a problem, I'll flood her subconscious with loving feelings and we'll call it all off.*

John looked down at the Maliri girl, seeing no hint of fear or trepidation in her unwavering gaze. He leaned down and kissed her. "Okay, we'll try it your way."

Her pupils flared with excitement and her dark-blue nipples hardened into points, as though begging for attention. "Thank you..." she whispered breathlessly.

The girls quickly removed their clothes and soon they were just as naked as Tashana. John felt nimble fingers tugging at his own clothing and he didn't resist as they stripped him bare. Then they all turned their attention to the restrained girl, with Dana, Jade, Rachel, and Sakura kneeling in a close circle around her, leaving John, Alyssa, Calara, and Irillith to focus on her upper body. They all began with gentle caresses, eight pairs of hands lightly brushing over her skin, drawing breathy sighs from Tashana.

Those unthreatening touches were soon followed by soft kisses, making Tashana moan at the gradual escalation in sensual pleasure. John brushed her long white hair back and planted a trail of kisses up her slender neck to her ear. As he took Tashana's earlobe into his mouth and sucked gently, he watched as Irillith kissed her, their identical dark-blue lips moving with practiced familiarity. His tongue flickered out to lick the outer edge of her ear, then kissed his way up to the top, Irillith feeling every teasing caress of those sensitive pointed tips. Both girls moaned in a sultry duet and their kissing grew more passionate as they responded to everyone's attention.

John glanced down over Tashana's blue shoulder to see long manes of blonde and chestnut hair, Alyssa and Calara sucking attentively on her nipples. They looked up at him and smiled, their mouths completely engulfing those painfully-hard points, tongues swirling over them lovingly. Tashana began to tremble, then threw her head back and climaxed, her mouth open in a silent cry. Irillith mirrored her movements perfectly, sharing her sister's euphoria and joining her in her release.

John circled Tashana in his arms, catching Irillith and steadying her as she wavered. "You better lie down, beautiful," he said with an affectionate smile. "You won't be able to stay standing for much longer..."

Irillith looked at him with smoky, lustful eyes and nodded, leaning in to kiss Tashana before following his suggestion. She lay back on the padded training mats, splaying her thighs wantonly as she dipped her agile blue fingers between them. Tashana groaned as she felt the sudden surge in pleasure flowing across their bond, Irillith languidly circling her clit with a slick finger. John felt her freeze, Tashana letting out a long drawn-out gasp.

"Did one of those naughty girls do something?" John whispered in her ear. "Tell me..."

"Jade..." Tashana panted, her hips making involuntary rocking movements. "Her tongue... it's so long..."

Irillith's back was arched, her eyes rolling up as she shared the thrilling sensation of being filled with the Nymph's velvety tongue. She writhed on the mats, her fingers moving faster as she grew more aroused by the second. Biting her flushed lower lip, she bucked back, reacting the same way as her trembling twin.

Suddenly there was a frantic groan of frustration from Tashana and she pushed forward with her hips in desperation. "No! I'm so close!"

John's eyes fell on the Maliri girl lying on the mats and found Irillith looking back at them, her fingers having gone still.

"Not yet, little sister," she purred, lips curling up into a teasing smile. "Jade was just getting you ready..."

Dana rose to her feet and leaned in to give John a kiss on the cheek. "I've deactivated the immobilisation function on her grav-cuffs, you can move her into whatever position you want..."

He looked at the redhead and they shared a smile, both feeling tremendously relieved that putting their faith in Alyssa and Rachel had been so well rewarded.

"Did you hear that?" John murmured in Tashana's ear. "Do you want to take this further?"

"I need you!" she gasped, rubbing her firm bottom against his throbbing cock. "You're so hot and hard... I want you inside me!"

With the grav-cuffs supporting Tashana's weight at her ankles and wrists, moving her body would have been easy even without John's enhanced strength. He repositioned her so that she was leaning forward, looking like she was riding one of the hoverbikes. Her legs were slightly parted and bent at the knee, her dainty feet pointing up towards the ceiling and her ass tilted up for ease of access. John could see how wet her pussy was, glistening with her arousal in the soft light.

"You look absolutely stunning," he said appreciatively, running his fingers along a quivering, finely-muscled thigh. "How does that feel?"

"Like I'm ready to be ridden!" she gasped, her voice shaky with delirious excitement. "Don't make me wait any longer!"

Dana grinned and tapped the four grav-cuffs, locking the Maliri girl in place. "There, right where we want you." She leaned down to give Tashana a gentle kiss. "We all love you so much... thanks for trusting us."

Tashana kissed her passionately, too aroused to reciprocate with the same tenderness. John lined up the head of his cock with her sopping pussy and nudged forward, slightly parting her moist lips. She let out a low groan deep in her throat as he spread her open, his girth stretching her labia obscenely wide to take him. Tashana stayed perfectly still as she concentrated on John pushing the fat head of his cock inside her perfectly presented body.

John could tell she was expecting him to thrust deep inside, but he only gave her the head, her labia sliding over the crown to encircle his shaft. He paused then, watching her look back at him over her shoulder in confusion, her angular eyes aflame with passion.

"We're going to take this nice and slow," he said, his fingers running along her flanks as he took a firm grip around her waist.

Tashana's brow furrowed and she was about to protest, when the girls all renewed their sensual caresses. Her long eyelashes fluttered as six girls began to kiss and stroke her body, seeking out her erogenous zones with soft lips and gentle fingers.

"Oh my God..." she whimpered, mouth falling open as Irillith began to languidly circle her clit with a finger.

John watched Irillith's face as he began to penetrate her twin at a glacial pace, her lithe body gyrating seductively. Tashana was looking forward now, mewling in disbelief and joining him in staring at her sister. While he couldn't see Tashana's face, he could see how much every extra inch was affecting Irillith. They both cried out, and he felt Tashana's internal muscles clamp down on him as she came, temporary halting his progress. He smiled and thrust forward a little harder, making her squeal with ecstasy as he pushed deeper into her fluttering pussy.

Stopping when he reached her cervix, he watched her chest heaving as she came hard. It was fascinating to watch her exquisite azure body wracked in climax, supple muscles flexing under her flawless skin, a light sheen of perspiration making her glisten in the light. He could see that it was a powerful one, so he let her have a few moments to calm down afterwards, Tashana panting to regain her breath.

John felt a wet tongue lap lovingly at his quad, a mouth enclosing each ball for a gentle suck before moving onto the next.

*So full of cum...* Jade purred, identifying the girl behind the attention. *All ready to go where it belongs... in a willing girl's fertile womb...*

His cock lurched at the thought, making Tashana gasp as she felt his iron-hard length flex inside her. Jade's mouth left John's quad and Tashana's appreciative moan gave him a good idea where the Nymph had moved next. His suspicions were confirmed a moment later as he felt the Nymph lick the join between the lovers, Jade's tongue gliding along his shaft and lingering on Tashana's clit. John pushed onwards and continued his steady progress, easing his way through her pliant cervix.

He watched the girls lavishing attention on the immobilised Maliri girl, heightening her state of arousal with their constant caresses. Working as a team, John let the girls control her climaxes, while he concentrated on slowly stuffing her full. He finally felt the head of his shaft brush the back of her womb, drawing a throaty groan from Tashana. Looking down, he could see she had taken all of him, her obscenely stretched pussy forming a snug seal around the base of his shaft.

John pulled back, but only for an inch, then eased forward so that Tashana could feel his cock nudge inside her depths. The firm round orbs of her ass trembled against his stomach and he was tempted to just grab her hips and give the Maliri girl the pounding he knew she craved. But this was a team effort and his job was simply to keep Tashana full of cock, while the girls coaxed her to ever greater heights of pleasure. He draped himself over her back and reached around to cup her pert breasts, massaging and squeezing them as he fed her nipples to Alyssa and Calara.

"Fuck me, John... please!" Tashana begged, trying to thrust back against him.

"No, honey... the girls want to show you how much they love you," he whispered in her ear, his hips moving at a maddeningly slow pace, with the head of his cock kissing the depths of her womb every time he hilted himself inside her.

He saw Irillith squeeze her eyes tightly shut, her body quaking out of control... until she screamed in ecstasy, echoed an instant later by her sister. John smiled with satisfaction, then kissed Tashana's ear, murmuring loving words that sent her over the edge again and again. He could hear the girls sucking on her breasts, Jade lapping at her clit and the sweet sound of fluttering kisses covering every inch of Tashana's hyper-sensitive skin.

The twins whimpered and gasped through countless orgasms, their mouths falling open as they were rendered insensate by the overwhelming pleasure they were experiencing. He simply enjoyed the spectacular view and revelled in the glorious massage Tashana's pussy was giving him as she climaxed repeatedly.

Alyssa eventually crawled out from under Tashana, then stood in front of her, running her fingers through the Maliri girl's sweat-soaked hair. "You're nearly done, aren't you gorgeous?" she said, in a soft murmur, looking into dazed violet eyes. "That's about as much love as you can take..."

"So much..." Tashana sobbed, in a blissful state of euphoria. "I love you all so much..."

"Such a good girl," Alyssa crooned, leaning forward to give her a loving kiss. "You just need John to make everything perfect... don't you?"

The Maliri girl managed to nod her head, her glorious body quaking with anticipation. "Please..."

Alyssa's eyes sparkled with delight and she glanced up at John. "Okay, handsome, it's your turn now."

John straightened up and slowly eased his way out of the exhausted girl, Tashana making a feeble moan of protest as he withdrew. Glancing down at the girls, he asked, "Can you deactivate the grav-cuffs please?"

They quickly moved to do as he asked, then helped him position Tashana so that she was wrapped around him, her wrists crossed behind his neck, ankles crossed behind his back. She whimpered as he pulled her down on his cock, sheathing himself again inside her pliant flesh until she had taken him all the way.

"I love you," he said, giving her a soul-searing kiss.

Tashana moaned into his mouth, her luscious lips moving instinctively with his. John cupped her ass and bounced her on his lap, the lubrication from her overwhelmed pussy dripping down his cock to cover his balls. He'd been on the verge of release for what felt like hours and he could see that Tashana couldn't last much longer. She gave him a look of utter adoration that tipped him over the edge and he buried himself in her womb, his cock pulsing as he filled her with cum.

Tashana gazed at him reverently, the rapturous expression on her face revealing that she'd achieved some kind of higher state of consciousness. Her tummy swelled between them, growing heavy and rounding out with the huge load he pumped inside her. When he was done, Tashana sagged against him, growing limp as she surrendered to sweet oblivion. A glance over her shoulder revealed that Irillith had fainted too, the unending chain of orgasms leaving her too exhausted to keep her eyes open.

The girls quickly removed Tashana's grav-cuffs and John carried the comatose Maliri into the adjacent bedroom, placing her gently on the covers. Jade lay Irillith down beside her, then they all collapsed on the bed for a well-deserved rest.

John hugged Alyssa close and gave her a kiss. "You were right, that was just what she needed. I'm sorry I doubted you before."

"You don't have to apologise," she said, cupping his face and staring lovingly into his eyes. "You were just worried Tashana might get hurt... I understand."

Dana propped herself up, giving Alyssa a rueful smile. "I thought you were crazy too, but that worked like a charm. How did you know?"

Alyssa snuggled into John's arms, a look of contentment on her face. "I hear all of you, all the time. Tashana's been getting so much stronger and she loves being here with us. She was starting to really put her past behind her, which is why I got so mad when the Kirrix gave her flashbacks."

"Making Tashana a collar was an inspired move," Rachel said, stroking John's arm. "What made you think of giving that to her?"

Dana giggled and glanced at the sleeping Maliri. "Come on, babes, it's obvious! Irillith looks sexy as hell with a collar on; I'm just surprised it took him this long to make one for Tashana."

The girls all laughed and John shrugged playfully. "What can I say? The twins are hot; the twins in matching collars are even hotter."

That earned him another round of laughter, but Rachel gave him a knowing look and he could tell she wanted a genuine answer.

He turned to lie on his back and pulled the brunette in for a hug. "When Irillith puts on her collar, it gives her the courage to do things the Maliri consider taboo without feeling any shame. I figured that Tashana could use her collar in a similar way, drawing strength from it to help her handle those terrible memories."

"It was an excellent idea," she said with open admiration. "Tashana's had quite the breakthrough today; the collar will be a helpful reminder that she's loved and protected."

*I'm intrigued to know what rationale you'll have for putting a collar on me, my Lord,* Edraele said, a playful lilt to her voice. *I'm sure whatever it is will be for my own good.*

*I'm sure I can come up with a suitably noble justification,* John bantered back, thoroughly enjoying the thrilling image that conjured up.

Edraele paused for a moment, then opened up her empathic connection, letting John feel her profound sense of gratitude to him for everything he'd done for her daughter. She managed to convey far more with that flurry of intense emotions than she would have been able to with words alone. Layered on top of that initial surge was a flood of relief as her sense of guilt lifted, Edraele knowing in her heart that her family had been mended and made whole again.

Alyssa sounded startled as she said, *She's right... I can feel the change in the twins.*

John turned to look at the Maliri sisters and saw that they'd stirred from sleep. Two sets of doting violet eyes gazed back and he could see a sense of peace in them which he'd never seen before. They looked calm, relaxed, and very much in love, the dark demons from their past finally exorcised from their souls and gone for good.

"I feel different," Tashana said softly, her hand absent-mindedly circling her swollen belly. "Lighter now... as though I've been unburdened from all that pain. It's like there were three stages to my life: my childhood with Irillith on Valaden, the banishment to the Unclaimed Wastes, then living here with all of you. Except those terrible thirteen years feel muted... almost like they happened to someone else and just don't matter anymore."

Irillith nodded, her expression one of wonder as she turned to look at her sister. "I know you forgave me before, but I really feel it now. The most important thing is that we've been reunited and nothing's going to separate us again."

John beckoned them over for a celebratory hug, Irillith rushing into his arms and Tashana moving more cautiously with her heavily rounded stomach. The girls all joined in, embracing the trio, and soon there were beaming faces all round.

Alyssa pulled back and reluctantly said, "This has been lovely, but we better start getting ready, we'll be arriving in the Eta Piscium system in thirty minutes."

Tashana lay back on the bed and spread her legs with a coy smile. "Who's going first?"

***

Commander Tom Walker anxiously drummed his fingers on the desk as he waited for the call to connect. The image of a winged sword flashed and the call went through to voice mail, Anna cheerfully announcing, "I'd love to speak to you, but I'm afraid I'm busy right now! If you'd like to leave a message, especially if you're my wonderful fiancé, then you know what to do!"

He'd heard the recording so many times over the last couple of days, he was starting to hear it in his sleep. The dream last night had been particularly disturbing, with Tom bursting into Anna's apartment and finding her riding Archie. She turned to give him one of her dazzling smiles and happily declared, "I'd love to speak to you, but I'm afraid I'm busy right now!". Fortunately, he'd lurched awake before his subconscious could torture him with any more of that horrible nightmare.

This was the longest they'd gone without talking to each other since... he frowned, trying to remember a day they hadn't spoken at least briefly. Their parents had known each other long before he was born, living as neighbours in a luxurious residential district allocated to senior officers on the outskirts of the Citadel. Then when children came along, it was only natural they'd play together being so close in age. Only a year younger than Tom and Mason, Annabelle was the third Musketeer in their little band, the three of them thick as thieves for as far back as Tom could remember.

His eyes dropped to the holo-pictures on the desk of his best friend and his fiancée. Mason was giving him a broad grin, while Anna gazed back lovingly, her beautiful face lit up with a radiant smile. Tom was closer to them than anyone, but he couldn't help feeling that he was failing them both. Mason was falling apart after his father's death and despite Tom's best efforts to help him, his friend seemed to be withdrawing into drink and anger. He dreaded to think how their father's death was impacting Anna, but he wasn't able to contact her and she wasn't returning his calls. Tom had tried calling her mother numerous times in his desperation, but Natalie Newmont wasn't answering either.

The comms interface chimed and he felt his heart skip a beat, hoping it was Anna. A quick glance at the ID revealed it was Lieutenant Commander Kyle McDaniel and Tom answered the call with a host of conflicting emotions.

Kyle had bags under his eyes and he looked haggard as he gazed at his friend. Tom saw an odd expression on the man's face, one he'd never seen before on the stocky marine. He was looking at him with pity...

"No..." Tom whispered in horror.

Visibly deflating Kyle could only nod dejectedly. "I'm so sorry, Walker. I've been trying to track Anna down but she's been on leave. She hasn't been at her apartment for days, but I finally found her this morning..." He turned and hit a button on the holo-interface, transferring a file.

Tom's hand shook as he went to open the attachment, looking at the data-file like it was a cobra poised to strike. The file was a video clip taken across the street from a luxury apartment, bright morning sunshine making the dew on the manicured lawns sparkle like a carpet of diamonds. His heart lifted when he saw Anna, his beautiful fiancée walking quickly from the apartment, but he could see she looked anxious, her eyes darting around furtively. A few moments later, he saw a tall, dark-haired man leave the same apartment... and Tom sank into the depths of despair.

He recognised Archie instantly, the man's smug smirk as he leered at Anna from behind making Tom's skin crawl. They approached a sporty red hovercar, with Archie carrying two suitcases, one of which Tom knew belonged to his fiancée. Archie loaded the luggage in the trunk, then he pulled the blonde into a hug, Anna resting her head against his chest. She gave him a warm smile, then they got into Archie's hovercar and drove away.

"I took that video at 6:15 this morning. I found Anna's car at Davenport's apartment and checked the energy cells to see if she had just arrived. They were cold, Walker... she was there all night," Kyle informed him quietly, his sad eyes full of sympathy.

Tom slumped back in his chair, his breathing shallow, his vision blurring. It was like he was in a long tunnel, with nothing but blackness and despair surrounding him. Kyle's voice sounded hollow, what he was saying barely registering.

"Hard to tail... trying not to be followed... lost them a few times... a cabin in the woods..."

"Thanks, Mac..." Tom mumbled, reaching for the comms interface. "Gotta go..."

"Wait, Walker!" Kyle called out, staring in alarm at the devastated shell of a man before him. "Don't do anything stup-"

Kyle's panicked face froze on the screen as Tom killed the call, killed it stone dead.

Just like his heart.

***

Zelkrixa eased her enormous bulk through the nest chamber, five pairs of chitinous legs clicking unsteadily on the deck. She paused for a moment, involuntary shudders rolling over her intimidating form, and tried to immerse herself in the glorious chirping chorus of her grubs. The sound of her precious children being fed normally brought joy to her heart, but she was still reeling from the waves of telepathic pain that had engulfed her mind.

Locked into the psychic connection with her Hive Queen, she had felt Krinava's shock when the revered elder had discerned the true nature of the attackers on Carolus III. Shock had quickly turned into terror, waves of it pouring off the battered Hive Queen and crashing over the entire Hive Mind, rippling down to the lowliest of drones. Zelkrixa had experienced every agonising moment of the Hive Queen's terrible fate, her mind writhing in anguish as Krinava was systematically eviscerated.

The Broodmother had scrabbled to break the connection, bordering on the edge of madness as she tried to free her mind from such excruciating torment. She had clicked her mandibles in horror as her own children thrashed in sympathetic agony, Zelkrixa's connection to her drones making them join her suffering. The Progenitor beast had taken her time, cruelly ripping Krinava apart and making the poor Hive Queen suffer, knowing the Kirrix would feel every last act of barbarity.

