John got out of his Phalanx suit, stacking the pieces neatly by his desk in his Ready Room. They really needed to find a faster way of putting on and taking off the armor.
*Priority project once I have my workshop, Mr. Sex God,* Sparks sent his way through Telepathy.
*Thanks, honey,* John sent back.
*I thought I was your honey!* Alyssa said in fake effrontery.
*Hey, I thought that was my nickname,* Calara joined in.
*Sorry, sorry, I'll try to be more original with my pet names,* John rushed to reassure his 3 female lovers.
*Nah, don't bother. I think it's kinda sweet, actually, how you don't see any difference between us in your heart,* Alyssa sent back.
*Besides, there's tons of different kinds of honey. You've got Lemon, Coffee, and Strawberry already!* Sparks giggled.
*Seriously, John, feel free to keep calling us 'honey' and we'll rely on context,* Calara said with a feeling akin to an affectionate eye roll.
*And I will be more than happy to start sharing 'handsome' once you finally get around to recruiting another man to the crew. They outnumber us, we need to boost our numbers to even out the ratio, Johnny boy!* Jonah tacked on, radiating humor.
Part of him marveled that exchanges like this through their group mind or 'chorus' had become commonplace. The rest of him focused on what he was going to say to Charles Harris when he reported the pirates. John pulled up the comm code on his desk's console and waited patiently for the connection to bounce through the intervening comm beacons.
Vice Admiral Charles Harris, John's old CO his entire career in the Marines, appeared on the vid-screen. He got a broad grin under his bushy mustache when he saw who was calling him. "John! Good to hear from you! How's the Invictus treating you?"
"She's purring like a kitten," John grinned back. "Hey, thanks for the Commander's Quarters, by the way. We've been having a lot of fun with that."
"Least I could do to repay that pesky little life debt," Charles snorted.
John knew from repeated arguments in the past that he wouldn't convince Charles he'd just been doing his duty in saving the man's life and no debt had been incurred. Moving past that point, John's expression turned somber. "I actually have something I need to tell you. You want the good news or the bad news first?"
"I'll take the bitter before the sweet. Hit me," Charles said, face hardening.
"I don't even know if it's gotten assigned to an IA agent yet, but I made a report against Commander Rupert Grant about 3 weeks ago for illegal activities. I just received evidence of even worse crimes. He's actively colluding with the pirate gang that's been causing so much trouble in the Outer Rim," John revealed.
"That's an accusation of treason, John. You better have proof," Charles said with a frown.
"The Invictus just intervened in a pirate attack a couple hours ago. We downloaded the transponder and black box data. My Chief Engineer is a bit of a wunderkind, and she cracked the firewalls. On top of confirming the pirate's base and the layout of their remaining fleet, we cross-referenced with Port Heracles auction records. Every pirate ship was bought by the same man, and every sale was finalized by Grant. If that's not enough to convince you, then shortly after the adjutant he was harassing transferred to a Corvette, that Corvette was ambushed by the same pirates. It's circumstantial, but it paints a damning picture," John listed off, sending copies of all the data Sparks and Calara had gathered to Charles for him to verify.
Charles's face was carved from stone but his eyes blazed with fire. It was an expression John had seen many times when he was serving the man as a Marine, and it never boded well for the target of that expression. "I'll issue a warrant as soon as this call ends. Combined with your earlier report, it's more than enough to bring him in for questioning. Where are the pirates based?"
"A system named Chendar, out of an abandoned gas mining station," John told Charles. "The Invictus is enroute as we speak. But in case we go down fighting, I want their location on record so you can mop them up afterwards."
Charles frowned and read the data he just received more closely. His jaw dropped. "A Heavy Cruiser, and over a dozen other craft? John, that's way too much heat for one Assault Cruiser to handle! Abort now, that's an order!"
"I'm retired, I'll remind you," John said wryly.
"Then at least wait for me to send reinforcements!" Charles countered.
"No can do, the pirates are all gathered in Chendar at present, and we have evidence their primary focus is slaving. Time is of the essence… and this is personal, Charles. Trust me, I know what I'm doing," John said, his eyes boring into Charles' across the intervening lightyears.
Charles grit his teeth. "... Don't die, Blake. And I'm sending every ship within 100 lightyears of Chendar to assist."
"Appreciated, Charles," John grinned.
