Three Square Meals Ch. 080

"It feels like it's my birthday! I love getting tech as presents," the redhead exclaimed with a happy sigh.

Jade turned in her seat, smiling at the pair of them. "I hope this birthday goes better than mine did!"

John chuckled as he walked over to her, removing his helmet so he could give her a quick kiss. "Yeah, that last one was a complete disaster. We'll try and make sure you don't get killed again next year, okay?"

The Nymph gave him an adoring look as she replied, "I know you'd bring me back to life again, Master. The day might have started out badly, but it ended wonderfully!" Her loving smile turned playful as she added, "Now, should I be a good girl and stick to port speed, or are we in a hurry?"

"Definitely in a hurry!" Dana blurted out as she sprang to her feet.

John patted Jade on her dark-green shoulder. "You heard the girl, you better step on it."

Jade's emerald eyes gleamed as she turned back to the gunship's flight controls. The Raptor was already hovering in the docking bay as she had swung out of the Invictus before the loading ramp had fully closed. Pulling back on the stick, she thrust the throttle forward, launching the small white ship away with a roar of its huge engines. The Raptor rocketed out of the shipyard and swept through the canyons at a blistering pace, until they rejoined the merchant traffic on the main route into the city.

John winced as she rolled and darted the nimble craft around the cumbersome trade ships, avoiding them by mere metres as she raced past. Turning to Dana he asked, "I can't watch this, fancy being my distraction?"

She nodded eagerly and quickly removed her helmet as he sat down and placed his own Paragon helmet in a spare chair. Dana straddled his lap and leaned in to give him a very tender kiss.

"Perfect," he said, placing his hands on her slim waist.

Dana glanced down at their armoured bodies and shook her head as she replied, "This is much more fun without a Paragon suit."

"I can still get at the best bit," John said with a smile, stealing another quick kiss. As she beamed at him in delight, he continued, "How did everything go with the schematics for upgrading the Psi-shaper? Any problems?"

She gave him a disapproving frown for doubting her. "Of course not! Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I greatly enhanced the power amplification and also added some feedback inhibitors to limit the chance of accidental overload. That means someone like Alyssa could use it without snapping the thing in half like last time."

"So both of us could use a Psi-shaper?" John asked in surprise. He gave her an eager grin as he continued, "How many times could we shape crystal Alyssium using one of those?"

Dana gave him a rueful smile. "Unfortunately, you're both too strong for it to enhance your telekinetic abilities any further. It'll boost the living shit out of the Ashanath Engineers, but for you guys it'll just lighten the strain. You'll be able to shape much more metal without tiring yourself out."

"That'll still be incredibly useful," John said, nodding as he mulled over the practical applications. "We've only got quad-shaped armour on the Invictus, so we'll need to upgrade that eventually. Anything to make re-plating a seven-hundred-and-fifty metre battlecruiser a bit easier is very welcome, believe me!"

"In that case, you'll be pleased to know I asked Councillor Rathus to make two extra to take with us!" Dana said with a grin.

John returned her grin then said playfully, "I think you'd make a marvellous wife for an eligible bachelor. How about it? Interested?"

The redhead shook her head, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "That sounds like a lovely offer, but unfortunately I'm already engaged."

"I hate the guy already," John said with a mock frown.

Dana's sky-blue eyes sparkled as she replied, "Ahh, he's alright. He does insist on roughly buggering me and my girlfriend though!" She leaned in and added in a whisper, "Apparently he's also quite determined to get both of us knocked up at the same time. Can you imagine!"

John laughed at that, hugging her tight as she giggled happily.

"Sorry to interrupt," Jade said, smiling at them over her shoulder. "We're just on final approach to the Legacy."

"You were a lovely distraction, Chief Engineer, thank you," John said appreciatively, as he lifted Dana off his lap and set her down on her feet.

"Anytime!" the redhead smirked, before putting her Paragon helmet back on again.

John walked over to look through the cockpit canopy, studying the battered remains of the silver vessel. He turned back to look at Jade, while pointing towards the rear of the ship. "Can you bring us in nice and close to the rear on the starboard side, please? We'll start with the original armour plating then head inside."

"I'm already heading that way," Jade replied with a smile, having anticipated his request.

