Three Square Meals Ch. 133

*This is incredible! To think that this citadel has been in existence since the time of the Kyth'faren!* Tashana gasped, gazing up in awe at the majestic high-arched ceiling as they walked along the corridor of the Kyth'faren castle. *Yet it still looks like construction was only completed a matter of days ago!*

*How old is it exactly?* Alyssa asked in a hushed voice, gazing at the elegant architecture that precisely matched the design of the fortress in her pocket plane.

John shook his head. *Rahn didn't know. The archives do describe the final days of the Kyth'faren Empire, but he said there was nothing indicating how long it's been here.*

There was no obvious source of illumination around, but the airy hallway was pleasantly bright, the pale stone walls gleaming as though they were in direct sunlight. The trio walked along the corridor to the grand set of doors at the end, their eyes drawn to the intricate patterns traced in its marble-like surface.

*Are these Kyth'faren Runes?* Tashana asked, brushing her gauntleted fingers over the swirling shapes.

John hesitated then shook his head. *I don't think so... or at least they're not psychic runes. They're probably just ornamental.*

*They're beautiful...* she whispered, gazing at them in fascination.

*You can study them in detail later,* he said, pushing the doors open. *I think you'll find this even more interesting.*

Tashana's breath caught as she stood bathed in multi-coloured shafts of light, the spectacular illumination coming from a row of stained-glass windows set high in the walls. However, it wasn't the bright colours that had her entranced, but the glowing sphere of hexagons in the centre of the room.

*Is this it? The Kyth'faren archive?* she asked reverently, taking a faltering step forward.

John nodded. *Yes, according to Rahn.*

The Maliri archaeologist held out her hand towards the polygonal shape, then glanced back at John for confirmation. *Is it alright to touch it?*

He hesitated, then strode over to her side. *Let me try first, just to make sure it's safe.*

Tashana moved aside, letting John bring his gauntleted hand closer to the glowing object. He touched its surface then felt a flash of sensation, his mind flooded with shapes, words, and images.

*Woah!* he gasped, wobbling unsteadily.

*Are you alright?!* Alyssa blurted out from behind him, a shrill edge to her voice.

He nodded as the disorientation passed. *It was a bit of a headrush, but I feel fine now.*

Gazing around in fascination, John felt like he was standing inside the sphere, with vast volumes of information filed away on each of the surrounding hexagonal tiles. He picked one at random, focusing on the word "Maedhane", then he was tumbling down an endless well with images facing him on all sides. The pictures were spectacular, from sweeping mist-shrouded mountain ranges to enchanting emerald forests, giving him a breathtaking glimpse of the ancient Kyth'faren planet. The world was definitely alien, but there was an aching familiarity to the natural beauty, the flora and fauna not that dissimilar to the plants and creatures found on any Gaia-class world in the Terran Federation.

Reluctantly pulling himself out of the eldritch construct, he turned and gave Tashana an encouraging smile. *It's disorientating at first, but it seems safe enough.*

Biting her lower lip with anticipation, Tashana held out her hand to touch the orb. She gasped and wavered for a moment, her eyelashes fluttering wildly. John held her upright, watching her face for the slightest sign of distress.

*Oh! You weren't exaggerating!* she blurted out, holding onto him for support.

*Maybe you should stop?* John suggested, flicking a worried glance at her trembling fingers.

*No, I'm okay,* Tashana quickly replied, shaking her head. *Wow... this is incredible! I can't believe how much information is stored here!*

*Alright, you can keep looking... but sit down while you're studying it,* John said, guiding her to the curved benches that closely surrounded the data repository. *And I want you to stop if you feel any kind of distress.*

*Yes... I will,* she murmured, already captivated by the ancient relic from an extinct civilisation.

Satisfied that the Maliri didn't seem to be in any immediate danger, John patted her shoulder, then turned to look at Alyssa. His smile faltered when he saw her fraught expression.

*I'm fine now, there's nothing to worry about,* he said to reassure her.

*There's so much pain here...* she whispered, her face pale with fear. *An eternity of bitter rage and heartbreaking sorrow...*

John looked at her in alarm. *The whole castle, or just this room?*

*I-I don't know...* Alyssa muttered, the blonde turning to dart an anxious glance down the corridor behind them.

*Are we in danger?* John asked, looking at the jittery blonde with concern. *Is something getting ready to attack us?*

She shook her head helplessly. *I've never felt anything like this before... I just don't know.*

John narrowed his eyes and activated his X-Ray vision, then carefully swept his gaze over the interior of the castle. He was able to make out the dimensions of rooms and corridors inside the fortress, but there was no sign of any living entities that might pose a threat.

Drawing his sword just in case, he muttered, *Alright... we'll keep our eyes peeled while Tashana studies the archive. If there's any trouble, we'll leave immediately.*

*Okay...* Alyssa agreed, shivering involuntarily.

***

The Kintark officer paced back and forth on the Bridge of a heavy freighter, staring at the holographic Sector Map that floated above the command table. The bulky cargo hauler had been commandeered by the Imperial navy and was now at the forefront of a dozen similar ships, all heading towards the invaders. The freighters weren't alone in their mission as a second group accompanied them, this one comprised of ponderous mining vessels.

"Prelate Rentak?" the freighter's helmsman asked, his stubby tail twitching nervously. Turning in his seat to look at the military officer who had replaced his old captain, he continued, "We have reached your desssignated navigation point."

Rentak stared at the red and purple swirls of cosmic gases they had passed on their port flank, and felt a flicker of apprehension. Anything could be lurking inside the brightly-coloured astral hazard, even a Brimorian warfleet if they were operating on minimal power, and he would be none the wiser until falling into their laps. Instead of answering the navigator, he strode over to his command chair and activated the display to recap his orders. After double-checking that the coordinates were correct and this was the correct nebula, he rasped his teeth together to catch the helmsman's attention.

"Change courssse to heading 245 and proceed inssside the nebula. I will Inform half the fleet to follow our lead," he declared, before designating a point on the map a short distance inside its murky depths. "Hold at thisss posssition and begin jettisoning our cargo."

The helmsman shot him a worried glance. "But Prelate... the sssteel ssstanchionsss we are carrying will be undetectable with all thisss background interference. Deliberately creating a flight hazard inssside a nebula isss a crime punissshable by-"

Slamming his scaly palm down on the armrest of the command chair, with a crack like a plasma pistol, Rentak silenced the civilian. "If the Brimoriansss have any complaintsss, they can contact the Empresss herssself and asssk for recompenssse!"

After jumping in fright at the loud bang, the helmsman broke into a grin, finally understanding the purpose of their secretive mission. "Sssetting courssse, Prelate Rentak!"

Acknowledging him with a curt nod, Rentak began transmitting his orders to the rest of the freighters in his fleet. With that task done, he turned to watch the cluster of cargo haulers make a ponderous turn and head towards the nebula. Several of the lumbering ships held back, dumping out a number of nasty surprises for the invading enemy.

While the freighters went to work, the fleet of mining ships plodded onwards. Rentak didn't envy them, as they had an even more dangerous task to complete, those brave souls heading even closer to the invading enemies.

***

*How are you getting on, Tashana?* John asked, placing his hand on the Maliri girl's shoulder.

*This is fascinating... simply fascinating...* she murmured in reply, the wonder quite clear in her voice. *There's so much information here on almost every aspect of the Kyth'faren civilisation. It's going to take me months just to sift through it all and find out what's here, but studying it in detail would take a lifetime.*

*That doesn't surprise me; these archives have kept my father entertained for over nine millennia,* John noted with a grimace. *Have you found anything useful so far?*

Tashana nodded, her violet eyes flicking back and forth as she stared at something only she could see. *Take a look at this. I found a collection of images taken from Aeraldhaim, a Kyth'faren planet in what they called the Segaeth spiral... on the opposite side of the galaxy from us.*

*How far away from Terra is that?* John asked Alyssa, who was watching the corridor behind them with a wary eye.

*If it's located on the Scutum-Centaurus arm... at least 60,000 light years,* the blonde muttered distractedly.

Before John could ask any more questions, the polygonal object in the centre of the chamber began to glow. Light beamed out from a hexagonal tile, then pictures blossomed into existence on one of the walls, offering him a tantalising view into the galaxy's distant past. Beautiful pale-stone cityscapes appeared, the elegant Kyth'faren buildings interspersed with broad tree-lined streets. Amidst the majestic splendour of the city was the tell-tale glitter of advanced technology, old and new integrated seamlessly in a way that John had never seen before.

The image suddenly burst into life, movement occurring within the city as small vehicles raced between the gleaming spires. It was surreal to see the same fantastical architecture that they'd only encountered in the Astral Plane, but as it had originally existed in Kyth'faren cities millions of years ago. John found it sobering to think that the beautiful megalopolis before them had been destroyed, its population devoured by Xar'aziuth to feed his insatiable hunger for power.

The imagery shifted, showing a view of the planet itself, with a gleaming orbital ring surrounding the world in low orbit. Like the view of the city beforehand, the picture smoothly came to life, with scores of unfamiliar spacecraft approaching the colossal docking facility. Each ship possessed a beautiful grace that made it quite obvious they'd been designed by a species who had mastered interstellar travel.

The picture panned back from the space station, revealing a gigantic hoop hanging motionless in space. The steady stream of traffic was coming from the glittering structure, with more of those mysterious spaceships heading back towards the enormous hollow disc.

*Wait a second! What's that?* John called out, pointing to the circular device.

*It's the reason I showed you this image,* Tashana replied, her unfocused eyes turning in that direction. *I've seen multiple references to a hyper-gate network... and I think this is one of their gateways.*

John studied it in fascination. *Is this the same kind of hyper-warp gate that Larn'kelnar was talking about?*

Tashana turned away from the picture to look at him. *I don't know, but the Kyth'faren obviously used a similar kind of technology to travel across their Empire. Maybe those original gateways still exist and the Progenitors have taken over the network?*

After considering it for a moment, John shook his head. *Larn'kelnar talked about building his own and taunted me about not having constructed one yet. My father also mentioned that he expected me to have used Mael'nerak's hyper-warp gate to fight the Progenitors; he gave me the impression that Mael'nerak built it rather than found it. I think we can safely assume that Progenitors construct their own before they start fighting any wars.*

*That makes sense,* the Maliri archaeologist agreed.

*What else have you found so far?* John asked, tearing his eyes from the compelling images so that he could look at Tashana.

*I've been reading through personal accounts of the collapse of the Kyth'faren civilisation,* Tashana replied, her expression turning grim. *They didn't know what was happening at first. People seemed to be dying at random, their corpses discovered in their dwellings as little more than desiccated husks.*

*Husks? Like what Progenitors do their thralls?* Alyssa interjected.

Tashana nodded. *Exactly the same... the bodies had the life force drained out of them. The Kyth'faren didn't realise the threat they were facing until it was too late; Xar'aziuth was using dreadful psychic abilities that no one knew even existed. The death toll increased exponentially, until their civilisation dissolved into anarchy, whole worlds going silent as their terrified populations were consumed.*

John experienced a disturbing flashback to one of his Astral nightmares, recalling the sight of a carpet of husked thralls lying withered and twisted at his feet. He shivered at the thought and shook his head to clear the horrible memory.

*Have you found anything on Kyth'faren runic knowledge?* he asked, eager to change the subject. *Rahn said he discovered how to construct my runeblade from one of these archives.*

The Maliri archaeologist shook her head and gave him a guilty look. *I'm sorry... I haven't started looking yet. I was so excited by the opportunity to actually see Kyth'faren worlds and read first-hand accounts from their people that I got distracted.*

John gave her an understanding smile. *I guess this must be like finding the Holy Grail for you.*

Tashana nodded enthusiastically. *It really is! This place is an absolute goldmine of priceless information!* She hesitated and her expression turned rueful. *I'm sorry I let myself be distracted though. I'll let you know as soon as I find out anything about Kyth'faren runes or runic weapons.*

He patted her on the shoulder. *Thanks, honey. Keep focused on that for now and we can come back to study the rest later.*

*Will do!* she replied, her violet eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Turning away from the Maliri, John studied Alyssa, who was still deeply unsettled. *Are you sure you're alright? If it's getting too much for you, we can all leave, then I'll come back with just Tashana.*

Alyssa immediately shook her head, but her wary gaze flicked to the corridors again. *No... I'm not leaving you.*

John watched her for a long moment, then swept his gaze through the fortress again. There was still no sign of any hostile threats, but that gave him small comfort in the face of Alyssa's troubling reaction to the citadel.

***

High Prelate Zorlin stood on the sweeping observation gantry overlooking one of Mar'Trinark Shipyard's huge docking bays. His reptilian eyes followed a munitions train as it emerged from a tunnel in the side of the hangar, its open-topped trucks stacked high with hundreds of newly constructed EMP warheads. The vehicle rumbled along raised rails towards his flagship, the battlecarrier Breklan'tohok, which looked resplendent with its iridescent green armour glittering in the light.

While the train was huge, it was dwarfed by the colossal warship that dominated the hangar. The Breklan'tohok seemed to effortlessly swallow up the munitions convoy, which disappeared inside a loading bay below the battlecarrier's starboard missile launchers. Zorlin knew that his munitions teams would now be working frantically, rushing to install all those EMP warheads in repurposed plasma missiles as they prepared for war with the Brimorians.

The High Prelate grimaced. He couldn't help worrying that they were actually preparing for the largest collective suicide in Kintark history.

A piercing shriek reached his ears, the terrified wail fading away as if the owner of that voice was falling from a huge height. Zorlin caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he spotted a flailing figure arc across the hangar before landing in a crumpled heap. The Kintark engineer made no attempt to get up, but that wasn't surprising considering the mangled state of his corpse.

Before he could do or say anything, the High Prelate heard the ominous approach of thumping footfalls and he turned to see the perpetrator of that unlucky engineer's doom. Empress Tamolith stalked menacingly along the metal gantry, her massive maw twisted into a snarl of irritation. Several more Kintark engineers rushed to get out of her way, literally running for their lives as they sprinted past him.

"Zorlin!" Tamolith snapped, her amber eyes blazing with anger.

Fighting down his natural urge to flee in terror from the furious dragon, Zorlin managed to keep his clawed feet rooted to the spot. He gave the leader of the Kintark Empire a low, respectful bow. "Your Imperial Majesssty... how may I be of ssservice?"

Tamolith towered over him as she came to a halt, her baleful gaze staring down at the leader of the Kintark defence fleets. "What is this nonsense about me abandoning the throne?!"

"Begging your pardon, Empresss, but you wouldn't be abandoning the throne," he stammered, wondering if he was risking death by contradicting the temperamental dragon. "Thisss isss merely a precaution."

"You want me to cower like a whipped cur and flee from the treacherous Brimorian scum?" she rumbled indignantly.

Zorlin forced himself to meet her piercing stare. "Evacuating Kinta will ensssure your sssafety, Empresss. The oddsss are heavily ssstacked against usss."

"You told me that Blake's defensive plans would give us a fighting chance," she growled, her reptilian eyes narrowing. "Have you changed your tune?"

The High Prelate shook his head. "No, Imperial Majesssty. We do have a chance... but our forcesss are ssstill heavily outnumbered. If the battle should not go our way, I do not have a fleet ressserve to guarantee your sssafety."

Tamolith scraped her claws across the gantry, accompanied by the shrill screech of mangled metal. "I thought the Brimorians were planning to target this shipyard, not our homeworld?"

"That'sss what Admiral Blake believesss isss their most likely courssse of action and I am in agreement with hisss asssesssment. If I wasss in the Enclave's posssition and intended to cripple our ability to defend the Empire for decadesss to come, I would make dessstruction of the Mar'Trinark Ssshipyard the highessst priority. Having sssaid that, I do think that your withdrawal to the far reachesss of our territory would be wissse... at leassst until the invasssion isss dealt with."

"What kind of message would abandoning the Imperial capital send to my minions?" she snarled, lips curling back to reveal a terrifying set of huge fangs. "I'm already having to deal with widespread dissent after ceding half the Empire to the Terran Federation. If I appear any weaker, the planets I have left will start openly defying me!"

Zorlin spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. "Pleassse accept my humble apologiesss, Empresss. I cannot advissse you on sssuch mattersss... my area of expertissse is fleet tactics."

The Empress' tail lashed back and forth, revealing her anxiety. She was quiet for a long moment, her amber eyes shadowed with worry. Tamolith blew out her breath in frustration, the wind whistling between her huge teeth as she exhaled, then the imposing dragon turned and headed back along the gantry.

Finally allowing himself to relax, Zorlin's shoulders sagged with relief. He actually felt safer facing impossible odds against a highly-advanced alien menace than he did in an audience with the draconic Empress. His relief was short-lived as Tamolith's long serpentine neck twisted around so that she was staring at him once again.

"I wish you good fortune in the battle, High Prelate. You carry the future of the Kintark Empire in your hands... do not fail me."

"I will do my utmossst, Empresss," Zorlin replied with a respectful bow.

He watched the huge dragon depart, then turned on his heel and entered the elevator that would take him down to the hangar below. The fleet was nearly ready to depart and they had additional surprises to prepare for the Brimorian invaders.

***

*I found it!* Tashana blurted out, grinning with delight.

*Found what?* John asked, surprised that she'd already discovered something useful.

*The schematics for your runesword!* she replied, her eyes darting from side to side as she studied the information in the archive.

*That was quick! Nice work,* he said, patting the Maliri girl's shoulder. *Can I take a look?*

Tashana nodded, already activating the Kyth'faren polyhedron. *Of course... let me just display it for you.*

One of the hexagons blazed with light, then a technical schematic for his runeblade appeared on the wall of the chamber.

*Kyth'vindathys,* John murmured, reading the title written in Progenitor runic script. He glanced down at the gleaming ethereal weapon he clutched in a gauntleted fist, which was an exact replica of the one he held back on the Invictus.

*Those runes... I don't recognise them. What are they?* Alyssa asked in fascination, momentarily distracted from her misgivings about the Kyth'faren fortress by the surprising discovery.

John stepped closer and studied the intricate runic phrases needed to forge the weapon. Looking at the complex structures made his head spin, but he could sense the formidable power contained within those incantations. Like Alyssa, he didn't recognise several of the elaborate sigils, which were not part of the Kyth'faren eldritch alphabet that he was familiar with.

