Three Square Meals Ch. 055

***

Alyssa frowned in concentration, as she carefully shaped the massive block of Crystal Alyssium into a one-hundred-metre cylinder, making it an identical match to the schematic in her mind. She had shaped it twice before, and the triple-shaped crystalline alloy had started to feel slightly resistant on the third re-shaping. The plans had called for her to make a series of sections that were to be sealed together deck-by-deck, but Alyssa knew that would make the structure weaker. Instead she had decided to do the whole lot in one go, and she felt more than a little relieved that she'd decided not to try quad-shaping it too.

The Maliri engineers from Rachel's team stared in stunned amazement at the enormous cylinder as it filled out, rotating smoothly in the air. Alyssa held out both hands as though holding the top and bottom of the enormous spinning shaft of psychically reactive material, and pushed it into the full dimensions needed on Dana's plans.

Gathering her will, she took a deep breath, lifting the colossal central core higher, clearing the topdeck as she levitated it up to the very top of the Invictus.

*Are you sure you should be doing that?* Calara asked, sounding worried. *Please don't hurt yourself.*

*I'm fine, can't talk right now,* Alyssa replied brusquely, concentrating too hard to be able to soothe the Latina's unnecessary fears. Concentrating on another of John's girls, she said to Rachel, *Alright, guide me in.*

The huge gleaming tower of curved white crystal rose smoothly into position above the hole the Maliri had cut into the hull. Alyssa couldn't see the base of it any longer, not from down on the deck of the drydock, so she closed her eyes and thought about the dimensions of the Invictus, and where to manoeuvre the Central Core.

*That's right, a little more to port, maybe half a metre,* Rachel thought to her.

Focusing intently, Alyssa did as her friend directed, while maintaining a vice like grip on the column with her mind. *All good?* she asked, while keeping it ramrod straight.

*Yes, but lower it two metres, and I'll make sure it's perfectly aligned,* Rachel said assertively.

Alyssa nodded, forgetting for a moment that Rachel couldn't see her, then did as the brunette asked, dropping the enormous cylinder lower.

*STOP!* Rachel shouted to her in warning. *Bring it back three centimetres towards the rear of the ship, and you'll be lined up.*

Repositioning it as Rachel had asked, Alyssa started to feel herself getting tired. She quickly concentrated on Dana and Calara, and reached out to gently draw energy from her best friend, and her lover. Feeling instantly refreshed, she began to sink the massive shaft into the hole they'd bored out of the Invictus. All one hundred metres of the Central Core were eventually swallowed up in the space they had prepared for it, and she brought it to a gentle halt, resting the base on the bottom of the tunnel.

*Perfect!* Rachel exclaimed in delight. *That was incredible, Alyssa, well done!*

Alyssa sank to the ground and sprawled out on her back to have a quick rest, grinning with satisfaction at finishing the job.

*I can see why John enjoys stuffing his big shaft into tight fitting holes,* she said to the girls. *That was tremendously satisfying.*

They laughed uproariously, and Alyssa grinned as she felt their amusement over the empathic bond she shared with them.

***

John stepped out of the airlock with a wide smile on his face, intending to join the weapons team, who had started installing Beam Lasers and Laser Cannons on the flanks of the Invictus. He was startled when Irillith suddenly loomed out in front of him, blocking his path. She'd been leaning against the outer hull of the assault cruiser, waiting for him to appear, and she stopped him with an upraised hand.

"Hey Irillith, are you alright?" he asked her with some trepidation, watching warily for another slap.

Her serious expression melted away as her face lit up with a gentle smile, and she stepped close and put her arms around him, embracing him lovingly. He managed to avoid letting out a sigh of relief, and just settled for stroking her back as she leaned into him. She looked up at him, her beautiful violet eyes full of tenderness as she said, "Thank you so much for last night. I know it was you who set that up, and it was very thoughtful. The new Edraele caught me by surprise at the time, and while I realise now that it wasn't actually my mother saying those things, it was still a very pleasant illusion."

John smiled at her, and said gently, "She's still Edraele, with all her original memories of you intact. I've just shaped a new personality around those memories, forging the kind of mother you deserved to have looking after you. Think of her as having a healed personality like you do, you've just got to the final result in different ways."

