John and his crew left behind Ceraden's offices. The meeting with his old friend hadn't gone anything like how he'd planned, but then he hadn't known to account for Irillith Valaden and her mixed immunity to Thrall genetic programming and partial knowledge of Progenitors. Things had almost gotten hostile for a moment before John had calmed her and Ceraden down and read them into the secret of Progenitors.
*Is it wrong that I'm a bit turned on? I'm holding the most powerful computer in the Galactic League right now,* Dana asked jokingly in the chorus. Tucked securely in her grip was the ancient artifact of Mael'nerak they'd 'requisitioned' from Irillith: Valada's personal computer.
*While I'm sure you'll have a grand old time taking it apart and putting it back together so you can figure out exactly how it works, I think it's more important that we backup all the data on it first. Imagine the goldmine of intel on Mael'nerak and the War of the Heavens and who knows what else is stored in its memory,* John advised his Chief Engineer.
*Well, duh, of course I was going to do that first,* Dana rolled her eyes. *But even with me, Zanthus, and the Engineers doing a rush job, we can't even start the download until sometime tomorrow at the earliest. We need to invent a whole new data-jack cable to connect from this thing's Progenitor circuits to our relatively Stone Age Terran tech. Probably want to upgrade the data cube reader too, if my power isn't glitching then this thing is legit 5D optical memory. That's still a good century away by the most aggressive estimates for T-Fed R&D and private research. But once there's a digital copy of everything stored on here, then can I disassemble it?*
*Sure thing,* John nodded. *Just a rough estimate, how much of a windfall is this tech-wise, that this thing fell into our laps?*
*I repeat from earlier: this is an upgraded model to whatever version was stored into your DNA and you spliced into mine somehow. Once I reverse-engineer this doodad, we quite possibly will have better hardware and software than even the rival Progenitor. And I think we learned an important lesson: even with as stupid advanced Progenitor tech is, it's not the absolute ceiling of technology. Ye cannot improve upon perfection, after all, so even once we finally reach baseline Progenitor level with all our systems, there'll still be plenty of work for me and my minions to do,* Dana thought with a bounce in her step.
*Though this also means that each individual Progenitor Empire has the potential to have spent literal millennia and trillions of credits or equivalent currency on R&D to get one-up on all their rivals. What if there's an empire as far above standard Progenitor tech as that is above the Galactic League?* Calara thought worriedly.
*Then we'll do our best to match or even beat them if the time comes where they come for the League and John's territory,* Alyssa thought with finality. *Until such time as that happens, though, let's count our victories and not our future losses.*
*Wise words, which considering you're only 18 makes me want to say 'out of the mouths of babes',* Jonah chuckled good-naturedly.
*Spare me, Gramps, not my fault you're old as dirt,* the Matriarch of their little family teased the Patriarch.
*Ahem. If he's a grandpa, what does that make me? I mean, best guess is I'm a solid 70 thousand years old, after all?* Jade asked with a giggle.
*Aged like fine wine, honey,* John thought fondly to his Nymph, who indeed had been alive since the days of the Achonin war.
The crew backtracked through Geniya to the Docking Bay where they'd left the Invictus. Zanthus was still out shopping with the rest of the Engineers. Primus and the other Marines who'd self-assigned themselves to guarding the ship saluted John and gave a quick report that all had been quiet.
*Plans for the day? After all that excitement, I'm eager to just kick back with some light training for the rest of the day,* John posed to the chorus.
*You go do that. I'll start on making the proper upgrades so we can even begin to study Valada's computer and integrate it into our own computer network,* Dana thought, already headed for her Engineering Bay.
*I'll keep an eye on her, plus while I'm not as well-versed in the relevant fields, I am a fellow supergenius. Two are better than one, after all,* Rachel thought with a grin before following after her lady love. Like Dana, Rachel had already been extraordinarily gifted mentally before going through the Change and getting her brain enhanced. The brunette shared Dana's formerly unique talent of thinking more than one thing at once if she focused.
*Our kids with those 2 are going to take over the universe,* Jonah thought fondly to John. *I'll join you in the Gym, unless you want to do sword stuff then you should call up Yamamoto.*
*I'm up to the Bridge. I may or may not have lifted all Irillith's passcodes during the deep dive, and I want to investigate the House Valaden intranet as much as I can before she has the bright idea to change them,* Alyssa thought, off to the Command Deck.
*Since we're free, I think I'll call up my family. Mama called us during Oceanus, but I'd like to see how Daddy and the bozos reacted to me becoming a Lion of the Federation,* Calara decided.
*Lauren, you did brilliantly against Irillith with your Influence, and I think we can all agree that it's a very useful skill. Since I'm the best at Telepathic defense, I think you should practice on me to maximize your learning curve. Plus, I can Shapeshift into an animal form and we can pretend you're training me as a pet!* Jade suggested to their Negotiator.