He leaned in to give her a grateful kiss, saying, "Of course you are, my wonderful little Nymph."

As John and Dana walked out of the cockpit, she called out to them, "Exit via our port airlock. I'll dock the Raptor with the same airlock you use to enter the Legacy, then wait for your return."

"Fantastic, thanks honey," John replied, before putting his Paragon helmet back on.

By the time they'd reached the rear cargo area and entered the Port airlock, they could already see the black hull of the ship through the porthole. Dana hit the button to decompress the airlock chamber and after three seconds' wait, when a light on the wall shone with a bright green glow, she hit another button to open the outer airlock door. Jade had brought the gunship to within ten metres of the Legacy's hull and by kicking off from the Raptor, they were easily able to float across to the other vessel without bothering to activate their Paragon suit's flight mode.

John was the first to land and he caught Dana before setting her down. She nodded her thanks before looking down at the armour plating beneath her feet.

"Woah!" she gasped, as her mind was suddenly flooded with a riot of new information.

"Everything alright?" John asked, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Dana nodded absent-mindedly, staring in awe at the dazzlingly complex analysis of the black metal plating. A sprawl of chemical formula danced across her vision, the symbols and notation all written in Progenitor Glyphs. "I wish you could see what I'm seeing," she murmured under her breath, her mind memorising and cataloguing the bewildering amount of data. "I'm fine, just give me a minute."

Seeing that the young woman seemed to be fascinated by what she was seeing, but not under any duress, John turned around to look at the Legacy. They weren't far from the point where the Quantum Flux Cannon would have been mounted - he could clearly see the indentations on the weapon hard point where the huge weapon had been attached. Other than that depression in the hull, the rest of the black armour was a field of flawless obsidian, unblemished over the ages. However, the same couldn't be said for the silver plating on the front of the ship.

The rest of the Legacy was a pitted and pockmarked scene of devastation, cratered by the impact of Heavy Cannon shells and burned by Beam Laser fire. He walked over to the join between the old and the new sections of the Legacy, then crouched down to study the trench left behind by one of the Drakkar beams. The column of energy had melted a deep trough across the Etherium plating, before the beam had touched the black surface of the original hull. At that point the original tear in the hull of Mael'nerak's ship had been exposed, but beyond that there was absolutely no damage of any kind.

John ran a gauntleted hand over the perfectly smooth black surface, suddenly feeling quite overwhelmed with awe. This relic from a bygone era was at least seventy-thousand years old; the ship had borne witness to countless centuries of warfare, including the brutal genocide of the Achonin at Mael'nerak's hands. The Progenitor who had built this vessel had made a colossal impact to this corner of the galaxy, literally founding and shaping the species that now teemed in their billions across hundreds of worlds.

*Yeah, total mindfuck isn't it?* Alyssa whispered into his thoughts. *If it wasn't for Mael'nerak, I wouldn't even exist.*

*I wish I could see that vessel with my own eyes,* Edraele said softly. *It must feel like being in the presence of our Creator.*

*John's thoughts are making it seem a lot nicer than the bleak reality,* Alyssa said with a humourless laugh. *Trust me, when you're inside, it's definitely not an uplifting spiritual experience - or at least it wasn't for me.* She hesitated before adding quietly, *That might just be because of all the women that died horribly inside. It felt more like a descent into hell than traipsing over fluffy white clouds.*

John caught movement out of the corner of his eye and he turned around to see Dana squatting down next to him.

She looked at him with concern and asked, "Maybe I should be asking if you're the one that's alright?"

He gave her a reassuring smile and replied, "I'm okay, just thinking about this ship's past." Glancing at the black armour plating, he added, "Find out anything interesting?"

Dana's answering predatory grin was nearly as alarming as it was exciting. "You bet your sweet ass I did!" she exclaimed. Dropping forward onto her knees, she patted the hull and added, "We were right, the Progenitor gave the Drakkar a cheap knock-off. This shit is the real deal."

John nodded towards the trough created by the Beam Laser and said, "Yeah, I saw the results myself, the armour wasn't even scratched by that Drakkar beam. Just how resilient is it?"