Irillith blinked in surprise, and looked sceptical as she asked, "Do you really mean that, or are you just trying to make me happy?"

He gazed into her eyes, and was quite sincere as he replied, "I really mean it. I spoke to her later that night, and she was overjoyed when you told her you'd forgiven her. She cares about you a great deal, and just wants an opportunity to make up for what happened between you in the past."

Staring off into the distance, Irillith thought over everything he'd said. When she looked up again, her eyes were filled with hope that it hadn't just been some well-meaning trick. She smiled at him, shaking her head wryly as she said, "For the first time, I actually want to go and spend some time with my mother, and I'm not filled with dread at the thought."

John gave her an encouraging smile, and said, "Go ahead. You've been a great help on the refit, but we're ahead of schedule, and I know she'd love to see you."

Irillith pulled him down for a loving kiss, and when she left his side to make her way over to her mother's shuttle, she had a hopeful smile on her face.

***

Dana started up the Mass fabricators again with a look of satisfaction on her face. She had left them running all morning, cranking out the parts she needed for the Inertia Negation Device, and once the last batch was completed, she would have everything she needed. The device was basically an immensely powerful anti-gravity field projector, that was anchored in the Central Core that now ran vertically through the Invictus.

"How are your bots getting on?" she asked Faye, who was keeping her company in the Engineering Bay.

"The boys have been performing perfectly!" Faye stated proudly. "They're strong enough to hold a Pulse Cannon in place, so all the Maliri have to do is lock it into the turret. It's making everything much safer for everyone involved."

Dana grinned at her as she pulled out a multi-tool and began assembling the first section of the Inertia Negation Device. "Your programs were excellent. Thanks for all your help with everything, you've saved us a load of work," she said to the tiny AI construct, her expression reflecting her sincere gratitude.

Faye sighed happily, fluttering her shimmering wings, and lifting herself off the ground as she beamed at the redhead.

***

After completing the second much smaller column of Crystal Alyssium, then neatly slotting it into the Raptor, Alyssa strolled over to keep an eye on the engineers working on the gunship. Truth be told, the Maliri were very capable, and didn't need supervising, but Alyssa enjoyed chatting to them as they worked away industriously. John's weapons team had been joined by the spare engineers from the Raptor crew, and along with the help from the Maintenance Bots, they had swiftly installed all of the remaining weapons.

She had watched John disappear with the armour team a few hours before, and now he was with the last group of dark-haired Maliri girls, making their way to the Invictus. She smiled as she watched them fawning over him, as he led them through to the Hangar Bay to meet up with Jade. Alyssa did a quick headcount, and noticed a couple more Maliri had snuck into the group. She spotted Makaela the Shipyard Commander, and thought she recognised the lead technician from the Power Core, who'd been lingering around for the last few hours, ostensibly to speak to Dana for another physics lecture.

Rachel had reported that her team was making good progress on securing the Central Core into position, and Calara's team had nearly completed re-cladding the Invictus in armour plating. That only left Dana to install the massive anti-grav generator, which would form the heart of the Inertia Negation Device.

John took a while to reappear, and when he finally emerged, he did so on shaky legs, stopping to take a breather for a moment. Alyssa sauntered over to him, and she giggled when she saw his shell-shocked face, then asked him archly, "What did you think of Jade's surprise?"

He stared at her, looking dazed as he exclaimed, "You could have warned me!"

Alyssa laughed with glee, her melodic laughter echoing around the drydock, and asked, "Where's the fun in that?"

"Twenty girls at once... I thought I was getting sucked inside out!" he said as he wobbled a little. "How Jade created so many tentacles, I've no idea!"

"She's a naughty sex octopus alright," the blonde smirked. Taking pity on him, she leaned in to support him, then said apologetically, "I'd give you an energy boost, but I'm a bit tapped out myself. Let's go and meet with Edraele, and she can give you another refreshing kiss."

He nodded, and walked along beside her, darting a glance up at the ship. "It looks like we've nearly finished the refit," he said with a satisfied smile.

"Yeah, just a few more hours to go, and we'll be done," Alyssa agreed, hooking an arm around him, and walking along by his side.

