Three Square Meals Ch. 065

Alyssa was sitting in the pilot's chair, completing pre-flight checks and starting the powerful Trankaran engines. She glanced over her shoulder, and asked wryly, "Is discussing bust sizes standard pre-mission briefing protocol amongst the Terran Federation Marine corps?"

John laughed, and replied, "You'd be surprised how often the topic came up."

She smiled at that, then turned to Faye who was fluttering nervously in the co-pilot's chair, and said, "Alright, Faye. I know you're very familiar with the flight mechanics, so why don't you try easing us out of the Hangar?"

"Are you sure?" the tiny AI construct asked in a nervous squeak.

Alyssa nodded, then gave her a reassuring smile as she said, "I'm here in case you get in trouble, but you'll be fine. Just be gentle with the power to the retro-thrusters and you won't go far wrong."

Faye nodded, but she looked apprehensive as she used her remote connection with the ship to gradually power up the engines, and activate the retro-thrusters. The Raptor slowly lifted off the deck, then drifted smoothly out of the Invictus, passing under the Hangar Bay doors, and through the atmospheric shielding. She was very cautious with her manoeuvres, but she avoided clipping anything, which was the main priority.

"Nicely done, Faye," John said with a smile, looking down at her over the back of the seat.

The purple sprite grinned at him as she said in a rush, "I was so worried!"

Alyssa frowned, and said to him, "Stop distracting my student." Smiling at Faye, she then added, "Alright keep the engine power low, and take us in towards the planet nice and slowly. We're trying to be stealthy and keeping a low-profile, remember?"

Faye nodded, then frowned in concentration as she plotted her course down to the planet and eased them towards the distant outskirts of the Xen-Nuchek sulphur mine. It didn't take long to descend through the planet's atmosphere, even while keeping the power levels down to avoid being picked up by sensors. Alyssa directed Faye to fly the gunship in low, so that they approached the mine from the opposite side of the mountain range to avoid being spotted by guards. They finally came to a halt a couple of miles away from the Kintark base, with the Raptor hovering a few dozen metres above the thick, unbroken jungle canopy.

"I've hooked up the Raptor to the Paragon armour comm network, so we'll be able to call you in to pick us up," Dana said to the apprehensive sprite.

John smiled at Faye, and said, "I'd never believe that was the first time you've flown a ship. You were great!"

She looked overjoyed at his praise, but was bashful as she admitted, "I'm just executing a piloting program that I tailored for the gunship. I can't exactly claim much credit for that."

He shrugged, and replied, "The results are the main thing, and after seeing you fly, I'm confident you can do this."

Alyssa rose from her pilot's chair, and said, "He's right, you did very well. You might want to put some distance between yourself and the base, then you can practice some more advanced manoeuvres. Try and keep the energy profile low though, I don't want you getting ambushed by fighters."

"I'll be careful!" Faye promised, while looked awed at the trust they were placing in her.

John led the girls down to the loading area at the front of the Raptor, and Dana hit the button which opened the landing ramp. The view was breathtaking as the ramp lowered, giving them a spectacular view of the lush jungle that stretched off into the distance as far as the eye could see. They were high up in the green-shrouded mountain range, and at that elevation, they could see for miles on end.

John glanced at the helmet GUI, then activated flight mode. He could feel the gentle throb through his armour from the big thruster on his back, as well as slight vibrations from his boots and gloves as the retro-thrusters built into those powered up too. Putting his trust in the gear Dana had laboriously designed and constructed, he stepped off the edge of the ramp, and dropped towards the jungle below.

With his hands outstretched to help keep his balance, he sank below the thick leaves, while being careful to avoid the vines and branches that could snare the unwary. The trees were surprisingly tall, and it was a good hundred-metre drop to the ground below. The girls followed his lead, and Alyssa, Dana, and Rachel dropped with him, moving from the bright sunshine above the jungle canopy into the sun-dappled gloom within. They touched down lightly, then pulled out their rifles as they deactivated flight mode.

A glance at his HUD told him that it was thirty-seven degrees outside, and he was very thankful that his armour was fully sealed and temperature controlled. It was pleasantly cool inside the carefully regulated environment inside his suit, unlike the oppressive heat outside. He brought up the map of the local geography on his helmet GUI, and saw the green line on the map showing the direction to the mine.