Zelkrixa shivered with fear, remembering the glowing bipedal female and her icy blue eyes that blazed out of the darkness. There was no mercy to be found in that hideously ugly alien monster, the Progenitor remorseless in her torments. For millennia, the Kirrix had been reduced to raiding neighbouring territories to abduct sentient creatures, all in a desperate attempt to stave off extinction. With that fear ever-present, the threat of a swift and brutal annihilation of their entire species had stunned the upper echelons of the Hive Mind. Most galling of all, was the way that terrifying glowing figure had coldly informed the Hive Mind that this was their well-deserved punishment for the slaying of Terran and Trankaran children.

The Broodmother's huge compound eyes swivelled around to gaze lovingly at the rows full of hexagonal alcoves, each one a nest for her beautiful grubs. The way their mandibles gnashed in anticipation of a sliver of flesh was adorable; what kind of monster must this Progenitor be, to begrudge her children a warm meal? It's not like the mewling Terran chattel actually mattered in the grand scheme of things; it should have been obvious to even the most slow-witted of aliens that only the Kirrix had true value.

When Zelkrixa had finally regained use of her faculties, she abandoned the attempt to round up any more prisoners on the Terran colony known as Brecken's World. Recalling her legion of children to protect the nest was an instinctive act, one she ordered without conscious thought. Unfortunately, her troops were widely dispersed as they hunted for Terran colonists in the forests, so it was taking them some time to return to her hive ship, the Fertile Dream. Having lost the Hive Queen's comforting telepathic presence, the Broodmother felt frightened and exposed, left wondering what the Hive Mind wished her to do next.

Then she heard a faint echoing voice, each word horribly laboured, the Hive Mind battered and filled with fear.

*Zelkrixa... return... home. Kirr-Inax... must be... protected!*

***

Kelli hunkered down with her unconscious friends, watching fearfully as a stream of Bug patrols marched by. The insectoid soldiers stuck to the main road, paying no attention to her, or the score of decapitated Kirrix troopers that had chased them towards Iron Wolverines territory. Her hand shook with fear as she held Tony's chrome SMG and she prayed that they wouldn't return.

When it was obvious they were gone for good, she turned to check on her friends, her eyes drifting to the big man sprawled on the ground. Fortunately, it looked like his backpack had taken most of the hit, destroying everything inside, but protecting most of his back from harm. Kelli put the gun down and dug into her own backpack, pulling out a trauma bandage so she could attend to his wound. The instructions were pretty straight forward, but she read them through several times, trying to distract herself from dwelling on the fact that she was probably the last person still standing in the hollowed out asteroid.

Kelli pulled aside what was left of Tony's backpack, then ripped his ruined shirt away and grimaced as she stared at the ugly gunshot wound on his lower back. Although the ragged red lacerations looked dreadful, they didn't seem to go deep enough to hit anything vital. Kelli had no medical training, so she could only hope he wasn't critically injured. After smoothing the bandage into place around the wound, Kelli blew out her breath and tried to figure out what the hell she was going to do next. Tony and Perl were both unconscious, and there was no way she could drag the blonde very far, let alone the muscular ganger.

"I wish it'd been me that got shot instead..." she whispered, stroking Tony's arm as her eyes filled up with tears. "You'd know what to do next..."

Kelli brushed them away angrily, realising this wasn't helping anyone. "Come on, Kelli, get your shit together!" she blurted out in a choked voice. "What would Tony do?"

Dragging them to the medical centre was impossible... so maybe some kind of vehicle to get them there? Looking back at the truck, she saw that wasn't an option. Black smoke poured out from the wreck, the chunky vehicle riddled with holes after the Kirrix had blasted it to bits with their neutron rifles. Her eyes swept over the shanty town of dilapidated hovels and her heart sank as she realised there was no chance of finding any transport here, the former residents far too poor to afford a vehicle. That meant she needed to go scavenging, which meant a long lonely trek through gloomy tunnels.

Kelli sighed in resignation and struggled to her feet, wincing at the shooting pain from her ankle. "Don't go anywhere... I'll be right back," she said to Perl and Tony, although the pair were in no condition to respond.

She started making her way towards the road, hobbling past the Kirrix corpses that littered the floor. Last amongst the insectoid dead were a trio near the entrance to a side-street, who had just left the shanty before suddenly pitching over and having that bizarre seizure. Kelli picked her way around them and glanced down the dirt track between the hovels, her eyes widening when she spotted a strange yellowish-brown cart rammed into a shack. The Bugs had used carts like this to carry away their prisoners and the squad chasing them had obviously been planning to do the same to Kelli and her friends.

Limping over to the cart, she hunted around, looking for any kind of control system. A frustrating search revealed no kind of steering wheel or joystick to operate it and she was about to give up, when she glanced back at the three headless Kirrix soldiers. One of them was clutching an ochre device in its chitinous hand and she knelt down to take a closer look. Wrinkling her nose, she peeled back its creepy fingers and picked up the hexagonal-shaped object, seeing a number of strange runes on its surface.

Kelli figured it was either a remote or some kind of grenade, but considering the Bugs were after prisoners, she crossed her fingers and hoped it was the former. Holding her breath, she pushed down on the button and jumped as the tracks on the cart began to whir. The cart was now trying to drive through the wall, so she quickly pressed another rune at the back of the device. Her hunch was correct and the cart promptly reversed, veering back onto the street.

"Yes!" she cheered, elated to have figured out how the odd-looking vehicle worked.

She clambered aboard and after a brief bit of experimentation with the controls, began to drive it out of the side-street. It lurched a bit as she drove over the Bug corpses, but Kelli managed to hang on, frowning in concentration as she pressed the runes to steer the cart. When she got back to her friends, she heard Tony groan in pain, his hand moving involuntary to the nasty wound in his back.

"Easy Tony!" Kelli warned him, sliding off her ochre chariot and reaching for his hand so he wouldn't disturb the trauma bandage she'd applied.

"It fucking hurts..." he moaned, looking up at her with pain-filled eyes.

She nibbled her lip then made a decision. "Let me give you a painkiller, hang on..."

"Only got one left..." he muttered, turning to look at the ghostly-pale blonde beside him. "What 'bout Perl?"

"She's fucked unless we can get her to the medical centre and I can't lift either of you onto the cart," Kelli explained, reading through the instructions on the anaesthetic before pressing the hypo-injector to his arm and pressing the button to activate it.

Tony shivered as soothing waves of relief swept over his body, quietening the tortured nerve endings that had been screaming in pain. Breathing deep he gave her a grateful nod. "Thanks..."

"Alright, let's get you two aboard," she said, giving him a strained smile.

He sat up and looked around, his mouth opening in shock when he saw the squad of decapitated Kirrix soldiers. "What the fuck?!"

"When you got shot, I borrowed your SMG for a bit," Kelli said nonchalantly, trying not to grin at his stunned expression.

"You did that?!" he exclaimed, gaping at her in disbelief.

She nodded, giving him an innocent, wide-eyed look. "I hope you don't mind?"

Tony snorted with laughter when he saw her grin and thought she was joking. "Why didn't you tell me you were a Lioness? You could've just slaughtered everything at the start and saved us all this fucking around." He groaned, his hand going to his back. "Shit... don't make me laugh, that hurts like a mother. So, what really happened?"

"I actually did kill them. They all started spacking-out and fell over like they were having some kind of fit. I grabbed your gun and shot them all in the face before they could get up again," she explained, gazing around at the insectoid massacre.

He looked impressed and raised his fist to bump with hers. "Fucking badass."

Kelli gave him a proud smile and bumped her tiny fist into his. "Not bad for a dumb whore."

"You're not dumb, and you're not a whore. You can be whatever you want to be now," Tony replied firmly, looking into her eyes.

She let out a happy sigh, then glanced at the cart. "Let's get you two loaded up."

With Tony's help, moving Perl onto the back of the trailer was relatively easy, although the big ganger groaned every time he moved. He collapsed next to the blonde when she was safely in place, putting an arm around her and sagging onto the strange ochre cart.

"Just get some rest," Kelli said, stroking his arm. "I'll take us straight to the starport."

"The Bugs?" Tony muttered, looking up at her fearfully.

She gave him a helpless shrug. "Dunno... but I think they're long gone. When the others got up again, it looked like they were scared shitless... they all got the hell out of here."

He shook his head, his expression grim. "I don't even wanna know what could scare the shit out of the Bugs..."

***

Alyssa smiled and rolled her eyes at the redhead. "Calm down, Sparks. We're coming aren't we?"

"You guys are taking ages!" Dana protested, skipping down the corridor and stopping outside the Firing Range. She put her hands on her hips and tapped her foot impatiently.

Rachel laughed at her girlfriend's antics, then paused and looked back at John. "I'm afraid I haven't had a chance to dissect the Kirrix corpses yet. I'll take a look later this afternoon."

He put his arms around her and looked pointedly at the Maliri twins. "That's alright, you were busy with something far more important."

The Maliri girls overheard and turned to give them loving smiles.

"Come on!" Dana said in exasperation, beckoning John and the girls towards the open door. "We've already had loads of lovey-dovey time this morning... it's time for some gun porn!"

Alyssa sauntered over to the redhead and brushed her fingers along the beautifully sculpted barrel of the ferocious-looking rifle Dana held in one hand. "That's a very sexy weapon, Sparks."

Rachel frowned as she eyed the bullpup rifle. "I was hoping for something... bigger."

Dana rolled her eyes at her girlfriend and strolled into the Firing Range. "It's not all about length, size queen."

John chuckled as the girls burst into laughter, then he waited for them to all enter the room before following inside. "I'm just amazed you managed to get a prototype built in time; it was fascinating to watch you work."

Dana was waiting by a firing lane, facing her audience to show them the weapon she cradled in her arms. "I was inspired by my handsome assistant," she said with a warm smile. Reaching over to the firing bench for a pair of smart linked glasses, she continued, "I'll just run through the rifle's features, then give you a demonstration."

"Have you decided on a name for it yet?" Sakura asked, eyeing the broad-barrelled weapon.

The redhead wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "No, not yet. You know I hate coming up with names."

"It's based on Tachyon Lance technology isn't it?" Calara asked, studying the gleaming white weapon.

"Yeah, it fires pulsed tachyon beams," Dana replied, with a grin at John. "I was given a strict set of design specs..."

"Why not just call it a Tachyon rifle?" the Latina suggested.

John nodded his agreement. "That'll do for now. We can come up with something more exotic later."

"Fine by me," Dana replied, looking relieved. "Okay, so this is the prototype Tachyon rifle. It's got all the standard features you're used to: smart-linking to your Paragon suit, DNA-locked security in the grip, and anti-grav generators integrated along the length so that it'll float along beside you."

"It's double barrelled," Irillith noted, looking at the pair of broad muzzles. "I assume the top one is the laser?"

"Yep! It's based on the Tachyon Lances, but I modified the firing mechanism to fire in pulses like the Photon Beams. It also uses flux heat-exchangers for cooling, which are far more efficient than the old heat sinks." The redhead smiled as she patted the elegant barrel, fluted channels running along the length. "The lower barrel fires runic penetrators. Both work from the same trigger, you just toggle which you want to fire via the HUD, or you can use a switch above the trigger guard."

"Runic Penetrators?" Tashana asked, looking intrigued. "What are they?"

Dana winked at her. "Let me show you."

She turned to face the firing lanes and they could see two Crystal Alyssium armoured panels locked in place fifty metres downrange. The first one was lightly pockmarked with small blackened scars, while the second was in pristine condition and connected to a device on the floor. Next to them was John's old Invictium Phalanx suit.

"That's a blast from the past," Alyssa said, gazing fondly at the sinister black body armour.

"I couldn't believe my eyes when I first saw you wearing that," Rachel said, smiling at John. "I wasn't sure which was more terrifying, you or that Royal Guard."

Dana frowned and glanced back at her audience. "I didn't realise it had sentimental value. Want me to get something else?"

John waved away her concerns. "It's okay, go ahead. I got stabbed through the chest wearing that armour, I'm not exactly attached to it," he said with a wince, as he remembered the duel with the Drakkar Warlord.

She nodded and raised the Tachyon Rifle, aiming it at the bulky black suit. "I picked it because it's a bit tougher than the best body armour most species use and on-par with a juggernaut's plating."

Flicking a switch on the side, she powered up the weapon with a quiet hum, lights flickering to life along the broad barrel. Despite its elegantly beautiful design there was an ominous sense of foreboding about the Tachyon rifle, as though it was brimming with destructive potential just begging to be unleashed. That promise was fulfilled a second later as Dana squeezed the trigger, the light along the barrel flaring and coalescing into a pulsating orb in front of the muzzle, which burst out as a brilliant blue pulse of energy a split-second later. The beam hit the black chestplate dead-centre and vaporised a hole through the armour, the super-heated metal around its circumference glowing white-hot.

John stared at the skewered armour in shock, the effect more dramatic knowing that at one time he'd relied on that suit for protection. "How much stronger is that compared to a Reaper Cannon?" he asked awed by the demonstration.

"Hits about five times as hard," Dana said with a wicked grin. "Now, check this out..."

She aimed at the pockmarked Crystal Alyssium plating to the right and fired a short burst of pulsed beams, melting holes the size of dinner-plates through the armour with every impact. "That's a piece of deca-shaped plating we stripped from the Valkyrie after the Battle of Terra."

Shaking her head in astonishment, Irillith said, "So Tachyon Rifles are powerful enough to shoot through capital ship plating?!"

"Yup!" Dana confirmed, her sky-blue eyes sparkling in triumph. Her grin faded and she added, "Which is why you need to use low-power mode in a boarding action... otherwise you'll blast through the superstructure and breach the hull."

Tashana gave her a wistful smile. "Any chance you can upgrade my Reaper pistols with this tech?"

"I'll start working on a pair for you as soon as I get a chance," the redhead promised.

Jade glanced downrange at the second armour panel. "The next one's connected to a capacitor isn't it?"

Dana pouted at her. "Hey, you're giving away my surprises!"

The Nymph looked chagrined and said, "I'm so sorry! I just recognised it and-"

Shaking her head, Dana interrupted Jade's apology with a reassuring smile. "Don't worry about it, I'm only kidding." Aiming her Tachyon rifle at the broad piece of ship armour, she continued, "Okay, I guess you know what's going to happen next..."

She held down the trigger and the Firing Range lit up with staccato pulses of sapphire light, a stream of powerful blasts slamming into the white armoured panel. Dana hosed down the plating on full auto, the dazzling glare from the dissipating beams making the spectators flinch and shield their eyes. When she finally stopped shooting, the Crystal Alyssium was unblemished, not a single scratch or burn marring its surface.

"So don't try and gun down our own ships?" Sakura asked, looking at her quizzically.

"I'd hope you'd try and avoid doing that anyway," Dana replied with a wry smile. "I wanted to remind you how resilient our armour is against laser fire... just like Progenitor armour is almost guaranteed to be."

"Thrall body armour must be able to reflect or absorb laser fire too..." Calara murmured, realising Dana's true intent behind her demonstration.

The redhead's expression turned sombre. "Yeah, that's what I'm worried about. Drakkar armour was resistant to laser fire and Thralls are bound to be using better gear than them."

"I don't think Thrall armour is fully-reflective," Tashana said with conviction, staring at the perforated armour plate.

"You sound very certain," John said, looking at her in surprise. "What makes you so sure?"

"Because Thralls use Reaper Cannons," Tashana explained, meeting his curious gaze before glancing at her sister. "Do you remember how much it resonated when you saw Irillith firing a Reaper Cannon? Thralls wouldn't use laser weapons if they were completely ineffective against another Progenitor's forces."

Calara's eyes widened and she blurted out, "The same must be true for Thrall ships as well! That Tormentor-class destroyer the Vulkat salvaged was equipped with Tachyon Lances!"

Dana gave the Latina a rueful look. "Unless they use different weapon loadouts when they're fighting Thrall fleets..."

Tashana's jubilant face fell. "You're right. Thrall troops probably use different weapons to fight other Thralls."

Sakura mulled it over for a moment, then shook her head. "I think you were right the first time. Drakkar armour was shielded, so it stands to reason that Thrall armour must be too... and laser weapons are by far the best way of overloading shields."

"A Reaper Cannon is too large for a Thrall to carry around a backup weapon as well," Irillith said, nodding in agreement.

John was quiet for a moment, sharing a glance with Alyssa. "That feels right to me. How about you?"

"If I was a ruthless interstellar tyrant who viewed my Thralls as disposable minions, I doubt I'd bother to mess around refitting my fleets to fight another Progenitor," the blonde replied, looking him in the eyes. "It sounds like too much hard work."

Rachel clasped John's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I can't see their troops using a mix of weaponry either. We know how much Progenitors like uniformity in their Thralls; the way our bodies were Changed to match the Maliri are testament to that."

Dana grinned and cupped one of her impressive breasts. "I'm just glad Progenitors like their girls with big tits!"

Alyssa turned to John and said earnestly, "You answered the prayers of two flat-chested orphans, giving them racks to be proud of." She thrust out her chest and playfully squeezed her breasts together. "If you ever wanted solid proof that you're a good man, there it is."

He laughed and admired her spectacular cleavage. "I can hardly argue with an argument that compelling." Looking around at the girls, he continued, "All joking aside, I think you're right about Thrall equipment. Seeing Irillith using a Reaper Cannon felt tremendously satisfying; I've never experienced anything quite like it."

Tashana looked at him with an ambivalent expression on her face. "Would you prefer me to use the same weapons as the rest of the girls?"

John hesitated then shook his head. "We're evolving past Thrall equipment with these Tachyon rifles, so it's a moot point now anyway. Besides, you're deadly with pistols and it'd be ridiculous to prevent you playing to your strengths, just because I like the idea of all of you using the same gear." He glanced at Sakura and added, "Obviously, the same applies with you and your ninjato."

Both girls looked pleased, smiling at him in relief.

He turned to Dana and asked, "Shall we get back to the weapon demo? Or do you need some more time admiring your breasts?"

She gave him a pained frown. "It's really hard to choose, I love both so much!" When the laughter died down, she glanced downrange at the second piece of armour plating. "Alright, back to the demo. As you saw earlier, the armour plating completely absorbed that laser fire. Tachyon rifles are powerful, but nowhere near strong enough to overload ship capacitors by sheer damage output. But check this out..."

Dana made a dramatic production of flipping the switch above the trigger guard, toggling the fire mode to the lower barrel. Aiming at the Crystal Alyssium plating, she squeezed the trigger and the rifle let out a low bark. John's jaw dropped in astonishment when the round slammed into the armour, punching a big hole through the plating, before hitting the back wall of the Firing Range and leaving a deep crater. It wasn't the bullet piercing the Invictus' armour that he found so shocking, but the momentary flash of a Progenitor rune as a latticework of glowing hexes were shattered.

"The armour was runed!" he exclaimed, looking at Dana in awe. "What the hell did you shoot it with?!"

"A runic penetrator!" She slipped a hand into her pocket then tossed a bullet over to him. "It's a special crystal-tipped round fired from a Quantum barrel; I added a special Progenitor-runed payload."

John turned the bullet in his hand, the glowing runes gleaming brightly. "Destruction runes for penetrating hex shields..."

Dana nodded, her eyes narrowing. "You said you wanted something to fuck up protected enemies, so this is it. The Hive Queen's hex shield shrugged off Reaper Cannon fire like it was nothing... I wasn't going to take the chance that it could do the same to Tachyon rifle beams."

Tashana tore her eyes from the gaping hole in the armour plating to look at the redhead. "It won't matter how laser resistant Thrall armour is if we're packing that kind of firepower."

"That thought occurred to me too," Dana agreed with a grim smile.