*Sounds both fun and educational, I'm in!* the blonde agreed easily.
The crew all split up to pass time for the rest of the day. Zanthus and the Engineers returned with their haul of enough Maliri electronics to do a complete upgrade of the Invictus around 1300. They brought lunch, having sampled Maliri street food from a vendor and wanted to share the culinary delights with the rest of the network.
John accepted some kind of hot sandwich Zanthus handed him and took an experimental bite. He nearly moaned. *Wow! This is so delicious! What's it called?*
*Aloysia bread. I don't know how I know that, but I do,* Jade piped in before Zanthus could answer.
*Your mind keeps getting stronger with each dose you get from John. Plus I know you sometimes meditate to go into your mindscape and try to put it back in order when you have a free hour or two. No surprise that more and more of your memories are getting integrated into your conscious experience,* Alyssa mused. *You probably can speak Progenitor, too, since you spent all that time with Mael'nerak as a spy.*
*Then I guess I can be interpreter if we ever try to hail the rival Progenitor and John can't consciously speak his native tongue,* Jade mused.
*He's probably learned at least Standard by now, somehow. This is actually an interesting question, how'd he get over the language barrier when he first came under the Shroud?* John wondered.
*Probably ripped the knowledge or memories right out of some poor girl's head when he got an active connection,* Jonah thought a tad darkly.
*That sounds likely,* John sighed, remembering the sad fact that most members of his species were complete and utter bastards. Mostly the Devourer's fault, but still.
They all finished lunch and continued with a productive day on the Invictus to wind down from the confrontation in Ceraden's offices. They were just finishing dinner when John's wrist communicator started to ring. He saw from the caller id that it was Ceraden, but when he answered it was Irillith who appeared on the vid-screen. John frowned. "Irillith? What is it? And why'd you spoof Ceraden's comm code?"
"I predicted you'd be more likely to take my call if you thought it came from that buffoon than me, given the… incident earlier," the armored Maliri woman said dismissively. "There's been a development. I need to speak with you, urgently. Where should we meet?"
John frowned suspiciously. "I'd prefer you come to the Invictus. I'd like to have the home field advantage, as it were."
"Very well, I'll be at the relevant Docking Bay presently," Irillith said before hanging up without another word.
*That was kind of rude,* Calara frowned.
*Trust me, by Irillith's usual standards, that was her on her best manners,* Alyssa thought with a shrug. *The way she was raised, how her mother Edraele treated her and taught her to treat others, the only languages she knows are bark and bite.*
*It was a bit shocking to review Ceraden's memories and see how atrocious behavior considered a fact of daily life was in Maliri culture,* Lirrash nodded. *The Matriarchs the High Council dealt with during my tenure were magnificent actresses to appear so genial. In reality, they're sadistic and abusive and toxic as a matter of habit. Ceraden's mother got 10 lashes with a neural whip for mixing up her boss's coffee order once. THAT'S how fucked up Maliri society is.*
*They need a Master to teach them to be good girls,* Jade mused thoughtfully.
*Or a King to lead them,* Jonah added.
*That's the plan, I'll see what I can do,* John said, determined to end such vile practices if/when he claimed the Maliri.
Most of the crew went to the Briefing Room after dinner while John went to meet Irillith at the airlock. The House Valaden noble entered the Docking Bay and walked up to John where he was waiting. "John Blake," she nodded, a sort of wary respect in her tone.
"Irillith Valaden," John fired back. "You'll be addressing me and my crew on this 'development'. Follow me."
John led her into the airlock and the Invictus proper. He explained the function of the grav-tubes, which she seemed reluctantly impressed by. A quick float up to the Command Deck, and John led Irillith into the Briefing Room where his lovers were waiting and seated. John pulled out the chair at the foot of the table for Irillith, then went to take his place at the head. "So, Irillith, what seems to be the problem?"
"My mother was more obsessed with finding a Progenitor than I anticipated. Now that I know she thinks it's a matter of life-or-death, it's understandable, but it appears I underestimated how far she's willing to go," Irillith began, her armored form sitting stiff and regal.
"How do you mean?" John frowned.
"The trading outposts are widely agreed to be 'neutral' territory in the Maliri Regency. It's one of the few treaties that the Noble Houses have ever signed. Don't get me wrong, subtle operations are still carried out, but the penalties for being caught tampering with the affairs of these border stations are severe even by Maliri standards. Yet regardless, my mother Edraele apparently hacked facial recognition programs into all the surveillance systems of Geniya without my knowledge at some point. I'm sure I don't have to tell you what parameters they were set to search for," Irillith explained.
"Anyone with a caucasian Terran's coloring but elf ears," Jonah snorted, stating the obvious conclusion.
"So Edraele knows a Progenitor is on Geniya. Has she made contact with you?" John asked, focusing on the problem at hand.