"Now, what's the good news?" Charles asked, sounding exhausted all of a sudden.
"The Invictus is carrying more Tyrenium. 20 tons. We should be back at Olympus sometime next week," John told his former superior.
Charles snorted. "You always did have balls, John, and a brain to back it up. I'll have a drink with your name on it. And don't break my ship."
"Your ship? I bought her fair and square," John fired back with a chuckle.
Charle's expression turned serious. "Godspeed, Blake." The Vice Admiral saluted him.
John returned the gesture of honest respect, and then ended the call.
*Wonder how that mustache would feel on my clit while he ate me out,* Alyssa mused, she and the others having followed along with every word.
If John had been drinking anything, he would have done a spit-take. As it was, he sputtered and choked on thin air. *Does EVERYTHING come back to sex with you, vixen?* he managed once his breathing settled.
*Hmm, wonder where it comes from. Maybe the horny Progenitor who rewrote my personality has something to do with it,* Alyssa teased mercilessly. *And I believe you put me and Jonah in charge of all recruitment.*
*Mild issue, I'm 99% sure he's terminally straight. How would we convince him to get his first dose?* John posed to the chorus.
*Easy, pump one of the girls nice and round and then he can eat out the creampie,* Jonah thought as if it was obvious.
*Or you know, you could just cum into a beaker or something. Though it would have to be rather large,* Calara mused.
*And Charles would agree to the Change why exactly?* John followed up.
*Are you kidding? Eternal youth, enhanced physique, bigger cock, psychic powers, boosted cognition, a chance to be in your bed, shall I go on?* Alyssa teased.
*Though I think this leads to an interesting issue: does every Angel necessarily have to be part of the crew? Or can John give the Gift to certain others he likes, get them as psychic batteries, and they go on to live their own lives separate from us?* Sparks spoke up.
John frowned in thought. *That's actually a good question, Sparks. I can't put a person through the complete Change with just one dose, but I can make a Connection. More power for us to share, and I can cure any major ailments in the first 14 hours easily enough. Yeah, that actually sounds like a viable option. Though we're still unsure about all the personality changes I can't stop. Plus, you all drank 'straight from the tap', so to speak. If someone drinks my cum from a container or intermediary, will the effect be the same?*
*You're not even going to think about the obedience compulsion or the fact the first taste doesn't necessarily require consent? You could force-feed all of High Command and become Emperor of Terra, you realize that, right?* Jonah interjected. *And why stop there? You could unite the whole Galactic League under your rule if you were determined.*
John winced at the very thought. *Why even bring that shit up? You know I hate the fact you guys are forced to obey my orders. Why in the universe would I abuse my powers like that?*
*It's what most every other man in your position with your capabilities would do, just pointing that out,* Jonah thought unrepentantly. *It's probably what Other John would do if he ever gets loose. I think it's amazing you're the kind of guy who doesn't even think in that direction, but you need to be aware the option is there.*
At the reminder, John triple-checked the mental prison containing his Progenitor alter ego. Even with extensive training since discovering his psychic powers, John only had 10 mind-boxes to hold active powers, 4 of which were constantly used to maintain his Connections to his Angels. He'd taken the time to count one night when he had trouble sleeping, Other John's cage took up over 300 boxes. He was a very long way from confronting the psychic entity and reintegrating into one personality.
*Back to the original point,* John thought to the chorus. *Jonah, Alyssa, from now on when we recruit, we'll offer the option to only drink my cum and not necessarily join the harem. And if anyone ever thinks of someone they think deserves a major health boost and would be a good ally, we offer them a single dose.*
*Yes, sir,* everyone replied, caught up in his commanding energy.
John left his desk to return to the Bridge and his Command Chair. *ETA to Chendar?* he asked Alyssa, given she was the Navigator.
*4 hours and change, or at 1932 hours,* she replied instantly. She actually had it calculated down to the second, but that was just for her, no one else would be interested. She actually had made it a pet project to start memorizing the atlas of the whole Terran Federation with plans for the rest of the Galactic League afterwards.
