Three Square Meals Ch. 108

She smiled at him and teased open the cord of her bathrobe, letting the material gape and revealing a tantalising glimpse of her luscious cleavage. "I seem to recall saying 'YES!' rather enthusiastically last night... and that was before you blew my mind in bed."

He glanced at the beautiful diamond solitaire engagement ring that now adorned her finger and smiled, feeling an overwhelming surge of gratitude towards his daughter. When he'd spoken to Rachel the other day, she'd shared some startling insights about his personal assistant, and informed him that Abigail's feelings for him were absolutely genuine. Rachel's unshakeable conviction had been almost unsettling, but he trusted his daughter implicitly, and now he knew he could trust Abigail too.

Henry gently brushed his finger across his fiancée's creamy flesh, peeling back the silk robe and exposing her nipple. He circled it with a finger and watched it stiffen in response to his touch. "I think I better do some more convincing, just to make sure," he said, as he began placing kisses on her chest, heading down towards her slim stomach.

"Whatever you say, Sir," she replied, with a playful smile.

He watched her face as he descended lower and put his oral skills to use on her for the first time. Henry couldn't help smiling with satisfaction when Abigail's mouth dropped open and she gasped in surprise, her eyes suddenly rolling back as he brought her to a rapid climax. Yes, Meredith might have been a self-serving, immoral slut, but she'd also taken great pains to teach him exactly how to please a woman in the bedroom. Maybe he would grant her some mercy after all, for old time's sake... he would consider it payment for services rendered. Seeing the shocked look of disbelief on Abigail's ecstatic face was worth every credit.

***

The black shuttle swept out of the Porphyrion's hangar, leaving the monolithic battleship behind as Faye guided them around the Invictus towards their next destination. A 500-metre-long Terran Federation cruiser had manoeuvred into position while they were in their meeting, the name "Damocles" written in tall lettering along its titanium grey hull, illuminated by soft blue lighting.

"How's the refit proceeding?" John asked their holographic pilot.

"We're going great guns!" she replied, grinning at him over her shoulder. "So far my boys have installed 31 of the 40 Tachyon Lances and the girls have just finished upgrading the Valkyrie."

He nodded, pleased with their progress. "That's great news. By the sounds of it, you'll already be finished by the time we're ready to go."

"We've done so many refits now, it's old hat for my boys," Faye said proudly, glancing at the maintenance bots as they passed and giving them a friendly wave.

They paused in their work and returned her greeting, powerful robotic arms waving back in a cheerful manner.

John laughed and said, "Very cute, Faye. How long did it take to program them to do that?"

"A little while..." she replied with a fond smile.

The shuttle followed the upper curve of the Invictus' topdeck, then dipped lower as it banked to the left, heading towards the hangar near the rear of the Damocles. There were bright landing lights around the entrance, highlighting the opening in the flank of the cruiser against the sombre greys.

John glanced at Calara and said quietly, "For the record, I think you've come up with an excellent strategy to save as many colonists as possible. But are you sure about committing Zelig's fleet against the Kirrix attacking Tasmaris Prime? It's a sizeable colony and the Kirrix might have a large force there."

"To keep my father and brother out of danger?" Calara asked, her expression pensive.

"We can clear out the Kirrix ourselves if you want," he replied, stroking her back. "They're family, honey. I understand."

Those warm brown eyes were suddenly filled with worry. "God, I'm so tempted... I really struggled with that decision." She sighed and leaned into him. "But it's quite a diversion for us, it'll add several hours to our flight time to Menganus IV if we stop to liberate Tasmaris Prime ourselves."

Alyssa stepped closer to them and shook her head. "Leave the plans as they are. Let the Terran fleet handle that battle."

John looked at her in surprise. "It's not like you to weigh in on strategic planning. What's the matter?"

Her blue eyes flicked to Calara. "I had an interesting chat with Maria before we left Olympus. You'll understand soon."

Calara and John glanced at each other in confusion, equally mystified by the blonde's enigmatic reply. By unspoken agreement they joined forces to tickle the answer out of her, but despite Alyssa's laughter and pleas for mercy, she refused to elaborate.

Faye smiled as she watched them. "We'll be touching down in seventeen seconds. You might want to straighten yourselves up before you meet the Damocles' crew."

John reached down for his hat that had been lost in the skirmish, placing it carefully on his head. "Right, can't be making a bad impression."