"An hour ago," Irillith confirmed. "She ordered me to track you down and do everything within my power to convince, trick, or otherwise get you to Epsilon Eridani and our homeworld of Valaden so she can meet you in person. I'd actually never seen her so desperate, it was disturbing."
John hummed in thought. *Thoughts, everyone?* he posed to the chorus.
*This actually might be a good thing,* Calara, their resident strategic mastermind, thought as an idea formed in her mind. *It's the perfect excuse to be allowed past the border and get an audience with Edraele. You can recruit her and get the most powerful woman of the most powerful Noble House on your side from the start. And since Edraele is the only Matriarch we know of who would be immune to Thrall genetic programming, I'll feel better getting the only real risk handled first.*
John agreed with the Latina on that front, and the rest of his crew all gave their own approval. At the speed of Telepathy, they came up with a plan. "Okay, Irillith, here's what we're going to do," John stated aloud. "Tell your mother you approached me and tempted me with an offer of Maliri Laser technology for my ship and I agreed to meet with Edraele to discuss the deal. That should work, right?"
"A believable fiction. I'll do my best to sell it to her," Irillith promised.
"Anything else?" John asked.
Irillith paused. To John's surprise, she reached up and pressed a hidden button that released the hydraulic seal on her helmet. She removed it, revealing her face for the first time. She was really remarkably attractive, with elegant features. Her Maliri skin was the shade of a clear sky on Terra or most other Eden-class planets. The slanted eyes and ears identical to John's own gave her an exotic appeal beyond just her skin tone. Her hair was practically buzzcut, but John couldn't deny that he was immediately attracted.
Irillith set her helmet on the table and focused on him, her eyes a bewitching shade of violet. "As I understand the nature of your powers, based on your explanation earlier today, there are a number of boons to becoming part of your network and going through this 'Change' as you call it, no?"
"That's true. You're a Maliri, ergo a Thrall race, so you probably won't change shape at all. But I'll be able to heal any injuries, diseases, and even restore your youth to your physical prime," John explained. "Am I to presume you wish to join my network?"
"I wish to join your personal crew, if you will have me," Irillith said with a confident smirk. "I can offer a variety of services both on the Bridge and in ground combat. Even without the crutch of the hacking deck, I'm an extremely proficient programmer with decades of experience, and I'm also trained for battle scenarios."
*We do need an Intelligence Officer,* John mused mentally.
*She's doing this so she can live forever and because she's been conditioned her whole life to obey the top dog. Now that she's met you, she knows that's you and not Edraele. This is risky,* Alyssa thought, her eyes narrowed. She knew Irillith better than any of them after the deep dive, and her reluctance to have the woman as part of the crew was telling to the others.
*Ordinarily you'd be all for expanding the network. She's really that bad?* Dana asked her childhood friend.
*She framed her sister to arrange her execution out of sheer spite and jealousy. Is that the kind of person you want in our home?* Alyssa fired back.
*But hasn't she been horribly abused and groomed to be just that vicious by her mother and the rest of Maliri culture?* Rachel brought up, playing devil's advocate. *And while most of us were already positive people before John got to us, we have to remember the Change will allow him to alter the very core of her personality. He could edit out all that negativity and make her downright cuddly if he wanted to once he had a Connection with Irillith.*
*I probably did have clinical PTSD before I joined and the Change cured me. Jonah was a recovering addict too and now he has no cravings whatsoever. The Change cures mental and emotional trauma as much as physical trauma. It's feasible that John could turn Irillith from a heartless bitch into a good girl,* Calara argued.
*Plus, she's gorgeous, just putting that out there. That might be genetic programming Mael'nerak stuck in the Ashanath regarding the Maliri, but I certainly wouldn't mind seeing her around the Invictus,* Zanthus chimed in.
John listened to everyone's opinion and made his decision. "Very well, Irillith, I'd be happy to accept you as my Intelligence Officer. However, you should be aware that you'll pass out for 14 hours when you first join my network. I think it best if you return to your quarters and report our 'deal' to Edraele. We can arrange for you to properly join my crew when we have the necessary free time."
"You won't regret this decision, John Blake," Irillith grinned, eyes gleaming with triumph. Putting her helmet back on, she made her goodbyes and John escorted her back to the airlock.
*What'd she mean, by the way, about decades of experience? She barely looked 30,* Dana wondered as they all went to take a shower and get into bed.
*Slowed aging, the average Maliri can live to 300 if they keep in good health,* Lirrash revealed. *She's probably actually closer to 60.*
*So, how's the mighty Progenitor feeling about getting his first proper Thrall? Don't think we didn't feel just how turned on you got just from her pretty face,* Jonah teased the head of their family and harem.