Faye appeared in a flash, her translucent wings fluttering nervously. "Hi! Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to let you know we've picked up a Kirrix fleet on our long-range sensors!"

"What's the situation, Faye?" John asked, as the whole crew turned to look at the purple sprite.

"They're still in the Eta Piscium system, but it looks like they're leaving Brecken's World!" she exclaimed. "They're making a run for the closest jump point!"

Calara looked at John in alarm. "If they jump out and scatter, it'll take us god knows how many hours to interdict them all!"

"How long until they clear the local gravity wells?" he asked, sharing her concern.

Faye wrung her hands together. "Based on their current speed, I estimate 9 minutes, 43 seconds!"

Alyssa grimaced, shooting John a worried glance. "We'll arrive in 9 minutes 11 seconds..."

"Can you turn off the hyper-warp proximity override and drop us right in the middle of them?" he asked, meeting the blonde's blue-eyed gaze.

She raised an eyebrow and gave him a coy smile. "Surely you should know the answer to that by now?"

"Going point blank against an entire Kirrix fleet is going to be brutal," Calara warned them. "The Invictus can take a real hammering, but we're not invincible."

"We haven't got any choice," John said, grinding his teeth. "If we're going to have even the slightest chance of saving any of the colonists from Menganus IV, Karron, or Valia Gate, we can't afford to waste a day chasing down a scattered fleet."

The girls nodded, understanding the severity of the situation.

John turned to look at his attentive audience and began issuing orders. "I want Jade, Calara, and Irillith on the Invictus."

Irillith looked at him in surprise, then nodded her understanding. "Alright, I'll do my best..."

The Nymph turned to John and opened her mouth to speak, but John held up a hand, pre-empting any objections. "Sorry, Jade, I need you piloting the Invictus to minimise the incoming damage. Besides, I'm not letting you get shot at by a fleet full of neutron beams; your dragon form is incredibly resilient, but you're not invincible either."

"Perhaps you need to feed me some more to toughen me up, Master?" she asked, a gleam in her emerald eyes.

He smiled at her, then turned to the rest of the girls. "I want Sakura piloting the Valkyrie. Faye, I need you flying the Raptor; I'll be in the back with Alyssa, Tashana, Dana, and Rachel. Any questions?"

Alyssa telepathically briefed each girl and they nodded their understanding as she outlined his plans in detail.

John looked around, but all he saw was focused and determined faces. "Alright, time to get geared up. We need to immobilise that fleet and rescue those colonists!"

***

Zelkrixa's segmented mind observed the frantic activity of hundreds of her drones, the views arrayed before her like the multitude of facets in her compound eyes. She watched as her hive ship left the orbit of Brecken's World, the navigator manoeuvring them into position in the Kirrix fleet as they evacuated from the Eta Piscium system. The Fertile Dream was one of a dozen hive ships in the centre of the formation, a matching number of drone carriers providing close escort. They were such beautiful, elegant craft, the lovely hue of their ochre hulls reminding the Broodmother of the glorious underground palaces on Kirr-Inax.

Her pleasant reminisces were shattered when one of her Bridge crew raised an alarm. Long range sensors had picked up an approaching vessel, the contact approaching the system at incredible speed. Zelkrixa felt a momentary flicker of fear when she saw the approach vector, then reminded herself that Carolus III was nearly a day's flight time from Brecken's World. There was no way that it could be the same terrifying vessel that had obliterated Krinava's vanguard fleet.

She contacted the drones connected to her in the accompanying carrier and they began to deploy fighters, vast swarms of the tiny ships launching into space. The strike craft stayed in defensive positions around the carriers for now, waiting to redock when the fleet reached the jump point, so as not to delay their departure. Surrounded by a wall of powerful ships, Zelkrixa relaxed as the fleet pulled further away from the white star at the heart of the system. The Kirrix were only a minute's flight time from the jump point and soon they would be racing through hyper-warp, beginning the long return journey to their homeworld.

Still, she kept a wary eye on the drone observing the sensors, watching the incoming ship as it rushed towards them. It rapidly approached the outer edge of the Eta Piscium system, but to her astonishment it kept on coming, charging across the system on an intercept course with the retreating insectoid forces. Zelkrixa decided that what she was seeing must be some kind of sensor glitch, because flying in hyper-warp through a gravity well was impossible. That was when the mystery ship suddenly dropped out of hyper-warp... right in the middle of the fleet!

She stared at the sparkling white ship in terror, instantly recognising its ferocious predatory shape. Impossible or not, the callous butchers were here, no doubt intent on sating their bloodlust on her retreating fleet. Then Zelkrixa's view of the Invictus was obscured by a dazzling onslaught of incandescent blue beams... and she could only look on in horror as a trio of majestic Kirrix capital ships were mercilessly torn apart. Her own escorting drone carrier was neatly sliced in half and she staggered in anguish as hundreds of her precious children were instantly obliterated, their connected presence vanishing from her mind.

Zelkrixa threw back her head and screeched, a piercing cry of inhuman grief echoing around the nest chamber. The grubs went silent, ceasing their chirruping as they stared fearfully at the stricken Broodmother.

***

John stood in the Raptor's starboard airlock, watching through the open doorway as the gunship rocketed out of the Invictus' Secondary Hangar. Dozens of Tachyon Lance turrets along the flank of the battlecruiser opened fire, Calara hitting the stunned Kirrix forces with a furious broadside of deadly beams. His view shifted as Faye banked around, the Raptor weaving between huge ochre hive ships as they rushed towards the front of the retreating insectoid fleet. He knew that the front-runners were perilously close to the jump point and it was their job to stop them.

The sound of Reaper Cannon fire behind him drew John's attention, with Alyssa wasting no time in attacking the shocked Kirrix forces. She stood in the port airlock firing her weapon telekinetically, a pair of glowing hands pivoting the barrel back and forth and sending a stream of blue laser bolts at squadrons of drone fighters. However, Alyssa's primary focus was on the hive ships, her arms upraised with swirling psychic eddies whipping around her gauntleted hands. She made a violent tugging motion and tore a blocky engine from the closest Kirrix horror vessel, its ignoble departure followed by a bright explosion that caught John's eye.

The vessel slowed considerably, spewing a trail of noxious gases from the ravaged engine housing as it limped on towards the jump point. Alyssa hadn't finished with the hamstrung vessel though and she clamped her huge telekinetic hands on the second engine, sparks flaring against the sombre-hued hull as she ripped it from the vessel. A third soon followed, the massive engine housing sent tumbling through space as she efficiently immobilised the hive ship.

He turned back towards the open airlock, then leaned out so he could see the front of the Kirrix formation. Ignoring the blazing light from the turreted Pulse Cannons overhead, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the drone carrier leading the fleeing insectoids. He could tell by the way it was pivoting into a defensive position that it had reached the jumping-out point and was intending to cover the hive ships as they made their escape.

*The lead ship has reached the jump point!* he called to Alyssa in warning.

*I'll let Sparks know,* the blonde immediately replied.

***

Dana looked out through the open hatchway at the front of the Raptor, watching as they charged through the Kirrix forces. The view was spectacular, with the ochre-hulled capital ships rushing towards the outer-edge of the system, their engines glowing bright orange on full burn. Finally reacting to the attackers in their midst, the insectoid fleet opened fire, sending a wild salvo of neutron beams and bolts at the lightning fast gunship as it swept between their vessels.

The Raptor dodged nimbly through the wall of eerie green beams, Faye even managing to squeeze off a shot with her twin Tachyon Lances at one of the drone carriers leading the formation. Dana winced against the blindingly-bright glare, the beams sweeping over the rear of the massive Kirrix capital ship, making its shields convulse as if in agony. The gunship's turreted Pulse Cannons weren't idle either, firing continuous azure streams at the nearest slow-moving hive ship, laser bolts hammering into its shields and leaving rippling impacts.

"Aim for the one on the right!" Dana called out to the two girls kneeling beside her in the loading area.

She watched enviously as Rachel and Tashana opened fire with the new Tachyon rifles, spraying pulsed tachyon beams over the hive ship's flank. By the violent reaction of the big vessel's shields, it was easy to see how much harder they were hitting than the Pulse Cannons, the undulating waves in the protective field growing dramatically more pronounced under that blistering salvo. Unable to withstand the combined hail of fire the shields finally gave up, the bubble bursting with a shimmering crackle and leaving the Kirrix ship exposed. Tachyon pulses began to strike the hull, blasting glowing holes in the armour plating as the beams lanced through the superstructure.

"Whoa, hold up!" Dana exclaimed, worried about triggering internal explosions. She looked down at her two companions as they ceased fire. "So, what do you think?"

"I take it back, these Tachyon rifles are amazing!" Rachel gushed, turning to grin at her girlfriend.

Tashana laughed and shook her head in amazement. "I can't believe how hard they hit!"

*Focus on stripping the shields from the hive ships on the right, ladies,* Alyssa informed the kneeling girls. *I'll take care of the ones on the left...*

Rachel and Tashana nodded, then turned to aim at the next hive ship, squeezing off short bursts as the Raptor closed the distance.

*Whenever you're ready, Sparks,* the blonde prompted Dana, her voice gentle and supportive. *Just let me know when you need more energy...*

The redhead closed her eyes and focused her will, trying to forget about the last time she'd really unleashed her powers like this. She felt a soothing wave of calm flood through her mind and she smiled in gratitude, knowing Alyssa was listening to her every pensive thought.

*Alright, juice me up,* Dana murmured, feeling the eldritch energy building within her body.

*Here you go!* Alyssa widened the connection between them, channelling a torrent of psychic power into Dana that supercharged every fibre of her being.

When Dana's eyes snapped open, they were ablaze with a glorious golden light and she held her hands in front of her as she stared out into space. Her gaze locked onto the lead drone carrier and she used it as the fulcrum for the energy she was unleashing. It was harder working by line of sight, rather than being able to touch her target, but Dana had no intention of being anywhere near that drone carrier when she was done with it.

Energy arced over the ochre hull, quickly gathering into a golden maelstrom focused in the middle of the trembling capital ship. Roiling waves of force began to darken in the centre, light now sucked in rather than blazing across the cosmos as Dana massively ramped up the gravitational forces. Sections of the Kirrix ship began to buckle, twisting ominously as it succumbed to the enormous pressure it was under.

Dana cried out as she threw her full psychic might into her terrifying stellar construct, the drone carrier folding up like a crumpled tin can as it violently imploded. The Kirrix ship ripped itself apart in a savage explosion, the subsequent blast wave hurtling outwards before being sucked back in on itself. What had once been an enormous capital ship was now compressed into a solid sphere of ochre-hued debris, the orb glowing with a forbidding golden light. The two nearest drone carriers began to lurch towards the mangled wreckage, dragged inexorably into the newly-formed gravity well.

She wavered unsteadily, then Rachel and Tashana were beside her, catching Dana before she could fall and helping her to sit on the deck. "Thanks..." the redhead muttered, sagging in their arms. "I think I overdid it a bit."

Rachel gaped at her lover in wonder. "And I thought Alyssa was powerful..."

Dana gave her a tired but contented smile. "Not bad, eh?"

"There's no escape for the Kirrix now..." Tashana said, watching the pair of ochre capital ships desperately throwing their engines into full reverse.

***

John unsheathed his Crystal Alyssium sword and started to gather his will, channelling it into the glistening blade. Runes flared as they responded to his psychic might, feeding off the eldritch energy and amplifying it until the blade seethed with raw power. He turned to look out through the airlock door, his eyes settling on the perfect target. They were hurtling between two columns of hive ships in the centre of the enemy formation, which meant the Raptor was about to pass one of the segmented alien vessels on the starboard side.

*The girls stripped the shields, it's ready,* Alyssa informed him, although she sounded distracted.

*Everything okay?* he asked as he swung back his sword in preparation.

His young matriarch hesitated for a second before replying, *Dana overdid it a bit, but she's fine... just exhausted. Her gravity well will stop the Kirrix jumping out though, they won't dare go into hyper-warp anywhere near that thing.*

John paused and asked with concern, *Is she alright maintaining it?*

*Yeah, she's already done the hard work and I'm keeping her topped up with energy,* Alyssa replied, her tone reassuring. *Besides, she won't need to maintain it for long.*

He lunged forward, whipping his sword around and letting fly the powerful arc of telekinetic energy he'd been building within the blade. The blue wall of force swept across the short gap between the ships and blasted into the trio of engines, battering them apart with the titanic impact. The orange glow from the huge propulsion systems guttered out, the engines going dark as power feeds and fuel lines were unceremoniously severed.

*Alright, let's knock out the rest of the hive ships as fast as possible,* he agreed, before looking over his shoulder at the blonde. *How's everyone else doing?*

***

Jade watched the holographic depictions of the Kirrix fleet, her emerald eyes narrowed in concentration as she studied the enemy capital ships. The Kirrix were firing their broadsides as soon as their Neutron Beam batteries had cooled, so she carefully timed her wild manoeuvres to coincide with each salvo.

The Nymph shoved the flight stick forward and ramped up the Invictus' thrust to maximum, the six Trankaran engines roaring to life as the battlecruiser charged into the dive. Her opponents were expecting her to make another roll and bank, just as Jade had done the last three times, so the Kirrix gunners were caught completely unprepared by the rapid shift in direction. Twin barrages sailed harmlessly above the Invictus' topdeck, not landing a single hit with over forty energy beams.

"How do you do that?!" Faye marvelled, watching her in fascination. "It's no wonder the Kirrix can't hit you... I haven't got a clue what you're going to do next!"

Jade flashed her a grin and shrugged. "I just do whatever feels right. It's like hunting an apex predator... you keep them off-balance until it's time to strike!"

She smiled in satisfaction as Calara returned fire, the 16 Tachyon Lances from the topdeck slicing the first drone carrier in half. The Nymph pulled the flightstick back then directly to the left, pushing the battlecruiser into a fast roll that brought the 24 Tachyon Lances on the underbelly to bear. Anticipating the death-roll, Calara had already picked out two more drone carriers for execution, splitting her gun batteries between them. For a split-second the Invictus was connected to each ship by 14 brilliant columns of light, until their shields overloaded and she filleted the enemy capital ships, energy beams carving them up into ruined hulks.

Faye sighed in frustration, knowing that she'd never be able to fly by instinct like the Nymph. The best way she could emulate Jade's wild unpredictability would be to modify her piloting algorithms, perhaps selecting her manoeuvres purely by random rather than by choice. She imagined the kind of piloting disasters that might result in and shuddered at the thought, quickly dismissing it. Faye knew that Jade wasn't flying completely at random, she was skilfully misdirecting her opponents, but it was astonishing that she could do it without much conscious thought.

With Calara manning most of the guns and Jade showcasing her exceptional piloting, Faye was left without much to do. Her avatars were all occupied, with Secondary flying the Raptor, Tertiary acting as her gunner, leaving Quaternary through to Duo-denary manning the Pulse Cannons and shredding any drone fighters that came in range. That left Faye Primary at a bit of a loose end and she meandered over to the IntOps station to see how Irillith was progressing. The Maliri hacker stared intently at a bank of holo screens, her angular eyes shining with a fierce violet light.

"Have you had any luck breaking through yet, Creator?" Faye enquired politely as she leaned against the console.

"Not yet..." Irillith murmured, sounding eerily distracted. "But I'm trying another psychically assisted hack like I did with the Vulkat archive."

"Thinking like a Kirrix?" Faye asked, her curiosity piqued.

"Pretty much... except for the rape and murder part," the Maliri replied, her brow furrowed in concentration. "They seem to use six-sided shapes a lot inside their ships, so I'm thinking the solution is hex-based... The Kirrix work as a Hive Mind too, although I'm not sure how relevant that might be..."

The purple sprite waited patiently for any signs of a breakthrough, glancing back at the holographic depiction of the battle that floated in the centre of the Bridge to see how it was progressing. Between the Invictus and the Valkyrie, the Kirrix drone carriers were being systematically annihilated, unable to withstand the ferocious power of the Tachyon Lances. Meanwhile, John and Alyssa were working their way along the Hive ships, knocking out their engines and leaving them marooned in space.

Turning back to Irillith, she tentatively offered, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Irillith shook her head, her frustration quite clear. "Afraid not. I'm struggling to even make any kind of data connection. It's worse than the Vulkat archives... at least I was able to view their data and try to decipher a way of interpreting their system. With the Kirrix, it's like there's no digital network there!"

"Maybe there isn't?" Faye suggested, lost in thought. "Or at least not in the way we would expect. Perhaps they use some kind of organic computing?"

The Maliri turned away from the screens to give Faye her full focus. "Yes... that might explain it. So how would the Kirrix setup their computers in the first place? Psychically?"

"Are the drones powerful enough for that?" Faye asked, looking dubious.

Irillith shook her head. "Perhaps just the higher-tier Kirrix interact directly with their computers? We know the Hive Lords and Broodmothers are both psychic..." She glanced back at her holo-screens and chose one of the Hive ships at random. "Let me just try something..."

***

Zelkrixa watched the battle through her children with mounting dread, unable to look away from the horrifying spectacle of two mighty drone carriers being dragged to their destruction. Retro-thrusters blazed along their flanks as they frantically turned, desperate to use their full engines to escape the freakish gravity anomaly that had just appeared before them. By the time they were fully rotated and flying at maximum thrust, they were far too close to evade its powerful gravitational clutches.

The engines were the first part of those vessels to make contact and they buckled and cracked with the impact, going still as the grave and accelerating the capital ship's demise. Breaking and twisting in their death throes, the huge hulls were soon little more than a crumpled outer layer to the sinister ball of ochre metal, which glimmered with a macabre light that seemed to hunger for more blood. The appalling death toll left Zelkrixa stunned, as she knew that 10,000 drones crewed each vessel. What was even more shocking was that most of the drone carrier entourage had already been destroyed by that malevolent white ship, leaving only three vessels out of the original twelve.

She had no time to grieve however, as she was too busy directing her drones into making evasive manoeuvres. Continuing with their existing course would just result in sharing the fate of those mangled drone carriers, but at the same time, Hive ships were being quickly incapacitated behind her. She ordered her children to make an abrupt turn to port and scatter from the rest of their besieged fleet.

Her crew shut down the port and central engines, while ramping up power to the starboard one, assisting the retro-thrusters and accelerating the turn. As soon as they were facing away from the battered Kirrix fleet, power was ramped up to full and the Hive ship made a run for safety. Zelkrixa was just daring to breathe a sigh of relief when she received a flurry of bizarre messages from her drones... It seemed that doors throughout the vessel were acting bizarrely, opening and closing without being prompted to do so. There were a whole catalogue of other reported issues, with systems randomly deactivating before powering up again.

Zelkrixa reached out to the living core that controlled the systems of the Fertile Dream, in a hurry to investigate what was wrong. Her Hive ship had served her faithfully for decades without so much as a single problem, so this sudden series of glitches was greatly disturbing. She initiated psychic contact and was expecting to be met with the usual helpful eagerness to assist, but instead sensed a profound state of bewilderment.

*What is wrong?* she demanded, her voice sharp with alarm. *Why are you operating systems without instruction?*

*I serve, as I have always done...* the Fertile Dream replied, sounding even more confused.

*I did not ask you to perform those orders!* Zelkrixa exclaimed in panic.

Then Zelkrixa froze... sensing another presence there, something malignant and disturbingly alien.