*We go into stealth mode the instant we're out of hyperwarp,* John decided. He pulled up Chendar on the System Map and analyzed the system. *Jonah, take us into the asteroid belt. We'll get the lay of the land with passive sensors then strike at the opportune moment.*
John, Jonah, and Calara debated battle strategies for the most likely scenarios, Alyssa and Sparks a bit out of their depth but contributing where they could. At 1800, John ended the planning so they could all go cook dinner. Given Sparks was through the Change, and just in case anyone was injured in the coming attack, John proposed that all 4 of his lovers split his evening load. It was a tad awkward to sync up once he shot off, but all of them got a roughly equal dose of his cum. John savored the feel of active connections to all his Angels, though he was aware it wouldn't last long given they'd each only gotten a quarter of the usual amount.
At 1900, they returned to the Bridge. John, Jonah, and Alyssa got back into their Phalanx armor suits and kept their XR75 Rifles close at hand. Sparks made a note to modify each station chair to have a slot to store weapons. When they were 5 minutes out, they preemptively lowered all systems bar life support and the FTL Drive to minimal power. As soon as they entered Chendar, they exited hyperwarp and were as invisible to standard sensors as they were going to get.
Jonah feathered them from the Nav-Beacon into the asteroid belt nearest the gas mining station that the pirates were using. He had to rely on nothing but retro-thrusters and raw telemetry data from the passive scanners, but he managed just fine. When they were a few light-minutes out from the station, they came to a stop. At the lowest possible power setting, John had them send out a sensor pulse.
21 contacts appeared on the screen besides the Invictus. The transponders were blocked, but Sparks was already typing, unleashing the algorithm she'd already written. The Tactical Map shifted to show the name, class, and stats of every ship in the system.
Calara's sharp, trained eyes analyzed the whole system in seconds. *Group of 7 on their way out, they'll pass right by us in the next few minutes. Two picket groups of 5 running patrols around the gas giant. The Stalingrad and two accompanying ships are docked at the mining station, along with that big mystery ship. Sparks, how come it's not popping up on the map properly?*
*It's not Terran, this code is gibberish to me,* the redhead replied, staring at the lines of alien script in befuddlement. *Remind me to start studying alien languages, should be a cinch to pick up with the eidetic memory thing.*
*Probably who they're selling the slaves to,* John reasoned. *Okay, they're all unshielded. Life signs are heaviest on the mystery ship, they're probably almost finished with loading. We need to move fast. Calara, Jonah, ideas?*
*Let the departing group slip past, then we bugger 'em from behind. We take out the picket groups then hone in on the mining station. The alien ship will focus on fleeing with their cargo. We can take care of the Stalingrad and those 2 Destroyers before taking off in pursuit to rescue the prisoners,* Jonah suggested.
*Solid plan,* Calara gave her agreement.
John squared his shoulders. *Well, then, let's do it. Take them down.*
Jonah subtly maneuvered them behind the group of 7 on their way out of the system, probably off to get the next crop of slaves already. Calara aimed at the Destroyer, the largest ship in the group, with deliberation. With a pull of her triggers, all 4 Mass Drivers fired simultaneously, sending explosive shells at faster-than-light speeds to hit the ship. Not only was the Destroyer unshielded, but Calara had even managed to target the Power Core accurately. The biggest threat in the first wave vanished in a massive explosion, taking the whole pirate gang by surprise.
Sparks sent all their systems back to full power as Jonah and Calara began to coordinate at the speed of thought. In less than 30 seconds, the other 6 ships were taken out before they could even raise shields or get off a shot. Not wasting a second, Jonah brought them around towards the nearest picket group.
While slow and untrained, the pirates weren't stupid. All the remaining ships raised shields and were on attack vectors by the time the first picket group entered Calara's range. But Jonah flew the massive ship with all the grace of a bird of prey, and Calara simply did not miss. It took a mere 2 minutes to take out the picket group and get on approach for the second.
John calculated the distance between the Invictus and the gas mining station. *Sparks, run an active scan of the alien ship as soon as we're in range. I want to know who we're dealing with.*
*Aye, Commander,* she replied, already warming up the program.
Jonah dodged as much of the incoming fire as he possibly could, with Calara returning the salvos with interest. She'd taken out one of the Frigates and was working on the remaining one when a hail alert came up on John's console.
Curious despite himself, John opened the comm link. A filthy man with eyes full of fear appeared on the vid-screen. "Surrender! Mercy! Please don't kill us!" the pirate begged.