*I don't know,* he admitted with a puzzled frown. *I've never seen them before either.*

*Then how did you forge your sword?* Alyssa asked, waving a hand at the razor-sharp blade. *You must've used all those runes to make it.*

He gave her a helpless shrug, then glanced down at the rune-embossed weapon, turning it in his fist and watching as it reflected the light. *I wasn't even trying to create anything like this at the time. I was reshaping my sword to make it stronger, but I got distracted and made this runeblade before I realised what I was doing.*

*Dana's runic affinity is a mystery as well,* Alyssa reminded him. *Maybe there's another whole outer ring of runes that we're missing?*

Tashana turned to look at John over her shoulder. *Or at least we're missing them... but you must have them locked away in your head.*

John grimaced as a sudden thought came to him. *My guide must still have control over all those runes... that's why I didn't even know they existed.* Shaking his head in frustration, he continued, *Even when he's locked away, my guide's still a thorn in my side.*

Alyssa slipped an arm around John and gave him a sympathetic hug. *Not for too much longer.*

*Very true.* After a lingering look of regret at the runic script, John turned to face Tashana again. *Alright, why don't you see what else you can find. We'll have to come back for another look at the runesword schematics when I know what all those runes mean.*

*Okay, I'll keep looking,* the Maliri readily agreed, submerging her subconscious into the Kyth'faren archive again.

He felt Alyssa tremble beside him and glanced at her with concern. *What's wrong? Did you sense something else?*

The blonde glanced warily over her shoulder. *I just can't shake this weird feeling that we're being watched...*

*I haven't seen any sign of movement here besides us,* John said, his voice calm and reassuring. *I'll keep checking, just to be sure.*

John's eyes glowed with a blue light and he gave the fortress another perfunctory sweep with his enhanced X-Ray vision.

*God fucking dammit!* he swore, tightening his grip on his blade. *I don't believe it!*

Tashana jerked herself out of the polyhedron's telepathic construct when she heard his outburst and turned to look at John in alarm. *What's the matter?*

*My father... he's here. I just spotted the asshole landing on the battlements,* John snarled, stalking towards the door behind them. *I'll go tell Rahn to fuck off. Call me immediately if you two get in any kind of trouble.*

*John, wait!* Alyssa protested, striding after him. *I'm coming with you!*

He paused and shook his head. *Rahn's not any kind of threat... I'm much stronger than he is now. Stay here and keep watch over Tashana while she studies the archive; I won't be gone long.*

Her shoulders slumped when she saw the fierce look of determination on his face. *Alright... but please be careful.*

*Stay safe, Baen'thelas,* Tashana said softly, her expression filled with concern.

*I will,* he replied, giving them both a warm smile. *Don't worry, I'll be right back.*

As John left the girls and the Kyth'faren knowledge repository behind, his smile faded and a cold, hard edge appeared in his eyes. He was sorely tempted to ignite his runeblade with Eldritch fire and deal with Rahn'hagon permanently, but his mother's desperate plea for his father's life still rang in his ears. Gritting his teeth with tightly-suppressed fury, he stormed down the corridors of the ancient citadel, bracing himself for the impending confrontation with his father.

It didn't take long for John to reach the battlements, the use of psychic speed hastening his arrival. He burst through the imposing doors that led to the outer fortifications before Rahn'hagon had even managed to cross the battlements to reach the keep. His father froze as the doors slammed open, shocked by the sudden appearance of his son only a dozen paces away.

*What are you doing here?!* Rahn'hagon gasped, falling back a step.

*Trying to find out what you stuffed inside my head,* John growled, advancing towards him. *Now leave before I make you.*

Rahn'hagon bristled at his son's scathing tone, never having been so casually dismissed before. He glared at John, torn between his anger and instinct for self-preservation. *I showed you this place! You can't order me to leave!*

John gave him a grim, humourless smile. *You're not coming inside while I'm here... but you're welcome to try and force your way in. Let's see what happens when you can't hide behind my mother's skirts.*

*What do you mean?* his father said, looking at him in confusion. *Jessica isn't wearing a skirt.*

*It's an old Terran expression,* John explained, looking at his father with contempt. *It's what cowardly children do... they taunt someone, then hide behind their mother when that person retaliates. The only reason you're still alive is because you cowered behind Jessica.*

Rahn'hagon flushed indignantly at the explanation behind John's insult. Despite his anger, he eyed his son's runeblade with trepidation and backed away, not wanting to antagonise John any further.

*Alright, I shall depart,* the ancient Progenitor grudgingly conceded. He paused, studying John curiously. *Actually... the only reason I'm here is because I was seeking answers about the nature of your abilities. Perhaps we could discuss that for a moment before I leave?*

John snorted and shook his head. *You try to kill me and now you want to have a cordial chat? You've got to be fucking kidding. Leave now, before I forget my mother begged me to spare your worthless hide.*

*But I need to know how you've grown so powerful!* Rahn'hagon pleaded, his frustration bubbling over. *And you've bestowed psychic powers upon your thralls... why would you do that?!*

*I'm not telling you a goddamn thing,* John muttered, advancing another step. *You wouldn't understand anyway... you're not even capable of comprehending why I did it.*

*At least tell me what Alyssa is!* his father insisted, his burning curiosity overcoming his fear. *She's no mere Terran... what have you done to her? What is she?!*

***

The subject of their discussion listened to the fraught conversation between father and son, ready to rush to John's side at a moment's notice if he should be attacked. Alyssa didn't trust Rahn'hagon, not after he turned on John so abruptly back aboard Larn'kelnar's dreadnought. Despite John's assurances that he was more powerful than his father, Rahn'hagon had thousands of years of combat experience and was still a dangerous opponent.

*Oh, I've found something else! There's more information here on Kyth'vindathys!* Tashana exclaimed, her eyes widening in wonder. She frowned in confusion as she continued reading. *But this part isn't referring to a runeblade... it's talking about personal enhancement...*

Alyssa opened her mouth to reply, but just as she was about to speak, a sepulchral whisper floated through her mind. Like a spectre dredged up from antiquity, the voice was horribly tormented, filled with an eternity of hatred and pain.

*Lieth amest tel'kaintir... meiher alith valdathyr...* it moaned, every word sending shivers down Alyssa's spine.

*Jade, I need a translation!* she exclaimed, contacting the Nymph Matriarch. *What does this mean?*

Alyssa repeated the unfamiliar Kyth'faren words, perfectly matching the tone and inflection.

*Flee this place... your life is in jeopardy...* Jade translated in a hushed voice. She paused then continued with concern, *Alyssa, this doesn't sound like an idle warning. Whoever said that to you was deadly serious.*

Alyssa whirled around, her eyes widening in alarm. *Who said that?!*

Tashana's brows furrowed as she glanced over her shoulder at the blonde. *Um... I did? I was just saying that I found more records on Kyth'vindathys.*

*No, not that,* Alyssa said in a hushed voice. *There's something here... it warned me I was in danger!*

Shaking her head to clear it from the alluring draw of the Kyth'faren archive, Tashana rose from the bench, her slender fingers dropping to the hilts of her pistols. The Maliri pistoleer smoothly drew her twin guns and cast a wary eye around the chamber, searching for any threats.

*Where was it coming from?* Tashana asked, darting a worried glance at the blonde teenager.

*Who are you?!* Alyssa called out, her melodic voice echoing down the corridors. *Why am I in danger?*

There was a long pause, then she heard the eerie reply, the words echoing with dreadful foreboding. *Keir'ana alith Il carheim brogarl mel yahir lamast! El rehanath esar, luen alith shahaim... Kahori sa erondeil!*

Alyssa darted a frightened glance at Tashana. *Did you hear that?*

*No... nothing,* the Maliri whispered, her eyes like saucers.

*Jade!* she called out to the Nymph. *I need another translation!*

As Alyssa repeated back the unsettling warning, Jade quickly translated for her. *Abandon your befouled companions before it is too late! I beg of you, for your own sake... leave at once!*

With one last frightened glance around the chamber, Alyssa grabbed Tashana's arm. *Come on! Let's get the hell out of here!*

Unsettled by her usually calm matriarch's panicked reaction to the fortress, Tashana joined Alyssa in sprinting for the exit.

***

*What have I done to Alyssa?* John said, sneering at his father. *I gave her back her free will! She's not an indoctrinated slave like my mother. The first thing I did when I broke my connection to the girls was to remove their compulsion to obey me.*

Rahn'hagon gaped at him in open-mouthed astonishment. *You did what?!*

*You heard me,* John snarled, his lip curling with disgust. *I'm nothing like you... I don't want mindlessly obedient thralls. Alyssa and the rest of the girls are all free to do whatever they want; they're not forced to follow my orders.*

*Is that what you did to Jessica?!* Rahn'hagon accused him, glaring at his son in anger.

*What are you talking about?* John replied, looking at him with disdain. *I didn't do anything to her.*

*Your mother's been sobbing her heart out all week!* his father exclaimed. *She won't listen to a word I say anymore and blames me for everything! I know you're responsible somehow!*

John shook his head. *All I did was talk to her... but she's totally obsessed with you and couldn't care less about me. Maybe she's finally pulled her head out of her ass and realised what a piece of shit you are.*

*So explain the mental barrier in her mind then!* Rahn'hagon demanded indignantly. *Someone blocked me from looking into Jessica's subconscious. I thought I sensed a woman's mind behind it, but it was obviously you all along!*

John froze, realising instantly who had been tampering with his mother's mind. *Alyssa, what did you do to Jessica?!*

*There's something in the citadel, John!* Alyssa blurted out, sounding deeply unsettled. *A ghostly presence spoke to me... it warned me I was in danger!*

*I'm on my way!* he exclaimed, whirling around towards the door.

*We're coming to you!* she gasped, as she sprinted through the keep.

Rahn'hagon blinked in surprise as John did an abrupt about-face and rushed towards the doors leading into the citadel. He was even more shocked when John reappeared shortly afterwards, because his son was not alone. Accompanying him was a blonde Terran that Rahn'hagon immediately recognised as Alyssa and a blue-skinned Maliri thrall that he'd never seen before.

*What are they doing here?!* he asked, gaping incredulously at John's companions.

John opened his mouth to reply, but before he could say a word, Tashana's head snapped around to glare at Rahn'hagon with unbridled fury.

*Progenitor!* she hissed, her eyes blazing with an incandescent violet light.

The Maliri psychic dropped her pistols and held out both hands, fiery sprites bursting forth around her splayed fingers. Her face twisted into a mask of pure hatred, dreadful anticipation alight in that terrifying gaze. Rahn'hagon barely had time to summon a hex-barrier before he was engulfed in a blistering inferno, torrents of flame blasting his hastily prepared psychic shield.

*Burn!* Tashana shrieked, intensifying the conflagration.

The fiery maelstrom swirled around Rahn'hagon, sheets of crackling flame washing over the battlements in a breathtaking display of Pyrokinesis. Rahn'hagon poured as much energy as he could into desperately bolstering his shield, repairing scores of hexagons as they were reduced to a charred ruin by the Maliri's ferocious psychic assault. Dropping to his knees with the strain, he wondered fearfully how long he could maintain his protective barrier, as Tashana's ferocious onslaught showed no sign of abating. All around him, the pale stone fortifications were scorched and blackened, incinerated by the raging inferno that blazed across the citadel.

Snapping out of his shock at Tashana's unexpected outburst, John grabbed her wrists and jerked upwards, causing the conflagration to blaze across the ethereal sky. *Stop, Tashana! What the hell are you doing?!*

Tashana struggled in his grasp, but John was far too strong for her to break free. He deftly turned her away from his father and enveloped the thrashing girl in a tight hug, sending wild tendrils of fire curling outwards in all directions. As soon as Rahn'hagon was out of sight, the Maliri began to calm down and ceased her struggles against John's implacable grip. Tashana blinked rapidly as the glowing light in her eyes faded away, then rage was replaced by confusion, which quickly shifted to a look of mortified disbelief.

*Oh, John! I'm so sorry!* Tashana gasped, gazing up at him in shock. *I don't know what came over me!*

*It's alright, honey,* he said soothingly, holding her tight. Glancing over her shoulder at Rahn'hagon, he saw his father stagger to his feet. *Rahn's like a cockroach... he's impossible to kill.*

Instead of responding to the taunt, Rahn'hagon rushed to the smouldering crenellations and stared out across the ethereal plane.

*No, no, no!* he cried out in horrified denial. *What have you done?!*

John peeled away from Tashana, letting Alyssa hold the Maliri girl instead. He stalked over to his father to see what had upset him this time. *What are you whining about now?*

*Look there, you reckless fool!* Rahn'hagon snapped, pointing towards the horizon... and the swirling mists that were rolling towards them.

*Ah, shit...* John muttered, a shiver of dread running down his spine.

*This fortress withstood the test of time for countless millennia and you've brought about its destruction in a matter of days!* Rahn'hagon raged. *What's wrong with you?! Does everything you touch come to ruin?*

John's protest died on his lips and he glanced back at the citadel with profound regret. The Kyth'faren stronghold was a priceless repository of ancient knowledge... and he was under no illusion what the fallen Progenitors in the mists would do to it when they arrived.

Shaking his head in impotent frustration, Rahn'hagon backed away from John, then floated into the air above the pale stone. He gave his son one last look of withering disappointment, then he soared skyward and raced away across the Astral Plane.

*What are we going to do, John?* Alyssa asked quietly, walking over to stand beside him.

*I don't know... just let me think a second,* he muttered, watching the fell legions rush their way.

Tashana flanked him, her hand seeking his. *This is all my fault,* she sobbed, her voice breaking.

*No it wasn't... don't blame yourself,* he stated firmly, shaking his head. John stared at the approaching hordes, then gave the fortress one last look of regret. *We can't stay here, there's far too many of them to try defending this place.*

*But all that knowledge...* Tashana said, tears rolling down her cheeks as she gazed at the Kyth'faren bastion in anguish. *We were so close to finally answering so many questions...*

*We already found out enough,* Alyssa said, her expression grim. *John... we need to go.*

John nodded in agreement, watching eerie banks of fog approaching from multiple directions, colossal misshapen beasts just visible through the grey miasma. He was already holding Tashana's hand so John reached for Alyssa's too, then he rose up from the battlements, the two girls ascending with him. Stretching out before him was his astral cord, which snaked back across the featureless plane, like a lifeline leading from the deepest reaches of this alternate dimension back to his physical body. With a heavy sigh of regret, he let himself be drawn back to his corporeal form, guiding the two girls to safety.

As they raced away, flying high across the ethereal expanse, Tashana twisted around to stare at the Kyth'faren fortress. The mists swirled around the curtain wall until they completely surrounded the stronghold, then the beasts concealed within the fog launched their siege. A booming roar echoed across the plane as one of the monstrous behemoths crashed into the fortifications, its writhing tentacles smashing the battlements and tearing away huge chunks of stone.

The last thing the Maliri archaeologist saw through her tears, was a grotesque six-limbed abomination breaching the wall and lurching towards the keep. She averted her gaze, unable to watch such a priceless treasure be desecrated by the malevolent creatures.

***

Tom Walker paced back and forth in the prison cell, trying to make sense of his rapidly crumbling world. He was still stunned by the news that Admiral Morgan's entire fleet had been destroyed and overwhelmed with grief for all the friends and colleagues he'd lost. As much as he wanted to curl up into a ball and mourn for Beth, Mason, and all the others, Tom knew he couldn't afford to fall apart... not when he'd been accused of treason and murder.

He had no idea why Colonel Compton was so convinced of his guilt. The Brimorian toxin that had put him in a coma was suspicious, but all the evidence was circumstantial... it wasn't as if they had any conclusive proof that he had betrayed the fleet. They couldn't have, Tom reasoned, because he was entirely innocent of any wrongdoing.

The clunk of the door unlocking roused Tom from his troubled thoughts. He clenched his fists, getting ready to demand access to a lawyer when the ISD Colonel re-entered his cell, but it wasn't Compton that had come to visit him. His father strode into the room, Admiral Laurence Walker wearing full-dress uniform... and a furious scowl.

"Dad!" Tom exclaimed, never more pleased to see his father. "Thank God you're here!"

Laurence awkwardly patted Tom on the back when his son rushed forward to hug him. "It's good to see you, son."

This was the first time Tom had seen his father in person for several months and although they weren't exactly close, it was a huge relief to set eyes on the taciturn admiral. Tom briefly wondered if being in a coma for a week would provoke an outpouring of fatherly concern from the man, so he couldn't help feeling disappointed when it wasn't forthcoming. He guessed from his father's rigid posture that the man was uncomfortable, so he pulled away from the awkward embrace.

"Yeah, you too, dad," Tom said, realising he should have known better than to expect an emotional reunion.

"They're not giving me any proper answers!" Laurence Walker complained, eager to get back to tackling the problem at hand. "What the hell's going on? That jumped-up Colonel told me they're holding you because you're being charged with Federal crimes!"

Tom took a deep breath, then replied, "They think I'm involved with the Callopean Shoals massacre."

Laurence snorted indignantly. "Preposterous! There's no way you'd betray the Federation."

"I know! That's what I've been trying to tell them!" Tom exclaimed, feeling a huge surge of relief that his father didn't believe the accusations. "I'm being charged with treason and murder... but I had nothing to do with it!"

"Of course not," Admiral Walker replied, waving his hand in a dismissive gesture. His eyes flashed with cold fury. "This must be some kind of political power-play from one of my rivals within the Admiralty. Some bastard is trying to take me down and framing you in a transparent attempt to discredit our family! Heads will roll when I find out who's responsible... don't you worry about that!"

"Dad, can you get me out of here?" Tom pleaded desperately.

"Hold tight, son. I'll get to the bottom of this and get the charges dismissed," his father replied, giving him a reassuring smile. His smile faded an instant later and he shook his head in frustration. "I just wish you'd listened to me about transferring to Mars. This whole mess could've been avoided if you'd accepted a post in the Core Worlds like I told you to, instead of wasting your time with the fleet."

Tom bit back a retort, not wanting to antagonise his father. "Yeah... you were right."

Laurence Walker smiled with satisfaction as he nodded his agreement. "Yes, well... never mind about that now. When we've got everything cleared up, we'll discuss how we can exploit this mess and use it to further your career."

Stifling his irritation, Tom decided to change the subject. "Have you seen Anna? She must be devastated after what happened to Mason."

His father nodded distractedly. "She visited the hospital while you were in a coma."

"I need to see her urgently. Mason had some kind of breakdown after he heard what happened to Uncle Vincent. He said some things to Anna and I have to make sure she knows the truth."

"Yes, yes... I'll make sure she's allowed to visit you," Laurence Walker agreed, adjusting his peaked hat and tapping on the door. "You'll be back together with her soon anyway. It shouldn't take long for me to get this farce dismissed."

Tom reached out to catch his father's arm. "Thanks, dad."