*No, but I did...* Irillith said with a wicked smile. *This is a fascinating construct. I just needed to figure out how it works, so I could do this...*

Zelkrixa yanked her mind out of the ship, quivering with terror as she realised some insidious servant of the Progenitor beasts had infiltrated her Hive ship. She stared in shock as doors throughout the vessel slammed open, all except those that led into the nest and impregnation chamber. Then the outer hull doors began to lift and she screeched in horrified disbelief as the atmospheric shielding was deactivated. Her entire crew was then sucked through corridors and forcibly blasted out of the Hive ship. She could only watch helplessly as her choking children asphyxiated in the freezing vacuum of space, each death marked by their sudden painful disappearance from her mind.

Shrieking with grief, Zelkrixa's mind threatened to break under the strain of losing her entire brood that she'd spent a lifetime tending. Over 13000 of her precious children were gone in less than five minutes...

***

*That's the last of them,* Alyssa said cheerfully, as John's psychic arc battered the rear of the hive ship, disabling its engines. *Sakura just gunned down the final drone carrier and we've swept the battlefield clear of strikecraft.*

He lowered his sword and spotted a broad door opening in the side of the hive ship, shortly followed by a macabre plume of thrashing insectoids. *Has Irillith vented all the crews?*

*All except the Broodmothers and Hive Lords,* she quickly replied. *She could have taken out the Broodmothers as well, but I'd like to have a little chat with one while we're evacuating the prisoners. I want to try to save the colonists on Menganus IV, Karron, and Valia Gate...*

*What're you planning?* John asked, watching the Kirrix drones go still.

He leaned out of the airlock and glanced each way, nodding with satisfaction as he saw no signs of movement in what was left of the marooned Kirrix fleet. Hive ships hung motionless in space, the forlorn ochre vessels surrounded by debris, which was all that remained of their propulsion systems.

Alyssa placed her hand on his shoulder, letting him know she was there. *Another bluff.*

He turned to face her and raised an eyebrow. "You're not seriously considering trying to contact the Hive Mind again are you? Don't you remember what they did to you last time?"

She pulled off her helmet and nodded, her expression grim. "No, I haven't forgotten by a long shot. But we're talking about the lives of 40,000 people... I've got to do something."

"Do you want to tell me about it, or is this another one of your surprises?" John asked, his frown making his opinion on the latter quite clear.

She looked him in the eyes. "I need your opinion on this one. I want to try to make a deal with the Kirrix, but I want to make sure you agree on the terms..."

"Why don't you tell me about it on the way to the first hive ship?" he suggested, sealing the airlock door behind him.

Alyssa nodded, then stifled a yawn. "Sure. Faye's taking us there now."

John studied her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Just a bit tired," she replied with a shrug. "I used tons of energy this morning in the fight with the Hive Queen, then Dana needed loads more to make her gravity well."

His expression grew troubled as he said, "If you're thinking about speaking to the Hive Mind, you'll need to be sharp... just in case they try anything again."

Alyssa hesitated for a moment then nodded reluctantly. "You're right. I don't want to be doing this tired..."

"Go get some rest, honey," he said, giving her a sympathetic smile. "We've got a dozen hive ships to board... It'll take us hours to disembark all those colonists to the Invictus."

When he pulled off his helmet, she leaned in to kiss him. "Okay, I'll go have a nap. When I wake up again, I'll tell you all the details..."

***

Admiral Nathan Zelig studied the initial reports from the medical teams on Carolus III, his mouth set in a grim frown. While it was true that the Lion had miraculously scoured the system of Kirrix forces, unfortunately the rescue had come too late for many colonists. The medics reported the deaths of thousands of children and elderly citizens, all of whom had been deemed too small or too weak to serve as hosts by their cruel and sadistic captors.

The comms interface chimed, interrupting his reading of the bleak casualty reports. It was an incoming call from Admiral John Blake, so Zelig quickly swiped his hand across to accept it. "It's good to see you again, John," he said courteously.

"Likewise, Nathan," John replied, giving him a friendly smile. "I just wanted to give you a status update to keep you informed. We hit the Kirrix fleet as they were evacuating Brecken's World and managed to catch them still in the Eta Piscium system before they could jump out. We're about to start boarding actions to rescue all the colonists, then we'll start treatment of the infested and return them to their homeworld."

"That's excellent news!" Zelig exclaimed, feeling a surge of relief. "I probably shouldn't be surprised after the miracle you performed on Carolus III, but that's great to hear."

"You're still several hours from Tasmaris Prime aren't you?" John asked, leaning back in the pilot's chair aboard the Raptor.

Zelig nodded, glancing at the Sector Map floating above his desk. "We're currently following the intercept course Alyssa provided... I must say, my navigator was astonished when he saw the flight path she created."

John laughed, his smile infectious. "I remember that feeling! I trained her myself, but she soon made me look like a bumbling amateur." He glanced off-screen, then focused on the admiral again. "We're just about to dock with a hive ship, so I better go. Good luck in the battle, Nathan. I hope you don't need it."

"Wait, John!" Zelig blurted out, raising a hand to stop him ending the call. "I need to talk to you about Carolus III."

Looking concerned, John asked, "Is everything okay? The medical teams didn't get ambushed by Kirrix did they?"

"No, you did a thorough job... the marines providing security haven't reported contact with a single surviving Kirrix trooper," Zelig quickly replied. He looked despondent as he continued, "I just wanted to forewarn you about the Brecken's World colonists..."

John frowned in confusion. "Warn me about what?"

"My medical teams have reported an epidemic of suicides on Carolus III..." Zelig replied, his voice as sombre as his expression.

John's face fell and he slowly shook his head. "But they're safe now... Why would they do that?"

"My medical teams believe that a few were because they couldn't handle the shame and humiliation." He let out a heavy sigh. "But most of them are parents, John. They can't cope with what happened to their children..."

"I can't even imagine how horrific that must be..." John said softly, gazing off into the distance. "Those poor people..."

"According to the medics, they're suffering from a deadly combination of grief and survivor's guilt," Zelig said, glancing at the report. "We've been trying to identify all the parents, so we can keep a close eye on them and help with grief counselling."

"I should have thought of that," John said, slumping in his chair. "I saw how devastated the survivors were..."

Zelig gave him a sympathetic look. "Don't blame yourself for this, John. If it wasn't for you, all those colonists would have died. You saved hundreds-of-thousands of people and helped them as much as you could. I just wanted to give you adequate warning so you can take the appropriate steps with the Brecken's World colonists."

John sighed then nodded in gratitude. "I appreciate it, Nathan. Thanks for letting me know."

"You're welcome," Zelig said, ending the call with a respectful salute.

Returning it, John watched as the admiral's face disappeared in a scattering of pixels, quickly replaced by the winged sword icon of the Terran Federation.

***

Navigator Cadimus turned in his seat to stare at the commander of the Ashanath cruiser. *Leader, we are picking up multiple contacts on our long-range sensors. They are approaching from Maliri Space.*

Leader Linnaeus gazed at the holographic Sector Map, feeling a flood of relief as he watched the incoming fleet. *Hail them as soon as we are in range to do so,* he instructed the young Ashanath officer.

Engineer Batiri's huge black eyes were transfixed by the host of contacts and she sounded ambivalent as she said, *The Maliri seem to have improved their mastery of hyper-warp drives. Their fleet is travelling at a speed only achievable by our most sophisticated devices.*

*We are truly fortunate that they are allies then,* Leader Linnaeus stated without recrimination. *With the Maliri to help protect us, we can focus on refitting our own fleets. You must be aware of the new technology gifted to us by JohnBlake?*

Batiri inclined her head to him respectfully. *Forgive me, Leader. I thought only with respect to the preservation of our technical edge in aspects of hyper-warp travel. It seems that I must adjust my thinking to take into account our dramatic change in circumstances.*

*Beware a closed mind, for it shuts away new ideas,* Linnaeus said, quoting a well-known Ashanath expression. *But there is no forgiveness needed Batiri; we are experiencing an unprecedented shift in the status quo, with new alliances enabling many unique opportunities. We must all undergo a period of adjustment before we become accustomed to this new state of affairs.*

*We are being hailed,* Cadimus announced, his spindly grey hand hovering over the holo-interface. *Should I connect the call, Leader?*

*At once, Cadimus, at once!* Linnaeus declared, shifting in his seat.

The holo-screen shifted to display twin curved blades, which were quickly replaced by a figure in a resplendent suit of golden armour, complete with a dazzling array of glittering jewels. Linnaeus had once been assigned to escort a diplomat to Geniya Trading Post, so he was familiar with the Maliri's fondness for ostentatious battlesuits. The Maliri he encountered in Geniya had all worn androgynous armour, but there was no mistaking that this Maliri was female, even if her features were hidden from view.

Linnaeus stared in wonder at the spectacular curves of her breastplate, trying to calculate the impressive circumference of those glorious orbs. He had only once before seen such perfection... on the resplendent females that accompanied JohnBlake. Managing to tear his eyes from the Maliri leader, he saw that the other crewmembers visible on the screen were also female, with the magnificent curves that entailed.

"I am Leader Linnaeus of the Ashanath Navy Border Force," he murmured, his speech computer reproducing his voice as an awed whisper. "Welcome to the Ashanath Collective, revered guests."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Leader Linnaeus," the Maliri replied, her tone one of slight amusement. "I am Fleet Commander Amlaril of House Valaden. I believe we are to be working very closely with each other for the foreseeable future..."

"Please proceed directly to Ashana, Fleet Commander Amlaril," he said politely bowing his head. "Preparations have already been made to begin the upgrades to your vessels. The refit will commence at your convenience."

Amlaril sounded delighted as she replied, "That is a surprise, but a very pleasant one. We're also carrying substantial cargoes of ore to assist with the upgrades; I assume you'd like those delivered directly to Ashana?"

"That would be ideal, thank you," Linnaeus replied, trying not to let himself get too distracted. It was extremely difficult though... he could only imagine how those spectacular globes might look without the armour.

The Maliri Fleet Commander glanced at a subordinate, who quietly informed her that they would arrive at the Ashanath homeworld in eight hours. Turning back to the patrol leader, she smiled as she said, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Linnaeus. Thank you for the warm welcome to the Ashanath Collective."

Linnaeus blinked several times. "The pleasure was all mine."

They ended the call and Linnaeus slumped back in his Command Chair.

*Oh, my goodness!* Navigator Cadimus gasped, turning to look at him in amazement, his eyelids fluttering rapidly.

*I know... she was magnificent,* Leader Linnaeus agreed, a faraway look in his eyes.

Engineer Batiri glanced down at her own tiny chest and let out a wistful sigh. *If only...*

Linnaeus turned to look at her, his expression sombre. *Such endowments would make you absurdly popular, but your mere presence would destroy all productivity aboard the ship. Could you live with yourself if you were such a debilitating influence?*

*You are wise indeed, Linnaeus. If I looked like Fleet Commander Amlaril, one glance at the mirror in the morning would render me utterly ineffective for the entire day.* Batiri's small mouth lifted into a smile. *But what a day that would be!*

The Ashanath laughed and Linnaeus smiled affectionately at the earnest engineer.

***

John watched as hundreds more colonists filed into the Invictus' massive Primary Hangar, joining the thousands they'd already rescued from immobilised hive ships. Many of the civilians were infested with Kirrix eggs, their faces reflecting the shock and trauma they'd experienced since their capture. Dana and Calara stood by the entrance to the hangar, greeting the freed prisoners with friendly smiles as they looked for any wounds. Those that had also been shot by the invaders were guided over to Rachel's temporary triage centre, where she was using her psychic abilities to heal the worst of the injured.

Following Rachel's directions, one of the infested colonists walked in a daze from the triage area, staring in shock at his miraculously healed arm. John watched the man pause and look suspiciously at one of the treatment tables, wary eyes flicking to the grinning maintenance robot standing beside it. Knowing how disconcerting the floating bots could be, John walked over to reassure the unsettled civilian.

"This'll all be over soon. Just hop on here and we can get started," he said, giving the colonist a sympathetic smile. Glancing up at the Sonic Cannon that loomed overhead, he continued, "I promise it won't hurt a bit. We'll use that to destroy those eggs and you'll be absolutely fine."

The man was older, mid-sixties if John had to guess, and he gripped his gauntleted hand with surprising strength as John helped him onto the treatment table. "God bless you, son. I won't ever forget what you've done for me."

John swallowed hard and said gruffly, "Just doing my part, Sir. If you'll excuse me, I need to help evacuate the rest of the prisoners."

The colonist nodded to him gratefully, then lay back on the treatment table as Rachel hurried over. "Hello there. My name's Doctor Voss and I'm overseeing treatment for all patients today." She turned and patted the maintenance bot on the arm. "Please forgive my trusty assistant's terrifying smile. He means well."

Looking up at the bot's rictus grin, the man smiled and nodded. "That's a relief."

Seeing that the man was in good hands, John turned and quickly walked away, aware that the brunette's grey eyes were watching him with concern. It was easy to spot the rest of the girls in their white Paragon armour and he saw them all glance in his direction, no mistaking the worry on their faces. Not wanting to disturb them any further, he headed purposefully towards the Secondary Hangar.

"Are you alright, John?" Jade asked gently, falling into step beside him.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." he muttered, striding across the deck and acknowledging the grateful crowds of colonists with distracted nods.

The Nymph hesitated, knowing that he really wasn't. Realising that he didn't want to talk about it, she decided to change tack. "Is it alright if my sisters help out here? I'm sure they'd prove to be a helpful distraction for the colonists while those people are being treated."

"Sure, that's a nice idea," John agreed after giving it a moment's thought. "As long as you're sure they won't get upset."

"I'm quite certain they won't suffer any distress. They aren't... sophisticated enough... to feel that level of empathy yet," Jade assured him. She glanced up at John and smiled. "I'm assuming clothing isn't optional?"

He actually had to stifle a laugh. "Just how distracting were you hoping they'd be?"

"Perhaps not quite that much," she replied with a playful wink.

John came to a halt and brushed his fingers against her cheek. "Thanks for making me laugh... I needed it."

"Talk to Edraele..." she suggested, nuzzling into his gauntlet. Then before he could reply, she turned and left, her luscious figure drawing many an admiring glance as she flounced across the hangar.

*I didn't want to join a procession of concerned women pestering you to see what was wrong,* Edraele murmured, her voice sympathetic. *I'm well aware of the level of trust you show me in letting me listen to your thoughts, so I didn't want to abuse it... but of course I'm happy to listen if you want to talk.*

John glanced across the temporary umbilical that linked the Invictus to the hive ship. *The colonists...*

*Are being well taken care of,* she assured him. *You've had an intense morning, John. Even superhumans are allowed to take a break sometimes.*

He hesitated, then walked towards the double doors leading to the Cargo Bay. *Alright, just five minutes.*

Hitting the button, he strode into the huge deserted room, pulling off his Paragon helmet and running his fingers through his hair. He placed it on top of an ore crate, propped his sword against the container, then sat down with a heavy sigh. Edraele stayed quiet, letting him order his thoughts without any prompting.

*My grandfather never called me 'son',* John finally said, gazing into the distance. *It wasn't done out of malice, I think he just didn't want to be presumptuous.* He laughed and shook his head. *As if I'd begrudge the man something like that after everything he did for me.*

*Did that colonist remind you of your grandfather?* Edraele asked softly, already knowing the answer.

*No,* John replied with a sad smile. *But if my actual father was Terran, he would've been about the same age... When he called me 'son', it felt like a hammer blow to the chest.* Shaking his head, he continued, *I don't understand why I'm still so desperate to find out about my mother and father... it's like I need to know. They took no interest in me for the last forty years and my obsession with finding out about my parents feels like I'm betraying my grandparents' memory. They were there for me... they actually cared...*

*You're close to Kirrix Space,* Edraele reminded him. *Your thoughts turned to your parents the last time you were near the border. We're often reflections of our parents' personalities and traits, so I'd imagine it's only natural to have questions when you know so little about them.*

He nodded as he mulled that over. *What were your parents like Edraele?*

*I know you're not comfortable talking about yourself, but that has to be a new record before you steered the conversation onto me,* she replied fondly, sending him an indulgent telepathic smile.

John blushed and chose not to reply, knowing she could hear everything anyway.

*My mother was a gifted psychic, her natural affinity for fire making her a powerful pyrokinetic,* Edraele said, lost in thought. *But as you know, the Valaden bloodline is a double-edged sword; it gives the gift of psychic powers and the curse of an agonising tumour. Falihna abused her powers on a daily basis, until the pain got too much for her to bear and she killed herself to escape the agony.*

*What was she like as a parent though?* he asked curiously.

*She liked to burn people to death, John,* Edraele replied, her tone grim. *'Sharing the pain', she liked to call it, but in reality she was just a sadistic monster. I was simply fortunate that she never turned her malignant gaze towards me for her entertainment. Ityria did not share my luck. I don't even remember why Falihna incinerated my eldest sister, but she made us all watch while she did it...*

*My god...* John muttered, appalled at the barbarity.

*I suppose it's no wonder I turned out the way I did,* she mused, quietly introspective. *Well, my predecessor at least.*

*What about your father?* he asked, shaking his head. *How could he allow something like that to happen?*

*I believe his name was Hydan, but I never met him. Considering my mother's temperament, it's not surprising he never left the border stations to visit us on Valaden,* Edraele replied, a hint of sadness to her voice. *He sired all five of my sisters as well, which is quite rare amongst Maliri noble couplings, so perhaps there's some truth in that old Terran saying...*

John frowned. *What saying is that?*

*The crazy ones are the best lovers...* she replied airily.

He burst out laughing and shook his head. *You're bad... I can't believe you're joking about that.*

She blew him a kiss. *It was worth it, just to hear you laugh.*

*Thanks, Edraele, I do feel better after talking to you,* John admitted as he rose from his seat.

*I know you're thinking about taking a detour to Arcadia,* she said, turning serious. *Don't be surprised if you end up thinking more about your parents if you do decide to go. I think you're close to the answers you've been seeking... and that's going to dredge up those old feelings.*

*Resentment at being abandoned, worrying what I did to make them cast me aside, scared that I didn't live up to their expectations... those kinds of feelings?* John asked, clenching his jaw in anger.

*Those are the ones,* she agreed, full of sympathy. *I wish I could be there to support you through this, John. If you decide to return to Maliri Space first, I'll gladly accompany you to Arcadia.*

He was reaching for his Paragon helmet and paused, touched by her sincerity. *You're always there supporting me, Edraele. But thank you, I really appreciate it.*

*It's always a pleasure to be able to give a little back,* she said quietly. *You do so much for all the girls on that ship, but you're always reluctant to lean on them for support. All of them would gladly listen to your problems and help you work through them. You should never feel like you need to bear your burdens alone.*

John ran his fingers over the golden edging to his Paragon helmet. *They've all been through so much, Edraele. I hate the idea of falling apart in front of them, because I want them to feel like I'm always there for them to rely on. The last thing I want is for the girls to start feeling insecure.*

*I understand that, but they're much stronger than you think,* she gently reminded him.

He sheathed his sword across his back and scooped up his helmet. *I'll remember that next time,* he conceded. *Thanks for the chat, it's always enjoyable speaking with you.*

Edraele smiled and said with a playful lilt, *Always your humble servant, My Lord.*

Trying not to dwell on all the wonderful things he longed to do with his humble servant, John strode from the Cargo Bay back into the Secondary Hangar. The Raptor was parked there and he walked up the ramp and into the forward loading area, then took the grav-tube to the upper level. Quietly opening the door to the cabin at the rear, he peeked inside and saw a trail of Paragon armour plates scattered across the floor. They led to Alyssa curled up fast asleep on the bed, her face obscured by a veil of golden hair.

