Three Square Meals Ch. 109

*I'll start freeing prisoners, let me know if you need any help,* Tashana replied, approaching chitinous cages full of Terran civilians, their desperate cries for help echoing around the room. Activating the external speakers on her Paragon suit, she called out, "We've killed the Kirrix forces in the vicinity and we'll be evacuating you in the next couple of minutes. A Terran Federation fleet is inbound, with medical teams on standby, trained to eliminate any Kirrix eggs. You're safe now, your lives are no longer in danger."

She levelled her pistol at the first lock mechanism and destroyed it with a single shot, the laser bolt vaporising it completely. Pushing the door open, she gestured for the trio inside to come out. There were two men and a woman, none of whom had been infested yet, and they rushed over to thank her.

"Thank goodness for you, Lioness!" a heavyset man exclaimed, profound relief on his face. "You got here just in time... we were going to be next!"

"I thought we were done for!" an older man gasped, tears in his eyes as he patted her on the arm with a shaky hand. "You're an honest-to-God miracle!"

The woman hugged Tashana, then brushed her sweat soaked brown hair back as she sobbed, "I'll never forget you! Thank you so much!"

"You're all welcome," Tashana said, smiling at their earnest gratitude. "If you could help any infested people out of their cages, I'd really appreciate it."

She left the trio and walked along the long row of cages, blasting the locks with her pistols, but not pausing this time to avoid being swamped by grateful civilians. Once she had freed all the prisoners, she turned back to watch people leaving their cages, the civilians reuniting with loved ones in tearful scenes. Not everyone was quite so jubilant however, as hundreds of Terrans had already been raped by the hivelord, their slumped forms showing grim evidence of that horrifying assault.

Approaching one of those cages, Tashana pushed the door open and looked down with sympathy at the whimpering young woman who huddled in the corner of the cage. Her belly was obscenely rounded, shapes writhing under the tautly stretched material of her tattered pink dress.

Squatting down beside her, Tashana said quietly, "I'm so sorry for everything you've been through. The Kirrix can't hurt you anymore and the medics will get rid of those eggs; you're going to be okay."

The woman lifted her head and gazed up at Tashana with hollow eyes. Her frail voice was filled with despair as she whispered, "I'm never going to be okay again..."

There was no mistaking the humiliation in her haunted expression and the brunette looked away, too ashamed to face her rescuer. Tashana stumbled back a step, the brutalised woman dredging up a whole host of horrific memories from the Maliri's past. She knew all too well what it was like to be broken like that... to have all hope snuffed out as you were tortured and abused, powerless to resist your tormentors in any way.

An instant later, Tashana felt a flood of soothing calm sweep through her subconscious.

*I think you should talk about this with John when you get back to the ship,* Alyssa said, her gentle telepathic voice full of sympathy. *We're nearly done, just a few more minutes...*

Then Irillith was beside her sister, wrapping a comforting arm around Tashana's shoulders. *I've got you, Shan. You're safe now with me.*

Tashana let out a heavy sigh then gave her sister a grateful nod. She knelt down beside the young woman slumped on the floor and gently stroked her arm. "I know how you're feeling... I've been through-" Her voice caught and she cleared her throat. "It gets easier with time... the memories fade."

The young woman turned to look up at the white-armoured Lioness, the anguish unmistakable in her doubtful gaze.

After a moment's pause, Tashana deactivated the opaque filter in her Paragon helmet. She didn't flinch from the Terran's shocked stare, as the young woman gaped at her exotic blue skin in astonishment. Tashana didn't say anything more, but the troubled look in her violet eyes spoke far more eloquently than the most compassionate of speeches.

The young woman's eyes filled with tears when she saw the tormented expression on the Maliri girl's face and she brushed her fingers across the crystal faceplate. "Thank you," she whispered, giving Tashana a ghost of a smile.

***

"Fucking Kirrix!" Alyssa snarled, grabbing a juggernaut around its throat with a glowing telekinetic fist and smashing it into a bulkhead. "I thought she was past all that..." The hand reared back, then repeatedly slammed the twitching monster face first into the wall. "But no... you fuckers had to stir it all up again!"

Its angry roars turned into terrified screeches as she battered the huge creature again and again, until she broke its neck with a sickening crack. Alyssa made a contemptuous flick of her wrist, hurling the shattered cadaver across the room and flattening a squad of Kirrix troopers who were charging through one of the numerous doorways.