Alyssa smirked as she straightened the lapels on his jacket, then leaned in to give him a kiss. "There, all handsome again."

The airlock door spiralled open with a quiet hiss and the trio emerged to the now familiar sight of waiting crowds. Their appearance was met with a rousing cheer and Mateo walked over to greet them with a broad smile on his face. He saluted John and grinned at Alyssa, then quickly hugged Calara, who wrapped her arms around her big brother while beaming in delight.

To John's surprise, Jack wasn't there with his son, but the noise from the cheering crew was too loud for him to ask where he was. Mateo beckoned for them to follow and his guests waved goodbye to the elated crowd as he led them through a set of reinforced double-doors into the corridor beyond. The cheering died down, allowing them to talk and actually make themselves heard.

"Captain Fernandez asked me to bring you up to the Ready Room," Mateo informed them in mock-formality, pre-empting John's question as they walked towards the elevators.

Calara pretended to frown at him and shook her head. "No I didn't..."

He glanced at her in confusion, then his eyes widened when he saw the Captain insignia on her chest. "Oh, no way! Another promotion?!"

"That's: 'Another promotion, Captain Fernandez, ma'am?'," Calara teased him. "And I expect to be saluted too!"

"Orders understood, Captain Fernandez, ma'am!" Mateo barked, snapping sharply to attention.

The siblings broke into laughter and hugged each other again.

"I can't believe you made Captain," he marvelled, looking down at his little sister in awe. "Congratulations, you really earned it! We all saw what you did in the Battle of Terra... I almost had a heart attack when I found out you were in command of the entire Terran defence force!"

She blushed and fidgeted at receiving his glowing praise. "Well, we were in the neighbourhood, and I didn't have anything better to do..."

He smiled at how uncomfortable she was. "Playing the modest hero? Okay, I'll drop it."

Alyssa made eye contact with him as they resumed walking along the corridor. "Where's Emily? I heard you two were together now?"

Mateo groaned and ran his fingers through his thick dark hair. "We are... or at least I think we're still together."

"What happened?" Calara asked with concern, as they stopped outside the elevators. "She seemed like such a sweet girl."

He sighed in frustration. "She is. I like her a lot, but that's not the problem. Emily was in my quarters last night when I got a call from Eduardo. He'd been speaking to mom and let me know that you were on your way towards the border."

"Okay...?" Calara prompted him, still not any clearer.

"You know what a dick niñito can be," Mateo grumbled. He gave Alyssa an apologetic look. "Eduardo started teasing me, asking if I was going to be flirting it up with the hot blonde Lioness again..."

Alyssa arched an eyebrow at him, a coy smile teasing her lips. "Mateo, I'm flattered! I must admit our last lengthy conversation was quite entertaining..."

He glanced nervously over his shoulder back down the corridor as if looking for his girlfriend. "Don't joke about that, please! Emily wanted to know all about it and when I explained that we'd flirted a bit when you visited the family home, she went ballistic."

"That was just a bit of harmless fun," Alyssa said with a frown. "I'd never do anything that would undermine your relationship with her."

"I know that," he said plaintively. "But the problem is... well... you know how incredibly beautiful you are. Emily's normally very easy-going, but she knows how much I like blondes and after Eduardo's teasing, she thought there was something going on between us. She said, and I quote: 'How the fuck can I compete with her?! She's like a Greek goddess!'... Or at least I think that's what she yelled at me before she stormed out of my room."

Alyssa gave him a comforting pat on the arm. "Don't worry, we can get this sorted out. I'll speak to her and make sure she understands we're just friends."

He winced and shook his head. "I know you mean well, but I don't want to make the situation worse."

Calara gave him a quick hug. "Don't worry big brother, Alyssa's an expert at sorting out these kinds of misunderstandings. Let her speak to Emily and she'll make everything better." She exchanged a glance with her blonde girlfriend and after nibbling her lower lip nervously, she gave Alyssa a brief nod.

Mateo glanced at Alyssa and looked apprehensive as he said, "Alright... but I really like Emily, so please try not to upset her even more."

Alyssa gave him a reassuring smile. "Trust me, it'll all be fine."

The lift chimed and when the doors opened, they all stepped inside. Mateo hit the button for the Command Deck and the elevator began to ascend through the decks with a quiet hum.

