Three Square Meals Ch. 073

"But you still call me, Master..." he faltered.

"Because I want to, not because I must," she replied, and leaned in to kiss him, her soft lips gentle and tender as they brushed against his own. It was a delicate kiss, but one that clearly communicated the strength of her feelings for him.

"I love you too, Jade," he replied sincerely, pulling her in for a hug as she started to purr with blissful contentment.

John stroked her back as he gazed off into the distance, his thoughts racing as he mulled over what the Nymph had just told him.

***

The lights were dimmed inside the luxurious office in the mercantile district on Geniya Station, the sweeping desk dark and silent. The comms interface built into the desk suddenly sprang into life and began to chime urgently, the bright glow from the holo-screen lighting up the entire room.

Ceraden cinched the robe around his waist using the auto-locking clasps attached to the velvety fabric, then hurried to answer the distinctive sound of the high-priority call. He rushed to the desk with his long blue fingers poised to swipe across the name on the comm-interface, but when he saw the identity of the caller, he froze with indecision. It seemed to him as though the insistent chimes were becoming angrier with his reluctance to answer the incoming call, and despite his better judgement, he finally swiped his hand across the flashing name with a dark feeling of foreboding.

The crossed-blades insignia of House Valaden popped into view on a holographic image, before fading away a few seconds later. It was replaced by a face that was as terrifying as it was beautiful, the regal woman's features framed in a white cowl and topped by a golden diadem. Matriarch Edraele Valaden stared at him with cold eyes, her dark expression revealing that she was not in the best of moods.

"Ah, Matriarch Valaden, it's so wonderful to see you!" Ceraden said to her, trying to sound as sincere as possible before bowing his head respectfully. "All is well, I trust?"

"You can save the insincere pleasantries, Ceraden," Edraele replied, her tone haughty and irritable. "I was looking over your balance sheet for the last two months, and profits have crashed. I've decided to revoke your charter with House Valaden on Geniya Station."

Any indecision was shaken out of him in an instant, and he immediately replied, "There's no need to be hasty, Matriarch! The Terran war with the Kintark has affected everyone, as has the increased instability in the Ashanath Collective. Everything will settle down in due course."

"I have no intention of being placated by excuses, Ceraden. You males have grown insolent and lazy out on the border stations, and I refuse to indulge you any further," she snapped, looking down her nose at him.

"Wait, Matriarch!" he objected, his mind racing. "There must be something I can do to convince you to let me retain my charter?!"

She studied him for a long moment, not unlike a person staring at an insect and deciding whether to let it live, or crush it underfoot. Her smile was chilling when she finally replied, "I have need of a courier from Valaden to Geniya station. Return here to transport this package for me, and I'll extend your charter for another year."

Ceraden was shocked and terrified at the thought of returning to Valaden, but he managed to keep the horror from his face as he said in a rush, "There must be something else I could do? Transportation back to Valaden can be difficult to come by at the best of-."

"Nonsense," Edraele replied brusquely, cutting him off. "You can travel back with the Valaden engineers I sent to Geniya, they're due to return any day now."

He froze, unable to think of any reasonable objection to her plan, which Edraele seemed to take as tacit consent. She gave him a curt nod, then closed the call before he could object. Slumping back in his chair he stared at the blank viewscreen, and cursed vehemently in Terran, finding the crude language far more colourful and descriptive than Maliri. He sat there for several minutes, drumming his fingers on the desk as he wracked his brain to try and come up with some way out of this predicament.

Ceraden always knew it was a huge risk when he'd sought out that charter for House Valaden, but Edraele's House was by far the richest in the Maliri Regency, and hungered for more imported goods. There was a reason why it was so lucrative though, and it wasn't just because of the huge volume of materials that were traded and shipped to Genthalas Station. Dealing with the highly volatile Valaden Matriarch was a very risky proposition, and now it appeared that it was time to pay the piper.

He heard the soft padding of feet behind him, and a woman's sultry voice said enticingly, "Come back to bed Ceraden, my love."

Turning his chair, he watched as the ravishing Maliri woman sauntered into his study entirely nude. Her short shock of snowy white hair contrasted beautifully with her flawless azure skin, and he felt himself stiffen at the delicious sight of her.