His blonde matriarch had been sleeping for the last several hours, regaining her strength after the unprecedented expenditure of psychic energy that morning. He couldn't resist brushing her hair away from her face so that he could see her beautiful features and uncovered a serene smile on her full lips. "Only eighteen-years-old, but already the most powerful woman in the galaxy," he pondered to himself, gazing down at the sleeping teenager. Alyssa had been through more combat in six months than a whole battalion of marines, yet it all rolled off her like water off a duck's back. He still hadn't quite decided whether that was a good or bad thing.

"Your head's full of busy thoughts today," she purred, opening those enchanting cerulean eyes and stretching like a cat.

"Yeah, a lot on my mind at the moment," he agreed, brushing his armoured fingers through her hair.

She glanced at his gauntlet and smiled. "I appreciate the thought, but it feels much nicer when it's just your fingers, not deca-shaped Crystal Alyssium..."

He pulled his hand back and frowned. "Sorry, I didn't realise it was unpleasant."

Alyssa quickly straddled his lap and crossed her wrists behind his neck. "I didn't say it was unpleasant." She leaned in and gave him a tender kiss. "I was just saying that I like skin-to-skin a lot more..."

"Funnily enough, so do I," he agreed with a smile, placing his hands on her hips. "But I didn't want to strip out of this armour just to put it back on again. You've been asleep for nearly four hours and we've evacuated eight of the twelve hive ships. If you're feeling rested enough, I wondered if you still wanted to attempt to contact the Hive Mind?"

She nodded eagerly. "I feel so much better after a rest!" Holding her slender hand in front of her, she flexed it, then clenched her fingers into a fist. "I'm feeling stronger, John. I've been pushing myself hard today... it's paying off."

He studied her determined expression and nodded. "I can see the difference." Gently stroking her back, he continued, "So what's your plan? How are you going to speak to the Hive Mind without a Hive Queen there?"

Alyssa gave him a grim smile. "There's no guarantees, but if the Hive Mind can contact the lower-tier creatures and they can respond, I don't see why I can't. It'll be just like making a reverse charge holo-call." Her smile turned wicked. "I just won't give them the option to decline the call..."

***

The tracks on the Kirrix cart made a quiet whirring noise as it drove along the tarmac, the sound oddly hypnotic as it rumbled towards the starport. Kelli had been forced to stop several times to make detours around the burnt-out wrecks that littered the streets, so it was a relief to be able to drive uninterrupted for a few minutes. They weren't travelling too fast, with the vehicle's top speed no more than 10 mph, but it was considerably easier than walking, especially in their bedraggled state.

"You guys alright back there?" Kelli called over her shoulder.

"I'm okay, but Perl's still out," Tony replied, looking at the blonde with concern.

Kelli glanced back at her ghostly-pale friend. "We just have to get her to the medical centre... then she'll be fine."

Tony frowned, not so sure he agreed, but he saw no point in dashing the brunette's hopes. Perl had lost her arm at the elbow and he guessed that at the very least, she needed surgery on that ragged stump and a trained doctor to take proper care of her.

"Which way now, Tony?" Kelli asked when they reached a junction, one tunnel heading up, the other staying level.

"Go up," he replied, looking at her askance as she made the turn. "How come you don't know where the starport is?"

She caught the look and shrugged. "It's not like anyone ever let me wander around. Pitbull had me and Perl locked up for the last couple of years, then before that I was kept at Madame Trixie's House of Pleasure."

"What about before that?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.

"My mom was a whore working for Madame Trixie. When girls fuck for a living, sometimes accidents happen and they get knocked up... and sometimes it's not an accident," she replied with a shrug. "I grew up there, same as Perl. It wasn't a bad childhood; Madame Trixie fed us, kept us clean, and made sure we stayed out of trouble."

Thinking back to his hard times as a kid on the streets, he nodded. "That sounds alright. Nice of her to look out for you like that."

Kelli looked at him with sadness in her eyes. "She did it so we'd be worth more when she finally put us to work. Some guys pay a lot of credits to pop a girl's cherry..."

"Jesus..." Tony muttered, shaking his head.

"I grew up around people fucking all day. I've never known anything different," she said with a resigned shrug. "I guess it could've been worse... at least the House of Pleasure was a high-end cathouse."

He stroked her back, feeling a surge of sympathy for the young woman. The thought of Kelli being groomed from birth to be a high-class whore filled him with a surprising sense of outrage. He'd seen and done some pretty messed up shit in his time, but that was taking things to a whole new level of cold-blooded cynicism.

"Tony... look!" Kelli gasped, pointing towards the open plaza ahead.

They were nearing the entrance to the starport and there'd obviously been an attempt made by the security teams to repel the Kirrix when they invaded. The buildings here were sprayed with impact craters from bullet holes and neutron bolts, with several battered armoured cars left abandoned in the street. It looked like the defenders had used grenades to try to stop the assault, with the entrance to the starport partially demolished by explosives.

As he looked around, Tony's heart sank. "Ah, for fuck's sake..."

"What's the matter?" she asked, alarmed by his despondent tone.

He pointed across the street to a row of burned-out shops, the symbol of a caduceus just about visible on the blackened shell of one of the buildings. "That was the medical centre..."

"Oh, Tony... no..." Kelli whispered, staring in horror at the incinerated facility. Her eyes welled up as her hopes were dashed. "What are we going to do?! Perl... we can't save her!"

Tony tried to ignore the heartbreaking sound of Kelli weeping and rubbed his head. "Think dammit..." he muttered, his brow furrowed in concentration. He suddenly jerked his head up and blurted out, "The clinic!"

Kelli looked at him mournfully, tears rolling down her cheeks. "I don't understand? It burned up..."

"No, that was the medical centre! There's a smaller place... a clinic over in the red-light district!"

The brunette stared at him, her face lighting up with hope. "You reckon they've got what we need to save Perl?"

Tony nodded and gave her a self-conscious grin. "I went there years ago after I screwed this really nasty bitch; felt like I was pissin' razor blades... Anyway, they'll have antibiotics and shit there for sure!"

She managed a choked laugh and wiped her eyes. "Alright, how do we get there from here?"

He pointed to a tunnel off to the right. "Head that way... you can't miss it."

***

Admiral Nathan Zelig strode onto the Bridge of the battleship Porphyrion and took his seat at the Command Chair. "Status report, Commodore Mikhailov," he ordered, as he initialised the holographic fleet interface.

"Kirrix fleet sighted, Admiral. Their current position and flight vector are exactly as predicted!" Mikhailov replied, sounding quite astonished. "On our current intercept course, there's no possible way they can avoid an interdiction."

"Excellent, thank you." Zelig nodded as he examined his fleet's formation. Ten battleships formed the vanguard, supported by a phalanx of fifty cruisers, four heavy carriers, and a host of destroyers. He tapped on the icon to initiate a fleet-wide broadcast. "Attention all hands, this is Admiral Zelig. Be advised that we will be engaging the Kirrix fleet imminently. Focus fire on the drone carriers and avoid hitting the hive ships at all costs... there's at least 50,000 Tasmaris Prime citizens held aboard those vessels. Once the escorts are down, we'll cripple the hive ships and rescue the colonists."

The holographic display lit up with green icons as the captains of each ship acknowledged his orders.

His fingers swept over the fleet interface, selecting squadrons of cruisers on the flanks of his formations. He dragged them out into an arc on both sides of the display, forming a broad semi-circle. "Adjust course to leave hyper-warp at those coordinates," he instructed the highlighted cruisers. "Drop Interdiction beacons then protect them from strike craft assault."

He saw his orders acknowledged in a flurry of green and he turned back to the Sector Map to watch the Kirrix fleet. The invaders were following a very safe course that gave adjacent systems a wide berth, so as to avoid the potentially hazardous effect of any gravity wells. That was quite unlike the flight path his fleet had been following, with Alyssa's course bringing them perilously close to the outer edge of each system, taking advantage of the gravitational forces to slingshot them to startlingly fast hyper-warp speeds.

His ships cruised around the periphery of the Sigma Octantis system, then raced towards the slower moving Kirrix forces. They appeared as a mass of sensor contacts on the long-range sensors, still too far away to discern the exact composition of their fleet. The swarm of red circles attempted to alter course to evade their pursuers, but the Terran forces were attacking from directly in front and the rate at which they were closing left the Kirrix no time to escape.

The minutes ticked down as his fleet charged towards the Kirrix, looking like a pod of dolphins hunting a shoal of herring. There was a momentary lurch and the Porphyrion dropped out of hyper-warp, in the centre of a 3-4-3 wall formation with the rest of the battleships. Appearing behind them in a broad crescent were the cruiser squadrons, slightly set back from the much larger capital ships, to let them take the brunt of the incoming fire. Zelig watched the cruisers on the outer edge of the formation deploy the interdiction beacons, icons glowing orange on the Tactical Map to alert him that they were primed and ready.

He glanced at the Kirrix fleet who were barrelling headlong into their trap. "Activate interdictors!" he ordered over the fleet interface.

The icons turned red as the gravity wells were activated, dragging the entire Kirrix fleet out of hyperwarp as their collision alert fail-safes were triggered. Zelig's expression tightened as he saw the sheer size of the force opposing him. Fourteen drone carriers were arrayed in a V-shaped formation around a similar number of hive ships in the centre. Unfortunately for the Kirrix, that meant that their three leading vessels were squaring off against all ten Terran battleships.

"All ships open fire!" Zelig called out, gripping the armrests of his Command Chair.

A storm of beams lashed out, hitting the trio of drone carriers as they desperately tried to deploy their squadrons of strike craft. Their shields rippled violently as they were blasted by scores of bright orange columns, quickly joined by a blistering salvo of beams from the cruisers. The defensive fields survived for a couple of seconds before flickering out, unable to withstand any more punishment.

Zelig stared intently at the Tactical Map, watching as his fleet seemed to blaze into life, fiery blasts from the Heavy Cannons launching a barrage of high-explosive shells at the Kirrix carriers. They streaked across the gap between the forces and slammed into ochre armoured plates, the rounds punching through the armour and detonating inside the ugly insectoid vessels. The drone carriers seem to balloon outwards under that onslaught, a rippling series of explosions obliterating the hull plating and leaving the huge craft horribly vulnerable.

The fusillade of shells was relentless, the trio of Kirrix capital ships surrounded in a dense cloud of debris from their pulverised hulls. By the time the Terran Beam Lasers had cooled and were ready to fire again, the enemy vessels had been almost completely denuded of armour, the surface of their ships now a hideous patchwork of blackened craters. The second energy weapon fusillade was devastating, amber beams coring glowing holes through the exposed superstructure and depressurising deck after deck. Kirrix crew were hurled out of those rents in the hull, while internal explosions rocked each vessel.

With the staggering weight of fire pounding into those ships, it was inevitable that shells and beams would hit vulnerable areas. A shell penetrated deep inside the central carrier, the subsequent detonation making the vessel shudder as if in horror, before the power core ruptured and ripped the vessel apart in a thunderous explosion. The blast enveloped the launching waves of drone fighters, immolating them in the fiery supernova and leaving no survivors.

Zelig watched the other two lead carriers meet similar ignoble fates, blown to pieces by the vengeful wrath of the Terran forces. He double-tapped the next drone carrier in the formation, selecting it as a target for his wall of battleships. "Missile strike on my target!"

The Porphyrion's launching tubes along the spine of the battleships swung about, dozens of open barrels aiming at the distant Kirrix capital ship. Missiles screamed out of their tubes, trailing billowing plumes as they joined the vast swarm of ordnance descending on the targeted carrier. The doomed ship opened up with its defence grid of neutron guns, sending a hail of green bolts at the incoming missiles and blasting dozens of them as they corkscrewed closer. However, there was no way it could bring down a missile strike of that magnitude and hundreds more streaked unopposed through the Kirrix shields.

The bow of the carrier was obscured from sight by rippling blasts, as missile after missile struck the hull, punching ever deeper inside. By the time the onslaught abated, the front half of the carrier had been completely obliterated, 1600 metres of ochre hull reduced to little more than a charred hulk. Power regulators had all been destroyed, rendering the lifeless ship completely inert.

Zelig nodded with satisfaction as the fourth Kirrix drone carrier was eliminated, all without the Terran forces losing a single ship. With ten enemy capital ships remaining, they now matched the number of Terran battleships, greatly evening the odds for the upcoming battle. He would have been loathe to initiate a major engagement if that was all the ships he had at his disposal, but Zelig also had a considerable force of cruisers to bring to bear, while the Kirrix hive ships were now attempting to flee the battle.

He watched as waves of rapier fighters moved into position in the Terran lines, awaiting the incoming swarms of drone craft under the protective eye of the fleet's defence grid gunners. When the tiny Kirrix fighters were met by the opening bursts of Gatling Laser fire, the rapiers rushed to intercept them, their engines burning bright as they closed the distance

"Forward at half-speed," Zelig ordered the rest of his fleet. "Fire at will!"

***

John clicked the vambrace into place and looked Alyssa in the eye. "Alright, all set."

She pressed the button in her gauntlet and there was a rapid series of clicks as the armour locked into place. "Thanks for the help. Putting that on by myself would have been a huge pain in the ass."

"Maybe just use one of the equipping frames next time?" he suggested with a smile, leaning in to give her a kiss.

Alyssa returned it then nodded. "We'll have to get a couple installed in the Raptor's armoury. I'll have a chat with Sparks and ask her to set them up."

They left the cabin together and walked through to the Raptor's cockpit.

"Faye?" John called out, knowing she'd be watching them.

"Hey!" she replied a second later, appearing in a purple flash.

He greeted her with a smile. "How's the boarding operation going?"

"We've docked with the ninth hive ship!" she cheerfully replied. "Irillith vented the crew and Sakura just executed the Hive Lord, so the girls have started bringing the prisoners aboard the Invictus."

"How many colonists so far?" he asked, nodding his approval.

"36,548," she replied without a moment's pause. "Approximately 60% are infested with Kirrix eggs, so assuming similar numbers from the last three hive ships, it'll take us a full day to treat them all."

John hesitated, a shadow falling across his face. "I assume you heard my conversation with Admiral Zelig?"

Faye nodded, looking up at him with her big luminous eyes. "I'll do whatever I can to stop that happening here, I promise."

"Any idea how many of them lost children?" he asked quietly.

Faye's expression was sombre as she shook her head. "Many of the colonists are deeply traumatised after being violated by the Kirrix... it's hard to get them to talk. The girls are all occupied with evacuating the colonists from the ninth hive ship, so I've been making gentle enquiries with my avatars." She let out a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, a lot of those people don't trust me because they suspected I was an AI."

"I'll speak to them after Alyssa's had her chat with the Hive Mind," John said, giving the purple sprite a grateful smile. "It sounds like you're doing a wonderful job, Faye. Thank you."

"Those poor people have suffered so much," she replied, a troubled look in her eyes. "It's the least I can do."

John pulled on his Paragon helmet. "We're all very lucky you're here to help out."

Faye looked touched by his kind words, a shy smile appearing on her face. She waved goodbye, disappearing as he turned and left the cockpit with Alyssa at his side.

The blonde looked at John as they dropped down in the grav-tube, her expression turning pensive from the fleeting thoughts she'd heard during his conversation with Faye. "I slept through your call with Nathan. What happened?"

John opened the door to the forward loading area, his face a grim mask. "He received a report from the medical teams on Carolus III. There was a wave of suicides after we left... mostly parents unable to cope with the grief after losing their children, especially after what the Kirrix did to them."

Alyssa looked up at him in horror, her eyes filling with tears. "Oh God, no..."

John nodded, overcome with a deep sense of melancholy. "I saw how devastated those people were... I wish I could've done something to save them."

"They loved their kids so much... they couldn't face life without them," Alyssa said in a choked voice, looking into his eyes. "Sparks' parents didn't even want her, but those moms and dads actually cared! And they died because of it!"

He knew she wasn't just talking about Dana's parents and he felt a heaviness in his heart. "I know, It's so wrong..."

The tears freely rolling down her cheeks, she sobbed, "Why John? Why's the galaxy so fucking awful to people?!"

"I don't have the answer to that, honey," he said quietly, sharing her sadness as he pulled her into a hug.

She trembled against his chest as she wept, overcome by the dreadful fate of those families... completely wiped out by an uncaring alien race that didn't think twice about ruining countless lives.

John felt her shaking stop and tilted his head to one side, so that he could look at her face. "Are you okay?"

Alyssa met his concerned gaze, her eyes blazing with a fierce white light that had burned away all her tears. "No, I'm not, but I know how I can feel a bit better..."

She pulled away from his embrace and marched down the loading ramp, psychic energy swirling around her clenched fists.

John jogged to catch up and grabbed her arm. "Wait!"

Alyssa whirled around, shocked that he'd brought her righteous warpath to an abrupt end. "What?!"

Long lines of freed colonists were crossing the umbilical from the hive ship to the Invictus and their attention was immediately drawn by the raised voices.

John took one look at all those anxious hollow-eyed stares and nodded his head back into the Raptor. *Come back inside a minute, we need to discuss this first. You need a cool head for your chat with the Hive Mind; you can't just rage your way through that conversation.*

Alyssa glanced at the worried colonists, managed to give them a reassuring smile and a friendly wave, then strode back into the gunship's forward loading area. When she was away from prying eyes, she turned to look at John as he walked in after her. *What's to discuss? They've killed millions of innocent people... I'm not going to let them do it anymore!*

He didn't back down from her indignant glare. *I'm sure you could make them pay for what they've done, but what about the colonists they took from the other border worlds? We worked out the time it'll take for us to hunt down the Kirrix and treat those people... we can't afford to waste days chasing after those fleets as they run for the border.*

*I'll just demand they bring the colonists back!* she exclaimed, the psychic swirls whipping around her hands in a fury.

*But what about the Trankaran prisoners?* he quietly reminded her. *The Kirrix must have captured hundreds of thousands of their citizens by now, are they really going to just let them all go? What are you going to do if they refuse?*

Alyssa paused, some of the tension easing from her posture as she calmed down. *You're right. I was going to threaten to blow up Kirr-Inax, but if they called my bluff I would've been stumped.*

John gave her a grim look. *There's a lot of lives at stake here. I think we need to carefully plan how you approach this conversation.*

She sighed and nodded. *Alright, let's go over our options...*

***

"They're all gone..." Kelli whispered, her voice filled with horror.

Tony propped himself upright, wincing at the shooting pain in his back, and looked around the petite girl to see what had upset her. He realised immediately when he saw they were approaching the red-light district, which was usually the busiest part of Karron. Miners and traders normally congregated here in droves, visiting the dozens of bars and brothels that lined this older part of the cavern complex. But now it was totally deserted, without so much as a soul in sight.

It was the silence that unsettled him the most. There should have been loud music playing in the bars, with whores calling out to inebriated patrons, their bawdy laughter echoing in the streets. But now there was nothing... a deathly quiet had descended on the town.

"They all wouldda run from here days ago," he reminded Kelli, gently patting her on the shoulder.

She nodded, then turned to look at him. "Yeah, I know... but I remember how crazy this place was before. To see it like this... it's freaking me out!"

"Just keep going, babe," he said, nodding down the street with his chin. "The clinic's not far from here..."

Kelli activated the cart again, the tracks resuming their rhythmic clicking as they trundled along the tarmac road. Tony saw Kelli's eyes flick towards a large building set back against the cavern wall, with neon pink silhouettes of naked women posed seductively beside the door. The bright sign illuminating the entrance declared the establishment to be: "Madame Trixie's House of Pleasure".