The jungle itself was a riot of colour, and filled with wildly exotic flora and fauna, some of which he'd seen before on the Kintark homeworld. However, most of the brightly coloured ferns, flowers and trees were all new to him. Huge insects bigger than his fist swirled around overhead, chasing each other in swarms as they searched for food. Odd hoots and calls from bigger animals filled the jungle with a strange other-worldly symphony that was beautiful in its lilting cadence.

With his enhanced hearing he could hear the muted sound of their gunship's retro-thrusters overhead despite the noise from all the Xen-Nuchek wildlife. He looked upwards, and contacted Faye by selecting the Raptor on the comm interface.

"Hey, John! Everything alright?" she asked him, her expression bright and inquisitive.

He nodded as he replied, "We're all safely down. You can get clear now."

She smiled at him and said, "I'll pull back and get some more practice in. Call me as soon as you need an evac, alright?"

"Will do. Thanks, Faye," he replied gratefully.

The purple sprite paused before she ended the call, and said, "Please be careful, okay?"

"I'll take good care of the girls, don't you worry," he replied with a reassuring smile.

She looked like she wanted to say more, but just nodded instead, then closed the call.

Turning to the girls beside him, he said, "We've got a couple of miles to cover, let's get moving."

They fell into step behind him, spreading out into a carefully structured formation. John relayed his instructions to Alyssa as she read his mind, and she passed them on telepathically to the other two girls in the fire team. They looked like eerie white ghosts as they glided silently through the jungle, watching out for danger.

***

Calara had been staring at the long range scan results for half an hour, before she finally saw the familiar pattern of contacts appear at the outer edges of the sensor sweeps. Sure enough, the traitor fleet was heading inbound, along with their escorting fleet made up of Kintark ships. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw those contacts, and she was assailed by a flood of emotions.

She was filled with hope that Mateo was aboard, but at the same time she felt a tremor of fear that he'd been killed by the traitor forces who were following Norwood. Last but not least was a lingering doubt, and she hated herself for even thinking it, but what if Mateo had betrayed the Terran Federation as well? Could she really pull the trigger on her own brother, even if he'd turned his back on everything her family held dear?

Reminding herself of her duty to John, and her role as Commander aboard the Invictus with him away from the ship, she took a deep breath and forced herself to focus on the job at hand. Relying on passive sensors alone, she began matching the signal types against their ships' Almanac, identifying the class and disposition of the approaching fleet.

The numbers of vessels exactly matched the group they had passed during their hyper-warp journey to this system, and she felt confident that this was the entirety of the traitor fleet. There was one major exception though; Admiral Norwood's dreadnought was still curiously absent, and she couldn't help but worry what he was getting up to.

Calara's mind started turning, calculating the odds should they be forced to attempt an attack against that big flotilla of ships, if they needed to bail John out of trouble. Her expression was grim as she thought through the possibilities, knowing full well that without the element of surprise, they'd struggle against a fleet half that size.

Jade had pulled the Invictus back from Xen-Nuchek, and they were now lurking at the edge of the system, running on minimum power. Their location was some way from the space lanes, so unless they had the terrible misfortune of a Kintark ship practically running right over them, she was confident they'd remain undetected.

The mixed fleet of Kintark and Terran ships crawled closer, until they finally dropped out of hyper-warp at the edge of the system. They kept the same formation, with the Kintark ships forming a protective cordon around the Terran ships, as they headed straight towards the jungle planet where John and the girls were lying in wait.

*The traitor fleet jumped in,* Calara reported to Alyssa. She glanced at the System Map as she continued, *I'm watching them head towards you right now, and they'll be in orbit in just over seven minutes.*

*Thanks, gorgeous!* Alyssa replied, sounding happy to hear her voice, just as she always did. *Any problems so far?*

Calara felt a pang of worry for her beautiful blonde lover, and she replied, *No, we're safe and sound up here. I'm more concerned about you.*

*We're not far from the prison, and we haven't run into any trouble,* Alyssa replied, putting the Latina's mind at ease. Her voice had a teasing edge to it as she added vacantly, *It's so pretty here! I'm so glad John asked me to go for a romantic stroll through the woods!*

Stifling a laugh, Calara thought back to her, *Maybe you can pick me some nice flowers on your scenic hike. I'd love to get some for my girlfriend, but you and John won't let me off the ship!*

She waited for a witty retort, but Alyssa seemed oddly distracted, and didn't reply...

