Three Square Meals Ch. 071

"I finally have proof!" Tashana gasped breathlessly, cradling the priceless artefact in her hands. When she saw Irillith roll her eyes, she rushed over to her sister's side, and continued, "The deck built into this vambrace powers an AI! It holds recorded testimony from the last days of Mael'nerak's rule over the Maliri!"

"Of course, how interesting," Irillith muttered sarcastically, not paying Tashana the slightest bit of attention. Completely focused on the console in front of her once more, she waved her hand distractedly over towards the table behind her, and added, "Leave it over there with any other junk you've brought me. I'll take a look later."

Tashana felt her elation fade away. She'd hoped she might be able to rebuild bridges with Irillith if she could only prove that she'd been right all along, but now she actually had proof, she instinctively knew it wouldn't make any difference. Feeling dejected, she placed the vambrace on the table, then walked over to her twin and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"What now, for fuck's sake?" Irillith snapped at her furiously, whirling around, and shrugging off her sister's hand.

"We used to be so close. Why did you turn your back on me?" Tashana asked, her voice subdued.

Irillith's mouth twisted into a sneer, and she replied, "I don't know... maybe it was when you decided to waste your life trying to prove some 'hidden truth' behind a child's nursery rhyme?!"

Tashana felt a stab of regret as she looked at her sister's scornful face. The sister she'd known and loved with all her heart seemed more lost to her than ever.

"I'm sorry I disappointed you. Can't we try and go back to the way things used to be?" she pleaded.

Irillith rolled her eyes, and said in a derisive tone, "Fine, anything that'll give me a moment's peace."

Despite the biting sarcasm weighing down her sister's words, Tashana decided to hope for the best. "Thank you sister, I love you," she said earnestly.

Irillith had already turned back to the console, and just gave a non-committal grunt. Tashana left her side, and started walking for the door, only to be stopped in her tracks when her sister called out to her.

"Mother wanted a word with you. She evidently hasn't tired of your witterings, and wanted to know more about psychic healing or some such nonsense. When I couldn't tell her any more details about the Mael'nerak's magic powers, I earned a backhander, so thanks for that," Irillith said, as she glared at Tashana, her face twisted with anger.

"I'll go and speak to her now," Tashana murmured, leaving the room with a sad sigh. She paused half-way through the door and added, "I really am sorry, Irillith."

"Bye," her twin muttered sullenly, her attention on her console once more.

***

Sitting bolt upright, Malifica clutched at her chest, feeling that horrible sense of loss all over again. It still stung even now, despite everything that had happened; the moment of realisation that no matter how hard she tried, her relationship with her twin was irrevocably broken.

She could feel a headache coming on, a bad one if the recent splitting migraines were anything to go by. Fumbling for the painkillers she'd started keeping by her bedside, she grabbed a couple then staggered into the bathroom, ignoring the cramping in her stomach as she went. After running the taps, she scooped up some water and swallowed the two pills down, then breathed deeply as she massaged her temples.

Flopping down in bed again, she relaxed as the meds kicked in, sending soothing waves through her head that eased the stabbing pain. She started to get drowsy again, which was when she suddenly felt that same itching sensation at the back of her mind. It was something she'd only ever felt around her sister, when they'd been so close growing up as children. They used to whisper together that it was because of their own special bond that only twins could share.

Those kind of nostalgic thoughts were even more painful than the worst of her nightmares, so Malifica got up and dressed, grabbing her pistols before she left. It only took a couple of minutes to work her way back up to the Bridge again, and a glance at the Sector Map showed they were nearly at the Lesath system.

"Nice timing, Cap'n," Bull said, turning to give her a nod. "I was goin' to come and get ya in a couple of minutes anyway."

Malifica slumped in her Command Chair, then stared bleakly at the Lesath System, watching as the holographic image of their ship steadily approached it. The Sector Map had tagged it as the Upsilon Scorpii system, and at its centre was a huge blue star, which was several times larger than the sun in the Epsilon Aquarii system.

Shaking her head at the flood of memories, she realised she was always going to keep using the star from her homeworld as a point of reference; such things were too ingrained in a person to shrug off. She remembered summer picnics as a young girl in the many beautiful parks scattered around Melfalas, Valaden's Capital. They had been gloriously happy times, spent laughing and having fun with her father and her sister. Grimacing behind her mask, she wondered what the hell was wrong with her today. She was never this maudlin. Bitter, yes; filled with hatred, absolutely; but this melancholic urge to relive the past was new and quite disturbing.