*She was… captivating,* John admitted. *Maybe I've got some genetic programming too. Terrans are pretty Thrall-shaped, and I definitely find them attractive. Jade is beautiful and unique. Lirrash and Zanthus, no offense, were downright ugly to my eyes until I finished putting them through the Change. But when I saw Irillith's face, something just clicked. Must be a Progenitor-Thrall thing.*
*So, if I recall correctly, there's a total of 19 Maliri Noble Houses, each led by a Matriarch. No coincidence they picked that name, I'm sure. But that's essentially 19 queens of their own little slice of territory in the Regency. When the King comes to take his throne, one way to do it could be through…. political marriage,* Rachel thought suggestively.
*As in, a second harem? Us Angels on the crew and all those Matriarchs as part of John's royal court?* Calara asked, getting into the idea.
Jade got a wicked grin. With a shimmer of green light, she did a mild Shapeshift to make her skin Maliri blue and her ears pointed. *Care to practice for driving a Maliri maiden wild, Master?*
Things got a little heated after that.
In a different part of Geniya than the Invictus' Docking Bay, Irillith reached the quarters she'd claimed as hers during her mission to Geniya and being hosted by that pompous fool Ceraden. She couldn't suppress a pleased grin on her lips as she reflected on the success of her latest scheme.
When she'd first seen John Blake, she'd been viscerally terrified at seeing another of the Mael'nerak's kind. But despite the bone-deep instincts screaming he was dangerous, her own observations failed to support that conclusion. True, him, his female sluts, and that other male were terrifyingly effective at psionics. But they'd let her off with drawing a weapon on their leader with barely a slap on the wrist. That leniency in the morning is what had led to her willing to risk putting herself out there in trying to secure a place at John Blake's side just now.
Irillith spared a moment to idly imagine life once she was blessed with that level of power. She'd make her mother Edraele scream in vengeance for all those years of torture and 'lessons'. And if and when this John Blake confronted the 'rival Progenitor', she'd be ideally placed to jump ship to the clear superior with stabbing John Blake in the back.
Putting aside the fantasy, Irillith went to the comms interface. With trepidation, as she always felt when it came to the woman who spawned her, Irillith initiated a call back with her mother's palace on Valaden.
Edraele Valaden appeared on the vid-screen, staring at her with an impassive mask. "Have you made progress, Irillith?"
"I did as you bid, Mother. I approached the Progenitor. I successfully convinced him to an audience to discuss business. For whatever reason, he's in an old Terran warship at the moment. The offer of a chance to broker a deal for our superior Laser technology was enough to dupe him. I told him that I would escort him to Valaden that you might discuss the deal in person, fulfilling the terms you set out for me," Irillith said with a bowed head, the perfect underling… or so she portrayed.
"And you are positive he is kin to the Mael'nerak?" Edraele checked.
Irillith didn't have to fake a gulp and shiver as she recalled the sheer aura of power that surrounded John Blake and his most trusted servants. "Without a doubt."
"What makes you so sure? Have you tested him?" Edraele asked harshly, implying nothing good about her daughter's intelligence with her tone.
"I've witnessed his psychic prowess. However, if you require further verification, I can bring him to the hunting grounds and–" Irillith started.
"No," Edraele cut her off, a malignant grin spreading her lips. "If he is what you say he is, then have him eliminate the Fulmanax."
Irillith did her best not to frown, which her mother would take issue with. "Mother, I don't think that would–"
"Leave the thinking to me," Edraele snorted dismissively. "That world is ripe for colonization, but I can't afford to spend the resources necessary to take it. Have this Progenitor do it for me. Make it conditional on getting the Lasers, which we'll of course never give him. If he succeeds, that'll be proof enough he's one of their kind. If he fails, no great loss."
Irillith was sure that John Blake would be opposed to genocide; her background checks in the wake of that first meeting she'd done painted a picture of some anachronistic chivalric knight. Surely a carefully crafted fiction, but he'd probably not want the extermination of the Fulmanax to risk tainting his reputation as the 'good guy'. But then again, if he really was so powerful, then wiping out the fungoid vermin should prove no great challenge. Irillith decided that this would serve as proof to her as well as her mother that Progenitors were just as powerful as Tashana had made them out to be. "Very well, Mother, it shall be done."
A New Breed
John, Jonah, and Alyssa walked into Ceraden's offices the next day, ready for a meeting with Ceraden and Irillith. The rest of the crew were busy either training, relaxing, or exploring Geniya. They had plans to meet up at Natralis, the best restaurant on Geniya, which John had managed to secure a booking for on short-notice. Money talks, after all.
Ceraden came to greet them in the public receiving area. "My friend," he nodded, reaching out to shake John's hand. "Jonah, Alyssa, wonderful to see you both again as well," the polite trader added.
"Ceraden, hope you're dealing well with all the revelations from yesterday," John checked. Ceraden had seemed quite overwhelmed when he'd learned everything John told him about Progenitors.
"The Maliri are a slave race, the galaxy is a warzone for psychic gods, one of them has already come to the League, and you're our only hope. No big deal," Ceraden said with a nonchalant shrug.
"I take it you're being facetious," John said dryly.
