Three Square Meals Ch. 072

He longed to be able to tell Edraele a comforting white lie, but he knew she could read his every thought, including that one. As he stepped out into the corridor on Deck Seven, he replied, *I can't be sure, not after everything that poor girl's been through. All we can do, is hope for the best.*

Alyssa didn't reply, but he could feel she shared similar reservations over the empathic bond they shared. He pressed the button to enter the Medical Bay, and shared a smile with the blonde when she looked his way. She was standing next to Rachel, and the two girls were watching Irillith, who stood quietly beside her twin sister, waiting for her to awaken.

***

Tashana had slept a dreamless sleep for the first time in years. She wasn't sure what had caused her troubled mind to spare her the typical series of agonising nightmares, but whatever the reason, she was tremendously glad for it.

The fog of sleep began to lift, and she smelled a scent she hadn't experienced since her banishment. It was the delicate hint of pines floating on the freshest air she'd ever experienced, and she breathed deep, luxuriating in the wonderful fragrance as it filled her lungs. A cascade of wonderful memories flashed through her subconscious, leaving her reeling as she relived events from decades ago, just as if they'd happened yesterday.

It took her right back to hiking through the mountains with her father and sister as they walked to their summer lodge. The time they'd spent fishing for dinner in one of the-crystal clear Valaden lakes, then giggling with Irillith as their father took a theatrical dive into the water, pretending to have been dragged in by a big fish. The joy as they roasted the huge tinefish she'd caught, and seeing her family's happy faces as they congratulated her on catching the tastiest fish in the lake. Cuddling up together with him, his strong arms held protectively around them both, looking up at the night sky and the millions of twinkling stars spread out before them. He told them ancient stories as he always did on these trips, about the Mael'nerak and the terrible things he did to the Maliri.

She smiled at her twin across his broad chest, linking hands with her, and listening to her father's deep voice rumbling in his chest. It was such a blissfully happy time, and one she'd tried to cling on to for so long. Everything seemed to be taking her back to her distant past today, from that strange sensation in the back of her mind to even feeling the soft skin of a slender hand holding her own. Those delicate fingers stroked her gently, a tender gesture of affection that she hadn't experienced in more years than she could count.

Her eyelids fluttered open, and she let out a forlorn sigh as she saw the edge of her mask around her eyes. The overhead lights had been dimmed, but they were still bright enough to make out the figure standing beside her. It was her own face, lovely and unspoilt, just as she'd remembered from so long ago. The breathtaking beauty of those features made her heart ache with the loss of everything that had been so savagely torn away from her, sending her mind spinning through a cascade of pain and torment.

It was then that she noticed the long white hair brushing down over her shoulders. But, she'd never let her hair grow long, that would have been scandalous. She frowned in confusion in her addled state, and then abruptly snapped out of her dazed reverie. White hair! Her eyes went wide with fright as she stared at the strange vision, the white-haired version of herself looking just like the pictographs she'd uncovered of the Maliri thralls.

Reality crashed down on her then, and she snatched her hand away from Irillith as if she were a venomous snake. Tashana lurched off the bed, desperate to put something, anything, between them.

"Wait, Tashana! Please, listen!" Irillith gasped in alarm, staring at her twin with hands upraised in a calming gesture.

"You fucking bitch! You took everything from me!" Tashana snarled, a blossoming surge of hate welling up inside her, which blotted out all reason.

She could feel the heat begging to get free, that inner fire that burned so bright. For years the Enshunu had tortured her, delighting in her agony, little knowing that they stoked the fires of their own damnation. Now, it seemed she'd be able to repay her original tormentor as well, the sting of betrayal from someone she'd loved so much, searing her soul far worse than any torture the Enshunu could ever devise.

"I'm not the same, I've changed!" Irillith pleaded, reaching out to her in supplication. "John healed me! I love you! Now I can be the sister you always wanted!"

What Tashana wanted most was to incinerate this malevolent bitch, to extinguish her insidious flame by engulfing it with her own. Her hands began to smoulder, that delicious feeling of anticipation welling up inside her, where the burning of the wicked was only seconds away. A feral snarl rumbled in her throat, the flames of retribution coiling within her eager to be unleashed.