***

Rachel was spellbound by all the myriad forms of alien life that were floating, flying, and crawling around them, and she lamented softly, "If only we could spend a few weeks here, I'd love to study all these creatures!"

"Not this time, honey," John replied, but he sounded distracted as he gazed out into the xeno-jungle. There was something disquieting about this place, and his senses felt alive as he stared out through the dimly lit foliage, wary for danger.

*What is it, John?* Alyssa asked him, moving to his side and watching him with concern.

He glanced at her, and murmured, *There's something wrong here, but I can't put my finger on it.*

With a silent telepathic command, Rachel and Dana turned and covered their rear, watching through the fronds and thick hanging leaves for the slightest sign of trouble.

*There!* he thought to her urgently, glancing her way, a worried look on his face. *Did you hear that?*

She stayed quiet, and tried to make out what he was listening for, but all she could hear was the din of the animals in the jungle. She finally met his gaze, and with an apologetic shrug, she replied, *My hearing isn't as sharp as yours. All I can hear is these animals calling to each other.*

*That's just it,* he hissed. *Listen again...*

She did so, straining to hear what had him so spooked, and she was about to give up, when she heard a brief lull in the din. It was as if part of the jungle had gone very quiet, as though the animals went silent at the passing of a big predator. Something nasty, and very high up the food chain. She looked at him with wide eyes, and he nodded when he saw that realisation in her eyes.

*Is it hunting us?* she asked him, sounding worried.

He hesitated for a moment, then replied, *I'm not sure, but I don't want to find out. We can use flight mode for the rest of the distance, and fly just under the canopy.*

Alyssa looked up at the tangled mass of vegetation dangling from those trees, and she frowned as she replied, *It's going to be slow going.*

*Better safe than sorry,* he countered, and she nodded her agreement.

The four white-armoured team members activated the flight mode on their packs, and lifted off the ground, using their thrusters to reach the upper levels. Despite their initial worries about slowing down by travelling up there, they found the upper canopy was fairly light on foliage, and although it meant flicking in and out of cover intermittently, they actually made faster time.

It only took about ten minutes for them to see the break in the jungle up ahead, and they knew the clearing was due to the devastation from the strip-mining to the local jungle. They slowed their approach, and then perched in the branches of a huge, thick-limbed tree which overlooked the mine. Sure enough, John spotted the mottled brown pyramids that Calara had discovered from orbit, which were set back into the jungle surrounding the mine.

Green-armoured Lizardmen soldiers strolled around the top levels of the mine, full of energy despite Xen-Nuchek's debilitating heat. There were ramps that dropped down to the lower levels, and the sulphur had been mined out in trenches, leaving stepped levels that delved deeper into the surface of the mountain. The lower levels of the pit disappeared out of sight, with only a dim trail visible by the illumination of a glowing handrail as it descended into the gloom.

Now that they had a better view, they could see what looked like a landing area sunk down into the ground, set under an overhanging cliff on the southern side of the base. There was some kind of commotion going on, and they could see dozens of figures gathered around several Titanium-grey dropships.

"You were right!" Dana exclaimed as she studied the obviously Terran vessels. "The traitors did take prisoners!"

John chuckled, and said, "You don't have to sound so surprised."

She gave him an apologetic grin, and then turned back to the scene unfolding at the landing pads. Landing gantries were being lowered, and when they touched the ground, a Terran officer strolled out, walking up to an armoured Kintark officer who was waiting for him at the edge of the landing zone. They spoke briefly, and the Terran officer turned back to the dropships, before making a beckoning motion.

Several dozen dejected-looking prisoners were marched out from each of the five dropships by armed guards, the hands of the bedraggled captives bound together by security binders. They were lined up in sagging rows, the men looking thoroughly miserable in the scorching jungle heat. None of the Kintark soldiers made any move to approach the prisoners, and instead they seemed to be glancing off into the distance behind them as though waiting for something.