Calara watched the deck counter for a second then glanced at her brother and asked, "How is dad, anyway? Mom was acting weird and gave me a really cryptic message to pass on to him: 'Please let him know that he's still my hero'... any idea what that's about?"

Mateo hesitated, then stabbed his finger on the button for Deck Two, bringing the lift to a sudden halt. The door opened onto an empty corridor, which he checked for personnel before turning to face his sister. "Dad hasn't been the same since we got the orders to abandon the border," he explained with a worried frown. "I've tried to convince him that he didn't have any choice, but I think he blames himself for what happened to those colonists."

Calara's face fell and she looked anxiously at John. "Maybe I should speak to him alone? I don't think he'll open up if you're there."

"Whatever you think is best," he agreed. "If you need my help in any way, just let me know."

Alyssa put her arm around her lover and gave her a supportive hug. "Are you sure you don't want me to come with you? I can just use telepathy to find out exactly what's bothering your father."

Calara thought about it for a moment, then shook her head. She glanced at Mateo, who looked shocked at the mention of telepathy, before focusing on Alyssa again. "Let me try and help him through this myself. If I get nowhere, then you can speak to him."

"Whatever you say, Captain," Alyssa said with a gentle smile. "You know I'll do whatever you want."

Leaning closer, Calara gave her a tender kiss. "Thank you, my love."

Mateo's eyes were as round as saucers as he gaped at his sister.

She leaned over and tapped the button for the Command Deck. "Catching flies, Mateo?" she asked, trying not to laugh at his stunned expression.

He closed his mouth with a click of his teeth, his brown eyes darting from Calara to Alyssa and back again, a thousand questions on the tip of his tongue.

Calara gave him a playful smile. "You're not the only one who likes blondes, big brother..."

The door opened up onto the Bridge and the Latina flounced out before Mateo could utter a word.

Alyssa closed the door then grinned at him. "Come on, let's see if we can find your girlfriend and set her straight on a few things..." Her cerulean eyes twinkled as she added, "Or not so straight in fact."

Mateo suddenly looked immensely relieved and laughed as he nodded. "I think I will take you up on that kind offer to speak to Emily after all." He pushed the button for Deck Two and continued, "We'll go to my quarters and I'll ask her to join me for a chat."

She slipped an arm around John and winked at Mateo. "Sounds like a good plan."

***

Calara walked across the Command Deck, exchanging salutes with the awestruck Bridge crew who all rose to their feet when they saw her entrance. She'd met a number of her father's crew over the years and she found the entire experience totally surreal, receiving such adulation from people she'd always held in the greatest of respect. She paused in front of the Ready Room door, taking a moment to compose herself before meeting her father. Feeling butterflies in her stomach, she tapped the door chime, then heard his baritone voice telling her to enter.

The door opened and she strode purposefully inside. "Captain Fernandez reporting for duty," she announced, echoing the greeting her dad had given his family for the last twelve years.

Just like Mateo had before him, Jack looked at Calara in confusion for a moment, before his eyes flicked to the rank insignia on her chest. "You made Captain!" he exclaimed, face lifting in a mixture of elation and paternal pride. Rushing to his daughter he pulled her in for a hug. "I'm so proud of you, Calara!"

Calara felt elated to be surrounded by that strong protective embrace, making her feel like a little girl all over again. She smiled shyly at her father, delighted to see him so overjoyed. "You'll always be the real Captain Fernandez, daddy," she said quietly. "Mom said to tell you that you're still her hero... and you'll always be mine too."

She felt him flinch almost as if he'd been struck and watched in horror as his face crumpled, shadowed by a terrible mask of shame and remorse.

"I don't deserve to be your hero," he muttered, pulling away from her and slumping back against his desk. "I'm so sorry, Callie. I've let you down so badly..."

"Dad, what's wrong?!" Calara exclaimed, rushing after him.

"We abandoned all those people to the Kirrix! I knew what was going to happen, but I followed those orders anyway." He couldn't look into her eyes as he continued, "I should have refused, stayed to protect those worlds... but I left with the rest and now so many people are dead!"

"What choice did you have?" she asked him, her voice gentle and sympathetic. "You would've just been arrested for treason if you'd refused Buckingham's orders to withdraw."

He shook his head defiantly. "I can't hide behind that old excuse. I knew what following those orders would lead to... it was my duty to those civilians to take a stand on their behalf."