John heard her furious voice over the high-pitched pulses of Reaper Cannon fire and the booms as he unleashed telekinetic waves of force from his sword. Looking at the blonde with concern, his eyes widened in alarm when he saw her face twisted with rage. "Alyssa! What the hell happened?!"

"It's Tashana. She's... okay... but seeing the hivelord's victims brought back all the shit she's been through." She looked up at him, anguish in her cerulean eyes. "Sakura... Tashana... will they ever be able to truly put their past behind them? I want to help them so much, but I just... there's nothing I can do except try to lessen their pain."

He sighed and shook his head. "I don't want to meddle with their memories again. All we can do is try and help them recover the best we can. It's going to take time, but they are getting better... both of them are."

Alyssa ground her teeth together in frustration, then looked up at him, her voice trembling with emotion as she said, "They were lovely girls, sweet and kind-hearted... why do good people have to suffer like this?"

John placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I don't know, honey. No one has the answer to that."

His fellow progenitor clenched her fists then bumped them together, the incandescent aura intensifying around each gauntlet. She pulled away from him and stalked towards the double doors, the eldritch forces whipping around her arms howling like a furious banshee. Runes suddenly burst into life, swirling around her in glowing elegant script.

"Alyssa!" John called after her. "Wait! Where're you going?!"

"Time for a bit of cosmic balance," she growled, her eyes blazing in fury. "I'm going to make some bad guys suffer..."

John glanced over his shoulder at Dana and Rachel who had been listening to every word of the exchange. "Cover our backs, looks like we're going in..."

They both looked at John with wide eyes and nodded, falling in behind him as he strode after Alyssa into the heart of the dreadnought.

Rachel shot the redhead a concerned look, then pivoted to mow down a squad of troopers running into the room on the left. Her Reaper Cannon carved through the insect soldiers, their slender six-limbed bodies blown to pieces as laser bolts obliterated chitinous thoraxes and abdomens.

"Why do I feel like a little kid watching my parents fight whenever those two get into it?" she whispered to her girlfriend, her voice barely audible over the gunfire.

Dana swept the barrel of her Reaper Cannon around, strafing fire over a charging juggernaut. The stream of bolts melted through its claw arm at the shoulder, before carving diagonally down, punching glowing holes through its broad chest. With a strangled shriek of agony, the juggernaut split in half, its head and upper thorax toppling to the deck, legs scrabbling as it collapsed in a heap.

"I dunno," the redhead muttered, glancing back at Alyssa with a worried frown as she stormed through the doors. "But mommy's really fucking pissed..."

***

"I can walk now, Tony," Kelli said, looking up at him with tired but grateful eyes. "It doesn't hurt so bad anymore..."

He put the petite brunette down, being careful not to let her put her weight on her ankle. Once he was sure she was stable, he looked over his shoulder for the blonde, who had been following behind them. "You okay, babe?"

Perl had stopped to lean against the wall, her face pale and her breathing laboured. She met his look of concern and nodded, straightening up with a sigh. "Just tired... and the meds are wearing off. My arm... it's starting to hurt."

Kelli limped over to her and shook her head. "Sorry, hun, but it wasn't that long ago we gave you the last anaesthetic. We can't give you another shot just yet; if we overdose you, it'll fuck you up."

Tony took a deep breath then slowly let it out as he stretched his tired arms. "Want me to carry you for a bit?"

The blonde looked like she was going to say yes, but Perl hesitated when she realised how close to exhaustion the big ganger was. "No, I'll be okay..."

He drank deep from a water bottle, then handed it over to the girls. "Drink this first. Don't want you passin' out from dehydration."

Kelli took a drink, then gave the bottle to her friend. "How much longer, Tony?"

Glancing down the darkened tunnel, he considered her question for a moment. "It took us about... eight hours to get to the Mortimer mine last night." Looking back at the brunette with a rueful frown he continued, "We've only been walking for about an hour so far; still got a long way to go."

Perl finished the water, then tossed aside the empty bottle. She did her best to smile optimistically. "At least we haven't come across any more cave-ins for a while."

Tony nodded, sharing her sense of relief. "Yeah, if this one was blocked, backtracking to find another tunnel would have sucked ass." He looked at each girl and saw they both seemed to be more alert. "Okay, let's keep going."