Irillith glanced to her side in desperation, making eye contact with someone lurking to her side. Tashana suddenly realised they weren't alone, and she whirled around to face whatever lackeys her evil twin had brought with her. That was when she saw him again, and her rage was snuffed out as if an ice cold bucket of water had been dumped on her head.

"Get away from me!" she wailed in terror, scrambling backwards as a nightmarish vision from her childhood fables was made flesh before her very eyes.

Her sister was all but forgotten about now, as Tashana crashed to the floor in her haste to get away, her red boots scrabbling on the deck as she tried to put more distance between herself and the Progenitor. A Progenitor! The memories came back to her in a flood. Seeing him and his thralls in the Underworld, carving their bloody way through the Bloodnovas, mowing them down like wheat before a scythe. Everything she'd researched and all her findings borne out in one terrifying instant.

She tried to summon forth the flames, but there was no spark of anger now, just the deathly chill of fear as her heart felt like it was being gripped by an icy fist. She cowered behind some kind of scanning device, and whimpered in terror, her mind threatening to break under the strain.

***

Tashana had no idea how long she quaked in fear behind that bulky medical device, waiting for an end that didn't come. She hugged herself as she trembled there, reeling from the revelation that she was now being held captive by a Progenitor.

"Hi!" a bright, cheerful voice called out to her from back in the room. "Would you mind if I came over there to say hello?"

Something about that unreasonably chirpy voice managed to cut through her shroud of fear, and Tashana whirled around, hugging the big piece of medical equipment. Very carefully, she raised herself up, to take a quick peek to see who else was in the room. She ducked down low again, then took a moment to try and recall what she'd seen in that brief moment. A purple girl, and she definitely wasn't a thrall, she was too petite.

"Who are you?" Tashana called out to this mystery person, and winced at the sound of her own quavering voice.

"My name's Faye!" the girl replied. "Please don't be scared, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just a hologram, an artificial intelligence!"

Faye's voice had started getting louder, and it became apparent to Tashana that she was walking her way. She raised herself up to tell her to get back, and came face-to-face with the cute purple features of the AI, only inches away from her on the other side of the blocky hiding place.

"Hey!" Faye said with a sparkling smile. "It's wonderful to meet you, Tashana!"

***

*Well, at least you didn't have to heal another broken nose,* Alyssa said, looking across Irillith's sleeping form at John, and giving him a wry smile.

It had taken hours of comforting a distraught Irillith before she would settle down to get some rest, but even now, a troubled frown marred the beautiful Maliri girl's azure face. After the ugly confrontation in the Medical Bay, it was quite clear that the reunion with her sister wasn't going to go smoothly in the slightest.

*How's Tashana doing?* he asked, looking at Alyssa with concern.

She sighed, and hugging Irillith tighter, replied, *Faye seems to have settled her down, and Tashana's hiding in the Medical Bay for the moment. It was a good idea of Rachel's to send in Faye. Our cute little sprite's the only one who hasn't been through the Change, except our guests of course, but getting them involved would've been a terrible plan.*

John nodded as he replied, *Agreed. The sooner we can get them out of harm's way and safely back home, the better.*

*Any idea how we should handle this situation?* Alyssa thought to him, brushing her hand through Irillith's silky white locks and sweeping her hair from her face.

He leaned down and kissed Irillith on the cheek, and her tense expression eased a little at his touch. When he met Alyssa's gaze a moment later, he sounded sad as he replied, *From Tashana's point of view, Irillith was responsible for everything that happened to her. I can see why she despises her sister, even though her anger is misplaced now. I think we just have to leave her be for the moment, and let her just adjust to everything. As to whether she can ever forgive Irillith... who knows?*

*The 'pumping her stomach full of cum while she slept' plan isn't looking so bad now, is it?* Alyssa replied, smiling at him to let her know she was only joking.

John was serious though, as he replied, *I couldn't do that, not after everything she's been through. Yeah, it would have worked, but she deserves the choice, I couldn't just force that on her.*

*It's okay, I know,* she replied, leaning over to give him a kiss. When she pulled back, she glanced down, then smiled at him as she added, *Based on how Tashana reacted to you, I think it's a fair assumption to make that she won't be going down on her knees for you anytime soon.*

He nodded, a wry smile on his face as he said, *Yeah, I don't seem to make a good first impression on House Valaden noblewomen.*

*I only planned to enslave you the first time we met. I didn't try to kill you until the second meeting,* Edraele chimed in, trying to make light of the situation, but he could sense her worry for both her daughters over their bond.