"Home sweet home," Kelli murmured under her breath, before glancing back self-consciously towards Tony.

He gave the brunette a sympathetic look. "Was your mom still working there?"

Kelli shook her head, eyes misting up. "She died about ten years ago... had a stim addiction that got out of control. Trixie kicked her out when the shakes got too bad..." She swallowed around the lump in her throat. "My mom didn't last long on the street..."

"I'm sorry, babe," Tony said, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. He glanced down at the blonde beside him. "What about Perl's mom?"

Kelli turned back to make sure her friend was still unconscious. "Trixie used to offer to help pretty girls when they got into debt... if they worked for her to pay it back. She told us that Perl's mom paid off her debt, then left Karron with a trader; apparently the guy didn't want to be saddled with a four-year-old kid, so her mom abandoned Perl."

Tony knew he shouldn't be surprised, but it still came as a shock. "She really left her daughter behind in a brothel?"

Kelli let out a sad sigh and shook her head. "One of the older whores got totally shitfaced one night and told me the real story. I won't go into all the details, but basically Perl's mom tried to help another girl escape from Karron. Their plan went wrong and she was killed as a lesson to the others."

"That's fucked up," he said with a grimace. "Does Perl know the truth?"

The brunette looked downcast as she replied, "I didn't have the heart to tell her. She grew up hating her mom; Perl would've fallen apart if she knew what really happened. If she found out while we were still with Trixie, she might've ended up getting herself killed trying to get revenge. I thought about telling her when we were sold to Pitbull, but you can imagine how sympathetic he would've been with a heartbroken whore."

Tony stroked the blonde's hair. "For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing."

"She's been looking out for me for years," Kelli said, glancing back mournfully at the pale girl. "I just wanted to keep her safe."

He was about to reply, when he spotted the clinic down the street. "There it is!"

She whirled around and cheered, "Yeah! We made it!"

They rolled the cart right up to the entrance of the clinic and Tony was relieved to see that it hadn't been looted or destroyed. "I'll bring Perl in, you start looking around for meds."

Kelli nodded eagerly as she slid off the trailer and hobbled towards the entrance. Glancing inside, her eyes widened when she saw the shelves full of small medicinal bottles. "They've got loads of stuff here! There must be something that can help her!"

Tony scooped Perl into his arms and groaned with the shooting pain from his wound as he carried her into the clinic. He remembered there being a couple of treatment rooms at the back, so he walked past the shelves of contraceptives and ointments, heading straight there before he passed out. Choosing the closest of the two rooms, he walked inside and carefully placed Perl on the examination table, making sure she was comfortable.

"The pharmacy terminals have still got power!" Kelli called out, her excited voice echoing eerily in the deathly quiet clinic. "I'll check the holo-net, see what I can find out!"

"That's great, babe," Tony replied, wincing as he reached for a pile of blankets. "Me and Perl are gonna have a rest."

He covered the blonde in a blanket to keep her warm, then glanced around the treatment room. The previous occupant had knocked over a cup of coffee in his haste to flee, leaving an ugly brown stain across the white surface of the desk. Tony couldn't help wondering if the doctor had managed to evade capture by the Bugs, but realistically, there was almost no chance that he'd escaped. Pulling the cushions from the padded chair, he tossed them on the floor, then grabbed another blanket and slumped down on his makeshift bed. He tried to ignore the throbbing ache in his back and closed his eyes, feeling an all-pervading sense of weariness overwhelm him. Yeah, he just needed to rest for a few minutes...

Kelli tapped the holo-net icon on the interface, then frowned as a blank screen appeared with "No Signal" flashing in ominous red lettering. She tried it a couple more times and got the same result, then called out in frustration, "The holo-net's not working, Tony! I can't get a connection..."

There was no reply, so she hurried over to the door he'd disappeared through. "Tony, you okay?!"

She found him lying on the floor under a blanket, his eyes closed and face twisted in pain. Kelli rushed to his side to check on him and sighed with relief when she saw he was still breathing. She wanted to shake him awake and ask what she should do next, but it was obvious he was suffering and she didn't have the heart to disturb him. Besides, Tony wasn't able to read, so trying to figure out what medicine to give the two of them was always going to end up being her responsibility. Nibbling her lower lip, she took a pensive glance back at the door, then let out a nervous sigh.

"Please don't let me fuck this up," she prayed quietly, rising to her feet and limping back to the pharmacy.

***

Mateo took a furtive glance over his shoulder at his father, who stood on the Command Podium, eyes riveted on the Tactical Map. This was the first time he'd ever seen the man in live combat and he felt a surge of pride as he watched him in action. He knew his father had served as a tactical officer before becoming a captain and it was thrilling to watch him come alive in the heat of battle.

"Saito, cover those fighters," Captain Jack Fernandez ordered, highlighting a trio of rapiers desperately dodging streams of green neutron bolts from several drones.

Lieutenant Akari Saito nodded, switching targets from the waves of Kirrix strike craft rushing towards the battle. Her almond eyes narrowing in concentration as she opened up with the Damocles' defence grid and Gatling Lasers along the flank of the cruiser whirred to life, spraying a storm of orange laser bolts across the wake of the Terran fighters. The drones had no choice but to dive through that deadly hail and glowing holes were blasted through their light armour, shearing off wings and penetrating hulls. The rapiers waggled their wingtips in thanks as their pursuers were eviscerated by laser fire, freeing them to chase after targets of their own.

"Nice shooting," Jack said with an appreciative nod, his eyes flicking back to the battle line of Kirrix capital ships ahead of them.

The eight remaining drone carriers were slugging it out with the wall of Federation battleships, a lethal lattice of lurid green neutron beams criss-crossing the orange of the Terran lasers. He winced in sympathy as the Kirrix focused on the Attis, overwhelming its protective field with an unrelenting hurricane of neutron fire. Their beams gouged ugly welts across the grey surface of the battleship, cutting through metres of thick titanium armour plating. The Tactical overlay flared with light as the forward power regulator on the Attis' starboard flank exploded, knocking out power to that quarter of the ship.

"Webb, cover the Attis as it withdraws." He glanced at the Kirrix battle lines. "Cap four has lost its shields; try to aim for their upper neutron beam array, we've got to reduce that incoming fire!"

"Aye aye, Captain." Lieutenant Commander Nick Webb replied, twisting the weapon controls and bringing the Damocles' battery of six Heavy Cannon to bear on the fourth drone carrier.

The barrels lurched backwards with the force of the recoil as the Damocles pumped a salvo of high-velocity shells towards the insectoid behemoth. A split-second later the barrage struck the Kirrix flank, the rippling explosions leaving massive craters in the drone carrier's armoured hull. When the debris from the blasts had cleared, it was clear that the six shells had landed just awry of their target, causing no major damage.

"Two degrees to starboard, elevate three degrees!" Jack barked, staring intently at the expanded holographic representation of the ochre capital ship.

Mateo held his breath as he waited for the Heavy Cannons to reload, the Damocles' primary gunner adjusting his aim accordingly. The seconds counting down seemed to take an eternity, until finally the cruiser's main guns thundered out another salvo. Those rounds hit with devastating effect, landing square on the drone carrier's upper Neutron Beam array, the ensuing explosions shearing through metal and twisting barrels, wrecking the entire weapon battery.

"You've still got it, Captain!" Webb said with a broad grin.

Jack allowed himself a small smile of satisfaction, but it was wiped away a moment later as the battered drone carrier switched targets. Eight neutron beams from the lower array blasted the Damocles, plunging the cruiser's shield status from bright green to dark red.

"Engines full reverse!" he ordered tersely, locking eyes with his son for a split second.

Mateo felt a surge of panic as he whipped around to face his station, realising that if the entire Kirrix battle line decided to follow the drone carrier's lead, the Damocles was mere seconds away from annihilation. Clenching his teeth, his hands moved over the Pilot's console, reversing thrust to the engines and activating all the forward retro-thrusters. The Damocles began to withdraw from the phalanx of cruisers, but it felt like his ship was moving in slow motion.

The drone carrier fired again, neutron beams scorching through what was left of the cruiser's shields and melting deep furrows across the bow. There was an explosion as the Kirrix lacerated the Damocles' hull, making the ship shake violently.

"They took out our forward Beam array, Captain!" Chief Engineer Butler called out in warning.

The fleet interface crackled, Admiral Zelig's concerned face appearing in front of Jack. "Get the hell out of there, Fernandez!"

***

Zelkrixa gnashed her mandibles in her grief, shambling around the nest chamber as she tried to find some way out of this disaster. All her children manning the Fertile Dream had been extinguished, snuffed out of her mind as they choked to death in space. The only survivors of her brood were the precious grubs accompanying her in the nest, who had ceased their joyful chirruping, too frightened by the Broodmother's cries of loss.

She tried to reach out to the Hive Mind, but they had gone mysteriously silent after that brief moment of contact. Zelkrixa craved their calm guidance at this time of greatest need, but instead she found herself alone and defenceless in her immobilised hive ship. Even her partner, Ujarax, had gone silent, the Hive Lord sharing her grief before being cut down in a shocking instant. With the guardian of the impregnation chamber slain, she knew that the Progenitor beast must be stealing away their cargo of hosts, even those filled with her unborn young.

This raid into Terran territory had started off so wonderfully, yielding an overwhelming haul of hosts for a new generation of children, but it had now turned into a horrific nightmare, the death toll almost beyond her comprehension. As she was lamenting their loss, Zelkrixa heard the big doors to the rear of the nest slide open and she whirled around to confront those who would threaten her beloved grubs. Her black compound eyes locked on the white-armoured Terrans that strode fearlessly into the room and she hissed at them in fury, claws rearing back to strike as she charged towards them.

The female simply raised one of her slender arms and Zelkrixa saw a huge glowing hand appear, the glowing ethereal fingers opening wide as it moved to grab her. To her astonishment those transparent digits felt as strong as a Hive Queen's grip and they clenched around her torso, trapping her arms and lifting her from the ground. Her legs flailed aimlessly in the air as she was hoisted aloft and the Broodmother felt a surge of terror as she realised she was now completely at this murderer's mercy.

That was when she recognised them for what they were... the Progenitor beasts!

***

John leaned on his sword as he studied the floating Broodmother. The Kirrix monstrosity looked absolutely furious, its seven sets of limbs thrashing wildly as it tried to escape Alyssa's clutches.

"Can you maintain that telekinetic hand while you're spirit walking?" he asked, glancing at Alyssa.

"Yeah it shouldn't be too hard," the blonde replied confidently, her cerulean eyes glowing with a brilliant white light. "It'll be like when Irillith immerses herself in the cyber-realm, while still talking to people on the Bridge."

John adjusted his grip on the hilt of his sword. "If it gets loose, I'll keep you safe."

"My hero," Alyssa said with a fond smile.

The room was silent apart from the Broodmother's hissing, the huge insectoid gnashing her mandibles together as she fought to free herself. John remembered the eerie chirruping he'd heard the last time he'd been in a Kirrix nest, so he glanced at the hexagonal alcoves lining the walls, only to find hundreds of tiny compound eyes staring back at him. "The grubs... they're watching us."

Alyssa turned to look at them, her eyes darting along the rows of Kirrix young, until the movement of automated chitinous arms caught her attention. They were still dropping slivers of flesh into the nests for the grubs and she felt a wave of horrified revulsion as she remembered exactly what they were eating.

Her open fingers tightened into a claw, the telekinetic hand mirroring her movements and making the Broodmother shriek as she was slowly crushed by overwhelming force. "I want to kill this evil fucking thing so badly..." she muttered through gritted teeth.

"Easy," John said placing a calming hand on her shoulder. "Remember how many lives are at stake..."

Closing her eyes, Alyssa inhaled deeply, then slowly blew out her breath. "Alright, let's get this over with."

She focused her will inward and peeled her spirit form from her body, stepping clear of her physical presence as she shifted her consciousness into the Astral Plane. The Broodmother loomed above her, its inhuman features twisted into a hideous snarl as it railed against its telekinetic confinement. Alyssa ignored her natural instinct to keep well clear of the massive creature and tilted her psychic hand, turning the Kirrix around so that she could reach its head. It rotated as if in slow motion, then she placed a hand on its chitinous cranium and began her telepathic assault.

The alien felt her intrusion into its mind and staged a desperate defence, putting up a surprising amount of resistance. A couple of months ago, when Alyssa was still a fledgling psychic, that would have been enough to frustrate her efforts. However, a relentless series of psychic battles had honed her will, sharpening it into the deadly instrument it was today. Alyssa focused her mind into an eldritch spear and lanced into the Broodmother's subconscious, shattering its innate defences and piercing Zelkrixa's mind.

She felt herself being sucked into that disturbingly alien consciousness, her perception of the Astral Plane shifting to reflect her new surroundings.

*MY BEAUTIFUL CHILDREN!* Zelkrixa shrieked in anguish, her inconsolable cry of grief howling through the Broodmother's mind. *THEY'RE DEAD! YOU KILLED THEM ALL!*

Wincing in the face of that deafening cacophony, Alyssa waved a hand and summoned a psychic hex-shield to surround her. *Yeah, well you started it,* she muttered, as the mournful wailing was muted to an eerie whisper.

Glancing around, she realised just how very different a Kirrix mind was to that of a Terran. Facing her was a monolithic wall of hexagonal memories, each pristine recollection neatly slotted into place in perfect symmetry. That alone spoke of a very ordered mind, but there was more to Zelkrixa's subconscious than that. Scattered behind Alyssa was a haphazard mass of much vaguer memories, the edges to those recollections faded and indistinct.

She walked over to the closest one and brushed her hand over the surface, sensing the memories contained within...

~~~

Mewling chattel stumbled through the hive ship, droplets of water running down their small faces as they were herded onwards by drones. They took one look at Zelkrixa as she scuttled out of the nest to observe them and shrank away from her, trying to flee in their terror. Her troops shot a couple to restore order, the small creatures' agonised cries making the others huddle together for comfort, their expressions twisted with fear. Zelkrixa glanced over them with disinterest; after all, these two-legged lifeforms all looked largely the same to her. Their only purpose was to feed her beloved children, and for that reason alone, she conceded that they weren't totally worthless.

~~~

Alyssa yanked herself back from the memory, feeling a surge of hatred welling within her. She wouldn't treat an animal the way the Kirrix handled their prisoners... but what made it so much worse was that these were Terran children! For all Zelkrixa's wailing about the death of her drones, she'd hadn't shown the slightest bit of compassion towards the sentient species she'd eagerly sacrificed for her own young.

*You're signing your own death warrant,* she snarled through clenched teeth as she shied away from the rest of the vague memories.

Striding over to the wall, Alyssa brushed her fingertips over a hexagon, letting herself experience one of Zelkrixa's sharp memories.

~~~

A drone wiped the red gore from the newly-birthed body of a tiny grub, revealing the lustrous texture of its soft ochre-hued carapace.

*So beautiful...* Zelkrixa crooned, caressing the firstborn of this clutch and making it wriggle happily.

The grub's black compound eyes opened for the first time, quickly surveying its surroundings before looking up at the Broodmother and joining the melodic chorus for food. Zelkrixa scooped the newborn up and carefully deposited it into a hexagonal alcove, then watched fondly as a tendril of meat was dropped into its open maw. Mandibles gnawed at the flesh, the grub chirruping in delight as it savoured its first meal.

~~~

Alyssa lurched back out of that sharp memory, shuddering with revulsion. While she'd been observing Zelkrixa's memory, she had experienced the Broodmother's elation and sense of joy at watching her offspring eat. Lip curling in disgust, the blonde clenched her hand into a fist and placed it against the wall of memories, briefly tempted to smash every one of these foul recollections. She channelled her will, spreading out her senses to briefly touch on all the memories in range. A flood of fleeting images flickered through her thoughts, identifying the focus of each one: grubs, grubs, drones, grubs, Hive Lord, drones, drones, grubs, Hive Mind...

She pulled back and looked up at the imposing wall. It was now clear to her that the Kirrix only cared about interactions within their own species; everything related to dealings with the "chattel" got dumped and sidelined into the memory wilderness behind her.

Alyssa shook her head in disbelief. *And I thought Weber was xenophobic...*

Striding over to the sharply-defined hexagon that she knew contained an interaction with the Hive Mind, she opened her hand and placed it on the glowing surface. The pull from the memory was insistent, drawing her inside as if eager to share its story.

~~~

*Zelkrixa, our dealings with the Terran pirates have borne fruit,* Krinava the Hive Queen declared, her voice vibrant and full of hope. *The treacherous fools have gladly sold out the rest of their species for mere baubles and trinkets. We now know the location of all the most populous Terran worlds along the border.*

*So we are to begin a grand harvest?* Zelkrixa asked, her heart lifting with joy.

*Soon... we are gathering our forces in preparation and will probe for weaknesses in the Federation's defences,* the Hive Queen replied. Krinava's voice took on a deep timbre, echoing with the combined weight of the Hive Mind. *You will have the honour of joining us as we gather up a multitude of hosts for a whole new generation of children.*

~~~

*There you are...* Alyssa said with a grim smile of satisfaction.

She could feel the intertwined harmony of those voices, Zelkrixa's memory providing a clarity that she hadn't been able to appreciate during the frantic battle on Carolus III. There was a sense of familiarity to that presence now and although the Broodmother wasn't powerful enough to make the return connection herself, Alyssa knew she could trace that path back across the Astral plane to its source.

Psychic energy began to swirl around her arms, rotating slowly at first, then gathering speed until it whipped around her fists in a howling vortex.

"Time to make a house call," she muttered to John.

"Good luck," he said, watching her with concern.

Using the Broodmother as a conduit, Alyssa hurled a blast of ethereal energy across the Astral plane, her consciousness riding the crest of that wave towards its destination. The ephemeral substance of that otherworldly reality flashed past, until she saw a huge yellowish-brown construct on the horizon. As she raced closer, Alyssa was able to make out more details, the ornately sculpted walls of a grand palace sweeping into view as it loomed towards her. The design was disturbingly alien and very reminiscent of the segmented ochre ships that their species favoured.

She braced herself for impact as the leading edge of her energy wave slammed into the sturdy fortifications surrounding the Kirrix mental construct. The boom from the impact was deafening, blasting a gaping hole in the wall and sending enormous ochre-hued chunks cartwheeling through the palace. Alyssa skidded to a halt inside a vast courtyard, the interior of the palace an open-sided warren of tunnels that overlooked that central meeting point. She was uncomfortably aware that scores of Hive Queens were now staring at her in shock. Their initial surprise was quickly replaced by fury and the Hive Mind started to gather its might to deal with this brazen interloper that dared to breach their inner sanctum.

Raising her hands defensively, she said in a firm voice, *I didn't come here for a fight, I just want to talk. We have unfinished business to-*

Before she could continue, Alyssa was interrupted by Zelkrixa's terrified voice, the Broodmother inadvertently carried along on her psychic connection, *IT'S THE PROGENITOR BEAST! SHE SEEKS TO SLAY ALL OUR CHILDREN!*

The mood in the palace changed in an instant, Hive Queens stumbling backwards in their desperation to escape the Progenitor's wrath. They would never be able to forget the horrible fate that had befallen Krinava, having experienced every excruciating moment of it. Alyssa could feel the terror pouring off their astral projections, and the closest Hive Queen suddenly winked out, fleeing from the Astral Plane to return to her body. Realising that within seconds, she'd be the only one still standing inside the palace, Alyssa dropped to her knees and slammed both fists into the floor.