Setting off along the tunnel, he walked beside the steel railtracks that were embedded in the ground. They hadn't encountered so much as a cart yet, which had been a little disappointing. He imagined himself pushing the girls out in some kind of abandoned minecart, then bit back a laugh and rolled his eyes at the ridiculous idea. Perhaps he actually was suffering from an infection and turning delirious... better that than the alternative; that he was convincing himself that they were all going to make it out of this alive. There was no place for hope on Karron, that just led to bitter disappointment and crushed dreams... he'd learned that lesson long ago.

Tony tried not to think back on all the dark turns his life had taken, but it was hard not to let his mind wander, his thoughts turning melancholy as they walked along that gloomy tunnel. He'd been part of the Diablos for fifteen years and no one stayed in a gang that long without being forced to do some really nasty shit. But then, he'd never had a choice... what else could he have done to survive out here in the ass-end of nowhere? Tony paused in that train of thought and flushed with shame as he realised his justifications were a load of bullshit.

The truth was that escaping from this bleak asteroid to find another life was not some impossible pipedream... it just took dedication and a bit of willpower. But then that had always been his problem; he'd always taken the easy path. He could have saved up some cash then slipped away one night, bought himself passage core-bound on a freighter or ore-hauler. But it took discipline to save money like that and there was always so many tempting ways to spend cash... drink, whores, drugs, and guns... their lure was impossible to resist.

While most of the Diablos gang dreamed of making big money and escaping Karron to find a new life elsewhere, any of them could have left if they really wanted it. He glanced over his shoulder at the weary girls following behind him and felt a surge of pity. Perl and Kelli were the exceptions of course; they'd had no chance of escape and were fucked... literally in their case. Owned by Pitbull, they would never have been allowed to leave Karron. He would have screwed them for as long as they stayed young and pretty, then they'd have been sold off to some low-rent cathouse, to be abused by unhinged miners. Eventually, the girls would have most likely died of a drug overdose... their only real way of escaping from a truly miserable existence.

Kelli caught him looking at them and frowned at the pensive expression on his face. "What is it, Tony?"

"Just thinkin' how lucky I am to be with the two hottest babes on Karron," he lied, faking a smile.

She actually blushed, much to his surprise, as he expected her to be as hard-bitten and cynical as he was.

"Just get us out of here, big guy," the brunette purred, adding a saucy swing to her hips. "I'll show you hot..."

Tony couldn't help grinning at her, then he flicked a glance at Perl who was looking back at him with glazed eyes. He nearly stopped to check she was alright, then his heart skipped a beat as he realised he'd mistaken her expression... it was one he'd never seen before, at least not directed at him. Then it was his turn to blush and he looked away, reddening with embarrassment like some flustered schoolboy.

They walked along in silence, but there was a new tension in the air between them. He caught himself glancing back again, to be met with a smouldering look from Kelli that set his heart racing. The looks he was getting from Perl weren't quite so primal, but the emotion behind them actually affected him even more. He was so distracted that he completely missed the turning to the right, his mind spinning as he blindly followed the railtracks in the ground.

"Holy shit!" Kelli squeaked. "Tony, look!"

Her excited gasp snapped him out of his bewildered daze and he rushed back to join the brunette, who was exuberantly pointing to the right. "What, babe?"

"A way out!" she cheered, bouncing up and down, the pain in her ankle forgotten. "You fucking did it!"

He peered around the corner and his mouth fell open in shock as he saw that the side tunnel led out into another mine-owner's compound. By the gunshots stitched across the squat buildings and the trucks lying abandoned, it was obvious that the Bugs had already been here... but there was no sign of them now, or of the previous owners of the mine.

"Wait here a sec," he said, drawing his chrome SMG from its holster and prowling along the short corridor towards the compound.

He felt a flood of relief to see the welcoming light from illuminated strips along the cavern walls, such a contrast from the oppressive darkness of the tunnels they were leaving behind. However, he still moved cautiously, not wanting to risk stumbling into some kind of bug ambush. The compound was as quiet as the grave, but despite the signs of battle, there wasn't a single corpse to be found. That sent shivers down his spine and he tried not to think of terrified miners being dragged away to a fate worse than death. Well... they'd still be dead, but after a brutal rape and two weeks of agony.