"It wouldn't have made any difference... not unless every ship in the fleet mutinied," Calara insisted, stroking his arm. "I'm sure a handful of you might have defied orders, but all the captains? I can't see it happening, Dad. Even if half the fleet rebelled and the rest of the border force just flew home without a confrontation, what would you have done then? With the sheer numbers of Kirrix ships pouring over the border, you needed the entire fleet to stand a chance of stopping them."

Jack held his head in his hands. "I should have done something... those people were counting on us to keep them safe and we just turned tail and ran. We betrayed them in the worst possible way!"

Calara shook her head and insisted, "You didn't leave because you were a coward, you were ordered to return to Alpha Centauri! Buckingham placed you in an impossible situation... and the blame lies squarely on his shoulders. There was nothing you could've done to save those people from the Kirrix."

"I wish I could believe you... but there must have been something..." he replied, sounding hollow and broken.

Her eyes narrowed and she walked past her father and sat in his chair behind the desk. Activating the comms interface, she placed a call to the Invictus, connecting a second later. "Faye, I want you to transmit my Kirrix fleet projections to the Damocles and ask them to route it through to my father's Ready Room."

The holographic image of the purple sprite nodded exuberantly. "Sure! Sending the data now!"

There was a chime from the comms interface built into Jack's desk and Calara opened up the data files that had just arrived. Her father watched in silence as she expanded the data and projected it as a holo-image.

"These are my estimates for the Kirrix forces in each wave," Calara stated, her tone all business now. "Based on surveillance data from the border sensor network, I've been estimating the size and disposition of the fleet assets we'll be facing." Turning to look at her father, she continued, "How many ships do you think you could have convinced to stay from the border fleet? I'd like your most optimistic estimate."

Jack rubbed his chin, thinking it over for a moment. His expression turned sombre as he admitted, "In a best-case scenario, I'd say perhaps 60% might have refused to leave if I'd managed to organise a rebellion."

Calara shrugged and nodded. "That's fine, we'll say 60%... and I'll apply that universally across the fleet assets." She raised an eyebrow and added, "Unless you believe that senior officers commanding capital ships are more likely to be loyal to Terra or less likely?"

He thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "It's impossible to say with any certainty. Would seniority make you more loyal, or more disillusioned as you're privy to classified data?"

Her hands moved in a blur across the console as she input parameters into her simulation. "We're going for a best-case scenario here, so I'll just create a perfectly balanced fleet using 60% of the available forces."

Jack watched her in fascination, his guilt momentarily forgotten. Calara seemed so confident and her eyes sparkled with passion for her work as she made the modifications to her simulation. He barely recognised his daughter in the incredibly focused young woman before him.

Calara hit an icon with a flourish, a satisfied smile on her face. "There, all done."

The holo-projection expanded, depicting the rebellious elements of the Terran border force in defensive positions around Menganus IV. Kirrix drone carriers and hive ships began to jump into the system, forming a daunting ochre-hued armada that greatly outnumbered the grey-armoured defenders.

"There's so many of them..." Jack murmured, his eyes widening.

"We saw the same pattern of behaviour against the Trankarans," Calara explained, her expression now a bleak mask. "The Kirrix only send small groups of ships when they're probing the border for weaknesses, but as soon as they sense that an empire is vulnerable, they attack en masse. Once they've fully committed to an invasion, they cluster their forces together to eliminate any defenders."

Jack stared at the holographic representation of the Damocles amongst the heavily outnumbered Terran fleet. "Like us..."

Calara turned to look at him intently. "You wouldn't have had enough ships to patrol the borders, so the obvious move would be to gather your forces to defend Menganus IV against an invasion force. Do you disagree with those tactics?"

He hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head. "You're right. That's standard Fleet doctrine and Menganus IV was the first planet they hit."

"I know..." she whispered, keeping her eyes locked on her father as she tapped another icon and started the simulation.

The Kirrix forces surged forwards, vast swarms of strike craft pouring from the drone carriers as they closed the distance on the planet. Responding to the threat, the solitary heavy carrier and six light carriers launched their complement of Rapiers, the sleek grey fighters racing towards the insectoid horde. While the Rapier was a superior vessel to a Kirrix drone, the Terran forces were outnumbered three-to-one and quickly overwhelmed. Explosions lit up the onyx background as squadrons of Terran fighters were blown to pieces.