"Don't mention it," Laurence said gruffly. A grim smile of anticipation appeared on his face. "I almost feel sorry for whoever it is that's plotting against me. When I get through with them... they'll wish they'd never been born!"

Tom gave him a strained smile, then watched as the door opened and his father strode out of the holding cell.

***

John wobbled unsteadily as he merged with his body again and when he opened his eyes, he was surrounded by concerned faces.

"Are you alright, Master?" Jade asked, darting over to steady him.

Calara was holding her Tachyon rifle at the ready in case of danger. "Jade told us you had to escape from the fortress!"

"Stand down, honey." John placed his hand on the barrel and lowered it. "We're alright... but the Kyth'faren archive has been destroyed."

Dana shared a shocked glance with Rachel, then blurted out, "What the fuck happened?!"

"It was all my fault," Tashana replied, her face a picture of misery. "Rahn'hagon appeared and I attacked him... I don't know what came over me. Then the mist monsters were drawn to the fortress by my psychic powers."

"Holy shit!" the redhead exclaimed, her eyes wide. "You tried to kill John's dad?!"

The Maliri nodded and hung her head in shame. "I just saw red... nothing else mattered except immolating him where he stood."

Slipping his arm around the distraught Maliri, John said sternly, "I told you back at the fortress that you weren't to blame for this. You took one look at Rahn and snapped; there was nothing normal about the way you were behaving. I'd bet a million credits you were reacting instinctively to seeing another Progenitor."

Alyssa nodded and looked at Tashana with sympathy. "It was like the way you and Irillith reacted to seeing Larn'kelnar's thralls... but on steroids. You went from being alarmed by that presence in the citadel to enraged at Rahn in an instant."

John gestured towards the express grav-tube. "Let's put our gear away. I need to give Tashana a proper hug."

Sakura led the way to the concealed door hidden in the wall, then the girls filed into the grav-tube and were rushed up to the Armoury. John entered last with Tashana and they followed the others to the equipping frames to remove their Paragon suits. He paused to put away his runeblade on the weapons rack and stared at it for a moment, wondering how he'd managed to forge the sword without understanding the required runes.

Feeling eyes watching him, John turned to see Tashana giving him a look filled with remorse.

He gave her a warm smile. "Hurry up! Off with that armour!"

She looked relieved at his jovial tone and the Maliri hurried into the equipping frame where she was quickly divested of armour plates. John entered his own equipping frame and activated the thumb control in his gauntlets, triggering the robotic arms to descend smoothly and remove his Lion suit. He stepped out of his armoured boots, then pulled Tashana into his arms... and felt her hugging him back just as fiercely.

"I'm not mad at you, honey," he whispered in her ear. "My father's a real dick... I totally understand why you'd want to roast him alive."

Tashana snorted with laughter, then pulled back to gaze into his eyes, her expression turning sombre. "Really?"

"Yeah... he's incredibly annoying," John replied with a playful grin.

She smiled, then shook her head. "No, I mean are you sure you're not upset with me?"

"I promise," John said, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "The way you responded must be an instinctive reaction towards a rival Progenitor."

Rachel was listening to their conversation and she interjected, "It certainly sounds as if thrall species are genetically pre-programmed to try to kill other Progenitors on sight. I saw Rahn'hagon aboard the dreadnought and while I was furious at him for the way he'd attacked John, I wasn't completely consumed by rage."

Tashana suddenly frowned. "But I watched hours of footage of Mael'nerak and I've never reacted badly to seeing him."

"The overpowering urge to kill another Progenitor might only kick-in when you're in close proximity," Rachel suggested, considering the causal factors. "If that's the case, then watching video clips wouldn't trigger any reaction."

*Mael'nerak also claimed the Maliri before you,* Edraele reminded John, sounding lost in thought. *That might factor into it too.*

The Maliri matriarch had shared her comment with the group and Rachel nodded thoughtfully. "A residual sense of recognition? That might be a possibility."

"I wonder why Larn'kelnar's thralls didn't try to kill you after they shot out the Raptor's cockpit?" Tashana pondered aloud. "If we're right, they would've been affected the same way."

John considered that a moment, then replied, "Because Larn'kelnar wanted me alive and he ordered them not to? They wouldn't have been capable of disobeying his orders."

"We were very lucky to find this out now, instead of during an actual battle against a Progenitor," Sakura noted, looking relieved. "Now we know how the twins will react, we can plan accordingly."

"That's a very good point," John said, nodding his agreement. "Alright, let's relax somewhere more comfortable. We've got a few more things to discuss."

"The Observatory?" Alyssa suggested. "Irillith and Helene are with Jehanna, but they'll want to hear this too."

"Sounds good to me," John agreed.

They headed towards the second set of express grav-tubes, then rose up to Deck Three and exited into the Lagoon.

Jade fell into step beside John as they crossed over the lake, where several of the Nymphs were playing in the water. They all stopped their game to wave at John as he passed.

"My sisters are keeping Ailita company and taking it in turns up on the Bridge," Jade explained, her emerald eyes watching his face. "Unless you specifically want them to join us, I can keep them informed."

"That's fine, honey," he replied, returning the friendly wave as they passed the frolicking catgirls. "I really appreciate them taking over watching the Bridge for us; it's been a big help after losing Faye."

They shared a sad smile, then followed the girls into the Observatory. Irillith had risen from the bed and was wrapped up in a tight hug with her sister. Helene and Jehanna were still seated, both watching the twins embrace, so John went over to join them.

"Don't worry about Tashana... she's fine," he said with a reassuring smile as he sat between the two girls.

"How about you?" Helene asked, stroking his back.

Jehanna gave him a worried frown. "Alyssa said you had another run in with your father?"

Touched by their genuine concern, he hugged them both. "I did... but I'm alright. Rahn'hagon never fails to disappoint... I guess I'm getting used to it now."

"That's so sad, John," Helene said looking at him with sympathy.

"It is what it is," he said, drawing them closer. "Fortunately, I'm blessed with lots of wonderful women in my life, which more than makes up for my parents."

They both cuddled him, sensing that he didn't want to discuss his father any more. John was grateful that they let the subject drop and he watched the rest of the girls settle down on the oval bed. They sat in a semi-circle in front of him, expectant looks on their faces.

Seeing he had their full attention, John said, "Alright, let's start. You all know what happened when Tashana saw my father and I think we've figured out the reason why she reacted that way. Does anyone else want to add anything?" When everyone shook their heads, he continued, "Unfortunately, the Kyth'faren fortress that Rahn'hagon showed me has been destroyed. He mentioned that there were others... but that's the only one I knew about."

The room was quiet as the girls nodded their understanding.

"Even though we were only there for a short time, Tashana did an incredible job searching the archive... she actually managed to discover the schematic for forging my runeblade. The sword is called Kyth'vindathys and the plans used several powerful runes that I've never seen before."

Dana's brow furrowed in confusion. "Hold on a second. I thought your runesword was some kind of super-secret weapon to kill Progenitors? Didn't it take your dad thousands of years to discover all this stuff? How the hell did you find the schematics so fast?"

John hesitated. "That's a good point. I actually thought the same thing back in the fortress."

Alyssa nodded her agreement, then turned to Tashana. "Tell him what else you found."

"I discovered more entries also titled Kyth'vindathys," the Maliri quietly replied. "I didn't have a chance to read through them in any detail, but there were more runes, most of which I didn't recognise. The introduction started talking about personal enhancement... and unlocking unlimited power."

"Damn... I wish I'd been able to take a look at that," John said with regret. He glanced around the room at the girls to check their reactions and was surprised to see his Nymph matriarch had a worried frown on her face. "What's the matter, Jade?"

"When you left the repository chamber to confront Rahn'hagon, something contacted Alyssa. It talked to her in ancient Maliri... the Kyth'faren tongue... and she asked me to translate."

"Yeah, you said something spoke to you," John said, turning to face the blonde. "Do you know what it was?"

Alyssa didn't reply for a long moment as she shared a pensive look with Jade. "I think it might have been the spirit of the original Kyth'faren citizen who sacrificed himself to maintain the fortress," she finally replied. "The voice sounded like it was wracked with pain, tortured for millions of years by hatred and grief... it was horrible to hear."

"That's what you were sensing inside the repository chamber as well, wasn't it?" John asked, feeling a shiver run down his spine. When Alyssa nodded in confirmation, he continued, "So what did it say exactly?"

She took a deep breath, then recited the Kyhth'faren phrases spoken to her by the ghastly spectre, perfectly matching the terrifying delivery. Tashana and Irillith both gasped, their faces turning pale.

"Flee this place... your life is in jeopardy," Jade translated for her. "Abandon your befouled companions before it is too late! I beg of you, for your own sake... leave at once!"

"What the fuck..." Dana whispered, her eyes like saucers.

"It was talking about us... me and Tashana," John said, feeling overwhelmed with dread.

A glance around the room confirmed that he wasn't the only one feeling that way.

"Why would it say something so awful?" Helene asked, looking upset. "You're not foul! The two of you are lovely people!"

"If we're right about the voice belonging to a Kyth'faren, then he had good reason to hate what we are," Tashana replied, shooting a pensive glance at John. "I'm from a Thrall species and you're a Progenitor... we both represent Xar'aziuth's agents on the Material Plane."

Dana jerked a thumb towards Alyssa. "Yeah, but she's a matriarch! Wouldn't that ghost guy hate her just as much as you two?"

"Alyssa's not exactly a normal matriarch," Calara said, reaching up to sweep aside her girlfriend's golden hair to reveal the tip of a pointed ear. "Maybe the presence thought she was a Kyth'faren woman?"

"I don't know," Alyssa said, shrugging helplessly. "I suppose it's possible. We won't be able to test that theory unless we can locate another one of those fortresses."

"They're hidden in the Deep Astral, so we can't exactly go roaming around to look for them," John said with a rueful frown. "After what just happened to the last one, Rahn's never going to tell me the location of any others... not that we're even on speaking terms right now. He was furious when he fled the citadel."

"It was horrific watching the walls being torn down by those monsters," Tashana said quietly. "I know you said you don't blame me for what happened to the castle, but I am sorry for my part in its destruction. It stood for countless millennia and the fallen Progenitors just tore it apart in minutes."

"Rahn said the same thing... except he blamed me," John said, staring off into the distance. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he glanced around the room and saw that all the girls were watching him with sympathy. "Alright... let's forget about that; dwelling on the loss of the fortress won't bring it back. Is there anything else anyone wants to discuss?"

The girls considered it for a moment, then shook their heads.

"There is one last thing I want to talk about," John stated, focusing his attention on Alyssa. "Rahn tried to blame me for blocking him from Jessica's mind... but it was you, wasn't it?"

Alyssa didn't back down from his stern gaze. "Yes, it was me."

Her frank admission was met with shocked gasps around the room, everyone stunned to hear what she'd done except for Calara, Dana, and Rachel. John glanced at the trio, his eyebrow raised, and they had the good grace to look guilty and embarrassed.

"But why would you tamper with Jessica's mind?" Sakura blurted out incredulously. "She's John's mother!"

"I'm well aware of that," Alyssa noted, a wry smile on her face.

"This isn't funny, Alyssa," John said, shaking his head in disbelief. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"About how much she hurt you," the blonde replied earnestly, giving him a level look. "When Jessica showed no interest in you due to her obsession over Rahn'hagon, I've never seen you so upset. I wanted to stick it to your father for abandoning you in the first place... and the best way to do that was to alter your mother's mind. I changed Jessica while we were on Arcadia, just after your chat aboard the Raptor. When you walked away in disgust, I stayed with her and made some tweaks to her personality."

"How could you do that?!" John balked looking at Alyssa in horror. "You know how I feel about making personality modifications! I can't believe you changed Jessica without her consent... that's what Progenitors do!"

"A Progenitor already had changed Jessica, I just reversed what your father had done to her," Alyssa calmly replied. "I removed as much of Rahn's influence as I could, until I broke your father's hold over her mind. Jessica doesn't have to blindly obey his orders anymore and she's stopped being so obsessed with him, which means your mother is capable of feeling regret over what happened to you and her parents. The last thing I did was to shield her mind, which prevented Rahn from enthralling her again."

"You said you changed Jessica to stick it to my father, but my mother still rushed to beg for his life back on the dreadnought," John said grimacing at the painful memory. "She didn't seem any different to me."

Alyssa shook her head. "She still loves your father, but now Jessica feels guilty about the way they treated you and your grandparents. She'll constantly nag Rahn until she forces him to do the right thing by you."

"She's been doing more than nag him," John said, his expression turning troubled. "My father said that Jessica's been crying her eyes out all week and blames him for everything."

This statement didn't get the reaction from the girls that he expected, with everyone looking sympathetic rather than surprised.

John glanced around at the girls in astonishment. "Wait... You all knew about this?"

"I spoke to Jessica when we were sneaking around on the dreadnought," Helene explained, looking up at him with big blue eyes. "She started asking me questions about you."

"We all talked to her," Calara admitted. "Your mother wanted to know all about you, so I told her about your career. Jessica was astonished when I told her that you'd been promoted to Admiral and earned two Stellar Clusters... she was incredibly proud of you, John."

Dana nodded enthusiastically. "We basically brought her up to speed on everything you've been doing recently. You should've seen her face when I told her that billions of people owe you their lives... she was totally blown away! Your mom also wanted to know how we met you... so we told her all about how you rescued us and saved our lives."

Rachel reached over to hold his hand. "I emphasised how much effort you'd gone to in making sure we fully understood all the ramifications before we joined you. I knew you would've wanted Jessica to understand that you're a good man... and nothing like a regular Progenitor."

Stroking his arm, Helene said quietly, "Your mother does care about you, John. Jessica got very upset when she realised just how much she hurt you and her parents."

"She's not the same woman you met on Arcadia," Rachel said sincerely, looking into his eyes. "Jessica was filled with remorse and desperate to atone for abandoning you. I really liked her, John. She's a lovely woman... and really wants to be part of your life."

"Jessica also knows you're engaged to all of us and that she's about to become a grandmother several times over," Alyssa said with a soft smile. "She wants to be friends with all of her future daughters-in-law and was thrilled at the prospect of seeing her grandchildren."

"Really?" John asked, swallowing around the big lump in his throat. "She actually said that?"

Alyssa nodded eagerly, then her radiant smile turned into an angry scowl. "But then your father attacked you and it all went to shit. We ran back to help you and arrived just as you were about to execute Rahn'hagon. Jessica panicked and rushed to save him... but she wasn't choosing your father over you. If we'd got there in time, she'd have rushed to stop him from trying to kill you... I know she would."

Rachel gently squeezed John's hand. "I looked back at Jessica when we left... she was so upset. Your mother was devastated by what Rahn'hagon had done, especially as it happened just as she was trying to apologise for having hurt you."

John could see she was being completely honest with him and he felt a soaring sense of hope... until he remembered the last interaction he'd had with his mother.

"Oh no..." he groaned in horror. John leaned forward and held his head in his hands. "When she tried to contact me after the wedding, I told Jessica I'd talk to her when Rahn's dead!"

"I know," Alyssa said quietly, her expression troubled. "That would've really hurt."

"Why didn't you tell me all this beforehand?!" John exclaimed, looking at her in anguish.

"Because it's only been a week since your father tried to kill you," Alyssa replied, her cerulean eyes reflecting his regret and frustration. "I wanted to tell you... but you hated Rahn'hagon for what he did to you and bitterly resented your mother for abandoning you on Olympus."

John shook his head and objected, "But that wasn't her fault... Rahn ordered her to do it!"

"Logically you know that's true, but emotionally you still felt rejected," she said quietly. "Ask Jehanna and Rachel if you don't believe me... you've discussed it with both of them and they'll tell you exactly the same thing."

He glanced at the two girls, who slowly nodded in confirmation. Shoulders slumping, he said, "I can get past that... I know I can."

Alyssa got up and sat directly in front of him. "I believe you... but until you bury the hatchet with your father, you're not going to be able to have a meaningful relationship with your mother. Jessica feels terrible about abandoning her only son and is grieving for her parents... but she still loves Rahn. She's never going to leave him."

John shook his head in weary resignation. "What a fucked-up mess. Even if I forgive my father... and I don't know if I can, because I still hate the bastard... he's now furious at me for destroying the Kyth'faren fortress. Not that I could even find my parents anyway, because they could be hiding right under my nose in a cloaked Progenitor dreadnought."

She nodded, then gave him a wry smile. "At least we're all immortal, so you've got plenty of time to get over what they did to you. Your parents will still be waiting somewhere under the Shroud when you are ready to talk to them."

"Yeah, she's right," Dana chipped in. "And by that time, I'll have figured out how to track cloaked Progenitor ships! We'll just fly right up to them, everyone can say they're sorry, then you'll be able to give your mom a big hug!"

John laughed, then pulled Alyssa into his arms and beckoned Dana over. "That sounds like just what I need right now."

He was soon surrounded by the girls in a group hug, all of them eager to comfort him. John felt different about his parents now, especially Jessica, who had apparently changed from the indifferent woman he'd met on Arcadia. As much as he wanted to meet with his mother again and see if the girls were right about the miraculous transformation she'd undergone, he still had horribly conflicted feelings about his father.

*It'll take time, John,* Alyssa said softly, gazing into his eyes. *I believe you'll be reunited with your parents one day... and we're all here to support you until that happens.*

*And what about afterwards?* he asked, smiling back.

*We're with you forever...* she murmured, leaning in to give him a tender kiss.

***

Edraele sighed with relief at the happy end to the discussion. She'd been deeply worried that John would be incensed at Alyssa for tampering with his mother's mind, but the blonde had managed to diffuse his anger with consummate ease.

*Well done, Alyssa,* she said with admiration as she rose from the chair in her study. *I'm glad you told John the truth about his mother and I'm delighted that he isn't upset with you.*

*Thanks!* the jubilant teenager gushed in reply. *All I did was turn Jessica back into the woman she used to be before she was enthralled... that's what John wanted all along.*

*You know him far better than I do,* the Maliri Queen said with a wistful note to her voice as she left her study. *I never would've dared risk his ire by doing what you did to Jessica.*

*Yeah, I know,* Alyssa said affectionately. *But he's very fond of you, Edraele. At least one of his matriarchs needs to be a good girl all the time.*

The phalanx of House Valaden guards assumed a protective formation around their leader as Edraele exited her quarters. She greeted them with a grateful smile, which many of them warmly returned, before they set off down the corridors of Genthalas. They hadn't been walking for long when a lithe figure slipped into the passageway ahead of them, moving with the calm assurance of a lethal killer.