He shook his head to try and get rid of those disturbing thoughts, then almost sighed with relief at the dizzying wave of pain from his headwound. It did the trick and he approached the closest of the six-wheeled trucks without seeing any of the insectoid invaders, real or imaginary. Peering inside, he tried to ignore the bloodstains on the dashboard and checked the ignition.

"No fuckin' way..." he muttered with a lopsided smile. The keyfob was still in the ignition.

Turning back to the girls he grinned and beckoned them over. Kelli picked up on his excitement, a dazzling smile on her pretty face as she hobbled out of the tunnel to join him. Perl moved slower, her smile more restrained, but still filled with relief.

"We'll be ridin' back to the starport in style!" Tony exclaimed, stepping back from the cab and giving them a theatrical bow. "Your ride awaits, ladies."

Kelli giggled and did a cute curtsy before turning to awkwardly clamber up the metal steps into the truck.

Perl stopped in front of him and looked up into his eyes, then stood on tiptoe to give him a tender kiss. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Tony reached up to gently stroke her cheek, watching in fascination as her blue eyes softened and she leaned into his hand. They shared a shy smile, then he helped her up into the cabin. The girls slid across the broad seat to make room and he climbed in after them, closing the door to the cab behind him.

"You actually know how to drive this thing?" Kelli asked, kneeling on the seat and looking out the back window at the long flatbed behind them.

"Yeah, I stole one or two in my time," he replied with a wry smile in her direction.

He turned the key back then twisted it again, figuring that the truck had stalled, but he held his breath and said a silent prayer. The massive engine turned over with a throaty rumble, sending bass vibrations through their seat.

"Woohoo!" Kelli crowed, her eyes flashing with excitement. She put her feet up on the dashboard and grinned at Tony. "How long till we get there?"

"Twenty minutes?" he replied with a smile of relief, Kelli's enthusiasm infectious. He glanced at the compound gate which had been ripped off its hinges and his smile faded. Tony nervously tapped the steering wheel with his forefinger. "But... maybe we outta hang back here for a while, make sure the Kirrix have cleared out first..."

Kelli's grin died and she nodded. "Yeah, we can't risk being captured... not now, not after everything we've been through. What do you think, honey?" She turned to look at the blonde and her eyes widened in alarm. "Perl!"

Perl had sagged back on the seat, no longer able to fight off her state of exhaustion. With the brighter light inside the cab, they could see how deathly pale she was, the young woman clutching the bicep of her severed arm as if trying to hold off the pain.

"Fuck..." Tony muttered, frowning with worry as he checked she was still breathing. "She doesn't look good..."

"Maybe she needs more blood?" Kelli asked, sounding frightened.

He gave her a helpless shrug. "No idea, I don't know shit about doctoring. She lost an arm though... that trauma kit isn't gonna cut it."

Kelli stroked her friend's head, feeling her clammy skin. "Tony... I don't think Perl can wait. That arm needs cleaning up and she probably needs drugs too."

Tony gave the girls a pained look, then his gaze drifted back to the scenes of destruction around them. Up until now, the girls had just tagged along as he'd tried to escape from the bugs, but he'd not had to seriously put his life on the line to protect them. He had saved Kelli from the miners, but he caught the rapists by surprise and it was basically all over before they knew what hit them. This was something else entirely...

Was he really dumb enough to risk getting fucked to death by the bugs... for a whore?

He glanced at the two girls, trying to make that decision. Kelli held her breath as she stared back at him in tense silence, realising there was an internal conflict raging inside the big man. She knew that Perl's fate hung in the balance and she glanced down at the blonde who had taken her under her wing, terrified that Tony might decide to let her die.

Tony grunted and hauled the wheel to the right, easing his foot down on the accelerator. The truck lurched forward on its huge chunky wheels as it turned towards the gateway, the ganger making his choice. Apparently, he was that dumb... but when he darted a glance at Kelli, her tearful look of gratitude convinced him that maybe... that wasn't so bad.

***

Alyssa stormed down the corridor, the sound of anguished weeping getting louder and stoking the fires of rage that were burning hot within her. Her legion of telekinetic weapons swept past, the blades gleaming bright as they surged through the huge doorway at the end of the passage. They waited in the room beyond for their furious mistress, quivering in readiness for the bloodletting to come.