"Myriana, my goddess, you look absolutely ravishing!" Ceraden said, gazing at her in awe. He tried to shake off the bewitching spell the mere sight of her cast on him, and added apologetically, "I'd love to, truly, but I have some important business to take care of first. I really should attend to-"

She silenced him with a kiss, her dark-green eyes soft and loving as she gazed at him. "We need to celebrate, my handsome, virile man," she crooned, sliding forward to straddle him.

He realised what she was saying, and was genuinely delighted as he said, "My dear, that's such wonderful news!"

Reaching for his hand, she placed it on her slim abdomen, and her eyes were full of emotion as she replied, "Thank you so much, Ceraden. I never thought in my wildest dreams that I'd ever have a baby..."

Ceraden gave her a beaming smile, overjoyed to see Myriana looking so deliriously happy. When she'd arrived on the station just a few weeks ago, he'd taken one look at her, and knew he had to have her. Throwing decorum to the wind, he'd heedlessly abandoned the normal conventions where she was expected to proposition him, and had ended up courting her like a lovestruck fool. It had been an astonishing surprise to find out that quite unlike the aloof and unpleasant noblewomen he'd encountered in the past, this gorgeous woman had been kind, and sweet-natured. She possessed a wonderful sense of humour and he found himself entirely smitten with her.

As much as he wanted to spend all day in bed with Myriana, he knew he had to try and find some way out of this delicate situation with Edraele. Letting out a mournful sigh, he said, "I'll join you as soon as I can, my gorgeous seductress. First, I need to find some way out of returning to Valaden." He shivered as he added, "I'm quite fond of my skin being attached to my body, thank you very much, so the last thing I need is a meeting with Edraele!"

Myriana appeared disappointed for a moment, then looked at him askance, and it almost seemed like she was listening to something. A wide smile appeared on her face as she said, "This is perfect! I can accompany you on your journey back to Valaden, and get all my affairs in order, before returning with you to Geniya! Now we never have to be apart!"

The thought of spending more time with her certainly did sound appealing, and he'd been dreading the thought of her leaving him for several weeks when she made that journey. Maybe a trip back to Valaden might not be so terrible after all, if he were to spend the entire trip in Myriana's delightful company. He could even try and find a proxy to take the package for him, thereby circumventing having to meet Edraele at all.

Sliding off his lap, Myriana started to glide back to the bedroom, glancing at him coyly over her shoulder as she murmured, "Besides, now I'm pregnant, there's something else I'd love to try with you. It's very sinful though, so I understand if an upstanding nobleman like yourself would be offended by the idea. I guarantee none of those stuck-up noble girls will have let you try this before..."

Catching her meaning, all thoughts of Valaden were scattered from his mind as Ceraden's eyes widened in shock. Myriana's oral mastery was quite astonishing, the beautiful girl having no qualms about kneeling for him submissively and deep-throating him with ease - something the noblewomen he'd been with before wouldn't even countenance. That only left one thing they hadn't tried, and if she was offering him what he thought she was, he could only imagine the pleasures that lay in store! He stared at the glorious round orbs of her ass as she sashayed across the room, rolling her hips suggestively before stopping to let him admire the view. When he lifted his astonished eyes to look at her face, she gave him a playful wink, and disappeared through the door to his bedroom.

He lurched out of the chair and practically sprinted after her, fully resolved to follow this remarkable woman into the darkest depths of hell itself.

***

John stood on the platform behind Rachel, high up on the maintenance gantry that overlooked the Invictus. The fore and aft of his ship were cradled in supportive stanchions, keeping their colossal mass stable as the vessel was carefully split in half. He wrapped his arms tighter around the brunette, and shivered as he watched the two sections of the assault cruiser being slowly pulled apart by the massive tractor fields being applied in the drydock.

They'd shut down all power on the ship, leaving Faye's server running on an emergency backup while the rest of the vessel went dark. Once the Cutting Lasers were in position, the beams had made a neat incision through the superstructure, burning a glowing line through deck after deck. The powerful lasers had sliced straight through the power relays, but it was faster than moving them, as they were planning on upgrading them to the Maliri versions anyway.

Sensing his apprehension, Rachel tilted her head back to look at him, and said affectionately, "You're as anxious as Calara."

