Three Square Meals Ch. 109

She strode out into an enormous multi-tiered chamber, the pulsing hexagonal walls casting a dim light and long shadows over the wretched Terrans imprisoned here. The civilians were restrained in rows, imprisoned by some kind of organic resin that lashed their kneeling forms to bars that ran throughout the room. Their dejected expressions were grim proof that she was too late, the inhuman beast that ruled this vile place had already assaulted them. Oddly, they didn't have the distended bellies filled with Kirrix eggs that she expected to see, making it obvious that she was dealing with some new kind of abomination.

There was an indignant roar from deep within the shadowy room, the bellow coming from the broad chest of something huge.

A grim smile spread across Alyssa's face, her glowing pupils flaring with anticipation. "Right back at you..."

The shadows seemed to come alive as scarlet-carapaced insectoids leapt from concealment to intercept this intruder. They were six-limbed like the drones, but sleeker and much faster, darting towards her with freakish speed. Their upper limbs ended in cruel long-taloned hands, which flexed eagerly as they bore down on the white-armoured interloper in their nest.

In a blur of motion Alyssa's blade legion reacted, meeting the enraged Kirrix mid-charge. The first psychic sword whipped around to hack the closest defender down, but as it arced towards the creature's head, the blade slammed into an ugly yellow shield that materialised around the guard. The hexagonal surface pulsed in time to the glowing walls, the hexes cracking with the strength of the blow but managing to stand firm. At the same time her Reaper Cannon opened up, but its laser bolts were also absorbed by the shield, impact craters being repaired as quickly as they were made.

Alyssa cracked her knuckles, then her eyes narrowed as she pointed a clenched fist at the guard, which sprang forward, vaulting over the captured civilians. Long sickle-like blades snapped out from its back, whipping over its shoulders to impale her. Before it could make contact, a lance of pure energy blasted out from Alyssa's fist to strike its shield dead-centre. The beam punched a hole through the creature's psychic defences and disintegrated the guard's thorax, leaving nothing but glowing orange motes in the air where its torso used to be. She casually sidestepped the shower of dismembered limbs and decapitated head that scattered across the floor, its lower body flopping over in a tangle of quivering legs.

Dismissing her blade legion with a click of her fingers, Alyssa pointed a rune-inscribed fist at the next guard, overwhelming its shields and obliterating it mid-charge. She eagerly met their assault, unleashing her psychic might on the creatures as they tried to close the gap. Scourging white beams blasted out again and again from each fist, the enraged girl laying waste to everything in her path. Alyssa caught movement out of the corner of her eye, and whirled around as one of the guards lunged at her from the flank.

*Alyssa!* John yelled in alarm, but he was too late.

She hissed in agony as a glowing chitinous blade was driven through her torso, the vicious claw making a grating squeal as it penetrated her armour. The impact knocked Alyssa over and the Kirrix guardian landed on top of her, pinning her to the ground. It clamped down on her wrists with its clawed hands, then twisted the blade rammed through her chest, earning a tortured scream for its sadistic efforts.

Alyssa summoned a psychic fist to haul the guardian off her, but its glowing telekinetic fingers were unable to breach the yellow hex shield protecting the slavering insect. The guardian's gnashing mandibles drew back to bite her face, sinister yellow energy crackling around vicious fangs leaving her in no doubt that it could penetrate her armour. Alyssa's eyes widened with fear as she tried to ignore the pain in her chest, fighting to free her fists so that she could strike back. It was a deadly contest, with a gruesome death the inevitable fate for the loser.

Then her attacker seemed to explode in a shower of green blood, there one moment, then just savagely ripped apart the next. She saw the flash of white and blue an instant before the Kirrix beast was eviscerated and knew the identity of her saviour. No longer pinned, she shook the severed forelimbs from her wrists and propped herself up, watching as John barrelled into the pack of nest guardians.

He moved in a blur, his sword looping through the air, the runes etched on his blade leaving glowing trails in their wake. They flared a brilliant blue every time he slashed through Kirrix psychic shields, the sword slicing through them with ease. He hit the next insectoid with a broad uppercut swipe, which lifted the stricken monster off the ground with the force of the blow, his blade shearing through its body in a fountain of blood. Mottled chunks of shattered exoskeleton showered down, hitting the ground with wet squelches.