The resin surface shattered with the impact, enormous concentric rings cracking outwards from her blows. The psychic blastwave surged across the floor under vanishing Hive Queens, leaving those still present completely unscathed. Rather than blasting through the reinforced structure, the incandescent pulse of energy followed the walls upwards, gathering at the ceiling and completely enclosing the Astral construct in a shimmering white dome.

Alyssa closed her eyes, channelling her full psychic might as she recalled her ethereal form to her pocket plane... drawing the Kirrix and their entire palace with her. The mass exodus of the Hive Mind was abruptly halted, several dozen Hive Queens gibbering in terror as they realised they were now trapped, unable to escape from the Progenitor's torments.

Rising to her feet, Alyssa's eyes snapped open and she carefully studied her terrified guests. There was no mistaking the looks of abject horror on the Hive Queens' insectoid faces... and she couldn't help wondering if that was how John and the girls appeared to the nightmare leviathan every time it trapped them in its own hellish subplane. It felt surreal to Alyssa to now find herself in that position, but the ancient malevolent behemoth had been her inspiration behind what she'd just done to the Kirrix.

The closest Hive Queen lashed out with a javelin of sickly yellow energy, which shot towards Alyssa's heart with a high-pitched shriek. Acting purely on instinct, Alyssa summoned a psychic shield to absorb the vicious attack, the long dart impacting with a sound like breaking glass and cracking several hexes. She repaired the protective wall of hexagons with a thought, then summoned a glowing telekinetic fist at her side.

More Hive Queens followed the panicked example of their sister, hurling darts at Alyssa from all angles, forcing her to turn her protective disc of hexes into a globe. More hexagons shattered as they were struck by psi-lances, but she was able to replace them as quickly as they were destroyed. If the Hive Queens had the presence of mind to pool their resources together, they could have punched through her defences, but they were too terrified for that kind of coordinated attack.

Rearing back, Alyssa lashed out with a furious backhand at the closest Hive Queen, the whistling slap from her telepathic projection landing with an ominous crunch. The huge insectoid was sent hurtling across the courtyard to crash into the far wall, its broken body collapsing in a tangle of twitching limbs. Alyssa managed to hold her temper in check as she turned her attention on the rest, her telekinetic hand sweeping out with stinging slaps that merely knocked the Hive Queens sprawling, rather than snapping them in half.

Soon the flurry of psychic lances ceased, the battered members of the Hive Mind now attempting to crawl away from the furious Progenitor in their midst. Alyssa narrowed her eyes as she watched them scrabbling to escape, their terror reaching new heights.

*You brought this on yourselves!* she thundered, the waves of sound from her booming accusation stunning the Hive Queens into submission. *Raping and slaying sentient creatures indiscriminately... butchering their children... what gave you the right to slaughter millions?!*

The Hive Queens quailed before the wrath of the blazing white figure, who glared at them with undisguised loathing.

Enraged by their silence, Alyssa screamed, *ANSWER ME!*

*W-what choice did we have?* one of the Hive Queens stammered, fearing another stern rebuke from the looming telekinetic hand. *The Shroud prevents us using the Luphids... we tried to explain, but you refused to sympathise with our plight...*

*Because your solution meant the agonising deaths of countless innocent people!* Alyssa retorted, shaking her head in disbelief.

*They do not feel as we do-* the Hive Queen started to protest.

Looking at her with open contempt, Alyssa snapped, *Don't give me that shit again! Of course they do, you just can't sense it because they aren't telepathic!*

Another of the hulking Kirrix creatures slowly picked itself up off the floor. *So what do you propose we do? If our solution is so abhorrent, present us with another choice...*

*What I propose is that you return all the Terrans and Trankarans you've abducted from their worlds, then you get the hell out of our territory!* Alyssa fumed. *I thought I'd made my feelings pretty clear last time we had a little chat? When we intercepted Zelkrixa's fleet, I found out that you're still chopping up Terran children to feed your grubs! That ends now! Right this second!*

The Hive Queen slumped and shook its head. *Your solution would mean our slow extinction as a species... this is not an acceptable choice.*

Alyssa glared at them, her voice turning ice-cold, *Well you're facing a slow extinction or a really fucking fast one, so take your pick.*

*Are you so lacking in compassion that you would doom our entire species to annihilation?* one of the Hive Queens asked, her tone judgemental and disapproving.

*You actually have the gall to lecture me about compassion after what you've done to all those people?!* Alyssa countered incredulously. *The Vulkat faced their end with dignity and I've got the greatest respect for the selfless way they've behaved. They didn't turn into depraved parasites preying on their neighbours for survival!*

*The Vulkat were well known to us... they disapproved of our path long before the fledgling races appeared. But we have no wish to share their fate!* the Hive Queen exclaimed, her words ringing with fear.

Alyssa frowned as she looked around at the huge insectoid creatures, all of them focused intently on her now rather than trying to flee. *Why don't you just devote all your energy into researching the Shroud and how to get rid of it? We'd be more than willing to help, as long as you just stop killing everybody.*

*It is hopeless...*

*There is no chance of success...*

*A fool's errand...*

She rolled her eyes at their dejected responses. *When was the last time you did some serious research into the Shroud? What have you found out so far?*

*The Shroud has been in existence for almost as far back as we can remember,* one of the Hive Queens whimpered, sounding frustrated and disheartened. *We only know that at one time we were in symbiosis with the Luphids... it is instinctive to breed with them... and we know that those instincts are not wrong. Or were not... in a time long past.*

*But surely a galaxy-wide phenomena like that didn't just happen at random!* Alyssa objected, exasperated by their defeatist attitude. *There must have been some kind of trigger? Perhaps the Shroud was created by one of the Progenitors during their war ten-thousand years ago?*

*You do not understand...* the closest Hive Queen said dejectedly. *Our memories reach back far into the past, and the Shroud long predates the atrocities committed against us by the accursed Progenitor. How can we hope to change something as ancient as the stars themselves?*

Alyssa snorted and rolled her eyes. *Don't be ridiculous, it can't be that old. I don't mind a bit of hyperbole to make a point, but the Hive Mind's memory definitely doesn't go back a billion years.*

*But we barely remember the time when the Shroud came into creation...* the Kirrix persisted. *How can we possibly research something that is all-pervading and predates living memory?*

*I don't have the answers,* Alyssa replied with a shrug. *But the way I see it, trying to find out how to get rid of the Shroud is your only shot at survival.*

*Birthing more young is the only chance we have of ensuring the survival of our species!* another of the Hive Queens pleaded. *You must understand that!*

Crossing her arms over her chest, Alyssa gave the Hive Queens a stern look. *I'm deadly serious about this. John's allied himself with the Terrans and Trankarans, and we won't stand idly by as you raid our friends' worlds for hosts. If you don't return the people you've abducted, we'll have no qualms about ending the threat you pose ourselves.*

*To obliterate our species would be a far worse crime than anything we have done to the Terrans or Trankarans,* the Kirrix insisted.

Alyssa nodded thoughtfully. *You're right. Vaporising Kirr-Inax would unjustly punish the drones there who took no part in the horrific actions you've orchestrated.*

The Hive Queens glanced at each other, their big compound eyes swivelling about suspiciously. *So you no longer threaten us with extermination?*

*No, I've just had a better idea,* the blonde replied, sounding cheerful and enthusiastic. Counting off the points with her fingers, she continued, *First, I execute all of you for masterminding these atrocities. Second, we take the Invictus deep into Kirrix Space and destroy every last one of your vile death ships. Third, we orbitally bombard your disgusting civilisation back to the stone age; after all, if you don't have a single working power plant on any of your worlds, you can't exactly build any ships to attack anyone... right?*

The Kirrix recoiled in horror, aghast at her suggestion. They scuttled backwards as Alyssa's eyes began to glow, eldritch power swirling around her arms as she gathered her strength. Several of the Hive Queens pleaded for her to wait, understanding that they were only moments away from a gory massacre.

Alyssa feigned confusion as she looked back at them. *What's the problem? This way I only punish the guilty, so I'll be able to sleep the sleep of the just. After all, you don't seem to be interested in coming up with a peaceful solution to your problems, so frankly, I'm struggling to think of a convincing reason as to why I shouldn't just slaughter you all and be done with it.*

The Hive Queens visibly slumped, realising that they were faced with little choice but to agree. *You will not allow us to leave this horrible place unless we agree to your demands, will you?*

*All I care about is you returning the people you abducted, and leaving our allies alone in the future,* she replied, studying them with her fiercely glowing eyes. *I'm willing to offer you an amnesty for the horrific crimes you've committed, in exchange for the lives of the colonists you've abducted... but I can come up with some really creative ways of punishing you if you force my hand.*

The Hive Queens turned to one another, gathering together as they discussed her terms. Although they were communicating telepathically, Alyssa could see by their agitated manner that the Hive Queens were struggling to give up the raids that had sustained their species for many thousands of years. She was astonished that they could still be so intransigent, even in the face of a serious threat to destroy their civilisation.

After what seemed like an eternity, the Hive Queens looked towards Alyssa. *We agree to your demands...* their spokesperson grudgingly agreed, as though the words were being dragged from her soul. *Although, we shall have to discuss this agreement with the rest of the Hive Mind who are not present here.*

*I'll be watching,* Alyssa informed them, her expression bleak. *If I get any sense that you're just trying to bluff me... you know what'll happen.*

*We understand,* the Hive Queen said, sounding resigned to her fate.

Nodding with satisfaction, Alyssa looked at the dejected Kirrix. *I'm going to release you now, but before I do, I want to wish you good luck in researching the Shroud. If you need assistance, feel free to make contact with us and we'll do whatever we can to help. I'd like to see your civilisation return to a peaceful coexistence with your neighbours but you'll never be able to do that while you're abducting and killing their civilians.*

With her final lecture delivered, Alyssa waved her hand, releasing the Kirrix palace from its confinement in her pocket plane. The ochre walls shimmered for a moment, then vanished in a flash, taking the Hive Queens with it. Seeing no further reason to remain in the Astral plane, she concentrated on returning to her body, letting her astral cord yank her back into her physical form.

"It's done!" she exclaimed with relief, turning to give John a victorious smile.

He returned it with a hopeful one of his own. "Really? They actually agreed to all our terms?"

Alyssa gave him a wry smile. "I had to give them a little gentle encouragement, but yeah, eventually."

John slipped his arm around her waist and shook his head in admiration. "Let's head back to the ship and you can tell me exactly what happened."

"Sure, just give me a second," she replied, turning her attention to Zelkrixa, who floated helplessly in the air. She glared at the Broodmother and reached out to place her hand on the creature's huge head. *I know what you did to those Terran children... I'm tempted to blast a hole in this ship and flush all your grubs into space as payback, but in the spirit of the agreement I just made with the Hive Mind, I'll spare them. If I ever find out you've done anything like that again, I'll take my time finishing off the rest of your foul brood and make you feel every moment of their suffering. Now get the fuck out of Terran Space before I change my mind!*

She released her telekinetic grip and unceremoniously dumped the Broodmother on the ochre decking. Alyssa strode out of the nest chamber without giving the Kirrix so much as a second glance, John walking protectively beside her. Zelkrixa could only watch them leave with bitter, hate-filled eyes.

***

Jack saw a bright burst of explosions as his cruiser's Heavy Cannon barrage pounded into the fourth drone carrier, joining the combined fire from the rest of the fleet as they hammered the Kirrix capital ship. The amount of ordnance and high-powered energy weapons carving up that massive hull defied belief, but incredibly the enormous ochre hulk was still operational. He knew the neutron beam array took ten second to cool before it could fire again and he was mentally counting down in his head as he prayed his son could reverse the Damocles out of range in time.

"They've stopped shooting, Captain!" Lieutenant Saito gasped, her eyes transfixed on the holographic images.

"Maybe a lucky shot disabled the lower Neutron Beam array?" Jack suggested, feeling a surge of relief as he glanced at the mangled ruin depicted on the Tactical Map.

She pointed at the rest of the Kirrix fleet. "No Sir, I mean they've all stopped firing!"

At the same time, Admiral Zelig's face appeared on the holo-screen as he made a fleet-wide broadcast. "All ships, cease fire!" His eyes darted off-screen to check that all vessels had followed his orders. When he was satisfied that the Terran forces were no longer pounding the insectoid fleet, he continued, "We just received a message from the Kirrix. They've agreed to hand over all the captured colonists in exchange for safe passage out of Terran Federation territory... as per the new agreement they just made with the Lion!"

Jack exchanged a startled look with his son, before Mateo broke into a grin and joined the outbreak of raucous cheers around the Damocles' Bridge. He smiled wryly and shook his head in admiration. Jack had declared that he wouldn't salute his future son-in-law, but Calara's fiancé seemed to find new reasons to make him eat those words on practically a daily basis.

***

John walked across the umbilical connecting the Hive ship to the Invictus, listening as Alyssa filled him in on the final details of her encounter with the Hive Mind. "I can't believe you transported their whole palace into your pocket plane!" he marvelled, looking at her in wide-eyed astonishment. "How did you even know how to do that?!"

"It was actually surprisingly easy," she confided with a grin. "The monster that runs that nightmare plane keeps doing the same thing to us. If you can locate an Astral traveller's presence, you just have to surround them in a psychic bubble, then you can pull them into your own domain."

"The mists..." John said quietly, in sudden understanding. "Every nightmare starts with being surrounded by mists, then they fade away, revealing whatever twisted vision that thing wanted me to see."

She nodded, her expression sombre. "For some reason, you've been travelling into the Astral Plane every time we recruit a new girl. Then the mists find your ethereal form and pull you into a nightmare."

He frowned, looking sceptical. "Considering how much difficulty I normally have with spirit walking, I'm finding it hard to believe I can just do it effortlessly in my sleep."

"It's only difficult because your guide tries to drag you back into your body," Alyssa reminded him. "If he actually wanted you to go into the Astral plane, there'd be no resistance at all."

"You're right," John conceded. "But why would he want to put me in that much danger? Surely if I got killed in there, then he'd be destroyed too?"

She shrugged, only having wild guesses and no definitive answers. "I've no idea what he's planning to be honest."

"I suppose it doesn't matter now, not since you created my sanctuary with Athena," John said, recalling the meeting he'd planned with the enigmatic guide. "Maybe that's something I should discuss with her tonight?"

"Are you going to ask her before or after you fuck her senseless?" Alyssa asked with a grin.

"She's a lot less feisty when she's basking in the afterglow," John replied with a wink as they walked into the Secondary Hangar. He glanced back across the empty umbilical, checking for any remaining prisoners. "Is that everyone?"

"Yeah, the girls have got them all in the Primary Hangar now. Rachel's healing the wounded and the bots are treating the infested." She turned to look into the treatment area and frowned.

John waved a hand at the wall-mounted control panel, using telekinesis to lower the huge hangar doors. He spotted Alyssa's look of concern and asked, "What's the matter? You look worried..."

"Over there, with Faye," Alyssa replied, pointing through the double doors at the throng of people surrounding the purple sprite.

He followed the line of her finger and groaned when he spotted a distinctive glimpse of lustrous light-green hair and alluring teal skin. "What's Helene doing in there?!" he asked in alarm.

*I'm sorry, John,* Jade replied sombrely. *When I gathered the Nymphs to help with the colonists, Helene insisted that she come with us. She pointed out that she wouldn't be exposed to combat in the hangar and that she'd helped tend to a few injuries at her village. You hadn't expressly forbidden her to come down here and I didn't want to disturb you, so I thought it would be okay. Faye volunteered to watch over her and keep her safe.*

*Alright, I better have a word with her,* John said, striding towards the crowds of colonists gathered around the smiling aquatic girl.

Alyssa jogged to catch up, taking a firm hold of his armoured bicep and bringing John to a halt. "I know you're trying to shield Helene from the fighting, but she might actually be able to help out here." She gave him a teasing smile. "Besides, I don't think she's going to turn into a pitiless killing machine if she's just talking to upset colonists."

"They're not just upset, they're devastated!" John protested. "And considering how much Helene cares about children, hearing about what happened to theirs is going to break her heart."

Her cerulean eyes looked deep into his. *Helene's stronger than you give her credit for. She's also a blank slate at the moment; with a bit of assistance from you, she could help a lot of people...*

John paused, his brows furrowing with concern as he glanced back at the naive young woman talking to the freed prisoners. *Isn't that just bringing her further down the rabbit hole?* he asked quietly. *The more I change her, the more likely it is that I'll make her blasé about combat.*

*Talk to her... ultimately it's a decision only the two of you can make,* Alyssa advised him with a supportive smile. *I'll go help the girls with the next batch of colonists, but just let me know if there's anything I can do.*

He waved goodbye to the blonde and walked at a much slower pace into the Primary Hangar, watching Helene immerse herself fully in the conversations she was having. She was listening attentively, her face full of sympathy for the Terran colonists that had just been freed from captivity. It was obvious how much she cared about their plight and there was no mistaking her sincerity as she offered a supportive shoulder for those people to cry on.

As John entered the huge room, he was soon surrounded by grateful colonists, who recognised him immediately in his Lion embossed armour. He spent the next few minutes with the tearful civilians as a crowd gathered around him, all of them eager to shake his hand or give him a hug. It was awful to see the pain in their eyes after their harrowing experiences, made worse when he realised that many of them were trying to hide their anguish, desperate to put on a brave face for their saviour.

The crowd eventually began to disperse once they'd each had their turn speaking to him, freeing John to continue on towards Helene. Looking around the room to find her again, he spotted many of the other Lionesses receiving heartfelt thanks from the people they had rescued. The girls shared smiles with him when they glanced in his direction, before continuing to guide people to the huge staging area, where the colonists could rest until they were returned to Brecken's World.

His attention was drawn by Betrixa as she flounced past, the cheeky Nymph wiggling her fingertips at him when she saw she had his attention. She was wearing a variation of Dana's nurse uniform, with a form-fitting blouse and exceedingly short skirt, showcasing her stocking clad legs and thigh-high white boots.

"Need a sponge bath, Master?" she whispered, giving him a flirtatious grin.

"I thought the plan was for you and your sisters to help the colonists, not give them a heart attack," John replied, struggling to tear his eyes away from her mouth-watering cleavage that was dramatically emphasised by the top she was wearing.

"Well this one hasn't bumped anyone off just yet," Betrixa replied with a twinkle in her emerald eyes. "Although the Terrans do seem to find me quite fascinating."

He gave her a broad smile. "Yes, I can imagine." His amused expression turned to one of concern as he continued, "Are you sure you're okay wearing an outfit like that?"

Betrixa frowned and glanced down at her nurse's uniform. "You don't think it's sexy enough? This one told Jade we should cut out some holes for my nipples to poke through!"

John laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "I think you look perfect. As long as you're enjoying yourself, then I'm happy too."

"That's a coincidence," she said with an impish grin. "As long as you're happy, Master, then so am I!"

She stood on tiptoe to plant a big kiss on his armoured faceplate, leaving a lipstick mark right in the centre that perfectly reproduced the curve of her luscious mouth. Betrixa giggled when she saw her handiwork, then blew him a kiss as she sashayed away to tend to more patients.

He pulled his Paragon helmet off his head and watched the green-skinned girl swish her hips provocatively as she left. *I think that's the first time I've heard Betrixa refer to herself as 'I', rather than 'this one',* John remarked to his Nymph Matriarch.

*It's begun,* Jade replied, her brief reply carrying a flood of powerful emotions with it.

John searched the crowd until he found her and there was no mistaking the sheer joy on her beautiful face. He honestly couldn't remember seeing her look so elated before and any concerns he might have had about making changes to the Nymphs evaporated in the face of Jade's blissful happiness.