They walked over to Edraele's shuttle, and when the Crystal door lifted upwards, Almari was waiting for them, her cobalt-blue eyes sparkling with excitement. "Edraele's with Irillith in her quarters," she explained helpfully, while staring at John reverently.

Alyssa nodded in gratitude, but as they walked into the ship, Almari suddenly stepped forward and gave John a tight hug. "I can't believe you did that for me," she murmured, her voice trembling with emotion.

John encircled her in his arms, and ran his fingers through her short white hair. "The Fates have treated you badly, and I just seized the chance to redress the balance a bit," he said to her gently. He smiled as he added, "I like the new hair colour by the way."

Almari looked up at him with adoration in her lovely blue eyes, and said, "I'm going to grow it out for you. Irillith said you like long hair."

He leaned down and gave her a tender kiss, and as she swooned in his arms, he smiled as he said, "You're a good girl, Almari. Promise me you'll take care of yourself, and the others."

"I will, I swear it!" she said fiercely, with the fervent gleam of a true believer.

They left her waving him goodbye longingly, and once the crystal door of the elevator closed behind them, Alyssa glanced up at him, and noted, *You've made quite the impression on her.*

He met her gaze, and replied with a sigh, *I feel bad at how completely indoctrinated they've become, and despite how it may look, I'm trying hard not to exploit it.*

Alyssa slipped her hand into his, and squeezed it reassuringly as she said, *You've given her back the ability to have children. Trust me, even if she hated your guts, a blowjob would have been an insignificant price to pay for that. The fact is though, she adored every minute of it. In the wrong hands, this behaviour modification effect could be badly abused, but you've gone out of your way to help these women. I don't think you have anything to feel guilty about.*

He thought it over, and eventually nodded, giving her a grateful smile for her understanding and supportive words. The door to the elevator rose up smoothly a moment later, so they walked through to the Audience Hall, where Irillith was waiting for them.

"Hello you two," she said, greeting them with a relaxed and radiant smile. "My mother's through here, if you'd like to follow me."

She beckoned them over to a door at the back of the room, on the opposite end of the wall from the entrance to the lounge. Irillith placed her finger on her lips, indicating for them to be quiet, and she gently pushed open the door.

Edraele's imperious voice drifted out to them, and they heard her saying sternly, "... I hope I've made myself perfectly clear? I expect trials to be held for all serious infractions; there are to be no summary executions!"

There was a chorus of agreements from well over a dozen female Maliri, and John looked over Irillith's shoulder to get a good look inside the room. Edraele was sitting behind a large desk, and the wall opposite her was covered with view-screens. She seemed to be in the middle of some kind of large video conference, and he counted seventeen stunned Maliri women staring at Edraele in absolute disbelief.

"That will be all, ladies," Edraele said curtly. Her voice dropped an octave, and sounded deathly cold as she added, "I'd like to give you one last friendly piece of advice. If you should even start to think about defying my will on this, I'd urge you to recall what happened to the last Planetary Governor who disobeyed me."

The Maliri nodded, swearing emphatically to uphold her new edicts to the letter.

"You are dismissed," she said haughtily, then clicked a button which ended all the calls at once. After letting out a long sigh, she rose to her feet, smiling warmly at her audience who were waiting in the doorway.

"I thought you were supposed to be good now?" Alyssa asked her in confusion. "It sounded like you were trying to scare the crap out of those women!"

Edraele glided over to them with a rueful look on her beautiful face, and she replied, "Unfortunately, if I'd asked them nicely, they would have assumed I'd gone mad, and would have started plotting against me. This way, they'll eliminate the torture and killings, whilst keeping their minds occupied as they desperately try to figure out what wider scheme I'm spinning."

John nodded, saying, "It looked like you gave a magnificent performance, I'm sorry I missed the rest of it."

Edraele gave him an elegant curtsey as if taking a curtain call, and smiled at him happily, as she said, "I did exactly as you asked, John. I'll do everything I can to improve the lives of the Maliri living on the planets under the control of House Valaden."

He gave her a grateful grin, and said, "I knew you wouldn't let me down. Thank you, Edraele."

Irillith brushed her hand along his arm to draw his attention, and said, "I'll leave you to catch up with my mother." She turned towards Edraele, and said with genuine warmth, "Thank you for this afternoon, I really enjoyed spending time with you."