Luna prowled towards the group, exchanging nods with the security detail as she fell into step with the Maliri Queen. *The new matriarch from House Romenor will be the first to arrive; she's scheduled to reach Genthalas late this evening. There's still been no word from House Waephyra.*

*I can sense Vestele in my mind,* Edraele said with a puzzled frown. *She's in a considerable amount of pain, but I know she's still alive. I asked that she contact me at the earliest opportunity, but Vestele isn't acknowledging my telepathic communications.*

*I didn't realise you'd bonded with her?* the assassin asked, her yellow eyes studying the queen curiously.

Edraele answered with a slight shake of her head. *I haven't... but whenever I send a telepathic message to one of my wards, it always evokes some form of empathic response. Vestele isn't responding in any fashion.*

*Perhaps she's been drugged?* Luna suggested. *That would explain the lack of acknowledgement, even if she is alive.*

*That implies one of Vestele's daughters was the victor,* Edraele mused. *I wonder why she didn't simply kill her mother and claim leadership of House Waephyra?*

The assassin shrugged. *Maybe the daughter hasn't finished torturing her yet?*

Grimacing at the thought, Edraele murmured, *I certainly hope that isn't the case. It won't endear the victor with John and will leave him in a moral quandary over who to choose to lead the House.*

*Would you like me to visit Waephyra territory and deal with the situation?* Luna offered.

Edraele considered it for a moment, then reached out to brush her fingers against the assassin's. *I appreciate the kind offer, but I'd better not intervene with House succession again. I'll discuss the matter with John when he returns and see how he wants to address the issue.*

*As you wish, my Queen,* Luna replied, a playful twinkle in her eyes. *I am your obedient servant... in and out of the bedroom.*

*And a dreadful tease as well, apparently,* Edraele noted with a loving smile. *I hope you don't attempt to torment John when he returns... he endures quite enough from Alyssa.*

*I wouldn't dream of it!* Luna exclaimed, looking shocked at the thought. The assassin relaxed when she realised her regal girlfriend was teasing her in return. *I suppose I deserved that.*

*You know that I consider you an equal, my love,* Edraele said, pausing outside the doors in the guest quarters. *Save your obedience for Baen'thelas.*

Suppressing a laugh at Luna's sudden flush of embarrassment, Edraele nodded towards one of her guards who unlocked the suite. When the crystal door rotated up into the ceiling, she followed her bodyguards inside and saw Sarinia Baelora rise from her chair.

"I'm pleased to see you're well, Matriarch," Edraele said in greeting, acknowledging the leader of House Baelora with an inclination of her head.

"Queen Edraele, what brings you to my prison?" Sarinia enquired, maintaining her noble demeanour despite her fall from grace.

"I wanted to inform you that Baen'thelas has been delayed and will be arriving at Genthalas tomorrow evening," Edraele said as she crossed the room. "He's been fully informed about the events that have transpired in his absence and will discuss the matter with you upon his return."

Sarinia's calm composure cracked and she stepped towards the queen, holding her hand out in a plaintive gesture. "Edraele... what are his plans for me? Am I to be executed?"

Edraele glanced at Luna, whose hand had gone to her sword when Sarinia approached. The assassin relaxed slightly but was still watching the House Baelora matriarch like a hawk.

"I do not know, although that is a distinct possibility," Edraele admitted with a rueful frown. "However, Baen'thelas makes a concerted effort to be just in his dealings with the Maliri. You need not fear a cruel or vindictive punishment."

"What should I say to him?" Sarinia asked, fidgeting nervously with her hair. "I've been studying his picture... to try to get a measure of the man."

Raising an eyebrow, Edraele gave the noblewoman a knowing look. "If you're planning an attempt at seduction, I'd strongly advise against it. The unfortunate reality is that you murdered your sisters and mother, then incited matricide and sororicide in thirteen Houses. The edict to ban assassinations came from Baen'thelas himself, so to say that he is less than impressed with the slaughter you instigated would be a colossal understatement."

The noblewoman's shoulders slumped in resignation.

Edraele hesitated, then said softly, "He values honesty, so make no attempt to deceive or manipulate him. Simply explain the reasoning behind your actions and why you felt it was necessary to do what you did."

Blinking in surprise, Sarinia said, "I'll do that... thank you for the advice."

The Maliri Queen looked at her with sympathy. "If I were in your position, I would have almost certainly taken similar steps to rid myself of my own mother. I understand why you encouraged the rest of the noble daughters to emulate your actions, but at least sixty noblewomen were slaughtered as a result, including eleven matriarchs. I have never known bloodshed within the nobility on that scale and a massacre of so many high-profile figures will have repercussions. To have planned something like this, you're obviously extremely intelligent, but to use an apt Terran expression... you overplayed your hand."

"So it would seem," Sarinia murmured, her golden eyes filled with a host of regrets.

Edraele stepped closer and whispered, "Now that I no longer have to deal with recalcitrant matriarchs, running the Protectorate will be considerably easier... and for that you have my gratitude. I shall request clemency on your behalf when Baen'thelas returns."

Sarinia looked up and gave her a grateful smile. "Thank you, my Queen."

Inclining her head in acknowledgement, Edraele turned and left Sarinia's quarters, with Luna following close behind.

Luna glanced at her girlfriend as they walked away. *You like her, don't you?*

*I do,* Edraele replied with a troubled frown. *But I don't trust her.*

***

Shoal Master Kaelotegh watched the Sector Map, his black eyes tracking the Enclave fleets as they swept through Kintark territory. The Brimorian warships were arrayed into seven distinct fleets, which had been split up to advance across a broad front and encircle the Imperial homeworld. So far their rapid penetration of Kintark Space had been completely unopposed, but he knew that Empress Tamolith still had a token force ready to make a last stand.

"Any sign of their fleets?" he called across the Command Deck.

The Wave-Squire studying tactical reports turned to address the leader of the Brimorian armada. "There have been no sighting so far, Shoal Master. Our advance scouts have been clearing the path towards Kinta and are nearing their capital system. They have reported a number of hastily constructed hazards along our route, but they proved to be only a minor setback."

"Excellent, just as I expected," Kaelotegh noted, nodding his approval.

"We shall dine in the Imperial palace tonight, Shoal Master," the officer standing beside him stated with a predatory smile. "I might do so while seated on the Imperial throne... unless you've already made a reservation?"

Kaelotegh's fins rippled in anticipation. "I have indeed, Libtegh... but if rumours about the size of the Empress' posterior are not exaggerated, I believe there will plenty of room to go around."

The Shoal-Commander made a gurgling noise in his throat as he chuckled at his leader's joke. Turning towards the holographic map before them, he expanded the view of the central fleet and focused on his formidable flagship, the Retribution from the Depths. Surrounded by no less than ten battleships, this fleet possessed unstoppable firepower and would be able to deal with the Kintark defenders almost single-handed.

"Have you decided on an order of battle for our final elimination of the Imperial forces?" he asked his commanding officer.

"Our victory is guaranteed, but I see no reason to risk taking casualties," Shoal Master Kaelotegh replied. "While the rest of our forces proceed with the encirclement, our fleet will engage the Kintark defenders at maximum range to ensure their Plasma Cannons inflict negligible damage. The rest of the fleets shall then close the net and hit the opposing force from the flanks and the rear."

"I can find no fault in your plan, Shoal Master," Libtegh noted with a respectful bow. "It's unfortunate that the Kintark will not be able to offer any real sport, but safely securing our prize for the glory of the Enclave is all that matters."

Kaelotegh saw no need to acknowledge the Shoal-Commander when Libtegh was stating the obvious. However, he did allow himself a confident smile, his lips peeling back to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth.

***

The group hug that signified the end of the debriefing broke up and John gave the girls a grateful smile. "I really needed that, thank you."

"You're welcome!" they all replied at once, then broke into laughter at the unified chorus.

Calara was the first to rise to her feet. "I'm going to head up to the Bridge and check the latest updates from the Kintark. If the Brimorians look like they have changed their invasion plans, I'll need to make some rapid adjustments to compensate."

"I know I'm not in your league with fleet tactics, but let me know if there's anything I can do to help."

"Don't sell yourself short," she said with a disapproving frown. "I won't hear a bad word said about the man who defused the Maliri civil war without a single shot fired in anger. You can't teach someone that level of subtle cunning."

He gave her a self-conscious smile. "Thanks, honey."

She leaned over and gave him a kiss. "If I do need to revise my plans, I'll definitely want your help."

"You only have to ask."

Calara strode out of the Observatory and the rest of the group began to follow her out. Rather than making any move to leave, Jade edged closer to John and gently traced his jawline with a fingertip.

"Are you really feeling better now, Master?" she asked with concern. "I know you find discussions about your parents deeply distressing."

"Yeah, much better thanks," he replied, before glancing at Alyssa and smiling at her in gratitude. "I'm actually looking forward to meeting Jessica again now... and I'd given up hope of ever establishing a relationship with her."

Alyssa dipped down to give him a parting kiss. "I got to spend quite a bit of time talking to Jessica while you were with Rahn'hagon and I really liked her too."

John raised an eyebrow as he gave the blonde a knowing look.

"I didn't do anything inappropriate, I swear!" she protested, blushing in response. Her cerulean eyes twinkled as she added, "But I was tempted..."

He tried to grab the mischievous blonde to tickle her, but Alyssa saw it coming and danced out of the way.

"I'm going to go make lunch," Alyssa said with a grin, wiggling her fingertips at him as she flounced out of the Observatory. "Anyone want to be my Sous-chef?"

Several of the girls offered to help between their laughter at her outrageous behaviour and soon only John and Jade were left sitting on the oval bed.

"John..." the Nymph began, gazing at him with concern. "I didn't want to say anything earlier in case my fears were unfounded... but something about the spirit in the Kyth'faren citadel felt very wrong."

"What do you mean, honey?" he asked, stroking her arm.

"I'm not sure exactly," she murmured, looking deeply unsettled. "Sorry... I know that isn't very helpful."

"I didn't sense anything while I was there... but I know it freaked out Alyssa," he said, recalling her adverse reaction to the ancient castle. *Do you still feel the same way, beautiful?*

Alyssa hesitated for a second before replying. *Yes, definitely.*

"Alright... well thanks for letting me know," John said to Jade, leaning over to kiss her in gratitude. "If either of you think of anything else, keep me informed, alright?"

"I will, I promise," Jade said earnestly.

John gave her a hug, then rose to his feet and offered the Nymph matriarch a hand. "I think I'll go give Alyssa a hand getting lunch ready. I need to unwind after that debrief."

"Actually... I had something else planned to help you relax, Master," she murmured, a twinkle in her eyes.

Just then, the door to the Observatory opened and Marika padded inside. The black and silver-striped catgirl greeted John with a warm smile as she sauntered over to join them.

He gathered the raven-haired beauty in his arms and gazed into her soft brown eyes. "And what did you have in mind, honey?"

She nuzzled into his neck and gently kissed his throat, her movements languid and seductive. When John let his hands slide down from Marika's hips to her gloriously firm bottom, she began to purr... and pressed herself against him.

"Have you had the same epiphany as Neysa?" he asked, feeling himself rising to the occasion.

Marika nodded but didn't reply, her fluttering kisses following his jawline.

Jade caressed her sister's shoulder affectionately, then smiled at John. *Have fun, Master.*

As she left the Observatory, John tilted up Marika's chin and gently kissed her. "Talk afterwards?"

She bit her lip and nodded, her warm chocolate eyes shining with adoration. They sank down to the oval bed, with Marika helping John quickly remove his clothes, and it didn't take long for him to be as naked as the sultry Nymph. When they were lying together on the soft sheets, Marika rolled over onto her tummy and glanced back at him over her shoulder. John's eyes were inevitably drawn to her gorgeous rump, the two cheeks so perfectly rounded that they'd give an Ashanath a stroke. She swayed her hips seductively, making her intentions perfectly clear, the invitation matching the gleam in her eyes.

John wasted no time straddling the accommodating Nymph, deactivating his strength to make sure he wouldn't hurt her. He was careful to support the weight of his upper body on his outstretched arms, then leaned down to bury his face in her luxurious mane of jet-black hair. She moaned in approval, then slipped her slender fingers underneath his hands so she could intertwine them with his.

Marika suddenly shifted position, arching her back and stretching out, their fingers still interlaced together. The movement caught John completely by surprise and he was shocked at just how strong the Nymph had become, manoeuvring him with the barest minimum of effort. He found himself lying flat on Marika's back, his entire bodyweight resting directly on top of her.

"Marika! I'm going to squash you like this!" he exclaimed in alarm.

Instead of showing any distress, she purred contentedly, gently swaying back and forth almost as if she were rocking him. Her long tail curled around his shaft, stroking up and down and squeezing rhythmically to test his hardness.

He chuckled and forced himself to relax, realising that this was exactly what she wanted. Taking a moment to savour this unique position, he appreciated the feeling of total domination it evoked, his larger body completely covering hers. John would never have dreamed of letting a girl carry his entire weight like this, but as Marika had so deftly proven, she was phenomenally strong and effortlessly bore the burden.

"This feels amazing," he whispered in her ear. Raising his hips a few inches, he continued, "Guide me inside you, honey."

The Nymph's body began to heat up, Marika responding with arousal as he eagerly embraced her seduction. Her sinuous tail tilted the broad head of his throbbing cock into position, then John pushed into her hot buttery depths, hearing her let out a deep moan of approval. He didn't stop until he was fully ensconced inside her glorious body, his quad cradled between her silky-smooth thighs.

"Your ass is incredible," John said with an appreciative groan, pressing his groin against her curved cheeks. They had a plump firmness to them that drove him crazy, the perfect pillow for him to thrust against. "I was crazy not to take you like this sooner..."

Marika whimpered with ecstasy, her body responding to her master's unabashed enjoyment and rewarding her with a thrilling climax. John smiled with satisfaction as she gasped and cried out, her gorgeous body bucking against him with the intensity of her orgasm. He'd become the galactic expert on pleasuring Nymphs, knowing that the more he indulged himself, the greater sense of euphoria she'd experience.

Losing track of time, he immersed himself in the sensual delights Marika offered him. She was so willing and eager to please, her body moving with his in an erotic horizontal dance that was as intimate as anything he'd known before. John embraced her languid sexuality, truly appreciating just how unique this beautiful girl was and how incredibly lucky he was that she was his. She cried out in wonder at his reaction, her body trembling with bliss, Marika's snug depths rhythmically stroking his shaft.

"I'm getting close," he panted, nuzzling into her thick mane and kissing her cheek.

She turned her head to kiss him back and moaned wantonly into his mouth as her body expertly massaged his pumping shaft. With a final disbelieving groan, John buried himself up to the quad in the gyrating Nymph, then felt his climax explode. He was seeing stars as he pumped his load into her belly, teetering on the brink of consciousness his orgasm was that strong.

With a final groan, John collapsed onto her back, exhausted after the strenuous effort. Despite Marika's identical state of sexual serenity, she seemed perfectly comfortable with him lying on top of her like that. The Nymph was warm and soft, and tremendously comforting to rest against. Making no effort to move, John relaxed where he was, letting the Nymph's rhythmic breathing lull him to sleep.

***

When John awoke, he found himself lying on his side with his arms around Marika. A soft brown light swept across the ceiling, the pulses emanating from the Nymph's rounded belly. He let his hand drift down to caress her cum-filled stomach, drawing a soft purr of contentment from the catgirl at his gentle touch.

"That was beyond wonderful, John," she murmured in a breathy whisper.

"I've never experienced anything like that before," he marvelled, kissing her dusky shoulder. "It was an amazing combination of passion and absolute submission... yet incredibly caring and supportive at the same time."

"I'm so glad you enjoyed it," she said softly, turning to gaze up at him with a tender look of devotion. "I wanted to celebrate choosing you to be my Master in a special way."

"Do you understand the difference now?" he asked, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek. "All I ever wanted was for you to be able to choose the life you want for yourself, rather than being forced into slavery without your consent."

She nodded, giving him a lovely smile. "I do understand. I choose to spend the rest of my life assisting you, Master."

John hesitated, suddenly unsure if she was really capable of making this decision. "Marika... you don't have to just do whatever I want. I'd like you to be able to choose your own destiny."

The silver-striped Nymph gave him a knowing smile. "We want the same thing, John." She interlaced her fingers with his and held them over her rounded abdomen. "You want to rebuild the Nymph population... and I want to spend the rest of my life carrying and nurturing your kittens. There's nothing in the galaxy I desire more."

He reverently stroked her tummy, just imagining what it would be like to breed the gorgeous exotic woman over and over again. "I want that too, Marika. You're going to be an incredible mother."

She responded with a lovely maternal smile, her face lighting up in a way that made her look radiantly beautiful.

Marika suddenly giggled, her feline eyes shining with amusement. "I know you've been waiting weeks for me to make this decision... but the first time I tasted your virility, I knew I'd never leave you. Ever. For any reason."

"Being pregnant means that much to you?" he asked, feeling a flicker of disappointment that it was her sole reason for choosing to stay with him.

"Being pregnant to a man I love with all my heart and soul," she replied earnestly. "The only thing that changed over the weeks, was that I developed enough to realise that you truly were a good man. I no longer love you because I'm a Nymph... and forced to worship you with blind obsession. I love you because you're so kind and caring... and will make an exceptional father."

He was moved by Marika's sincerity and gave her a tender kiss. "Thank you, that means a lot. I love you too... and I promise I'll try my hardest to be the kind of parent our children deserve."

"I know you will, Master," she said with a smile of satisfaction, snuggling into his arms. "I'll eagerly await the day when we can start our family... but until then, I choose to fight at your side and assist you in any way that secures your victory."

"You're an amazing girl, Marika," he said, holding her tight. "I honestly couldn't be more pleased with the incredible person you've become."

Marika shivered with delight, her eyelashes fluttering as she trembled in his arms. Looking up at him with a flicker of regret in her eyes, she said, "I wish I could stay with you like this all day... but I have hungry tummies to feed."

"Ailita and Jehanna?" he asked, brushing his fingertips over her impressive cum-packed curves.

She nodded, then looked him in the eyes. "Thank you for helping my sister. I know Ailita doesn't understand what you're doing for her at the moment, but one day she will... and she'll feel the same way about you that the rest of us do."

John released her and helped the grateful Nymph sit up. "I know that seeing Ailita behave the way she does was a shock for Neysa; did it affect you like that too?"

"It was a shock for all of us," Marika quietly admitted. "We finally realised how much we'd all changed... and for the better."

"I couldn't agree more," John said with a smile as they got up from the bed. "I'm going to have a quick shower before lunch. Do you want to join me?"