"Oh, shit!" Dana gasped, darting to Alyssa's side and gaping in horror at the broken chitin blade that was jutting out of Alyssa's armoured flank. "Are you alright?!"

The guardian's serrated weapon was no longer glowing, but Alyssa was still impaled by the jagged piece of bone blade that had pierced through her Paragon suit and out her back.

"Yeah, just peachy..." the blonde replied through gritted teeth. She brought her telekinetic fist down to clamp down on the end of the serrated spike and prepared to pull it from her body.

"Wait!" Rachel called out in warning as she skidded to her knees beside the blonde. "Don't just yank it out!"

Alyssa met her concerned grey eyes and shook her head, a resigned expression on her face. "I'll be alright... just watch."

She took a deep breath then ripped the blade clear in a spurt of red blood. Her strangled scream turned into a breathless gasp as the wound immediately closed over, skin knitting together before their eyes. Stifling a yawn, she smiled gratefully at John who glanced back at her with concern, his eyes blazing a fierce blue. He whirled around, dodging to avoid a double-bladed thrust from a guardian, then chopped down, neatly shearing through both blades and the grasping arms below. The Kirrix screeched as green blood spurted from the severed limbs, until John's backhanded swipe neatly decapitated the beast.

"We've still got an active connection with John," Alyssa explained, rising to her feet. "I knew he'd be able to patch me up." She glanced down at her armour and smoothed a hand over its surface, reshaping the plates and fixing the jagged tear.

Rachel gave her a disapproving frown. "I'm well aware of that, but I wanted to minimise the damage removing the blade. If we can lessen the severity of any injuries, it will reduce the physical strain on us when we're psychically healed. My theory is that'll minimise the fatigue we've been suffering as after-effects."

Alyssa nodded her understanding and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, I'll remember that next time."

John strode back to join them, his blood-soaked sword dripping a grotesque trail of gore across the deck. All around them the mutilated remains of Kirrix guardians twitched sporadically, their eviscerated nervous systems refusing to acknowledge their savage deaths.

"There's not going to be a next time!" he admonished Alyssa sternly. "I get that you're angry, but that's no excuse for being so reckless!"

She blushed and looked down, ashamed at disappointing him. "I'm sorry... I wasn't expecting them to be so strong."

He gently lifted her chin so that she had to meet his worried gaze. "Please don't scare me like that again! I had to protect Dana and Rachel from those things... I couldn't get to you in time!"

Alyssa followed his brief glance to the entrance, where a trio of nest guardians had been brutally hacked to bits.

"Let me take point from now on," John said firmly. "You can back me up and protect the girls."

Alyssa heard his no-nonsense tone and nodded. "Whatever you say, handsome."

He brushed his armoured gauntlet across her faceplate, then turned to look across the huge chamber. "Keep your eyes open for an ambush, there might be more of those guardians lying in wait."

"We can't hurt them!" Dana reminded him, hefting her Reaper Cannon. "I don't see how, but those fucking shields are just absorbing all my laser bolts!"

"Just stay close to Alyssa and take out any regular Kirrix troops you see," he said, sweeping his savage gaze over the rows of chained civilians. "With those guardians running around, I'm not leaving you on your own."

The redhead frowned in frustration, but nodded as she stood beside the blonde. "Never thought I'd be left standing around with my thumb up my ass when I'm carrying one of these," she muttered, glancing with disgust at the underslung cannon in her arms. "Looks like I'm going to have to raise my game..."

John closed his eyes for a moment, falling into a focused state and activating his X-Ray vision again. There were hundreds of Terrans restrained in the room, so trying to make out any of the lithe Kirrix guardians was extremely difficult amongst all those people. Far over on one of the upper platforms, he saw an eerie glow radiating from something huge... but all details were obscured by the murky yellow aura that roiled and churned around it like billowing smoke.

"Up there, at the back," he said, raising his sword and pointing with the tip. "There's ramps over there on the far side... we'll work our way there, then head up to the next level."

"Or... just use flight mode," Dana offered with a grin.

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah, that's what I meant, obviously."

"Wait!" one of the prisoners blurted out. "Don't leave us here! Please!"

John glanced around at the terrified civilians who all started begging to be released. "We'll be back to free you soon, I promise."