The redhead's brow furrowed as she replied, "It's actually hard for me to give you any kind of sensible estimate without doing some testing. I'm barely able to follow all the formula I saw and what I've seen so far hints at all sorts of new fields of research that I never even imagined could exist."

"Can you replicate it?" John asked intently, staring into her eyes.

She hesitated for a moment and he could see how difficult it was for her to answer. Finally, she said in a quiet, sombre voice, "Seeing the formula behind all this makes me feel like a little child, dabbling in things she doesn't understand. I should be able to recreate it, but it's going to take weeks of study." Dana let out a self-deprecating laugh and continued, "It makes my 'ultimate material' claim seem like a toddler boasting about building her first sand castle."

John gave her a worried frown as he said, "If you're right, and I don't doubt for a minute that you are, then that means we're still hopelessly outclassed against the Progenitor in his ship."

Dana's smile was grim as she pointed at the tear in the hull. "It makes you wonder just how powerful that blast in the Zeta-Pegasus system was, if it could rip through this armour plating like tissue paper."

John slowly rose to his feet. "Powerful enough to annihilate every planet in the system."

"Mael'nerak wasn't fucking around," Dana said, nodding her agreement as she accepted his hand and stood too.

They stood there in silence for a moment, staring at the ragged tear where the explosion had devastated the Progenitor vessel.

"We better get moving," John finally said, turning around to look for the airlock that he knew was nearby.

Dana smiled at him and clapped her hands in excitement. "I can't wait to see what's next on this Progenitor mystery tour!"

They walked across the silver-plated section of the hull, being careful over the more treacherous and uneven surface until they reached the airlock. It was the same one John had entered on his first visit to the Legacy and when the airlock re-pressurised, he hit the button to open the door then strode purposefully into the corridor.

"We need to head in this direction," he said, pointing to the right. "The original Progenitor section of the ship isn't far."

"Lead the way," Dana said, falling into step beside him.

She slipped her arm through his as they walked, glancing up at him as she did so. When John looked down at her arm interlinked with his, he stared at it for a moment then couldn't help laughing.

Starting to pull her arm back, Dana asked self-consciously, "What?"

John caught her arm and drew her close once again. "Sorry, honey. I wasn't laughing at you, that feels nice." He hesitated, then smiled as he explained, "It just felt like we were about to go on a romantic stroll in the park."

Dana giggled and said, "I know exactly what you mean." She leaned into him and they shared a smile as they proceeded deeper into the ship.

It didn't take long until they found the point where the Drakkar dropship had bored through the hull. Dana didn't comment and just raised an eyebrow as she stared at the vast circular blade that had carved its way through the armour plating. They continued onwards, following a ramp down until they reached the jagged line that marked the end of the Ashanath construction and the original Progenitor section of the vessel. Both of them stopped at that point, with Dana studying the new architecture in fascination, while John felt an altogether different sensation.

The walls were just as oppressively black as John remembered and the macabre crimson lighting still looked like it was filtered through a thick film of blood. A shiver ran up his spine as he felt that same sense of comfort at the sight.

Dana glanced up at him in surprise as she felt the shiver in his arm. "You don't normally scare easily," she said, before stopping to look at him curiously. "That wasn't a tremor of fear I felt, was it?"

John slowly shook his head and replied, "No. As disturbing as it might sound, seeing this part of the ship feels like... coming home."

The redhead glanced into the murky gloom beyond, then wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I love you to bits, but I think I'd have to draw the line at living somewhere so depressing! This place makes Karron seem cheery and upbeat!"

*I don't want to be the kind of girl that dictates how my man decorates his home,* Alyssa thought to both of them, *but I'm afraid I'll have to put my foot down here.* They could both hear the playfully teasing tone in her voice as she continued, *Maybe we can just set up a jet-black room in the Invictus with blood-red lighting all over the place? Then you can go and hang out in your evil man-cave whenever you feel all dark and Progenitory!*

John rolled his eyes at the pair of them, but grinned as he said, "Like I'd ever get a moment's peace with all you girls demanding my constant attention!"

*Yeah, you love it,* Alyssa said with a telepathic smirk.

He smiled at Dana and pulled her into a hug. "That I do."

She leaned into him and said earnestly, "Don't worry, we're all here to help keep you on the straight and narrow. We won't let you turn into a bad guy."