Torn with indecision, Marika ran her hand over the precious cargo in her tummy. "I'd love to... but I don't want Jehanna or Ailita to go hungry."

"You're a good girl," he said with a fond smile at the selfless Nymph. "Go and feed your kittens."

Marika gave him a passionate kiss, then waved goodbye with a joyful smile. As she padded out of the Observatory with a sexy sway to her hips, Calara strode inside, a worried frown on her face.

"What's wrong?" John asked when he saw her pensive expression.

"I just had a report from the Kintark," she replied, tugging her T-shirt over her head, leaving her topless.

John blinked in surprise at her striptease coinciding with updates on an invasion.

"I'm your shower buddy," the Latina explained, stripping off the rest of her clothes. Walking towards the bathroom, she continued her report. "Brimorian scouts have been knocking out all the comms beacons ahead of the invasion force. It won't be long until we're completely cut off from all communications with the Kintark fleets."

"So you won't be able to direct them remotely," John reasoned aloud as he followed her into the shower cubicle.

Calara nodded, then tilted her head back as steamy water sluiced down over her gorgeous body. "Exactly. I've done what I can, but now they're on their own..."

***

Far away from the Invictus, on the opposite side of the Terran Federation, a bearded man disembarked from the passenger liner into Port Heracles. He adjusted his Stetson hat as he followed the line of civilians towards the customs checkpoint, pulling down the brim to shield his eyes from any retinal scans.

As the queue of people slowly progressed along the gantry, Ex-Admiral Oliver Petran glanced to the right, where a huge bank of holo-screens was showing a score of different channels. His gaze swept across the screens, looking for news broadcasts and searching for any sign that he was a wanted man. He paused as his eyes settled on a TFNN special report, then Oliver felt his stomach lurch when he saw what it was about.

The sound had been turned off, but the ticker-tape banner across the bottom of the screen made it quite clear what he was watching. "Ringleader of the Olympus terrorist attack identified and brought to justice!"

He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry with fear. The images showed John Blake being interviewed by Jehanna Elani, standing before a glowing pile of rubble. Oliver recognised that stately home... or what was left of the once impressive structure, shrouded as it was by the perpetual gloom of Mazaya. He didn't need the reporter to tell him that the Lion of the Federation had just razed Arjun Khatri's home to the ground. A glance at the corpses strewn across the lawn also spoke volumes as to the fate of his co-conspirator.

"Boarding pass and ID," the T-Fed soldier at the checkpoint muttered in a dull monotone.

"What?!" Oliver gasped, jumping nervously as he turned to stare at the customs official.

"Come on, buddy... you're holding up the line," the soldier grumbled. "Boarding pass and ID."

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Oliver reached for his documents and handed them to the bored squaddie.

Casting a disinterested glance over the boarding pass, the official scanned the ID, the device responding with an authoritative beep. Oliver Petran's disguised face appeared in a rotating hologram, the name: "Jason Holloway" displayed underneath his image.

"Welcome to Port Heracles, Mr. Holloway," the soldier intoned, not bothering to look at the fugitive as he handed back the documents.

Resisting the urge to sigh with relief, Oliver hurried into the space station, walking at a brisk pace. Port Heracles saw a lot of commerce with aliens, particularly from the minor empires located in the Trankaran Republic. The trading base was teeming with activity, all sorts of exotic creatures bustling about their business.

In his haste, Oliver trod on a Bract's shiny black segmented foot, making the beetle hiss in pain.

"You clod-footed bunghole!" it shrilled, mandibles clicking angrily.

"Sorry about that," he muttered, wincing as the insect's shriek drew unwanted attention from the nearby crowd.

Backing away from the vibrating, black-carapaced creature, he lurched into a long hover cart stacked high with multi-coloured glass jars.

The Ornalith driving the vehicle felt the impact and turned to face him. "Watch the merchandise!" it rumbled in its deep gravelly voice.

No longer watching where it was going, the alien driver bumped into a Terran merchant, knocking the man to the ground with a startled cry. Fruit spilled out from the trader's backpack, the purple spheres quickly trodden underfoot by the packed crowd.

"Are you blind? I'll have your driving licence revoked for this!" the dark-skinned man ranted, staggering to his feet. He heard the squelch of his fruit being crushed and let out an anguish cry. "My Betelgeuse melons!"

The Ornalith held up two of its three arms defensively. "It wasn't my fault!" the stocky alien protested. The third arm pointed directly at Oliver. "He barged into me!"

"Do you know how much they cost me?" the trader snarled, rounding on the fugitive admiral. "You owe me 500 credits!"

"Look... it was a simple accident. I'll be happy to pay for them," Oliver said, holding up both hands in a placating gesture.

"Fine... and I want another 500 for my knee," the angry merchant demanded, pointing to his injured leg as he hobbled closer.

Oliver quickly nodded. "Of course... let me just transfer you some money."

Eyes narrowed with suspicion, the trader pulled out a silvery stick from his pocket. Oliver keyed in 1000 credits on his own chit, then swiped it across the trader's. Rather than a quiet beep confirming the transfer, there was a dull clang as the payment was rejected.

"Hey... what are you trying to pull?" the merchant snapped indignantly. "Where's my thousand credits, you asshole?!"

Oliver looked at his credit chit in confusion. "I don't know... there should be plenty in there."

"Yeah, right," the trader snorted, looking at him sceptically. "I'm taking this to the authorities... you owe me for my melons!"

"Look, it's okay... I've got cash," Oliver said in a rush. He pulled out a 10,000 credstick from his pocket and thrust it into the angry merchant's hand. "Take this!"

The man glanced down at the credstick with suspicion, then his eyes widened in shock. "What the hell?!" he exclaimed, looking stunned at the amount.

Oliver hurried off into the crowd, ignoring the merchant's startled thanks. The ex-Admiral had over 80 million credits stashed away in a dozen secret accounts, so paying off some enraged idiot ten-thousand was a small price to pay to get him out of his face. As he climbed up a staircase to the level above the main trading concourse, Oliver glanced down at his credit chit in confusion, wondering why the transaction had failed. Tapping his account access code into the interface, a flashing blue error message appeared on the tiny holo-screen, warning him to update the device at an ATM.

Cursing the device in frustration, he glanced up and down the walkway and spotted a banking service kiosk. Hurrying over a bridge, he reached the machine and slid his credit chit into the slot, then waited impatiently as it synced with the Terran Federation banking exchange. The seconds ticked by as it made the connection, then the account details popped up, owned by his pseudonym, Jason Holloway.

Account Balance: 0 credits.

Oliver gaped at the holographic display in disbelief. There should have been over five million credits in that bank account alone. His fingers trembled as he keyed in a request to see the recent transactions, then he frantically scrolled past the payment for the flight he'd booked on the passenger liner and the dozens of minor transactions he'd made on his journey. Reaching the next page, he froze when he saw the final entry.

Balance transfer: -5,672,456 credits.

"The Lion Foundation thanks you for your kind donation. Your generosity will help fund orphanages throughout the Terran Federation, giving hope and a fresh start to thousands of young children."

Looking at the message in horror, he exited the account and entered the next set of account details.

Account Balance: 0 credits.

"The Lion Foundation thanks you for your donation."

Overcome with dread, he frantically checked every account he owned.

"The Lion Foundation thanks you for your donation."

"The Lion Foundation thanks you for your donation."

"The Lion Foundation thanks you for your donation."

All twelve accounts had been ransacked, even those hidden under different aliases, with the entirety of his assets donated to the Lion Foundation. Oliver Petran no longer had a single credit to his name.

"No!" he screamed in fury, hurling the useless credit chit across the concourse.

A flashing message appeared on the holo-display, a jaunty melody drawing his attention. Oliver stared at the screen with bulging eyes, still reeling from the shock of being robbed of his vast fortune. Shaking with rage he tapped the message from an "Azure_superuser".

The message expanded and a video began to play, showing Arjun Khatri gibbering in horror, the traitorous admiral on the brink of madness as everything he loved was destroyed. He was suddenly immolated in glowing blue flames, his tortured shriek of agony piercing straight through Oliver Petran and chilling him to the bone.

A message scrolled across the screen as the image froze on Khatri's burning face.

"Run and hide, Petran... you're next!"

He stumbled backwards, never feeling more terrified in his life. Quaking with fear, he turned and fled, imagining being subjected to the horrific fate that had befallen Khatri. Oliver ran full-tilt across the bridge, desperate to evade his pursuers who would now know exactly where he was.

In a dreadful moment of clarity, Oliver suddenly realised that he had no chance of hiding from the Lion's wrath. With no money to help his escape, it was only a matter of time until the long arm of the Terran Federation caught up to him. He'd spend his last days before he was captured skulking in the gutter, terrified of his own shadow... like one of the miserable peons that he'd held in contempt during all his years in the Admiralty.

Skidding to a halt atop the bridge, he looked out across the trading station with tears streaming down his cheeks, wondering how it had all gone so disastrously wrong. He clambered up onto the balcony and ignoring the startled cries from onlookers, leapt off the raised walkway and plunged fifty metres to the concourse below. Oliver Petran crashed into the back of the Ornalith's hover-cart, his body sliced to ribbons by the glass bottles he smashed with his fall.

By the time a medic had been called and reached his mangled body, the ex-Admiral was long dead, having bled to death from a thousand cuts. His unseeing eyes stared into the distance, still reflecting the terror of his last moments.

***

"Shoal Master! We've found them!" a Wave-squire on Comms called out, his burbling voice ringing out in triumph across the Command Deck. "Our scouts have located a Kintark fleet!"

Shoal Master Kaelotegh looked up from his scrutiny of the invasion corridor, his dark eyes narrowing with predatory anticipation. "Show me."

The holographic map shifted focus, centring on a host of very low-energy sensor contacts lurking in the middle of a broad asteroid belt. The Brimorian leader was surprised to see that it was located close to the invading Enclave forces, rather than near the Kintark homeworld.

"They must have been hoping to hide as we passed, then ambush us from behind," Shoal-Commander Libtegh stated, his fins rippling warily. "It's fortunate that we spotted them."

"Cease the advance," Kaelotegh announced, sending out his orders via the fleet command interface. He selected the two closest battle groups of warships. "Fleets Naiorrid and Enghebil, attack from my vectors. Fan out and enter the asteroid belt from opposing flanks... and scan for magnetic mines."

Shoal-Commander Libtegh nodded his approval at his leader's caution, glad that he had an opportunity to watch the Shoal Master in action. He stared intently at the holographic map, following the Enclave forces as they moved to engage the enemy. The two Brimorian fleets spread out and began their assault on the Kintark position, carefully picking their way through the sprawling mass of hulking rocks.

"Shoal Master, Fleets Naiorrid and Enghebil report no sign of mines," the Wave-squire announced with a grin as their net drew tighter around the Kintark force. "Transponder codes identify six Imperial battleships leading a primarily carrier based attack group."

"Their commander is a worthy adversary," Kaelotegh declared, recognising the actions of a cunning opponent. "If they had been able to strike to our rear, they could have inflicted severe damage, then melted away before we could turn to engage them."

Libtegh chuckled, revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Not worthy enough, Shoal Master."

The holographic map suddenly flickered as a circular swathe of asteroids began to tremble, the images losing their sharp integrity.

Kaelotegh gripped his console with his scaly fists. "What's happening?! Is the display defective?"

The Wave-squire manning the comms station looked confused, the smirk wiped from his face. "I'm receiving reports of strange vibrations within the outer ring of asteroids, Shoal Master."

"Retreat, full engines!" Kaelotegh roared into the comms interface. "It's a trap! Get out of there!"

The shaking increased as the sensors tried to make sense of the disrupted readings, the holographic display a twitching blur where the Brimorian ships were making rapid turns. Suddenly, the huge asteroids broke apart, sending hundreds of rocky fragments as big as a corvette tumbling across the belt. The chunks smashed into the Enclave warships, battering engines, crushing armour plating, and causing widespread chaos throughout both fleets.

Shoal-Commander Libtegh gaped at the destruction in astonishment. "What just happened?!"

"They rigged the asteroids with seismic charges..." Kaelotegh snarled through gritted teeth. "Did we lose any ships?"

One of the Wave-squires manning the comms stations looked tense as he surveyed the incoming reports. "No vessels destroyed, Shoal Master."

"How many damaged?"

The Wave-Squire's gulp could be heard across the Bridge. "Fleet Naiorrid reports 72% of ships sustained significant damage. Fleet Enghebil reports 84%."

Libtegh stared at his leader in horror. Two of their Seven fleets had been almost entirely neutralised without so much as a shot fired. With the damage they'd sustained to their hulls, there was no way all those warships would be able to maintain a cohesive FTL bubble, which meant they would have to hold position and commence emergency field repairs.

As the Enclave forces retreated in disarray, the Kintark fleet made a break for a significant gap in the Brimorian formations. When they cleared the asteroid belt and ramped up their engines to full power, the Brimorian sensors displayed detailed representations of the Imperial forces.

"Mining ships?!" Libtegh blurted out incredulously, staring at what was supposed to be six battleships leading a squadron of carriers.

"Worthy enough for you now, Shoal Commander?" Kaelotegh muttered, darting a scathing glare at his underling.

***

"That was awesome!" John said with genuine satisfaction.

"Dare I ask what was in mystery stew?" Calara asked, finishing off the last of her bowl.

Alyssa smiled at her girlfriend. "Mushrooms, potatoes, some seasoning... and the meat was lamb cooked in bacon grease."

"We did our best with limited supplies, but it wasn't very authentic," Dana said, with a rueful frown. "We had to use vegetables instead of cardboard and we were all out of rat..."

"Rat?" Jehanna asked, suddenly looking queasy.

"Yeah, for the full Karron experience," the redhead explained. "There's another slightly less popular variant... but cannibalism is generally frowned upon in polite society."

"You did your best with the ingredients at hand; that's the mark of a good chef," John said, playing along.

"I particularly liked the presentation," Rachel noted. "The smiley face made out of runner beans was a nice touch."

Dana gave her a beaming grin. "Thanks, babes!"

They laughed together and started clearing the table.

John deposited the bowls in the kitchen, then said to Sakura, "Ready for another training session?"

She nodded eagerly. "Definitely... but with one condition; you should practice with your sword this time."

He considered it then nodded. "Alright, I'm up for that." When Rachel entered the Kitchen with a plate full of dirty cutlery, John smiled at the brunette. "Fancy helping us with some training?"

"Yes, of course," she agreed, slotting the knives, forks, and spoons into the dishwasher. "What do you need me to do?"

Before she could reply, Irillith burst into the kitchen, a wicked grin on her face. "I got Petran!"

"What?" John asked, looking at her in surprise.

She beckoned him to follow, then led the group over to the sofas, where she activated the holo-display. "I received a notification that he'd triggered a message I'd left for him through the banking terminal network. I traced back the location and discovered he was hiding on Port Heracles... and then I found this!"

Irillith displayed an incident logged by the Terran Federation garrison on the trading station. According to the medic present at the scene, a man named Jason Holloway had leaped to his death from a bridge over the main trading concourse.

"Jason Holloway?" Jehanna asked, not recognising the name.

"That's one of Oliver Petran's aliases," the Maliri replied, her fingers dancing over the interface.

A picture appeared, showing the bloody remains of the retired admiral.

"Nasty way to go," Dana noted, wrinkling her nose in distaste. "Why the hell did he top himself like that?"

"He wasn't very happy to discover that he'd made a sizeable donation to the Lion Foundation," Irillith said with a smirk, activating another file.

A video began to play, showing the ex-admiral's face contorted in horror as he gaped at the banking interface.

"How much did he donate?" Alyssa asked, looking pleased.

"It turns out Oliver Petran was quite the philanthropist," the Maliri hacker replied. "He donated every single credit he owned... to the tune of 80 million credits."

Dana whistled appreciatively. "Generous guy. Is that all going to the orphan projects?"

Alyssa shook her head. "I'll divert some of the funds to support bereaved families of the marines Petran murdered on Olympus."

John nodded his approval, then gave Irillith's shoulder a gentle squeeze. "Nice work, honey. Let me know when you track down Almada."

"I will," she agreed, her violet eyes glinting with malevolent glee. "I've got some surprises in store for him too."

***

Minutes dragged interminably into hours inside Tom Walker's cell, as he awaited an update from his father. He wondered if his mother had also been added to the visitors list, but the fact that she hadn't yet made an appearance told him it was unlikely. Admiral Walker's rank allowed him a whole host of privileges that regular citizens could only dream of.

The sound of the door unlocking again was like music to his ears; even a visit from Colonel Compton would be welcome rather than being left alone with his troubled thoughts. Tom couldn't believe his eyes when he saw who had come to visit, the blue-eyed blonde still stunningly beautiful despite the lines around her eyes from lack of sleep.

"Anna!" he exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy.

She took one look at him, then burst into tears and rushed into his open arms. "Tommy!"

They stood together for a long moment, Tom doing his best to comfort his distraught fiancée who sobbed into his chest. She tried to speak, but was totally incoherent as she wept, so he just rubbed her back and held her close. Although it felt wonderful to hold her in his arms again, Tom still remembered everything that Kyle McDaniel had discovered while the engaged couple had been apart. There was an awkwardness between the two of them now that had never been there before, the uneasiness making Tom feel sick with nerves.

Anna finally managed to get herself under control and she sagged against him, drained to the point of exhaustion. "I can't believe you're really here," she whispered. "I was terrified that you'd never wake up from your coma... it's all been such a nightmare."

"Yeah... an absolute nightmare," he agreed, desperately needing answers to his questions, but dreading them at the same time.

Tom wanted to tell her how sorry he was to hear about Mason... but her brother had caused so many problems between them before his death. He remembered the crazed look in Mason's eyes as he told Tom what he'd said to his sister, convincing Anna that her fiancé had been having an affair with Beth. Tom could still see Mason's face twisted with hatred as he gloated that Anna had already started screwing Archie in revenge.

Anna stared back at him, hesitation and anxiety reflected in her blue eyes, as if she was struggling with her own inner demons. It was gut-wrenching to see that look there now, where she'd only ever gazed at him with love and adoration before.

"Captain Bexley liked my presentation," Tom blurted out, desperate to say anything to fill the silence.

She looked at him incredulously for a moment, then her eyes filled with tears and she hugged him hard. "I'm glad he liked it, Tommy... I know how hard you worked to impress him."

They held each other for another minute until Anna settled down again, then Tom pulled away so he could look her in the eye. "Why didn't you answer my calls, Anna? I must've left you a hundred messages, but you just ignored me."

She jerked back and looked at him in shock. "I ignored you?! I called you at least a hundred times, but you never called me back!"