"No, never," Ceraden replied with a 'straight face'. "Now, let's not keep Irillith waiting, she's not known for her patience."
"What's she doing here, anyway?" John asked as he went to follow Ceraden back to his private study.
"Matriarch Valaden assigned her to supervise a routine inspection of all the House Valaden holdings here at Geniya," Ceraden sighed. "As the most affluent of the male traders who are beholden to House Valaden, I was volunteered to be her host for the duration."
"Since Maliri women are all rabid, starving wolverines half the time, almost every Maliri male saves up and escapes to the border stations for their own safety and sanity," Alyssa chimed in, relying on all the information she'd absorbed about the alien civilization while reading Irillith's mind. "That's why most of the Maliri we've seen are men, women only come here for business, this is a sanctuary for the males in Maliri space."
John frowned. "How do you reproduce then, if you don't mind my asking? I mean, if all the men are concentrated in the trading outposts, how does any Maliri woman get pregnant?"
Ceraden sighed. "Most of them don't, actually. No one likes to talk about it, but the current status quo is unsustainable. The trading outposts were defunct until the Galactic League rose to prominence and inter-empire trade took off. In the centuries since, Maliri population has been in steady decline as almost every Maliri male hides out here at the border. Maybe 1 in 10 thousand Maliri males decide to stay on their home planet for personal reasons or literally being kidnapped and kept as a stud. Usually though, if a Maliri woman wants to get pregnant, she has to be able to afford a trip to Geniya or one of the other stations. Then she either has to seduce one of the males into bed or, more commonly, pay for the privilege of being inseminated."
John couldn't believe his ears. "Motherhood has a paywall in Maliri space? Are you serious?"
"Yes, John," Ceraden sighed. "Only the upper class or women who save their entire life savings can afford the various necessary steps to end up pregnant with the current system in place. Like I said, it can't last. But us men in the Regency all are terrified of returning to our homeworlds and risking becoming collateral damage or caught in the crossfire of some powerplay or small war between the women. So we stay out here on the border, which perpetuates the cycle. We're all dreading the day the Maliri population reaches endangerment levels and the various Matriarchs finally decide to work together for once to try to fix the problem. And none of the potential solutions will likely care about whether the males are happy or even willing. The most palatable possibility I can imagine is mandatory sperm donation. The worst is losing what few rights I have and becoming little more than a steer for House Valaden to use as it pleases."
"Christ, that's fucked up," Jonah shook his head.
John set his jaw. "Well, that's one of the things I'll have to fix when I'm King."
They reached Ceraden's study, where Irillith was waiting on one of the couches. She stood and bowed at John when he came in. "Commodore," she said politely.
"Irillith," John acknowledged. They all sat down. "How'd Edraele react to your report?"
"About that… there's a slight complication to the plan," Irillith admitted.
"What?" Alyssa asked flatly, eyeing the armored female with distrust.
"My mother has made it a requirement of an audience with her that you handle a small issue in House Valaden territory beforehand," Irillith revealed.
"A test?" John raised his brow. "Is that really necessary?"
"She feels it is. I'm afraid she's quite adamant," Irillith shrugged.
"What does she want us to do?" Jonah asked.
Irillith set her shoulders, as if bracing for an explosion. "She wants you to handle the Fulmanax."
Ceraden gasped. "That's suicide!"
"Not for a Progenitor, or so my mother believes," Irilllith said coldly, her disdain for Ceraden clear in her tone.
"Who or what is 'the Fulmanax'?" John asked the two Maliri.
"There's an Eden-class planet in Beta Capricornus, which is within House Valaden borders. But there's a native species of fungoids we named the Fulmanax. All attempts at colonizing the planet have resulted in the Fulmanax slaughtering all the Maliri that invade their territory," Ceraden revealed.
"Have there been any attempts at negotiating with the Fulmanax leaders, trying to work out a deal for cohabitation?" John asked.
"You overestimate their intelligence. The Fulmanax are little better than wild animals. To the best of Maliri knowledge, they're not a sapient species," Irillith waved off. "The planet Quanthos would make for a very profitable colony, but even House Valaden lacks the resources to spare to mount a full assault to remove the Fulmanax problem. Or at least, not without leaving one of our borders unguarded and inviting invasion from another Noble House. In my mother's mind, this will be two birds with one stone. She'll finally be able to colonize Quanthos when you eliminate the Fulmanax, and she'll have verified beyond a shadow of a doubt your power as a Progenitor."
John frowned. "And assuming I even agree to this, how exactly are we supposed to 'handle' the Fulmanax? Scour all of Quanthos to shoot each one dead?"