The kneeling man who had first spoken cast a fearful look up at the platforms. "What if you don't make it?! You haven't seen that fucking thing!"

John and Alyssa exchanged a look, then the blonde knelt down in front of the man. "Will you show me?" she asked gently, her eyes glowing with a soft inner light.

He looked at her in awe, then nodded, closing his eyes and hanging his head in shame.

Alyssa gently brushed away a tear from his cheek and whispered, "It's okay. You're safe now, we're here to protect you."

She closed her own eyes and delved into his mind, slipping into his subconscious as he made no effort to fight her intrusion. It didn't take long to find the memories she was seeking, the path leading to them coloured a foul greenish-brown, reflecting the prisoner's revulsion and horror. She approached with some trepidation, knowing from experience exploring Sakura's mind just how disturbing it was to relive terrible memories. Bracing herself, she let her mind be drawn into the cloudy memory...

***

Richard Halverston's heart pounded in his chest, his throat constricted with fear. He could hear the terrified pain-wracked screams as that monster ravaged a woman in the next row. The last thing he wanted to do was look, but he couldn't help himself... his eyes drawn to the huge creature that had been methodically working its way through the prisoners. He had kept his head turned away, but ashamed of his weakness, he darted a fearful glance at their tormentor.

A creature out of his worst nightmares dwarfed the bound woman it loomed over in the next row, its massive body a nightmarish mix of spikes, claws and blades. Strange energy swirled around the monstrosity, leaving a wispy yellow trail behind those ephemeral vapours. The creature was held aloft by six huge armour-plated legs, while its torso sported two more sets of limbs, one a pair of arms ending in six-fingered hands, the upper pair sharpening and elongating into ten-foot blades. Its rear consisted of a bloated abdomen, covered in a lattice of armoured chitin, an eerie yellow light shining through the translucent skin between those protective ribs. Inside he could see clusters of eggs, each one the size of a softball and quivering with the Kirrix spawn inside.

He fought down a wave of revulsion as one of those squirming orbs was fed into a pulsating ovipositor, the tip of the slimy tube already shoved into its latest victim. His stomach lurched and he was violently sick, unable to contain his revulsion as he heard the woman's screams turn into agonised howls. Richard's mind threatened to break as he sobbed in terror, knowing that the sadistic beast had reached the end of that row; it was going to be his turn next...

***

Alyssa lurched back from the dreadful memory, already sickened by what she'd witnessed and having no desire to experience any more. Taking a deep breath, she steadied herself, her heart filled with compassion for the broken man kneeling before her.

She leaned in close to Richard's ear and whispered, "We're going to tear that fucking thing apart. I'll make it pay for what it did to you..."

He raised his head, briefly meeting her gaze and nodding, before looking away again.

Alyssa rose to her feet then looked at her companions. *It's big and looks like some kind of twisted nightmare. We already know it's got psychic abilities but I could tell by looking at it that it's got serious power. The egg-laying parts are different to a hivelord... it only laid a single egg in each of these people, but it was much bigger than the normal drone eggs.*

Rachel listened attentively, then lost in thought, she murmured, "I wonder if this creature implants eggs for the higher-tier Kirrix? Broodmothers, hivelords, juggernauts and the like? I always wondered how they were created..."

Dana wrinkled her nose with distaste. "Let's just kill this fucker and get the hell out of here."

Alyssa shook her head. "Feel free to shoot bits off it, but try not to kill it." She turned to look over the hundreds of violated civilians. "It needs some serious payback..."

***

The truck's huge wheels chewed up the miles, a quick glance at the dash showing Tony that he was pushing a solid forty. They headed towards the starport in silence, staring at the vehicles lying abandoned by the side of the road, the evidence of a firefight unmistakable. Eventually, they drove through a broader cavern, passing the first in a cluster of hovels that always seemed to spring up whenever miners exhausted an area of valuable minerals. Tony hadn't expected to see anyone, but to see no sign of a living soul was still a shocking sight, people's possessions just left discarded in the debris-strewn streets.

They passed through yet another deserted settlement and Kelli shivered with fear. "It's like a ghost town now..."

Tony nodded, his expression grim as he kept a wary eye on the road ahead. Fortunately, they hadn't seen any sign of the Kirrix invaders either. "The bugs would've hit all these places long before they got to the mine."