"Don't try and blame that on me!" he protested indignantly. "You were so busy running around with Archie that you ghosted me for weeks!"

"I wasn't running around with Archie!" Anna gasped, looking at him in astonishment. "My brother died and you're having a stupid jealous fit about Archie?! What's the matter with you, Tom?"

"So I'm stupid am I?" he exclaimed, clenching his fist in anger. "Yeah, maybe I am. While I was out there fighting the Brimorians, you were nice and safe on Terra, staying the night at Archie's apartment!"

Anna gaped at him in shock, completely lost for words.

"I knew Archie was trouble!" Tom snarled, deeply wounded that she didn't deny his allegations. "I told you a million times that he was trying to get in your pants... well I guess he finally succeeded."

His fiancée reeled back, then slapped him... hard.

"How dare you!" she exclaimed, her eyes blazing with anger. "I never slept with Archie!"

Tom put his hand to his stinging cheek, but didn't back down. "Don't lie to me, Anna! When you stopped calling me, I asked Kyle to track you down. I saw the video of you coming out of Archie's apartment... after you slept the night there!"

She shook her head in disbelief. "You have no idea what my life's been like... none. The Press have been a nightmare! They've been hounding me wherever I go, frantically trying to get a picture of Fleet Admiral Buckingham's grieving daughter. Everyone wants to know if she's a vile traitor, just like her despicable father! You and Mason were away from all the fallout, but I've had to deal with it every single day!"

He frowned, looking sceptical. "But what about-"

"The video your sneaky friend took?" she interrupted, her eyes blazing with anger. "Archie was there for me; he helped keep me safe from the paparazzi! Yes, I stayed the night at his apartment... in his guestroom... because someone tried to break into my house while I was sleeping! I was terrified, Tom! What else was I supposed to do to stay safe? I couldn't stay with my mother as it was even worse for her! She fled to the beach house to escape, but they still tracked her down!"

"Alright... explain the cabin in the woods?" he asked, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "I never went near the place! As we were leaving Archie's, he spotted someone following us, so he jumped the lights and let me out a couple of blocks from his apartment. Archie led your friend on a merry dance just to fuck with him... because we thought he was one of the stalkers that had made my life a living hell!"

Tom had known Anna for over twenty years and he could tell she was being completely honest with him. He deflated, all his righteous anger evaporating as he realised that she'd never been unfaithful to him, no matter what Kyle's video might have suggested.

"I'm sorry, Anna... I was just going out of my mind while we were apart. I couldn't get hold of you and we've never gone a day without speaking. I guess I just lost my head for a while, I was so worried about you." He gave her a rueful smile and held his arms open for a hug. "I really am sorry... please forgive me for doubting you."

"Hold on a second," she said sternly, holding up her hand. "If you're done interrogating me, then it's my turn!"

"Alright," Tom agreed, folding his arms across his chest. "I haven't got anything to hide. Ask me whatever you like."

"Mason called me... he told me you'd been cheating on me for months!" Anna blurted out, the anguish in her eyes plain to see. "He swore on our mother's life that Beth was in love with you and that's why she turned him down when he proposed! You're quick to accuse me of being unfaithful... maybe that's because you were cheating on me all along!"

"That's bullshit!" Tom objected strenuously. He hesitated, then quickly clarified, "Okay, it is true that Beth was in love with me."

Anna gasped and looked at him in horror.

"I didn't encourage her!" he protested. "I only found out that she had any feelings for me on the day before the battle. Beth said that's why she turned down Mason, but I had no idea she felt that way! I swear to you that I wasn't having an affair with Beth!"

She stared at him with big eyes, a look of profound relief washing over her. It was clear to Tom that his fiancée had been wrestling with the exact same doubts and insecurities as him.

"So you really never slept with Beth?" she asked, hope burning bright in her loving gaze.

Tom winced, his shoulders slumping.

The look of horror was back on Anna's face, along with a large slice of pain at his betrayal. She whirled around and hammered on the door, her voice breaking as she cried, "Let me out!"

"We did sleep together, but I didn't have sex with her!" he blurted out, then cringed when he realised how awful that still sounded. He knew fatigue and stress were taking their toll on both of them. "Beth asked to stay in my room because she was terrified of Mason... he went totally crazy! She wanted to sleep with me, but we never did anything!"

"Mason loved you like a brother!" Anna exclaimed, tears running down her cheeks. "How can you say something so horrible about him?!"

Tom tried to reply, but then she was already gone, fleeing through the prison door and leaving him alone once more.

***

The Enclave invasion force proceeded deeper into Kintark territory, their scouts keeping a wary eye out for defenders. After the disaster in the asteroid belt, Shoal Master Kaelotegh had ordered a rapid assessment of the damage sustained by fleets Naiorrid and Enghebil. As he had feared, most of the warships had taken significant hull damage, forcing them to stop and make emergency repairs.

Loathe to leave those vessels undefended in hostile territory, he ordered the unscathed ships in those fleets to guard their comrades while the worst of the damage was patched. While that was a prudent decision to protect valuable fleet assets, it did mean that the size of his invasion force had been significantly depleted. The Brimorian armada had been substantially reduced, down to five of the original seven battle groups.

"Shoal Master... we have detected more enemy vessels!" the Wave-squire called out in warning, his previous glee now tempered into serious professionalism.

"Where?" Kaelotegh demanded, turning to stare intently at the Sector Map.

As he watched, the display shifted focus to the next threat... a huge nebula that sprawled across space in the direct path of their invasion route. In the middle of the bright expanse of stellar gases, sensor signals flickered intermittently, giving away the location of the Kintark forces. The question that troubled every Brimorian officer aboard the flagship's Bridge, was whether or not this was actually a war fleet, or the bait for another vicious trap.

Kaelotegh drummed his claws on his console, making a rapid series of dull clicks as the fleets drew closer to the nebula.

"Shoal Master?" Shoal-Commander Libtegh asked tentatively. "Are we going to engage that fleet or ignore it?"

Narrowing his eyes with suspicion, Kaelotegh muttered, "What are you planning next, my cunning Kintark adversary? Do you think me a fool, who falls for the same trick twice? Or was the previous ruse designed to make me suspicious of a trap, when none exists and a fleet lurks in wait instead?"

The minutes ticked by in silence, the Enclave forces inching closer to the nebula.

"How much time will we lose if we navigate around the nebula, staying well outside interdiction range?" Kaelotegh asked his navigator.

The Brimorian Current Seeker bent his head to study the stellar charts, carefully plotting out an alternate route that would avoid the nebula. "Such a path would add an additional four hours to our arrival time at Kinta, Shoal Master."

Kaelotegh smiled confidently. "I shall avoid the quandary of the nebula entirely, my reptilian foe." Turning to his flagship's helmsman, he continued, "Use the new flight path and navigate around the nebula."

Activating the fleet command interface, the leader of the invasion force sent out fresh sets of instructions to his Shoal-Commanders, ordering them to follow his battle group on their diversion. The Wave-squire manning the helm altered their course and the Retribution from the Depths made a ponderous turn to skirt the interstellar hazard. They made slow but steady progress for thirty minutes, while all eyes watched the Kintark sensor contacts to see how they would react.

"Shoal Master!" a Brimorian engineer blurted out, his fins trembling in panic. "We're detecting a minefield, directly in our path!"

"All ships hold position!" Kaelotegh shouted in the command interface, bringing the Enclave force to a grinding halt as they dropped out of hyper-warp. "Show me the minefield!"

The holographic map updated to show glinting metallic spheres ahead of them. The minefield wasn't densely packed, but instead sprawled outwards to cover as large an area as possible.

Shoal-Commander Libtegh's eyes widened in alarm. "The Kintark fleet is engaging our flank!"

When Kaelotegh whipped his head around to stare at the nebula, he saw the flickering sensor readings advancing towards their position. With his forces pivoting around the nebula, the solitary Kintark fleet would now only be facing a single Brimorian fleet.

"A worthy opponent indeed," he muttered with grudging respect.

He opened the tactical interface and began making rapid readjustments of their formations, swinging the farthest fleet around to act as a reserve, while fanning out the rest into an arc. The repositioning of his forces was made more complicated by the close proximity of the minefield, which meant shifting all his fleets to one side to give them adequate room to manoeuvre.

"What if they're just another group of freighters?" Libtegh asked quietly.

"So those ships are in that formation to aggressively hawk their wares?" Kaelotegh asked, pointed towards the sensor contacts.

Libtegh's fins drooped with embarrassment when he saw the Kintark force had arranged their ships into an offensive pattern. Civilian captains lacked the training to adopt such an aggressive fleet posture, so he knew they were facing warships.

The Brimorians held position, their massed ranks of gundecks pointed directly at the nebula as they waited for the Kintark to launch a suicidal charge. The mysterious sensor contacts moved closer, then also held position, stopping some distance inside the nebula. Minutes ticked by with both forces squared off against one another and it soon became quite apparent that the Kintark had no intention of attacking.

Curling his scaled hand into an angry fist, Kaelotegh felt the urgent need to break something to alleviate his frustration. He took a deep breath to calm himself, then felt a flicker of doubt. Could this all just be an elaborate ruse intended as a delaying tactic?

"Launch strike wings into the minefield and clear the closest mines," he ordered his carrier groups.

A dozen squadrons of Brimorian fighters peeled away from their carriers and streaked across the holographic map towards the minefield. There was silence on the Command Deck as the entire crew waited with bated breath, eager to find out what their illustrious leader was planning. The strike craft moved into attack formations and opened fire on the mines, raking the metallic spheres with streams of particle bolts.... but nothing happened. Either the pilots were the worst shots in the galaxy, or the explosives in the mines were not being triggered when they were destroyed by the fighters' gunfire.

The Shoal Master anxiously considered a third possibility. "Examine the wreckage," he ordered one of the fighter wings.

The blue and purple Brimorian strike craft banked around and their leader drew alongside the mangled remains of a mine.

"It's a hollow metal sphere!" the Shoal-Guide pilot exclaimed in surprise. "A garbage pod!"

"This has all been a series of deceptions..." Shoal-Commander Libtegh marvelled, feeling vindicated after his earlier humiliation and turning to give his leader a smug smile. "There's no threat here. The Kintark are simply playing games with us in an attempt to delay our invasion of their homeworld."

Kaelotegh grimaced, trying not to reveal his own embarrassment at being repeatedly duped by the enemy's subterfuge. He selected the strike craft squadrons and targeted the Kintark fleet. "I want a reconnaissance of those ships!"

The fighters accelerated to full throttle and arced around to engage the enemy. When the Brimorian ships plunged into the red and purple gases, the Kintark fleet turned and began their retreat. Rather than fleeing towards their homeworld, they turned to an oblique heading that led them deeper into the nebula.

"The path into the nebula is clear... there's no sign of mines," the Shoal-Guide reported from his fighter.

The nimble strike craft raced towards the Kintark formation, then swooped between the sensor contacts, passing within visual range of the enemy vessels.

When the Brimorian pilot spoke again, he sounded shocked. "They're just unarmed freighters!"

Bristling at the indignity of being delayed by a pack of merchants, Kaelotegh refused to make eye-contact with Libtegh, knowing he was gloating at being proven right.

"Ignore the civilians and recall our strike craft. Resume a direct course towards Kinta," Kaelotegh declared, his orders acknowledged a moment later by the five Shoal-Commanders leading his fleets.

The lead elements of the Brimorian invasion force powered up their FTL drives and the fleets proceeded into the nebula, taking the quickest route towards their destination. Kaelotegh ran a scaly hand over his face, demoralised by a mixture of exasperation, embarrassment, and weariness. He'd spent over an hour furiously dancing to the Kintark's tune, wary of threats that never existed, when all that opposed them were a dozen merchantmen and few hundred garbage pods.

Not only had it been mentally draining preparing his armada for a battle that never occurred, it was galling to realise that the enemy commander had made him look like a fool in front of his men. Kaelotegh swore to himself that he'd make the mastermind behind the Kintark defence suffer when he finally got to grips with the Imperial fleets. He wouldn't be satisfied with anything less than mercilessly crushing his opponent, thereby proving his superiority as a tactician.

Kaelotegh stalked over to his Command Chair and resisted the urge to slump there sullenly. He still needed to maintain an air of confident authority in front of the Bridge Crew, even if his reputation as an unsurpassed master of fleet warfare had taken a humiliating blow. The Shoal Master watched in silence as the five Enclave fleets surged through the nebula, the Kintark tricksters in their freighters making no further attempt to oppose the Brimorians.

The vanguard of his armada had nearly reached the opposite side of the nebula when a brilliant explosion flared on the Sector Map. Kaelotegh jumped in shock, jolted out of his reverie by the dazzling blast.

"What was that?! Are we under attack?" he demanded, leaping from his chair.

More explosions rippled across the holographic map, the exact cause of the damage impossible to see with his flagship's sensors inhibited by the nebula.

"Exit hyper-warp, shields up!" he roared into the fleet command interface, his order sent out to every ship in the armada.

The Brimorian forces responded to his curt commands as quickly as they could, but they were not fast enough to prevent another dozen ferocious detonations. The Enclave warships dropped out of hyper-warp and assumed a defensive formation as they reacted to the ambush.

"Look over there!" Shoal-Commander Libtegh cried out, his voice shrill with fear.

Kaelotegh whirled around to look through the starboard windows at the huge Brimorian battleship on their flank. There was a gaping crater in the upper portion of the once mighty vessel, the Command Deck reduced to a blackened mass of twisted metal and sundered plating. He couldn't believe how much damage the warship had sustained, his mind lurching to the terrifying possibility that the Kintark had come into possession of some kind of unstoppable super weapon.

One of the Wave-squires gasped, his scaly features losing their colour. "Shoal Master? I'm receiving reports from the fleet..." he stammered, a look of complete disbelief on his face.

"What are they reporting?!" Kaelotegh snapped, losing his already frayed temper. "Do they know what did this?!"

"Steel stanchions, Shoal Master..."

You could have heard a pin drop on the Bridge, as the crew were stunned into silence.

Kaelotegh tilted his head as if he believed his hearing was defective. "Say again?"

"The Kintark dropped clusters of steel stanchions in front of us," the Wave-squire replied in a hushed voice. His claws tapped the shell icons on his console. "Somehow they predicted our precise heading and jettisoned them directly in our path."

The holographic map disappeared and was replaced by a picture captured by an external hull camera. A long metallic-grey beam floated innocuously in space amidst the bright colours of the nebula. Under ordinary circumstances, such flotsam would be detected by sensors long before it could be a danger and easily avoided. However, concealed as it was under the disruptive cover of the nebula, the steel stanchion turned into a lethal hazard... especially when struck by a ship travelling at hyper-warp speeds.

Kaelotegh could only gape in shock at the ten-metre-long length of metal. The Kintark had effectively ravaged his fleet with a hyper-warp powered Mass Driver broadside... that struck with devastating effect on the lightly-armoured Enclave capital ships. In a dreadful moment of epiphany, the Brimorian leader realised that everything that had transpired around the nebula was just a clever series of feints, setting him up for this killer blow.

The enemy tactician had predicted that Kaelotegh would approach the nebula with caution after the asteroid belt debacle, then planted fake mines to block the shortest diversionary path around the potential threat. The minefield was only there to funnel the Brimorians into the nebula at a precise location planned by the Kintark... and embarrassed at being delayed by freighters, Kaelotegh had underestimated his opponent and stumbled headlong into the I-beam trap. He'd been deliberately antagonised and humiliated, his opponent manipulating him with distressing ease.

Fleet casualty reports continued to come in, with five battleships having sustained critical damage. Over a dozen cruisers had been obliterated by catastrophic hyper-warp crashes and scores more warships had been damaged by collisions with debris from shattered Enclave vessels. Another entire fleet had been crippled by his opponent, but this time tens-of-thousands of Brimorians had been slaughtered in the carnage.

Kaelotegh slumped in his Command Chair and felt a shiver of dread run down his spine. In that moment, the Shoal Master knew that he was facing an enemy unlike any he'd ever encountered before. He still had four intact fleets compared to the Kintark's two, but despite having a significant tech advantage, he couldn't help wondering if it was going to be enough.

***

"You'll have to try harder than that to get through her shields," Sakura noted with a smile.

John hammered Rachel's hex barrier with a rapid succession of savage two-handed swipes, then shook his head in admiration as she repaired the damage faster than he could inflict it. "I don't know how you can keep that barrier intact. I've been hitting it with everything I've got!"

Rachel stood off to the side of the Dojo, keeping an eye on the battered suit of Phalanx armour that she had surrounded with a spinning globe of grey hexagons. "Not quite everything..."

"What do you mean?" he asked with a frown.

"Don't you remember? Back on Arcadia when we encouraged you to avenge Faye against that projection of Larn'kelnar... you went berserk and managed to smash through my shield. It was like you were draining me of energy."

Lowering his sword, John stared at the runeblade in bewilderment. "I've no idea how I did that," he quietly admitted. "I was running on pure emotion... all that rage and grief... it was overwhelming."

"Mind if I have another turn?" Sakura asked, darting a hopeful glance at the brunette.

"Be my guest," Rachel replied, gesturing towards the propped-up armour.

The Asian girl sprang into action, a spine-chilling crack echoing around the room as she sheathed her twin ninjato in ice. Running full-tilt towards the protective shield, she hammered the barrier with her blades, trying to match the rotation and break her way inside. Rachel was far too wily to allow Sakura such an easy opportunity to break her hex shield and the angle of rotation shifted wildly at random intervals, making it impossible to predict which direction to attack.

Rachel glanced at John out of the corner of her eye. "Have you ever wondered how you're able to do some of the things you do... when you have no idea why you're able to do them?"

He snorted and gave her a wry smile. "Yes, once or twice."

"And what have you concluded?" she asked, studying him curiously.

John rested the tip of his blade on the floor, then leaned against the pommel. "My guide's been operating behind the scenes for months. He must be behind it all."

"That incident with you breaking through my shield only happened a week ago, but you locked away your guide a few days before that," she reminded him.

"Yeah... you're right," he conceded, looking at her in surprise.

Rachel rapidly repaired her spinning shield as Sakura pounded it with a succession of ice javelins. "Does that mean he's found some way to escape? I thought there was no way out of that runic prison?"

John hesitated, a flicker of doubt on his face. "There shouldn't be any way he can breach those runes. They keep him suppressed in a null field, leaving him powerless and in complete sensory deprivation."

"So how did you break through my shield then?" she asked, her grey eyes alight with curiosity.

He shrugged in helpless frustration. "I really haven't got a clue. I was operating by instinct, completely focused on executing Larn'kelnar for the millions of lives he destroyed."