John knew full well that he wouldn't get the same thing if the situation was reversed. But it wasn't enough to fight the darkness; you had to stand apart from it as well. "Power down. Stay there until I tell you to move. Cross me, and I won't rest until you're dead," he said in a cold voice. He closed the hail and ordered Jonah *Take us towards the mining station. Alyssa, keep an eye on them.*
*Your nobility is admirable, but it's going to bite us in the ass eventually. That's a statistical certainty,* Alyssa thought neutrally.
*I know, but it's who I am,* John sighed.
Luckily, they were distracted by a bigger issue. *Active scan results are back!* Sparks projected, bringing up all the gathered data on the alien ship.
John, Jonah, and Calara all gasped aloud in horror. *Those bastards, how could they?!* John thought, aghast.
*Motherfuckers!* Jonah snarled.
*What? What is it?* Alyssa asked, regarding the hologram. It looked a bit like an overgrown tick, in all honesty. A bulbous topdeck with various pods and growths coming out the bottom, all in a dull ochre displeasing to the eye.
*That's a Kirrix Hive Ship!* Calara told the two Karronites.
*The Bugs?! SHIT! Those poor people!* Sparks recoiled at the very thought. The Kirrix were parasitic insectoids, kill-on-sight throughout the Galactic League, a living plague on all known space. They were most well-known for their habit of raping their eggs into any host they could find and the grubs literally eating their way out the still-living body. To die from Kirrix implantation was the greatest fear of a number of sapient beings who lived on the borders of Kirrix Space.
*Change of plans. We can let the pirates get away, but we NEED to get on that ship ASAP to save the prisoners,* John ordered.
*They're making a run for it!* Calara noted, the Hive Ship having left the mining station and moving full-speed for the edge of the gravity well.
Jonah altered their course to pursue the Kirrix. Alyssa noted something as they moved. *The pirates who surrendered are regrouping with the Stalingrad.*
*You can say 'I told you so' later,* John dismissed. *How long until the Hive Ship can go into hyperwarp?*
*3 minutes,* Calara calculated instantly.
*How long until we're in weapons range?* John checked.
*2 minutes. We'll be cutting it real close,* Calara frowned.
*Permission to take a calculated risk?* Sparks posed to John.
*I trust you, Sparks,* John replied, his sincerity clear through his thoughts.
Sparks grinned and input a command on her Engineering console. With no explanation, the Invictus doubled in speed.
*Whoa! What the fuck did you do?* Jonah asked even as he honed their ship in on the Hive Ship.
*Disabled the safeties on the Engines. Should be safe for 30 seconds or so before we run a real risk of blowing up,* Sparks replied nonchalantly. She kept a close eye on the energy readouts. Reacting at the last possible second, she reengaged the safeties. Their speed returned to normal, but they'd significantly shortened the distance to the Kirrix vessel.
The second they were in range, Calara let loose with the Beam Lasers. The 6 scintillating rays of irradiated light impacted the Kirrix Shields. By the time the burst ended, they were close enough that Calara could follow up with the Laser Cannons. *Sparks, another active scan and keep it going! I need weak points!* the Latina sent to the Chief Engineer.
Sparks focused every sensor they had on the Kirrix ship, a flood of data starting to come back. Reading it almost as fast as it came across the screen, Sparks started marking critical areas on the Tactical Map and Calara's console with the aiming interface. *Avoid the underside! No weapon arcs, but that's where all the Terran life signs are! One stray shot once shields go down and they're goners!*
Jonah moved the Invictus like he was one with the ship, eking out a level of grace that John didn't think the old girl was even capable of. The Kirrix, realizing they wouldn't escape in time, reversed course and began to return fire. The sickly green of Neutron Beams raked across the Invictus' own Shields. *Shields at 67%! We can't take too many more hits like that!* Sparks thought in alarm.
Calara barely heard her, her whole mind on winning the naval battle. As she rained hell on the Kirrix with the Laser Cannons and Gatling Lasers, she calculated the remaining enemy Shield strength and the recharge time on the Beam Lasers. Down to the decisecond, Calara fired the Beams at a particular spot on the Hive ship. Just as the Beams started to run out, the Shields vanished, overwhelmed, and the orange pillars raked across the surface of the Kirrix transport. There was a disproportionate explosion.