The Terran and Kintark officers spoke again, and John turned up the directional noise amplifiers on his suit, then strained his ears to listen, trying to make out what they were saying. At over one-hundred metres away, it was a struggle even for him, but he caught a few snippets of the conversation.

"...gift from Admiral ...wood, to cement... between... new..." the Terran Commodore was saying, a broad smile on his face as he spoke animatedly to the Kintark officer.

It was even harder to make out what the Kintark said in reply, what with the Lizardman's disconcerting sibilant speech, but it sounded like he replied, "... for your... Emperor welcomesss... ssstrong... together."

"Hand over... custody... help with...," the Terran traitor said with a nod towards the prisoners.

John figured they were going through the formalities of the prison transfer, but the Lizardman officer shook his head, and replied, "...asssked, ...Consssort, ssshe... imminently."

The Terran officer saluted the Kintark, then walked back to the closest dropship at a brisk pace, without giving the prisoners a second glance. He strolled up the landing gantry, and as soon as he was aboard, the doors to the dropship began to close behind him. The retro-thrusters on the dropships fired as they were powered up, and John watched in surprise as the bulky dropships lifted ponderously off the ground, then rose skywards as they headed back to the ships in orbit. The prisoners looked even more defeated now, and they stood there wilting under the sweltering Xen-Nuchek temperatures.

"I think I can see Mateo," Alyssa said in a hushed voice. She pointed towards the left-most edge of the group, and added, "That tall, black-haired guy at the end there? I'm sure that's him."

John followed the direction of her hand, and he saw the stooped figure she was pointing too. He shared Calara's coffee-coloured complexion, but with his back to them, they couldn't tell for sure.

"What the fuck is that?!" Dana exclaimed, pointing off to the right of the sunken landing pads.

John turned to look where she was indicating, and he blinked in astonishment as he saw the enormous red lizard that had drawn Dana's attention. It was shaped like the Kintark Royal Guard that he'd fought against in Port Medea, with four huge stocky legs, a thick tail, and a body that was covered in red scales. There was one major difference however; this creature was enormous, and was at least quadruple the size of the Royal Guard at nearly sixty feet in length.

"I thought the 'Dragon' part of 'Dragon March' was just a joke?" Alyssa asked in a hushed voice.

John looked concerned as he replied, "Many a true word set in jest..."

"It must be some sort of ruling caste," Rachel murmured, her eyes open wide as she stared at it in fascination.

John remembered what the Kintark officer had said, and he interjected, "I think it's called a 'Consort', whatever that means. The Kintark leader down there mention that she was on her way."

Dana frowned, and asked, "Yeah, but consorting with what?" She made a pumping motion with her fist and added, "I can't imagine it fucking one of those regular Kintark, they wouldn't even touch the sides!"

Alyssa stifled a laugh, and said, "Delicately put as always, Sparks!"

Rachel smiled at the redhead, but said, "That's a good point though. I wouldn't be surprised if these bigger Kintark have been modified into an entirely separate sub-species." She looked thoughtful as she continued, "Which raises another important question: are the males of this subspecies bigger or smaller than the females?"

"Bigger..." John muttered, his voice no more than a whisper.

They all heard the catch to his voice, and quickly whirled around to look at him. The tree they were sitting in was high enough that they were just able to see out over the jungle canopy, and he pointed a gauntleted finger southwards. A few hundred metres away, they could see the foliage rustling, where something big was brushing past the trees.

"Jesus! How big is that fucker?" Dana asked breathlessly.

John shook his head as he replied, "I've no idea, but it's heavy enough that I can hear it stomping through the jungle."

"Something's happening back with the prisoners," Alyssa noted, drawing their attention back to the partially subterranean landing pads.

The huge red lizard known as the Consort, had finally reached the Kintark and Terrans down at the landing pad. John expected the Terran prisoners to be quaking with fear, and trying to back away from the terrifying creature, but their reaction was quite different. Bizarrely they were now standing up straight, as if they were no longer feeling the effects of the oppressive heat, and were looking at the Consort with curiosity. Kintark soldiers began to walk through the lines, unlocking the binders at the Terrans' wrists and leaving them unshackled.