Rachel glanced at the gleaming weapon in his grasp. "Perhaps you inadvertently unlocked some kind of shield-breaking ability in your runesword?"

"Maybe... but I'm not sure how to trigger it again," he said, studying the glowing runes that ran the length of the blade. "Have you got any suggestions?"

She laughed and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. Ancient Kyth'faren artefacts really aren't my area of expertise. Tashana studied the schematics for longer than you didn't she? Perhaps she might be able to recommend a method of unlocking the sword's full potential?"

John hefted the weapon in his hand, appreciating the comforting feel of its weight and balance. "Do you think it has a lot of untapped abilities we don't know about?"

"The Kyth'faren went to great lengths to keep that weapon out of Xar'aziuth's clutches. I can't imagine they would go to so much trouble if all it did was amplify your psychic strength."

Glacial winds were whipping around the Dojo now, Sakura channelling an icy vortex to aid in her attempt to break through Rachel's shield. John stood still amidst the buffeting, lost in thought as he watched the hex-barrier withstand her onslaught.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right," he finally conceded to the brunette. "I'll discuss it with Tashana and see if she can remember anything helpful."

Sakura battered the spinning shield with a combination of icy shards from her tornado and frenzied stabs with her two swords. She also blasted the impenetrable sphere with a frozen javelin as quickly as she could create a new one, but despite hitting the barrier with everything she'd got, Rachel managed to keep it intact.

Blowing out her breath in a ragged sigh of frustration, Sakura skidded to a halt and lowered her ninjato. "I give up. You're so much better at blocking my attacks than John."

"Hey!" he protested, giving her a mock frown.

"Well... she is," Sakura said with a sympathetic smile.

"How about ganging up on her instead?" John suggested, darting a conspiratorial wink at the former assassin.

Sakura's smile widened into a grin. "Oh yeah! You're in trouble now, Rachel!"

The brunette politely covered her mouth as she stifled a yawn. "I'm sorry... what were you saying? I was hoping this training session would be exciting, but it's been a real struggle to stay awake."

John and Sakura laughed as they padded out across the mats, both raising their weapons in readiness. They glanced back at Rachel who looked away and whistled tunefully to herself, goading the pair into action.

"Okay, go!" John called out, activating his psychic speed.

Sakura was right there with him, sprinting in a blur towards the glowing sphere. Despite Rachel's supposed inattentiveness, she was concentrating intently on her hex barrier, knowing how difficult it would be to repair all the damage from both of them at once. The shield spun around wildly, making haphazard changes of direction that were disorientating even to look at.

They began their attacks, slashing and stabbing away as fast as they could in an effort to overwhelm her. John whipped his sword from left to right, cracking a dozen hexagons with every broad slash. Sakura's ninjato were primarily piercing weapons, so she unleashed a frenzy of skewering thrusts that were powerful enough to split a man in two.

Rachel's brow furrowed in concentration, but she was able to quickly replace shattered hexagons, preventing either John or Sakura from sundering the sphere.

John and Sakura spun and pivoted around their target, feeling that same sense of connection again as they worked together to find vulnerabilities in Rachel's defences. Fully immersed in their psychic powers, John's glowing blue gaze met Sakura's glacial white, the pair locking eyes as they continued their deadly dance. The sensation felt like the intimate closeness they'd shared when performing Tai Chi together, but amplified by eldritch energy it was taken to another level entirely.

Sakura gasped, her eyes widening, then she grinned with renewed focus. John brought his runesword around in a whip-like slash, crushing the surface of the spinning sphere and cracking a dozen hexagons. Lunging forward in a flash, Sakura stabbed the damaged globe where it had already taken damage, her ninjato piercing the barrier and impaling the Phalanx suit's arm.

Rachel gasped in surprise and instantly repaired the rupture when Sakura drew back to thrust again. She reversed the direction of her spinning shield, but John and Sakura immediately countered, working together in perfect synchronisation. Now Sakura unleashed a wild flurry of strikes with her dual blades, weakening a dozen hexagons with every frozen stab. John drew back his blade and hammered the damaged surface of the shield, completely destroying the already weakened tiles and threatening to destabilise the integrity of the entire hex barrier.

No longer able to feign casual disinterest, Rachel held up both hands towards the globe and gritted her teeth under the strain. She had to leverage the entire might of her intellect into maintaining the barrier, teetering on the edge of disaster as she barely managed to replace shattered hexagons in time. John and Sakura seemed to know exactly where the other was about to strike, coordinating chains of attacks with breathtaking precision.

The onslaught continued with no sign of abatement and soon Rachel was panting from the exertion as she channelled a constant stream of energy into the shield. A piercing dirge echoed around the Dojo as John launched a telekinetic lance at the barrier, knocking out a cluster of seven grey hexagons. The psychic attack landed a split second before Sakura struck with a double lunge, her twin ninjato driving through the gap in the barrier and impaling the Phalanx helmet with both blades. The white tips punched through the black armour, then shattered the faceplate with a shriek of metal.

Rachel's hex shield disintegrated in a shower of glowing hexagons and John chopped the suit in half with a thunderous cross-slash. The brunette dropped to one knee as she conceded defeat, her chest heaving as she struggled to regain her breath. Rachel heard a ringing clang and looked up, then smiled when she saw that John and Sakura had discarded their swords and Paragon helmets... and were now kissing passionately.

***

Shoal Master Kaelotegh stared at the holographic Sector Map and rubbed at his throbbing temple. He'd started to develop a nasty headache and his current predicament was doing nothing to ease his tension. Ahead of them, just out of sensor range, lay another huge minefield. He knew this, because a hazard beacon had been left directly in their path, warning of the minefield's existence and informing them of its precise dimensions.

"Why would you warn us the minefield is there?" he muttered aloud, staring at it suspiciously. "And why tell us its exact size and location?"

He drummed his claws on the console, the dull clicks the only sound on the ominously silent Command Deck. The Enclave armada continued onwards, drawing closer to the sweeping minefield blocking their path.

"Is this another bunch of garbage pods like the last? Or was the previous minefield a fake just to make me think this one is too? Have you planned a feint within a feint and this minefield is actually real? In which case I should navigate around it to avoid the trap entirely... but what if you knew I'd be suspicious again and decided to lay cloaked mines on the most obvious path to circumvent the minefield?"

Shoal-Commander Libtegh looked at his leader with alarm, wondering if Kaelotegh was starting to crack under the strain.

The Shoal Master shook his head, a feverish gleam in his eyes. "A lesser tactician would choose a vector at random, assuming that there was no possible way that it could be predicted... but you and I both know there is no such thing as pure chance. I would not choose the fastest diversion around the minefield to avoid befalling the same fate as the nebula, nor would I choose the longest route which someone might pick because it is the least-desirable choice."

Rasping his teeth to get his leader's attention, Libtegh said quietly, "Shoal Master, what are your orders? At our current speed, we will enter the minefield in eight minutes."

Kaelotegh glared at him in irritation, then activated the fleet interface. "Hold position and launch strike craft. I want a reconnaissance of the outer layer of that minefield."

The Brimorian armada dropped out of hyper-warp and a lone carrier flew ahead to within deployment distance. Agile fighters raced away from their carrier's launch bays, quickly forming up into wings as they readied for combat. The Shoal Master leaned forward and held his breath as the wave of strike craft closed on the outer edge of the minefield. They began their attack runs and just like before, the fighters swept back and forth for several minutes, strafing the mines with particle bolts without triggering an explosion. The Brimorian pilots then slowed and drew alongside the scattered wreckage to investigate further.

One of the fighter pilots hailed the fleet, his helmeted face appearing on the comms screen. "More garbage pods, Shoal Master. The minefield is a fake, just like the last."

"Proceed inside... I want a visual check that they're garbage pods right across the field."

"As you command," the pilot replied.

Wings of fighters flew through the minefield at a steady pace, the pilots visually confirming that all the globes were the same size and shape as the ones they'd already destroyed.

"They all appear to be garbage pods, Shoal Master."

Staring at the map with suspicion, Kaelotegh contacted the strike craft again. "Sweep the last dozen rows clear in a kilometre wide channel."

The fighters acknowledged the order, then began carefully clearing the path that their leader had requested. It took half an hour to eliminate them all, but the strike craft did so without triggering a single explosion. Kaelotegh had been concerned that the enemy commander had left a few nasty surprises hidden at the end of the fake minefield, so he sighed with relief when it was clear that this was all just an elaborate ruse.

"Ha! I knew it!" Kaelotegh gloated, sitting forward eagerly in his Command Chair. "Another bluff designed to make us waste hours on an entirely unnecessary diversion!"

Libtegh nodded, his spirits raising as he realised his leader had outwitted their adversary.

Kaeolotegh adjusted the fleet formations so the Brimorians were now arranged with a narrow front no more than 200 metres wide. He set a course directly through the minefield, then ordered the first fleet to lead the way through.

The Shoal-Commander beside him hesitated, years of training telling him that this was a terrible idea. However, Libtegh dreaded to think what other deadly traps might lurk in the space surrounding the minefield, so decided to stay silent and place his faith in his leader. He watched as the Brimorian warships cruised through the uniform ranks of garbage pods, their broad blue and purple hulls knocking aside the hollow containers as they went. The minutes ticked by without incident as the Enclave forces safely navigated half the way across the field.

Libtegh relaxed and shared a smile of relief with Kaelotegh. "I must confess I was concerned, Shoal Master."

A sensor contact suddenly flared to life on the outskirts of the minefield as a ship that had been hiding on minimal power activated all its systems. It appeared as an ominous red light on the map as it turned and flew towards the Brimorian fleets.

"What is that?!" Kaeolotegh blurted out in alarm.

"It's only a corvette... I believe it's a mining drone carrier?" the Wave-squire on tactical replied, sounding unsure.

"We've got movement!" Libtegh warned, pointing to the minefield.

Dozens of tiny sensor contacts flickered into existence on both flanks of the armada, then began to drew closer. The Shoal Master zoomed in the holo-display and the image showed mining drones pushing garbage pods towards the fleet.

"All ships open fire!" Kaeolotegh yelled into the fleet command interface.

The warships opened up with their defence grids, spraying particle bolts at the approaching drones. Much smaller than a fighter, the diminutive craft were hard for the gunners to target with any degree of accuracy and streams of yellow energy bolts zipped past without landing a hit. One of the heavy cruiser gunners was a good shot and blasted the garbage pod the drone was pushing, triggering a crimson explosion.

Kaeolotegh stared at the detonation with dread, feeling his heart sink in his chest. All around his fleet, the gunners desperately tried to shoot all the mining drones, many explosions confirming their success. However, some still managed to get though the waves of gunfire, pushing their garbage pods into the hulls of the Brimorian ships. A cruiser was the first casualty, the contact-mine blowing apart the warship's starboard flank and leaving a gaping crater in the armour plating.

The Shoal Master sank back in his chair, his face a picture of misery as explosions rippled through the Brimorian fleet. He'd been outwitted again.

***

Rachel stretched with contentment, then rolled over on the bed to face Sakura, her cum-filled stomach brushing against the Asian girl's rounded belly.

"You were so in tune," the brunette gushed, smiling at her bedmates. "That was amazing!"

"Two souls in perfect harmony," Sakura whispered, turning to gaze adoringly at John over her shoulder.

Spooned behind the former assassin, John caressed her curved abdomen. "I hope you're not still worried that you aren't as close to me as the other girls?"

Sakura blushed and shook her head. "Not after that impressive bit of overcompensation... how could I be?"

John laughed and kissed her shoulder. "Yeah, maybe I did go a tad overboard."

"What new ability did you give Sakura?" Rachel asked, looking at them both in fascination. "It seemed like you were totally synchronised with each other."

"You know how frustrated I've been, trying and failing to break through hex shields," John explained. "I figured that Sakura would be the ideal person to help me overwhelm a Progenitor's psychic defences."

"You two are the only ones that favour melee weapons," the brunette mused, nodding her understanding. "Coordinating your attacks like that was very effective."

John let his fingers drift from Sakura's golden brown tummy to stroke Rachel's tanned midriff. "I hope you don't mind that I cheated to break one of your shields?"

Rachel shivered with delight at his gentle touch, then smiled and shook her head. "You're forgiven."

"I'm amazed you held us both off for as long as you did," Sakura said, looking at the brunette with admiration. A worried frown appeared on her face as she continued, "But if Progenitors are all that powerful, we've got our work cut out for us."

"We have to assume they are," John agreed. "My father said that Larn'kelnar had been weakened after living under the Shroud for a year."

"Yes and he was still quite the handful," Rachel noted, frowning as she rubbed the spot on her chest where she'd been impaled by a telekinetic lance.

John nodded, his expression grim. "Exactly."

The door to the Dojo's bedroom opened and Leylira entered, then she sat beside John on the bed. "It looks like I was too late to spar with you, Master."

Sitting up, John greeted the tiger-striped catgirl with a hug. "It's not too late, honey. If you give me a few minutes, I'll take a quick shower then get geared up again."

Leylira leaned over to stroke Sakura's cum-packed womb. "There's no rush. I'd prefer to fight you after you're... fully rested."

He blinked in surprise, then grinned with anticipation, knowing the fierce Nymph's real reason for requesting a sparring match. "I'll look forward to it."

She kissed him, then padded out of the bedroom with a seductive sway to her hips. Leylira glanced back over her shoulder and smiled with satisfaction when she saw he was entranced by her delectable figure. "Goodbye, Master."

Rachel watched him with an enigmatic expression on her face, then turned to Sakura. "Who would you like to feed? Ailita or Jehanna?"

Sakura's brown eyes shone brightly at the prospect. "How about we switch half way?"

"Perfect," the brunette agreed, rising from the bed.

"I'd like to do more shield-breaking practice in the future," John said, getting up too. "Would you be up for that again sometime?"

She scooped up her clothes, then gave John a parting kiss. "If every session ends like this... absolutely."

"It usually does," Sakura noted with a smile of satisfaction.

Rachel laughed then nodded. "Count me in." She waved goodbye and left the bedroom.

John picked up the rest of the clothes scattered on the floor, then dropped them on the bed in two neat piles. "I'll come up to the Observatory with you and we can get a shower together after you've fed the girls."

Sakura watched him for a moment, then reached out to catch his hand. "John..."

"Yes, honey?"

"I know the real reason you gave me this new ability..." she whispered, her eyes filling up with emotion. "Thank you."

John hesitated then sat down next to her. "I'm really sorry that you got upset. I feel awful that you ever felt like that. Everything I said to you before was true, but I wanted to show you in a tangible way just how much I need you, Sakura."

She looked at him with reverence. "You showed me alright... I didn't think it was possible to feel as close to someone as the way I do to you right now. Your body felt like an extension of my own... it was just magical."

He pulled her into his arms and whispered in her ear. "My High Priestess of Justice deserves nothing less."

Sakura giggled then hugged him hard. "I love you so much."

"I feel the same way about you," he replied, then tilted up her chin to give her a tender kiss.

*Are you trying to turn me into a love drunk again?* Alyssa asked with a playful telepathic smile.

*Just trying to make it up to Sakura,* he replied, offering the Asian girl a hand as she climbed off the bed.

*Well you did that in spades,* his blonde matriarch said with amusement. *By the way... have you forgotten that we'll be reaching Kinta in just a couple more hours? I thought you were planning to load up the girls right before the battle?*

John picked up his clothes and followed Sakura out of the bedroom, neither of them bothering to get dressed. *We got a bit carried away after the training session... but I doubt the Brimorians will give us too much trouble.*

*I don't think they will either, but I wanted to double-check with you before the girls fill up Ailita and Jehanna.*

*I'm not planning on taking any chances,* John replied, accompanying Sakura along the corridor towards the Lagoon. She slipped her hand into his and they shared a smile as they passed the grav-tubes. *We'll help the Kintark destroy what's left of the Brimorian invasion force, then leave as quickly as possible. Getting to Genthalas is still my number one priority.*

*Speaking of which, Calara wants to discuss your plans for the Maliri fleets.*

*I'll take a quick shower then join her on the Command Deck. Can you tell her I'll be ten minutes?*

*No problem.* Alyssa hesitated for a moment, then continued, *Just to let you know, I'm going to be incommunicado for a while. Charles just called Lynette and asked to see her. She's worried sick, so I'm going to give her my full attention... okay?*

*Of course. Thanks for helping her, beautiful.*

***

Lynette Devereux fidgeted nervously, looking very much like an anxious twenty-year-old, rather than the undisputed leader of the Terran Federation. She was wearing her full dress uniform, but she hadn't activated her holo disguise as she was in her quarters.

*What am I going to say?!* she asked, her voice edging towards panic. *God... I'm so nervous... What if Charles doesn't want to be with me anymore? I think I'd die without him!*

*Stop it Lynette!* Alyssa said sternly. *Pull yourself together! You're not some simpering schoolgirl, you're the Fleet Admiral of the Terran Federation!*

Lynette inhaled deeply, then let it out in a shuddering breath. *I thought you didn't like the admiralty?* she joked with a tremulous smile.

*Yeah, they're mostly a bunch of heartless assholes... but you're letting the side down by falling apart over Charles,* Alyssa replied, playing along with her. *Now, chin up, I'm going to help you through this.*

*Okay... so what should I say to him?* Lynette asked, wringing her hands together.

*Nothing.*

The brunette blinked in surprise. *What?*

*Please don't make me repeat everything, I know you heard me,* Alyssa said with a mock frown. *I don't want you to say anything to Charles when he arrives.*

Lynette frowned in confusion. *But why?*

*Get up and go into the bathroom.*

The flustered young woman did as her matriarch requested. *Okay, I'm here.*

*Take a look in the mirror... what do you see?*

The Fleet Admiral glanced at her reflection. *Me... in uniform.*

Alyssa's melodic laughter echoed through Lynette's mind. *Wow, the novelty sure wore off fast. Really take a look at yourself, Lynette.*

The brunette gazed at the mirror, seeing the beautiful young woman staring back at her.

*You're absolutely gorgeous,* Alyssa murmured softly. *I'm not exaggerating when I say that Charles will never be with a woman anywhere near as stunning as you... because there aren't any.*

Lynette calmed down and took a moment to really appreciate the youthful beauty of the woman staring back at her. Enchanting hazel eyes gazed back, bright, clear, and sparkling with life. Her heart-shaped face was exquisite... with flawless skin, high cheekbones, and an adorably cute nose. A cupid-bow mouth completed those spectacular features, her ruby-red lips plump, succulent, and perfect for kissing. As a finishing touch, that breathtaking face was framed by a lustrous mane of thick chestnut hair, which cascaded over her shoulders and down her back in a glorious brown curtain.