He gave her a gentle squeeze, and said in a quiet voice, "That ship's older than you are, honey, and she was my home for ten years when I served on her as a marine. It feels wrong carving her up like this..."

With a sympathetic smile, Rachel replied, "I'm afraid we haven't finished yet, Admiral. We still have to perform an incision through the upper foredecks to allow us access to the Mass Driver rails."

John nodded grimly, and watched in silence as the two halves of his ship were steadily pulled apart, metre-by-metre. As per Dana's plan, they'd cut the Invictus into two unevenly-sized pieces, with the line of incision just ahead of their bedroom on Deck Two. Directly below that level were shield generators, reinforced bulkheads, and navigation systems, with all the living space unaffected as it swept backwards from the grav-tube.

The only room that was going to be drastically affected was the Hangar Bay on Deck Nine. Long before they had even warmed up the cutting beams, Jade had taken off with the Raptor, and carefully parked it to one side, positioning it in preparation for its own upgrades. It was probably John's imagination, but the gunship appeared to be watching its bigger sibling with an air of sad resignation.

A score of Maliri engineers had already moved the massive Cutting Laser into position, and the huge device was now pointing at the front section of the Invictus. This piece of the ship was two-hundred-metres long, and ended just after the length of the Mass Drivers' magnetic rails, with deck after deck now open to view. The tractor fields continued to manoeuvre the front of the ship into perfect alignment with the Cutting Laser, and John could see lots of frantic activity below as engineers ran back and forth, making final checks.

"I hope she can put it all back together again," he grumbled under his breath.

Rachel smiled at him as she said, "Dana certainly hasn't failed you yet, Humpty Dumpty. I'd be quite astonished if she started now."

He heaved a sigh, and conceded, "No, she's a brilliant girl, she knows what she's doing."

Still, it was hard to watch as the cutting beams went to work again, the bright blue lances of energy scything through the Titanium superstructure, and burning deeply into the hull of the assault cruiser. The lasers moved towards the rear of this part of the ship, cleanly slicing open the topdeck to expose the two-hundred-metre-long Mass Driver rails beneath.

Feeling the tension in his arms, Rachel's voice was reassuring as she said, "Reconstructing the Invictus will take a considerable amount of time, but when all our tasks are complete, she'll be a formidable ship."

"Cutting through the superstructure like this can't be good," he fretted, watching as the blue beams continued to carve their way through the Invictus. "When we bolt it back together again, we're bound to compromise the hull strength."

Rachel turned in his arms, and said patiently, "Dana has already explained all this. We'll be reinforcing the hull with Crystal Alyssium, so it'll be significantly stronger than before." She studied him for a long moment, until she added, "Do you want to talk about what's really on your mind?"

He laughed humourlessly, and replied, "You already know, I assume?"

"Yes, of course," she answered simply, lifting her hand to trace her fingertips over his chest, while she gazed into his eyes.

Her dexterous fingers seemed to be moving in specific patterns, rather than just random swirls, and he glanced down at her slender hand. "What are you doing?" he asked, distracted by her delicate touch.

She blushed for a moment, then smiled at him as she confessed, "Writing 'I love you', over your heart."

He smiled at her affectionately, but his smile faded as he admitted, "It's not just nerves stopping me from following Edraele's plans. I'm really worried about being put in a position of absolute power like this, especially with everything still unresolved with my Progenitor-side. Imagine the nightmare if he manages to get loose and defeat me; we'll have set him up with everything he always wanted!"

Rachel's stormy grey eyes were fierce in their conviction as she said, "I've seen you do the right thing time and time again. I know you'll make the correct choice here, too."

He pulled her close and rested his chin on her shoulder as he stared out at the Invictus. The Cutting Lasers had finished their work, and the upper decks were now being painstakingly lifted off the lower hull, revealing the four Mass Driver barrels beneath. He felt just like his ship at that moment, as it was pulled in different directions, and he desperately craved some stability.

"Thanks for trusting me, I hope I don't let you down," he said to Rachel, feeling deeply unsettled.

"You won't," she replied, hugging him comfortingly.