Forcing herself to look at the map again, she looked at the celestial bodies in this system. The blue sun was orbited by one small rocky planet, a huge orange, stormy gas giant, and four dense bands of asteroids in elliptical orbits. The Scorpions had been based in Lesath for years, even before their short-lived occupation of Underworld, and they'd renamed their gang accordingly when they first set up here. Their base, "The Nest", was located on Lesath IV, a small rocky planetoid in the fourth orbital ring of this system, in a substantial mining facility constructed there before it was conquered by the pirates.

Everyone thought of Lesath as the home of the Scorpions, but Malifica knew the real tragic history of the Upsilon-Scorpii system. She stared at the numerous dense asteroid belts that orbited the Upsilon Scorpii system, knowing that they were all that remained of verdant planets which had once been the home of billions. Every one had been obliterated by... -well, that was another pointless bit of knowledge from her past, which was best forgotten about.

They dropped out of hyper-warp on the far edge of the system, out beyond the farthest of the asteroid belts. Plex quickly shut down all unnecessary systems to reduce the ship's energy profile to a minimum, and George decreased engine thrust so that they were coasting in-system. Their passive sensors pulsed out, and the Tactical Map began to slowly fill with vessels in their proximity, tagging them with the ship classification and their current vector. There were two groups of ships patrolling the system, each consisting of a brace of destroyers performing lazy loops around Lesath IV, the site of the Scorpions' Nest.

Under the cover of asteroids, the Infernal Retribution eased its way deeper through the orbital rings, with George using a feathered touch of the retro-thrusters to avoid disaster as they flew through the fields of rocky obstacles. It seemed to take an interminable amount of time to reach the Scorpions' home planet, but they couldn't risk taking any chances. The Scorpions had an aging Terran cruiser in geostationary orbit above the base, flanked by two destroyers and four corvettes, which made for quite the intimidating defensive fleet. As well-equipped as her Enshunu destroyer was, it wouldn't last long against that volume of concentrated firepower.

George approached the rocky planetoid from the opposite side of Lesath IV, keeping the planet between themselves and the Scorpions' fleet. Using the electromagnetic interference from a violent thunderstorm to mask their descent from low orbit, he brought their ship into the planet's atmosphere, retro-thrusters flaring hard to keep the ship steady as it was buffeted by the howling winds. After a nail-biting few minutes spent bracketed by lightning bolts, they cleared the trailing edge of the storm, and flew into clear calm skies. George eased off on the use of retro-thrusters, dropping their energy signature through the floor as he flew low over the surface of the desolate planet.

Unless the Scorpions had a sophisticated net of sensors webbing the atmosphere of Lesath IV, Malifica knew they would have no chance of detecting their stealthy approach. The Maliri would never even dream of leaving their planets so horribly vulnerable to infiltration, but as she seemed to have to keep reminding herself of late, she wasn't in the Maliri Regency any longer.

The Scorpion's Nest was located on the smallest of the planet's two continents, and built into a steep cliff made of igneous rock. The rugged terrain had once been laced with valuable minerals, but the ore had been stripped away by the miners who'd constructed the facility. To protect the base from the savage winds that howled around Lesath IV, the bulk of the facility was set back into the cliff-face.

There were four glowing landing platforms located at the front of the base, where containers of precious metals would have been lifted into orbit by friendly traders. Only one of the landing platforms was being used at the moment, and it was currently occupied by the mangled wreck of a freighter. While the other three platforms were clear of obstructions, they could hardly just park their destroyer on the Scorpions' doorstep.

Fortunately, the base extended right through the cliff, with tunnels bored out into a canyon that ran along the back of the rocky plateau. This was where the miners had dumped all the worthless by-products of their excavations in the search for precious metals. The rock was piled high in several large mounds along the canyon, but with all the conveyer belts and abandoned machinery, sneaking in from that side would be an order of magnitude easier.