Edraele looked delighted, and she opened her arms to hug her daughter goodbye. Irillith fought down her initial surprise, and went to her mother who gave her a loving embrace. John hadn't intended to eavesdrop when Edraele whispered in her daughter's ear, but with his sharp ears, he couldn't help overhearing her say, "I'm very proud of you Irillith. You've grown into a wonderful young woman."

He could see that Edraele's words had a visible impact on her daughter, and Irillith let out a happy sigh as she hugged her mother back. They eventually parted, and Irillith gave him a self-conscious smile as she waved them goodbye, and left the room.

Edraele watched her daughter leave, her eyes gentle and caring as they followed Irillith until she disappeared out of sight. She turned to look at John with a brilliant smile on her face, but just as she was about to speak, she looked at him closely and frowned. She walked up to him, pulling him down to her and gave him a tingling kiss, transferring more energy to him.

"You didn't listen to me yesterday!" she scolded him disapprovingly. "You've just been trying to undo the Mael'nerak's tampering by healing sixty women at once. You're going to exhaust yourself draining your own reserves like that. Use me! It's what I'm here for. I'll let you know if I can't spare you any more energy, and remember it's more efficient to siphon the energy when you're using your powers, rather than getting me to refresh you afterwards."

John nodded looking chagrined, but he hesitated for a moment before saying, "I'll try and remember that with Alyssa, but you know that I need you to stay here, don't you? We'll be leaving later this evening, and then we'll be too far away for me to contact you."

Edraele smiled at him, then laughed as she shook her head.

"What is it?" Alyssa asked her, wondering what Edraele could find so amusing. She'd expected the Maliri woman to be heartbroken about being left behind.

"There isn't any range on our connection," she explained patiently. "We're connected across the Astral Plane, distances don't apply there in the same way."

"The Astral Plane?" John asked her, shooting a confused look at Alyssa, who shrugged back at him wearing a blank expression of her own. "What does that mean?"

Edraele looked surprised, then smiled at them indulgently, and said, "You're both so powerful, I forget that neither of you have had any kind of training." She paused for a moment, thinking over how best to explain it. Finally she continued, "The Astral Plane is another dimension that co-exists with our own. It's a place shaped by thought, and a person's consciousness can change reality there, opening up many possibilities, but also extreme dangers for the unwary."

Alyssa stepped close beside John holding on to him, as she asked, "Is that where we've been going in those nightmares?"

"I'm not sure," Edraele said, pondering her question. "It might be, but it doesn't really sound like my experiences of the Astral Plane."

John looked intrigued, and asked, "You've been there before?"

"Oh yes, lots of times," Edraele explained confidently. "When a Telepath Spirit-Walks, they are projecting their mind into the Astral Plane. It's more commonly known as Astral Projection, well, that's the Terran translation of the Maliri name for it at least."

"We really have been fumbling in the dark," Alyssa said with a sigh.

John reached out to Edraele, and took her delicate hand as he asked, "Would you mind answering any other questions we come up with later? If we're still able to stay in contact after we leave, I could still reach out and ask you, right?"

Edraele nodded enthusiastically, and replied, "You can ask me anything you like. I promise I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"Thank you," John said pulling her in for a hug. "You've been an amazing help, really."

Edraele smiled at him, then said, "I should be the one thanking you. I'll never be able to repay you for helping me build a new relationship with Irillith. It feels so wonderful to get to know her better."

Alyssa joined in the hug, then asked gently, "What about Tashana? If we can find, and rescue her, do you want us to bring her back here to you?"

Letting out a troubled sigh, Edraele said, "I'd love to see her, and try to make amends with her too. I banished Tashana from the Maliri though, so I'm not sure she's going to be all that forgiving."

John was about to ask her a personal question, but he held back, not wanting to upset her. Edraele smiled at him sadly, having heard his question in his inner voice, and slowly shook her head, her expression one of regret.

"What happened to him?" John asked her gently.

"Their father died a few years after the girls were born," Edraele admitted looking ashamed. "He objected to the way I was bringing them up, and asked that they be allowed to stay with him on Geniya. We argued, I got angry, and..." she faltered before trailing off leaving little doubt as to how he'd been killed.