"We've had viable plans for how to exterminate them, we simply lacked the manpower to commit to the operation," Irillith answered. "The Fulmanax are deadly, and they reign over the lone continent of Quanthos, but over 90% of their population is gathered in one main nest, including the source of all spores for reproduction. Said nest is in a tunnel system beneath a dormant volcano. An incendiary device of appropriate firepower detonated in the right spot will ignite the volcano and wipe them all out in the subsequent eruption. All you and your crew would have to do, John Blake, is get me and the device into the heart of the nest and back out alive before we detonate it. The few remaining pockets of Fulmanax will be easy to clean up and would die out anyway without the power to reproduce."
John grit his teeth. *I don't like this. I really don't,* he told his lovers with Telepathy.
*We may not have a choice, though,* Calara thought. *If Edraele will refuse to meet with John unless he proves himself with this operation, then that doesn't leave us many other options.*
*False. We could leave Edraele and House Valaden for last instead of first. We gather up an alliance of the 18 other Noble Houses and then negotiate with Edraele about joining from the position of power,* Alyssa thought.
*And how long will that take? We don't have unlimited time, sweetheart. Every day, the League gets closer to disaster as the rival Progenitor keeps fucking things up. We need to make Johnny boy King fast. My gut is turning at the idea of wiping out a whole species, but it also says that this is the way to go to get what we need in the long-term,* Jonah countered the Matriarch.
*But what have the Fulmanax done to deserve annihilation, other than being an inconvenience to Edraele Valaden?* Lirrash thought harshly.
John listened to the chorus as the debate raged, arguments both for and against going through with this course of action at the speed of thought. Finally, he set his shoulders. *I've decided,* he projected, which was enough to make the whole crew fall silent. He focused on Irillith. "Fine, we'll do it. How long will it take to acquire this device? When can we head for Quanthos?"
Irillith nodded. "Give me 2 days. I can call in a favor."
"John, the Fulmanax will rip you to shreds!" Ceraden protested.
"They'll try," John said grimly. "Irillith, I want everything you have on the Fulmanax transferred to the Invictus so we can plan the assault."
"Very well," the Maliri hacker nodded. She made the appropriate commands on her vambrace right then and there.
Alyssa crossed her arms with a rather unimpressed expression, Calara and the others speed-reading the data on the Invictus and reporting to her directly.. "Even unarmored, a Fulmanax Warrior is about as deadly as a Drakkar. By the most conservative estimates, this'll be a bigger ground assault than if we went up against the entire Drakkar warband in one big battle. If we didn't have our powers, then our level of tech along with the limited size of our forces would give us less than 25% odds of success. Less than 5% with zero casualties, at that. This isn't a 'small' issue, this would be suicide if we weren't psychic demigods."
"But you are, so what's the problem?" Irillith asked, though she seemed cautious of some kind of retribution.
John frowned. *Wait, is it really that bad?* he checked, second-guessing his commitment at Alyssa's words.
*What Irillith doesn't need to know is that we already lifted all the relevant Maliri Laser schematics with her clearance yesterday and Dana, Zanthus, and the Engineers are all rushing to upgrade our arsenal along with working on Valada's computer. Combined with Kintark heatsinks, Alyssium frames, and all the upgrades they already can see they can make to the base Maliri design, the Marines will finally be equal to us with our Punisher Railguns with the new 'Justice' Rifles,* Alyssa informed him privately. *And while the scale of this operation is bigger than I'd like, it is about time that we gave all our Gifts a real test-run in combat. We got this, morally reprehensible as it is in the first place.*
"There is no problem, Irillith," John said aloud, comforted by his Matriarch's words that they could handle the Fulmanax in battle. "Now, you'll be busy procuring the incendiary device. As soon as you have that handled, report to the Invictus so we can make for Beta Capricornus and the Quanthos assault."
"Very well, though my own Cruiser would be faster," Irillith shrugged.
"You might be surprised," Jonah said with a chuckle. There was no way the Maliri were faster than the Ashanath, and the Invictus had a proper Progenitor Tachyon Drive anyway.
"Get to work on that, Irillith. Call us if there's any issues that need resolving," John ordered the Maliri woman.
Irillith stood, gave a formal bow in John's direction, and turned to leave. John didn't think he imagined a tension in her whole body the entire time she showed her back until leaving the room.
"John… you're serious about this? Morality aside, taking on the Fulmanax was always thought to require a whole battalion of troops. You're going to attempt to invade the nest with a team of, what, less than a dozen?" Ceraden asked in shock.
"Closer to 2, we have a team of 12 Ashanath Special Forces, and all of my Bridge crew are training in combat as well as gifted with offensive psychic powers. It's a risk, I won't deny, but it seems one I have to make," John sighed. "I really do need to get Edraele on my side sooner rather than later, my friend."
"Don't let your guard down for a second when you meet with the Matriarch, John," Ceraden said most gravely. "In her own way, Edraele is deadlier than the Fulmanax. She has all her soldiers, all her spies, all her assassins at her beck and call. The palace on Valaden is as much a military fortress as a government building. And while you lot seem to have psychic powers as well, the fact remains that she's feared as one of the most potent examples the Eldritch Bloodline ever produced."