"John, could you spare a moment please?" Helene asked quietly. "I'd like to talk to you about something important if you aren't too busy."

He looked to his right in surprise, having been too distracted with the Nymphs to see the aquatic girl approach him. "Sure, honey. It looks like the girls have got everything under control here, shall we go up to my room to chat?"

"That would be perfect, thank you," she replied, giving him a grateful smile.

John turned towards the double-doors, offering Helene a hand, which she eagerly took.

"I still haven't got used to seeing you in armour," she remarked, looking at his gleaming Paragon suit in fascination. "These golden creatures on your shoulders are very impressive."

He glanced down at the embossed pauldrons. "Several months ago, we helped save Terran forces in the Dragon March and Lynette gave me the nickname: 'The Lion of the Federation'. Alyssa got a bit carried away when she was helping Dana design my Paragon suit, although it does help being instantly recognised when we're doing rescue missions like this."

She nodded thoughtfully. "I've heard lots of the colonists talk about being saved by the Lion and his Lionesses. They had nothing but good things to say about all of you." She blushed and added, "They thanked me too, but I was too ashamed to tell them that I had nothing to do with their rescue. I'm sorry I wasn't honest with them."

John stopped outside the grav-tube, turning to face her with a frown. "Don't apologise for that, Helene. You wanted to help, but I've deliberately kept you out of the fighting. I'm sorry you felt ashamed that you weren't involved; I never meant for you to feel that way."

She reached up to brush his cheek with her teal fingers. "I know. I just wished that I had genuinely earned their gratitude. The way they looked at me with such respect and awe... I've never experienced anything like it."

His frown was tinged with sympathy and regret. "I'm sorry I ruined that for you... but please don't ask me to turn you into another soldier. Moments like that are wonderful, but they come at a heavy price."

The aquatic girl quickly shook her head. "No, I wasn't going to, I promise!" She gave him a cautious smile. "I wanted to talk to you about something else."

"Okay, let me get out of this armour, then you can tell me whatever's on your mind," he said, guiding her into the express grav-tube.

They raced up to Deck Four and stepped out into the armoury, where John walked over to the weapon racks and stored his sword. Stepping into his equipping frame, the robotic arms whirred into place, while he unlocked his armour to the sound of rippling clicks. The plating was lifted away, freeing him to step out of his armoured boots and join Helene by the second set of grav-tubes.

"That's better," she said with a warm smile, running her hand over the muscles in his chest. "You look like you again, rather than the heroic warrior."

He raised an eyebrow as he walked into the grav-tube with her. "So I don't look very heroic normally?"

They were rushed up to Deck Two before she could reply and Helene wobbled unsteadily as they left the tube. "Gosh, that takes some getting used to!"

"I know, I keep leaving my stomach behind when I use those things," John agreed, glancing back at the blue gravity field.

She laughed and nodded. "I think mine is still in the Hangar somewhere."

"Do you mind if I grab a shower?" John asked, plucking at the form-fitting bodysuit that he'd been wearing under his armour. "The Paragon suits are cooled, but I still feel a bit grubby after wearing it for so long."

"As long as you don't mind me joining you, that sounds like a great idea," she quickly agreed, shimmying out of her aquamarine dress.

They entered the bathroom and were soon enjoying a hug under soothing jets of hot water.

"That feels amazing," John said with a contented sigh. He pulled Helene closer and stroked her back. "The shower feels nice too."

She laughed at his joke, returning his embrace. "You're right, that does feel amazing."

Standing quietly together, they enjoyed the close physical intimacy as they relaxed in each other's arms.

Helene finally pulled back and gazed up at him, cupping his face in her soft hand. "This is the real you. The kind, loving man who cares that I might be upset, even though he was just trying to keep me from harm."

"I'm glad you see me that way," he said, feeling a surprising surge of relief. "It's nice not to always be the Lion of the Federation, charging into combat to save the day. I never wanted that life, but I can't just stand by and do nothing when so many lives are at stake."

"If it wasn't for you, all those people would have died," she agreed, caressing him with the backs of her fingers. "That you don't crave the glory and fame for your actions is very admirable."

John smiled self-consciously. "You didn't ask me for a chat just to massage my ego, did you?"

"No, but I didn't say those things just to make you feel better, they were the truth," Helene replied, her full lips twisting into an amused smile. "The girls were right... For someone who likes to shower the women he loves with praise, you really aren't comfortable with compliments are you?"

He laughed and shook his head. "You girls talk about me far too much."

"I wouldn't say that," she said with a playful gleam in her baby-blue eyes. "I've heard all sorts of fascinating things. Like... how I can earn my own Lioness ring..."

John couldn't help flushing with embarrassment, wondering who had shared that particular titbit. His trio of Matriarchs were all suspiciously quiet, but he had a few ideas.

Helene saw his reddening cheeks and exclaimed with delight, "They said you'd react like that too!"

He turned off the shower and playfully rolled his eyes at her. "Did you ask me up here just to torment me?"

She followed him out of the cubicle to the auto-driers and closed her eyes as the warm gusts of air quickly removed all the water droplets covering her svelte figure. "No, I do want to talk about something important."

He took her hand and led her through to the bedroom, where he lay down on the bed. "Go ahead, I'm all ears."

"They're very cute," Helene noted, joining him on the bed. "Will our children have your ears?"

John paused and considered her question. "I honestly don't know. I assume Mael'nerak had lots of children with the Maliri, but the only ones I know about for sure are the twin girls he had with Valada; they were Tashana's and Irillith's distant ancestors. The Maliri already have pointed ears though, so that doesn't really help answer your question unfortunately."

"I had a dream where I was holding our baby," Helene said in a hushed voice, a wistful look in her eyes. "She was the most beautiful baby I've ever seen... but she looked just like my people."

"The girls have all had similar dreams," John said quietly. "I think it's some kind of side-effect of being with a Progenitor. I've no idea how much truth there is in it, but you'll be able to choose whether you have a boy or a girl when we eventually get you pregnant."

"I'll be able to choose, just like that..." she said in wonder, her hand slipping down to her stomach. As her fingers traced lazy circles over her belly, she looked at him with sudden understanding. "Actually, you'll be able to choose, but you plan on letting me make the decision... A Progenitor would never normally let his Thralls decide if they were having a boy or girl, would he?"

He gave her a wry smile. "You'll be doing all the hard work and carrying our baby for 9 months, it seems fairer to let you decide which you want."

She leaned over to give him a tender kiss. "I love how you've twisted your Progenitor abilities, turning them into gifts for us." Her hand trailed down his stomach to carefully grasp his cock. "And I love this part of you too."

"Are you trying to seduce me into getting whatever you want?" John asked with a raised eyebrow. "If so, it's working..."

Helene laughed and shook her head, then hesitated and gave him a coy smile. "I am planning to seduce you, but not for that reason." She turned and patted the bed near the pillows. "Why don't you sit here?"

Following her instructions, John sat where she requested and leaned back against the padded headboard. "Like this?"

"Perfect," Helene agreed, straddling him.

She gave him a shy smile as she brushed her breasts against his chest, her nipples hard enough for him to feel their pebbly surface as they dragged across his skin. Raising herself up, she grasped his throbbing cock and held it in position, before lining herself up with the head. Rubbing her wet pussy against him, she bit her lip and sank down, surrounding the painfully hard head with her deliciously snug body. They both groaned as she slowly gyrated her hips, easing inch after inch inside her slick passage, while gripping him tight as her inner walls were forced to stretch to accommodate him.

Helene paused for a moment once she'd taken him all the way to her cervix, then made eye contact with him as she writhed in his lap, easing his way deeper. John could feel her trembling as she sank down the last few inches, only stopping when he was fully hilted inside her.

She gazed at him lovingly from only inches away. "I feel so close to you when we're in bed together. That's why I wanted to seduce you; to feel my soulmate filling every part of me."

John wrapped her in his arms, then pulled her down for a kiss. "You're a wonderful girl, Helene. I'm so lucky to have you."

"I love you so much," she murmured, planting fluttering kisses on his nose, cheeks and lips.

"I love you too," he immediately replied, gently caressing the toned muscles in her back.

"Enough to make me a proper part of your family?" she asked him in a breathy whisper.

John pulled back a little so he could look into those baby-blue eyes. "What do you mean? You're one of the girls now; you are a part of my family."

Helene's expression shadowed with regret. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything until afterwards. Now you'll think I was making love to you to get you to agree... but I promise that wasn't the reason!"

"It's okay, I believe you," he said soothingly, giving her a reassuring smile. "This won't be the first time I've had a heart-to-heart conversation like this, so just go ahead and tell me what's on your mind."

She studied him as she tried to decide how to word her request, until he flexed his cock inside her, making her moan with pleasure. "That feels too good... I can't concentrate when you do that!"

"Don't think about it, just tell me," he said with a grin, holding her hips and gyrating her on his lap so that she was rubbing her clit against his pubic bone.

It didn't take long for her to toss her head back, letting out a low cry as she climaxed, clinging to him as her body quivered in ecstasy. John watched her panting for breath as she recovered, her eyes wild with excitement.

"That feels too good," she protested with a smile. "But I'm trying to talk to you about something important!"

He slipped a hand between them and Helene looked at him in shock as he found her clit and quickly brought her off to another shuddering orgasm.

"Take your time," he said with a grin, filling his hand with her pert breast, massaging and squeezing her flesh as she bucked against him. "You look gorgeous when you come... we can do this all day."

"Stop, please!" she eventually managed to gasp between panted breaths. "I can't even think when you make me feel this good!"

"Are you sure?" he asked with a teasing smile.

She laughed and fell against his chest, hugging him tight. "I am... I think."

"You don't sound certain," he countered, placing his hands on her hips and lifting her a few inches before burying himself to the hilt again. "Want to take a bit more time to make up your mind?"

Helene let out a breathy sigh in his ear that sent a delicious shiver down his spine. "Okay... One more..."

"Just relax, honey," he said, holding her firmly and stroking her up and down his shaft. "Let me take care of you."

Her quiet moans sounded incredible as John helped her ride him to another intense orgasm, her thighs trembling with the adrenalin rush as she cried out with her release. This time when she was winding down from that high, John wrapped her up in his arms and just held her close to his chest, listening to her murmur in his ear how much she loved him.

When Helene finally pulled back, she looked at him with glazed eyes, and there was no mistaking the lovely look of a completely satiated woman. "You're such a selfless lover..." she said softly, looking at him in awe. "It always feels like you care more about making it feel good for me than for yourself..."

He nodded soberly. "Having a stunningly beautiful girl climaxing repeatedly on my cock is a terrible hardship. I try to bear my burdens without complaint though."

She laughed and gave him an affectionate kiss. "No wonder your people revere you as a hero."

John kissed her back then looked at her curiously. "Do you want to tell me what's bothering you now?"

Helene inhaled deeply, then blurted out, "I want to help those people. I lost a baby too, so I have an idea what they're going through."

"I'm sorry, honey. I didn't want this bringing up lots of bad memories for you," John said, looking at her with sympathy. "That's one of the reasons I tried to stop you seeing what was happening on the Hive ships."

"It's okay, honestly," she said, giving him a sad smile. "Losing my baby was awful, but it wasn't anyone else's fault and it happened many years ago. What happened to those poor colonists was absolutely horrible... I can't even imagine how much pain they must be feeling after what the Kirrix did to them and their children."

"It was too much for some of the parents we freed on Carolus III," John said mournfully. "They couldn't live with knowing what had happened to their families."

Her eyes welled up and she shook her head. "We can't let that happen here!"

"I agree," he said with a nod. "We'll try and find out which colonists were parents and help them however we can." He hesitated, then added, "Perhaps some counselling sessions with Rachel might help them cope with their grief..."

Helene looked him in the eyes. "I can talk to them too, but I know there's so much more I could be doing to help..."

John met her intense scrutiny. "You're asking me for psychic abilities, aren't you?"

"I want to be like the rest of you," she replied without any hesitation. "Doing whatever I can to help save people." When she saw the flicker of concern on his face, she hastily added, "I can stay out of the fighting... but I know I can make a big difference to the people you rescue."

He sighed and gently stroked her back. "I think there is a way I could change you... give you certain abilities that could help." He looked at her with concern and continued, "But I'm worried that you think you need to have psychic abilities to be a part of my family. That's just not true... Jehanna doesn't have any powers and nor do the Young Matriarchs, but I'm very close to all of them."

"They aren't with you on the Invictus though," she whispered, gazing deeply into his eyes. "You're even closer to the girls here. They share their souls with you; that's what I want..."

John could see how deadly serious she was, and in a moment of clarity, he realised that what she was saying was true. He cared deeply about the Young Matriarchs, Edraele's assassins, and Jehanna, but there was something incredibly intimate about sharing his psychic gifts. It had taken his relationships with the girls aboard the Invictus to intense heights, giving them a shared sense of belonging that was on another level entirely. The one exception was Edraele herself, but he'd enhanced her natural psychic talents and he was well aware just how much he cared about his Maliri Matriarch. He felt a flicker of strong emotion from Edraele at his thoughts, but she stayed quiet, unwilling to interrupt his conversation with Helene.

"I love you and I want that too," John quietly admitted, running his fingers through Helene's hair and cupping her head. "But are you absolutely certain? I'll need to make profound changes to your body to give you psychic abilities... once I do this, I don't think it can be undone."

Helene's eyes sparkled in triumph. "Oh, I do! I want this more than anything!"

He glanced down where they were joined then gave her a wry smile. "I'm sure you know how this works by now. Should we finish making love then ask Jade to feed you?"

She shook her head and licked her lips subconsciously. "I want you to feed me yourself."

*Can I watch?* Alyssa asked, surprising them both. *Please?*

John glanced quizzically at Helene and she blushed as she quickly nodded. *Sure, head on up.*

They didn't have to wait long and the blonde bounded into the bedroom, barely able to control her excitement. "Thank you both so much," she gushed, stripping off and climbing onto the bed beside them.

Helene reached over to squeeze her hand. "I know how much you were behind me joining your family; it's the least I could do." She glanced at John and gave him a tender smile. "So where do you want me? You were such a generous lover with me, I want this to be all about you..."

"I can help!" Alyssa offered, giving John a pleading look. "Helene wants to make this amazing for you... and nobody knows what you like better than me, not even you!"

John laughed and nodded. "I can hardly say no to that, can I?" He turned to look at Helene and continued, "If I know Alyssa... which I do... she's probably going to give you lots of telepathic instructions on how to give me a 'perfect' blowjob. Feel free to listen to her advice, but I don't want you to do anything you're not comfortable with, okay? I'll be able to tell if you're not happy and it'll ruin it for both of us."

"I promise," Helene said, sharing a smile with the blonde.

He helped her slide off his length, the aquatic girl letting out a mournful moan as he left her snug depths. She gave him a quick kiss, then climbed off the bed and knelt on the floor, her hands folded neatly in her lap. John had to admit she looked incredible kneeling there submissively and his cock was aching as he slid over to the edge of the bed in front of her.

As Alyssa snuggled in behind him, pressing her warm breasts against his back, Helene carefully encircled his cock with her slender fingers. She crawled closer and gave him an eager smile as she languidly stroked his shaft, savouring the hardness beneath her fingertips. Leaning down, she surprised him by kissing his quad, her tongue flicking out to lovingly caress his balls.

"She's thanking them," Alyssa purred. "For everything they've done for her already."

Helene's eyes softened as she glanced up at John, taking one of his balls in her mouth and sucking gently.

Alyssa kissed his ear and whispered, "And that's to say thank you for the beautiful babies they're going to pump into her womb..."

John couldn't help groaning at that, brushing his fingers through Helene's hair as she gave him an adoring smile.

"Want me to stop helping?" Alyssa asked with a teasing lilt to her voice.

"Don't you dare," he replied, turning to give her a kiss, before focusing on Helene again.

The teal-skinned beauty took her time being grateful to his quad, then she raised herself up, her tongue licking his shaft all the way up to the head.

Alyssa smiled at her as she continued her explanation, "Just checking the length and girth, so she knows how much her throat's going to have to stretch to fit."

Helene parted her lips and tilted his shaft towards her, then ever so slowly enveloped him in her mouth. She never dropped eye contact with John for an instant, her tongue swirling around the base.

"You can relax now, there's no more teasing," Alyssa whispered in his ear. "She's not going to take her mouth off your cock until her stomach's packed full of your cum."

"Oh my God..." John muttered, gently cupping Helene's head. "That feels so good..."

She gave him a look of pure adoration that sent a thrill up his spine, triggering instinctive urges which he normally refused to indulge.

"You asked Helene not to do anything she didn't want to," Alyssa reminded him, as the aquatic beauty began to inch her way down his shaft. "Her feelings are totally genuine. She's totally devoted to you, just like me."

He let out a groan of disbelief as she sank down his shaft, those lovely blue eyes watching him all the way. Helene blinked slowly as she made eye-contact with him, her expression totally serene as she focused on making the blowjob feel as good as possible. John could feel his girth stretching her throat, the muscles gently squeezing him as he was encased inside her. She nuzzled into him when she reached the hilt, her chin brushing against his taut quad.

"I'm not going to last long," John warned her, as she began to bob in his lap.

"What better compliment could you give her?" Alyssa crooned in his ear. "Pumping Helene full of cum will let her know just how much you want to share your soul with her."

Her slick throat massaged him as she swallowed, Helene sliding back and forth as she encouraged him to give her what she craved. Despite what Alyssa was whispering in his ear, John wanted to savour the delicious sensations as long as possible, but it all felt so incredible it was impossible to resist. John cried out as he climaxed and he saw Helene's pupils flare wide with lust as she felt him throb in her throat. The first powerful blast of cum shot straight down into her stomach, making Helene moan wantonly as she felt him filling her up. Her hands cradled her tummy as it began to expand, the throbbing cock buried down her throat pulsating again and again as she sucked his quad dry.

By the time John's orgasm had finished, he was panting for breath, feeling like he'd just run a marathon. Helene kept gently suckling on him until Alyssa warned her that it was too sensitive, at which point she carefully eased his softening length out of her throat, giving the head a loving kiss as he left her lips.

"That was fantastic," John gasped, giving her a grateful smile. "Thank you."

"I loved every second of it," Helene said with a look of profound satisfaction. "It was wonderful seeing you enjoy it that much."

John offered her a hand and she rose to her feet, standing before him with her teal-hued stomach hugely rounded with his cum. He leaned down to give her belly a tender kiss, then he helped her onto the bed and tucked her up in the covers.

"I haven't fed you very often yet," he said, gazing into Helene's eyes as he stroked her curved tummy. "I'll have an active connection with you for at least six hours, so I'll be able to make all the changes you need. This is your last chance to change your mind though... so let me know if you have any doubts."

Helene gave him a loving smile. "This is what I want. Thank you."

Alyssa cuddled up to the teal-hued beauty from behind. She kissed her on the cheek and smiled as she said, "You really are one of us now. John's going to gift you with some of his own psychic abilities... you'll carry a part of him with you... forever."

With a blissful sigh, Helene snuggled into John, closing her eyes as she relished their caring touch.

Alyssa glanced at John over Helene's shoulder and gave him an indulgent smile. *Happy?*

*You know I am,* he agreed, returning her smile. Glancing down at Helene who was already drifting off to sleep, he continued, *I wasn't sure about giving her powers at first, but she did a good job convincing me. I think she'll be able to really help.*

Alyssa nodded, gently brushing her fingers through the young woman's mane of soft green hair. *And she's a lot cuter than Nkkrrit...*