A few weeks had passed since Lynette had undergone her makeover and Alyssa was right... she'd forgotten just how dramatic the miraculous transformation had been.

*You're not just a stunningly beautiful young woman, you're also intelligent and compassionate, loyal, caring, and honest. As well as being a lovely person, you have the most powerful job in the entire Federation... and you're using that ultimate authority to improve the lives of billions of people. You're the ultimate catch, Lynette... the best of the best... a grade-A prime piece of ass, with the money, power, smarts and charisma to go with it.*

Standing taller with pride, Lynette smiled at herself in the mirror and her reflection beamed back, lighting up her lovely face. *Wow.*

*Yeah... wow,* Alyssa said with an affectionate grin. *So you're not going to fall all over Charles, begging him to take you back. You did nothing wrong... and don't have anything to apologise for.*

Lynette frowned with irritation. *You're right! The Change was completely over with by the time I start dating Charles. I've been completely faithful to him!*

*Yep, exactly,* Alyssa agreed. *Now head back to the Lounge and get to work before he arrives... because you're very busy and important.*

Stifling a giggle, Lynette flounced into the Lounge and activated the holo-interface built into the sofa. She paused for a moment, then displayed a map of the Terran Federation, expanding the holographic image until it was ten metres wide and dominated the centre of the Lounge. Rising from her seat, she crossed her arms as she studied the territory she controlled, which included the recently annexed lower-half of the Kintark Empire.

Her hazel-eyed gaze drifted across to the far right of Terran Federation and the stars collectively known as the Outer Rim. She stared at the Kirrix invasion corridor and the systems caught up in that disaster. Menganus IV, Tasmaris Prime, Karron, Valia Gate, Brecken's World, and Carolus III... Lynette had memorised the names of all those worlds.

*Tell me your assessment of the situation with the Outer Rim colonies, Alyssa,* she said, her voice confident now and ringing with authority.

***

Admiral Charles Harris dragged his feet as he walked through the section of Olympus Shipyard reserved for high-ranking members of the Admiralty. He'd spent the time since the Invictus' departure trying to get to grips with his feelings for Lynette, which had been sent into a tailspin after his meeting with John. His fiancée was an amazing woman and Charles had no doubt that he loved Lynette, but he wasn't sure how he felt about the fact that she'd been intimate with his best friend.

Strictly speaking, Lynette and John hadn't had a sexual relationship, but the mechanics required to put her through the "Change" were shocking to say the least. Charles couldn't deny that the results were spectacular, transforming the dowdy middle-aged admiral into a stunning young beauty. Unfortunately, he was struggling to get past the thought of the two of them being involved together at all.

He still hadn't completely made up his mind what to do, but Charles missed his fiancée and wanted to check she was alright, having not spoken to her at all the previous day. Outside the Fleet Admiral's quarters, the maintenance teams had worked quickly to repair the corridor after the terrorist attack, with all the bullet holes and blast damage to the wall segments completely replaced. Pausing for a moment, he found it quite unsettling to be there, knowing that a grenade had killed eight men where he stood only a matter of days ago.

Straightening his peaked hat, Charles cleared his throat and tapped the intercom by the door. "It's me... just Charles."

There was a long pause, then Lynette's clear voice replied in a neutral tone. "Enter."

He frowned, hoping for a warmer welcome than that, but entered her quarters when the door slid open. Walking through the foyer, he was surprised that Lynette didn't come out to meet him at the door. Removing his hat, he carried on into her quarters, then relaxed when he found the brunette standing in her lounge.

Lynette didn't turn to greet him, instead she stared intently at a vast holographic map of the Terran Federation, her focus on the Outer Rim. Numerous worlds were highlighted and she studied the Colonial Administration assessment of each of those planets, her face a picture of concentration. Seeing her like that was a sharp reminder that Lynette was not just an extremely pretty face, she also possessed a brilliant mind. Her arms were folded across her chest and Charles happened to glance at her left hand... and was shocked to see Lynette had removed his engagement ring.

"Lynette!" he blurted out in surprise.

She turned to face him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, Charles?"

"I was wondering if we could talk... about us... about our relationship," he stammered.

Glancing back at the map, she frowned, then nodded in resignation. "Alright, let's talk."

Charles felt a flicker of worry as they moved to the sofas, shocked at how distant Lynette was being with him. "Err... how have you been?"

"Fine, I suppose... considering the man I love has been ignoring me for the last couple of days," she said, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

He gulped in alarm. "I didn't mean to ignore you... I just had a lot to think about, that's all."

"You needed to decide whether you were going to end the engagement and dump me, I assume?" Lynette asked, bristling indignantly.

"No!" Charles exclaimed, but he couldn't help wincing as that's exactly what he'd been considering.

She gave him a knowing look and he wilted, feeling even lower.

"Yes, I thought so," Lynette said, with a sigh of disappointment. "That's why I stopped wearing your engagement ring."

"I'm sorry..."

"So the engagement's really over then?" she asked with grim resignation.

"No, of course not!" Charles blurted out in a panic. "I just meant that I'm sorry that I didn't speak to you. I've been trying to come to terms with what happened between you and John."

"Nothing happened between us, Charles," Lynette said with a frown. "I thought John told you that? Neither of us had any romantic feelings for each other and we certainly didn't sleep together. I went through a clinical procedure with him that transformed my body... but that all happened before you showed any interest in me."

"Yes, but it's the details of it all..." he muttered, giving her a rueful frown.

"Well you certainly didn't seem to mind the final results," she said archly. "You only fell in love with me when you saw 'Marie' at the gym. Maybe you're far more shallow than I gave you credit for."

"I'm not!" he protested. "I love you for who you are, Lynette. Not just because you're beautiful."

She gave him a sceptical look. "You love me? If that was true, why did you make no effort to speak to me since you found out about the Change? Didn't you care that I might have been upset and worried about how you were going to react?"

"I care, I promise!" Charles insisted, nervously wiping at the sweat on his brow.

"I didn't do anything wrong, Charles. I never cheated on you... and I've been nothing but loving and faithful since we became a couple," she said, looking deeply hurt. "You're punishing me for something that happened before we even started dating. Well, I can't change my past... so if you can't get over it, then let me know now because I have my life to live."

"I can... I have!" he exclaimed, dropping to his knees beside the sofa in front of her. "Please forgive me, Lynette! I love you with all my heart and I can't live without you! I know you're miles out of my league, but if you give me another chance, I swear you won't regret it!"

Lynette tilted her head to one side as she considered his desperate plea. "You know what I like doing in bed... are you going to be all awkward about me sucking your cock now?"

"No! I love it... you're absolutely incredible in bed!"

"Hmm... maybe you should prove it," she said sternly, rising from the sofa and beckoning him to follow her to the bedroom. "I'm not wearing your engagement ring again until you give me a full tummy."

Charles leapt to his feet and hurried after her, a huge grin lighting up his face.

***

*Woohoo!* Lynette exclaimed, sounding absolutely thrilled. *It worked like a charm!*

*Well done, gorgeous,* Alyssa said with satisfaction, rising from the sofa in the Ready Room. *Charles just needed to be reminded what a catch you are and I knew he'd be frantic to get back together with you.*

*Thanks, Alyssa... you helped me so much,* the brunette gushed, overcome with gratitude.

The blonde paused by the door to the Bridge. *Consider it part of my apology for what happened with the Outer Rim colonies. I'm sorry I hurt you over that... and I'll do whatever I can to help you find a peaceful solution.*

*I appreciate it, thank you,* Lynette replied. *I'm going to go... I need to concentrate.*

*Have fun,* Alyssa said with a grin, then strode out onto the Command Deck. "Hey, I've got great news! Charles and Lynette are back together!"

John looked up from where he was leaning over Calara's Tactical Station. "I'm really glad it all worked out. Did Charles decide what he wants to do about Lina?"

"Nah, not yet. They're just celebrating the engagement being back on at the moment," she replied, winking at him suggestively.

He laughed and rolled his eyes. "Too much information."

When Alyssa reached him she greeted John with a loving kiss, then leaned down to give Calara the same treatment. "So what did I miss?"

The Latina gave her a warm smile. "It's not like you to be in the dark over anything. John and I were just discussing our plans for the Maliri fleets led by Aadya, the House Perfaren Fleet Commander."

"What have you decided?" Alyssa asked, turning to look at the map of the Kintark Empire.

"I don't want to split up the Maliri fleets and risk putting them in any danger, which means we have two choices for handling the clean-up operation," John replied, gesturing to the holographic image. "Option one is to send the Maliri to sweep along the invasion corridor from Kinta out towards the border, eliminating all the Brimorian forces as they go. This is safer for the Kintark, because it will prevent a reserve force from hitting the homeworld system after we leave for Genthalas."

"Okay and what's our second option?" she asked, nodding her understanding.

Calara pointed towards the Brimorian border. "We send the Maliri fleets here, knock out any temporary comms beacons the Brimorians dropped during the invasion, then follow them all the way into Kintark territory. With all communications cut off at the border, Deep Lord Athgiloi won't have a clue what's happening to all his fleets."

Alyssa frowned in confusion. "When we hit Kinta and start annihilating the invasion force, won't the Brimorians warn Athgiloi what's happening?"

The brunette shook her head. "Our approach vector is pretty close to the Brimorian invasion corridor. With the ridiculous sensor range we have now, we'll be able to spot any Brimorian comms beacons from light years away. We can just make a minor diversion and launch the Raptor to destroy it, while the Invictus carries on to Kinta. Whoever is flying the gunship can then follow us to the Kintark homeworld."

"The one problem with that," John interjected. "Is we won't have the Raptor to do a rapid troop deployment if the Brimorians have boarded Mar'Trinark Shipyard."

Alyssa gave them a wicked grin. "Actually, I've got a better idea..."

John and Calara followed the blonde up the illuminated steps to the Command Podium, where she took a seat at her XO Station. Alyssa stared intently at the Sector Map as she began to update their flight path, aligning their course with the Brimorian invasion corridor. The weaving green line that went from the Invictus to the Kintark homeworld abruptly shifted, bowing outwards into a gentle curve that would let them follow in the wake of the Brimorian invaders. Red warning icons immediately began to flash on the holographic map, the navigation computer warning her that their current course would end in catastrophe.

Brow furrowing in concentration, Alyssa zoomed into the closest star system and began a series of staggeringly complex astro-navigational calculations. John tried to follow her work, but the mathematics involved were way beyond his level of expertise. Shaking his head in admiration, he watched as she completed the projected flight path, which would slingshot them through the star's gravity well at maximum hyper-warp velocity.

After completing her updates, she sat back in her chair and nodded with satisfaction. "That should do it."

"Nice work, honey," John said, patting her shoulder. "How much time will that add to our ETA?"

She folded her hands behind her head and grinned. "Two minutes and forty-five seconds."

He looked at her in surprise. "Is that all? But we're taking a big detour!"

"Yeah, but there are more stars I can slingshot around this way," she replied, enjoying seeing his look of amazement.

Calara leaned over and tapped an icon, which shifted the holographic map back to the tactical view. The astro-navigation data disappeared and was replaced by icons showing all the space-faring vessels in the vicinity. She quickly scanned the outer edges of their sensor range, where it intersected with the Enclave armada's invasion corridor.

"Still no sign of the Brimorian fleets," she noted with a frown. "I just hope I managed to slow them down enough so we can get there in time."

"You did your best; I couldn't ask for anything more," John said, rubbing her back. "I actually feel sorry for the Brimorians having to wade through all those traps you set."

"I guess we'll soon see how effective they were," she said, her eyes flicking to the Kintark homeworld.

Despite the phenomenal range of their Quantum Omni-phase Scan Array, Kinta was still some distance away. Calara watched the outer-edge of the long-range sensors inching closer on the Sector Map, hoping that it would light up with a flood of Brimorian contacts at any moment. Instead, a single red icon appeared, the contact stationary in their path as the Invictus raced towards it.

"Wanna bet that's a Brimorian comms beacon?" Alyssa asked with a twinkle in her eyes, pointing towards the unknown object.

John chuckled and shook his head. "I still owe you for the last one."

The blonde grinned as she slightly modified their course. "Alright, we're all set."

Their flight path took them very close to the new sensor contact, passing within just 500 metres. John already suspected what Alyssa was planning, but the course correction confirmed it.

He waited patiently, staring at the holographic map, then frowned and glanced at Alyssa. "How long until we reach it?"

"Thirty minutes," she replied, trying not to laugh.

He groaned and sat in his Command Chair. "I forgot how ridiculous our sensor range is now."

"I'm definitely not complaining," Calara said, transfixed by the holographic image as she searched for enemies.

Alyssa rose from her chair and sashayed over to John. "Me neither. I'm sure there's got to be some way we can pass the time..."

John smiled and opened his arms for her as she sat across his lap. "This reminds me of the old days... when it was just the three of us on the Invictus."

"Quick, Calara... come here!" Alyssa said, grabbing the Latina's hand. "He's getting all nostalgic!"

Calara cast one last longing look at the holographic map, then turned to face John and Alyssa. "Room for one more?" she asked with a fond smile.

With a bit of wriggling, the blonde and brunette both managed to fit on John's lap. He stroked their backs as they snuggled into him and got comfortable.

"You're right, this does feel like the old days," Calara agreed, resting her head against his chest. "Except we're rushing to save the Kintark instead of blowing them up."

"Everything seemed so much simpler back then," John agreed, thinking about the existential threats they were facing now.

"No, we don't have any regrets," Alyssa informed him solemnly.

Calara broke into a smile and gave John a knowing look. "You were about to ask, weren't you?"

He shook his head and tried not to laugh. "No. Absolutely not."

"Imagine if we hadn't recruited anyone else..." Alyssa said, shaking her head. "All those incredible meals we would've missed out on, because we were too stuffed to eat."

"Six months on a high-protein diet..." Calara murmured wistfully, as she idly caressed her stomach. "I'd still be hopeless in the kitchen... and seeing us at the awards ceremonies would have shocked everyone."

John smiled back, enjoying their good-natured banter. "Yeah, but just think how many psychic powers you two would've ended up with. You'd both be unstoppable!"

The girls laughed and hugged him.

"I'm really glad it worked out this way," Calara said quietly. "I love sharing my life with all the girls. "

"They're our family," Alyssa agreed, nuzzling into him. "I wouldn't change a thing."

John found himself in full agreement with them both. He relaxed, feeling truly at peace with the decisions he'd made over the last eight months.

***

Charles lay back on the bed and groaned, lost in a euphoric stupor.

"That was amazing..." Lynette panted, collapsing on the bed beside him. "Make up sex is the best!"

As she snuggled into him, he was too exhausted to answer, but managed to find enough energy to rub her back.

The brunette stretched languidly, her statuesque body covered in a light sheen of perspiration. "I'm tingling all over after that..." Lynette traced her fingers across her toned stomach and smiled with satisfaction. "Thank you so much for filling up my tummy first... it felt like you were making me yours again. I think that's why I came so hard when I was riding you... knowing I've got your cum inside me was such a turn on."

"You were incredible..." Charles mumbled, between panted breaths.

She rolled over so she was partially draped across his chest, her silky-smooth thigh brushing against him. "I love you so much, Charles," Lynette gushed, gazing down at him in adoration. "I can't tell you how happy I am that we're back together."

He looked up at her and shook his head. "We never broke up. I just needed some time to adjust... but I am sorry I upset you."

"I was just scared you might not want me anymore," she admitted, leaning down to give him a tender kiss. There was a flicker of insecurity in her eyes as she continued, "I've never felt this way about anybody before and it was terrifying to think you might just walk away."

Charles frowned in confusion. "So why were you so cold with me earlier?"

Lynette blushed and gave him a guilty look. "I wanted to beg you to take me back, but Alyssa reminded me that I hadn't actually done anything wrong. She suggested I act like that... I guess to make you realise I was a catch?"

He chuckled, his moustache twitching. "Well it worked."

She cupped his cheek and smiled at him ruefully. "I didn't want to manipulate you, Charles... I was just desperate. I've spent most of my life single and never had much luck with relationships. Being with you is the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Charles gave her a sympathetic look, but there was understanding there too. "I know what you mean. My ex-wife did most of the chasing when we started dating. She used to say that if it was up to me, we never would've got around to getting married... Emma stage-managed the whole engagement and wedding."

"Yeah, I bet she did... the gold-digging bitch!" Lynette bristled, her hazel eyes narrowing.

"She checked out of the marriage when I was just a Commander, so I don't think she was after my money," Charles said with a smile. "In any event, you're better than her in every way. You really don't have anything to be jealous about."

She shook her head. "I'm not... but I still hate her for hurting you. Hey, I know! I could declare her an enemy of the state and have ISD hunt her down! Would you like to oversee her trial?"

He laughed and shook his head. "It's a lovely offer, but I'll have to decline... just think of all that paperwork."

Lynette giggled and gave him a hug. "Just let me know if you change your mind."

Charles smiled at her affectionately. "I really missed you while we were apart. I never joked around like this with my ex... the two of us didn't click like we do."

Her answering smile was lovely to see, then it turned curious. "Do you feel that kind of connection with Lina?"

He hesitated, a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes.

"I'm not going to get jealous, Charlie..." she teased him, using the redhead's nickname for her fiancé. "I suggested the three of us get together, remember?"

"I do like her a lot," he admitted. "If you're asking whether I've made a decision about Lina becoming a Lioness... I haven't had a chance to think about it yet, I was just worrying about you."

"I'm not going to put pressure on you to decide," Lynette declared, gazing into his eyes. "If you do want to talk, I'll be happy to discuss it with you... okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. "Thanks, sweetheart."

She kissed him again and sat up. "I'm going to get some water. Do you want some? Or maybe something stronger?"

"Well... we are celebrating," he replied, his moustache twitching as he grinned.

"I'll be right back!" she exclaimed, leaping off the bed and slipping on a dressing gown. "Would you like ice?"

"Ice would be perfect, thanks." Charles lay back on the bed and sighed with contentment as he watched his youthful fiancée bound out of the bedroom.

Lynette hummed happily to herself as she crossed the lounge and activated the comms interface in the sofa. After glancing through the list, she saw the video message from Admiral Sofia Esposito and activated the recording. As the Fleet Admiral walked to the drinks cabinet to make Charles' drink, she listened to the new ISD commander give her an update on the Callopean Shoals traitor and that she'd charged him with treason and murder. The evidence against Commander Thomas Walker was damning and Lynette shook her head in disgust that a Federation officer would betray all his comrades over greed and jealousy.