Lesath IV had a breathable, if rather thin atmosphere, and after studying the topographical map that Hades had given them, Malifica pointed to a ravine only two kilometres away from the base. "Bring us down there, George," she said, narrowing her eyes as she planned out a route to their destination.

He nodded solemnly, concentrating hard on avoiding any excessive use of retro-thrusters to slow their descent. There were many folds and slab-sided hills in this cold, unforgiving landscape, and George was able to use the cover they provided to keep them well out of line-of-sight should the Scorpions have guards watching the approach to their base. Malifica strongly suspected they wouldn't have any, but it was always sensible to take precautions, just in case.

The Infernal Retribution descended into the tight valley between two sheer cliffs, narrowly avoiding a jutting outcropping of granite which would have torn through their hull if they'd strayed mere metres to starboard. With a combination of skill and luck, the destroyer touched down safely, and Malifica breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

Rising to her feet, she said, "Alright, let's get this show on the road. Plex, you better stay on the ship; it's probably too cold for you out there, right?"

The natural ecosystem for the eel-like Slarmians was tropical, muggy swamps, which would keep their rubbery skin nice and moist. His long undulating body quivered at the thought of the chill biting winds, and he replied, "Splendid as Plex is, sadly in this case, he is ill-suited for such an unpleasant planet."

She nodded, and said, "Alright, keep an ear open in case we need an emergency evac. All being well, we should be back in a couple of hours."

Her other three crewmates, the Drakkar and two Terrans, followed her into the lift, and they dropped down a level to Deck Two so that they could grab some warmer gear. Malifica's compression-weave suit was well-insulated, and with her matching gloves and cowl, she knew she'd be warm enough. Besides, the cold wasn't much of a problem for her nowadays. Groluk set about scratching himself in several places at once, and with his ribbed black and purple armour, she reasoned he wasn't worried about the cold either. Still, he never usually wore a helmet or gloves, so she thought it might be wise to check.

"Are you going to be alright just wearing that?" she asked him, glancing at his ribbed armour.

The Drakkar warrior shrugged all four shoulders, and replied, "Drakkar tough, don't mind the cold. Got spares for everything, so frostbite not a problem."

Yes, she knew all about the Drakkar's unique anatomy, with two of everything being the operative word. Her eyes glazed over as she recalled the day of her final victory in the duelling pits.

***

She'd gunned down the three challengers in a savage battle, using cover provided by the ancient machinery to great effect, shielding herself from incoming fire and picking them off one at a time. When she returned to the Enshunu's ship, she'd been expecting well-deserved praise for the huge victory purse she'd just won for him, but as ever in the Unclaimed Wastes, her hopes had been dashed.

One of his men shot her with one of the Enshunu's debilitating stun-rifles, and when she awoke, she found herself naked and lashed face-down with a heavy weight settled on her back. Her master had sold her body for use by a Drakkar, who'd been impressed and aroused by watching her fight, and cared little about the shocking reality of her tortured flesh.

The Drakkar wasted no time in ramming both his thick cocks into her at once, spearing her ass and pussy simultaneously. It had been years since she'd been abused like this, and she wailed with the agony and indignity of it all, never thinking for one moment that she'd be put in this position again. As she howled with the pain, she heard the Enshunu's cackling laughter, even over the Drakkar's braying grunts. It was mental suffering the Enshunu savoured most of all, and to see her look of shock and disbelief had delighted him no end.

That had been the final trigger that had made her snap. Her burning rage had finally manifested into something that had wiped the smug look of pleasure from her master's face, replacing it with one of absolute terror.

***

"You alright there, Cap'n?" Bull asked warily, jostling her shoulder with a gentle shake. "You look like you're gettin' a bit hot under the collar."

She blinked a few times, and found her three crewmates looking at her wide-eyed in alarm. There was smoke drifting up from her hands, and she glanced down at her gloves in surprise.

"I'll just grab a new pair," she said guiltily, before jogging down the corridor to her room.

Peeling off the steaming black gloves, she threw them in the shower and turned on the water to cool them off. Grabbing a fresh pair from her wardrobe, she tugged them on over her slender blue hands and then darted down the corridor to rejoin the others. No one said a word, but she could feel the tension in the air as they dropped down to Deck Four and stopped at the Armoury for everyone to re-equip themselves with their gear.