"Is it really only us three left in Karron?" she asked, awed and terrified at the thought.

"The Mortimer mine was the last place to go," he replied quietly. "There might be a few people who managed to escape and hide... but I think the bugs probably got everyone else."

Kelli hugged herself tight. "It's like a nightmare. I can't believe everyone's just gone..."

Tony glanced at the dashboard again, looking at the clock this time. "We must've slept most of the night after that cave-in... It's been about ten hours since the bugs took out the mine; they probably just packed up and left after it got blown up."

There was silence again, but this time Tony knew something was on the petite brunette's mind. A glance in her direction confirmed it as Kelli nibbled nervously on a fingernail, lost in thought. "What's bothering you?" he asked, before chuckling at the absurd question. "Apart from everything. Sorry... that was a dumb thing to ask."

She shook her head and looked at him with fear in her eyes. "What if nobody ever comes back?"

A shiver ran down his spine as Kelli brought up a terrifying prospect he hadn't even considered. What would happen if the Terran Federation decided to abandon Karron and no more ships docked at the hollowed-out asteroid? The simple answer was that the three of them would die... It would just take a bit longer. He had no idea how to operate the hydro-pump station, which still needed topping up on a regular basis, even if the Kirrix hadn't just destroyed it anyway. Survivors would be left scavenging for supplies, and in a place like Karron, it was going to be slim pickings...

Distracted by those troubling thoughts as he steered the truck around a corner, Tony didn't spot the squad of Kirrix soldiers walking along the road until it was too late. They reacted to the engine's rumble though, turning to face the truck and raising their neutron rifles. Before they had a chance to fire, he accelerated and mowed down half the squad, their ochre exoskeletons crunching and popping under the truck's chunky wheels.

"Ah, fuck!" he snarled, fighting with the steering wheel as the vehicle juddered with the impacts, shrill Kirrix shrieks mixing with the sound of neutron rifles being fired.

"Tony, look out!" Kelli screamed, pointing towards the broad cavern ahead.

They were nearing the outskirts of the built-up areas that surrounded the starport and there were scores of Kirrix troopers here, marching prisoners at gunpoint back to the hive ship. Bright green bolts started to fly at them from in front and behind, the windscreen shattering a few seconds later.

He yanked the steering wheel to the right, veering off the road and ploughing through another squad of insectoid soldiers, the truck shuddering as it ran down a dozen more Kirrix. There was a loud bang as a tire exploded, the steering wheel wrenching violently in his grip. Tony's eyes widened as they smashed through a dishevelled shack, thin sheets of metal and plasterboard battered aside. They rammed into several more hovels, each collision slowing them down further. There was another boom as a second tire exploded and the truck lurched precariously onto its side, the rear axle dragging on the ground until they came to a juddering halt.

Tony kicked the buckled door open and grabbed Perl, hauling her unconscious body with him as he stumbled out of the cab. He threw the blonde over a shoulder, then turned back to the truck.

"Get out!" he yelled at Kelli, who stared at him, frozen in terror.

***

John and his trio of Lionesses sailed up to the highest platform in a graceful arc, the captives here gaping at them in astonishment as they landed.

"There it is," he said, spotting the brooding leader of this place skulking amongst the shadowed pillars at the back of the chamber.

The huge Kirrix monster roared again, this time its furious challenge was accompanied by more than just a defiant bellow. Yellow bolts formed in the air around it, before rocketing towards the interlopers in its lair. Rachel dived to the side to avoid them, then yelped in surprise as they veered to follow her mid-flight. Her shields winked out under the barrage, several of the psychic darts going on to strike their target. They hit her Reaper Cannon in an explosion of yellow globules that seemed to melt the white plating wherever they touched. She looked on in shock as the barrel twisted, falling away as the gelatinous substance chewed its way through.

At the same time, a mass of yellow strands blinked into existence above them, the glistening yellow net dropping down on their heads. John leapt towards the girls and whipped his sword through the sticky fibres. The blade snagged on the strands, tangling the netting up rather than cutting through and inadvertently hauling the rest of the net in towards them. Reacting by instinct, he channelled fire through his sword, blue flames igniting the sticky web. Highly flammable, the strands were incinerated with a whoomp, leaving nothing but a shower of glowing cinders to fall around them.