Three Square Meals Ch. 111

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*It is hopeless...*

*There is no chance of success...*

*A fool's errand...*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

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

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

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

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

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

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