Groluk was wearing the same ribbed armour he always wore, and was carrying the shield and minigun again. She spotted a chainsaw tied to the side of his pack, and when she glanced at Bull, he gave her a helpless shrug. Her first mate was carrying the same auto-shotgun again, but had brought a bandolier of grenades with him this time, and had a thick trenchcoat pulled on over his body armour to keep out the wind. George was fully armoured and wearing a long coat now as well, but he carried his treasured MCA 270 carbine along with a trauma kit slung over his shoulder.

"Alright, let's get moving," Malifica said, taking the lead as they strolled into the Cargo Bay.

She hit the button that would open the Cargo Bay doors, and with the hum of heavy servos in operation, the massive doors started to slide open. The sound of the howling wind flooded in through the gap in the hull, and she winced at the shrieking noise. Groluk strolled out first, his only concession to the conditions being that his bulging black eyes were now narrowed to tiny slits. George followed him outside, but Bull strode over to her side, and held her back with a cautionary hand.

Leaning in close so she could hear him over the wind, he asked, "Are you sure you're up to this, Cap'n?"

She could see the worry in his eyes, her recent loss of control in the lift having clearly unsettled him. Reaching out with her gloved hand, she placed it reassuringly on his arm, and replied, "Just been thinking about the past a bit, Bull. It must be the stress of working for Hades that's got me reliving bad memories." She patted his arm, and added, "I've got it under control, I promise. I'll save any temper tantrums for Madclaw."

"Good one, Cap'n," he said reflexively, but he didn't laugh this time.

Malifica wanted to give him a reassuring smile, not the mocking one that was etched onto her mask, but she didn't want to give the poor man nightmares. "That was just a joke. I'm fine, honestly," she told him in as soothing a manner as her gravelly voice could muster.

He gave her a slow nod, and then moved aside to let her pass. When she stepped foot outside the protection provided by the ship's hull, she felt the strong tug from the wind as it howled through the ravine. George and Groluk were waiting for her up by the stern of the ship, so she strolled out to join them, being careful where she put her feet on the sharp, uneven ground.

"Where to, Captain?" George asked her, speaking loudly to be heard over the wind.

Recalling the topographical map, she knew there should be a canyon to the South-East, which they'd be able to follow all the way to the Scorpions' base. She pointed up the slope at the end of the ravine, then jerked her thumb to the right as she yelled back, "Over there!"

He nodded, then began scampering up the slope, sure-footed as a goat. With his carbine in hand, the young man looked eager to get into a firefight with the Scorpions. Groluk plodded after him, seemingly untroubled by the huge weight of all his equipment, and she followed after the Drakkar, with Bull bringing up the rear.

Clearing the lip of the ravine, she staggered against the full fury of the gale that was blasting over the rocky landscape. Managing to keep her balance, she saw Groluk ahead of her, stomping in the general direction of the canyon she'd pointed out. He was completely unfazed by the lashing squall, so she jogged up beside him, and used his burly form as a windbreak. Now that she wasn't fighting to stand up, she was finally able to get a good look around at Lesath IV.

The rocky ground they were walking over was part of a range of long-extinct volcanoes on the smaller southern continent. Violent eruptions had covered this part of the planet with thick magma that had eventually formed the grey, jagged igneous rock that stretched as far as she could see in every direction. Subsequent earthquakes had shattered the plateau of rock into misshapen crevasses which cut deep into the ground, and rocky outcroppings that clawed their way skywards. The planet's surface was illuminated by the eerie cobalt glow from the huge star in the cloudy sky, making everything seem surreal and dreamlike.

It took a few minutes to reach the canyon, and while it was disconcerting to be so exposed, she could see no signs of life amongst the bleak rock. George had scouted ahead, but when she reached the slope down into the rift, she spotted him fifty metres ahead of them, sheltering where the crevasse turned a corner. He gave her a thumbs-up signal, then walked out of sight once again.

Groluk let her take the lead, and while the wind still whistled down into this gulley, it was much more sheltered in there. In addition to the welcome relief from the wind no longer threatening to knock her over, the piercing, shrieking sounds were no longer quite so sharp to her ears. They made good time along the canyon, snaking back and forth along the jagged faultline, as they made their way towards the Scorpions' base. It didn't seem to take long before George came jogging back to them, a big grin on his face.