*Took out a Power Regulator, the whole port side is dark, we can hide there,* Calara told the chorus. *Jonah, bring us in at an angle, I can hit their Engines with the Mass Drivers without us getting hit.*
In short order, the Kirrix were immobilized but for retro-thrusters and the Invictus was safe so long as it maintained itself on the dark side of the Hive Ship. The Bugs must have realized their bad position, because 3 dropships launched from the Hive Ship and raced towards the Invictus. John made a quick decision. *Take out 2, let the last one dock. We'll repel boarders and use it as a trojan horse to get onto the Hive Ship. Alyssa, with me. We need to get AP ammo, the Kirrix have armored carapaces.*
While Jonah and Calara worked their magic again, John and Alyssa took the elevator down to Deck 2 and sprinted to the weapons locker to replace all their clips with armor-piercing rounds. *Where should I aim?* Alyssa asked as she slapped a clip home in her XR75 Rifle and started slotting others into her combat webbing.
*Center mass will work eventually, but they actually have a decentralized circulatory system so it's slow going. Through the eyes is a good bet if you can be that precise, and I know you can, but their flesh is so dense it might take 2 or 3 to reach their brain. That's just for the Drones. For the upper-tier Kirrix, what we learned during the '40s Purges was to go for their joints. If they're immobilized on the ground, they're neutralized and you can kill them dead at leisure. Stick to 3-round bursts, and don't be afraid to cheat with Telekinesis. We can only bring so much ammo, and we're essentially going up against the whole ship ourselves,* John told his lover.
*I'll be right behind you while you're repelling boarders, the 3 of us will take the dropship together,* Jonah added.
John and Alyssa, as ready as they'd ever be, returned to the elevator and took it down to Deck 9. There was a pounding coming from the airlock door, the Kirrix having already docked. John and Alyssa got in position on either side of the airlock door and then John laid his palm on the DNA scanner. Once his genome was verified, the airlock door opened, an unlucky Kirrix charging straight into the wall. It looked up, and for all that Kirrix's faces were a blend of ant, praying mantis, and centipede, John wanted to say it looked surprised. Then he shot it in the compound eye, and it collapsed to the ground with a splatter of green blood and goo.
John and Alyssa worked through the boarding crew with lethal efficiency, taking down each Kirrix Drone with 1 or 2 bursts from their Rifles. The pilot turned tail to try and run, and Alyssa sent a Telekinetic lance that cored its brain from behind.
*Let's get all these corpses to the Hangar Bay, might as well use it for once,* Alyssa suggested, lifting half the dead insectoids with her mind.
John mimicked his Matriarch, tried not to wince at every drop of Kirrix blood to drip to the floor, and joined Alyssa in piling the dead in an ignominious lump of flesh in the corner. They returned to the airlock, just as Jonah came out the elevator, having used Psychic Alacrity to speed up getting AP ammo. *Calara and Sparks can handle things up on the Bridge. Long-range scanners indicate a T-Fed Cruiser is inbound. Given it's from the same direction we came, it's probably the Indomitable,* the XO reported.
*Well, we came this far without their help, let's press on,* John shrugged, though he was sure he'd appreciate the help of the Indomitable's Marine contingent in fighting through the Kirrix ship. The 3 psychics entered the dropship. Alyssa gingerly sat in the pilot seat. *Can you fly this thing, honey?* John checked.
Alyssa breathed deep, her helmet thankfully blocking the natural smell of the ship. *Would you believe me if I said I can 'sense' the psychic remnants of every pilot?* she asked.
*Stranger things have proven true in the last couple months,* John shrugged. *Go full medium and figure out how to fly this ship.*
Alyssa went into a meditative state for a few seconds, her mind absorbing the motions and thoughts left like fossils in the aether in the pilot seat. Opening her eyes, she flipped a few switches with utter confidence. The airlock door closed behind them. Grabbing the controls, a bit awkward given they were designed for a Kirrix and not a Terran, Alyssa glided the dropship away from the Invictus and towards the Hive Ship.
*Their Docking Bay will be centrally located. Around there,* John pointed, relying on his old lessons at the Academy about the Kirrix.
Alyssa flew them in. They got a comm burst full of unintelligible clicks and squeals, which they all ignored. As they got closer, the entrance to the Docking Bay became obvious by dint of the atmospheric force field keeping it pressurized. As they entered the Hive Ship, they discovered that while the ochre metal was prevalent, the walls were composed of faintly pulsing hexagonal green panels. It was eerie, giving the impression the ship was alive somehow.