John tried to think of something comforting to say to the Maliri Matriarch, but he knew she could read his every thought on the matter. In the end, he simply said, *I'll bring Tashana home to you, Edraele. She's terrified of me, but maybe you can help her instead.*

*Thank you. I'll do everything I can to make things better for her,* Edraele said earnestly.

He stroked Irillith's arm as he tried to think of any way he could try and help the sisters reconcile, but he kept drawing blanks, having no idea how to try and calm the situation.

Eventually Alyssa just smiled at him, and said, *There's nothing more you can do for the moment, and I can look after Irillith. Why don't you head up to your Ready Room? Dana wants to talk to you about something.*

John looked at her in surprise, then leaned in to kiss Irillith's blue shoulder before climbing off the bed, and strolling out the bedroom door.

***

Tashana looked askance at the smiling purple girl with her distracting fluttering wings, and said dubiously, "So you're telling me you started out from that vambrace? I saw the projections from that device, you don't look anything alike."

Faye shook her head, and grinned as she said, "I've had loads of upgrades since then!" She held up her first finger and thumb as wide apart as her slender digits could stretch, and added, "I used to only be this big, but then Dana built me a Progenitor server as my new home!"

At the reminder of the Progenitor, Tashana's face froze, and she snapped, "Can't you just leave me alone? Why do you keep bothering me?"

The purple AI looked sad as she replied, "Everyone's worried about you. We all just want to help, Irillith is-."

"Get out," Tashana snarled, cutting her off, and she ducked down behind the medical equipment once more.

Faye let out a sad sigh, and said, "Just let me know if you need anything, I'll be able to hear you if you ask. There's water in the dispenser on the wall, and we can prepare any food you-."

"Leave. Me. Alone," Tashana said frostily, her bitter voice drifting up from behind the DNA analyser.

The chirpy AI went silent, and Tashana heaved a sigh of relief. She leaned back against the bulky machine, and tried to get her spinning thoughts in line. If the AI was telling the truth, they were heading towards Valaden for some kind of meeting with her mother. All she had to do, was stay away from the Progenitor and his thralls until then, and she could make a break for freedom. Edraele had always jealously guarded her power, and if she could convince her that this Progenitor posed an existential threat to the Maliri Regency, they just might be able to stave off disaster.

***

As John strolled down the corridor, he heard playful voices drifting up from the grav-tube. His sharp ears immediately identified Calara and Sakura heading towards him, and he kicked himself for missing out on their training session. He only had to wait in the corridor by the grav-tube for thirty seconds or so, before he spotted the Latina and the Asian girl step into the grav-tube below him on Deck Three.

The view from up there was magnificent, their tight training gear leaving little to the imagination, but he didn't want to startle them so he called out, "Hey, you two, how did the sparring session go?"

They both looked up and gave him dazzling smiles, then rose in the blue anti-gravity field before stepping out onto Deck Two hand-in-hand.

When he opened his arms for them they hesitated, and Sakura protested, "We're all sweaty from the workout!"

He laughed, and pulled them both in for a hug, the giggles from both girls providing ample compensation for any inconvenience a change of outfit might entail. He looked down into the two sets of enchanting brown eyes, and asked, "How did the training session go?"

Calara flashed a smile of admiration at Sakura, and replied, "She's a really good student. I see why you enjoyed training with her so much."

Sakura blushed with the praise, and glanced at the Latina as she said, "Calara's taken your teaching methods to heart. She's another calm one with lots of patience."

"I'm really sorry I missed it," John said, frowning with regret. "Tashana waking up didn't go quite as smoothly as I'd hoped."

"Alyssa told us what happened," Calara said sympathetically. "Everything that happened to Tashana was horrific, but I feel so sorry for Irillith too. She's just not that same twisted, spiteful person any more, but now she's stuck trying to clean up what is basically someone else's mess."

Sakura nodded, and said, "Irillith's been wonderful helping me settle in here. I can't even imagine her as the person you described when you first met her."