"I can take the bitch, which means the rest of us working together sure as hell can," Alyssa waved off. She flashed an angelic grin. "But thanks for the concern, Ceraden. It's sweet."
Ceraden coughed to clear his throat. "Now, I seem to recall that we needed to check to see how a baseline Maliri woman will respond to John?"
"Yes. We need to see just how strong it is so we can plan how to gather the other 18 Matriarchs besides Edraele," John agreed.
"Well, in that case, follow me. There's a Corvette that accompanied Irillith as part of her escort through contested space to the border," Ceraden said, standing.
"So, what gets you out of bed in the morning, Ceraden?" Jonah asked conversationally as they went through Geniya to the right Docking Bay.
"Money, really," Ceraden chuckled. "Not to sound like a greedy miser, but the whole concept of finance, economics, and the art of a good deal excites me like nothing else. I've done quite well for myself as a trader, but I'm limited by the de facto limits of being a male in the Regency. If I get rich enough Edraele considers me a potential threat to her House's economic dominion, I'm a dead man walking. So I settle for as good as I can get away with and stay below her or any other Noble House's notice."
"What's the full scale of your assets, if you don't mind sharing? Just a ballpark?" Jonah continued.
*What are you thinking?* John asked his Patriarch privately, knowing when the man he loved was up to something.
*Even a King needs a personal accountant, no? And you'll probably let him keep 10% of everything as commission since you're so generous. That plus the Change, I like our odds of getting him at least in the network if not on the ship. He seems attached to his cozy life here on Geniya,* Jonah revealed honestly.
"I'm a billionaire in terms of net worth, though just barely," Ceraden answered, unaware of the Telepathic conversation going on behind him.
"Would you be greatly insulted if I were to attempt to hire you to go over my personal finances? Just a routine audit, maybe your personal advice on some investment strategies?" John posed to Ceraden, deciding his Patriarch had a point in his interest in the male Maliri.
Ceraden paused and looked over his shoulder. "Um, no, I've provided similar services in my earlier years to fellow traders. I don't come cheap, though, John."
"I'm sure I'd be more than willing to pay any retainer you wish to set. Even those… unique to my kind," John said leadingly.
"That… that's an idea," Ceraden said lightly, though his voice was a bit reedy. "A-anyway, here's the Docking Bay right here."
John entered the Docking Bay, and immediately noticed when two muzzles of Laser Rifles were shoved in his face. Two armored Maliri women, their armor quality noticeably less than Irillith's, seemed to have reacted instinctively to any invader while guarding the Docking Bay door. One began to demand something in an alien tongue before she inexplicably trailed off into nothing.
"She wants to know who you are," Ceraden supplied after 10 seconds of waiting for some kind of response.
"My name is John Blake," John grinned tightly. "With respect, could you not point your weapons at me?"
"Oh, sorry!" one of the female Maliri said, almost dropping her Rifle in her haste to get it into a non-threatening position. The other girl was little better. Even with the opaque Crystal visors, it was blatantly obvious that both women were staring at John like he was the most interesting thing they'd ever encountered.
Alyssa's eyes were subtly glowing as she went for a Sprit-Walk. *They both are attracted to you, obviously. There's some bone-deep respect and a touch of slavish obedience in the mix as well. I don't think they could intentionally hurt you even if they wanted, there's some kind of block to all hostility. And everything I just described is waxing stronger by the second, fast. Within an hour, if I'm right in my guess, they'd be begging in tears for the privilege of getting used by you. The Devourer wasn't joking around with the Thrall programming.*
*The Devourer… John, that translates to Xar'aziuth, right?* Dana chimed in, having a random brainwave.
John found himself agreeing instinctively, but that was the level his fluency in Progenitor was at. *Yep. Why?*
*Just seems a bit odd that it fits the same theme as Mael'nerak, is all. Like, what if Xar'aziuth was the first Progenitor and got so powerful he basically transcended out of the Material Plane into the Astral to become the Devourer?* the redhead posed to the chorus.
*There is a hypothetical upper limit to psychic reserves before the barrier between the Material and Astral starts to strain,* Lirrash mused. *Ciral's Limit, we named it. Not even the Enlightened or our most ambitious estimates for Mael'nerak's reserves ever came close. Still, the idea that Progenitors can get too strong and end up leaving this reality behind has merit.*
*Fascinating as this is, let's focus on the present situation,* Jonah thought, stopping a tangent among the crew. *We got our test of how strong the Maliri's genetic programming is. Let's let these two poor girls go to fantasize about the storybook hero they met in the flesh and plan things out.*
"Well, seems I took a wrong turning somewhere. My apologies. Take care, ladies," John wished the two Maliri females and turned to leave with Jonah, Alyssa, and Ceraden.