The Docking Bay was a hub of activity. As Alyssa flew them towards an empty landing pad, they spotted another 2 dropships being loaded with Drones. As Alyssa twirled them around to land, she pulled the triggers on the joysticks. The Neutron cannons the dropship were equipped with began to fire rapidly. Bolts of green light rained down, blasting through the Kirrix and leaving lumps of steaming flesh in their wake. The maintenance crews of Drones began to scurry, and Alyssa tracked them down with her assault, until there wasn't a single living Kirrix in the Docking Bay.
*Save some for us, sweetheart,* Jonah playfully griped.
Alyssa chuckled cutely as she landed the dropship with nary a tremor. They went out the airlock, entering the Hive Ship proper. *Sparks, can you feed a layout of the ship to our HUDs?* John sent back to his Chief Engineer. While they were kilometers apart from each other, it wasn't too much of a strain to maintain their telepathic connection. Whether that spoke to their strength or the ease of Telepathy, he couldn't say.
*Complete with the quickest route to the prisoners,* Sparks replied easily, and John saw the map appear in the top-right corner of his HUD. *Unfortunately, you need to go through the Hive Guard, the Grub Chamber which will probably have the Broodmother, and then the Hivelord will be busy with implantation by now when you reach the cells.*
*Well, what can you do?* John sighed, knowing that he, Jonah, and Alyssa would be fighting through the thickest security in order to rescue the captured Terrans. He started to jog to one of 2 large portals leading out of the Docking Bay into the ship. He sensed more than he heard his Patriarch and Matriarch right behind him.
They passed through a few empty hallways until they reached a hexagonal chamber that seemed to run up and down the whole ship. Rather than stairs, a ramp went around the perimeter of the room. John, reasoning all the life signs were at the bottom of the ship, led his two Angels downward. They went in a spiral until they reached the lowermost level. Through a doorless portal, John could see a lone drone fiddling with what looked like some kind of security console.
*Indomitable just arrived in the system. I'm briefing Captain Flintlock right now. He'll probably send in Marines as reinforcements. Just as well, the Kirrix life signs are massing near the Docking Bay. I think a counterboarding action is just a few minutes behind you,* Calara informed him.
*Thanks for the heads-up, honey,* John thought back before aiming with his XR75. He let off a burst, and the security Drone collapsed dead to the ground. John led Jonah and Alyssa onto the security station. *Now, we can go through the Hive Guard chambers one by one to make sure we don't get ambushed from behind when we head towards the Implantation Chamber… or we can let them come to us,* John offered his two squadmates.
Jonah snorted and reloaded his own Rifle wordlessly. Alyssa did the same and gave John a nod of agreement.
John hit a big, red hexagonal button on the console. The wall panels changed color from green to red and a piercing alarm seemed to echo throughout the ship. Doors around the hexagonal chamber opened, letting out floods of Drones. John and Jonah started firing with Psychic Alacrity at full automatic. Alyssa, not to be undone, yanked 4 Neutron Rifles out of the Kirrix' claws and started to shoot the alien guns alongside her own XR75 Rifle.
The Drones were easy to handle, but then the Overseers began to appear. They looked like Drones on steroids, lots of them. They roared and began to fire Neutron Heavy Cannons while charging in all their insectoid glory towards the invading aliens. Alyssa hid behind the console while her stolen guns continued to fire, John and Jonah dodging the Neutron fire with the benefit of their super-speed. It took an alarming number of headshots to take down each Overseer, but the hulking insectoids eventually gave up the ghost. After a solid 10 minutes of combat, the whole of the Hive Guard were defeated.
*I'm running out of juice, we might need to rely on just guns from now on,* Jonah panted as he deactivated Psychic Alacrity. John didn't say anything, but he radiated his own agreement.
Alyssa laid a hand on both their shoulders, a warm rush of energy filling their depleted stores at the contact. *Compliments of Calara and Sparks,* she projected. *Now, shall we crack on?* she asked, as they approached the big double doors that led to the Grub Chamber according to their HUD.
Bracing himself to face off against the Kirrix Broodmother for this Hive Ship, John hit the button to open the chamber doors.
Dozens upon dozens of unarmored, whining Kirrix Grubs wriggled in hexagonal cubbies up and down the walls of the Grub Chamber. Watching over them like a demented nanny out of an entomologist's nightmare stood the Broodmother. She had twice the limbs, twice the height, and twice the mass of even the Overseers. The hulking monstrosity turned to face them and roared from its mandibles.