"Have a chat with Faye, I'm sure she'd be able to show you the cam-feed footage," John said with a wry chuckle.

Calara sighed as she said, "She was a handful, alright. I was dead set against her stepping foot on board, but I'm so glad it all worked out in the end."

The Asian girl was quiet for a moment, then slowly shook her head as she looked at John, and said, "I really like Irillith as she is now. I'd rather not see her any other way."

John stroked the back of her head and said, "That's a nice way to think about it." Looking at each of them, he asked, "What's your plan now?"

The two girls shared a heated glance, and Calara said, "A lovely warm shower to ease out those aches and pains, then we've got some other tensions to work out." They leaned in to kiss each other, and their eyes flicked his way, watching him as he stared at them in fascination. Sakura fluttered her lashes alluringly and added, "You're very welcome to join us."

John was sorely tempted, but he knew Dana was waiting for him so he replied, "Sorry, I'd love to, but Dana wants to talk to me about something." He smiled as he added, "Despite Alyssa's insinuations, I was genuinely looking forward to seeing you train together. Would you let me know the next time you plan a sparring session?"

"Don't worry, it'll be a regular thing," Sakura said with a grin at Calara. "We've already planned to meet up daily to spar."

"That's excellent, girls, I'll be there for tomorrow's session," he said, pleased to see them getting on so well together. He frowned then, and added, "I better not keep Dana waiting any longer. Have fun, you two."

"Oh, we will, don't worry about that," Calara said with a seductive smile, and taking Sakura's hand, she led her away down the corridor.

John watched them leave, entranced by their tanned, athletic bodies, as they sauntered away from him. When they stopped in front of Calara's quarters, Sakura turned to glance his way, then blushed cutely as the Latina dragged the Asian girl into her bedroom. The sound of their playful laughter echoed down the corridor to him, and John felt certain he'd just made a terrible decision.

*You can ride them both tomorrow. Go get a fresh shirt, Dana's waiting for you,* Alyssa thought to him telepathically in a mock-stern voice.

Spotting one of the cleaning robots gliding along the corridor, he stripped off his perspiration-soaked shirt then crumpled it into a ball, and scored a three-pointer dropping it into the laundry hopper on its back. He blinked in surprise when the cleaning bot raised its arm to give him a high-five as it rolled by, and he did so in a daze, then watched in amazement as it trundled into the grav-tube before dropping down out of sight.

Shaking off his shock at the uncharacteristic mannerism from the automaton, John jogged back to his bedroom. He waved at the psychic blonde as she smirked at him, still cuddled up with Irillith who was fast asleep on the bed. Grabbing a pressed white shirt from the rails in his wardrobe, he buttoned it up as he left, tucking the shirt in as he walked briskly back down the corridor and into the grav-tube.

Jade greeted him with a wave as he stepped onto the Bridge, and he smiled back at her as he strode over to his Ready Room. Faye gave him a thousand-watt smile, her cute face shining with happiness, and she swooned when he blew her a kiss in return. John pushed the button that opened the door to his Ready Room and when he strolled inside, he found Dana lounging in his big leather chair, spinning it back and forth as she gazed out the window at the expanse of stars beyond. She heard the door swish open, and her face lit up as she saw him, springing to her feet in her haste to greet him.

"Hey! Thanks for coming up to see me," she said, bouncing over to give him a kiss.

John smiled at her, and said, "I can always spare time for my favourite Grand Engineering Overlord. What's on your mind?"

She grinned at him, then pointed to one of the sofas, taking his hand as she led him over to them. John sat down on the comfortable seat, and relaxed as he focused his full attention on the redhead, putting the rest of his worries aside for the moment. He looked her way, and arched an eyebrow as he waited for her to talk. Dana knelt next to him on the sofa, and looked uncharacteristically nervous. She fidgeted with the zipper on her top, sliding it up and down just to keep her hands busy, inadvertently giving him an impressive display of her delicious cleavage.

He chuckled and said, "I don't think stripping quite works that way, but it's a hell of a view."

The redhead blushed, and yanked her fingers away mid-zip, leaving her breasts hidden from sight. "I wanted to talk to you about your mother!" she suddenly blurted out, then grimaced, and added, "Fuck! I wanted to be more subtle than that."