Despite the jokes and the gentle ribbing, Dana's quiet words felt profoundly reassuring. John was suddenly overwhelmed with affection for the young woman and just nodded in gratitude, not trusting himself to speak around the lump in his throat.

Dana walked towards the black corridor, tugging his arm to follow. "Come on! We've still got some cool stuff to check out!"

John walked on with her, turning a few corners as they headed deeper into the bowels of the Legacy. The Ashanath had not yet had a chance to tend to their dead, focused as they were on still trying to save the living from the battered wrecks above their planet, so John and Dana soon came upon the frail corpses of Grey crewmembers.

"God, this is awful," Dana blurted out, quickly turning her head away from the bodies strewn across the floor. The Drakkar had feasted on the Ashanath while they were still alive, and their still-intact faces were contorted in agonised death masks.

"Don't look, honey," John said, scooping her up into his arms.

He activated his psychic speed and glided past the scenes of carnage, quickly coming to the point where he'd caught up with the Drakkar marines who'd slaughtered the Ashanath. Glancing down at Dana, who had tucked her face into his chest, he said softly, "This is where I stopped the Drakkar who did that to the Ashanath. Do you want to see what happened to them?"

She looked into his eyes and said, "Did they pay for what they did?"

"Yes," he answered simply.

Shaking her head she said, "Hearing that's good enough for me. I don't need to see the gory details."

"I'll take us straight to the Capacitor Room. You wanted to see that next, right?" he asked, studying her slightly-pale face.

Dana nodded and replied, "Yes please."

He swept through the corridors, not pausing at the scenes of carnage where he'd dismembered the Drakkar in his mission to protect the Ashanath. She gazed up at him as they sped deeper into the ship, smiling when he glanced down at her from time to time. John was able to make very quick progress this time, now that he wasn't having to fight his way through rampaging packs of Drakkar soldiers. He slowed to a halt when he reached the room filled with giant capacitors, gently setting Dana down on her feet.

Dana turned around to look at the room then jerked backwards as she glanced at the huge Progenitor devices. "Oh, wow!" she marvelled, staring at them in awe.

In her mind's eye, it was almost like she could see into the device, understanding at a glance precisely how it was put together. A three-dimensional view exploded outwards, outlining everything she needed to know to create a schematic for the enormous capacitors.

"Good news?" John asked, watching her carefully for any sign that she might be in trouble.

She turned to give him an ambivalent look. "Mixed," she replied with a slight frown. "I know exactly how to build one of these capacitors. I'll need to scale them down a bit for the Invictus, but that's not difficult at all. With some of these babies installed, we can greatly improve the energy absorption of our armour before worrying that they'll blow due to overloading."

"That's great news!" John exclaimed enthusiastically. "That gives us everything we need doesn't it?"

Dana shook her head and pouted. "I was hoping you'd have to keep feeding me for a few weeks before we found that out!"

He laughed and said indulgently, "I'm sure we'll have our work cut out for us figuring out how the Quantum Flux Cannon works. You're probably still going to be on your knees for weeks."

"Yeah, that's true!" the redhead enthused, bouncing up and down at the thought.

Glancing around the corner of the massive machine, John saw the bloody scenes beyond, where Alyssa had torn apart the Drakkar. He looked back at Dana and said, "Alyssa got a bit carried away over there. Do you want me to take you past all that?"

She nodded, looking a bit green at the thought. "Yeah, if you could, I'd appreciate it. I'm still feeling a bit queasy."

John effortlessly swept her up in his arms and smiled as he asked, "Okay, where to next?"

"I'd like to take a quick peek at the Tachyon Drive room if that's alright?" she requested, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on his face as he walked past the bloody remnants of the black Drakkar battlesuits.

"I thought you already knew everything about that?" John enquired with a puzzled frown.

She shrugged and replied, "It's still worth checking."

Glancing at the map in his HUD for directions, John reactivated his psychic speed, then rushed through the sinister corridors to their destination. The huge sphere in the centre of the room looked exactly like the Tachyon Drive on the Invictus, but he put Dana down again so she could examine the room. The redhead spent five minutes looking around, but she eventually gave him a reluctant shrug. "This place is a bust. Nothing new here."