To Alyssa's intense shock, she heard a female voice in her mind. *No! You will not touch my children!*
*You can talk?!* Alyssa projected back, amazed at this development.
The Broodmother tilted her massive head. *What trickery is this? No chattel can 'speak',* the hissing woman sent back to Alyssa's mind.
*I'm not chattel, I'm a psychic Terran,* Alyssa replied, a bit disturbed at being called a piece of property or dumb animal.
*How can this be?! And if you can speak, why have you attacked my children unprovoked?* the Broodmother sent back.
*It was hardly unprovoked, you bought all those slaves from the pirates and then you fired on us without even attempting to make contact or parley,* Alyssa argued.
*What concern are those mindless beasts to a speaker? And how were we to know that you weren't like every other Terran when your ship came after us?* the Broodmother countered, actually sounding offended.
Alyssa narrowed her eyes. While it was a surprise that the Broodmother appeared both psychic and sapient, the blonde was getting a very bad vibe from the insectoid. *I don't think I like your tone,* Alyssa said flatly before she went for a Spirit-Walk. She drifted through the Astral over to the Broodmother. A sickly yellow barrier surrounded her head, probably the Kirrix version of a mind-shield. But it shattered like glass when Alyssa touched it, and she sank into the Broodmother's mind.
Chivixil's mind wasn't organized anything like a Terran's. Rather than a cloud of bubbles containing memories linked by colored strings that represented emotional associations, it resembled the Grub Chamber. Endless hexagonal cubbies contained little white orbs of knowledge, stretching into the distance. Curiously, Alyssa was sure she could sense 3 other 'voices' in the mind besides Chivixil's. The upper-tier Kirrix must have their own version of a chorus. A quick check showed one voice was the Hivelord, Tarix. Another appeared to be the ship itself; apparently the thing was alive. The last voice… was very powerful, and Alyssa shied away from it as soon as she sensed the weight behind that mental presence.
A mental copy of Chivixil appeared before Alyssa. *How did you get in here?! What are you?! It's not possible for a Terran not only to be a speaker but more powerful than me!*
*Impossible is a matter of perspective,* Alyssa thought dismissively, reaching out with Telekinesis to bind Chivixil in mental chains. Curious and wary in equal measure, Alyssa touched one of the orbs in a nearby cubby. The memory flooded into her own mind, and with her enhanced memory she would remember every instant for life. Alyssa dearly wished she didn't have to. What she saw was enough to make her both sick and send her into murderous rage. *You slaughter children!* Alyssa snarled.
*How dare you?! I would never harm any of my or my sisters' children!* Chivixil roared in genuine fury.
*Not Kirrix children, you bitch, Terran children!* Alyssa clarified, her eyes starting to glow white.
*Well, of course. The small chattel can't support the incubation. They're much more useful as food for my lovely children,* Chivixil said nonchalantly, truly not seeing why Alyssa was so mad.
Alyssa couldn't believe what she was hearing. *It's really that simple for you?! If it's not a Kirrix, it's not a person in your mind?!*
*Why would I worry or care about dumb, mute animals or their pointless little lives compared to the glory and beauty of my children, sisters, and mother?* Chivixil said, and that was all Alyssa needed to hear.
Alyssa returned to her body, time returning to its normal pace. Her hands began to glow with pure, white light. Chivixil charged, and Alyssa threw both her fists forward. A foot-thick beam of blinding light shot from her body, aimed unerringly at the Broodmother. The Kirrix' headless corpse collapsed to the ground, its neck smoking.
Alyssa was panting, having drained every drop of eldritch energy she had left to fuel that laser. But she couldn't deny it had been satisfying. *Xenophobic bitch,* Alyssa thought, spitting on the massive body.
*Remind me never to piss you off, sweetheart,* Jonah projected, eyeing the dead Kirrix and its killer with awe.
*Alyssa? You okay, honey?* John checked, sensing her emotional turmoil.
*No, I'm not okay. I am decidedly the furthest thing from ok. That thing fed babies into the meat grinder, listened to countless of the Hivelord's victims scream as the grubs ate their way out, and all she fucking cared about was her own species. I don't give a fuck about the fact they're psychic and apparently it's gone to all their heads to convince them of their superiority. Any sapient being that can condone that kind of thing doesn't deserve to live,* Alyssa thought, her anger starting to burn out to leave behind a kind of exhausted depression. The galaxy seemed a darker place now, with the truth behind the Kirrix' behavior revealed.