While they stood together, she listened to Alyssa's telepathic voice, while her Matriarch provided some detailed insight into his troubled state of mind. It only took her dazzling mind a few seconds to know just what to say, and she smiled to herself, pleased that she might be able to help him.

Pressing her lips to his pointed ear, Rachel whispered, "The Invictus is being pulled apart, but it'll be so much stronger when it's rebuilt. Just like the ship, you're going through some disturbing changes, but people learn and adapt to circumstances. I think this will fortify you for your confrontation with your Progenitor-side, rather than weaken you and leave you vulnerable. You'll grow into the role that's been thrust upon you, and be all the stronger for it. The same applies to the Maliri, and the tremendous good that you'll be able to facilitate throughout their society."

He listened to her carefully, ever respectful of her staggering intellect, and nodded as he digested what she was telling him. As he thought it over, he felt a certain sense of comfort in her words, the heavy burden of doubt lifting from his shoulders.

"Thank you," he replied, feeling better already.

***

"Very nice, Makaela," Dana replied, as she cast an appraising eye over all the equipment set up in the vast Docking Bay. "We'll just need to haul in the magnetic rails, and with a few tweaks here and there, we'll be good to go!"

"We won't be able to maintain gravitational forces of that magnitude for long," Alyndra said, looking worried.

The redhead grinned at her, and said, "Don't worry, we'll be done in no time. We won't need to run the rails at full power, I'll just juice them enough to launch particles into hyper-warp, and the heatsinks I've developed will keep them from burning out for long enough to do what we need to. We'll dump enough material through in a constant stream until we fully saturate the beryllium, and force it to change to its super-heavy state."

"How long will it take to modify the equipment?" Makaela asked, looking out over the sea of devices that were being connected to the power grid by a large contingent of Maliri Engineers.

Dana tapped her chin thoughtfully before she replied, "I reckon about four hours to reconfigure the rails, and give them a final stress test to check they'll work in a continuous-fire mode." She glanced to her left, and smiled as she added, "Looks like they're on their way."

Her two white-haired Maliri companions turned to look in the same direction, and stared out through the transparent atmospheric shielding that protected all those inside the Docking Bay. A compact golden Maliri tug had swung into view, hauling its long cargo behind it, and its shiny hull glinted in the light from the bluish-white star at the heart of the Epsilon Aquarii system. They watched as the tug crept carefully through the cavernous entrance to the bay, before retro-thrusters flared to slow its speed as it positioned itself above the designated landing zone.

The four Mass Driver barrels were bracketed by an intricate-looking harness, with anti-grav generators built into each of the four corners. They were linked to the control systems in the tug, and the cargo floated down to land safely on the deck of the Docking Bay. As soon as it had settled on the floor, engineers clustered around it to decouple the harness from the tug, and got ready to move it into position, for what Makaela considered to be Dana's glorified science experiment.

"We're about to make some new elements, ladies!" Dana said to her two Maliri companions, sky-blue eyes sparkling in the light. She nudged Alyndra and Makaela with an elbow, and added in a playful whisper, "I don't know about you two, but doing this sort of groundbreaking stuff makes me really fucking horny!"

Makaela glanced at the redhead, and gave her a nervous, shaky smile. Of all the things she felt about using a converted Mass Driver to fire hyper-warp accelerated particles within the confines of her Space Station, sexual arousal was definitely not one of them. She glanced across at Alyndra, and was surprised to see the technician nod at the Terran girl, a gleam of excitement in her eyes. It looked like it wasn't just Dana who found such wildly reckless experiments thrilling.

***

Irillith's flawlessly beautiful face was posed in the perfect mask of concern as she pleaded, "I know you're furious at me, but I'm begging you, Tashana. Please take a look at the attached video archives, they'll prove-"

"Go fuck yourself! Treacherous whore!" Tashana snarled, stabbing her finger down on the vidscreen control and cutting off her sister.

She'd refused to take the first half-dozen calls, but Irillith's persistence had eventually worn her down. Despite her better judgement, Tashana had finally accepted the incoming call that evening, curious to hear what Irillith could possibly have to say for herself. It had only taken one look at her twin's face to remind her of everything she'd lost. Twin... to use that word was laughable when you compared the mangled ruin of her own features, with the radiant vision of feminine beauty that had been speaking to her mere seconds ago.