"That was eerie," Ceraden said as he retraced the route back to his offices. "I recognize those two, they're eager to pick a fight even for Maliri. But one look at you and they were like little girls waiting for a scolding from their father."
"And it was only going to get worse from there," Alyssa said. "John, if you try to just talk politely to the Maliri Matriarchs, you'll already be playing tennis with the net down within the first minute. If you let them see you and get attached to the idea of meeting you in person long enough, you might as well have the obedience compulsion in place already. The average Maliri woman would be willing to commit murder to meet you just by staring at a still of your face for long enough, that's how strong the programming is."
"Which I find horrifying on some level, but we might as well take advantage of it," John sighed.
They dropped Ceraden back at his offices, John promising to come back so he and Ceraden could have a proper long talk about everything and nothing later that day. He could sense his friend was adjusting to the bombs of yesterday well, but he needed a proper chance to decompress.
*While you've been having fun with all that, I'm getting random tidbits just browsing through the Trading Commission. Alyssa already downloaded everything from House Valaden yesterday under Irillith's nose, but there's 18 other Noble Houses, each who have had the chance to have innovations the others missed. They're not major upgrades, but I'm still finding a ton of tech that's above Progenitor-baseline in its relevant field,* Dana spoke up in the chorus.
*We'll meet up with you, then everyone remember to be at Natralis,* John ordered.
A couple hours of 'browsing' with an acquisitive Dana later, John met up with the rest of his Angels at the entrance to the hydroponic zone that housed Natralis. They all enjoyed the superb air flavored with the non-Terran plants and animals. They walked up to the base of a tree too large to be natural, where a podium was set along with an armored Maliri male and a broad staircase seemingly formed 'naturally' out of the wood of the tree.
"Reservation under 'Blake'," John supplied to the maitre'd.
The guardian of the gate for the high-class restaurant checked his console and the relevant bookings. "Ah, yes. Welcome to Natralis," he said with professional manners before leading them up the staircase. They reached a platform that somehow seamlessly blended the natural wood of the tree with all the luxury of a 5-star dining experience. The maitre'd led them to their table, where John and the other men held out the seats for the ladies of the crew.
John waited patiently for a waiter to approach the table. "Rather than ordering individual dishes, would you please provide us with a selection of the chef's specials for today? My crew is new to Maliri cuisine and we'd like to try a little of everything."
"Of course, sir," the waiter bowed before leaving to alert the kitchen. Rachel ended up being milked for emergency etiquette lessons as half the crew had no idea how to work the elaborate place settings laid out for each of them at the table. While the heiress informed her lovers which fork and spoon to use in which order, John handled ordering the wine, which was delivered by a gold-plated robot.
*I thought the Collective was the leader in the League for anti-grav, but those cyclics are so small and don't make a peep of waste noise,* Zanthus mused once the robot left.
*Yeah, I know, I've had a TON of ideas for the maintenance robots since we got here. But I suppose gearing up for the Fulmanax attack takes first priority, and Valada's computer is a close-second,* Dana agreed with her Assistant.
*I'll leave it to your discretion what projects you and the team work on in what order, honey, handsome,* John assured the two. *But yes, in general, anything that'll help us in combat comes first.*
*After we've backed it all up both with what will fit on our local servers and around the Holonet… I don't suppose we can meet Nexus or whatever AI assistant will pop out?* Jade thought curiously.
John frowned. *Really? Even after what happened with Nexus in Beta Persei?*
*Because of what happened with Nexus in Beta Persei, actually. I'll sleep easier at night knowing we have our own AI working defense on the Invictus given there's at least 1 other in the League that's proved quite offensive,* Jade frowned. *Plus, call it an academic curiosity to meet another creation of Mael'nerak.*
*Irillith was in the habit of de-resing or 'killing' them as soon as they finished their assigned task. No idea how they'd evolve in the long-term. Given enough time to learn and grow, he or she might even outgrow the console,* Alyssa informed everyone.
John was admittedly wary, even though he now knew the First Law of Robotics was specific to Terran attempts at making Nexus and not every single Artificial Intelligence. Still, logically, the pros of the crew getting an AI assistant seemed to outweigh the cons, assuming they did it right. *We keep it isolated on a closed network until they've proven that they're friendly. We lock them out from the anti-boarding turrets and the other weapons. But, assuming it proves itself trustworthy, eventually they can have the run of the ship.*
The crew discussed their new potential member, the first to be synthetic and not organic, until the food started to arrive. John and the rest all sampled at least a bite from each appetizer and entree. Though he knew he'd regret it in the Gym later, John also indulged in the desserts that were brought out.
*This is an odd look on you instead of us,* Alyssa teased as she patted his visibly bloated belly from the sheer amount of food he'd eaten in the past hour.
*I overdid it,* John admitted. *Worth it, though, that was all exquisite.*
With many private jokes about having to roll their leader back to the Invictus, the crew returned to their Docking Bay and the Invictus to get back to the usual training or research.