Even though they were in armor, John went to hug his Matriarch. *The galaxy can be a cruel place. But there's goodness in it too. Just try to remember that.*
*I know. I live with the best man in the galaxy, after all,* Alyssa chuckled weakly.
Recovering from the moment, the 3 of them walked over the Broodmother's body to reach the other side of the chamber. John opened the door, and a scream of utmost terror became audible. Alarmed, John and the others rushed into the Implantation Chamber.
Hexagonal cells held hundreds of Terrans crammed in like sardines, all watching a scene from a nightmare through the bars. There was a raised dais in the center of the chamber, on which 3 naked Terrans had been chained. The man was insensate, drooling into the surface while his stomach bulged and squirmed; he'd already been implanted. One of the women was screaming so loud she was probably tearing her throat, her eyes locked on the woman next to her. The Hivelord was bigger than an Overseer, with a translucent ovipositor sticking out from its crotch. It was poised over the second woman, holding her down with 2 of its 6 legs as one egg after another was slowly shoved into her intestines, uncaring of the blood leaking from her abused ass.
John had always assumed the Kirrix to be, in a way, blameless for their actions. While somehow intelligent enough to crack interstellar travel, all attempts at communication had failed and part of John had taken it for granted that they didn't know any better, simply doing what was necessary to survive. The reality that at least the upper-tier Kirrix were sapient individuals who just didn't care that they were killing every host they implanted made it so much worse. "Hey, ugly!" he shouted in full voice.
With a disgusting 'schlock' noise, the Hivelord withdrew from its victim. The hulking insectoid turned and roared at the invaders disturbing his sacred duty. Jonah took exception to that, and with a crack shot sent 3 bullets right into the Hivelord's open mouth. The thing fell dead on its front.
*Great shooting, handsome,* John sent privately. John found the control panel for the cells and opened every single one. "Everyone! My name is Commander John Blake! We're getting you out of here!"
Bedraggled cheers rose from the prisoners as they realized this incredible turn of fortune.
In relatively short order, the 400+ prisoners were gathered in a group, people coming forward to help the two implanted. John checked his remaining ammo *Less than 50 bullets,* he noted grimly.
*Same here,* Jonah added.
*Well, let's hope those Marine reinforcements make themselves useful,* Alyssa shrugged as they began to trek back to the Docking Bay.
The sounds of gunfire reached them from the hallway once they were back on the right deck. John led his team and the civilians into the Docking Bay, where the aftermath of a major battle was to be found. A firing line of armored Marines was set up, two ranks of men and women still firing at the occasional Kirrix to charge out from the other entrance to the Docking Bay. John saw a number of casualties, either writhing from the agonizing pain of Neutron damage or deathly still, having made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. A man with Commander insignias on his armor spotted them and jogged over. "Commander Paul Richards. You from the Invictus?" he asked brusquely.
"That's correct. Commander John Blake, retired," John responded, finding it in his weary body to give a sharp salute.
"Hell of a retirement, son," the other Marine chuckled. He got a sober expression. "Your Tactical Officer informed us you went straight for the Implantation Chamber. How many did you lose?"
"It was just us 3, and we're fine, just tired. We took out the Hive Guard, Broodmother, and Hivelord. Can we entrust these freed prisoners to you? I'm afraid we don't have the resources to transport or host them on the way back to Port Heracles," John reported.
Commander Richards' jaw dropped. John heard Calara speak in his mind. *Sparks did some astro-calculus or something and has the most likely route for the pirates. We can catch up thanks to Alyssa's warp tunneling if we move quick.*
John acknowledged the message and added out loud "If you could decide quick, we're hoping to take off in pursuit of the pirates who sold them to the Kirrix in the first place."
"Are you off to win the war with the Kintark single-handed after that?!" Richards asked in disbelief. He let out a burst of laughter. "What I could do with 10 like you! Sure, we'll take the civvies off your hands. Go make those bastards pay!"
John traded another salute with Commander Richards, then he, Jonah, and Alyssa loaded into their commandeered Kirrix dropship. With a flare of thrusters, Alyssa took them out of the Hive Ship and back towards the Invictus, their home.